Clip of the Day: Can't Live with Them, Can't Live without Them

Because I'm sure many of you will be spending time with your families this weekend:

Clip of the Day: Crazy

Because I'm sure she would say she's only "acting":

This Just In

Several sources are reporting that Jennifer Aniston (Rachel from Friends, I refuse to acknowledge her film career) will guest star on 30 Rock this fall. No other details are available yet, but I don't need them to be excited. This will be VERY good for 30 Rock. Unlike most of her co-stars, Jen has maintained quite a high profile in Hollywood, so I think her appearance will draw a number of viewers to the show, and anything that gets more people to watch 30 Rock is fine by me. I've included a clip from Aniston's Friends days below, lest we forget how funny she can be:

Clip of the Day: A Little Inspiration for Your Friday Morning

Because "Clear eyes, full hearts, CAN'T LOSE" :

I miss Addison

So this is a random post, and it will be short, but I'm watching a rerun of the Grey's episode from last spring where Addison comes back to the hospital and I've got say: she's HOT. She is such a cougar, it's ridiculous. And her presence has a really positive effect on the other characters. The jokes in this episode were funny, the medical plots were kicking, and Meredith wasn't acting like a half dead person. And it's all because of Addison. That's all I have to say. (Oh and here's a clip that proves my point).

Clip of the Day: Double Feature

Because one Whitney Houston clip just isn't enough (and because Maya Rudolph is ridiculously funny):

The Dead Walk Again

Have you ever had a craving for your favorite, dearly departed TV show? You feel the need to watch an episode, but you don't have the DVDs, the show is never on cable, and you can't even find a decent quality clip on YouTube. Well, despair no longer my dear friends, because theWB.com is here to help.

Resurrecting the dearly departed network as an answer to Hulu, Warner Brothers Television Studio has assembled some of its greatest hits to fill this first iteration of the platform and I gotta tell you, it makes me EXCITED. They have:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Angel
• Everwood
• Babylon 5
• FRIENDS (this is a clutch one)
• Gilmore Girls
• The O.C.
• One Tree Hill
  
• Roswell

and last, but certainly not least: VERONICA MARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh it makes me so happy to know that I can see Veronica in good quality any time of the day that I want!!!!!!!
(Calming down) Ok, so the only drawback is that they don't have very many episodes up yet, but I'm hoping, as was the case with Hulu, that this will change as the site grows. There are also a couple of cool apps, including one that lets you mash up different shows together, but I don't really care about those since I'm more concerned with having all these shows in one place.

To take a look at theWB.com, click here.

Clip of the Day: "I'm So Excited"

Because everyone needs a good freakout to start the day:

Let the Gossip Buzz Continue

So the CW posted yet another extended preview of the season premiere of Gossip Girl on youtube today. At this point I feel like I've seen most of the episode. Some would complain about this, but this show gets better and better with repeat viewing, so I certainly won't. I will say the first few minutes really do the whole "mind blowingly inappropriate" ad campaign justice, and in a very good way. I won't spoil any of it, but I have included the video below. (Don't press play if you want to stay spoiler free).

Two other quick things:

1) The commercial for another new CW show, Privileged, follows the clip and I'm not impressed. I like Joanna Garcia and all, but this show looks dumb. Then again, since the show's target demographic is 15 year old girls, perhaps the dumbness will work in its favor.

2) I'm very suspicious of the fact that the network has yet to release ANY substantial video of 90210, or screen the show for the press. I smell a flop brewing, which sucks since the CW really, really needs it to be a hit.

Clip of the Day: Epic

Because it's awesome:

7 Days

Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, we are now one week from the start of the season. ONE WEEK! FINALLY!!!!! To celebrate, I'm going to take a look at the first show to return, GG.

When we last left GG, Serena was heading off to the Hamptons to grieve her breakup with Dan, potentially with Nate's company. Vanessa was again pining after said Dan, while little sis Jenny scored an internship with Eleanor Waldorf, Blair's mother. Blair flew off to Europe with some dude after Chuck stood her up at the heliport. Why you ask? Because he's "Chuck Bass." And Gossip Girl? She was voiced by KRISTEN BELL. Got it? Good.

The new season will open in the Hamptons, which can only mean more salacious teen drama that will continue to make the show "every parent's nightmare." In the interest of keeping you all spoiler free, I'm going to use a series of words to describe what the new season may hold without revealing plot points. Ready? Here we go: cougars, cat fights, mixing social strata, scheming, lying, musical beds. What? That's what we had last season? Well this time we will have more of it, which is just fine by me.

I'll leave you with my favorite scene from last season, and I hope you will join me next week in celebrating the return of TV's guiltiest pleasure.

Clip of the Day: I heart Meredith Viera

Because she's awesome and I hope she interviews She Who Must Not Be Named very soon:

Clip of the Day (Or in This Case Night): Lover's Quarrel

Because I'm hoping Grey's can recapture some of the magic that lead to this:

Clip of the Day: For Senator Obama

Because I think picking her would REALLY have been a game-changer:

Clip of the Day: Humiliation is the Best Form of Payback

Because there are people in this office that I would like to do this to:

Clip of the Day: Run, Children, Run Far Away! She's Coming!

Because it's been far too long since I've thought about She Who Must Not Be Named:

Quick Look: The Mentalist

Today is August 20th, which means we're roughly one month away from premiere week, and time to start taking a look the new and returning shows. Tonight, I'd like to start with my big bet for the new season, The Mentalist on CBS. Now, I'm going to perfectly honest upfront: I'm basing my opinion on the 30-second spot CBS has running and the minute and a half preview available on the CBS website, so I'm just going on my gut instinct here, but since my TV instincts are good, I'm pretty confident that I'm going to like this show, and that most other people will as well. Here's why:

1) Simon Baker is cool. He's a good actor, the ladies love him, and his character seems like the perfect mix of genius and jackass to be the guy that all the girls want and the guys want to be.

2) A bevy of beauties. Robin Tunney (formerly of Prison Break) and Amanda Righetti (formerly of a number of Fox shows) are hot, so they'll satisfy the male eye-candy requirement.

3) It's a procedural. Not only is this a tried and true format for CBS, but also allows the show to repeat well, which will be important in cementing its fan base.

The show faces some stiff competition in the form of the Dancing with the Stars results show, but I wouldn't be surprised if interest in that show finally starts to wane. The Metalist will also have to contend with the new J.J. Abrams sci-fi-ish drama Fringe on Fox, but I'm betting The Mentalist gets more viewers simply because of its self-contained format (Abrams' shows are esoteric and highly-serialized to say the least).


Take a look below and let me know if you are as excited as I am:

Watch CBS Videos Online

Clip of the Day: Ughh, Wednesday

Because sometimes this is a preferable alternative to work:

Breaking News

I usually avoid posting while I'm at work, and I'm not really planning on talking about movies very much since they're a little out of the scope of this blog, but this is one of the few times I will make an exception. Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Rob Thomas and KRISTEN BELL have had some informal conversations regarding a Veronica Mars movie. That's right ladies and gentleman, a VERONICA MARS MOVIE!!! Apparently it's the number 3 thing on Rob Thomas' list after his two TV pilots and KRISTEN BELL is definitely open to the idea. There are very few things that would make me happier than seeing KRISTEN BELL play Veronica one more time. I was so angry when the show got cancelled that I sent a series of very nasty e-mails to the CW main e-mail address, threatening to boycott the network and such, but alas they didn't listen to me. I digress. Back to the point: VERONICA MOVIE. The thought of it just makes me tingle with joy. I don't care what the plot is,and I don't care how long I have to wait fo it, I just know I need it, as do you, don't you agree?

To read the EW.com article, click here.

Clip of the Day: "I Hope You're Happy"

Because my friend Tali needs to see what happens when you ignore someone:

"It's like like this generation's A Tale of Two Cities or Oliver Twist.''

Apocalypse watchers take note: tonight marks the return of the inexplicable MTV phenomenon The Hills. I would give you an overview of the show, but I refuse to perpetuate the imbecility and vapidness that this show creates among teenagers and twentysomethings. In a recent cover story on the show, Entertainment Weekly quoted Tony DiSanto, VP of series programming at MTV, who liked the show to Dickens' great novels. All I have to say is: YOU'VE GOT TO BE (EXPLETIVE) KIDDING ME!!!!! I could list off the myriad reasons why it barely qualifies as a show, but to liken it to classic works of literature? Really? Have we as a country become so stupid and idiotic that we think this is our society's magnum opus? If so, then we are truly like Rome before the fall of the empire. Now this is not to say that I won't watch it, because I will, knowing that it will be water cooler talk tomorrow at work, BUT I will not enjoy it. (Ok, maybe I'll enjoy it, but I certainly WILL NOT think it's wonderful television; I reserve that categorization for only the best serialized dramas and single-camera comedies.) So, ladies and gentleman, if you are going to watch The Hills, enjoy it, but I ask you to think about what that enjoyment is actually costing you and society at large (The answer: many, many brain cells and increasing the likelihood that Spiedi will get that variety show after all, which would truly be the 7th sign of the apocalypse.) Good day.

Clip of the Day: "What is Chandler Bing's Job?"

Because the Olympics has me feeling all competitive (This one is a bit long, but totally worth it.)

Hmm, That's Not a Bad Idea

Good evening everyone, I hope you're all enjoying the last bit of the weekend. I know I'm savoring every moment. I often find that Sunday nights are a good time to reflect, whether it be about figuring out what I did the night before, getting mentally ready to return to my hamster wheel the next morning, or thinking about my favorite TV shows. The last one inevitably beats out the other two. Lately, I've been hypothesizing about what the new season will bring to my favorite shows. I've found that one of the best shows to do this with is Grey's Anatomy, as the show has already burned through a number of ridiculous storylines, which makes guessing the next one all the more interesting. Sometimes I wonder what exactly Shonda Rhimes was thinking with some of those awful plots (please see Meredith drowning, Crazy Izzie, and Gizzie for further information). If those stories made the cut, it's hard to imagine what didn't, but for tonight I'm going to try. So without further adieu, I give you rejected Grey's plotlines:

1) Helicopter crash on the roof of the hospital: A copter bringing the Chief kidneys for a double renal transplant, crashes on the roof, forcing the staff to not only try to save the lives of those onboard, but also find the missing organs--which miraculously survived the crash--so that the surgery can go on. Meanwhile, two interns give into their lust for each and do it in the supply closet.

2) Freak weather disaster: An extremely rare Pacific hurricane hits Seattle. As the staff deal with the numerous incoming traumas, including a man who gets a stop sign wedged in his skull, tensions brew among the residents as competition for a new fellowship heats up. Meanwhile, an intern and resident realize their mutual attraction and give into their passions in an on call room, causing the resident to miss their first solo surgery and subsequently get put on probation.

3) Vacation, I think not: The entire staff takes a trip to Hawaii to celebrate Meredith and Derek's impeding nuptials. Once there, however, a freak volcanic eruption requires the doctors to perform emergency amputation surgeries on those victims who have come into contact with the lava. Meanwhile, Meredith gets cold feet, requiring McDreamy to calm her down with nighttimes sex on the beach (and I don't mean the drink).

4) All work and no play make Izzie something, something: Having finally gone off the deep end as a result of the patient she had been stalking rejecting her advances (he had a lovely wife after all), Dr. Stevens shaves her head then threatens to jump off the roof of the hospital, only to be talked down by George. Meanwhile, three interns caught in a love triangle realize that three is better than two and give into their desires in OR 1, just as the Chief enters the gallery searching for his missing scrub cap.

Personally, I like 4 the best. How about you?

Clip of the Day: "What was wrong with the black one?"

Because it's been a while since I thought about server 47. (Oh, and to answer the question: Absolutely nothing, nothing at all.)

Clip of the Day: Happiness

Because I'm just in that kind of mood today:

Heroes? Villains? Does anyone still care?

So during my many hours of Olympic watching, in addition to seeing commercials for that god-awful Kath & Kim, I've also seen the "They're villains, Claire" commercial for Heroes an inordinate amount of times. I loved Heroes when it first started and I thought the first season was great, but now these commercials can barely get me excited, and I'm not really sure why. Let's hypothesize:

1) Season 2 sucked so bad that no matter how good 3 may be, its too late to bring me back. Hmm, perhaps, but in retrospect the only parts of Season 2 that I absolutely hated were the Wonder Twins storyline, and on the flip side, Season 2 had KRISTEN BELL and I think I've made very clear how I feel about her. (And in case you're new to our club, WE LOOOOOOOVE KRISTEN BELL. Got it? Good.) Let's keep going.

2) Too much time has passed. This one is a pretty good bet. Heroes, with its intricate and dense mythology, needs a highly-engaged fan base. The problem with the last original episode having aired in December is that that fan base has moved on, not having had any new story, both on TV and in other media, to keep them addicted. They found new stuff to satisfy they're superhero fix, which brings me to my third point.

3) The Dark Knight is a much better meditation on the concept of heroes and villains than Heroes will ever be. I think this is the right answer. There's a reason why the Dark Knight is about to become the second highest grossing movie of all time, namely that it is a timeless work of art that makes the concept of "hero" and "villain" murky and indistinct and leaves the audience with something very real and very big to ponder over. I'm not sure that this show, which did struggle a bit creatively, can even come close to matching that task. Case in point: the trailer for season 3 (see below) asks the viewer to pick sides, whereas TDK leaves the viewer feeling as if there are no sides.

Heroes probably would have been able to avoid these comparisons if it was tackling a different storyline, but given the direction of the story this season, I think people are going to watch a few episodes and realize that it just can't compete. I hope I'm wrong, and please tell me if you think I am, but I'd bet that Heroes is going to become another casualty of the writer's strike, which is unfortunate, but not unexpected.

Clip of the Day: Therapy, Jack Donaghy Style

Because I'm still not sure if Tracy is more or less crazy than Ann Curry:

"A Nasty Piece of Work" Never Looked This Good

I work for a company that does research about marketing and advertising, so I read a lot of newsletters and blogs about media and commercials and what not. Imagine my delight then, when a couple weeks back all of these outlets started buzzing about the new marketing campaign for the CW's Gossip Girl, which I happen to think is one of the best guilty pleasures on television (and if you tell anyone that I watch Gossip Girl, I will have to kill you).

The campaign, in my opinion is brilliant: it takes the criticisms leveled at the show by such bastions of conservatism as the Parents Television Council and pairs them with some fairly suggestive pictures of characters engaging in activities that certainly are "every parent's nightmare," such as this one:



The campaign is basically a giant middle finger at critics, and I have to give props to the CW for being so blatantly ballsy. Its risky, and it certainly has gotten people talking about the show again. It remains to be seen if this newfound buzz will translate into a boost in the ratings, given that there weren't very many people watching the show in the first place. I think the new Monday timeslot will help, as will premiering weeks before most other shows do. Gossip Girl returns Monday, September 1. Look for my thoughts on the show's return over the next few weeks, and to watch a couple of the new promo spots, click here and here, but just don't let anyone catch you.

Something to Brighten Your Day

This is what good TV looks like (Kath & Kim take note):

Impending Trainwreck--Avert Your Eyes

I've been watching a lot of the Olympics, and I love it. The competition, the pageantry, the blatant overdramatization of the athletes' backstories by NBC--it's all wonderful. Except for one thing: NBC insists on running the same 3 or 4 commercials to promote their fall shows. For the most part, they're fine. I love being reminded that The Office comes back September 25th and that new Christian Slater show doesn't look too too awful; however, if I see one more commercial for Kath & Kim, I may gouge my eyes out.

This show looks AWFUL. I mean A-W-F-U-L. The commercials, they're just not funny. Molly Shannon looks ridiculous in that orange wig, and I saw Selma Blair play an impetuous flighty teen 10 years ago in Cruel Intentions, and quite frankly she did a much better job then than she seems to do now. I get that the show is based on a successful Australian comedy (which actually is pretty funny--check out YouTube to seem some clips), but I don't think it's going to translate well. I think NBC must really be regretting greenlighting this show without a pilot, and I'd bet America will too once it airs. Maybe I'm wrong, but my gut is telling me that I'm right. I think NBC may be in some serious trouble here, b/c that Knight Rider show also looks like it will crash and burn (no pun intended). The sad thing is Molly Shannon deserves better: she was wonderful on SNL, and even on Will & Grace. They could certainly find something better for her (perhaps a spot on that new show from the creators of The Office) and I'm sure they could find something better for us.

You can see a clip here, but don't say I didn't warn you.

The Blog is Back

Hello out there! It's been a long time. Too long in fact. A lot has happened in the time we've been apart. The writers went on strike. TV went away for a while, then came back. Britney went really crazy then got normal. Lindsay Lohan got a lady friend. Obama and McCain improbably won the nominations. The island moved. Blair was THE crazy bitch. Jim and Pam almost. Kenneth went to Beijing. Izzie went crazy.

Did you notice my show references? Even though I stopped posting, I did keep watching, cross my heart. My life got very crazy during the time between the start and end of the strike, which is why I fell off the face of the earth for a while. Things have calmed down now, so I thought it would be an appropriate time to relaunch. This time I plan to do it right. No more ridiculously long recaps. No more skipping episodes from week to week. Nope, this time you're going to get my raw unfettered reactions--short, sweet, and to the point. I'm not sure what shows I'm going to cover yet this season, but since I have roughly three weeks to decide before the first show premieres, I'm not really in a hurry. Over the next few weeks I'll bring you updates about returning shows and some quick looks at the new ones (I'm already making The Mentalist on CBS one of my big bets for this year).

Valente out.