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.

 

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

I Want Phineas and Ferb To Be My Little Brothers!

Phineas and Ferb is my new favorite can’t-miss-it tv show.  It has been on the Disney Channel (which is my the channel I watch more than any other) for a few years now, but I have always ignored it.  I think it was because it was an animated show, so it did not fit in with the other Disney Channel shows.  Also, I felt like it was ALWAYS on tv, so I would be flipping through the channels hoping to find Hannah Montana or an awesome DCOM and I would think, “Man!  Phineas and Ferb is on again!!  Blerg!!”  Now, I curse myself for ever thinking that.

Let me state this for all of you who don’t know it:  “PHINEAS AND FERB IS AMAZING!”  It is hilarious and it gets even funnier with every episode that you see because there are so many in-jokes and references to previous episodes.

The basic premise of every episode (which are each about 11 minutes long) is Phineas and Ferb build some outrageously awesome invention in their backyard.  Their sister Candace spends all her time trying to “bust them.”  In other words, she tries to get their mom to realize what they are up to.  While all this is going on, their pet platypus Perry (who is a secret agent) goes off and tries to stop Dr. Doofenschmirtz from carrying out his evil plans.

Perry the Platypus in secret agent mode

My favorite characters are Ferb (who almost never speaks, but when he does it is Thomas Sangster doing the voice who was the little boy in Love Actually!!), Perry the Platypus (who has the best facial expressions EVER–trust me, he does), the Mom (how she puts up with Candace I will never know!), and Baljeet (I’m a huge groupie of The Baljeatles).

Baljeet and his friend Buford the bully (can you guess which is which?)

If any of that sounds confusing, don’t worry, it is pretty easy to pick up on.  Some of my favorite episodes in case you want to start watching (most of them can be found on YouTube) are “Vanessassary Roughness,” “Oh There You Are Perry,” “Greece Lightning,” “Hail Doofania,” “Swiss Family Phineas,” “Isabella and the Temple of Sap,” “Finding Mary McGuffin,” and “The Chronicles of Meap.”

Most of the episodes have songs and several of them are very catchy.  I adore the Evil Love song from “Chez Platypus.”  If you can get past Dr. Doofenschmirtz’s terrible voice, the song itself is really pretty.  I also love Come Home Perry from “Oh There You Are Perry.”

Here is one episode to get you addicted to the show.  It doesn’t really follow the regular premise, but I LOVE it!!!  I think my favorite part is when Candace says “Am I sweating milk?”  heeheeheeeeee

So if you’ve never given this show a chance, you should at least check out a few episodes.  Right now it seems to be on from 8-10 in the morning central time so you could watch it while you get ready for work.  I know I’m not the only adult who loves this show (I have an inkling that over half the fan base is parents who watch it with their kids), so don’t be embarrassed.

Jen

P.S.  One of my favorite things about this show is that Ferb has a crush on Dr. Doofenschmirtz’z daughter Vanessa who is played by Olivia Olson who was Joanna in Love Actually.  That means the two little kids who were in love in that movie are crushing on each other again in this show!!!!

A Post About a Different Vampire Show

Happy BEDA!

Several months ago I decided to rewatch the entire series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  It all began because I wanted to watch TWO awesome episodes, but I figured it would be better to watch them in order to get to them.  I finally hit the first one I’d wanted to see.

“Hush” Season 4, Episode 10*

*This will be spoiler-free for all of you who have yet to experience the greatness that is Buffy or if you’re Joanna who’s working her way through earlier episodes. (Right?)

The episode follows the basic formula – big bads come to Sunnydale, wreak havoc, and the Scooby Gang gears up to kick some butt.  However, the genious of this episode written and directed by Buffy creator Joss Whedon is that for about 40 minutes of the episode there are NO HUMAN VOICES. It’s a mostly quiet episode with the exception of things like fighting grunts and one computerized voice. The silence makes it unique and makes viewers (or just me) a little more uneasy.  Kind of like the movie with Audrey Hepburn I blogged about before.  (See: Post on Wait Until Dark)

Another aspect of the genious that is the Hush episode is the humor of the cast when silent. Xander, Giles, and Spike, especially, are all really great in this episode.  Of course, they’re usually great in every episode, but in this one, they’re fantastic at making gestures or being sarcastic even without speaking.

And finally, I just have to say that from what I can remember of the villains on the whole series, the big bads in this episode – “the Gentlemen” – are the scariest, creepiest villains on Buffy.

Creepy, no?

What do you think?  Have you seen this one?

– Jill

PBS’ Masterpiece Version of Emma: Familiar and Comforting

Last Sunday I had the pleasant surprise of stumbling across the new BBC version of Emma on “Masterpiece Classic”.  As most of you know, I adore watching adaptations of Jane Austen’s books.  Many Austen movies are among my favorites of all time.  I really liked the Gwenyth Paltrow version of Emma (mainly because Toni Collette and Jeremy Northam are A-MAZING), so I didn’t know what I was going to think about this new one.

Well, I have only seen the first episode (there are three all together) but I love it!!!!!  Romola Garai plays Emma and she is so adorable!  She does a great job of making Emma likable and relate-able.  As Laura Linney pointed out in her “Masterpiece Classic” introduction, Emma is not an easy character to like.  She is rather stuck up, meddlesome, and does not really listen when people tell her she is wrong.  But Romola makes Emma seem like a fun person to be around, and there is great chemistry between her and Johnny Lee Miller who plays Mr. Knightly.  I am really excited to watch it tonight (I have actually been looking forward to it all week!!)  I thought since there are only two hours left, that it would end tonight, but apparently they are playing one hour tonight and then the last hour next week.  Curses!  Those crafty PBS people are making me wait a whole nother week!!!  (Nother is a word I picked up after reading A Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup……very cool book, you should check it out.)

Emma and Mr. Knightly

One of my favorite things about watching BBC productions is that everyone is so familiar.  I always recognize some of the actors from other movies or tv shows.  The fun part is trying to guess where I saw them before.  Emma was a wonderful example of this because I recognized half the cast!!!  Here are the people I knew:

Johnny Lee Miller (Mr. Knightly)–okay, so I don’t think I have ever seen him in anything before, but hello! he was married to Angelina Jolie!  So, yeah, that’s how I know him.

Michael Gambon (Mr. Woodhouse)–Dumbledore the second, of course.

Dan Fredenburgh (the other Mr. Knightly)–otherwise known as Colin Firth’s skeezy brother from Love Actually.

Tamsin Greig (Miss Bates)–this was a tricky one…I didn’t actually guess this until I looked her up.  I thought maybe she had been in Persuasion with Sally Hawkins, but nope, she was Fran from Black Books!!!!!  That really threw me.

Jodhi May (Miss Taylor/Mrs. Weston)–She is the sister of Madeleine Stowe in Last of the Mohicans.  The one who never talks, and always makes me cry buckets of tears at the end of the movie.  She hasn’t aged a day since then.

Robert Bathurst (Mr. Weston)–this was another one that totally threw me.  I just kept staring at him and thinking “man, where have I seen him before”???  I finally had to look it up and he was the evil dad from The Thief Lord!!!  I think I didn’t recognize him because he was smiling so much.  In The Thief Lord he just yells the whole time, so I didn’t know what he would look like as a happy person.

Christina Cole (Mrs. Elton)–aaaahhh Christina…she won’t show up until tonight’s episode, but I did have to mention her.  She is so perfect in the role of the romantic rival.  It is always in a slightly mean to very mean fashion.  She has played the “other woman” in Jane Eyre, What A Girl Wants, and Lost in Austen.  I bet she is the nicest person in real life, but she always plays beautiful British bitches.

So, am I the only person who does this while they are watching tv/movies?  I try not to point these things out when I am with other people, because I find it really annoying when my dad does it to me, but sometimes I can’t help it.  My cats don’t seem to mind when I tell them that it is weird to see Dumbledore playing Emma’s father.

Hopefully all of you Austen fans will check out Emma on PBS.  It is definitely worth it.  The first episode is available to watch here to get ready for tonight.

Jen

Ahh, What a Wonderful Week for TV

This week I watched TWO fabulous fall finales of TV shows I love.

The first — Gossip Girl, “The Debarted”

OMG, what a freaking awesome episode.  I won’t spoil anything, but let me tell you my favorite things about it.

• The storyline actually moved along!  I know, crazy, right?  It probably only happened because it was the fall finale, which I didn’t realize until I started writing this post — HUGE disappointment, but I guess I can live with it since Life Unexpected will be starting soon.  Anyway, stuff actually happened!  A lot of stuff!  There were secrets, affairs, drugs, oh snap moments, what an ass moments, wtf moments, a ghost, a flashback, a car accident, and a surprise!  Whew!
• Chuck Bass.  Ok, so I always love Chuck Bass, but in this episode, he was amazing.  Ed Westwick is incredible in this episode.
• Nate Archibald.  He’s awfully close to knocking Chuck off of the top of my favorite Gossip guys list.

Those are the highlights for me from what I can remember right now.  I’m thinking about watching the episode again soon.  And I rarely rewatch GG episodes.  *Sigh* I’m going to miss it until it returns in March.

The second amazing fall finale of the week — Glee, “Sectionals”

This episode also had a lot going on and really showed off how versatile it is.  Not only is it a musical comedy that dabbles in cheesy drama, but it also had REAL drama in the finale.  Here are a few of my favorite things about this episode.

• Cory Monteith, who plays Finn, did a great job.  You totally felt for Finn.  I’m love him a little bit more every episode.
• Emma really surprised me toward the end by doing something I didn’t think she was capable of given earlier episodes, and I was SO proud of her!  If you saw the episode, you probably know what I’m talking about.
• So, so many wonderful quotes.  I seriously laughed out loud, rewound to watch again, and then wrote them down.  Some of the best —
  “Does it have to be tonight? I have fight club.” – Puck (hilarious for so many reasons)
  “Hey buddy, I just came in to feed my Venus flytrap.” – Sue
  “I’m sorry, Sue. You have disgraced yourself and the name of William McKinley.” “A FAILED president!” – Principal Figgins and Sue
• Kurt and a few other Glee members performed part of the “Single Ladies” dance during “My Life Would Suck Without You”.  Very subtle and totally fabulous.

Did you watch either of these or see any other great episodes of TV shows this week?

– Jill

Liz & Jack back on the WB

Remember when I suggested you watch the new show Community?  Remember how good that show is?  Ok, now that I’m holding that over your head, I’m going to try to go 2 for 2.  There’s a new show coming to the CW (formally known as the WB) in January called Life Unexpected.  I’ve already read that this show resembles shows from the good ol’ days of the WB.  Shows like Gilmore Girls, Dawson’s Creek, and Everwood.  (Yes, Jen, Everwood!)  Nothing against the current shows on this channel (because, man, do I love Gossip Girl) but they aren’t as happy-soul-bursting as they used to be.

Life Unexpected is about a teenage girl, Luz, who grew up in foster care and wants to be emancipated.  To do that, she must have the signatures of her biological parents, so she tracks them down to basically say “Surprise, I’m your daughter, and if you’d just give me your signature, I’ll get out of your life again.”  But things end up being a little more complicated than that.  Luz’s biological mom is played by Shiri Appleby aka Liz Parker from Roswell!  And her fiance is played by Kerr Smith aka Jack from Dawson’s Creek!  I didn’t recognize the actors who play Luz and her biological father, but I like them.  Here’s a preview.  Let me know what you think!

– Jill

TV Shows on DVD

Putting TV shows on DVD is a fantastically brilliant idea.  I love being able to discover older tv shows I missed out on when they aired or getting to watch the beginnings of a show still on so I can catch up.  I’ve started or continued watching A LOT lately.  I thank Netflix DVDs, Netflix watch instantly, and Hulu for allowing me to do so — What would I do without them??  (Especially since I don’t currently have cable.)

Here’s what I’ve been watching.  Maybe you’ll find some you’ve already discovered or should watch!  In no particular order…

Leverage

A fairly new show on TNT – it’s currently in the middle of its 2nd season.  It’s a humorous, smart, sexy look at a team of criminals doing good.  Think Ocean’s Eleven + Robin Hood.  All of the actors, including Timothy Hutton in the lead, are fantastic, but my 2 favorite characters are “hitter” Eliot (played by someone you may recognize from Angel!!!) and “thief” Parker (who I was reminded of while listening to Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree). Have I piqued your interest yet?

Watch newer episodes at tnt.com or all episodes on Netflix watch instantly.

Pushing Daisies

A cancelled show that used to be on ABC, Pushing Daisies is one of the most visually stunning shows I’ve ever seen.  Seriously – check out that picture – gorgeous!  In this quirky crime-solving show that at times (like any good show) is like a soap opera, Ned has a gift to bring dead people back to life.  It comes with a few rules and he’s generally ok with that until he learns that his childhood love Charlotte aka Chuck has been murdered.  Rather than explain anymore of the plot & possibly confuse you, let me just say that Pushing Daisies has humor, quirkiness, mystery, love, stunning visuals, Jim Dale as a narrator and Kristin Chenoweth.  And holy crap, who doesn’t love Kristin Chenoweth?

You can watch the first 9 episodes at http://www.thewb.com!

Freaks and Geeks

I’m new to Freaks and Geeks, which aired briefly on NBC back in 1999.  I’ve seen about 5 episodes so far, and I can’t say I loved it right away, but it’s growing on me.  I think the main reasons I don’t love it yet is because I’m not a huge fan of Seth Rogen or James Franco and I hate the character of Kim with a fiery passion.  BUT I do love Nick aka Jason Segel aka HIMYM’s Marshall.  And I like seeing main character Lindsay struggle to find a new place for herself in high school.  Freaks and Geeks was ranked on top tv shows lists from Time and Entertainment Weekly, so it’s definitely worth a shot!

The Big Bang Theory

Just about to start it’s 3rd season on CBS, The Big Bang Theory is basically a story of beauty meets brains:  Penny moves in across the hall from Leonard and Sheldon, two genius/nerds who are socially awkward, and Leonard falls in love with Penny instantly but isn’t sure how to move past being friends.  It’s an interesting concept but add in A TON of nerd jokes about science, comic books, and general geekiness plus Sheldon, who is extremely cranky and lacks a sense of humor and an understanding of social cues but ends up being hilarious and steals every scene & you have a pretty good show.

Trivia: Three regulars of Roseanne are on/have been on this show.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Ok, this one’s really a RE-discovery because I used to watch it when it was on tv.  I’ve been really wanting to rewatch the “Hush” and “Once More with Feeling” episodes, but I decided to go in order.  The first 3 seasons are currently on Hulu, so I’ve been going through them.  I’d forgotten how awesome Buffy is!  It’s so witty, and snarky, and teenager-y in a fabulous way.  Plus, hello Giles is one of the best fictional librarians of all time!  Actually, now that leads me to ponder what the list of best fictional librarians of all time would look like – but let’s save that for another time.

Buffy – hulu – go!

Next up for me:  Psych, Wonderfalls (more from the creator of Pushing Daisies and ngtJen promised me it is delightful), Sports Night (created by Aaron Sorkin & all I have left from him since finishing The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip).  So what are YOU watching?  I love adding new shows to my “to-watch” list!

– Jill

SYTYCD aka The Best Reality Show EVER

If you aren’t watching So You Think You Can Dance, you totally should be.  It is absolutely the best show on tv right now.  Next week will be the finale, so I’ll get you caught up…

Each season starts with auditions – much like American Idol.  People audition, performing solos in whatever style they choose from hiphop to ballet to tap.  Eventually if they’re deemed good enough by the judges, they’re given a ticket to Las Vegas.  During Vegas week these top performers are given difficult choreography in several different styles, and judges weed out contestants along the way.  Finally it’s narrowed down to 20 dancers – 10 guys, 10 girls – and we have (in my opinion) the real start to the show.  Each week after that a guy & girl are partnered & learn a dance in a random style.  Viewers get to vote for their favorite couples, and the next night the bottom 6 dancers (3 couples) dance solos to save their life.  At this point the judges have the power to send one guy and one girl home.  When there are 10 dancers left, the power to vote off individual dancers is given to America.  Right now there are 6 remaining dancers, with 2 to go home tonight:

Ade - contemporary

Brandon - contemporary

Evan - broadway

Jeanine - contemporary

Kayla - contemporary/jazz

Melissa - ballet

My absolute favorites this season are/were Brandon and Janette, who unfortunately got voted off last week even though she was amazing!  So now my female loyalty has switched to Kayla, with a little love left over for Jeanine.

The two I wish had gone home WEEKS ago?  Melissa and Evan.  (Everyone who disagrees, bring it on.)

And now to get you psyched, here are some of the best dances from this season.  What are you in the mood for?

Love?  (Jeanine and Jason, also voted off last week)

Drama?  (Kayla and Kupono, voted off 2 weeks ago) (You may have to turn up the volume to hear the music.)

Zombies? (uh-huh!)  (Kayla and Jason)

Fun? (featuring my two faves, Brandon and Janette! and a song I’m in love with right now)

OK, now you’re ready to watch tonight & next week.  And if you start to get into it, you’re in luck…there’s a new season starting this fall!!!  YAY!

If you’re already watching, who do YOU love?  Which dances from this season stand out to you?

— Jill