Emmys Recap

The Emmys were last night, and included many surprises, and a few not so surprising winners.  Here are my thoughts.

Picture: Getty Images

If there was one category that I was really hoping for a miracle in, it was supporting actress in a comedy.  Julie Bowen is one of the funniest women on television right now.  She has the grace, class, and comedic timing that many actors would kill to have.  The buzz seemed to be towards Jane Lynch winning again, but hands down, Bowen was the funniest of the year. Well that miracle happened, and she took home the prize.  Making things even better, her TV husband Ty Burrell won supporting actor in a comedy immediately after she won.  Yay Dunphys!! With only 2 seasons under their belt, half of the adult cast on Modern Family already has an Emmy (including Eric Stonestreet's win last year).  Next year, I would love for it to be Ed O'Neill and Sofia Vergara's turn.

One somewhat controversial upset, however, was Steve Carell's loss to Jim Parsons for lead actor in a comedy series.  I, for one, am very happy Parsons won his second Emmy in a row, but with it being Carell's last year on The Office, it would have been nice for him to finally take home the much deserved top prize.  Instead, he'll go down in TV history as one of those actors who never won for the iconic character they played for years (such as Martin Sheen, on The West Wing).  My theory on how Parsons won, is that each actor submits an episode for Emmy consideration...but Johnny Galecki was also nominated, therefore, Emmy voters saw two of Parsons' performances within the same season, and only saw one of Carell's.  But, that's just my theory.  Maybe they just can't stand the guy. *shrug*.

Speaking of theories:  Melissa McCarthy wins best actress in a comedy series for Mike & Molly.  McCarthy has had an incredible year.  Hit new show, became even more popular for being the standout in "Bridesmaids", then received her first ever Emmy nomination and win. My theory is that Bridesmaids was on the mind of Emmy voters...and it pushed her over the edge to win.  I admit it...I was wrong on my Laura Linney prediction that I made way back in 2009.  It makes me sad.  Oh well, there's always next year.

Picture: Reuters

Let's take a moment to rejoice in the fact that Friday Night Lights finally got some Emmy love.  Jason Katims took home best writing for a drama series, and Kyle Chandler beat out expected winner Jon Hamm.  This was the 2nd moment of the night (2nd only to Bowen's win) that I came up out of my seat with excitement. With Katims' and Chandler's wins, I managed to hold on to a glimmer of hope that FNL would beat out Mad Men for best drama series....but alas, Mad Men took home their 4th consecutive win, joining the ranks of Hill Street Blues, LA Law, and The West Wing.  It was expected, and many would argue is deserved, but I for one am ready for a change.  Give another show a chance, please.  Yes, I finally gave in and started watching Mad Men.  Yes, it is very well done show. But...I'm ready to see something else win.  One final Mad Men note:  The show continues to have zero wins in the acting categories.  Many members of this cast are very talented (some more than others), but they just aren't able to win.  This year was probably their best shot, and it didn't happen, so the question is, will they ever win an Emmy for acting? Only time will tell.

Final thought: JULIANNA MARGULIES!!!  I'm so happy she won best actress in a drama series.  Margulies' performance is consistently top notch every single week on The Good Wife. If anybody else would have won (except for Connie Britton) it would have been a travesty.  Observe:

Alright, that's all the time I have for now.  It's premiere week, so soon I'll be reviewing the new shows that I'll be giving a try, and we'll see what will stay and what will get deleted from the DVR.

Emmys: My Picks

The Prime Time Emmys are this Sunday night! Hooray!  Earlier in the summer I posted my picks before the Emmy nominations, and then my reactions to the noms...but now it's time to pick who I think will win, who I wish would win, and possible dark horses. 

Outstanding Drama Series

Courtesy: emmys.com

Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Mad Men

Will win: Mad Men
My wish: The Good Wife
Dark horse: Boardwalk Empire

Outstanding Actress in a Drama
Kathy Bates, Harry's Law
Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights
Mireille Enos, The Killing
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

Will win: Julianna Margulies
My wish: Julianna Margulies
Dark horse: Elisabeth Moss

Outstanding Actor in a Drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Timothy Olyphant, Justified

Will win: Jon Hamm
My Wish: Kyle Chandler
Dark horse: Steve Buscemi

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Walton Goggins, Justified
John Slattery, Mad Men
Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age




Will win: Alan Cumming
My wish: Alan Cumming
Dark horse: Walton Goggins



Outstanding Supporting Actress in a DramaKelly McDonald, Boardwalk Empire
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Christine Baranksi, The Good Wife
Margo Martindale, Justified
Michelle Forbes, The Killing
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

Will win: Margo Martindale
My wish: Christine Baranski
Dark horse: Kelly McDonald (or last years winner Archie Panjabi)

Outstanding Comedy Series
The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
The Office
Parks and Recreation
30 Rock

Will win: Modern Family
My wish: Modern Family
Dark horse: Parks and Recreation

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation



Will win: Laura Linney (sticking to the prediction I made the day they announced this show)
My wish: Amy Poehler
Dark horse: Amy Poehler



Outstanding Actor in a Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Louis C.K., Louie
Steve Carell, The Office
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Will win: Steve Carell (which would be his first win)
My wish: Jim Parsons
Dark horse: Jim Parsons (who was a shoo-in until it became Carell's final season)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Chris Colfer, Glee
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ed O'Neill, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Jon Cryer, Modern Family

Will win: Eric Stonestreet
My wish: Eric Stonestreet
Dark horse: Chris Colfer


Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Jane Lynch, Glee
Betty White, Hot In Cleveland
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock


Will win: Jane Lynch
My wish: Julie Bowen
Dark horse: Betty White




Well, there ya have it! We'll see how it all pans out, this Sunday.  Enjoy the show!

First Reactions to Emmy Nominations

Melissa McCarthy and Joshua Jackson announced the
Emmy nominations Thursday morning.

Well the 2011 Primetime Emmy Nominations are out.  There were several surprises and several snubs.  In this blog I'm going to just give my first reactions to the noms, and then closer to the award show, I'll post who I think/want to win.  So, here we go...

OUTSTANDING DRAMA
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Mad Men

*Not many surprises here. The much buzzed about Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones were expected.  Great for Friday Night Lights to finally get a nomination in its final season.  Mad Men has won the last 3 years, so it was expected.  And my favorite, The Good Wife, is the only network show to get a nomination. The only snub was LOST.  Okay, fine.  It's not on anymore.  But it's absence was dramatic enough for me to warrant a nomination. I'm lost without this show (see what I did there?)

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law
Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights
Mireille Enos, The Killing
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men


*I had a feeling Kathy Bates might sneak in here.  She is Kathy Bates, after all.  But "Harry's Law" is nothing to write home about...yet.  I think she'll easily appear in here as the show continues to improve...but based on season 1? I think not.  So happy for front-runner Julianna Margulies.  Connie Britton is crazy talented, so I'm glad she got a nom for FNL's last season. Snubbed: Lauren Graham, for Parenthood.  Her performances captivate me every week.  Show her some love!

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Timothy Olyphant, Justified


*With Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston out of the way (BB didn't air within the eligibility period), there is plenty of room for any of these guys to win.  The least likely is probably Hugh Laurie, who has yet to win after 5 nominations.  Most likely? Jon Hamm.  Snubbed: Peter Krause for Parenthood.  They nominated him 3 times for Six Feet Under, and he's terrific on Parenthood as well.  But, there just wasn't enough room.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Walton Goggins, Justified
John Slattery, Mad Men
Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age

*I am so very pleased that Alan Cumming and Josh Charles were both nominated for The Good Wife.  They both had great seasons.  Peter Dinklage has been around for years and years, and finally he's getting some attention, so it's great for him.  Snubbed: Chris Noth, for The Good Wife.


OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Margo Martindale, Justified
Michelle Forbes, The Killing
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

KaDee Strickland, Private Practice

*I have to start by expressing my severe disappointment in KaDee Strickland's snub for Private Practice.  Her work in the post-rape episode "Did Year What Happened to Charlotte King?" was Emmy worthy...and she didn't even get a nomination.  I figured she wouldn't since the show has never gotten any love, but I thought she might just break through.  I'm very happy about last year's winner Archie Panjabi, and Christine Baranski (both from The Good Wife) both getting nominations again. This category is further proof that this is a year full of newbies.  Michelle Forbes and Margo Martindale have both been around for years, but are just now starting to get recognized.



OUTSTANDING COMEDY
The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
The Office
Parks and Recreation
30 Rock


*I am so pleased with the nominations this year.  All nominees are on network TV, and they're all great shows.  In my opinion, season 4 was the weakest for The Big Bang Theory, but this was the first year it snuck into this category.  Parks & Recreation is hysterical, and I was afraid it would get snubbed, but sure enough, they finally recognized it! And of course Modern Family and Glee are in there again, and the old favorite 30 Rock.  I was not a fan of this past season of The Office, but I believe that it being Steve Carell's final season was enough to snag a nom.



OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

*Over a year ago, Showtime announced a new show starring Laura Linney.  That very day, I said "Laura Linney will win best actress in a comedy in 2011".  We'll see if that prediction holds true.  Amy Poehler is my top pick.  I'm glad to see the hilarious breakout star Melissa McCarthy get nominated, along side Martha Plimpton! Snubbed: Courteney Cox (Cougar Town) and  Lea Michele (Glee).


OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Louis C.K., Louie
Steve Carell, The Office
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

*Excuse my while I pick my jaw up off the floor after seeing that Johnny Galecki has been nominated for best actor in a comedy series.  Umm...he's good, but this show belongs to Jim Parsons (and Kaley Cuoco).  There is no need for both of them to be nominated in this category.  Parson's won last year, and the only thing (knock on wood) keeping him from winning this year is an Emmy finally thrown Steve Carell's way for his Office swan song season. We'll see what happens.  Oh, and the inner-Friends nerd in me is so pleased that Matt LeBlanc is back! Snubbed:

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Chris Colfer, Glee
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

Nick Offerman, Parks and Recreation

*Alas, all Modern Family men have been nominated in this category (yay Ed O'Neill!).  My money is on Eric Stonestreet again.  And for the love of Charlie Sheen, please stop nominating Jon Cryer.  There needs to be a spot for the mucho-snubbed Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) who is one of the funniest supporting actors to come around in a long time.



 
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Jane Lynch, Glee
Betty White, Hot In Cleveland
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock


*As soon as I posted my predictions earlier this week I thought to myself "Oooo, I forgot Betty White!".  Betty White ended up getting a nomination for Hot In Cleveland.  I can't really complain about this. I love Betty, and she's a force to be reckoned with.  As much as I love Jane Lynch, this belongs to Julie Bowen this year.  She was the funniest woman on TV this year (to me) as Claire on Modern Family.  She just oozed of comedic charm, class, and timing that the greats like Lucille Ball always got recognized for.  Give her an Emmy already!!  Snubbed: Naya Rivera, as Santana on Glee. 


Alright, those are my first reactions to the Emmy noms.  Later this summer I'll post my predictions as to who will win!

Pre-Emmy Nominations Picks

Hi folks! I should have known when I started a blog that I wouldn't be able to keep up with it as much as I would like.  But alas, I'm back (a few months later), with my annual Emmy nominations picks.  The Emmy nominations are this Thursday, and are being announced by the hilarious Melissa McCarthy.  (Watch this funny video of Joel McHale preparing her for this year's announcements).  

I have put together a list that is a conglomeration of who I would like to be nominated, and who I think will be nominated.  I'm not going to differentiate because, well, it would take much time to provide so much commentary.  The names with an asterisk are who I would like to see win the Emmy.  Once nominations come out and we are closer to the actual ceremony (September 18th), I will blog about who I want/think will win, based on the official nominations.  So, without further ado, here is my list.

Drama Categories

Best Drama Series
*The Good Wife
Boardwalk Empire
Mad Men
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Private Practice

Best Actor Drama
*Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
William H. Macy, Shameless
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Peter Krause, Parenthood

Best Actress Drama
*Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy
Kate Walsh, Private Practice
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU

Best Supporting Actor Drama
*Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Chris Noth, The Good Wife
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Michael Pitt, Boardwalk Empire
John Slattery, Mad Men

Best Supporting Actress Drama
*KaDee Strickland, Private Practice
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Mae Whitman, Parenthood
Lauren Graham, Parenthood
Sara Ramirez, Grey’s Anatomy

Comedy Categories

Best Comedy Series
*Modern Family
Glee
Parks & Recreation
The Big Bang Theory
30 Rock
The Big C

Actor Comedy
*Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Steve Carell, The Office
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Joel McHale, Community
Matthew Morrison, Glee
Rob Lowe, Parks & Recreation

Actress Comedy
*Amy Poehler, Parks & Recreation
Laura Linney, The Big C
Kaley Cuoco, The Big Bang Theory
Courteney Cox, Cougar Town
Lea Michele, Glee
Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Supporting Actor Comedy
*Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Nick Offerman, Parks & Recreation
Chris Colfer, Glee

Supporting Actress Comedy
*Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Jane Lynch, Glee
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Ellie Kemper, The Office
Naya Rivera, Glee
Allison Janney, Mr. Sunshine

**Note: "Breaking Bad" did not air within the eligibility period, therefor the series, and it's actors (including past winners Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul) are not eligible.  

Night of Neglect

I have a confession to make.  I was not a fan of last night's Glee.  I had high hopes since it was the first new episode in a month, but I was left underwhelmed.  The plot was based around a "Night of Neglect" concert that the Glee club was going to perform in order to raise money to afford the trip to Nationals. Holly (Gwyneth Paltrow) came up with the idea, and I'm still not sure I understand it.  It was supposed to feature songs by neglected artists, yet somehow an Aretha Franklin song wound up being performed...still trying to figure all of this out.

The best scene was easily the opening scene with Sue and her "League of Doom" (or is is "Legion of Evil"?) comprised of Will's ex-wife Terri, Vocal Adrenaline coach Dustin, and former McKinley High employee Sandy.  The 4 of them set out to once again destroy the Glee club.  Each one had a separate mission.  While the missions were pretty much boring and poorly executed...the first scene with the 4 of them had excellent writing, and perfect timing and delivery.

As for the rest of the episode....*snore*.

They worked in the return of Sunshine (Charice) to sing "All By Myself".  The idea of the star of the opposing glee group being allowed to audition (let alone perform) on the Night Of Neglect is beyond me.  It felt like a desperate plot point to work Sunshine back into the fold...and it left me confused and not caring.

Then we have my most hated sub-plot of the night...Mercedes.  Mercedes, with the help of Lauren, decided that she was going to act like a total diva and make ridiculous demands of her fellow glee clubbers (such as requiring a soft puppy to dry her hands off with after she washes her hands before her big show stopping number)...excuse me, what???  Mercedes does not act like this.  With Glee you have to suspend disbelief, but this felt very forced and contrived to me.  Not organic at all. If a girl in high school started acting like Mercedes did last night, her friends would never, ever, bend over backwards the way the Glee kids did.  They would call her a word that rhymes with "witch" and refuse to do the things she was demanding.  Instead, her friends in Glee club just kept on making good on the demands!  And then we had this ridiculous scene where Mercedes breaks down and tells Rachel that she's jealous that Rachel has more talent and gets all the big numbers, and that's why she was being a diva.  This does not add up to me...at all.  Rachel decides to give Mercedes the closing number, and all is right with the world.  Now...I don't mean anything against Amber Riley, because I do like her...but let's just say I've never downloaded any of her singles from Glee.  Ever.  Yet I have plenty of Lea Michele on my iPod.  I guess if I force myself, I understand the point that they were trying to make with this story...but it still did absolutely nothing for me.  It felt very out of character for everyone involved.

Then there is the Night of Neglect concert itself.  The only people in attendance are Kurt/Blaine and then 4 hecklers.....Do you mean to tell me that not a single friend of the Glee kids could attend? And where were their families??  More people are in attendance for their rehearsals than there were for this concert!!

I have many other complaints, but not more time.  Next week's is an Hour and a Half episode inspired by Lady Gaga songs.  Should be interesting.  I certainly hope it's better than last night's show.

"Good" News!

I have grown to really enjoy the character of Eli on "The Good Wife".  Perfectly played by Alan Cumming, Eli is the campaign strategist for Peter's race to become State's Attorney.  Snagging Cumming as a regular for Season 2 seemed to good to be true.  The Scottish theater vet is quite busy with many theater and film projects.  I was surprised that he would want to commit to a series regular gig on a demanding network series, and I just assumed it would only be for one season.  Peter would lose the election, he and Alicia would divorce, and there would be no need for Eli or Peter (Chris Noth) and both would leave the series.  I've always suspected that Peter wasn't going to be here long term, because Chris Noth is not a series regular...he just always appears in a guest star capacity.  Well...maybe I was thinking incorrectly. On the last episode of "The Good Wife", Peter won the race for State's Attorney, and they planted the seeds for a possible run for U.S. Senate.  On Monday afternoon, news broke that Alan Cumming had just signed a new deal with "The Good Wife".  This is not just a one more season deal...no, he has signed on for Seasons 3, 4, AND 5!  Color me shocked and pleasantly surprised!! I guess this means they'll either integrate him into Lockhart Gardner, or Peter will be sticking around in some capacity that long as well.

All of this is dependent upon CBS actually renewing the show for a 3rd season (and 4th, and 5th), as it has not yet been renewed yet.  But, it gets high ratings, and is critically acclaimed, so it's a safe bet that it will.

Good Wife Bombshells

*SPOILERS BELOW!*

Tonight's installment of "The Good Wife" has been described as being so good that it could be mistaken for the season finale.  It includes the return of America Ferrera as Natalie Flores in her final episode of this season.  She's been fantastic, and apparently her exit leaves it wide open for a return next season. The fun doesn't stop there...the episode will also (finally) include the election for D.A. Will Peter win? Will Alicia finally make a public statement? We'll see.  As if finally reaching election night isn't big enough...Alicia will also find out the affair between Peter and Kalinda.  How will it go down? How will Alicia react? We'll find out in just a few hours.  Cannot. Wait.

Singing Doctors

The much hyped musical episode of Grey's Anatomy airs Thursday night.  I have a feeling this is either going to be a major success, or a major failure.  A show doing a musical episode is taking a huge risk. That episode can very quickly be viewed as the "jump the shark" moment of the series.  Granted, many would argue that Grey's Anatomy already reached it's "jump the shark" moment (bomb in a body, dead Denny, etc.).  While there have been seasons that I liked more than others, I do not believe the show has been getting worse as a whole. I actually believe it has gotten better with age. The casts of the past 2 seasons have been stellar, and the writing has been great.  Last year's hospital shooting season finale was probably the best episode they've ever done. I've been very pleased with this season, until I heard that they were doing a musical episode.  But after much reading about how they're going to execute this episode, it might not be that bad after all.  Hear me out...

*Spoilers Below*'

Last week's episode ended with a very pregnant Callie, and Arizona driving along on their way to a weekend at a bread and breakfast.  They got in to a small fight, that ended with Arizona proposing to Callie.  Just before she could answer, BOOM, they run into what is assumed to be a truck, aaaand, fade to the ending title card.  Cliffhanger.



Sara Ramirez/ABC



Well this week's episode centers around the aftermath of the car accident.  Callie and baby are rushed into surgery (will Addison be called back to Seattle Grace?), and the race to save them both begins.  Apparently the music comes in to play through visions that Callie has while enduring all of the trauma.  You see, the doctor's aren't going to just break out in to song, instead, they are going to be in Callie's head.  *sigh of relief*.  Also, the songs are going to be songs from the early seasons of Grey's Anatomy such as "How To Save a Life" and "Cable Car".  Sara Ramirez (Callie) does most of the singing, which is a good thing since Ramirez is a Tony winner! If anybody was to break out into song, I would want it to be a Tony winning singer.  Chyler Leigh (Lexie), Kevin McKidd (Owen), and Chandra Wilson (Bailey) will also do some of the singing. 

ABC has been branding this episode not as a "musical episode" but a "Music Event", which, in a way, is smart.  They're not pretending that it's one thing when it's actually another. They're featuring songs that Grey's Anatomy supposedly made popular in the early seasons, so the episode is going to sort of more feel like a love letter to the fans, than a bunch of doctors breaking out into songs. This could be a good thing.

My hopes are high for the episode, and I hope they don't disappoint. As I said earlier, this could either be a major success, or a major failure.  Only time will tell.

Glee Scoop

Hi peeps! It's been a while since my last post. Sorry about that. 

Here are a few Glee scoops I've seen around the internets today.  Enjoy!  (by the way, anyone still have "Loser Like Me" stuck in their head too?)

First...the bad news.  Glee won't be back with new episodes until April 12.

Now the good news, courtesy of the PaleyFest panel featuring some Glee folks (spoilers below...)

-Chris Colfer revealed that Kurt WILL be returning to McKinley! (About time!)

-Blaine may be auditioning for New Directions in Season 3. So it sounds like Darren Criss is sticking around. (I'm fine with this as long as he's at McKinley...soooo sick of the Warblers)

-There are plans to do an episode featuring songs from one specific album, rather than random songs from one artist.  Their pick: Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors". Such a great choice. So excited. 

-KRISTIN CHENOWETH IS RETURNING!!! Finally!  She'll be back this season, and performing another Glee original, titled "It's 10am, ...and I'm drunk". Perfect.

-Gwyneth Paltrow (who is still doing 1 more episode this season) will return in Season 3. 

Alright, gotta go.  But I thought I'd whet your appetite a bit.

The Good Wife: Best So Far?

As I've mentioned on this blog before, I have become a huge fan of CBS' "The Good Wife".  It has an excellent cast that includes Julianna Margulies, Christine Baranski, Josh Charles, Archie Panjabi (who won the Emmy last year), and Matt Czuchry.  As great as the series regular cast is, lets not forget all the recurring people who pop up on this show.  They include Chris Noth, as Alica's politician husband Peter; Alan Cummings as Peter's campaign manager; Titus Welliver (man in black from "LOST"!) as Glenn Childs, the current D.A. running against Peter for re-election; Anika Noni Rose as Wendy Scott Carr (also running against Peter and Childs); Michael Ealy as Derrick Bond, the newest name partner at Lockhart/Gardner & Bond; Scott Porter, as a private investigator hired by Bond, who has dirt on Archie Panjabi's Kalinda (Kalinda's not really named Kalinda? She has a husband?!); and many, many more characters that I could delve in to.

Last night's episode was great on many reasons.  There were 3 main plots in last night's episode, and featured several sub-plots as well.  Let's start with "LOST" alum Ken Leung, who guest starred as a Chinese man who was kept prisoner and tortured for posting on an American social networking website. The website leaked the man's IP address/location to the Chinese government, which then took him.  This ushered in the return of the fantastic Rita Wilson (Mrs. Tom Hanks), as the super mean attorney Viola Walsh, who is defending the website in the deposition. Lockhart/Gardner & Bond wants millions of dollars from the website for leaking the information, and they also want them to stop leaking information in China in the future.  Lots of drama played out, and in the end, they agreed to no money, but all leaking of information would stop.  This also helped Alicia realize (with the help of Josh Charles' Will) that nobodies motives are good motives, when it comes to lawsuits.

The next great story that came to a head was the ousting of Derrick Bond from Lockhart/Gardner & Bond.  All season long there have been mind games and betrayal between Diane Lockhart, Will Gardner, and Derrick Bond.  One of them was going to have to go, and at one point or another, everybody was turning on everybody else.  Last night was the dramatic conclusion...the vote.  After some last minute deals, trickery, and even deaths, Derrick Bond was successfully voted out of the firm.  Diane and Will shared a victory hug and drink and realized they really are the perfect pair.  The writing, acting, and execution of this whole story arc has been top notch all year long.

The final main story from this week's episode was the election.  Peter and Eli knew that they had to get one of his opponents to drop out of the race.  After digging into the pasts of Childs and Scott-Carr (with the help of Peter's son and girlfriend), they realized that both of the other characters have a past with hiring illegal immigrants as their child's nannys.  However, as Peter pointed out to Childs just before Childs dropped out of the race...nobody likes a cover up.  Scott-Carr owned up to it, and Childs covered it up.  A short while later, Childs dropped out of the race.  Now it's a two person race between Peter and Wendy Scott Carr.  Will Peter win? Will he stick around beyond this season? And why has Chris Noth been on almost every episode for 2 seasons and yet never listed as a series regular? It keeps me wondering if at some point they won't write him out. 

One last plot that was touched on for a few minutes was about Cary (Matt Czuchry) and Kalinda (Archie Panjabi).  Cary, who is currently working for the D.A. (Glenn Childs), tipped off Kalinda that she is going to be indicted for a bunch of things that is even too confusing for me to understand.  Basically, when she was doing some private investigating, she stole/damaged some things, and then covered it up.  This is a bad thing to do. Now she's in trouble for it.  And also, the past few weeks they have been teasing us with the possibility of a Cary/Kalinda romance.  At the end of the scene where Cary tipped off Kalinda, he also kissed her.  Where will this relationship go? I don't know...but I'm very interested.  I like these two together.

At some point I would like to write a blog and list every subplot I can think of on this show (season 2 only).  I'm sure it would be a crazy high number.  Sometimes this show keeps me confused (and I'm someone who was able to keep up with LOST without a problem!) but I love it...and I might just be willing to say it's my favorite Drama on TV right now.  With LOST gone, I now have a different show to pull for in the Emmys.

If you don't watch..START!

My Oscar Picks

The Oscars are this Sunday!!!  (or as ABC is calling it this year "Oscar"...very weird to me.  'Tune in to Oscar this Sunday!'...just doesn't flow.  What ever happened to promoting it as "The Academy Awards"? It sounds better...anyway, this parenthetical rant is over.)

In a previous post, I listed my favorite films of 2010.  (If you missed it, you can find it here).  So this post is about my picks for the Oscars.  I will be posting my Prediction (what/who I think will win), the darkhorse prediction (who could end up taking it, and spoil it for the predicted winner), and then my Pick (what/who I would prefer to win).  Enjoy.

Best Picture
Prediction: The King's Speech
Dark Horse: The Social Network
My Pick: The Social Network

Best Actor
Prediction: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Dark Horse: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
My Pick: Colin Firth, The King's Speech

Best Actress
Prediction: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Dark Horse: Annette Benning, The Kids Are All Right
My Pick: Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Best Supporting Actor
Prediction: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Dark Horse: Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
My Pick: Andrew Garfield*, The Social Network
*(note: Garfield was not even nominated...which is ridiculous, since he was nominated in all other awards shows)

Best Supporting Actress
Prediction: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Dark Horse: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
My Pick: Melissa Leo, The Fighter

Best Director
Prediction: David Fincher, The Social Network
Dark Horse: Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
My Pick: Christopher Nolan*, Inception
*(note: Christopher Nolan somehow didn't get nominated...and I still can't pick my jaw up off the floor)

Best Original Screenplay
Prediction: Chritopher Nolan, Inception
Dark Horse: David Seidler, The King's Speech
My Pick: Christopher Nolan, Inception

Best Adapted Screenplay
Prediction: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Dark Horse: There is none...this is Sorkin's.
My Pick: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network

And while I'm at it, I'll go ahead and throw Roger Deakins out there for winning Cinematography for True Grit; and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross winning Best Original Score for The Social Network (although it could go to Hans Zimmer's genius Inception score).

Alright, there ya have it.  Enjoy the Oscars, folks!

Original Song

In last week's episode of Glee, they teased us with the idea that Rachel (Lea Michele) will be writing an original song for the group to sing at Nationals. This excites me, because so far the show has only done cover songs, never an original. I remember last season there were rumors that there might be an episode way down the line with all original songs, but that rumor went away. The rumor started up again after last week's episode, and now various websites have confirmed that it is true!

Glee will be debuting two original songs in the March 15 episode of the show.  The songs will be on sale on March 8, as part of the Glee: The Music, Volume 5 album.  The titles are "Loser Like Me" and "Get It Right".  "Loser Like Me" will be an ensemble piece, which (according to Entertainment Weekly) was co-written by Max Martin, who has written for pop artists such as Britney Spears, Pink, and the Backstreet Boys.  "Get It Right" will be a solo ballad, which will be sung by Rachel (Lea Michele).  The episode will fittingly be called "Original Song". 

I have a feeling that this will either be a major success, or a major failure.  Only time will tell.

There is a new episode tonight, called "Blame It On The Alcohol", and it should have some interesting developments.  I plan on reviewing it later this week. Happy Glee Day!

Top 10 Films of 2010

I've done a lot of TV talk on this blog...but it's supposed to be about TV and Film. So, movie lovers rejoice...here is a movie post!! 

This is the worst time of the year for movies.  That post-Oscar-films time of the year where only (mostly) terrible movies are coming out. Things won't improve until (hopefully) the summer. When fall rolls around, we'll have another round of great films.

In preparation of the Oscars (which are February 27th), here is my list of My Favorite Films of 2010, in case you missed them on Facebook.  This list was made based off of the 45 films that I saw that were released in 2010. Remember, this list is only my opinion.

10.  Toy Story 3

9.  127 Hours

8.  The Figher

7.  Blue Valentine

6.  The Kids Are All Right

5.  Rabbit Hole

4.  The King's Speech

3.  Black Swan

2.  Inception
1.  The Social Network


And now what I believe were the worst films of the year:
5.  Dinner for Schmucks
4.  The Back-up Plan
3.  The Tourist
2.  Knight & Day
1.  When In Rome

There were plenty of good movies that didn't make the cut. But...I'm not going to make a Top 20...that would just be silly.

Next week at some point, I'll write a blog with my picks and predictions for the Oscars. Stay tuned!!

Tuesday Tidbits

I love Tuesday night television (you might have learned this about me by now). It's almost better than Thursday night television to me (and that's saying something considering I watch 6 shows on Thursdays).  Tonight we have Glee, The Good Wife, and Parenthood.  Here are some tidbits about these shows, and what we have to look forward to. Spoiler Alert!!

Glee: I don't know much about this episode, but I do know that it will feature 2 Justin Bieber songs. This concerns me. I absolutely cannot deal with Justin Bieber. Fortunately..with Glee, context is everything.  And the context seems to be okay on this Bieber thing.  Sam (Chord Overstreet) will be singing the songs. It fits his story right now, and it fits his hair...so it might be okay. We'll see. This episode also features the return of Emma (Jayma Mays...who is Jayma-mazing!). Cannot wait. Finally, this episode will feature a diva-off between Rachael and Mercedes singing one of my favorite songs from Rent "Take Me Or Leave Me". Should be terrific.

The Good Wife:  Words cannot describe how much I love this show. The amount of story, drama, humor, and character development they cram in every episode is unbelievable. Tonight, Alicia finally confronts Will about the voicemail he left her at the end of Season 1. Will she leave her husband for Will, or will she remain the good wife? My guess is it'll be a lot more complicated than we're expecting. Cannot wait. 

Parenthood: This show leaves me very pleased and very frustrated after every episode. There are so many characters and stories that it is impossible to be pleased with everyone all the time.  Haddie (TV's biggest brat) returned to live with her parents last week (it's about time...but wasn't happy about how her parents essentially rolled over on her decision to not let her see her "boyfriend" Alex).  How will things continue to go in this relationship? How will her parents react? We'll see.  Also, John Corbett is currently guest starring as the ex-husband of Sarah, father to Drew and Amber. I'm excited to see where this story goes.  Sarah/Drew/Amber are easily my favorite family on this show. They're all terrific actors, the kids get great stories to tell, and Lauren Graham is pretty perfect as mother-in-progress Sarah. The thing I am most excited about tonight's episode is the return of Emmy winner Michael Emerson ("LOST") to TV!! Emerson will be guest starring in tonight's episode as the owner of a bug-shop who has Aspergers (the same affliction, and obsession, that Max has). With the right writing, Emerson could easily bring home his 3rd Emmy for tonight's guest appearance. Here's hoping. 

One final tidbit: Aaron Sorkin (writer: "Sports Night", "The West Wing", "Studio 60", and most recently "The Social Network") will be appear in an episode of 30 Rock later this season. I believe he is playing himself.  I really, really, really hope Thomas Schlamme can direct the episode and we can get some great walk-and-talk scenes through the halls of 30 Rock with some snappy Sorkin dialogue. *crossing fingers*

That's all for now, folks. Enjoy tonight's shows.