I Heart TV

I love TV. You love TV. I love to read about TV. Hopefully, so do you.

5.31.2005

degrassi: it goes there

some recent degrassi news:

Degrassi junior high season two goes on sale on tuesday. The amazon editorial review actually does a nice job describing the show. I got season one as a birthday present this year and recently watched the whole thing in order with my boyfriend. I was obsessed with Degrassi in a weird way when I was younger. The show seemed to air at completely random times on PBS, and I would catch an episode here or there without having any real concept of its context in the overall series, something that would frustrate me now that I insist on watching everything in order. Seeing season one I realized that most of the episodes I had seen as a kid were actually from later on in the series; still, it was fun to see all the actors so young, especially those who are adults now on degrassi: the next generation.

Speaking of degrassi TNG, this article talks about how with production beginning its fifth season, we're now celebrating the 25th anniversary of degrassi. I'm wondering if this will be the last season for TNG; more than half the characters are graduating, and the original degrassi only had five seasons. The article is a tad bit spoiler-ish in that it reveals (in very broad terms) some upcoming storylines and also lists the cast, with at least one person not returning if the list is to be believed.

I also wonder what they'll do on DTNG this season to top last season, with its school shooting and STD storylines (and the abortion storyline the season before.) What taboos are left? What issues are still unexplored? Lesbianism? Incest? Those are the only two I can think of.

Is there any other show out there that has seen success twice, with two (mostly) different casts of characters in the way degrassi has?

5.26.2005

planning for summer

The Futon Critic has a useful grid of all the summer schedules. My plan for the summer is really to catch up on my netflix, but there are still a few shows I'd like to check out. I just set the tivo to tape Medium, House (both regular season shows that I want to check out based on recommendations), Beauty and the Geek, and Hit Me Baby One More Time, with a few others still on the table (tivo only has schedules about a week or so in advance.)

Any other recommendations of broadcast tv I should be watching this summer? Or, more importantly, anything on cable? I wish some of my favorite cable stations were included on this grid.

5.25.2005

bands on the run, and things that conspire to remind me of it

Tonight's the finale of American Idol. I hope Bo wins, but if Carrie wins I won't mind that either. We all know that after each season of AI, it's not only the winner who will end up making an album but also whoever comes in second, and sometimes whoever comes in third and fourth, sometimes with equal or greater success (see: Clay Aiken. do not see: Justin Guarini.)

The second season of AI was the only one I was passionately involved in from start to finish, but I've checked in a few times this season and read the recaps on TWOP. However, as I was thinking about it today, I realized that whatever I may feel for AI, it's nothing like what I felt for Bands on the Run during the summer of 2001.

For anyone unfamiliar with the show, Bands on the Run was a reality show on VH1 that aired for just one season. It featured four bands touring around the country. In each city they competed to see who could get more people at gigs, who could sell more merchandise, and occasionally, who could drink more beer.

It was (and this may sound pretentious, but we've all thought it at one point or another) the only time I've ever felt like the people on a reality show were just as smart as me, and where they were honest-to-goodness nice people who wanted to be famous for their music rather than just famous for being on a reality show.

So, for those of you who watched, here is what I discovered when I googled all four bands today, in the order in which they were kicked off and also (more or less) the other in which I liked them:

The Josh Dodes Band: It appears that the band itself is no more, but Josh Dodes is still a) playing music and b) bald (though by choice, he says.) one of the girl singers is playing with fischerspooner now. This interview talks a little about the show and about what Josh Dodes is up to now. They were my least favorite just because I didn't like their music as much--they were kind of jammy.

Harlow: I always got the feeling that I would be really afraid of Harlow if I ever met them in person. Their lineup has changed since BOTR: Rayshele and Rebecca are gone. They all have livejournals but don't really seem to be an active band right now.

Soulcracker:These guys also seem to be semi-defunct, and they also seem to have gotten rid of a member (Beastie, my least favorite.) None of the photos on their site do Bob justice--he was my favorite of every person on that show.

Flickerstick: As Josh Dodes says in the interview I linked, they seem to be the only BOTR band still active, though they've also had lineup changes (losing cory and dominick.) Although they were my favorites, I never bought their album (though I did try to go see them once, at Wetlands right before it closed for good); still, I'm happy to see they're still a band.

Two other things inspired me to look all this stuff up: Suzun asking me the other day if I knew of any sites that keep tabs on the current whereabouts of former reality stars (I don't, but I wish I did), and my trip this weekend to Suzun's hometown of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where on my last visit in 2001 I watched much BOTR, as you can see:

here

and here.

5.23.2005

behind the scenes people with their silly names

from last week's American Idol recap on television without pity:

I get obsessed with names, like in the credits of TV shows. I don't even care who they play or what their role is on the show. Like "Bunim." I just hear it over and over in my head and I wonder how it's actually pronounced. Or Joey's sister Bessie, "Nina Repeta." Over and over and over. "Nina Repeta Nina Repeta Nina Repeta." Silently, of course. And so this season, being that I watch every second of every episode multiple times, I have now become completely obsessed with "Cecile Frot-Coutaz." What the hell is that? She's an Executive Producer, so I'm sure she's very nice and cool or whatever. Studio people are usually geniuses, and overly kind at that. But "Frot-Coutaz Frot-Coutaz Frot-Coutaz Bunim Bunim Bagdasarian Asaad Kelada Bunim." You know? Do you do that? Sorry. Anyway…


It's not quite the same thing, but my own personal name in the credits obsession is W.G. Snuffy Walden, composer of t.v. theme songs for such shows as My So-Called Life. In college, an RA in a friend's dorm showed all the episodes of MSCL, and I remember giggling to myself every time I saw W.G. Snuffy Walden on the screen. Snuffy! Hee.

5.21.2005

Not so dearly beloved: The O.C. season 2 finale

In the days since Thursday, I've read a bunch of different opinions of the o.c. finale. Some people seem to have had their faith restored with this end to what most people thought was a subpar season, but for others, the finale just confirmed the show's downward spiral. I liked this season at the beginning. I liked Zach. I liked the Bait Shop (well, sorta.) I liked Alex. I liked Marissa as a lesbian. I didn't want to be a naysayer. Last year, I rarely left the house on Thursdays, and I just didn't want to admit to myself that things were just not the same.

The turning point for me was the appearance of Trey. From the first sight of him leaving prison all coiffed and pretty, I could smell trouble. Trey introduced what I like to call the caper era of the o.c.--an era in which silly plots (risky business, for example) too precedence over sharper humor and actual character development.

In light of all that, I didn't have much hope for the finale. But I have to say that it exceeded my expectations in many ways, both good and bad. So, first the good:

Things I Liked About the O.C. Finale:

1. Summer is a nice person again! From the moment she walked into Seth's room with Princess Sparkle in tow, I felt better about Summer's character than I have since the Spiderman kiss. This has been the season of selfish Summer, and it was really great to finally see her not take no for an answer when questioning Marissa about what happened with Trey. She finally seemed like a best friend and a girlfriend again.

2. The Coopers! I still think Julie Cooper is the best thing about this show, and Tate Donovan is a lot funnier than people give him credit for. I even teared up a little at the end when Marissa hugged Julie (shut up.)

Things I Had Mixed Feelings About:

1. Kirsten. I read a comment on another blog where someone said that they felt the drinking storyline came out of nowhere, but I disagree. Kirsten has been a serious social drinker since the beginning, and it's escalated slowly, which I think is fairly realistic. Plus, Kelly Rowan did a great job. But I feel like by shipping her off to rehab, they're avoiding a discussion of Sandy and Kirsten's marital problems, and placing blame on Kirsten that should go on Sandy. Then again, I don't ever want to hear Rebecca Bloom's name ever again.

2. Ryan and his "I've tried to be different and it didn't work" line. If this season had been done better, that could have been an amazing moment. I feel like we haven't really seen how difficult this has been for Ryan, and all the stuff with Trey has been so heavy-handed that it sucked any poignancy right out of this story.

Things That Just Sucked and I Hate Them:

1. Guns at the Bait Shop/Jess the Drug Ho (as she is affectionately referred to on television without pity.) I'm sorry, but since when is this show about guns and drug deals and FUCKING CAPERS?

2. The end. Again with the guns. My roommate Allison pointed out that every character acted very true to themselves in this moment, and I have to agree with her. But at the same time, I feel like this is just silly, especially the death scene. The blood spurting out of the bullet hole was the cheesiest thing I've ever seen. On the other hand, I am curious about how this will be resolved, so that has to say something, right?

I think this show has just lost its way this year. There were too many supporting characters, too many soap opera plots, too many capers. Too many things happened this season that didn't resonate or have any long-lasting effects for any of the characters. I still can't get over the stupid Risky Business episode.

I still have hope, though. How can a show start out so good and end up so bad?

welcome

Hi! My name is Erica. I really like television. A lot. I also like to talk about television, and I find that talking about a show, or an episode, or an actor is often what makes tv-watching most enjoyable for me. I'm lucky in that I have a lot of friends who like tv, but I wanted a place for all my tv ramblings. So here we are. I have a boring job, so look for posts at least once a week.