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So I took a holiday at possibly the busiest time in a TV season, right when all the finales happen and there is so much that I need to catch up on a write about. This will occur when my brain is less muddled and the jet lag has gone. Of course most importantly is the Lost finale which I loved and really need to see again before I can fully be happy to write about it. The same goes for Fringe and Bones, both of which I watched on the day of my arrival on holiday which was seen through a similar hazy jet lag mind, rewatch is needed for both. So to unpacking and the Chuck finale and then I will be set hopefully.

Twitter and the impact on TV

I have been on Twitter for under a year now, getting to it a bit late after I stubbornly thought it was a giant waste of my time. It took me a while to warm to it, at first deciding that I was not going to bother posting but would instead just follow a handful of people, this has since led to tweeting over 400 times and now following over 200 people, not what I intended but I am glad that I have embraced this social network site.
The majority of people that I follow (that I don't actually know) seem to be people in the TV and film industry including actors, writers, critics, reporters and show runners so wherever a big TV news story occurs I get a feed full of comments on this one topic, for example yesterday the big topic that Conan was going to be on cable rather than network TV featured heavily on my feed for a few hours. This factor and an article in Variety about TV show runners becoming Hollywood stars in their own right has led me to explore the notion that Twitter has enhanced the relationship between the fans and those involved in their favourite TV shows which can have both positive and negative results.
First up the negative; a comment about an episode that has just aired in the US may spoil it for a fan in another country, or for simply some one who has yet to catch up with their DVR. This happened today on my feed; Mary Lynn Rajskub who plays Chloe on 24 retweeted another comment that mentioned a major characters death in the most recent episode. This has annoyed some who live in countries where it hasn't aired prompting Rajskub to ask "I guess I have to be careful commenting on others tweets that could be spoilers... Or is it fair game tue am". I am of the opinion that if you don't want to be spoiled then avoid such places as Twitter until you have seen the episode in question as once it has aired then it is fair game to be spoken about the next day. I will say that with last seasons Dexter finale I was glad that regarding the shocking ending that most people just wrote that it was a shock, and not what the actual shock was, but I normally take my own advice and stay clear of Twitter until I am caught up on shows that can be spoiled such as Lost.
There are many positive attributes that have come from Twitter in regards to the relationships between the fans and those involved with these shows and even with the people who write about these shows. A connection that previously was not this instant now exists (this too can be bad I imagine, as it now means that a fan can vent with a lot more ease at these people as well, requiring a thick skin to handle potential abuse). This can mean that satisfaction (and the ugly side which is dissatisfaction) can be shared immediately when an episode airs. It can also mean that sneak peaks can be given, whether it is a song shared by Josh Schwartz that will feature in a new episode of Chuck or whether it is a behind the scenes picture from shows like The Vampire Diaries (look to actor Ernesto Riley who plays Alaric) or Bones (creator Hart Hanson and executive produce Stephen Nathan are regular posters).
The promotional impact of Twitter for TV shows means that the ones that might be struggling with the ratings such as Chuck can have a further voice to show that there are many that do watch and will talk about these shows, thus endorsing them on another platform. As Julie Plec executive producer on Vampire Diaries stated in the article for Variety "In my opinion, watching a Twitter feed during an episode of our show is a built-in focus group. They react to everything -- and it's fascinating because (over time) you get to witness your fan community as it builds and grows." This community consists of both regular TV watchers and those reporters and critics that get paid to write about these shows, in the Twitter world each now has a voice when it comes to opinions on these shows that can now be seen as more than just a figure for Nielsen ratings. Though the Nielsen ratings are still important in keeping shows on the air, the phrase 'Hack Nielsen' entered the Chuck fan community vocabulary a few weeks back and was seen on Twitter a lot before the last episode aired.
The impact of Twitter on TV as a whole is hard to see at this point but it must be said that for something that I thought would be inconsequential a year ago is something I now use daily. It is also something that I might have written about in my academic career as when I wrote my Masters dissertation on authorship in TV and whether it is possible in this post network era Twitter had not really exploded at this point. If it was where it is now I wonder if some of my conclusions would have been different as Twitter really has further given an identity to some of those people who are behind the shows that are big on TV now and the factor of fandom was one that was important in the construction of ideas of authorship. I look forward to seeing where this is all going and whether I will be able to get another study out regarding the state of authorship in TV in a few years time when the impact of social networking sites such as Twitter becomes more obvious.

Bones 100th

Spoilers ahead for the 100th episode of Bones:

Happy 100th episode to Bones, and what an episode it was that showed the first time Brennan and Booth worked together and finally had the idea of them as a couple really being addressed by these two characters rather than everyone else around them. Bones (the show) in the past has irked some viewers (myself included) in some of these big moment episodes, such as Zack being Gormogon's assistant and last seasons coma finale. However I think that this episode hit all the right notes and even with some retcon action, the story worked with how we met these characters in the pilot, as two people who had obviously had some conflict in the past and with Brennan really not wanting to work with Booth again. 

The case was even similar in some aspects as the one in the pilot, a young woman is murdered, most likely by some one who is high up in the system and there is little evidence to support this on the surface which is why the team at the Jeffersonian has to be bought in. The fact that it was Cam that suggested Brennan to Booth seems a little tenuous but she did work in the New York coroners office making it possible and it was nice to see a bit of character interaction between her and Booth when they have said before that they have known each other for years. 

All the squints were there and seeing Zack having a full blown awkward exchange with Booth and his conflict with Hodgins was superb and made me miss him all over again (on a side note are they ever going to resolve the fact that Zack didn't actually kill anyone and that Sweets is the only one that knows this?). Hodgins was experiencing his anger problems that we have seen before where he has had to employ the elastic band on the wrist method.  It was good to see the origin of the experiments and that Zack as ever played the role of the murder victim. Showing how Brennan and Angela became friends was also a nice touch, due to her art showing an impressive command of underlying structure and that the reason she took the job was to save money to move to Paris. The Angelator 1.0 as a flip picture book was also brilliant especially when Federal Prosecutor Caroline (another favourite) suggested that a big fancy computer would be needed to sell the re-enactment to a jury.  

Now to Booth and Brennan, she liked it when he called her Bones at first and there was major flirtation which ended in a tequila induced kiss, that is all nothing more, a moment missed. This moment missed that turned in to the bickering that we have known since the show started. This bickering turned in to much more in this case with Brennan slapping Booth hard across the face when he had escorted her out of his office forcibly by the arm. This defensive streak we saw in Brennan earlier in the episode when she struck the suspect in the nose twice and was something that was employed early in the series, that when Brennan felt threatened we saw that she was more than capable of defending herself. It is at this point that she says that she hates Booth and wants him to stop calling her Bones, a trend she continues at the start of season 1 (not the hate so much but the nickname Bones). Despite this horrible end to the first case she has definitely had a huge impact on him, he stops gambling, he starts wearing items of clothes that set him apart from his rigorous uniform which has continued till the present day.

Now to the present day, Sweets realises that most of the conclusions he draws in his book are right for the wrong reasons, that they are in love but one of them has to admit first, the stalemate has to be broken and because Booth is the gambler it has to be him. The pair leave a frustrated Sweets with a book in ruins and no conclusion but of course the episode doesn't end there. 

It continues out side in front of a sign that must be a nod to last seasons finale that says:

"Nothing happens unless first a dream" - Carl Sandburg

It is here that Booth, the gambler does make the first move breaking the stalemate and confessing what the audience and most of the supporting characters have known for a long time that he is in love with her:
"When you talk to older couples who, you know, have been in love for 30 or 40 or 50 years, alright, it's always the guy who says, 'I knew.' I knew. Right from the beginning... I'm that guy. Bones, I'm that guy. I know.
Unfortunately for Booth and the screaming audience at home Brennan responds not with happiness but with this:
"I am not a gambler. I am a scientist. I can't change. I don't know how... I don't know how."
Not the ending that that was hoped for but this statement allows them to move on, and I think in this moving on Brennan will realise that she can change and gamble and that for the show this is a good direction as it allows for more stories and more conflict. The fact that after all this they can still walk away together arm in arm shows that they can still work together and that there is definitely more to come where these two are involved.
A job very well done from the Bones team and a special mention should go to David Boreanez who was not only fantastic in this episode but also did a fantastic job directing it.
The promo for next weeks episode reveals a creepy special guest star and another episode that looks to be promising, enjoy:

Photos courtesy of Fox 

     

The return of Bones and Fringe

                          

After what seems like forever (well it has been two months) both Bones and Fringe are back this Thursday April 1st, no fooling around... bad joke I apologise. I have missed both crime solving gangs and both shows have some exciting episodes coming up so there will be some mild spoilers ahead.

First up Fringe ended the last episode on somewhat of a cliffhanger with Olivia realising that Peter is actually from the other universe and with this Thursdays episode being entitled 'Peter' and all the promo photos such as the one above flashing back to the 70s we can be sure to see some more development and answers as to the Peter/Walter relationship and how he got Peter between the two worlds. The stories that involve Massive Dynamic, William Bell and the other universe are my favourites as they are often much stronger and more emotive than the 'monster of the week' ones which can sometimes feel out of place. Though I am looking forward to the April 29th musical episode 'Overture' which will feature an all singing and dancing cast. Random episodes like this have been shown to be brilliant with a show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I'm hoping for similar results with Fringe, especially as I'm not a big musicals fan.

With Bones the first episode back on Thursday looks like it will be a regular case with more information being shed on Brennan as an author and with Sweets dealing with a near death experience.  It is however, next weeks episode that is highly anticipated. This episode entitled 'The Parts in the Sum of the Whole' is Bones 100th and is directed by Booth himself David Boreanaz which automatically makes it special. The reason it is being touted as a Bones event is because the case is a flashback to when Booth and Brennan first worked together and so will see the return of Zack (Eric Millegan) and of Hodgins super curly hair. This case marks an important point in Booth and Brennan's relationship and will explain why in the pilot episode she was reluctant to work with him. I have managed to stay somewhat unspoiled as to what occurred on this first case, I could have a guess but I'm not going to put it here and I am really looking forward to this trip down memory lane. 

A Fringe/Bones promo to wet your appetite:

The Goop on the Girl- A Very Bones Christmas

Spoilers ahead for Bones episode 5.10

As far as Christmas episodes go Bones has produced two previous excellent ones: the first season quarantine episode was the first Bones I watched and is particularly special, whereas the season three venture had it's high moments and allowed Bones to have her first family Christmas since her parents disappeared, even though it was in a jail trailer used for conjugal visits it was still a rather touching affair. This years episode also promised to be special with the first appearance of Zooey Deschanel, Emily Deschanels real life sister playing her second cousin Margaret. It didn't disappoint.

First off with the crime, seemingly a man dressed as Santa in an attempt to rob a bank straps a bomb to himself only to blow up as Booth is about to arrest him (what is it will this show and killing Santa?). There was obviously more to this crime than meets the eye but this set up covered Booth in body bits making him and his clothes evidence. This led to the Christmas treat that all Booth and Bones shippers were looking forward to- Bones having to strip Booth of his clothes down to his underwear, most significantly and suggestively was her removing his Cocky belt buckle (at this point Booth decides he should start reciting Saints, which gave me a chuckle). Now as far as the Booth/Bones relationship goes I am not one who desires seeing them get together, in fact I'm quite happy as they are but I do enjoy these somewhat sexual moments between the two, especially when they are interrupted by those like Cam (also it is odd to think that they ever had a romantic relationship). One couple who I would like to see back together is Hodgins and Angela and it was good to see them have a 'moment' in the final scenes of the episode.

Now back to the crime it appears that a lonely man, who only has his mother in his life may have taken the advice of an anti-capitalist, anti-government radio station and wanted to blow a bank up, it was after the frequency of the radio station that set the bomb off. It turned out to be much more heart breaking (or heart crushing if you are Bones) than that, Holden Chevaleer had answered a work call (he was an exterminator) and instead he had the bomb strapped to him by the real criminals (who both happened to be outside the bank when the explosion happened), he was an innocent man used to rob the bank by force.

The victims mother decided to bury him on Christmas day, this is because she has no one else but him and it is when Booth and Brennan are discussing this that I got all misty eyed and this was a complete surprise to me as I was not expecting to be emotionally connected to this story. This might be because this scene comes after Angela feels bad for joking about Santa ruining Christmas and she states that sometimes they forget that there are people behind the bones- this I think is sometimes what the comedic factor of Bones as a show sometimes does to. Don't get me wrong, I love the comedic element and it is partly because of this that sets it apart from the other crime procedurals, but I also like in this case that the emotion is highlighted because it is definitely one of the more tragic cases that the Bones team have had to deal with. I also really like it when Bones is emotional about a case, the last time I recall her reacting like this was in 'The finger in the nest' when Ripley the dog is put down for having been used to kill, it is good that they reinforce the fact that she is growing as a character and that some of her emotional walls are being broken down.

The emotional barriers is perhaps a trait in the family as her second cousin Margaret (Zooey Deschanel) also seems to push people away, with her it is through Benjamin Franklin quotations rather than science. This leads to some particularly funny conversations between the two of them, and I loved when Max tells Margaret to stick to the science stuff. The problem with having Zooey Deschanel in this episode was that it felt a bit crowded and I would have liked to have seen more of her, though hopefully this means that she will be back in future episodes as it would be good to see their relationship develop.

The Christmas element of the episode focused on family, and not just the ones that you are related to. I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable episode and it definitely struck an emotional chord that I was not expecting. Prior to this episode Jamie Frevele over at the Huffington Post wrote a great piece on the improvements made in season 5 including being more emotionally attached to the stories is mentioned.

Also as a treat Fox released a mini making of which is quite fun:

First look at Zooey Deschanel in Bones

The first promo shots of Zooey Deschanel in Bones have been released which has got me very excited for this December 10th Christmas episode, The Goop in the Girl:

The episode will also see the return of Bones' Dad Max (Ryan O'Neal) which means that there will a considerable focus on Brennan and her relationship to her Dad, I always find these ones to be particularly strong, including the season three Christmas episode 'The Santa in the Slush'.

Fox have also released an interview with the Deschanel sisters discussing this episode and working together for the first time:

Bones and Avatar

Spoilers ahead for the next Bones 'The Gamer in the Grease':

My reason for writing about this unaired episode is due to the somewhat weird crossover between the world of Bones and the real world. As the promo shows (you can see this at the end of the post) one part of the episode involves Sweets, Hodgins and Fisher queuing for tickets for the new film Avatar. First of all, Avatar the film is being released by 20th Century Fox and Bones airs on the Fox network, there is an obvious synergy that can be exposed here to promote the film to Bones fans and maybe even those who are looking forward to the movie to the show Bones. Where it becomes a little more interesting is that Joel David Moore (in the photograph above) also stars in the movie Avatar. I'm intrigued whether they will allude to this as the film looks like it will feature in a significant part of the episode. I also bring this up as some of the Star Trek advertising that was used in both Lost and Fringe this year was seen as being a cheap play by the makers to promote their movie further. I for one in those cases didn't mind the referencing to Star Trek, but I guess it is a  little different when the star of the movie is also in the TV show. I will however reserve judgement until I see the episode, as from the promo I think it looks like it could be quite funny and I enjoy the Bones episodes where the characters get to really use their pop culture knowledge to assist the investigation (especially as Bones is normally oblivious to this- unless it is about the Smurfs). Mr Fisher is also one of my favourites out of the rotating interns (my other favourite being Mr Nigel-Murray) and this is his first appearance this season, so I'm looking forward to that at least.

Here is the promo:

Top 5 Halloween TV episodes

1) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 'Halloween'

In this second season episode the Scooby gang become what they have dressed for Halloween due to a spell that Ethan Rayne (with his first of several appearances) has put on all the costumes from his shop. As Halloween is normally a day that demons have off this would normally not be an issue, however Spike uses the opportunity to try and take down the Slayer who unfortunately dressed as an eighteenth century lady, losing all of her slayer knowledge and fainting at the sight of a monster. Willow becomes a ghost, having the power to walk through walls but not touch anything and Xander becomes a soldier, which will prove useful for later episodes when he retains all his soldier training and codes for military buildings. What makes this episode great is to see Buffy vulnerable in this role reversal 'come as you aren't' theme for Halloween. It is also the first time we get to here the name Ripper in relation to Giles, realising that he is much darker than his library man exterior suggests.

2) Bones: 'The Mummy in the Maze'

What makes this a great Halloween episode is that all of the characters end up trying to solve the murder and mummification of two girls as well as attempting to stop the death of another girl whilst dressed up for the Jeffersonian Halloween party. The costumes are varied as seen in the picture above, Angela is Cher, Hodgins the captain of the Titanic, Zack is the end of a cow (miss you Zack), Cam is Cat Woman, Brennan is Wonder Woman and perhaps funniest of all is Booth dressed as one of the squints and he attempts to be a nerdy as possible (though none of them dress as badly as his interpretation). Debates about who is better between Wonder Woman and Cat Woman (Wonder Woman is the consensus) and Brennan spinning around are some of the highlights. Though I think Booth and Brennan tracking down the killer in full costume and saving the girl is the highlight as well as the continuing joke of Brennan wanting a gun and then accidentally shooting Booth with a ricochet.

3) Chuck: 'Chuck versus the Sandworm'
The Halloween element of this episode is relegated to the subplot however it deserves a mention for several reasons, the nerd element is pretty high with Chuck and Morgan's costume being the Sandworm from Dune and Sarah comes as slave Princess Leia which is enough to drive any fan boy crazy. Awesome and Ellie in a continuing joke about how perfect they are goes as Adam and Eve with leaves covering the bikini suit areas. The highlight for me as a fan of Josh Schwartz though is the moment where they recreate the moment from the New Years episode of the OC where Ryan rushes to get to Marissa before midnight strikes and Dice by Finley Quaye (featuring Beth Orton) is playing, instead it is Chuck rushing to get to Morgan so they can do their Halloween costume together.

4) The Office: 'Halloween' and 'The Employee Transfer'

The above pictures are from the season 5 episode 'The Employee Transfer' in which it is only the opening that concentrates on Halloween but it is definitely worth noting and is perhaps one of my favourite starts to an Office episode. The Joker was probably one of the most popular costumes last year and it was brilliant to see Kevin, Dwight and Creed all as the Joker with varying degrees of scary with Creed being particularly frightening. It was also great to see Dwight have his pencil disappearing trick ruined by the lift door closing on him. The costume nightmare that Pam had in the Dunder Mifflin branch in New York also made me chuckle as she was the only person who had dressed up, her Charlie Chaplin costume would become Hiltleresque if she removed her hat.

Three hole punch Jim is from the season 2 episode 'Halloween' and demonstrates the extreme effort that can go in to a costume, or rather a lack of effort and it also shows how opposite Jim and Dwight are with Dwight spending over a hundred dollars on his Sith Lord suit. Though Jim's costume does give Dwight the excuse to punch. Also from seeing promo from this years Halloween episode it looks like it will be another humdinger.

5) Ugly Betty: 'The Lyin', the Watch and the Wardrobe'

Recently I haven't been enjoying Ugly Betty as much as I use to but I picked this episode mainly for Marc dressed as Betty (which Wilhelmina says is so cruel that he deserves a raise). Betty has also been fooled in to thinking that everyone in the office will be dressing for Halloween, which is not the case, but I do like he butterfly costume very much.

I know there are many other great Halloween episodes (Angel, My So Called Life and Friends to mention a few) but I thought I would go with five. Are there any show that you would like to see do a Halloween episode? Are there any shows that should have done a Halloween episode? The X-Files springs to mind as a show that could have done a great one but never did.

Happy Halloween everybody, I have to go and make some birds for my costume.

Bones 100th episode news

Rumours from Ausiello over at Entertainment Weekly last month suggested that the 100th episode of Bones was going to flashback to the first case that Brennan and Booth worked together where everything did not run exactly very smoothly, well Ausiello has now confirmed that this has been given the green light. In the pilot of Bones it was made clear that something had occurred in this first case that made Brennan not want to work with Booth again and it will be great to see what the writers will come up with as to what created this apparent early dislike of one another. Stephen Nathan, an executive producer on the show also revealed that:

“We’ll also see the introduction of Angela and the genesis of her friendship with Brennan. And we’ll try and work in a Smurf reference, of course. They certainly have been absent from season 5 so far.”

It has previously been mentioned that David Boreanaz will direct the episode, so I think it will be a pretty special affair, I can't wait.

Zooey Deschanel in Bones

So finally after several mentions that Emily Deschanel's sister Zooey would star in an episode of Bones, it has been confirmed that she will appear in the Christmas episode which will air December 10th. Zooey will be playing Brennan's previously mentioned cousin from Minnesota and I am really looking forward to how they will work this in to the show. I am a huge Zooey Deschanel fan (I think Emily is pretty great too) and have liked her  since way back when Almost Famous came out and have followed her career since. I hope that this will be a great Christmas episode as the first episode of Bones I saw was the season 1 Christmas episode and it got me hooked.

Don Draper vs Jim Halpert

So in light of Don Draper topping the poll of AskMen.com 49 most influential men of 2009 I stumbled upon a Newsweek blog from August entitled 'Why the Ladies Love Jon Hamm of Mad Men' which upon reading raised an interesting topic that woman would rather fantasise about Don Draper from Mad Men than Jim Halpert from The Office. The article states that:

"Why are we so wild for Draper? By any measure, the character's a cad. He constantly cheats on his wife. He skips town for weeks and won't write or call. [...]  And yet he excites an attraction among women—particularly ones my age, women in their late '20s and '30s who were born after the era that Mad Men portrays—that seems unmatched by any leading man on television today, with the possible exception of Lost's con artist, Saywer (another strapping scoundrel with a deeply troubled soul)."


And:


"After all, we don't believe in that evolutionary "me Tarzan, you Jane" nonsense anymore. We're supposed to want men who are sensitive and respectful; men who emote and help around the house, and talk openly about their feelings. And we do want these things. Don't we? So then why are we fantasizing about Draper rather than Jim from The Office?"





So where do I stand on these thoughts and why should they matter any way. Well firstly, yes Don Draper is a desirable character despite all of his many flaws, which is why it does matter that women are attracted to him in spite of these flaws and why it matters that he has been voted by men as the most influential man of 2009.  Does this in turn make the actions and behaviour of Don Draper considered acceptable by both men and women? I think the majority would still say what he does is deplorable and he is just a figure of fantasy, he is the kind of man that you would have an affair with rather than a relationship (the Newsweek article concludes with this summation as well "So we lay it out very clearly: we don't want to wed Don Draper. We know madness that way lies."). They also lay this out so men don't think that that is what women actually want, who wants a generation of men who think that it is ok to cheat your way through everything. 
So then comes the point as to why Jim from The Office would not be considered a figure of fantasy because he is what is considered to be an ideal modern man, someone who cares about his fiance (wife by tonight- hopefully) and is not ashamed to show these feelings, but this is one area of the article that I disagree with and it might be because in most TV shows it is always the slightly dorky characters that are my favourites, not the leading brooding man. Characters like Charlie in Lost, Dr Reid in Criminal Minds, I prefer Sylar when he is Gabriel glasses included, Will Tippin in Alias, Hodgins in Bones, Greg in CSI, I even have a weird thing for Andy 'the 'Nard Dog' in The Office and don't even get me started on Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Now I know that these guys could be considered good looking in one manner or another but they are on programmes generally where there is an alpha male, who broods and gets the girl. So it would seem that I would definitely choose Jim over Don. Oh and in the debate of which Chuck I would choose between Chuck Bartowski (Chuck) and Chuck Bass (Gossip Girl) it would be Bartowski every time.
Even with Mad Men, I think Don Draper is great (but terrible at the same time) but I am actually a huge Pete Campbell fan (though not in the same way I think of Don), I just find his character so compelling because most of the time he can be a major douchebag but also because there is the conflicted side of him where he just doesn't know who he and how he should act. Although after last weeks episode I hope that we see some positive action from him, as he stepped way beyond the line of what is morally acceptable, but such is the power of the writing in Mad Men that there are no black and white characters.
At first when reading the article I was thinking 'Of course I would choose Jim over Don' but after writing this and thinking about it my answer becomes less certain, I know which one I would want a relationship with, that's easy but who would I choose (and the feminist in me is not happy that I am even asking that question)? 

Bones dancing promo

The Bones promo department always seem to deliver on the pre season promos which capture the fun spirit that the show has over other crime procedurals, this season is no different:

It's been a long time

The new TV season is upon us and despite my lack of blogging over the month of August I am excited about several old shows returning and a few of the new starters as well. I will be writing with more consistency (I hope) over the following weeks and months about these shows. The old returners I am looking forward to are; Bones (thought the bones promo below is pretty cool), Fringe, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Office (once I have seen season 5- the DVD is on the way as I speak).

I will also be looking at the new season of Mad Men, that has been on for the past few weeks, so far I am enjoying this season and will be writing further on this in the coming week. Oh and I am really looking forward to the return of The Daily Show after the three week hiatus that it has been on, I've been missing my Jon Stewart fix, I'm so glad that the web site has all the old episodes on there to watch.

New starters that have produced an interest include Community (I'm a big fan of Joel McHale, as previous mentions of The Soup will testify), Flash Forward and the new HBO show Bored to Death. Other shows that I am currently catching up on (and need to catch up on) include Damages season 2, 90210 (got to love the trash TV), Dexter, 30 Rock and Harper's Island (I saw the first two episodes the other day and thought it was ok, like watching a long TV horror movie really). Oh and I will finally be catching up with The Sopranos soon as well having only ever seen bits and bobs from each season- though I am totally spoiled for the final episode, which sucks.

So there is plenty for me to be writing about, and I will be tackling many of the above shows in one way or another. See you all soon.

Graduation and what is to come

So, I finally had my graduation ceremony for my Masters in Film and Television which turned out to be a fun afternoon, not only because I got to catch up with some old faces but also because the person who was awarded an honorary degree was the BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner. Gardner was reporting in Saudi Arabia in 2004 when he and his cameraman Simon Cumbers were fired upon by al-Qaeda sympathisers, Cumbers was killed and Gardner who was shot six times was left paralysed. He gave a speech that gave hope to the many graduates in the room and showed that you can achieve your dreams as well as overcome obstacles that are presented to us, no matter how big or small. Here is a picture of me (and my Dad) from the day

It is also odd to think that this time last year I was hard at work with my dissertation which the topic of my study was whether authorship in television is viable and if it is then by what means. My case study was JJ Abrams and I was looking at his body of work in television with the cut off for all Fringe related research being Comic Con. The fact that it is Comic Con this weekend and that it was my graduation last week brings my Masters to a close. On that note I have several things that I would like to write about in the next week or so and I aim to be more productive with this blog throughout the summer as I have been a little absent recently.

Areas that I would like to cover include:

-Reviewing the short lived sitcom Kitchen Confidential which I have just finished watching on DVD.

-The news and highlights from Comic Con, I wish I was there but unfortunately I will be scanning Entertainment Weekly and fan sites such as obsessedwithbones.com and chucktv.net for all the weekends’ gossip

-I just read a review in the New York Times for the Nathan Rabin book ‘The Big Rewind: A Memoir Bought to you by Pop Culture’. Rabin who is now a writer for the Onion writes about his turbulent growing up through pop culture references and from what I have heard this book sounds super and I definitely want to read it (right after I finish with the Dead Zone).

-I’m also currently re-watching season 2 of Mad Men which I got on DVD last week, in preparation for the new season and also because it is truly wonderful TV. The new promo poster for season 3 has been released and makes me so excited for this new season:

-I would like to look at this years Emmy nominations and watch some more of the drama nominees as I currently only watch Mad Men, Dexter and Lost out of the list, really want to check out Breaking Bad and Damages (which my Mum loves and the first season is super cheap to buy at the moment). But also a big grr to Friday Night Lights getting snubbed again in the major categories, what has this show got to do to get some Emmy love?

So, I will be writing a lot more soon, also I have had a guest review of the season 1 Bones episode ‘The man in the fallout shelter’ posted on www.obsessedwithbones.com and will have another one coming soon as I also wrote about ‘The man with the bone’.

Summer watching and reading

So with the summer officially here the amount of TV shows that I watch has dwindled, it is lucky then that I have several shows that I would like to catch up on and that I also have a stack of books to get through, so here is my must list of shows/books that I would like to get through this summer:

• Friday Night Lights season 3: this arrived on DVD a few days ago and I only have three episodes left, it sucks that it is such a short season but I have thoroughly enjoyed what I have seen so far and will blog more on this when I have finished it (which will probably be by tomorrow).
• The Office seasons 4 and 5: so as I wrote about previously I finally got round to watching this show and have fallen in love with it. I’ve heard that these two seasons are not as good as the second and third but I am looking forward to seeing how the coupling of Pam and Jim will affect the shows dynamic.
• I need to catch up on Dexter season 3 and so will get it on DVD when it comes out in August, also in August the return of Mad Men to the small screen which I am also super excited about.
• I am weirdly tempted to get the new 90210 on DVD when it comes out this summer, good or bad decision? I do like teen shows such as The OC and Gossip Girl, but not ones like One Tree Hill and from what I have seen it does seem to fall in to the first category, and it has a Bluth in it.
• Speaking of teen drama, yesterday I started reading a Gossip Girl book, the prequel to be exact just to see how the TV show has evolved and deviated from the original source material. So far it is ok, not great, although I was surprised by the extreme attention to detail, but I guess it is this attention to materialistic items that the TV show can do in one shot that a book unfortunately needs sometimes excessive words to describe.
• On the book issue, I’m also considering reading a Kathy Reichs Bones book to see how different this is from the show. I also got extremely cheaply a Bones adapted novel not by Kathy Reichs but in the style of the show, so that will be intriguing (and potentially bad). I will write more on these when I get round to reading them.
• I also have the second volume of the Heroes graphic novel to read, I enjoyed the first volume so hopefully this second one will be just as good and perhaps fare better than the show has done of late.
• Also, thanks to Doc Jensen’s suggestion over at Entertainment Weekly for Lost inspired summer reading I am also tempted to read ‘Replay’ by Ken Grimwood.
• Other TV ideas that have been suggested include; over on Alan Sepinwall’s blog to rewatch Band Of Brothers which is by far one of my favourite programmes ever to appear on TV and over on Chucktv.net to watch Chuck from the start to keep focus on the show whilst it is on a long hiatus. I’m also going to start watching Lost from the beginning so to fill the Lost void that it the next eight or so months.

 

So this is my summer viewing/reading plan so far which I’m sure will adapt and have things added to it.

No Chuck announcement and finale week central

So, I failed at my attempt to blog every day a couple of weeks ago but I will try to be a bit more consistent in my entries. The Chuck banner is still up due to the lack of a solid confirmation as to whether the show will return for a third season, however several sources including Michael Ausiello from Entertainment Weekly and Nikki Finke have both been very positive regarding it getting renewed which makes me super happy. Hopefully the news regarding next season will be announced sooner rather than later.

    It is a big week for several of my favourite shows as it is the season enders for Fringe, Bones and Lost. I am yet to see last weeks Bones featuring Stewie Griffin from Family Guy which sounds like the most bizarre TV show crossover yet, I will hopefully be seeing that tomorrow and so will give my thoughts then. Also from what I have heard about the Bones season finale that also looks like a departure from the normal structure and I have also heard that some old faces will appear which I am looking forward to.

    Regarding Fringe, I think that this is a show that has gone from strength to strength with each episode and I am particularly enjoying the dynamic between Walter and Peter Bishop. Yes there was some shameless Star Trek plugging in last weeks episode ‘The Road Not Taken’ which I didn’t mind and I liked the use of Clint Howard (definitely a ‘hey it’s that guy) as the Star Trek obsessed conspiracy nut. I am looking forward to how this season will end and whether any questions will be answered. It will also be interesting to see how next season will look different regarding the location of filming moving from New York to Vancouver, I hoping for some more countryside based action rather than the mostly cityscape scenes we have had for the first season.

    The season finale for Lost is a mixture of anticipation and of disappointment, anticipation as I can’t wait to see how they are going to end the season and with what inevitable cliffhanger they will leave us with. The disappointment stems from having to wait until next January/February to find out what is going to happen next, it always seems so far away. I’m not sure how they will top finales of the past, but Michael Emerson who plays Ben Linus has said that the finale will ‘make you eat your soul’.

    So this will be a good week of television hopefully as I anticipate that all three finales will be match how much I have enjoyed the rest of the season.