Blog Moved!
I’ve finally decided to combine both my writing and my TV blogs into one! This means I’ll no longer be posting to http://totallytv.wordpress.com.
Fall 2010 TV Schedule already up?
The basic cable networks have already announced their shows for the fall. Here’s the schedule over at TV Guide. Why are they releasing their lineup so early? Usually they don’t do it for a long time.
No idea which shows I’m going to try yet. No Ordinary Family looks kind of intriguing though.
Hot in Cleveland Update: Getting Warmer
This show is really heating up. (HAHA! Okay, sorry. I’ll stop with the puns.) I wasn’t sure about the show at first, but it really is cute and clever. Betty White’s character is hilarious and her hatred for Jane Leeves’s character is too. Good stuff.
If you’re looking for a cute, funny sitcom, check this show out.
African American Lives Season 2: History Made Personal and Fascinating
My sister recommended this show to me. Staying home with a baby can make you feel like your brain is rotting and sometimes all you can do is watch TV. But when crappy reality shows make you want to pull out your hair, try renting African American lives from PBS. (I watched this show on Netflix for Wii–season 1 isn’t available on it though).
This show is simply fascinating. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (yes, that Henry Louis Gates) basically takes 11 famous African Americans (and 1 not famous person) and traces their roots back through slavery and into Africa, looking at individual stories. Some if the stories are uplifting–Chris Rock finds out his ancestor, Julius Caesar Tingman, fought in the Civil War–while others are heartbreaking–Maya Angelou discovers an ancestor who was 17 years old when she conceived a child with her 50 year old former slave owner. Using these diverse family stories, Gates teaches American history in a uniquely compelling way.
I can’t recommend this show enough! You have to see it! (And I might just have to rent season one)
PS this show is waayy better than Who Do You Think You Are? which is too repetitive and doesn’t have enough content.
The Lost Finale: ?!?
(major spoiler alert)
I promised a Lost finale blog post, and here it is. Though I’ve waited so long, I’m pretty sure no one cares anymore. To bad so sad. So we finally found out what the parallel universe thing was about. After watching (and loving) the now cancelled FlashForward, I was thinking it might be some big physics lesson, particularly since they had that physicist character on the show.
Nope. Guess what–they’re all dead and in limbo. Lame.
But at least the other storyline was exciting. Some people died, some people escaped, and the island still remains a bit of a mystery. We’re left wondering what happens next, which is a good thing. I kind of wish they hadn’t bothered with the other plot, but oh well. I didn’t hate it enough for it to feel like a waste of time.
What did you think? Were you disappointed by the finale? Or did you love it?
Hot in Cleveland: Kind of Lukewarm
Last week, I checked out the pilot episode of Hot in Cleveland on TVLand (who knew I even got this channel?) after my mom and sis said it was funny. The show is about three women from LA who end up in Cleveland and find the natives refreshingly normal. So, they decide to rent a house there, and lo and behold the house comes with a caretaker–a cranky old lady played by Betty White. Hilarity ensues.
So far the show is pretty ho-hum, but with so many great comediennes (Betty White, Jane Leeves from Frasier, Wendy Malick from Just Shoot Me) it has the potential to be hilarious. For me the biggest distraction is the sitcom format–it’s just so dated. But at least they seem to have a live audience instead of a laugh track.
I’m going to keep watching and see how it goes…
Pretty Little Liars: A Paranormal Gossip Girl
Just checked out the first two episodes of Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family. Basically it’s a paranormal Gossip Girl where Gossip Girl appears to be a ghost. Spooky. So far this show seems to be just as juicy as GG, only with no male main characters. I am amazed that this show is on ABC Family! Though I guess the drug use and sex is implied and not really shown (though the underage drinking is). I like that they have multi-cultural cast of characters–even some of the main characters aren’t white! Gasp!
Fans of GG should definitely check this show out. OMG!
Work of Art on Bravo: A (ahem) Work of Art
Work of Art: The Next Great Artist is Bravo’s new reality show in the vein of Top Chef and Project Runway (which, of course, is now on Lifetime). The show exactly what it sounds like–they take a bunch of artists, give them topics/assignments and judge the final products. I wasn’t sure how this was going to work out. Were creative artists really going to have enough time to make something spectacular? Can you really judge art on a television show? In the first episode at least, the answer to both questions was yes.
I love contemporary art and this show was awesome. We see the artists work, see their thought processes, see what they have to say about each other, and then what the critics have to say about them. What surprised me about this was how much this show is like Project Runway–the cattiness, the drama, the quirky personalities. I guess that’s because similar personality types try out for these kinds of shows.
So what makes this show different from the other ones? Well for one thing, the products being created on this show can’t really be purchased by average people. You could say that was true for high fashion or fine dining, but really–who’s going to buy or covet a weird portrait nude portrait of an artist? Maybe collectors. Or really big fans of the show. Also, the judges don’t seem to have the same star quality of the judges on the other shows (Heidi? Padma? Tim?). Another thing–because art is meant to be provocative, I anticipate that viewer may have strong reactions to this TV show and some may be highly offended by some of the artwork they are going to air (or maybe they won’t air some things).
But unlike Top Chef, where you don’t get to eat the food, you do at least get to see and appreciate the artwork more fully (not from all angles or up close, but I do have a pretty large screen on my TV…) rather than just hearing what the judges have to say about it.
All in all this is another masterpiece (ha ha) of a reality TV show from Bravo. What’s next? Top Blogger? Top Poet? Okay. I think writing is one form of expression that isn’t going to make good TV. (Even though, if you think about it, it is a very visual medium) Song writing maybe? Photography? There are photographers on this show, but if you just have photographers I can see the challenges–fashion photography, portraits, a wedding challenge, landscapes..etc. But I digress.
Final Verdict–Totally awesome show! Just as fun (so far) as Project Runway and Top Chef!
Caprica Season 1.5 Preview
Syfy.com has released a preview for “Season 1.5″ of Caprica! Not sure when it’ll start yet…
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