The Networks

The CW – I hear their current Entertainment President is stepping down after this year. So with Dawn Ostroff out (the woman behind canceling Veronica Mars) maybe this network will start making some good shows. Either way not much to say.

CBS – I still regret jumping off The Good Wife when I did but I don’t regret leaving Hawaii 5-0 behind. Yet things finally worked out for Alex O’Laughlin who is finally in a hit show, despite his terrible acting. Anyway I’m still watching my reality tv trifecta (Amazing Race, Survivor, Big Brother) but that is really all CBS is good for. It’s schedule changes actually really paid off. Survivor moved with little to no problems and I am sure will get a ratings bump during Survivor: Redemption Island. Moving the Big Bang Theory to Thursdays also paid off and seemed to help $#*! My Dad Says. A couple of other moves didn’t seem to hurt and Mike and Molly actually did pretty well. CBS made some bold moves but it really paid off in the end.

NBC – Poor NBC. It really needed to have a good year this year…and I don’t think that is going to happen. Besides their amazing Thursday Night comedy line up the network has nothing going for it. The return of normal people Apprentice bombed as did many of their new shows. The Event started off strong but lost a lot of viewers over the last few months (NBC is “relaunching” it this winter but it will likely go the way of FlashForward) while Undercovers was just an abomination of a television show. Law and Order: Los Angeles gets decent ratings and Chase does ok but I don’t even know a single person who watches either of those. Looking into their spring it doesn’t look like much will change either but I am excited that Parks and Recreations is back and that Outsourced is being bumped to 10:30. NBC has its own version of American Idol coming out and Harry’s Law looks promising but it might take at least another year for NBC to really find its footing. Oh and by the way NBC you are wasting a ton of money promoting The Cape.

FOX – FOX continued to promote juggernaut Glee despite many people now seeing just how poorly written it is. However FOX is still putting a lot of support into it even making it the post Super Bowl show this year. And why not? I’m not a fan of the show but it makes a lot of money for FOX with all of the music and you have to be pretty talented to sing, dance, and act with new material every eight days. Lone Star completely bombed and FOX pulled it while Running Wilde slowly died. I would say that Raising Hope is the best thing to come out of all of the networks this year. Raising Hope isn’t necessarily a critical darling but I think everyone enjoys it a lot. In a year FOX will be very different. This American Idol this spring I think is a make or break year for it while FOX prepares Simon Cowell’s X Factor. I’m hoping in a year though that I can talk about Fringe season four…because I am not that happy about its move to Fridays.

ABC – ABC continues to plod along. It has had a fairly decent fall with both Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy having better than expected seasons. It’s Wednesday night comedy line up also continues to shine. I’m not a big fan of traditional sitcom Better With You but it is doing better than Hank ever did. Luckily for ABC Dancing with the Stars made a lot of headlines this fall with Bristol Palin making it all the way to the finals. The same could not be said for Skating with the Stars which didn’t work when FOX did it with Skating With Celebrities. The only new show that really picked up any momentum is No Ordinary Family but even that didn’t do much. This winter ABC is bringing back more of the same. It has no Lost to promote so it has been putting a lot of time into V (and really who cares about that?) and new sexy doctors Shonda Rhimes television Off the Map…or basically Grey’s Anatomy/Private Practice in the jungle.

Cable – I spent a lot of my time not with the networks this fall. I was really disappointed in a lot of the new shows so I explored BBC America, FX, and AMC a bit. Though my personal favorites Terriers and Rubicon weren’t hits shows like The Walking Dead did very well and I was impressed with Luther and Law and Order UK. I’ll continue to keep an eye out for more and more network shows because…they keep getting better (and more creative).

Luther Series 1

After watching Luther and Fringe this fall I think I’ve found one of my new favorite formats which I hope will start becoming more popular. Many procedurals have a different case every week and very rarely talk about ongoing relationships and storylines unless it is a special episode. Luther and Fringe have their case of the week but incorporate those serial storylines into the episode flawlessly. I really like how Luther did this. It had some horrible brutal case every episode but throughout it we got to see Luther interact with his ex-wife Zoe and sociopath Alice Morgan. It made every episode intense and the producers were able to highlight both ongoing storylines (the case and Luther’s personal life) pretty well. Luther was able to grab my attention and hold it for the hour and fifteen minutes every episode. I was always so surprised at how fast an episode went by and couldn’t wait to watch the next one. Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson were so intense in their roles it made for a very exciting hour. Plus it all led up to the amazing ending where one of Luther’s co-workers ends up killing Zoe. Luther hunts him down and teams up with Alice Morgan and Zoe’s boyfriend who ends up killing Luther’s co-worker right as the police arrive. I am really looking forward to the next season. Luther isn’t a perfect show. It became quite comical watching Luther smash and break everything when he got mad or upset. In a normal world Luther would never be allowed to be a detective because he was so comical. Alice Morgan also was a bit over the top a few times as well and her relationship with Luther was definitely pushing it a few times. Also Luther’s co-worker frames Luther in the murder of his wife…I didn’t buy it and neither should the police. So I have a few gripes but Luther was a pretty decent show.

Parenthood Season 2

I guess I should be happy that NBC gets really bad ratings all around because Parenthood would’ve been pulled on another better network but I love Parenthood. It is the little show that could and I think it has an amazing well acted cast. This season wasn’t as spectacular as the short but sweet first season but I still really enjoyed it. What pissed me off so much was how much time we spent at Adam’s job. The first season I think Adam was the president of his company and now it seems they retconned that to make him work for William Baldwin. I don’t know I just didn’t care much for all of the shoe politics and I kept thinking about how terrible the second season of Dirty Sexy Money was. I did like Sarah and Gordon hooking up and I think the shoe company storyline paid off when Gordon came over for Thanksgiving but I hope the show kind of moves away from that when it returns. After I complained about Kristina, who is shrill and annoying most of the time, they did redeem her slightly when she went to the support group for parents who have children with Asperger’s. I’m not a big fan of Haddie’s new storyline…I think it is boring and I am ready for Camille to get over her issues because Zeek is doing the best that he can. I have really enjoyed Crosby learning how to be a dad and I am glad they wrapped up Jasmine’s dancing career. This season has been pretty light on Julia and Amber who were both big parts of the first season. I know they are dealing with Julia and Joel having “who wears the pants” issues but that seems a lot more Joel than Julia. Parenthood is one of the shows I watch right after it airs so my criticism is just because I like it so much. It is getting bumped and pushed around a bit this spring that has me worried but I am jut hoping for a third and final season at this point. There is just something charming to it.

The Cleveland Show Season 2

It has gotten better. I think that is what most people are saying. The Cleveland Show has improved a bit this fall. Maybe it is because Family Guy has had kind of a weak fall but I think The Cleveland Show has gotten better. It got off to a rocky start with the first two episodes. “The Cleveland Show Live” was a pretty terrible follow up to the premiere. After that it kind of found its footing. It is no way that great of a show but it kind of figured out what worked. I still find Rallo to be pretty obnoxious and Roberta I think has gotten worse but when the show just highlight Cleveland or Cleveland Jr. it works pretty well. I think it is the cast of supporting characters I don’t like which sometimes drags down the show. Also I don’t really think the show knows what it is yet and is just figuring that out. However I thought the last few episodes were fairly solid. The writing became more clever and the jokes were faster. There was actually a really great moment in the last episode “Beer Walk” that had a great opening shot of Cleveland sitting on the couch all weekend while the rest of the family were on fast forward having their weekend. I don’t know what is was about that seen but I really enjoyed it for being different and a clever gag. I hope that we are about to go into a stretch of really good episodes because I think The Cleveland Show is starting to work.

The Amazing Race 17

The Amazing Race finally has its first all female team winners…geez that took awhile. The producers had to cut out those really strong alpha male teams in order for this to happen and it even took a couple of seasons after that to pay off. I liked Nat and Kat but I really wish Brooke and Claire had won. Those two were pretty much the best thing about this season. They were funny, got into a few tiffs, but were pretty entertaining the entire time. Brooke was always pushing them to go faster while Claire huff and puffed and did the best she could. However Claire wasn’t exactly a push over and the two had pretty good banter between them. They were just more fun then Nat and Kat who were painted to be the wholesome and good team. That is one of my problems with The Amazing Race and Survivor. In the last few seasons they have really tried to make their winners seem like good people that you like that they tend to be….boring. Maybe I’m wrong but besides one of them having diabetes I am not really sure what Nat and Kat brought to the race. Seventeen seasons into a show you can’t just be good racers you have to be good television. I thought it was a solid season of the show. I enjoyed last season a little bit more but that is because we had some great team dynamics at the end. There were a few good moments in this season. Nick giving up at the end was so frustrating to watch for poor Vicki. They were overall pretty stupid and I am not sure how they got that far. I also enjoyed the North Korea border leg especially since it tied into current events. Also I don’t quite understand how strategy is involved with the Fast Forward, U-Turn, and Express pass. If there is only one Fast Forward and one U-Turn a the whole race then there is no strategy at all. It was interesting in the early seasons seeing teams decide when to use the Fast Forward or when to use the Yield. Now when there is only one Fast Forward the whole race and done U-Turn you might as well use it because there is no point not to. Next season this show is finally in High Definition and bringing back a ton of people I don’t care to watch (why so many Amazing Race 14 teams?). But it is a staple of my television viewing.

Family Guy Season 9

What a lame showing this fall. The premiere was amazing and one of my favorite Family Guy episodes. The show also looks really good this fall and I love just how far the show has come but…it pales in comparison to American Dad! and The Cleveland Show this fall. The Rush Limbaugh episode was terrible and really weird. I guess I just really dislike Brian episodes now. They are the worst thing and I think four heavily featured Brian this fall. The show has really ruined his character and he is really dislikable. I liked him more when he was just a dog or a drunk as opposed to being the Seth MacFarlene mouthpiece. There was a point when they started to make fun of Brian (and I appreciated the reference in the Christmas episode) but they seem to have backed off on that a bit. I like Family Guy because I like the weird cutaways and the 90s and 80s references…I don’t want to hear what Brian Griffin has to say whether it is really liberal or conservative Republican. I just don’t care and it is annoying. At least make it clever like American Dad! The Halloween episode “Halloween on Spooner Street” was decent and I enjoyed the amazing opening number to “Road to the North Pole” but that is it for this season. Also I hate that every episode is either Brian and Stewie or Lois and Peter. I think we had three plots going on during the Halloween episode…but that is why it was good. We didn’t have to be with the same two people the entire episode. It was just a very weak season and if this is what Seth MacFarlene is putting out…maybe I do agree that is time to close up shop.

American Dad! Season 6

I think I’ve said a few times that I didn’t really like this show and that I tried watching but I never could get into it. That has all changed. A few people told me to sit down and watch it from the beginning…get through the first season or two when the show kind of sucks…but stick through it and you’ll see just how good it is. I have to say that those people were right. American Dad! is the strongest of FOX’s Animation Domination line up. It continues to be smart, clever, and well written. It isn’t just a bunch of jokes but every episode has a good storyline. Roger and Stan have become some of my favorites and I am glad the show pushed away from Hayley and Klaus and focused more on Steve and Francine. I’m not entirely caught up yet but I started the current season starting with “Best Little Horror House in Langeley Falls” which was pretty decent and right up there with the Family Guy Halloween episode. I actually really enjoyed the weird doll subplot during “Stan’s Food Restarant.” It was so weird but actually pretty hilarious and clever. “White Rice” was not my favorite episode but the Thanksgiving episode as well as the last two aired were all very well done. Right now, out of the three, I think American Dad! is the most solid and it is pretty funny from week to week. No show is perfect and American Dad! has its weak moments but they are far less noticeable and not as frequent as Family Guy and The Cleveland Show. However American Dad! has the weakest ratings of the three (of course…) and it is being bumped to 7:30 for the new show Bob’s Burgers. I hope that it can somehow survive to season seven.

The Middle Season 2

I continued to really enjoy The Middle which seems to be getting even stronger as it goes along. It isn’t getting critical praise but it is a solid show that has a lot going for it and it has a terrific cast. This first half of the second season was just as strong and there was really only one episode (“Foreign Exchange”) that I thought wasn’t that good. However even then it had a couple of really good moments in it. This show also cut out some of the fat and Frankie spent a lot less time at the car dealership. That also means that Chris Kattan isn’t around as much and I think everyone is pretty happy about that. Chris Kattan can be funny but Bob is one of the most obnoxious characters on television. They used him well in the Thanksgiving episode though and I really enjoyed him being jealous of Brick. But I think less is more in the case of Bob and the car dealership. Last season the show built on its plot…this season so far didn’t really use that concept as much. Sue is now on the cross country team and wears her sweatshirt all of the time and they brought back Reverend TimTom but that is about it. Though I like references to older episodes and returning characters I also like that The Middle has tried to stay away from that and continue to come up with new ideas and new situations. There is really nothing that negative to say about this season. All I can say is that the cast got stronger and that the show got tighter. If there was a standout episode I would have to say “A Birthday Story” but think that is because I really enjoyed the fact that Sue was born on a leap day and. So maybe no real episode blew me away but I thought almost every single one was solid and worked well and that cannot be said for a lot of shows. I want The Middle to still kind of do the same and I will keep on watching it.

Modern Family Season 2

“The Old Wagon” was probably not the best episode to start with. The original first episode would’ve been “Earthquake” which was much better and much funnier. Though Modern Family got off to a underwhelming start with its premiere it very easily was back by the second episode “The Kiss” which dealt with the criticism that Cam and Mitchell never kissed on the show. “Unplugged” was a great episode. I love that the contest came down to Hayley and her dad and that Hayley was smart enough to make a cell phone out of a bar of soap. “Halloween” was also a highlight, especially with Gloria trying to speak English without her Colombian accent. “Chirp” was ok the only part that I really enjoyed with Hayley thinking her parents were getting a divorce. So far, for me, the best episode was “Manny Get Your Gun” with Manny thinking he has missed his childhood, Phil and Claire racing to dinner to see which route is faster, while Cam becomes part of a flash mob. I thought all three of the plots were very solid and very funny. Cam and Mitchell’s were maybe to a lesser extent but I thought this was Modern Family firing on all cylinders. The last two episodes were decent and average Modern Family episodes which I liked. Luckily Rico Rodriguez hasn’t started overacting, which I was worried about and Cam hasn’t gotten too over the top yet. Hopefully those two won’t be playing caricatures of their roles in the next few season. I think this season so far has really showcased Luke a lot. Luke’s character was arguably one of the weakest when the show first started. However by the end of the first season the writers started really using him with clever one liners to show just how weird and sometimes stupid Luke can be. They did that very well this season and Luke continues to be the weirdo of the family but it is hilarious. This cast is very funny and I think this show deserves all the praise it can get. I even got a couple of other people to watch the show who had been missing out. No problems with Modern Family, I just want more of the same.

Terriers Season 1

It was nice while it lasted. I picked up Terriers very unexpectedly right at the start of the season and I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t the most original show or that different and when I tried to explain it to people they were kind of confused on the whole concept and wondered why it was called Terriers if it didn’t really feature any dogs. This was probably the best show that nobody watched this fall and that is too bad because Terriers ended up being one of the better and smarter shows with an ongoing plot about leveling a town to make an airport. We got that information bit by bit throughout the season as it was revealed. However the best part of the show was Donal Logue (Grounded For Life) and Michael Raymond-James (True Blood). They had a great buddy cop vibe between them and they worked very well together. At times the show favored Donal Logue a bit more and he had more to do but Michael Raymond-James had a great side storyline with The 4400 star Laura Allen who played his girlfriend. Katie and Britt were pretty tight until Katie got drunk and slept with her professor which caused a lot of problems between the two and ended up with no real conclusion at the end…because the show got canceled. It would’ve been something that they would’ve dealt with in a second season. Donal Logue’s Hank also had his fair share of problems. His ex-wife was getting married to a man who parents were accused of being “child molesters” and he also had to deal with his sister Steph who had a few personal issues of her own. Anyway most of the episodes had Britt and Hank dealing with a crime but by the end of the season they were dealing with the whole airport conspiracy and teamed up with an online reporter to try to figure things out. “Asunder” was probably my favorite episode. “Asunder” is that rare television episode where all of the storylines come together and really change the tone of the series. In this episode Hank ends up helping the reporter who is also investigating the conspiracy to safety at the same hotel where Gretchen, his ex-wife, is getting married. Meanwhile Britt finds out that Katie cheated on him. It was a pretty amazing episode. The only thing I didn’t like was the ending…but again it wasn’t meant to be the ending. The man behind the conspiracy was someone we hadn’t met yet and the “big bad guy” of the season actually wasn’t the “big bad guy” but worked for him. It just seemed a very easy out for a smart show. I was surprised how much I liked this show. I bet it would’ve done better during the summer because it had so much competition this fall. I’d say to give it a chance if you haven’t seen it, Terriers will surprise you.

The Event Season 1

I’m done with show. I was pretty disappointed in this very quickly. The pilot had its issues but it showed a lot of promise on where the show could go. There were a lot of different storylines and ideas going on and there were definitely things to look forward too. However as the show continued it faced a lot of the problems that sci-fi shows have dealt with in the past. Why do I care? Who are these people? Why is all of this going on? And then it is really hard to recover. When a show is doing a bunch of different things and everyone is getting annoying and there is no clear picture on where it is going it is time to jump ship. Since this is NBC The Event might get another season but…NBC is “relaunching” this show this winter. That is not a good sign at all. I just had a lot of issues where it was going. Blaire Underwood is perhaps the worst president ever. He has no real power at all and doesn’t get anything accomplished. Also doesn’t he have anything else he has to do? We just see him dealing with Sophia and her minions…does he not have foreign affairs and dinners he needs to go to or does he just spend all of his time in that dark boardroom trying to figure out what is going on. Also the Jason Ritter storyline fell apart…very quickly. First of all it was ridiculous how fast he could travel around. I think he went from Texas to Atlanta in two minutes…yea I know it’s a tv show but he seems to travel faster than anyone else. Also I hate Leila. I hate her whole character. She is so whiny and the actress is pretty bad. They also just seem to run around from place to place and never really accomplish anything. The only people I really enjoy are Sophia and her people…whoever they are. Laura Innes is so much better than everyone else on this show. Her scenes are just so much more interesting to watch. She just has this subtle intensity which I love. But her one storyline can’t really keep me watching this show when I feel like there isn’t going to be any sort of pay off. The Event just feels cheap and gimmicky and I won’t be waiting around anymore. I just feel like I am wasting my time.

Raising Hope Season 1

This is probably the best new network show this fall and probably one of the few that are going to come back. Raising Hope figured it out pretty quickly and came together. It got rid of the annoying cousin who didn’t add anything to the show and I think fixed Cloris Leachman’s MawMaw. I still think that MawMaw is the weakest part of the show and provides the cheapest laughter. Really this show is about Jimmy, Virginia, and Burt. Lucas Neff, Martha Plimpton, and Garret Dillahunt all work very well together and know how to play off each other. I love the banter between the three and how the characters treat each other. Virginia could be a terrible character but Martha Plimpton plays her very well and steals all of the scenes. I see Virginia as someone who wants to do things right but life has cheated her so much that she is now very cynical. While Burt is just a big kid who doesn’t really want to grow up and take charge but reluctantly does throughout every episode. Jimmy is really the voice of reason and tries to look on the bright side of things despite everyone else being negative around him. He wants things to work out better for Hope and give her a better chance than what he ever got. Raising Hope has that sort of sentimentality that Modern Family brings in every episode where you really like and feel for the characters. It isn’t as sappy as Modern Family gets but there are still moments when you feel for Jimmy or Virginia. Raising Hope is also very well written. I love that they throw in words that aren’t correct or combining two words. It is a subtle joke but it is funny when a character throws out some weird mish mashed version of a word. I think this show can continue to work well for several seasons. I’m fine with Cloris Leachman calls it quits as some point. She isn’t really holding the show together by any means. I’m much more worried about Hope getting older. But if they continue to make the same jokes and have the same plots in future episodes then I don’t see why this show couldn’t last for a couple of seasons.

Community Season 2

If someone told me a year ago that I would like this show enough to forget about the first thirteen episodes of season one and go out and buy the dvd because I’ve been enjoying the second season so much…I would’ve have laughed at them. However Community continues to grow and become one of the more original shows on television right now. The ending to season one was great and the premiere of this season was also solid and it continues to become stronger. Not every episode is perfect. “Accounting for Lawyers” was an interesting step away from the school but wasn’t that funny or interesting besides a few jokes. “Basic Rocket Scientist” was a clever idea but kind of a huge waste of time considering Annie tried to leave Greendale before while “Messianic Myths and Ancient People” was probably the weakest of all the episodes this season. However the last six were all very well done and pretty original. There were parts from every single episode that I enjoyed and all of them were really strong. This season also has made Abed slightly less annoying and Troy a much more fun character. Last year I found Troy to actually be the worst character on the show but Donald Glover has improved so much that Troy has really earned a spot on the show. I continue to really like Annie, Jeff, and Shirley while they fixed Britta and Abed to a certain extent. Pierce is probably my least favorite right now but ever so often Chevy Chase has a good plot. I think my favorite episode was actually the dark “Mixology Certification.” It was a very polarizing episode. You either really liked it or you didn’t like it at all. It wasn’t the funniest episode but it involved Troy learning he was actually 21 instead of 20 and the whole group going to the bar. All of the characters kind of learn a depressing truth about them. Jeff and Britta kind of learn they are not that different, Annie learns she doesn’t really like herself, Shirley takes down embarrassing photos of her drunk at the bar that were taken right after her divorce, Abed loves the group and without them he can be pretty lonely, and Troy learns that everybody is pretty stupid and doesn’t have life figured out. It is a very dark episode of the show but a highlight of it as well. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the stop motion but I enjoyed it for what it was and it was a very creative choice. This show does a lot of weird little creative things like that, like having a whole subplot of Abed helping a woman give birth in the background of an episode…the whole episode. You don’t see Abed in the front but he is always right there behind the main action, it is pretty clever. Great season to this show and I hope it continues to improve.

30 Rock Season 5

30 Rock Season five has been ok. It has been better than season four of the show which I have a really hard time remembering. Maybe that is my problem that I just have a hard time remembering 30 Rock and I say that it isn’t good because…I can’t remember anything. However I remember a decent amount from this current season and I would say that it is just ok. I actually really enjoyed the “Live Show” episode. It didn’t have the right beat and pattern of a regular 30 Rock episode but it was ambitious and pretty funny in a lot of parts. So I enjoyed that. I think my other favorite moment this season with Kelsey Grammer joining up with Tracey and Jenna in scamming Carvel out of money by telling them to write misspelled words on the cakes they were buying. We’ve also come to a different point in Jack and Liz’s relationship which is interesting and probably why the show is doing better this season. Avery wants Jack to move on and not spend a lot of time with Liz and even Jack sees that he needs to mentor new people. However Liz still cannot quite manage by herself so Jack still helps her. However I feel the theme this season is Liz trying to figure out how to do things on her own a little bit more and with the introduction of Carol and Avery, Liz cannot always go running to Jack. I did also enjoy “Christmas Attack Zone” which brought back Alan Alda and Elaine Stritch as Jack’s parents. Jack’s mom always brings out another side to Jack and I loved when he was revealing everything to Colleen and all of the secrets he had. I still think 30 Rock has kind of hit a creative slump. It is better than it was last season and doesn’t feel like as much of a chore to watch but it definitely still has some work cut out for it. Solid episodes, better writing, but room for improvement.

Survivor 21: Nicaragua

I enjoyed this season a lot. I really liked the characters and I thought it was new and different compared to the last two seasons which were all about gamebot Russell Hantz to the end. However I think I’m in the minority compared to the casual viewers and Dalton Ross who ranked this season the worst (yes below Fiji, Cook Islands, and Thailand). I just really enjoyed all of the different people. Seriously go re-watch Samoa and then re-watch Nicaragua. Which season had more memorable players? Yea Samoa had Russell and Shambo…maybe Laura…maybe maybe Natalie. This season had a ton of great characters like Marty, Brenda, Fabio, Jane, Holly, NaOnka, Sash, and yea well Chase. I’d rather a season with memorable contestants as opposed to a show highlighting one person the whole time and the rest playing into their story. Now Russell is coming back next season so I am sure he is going to take up a lot of camera time but if that is who the general viewing public wants to watch I guess let them. Anyway here are my recaps of the season. I hope in a few years this won’t have the stigma of being the season after an All Star season like Vanuatu…because I feel if it had come after any other season it wouldn’t be considered bad.

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 10
Recap
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 13
Episode 14

The Office Season 7

Not exactly the greatest season for Steve Carell to go out on. There were three decent episodes to talk about and the rest were are pretty terrible. I have to hand it to The Office that it has a lot to work with and usually highlight former castmembers and the rest of the staff in the audience. They have created a whole little world for people to watch. However The Office just doesn’t know what to do with it all anymore. There are a few funny moments every episode but this season has really felt like a chore to watch. I haven’t felt that way at all about any other season yet I do feel like the second half of The Office seasons tend to be better than the first half which always seem to have a lot of trouble finding there footing. Hopefully with Holly Flax back for a few episodes this show can kind of figure it all out right before Steve Carell leaves. I did really enjoy “Andy’s Play” which felt like an older season of the show and was overall a strong episode of The Office. There were so many great moments like Michael being jealous of the man playing Sweeney Todd, the opening number, Andy’s phone going off, Andy being sad that Erin couldn’t come, and Erin being a terrible babysitter. Sometimes when the show goes away from The Office is can be terrible but other times it can be the greatest episode because it’s fresh and different and gives the characters something to do. This was just a really good Erin and Andy episode. I also enjoyed “Viewing Party” mainly for Michael’s relationship with Erin and how he is kind of like her Office dad. It was a really nice and touching moment. The last episode “Classy Christmas” wasn’t the best Christmas episode but it was still pretty good. Holly Flax is a favorite character of mine and I like her and Michael’s relationship. I really enjoyed the part where Holly came up for an excuse when her boyfriend asked what happen to the Woody doll. IT was a really nice and sweet moment. I also enjoyed Erin not really getting what the big deal with Holly is and Jim also becoming extremely paranoid over a snowball fight with Dwight. That being said it isn’t a good sign that there were only three episodes that really stood out. I don’t think this show should be renewed without Steve Carell even though it will be. It can still be great but it is a shadow of its former self this year.

Grey’s Anatomy Season 7

Hmm….there are a lot of things I like about this season. We have really moved on front all of that Katherine Heigl nonsense at this point and the show had a nice creative upswing in last seasons finale. A lot of that carried over to this season. It really gave the characters a lot to do since they were all traumatized from the events. It wasn’t just about who was hooking up with who and what weird crazy operation they have to perform (which I guess is the main reason to watch). Every characters storyline moved into a new direction. It wasn’t always the best direction and a lot of the storylines fizzled out but at least it was new and different for the show. The character affected the most by the shooting was Cristina who ended up quitting her residency because she just couldn’t handle being a doctor anymore…however I think next episode she comes back because she has to save someone somewhere. This season I am enjoying Meredith a bit more than I was. Maybe it was because she stands up to Owen who is boring and annoying at the same time. Owen really is just terrible. I find him just so boring he really has nothing go on. I also am ready for Cristina to get over all this post traumatic stress crap. Seasons one and two Cristina would never let herself get to this point or let her quit. This new Cristina is weak. And it is annoying because Cristina was the reason tot keep watching Grey’s Anatomy. I enjoyed her moments out of the hospital like when she was a bartender and when she went fishing but a mopey Cristina isn’t fun to watch. April has become a welcome addition to the show. Last year she was pretty obnoxious as Derek’s right hand helper but she has come into her own. She was so funny during the trauma exercise and I loved her when she yelled back at Alex when he was making fun of her for being a virgin. April is just this weird neurotic character but she is different which makes her refreshing. I actually really liked the documentary episode. It was a bit heavy handed and unrealistic at points but it was original for Grey’s Anatomy. I also didn’t like that they killed off Mandy Moore’s character this episode or that it made Baily go crazy trying to find out what went wrong for the last few episodes. I am not entirely sure where this season is headed. I don’t really like what they are doing with Callie and Arizona. Arizona was a huge bitch for leaving Callie at the airport on the way to Africa so I don’t feel bad that Callie slammed the door in her face. Grey’s Anatomy is headed in the right direction just as Shonda Rhimes’s attention being pulled a third way with Off The Map…hopefully that won’t hurt the slight creative upswing Grey’s Anatomy is having.

The Apprentice 10

I actually really enjoyed this season a lot…but America did not. America didn’t even tune in to watch this season so…I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted because I doubt we will ever get a civilian version of The Apprentice ever again. It’s ratings were abysmal which is too bad because I thought it was pretty good. You had a lot of people who wanted to win and were willing to do whatever they had to in order to get to the end. This season ended up with one contestant cheating, Anand, and two really crazy over the top contestants David and Mahsa which led to a couple of really great episode in a row. After David and Mahsa were fired the new crazy person ended up being Stephanie who did her best to take control of the game before she was fired. Being over the top and loud doesn’t really help you win The Apprentice it just gets you to the second half of the season. I also have to say I rarely felt like there was a bullshit firing this season. The only two I didn’t really approve of were James and Tyana being fired over David and Mahsa. James and Tyana were both much more level headed and would be better employees but David and Mahsa were crazy and made for much better viewing. Imagine Mahsa in one of the first few seasons of The Apprentice. She would’ve been a reality television star. It ended up coming down to Brandy and Clint in the finals. It was pretty obvious around the final nine that one of these two were going to win. Clint was always shown in a very positive light defending himself and putting down people like David and Mahsa. Brandy was not really on the show until the last few episodes but didn’t have any negative moments like the others. Brandy ultimately went on to win, which was surprising to me because I thought Clint had this made. This season did away with the suite like the Celebrity seasons which was both a good thing and a bad thing. It put more time into the tasks but I felt like we didn’t get a clear picture of what is was like to be around these people all the time, especially if there were no cameras in the hotel they were staying at. I felt like we missed something once or twice especially when Anand was discovered cheating and Mahsa accused Clint of lying. That is it for The Apprentice; I am almost 100% positive. Next Celebrity Season actually has Richard Hatch from Survivor so that should be interesting but I’m not looking forward to two hour episodes.

No Ordinary Family Season 1

This show is average. It doesn’t get really great ratings and it doesn’t really ever have a strong outstanding episode. No Ordinary Family is fun to watch though and it isn’t a bad show it is just nothing to get that excited about. It really does feel like Disney Channel meets Heroes. I think that is the best way to describe it. I could see this show being on The Disney Channel if they took out any reference at all to relationships and sex. Not that there is a lot of those references at all in fact almost never. The main family works together pretty well. Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz work very well off of one another and I like the relationship they have with Kay Panabaker and Jimmy Bennett. But let’s forget about them for a bit. This show is really all about Autumn Reeser who plays Julie Benz’s lab partner and best friend. Autumn Reeser tends to steal every single scene she is in. Her character, Katie, is this really dorky scientist with low self esteem. She knows about the powers because she is working with Stephanie in the lab and trying to figure out what they are all about. Katie just ends up in a lot of scenes and is just this weird dorky charming ball of energy. She is clever and smart and a very likable quirky character. Currently she is dating one of the main “bad guys” who is trying to get closer to the Powell family and that has really tied her into the show. She’ll eventually have to find out what he is really doing and I am sure it is going to be a great episode for Katie. What I don’t understand about this show is Stephen Collin’s role. I thought he was going to be in it a lot more and be a lot better at it. He is rarely used and when he comes in he is almost comical as this big corporation boss. Give him some character, let’s see his family. This show tends to play it very safe though so I doubt he will see much from Stephen Collin’s despite he cameo every other episode. I do like that this show didn’t go crazy with the Powell’s fighting a team of bad guy supervillains every week. Mostly it is the four trying to figure out their powers and how to use them. Jim does fight a lot of criminals but usually those scenes are quick and it doesn’t take away from what JJ and Daphne are doing. A very average show, not necessarily something I would recommend but it isn’t something I’m quitting either.

The Walking Dead Season 1

I feel like I’m about to get some angry comment for this section but I thought The Walking Dead was just ok. I didn’t think it was really that great. There were a few moments that reminded me of Lost and I felt like the show was going in the right direction and improving but I don’t feel like it ever quite got there. Don’t get me wrong it was a solid show and I really like the concept of a zombie tv show I just felt like it was missing something. I felt like it needed a push. One of the problems was the pacing of the show. That first episode a lot of things happens and Rick ends up all the way in Atlanta. Then very quickly, by the third episode, he is reunited with his wife and son. But then the pacing changes a bit. We end up pretty much the whole rest of the season in the camp and there are some great moments like the zombies attacking them, Jim going crazy and digging graves, the simple talking around the campfire, and Ed beating up his wife…but I felt like the show really died there for a bit. It wasn’t until Rick decided they needed to go to the CDC building that I thought the show picked up traction. The episode where they traveled there and the season finale were both really good…but that was only two episodes. The three after the premiere I thought were not that solid and weren’t very good. But that ending was pretty amazing. First of all I loved the CDC opening with a bright light…very Lost…and then I just loved pretty much all of “TS-19” which talked a little bit about the virus and gave a lot of depth to the show. There were so many good moments like Shane still wanting to be with Lori and the group relaxing, drinking, and having showers. Noah Emmerich (I know him from The Truman Show) was an excellent guest star here and did a great job portraying Jenner, a scientist who has given up. He also introduced a new storyline that the French were the ones closest to stopping the outbreak. Jenner ends up shutting down the CDC causing it to lock down and trap everyone inside right before it explodes. However he ends up opening the door just long enough for everyone to escape. This leads to a great scene between Dale and Andrea, two of the people at the camp. Andrea has given up after her sister was killed by the zombies at the camp and Dale says he is going to stay with her but he eventually convinces her to leave with him. It was just a really well done scene and the two did a great job working together. So yea there were highlights of this season but I never felt like we got the whole picture of The Walking Dead. Maybe next season with thirteen full episodes the show can do a bit better but it needs to go somewhere and it really cannot have boring episodes like episode two or that whole weird subplot where they discovered these men watching over a nursing home…The Walking Dead did have one of the best intro credits though…

Desperate Housewives Season 7

This is probably the best season since season four. Yet something like Paul being shot at the end probably would’ve been a much bigger deal during the first two seasons as opposed to now. It was a nice little cliffhanger but it wasn’t as shocking as it could have been. But Paul is a great bad guy to have around. His goal to get everyone pissed off at each other was just starting to work until Lynette had to scream that she loved her neighbors or something weird. Hopefully Paul has another scheme ready to go even though he seemed pretty happy with himself that he basically caused a riot on Wisteria Lane. This would’ve been a pretty decent ending to the series, which is about to go into contract negotiations with its main stars, having Paul and Felicia come back to end everything would’ve been a nice connection back to the beginning. But this show is still one of ABC’s gems and with a great season like this I am sure it isn’t going to go anywhere anytime soon. The main plots have been ok this season but really it is Paul Young who is getting the best storyline. I really feel like this season has ruined Bree and I am glad that Orson is coming back next episode. Bree just isn’t the same as she was in the early seasons or even with Orson. I just really don’t think she would hook up with Brian Austin Green’s character. It is just weird and has been a weird plot this whole season. Susan isn’t much better (as usual) but at least they got James Denton out of the picture for a couple of episodes. I do like her as Lynette’s nanny because it connects the two of them together and those are always good moments when two of the storylines cross. Lynette has had the new baby and is dealing with but hasn’t really had a clear ongoing storyline. She has dealt with her old friend Renee but that is pretty much it. I think with the whole Renee and Tom situation coming up Lynette will have some more to do. By the way I don’t get what’s the big deal about Vanessa Williams? I don’t think she is that great on this show and I think Nicollette Sheridan played a much better “bad girl” than Vanessa Williams does. Gabi probably has the best storyline out of the main housewives this season. At first I thought the children switched at birth storyline was going to be lame but it provided a lot of really funny moments for Gabi and I love just how much attention she gives her real daughter over Juanita. I also really like the addition of Emily Bergl who plays Paul’s wife Beth and Felicia Tillman’s daughter. She is a weird and cooky character and I like her role especially now knowing who her mother is. Besides a weak storyline (Bree) and a nonexistent one (Lynette) this season has been a big improvement over the last two.

Law and Order UK Series 1 and 2

I won’t write too much about this show because it is case of the week and very rarely do they really have any ongoing storyline. Also I really just casually watch this and I still have a hard time remembering everyone’s names. But I do enjoy it and it is interesting watching most episodes knowing they are based on the original Law and Order. I also really like the courtroom scenes at the end. It is weird watching these men and women get so angry while they wear these white wigs. Mainly I watch this show for Doctor Who alum Freema Ageyman who plays Junior Crown Prosecutor Alesha Phillips. I also really enjoy Dominic Rowan who plays Jacob Thorne Senior Crown Prosecutor. It is usually during the second half of the episodes that I really tune in. Yea Ronnie and Matt do good detective work and I like their banter but they don’t really do too much for me. Plus I hate that we really only get a tidbit of information about their lives every few episodes. The best episode so far, and there were a lot of solid episodes, was “Alesha.” Alesha Phillips is raped by her gynecologist and Fremma Ageyman just does an incredible job. Also since it is really about one of the main characters the rest of the actors are all really passionate and do some of their best work. BBC America showed the first and almost all of the second series (I’m not entirely sure why they didn’t show the second series finale) and they are bringing it back this winter with another season. If you are a fan of British TV I would record a few of these episodes. It is solid television.

Running Wilde Season 1

Running Wilde never really caught on. Even in the later episodes this fall it never quite clicked together. There were a few times I would smile but the pacing was off on this show and it didn’t gel correctly. Which is too bad because you can see Keri Russell and Will Arnett are really trying and trying to figure out how the show works. But it just never quite gets together. Russell and Arnett actually work together pretty well and I think if this show was just about them and they got rid of all of the other people things might work a little bit better but too many times someone else pulls focus and it isn’t funny. The worst part is probably Puddle who narrates every episode. It is just weird how she talks and it is weird that she narrates but doesn’t always know what is going on. I don’t really understand. She pulls a lot of focus because she just isn’t that good. Also whenever David Cross shows up I feel like my blood pressure does. Andy is no Tobias Funke and David Cross is just really obnoxious every time he is here. Also I really dislike Fa’ad. He isn’t that funny at all. I stuck around because I thought this show could improve. I was waiting for something to click together but it never did. I think the best part about this show was Mel Rodriguez as Migo Salazar. He was actually pretty funny and didn’t kill a lot of the scenes here. He also worked well with all of the characters. But one character cannot save a show. I tried Running Wilde and I am disappointed you didn’t really turn out better.

Fringe Season 3

There were a lot of things to be worried about on this season of Fringe. Could it keep the momentum going from the excellent second season? Could this show balance both Universes without it become contrived and cliché? What about Peter and Bolivia hooking up? Would that ruin any sexual tension between Peter and the real Olivia? Well I shouldn’t have been worried because season three was just as strong as season two. There were a lot of really good episodes, a few sub par episodes, but overall the show was really strong. This season Ana Torv also really grew. Seriously. She has really improved since she got on this show and it has been great watching her transform and playing both Olivia and alternate world Olivia. Joshua Jackson has also gotten a bit better this season. Fringe Season 3 has really pushed the boundaries of the show and it continues to grow and explore with exciting new cases. Yea I know that is a quote from the Fringe commercials but the cases have all been really exciting this season…minus that weird twin episode. It is being moved to Friday’s which is normally the death slot for any show. I am worried that this might be the last season of Fringe. I hope not because I would love a fourth, fifth, and sixth season of this show. It has a small but devoted fan base. I just hope it doesn’t go to die when it is one of the best shows on television right now. Here are my recaps from this season so far.

Episode 1 – Olivia
Episode 2 – The Box
Episode 3 – The Plateau
Episode 4 – Do Shapeshifters Dream of Electric Sheep?
Episode 5 – Amber 31422
Episode 6 – 6955 kHz
Episode 7 – The Abducted
Episode 8 – Entrada
Episode 9 – Marionette

Boardwalk Empire Season 1

Much like The Walking Dead I am not about to praise this show like a lot of other websites and publications. I however think it had a better season that The Walking Dead and a lot of times this show surprised me at how well it could suck me in. Steve Buscemi and Kelly Macdonald were amazing all season and really carried this show. The relationship between Nucky Thompson and Margaret Schroeder was amazing as we watched it form and unfold. I know a lot of people didn’t think Buscemi was that great as Nucky but I found him to actually be one of the best parts of the show and better than a lot of supporting characters. Usually in a show like this one of the minor characters tends to be more interesting than the main ones but for me it was always about Nucky and Margaret. Yea I liked Angela Darmody’s storyline and Van Alden but they were no Nucky and Margaret. One of my biggest complaints about this show though is introducing characters and plots in an episode. I don’t think I’m that dumb but suddenly a new storyline would be introduced or a character would show up and there would be very little explanation involved. I watched a lot of these episodes right after another and I had a hard time following along. I had to go look up things because they would reference events and plotlines that were really brief from earlier episodes that played a big part in later episodes. I also didn’t really like Jimmy. I thought he was the weakest character of the show and really slowed the whole story down. His performance was very wooden. Finally I didn’t like how the show had “moments.” Yea there were a lot of great scenes like Van Alden and his wife talking or Nucky revealing his past but you can’t make a show that just revolves around these moments. It was like an episode would build up to a moment and then there would still be 30 minutes left with not a lot of great scenes. I did however really like the tone of the show. I loved the opening credits, I loved the old music, and I loved the look of everything. I felt like I was watching a really long movie a lot of the time. The whole show just looked amazing. I just wish it didn’t rely on one or two scenes an episode or throw in some new plot without any explanation to it.

Everything Else

Well Lone Star did the best it could, its second episode wasn’t as good as the pilot but I felt like that could’ve been a great show. I also enjoyed My Generation, probably more than most people, but that was quickly canceled as well. Undercovers never picked up from the beginning. It was the same thing every week and it was just really stupid and really ridiculous. It wasn’t the type of show I thought it was going to be and it ended up getting canceled. The other two shows Better With You and Hawaii 5-0 were just way to boring or slow for me. Better With You was like a relic from 2002 or 1999. To me that just doesn’t play well on television anymore. Hawaii 5-0 was the case of the week crap that doesn’t really ever work well with me especially when you have to watch terrible actors…and I don’t mean Daniel Dae Kim.

I’ve always been a fan of Law & Order, but now that it is no longer on NBC, I was kind of lost until I found the UK version on BBC America. The UK version is what the US version used to be, the story lines are original, relevant and far from boring.

One of the main characters is played by Jamie Barber, who is easy on the eyes and way more attractive than any of the US characters.

Tweet

Peter Davison and Dominic Rowan join the cast of ITV’s highly successful drama Law & Order: UK as filming begins on 13 new episodes.

Law & Order: UK is based on Dick Wolf’s groundbreaking US format which remains the most successful brand on primetime U.S. television. Commissioned for the UK by Peter Fincham, ITV’s Director of Television, Channels and Online and Laura Mackie, ITV’s Director of Drama, the third series of Law & Order: UK launched with 5.5 million viewers and with series four to air next year the drama has established itself as one of ITV’s most popular.

This time around the critically acclaimed cast, including Bradley Walsh, Jamie Bamber and Freema Agyeman have a tough, new ally in their fight for justice in the form of Senior Crown Prosecutor Jacob Thorne; a working class hero played by Dominic Rowan (Catwalk Dogs, The Family Man).

And Peter Davison (Unforgiven, Distant Shores,The Last Detective) is Henry Sharpe taking over the job of Director of the CPS – previously held by George Castle (Bill Paterson). Henry is a down to earth pragmatist and a great boss who has worked with Jacob Thorne before.

Bill Paterson is set to return in future series as the newly appointed Director of Public Prosecutions. Other guest stars lining up for series four include Juliet Stevenson, Tobias Menzies, Eddie Marsan and Nicola Walker.

The new series will also be co-produced by Kudos Films and Television, Wolf Films and NBC Universal. The executive producers are Jane Featherstone (Spooks, Ashes to Ashes), Andrew Woodhead (The Fixer, Spooks) and Stephen Garrett (Burn Up) for Kudos and Dick Wolf, creator and executive producer of Law & Order for Wolf Films. The producer will be Richard Stokes who also produced series one to four of Law & Order: UK. Emilia di Girolamo is co-producer and lead writer and other members of the writing team include Debbie O’Malley, Nick Hicks-Beach, Roy Williams and Richard Stokes.

The brainchild of creator Dick Wolf, Law & Order is a two time Emmy Award winner. It is also the record holding drama series for the most consecutive nominations (11). Law & Order has turned into one of television entertainment’s most pre-eminent brands, with successful spin-offs, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Law & Order is the longest running crime series in the history of U.S. television.

Law & Order: UK is currently being shown on BBC America in the US to hugely positive critical response.

Law & Order: UK creator and executive producer Dick Wolf said “Following the ‘Law & Order’ tradition of seeing casting and recasting of roles as an opportunity rather than a burden, we welcome two great new actors to the ‘Law & Order’ family. Peter and Dominic are well known and well respected members of the British acting community.”

Executive producer Andrew Woodhead says: “In these new episodes audiences will get to know our heroes even more and grow to love our new cast members. We promise some great surprises along the way…”

OMG, just… *speechless* It’s kinda hard to even write this post now, with his torso right there… gotta scroll down a bit until it’s covered up! Then I’ll be able to think a little bit more coherently.

I’ve always thought he was pretty hot, but obviously never thought he was hot enough that I wanted to watch BSG. I did try, but it was just so melodramatic and dark and depressing, when high school was already depressing enough, so I just couldn’t deal. And he was hot, just not hot enough, or so I thought.

But of course, I started watching Law and Order: UK since it began airing on BBCAmerica. I’ve been so tempted to just quickly watch through all the episodes online, but I’ve actually patiently waited every week to watch this on tv! And geez, whenever he’s onscreen, all I can think is… what a hot piece of ass. Just hands down, one of the hottest guys ever.

Maybe I’m a little bit out of touch. I’ve been entrenched in this kpop world for 2 years. It’s a world full of little barely legal boys – all adorable and sweet, but not usually all that hot. There are more hot actors, but I don’t watch that many dramas. Now, I love my adorable Kikwang, but when it comes to being really, legitimately, pants-off, hot, the only idol I can think of is Choi Siwon. I mean, any little idol boy can be hot sometimes. But I don’t think anyone in kpop drops panties like Siwon, except maybe someone from DBSK. But nevermind…

Jamie Bamber is ridiculously hot and well-dressed on Law and Order: UK, and though I would watch it without him, too, I’m definitely glad to be able to drool over him. I’m really enjoying Law and Order: UK quite a lot. I mean, obviously, the plots are rather familiar, since these episodes have been based on the American scripts. There are quite a few that I’ve definitely seen the American versions of, but that’s not surprising considering I’ve watched Law and Order for probably something like 10 years. But it’s still really refreshing; I love the cast (not just Jamie), and I like the adjustments they make to fit the setting. It’s really a very nice take on my one of my favorite franchises.

And Jamie Bamber is just so hot, I might actually give BSG another try. I know everyone hated the ending, but… I’m already suffering through SGU. Why not BSG? It can’t possibly be worse.

BTW, SGU was GREAT this week! I was absolutely shocked. I think with this episode they found one of the things the show had been missing: a mission. The show just felt like it had no purpose… just drifting along for 1.5 seasons, with no idea of where they were going plotwise (LOL, a metaphor for the ship!) – the plot just moved so damn slowly! My guess is that their idea was to make the viewer feel like the characters did. Aimless… hopeless… lost… all that good stuff. It just made me totally NOT enjoy the show. But with the mission, they’re breathing some life into it! There’s a reason to be there! A mystery to solve! A reason I might want to keep watching!

And I also love that Rush and Young sort-of, maybe, possibly, brokered peace. I like the struggles they had to go through to get there, but I love that they got there. Now let’s work on making the rest of the cast a little more likeable! I’m feeling hopeful about this show for the first time in 1.5 seasons… now I actually WANT it to get renewed. Now I’ll actually look forward to watching it next week, as opposed to feeling forced to watch it because it’s part of the Stargate franchise. But I hope they don’t blow it next week. Let’s hope this is a real turning point for SGU for the better.

Again nothing about it particularly is original or really strikes me. I’m actually having a difficult time thinking about what I am going to write. But I just felt the show worked. I think I liked the second half of it better when we were in the court room and all of the suspects were coming back but again that might just be because of Freema Agyeman. She also had pretty good chemistry with Ben Daniels who played the other prosecutor. I also found myself enjoying Jamie Barber and Bradley Walsh figure out the case on the law side of things, but not quite as much as the court scenes. Maybe it is because I wanted Inspector Natalie in the show a little more. She was pretty much regulated to scenes in the office and never quite did anything. I’ve only watched the first episode though so she could end up doing a little more. The guest actors were great and it was nice to see all of the British things that you don’t see in US shows (ambulances, signs, the courtroom wigs) but nothing to really write about, especially considering it is just a slightly altered script from the US version of the show. What will be interesting to see is when the show sort of goes off on its own and maybe it will shy away from just adapting the US scripts. It is like how the US version of The Office founds its own footing after the first season using the British scripts. Maybe Law and Order UK will really pick up in the second season and could become a brilliant take on the proven formula.  It won’t be must see television for me or anything like that but something to kind of have on in the background or while I am doing something else. Not really must see television but definitely something worth recording.

ITV have commissioned a 13 episode 4th series of Law & Order UK. The press release is here

ITV has commissioned Kudos Film and Television to produce another 13 episodes of its successful drama Law & Order: UK.

Law & Order: UK is based on Dick Wolf’s groundbreaking US format which remains the most successful brand on primetime U.S. television. Commissioned for the UK by Peter Fincham, ITV’s Director of Television, Channels and Online and Laura Mackie, ITV’s Director of Drama, the third series of Law & Order: UK launched last month with more than 5 million viewers and with series four to air in the new year the drama has established itself as one of ITV’s most popular.

The critically acclaimed cast, including Bradley Walsh, Jamie Bamber, Harriet Walter and Freema Agyeman are joined each week by a host of guest stars. Series three attracted a fantastic line up including Rupert Graves, Deborah Findlay, Kevin Doyle, Rocky Marshall, Patrick Malahide, Ruth Gemmell, Matthew Marsh, Celyn Jones, Wunmi Mosaku, and Robbie Gee. Stars including Juliet Stevenson, Tobias Menzies and Nicola Walker will join the cast for series four.

The new series will also be co-produced by Kudos Films and Television, Wolf Films and NBC Universal. The executive producers are Jane Featherstone (Spooks, Ashes to Ashes), Andrew Woodhead (The Fixer, Spooks) and Stephen Garrett (Burn Up) for Kudos and Dick Wolf, creator and executive producer of Law & Order for Wolf Films. The producer will be Richard Stokes who also produced series one to four of Law & Order: UK. Emilia di Girolamo is co-producer and lead writer and other members of the writing team include Debbie O’Malley, Nick Hicks-Beach, Roy Williams and Richard Stokes.

The brainchild of creator Dick Wolf, Law & Order remains the longest running crime series in the history of U.S. television although earlier this year closed its New York casebook after 20 seasons. However successful spin-offs including the new Law & Order: LA, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent mean Law & Order is still one of television entertainment’s most pre-eminent brands. Law & Order: UK is currently being shown on BBC America in the US to hugely positive critical response.

Laura Mackie (Director of Drama, ITV) says:” Law & Order: UK is continuing to deliver audiences with its top flight acting and ‘ripped from the headlines’ storylines that captivate and entertain. With the commissioning of 13 new episodes we are proving ITV’s commitment to a series which has the potential to run and run much like its US counterpart.”

Dick Wolf, creator and executive producer of Law & Order, says: “I am absolutely thrilled that ITV has ordered another year of Law & Order: UK. Stephen Garrett and the entire Kudos team have done a fabulous job of creative stewardship.”

It features the wonderful Bradley Walsh, whom surely no one could dislike – no matter whether he was playing a funny dad in a sitcom or a stark raving mad serial killer, he would still come across as a really lovely bloke. Bradley plays DS Ronnie Brooks, hard working copper, slightly dishevelled, former alcoholic, he is easily the best character in the show. His partner DS Matt Devlin (played by Jamie Bamber) is the young, good looking and quiet half of the duo. For some reason, though, this series JB has been sporting a very dodgy hairdo, bordering on bouffant with a bizarre flick at the front of his head.  I must admit this made my admiration for him go down quite a few notches, that and the fact that he’s been acting like a bit of a wimp in the past few episodes. Coppers don’t cry do they? Anyway, my admiration

Who are you calling a wimp?

for wimpy Jamie soon shot up again when my friend’s daughter introduced me to some photos of JB on Google Images. WOW! Cheers, Caitlin, you have renewed my interest in Law and Order, even if it is just in case one week the storyline involves JB having to remove his shirt!

The first half of the programme centres on the crime and the investigation by DS Brooks and DS Devlin (calm down, girls), mainly, it seems, by them having discussions about the on-going investigation in the busy streets of London while carrying around (obviously empty) take away coffee cups. Then they go and discuss the case with the boss lady, DI Natalie Chandler, played by the fabulous Harriet Walter (who, incidentally, is the niece of Christopher Lee). Alas she also seems to have not been allocated an office despite her high rank and conducts her meetings with Brooks and Devlin in corridors, highly populated streets, or in doorways of what I presume are other peoples’ offices. Now I hate to be dramatic, but if, God forbid, I was ever the victim of a crime I would hope my case would be discussed in slightly more confidential surroundings than Oxford Street.

Anyway, despite the lack of suitable meeting rooms or anywhere with a desk and chair, they always get the baddie and we move onto the next part of the show, Order. This consists of the Legal team headed by James Steel (Ben Daniels) spending the first five minutes trying to convince his boss George Castle (Bill Patterson), that the case is strong enough against the criminal to stand up in court. Then there’s usually an ad break and they take said baddie to court. After several more open confidential discussions on the busy streets of London, with even more empty coffee cups in hand, James Steel and his partner Aleesha Phillips (Freema Agyeman) start to build a case. Then after pulling an all-nighter in the office (yes –  an office!) they discover a willing witness, or a blast from the baddie’s past shows up to give yet more damning evidence and that’s it…in the dock, guilty verdict and down they go!

So despite the fact that every week the format is the same but with a different crime and a different investigation, the show does work and it does keep you watching. But even though I now know that despite the bouffant hair and the recent blubbering, underneath Jamie’s shirt is the body of an Adonis, it’s still Bradley that makes the show work for me!

Posted by The Lovely Nicola

chung-Chung!

Ok, so I already knew the story, but Anglophile that I am, I adored the accents, the atmosphere, the barristers’ wigs, and several of my favorite actors: Jamie Bamber as a Logan-like detective, Harriet Walter as his boss, Freema Aygeman as a junior crown prosecutor. I almost didn’t recognize Bradley Walsh as veteran copper Ronnie Brooks; he put on 30 pounds to be the Lennie Briscoe counterpart. Further episodes are scheduled for 9 p.m. Fridays.

Meanwhile, I was underwhelmed by the premiere of Law and Order LA last week with its cliched, predictable plot. I felt like I’d seen it all before, the Hollywood mansions and young celebs, stage mom cashing in on daughter’s fame. Yawn. If I’m going to watch same-old stories, let them be in London, whose distinctive neighborhoods provide less-familiar vistas.

And on that note (chung-Chung), I’ll return to two new books, in which the London setting is integral to the tale.

Ruth Rendell’s latest suspense outing, Portobello, takes readers to Notting Hill and the famous Portobello Road street market, where you can buy everything — food, furniture, books, beddings, jewelry, junk –except live animals or birds. Stuffed ones? No problem. Thousands of visitors wander the stalls and shops on Saturdays, and I agree with Rendell that once you go, you want to go again. “Its thread attaches itself to you and a twitch on it summons you to return.”

The thread that ties together the disparate characters in Rendell’s twisty story is a money-filled envelope that sauve gallery owner Eugene Wren discovers on the street. Instead of turning it into the police, he posts a “Found” notice with his phone number. The consequences lead to a young layabout turning to a life of crime (it runs in the family), Eugene’s doctor fiance being drawn into the affairs of a mentally troubled man, a house fire, a sudden death, a falling-out among thieves, and another murder.  Eccentricity is the order of the day, and Rendell briskly knots all plot points before neatly unraveling them. I could have done without Eugene’s boring addiction to a certain brand of sugarless candy, but at least it takes him to assorted colorful shops and take-aways on Portobello Road.

Readers move south toward the Thames to Pimlico for Alexander McCall Smith’s Corduroy Mansions, a whimsical on-line novel serialized for the London Telegraph. Smith, who had his first big success with the No. 1 Lady Detective Agency series set in Botswana has become quite prolific; he’s now juggling four series.

Corduroy Mansions, which takes its name from that of a shabby genteel mansion block in Pimlico, follows the intertwining lives of its residents. Of course, they are eccentrics to one degree or another, and their everyday comings-and-goings are often agreeably comical.

I suppose William French, a 50ish widower and wine merchant, is the central character. His efforts to dislodge his grown son Eddie from his flat include inviting a woman to live with him (he’s thinking platonic, she’s thinking maybe more), and acquiring a clever “Pimlico terrier,” Freddie de la Hay. Eddie claims to be allergic to dogs, but Freddie is as irresistible as another character, Oedipus Snark, is odious. One of the girls who shares the flat below William is secretary to Oedipus, whose girlfriend literary agent is about give up on him, and whose mother is writing his biography.  There’s a bit of a mystery surrounding a possibly valuable painting, hints of romance, and much satirical drollery. I’m looking forward to the next entries in the series. So much so that I’m now following “freddiedelahay” on Twitter.

Open Book: You already know of my L&O addiction. I think Ruth Rendell, whom I’ve interviewed several times, writes masterful crime fiction, both as Rendell and Barbara Vine. I can’t believe Portobello (Scribner)was just waiting for me on the library shelf. I once sat next to Alexander McCall Smith at a book luncheon, and he told me his friends call him “Sandy.” He has a lovely Scots accent and was wearing a kilt. I downloaded the e-book version of Corduroy Mansions (Knopf Doubleday) to my nook because I like the title, the cover and Sandy.

You’ll recall that time I told you how I had to tell you about the worst show ever? (Exhibit A) Well, aside from the fact that the literal telling didn’t occur – okay, well, literally, I did tell you but the elaboration of the telling did not in fact take place – I was unrepentant in my assertion that FOX had failed. Then, I was in New York with my tiny big sister, JenJen (general blog – and – fashion blog) and we watched a segment of the second episode without sound in Dong Hai restaurant while we waited for our food. We watched it without. sound. And she still understood what I’d been so mad about.

So imagine my unadulterated, cackle-inducing, champion-fist-shaking happy time when I read this: “Fox Cancels LoneStar”. It took TWO. EPISODES. *tears of laughter and joy and all is right with the world* Looks like you guys mighta wasted a bit of money on that Times Square ad, ay? Pacha?

FAIL.

I am so sorry that the half-baked story of a lifelong grifter who somehow established long term relationships with two girls from two different worlds and hoped to capitalize on the puzzling infatuation with polygamy that’s currently crossing over from HBO to TLC didn’t find an audience. Oh and a little salt for that wound? Trying to establish that the relationship between the grifter son who wants to go straight and the father who inconsiderately and selfishly presses him onward is one that’s visible everywhere – even in AMPM in the middle of nowhere when a young man who works the counter has to put up with his father shoplifting and then our main guy sees it and pays for what was stolen because he “knows how it is”. O_O Hein?! This is normal, for the purposes of this show?!

I hope you’ve all learned your lesson. And if you haven’t, please flip the dial on over to NBC and watch any number of their shows, all of which have superior writing to anything ever aired on FOX (that isn’t animated and also titled The Simpsons). Outlaw is QUITE promising.

And here’s something I truly need to see:

Tomorrow (read: sometime in the future): pictures from NYC!

The order part of this episode was plain, I have seen stories like this a hundred times before in the Law & Order series, killer doesn’t get full blame for a certain reason blah blah blah. This episode was interesting though given the intellectual level of the suspect & the fact he questioned his victim. I think Smith should have spent more time questioning people given the horror of the crime.

This felt very much like a run of the mill nothing special middle of the season episode. It was good but didn’t push the boundaries.

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime, and the Crown Prosecutors who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.

Season 1 :
E01 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8RC94GZH
E02 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=G0TW7A8G
E03 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z3UZV7KQ
E04 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MLD6LQCQ
E05 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LAYORLW4
E06 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P670PDBB
E07 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H4FMHSQT

Season 3 :
E01 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UWH4B8T4
E02 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5NLIVO1A
E03 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DBTSYLDZ
E04 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=A69HMGLA
E05 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TFGD6ZR0
E06 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4XEJ5YB7
E07 : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RVMQRRA7

  
Season 1 :
E01 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=8RC94GZH
E02 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=G0TW7A8G
E03 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=Z3UZV7KQ
E04 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=MLD6LQCQ
E05 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=LAYORLW4
E06 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=P670PDBB
E07 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=H4FMHSQT

Season 3 :
E01 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=UWH4B8T4
E02 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=5NLIVO1A
E03 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=DBTSYLDZ
E04 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=A69HMGLA
E05 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=TFGD6ZR0
E06 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=4XEJ5YB7
E07 : http://www.megavideo.com/?d=RVMQRRA7
   

I liked this episode, it was very well constructed & had a sort of sad ending that was clearly coming but they handled it well so it came across as tragic not obvious.

I didn’t think they needed to show the parole hearing at the beginning because it made it obvious who who was going to be a suspect. They could have just left it with the dialogue in the office with the CPS.

I found Paul being engaged a really good plot addition to the episode. It played very well into the suspects defence. The fact he was being kept grounded by her.

The interview scene where Paul was being pushed hard by the police was a really good scene. It was lit really well, i know that sounds insignificant but its little things like that can give a well written & acted scene an added dimension.

I really liked the actor who played Paul (Kevin Doyle), he had a believable ‘edginess about him’. It was a nice touch having him with a black eye in the cafe. After that meeting it was obvious he was going to kill himself or do something stupid.

The trial was really well constructed as well, it was really twisty. For most of it it seemed like he would be found guilty then they pulled the guilty rug right from under you with the exaggerated evidence

The episode ended well knowing it was probably Steel’s ruthless perusal of Paul that tipped him over the edge causing him to offend again.

My favourite line of the episode…….

“We don’t drag the law down a sewer to catch a rat”

ITV have released 11 stills from the third series of Law and Order: UK. The new episode which will air 23rd September shows new guest star Rupert Graves get into his role… The new images can be found here and a synopsis can be found below.

When three people are brutally murdered in a shop in central London and a fourth left for dead, Matt and Ronnie are up against the clock to find the killer who they fear could strike again at any moment. The nature of the attack was frenzied and brutal with the killer using a bayonet to slay his victims. With this information and a photofit, Matt and Ronnie are quickly must identify the killer before they strike again. James assumes a straightforward case ahead of him. However, things take an unexpected turn when he learns that the defendant has brilliant legal support. With the case for defence looking very strong, James’ only hope is to convince a deluded defendant to accept responsibility for his crimes.

And again following on from the episode 1 stills posted not long ago, ITV also have stills for episode 2 of Law & Order: UK, Hounded. The episode will air on ITV One and ITV HD on 16th September. The images can be found here and the synopsis can be found below.

When the body of a 16 year old girl is found dead in her home in the middle of the afternoon, the investigating police cannot be sure a crime was even committed. With no forensic evidence and nothing to suggest the victim didn’t die of natural causes, Matt and Ronnie question why they have been called out in the first place. However, the mother’s victim believes she was raped because she never slept naked. On further investigation, an unlikely murder weapon is uncovered and a likely suspect – someone with whom Crown Prosecutor James Steel has a history. Determined the accused is guilty, James pursues him with every power available. Like a man possessed, he pushes the boundaries of the law to the legal limit. Is our hero persecuting an innocent man or justified in his convictions?

Following on from the 5 promo images posted earlier ITV have also released 14 images from the first episode, Broken. The images can be found here and the synopsis for the episode can be found below. The episode airs on 9th September on ITV One and ITV HD.

The terrifying CCTV image of a toddler being led to his death haunts this episode of Law & Order UK which deals with the difficult and morally complex issue of children who kill. As a society, we are very unforgiving of child killers but if the killers themselves are only children, it begs the question – who really is responsible for the crime? With two children in the frame, each blaming the other, can forensic evidence prove who is guilty of strangling little Conor to death? In an emotionally gut wrenching episode, George defies his superiors and instead takes instruction from the victim’s mother who has a surprising point of view on the crime. Can the justice system, and ultimately the government, afford to be lenient?

After two successful series’, Law & Order: UK returns for a third series on 9th September with all the same people and all the same problems. Seeing as the return is immanent, ITV have released 5 generic promo images from the series. The 5 images can be found here.

I know its a bit early in the day to be posting. I probably will be posting later on again today, two posts in one day…amazing for me. I know. I was thinking quite a bit lately, my being an insomniac and all. Cliques…those little groups that will make you feel like an outcast in any and all situations. Whether they mean to, or not. I kept my self from feeling thoughts pit falls of cliques before. When I was a bit younger, I didn’t really care at all. Whether cliques liked me, or not.

Even now, strangers didn’t bother me.

It’s funny though, how the ones closest to you…can alienate you without realizing it. Self confidence plummets, emotions run high. It all sounds like a bad teen movie. Unfortunately, those movies had to originate from some sort of reality. yes?

It bothers me each and every day, fitting in never really bothered me. When you feel like you don’t fit in with your own family or significant other or close friends? That is when it becomes a real problem…if that happens to any of you out there. Don’t be silent about it, it’s not a good thing to be quiet about. It’s not good for you mentally at all.

Now, on from my little personal feelings trip. I apologize for all that, I want to talk about a show I’ve been getting into recently. Covert Affairs. I always enjoy a good Law and Order: SVU or Law and Order show in general. Even Lie an episode of CSI or two. I’d never really watched a show about the CIA before, it’s really quite good! The writer of the show, also wrote the Bourne Identity. He’s a brilliant writer, and the show is fantastic. It’s intriguing, to be very sure.

They leave so many unanswered questions, mostly about the main Character Annie’s past and future. All the cases she goes on though, oh well they make you want to join the CIA right away. (I advise looking into it thoroughly before signing up, as I have done. And as I have decided it would be an awful idea to join.) It’s brilliant to watch though, and by far more entertaining!

I would definitely recommend it. I have such a wide taste of television shows…(Not really.) I mostly stick to vampire and or police and CIA shows. It’s all so amusing to watch, so adventurous…And a relief from writing in the land of the loony all day. (Jokes, Jokes.)

Any other brilliant Bobbie or crime shows? I’ve seen a few episodes of Law and Order: Uk also but it seemed to have…ended. I’m not sure if it’s just my television, or if it’s really gone. Oh and…of course the first and I hope not last season of Trinity. It was amazing, brilliant! A bit crackers. but still interesting. I hope to see a second season of that too, even though I’ve a few mixed feelings about main characters.

Well, probably only until later, unless today is exceedingly dull.

Until Tomorrow/Later…

Sincerely…

Anonymous With Love…Me

Billie Piper

Companion for the first two series.

Freema Agyeman

Companion in the third series.

Catherine Tate

Companion in the fourth series.

Karen Gillan

Companion fifth series.

And there is one man who would like to consider himself to be an unofficial companion traveling with the Doctor, intentionally and unintentionally at various points in the series.

John Barrowman

He has shown up in the first series, second series, third series, and TV specials.

The Doctor has varying relationships with his companions but has only fallen in love with Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper.  He traveled the longest time with her and directly prior to her, in the Doctor Who movie, he had been traveling without a companion.  When Rose Tyler was trapped in another dimension the Doctor brought on Martha Jones, Agyeman, a medical Doctor who traveled with him for a series until her family were put in danger.  Then she determined that she could be better used by UNIT (Unified Intelligence Taskforce) on Earth where should could protect humanity and her family and fall in love with someone who would love her back.  The Doctor then planned on traveling by himself until he ran into Donna Noble, Tate, who he had previously encountered in a Christmas Special, in between the second and third series.  She remembered him and ended up being allowed to travel with him.  She did so for a while until she absorbed some of his powers and he had to section them off in her mind and to keep her from dying and she could no longer see him.  Then there was a group of five specials where the Doctor traveled on his own.  He then met Amy Pond, Gillan, when he regenerated into the most recent Doctor, Matt Smith’s version, and crashed into her yard.  He promised her that he would return after a run in the TARDIS because it was going to explode otherwise and accidentally ended up a long while later when she had grown up.  The Doctor and Pond have been traveling together since then.  How Captain Jack Harkness, Barrowman, fits in is more difficult.  Rose and the Doctor first run across him in London during German bombing runs.  He travels with them for a little while.  Then they run across him on Earth where he has taken over an organization called Torchwood.  Finally the Doctor sees him on a planet somewhere, and this isn’t even referencing his other form known as The Face of Boe.

The companions are very important to the show.  While it is all about the Doctor, the companions help carry a story line throughout all the series and give the viewers someone else to bond with throughout the series as the other characters are changing rapidly with only a few repeats from time to time.  Now a little bit about the talent besides their roles on Doctor Who.

Billie Piper

Piper was known for being a British pop star prior to acting on Doctor Who and has since then been the star of the television show Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

Freema Agyeman

Since Doctor Who, Agyeman, has appeared on the spin off show, Torchwood with John Barrowman, and is currently on Law and Order: UK.

Catherine Tate

Prior to Doctor Who, Tate was known for stand-up comedy and had her own show, The Catherine Tate Show.  She currently has a role coming out in Gulliver’s Travels in 2010.

Karen Gillan

Karen Gillan, much like the current Doctor, Matt Smith, has limited acting experience prior to Doctor Who, so this is the role that she is noted for.  She was a model prior to landing this role.

Next up: Bad Guys

Bradley is terrified when the police launch a local DNA screening, while Bianca continues her wedding preparations as two surprise guests from the Jackson family arrive early. Ricky questions whether he is good enough for his fiancee during his stag party and Shirley is furious with Phil when she finds Sonia naked in his bed.

Cops, Cars & Criminals BBC1 9pm – New Episode

Police officers from several forces come together on the M6 to crack down on motorists driving without licences or insurance, using the latest computer equipment to identify criminals. Among those stopped is a Chinese man with no UK driving licence, an innocent motorist whose number plate was used in an armed robbery, and an array of illegal immigrants and drug dealers.

Law & Order UK ITV1 9pm – Series Finale

Brooks agrees to help old friend and partner Jimmy Valentine with an undercover drug sting, but when the bust goes wrong and a dealer ends up dead, suspicion falls on the officers. As Devlin pushes for the truth, the spotlight turns on Brooks’ dark past, and a 10-year-old case involving no witnesses and a large quantity of missing heroin.

Glee E4 9pm – New Episode

Sue is named co-director of the glee club and plans to use her position to divide the group, introducing a tough competition designed to cause friction among the members. Meanwhile, Will demands to go with Terri to her next doctor’s appointment and Rachel helps Quinn when news of her baby with Finn threatens to spread around the school.

Nurse Jackie BBC2 10pm – New Episode

The pill-dispensing machine is finally introduced to the hospital, replacing Eddie and cutting Jackie off from her drug supply. Meanwhile, a film critic ends up in a coma after Zoey gives him the wrong dose of a painkiller.

The Cleveland Show E4 10pm – New Episode

Cleveland Jr takes a vow of chastity after overhearing his father educating Roberta about sex. His dad then embarks on a desperate mission to explain that virginity is a different matter for boys and takes him to a comic convention to prove his point. Meanwhile, Rallo becomes a church greeter.

Dick Wolf’s attempt at putting a British spin on this latest addition to the Law & Order family is lazy & frankly insulting to any viewer that lives in Britain & given it’s on a British channel……….

There are too many throw away scenes that are designed to show London landmarks. Two notable examples from this episode were Tower Bridge & the Millennium Bridge.

The US Law & Order shows have about 38 seasons of 20 eps each (3 times bigger per season than the UK one) between them & I can recall only 3 occasions where I have seen any NYC landmarks in any of the episodes I’ve seen.

Even more insulting though is the way they portray the police. Police officers in the UK investigating murders especially murdered police enquiries do not work in pairs they work as part of an enquiry team. This is ridiculously annoying & very frustrating. I know it’s a TV show & it’s trying to stick to it’s roots but it’s Law & Order UK & in my opinion it’s more important to be realistic than keep the American style of the show going.

They have done a good job with the scripts which are all very British but the show still has too much of an American feel to it & will fail to reach the level of it’s twin shows if Dick Wolf doesn’t realize it’s not airing in America.

Yay for a three-day weekend. I should be cramming for chem right now or something, but I still feel kinda dead. Trials feel so different from yearlies. In most exam weeks, I go home after an exam, procrastinate for four hours and then get back to studying. Now I go home, procrastinate, fall asleep, wake up and procrastinate some more. It’s not like three hour exams are that new – taking the SAT and both FQEs meant we were stuck in a room for more than that. Even Ag last year and UMAT took a fair amount of time. But now I go home and feel completely drained… which isn’t good, because I’m meant to be learning my notes instead.

Trials. Right now I’m feeling ok about my English – my essays aren’t fantastic, but I didn’t forget any of my points in the exam. I was quite worried that I’d have a massive mental blank. Maths – I relearned how to integrate and differentiate the night before the test. I know it doesn’t count and I don’t do any work for it at all.. but I always feel a bit down when we get our tests back and I barely scrape a pass. I guess it’s from my delusional days at MLC, where maths was a subject that you didn’t need to do any work for. Biology – almost ran out of time. I woke up this morning and realised I’ve dropped two marks on Genetics already -_-’

Chem and 3u eng coming up. I’m going to kick myself if I get owned in the Chem option. I have a feeling I’ll walk into the exam and realise that I would have done better in Industrial Chemistry. What the heck was I thinking, trying to do the option in three days? If I flunk these exams, I have a feeling I’ll be the next example of ‘things you shouldn’t do before the Trials’ that gets told to other grades.

Theoretically, I was meant to have finished my 3u story and essay yesterday. But… I got sidetracked with Law and Order and Amazing Race. They’re so addictive.

I watch a lot of Law and Order now. I get home at about 1:30-2:00, then turn on TV1 and watch the reruns they show. SVU’s my favourite series, purely because I like the characters more. I’m not too much of a fan of Criminal Intent, because I find Goren incredibly annoying (but Eames is cool). As soon as Trials are over, I plan on watching Law and Order UK =D

I definitely procrastinated too much last night. I also watched some ancient episode of Friends (might’ve been season 1?) and Home and Away. I don’t know why the heck I’m watching Home and Away. I like predicting the lines they’ll say next and laughing at the overdone angst.. but it’s somehow entertaining.

Actually, I procrastinated too much all week. On Tuesday night, I was looking up some stuff on Isobelle Carmody’s books (no, I have no clue why I suddenly wanted to do that) and came across this page. It’s an interview she did with obernewtyn.net about her books.

As you might’ve heard me screeching about before the maths exam – Dameon supposedly has a thing for Elspeth. What. D-D-Dameon…and…Elspeth? What? WHAT??

Supposedly, this was obvious from the earlier books. And fairly obvious in Ashling.

What??? Ashling’s my favourite book in the series. My copy’s getting pretty battered because I reread it quite a few times. I never even considered that =\ Supposedly… this is the reason why Dameon stayed in Sador. Okay, in hindsight that seems perfectly logical. But it never even crossed my mind. After the Battlegames and Elspeth half dying and the whole Rushton thing… blergh. Dameon is firmly in the ‘friends’ category! It doesn’t work! The entire book is about Rushton, not Dameon. What the heck.

For those reading this and going “*blink* whatwhat?” and thinking that I sound like the fangirls of Pride and Prejudice – it’s like… like… well, since I mentioned P&P, finding out that Jane had a thing for Darcy. That Ce’Nedra isn’t really the right character for Garion. That Obi-Wan liked Leia. That Homer (no, not from the Simpsons) liked Ellie. And if you haven’t heard of any of these… that..that… I don’t know, some random Cullen brother liked Bella. Oh gross, I just Twilight-ed this blog.

I’m not a fan of romance novels. I usually find them boring (Pride and Prejudice), too detailed (some of the chick lit out there – seriously, there are some things that I’d rather not know -_-’) or just gagworthy (Twilight, much?) But I’ll admit that it’s usually a decent sideplot. But.. Dameon? What????

Blergh.
I guess it’s because I love the series, but haven’t read the books in ages that I find it plain weird. I think I started reading Obernewtyn in maybe Year 5 or so? But typical Isobelle Carmody – the series still hasn’t been finished. And you thought Harry Potter was bad. The first book (Obernewtyn) was published in 1987, the second (The Farseekers) in 1990, the third (Ashling) in 1995, the fourth (The Keeping Place) in 1999 and the fifth in 2008. I bought the fifth one, but I don’t think I finished reading it. All I remember is.. Domick *cries*. Sadly, I’d have to say that I didn’t enjoy the fourth and fifth book that much. I guess I just liked the style of writing in the earlier books.. and it doesn’t help that the fourth book is fatter than Harry Potter (with smaller font).

There’s a bunch of theories that Matthew’s the Destroyer. Noooo. Not Matthew
Sure, he was a complete tool to Dragon..but… but.. Matthew? Keep it to Ariel. No-one can hate Matthew. But it might explain how he ended up in the Red Land… which is supposedly meant to be Australia? It sounds kind of random, but Carmody is an Australian author, I guess..

And those of you who haven’t read the series probably fell asleep in the last several hundred words. Well.. I’d recommend it. The romance stuff is a sideplot, really, it’s more to do with the post-apocalyptic world etc etc.

I miss reading. I haven’t read much fiction over the last few years, except for what we read in English. I swear my vocabulary and ability to spell shrinks a little each day (N=Noe^-kt?)
I’m looking forward to reading more after the HSC

Actually, maybe after trials. I’ve got a post-Trials list of things to do as well:
- haircut. Definitely need to lose a few inches.
- go formal shopping. I never thought I’d enjoy shopping for a bloody dress, but it was so epic in Year 10. Krish and Jason know what I mean xD
- Bleach week. BLEACH. I haven’t watched any anime for weeks.
- fill out all the UAC/scholarships stuff. I think I’ve finally got my preferences worked out. What do you guys think about provisional med courses? As in, you do a science degree first and you can get entry to med later, but only if you keep a GPA of 5.0?
- university open days. Has anyone been to them before? What are they like?
- clean my room. I literally can’t see the floor.. and I can’t use the desk in my room or the study. Too much paper =_=’
- go to Officeworks and stock up on folders etc.
- activate my keycard account. I forgot to do that about a month ago. Heh. Not that I plan to withdraw anything.

And most of all.. I want to enjoy the last few weeks we have at Ruse. I’ll honestly miss being at school.

Good luck for the rest of trials!

The world of Battlestar Galactica ended, what, two weeks ago?  And you know what I am?  Sad, yes, still sad… 

You must think I’m a bit patetic… here I am, TWO WEEKS later still stewing over the finale… if you were to guess that it is still saved on my DVR – you’d be right.  If you were to guess that every now and again I watch a tidbit here and a tidbit there… you would have hit the nail on the head… 

~sigh~  

You would be right all around…

So what does that leave me?  (bet you guessed this one too!) WHERE ARE THEY NOW?!!!  

If you’re like me, you find an actor/actress and you hold on to them with everything you’ve got!  You will watch bad shows, bad movies, great movies and even some time search a odd commercial spot shot in Japan on youtube just to be SURE said actor/actress are still working.  (almost like your life depends on it – ok – I’m joking about the commercial spot – but you get my point.)

So here is what I know about what you’re favorite BSG stars are doing now!  (I’m starting from the Human top and working my way down.  And don’t fret – I’ll talk cylons too!)

We will start with your favorite – Admiral William Adama – Edward James Olmos

Well, after looking through his personal webpage (which is linked to his picture above) all I can tell you is that Mr. Olmos has just wrapped up shooting the up coming Battlestar Galactica: The Plan television movie.  This, by no means, means that he isn’t doing anything.  For all of you out there that don’t know Edward James Olmos is community activist.  He uses his celebrity to promote social awareness as a Latin actor in Hollywood.  He travels quite extensively to speak to people about being a minority and works as a motivational speaker, visiting prisons, reservations, high schools, etc.  Over the years he has received awards for his work from the NAACP, Sierra Club and was even honored with his help during the LA riots back in 1991.  

I don’t that BSG is the last time we will see this fine actor.  With a list of credits that include movies like Selena, Blade Runner and In the Time of the Butterflies his achievments are great – but I see more to come.  And if I do hear of anything, you will be the first to know!

You can head over to  Edwardjamesolmos.com to read more about his life in Hollywood.

Next is the late great President of the colonies – Laura Roslin – Mary McDonnell

The rumor for Miss McDonnell is that she will next be on The Closer, playing Capt. Christina Hatcher, who will butt heads with Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson [Kyra Sedgwick] in the fifth season of the series. 

The Closer is on TNT and the fifth season is set to air this summer, but I’m having issues finding a date.  (TNT just says “all new episodes – this summer)  So if you have digital recording access, I’d tune to TNT – find an episode and set your DVR to record all new episodes, so when it does start up – you won’t miss a beat!

Oh, and for all of you that didn’t know this – Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, and executive producers Ron Moore and Dave Eick were invited to speak with the U.N. about many issues that arise in the BSG series, including terrorism, racism, human rights, taking up arms, etc.  At some point part of these meetings are to be released to the public, but there is no set date at this time…. (once again, if I hear anything – you’ll be the first to know!)

Next up – Captain Lee “Apollo” Adama – Jamie Bamber

For all of you out there that don’t know – Mr. Bamber is a Brit.  Yes, our favorite “All American” boy is actually NOT from American soil.  

After the Battlestar was driven into the sun – one Jamie Bamber took up roots back in the old U.K. portraying the roll of DS Matt Devlin – (over here we call that Detective) – and is currently working on Law and Order: UK. (Which also boasts the presents of Freema Agyeman of Doctor Who fame)

On the Law and Order: UK site you can see an interview with Jamie Bamber speaking of his work on L&O.  (I went to watch it but got a big old “error” message – I wish you better luck)

Moving forward – Dr. Gauis Baltar – James Callis

I found a “fan” site for the wonderful Jame Callis, but when I went to look through it I found that the last time it was up dated was back in 2007.  I’m guess that it will say he is working on BSG… 

What I could find is this… Mr. Callis has recently filmed a made for TV movie entitled, “Merlin and the Book of Beasts” and will be playing the role of Merlin.  The synopsis reads:

Camelot has been taken over by an evil force and the only one that can save the day is a Princess with the help of her followers and the legendary wizard Merlin.

As far as I can tell it is set to air later this year… 

Captian Kara “Starbuck” Thrace – Katee Sackhoff

Miss Sackhoff has moved on to the glamorous world of plastic surgery.  Yes!  That’s right, for all of you out there, Katee Sackhoff is Dr. Theodora “Teddy” Lowe on the FX hit series Nip/Tuck.  

I went o a few fan sites and none of the seemed to be updated.  I’m thinking they should have been “Starbuck” fan sites and not Katee Sackhoff.  One site even recently shut down…

I’ll keep looking for news on her too!

And that is where I’m stopping right now!  Later I finish this up with all of the remaining favorites of the fleet!

Until then – go watch TV!

• 2 guys a girl and a pizza place
• 24
• 30 Rock
• Absolutely Fabulous
• Allo Allo
• Amazing Race, The
• America’s Most Wanted
• America’s Next Top Model
• American Dad!
• American Idol
• Apprentice, The
• Apprentice (UK), The
• Battlestar Galactica
• Battles BC
• Beast, The
• Being Erica
• Better Off Ted
• Big Bang Theory, The
• Big Love
• Bleach
• Bones
• Breaking Bad
• Brothers and Sisters
• Castle
• Celebrity Apprentice, The
• Chuck
• City, The
• Colbert Report, The
• Cold Case
• CollegeHumor Show, The
• Cops
• Criminal Minds
• CSI
• CSI: Miami
• CSI: NY
• Daily Show, The
• Damages
• Dancing With The Stars
• Desperate Housewives
• Dollhouse
• Eastbound and Down
• Eli Stone
• ER
• Everybody Hates Chris
• Evolve
• Family Guy
• Flight of the Conchords
• Fringe
• Game, The
• Gary Unmarried
• Ghost Hunters
• Gimme Gimme Gimme
• Gossip Girl
• Grey’s Anatomy
• Headcase
• Hell’s Kitchen
• Heroes
• High Life, The
• Hogan’s Heroes
• How I Met Your Mother
• How The Earth Was Made
• Important Things with Demetri Martin
• King of the Hill
• Kings
• Knight Rider
• Kyle XY
• L Word, The
• Law & Order
• Law and Order
• Law and Order: UK
• Lead Balloon
• Lie to Me
• Life
• Life on Mars
• Listener, The
• Little Mosque on the Prairie
• Look Around You
• Lost
• Medium
• Mentalist, The
• My Name is Earl
• Natures Great Events
• NCIS
• New Adventures of Old Christine
• Office, The
• One foot in the Grave
• One Tree Hill
• Paranormal State
• Party Down
• Peep Show
• Phil of the Future
• Pokemon Battle Dimension
• Private Practice
• Reaper
• Rock of Love
• Roommates
• Rules of Engagement
• RuPauls Drag Race
• Samantha Who?
• Saving Grace
• Scrubs
• Secret Life of the American Teenager, The
• Shameless
• Shield, The
• Simpsons, The
• Skins
• Smallville
• Sophie
• South Park
• Supernatural
• Survivor
• Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars
• That Mitchell and Web Look
• Top Chef
• Total Drama Island
• Trust Me
• Tudors, The
• Two and a Half Men
• Ugly Betty
• Unit, The
• United States of Tara
• Without a Trace
• WWE
• BBC
• Discovery Channel
• History Channel
• National Geographic
• Science Channel