Alyson Hannigan y su familia fueron vistos el día 27 de Noviembre como siempre sonriendo dando un paseo por el Upper East Side de Nueva York.

Aquí tenéis las fotos:

“Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap”

November 23rd, 2009

I’ve been having a back and forth with other critics over the past few weeks about the current state of How I Met Your Mother, as there’s a general consensus that the show got rid of Barney and Robin before its comic potential had been fulfilled but a disagreement over whether this is all part of a broader plan. And, on Friday, co-creator Carter Bays did an interview with Michael Ausiello that managed to do absolutely nothing to settle this argument. On the one hand, Bays noted that this could just be one part of a larger journey between the two characters, which seems encouraging. However, on the other hand, he also said the following:

“None of us wanted to see Barney wearing a sweater-vest and going to bed-and-breakfasts,” says Bays, adding that it makes sense the relationship would “flame out fast” given that “neither of them, at their core, really wanted to be tied down.” Bays also believes that, deep down, viewers prefer single Barney to attached Barney. “It’s one of those things where you can give people what they think they want, or what they really want.”

It’s one thing that Bays is remaining coy about their future, but for him to have internalized what I feel is a close-minded and limiting audience reaction to the character is highly problematic for me. The show didn’t give Barney a chance to adapt Single Barney into Attached Barney so to judge so quickly is so short-sighted that it is either a misquote or a sign that my faith in Bays/Thomas is lower than it’s ever been.

And while “Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap” seems built to regain my trust and sympathy by tapping into the show’s most slaptastic mythologies and by actually giving Lily and Marshall a story of their own, it does nothing to deal with my overall concerns about Barney as a character (proving a wash in this area) and disappoints by feeling like a strange mash-up of sentimental and comic that feels far less organic than the original “Slapsgiving.

Accordingly, How I Met Your Mother remains “on notice,” even during this holiday season.

The reason this episode does nothing to do with Barney’s character is that he remains in a supporting capacity. Barney, as a caricature with no sense of emotionality, works so long as he isn’t asked to be the center of attention. Like with last “Slapsgiving,” the slap itself is less about Barney (who simply sits paralyzed by fear, this year trapped by not knowing who is going to slap him as opposed to not knowing when the slap is coming) than it is about Ted and Robin arguing over who is going to slap him. As a result, Neil Patrick Harris simply gets to play the combination of mortal terror and savvy disruption as Barney tries to get them arguing to the point where neither of them will dole out the slap before the imposed deadline of sundown. The result is a performance and a character beat that doesn’t fall short because it has no aspirations: Barney is specifically compartmentalized outside of the dramatic side of the episode, and there’s nothing wrong with this.

However, ignoring the fact that this story would have been just as interesting if Robin and Barney were still together (where Ted and Robin could have still brought the turkey as roommates and her right to the slap could have been about getting retribution for their fights), the real reason that this story doesn’t work is that Ted and Robin have nothing to work out. While the first “Slapsgiving” put a nail in the Ted/Robin relationship (if not the friends with benefits potential) for good in the midst of the slaptivities, providing an emotional depth to the episode, this year’s Ted and Robin story was ultimately pointless. I kept waiting for something to happen to make Ted and Robin’s conflict more explicitly about either Barney (for Robin) or something at all (for Ted, who hasn’t had a real story all year) so that it would have some sort of impact, but it never did. I don’t mean to so clearly cry out for some continuity, but at least start listing off the various ways that Barney has wrong Ted in the past, or bring up Robin’s relationship with him long before the conclusion of the episode. As good as NPH was in the various reactions, especially when Ted and Robin were arguing and he was popping up between them, the only time their argument became interesting was when Ted tried to lie and claim he was still in love with her: at that point, as played out as that card is, it was at least something to give the storyline a point.

In the end, for the episode to claim that the whole “Slapsgiving 2″ storyline was all an effort from Marshall to bring everyone together (which makes no sense considering that he raised it before Mickey arrived, and thus before they needed to be reconciled in any major way (Major Way! *Salute*) ) is patently false, and a bit of broad overgeneralizing that the show is normally above. I thought Chris Elliott was engaging as Lily’s inappropriate board game-obsessive deadbeat dad, and I like that Lily was finally given a storyline, but it failed to connect with me both a) because we had never been introduced to it in the past and b) because Lily was kind of unsympathetic throughout. It may be a symptom of the fact that Lily has been somewhat mean all season, but the “You’re Dead to Me” look and her unwillingness to forgive her father lacked emotional nuance. The episode didn’t know if it wanted us to take Lily’s hatred seriously (in overdoing his faults to the point of sending Lily’s grandfather back into the steel mill) or to view it as frivolous and silly (like with her newspaper stealing neighbour or her bridesmaid), mixing Lily’s pride and love for her family with being overemotional and bitter. So when the episode eventually tells, rather than shows, Lily’s moment of realization that the convenience store owner was actually dead to everyone, it’s like we’re so disconnected from Lily’s emotions that any real value in their reunion is lost, a problem only compounded when it gets lumped in with the slap towards the end.

Of course, the episode had its charms. I thought Marshall got a lot of great content in the episode, whether it was the fake arms in his Sunday dinner webchat or him retelling the story of he and Mickey’s meeting so that it wasn’t him who was bawling his eyes out. And Mickey was worth it if only for the endless parade of board game concepts (Tijuana Slumlord, Car Battery, There’s a Clown Demon Under the Bed, Landmine Lunge, Diseases, Dog Fight Promoter, etc.) And even though it could be seen a mile away, the premise of the slap bet hasn’t lost all of its charm, and seeing Jason Segel rip into Neil Patrick Harris remains as entertaining as ever before.

But the episode struggling trying to both use an existing mythology (the slapping throne was a nice addition) and create a new one (with Lily’s father) in the same episode, and both suffered as a result. The two storylines never meshed together as organically as they did in “Slapsgiving,” and the Lily side of things needed more time and focus to allow us to connect with her emotional journey. It wasn’t an unfunny episode, but it didn’t live up to the mythology it tapped into.

It’s not a slaptastrophe, but let’s just say I have my slapsgivings…as in misgivings, not the pural of Slapsgiving. Note the lack of capitalization.

Cultural Observations

• You’d be amazed how instinctively I added the repeat/salute after “major way” above. No delay at all.
• Of the various new slap phrases in the episode, I think “Slape Diem” was my favourite.
• They’re onto the last slap, and I’ll say this much: it needs to be an event on its own. Don’t worry about other storylines, just give us an epic slap episode worthy of the occasion.
• It used to be that Lily’s different hair was what destroyed any realistic flashbacks, but wigs could at least pretend: Hannigan’s new chest, however, is far more conspicuous.
• And yes, as everyone saw, the 1990s Board Game commercial version of Aldrin Games’ Slap Bet, complete with kids slapping the elderly was a whole lot of fun, especially the 90s commercial interpretation of “You Just Got Slapped.”

Alyson Hannigan tweeted last night about shooting a musical number for How I Met Your Mother, and the special guest she invited - Joss Whedon.

>> Read more at SmallScreenScoop.com now…

“The Playbook”

November 16th, 2009

Last week’s episode of How I Met Your Mother proved enormously divisive, despite the fact that for the most part most critics read the episode itself in much the same way. For example, Todd VanDerWerff and I both liked elements of the episode, but our overall impressions of the episode were fundamentally different. He chose to believe that the writers still have more in store for Robin and Barney, the episode representing just a bump in the road, whereas I chose to assume the worst and believe that the writers had truly bungled the conclusion of this relationship that still had a lot of mileage in it.

In the end, Todd convinced me that I was perhaps being too hasty to judge where the show was going, but forgive me if “The Playbook” doesn’t somewhat prove my point. If the writers dumped Robin and Barney’s relationship so quickly because they were that desperate to be able to tell stories where Barney gets to be his usual, philandering self, then it feels like the sort of regressive move that I thought the show was above. This episode could have worked within the context of their relationship had the show been willing to do so (I’ll explain how after the jump), but the end of the episode confirms that Barney has reverted to a one-dimensional caricature and Robin is already moving on.

And while the show is certainly more clever than your average sitcom, that sort of character regression is the sort of thing that I call out other shows for – as such, this is another disappointing episode for me.

If Robin and Barney had stayed together, this episode would still have been possible. The episode could have been about Robin finding out about the Playbook and seeking to have it destroyed to further cement their relationship, and the various scenes acting out the Playbook could have still remained as vestiges of Barney’s past as opposed to present behaviour. The episode’s storytelling narrative could have even been maintained, except that Lily could have told a pre-Barnman & Robin story about Barney intercepting one of Ted’s dates as opposed to that story happening in the context of the episode. My point is that there was an opportunity here for these types of stories to still be told in the context of Robin and Barney’s relationship, and that in fact it would have resulted in a far more interesting story than this one.

On a surface level, there’s a lot to like in this one, as Lily and Barney are always a fun pairing to throw into the ring together and anything which plays into the mythos of Barney Stinson is always fun. But the episode really didn’t have anything else going for it beyond those simple constructs, and it showed: while some of the plays from the Playbook were clever, none of them were a new pinnacle for the show, and the constant winking to the audience made them feel more gimmicky than they needed to be. Some of them, like “My Penis Grants Wishes,” were legitimately unfunny, while others like The Mrs. Stinsfire were derivative even while remaining enjoyable for Neil Patrick Harris’ performance.

My objection to Barney reverting back to this sort of character is not just that I felt he and Robin had more of a relationship to investigate, and that the storyline had a lot more comedy to wring out over time. I also have to admit that I’m growing a bit tired of this more one-dimensional Barney: he may be quippy, and there might be a lot of google hits that get to this post by my use of MILSWANCAS (That’s Mothers I’d Like to Sweep With and Never Call Again), but I don’t think that’s enough to sustain an episode of comedy. What worked with Barney and Robin’s relationship was the idea that this character would be legitimately challenged, not so much eliminated as tested in a way that could have made an episode like this really interesting from a character standpoint. Instead, the episode teased such a character moment at the end of the episode (Barney noting that this was all his way of dealing with his breakup from Robin) only to rip it away and reveal that it was all part of some grand scheme.

Barney is an engaging character, but personally I don’t enjoy episodes that centre on Barney’s character but are entirely devoid of any sort of emotional core. Barney is a fantastic supporting character, played with bravado by NPH, but when thrust into a lead role (as he no doubt was here) the character becomes one-dimensional in a way that actually strips the show of some of its charm. Individual jokes might work as well as they did in the past, and Barney’s one-liners are likely going to be in fine form, but when there’s no heart I can’t engage with this character. His relationship with Robin created the sort of purpose that his character has been missing, and was something that could have created new scenarios where things like the Playbook could operate on a different comic plane. Here, however, it was just like The Bro Code or any other gimmick the character has introduced in the past, and none of the jokes were so strong for my character development-loving side not to feel pretty substantially disappointed.

The side of the story with the rest of the gang was a bit stronger, if only because there were some fun exchanges between the various characters. I don’t quite understand why a new character had to be introduced to justify the story method (Chloe, outside of harmonizing on “Hell No,” was a non-entity), but I enjoyed Marshall and Ted delivering a “Lawyering of Nature” to Robin about her desire to not be in a relationship, and Lily and Barney’s duelling “Youuuu sonofabitch” battle was the sort of thing that both Hannigan and NPH always play extremely well.

It just seemed like this episode, after the season thus far, shouldn’t be happening this way. The ingredients might all be part of HIMYM’s comic signature, with Barney’s elaborate schemes to bag women and the somewhat convoluted narrative structure, but when the episode hinged entirely on a one-dimensional image of Barney and never felt like it really justified that structure I’m left scratching my head, still, about last week’s decision to break up this couple. The show occasionally mentioned, through Robin, how awkward this all was, but to have Barney dismiss the sentiment entirely and to have Robin meet someone new feels like the show rushing on to keep us from asking whether we actually want any of this to happen.

And, well, I don’t.

Cultural Observations

• I quite enjoyed the moment where Lily was pointing out to Shelly that all of Lorenzo Von Matterhorn’s accolades were lies, but then temporarily takes it back when she hears about the laser tag tournament…until Shelly notes that it was at the Vatican.
• The episode was filled with a lot of really clumsy writing to be honest: Barney blaming Al Qaeda, and making the rather lame “girl with a really nice…phone” joke, seemed really off from the show’s usual comic charm for me.
• I think it says a lot about Ted that, rather than be mad that Barney uses his tragedy as a way to hook up with chicks, he instead uses the strategy himself.
• In better news, Neil Patrick Harris is now on Twitter.

Alyson Hannigan fue vista con su hija de siete meses Satyana en Santa Monica el día 12 de este mes.

Aquí tenéis estas adorables fotos de madre e hija:

Alyson Hannigan 12/11/09

Sairam os nomes que vão concorrer ao People’s Choice Awards 2009. ‘Twilight’ e ‘True Blood’ estão entre os mais votados. Os fãs dedicaram mais de 18 milhões de votos para as duas atrações.

‘Twilight’ é o favorito a Melhor Filme, Franquia e Melhor Elenco (Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson e Taylor Lautner). Stewart e Pattinson também concorrem individualmente por Melhor Atriz e Melhor Ator, enquanto Lautner concorre a Melhor Revelação.

‘True Blood’ foi nomeado para o prêmio Maior obsessão e Melhor Série Sci-Fi/Fantasia, enquanto Anna Paquin concorre a melhor Atriz de Drama.

Os fãs podem votar em seus favoritos no site oficial da premiação.

Veja aqui a lista completa de indicados relacionados a TV:

Série de Drama

CSI
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Lost
NCIS

Série de Comédia

Desperate Housewives
How I Met Your Mother
The Big Bang Theory
The Office
Two And a Half Men

Ator de Drama

Hugh Laurie
Kiefer Sutherland
Mark Harmon
Matthew Fox
Patrick Dempsey

Atriz de Drama

Anna Paquin
Blake Lively
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Katherine Heigl
Mariska Hargitay

Ator de Comédia

Alec Baldwin
Charlie Sheen
Jim Parsons
Neil Patrick Harris
Steve Carell

Atriz de Comédia

Alyson Hannigan
America Ferrera
Amy Poehler
Eva Longoria Parker
Tina Fey

Maior Obsessão na TV

Dexter
Gossip Girl
The Hills
The Secret Life of The American Teenager
True Blood

Talk Show

Chelsea Lately
Live with Regis & Kelly
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Tyra Banks Show

Série de Sci-Fi/Fantasia

Heroes
Lost
Supernatural
The Vampire Diaries
True Blood

Show de Competição

American Idol
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Survivor: Samoa

Nova Série de TV

V
Eastwick
FlashForward
Melrose Place
Mercy
The Forgotten
The Good Wife
The Vampire Diaries
Three Rivers
NCIS: Los Angeles

Click here for the review of Season 2

The third season of Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer was marked by the arrival in Sunnydale of renegade slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku), a moody loner who seemed to like her demon-staking calling just a little too much. While Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was always wary of Faith, the two developed a deep friendship and appreciative rapport – that is, until the evil mayor of Sunnydale (Harry Groener) tapped into Faith’s dark side and lured her into his plot to take over the world, first as a double agent spying on Buffy, then as out-and-out nemesis. And as the mayor’s ascension approached – which happened to fall on Sunnydale High’s graduation day – Buffy and Faith’s battles got nastier and nastier, as Buffy attempted to wrestle with her dark side, save the world and her friends (again), and keep her lover Angel (David Boreanaz) out of Faith’s evil clutches – and out of evil’s evil clutches.

Episode 01: Anne
It was a good episode. Buffy is dealing with past happenings, coming around Angel’s death and trying to turn away from her old life. At least her disappearance from the last episode didn’t get a shitty conclusion, but took a whole episode to deal with this topic – good. And it was good that the other characters in Sunnydale didn’t get much screentime, and only one vampire and their first day of school. Even though the talk Giles (Anthony Steward Head) and with Joyce (Kristine Sutherland) was pretty interesting and full of character moments. Not only tries Joyce to accept Buffy being the slayer, she still looks for excuses, why Buffy moves far and far away from her. And she has kind of right. Giles really is a big father figure in Buffy’s life and he sometimes took most of her time.
The demon story was alright, it gave a nice conflict for Buffy and a reason to return. And with the appearance of Lily (Julia Lee) we have a character from season two back for one episode and another little conflict for Buffy.
Just the fact that Buffy must have been sad all summer long gets a bit on my nerves – nobody can be that sad all the time – she shut herself out from life all the time, didn’t meet people, did nothing? Kind of unreliable. To run away from life means you have to live another life and not think about it… 7,5/10

Episode 02: Dead Man’s Party
An average episode, even though the most interesting story, Buffy’s efforts to reinstate herself into her old life, was the best here, but cut way too short. Buffy had some discussions with her friends in here (despite the cheesiness of the verbal fight during the party, especially Xander’s (Nicholas Brendon) behavior), but the real aftermath was kind of missing in this episode. Instead the writers had to deal big with a Nigerian mask, which rises the dead. Not really interesting and of course full of cliches: The zombies behaved like real zombies from classic monster movies. To be honest, the whole zombie/mask/whatever story was completely useless, uninteresting and dull. But all the scenes involving Buffy and her friends getting back to their old life were great. 5,5/10

Episode 03: Faith, Hope and Trick
Finally the season really begins. With Faith’s introduction. Buffy’s grieve is over after she told the truth what really happened (great scene) and she even tries to get a date. Joyce is finally living with the fact that her daughter is the slayer and even learns that she died for a couple of minutes. So pretty much nice development in all of the characters. Even Faith’s introduction into the Buffyverse was pretty much good. She succeeded Kendra and she is a troubled person (which lets me ask the following: Who is choosing the slayers at all?). And at least she came to Sunnydale with a backstory (pissing off a fishy vampire with three fingers), even though it would have been better, when the story actually was a bit better. A watcher was killed and nobody really cared.
Faith in the Summers house was nice, this is what makes her to a likable character, and how she beat the crap out of one of the vampires was just nice, this promises some more action in this season and it promises that Faith will have some problems to deal with.
The cliffhanger seems nice, though I wished not to see it: Angel is back from hell (or wherever he was). I still wish the writers chose letting him in hell, but WB wanted to have a spin-off with him, so he had to come back… 7,5/10

Episode 04: Beauty and the Beasts
Pretty much a boring episode, even though it is Angel’s first episode back after his death in the second season finale. I am stunned that Angel might have been a monster in here, but he was able to style his hair… Funny.
The story about the high school couple, the Jekyll & Hyde theme, was really boring and didn’t interest me a bit. Scott (Fab Filippo) brings some new characters into the game and it was so damn obvious that they are important for the story. Platt (Phill Lewis) as school psychiatrist would have been interesting, but he was killed in his first episode. Bummer. At best the story about Oz (Seth Green) probably being the killer of the student was interesting, but this was pretty much solved during the second half.
Well, I still don’t like the fact that the writers had to bring back Angel. Not only will his love story with Buffy starts from the beginning (again), but Angel is not that interesting in here. Really. Maybe his return from wherever he came from could be interesting, because of the “wherever he came from” – where was he? 4,5/10

Episode 05: Homecoming
A good and interesting episode, not only because of the Mayor’s introduction. Apart from the questionable storylines (what does the Mayor want from Trick (K. Todd Freeman), or why is it always so difficult to hunt down Buffy and finally kill her – even the Germans were really stupid enemies) and the Buffy/Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) feud (even though they seem to be friends at the end, but they will ever “hate” each other) I liked the episode. Okay, the fight about being the homecoming queen was funny and so, but the series doesn’t need typical high school, stories for only one episode, when I already know the ending won’t develop any of the main characters.
The ending was funny – for the first time a tie, Buffy and Cordy are about to hear their names and then the other contestants win. Totally hilarious in my eyes. And like I said, I don’t know what the Mayor has to do with Trick – it is obvious that the writers wanted to keep Trick as a temporary enemy for Buffy, but the real reason is missing. It was nice though to see one of the Texan vampires from season two back again. I had to laugh, when he ran away from Cordy. 7,5/10

Episode 06: Band Candy
Pretty boring episode, but at least a funny one. Even though we find out more about the Mayor; Ethan’s (Robin Sachs) return and Giles and Joyce making out without stopping, this episode was just a filler, like the last two episodes, just to waste some time until the next episode.
Well, like I said, the episode was hilarious. Giles a teenager again, making out with Buffy’s mom in front of Buffy and Buffy herself trying to be the adult was nice and had a bit of a character development – this
all was cool, but I can’t think of any more than this episode just being a filler. Not only Angel has no screentime in here, and I am not talking about Faith.
And getting the newborn was just a lame excuse for this story, the vampires simply could have gone into the hospital, made a little kill spree and got the newborn – what’s so difficult to do this and why the deal with the cursed chocolate?
Yeah, it was funny, but one of the most useless episodes in Buffy history. 5,5/10

Episode 07: Revelations
This is an episode I wanted to see during the last six episodes. Finally no filler, instead great stories, developments and ideas of what’s to come this season.
Faith getting a new watcher was a good idea (and it was necessary after all to give Faith a new watcher), but her being the bad one was pretty obvious. And finally the scooby gang finds out that Angel is alive again (only their reaction was a bit over the top – even Giles cannot only see the things Angel did to him; as a watcher he has to see the whole picture), so Angel can be integrated more into the story in future episodes.
The first Buffy vs Faith was awesome and it was not the last. It is great to see that the writers planned this storyline from the beginning. I just find it amusing that Faith knocked out Angel and he was unconscious for, like, ten minutes and then wakes up to save Willow (Alyson Hannigan) (that was more funny than surprising).
The deal about the glove was boring though, and the finale came a bit too fast; and I wished to see the scooby gang dealing more about Angel actually being the good guy again.
But the fights were really good. Finally some classic slayer vs slayer (I know, Kendra and Buffy fought in season two, but Kendra is almost forgotten, and dead, while Faith is in the story right now). 8,5/10

Episode 08: Lover’s Walk
Funny and serious episode, and a test balloon, how the writers can deal with Spike (James Marsters), even though his story is over and he already was the main enemy. There are already many parallels with later seasons and the ending of the episode is pretty much awesome.
Sure, the story around Spike ain’t great and nothing is happening (he doesn’t get Drusilla back, he doesn’t get killed, he is the same old Spike from season two with the exception of his love talk), but how the scooby gang is dealing with him is awesome. Even though I couldn’t believe that all of them were believing really fast that Spike returned, especially Buffy while on the phone with Joyce.
Funny moments were Spike talking his soul out with Willow, while she is scared of him killing her and definitely Spike talking to Joyce; I was short before laughing very hard. Just the fact that Angel was “accidentally” at the Summers house and seeing Spike, thinking he wants to kill Joyce was laughable in a negative way; such coincidences are just stupid and unintentionally funny. But what the hell.
The little relationship drama Willow/Oz/Xander/Cordy growing to its highest point was awesome, though it was (unintentionally) funny, that Cordy and Oz ran into Willow and Xander while kissing. And I wouldn’t know what to begin with Cordy’s accident right after that (probably, just to show the funeral scene and have the gag in it), when I wouldn’t know the next episode.
And how good would it be, when the friendship of the gang is broken, while they are saving the world? The end of the episode was a good start. 8/10

Episode 09: The Wish
Great episode. Cordy is still dealing with the “break-up” and wished practically hell on Earth. The introduction to that story was already settled in the last episode, while Cordy was thinking about her life in the hospital (still a scene in which Charisma Carpenter looked really great and really serious for the first time in the show). And this episode gives us the introduction of Anya (Emma Caulfield), a well-known character in later episodes.
It was obvious that the alternate reality story was coming in Buffy sooner or later and even though the setting of the alternate reality wasn’t a surprise (because there had something to come), but what happened during the 42 minutes was awesome. Cordy killed by Xander-vamp and Willow-vamp in the middle of the episode (so the actual reason, why we are in this reality isn’t there anymore, it is like Psycho: Mill the main character, before the movie hits half time); Xander and Willow being creepy vampires (which gives Alyson Hannigan a cool opportunity to play outside of her sweet Willow character, now she is the sweet and cold-blooded vampire – awesome); the Master (Mark Metcalf) risen from the Harvest and developing technology for sucking up blood in a better and more “human” way (LOL); and Angel is the puppet for everyone, especially Willow (great scenes between the two).
For me, it came just a bit too fast how Giles figured out the Anyanka deal, and Buffy came really fast to Sunnydale, without even asking a question – she was so cold in her role here, I was asking me why she even bothered to go to Sunnydale. But the final fight was awesome. Half of the gang gets killed and the Master even won over Buffy, and with that great score playing in the background, the scene had a few goosebumps effects. I just wished the scene would be a bit longer or we actually would see Buffy hit the ground after she was killed.
One of my highlights. 9,5/10

Episode 10: Amends
Another great episode, when you look under the surface of it. You don’t see it, but here are battling the good and the evil against each other, and Angel is only their playing ball. It is only a shame that the writers didn’t plan to show it more in the story. Instead we only learn about the First, and we only know that it actually exists (it is interesting that Giles didn’t know about it before; it comes a bit illogical, when he and the gang is learning everything about their enemies, when they are actually in Sunnydale and threatening lives), for more you have to wait four more seasons.
At least Angel got a story of his own, after he was barely a main character these last episodes, and together with his flashbacks the episode had a nice touch and brought us Angel a bit closer again. Even though I didn’t need his flashbacks, but they were necessary for the First to appear in the people Angel killed in the past. His doubts were interesting, though bad acted (I had to laugh, when he was touching his head and trying to play craziness, because that totally didn’t work out) and Buffy’s first standoff with the First was hilarious (“All right. I get it, you’re evil. Do we have to chat about it all day?” – “You have no idea what you are dealing with.” “Let me guess, is it… evil?”). Haha, I was laughing.
I just don’t believe that Angel would kill himself to save Buffy. Not only out of character, but the scene in which Buffy tries to bring Angel the word “strong” closer looked good, but at the end it was way too much, because I couldn’t buy the situation. And on top of it the sun didn’t rise, it didn’t even go bright. It stayed night the complete day. I am laughing. I know, it was highly possible that the Powers That Be were responsible for the snow to save Angel, but at least the writers could have shown that it was actually DAYTIME and not in the middle of the night.
The return of Robia LaMorte was awesome though. I miss her since Angel killed Jenny. A shame that she never did anything good after Buffy. 8,5/10

Episode 11: Gingerbread
Another one of those filler episodes and a pretty boring one, too. The story seemed interesting, but it got boring, after the ghosts were revealed, because it was a real mystery before, without actually being a real big mystery. The witch hunt of course reminded me of Salem and all the other witch and religious hunts in the history of mankind, but the writers could have done more.
It would have been nice to see Joyce possessed or something and let her be the main enemy of the episode; Buffy fighting against her mother to save her, but it never came to that, bummer. And the final “fight” was a bit lame – Buffy trying the whole time to free herself and then suddenly she manages to break the pole and stabs the demon? Muhaha, I was laughing. Well, at least the scene was intended to be funny.
Cordy to Giles was funny, too: “How often are you knocked out anyway?” I already can’t count the times Giles was knocked out and this was indeed a funny scene…
By the way: Is it just me or didn’t the writers conclude the ritual sign things. Willow said they were for protection, but why were they on the kids’ hands? 5/10

Episode 12: Helpless
A good episode. And the start of a new little story, even though the story of the episode was filler. At least we learn something more about the Watcher’s council and how they are practically the bosses of the slayers and their watchers.
The vampire of the week was kind of funny. Jeff Kober can always play the bad guy (I only know him as the bad guy anyway), but his actions were just… stupid. He kills one of his guards, makes him to a vampire, but actually can’t free himself and has to wait? And how did he know where Buffy lived to take her mother? And how did he even know that Buffy was the one to “play” with and not any other girl on the street?
Buffy without her superpowers was a good idea, and I really liked Giles in this one, but for a better episode the writers have to build around the plot holes, not actually on it. 7,5/10

Episode 13: The Zeppo
It is interesting that the writers once dealt with the story of “Nobody will ever know what happened”, and that’s why this episode is good. And funny. Buffy and the rest of the scooby gang fight their biggest fight yet, and Xander has other problems to fight, just because the gang didn’t want him in their fight. Another example that the series is for an ensemble cast. Buffy was not even a second-row character in this one; with her five-minute screentime she almost had nothing to do.
Xander’s zombie story was old, but cool and funny. It is nice how he develops as a character here, even though he had one too many one liner. At least zombies just want to have fun is something new, I didn’t see that all the time. And Xander having sex with Faith… ROFL. I don’t even know why the writers put that in the episode, it seems so unimportant. And funny (here is it again).
And the apocalypse problems of the gang? I almost was surprised how much screentime that story got; with a little less screentime (Buffy’s scene in the bar
could have been cut out) it would have been better, especially when Xander’s story crossed with the apocalypse (saving Faith, meeting Giles and Willow, running from the demons). 8/10

Episode 14: Bad Girls
Finally, the season story arc can really begin now, after the writers included everything they want to have included for the episodes. The Mayor is invincible now (pretty lame for just a one-episode arc), Faith is about to change sides, a new watcher is in town and we had the fattest vampire ever in vampire television history.
Wesley’s (Alexis Denisof) introduction was very nice and I was laughing when he and Giles simultaneously cleaned their glasses. Funny as well was how all of them handled Wesley as the new watcher, especially Giles with his snippy one liner.
Buffy and Faith on an action trip was very nice, at least we had some nice vampire action for a change; how they entered the nest by daylight looked really cool. And with Faith’s murder we have a new story starting (finally I would say); there isn’t much time left until she and the Mayor meet – but first Faith has to be separated from the scooby gang (which had enormously lots of screentime here. Not).
Important episode for the season, but actually not a great one. Just good. 7/10

Episode 15: Consequences
Basically the second part of the Bad Girls episode with all the aftermath of Faith’s murder. Buffy has nightmares, Faith still doesn’t care about what she did and everybody tries to get Faith back to her old manners (if she had any from the start). And even though the cliffhanger was necessary for the story arc, I just don’t know why Faith would go to the Mayor to work for him. What is her reason for that? She never was really that bad, she only had bad influence in the life she lived, but that was never a reason, why she changed sides.
It was nice of the writers to give Xander another chance to help without his superpowers, and like in The Zeppo, he almost died trying to help Faith (here as well: How did Angel enter the motel room? Faith never invited him in). By the way: Faith trying to seduce Xander is again way over the top. Sure, she plays with men like they are her boytoys, but Faith’s actions here are mostly unreliable, and this is what pulls the episode down.
Wesley is another topic: He is too much outside of the scooby gang to have that much screentime. Though it is interesting to see a watcher really living the watcher rules, but in this moment Wesley isn’t really interesting.
Still a good episode, but the writers suddenly pushed Faith to the bad side without giving any plausible explanations why she would work for the bad side. 7/10

Episode 16: Doppelgangland
Almost a genius episode. Joss Whedon did exactly the right thing: He totally didn’t take the episode serious and put lots of gags in it. Not only am I surprised that the story needed 14 minutes to get to its first climax (vampire Willow entering this reality), but the story actually was funny. Alyson Hannigan has again lots of fun playing the dominatrix vampire and even has a nice action scene (this would be her first in the show, if I didn’t forget anything); Anya is back to introduce her to the audience and showing that she will be a recurring character; the scene in which Willow sees that her evil doppelganger seems to be gay (very important if you consider the next season) and especially good Willow amongst vampires in the Bronze – the complete scene was very hilarious. Even the scenes in which the characters were truly shocked about Willow’s “death” were almost hilarious, because totally unbelievable. I don’t know if that was on purpose or really bad acting.
From start to finish a real highlight of the show, another one of those examples that the writers always have irony in their ideas. 9,5/10

Episode 17: Enemies
A good episode with a nice, but obvious twist at the end. I still can’t buy the fact that Faith is working for the Mayor, but I have to live with that, and fortunately the writers didn’t hang on the story of Faith working undercover for the Mayor in the scooby gang – this one is ending right here.
Buffy’s play to trick Faith was really nice and, like I said, the twist was nice, but everybody should have seen it coming. The writers couldn’t turn Angel again, after they did it in the last season; and the situation with Buffy in cuffs and Faith being the player could just end in Buffy winning (and therefor knowing what is going on), because every other exit would be dumb and idiotic. Only one scene was missing: The scooby gang learning that everything was a hoax to let Faith believe she is ahead of the game. The gang comes into the crypt and they just “watch” Buffy fighting against Faith? Hm, there is really a little scene missing.
By the way: The story with the books is really… ehm, lame.
Interesting is the fact that Faith was the first to use the phrase “scooby gang” during the run of the show. 7/10

Episode 18: Earshot
Interesting stand-alone episode and again injoke Jonathan (Danny Strong) with some appearances. And surprisingly he is in the center of the story, even though the plot about somebody killing all the students began directly at the end of the first half of the episode. The idea of giving somebody new superpowers is not new, but I loved it how Buffy was curious about what is happening to her, and then totally happy when it was mind reading. The writers could have played with that story plot more, but they wanted to make her crazy and the school assassination had to be a big plot in here. But, hey, when Danny Strong has more screentime…
The mind reading scenes were full of cliches, everybody thought exactly that what was funny (though Oz was seriously thinking about a serious topic, which was LOL). And the ending surprise was really one, and a funny one, too. First the emotional scene with Buffy and Jonathan in the clock tower, which really showed some similarities between these two characters, and then the kitchen woman poisoning the food in front of Xander’s eyes – very hilarious. More hilarious was the fight Buffy had with her afterward. Seriously, did the producers really do that? Muhaha.
Funny as hell was Buffy learning about Joyce’s and Gile’s tete-a-tete. Damn, I was laughing. 7,5/10

Episode 19: Choices
For the main enemy episode before the season finale a really lame episode. The most interesting part was the standoff between the Mayor/Faith and the scooby gang with Snyder (Armin Shimerman) and two boring cops in the middle of it. But the rest wasn’t really that interesting, because it didn’t really looked like the writers were preparing the season finale. It felt more like a filler story to get the recurring characters (Mayor, Faith) involved again, before they don’t have any screentime. The story with the box really felt like a filler though, but at least it gave Willow some great moments as hostage and character development at the end. She is not only becoming a real powerful witch, but she is staying in Sunnydale to help Buffy out.
I have a problem how the writers deal with Wesley. He is still too much of a laughing-stock in the show, nobody takes him serious, which follows in the viewers don’t taking him serious. Especially for the first season of Angel this will be the biggest problem the writers have to deal with.
The standoff was great; even the Mayor had some character development and it was great to see that he isn’t really an enemy, he still wants to help in some way (how he talked to Angel) – even this talk was the next stone to prepare Angel to leave Sunnydale. 7/10

Episode 20: The Prom
Just a stand-alone episode, but how it prepared for the season finale… The episode is really unimportant for the rest of the series, but I find it pretty much genius. Sure, the hell dogs, or whatever they were, were really boring (fortunately this story didn’t have much screentime), but I loved how the writers let Buffy think about everything she lived through the episode and let her react in the way she was supposed to react in the series: She is only a lone warrior. Like every other slayer she fights alone, and
this episode showed how she would fight when she was alone and didn’t have any friends on her side – a really great way to show this. And I loved the complete prom sequences, in addition Buffy trying to kill the dogs and saving the school once again.
And then the real highlight: the last award. This has to be the prettiest moment in the series. It was really a great feeling to see Buffy awarded for what she did during the last three years; even I had a little tear in my eye, especially with Jonathan giving out the award – very sweet.
That Angel broke up with Buffy was obvious after the happenings of last episode and what’s to come for him (a spin-off). And it was another one of those great character moments; full of cliche, but still good acted and with emotions.
The little side plot with Cordelia and her family being broke seems just like a filler story though to not only give her screentime, after she was kind of cut in the story these last episodes, but to give Xander a final moment with her. By the way: Xander and Anya are really sweet together, no wonder why Emma Caulfield was promoted to the main cast. 8,5/10

Episode 21/22: Graduation Day
The perfect finale for the high school era of the series. Graduation Day for everybody, and everybody has to fight to survive the next day. And with it the high school is completely destroyed. Like Giles said, this is pretty ironic.
The first part of the finale was more of a normal episode. Faith trying to hurt Buffy through killing Angel with a poison, the scooby gang out to find a cure for him. Which results in the big and awaited fight Buffy versus Faith. It was a good and long fight, but I couldn’t prevent to see the stunt women all the time; their faces were clearly visible. And I couldn’t think that Angel’s cure was only the blood of a slayer. I don’t know, but isn’t this pretty dumb from the Mayor to give this poison to Faith? He should have known that Buffy would find out and probably get to Faith to cure Angel. Or this is one of the storylines Joss Whedon didn’t really think through. But the scene in which Angel feeds on Buffy was great. This is the second time Buffy was fed on by a vampire (the first time being the Master in the first season finale). It really looked like Angel wouldn’t stop, and the scene had a strong sexual meaning (just look at Buffy destroying things and touching Angel while lying on the ground and being sucked on).
Other than that the aftermath of Buffy beating Faith in a coma (interesting: A slayer with supernatural powers can heal pretty fast, but from a coma she doesn’t wake up) was interesting: the Mayor grieving in the hospital, having a little standoff with Angel. And suddenly the Mayor has a human weakness? And it is Faith? Well, I can’t think of the Mayor being a father figure for Faith, this just didn’t come too fast (even though they were signs all over the last episodes), but this story is seriously unreliable. This makes the final fight (Buffy running around with the knife she put in Faith) a bit laughable – negatively speaking.
But the fight itself was good. The scooby gang recruits the whole class of 1999 to fight (this scene has a special meaning after Buffy got the “Class Protector” in The Prom) and even Wesley has a reason to fight behind the council’s back. At least one scene he was serious in; during the fight he was the laughing-stock again, which unfortunately wasn’t funny anymore.
Well, the high school is over, with the next season Buffy goes to college – a new life will begin, another one ended here. Angel had the perfect send-off, and now he can have his own show. Only Cordelia didn’t have the proper good bye. At least Harmony died (hm… she got bitten by a vampire; the writers wanted to make her a vampire, it is obvious after this particular scene). And Anya learned that she is in love with Xander.
By the way: The story with Buffy quitting the council is an interesting story, but the writers never really concentrate on this. Sure, the show is still called Buffy, but I wished to see something about a slayer quitting her job, because this seems “important” – a slayer quitting her job is unique and definitely interesting. And this would have been the latest perfect moment to introduce us to the council a bit more. But the producers didn’t, which is a shame.
And another BTW: The episode had some clues about the fifth season – Faith said something about a big sister, before she started to fight with Buffy. And not to forget the dream sequence with Buffy and Faith. Interesting how Joss Whedon planned ahead.
Good season finale. An era ended, and it ended really hard – the scooby gang survived high school. 8,5/10

Season average is 7,43. It probably won’t look that way, but the third season is my second favorite (after the fifth season). If the writers wouldn’t have pulled off so much filler episodes, the season definitely would be better and more interesting.

Hace dos días, la familia Denisof fue vista volviendo a casa después de desayunar en Santa Monica.

Aquí tenéis las fotos:

Dealing with Funny Business

Four years ago, television insiders were rocked by a fear that the half-hour comedy genre was on its final legs. The field that was once defined by “I Love Lucy,” “Three’s Company” and “Cheers” could not hold an audience. Take, for example, the case of NBC’s powerhouse block of “Must See TV” Thursday. This block defined sitcoms for the latter half of the ‘90s, thanks to hits such as “Friends,” “Seinfeld,” “Just Shoot Me,” “Frasier” and “Will and Grace.”  Once “Friends” and “Seinfeld” ended in 2004 and “Will and Grace” signed off in 2006, however, multi-camera comedies – those taped in front of a studio audience – were suddenly endangered. CBS had launched the moderately successful “Two and a Half Men” in 2003; for the next six years, this would be one of only two multi-camera comedies to make it past three seasons.

With the demise of the multi-camera comedy, luckily, came the rise of the single-camera bracket. Single-camera comedies usually don’t use laugh tracks. The humor is portrayed more subtly and the cameramen have a longer creative rope to zoom in and out and experiment with angles. Popular examples of multi-camera comedies are “The Office,” “Arrested Development” and “Malcolm in the Middle.” While critics love this genre, the broader audience historically does not, hence the cancellation of “Arrested Development” despite its strong cult following. It used to be that networks needed more patience with multi-camera comedies. Whereas single-camera sitcoms either found audiences quickly or not at all, multi-cameras’ greatest strength was word of mouth, and this required time. This fall season, however, is changing all the rules.

2008 entry “The Big Bang Theory” regenerated America’s love of comedy, and this season ABC has miraculously managed to launch a successful two-hour comedy block. While The CW eliminated comedy from its primetime schedule altogether, it’s undoubtedly a strong field for the other networks. So, which honeys bring the funny and which has-beens are wearing thin?

“She doesn’t even know I exist.”

If you’ve never heard of a TV show, it’s understandable. But if Doc Sonya has barely heard about it, you know it’s bad.

• Brothers
  It’s a new comedy on Fox. Comes on during what TV insiders so fondly refer to as “the Friday night death slot.” The network obviously doesn’t want it to succeed, so why should you?

• ‘Til Death
  This show is still on? Really??

Time to Break Up With…

• Two and a Half Men
  Why do I feel so revolted by “Two and a Half Men”? It’s not the fact that it’s a “dude” comedy that objectifies women; I actually couldn’t care less about that. My dislike probably stems from “Men’s” lack of comedic class – neither the crude jokes nor the scenes in bed nor the dialogue is refined. There’s a little something called taste, and “Men” leaves one in your mouth comparable to vinegar.Bottom Line: It’s sad that this is still one of the highest rated comedies in primetime.

• Accidentally on Purpose
  On par with “Two and a Half Men,” this tired concept should never have made it to the air in the first place. “Dharma & Greg”’s Jenna Elfman is wasted here as the “cougar” who gets knocked up by a twenty-something dude. Unfunny dialogue and stereotypical guy humor ensue (if the writers want to discover the proper execution of guy humor, they should watch “The Hangover”).Bottom Line: Bor-ing. Turn off the TV after “How I Met Your Mother” airs.

One-Night Stands:

Ultimately forgettable, but momentarily entertaining.

• Ugly Betty
  I loved “Ugly Betty” when it premiered as a bright, quirky comedy in 2006. Much like “Heroes,” however, “Betty” fell into a sophomore slump and has since reached only mediocrity. The show now lacks the charm and whimsy that made it so delightful during its first season.Bottom Line: While Daniel has no memorable storyline to speak of and Betty’s romantic entanglements are dull and repetitive, Wilhelmina, Marc and Amanda continue to bring the inspired comedy the show sought its first season. Dump the other characters and give these three their own show.

• Gary Unmarrried
  Another uninspired comedy on CBS’ schedule. While “Gary” is certainly more refined than “Men” and “Accidentally on Purpose,” it’s hardly a superior selection. It easily identifies with other marginally successful dad-centered comedies of past years: “The War at Home,” “According to Jim” and “Yes, Dear” come to mind.Bottom Line: Americans have proven that there is indeed an audience for these sub-par shows, and they thus continue to survive. Why not try something saucier, though?
  

Casual Dating:

“You’re pretty funny. Plus, you paid for dinner. I guess we can go out again.”

• The Middle
  “The Middle” centers on the Hecks, a middle-class family in Indiana. While Patricia Heaton is the star, funnyman Neil Flynn, who previously played the Janitor on “Scrubs,” is my reason for watching. I’d say “The Middle” could be appointment TV, but with so many satisfying comedies out there, a girl can only watch so much.Bottom Line: Reminiscent of “Malcolm in the Middle,” “The Middle” demonstrates how mixing kooky with funny plus a tinge of heartfelt emotion makes for an entertaining half-hour.
• Cougar Town
  I’m sure you’ve heard of this Courtney Cox show. Question is, is it any good? Answer: Eh… “Cougar Town” tries for the laughs a smidge too hard, and the slapstick bits don’t quite fit in with today’s comedy demands. However, there’s no denying Cox’s charm, and as son Travis, Dan Byrd’s downplayed comedic timing reminds me of Michael Cera’s spot-on underacting on “Arrested Development.”Bottom Line: Not a bad show, but not a standout, either.

• The New Adventures of Old Christine
  Julia Louis-Dreyfus of “Seinfeld” fame plays Christine, a divorced mom who runs a gym. Her sidekick is the hilarious Wanda Sykes. I’m going to be honest with you: I’ve never seen this show. It’s shameful, because there’s no real excuse for it. But I’m going to endorse it because everyone who’s ever seen this show loves it. Plus, it comes with a top recommendation from my brother, and I’m OK with trusting Doc Sunny on this one.Bottom Line: Whether I’ve seen it or not, this show has Wanda Sykes. Come on, people, watch it. She’s quite possibly one of the funniest comedians ever.

Long Term Dating:

Comedy depends so much on personal preference, so it’s hard to figure out which shows to hate on and which to brag about. But the following are keepers. Girl Scout’s honor.

• How I Met Your Mother
  This year has been a breakout year for “Mother” scene-stealer Neil Patrick Harris. The guy starred in Joss Whedon’s online saga “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” He finally hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live,” as well as the Tony Awards and the Emmy Awards, and he garnered an Emmy nomination himself for his work on “mother.” Folks, Doogie Howser has grown up. But Harris, as legendary/awesome playboy Barney Stinson, is only one element that makes “How I Met Your Mother” so fantastic.The ensemble cast includes Alyson Hannigan (“Buffy”! “American Pie”!); Josh Radnor; Cobie Smulders; and Jason Segel, who you probably know as “that guy” from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “I Love You, Man,” and “Knocked Up.” Together, these five comedians bring us the multi-camera, next generation version of “Friends.” These friends live in NYC, hang out in MacLaren’s Bar (sorry, Central Perk), and make bold use of flashbacks to bring us one of the most subtly entertaining comedies we’ve seen in years.

  Bottom Line: “It’s gonna be legen… wait for it… and I hope you’re not lactose intolerant, because the second half of that word is dairy!”-Barney, “How I Met Your Mother”

• The Big Bang Theory
  You’ve probably at some point (quietly) laughed at a nerd for something he or she said. “The Big Bang Theory” thankfully allows us to laugh at nerds loudly and proudly, thanks to a stock of sitcom characters who are nutty, naïve and endearingly neurotic. Good for a laugh are Raj Koothrappali, an Indian stereotype with a thick accent, bad dress sense and the inability to speak in front of women; Howard Wolowitz, a short Jewish man who dresses in bold colors and will do anything to be with a woman; and Leonard and Penny, the two characters we can most easily relate to.

Jim Parsons, however, steals the show as Sheldon Cooper, Leonard’s socially awkward physicist roommate who neurotically must eat at the same restaurant every night, depending on which day of the week it is, cannot discern sarcasm and always settles a dispute with a good round of Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock: “Scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock crushes lizard, lizard poisons Spock, Spock smashes scissors, scissors decapitates lizard, lizard eats paper, paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock…

Bottom Line: …and as it always has, rock crushes scissors.”

• Modern Family
  ABC’s breakout comedy follows three families, related in some way or another, over the course of their daily activities. Sound dull? It could be, except “Modern Family” is the first show to successfully mix elements of multi-camera and single-camera comedies, so along with the blatantly hilarious lines, there’s a slew of dialogue so witty that one can’t help but laugh. My favorite part is Ty Burrell as Phil, whose over-the-top attempts at being the “cool” dad mock everything our generation is about. With possibly the most laugh-out-loud moments of any comedy on TV right now, you’re doing yourself a disservice by not watching.Bottom Line: “I’m a cool dad, that’s my thang. I’m hip, I surf the web, I text. LOL: laugh out loud, OMG: oh my god, WTF: why the face.” (cut to Phil doing the dance to “High School Musical’s” “We’re All in this Together.”)

• Glee
  I’m sure you’ve heard of “Glee” by now, what with its musical numbers ripping up the iTunes chart week after week. Combining America’s love for undiscovered talent with nutty plotlines and distinctive high school personalities, “Glee” is broadcast television’s scripted answer to reality TV. What I like best about “Glee” is that it’s not a show focused on singing. It’s a character-centered dramedy with musical numbers sprinkled in. While the story about Will’s wife Terri pretending to be pregnant is frustrating, Jane Lynch’s portrayal of maniacal cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester more than makes up for it.Bottom Line: “I’ll often yell at homeless people, ‘Hey, how’s that homelessness working out for you? Give not being homeless a try!’” -Sue, explaining that people should be motivated to better themselves.

• Community / Parks & Recreation / The Office / 30 Rock
  Like I said, NBC’s “Must See TV” Thursday was the place to be in the ‘90s, and its revamped “Comedy Night Done Right” is no different. Each of these multi-camera comedies not only defines but also glorifies the genre. There’s no need to expound on “The Office”; I’m sure every college student has seen it at least once (“that’s what she said!”).“30 Rock” isn’t as popular, but it really should be. Every character is a standout. My favorite is Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy, VP of East Coast Television for NBC (probably because I want his job one day). “30 Rock” never hesitates to mock NBC or television or politics or anything else for that matter. Not only is “30 Rock” bold, it is also smart, never insulting the audience or throwing jokes in our face. Much of the humor isn’t in the dialogue – it’s visual (just when Jack says “I need your guidance” and reaches for a picture of Jesus on his desk, he picks up the one behind Jesus… of Nixon.)

• Parks & Recreation
  When Amy Poehler vehicle “Parks & Rec” debuted last year, it was shaky at best: the scripts weren’t quite funny and the acting was too forced. This season, however, the show has found its legs. Sometime, when America quit watching, “Parks & Rec” got funny. Poehler’s grown into her role, and the standout cast of supporting players now receives the emphasis it deserves.

• Community

“Community” is the 2009 entry into NBC’s Thursday night comedy line-up, and if its ratings hold (or grow!), it will round-out the comedy block perfectly for years to come. Like the other comedies, “Community”’s greatest strength is the ensemble cast, led by “The Soup”’s Joel McHale, as manipulative lawyer Jeff who’s back in community college because it was finally discovered that his degree came not from Columbia University, but Colombia, South America. This show is, I kid you not, hilarious. The best comedic pairing is undoubtedly Abed and Troy, and the executive producers have realized this: they now dedicate the final thirty seconds of each episode to an Abed-Troy gimmick, be it rapping in Spanish, taking over the school’s PA system or talking in a Batman growl.

Bottom Lines:
“How long have you known about the pregnancy? A week? A month? A year?” –Michael Scott, “The Office”

“I haven’t had this much trouble with a book since “Where’s Waldo” went to that barber pole factory.” -Tracy, “30 Rock”

“Whenever Leslie asks me for the Latin names of any of our plants, I just give her the names of rappers.” -Tom, “Parks & Recreation”

“Our first assignment is to make a documentary. They’re like movies, but with ugly people.” -Abed, “Community”

-Sonya Chudgar

   Let’s be honest for a minute we were all worried that once Robin & Barney became a couple the dynamic of the show would be ruined.  It’s ok to admit it, this is a safe place.  There are no judgements here.  Ok so maybe I’m the only one who was worried.  But can you blame me?  I mean come on it’s Barney for frak’s sake!  He can’t be in a relationship and still be awesome.  Or can he?  Well I am pleased to say that after few ho hum episodes HIMYM seems to be finding itself once again.  And I for one couldn’t be happier.

In tonight’s episode we find Barney giving Marshall relationship advise.  Yeah you could have knocked me over with a feather too.  But it was nice to see that even though Barney is in a relationship now he is just as dysfunctionally awesome as ever.  I love that Robin & Barney’s answer to stopping a fight is by either walking or stripping.  How many of us haven’t wanted to do the same thing just so we could avoid a pointless arguement?  Hell I have on many occasions.  But would I ever take advice from Barney?  Um I have to agree with Ted on this one and say Hell No!  Although I will admit that I might just steal NRS or New Relationship Syndrome.  What a brilliant way of putting that sickenly sweet stage we all love to be in but hate to watch. 

Unfortunately Marshall, being the giant push over that he is, decides to follow the one man who shouldn’t be giving advice.  Stupid, stupid, loveable Marshall.  You are so adorable in your naivete.  Question: Has there ever been a time when women have been that docile?  For some strange reason I very seriously doubt it, but oh well because as Marshall soon learned Lily was only docile in a fantasy.  “I make more money than you”  Low blow man low blow.  But thankfully Marshall’s moment of stupidity did bring back the beloved slap bet.  Hmm I wonder if the previous slap bet was played out already.  Oh well.  It also taught us a very important lesson on what I like to call the Fighting Paradox.  What is that you wonder?  Well the Fighting Paradox is what happens when instead of confronting an issue you keep it inside until you have a bunch of issues just fighting to get out and before you know one fight turns into a lot of fights.  And if you have been in a relationship you know exactly what I am talking about.  But also as with most people Marshall & Lily realzied that when faced with other people’s problems theirs didn’t seem like a such a big deal.  Sometimes hearing about other’s peoples drama makes you thankful for your own.

Confession time, for a second there I was truly worried that my favorite commitment phobic couple had drank the koolaid.  And apparently Ted was worried too because, and this is thanks to the sweet old couple bagpiping their brains out, searched out Barney’s downstairs neighbor in order to get the real story behind Barney & Robin’s sudden ultimate coupleness.  Let this be a lesson to anyone living in an apartment above someone else.  They can hear you. 

Special Mentions:

Quagmire!

Finally somone agrees with me on stupid pet nick names!

And on separate note not related to this episode at all, but am I the only one who could care less if we don’t find out who the mother is until the end?

El pasado 31 de Octubre, la noche de Halloween, Alexis Denisof, Alyson Hannigan y su pequeñita hija Satyana, se disfrazaron de una forma muy original.

No os perdáis estas tiernas fotos, en las que se ve a toda la familia muy unida y muy feliz:

El día 30 de Octubre, Alyson salió a dar un paseo con su hija vestida de conejito rosa. Disfrutad de las fotos, porque sin duda son adorables:

Celebrities were spotted yesterday in both New York City and LA celebrating Halloween with their kids.

Just like us, they toted them to Halloween parties and out trick or treating.

To add to the fun, many of them dressed up along with their kids and created a family theme!

Here are some highlights (in order):

• Isla Fisher and daughter Olive Baron Cohen (pictured left)
• Christina Aguilera and son Max Bratman
• Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale with sons Kingston and Zuma
• Alyson Hannigan and Husband Alexis Denisof with their baby ‘Joey’ Satyana
• Brooke Shields with daughters Grier and Rowan Henchy
• Ed Burns, Finn Burns and Grace Burns
• Marcia Cross and Tom Mahoney with daughters Eden and Savannah Mahoney
• Jon Stewart and his wife Tracey with kids Nathan and Maggie
• Deborrah-Lee Furness with kids, Ava and Oscar Jackman

{SPLASH, INFPHOTO.COM, WENN, FAME, PACIFIC COAST NEWS}

C’est ce qui m’est venu à l’esprit, quand en train de glander devant un vieux film de 1988 je me suis dit “Mais ! cette frimousse ne m’est pas inconnue, c’est Alyson Hannigan !”. Entre nous on l’appelle plutôt “Lily-de-How-I-met-your-mother” mais, en fait, on pourrait l’appeler par bien des noms. Ce qui m’a frappé en revoyant My stepmother is an alien (J’ai épousé une extra-terrestre), c’est qu’en fait je connais Alyson Hannigan depuis des années, nous avons plus ou moins le même âge et sans que je m’en rende compte elle est toujours réapparue dans ma vie vidéo : je l’ai vue dans Roseanne, Un cadavre sur le campus, American pie, Buffy, That 70’s show et How I met your mother. C’est une actrice qui a grandi en même temps que moi, et je suis plutôt content de continuer à la voir à l’écran, comme une vieille copine qui me donnerait toujours de ses nouvelles.

Par ailleurs, Richard Benjamin, le réalisateur de My stepmother is an alien, est également le gars qui a réalisé Mermaids, avec Cher et Winona Ryder, et il a beaucoup d’amis puisqu’il a aussi fait The shrink is in avec Courteney Cox et Marci X avec Lisa Kudrow. Je ne l’ai pas encore regardé faire l’acteur dans Henry Poole is here mais on m’en a dit du bien. Juste pour la petite histoire.

Dan Aykroyd, quant à lui, semblait être le père-célibataire-type des années 80-90 puisque aussi bien dans My stephmother is an alien que dans My girl ou Casper il débute toujours les films seul avec sa fille, suite souvent au décès hors-film de la mère.

p.s : Alyson, avec ce beau collant rose vintage sur le poster tu déchires tout !

The second unaired pilot came in 2001 and it was for a proposed animated series where Whedon got the cast, except Sarah Michelle Gellar, to be voice actors for the series.

The series was proposed to Fox Kids but didn’t see the light of day when Fox Kids ceased operations. Fox tried to sell it to other networks but nothing materialized.

The series was supposed to take place between season one, episodes 7 and 8 so that no contradiction in future events or a disruption in the continuity of the show would occur. Thirteen scripts were written for the series with various Buffy writers contributing including Jane Espensen, Steven DeKnight and Doug Petrie. The pilot was written by comic book writer Jeph Loeb and Joss Whedon.

The series style would be vastly influenced by the Batman: The Aminated Series style, one of Whedon’s favorite cartoons, and co-creator of that series Bruce Timm was even brought in to do concept sketches.

It took almost seven years, August 2008, before fans were able to catch a glimpse of the animated version of Buffy. An almost 4 minute version of the pilot leaked onto the Internet and Buffy fans went wild as they thought new life had come to the franchise.

Why they never took another run at this concept recently I don’t know. Joss Whedon is having huge success with his Buffy Season 8 comics at Dark Horse Comics and if Mel Brooks can get Cartoon Network to make a Spaceballs animated series they would lap this series up like a cat to cream.

We need a Buffy animated series and who cares when it takes place in continuity. One idea might be to take the Dark Horse comics and turn them into scripts or revisit the 13 lost scripts from this series. At least give us an animated movie? Actually that is an untapped market that Fox hasnt looked into yet, taking their franchises and turning them into DVD animated movies. (ie: Buffy, Serenity, Alien, Predator, etc) Warner Bros and Disney are making money hand over fist that way.

Anyway of the almost 4 minutes I saw, I am drooling for more especially if they could coax someone like Bruce Timm to show-run the series.

Pilot Score: 4 out of 5 (based on potential)

Four-minutes of the series can be seen on HERE.

After Buffy the Vampire Slayer feature film failed to generate any box office, Joss Whedon took the concept to the newly formed WB network. His first pilot for the proposed series had the same snappy dialogue, a new stronger leading lady (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and a new mentor (Anthony Head).

What was gone from feature version was the overly silly humor, a laughable high school boyfriend and well taskmaster Donald Sutherland.

The first pilot also introduced the Scooby Gang but with noticeable differences, well, Alyson Hannigan wasnt in the original pilot and Joss Whedon directed this pilot opposed to the one that actually aired.

The pilot opens with two high school students breaking into their school’s theatre. One of those students would become very well known to Buffy fans later on as Darla, or actress Julie Benz. The whole plot of the pilot revolves around Darla coming to Sunnydale.

The pilot then shifts to Buffy walking up the steps at the high school where she meets the principal (Stephen Tobolowsky). Its quite funny as he keeps screwing up her name and there is so much foreshadowing to where the series is going. Tobolowsky would be replaced later with Armin Shimerman.

Riff Regan, the original Willow

The next scene is of Willow and Xander. Original Willow is played by Riff Regan, was over-weight, brainy, awkward and insecure. (even more than the Hannigan version) The actress playing Willow didn’t really bring any depth to the character in the pilot and you can see why she was recast. In every scene, she just smiles and drops her chin shyly. Other than Willow you have all the regular cast in the pilot Cordelia, Rupert Giles, Harmony, etc.

One hysterical line comes when the girls in the locker room complaining about the new girl’s name “Buffy, what kind of name is that?” Then the girl turns around and says, “Hi Aphrodisia.” It was that kind of writing that made Joss Whedon huge and its all evident in this pilot.

The unaired pilot is only 25 minutes but it does show the brilliance of the show before it even really emerged. The tweaking with the concept and how Joss Whedon moved the tone of the whole concept makes this pilot way, way superior than the feature film. But a lot of that recognition can be awarded to Joss Whedon taking a chance on a cast unknowns. That is the brilliance of this pilot as you can see just how raw Buffy was in the beginning and how it all paid off.

I am not sure why this pilot never ended up on the Buffy DVD sets. Maybe we will see it when Buffy moves to Blu-Ray.

Pilot Score: 4.5 out of 5

The pilot can be seen here:

With baby Satyana snuggled right in, Alyson Hannigan and husband Alexis Denisof shopped it up at Rag G Tattoo in Beverly Hills.

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Aquí tenéis unas cuantas fotos de Alyson Hannigan con su familia comprando en Rag G Tatoo en Beverly Hills en las que se les ve a los tres muy felices:

Fuente

So Joss gave us an evil lesbian and a dead lesbian. I give you evil, dead lesbians.

This mash-up came about because I really enjoyed seeing Amber Benson play a psychopath named Allison Davis in the episode “The Perfect Couple” on The Inside. But I didn’t think that Allison and Roddy Davis were the perfect couple. I was disappointed in Roddy’s characterization, which felt tired and unimaginative. So I decided to try to find the perfect match for Allison. And of course I turned to what I know. [cue Nerf Herder]

Brillante y juguetón lema para esta simpática, original y esencial campaña de concienciación en USA para prevenir y tratar a tiempo el cáncer de mama: Save a tit. (con formato blog, interesante propuesta)

Hay que reconocer que si existe una arma argumental tan o más poderosa que el Drama, es sin duda el Humor.

Eso sí, los riesgos y despropósitos de una mala o mediocre utilización son potencialmente mayores y más abundantes con el segundo que con el primero (bien lo saben, y luchan por evitarlo, guionistas y publicitarios).

Cuando la causa de una campaña es socialmente “delicada”, como la que hoy propongo, es muy probable que acabemos siendo testigos de innumerables ejemplos que opten por un enfoque dramático.

El objetivo e intención de concienciar mediante campañas ha tendido a asociarse a la necesidad y sensación de “golpe moral” (baste recordar las de Tráfico, de cualquier país). Y no es menos cierto que gracias a los conceptos y ejecuciones mejor desarrollados se han obtenido grandes dosis de memorabilidad y, posiblemente, comprensión del mensaje (la acción ya es harina de otro costal, y sabemos que depende una unión de factores más que de un simple, aunque importante, anuncio).

Por eso, para variar, me ha gustado que la virtud creativa fundamental de este spot radique en su enfoque opuesto a esa tendencia.  Y que precisamente lo haga con una causa típica de ser abordada por el lado dramático.

Pretende potenciar el conocimiento y sugerir el autochequeo como medida preventiva. Y lo presenta con ingenio, quitándole tremendismo y parodiando, con fina intención, una escena y actitudes amigables e íntimas, comunes a la mayoría del público al que se dirige. Aportando, creo entrever, una sensación positiva y proactiva, la cual refuerza el mensaje autoprotector que se quiere transmitir.

La utilización de actrices conocidas y con reconocido sentido del humor (Alyson Hannigan, Emily Deschanel, Jaime King…) contribuye en gran medida a hacer más cotidiano el sketch (como mínimo en USA).

Vía el Huffington Post.

(Season 5, Episode 4)

Wow, four batters up and four home runs. The title schtick wasn’t even close to being the funniest part of the episode, though when Ted described his blonde conquest as “busty,” he wasn’t kidding.

No, it was the couples dating scenario played out between Marshall-and-Lily and Barney-and-Robin that provided tons and tons of laughs. It was played up as if MaL and BaR were individuals as opposed to couples, leading to all those awkward things that happen when people date. Only made more crazy by their being couples.

I loved it when Barney got the email from Marshall with his video montage and “Best Night Ever” song. Even better was the  flashback to other video montages Marshall has made, including “Cat-Sitting” and its smash follow-up, “Cat Funeral.”

In Robin and Barney’s defense, I think I’d be a little freaked out by Lily and Marshall’s behavior during a double date as well. They’re so desperate for it to work, they’re clingy and clearly trying too hard. Marshall with his gouda (the only think Lily lets him do) and Lily’s obsession for everything to go right.

In true romantic comedy fashion, after BaR rejected MaL they immediately realized how great MaL truly were. So in a dramatic rain-soaked New York night, the couples reunited in happiness and in love.

As for Ted, he proved that tweed can indeed score the ladies, despite Barney’s Dickensian poem, “The Sexless Innkeeper.” I do agree that Ted was used on his first date, but the new chick … did I mention she was “busty?”