Season’s End, sort of

With this  post, I’m adding a new category called Hahaha! since I’ve fallen in love with a couple of comedies.  And now, heeeere’s the post:

About a month & a half ago, Television Without Pity, that website I love to hate, had a blurb on the best and worst season endings this year.  They gave four different ratings:

• Best
• More good than bad
• More bad than good
• Worst

The article inspired me to write my own reviews, but I waited since a few of the shows I watch hadn’t finished their seasons yet.  Now that Merlin has ended, here’s what I think.  (TWoP’s ratings are in parentheses).

• Supernatural:  (More good than bad) Agreed.  Not the best season ending they’ve ever done , but then no season finale has been among my all-time favorites.  While TWoP poo-pooed the idea that Metallicar saved the day, I think it was fitting.  After all, for 3 years the car was the 3rd character.  (It was replaced by an increasingly useless trench coat-wearing angel in the last 2 seasons.)
• FlashForward:  (More good than bad, I think.  It might have been More bad than good.)  I didn’t watch the series consistently enough to get too be engrossed in it.  But it did get better as the season progressed.  As for the final episode, I didn’t hate or love it.  It felt rushed.  Everyone’s flash forward had to be resolved, and the cast is way too large.  Nonetheless, I would have preferred FlashForward getting renewed over V.   (As a side note, I did not recognize Annabeth Gish.  She’s come a long way since her  Mystic Pizza and Shag days.)
• V:  (Don’t remember this one, either)  Hated, hated it!   Ryan turned (or did he?) and Joshua (whom I totally loved) was killed only to be brought back to life.  Probably to be tortured next season.  I’ll probably watch next season for the same reason it’s hard to look away from a wreck.  I doubt it gets a 3rd season.
• Modern Family:  (More good than bad, I think)  I agree with TWoP here.  It wasn’t bad, but I’ve come to expect better of this show.  The episode with Benjamin Bratt is still one of the best from this season.
• Cougar Town:  (Best)  Absolutely agree!  Remember when I said I thought it sucked?  Once they changed the focus of the show (from being about a 40-something woman bedding 20-something dudes) to the wacky family and friends, it got good.  The cast, for the most part, is superb.  And the season finale has  many great moments:  Travis learning to deal with a raging girlfriend by becoming the “yes man” (Dan Byrd is delightful!), the Cheeto shaped like Bruce Willis, the “Relationship” remix tape, and “An Ewok!  He wants to make love to an Ewok!”
• Parks and Recreation: (More good than bad)  Again, I agree.  While maybe not as funny as “The Possum” (my favorite of the episodes I’ve seen—I didn’t start watching until about 2/3 of the season had passed), it was funny enough that I kept it on my DVR to rewatch.  The addition of Ben as a possible love interest for Leslie (or so I’ve heard), is definitely working.  Amy Poehler and Adam Scott work very well off each other.
• Community:  (I think TWoP said it was “more good than bad.”)  I give it an F.  (Ok, maybe a D).  I so wish they hadn’t gone to Britta being in love with Jeff.  About mid-season, I thought they’d abandoned the idea because there wasn’t much chemistry between the actors.  But they did go there.  I figured Jeff would end up with Annie, especially after their debate team kiss.
• Legend of the Seeker:  I don’t if TWoP even rated this show.)  Much like the entire 2nd season, it was forgettable.  So much so, I almost forgot to include it here.
• Stargate: Universe:  (The season hadn’t yet ended when TWoP did their thing.)  I give it a D.  I hate cliffhangers.  Not only was the season finale one, so were the previous two episodes.  I was going to say it was overkill, but that was the season ender—literally.  It’s like the writers couldn’t come up with a good ending, so they left everyone’s life in the balance.
• Merlin:  (Same as SGU)  I loved it!  A+!  Easily the best episode of the season.  I have so much love for this episode, I think it deserves its own post.

Leverage has started its new season, Warehouse 13 starts this week, and several others next week.  So much for waiting for all “my” shows to end.

Your thoughts?

A week & a half later…

I bet you thought because I hadn’t posted in a while that I was disappointed in Modern Family‘s episode last week, titled “Up All Night.”  No way! It was awesome!  Awesome, I tell you!  And Benjamin Bratt was fantastic!

As with anything Ben Bratt-related, I’m always concerned about how the reviews will be, because there are a lot of people out there (Tom Shales, I’m looking at you) who don’t like him.  Well, if the reaction on the Television Without Pity forum is any indication, he was a smash hit.  The fans there loved the episode, many saying it was the best one to date.  And they loved Ben’s portrayal of Javier, Manny’s father and Gloria’s ex.  And so did I.  (Shocking, I know.)  And I loved him even more on repeat viewings.

"Did you catch them with your bare hands?" "No. I bought them with my bare hands!"

Our impression of Javier to date has been, from Gloria’s descriptions, some kind of a larger-than-life super man; all negated by being Manny’s no-show dad.  And he truly was larger than life.  From his huge grin and open arms upon first appearing (with a [possibly stolen] speed boat in tow), to disarming and charming Jay, to throwing a few baseballs around Dodger Stadium at 2 a.m.  But we all knew what was coming as soon as he’d made plans for drinks with Jay.  (And I loved how Manny was the one to comfort Jay with the no-show.)

What a great role it was for Ben Bratt.  The actor himself is very charming himself, and a bit larger than life for us long-time fans.  He gave Javier some wonderful little moments; his wincing when Jay said he “used to,” and his glance down at Manny just before the stadium lights came on (which I’m sure came from being a devoted father himself).

I still have the episode on my DVR, where it will most likely stay until the it’s repeated this summer.

And can I just add that Mitchell and Cameron rock my world.

Tripping down memory lane

I blame Natalie for getting me hooked on Modern Family.  I started watching not because she told me it’s a great show, or combines the right amount of humor and sweetness, or has wonderfully goofy characters.  Those are reasons I continue to watch it.  Nope, I started watching when she told me Benjamin Bratt was going to appear as Manny’s (no good) dad.

[Yes, I am a Benjamin Bratt fan, but you probably figured that out from yesterday's post.  He was the fuel that fired my  passion for web development.   Back in the olden days of the mid-90s, I started a fan site for him.  It was the only site for him, and very small, only a couple pages. But it grew, and I finally discovered what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I don't run the website anymore. My interests diverted and I just didn't keep up with the Bratt news. The talented and fabulous Francesca took it over, and her dedication has made the site sing.  /background]

Not only is Benjamin going to be on a terrific show, he’s getting a lot of promotional air time.  ABC has really been hyping his guest stint, giving him “star” status.   This tickles me.  You see, we long-time fans remember the days when he flew so low under the radar, he could ride the NYC subway without being recognized.   For him to be given this level of attention—on his own—is new to us.

As for the character of Manny’s father Javier, we know he’s charming and impressive on the outside, but rotten and selfish as a father. I’m really looking forward to Benjamin’s performance. He plays both the good guy and the bad guy quite well.

As for tonight, I guess I’ll watch the Orange Bowl. My alma mater is playing. Woohoo!

Numbers can lie

I knew when I started the Great Supernatural Death Count that those who complained the show is racist and/or sexist would not be swayed. This is not a new phenomenon. I experienced something similar with the Law & Order fandom several years ago.

At that time, Lennie Briscoe, played by the legendary Jerry Orbach, had worked with three different young detectives, Mike Logan (Christopher Noth), Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) and Ed Green (Jessie L. Martin). There had been great consternation when Chris Noth was replaced by Benjamin Bratt, and in an effort to keep Mike Logan’s legacy alive, someone asked Jerry who Lennie’s favorite partner was. Jerry replied, “Benjamin Bratt.”  Chris Noth’s fans disagreed, saying that Lennie liked Mike better, even though the answer came straight from the actor himself.

The moral of this story is people will continue to believe what they want to believe. And that’s ok.

I think the “real” complaint, as pool and cali5 noted in comments on the Super Stats page, is the treatment of recurring characters. In anticipation of this, I actually took a cursory look at the deaths among repeat performers. The numbers are indeed different, but statistical analysis indicated the differences were not significant. But then, the number of subjects was too small to give reliable results.  (I realize this is all a bunch of statistical mumbo jumbo no one probably cares about. It’s just that the researcher in me loves playing with statistics.)

Anyway, their comments actually got me thinking about other ways to look at the treatment of women and ethnics.  I’ll discuss it some other time.  Right now I need to go and watch some more season 4 episodes.

Recorder wars: TiVo vs. DVR

I have a queston for TiVo users.  Bear with me while I rant a little. I’ll get to the question in a bit.

I love my DVR.  Usually.  But it’s not smart enough to know when a show goes over its time limit.  Case in point, while the Rose Bowl finished in its allotted time, ABC “had” to show some of the post-game hoopla—for nearly 10 minutes.  Consequently, my recording of Better Off Ted (an episode I hadn’t seen before) started 10 minutes late.  So not only did I get only 20 minutes worth of entertainment (ok, more like 14.5, taking commercials into account—because you know the networks aren’t going to cut commercial time), I missed a huge chunk of the ending.  Fortunately, Better Off Ted is not “must see tv” for me, but still, I might have missed one those golden lines that Phil rambles off; although I can’t imagine anything funnier than “It’s like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, if you massacred the chainsaws.”

This happens all the time on TNT, because they butt the shows right up against each other, going so far as to overlap the ending credits with the opening of the new show.  A week or so ago, they aired “Refuge, Part 2.”  It’s one of my favorite Law & Order episodes, and it’s Benjamin Bratt’s last appearance.  Even if we hadn’t had Rey Curtis doing all the things we fans loved (speaking Spanish, tackling bad guys) the last few minutes were gold.  Rey Curtis says a heart-felt goodbye to Lt. Van Buren and Lenny Briscoe, and walks out of the 2-7.

That scene depicted the real friendship between Benjamin and S. Epatha Merkerson and the legendary Jerrry Orbach.  In fact, they interviewed that the tears in their eyes were real.   I knew TNT would cut the show short, so I even recorded the following show.  But there’s a time blip between recordings, so missed the ending of Lennie & Rey’s exchange, Rey walking out the door, and the poignant look between Lennie and Anita.  I suppose I could have just set a manual recording for the time, but my success with that has been iffy.  I wouldn’t complain so much, but L&O season 9 isn’t out on DVD yet.  I do have it on video tape (somewhere), but geez!  Who watches those any more?

So, here’s the question.  I’ve heard claims that TiVo knows when a show has gone over schedule and adjusts its recording accordingly.  So, if you TiVo owners planned to record, say, the premiere of Glee last summer, did you get to the end of the show, or were you  unceremoniously cut off during “Don’t Stop Believing” because American Idol ran long?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Expanding interests are better than expanding waistlines

Ok.  I signed up for January’s NaBloPoMo.  Again.  I’m going to keep doing this until I get it right!  This time, though, I signed up SciFi Chicks.  I figure more people are interested in tv than me.

So, since this is a special month (and my television interests have expanded to beyond scifi), I’m going to write about other, non-scifi shows I really like. Like Modern Family. And Benjamin Bratt’s guest stint on Modern Family.  And… huh, I guess all the other non-scifi shows I like are between seasons.  Maybe Better Off Ted, too.  I hear it needs a little love.

And who knows.  Maybe if I’m forced motivated to post every day, I’ll get my Legend of the Seeker season 2 and Stargate: Universe reviews written.

So, that’s what my new year will bring.  How about you?

Mad Men: The Gypsy and the Hobo

Yes, I know Mad Men is not a scifi  show (unless you consider the early ’60s a fantasy, with “Camelot” and all). But there is a connection, however precarious it may be.

My second favorite Supernatural writer, Cathryn Humphris, is now a writer (and executive story editor) on Mad Men. (Raelle Tucker, my favorite Supernatural writer, is now on True Blood.) And while I miss them on Supernatural, I’m thrilled both of them are working on more popular (and critically acclaimed) shows.

Last night I saw Catheryn’s name in the opening credits (sandwiched between two other writers), so I was hoping it would be a good episode. Oh my goodness, it was amazing! The best show of the year, maybe even the entire series.  (If you’ve never seen Mad Men, this probably won’t make a lick of sense, so I’ll put it behind a cut.)