For Immediate Release :: 12.3.2009

Owner Richard Colligan has taken his New York chic vintage store, Metropolis Vintage, into the online world to better connect with the people who relish in it’s vast and endless vintage collection. Nestled in the heart of East Village, Metropolis is known for their amazing vintage shoe and boot collection along with concert T’s that line the walls of the two-level vintage gem. The second level is part of a brand new expansion that coincides with the recent openings and current dorms in the area including NYU, Parsons, New School, Cooper Union, and the School of Visual Arts. New York City’s favorite stars Chloe Sevigny, Rachel Weisz, Zoe Kravitz, Parker Posey, Keanu Reeves and top models Gemma Ward, Agness Dynn, and Joy Bryant also turn to Metropolis for their fabulous vintage looks that can been seen in magazines and the tabloids.

Now vintage enthusiasts living or visiting the NYC area that have cherished the shop for the past 19 years, can be more involved with the store’s community. News, promotions, and store happenings can all be seen online and will be promoted throughout their website, Twitter and Facebook accounts. Richard Colligan is passionate about Metropolis. “My goal for Metropolis is to treat the store like a museum by picking items that are unique and special, but also being fun, affordable and wearable for any night on the town,” says Richard.

Metropolis’ future is bright. Metropolis and it’s newly opened second level can be seen in the upcoming film, “Happy, Thank You, More Please.” written by How I Met Your Mother’s Josh Radnor. Along with movie spotlights, the shop will also be opening an online store for clients not located in NYC. From Manhattan fashionistas to Brooklyn hipsters, Richard suggests people stay tuned because as the neighborhood continually evolves, as does Metropolis… and if a store knows how to bring the fun into fashion, it’s Metropolis.

About Metropolis
In 1995 after four years of being located in LES, Richard moved Metropolis to its currently location of 3rd Ave & 10th St., which is conveniently situated in the heart of East Village near St. Marks and many college dorms. New college students and seasoned college graduates have turned to Metropolis for their [vintage] fashion needs. Metropolis has become a staple to New York City’s vintage fashion community. Metropolis’ items have found their way into the hands of Iggy Pop, David LaChapelle, The Pixies and members of Sonic Youth throughout the years. Known for their endless shoe and boot collection, Metropolis, Richard Colligan and his staff are committed to carrying vintage pieces that will help them become a leader in the vintage shoe and boot market throughout New York City.

Metropolis Vintage Apparel :: 43 3rd Ave. New York, New York 10003
Twitter.com/MetropolisNYC :: MetropolisVintage.WordPress.com
For all media inquiries please contact :: Media Director / Courtney Haefner :: MetropolisVintage@gmail.com

Actorul Josh Radnor nici la cel de-al 100-lea episod a marturisit ca nu stie cine ii va fi viitoare sotie pe platourile de filmare pentru serialul “How I met your mother”.

“Pe strada lumea vine si imi pune diferite intrebari in legatura cu acest aspect. Eu nu pot sa le raspund nimic. Toti cred ca ascund marele secret al serialului. Pur si simplu nu stiu ce sa le spun”, a declarat actorul.

Se presupune ca in cel de-al 100-lea episod Rachael Bilson va fi aleasa. Sa speram ca participarea lui Rachael va elucida misterul serialului.

We’re in a Movie!

Josh Radnor

We recently had a filming taped at our store and we’re excited for its release. It’s called “Happy. Thank You. More Please.” which was filmed over the summer throughout lower Manhattan. Josh Radnor who plays Ted Mosby from “How I Met You Mother” wrote, directed and acted in the film. Movie blogs tell us this Indie Drama is a ‘coming-of-age tale follows six lives in modern day New York, highlighted by a 20-something aspiring novelist who accidentally adopts a 6 year old African American child’. We’ll keep you posted when the movie is released so you can see Metropolis’ movie debut! For more info about the film check out the site ScriptShadow.

Was machen Serienschauspieler in ihren Drehpausen? Im Falle von Josh Radnor, einer der Hauptdarsteller der Serie “How I Met Your Mother”, hat dieser seinen ersten Kinofilm inszeniert. Dabei wandelt er auf den Pfaden von “Scrubs”-Darsteller Zach Braff und hat bei seinem ersten Kinofilm sowohl Regie geführt, das Drehbuch geschrieben und er übernimmt die Hauptrolle. Das Skript zum Film mit dem Titel “HappyThankYouMorePlease” ist bereits seit 2007 fertig – es landete sogar auf einer Hitliste der besten, bisher unproduzierten Drehbücher. Aber erst durch den Erfolg von “How I Met Your Mother” konnte sich Radnor an die Verwirklichung dieses Projektes machen.

Die Geschichte von “HappyThankYouMorePlease” dreht sich um eine Gruppe von New Yorkern, die kurz davor sind richtig Erwachsen und Sesshaft zu werden, aber alles andere als bereit dazu sind. Neben Josh Radnor werden Darsteller wie Malin Akerman (“Watchmen”), Kate Mara (“Transsiberian”), Richard Jenkins (“Burn After Reading”) und Tony Hale (“Der Informant!”) zu sehen sein. Radnor selbst übernimmt die Rolle von Sam, einem erfolglosen Buchautor und Frauenschwarm, der eigentlich den ganzen Tag von seiner ersten großen Veröffentlichung träumt. Seine Freundin Annie ist nicht sonderlich glücklich darüber, als Sam auf einmal einen kleinen Jungen an seiner Seite hat, durch den sich dessen Leben komplett verändert.

Zur Zeit befindet sich Radnor in der Post-Produktionsphase des Films. Ein Kinostart ist für das Jahr 2010 angepeilt.

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?

(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?”

Nuno Bettencourt (of rock band Extreme) is starring in a music video with Jason Segel for the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Known for their love affair with “songs that are awesome,” HIMYM have re-created the famous Extreme video “More Than Words.” Other cast members including Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders, Alyson Hannigan and Josh Radnor will also appear in the video.

The episode airs tonight (Oct 12th) on CBS at 8/7c.  Here’s the behind the scenes video:

Official video from the show:

~Dan – np: Explosions in the Sky – All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (Remixes)

I officially have a new favourite sitcom – How I Met Your Mother!

It is the new Friends (and I never thought I’d say this) but sooooo much better. It’s now on season 5 in the States and season 1 is playing on E4 (weeknights 7:30pm). I first heard about the show when Britney Spears had a cameo but had never watched it then… anyhoo I happened upon it the night E4 had the pilot on… and have been HOOKED ever since. And I don’t use the term ‘hooked’ loosely either. No, now you might expect a normal person to watch it on TV every night… but… well I just couldn’t wait so watched it online and am up-to-date with the US folk now… and tonight epi 4 will be aired.

The show centres around five friends living in New York. Ted Mosby is the central character and the show is actually set with him in 2030 telling his kids the story of how he met their mother. It is hil-ar-ious. Alyson Hannigan (Willow in Buffy) plays Lily, Jason Segal (Freaks & Geeks) plays Marshall, Neil Patrick Harris and Colbie Smulders play Barney and Robyn.

The part of Ted Mosby is played by Josh Radnor, who until HIMYM was a relative unknown (well in the UK and Ireland anyways). He has an MFA in Acting from Tisch School of the Arts in NYU (which is an amazing arts school! and pretty much impossible to get into – they take 18 students per year out of almost 1000 applicant, yikes!) … and is pretty much my favourite in the show (…and Barney… He is comedy genius!)…

(Season 5, Episode 3)

Now this premise makes sense to me. After all, Barney is the self-proclaimed best at pretty much everything he does. So why wouldn’t he be on board a class about Robin Scherbatsky so that he can be the best boyfriend in the universe?

And it’s a win-win for Ted because he gets some more practice teaching, and even more importantly he gets practice teaching an almost impossible student like Barney. And we learned that Barney is ADHD, which fits with his general lifestyle choices.

How great was it when, in the middle of their nod to Dead Poet’s Society, Barney said, “How great was Dead Poet’s Society?” I love how self-aware this show can be.

The class itself was awesome. I loved the lists of ways to distract Robin when she’s angry. Even better was that Robin was angry in the apartment when Lily read the list from Barney’s notes and all of them actually worked. By the end, Robin didn’t even know what she was mad about.

Maybe I’d better explain. In a fit of frustration and paranoia, Robin broke into Barney’s briefcase thinking he was cheating on her. Instead, she found his notes from the “Dating Robin 101″ class Ted was teaching.

When the gang showed up at class, I never expected there to be another student; a foreign kid who barely speaks English. Apparently he’d been forced to play Robin in some live-acting scenarios.

While Robin wanted to be mad, it was actually a testament to how much Barney really cared about her and wanted to make it work. And who can stay mad at Barney anyway? Am I right? Right?

(Season 5, Episode 2)

You know you’ve got a pretty amazing crew put together when you can have one of your most innovative and best all-time episodes in your fifth season. HIMYM is known for creative storytelling techniques, and non-linear progressions of events, but they really stepped up their game tonight.

The basic plot is that Ted goes on a blind date with Jen in 2009. While on the date, they realize that they went on essentially the same blind date in 2002. What follows is their attempts in ‘09 to find out what went wrong in ‘02 in hopes of learning why both are struggling with relationships.

What we got was some very nicely done effects of both couples (from both eras) in the same scenes. We even got to check in on the gang back then, since in the original date they made their way to MacLaren’s, and now they’re retracing those steps.

Of course, since it was 2002, there was no Robin yet. It makes me think about how complex and detailed the timeline of this show must be over there. They’ve been telling stories consistently for four years now, chronicling adventures covering far more than that. They jump around in time, and yet the seem to never miss a detail.

Ted, the narrator, dropped a hint about a future episode, which is another thing I love about the show. Because of the future narrative conceit, we can get teasers about upcoming events that we can then look for. The show allows for active participation.

Tonight, they met “Stripper Lily,” the third doppelganger they’ve seen in the city. Previously we’ve seen “Lesbian Robin” and “Mustache Marshall.” And future narrator tells us they’ll find the remaining two doppelgangers by “the following summer.” That means this season, and gives us something to look forward to.

The narrative remains one of the show’s greatest strengths. The writers are so dilligent in their details, and get so creative in the presentation of their stories that I have as much fun watching how they show me the plots as I do the plots themselves.

“Double Date”

September 28th, 2009

I love when episode titles aren’t what you’d expect. As a television critic, it means that I’m taking notes after I’ve looked to see what the title of the episode is (so you can more easily find this post), so I went into this one expecting the show to take advantage of their newfound pairing in order to provide some sitcom-style double date antics.

I should have known, of course, that How I Met Your Mother isn’t that kind of show. The “Double Date” at the center of the episode was a clever sort of “instant mythology,” where Ted relives a previous blind date all over again seven years later, which allows the show to do what it does best. We get healthy doses of both the show’s time-twisty structure as well as its heart within the storyline, while the other (also double-themed) story with Marshall and Barney helps to provide some levity while both work in tandem to create a whole new element of the HIMYM Lexicon.

On the whole, it’s a clever and well-executed episode that further cements the show’s strong sense of narrative, and one which provides a pretty darn good showcase for a somewhat maligned character.

The device of having Ted and Jen relive their 2002 date all over again was perfectly executed for two reasons. The first is that no set of jokes went on for too long. Early, it’s a joke about how they don’t realize they’re on the same date, so we as the audience are the ones picking up the parallels (her unemployed after the internet bust in 2002 and thinking about going into something more secure, like banking, paid off with the 2009 banking bust unemployment). In true Ted-like fashion, it’s a terrible joke about oysters that wakes them both up to the fact that they’ve done this before. And after that, the humour we get is not through broad gags or similar disparities, but through some pretty realistic dialogue and a slow realization that perhaps the date wasn’t so bad after all. The storyline had various twists and turns, but none of them beyond the point of our pre-ordained knowledge of the connection (provided by Ted, the Narrator) felt forced.

What I found most interesting about it is that it had a tinge of sadness to it, as well as a pretty good heart. In Jen’s case, she was always going to be weird with her cats who dress up in costumes, so her ending up in this position is less surprising. But 2002 Ted was an architect who dreamed of painting the skyline, and yet here he is teaching architecture and getting books at 50% off. While he is just as annoying now as he was then, he was young and naive at that point. His frustration during the date was that she hadn’t played the role of pretending to want to attempt to pay for the cheque. While he and Jen share what made their experience a poor first date, Ted’s friends are even more cruel, ripping into him for any number of poor traits. For Jen, this was a chance to get some pointers to avoid this happening again seven years from now, but some part of me felt like this was an intervention for Ted, but one which was less worried than it was hyper-critical.

And yet, I think the show wants us to find Ted’s sadness to be at least a little bit funny. The character has always been a bit of a sadsack, but here he was really trying to learn how he could change, and he clearly differentiated himself from bearded Ted. While the opening shot is of 2002 and 2009 Ted with the same date preparation and everything, the episode ultimately confirms that some part of him has changed, or at least the has figured out which parts of 2002 Ted (the decision not to call, knowing that they would never truly be happy even if they put on a good show) were worth keeping. There’s a chance that in 2002 Ted was making excuses, but to some degree the Ted we know in 2009 (and even the romantic Ted we met in the pilot) is simply looking for a soulmate, a fact which strikes to the heart of the series. The episode may not have been “about” the Mother, by any means, but it’s the kind of instant mythology story which speaks to why some part of us still wants to see Ted find happiness. Josh Radnor did a good job of making Ted likeable but honest here, and I was really charmed by the whole storyline.

While we went most of the final episodes of last season without Lily and Marshall time thanks to Hannigan’s pregnancy, I was great to have them back in full force here. The discovery of Stripper Lily (which gets added, we learn, to Lesbian Robin and Moustache Marshall in the group’s collection of Doppelgangers) was really secondary to a story about Marshall being unable to fantasize without first staging a hilariously elaborate scenario whereby Lily gets chronic hiccups, dies after six months, and on her death bed tells Marshall to find his fantasy and plow her like a corn field. It’s a clever bit because it confirms Marshall’s hyper-active imagination, and it allows them to play around with how Lily takes the news. Marshall believes her to be a wounded dove, who would be hurt to hear that he’s fantasizing, but she’s far more put out by the idea that he murders her in his dreams even if she has a charitable foundation in her name and that they’re that close to a cure. Lily loves the fact that there’s a stripper version of Lily, loves that Marshall went to a strip club, and fully embraces the experience at hand. Hannigan had a lot of plan playing both Jasmine and Lily’s excitement about Jasmine in this one, and the connection with the other story (bringing the “Double” idea into play) helped bring it all together.

However, the one downfall of “Double Date” is that Barney and Robin are the relationship which needs the most development and yet it kind of got shortchanged. What we saw was that Barney, who believes that Robin (who, remember, once played laser tag and drank scotch and smokes cigars with Barney) would be perfectly cool with him being in a strip club, has overestimated her ability to tolerate his ways. It’s a fun storyline because it allows Neil Patrick Harris to play out the fun-loving partying side of Barney, which does need to stay out there even with him in a relationship. And the storyline is a good way to indicate that he’s going to have to change in this relationship, and that she’s more jealous and concerns than perhaps she thought she would be and not quite the “cool” girlfriend. However, I’m largely reading that into the scenes: the show spent too much time with Barney pretending to be oblivious about her discomfort (which is funny) and not enough time allowing them to have “the talk.” It was there, in one scene at the strip club, but I barely remember what happened, so something was lost in trying to handle all three storylines.

Perhaps it was an issue of editing (it seemed like we were jumping back and forth between the stories without much warning), or perhaps they had to cut an extra little scene for time in what was a pretty complicated episode, but it’s just one complaint. Otherwise, this felt like a very unique and enjoyable way to spend a half-hour of television comedy, which is exactly what I want HIMYM to be week in, week out.

Cultural Observations

• In case you were curious, the song played during Ted’s rewriting of the date to where they get married with cat bridesmaids was Goldspot’s aptly titled “Rewind.”
• I loved the little gag with the Origins of Chewbacca exhibit tickets for a few reasons. First off, Ted in the Chewbacca costume in the back of the cab. Second, that Barney, Ted and Marshall would all know where it was in a given year. And, finally, that it really is the perfect way to get rid of Robin, considering her legendary hatred of the film when trying to make things work with Ted. I enjoy the continuity.
• Very happy to know that we now have one more thing to look forward to by the end of the season: Ted and Barney’s Doppelgangers.
• I noticed that Marshall took up dollhouse furniture building in his later life, which I’m choosing to take as a Wire reference whether they intended it as one or not. Cool Lester Smooth FTW.
• “A lot cheaper than buying a condom” was certainly the harshest thing that was said about Ted’s date ruining moves, but it was also the funniest.
• The gag with the waitress knowing Barney’s favourite drink/girl was expected, but the announcer noticing him was a nice touch to really dig the knife in.
• If I went to a restaurant that fancy and got understudy lobster, I’d be pissed…mainely because I don’t like Lobster. Gah, I’m such a Ted.

So I have been pretty addicted to How I met your Mother – what a good show. It was a slow starter, but has risen to almost cult status. The humour especially appeals to me, in its quick witted comebacks and jestful jousting between the characters, reminiscent of Friends. It is set in Manhattan, New York. The fictional dynamic between the friends clearly shows the casting directors picked a cast with amazing chemistry. Each actor plays off the other’s character, making you feel like you know them better.

“Lillypad” and “Marshmellow” rather sharply remind me of two of my married friends. They are the perfect couple, that you never want to be like. Their constant saccharine romance illicits the reaction of wanting to Marshall-style bet slap them out of their candy bubble. ”Barney Stinson” is the eternal bachelor: a complete skeez, who is constantly trying to seem like a distiguished gentleman to bed women. His character is highy humerous as an eggageration of single males under 30. Everyone knows a “Barney”. His character is multi-dimensional as you occasionally see the deeply sentimental side of him he tries to keep hidden. The relationship between “Robin” and “Ted” is tragic. From the outside it is plainly obvious: ”Suck it up Robin, you love Ted,  just be happy!” But most independant under 30 women can definately identify. The way that they set up the break up scenes at the end of season 2 was really well done, as it raises up your hopes with a possible pregnancy, and then drops them with the truth. Another reason why I may be drawn to the show, is that “Ted Mosby” rekindled crush I had on an actor called Ken Garito, when I was about 13 yrs old. The two stars are both dark haired with a boyish playful smile, offset against firm facial features. Both could play a character from almost any era, as they have timeless, versatile appeal.

This reminds me of the 1992 Aaron Spelling produced series called The Heights, based in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Probably mainly because Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby) reminds me of  Ken Garito who played a character called “Dizzy” in the show.  He could play Ted Mosby’s older brother in How I met your Mother, not nessesarily on looks alone, but because they emulate each other in suttle manerisms and how they deal with humourous lines. This show centered around a group of friends in a band, with a similar dynamic to “Ted’s” HIMYM crew with not always as much comdedic appeal, but more dramatic. Unfortunately the series only ran for 13 episodes. The hit song that emerged out of the show was called “How do you talk to an Angel”, performed on the show by “Alex”. It was thereafter used as the theme song. ”Alex” was played by Jamie Walters, who then went on to star in Beverly Hills 90210 which was a lot more polished and teen centered. Its soapish story lines lacked the rough-raw-real life that the Heights captured. The exclusive theme song “How do you talk to an Angel” reached Billboard number one, and will probably be recognised as a hit by most kids of the 90’s. Sadly, the show was cancelled at the same time as the song was climbing the charts. The show had great potential but was failed by a bad time slot and not enough hype! The latter could have been provided by the song, had the producers waited it out and possibly done more promotional work, although this was difficut in pre-internet TV.

My Favourite episode was “A Star ain’t nothin’ but a ball ‘O gas” centred more around “Stans” music career, hence the title. It is in this episode that Dizzy proposes to his girlfriend Jodie, whom he recently found out is pregnant, and although he is sincere, she turns him down to “let him off the hook”. The scene is setup with Jodie’s father giving permission for the proposal and advising Dizzy that he needs to “Woo” her, suggesting Paul Anka as a start. Dizzy gets all dressed up in a classic grey suite and waits outside the hospital where she works (she is a nurse). He stands out in the cold armed with a boombox and an engagement ring representing all his savings. As she comes out he plays Paul Anka’s “Put your Head on my Shoulder”. The scene turns to black and white and seems to be taken from a romantic 50’s film. He nervously gets down on one knee and stammers out:  ”Jodie will you marry me.” Shocked, she softly answers, “No Dizzy, I’m sorry but I can’t.” His eyes grow in disbelief with him questioning: “What, what did you say?” She replies hesitantly, “I think, I just said no.. ” , showing him an apologetic look as the scene slows with her walking away in slow motion. As she is leaving in a cab, she slowly glances back at him, and seeing him completely crushed her eyes well up. I remember this scene like a memory in my own life. As a 13 yr old girl, this moment was way too complex for me. I did not understand at all. In retrospect, I can see the nobility and even wisdom in her refusal. She didn’t think Dizzy could deal with the responsibility and she didn’t want it to change who he was, lighthearted and humourous. I think that is why that scene meant so much to me, because it was the first time I saw someone’s heart break for a reason that had nothing to do with not being loved, but two people loving each other enough that they try do what is best for the other, even if it means heartbreak. For the romantics, eventually: they end up married. As for me, I still think Ken Garito is really attractive, and long to see him in more movies/shows.

The hopeless romantic in me wants the same fate for Ted and Robin in How I Met Your Mother, however, this is sadly excluded from the story line from about episode 2 of the first season. I haven’t watched season 3 yet, so hopefully the lady with the yellow umbrella shadows Robin.

(Season 5, Episode 1)

It looks like Cobie Smulders is still hiding a little post-pregnancy bulge at the beginning of this episode. It reminded me of just how crazy the creator’s attempts to hide their baby bumps last season got. No offense to the ladies, but I hope nobody gets pregnant this year. I couldn’t help but get distracted, though it was entertaining.

The major developments we were left wondering about were Ted’s first day at college, and the “Mother” who was in that classroom, and the burgeoning relationship between Robin and Barney. Both were tackled right off. In fact, Lily and Marshall didn’t get a storyline at all.

Instead, they tagged onto the Barney/Robin one, locking them in Robin’s bedroom and forcing them to have “the talk” about what kind of relationship they did or didn’t have. It’s perfect characterization that they both remained so adamantly opposed to the very idea of being a couple; it goes against everything they both believe.

I wonder, though, how they covered their general flirting and dating around all summer from the gang? Or were they doing that? Barney maybe wasn’t punching-a-guy-in-the-face jealous yet?

As for Ted, I loved the misdirection of us seeing him in that huge lecture hall, only to find out this year that he was in the wrong room, and made a right ass of himself. That means the future “Mother” isn’t in Ted’s actual class, but was in that Economics class he crashed.

If you saved those big pan shots on the HD, you can scan the crowd and see if you find anyone we recognize in there. Or just save it until we do get the reveal and Where’s Waldo? her later.

HIMYM is one of those feel-good shows, like comfort food. I survive just fine without it, but the world is a little happier when I can spend a half hour a week with these five friends … just hangin’.

This will be my first attempt at a TV review. A few caveats about the reviews that I plan on doing here on Mainlining Pop Culture.

First, I will attempt to avoid plot spoilers. This particular point comes with its own caveat. When it is a movie, I will do my best to avoid plot spoilers entirely, as I always hate to see a review that gives away a major twist. However, with a TV show, I will avoid plot spoilers, but only for that particular episode. Therefore, if you have not seen episodes leading up to the particular episode that I am reviewing, know that those prior episodes are fair game.

Secondly, I have never really written reviews before, so they may be a bit rough to start with. In fact, they may indeed suck. Here’s hoping that isn’t the case. Now, on the the review…As I stated previously, the season premiere of How I Met Your Mother is one of my most anticipated TV events of the new season. I was dying to find out the details about what was going on with Barney and Robin, how was Ted’s new gig as a professor of architecture going to effect the group dynamic, and in what ways were Lily and Marshall going to remain awesome. In short, my hopes for this season premiere were astronomical. With hopes that high, anything short of a legen-wait for it-dary episode would be a let down. The outcome does seem somewhat inevitable, doesn’t it?

The episode was actually quite strong, if not legendary, so the inevitable let down was only slight. Ted’s performance as a newly minted college professor(or is that proffessor?) is pretty spot on. The nerves that he shows as the big day of his first class approaches are one of the moments when the audience really feels like Ted is somebody they truly know, as opposed to just a caricature of the “nice guy”. A nightmare early in the episode is something that we can all identify with, as is the utter joy that he takes in the good luck present presented to him by his best friend(no matter what Barney claims), Marshall. Also, on a side note, if you don’t get the pop culture reference that is implied by the gift within the first second of seeing it, you may be reading the wrong blog.

Lily and Marshall, while serving as very much supporting characters in this episode, are spot on in being their for their friends. The “mama bear” nature of Lily comes out in a big way in regards to her friends whenever she feels they are making bad life choices, and we see that in full effect in this episode. I must say that the ability of Alyson Hanigan and Jason Segal to consistently play such a believable couple is one of the true joys of this show.

The last segment of the cast that deserves mention are Robin and Barney. Obviously, after the finale’s kiss, they needed to deal with what exactly is going on with these two characters. They do deal with it, but in a manner that left me feeling only lukewarm. While the final scene of the episode proper, as opposed to the tag on at the end, does offer a reason for the way they dealt with the Robin/Barney relationship, I would have preferred something with a bit more meat to it for the uber-talented Neil Patrick Harris and the oft-overlooked Cobie Smulders to really sink their teeth into.

With all of that being said, this was a very entertaining first episode of the season. The title, “Definitions”, plays into the stories of Ted, Robin, and Barney, and could not be more fitting. Also, in a show that has some of the greatest continuity on TV today, bring back Marshall’s friend, Brad, for a pretty important turn is always great. Brad, for those of you who don’t remember, is the friend who, when Lily and Marshall were broken up, Marshall ended up “accidentally” dating. He also was the naked man at Marshall’s bachelor party, and one of the more enjoyable recurring characters on the show, in my opinion.

So, for this season premiere, I was happy to see my favorite group of friends currently on TV back on the airwaves, and was happy with a lot of the development that happened. However, with my expectations off the chart, I couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed.  That does take down the rating just slightly.

Speaking of the rating, I feel that I should give a quick rundown of what my rating system will mean. All of my ratings for TV shows come on a scale of 1-5 DVRs. This means that 1 is the lowest, 5 being the highest. The actual meaning of each number is:

1 DVR-Skip it, and if you accidentally stumble across it, run screaming from the room.

2 DVRs-Skip it, but if there is absolutely nothing else on, you should feel free to leave it as background noise while you clean.

3 DVRs-Record it, but don’t rush home to watch it that night.

4 DVRs-Record it, and get home to watch it as soon as you can.

5 DVRs-Record it, but just in case your DVR malfunctions, watch it live too. It also might be wise to have a friend or family member record it too, just in case your cable goes out.

I understand that this rating system is useless, as I won’t be reviewing shows until after they air, but that is what repeats are for, my friends.

With that being said, this episode gets 3 DVRs out of 5.

Word

cabal [kuh-bal] n. 1. a small group of secret plotters, as against a government or person in authority 2. the plots and schemes of such a group; intrigue 3. a clique, as in artistic, literary, or theatrical circles ∞ v. 4. to form a cabal; intrigue; conspire; plot

Birthday

Michael Faraday (1791), John Houseman (1902), Tommy Lasorda (1927), David Stern (1942), Toni Basil (1943), Nick Cave (1957), Johnette Napolitano (1957), Andrea Bocelli (1958), Joan Jett (1958), Neil Cavuto (1958), Scott Baio (1961), Bonnie Hunt (1961), Mystikal (1970)

Standpoint

“Some people like shitty TV, dude, there’s really all there is to it.”

Those words were spoken just last night by my brother Jeremy as I attempted to explain to him my positions on my choices in television programming.

People who I know have talked to me about my (some say confusing) obsession with the show “How I Met Your Mother.” One friend said, “I don’t know you just seem a little too complex to be liking that show.” Well, thanks for the kind words, but it’s kind of just the opposite. Life is complex. I don’t need my entertainment to further complicate it.

For instance, take shows like “Lost” and “Heroes.” I’m sure both are finely produced, wonderfully executed television. I’m also aware both are widely considered culturally relevant. (Whatever that means.) I watched “Lost” for the first two seasons, but grew tired of constantly having to keep track of what the hell was going on and worrying about what I might miss if I didn’t get a chance to see that week’s episode.

Because, for me, television should be something I can just turn on and spend an hour or more drifting around carelessly. I don’t need nightly appointments to keep. I just want to watch some TV.

A show like “How I Met Your Mother” doesn’t require the committment of “Lost” or “Heroes.” I could miss six straight weeks of episodes, turn the current episode on, and not miss a beat. I don’t need any further backstory than the weekly narrating of Josh Radnor.

And the bottom line, is that, yes, I’ve always felt there is enough drama out there in the real world. I don’t need the fictional characters in my television set to further remind me of the fact Earth is overpopulated with awful people. I’ve no problem with scenarios in which the boy gets the girl, the good guys actually do win and everyone rides off happily into the sunset.

I’m sorry if that makes me less of a person, or at least less interesting, in some of your eyes. But I’m unafraid to admit when, given a choice, I’d rather be laughing than anything else.

As a rule, I refuse to get wrapped up in other peoples’ lives. So getting wrapped up in the lives of the characters on TV, real or fictional, is simply out of the question. Unless those characters happened to be named Ted Mosby or Barney Stinson. Then I’m ready to watch/listen.

Simply put, all you people can watch all the “relevant” crap you want so that you can hold your own during one of your work happy hours or endless conversations with your like-minded friends.

Me? I’ll be right here. Watching garbage television shows, ignorantly content.

Quotation

When a man sends you an impudent letter, sit right down and give it back to him with interest ten times compounded, and then throw both letters in the wastebasket. ← Elbert Hubbard

Tune

Elliott Smith was one of the most unique and talented singer-songwriters that ever stepped in front of a microphone. His music covered such a wide-range of emotions: sorrow, anger, elation, heartbreak, joy. He had dozens of quality songs, but I’m pretty sure the one that kind of exemplifies everything I dig about his music is “Pretty (Ugly Before).”

Gallimaufry

→ For those of you who enjoy utilizing the social networking site Facebook, you may have noticed it’s been acting all kinds of whack as of late. Well, it’s not your computer’s fault. Yesterday, Facebook admitted it’s having some “site glitches.” Please be patient as this problem will be taken care of as quickly as humanly possible.

→ Walter Breuning celebrated his birthday yesterday. So what? Lots of people did. Difference with Mr. Breuning? His cake had 113 candles on it. The Montana resident is considered the world’s oldest man. I’m 35. I want to live a little bit longer because, as a late starter in life, I still feel like my best accomplishments are ahead of me. But 113-years old? I don’t think I want to see that number.

→ I remember too much. People have always noticed that about me and told me how lucky I was. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Yes, having a great memory is advantageous sitting in some bar playing Quizzo. But when it comes to the bad things that’ve happened in life, the ability to remember every detail of the majority of those days can be a pretty distracting and depressing state of mind. But, as much as it sucks sometimes, at least I’m not one of the four people diagnosed with super-autobiographical memory. I don’t know how each one of them lives inside their brain everyday.

This is late. I know. I’ve even had a few people ask for it – which means I’m being a bad blogger, yikes! With no further adieu, here are the Top 10 shows you should most definitely be watching, anticipating, and freaking out over!

Some are newbies, and others are returning favorites. In no particular order:

1. FRINGE

If you haven’t started watching Fringe yet, you should most likely bump it to the #1 spot in your Netflix queue. Fringe follows a unique governmental agency that investigates the dealings of fringe science – weird diseases, psychic abilities, things that go bump in the night, etc. It’s X-Files meets Twilight Zone. A group of terrorists are utilizing these freaky-deaky findings against the world, and that’s where Dunham comes in: Agent Olivia Dunham, and Peter Bishop and his dad Walter are in charge (Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, respectively) of investigating these strange events to determine their source and stop The Pattern and those behind it. I’m not giving this show enough justice. It’s weird. It’s brilliant. It’s well-acted and well-written. And it’s confusing. Not ‘Lost’ confusing, though it’s way more intriguing.

Season 2 premiered on Sept. 17th and Season 1 DVDs are available now. New episodes can be seen Thursdays at 9pm on Fox.

2. Bored to Death

Jason Schwartzman + Zach Galifianakis + Ted Danson + HBO series. Need I say more? Schwartzman plays Jonathan Ames, a writer suffering from writer’s block who is moonlighting as a Private Detective – food for thought for his next book. The show is quirky, edgy (Thanks, HBO!), and full of Schwartzman’s Coconut Records tunes. Zach G is the friend/comic relief who hopefully gets wrapped into Ames’ scheming, and Danson plays the bossman. Potential like whoa.

Premiered last night. Check HBO listings for repeats of the pilot. Show airs Sunday nights at 9:30pm on HBO.

3. Dollhouse

Joss Whedon’s niche sci-fi drama was renewed for a second season! I will pause for celebratory cheers…

Eliza Dushku plays Echo, one of the elusive dolls in the dollhouse. Dolls are actives sent on missions to fulfill whatever purpose or need a client has. It’s Alias meets Dark Angel. Action, sex, and drama galore. Plus Dushku in skimpy outfits. Score! Last season, Agent Ballard and Echo started to unravel the secrets of the Dollhouse and…wait a minute. You haven’t seen it? DVDs are out and I’m keeping this spoiler free. Add it to that queue!

The writing and supporting cast makes this show well worth it. Plus it’s a Whedon show! What’s not to love.  Trust meeeee.

New episodes: Sept. 25th, 9pm, Fox.

4. Dexter

Michael C. Hall is amazing. Michael C. Hall is one of the best actors on television. Michael C. Hall is…Dexter.

Dexter is a blood specialist for the Miami Metro Police Department, but he’s also a serial killer…with a code. He’ll only kill the guilty – people like him who deserve to die. He lives by ‘the code’, a set of rules given to him by his stepfather who taught him to control his evil ticks. While he’s at it, he has to keep his cover at work, with his sister, and with his new wifee, Rita and their 3 kids. No problem, right? Wrong.

Dexter’s fourth season premieres Sept. 27th on Showtime. Seasons 1-3 are available on DVD.

5. Curb Your Enthusiasm

Is the glass half full or half empty? Everything in life is relative, according to Larry David, co-creator of Seinfeld.  Curb follows Larry as…actually, if you haven’t seen Curb yet just kill yourself. Or rent the DVDs (I guess that’s less extreme..)

THE LITTLEST WINSLOW BOLD STATEMENT in 3….2….1….

Curb Your Enthusiasm > Seinfeld. Stick that up your pipe and smoke it.

Season 7 of Curb premiered last night and will continue to air its 7th Season Sundays at 9, on HBO.

6. Californication

Are we beginning to see a theme here, guys? HBO and Showtime is where it’s at. And if True Blood was beginning a season as opposed to just ending one, that would also be on my list. For now, sit down and spend some time with Hank Moody, aka David Duchovny on Californication.  Playboy Hank Moody fornicates. A lot. In California. He lives with his daughter, a pre-teen goth chick named Becca, and is still in love with her mother, Karen, who just moved back to NY. What’s a playboy to do in the big city of LA now?

This show is absolutely fucking hysterical. It’s Duchovny at his best and with a great supporting cast to boot. And even though the seemingly schmuck-ish Moody is growing as a character, you’ll still be surprised and keeled over by every decision he makes. A+ television.

Californication premieres Sept. 27th on Showtime at 10pm.

7. 30 Rock

I. fucking. love. this. show. It’s. perfect. Nothing. can. be. changed. about. it.

If you don’t watch it, punch yourself in the face. Kthx.

Premieres October 15th, 9:30pm, NBC.

8. How I Met Your Mother

I never thought I’d actually watch and like a CBS sitcom because A) I’m not 50, B) They’re usually not funny, and C) They’re usually crazy predictable. But HIMYM defies all CBS-sitcom expectations. Now I can sit here and rave about Neil Patrick Harris, but really the entire cast deserves to be commended. Alyson Hannigan, Jason Segal, Josh Radnor, and Cobie Smulders. Hell, even Saget. Four seasons later, the show remains light, witty, and absolutely hilarious. Quite the victory, CBS.

Premiered last night. Airs Mondays at 8pm on CBS.

9. Glee

There are pros and cons to Fox’s new breakout hit, Glee. Pro – The music is really good, and the cast, really talented. Con – It’s three episodes deep and I’m slightly losing interest. Pro – The storylines are fairly interesting with a good blend of life inside the high school and out. Con – It’s kind of cheesy that Fox is already selling music from the show. Pro – JANE LYNCH. See, I’m torn!

Either way, Glee is definitely one of the new shows to keep an eye on. And news just came in that Fox has already called for an entire season! So far, this show isn’t going anywhere, but after the Glee club wins Nationals, what the hell are they going to do for Season 2? And 3? 4? Beyond? I shudder to think.

Glee can be seen Wednesdays at 9pm on Fox.

10: TIE: Community / Parks and Recreation

So I was going to give this spot hands down to Community. Parks and Rec had a bumpy first season that was terribly slow, and kind of uninspiring. But then I saw the Season 2 premiere of Parks and holy shit! It was fantastic! Leslie Knope accidentally chose to defend gay marriage by having a mock wedding at the zoo for two male penguins. Whoops! She then proceeds to get slammed by anti-gay rights activists and hilarity ensued. Honestly, I might have to watch it again! Here’s to hoping Poehler and the gang can keep this ship afloat.

Community, on the other hand, stars Chevy Chase so how could I not have watched that? (WE MISSED YOU, CHEVY!) The Soup’s Joel McHale plays a lawyer who ends up having to go back to college because his undergrad degree was revoked somehow. I don’t really understand the how part, but he’s back in college, unhappy about it, and is kind of a douchebag. Sounds like a good premise for a show if you ask me! And the pilot? Two thumbs way up! Check it out on NBC.com.

Parks and Recreation airs Thursdays at 8:30, while Community airs at 9:30. Both on NBC (with Community’s time to change once 30 Rock returns)

—————–

WORD HOLLA! I’ve got a few *Runner-Ups*, but I’m not sure if I can put these eggs in my basket. They are:

V and FlashForward.

V is a remake from an older show. Boo. But it stars Morena Baccarin and Juliet! Yay. And aliens come. And do something or other. I’ll keep you posted.

FlashForward stars Charlie and Penny from Lost, plus John Cho! It tells the story of a bunch of Americans who see into the future. For 2 minutes and 17 seconds, they see their lives from 6 months into the future! Drama, sadness, grief, action, etc, unfolds! Again – yay or nay? Check back later.

FlashForward starts this Thursday at 8pm on ABC. V begins November 3rd at 8pm, also on ABC.

Maybe I should’ve just made this a Top 12 list…

And don’t worry Survivor fans! That show gets it’s own special blog in due time..

]]> http://mendie22.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/himym-season-premiere/ Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:46:14 +0000 mendie http://mendie22.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/himym-season-premiere/

In honor of tonight’s season premiere I shall refer to Ted Mosby as his chosen name, T-Dog.  Oh HIMYM how i missed your awesomeness and especially you Alyson Hannigan.  Because if there is one thing last season taught us is that no matter how much we may love Barney, and let’s face we love him, this show just isn’t the same when the whole group isn’t together.  Our little family is back together. 

Oh sure some of us may have been worried when Barney and Robyn finally got together and we thought it might ruin our show, tear apart our family, or heaven forbid lose the funny.  But thank the gods I can now safely say that is not true.  Oh sure the topic was addressed but in typical HIMYM fashion.  Lily thinking she knows what is best for everyone (she is rarely wrong) badgers are phobia ridden friends into however much they may not realize that they are a couple.  But they are a couple on their own terms and no one elses.  Marshall in the meantime gets a little whip happy although if you ask my opinion Lily is so much scary without a whip than Marshall is with one.  But how cool was the Indiana Jones reference?  Way to keep your geek going guys.  Poor T-Dog I hope you realize that you are not alone when it comes to forgetting how to spell a word at the precise wrong time.  I am sure we can all agree that we have been in his shoes before.  In fact I have been there more times than I care to admit.  Unfortunately I also remember back in college going to a couple of classes only to realize at the most inopportune time that I had been in the wrong class.  Not an experience I recommend.  But as is the case with many terrifying tasks we face once T-Dog was able to focus more on his exhaustion than his fear he was able to just be himself.  I don’t know about  you but I for one hope we don’t ever find out who the mother is.

  I admit that I didn’t write any notes down about this new show because frankly I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did.  Sure there were parts that needed tweaking and I do see that there is potential for the show to go horribly wrong.  But Jenna Elfman is still as quirky and lovable as she ever was.  Ashley Jensen is a riot in heels.  And Jon Foster is simply adorable.   I do believe I may have found another comedy.

Yeah, liveblogging!!!

I’m not that excited about the Emmy’s this year, because I am cynical. Because instead of being excited that Jack McBrayer and Jemaine Clement are nominated, I just feel like Emmy voters are trying to feign hipness by nominating the things they know are “in” right now. The fact that they nominated all of this Justin Timberlake business from SNL when it was complete rehash of the 193 other times he’s hosted SNL (and therefore really tired) kind of proves this point. “Oh shit, guys, Omeletteville was FUNNY, let’s nominate for that four years later.”

But I do love Neil Patrick Harris and a ton of the nominees, so I’ll drop the cynicalness for a bit and give you all the goods.

Also, please remember, I’m presently without DVR, an intern, printed out notes, etc, so I can’t pause and create any kind of perfection. And I personally only kept notes for my picks.

And MOST IMPORTANTLY, regardless of what happens, I’m putting on Mad Men at 11.

We’ve begun! NPH is narrating something about basketball and Aretha Franklin’s hat and sophistication (cut to scene from Wipe Out!). There’s cheesy 1950s-like narration jokes, and it’s light and fun, and hopefully NPH is about to sing.

Indeed he is. He’s wearing a snazzy white suit jacket and trying to convince me not to change the channel, and it’s actually not that funny. Paula Abdul joke. Jokes about Joan Holloway’s curves, and okay, “Her curves could turn a blind man straight and a gay man – no wait, there’s Jon Hamm.” Hee. He’s so precious. Whoever is with Tracy Morgan or Alec Baldwin is creepy. NPH is talking about the lack of theme songs on TV, and it’s SO TRUE. In fact, in my Facebook interests, I have listed:

Favorite Music:
tv theme songs.. why aren’t they a big thing anymore?

You didn’t believe me, did you?

Two and a Half Men diss, and we’re only seven minutes in. He’s trying to host like he’s Johnny Carson or something, I think, and it sort of works and sort of doesn’t, and I just want to get a move on.

They’re dividing the show into five sections tonight, and everything is in full view (the band, the control room), and the first section is comedy. So now we’re having a comedy montage that is starting with Family Guy. And now the Office and Ugly Betty and 30 Rock.. so I guess it’s all modern stuff only. I’d enjoy a Dick Van Dyke clip or something here. It ends with floppy haired Jon Hamm, though, so I accept.

Tina Fey and non-floppy haired Jon Hamm are out to present the first award. He thanks us for looking at him. Tina just referred to Seth MacFarlane as Seth MacFarland. Anyways, it’s best supporting actress in a Comedy.

I picked Amy Poehler, though now I wish I had picked Kristin Chenoweth for she is wearing hilarious 2009 glasses. No wait, it’s a thing. They’re all wearing some sort of glasses. Except Vanessa Williams who is either a mega bitch or thinks that part is funny. And Kristin Chenoweth did win and she’s crying! Aw! She just told everyone that it was Amy Poehler’s idea to wear the glasses (so obviously Vanessa Williams is just a mega bitch), and she’s crying and I LOVE HER. She is saying that she’s unemployed so she would like to be on Mad Men, the Office and 24. I’m in an emotional state right now, so I almost cried. AWWWW, ITTY BITTY! She’s still crying backstage, so I’m calling that genuine.

The whole cast of How I Met Your Mother is presenting (minus NPH), and aww. Since Jason Segel isn’t like 8 feet taller than everyone else, that is ONE TALL CAST. Josh Radnor has a great narrator voice, by the way. 30 Rock just won a writing Emmy.

Some girl named Barbie won a seat for being the biggest TV fan in America or something. Neil is making fun of the crummy bit (her seat is behing basketball players! Ha!) Julia Louis Dreyfuss and Amy Poehler are presenting and being all cute and making fun of how networks suck and supporting actors/actresses can buy their awards.

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy. I picked Neil Patrick Harris. Remember when Jon Cryer was Duckie and was awesome? Now I just want to punch him. JACK MCBRAYER. AW HE’S GETTING LOTS OF APPLAUSE AND HE’S SO FUCKING ADORABLE AND I LOVE HIM. Jon Cryer won. Oh, I might as well stop watching now. Kevin Dillon looks like he wants to kill someone, but this goes for what I was saying before. Let’s nominate the hip stuff and then give them to the milquetoast. Jon Cryer is being funny, but he lost me when he started talking about how amazing Charlie Sheen is. Life would have been so fantastic had Amy Poehler been able to give Jackie McB an Emmy. Alas.

Here’s a picture of Jack McBrayer showing why he’s a million times funnier than Jon Cryer:

I took this on my cell phone last month. While laughing. SO THERE, DUCKIE.

NPH jokes about losing, it’s cute, moving along, Justin Timberlake is wearing a suit and looking all sharp and being funnier than most of the comedians have been so far. Pause for applause for Bea Arthur.

Best Actress in a Comedy. I picked Toni Collette. Sarah Silverman is wearing a moustache and being completely deadpan, and I like her much more than I used to. And Toni Collette won, so I finally got one right!. Sarah Silverman is pretending to simper in her seat with her moustache, and yeah, funny.

Jon Cryer is saying “In Your Face” to Neil Patrick Harris from the press room. Blake Lively and Leighton Meester are talking about the Creative Emmys, and they both look awful. I mean, let’s be clear, they both look a million times better than I do right now, but I’m not at an awards show.

Tina Fey and Justin Timberlake won awards for being on SNL, and they get to talk during the show, and JT just made a Kanye joke. Come on, Justin. Tina Fey just said, Thanks to Lorne Michaels for making her rich and famous, “if it weren’t for Lorne, Justin would still be very rich and very famous.” A guy from the Office won something and I’m not sure what. I’m a hack. Anyways, he thanks this wonderful moment right here:

And we’re back! With Rob Lowe! I wish he were in character as Sam Seaborn. Rob Lowe can be very, very funny. He had a good SNL a few years back. Right now he’s just being a bit weird. But he’s giving us the Best Actor in a Comedy Series one. I picked Jim Parsons for no reason. As much as I love Jemaine, the name Jemaine Clement doesn’t flow very well. Weirdly enough, the only scene that made me chuckle in the nominee clips was the Tony Shalhoub one. Alec Baldwin won, which isn’t shocking because I forgot about his duel role episode. Baldwin says that he would trade the Emmy to look like Rob Lowe, for serious. And let’s remember that Alec Baldwin used to look like this:

We’re transitioning to the Reality segment which makes me want to change the channel, but I’ll keep with it. Especially because the set just went all Who Wants to be a Millionaire/X-Files-y. Lots of clips of people cursing and losing brain cells.

Maksim and Karina from Dancing with the Stars are dancing all sexylike, which is AWKWARD cause they totally just broke off their engagement. And actually, this isn’t that impressive of a dance, and I wonder if it’s because of that. They disappeared and a bunch of other dancers are here, and eh. Hayden Panettiere looks cute, if you ask me. She is presenting the Best Reality Host with Jon Cryer. I picked Jeff Probst. He wins! I’m a winner! Except Jeff Probst is, and he thanks Neil Patrick Harris for being awesome. Jeff Probst has gotten really strange looking from the first season of Survivor, and he’s also talking about this being his dream. It’s confusing, because when he was a kid, there was no reality TV for him to dream about hosting a TV show about people being thrown into the jungle/outback/desert/etc. Hm.

Tracy Morgan is going to present something or other, and he makes everyone in the crowd laugh simply by saying, “Thank you, Neil Patrick Harris.” I picked Project Runway knowing full well that Amazing Race always wins. Tracy Morgan’s naming of the nominees is cracking me up, and he’s not really doing anything but saying the names of the TV shows in his animated way. And Amazing Race won, of course, but it won after we got an adorable clip of FABIO VIVIANI from Top Chef. Drink if the Amazing Race person says, “It never gets old” or something like that. Neil Patrick Harris says, “Upsets at every turn!” Ha.

Okay, we’re done with Reality and moving on to Movies/Miniseries. Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick are out, and I love them, for they totally ride the subway in NYC like normal people. I’m pretty sure everyone that I know (myself included) has seen them on the train. Supporting Actress in a Miniseries, and Shoreh Agdashloo won. I’ve LOVED her since House of Sand and Fog. She’s brilliant and glamorous and beautiful.

Best Supporting Actor goes to Ken Howard for Grey Gardens, which is the only one of these I kind of wanted to see. I didn’t even make pics for these categories. He just made a Joe Wilson/Kanye joke because apparently nobody got the memo that they’re old hat already. He’s the dad from Crossing Jordan, and I almost didn’t recognize him without the Bahston accent. He won an Emmy on his wife’s birthday, and he’s mentioning it while she cries, that’s so adorable.

Brendan Gleeson beat out some pretty heavy competition for Best Actor in a Miniseries/Movie. I think. Though Kevin Kline and Ian McKellan’s were both from plays that were filmed and aired on TV, I guess. He seemingly made an adorable Irish speech, but my mom called. Sorry! I’ll pretend that he won an award for In Bruges, because that was an awesome movie.

Patricia Arquette needs some serious boob control. I think this is a writing award, but I am thoroughly distracted. This whole section has been all over the place. No two miniseries have won anything yet. And directing is also being given out. Little Dorrit won the last two. Yeah Irish! So, Patricia Arquette has better boob control than this Irish lady (Dearbhla Walsh) who is clearly not wearing a bra.

It’s Dr. Horrible time!!! I actually have not watched this yet, which is a shame, because I love NPH and Joss Whedon and humour. Dr. Horrible has interrupted the accountants telling us how they tally votes. He’s explaining why the internet is better because it’s in a tinier size and constantly buffers and HELLO, Nathan Fillion. They’re talking about keyboard cat, which is awesome. We’re back to the accountants, who are midsentence, and that was precious.

Alec Baldwin is out presenting Best Actress to Jessica Lange, who has had enough plastic surgery to create a whole new human. Drew Barrymore is there with Justin Long, who is a Mac. Wasn’t there all kinds of drama about how Jessica Lange REFUSED to submit her name as a Best Supporting Actor thereby basically denying Drew an Emmy and blah blah? Now she’s acting all lovey-dovey with her.

Kiefer Sutherland and Anna Torv (is that her name? She’s on Fringe). Kiefer looks good, and Anna looks like she’s wearing a dress which requires a shirt. It’s just.. too saggy in the middle. This is the best made for TV movie category, which is fascinating if only because I forgot we were still in this section. Anyhoo, Grey Gardens wins. Drew jumps out of her seat in excitement. I laugh at Justin Long who sits calmly next to her. I really need to see Grey Gardens. Maybe I can make Amanda Netflix it. Yeah?!

Now it’s outstanding miniseries. There were only like, two nominees, and Little Dorrit won. I will take this opportunity to use the facilities. My apologies, Little Dorrit fans.

We now switch to Variety. Clips from SNL, the Academy Awards, BLAGOJEVICH on Letterman, Obama on Leno, Jon Stewart, Conan O’Brien, Craig Ferguson dancing, Joaquin Phoenix being an idiot, You’re Welcome America, Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, the Oscars, etc, etc. Man, TV can be so good sometimes. Honestly. I remember playing Mad Libs with my sister once and her listing Johnny Galecki while I thought his name was Johnny Golucky. He used to be cute on Roseanne. What happened? Jim Parsons is the definition of “adorkable” and I hate that word. Somebody from American Idol won something. Best Director of a Variety Program? Apparently Bruce Gowers is the guy that directed the Bohemian Rhapsody video.

Outstanding Writing in a Variety Series. It’s good to see Peter Gwinn. I love him. The Outstanding Series ones always ALWAYS have the best segments. I think I look forward to this the most. This year they’re not as good. The Colbert Show writers got yelled away from the David Letterman awning by Colbert. The Daily Show were all cash for clunkers cars. Conan O’Brien accepted friend requests on Facebook of his writers (including Brian Stack!), the Letterman writer names were sung by Billy Crystal, including a knock at Jay Leno, “Aren’t you on at 10?” and Brian Williams read off the names of the SNL writers, including JESSICA CONRAD who I went to school with. Aw, congrats on the nomination, Jess!

It’s worth mentioning that all night long, Neil Patrick Harris has been introducing the presenters by naming their really old/lesser known/hilarious credits, for example, Jimmy Fallon’s role as “photographer” in Spin City. Jimmy Fallon is singing in Autotune. And he just pratfalled. Steve Carell is dying laughing, and Fred Armisen is slightly amused. Kevin Kline’s face shows shocked unamusement. Hee. I was part of the laugh track for A Colbert Christmas, which I blogged about a million years ago, so if it wins, I feel partially responsible. This is a singing number award or something, I think. The Academy Awards won, beating out Colbert, Timberlake, etc.

LET’S KEEP THIS MOVING BECAUSE I HAVE TO WATCH MAD MEN IN 54 MINUTES.

Ricky Gervais just cursed or something. The mike wasn’t there. I love him. Love. He’s mocking other awards ceremonies and such. Tom Hanks is so funny. I’m laughing so hard, and they just showed Mariska Hargitay and her Hottie McHotterson husband. I believe his name is Peter Hermann?

Dreamboat.

The Daily Show just won Outstanding Variety Series, and the guy who states all of the facts about the winners is saying things about this being The Daily Show’s 900th Emmy, that they’ve been on for 76 years starting on Comedy Central Radio. I like that so many winners keep telling Neil Patrick Harris that he’s awesome. Speaking of football, JStew, how are the Giants doing? They’re up at the half. I am kicking fantasy football’s ass this week. Thanks, Frank Gore.

Okay we’re moving into the final section: DRAMARAMA. The sound on my TV just got all messed up. Unless it’s the show. I’m not sure. HEY THERE, HOT EVIL TONY ALMEIDA. They’re showing the end of Lost, which ruins it for anyone who hasn’t watched last season yet, no? I love that Chris O’Donnell is working again. He’s so handsome. Except maybe not now. Supporting Actor! I picked Michael Emerson, because of the Lost factor, though I fucking love John Slattery and would not be surprised if Aaron Paul wins. MICHAEL EMERSON WON! YEAH! He’s so, so good. His speech was short, sweet, to the point and included some Hawaiian, so good. Good.

Supporting Actress: I don’t really care about this category at all, but I picked Dianne Wiest. CHERRY JONES WON. NO SHIT? Wow. She’s dating Sarah Paulson, which kind of blows my mind, but yeah, she was fun on 24, but who would ever think that she would win? Kiefer is wearing glasses now. I like it.

In Memoriam section, which I will not liveblog. Sarah Mclachlan is singing “I Will Remember You,” which is beautiful because they focused on the screen and not her unlike the Academy Awards with Queen Latifah.

Taken from E!Online:
• The “2009″ specs modeled by Chenoweth during the telecast were stunning, and I, of course, have to know where she got them. Amy Poehler, she tells me. Elaborating on her remarks from the telecast, Chenoweth explains that Poehler goaded on her fellow Emmy nominees at a pre-Emmy party last night: “We’re the funny girls,” Poehler told them, per Chenoweth. “We have to do them.”
• And yes, Vanessa Williams not wearing glasses was part of the joke, Chenoweth assures us.

Okay, so I take back my mega bitch comment.

THIRTY MINUTES ‘TIL I CHANGE THE CHANNEL FOR MAD MEN.

These commercial breaks are outrageously long.

Stephen Moyer and David Boreanaz are out to talk about Guest Actors/Actresses on a Drama Series. They’re almost all from some form of L&O. Jimmy Smits was considered a Guest Actor? Ellen Burstyn and Michael J. Fox won, and it’s always awesme to see Michael J. Fox. Somebody with the bastardized version of my last name is nominated. Cool. AND HEY, HE WON. He’s not there, so I’ll accept the award on his behalf and also ADD AN E TO THE END OF HIS LAST NAME.

Best Writing goes to Matt Weiner and a variation of people. Kater Gordon. She’s wearing a great dress, and John Slattery looks like he just got out of bed. It’s awesome. Matt Weiner has like 18 kids. WRAP IT UP, WEINER, I HAVE TO WATCH YOUR SHOW IN 22 MINUTES.

Simon Baker is such a babe, and he makes me regret never watching the Mentalist, though he should take off those glasses. Best Actress in a Drama.

Not the Emmys, but you get the idea..

I picked Elisabeth Moss. “I had a baby, and I gave it away” gives me goosebumps every. single. time. Do we think that Kyra Sedgwick is just doing a Holly Hunter impression on The Closer? Glenn Close won. Okay. Fun fact! Holly Hunter once lived with Frances McDormand, Sam Raimi and Joel & Ethan Coen. That’s pretty neat. Also, she’s 51 and doesn’t look it at all, and she has twins that she gave birth to at the age of 47. I’m impressed by Holly Hunter’s life. It doesn’t change the fact that I can’t stand the way she speaks.

Dana Delaney is giving out the Best Actor in a Drama award all by herself while wearing the same glasses as Simon Baker. Michael C. Hall looks really sick. Hugh Laurie looks really grumpy. Bryan Cranston won, which isn’t surprising, but I picked Michael C. Hall because it’s a shame that Dexter has never gotten any love. Cranston doesn’t want me to watch Mad Men, apparently. WRAP THIS SHIT UP, YO.

Bob Newhart is out to be amazing, per usual. Yes, I was one of those kids that watched Nick at Nite obsessively. But Bob, Halle Berry did not kiss Adrien Brody. Other way around. And I don’t think Halle appreciated it at all. I picked How I Met Your Mother to win. And the Emmy unsurprisingly goes to 30 Rock. Listen, I love, LOVE 30 Rock, but some other shows need some love sometimes. And did Tina Fey really just say, “Woo! That was a nail biter!”? Because, um, no. No, Tina. Jack McBrayer is so happy back there. It makes me grin.

Some stupid online contest that they had between American Idol, True Blood and Gossip Girl ended with True Blood winning. I couldn’t possibly care any less.

MAD MEN IS STARTING IN THREE MINUTES. END THISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Good thing the replay starts at 11:03, I have some time. Two minutes now.

Go, NPH, go! Sigourney Weaver is out to present Best Drama. She’s talking about this being a golden age in drama, which is kind of true. Sort of. Anyways, she’s speeding through it for my benefit and YES MAD MEN WON! This is the only category in which me and my roommate picked the same nominee. Mad Men wins and now I can watch Mad Men. I wish he would make a joke about it, but he probably won’t. Well, he might have, but I wouldn’t know because my TV just autotuned to AMC. Whoops! Everyone looks great. That’s all I have to say. Now I will watch the actual show.

Sorry I’ll miss you saying “Goodnight everybody,” Mr. Harris, but… goodnight everybody!

How I Met Your Mother, seriado de Craig Thomas e Carter Bays e produzido pela CBS, é talvez uma das mais engraçadas séries produzidas dos anos 2000 pra cá. Tem a ideia não tão comum(pelo menos pra esse formato de programa) de narrar os episódios a partir dos flashbacks de Ted Mosby(Josh Radnor), quando este decide contar aos filhos, um casal de adolescentes, como conheceu a mãe deles. Em um episódio em que o próprio Ted se vê frente à frente com os pais numa situação de conflito, solta que quando for explicar aos filhos como conheceu a mãe deles, contará toda a história, desde o princípio.

Ele não estava mentindo. A série ruma para a quinta temporada e ainda não tivemos o prazer de conhecer a misteriosa mulher. Claro que tudo aponta para uma razão mercadológica, afinal, se uma série faz sucesso, a tendência é alongá-la mesmo. O problema é que a natureza do roteiro traz inconvenientes. O resultado é que a quarta temporada perdeu o fôlego se comparada às anteriores. Sem falar nos inevitáveis furos no roteiro: há um furo no piloto e no último episódio da quarta temporada, por exemplo, que talvez os roteiristas nem se lembrem mais e fique sem explicação.

Bem, o ponto forte de How I Met Your Mother é a maneira como os episódios são narrados. Não espere que os flashbacks sejam redondinhos. Muitas vezes Ted se engana, esquece, omite, outras vezes prega pegadinhas no telespectador, desmente o que diz e apresenta uma nova versão… Ou seja, se você quer entender o que está se passando tem que estar atento a cada detalhe.

Como praticamente toda série desse gênero, o protagonista tem um grupo de amigos. Marshall(Jason Segel), um jovem estudante de Direito, Lilly(Alyson Hannigan), namorada de Marshall e professora do jardim de infância, Barney(Neil Patrick Harris), um mulherengo cheio de frases de efeito(ainda não se sabe a ocupação de Barney…), e Robin(Cobie Smulders), uma jornalista(?) com quem Ted se envolve por um período de tempo considerável.

Alguns adendos: How I Met Your Mother é engraçado, sim. A maioria das piadas te farão rir mesmo. E, embora há quem diga que humor não é para ser politicamente correto, algumas passagens podem incomodar. É o caso das piadas com o Canadá, que podem soar de mal gosto para alguns ou fora de lugar algumas vezes(a bandeira do Canadá aparecer no vídeo de Robin Sparkles não tem uma explicação muito lógica).

Outra coisa é que o seriado se apresenta sob uma visão bem masculina(basta lembrar do conflito Marshall-Lilly-Ted na segunda temporada), na falta de um termo melhor. A forma como a personagem de Lilly é construída, por exemplo, cheia de fórmulas já saturadas pelo cinema e pela TV. A própria personagem de Cobie Smulders que muitas vezes aceita com bastante naturalidade o carimbo de “a gostosa da série”. As duas protagonistas revelam visões esteotipadas e exageradas do comportamento feminino e até mesmo algumas situações em que o orgulho masculino aparece soberano(Marshall-Lilly, na segunda temporada). Ted Mosby é o símbolo da hipocrisia. Passa a série inteira repudiando o comportamento de Barney, mas em muitos momentos revela uma postura até pior do que Barney(porque Barney é cafajeste com C maiúsculo, mas tem até orgulho disso), dotada de infantilidade, ele representa o puro egoísmo, quando não um machismo enrustido.

Mas vamos lá a quinta temporada. Talvez conheçamos a futura esposa de Mosby. Agora fiquem com um vídeo repleto de spoilers numa cena talvez com revelações maiores até do que mistério que ronda a Srª Mosby.