Please Everyone Watch Cougar Town Tomorrow Night!!

I have literally been looking forward to tomorrow night for months!  Why, you ask?  Could it be I have special Valentine’s Day plans? Hell no!  I have been waiting for the third season of Cougar Town FOREVER!!!!

“Ewwww, Cougar Town?  Isn’t that that show about old ladies who sleep with younger guys?”  That is probably what most of you are thinking, but the answer is NO NO NO!!!!  It is in my opinion, the best show on tv right now.  It is definitely my favorite comedy show of all time (tied with Arrested Development).  This show is so amazing…..it makes me literally laugh out loud and cry in the same episode.  I love all of the characters and totally want them to adopt me into their Cul-de-Sac Crew.

So, for those of you newbies out there, Cougar Town DID start out as a show about Jules (Courtney Cox), who was recently divorced, dating younger guys.  That only lasted about six episodes.  Around episode seven of the first season, it really became about Jules’ group of friends and family and all the hilarious misadventures they get up to.

It is by the same lovely people who brought you Scrubs, and I know a lot of you out there are Scrubs fans.  This show has several familiar faces from that series popping up on occasion and is just as funny (in my opinion a lot more funny) than that beloved series.  You all know how fickle I am about tv shows.  I break up with them at the drop of a hat, so professing my love for a show is not something I do every day.  I own both seasons 1 and 2 on DVD, and I have literally watched disc 3 of season 1 at least six times.

It is hard to describe what I love about the show, because it is just so perfect that it is difficult to pick out one thing.  I think I would have to say it is the running gags and inside jokes that are in all of the episodes.  Grayson’s guitar, Big Joe/Big Carl, Jules’ finger guns, Penny Can, and my favorite–Ellie’s imaginary tip of the hat that no one seems to understand.  But don’t let that fool you into thinking that you can’t pick up on the show right now.  I have heard that they specifically created the first episode of season 3 to kind of introduce new viewers, so PLEASE WATCH TOMORROW!!  Watch with your valentine if you have to, I promise you will not be disappointed.

Here are a couple of videos to show you how awesome it is.  One of them is the season 3 highlight reel, which contains a lot of spoilers, but for some reason I am not too worried about it.  Even if I know what is going to happen I know it will still be hilarious!!

Here is a scene from the end of my favorite episode.  I totally want to hang out with all of these people!!!!  And I LOVE that they make Travis and Smith carry the keg 🙂

Here is a video of Grayson’s top ten moments:

And finally, here is the season 3 highlight reel:  I think I’ve watched it 4 times 🙂

So anyway, that is what I will be doing tomorrow night at 7:30 on ABC.

Jen

P.S.  Sorry, I haven’t posted in so long, hopefully this will be the first of many posts on here.

 

I Love Lucy Too

This weekend has been full of my favorite 2 things:  I’ve spent most of the time reading and listening to the last 3 Harry Potter books, but during breaks I watched a few episodes of I Love Lucy.  You may have heard how yesterday was Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday.  Google even had an awesome doodle for it.  I’m a big I Love Lucy fan and have been since I was a kid.  Granted, it can be hard to watch at times with all the “Yes sir”s and other forms of husbands dominating wives, but I try to view it as a look into life in the ’50s and how far we’ve come in women’s rights.

At its best, I Love Lucy is an excellent sitcom of hijinks and misunderstandings.  It’s probably the grandmother of all modern sitcoms.  I think for the millions of people who watch it around the world, or at least for me!, it represents something safe and uncomplicated.  If I’m feeling off, I watch a few episodes.  If I’m working on something and just want some background noise, I put in a disc.  I own all 9 seasons.  🙂  (FYI: There are 6 regular seasons of half-hour episodes.  After that, they expanded to shorter, hour-long episodes that ran for 3 years.)

Even if you’re not familiar with the show, you’re sure to know of a few famous episodes–

Lucy Does a TV Commercial (the Vitameatavegamin episode)

Job Switching (the chocolate factory episode)

L.A. At Last (where she accidentally sets her nose on fire while wearing a disguise in front of William Holden)

As much as I love the episodes where they are in California and Europe and that feature celebrities of the ’50s, some of the best ones are in the earlier seasons when they’re in their apartment in New York.  There are so many good episodes to choose from but here are a few of my favorite lesser-known episodes you don’t want to miss!

The Séance
Season 1.  Lucy and Ethel believe in Numerology…and so does the man Ricky is trying to get a job from.  This whole scene is one of my favorites ever.

Ricky Thinks He’s Getting Bald

Season 1. Lucy tries to give Ricky painful scalp treatments so he’ll stop being worried about his hair.

Equal Rights

Season 3. The girls demand equal rights as men, but when they all go out to dinner and the guys make them pay, Lucy and Ethel don’t have any money and are forced to do dishes in the kitchen.  Then they try to get even with Ricky and Fred.  I love the way they skip back after the phone call.

The Charm School

Season 3.  A new young woman entices all of the men in their group, so Lucy and Ethel go to charm school to make them more attractive to their husbands.  Again, this is one of my favorite scenes ever.  YouTube is so great.  Ethel especially makes me laugh everytime.

Ethel’s Hometown

Season 4.  On their way to California, the Ricardos and Mertzes stop in Ethel’s hometown, where she has led everyone to believe *she* is the one on her way to become a star and holds her own show while in town.  This episode might be my all-time favorite, actually.  Btw, if anyone knows how they do the swinging thing at the end, please let me know. It’s been bugging me for years!

Those are mine!  What are some of your favorites?

– Jill

Documentary Monday~~Typhoid Mary (Nova Special)

Title—Typhoid Mary: The Most Dangerous Woman in America

Year–1993

Summary–This special that originally aired on Nova tells the story of Mary Mallon, an Irish immigrant cook in New York who was a healthy carrier of typhoid.  She infected numerous people with the disease and was eventually quarantined by the Department of Public Health.

My Thoughts–I picked this up at the library because I just finished reading Deadly by Julie Chibbaro and I wanted to learn more about the infamous “Typhoid Mary.”  Unfortunately, I didn’t really learn any new information that I hadn’t discovered from reading the book.  I did discover that Miss Chibbaro did an awfully good job of researching the topic.

Even though I didn’t learn a lot of new info, I still really enjoyed this special.  Before I read Deadly, I didn’t know anything about Typhoid Mary.  She was discovered in 1906 as a healthy carrier of the typhoid fever disease.  This was a radical idea at the time when scientists were just beginning to learn about the bacteria that causes disease.  Mary Mallon had never been sick in her life but the families that she cooked for kept coming down with typhoid.

When I read Deadly, the story was told from the point of view of the health officials, so I didn’t really have much sympathy for Mary at all.  She resisted the officials at every turn and refused to believe that she had ever made anyone sick.  I was happy when she got put into quarantine because I knew she couldn’t do any more damage.  When I watched Typhoid Mary, I found myself feeling much differently about her.  I realized how crazy the scientists must have sounded when they told her that she had typhoid and was spreading it around.  If I was a perfectly healthy person who knew nothing about bacteria, I would be pretty pissed off if somebody wanted a sample of my pooh.

But, as several historians point out in the documentary, she loses sympathy when she goes right back to cooking for people once she is released!  What were you thinking Mary???  Typhoid is transmitted through food!!!  We might not be talking about you today if you had just disappeared into history as a maid or a laundry worker.

A couple of interesting tidbits about this special.  They have actors playing several of the key historical figures including Mary.  At first I thought this was super cheesy, but after a while I got used to it and it actually added a lot to the show.  Also, Anthony Bourdain is one of the guys they interview.  Huh?  Is it because he’s a chef and Mary was a cook???  I didn’t really get it, but it was nice to see someone I recognized.

Final Verdict–Great introduction to the topic of Typhoid Mary.  I thought it did a good job of showing both sides to the story and portraying her as something other than the monster she is known as today.

Jen

 

Portlandia

Are you guys watching the tv show Portlandia?  It’s a sketch comedy show on Independent Film Channel with Fred Armisen from SNL and Carrie Brownstein.  So far I’ve only seen 2 episodes, but I like it.  I first heard about the show from one of my co-workers who shared this video with me.

Put a bird on it!

The first episode I saw had this segment, which I also love.

http://www.hulu.com/embed/10Q0vnHX0nL3VF-mDIHouw

There are also some guest stars that pop up in scenes.  So far I’ve seen Kyle McLachlan as the mayor of Portland and Aubrey Plaza (April from Parks and Recreation).  Apparently there’s also an episode where Fred and Carrie find out that their maid is Aimee Mann.  I can’t wait to see that one!

– Jill

I want to be friends with Amy Poehler

I was watching Parks and Recreation this week and decided I really want to be friends with Amy Poehler.  Why?

1.  She’s a comic genius.  I miss her being on SNL, but I’m happy she’s on Parks & Rec.

2.  She and her friends started Smart Girls at the Party!!!

3.  Leslie Knope is awesome and therefore Amy Poehler must be too.

4.  She is always funny and charming on talk shows.  She’s a classy lady.

5.  Married to Will Arnett!!  They are my favorite celebrity couple.  Although if we all hung out, I would probably accidentally call them G.O.B. and G.O.B.’s Wife.  🙂

BTW, Parks and Recreation has been especially awesome lately.  I loved the last two episodes for sure.  Although I’ve pretty much loved every episode since Adam Scott (Ben Wyatt) came on board.  🙂

– Jill

Phineas and Ferb Friday #3

One of my favorite things about this show is the theme song.  It is so catchy and I literally find myself singing it all the time.

The song is sung by Bowling For Soup which I mainly remember from their amazing song that I used to listen to over and over again, “Girl All the Bad Guys Want.”

Whoa, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that video before…..why was that guy on the toilet?  And was that the kid from Salute Your Shorts at the end???  Weirdness.

Anyway, one of my favorite Phineas and Ferb moments ever is when the band makes a real appearance on the show.  Here is a scene from one of my fave episodes, “Phineas and Ferb’s Quantum Bugaboo” where Phineas and Ferb go to the future and visit their nephews.

I love to watch that video and pick out the things they actually did, from the stuff that is just made up (for example, they have raced chariots, but have not skiied down a mountain of beans).

Happy Friday everyone!

Jen

 

Phineas and Ferb Friday #2

My favorite character on Phineas and Ferb (besides Perry the Platypus) is Ferb.  Ferb has been described many times on the show as a man of few words.  He usually has around one line per episode.  Sometimes they really go crazy and give him two, and at least once he had a speech!  Ferb is sort of a man of mystery, but we do know that he is a phenomenal dancer, knows people all over the world, has a crush on Vanessa Doofenshmirtz, and is most definitely not an alien (no matter what Candace says).

Here is a video that throws together some of Ferb’s best lines.  It’s a little rough, but it does have some great things in it.  My personal favorite is at the 1:00 minute mark when Ferb takes out Buford and says “Well, he was all up in my face.”  Heeheee

Ferb is voiced by Thomas Sangster.  He is a fantastic British actor who you might know from Love Actually, or Nanny McPhee, or in Lindsay’s case, Dr. Who.  He very recently played Paul McCartney in Nowhere Boy.  Nowhere Boy should ring a bell for the Nerdgirls because that movie stars none other than the Sex God himself, Aaron Johnson.  He is also sometimes known as Kick Ass.

So if you are not a big fan of Phineas and Ferb, you can at least check out the movie Nowhere Boy, which looks amazing!  I haven’t seen it yet because my library copy is always checked out (I’m so happy that my small town library patrons have such highbrow taste in independent films!).  Here is the wonderful trailer, and make sure to keep your eyes open for Thomas!

Happy Friday everyone!  I am off to Chicago to hang with my fellow Nerdgirls!

Jen

P.S.  I am a little nervous to watch Nowhere Boy because the whole time I will be thinking, “this is the movie where Aaron Johnson fell in love with the old lady.”  Eugh.

iOMG!!!!

So most of us Nerdgirls are big fans of iCarly.  I adore this show with all my heart.  I am pretty sure I need to be doing a post pretty soon about Spencer being a fictional character I would date.  Love him!!

Well, I was casually sitting in my apartment, chilling out and watching Nickelodeon when this commercial came on:  (Be prepared to gasp people)

Eeeeeeeeeep!!  Wow, is it just me, or does it look like there is going to be some Sam and Freddie action going on???  I know many people are firmly in the Team Carly or Team Sam camp as far as Freddie is concerned.  I am sort of ambivalent.  Either one is fine by me, I just want Freddie to get the girl in the end.

Of course this episode has to air on Saturday night, when I actually have plans for the first time in ages!  Oh well, I will have to catch it in reruns.

Jen

P.S.  If I ever get a dog, I think I might name it Fredward.

For Jen – and anyone else who loves PSYCH

You know you’re obsessed with the USA tv show Psych when…

• You have started to eat more pineapple.  Sure, it’s mostly on pizza, but still.
• You have a dream where Shawn is interested in you, not Juliet.
• Anytime you hear someone describe the show The Mentalist, you assume they’re talking about Psych (because the plots are basically the same).
• Every little blue car you see around town reminds you of Gus.
• Every little blue car you see around town that reminds you of Gus also makes you remember hearing somewhere (an audio commentary?) that the little blue car Gus drives is actually only sold in Canada, and since you’re not in Canada, it’s not Gus.  Yeah, that’s actually your thought process that makes you conclude it can’t be Gus.
• You kind of want to take a vacation to Vancouver so you can try to track down where Psych is filming.
• You follow Dulé Hill on twitter.
• You totally want the adorable-ness at the end of the roller derby episode to happen to you…preferably with Shawn.  (Apologies for not having a video.  I can’t find one easily on youtube, and I don’t want to watch too many videos since I haven’t seen season 5 yet.)
• You downloaded the Boyz II Men version of the theme song from the episode High Top Fade Out.

Maybe I’ll do a post sometime about why you should watch Psych.

P.S.  I just discovered Psych-outs today, and this one made me laugh A LOT.  Enjoy!

– Jill

Phineas and Ferb Friday~~Clip Shows

Tonight there is a new episode of Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel!  Yippee!!  It is called “Phineas’ Birthday Clip-o-Rama.”  So, in other words, it’s a clip show.

Some people really hate clip shows.  They see it as a way to repackage old stuff and try to pass it off as a new episode.  I tend to be a glass-is-half-full type of gal when it comes to clip shows.  I like to think of it as a way to revisit some of my favorite moments from a show all at once without having to juggle a million dvds.

So in honor of Phineas’ Birthday Clip Show, here a few of my favorite clip shows off the top of my head.

*SNL Best of Clip Shows–I am not a big fan of watching entire episodes of Saturday Night Live.  First of all, because live television scares me and makes me too nervous to watch (I’m so scared they will mess up!).  Also, because the sketches are usually so hit and miss.  But when I sit down and watch a “Best of…” clip show and I am always guaranteed genuine laughs.  My favorites would have to be Will Ferrell, Chris Farley, and Jimmy Fallon (cuz he’s so pretty).

*The Carol Burnett Show–They used to show these on tv every once in a while, and I would watch them and roll on the floor with laughter.  I have never watched an actual episode of The Carol Burnett Show, but the clip shows combining all the best stuff are amazing!  Carol Burnett as Scarlett O’Hara!  Tim Conway making Harvey Korman laugh!  The original Mama’s Family!  All priceless.

*Friends: The One With the Invitation–This is the clip show that aired right before Ross and Emily’s wedding.  It shows every great Ross and Rachel moment from the first four seasons of the show.  For Ross and Rachel fans, this is the perfect way to see their whole relationship play out over twenty-some minutes.

*Seinfeld: The Chronicle–The clip show that aired right before the last episode of Seinfeld is the best clip show I have ever seen.  I LOVE the fact that they still show it in syndication, so I get to catch it every once in a while.  This hour-long episode has the perfect mixture of clips, musical montages, and bloopers.  Seinfeld is not my favorite show, actually it doesn’t even crack the top ten, but I could watch this episode over and over.  The ending montage set to “Good Riddance” by Green Day makes me a little teary each time I see it.  I think it is that picture of Julia Louis-Dreyfus at 0:51 looking so distraught that gets me.

So, are you a fan of clip shows, or do you roll your eyes in disgust when your favorite show tries to pull a fast one on you?

Jen

P.S.  I refuse to acknowledge that it is April Fool’s Day, since as a very gullible person, it is my least favorite day of the year.