Category Archives: Television

TV Time: Once Upon a Time 2.11

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As I slaved away (aka enjoyed every single second of) watching and recapping the Golden Globes, Leah took the reigns and offered to share her thoughts on this week’s Once Upon a Time.

Hi everyone! Hope you all survived the craziness of the Golden Globes and Once Upon a Time airing on the same night this week! (For some post-Golden Globes thoughts, check out Katie’s post here.)

This week’s episode was a bit of a rollercoaster, and there’s a lot to talk about. Here we go!

Title The Outsider

What Happened? In Storybrooke, Hook does all he can to thwart Rumplestiltskin’s plans to leave town and find his son Baelfire, while Belle does her own investigating and discovers Hook’s ship. In flashbacks to Fairytale Land, we see Belle and Mulan work together to kill a beast called the Yaoguai, which turns out to be Prince Phillip, cursed by Maleficent into the Yaoguai in order to separate him from his true love Aurora.

Lines to Remember
“So we shouldn’t think of today as goodbye. Just as a way of saying, ‘Archie, we’ll be listening.’” (Snow White, giving the eulogy at Archie’s funeral)

“I’ve always wanted to dissect a cricket.” (Hook, interrogating Archie)

“I think it’s safer to stick to my books. They’re the only adventures I know that have happy endings.” (Belle)

“Enjoy the lake!” (Belle)

“I just imagined a bigger roof. With turrets.” (Snow White)

“Oh, I know this ship like the back of my…well, you know.” (Hook)

What I Thought This episode gave us a good look at more of Belle’s backstory, and set us up for a great episode next week, which will undoubtedly deal with a lot of the events we have been anticipating for most of this season. Before I get to the ramifications of this week’s events on the future episodes, however, let’s discuss Belle.

Belle has been one of my favorite characters since we first met her in Season One ‘s “Skin Deep,” and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see more sides of her in this episode. Over the course of the show so far, we have seen Belle deal with mostly emotional situations and with her relationship with Rumplestiltskin, but we haven’t really seen Belle in action on the battlefield. In this episode, we got to take a look at how she reacts in stressful situations.

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TV Time: Castle 5.11

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Title Under the Influence

Two-Sentence Summary The death of a DJ at a release party for a pop star leads Castle, Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito to a teenager named Joey “Monster” Malone, a kid who’s under the thumb of a powerful criminal and works by stealing for him. Esposito takes the orphaned Joey under his wing and, in the process, reveals some secrets about his own troubled past.

Favorite Line “I know you ain’t a cop with that fancy shirt and poofy hair.” (Suspect MC Thug, to Castle in the interrogation room)

My Thoughts Confession Time: I fell asleep about halfway through the episode. The combination of staying up until 2 a.m. after the Golden Globes (Award show coverage never sleeps!) and a subpar Castle episode made it all too easy for me to drift off. But never fear, Castle fans—not even a 10:30 p.m. nap would keep me from writing about the show. I got up at 1 a.m. and finished the last half-hour, but I did find myself nodding off again at points.

In summary: tired Katie + filler Castle episode = sleep

It wasn’t that I didn’t like this episode. In fact, I really liked some things about it (learning more about Esposito, to be specific). However, the episode as a whole felt like something out of a different show. It was good, but it didn’t really feel like Castle.

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Best and Worst of the 2013 Golden Globes

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I love the Golden Globes. It focuses on both television and film; it features nearly all of my favorite celebrities; and it features nearly all of my favorite celebrities drinking copious amounts of alcohol. If that isn’t a recipe for success, I don’t know what is.

I was generally happy with the way these awards turned out. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association didn’t give me everything I wanted (cue my angry “Amy Poehler was robbed!” cries), but all in all I was pleased with the winners, especially in the film categories.

There were plenty of memorable moments from the 70th Annual Golden Globes, so, without further ado, let’s discuss the best and the worst of the night.

Best Hosts to Ever Host: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. I knew these two would be amazing, but I had no idea how hard they would make me laugh within the first few minutes of the show. From zingers directed at James Cameron and James Franco to a joke about Meryl Streep that’s still making me laugh today, their opening monologue was everything a fan of these two could have hoped for and then some. And the jokes just kept on coming, from cuddling with Clooney to advice for Taylor Swift and a perfect closing line about going home with Jodie Foster, these two women kept the show moving and did it with a style that is completely their own and completely perfect. Can they take Seth MacFarlane’s place at the Oscars? Pretty please?

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Nerdy Girl Predicts: The 2013 Golden Globes (TV)

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This Sunday ushers in one of my favorite seasons of the year—awards season! And here at NGN, I’m prepared to cover the major award shows (Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Oscars) for you with the well-trained eyes and finely tuned opinions of a girl who’s been watching these things since she was in elementary school. Expect predictions, reactions, fashion opinions, and more live tweets than a sane person should probably expose themselves to. (Seriously, I’ll be live-tweeting on Sunday from the start of red carpet coverage at 5 p.m. until long after the ceremony is over. To say I’m excited is the understatement of the week.)

To kick off NGN’s Golden Globes coverage, it’s time for some predictions! Today I’ll tackle the television nominations, and sometime before the ceremony I’ll have my movie predictions for you, too.

Best Television Comedy or Musical:
The Big Bang Theory
Episodes
Girls
Modern Family
Smash

My Pick: Modern Family. This show continues to be a critical darling as well as a consistently funny, mainstream hit. That seems to be a recipe for Globes success. However, the critical hype around Girls could end up making it a dark horse in this race.

Best Television Drama:
Breaking Bad
Boardwalk Empire
Downton Abbey
Homeland
The Newsroom

My Pick: Homeland. This seems to be about as sure a bet as there is at these awards. Though it seems to have fallen from grace this season to some extent, when it’s at its best it has a reputation for genius, compelling storytelling that goes beyond any of the other nominees.

Best Miniseries or Television Movie:
Game Change
The Girl
Hatfields & McCoys
The Hour
Political Animals

My Pick: Game Change. The attention around it, the subject matter, and the cast of famous faces make this a fairly easy pick based on what the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has been known to gravitate towards in the past.

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TV Time: Castle 5.10

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Title Significant Others

Two-Sentence Summary The death of a divorce attorney leads the team at the 12th precinct to the unsolved murder of a pro golfer’s wife. Meanwhile, Beckett moves into Castle’s loft for a brief stay while her apartment is being fumigated, but things get a little more crowded when Castle’s ex-wife Meredith comes to visit.

Favorite Lines
Martha: This isn’t a flophouse, darling. You’ve got to stop letting freeloaders just live here.
Castle: Please tell me you see the irony.

My Thoughts I’ll get this out of the way now, so you can decide right away whether or not you want to keep reading: I didn’t love this episode. In fact, I thought it was the weakest link in what has been a very strong fifth season so far. It wasn’t “Heartbreak Hotel” or “The Limey” levels of bad, but it certainly wasn’t one of the show’s stronger efforts. I wanted more: more Meredith, more comedy, more romance, and more certainty at the end about where this show is going for the rest of this season. I know it seems like I’m being greedy, and maybe I am. But I know what this show is capable of, and I get frustrated when it falls short of that.

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TV Time: Once Upon a Time 2.10

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Title The Cricket Game

Two-Sentence Summary The joy of Emma and Snow’s return to Storybrooke soon disappears after Archie is found dead after a supposed visit from Regina, who turns out to be Cora in disguise. In flashbacks to Fairytale Land, Snow saves Regina from execution but the final pieces to the curse are set in motion.

Favorite Line “It’s impressive that we can still provide her with a few traumatic childhood memories at this stage of the game.” (Charming, after Emma walks in on him in bed with Snow)

My Thoughts I found myself alternately fascinated and frustrated by this episode. There were some moments that made me incredibly happy as well as some good plot development. However, I found myself angry with the central plot of the episode. Sometimes dramatic irony is a beautiful thing (which Once Upon a Time proved over and over again last season), but sometimes it’s almost painful to watch characters make incorrect assumptions and do the wrong thing because they don’t know what we as an audience know.

Let’s begin with the good stuff, shall we? The scene with Charming and Snow being interrupted by Emma and Henry was played to perfection by all involved. Josh Dallas and Ginnifer Goodwin’s bright, joyful chemistry leapt off the screen. Goodwin’s smile was especially luminous; she made me feel every bit of Snow’s giddiness at being reunited with her husband after 28 long years. The brief moment where Charming stole a kiss at the end of the scene was the perfect touch. If these two in that moment are what “happily ever after” looks like (both on and off-screen), then sign me up for my own fairytale.

I also have to give credit to Jennifer Morrison for her perfect reaction to walking in on her parents in bed together. What could have been cringe-worthy was instead hilarious because Morrison played Emma’s shock with the subtle humor I have come to love from her as an actress. All three characters are in such a strange situation, and this was the best possible way to introduce the complications of their relationships with humor (while the end of the episode, with Charming talking about his insecurities about being a parent, was the perfect way to introduce it with heart).

I loved Emma’s emotional arc throughout the episode—from her open support of Regina to her crisis of faith, culminating in their showdown. It was nice to see someone finally invite Regina to dinner! And I loved that Emma initially saw a lot of herself in Regina’s quest for redemption. They are more similar than it would seem at first glance—both closed off to love until Henry came into their lives.

But the difference between these women is that Emma has a mother who is the epitome of noble while Regina’s mother is as evil as they come. I love how evil Cora is; there’s something deliciously dramatic about the sight of her walking around with her black parasol in the dead of night. It fits well with the flourish Lana Parrilla gives to her performance as the Evil Queen. Evil runs in the family, but so does style.

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NGN’s Best of 2012: TV

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First of all, I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas filled with family, friends, and all of the happiest things in life.

After Christmas, we enter one of my favorite times of the year: Year-In-Review time! I have always been a sucker for a good countdown show about the year that was or a well-thought-out list of the year’s best in almost any category. So, naturally, I’m going to use my little corner of the Internet to share my thoughts on the Best of 2012 in the media.

This post will be devoted to all things TV (look for a movies/literature/music post sometime before the ball drops tonight night). I’m happy to have the beautiful and talented Heather also sharing her thoughts on some of the highlights of this year from the world of television.

Without further ado, let me present my Best of 2012: TV Edition.

Favorite Comedy: Parks and Recreation
With consistently strong storytelling, humor that is both intelligent and slapstick, and actors operating at the top of their games, Parks and Rec was not only my favorite comedy of 2012; it was my favorite television show this year. From the wonderfully satirical campaign storylines through Leslie’s uplifting election to city council and engagement to Ben, this show has proved time and again that a comedy can be both heartfelt and hilarious. I found myself in tears from both laughter and genuine emotion nearly every week, and that is exactly how I like to watch television.

Runner-Up: New Girl

Favorite Drama: Once Upon a Time
I discovered this show during a New Year’s Day marathon, and that started a year-long love affair that has only grown stronger with time. This show has it all: incredibly well-developed characters, mind-blowing plot twists, great actors, and a truly unique and engaging story that is becoming richer and more complex with each episode. Nowhere else on television have I seen the variety of female characters introduced on Once Upon a Time, and those characters are at the center of some of the most interesting relationships I’ve come to root for in any form of media this year. Parents and children (both biological and adopted), husbands and wives, best friends, and even grandparents and grandchildren—this is a show about family and love in all of its beauty and all of its tragedy. It wears its heart shamelessly on its sleeve, and that unabashed optimism is the reason it’s touched my heart like nothing else on TV this year.

Runner-Up: Castle

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Sometimes I Cry Over Reality TV

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This is love. (I’m telling you; if you’re a hopeless romantic like I am, do yourself a favor and click that link.)

It’s a rare thing when something on reality TV feels real, but that’s the best way to describe Ashley and JP From their first date (a Bachelor-franchise rarity: a night spent in sweatpants, eating dinner at home), these two and their relationship have felt surprisingly genuine.

Maybe it’s because Ashley reminds me (and a lot of other people—from my family to my coworkers) of myself: a tiny girl with a big personality who’s quick to cry over a lot of things (both good and bad), always ready to dance, and passionate about the work she does and the people she loves. Maybe it’s because JP seems like the kind of man I (and I think a lot of other single girls out there) would love to find: a normal guy who’s grounded and centered, who knows who he is, and who looks at Ashley with a smile that would melt even the most jaded skeptic’s heart. Whatever it is about them, I bought it from the beginning, and I still bought it enough to sit through two hours of Bachelor-franchise shenanigans to watch them finally get married last night.

I know some people will never be able to believe anything about this franchise, and that’s fine. It’s had more than enough spectacular failures to warrant the skepticism. But I’m a romantic at heart. And when I watched Ashley start to cry while walking down the aisle towards a beaming JP, I started to tear up, too. Because sometimes I just want to believe that it’s out there. And when JP said his beautifully heartfelt vows, it was easier than ever to believe that sometimes love triumphs over damning odds and even more damning cynicism.

Love is the reason to keep hoping when things seem the most hopeless. And sometimes real love is found in the most unreal of places…like reality TV.

TV Time: Parks and Recreation 5.09

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Title Ron and Diane

Two-Sentence Summary As Ron attends a woodworking awards ceremony, his relationships with the women in his life (Diane, Tammy, and Leslie) reach turning points. Meanwhile, the holiday spirit (and one very surprising Christmas party) causes Tom, April, Andy, and Donna to rethink the way they’ve been treating Jerry.

Favorite Lines
Leslie: I know you didn’t, but if you had gone to Hogwarts Academy, which House do you think you would have been in?
Diane: Well, obviously I want to say Gryffindor, but I’ve got to go with Hufflepuff.
Leslie: I respect your honesty. Gryffindor. Seeker on the Quidditch team.

My Thoughts About halfway through “Ron and Diane,” I realized that I was just going to end up disappointed if I tried to compare it with “Citizen Knope,” last season’s Christmas episode, and one of my favorite Parks and Rec episodes of all time. Nothing could possibly compare to the way the ending of that episode made me feel, and the sooner I accepted that, the better. I’m glad I decided to lower my expectations a little bit because this was a good episode of Parks and Rec, but it wasn’t a great one. It was missing the warmth that was so prevalent in “Citizen Knope” and has shown itself at various points during this season as well.

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TV Time: Parks and Recreation 5.08

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As I was busy making my way out from underneath an avalanche of work this weekend, my own personal Ann Perkins (aka Heather) was kind enough to step in and share her thoughts on the latest episode of Parks and Recreation.  

Title Pawnee Commons

Two-Sentence Summary Leslie is moving forward with her plans for a park on Lot 48 with an unlikely helper – an architect from Eagleton. Meanwhile, Tom enlists the help of his friends to set up Rent-A-Swag, and Andy saves the day as a security guard with help from April.

Favorite Line “Well, I’m in love with a woman from here. A strange, passionate, goofball of a woman.” (Ben)

My Thoughts I didn’t enjoy this episode quite as much as the last few, but for a show that consistently puts out great episodes, even the ones that aren’t as strong are still a thoroughly enjoyable half-hour of television. I liked it a little better in retrospect, but I wished the episode had included more ensemble moments. It was an important episode for Leslie, Tom, and Andy in similar ways, and I would have liked to see a scene with the three of them.

Leslie’s story this week had her struggling between her hatred of all things Eagleton and her desire to give Pawnee the best possible park that she can. One of Leslie’s defining characteristics is her love for her town, and I loved seeing the way that was manifested in this episode. Accepting Leslie Knope as a person means accepting Pawnee as a town. Her hatred of Eagleton and automatic distrust of the people in it are completely warranted given her previous interactions with them, although in typical Leslie fashion, they are expressed in a completely over-the-top way. I kept waiting for the architect to prove Leslie right and be just like everyone else from Eagleton. I have never been so happy to be wrong. The park he created was not only a perfect representation of Pawnee, but now that I have seen this design, I can’t imagine any other park going on Lot 48. This park means so much to Leslie, and to see it turn out to be a visual representation of all the aspects of Pawnee she loves so much could not have been any more perfect.

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