Link Roundup

Attempting to do my first link roundup. It's these people's fault really since they post some quality stuff and I need to find a way to share them with you all. Of course, there's some sad news as well towards the bottom.

Rob Will Review Rob eloquently writes a non-spoilery essay on why you should be watching Fringe. It's what I've been telling everyone, except coherent and well-written.

Encore Entertainment Andrew fondly revisits the scrumptious Pushing Daisies' pilot. I miss that show more every day.

Flix Chatter Ruth lists her 15 favorite period drama heroes and asks her reader to vote for their favorite. I surprised myself when I realized I hadn't seen most of these. I chose Mr. Darcy by the way.

Entertainment Weekly recaps the first episode of Game of Thrones and for someone who has had no prior knowledge of the great world that George R.R. Martin created, this was both informative and funny.

Edgar Wright posts a video of how his film Shaun of the Dead would look like in the style of his other film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. As a fan of both films, I saw this about ten times.

Peter Jackson shares the first videoblog on the set of The Hobbit. It's long, but I was flailing the whole time. I can't wait!

Hide Your Arms has compiled a list of more than 100 Doctor Who T-shirts. The fact that I don't own a single Doctor Who shirt should be grounds for immediate expulsion from fandom. Sigh.

Speaking of Doctor Who, some sad news today as Elisabeth Sladen passed away due to her until-now secret battle with cancer. Lis played Sarah Jane, one of the Doctor's treasured companions, and she did so for a long time spanning decades. She was so beloved that she went on to lead a successful children show spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. She will truly be missed.

- The official Doctor Who page pays Lis Slader a lovely tribute
- Maureen Ryan over at TV Squad compiles some reactions to Lis' death
- Finally, io9 looks at the legacy that Lis leaves behind

Birthday Girl: Kristin Chenoweth

Small in stature but huge in talent, Kristin Chenoweth celebrates 42 years of being amazing. Happy Birthday KC!


Chenoweth has recently been nominated for an Emmy for her guest star role of April Rhodes on Glee. Last year she most deservedly won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy due to her role as Olive Snook in the too-soon-to-be-canceled Pushing Daisies. Paired with her Tony award, she's halfway to EGOT status. It'll only be a matter of time, I'm sure.

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!

Emmy Nominations: The Good, The Bad, and The Whatever

THE GOOD

- Neil Patrick Harris (HIMYM) and Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory) are nominated in Supporting and Lead Actor categories respectively. Since both of them are the undisputed stars of their hilarious shows, well-deserved!

- How I Met Your Mother is nominated for Best Comedy Series! HUZZAH! Will it win against the overwhelming favorite 30 Rock? Probably not, but to be nominated at all is wonderful!

- Lost is nominated once again for Best Drama Series. And why the hell not? It's been my favorite TV show for what 2-3 years running? Insanity. Also congrats for Michael Emerson's second nod for his amazing work as Ben Linus.

- Pushing Daisies and Battlestar Galactica got some love with 5 and 6 Emmy nominations respectively. Kristin Chenoweth got a second nod for her character Olive Snook!

- Speaking of Chenoweth, how fun is the Best Supporting Actress (Comedy)? Krakowski, Perkins, Poehler, Wiig, and Williams. I want to have dinner with these ladies (or go to a strip club with them).

- Phil Keoghan is nominated for Best Reality Host! He should've been nominated last year and won, but I'm almost relieved he didn't since he would have had to host the crapfest that was last year's ceremony.

- Joss Whedon and Co. are nominated for their work on Dr. Horrible! The category is for Outstanding Special Class - Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs. What a mouthful.

- So You Think You Can Dance got 4 well-deserved nominations for Best Choreography. Whee!

THE BAD

- Despite some Emmy nominations, Pushing Daisies and Battlestar Galactica did not get Best Series nominations or any other major nominations other than for Chenoweth. Emmy, you're insane.

- I know 30 Rock and Mad Men are the BEST.TV.SHOWS.EVER but together they took up 8 of the 10 writing nominations. I'm sorry, but that is BULLSHIT.

- They STILL don't like vampires. True Blood couldn't bite their way in despite having that HBO/Anna Paquin cache.

- Final seasons of series get the shaft: Pushing Daisies, Battlestar Galactica, The Shield, ER, and Boston Legal all don't get much love.

- Lost got lots of love, but it needed like a bazillion more nomination. That was perfect TV from the first episode to last bar none. And to only have ONE acting nomination? RIDICULOUS!

- Sorry, but I don't see Cat Deeley nominated for Best Reality Host. What's up with that?

THE WHATEVER

- Snubs I don't care about: Katherine Heigl, Two and A Half Men. I'm sure there's more.

- Family Guy for Best Comedy Series? I like the show, but wow, really?

- Previous Emmy favorites ER, Heroes, Desperate Housewives, and Ugly Betty only muster 2 nominations each this year. Major ouch for those shows.

- If you want to get a quick Emmy nomination? Guest star in either 30 Rock or Law & Order: SVU.

- The sorta lame 24 Movie got more nominations than the pretty damn good past season of 24. WHAT?! The mind boggles.

The facts were these...

I already declared the cancellation of Pushing Daisies one of the more egregious blunders of the past TV season and it's also not the first time I ranted about it's untimely demise on this blog, but seeing the final three episodes unfold these past few weeks on ABC sort of re-opened the wound. And now I'm just angry.

Yes, it was completely different from anything else on television. A Jim Dale-narrated story of a piemaker who brings dead things to life set in fantastical and vibrant surroundings full of quirky and bigger-than-life people and situations. Oh and there's singing, too! It's not American Idol, so I guess it was destined to fail. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

The show was wonderful in almost every sense of the word. The cast itself was gloriously conceived headlined by the adorable Lee Pace and the even more adorable Kristin Chenoweth. The latter was even able to showcase her breathtaking voice for a few episodes. Sigh.

With only 9 episodes in its first season it was able to garner critical and award acclaim with 12 Emmy nominations (it won 3 including Directing), 3 Golden Globe nominations, a Satellite award for Best TV Series, and a DGA award. It debut strong in the ratings, but lost a few heads in subsequent episodes. The Writer's Strike though killed the show. People just forgot about the show and it was too bad since this was around the time it got all of those award nominations. It was never able to capitalize on being the "It" New Show of the season and when it came back on air, absense did not make the heart grow fonder.

With the low ratings and fading buzz, ABC had no choice but to cancel it. They shelved the last three episodes until this summer. The series finale aired this past Saturday and I was just just so sad to say goodbye to this show. I'm glad that the finale was at least gave us fans a satisfying end for the main cast. Of course I would've wanted to see more stories of these people, but alas it's done.

And instead of leaving on a sad note, I just wanted to congratulate everyone who was involved in the show. They all deserved more than the 22 episodes they made, but on behalf of all of the fans out there, thanks anyways.

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?

Pushing Daisies Gets Encore

The facts were these...

ABC is finally giving fans the opportunity to watch the last three episodes of Pushing Daisies starting tonight at 10pm. The last episode was shown all the way back in December and even at that time Daisies' fate was already sealed.

The cancellation of Pushing Daisies ranks at the top of my dissapointments from this past TV season. It's just too bad the show never connected with America. Its cast was phoenomenal headlined by the adorable Lee Pace and the even more adorable Kristin Chenoweth. The Writer's Strike of last year really hampered the show because at a time when it was nominated for scores of Emmy's and Golden Globes, the show was forced on hiatus due to the strike. Quite sad and ironic really, because the writing on said show was just top-notch and unlike any other show that was out at the time.

But neither here nor there. It's cancelled. It's not coming back. It joins other beloved shows that were cancelled way too early in their runs such as Firefly and Journeyman.

In any case, the DVD for the second (and final) season comes out in July, but again if you can't wait that long, ABC is showing the last three episodes on consecutive Saturday nights starting tonight at 10pm. Of course ABC is not even making an effort to promote this, but what can you expect?