This week was the last before shows begin returning for their season (and series) premieres, so it was a bit of a slow week in terms of original programming. Monday’s Bachelor in Paradise finale featured Marcus and Lacy’s engagement and Cody and Michelle surprising everyone (including themselves—or at least Michelle) with how deeply they’d come to care for each other. Wednesday’s episode of Top Chef Masters was a showdown between Dale and Tiffani. And there were plenty of NFL games on Sunday (and Thursday) to keep fans busy, including a huge overtime win by my beloved Buffalo Bills.
Like last week, my favorite thing I watched was probably an episode of Masters of Sex(“Brave New World,” if you were wondering). However, if I had to pick a moment that aired on television for the first time this week, I’d say my favorite moment came from Jimmy Kimmel Live. I’m always a fan of Kimmel’s “Lie Witness News” segment, and I think this week’s edition from New York Fashion Week may have been the best of those segments yet. It had me in tears from laughing so hard, and it was a clip I had to share with everyone in my office because I loved it so much—so I want to share it with all of you, too.
This week in television began with the penultimate episode of Bachelor in Paradise, which mercifully featured Jesse Kovacs’s exit from the show while basically everyone else found a romantic partner. On Wednesday, Ricky was crowned the winner of Season 11 of So You Think You Can Dance. And Thursday brought the NFL back to our TV screens, as the Seattle Seahawks dominated the Green Bay Packers in the league’s opening game.
If I’m being honest, the best thing I saw on my TV this week was probably the first three episodes of Masters of Sex, which I started watching on DVD Saturday afternoon. However, I know that’s cheating, so I’ll go with my second choice, which happened on Wednesday’s SYTYCD finale.
While I was disappointed with the fact that my favorite and pick to win (Zack) came in fourth, I have to admit that the most technically talented dancer won. And I couldn’t stay mad for long when there was so much good dancing to watch. In an episode full of reminders of some of the show’s best moments of the season, my favorite routine was a new one: the group routined that combined this season’s Top 10 and All Stars. It was incredibly cinematic; this routine was like something out of a movie musical. Sonya Tayeh and Christopher Scott created something so contagiously joyful. It was a true celebration of these dancers, and it was incredibly fun to watch.
I apologize for the slight delay with this post. I’ve been enjoying the holiday weekend, and I hope all of you who are celebrating this unofficial end of summer have been enjoying yourselves, too!
An entertaining—if very unimaginative—Emmy telecast began this week in television. The week continued with a “dramatic” two-part episode of Bachelor in Paradise that featured way too many people falling in love way too fast, an emotional breakdown in the middle of the jungle, and even a trip to the hospital. Wednesday’s So You Think You Can Danceperformance finale was quite possibly the most entertaining episode of the season. And the Labor Day holiday weekend featured plenty of marathons of both TV shows and movies to keep viewers thoroughly entertained as they enjoyed their days off.
While part me thinks I should choose Billy Crystal’s incredibly personal and moving tribute to Robin Williams at the Emmys as the best thing I saw on television this week, I decided to go in a bit lighter direction. August has been a heavy and often sad month on a lot of levels, so it was nice to leave this month with a smile brought to me via the SYTYCD stage. I’ve said probably too much already about the brilliance of Zack and Aaron’s “Piano Man” tap duet, but I could talk about it for days and never be able to fully express how happy it made me to watch (and re-watch…and re-watch…). Dance has always been my greatest source of happiness when other areas of my life have been stressful or sad. So it was a beautiful thing to see that happiness brought to such a large audience with the pure, easy joy of this tap routine.
Thanks, Aaron, Zack, and Anthony Morigerato, for this lovely dose of instant happiness that we can all turn to whenever we need to smile.
I apologize for not having one of these posts last week. Traveling kept me from watching most of last week’s episodes until early this week. But if you have a pick for best thing you saw in the last two weeks, feel free to share it!
This was a fairly average summer television week, except for one outstanding night in the middle of all the ordinary, and that was Wednesday’s emotional roller coaster, featuring the highs of a strong set of performances on So You Think You Can Dance and the twists and turns of an exceptional Suits summer finale.
While there was plenty to love on SYTYCD this week, nothing could even come close to the brilliance that happened on Suits this week. The intensity of this summer finale left me breathless by the end of it, hands shaking from the overwhelming emotional power of the episode’s final scenes. The way Louis found out about Mike was handled so well, especially after the anticlimactic cliffhanger of the last Suits summer finale. I was absolutely blindsided by the reveal of the key’s importance, and I love when I find myself surprised by a show I’m watching. What I loved most, though, was that this discovery of Mike’s secret had real implications—both in terms of the show’s future and the emotional arcs of the characters.
This week in TV kicked off with a new Bachelor-franchise spinoff, Bachelor in Paradise (featuring my favorite will they/won’t they, Michelle Money and Graham Bunn). The week continued with a trifecta of good television on Wednesday: the first “All Stars” episode ofSo You Think You Can Dance, another strong episode of Suits, and the premiere of Top Chef Duels.
The summer television landscape can seem bleak at times (just look at how short the previous paragraph is if you need proof), but in the middle of all of the reruns and reality shows, there’s Suits. This season has been excellent, and this week’s episode was no exception. And while the strength of “Exposure” was primarily due to its emotional moments (Mike and Rachel, Louis and Jessica), my favorite moment came to us courtesy of Harvey and his excitement over having Mike back at the firm.
This has been a very serious season for Suits, so it was nice to have a moment of genuine happiness in the middle of a lot of angst and drama. Seeing that happiness come from the normally stoic Harvey Specter made it even better. The This man who usually holds such control over his emotions was so unashamedly happy to have his friend back, and it was adorable (a word I don’t usually associate with Harvey). It was a great example of so many things I love about Suits: its ability to walk the line between making me cry and making me laugh on a consistent basis; its rich characterizations; and its focus on one of TV’s best and most nuanced examples of male friendship.
This week in television was filled with emotional highs and lows. The roller coaster began with Monday’s finale of The Bachelorette, which was both uncomfortable (with Nick confronting Andi over sleeping with him despite choosing Josh) and adorable (with Andi and Josh finding what seems to be genuine happiness together). It continued on Wednesday with an emotionally-charged episode of So You Think You Can Dance and what was possibly the most depressing episode of Suits in a long time. And it concluded with Saturday’s inspiring speeches by this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame induction class.
There were a lot of great things that happened on TV this week. I know many people will roll their eyes at me for saying this, but I loved seeing Josh and Andi so clearly happy together on The Bachelorette. It’s always a beautiful thing to celebrate love, and that’s why I’ll never stop caring about that ridiculous franchise. And I’ve already talked at length about how much a few routines on SYTYCD moved me. But the best of the best this week was the Buffalo love fest that happened last night in Canton, Ohio.
I’m a Buffalo Bills fan. I have been since birth, and no matter how terrible they are, I’ll always love them. I grew up during the Glory Years of four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, so seeing Andre Reed get inducted into the Football Hall of Fame last night was like revisiting a childhood I can barely remember. But no matter how long it’s been since those Glory Years, the bond between those players and the city they represented is so strong, and it made me incredibly emotional to see the love between Reed and the Buffalo fans that came out in full-force to see his enshrinement.
What also stood out to me during that speech was the bond between the players on that team. It’s impressive to see the depth of their brotherhood after all these years. And it was especially touching to see the deep respect and genuine love Reed has for Jim Kelly, his quarterback, who is battling cancer. Nobody was sure a couple of months ago if Kelly would even be able to be there for Reed’s enshrinement, but there he was, throwing one last pass to his best receiver and making Buffalo fans around the country cry in the process. In a week where emotions ran high on television, that was the moment that got to me the most.
This week in television started off with the annual “Men Tell All” episode of The Bachelorette on Monday. On Wednesday, new group routines added some spark to this season of So You Think You Can Dance, and alliances continued to shift on a new episode of Suits.
Overall, this wasn’t a terribly exciting week in the world of television. In fact, it was pretty darn boring. Thankfully, there was plenty of fun media content to be found on the Internet—thanks to all of the interviews and panels coming out of San Diego for Comic-Con. I know it’s bending the rules a little bit to pick something not on television for “the best thing I saw on TV this week,” but for this week, let’s change it to “the best thing I watched this week.”
I watched so many amazing Comic Con panels over the last few days—from the emotional Orphan Black panel to the adorable Once Upon a Time panel. However, the best content to come out of San Diego was brought to us courtesy of Zachary Levi’s Nerd HQ. While I loved the Orphan Black Nerd HQ panel (especially Levi talking about how special the cast seems because that feels so true), I’m not sure anything I’ve watched on any platform this summer compares to the inspiring perfection of Nerd HQ’s “Conversation with Badass Women Mystery Guests.”
The list of panelists featured some of my favorite women in television: Yvonne Strahovski, Retta, Missy Peregrym, Jennifer Morrison, Ming-Na Wen, and Sophie Turner. What I loved most about the women on this panel was the fact that they represent so many ways that women can be badasses. From the moment I saw that Turner was on this panel, I knew I was going to love it because Sansa Stark doesn’t get enough credit for her strength. I’ve always believed there are so many ways women can be strong, and it was nice to see all of those kinds of strength represented on that panel. It was also lovely to see the women themselves acknowledge that strength doesn’t just come from taking down bad guys; it’s often shown in being vulnerable and open with others.
As the panel went on, I found myself more and more impressed by each woman on that panel. They were all so articulate, so passionate, and so different. It was amazing to see that these women didn’t just represent characters who prove there’s more than one way for women to be strong; these women themselves each exuded their own kinds of strength and confidence. But they all have one important thing in common: They all have the courage of conviction to be exactly who they are. It was very inspiring for me to see these actresses talk with such confidence about owning who they are and the choices they make.
It was beautiful to watch the women in the audience talk so openly about how these actresses have inspired them because I relate so strongly to that. Whether it’s Sarah Walker or Sansa Stark as characters or Jennifer Morrison as an actress, I saw my own respect for these women and their fictional counterparts reflected in the emotion on display by those in the audience who asked questions. I closed my computer after that panel last night and went to bed feeling more inspired to be true to myself and proud of my own strengths than I’ve felt in a long time.
I’ll leave you with these beautiful words spoken by Morrison, which serve as perfect advice for us all and remind me of exactly what I strive to do every day as a writer and blog runner:
“Be brave enough to be yourself, and be good to each other.”
What was the best thing you saw on TV or from Comic-Con this week?
This week in television began with a new episode of The Bachelorette on Monday, which left little doubt as to the identity of the next Bachelor (Chris) and the man Andi ultimately chooses (Josh). The week continued with an episode of So You Think You Can Dance that featured the return of some favorite contestants from Season Three (Pasha, Anya, and Lacey), as well as an episode of Suits that put conflicts on the shelf for a moment in favor of exploring the show’s complex characters and their relationships with one another. Finally, Thursday featured another highly entertaining episode of Hollywood Game Night.
I’m not sure there’s anything better on television this summer than what Suits has delivered in its last few episodes. Last week, it was Louis who took center stage, and he once again had some incredible moments in this episode. But the real star of “Pound of Flesh” was Donna, and it was wonderful to see a character who is so beloved but so mysterious in terms of her past given a real moment in the spotlight and true character development.
Of course, as an admitted Harvey/Donna “shipper” (I just want those two crazy kids to stop fighting their feelings already!), I loved the episode’s last scene. It always makes me smile to see just how easy it is for Harvey to be attentive and open with Donna when it’s so difficult for him to do that with anyone else. Donna has supported Harvey for so long, so I love little moments like that final scene, when we get to see Harvey be just as supportive of her and her goals.
Although I loved Harvey telling Donna he was a fan of hers, my favorite moment in the episode—and my favorite TV moment of the week—was one that didn’t focus on Donna and Harvey’s relationship; it focused on Donna’s growth as an individual character. When Donna told Louis about her decision to pursue her current career path instead of chasing her dream, it was her best moment in the whole series to that point. Suits is a show about a heightened world of designer clothing and million-dollar deals, but it’s at its best when it touches something real—something we can relate to. Sometimes we don’t chase our dreams—sometimes we make the tough decision to prioritize security and stability above the romantic idea that we could be the rare person who “makes it” in a creative profession. That’s a truth that’s been told before, but never with the quiet vulnerability that Sarah Rafferty gave to that scene. I felt her regret, but I also felt her fear that regret may be better than the reality that could come with chasing that dream again.
That’s the truth that doesn’t get told very often: Giving up on your dreams allows you to live with the idea that you could have been great instead of facing the reality that maybe you would have fallen on your face. In a weird way, giving up on your dreams still allows you to dream—to pretend that you could have been great had you decided to try. The honesty of that moment, delivered with such genuine sincerity and emotion by Rafferty, floored me. And it made Donna’s decision to act again feel like the courageous move that it really was. It takes bravery to try again at a dream we put aside for a long time, and I loved that her bravery was rewarded with success and with the support of two men who genuinely care about her—first Louis and then Harvey.
Each week, Suits keeps dishing out these little character moments that stun me in the best possible way. If they keep it up, it might make for the show’s strongest season yet.
This week in television began with an episode of The Bachelorette on Monday that featured hometown dates as well as the tragic revelation of former contestant Eric Hill’s death. Tuesday’s season finale of The People’s Couch was as entertaining as ever. Wednesday’s episode of So You Think You Can Dancedidn’t quite live up to the standard set by the first week of live competition, but Suits had quite possibly its strongest episode of the season later that night. World Cup soccer action came to a riveting conclusion this week, and no mention of TV’s best can go by without a mention of a Harry Potter Weekend on ABC Family when it occurs.
I watch a lot of reality TV during the summer, so I’m always thankful for Suits, which allows me to keep one foot in the world of smart, scripted drama. This week’s episode featured stellar performances from every member of the show’s talented ensemble, but I have to single out Rick Hoffman’s work as the best of the best. Louis Litt has had some of the best character development on television in the last couple of seasons of Suits, and this week’s episode made me love this character more than ever before. Louis could have been the antagonist or the bumbling office idiot, but the writing and Hoffman himself have given this character such relatable humanity that it’s impossible not to feel for him.
When Louis told Harvey that he didn’t understand how Harvey could be so cold yet so loved while he’s so emotional but so hated, my heart broke. Hoffman was brilliant in that moment—I found myself moved to tears by his vulnerability. Louis and Harvey are such brilliant foils for one another. Louis is driven by emotion, while Harvey closes himself off from emotion as much as he can. Both are extremists in their own ways—too open and too closed. Louis’s emotions sometimes get in the way of his professional life, while Harvey’s lack of emotions (or at least lack of understanding about how to display them) gets in the way of him ever forming healthy relationships outside of his professional circles. They need each other to balance each other, and all I want is for Harvey to see that without any help from Donna. Louis deserves it, and the fact that Hoffman’s performance moved me enough to want this so badly for a fictional character is proof of just how good he is.
This week was heavy with reality television and not a lot of scripted programming (with Suits taking a week off). It began with a new episode of The Bachelorette that made it perhaps more obvious than ever that Josh is the one for Andi. (Her genuine, glowing smile when he said he was falling in love with her was a close runner-up for my favorite moment of the week.) The week continued with the hilarious penultimate episode of The People’s Couch and the first So You Think You Can Dance live show of the season. The rest of the week was filled with special TV events—from World Cup soccer and Wimbledon tennis to Marvel Universe and Indiana Jones movie marathons.
I don’t think it will come as a surprise that the most fun I had watching TV this week was when Zack and Valerie performed their tap duet on SYTYCD. It always puts a smile on my face to see my favorite style of dance in the national spotlight, and this routine brilliantly captured the essence of why I love tap. It was complex in its rhythms, stylish in its execution, and entertaining from start to finish. Watching Zack in this routine is like watching a master at work, and his performance only gets more impressive with repeated viewings.
Nerdy Girl Notes 