Tag Archives: nerd musings

Starting on a Good Note: My Favorite TV Pilots

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It’s TV pilot season—the time when we are introduced to the shows that stick with us forever and also the time when we can see which shows won’t make it past midseason.

Let’s be honest; most pilots are not as good as the shows they end up becoming. There’s a lot that writers, directors, and actors have to get across to the audience in a pilot, and oftentimes the story suffers as a result of so much exposition. The actors haven’t had the time to really understand their characters and develop memorable chemistry with their costars. And the look of the show is often less polished than it becomes with later episodes.

However, every season there are at least a couple of pilots that stand out from the pack. Some even transcend the stereotype and become beloved episodes for fans of the show, and an even smaller group can be considered some of the best episodes of television as a whole.

As we get closer to the time when we discover which of this year’s pilots are winners or losers, I’ve been thinking about my personal favorite pilots. Some introduced shows I have always considered must-see TV; some introduced shows I stopped watching somewhere along the way. But they all have a few things in common: They seamlessly blend exposition and entertainment; they introduce the characters in a way that made me care about them right from the start; and they reflect the best of what the show ultimately ended up becoming.

NGN’s Top 10 TV Pilots

10.) Grey’s Anatomy (“A Hard Day’s Night,” 2005): This pilot did a great job of introducing a large cast of characters and making us feel invested in their lives before the first hour was over. Meredith Grey is a deeply flawed but relatable (and intelligent) female protagonist, which is a rare viewpoint through which to tell a successful pilot. The chemistry between Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey burns from the very first scene of the episode, drawing viewers to the relationship between Meredith and Derek even before much is known about them. This pilot also manages to elicit strong emotions after such a short time with these characters. I dare you to watch (or re-watch) the final scene with Meredith and her mother without getting a little choked up.

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What We Stay Alive For: In Defense of the English Major

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I was an English major.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved books. From Angelina Ballerina to Nancy Drew, my childhood was filled with page after page of adventures that I eagerly took part in. As I got older, I discovered that I loved writing, too. From entries in my elementary school journals to notebooks filled with the poetry of my high school years, writing became an activity I adored rather than a school assignment I dreaded. Each reading assignment, each research paper was met with an enthusiasm that I didn’t have for any other subject in school.

So I chose the only path that made sense to me, the only path that felt right. I became an English major. Sure, I also added a major in Communication Studies, but that was simply another outlet for my love of writing. In my heart, I was always first and foremost an English major.

I wanted to read. I wanted to write. I wanted to be surrounded for four years by the words that I loved so deeply and the tools to help me understand and appreciate those words to the best of my ability. So I became an English major.

I was impractical. Being an English major wouldn’t make me rich or famous. I wasn’t training to be a stereotypically “valuable” member of the working world.

But I was happy.

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Why We Need Katniss

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Before I started this blog, I made a list of possible topics that I wanted to write about. Near the top of the list was “Why We Need Katniss.” As I sat down to watch my new copy of The Hunger Games on DVD Saturday night, I realized that the reason I hadn’t written this post yet was because the question it poses is one I had yet to answer.

Why do we need Katniss Everdeen?

As a writer, I see the world in terms of the stories we all have to tell. And it worries me to see the many ways that we – especially we as women – hand over our stories to other people, other forces. Our sense of personal authorship becomes diminished whenever we let other people tell us how to feel about ourselves; whenever we judge our actions, our appearance, our worth, and our value as human beings by society’s ever-changing and arbitrary standards.

So what does this have to do with Katniss?

Even when it seems like the Capitol has total control over her, Katniss fights for her right to live her own life on her terms. To make her own decisions. To tell her own story.

And what is Katniss’s story? Her story is the journey from isolation to community, from suspicion to trust, from detachment to love.

Katniss’s story is the story of how one young woman can inspire change simply by striving to be, as Peeta says, “more than just a piece in their games.”

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A Special Kind of Bucket List

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This weekend is one of the biggest weekends of the year for nerds of all kinds. It’s time once again for Comic-Con, and once again I’m sitting on my couch in New York wishing I was in San Diego, getting the inside scoop on my favorite movies and TV shows while seeing some of my favorite celebrities.

As I was scrolling through my Twitter feed, longing to be at Comic-Con, I started thinking of what other fandom-related things I would like to do at some point in my life. Some of these are realistic; others are slightly less likely to actually happen. I’m sure I’ll be adding more to this list as time goes on. That’s the beauty of being a nerd; there’s always something new to be passionate about.

Nerdy Girl Bucket List:

1.) Go to Comic-Con.

2.) Drink butterbeer at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

3.) Hug Zachary Levi and/or Nathan Fillion.

4.) See a midnight screening of a superhero movie. (I can’t believe I haven’t done this yet.)

5.) Have a marathon where I watch all six Star Wars films in order on the same day.

6.) Finish Anna Karenina.

7.) Visit Ernest Hemingway’s house.

8.) Have an essay published in a Smart Pop book.

9.) Go to one of those events at a movie theater where they show previous films in a series before the new one’s midnight screening. (I’d love to do this before Catching Fire, Captain America 2, or the next Spider-Man film.)

10.) Meet John Green.

11.) See one of Team Starkid’s productions live.

12.) Stay at the Magic Kingdom until it closes at 3 a.m. during Extra Magic Hours.

13.) Get my sister to watch Firefly.

14.) Own the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled box set, and watch all of those movies over the course of a weekend.

15.) Build my own lightsaber at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

16.) Go to the Toronto International Film Festival.

17.) See any of my favorite musicals on Broadway.

18.) Have breakfast at Tiffany’s.

19.) Own hardcover copies of all of the Harry Potter books.

20.) Attend a midnight release party for a book.

Now that I’ve shown you my Nerdy Bucket List, I want to see yours. What gloriously geeky things do you want to do in your lifetime?

Midnight Madness

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With the summer blockbuster season already in full swing, it’s time to get down to business here at Nerdy Girl Notes and talk about one of the most entertaining ways to experience a film: a midnight screening.

There’s nothing quite like the atmosphere at a midnight screening. If you want to be surrounded by people who are incredibly passionate about the movie they are about to see, there’s no better place to be. From the costumes to the discussions while waiting in line to the reactions during the film itself, a midnight screening is a reminder that going to the movies is a communal activity. There’s a sense of unity among the people you meet in line and in the theater while you’re waiting for the clock to strike 12:01. It gives you a feeling of belonging in a way that going to see the same movie at 7:30 on a random Saturday night can’t provide.

I’ve seen six popular movies at midnight screenings: The Hunger Games, three Harry Potter films (Half-Blood Prince and both Deathly Hallows installments), and even two parts of the Twilight Saga (the first film and Eclipse). This week will mark my seventh, as I line up for the 12:01 a.m. showing of Brave. If my schedule allowed it, I would see every movie that stirs some level of excitement in me at its midnight screening. I have more fond memories of these kinds of screenings than I can list with any sort of brevity, so I won’t even attempt.

Instead, I will present you with a different kind of list. If you’re planning on attending any midnight movie screenings this summer, here’s some advice for you:

Buy your tickets as soon as they become available. There’s no greater disappointment for a film nerd than finding out that the midnight screening for the movie you’ve been following from pre-production through its release is sold out. Oftentimes, Fandango will send email alerts for the day tickets for 12:01 a.m. showings of popular movies go on sale. I highly recommend making use of this alert system (or at least frequently checking their website or other entertainment news sources) and purchasing your tickets as soon as possible after they become available. Also, make sure that the day you purchase the tickets you know exactly how many people will be going with you. There are usually multiple theaters open for midnight screenings, and you don’t want anyone from your group exiled to a different theater just because they had to get their tickets at a different time.

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Fandom: From Pathological to Personal

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Nerdy Girl Contributor Heather gives us an inside look at what it really means to be part of a fandom: 

Historically, academic perspectives on fandom have been limited. Fandom was often portrayed as pathological and dangerous. It was the result of people being brainwashed by the media. Popular culture was eroding our ability to think. Media consumption, particularly television, was a passive activity with little value. These thoughts were not limited to academics, however. Stereotypical images portrayed fans as crazy, costume-wearing, socially-inept individuals who would never be successful in life.

Conceptions of fans have shifted away from notions of us as dangerous individuals, but there is still a stigma against those of us who heavily invest in any form of pop culture. It’s fine to critique a book, movie, or television show on its artistic merits and technical aspects, but once we start talking about how certain characters or stories have impacted us on a personal level, we still become the people dressed in Star Trek costumes at a convention in the minds of many. We become the teenage girls who want to date Edward Cullen. We are still seen as people who care too much about something trivial.

Things are slowly changing again. Fan experiences and fan terminology have become slightly more recognized, with references to fan fiction and ship names found in television shows such as Castle, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Glee. However, even the increased knowledge and acceptance of these references don’t get to the heart of what fandom is for many of those involved in it.

Fandom is about passion. It’s about critically engaging with the media we watch and interacting with it on a deeper level.

Fandom is about understanding the influence popular culture can have on our lives. It’s about allowing popular culture to transport you to another world. It’s about an understanding of characters and recognition of themes that can’t be found through superficial reading and viewing. It’s about wanting a fictional universe to continue and be explored more than it can be though a book series, television show, or movie.

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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

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I love television. I love it as a source of entertainment and as an outlet for analysis. Besides books, there is nothing I love to analyze more than television shows.

Television gets a bad reputation as being “mindless entertainment,” but I believe that reputation is not totally fair. Like all forms of media, you have to choose to see the positive examples and focus on those instead of the negative ones. Besides, it’s not just television that can be trashy. There are plenty of distasteful, mindless, and just plain awful films and books as well.

For every terrible television show (Sixteen and Pregnant, Bad Girls Club, every dating show ever aired on VH1, etc.) there are great television shows (The Wire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, etc.). And there are fewer things more enjoyable in the life of a media studies geek than following a great television show through to its conclusion.

Television as a medium is like literature in a lot of ways. Each episode is like a chapter of a book, and each season is like a book in a series. If done correctly, television shows allow for the possibility of deep analysis and thoughtful discussion because of the depth with which stories can be told in this medium. Unlike films, which last two hours (or sometimes more – especially if you’re Peter Jackson or James Cameron), television shows can last for years. This allows for a kind of storytelling which, when done correctly, has the ability to present deeper characters and richer plots with more emotional weight than even a novel can present.

The emotional connection between the audience of a television show and the show itself is often stronger than the connection between other forms of media and their audiences. Viewers let television characters into their homes for an hour (or half-hour) every week for around 22-23 weeks per year (depending on the number of episodes in a season). There’s a sense of familiarity that develops in watching the interactions of characters for season after season of a television show, and that familiarity lends itself to a more emotionally engaging media experience than a standalone book or film. Put in the hands of capable writers and actors, these characters grow and develop over the course of a television show’s run, and viewers are able to watch that growth and personally connect with it.

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The Good, the Bad, and the Bella Swan: A Woman’s Place in the Modern Media

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It’s a confusing time to be a young woman in America.

Whether or not we want to admit it, much of what we believe about ourselves and our place in society comes from the media. And right now, the media is a minefield of mixed messages when it comes to what we as women are supposed to be.

Be strong, but don’t be bossy. Speak your mind, but don’t be a bitch. Act sexy, but don’t act like a whore. Work hard to get a good job, but don’t be a cold, spinster “career woman.” Be proud of your femininity, but don’t be too “girly” or “high-maintenance.” Strive to be skinny, but don’t lose your womanly curves in the process. You are more than your body, but it is your most powerful asset. You don’t need a man to validate you, but every happy ending involves a Prince Charming.

It’s enough to make even the most confident, well-adjusted woman’s head spin.

Young women have more stress, body image issues, and doubts about their self-worth than ever before. They also have more options when it comes to media consumption than ever before. Is that just an unpleasant coincidence?

You would think that more options would lead to a more balanced depiction of women in the media, but it often seems that more channels, advertisements, and social media outlets are in fact leading to the increased reinforcement of damaging ideas about the female gender.

Sometimes it seems like it’s better to become complete hermits, taking the media and its negative stereotypes completely out of our lives. But eventually we reach a frightening conclusion: For as frustrated as we get with the media, we simply can’t live without it.

The key to developing a healthy sense of self as a young woman in this media-driven society is to remember something that we all-too-often forget: We have a choice. We can choose what media we consume, and we can choose to educate ourselves about the impact the media has on our lives.

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Confessions of a Nerdy Girl (or Welcome, Let Me Tell You All About Myself!)

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My name is Katie, and I’m a nerdy girl.

I own more books than I have room to hold on my bookshelves, and the ones on the shelves are organized by genre and then alphabetically by author’s last name. I have playlists on my iPod inspired by my favorite movies, TV shows, and fictional characters. I write notes in the margins of every book I read, carefully analyzing (some might say overanalyzing) each sentence. I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 four times within the first week it was in theaters. I have a charming habit of crying over things that happen to fictional characters more than I cry over things that happen to my friends.

Ten years ago – heck, five years ago – I would have never admitted those things to anyone. Being a nerd was something I was afraid of. I used to work hard to convince people that doing well in school didn’t automatically make me a nerd.

I’m not sure when my mindset changed, but I think it was somewhere between buying the Star Wars Character Encyclopedia and dressing up as Hermione Granger for the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

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