Women in TV week: Alexandra Patsavas

The focus of today's profile is on Alexandra Patsavas the owner and founder of Chop Shop Music Supervision. This company is responsible for the music in several of my favourite shows; Chuck, Mad Men, Gossip Girl and the OC as well as others such as Greys Anatomy, Private Practice and Supernatural and the web series Rockville. They are also the company behind the excellent Twilight and New Moon soundtracks, both of which I own despite not being a Twilight fan, this is what happens when you get tracks by Thom Yorke and Radiohead, I will buy your album. As I have previously written about on several occasions soundtracks can often be a vital part of my enjoyment of TV and film, not just because music can help set the scene but also because my enjoyment can then go on for much longer after the screen has faded to black. I am always happy when I discover a new band via this medium and it has happened on many occasions thanks to Patsavas and Chop Shop Music. 

This is most evident in the case of Frightened Rabbit who I first heard in the Chuck season 3 premiere Chuck vs the Pink Slip where the song 'Backwards Walk' was used, this prompted me to check out their MySpace which I really liked, I got some of their old albums then their new one and I'm seeing them live this weekend. I may have still discovered them without this appearance in Chuck but it would've taken longer and I would have probably missed this gig. Phantom Planet is another band that I discovered through their use in a Josh Schwartz show, but not how you would expect. I was not a fan of the theme song 'California' from The OC (except for the slowed down version that was used in season 3 episode 2 and features on The OC mix 5 CD) and so when I heard 'Raise the Dead' in the season 2 Gossip Girl episode 'The Serena Also Rises' I was surprised to hear it was them and I am now a big fan despite my original reservations. It was also in this episode that I heard Lady Gaga for the first time with the song 'Poker Face' and I knew it was going to be a good one when the episode started with a favourite of mine Conor Oberst's 'NYC- Gone, Gone'.

Patsavas and Chop Shop music don't only use new and upcoming bands and artists but they also use some well known music, especially in Chuck which is the show amongst all that they represent that references many things in pop culture so it has been brilliant that Huey Lewis and the News. Talking Heads, Heart and Rush have been some of the bands that have featured on the soundtrack. Chuck is probably the Josh Schwartz show that has had the least said about the music but it is probably my favourite in regards to the music used and I would really love for a soundtrack CD to made, this is where my petition starts for this to happen. The use of Bon Iver in season 2 was one of my favourite musical choices with 'Skinny Love', 'Blood Bank' and 'Creature Fear' all getting used to chronicle different parts of the Chuck/Sarah relationship from the bad moments ('Skinny Love') to the good ('Creature Fear'). I knew that I was going to like Chuck soundtrack from the pilot when I heard The Shins 'A Comet Appears' was used over the pivotal scene at the end of the episode.

The success of Chop Shop Music in TV is most evident by The OC, a show that span for four seasons but that produced six separate soundtracks (including a Chrismukkah mix). The OC as a show really did utilise the idea of music and it's importance with teenagers, mostly exemplified by Seth and his love for Death Cab For Cutie. The first appearance of live music in the show was in season 1 when they went to see Rooney, this became a regular thing in season 2 when the Bait Shop (much like the Peach Pit in the original Beverly Hills 90210) was used as a music venue in Newport Beach where bands such as The Killers, Death Cab For Cutie, The Thrills. Modest Mouse and The Walkman appeared. The use of the Jeff Buckley version of 'Hallelujah' as a song that made Marissa think of Ryan (season 1 episode 2 'The Model Home') and its use in the season 1 finale was inspired in which it echoed when Ryan first came to Newport (this clip has had over a staggering 6 million plays):

However, and this is my only major criticism of the music in the show was that when Marissa died at the end of season 3, instead of the Jeff Buckley version of 'Hallelujah' Imogen Heap's was used instead. For some reason I cannot get on board with Heap as an artist and I have found her inclusion on the soundtrack to not just The OC (The Last Kiss being another) as rather jarring, particularly in emotion heavy scenes. This was most evident for me when the song 'Hide and Seek' was played at Caleb's funereal and I ended up really disliking the scene. Music can really work in both ways, to make a scene better or to make it worse and unfortunately the use of Imogen Heap always goes the latter way for me. Rant over.
The importance of the use of music in The OC can be seen through the exclusive first plays that it had for several big recording artists. The first was in season 1 when The Beastie Boys debuted their new single 'Ch-Check it Out' on April 28th 2004 in the episode 'The Strip'. This followed in season 2 with two major first plays, episode 15 'The Mallpisode' (aired March 10th 2005) which was also dubbed the Beckisode as it featured five new songs from his then unreleased album 'Gurero'. The other was Coldplay's 'Fix You' which got it's first airing in the May 12th 2005 episode 'The O.Sea' and was the song that played Caleb's death, Seth and Summers first prom dance and Ryan just makes it to prom, it was a great choice of scene for this song and worked well will all the turmoil and potential hope that played out for all the characters.:

Gossip Girl has had musical cameo's as well, Lisa Loeb was part of the 'Top 10 Forgotten Bands of the 90s' (along with Rufus' band Lincoln Hawk) in the season 1 episode 17 'Woman on the Verge' and she performed her hit 'Stay'. Cyndi Lauper also appeared as herself in season 2 'Bonfire of the Vanity' but did not perform. No Doubt starred as eighties band Snowed Out and performed the Adam and the Ants song 'Stand and Deliver' in the Lily based eighties flashback episode 'Valley Girls'. The appearances haven't stopped there and perhaps the most impressive appearance to date was getting Sonic Youth to perform 'Star Power' in the episode 'Rufus Getting Married' which got all the music bloggers talking. Lady Gaga has also been in Gossip Girl in season 3, performing 'Bad Romance' in 'The Last Days of the Disco Stick'.
Patsavas founded Chop Shop Music in 1998 and in the 10 years that have passed she has really created a dominant company in the realm of soundtracks and it is for this achievement that I wanted to detail why I think what Patsavas and her team have done in this time is impressive and how it has had a direct influence on some of the music that I have fallen in love with. I am glad that I can round this week off with another women who has had great achievements in television and why it gives me hope that women in TV in all facets are achieving great success.

Women in TV week: Stephanie Savage

When thinking of the creative folks behind The OC and Gossip Girl Josh Schwartz might be the name that springs to mind, the other that should do is Stephanie Savage who co-created Gossip Girl with Schwartz and who served as a writer and producer on The OC. As she is perhaps the lesser known name and because her work on these two teen shows have had an impact on the television landscape I wanted to feature Savage as the third profile in my look at women in television.

Savage started her Hollywood career as a writer for Drew Barrymore's production company, this was the jumping block for her venture in to teen television as it is where she met McG (who served as a producer on The OC) and later became acquainted with Josh Schwartz who was the creator of The OC. For me The OC was a resurrection of the teen drama genre (even though I was just out of my teens when the show started); it had an attractive cast, a great soundtrack, fashion and adult characters that were well developed and likeable. Though the show might in some ways be responsible for MTV 'reality' shows Laguna Beach and The Hills and therefore the introduction of Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt into popular culture. That aside the show started well and despite depleted ratings by the end of its run it served as an important show in the cycle of teen dramas. The fact that it aired on Fox now seems kind of odd considering that now teen shows are mainly on the CW, a network catered for this type of audience and one where ratings of who watches the show live are not as important necessarily as other factors such as buzz and iTunes figures.

This is where Gossip Girl and Stephanie Savage have thrived. A term that both Savage and Schwartz have used to describe the importance of other factors outside of audience figures is 'cultural permeation', that the show is recognised as being successful outside of ratings due to the high volume of discussion that the show has prompted. This type of discussion might only be within certain demographics, mainly the 18-25 female demo but this is an important one in regard to advertisers and it is definitely a show that is energised by the fashion and music that it features. Savage has said regarding fashion choices that they are 'making a magazine show every week and setting the trend' and this has transferred in to Gossip Girl inspired clothing at stores such as Target, with the UK chain Miss Selfridge launching a range this coming April. Influences can be seen in teen magazines and other fashion outlets; the idea of a headband has now in some ways become synonymous with Blair Waldorf. In this respect the programme is much more than it's 42 minute air time and it is this extra curricular activity that Savage seems to understand the best.

Despite being fully into my twenties the teen based TV genre is one that still appeals, maybe it's the frivolous nature, the clothes, the music or the actors who are actually about my age but playing people much younger that still draws me in, or that in shows such as Gossip Girl and The OC that the adult characters play as important parts to the story dynamic rather than being there to serve as obstacles to the younger leads. Savage finds writing for young characters appealing because 'the stage is seems so huge and everyone is doing everything for the first time ' and that 'you just forgive young characters more and they can do some pretty crazy things, but you still route for them and hope they figure it out'. 

Up next for Savage other than more writing and producing on Gossip Girl is a script draft of The Au Pairs; another book adaptation of a popular teen series written by Melissa de la Cruz. In a similar vein to Gossip Girl these books explore rich teens, this time in the Hamptons. Savage will also serve as a producer on the Josh Schwartz film remake of 'Bright Lights, Big City' which chronicles a disillusioned magazine writer who tries to numb the pain of his failed marriage with drink, drugs and women and in the 1988 original starred Michael J. Fox and Kiefer Sutherland. This creative relationship with Schwartz is still going strong and whilst he may be the bigger name of the two, Savage is a vital part of this dynamic and I look forward to what they will both produce with regards to both two projects. 

Women in TV week: Mindy Kaling

In 2007 Christopher Hitchens for Vanity Fair wrote a provocative piece entitled 'Why Women Aren't Funny' (they followed this up a year later with a women in comedy cover story), with this in mind I wanted to look at one area of television where women seem to be making a big impact at the moment and that is in comedy. Women in comedy TV shows is obviously not a new concept; I Love Lucy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls all spring to mind as great examples of this. It would seem at the moment that on NBC primarily it is women who are the cornerstone to the Thursday night comedy line up and when thinking of these shows the names Tina Fey and Amy Poehler automatically spring to mind for good reason. The idea though behind my blog this week is to profile women who are inspirational but who might not get the coverage that they deserve and for me the funniest woman in TV at the moment is Mindy Kaling. 

Mindy Kaling plays Kelly Kapoor in The Office and is also a writer and a co-executive producer on the show. Kapoor is the girl in the office who is primarily concerned with romance and celebrity gossip and like many of her co-workers her role at Dunder Mifflin is an after thought. A lot of the brilliance of Kelly is through her incessant chatter about whatever real life relationship crisis is occurring at that time or what is going on with Brangelina in the gossip world. I especially love the gossip references as I am a not so secret gossip junkie, I love all things ohnotheydidnt and Us Weekly so I am always especially thrilled when this type of stuff gets a mention. The long standing on/off relationship between Kelly and Ryan (BJ Novak) is another highlight in this show with one of my favourite moments being when after Ryan slates Dunder Mifflin in his business lecture (Business School 3.16) Michael punishes him by moving his desk to the annex with Kelly (this also in turn punishes Toby (Paul Lieberstein)). Kelly in the season four episode Dunder Mifflin Infinity pretends that she is a pregnant to get Ryan back, this plan does not go according to plan with Ryan even trying to outsource Kapoor's job to India in retaliation.  

The brilliance of the Office is that the array of characters from the leads to the group as a whole keeps the programme funny and fresh and it is quite often that the moments with the side characters such as Kelly, Angela or Creed are the funniest of the episodes. I think that this has helped the longevity of the show as the more peripheral characters have developed further which has led to a range of stories beyond Michael (Steve Carell), Pam (Jenna Fischer), Jim (John Krasinski) and Dwight (Rainn Wilson). 

It is not just Kaling's portrayal of Kapoor that makes her vital to the world of The Office as she has to date written 14 episodes including this seasons big Pam and Jim wedding episode Niagara which I don't mind admitting got me all misty eyed. Other favourites of mine that she has written include season 2 'The Injury', season 4 'Branch Wars' and season 5 double bill 'Lecture Circuit'. It is this position as writer that shows that women can both act funny and write funny and that even though female comedy writers are not all that common, there are at least some who show that it can be done. I actually was aware of Kaling from her writing before I actually saw any of The Office as I was late to the show having only really caught up on the entire run last year. An article that Kaling had written in Marie Claire magazine about living alone caught my eye and for some reason stuck with me, it was the mix of humour and pop culture references that caught my eye that when I started watching The Office and realised that this was the same person as Kelly it made a whole lot of sense that she was also one of the writers. The gift that Kaling has with comedic writing was further exemplified in a short piece she wrote for the New York Times about constructing a fake family rather than telling a parking attendant that she was unmarried and didn't have kids. Once again working in references to pop culture treats such as 'Big' and 'Elf' as well as being able to capture emotion and humour is why I really like Kaling's work. This is why I am looking forward to her work outside of The Office which includes teaming up with fellow Office scribe Brent Forrester to write the film The Low Self Esteem of Lizzie Gillespie.

This week also marks Kaling's first episode of the Office that she is directing, as previously she has directed the short Office video 'Subtle Sexuality' (which I will include at the end). This video was genius mixing the fashion and dance moves of Beyonce and Lady Gaga and it also cemented my love for new character Erin, and any video that has Ed Helms singing is a pure win for me and I hope that there will be more of this on the season 6 DVD. Kaling is also a big tweeter and you can follow her @mindykaling on twitter, it is well worth it for Office scoop and other observations on the world which include her love of fashion, movies and pop culture.

Women in TV week: Tami Taylor (Connie Britton)

The theme of this years International Women's Day is 'Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all' so I thought it was apt to start my women in TV week with a character/actress that in Friday Night Light exemplifies this theme; Connie Britton who plays Tami Taylor. 

The idea of writing specifically about women in television may seem to go against the notion of equality for all, why aren't I writing about men as well you might ask? The reason for this focus is because there is still a lack of equality even now in television, mainly behind the camera regarding certain roles for women and I wanted to look at those who are helping bring equality whether it be through acting, writing or directing. As last nights Academy Awards showed women are making a break through in these roles but it will be better when gender is not something that is mentioned in conjunction with these accolades; when the words woman and director aren't a rarity at an awards show and when the celluloid ceiling is well and truly broken. In the mean time I think it is a positive thing to highlight the women who inspire us to get this equality, not so that we are better than our male counterparts but so we can share the same platform without it seeming like a rare moment.

With this in mind I wanted to look at the character of Tami Taylor from Friday Night Lights as someone who encapsulates the idea that women can be equal, whether in the work place or at home. I'm going to concentrate on story arcs from the first three seasons as even though season 4 has aired on Direct TV it will be returning to NBC at the end of April which will be when the majority will see it.
One of the major strengths of Friday Night Lights is the writing and the freedom that the actors are given with the scripts. This sounds like an oxymoron, however it is the fact that the dialogue at times is improvised that gives this show the realistic sound that sets it apart from other dramas. Conversations sound really instead of forced, people talk over each other and stumble on words and it is in these moments that Friday Night Lights can excel. The realism in the marriage between Tami and Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) is something that I love about this show and it is through the natural conversation between the two whether it is in a heated argument or if they are just talking about their day that makes this programme special. It is this dynamic that allows for this idea of equality for all to shine, neither one is in charge of the other, they are equal to one another. Yes they may hide things from one another on occasion, and Tami is the more vocal of the two with Eric quite often doing most of the talking through his facial expressions rather than words, but as a viewer you always know that they will talk it out in the end and all will be good even if chaos surrounds them (and by chaos I generally mean the boosters).
In three seasons the character has gone from a stay at home mum, to guidance counselor at the school, to having another baby and then becoming principal at Dillon High. This upward career trajectory has meant that as a character we have seen Tami wrestle with conflicting feelings of being both a mother and having a career and has shown the balancing act that many woman go through. With this they showed the guilt of a mother having to put their child in daycare and how this can make someone feel like a bad mother. In season 2 whilst Eric was coaching at TMU away from home in Austin, the vulnerable side of Tami was fully exposed, with a new born child and her eldest daughter Julie (Aimee Teegarden) becoming the pure definition of teenage brat we saw Tami reach an all time low when she retaliated to Julies rebellion by slapping her face. This moment followed by the subsequent momentary breakdown of this character showed that whilst Tami is a woman who is a strong, there are still moments that can break us and this is when we need the strengths of others to return us to who we are, and in this case it was her husband.

The relationship between Tami and Julie is one that has evolved through these three seasons from one of parental protection to the understanding that Julie is becoming a woman and there is no point in trying to hold her back rather the best course of action is to be there for guidance and as someone who can help with a simple hug. The discussions about sex that these two have had on several occasions are examples of where Tami can seem overbearing but she gives out good advice, as if this is the advice that she wishes she had been given as a young woman (it is mentioned at points that she had a turbulent relationship with her own mother). It is all about the notion of respect, how woman should respect themselves so others will respect them and I think that this is a positive message for any woman no matter what your age. Yes Julie has been a brat, but this is another example of the realism of this show as I am sure we've all spoken to our parents in a disrespectful way at some point in our lives and acted out. What makes it special is that even through their difficult moments with each other they really do have a strong mother/daughter bond and this is one element that I love about this show.

The manner in which Tami helped Tyra (Adrianne Palicki) realise her potential and become more than just another small town girl throughout the first three seasons was a joy to watch. It wasn't the Disney fairytale at first with Tami herself pegging Tyra as a bad girl influence and it wasn't until she helped Tyra after her mother had a drunken accident that a bond was formed. This bond allowed Tyra to realise that she was more than just a waitress who would never get in to college and with the help of Landry this goal was achieved. This story arc was one I particularly enjoyed, Friday Night Lights is a show that isn't afraid to beat it's characters down but it will also show that good can happen as long as you work hard to achieve your goals.

As a character she is inspiring for many reason that I have listed above and she really does comply to this notion that women and men can be equal and this is what we see in her relationship with her husband and those that she works with and it is because of this that she is a character that I love to watch. It is because of these reasons that I chose her as one of the women in TV at the moment that I wanted to profile and I look forward to seeing her in more Friday Night Lights and with whatever opportunities come Connie Brittons way when life in Dillon Texas comes to a close. Also no one says y'all like Tami Taylor.
Here is an interview with Connie Britton about what we can expect from season 4:

Jimmy Kimmel 'Handsome Men's Club'

Jimmy Kimmel once again post the Academy Awards show has produced another excellent skit that brings together many a famous face. I'm not going to ruin who is in this video, you'll have to watch and see but my giant hint is that some are regulars in the world of the Kimmel skit videos:

International Women's Day 8th March

This Monday is International Women's Day and in honour of this next week I am going to profile women in television at this time who, both behind and in front of the camera are examples of the great contribution to television. I am interested in the idea of the 'celluloid ceiling' which as a concept suggests that women are statistically the minority gender in Hollywood, this unfortunately does appear to be the case with women representing a small amount of directors and writers. What I intend to look at is those women who are leading the way in these fields as well as those women who in front of the camera portray characters who will further the idea that women are equal to men in all facets of the world. This is a project that I have been looking at for some time and it is always one that I think of whenever I am watching Friday Night Lights (Tami Taylor has this effect on me), so I am really looking forward to sharing with you all the talented women that you are already aware of and some you may be less familiar with.
This marks the 99th International Women's Day after it started way back in 1911. This is definitely something to be proud of and the world has come a significant way since then, there is still a way to go but I am looking forward to celebrating those women in television who are aiding this. If you would like to find out more about International Women's Day go here.

Lost gets the Simpsons treatment

This is all kinds of awesome:





Source: The Springfield Punx