One Cancelled Veronica…

Well, it’s not official, more like speculation, as the networks won’t announce their slate until May, but I’m speculating that Veronica Mars will not be renewed for another season.

According to Aintitcool.com, Veronica Mars will be finishing out the season after an eight-week hiatus, with no story arc in the last five episodes.  I haven’t found any other information supporting this, but I do believe it may be the case.

And with the turns the show has taken this season, the writers really need to step it up a notch if they want the show to continue and keep the audience it has…forget about trying to attract a new audience.  At this point, it’s stupid… But if the show is going to be cancelled, it should at least maintain it’s digity through the end.

I don’t know how I feel about last nights episode right now, other than the promos are starting to make me angry.  They’ve been edited in such a way that it will keep people interested, but it’s only pissing people off making them not want to watch the show because of false advertisement. 

I hope it doesn’t get cancelled, but it had a good run, and unfortunately it hasn’t live up to the preceeding seasons. 

Refreshing new House

Ask and you shall receive.  House was both new AND different, and refreshing.  Rather than dealing with typical cases that require concrete answers to save the patients lives, this episode dealt with death and tragedy on a whole other level.  It was looked at in a way that made you realize that not everything is easy, life doens’t always have answers and things are not always as they seem.

It opened much like a typical House episode, with House trying to avoid clinic duty, Cuddy trying to force him and being disappointed that last episode was all a ploy to get more drugs, and House’s lackeys are trying to diagnose a minor case.  When a girl shows up with an STD, and claims she only wants House to be her doctor, House’s perspective on everything is completely shattered.  House keeps her as a patient, discovers that she has been raped and is pregnant as result.

The girl proves to be valuable to House’s mental state.  She challenges him to tell the truth and takes him to an uncomfortable place where concrete answers mean nothing, and the only thing that matters is life experience.  House flips out, tries to lie to the girl, then eventually caves in for her benefit, at which point she opens up and tells him how her rape happened.

I loved that it was unpredictable, and that the writers created this girl so completely that she could break House’s outer hardness and get him to understand that there isn’t an answer to everything.  It was a nice change, and I couldn’t have hoped for better.

The only thing is that next week it may go back to being the same old House, but we shall see.  I’m more hopeful about the show now, seeing that a change was necessary.  House as a person will not change, his actions might, and his views on different things, but he will not change, and I think that’s why we like him.  But seeing a more vulnerable side of him that we haven’t seen since Stacy was definitely a good thing…

Hope that continues…

The end is near…

Last night’s episode ended with an upset Lorelei, a happy Luke and a hospital bound grandfather…and the best part?  Christopher is almout of the picture.  You have to give time for divorce, filing papers and all, but after reading her character reference for Luke, I think it’s pretty safe to say that he and Lorelei are done.

And previews for next week’s Gilmore Girls shows Luke being the first one at the hospital for Lorelei and Rory, and Christopher is nowhere to be found.  Good for him.  And bad for him.  He’s really showing his true colors by not being there for Lorelei, even if they are fighting.  Her dad had a heart attack, wouldn’t you be there for her?  But Luke really came through and I’m glad that he’s that kind of guy.

What killed me about last night’s episode was Paris and Rory and their “race to the finish” plan for the last semester of senior year.  They run out to go tray sledding, and Rory tells Paris not to worry if she breaks her face, and Paris stops dead and says “what”…I died.   It was such a typical old school Paris/Rory interaction.  It’s moments like that that give me hope for the shows ending to be fantastic.

I also loved the fact that Suki went crazy and found out she’s pregnant again.   And her fighting with Jackson was just too funny.  Yelling at him, and he KNEW she was pregnant: he wouldn’t let her drink or ski or do anything she wanted to do.  Priceless.

What I couldn’t stand goes back to Christopher.  Even after he found the letter Lorelei wrote, he was still oblivious to the fact that maybe Lorelei didn’t want any of this in the first place.  He never mentioned that maybe it was his fault that they were married or acknowledged that maybe Lorelei needed more time.  He quickly blamed Lorelei and claimed he couldn’t handle being her second choice because she was still in love with Luke.  You know that, and I know that, and maybe Lorelei knows that deep down, but Lorelei made the decision, no matter how convenient or un-Lorelei-like it was at the time, to be with Christopher no matter what.  And I think she deserves a little more credit than being a two-bit floozy who runs an inn by day and turns tricks by night.

So, I’m glad he’ll be gone, if he isn’t already.  And I’m super excited that the writers saw what a bad idea that was.  Already it’s starting to turn around.  The fangirl in me needs to see Lorelei and Luke together and happy.  Hopefully that is what’s to come.

Predictable ol’ Harry

I was a little disappointed with the latest episode of The Dresden Files. A little predictable.

The entire premise of the episode was a “body swap.” I love the whole idea of the body swap. Taking someone else’s life for a test drive, what’s not to love? So a released prisoner with an affinity for Egyptian relics goes after a rich man who also has an affinity for Egyptian relics, kills him and takes over his body. Harry Dresden is hired because the former prisoner has murdered an innocent girl, and as a result, Harry is led right to the rich man.

I could tell from the moment they mentioned the stolen and smashed Egyptian artifact that it was a body swap episode. And why Harry didn’t get it in the first place is beyond me. Perhaps it is because I am an outsider and able to observe without being attacked or getting shot. Or maybe it’s the fault of the writers who may not have faith in the audience they are writing for…Don’t know.

I’ve realized that I loved this show even before I saw it, which means I will continue to watch it and love it. That may be a problem. I loved the show because of the audiobook, and anything having to do with James Marsters is fantastic in my book. Great for the show…just means they will always have an audience of me! Lucky them.

Predictability can sometimes be good, but I’m not sure in this case. We’ll just have to see.

Top 5

Ok, so I’ve decided to set some goals for myself…well, more of a list of things I’d like to watch and consider. TV shows, in case you haven’t figured it out. Here’s my top 5 that I haven’t given the chance, but plan to. There’s no particular reason for me not to have watched these shows other than I don’t have time. And in light of my trying to not be a snob, I’ve picked shows that I just don’t watch, which just so happen to be the best of the best, according to every sitcom afficianado out there…

1. Studio 60
2. 24
3. The Office
4. Heroes
5. Battlestar Galactica

Where’s Wallace?

I couldn’t put it off any longer.  I had to watch  the new episode of Veronica Mars.  It’s been sitting on my DVR since Tuesday, and I caved and watched it.  And to be perfectly honest, I don’t quite know how I feel.

The main plot consisted of Veronica and Mac on the case to find the theif who took a lab monkey and some lab rats.  And Keith has been hired to find out who killed the dean.  Subplot or major 2nd half mystery story that lasts til the end?  Don’t know.

And I squealed at the end (spoiler coming) when Veronica and Logan got back together.  Of course, after the initial excitement, I knew immediately that it would not last.  And that fact was proven by the preview for next week, where the two are back to fighting and of course Logan has done something pretty unforgiveable, and Veronica can’t get passed it.  A little predictable, yes, but I still want to see how it plays out.

I am a little concerned about where the writers are going to take this, or perhaps what they are going to do.  It seems like they are forcing the relationship to happen, then forcing it apart again, purposely trying to tear the viewer’s hearts out.  Fact is, it’s not tearing out any hearts.  It’s becoming a little annoying.  And the fans (if they’re anything like me) are saying “hmm, they’re together.  Never gonna last….Oops, they’re apart again.  Saw that one coming.”  I think V needs a new boy…but not Piz. 

So, things I liked:

*The return of Mac.  She’d been gone for some time, and I like her as a friend of Veronica and computer nerd.  And she’s also showing interest in a new boy/animal rights activist.  After Beaver really screwed her over, I didn’t think we’d see her with anyone else.  This could be a good storyline for Mac. 
*Keith jumped right into the swing of things with the dean’s case.  And went straight to the source.  I’m super excited about the chemistry of Keith and Professor Landry (who was having an affair with the dean’s wife).  Prof Landry claims that he wrote a book on profiling, and appears to want to try to show off to Keith.  Keith is driven by this to prove he is better than Prof Landry, which is going to be great.  I love that Keith is so good at his job, and definitely better than everyone and he knows it, and I love it even more when he tries to prove it.  I see this arc being huge for the show, and this may be what keeps me interested for the rest of this season.

What I didn’t like:

The absence of Wallace.  He may have been gone just as long as Mac, with the exception (for both) of “Spit and Eggs,” where they try to help Veronica not get raped.  I love Wallace, and I’ve always thought there should be more Wallace-specific stories, or at least him helping more.  The first two seasons, he was best friend to the spy, and her right hand man.  If she needed anything, he’d be there…and now? Nothing.  He’s disappeared.  And without real explanation.

Well, I’m hoping the writers pull out the stops with this season.  It’s been my experience that the first year of college is always the hardest season, and usually the most boring to do.  Take Buffy for example.  Her freshman year of college wasn’t a bad season, but it certainly wasn’t good either.  It’s sort of a filler, so the writers can figure out where they really see the show going.  And hopefully Veronica Mars will start getting better.  Heck, even Buffy had to move on and leave Angel behind (metaphorically, because he really left her).  The same for Willow…I think Veronica will much stronger as a person one she gets passed Logan and starts being the person she was meant to be.

Ok, I’m done…

Quotey Goodness

“Ok, think back 18 years.  Tiny.  Blonde.  Baby.  Born Ready!” -Veronica Mars

“Annoy, tiny blonde one!  Annoy like the wind.” Veronica Mars

“It’s dipping stuff in hot cheese!  What’s not to love?” How I Met Your Mother

“It’s going to be Legen- wait for and I hope you’re not lactose intolerant because the second half of that is Dairy!  Legendary!” How I Met Your Mother

American Idol

I don’t know what it is, but this show is just getting old.  The third season where Fantasia won was my favorite, and that’s not just because that’s the first season I watched.  It was just better – less hype, more real talent.

This year it’s just getting ridiculous.  The judges relentlessly made fun of a kid who was in the Special Olympics telling him he was just horrible.  And now, the American Idol people are trying to defend themselves saying they don’t do background checks.  Fine.  Big deal.  But that doesn’t excuse the judges from just all out laughing when someone sucks.

What’s more is that it is rumored (and most likely confirmed by some of the initial contestants) that the process by which the “talent” gets to see the actual judges is basically pointless and is more for entertainment and publicity than the search for real talent.  The “talent” gets through two rounds of auditions, at which point most of them get a vocal coach who is there to boost their confidence, no matter how terrible.  The “talent” gets built up, and once they go in to see Simon, Paula and Randy, they think they actually have a shot, even though mere hours ago a cats ears were bleeding from all the wrong notes and off keys.  After hilarity has ensued from the judges, and they tell the “talent” that they have none, more drama.  It leads to swearing, throwing things, alleged attacks, and the general feeling that the judges were indeed wrong about the ability they have to sing. 

It’s a set up.  The initial auditions are a joke, and just to get a reaction, and higher ratings on tv.  February sweeps are coming up, after all.  So, now, those with real talent may never get the chance to compete because the auditions are a joke.

Can’t say that I’m all that shocked really.  I mean, come on.  William Hung?  So worth it.  But now it’s just gotten mean.

And what’s even better than that?  THIS is the season my mother finally decides to watch.  After all those years of telling her how good it gets after all this initial crap.  Go figure…

Gilmore Girls Back?

Well, it looks like one of my “fangirl”-ish predictions may be coming to pass.  I see a breakup in Lorelei and Christopher’s future, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

So, last nights episode was all about celebrating Christmas AFTER the fact, and included some twisty goodness involving Luke.  Luke asked Lorelei to write a character reference for him to help him in his psuedo-custody battle over his daughter.  Lorelei agrees, but does not tell Christopher about it…and the previews for the next episode show the two fighting because Christopher believes that Lorelei is still in love with Luke.  Drama! 

The whole lying to Christopher thing is huge, especially since they’re married now.  And I see it as her not being able to say “no.”  She couldn’t say “no” to him when the slept together and created Rory, although we don’t know the details about that.  She couldn’t say “no” when he wanted to get married immediately while they were in Paris even though Lorelei wanted to wait for Rory.  I think she just has a hard time when it comes to Christopher, and that causes her to be less of herself than she wants.  And I think getting rid of him will let her be the person she always was.  I’ll give it two episodes before he’s out of the picture completely.

I think the show is getting back to where it started which is a good thing.  The first half of the season, and I’m agreeing with everyone else when I say this, wasn’t the best, and this next part looks promising.  But I don’t want to jinx anything…

Missing Episodes

Ok, I’m getting a little miffed.  I missed yet another episode of How I Met Your Mother, and if it weren’t for TV.com telling me I missed one, I never would have known.  So the count is now up to 2 missed episodes.

And now that I’m looking at it, the episodes are also airing out of order according to TV.com, which is fine, but it’s leaving me quite confused.  “Single Stamina” was the first episode I missed which aired in November and “Monday Night Football” which was schedule to air January 22 (yesterday), however, “Columns” aired in it’s place, leaving me more confused that I was in the beginning….Did I actually miss the episode, or has it just not aired at all?

Or perhaps it’s me…Maybe my DVR is not set up properly.  Wow, this requires quite a bit of effort.  Bloody hell.

*Ok, I just figured it out…TV.com is not entirely accurate for episode listings.  “Monday Night Football” is not scheduled to air until February 5th.  Lucky me…  I found this information at the ever so valuable TVGuide.com.  Boy am I blonde sometimes…