It's Time for a Parks & Rec Family Hug...

...Because the show was just renewed for a sixth season!

That's right, Parks and Recreation will be back on NBC for Season Six this Fall (2013). Get ready America.

Emmy Nominations 2012

Here's a copy of the press release for 2012 Emmy Nominations:

Kristen Bell is All Over the Interwebs Today

Parody (I hope) she knows about:

Parody she (probably) didn't know about:

Pointless Video Time

Happy tax day y'all! To celebrate, here's a video that has absolutely nothing to do with taxes:

They're back!

I hate mid-season hiatuses. Really, truly hate them. Mainly because each network seems to abide by a slightly different schedule, and that makes it almost impossible to keep track of when new episodes are airing.

Luckily, I know one thing:

Tonight there are all new episodes of 'Community', 'Parks and Rec', 'The Office', and 'Bones' (and 'Whitney' too, but that's barely worth mentioning). Thank you NBC and FOX! Other channels are airing repeats.

On 'Community' (NBC, 8/7C) it's an episode that's all about Foosball and lying. Sounds like a great combination to me.

Next is 'Parks and Rec' (NBC, 8:30/7:30C) where Leslie goes on trial--my guess is it has something to do with that kissing that happened with Ben last week.

Wrapping up Thursday's comedy line-up is 'The Office' (NBC, 9/8C) which is introducing Maura Tierney as a minor supporting character, in the role of Robert California's wife. I've loved Tierney ever since I first saw 'NewsRadio' so I'm super excited about her return to comedy.

Since I think 'Bones' works best when as little is known about the episode as possible (and I haven't seen it, so I don't want to ruin it for myself by reading an episode description or spoilers) suffice to say that it will probably deal more with Brennan's pregnancy, that pesky house Booth and Brennan are trying to agree on, and a murder. Definitely a murder.

please, please watch this show

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!

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.

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?

What's new on TV tonight?

Premieres of 'Community', 'Parks & Rec', and 'The Office' start on NBC tonight at 8 pm. After 'The Office' catch the premiere of 'Whitney'.

Also, 'Grey's Anatomy' is two hours long starting at 9 pm on ABC.

 And 'The Big Bang Theory' returns to CBS at 8 pm.

What time? What channel? The Emmys.

It's finally that time of year again...time for the Emmys! Whether you like red carpet action or the actual award show, here's where you can watch it all:

Live red carpet action starts at 6 pm on E!

Countdown begins at 7 pm on FOX

The actual awards show begins (live!) at 8 pm, also on FOX

I'm crossing my fingers for:
Amy Poehler ('Parks and Recreation')*
Alec Baldwin ('30 Rock')*
Jane Krakowski ('30 Rock')
Ed O'Neill ('Modern Family')*
'Parks and Recreation'*
Mariska Hargitay ('Law and Order: SVU')
Hugh Laurie ('House')
Archie Panjabi ('The Good Wife')
John Slattery ('Mad Men')
'The Good Wife'

I've starred the ones that I actually think will win. As you can see, I'll be pretty shocked if more than four of my choices walk away with that gold statuette.

Here's hoping!

Premiere Dates of Television Shows Fall 2011-2012

It's September, so it is officially time to prepare for the premieres of some of your favorite shows. Pull out that calendar, here are the dates that you need to keep free:

Returning shows (in order of release):

'Glee'
When? Wednesday, Sept 21st at 8 pm
Where? FOX
What? High school Glee club, made up of a bunch of ostracized misfits and popular Cheerleaders, sing and compete and date and break-up.

'Community'
When? Thursday, Sept 22nd at 8 pm
Where? NBC
What? A hilarious half-hour show about a study group at a quirky community college. Plus, Joel McHale.

'Parks and Recreation'
When? Thursday, Sept 22nd at 8:30 pm
Where? NBC
What? A hilarious half-hour show about a group of colleges at a Parks & Rec department. Plus, Amy Poehler.

'The Office'
When? Thursday, Sept 22nd at 9 pm
Where? NBC
What? Employees at a paper company work together, and insanity ensues. Also, no more Steve Carell?

'Desperate Housewives'
When? Sunday, Sept 25th at 9 pm
Where? ABC
What? Focuses on the crazy, crazy lives of a bunch of housewives and their families in a fictional suburb. Frankly, I'm a little shocked this is still on the air.

'Dexter'
When? Sunday, Oct 2nd at 9 pm
Where? Showtime
What? A serial killer who actually works for the police, and only kills bad guys. You need to be caught up on all the older seasons or you'll have no idea what's happening.

'Bones'
When? Thursday, Nov 3rd at 8 pm
Where? FOX
What? Forensic anthropologists and FBI guy solve crimes together, and may or may not be desperately in love with each other. Plus, now there will be two babies!

New shows you might want to watch (in order of release date)...

'Free Agents'
When? Wednesday, Sept 14th at 10:30 pm
Where? NBC
What? Remake of a British comedy (but aren't they all?), two co-workers deal with the aftermath of a one-night stand. Plus, Anthony Stewart Head!

'Two Broke Girls'
When? Monday, Sept 19th at 9:30 pm
Where? CBS
What? Two broke girls, who waitress and nanny. I think it's a comedy.

'New Girl'
When? Tuesday, Sept 20th at 9 pm
Where? FOX
What? Zooey Deschanel (little sis to the star of FOX's hit show, 'Bones') finally has her own show. Basically, she plays an awkward girl who moves in with three guys. Based on the previews, this will either be really funny or really obnoxious.

'Unforgettable'
When? Tuesday, Sept 20th at 10 pm
Where? CBS
What? Poppy Montgomery (of 'Without at Trace' fame) finally gets her own show. What a shock that it's another crime ridden one! She tries to solve the murder of her sister, who was killed when they were children. Oh, and she has the uncanny ability to remember everything (except the murder of her sister).

'Revenge'
When? Wednesday, Sept 21st at 10 pm
Where? ABC
What? A girl wants revenge on the people she believes are responsible for destroying her family. Basically, ABC attempts to use Emily VanCamp in a new show now that they canceled her old one ('Brothers and Sisters').

'Charlie's Angels'
When? Tuesday, Sept 22nd at 8 pm
Where? ABC
What? Modern remake of...'Charlie's Angels'

'Pan Am'
When? Sunday, Sept 25th at 10 pm
Where? ABC
What? Trying to grab some of the fans of 'Mad Men', this show revolves around the lives of beautiful Pan Am stewardesses. Back when they were called 'stewardesses'.

'The Playboy Club'
When? Sunday, Sept 25th at 10 pm
Where? NBC
What? This show revolves around the lives of hot Playboy bunnies, and their love interests/sleazy criminal interactions. Back when Playboy bunnies...never-mind.

'Hart of Dixie'
When? Monday, Sept 26th at 9 pm
Where? CW
What? Big city female surgeon gets sent to small Southern town. If you can buy Rachel Bilson as a surgeon (I said IF!) then you might buy into this show.


Want the release dates and times of other new or old shows? Just leave me a comment!

emmy nominations for 2011 are announced! comedy

2011 Emmy Nominations "Comedy"
...who's nominated, who I want to win, and who probably will
looking for "drama"?

Lead Actress--Comedy:
*Edie Falco She's a media darling, but she won last year.
*Laura Linney She's a media darling, and she's been nominated for academy awards (3) and won emmys (3), it wouldn't surprise me if she beat Poehler.
*Amy Poehler Her show didn't deserve a win last year, but Poehler's hilarity made it a gem in 2011.
*Melissa McCarthy Her show isn't that great, but that hasn't stopped them before (Jon Cryer won in 2009?!).
*Martha Plimpton This show is tons of fun, and I think Plimpton's great, but I don't believe it has the following to win this year.
*Tina Fey She hasn't won since '08, but she's been nominated every year. and while I think she's marvelous I think this may be Poehler's year.

Lead Actor--Comedy:
*Matt LeBlanc Huh, I heard 'Episodes' is good...but I haven't seen it so I can't comment.
*Jim Parsons I can't stand 'The Big Bang Theory'. I know, I know, lots of people like it...
*Johnny Galecki See above.
*Steve Carell Last year on 'The Office'? last chance to win an Emmy? I'm thinking he will win.
*Louis C.K. He's pretty hilarious but maybe a little too vulgar for voters to think he "deserves" an Emmy.
*Alec Baldwin Two Emmy nominations but no win? Well, that's a travesty. I think he should win this year.

Supporting Actress--Comedy:
*Jane Lynch She won last year, and she's hosting this year. So, I guess she could win, but I think they should give someone else a shot.
*Betty White She's already won 7. And 'Hot in Cleveland' is not good.
*Kristen Wiig I know Fey won for SNL that one time, but that was probably a flux.
*Julie Bowen 'Modern Family' was a favorite last year, and out of all their actresses Bowen should win this.
*Jane Krakowski I love her! And I'd love it if she'd win. After all, no other actress wore a giant dog suit (while pregnant!) and walked a man around on a leash.
*Sofia Vergara Again, I love 'Modern Family', but I think Bowen really deserves the nod.

Supporting Actor--Comedy:
*Jon Cryer Read what I wrote for McCarthy above.
*Chris Colfer Yeah, yeah, "Glee" is big. And Colfer's okay. But he is not funny. I just don't see it.
*Jesse Tyler Ferguson Woah they loved their 'Modern Family' this year too! Sorry Jesse, but I want to give this to Ty.
*Ed O'Neill This is his first Emmy nomination, but after publicly snubbing Lynch last year I'm not sure he'll manage a win.
*Eric Stonestreet You won last year. Give someone else a chance!
*Ty Burrell He's hilarious on 'Modern Family', and can say even the most straightforward line with enough character to make you laugh out loud.

Check back later for my opinions on the other Emmy categories. Also, think I'm wrong? Think someone should have been nominated who wasn't? Leave a comment! Who will win? Who should win?

63rd Emmy Awards & Emmy Roundtable Videos

Ballot casting has come and gone and it's almost time for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards!

And by almost time, I mean it's on September 18th.

Since that's quite a ways away I wanted to share one of my favorite pre-Emmy rituals:

The Emmy Roundtable Videos!

These little gems pop up on Youtube each year, but barely anyone ever watches them. I don't know why...they can be hilarious.

Basically some behind the camera guy sits down with all the lead actors of your favorite TV shows at the SAME time and asks them questions. Sometimes really, really random questions.

I've included two of my favorites below, and yes, they're both from the 'women in comedy' part of Emmy Roundtable (because, honestly, they're the most entertaining). But, I promise Youtube has Emmy Roundtable Videos including everything from drama to reality t.v.

premiere dates for 'community' & 'parks & rec'

NBC has officially announced when the 2011-2012 seasons of 'Community' and 'Parks and Rec' will be...

Thursday, September 22nd

'Community' at 8 pm

'Parks & Rec' at 8:30 pm

Unfortunately '30 Rock' joins 'Bones' with a mid-season release date due to Tina Fey's pregnancy. She's due in September. (Of course the stars of all of my favorite shows had to get pregnant at the same time!)

It's Summer...What Are You Going to Watch?

What You Should Be Watching This Summer:

Now that summer's fully upon us (official June 21st!) what are you planning on watching while your favorite shows are on hiatus? Find some of my recommendations for live TV viewing and Netflix browsing below:



Mondays

1) Rizzoli & Isles. Premieres July 11th. Mondays 10/9 c on TNT.

Harmon (from 'Desperate Housewives') as a homicide detective. Alexander (from 'Dawson's Creek' and 'NCIS') as a medical examiner. They solve cases. They're best friends. There's homoerotic tension if you want to look for it.

2) Weeds. Premieres June 27th. Mondays 10/9 c on Showtime.
Marie-Louise Parker. Marijuana dealer. Mother to three. If you're going to watch this you have to play catch up first.

Tuesdays

2) Covert Affairs. Tuesdays 10/9 C on USA.

CIA. Hot female spy. Sexy James Bond lite. Enough said.

Wednesdays

3) Toddlers & Tiaras. Wednesday 10/9 c on TLC.

Ridiculous pageant moms and their children. Watch them 'train'. Watch them 'compete'. Watch the horror of child beauty pageants while sitting on the edge of your seat.

4) Damages. Wednesdays 10/9 c on DIRECTV.
Reality TV not really your thing? Watch Glen Close as a manipulative lawyer, and Rose Byne as her equally devious, slightly more genuine, younger counterpart.

Netflix It Anytime

5) Better Off Ted. Netflix.
If you missed this when it was on the air catch up with it right away. Crazy R&D firm. Portia de Rossi as an insensitive yet hilarious boss. Science nerds, children, and love interests.

6) Arrested Development. Netflix.
I know, I'm really pushing de Rossi's work. But this is pure genius. Watch it at least 3 times to get all the hidden subtext. Zany family, criminal charges, Michael Cera, and the most ridiculous plot you've ever seen. Plus, it has four characters all named some combination of George/Michael. How can you not love it?

7) Wonderfalls. DVD.
Recent Brown graduate works retail. Inanimate animals talk to her. They help her solve people's problems. Add a hot bartender/potential boyfriend and a hilarious closeted lesbian sister and you've got a must-watch.

8) Bones. Netflix.
Rewatch seasons 1-4 (all available on Netflix) and then somehow get your hands on season 5 and 6. Rewatch before November premiere date of season 7. Find the subtext. Reevaluate the writers...maybe they're not all crazy?

9) Law and Order: SVU. Netflix.
Crime, Benson, Stabler. It's all there. With 248 episodes you can really keep summer boredom at bay.

10) Parks and Recreation. Netflix.
Amy Poehler. Ridiculous local government. Rashida Jones. Oh, and did I mention Amy Poehler?

11) 30 Rock. Netflix.
Tina Fey. Alec Baldwin. Behind the scenes of an SNL-like show. Plus Jane Krakowski. Oh, and did I mention Tina Fey?

12) Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the series). Netflix.
Because it's a cultural milestone. With a spunky ex-cheerleader and her quirky friends. Oh and said ex-cheerleader kills demons. Plus, early (note: hot) David Boreanaz.

Amy Poehler Spoke at Harvard! and she was funny!

Amy Poehler Spoke at Harvard Class Day (5/26/11)
scroll down to the bottom to watch the video

So, I lucked out and was able to hear Amy Poehler speak yesterday at Harvard. Let me just say, she was hilarious.

Actually, my favorite part happened before she was even speaking. The speaker before her, a student who had been asked to give a humorous oration, referred to her as "the blond Tina Fey". After saying this, he turned around to make momentary eye contact with her and she immediately flicked him off. It was pretty priceless, and everyone in the audience (well, maybe not the grandparents) thought it was funny. Her parents were in the audience too...I wonder if she got scolded afterward. I know for a fact my parents would not deem that appropriate behavior!

Her speech itself was perfect. It was mainly humor, with a bit of a somber tone thrown in (she mentioned 9/11 and AIDS). Somehow, despite the stark contrast between comments about 9/11 and her joke about Donald Trump in a chicken suit, she still managed to make everything flow successfully, and at fifteen minutes her speech wasn't too short or too long. I could go into more details, but I really think you should watch it for yourself.

In the speech which they've released online, Harvard cut out some funny moments. One of these cuts was her introduction by two students, who stated they wanted to give a first ever award for blonds (dyed or natural) who grew up in MA, went to BC, and were funny. They called the award "The Polar (Poehler!) Bear Award" and then presented Amy with a stuffed polar bear. As soon as she got up to to podium she stated: "I will find a prominent place in...my garbage for that, later on tonight. Thank you very much."
Apparently Harvard didn't think that was appropriate enough to be included in their video.

Regardless, listening to Amy Poehler's speech was a great experience. And I have to say, she's just as funny in person as she is on television.

The only thing that would have made it better would have been if the guy in front of me hadn't decided to do a fauxhawk that day...



Watch it for yourself!

new series this fall. get excited. maybe.

New Pilots Coming This Fall hopefully to a t.v. near you:
aka Keeping Actors' Family Members in the Network Television Tree

no. not this kind of pilot.

Look's like Amy Poehler's husband, Will Arnett (of "Arrested Development" fame) is keeping it in the family. Emily Spivey, the writer of his wife's hit t.v. show ("Parks and Recreation") is the writer of his new show, "Alpha Mom". Oh, look, it also might be on NBC. Maybe it will even be on the same night as "Parks and Rec". Actually, that wouldn't be so bad. I've been missing Will Arnett ever since Gob was kicked off the air. Still, is this going to be yet another excuse for delaying the "Arrested Development" movie? Greeaaat.





Other networks appear to believe in this whole 'support the family' thing too. Zooey Deschanel (the only reason why "Failure to Launch" was funny) is starring in a new pilot. The show is called "The New Girl" and is about an elementary teacher who's unlucky in love, and lives with three guys. My only concern is that it's written by Liz Meriwether, who also wrote "No Strings Attached". Which, frankly, was a terrible waste of time. Still, I have hopes for the show. And, oh. Look. It's on the same network as big sis Emily Deschanel's hit show, "Bones".




All right, this has nothing to do with family relations, but I'm still going to mention it. CBS might be airing "The Ringer", about a woman who's on the run and decides to borrow her twin sister's identity. Okay, I'll admit it sounds a bit like a Lifetime movie plot (actually, I think I saw that Lifetime movie). But, and here's where it gets good, Sarah Michelle Gellar is starring in it. Honestly, after the disappointment of "The Wonderful Maladys" (which I have to say, I think had a much better premise), I'd just like to see her on the air again.




Here's an article about some more potential series. Any other exciting ones you've heard about?

Bones Episode Review: The Finder aka The Bones spin-off episode

THURSDAY NIGHTS ARE THE BEST NIGHTS ON TELEVISION
and "Bones" really contributes to that excellence...normally...

Yay for all of you! Except you CBS, Sorry...

Thursday nights are the best nights on television, hands down. Seriously, can you beat a night full of "Bones", "Grey's", "The Office", "Parks and Rec", and "30 Rock"? Didn't think so. My only complaint is that several of these shows are on at the same time which makes later Hulu-ing/TiVo-ing necessary.

I've given you a full day to catch-up, so I really hope by now you've watched yesterday's "Bones". But, in case you missed it, I'll try to avoid too many spoilers. Basically Bones and Booth had to solve a murder (what else is new) and they were successful (seriously, I'm ruining nothing). What was interesting though was that they appeared in very little of the show. Why? Well, because Hart Hanson and his crew wanted to introduce us to their new show, which will be premiering on Fox in the not too distant future. The show has, rather obviously, the same name as this episode: "The Finder".

During this week's episode Bones and Booth were in Miami where the remains had been discovered. Apparently, Booth has an old army 'friend' (Walter Sherman) who is a finder. Weird that Booth has never, ever mentioned this guy before, huh? Guess you need plenty of army buddies for a successful spin-off series. He can, quite literally, located anything that anyone has ever lost. He was also brain-damaged in the war which causes rampant paranoia.

the new team of "The Finder"

Now, the premise of "The Finder" isn't all bad. Although I do have to admit that it's a bit too much like "The Mentalist" for my liking. Still, Hart Hanson seems to be skilled at making things appealing quirky, so maybe it will be a smash hit. When reviewing this week's "Bones" episode that's kind of beside the point. My biggest problem with the episode? It wasn't "Bones"! So much of it was focused on introducing Walter and his friends (who I assume will be the primary cast of "The Finder") that the tone of the episode was completely wrong. I felt as though I was watching a brand new show that just happened to have a tiny side-story which featured the crew of the Jeffersonian. It felt bizarre to say the least. I do have to admit that I'm often thrown by shows introducing their own spin-offs (I didn't like it much when "NCIS" featured the new cast of "NCIS: LA" much either), still I felt that "Bones" did a particularly poor job.

Oh, look, here we see Walter and Booth briefly interacting

We only saw Booth and Brennan briefly (which was just enough time for Brennan to appear more socially inept and vapid seriously this used to be an intelligent woman, why are the writers doing this? and for Booth to interact with her in a way that was somehow less charming than it used to be.) In fact, it seemed as though they were only there at the beginning and the end, sandwiched around the real story which focused on Walter and his cronies. And which was, essentially, the premiere episode of "The Finder". I understand that "The Finder" is a new show aimed at the same audience as "Bones", but when I sit down in excitement to watch the weekly episode of "Bones" I prefer not to be tricked into watching something else entirely.

And it seems like some other people agree with me, this week "Bones" dropped 9% from last week's viewers...

heteronormative

Well, I started off writing about "Sister Wives", but right now I'm too tired to write an eloquent (or even vaguely comprehensible) post on the subject, so you're just going to have to wait until tomorrow. I do, however, promise that it will contain the word "heteronormative".

Speaking of which, I'll leave you with this fascinating website I just came across: 'I Want My Gay TV!'. Check it out, it's pretty awesome*.

Cause we maybe, kinda, sorta said we support gay marriage! Wait, did we?

*I just had a really strong compulsion to write awesome-sauce. If you don't watch "Parks & Rec" you won't get that reference, so I'm clearly choosing to be a tad less crazy and am mentioning it in the footnotes instead.