HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: 8.24 “Something New”
If you haven’t yet watched this week’s episode of HIMYM, perhaps you should stop now. Stop reading. Stop tweeting. Stop searching the web. Because if anything, you’ll learn one main spoiler, or as the promos called it, THE MOTHER OF ALL SECRETS.
Ok, One Tree Hill fans. I know you’ve been wondering when you’d see your favorite Tree Hill faces again. Well, tonight’s the night. Bethany Joy Lenz is returning to TV tonight, but this time, she’ll look a little different. She’s donning a comedic cap and joining a rambunctious cast of characters for one episode of Men at Work, tonight at 10:00 pm EST on TBS.
In the episode, Bethany plays Meg, Tyler’s new girl — the first girl he’s dated who is a mom. Adding to that complexity is Bryan, played by one of Raked’s favorite dramatic actors, Ben McKenzie.
I was able to participate in a conference call with Bethany, where she discusses her return to TV, her interest in comedy, and even her upcoming role in Dexter. Check out the highlights below.
Why Men at Work? After Bethany took some time away from acting, she wanted to get back in the biz. But she didn’t want to jump back into a dramatic role similar to what she had before. She wanted something that was “strategically designed to move my career in a direction that was not in the same way as One Tree Hill.” Enter: comedy!
Bethany had done some comedy when she was younger, but stopped once she got a dramatic role. But now she really wanted to, as she put it, “jump into sitcom work again.”
“Lucky me, I won the job!” she said. “It’s a great set. It’s a great show.” For her, it’s the perfect place to try out her comedy experiment and see how it goes. And she had a great time.
Any challenges? Bethany confessed that the first few days were tough for her. She hadn’t done comedy — especially sitcoms — in a very long time, probably 10 or 11 years. She was also walking onto a new set that “didn’t feel like home.” It took some time to navigate everyone’s energy, their vibe, and how they work in the new set.
That being said, she had no hesitation talking about the fun she had. The guys of Men at Work had their routine with each other and the audience, and she said the funniest moments were when they were filming live.
What about the live, interactive audience? Bethany confessed that one of her weakest points as an artist is comedy improv. She feels that she’s funny when she’s out with her friends, but as for performing, that’s one reason she wanted to do the show: “There’s only one way to get better at something and that’s just to do it.”
Fortunately, with the live audience, she had a little a little help. When she’d get that immediate laugh from the audience, that payoff gave her some relief.
I’m sure you all know how frustrated I’ve gotten with television as of late. Not only is there nothing to watch, but when I’m busy, I just don’t want to devote my time to subpar TV. And in recent weeks, I’ve been watching the shows that I enjoy get either pushed to weekend dead-end spots or go gradually down the tubes (take that as a toilet or TV pun — whichever you’d like).
Most recently, I’ve been frustrated with the latest and greatest trend: TV stunts. With sweeps week coming closer and shows desperately trying to grab an audience no matter what, we’re getting pounded with more and more stunts. Consider Community, which used to be my favorite comedy on TV. With its recent puppet/musical episode, it ended up being more painful than entertaining — and ultimately, it felt like the whole purpose of having the puppets in the first place was to advertise them so people would watch. It’s a stunt. And it flunked. I mean, think of other successful episodes of Community that didn’t try stunts. The musical Christmas episode where they were part of the glee club. The one with six different timelines (or was it seven?). They didn’t advertise that they’d be doing these, and heck, they were good. It’s almost as though creativity served the purpose of the show instead of just doing it to grab viewers.
An even more recent example is that of The Office, which has been desperately trying to ignore its downward spiral into oblivion. They’ve recently announced a team — perhaps an entire league — of guest stars for its one-hour season finale. Seems to me that if you’re signing off such a fan favorite, it may make sense to bring back some familiar faces. But bringing on nine additional names for no other purpose than to announce it half a month before the big finale? It all seems like a stunt to me and a desperate plea for attention. I can’t imagine sticking nine unrelated characters into a one-hour finale will really give me any sort of closure I need for the show (though to be fair, my closure came with Pam ran up to Michael Scott and gave him a final hug in the airport).
And really, do we need to emphasize the big stunts? Guest stars are a bane to my existence, especially when it seems like every other episode gets some other familiar face to join the cast. I’m sure Modern Family has had a few, and don’t even get me started on Big Bang Theory. They may use them effectively, but at some point, I just want to know that a show can stand on its own two feet.
And how about advertising a dog as a wingman in a promo for HIMYM? Stupid storyline? Or ridiculous publicity stunt?
Personally, I have the highest respect for those shows that really do want to feature their own cast doing something as simple as acting. Consider Happy Endings and New Girl. True, both have had some guest stars from time to time but for the most part, we’re getting the same group over and over. Of course, take that what you will. Happy Endings is still sitting in a hole, burning off episodes on Friday night. So clearly, stunt-free isn’t being appreciated.
Perhaps I’m just being too harsh. Or perhaps I just expect more from my comedy. What do you think? Are you interested in stunt-free programming? Or does the idea of bright and shiny faces, ridiculous premises, and silly antics grab your attention the way the networks want them to?
Last night, I had a moment. I realized, I’m not writing anymore. Why am I not writing anymore? I want to — I have some general posts that I want to write about, and heck, I’m long past my window to write about the latest episode of Mad Men. But then again, I feel like I have little time, and it keeps slipping off my radar.
But in talking with JC (who really has been carrying this site over the last couple weeks — thank you!), perhaps there’s another problem looming: There’s nothing on TV anymore. I mean, there is, but the shows are few and far between, and when that happens, I’m left sitting bored on the couch, unable to bring myself to write on something that just doesn’t grab me. Even with Mad Men on Sunday, there was the question of whether it was brilliant or boring, and ultimately, I’m choosing the latter. Sure, it was artsy and had a lot of Don Draper self-reflection, but haven’t we seen that already? Give me something else.
Which is why I found it so funny to stumble upon Alan Sepinwall’s post, “How much good TV is too much?” Now I highly respect Sepinwall, and I agree with many of this issues. It’s hard to find time to watch all the TV you want, especially if you’re me and only get to write on a part-time basis due to real-world priorities. At least he’s had the benefit of owning a DVR for some years (we just got our first TiVo this month), so I’ve had to play the game of priorities for quite a while. And if some new series doesn’t make the cut in the first two episodes — let’s take Revolution, Arrow, or as Sepinwall points out, Elementary — I just stop watching. I have to move on to bigger and better things.
But one thing did stop me in my tracks in Sepinwall’s article: good TV? What good TV? I’m finding myself bored and desperate, watching reruns of House Hunters and Income Property during a valued Wednesday or Thursday night because nothing else is on. I don’t watch reality TV and procedurals make me yawn. So what good TV is he talking about?
Ok, sure, there are some. Sunday night are chock full of great material: Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Revenge… In fact, with those three shows alone, I had to cute Revenge from my repertoire just because I couldn’t keep up. The same happened with shows like Dallas, Southland, and other TNT favorites (and let’s just say we’re lucky that Being Human was On Demand for so long or else that would have been an undead casualty). So yes, there are some exceptions, but ultimately, what networks are providing me during the week is lacking. And I’m pretty sure that’s why I end up watching Splash on a Tuesday night — live.
You could argue with me. Of course, there are some shows out there that people love: Big Bang Theory, Castle, Community, Modern Family, American Horror Story… Well, Castle just never grabbed me. American Horror Story had a huge fall from grace for me this season and just wasn’t worth my time. And Big Bang and Modern Family have become dumbed down iterations of themselves (or, in the case of Big Bang, sexed-up versions of themselves, which, sorry, is not real “substance” to me; it’s the same trap Ally McBeal fell into during season three). Even Community, which was one of my favorite series, let me down last night with a stunt puppet episode that had no value (you couldn’t even understand what they were singing), and I was just repeatedly counting down the moments until Parks and Rec started. At least that guaranteed to be entertaining.
And don’t get me started on the shows that I think are completely worthless drivel, with cliched jokes and terrible double entendres: Mike & Molly, Two Broke Girls, or The Neighbors.
And I’m not even saying that every show I watch is great. The Vampire Diaries has major problems — as does How I Met Your Mother – but they have enough standout episodes in a given season that it’s worth coming back to. Oh, and at least in the case of TVD, it actually has entertainment value. Somehow, many shows are missing that.
So yes, it’s hard to keep up, and if you have to keep up with all of them, I can only imagine how tough that is. But as someone spoiled with shows like Buffy, Gilmore Girls, The West Wing, and even the short-lived Studio 60, I just miss quality. I can’t sit here and argue that the airwaves are full of good TV anymore. Something’s just missing.
Mad Men returns this Sunday, and many of you are probably chomping at the bit to find out what happens next to Don and his crew. And for some of you, maybe you’re thinking you should celebrate ’60s-style with your very own theme party.
If that’s you (or you just like a stiff drink), consider looking at The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook, which not only introduces you to food and drink of the series, but also the entire era that the characters of Mad Men live in. Between the pages of recipes (taken from Manhattan haunts and popular publications of the decade), you have an introduction to culture of the 1960s, including where some of these recipes got their start, why “California Dip” was so popular back in the day, and even special ways you can be a 1960s “hostess with the mostest.” This is all, of course, interwoven with some of our favorite Mad Men moments (I still enjoy thinking back to Pete’s explanation of a chip and dip — and yes, that reference is certainly there).
The book has been out for a while now, but I just received my review copy either during the last season or shortly thereafter, I didn’t have the opportunity to party it up Mad Men style. But between then an now, I’ve been able to try some of the recipes, and I’ve been pleased. Sure, you have to remember that recipes from 50 years ago aren’t going to be the healthy plate we have today. Not only do many of the dishes include hefty amounts of things like butter, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream, but they also include one other thing precious to us in dear 2013: time. To make some of these meals, you’re definitely going to have to have Trudy Campbell’s dedication.
But the cocktails are definitely not to be missed — and they just may be the reason to pick up the book. The ’21′ Traditional Bloody Mary is probably the best Bloody Mary I’ve had, and I won’t lie when I say that last summer that might have been a go-to drink for my husband and me. The book has many more (and in some cases, multiple versions for you to try out), perfect for any themed cocktail party.
Yes, since the book was published in 2011, the recent episodes of Mad Men aren’t accounted for in its pages, and yes, some of the black-and-white pictures are lacking in grabbing your attention (or appetite). But some of the 1960s-esque full-color images make you stop and really think that the Avocado and Crabmeat Mimosa must be on my table, and sure, I can make that Pineapple Upside-Down Cake (so far, for desserts, I’ve only tried the Pears Baked in Red Wine alla Piemontese). And the neat images of old advertisements are certainly in Mad Men style.
Overall, it’s a fun little book, and if you’re a Mad Men fan, it’s a good one to pick up. You don’t even have to cook to appreciate it since it’s chock full of historical (and episodic) anecdotes. But if you do, more power to you. Betty would be proud.
The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook: Inside the Kitchens, Bars, and Restaurants of Mad Men
Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin
Publisher: Smart Pop
Available Now
I’ve been watching Smash with a mix of interest and frustration. Last season, the show definitely had its flaws (Uma Thurmond is probably the biggest one — Julia’s affair the second), but with changing showrunners and an acknowledgement that there were problems made me have hope for the second season. As I’ve been watching, though, I see my sights were set too high.
But I’m still watching, still curious. This is all despite the fact that this show is being moved to Saturdays and is basically cancelled (while not announced yet) and certain leads are moving on to other projects. I guess I just hope it gets better, even if it doesn’t come back.
And in the past two weeks, it has. The only problem is that it took this long. We’re eight episodes in, and we’re finally reaching plot and decent music.
But you know what? There’s a flaw in what I just said. Two words made my last note completely wrong: “only problem.” The real issue with Smash this season (and the reason I think that no one likes it) is that there are multiple problems, of which I’ll describe many now.
Jennifer Hudson: Jennifer Hudson has a wonderful voice. And I can see why Smash wanted to feature it. The only problem? She added nothing to the plot of the show. In fact, she detracted from it. What did her character have to do with Bombshell? What did it have to do with Karen or Derek? So what if she did a concert? Why should I care? Multiple episodes were devoted to a character that made me wonder why I was watching. And her songs, as nicely sung as they were, had no relevance to me.
Jimmy: Jimmy is by far one of the most repulsive characters on the show. His arrogance and stubbornness is not attractive, and I have no idea why Karen seems to like him. While he is talented musically, they’ve given him no redeeming qualities. At least Eileen’s husband was entertaining to watch. And Derek has his softer moments (remember him and Karen on the floor of the dressing room in the finale, when they actually had a heart to heart?). I just don’t get it, and I wince when he’s on screen.
The plot: There are a lot of issues here, and I’ll try to list them all briefly. But if you’ve been watching and you left the episode going, “So, uh, now what?” that’s the main thing. First, we have Eileen’s financial/legal issues — but so much time had passed that I didn’t even remember what issues were there. Then Bombshell was over. Then it wasn’t. Meanwhile there’s some other musical on the block that we don’t even understand the plot of (at least in the first few episodes introducing Bombshell, we knew we’d get something about Marilyn. Here, it’s just about loooove, and what the hell does that mean?). Now, it looks like we’re getting to the point where two musicals will be facing off against each other in some capacity — which could be interesting. But why’d it take so long to get here? And why spend multiple episodes having Julia rewrite Bombshell, just to go back to the original. Just another divergent path to waste time.
The music: Last season, whether I liked the episode or not, I walked away from the TV singing songs from the show for days. I’m not exaggerating. These songs were in my head for days. This season, I’m beginning to realize why they play “Let Me Be Your Star” at the end of each episode to promote the soundtrack — because all the other music has sucked. There have been two songs that have been impressive, and they happened in the last two episodes. As someone who loves musical theater, I’m extremely disappointed. The one thing this show had in its favor was the music (instead of the karaoke-esque Glee), and we’re not even getting that.
Ivy: Speaking of music, somehow this season, they took the most talented individual in the entire show and stuck her in the shadows. How much has she really sung? Megan Hilty has the best voice in the cast (I’ll even put her ahead of Jennifer Hudson), and she’s been doing nothing. I’m thrilled she’s finally back as Marilyn, but my god, what a disappointment.
These are just the major issues. I didn’t even mention the stupidity of the Derek/Karen/Jimmy love triangle or the fact that they’ve ruined the theme song by providing one (the subtlety of last season was just so…theater). But the fact that we’ve taken eight episodes to finally get to a point that I know where the show is going and might like (though that’s still up for debate, given that Jimmy’s still in it) has to be a major issue. If I weren’t a TV person, I would have flipped it off a long time ago. If you thought dealing with Ellis on a weekly basis was bad, well, you clearly didn’t expect this season.
So while I’m disappointed that Smash isn’t getting it’s chance in the spotlight this season, it’s pretty much its own fault.
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: 8.20 “The Time Travelers”
I don’t quite know what to do with this episode. I’m still digesting it. But here goes.
When I first saw the promos for this episode, I wasn’t impressed. Future Barney? What’s that about? Sure sounds like another ploy to get people to watch. And let’s face it: This show doesn’t need ploys. It can be smarter than that.
And it was, wasn’t it? With a bit of a trick in the end. The entire episode, as we saw it, never happened. And Ted’s been by himself, stuck in his own head, the entire time.
Were you tipped off? I wish I could say that I was. But you know, something about it made me start wondering about what was really happening here. Future Barney (both of them) were pretty accurate. They seemed pretty much like you’d think a Future Barney would talk. But Future Ted…something was different there. And it all started with a joke.
Or was it? When Ted asked about getting married, 20-year Ted told him he still hoped to get married. That he was still waiting. And sure, he turned it into a joke, but there was some truth there. Somehow, Future Ted was feeding into Ted’s insecurities. Something that felt like it would come out of Ted’s own mind, not from a figment (this is all a little odd, what with the fact that none of these people would have been real in the first place, but stay with me).
Now, think of the Coat Check Girl. She didn’t have one future self. She had two. Clearly, the people we’re seeing don’t really know what’s coming. And that’s basically how Ted’s seeing the decisions — he’s seeing the end results. In this case, it’s one of two, neither of which have a happy ending. Again, we’re feeding into his insecurities.
Now, did I know Ted was sitting alone in the bar the whole time? No. I didn’t. I didn’t know that Robin and Barney were actually at their place, and Lily and Marshall were actually at home. But it did give you a great moment of discovery — and self-discovery for Ted. His speech to the mother, well, it was beautiful. With tears in his eyes, you really felt for him. It almost made me wonder if we were in the future, making me wonder if, for a moment, he was really at his future girlfriend’s door after a fight, trying to get her back.
But no, we’re in the present. And we still have 45 days to go. How they’re going to do that with another season following that 45-day deadline, I don’t know, but we know there’s an end in sight. Poor Ted, the one at the bar, doesn’t, and it looks like dark times ahead for him. We know there’s hope, but there’s less and less to go around for him.
It was a poignant bait-and-switch. One that I enjoyed and am still thinking about (and apparently not as controversial Robin’s switch last year). And it was well done. I haven’t been a fan of Ted-centric episodes, and the reason I think this one worked is because we didn’t realize it was one. It was a dumb question: Should he go to Robots vs. Wrestlers? We didn’t realize that something bigger was behind that question: the future.
So yet again, HIMYM can show us that beyond some sloppy filler episodes and between some silly B-stories, there’s still quality there. And that’s why, if I went back in time, I’d be telling Past Raked, the one who watched “The Burning Beekeeper,” just stick with it. You’ll see.
As you can tell, Raked has been a bit of a ghost town recently. There are a couple reasons for this. For one thing, I’m moving, which is limiting my time spent on the couch. The other, I’m switching cable providers, leaving me with an apartment that has no cable and no internet. You can see how difficult it would be to watch and write about TV in this situation.
On the bright side, we do have a digital antennae, so we get the basic networks (as well as some lesser known ones, like MeTV, where I spent too much time on Saturday watching The Brady Bunch). Now, this is well and good if I want to watch the latest episode of New Girl, Smash, and The Amazing Race. But little did I realize how much time I spend watching channels that are on basic cable.
So I’m curious, how much time do you spend watching the basic four: FOX, NBC, CBS, and ABC? How much time do you devote to the wee little duckling The CW? Or do you spend a lot of time elsewhere?
I’m discovering that I do spend a lot of time outside the networks for primetime, on stations like ABC Family, TNT, HBO, and SyFy. Not including some guilty pleasures on HGTV or TLC (ok, TLC only has my wedding shows). And as for the other hours in the day — non-primetime — I’m sure spending most of my time on stations that are anything but the networks and free local stations. (There are only so many reruns of The Big Bang Theory you can take. I am getting damn good at Jeopardy, though.)
So tell me. What’s your time on the networks? Would you be lost without dish, cable, or whatever you’ve got? Or are you on the other side of the spectrum and content with what’s free?
SWITCHED AT BIRTH: 2.10 “Introducing the Miracle”
You know, considering how great and momentous last week’s episode of Switched at Birth was (at least in my opinion), last night’s mid-season finale fell a little flat for me. We went from a huge uprising and rebellion — one that resulted in kids being pulled out of the school by force — to a boring, ho-hum, yes, we’ll keep the school open, but we’ll be adding hearing kids. And Travis drama. As much as I used to like Travis, his issues are just boring to watch at this point.
And Daphne, well, she was… Gosh, Daphne’s just horrible now, isn’t she? She used to be so smiley and happy. Now we get that little half-angry pout every scene or so. And her discussions with Bay have just really been grinding my nerves. Bay had every right to be angry about Daphne kissing her boyfriend (and Daphne really couldn’t play dumb when Emmett already confronted her about it), and I just don’t see why Daphne insisted on yelling at her, asking her why she always wanted to be the victim, when Daphne’s been playing the victim card for episodes on end. Yes, I understand there’s some relevance in her hearing vs. deaf kids points, but in arguing this, she is, in fact, playing the victim.
That leads me to Bay’s quote in the paper. I naturally like Bay (she’s one of the strongest characters in the show, and you can already see my frustration at Daphne), so I don’t think that she did anything wrong. She was supporting the cause. Now, I do understand Daphne’s point here, too, that they didn’t need a hearing person to speak for them — that they’ve been getting that their entire lives. That was a really interesting argument. If only it weren’t so heated from Daphne’s side. I might actually respect it more.
In the end, Carlton’s staying open, hearing kids are coming, and everyone’s…happy? It felt too tidy for me. I wanted a real cliffhanger.
What kind of cliffhanger? Well, some more Noah/Bay/Emmett drama would be good (man, I just want Bay and Emmett together already). Or even Noah/Bay/Daphne (and geez, he handled that breakup terribly). Or even something where we didn’t know the fate of Carlton. I don’t know. It just fell flat for me.
The cliffhanger, so to speak, instead was focused on Angelo’s baby walking out the door with its mother. The bummer about this is that I could care less about Angelo. So I didn’t really care. Then there was Regina and her rehab, which was sad (though she was taking it surprisingly well), but Regina’s been such a pill this season that I didn’t mind seeing her leave for a bit. I’m sure she’ll return — in fact, I hope she does, because while she annoyed me, I can’t imagine this show without her — but I wonder how long it’d be.
And then there was Toby, who got engaged. We all know this is a stupid mistake, but I really like Toby. He’s one of the few stand-alone characters who seems to have his own life, and I like seeing it progress. Curious to see where this goes, but it’s not enough for a cliffhanger, in my opinion.
As for John… Uggh. John’s the worst (I think we’re noticing a theme in this review). And, of course, much like the rest of John’s life, he gets everything handed to him on a silver platter, including this State Senator seat. I personally would have liked to see him fail (and geez, if we were really going to handle this story right, we would have seen him campaign; I still don’t know what issues he’s standing on). Or heck, I would have liked to see him win doing something different — like embracing the Carlton rebellion and using it as a platform to discuss special needs in education. That would have been interesting. But instead, the other candidate drops out and he just gets the seat. Boo. There’s nothing more boring than seeing this guy managing politics.
In the end, I guess I was just hoping for more. Lots of buildup to this episode, but it just didn’t go anywhere. If I didn’t know the show was coming back in the summer, I’d almost think this was an episode that was written just in case the series was cancelled, wrapping everything in a tidy bow. But that’s not the case. It just seemed to miss out on a great opportunity.
What’d you think?
Are you ready for Sunday? A little scandal? Some secrets? Of course, some sexiness?
Well, The Client List is back this Sunday, March 10, at 10/9c on Lifetime, and here on Raked, I’m giving you a chance to win a little something just for being a Client List fan!
For one lucky reader, I have a Client List prizepack to send your way, which includes the first season DVD set and an embroidered blanket. As a recipient of this pack myself, I can say that once you receive it, all you’ll want to do is wrap yourself up in this cozy, plush blanket and pop in the DVDs.
So how do you enter?
1. Leave a comment. Tell me who your favorite character is on the show in the comments below. If it were me, I’d choose Georgia, but then again, I’d follow Lorette Devine anywhere.
2. Get yourself some extra entries. Want to get up to three extra entries? Share a link to this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook, or your own blog for up to three extra entries. One share = one extra entry. But you can only get up to three. And remember: After each extra entry, come back here and let me know, or else I won’t know to count them.
3. Do all this by March 15. The deadline is next Friday, March 15, so get to it! I’ll be choosing one winner at random the following weekend.
A few things to note:
That’s it! Simple enough. Now, enjoy the return of The Client List this Sunday on Lifetime. And if you need a quick refresher of last season, check out this video below to catch you up.
This giveaway has ended and a winner has been contacted.
Thanks to all those who entered!
