Tag Archives: television

TV’s Top Musical Moments

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I love television, and I love music. When those two things are put together in the right way, they create magic and have the potential to elicit incredibly strong emotions. The right song choice has the ability to enhance a scene in a way that even the best writing or the most talented actors can’t accomplish.

Today at NGN, I want to take a look at five of the television shows I’ve watched over the years that I feel best use music to advance the story and enhance the emotional resonance of a scene. For each series, I’ve picked three musical moments that best represent why the show made my list. You never know—maybe you’ll find some new music to add to your iPod thanks to these shows (I know I have!).

The O.C.:
“California” (Phantom Planet) – 1.01 (“Pilot”): This song will always remind me of The O.C. It was the show’s theme song, but it was also used brilliantly in the pilot episode, with the intensity of the song growing as Ryan leaves Chino and enters the world of Orange County. That moment perfectly set the tone for the show, and the use of this song plays a huge part in that.

“Maybe I’m Amazed” (Jem) – 1.27 (“The Ties That Bind”): There is something hauntingly sad about this stripped-down version of such a classic love song. This makes it the perfect accompaniment to a scene of love and loss for Marissa and Ryan. The song is simple, and this moment is simple—free of the over-the-top drama this show was famous for but still heartbreaking in its own quiet way.

“Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley) – 1.27 (“The Ties That Bind”): This episode of The O.C. clearly had some phenomenal music choices. This is one of those moments where all that an episode needs is the right song to reduce audiences to a weeping mess. The pure longing in this song (which is one of my all-time favorites) perfectly encapsulates the mood of each character in the closing minutes of the finale. No dialogue is needed, just the voice of Jeff Buckley reminding us all that “love is not a victory march.”

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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 Are You Watching?: Fall 2012 Edition

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September is right around the corner. For some people, that means the taste of apples, the sight of fall leaves, and going back to school. For me, September means the taste of pumpkin spice lattes, the sight of fashionable fall coats, and going back to my regular schedule of television shows.

With promos for new and returning shows all over the networks and the latest seasons of my favorite TV shows finally coming to DVD, my excitement for all of the upcoming series and season premieres is starting to rise exponentially.

In order to channel this excitement in a productive way (aka instead of watching the newest Castle promo for the 50th time), I’m sharing with you my TV viewing schedule for the start of the Fall 2012 season. Any new shows on my list are noted with pink text.

MONDAYS:
Dancing with the Stars (8 p.m., ABC): While I don’t agree with some of the “All Stars” that were cast for this season (Bristol Palin and Pamela Anderson? Really?), I am excited to see some of my favorites return to the dance floor. I’ve been watching this show since the end of its first season, so I’m eager to see the high quality of dancing that I know the majority of these celebrities are capable of achieving.  – Season Premiere 9/24

Castle (10 p.m., ABC): My favorite television show is known for its witty banter, deft mixing of comedy and drama, and blinding chemistry between its leads. Now, it’s looking to build on a strong, game-changing season finale, in which Castle and Beckett finally answered the “Will they or won’t they?” question. The next step for this show is to prove that getting the characters together was just another way to keep its trademark spark alive. If any cast and writing team can pull it off, it’s the ones behind the most entertaining procedural on television.  – Season Premiere 9/24

Revolution (10 p.m., NBC): J.J. Abrams and a dystopian American setting? Count me in!  As a longtime fan of Abrams from his work on Alias, I will always try a show that has his name attached, especially a show with a premise this original and interesting. However, the fact that it’s on at the same time as Castle means that it’s most definitely a DVR show for me. – Series Premiere 9/17

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The Legend of Korra: Anti-Feminism or Bad Writing?

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Nerdy Girl Contributor Jo takes a close look at the writing of female characters (especially the titular one) on The Legend of Korra: 

Earlier this year, I absolutely devoured the series Avatar: The Last Airbender. I watched all three seasons in about a week in anticipation of its sequel, The Legend of Korra. As a feminist, I was incredibly psyched about a series about a female Avatar. She would undoubtedly be awesome and kick-ass and “I am woman hear me roar.” Right?

After the first few episodes, I was disappointed. We are introduced to Korra when she already has three out of four bending abilities already under her belt – just handed to her by the writers. This is justifiable, I suppose. The writers didn’t want to just rehash Ang’s learning in ATLA again with Korra. However, despite being a powerful bender, she was not as strong as I had hoped, and she definitely didn’t have it all together. But Ang needed time to get it together too, so I gave her a few more episodes to get really in the swing of this whole ‘Avatar-thing.’

What unfolded in the remaining episodes seemed to be a story that happened around her rather than being her story. Supporting characters stole the show from the its supposed lead. Those most notable ones for me were:

Lin Bei Fong – inventor of metal bending*, daughter of Toph Bei Fong (from ATLA), and all-around kick-ass woman.

Bolin – sweet, silly, loyal Bolin. Powerful fire bender*. Dork extraordinaire.

Yes, Korra did things. Yes, her bending was good and she kicked butt in some fight scenes. Yes, she saved the day most days, but she never did it alone (until the finale – and even that is questionable). Ultimately, her struggles never really felt like struggles to me: Gee gosh, I can’t air bend. Darn.

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I’ll Be My Own Savior: The Extraordinary Kate Beckett

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Kate Beckett, the main female character in the ABC crime drama Castle is many things: detective, daughter, partner, lover, friend, coffee drinker, nerdy girl, trauma survivor…

She’s also a hero, but her heroism goes even deeper than saving her father from his descent into alcoholism; saving her partner Richard Castle from numerous life-threatening situations; and saving countless others through her work as one of New York City’s best and brightest homicide detectives.

Kate Beckett is her own hero; she’s her own savior. And in a society where so many “romances” still feature men saving women from forces both outside and inside of themselves, Beckett’s desire and ability to save herself matter immensely.

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Grading the Season Finales: Glee

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Title Goodbye (3.22)

Written By Brad Falchuk

Major Characters Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), Santana Lopez (Naya River), Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron), Noah “Puck” Puckerman (Mark Salling), Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), Brittany S. Piece (Heather Morris), Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss), Mike Chang (Harry Shum, Jr.), Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz), Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet), Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale), Burt Hummel (Mike O’Malley)

What Happens As graduation day draws closer for the seniors at William McKinley High School, the Glee club finds itself back where it began – with Mr. Schue watching Kurt, Rachel, Tina, Mercedes, and Artie performing “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat,” just like they did in the pilot episode. Mr. Schue’s trip down memory lane concludes with a performance of Rod Stewart’s “Forever Young” for the group of students that he’s watched grow from underdogs to national champions. The nostalgia continues with Burt’s graduation gift to his son: his own rendition of the “Single Ladies” dance he saw Kurt perform when he was a sophomore, which he notes as the moment he and Kurt started to come back together as a father/son team.

Back in the choir room, Kurt serenades the boys of New Directions with Madonna’s “I’ll Remember,” and all of the seniors pass the torch to the underclassmen with the New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give.” As the episode reaches its midway point, we learn the fates of various New Directions seniors: Mercedes was signed as a backup singer and will be taking classes at UCLA; Mike is joining the Joffrey Ballet; and Quinn will be heading to Yale but keeping in touch with Rachel, her graduation gift to Rachel is a Metro pass to travel between New York and New Haven (Quinn has one for herself, too).

After a discussion in which Rachel reveals that she always thought Quinn would end up with Puck, Quinn realizes that she has to help Puck pass the one exam he needs to retake in order to graduate because she’ll always love him and they shared the experience of having a daughter together. After a kiss from Quinn restores his confidence, Puck passes his exam and is able to graduate (leading the “Glory Days” performance at graduation).

And what about Santana and Brittany? Brittany, it turns out, has a 0.0 GPA, so she’ll be sticking around WMHS for another year as a Super Senior. Santana was unaware of this but is aware that she doesn’t want to go to Louisville on a cheerleading scholarship anymore. She wants to go to New York and be a star, but is she ready to leave Brittany behind to do so?

Finn is still struggling with his discovery that his father did not die a war hero but rather a dishonorably discharged, broken man who left his family. He wants to pursue his acting dreams, but he still feels as if he’s letting his father down by not doing something to change his legacy. As Finn worries about his future and his impending marriage to Rachel, his support for his fellow Glee club members is praised with a rendition of The Beatles’ “All My Life,” by the New Directions underclassmen.

After graduation, Finn, Rachel, and Kurt all get letters from the colleges they hope to attend. We learn that Finn didn’t get into The Actors Studio at Pace University, and Kurt failed to get into NYADA despite a solid audition. But Rachel’s performance at Nationals was enough to make up for her botched NYADA  audition; she is the lone member of this trio to hold an acceptance letter. However, Rachel decides to turn down her dream school to stay in Lima with Kurt and Finn as they perfect their auditions for the next year.

On the way to what she thinks is her wedding to Finn, Rachel realizes that her fiancé is driving to an unfamiliar destination: the train station. Finn knows she should be in New York, so he bought her a train ticket to go with her dads to look at NYADA’s dorms. Despite Rachel’s tearful protests, Finn tells her that he’s setting her free to chase after the dreams she wants to put aside for him. Finn also discovered his own dream, and it’s in a place without Rachel: the army. Heartbroken and shocked, Rachel still boards the train bound for New York after saying goodbye to all of her friends, singing Room for Two’s “Roots Before Branches” as she walks, alone but finally smiling, through New York City – her new home.

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Grading the Season Finales: Parks and Recreation

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Title Win, Lose, or Draw (4.22)

Written By Michael Schur

Major Characters Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott), Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones), Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt), April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza), Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe), Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), Donna Meagle (Retta), Jerry Gergich (Jim O’Heir), Bobby Newport (Paul Rudd), Jennifer Barkley (Kathryn Hahn)

What Happens It’s Election Day in Pawnee, Indiana, the day Leslie Knope and Bobby Newport square off in a showdown for a spot on the city council. As Election Day heads into Election Night, various subplots unfold: Chris getting his groove back after a one-night stand with Jennifer; April and Andy panicking over the deletion of important parks department files; and Jerry fearing that his failure to make it to the voting booth on time could be the deciding factor in the election. At its heart, though, this is an episode about change, and the most important storylines in this finale deal with big changes that loom on the horizon for important members of Leslie’s team.

Change comes to Ben in the form of Jennifer offering him a job on a congressional reelection campaign. The new job requires him to move to Washington, D.C., for six months. At first, Leslie is less than supportive of this plan; she’d hoped they could finally have time to really enjoy being a couple after her campaign was over. Hearing this, Ben tells Leslie that he’ll turn down the offer. Leslie has bigger problems than just Ben, though; the initial election results reveal that Bobby won by a very slim margin. This triggers an automatic recount, and, while waiting for those results, Leslie has a talk with Ron that opens her eyes to the fact that caring about someone means supporting their dreams, just like her friends did for her.

With Ron’s words echoing in her head, Leslie finds Ben and tells him that he should go to Washington, and they’ll make it their relationship work despite the distance between them. As they contemplate what the future has in store for them as a couple, Ann delivers the results of the recount: Leslie Knope is Pawnee’s newest city council member.

After delivering a heartfelt victory speech (Ben reveals to her that he never wrote the concession one), Leslie joins her friends to celebrate the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to serve Pawnee as an elected official. As the victory celebration rages on, Ron declines Chris’s job offer (for the assistant city manager position). Andy, however, might be pursuing a new career path next season, as April encourages him to think about joining the police force. Ann and Tom drunkenly decide to move in together, promising not to take it back when they’re sober. Big changes are coming to Pawnee, indeed…

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Grading the Season Finales: Once Upon a Time

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Title A Land Without Magic (1.22)

Written By Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz

Major Characters Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), Regina Mills/Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla), Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle), Henry Mills (Jared Gilmore), Mary Margaret Blanchard/Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin), David Nolan/Prince Charming (Josh Dallas), Jefferson/Mad Hatter (Sebastian Stan), Belle (Emilie de Ravin), August W. Booth/Pinocchio (Eion Bailey)

What Happens First, we’ll tackle the Fairytale Land side of this finale…Prince Charming escapes from the Evil Queen’s dungeon with a little help from the Huntsman (Jamie Dornan) and proceeds on his quest to find Snow White. However, the queen transports him to a forest that is impossible to navigate…without a little magical help, of course. That help comes in the form of Rumpelstiltskin, who offers Charming the Fairytale Land equivalent of a GPS device (he’s enchanted a ring given to Charming by his mother to glow brighter as he approaches Snow White). But of course, all magic comes with a price. In this case, Charming has to hide a potion (made from Charming and Snow’s true love) inside the dragon form of Maleficent. After a daring fight with the aforementioned dragon, Charming succeeds, and, as promised, Rumpelstiltskin gives him the ring, telling Charming that he has a vested interest not only in true love but in what true love creates.

What happens next is a second look at the opening scene of the pilot episode, with Charming racing to his beloved Snow White and restoring her to life with true love’s kiss. The finale takes this scene one step further with a marriage proposal and a promise to “take back the kingdom” from the evil forces that are now controlling it (King George, who Charming has to pretend is his father in an elaborate “Prince and the Pauper”-type story from earlier this season, and the Evil Queen).

And now to the events in Storybrooke…After eating a cursed apple turnover meant for Emma at the end of last week’s episode, Henry is rushed to the hospital while a helpless Emma learns from Dr. Whale (David Anders) that there is no explanation for his loss of consciousness. This triggers Emma to finally see that what happened to Henry is “like magic,” and upon holding his storybook, she finally believes everything he had been telling her all season: Storybrooke is a town filled with cursed fairytale characters and she is the daughter of Charming and Snow, the savior meant to break the curse cast upon them by Regina. This is confirmed during a raw, emotional confrontation with Regina, during which Emma (Henry’s birth mother) discovers that Regina (Henry’s adopted mother) can’t bring their son back to life because she used the last of her magic to create the apple turnover that Henry ate.

The two women then go to the only other person in Storybrooke with substantial power, Mr. Gold. He tells Emma that she needs to retrieve the potion that her father hid inside of Maleficent, who is being kept in her dragon form underneath the town. Before she confronts the dragon, Emma goes to see August, only to watch him return to his original form (a wooden puppet) right before her eyes. Emma defeats the dragon, but is tricked into giving up the potion to Mr. Gold, who experiences his own shocking twist when he comes face-to-face with his beloved Belle, who was thought to be dead. She was freed by Jefferson and sent to find Mr. Gold with the message that Regina is the one who had been holding her captive.

The happiness of this moment is soon forgotten when Emma and Regina receive simultaneous phone calls from the hospital: Henry is dead. While Regina looks on, Emma says her final goodbyes to her son, telling him she loves him and kissing his forehead. True love’s kiss proves once again to be strong enough to conquer all, waking Henry and breaking the curse cast upon all of Storybrooke’s residents. With their memories restored, Snow White and Prince Charming have an emotional reunion 28 years in the making – as do Rumpelstiltskin and Belle. However, Rumpelstiltskin has bigger plans than love at the moment, dropping the potion Emma acquired into a well and bringing magic to Storybrooke through what appears to be a purple version of Lost’s infamous smoke monster.

As the one who cast the curse, Regina knows she will have hell to pay and must go into hiding to save herself now that the townspeople remember who they are. Before she leaves the hospital, though, she pleads with Henry to believe that, no matter what anyone tells him, she does love him. Her tears upon entering her son’s empty bedroom fade to a cruel smile, though, as she sees the purple smoke of magic returning to the town, presumably restoring her powers as the clock strikes 8:15, the same time that Storybrooke was frozen at for 28 years before Emma came to the town in the pilot episode.

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Grading the Season Finales: New Girl

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Title See Ya (1.24)

Major Characters Jess (Zooey Deschanel), Nick (Jake Johnson), Schmidt (Max Greenfield), Winston (Lamorne Morris), Cece (Hannah Simone)

What Happens? Nick wants to leave the apartment he shares with Jess, Schmidt, and Winston to move back in with his on-again, off-again girlfriend Caroline, also known as the woman who turned Nick into “an agoraphobic, turtle-faced borderline alcoholic,” according to Jess. Despite his roommates’ protests, Nick seems determined to move out, leaving the rest of them to interview for a new roommate. They settle on Neil, a self-proclaimed troubadour with his own interesting set of quirks, including a box featuring an unknown animal (“…something growled in that box,” Cece tells Jess).

As the male roommates drive with Nick to his new apartment, they get more than they bargained for when Nick gets cold feet and takes them on an unplanned trip into the desert. In a fit of catastrophic spontaneity, Nick throws his keys into the wilderness, which prompts Schmidt and Winston to call Jess and Cece to take them home (which proves futile after Jess also appears to throw her keys away). The five friends are then forced to spend the night in the desert, listening to mixtapes Nick made in the 1990s. While there, Schmidt and Cece decide to end their relationship because she thinks he doesn’t trust her and he thinks she’s too good to be with him. Nick and Jess also have a moment of their own, with Jess finally giving Nick her blessing to move in with Caroline because she cares about him and wants him to be happy.

In the end, we learn that Jess never really did throw away her keys, and after a night of desert bonding, the friends take Nick to his new apartment. It’s clear, though, that Nick belongs with his former roommates rather than with Caroline, and the episode ends with him returning home to the sounds of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long.”

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Grading the Season Finales: Castle

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Title Always (Episode 4.23)

Written By Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller

Major Characters Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion), Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), Detective Kevin Ryan (Seamus Dever), Detective Javier Esposito (Jon Huertas), Alexis Castle (Molly Quinn), Captain Victoria Gates (Penny Johnson Jerald)

What Happens? When a murder investigation leads the detectives to the man who shot Beckett in last season’s finale, she is tempted to once again go down the proverbial rabbit hole and lose herself in the conspiracy surrounding the fatal stabbing of her mother. In order to keep her from risking her life, Castle is forced to reveal to Beckett that he has been withholding leads from her as part of a deal for her life that he made with a mysterious Mr. Smith: If Beckett doesn’t investigate her mother’s death, she stays alive. After his pleas for rational thought and honest confessions of love appear to fall on deaf ears, Castle decides to walk away from Beckett once and for all.

Beckett and Esposito go rogue to try to take down the killer on their own, which ends with Beckett hanging off of a rooftop ledge and Ryan coming to her rescue – after he alerted Captain Gates to what she and Esposito were doing. Though Ryan saved their lives, Beckett and Esposito are suspended, but Beckett takes it one step further. She resigns, turning in her badge as she realizes that she has more to live for than simply avenging her mother’s death; that she wants more than the life she had been living up until that moment. This revelation sends her to Castle’s loft, where she tells him that she is ready to move on from her all-consuming quest for justice and become a whole person – with him. As the two of them kiss and prepare embark on the next chapter in their story, we learn that Beckett’s life is in grave danger as her shooter has found Mr. Smith, taking away Beckett’s greatest source of protection and vowing to kill her once and for all.

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