Category Archives: Television

Fangirl Thursday: For Your Consideration (2015 Emmys)

Posted on by
8
Source: vulture.com

Source: vulture.com

The 2015 Emmys are right around the corner, and, despite my overall lack of enthusiasm about this year’s crop of nominees (If you don’t nominate The Americans for any major awards, you lose most of your credibility in my eyes.), there are still some categories that I have a very deep rooting interest in. I’d love for Andre Braugher to get some recognition for what is one of my favorite performances on a comedy right now. I’m downright giddy when I think about seeing Tatiana Maslany’s name listed in the Best Actress in a Drama category. And I’m ready to ride the “Poehler or Bust” train for one last year in the Comedy Actress race.

And while the category I’m most invested in is also probably the category most likely to disappoint me, I’ll keep hoping that Emmy voters got a little sentimental this year with their pick for Best Comedy Series. This is their last chance to acknowledge what so many of us know to be true: Parks and Recreation deserves its time to shine, its time to stand among the best of the best—where it rightly belongs.

This wouldn’t even be a clichéd, undeserved “body of work” award like you sometimes see final seasons get at these kinds of shows. The last season of Parks and Rec was one of its finest—a fitting end to a show known not just as a great comedy but a great television show that was beloved by fans, respected by those in the industry, and adored by critics.

What do you want in a television comedy? Laugh-out-loud moments? Parks and Rec had those in spades. Smart satire? That was often this show’s claim to fame. Multifaceted characters who aren’t boring? Parks and Rec had the strongest ensemble and the most interesting cast of characters in the current TV comedy landscape. Relationships to root for? This show made you care about every relationship—from the central ones (Leslie and Ben, Leslie and Ron, Leslie and Ann, April and Andy…) to the surprising ones (April and Ben, Tom and Donna, Andy and Ron, Ann and April…). Female characters who exist as more than just love interests? CHECK. Moments that move you to tears? Parks and Rec made me cry more than 99% of the dramas on television.

Continue reading →

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (9/6 – 9/13)

Posted on by
2

As summer changes to fall and favorite TV shows begin to return from hiatus, it seemed like the right time to bring back this weekly celebration of the best TV has to offer.

What inspired the early return of this feature? Believe it or not, it was Bachelor in Paradise—a silly little reality show that somehow managed to feel very real and anything but silly by the time it ended with a two-part finale on Sunday and Monday.

On a show about rejects from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette finding summer love in Mexico, it turned out that the most profound relationship we were shown wasn’t a romantic one; it was actually the friendship between some of the women on the show that moved me to tears.

Female friendship is a powerful force, but it’s still a force we don’t see very often in the media. Healthy depictions of women supporting, defending, and protecting other women are still rare sights on television—although thankfully they’re becoming less rare. So imagine my surprise when Carly Waddell was dumped by her Paradise beau, Kirk DeWindt, and we were suddenly shown Jade Roper and Tenley Molzahn literally running to comfort their friend. What could have been a moment of solitary sadness was suddenly a moment of shared sorrow—something incredibly relatable for any of us who’ve helped a friend through a breakup (or had friends help us through one).

Continue reading →

What Are You Watching? Fall 2015 Edition

Posted on by
12

It’s that time of year again—time for pumpkin-spice everything, sweaters, and football. Fall is almost here, and with it comes an exciting new season of television shows for us to watch, talk about, and obsess over.

The start of the new TV season often feels like the start of a new year, filled with excitement, hope, and a sense that anything’s possible. This might be the year your favorite “Will they, or won’t they?” couple finally gets together, the year a show you liked goes through a transformation to become a show you love, or the year you discover a new show that becomes an immediate favorite. There will be new twists to scream about, new characters to love (or love to hate), and new episodes to add to the list of ones we watch whenever we need to smile (or sob). And I can’t wait to watch it all unfold—and to discuss all of it with all of you!

Without further ado, here are the shows I’ll be watching this year, along with their season or series premiere dates. This doesn’t include reality TV shows like Dancing with the Stars, which starts this coming Monday. New pilots I’ll be checking out will be highlighted in pink. And don’t forget to tell us what you’ll be watching this season in the comments!

MONDAYS
Supergirl (8 p.m. on CBS)
I’m a sucker for a good superhero story—especially a fun, positive story in a genre that can sometimes lean toward darkness (see my new love for The Flash). I’m also a sucker for female-driven television. Supergirl seems poised to combine both of those things into one great package. I enjoyed Melissa Benoist’s relatable screen presence back when I used to watch Glee, and she seems like a great fit for the title role on this show. It’s a rare thing for a woman to star in a project like this, so I’m happy to lend my support and my viewership to a genre the world needs more of: female-centered superhero stories. — Series Premiere 10/26 (at 8:30 p.m.)

Jane the Virgin (9 p.m. on The CW)
I’m working on getting caught up on this show before the new season starts, and with every episode I love it more and more. The familial relationships are so beautiful, and they ground the show through its crazy (but fun!) twists and turns. Gina Rodriguez is an absolute delight and a great actress beyond just a charming and funny one. (I’m still cursing the Emmy voters about her omission from the Best Actress category.) Jane was a character I instantly related to, which is no easy task given the crazy situation she finds herself in. I’m excited to continue to fall more in love with these characters when the next season begins. — Season Premiere 10/12

Castle (10 p.m. on ABC)
I’m approaching this season of Castle with cautious optimism. While I did think last season’s finale would have made the ideal ending for the series, I can’t say I’m not happy that one of my favorite shows on television is back for another season. With a new (but familiar) team at the helm and some new cast members joining the show, things probably won’t feel the same around the 12th precinct anymore (especially now that Beckett has become Captain Beckett). But that might be exactly the kind of new life this show needs as it goes into its eighth season. No matter what, I know this cast and their collective chemistry will make me care about everything that happens to these characters, and I’m interested to see what new stories are waiting for them this season. — Season Premiere 9/21

Continue reading →

Fangirl Thursday: Summer Love (2015 Edition)

Posted on by
20

Summer is a great time for a lot of things: eating copious amounts of ice cream, spending all day in the pool or at the beach, traveling to new places with old friends, and—of course—falling in love with new pieces of media.

Lazy summer weekends are the perfect time to dive into a new book series. Summer blockbusters sometimes get us into movie theaters multiple times for the same great movie. And summer nights filled with reruns and reality TV are made for catching up on TV shows that we don’t have the time to watch when the rest of our beloved shows are on the air.

For me, this summer was all about finding a new leading man to love, a new “ship” to give me “ALL THE FEELS,” and a new parent/child relationship to put tears in my eyes on a regular basis. It just so happens that I found all three while watching the same show: The Flash.

The best loves are often unexpected, and that’s true for me and The Flash. Before this summer started, it was a show I figured I’d watch at some point in the next couple of years because people whose opinions I trust really enjoy it. But it wasn’t high up on my must-watch list for this summer. All that changed, though, when The CW decided to pull a genius move and re-air their most popular shows throughout the summer. Having nothing to do on a Tuesday night, I watched the pilot of The Flash, and the rest is history.

I was immediately in love. And each time I went to watch one episode, I’d find myself unable to resist the pull of “just one more hour.” Great cliffhangers are the key to getting me interested in pretty much anything. If you end a chapter of a book or an episode of a television show with a strong cliffhanger, it’s almost a guarantee that I’ll be back for more as soon as possible. And The Flash ended almost all of its Season One episodes with scenes focused on the season’s key mystery. It was a very smart bit of episode construction that made me so happy that I didn’t have to wait a week between each episode.

However, the real allure of The Flash for me wasn’t its cliffhangers or even its cool special effects. If you know anything about my history with “genre TV” or science-fiction/superhero stories in general, you know that the characters are what get me invested and keep me invested for the long haul. And The Flash has an amazing cast of characters portrayed by some of the most charming and emotionally engaging actors on television right now.

Continue reading →

Fangirl Thursday: Let’s Talk About Strength

Posted on by
29

Castle Teen Spirit

COLIN O'DONOGHUE, JENNIFER MORRISON

Today’s post is more of a straightforward essay than a typical Fangirl Thursday discussion-starter, but I hope it still inspires plenty of discussion in the comments because this is a topic very close to my heart.

I say it often, but it bears repeating: I’m a lucky fangirl. In the last few years, I’ve gotten to watch many of my favorite female characters on television grow in incredibly honest, believable, and inspiring ways. I’ve watched these characters grow from places of isolation and fear to places of love and hope. And watching them grow has helped me grow as a woman in ways I might never have without their example.

However, this growth that I find so inspiring is often met with skepticism from other fans—claims that these characters are “weaker” now than they were when we were first introduced to them; statements that people miss who these women were in their shows’ first seasons; and impassioned cries for a return to the “badasses” these women were before they started wearing lighter dresses and hairstyles, smiling more, and opening their heart to other people. These arguments present a fascinating look at the ways we define what it means to be a “strong woman” and how certain definitions of that phrase do more harm than good.

Female characters have often fallen into one of two extreme groups: the damsel in distress who always needs saving or the superwoman warrior who shows no emotion and never relies on anyone but herself. However, there’s a beautiful middle ground emerging in the media right now—especially on television. Female characters are being created who fight for themselves and others but draw the strength to fight from an open heart and steadfast support system. They do a lot of saving, but sometimes they need help to save others and even themselves. That doesn’t make them damsels in distress; that makes them realistic. That makes them human.

Continue reading →

Fangirl Thursday: Worth the Wait

Posted on by
31
Source: abc.com

Source: abc.com

I’m a pretty spoiled fangirl when it comes to “ships.” From Sydney and Vaughn to Leslie and Ben, most of my favorite fictional pairs got together after only a couple of seasons of waiting.

However, we all have those fictional couples who taught us patience. Whether it was for Mulder and Scully or Luke and Lorelai, we’ve all known the pain of waiting season after season (after season) for longing looks and banter to turn into something more. We’ve all known the fear that maybe the show would end before we’d know what it’s like to see them as a couple. But we also all know the pure fun of these long-term “Will they or won’t they?” couples—the excitement that came every time they hugged after an intense moment, the hope we felt every time they smiled at each other, and the sense of certainty that each finale would be the finale when the finally got together (only to have that certainty be dashed time and again, until one finale suddenly became the finale).

The first fictional relationship that taught me the value of patience was Ron and Hermione in the Harry Potter series. I came into that fandom as a 13-year-old who had the first four books at her disposal. By the end of the second book, I knew Ron and Hermione were going to end up together. (I mean, come on; they were the Han and Leia of children’s literature.) But the wait for them to get there was torture. I started the series in eighth grade; I finished it the summer before my sophomore year in college. During that time, I had to suffer through books where they spent half the time not talking, different significant others for each of them, and the constant fear that one of them (Ron) was going to die before they got together. But also during that time, I also got to experience the little details that make those fictional relationships—the ones where we feed on every little interaction—so special: fights during the Yule Ball, names called while drifting in and out of consciousness, comforting hugs, and kisses on cheeks.

It’s those little moments that we often have the fondest memories of when we think back on a given “ship.” Because those were the moments that we analyzed for hours and hours with our friends both online and in person, building our case for how we knew they had to end up together. It’s that way with all slow-burn fictional couples. The waiting teaches us to appreciate the value of one line, one touch, and one look. Sometimes that’s enough to sustain us through even the darkest “shipper” seasons.

When it comes to television, as I said before, I’m pretty spoiled. However, I paid my dues with Castle. I spent four full seasons watching Castle and Beckett’s relationship develop from tension to respect to a love they were both finally willing to admit and accept. I knew from the end of the pilot that I was hooked; I was going to “ship” those two characters until the end. And while there was never really any doubt that Castle and Beckett were going to end up together eventually, it still wasn’t always an easy ride.

Continue reading →

Choosing to See the Best: A Letter to Emma Swan

Posted on by
24

This is my newest addition to my collection of letters to female fictional characters who’ve inspired me throughout my years as a fangirl. If you have a letter of your own you’d like to share, check out this post to learn more about the book of letters I’m compiling, and send your letter(s) to nerdygirlnotes@gmail.com! 

JENNIFER MORRISON

Dear Emma,

I’ve spent a lot of time writing about a lot of characters over the years, but you’re the one I’ve written about the most. Writing about you pushes me to be more vulnerable, more honest, and more open—even when it’s terrifying. You’ve made me a braver writer, which has made me a better writer. And somewhere along the way—as I started writing all those posts and essays about your journey on Once Upon a Time—I started becoming a braver and better person, too.

Writing about you demands bravery that matches your own. But one of the things I love most about you is that your courage runs so much deeper than vanquishing villains and traveling to unknown realms. Breaking the Dark Curse at the end of Season One wasn’t accomplished because you fought a dragon. It happened because you were brave enough to finally believe you could truly love someone and have them truly love you, too. I don’t face too many dragons in my everyday life, but I do know what it’s like to be afraid to open your heart to people. So thank you for giving me an example of bravery I can relate to.

Thank you, also, for giving me an example of optimism I can relate to. Optimism is a part of your genetic makeup. However, heartbreak made you believe that shutting down those parts of you that wanted to hope would protect you from being hurt again. You spent so long looking over your shoulder—preparing for another disappointment—that you didn’t let yourself see potential happiness when it was right in front of you. And when you did see that potential happiness, it scared you. You feared that for every good moment, a bad one was waiting right around the corner. It was impossible for you to believe things could simply be good.

I know that fear all too well. I’ve struggled with anxiety for many years, which means I’ve spent too much time preparing for something bad to happen, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was hard for me to appreciate good moments, because I was often worrying about the potential bad moments to come. My natural instinct is to be hopeful, but as you face the disappointments that come with growing up, sometimes it feels safer to just stop hoping.

That was the state of mind I was in when I discovered Once Upon a Time. Then, I started watching your story develop, and I started writing about that development. I saw someone who was scared to hope letting herself believe in the possibility of good things. I saw someone who was often too focused on bad moments starting to accept that things can be good. I saw someone choosing to be happy, and it didn’t make her naïve or weak; it made her stronger than ever.

Continue reading →

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (6/7-6/14)

Posted on by
Reply

Hello again, this is Heather taking the reigns on the best of the TV this week. 

This week on television started with a heartbreaking sacrifice and a ride on a dragon on Game of Thrones and ended with a shocking reveal on Orphan Black. Along the way, we also saw the ceiling rain blood on Penny Dreadful, learned Jesus is alive and off to boarding school on the season three opener of The Fosters, watched Liv give up her chance of curing herself on the first season finale of iZombie, saw Evan and Paige experience their first setback on their quest to become parents on Royal Pains, and had nightmares after one of the more horrifying images Hannibal has served up for us.

There were two serious contenders for my pick for this week and they could not have been more different. One was quiet and chilling, the other made my jaw drop out of shock. While I loved the reveal that Mrs. S’s mom was both the Castor and the Leda original (though it was almost too much connection for me), I had to go with the quieter moment for my pick.

By now, it’s no secret that Hannibal is as beautiful as it is horrifying. It is capable of creating stunning visual images and accompanies them with a gorgeously operatic soundtrack. When that is combined with what is perhaps one of the most twisted, destructive and intimate friendships I’ve seen on TV, the end result is nothing short of spectacular.

The shot of Will wandering through the catacombs forced the viewer into his mental state. It was dizzying and disorienting with a sense of foreboding as we watched Hannibal silently follow him. It was an immersive moment of television that left the viewer unable to look away.

But what made this moment my pick were the three words Will spoke and how they get at the heart of what makes Hannibal such compelling television for me, even in the midst of all the gore and darkness. “I forgive you”. Not words often uttered to the man who killed the girl you considered as a daughter and who nearly killed you. Yet Will Graham is incapable of doing anything else when it comes to Hannibal Lecter.

Their exchange in the beginning of the episode was the best summation of their relationship. They have changed each other. Not necessarily for better or worse, but these two men are who they are at the start of season three because of each other. No matter what he does, a piece of Will belongs to Hannibal just as a piece of Hannibal is Will’s. So he offers forgiveness. Because as Inspector Pazzi recognized, there is power that comes from knowing. Hannibal and Will are inseparable and Will knows that, as much as he knows that the body in the chapel was left for him and as much as he knows that Hannibal is there, unseen, in the catacombs with him.

What was the best thing you saw on television this week?

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (5/24 – 5/31)

Posted on by
4

Sorry for the delay in posting this, friends! I had a lot of emotions to work through first. (Warning: This post centers around an episode that dealt with rape and torture, so if those topics upset you, it’s probably best to stop reading now.)

This week in television included the first week of dates on The Bachelorette, the start of The CW’s excellent plan to re-air its most popular new shows this summer (I loved the pilot of The Flash!), and a typically tense and exciting episode of Orphan Black that featured the wonderful first meeting of Mrs. S. and Helena, as well as plenty of fun new twists and turns for Allison.

However, the best thing I saw on TV this week didn’t come from any of those shows. In fact, it came from an hour of television that left audiences very divided: the Outlander season finale.

While there is no denying that this finale (which featured incredibly graphic sequences of rape and physical/emotional torture) was the most disturbing hour of television I’ve ever watched, I find myself firmly in the camp of viewers who were impressed with the way this episode handled the trauma of rape and the emotional/psychological ramifications of it,  beyond using it as a mere plot device. This wasn’t darkness for the sake of darkness or horror for the sake of shock value; it was a harrowing exploration of the effects of brutal sadism on a human being and the impact of rape and torture both on the survivor and those who care for them. This was an episode that cared about what the victim was going through on an emotional and psychological level, and, as such, it brought out the kind of intensely haunting and raw performance in Sam Heughan that I really hope earns him consideration when it’s time to announce Emmy nominations.

In an episode so dark and disturbing, it was important to have something to balance out the sense of despair that could have dominated the hour. And in order for that balance to be achieved against scenes as horrible as the flashbacks to Jamie being repeatedly raped and psychologically tormented, we needed to feel the depth of Claire’s love for Jamie more strongly than ever before. Thankfully, Caitriona Balfe was more than up to the task, turning in a stunningly vulnerable performance of her own.

While some might name the episode’s ending as its most beautiful scene because of its pure sense of hope and light after so much time spent in darkness, my favorite scene came before it, when Claire got through to Jamie by reminding him that—no matter what happened to him or how damaged or shamed he feels—he is her husband, and she has chosen to love him always. I’ve watched a lot of television shows with married couples in them, but I’ve never seen a moment that got to the heart of the vows to love each other “for better or worse, in sickness and in health” like this moment did. This moment was what a strong marriage is all about: two people who made a promise to choose to love each other—even when it’s not easy—and honor that promise always, because they believe what they have together is worth fighting for.

Sometimes it’s not easy to believe you’re worth fighting for, which is exactly what Jamie went through in that scene. He couldn’t believe Claire would still want him after what happened to him. But Claire doesn’t see Jamie as someone to be ashamed of or someone to pity; she never has. She sees him as someone to love. She sees a survivor rather than a victim, and that’s so important in a story about trauma. There are few fictional characters I know of who need healing more than Jamie Fraser, so I have always appreciated the beauty in the fact that he fell in love with and married a healer who is just as good at healing his physical wounds as she is at helping him begin to mend his emotional ones. Claire was right in this scene when she said everything worked out as it did in order for them to be together, and that’s the stuff of epic love stories that don’t come around every day.

Love can’t erase the scars of traumatic experiences. But it can be enough to help that same person learn to live with their own scars. Love can be a flicker of strength and hope where there once was only darkness, and the love between Jamie and Claire—and the way it was shown through the performances by Heughan and Balfe—provided moments of true beauty in an episode that could have been unwatchable in its bleakness.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (5/17 – 5/24)

Posted on by
7

This week in television kicked off on Sunday with a fantastic season finale of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and quite possibly the most controversial episode yet of Game of Thrones. Monday and Tuesday featured a pair of ABC reality shows, as Dancing with the Stars crowned its champion (the very deserving Rumer Willis) and The Bachelorette aired a two-night season premiere. Wednesday night saw the end of David Letterman’s reign on The Late Show. And Saturday gave us one of the most emotional and shocking episodes of Orphan Black in the show’s three-year history.

While nothing on TV this week made me happier than Jake and Amy finally sharing a great kiss on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, there was nothing better than Paul’s final minutes on Orphan Black—even if they did break my heart in the process. After multiple seasons spent wondering where Paul’s allegiance lies and what’s behind his stoic facade, we learned the truth, and what a beautiful truth it was: Paul is a protector, and once he fell in love with Sarah she was always the one he tried the hardest to protect. He spent so long trying to help the Castor clones, but once he realized the truth of what was going on (and what a terrifying truth it was—planning to use their sexually-transmitted defect as a weapon and testing it on Sarah), he turned his fierce protective instinct toward the women who were harmed, especially Sarah. He was willing to die to destroy the science behind those experiments and protect Sarah and all the other women who could have been sterilized by the Castor clones.

Paul died a hero, and it was the most honorable death scene I’ve seen for a character in a long time. He died with love in his heart and a brave purpose filling his soul. All of his interactions with Sarah in this episode reminded me why I was once so captivated by their dynamic—because, in a world where Paul’s loyalties always seemed to be a mystery, his love for Sarah (which was never supposed to happen) became his primary motivating factor. It shouldn’t have surprised me to hear Paul tell Sarah that it wasn’t Beth he loved, but I was floored by his honesty in that moment. It was the most beautiful way imaginable for Paul to go out, and it was the perfect way for us to say goodbye to Dylan Bruce as an actor. His little smile after saying that line just about killed me.

This episode of Orphan Black showed us Paul’s heart, and it also showed us Mark’s. I loved the comparisons drawn between them in this episode. Mark’s honest confession that he loved Gracie perfectly paralleled Paul finally admitting to Sarah he loved her. And Mark’s desire to defy orders to avenge the pain he never meant to bring to Gracie humanized him in such a beautiful way. Both Mark and Paul were motivated by their love for women treated as pawns in Dr. Cody’s experiments, and I loved the way that connection was shown, especially in the final scene between them. Ari Millen absolutely destroyed me when Mark told Paul to make things right. The tears started then, and they didn’t stop until long after the final credits rolled. I was so sad to see Paul die, but his death scene honored his character and the actor who brought him to life with deep respect and understanding. But, of course, I wouldn’t expect anything less from Orphan Black.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?