So long, Edie Brit

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: 5.19 “Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know”

Did Edie die? Well, the answer is yes.

I should reiterate that I knew this was coming. Like I mentioned in my last post, I’d heard that Nicollette Sheridan was leaving, and I’d even heard how. So I kinda knew that she was going to die.

However, this is Desperate Housewives, so part of me was wondering if they would change it up. Make her, say, in a coma for years on end in case she wanted to come back (now, recall that with this show, they can easily bring her back in flashbacks, but you know what I mean), but nope. She’s just dead.

And I appreciated that in good Mary Alice fashion, the most recent death was our narrator for the episode. I guess my only complaint was that the words she was saying were kinda, well, lame.

Anyway, I should preface this review by saying that ultimately, I think the episode was successful in getting the pathos involved. Yes, the wussy wussy Raked did tear up in the end, so clearly, it was a success on the emotion standpoint.

And I was expecting this to be a positive post. It was a good episode. But now that I am thinking about the episode more, I think I’m going to be a little more critical than I expected.

With recent death episodes, I think this one had a lot to live up to. I mean, it was competing with other sudden deaths in the TV world (think Kutner on House–I’m pretty sure that’s huge news now and no longer a spoiler now that the actor’s working with Obama) or even in their own show with the death of Eli. It really put the episode in a tough position, considering how huge Edie was in the show.

The upsetting point was that I almost feel that Eli’s episode was much stronger than Edie’s. I think this mainly was because Edie was seen as the character that so many didn’t like. And here’s something that always tends to get on my nerves: I find it unrealistic to think that even if someone you don’t like that much dies, you spend time still being annoyed at them and saying bad things about them (think Romano on ER).

In that respect, I feel like the “feel good Edie” stories were a little forced. Now, I should clarify that there were some standouts, namely, Gaby and Lynette’s stories. I think those might have saved the episode.

But most of all, the strength in the episode was in the hands of Mrs. McCluskey. As we all recall, she and Edie had a strong bond that made little sense. She most of all would miss Edie. I felt bad that she was forced to tell the mother-son story to Travers (I forgot he even existed) because it seemed to be the most predictable of all. But she’s a good, sympathetic character, and I think it was right for her to find where Edie deserved to lie for the rest of her life.

I knew they’d pick Wisteria Lane.

And of course, thats where I started the weepy eyes. As they all spread Edie’s ashes all over the Lane–knowing that here was where she most belonged, even in the five years she stayed away–it seemed to fit. The end seemed to make up for the rest of the ep, and ultimately, I was happy for the ending.

I’ll miss Edie, though. She was really an important part of the show, and yes, I wish there had been a wee bit of a better episode for her, but I have a feeling that the end of the season will make up for this. Her death must set up for a strong season and big turn of events. How will Dave recover? How will he act?

I can’t see good things happening.

So, so long, Edie. We’ll miss your shenanigans. And thank you, too, for living on in DVD sets.

The intensity was tangible

SOUTHLAND: 1.01 “The Pilot”

This one’s going to be a little difficult to write about. Almost as difficult as it was to watch.

I don’t mean that in a negative way necessarily. But you have to admit, Southland was one intense hour of television.

I’m not sure if I breathed the entire time I was watching this show. I felt tense the entire time. If something was happening, I was nervous. If something wasn’t happening, I was sure something was going to happen.

Most shows give you a scene or two to relax, slow down, take it all in. Even just a short conversation. But not in Southland. I’m not sure if it was an attempt to make it more true to life or whether it was just to capture you with its story, but either way, it was intense.

Honestly, it was a bit too intense for me. It’s not how I want to enjoy an hour of television. But I could see how others would like it.

And I think that it was well-done. I think the actors were very strong. They said a lot with just silence, and there was a lot of silence. I’m curious to know where the main character goes since he really didn’t say much–there room to thrive or fail in the future.

Meanwhile, the stories were intriguing–and disturbing. They did a good job with the crimes they were covering, and they certainly showed a lot by not showing you anything at all. The closet? You never saw inside, but you knew what was there.

My hesitation about the show is where it can go. I fear that with one of the makers of ER and with such an explosive start, they’ll try to top every episode. I mean, ER had a helicopter fall on a guy; what could happen here?

I just think they need to realize what they have and make a quality show. Don’t try to keep topping show after show. That’s really the issue at hand, and with the preview for next week, I’m nervous.

So what’d you? Could you stand the entire episode? Will you watch again?

A big ‘House’ with a weak foundation

HOUSE: 5.20 “Simple Explanation”

You know I don’t normally write about House. I mean, I watch the show, but normally in reruns. I think I write one Recap Review about that fact, actually. Maybe I should reread that and see if my opinion’s changed.

Anyway, I’m glad I TiVoed Monday’s episode. I’d heard there was going to be a major death, but I thought it was supposed to be in the season finale. Apparently not, as Monday night was the night. This was an episode of House not to be missed.

Note: If you’re still blind to what happened on Monday’s episode, you might not want to read any further. I’ll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, but it might be kinda difficult.

Because I’m a blogger, I found out pretty quickly Monday night what happened, even though I didn’t watch the episode in real time. Maybe it was because I knew, but I felt a little different about the episode. While it was a huge event (and I hear it will have repercussions throughout the rest of the season), I don’t quite know if it was put together as well as it could have been.

You know I watch a lot of TV, so you know that I’ve had my share of TV deaths. There are basically two kinds: the shock factor (think Buffy’s mom in BtVS) and the sad factor (think Dr. Greene in ER). Usually, the shock factor contains some element of the sad factor, but not in the same episode. In this case, House attempted to put them both in one episode.

The main element here was surprise. The doctor was missing, and it wasn’t necessarily assumed anything was wrong. It wasn’t until he was found dead in his apartment that the shock hit.

I think that the people who wrote the episode were trying to be artistic here by not showing us the face of our recently deceased. All work on the body were shoved out of the camera frame, which didn’t allow us to really see the moment, which is understandable considering the circumstance. In one way, it’s true to life. Many times you don’t see the deceased before they’re gone, so there’s this arm’s length distance that you’ve been place at, the distance where denial can set in. But on the other hand, think about how that plays with the shock value: Without seeing it first-hand, you’re at a bit of a loss. The arm’s length kind-of makes it difficult to realy experience the full shock. You almost wonder if you need a moment like Paul’s death in 8 Simple Rules when you just find out through a third party and suddenly rush around, or in NewsRadio when you’re only seeing reactions and are directly told what happened. True, these are a little different since the actors passed away, but they were effective storytelling.

Moving on, we do see reactions with the rest of the team, House in particular. House desperately wants to know the reason behind it. Meanwhile, everyone else either wants to deny or deal. I did appreciate the many coping strategies (Thirteen was especially convincing).

But there was something amiss. We’d just come off a large shock, and now it came to a downward momentum. Suddenly, it was slow because of the need to show the way they need to cope and feel regarding the tragedy.

Perhaps that’s why so many shows tend to have the death at the end of an episode as opposed to a shock at the beginning. Think of Buffy’s mom. We find her at the end of an episode, lying dead. And it’s the next episode that really deals with it in its entirety.

I’m not saying House was unsuccessful. I think it made it’s points about suicide, and I think there’s a large amount of room for character development. Just seeing Taub cry at the end showed more than any other actor on the show. Plus, the montage at the end was highly effective, showing juxtaposition of the hospital, the apartment, and the funeral (the choice of song was surprising yet highly effective).

I guess I was just expecting something a little different. But that’s just me. I do think that they made some very frighteningly true statements about how you may never know the people that you see for hours on end in a workday. I mean, this individual seemed like the least likely candidate for this situation (that was hard to type without spoilers, whew). The natural instinct is to try to find out why–so maybe House wasn’t exactly in the wrong, though maybe he should have taken a less outward approach.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, despite the strange tribute on FOX’s website, the actor is still alive. In fact, he found himself a new job.

UPDATE: If you’re wondering what that great song was at the end of the episode, it was Pete Yorn’s “Lose You.” Enjoy.

This week’s a good one, for good and bad reasons

How odd. Such a big week coming at the end of March or the beginning of April. Shows ending. Shows coming back. And not even May Sweeps to boot!

First, let’s look at what’s coming back. Greek starts back up tonight. Sadly, the show seems to conflict with an already busy Monday lineup. I’m undecided whether I’ll be watching. I never finished last season either, so not sure what’s happening. If anyone out there fills me in, maybe I’ll drop in on the premiere. I do enjoy the show.

My real excitement lies in My Boys, which is back tomorrow night! Will Bobby get married? Will he and PJ get together? Will they even be friends? This is always a fun show, so I’m definitely looking forward to it.

Now for the bad news. Wednesday, one of my favorite shows ends. That’s right. It’s the series finale of Life on Mars. And you best be watching. I’d love to hear your predictions. Do you think it’s really nano robots like the last episode suggested? Will he go home? Will he stay? Personally, I don’t think they’re going the British route–I don’t even think the American audience would accept that. I don’t know the reason that he’s there, but I have a feeling he’ll end up with the choice to go back or stay, and he’ll choose to stay, therefore also staying with Annie. But maybe they’ll change it up and surprise me. Tha’d be nice. Anyway, I’m definitely looking forward to it, though I’ll be horribly, horribly depressed once it finishes up.

And then the bitter sweet. At long last on Thursday we’ll see the final episode of ER. I’ve been TiVoing the last few episodes, and I haven’t seen any of them yet, but I might go ahead and watch the show live on Thursday night. And if you haven’t heard, Alexis Bledel is going to be on this episode–I’m picturing a full circle effect like when it was Carter’s first day, this time with her. It should be good, I’d imagine. After all, it has a lot to live up to, and I can’t imagine they would fail.

Anyway, this week of TV has definite ups and downs, so be sure to check out the old, the new, and the (soon-to-be) gone.

Countering–er–embracing reruns

So this week has been a bit of a bust in terms of new shows. Tons of reruns were on and a certain FOX reality show is taking over all my favorite timeslots. Oh, and the Prez decided to share a few words for the masses.

But tonight, we do have a new Ghost Whisperer and a new Dollhouse, so I guess that will have to tide me over until next week. I’m sure Dollhouse will.

But here’s my question to you: What do you do in the time of reruns? This week, I apparently decided to sleep or watch reruns of House (darn you, JC), but eventually I’ll have to wake up and I’ll have seen every episode of House (considering how much JC has been making me watch lately). Then what?

Enter the counter to reruns. Er, well, maybe not that. How about embracing the reruns? It’s called TV on DVD, people. And there are a few coming out that I’m especially looking forward to.

First on my list is the third season of Wildfire, coming out next Tuesday. I’m still deciding how quickly I should snatch it up (we are in a recession after all). I think this might be my favorite season, even if I did adore the fourth. I think the fourth had some standout episodes, while this one, I just liked overall. I mean, first, it got me into watching bull riding, and who can’t argue with that? Second, it really made me like Dani, and that was just good. And the conflict in the Kris love triangle, which was growing a little tiresome (true) seemed to reach new heights and actually lead to plot. So I’m a fan.

Next on the list is the second season of 8 Simple Rules, coming out May 19 (I know, a bit far out). This show really snuck up on me. It never really stood out to me when it was on the air, but I adored it in syndication (if only ABC Family would bring it back!). And this season, of course, is home to John Ritter’s last episode and death. It was a heartbreaking episode–an episode I still have on VHS from when it originally aired. I’m fully impressed at the show for having survived after such a shock, but it did–at least for another season and a half. But it’s definitely a show worth having.

Holy flashback, Batman! Last, and certainly not least, we have the first season of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, slated for June 30. I loved this show growing up, and re-loved it when it was syndicated on USA. Seriously, if you mention this show at a party, you’ll be the hit. Well, let me restate. If you mention it at a party, you’ll be the hit of the people who remember it. It’s one of those shows that a lot of people don’t know about, but the ones that know it, LOVED it. If you watch ER and still think of the big guy as Kubiac and not whatever his ER character name is (what IS his character name?), then this DVD set is for you. And you’ve probably been waiting. So get on it.

So let me know if other DVD sets are coming out that you’re thrilled about. Is there something I should be watching? I see that My Two Dads is coming out, too. Talk about forever ago. But hey, it is part of growing up in the glare of the silver screen, right?

What’s on tonight…Thursday…muah-ah-ha!

I know we’re probably all waiting for a new episode of The Office. Too bad. Not one tonight. Even if the rest of the NBC lineup is new. Sigh. Here goes.

NBC has a new My Name Is Earl, Kath and Kim (but why??), 30 Rock, and ER. The Office is, of course, a rerun, stuck right in the middle there.  But you can’t complain about new 30 Rock, right?

ABC is also trying to get people with new episodes. Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, and Private Practice–in its new night and time–are all new. Can you taste the transitions? New timeslots, yummy.

CBS is a haven for reruns, yet again. But if you like CSI, CSI: NY, or Eleventh Hour, by all means, watch away.

The CW, also reruns. Normal schedule, though: Smallville and Supernatural. You know, maybe I’ll catch Smallville now that Kitchen Nightmares isn’t on, and I have barely watched any episodes this season. You know, reruns let you catch up. And I’ll take anything over watching Kath and Kim. Wait, so would the rest of America. Why is that show on the air, again?

Wait–let’s backtrack. Kitchen Nightmares isn’t on? Nope, football again on FOX. It’s not Ohio State, so I won’t be watching (or angrily screaming at the television followed up with pouting, like I did on Monday. Thanks football, I hate you).

That about sums it up!

Are the networks devoid of smart?

It’s not really a new question. In fact, people have asked it a lot. And in the void of new episodes of TV, I was thinking about it.

I remember when The Sopranos started on HBO. Now, I’ve never had HBO, so I never saw this series or Sex and the City until they were syndicated many years later. So it would bug the crap out of me to watch the Emmys or the Golden Globes and find all the awards going to shows I’ve never seen. And it still happens with HBO series and Showtime, too!

But now it’s spread a little further. If you look at the most recent list of Golden Globe nominees, you’ll see that the four basic networks–ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX–aren’t nearly as represented as HBO, Showtime, and even TNT.

And why is that the case? Well, it seems to me that the four basic networks just don’t really have the time or money to spend on “smart” TV.

But let’s backtrack. What do I mean by “smart”? Well, I don’t mean “creative,” though there have been a number of cancellations for creative shows. I never watched Pushing Daisies, but you can’t disagree that it had a creative background and premise. Eli Stone, too. So it’s not necessarily creativity that I’m looking at.

Take a look at Studio 60. It was a very “smart” show. You really had to tune in and pay attention to really enjoy the show because there were a lot of storylines that fell below an episode’s plot–like Danny’s past addictions or Tom’s brother at war. It provoked thought.

Now, we take a look at shows like 90210 and The Office, which are basically spin-off/remakes of older, fresher favorites. Don’t get me wrong, I like The Office, but we’ve moved away from subtle humor in past seasons, and we’re now to the slapstick variety and cardboard characters.

And yes, there are exceptions. Lost is clearly a smart concept, though again, I haven’t seen it (sorry, I missed the first season and never caught up). But other shows have tried to keep mysteries throughout a series and they’ve fallen flat with few viewers: Hidden Palms and Reunion are just two.

Other shows have brought about the smart in the viewers; Numb3rs is  a huge example, where the show is actually bringing about mathematical ideas into a show that would otherwise be just a basic crime show.

But overall, there seems to be a lack of smart. When The West Wing, ER, and Gilmore Girls started, there were random quips and stronger storylines. However, people followed them. I know it seems odd that I included Gilmore Girls in there, but honestly, the fast-talking pop-culture basis really carried a smart feel–a feel that really declined in later seasons.

So what’s bringing this about? I’m afraid to say it (though I already have), but time and money. But whose?

Without viewers, shows can’t last. So if viewers won’t give a show like Studio 60 a chance because they don’t want to put that much attention to an hour-long program, then what can the networks really do? But then again, Pushing Daisies did have viewers. So what happened there?

Clearly, some of the fault lies in the networks. How long is long enough to decide? Four episodes (Drive)? Nine episodes (Reunion)? Fourteen (Firefly)? Twenty-five (Tru Calling)?

[Ok, I wasn’t trying to only pick FOX shows there, but hey, look what happened. You get a prize if you can figure out what else all of those shows have in common.]

And you have to admit, the networks do have more problems with money. Unlike HBO, they don’t have a subscription basis, which means they can’t put all their money into one show. Cable series have had this advantage. They have much tighter budgets, and if something doesn’t make money AND QUICK, it can’t be on TV.

So true, they are at a disadvantage, but why do they have to go to reality TV before putting together something quality? Raising the Bar could have easily been shown on any network other than TNT, but it wasn’t. Possibly The Closer, too. Instead, we have too many competition shows and game shows–and Jay Leno’s getting his own nightly talk show at 10:00 pm!

What’s disappointing is that now I watch TV, and I’m bored. I want the smart back. I’d like to know that our basic networks aren’t free due to bad programming.

But anyway, what do you think? Viewers’ faults for not watching? Networks for not giving shows a chance? Or cable for being bullies? All opinions welcome.

The Emmy’s: Haven’t they been…sufficient?

THE 60TH PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS

Wow. The Emmy’s…well, the Emmy’s sucked this year. Which is especially sad because I was looking forward to them. It was the 60th anniversary show, and I’d been reading and reading about all of the great things that ABC was putting into the Emmy’s this year.

I, of course, ignored the fact that reality television hosts were going to be the hosts of the award show this year. But, you know, once I was rethinking it, I thought that it might not be that bad of an idea! It means that if one sucked, there were four others. And that they’d each get less air time and be spread out. Brilliant.

Then the show started. I was wrong. Uber-wrong. Wow, were they…bad. I think the best part of the show was when Jimmy Kimmel asked whether they had been “sufficient.” The answer is “no.” And by the way, when someone is making fun of the hosts of the show only 15 minutes into it, you have to admit that someone made a major error. Wow.

I suppose the best part of the show for me was actually Josh Groban’s theme song list. I love Josh Groban, and when I heard of his performance, I was picturing operatic versions of Cheers and the Buffy theme. Ok, it scared me, but I was intrigued. But he did well. I’m very impressed with the many ways Josh Groban could change his voice with each song–and his “Oh God” before the Fresh Prince theme was just so great. Made you really see how hard he worked at that performance, and frankly, it just made me laugh.

But the rest was blah. Nothing was really all that fantastic, and if it wasn’t “not that fantastic,” it was terrible. There weren’t even risky dress choices. Since when did everyone start playing it so safe?

And the worst part was that so much got cut. Apparently, everything went so long that bits and pieces were cut from the awards show–sadly enough, it was probably the parts that would have been *gasp!* entertaining. One such thing was the actual results to the Greatest TV Moments poll that was on ABC.com. Now, it’s still up in the air as to whether maybe they included the winning clip and just didn’t define it as that (check out a long discussion of comments on this Whedonesque.com post). Now, Buffy‘s “The Gift” was one of the nominees of sorts, and it was obviously not aired tonight. What I really thought was close in the running was the famous ER scene with George Clooney saving the drowning child. Or for the love of God, who shot JR? I hate to call it groundbreaking, but it surely made an imprint.

Anyway, I voted and was looking forward to the results. I would have watched the show either way, but it bugs the crap out of me that this wasn’t presented. I mean, if you go to the Emmy’s main page (or at least during and before the Emmy’s if not now), you would have seen that they were advertising this like crazy! In fact, on the main page, you would have seen the following:

Voting For Television’s Most Memorable Moments Is Now Closed

The winning clips will be revealed during the ceremony.

Which will emerge as the most memorable? Tune in live to the 60th Primetime Emmy® Awards on September 21 on ABC to find out.

We didn’t find out. If this was so much of a marketing ploy–a major marketing campaign–for the awards show, why would they cut it? Or why wouldn’t they have brought it out more. I know many people in the BuffyVerse are mightily annoyed over this, and I’d imagine some X-Filers and fans of other famous shows on the list might be feeling the same way.

No matter what, I think we can easily see this year’s Emmy’s as a failure to entertain. I think the winners were fair. I figured Mad Men and John Adams would get their day in the sun, and I was happy to see the great kudos assigned to Recount and 30 Rock. So while these were positives, I would have been fine to see a list on the web and watched Army Wives instead of TiVoed it.

Let me say one last thing: I watched the Creative Emmy’s Award Show last night (re-aired from last weekend) and was much more entertained than tonight. All we can say is that maybe Sarah Chalke and Neil Patrick Harris should be getting more credit than the reality crap we saw tonight. Now we see what reality TV really does for television today.

UPDATE: Thought I’d add some other feedback and links from other viewers. If you have any to add, let me know!

Review from Salon by Heather Havrilesky

Emmy Awards Live Blog from Give Me My Remote