TV Time: Once Upon a Time 5.01

Posted on by
48

Welcome (or welcome back) to our weekly Once Upon a Time discussions here at NGN! I can’t wait to watch this season unfold, and I especially can’t wait to talk about it with all of you! And remember, if you’re interested, this would be a great time to start writing a letter to Emma, Regina, Snow, and any other favorite female characters for my book!

Title The Dark Swan

Two-Sentence Summary As Emma struggles with fighting against the darkness she’s continually tempted by after becoming the Dark One, her loved ones search for the best way to get to her. However, even after they find her, it appears their mission to save her didn’t go as planned, since six weeks later, Emma is the only one who can remember what happened in Camelot—and whatever it was that led to her fully embracing the darkness.

Favorite Line “It has to be her choice.” (Hook)

My Thoughts Once Upon a Time has always been a show about belief. On the surface, it’s a show about believing in fairytales and magic. But it’s really about the power of knowing someone believes in you and how that helps you believe in yourself. From the pilot through this Season Five premiere, Once Upon a Time has showed us that belief is power and love is strength. Those themes have woven themselves through every storyline and every character’s journey, and they were at the heart of “The Dark Swan.” By taking the core themes of the show and bringing them to light in a fresh way, “The Dark Swan” became my favorite Once Upon a Time season premiere since the show’s pilot episode.

Fighting to be your best self when you feel like no one cares about you is exhausting. It’s easier to just give in to your darker impulses, and sometimes we just want to do what’s easy instead of what’s right. I think that’s been something Emma’s struggled with at different times in her life. It was something we saw right from this episode’s first moments—with little Emma (How is the casting department so good at casting younger versions of the show’s actors?) stealing the woman’s candy bar because it was easy. Emma has always had those darker impulses; she spent a formative portion of her life as a thief, and she never had anyone to encourage her to make better choices when she was younger. (She had Neal, who was also a thief.)

Emma has also struggled at times with doing wrong things for the right reasons. (Changing the timeline by bringing “Marian” back from the past is a prime example.) And in the opening flashback, we saw one person give Emma a very important bit of advice about the choices she’ll make in the future concerning this idea. I don’t know how many of you follow casting spoilers, but the shots to the movie screen while the usher was talking pretty much gave it away anyway: He’s Merlin, and he knew Emma was going to be tempted at some point to do something wrong for the right reason. I’m intrigued by the prophecy that she’ll want to pull Excalibur from the stone, because for all we know Excalibur is now with Arthur. However, he could be talking about the dagger as part of Excalibur and “pulling it from the stone” as willingly taking on its power. No matter what comes of this prophecy and advice he gave young Emma, it’s clear Merlin knew of her importance long before our present timeline. I liked the idea that the Apprentice went to see Lily and Merlin went to see Emma when they were young, because I was upset last season that the Apprentice never sought out Emma to help her as a child. That small flashback set up what I’m sure will be an interesting dynamic in the future between Merlin and Emma, and it further emphasized the idea that choice is going to play a huge role in this Dark Swan arc.

Continue reading →

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (9/20 – 9/27)

Posted on by
10

This was the week Fall TV really kicked into high gear, and it was as fun and exciting as I’d hoped it would be. I already covered Sunday’s Emmys in last week’s Best Thing on TV post, but I’ll say that I’m still re-watching Viola Davis’s speech a week later. On Monday, Dancing with the Stars showcased the hometowns of its celebrities, and that was followed by a bold season premiere of Castle. Tuesday gave us a charming series premiere of The Muppets, a hilarious return for Fresh Off the Boat, and another strong episode of Dancing with the Stars—this time focusing on the stories behind its professional dancers. Tuesday also featured an episode of The Mindy Project that introduced an adorable new character and made me fall in love with Danny all over again. On Wednesday, Black-ish tackled a controversial topic in a great way, and Nashville balanced hope (Rayna and Deacon’s continuing love story) and heartbreak (all things Juliette) in its season premiere.

There were so many great moments on the scripted shows I watched this week—from Danny helping Mindy through her contractions to the introduction of the “three men and a baby” story on Nashville. However, my favorite moment of the week came from the world of reality television, and that was Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess’s foxtrot on Dancing with the Stars.

I love nothing more on television than good partnerships, and that’s what this dance was all about. During what was clearly an emotional dance for Sharna (She was dancing for her father and grandmother, who can’t ever travel to see her dance because of health concerns.), Nick was there for her every step of the way. From Nick’s little nod at the beginning to the solid, strong way he partnered Sharna throughout the routine, it was clear he was dancing this for her, and it elevated his dancing to new heights. It’s not often that a dance on this show genuinely moves me this early into the competition, but that’s exactly what this one did.

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

Scandal Season 5 Premiere: Setting Up Another Intense Storyline

Posted on by
4

I’d like to introduce all of you to our newest NGN Contributor, Laura! She is a talented novelist, blogger, and passionate fangirl who runs the excellent site Fangirl Forum. I’m very excited to have her as part of our awesome NGN Team, and I hope all of you make her feel wonderfully welcome and check out her site, too!

I love the writing on Scandal. As a writer myself, I need to start this post by acknowledging the incredible team who writes for Scandal. Thank you, as always, for such great entertainment! We finished the “Rowan/taking down Command” story arc, and without delay (except for the summer break) moved straight into the political storm of Olitz, a divorce, a new chief of staff, lies between friends, and Huck coming apart.

Now, let me say straight off, I’m Team Jake all the way, so I was really disappointed in the Season 4 finale. I’m sick of the Liv and Fitz relationship, and personally I think Jake is better for her. I know this will upset some of you diehard Olitz fans, but please hear me out before you stop reading. Because having said that, I did enjoy the season premiere.

Team Fitz or Team Jake?
Olivia Pope is an amazing woman. She’s formidable, brilliant, compassionate, and confident but with human foibles and vulnerabilities. She deserves a man who appreciates and respects all of that about her, which I will grant you both Jake and Fitz do. But, in my opinion, Jake is more honest about the man he is now and the man he’s been in the past. There’s no duplicity about him anymore. He owns the horrible things he’s done, whereas Fitz will condemn others (like Mellie) for actions similar to ones he’s done himself. (But more on Fitz and Mellie in a minute.)

Continue reading →

Fangirl Thursday: 10 Reasons Why We’re All a Little in Love with Danny Castellano

Posted on by
5

Let’s face it: It’s hard to watch The Mindy Project and not fall a little bit in love with Danny Castellano. Is he perfect? Not at all. There are even some times when it’s hard to like him, but we still love him. Because when it counts, Danny is a man straight out of our best rom-com dreams.

Maybe it’s the complex and nuanced way his character is written. Maybe it’s the way Chris Messina brings him to life with such sincerity. Or maybe it’s the dancing. (It’s definitely the dancing.) Whatever magical combination is responsible for Danny’s charm, it’s been working on me for years, which is saying something, because after the pilot of The Mindy Project I might have ranked Danny my least favorite male character on television.

Danny was allowed to grow and evolve, and the show grew and evolved with him. The Mindy Project became a great TV rom-com when its leading lady was given a male character to play off of who’s as great as she is. In order for us to believe that Mindy could fall in love with Danny, we all had to fall in love with him, too. And the show gave us plenty of moments that helped us do exactly that.

Without further ado, here are 10 reasons why The Mindy Project made it easy for us to fall in love with Danny—starting with the most recent example. Click on each reason for more gifs to help you fall in love with him all over again.

1. He appreciates a strong woman—and he’s not afraid to say it. (4.02: “C Is For Coward”)

This entire post was inspired by the fabulous final minutes of “C Is For Coward.” When Mindy went into labor and fear started to overtake her, Danny stepped up in a major way—reminding her of her strength at a time when she was feeling weak. Danny telling Mindy she’s stronger than him was such a powerful moment because Messina made us feel that Danny believes that with his whole heart, and he loves her all the more for it. And Danny naming baby Leo after Leo the Lion because he’s strong like his mother would have been perfect enough on its own, but the adoring, awestruck look that accompanied those words just about killed me. Danny doesn’t just love Mindy; he respects her, and he respects her strength more than almost anything. And who doesn’t love a man who knows his fiancee will draw strength from being called a “stone cold bitch”?

Continue reading →

Five Reasons “XY” Gave Me Hope for Castle’s Future

Posted on by
16
Source: abc.go.com

Source: abc.go.com

Hello, fellow Castle fans! While I won’t be writing about every episode of the show this season here at NGN, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on important episodes and moments as they present themselves, and this premiere seemed like the perfect place to start.

I’ll admit it: After Castle’s spectacular Season Seven finale, I was skeptical about Season Eight’s premiere. How could any episode follow “Hollander’s Woods,” which was written as a potential (and, had it been necessary, satisfying) series finale? How would the show survive without Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller at the helm? How would it bounce back after a season with a handful of strong episodes but far more mediocre ones?

“XY” was the answer to all those questions, and what a confident answer it was. With Rob Bowman directing and new show-runners Alexi Hawley and Terence Paul Winter penning the script, “XY” was an episode with a point to prove—that this show could still be exciting, engaging, and surprising in its eight season. And the way it chose to prove that point made me wonder why I ever thought the show might have been better off ending with “Hollander’s Woods.” There’s still plenty of story left to tell, and if this is how the show is going to tell it, then I’m more than happy to keep watching until the final chapter is written.

Here are five reasons why this season premiere made me feel confident that this show still has a lot of life left in it and has found the right people to bring that life out of it.

1. It went back to the show’s storytelling roots.
I know that Season Six’s “Veritas” felt like the perfect ending to the Johanna Beckett murder arc that drove much of the show’s drama in its early days. However, after the 3XK plot was wrapped up last season, the show was missing something without a familiar dramatic arc to push these characters to new places emotionally in ways that still made us care. Castle’s disappearance never quite became the new dramatic arc I think it was supposed to be, so I found myself eternally grateful that this episode’s intensity was rooted in a familiar conflict: Kate Beckett vs. Senator Bracken—as well as Rick Castle vs. the secrets Beckett keeps when dealing with Bracken. Those conflicts have produced some of the best episodes in the show’s history, and they’ve always allowed us to explore deep things about Beckett. I loved that this episode was driven by the idea that Beckett’s obsession with Bracken and all he’s done wouldn’t just automatically stop once he ended up in prison. He’s the root of so much emotional trauma in her life, and it makes sense for her to be unable to put that behind her. Bringing Bracken back also allowed us to see Jack Coleman in all his twisted, evil glory once again. It’s good to have a familiar foe to root against, and I liked seeing these writers embrace that familiarity with a new twist that kept things exciting.

Continue reading →

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (9/13 – 9/20)

Posted on by
5

As television shows are slowly awakening from their summer-long slumber, we were treated to the first taste of this new TV season over the past week. On Monday night, Dancing with the Stars returned with a very promising new crop of celebrities. And on Tuesday, The Mindy Project started the next chapter of its life after its move to Hulu.

I was all set to write about the ending to the season premiere of The Mindy Project for this post. I had a lot to say about Chris Messina’s ability to say so much with so little and the beauty of Mindy Kaling’s smile. I also wanted to talk about how important it was for Danny to tell Mindy he’d like to be wrong about marriages never working out. Because that’s what mature love is—it’s a leap of faith that you choose to take instead of something you blindly fall into. It’s knowing that there’s a chance this could end in disaster but choosing to believe there’s also a chance it might not. Love is belief—belief that the person you love is worth the risk and belief that your own happiness is worth fighting for. All those themes were wrapped up in one moment—in one line, really. And it gave me so much hope for the future of this show.

I had all that planned, and then last night’s Emmy Awards happened. Viola Davis happened. And now I don’t want to write about anything else.

Viola Davis is class, elegance, and power personified. When she talks, you listen. And when she talks about the struggle for African American women to find their voice and their own place on television, you don’t just listen; you cry.

You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.

What an honest and deeply moving statement. There’s still so far to go for women—and especially women of color—in television, but progress and change are happening. And it’s happening because of a community of writers, creators, and actors who believe in what they’re doing and believe in each other. As Taraji P. Henson embraced Davis with such emotion on her way up to the stage, as Kerry Washington cried her way through Davis’s speech, and as Davis mentioned so many of her peers who are making their mark on the television landscape, I was moved to tears by the power and beauty of women supporting other women.

The Emmys weren’t perfect, but they gave us this moment. And for that, I am so grateful.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week? And let’s use this post as a post-Emmys discussion group, too! What were your thoughts on the night’s winners, snubs, and overall entertainment value?

Nerdy Girl Predicts: The 2015 Emmy Awards

Posted on by
8
(Photo by Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

(Photo by Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

It’s time once again for the Emmy Awards! While I don’t always agree with the nominations, I do always have fun watching the show. It’s a great way to celebrate some of the best achievements in television, and this was a fantastic year to celebrate.

Watching the show is even more fun when you can make your own picks and play along! So here are my choices for who I think will win each award and who I hope will win, too. Don’t forget to share your picks in the comments, and I’ll be live tweeting the evening’s festivities (from my comfy couch, of course) over at the NGN Twitter account starting around 6 p.m.

Outstanding Drama Series
My Pick: Mad Men
My Wish: Orange Is the New Black
My Thoughts: This feels like one of the most open categories of the night in terms of which show will win, but my gut says Mad Men’s impact on the television landscape will be honored with an Emmy for its final season. (My gut really says this award belongs to The Americans, but Emmy voters don’t care about my gut, apparently.) However, I would love to see the rise of complex, diverse female characters on television highlighted with an Orange Is the New Black win.

Outstanding Comedy Series:
My Pick and My Wish: Parks and Recreation
My Thoughts: I can’t pick against Parks and Rec when it’s my last chance to pick it…I just can’t. I wrote an entire post earlier this week about why this show is so deserving of this award, so I’ll sum up those feelings by saying sometimes nice people finish first, and I want to see that happen on Sunday night.

Continue reading →

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 →

Live Your Dream: A Letter to Rapunzel

Posted on by
9

This is the latest 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 (tentatively titled Fan Mail), and send your letter(s) to nerdygirlnotes@gmail.com!

tangled

Dear Rapunzel,

You came into my life when I was well past the age when girls typically want to be Disney princesses. I was 22 years old, a recent college graduate, and a member of the “working world” of adults. I thought I didn’t have any use for fairytales anymore. Sure, I’d be entertained by the them, but I tried to tell myself that I couldn’t be inspired in any profound way by them now that I was “all grown up.”

Thank you for showing me I was wrong.

Thank you for bringing magic back into my life. The moment I saw you and Flynn Rider on that boat, surrounded by floating lanterns, something changed in me—or, more accurately, something changed back. I’d spent too long trying to push down the part of me that looked at the world with wonder and wanted to believe in dreams coming true—because I thought that would make me look immature to the rest of the “adult” world. But in that magical cinematic moment, I let myself feel like a little kid again. I felt my heart open up in that moment to the idea that this kind of story might still have the power to change my life for the better—not just by connecting me to my past, but by giving me hope for my future.

Fairytales aren’t just for little kids or even little-kids-at-heart. They’re for all of us. They teach all of us, but only if we’re open to it. And with my heart newly opened to the possibility of learning from your journey, I discovered you had so much to teach me. And the things you taught me I could never have understood as a little girl. I might have liked your hair and sang your songs, but I wouldn’t have needed you as a child. I needed you as I became an adult—and I still need you now.

We’re all stuck in towers. Sometimes other people put us there, sheltering us from the world and keeping us from experiencing life for any number of reasons. But there are also many times when we keep ourselves locked in our own tower. Sometimes we’re our own Mother Gothel, and we need to find the courage to be you instead.

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 →