Tag Archives: television

Favorite First Kisses

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Love is in the air around these parts today (or maybe that’s just the smell of all of the chocolate I’m devouring). It’s Valentine’s Day, and here at NGN our philosophy is that this is a holiday meant to celebrate love in all its forms, including love of media, television characters, and fictional relationships.

So today we’re going to get into the Valentine’s spirit with a countdown featuring one of the most romantic of all moments—the first kiss. So grab some chocolate and a glass of wine, click these links, and get ready to relive some of the sweetest, most romantic, and downright steamiest television moments in recent memory.

NGN’s Top 10 TV First Kisses

10. Chuck and Blair (Gossip Girl)
If you ever need a reminder of the way Gossip Girl earned the “pleasure” part of its “guilty pleasure” reputation, watch this kiss again. This first kiss and so much more is an example of the best this show could be—a decadent ride through New York City with sex appeal to burn right through the screen.

9. Castle and Beckett (Castle)
The “undercover kiss” is a common TV trope, but this is so much more. What started out as a ruse turned into something so much more when Beckett leaned in for that second kiss. Was it part of the act or was it a real expression of feelings? I think that second kiss answers that question plainly enough. After two and a half seasons of waiting, this kiss was like an explosion of sexual tension. But what really makes it one of the best of all time is Castle’s awestruck reaction.

8. Alex and Izzie (Grey’s Anatomy)
A bar might not be a common setting for a fairytale kiss, but that’s certainly the best way to describe this moment between Alex and Izzie. It’s “Old Hollywood romance” at its finest, a kind of kiss that left even viewers watching from their couches breathless and smiling (or was that just me?). And, like Castle, it’s Izzie’s barely-contained glee that makes this moment exceptionally memorable, a true standout among the many, MANY first kisses Grey’s has had over the years.

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A Galentine’s Day Celebration

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Happy Galentine’s Day, my beautiful tropical fish! In honor of my favorite fictional holiday (which really should be a national holiday), I want to take some time to celebrate the women of TV in a way that would make Leslie Knope proud. It’s going to be all about the love for the next few days here at NGN, and today I want to shine a spotlight on the love that can only exist between best friends.

I wanted to make this list longer than a Top 3, but sadly I don’t watch a lot of shows with healthy examples of female friendship right now. Let me know in the comments which shows I should pick up someday to rectify that situation.

Without further ado, I present NGN’s Top 3 Female Friendships on TV Right Now.

3. Snow White and Red Riding Hood (Once Upon a Time)

once-upon-a-time-season2-episode7-child-of-the-moon-red-and-snow

“I didn’t lose my family today – I protected it… My mother wanted me to choose between being a wolf and being a human. Granny did, too. You are the only person who ever thought it was okay for me to be both.”

Theirs is a fairytale friendship unlike anything else on television, built on a message of supporting the people you love and accepting them for who they really are—both the light and the dark. Snow and Red are two incredibly strong women whose friendship only makes both of them stronger. They bonded through a shared sense of being outcasts, and they formed their own little family that both would do anything to protect. Love is the driving force behind Once Upon a Time, and it’s the love between these two friends that gives both of these characters more depth than your average fairytale women. It’s no coincidence that Snow’s happy ending after the curse was broken involved finding her husband and then running into the arms of her best friend. This show tells us time and again that there’s more than one kind of true love, and Snow and Red’s friendship is one of the truest loves on Once Upon a Time.

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TV Time: Castle 5.14

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Title Reality Star Struck

Two-Sentence Summary Castle and Beckett prepare for their first Valentine’s Day as a couple while Ryan’s “family planning” begins to affect his work life, and Esposito rekindles an old flame. These holiday preparations are set against the backdrop of the murder of one of the stars of a catfight-filled reality TV franchise.

Favorite Line “You are beauty, passion, and fierce intellect. Be my valentine. —Rick” (Castle’s Valentine for Beckett)

My Thoughts Fun, flirty, fabulously romantic Castle—oh how I’ve missed you! Honestly, that was the most fun I’ve had watching Castle in a long time. The comedy was sharp and full of pop culture references, the twists came fast and furious, and the romance was subtle but still significant. In short, this was an example of what a comedic Castle episode can be when all of the pieces come together in the right way. This episode was like a great piece of chocolate—sweet but not too sugary and incredibly satisfying.

In fact, my only complaint about this episode was the use of Gina Torres. Of course each scene she was in was made 1000 times better just by her BAMF presence, so I simply wanted more of her. She is one of my favorite women on television and has been for years. (Anna Espinosa was always a favorite villain of mine.) Therefore, I kept waiting for her to show up again—and to share some screentime with Nathan Fillion. On Firefly, those two were a dream team, so it broke my heart that we didn’t really get much interaction between them, especially compared to Fillion’s gleeful reunion with Adam Baldwin in last season’s “Headhunters.”

Although I was left longing for more Anna Zoe Jessica Gina Torres, I honestly loved everything else in the episode. In fact, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m going to turn this recap into “14 Things I Loved About Reality Star Struck”:

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TV Time: Once Upon a Time 2.13

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Title Tiny

Two-Sentence Summary After Emma and Henry leave with Rumplestiltskin to find his son, a security screening at the airport leads to a most unwelcome change for one of Storybrooke’s most powerful residents. Meanwhile, Snow and Charming must stop Anton the giant from destroying the town in pursuit of revenge against Charming’s brother James, who (along with a woman named “Jack”) was responsible for the murder of Anton’s family.

Favorite Lines
Hook: You didn’t even ask about my recovery.
Snow: How are you feeling, Hook?
Hook: Come closer and feel for yourself.
Charming: You want to lose the other hand?

My Thoughts This was a fantastic way for Once Upon a Time to return from its mini-hiatus. “Tiny” incorporated all that’s good about the show into one hour of fast-paced television: feminist twists on classic fairytales, great acting, fun little character moments, big twists, and a heart worn firmly on its sleeve.

I loved the Fairytale Land flashbacks in this episode. I thought Anton was such a fantastic character, and Jorge Gracia was such an inspired casting choice. He really is a gentle giant, and he made me feel so much for this character I barely knew. I loved that his story was kind of a dark twist on Disney’s version of The Little Mermaid, with the endearing love for human culture ultimately coming back to haunt the protagonist.

Another great twist was the gender-switch involving the character of Jack. When she revealed her name, I actually jumped up and down on my couch—that’s how much I love seeing Once Upon a Time turn fairytales on their head and give them new life as female-centric stories. However, Jack’s fate ultimately made me despise James all the more. He was a truly horrible human being, but I have to admit that it was kind of awesome getting to see Josh Dallas really sink his teeth into playing such an arrogant jerk.

Back in Storybrooke, I enjoyed the way we were shown rather than told just how different David is from James. (Anybody else totally call David being his real name?) David is such a beautiful character, one who always strives to do the right thing, even when it’s the hardest choice. He’s a hero not because he can swordfight with a baby in his arms or slay a dragon; he’s a hero because he selflessly fights in whatever way he can for what is good and for the people he loves.

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The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (2/3 – 2/10)

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In the spirit of starting new things around here, I was inspired by Heather’s fantastic “Episode of the Week” posts over at TVexamined to write a little something each week about my favorite thing I saw on television. Sometimes it’ll be serious; sometimes it’ll be silly. Sometimes it’ll be a huge moment; sometimes it’ll be a little detail. Television has the power to make us really happy, and I want to take a minute each week to single out something that brought me joy.

This week, New Girl introduced us to the “panic moonwalk,” and we’ll never escape awkward situations the same way again:

 

 

So tell me, what was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

TV Time: Parks and Recreation 5.12

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This week, the beautiful tropical fish Heather takes the reins and shares her thoughts on Parks and Rec! 

Title Ann’s Decision

Two-Sentence Summary When Ann decides she wants to be a mother and is willing to do it on her own, Leslie steps in to keep Ann from making a rash decision. Elsewhere in Pawnee, Ben picks a caterer for his and Leslie’s wedding and April channels her inner Leslie Knope at a public forum.

Favorite Line “Tragically, we are both heterosexual.” (Leslie, about her friendship with Ann)

My Thoughts The main focus of this week’s episode was on Ann’s decision to have a baby with herself and Leslie’s reaction to her decision. Leslie felt Ann was rushing into the decision, especially considering the quality of guys from whom she was considering getting sperm. If there is one thing that is undeniable about Parks and Rec, it is how much Leslie loves Ann and wants her to live a beautiful, happy life, and so Leslie makes it her mission to stop Ann from going through with what she sees as a big mistake.

Without the final scene between Leslie and Ann, I would have been disappointed by Leslie’s actions. I never doubted that Leslie wanted the best thing for Ann, I was just sad that she thought she should make that decision rather than Ann. I recognize that Leslie is always going to think her way is the best and often will go to ridiculous lengths to prove that, but I also know she is also capable of recognizing when she’s gone too far, especially when she’s hurt someone she loves, which is why I was grateful for that final scene. I’m glad Leslie was both willing to admit that the way she went about things was wrong and openly tell Ann that she should take a little more time with this. To me, that is what makes their friendship the best one on television. Ann recognized that Leslie had her best interests at heart, and Leslie recognized that it was okay if her friend chose something in life other than what she would have chosen. At the end of the day, they will always love and accept the other for who they are, and that’s what a good friendship is all about.

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TV Time: New Girl 2.16

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Because I’m apparently looking for more to do, I’m now adding New Girl to my weekly reviewing/recapping rotation. This will take a little different format from my usual TV posts, but I love the show so much that I can’t keep my feelings to myself anymore.

Title: Table 34

Two-Sentence Summary: Nick and Jess deal with the fallout from their kiss by trying to pretend it didn’t matter to either of them, but it matters to Sam enough for him to dump Jess. Meanwhile, Schmidt attempts to win Cece back at an Indian matchmaking convention.

Favorite Line: “You look like the fortune teller in Big.” (Winston, about Schmidt’s outfit for the matchmaking convention)

Episode M.V.P.: Schmidt. He was hilarious (“I will Calcutta bitch!”) but also genuinely sweet, which is my favorite way to see Schmidt. Max Greenfield is at his best when he’s able to show the soft heart underneath Schmidt’s false bravado, and he got to do that to great effect with his beautiful (but also perfectly awkward) speech about Cece. It didn’t surprise me at all that she left the Indian dating convention with the Jew in the turban. I would have done the same thing.

Favorite Moment: Though I will never get tired of Nick panic moonwalking, awkwardly dancing to Taylor Swift, or looking hotter than ever before going in to almost kiss hug Jess, my favorite moment had to be when Nick and Jess put together their indestructible table. That scene allowed Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson to play off each other so wonderfully, their banter crackling with sparks we’ve never seen this intensely before. And if you didn’t laugh while watching Nick attempt to break the table, then your sense of humor is broken. But the thing I enjoyed most about this scene was the surprisingly symbolic nature of it. Jess said to Cece that the reason she’d choose Sam over Nick is because Nick breaks things. But then we get to see him build something with Jess that even he can’t destroy. Nick often tries to break things he built—he sabotages his own happiness— but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t break what he built with Jess. As I said so eloquently (or not so eloquently) today on Tumblr: “New Girl just got deep y’all.”

A New Girl GIF* for my New Girl Feelings: 

dancing new girl nick

“Table 34” was the perfect followup to last week’s stellar “Cooler.” It was realistically awkward, it was hilarious, it was heartfelt, and it was fun. In short, this episode made me want to do my own happy dance (hopefully one that looks better than this).

*I have no talent for GIF-making. Thankfully, I am highly skilled at searching Tumblr for the best GIFs. I take no credit for this beauty. 

TV Time: Castle 5.13

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Title Recoil

Two-Sentence Summary When the death of a young woman points to Senator Bracken, the man behind the murder of Beckett’s mother, Beckett sees her chance to finally put him behind bars. However, circumstances change dramatically when the murder investigation leads to a planned attempt on Bracken’s life, forcing Beckett to act as his protector.

Favorite Line “I wouldn’t have done it. You know…what she did. I would have stood and watched.” (Castle)

My Thoughts This was the best Castle episode in quite some time. I have loved every episode in the “Johanna Beckett Arc” since we first learned about Beckett’s mother back in Season 1, and this was no exception. There’s something about the raised stakes that come with these episodes that seem to bring out the best in the actors, magnifying what’s good about the show while leaving you so captivated by the plot that you forget about the show’s flaws.

I know some might vehemently disagree with this statement, but I like dramatic Castle episodes on the whole more than the comedic ones. That’s one thing this season has shown me over and over again. Don’t get me wrong; I love when Castle is fun—especially when it’s nerdy fun. But I can’t help but feel that the filler episodes we’re sometimes stuck with seem even worse when viewed alongside any of the fantastic dramatic episodes this show has given viewers over the years. When so much character development can happen within the course of one hour, it’s hard to watch a few weeks’ worth of episodes where relatively little momentum happens.

Let’s get back to “Recoil,” shall we? I loved the moral dilemma presented in this episode and the way it asked not only the characters but everyone watching what they would do in Beckett’s situation. What’s more important: Vengeance for yourself and your loved ones or justice for strangers? It’s not an easy question, and there is no easy answer. And the fact that Kate Beckett realized there was no easy answer for her showed just how far she’s come.

When it came to her mother’s case, Beckett used to be blind to anything except her own need to find closure through revenge. In this episode, we finally see her with clear eyes—but human eyes. I loved the fact that Beckett hid the letter but then came clean to Castle about it. I also loved the fact that she didn’t shoot the suspect but ultimately saved Bracken’s life. I often joke that Kate Beckett is my favorite superhero, but that’s not because she’s superhuman. In fact, I admire her all the more for being human—for having moments of weakness that she must fight through, for facing temptation and struggling with it. The reality of Beckett’s internal, moral struggle makes her strength all the more inspiring.

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TV Time: Parks and Recreation 5.11

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Title Women in Garbage

Two-Sentence Summary Leslie and April attempt to tackle the rampant sexism in the Pawnee government, beginning with the sanitation department. Meanwhile, Tom attempts to learn how to play basketball in order to appeal to his Rent-A-Swag demographic, and Ron attempts to watch Diane’s daughters.

Favorite Line “I LOVE NOTHING!” (Ron)

My Thoughts Although this wasn’t a groundbreaking or standout episode of Parks and Rec, it was still plenty of fun. Leslie’s impassioned feminist side is always something I’m happy to see explored, and it created some great moments of satire in this episode. I’m also always happy to see Ron grow and develop as a character, which he did in a big way. However, these two great storylines made the Tom/Andy/Ben basketball plot feel a little thin. There just wasn’t enough time for it to develop into something as hilarious as it could have been. But, to quote the great Meat Loaf, “Two outta three ain’t bad.”

The way this episode directly tackled sexism in politics was a real treat for a feminist like myself. I loved the parallels between Leslie’s struggles and those of Hillary Clinton as well as the infamous all-male panel debating reproductive rights and Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women.” The writers dealt with these very real issues in a funny but pointed manner. I laughed, but at the same time, I hoped that people were paying attention. It may have been satire, but it’s not too far from the truth.

There were some fantastic details in this storyline: The male councilmen keeping track of Leslie’s menstrual cycle, the man who mistook Chris for a woman because of his beautiful face, April’s very in-character love for garbage, Leslie attempting to sneak up on the refrigerator, and Leslie posing for Google Earth pictures were some of my personal favorites.

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Something Like That (aka The One with All My New Girl Feelings)

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So this happened last night.

And it was amazing.

I don’t talk about New Girl enough around these parts. It’s charming, relatable, and more laugh-out-loud hilarious than almost any other show on TV right now.

And it just had its finest hour last night.

What I love most about New Girl is that it’s about imperfect young people messing up, making mistakes, and having fun despite—and sometimes even because of—it. It’s a show that feels honest, genuine, and real. It’s a show about people whose hearts are in the right place even if things get messy along the way. And it’s a show that succeeds because of two very important and rare things in the world of TV: chemistry and perfect timing.

“Cooler” was a shining example of all of those things. From beginning to end, it was brimming with the quirky comedy and unexpected soul that makes New Girl a must-see for me every Tuesday night.

If I were grading this episode, it would be an A+, and not just because of the kiss. “Cooler” was New Girl‘s best episode for many other reasons, too:

  • Nick wearing a woman’s trench coat and loving every second of it
  • Winston finally getting a good side plot (featuring London Tipton!)
  • Schmidt using the word “discotheque”
  • A subtle but heartfelt hint that Schmidt and Cece are far from over
  • THE RETURN OF TRUE AMERICAN (“Clinton Rules: Pick your intern!”)
  • The fantastic editing that cut from Sam entering the loft to him cheering “Kiss! Kiss!” to Nick and Jess
  • Nick being perfectly awkward when trying to kiss Jess behind the “Iron Curtain” (his counting down and “Joker” smile were my particular favorites)
  • Have I mentioned the return of True American? (Now with Abu Nazir references!)
  • “Not like this.” (Aka the three little words that actually took my breath away)
  • Schmidt fainting when Nick climbed out the window
  • I’m not sure I said this yet…TRUE AMERICAN WAS BACK. (Cue your best Howard Dean scream!)
  • Jake Johnson’s heartbreaking face as he watched Jess and Sam go off to bed
  • Jake Johnson’s face in general (especially when looking at Zooey Deschanel)

And of course there was the kiss. As with any big moment in real life, timing is everything, and this kiss had perfect timing. It fit perfectly into the plot while still coming as a total shock. It was the right moment for these characters and their story, but it wasn’t overly telegraphed. Nick was right, their first kiss shouldn’t have been part of a game, forced under the thumb of drunken peer pressure. No, it needed to be something like that…a genuine moment of passion, of Nick summoning up the last of his “Trenchcoat Nick Guts” to show Jess everything he feels for her—the heat, the desperation, the tenderness, and the sadness, too. It needed to be real—and that’s exactly how it felt to anyone watching it.

I’m not sure if this post has a point or a purpose, if only to say that I just saw one of the best TV kisses I’ve ever witnessed last night, and I needed a place to talk about it. This is one of those rare TV-induced feelings that I want to live in for as long as possible, so indulge me.