No More TV Wasteland

Remember back in the day when summer meant non-stop reruns? Sure, that gave you a chance to get caught up on shows you didn't watch the first time around, but now we have TV on DVD and the summer's chalk-full of brand new content. Here's a sample of what I'll be watching:

Army Wives - June 3 - Lifetime's new drama looks like a prime guilty pleasure waiting to happen.

Kyle XY (pictured) - June 11 - I'm watching the first season on ABC Family's website right now and I can't wait to further unravel the mystery of the bellybutton-less boy.

The 4400 - June 17 - Will Season Four of USA's convoluted drama be as addictive as the first three? I'm counting on it.

The Closer - June 18 - Kyra Sedgwick's back for what will no doubt be another incredibly satisfying season of TNT's high-rated procedural.

Degrassi: The Next Generation and The Best Years - June 29 - Wild boars couldn't keep me away from the new season of Degrassi. The N's new college drama The Best Years looks okay-ish, but will get at least one courtesy viewing for following something involving Spinner.

Greek - July 9 - Now ABC Family's new college drama from the producers of Wildfire looks like something I could get behind...

Monk - July 13 - USA. Nuff said.

My Boys - July 30 - Remember this? It was on TBS. It was pleasant. There was a cliffhanger kiss with the cute former roommate... What? I wanna see how it turns out.

The Riches: It's a Wonderful Lie

I once had a writing teacher say that your protagonist should be like a cat stuck in a tree and your story is the means to get the cat down. Each time a ladder is propped near the trunk of the metaphorical tree in which the Riches reside, those crafty grifters just edge farther out onto ancient, shaky limbs.

In the latest episode, they were finally faced with someone lucid who knew the real Riches. After a wonderful series of twist and turns, it appeared that the danger had blown over and our travelers were safe. And then the limb cracked beneath them and the Riches were left grasping for branches.

If you're not watching this show, you should be.

Why They Belong Together: Instant Star

She's a teenage pop singer, he's a rapidly aging tabloid darling. They're star-crossed to be sure, but in the love triangle at the heart of Instant Star, Tommy will be the last beau standing. The proof is in this scene from season two.

Her first album has tanked, Jude's frustrated and her home life sucks. But when she gets into the studio with Tommy to work on her new album, that frustration washes away. She's bubbly and relaxed. And look at Tommy. Lord Squinty Frown has never looked so happy as he does when he's goofing around with his favorite starlet. Jamie's a great guy, definitely better than his rival, but when all is said and done, Tom's the best for Jude.

Yes, I'm willing to admit that I may have put too much thought into that. But it's what makes me me.

Boomer, Jammer and Lana Lang

I kid you not. All three starred on the Canadian teen soap Edgemont, which is far inferior to Degrassi, but boasts an impressive cast that also includes Eric from Wonderfalls and George's crazy nympho co-worker from Dead Like Me. I love that everything that shoots in Vancouver uses the same actors over and over again. It gives me a strange sense of peace.

Here's what I can tell from the couple of episodes I've watched on Youtube and cable: Boomer's gay, Jammer's the main character despite being kind of a douche and Lana's boring and still has that weird affected accent that definitely has no place in Kansas and probably not Vancouver either. Okay, I’m going to go watch an episode now. Jammer’s little brother’s missing and he hasn’t bothered to tell his parents yet. Drama!

Goodbye, Veronica

I don't need to tell you about the finale. You watched it; you know it was a fabulous, heartbreaking throwback to the first season, a sad reminder of things not to come. I especially enjoyed the subtle allusions to the pilot like Wallace's remote control plane and an asshole being beaten to a pulp in order to illicit an apology Veronica doesn't actually want. It's such perfect poetry that Logan was the asshole in the pilot and the strong arm of violent justice in the finale. And it appears that after using his fists and homicidal temper to ruin his relationship with Veronica, our schmoopy little orphan used them to open the door of possible reconciliation. Perfect. For everyone but Piz and Parker.

As Veronica walks off into the overcast horizon of her SoCal noir world, I'm reminded of what the series marks for me. Veronica Mars began airing just after I moved to Los Angeles. It instantly became appointment viewing and the topic of watercooler discussions at my new office. Impromptu viewing parties turned acquaintances into friends as we debated who killed Lilly Kane over bottles of wine and bruschetta. The show was something I shared with friends from college and back home, urging people to give it a shot and taping episodes to catch my family up over long holidays. I love TV and smart, sassy, strong Veronica Mars is a perfect example of why. She'll be sorely missed, but I can't wait to see what the people involved in her creation come up with next.

Moments in TV Awesome: Friday Night Lights

At least one of my favorite shows got renewed...

"Dallas meets The OC," you said?

The above quote was on the DVD for Wildfire's first season and all I can say is "Yes please." Just when Instant Star was making me wonder if I had grown too big for the kiddie table, I'm back for seconds. I quickly burned through the first 13 episodes and purchased the second and third seasons on iTunes.

Sure, I've got lingering questions: How old are the kids? In the first season they seem to be about to begin their senior year of high school, but we've never seen them darken the door of an educational facility and by season three they're drinking legally (?) in bars and moving in with stuffy British girlfriends. Also, how much time has passed? Has each season been a year or are we entering Lost/Grey's Anatomy/One Tree Hill territory, in which time is malleable and several seasons encompass a single year?

Questions aside, I love this show. The Junior/Kris/Matt love triangle is reminiscent of Logan/Veronica/Duncan, wherein no one’s rooting for the wooden nice guy, but he's still okay to have around. Lilly Kane herself pops up to play Junior's romantic foil for a stint in season two. Not shockingly, she's great. Other guest stars include Amy Jo Johnson of Felicity as a bitch on wheels jockey, that Aussie dude from the second season of One Tree Hill as a slick sports agent, Joe Lando from Higher Ground as a wayward father with a gambling problem and the thin London twin as a scary bookie with a gold-plated heart.

Against the high stakes backdrop of thoroughbred horse racing, former juvie inmate Kris Furillo and a failed racehorse named Wildfire struggle to overcome their sad lots in life and thrive in a world of beauty, privilege and familial loyalty. Genevieve Cortese stands out as the star of a near-perfect cast, but all the characters are well drawn and fallible. Bitchy, villainous Dani is startlingly three-dimensional and Matt’s gambling problem was dropped in early on and simmered to a dangerous boil over an entire season. You won’t find subtly like that on Instant Star…

Season one is out on DVD; season two is being uploaded weekly onto abcfamily.com; all three are on iTunes

Veronica Mars 2004-2007

Dude. This sucks.

http://community.tvguide.com/blog/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/700000049

http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/index.jsp?uuid=54a4a6b8-3402-44eb-936e-ed7bb82e69f1

Thanks to Q for the links.

One Tree Hill: Prom (this time with 95% less psychotic fake 1/2 brother)

So I was watching One Tree Hill on the internet (it's a habit I enjoy privately on account of it making the Chef bleed from her eye sockets) and I realized that this episode must have been some sort of viewer contest. The gang shows up in a small Texas town (Honey Grove) and with recurring rocker Chris Keller inexplicably in tow, they crash the prom in the nicest Thrift Store duds ever. Seriously, right before Peyton and Lucas finally consumated their painfully long and drawn out relationship, I expected one of them to suggest a shower to wash off the smell of mothballs and cigar smoke that one associates with unwashed thrift goods.

Now you could tell it was for a contest because the extras were uniformly real-looking teens rather than super hot twenty-somethings. One exception to the awkward line delivery parade was the young woman on the left, who I immediately recognized as not only a hot twenty-something, but also a bonafide actress.



I went to college with Shauna Maclean. That's right, someone I know got to appear in a scene with freaking Chris Keller (as in "Chris Keller can't swim" and "Chris Keller gets lonely too sometimes"). I heard through the grapevine that she has also appeared on Prison Break and since she's Texas-based, I'm hoping she'll next pop up on Friday Night Lights.

Tim Riggins ain't gonna choke Kevin Reilly!

Cause NBC renewed Friday Night Lights, bitches! Now everyone devote your TV-related prayers to Veronica. So say we all.

Veronica Mars: Debasement Tapes

Paud Rudd! And a bunch of other people you love! Seriously, the gang's all here. Vinnie and Bronson and that radio chick and that bell hop and scary Danny Boyd. There's Vinnie being all sketchy (my theory on Vincent Van Lowe: still working for the Fitzpatricks and the whole save the day schtick was a ploy to get a dirty sheriff back in office). Max is being all cute and Sacks is just being Sacks.

One of the things I love about this show is the established universe in which it exists. That's part of why I found last week's "Oh, we eat at Babylon Gardens ALL the time and I totally know your daughter" bit annoying. Cause guess what, Veronica? I know a lot of people in Neptune and bitchy Amira is not one of them. She's nothing buy a fly-by-night plot device and there's nothing you can do to convince me otherwise.

But enough of all that ugliness. On to last night's episode, which will air in LA at 9 PM on Saturday. It's also available online at cwtv.com. Shoddy detective work aside (seriously, she didn't ask to see the bag before starting the investigation?), the writers were on their A game. It was snappy and funny with lovely bits of pathos (Desmond) and angst (Logan, who else?). And while I'm not sure if Veronica really likes Piz or just thinks she should, I love him. So much that I'll continue to watch that Grey's spin-off even if it's assy and they keep making self-referential elevator jokes. I can't help it, folks. I'm about two episodes away from getting "Stosh" tattooed on my ass.

With the end of the season in sight (two more weeks and three more episodes), I gotta tell you: I'm holding out hope for the FBI redux version. Previous skepticism be damned. Alias wasn't all that bad the first couple of times it got revamped and it's not like a fictional Leonardo Da Vinci factors into this whole FBI thing. Though if it does, I'll still watch. Word is that the network presentation of Veronica: FBI Agent went very well. That combined with a slot left open by the departing Gilmore Girls and I have my fingers firmly crossed. Random question time: is it me, or is that totally Veronica creator Rob Thomas as Desmond's late bandmate? I realize the pic's small, but peruse your Tivo and I think I'll be proven right. Or legally insane. One or the other.

And you thought your prom sucked

Peyton got kidnapped and nearly raped by her crazy fake half-brother. Glenda had to spend the night pretending to care about Lucas' dead uncle and still not getting into his pants. And then they both lost prom queen to Brooke. Makes bad hair and an extra gropey date seem like a cake walk, am I right?

We've got a lot to discuss...

I've had a busy couple of weeks, but never fear, I've still got my priorities straight and I've made time for TV via Tivo and the internet. Let's start with VERONICA MARS. Veronica, Studio 60 called and they want that preachy sermon back. I did, however, enjoy the 15 minutes that were devoted to Logan and Parker's functional relationship and Piz mustering the balls to make a move. Finally!

Speaking of Piz, apparently he works out, as witnessed by his buff turn on GREY'S ANATOMY. The spin-off has possibilities although if any man ever said, "I'm going to kiss you. With tongue. So you feel it," to me in an empty stair well, he'd be getting a knee to the balls for being equal parts creepy and cheesy. You know what kiss was neither creepy nor cheesy? George and Izzy! Am I the only one who's totally on this bandwagon? Cause I LOVE it. Almost as much as I hate McDreamy for his sudden ambivalence about Mere. I'd forgive it if it really had to do with her lack of will to live and not the fact that he wants to further his career. Ass.

I don't talk about it much, but UGLY BETTY is a seriously solid show. Who said Rebecca Romijn as a lonely transgendered ice queen wouldn't play in Middle America? Also on ABC, OCTOBER ROAD. The show is full of holes and silly twists. It pisses me off and yet I watched every damn episode. I actually care about the stupid characters, especially Eddie and Janet. I even like Laura Prepon and she used to bug the hell out of me with her perpetual post punchline smirk on That '70s Show.

Speaking of things that bug the hell out of me... INSTANT STAR'S still flirting with mediocrity. Let's be honest, I think mediocrity has gotten to third base at this point. Here's my thing about the Jude/Jamie/Tommy triangle we're inexplicably revisiting: Jude will never be in love with Jamie. Yes, he's the better guy, but he's not her guy. She invited him on her first tour AFTER Tommy turned her down. She hooked up with him because Tommy was with Sadie. She wrote White Lines about Tommy while she was dating Jamie. It's not really a love triangle, it's a set up for disaster.

Shows I've recently tried on for size: HEROES - last night's episode was a little assy and I'm a bit creeped out by the dynamic between Peter and niece Claire, but I've caught the last few eps and I'm intrigued and looking forward to watching it from the beginning. I'm also eager to get further into WILDFIRE on ABC Family. Yes, I love shows aimed at tweens, but this one's really good. I'd caught episodes before, but now several eps at a time are available on abcfamily.com. Ever wonder what happened to Degrassi's school shooter? He's on an ABC Family show called Falcon Beach. It's pretty unwatchable, but Degrassi will be back (sans Rick, of course) this summer.

Oh and last night's HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER was super cute. That's all I've got for now.