Pet Peeves: My Fickle, Fickle Self

In my Writing for Series TV class we have to write a spec script for one series, and I chose the addictive, hilarious, creepy HBO show True Blood. After cramming both seasons, I was as hooked as Amy and Jason are to V. And, in all honesty, the very attractive cast doesn't hurt the situation.

One of the shifts during the second season was baddie vampire Eric's (Alexander Skarsgard's) gradual and modest softening. He became much more interesting and attractive (because I'm a sucker for wounded tough guys, as evidenced by Sawyer).


Knowing the arc Skarsgard's character goes through, I thought when I went back to season 1 Eric would be really appealing. But watching it all over again, I did not like Eric. And I think this has something to do with it.


I have a major issue with guys and long hair. It's an instant turn off in my books. I couldn't even look at Hugh Jackman when he grew out his hair for Van Helsing, and to this day have never watched that movie. Sawyer's hair can get a little ridiculous at times, and is the limit of what I can accept on guys.

I know it's picky and fickle, but I just can't help it. All I can say is, thank goodness Pam had to cut Eric's locks.

"Lost": YEEESSSSSSSS...but NOOOOOOOOO!!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: Sara Ramirez

I really like Grey's Anatomy — it's a solid soap, and provides me with my cathartic tears for the week — but sometimes the show and the cast can seem a bit too serious. Take, for example, front picture of the cast on the show's Hulu homepage. Everyone looks so dour.


Well, I take that back. There is one person giving a huge, happy smile. Thanks, Sara Ramirez, for fully appreciating the stability of being on a hit show, having pretty good storylines and writing (at least so far this season), and the general hotness of the cast surrounding you.

Also, she was fab-u-lous in Monty Python's Spamalot. Check it out.

The Ithacan: "The Invention of Lying" Review

Ricky Gervais is a funny guy. I've really enjoyed his appearances presenting at the Emmys the past few years, this year (I totally did not notice his jacket was green when first watching the show — spiffy!) and last year. He's even hilarious going off the cuff with Elmo.

However, I didn't enjoy his latest film as much. It's not necessarily his fault in the acting department, but he could have done a better job as a writer.

Predictable comedy hinders film

By Anne Gould Northgraves Staff Writer | October 8, 2009

Imagine a world without lies of any kind. People are always honest — at times brutally so. For those who subscribe to an “honesty is the best policy” point of view, a truthful world may sound ideal. However, such a straightforward existence also entails no fiction, so movies within this world merely consist of readers reciting history lessons, and there’s no deeper meaning behind a characters’ actions. Everything is exposed directly on the surface, which makes for amusing circumstances but no real emotional connections.

This world is exactly what is depicted in the new film “The Invention of Lying.” The premise is mildly entertaining, but the movie is unable to balance the amusing frankness of the characters and the deeper emotional resonance of protagonist Mark Bellison’s (Ricky Gervais) problem of being the first and only person capable of lying. Moments of humor and grief that strike true do not complement each other or add to the cohesive structure of the plot.

Gervais, the British comedian responsible for television favorite “The Office,” brings the best of his self-deprecating humor to the film as its co-director and co-writer. There are plenty of laughs, especially in the first half of the film, at the expense of Gervais’ “fat, snub-nosed” physique. Anna (Jennifer Garner), the object of Bellison’s affection, is particularly hilarious in her upbeat, earnest and cutting honesty toward Mark, by directly telling him he is not in her league.

There are a number of cameo appearances, from quirky television staples Tina Fey, as Mark’s disparaging secretary, and Jeffrey Tambor, as his diffident boss, to Academy Award nominees Philip Seymour Hoffman and Edward Norton as a clueless bartender and a skittish police officer, respectively. The actors clearly enjoy the opportunity to be callously honest in a role, and their joy is palpable.

In addition, there are some genuinely poignant moments. When Mark invents the idea of a happy eternity after death so his dying mother will not be afraid, Gervais gives a glimpse of his convincing emotional range. The moment in the film could be interpreted as an indictment of the artificiality of organized religion.

Despite the quality of the awkward interactions between the truth-tellers and Mark, as well as the emotional depth of Mark’s relationship with his mother, the overall story has several major problems. The most glaring issue is the lack of a proper backstory for the relationships of the film. Other than Anna’s attractiveness and sweetness, no reasons are given to explain why Mark is so enamored with her, nor is there an explanation of how the two met and ended up on a date together.

Similarly, throughout the film Mark confides in Greg (comedian Louis C.K.), who is assumed to be Mark’s good friend. However, the film never explains how or why they are so close — Mark simply walks into a bar disturbed by his newfound ability to lie and begins talking familiarly with Greg.

The climax of the film is rather anticlimactic and predictable, with Mark merely getting the courage to directly confront Anna about his feelings. Had Mark and Anna truly grown as characters, the film would be a much more solid piece overall.

Gervais and his writing and directing partner, Matthew Robinson, have a great deal to learn before moving from remotely successful comedies to unified and meaningful works of fiction.

“The Invention of Lying” was written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson.

What the Frick?! "Heroes" Channels "Lost"...Again

When Heroes first came out in 2006, I refused to watch it, thinking it was just NBC's attempt at finding it's own Lost. The comic-book-like show had strange sci-fi circumstances, a large cast of complex characters dealing with extraordinary events surrounding them, and a serialized story of epic proportions — all things just like Lost. Some of my high school friends were into both show, but I couldn't. Lost takes most of my devotion.

Over the years, Lost had a few episodes here and there that were less than stellar, whereas Heroes has slid into a creative nadir. And that's not just my alligence to the other show talking. Numerous fans of the NBC once-juggernaut have said so themselves: see here, here, and here.

I've watched a few episodes recently, mostly because I am crushing on Zachary Quinto after the amazingness that was Star Trek (and he was holding a baby in a photo from an episode, so of course I had to watch it). But the most recent episode really got my goat when I saw it was entitled "Tabula Rasa." Um, excuse me, Heroes, that was the title of Lost's third episode — a Kate flashback. So please stop trying to be Lost. Thanks.

One note on Heroes' "Tabula Rasa" — love the purple plaid shirt on Quinto that exposes a bit of chest hair. Don't love the long hair on him.

Here's the good version of "Tabula Rasa."

That's Funny, Cause He WAS Shakespeare!

I wonder if that line was written because Joseph Fiennes was Shakespeare...in Love.

I Never Experienced THIS Side of British Men

This is one funny video. I have no idea from what programme (if we're being British) the clips come from, but I'm interested in finding out.

I didn't laugh out loud — or rather gasp — until 2:57 in.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things: Bryan Singer and "X-Men" Together Again?

Wonder of wonder, miracles of miracles! There is a possibility that Bryan Singer will return to directing X-Men movies! There is no end to the exclamation points, as there is no end to my excitement!

According to EW.com, Singer mentioned at the Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea that he is “still looking to possibly returning to the X-Men franchise"! Let us supplicate ourselves to the film gods to ensure that this happens! (Seriously, there's no stopping this!) If there were any (film) event I would use a time machine to go back and change, Singer's exiting the franchise would definitely be it. (It stopped! Oh no, it's back!)

Here's a tasty morsel to remind us of the good ol' days, and hopefully prep for the future return to awesomeness.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: I Spy...

So, I have a really busy weekend — tons of writing to do for classes/midterms next week. However, I had to take a moment for a post I've been wanting to do for a long time.

I'm very easily excitable and have a real knack for recognizing faces and voices of actors. Put the two together and you get random bursts of squealing from me whenever I spot an actor who shows up in several shows I love. It's been happening a lot recently: I rewatched an episode of Life and noticed the actor playing a homeless man is also Sheriff Dearborne on True Blood, and then I also remembered he was Oldmann, the truth-serum making Dharma-version-of-Sayid on Lost. And the woman who plays Jessica on True Blood, Deborah Ann Woll, was also on an episode of Life. Exciting stuff (if you're me)!

What tipped the scale in favor of writing this post was the appearance of three brand-spanking new SQUEEE moments on Thursday's episode of FlashForward*. First, Joseph Fiennes' character's AA sponsor talks to a bartender (who's just serving him soda) who turns out to be Cassidy, aka Sawyer's baby-mama, on Lost. Then Joseph Fiennes' wife on the show — played by Penny from Lost — is randomly having lunch with Zoe from Firefly**. Those were pretty neat moments for me, but the pièce de résistance was noticing that the German security officer was played by they guy who was Captain Englehorn in Peter Jackson's King Kong (though it's not a TV show connection, it still counts as excitement in my book).

* I really feel like FlashForward is just one big modge-podge of actors from other projects. I know actors have almost always been in other projects before, but this show is full of them. The FBI LA office director was the chief on Law & Order: CI, Joseph Fiennes is Shakespeare in Love (and should NOT be talking with an American accent), his wife is Penny*** from Lost, the other FBI agent is Harold from Harold and Kumar, the man Penny is going to have an affair with is Commodore Norrington from Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.

** Though FlashForward revolves around an interesting concept and has some funny moments, I think my inability to remember characters' names and only refer to them by the actor's name or a different character they've played is a bad sign that I'm not invested in the show.

*** Seriously, she will always be Penny.

What the Frick?! Crazy Babies

I love kids, and can't wait to have them (someday, in the future (but not too far into the future)). But HELL. TO. THE. NO.

What I could deal with much more, getting pregnant two times in one month.

Buzzsaw: "Community" Review

This semester I am writing for Buzzsaw, a student-run magazine on campus, in addition to The Ithacan. I've learned a lot of the newspaper, such as working on a deadline and the broader points of AP style, but Buzzsaw is great because I get to show much more of my own style in what I write. Here's my first piece, a review of the new Joel McHale-headlined NBC comedy Community.

Community Holds Promise of Many More Laughs to Come

By buzzsawmag-import | September 27th, 2009 | Family, Ministry of Cool

By Anne Gould Northgraves

Joel McHale is a much funnier, taller, and generally less toolish version of Ryan Seacrest. But until recently, the multi-job-juggling– and the concurrent success– had belonged to the American Idol/E! News/Radio Host. However, with McHale’s high profile headlining NBC’s new comedy Community, about a misfit group of community college students, the comedian is poised to rival Seacrest’s domination.

McHale, and the show in general, is off to a relatively good start. He stars as Jeff, a fast-talking lawyer going back to school to get a legitimate diploma (when asked if he has a degree from Columbia, Jeff replies, “And now I have to get one from America”). And while it is a treat to see a character so unabashedly devious, Jeff treads a fine line between garnering corny sympathy and being too much of a haughty cad to care about. Whether McHale and the writers maintain the balance or veer too far in either direction remains to be seen.

The rest of the cast, while archetypal, complement each other nicely. Filling out the Spanish study group, we have a prim perfectionist with a drug-addicted past (Alison Brie), a mom looking to improve her job prospects (Yvette Nicole Brown), a “dumb” jock feeling societal pressures (Donald Glover), a geek of mixed Middle Eastern descent and a bad case of verbal diarrhea (Danny Pudi), a high school drop-out as idiosyncratic as she is attractive (Gillian Jacobs), and a pompous old man as much interested in spreading his (supposed) wealth of knowledge as he is in learning new things (Chevy Chase).

Pudi, Glover, and Chase are particularly hilarious. In the race for my favorite line of the night, Chase’s pitch-perfect delivery of the line “I am a prominent business leader, and a highly sough-after dinner guest” just beats Glover’s clueless, “You seem pretty smart, you’ve got a sport coat.”

This is only a small sample of the vast amounts of dialogue that fly by with alarming speed, and it is the highlight of a slightly uneven script. Any pilot has to navigate mounds of explication necessary to establish the various characters and general tone of the show. Doing so without any hiccups is almost impossible.

Community throws out information so fast, that the show is occasionally bogged down by it. Even so, the amount of great exchanges, zingers, and witticisms is so high that appreciating them all definitely requires repeat viewings.

Everything that is good about the show is certainly due to its excellent pedigree. Community’s creator and executive producer, Dan Harmon, also co-created the absurdity-filled The Sarah Silverman Program, while executive producers/directors/brothers Anthony and Joe Russo were directors of Arrested Development. The later series had a definite influence in the quick pace and rapid-fire dialogue of Community, and if the genius of Arrested is any indication, that bodes incredibly well for the freshman series.

Given the past performance of those involved, the potential the premiere episode points to and the next episode’s addition of The Hangover scene-stealer Ken Jeong as Spanish teacher Senor Chang, Community definitely passes.

Community is on NBC Thursday nights at 9:30. Catch up with by watching the premiere on nbc.com or hulu.com.

Random Quote: The Unintentional Hilarity of Bill

I've become a big (BIG) fan of True Blood. The show is such a unique mix of creepiness, hilarity, social allegory, and fantasy. The LOL moments are my favorite, and I don't laugh harder than when old-fashioned vampire Bill Compton gets flustered or formal. Take the following exchange —

Bill: Are you gonna leave or am I gonna have to throw you out. Through a window. That is closed!
Sookie: Bill, that is just rude.



There are no Bill quote compilations on youtube that aren't set to music, and I cannot abide music fan videos, and therefore will not subject you to them.

Random Quote: It's Hip to Be a Square!

The video on this link on (of course) EW.com is a-maze-ing. (Also check out Kelly Paul's comments). But the best thing about the Sesame Street Mad Men parody — besides the use of sycophant on a children's television show — is how it brought so many other videos to my mind, and my knowledge.

First, I started looking up clips that played when I was little for a little stroll down memory lane. I remember a ton of great segments: "It's Hip to be a Square," "Cereal Girl," "Great Balls of Fur," "Reach for the Sky" and so, soo much more. Check out these classics.



* I had a slight convulsive episode watching this. I just loved this song so much!



Maybe this is where the seeds for my CSI/forensic love were planted?



I then had to check out some classic famous people I remembered, only a few of which I actually recognized as famous when I was watching. Robin Willams I did know. This is one of my favorites. His shirt is also fantabulous.



And I don't remember this song, but I definitely remember Randy Travis' jacket.



Youtube also showed me some fun recent celeb appearances. You can look them up, but is are my favorite. Jack Black is still Jack Black, and I guess it fits, since he is just a giant child. "Eight stunning angles!"



Aww, memories.

Community = Joyful Good Times

Community is one of the many new shows I wanted to check out with the start of the new Fall TV season, because I love Joel McHale and it just looked funny. The good news is, it IS good. Very good, in fact. See my review of it in Buzzsaw (the link will go in once the site is up). Here's a clip!

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