Category Archives: Television

TV Time: SYTYCD Season 10 “Top 14 Perform”

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I feel like I should be more upset than I am about the results of last night’s So You Think You Can Dance. I’m a tap dancer. Yes, I’ve trained in many other styles, but tap will always be the one closest to my heart. I cried when Nick Young got eliminated way too early in Season Eight. But this time, I watched two tappers go at once and felt strangely okay with it. I’ll miss Alexis and Curtis, but it was time for them to go. They’re both great tappers, but they just weren’t Top 10 (or even Top 12) material—and even I can admit that.

Strangely enough, I felt the loss of Curtis more than I did Alexis. I think it’s because Curtis just seemed like such a genuinely sweet guy (not that Alexis didn’t seem lovely, but there was something so adorable about Curtis and his enthusiasm). And I think the final image of Curtis holding a crying Haley got to me a lot more than I was expecting. Maybe there was more to their partnership than just that one sushi date.

Also, I ended up hoping Alexis would go home because my favorite female dancer would be eliminated if she wasn’t. Whatever happened that led to Jasmine being in the Bottom Three needs to never happen again. That girl is a one-of-a-kind mixture of grace, strength, stage presence, and personality. The only good thing about her place in the Bottom Three was her solo, which had the best musicality I’ve seen in a solo this season and truly looked like she was “dancing for her life.”

Besides the mini heart attack over my favorite female dancer being in jeopardy throughout the episode, this week’s show was a big improvement over last week. First of all, Anna Kendrick was a credible and fun guest judge. I adore her and think anything is better when she’s a part of it (especially the Twilight films).

The dancing itself was vastly improved, too—with some minor exceptions. I thought Tucker and Jenna’s hip hop was immediately forgettable if not just plain awkward. The style did not suit them at all. Alexis and Nico’s contemporary was well-danced and emotional, but the running in place made me laugh instead of get chills—a rare misstep from Sonya Tayeh. And I couldn’t find anything to really latch onto in Malece and Alan’s salsa. The tricks were cool (and I loved seeing Jonathan Platero from Season Five and his gorgeous eyes again!), but I thought Malece had no real feel for the style. Alan lietrally and figuratively carried her through most of that dance, but once again he was criticized by the judges while Malece was praised. The obvious favoritism towards Malece is stating to get a little old.

Something else that’s starting to get a little old to me is watching Fik-Shun and Amy dance the same kinds of pieces over and over again. With the exception of their Paso Doble, it seems like choreographers can only create cute routines with a lot of fluid hip hop flavor for them to perform. I think both of them are great at embodying charismatic, downright joyful characters, but, like Nigel, I’d like to see them try something different. That’s not their fault, but it’s starting to affect how I rate their routines. I think I would have loved this hip hop had I watched earlier in the season, but this felt a little “been there, done that” to me. I think they can do more, and I want to see them be challenged so that if they do win, it feels earned.

Someone who certainly seems to be rising to challenges in this competition is Paul, who continues to impress me every week with his versatility. While his jazz piece with Makenzie felt a little familiar in terms of its choreography (I love Sonya but sometimes all her dances start to look the same), there was nothing boring about its execution. The two of them together were sharp, sexy, and impressively in-synch. I loved the music choice, and the way these two dancers inhabited each beat of that music was really impressive. I don’t know why Makenzie keeps landing in the bottom (but I don’t think jealous girls have much to do with it, Nigel), but I hope she sticks along for a little while longer.

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Daily Dose of Feelings #16

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There’s nothing like a scene with a newborn baby to get the tears flowing. Some sort of special magic is worked when a TV series puts a baby in the arms of a great actor and lets their reactions speak for themselves. There’s a simple but powerful kind of joy in those moments that’s unlike anything else on television.

Brothers and Sisters was a show about family, so naturally you’d expect it to have at least one great “baby moment.” And boy did it ever. The show was famous for a few things: its absurdly talented cast, its flair for the melodramatic, and the way the former often made the latter more palatable than it ever should have been. When Robert meets his adopted son, Evan, for the first time, it’s a perfect example of what this show was all about. After having a heart attack on the way to the hospital for Evan’s birth, Robert finally gets to hold his newborn son while still hooked up to machines and breathing with the help of oxygen tubes. It could have been cheesy and over-the-top, but the combined powers of Rob Lowe and Calista Flockhart turned it into something deeply moving and almost impossibly genuine.

Flockhart is so warm and natural in this scene as both a mother and a wife, but this scene really belongs to Lowe. The overwhelming love and awe in his eyes is incredible. The way his voice cracks when he says, “I forgot how little newborns are,” is one of the greatest acting moments I can remember from a show filled with superb actors. This scene is so unashamedly emotional and joyful, and it’s a beautiful thing to see. There’s so much honesty in Lowe’s performance, a kind of naked vulnerability that is a rare thing to find, even among the best actors in the medium.

I love happy tears, and this is one of my favorite scenes to watch when I want to experience them. Sometimes I forget how good Brothers and Sisters could be when it was at its best—and this scene is a fantastic reminder.

Daily Dose of Feelings #15

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I had a professor in college who once said of The Great Gatsby, “You can talk about this book for one class or the rest of your life. And since I won’t be teaching you for the rest of your lives, let’s just make this one hell of a class.”

That’s how I feel about the ending of “Sucker Punch,” the midseason stunner from the second season of Castle, the episode which took me from loving the show to full-blown obsession.

There are so many emotional beats in these final five minutes. It begins with the quiet support between Beckett and Castle and with the reminder that this man gave up no small amount of money for her to have a chance to catch the man who killed her mother. “Sucker Punch” was the episode that convinced me in no uncertain terms that Rick Castle was already hopelessly in love with Kate Beckett, even if he didn’t want to admit that to himself yet. Then, the scene escalates into one of the greatest twists Castle has ever pulled off; one of the most tension-filled standoffs in the show’s history; and one of the first moments to really show us just how great Stana Katic could be when she’s allowed to let Beckett’s raw emotions burst through her normally stoic façade.

And through it all, there’s Castle. Nathan Fillion is so good in this episode because he’s so subtly affecting. In many places throughout this episode, like the beats after Beckett shoots Coonan, he’s a supporting figure rather than the emotional center of the episode. But what’s so great about Fillion is how he makes the term “supporting actor” really mean something. When Castle puts his hand on Beckett’s shoulder, it’s such a powerful moment of comfort, and it’s done without him saying any dialogue.

That’s all well and good, but the tears didn’t really start for me when I first watched this episode until the very last scene. There’s something so warm and gentle about Castle and Beckett’s interactions here; you can feel that something has changed between them, shifting their relationship into something deeper, something more.

I can remember the moment I first watched Castle pull out every kind of food imaginable in an effort to make Beckett happy. I was so surprised by the simple intimacy and sweetness of this small but thoughtful act that I started to cry. For all of Castle’s talk about big gestures, it was this very realistic and very unpretentious moment of affection that made me fall in love with this character. Yes, I adore “smartass Castle” and “articulate Castle” and “charming Castle,” but more than anything, I love genuine Castle—and that’s how Fillion played this scene. No bravado, no humor—just a man trying to do what’s right for the woman he’s grown to love, even if it means sacrificing the ability to spend every day following her around.

But Beckett doesn’t want that sacrifice. Instead, she tells Castle what she wants with the most open and honest confession of feelings we’d get from either one of them for a long time. Katic’s soft smile in this scene is a true thing of beauty because it’s something we had never seen on Beckett’s face until this point. And when she tells Castle he makes her job more fun, it still feels like one of the biggest moments in their relationship. There have been plenty of more dramatic speeches, professions of love, and even a marriage proposal, but Beckett saying she’s gotten used to Castle pulling her pigtails and Castle promising to keep her secret safe is still my favorite dialogue they’ve ever exchanged. It’s so meaningful but so simple—it’s not trying too hard to be emotionally resonant, and that’s what makes it even more beautiful.

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (7/21 – 7/28)

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This week in the world of television, there was plenty of drama during the “Men Tell All” episode of The Bachelorette. So You Think You Can Dance had its weakest episode in a long time. Harvey and Mike reunited on Suits. I fell more in love with Amy Poehler than ever thanks to her appearance on Hollywood Game Night. And a huge fight led to some huge steps forward on The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

While this wasn’t the most exciting week of television I’ve watched this summer, it did have its share of fun moments. The best of those came from this week’s episode of Suits, where Louis made each of his scenes memorable. In honor of my father’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Dad!), it feels right to single out one of his favorite characters on TV right now—and Louis deserves the recognition. His Dead Poets Society speech to the associates he was leaving behind was perfect (I actually started clapping), and his Jerry Maguire impressions were hilarious.

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

Daily Dose of Feelings #14

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Some of television’s most emotional moments need no explanation. Some moments are more profound because of the background we know about characters and relationships, but some are simply so visceral that all you need to know is what’s in front of you.

Ned Stark’s death on Game of Thrones is one of those visceral moments, but even more than Ned’s death, his wife and son’s grief is so palpable that all you need to see is their one interaction in the woods after his death to feel every ounce of the sadness these characters are carrying with them.

Michelle Fairley is characteristically brilliant in this scene. The moment when she has to lean against the tree, letting her strong façade crumble only for a moment, is so profound. She allows herself that one moment of all-consuming grief, but she knows she has only that moment to fall apart before she has to be strong for her son.

And then there’s Richard Madden. This is my favorite scene of his entire career on the show because it’s so raw and so real. It’s easy to forget that Robb is a boy in so many ways, pushed into a man’s role after his father’s death. But this scene is such a painful reminder of the character’s youth. You can feel his need to hurt something, to break something, to make something else feel the pain he’s drowning in. And when he says, “I’ll kill them all,” he looks and sounds like the boy he really is.

When Robb collapses in his mother’s arms, it’s impossible not to believe the love the Starks have for one another. The way Catelyn strokes Robb’s hair is so maternal and soothing, and it’s a really interesting contrast to the coldness in her voice when she tells Robb that they will “kill them all” after they get Sansa and Arya back. When Robb says he wants to kill them all, I get tears in my eyes because of how grief-stricken and young he sounds. When Catelyn says it, I get chills because she sounds so certain.

A part of so many characters died when Ned did, and this scene shows that more painfully than any other.

Daily Dose of Feelings #13

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Parks and Recreation is my favorite show on television. I love that it’s a show about fundamentally good people who do nice things for each other. I love it for its optimism, its warmth, and its belief in wearing its heart firmly on its sleeve. And I love that it consistently manages to make me cry happy tears.

As Leslie Knope is so fond of saying, “No one achieves anything alone.” That’s the theme at the center of Parks and Rec, and it’s been reflected time and again in scenes where all of the characters pitch in to help one of their own. The most affecting of these scenes comes at the end of Season Four’s Christmas episode, “Citizen Knope.”

Because apparently this scene is too perfect for the Internet to handle, I have no video clip of it for you, but here are two sets of GIFs from Tumblr which should give you a taste of why it’s is so beautiful:

Open this set first…

…And then this one.

This is one of those scenes where, as it was unfolding, all I could do was stand with my hand over my mouth, smiling and crying at the same time. As each person offered Leslie their help with such perfectly in-character responses (Andy offering his duties at “javelin…if need be,” Donna offering up her Benz, Tom volunteering as “Swagger Coach,” Jerry having no idea about the plan), I found myself getting more and more emotional—until Ron completely stole my heart with his offer to do any other damn thing Leslie might need.

Parks and Rec is a show about love: the love between a woman and her city and between that same woman and the wonderful people she surrounds herself with every day. This scene captures that perhaps better than any other so far (except, of course, Leslie and Ben’s wedding). Ron’s right, Leslie is always there for her friends, but the beautiful thing about her is she never expects them to do anything in return. That’s what makes it so special when they turn around and give back to her the support and love she gives them every day.

Amy Poehler’s reaction at the end of this scene shows what makes her such a damn good actress and such a perfect Leslie. There’s a beat when her eyes fill with tears and her voice breaks when she says, “I don’t know what to say.” That reaction is so honest. I admire and adore Poehler for so many reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is her fearlessness when it comes to playing a scene not for laughs but for happy tears. It takes a special kind of actor to make you cry for their character because you’re so happy for them, but Poehler does it again and again with Leslie. This scene is so emotional because the gesture feels earned; we truly believe Leslie deserves this act of kindness.

I love when Parks and Rec puts us in Leslie’s shoes, letting us be surprised by the wonderful moments in her life right along with her. That sense of surprise has been the driving force behind some of the show’s most memorably emotional moments, and it’s certainly a big part of why this scene is so affecting. It was the perfect Christmas gift for Leslie, and it was also a great Christmas gift for fans of Parks and Rec—a show that is never afraid to aim for the audience’s heart in the best possible way.

Daily Dose of Feelings #12

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There are some moments in television history that transcend the show they’re on and become much more than just a scene from a TV show. They become works of art, moments of high drama. And oftentimes, those moments can move us to tears by their sheer brilliance.

Ask anyone who’s familiar with The West Wing, and they’ll tell you that one of these transcendent moments is President Bartlet’s grief-stricken rant at God in “Two Cathedrals.” I don’t think there will ever be another moment on television quite like this one.

This scene is so powerful it gives me chills even after an incredible number of viewings over the years. Martin Sheen’s controlled fury is so palpable and so believable. President Bartlet is a man who’s reached his breaking point, and it’s so realistic to see him get so angry with God. This scene is like a heartbreaking summary of all the pain we’ve watched this man go through. There’s so much national responsibility on his shoulders, but what breaks my heart the most is the way this scene shows how much this man loves the people who work for him. Yes, his grief over Mrs. Landingham is probably the most memorably emotional part of this scene, but what always gets me most is the way his voice breaks when he calls Josh his son.

The most famous part of this scene is undoubtedly its use of Latin, and I love that we don’t need subtitles to understand what he’s saying. Sheen delivers the whole monologue so perfectly that we can feel every moment of loss and anger—even when we don’t know exactly what he’s saying. If that’s not the very definition of great acting, then I honestly don’t know what is.

Daily Dose of Feelings #11

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Torchwood: Children of Earth messed me up for a long time—we’re talking at least a week of emotional trauma. There were so many haunting, disturbing, and heartbreaking moments in such a small number of episodes that the entire viewing process felt like a kind of emotional overload. 

Although Children of Earth had more than its share of painful scenes and Torchwood was known for killing characters off in brutal ways, I wasn’t prepared for what I would feel when Ianto died in Jack’s arms, fearing that he would be forgotten in the thousands of years the immortal Jack would go on to see after leaving him behind. 

This is a scene that is heartbreaking on so many levels. Even if you have no idea who these two characters are or what is specifically happening to them, you can feel everything they’re feeling. Gareth David-Lloyd makes Ianto’s fear of being forgotten so palpable because it’s so relatable. Isn’t that what we all want—to know we’ll be remembered long after we’re gone? And I love how you can feel Jack’s certainty pushing back against Ianto’s doubt. When he promises Ianto that he’ll never forget him, you believe it because he’s never sounded so sincere before. 

That’s the most painful thing about this scene—it’s the most broken and vulnerable we’ve ever seen Jack. This is a character defined by his bravado, but here he’s stripped of his pride, begging the man he loves not to leave him. John Barrowman’s performance in this scene is incredible. He’s so comforting towards Ianto at the start of the scene, but as soon as he can see Ianto fading away, the panic beings to set in. The way his voice breaks when he says, “Stay with me!” is like a sucker punch. This scene is a great example of the power of an actor holding back tears. We know Jack is not a man to show his true emotions easily—with immortality comes a certain sense of detachment. But here he’s so overwhelmed with grief that he can’t keep those feeling down any more, even though he’s trying to do just that. When Ianto dies, Jack sounds so lost, so broken, and so hopeless—it’s such a hard thing to watch when you’re used to him being full of energy and sparkling charisma. 

Ianto was simply a quiet, kind man who just wanted to take care of Jack—that was his job, but it also became his life. Somewhere along the way, he went from being the coffee boy to being someone Jack trusted with his secrets—and ultimately his heart. Ianto was such a genuinely good character that it was a truly upsetting shock to see him die. 

I’ll never be okay with this scene, and that’s the whole point. And I know I’ll never forget Ianto Jones—this scene made sure of that. 

TV Time: Teen Wolf 3.08

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Title Visionary

What Happened? Scott and Allison listen to Gerard’s story about what happened years ago with Deucalion, Kali, and Ennis when they were in Beacon Hills to get advice from Derek’s mother, and the events that resulted in Deucalion’s blinding. Meanwhile, Stiles and Cora hear Peter tell the story of what changed the color of Derek’s eyes to a “cold steel blue,” a tragic story about Derek’s first love, Paige. However, we see, through the flashbacks, that Peter and Gerard are both unreliable narrators; things may not be what they seem.

Favorite Quotes
“Why do I care? Let’s see…because over the last few weeks, my best friend’s tried to kill himself, his boss nearly got ritually sacrificed, a girl that I’ve known since I was three was ritually sacrificed, Boyd was killed by Alphas, I…do you want me to keep going? ‘Cause I can, alright? For like an hour.” (Stiles)

“How old are you now?”
“Not as young as we could have been, but not as old as you might think.”
“Okay, that was frustratingly vague. How old are you?”
“I’m seventeen.”
“See that’s an answer. That’s how we answer people.”
“Well, seventeen in how you’d measure in years.”
“Alright, I’m just gonna drop it.” (Stiles, Peter, and Cora)

“Actually, I was speaking about the fact that he’s a complete psychopath. He cuts people in half with a broadsword.” (Talia Hale, talking about Gerard)

My Thoughts One of the two storylines in this episode was Gerard’s tale of the events in Beacon Hills when most of the Alpha Pack were in town. What I found quite interesting is that we’re shown that Deucalion wasn’t always a conniving evildoer; in the past, he strove for peace. His character follows the way Teen Wolf has shown that often evil is not born, but made.

So far, most of the major antagonists on the show have been influenced by Gerard: Kate Argent undoubtedly was influenced by Gerard, considering he is her father, and it is certainly possible that Gerard assigned Kate the task of taking down the Hales; Peter became driven to kill out of pure vengeance because of Kate’s actions that decimated his family (though you could argue that from the events of this episode that it’s likely Peter has always been a sociopath with the potential for murder); and Allison was heavily manipulated by her grandfather, which set her on her grief-stricken and rage-filled hunt for Derek in Season Two. It often comes back to Gerard, which makes me incredibly suspicious as to what he’s up to now—the wheelchair doesn’t necessarily mean anything as, after all, we have previously seen someone appear to be incapable of committing the murders when in truth they were completely capable, as Peter showed us in Season One. Perhaps Gerard is the Darach, and this war between the Darach and the Alpha Pack is one big “Gerard versus Deucalion” rematch?

I also really enjoyed seeing Talia Hale in the flashbacks. Learning about her rare shape-shifting ability and how her power made her extremely respected by other werewolves made me realize even more just how much Derek lost and the weight of the expectations and responsibility that have been on his shoulders for so long.

Speaking of Derek, tonight’s episode was yet another sad story of how Derek Hale has been intimately familiar with tragedy since he was a 15-year-old kid in high school. I thought it was quite interesting that this story ultimately told us more new information about Peter than about Derek. We’ve always known that Derek has a tragic backstory; we just know now that it’s more tragic than we thought.

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Daily Dose of Feelings #10

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There’s one scene in each of my favorite TV shows that takes me from “I like this show” to “I’m all in.” Usually, this is a scene that makes me cry. When I find myself becoming emotionally invested in these characters to the point where I cry because of them, I know there’s no turning back.

In the case of Once Upon a Time, that scene is the moment in the pilot when Snow White and Prince Charming have to send their newborn daughter, Emma, into our world by herself in order to protect her from the Evil Queen’s curse.

The depth of emotion in this scene is so rare for a pilot, but it’s what we’ve come to expect from actors as talented as Josh Dallas and Ginnifer Goodwin. Goodwin is especially brilliant in this scene because she goes through so many different types of pain—the physical pain of labor, the pain of losing her daughter, the pain of knowing she might never see her husband again—and yet still remains a pillar of strength. This is the scene that made Snow my favorite Once Upon a Time character.

My emotions during this scene progress as the action does. I feel Snow’s pain as she struggles through labor (Goodwin does an incredible job with some very realistic screaming), but the tears don’t start until we get our first (and last) glimpse of that happy family together. I love the way the scene shifts so suddenly when Snow realizes Emma has to go into the wardrobe by herself. She’s so deadly serious in that moment, so desperate for her husband to see that Emma needs to be given her best chance. And when she kisses her daughter goodbye before doing the same to her husband, I find myself in awe of this character and her sense of parental love and sacrifice.

Snow gave up everything to make sure her daughter was saved from the curse. After Charming leaves and she finally lets her grief show, I can’t help but sob right along with her. There’s something so raw, so primal, and so real about Goodwin’s tears in that moment—it’s hard to watch, but the best emotional moments often are. In that moment, this character is no longer the poised Disney princess we all thought we knew; she is a brokenhearted mother who is forced to give up her baby, to make an unthinkable choice and simply hope that she’s doing the right thing.

And the tears don’t stop there. If you don’t find yourself getting a little emotional at the sight of Charming with his sword in one hand and his baby girl in the other, then you must have a heart of stone. Like Snow, this idea of Prince Charming as a father willing to do anything to see his daughter find safety elevates him from the stuff of fairytales to the stuff of real, human drama. When he uses his last bit of strength to make sure Emma got through the wardrobe, I cry because this incredible father is willing to literally give up his life to protect his child.

Once Upon a Time is a show filled with emotional moments, but none has ever hit me like this one did and continues to so long after I first saw it.