'Castle', Beckett, Stana Katic, and Mistaken Identity

New favorite show? 'Castle'.

(Thanks H for insisting that I would love it/needed to watch it immediately)

Of course I'm now utterly consumed by the four seasons that I missed. It's great. No really.

Most confusing thing I've seen so far on the show? No, it's not any of the murders.

I seriously cannot get over how much Beckett looks like a grown-up Marissa.

Apparently I'm not alone. During the 2010 SAG awards Stana Katic (who plays Beckett) got mistaken for Mischa Barton (Marissa). By the entertainment press.

The press.

Seriously, shouldn't they need to know who everyone famous is? It's like the Portia de Rossi incident all over again.

Happy Halloween! 'Bones' Michelle Branch Music Video

Here's Michelle Branch's new music video/the newest teaser for the upcoming season of 'Bones' (this Thursday!). The video is mainly a compilation of old clips, but the editing matches the tone of the song. Thanks TVLine. The player takes a moment to load--I apologize for the inconvenience.

And here's an older 'Bones' video. Happy Halloween!

Grimm's Pilot Reviewed

Did any of you manage to catch the premiere of 'Grimm' last night?

'Grimm' is exactly what its title suggests--a modern re-telling of the classic Grimm fairy tales, with a twist. In last night's episode Nick learned that his ancestors were the original Grimms. They are the only people able to see the true faces of supernatural people walking among us. Unfortunately, now that Nick's aunt is nearing death, he is inheriting her power. I say unfortunately because it seemed as though Nick's life was going pretty well before his aunt burst his bubble. He had a job he loved, a nice house, and an almost-fiancee. It's highly questionable which of these things he'll be able to keep now that he knows the truth.

Yesterday's episode had its strengths and weaknesses, not unexpected for a pilot. One of its biggest issues was a reliance on situations which have now become somewhat contrived in fantasy/sci-fi shows. The idea that a person is happily living their life, only to be suddenly interrupted by magical powers/a secret gift and instant responsibility is nothing new. We saw it in the first episode of 'Charmed' and 'Smallville' and even 'Fringe'.  It's such a typical plot device at this point that I expect the main character to develop special abilities or supernatural knowledge at the beginning of every new sci-fi show I watch.

Sticking with cliches, 'Grimm' also offered us a mysterious and beautiful blond (when her face isn't doing the whole "I have fangs and a furrowed brow because I'm evil" thing) who it's fairly easy to guess will probably be somewhat conflicted about her orders to destroy Nick. Despite the fact that this woman (played by Claire Coffee) got limited screen time, she was still a lot more interesting than Nick's girlfriend, Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch).

Juliette was presented to us as the love of Nick's life, but the screen-time she got was limited, and when she was there she might as well not have been. When she discovers Nick investigating his aunt's trailer in the middle of the night she barely questions what he is doing, and doesn't even ask him about the huge old book he was just paging thorough. Also, while I'm sure the questions she was asking about where Nick grew up and how long his aunt raised him were written in for the benefit of the audience, they made her seem completely clueless about her boyfriend's past. I hope they build up her character a little more.

In terms of the actual plot of the episode I think that more could have been done. I definitely enjoyed watching it, so in that sense it was successful. But there was no real mystery at all. It told us who the murderer was fairly quickly, and they found him equally quickly. That was fine in the pilot, which was really more about establishing Nick's abilities, but now that we know about them I'm hoping the writing is more complex in the future.

What were your thoughts on the premiere episode? Will you be watching again?

Watch 'Grimm' Fridays at 9/8C on NBC.

'Fringe', FOX, and new episodes

Oh Joshua Jackson, how I miss you. No, seriously.

Because of rain and game cancellations, the World Series further disrupted FOX's television schedule. Based upon the original schedule we would only have skipped new episodes of 'Fringe' for one week. Indeed, FOX essentially promised viewers that 'Fringe' (and star Joshua Jackson, who has been MIA for the first five episodes of the new season) would be back yesterday. But despite the promotional trailers, it wasn't to be. Game seven interfered and we'll have to wait yet another week for new episodes of 'Fringe'. Hopefully this won't hurt the show too much. Airing on Fridays is already a potential travesty, second only to airing on Sunday nights.

While I understand that people love baseball (and other sports) and that airing something like the World Series temporarily boosts viewers, I think that FOX made a mistake. Not just with its decision to bump 'Fringe' again, but because the World Series came only three episodes into the new television season, and put on hold breakout hits like 'New Girl'. Who knows if FOX will retain those viewers next week when baseball is over and new episodes return. Maybe viewers will have moved onto greener pastures...networks where new episodes have continued to air each week.

Here's a little something to give you your Joshua Jackson fix as you wait yet another week for his return:

Pacey-Con with Joshua Jackson from Joshua Jackson

Brand New 'Bones' Promo Released Today

All the Season 7 'Bones' Promos

Because we're only one week away (yay!) I decided to give you all the 'Bones' promos in one place, on this page. Get excited for November 3rd.

Great Halloween-themed Episodes

Here are some of my favorite Halloween inspired episodes (in no particular order). Watching them always gets me in the perfect mood for the holidays!

‘Bones’—“The Mummy in the Maze” (S3 Ep5)

‘Community’—“Introduction to Statistics” (S1 Ep7)

‘How I Met Your Mother’—“Slutty Pumpkin” (S1 Ep6)

‘2 Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place’—“Two Guys, a Girl, and Psycho” (S2 Ep6)

‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’—“Fear Itself” (S4 Ep4)

‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’—“All the Way” (S6 Ep6)

‘Friends’—“The One with the Halloween Party” (S8 Ep6)

‘Modern Family’—“Halloween” (S2 Ep6)

‘Parks and Recreation’—“Greg Pikitis” (S2 Ep7)

Happy Halloween!

'Bones' Couples Counseling Clips

The first of many unaired 'Bones' clips from a FBI Psychiatrist's waiting room:





You can find more clips on YouTube HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Halloween!!

I love Fall. Pumpkins, foliage, apple cider. I also love watching my favorite shows celebrate holidays.

Typically the special holiday episodes kick-off around Halloween, and then continue with Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have a post coming that lists my favorite holiday-themed episodes of all time, but first lets talk about this week's Halloween episodes:

1. Halloween festivities kick-off on Tuesday (Oct 25) with 'The Biggest Loser'. There's (obviously) a candy challenge, and a haunted maze. Tuesday, 8 pm, NBC.

2. Join 'The Middle' on Wednesday for Halloween pranks, costumes, and teen general awkwardness. Wednesday, 8 pm, ABC.

3. 'Suburgatory' follows 'The Middle' with yet another Halloween-themed episode. Wednesday, 8:30 pm, ABC.

4. 'Community' is new again this week, and it's bound to be a challenge as the writers try to outdo last year's zombie-themed episode. Sociopaths, anyone? Thursday, 8 pm, NBC.

5. 'Parks and Recreation' is also new, and promises spooky laughs at April and Andy's Halloween bash. Thursday, 8:30 pm, NBC.

6. Continuing NBC's line-up of Halloween-themed episodes is 'The Office'. I can't be the only one who is waiting impatiently to see whether Erin is capable of throwing a Halloween party. Thursday, 9 pm, NBC.

7. This isn't really Halloween-themed, but it does have monsters: 'Grimm' premieres on Friday. Friday, 9 pm, NBC.

'House of Lies' makes lying funny. Really funny.

Do you like Kristen Bell? Don Cheadle? Ben Schwartz?

Oh? You do? Me too!

Get excited about 'House of Lies'. It's premiering in January on Showtime.

The show is a half-hour comedy that looks at a team of management consultants and their constant pursuit for money.

Here's a promo:

Wait, 'Charlie's Angels' is still here? And 'Community' and 'Parks and Recreation' have reruns tonight?!

I just looked at a TV listing for tonight and had a double-take moment when I saw 'Charlie's Angels' was on. I truly thought that had already been canceled. That doesn't bode well for them...do people even know it's still on the air?





 

Further ruining tonight's television viewing plans...both 'Community' and 'Parks and Rec' have reruns tonight. Boy, this week has been horrible: no 'New Girl', no 'Glee', no 'Community', AND no 'Parks and Rec'. Are the networks attempting to drain all the comedy out of our lives?

Mariska Hargitay's New Baby

Hargitay adopted her daughter Amaya six-months ago, but apparently she still wanted more children.

Hargitay and her husband, Peter Hermann, have just added another baby to the mix, and it's a boy this time.

Their newest son, Andrew, joins big brother August and big sister Amaya. Anyone else notice a pattern with these names?

Hargitay with her daughter, Amaya

Response to "What a Woman Really Wants From a TV Show"

I recently read “What a Woman Really Wants From a TV Show” on Jezebel. I agreed with almost everything Dodai Stewart wrote.

1. I also miss having both physically and emotionally strong female leads or, as Stewart puts it, “kick ass female lead(s)”.
2. Unlike Stewart, I love a good procedural/medical drama (perhaps more than most), but I don’t think I can stand adding many more to the mix. I already have Law and Order: SVU, Bones, Grey’s Anatomy, Rizzoli and Isles, and Body of Proof. Please, no more.
3.  Two Broke Girls is somehow watchable, but parts of it are definitely racist. Really, really racist.
4. New Girl also has a few funny moments, but Jess as a character is not fleshed out.

What Stewart didn’t discuss, although she did mention it, is ABC’s newest show, Revenge. I’d argue that Revenge, perhaps more than any other show on the air right now, has a strong female lead.

Revenge is centered around Emily (Emily VanCamp), a young woman who moves back to the Hamptons to seek revenge on those who destroyed her father’s reputation. I won’t go into the complex plot right now, but I will tell you that there is one. At the same time, after watching an episode of Revenge it could easily be dismissed as a mindless sexy drama.

But Revenge has a one thing that other shows are missing: a strong female lead.

Emily’s character is intense, intelligent, and manipulative. She’s not necessarily likeable, but she’s a strong woman who successfully achieves her goals. She’s also beautiful, but for once beauty doesn’t make her an airhead, nor does it make her someone who only uses her sexuality to get what she wants. Her character is multi-faceted enough that she is able to use her beauty alongside her intellect, and she is also psychologically complex. That’s a refreshing thing to see on television. 

New cast photos from 'Bones' season 7

Yay...baby bottle!
Thyne, Conlin, Deschanel, Boreanaz, Taylor, and Daley

Proof that '30 Rock' is coming back

'30 Rock' is one of my favorite shows, which is why I got especially nervous when the cast and crew went on extended hiatus due to Tina Fey's newest addition. But now that the baby's born, and Fey has taken maternity leave, we can all breath a sigh of relief because....NBC has started filming new episodes of '30 Rock'. The proof is in the photos (thanks On Location Vacations!):

'30 Rock' has been filming scenes all around NYC, including this one outside the NBC Experience Store at the real 30 Rockefeller Plaza. It should be back on NBC is January.

First poster for 'Bones' season 7 released

Thanks to TVLine you can now see the official poster for the seventh season of 'Bones'. I'm assuming that the tagline "always something unexpected" is poking fun at the fact that Brennan is, in fact, expecting. I've never seen fans get so excited about an unplanned pregnancy.

Emily Deschanel Interviews David Boreanaz

Emily Deschanel of 'Bones' recently interviewed her co-star, David Boreanaz, for Philadelphia Style. The interview is pretty fluffy, and focuses quite a bit on men's clothing, but it is also an excellent example of the rapport that Deschanel and Boreanaz have. Read it HERE.

Say "goodbye" to Olivia Wilde (she's leaving 'House')

October has been a month full of changes for Olivia Wilde.

First, her divorce from Tao Ruspoli was finalized on October 3rd. They were actually married for eight years, pretty incredible when you think about the divorce rate in this country and the fact that she got married when she was eighteen.

Her time on 'House' was nowhere near as long. Wilde, who played Thirteen, is leaving the medical drama after spending a little over three seasons on the show. Wilde first appeared in October of 2007 in the episode "The Right Stuff" and will be making her final official performance in "Charity Case" airing this coming Monday (October 17th).

Can 'House' withstand Wilde's departure? After loosing Lisa Edelstein at the end of last season it remains to be seen which of its stars will be leaving next. It's highly likely that this will be the FOX drama's last season, if only because to remain on the air the show would need a complete overhaul in the style of 'ER'.

Maybe we'll get to see Wilde in a guest appearance before 'House' leaves our televisions for good?

'How to Be a Gentleman' (David Hornsby's Show) Canceled

Poor David Hornsby, most people that I know already refer to him as "that actor who is married to Emily Deschanel", and unfortunately it looks like he's not going to escape that moniker anytime soon.

Hornsby was most recently seen in 'How to Be a Gentleman', a television show on CBS which he wrote, produced, and starred in. Unfortunately, if you didn't catch him in the first two episodes you've missed your chance. The show premiered after 'The Big Bang Theory', but after only one episode it was moved to Saturdays.

Everyone knows that moving shows around a lot doesn't help them gain a following, but apparently in the case of 'How to be a Gentleman' it really, really didn't help. The second episode, which aired last Saturday on CBS, garnered only 2.4 million total viewers. Now, that may sound like a lot, but lets put it in perspective: 'Glee' had 8.1 million viewers during its second episode this season, and everyone kept commenting about how horrible that was. And remember, this is the entire United States we're talking about, all 307,006,550 of us.

What I'm trying to say is that David Hornsby's newest show is officially canceled. At least he has a new baby to cheer him up! Plus, his wife may not make enough to have qualified as one of the top ten highest paid actresses in the United States, but I don't think they're hurting for money either. Oh, and Hornsby's other jobs as a recurring actor, writer, and producer on 'It's Always Sunny' and as a voice actor for Nickelodeon's 'Fanboy and Chum Chum' probably help to soften the blow.

Hornsby (L) and Deschanel (R)

You Should Be Watching 'Fringe'

I'm not sure how it happened, but I'd never seen an episode of 'Fringe' before last week. Believe it or not, I've now managed to catch-up to the current season. For those of you who want to judge me, that's 64 episodes in two weeks. I have to admit to fast-forwarding through a few of the slower moments, and even skipping one or two episodes that were annoying me. Despite all of that, 'Fringe' is my new favorite show.

If you haven't been watching, now is the time to start. The newest season of 'Fringe' (Season 4), which only began airing four weeks ago, is designed to allow new viewers to jump into the show without having seen prior episodes. Sure, it's better if you've seen them all (the show has a complexity that is best broken down by a comprehensive viewing of all of the episodes) but you can watch the 'Fringe-"Past + Present + Future"' summary video (see below) that was released by FOX and then leap right into the current fourth season. The first four episodes of this season are all currently available OnDemand.

'Fringe' focuses on the lives of an intelligent and complex FBI agent (Olivia), a brilliant mad scientist (Walter), and his quick-witted son (Peter) who investigate mysterious sci-fi crimes. Oliva is attractive, Peter is hot, and Walter is funny...what more could you ask for in a show?

'Fringe' is on FOX on Fridays at 9 pm

FRINGE- "Past + Present + Future"

'Bones' Season Seven--New Promo Video

For those of you who don't have OnDemand, you've probably missed the newest extended promo for Season 7 of 'Bones'. Looks like someone else felt your pain, because its recently been posted on YouTube. Unfortunately, it's not good quality, but in case you want to see it...here it is!

Hurry up November 3rd!

'Free Agents' is Canceled

I'm not pleased that one of the only new comedies that I enjoyed this season has already been canceled.

NBC, I wish you hadn't taunted us with only 4 episodes. Actually I'm not only blaming NBC, I blaming all networks that are canceling good shows after minimal promotion...oh wait, the only other shows that have been canceled are bad shows. Huh.

Regardless, it's not too surprising that 'Free Agents' is gone. After all, as my friend put it, "it's a comedy show with only old people, of course it failed. There weren't any hot people in it". She's probably right, in the majority of comedy shows that focus on relationships and sex we typically choose to watch attractive young people. Actually, I think that Kathryn Hahn is attractive, but it is true that she isn't typically hot, and she isn't young.

Of course, there are other comedy shows on the air where many of the actors aren't super attractive or incredibly young, but those shows tend to have more rapid-fire comedy, as opposed to the gradually building drama-comedy of 'Free Agents'.


Either way, I know that I'm going to miss 'Free Agents'. I can't even bring myself to watch the fourth episode because I know it's the end.

'Arrested Development' is coming back! New season announced.

Is 'Arrested Development' really coming back? Yes!

At a recent reunion of the cast and crew of the short-lived 'Arrested Development', which took place at the New Yorker Event today, producers announced a plan to film a shortened new season.

The fourth season of 'Arrested Development' will tentatively film next summer, and will only be a few episodes. It is five years since the third season of 'Arrested Development' ended due to low ratings. Since then the show has garnered tons of critical acclaim and a huge cult following.

Talk of an 'Arrested Development' movie has been around since the show was canceled, and creator Mitchell Hurwitz admits that the cast is still hoping to film a movie in the future. However, he felt that a movie would have to jump too far into the future of the Bluth family too quickly, and that a short television mini-series would be able to bridge the gap.

Anything that gives us more 'Arrested Development' is good in my book. The more the better!

Happy Saturday!

This is a super cute/spoofy (I know that's not a word, but it should be) video that I stumbled across on HelloGiggles.

It features a pre-baby Emily Deschanel and has plenty of 'Bones' references/Vegan jokes/Yes-I'm-Environmentally-Conscious-and-a-Celebrity stuff thrown in.

Watch it. It's funny.