One of these women is really a lizard person. The other was on V. Kidding! Image from TVLine
If you are a tv watcher, this time of year can be a little nerve wracking. There are shows that are perennially "on the bubble", new shows that barely squeaked through the season that you really like. Or even long-running shows that maybe aren't getting as many viewers this year. I'm doomed to lose favorite shows every year, because my tastes run to programming that doesn't attract mass audiences. You know, science fiction, horror, supernatural stuff. If it's on HBO or maybe The CW, it can get renewed with anemic ratings. But not on the big networks.
I had high hopes for V, ABC's remake of the classic 80s sci-fi series. Morena Baccarin played an effectively creepy alien baddie, and the show had energy and momentum. But it also had some really odd CGI effects, and a serialized storyline that didn't grab casual viewers. I was thrilled that it got a second season, and am not surprised--though I'm sad--that it won't get a third.
Brothers & Sisters is a different story. It's a long-running soap opera of sorts, a very good fit to Desperate Housewives, which it follows. It has Sally Field, who cries a lot yes, but is a great actress. The show is loaded with good actors. I suspect that the decision to end the show had more to do with contract negotiations and behind-the-scenes problems. But this show I really will miss. I think the producers knew it might come to this, with the season finale feeling a lot like a final episode. Turns out, it was.
[Excerpt]
Breaking: ABC Cancels Brothers & Sisters, V, Mr. Sunshine, Four Others
Friday the 13th turned out to be doomsday for Brothers & Sisters and V: ABC has axed both shows. The Alphabet net also pulled the plug on rookie series No Ordinary Family, Off the Map, Better With You, Detroit 1-8-7 and Mr. Sunshine. . .
Photo of Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker from Wikipedia
The Gay Thing is usually trotted out in every election season these days, but has to this point barely made a ripple. That just possibly might change now that it would appear that gay marriage is legal in California. While I think it is a great development--and long overdue--I do worry that the timing was unfortunate. We've waited this long, couldn't we have waited for, I don't know, December?
One of my favorite shows, Brothers & Sisters on ABC, featured the union of two of its central gay characters just this past weekend. Because marriage was not yet legal, they got "committed," which was a pretty good joke. Maybe next season they can do it up right.
[Excerpt]
Calif. justices rule for same-sex marriage
California's Supreme Court declared gay couples in the nation's most populous state can marry -- a monumental but perhaps short-lived victory for the gay rights movement Thursday that was greeted with tears, hugs, kisses and at least one instant proposal of matrimony. . .
After much buzz about the strike probably ending, and being effectively over, it apparently now is, finally. My secret hope is that some of these writers have been writing, but not turning in their homework. I mean, with all that time to kill, they must have been doing something. It would be great if they had a head start on some of the more plot-heavy shows, like Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters and The Office.
On Tuesday, members of the Writers Guilds East and West voted by a 92.5% margin to lift the restraining order that was invoked on November 5th. The strike is over.
Writing can resume immediately. If you were employed when the strike began, you should plan to report to work on Wednesday. If you're not employed at an office or other work site, call or e-mail your employer that you are resuming work. If you have been told not to report to work or resume your services, we recommend that you still notify your employer in writing of your availability to do so. Questions concerning return-to-work issues should be directed to the WGAW legal department or the WGAE’s assistant executive director. . .
I'm happy about this one. Not the Grey's Anatomy part, I've only rarely caught that one, but Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters are two of my guilty pleasures. There have also been rumors that the strike in general may be wrapped up this week, so maybe more of our favorites will be back. They will doubtless still have abreviated seasons, but at least we won't be left with a British-like six or eight episodes.
[Excerpt]
Grey's, Housewives Plot Post-strike Returns!
With a tentative agreement between striking writers and Hollywood moguls expected to be announced sometime this week, my moles at Grey's tell me that production on the show is expected to resume in early March. The plan is to shoot four or five episodes to air in April/May.
A similar scenario is expected to play out at three other ABC hits, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters. . .
We have a roommate in our household for a while, and the experience has been something of a new one. It's the first time I've lived with someone who wasn't family or The Other Half. It is fortunate that he is interested in pop culture, and especially horror movies, which helps make a bit of a bond. Interestingly, he also shares some of The Other Half's interests, namely those that I lack.
Some of those things would be musical theater and sentimental period-piece movies. Those are times that I usually just leave the room, and surrender the TV. And it has come to my attention that another area where I don't quite match up to the other men in my household, is the ability to get choked up during sad, emotional scenes in movies and TV shows.
Whether it's an episode of Brothers & Sisters, or the Tom Hanks movie, Castaway, the roommate gets misty, and reaches for the Kleenex. I'm just not the crying kind. I can't get past the fact that it's Tom Hanks, or Sally Field. I can appreciate the story, even be genuinely engaged by the performances, but I don't get worked up about it.
Years ago, my Mom and Dad took my brother and me to see Jaws at the biggest theater screen in Columbus. I was nine, and my brother was eight. We didn't have enough money for a babysitter and the movie, so there we were, little kids at a scary movie. But Mom explained to us that we would get scared, but to remember that these were just actors and special effects. A character might die on the screen, but then he just got up, and went home to dinner. I never confused reality and make-believe again. And that may just be the problem!
But I remembered that there is one scene that has choked me up, each time I've seen it (including a few minutes ago, when I watched it again). As I've shown in this space, I'm a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan. I even enjoyed Once More, With Feeling! the musical episode. One episode in particular was heart-rending, even to me. In it, Buffy's long-suffering mother, Joyce, dies suddenly of an aneurysm. Anya (a character who is a former vengeance-demon turned human), who isn't known for her tact, simply does not understand the mechanics of human death. She offends everybody, and in her frustration, expresses her loss. Kudos to the actress, Emma Caulfield, for yanking tears from a stone (again and again).
Something about this scene always gets to me, and I confess has even brought tears. How strange is that? This heartless bastard weeping over a TV show. Yes, it's true. Watch and see.
03/01/08 UPDATE: I found a replacement video (for now--it could go any moment), that unfortunately superimposes a music track that does not belong in the scene. Hopefully, you can still get the gist.
12/26/07 UPDATE: Sorry folks, but is wont to happen with these clips, FOX has apparently pulled the video. I fail to see why, as all these YouTube clips do is keep interest going in their projects, and raise the profile of their properties. My site has made a whopping 81 cents since it debuted, and I can't even cash that out. I am not putting a dent in Rupert Murdoch's profits.
The top of the page says "Tuesday," but I'm still posting on Monday night, and it's still news black-hole time. I can't find anything remotely interesting to post! Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, I don't know, but I'm segueing into the frivolous again. It's never deserted me in a pinch!
Brothers and Sisters began last season, and I watched, mostly because it was on after my guilty pleasure, Desperate Housewives. The cast looked good, but I was wary. Serialized dramas tend to get cancelled as soon as you get interested. And with Sally Field in the cast, there was the worry that she'd repeat the dreadful scene from Steel Magnolias where she cries.
She does. A lot. But it works better here, and Olympia Dukakis doesn't have to save the scene. It's a fun, heartwarming show about a dysfunctional family, and is uniformly well acted. The writing falters at times, but this cast rescues it every time. I'm glad the show was a hit, and I'm anxious for the sophomore season.
