Late to the Party

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Vampire Diaries. Sounds like fun!

April 8, 2010 in off-color commentary by offcolortv | 7 comments

Okay, everyone!  I know this is really late, as in … there’s a new episode tonight late, but I watched it last night and I didn’t want to combine the posts because where’s the fun in that, right?  So just rewind your brains to last week for me, let’s chat about that episode and it’ll help get us pumped up for tonight.  Deal?  Awesome.

Okay, so let’s start with the vampire lair, which I am totally into and I think is yet another great addition to this show.  I love that there are now a whole host of enemies, each with their own agendas but who are loosely affiliated, so that Damon can remain kind of bad while still being an uneasy ally.  It’s good for the story.  Plus … dude, I love vampire fights.  Pearl is so badass, and the fight in the Salvatore house was great too.  I’m interested by the fact that Stefan is always the staker, but I did get a good laugh at Damon going to burn the body and sarcastically asking Stefan for a little help.

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Thursday Night Comedy Round-Up.

March 21, 2010 in off-color commentary by offcolortv | 5 comments

Hey guys!  Hulu was a real lifesaver for me this week as far as getting to watch the Thursday NBC shows.  I’ve still got a lot of packing to do today, so I’m going to make this quick and do a combo post for all of them.  Hopefully you guys aren’t all discussed out on this, but if you are, I understand.  Or if your boyfriend is really into March Madness and it has kind of turned your brain into mush, well … I understand that too.  But, as Marvin Gaye would tell us, let’s get it on.  Shall we?

First of all, Community.  You know, in general, I’m not a fan of Tony Hale as a guest star on things because all I see is Buster Bluth, or variations of Buster Bluth, like Meaner Buster Bluth (Emmet Milbarge) or Angry Buster Bluth (Pottery Teacher), but you know … I can deal because I was so entertained by the dashiki and by the No Ghosting Rule, and his fight with Jeff was HILARIOUS, mostly because when Jeff was so pissed that he was storming out but stopped mid-storm to sing The Righteous Brothers … hee!  Priceless!  It was generally a good plot, and had a lot of good little moments, like Abed using voiceovers as a crutch and Annie totally jacking off her clay.  And I liked little Jeff Winger too.

The B-plot was slightly weaker but I still enjoyed it and thought it had a lot of good moments as well, like Shirley assuming Troy couldn’t swim and Troy calling her a racist, and Pierce rowing his boat back to the main ship, although his rowboat capsizing was a little too Chevy Chasey for me, which is a common complaint I have with Pierce.  Although anything that manages to really incorporate Starburns into our lives is good for me.  Sidenote: me and Billy went out with our friends last night, and one of them was really encouraging him to grow his chops in and shave them into starburns, and this is an idea that I must support on principle.

Parks & Recreation was amazing as always, and honestly, I can barely comprehend that there was an episode  that Andy Samberg was a guest star on and he was the LEAST funny part.  I fucking love Andy Samberg, everything about him–I own Hot Rod and I laugh my ass off at most of his digital shorts, and in fact find myself regularly singing Shy Ronnie around the house–and I STILL maintain my previous statement.  Crazy!  Also crazy is that who could have possibly guessed that NOT making fun of Jerry would be as funny or funnier than making fun of Jerry?  My mind is seriously blown.  The ripping of the pants and the fart, all at the same time, and everyone’s facial expressions–PERFECTLY played.  I mean, the pants gag wouldn’t be NEARLY as funny if they had been able to make obvious jokes about something so over the top.  Incredible.

I also continue to love Andy and April, and I’m even still enjoying the love triangle, which I feel is pretty hard to pull off.  I like that Ann is starting to have some second thoughts, especially as she sees Andy being more considerate to April than he ever was to her.  And the band name discussion cracked me up too.  Baby in a Straightjacket … me and Billy are constantly naming bands in our heads, but he never likes the ones I come up with.  I, however, know in my heart that they are awesome.

I also actually really enjoyed The Office also, even as complaints about it continue to rise, and I swear that I get that.  And it was totally uncomfortable, and Michael was an asshole in the worst possible way.  But I did like the tension between Michael and Dwight, and the fight at the dump, and the battle in the office over the leads and how to placate the rest of the staff, and that what ultimately did it was an offering of pastries.  Hee!  Pastries go so far in an office environment, as any office drone can tell you.  There isn’t much I won’t forgive in the name of doughnuts.

And I liked Andy and Erin’s first kiss happening at the dump.  When he looked at her and said, “You’re the nicest person I’ve ever met,” it was so sincere and such a genuine compliment that he delivered with such feeling that how could you NOT be won over?  Of course it was totally awkward when he gave one of his “doo doo de doos” at the end, but then if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be Andy, right?

And 30 Rock has been on a pretty good roll the last few episodes, which is good because at the beginning of this season, I was just over it.  But going back to Jenna’s stalker episode, I’ve been really entertained, and this storyline with Liz and Wesley has been pretty great.  And I LOVED how annoyed Wesley was by the hot tub being instantly hot when it was turned on.  You all KNOW that would be something that would irk me.  And I love the idea of settling soulmates–I hope he really IS back for sweeps and I want to see how it all turns out.  Yeah, that’s right–I’m invested in a 30 Rock storyline now.  Whaaaa?  It’s like me and 30 Rock are falling in love all over again … you know.  Settling soulmate love. :)

Oh, and you know what else?  I’m not usually that entertained by Don Geiss storylines unless the crazy is really ratcheted up by Kathy Geiss or Devin Banks (who, by the way, I was disappointed wasn’t there), but that effigy of him looking like Han Solo was HILARIOUS.  Loved that.

Alright, gotta wrap this up so I can watch The Amazing Race (since my DVR isn’t plugged in!).  What did you guys think?  Good night of comedies?  Favorite moments or lines?  Stuff I missed?  You know the drill.  Comments!

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Catching up. Chuck, Parenthood, and so forth.

March 18, 2010 in off-color commentary by offcolortv | 8 comments

Guys, again … I know I sound like a broken record but I’m really sorry about how shitty I’ve been at blogging lately.  And I really do mean it.  Still, I have to be honest and say that it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better.  This is my last week of work, which has been hectic in and of itself, but I’ve also been spending my free time here trying to sell my furniture on Craigslist.  (God, I am a shitty employee.)  And then I pretty much go straight home and get right to packing.  Or, on days when I just can’t take it anymore, I take a nap and THEN pack.  It’s an exciting life I lead. 

As such, I am terribly behind not only on blogging but also just on watching TV in general, which would be sad if I weren’t dead inside from the soul-crushing experience that is moving.  Not that I’m being dramatic.  Okay, I am, but I learned it from watching LUX.  And also, no one ever loved me.

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Sometimes it’s best to just admit defeat.

March 4, 2010 in off-color commentary by offcolortv | 5 comments

Alright, you guys, I told myself over and over this week that I was going to get caught up and finally last night I realized that there is no chance in hell it’s going to happen.  None.  I’ve had a stomach virus all week that has been kicking my ever-lovin’ ass, and I am now sitting in an airport waiting to get to Florida to go apartment hunting.  Not only am I not caught up on my TV shows that have already happened, but I can see the future and it involves me not getting to even watch the Thursday comedies for a few days, and I don’t even KNOW the last time that happened.

Also, big apologies to Andy, whose Biggest Loser post has been chilling in blog purgatory since at least yesterday … I’m so sorry, dude!  I’m going to post it next so it’ll have a nice shiny spot at the top of the page.

So here’s what I’m going to do for now.  I’m going to just write one or two things about each of our shows, you guys feel free to discuss the week’s happenings here (don’t worry about spoiling anything that’s already aired–it’s fair game!), and I’ll schedule a post for tomorrow to discuss the NBC comedies.  And then next week, hopefully whatever illness this is will have passed and I’ll be back on my regular TV-watchin’, work-avoidin’, bloggin’ schedule.  I feel good about this plan.  I’m sorry my blog took such a hit this week and I don’t want to let anyone down!  I just know at this point that I fought the blog and the blog won. :)

Okay, so Chuck–this had to be one of the worst possible weeks to be sick for since so much happened.  What did you guys think of the big name reveal, the possible Casey name reveal, the Hannah dump, and Chuck getting to hear Sarah’s thoughts on what kind of person he’s turning into?  (My two cents–I can’t think of a better real name for Casey than Alex Coburn.)

Parenthood–Who watched?  I liked it and will totally tune in again.  I didn’t necessarily have any favorites or deep thoughts yet just because there were so many storylines going on, mostly just that I want a backyard draped in Christmas lights and I don’t even know how many times I saw that Little League scene play out during my childhood.  I think that’s why these family comedies/dramedies are so relatable–everyone has a family and they’re all crazy.

LUX–I still haven’t gotten to see this yet since I was on the road last night, but I’ve caught the jist of what happened and it sounds damn dramatic.  What did you guys think?  Will I be back to call Lux a bitch or what?  And like I said–don’t worry about spoiling me, I more or less know what happened and once it airs, it’s fair game.

Okay, that’s all the ones that I cover that were on.  Thank you all for being so patient and understanding!  Sorry for being a bad blogger, no cookie.

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Glee. Do you question my badassness?

October 22, 2009 in off-color commentary by offcolortv | 8 comments

Well, my butt is totally going to look like a slushie after I sit and catch up on all the back episodes of Glee because I am finally good and truly hooked on this show.  I know, late to the party, but I wasn’t sure how much I’d like it after the pilot, and I felt kind of like it wasn’t for me since I didn’t do show choir or any of that in high school (I’m hopelessly uncoordinated and a pretty shitty singer, so not the world’s best combo for song and dance numbers). 

Anyway, I kept hearing more and more (and more) about it, so I finally DVRed an episode and then even more finally got around to watching it.  I enjoyed it enough to record this week’s, which really put the final nail in my coffin.  I love this show and I have gotten Billy hooked too.  He was trying to work while I watched it, but I kept laughing like a damn lunatic every time I heard the bumblebee song and saw a hand carrying a Big Gulp (I know they used a generic name, but it totally was a Big Gulp and I was drinking one at the time, so I would know).  I also loved how Rachel stood there and scrunched up her face waiting for it.  My mom had a cat who would do the exact same thing when it was bad and saw the squirt bottle coming out–he knew what was coming but he was too dumb to run. :)

So I’m definitely late to this party, like I said, and I know I have catching up to do, but in the meantime, I had a couple questions that I was hoping some Gleekers would be able to help me out with.  Ready?  Okay.

First of all, and maybe most importantly, is the slushie an ongoing thing, or was that just this episode?  Because I loved it and kind of hope it’s a running joke.

Secondly, I think I need some backstory on what’s up with the teacher and the guidance counselor.  Here’s what I’ve gotten so far–she likes him but she’s secretly engaged to the coach guy but it’s acknowledged that she’s settling for him.  The teacher is married and his wife is pregnant and may also be Claire’s biological mother from Heroes, but he might kind of like the guidance counselor?  I’m just a little fuzzy on their relationship with each other.  But I sure did love that wedding dress shopping scene, where she came out looking so pretty in her Audrey Hepburn dress.

Moving on, I get that Rachel is pining after Finn but I haven’t really had time to get especially attached to that relationship, so I was enjoying her with Mohawk.  Plus, he is hotness squared and I love his surly attitude.  And I swear to God, when he busted out his solo and said it was a tribute to a beloved Jewish singer, I yelled out from my couch, “PLEASE BE NEIL DIAMOND!”  And what do you know?  Made my night.

My other favorite part was right at the end when Finn came up to the gay kid because he had to throw a slushie in his face, but he sat there hemming and hawing about it until finally the gay kid just threw it on his own face and then told him to go think about whether or not any of his football friends would do that for him, and then demanded to be taken to a spa and was immediately ushered into the girls bathroom.  Hahahaha!  I think gay kid is my new favorite character.

Thanks, everybody who stuck around for this in spite of me not knowing anyone’s name and having a lot of questions.  I bet by next week I’m all caught up, but in the meantime, anyone that can help me out would be hugely appreciated, and I’d love to chat more in the comments about Glee, which as everyone else already knows, is awesome!

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Ghost Hunters. Steve and Tango, keepin’ it real for a minute.

October 14, 2009 in off-color commentary by offcolortv | No comments

So just yesterday I was saying how Tuesday TV sucks, which I stand behind, although I had forgotten that 90210 moved to Tuesdays so I think I’m going to start watching that again.  But I forgot to set the DVR for it last night–you know how it is.

Anyway, a lot of times when I’m sitting around bored and there’s nothing on the DVR I can watch without Billy (because watching something on DVR that the other one wants to watch without them is a SERIOUS offense in our house), I’ll hit up the OnDemand.  And I have to say, I don’t know how it is on other cable systems because I’ve never had it with anyone else, but Comcast’s OnDemand is pretty bitchin.

Enter Ghost Hunters.  Now, I like horror movies and I do believe in ghosts, or at least the possibility of them, and I kind of like ghost hunting shows but I’m actually pretty particular about them and there are only two I watch.  The first one is, hello, Paranormal State.  It’s hilarious, and SUCH a trainwreck.  I’m in total love with it.

The second one, of course, is Ghost Hunters.  What I like about this is that they at least try to take a more scientific approach, and do some debunking stuff, rather than just running around thinking that any little bump is paranormal.  And even though the scenes where Kris calls them while they’re on a Roto-Rooter job are such bullshit, I don’t even mind that much because I think it’s cool they have that kind of background and bring some practical knowledge to this kind of thing.

So anyway, I’m getting caught up on my OnDemand viewing (because obviously, I don’t have Bravo so I don’t have SyFy or whatever awesome channel GH is on, sadly), and I was watching the one last night with the church and the little drummer boy (and by the way, how cool was it when they found out that a little drummer boy actually HAD been killed there?). 

Anyway, the reason I was writing this was because I kind of love Steve and Tango–I do like that they have their set pairs they go off in, and Steve and Tango are always so random, or having stupid conversations, or goofing off or whatever (but not in a not working way–more like in a drumming on the tree trunk to see if it would make the little drummer boy join in).  And every now and then they have fairly serious conversations too, like in that episode when Tango was like, why would you still want to be here, instead of going to heaven?  And Steve is like, first of all, you’re assuming free will, and secondly, what if there is no heaven or hell?  What if there’s just an afterlife, and it’s just like a different kind of existence?

And at this point, I’m just like … hell yeah, Steve and Tango!  It makes me both really happy that they would have that conversation and that GH would choose to include it, because I would think that if you spend that much time chasing around dead people, it would HAVE to come up.  And I don’t know, I think maybe more than the evidence that they do or don’t find (because ultimately, nothing will ever be proven either way–it’s one of those things you’ve gotta find out for yourself), that kind of discussion at least partially validates what they do.  Everyone is going to die eventually and most people wonder about what happens next, in some form at some point.  Some people ignore it and some people find God, and some people go on ghost hunts.  But I think that thinking about it is a good thing, and I just really liked that they were having an actual discussion about it for a minute.  It was a very refreshing and real moment there.

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Vampire Diaries. Annoyed with vagueness (subtitled: You’re not alone, Elena).

October 13, 2009 in off-color commentary by offcolortv | No comments

Dudes, I’m so late to the party, but I don’t do this now, I’ll never mention Vampire Diaries and I do want to.  Nonetheless, this post is going to be quick, sloppy, and pay no attention to details … in other words, a little like the episode itself.  Boom, ROASTED!  I kid–it actually wasn’t all that bad, but parts of it definitely were, so let’s get down to business, shall we?

Let me just say that I really like this show.  I look forward to it every week and I think it goes perfectly on Thursday nights, especially with Supernatural–the CW really has a knockout lineup going on right now.  Contrary to much of the internet, I think Stefan and Elena have really great chemistry, and I’m pretty impressed with the horror elements of the show.

BUT.

Oh, you knew it was coming.  If this show wants to be taken seriously as anything other than a CW fluff show or just another teenage vampire romance, it’s going to have to pull it together.  I’ll forgive early missteps, but too much more crap like that newsreel footage, and I will never be able to respect the show.  It was SO cheesy, largely due to the fact that they had Logan Fell himself playing the old-timey reporter and that is SO LAME, people.  So lame.  Kevin Williamson, I’m kind of disappointed with you on that.

Bonnie bores the hell out of me and while I love Damon and Caroline, there is a lot of convoluted stuff going on surrounding the two of them that really needs to get straightened out, because as it goes on, it starts to feel less mysterious and more confusing and unresolved.

I’m holding back on doing TOO much bitching because it appears that there may be some big reveals coming up in this next episode, and we may get some answers then.  And really, this was the first episode that I thought had flaws I couldn’t quite get over.

And you know, it’s so weird because the thing irking me the most is this vervain business.  I honestly think I’d be able to wait out answers on almost everything else, but I feel like I NEED to know what the hell is up with that, and mostly that they’ll use it in a consistent way and stick to their own rules.  Because I can already see where I’m going in my mind with that, and if it becomes just a plot device, I am going to be SO MAD.  It’s like … have some pride in your work.  Create a universe, work within it, and don’t cheap out on the audience!

But yeah, like I said, trying to hold back too much judgment until I see what’s up next episode.  And that is SO why I like this show–I’m ALWAYS anticipating the next episode. :)

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Modern Family. It’s hilarious. Who knew?

October 8, 2009 in off-color commentary by offcolortv | No comments

I caught ten minutes of the latest episode of Modern Family and I’m totally hooked.  I’m going to see if the pilot is online, and the second and third episodes are still chilling on my DVR.  Truly, I’m a TV snob.  Granted, I’m a TV snob who loves trash television and reality shows that are completely exploitive in nature, but still–SNOB.  And I only watch one show on ABC, which is Castle, which we have discussed is solely for Nathan Fillion.

So I was actually pretty stunned at how great Modern Family was, even just for the few minutes I watched it.  The Costco stuff killed me because I’m a total packrat (who will one day end up on Hoarders, see: exploitive reality shows) who NEVER leaves the store with just what she came for.  And the whole, “What do you like about me?” scene was great, as was the weird interrogation going on between the girl in glasses and the lady with the boobs.  I’ll figure out their names when I finally get this show watched, but you can be damn sure I’ll be back next week!

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True Blood. Is anyone still talking about it, and more to the point, do I care?

October 7, 2009 in off-color commentary by offcolortv | 12 comments

The answer, of course, is no!  I’ll talk to myself about True Blood all day long if I have to, internet!

Anyway, I visited my parents over the weekend and caught up on True Blood OnDemand because they have bitchin’ cable (whereas my cable is–you guessed it–just a bitch).  So I know I’m WAY late to the party, but I did want to share some thoughts on Season Two and see if anyone else wanted to chat it up!  But mostly, this will be a discussion of the books vs. the show.  Cool?  It better be.

So, I kind of felt like, in my heart, Season Two ended with Godric “meeting the sun” as it were, but I suppose we did have to wrap up all this Maryann nonsense, THANK GOD.  You know, Michelle Forbes has been on three of my all-time favorite shows now, and I like her–I think she’s actually really awesome.  But her storylines suck and I’m always so ready for her to go because I end up bored to tears.  Firefly was the only one of the three to not really fall into that trap since she wasn’t around that much, but I was SO ready for her stint as the Admiral of the fleet to be over on Battlestar Galactica, and Maryann was even more tedious.

Here’s what I will say, though.  I’ve read all of the Sookie books except the latest one (because I think it’s ridiculous to pay for it in hardback and I’ll wait for paperback, thankyouverymuch), and while none of them are literary works of art (although HIGHLY entertaining, no doubt about it), the second one was by far the shittiest.  But at that point, the series was still new and I don’t think that Charlaine (Harris, the author–I like to refer to her on a first name basis though because it sounds so southern to say it.  Try it.  CharLAINE.  It makes me feel like drinking a sweet tea and eating some biscuits, which are two of my fave things in this world.  Tangent over.) had a great grasp yet on exactly what the series would be like or where it would go.  The books got much better, but that one was all over the place.

You always hear people say “the book was so much better”, but this is one of those cases where it’s just untrue, and not just of this particular book (the second), but of the entire series.

Anyway, I thought the first season followed pretty closely with the books, but the second one diverged much further.  In hindsight, I think that what is mostly going on is that the books are told in first-person narrative, which means we always know what Sookie is thinking and doing and not really much about anyone else.  For purposes of a TV show, details had to be filled in and storylines developed for the secondary characters, and for the most part, the changes that have been made there have been to REALLY great effect. 

For one thing, Lafayette was very minor in the first book and was killed off either at the end of the first book or beginning of the second, but he just came ALIVE on the show and it was smart to keep him around.  He adds SO much to the show.  Tara was completely different in the books, but the Tara we have now is much better integrated (and we got rid of the god-awfulness that was “Tara’s Togs”–are you fucking kidding me with that name?).  And where Book Jason is really nothing but an selfish, inconsiderate manwhore, TV Jason is much more likeable and really just more dumb than anything (which works).  And I almost forgot Terry–TV Terry is so bomb (pun intended and FAAABULOUS!).

And then there are characters in the TV show who didn’t even exist in the book, that I’ve either liked (Amy, Eddie), or couldn’t imagine the show without (Jessica).  My one tiny gripe is that I need more Pam (MORE PAM!), but she’s a character who is around more and more as the books go on, and hopefully it’ll pan out that way on the show as well.

The other thing the show has been able to do is to draw in characters and elements who don’t show up until later in the books but who enhance the story earlier on.  Sophie Ann LeClerq made a much earlier appearance on the show, which I think was good (and Evan Rachel Wood was some shockingly great casting), and Sarah and Steve Newlin and the Fellowship of the Sun were developed much more and were way more integral to the story now, which is useful for things that happen (at least in the books) later on.  And we got to see Lorena, which was cool.

One of the best things for me, as a reader of the series and a fan of the show, is that while the show does stay close to the books (so far, about one book translating into a season), it takes enough turns and goes off on its own enough to keep me guessing.  But I feel like the choices made have been good ones. 

Mostly.  I understand why they did what they did with the Maryann story, because in the book that whole thing was just a weird little afterthought when Sookie and Bill got back from Dallas, and they needed something for Sam and Tara to be doing (and the rest of the townspeople too, I suppose–they were definitely “doing it”).  It was tedious and it did drag on a bit too long, but we made it, right?

Also, as a side note, I went out to this little diner last night with Billy, and I got a breakfast sandwich on a croissant (which I LOVE).  I was starving and it was so good, and I was eating it so voraciously that I caught myself thinking that at any moment, there would be a big reveal and it turned out it was made of people.  Or maybe that people were watching nearby, and THEY knew it contained people, and they were just being silently horrified.  Because if there is one thing I’ve learned from TV, it’s that if something is really, REALLY delicious, it must be made of humans.

I’m excited about Season Three though, because I felt like the books took a MAJOR turn in the third novel.  And I loved Alcide, so I’m really curious if we’re going to see him or what’s going to happen.  Bill proposing to Sookie didn’t happen in the books (it was illegal for the vampires to marry humans, even in Vermont), so I’m not sure where they’re going with that, and Lafayette selling SOPHIE’S blood?  Fascinating.  Next season should be even better than this one.  Now who wants to pay for my HBO subscription next summer? :)

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