Some quick non-spoilery opinions on all the shows I'm watching at the moment:

30 Rock

It's only the best comedy on television! Possibly ever! Not only is the cast uniformly funny and gorgeous, the show continues to tackle actual real life issues (falling in love! Doubting the path you've taken in life! Living in a beauty bubble! Being a woman in a man's world! Being a black man in a white man's world!) with such marvellous wit, affection and self deprecation, if you're not watching your life is not complete.

Bones

When it's not trying too hard to be funny, this show IS pretty funny and enjoyable. The unique, appealing characters generally make up for some of the more dubious plot turns (although not always). It is very sad that I no longer care whether Booth and Brennan get together though.

Damages

Rose Byrne, Glenn Close and Marcia Gay Harden playing powerful, brilliant, complex, fabulous women, who make the male characters on the show look really quite pathetic? HELL YES. I love it *so* hard.

Dollhouse

After the most recent episode, my new favourite? I'm not kidding! I encourage everyone who understandably abandoned this early on to give it a second chance, because if it stays as good as "Man on the Street" it's going to be a truly great, challenging, entertaining TV show.

Flight of the Conchords

The songs might not be quite as good this season but the boys are as fantastically funny as ever. Did I mention that I met Jemaine once? Also I am friends with some people who know someone who used to shag Bret. New Zealand: where we are all one degree of separation away from each other.

Gossip Girl

I think Vanessa is the most gorgeous girl ever, and Nate is an adorable thicky, and everyone else can go to hell.

House

Remains one of the funnest hours of television, even after all these years. I have the most enormous crush on Kutner. When we watched it on Sunday I was all, "I would have sex with him," to the room, because he's such a sexy dork.

How I Met Your Mother



Lie To Me

VERY VERY GOOD AND GETTING BETTER BY THE WEEK. I just love how interesting and educational it is and how unspeakably cute Brendan Hines is.

Lost

I'm a slave to this show - it's ridiculous yet awesome, and I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Smallville

The last episode didn't suck! ( spoilers )

The United States of Tara

Superb. Actually makes me weepy about once an episode and I mean that in the best possible way.

The best thing about Entourage this week was Turtle. ♥ I adored his line: "I've been told I lift the spirits of everyone around me, since I was yay big," because it's both a great line and completely true - he's such a likeable, warm character; the kind of person you just want to spend time with because everything is better when he's around.

~

I have the most enormous crush on Kal Penn (and have done since I saw the first Harold and Kumar film). He might be my favourite thing about House at the moment.

( Yummy. )

~

( Gossip Girl, 2.11: The Magnificent Archibalds )

( House, 5.06: Joy )

~

I have now seen the first three episodes of "Summer Heights High" and I can officially say that I absolutely hate it. I laughed at the characters in the first episode but soon discovered that they are one dimensional caricatures with no redeeming features, and at that point I stopped laughing. The misanthropy on display in this show makes it an unbearable viewing experience for someone like me, but if you enjoy shows with no sympathetic characters but genuinely edgy -- and often clever -- satire, this might appeal to you.

Queer as Folk (USA)

I've been meaning to mention this for weeks and I keep forgetting but it's important. QAF has the single worst theme tune in the history of television. I cannot listen to it and I have to fast forward through it every time, and I'm someone who never fast forwards through the opening credit sequence! Because it gets me in the mood for the episode! But QAF's theme music is actualfax offensive to my ears and it annoys me that a person exists who thought it would be an acceptable choice.


( Gossip Girl, 2.05: The Serena Also Rises )

( Mad Men, 2.09: Six Month Leave )

( House, 5.03: Adverse Events )

I am going to Dubai for work on Saturday, and I think I'm coming down with something. FUCK.

At least television is going well right now!

( Weeds, 4.13: If You Work for a Living, Why Do You Kill Yourself Working?  )

( Entourage, 5.02: Unlike A Virgin  )


( Gossip Girl, 2.03: The Dark Night )


( Mad Men, 2.08: A Night to Remember  )


( House, 5.01: Dying Changes Everything  )

I watched the original Stepford Wives for the first time on the weekend and it really freaked me out. The message: men are scum-sucking, shallow, evil fuckheads! Oh, and women are awesome but no matter what, they will be oppressed. GOOD TIMES.

~

Anyway! Tell me about your TV plans for the next season. Are you giving anything up? Picking up something new?

My plans are as follows:

30 Rock: CAN'T WAIT FOR S3. WILL NEVER GIVE UP. (Although if Alec leaves the show I may stop loving it as hard as I currently do.)

Battlestar Galactica: I just don't really care about this show anymore. I still have two episodes to watch and the thought of doing so feels more like a chore than fun, which is not ideal. The other day I made my flatmate Kirsty watch the pilot and it was weird to see how fucking GOOD BSG was in its first year. Just so human and chilling and clever, and now it's pretty much nonsense with a side of mumbo-jumbo. I really miss the plan. Was there ever a plan? If so, what exactly was it?

Bones: Even though this is a Pretty Good but not Brilliant procedural, I'm too enamoured with all the characters to give up Bones any time soon, and I'm actually quite excited about who they will replace Zach with. They haven't failed me yet with their casting so I'm expecting it to be someone totally awesome.

Entourage: I'm finally caught up! Last season was a bit hit and miss for me (too much horribly annoying director dude for my liking) but I love Ari so much I want to take him home with me and lock him in my closet. Then there is Vince, who is almost too attractive to be real.

Friday Night Lights: I'm nervous, to say the least, but this is probably the show I'm most invested in after 30 Rock, so I've got my fingers crossed that they will match the quality of season one.

Gossip Girl: Pretty, dumb and funner than Disney Land. Let's hope it doesn't go down the same road of shite the OC did.

House: I'm kind of over it, but I love House, Cuddy and Wilson enough to keep watching.

The L Word: Last season!! :*( This is a show I'm going to miss a whole lot when it's over. I hope the gods of television replace it with another female-centric show because we'll need it.

Mad Men: GUH. Fucking amazing, amazing, mind-blowing, spectacularly different and freaky and important and just. YES. Am very much looking forward to the next season of this show, because S1 was one of the most remarkable things to happen to TV last year.

Smallville: Ah, the big question. Will I watch the last season? (It is the last season right?! If they do more after S8 I shall be very put out.) As I said to Boppy the other day, I will probably give it a go if certain of you tell me it's really good, but otherwise I can't see myself bothering. So. Verdict unknown!

Weeds: Absolutely will keep watching, although I don't really know where they're going to go with it now. I love it but I also have a funny feeling it's on its last legs.

~

I usually add new things to my viewing list each year but I won't know what until they've started. Probably won't pick Prison Break up again, even though Sara is back in the fold; I was tired of the formula by the end of season 2 and haven't the energy to start watching again. But if anyone else is and Sara and Michael actually get together (and by together I mean they DO IT) then please let me know so I can download at least that one episode.

I will, of course, be watching Dollhouse when it starts in January. God I hope it doesn't suck.

( House MD, 4.15-16: House's Head and Wilson's Heart )

~

Buffy fans! I read this neat little story in the Holy Moly newsletter about the awesomeness that is Anthony Head (and his partner) today (ignore the bit in the intro that insults Buffy fans. Coz you guys aren't like that):

Last week I asked you intrepid moles to investigate a story about Anthony Head's allegedly hidden and withered hand. You answered in your hundreds (note to self - never question the digits of an actor who is adored by freaky geeky Buffy fans - b.o.r.i.n.g. with a capital twats). The evidence was put forward, you the jury decided that after minutes of Google imaging and wild speculation that, as he plays the guitar, it is unlikely that said hand is completely 'Beadled', however this picture seems to suggest that his fingers are of 'odd length'.

A mole writes:

"It's completely true, although it's not damaged in the sense of being hideously disfigured, he is self-conscious about it enough to keep it hidden as much as possible. I knew this a long time ago and as a result, when I met him at an awards bash in 2005, I offered him my left hand to shake, he said, 'How charming,' and we spent the next hour or so chatting away, during which his right hand remained under the table. At one point I offered to fetch him and his lovely partner (unmarried after more than 20 years together; they don't see the need) more champagne only to be told that it had run out. On reporting this to Anthony he coolly said, 'Hmm, let me try,' went to the same bar, said firmly to the help, 'My friends - and I - would like more champagne,' and more fizz magically appeared. We all ended up completely shit-faced. During the evening he bit into a mini-burger and decided he didn't like it. His lady partner took the remaining half, wrapped it in a napkin and said, 'That can go on eBay...'"

MOLE INVESTIGATION RATING: 9/10

~

I have lots of comics to read on the weekend and I'm really looking forward to doing that and watching telly and cooking lots of nice food and having Monday off. I loved Huntress Year One btw. Helena is my favourite.

This news about an event in Final Crisis is seriously, seriously freaking me out.

Please someone tell me that it's total bullshit. I'm near tears!

( Kate panics )

~

sadface! The package arrived. Thank you my love! You =

~

As seen in kantayra's journal.

Name your top six TV shows right now before reading the questions.

1. The Wire
2. Smallville
3. Friday Night Lights
4. The L Word
5. House
6. Gossip Girl

( My fascinating answers )

I am such a fan of unlikely friendships/romances. Jennifer Anniston and Orlando Bloom? Awesome! Bradley Cooper and Cameron Diaz? FTW!

I'm in a terribly good mood today. I've taken tomorrow off work so I can sleep in, then lounge about watching "Smallville" and "Reaper" and reading more of literaryll's truly awesome comics collection (more on this later) (ILU Ashley!). Also, Matty is coming back! He is my flatmate Nina's brother and he left a few days ago to stay with other people so he wouldn't be at our place for three weeks, but he's miserable there and he misses us so he's coming back on Saturday. And I couldn't be happier about it! Normally I'm the kind of person who wants guests to fuck off after the proverbial three days, but he's just so LOVELY and everything is better with him around; the atmosphere in the house is so warm and friendly and happyful and he likes to do the same kinds of things as me, i.e. watching tv in pajamas and talking about Batman.

~

( Gossip Girl, 1.03: Poison Ivy )

~

( House, 4.02: The Right Stuff )

~

( Bruce Wayne: Murderer? )

I worked a six day week last week (unheard of!) so had yesterday off, and despite still being hungover from Saturday night (I think I poisoned myself), had a great day. I sat on my armchair under a duvet and watched Pretty in Pink and read comics. I’m now up to about #21 of Gotham Knights, and I’m not sure I can quite express myself properly, but I will try.

Dear Devin Grayson,



Love from your slave forever,

mskatej

Basically what this series is about is how Dick and Bruce love each other till the end of time. I cried a number of times yesterday over their epic romance because Devin is the best writer ever and has a brilliant understanding of how gay comics should be.

~

My workmate Alex bought this coffee from Selfridges called Civet Coffee. Apparently the coffee beans are eaten by weasels in Indonesia then picked out of their poo. She just told me this and I stared at her for a long time then asked, "... ... Why?"

She does not know.

~

Smallville/DC question:

So, Matty asked me the other day if Bruce Wayne had turned up in Smallville yet and I was like, "No, that will never happen."

But WHY? Is there a chance that they could bring Bruce into SV? And if not, why not? How come you never get Superman and Batman in the same movie? They never even mention each other in the movies, but in comics they're basically best pals. So what's the deal? How come they can bring in the Flash and Green Arrow but not Bruce? Are they afraid he will upstage Clark or is it a legal thing?

~

( House, 4.10: Alone )

Dearest literaryll,

The first package arrived!



I read the Batman Detective comics last night, where Tim is dreaming about being allowed to be Robin and then his parents get kidnapped. I seriously did not see that ending coming at all. Poor Tim. Poor Bruce.

"I FAILED!"

*cries*

Anyway, I see now why Tim is so universally loved. He's a *clever* woobie. ♥

~

Does anyone ever find themselves watching that show "What About Brian" (the cast is pretty which always makes me think I'm going to enjoy it more than I ever do) and just *hating* everyone in it? Like, how is it possible for a show to be populated entirely with characters who are utter cunts? Who all love themselves waaaaaay too much? It's almost spooky.

~

CELEBRITY NEWS

- Owen Wilson never really struck me as the suicidal type. :( Let's just hope it was a cry for attention rather than a serious attempt, and that his next movie is a big hit.

- It wouldn't surprise me if Britney and Kev were child abusers. They have that Child Abusing look about them, if you know what I mean.

~

( House MD, 3.24: Human Error )

I'm still grumpy as hell, but I'll get back to talking about fannish things, for everyone's sake.

( Brief comment about this week's House )

*

I finally got around to seeing Casino Royale, which I was told I might actually like, because it was supposed to be better than all previous Bond films (I've never been a fan of Bond, for the record). And you know what? Even though it was, I guess, a bit more interesting than the others I've seen (because Bond is given a few more layers, and is allowed to be affected by the fact that he kills people) it still didn't do much for me.

I can't relate to him or his world; they don't even attempt to make these characters relatable either, and the Bond formula--which was still firmly in place here--has always left me cold: extended action set pieces that often don't feel like they're an organic part of the narrative, terrorists, torture, unbelievable romance, ludicrous dialogue...why are Bond plots always so damn similar? I know this is escapism and that people love the silliness of it and that's fine, but Bond has just never pinged with me - he's too unreal, too one dimensional, too suave to be believed; looking back, I think the reason I never liked Bond films is because they keep me at a distance. How do I get emotionally involved with a film where the characters and the characters' actions don't make sense to me?

Did I like Daniel Craig as Bond? I guess. He's not very good looking, and I actually didn't find myself attracted to him (but then, Bond has never been that sexy to me. We're TOLD he's sexy but has a Bond film ever turned me on? Nope.), even though his body is lush. I thought his acting was fine but not spectacular.

Mostly I was bored. And the Big Emotional Moments paled in comparison to what a number of my TV shows give me on a regular basis (Friday Night Lights, for instance). Perhaps if the script had concentrated more on believable dialogue than on being witty, it would have been more moving. Who knows.

But I have now definitely learned my lesson. I'm not going to watch another Bond film, if I can help it, for as long as I live.

I really do love House MD. It's such a fun show! I love House's virtuosity and genius, and his way with people. He has absolutely no right to be as likeable as he is, but House (and this is all because of the wonder that is Hugh Laurie) has so much charm about him that he's irresistible. His wit and brilliance and honesty are exceptionally attractive qualities, and that's why Cameron (still) wants him, that's why Cuddy adores him, that's why Stacy never got over him, that's why Wilson remains a loyal friend to him.

( House M.D., 3.18: Airborne )

I’m only three episodes in and I’m not sure that doing this via LOVEFiLM is going to work for me because I have to *wait* now. Wait until they decide to send me disc two, and they might not even do that next. They might give me something less important and the thing is, my love for Fraser is of the unholy kind and I don’t want to have to wait even another day before I see him again. He’s so beautiful. And he’s pretty much, as far as I’m concerned, impossible not to love with all your heart. I LOVE HIM. *cries*

So anyway, I just cancelled it on LOVEFiLM and bought the first season from Amazon. \o/




Um. That was the worst show I’ve ever seen in my whole life. I didn’t even make it through the pilot. Ewan and I were watching it and both ended up doing this weird thing somewhere between crying and laughing because it was so horrendous. But if someone would care to tell me what was going on I’d appreciate it, because I’m never going to watch it again. Was it aliens?


( House, 3.15: Half-wit )


( The Black Donnellys, 1.02: A Stone of the Heart )


The L Word plus rant

Speaking of "The Black Donnellys", I was reading Heather Havrilesky’s review the other day, and you might not want to read it if you like the show because she’s not very complimentary. She’s one of those critics who when you agree with her you like what she has to say, but when you don’t agree with her you find yourself feeling mildly insulted. She thinks TBD lacks soul, which is fair enough, but she had a few words to say about "The L Word" in the introduction to her review:

Just look at "The L Word": An awful show, awful to the point of being extremely entertaining and hilariously stupid. There's so much to dislike about "The L Word," but you can't say that it has no soul. "The L Word" is far too unself-conscious and earnest and clumsy not to have a little soul. It refuses to make itself lovable to straight people -- or gay people, for that matter. There's some soul in its complete refusal to please anyone but the pretentious and/or the porn-seeking.

It’s not that I mind her thinking the show is bad, it’s that she blanket insults everyone who thinks it’s good. To like and respect this show means I’m either pretentious or a porn seeker. I’m not denying the second accusation in a broader sense, but she does say it like it’s a bad thing; like being a fan of the show makes me shallow. So if I appreciate that "The L Word" excels at erotic content, because it’s a rare thing in television; if I think the reason it works so well and is so genuinely sexy is because the characters are all well written, well acted, three dimensional, recognisable characters who (mostly) behave like human beings (again, a rare and wonderful thing in television), I’m pretentious? Or *worse* my goodness, a “porn seeker”? First of all, there’s a big difference between the fuck vids I watch on X Tube or whatever (when I want porn I do know where to go, lady) and the stories surrounding the attractive, flawed, interesting women on "The L Word".

No one accused "Sex and the City" fans of watching it for the “porn”, despite the fact that there was as much sex in it as there is in TLW. The reason? Because the sex in SatC was very rarely erotic. It was funny and refreshing, but it generally wasn’t hot. But because "The L Word" does sex in a way that's *actually sexy*, suddenly that's the only reason I'm watching and enjoying?

For fucks sake that deserves *praise* not flippant condescension.


Signed: mskatej, Porn Seeker.

I went to HMV yesterday and bought the first season of House for FIFTEEN QUID. That's awesome. I also bought the Spongebob Squarepants Movie and Bad Santa. *pleased*

I'll be honest, I want to talk to people, but I don't want to put any effort into the content of this post. So my thoughts on this week's Friday Night Lights and House will be brief.

( FNL 1.10: It's Different for Girls )

( House 3.10: Merry Little Christmas )

I think I might want to read some porn now. *ponders*

I’m back at work. :*(

But this screencap makes me SO HAPPY:

( OTP! )

I was going to list my TV Girlfriends a while back but never got around to it. UNTIL TODAY!

( HELLO LADIES. )

Thanks to Peekvid, I'm now all caught up on House. (9 episodes in three days! My life is so pointless and fun!)

( *FROWNS* )

Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger are tying the knot (allegedly). WHY? Does no one in the movie business ever learn? MARRIAGE DOESN’T WORK FOR CELEBRITIES. It actually gets on my nerves now, every time I hear about another Hollywood engagement. I don’t find it even *remotely* romantic.

Why can’t they do what normal people do and just live together for a few years? See if they can actually stand being around each other once the sex stops being important, and if they can cope with the fact that they won’t see each other for long periods of time due to their schedules.

I mean, I’m all for romance and I’m well aware that love makes people do crazy things, but celebrity weddings seem to be more about the fact that the couple can afford a really great party and hey, what does it matter if it doesn’t work out – they’ll just get a divorce! Easy!

I give this marriage five years, tops.

( TV Boyfriends! Come play with me!! )

Grey's Anatomy: I HATE VOICEOVERS.  Especially lame voiceovers. And Meredith is LAME.

House: FAVOURITE SHOW OF ALL TIME. If channel five were that bit smarter they would play House after Grey's Anatomy so Grey's didn't look so shitty. I've said as much before and I'll probably say as much again.

When the hell did Hugh Laurie become attractive? And how wrong is it for me to find him sexier than all the hot younger guys in the show? He a cripple. He's a drug addict. He's grumpy. He's old. *shudders with delight*

Oh, and Extras, Ricky Gervais's new show, KICKS ASS. Hee.

The Christmas/Nuns/Faith episode

I love Dr Grumpy Pants. He's cool AND funny. And an atheist! Always appreciate it when a main character in a mainstream American TV show plays for the home team. Of course, Hugh Laurie is really British (hence his questionable accent) so maybe that's why it's okay for him to be such a miserable heathen. Ah, God love him.