Mad Men 3, ep 4

For those of you who don't watch Mad Men, go get the first two seasons and watch it now. It's brilliant and wonderful.

This most recent episode, the focus was on the relationships between parents and their children, and grandchildren. With Betty about to pop, I was surprised that she didn't go into labour by the end, but instead, Don was in the spare room putting away Grampa Gene's bed and bringing out a crib. The old die, the young replace them, life continues.

I was surprised, not that Gene died, but the way Betty was told. A cop showed up and told her he was gone, collapsed at a store, while she was on her front step. Even if she wasn't 9 months pregnant, isn't that the sort of thing you should get a person to sit down to hear?

The saddest part, to me, was the lack of communication. Poor little Sally is crying over her grampa's death and she hears her parents and her uncle laughing. She's appalled; how could they laugh? And do they explain to the hurting little girl that they were laughing because they were remembering? That it helps the pain? No, they send her to watch television. How many households still treat their children so?

On the lighter side, Peggy's getting an apartment and moving to Manhattan. After her ad was mocked by her co-workers, Joan appeared for a very brief, but utterly perfect conversation with her younger friend. She tells her what a good ad for a roommate is! Ironic that Joan is better at advertising than Peggy is. I would definitely have wanted to live with her!

And so Peggy has a roommate. And who do you think it is? Why Carla Gallo who you may know as Daisy on Bones. That's the second Bones cross over with Ryan Cartwright (the delightful Vincent Nigel-Murray) portraying John Hooker. *Star Count -2*

How to negotiate this blog

Welcome to my blog!

The plan is at 6pm I post about one of the more popular shows, one of my favourite, a pilot, premiere or finale. At 6am, I post about anything else I'm watching. If there is more to post, then that gets posted in midday.

This is a page designed to help you find what you are looking for.

Look at the labels. That is the best way to find what you are looking for. TV shows are listed under the title of their shows, but pilot episodes are also listed in a category dedicated to premieres. These posts are comments on what I thought of the episodes and will usually contain spoilers. You have been warned.

What to Watch

This label denotes posts about shows without spoilers. If you want to know whether or not you should bother to tune into something, check in the What to Watch section for my opinion on the entire series. If there is something you are interested, but it's not there, just ask. I may not have had the chance to post on that particular show yet. Or I may decide to watch the whole thing just to provide you with an answer

Star Count

This a single posting which I continually update that mentions who I've seen guest staring in something I watch.

Star Watch

These posts are longer, detailed comments about specific actors.

Plays and Movies and Books

Where the posts on plays and movies and books go.

When there are more categories to explain, I will add them. Until them, keep reading and keep watching!

Preparing for Premiere Season

Premiere season is about to begin. As of Tuesday and until mid October, there will be a premiere of a new series almost every week, as well as the season premieres of the shows that already have me hooked. I'm going to list those shows and their air dates (though I often have to wait a day or two before I find time to see them), and you can tell me what you think. I am missing some amazing show? Do you think I'm insane for watching something? Are you excited too? Let me know!

I am already watching: Mad Men; True Blood; Warehouse 13; Eureka; Defying Gravity

I am interested in the series premieres of:

Melrose Place – Tuesdays, September 8

Glee – Wednesdays, September 9

Vampire Diaries – Thursdays, September 10

Eastwick – Wednesdays, September 23

Mercy – Wednesdays, September 23

Flash Forward – Thursdays, September 24

Stargate Universe (Season 1) – Fridays, October 2

White Collar – Fridays, October 23

V – Tuesdays, November 3

I am excited about the new seasons of:

Supernatural (Season 5) – Thursdays, September 10

Fringe (Season 2) – Thursdays, September 17

Bones (Season 5) – Thursdays, September 17

Castle (Season 2) – Mondays, September 21

The Mentalist (Season 2) – Thursdays, September 24

Dollhouse (Season 2) – Fridays, September 25

Dexter (Season 4) – Sundays, September 27

Ghost Whisperer at a Comedy Club

So I learned something new about Ghost Whisperer ghosts today. Apparently if someone died suddenly, horribly, then their ghost is not the pretty image of their living self, but much closer to what their corps looked like. Luckily, after a few chats with Melinda, the beauty comes back.

Also, this death was a suicide, which was a first, and yet he was still able to pass to the other side, going towards that light. Did he achieve forgiveness or do penance in his ghost form? I still haven't quite figured out what all the rules are for crossing over...I wonder if we ever will.

But none of that really matters compared to what our lovely lead was wearing. There was a definite red theme going on. Red dresses, red coat (a fabulous, full-length, full-skirted number I would kill for), even her night gown was a sexy silky red number (with a red bathrobe) rather than her flowy white 19th century garment. It's a good thing her antique store is turning a profit, or she'd never be able to afford all those new clothes.

We also got a sign that there is a ghost plot line that isn't just going to take place over one episode. Some crazy laughing ghost, who had appeared strangely at the end of an earlier episode was back, still laughing, with a fedora-wearing ghost whose face we could not see who claimed he had "business" with Melinda.

Will this turn into a serious ghost encounter or will Melinda help him to reconcile with his family and cross over as well? I guess I'll just have to keep watching!

Defying Gravity on Hallowe'en

The seventh episode of Defying Gravity was Hallowe'en themed. Obviously they had hoped for a Fall air schedule and ended up starting in the summer. Not that they are too early; after all, it's Labour Day weekend, which means once the kiddies are back to school, the Hallowe'en decorations go on sale. But it's nice to think that 50 years in the future, when the show is set, we will still have kids going house to house in costume to celebrate.

This week's theme was fear, weakness. The show was originally advertised as Grey's Anatomy in space. I don't see much resemblance between the two shows, except in the framing devices used. Both shows start and end each episode with a voice over from the main character which talks about human nature. The challenges of the plot line fit the theme so that a lesson can be learnt by the end...at least by the audience watching if none of the characters picked it up.

In this case, admitting your weakness, your fear, may in fact be less damaging than keeping it a secret.

The astronauts were supposed to shoot a candy commercial in space to get 10 billion dollars. This seems like a lot of money...but will it be in 50 years? I doubt it, but as I plan on still being around, I'll tell you when I get there.

So preparations begin for the shoot, and suddenly all but two of the astronauts are suffering from hallucinations, and the shoot doesn't happen, the 10 billion for science is lost. How sad.

Why are they having hallucinations, you ask? Because of some weird alien thing they found on Mars that's somehow running their ship. Not that they have any idea about it. Only one of the astronauts actually knows.

The hallucinations, the back stories, are what make the show worth watching. Will Zoe ever tell Donner that she was once pregnant with his child? What really happened to Donner and Ted on Mars? Who are Nadia and Eve seeing? And why aren't Was and Jen having hallucinations in the first place?

And so I'll watch again next week and hope that, despite the budget required for a science fiction show with a large cast and the low ratings threatening to sink it, eventually I will know the answer to these questions.

Casablanca

Tonight, I saw Casablanca for the first time. Or, rather, I saw the actual movie for the first time. I had heard the lines quoted, seen Bunnies do the movie (angryalien.com), watched Dr. House dissuade a younger woman using Humphrey Bogart's famous lines, and experienced the Simpsons's imagined alternate ending, but tonight, tonight I actually heard Humphrey Bogart say those words to Ingrid Bergman, and that was something else. Michael Curtiz certainly knew what he was about.

Classic movies aren't for everyone. I find that the more I watch them, the more they become a part of me and the more I then appreciate them. I think that's the case for all dated works. They are confusing or not exactly relevant or something has happened in the passage of time that distances them from us. We do not see them or love them or understand them as easily as their intended audiences did. We cannot, since it has been over 60 years. A lot changes in 60 years. But a movie like Casablanca is eternal. We can watch it now and still be moved by it, still understand the subtle nuances. We may have to watch it a dozen times to notice details that may have been obvious when first seen in the theatre, or read about those details which are historically relevant but not known to us anymore today. Still, that we are willing to watch it again and again is the difference.

Good King Charles and DRAG

I was asked in my comments how many hours of television I watch in a week. This weekend, I've clearly watched none as I have not posted a single post, but by the end of the week, I'll have made up for it I'm sure.

As an example, to illustrate my television consumption, I started watching Battlestar Galactica this past January. I'd never seen an episode, but before the series ended at the end of March, I had caught up and was waiting like everyone else for the last few episode to air. That was in addition to watching all the other series airing each week.

Now that I've addressed that, let us move on to last night at the Shaw Festival.

I went to see In Good King Charles's Golden Days, by Shaw himself, and was thoroughly entertained. The acting was spot on, the set was magnificent (I most appreciated the light fixture in the third act which featured the planets, including Pluto), and everything was as one expects it ought to be from Shaw. My background being in theatre, I could go on about every merit or failure of the production, but this blog is about whether something is worth watching or not, so we'll keep to that.

It was worth watching. I particularly enjoyed the scenes heavy with historical irony. King Charles's younger brother James spend a good while telling his older brother how the British people ought to be ruled, while Charles shook his head sadly at the foolishness. When James did become king, he implemented those councils and lost his crown in under 5 years.

Also, the premise of so many interesting personages, including Nell Gwynn and George Fox, in the home of Isaac Newton was a delightful starting point. Certainly the play itself lacks a solid plot...or perhaps a solid beginning, middle and end, but it was entertaining throughout in despite of this.

After the performance, I went to see a different show. A DRAG night, performed by Shaw staff. I was jealous. I do not have those legs and I do not look that good in heels...in fact, I'd likely fall over. There is nothing quite like a good drag show, and this one was marvelous. The dancing, the lip sinking and the singing, the talent and the effort. Theatre that I want to be part of.

Last night's entertainment was live. Tonight's will be Casablanca. Still not TV, but movies are perhaps a little close. So a tout a l'heure.