Category Archives: Get with the Program

Get with the Program: Home Town

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home townAirs: Tuesdays at 10:00/9:00c on HGTV

TV show equation:  Home Town  =  Fixer Upper – 1/2 Asian – Texas + Mississippi

Premise in a Sentence:  Fixer Upper in Mississippi.

Really, I just wanted to use this post as a way to tell all of my Fixer Upper fans that if you aren’t watching Home Town, you should be.  But I guess I can go a little more in depth.

The show follows Erin and Ben Napier as they try and save their small town of Laurel, Mississippi by renovating one house at a time.  She is a designer and he is the handyman.  Sound familiar?  This show was always going to be compared to it’s Texan cousin, mainly because it is obviously HGTV’s attempt to recapture that Fixer Upper magic.  I am happy to report that it holds up pretty well in comparison.  I am even going to make a bold statement and say that the Napiers have had a more promising start than the Gaines’.  Have you ever gone back and watched those early episodes of Fixer Upper?  It’s disconcerting.  Chip is not his Chip-py self, he barely even cares about demo day, and Joanna is clearly uncomfortable on camera.  Not so with the Napiers.  They had the banter and dorky humor down pretty quick, perhaps because they had a pretty good example of a winning formula.

homeBen Napier is not quite as entertaining Chip, but his resourcefulness makes up for it in my book.  He is quite the Mr. Fix-It and seems more than capable when it comes to building furniture, restoring construction, and coming up with solutions to make Erin’s designs work.  Erin’s design aesthetic has a nice lived-in element to it, but it has variety.  Every project thus far has felt different while still having her stamp on it.  The best way I can describe it is that she seems to like a lot of stuff on the walls, but in a good way.  The town of Laurel seems to have more of a small town quality than Waco and the houses have more historic character.

Like I said, it’s pretty hard not to compare the two, but both shows come out of the comparison in good shape.  Part of me wonders if they should have just gone the Flip or Flop way and just called this Fixer Upper: Mississippi, but I am happy to see seemingly nice people get their own platform.  Fixer Upper is always going to be my go-to HGTV viewing, but I am happy to have Home Town in the off season.

–Ellen

What to Watch and When to Watch It – Fall 2015

Posted in Get with the Program, TV by

It should be pretty evident that I am a huge TV nerd, so much so that it should not come as a shock that I make an Excel spreadsheet before every Fall TV season. In case you want to know what I am watching or in case you want to know what you should be watching, I am sharing my nerdy spreadsheet.

A few notes:

– Blue is for shows that have a guaranteed season pass, red is for either new or older shows that I am going to give a shot, new show in italics. I recently upgraded my DVR to allow for 6 shows to be recording, so I no longer have limitations.

– Also, for the first time ever I made a chart of the release dates.

– I saw the pilot for Supergirl and I liked them enough to know I want more.

– Only new show that is a guaranteed season pass: The Muppets.  Duh.

– Some shows that are not on the networks that I am jazzed about: Fargo (FX), The Walking Dead (AMC), The League (FXX), You’re the Worst (FXX), Doctor Who (BBC America), The Mindy Project (Hulu).

– You may notice that CBS’ schedule looks a little screwy, but that is because of Thursday Night Football.  Things will shift around after November, so the Thursday schedule I have listed is what it will be after football.

– Just don’t even try to talk to me on Tuesday nights anymore.

 

Fall 2015 TV

Fall 2015 Calendar

 

So go ahead, let me have it. What am I stupid for watching? What are you getting jazzed to watch?

– Ellen

Get With The Program: Suits

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Litigation. Corporate buyouts. Company bylaws. If these three words do not turn you on just a little bit, there’s a chance you aren’t watching Suits on USA.  If that’s the case, you have my sincere condolences. Not only have you been missing out on the greatest legal drama to grace the airwaves since JAG, but for the last five years you have been living without this unfairly lofty expectation for how a man should look in a suit.

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You also didn’t get to witness Meghan Markle demonstrating how to get it done in heels and a pencil skirt.

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You completely missed Gina Torres obliterate the competition for Ultimate Corporate Mamma Jamma.

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Nor seen the raw, cringe-inducing power of Rick Hoffman as Louis Litt, the stoolie we all hate to love.

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And been denied this bromantic buffoonery.

You’ve gone all this time without salivating every time you hear Ima Robot’s “Greenback Boogie”.

Starting to feel a little sorry for yourself? Well, that’s only to be expected. So take a minute, have a good cry. Then you need to dust yourself off and prepare for the binge of your life, because you’ve only got a few hours before the Suits season 5 finale airs on USA tomorrow night. Last one there is a Harold Gunderson!

–Whitney

Sweet Streams: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Posted in Get with the Program, Sweet Streams, TV by

unbreakable_kimmy_schmidt_a_lNetflix released the first season of their new show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt today, so of course, I have already watched the whole thing.  And I loved it.  That is going to be pretty much a guarantee if you attach Tina Fey to a new project.  Tina and fellow 30 Rock executive producer Robert Carlock bring us this new show about an unbreakable girl named Kimmy Schmidt (get it?) who moves to New York for a fresh start after being released from an underground bunker where she has been living for 15 years with her apocalypse cult sisters.  Did you follow that?

Admittedly, I wasn’t immediately sold on this show after the first episode, but much like 30 Rock and every other comedy, it really finds its groove as it moves along.  Ellie Kemper is utterly charming as the titular Kimmy, who is just rife with sunny optimism, 90’s pop culture knowledge, and a middle school naivete (she was kidnapped 15 years ago, remember?).  The rest of the cast gets plenty time to shine with Tituss Burgess as Titus Andromedon, Kimmy’s new roommate, Carol Kane as Lillian, their eccentric landlord, and Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney, I mean, Jacqueline Voorhees, Kimmy’s rich boss who hires her as a nanny.

The best praise I can give this show, though, is that it is very similar to 30 Rock in it’s pacing and humor with the sunny optimism of Parks and Recreation.  If you know me at all, you know that is high praise indeed.  The jokes are rapid fire, making rewatchability high, the guest stars are high caliber (I wouldn’t dare spoil some of them for you), the pop culture references are a plenty (the Olsen twins are actually the Olsen octuplets), and there are  moments so bizarre that they rival “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah” (VH3’s Joe Invisible Millionaire, anyone?).  Kimmy, who responds to someone calling her a bitch with “A female dog? The thing that makes puppies?”, has the same can-do spirit as Leslie Knope.  Also, at first glance she may be misjudged as weak given the whole cult thing, but really she is a strong, independent woman who doesn’t get taken down easily.  Also, if you like snappy theme songs that are based on fake viral videos, then this is the show for you.

To sum it all up, I’m already eager for season 2 (the only issue I have with the Netflix model of entire seasons at once) and I recommend that you join me in the wait.

–Ellen

Get With the Program: Marry Me

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marry-me-nbc-hed-2014During Fall Premiere season, sometime you have to step back and objectively evaluate each show based on their respective merits. I said sometimes you have to do that. I can’t. Tried, but can’t.

Which brings me to NBC’s new sitcom Marry Me. Now, my approval of this show was pretty much written in the stars. Firstly, it’s produced by David Caspe (if reading that name does not make you observe a moment of silence for our funny, fallen friend Happy Endings, there is a good chance you are a monster, or possibly have a life). Then there is the dazzling combined on-screen talents of Casey Wilson and Ken Marino, easily two of television’s funniest staples. Wilson and Marino play a couple in a long-term, quasi-committed relationship that gets turned on it’s head when Jake (Marino) proposes. I know, not exactly high concept, but some of the best sitcoms of all time have been based on even less (Cheers, Friends, Scrubs).

The supporting cast is none too shabby either, Tim Meadows, John Gemberling, and Sarah Wright being the most notable. marry-me-hed-01-2014One of the really impressive things about Marry Me is how it tricked us into thinking we’re watching a show about two attractive leads with occasional appearances from a supportive role, when really this is an ensemble. There are a lot of great characters here, and I have a feeling they are going to get the screen time they deserve. Assuming that this show doesn’t get chopped like another David Caspe gem I could mention. Yeah, ABC, still bitter.

-Whitney

Get With the Program: Jane the Virgin

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jtvAirs: Mondays at 9:00/8:00c on The CW

UPDATE: The show just got picked up for a full season!

TV show equation:  Jane the Virgin  =  telenovella / Spanish language + occasional Spanish language x better production quality x cheeky self-awareness.

Premise in a Sentence:  At its most basic, Jane accidentally gets artificially inseminated after spending her life maintaining her virginity.

But this show has gone absolutely bonkers.  In the best way possible.  She was inseminated with a sample from her boss, Rafael, who she also had a romantic moment with 5 years ago.  Jane had gone in for a simple exam, but her doctor, Luisa, was discombobulated after walking in on her girlfriend cheating on her.  Luisa realized her mistake when she walked into her next appointment and saw her sister-in-law, Petra.  Oh, yeah, Luisa is also Rafael’s sister.  Also, Jane’s boyfriend, Michael, who she has been holding off for two years, proposes in the midst of all this.

I think that is all I am going to give you for now, because some of the other reveals are far too delicious to spoil for you and I really want you all to give this one a shot.  Even though it has only had two episodes, I’m going to go out on a limb and declare this one my favorite new show of the season (the only possible competition is Marry Me, which get the Happy Endings bump).

If you are anything like me, you heard the premise or saw the promo and had to keep from rolling your eyes, but this show won me over in it’s clear awareness of the ridiculousness of the premise.  If you watch some of those more soapy dramas like Scandal and Revenge and find yourself thinking “Oh, boy, that would never happen in real life but I love it anyway”, then you are really going to like this one.  The show’s humorous narration basically calls out how unbelievable some of the plot can be and to great effect.

This cheeky quality helps the plot to be a lot more fun, but it also helps the show to have tender moments without getting too schmaltzy.  Gina Rodriguez plays the titular Jane with a lot of heart and strength.  Jane’s romantic entanglements are already promising to be intriguing and the other relationships already range from sweet to over-the-top scandalous.

I triple dog dare you to get to the last 10 minutes of last night’s episode,  in which they dropped at least 5 bombshells, and tell me that you are not hooked.  You can’t turn down a triple dog dare.

Get with the Program: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

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agents-of-shield-season-2Like a lot of you, I was super excited for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D because I felt, much like that SNL skit this weekend, that Marvel could do no wrong.  And then like a lot of you, I watched the the first few episodes of the show and wrote it off.  The adorableness or FitzSimmons aside, it wasn’t doing much to keep me invested, but then like a lot of shows, I heard that it got better about halfway through the first season.  As a TV fan, I should have known that it would have, so I gave it another try.

Now that I have caught up, I am ashamed.  I should have had more faith in both Marvel and the wide, wild, world of Whedon because this shiz went bananas. Like, B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

I really don’t want to spoil too much, as this is a post trying to convince you to start watching the show, but I am going to vaguely lay out reasons you should play catch up with this one.

1) Watch if you love the Marvel Cinematic Universe – Again, no spoilers, but the show has set itself up as a pretty fascinating companion piece to all of your favorite Marvel films and seeing as how Marvel seems to be the blockbuster juggernaut that cannot be stopped, I don’t see it running out of material anytime soon.

2)  Watch if you love Whedon – Yes, Joss has a minimal executive producer presence, but his longtime collaboraters and family members, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen (they’re married, aww) are the showrunners and all the writers pretty much nail Joss’ tone on the head.  You know the tone I’m talking about?  That mix of cheeky, funny, action-packed, and heartbreaking?  That’s the one.

3) Watch if you love love – Maybe you will like SkyeWard or FitzSimmons or Fitzskye or May and Coulson or MayWard or all of them.  S.H.I.E.L.D has you covered on the sexual tension front and if you like the same couple as me, your heart will be broken when you get to the premiere of season 2.

Are you watching S.H.I.E.L.D.?  Let’s chat because I am deep in it now.

– Ellen

Fangirly Love Letter: The Gilmore Girls

Posted in Get with the Program, Sweet Streams by

Being a Latchkey Kid was the best. My parents both worked full time, so in the afternoons I was left to my own weird devices. It usually went as follows:

1) walk inside, dump my backpack where ever convenient (almost always constituted a fire hazard)

2) Eat until the lower half of my face was numb from exhaustion

3) Get dance-y to whatever Now That’s What I Call Music album was collecting dust in the living room stereo

4)Try on all my mom’s old bridesmaid dresses

5) Drink rootbeer out of our fancy dinner glassware and “unwind”

…All of which took about 10-15 minutes. Then it was time to dial into The Gilmore Girls. 

There is not one show, not Veronica Mars, not Buffy The Vampire Slayer, not 30 Rock, that means more to me than TGG

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Everything I learned about the kind of woman I want to be came from this Amy Sherman Palladino brain baby. (My mom is a super close second). This mother-daughter double act was so funny, so clever, so heartwarming/ breaking that Act 1 Whitney was in perpetual awe. In fact, I can date my media mania directly back to Gilmore. Suddenly there just wasn’t enough of this show to meet my consumption needs.

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Lorelei and Rory were so classy,

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So articulate,

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So forward thinking.

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And then, seemingly out of nowhere, the ax fell.

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Gilmore Girls, a network staple and my TV spirit animal, was canceled. It was over almost as soon as it began.

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But from the ashes, a hero emerged. One who would help me to piece together the shambles of my Gilmore-less existence, all for the super-low price of $7.99.  That’s right dweebs, Netflix has the streaming rights for Gilmore Girls. Those of us who loved the show will, on October 1, have a chance to relive the magic again and again, and those of you who didn’t love the show will have a chance to pull your head out of your butt. (Sort of joking. Mostly serious).

Give it a chance guys. You will not be sorry.

–Whitney

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My 24 Hour Emmy Binge or My Slip in Sanity

Posted in Dinner and a Show, Fangirly Exposed!, Get with the Program, Live Texting, TV by

This weekend I did something a little crazy.  Ok, a lottle crazy.  In a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly there was an article written by Marc Snetiker on how to best prepare for the Emmys next Monday.  Well, how to best prepare for the Emmys in only 24 hours and because I’m a weirdo, my first thought was, “I could do this.  I should do this.  I’m GOING to do this.”  I honestly don’t watch a lot of the Emmy shows, especially in the Drama category, so I saw this as the perfect opportunity to get myself edumacated.

I prepared by making sure I had all of the recommended episodes or at least access to them and by placing an order with Amazon Fresh to make sure I had a cavalcade of themed snacks.  As you should do for any binge.

Oh, and I live-tweeted the whole thing. And it turns out you can tweet a lot in 24 hours.

First show, first snack.

For Orange is the New Black, I watched “Lesbian Request Denied” and I have to say this is one of the viewings that made me want to watch more.

Next up, True Detective. Continue reading →

Anglophiles Anonymous: Luther

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Luther-adLuther returns to BBC America tonight and this anglophile is ecstatic.  Also, terrified.  If you have seen the show, you will understand.  It’s a scary show sometimes.

I’m excited for the following reasons:

1) More of this show will always be a good thing because it is amazing.  The psychological crime drama follows London Detective Chief Inspector John Luther (Idris Elba) through some truly nail-biting cases, some lasting only an episode, some spanning multiple episodes.  Think of it as a darker Sherlock.

2) Alice is back!  Fellow fans of the show realize the significance of the creepy, cool Alice (Ruth Wilson) returning.  She is obsessed with Luther and is sometimes his greatest ally and at other times, makes his life a living hell.  It makes for some dang good television.

3) Idris Elba?  Yes, please.  (Loving the rumors that he will be the next Bond.  If you watch the show, you will, too. )

4) There hasn’t been much on TV to get me excited lately, so I’m especially excited for the return of some good TV.  It’s about time, right?

The first two seasons are available on Netflix Instant so go check it out and get the wits scared out of you!

–Ellen

Get With the Program: Hemlock Grove

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hemlock-groveI had an epiphany this week: I’m obsessed with supernatural TV dramas. This is made all the more embarrassing by the fact that I’ve been so very vocal about NOT liking them. So when Netflix announced a few months ago that they were airing their original series Hemlock Grove, all about a town plagued by a healthy population of creepy-crawlies, I knew that it was destined for my ever growing list of guilty pleasures. And, in a totally unsurprising turn of events, I absolutely loved it. Shows of this nature usually only appeal to a certain demographic (a human being with two X chromosomes between the ages of 14 and 30), but Hemlock Grove has something for the whole family. Well, the adult members of the family anyway. There’s plenty of gore for the dudes, a well-written story and complex characters for mom and dad (snooze), and an abundance of crushable fellas for us ladies (Yeah!).

But you don’t have to take my word for it. Netflix has made all 13 episodes available at once, so, you know, clear your schedule. Because if your anything like me, you’re not going to get anything done this week.

-Whitney

Get With the Program: Mr. Selfridge

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I don’t want to say I told you so, but I totally told you so. In a previous post I predicted that this Jeremy Piven period dramedy was going to rule, and after watching two episodes I can safely say that it does. Here’s why:

PreviewFile.jpg.ashx 1) An American in an ITV drama? Awesome! 

Not only is the titular character an American, he’s played by an American actor. And if there is one thing that we yanks love, it’s outsourcing, making this show something of a win-win for American audiences. Also, can we address how smokin’ hot JP is looking these days? The 20th century is totally agreeing with him…

2) Frances. Friggen. O’Connor.frances-oconnor-mr-selfridge

It’s no secret that Frances O’Connor is one of my favorite ladies on Earth (somewhere between Billie Piper and Eleanor Roosevelt). So when I found out that she had a pretty decent sized part in Mr. Selfridge I was pretty much sold. Let me break  it down for you in mathematical terms: Frances O’Connor is wonderful, therefore by the transitive property of TV, this show is wonderful.

3) Finally, some likeable characters!

I know it’s early days, but I’m finding all the principle characters engaging and (for the most part) likeable. For some reason, I expected this show to be Mad Men: UK, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.I’m not saying that they’re not flawed, but it’s nice to find a show with characters you can actually root for.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a good anti-hero as much as the next single gal, but it’s refreshing to find a show that is going in a different direction.

What do you thing? Agree? Disagree? If you’ve got a comment, I know where you can stick it! (In the comment section…)

-Whitney

TV Obituaries: RIP Better Off Ted

Posted in Get with the Program, In with the Old, TV Obituaries by

Better-off-Ted-better-off-ted-10352512-2000-1331You know what I hate? I mean, other than perfume commercials, mashed potatoes, or sentences that end in a preposition? I hate watching a young show get cut down in it’s prime. Three years after its cancellation, I’m still reeling from the loss of ABC’s Better Off Ted. Speaking as someone who strongly feels that the world can never have enough zany workplace comedies, the show was the bright spot of my week during its brief two season run.

On paper, the premise of this show seems pretty ho-hum. Ted Crisp (Jay Harrington) manages a research and development team for a massive corporation. Bored yet? Then perhaps I should mention that Ted’s boss, the stoic and well-coiffed Veronica, is played by the one and only Portia de Rossi, with all the stellar comedic timing and deadpanned delivery we’ve come to love. Oh, are you back on board? Awesome. Let’s proceed.

Of course, you can’t have a great workplace comedy without some great writing attached. I can’t tell you how many funny one-liners I’ve pilfered from this show. Oh no… there’s no stopping it… I feel a cluster-quote coming…!

There was the time Ted and his love interest/employee Linda invented the game of throwing stale bagels into an air vent:

Ted: What are you afraid of? If you throw a game, it’s gonna keep you out of the time-wasters hall of fame?
Linda: No. My position there is secure from getting my art history degree.

Or the time Ted inadvertently forced Ryan the security guard to quit his job:

Linda: So did you hear the latest office gossip? Ryan the security guard quit his job because you’re a giant douche-mobile. That’s right, you’re a douche on wheels. Or perhaps a decorative sculpture hanging above a baby douche’s crib. The gossip didn’t specify.

And how could we forget Veronica, the company mouth-piece:
Veronica: If you want to get the company off this, you have to show them that this new pace will cost them money. Because the company loves its money. If they could, they’d go to strip clubs and throw naked women at money.

Like the Temptations, I ain’t too proud to bed. Please, please, please, watch this show. You can find both seasons now on Netflix streaming!
-Whitney

The Return of Psych!

Posted in Get with the Program by

imageProcedural cop show. Buddy comedy. 80’s nostalgia hour. Stylistically USA’s Psych is a little all over the place. Which, coincidentally, is exactly what Ellen and I love about it. That and the fact that James Roday’s character Shawn Spencer fulfills all our quasi-bad boy needs (motorcycle, complicated relationship with father, spotty employment record, and questionable dietary habits). I guess what I’m saying is, don’t be an incorrigible Eskimo pie with a caramel ribbon. Watch Psych tonight on USA!

-Whitney

Get with the Program: Community

Posted in Get with the Program, TV by

community_papersIt’s here!  October 19th is here!  And you know what that means, fellow Greendale peers, Community is back! Whether it will be better than ever is yet to be determined.  This show really is the “little engine that could” of network television.  It has faced management changes, behind the scenes drama, and scheduling snafus, but still it prevails, raising that Greendale anus flag high on Thursday nights once more.

I think it is safe to say that Community is the weirdest little gem on television.  What other shows have episodes in 8 bit and stop motion?  Or alternative timelines and dreamatoriums (besides Fringe)?  But all of that weirdness, self-referential humor, and Joel McHale’s face are what make me love this show so much.

Although, Troy and Abed are perhaps my MOST favorite thing of this show and definitely my favorite friendship on TV.  Individually, their characters are hilarious and deliver my favorite lines, but they deliver pure gold.  Having seen Danny Pudi and Donald Glover together at Comic Con, I think that this is aided by the fact that are actually friends who are great at riffing off each other.

To elaborate my point, I have included one of my favorite scenes from the show below, but before you click that, are you excited for the return of Community? Worried about the lack of Dan Harmon?  Let us know in the comments!

– Ellen

Get with the Program: Lost Girl

Posted in Get with the Program, TV by

S1E02-lost-girl-29699085-1280-720Gratuitous TV sex is not super high on my list of favorite things. In fact, it sits somewhere between dangling participles and getting paper cuts under a fingernail. That being said, I decided to give Syfy’s Lost Girl a try, even though I was fully aware of its… um… saucy reputation. And while I wasn’t exactly wrong (there is a pretty disproportionate amount of boot knocking going on in this show), this series actually has a lot going for it.

At its heart, Lost Girl is about the struggle for identity and community. Bo (Anna Silk), a mysterious bartender with a troubled past, learns that the reason all her lovers wind up dead is because she’s actually a succubus. As in, a crazy-killing-sex-machine of legend. Luckily, she has her adorable best friend Kenzi (Ksenia Solo) to help her navigate the not so sexy parts of her new supernatural lifestyle (such as monster slaying and uncovering the mystery of her birth parents).

On paper, this show sounds pretty stupid, like any other hyper-sexualized sci-fi drama out there, but the writing is actually pretty good. In fact, it’s better that pretty good. Anna silk and Ksenia Solo have insane on-screen chemistry, and admittedly it is pretty nice seeing a TV relationship between two women that feels realistic and supportive.
So if you’re looking for a show with a fresh take on the supernatural drama (a.k.a. a show that goes beyond the vampire-witch-werewolf trifecta) the give Lost Girl a try. It has some hokey moments, but I think you’ll find it more than makes up for it in wit, charm, and girl power.

-Whitney

Haven: The Best Sci Fi Show You aren’t Watching

Posted in Get with the Program by

Audrey-Parker-haven-16166761-400-266If you’re anything like me, when you hear the word ‘Syfy’ you usually think of movies about a Dinocroc and his cousin the Dinoshark battling it out for cross-species genetic supremacy. However, I am here to tell you that the Syfy network has more to offer than paranormal reality shows and made-for-TV movies starring washed-up teen idols (sorry Kristy Swanson). If you’re looking for really well done sci fi drama, look no further than the Syfy original series Haven. This show, based on Stephen King’s novel The Colorado Kid, tells the story of Audrey Parker (Emily Rose), an FBI agent who stumbles upon the sleepy town of Haven during the course of an investigation. As it turns out, Haven is actually more Salem’s Lot than Mayberry, as several of townspeople are afflicted with mysterious curses, or Troubles, that often prove fatal to their friends and neighbors. Since Audrey seems immune to the Troubles, for reasons yet unknown, she decides to stay and help the people of Haven. This also leads to the larger questions, like Why is Audrey unaffected by the Troubles, and Who exactly is Audrey Parker?
And because it’s prime time TV, there is a wonderful assortment of dudes, all of varying boffability. The most boffable of Nathan-Wournous-haven-16166839-400-265the bunch being Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant), the sexy small town police officer who just happens to be Troubled. Also rocking my world is Eric Balfour who plays Duke Crocker, the sexy con man whose troubles all seem to be in the lower case. Oh, and did I mention that Jason Priestley has guest starred on this show? Just sayin’.
Although this is a show pretty steeped in its own mythology, it is well worth the time you will spend getting caught up. The next episode airs tomorrow on Syfy at 8/7c, so snap to it!

-Whitney

Get with the Program: Bob’s Burgers

Posted in Get with the Program, Sweet Streams, TV by

Airs: Sundays at 8:30/7:30c starting September 30th on FOX (Also available on Netflix Instant)

TV show equation:  Bob’s Burgers   =   same slighty off-kilter with a smattering sweet  comedy as Parks and Recreation   +   obvious connection to The Simpsons  in that it is also an animated show about a family of 5   x   voice talent and music stylings of Flight of the Conchords   –   New Zealand   x   Coney Island-esque setting

Premise in a Sentence:  A struggling burger restauranteur finds it difficult to manage his employees, who happen to also be his children.

Oh Bob’s Burgers,  how can I say in a mere blog post what it’s taken me two seasons to understand?  You’ve got it, mister.  I’m yours, all of me.

I had to borrow that line from a family classic because I’m having a hard time figuring out how to appropriately gush and educate at the same time.  So, what I think I am going to do is run through the Belcher clan:

1.  Bob – One of Bob’s most refreshing elements is that instead of having a crazy, bumbling dad amidst a more straight family, Bob gets to play the straight man in this brood punctuated by H. Jon Benjamin’s dry delivery.  (Don’t ask me why, but I find his voice really sexy.  Don’t look at me like that!)  Sure, he has his moments of crazy, but his best moments come when he has no choice but to laugh at how ridiculous his kids can be.

2. Linda – I can’t rave about John Roberts’ performance here enough.  With Linda, he and the writers have created this perfect mom character that is equal parts fun-loving, kooky, nagging, and invested in her family.  I swear to you, the way her/his lines are delivered will have you quoting them non-stop.  At least that’s what I have been doing.

3. Tina – Probably my favorite character.  Why?  Hmm, maybe because she writes erotic friend fiction.  Or maybe because she is mainly concerned with the location of her crush, Jimmy Jr.’s butt.  Or maybe because her budding sexuality is getting all mixed up with her nightmares, causing her to fantasize about slow dancing zombies.  You be the judge.

4. Gene – He finds music everywhere he goes, whether it be in the walls of an abandoned taffy factory, in his own farts, or in the noises his grandparents make while getting intimate in the room next door.  Also, being the middle child he is typically trying to get attention in the worst ways at the worst times.

5. Louise – Don’t let the pink bunny ears fool you, Louise is an evil genius.  Whether she is convincing an entire town that their burgers are made of human flesh, coaching Tina in kissing by making her tie a banana peel with her tongue (“A kiss is like a fight with mouths”), or trying to get out of PE by lying about doing synchronized swimming.

Please, just trust me when I tell you that if you laugh even once during the video below, then you should be watching this show.  And if you don’t then there is something wrong with you.  Alright!

– Ellen

 

Get with the Program: Suburgatory

Posted in Get with the Program, TV by

Airs: Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30c starting October 17th on ABC

TV show equation:  Suburgatory =   Clarissa Explains It All-esque female protaganist   +   Clueless reunions   x   Desperate Housewives setting (very possibly the same exact set)   –   all the sexy times

Premise in a Sentence: Snarky NY teen is ripped from the big city by her dad to live in the suburbs.

Let’s get this out of the way right now.  I’m not going to sit here at my laptop and tell you that Suburgatory needs to be your new favorite show.  It’s not going to happen.  My relationship with this during it’s first season was as follows: I watched the pilot, enjoyed it, set a season pass on Tivo, watched a few episodes on days spent absently scrolling through my list of recorded shows, enjoyed those episodes, then proceeded to forget how much I enjoyed said episodes.  It has only been during these summer months of reruns that Suburgatory and formed a relationship that is past that awkward “acquaintances” phase.

I could go on about how you should watch this show for the sweet father-daughter relationship between Jane Levy’s Tessa and Jeremy Sisto’s George, or for the well-fleshed out character of Tessa, or for the emerging love triangles and sexual tension, or for the entertaining commentary on our present image-obsessed society.  But really, I watch for the awesome cast.  This show is really firing on cylinders.

You’ve got Chris Parnell (Yo, what up, Parns?!) and Ana Gasteyer as the cookie-cutter neighbors who aren’t very cookie-cutter because they are Chris Parnell and Ana Gasteyer, the aforementioned Jeremy Sisto or he of Elton fame (don’t you know who his father is?),  the leaf on the wind Alan Tudyk (RIP Wash) as George’s bottle-bronzed friend who convinced him to move to the suburbs, and the always funny and endearing Cheryl Hines as the newly divorced Dallas, who may have a little thing for George.  On top of that, all of the new blood is great, too.

Basically, for me Suburgatory is like a mug of hot chocolate.  Do I need that hot chocolate to survive?  No, but it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, it’s enjoyable, and it’s made even better by the all the marshmallows floating around in there.  The cast members are the marshmallows in this scenario.  So, it’s not a perfect metaphor, but you get the point.

What do you think?  Are you going check it out?  Do you already love it?  Let us know!

– Ellen

Get with the Program: Parenthood

Posted in Get with the Program, TV by

Do you remember where you were when you learned Gilmore Girls hadn’t been picked up for an eighth season? I sure do. I was washing my hands in the girls’ bathroom at my high school, when I overheard two other girls talking about the cancellation as if it wasn’t the end of civilization as we knew it. Can you imagine getting that kind of news second hand? I mean, the least the CW could do would be to send me a handwritten condolence letter! But I digress. My point is, I really thought that my seven year long love affair with Lauren Graham was finally coming to an end. Even after I heard that she had been cast in a new NBC show, I was sure it could never be as hilarious and sweet and smart as my beloved GG. Luckily, I gave Parenthood a chance anyway.
Yes, my fellow cinephiles, I was served a big heaping plate of my own words. I started watching NBC’s family drama, also staring Dax Shepard and Peter Krause, with every intention of hating it. That steely resolve lasted about 30 minutes into the pilot. Thus my love of Parenthood was born.
There are so many reasons to love this show, Peter Krause being one of the biggest. I will admit to being totally bananas for his character Adam Braverman, the well-intentioned family man who has to deal with everything from unemployment to his son’s recent Aspergers diagnosis.
And even though all the characters are dealing with tough real-life situations, the show still manages to be funny and light hearted. I’ll be real with you, it’s no Gilmore Girls. What show ever could be? It is, however, one of the best family dramas on TV right now. But don’t take my word for it. The fourth season began earlier this month, but you can still catch up on the first three seasons on Netflix streaming. I give you my word as a fangirl that you will love it. Long live the Bravermans!

-Whitney