FNL Returns: SO Excited!!

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts... GOOD NEWS!!!

It's the news I didn't even dare to dream about... NBC has renewed Friday Night Lights, and not just for one season, but TWO!!! Apparently the love is huge for this struggling show at NBC, and despite low ratings, the suits love it too much to let it go. Score one for NBC (take THAT, Fox!) Just like this year, the season will run on DirecTV in the fall, followed by the spring run of the same episodes on NBC. If you're watching the current season, I hope you're loving it as much as I loved it when I watched it in the fall. Season 3 was the best one yet, and it can only get better. I am SO HAPPY.

And in the meantime, you can go watch Tim Riggins shake his stick as Gambit in the new Wolverine movie. Oh yeah, baby. :)

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts... It's BACK!

Oh, how I love this show. I cannot stress enough how much you NEED to be watching Friday Night Lights. First, there was the book, based on a Sports Illustrated writer's experience in a small Texas town and their unhealthy obsession with football. The town has decried the book, claimed he made a lot of it up, several of the players have moved away and confirmed that yes, the stuff he claimed actually happened, and the guy won the Pulitzer for it. Then it was made into a movie. The movie was OK, but it lacked a lot of the oomph of the book. And then along came the television series. The first season was one of those critical darlings that had an audience of three. Then the first season DVD came out, priced at around $25 (it's still that cheap... BUY IT) and new viewers like me came on board. I watched all of season 1 in the week leading up to giving birth, and during labour -- I'm seriously not lying -- my husband would yell, "Clear eyes, full hearts..." and I'd respond, "Can't lose!" Well... until the contractions got to a breaking point. Then I responded by pouring the pail of ice chips over his head.

Season 2 was a difficult one. The show had fought for salvation, with NBC having it on the bubble for cancellation. The thing working in the show's favour: the NBC executives LOVE this show. So it ran for a second season, until the Writers' Strike stopped that one. The season was put off until season 3, which we weren't sure would happen. We were left with Smash breaking down in the locker room after being off the Panthers and having very little chance of ever finding a college team after he was charged with assault because a guy made racist remarks against his little sister. Tami and Coach were dealing with him returning from the university where he was about to become a star, and coming to Dillon to rejoin the Panthers and focus on his family. Jason Street was with a girl for one night and makes her pregnant. He believes this is a miracle, and begs her not to have an abortion. Tim is kicked off the team, ends up living on couches because he doesn't have a place to stay, but manages to get back on the team by the end of the season. Landry and Tyra accidentally kill a man who was trying to rape her, and cover it up, but they're found out by the end of the season and let off. The season had its ups and downs, but something seemed to have been lost between seasons 1 and 2.

But fear not: season 3 is KILLER. To save the season, NBC shared broadcasting rights (and cost) with DirecTV, allowing the small network to broadcast season 3 through the fall, and NBC would begin airing episodes tonight (tune in to NBC at 9pm). I adore this season. Street is a father, Tami is the principal of the school (which causes a lot of fun moments between her and the school's head coach, nudge nudge), Tyra is a disaster who is trying not to be one, Saracen's grandmother is becoming more difficult for him to handle on his own, his mother comes back into the picture (and it's Cassidy from Lost... she keeps Clementine a secret from Saracen somehow), Lilah and Riggins make a go of things, and the story of Smash takes an unexpected turn. There's a new character who comes in partway through the season, and at first I wasn't sure how to take the guy, but his story becomes immensely fascinating really fast (as if the writers knew this might be the last season and they had to round out this storyline). There are laugh-out-loud moments and times when I was weeping like a baby. Each week.

You will not be disappointed by this season. Here's praying they can find it in their hearts to give us one more.

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts...

NO SPOILERS

That music, that school, that coach, that... Riggins. Mmmmmmm.... Friday Night Lights is back, folks. Yes, I know, I've nattered at you incessantly to watch this show (WATCH THIS SHOW). On the surface, it's about the phenomenon of high school football in the southern U.S., with stadiums being filled every Friday night and boys being prepped at a young age to peak at the age of 18 and spend the rest of their lives reminiscing about who they used to be. But on a deeper level it's about relationships, family, friends, and angst, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's had a rough road: the brilliant, brilliant, brilliant season 1 had low to moderate ratings, followed by a shortened season 2 that almost didn't make it on the air. Then the already troubled show was hit by the Writer's Strike and it looked like it would be cancelled, right when it was at a very crucial point in the story. But NBC (unlike the dastardly FOX), knew it had a devout following that loved this show, and to be honest, they really liked the show, too. (Oh Joss, please find a home at NBC soon...) So they began fishing around for ways to save it, and came up with the idea to join forces with the fledgling DirectTV network, where DirectTV would pony up some cash to help produce the show, and they'd get first rights on the show to air it in the fall, followed by NBC picking up the episodes in the spring and re-airing them to the general public who doesn't have access to the smaller service.

The first episode was last week, and it was SO amazing to see it again. I won't post any spoilers here, because I'm assuming the majority of readers don't have access to DirectTV and will be waiting for the NBC eps, but I'm simply posting to urge you to tune in in the spring, and to plead with those who STILL AREN'T LISTENING TO ME to listen to me. Get season 1 (it's cheap!) and season 2 is even cheaper because it's a small set. If you want high drama, characters who make you feel like you actually know them, and situations that will tear your heart out, this is the show for you. This season promises a rebirth for Smash, a new twist on Riggins, a surprising new placement for Tami, a continuation of the awesomeness that is Coach Taylor, and a new purpose for Tara. And there's a possibility we're going to see Saracen descend into some emotional depths he might not be able to come back from.

I love this show. Here's hoping the new idea works, and they can actually manage to hold on for a full-season order and another season beyond that.

Clear eyes, full hearts, CAN'T LOSE!!!!!

The Return of AWESOME TV

Ah, the week I've been waiting for! No, it has nothing to do with 2008-2009 shows premiering... none have particularly grabbed me, though Fringe is definitely showing a lot of potential. No, it's the week of the return of the 2008 shows, the ones that were mercilessly cut short due to the writer's strike, but lived to appear another day.

Tonight at 8 is the return of Chuck, a show I cannot recommend enough. It's a sweet, funny show with a spy element to it, and the relationship between Chuck and his part-time nemesis, part-time lover Sarah is bittersweet and always complicated. His nest of nerddom at the techie store where he works rounds out the storyline (well, them and Captain Awesome). See, the show hasn't been on in an eternity, and I remember every part of it by heart. And I only watched every episode once. Take THAT, Heroes.

Wednesday is even more exciting. Pushing Daisies begins at 8 on ABC (oh wonderful, amazing, sublime Pushing Daisies), the story of the Piemaker who cannot touch the woman he loves, or he'll kill her. I cannot WAIT for Olive to pine for Ned, for Emerson to say something completely hilarious, and for the aunts to break into song. I hope they haven't changed a THING, from the narrator to the music to the look of it. I'm DYING for the premiere of this show. Tune in... even if you haven't seen season 1, I know they're putting a big push on the show to get people to watch, and will probably do an extended "previously on..." segment (unlike Heroes).

At 10 it's Dirty Sexy Money, the adult version of Gossip Girl, with its convoluted politics, family dysfunctions, and money, money, money. It's SO freakin' good.

But also on at 8 on Wednesday is the brilliant, genius, and totally underrated Friday Night Lights. Fan support of this show has been SO loud that NBC, who just weren't making enough money off sponsorships because the ratings were so inexplicably low, actually struck a groundbreaking deal with DirecTV to help fund the show. Now DirectTV will air it this fall beginning on Wednesday, and NBC will air it in January. (Uh... I'll be downloading. Sorry, NBC, but I just can't wait. I'll make it back to you by buying the DVDs, like I always do.)

Here's hoping people tune in to see these shows and give them all the second (or in FNL's case, third) chance they all deserve. You won't be disappointed.

Today's Smile + News

So yesterday I was out doing my big grocery shop with my son, and the usual grocery store music was piping through the system. It's always retro stuff from the 70s and 80s at this store, and I always find myself singing aloud to my son (when you're with a baby, you can get away with it). As I was entering the frozen foods aisle, the music playing was Carly Simon's "You're So Vain."

I pull my cart up next to a couple and their three boys. The boys looked like they were about 8, 11, and 14. The middle boy says to the other two, "Are you listening to this song?" They sort of grunt a yes, and the boy says, "Why would there be clowns in her coffee?"

***

I was watching my beloved Graham Norton this past week, and it had Orlando Bloom on it... I'm not one to drool over movie stars, but when it comes to this guy, you need to mop up the floor. So it was a good week to tune in. The show is probably two years out of date (how I wish BBC Canada could figure out a closer simulcast with BBC), but the jokes were still funny. My favourite was Graham showing a photo of Pete Doherty with a long cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he was leaning into the penguin exhibit at a zoo. The story accompanying the picture reported that when Pete had been smoking several cigarettes and he had flicked one into the penguin exhibit, and the penguin walked over and ate it. Graham said Pete's reply was, "No, I didn't. I only had one cigarette, and when it was finished I gave it to a short fat nun who smelled of fish."

I'm STILL laughing over that one.

***

And now for some TV news. Fans of Friday Night Lights might have heard that when our amazing, wonderful, awesome show returns this fall (if you are not watching... FOR SHAME), Jason and Smash will no longer be regulars. Because of the move to DirectTV, the show's budget has been reduced, and since both of these were no longer on the Dillon Panthers as of the following season, it made sense to cut them. Instead they're going to wrap up their storylines in the first couple of episodes and then they'll be gone, with occasional recurring parts. Wah. I can understand the resolution of Jason's character -- it felt like his might have been the one story to have resolved itself at the end. But Smash? The guy's facing a court case, and we last left him weeping in the locker room as he's been kicked off the Panthers. I hate that they're going to rush his story to meet their budget.

Sigh. Oh well... if it means I still get to see Riggins, Coach, and Tami, I'll live with it.

The Friday Night Lights Will Still Glow!!!
Yes, folks, FNL has been SAVED!!!!! (Can you tell by the number of exclamation marks that this is the best TV news we've had in eons?) I'm SO happy. As I reported earlier, the deal that was in the works with DirectTV has been struck, so season 3 will be 13 episodes long, and DirectTV gets to run them first, in October. Then the episodes will re-air on NBC in early 2009. Because the season will be so short, it's inevitable that some of the storylines we've been following will be dropped, which sucks. It's only 13, which is disappointing, but it's better than nothing. So I'm taking this as good news. You can read more here.

Stuff for a Wednesday
Ah, more of that stuff I don't have time to post on properly because I'm too busy nattering about The Wire or Lost.

So first, as usual, some Wire and Lost. For those of you (that would be me and one other lurker on the blog, presumably) who watch The Wire, Entertainment Weekly has listed their 15 favourite moments. Not all of them would be my 15, but some of these are great, especially in how prescient they are (like the chess game). Now I have to go back and watch all of it again to see how much of the ending was evident in the beginning. If you haven't been swayed yet by my constant posting on how awesome this is (seriously, WHY NOT??!!), the first 4 seasons are available on DVD, and the entire fifth season of The Wire is currently (and will be for the next six months) available on The Movie Network OnDemand. WATCH NOW.

For Lost, something a little more upbeat than the usual fare. The Kirk and Skylar Show is something I just discovered, and it's hilarious. This is a father-and-son team who do reenactments of episodes of Lost by using the action figures (the son is a precocious 7-year-old). It's pretty hilarious stuff, especially when they're dealing with a bikinied Sun in the flashbacks. Check it out; I guarantee you'll laugh out loud.

In Treatment continues to be fabulous. Here's a piece in Salon on it, where the writer asks if she's the only one who's obsessed with it. No, I would make two of us. :) Just when I decide which story intrigues me the most, something happens in another one and I suddenly love that one more. All episodes of In Treatment (which is a 43-episode series) are available on The Movie Network OnDemand, so those who have the service can catch up on the series at their own convenience, so if you haven't started watching, start now (new episodes will continue to air each night of the week at 8:30 p.m.).

And I've got some amazing news (FINALLY) on Friday Night Lights. It's not a definite go, but things are lookin' pretty positive for our favourite football show that's not about football. According to several news reports, NBC is very close to signing a deal with DirectTV to do a deal where they'd both air the show in different ways, thus spreading the costs over the two networks and ensuring a third season. Come on, DirectTV!!! Thanks to John for directing me to one of the stories.

Oh, and, um, back to Lost! A week late (I've been meaning to post this forever), here are some answers about The Constant, care of Damon himself. And reader Danielle sent this hilarious link to me, called Lost Madness, where you can try to eliminate Lost characters the same way teams disappear in the NCAA championships. (They refuse to allow you to eliminate Nikki and Paulo together, but presumably whoever makes it to the next round will be instantly squashed.)

Mitch, I love you. Take my advice: GO TO ANOTHER NETWORK!

Paleyfest, you're killin' me. Here are some of the panels, along with the confirmed guestage. Not only do I heart Chuck, but check out the moderator!!!! ARGH.

March 15 Saturday 7:00 pm

Pushing Daisies

In Person:
Kristin Chenoweth, "Olive Snook"

Bruce Cohen, Exec. Prod.

Anna Friel, "Chuck"

Bryan Fuller, Creator/Exec. Prod.

Ellen Greene, "Vivian Charles"
Dan Jinks, Exec. Prod.

Swoosie Kurtz, "Lily Charles"

Chi McBride, “Emerson Cod”

Peter Ocko, Coexec. Prod.

Lee Pace, "Ned"

Chuck

In Person:
Adam Baldwin, "John Casey"

Chris Fedak, Cocreator/Exec. Prod.

Joshua Gomez, "Morgan Grimes"

Scott Krinsky, "Jeff"

Sarah Lancaster, "Ellie Bartowski"

Mark Christopher Lawrence, "Big Mike"

Zachary Levi, "Chuck Bartowski"
Julia Ling, "Anna"

McG, Exec. Prod.

Ryan McPartlin, "Captain Awesome"

Vik Sahay, "Lester"

Josh Schwartz, Cocreator/Exec. Prod.

Yvonne Strahovski, "Sarah Walker"
Damon Lindelof (exec. prod., Lost) will moderate this evening's discussion.

March 19 Wednesday 7:00 pm

Friday Night Lights

In Person:
Connie Britton, "Tami Taylor"

Kyle Chandler, "Eric Taylor"

Zach Gilford, "Matt Saracen"

Jason Katims, Exec. Prod.

Adrianne Palicki, "Tyra Collette"
Jesse Plemons, "Landry Clarke"

Scott Porter, "Jason Street"

Jeffrey Reiner, Exec. Prod.

Aimee Teegarden, "Julie Taylor"

March 22 Saturday 7:00 pm

Gossip Girl

In Person:
Penn Badgley, "Dan Humphrey"

Chace Crawford, "Nate Archibald"

Amy Kaufman, Prod.

Bob Levy, Exec. Prod.

Blake Lively, "Serena van der Woodsen"

Leighton Meester, "Blair Waldorf"

Taylor Momsen, "Jenny Humphrey"
Kelly Rutherford, "Lily van der Woodsen"

Stephanie Savage, Cocreator/Exec. Prod.

Josh Schwartz, Cocreator/Exec. Prod.

Matthew Settle, "Rufus Humphrey"

Jessica Szhor, "Vanessa Abrams"

Ed Westwick, "Chuck Bass"

Cecily von Ziegesar, Author, Gossip Girl books

March 25 Tuesday 7:00 pm

Dirty Sexy Money

In Person:
Samaire Armstrong, "Juliet Darling"

William Baldwin, "Patrick Darling"

Greg Berlanti, Exec. Prod.

Jill Clayburgh, "Letitia Darling"

Glenn Fitzgerald, "Brian Darling"

Seth Gabel, "Jeremy Darling"

Matthew Gross, Exec. Prod.
Peter Krause, "Nick George"

Zoe McLellan, "Lisa George"

Josh Reims, Exec. Prod.

Donald Sutherland, "Tripp Darling"

Blair Underwood, "Simon Elder"

Craig Wright, Exec. Prod.

Natalie Zea, "Karen Darling"

And this one really, really, really hurts:

March 20 Thursday 7:00 pm

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reunion

In Person:
Amber Benson, "Tara Maclay"

Nicholas Brendon, "Xander Harris"

Charisma Carpenter, "Cordelia Chase"

Emma Caulfield, "Anya"

Eliza Dushku, "Faith"

Sarah Michelle Gellar, "Buffy Summers"

Seth Green, "Oz"
David Greenwalt, Exec. Prod.

Alyson Hannigan, "Willow Rosenberg"

James Marsters, "Spike"

Marti Noxon, Executive Producer

Michelle Trachtenberg, "Dawn Summers"

Joss Whedon, Creator

Kill me now.

Writers Strike Calls Timeout...
Well, it’s pretty much a done deal. The writers were asking for 0.4% of the Internet profits, and now they’ll get 0.36% up to 100,000 downloads of a TV show (50,000 of a feature film) and 0.7% thereafter. Not bad... not great, either, but they’ve made their point, and I’m so glad they did. They ground Hollywood to a complete standstill. Actors couldn’t do that. But the writers certainly can. (It’s interesting that Hollywood immediately gave in to the Directors Guild demands, as if they knew how important these people were. Yet, before you can DIRECT a script, it must be WRITTEN.)

So where does put our new shows? As I posted a couple of days ago, many shows are rushing back to work on Wednesday if the vote goes through tomorrow, and we could see as many as 10 episodes more of The Office, and six more of Lost (the season called for 8 more, so maybe with some urging from fans they’ll give in to the full season). Notably absent seem to be all the new shows: Chuck, Dirty Sexy Money, Pushing Daisies... all of these shows have been tabled until fall. And what happens then? Are we to believe they’ll really give them all second seasons? Not likely.

The one that worries me the most is Friday Night Lights. This past Friday’s episode wasn’t great, and when that little Imagine logo popped up at the end, I dropped my head into my hands. I cannot fathom leaving the beloved people of Dillon, Texas with Smash’s football future unknown, Jason’s parenthood future unknown, Riggins’ future with or without Lyla unknown, Landry’s NON-future with Tyra and wonderful future with Jean unknown.... and I cannot bear to think the last I’ll see of Coach Taylor is him all bruised and broken suffering from a hangover. Peter Berg – the man who brought the book to the TV screen – had a guest appearance playing a former boyfriend of Tami’s, and I thought this subplot was stupid. Eric and Tami don’t play games, and to see him downing shots and eventually beating the crap out of the guy with the giant cowboy hat was simply ridiculous. Season 1 showed these two as the most together couple on television, but season 2 has sort of marred that. While I love the season, I didn’t love Tami finally getting out one night with her friends and coming home to Eric snarling at her that she needs to focus on the family more... when she’s been tied to the newborn baby 24 hours a day since it had been born. And I certainly don’t love him not having the confidence in his relationship with Tami to simply laugh off the yahoo in the big hat and walk away.

Could it really end like that?? Please, NBC, PLEASE... say it ain’t so.

Friday Night Lights: Dreary Eyes, Sad Hearts... Can't Lose!
I know this week is the big week of Lost's return, but sitting in its dark shadow is the brilliant Friday Night Lights. This week's episode was the best one of the season (it felt like a season 1 episode) and had me laughing out loud, angry as hell, and very, very sad.

Matt Saracen decides to become a bad boy, and what better way to do that than to hang out with THE bad boy, Tim Riggins. The moments with these two were laugh-out-loud hilarious. I know what happened to Matt is hard on him, but the way he handles it is to drown himself in beer, and the result is pretty hysterical. He walks out onto the football field during practice after skipping the entire day of school, and ends up getting beaned by the football. It happens so quickly while he's in the middle of wandering around in a daze and shouting useless instructions that it catches the audience off-guard, too. Some of the exchange with Saracen and Riggins:

Riggins, pulling up to a motorcycle sales centre and grinning when he sees Saracen sitting on one:
QB1... skipping school again.
Saracen: Yeah, well, yesterday's kinda turned into today. How about you?
Riggins: I always skip Wednesdays.

Matt: What're ya gonna do?
Riggins: I was thinking, ya know, hit the museum, yoga, library for a bit... then again I might just do the ush. Wanna go for a beer?

Riggins watches Matt down his entire beer before pouring another, and says, "You want a funnel, er..."

Riggins, pointing out Lyla and her boy: Look at those two bible thumpers there. They come here every day for lunch. Isn't that sad? It's sad if you ask me.
Matt: Stalkin's sad if you ask me.

Riggins, introducing himself to Lyla's guy: Tim. Riggins. It's a pleasure, really. You have great hair... We got a pitcher if you guys are interested.
Matt, waving from afar: Shalom!

But the fun and games are over when Saracen gets a call from the hospital (in the middle of a lap dance) to find out his grandmother has fallen. When he gets there and passes out on the couch, unable to take her home, Coach Taylor shows up, takes them both home, and throws Saracen in the shower to sober him up. When Saracen yells back that everyone leaves him, and wants to know what is wrong with himself, it's Eric who instantly sobers up, and he mutters, "Nothing's wrong with you, son. Nothing's wrong with you." The water continues to stream over a fully clothed Saracen as we realize he's right: his dad left, Julie left, and now Carlotta is gone, too.

Tami's stint as the girl's volleyball coach is going well, and Tami's becoming like a den mother to the girls. But in doing so, she's neglecting Julie. Julie's gone from being a sweet girl last season to becoming a morose, grumpy teenager this season, mostly because of the presence of a new baby sister that was completely unexpected. She's been the only child for 16 years, and when she needs her parents' attention the most, it's suddenly divided. Now she's seeing Tami's focus on these other teenage girls, and it's driving her nuts. We could chalk her anger up to typical rebelliousness, until Tami forgets Julie's driving test. The moment where Tami realizes what she's done is a poignant one, and she realizes that her daughter isn't demanding all of her attention, just some of it. Tami rushes down to the DMV and begs the instructor to give Jules a chance. When he does, the mother/daughter relationship begins to return to its strength of season 1. As Tami watches her pull out of the parking lot, she says to her new baby, "There she goes, Gracie Bell" and she knows that she has to start spending more time with her older daughter, because she'll be out of the house before she knows it.

Landry is dating the super-adorable Jean, who shares the same taste in music and movies, is a mathlete like him, and who truly likes him. (Loved him asking Saracen and Smash waht would be a better date movie: The Wrath of Khan or Jaws... and the way Smash stares at him before silently getting up and walking away.) The scene where she shows up to the post-game and tells him she's discovered MST3K on YouTube is priceless. They are SO cute together... But when Tyra sees another girl jonesing for Landry, she suddenly realizes that guy she was so ashamed of isn't as bad as she thought, and that she really likes him. This after, when Jean comes to her to make sure she doesn't want her guy, Tyra actually laughs and says, "Oh my god, do you mean LANDRY?!" and then says to Jean, "Good for you," like she's patting the head of this little nerdly romance. Tyra waits for them to go out on a date and pulls Landry aside to tell him that she likes him after all, and wants to make it work. I cheered as Landry told her that he was out on a date with Jean, who isn't ashamed to be seen with him in public, unlike Tyra. But it was too good to be true. In the end he lets Jean down not-so-gently, and goes with the tall blonde with the big boobs. It's like leaving Willow for Cordelia, for god's sakes... but then again, he's a teenage boy, and it's too exciting for him to turn down a hottie for his little geek princess. I'm so sad... I hope this isn't the last we've seen of her. Will Tyra be so interested in him now that she's snagged him and proven herself the winner?

And finally, Smash's situation has bred dissent in the football ranks, as they all believe there's no way they can get to the playoffs if Smash isn't in the final three games, and they blame him for it. Then Smash gets the letter from TMU revoking his scholarship, and he believes his future is over. There's a great scene with Momma, where she refuses to tell him "I told you so" and instead tells him how much she loves him, and that she believes in him, no matter what. Smash heads down to wish the Panthers luck in their first game without him, and a newly sobered Saracen tells the coach they don't care what anyone says, they want Smash on the team and will be disqualified if they have to. Smash won't have it, and rallies the troops in the way he always does, bolstering them up and cheering them on as they head out, newly strengthened, to play the game. They leave him behind, standing alone in the locker room, and the moment they're gone he breaks down and cries. The music in this scene, moving from powerful and joyous to sad and lonely, is brilliant. (The music for the series is done by Explosions in the Sky, a band that sounds like Montreal's Godspeed You Black Emperor.) It's one of the saddest moments in the entire series, and it's beautifully done.

This episode proved just why fans are going nuts for this show. But, sadly, it doesn't look like it's going to last. Looks like Ben Silverman's already given up on it. Check out this exchange he had when asked if FNL would be renewed, and his utter disregard for the show (funny how he keeps bringing up another show that had terrible ratings at first). On the other hand, Variety is reporting it just might be renewed! Thank you, Variety.

Friday Night Lights: January Episodes
If you're not watching Friday Night Lights yet, I urge you to start. The writer's strike is turning the television schedule into mush, season 1 of FNL is out on DVD... it's the perfect time to pick up the show. And despite what some people said at the outset of the season, season 2 is brilliant. I LOVE this show. It's one of those shows where, whenever it ends, I drop my head and yell, "NOOOO!" I wish each episode were 3 hours long.

Poor Tim Riggins. The show's hottie has been through hell and back this season. A couple of weeks ago he was living at Coach's house (much to the delight of Tami's sister) and when he accompanied Julie to a party and got her away from a leering teenager and carried her home, putting her drunken body to bed so her parents might not find out, he was caught by Coach, who immediately assumed the worst, and forced him out of the house, to a barrage of insults. When Eric realized what had really happened, it took every ounce of strength he had to go to the Riggins house and apologize, and he had to swallow a hell of a lot of pride to do it (if anyone could, it's the coach). Then Riggins realized that he loved Lyla and showed up at the Christian radio station, only to see her snogging her co-host. My heart went out to him. And then, this week, he finally invites her over and declares his love for her. Rather than let him down gently, she storms out, tells him she doesn't love him and that he needs to move on. As Bart said on an episode of The Simpsons, if you slow the scene right down, you can actually see the moment where his heart breaks. Uh, Lyla? Do you reallly consider THAT to be Christian behaviour? The sad thing about Tim is, he's hot as hell, but he's a disaster. Anyone who would be with him also has to be with all of his problems. And they are many. Poor Tim. I just want him to be happy. Hmm.... Julie maybe? ;)

In last week's episode, Tami had to put Gracie into daycare. The baby must be three months old, if that. It was one of the hardest things I've watched on television. I seriously felt like something heavy was sitting on my chest. I don't know how you American women do it, with 6 weeks' maternity leave, but my heart goes out to all of you. In Canada, we get a year, and they're currently reviewing the option, considering an extension to 18 months (of course, women can choose not to take the full year). Part of me really wanted Tami to decide not to keep her job, but that wouldn't be like her. This week, she began coaching the women's volleyball team (the scene where Tyra learns to spike the ball by picturing it as Tim Riggins' head was pretty funny) and it would appear Julie's getting a little jealous. This will probably blow up by next week.

In the past few weeks I've gained a new respect for Buddy. Sure, he was a sleazebag to his wife, and for that he'll always remain kinda scuzzy, but I think he has a big heart. He's been amazing to Santiago. I loved last week when he thought of removing his prized possessions, then thought better of it, and when he saw a bruised a bloody Santiago and knew the watch was missing, all he cared about was Santiago, not that gold watch. This week he hires Jason, and Jason finds out what it's like when the rest of the staff looks at you like some charity case. He was great selling that car to the looky-loo, and Buddy's face when Jason announces he has a buyer was priceless.

Landry's met a new gal this week, and I LOVE her. She's cute, hip, and when she had the nerve to just walk up to him surrounded by his fellow footballers (by the way, does anyone REALLY buy that he would have made it onto the football team? I liked him better as a mathlete) and hand him a mixed CD and then cheerfully walk away. Tyra's giving him some 'tude, but she's the one who dumped HIM, so she's not really in a position to do so.

Smash is in trouble because he sneaked out of Momma's house last week and met Noelle at a movie theatre while pretending to take his little sister to the film. By sticking his sister in a row where she could be heckled by a group of redneck jocks, he ended up punching one of them before ushering the women out and racing back home, and now he lives with the guilt of what he put his sister through. Now that Momma knows (as I've said before, I LOVE Momma), she ain't happy, and she's going to do what she can to ensure that Smash doesn't screw up his future as a football player. Unfortunately, the school feels differently, and after Smash shoots his mouth off because he can no longer stand to be painted as the bad guy in this scenario, he's forced to sit out the rest of the season. I'm thinking the Dillon Panthers won't be going to State this year.

Someone emailed me a couple of weeks asking me if I could comment on Christianity and the church being portrayed on television, but she needed my comment immediately, and I didn't check my email until it was too late. But if I'd checked it in time, I would have talked about Friday Night Lights. I love that this show inserts the church in there, without any judgement or comment. It's just there. We saw Gracie getting baptized. But even bigger, we see Lyla in an evangelist born again setting, and it doesn't matter if you think the emergence of this particular sect is a positive direction for society, especially young people, or if you ultimately think it's a negative thing that creates judgmentalism and intolerance.... you can simply watch the scenes, and know that it's important to Lyla, and that's all that matters. The other characters don't say much of anything about it, and it's just there. It's the little things like this that make the show worth watching.

TV Roundup: The Week So Far
I still have a lot sitting on my PVR, but here are my thoughts for the week so far:

Heroes:
I finally got around to watching it last night, and I must say it was the best episode of the season. Of course, I still had nitpicks (for example, Elle says she caused a blackout in 4 states when she was 8, then was put into a room attached to a lithium drip when she was 9 while psychiatrists tried to figure out what to do with her, and then The Company stepped in, and she's spent the last 16 years of her life with them. Then she says she's 24... she'd be 26 if the writers could actually add). But going back 4 months just felt right. Unfortunately, there should have been 2, maybe 3 episodes before it, rather than making us wait almost 2 months for some answers. And apparently it's not important what happened to Parkman, Mohinder, Molly, Claire, Noah, Hiro, and Ando, although... when you think about it, their stories are pretty much self-explanatory. Regardless, I thought it was really well done. I hope next week's is more of the same. I might just be persuaded to go back to doing full posts on it. :)

Dexter:
ROCKED. Dexter stepped up his game this week, and actually brought his life as a serial killer into the office to help him get rid of his arch-nemesis. The scene with him and Doakes alone in the room, with Dexter whispering, "I own you" and what followed, is possibly my favourite of the series. Everyone on staff thinks Dex is this quiet meek little man. They have no idea who they're in the company of, and that's what's so much fun about this show.

Ugly Betty:
I forgot to mention last week that playing the show out to Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" -- despite it being one of my all-time favourite songs ever (especially as covered by him) -- was SO 2002. And so overdone. Every other show on television used that song years ago, and now Ugly Betty has to get on that train late. That said, this week's was great. The final reunion of Claire and Bradford; Betty and Mark saying, "The Secret Sex Room" and then pointing at each other in shock; Wil telling Mark that she's worried Bradford will leave his money to charity, and Mark saying, "Then we need to hunt this Charity down and kill her" (HA!); and the final scene with Alexis and Daniel sitting by an empty space. Loved it. I think it's even better this season than last. Oh, and Mo'nique was BRILLIANT.

The Office:
This week's, like last, was kind of meh. It had its moments, but it was actually far more interesting to watch it as a drama than a comedy. Steve Carell is amazing in the scenes with the lawyers, as he goes from goofily compliant to stupid to upset to hurt to furious to vengeful. He's put his loyalties in the wrong place, as usual. It was actually a little disappointing to have it end with him and Jan casually talking about what to eat for dinner. The drama was so important, and then deflated in the end. I think the scene of Dwight and Mose playing ping-pong was the highlight of the episode (though I did LOVE Kelly's distinction between trash talk and smack).

America's Next Top Model:
You know, I've kinda been with Bianca on Heather for a long time... she's beautiful, yes, and she seems to take a great picture and handles Jay's suggestions perfectly. But critique her and she falls apart like a house of cards. She just does not have the tough skin required for the business, and if she wins, it could destroy her.

Kitchen Nightmares:
Boring. I actually have the second half of it still running in the other room as I type this, and stopped watching. Yawn. That said, if you want to see Gordon Ramsay in a HILARIOUS scene with Ricky Gervais, check it out:



Pushing Daisies:
LOVE LOVE LOVE. See post from yesterday.

Gossip Girl:
I still like this show, and its soapy goodness. I'm glad Nate didn't go through with what his parents wanted, because he's right: I saw Blair all excited on the bed thinking they're going to get back together, and all I could see her was as a socialite years from now, alone while her husband is off with another woman. So I'm glad he saw the error of his ways early. Why am I talking about this show so seriously? It's campy awesome. :)

Dirty Sexy Money:
Haven't seen this week's yet, but last week was just too tied up in the whole quest for Nick's father's killer. I hate that storyline, and just want to focus on the Darlings.

The Next Great American Band:
OK, I've been wanting to post on this show FOREVER now. No one is talking about this show, for some reason, like it's the poor man's American Idol, but I am SO completely hooked. This show is where bands perform for the lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls, Sheila E. (!) and some judge from Australian Idol named Dicko. (Seriously.) Unlike Simon Cowell, who just says stuff to be funny, this guy is good. Every time a band performs my husband and I are critiquing them for one thing or another, and 80% of the time Dicko says exactly what we'd just said. He's always got good advice, even when the stupid audience is booing. Speaking of which, whenever they boo dude from the Goo Goo Dolls he gets SERIOUSLY pissed and upset and begins complaining about it like a big whiner. It's worth it just for that. :) My favourite band in the competition right now is Sixwire, a country band. Yeah, I said it. A COUNTRY band. I HATE HATE HATE country music. HATE IT. (The other day I'm in a store and over the sound system comes this line: "I want to kiss you out in the sticks/ I want to check you for ticks." I stopped what I was doing, thought, I couldn't have possibly just heard what I think I heard. And then I did. Came home, googled it, and it's apparently some huge hit for Brad Paisley. What the hell is WRONG with country music fans???? Anyway.) But Sixwire has a lead singer that looks like a slightly heftier version of Josh Holloway (if you don't believe me, tune in) and they are brilliant. There's a retro 60s band called Tres Bien, who were fun in the beginning and now are kind of boring. Last week this screechy grrl band called Rocket got booted (thankfully) but we are still subjected to the horrors of this tiny hardcore metal band called Light of Doom, where all of the members are between the ages of 9 and 11. Seriously. They were awesome in the beginning, now creepy and weird (especially since all of their moms are in the audience screaming for them and drooling... ew...) My other fave is The Clark Brothers, a sort of gospel band (yeah, I said it... oh forget it) who are unbelievable. The thing about this show is, typically the band I'd be listening to would be more along the lines of one called Dot Dot Dot, a guy who wants to be the lead singer of The Killers but appears to be too coked out to even focus on the judge's critiques, but when you're watching this show, you don't care about the STYLE of music being played, it's how good they are. And the country band is stellar, as is The Clark Brothers (and the lead singer of the Clark Brothers is seriously hot.) Franklin Bridge is another wicked band, and they play sort of a funk/rock thing, kinda Jimi Hendrix. It's on tonight: TUNE IN. I love this show... it's seriously addictive. Unlike the trumped-up karaoke night that is American Idol. The best part? You don't have to suffer through an annoying results show. Instead, they make everyone prepare a song for the following week, and then one by one they announce the bands who made it, and they come out and perform. At the end there are 2 bands left in the green room (which is, literally, green), and they're booted. Bwaaaahahahahaha. Awesome. I have a feeling this week we'll be saying goodbye to Denver and his Mile-High Orchestra. Awesome name, but not very good.

Friday Night Lights:
The show I will miss the most (equally with Pushing Daisies) during the writer's strike. Last week Landry's dad found out what was going on, and what he decided to do as a result was nothing short of shocking. Would any of us do it for our children? Probably. That's why I love this show. Good parents teach their children it's wrong to murder. Special parents help their children cover up that murder. Awesome. Did anyone else think that Jason was going to be killed off the show two weeks ago, by the way? Whoa...

Aliens in America:
This show just cracks me up to no end. It exposes the subtle racisms that we seem to all accept, and makes them look ridiculous. This week the mom -- who talks like Margie in Fargo -- runs into the breakfast room and says, "This is my running partner I told ya about... ya know, the one with the black husband?" Last week Raja got a job working for an Indian boss in a convenience store (causing the sister to say, "What are you, a total stereotype?") and the boss kept muttering under his breath that he was a dirty dog eater. I always thought the actor who plays Raja was over the top and not particularly good, just funny for sitcom's sake, but this week when they showed him screaming in nicotine withdrawal, I thought it was some of the funniest stuff this show's ever had.

Reaper:
I think I'm behind on this one, too, but last week with Leon trapped in the snow globe was particularly hilarious. I loved the actor who played Leon, especially when you just heard his voice calling them douchebags.

Chuck:
Still one of the best new shows on TV. If you're not watching this show and they rerun it during the strike, tune in. It's SO hilarious. I love Casey, who's so hardcore and wanting to kill everyone in sight... Chuck is great, his friend Morgan is funny, Tang is awful (as bad as he is on Dexter), and the premise just doesn't get old. I love this show.

30 Rock:
Haven't watched last night's yet, but last week's was brilliant as usual. I'm so glad Alec Baldwin stuck with the show. A couple of weeks ago he was pretending to be Tracy's father and I was doubled over. Baldwin is a comic genius.

Journeyman:
A couple of weeks behind on this one too (man, all the shows I watch with my husband I'm behind on!) but while it started out strong and then faded a bit, it's definitely back on track and I think it's great. Another one to check out if you haven't yet. Now that his son also knows what is going on, it's definitely stepped up things. It's only a matter of time before they have to let the brother know what's up.

I think that's everything. I'm sure I've missed something. :) Oh, I've dropped Everybody Hates Chris. It was just getting too samey. And, you know, that extra half hour was TOTALLY eating into my week. Har.

WATCH PUSHING DAISIES...
And that's an order.

I just watched the second episode, and I am absolutely head over heels in love with this show. I feel like it was written just for me, with an Edward Gorey/Tim Burton feel to it that I adore. The second episode was fantastic: Olive broke into Olivia Newton John's "Hopelessly Devoted" in the middle of The Pie Hole (how much do I love the name of the restaurant, seriously...), but kept getting interrupted, which was hilarious; Ned and Chuck shared a kiss through body bags that was more romantic than any other kiss I've seen this season; Ned installed a protective guard in his car between the passenger seat and driver seat so Chuck could ride shotgun without dying... and he included a little glove so they could hold hands (squee!); Emerson is a knitter, and it actually gets them out of a tight fix... he was the highlight of the ep for me, knitting his little gun cozies, almost making a comment about Ned and Chuck being the real dummies but keeping it to himself, using his knitting needles to get them out of a tight fix, and giving the single most hilarious face in the episode when the car in front of them explodes and a fiery box of laxatives lands on their hood...

If you haven't watched the ep, this will all sound seriously insane, but this is my fave show that's on right now (and yes, I'm officially putting it ahead of a lacklustre Heroes this season...). I can't wait for next week.

News: Fisher Stevens -- i.e. that guy who was once engaged to Michelle Pfeiffer back in the 80s, and then... I dunno, did he do something since then? -- has been cast on Lost as the guy you heard talking on the sat phone at the end of the finale last year.

Bionic Woman, Cane, Journeyman, and Life have all gotten requests for more scripts. It doesn't meant they'll get full-season orders, but this is a good sign! Gossip Girl has been picked up for the full season, and is the first show to have gotten the order. Yay!

Other shows I'm watching:

Heroes: Did I mention lacklustre? I still love it, and enjoy it every week, but I need some new heroes, quick (Kristen Bell doesn't show up until week 5 so I have 2 more weeks to wait).

Cane: Is still great. I've seen the first two episodes, and Jimmy Smits' character has that same moral ambiguity of Angel or Spike, but without the camp. You do NOT mess with him, yet as the protagonist he gets us to cheer him on, even as he's doing terrible things to people. Please don't cancel this show...

Reaper: Still hilarious, but it might be one I drop, only because it's SO much like Chuck, as I've mentioned, that I'm starting to mix the two up in my head, and Chuck is far superior.

Chuck: In this week's episode, Chuck goes to a fancy ball with an art auction, and as he's drawn to the one painting, a woman comes up to him and asks what he thinks, to which he replies, in a fluster, "It has a certain... Bob Ross-ian quality to it." I nearly fell off the couch laughing. I'm sure I'm not the only person who's been on the couch on a Saturday afternoon channel-surfing, and stopping when I see a white guy with a giant afro standing on an entirely black stage with a single spotlight on him, painting and talking about inserting "a happy little tree." At least, now I know Chuck has also sat and watched this guy transform a white canvas into a painting of an outdoor landscape that I would see hanging in my grandparents' home. Best line of the week.

Gossip Girl: Still awesome, and I'm enjoying the ongoing tension between Serena and Blair. Does anyone else get the feeling that Dan is Gossip Girl? I know that's probably not the case, but I swear he's standing right there whenever you hear Gossip Girl's voiceover.

America's Next Top Model: Not awesome. Boring, in fact. I think I'm watching it out of habit at this point. This week was makeover week, traditionally a great ep, but they showed us the digital image of what each girl would look like, taking away the final result so it's not a surprise. Wah.

Dirty Sexy Money: In last week's ep, there's a quiet scene at the end of the episode where Nate Nick tells Tripp that he can't get his dad's briefcase open. Tripp, gazing out of the window, suggests he try 712, which is his wife's birthday. As Nick sets up the numbers and pushes the button, the loud click of the briefcase causes Tripp to close his eyes in pain. The moment he's dreaded for 40 years -- proof that his wife had been having an affair with his best friend -- has finally come. Sutherland is terrific in this scene, and this is coming from someone who's not a big fan of his. This week he's just as good, when he explains to Nick that he probably knew deep down about the affair, but didn't actually know know. Jeremy and Juliet continue to intrigue me (Jeremy's hot in a going-nowhere kind of way), though the scene at the end where Juliet finds out Jeremy bought expensive jewellery for her nemesis featured the worst acting I've seen on the show yet. I really like the scenes between Patrick and Carmelita (played by Candis Cayne, possibly the most beautiful and believable female impersonators I've ever seen). They could have gone the route of the outlandish with this plotline of Patrick -- the guy running for senator -- sleeping with a transsexual, but instead he's really in love with her, and she's pretty amazing.

Ugly Betty: Continues to make me laugh. Too bad Papi's back (I don't like him very much), but the scene this week of Henry telling off Marc and Amanda and Marc saying he can't remember ever being so turned on was a riot.

30 Rock: Last night's ep was as brilliant as the week before: Jenna deciding to "keep" her belly roll as if it's a baby; Liz eating the steak WAY too fast and saying with a straight face that a dog came into the room and took it from her; Jack taking a little too long to save Will Arnett from choking to death; Tracy sending Kenneth as a gift to his wife; Kenneth telling Angie that he's really good at the "sex stuff." I love this show.

The Office: Finally back to its original form. The scene where Meredith walks up to Jim and has him sign her pelvis cast had my husband laughing so hard we had to pause it (by the way, I'm positive he signs "John Krasinski" and not "Jim Halpert" in that scene... did anyone keep the episode so they could pause and look?). Dwight's computer becoming "self-aware" was pure prank classic (and it was sweet that Pam felt sorry for Dwight and was nice to him, but she said he "mercy-killed" Angela's cat, and there was really nothing merciful about what he did...); Kevin saying Alfredo's pizza is like eating a "hot circle of garbage" had me howling (now... why didn't Michael just send the kid away with his pizza and not pay for it, since he was going to order pizza from the other place anyway?); Phyllis trying to use psychology on Angela's bitchiness; Stanley grooving to the Infinity Web site music; Michael giving a speech and everyone in the office just watching the TV screensaver hoping it'll go straight into the corner slot (ok, I've TOTALLY done that with the computer windows screensavers); Andy getting his Barbershop quartet on the phone and doing ABBA's "Take a Chance on Me" (HA!)... how could Angela not fall for that, even when the guy is Andy?; . This was a great episode.

Journeyman: I liked this week's ep more than the previous, but like I said last week, I want a little more tension in the present. Luckily, Katie discovered at the end that one thing Dan is doing in the past is seeing Livia, and if that doesn't cause serious tension, nothing will. I was talking to someone who knows the writer on this coming week's ep, and said it was going to be a high-concept episode. I'm intrigued.

Moonlight: Week 2 was a vast improvement over week 1. However, the writer was David Greenwalt (i.e. the guy who created the Angel character on Buffy, and helmed the show Angel in the first season it was a spinoff). What is he doing writing for this show? A) doesn't he recogize it's ripping off his baby? B) doesn't it kill him that all of the vampire tendencies/myths/belief systems have been thrown out the window to make the writing easier? What is he thinking?
Anyway, all that aside, I liked it a lot more, but by 3/4 of the way through, thought this was it, and I'm not tuning in beyond this. And then in the final 5 minutes, I changed my mind: when Beth walks into Mick's apartment and finds him greedily sucking back blood from blood bags and his eyes all white and the teeth showing, she discovers that he's a vampire. That's going to put things in a new direction. I'll give it one more week...

Aliens in America: HILARIOUS. If you're not watching this show, please do. There's a scene where Justin turns to his bitchy sister to find out how to distance himself from Raja (after Raja has stood up in class and announced that if he were trapped on a deserted island, the only thing he would want is Justin, prompting people to say they were a gay couple), and she says, "Just do what I do: I told everyone you were my brother, and we adopted you from a retarded family." He stares at her and says with a dead voice, "You had to make my WHOLE family retarded." I was in stitches. I love this show.

Everybody Hates Chris: Something's been lost with this show. The scenes at home are still funny, and there are still moments in Chris Rock's voiceover that make me laugh, but it just doesn't compete with The Office or Aliens in America. But I've been watching it for 2 years now, so...

Torchwood: I checked out this series last Friday when it premiered on CBC. It was intriguing, and had some interesting twists, but I don't think I'll stick with it. A little too Doctor Who, without the Daleks. Not that that's a bad thing, but it just didn't feel original.

The Tudors: Holy Henry Hotness! I've just watched the first ep of this show, and it was great. And Henry is one fine-looking dude. This is the pre-50-inch-waist years. Thank god.

Dexter: Still creepy as hell... this week's was hilarious and tragic, as Dexter tries to get his killin' mojo back. His voiceovers are still SO great, as they're usually ironic or sarcastic commentary on what is happening on the screen. He had to put his brother to rest, finally, though I felt it was done a little quickly (I was hoping his bro would dog him for the season, and maybe he will reappear, but the final scene seemed pretty... final). The scene of Dexter being pulled away from his brother when they're in that carton was heartbreaking... what kind of cop would take only one child and leave the other one in that horrid place?? It made me cry.

Friday Night Lights: Yay, it's back!! I was talking to a friend who was pretty disturbed by what happens with Landry and Tyra (she's not alone), but I actually found it pretty believable, and in keeping with how they might react to the situation. If you didn't like it, and thought it was contrived, Jason Katims has said in an interview that this week's episode will change that, and offer more explanation. I love love this show. And I'm still in love with Coach Carter...

Bionic Woman: Hmm... I wanted this show to be better... here's still hoping.

Kitchen Nightmares: Haven't seen this week's ep yet. See above.

Curb Your Enthusiasm: OK, this show was supposed to have been finished after last season, and that's what Larry David said, and then, like the Who, the show came back. But I'm so glad... it's the same horrid discomfort that the show's always done best, and I love it. Larry meets the "Black family," who happens to be black, and blurts out that it would be like his last name being "Jew." Larry is late getting home, and drives past the site of his best friend's mother's recent death, which is covered in flowers, and actually steals some flowers from it to take to his wife as an apology. Yeowch. Only Larry...

OK, I think that's it. Well, I'm also watching EastEnders (where Michelle Ryan is NOT bionic) and loving it, but it's too far behind (I think they're in November 2005 at this point) to comment on it.

I think I need to cut down on my TV. Thank goodness for long periods of feeding my newborn son on the couch. :)

My New Fave TV Character
So, as I've been reporting, I'm gunning through Friday Night Lights' first season on DVD, hoping to finish it before the season 2 premiere at the beginning of October. I've decided as of last night's episode that my new fave person on television is Liz Mikel, who plays Smash Williams' mother on the show. She is SO amazing, I'm on the edge of my seat whenever she's on screen. From the first time she burst into the house when Smash was doin' the nasty with one of his teammates' girlfriends on the couch and his mom walked that girl back outside and told her she works at Planned Parenthood and assumes this isn't the last she'll see of the girl, to when she storms into the coach's office after discovering something in her son's room (I'm trying to stay as vague as possible because I really want everyone to be watching this show and I don't want to spoil it) this woman is larger than life, confident, and will do ANYTHING to protect her children. Even if it means kicking them out of the house until they grow up enough to respect her and be allowed back in. She's amazing.



This made me laugh out loud. Of course, it is the UK Sun that is "reporting" it, so it could be complete fantasy (for someone who is as pop-culture savvy as Tarantino, I find it hard to believe he's never heard of Heroes), but it's still pretty funny.



K-Ville premiered last night, and I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but the ratings were strong, according to Variety. However, as they report in the article, it'll be interesting to see what happens next week when it's up against Heroes and isn't the only new show on TV. It was pretty smart to jump the gun by a week, since EVERYTHING seems to be starting up again next week.



I finally got out to see Stardust on the weekend, and I loved it. See this movie if you've never read a Neil Gaiman book, and maybe you'll become a convert. It's typical of his stories -- on the surface it seems to be a typical fairy tale, but then it takes completely bizarre twists and is absolutely hilarious. I read the book years ago, and now I want to reread it. Everyone is excellent in it. Apparently Sarah Michelle Gellar was offered the part that Claire Danes got, and turned it down because she thought it would keep her apart from Freddie for too long. I think she made a mistake. Ricky Gervais is hilarious in his short role. While he comes off as David Brent in a funny hat, but I don't care; I love him, and no one does the crazy stutter the way he does. He is perfect in the part.


And finally, I know I've talked about this on here before, and I don't want to keep going on about it, but I really do believe there needs to be proper education out there on the subject. So to repeat what I've said before, breastfeeding is NOT wrong. Breastfeeding in public is NOT wrong. I think women can be -- and most ARE, despite what the detractors say -- discreet, and they cover up. But for those who for some ungodly reason are offended by it, just the suggestion that there might be a baby suckling at a breast completely hidden underneath a cloth wrap is enough to send those people into a tizzy.

The latest controversy involving breastfeeding has happened over on the social networking site, Facebook. According to the Toronto Star, when a woman posted a photo of herself breastfeeding, she discovered the photo had been deleted (her breasts were not even pictured, it was a photo of her sons with absolutely no skin from her breast present at all). She emailed them simply to ask why the photo had been taken down, and because she dared to do so, her account was shut down. She was sent an email saying the photo contained "obscene" content. I've seen photos on Facebook of 16-year-old kids completely hammered at a keg party licking the face of someone else, and that's appropriate because their nipples aren't hanging out (though everything else is), but a woman feeding her child is obscene. O...kay.

Now a Facebook group has popped up that is growing by 1,000 members a day, who are posting photos of themselves breastfeeding (and of all of them, I have yet to see one that was "obscene") and trying to change the rules on Facebook. I wish them all the best. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- you don't want to eat in a bathroom stall, and neither does a baby, so if you're sitting in a restaurant and you see a mother breastfeeding her child, just look away if it bothers you. You wouldn't be staring at her otherwise, so why stare at her because she's feeding a baby? Most woman will turn into a corner to latch the child on so their nipples don't offend anyone, but once that baby is on there, the nipple is hidden, and if you can see the rest of the breast minus the nipple, how is that any different than a woman wearing a low-cut top?

I saw a video of Bill Maher talking about breastfeeding that so enraged me, I won't even post it here because I don't want other people to watch this drivel. But in it, he said that women who breastfeed in public are "too lazy to either plan ahead or cover up." And I quote. Because as we all know, if only that woman had planned ahead and fed her child BEFORE going out, no child needs to be breastfed more than three times a day (all that stuff about every 90 minutes to 2 hours is utter bull, isn't it, Bill?). He then goes on to say that breastfeeders are narcissists who want the world to stare at them because they had gone and made a baby. And I'm sure everyone reading this would agree with me that whenever they've seen a woman breastfeeding in public, the woman first gets up on the restaurant table, screams for attention, pulls off her top and latches the kid on, leaving the other breast hanging out.

I would assume this man has never been married, and has certainly never had children. I love when people speak from experience. Every time I hear Bill Maher speak, I think he's an even slimier weasel than the time before.

When will people just leave breastfeeding women alone? Has it ever occurred to these naysayers that maybe breastfeeding ISN'T the narcissistic sport they've made it out to be? I remember agonizing over it with my first. I'd go out and always push my daughter beyond her limit, hoping I could get her home. And in the few times I did have to do it -- in a restaurant, mall, my office, etc. -- I did it as discreetly as possible, while covering up completely. I remember doing it in a mall once, and I had my daughter in a sling, went into one of those dark hallways that lead to the washrooms, stood facing a corner, got her latched on, and pulled the sling way up over her so no one could see anything, and then continued to walk around the mall. I saw a couple of people staring and realized that I hadn't pulled the sling all the way down, and about an inch of my tummy was showing. Yet girls were walking by me with most of their middle sections showing off their pierced navels, and no one was pointing. Because there was no suggestion that maybe, just maybe, they were doing something "obscene" with their breasts at that very moment.

What would you rather have in a restaurant: a woman breastfeeding her child in the booth next to you, or that same child screaming and howling like an alien because they are starving and their mother is too scared to breastfeed them for fear that asshats like Bill Maher just might be looking on?

Lost Moving to Mondays?

BuddyTV is reporting that Lost might be moving to Monday nights at 8pm, making Monday night THE night to be home... and seriously hurting me blog-wise. (There's no way I can do long comprehensive blogs on both Heroes and Lost on the same night.) But blogging aside, Mondays will be hella cool if this happens. It will have to go head-to-head with Prison Break, but presumably Lost fans have enough taste that they're not tuning into that show.

I just found this poster today online and was thrilled: Lucy Lawless is a big breastfeeding advocate who did this poster for Breastfeeding Week. The band across the bottom says, "Breastfeeding -- my best role ever." Yay! Lucy is interviewed on TVGuide.com today, where she dishes on why Football Wives failed in the US (in a nutshell, they refused to make it as trashy as the British version), and what it's like playing a damsel in distress. She will also be appearing on the October 10 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and when asked about how avoidy Larry David is, she replies:

He's quiet and standoffish and doesn't really want to say hello or anything, but I was determined to be as obnoxious as possible. When I shot the episode, I had just received the new Xena [greeting] card that Hallmark puts out, so I wrote on it "Welcome to the Lucy Lawless Experience" and gave it to Larry. You open it up and it screams out the Xena war cry. He loved me ever after. So my advice to anyone trying to get on Larry's good side: Have your own Hallmark card.

When I was listing off the new shows I plan to watch, I missed Journeyman, which premieres September 24th on NBC at 10 pm (it will follow the Heroes premiere). It stars Kevin McKidd, best known as Lucius Vorenus on Rome, and you can see the trailer here. It looks wicked.

For Canadians, The Tudors begins on CBC on October 2nd at 9pm. It's supposed to be great, though from what I've heard it's about as historically accurate as Black Adder. I don't care; I know the real story of Henry VIII, so now I'm looking forward to the fake one.

Speaking of which, my Fall TV preview of Entertainment Weekly FINALLY arrived today, so I might be adding some more shows based on their recommendations and rundowns of the shows. The issue is worth it for Dalton Ross's back page rundown of who SHOULD have been nominated for Emmys in an ideal world. With the exception of Annabeth Gish on Brothers and Sisters (I don't watch anything with Calista Flockhart in it), I watch and love all the shows he talks about. You can read the article online here.

In the same vein, Salon.com has awarded its 4th annual Buffy Award (aka the award to the most underappreciated awesome show on television) to Friday Night Lights. My hubby and I have just finished the fourth episode and it ROCKS. I love this show.

My publisher has finally unveiled ECW Press's new website, and it looks pretty awesome. There are going to be lots of extras on it, with video and poets reading their poetry and an ongoing blog, etc. Check it out! Daily! :)

The Toronto Film Festival has been on all week and I've missed it (wah) and apparently the films have been amazing, but according to Variety, the deals have not. Yikes.

"It's Britney, Bitch"
Yeah, yeah, EVERYONE is blogging about Brit-Brit's performance at the VMAs last night, so I shall keep this short, and leave the real bellyaching to the ones with the gossip blogs. In short, this performance has finally kicked to death the last wheezing remnants of her career (or the hope that she'd get it back). She's been demonized in the press as a bad mother; she's been in and out of rehab more times than she's worn underwear; she doesn't wear underwear; she's having a fantastically awful time with her ex and the custody battles; she's gone postal on the press. This girl's nervous breakdown has been so public it's a wonder she's still as with it as she is. But through it all, there was always that tiny hope that maybe, just maybe she'd get it together and have that comeback. The single was released a couple of weeks ago and people said, hey, this ain't bad. Maybe Britney IS back, bitch.

And then, the colossal disaster of last night's showing at the VMAs proved otherwise. She was lipsynching -- ooh, knock me over with a feather for how shocked I am. That's by no means the surprise of the evening (that gal always lipsynched, even when she was at the height of her career...does anyone else think the past tense should be lipsanched?). People complained that she was this out-of-shape jellyroll hulking around the stage. Um... I WISH I were that out of shape. Most of the people making those comments would never dream of being in a bikini, and if they did, they should stop dreaming immediately. The real issue was just her demeanour. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but on stage. She wasn't hulking around the stage, she was sulking and slouching and wandering aimlessly like she had no idea where she was, what she was supposed to do, and what the hell song she was supposed to be doing it to. Her "dance moves" were a joke. We've all seen how she used to dance -- last night I think I could have outdanced her. Everything was lacklustre, like she'd rather get back to her drinking and partying than be wasting her time with these overchoreographed people around her. It was just sad.

There have been a lot of excuses from people -- she'd overheard Sarah Silverman's rehearsal where she referred to Brit's kids as the most adorable mistakes imaginable, or said at the age of 25 Spears had accomplished everything she was ever going to; the heel of her boot was broken; she was supposed to be doing a magic routine with Criss Angel and the MTV producers pulled it at the last minute and told her to just follow the dancers, so she actually had no idea what to do instead -- but it just sounds to me like rumours generated to make even more excuses for Spears. How does some blogger sitting at home know that any of this stuff happened? They don't. I just don't think Britney wants to be doing this anymore, and she's being pushed to do it. It's time we just leave her be -- maybe when she becomes a has-been, it might be the therapy she's been looking for. Britney is over.

The rest of the VMAs were as confusing and confused as Britney was at the beginning. I used to love the VMAs. I thought last night was complete chaos. Never watching again.


My husband and I watched season 2 of Big Love in about a week. And it was brilliant. If you're not watching this show, please please do. It's the cream of the HBO crop. It's got the family quirkiness of Six Feet Under; the wars between families of The Sopranos; the weird, insular political intrigue of Deadwood; and it's fun. After about two episodes of the first season, I still couldn't shake my befuddlement. How could ANYONE live like this? These women don't have rights, I thought. They're giving up their womenhood and agreeing to be barefoot and pregnant and sharing their husband with two other women so they can help their hubby get into the "celestial kingdom," which is a load of bunk as far as I'm concerned. Yet by the end of season 2, when Barb's family is showing their utter disdain and disgust for her polygamous lifestyle, I'm thinking, "How DARE you?" because I love her sister-wives so much. It will make you think about a situation you might never have considered before, but it will draw you in to a world that seems as normal as your own family. It's so brilliant. Season 1 is out on DVD, easily rentable or bought, and season 3 has already been ordered for next year.

Funny things I've read in the past couple of days:

In a pamphlet with breastfeeding instructions that came with a pillow I recently bought (the pillow I used on my first pregnancy was awful, and I swear contributed to problems I had), it said, "Make sure you wrap the pillow tightly around your waste." Ew. Why would I do such a thing??

I went to McDonalds to get a hamburger today (a staple of my diet for both pregnancies), and the wrapper was for a bacon cheeseburger. On the top was a sticker that said: Special order: bacon cheeseburger, no bacon, no cheese. O...kay. They probably could have made that one easier on themselves.

Last night, post-Big Love season 2 finale, we immediately launched into Friday Night Lights. I'd already seen the pilot, but it was a year ago when it first aired, so we watched it again and it was as amazing as I remember it being the first time. But it gave me that moment of "mother of a boy" anxiety that I'm going to soon have, where I look at the brutality of the sport and think, "I hope my son never takes up football... or hockey, for that matter." It's not just boys who can do the big contact sports -- one of my best friends in high school was a hockey goalie, and my sister-in-law sports new bruises every week as someone who practises Muay Thai -- but I think typically this is more of a son worry than a daughter one.

I had season 3 of The Office in my hands last week, and then figured I'll look for it at Costco. But it was hard to put down. On the back it said extras included Lazy Scranton, an interview with Joss Whedon, and Kevin cooking stuff in the office. How could I have put that back on the shelf?! I cannot wait to watch it again.