What Is Bea Watching This Television Season?

...Because I know you were all wondering. It's the question on everyone's (no one's) minds! Believe it or not, I don't feel like I watch a lot of television. I despise having shows meted out to me on a weekly basis and then pulled for months at a time. IT ANNOYS ME A LOT. I really prefer to mainline a show on DVD, but then I miss out on discussing it with with everyone else and reading reviews and articles, etc.

Returning Shows

• The Walking Dead. Dude. Zombies. Come on. I agree with everyone else who says that season one had an pretty awesome pilot and then the rest...kinda...sucked? It was very uneven. There were parts that were cool (the zombie attack on the camp, the showdown at the CDC) and parts that sucked (Um. The rest), but I was still curious enough to pop in for season two. It's better that the first season. I know that seems like faint praise, but it really is better. Some of the existing problems from season one are still around, like the pacing issues (Either kill Sophia off or fucking find her. LIKE, YESTERDAY), they still don't really know how to handle the Lori/Shane/Rick triangle (Lori and Shane need to come clean - they aren't really at fault, they truly thought Rick was dead and who could blame them - and then they have a threeway relationship. Shit. It's the zombie apocalypse. Have a threeway. Who cares?), and I still don't feel like they've really found their own internal logic and rules for their particular zombie apocalypse. They sure don't treat it like a biological contagion, what with everyone unconcernedly getting zombie goo on them all the time, but it's clearly communicable through bites, so what the fuck? SO. ANYWAY. The Walking Dead: better than last season, for real. The Shane twist was pretty great and I'm hoping it gets that character (who has potential and I like the actor) out of that rut (PUN SO INTENDED) that he's been in. The show needs to figure out some cool shit to do with Glenn, and either do something with Andrea or kill her off. While she's got a point re: Dale's paternalism, her incessant whinging about it drives me crazy. (The show, in general, kind of doesn't know what do with women. Are there any women on that writing staff? If not, fucking hire some.) Of course, I also watch The Talking Dead, because I love Chris Hardwick.
  
• Criminal Minds. I slacked off last season because the firing of 66.6666667% of the female cast members REALLY pissed me off. And apparently it pissed everyone else off because, OH LOOK! They brought Emily and JJ back because the most important thing about this show is the chemistry of the cast! Imagine that! So, I'm back. Spencer Reid is still pretty.
• Sons of Anarchy. Oh God, I hated the Ireland story last season SO MUCH. I, um, didn't watch the last three or so episodes because it was so painfully annoying. It's better this season. (Sensing a theme? Heh.)
• Community. I'm not a regular watcher. I pop in from time to time, mostly to see if Joel McHale will take his shirt off or if a piano will fall on Chevy Chase. ...What?

New (To Me) Shows

• Parks & Recreation. Oh, this is such a gem of a show, you guys. I love it! It's so...good-natured. Every time I wait for it to get awkward and cringe-inducing (like The Office), it almost never does! I love all the characters SO much. Leslie Knope! Is there another character like her on television? AND I LOVE RON SWANSON. RON. I AM DARK-HAIRED AND NOT-ENTIRELY-UNATTRACTIVE AND CAN PREPARE YOU BREAKFAST FOODS!!! MARRY ME.

New Shows

• Homeland. This is a really, really great show. Damian Lewis and Claire Danes are AMAZING in their roles and the supporting cast is awesome too. I like how unflinching and harsh it is. I love that I'm never entirely sure what's going on, who I can believe, if I can ever accept what I see in flashbacks. So. Great.
  
• American Horror Story. It's...just..so...INCREDIBLY BATSHIT B-A-N-A-N-A-S INDULGENTLY CRAZY. And I love that about it. I know a lot of people were put off by the pilot (and I don't entirely blame them) but I was strangely flattered by how over-the-top it was. "Aw, show! You really want me to like you! It's like a first date and you've brought flowers AND candy AND perfume! Aww. You've thrown dead babies, adultery, bare asses, a guy in a shiny gimp suit, Dead!Fake!Weasley twins, and Jessica Lange acting like she's a lost Tennessee Williams heroine. You get another episode!" I love Lange, Connie Britton, Taissa Farmiga and the kid who plays Tate. It's not...good, but BOY, is it entertaining. Do I think it's going to crash and burn? Probably. But it sure is fun while it lasts.
  
• Revenge. I do really like Revenge but it's up against about a million other things. I usually catch up with it on Hulu. It's everything that Ringer SHOULD be, but isn't: super-fun and soapy and trashy.
  

Shows That I Have Broken Up With

• Glee. I would probably keep watching Glee if they ONLY sang and danced. I realized that I found every character (Except for Kurt and Blaine) hugely annoying anytime they actually spoke.
• Supernatural. This was awhile ago, but ugh. I just got sick of its bullshit.
  
• True Blood. The show that I want it to be is not the show that it is. And the show that it is isn't one I'm really very interested in watching.
• Dexter. I still really like this show, I just got too far behind (I missed all of last season). Maybe I'll catch up on DVD.
  
• Ringer. I only lasted two episodes. Sorry, Sarah Michelle Gellar. I love you, but I kind of hated this show.
  

Shows I Intend To Keep Watching

• The Wire. SOMEDAY, YOU GUYS. I have to get through seasons four and five.
• Fringe. I tried to jump into season four, not having watched season three. And. Um. No. Not possible. I'm DVRing season four to watch after I grab the last season on DVD.
• Sherlock. WHEN WILL I GET MORE? I neeeed it, you guys.
  
• Game of Thrones. Though the second season should be called A Clash of Kings. /pedant
• Breaking Bad. I'm hoping to use the year's hiatus before the final season to catch up on the whole thing.
  
• Mad Men. Whenever it comes back.
  

What are you watching this season? What are you NOT watching?

The 2008 Fall Television Season

Huh, there's really not anything new and exciting on television this year, is there? I know, blah, blah the Writer's Strike. I'm only watching one new show and that's True Blood on HBO. Oh MY GOD, I love this trashy, gothic, weird little vampire romance. It's really got everything I like in a show: DRAMA, a hilarious heroine, a gentlemanly, but possibly EVIL love interest, amusing opening credits and funny dialogue. And there's vampires with really stupid-looking fangs.

Here's what I'm watching or planning to watch:

• Dexter - This is such a great show. I love everyone on it and everything about it.
  
• Gossip Girl and Heroes - this is my Monday night lineup and I usually watch both of these shows over IM with EGT and we mock and squeal about what bitchy thing Blair did this week and how stupid yet hot Mohinder is and how inappropriate the Petrelli brothers are. It's good times.
  
• Pushing Daisies - I like this show a lot. The cast is fun and the narration always makes me giggle. I'm not deeply passionate about it but I enjoyed the first season and will give the second a go. Also, it makes me crave pie.
• Supernatural - This is, sadly, my favorite show right now. The first two episodes of this season have been pretty great. I didn't love last season, it was a bit stilted and disjointed and also, wildly misogynistic. (Stop having Dean call women "sluts" and "bitches"! He never did that before and I don't care if they're demons. Doesn't make it ok.)
  
• The Office and 30 Rock - Mame, I have to DVR them and watch them later. You will just have to deal with that. And I did watch The Office premiere last night! It was great. ("Happy birthday, Stanley!" You were right. I cracked up.)
• Battlestar Galactica - IF IT EVER COMES BACK. I swear, the folks at the Sci Fi channel are SUCH dicks. After BSG and Doctor Who end their runs, I won't be watching anything on that channel again. I'm sure I would like Eureka, but I'm not putting up with this bullshit again. Anyway, BSG is the best show on television right now and I can't wait for it to come back.
  
• Friday Night Lights - Enjoy it while you can, kids. It's probably getting cancelled after this season. That will be sad.

Television shows I'm watching on DVD:

• The Wire - BW and I are a little more than halfway through the third season. It's such an amazing show. The writing, the acting, the plotting, it all knocks me out. It's not exactly Feel Good Television, some episodes make me feel like I've been kicked in the gut. Now I'm making BW watch episodes of The West Wing in exchange. The only Aaron Sorkin show he'd ever seen was Studio 60 or as we used to call it, The Longest Hour on Television. Clearly, I couldn't let that stand.
  
• I have disc one of The Sarah Connor Chronicles home from Netflix right now. I watched part of the pilot when it aired originally but was put off by the portrayal of John Connor. Excuse me, John Connor is the leader of the Robot Resistance. He is NOT a whiny little bitch. But everyone keeps going on about how great it is, so I'll give it a try. Also, I love Summer Glau. So, we'll see. The Terminator is one of my very favorite movies and I'm VERY protective of that fictional universe. I'll be extremely put off if it sucks.
  
• I just put Mad Men on my queue. I should be getting that next. I listened to a really interesting NPR podcast featuring the creator and two of the actors. It was fascinating, so now I'm really curious.
  

Shows I'm giving up:

• Fringe - Ugh. I watched this one because everyone in my office was totally excited about it. I hated it. The second episode actually made me angry. It's totally unoriginal, kind of boring and features the kind of icky violence that makes me want to change the channel. (We've got a woman strapped to a dentist's chair being drugged and tortured by a psychotic scientist? We've got pregnant women screaming and giving birth to mutant babies then dying? Lovely.) So I did. FOREVER.
  
• Numbers - Eh, I'm getting bored with this one. Everyone's still cute and I like the little bits of math and physics they throw at me, but it's so formulaic. I might finish the second season from Netflix, but then I think I'm done.
  

What are you guys watching? Or not watching?

Hey Bea! Hey come here, shut the door. Look I made cookies! OK, sit down. We need to talk.

Dear Bea,

I wanted to write you this letter to inform you that if you do not get help today I will close out my half of the blog.

When we first decided to create a blog together, we discussed topics like the 34th Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, you reviewd the movie Children of Men, and the state of our country's educational system.

When you went decided that every aspect of our real identities needed to be hidden because you saw that one Lifetime Made-For-TV-movie about stalkers, I understood. In fact, you chose a name based on Shakespeare. SHAKESPEARE BEA!! But now, now I feel like I don't even know you. Your entries on Friday Night Lights, My Chemical Romance, and Supernatural are starting to worry me. I guess I should have noticed the signs when you wrote that entry about Fergie's Big Girls Don't Cry. But, to be honest, I liked that song a lot too.

At first, sure I thought it was funny. It was fun - I even wrote a little about Lindsay Lohan. But then you started prattling on about The Golden Compass and then the writer's strike happened and it seems you've plunged deeply into this, this place that I can't seem to pull you out of.
We used to write one or two blogs about our silly ways, but we peppered each entry with witty Dennis-Miller-esc comments that seemed to us to be so far above the average blogger's intelligence. Remember that, Bea? Remember when we used to be unique?

I am doing this because I love you. Because I love this blog. Because I am afraid that one day I will wake up to a blog entry written about "How Cool the VC Andrews Broken Flower Books Are." Do you know that thought keeps me up some nights? The idea of my brainy, clumsy, Lisa Loeb glasses wearing friend will start enjoying the ghost writer that has claimed our beloved VC Andrews style?

I am writing this to you today, Lady Bea, to ask you to get help. Will you get help?

Television - Teacher, Mother, Secret Lover...

Does anyone care to tell me what the big deal is about the television show Medium? I just...don't get it. I've watched a few episodes including the OH MY GOD IT'S 3-D!!111! one and it's...FINE. It's just not AWESOME. I like Patricia Arquette, actually. Her performance in Lost Highway was AMAZING. And she was great in A Nightmare on Elm St. 3! Really! And I LOVE Jake Weber. Ever since American Gothic. And especially when he was the quiet, unassuming but ASS-KICKING in a crisis guy in Dawn of the Dead. That's really what I look for in a man, fictional or non. One who can defend me in a zombie attack. That's not weird, is it? Never mind, don't tell me.

ANYWAY.

Back to Medium. Isn't it like, one of the highest rated shows on tv or whatever? Really? Again, um, why? I'm just carrying on because I'm seeing ads for the new season that NBC has apparently been stockpiling while watching Friday Night Lights and am befuddled.

ALSO.

Landry from Friday Night Lights? DUDE. You are on notice! You are NOT entitled to ANYTHING from Tyra. NO. Yes, I know, you killed that guy who was trying to rape her. And you two were all film noir and tossed the body off of a bridge and swore never to speak of it and then you two wouldn't SHUT UP ABOUT IT and then you confessed and acted a fool some more and then they didn't press charges because you are doe-eyed and a cop's son, but WHATEVER. If Tyra doesn't want to date you after all that? Whether it's because you remind her of the trauma, because she isn't ready for a serious relationship, is afraid of her feelings for you (whatever.) or because she just doesn't like you That Way? SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO! You do NOT get to slut-shame her into it! And act like she is somehow a horrible person because she doesn't want make out with you in the hallways. FUCKING MALE ENTITLEMENT. GAH. Um, writers of Friday Night Lights? I REALLY hope that I am not supposed to find this behavior of Landry's romantic or sweet or even remotely appropriate. It's NOT. It's paternalistic and icky and gross. Especially! ESPECIALLY! When Landry should be the FIRST person who listens when Tyra says no. GAH. When Tim Freakin' Riggins is looking like Gentleman of the Year next to you? DIAL IT DOWN.*

Wow. That got away from me, a little bit. Wonder what brought that on... Sorry, people who read this blog and don't watch Friday Night Lights. (which is most of you, I think.) Or don't enjoy semi-hysterical screeds. Wait. If you don't enjoy those, why do you read my blog or even talk to me? HA!

*Pssst...yes, I know I just posted a furious rant at a fictional character. I'M AWARE. It just MADE ME ANGRY. BEA SMASH! Heheh.

Happy Blogiversary, Part Deux!

And since Mame has been NAGGING ME NON-STOP FOR DAYS:

Best Celebrity/Law Interaction:
O.J. Simpson fighting the Law and OMG! The Law is winning!. Oh, I've been waiting for this since, what? 1995? To paraphrase Patton Oswalt, you could pour my satisfaction/delight over this turn of events over pancakes, so rich and thick is it. Mmmm. Lovely.

Best Trainwreck:
I do have to agree with Mame on Amy Winehouse. But. I speak from the perspective of LOVING HER ABSOLUTELY AND COMPLETELY. Her album Back to Black is the best I've heard in years. She's covered in tattoos! She wears a beehive! She apparently snorts cocaine off of hooker's asses! Or something! She fabulously talented and TOTALLY INSANE!

Best Made-For-TV Movie of 2007:
Battlestar Galactica: Razor. I MISS THIS SHOW. The last new episode of BSG was in MARCH. MARCH, PEOPLE. And season 4 doesn't start until APRIL OF 2008. So, they toss us this movie to tide us over. GOOD. Because, seriously? I have a really short attention span. If you keep me waiting too long, I WON'T CARE ANY MORE. So, this was good. Quite SHOCKING. Very dramatic. And since I watched it on dvd, VERY bloody and since when you can say the word "cocksucker" on basic cable? I'm guessing that wasn't in the broadcast. Heh. I'm not sure if I was supposed to, but I loved Kendra Shaw. She and Admiral Cain represent everything terrible/awesome to me about the military and also human nature. LOVE. Also, I think Admiral Adama is the final Cylon.

Best Happy/Sad Moment From A Television Show:
Best Happy Moment:
I am incapable of picking just one. So, I won't. NEENER.

1. Friday Night Lights: The Panthers win State! The Coach and Mrs. Coach are having a baby! Matt and Julie are adorable!
2. Doctor Who: The Doctor and Rose's reunion in "The Satan Pit." They each thought the other was dead! They weren't dead! "Is there a Rose Tyler on board?" "YES! I'M HERE!" And then there's HUGE smiles, running and jumping and hugging. SO CUTE. (Technically aired in 2006. Don't care!)
   
3. The Office: JIM AND PAM ARE DATING. AND IT'S "GOING REALLY WELL!" And how much did I love Kevin's talking head moment where he's all "Come ON. They're totally together!"
4. Supernatural: Um. There are no happy moments on Supernatural. That's why I like it. Hee.

Best Sad Moment:
Again, I do not have only one. I collect sad moments like some people collect stamps or antique post cards.

1. Supernatural: OH SO MANY. John dying. Dean's grief and guilt over his father's death culminating in him BEATING THE SHIT out of his car. Sam's helplessness in the face of Dean's grief. Sam making Dean promise that he would kill him if he ever turned evil. Sammy shooting his werewolf girlfriend in the head. Dean being sad about it. "What is and What Never Should Be," the whole episode. No, really. Sam dying. Dean's speech over Sammy's giant, dead body. Dean selling his soul to bring back Sam. Bobby yelling at Dean for selling his soul. SIGH. I LOVE THIS SHOW!
2. Doctor Who: OH MY GOD. "Doomsday." The scene on the beach. I'm not going to describe it any further because...because...it's TOO sad, you guys! Shut up. (Also, this technically aired in 2006. Don't care. It always will win "Saddest Thing Ever EVER.)
   
3. Battlestar Galactica: the crushing misery of life on New Caprica under Cylon occupation. Starbuck's "death." Anytime Roslin betrays Adama.
   

Most Cringe-Worthy Moment from The Office:
Michael with the telemarketing job. Ugh, I hate Michael Scott.

Best Celebrity Hair:
Mame stole mine, that whore. So, I'll have to go with Kate Walsh on Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice. I kicked my Grey's habit cold-turkey and I don't watch Private Practice, but damn that girl has some good hair.

Best Pop Song You Secretly Love:
I think we've covered this. I'm still ashamed. AS I SHOULD BE.

TV Show We Hate That People Won't Shut the Fuck UP About:
Mame, I totally hear you on Jericho. I tried to watch that show and couldn't even hang in for two episodes. People! I love post-apocalyptic fiction! If you can't make ME love it, you are doing something very, very wrong. I actually have a conspiracy theory that it was never REALLY cancelled. Like, the entire thing was a ratings stunt. What, like the networks really CARE what the fans think? Whatever. Like they could really get the whole cast back after they were released from their contracts? Like the cast wouldn't be doing other projects? They could all just come RUNNING back? Whatever. Heh, apparently I have strong feelings about this. I also loathe any reality show that isn't on the Food Network or BBC America, if you're going to count Good Eats and Top Gear as reality shows. Ugh.

Celebrity Couple We Could Care Less About:
I also hear you on Zac Efron and Vanessa Whatever-her-name-is. I also don't care about Nicole Richie and whoever that asshole who knocked her up is. Except my horror that she is reproducing.

Best Books We've Read in 2007:
It's a toss-up between Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows and Melusine. I mean, the last Harry Potter books is the end of an era. The end of YEARS of reading and imagining and WAITING. And it was totally great. I loved the book and the whole experience. But, I adored Melusine. I loved it for its odd twist on fantasy, its weird blend of languages and cultures and um, its dirtiness. I was reading it at work on lunch one day, turning BRIGHT RED and hoping no one was looking over my shoulder. And it's a whole series! So, just as I was finished with one long fantasy series, I had a new one to start! So, both are the best!

Worst Book:
Ooh, this is tough, only because if I don't like a book, I don't finish it. I've read books that disappointed me. But none were really BAD. So, skip it. Heh.

Best Website:
Hands down, Wikipedia. I know it's not the most reliable, but I use probably get the most practical use out of it than any other site. And it's hours on entertainment.

Funniest Thing of the Year:
My continued hope that Nicole Kidman will write a tell-all novel. PLEASE.

Best "Shoot-Yourself-In-The-Foot" Award:
Ugh, everything the Republicans do ever. It just makes me tired.

Wow...You Look Great!

Oh my GOD, you guys! So, like, remember when Mame and I had a blog that we used to post to and stuff? We do too! And we miss it! Every time we talk on the phone (which is kind of a lot), we talk about how we have to blog. And then...we don't. But we have Plans. With a capital "P," even. We'll think of something. But for now, some random thoughts/experiences I've had recently. Because why even HAVE a blog if not to foist your useless whatevers upon the world!

• The Transformers movie sucked. I was all psyched to get it from Netflix, and I turned it off halfway through. Bummer. I'm currently watching Live Free or Die Hard and it's much more promising. What can I say? I'm a girl who likes when (fictional) shit blows up!
• I'm currently reading The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman in preparation for the movie to come out on Friday. I, um, bought the book MONTHS ago and am just NOW forcing myself to read it. YOU GUYS. It's really boring! And the main character is kind of an asshole! Yes, I just called a fictional child an asshole. Live with it. This is a children's book! I can't imagine ACTUAL CHILDREN reading this. It's starting to pick up a little, but ugh. It's no The Lord of the Rings. And until book 2, The Lord of the Rings wasn't The Lord of the Rings for me. So, I'm trying to give it a fair shot, but blech. But I'll finish the damn thing. And then read the second book, The Subtle Knife, because I short-sightedly bought it at a used book store. And I WON'T be dissuaded, EGT, don't even!
• I'm kind of in love with the following tv shows: Gossip Girl, Pushing Daisies and How I Met Your Mother. OH MY GOD. In addition to my usual addictions to Supernatural and The Office. I'm not feeling Friday Night Lights as much this season. And I'm not alone in that. I'm still watching, but I'm not ADORING it, you know?
  
• ALSO. Everyone must start watching Top Gear on BBC America. I know, I know, you're saying to yourself, "But Bea! I don't LIKE cars or car-related shows!" I KNOW! Me either! You don't HAVE to! The promos for the show say it all: "You don't have to love cars to love Top Gear. You just have to love fun!" I nod along sagely every time I see one of those previews. I'm so lame. It also helps if you love bitchy British guys.
• So, remember when I posted about how clumsy I am? Yeah, so about that. The day after Thanksgiving, I fell down the steps at a THEATRE where my mom and I had taken my niece to see Peter Pan. It was really, really embarrassing. Heh. Then the other night? I FELL OUT OF BED. And then the next day? I spilled my ENTIRE CUP OF COFFEE ON THE FLOOR OF MY OFFICE. So not only did I have an unholy mess to deal with, I HAD NO CAFFEINE. WHY. WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN? Ahem. Sorry.
• Also, I hate my cell phone.

Actually, Mr. Loaf, two out of three IS pretty bad. But thanks for playing.

So, remember this post? Yeah. That one. About my shows. So, YAY! Friday Night Lights and Supernatural got renewed! And FNL will be moved to Friday nights as God and the title intended. Supernatural is still up against Grey's Anatomy, but Grey's and I might be breaking up, so I don't care that much. Yay, my love affair with the Panther's football team and the hotness of the Winchester men can continue!!

But.

You know what isn't going to continue? Veronica Mars. Yes. They cancelled it. Fuckers. I'm so gonna miss this show. Sure, I'll have my dvds and maybe there'll be like, crappy tie-in novels or something, but it's not the saaaaaaaaaaame. Yes, there will be whining. Deal with it. It was one of the best shows on television, you guys! YOU GUYS! It was witty! It was dark! It was well-plotted! So, naturally, it got cancelled! Grrrr. Man, the pilot of that show was one of the best I'd ever seen. And most pilots suck. (I'm kind of looking at you, Supernatural. I may have turned it off 10 minutes in when it premiered. Heh.) Most shows take a few episodes to find their feet, but as long as you ignore the whole-Paris-Hilton-guest-starring-in-episode-two, Veronica Mars kicked ass right out of the gate. Damn. Now I have to dig out my dvds and rewatch the pilot. Ah, here comes one of my favorite lines from Veronica's best friend/partner-in-(Really. NO, really!) crime, Wallace: You really think I’m gonna let you get away with that? That might play with the masses. But underneath that angry-young-women-shell, there’s a slightly less angry young woman who’s just dying to bake me something. You’re a marshmallow, Veronica Mars... Aaaand now I'm really pissed. Stupid television networks with their stupid selves.

But.

While I'm writing this bitter, bitter post, I'm currently watching Dog the Bounty Hunter on the phone with Mame while snacking on pretzels. What more could I want? (Don't answer that.) Heh.

P.S. Mame and I decided that there hasn't been enough Meat Loaf on our blog. We are going to remedy that. Oh yes, WE WILL. *cackles*

Save These Shows!1111!!11

Ok, so, Mame writes an intelligent post about the First Amendment and current events...and I'm going to write about the three television shows that I love the most, that had better not get cancelled. But might. Because the world hates me. And wants me to watch crappy television. Because the ass shows NEVER get cancelled or hang around for YEARS. Such as: Seventh Motherfucking Heaven, Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, Smallville (ugh) and AMERICAN IDOL. Ugh. Shows I loved that got cancelled WAY too soon: Everwood, Firefly, Angel, Farscape, Profit, Arrested Development, American Gothic, the late, lamented Rome, Twin Peaks and Joan of Arcadia. You'll note that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is NOT included on that list. Buffy was my favorite show ever, but that shit should have ended at season 5 with Buffy's ass in the ground. DONE. Sorry, I'm still not over that. So, anyway, on to my list...

First, Veronica Mars. This is my current favorite show. It's awesome. Veronica is a kick-ass character; she's smart, witty, tough, bitchy and generous. She's also flawed; she's judgemental, self-centered, vengeful and snotty. I don't want a television world where Veronica ISN'T around, solving crime and tossing off one-liners. The plot goes like this: Veronica is from the corrupt California town of Neptune. Her dad is the disgraced town sheriff-turned-private-detective-now-sheriff again. She helps him with his cases. Her best friend was murdered. She was roofied and raped at a rich kid's party. (There were...a lot of "r"s in that sentence. Heh.) Her drunken cow of a mother took off and stole a lot of money. Bad people try to kill her a lot. Bad people try to kill her dad a lot. Oh, and for a while? She thought she might have been dating her brother. (See, Mame? The incest just FOLLOWS US. Only in our entertainment, of course. 'Cause otherwise, ew.) There are twists on this show that I NEVER SEE COMING. It's one part mystery, one part drama and one part noir. With plenty of laughs and romance thrown in. The acting is incredible, Kristen Bell plays Veronica and knocks me out every week with her talent. Everyone else on the show rocks too. Seriously, this show is awesome and if it gets cancelled, there will be tears. And I will totally write one of my insane letters to the CW. (My theory behind letter-writing is this: make your letter just the teensiest bit insane. Just enough to get noticed. Not enough to get a restraining order. It's a fine line. Walk it carefully. Heh.)

My second show? Supernatural. I've gone on at some length in this space about my love for this show. Look, I'll be honest. Sometimes Supernatural is really fucking stupid. Sometimes the Winchester brothers and their dad hatch "brilliant" "plans" in their fight against evil that have me going, "Seriously? THAT'S your plan? THAT'S the best that the crack team of Winchester, Winchester and Winchester could come up with? Oooookay. Idiots boys." Sometimes the dialogue makes me want to beat my head against a wall. SOMETIMES THE ASSHOLES WHO MAKE UP THE "PREVIOUSLIES" GIVE AWAY THE PLOT TWISTS IN THE FIRST 30 SECONDS OF THE EPISODE. GOD. We're not STUPID, CW PROMO PEOPLE. If you include a character talking about how sometimes ghosts don't know they're dead and that's why they hang around...GUESS WHAT?! We're going to figure out that the guest star in the episode is...wait for it...A GHOST WHO DOESN'T KNOW HE OR SHE IS DEAD!!! They do that WAY too often. And a lot of the time, the female guest stars look like porn stars. And sometimes it's intentional. But mostly...it's not. It's just bad casting. And they act about as well as porn stars too. BUT. Supernatural has faaaar more good points than bad. For one thing? It's really fucking scary. The special effects are only so-so, but not too bad for a network tv show. It routinely makes me jump and screech. I'm watching my dvds as I type this (Skin, episode 1.6, if you're counting) and it's already scared the crap out of me three times. And I've SEEN this episode at least twice. SCARY. The acting from the three leads, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is top-notch. (Honestly, Padalecki was pretty bad when the show first started. But he got much, MUCH better. And cuter. But more on that later.) The angst, people. THE ANGST. Dean (Ackles), Sam (Padalecki) and their dad, John (Morgan) are ALWAYS angsting and crying manly tears over SOMETHING. And they look good doing it. What can I say? I like my fictional characters to suffer. And speaking of looking good...ok. HOT. Jensen Ackles is my new tv boyfriend. The other boys are awfully nice to look at too. The bottom line (finally!) is that the show is entertaining as hell, scary, funny and twisty. And they use classic rock in the soundtrack! SCORE!

And finally...Friday Night Lights. I know, I'm as surprised as you. I LOATHE all forms of sports, football included. I mean, am actively hostile to them. But this show...TRANSCENDS that. It's shot kinda documentary-style, with improvised dialogue and REALLY naturalistic acting. I hate sports, but I LOVE me some teen drama. And this show has it. Matt Saracen, the shy quarterback, is one of the most adorable, angsty, sweet teens ever. Most episodes have me saying, "Oh Matt..." or "Poor Matt..." in tones usually reserved for Dean Winchester (see above.). His relationship with the coach's daughter Julie makes me squeal with it's adorableness. Speaking of coach, Coach Eric Taylor is played by Kyle Chandler (Last seen by me as the bomb guy who blew up on Grey's Anatomy.) and his wife, Tami by Connie Britton. They have the best marriage on television. For real. It's hard to believe these two AREN'T married in real life. It's just a great show, full of heart and humor. The characters are all totally believable and mostly likeable. Everyone should watch this show. For real. SO, DON'T CANCEL IT.

Aaand, I'm spent.