I don't remember why, or how, but Jayne Cobb was in my dream last night. Not Adam Baldwin, Jayne. He is seriously hot...that might have something to do with it.
Have you ever watched TV so much that the characters or scenarios become part of your dreams? I've definitely had Lost and Veronica Mars dreams too, to name a few.
Coming soon: reviews of this week's Lost and Chuck, plus a review of Buffy Season 8: The Long Way Home!
I never thought it'd happen, but ABC has scheduled the remaining episodes of Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Dirty Sexy Money. The trio of shows were canceled earlier this year and at the time it appeared that we would only see the end on DVD - but ABC has chosen to be kind and air the remaining few of each program.
Pushing Daisies's final episodes will air for 3 weeks on Saturday at 10pm starting May 30. Eli Stone will take the next 4 weeks in that slot, and Dirty Sexy Money will follow in the next 4 weeks, wrapping up on August 8.
All three shows were of high critical acclaim but unfortunately lacked in the ratings, with only small loyal followings. I was in the cult of Pushing Daisies and was heartbroken to see it go - but getting the see the final 3 episodes is encouragement nonetheless. Thanks, ABC!
Read more about the three series' wrap ups at TV Guide here.
I don't watch House, but I know that this is big news so I felt the need to post it.
It's been teased for quite some time that a House character was going to commit suicide, and last night it was revealed that Kal Penn's character, Lawrence Kutner, was the one to get offed. Apparently it was Penn's decision to leave and the writers decided to take it in an extreme direction rather than just have him switch hospitals or something. The death is supposed to have a great emotional effect every one of the show's characters.
Penn is leaving acting for a while to work for the Obama administration in a public liaison role. How cool is that?
Read the interview with Kal Penn and executive producers David Shore and Katie Jacobs at The Ausiello Files here.
I knew this was going to be a good episode when this was the opening scene.
"No, not the hair, never the hair."
It only got better when the first of the rolling credits said "Guest Starring Seth Green." Oz is in town to bring Angel the ring of Amora, which Spike brought to Sunnydale in early season 4. Cordy's doing her best Anya impression today, making googly eyes over an invoice (which, Doyle reminds her, is not actual money). Then there's a great awkward scene between Cordy and Oz that we all had when we first saw friends from high school after being away at college: you know, the one where you claim you have sooo much to catch up on and then you realize that you have basically nothing in common? It's really fantastic.
Anyhoo, Angel's being a bitchass because Buffy didn't deliver the ring herself, and hides it in the sewers. Ultimately Spike captures Angel and has his creeper friend torture him. My favorite part? Spike mentioning that a vampire in love with a slayer is "perversion" - oh Spikey, just you wait.
The best part of this episode is probably Oz's van saving the day (I was reminded of Hurley's van rescue in Season 3 of Lost). In the end the king of brooding decides to destroy the ring so it can't be used for evil and so he can continue to repent for his sins. I think this was a less than practical decision, but what do I know.
Overall - loved seeing Spike and Oz, officially hooked. Watch "In the Dark" on Hulu here.
I've been avoiding watching Angel because I know I'll get sucked in (see August-February, when I watched all 144 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) but then I saw this clip and knew it just had to happen.
I watched the pilot earlier this year and wasn't thrilled, but now that I think about it I've never really been all that thrilled with any of Joss's pilots - always a lot of exposition and never enough snark. Sooo, I gave it another try.
"Lonely Hearts" was very classic Joss monster of the week, but much darker than Buffy territory. When Doyle gets a vision that something bad is going to happen at a bar called D'Oblique (I think I spelled that right - Cordy had some issues with that too), the three musketeers go to check it out. Turns out there's a parasitic worm demon frequenting D'Oblique to feed off of people's lonely hearts, switching to a new body every night and killing the last. Cordy does her best Willow impression doing research and Doyle does his best Xander impression making googly eyes at Cordy. Oh, and Angel broods about being lonely. All in a Whedon day's work.
I have to say, I'm a much bigger fan of Angel Cordelia than Buffy Cordelia. She's a bit more grounded (maybe because she's living in a dump) but still has the sass. I hear that Cordelia grows up a lot during Angel so I'm interested to see that. She also chops off her hair at some point. If Angel is anything like Buffy it'll probably be the result of some kind of life-changing decision (e.g. Buffy chops her hair after ending things with Spike in Season 6).
This episode also introduces Elisabeth Rohm as Det. Kate Lockley. I'm guessing she's going to be a recur, because she and David Boreanez have great chemistry. Kate and Angel meet at the bar while they're both looking for the worm demon, although Kate just thinks it's a standard killer. She initially thinks Angel's the culprit, but they ultimately team up to take the thing down. She, like Angel and Doyle, also can't figure out what Cordelia's squiggle on the Angel Investigations business card is (come on, why would there be a lobster on a business card for a guy named "Angel?")
Overall, a good intro into the world of Angel. I'm looking forward to getting addicted to this one too. To watch "Lonely Hearts" on Hulu click here.
2008 was a rough pilot year. Because of last year's writer's strike there were barely any new pilots and most didn't take (see ABC's Life On Mars amongst others). But two gems have emerged from the post-strike season from two of the greatest writers in the business - Joss Whedon's Dollhouse and Rob Thomas's Party Down.
Rob Thomas is probably best known for his work on Veronica Mars, the spy drama starring Kristen Bell that stole so many of our hearts (only to have them were subsequently ripped out by those bastards at the CW). So when I heard that Rob had a new comedy coming out, starring many Veronica Mars alums, I knew it was going to be a must see. The cast is stellar - VMars fans will recognize Ryan Hansen, Ken Marino, and Adam Scott (Dick Casablancas, Vinnie Van Lowe, and Mr. Rooks from 1.14 "Mars Vs. Mars"), Freaks and Geeks aficionados will recognize Martin Starr, and almost anyone will recognize Lizzy Caplan and Jane Lynch - Lizzy's best known as Janice "I have a big lesbian crush on you" Ian from Mean Girls and Jane's been in a variety of movies and TV shows, including Role Models and a guest spot on Arrested Development.
So I'm guessing this is probably the first you've heard of Party Down, seeing as it's from a fairly obscure writer and on Starz (does anyone actually get Starz?). But for the love of cheese bongs, please watch this show.
Party Down is brilliant. It's got a similar tone to Arrested Development - understated, deadpan humor. Each week, the Party Down catering team, made up of struggling actors and headed by Ken Marino's Ron Donald, tackles another bizarre party while dealing with their own drama. This week was a senior's singles seminar led by senior sexpert Pepper McMasters, author of "Seniorlicious!" The entire team was a little grossed out by the idea of old people boinking - Jane Lynch's Constance in particular, especially when she was approached by an old flame from a vacation in Cabo, Bruce (Ed Begley Jr.) Here's a clip -
Another great subplot includes Ryan Hansen's character, Kyle, trying to get revenge on Roman (Martin Starr) for screwing up an audition for him by secretly slipping him an "insta-boner" (viagra). There's also strippers, pot, and many shots of vodka for an emotional Casey (Lizzy Caplan). So go watch it for yourself at Starz's website here.
And finally, some fantastic quotes: "We are all getting way laid, right!" "Really, last time this guy hooked up with one girl - hour later, hooked up with her twin. And TWINS!" "Actually I figured out later it was just the same girl, but with a sweater on." "No personal business on company pond." "It was like watching a mummy battle." "Are you talking about this job, or becoming a supercop?"
