Birthday Hotties: Adam Scott & Jamie Bamber

I had no idea until today that Adam Scott and Jamie Bamber share not only a birthday, but they're actually the same age and both of them turn, wait for it, 40 this year. Apparently 40 is the new sexy or something.

Scott stars as Ben Wyatt in Parks and Recreation one of my favorite shows out right now. His chemistry with Amy Poehler was palpable from their first episode together back in the end of the show's second season culminating to one of the best relationships on TV the past few years. Suffice to say, their wedding episode killed me. With their relationship as strong as Parks likely future on the network, I'm looking forward to seeing more of them! Not surprisingly (since he's worked in the business for nearly two decades now), Parks isn't the first TV show I had seen Scott in. In fact, I still fondly remember his four-episode stint on Boy Meets World back in the mid 90s as the too-cool-for-school leader of the bullies. He has also appeared in Party of Five and a bit more recently in Party Down. He has appeared in numerous films like Friends with Kids, Leap Year, Bachelorete, and The Aviator.

As for Bamber, he will forever be Lee "Apollo" Adama from Battlestar Galactica with his penchant for sleeveless shirts,  towels, and severe daddy issues. While his character wasn't my favorite, he was probably the actor I most enjoyed watching and not just because of the obvious eye candy. When I found out after the fact that he was British, it's like my world flipped upside down. Suddenly I discovered that he starred in a bunch of Horatio Hornblower TV movies on the other side of the pond. After Galactica ended, he went back to England to star in Law & Order: UK starring alongside another Freema Agyeman, another sci-fi actor I admire. I really wished I had seen more of that show. But remember when BBC America aired both Galactica and Law & Order? They had real fun with Bamber's Secret Britishness in ads. He did a few more guest stars on American TV, but his biggest job since is being one of the leads on TNT's Monday Mornings as a neurosurgeon. The show's future is a little less sure, but I'm confident that no matter what happens Bamber will continue to get jobs either here or in Britain.

BBC aka Bamber Broadcasting Corporation

When BBC America announced a few months back that they will start airing Battlestar Galactica as part of their "Supernatural Saturdays," more than a few heads were asking "Why?" Enter London-born and very British Jamie Bamber who stars as one of the main characters of said show. Of course, Bamber loses his British accent on the show, so one can hardly tell where he was from.

For their part, BBC America took this and ran with it in marketing the show. They released the following "Secretly British" commercial putting a fun twist to the tenor and plot of the show:



Brilliant right? But then they recently took it further by highlighting how ubiquitous Jamie Bamber really is on the network. He also stars in Outcasts, another sci-fi show part of their "Supernatural Saturday" lineup. Apart from his sci-fi roles, he plays a detective in Law & Order: UK. This led the BBC America to cheekily dub themselves as the Bamber Broadcasting Corporation in this witty commercial:

2010 TCA Awards

Over the weekend, the Television Critics Association (TCA) gave out their annual awards in the middle of the Summer Press Tour making sure their collective voices are heard while voters are still mulling over their Emmy ballots. The winners are:

Program of the year: Glee
Outstanding new program: Glee
Outstanding achievement in drama: Lost and Breaking Bad
Outstanding achievement in comedy: Modern Family
Individual achievement in drama: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Individual achievement in comedy: Jane Lynch, Glee
Outstanding acheievement in movies and miniseries: The Pacific
Outstanding achievement in news and information: Life
Outstanding achievement in youth programming: Yo Gabba Gabba
Career achievement: James Garner
Heritage Award: M*A*S*H*

The big story here is the success of Glee winning three awards including shockingly taking the top prize of Program of the Year. While one might think this would boost its Emmy chances, TCA aren't really in the business of predicting Emmy winners. In fact last year, Battlestar Galactica won Program of the Year. That plus Modern Family, Glee's main rival for Best Comedy Series at the Emmys, won that award's counterpart at the TCA Awards.

In the Drama race, Breaking Bad and Lost shared the award knocking down Mad Men, which won the past two years. It looks to be a tight race at the Emmys among these three very strong contenders. In its final year, however, Lost, was unable to nab Program of the Year like Battlestar Galactica did last year nor get the Heritage Award like The Sopranos for their last season. M*A*S*H* took this prize beating out two other shows ending this year, 24 and Law & Order.

Finally, Jane Lynch and Julianna Margulies solidified their front-runner status for the Emmys by coming out on top of the creme de la creme of acting from last year. They beat out fellow Emmy nominees Ty Burrell, Jim Parsons, Eric Stonestreet, Aaron Paul, Bryan Cranston, and John Lithgow as well as Emmy-snubbed Nick Offerman and Katey Sagal. I'll be shocked to see either one walking away empty-handed at the Emmys.

TV Meme: Day 26

"30 Days TV Meme"

Day 26 | OMG WTF? Season finale

Wouldn't this be the same as best cliffhanger? Eh, whatever. Anyways, no one does "OMG WTF?" season finales better than either Lost or Battlestar Galactica. They practically do their best to end each season in some mind-blowing way. So why not just talk about each of their finales?

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR EVERY FINALE OF LOST AND BATTLESTAR GALACTICA BELOW


Lost, S1 Finale "Exodus" - We end with Shannon/Sayid happy, Charlie possibly reverting to being a drug addict, Walt being taken by the Others, and Jack/Locke/Kate/Hurley blowing up the hatch to... what exactly?

Lost, S2 Finale "Live Together, Die Alone" - We have Desmond and Locke who let the timer run out in the hatch causing electromagnetic chaos with the bright lights and possible explosion. Last scene is of two men somewhere called registering the electromagnetic blip and then them calling Penny telling her that "they've found it." All of this and oh yeah Michael betrays his fellow friends and delivers them to "Henry Gale" the leader of the Others in order for him and Walt to sail off from the island. The Others let them go, releases Hurley, but captures Jack, Sawyer, and Kate.

Lost, S3 Finale "Through the Looking Glass" - If I had to pick ONE season finale from this show, it would be this. Not Penny's Boat. The people on the island contact someone off the island! Then the introduction of the flashforwards. That latter plot development/cliffhanger was definitely a WTF OMG moment. "We have to go back Kate. We have to go back!" WTF?!

Lost, S4 Finale "There's No Place Like Home" - Ben pushes the wheel and the Island disappears. Just BLOOP! gone. Jin is possibly dead. The Oceanic 6 are on their way to civilization with the help of Penny and oh yeah "Jeremy Bentham" aka LOCKE is in the coffin DEAD. WTF?!

Lost, S5 Finale "The Incident" - Episode opens with first time we see Jacob and the Man in Black together, their identities questioned and debated on until next season's premiere. This episode also brought us the long-awaited reveal that Locke isn't Locke, the confrontation between Jacob and Ben and the latter eventually killing Jacob, as well as Juliet setting off the bomb that may or may not change history forever...

Lost, SERIES Finale "The End" - Here were my thoughts on it. People are still confused at how it ended. Make that as you will.


Battlestar Galactica, S1 Finale "Kobol's Last Gleaming" - Where to begin? How about Apollo and Roslin being arrested by Adama? Or how about Boomer1 telling Helo she's pregnant while Boomer2 finally realizes she's a frackin' cylon when she meets up with a bunch of naked Sharons? Or what about Boomer2 shooting Adama in the gut? Yeah... wtf indeed.

Battlestar Galactica, S2 Finale "Lay Down Your Burdens" - This would be my vote for most OMG WTF season finale from this show. Roslin tries to steal the votes, but is found out by the end and gives Baltar the presidency. Baltar moves on to colonizing New Caprica, but not before doing it with Gina who proceeds to blow up Cloud 9. ONE FUCKING YEAR LATER... we see the situation in New Caprica--Starbuck has long hair and is married, Adama has a mustache, Lee is fat and is married, etc. Then the Cylons appear. The Fleet jumps away leaving New Caprica unprotected from the Cylon who forces Baltar to surrender. Oh noes!

Battlestar Galactica, S3 Finale "Crossroads" - Okay this one was pretty OMG WTF as well. Baltar is acquitted in court and chaos ensues, but the big cliffhangers include the identity reveals of four of the five remaining unknown cylons and it's a DOOZY of a reveal as well as Lee seeing presumably dead Kara in a raptor next to his. Oh and she's apparently been to Earth... as the camera spans outward to show the audience that Earth exists. WTF!

Battlestar Galactica, SERIES Finale "Daybreak" - After an electrifying showdown between EVERYONE, we finally get our epilogue on Earth itself, but it's not the Earth everyone was expecting. Also Starbuck just sort of disappears. Like just gone. And then we time jump to the present in Times Square with head!Six and head!Baltar. WTF?

TV Meme: Day 09

"30 Days TV Meme"

Day 09 | Best scene ever

I wanted to plead the fifth with this question just because at how severely open-ended it is considering ALL of the TV I'm watching or have watched. How can I pick just one? So I won't. Instead I'm just going to list a few of my favorite scenes from a few of my favorite shows and that's that. I've included accompanying Youtube clips of each scene when possible.

Battlestar Galactica - The one scene I'm thinking about happens in "Exodus: Part 2" when Galactica jumps into the upper atmosphere, launches its fighters while free falling to provide cover for ground troops, and jumps back out right before hitting the ground. I literally went "WHOA" when the scene concluded. Just brilliant stuff. [Youtube Video]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - There are a bunch. My real answer is probably the scene in "The Wish" where everyone dies, because it really was such a powerful scene. Other scenes that rank high for various reasons are the gorgeous Giles/Tara duet in "Once More, With Feeling" and the heartbreaking break-up scene of Willow/Oz in "Wild At Heart."

Doctor Who - It's incredibly cheesy and saccharine, but I have to admit, I very much enjoyed the extended sequence of the Tenth Doctor having a chance to say goodbye to all of his companions before he regenerates in "The End of Time: Part Two." [Click here for more of my thoughts on this scene] [Youtube Video]

Friends - Who can forget "The One with the Proposal: Part 2" when Monica proposed to Chandler? Starting with Chandler running to Richard's place thinking he's blown it to Joey actually using his acting chops to make Chandler believe Monica ran out to Chandler being surprised that Monica has decorated the apartment with candles to both Monica and Chandler trying to propose without tearing up to finally ending with all of the friends hugging in the end, it's one of my favorite scenes that show had delivered in its ten seasons. [Youtube Video]

Frasier - NBC advertised the opening of the "Three Valentines" episode as the "funniest ten minutes" of the show ever. They delivered. The opening is a mostly silent extended scene with Niles getting ready for a date in Frasier's apartment. A series of unfortunate events and accidents happen the enables Niles to absolutely wreck the place from leaving the iron on his pants a little too long to putting the couch on fire. Good stuff! [Youtube Video]

Lost - Last, but not least we get to one of the best, if not the best, episode of this show in "The Constant" and that unforgettable scene between Desmond and Penny finally reaching each other by phone on Christmas Eve 2004 stopping his flashes that was very close to killing him. If you had a dry eye during that scene, you are unreal. [Youtube Video]

If I think more about it, I'm sure I can come up with a few more great scenes in a bunch of other TV shows, but there's only so much time I can devote to this, so that's all for now!

Caprica Is Getting So Good

Caprica is really starting to hit its stride. I admit that as a big Battlestar Galactica fan, I was worried, but open to the idea of this prequel. When I saw the two-hour pilot, I was mostly underwhelmed, but knew I'd see the next few episodes before giving up on it entirely. Thank the gods I did.

Here's a quick backstory for the non-watchers. Caprica is a show that takes place in the seemingly futuristic city of Caprica. There are lots of commentary about religion, technology, politics, sex, faith, etc., but the show filters all of this through the family drama within and between the Graystones and the Adamas. You see, the daughter of the Graystones (Zoe) was inadvertently involved in the terrorist attack that killed the wife and daughter (Tamara) of Joseph Adama killing herself in the process. The twist? Dr. Daniel Graystone is a big time technological genius who has developed a virtual world where people can play (or do pretty much anything) with their virtual identities or avatars. Guess whose avatars are now stuck inside this world: Tamara and Zoe.


Joseph Adama has had a hard time trying to get over the loss of his daughter, but as he was finally about to let her go, he finds out she's still "alive" in the virtual world. As expected, the virtual world is a hard and dangerous place and to survive one must in turn become hard and dangerous. While not a saint in real life, Joseph has never killed anyone directly. This past week's episode, he has had enough. Getting some way-too-on-point advice from his gangster brother, he successfully pulls the trigger a few times and I bet his journey will only get darker as he tries to find his daughter.


And yet his story is nothing compared to Daniel Graystone and his quest to "find" his daughter. Unlike Tamara, who is stuck in the virtual world, Zoe's avatar was accidentally placed in a military robot. Zoe is able to control the robot's body (sometimes to hilarious effect), but she doesn't tell her father because of a sense of betrayal from him. It's worked so far, except Daniel is now suspecting her daughter is in there. This past episode was devoted to him psychologically torturing her in order for her to give herself away. He starts out small by making her do monotonous tasks while he smokes, an activity she disapproved of in the past. She bears it, but momentarily flinches giving Daniel what he wanted. He then sets the robot on fire knowing that his daughter had a traumatic fear of fires. She nearly gives herself up, but holds strong. His final test was difficult to watch. He orders the robot to shoot the family dog. Talk about taking the character to a really dark place! She does shoot the robot only for us to find out that not only were they blanks, but that she knew they were by the weight of the gun. WHEW.

Heady stuff, right? Next week I'm expecting both of these story lines to come to a head especially since it's the season finale. As great as it is seeing New Cap City, I'd really like to see a reunion between Joseph and Tamara finally if only for Joseph to see that Tamara is not the same little girl he once knew. I'm okay with Zoe not "coming out" to her father yet if only to drive him more insane than he already is becoming, but I hope she tells someone else she's in there other than her best friend... perhaps the cute assistant she has a mad crush on?

End-Of-Year: Favorite TV Shows

With my favorite actors/performances already done, it's time to get into the shows of 2009. As you can tell, I like making lists so why not have a ranked list of the TV shows I watch? You will find below 30 shows that I enjoyed this season as well as three honorable mentions which I will talk about first:

Doctor Who - If I had to rank this, it would probably fall somewhere in the mid-teens because while Tennant was consistently awesome, the specials themselves varied in quality. And since they were all shown separately and not part of an actual season, I decided not to include it in the rankings.

Pushing Daisies and Eli Stone - It's hard to rank these because they both got canceled and the network just burned off their final episodes when no one was looking. I saw both of their ends and well I suppose it was too much to ask for both of them to continue. Still, brave effort.

And now for ranked shows...

30. Robin Hood - The show's final season ended in a bit of a whimper despite the explosions and all of the deaths, but it was consistent and consistent is good nowadays.

29. Skins - Not as good as the original cast, but did anyone really expect that? Some rocky episodes and the cast is a tad unlikable at first, but what can I say, it's a guilty pleasure.

28. The Mentalist - Ranked pretty much the same as last year for me. The show is good enough. Nothing too special. Of course it's a star vehicle for Simon Baker, but at least the cast is getting some more quality air time this year.

27. Brothers & Sisters - It's still the same Walker family dealing with more problems and all of that. Not sure why this show ranked so low, but maybe because I'm a bit tired of all their drama.

26. Drop Dead Diva - A little summer show on Lifetime that was headline by newcomer Brooke Elliot. It was cute and the cast is fun.

25. So You Think You Can Dance - You'd think having two seasons in one year means double the pleasure. Actually it's been the opposite. But it's still a kick-ass show, but hoping it becomes must-see-tv again.

24. The Good Wife - I told myself I wasn't going to get into a lawyer-type show this season, but good reviews sucked me in and glad I did. Julianna Marguillies is awesome in it.

23. V - It's only four episodes, but the packed a wallop didn't they? It could still end up being very bad in the long run (see Heroes), but for now I'm itching for the next episodes.

22. American Idol - One name: Kris Allen. I sort of fell in love with him and he ended up winning and that's pretty much it. Plus with other great talents like Adam Lambert and Alison Iraheta, it was definitely my favorite season since the show's first.

21. Fringe - The standalone episodes are as gory and disgusting as ever, but the show shines when they highlight the main plot arc of parallel universes and all of that good stuff for which I'm a total sucker for.

20. 30 Rock - Hey when a comedy makes you laugh, then it's doing its job. Fey and company know how to do it with aplomb and they seem to be fearless when it comes to the types of things they do.

19. Community - The individual characters are kooky enough, but its the chemistry of this ensemble that really makes the show work. Yes, there's still some tinkering to be done, but for the most part it's really finding its legs right now.

18. Cougar Town - I'm an unabashed fan of Courtney Cox so to see her again on prime time is fantastic enough. I'm glad the show is good too! True, the show is miles away better when it focuses less on her "cougar"-ness and more on the relationship she has with her family and friends, but the good news is I think the writers are starting to realize this as well.

17. Ugly Betty - A lot of people have forgotten about this show, but I didn't. Despite some awkward storylines (Mode no money, Wilhemina's daughter, Daniel's cult), the heart of the show i.e. Betty has continued to flourish and the show is so much better for it. Yay to makeovers!

16. Chuck - It was a close call there for a second with its imminent cancellation, but thank God it's back because this "new" Chuck is going to be so fascinating to watch. Not that the "old" Chuck wasn't, because he was. And I'll shut up now.

15. Amazing Race - Another year and another two wonderful seasons that showed up dozens of exotic places I can only dream about going to someday. While both seasons sort of gave us "expected" winners, the individual legs seemed more brutal and thus refreshing to see.

14. Castle - If Joss Whedon ever were to do a procedural, he'd be hard press to improve on this one. In fact if you didn't tell me who did it, I would've guess it was Whedon with its slick humor and snappy dialogue. The cast is also fantastic.

13. Greek - It was a roller coaster year, not only for the show, but also the characters. The ever-evolving Cappie/Casey/Evan triangle is more palatable now that they're all friends and I don't see Evan as a huge douchebag anymore. Also Rebecca is nice and Dale is no longer a virgin. Both sounds so wrong, but it actually works very well for both characters.

12. 24 - There was nowhere to go but up since it's last disappointing season. And they delivered. The change in scenery (goodbye Los Angeles!) really re-energized the show as well as some new cast members. Of course, Jack is still there with Chloe! Both still kicking some ass, the way I like 'em.

11. Supernatural - This is what happens when I see all 4 (and a half) seasons. I fall in love with it. It helps that this whole angels/apocalypse stuff is really REALLY riveting. Plus Misha Collins? Too great for words.

Here are my Top Ten list...

10. Glee - Inconsistent and insanely manic would be putting it mildly and yet this show is probably the one show this year that was the breakout pop culture hit. How could it not with its solid ratings, its Twitter-ing cast members, and its hit CDs? The songs are hit and miss, but mostly hits. The cast are adorable and Jane Lynch gives an award-worthy performance. If she doesn't win an Emmy next year, it would be a humongous upset.

Standout Performance: Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester
Standout Episodes: Pilot, Preggers, Throwdown, Wheels, Hairography, Sectionals

9. Being Human - This little British show's concept seems cheesy, but it works! Basically it's a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost all living as roommates as they deal with their "unhumanness." If Joss were to do a British show, I'd picture him to be doing this. Hm, actually they are making an American version and are in need a a show-runner. Paging Mr. Whedon.

Standout Performance: Russell Tovey as "George"
Standout Episodes: Episode 1.1, Episode 1.4, Episode 1.5, Episode 1.6

8. Mad Men - A strong season despite not enough of the ladies. The ladies made Season 2 so absolutely awesome. Still, the show plowed through with the British takeover the main storyline amidst the rapidly degeneration of Don's spheres of lives. One more comment: the finale was perfection.

Standout Performance: Jon Hamm as Don Draper
Standout Episodes: My Old Kentucky Home, Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency, The Grown-Ups, Shut The Door. Have A Seat

7. The Big Bang Theory - Jim Parsons continues to amaze and with his ascension, the show is quickly becoming one of my favorite sitcoms. It helps that the rest of the cast is also pretty good, but damn if you just can't take your eyes off Parsons.

Standout Performance: Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper
Standout Episodes: The Maternal Capacitance, The Cushion Saturation, The Vegas Renormalization, The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation, The Guitarist Amplification, The Adhesive Duck Deficiency, The Maternal Congruence

6. How I Met Your Mother - Still great even though they had to deal with Colbie and Alyson's pregnancies in the latter half of last season. The cast are still gellin' and the storylines are still fun fun fun!

Standout Performance: Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson
Standout Episodes: Three Days of Snow, The Front Porch, Old King Clancy, Right Place Right Time, Double Date, The Sexless Innkeeper, Bagpipes, Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap

5. Battlestar Galactica - There's probably a lot of naysayers out there concerning this final season of BSG and while I was also less than enthused about, oh the last 5-10 minutes of the show, the season itself was more than fine for this die-hard fan. Going to miss that wreck of a ship and that superbly talented and beautiful cast.

Standout Performance: Mary McDonnell as President Laura Roslin
Standout Episodes: The Oath, Blood on the Scales, No Exit, Daybreak

4. Modern Family - The cast is just perfection. Perfection. I think there was one episode (the pilot) where I wasn't sure if I was going to love this show. Since then, they've knocked it out of the park. Every. Time. Who knew you could do a family sitcom nowadays that actually made you laugh instead of cringe?

Standout Performance: Eric Stonestreet as Cam Tucker
Standout Episodes: The Bicycle Thief, The Incident, Coal Digger, Fizbo, Undeck the Halls
WINNER: Best Comedy Show

3. Dollhouse - When I made this list earlier this month, it was ranked #10. With each and every new episode this month, it just kept going up and up. Because yes, even without those episodes I still would've ranked this show on my Top 10 because it's a Joss show and I'm nothing but a devoted fan. But this month the show became AMAZING and I'm probably underselling it a bit.

Standout Performance: Enver Gjokaj as "Victor"
Standout Episodes: Echoes, Needs, Briar Rose, Epitaph One, Belonging, The Left Hand, A Love Supreme, Stop Loss, The Attic

2. Lost - May not be #1 this year, but it's still a brilliant brilliant show. I feel sorry for those who have stopped watching the show a couple of seasons back, because this is the show that only got better with age. The new element of time traveling could've been cheesy, but it really wasn't and in this crazy ass island, it almost felt natural. Like, of course, they can time travel! Heading into it's final season, I have no doubts this show will satisfy.

Standout Performance: Michael Emerson as Ben Linus
Standout Episodes: Because You Left, Jughead LaFleur, Namaste, Dead is Dead, The Variable, The Incident

1. Torchwood - When I heard that the third season would only consist of five episodes to air in one week, I was thinking the worst. Could I have been any more wrong? The third season entitled "Children of Earth" delivered in so many levels. It was epic. It was risky. It was riveting. It was bloody amazing TV. It's so great, that I'm just a little bit reluctant for the next season since how could it possibly live up to what they've already done? They'll try and I pray they succeed.

Standout Performance: Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper
Standout Episodes: All five episodes of "Children of Earth."
WINNER: Best Drama Show

-------------------

Tally: ABC leads with 7 mentions followed shockingly by FOX with 6. CBS has 5 mentions while BBC America (not including Doctor Who) has 4 mentions.

Here are the rest of the shows that I watched, but didn't make the rankings: Gossip Girl, True Blood, Merlin, Private Practice, White Collar, Family Guy, Accidentally on Purpose, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Project Runway, Desperate Housewives, Design Star, Sanctuary, Models of the Runway

Finally, here are the unlucky few dishonorable mentions: Heroes, FlashForward, Stargate Universe, Life on Mars, Grey's Anatomy, Big Brother, Eastwick

End-Of-Year: 2009 TV Winners

Hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas! On Monday, I posted my personal picks of the best TV performances/shows of 2009.

Today I give you the winners...

Best Actor, Drama
John Barrowman, Torchwood
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
John Noble, Fringe
Russell Tovey, Being Human
Kiefer Sutherland, 24

It's funny reading over this list and thinking how insane it would be if all of these men (as their characters) were to meet and have a conversation. Noble and Tovey would blather on and probably talk about the wonders of the latter's werewolf-ism while Sutherland and Hamm might be too busy deeply brooding mayhaps thinking about their troubled past and odd family dynamics. Barrowman? He would have sex with all of them. If I have to pick the best actor though I'd give it to Noble who plays crazy Walter just as easily as he plays evil Walter, sad Walter, and weird Walter.

Best Actor, Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Nathan Fillion, Castle
Scott Michael Foster, Greek
Zachary Levi, Chuck
Joel McHale, Community

Y'all might be thinking, Foster? Where did he come from?! But when Foster is in a scene, you almost forget that the show is about the Cartwrights because he's such a scene-stealer. He was fascinating to watch this season especially as he pretty much forced himself to grow up. As opposed to McHale and Fillion who plays two grown men who still seem like teenagers. They're both funny individually, but their great chemistry with their respective co-stars really elevate their work. Levi makes you believe that Chuck is a real person dealing with real super spies, insane friends, and impossible choices while Baldwin makes you forget about the real world, because he takes you into his own warped one. There can only be one winner though and it's goes to Fillion. Because he dressed up as Mal and it was epic.

Best Actress, Drama
Julianna Marguillies, The Good Wife
Mary McDonnell, Battlestar Galactica
Elizabeth Moss, Mad Men
Eve Myles, Torchwood
Annie Wersching, 24

All of these are tough women. There's Marguillies who manages to balance the mom role with the lawyer role with ease while Wersching was so kick-ass that I began to think that if Jack Bauer ever died, it would be OKAY since she could just take over. Then there's Myles who plays Gwen Cooper with so much heart, her emotions always on her sleeve and I can't forget her heartbreaking monologue. Moss didn't really do that much this season, but the little she did still made a pretty good impact. And while all of these women are so awesome in their own way, the award goes to McDonnell in her final year as President Laura Roslin who even in the face of death remained full of grit and grace that made her character so wonderful.

Best Actress, Comedy
Courtney Cox, Cougar Town
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Stana Katic, Castle
Lea Michele, Glee

To be honest, I'm oddly less enthused about this category. I mean don't get me wrong, I love each and everyone of these actresses and the characters they play. I wouldn't have nominated them if I didn't, but I don't really feel passionate about any of them the way I do other actors I've nominated. In any case, Katic is the perfect blend of sexy and tough and she plays off her co-lead so well. Cox and Michele play manic characters that are a hoot to watch, but it's moments when they slow down, be it talking to her son or sing a heartfelt ballad, where they shine. And so we come down to Fey and Ferrera who have won awards playing the characters they currently play. Fey deals with "smarter" comedy, but Ferrera just has that something extra that tug at your heartstrings while still making you laugh, so she edges Fey a bit for me especially since I'm sorta loving the makeover she had this season.

Best Supporting Actress, Drama
Tricia Helfer, Battlestar Galactica
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Dichen Lachman, Dollhouse
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Elizabeth Mitchell, Lost

I don't know anyone who doesn't want more of Hendricks on Mad Men. In fact this year, she was criminally underutilized and yet she still shined with the few scenes she did have. Similarly Panjabi and Lachman are mostly unknown, but they infuse commitment and energy to both of their roles, the latter especially using her magnetic chemistry with a fellow co-star to wonderful fruition on-screen. But it was between two blonde ladies who a few might argue could be considered leads. Helfer, playing the different versions of Six, continued to astound even to the final moments of the show while Mitchell played tough and vulnerable to pitch perfection delivering a specially harrowing scene to end Lost's season. This is why Elizabeth Mitchell gets the prize.

Best Supporting Actress, Comedy
Alison Brie, Community
Yvette Nicole Brown, Community
Kaley Cuoco, Big Bang Theory
Alyson Hannigan, How I Met Your Mother
Jane Lynch, Glee

This was tougher than I first thought when I made this list. Seriously. Cuoco is delightfully as Penny especially when she plays the foil to Sheldon's eccentricities. Brie and Brown are hilarious individually, but they also make a potent comedic duo. And then came Hannigan and Lynch. My initial thought is that Lynch has this award sewn up, because Sue Sylvester is THE breakout TV character of the year if you ask me. But it's hard to discount Hannigan who manages to make the increasingly manic Lily character not only believable, but also lovable. Then again I can say the same thing about Jane Lynch, right? Jane Lynch it is then.

Best Supporting Actor, Drama
Misha Collins, Supernatural
Gareth David-Lloyd, Torchwood
Michael Emerson, Lost
Enver Gjokaj, Dollhouse
Fran Kranz, Dollhouse

Do not make me choose. Please do NOT make me choose. Collins plays an angel and Kranz plays a goofy super smart scientist. The writing of the show is good enough that these two characters do not utterly fail, but the actors full commitment to their roles elevate these two characters as people who are completely endearing. Then there's David-Lloyd. My poor poor dead Ianto. It was uber depressing to see him die, but he went out with a bang. And so it's between Emerson's super villainy Ben Linus or Gjokaj's multi-faceted Victor/Anthony/Topher/party girl/FBI agent. This is pretty much a coin flip, but I'm giving it to Enver Gjokaj.

Best Supporting Actor, Comedy
Dan Byrd, Cougar Town
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory
Danny Pudi, Community
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

This might actually be more difficult than its counterpart in the drama category! Byrd has great comedic timing for someone so young and really humanizes Courtney Cox's character. Pudi and Stonestreet are newcomers, but already they may me laugh countless of times even though they are part of very talented ensembles. And now with a heavy heart, I have to compare two Emmy-nominated CBS heavyweights in Parsons and Harris. It's pretty obvious that these two roles (Sheldon and Barney) played by these two comic geniuses are the breakout characters of their popular shows and are usually the character with the most interesting storylines. And while I am still very much impressed with what Harris is doing, I have to give this award this year to Parsons.

So now finally, we have the Best Show categories. I'm afraid you'll have to wait just a bit longer to find out the winner here. Not too long. I should be posting my ranked list of Top 30ish shows of 2009 in a day or two. For now, let's refresh your memories...

Best Show, Drama
Battlestar Galactica
Being Human
Dollhouse
Mad Men
Lost
Torchwood

Best Show, Comedy
Big Bang Theory
Castle
Glee
Greek
How I Met Your Mother
Modern Family

Charming Casting Choices

Casting directors are making me very happy right now. It seems like some of my favorite actors are getting gigs to TV shows I actually watch!


David Anders played my favorite sexy agent on Alias and was also one of the few highlights on Heroes when that showed started its freefall in quality. It's insane that he hasn't had a more regular role anywhere, but come January he'll be joining the cast of 24 which already picked up Battlestar Galactica alum Katee Sackhoff.

Another Alias alum will make an appearance on TV this fall. Gina Torres, who played kick-ass babes Anna Espinosa in Alias and Zoe in Firefly will join the cast of Gossip Girl as the mother of one of the kids. As recently as this year she has appeared in Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Dirty Sexy Money. Hopefully this doesn't mean Gossip Girl will get cancelled.

Finally, there's James Marsters who is more famously known as the bleached-blonde vampire Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but he also appeared in Torchwood as Captain John Hart. It was announced recently that he is joining the Battlestar Galactica spin-off Caprica this fall for a "sizable arc."

All in all, I'm very excited to see these actors on my screens soon. Now someone get Lee Pace some work! Now!

Apollo Visits Dollhouse

Emmy showed them no love, but at least the cast of Battlestar Galactica is getting some work. Back in June, it was announced that Katee Sackhoff will be joining 24 as a regular cast member and now her star-crossed lover has found a new gig in the fall.

News from Comic-Con is that Jamie Bamber will be guest starring in at least one episode of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse this fall. Michael Ausiello from Entertainment Weekly seems to confirm this news via a Fox insider so while this news can still be proven false, I really really hope it's true. It would be nice to see Bamber on American TV again since he's so far been busy across the pond with Law & Order: UK.

Plus it's Dollhouse! Not only will he be working with Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku but he'll most likely share scenes with his Battlestar Galactica co-star Tahmoh Penikett who plays Paul Ballard. Actually who knows if he'll be sharing scenes with Tahmoh. There's still very little information of what character Bamber will be playing, but who's hoping he's a doll that we just never saw before? Mmm...

Happy Father's Day

Maybe when you're not sexily posing with your scorchingly hot offspring, both of you could throw around a ball or something else... like be a double super secret agent or kick some motherfrackin' toasters' ass.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there!

Jack Bauer Recruits Starbuck

It's only been a few months since the last ever episode of Battlestar Galactica, but I'm already missing the cast. I followed Jamie Bamber to his recent gig on Law & Order: UK. And now I will be able to follow Starbuck next season since Katee Sackhoff has officially joined 24.

According to Hollywood Reporter, she will be playing Dana Walsh, a data analyst at CTU. Hopefully this doesn't limit her to a role being behind a desk, because I want to see her kick some ass along side Jack Bauer. She will also be playing the love interest of the character that is being played by Freddie Prinze Jr. That casting I'm having trouble accepting, but maybe it'll turn out he's a villain and Katee will get to beat him up or something.

Blunders From the 2008-2009 TV Season

With America crowning their new Idol and the networks giving their upfronts two weeks ago, I just wanted to reflect on the past TV season. More specifically I want to list the things about the past TV season that disappointed me the most. In no particular order...


FOX (and fans) for declaring Dollhouse dead-on-arrival even before it premiered. Friday timeslot? Are you kidding me? Then there are the fans giving up after 2-3 episodes and thereby missing out on the ming-blowingly good last half of the season. Ugh. It's a miracle that FOX actually renewed the show for next season. Can it recover from a bumpy start?

The cancellation of Pushing Daisies. It's not ABC's fault per se. Audiences initially responded to it and the critics raved about it. It even got lots of Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. But then the Writer's Strike happened and the show was unable to recover its original audience and initial buzz after a 10-month break.

NBC not fully supporting Kings. Why they thought having a two-hour mid-season premiere would actually grab increasingly ADD audiences who's TV schedule were pretty much already set is beyond me. The show wasn't flawless, but it really should've been platformed as a fall show.

Grey's Anatomy drama with Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight. Yes, the final scenes of the season were breathtaking, but that doesn't excuse the off-camera drama affecting the show. Because of it George had a reduced role throughout the season while Heigl was mired with a ludicrous brain tumor plot that let her have sex with her dead fiance. You can't make this stuff up.

Heroes for not improving and/or continuing to suck. When seemingly everyone was calling for the death knell of the show as early as season 2, I remained its defender. But this past season, the shows flaws have become greater than even I could stomach.

Saying goodbye to Battlestar Galactica. Was it the right time to end it? Maybe, but I feel they could've churned out a season and a half more. Not that the ending wasn't satisfying, because for me, it was, but I feel there were still a lot of stuff they needed to do. But really I'm just going to really miss the show.

Kris Allen winning American Idol and everyone bitching about it. I get it. Adam Lambert was the "true star" and is "way more talented" than Kris. Blah blah blah. Can we move on now? Forget the fact that both are friends and probably want nothing else but success for one another. Just remember that Kris also had his fans and they're vote is just as valid. Oh yes, and they are all not homophobics. Yes, I voted for Kris. There.

Desperate Housewives afraid of really shaking things up. The season started out wonderfully with the five year jump giving the show much needed life. But by the end of the season, everyone seems to be back to square one. And Susan and her demon spawn someone made it out alive. Not fair.

Too many things on Monday. Big Bang Theory. How I Met Your Mother. Gossip Girl. Chuck. Greek. And that was just the 8:00 hour! Maybe it means I should just watch less TV. Then again that would mean I can't make lists like this, right?