Britt's On

Whoops. I've definitely been absentee for some time. That's not to say I haven't been a media fiend over the last few months. Quite the opposite. And therefore busy. Anyway here are my top 10 thoughts on media happenings since I last wrote in...gulp...October.

10) Homeland and American Horror Story provided two of the most enjoyable viewing experiences I've had on television in recent memory. If only every year brought such gems to my screen. Oh and I'm still digging Revenge. SO glad I picked that one up.

9) I feel like I've lost a lot of steam for this year's Oscars race. It's probably because I saw all of the movies (except War Horse...I just can't...) as of a few weeks ago, so its been a little anti-climactic since then. I don't feel passionately about any particular film. Midnight in Paris was definitely my favourite, but I know it doesn't have a shot for much beyond best screenplay.

8) Survivor was dissatisfying. The conclusion anyway. I have this weird issue where I secretly root for people like Natalie (Samoa) and Sophie (this last season) but not really expect them to win and then when they're in a position to I regret cheering for them. Coach deserved the win in my opinion. I loved this season altogether, it definitely had some good characters and 'moments', although I'm still not a fan of Redemption and a little tired of back-to-back 'bring 'em back' seasons. I'm glad they're going in a fresh direction this season.

7) I watched both the Golden Globes and the Grammys. Not much to say on either. I thought Emma Stone was best dressed at the GG's and I'm excited she'll (likely) be at the Oscars this year. Adele is a precious flower and like the rest of the world, I'm so happy for her success.

6) New Girl continues to be my new favourite comedy. I still love Modern Family and guffaw on occasion at The Office, but I'm so intrigued by where this show is going...and can go. It just feels like a really fresh take on the 90s 'Friends'-type comedy, although I know other people are toting 'Happy Endings' in that respect.

5) I've read a sh*t ton of books in the last few months, that should come as no surprise. I meant to do some dreamcasting on here. Let's see if I can remember...I found 'The Night Circus' incredibly difficult to cast but I know it's going to be a sensational movie. I think I had someone like Olivia Wilde in there for Celia. I just read 'Before I Go To Sleep' and I thought of Kate Winslet for Christine and Jude Law for Ben.

4) On Whitney Houston: serious tragedy. She clearly needed help for a long time and it's a shame no one was able to give it to her. Between her and Amy Winehouse I hope someone somewhere finds a way to connect with these people. I can only imagine Lindsay Lohan's name showing up next...

3) The Walking Dead. Disappointing season so far, not much improved by this week's mid-season premiere. They need to GTFO the GD farm. Also the scriptwriting still feels awkwardly clunky and expositional.

2) I watched both the Swedish and American versions of 'Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' in the last few months. The BF was not interested in the American version at all because he felt like he'd seen it all with the serviceable Swedish adaptation. But I have to say, I thought the American version kicked ass. Rooney Mara was superlative, and in my humble opinion, deserving of an Oscar. Perhaps if they make - and sustain the quality level - of all three she'll get rewarded down the road.

1) I'm feeling Project Runway All Stars for the most part. I'll admit there is something problematic with the fact we are seeing style point-of-views that we're already well familiar with, as opposed to seeing what a new crop of designers would have brought to the table. But at the same time it's refreshing to see such ambition, talent, and commitment to said points of view.

0) Oh yes, a bonus post. I'm quite enjoying the new Canadian show The LA Complex. It's from the creators of Degrassi so this should come as no surprise, but I'm finding it surprisingly well-plotted, acted, and paced. I'm so psyched for the actors (particularly Cassie Steele) that its received a US pickup for the summer.

I PROMISE to write back after the Oscars. That is all.

- Britt's On

I've got a rule around these parts when it comes to jelly-vision watching. Basically, my aim is to watch three episodes of a show (if I can stand it) and make my decision as to whether to continue after that point. After reading EW's Fall TV Preview, a few more shows have made the cut in the last week. Only after my three-episode rule will I have the guts to turf or set up a series recording for anything that isn't part of my regularly scheduled programming.

Without further ado...

TUESDAYS

Ringer
Talk about a premiere trying to do too much...with a more experienced showrunner, the premiere probably would have been a little less ambitious (and would have had way better special FX for the damn boat scene). BUT, it definitely sparked intrigue. I do hope the show learns to gain a sense of humour at some point - right now it's all serious, all the time, which doesn't lend itself well to SMG's considerable talents, along with castmate Kristoffer Polaha.
Survey Says: I stuck with 'Dollhouse' the whole way through out of Buffy nostalgia (granted Joss Whedon was at the helm). I'm giving Ringer three episodes to *keep* me hooked as I'm not sure how this concept will work in the long, long-term.


Parenthood
A solid season premiere, although the last three minutes were cut off cause of stupid America's Got Talent, so I never saw Adam's final decision. I assume he's opening the studio with Crosby though. I'm a tad confused by Kristina's working situation, and irritated by Hattie / Alex in the premiere, but I loved the 'FNL' joke they slipped in. Altogether a promising start to another year with the Braverman clan.
Survey Says: Obviously I'm going to continue watching. I love this show. Plus...Jason Ritter!

WEDNESDAYS

Survivor: South Pacific
Interesting season premiere...Ozzy and Coach coming back are SO different than Rob and Russell. I think there are some potentially great characters among this cast, and again, Ozzy and Coach can be considered liabilities more than Russell or Rob ever was, so I'll be curious to see how this plays out for them. I predict neither one will make the finals, but one of them may make the final episode.
Survey Says: The tribe has spoken, of course I'm watching!


ANTM All Stars
*Pulls face* The season premiere did nothing to dissuade me that an all-star edition of the show was a BAD idea. Why? Well for one, these girls supposedly have careers to fall back on. Top Model works best when it rewards girls who surprise or grow with the competition. We know what these girls are capable of, and if anything, getting eliminated early on in the show may be a bigger hindrance than help to their careers. The whole thing just felt LOUD and overdone and unnecessary...everything felt like it was on warp speed. I actually like the way the characters unfurl on the show normally. I'm not sure how this one'll go...but I'll watch.
Survey Says: I'm the stalwart amongst my friends that still watches this show. I'm not about to quit now.


Up All Night
Surprise! This is one show that sneaked its way into my fall TV preview, after the big glowing article in Entertainment Weekly. I went into it with an open mind - I'm not exactly the target demographic. My main thoughts? Will Arnett is 90% of the reason why I'd watch this show. Christina Applegate's 'smart girl in a world of insane people' one-liners fell kind of flat without character development, and Maya Rudolph's talk-show host was something we've (quite literally) seen before, but still funny. The baby was cute!! I just wonder what kind of legs this show has with only three lead characters...
Survey Says: I'm test-driving three new comedies this Fall - 'Two Broke Girls' and 'New Girl' premiere this week. I'm only willing to take on one, maybe two, new ones...and at this point, I don't know that 'Up All Night' will cut it. An admirable debut though.

THURSDAYS

The Secret Circle
How pretty is this photo? Stunning scene from the pilot episode of CW / Kevin Williamson's new paranormal drama, 'The Secret Circle'. Generally speaking, I liked it. There was a decent amount of intrigue (if slightly overdone in the way Williamson is known for) and Britt Robertson is great. The only way this show will become a casualty at this point - because I see its potential - is if I simply feel overwhelmed with other, more mature programming.
Survey Says: A show with legs beyond the initial 'what happened to the last circle?' conceit. I'm definitely willing to go past the first episode.

SUNDAY

Emmys 2011
Yeah this was a one-off, but it bears some notice:
- Why must every awards show do a musical opening? Kind of boring. Jane Lynch was an okay host, but sometimes her quips felt a little off-colour (like her attack on Tom Cruise. So five years ago). I LOVED her segment on the Mad Men set though.

- I was SO happy with some of the surprise wins. Julie Bowen seemed floored, and I was totally cheering for Ty Burrell (my fave Modern Family member) to take it as well. Melissa McCarthy ascending from 'character actor' to 'best lead actress' was precious. Margo Martindale, who I primarily know as 'Ninah' on 'The Riches' seemed just tickled. And MOST IMPORTANTLY - Kyle Chandler, the beating heart of Friday Night Lights 'Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose' was finally recognized for his amazing, soul-stirring turn as Coach Taylor. If I didn't talk about the finale before, it's because I watched it on DVD instead of live, week-by-week. It was amazing. I was so happy for Jason Katims to walk away with the writing award, and would have been content with that. But for them to also recognize KC was brilliant. He was so humble and sweet.

- Some great acceptance speeches this year. Ty Burrell, and the Modern Family writer / creators, stand out in particular. I barely fast-forwarded through the speeches.

- Kate Winslet now has an EGO. Not an 'ego', but she's just a 'T' away from the legendary acting quad-fecta of EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). Kudos Kate.

- Fashion. Lots of red, which I'm so bored with. I appreciated the pops of colour and there were a few truly stunning choices on the Red Carpet this year. No major disasters.

- Does anyone remember when the Housewives were the talk of the carpet? Oh how the mighty have fallen - not a single Wisteria Lane appearance this year.

- Overall I was fine with the telecast. I would have liked to see Steve Carrell and Connie Britton win their categories, but generally speaking I thought the Emmy voters did a solid, well-rounded job of awarding a very talented bunch of pretty people. Kudos.

- Britt's On

Kind of late on this, but to be fair, Modern Family just finished what...a week ago? Here is my end-of-year recap for the best & worst in television, organized by the night it's broadcast.

MONDAYS

Gossip Girl
Pretty terrible season, but it's a pretty terrible show to begin with. I've long ago accepted that Josh Schwartz lost his mojo around season 2 of The OC. I have so many problems with GG it's hard to narrow them down...the constantly rotating 'B' cast (although irritatingly, GG is finally inducting a B cast member in the form of the terrible actress that played Charlie at the end of this last season)...the HORRIBLE sub-plot involving Raina for the last chunk of the season...the improbability of Blair and Serena finding happiness outside of their incestuous circle of boys...the lack of Dan having enough screen time.

Best Plot: Blair & Dan's non-relationship, hands down. The reveal about Serena's expulsion from prep school was cool as well, although insane.
Worst Plot: It's a tough call between Charlie's faux-psycho-act at the end of this season, Georgina's faux-mafia-baby, or Raina's faux-mother-death stupid stupid stupid plot. Probably Raina.
FINAL GRADE: C

TUESDAYS

Parenthood
This show quickly became one of my most anticipated of the week, which is weird considering it's definitely targeted to an older demographic, it's WAYYYY slower than any other show I watch, it has no overall direction to differentiate itself, and it's still got some annoying ticks - Adam & Christina's smothering coupley-ness, Drew having zero interesting plot lines, and way too many screaming scenes. But, I loved the guest stars this season - Stephen Baldwin, John Corbett, Michael Jordan (FNL, not the basketball player) - and there was tons of good stuff to love here, especially the way they slow-boiled (realistically) different plot points throughout the season. Hattie & Alex's relationship, Crosby/Jasmine/Gabby, Adam's work situation, Julia's infertility, Sarah's romantic life...none of these things were solved in a day, they still aren't solved. It's what I love most about this complex, dramatized version of family life.

Best Plot: I liked the Hattie & Alex storyline and how long it went on for (surprisingly). I thought it would implode at some point but it hasn't...yet. I think there was some potential good foreshadowing set up here. I also think Jason Katims recognized Michael Jordan's great acting on FNL and recruited him for Parenthood, so kudos.
Worst Plot: Hm. I wasn't a big fan of Sarah's play and I found Amber's rebellion at the end of the season annoying (if understandable). I'd have to go with the random Camille / Zeke issues when she started taking the painting class.
FINAL GRADE: A-


One Tree Hill
Eff I hate this show. We all know it piqued around Seasons 3-5 and now it's torturing us with a long, slow death. My issues? Oh my, where to begin. The fact that everything ALWAYS turns out okay is insane. One of the good things about OTH during its height was the fact things didn't always turn out okay - see: S3. Keith being shot. Let's look at one, just ONE character this season and see how it turned out for them. Brooke 'losing' her company. Her mom went to jail for about 4 episodes, she got offered a job with the company after all, she paid back her investors, and she still managed to be wealthy enough to do fuck all for the entire season. Brooke being infertile. She landed a magical, white, pretty, totally interested girl who wanted to give up her baby within weeks. Said girl took said baby back, Brooke is magically pregnant - with TWINS - and has a healthy birth to Jude and Davis (cute names) by end of season. Um, I think that's about it. Two or three-ish conflicts, all sewn up nicely.

I mean, I get it. They all kind of thought this was a final season, so they were stuck in a stupid place between not wanting to rock the boat too much (did anyone break up or even teeter near breaking up this year?) and needing to sustain some sort of drama. They also jumped endless sharks with totally random theme episodes - like the gag-worthy superhero one that had NO POINT WHATSOEVER, or the irritating toaster strudel / baby preparedness test one. I did like the "Hangover" episode although it's ones like that and the ridiculous Puerto Rico trip that you realize the show has a lot of female characters that don't really vibe with each other...since when would Brooke go on a holiday with Quinn (who she almost never interacts with), Lauren (who she's never had a conversation with), and Alex (who she doesn't really like)?

I also have serious issues with Quinn. I've rhapsodized before on my hatred for her, but the fact she seems to be on the show primarily to be the creator's / costume designer's random eye candy (a role previously employed by the much sluttier Rachel) and has no interesting plots whatsoever...sigh. Hate.

As for the finale, it was a rushed season finale. I liked the symmetry (if obvious...or super random) of Karen's Cafe re-opening, setting up the show for a mid-2000's comeback, but it just felt like a weird fast-forward, and now that it's coming back to torture me for one more year (I have to watch it end), I wonder what they can possibly cook up.

Best Plot: Um. Everyone pissed me off this season. Normally I'd pick a Brooke plot but she was so simpering and whiny this season I wanted to punch her. It was nice to see her get married I guess, although I'm still ech about her and Julian. That's your best friend's ex-fiancee yo! Terrible way to introduce a love interest.
Worst Plot: Too many choices, but I'll say any scene that involved Quinn & Clay, including the six-episode coma sh*t at the beginning of the season. I fast-forward about 90% of their scenes and I don't think I'm missing a thing. That's a huge red flag OTH!
FINAL GRADE: D

WEDNESDAYS


Survivor: Redemption Island
I am of mixed feelings on this season of Survivor. I was rooting for Rob and in total disbelief that he could coast to the finals, but he did it with finesse. It was a master class of how to play the game, but couldn't there have been a more interesting / dynamic cast for him to overcome and rise up? I didn't like Redemption Island. The only people I liked aside from Rob were David, Stephanie, and Andrea. I'd like to see all three of them play again. I may come to find Philip more hilarious in the future (a la Coach) but he ate up way too much screen time.

Best Plot: Rob & the idols this season was hilarious.
Worst Plot: Phillipp's droopy drawers, or the stupidity of the Zapatera's voting off Russell.
FINAL GRADE: B


America's Next Top Model
This is another show I'm wondering why I watch. I enjoy the photoshoots, but the drama is starting to feel unnecessarily ruthless and the show is increasingly pointless since no one is really successful and the winner feels pre-determined. This season had the meanest of mean girls in the final two - I don't care how oblivious Alexandria is, the behaviour of the other girls was downright sickening this season. Also Brittany in particular broke a million ANTM rules (losing limbs! contrived poses! unprofessional in front of the clients + judges) and yet she STILL won. The destination of Morocco was bizarre as well.

Best Plot: I'll admit, the judging room smackdown with Alexandria and Brittany was pretty incredible. So was Tyra's smackdown.
Worst Plot: Molly and Brittany's stank attitude all season long.
FINAL GRADE: C+



Modern Family
My review of this show is totally messed up. I received Season 1 for Christmas and flew through it and the first half of Season 2 before it returned around mid-February. So in that sense, I give this show a resounding THUMBS UP since I absorbed it all in such a condensed timeframe. Some people noted that S2 lost a little of the sparkle of S1 but it felt pretty continuous to me - I suppose there was some repetition but I still loved every single episode.

Best Plot: I don't even know! In recent memory I thought Cam directing the musical was hilarious.
Worst Plot: Jay picking out burial plots perhaps?
Final Grade: A

THURSDAYS


The Office
Weird how Thursday used to be must-watch TV for me and now it's dwindled down to The Office. This was a decent season because the writers stepped up their game to give Michael a fond farewell. The proposal episode was heartwarming and funny ("three years salary, right?") and the post-Michael scramble for a new manager brought up some prime hilarity. It's still not as good as the golden years (S1-S3) but better than the last one or two seasons.

Best Plot: Michael & Holly reuniting and Michael's stoic, silent goodbye at the airport.
Worst Plot: Erin & Gabe!
Final Grade: B

FRIDAYS

Degrassi
Degrassi continues to amaze me in how popular it is...and how they keep on mining the life of a teenager for new plots. I'm surprised they never did a runaway plot until Ally this season actually. I don't really have anything bad to say about Degrassi to be honest. There's little tweaks I'd make all over the place - more Holly J! less Jenna! Eli & Clare = love but I'm interested to see them apart for awhile! I can't wait for the new summer season to kick off.

Best Plot: I liked that Fiona's plot went from episode 1 of last year's summer season and didn't resolve itself till the very end - revealing a very complex character and good actress in Annie Clark. It wasn't necessarily the plot I looked forward to the most (so much awkward) but I appreciated the length of it.
Worst Plot: Eli's hoarding perhaps? Seemed a little forced. Or Fitz's turn to Jesus.
Final Grade: A-


SATURDAYS


Saturday Night Live
You know I just had a chat with a friend about this show. He thought this season was better than the last few, I thought it was scraping the bottom of the barrel. The repetition of sketches, over-reliance on Kristen Wiig, and sidelining of their guest hosts is pretty painful. The fact that the best episode of the season - finale with Justin Timberlake - featured nary an original sketch is frightening.

Best Sketch: Not sure. Justin's 'Liqourville' was great, as those ones always are. I'm trying to think of any new recurring ones and nothing's coming to mind...
Worst Sketch: I hate the Vinny Venidici Italian TV show and always skip it. I'm tired of 'What Up With That'.
Final Grade: C

SUNDAYS


The Amazing Race
The All Stars concept was fun to revisit, although a few of the teams were questionable. Ron & Christina were annoyingly amusing, my past favourite teams quickly fell into a hierarchy (buh-bye Margie & Luke), and I HATED MALLORY AND GARY. I loved Zev & Justin and was heartbroken they didn't win, but the sisters Kisha & Jen had a great race and deserved the win. In fact, if they weren't so obnoxious on their first race I would have been a stronger advocate of THEM being the first all female team to win the show. Now we just need a parent/child team to win.

Best Team: Zev & Justin
Worst Team: Gary & Mallory
FINAL GRADE: B+

So...we're down to the Final 8 in this season of Survivor: Redemption Island, and it's been kind of a snoozy season. At first Boston Rob's domination of the game was exhilarating. Now it's just kind of predictable, and I wonder if anyone will be powerful enough to make a play to knock him out once we get down to the final 6 Ometepe kids. And if they do, it'll almost be disappointing that someone has rocked this season so hard, only to get bamboozled in the final moments. Then again, maybe it'd be nice for Rob to win. I'm torn.

My main reason for posting this though, is how WEIRD this season has been. I've noticed a lot of comments from the peanut gallery about how the reason why this season has been so snoozy is the only characters that get any airtime are Rob, Philip, and the occasional commentary from a member of the Zapatera tribe (David was pretty cool, I miss him). Is it bad casting? Are the chickies and football player on Ometepe really that boring? Or are the editors trying to hide something from us?


I just feel like a lot is being LEFT out, so instead we're being treated to some mild drama around camp, usually surrounding Philip. For example...how is it that no one on Ometepe, pre-merge, questioned the existence of immunity idols? One could argue that after Kristina's was used, they all assumed no more would be given out - but Grant (and Philip, to a degree) knew there were clues leading to a second one. Why didn't they show Grant searching aimlessly for it? Or did Rob reveal he had it? Or did Grant guess Rob found it already? I'm just confused as to why none of the inevitable interview segments surrounding the idol have been completely left out. I also wish I saw more from Rob's harem surrounding their devotion to him. Who thinks they're going to the Final 3, and why hasn't in-fighting and Rob's multi-person promises come to light? Or are they holding onto all of that till the final 6?


Part of me thinks this group is just sailing towards the finish like Tocantins, with the mutual understanding that it might not be such a bad thing for Rob to win the whole thing...I mean we haven't seen a shred of ambition from one of these kids (at least not one that's been left on the editing room floor) aside from Andrea's brief night of plotting with Matt by the campfire. They teased that next week Andrea might be walking the plank - a reminder that Rob never forgot Matt sold her out - but I'd be surprised if that's the case. That being said, Andrea has the weakest ties to Rob of the bunch, so I can see that he sees her as a threat. She's done well in challenges, doesn't have the same level of animosity around here that the other girls do, and she has Matt and Philip's votes if she makes it to the end. Is that enough to motivate her to make a power play? Doubtful.

I don't know. I don't know how I feel about this season. It feels like Rob's tribe has been as restrained by the editors as the Zapatera folks are spouting they are around camp. I love Rob as a character, and I commented earlier on this season that every season would be better with a little Rob in it, but his sheer domination over these unseasoned players has been kind of painful to watch...especially since they really do just seem like drones, based on the editing. I just want SOMETHING to happen. Don't keep me waiting much longer Survivor!

- Britt's On

Last night I started watching the fifth and final season of Friday Night Lights. Can I first of all point out it's really nifty that they have it out on DVD simultaneously with the TV series premiering on NBC next week? As someone who owns (and lends out) the DVD series to everyone, I jumped on buying it instead of waiting week-to-week. Of course, this means I will get through the show faster, which is depressing after last night's heart-tugging opener.

I reflected that FNL had one of the best series premieres ever...and it got me thinking to the best series premieres of all time, and I realized that generally speaking, the shows with the best series premieres end up having the best first seasons. A show with a fantastic premiere (at least in its first season) rarely fails to live up to said standard. After the first season, it's a crapshoot. So instead of creating two separate lists of best premieres and best first seasons, I present my list of the best first seasons (and generally speaking, premieres) ever.


The OC - Remember when Mischa Barton was a fashion icon? And Rachel Bilson had curves? And Seth Cohen was charmingly self-conscious? And Luke had a gay dad? And Julie was a 'Real Housewife'-in-training? And Ryan's brooding desire to save people was sweet? And Oliver was a total psychopath? And the show was actually funny and shocking in equal parts? Sigh. Few shows, in particular teen shows, will top the glory that is the first season of The OC.


Lost - I was a latecomer to Lost, catching up on the first four seasons in quick succession literally days before the fifth one began. I'm kind of glad I did watch it on DVD so I could (somewhat) solve the confounded mysteries instead of being stumped for weeks. Few shows had as strong a premiere or first season as Lost - where characters were in constant peril, mysteries were piling on top of one another (but not to the hysterical levels they were in future seasons), and insight into each character's life was something to be savoured...and tied in very nicely with what was happening with their on-island selves. In retrospect, the first season is a little tedious compared to future ones (after all, they only thing they discover is the hatch and a whole lot of WTFuckery?) but I constantly hear complaints about s2's "Tailies" and s3's venture into the "Others" territory, so S1 really is a holy bastion of wonderfulness.


Friday Night Lights - I put up a serious fuss about watching FNL. I thought the actors looked smug on the cover. I didn't like the movie very much. I'd seen a clip on TV of Tyra's mom in the middle of a drinking binge and thought it looked lame. Alas, one day we popped season 1 in the DVD player and I was INSTANTLY hooked. The premiere is one of the most captivating ever, and the glorious full length of the first season allowed you to see many different facets of these humanly flawed characters. True, the series felt a little long compared to the length of an actual high school football season, but have 20+ episodes to play around with allowed for so much more than the protracted seasons we now have.


Desperate Housewives - I no longer watch DH because of this first season, and all that it stood for. A hilarious satire of soap operas, the show was whip smart, hilariously funny, and ooey gooey twisty turny. The women were a lot more entrenched in their archetypes - a good and bad thing - and we had some characters that added a lot of flavour to the show...Martha Huber, Edie, Paul, Rex (!), John to name a few. Plus it made sense for Mary-Alice to actually make guest appearances. Part of me thinks they blew their load (sorry, graphic) too early by giving up Mary-Alice's secret, and then following that same format year-after-year. The show was just so fresh, and the supposed cattiness of the stars (particularly come awards season) was entertaining fodder as well. Shame they've now become exactly what they were mocking in the first place - a big, stinky, soap.


Survivor - Talk about The Real World however much you want, this is when reality TV became part of the popular zeitgeist. I started watching about a third of the way through, I think on the episode when Gretchen was eliminated. My family and I quickly became hooked (and played reverse catch-up before the finale) and were surfing the wave of popular culture along with the rest of North America when Richard and Kelly went head-to-head in the much-watched finale. Watching the first season of Survivor now seems a little laughable. The naivete of the castaways is nearly infuriating, the props and challenges look amateurish, and even little details like the cheesy graphics or the fact Jeff doesn't have this catchphrases quite nailed down make for a charmingly docile entry for one of the genre's most resilient franchises.

Solid Contenders:

Pretty Little Liars - the first season just wrapped up and golly was it good...the show lacks (male) character development and one of their best actresses is, unfortunately, dead but the constant guessing game has made it into the teeny bopper version of Lost. Only with blind flute players instead of rampant polar bears.

The Walking Dead - in six little episodes this show blew me away. Again, it could use some work on character development, but you can only expect so much from a half-dozen episodes. Incidentally, if I were to make a 'best premieres evahhh' list, this show would easily end up on it. The fact it was like watching a little movie every week made for a completely enthralling tv-watching experience.

Mad Men - There was lots to like in Season 1. The near-weekly ad pitches (that were sadly absent for much of S2 & S3). Don's lothario ways weren't tired, and Rachel Menken was his most lovely dalliance to date. Betty's desperate housewife act earned equal parts raised eyebrows and empathy. Admittedly however, the pacing was a little slow (although it crawled in S2) compared to the punchier, zippier feeling of S3 & S4, where the show took that initial foundation and skyrocketed our characters to new levels before slamming them back down to earth.

Modern Family - Everyone keeps telling me that this current season isn't as funny as last season (I just caught up on them both over the last three months). I agree getting to know the characters and their funny little quirks - Cameron's a jock! - was funnier the first time around, as opposed to somewhat rehashing elements of their personality this season, but I'm not totally convinced that Season 1 is the best this show has to offer...Season 2 has still shocked and delighted me, and the first few episodes of S1 has some weirdness they've since dropped, so I won't peg their first season as the best ever...but I will say it's definitely one of THE best first seasons for a 30-minute sitcom.

- Britt's On

I have to say, I’m disappointed that Life Unexpected has more or less sounded its death knell. Even moreso when you consider the terrible epilogue they tacked onto a fantastic two-hour special (which, when promoted back in December, triggered a red alert for me). I actually would have been MORE okay to have things end with Cate’s cliffhanger announcement – “Julia’s pregnant after all!” – than be flashforwarded two years into the future with Lux inexplicably ending up with Jones, Baze and Cate linked after all (after an episode that really solidified once again that Ryan is a great guy), Ryan with Julia (out of what…obligation?), and randomly Math and preggers co-worker of Cate’s that was MIA for the entire season.

I will attempt to deconstruct this to at least marginally defend the show. Lux and Jones ending up together is probably a product of the show not wanting to introduce a random new romantic interest for Lux, plus they did play at some sort of relationship redeveloping between them during the basketball scene / visit to Tash. I could see there being a triangle drama in future seasons, but ultimately I think the show never hit its stride in finding a proper match for Lux (WAY too much time spent on impossible romance with Eric “Minnesota” this season), which really hurt it. Since the show often draws comparisons to Gilmore Girls, consider how that show really gained some traction with their audiences through Rory’s tortured romances with Dean, Jess, and Logan (and Tristan to a degree). Lux’s hard-headedness about romance was grating, and considering her choices were all wrong I was just frustrated with her.

Cate and Baze. Well okay. I liked their ‘what if’ romantic tension, their unrequited love at various points, but it’s just that – I liked the tension and wasn’t really interested in seeing them live happily ever after. Namely because the show works quite hard (and quite well) at showing us what a stand-up guy Ryan is, especially in the last episode where he gets Cate’s job back for her. I’m not saying I don’t lurve Baze, because I do, but I moreso enjoyed the unspoken tension between them. Ryan and Julia would have created an interesting thorn in everyone’s sides – I could see Ryan slowly falling for Julia while helping her with the baby…but I really wanted Cate & Ryan to work out. Again, especially when you see Ryan AT Lux’s grad, and her mention that he stuck around when he didn’t need to. Adore.

Do I understand why the creators tacked the epilogue on? Yes. Did I like it? No. Could I have lived without it? Yes. Although I see the possibility of the final match-ups outlined in the epilogue, I was literally shellshocked by the whole thing, and have spent far too much going “WTF how did that happen?” than I care to detail here.

Moreso, I’m sad that LUX is gone. It really was a refreshing change of pace from the too-soapy Gossip Girl and too-boring One Tree Hill, although my new favourite ‘YA’ show these days is Pretty Little Liars, which seems to have the story-weaving capabilities of Lost (sadly) in terms of keeping you guessing and on edge. PLL is fantastic at crafting dramatic tension, but still kind of falling flat in the character / relationship-building department. I rarely care about anyone the four core characters interact with (other than to quip ‘Maybe THEY’RE A!’) but this has become my must-watch of the week.

Reality shows are rebooting right away, including a new Amazing Race All Stars (in hi-def, finally) and Survivor, with four-timer Rob and three-timer Russell. I’m a little Russell-fatigued, although the game always becomes more interesting when you ask yourself – “There’s no way they can make it to the end when they’ve already played. Can they?” (See: Stephenie in Guatemala, Parvati and Russell in Heroes vs. Villains).

- Britt's On

We’re in the home stretch for a bunch of shows at this point, with the last few episodes burning off in the weeks before Christmas. Here’s my mid-season (or ‘end of season’ report card for each show):

Gossip Girl – the show has proven itself outside of the trappings of attending ‘school’, which limited them in the first two seasons, but it still suffers from way too much ‘lightswitch flipping’ where the character’s relationships – friends or otherwise – are way too on again, off again. The big storylines of the season are kind of flops: Juliet feels way too old and the show will never takedown Serena, Dan the baby daddy was a short-lived catastrophe (PS: we need more Dan!), and the fact that costars Blake Lively and Penn Badgley have broken up in real-life makes the show a little bit…well, par for the course.
Grade: B-

Life Unexpected – I’ve quite enjoyed this season, despite it still not quite living up to its potential. Bringing Tash in as a less bedraggled version of her S1 self was wise, although the addition of Ryan’s sister Paige has really done nothing for his character or the show. Exploring Ryan & Cate’s bigger relationship issues is important, but I didn’t like the random Julia storyline. I didn’t love the ‘Minnesota’ storyline, although the tangled mess its made and the introduction of Sam (of Degrassi fame) seems promising. Also major props for bringing in Emma Caulfield, who I can never disassociate as Anya from Buffy, but she makes a surprisingly sweet and interesting match for Baze. Theory: Emma (it’s her name on the show) mentioned early on she had a four-year relationship with a married man. I guessed immediately her hesitation towards Baze was the fact it was with his father, and his dad’s bizarre reactions during the Thanksgiving episode make me thing this is the unsurprising bombshell the creators are going to drop sooner rather than later. But I like Emma! And Sam! Come on guys!
Grade: B+

One Tree Hill – Oh god why do I still watch this show? I used to joke with my sister about how terrible the first two seasons were, then I accepted OTH into my life when it peaked from Seasons 3 to 5 (debatably parts of 6 were decent) as a slower-paced character study. Now? It’s just terrible. I find myself often fast-forwarding the scenes with Quinn and Clay (although the latter is hot) because I can’t stand them and their random interjection into the series’ regulars. I also find that the chemistry the original leads has it lacking – they’ve built little worlds around each of the main characters for them to live in, but I miss seeing them together. The rare scenes between Haley and Brooke or Nathan and Mouth are among the best. Also it seems at least one storyline per episode is totally effing pointless – see: the treasure hunt with Quinn & Jamie last season, or the bucket list for Brooke this past week. This show just feels like it has completely lost the plot, and the only reason I’ve had to justify watching it for seasons 7 and 8 was to ‘see how it ends’. So OTH – END IT.
Grade: D

Parenthood – Probably my favourite scripted show at the moment. The interesting thing about Parenthood is that, like OTH, it doesn’t really have an ‘end game’ in mind, but yet it works so much better. The events of the show follow relatively realistic timelines and in many cases, there are no easy answers or hasty resolutions to the storylines (ex: Max’s aspergers, Camille and Zeke’s marital strain). The show is still a little sprawling for its own good – we need more Mae Whitman! – but in general I get really excited when I see this on my PVR.
Grade: A-

America’s Next Top Model – An interesting season in that Tyra’s guest stars and challenges and prizes much more reflected the never-ending theme of ‘high end’. The build-up of Ann kind of sort of made sense, and I’m glad they saw it through, but I’m sceptical about her real-world adaptability (i.e. will she be able to stomach rejection? Will she be able to do commercial work?). Overall a positive direction for the show to go in, here’s hoping they keep it up.
Grade: B+

Survivor – I know a lot of people are kind of at odds with this season. In some ways the cast has been pretty unlikable – there’s no ‘heroes’ in this bunch to root for like JT of Tocantins – but they’ve also been pretty memorable. Jimmy Johnson, Jimmy T, NaOnka, Marty, Alina, Brenda – all of them have been more notable players than many others eliminated before the final three. I haven’t minded this season, but it’s not one of their strongest – the game changers were eliminated early on (to be fair, in game-changing moves) and with the big quitfest this past week, it kind of sucks that happened. I’d have loved for Jimmy J to have stayed on longer. Overall I’m curious to see how this season ends though – everyone left is NOT who I would have picked in the beginning to go all the way.
Grade: B

The Office – The show has really lost its footing in the last few years, feeling increasingly gimmicky and contained versus long-term storylines, whether they be office-related (like the multiple season implosion of Dunder Mifflin) or character-related (hello romantic storylines). There have been some laughs this season, but overall its kind of par for the course of the latter Office seasons.
Grade: B

Saturday Night Live - Oh woe is me at how bad this show has gotten. The writing is terrible, the sketches wayyyy too-oft repeated, and the reliance on Kristen Wiig painful. I have no words, other than to say, Lorne Michaels, give me a call if you want something good to happen with your show. I'm at the point now where I analyze every sketch to say "That wasn't funny. That was terrible. What were they thinking?" versus actually just enjoying it and laughing.
Grade: D-

The Amazing Race – There’s no way an all-female team won’t win at this point. At least that’s my theory. Although fact, despite the fact they keep on winking at the fact one of the final three teams could MAKE HISTORY re: all females, lest we forget during the All Stars season two of the final teams there were females-only as well, and the Franken-team of Danielle and Eric nabbed the win. This season has been kind of lacklustre, as the format gets tired – I’m hoping the rumours about another All Star edition or a celebrity edition are true, as I’d love to see them shake things up a bit. I felt like Brook and Claire were shoved down our throats as the rah rah team to cheerlead for (double sidenote: no team that has used the U-Turn has ever won the show to my knowledge, so in theory, B&C are going to win), while the doctors, while admirable, are kind of boring. I’m not asking for buckets of drama, but a little more enthusiasm and a lot less restraint would make this team easier to root for. Jill and Thomas are just your typical cute, cocky, young couple that tends to excel on this show. I kind of like them, but I’m also rooting for an all female team to win – it sucks that an otherwise likable (if unmemorable team) is kind of being cast as the villains this season. In fact, the belief that I have that this will happen is the main thing that elevates this season’s grade.
Grade: B

- Britt's On

Wowie! I have to say, this year's reality television has, for the most part, been a bit more compelling than usual. To get my other programs out of the way:

Amazing Race - I have a strong hunch *this* will be the season for the all female team to finally clinch it. Thus, watching the two remaining female teams will prove to be interesting. I'm still heartbroken the glee guys are gone, and not in love with the remaining ladies (Dustin & Kandice for reals!) but I'm crossing my fingers this pans out.

Survivor - I have a feeling this season will start to stretch its legs at the merge. There are plenty of interesting characters this season but the way they've been arranged, and split up, has proven to be a little problematic for the producers. I suspect this week's forthcoming merge will really bring some interesting personalities and conflicts to the forefront. Will Marty be able to create a counter alliance and save his ass? Are Sash and Brenda the next Todd and Amanda (circa China)? Will Alina prevail over her former tribe's haters? When the hell are they going to boot Naonka? How will Holly and Jane fare in the new 'blended' tribe? And please, please tell me Fabio will stick around as he is hilarious / awesome / kind of dreamy in a himbo sort of way?

ANTM - I have to say, I am digging this season of America's Next Top Model. It's still gimmicky and faux fashion as all hell, but I am impressed at the roster of guests Tyra has brought in, and I appreciate that they are more involved with the girls and at panel, versus bringing in the latest celeb flavour of the week. My gut is saying Kayla will take it based on her edit, but I'm also rooting for friggin gorgeous Jane, and curious to see how Ann's storyline plays out. This has been my most must-watch show of the season...

After Project Runway that is. This season was a resounding success, and not just with me apparently - ratings were up, fans were pleased, and naysayers returned to the season with fresh promise. The main reason? The show's casting directors did an excellent job, proving that a good talent competition doesn't necessarily lie in the talent, but the personalities at hand. The last few seasons had pretty boring designers and a lack of the bitchery that made the first few seasons rock. They also, in my humble opinion, were a little lacklustre in the design department. Maybe it's just because the show has been on for 8 seasons, but I feel the last three in particular have felt tired in terms of being WOWed on the runway. The last time I remember feeling like the final showdown was indeed a showdown (or might be a showdown) was the Kenley/Korto/Leanne finale, and indeed it was one of the better finales we saw.

This season? Well, the first three or four episodes proved promising. Gretchen's heinous bitchery was a riot (and regardless of her crocodile tears at the reunion, it was bitchery, same as all the other nasty comments made by other designers...hers was just more notable because it was tinged with self-righteousness, as if her commentary was somehow constructive), the designers ganging up on Michael Costello was an interesting storyline, and evolution of Mondo from weirdo to whiz kid was a joy. That being said, I felt this was quite possibly the worst final 3 collections in the show's history. In fact, after viewing all of the decoy collections, I was sorely disappointed by them all.


Let me explain. Andy and Gretchen's final collections were, to me, equally blah. I thought Mondo should have won, however I have major issues with his show as well. Andy, eliminated first and without much conversation, was screwed because of his devotion to Laotian fabrics, and therefore had to complete 10 looks in 10 days - instead of the 45 days the designers were supposed to get. I thought he did the most interesting things with his clothes, but it often looked like he was being different for the sake of being different construction-wise, versus finding ways to make existing silhouettes feel fresh and interesting. I liked his two colours - green and grey - but I felt like he fell into the trap the judges discussed on the show last week, wherein a collection is NOT just about colour, but about a story. Andy's work could have used some more diversity in colour (or even sticking to the same colour scheme with different fabrics) and it ultimately made his work fall a little flat. I just felt like there wasn't a story behind it other than the fabric's origin and the distracting headpieces. I think back to collections I didn't even like that much - like Mila's 'shadows' last season or Irina's winning 'New York warrior woman', and at the very least I can point to the fact there was a definitive vibe and feeling with both of those shows that rightfully knocked out Andy South from taking the crown.


In that sense, Gretchen's created 'woman' did earn her some points in my book, and apparently the judges. The fact that the woman Gretchen designs for her is herself also probably did her some favours, because it's easier to buy into a design concept when it reflects a designer's incredibly strong point of view, as Gretchen demonstrated week after week both on the show and on the runway (sidenote - WT EFFFFFF was up her with ridiculous sheer dress for the win? Parading around in panties when you take home the crown is not my cup of tea). For that matter, I hated the crocheted panties that popped up throughout her show. No one but Beyonce or Lady Gaga (while on holidays in Bali) would wear those things. I also hated her pattern and fabric choices for the most part, although - forgive me if this sounds weird - I sort of enjoyed her worldly, muted colour palette. It had a very now feel when you just absorbed the colours and not the gross patterns / materials she chose. I loved the two longer dresses she created (including the final one pictured above) and I could see her stuff selling where I always thought it would - the likes of Urban Outfitters or ModCloth, although most ProjRun designers aim a little higher than that. That being said, I literally wouldn't wear 99% of this collection, including the pieces I 'liked'. I could see Nina's point that they would work in a fashion spread, but I would flip right through it because her clothes are just NOT appealing to me, at least not in this collection.

That brings us to Mondo, the clear winner of the show from a finale collection perspective, a fan's perspective, and a producer's perspective (seriously, I'm stunned the big wigs didn't step in here). First of all, let me say, I was not really a fan of Mondo's design work on the show. I felt like it was all pattern and little innovation in terms of construction or pairing together items in new ways. If you look at the T Lo post on his work throughout the season, it was consistently standard in terms of what he made, and it often felt like he won the challenges because everyone else was so damn lacklustre in what they brought to the table.


But his finale collection won me over in terms of who should have won the season. Let me get the stuff I didn't like out of the way first of all:
- I agreed with Nina's commentary that his styling was very young and it definitely hurt him and made things costumey. There is a lack of sophistication for the woman that is supposed to buy Project Runway winners' collections, and the 'wow' factor that makes his clothes so appealing will surely be filtered down in the actual design realm, thus making him a dicey choice for the win in a very marginal way - can he dial it down?
- I hated the polka dot dress. Hated. I didn't like it with the short bubble skirt either, and I thought that short bubble skirt was horrendously constructed.
- I didn't mind the headbands but the pom poms on the shoes combined with the headbands and the slightly draggy-doll makeup was a little OTT.
- Once again, I'm going to point out his silhouettes were incredibly basic. His most interesting pieces were the ones he bedazzled in my opinion, and that tunic dress everyone was fawning over was a CARBON COPY of the 'square-inspired' leisure wear outfit he created for Heidi's challenge. The high-waisted jumbo plaid pants? Ditto to his 'print-making' challenge outfit. I felt like there was a serious lack of innovation, as there was on the show, at showing me something different, and if the judges wanted to talk us out of the win, that's what they should have honed in on.

Now let's talk about what I did like:
- I am a big fan of sparkles, colours, and rainbows, and Mondo's collection had all of the above in spades. That being said, my sense of style is intimidating for some people - I tend to embrace really dramatic looks and as Heidi explained, while I wouldn't wear one of his looks H2T, I could certainly incorporate almost every single piece of his collection into my existing wardrobe, and that is something I absolutely can't say about the other two collections.
- I LOVED his prints. I've been feeling Mexican-inspired tapestry prints lately and seeing them in Mondo's collection reaffirmed my desire to snap some up for myself. MIA's sense of style let a glimmer of 'Neon Indian' seep into the fashion world a couple of years ago, and based on what I saw for the Spring 2011 runways I anticipate Mondo's collection will still seem very now (and a very bad decision by the judges) by next summer.
- The leggings with the funky prints are something I would fully want to own. They remind me a lot of Douglas Coupland's stunning circuit board / test pattern collection for Canadian retailer Roots, that I am in...love...with. It's hard for me to put into words how I would own his entire collection, and the fact that Mondo's collection reminded me of it made me go squee!
- As I said before, Mondo's best looks were the ones he customized with his own doodads. The pailette-embellished tank, and the skull top and bag were among my faves, but I understand how a big chunk of the shoppers out there might be a little...gah.
- I thought Jessica Simpson felt a little out of her element among the judges, but I do credit her one comment that if you walked into a store and saw Gretchen's collection on a rack, it'd be a little...blah. If you saw Mondo's however, you would naturally gravitate towards it.

Le sigh. At the end of the day none of the finale collections really wowed me or took my breath away or confirmed in my mind that a specific person should win. No matter what, I'm a little choked Gretchen won, mostly because I feel it was a product of the show not wanting to repeat itself with a designer that has a similar avant garde LOOK AT ME aesthetic to last season's winner, Seth Aaron Henderson. ProjRun has never been a show that cares much about (unlike ANTM) having the first "fill in the blank" designer, so I don't know why it would have been a big deal to have Mondo win when he's a designer with a similar, but more whimsical aesthetic to a past designer. After all, Irina's collection was a goddam doppelganger to Christian Siriano's (hats and all) and she still won.

I'm not disappointed in the series as a whole though, and I won't be walking away from it. The story-building process this season was really strong (although surprising they didn't give Gretchen a better edit if they handed her the win...) and I feel like the show's creators are learning as they go for what resonates with audiences and what doesn't. They've had two blah seasons and one weak design season since moving to Lifetime, and I imagine they'll be brainstorming ways to keep fans coming back. At the very least we got to see one of the BEST judging sequences ever, one I like to call 'the lesser of two evils' when deciding a winner. Till next time!

- Britt's On

You know, I have a small bone to pick with Jeff Probst. I love the dude, don't get me wrong, and I'm very much part of the faction of people that believe Survivor will be half the show it is now if he leaves. I just...don't want it to stop. Ever! Seriously, few other shows have managed to engage me for 20+ seasons (because no shows have that many seasons), and make me as delighted as I am on a weekly basis to watch a bunch of loons on an island of the non-Canadian persuasion. Plus I still feel like they have a fair bit they could do: Survivor Couples (wherein each pairing of teammates are split onto two tribes)! Celebrity survivor! Bring back all the former winners that actually want to come back (and see if Sandra can make it a threepeat)! ARCTIC SURVIVOR!

Anyway my beef is that JP has whinged about the strain it takes to shoot Survivor, given he's off in some remote destination for 40+ days. That's right, Jeff Probst works (remotely anyway) for about 90 days a year, because let's face it, he doesn't have a bunch of other successful gigs lined up for him. Phil Keoghan of Amazing Race fame however, probably works for about six to eight weeks, and spends the rest of his time riding bikes and writing books. The difference is, Phil is zipping all around the world for those six to eight weeks. No doubt he's staying in nice hotels, but dude is suffering from the same amount of jet lag and travelling from challenge destination to challenge destination to make the race happen. So Probst, can it and keep on doing Survivor! Although how cool would it be if they swapped jobs for a season? I digress.

Another note on The Amazing Race. This is the first year they lost their Emmy. It's also the first year Survivor was NOT nominated, which is so bizarre it hurts after coming off of a pretty phenom season like 'All Stars'. Perhaps it's because Samoa was a pretty terrible season (sans Russell's world domination) and they don't consider 'All Star' seasons to be as creatively charged as brand new casts. It's just a tragedy because they lost to Top Chef of all things, which as far as I know doesn't even air in Canada. Lametown. That being said, I'm not in disagreement - TAR has a pretty weak year last year, with way too much time spent in one general area (Asia) and pretty lame casting.

Much like Survivor, the secret to a good reality show is in the casting. It needs to be a balance of gimmicky (see: acrobatic little people, Kentucky coal miners, beauty queens, etc.) and explosive (see: every violently angry couple on the show ever), with a dash of heart and goodwill (see: the hippies that won their respective seasons) and 'relative' hotness in the form of relatively douchey male teams (see: almost every season where a team of beefcakes was entered, they won).

This year it seems the folks on TAR are reallllly pushing for an all female team to win, with FOUR entries into the mix and NO beefcake male teams to speak of. The last time they did this was Season 14, with the flight attendants, the antagonistic but athletic (except for swimming) black sisters, and the former redheaded NFL cheerleaders (who ultimately placed second). Unfortunately none of these female teams had the charisma and fan base that Dustin and Kandice, the two-time second-place finishers had, and thus it was kind of okay that another chirpy, happy, intelligent brother & sister duo won (shortly after Ryan & Starr a season or two earlier).

Of the ladies on the race this year, I suspect the doctors or the volleyball girls have the best chance. Brook was annoying as all get out this episode, and I suspect Clare will lose enthusiasm as the race continues to NOT include taping thirty-minute segments while fondling some jewels. The mother/daughter reunion team is just all kinds of awkward, and beyond that, they don't have that competitive "We've both wanted this for SO LONG!" spirit that the majority of the other teams have. The doctors preformed solidly and calmly throughout the episode, making them a touch boring, but at least commendable. The volleyball chicks will likely be able to bring a bit more interest to the table, and they're buff and gorge, which will help them throughout.

Other than that, I think the male/female couples all have some interesting and potentially explosive dynamics. Nicky & Vicki are America's Best (idiots) so while they provide good entertainment value their time on the race is going to be short. Jill & Thomas (I keep on wanting to say jack & jill) may be interesting as well after a solid finish on the first leg, I'm curious to see how the Express Pass plays out, and whether the set-up dynamic for him being Ivy League and her being a beautician will come into play. She certainly got them across that lake fast enough, which contributed to their win. Finally I can't remember their names, but team 'Roid Rage' as I've dubbed them promises to be the couple 'most likely to be reconsidering things' after the race. I get squeamish at the verbally and physically abusive couples, but I hope it's at least a wake-up call for them.

Finally we have a scattered remaining group. I love the Gleeks! LOVE! I will be putting them in my early teams to root for that's for sure. They had a rough start but pulled off a very respectable third-place finish despite being on the second flight, so kudos there. Just as the race has never had an all female team win, they've also never had a parent/child team win, and I've loved many of the parent/child teams. So I'm also waving a small flag for our two parent/child teams - the Asian internet Sensations and Little Miss Sunshine & her dad. Truthfully I wasn't too sad to see Tony the Tiger & Ron leave. Their musical antics sounded interesting in the interviews but I was kind of yawning at their raceplay. There are other teams I want to see more of and it was nice that all of the female teams made it past leg 1.

Overall because of the solid casting here and the drive of the producers to have some very strong female contenders for the win, I'm giving TAR a promising thumbs up for the season to come. The Express Pass is an interesting twist / alternative to the underused Fast Forward (remember the first two seasons??) and not quite as dramatic of the Medallion of POWAHHHH! on Survivor, so I'm happy they shook up the game a bit. I'm wondering if they'll keep on popping more of those passes in the race or not, but content with the one for now. It's much better than the damn 'team' detours they throw in every once in awhile.

I'll also mention that Dancing with the Stars has fallen by the wayside. The cast just wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped in comparison to last season, and quite frankly watching that show without a PVR to skip through the excessive ads is not my cuppa tea. It's a very spoilerrific show and I'm very much an internet surfer, so watching it the next day on my laptop just isn't a good option either. I also skipped Desperate Housewives' premiere this week, as I feel the show has become a mockery of what it set out to be all those seasons ago. Easy come, easy go.

A friend of mine watched the new JJ Abrams show 'Undercovers' and being a mega-Alias fan was quite disappointed. I haven't heard the best things about it, and frankly, Abrams isn't a guaranteed hit-maker (and will jump ship once a show has launched to a higher ground) so I'm not chancing it. I am planning to tune into the new drama premiering tonight, 'No Ordinary Family', about a family of superheroes. Sort of like Heroes meets The Incredibles. It hasn't gotten a lot of buzz, but perhaps it'll build if the first few episodes are good.

That's a wrap on my fall round-up. We're in the home stretch for summery shows including Mad Men and Project Runway (seriously WTF TO MAD MEN THIS WEEK?), which is fine and good because a bunch of awesome-sounding movies are coming out right away. Stay tuned for my thoughts on four of fall's biggest movies: Easy A, The Town, The Social Network, and Let Me In!

- Britt's On!

I knocked out two more season premieres last night, and here are my thoughts:

Survivor: Nicaragua
After two all star-ish seasons across five seasons (16 and 20 respectively), it was nice to see a fresh cast of characters with some potential to be memorable. Survivor's stumbling block in the last few all-new cast years has been poor casting, and that is a massive part of that show, especially as it carries onto its 21st season! Samoa had one of the worst casts in history, with Russell as the breakout star over two tribes of idiots and mannequins (save for Shambo, although I wasn't much of a fan). Tocantins, well, it was nice to see the good guy win and Coach alone kind of made the season, but in general this season was a snooze because everyone handed JT the win. Gabon had a pretty unlikable cast and villainized the most interesting people in my books, but it had its moments.

As for Survivor Nicaragua? I'm tentatively optimistic about this season:
- Well for one, Jimmy Johnson added some star power that ruffled many feathers on the show. I'm interested to see how he plays out.
- Technically speaking Thailand was not divided by old vs. young, but the way the tribe leaders selected their tribemates it ended up that way. The only other time they've done old vs. young is Danielle's 'Exile Island' season which had four initial tribes - old men, old women, young men, young women. Interestingly the final four had one representative from each group, and a young male took home the prize. The difference this time is there is a ten-year age gap between the young guns and the old folks, while before several Survivors (such as Cirie) commented they felt more in tune with a different group than the one they were assigned to.
- The medallion of powahhhh has one of the cheesiest titles of all time and felt a bit gimmicky, although the choice it provided the survivors in the beginning and the fact it will be cycled back and forth (potentially) between the teams throughout the season makes it an intriguing experiment for this season at least. I agreed with the old folks choice to not use it this time, not only because the reward wasn't as great as the producers intended (read Jeff Probst's blog on EW.com), but also because this wasn't an incredibly physical challenge, which is where they'll need more help.
- I'm intrigued by how the first clues to the hidden immunity idol were presented this season. For one, does that mean those two girls will always have to go get tree mail to ensure they are the only ones to get additional clues? Or will additional clues be rolled out in different ways, causing suspicions to arise as the contestants try to figure out how else has a piece of the puzzle? I can definitely see how Russell's domination of idol snatching came into play when rejigging the idol thing. For another, did anyone on the other tribe get a clue yet? If not, why? The young girls got the clue *before* the immunity challenge so it's not like it was a reward for winning. Was it because they didn't have the medallion of powahhhh? Curious.
- I have no early favourites, but I enjoyed watching a celebrity in the midst of the Survivors. It also inspired me to think up a few Survivor casting twists for the future, although I thoroughly get that a big part of the show is tied to the idea of 'group of strangers thrown together - make it work!' (or am I just mixing up my reality show catch phrases now?)


Moving on to Life Unexpected, The CW's new-ish sweet family drama about a teenager whose parents gave her up for adoption until she was reunited with them through the courts at 16. When we last left the LUX cast, Base realized he had feelings for Cate and tired to break up her wedding, Ryan and Cate went through with said wedding, and Lux was sort of caught in the middle of her two fathers. The season opener shook things up and provided some short and long-term threads for the show, some expected, some not so much. General thoughts:
- Cate getting sacked from the radio station wasn't entirely unexpected. Knowing all about the radio biz (and hearing the boyfriend continually gripe during this week's episode 'NEVER DATE SOMEONE YOU WORK WITH IN RADIO') I was expecting some sort of career friction to break their happy union. I'm not loving the Bree Van De Kamp-esque replacement and her obvious lusting after Ryan, but perhaps they can define her character to be less of a caricature and more of a foil to Ryan & Cate
- Cate being fired and Base having to rebuild the bar...I'm sensing the two of them having a lot of free time will have an impact on their respective relationships.
- I'm not a fan of removing Allison, even though her character was a bit underdeveloped. She provided (along with Cate's understandably MIA sister) an outlet for Cate to talk about what was going on in her life. Without her, I'm worried Cate will become as two-dimensional as Ryan seemed other than the scenes he had with Lux.
- On the introduction of Paige: well, I thought it was a bit contrived for her not to be at last season's wedding (a mere two weeks ago by the show's timeline) regardless of her character's free-spirited adventurer persona, but I am intrigued because A) Base knows she's responsible for the fire and had a steamy night with her, and B) Last season I specifically talked about how Ryan really needed someone in 'his world' in the same way Cate had Allison and her sister and Base had his roomies, while Ryan really only shined and was given dimension in his scenes with Lux. The introduction of Paige - however radically different she is from her brother and the fact she's already intertwined in their story - provides a platform for us to see more of Ryan.
- Ryan and this mysterious Julia I think it was, gifter of fancy-looking vases. Again I felt it was a tad contrived to throw us for a mysterious loop, but as the same time I felt like there really WAS a dead zone last season where we didn't know just what Ryan was up to. And quite frankly if he hooked up with someone during that time, when he was referring to 'Cate not knowing anything', I wouldn't blame him. I'm glad he has his own little plotline to unwind though.
- Yay for the potential end of Lux and Bug. After two misguided romantic leads last season, I was surprised the writers threw another challenging relationship at Lux in the form of a new teacher (not even playing the student teacher card, wow) who she recently shared some smooches with. I don't know how long this will last for but I hope the show hits a stride when it comes to finding Lux a suitable mate for the audience to fall in love with - the best episodes of Gilmore Girls often centred on Rory's romantic relationships (Dean! Jess! Tristan! Logan!), but I feel like the show hasn't hit on who exactly Lux should be with. I guess when the right fictional relationship comes along it'll be that much sweeter next to these duds.

Overall I thought this was a solid season premiere in terms of setting up tons of drama for the season to come. Sometimes I worry that Life Unexpected has set the Cate/Base 'destined to be together' bar a bit too high too soon, especially since they've made Ryan a relatively appealing alternative so far, but I have faith the show will continue to tangle and untangle their feelings for one another for quite some time.

Two solid season premieres, and just a handful more to go!

Two final Survivor-esque comments I forgot to make while making my fantasy non-‘Favourites’ draft.

#1) A finale’s worth of curious editing finally made sense in the Heroes vs. Villains finale. Obviously at some point, likely once Russell secured himself a spot in the H vs. V finals, the production crew alerted him that he indeed did NOT win Samoa. Which explains his teary-eyed appearance at the Samoan finale before the votes were even close to being revealed. It makes sense that they did this from an editing standpoint – it was no skin off their back to let Russell know at that point in the game that all his bravado throughout the season was for naught. It also probably rattled Mr. Samoa 2009 enough that it led to his final tribal demise that we witnessed last night. It did make for some GREAT editing though, as no one thought Russell would have made it to the end of H vs. V based on his lemon-sucking mug at the Samoa finale.

That being said, I feel like I’m unravelling a mystery of Lost-esque proportions. Here are my remaining questions:
- If Russell knew he hadn’t won Samoa prior to entering the final tribal, why didn’t he adjust his strategy a bit more going into it? I suppose the argument could be made he really doesn’t get it with his ‘no apologies’ stance, but for someone who *seemed* aware going into final tribal that he hadn’t won, you’d think he’d ask himself “why not?’
- How much did the players really know or talk about Russell’s past exploits on Samoa? Going into it, Colby was the only one who seemed perplexed at the inclusion of Russell. ‘Stranger Danger’ he called it, and rightfully so. You’ve got a guy no one has heard of be cast on an all stars season before his season even airs? Yeah that’s cause for concern people.
- Beyond that, why didn’t we get to see more of Russell acclimating himself with the castaways? Other than rounding up Parvati and Danielle and throwing the gauntlet down with Rob, we never got a sense of the castaways getting to know one another this season (another problem with having so many uber familiar faces), especially Russell. Where was the big reveal about him being a millionaire back home? I know that for some people, a friend of mine included, they hadn’t tuned in for some time, so not knowing anything about Russell (among other castaways) was a bit unnerving and probably would have coloured their opinions of them even more!
- Although we didn’t see a clip of Russell acknowledging that he didn’t win Samoa until the final episode, I wonder when he was actually told. My theory is once he got to the final 3, as I said, for editing, but for editing purposes…how is it possible that he never talked about his ranking prior to this? He continually said lots about being the King of Samoa, but he never ever said he guessed he won it because of those bozos poor performance. His arrogance implies he thought he beat them, but he never said it. Weird.

#2) Beyond all of what I’ve just said, I have to say the final tribal lacked some of the arguments it could have included. Perhaps the topic of personal wealth was left off the table because we had two past winners and Russell ‘Moneybags’ Hantz in the house…but then why bring two former winners to the end with you (thus negating Jerri’s chance to make a ‘poor me’ case) and not bring that up even once?

Other moves that should have been touched on to convince the jury:
- Parvati’s double idol play and concealing an idol from Russell should have been more focused on
- Sandra convincing Russell to drop Coach
- Russell playing up the poor me card to JT and company and taking it through to the first 5 on 5 tribal
- Parvati being able to make the same sneaktastic moves at Russell but still have the respect of the jury (i.e. of the villains that played with these three for the whole game, Parvati scored 75% of their votes, and Courtney’s was just a throwaway…sour grapes Heroes?)
- Russell taking down his formidable villainous (heroic!) opponent Rob by convincing Tyson to vote out himself essentially

Oh the list goes on. I just felt like there wasn’t a lot of supportive arguments going on, other than Sandra’s “I did what I had to and look where I am bros” and a few lacklustre responses from Parvati. Although it bears repeating her statement of being the best all around player this season was dead on.

Sigh. That’s all I’m going to say about this season, consider the book closed. On to fresh blood, and hopefully less bitter juries.

- Britt’s On