New York, I love you

I am in New York City for less than 72 hours. We flew into Newark this afternoon and took the train into the city. I love trains but not on the level that Joe Biden loves trains. Public transportation is one of my favorite things because it a) doesn’t involve driving and b) I can sit on my ass while someone else transports me from A  to B.

We usually drive into the city or take the train from DC but it doesn’t really matter the way we come into Manhattan. We are never here that long meaning we come for the day or the weekend to see a show. We usually come when the weather is below freezing and then regret it when we ride the escalators into the cold wind of Madison Square Park. The rush of the people immediately smacks you in the face and you are in Manhattan.

Tomorrow morning we will see the matinee of Once, the meaning behind this trip. I fell in love with the creators behind Once when they performed at the Oscars and then went to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song. I have followed their musical efforts since and have been looking forward to this show for a long time. I largely associate NYC with seeing a show and have been doing it since I was in middle school.

On Broadway I’ve seen shows individual runs and revivals. I’ve been in packed theaters seeing Hairspray, Rent, Wicked, Next to Normal. I’ve seen revivals of A Chorus Line and How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. On Tour I have seen Hairspray, Jersey Boys, Young Frankenstein, Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, Grease, and Legally Blonde. I will hope to continue to see shows and support the arts.

I don’t really know what this post it supposed to be. I am in New York City and not in Jacksonville Beach. I will see Once tomorrow and maybe have a cupcake and walk around Central Park.

Tom Wolfe said, “One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.” I whole heartedly agree.

Emmy Awards 2012: Four Poignant Upsets

I follow a lot of critics on Twitter, maybe too many for my own good. Throughout the ceremony and afterwards, criticism of this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony flew by in tweets, blog posts, and published articles. Was Jimmy Kimmel a good host? Did Homeland really deserve its wins? What about Jon Hamm? Or Bryan Cranston?  How many more directors are going to cut off the important people but let Kevin Costner run long? The Emmy’s are like most of Hollywood – they will never change.

I felt nothing significant this year with Kimmel hosting. He did his job well by telling jokes that were on point and well written. Some of his bits didn’t go off that well (looking at the In Memoriam montage right about now) while others fell flat. I like Kimmel on his show (which lost to the formidable Daily Show in the Variety Series race) and I thought his roasting of the President was well done, but last night’s hosting didn’t really have a big spectacular moment. The opening had some serious momentum but loss a lot of the audience with a naked Lena Dunham.

However, this year the ceremony did give some big upset moments in both the comedy and dramatic categories. I am not going to list Amy Poehler losing to Julia Louis-Dreyfus to this list because I was okay with either of them winning. Of course I was upset with Poehler’s loss but her handling of it was phenomenal. The Lead Actress in a Comedy race was a very large race with either bets on Poehler or Dreyfus. I hope the Academy continue nominating Amy Poehler just so we can see her hijinks give a little more jazz to a mostly boring awards ceremony.

UPSET #1: Jon Cryer? What?

The Lead Actor in a Comedy category feels extremely different without the presence of Steve Carell. It holds past winners like Jim Parsons and Alec Baldwin who could have easily taken the trophy home. But one of the biggest surprises of the night went to Jon Cryer. His reaction when hearing his name called showed he knew he wasn’t going to win. Ultimately he knows and so do most people who watch television that that this award should’ve gone to either newcomers Louis C.K. or Don Cheadle. I am still at a loss for how this came about. With shows like Louie on the air I can’t even surmount that fact that an actor from Two and a Half Men won in this category.

UPSET #2: Too Many Losses for Mad Men

Mad Men went 0 for 17 last night missing out on chances in the Acting, Writing, and Directing categories. It’s biggest loss was in Outstanding Drama with Homeland taking home the top prize. With wins for both the writers for the Pilot and the lead actors, you could see the chance of Mad Men picking up a 5th win for Drama disappear. It will be in the list with Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and The West Wing for each of their four wins (L.A. Law being the only non-consecutive winner of the group).

The biggest upset in terms of Mad Men went to Christina Hendricks losing to Maggie Smith in the Supporting Actress category. Yes Emmy voters we understand that Smith is an Academy Award winning actress who is in her late 70s. Her performance on Downton Abbey meanwhile is mostly comedic and doesn’t learn toward drama in any way. In Mad Men‘s fifth season episode The Other Woman Hendricks gives an unforgettable performance in the character of Joan that had Emmy whispers back in the Spring. It was filled with emotion and conflict that had the viewers talking and talking. I hope not to jinx Mad Men but I hope at least one actor can come of the show’s reign holding an Emmy.

UPSET #3: Damin Lewis Upsets Cranston and Hamm

In the same competitiveness as the Lead Actress in a Comedy category, the Lead Actor in a Drama is filled to the brim with outstanding, unforgettable, and talked about performances of the past year by six men. Easily Steve Buscemi, Michael C. Hall and Hugh Bonneville could be throwaways while the other three competitors were analyzed at all lengths. Taking home the prize was newcomer to the category Damian Lewis for his brilliant, breathtaking portrayal of war hero turned terrorist Nicholas Brody in Showtime’s freshman smash hit Homeland. In the past four years Bryan Cranston took home the award three times with most competition coming from Mad Men’s five time nominated Jon Hamm.

Both of these actors transform themselves into characters that makes a viewer grind their teeth with utter frustration. Bryan Cranston’s performance in the episode Crawl Space with his maniacal laughter might just be one the most frightening things I have ever seen on television and Jon Hamm’s saddened looks toward as Don Draper toward Peggy made me heart hurt. But Damian Lewis took a character to the fence with a suicide vest combined with a panic attack that had viewers completely on edge. It was a well deserved win in my opinion.

UPSET #4: Too Much Modern Family

It would be an elephant in the room to not discuss Modern Family‘s large stake in this year’s Emmy awards. Every single one of their leads were nominated in their respective categories which gave not many spots to other actors. It took up no nominations in the Writing awards (thankfully) while winning in the Directing category with utmost disappointment. Both Eric Stonestreet and Julie Bowen have won previously for their performances (Stonestreet in 2010 and Bown in 2011) as Cameron Tucker and Claire Dunphy, respectively, which easily gave them a nod toward a win. The Emmy voters love people who already have Emmy’s.

I completely understand that Modern Family is a funny show and has done well on ABC but there are other shows with other supporting characters. It was funny in the first season but has lacked the same feelings in its’ other efforts. My main disappointment in Modern Family‘s takeover of the ceremony was its win for Outstanding Comedy Series. Doesn’t the award ceremony usually end with Drama anyway? Was Comedy moved around to give ABC more promotion?

Anyway my biggest issue in the category (which I mentioned in my Emmy Nominations post) was Parks and Recreation not being included. It is one of the leading comedies commented on by critics who have written essays about its characters and plot point while The Big Bang Theory and the never ending Curb Your Enthusiasm takes up spots that aren’t completely well earned. I would’ve loved to see Girls take this award as it really took this category in a different direction but I knew its hopes were nowhere near the top. Modern Family probably deserved its first and second wins but this year I think it could’ve gone to someone with a little more inspiration and imagination.

Emmy Noms ’12: 7 Happy Moments and 7 Big Disappointments

Why the Emmy nominations’ announcement  has to occur at 5:40PST still confuses me to this day. It doesn’t make sense when most of Hollywood is definitely not awake then. Nominations were read by Kerry Washington and Jimmy Kimmel (who was filling in for Nick Offerman) which I don’t understand why they have these actors read them when they aren’t receiving nominations because it seems more like a slap in the face than anything. At least Kimmel was nominated because if Offerman did show up it would’ve been incredibly awkward with him and his show not getting nominated. I did love last year when Melissa McCarthy was nominated while she announced it because she is just a precious human being.

Everyone always have their own riff on Emmy nominations and who deserved them and who was robbed. I condensed my thoughts into 7 Happy Moments and 7 Big Disappointments: (A full list of nominees can be found here).

7 Happy Moments:

1. 7 Nominees for Lead Actress in a Comedy: The ladies have taken over the comedy scene if you can’t tell. Seven women were nominated this year for Lead Actress in a Comedy series – two newbies (Zooey Deschanel, Lena Dunham), four previous winners (Melissa McCarthy, Edie Falco, Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and the lovely and deserving Amy Poehler. With this nomination, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the tied with Lucille Ball for being the most nominated actress at a starting 13 nominations. Louis-Dreyfus could easily win this category as she’s won twice previously (once for Seinfeld and once for The New Adventures of Old Christine) and Emmy voters love that. I don’t see any of the other previous winners taking the prize unless it is Louis-Dreyfus. Zooey Deschanel really had to grow on viewers and critics for her portrayal on New Girl. As the season went on she became more and more likable with some really great comedic moments. Lena Dunham’s role in Girls is startling, awkward, and not super likable but the writing is phenomenal. All we have left is Amy Poehler who has her third nomination for playing the sunshine filled Leslie Knope. Knope went through a wonderful arc this year dealing with all of the drama of running for office while dealing with her relationship with her soulmate Ben. She deserves this win because of the small moments and the big ones. If Amy Poehler doesn’t win this year I don’t see her ever winning since the Emmy votes seem to have left out Parks from the Comedy Series category.
2. Louis C.K. 7 Time Nominee: Sometimes comedians go places within their stand-up act where I don’t feel are totally appropriate but Louis C.K. is one of those people who I separate his stand-up from his own craft. He is a genius in the comedy scene now because his show isn’t a normal half-hour format; each and every episode is well-crafted short film. Season 2′s episode ‘Duckling’ was one of the best episodes I have ever seen air on television. Louie picked up nominations in 7 categories including Lead Actor, Comedy Writing (for the S2 premiere), Comedy Directing (for ‘Duckling’, Special Class Program, Variety Directing, Variety Special Writing, and Editing for Variety Programs. Those last three nominations are for his Live at the Beacon Theater special he became famous for after producing independently and selling on his website with a profit of more than a million dollars. If Louis C.K. either wins or presents at this year’s ceremony I can’t wait for them to say ‘And now a 7 time nominee tonight, Louis C.K.’
3. Comedy Writing Nominees: A lack of nominations from 30 Rock and Modern Family really opened up a lot of space for new nominees including the ‘Pilot’ from Girls and the infamous timeline episode ‘Remedial Chaos Theory’ for Community. Adding to the mix are two episodes from Parks and Rec (‘The Debate’ written by Amy Poehler and ‘Win, Lose, Draw’ from showrunner Mike Schur). The Girls nomination was interesting since the ‘Pilot’ is the weakest of the first season but Pilot episodes have won more often than not. Louie‘s Season 2 premiere was also nominated telling the story of Louie’s pregnant sister coming to visit and the helpfulness of his neighbors. That episode has a lot of heart. I was really happy to see that three nominees are also the lead actors for their show (Poehler directed her episode and for Lena and C.K. they directed and created). It shows how well they know their own craft and are able to switch into positions easily.
4. Mad Men All Over: Mad Men deservedly picked up a fifth straight nomination for Drama Series and 10 other nominations including 6 acting nominations and 3 for writing. Mad Men has an actor in every Drama category with new additions including Jared Harris, and guest stars Ben Feldman and Julia Ormond. I have a lot of hope to see Moss and Hendricks going home with statues in the fall.
5. Actors From Breaking Bad: Like Mad Men, Breaking Bad is extremely prevalent in the Acting categories with repeated nominations for Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul and additions of Giancarlo Esposito, Anna Gunn, and Mark Margolis. I am most excited for Anna Gunn because she is the most under appreciated character on the show (and the most hated in some circles) who shows so much restraint in a character. Margolis is also earning a nomination as a Guest Actor for not saying one word in his two years on the show. Breaking Bad probably won’t break through Mad Men’s reign or the very popular Homeland but hopefully it picks up some wins in the acting categories.
6. Guest Actors for Comedy/Drama: 3 nods for the rightful hosts of Saturday Night Live – Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, and Jimmy Fallon. Guest hosts are always guaranteed nods and these actors had the most talked about and funniest episodes of the season. 30 Rock always brings in a great guest cast including Will Arnett, Jon Hamm (a two time nominee this year), Margaret Cho,  and Elisabeth Banks. For the Drama category I am most excited to see Jason Ritter earn a nomination for his role as Lauren Graham’s boyfriend Mark on NBC’s not-talked-about-but-really-needs-to-be-talked-about-show Parenthood. Joan Cusak picked up another odd her portrayal of the agoraphobic Shelia on Showtime’s Shameless. I wish more members of the cast were recognized (mainly Emmy Rossum’s unbelievable portrayal as Fiona) but I am happy for Cusak’s nomination. Don’t forget the brilliant guest cast of The Good Wife picking up three nominations and many more in the future.
7. A New Girl Guy, an SNL vet, and 4 Modern Family Guys: While this season of Modern Family has certainly slackened it continues earning nominations for its adult cast. The Supporting Actor category is missing some substantial people which could easily replace one or two of the Modern Family Actors including Parks and Rec‘s Nick Offerman and Community’s Danny Pudi. Thankfully newcomers Bill Hader and Max Greenfield broke into the category because of their hilarious performances on Saturday Night Live and New Girl, respectively. Schmidt became a his breakout character for Greenfield due to his womanizing ways and the loving relationship with Cece while Hader has been slowly creating talk on his 8th season on SNL for his portrayal of Stefon on Weekend Update hilarious playing off of Seth Meyers giving recommendations for all things to do in NYC.

7 Big Disappointments:

1. Parks and Recreation robbed barehanded: The first category to be announced during this year’s telecast was Outstanding Comedy Series. In my mind I had lock-ins of 30 Rock and Modern Family. All of the other nominees were sort of up in the air. I was surprised to see both Veep and Girls (freshmen shows out of HBO) earn nominations deservedly. I looked forward to watching these shows every week and they made me laugh a lot. Curb Your Enthusiasm is a show I don’t watch but has now earned 7 nominations so that being thrown in was just a wild card. The Big Bang Theory was nominated last year so it should’ve been on my list. Three of last year’s nominees returned (30 Rock, Modern Family, TBBT) with three newcomers (two being freshmen shows.). None of these shows were Parks and Recreation which I think is one of the best comedies on television todays thanks to its superior acting, writing, and directing. Thankfully Amy Poehler was nominated or I would’ve really thrown a fit.
2. American Horror Story – What?: I have never watched an episode of American Horror Story. I will admit to that before continuing on. I still don’t exactly know how it fit into the Miniseries/Movie category but I’ll ignore that for now. But AHS received 17 nominations. Of course five of those nominations went to the awards actually given out during the telecast: Miniseries/Movie, Lead Actress, Support Actor, and two for Supporting Actress. I am going to pretend that Connie Britton was nominated again for Friday Night Lights to make this situation better in my mind. Just a lot of amazement when you see American Horror Story receiving any Emmy nominations at all.
3. Missing Homeland Nominations: Freshmen series Homeland has had a lot of buzz this season thanks to a phenomenal season and attention for the POTUS. It picked up 5 nominations including Drama Series, Lead Actor, Lead Actress, and nods for the Writing and Directing of the Pilot. I wish that The Weekend had been nominated at least in Writing because it is brilliantly acted with the separate acts between the two sets of characters. Probably mu favorite episode of the whole season.My disappointment is mainly for a missing nomination for Mandy Patinkin’s portrayal of Saul. His acting throughout the season showed range especially in the ending episodes acting against Carrie’s bipolar breakdown. Maybe next year. Don’t the Emmys love previous nominees? Patinkin won 1995 for Chicago Hope and has been nominated numerous times.
4. The Good Wife Absent From Drama: If The Good Wife had been included in this year’s Drama Series nominees it would’ve been the only network show to make it through the cut. The Good Wife had an incredibly good season with a fantastic guest cast, a heated romance between Will and Alicia, and the surrounding scandal of Will’s bribery scam. Acting nominations continued for the show’s season regulars including Julianna Marguiles, Christine Baranski, and Archie Panjabi. Both Josh Charles and Alan Cumming were not nominated this year which was a surprise for Josh Charles as he had a pretty heavy arc while the show is struggling to figure out what to do with Eli Gold. If I could do something I would take away Downton Abbey and put The Good Wife in its rightful place.
5. Too Much Downton Abbey: I knew Downton Abbey would pick up some nominations this year but I never would’ve imagined to see them nominated 9 times. Downton Abbey is not  a miniseries anymore and has entered into the Drama race with many entrants including nominations for Series and at least one nomination in each main acting category. Similar to Mad Men it has a wealth of characters to nominate and has 2 in each of the Supporting categories. I don’t really see it winning in any of its categories (maybe Maggie Smith will pick up another award for being Maggie Smith). I am just so surprised to see this many nominations for what I thought was a lackluster season.
6. Writing Stronger Than Series Noms: In the Comedy categories for Writing vs. Series it is sadly noted that of the 6 shows nominated for Series only one is featured in the Writing category. For the Drama category it is is a much different story as all Writing nominees are also nominated as a Series. It is most dully noted that Parks and Rec who was nominated twice for Writing is missing this year after being nominated last year. Veep or Girls probably took their place but if you kicked out with The Big Bang Theory or Curb Your Enthusiasm there easily could’ve been room for them. In the past years episodes of The Office, Modern Family, and 30 Rock were all included in the Writing Category which shows how times have changed here but for comedy as a whole it is a different story.
7. Lack of Community As Always: It is a pretty tired complaint at this point in time. Community earned one nomination for Writing where it should be nominated over and over again. Community isn’t mainstream and is incredibly twisty, quirky, and outright ridiculous so I see why it is frequently excluded from Emmy nominations. It has another season with NBC in a bad Friday time slot where it will be seen less and less until it sort of dissolves into nothing. I wish we had some different timelines because Community really needs them.

Tony Awards 2012: Why I Loved It

I watch a lot of awards shows. I’ll watch the Emmy’s, the Academy Awards, the SAG Awards, and even look up clips on YouTube for things from the PGA and WGA Awards. Moments from these awards shows  like ‘Write It Gay’ sung by Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family and the Modern Family writers winning and apologizing to their families for moments in the show they took from their own lives need to be seen by other people. At most awards shows we are applauding the actors and directors but we don’t often think about the writers. The lack of praise to writers isn’t the point of this entry though. This entry is about this year’s Tony Awards.

Why do I watch? I don’t keep up with the theater scene that much but I’ve seen my fair share of musicals. Whether it was in community theater, a national tour, or on Broadway, there is no greater feeling them coming out of a live show. You have the songs stuck in your head for days, weeks sometimes. While watching the Tony’s there is a different affect then after watching the Emmy’s or the Academy Awards, the Tony’s make me want to go to New York City and see a show on Broadway. The Emmy’s don’t make me want to watch more television (something I do in my free time honestly) and the Academy Awards don’t make me want to watch more movies (something I don’t do quite as often). Seeing live talent on stage is such an experience that you should feel at least once a year. It doesn’t have to be a show on Broadway – supporting local community theater is great for the continuation of the arts. Watching a live show will make you realize how much talent there is out there and how much little talent you have. Here’s another list:

5 Reasons I Loved the Tony’s This Year:

1. Neil Patrick Harris as Host: He has done a wonderful job these past three years as host. Extremely consistent and does well for CBS. One of the main focuses on any awards show is a) the opening number and b) how many times we actually see the host after that. Harris has come to master the opening number format and this year was the one the best. I think we all have had that dream where we were in a musical and NPH put that into a song and dance number (“If life were like theater, life wouldn’t suck so much”) and rocked it. His appearances throughout the show were on and off – the highlight was him hanging upside down a la Spiderman during some procedural Tony business.
2. ‘Once’ the Musical: I will admit this upfront – I am a huge fan of the original movie. In 2007, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova stole my heart with their performance of Falling Slowly at the Academy Awards and eventually winning the award for Best Original Song. I’ve listened to both of their solo work and their combined effort (The Swell Season) but it was that Oscar performance which solidified my love for them. I’ve been talking about how much I want to see ‘Once’ on Broadway since I read early reviews in the NY Times. The fact that every actor on the show plays an instrument during the show astounds me. If you haven’t seen their performance from the Tony’s you need to do so. It is simply phenomenal. Once picked up 8 awards last night including the big prize, Best Musical.
3. Awards Given Off-Camera: Biggest complaint of any awards show: Giving awards to people the audience doesn’t know. The Tony’s have solved this problem for years which the Academy Award needs to adopt – give awards off camera and edit them into less than 15 second clips to give the winner some fame without taking up too much time in the actual show. The Academy hands out 24 awards over about 3 hours and at least half of them could get pushed into these small little segments to make the show shorter and not so daunting to watch and more enjoyable to an at home viewer.
4. James Corden’s Acceptance Speech: Watch it. I think James Corden may have been included in the hardest category this year – Best Actor in a Play – because of who he was nominated with – Phillip Seymour Hoffman, James Earl Jones, Frank Langella, John Lithgow. Between those four actors you’ve got 18 Tony nominations and 7 wins. His earlier performance in the show did solidify his comedic ability and was a plus to see him win an award later on. I loved his admiration towards his fellow nominees (“To be on a list with you is enough”), his utter amazement at his own win, and his love for his girlfriend (“She’s my baby mama and I can’t wait to marry her… She make me say ‘Us’ instead of ‘I’ and ‘We’ instead of  ’Me’ and I love her”). It was completely heartfelt.
5. The Overall Experience: For once an award ceremony didn’t feel like it was never going to end. The show did go over a little long and what show doesn’t. The ceremony is completely perfected and the director knows when we need another musical number, a laugh from Neil Patrick Harris to let us know he is still around, or a glimpse of a famous celebrity (this gifset of Andrew Garfield during ‘Godspell”s cast members jumping into the audience embodies my feelings when that happens). The shows moves wonderfully and goes by fast – just like a Broadway show.

Go see a Broadway show! Support local theater! Support the arts!

5 Things I Love About This Year Critics’ Choice Television Award Nominees

 The sentence ‘Community Leads Critics’ Choice Awards‘ actually exists thanks to the members of the Broadcast Television Journalists Association. The critics are always being talked about because of their views and rapid attention towards certain shows that aren’t mainstream (Mad Men, Game of Thrones, Community) while the general public is watching more low brow entertainment. If a common television viewer looks at this list they will probably say more than once ‘I’ve never heard of that show.’ Thanks to the Critics Choice Television Awards some unkown shows and actors get the attention they deserved. Here are five things I loved about this years’ nominations:

1. Every headline that reads ‘Community Leads Critics’ Choice Awards’: Community is usually named too obscure which is why it gets ignored by the Emmys every single year but the critics had their say in things and they highlighted it by awarding them 5 nominations. It probably won’t happen again. With only one member of Modern Family in the Supporting Actor category (Ty Burrell) it made a way for both Danny Pudi and Jim Rash who each had phenomenal performances this season. Hopefully this will give the show some good publicity and attention as NBC doesn’t seem to think it exists half the time. Kind of curious to see Joel McHale in the lead category. Does Joel submit in Lead for the Emmys or do they all bunch together in Supporting like most ensemble casts?
2. Everyone in the Best Actress in a Drama Series category: I completely agree 100% with these 6 nominations for these women. Claire Danes, Julianna Marguiles, and Elisabeth Moss were lock-ins from the beginning with fantastic performances by all three of them. If I could give awards to all of them I would. Emmy Rossum in Shameless doesn’t get enough attention for her portrayal of Fiona. The final episodes were heartbreaking as she dealt with the reappearance of her mother while still trying to hold together her chaotic family. With the addition of Downton Abbey into the Best Drama category, Michelle Dockery’s quiet performance on the iTV1 drama is well added. Her storylines throughout the season dealing with her feelings for Matthew and trying to keep quiet her scandal earned her nomination completely. I can’t say much on Katey Segal but overall this might be one of the strongest categories this year.
3. John Noble being included in the Supporting Actor category: Lately I’ve had an off-and-on relationship with Fringe but I know one thing: the acting on that show especially from Anna Torv and John Noble is phenomenal and some of the best. Especially in the later seasons when they’ve been playing 1-3 versions of their characters within one episode is truly striking on how much one person can control. Though I don’t think he’ll pick up the award this year he did win last year which is a true accomplishment for the show by itself. The ‘Walterirms‘ add to his character’s hilarity but it is the quiet moments of playing against himself that his nomination truly shows.
4. Nick Offerman finally getting recognition as Ron Swanson: Finally. I was flabbergasted last year when he was without a nomination for his portrayal of the hard ass Ron Swanson. With Leslie’s campaign at the forefront, Offerman has been a great supporting player making us laugh at the little moments during talking heads. The fact that he didn’t get nominated with this scene last year is a travesty. His love of riddles might be one of my favorite B-plots or this season or a reappearance of a Tammy and Ron does something ridiculous puts Offerman high up on my list.
5. Jimmy Kimmel Live! included in Best Talk Show: Everyone has their own favorite talk show host and Kimmel is in the Top 5 for me. He completely deserved his recognition with stunts like ‘I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy’ and ‘This Week in Unnecessary Censorship’. His work on this years’ White House Correspondents Dinner was amusing and got some laughs. All the guests on his show tell hilarious stories and have a good time and he actually likes interviewing people unlike some hosts. If you need a good laugh watch him and Emily Blunt discuss their vacation to Hawaii with their respective partners. Or Christa Miller talking about some photos she took for her husband as Jimmy puts tape over her private parts. Kimmel is hosting this year’s Emmy Awards and we hope he’ll bring along some of his celebrity friends.

Watching TV: A To-Do List

Sometimes it will come up in conversation that I have a fairly substantial list of TV shows that I hope to watch in the near future. I’ll add to the list occasionally usually due to a reference to a TV show of the past. People have asked why I want to catch up and I then ask then why they would read books about historical events – Lincoln’s presidency, Kennedy’s assassination, or World World II – and they give me the same answer I give them ‘To learn more about how things evolved.’ Each of these shows have subtlety changed how television has been produced and that is why I want to catch up on things I’ve missed.

5 Cancelled TV Shows I Still Want To Watch:

1. The X-Files: The X-Files lasted for 9 seasons and 2 spin-off movies and is one of the best science fiction dramas to hit network television that isn’t like Star Trek.It is the definition of unsolved sexual tension between two leads (Mulder and Scully) and has been repeated on shows like Fringe, Bones, and Castle. The X- Files essentially invented banter between two romantic leads. Bonus: Vince Gilligan (a very popular writer/producer on the show) went on to create Breaking Bad.

2. The Wire: I grew up an hour outside Baltimore so I am still mad at myself that I haven’t caught up on this show. I remember going to Baltimore to go to the basilica and we walked right by filming and I didn’t realize what it was – I wasn’t super into television then. It has been 10 years since it started airing on HBO and recently the producers and actors told a writer for Maxim how they did it if you want to back. The Wire is critically acclaimed worldwide and our current President’s favorite TV show . It never won any major awards but was recognized by many for its realist portrayal of urban life and called one of the best works of fiction in the 2000s. If you ever watch one drama in your lifetime watch The Wire.

3. Freaks and Geeks: Three reasons: A) Produced by Judd Apatow (Heavyweights, 40 Year-Old Virgin, Bridesmaids) B) Directed by Paul Fieg (famed TV director, Bridesmaids) C) Starring James Franco, Jason Segel, Seth Rogen, and Busy Phillips (all super famous actors now). Paul Fieg recently did a walkthrough with The A.V. Club episode by episode that is a great read.

4. Friends: If you have never seen an episode of Friends I feel like you are missing out on something. You don’t know the absurdity of Pheobe, the smoothness of Chandler, the ‘we were on a break‘ relationship of Ross and Rachel, the utter stupidity of Joey, or the neurotic personality of Monica. You don’t know the significance of why Janice is so annoying, theugly naked guy across the street, or the Holiday Armadillo. Friends is one of those shows where I’ve seen about every episode but I want to watch it from the beginning and see the relationships grow (and don’t forget the hairstyles (the infamous Rachel haircut) and clothing choices). It is classic sitcom comedy and a reason why NBC has one of the greatest Thursday night lineups of all time.

5. Twin Peaks: Named after the fictional small town in Washington state where it takes place, Twin Peaks is a cult classic about the murder of a popular high school girl and the investigation surround it. It was an unexpected hit and defined the idea of the water cooler effect. It began an influence of makers of television to use innovative cinematography in their work instead of keeping with the standards  of yesteryear. ABC moved it around too much its schedule and lost its audience and probably regretting it now as it it continually listed as one of the best TV shows to air of all time.

An Introduction

Welcome blog readers.

My name is Emily Wiggins and I am a 19 year-old college student currently living in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. I am currently going towards my AA and hopefully graduating by Spring 2013. I like television, television, and more television.

Hopefully this blog will be a combination of thoughts about life, my own take on events happening in the entertainment industry, maybe some political musings, and just my general blathering.