so i started writing the previous post last monday, and it took a week to post because the carpenter redoing the basement door decided to cut our cable and "fix" it with electrical tape, ensuring that our cable, internet and phone were completely out for over two days, and then we had out of town guests for the rest of the week.
so, even though it took me all weekend, i've finally caught up with television that aired last week.
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monday's premiere:
"gossip girl"
oh, upper eastsiders how i've missed you and your ridiculous parties. and even more ridiculous clothing. and utterly ridiculous lack of plot and character development. "reversals of fortune" feels like a transition episode from start to finish, the gang is recovering from their summers and are eagerly anticipating their falls, and the show tries to balance recapping everyone's summer with some teasing of storylines to come, but it's just not that good at it.
here's what we know:
blair and chuck are together and still going strong. even as they struggle to make their relationship work for them. blair and chuck are unique, and for them to work as a couple, they can't be quite like just any other couple. their attraction to each other is a bit twisted. blair looks prim and proper but she isn't sweetness and light, she loves chuck because he can express the darkness that she represses. their relationship cannot be totally vanilla for them to work as a couple. [granted because it is essentially a teen show on a teen network it skirts around the possibilities.]
nate can't help being boring. he's caught up in a romeo-juliet type plot with the daughter of a rival political family. but at least he's pretty.
serena looked gorgeous in this peach-colored gown. except she was also a little overdressed for the occasion [a polo match]. she is also involved in some crazy scheme to get her father's attention by misbehaving and having her photograph plastered all over the tabloids. carter baizen also has something to do with it, but they chose not to let us in on the secret just yet.
rufus is stuck with the van der woodsen and humphrey kids in the hamptons, and his look of confusion here accurately reflects his state of being throughout the episode.
eric and jenny continue to be adorable together. it's just too bad that they don't have any sort of interesting plot line.
tuesday's show:
"90210"
the second episode of the second season continues to demonstrate the show's improvement. "to sext or not to sext" further expands on the relationships developing on the show, and for once, it's not that focused on romance, but rather on the friendships.
naomi, adriana, and silver continue to be besties, in the most ridiculous way possible. they are observing the boys trying out for the surfing team, and preening on top of naomi's car.
the boys are also adorably excited upon making the surf team. they are also instant buddies in a way that defies explanation. liam needs a haircut.
meanwhile at the blaze, navid tries to make things interesting but ends up being forced to interview teddy and act like a jealous douchebag. ade is appropriately upset with him, though if she stopped being angry at navid for a second she would realize that a little reassurance from her would go a long way. [in the background you may spot rumer willis, beginning her guest stint as a student at west bev.]
wednesday's show:
"glee"
i'm going to admit that i didn't love "acafellas" as much as other people. i think because i enjoy the characters interacting, and not all doing their own thing. there were a couple great moments. and i think jayma mays is amazing as emma. her understated performance and the tension teeming between her guidance counselor and matthew morrison's spanish teacher is hot.
i did also love seeing victor garber and debra monk as mr. schuester's parents. [ok, i admit, i can't remember his first name.] i really hope we'll get to see garber sing a song or two at some point. he usually plays such a badass that his musical theater background is easily forgotten.
thursday's premieres:
"the office"
office gossip spins out of control culminating in the big reveal of jim and pam's pregnancy. what is great about the reveal is that michael spreads it as a falsehood to hide the fact that he accidentally spilled the beans on stanley's affair with his physical therapist. but because michael is inept in all things, he bungles his revelation by masking it with fact, and all hell breaks loose at the office. it's up to jim and pam to salvage the situation. and they do. of course, they can't stop michael from revealing stanley's affair to his wife and the last shots of stanley bashing in michael's car were priceless.
"community"
in the opening moments of the show, we are given the stereotypes of people who attend community college. these stereotypes inhabit the cast, and in an unlikely series of events all end up in the same made-up study group run by joel mchale, a lawyer who has been disbarred for faking his credentials. he tries to con his way through community college and into a fellow student's pants, but all of this manages to backfire on him. because it seems that this time, he'll actually have to work hard to succeed at something. and somehow the premise works. mainly because the characters are funny.
abed is my favorite so far. but they all have their charm and i will keep watching to see if the show can keep up with all the comedy. in a nice touch, after numerous references to the breakfast club, the pilot episode is dedicated to john hughes' memory.
"vampire diaries"
ok so not technically a premiere, but the second episode picks up pretty much where the first one left off. this time there is more damon. ian somerhalder is the most interesting actor on this show of pretty people. in part because his character is so juicy, but in part because he is actually more than just a pretty face. he is completely different from every other role i've seen him play. and he seems to be having fun with it.
stefan needs to lighten up a bit. otherwise, he's just a boring goody-two-shoes who happens to be a vampire. [i might have to admit to having a thing for bad boy vampires: spike, eric, and now damon are all on the list. angel and bill, and now stefan don't do much for me as the dark, brooding vampire filled with nobility. blah.] i also happen to like jeremy. in part because the actor is steve mcqueen's grandson, and i think it's possible i just like the actor more than i like his storyline.
this show really works because of its eye candy. because so far, story-wise it hasn't done all that much. but i'm giving it a chance, because sometimes it takes a couple episodes for the stories to really gel. at least that's what i'm telling myself.
images courtesy of cwtv.com
so, even though it took me all weekend, i've finally caught up with television that aired last week.
show more
monday's premiere:
"gossip girl"
oh, upper eastsiders how i've missed you and your ridiculous parties. and even more ridiculous clothing. and utterly ridiculous lack of plot and character development. "reversals of fortune" feels like a transition episode from start to finish, the gang is recovering from their summers and are eagerly anticipating their falls, and the show tries to balance recapping everyone's summer with some teasing of storylines to come, but it's just not that good at it.
here's what we know:
blair and chuck are together and still going strong. even as they struggle to make their relationship work for them. blair and chuck are unique, and for them to work as a couple, they can't be quite like just any other couple. their attraction to each other is a bit twisted. blair looks prim and proper but she isn't sweetness and light, she loves chuck because he can express the darkness that she represses. their relationship cannot be totally vanilla for them to work as a couple. [granted because it is essentially a teen show on a teen network it skirts around the possibilities.]
nate can't help being boring. he's caught up in a romeo-juliet type plot with the daughter of a rival political family. but at least he's pretty.
serena looked gorgeous in this peach-colored gown. except she was also a little overdressed for the occasion [a polo match]. she is also involved in some crazy scheme to get her father's attention by misbehaving and having her photograph plastered all over the tabloids. carter baizen also has something to do with it, but they chose not to let us in on the secret just yet.
rufus is stuck with the van der woodsen and humphrey kids in the hamptons, and his look of confusion here accurately reflects his state of being throughout the episode.
eric and jenny continue to be adorable together. it's just too bad that they don't have any sort of interesting plot line.
tuesday's show:
"90210"
the second episode of the second season continues to demonstrate the show's improvement. "to sext or not to sext" further expands on the relationships developing on the show, and for once, it's not that focused on romance, but rather on the friendships.
naomi, adriana, and silver continue to be besties, in the most ridiculous way possible. they are observing the boys trying out for the surfing team, and preening on top of naomi's car.
the boys are also adorably excited upon making the surf team. they are also instant buddies in a way that defies explanation. liam needs a haircut.
meanwhile at the blaze, navid tries to make things interesting but ends up being forced to interview teddy and act like a jealous douchebag. ade is appropriately upset with him, though if she stopped being angry at navid for a second she would realize that a little reassurance from her would go a long way. [in the background you may spot rumer willis, beginning her guest stint as a student at west bev.]wednesday's show:
"glee"
i'm going to admit that i didn't love "acafellas" as much as other people. i think because i enjoy the characters interacting, and not all doing their own thing. there were a couple great moments. and i think jayma mays is amazing as emma. her understated performance and the tension teeming between her guidance counselor and matthew morrison's spanish teacher is hot.
i did also love seeing victor garber and debra monk as mr. schuester's parents. [ok, i admit, i can't remember his first name.] i really hope we'll get to see garber sing a song or two at some point. he usually plays such a badass that his musical theater background is easily forgotten.
thursday's premieres:
"the office"
office gossip spins out of control culminating in the big reveal of jim and pam's pregnancy. what is great about the reveal is that michael spreads it as a falsehood to hide the fact that he accidentally spilled the beans on stanley's affair with his physical therapist. but because michael is inept in all things, he bungles his revelation by masking it with fact, and all hell breaks loose at the office. it's up to jim and pam to salvage the situation. and they do. of course, they can't stop michael from revealing stanley's affair to his wife and the last shots of stanley bashing in michael's car were priceless.
"community"
in the opening moments of the show, we are given the stereotypes of people who attend community college. these stereotypes inhabit the cast, and in an unlikely series of events all end up in the same made-up study group run by joel mchale, a lawyer who has been disbarred for faking his credentials. he tries to con his way through community college and into a fellow student's pants, but all of this manages to backfire on him. because it seems that this time, he'll actually have to work hard to succeed at something. and somehow the premise works. mainly because the characters are funny.
abed is my favorite so far. but they all have their charm and i will keep watching to see if the show can keep up with all the comedy. in a nice touch, after numerous references to the breakfast club, the pilot episode is dedicated to john hughes' memory.
"vampire diaries"
ok so not technically a premiere, but the second episode picks up pretty much where the first one left off. this time there is more damon. ian somerhalder is the most interesting actor on this show of pretty people. in part because his character is so juicy, but in part because he is actually more than just a pretty face. he is completely different from every other role i've seen him play. and he seems to be having fun with it.
stefan needs to lighten up a bit. otherwise, he's just a boring goody-two-shoes who happens to be a vampire. [i might have to admit to having a thing for bad boy vampires: spike, eric, and now damon are all on the list. angel and bill, and now stefan don't do much for me as the dark, brooding vampire filled with nobility. blah.] i also happen to like jeremy. in part because the actor is steve mcqueen's grandson, and i think it's possible i just like the actor more than i like his storyline.
this show really works because of its eye candy. because so far, story-wise it hasn't done all that much. but i'm giving it a chance, because sometimes it takes a couple episodes for the stories to really gel. at least that's what i'm telling myself.
images courtesy of cwtv.com
Serena's orange dress, Blair's gold dress, Chuck's EVERYTHING. God, I love this show. Character development is irrelevant. (Or, rather, the lack of consistent character development is an endearing little quirk.) Nate is, as you say, pretty, Carter Baizen is pouty, Serena is chesty, Blair is quippy and Chuck's jaw could cut glass. What more do you need?
ReplyDeleteoh i definitely agree. the show is awesome in its absurdity and should fully embrace being completely preposterous. i personally think the more preposterous the better, since we'll only get more amazing wardrobe choices.
ReplyDelete