Emmy Awards 2013: Nominations Announced
Take note, network television and advertisers - you have some competition! Netflix's series "House of Cards" received multiple nominations, including best drama, and Fox's best comedy series of yesteryear, "Arrested Development," resurrected by Netflix this year, scored a best lead actor in a comedy nod for the always classy and hilarious Jason Bateman. So networks, particularly the big 4, take note - time to step up your game and stop serving us uninspired, pedestrian crap.
On a side note, I'm not thrilled with all the nominees, although as I've gotten older I've learned that most award shows are popularity contests and that innovative, fresh, worthwhile fare are often overlooked. Best in show isn't always. Who am I happy about? Bateman of course (Jason, call me! Ha ha...no, seriously!). Amy Poehler for lead comedic actress, Bill Hader for supporting comedic actor, all Mad Men nominations...I've only seen one episode of Veep but I enjoyed it, it's my brand of funny.
Who were you happy to see included? Upset to see excluded? The Emmys will air Sept. 22.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing hits theaters this weekend June 7.
Much Ado About Nothing is a movie, but it was directed by television's Joss Whedon and stars many a folks from various Whedonverse television shows, including Nathan Fillion, Amy Acker, and Alexis Denisof, so it's noteworthy for this blog - probably won't get to see this in the theater, but as I am a huge MAAN fan (loooved the Kenneth Branagh version and made my then 8 year old brother memorize the song from it - mean, or awesome? What other third grader can recite Shakespeare by heart?) AND an even bigger Whedon fan, I am very much looking forward to this movie. Love that many of Whedon's usual suspects are involved. Love that Nathan Fillion is one of them, and also that he will be playing Dogberry, a hilarious role - can not wait!
Read the New York Times review of the movie here.
Read the New York Times review of the movie here.
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| Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker star in Joss Whedon's adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, in theaters June 7. |
Thoughts on Netflix's fourth season of Arrested Development
Be forewarned: If you haven't watched the fourth season of Arrested Development, there are spoilers below.
Finally finished the series! Thanks to my 2 month old for making it take almost two weeks to watch 15 episodes, otherwise I would definitely have binge watched.
First, I'd just like to say how much I missed this show. The very first time I saw it, I hated it. After that, I was just totally in love. So even though the fourth season wasn't perfect, I was overall happy to have my show back!
Also, as someone who studied media and communications in college, I just want to say how interesting I think it is that web-based subscription services such as Netflix and Amazon are getting into the television production game. I've said before that original programming on cable networks like TBS, USA, FX, and AMC is giving the major networks a run for their money - because they are smaller networks, they don't have to pull in the big numbers that the major networks do, so quality programs with smaller fanbases not only get a chance to air, they don't get yanked after only two episodes. But also, because these networks don't necessarily have to cater as much to big advertisers, they can do edgier shows and also more niche programming - they don't have to do broad comedies and dramas that appeal to everybody (and therefore usually end up appealing to nobody). So those networks have changed the game a bit, and now that Netflix and Amazon (and Hulu? Does anyone know about this?) are entering the game, it's being changed again - because they're subscription based, they don't have any advertisers to appease. I've always said that television is not about entertainment - it's a vehicle for advertising. It's not about the shows. The shows are there to draw in potential consumers. It would be nice for programming to be about (quality) entertainment for once.
Okay, so kudos to Netflix for taking a chance on a somewhat popular and much beloved (with its small fanbase) but wildly unsuccessful Arrested Development. And kudos to the actors, many, especially Jason Bateman and Michael Cera, who have gone on to develop fairly successful movie careers, for returning to their roles in this cult hit. The fourth season only worked because of that and because of the return of showrunner Mitch Hurwitz.
Now my thoughts:
Finally finished the series! Thanks to my 2 month old for making it take almost two weeks to watch 15 episodes, otherwise I would definitely have binge watched.
First, I'd just like to say how much I missed this show. The very first time I saw it, I hated it. After that, I was just totally in love. So even though the fourth season wasn't perfect, I was overall happy to have my show back!
Also, as someone who studied media and communications in college, I just want to say how interesting I think it is that web-based subscription services such as Netflix and Amazon are getting into the television production game. I've said before that original programming on cable networks like TBS, USA, FX, and AMC is giving the major networks a run for their money - because they are smaller networks, they don't have to pull in the big numbers that the major networks do, so quality programs with smaller fanbases not only get a chance to air, they don't get yanked after only two episodes. But also, because these networks don't necessarily have to cater as much to big advertisers, they can do edgier shows and also more niche programming - they don't have to do broad comedies and dramas that appeal to everybody (and therefore usually end up appealing to nobody). So those networks have changed the game a bit, and now that Netflix and Amazon (and Hulu? Does anyone know about this?) are entering the game, it's being changed again - because they're subscription based, they don't have any advertisers to appease. I've always said that television is not about entertainment - it's a vehicle for advertising. It's not about the shows. The shows are there to draw in potential consumers. It would be nice for programming to be about (quality) entertainment for once.
Okay, so kudos to Netflix for taking a chance on a somewhat popular and much beloved (with its small fanbase) but wildly unsuccessful Arrested Development. And kudos to the actors, many, especially Jason Bateman and Michael Cera, who have gone on to develop fairly successful movie careers, for returning to their roles in this cult hit. The fourth season only worked because of that and because of the return of showrunner Mitch Hurwitz.
Now my thoughts:
- Mitch Hurwitz and his writers are just genius at the wordplay, the innuendo, the double entendres. Arrested Development always has been a cerebral comedy. I am STILL finding verbal and visual jokes when I rewatch old episodes that I missed on my first, second, seventh viewings. That was all there in the fourth season.
- While still really funny, this fourth season was pretty dark. Things really just don't go the Bluths' way...but I guess that's really all their faults. Even Michael and George Michael, the "normal" Bluths, have their faults and get in their own way.
- Realize that due to the actors' schedules, they had to focus on different characters in each episode, and didn't get to see everyone in every ep, but hated that a lot of time was devoted to newly introduced secondary characters like Debrie and Marky Bark and Rebel. I guess Marky and Rebel didn't bother me quite so much, but for some reason Debrie did. I don't know. It was just weird to see so much of these characters who weren't Bluths and had no history with the family. Oh, but I did like seeing John Slattery. I'm a huge Mad Men fan, so it was fun seeing him play a dingy hippie type. Plus, CUA alum shout out! :)
- Also was both intrigued and annoyed by the disjointed-ness of the timeline. Liked how each subsequent episode showed the same events from a different character's perspective, but hated how it was hard to keep track of what things happened when...but maybe that was just me. I am extremely sleep deprived...
- Liked the secondary characters they were able to include, if only briefly - Annyong, Lucille 2, Tony Wonder, Ann/Egg/Plant, Oscar, Kitty, Sally Sitwell...it was like visiting with old friends again!
- Speaking of old friends...liked that Hurwitz knows these characters so well that they were still the same as when we last left them. Although, why was George Bluth so effeminate?
- Portia de Rossi's face was very distracting.
- I did not get the end. Ending with George Michael punching his dad in the face was very anticlimactic and kind of disappointing. I later read an article where Hurwitz explains that this was George Michael finally breaking away from the Bluths and breaking that cycle blah blah blah, and I guess that makes sense, and that actually would be a nice - and more importantly, hopeful - note to end the season/series on, but it wasn't an obvious note. At least not to me. But again, maybe that's just me. Sleep deprived and all...
- Loved seeing Ron Howard on camera! And making fun of himself no less...
- We're still left with questions...what's going to happen with the movie? What happened to Lucille 2? What about FaceBlock? And the wall? But maybe this isn't the end of the series...Hurwitz noted that he's open to resurrecting the series every few years if Netflix is interested, so maybe we'll get answers yet. Or maybe I'm the only one who still has questions.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
From Zap2It.com: 'Community' Season 5: Dan Harmon says he's returning
Best. News. Ever. Actually makes this television fan happy they decided to renew Community for next season - also makes me cautiously hopeful that the show we all fell in love with might be the show that returns to the air!
Welcome back, Dan Harmon - you were sorely missed!
Read about it here.
Welcome back, Dan Harmon - you were sorely missed!
Read about it here.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
'Parks and Recreation': NBC renews veteran comedy for Season 6
If you know anything about me, you know I love love LOVE this show...more often than not this show is creatively better than most of whats on television right now. One of the finest sitcoms I've ever watched, and better than a lot of dramas out there, too - both funny and heartwarming, with well rounded characters living in a world that despite its quirkiness feels very real. I wish I could be friends with Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt. Ron Swanson is a wry, dry revelation. Ron and Leslie have one of the best "bromances" ever on television. And if I could, I would totally move to Pawnee. Good on NBC for renewing this show!! Now make sure you watch it!!! Read the story at Zap2It.com here.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Community as we knew it...
If you've been watching Community this season, chances are, you know what I'm talking about when I say that the show we all knew and loved is no more.
Despite the ousting of creator Dan Harmon as show runner, I was excited about Community's return and optimistic that the actors and writers knew the quirky world of Greendale Community College and its cast of colorful characters well enough to bring back a show that had some semblance to the original.
Alas, the episodes that have aired just prove why I tend toward pessimistic realism.
Community was never your typical sitcom. That was part of its charm. Part of what it did so well was parody the pop culture around us, such as in a Quentin Tarantino inspired paintball episode. The writers this season attempted to parody the widely popular Hunger Game books and movie in an episode that pretty much sums up everything that is wrong with this season - instead of ACTUALLY parodying The Hunger Games, the show TOLD us it was going to do it, and then never actually got around to showing us anything having to do with The Hunger Games. One of the great rules of writing - and this applies to writing that people just read, so it most definitely applies to writing that will be turned into something people watch like, say, a television show - is SHOW DON'T TELL. Don't tell me why an event was exciting. Describe for me how there were fireworks and acrobats and a car chase. So in the case of Community, we have an episode which is trying to play on The Shawshank Redemption, with Annie, Troy, & Abed trying to escape from Shirley's terrible Thanksgiving celebration. We know it's terrible because the characters keep telling us it is. We don't actually get to see any of the terrible things that are happening. And then to top it off, we only know its a Shawshank tribute because Abed says it is, not because the characters actually DO anything to try to escape besides stand around in a garage and talk about escaping.
It's not just bad Community writing. It's bad writing, period.
The characters are all still there, but their voices are not the same. Its people trying to get inside the head of Dan Harmon, who is no longer there, and write what they think he would write...except its like these people have never even met Harmon. It's obvious that Harmon was the major voice and heart and soul of this show, and that Community as we knew it is over and gone for good. It would almost be better if these writers realized that and rebooted the show - keep the characters and general concept, but make them you're own. Shows reboot all the time for all sorts of reasons. If you can't imitate someone's voice, you make your own. Yes, it would be like watching a different show, but it would be so much better than what is happening now - these writers are so at a lost trying to recapture Harmon's voice that the show isn't even funny anymore. It's not heartfelt, it's not original, it's not even typical sitcom fare. Two and a Half Men is funnier than the Community airing now, and that's saying a lot. I keep watching out of habit and obviously ill-advised optimism that things might still turn around. But it's no longer must-see TV for me. Thank god for my Community DVDs...three seasons of brilliance is better than nothing.
Despite the ousting of creator Dan Harmon as show runner, I was excited about Community's return and optimistic that the actors and writers knew the quirky world of Greendale Community College and its cast of colorful characters well enough to bring back a show that had some semblance to the original.
Alas, the episodes that have aired just prove why I tend toward pessimistic realism.
Community was never your typical sitcom. That was part of its charm. Part of what it did so well was parody the pop culture around us, such as in a Quentin Tarantino inspired paintball episode. The writers this season attempted to parody the widely popular Hunger Game books and movie in an episode that pretty much sums up everything that is wrong with this season - instead of ACTUALLY parodying The Hunger Games, the show TOLD us it was going to do it, and then never actually got around to showing us anything having to do with The Hunger Games. One of the great rules of writing - and this applies to writing that people just read, so it most definitely applies to writing that will be turned into something people watch like, say, a television show - is SHOW DON'T TELL. Don't tell me why an event was exciting. Describe for me how there were fireworks and acrobats and a car chase. So in the case of Community, we have an episode which is trying to play on The Shawshank Redemption, with Annie, Troy, & Abed trying to escape from Shirley's terrible Thanksgiving celebration. We know it's terrible because the characters keep telling us it is. We don't actually get to see any of the terrible things that are happening. And then to top it off, we only know its a Shawshank tribute because Abed says it is, not because the characters actually DO anything to try to escape besides stand around in a garage and talk about escaping.
It's not just bad Community writing. It's bad writing, period.
The characters are all still there, but their voices are not the same. Its people trying to get inside the head of Dan Harmon, who is no longer there, and write what they think he would write...except its like these people have never even met Harmon. It's obvious that Harmon was the major voice and heart and soul of this show, and that Community as we knew it is over and gone for good. It would almost be better if these writers realized that and rebooted the show - keep the characters and general concept, but make them you're own. Shows reboot all the time for all sorts of reasons. If you can't imitate someone's voice, you make your own. Yes, it would be like watching a different show, but it would be so much better than what is happening now - these writers are so at a lost trying to recapture Harmon's voice that the show isn't even funny anymore. It's not heartfelt, it's not original, it's not even typical sitcom fare. Two and a Half Men is funnier than the Community airing now, and that's saying a lot. I keep watching out of habit and obviously ill-advised optimism that things might still turn around. But it's no longer must-see TV for me. Thank god for my Community DVDs...three seasons of brilliance is better than nothing.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
’Veronica Mars’ fans donate more than $1 million to fund big-screen movie
’Veronica Mars’ fans donate more than $1 million to fund big-screen movie
Now, that's love! Shout out to devoted fans of quality television, as well as to the writers & actors who actually produce quality television storytelling... Here's hoping for the return of our favorite marshmallow & the rest of the Neptune gang! (Now, if we could only get a Party Down reunion, too!!)
:)
Now, that's love! Shout out to devoted fans of quality television, as well as to the writers & actors who actually produce quality television storytelling... Here's hoping for the return of our favorite marshmallow & the rest of the Neptune gang! (Now, if we could only get a Party Down reunion, too!!)
:)
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