Dear Terra Nova,

You don't need the dinosaurs.

Before watching, I heard a lot of bad things about you. The acting was bad. The special effects were worse. You were just a Land of the Lost remake.

Terra Nova, you aren' that bad. You are actually kind of.... good. The mystery behind the 'sixers' has me intrigued- what do they want? who sent them? can I call them 'The Others' instead? And then you throw in a family struggling to keep it together... A leader who I'm not sure if I should love or hate or wonder what happens if I melt his wax face (seriously, that guy is weird looking)..... weird writing on the rocks from the leaders son (I guess?) regarding controlling the future (I guess?)... To be honest, I don't even care about the dinosaurs. I don't care about how 'cool' and modern the future looked. I care way more about these mysterious characters!

Word to the wise.... dont' give it all away in the first episode. In the first two hours, we learned the future sucks, you can't have more than 2 kids, you get recruited or win a lottery to go back in time to some parallel universe, there's this leader who makes this place to be all sunshine and rainbows but it is so not, there is a group that separated from the original settlement, the leader's son went missing, there are mysterious writings on rocks in an area that is off limits, and that the writing is done by the leaders 'crazy' son..... That's a lot.

Also, Dear Jason O' Mara,
Why do you always play a cop who travels back in time?

How to Make it. Reasons to watch.

Don't bother reading TV Guide's 5 Reasons to watch How to make it in America. I have five reasons for you and you trust me, right?

1. Bryan Greenburg.
2. Kid Cudi.
3. New York City.
4. fashion.
5. Bryan Greenburg.

Done and done. Sunday, 9:30pm on HBO.

Some Thoughts.

The Sing Off: Did you see the guys from Branson! Woop Woop. They were lame, but who cares. Loved the shots of them singing at the Titanic museum. ha. But note to the judges: Have you really never heard of Branson? It isn't some small town these guys are putting on the map. It's a musical mecca.

Modern Family: Finally watched it! And yes, I giggled more than once. I understand why the whole cast gets nominated... every single character is hilarious. (But still think off beat comedies like Community and Bored to Death deserve more accolades!)

And speaking of Community: How brilliant was the addition of John Goodman? That voice!

Did the beginning of Grey's Anatomy always have 'Created by Shonda Rhimes' in the opening credits?

Is Project Runway one and a half hours long so we can have Garnier hair commercials worked into the episode? Because that is uncool.

I assume I should tweet out questions like this, but that would have required me getting my lazy bum off the couch and finding my phone.

Down on the Boardwalk

Let's all rejoice that Boardwalk Empire is back!

Ever since Lost ended, I keep looking for shows that keep me so involved... I've found it on cable with Game of Thrones, Boardwalk, Dexter, Mad Men and Justified. Unfortunately, this means shorter seasons once a year. And it sucks.

But we're back to the Boardwalk with Nucky and the gang and I'm so psyched. How bout that season opener?

(And, fellow Wire fans - Can we just talk for a minute about the opening gunfight? How insane was it to see Omar on the other side of the battle? And when he picked up the rifle and went for the shot? Sigh. Who wouldathunk I could love a drug-dealing gangsta so much?)

Did you think Nucky would get into trouble so quickly? Did you think Jimmy, the Commodore and Eli would have such an easy time taking down their leader? Did your heart just break in half when the Harrow was gluing those pictures of the perfect family? Who thinks Chalkie is their new favorite character?

Pan Am vs Playboy Club

I can't help but compare these two. Both take place in the 1960s, both involve crime (Pan Am's CIA subplot, Playboy's mob ties); both involve girls in costumes...

So if I have to declare a winner after just one episode, it is going to be Playboy Club.

Pan Am was just fine. I know it was only a pilot episode, but it just fell flat for me. The characters were all a bore. And the plots lacked intrigue. Even the biggest storyline of the night - the stewardess' CIA involvement - failed because the actress is just so bright-eyed that it's annoying. It seemed more like, 'Oh look at our amazing sets! Look at this 60s fashion! And great music!' It was just a lot of people walking around.

Christina Ricci's character may be the saving grace of the show. She's (seems to be) this modern, forward-thinking girl immersed in the big culture changes going on.... yet every day she puts on the prim and proper uniform to play the role of perfect, perky stewardess. She even got in trouble for not wearing her girdle! What a rebel! Is it her acting chops? Or just better character development? I don't know.

I'll give it a few more episodes before I decide if I should cut it completely...

Omar Comin'... to Community

I was going to write about Omar Chalky Michael K Williams on Community's premiere, but TV Guide said it for me....

The charismatically menacing character actor, who blew viewers away as gay thug Omar Little on The Wire, slyly spoofed his badass image as an ex-con biology professor on the Season 3 premiere of Community (and he'll be back for another episode next month). Meanwhile, he's returning to HBO's Emmy-winning Boardwalk Empire as bootlegger Chalky White. Season 2 introduces us to Chalky's family, and Williams has a jailhouse scene in next week's episode that rivals Omar's most electrifying moments.

Williams wasn't the only David Simon HBO drama alum to turn up on Community's opener: Treme casualty John Goodman also guested as the intimidating vice dean of Greendale's Air Conditioning Repair Annex. Hey, Dan Harmon, how about writing a part for The Wire's Isiah Whitlock, Jr., who showed off his comedic flair in Cedar Rapids. To use State Sen. Clay Davis' favorite word, that could be some funny "sheeee-it."

What do you think of Michael K. Williams — and Community?

I love and agree with every word of this. Can't wait for more Williams. More Goodman. And more Community.

Playboy.

Finally watched Playboy Club last night and I don't know why everyone's been hatin' - It isn't that bad. It's like the swagger of Mad Men, the music of American Dreams and the mysterious side of Pretty Little Liars got together and had a baby. How can that be bad?

And to everyone complaining about Eddie's (Nick Dalton on the show) acting.... He's just playing Don Draper. Seriously. His voice sound exactly like Jon Hamm's. It is kinda creepy actually....

Here's hoping he makes the role his own instead of just mimicking someone else. But even the other story lines are intriguing.... mob family? politics? a too old bunny who can't let go? a secret gay/lesbian club? I'm sold. 

Are you watching Playboy Club?

Ashton's the Man.

Did you watch the Two and a Half Men reboot with Ashton? What did you think?

It didn't really feel much different in the first episode... maybe becuase there were still mentions of Charlie or because most of the other characters weren't in it either. The only one who has interacted with Ashton was Allen, which is fitting. Build their relationship first, since they are the leads. It will be interesting to see Ashton's chemistry with the 'half man' (sorry I really don't know his name....) because Ashton's character sort of seems like a big, naive kid.

Also glad he isn't just playing Kelso.

To be honest, I don't even LIKE the show... but I'll probably keep watching just to rub it in Charlie Sheen's face because I don't like him. Sorry I'm not sorry.

Did you watch The New Girl?

To be honest, I don't have much to say here since pretty much the entire episode was already in thr commercials...

It was funny. But slow. And disjointed. I guess that is sort of the point of a pilot.... to show that the series has legs for growth, nt necessarily to produce one 30 minute story.

I think this definitely has legs - Zooey is funny. The cute roommate and her are going to fall in love. That douchey character is okay. I like the Wayans but he's off the show (for Happy Endings, which is a-mah-zing and you need to watch it!). There were enough little one liners for me to know they have good writers.

I'll be tuning in. Will you?

Glee Premiere: More Sugar Please.

Okay, first of all - I can't wait to hear Hypable's Glee Chat podcast about the premiere. I'm biased because I  have two friends (Megan and John) on it, but whatever. They're awesome. I listened to their first podcast last week and was really impressed. It wasn't just 'yey! We love Glee!' These folks speak the truth. They aren't afraid to be critical of the show when it needs criticizing. Kudos the them.

Now, some of my on thoughts.

On Sam... and Mercedes: Whoever let Chord Overstreet get away from Glee is a dumbass. There I said it. I'm not saying you should have offered him a gazillion dollars to stay. But you should have worked harder to keep him around. The Samcedes revelation at the end of last season was the plot development I was most excited about. And to come back this season with one line about Sam and suddenly she has moved on to some other guy? Seriously? Did you see the googly eyes she made at Sam? Can't she be a little sad he is gone? And who is this new guy? I think this is a perfect example of bad management/casting, and then bad writing/plot development follwing it. What can save this story for me? If Mercedes admits she misses Sam. That she really liked him. And is sad he is gone. That she tries really hard to be the tough girl diva all the tie, but with Sam she was more her sweet Mercedes self. Now, she has a wall up again. And she wants a guy to come along and break it down again. Maybe a cute Irish exchange student? (You're welcome, Ryan. I just wrote the story for you.)

On Zizes quitting glee club (and getting less air time this year): Again, way to go you idiots. Zizes rocks.

On Quinn's new look and attitude: I love it. But judging from the previews for next week, it won't last long.

On Sue's congressional run: Umm who thinks her anti-arts stance sort of makes sense? Her rant on 'Sue C's It' is probably the most logical thing she has ever said on the show. I mean, I love the arts as much as the next gal, but putting tax money into general education instead of show choirs? That just makes sense. And benefits more students. Right?

I know what is going to happen - something crazy will happen to end her run for Congress. You know what I wish would happen? I wish she would win. Get her out of McKinley. Her character has to evolve, change, grow. How awesome would it be for glee club to meet in secret a la Footloose?!

On Santana: Sort of happy to have bad girl Santana back for a bit. I want to see her act all rough and tough but really miss glee club. She can sing 'There Are Worse Things I Could Do' a la Rizzo in Grease. And Brittany can bring her back down to earth, as usual.

On Glee Project's Lindsey: I was surprised to see her so early on. I know John mentioned in the last podcast that it would be tough for viewers to see them as characters after getting to know them on the reality show. Lucky for us, Lindsey's character wasn't too far off her real personality...

On Roxanne Sugar: Love. Love. Love. Can we have her sing more? Can we please have her in the club, Mr. Schu? I'm obsessed. Seriously. Loved her on American Dreams.

Chances are, her and her rich dad will join forces with Sue to take down glee. Predictable.

On last night's song choices: Okay, I loved Darren's number. And I was in Anything Goes in 8th grade, so yeah, that was awesome. And Hairspray is an all time fave. But anyone else surprised they didn't have one top 40 pop song in the episode? I mean.... if you didn't know/like Broadway you wouldn't have liked half the songs they sang. 

On the actual singing: I feel like the songs are getting more and more radio ready and less and less realistic sounding/looking. The Hypable crew commented on this last week (how autotuned they are) and even my Dad thought the lip syncing was terrible. Honestly, maybe that is why I loved Sugar's song so much.... because she was actually singing. 

The Ringer

I was a few days late, but yes, I watched The Ringer pilot. And it was intriguing. And earned a spot on my DVR. (Can't guarantee it'll stay there, what with Glee/New Girl and Biggest Loser/Parenthood on Tuesday nights already....).

I thought the premise was simple enough - twin pretends to be other twin.

But not quite.

Turns out it is way more complicated than that. The twin with the 'perfect' life isn't so perfect. The 'bad' twin is actually a way nicer person. One (or both?) of them apparently have people out to kill them. Plus, Nestor Campbell is in it. Yeah LOST!

Here's the thing. Sarah Michelle Gellar is tough to watch. She's weird looking (sorry, it's true). She's a terrible actress. I loved Buffy as much as the next gal.... but now it just seems awkward. Maybe because I'm not also watching sub-par acting on 7th Heaven and OTH and Felicity and Popular, so she seems worse.

At some point they have to decide - is The Ringer a serious cat-and-mouse thriller (a la Fringe, Lost, the promising Person of Interest or Alcatraz)? Or is it a campy prime time soap with one cliff hanger after another (a la OTH or Pretty Little Liars)?

Scheduling (Monday and Tuesday)

Shows I missed last night: 
The Sing Off
Two and a Half Men
Playboy Club

Shows I am watching tonight:
Glee
The New Girl
Biggest Loser
Ringer
Parenthood
Chopped Champions


So yeah.... can you get me a few more hours in the day today?

Emmy's 2011.

Sorry, I'm not going to give a full Emmy recap or anything. I actually thought it was a pretty lackluster show. Not Jane's fault, her hosting was fine. It's just that when Modern Family keeps winning.... it doesn't make for a very exciting 3 hours.

I was excited to see a few big surprises last night - Margo for Justified (she was a-mah-zing as Mags Bennett last season. Seriously.); Peter Dinklage for Game of Thrones (I don't care if his character is a 'good guy' or 'bad guy', he's my fave); Kyle Chandler finally gettin some Friday Night Lights love;  and Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids Mike and Molly (okay seriously. She should have thanked Kristen Wiig for casting her in Bridesmaids because no one thought she was funny before that.)

Also love love loved the Mad Men segment in Jane's opener. BRILLIANT. (I couldn't find just that clip, so just fast forward to approx 4:20)

Here's a thought (on award shows in general). Why don't they have the host do those voice overs when the winners walk up on stage? I guess I noticed it last night because the funny commentary seemed really out of place. And I always gripe that I don't understand the point of the host anyway. If they were the ones doing the voice overs, their presence would be more necessary on the show.

Check out my Emmy fashion favorites on Another Blog.

New on Wed: Up All Night, H8R

I'm going to be honest... I didn't watch a full episode of either of these shows. I was distracted by Chef Robert and the shitty restaurant he was revamping on Restaurant Impossible..... but I'm blogging about them anyway.

Up All Night w/ Christina Applegate, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph. It wasn't LOL funny, but it had its moments - particularly the fear that their daughter will develop a tick like eating her own hair. I think I'll give it a go, at least for a few more episodes. 

H8R. Okay, please don't hate on me for watching this show. (see what I did there, eh? eh?) I really just flipped it on to see what it was all about and caught some random girl seriously dishing it out to Jake from the Bachelor. Why do these celebs care if some random person hates them? Why do these random people really think they know the celebs well enough to hate them? And seriously, who hates Eva Longoria? I don't care how dumb it is. I'm adding it to the DVR. 

Premiere time! [REVISED]

Ummmm so last night was the season premiere of Parenthood? What? I know pumpkin spice lattes are already out but really? Is fall TV already here?! AH.

Here's how it's shaping up:

MONDAY

• The Sing Off on ABC 7pm  ; Terra Nova on Fox 7pm 
• Bored to Death on HBO 8pm (Oct 10)
• The Playboy Club on ABC 9pm 

TUESDAY

• Glee on Fox 7pm  ; Biggest Loser on NBS 7pm  
• Ringer on CW 8pm CW  ; New Girl on Fox 8pm 
• Parenthood on NBC 9pm

WEDNESDAY

• Up All Night on NBC 7pm  ; H8R on CW 7pm
• Modern Family on NBS 8pm ; America's Next Top Model All Stars on CW 8pm
• Happy Endings on NBC 8:30 NBC
• Real World on MTV 9pm ; American Horror Story on FX 9pm (Oct 5)

THURSDAY

• Community on NBC 7pm
• Greys Anatomy on ABC 8pm ; Persons of Interest on CBS 8pm ; Project Runway on Lifetime 8pm
• Jersey Shore on MTV 9pm

FRIDAY

• A Gifted Man on CBS 7pm
• Fringe on Fox 8pm 
• Whisker Wars on IFC 

SUNDAY

• Boardwalk Empire on HBO 8pm ; Dexter on Showtime 8pm (Oct 2) ; Big Rich Texas on Style 8pm 
• Desperate Housewives on ABC 9pm 
• How to Make it in America on HBO 9:30pm (Oct 2)
• Pan Am on ABC 10pm 

Did I forget anything? Please, god, say no. My DVR can't handle it. And before you make suggestions, please note that I do not watch  It's Always Sunny, 30 Rock, CougarTown, The Office, Parks and Rec....

I listened to an ESPN podcast so you don't have to.

But really, you should listen to it. Because it is awesome. Who knew ESPN was so interesting? Hat's off to you, Bill Simmons.

Gossip from Johnny Bananas:

• On the Twitter feud between Wes and Derek: Wes was 'juiced out of his head' on The Duel when he beat Derek in the pole wrestling. And 'since he hasn't accomplished anything in the last five years',  combined with Derek's competitive nature, it just erupted online. PS: Bill and the other host compared Wes' steroid scandal to Mark McGwire! haha. 
• Johnny seems to be more proud of this win than the past ones (The Island and The Ruins) because those were all team competitions. This one was closer to an individual competition and was the toughest he's ever done. 
• The host referred to Johnny in his Cutthroat elimination round with CT as 'Johnny Backpacks'. I LOLed.
• On a rematch with CT: Johnny calls it the 'vindication he needed.' In sports, you almost always get a chance for redemption- you play the team again - but it isn't like that in the Challenges. You might never see that person in an elimination again. This one couldn't have been scripted better. 
• On the final challenge with the helicopters: Conspiracy! The helicopter ride for CT and Johnny was considerably worse than it was for Leroy. According to Johnny, the producers had an agenda. They have an idea of who they want in the elimination round. 
• On Adam throwing the final challenge: Johnny doesn't believe it. 'The mob' did try convincing him early on to throw challenges to send CT home, but once they started winning (and he started hooking up with Jenn) it was over. 'That guy did not want to leave', Johnny says of Adam. They tried getting in his head and failed. And Johnny respects him for it. 
• According to Johnny, there's a reason why people keep getting asked back (for the record, he's done seven shows). 'You are there to film a TV show.' Is it real? 'As real as it can get in the environment you're placed in.' Three things drive these shows - drama, sex and alcohol (more on that later). They need people to drive the plot and narrate the story. They never tell you what to do or say, but once you've done it enough you can figure it out. 
• On the sex: There's more going on than they show. They are only allowed to film what happens under covers... The more public you are, the less likely it will ever air. 
• On alcohol: On The Island, they were starving (Johnny lost 28 lbs, they were fined for stealing food from production, didn't get more than fish and rice each day). They weren't able to get proper medical attention for hornet stings, but somehow, magically, there was a new keg of beer and case of wine there everyday. 
• On communication with the outside world: New executive producer Justin Booth runs the show like boot camp - no cell phones, no books, no magazines, no computers, now no calls at all (but how did Cara Maria call Abram this season?). They live and breathe the show 24/7, which is what drives people a little nuts. Does it make for good TV? Johnny's not sure. Seems to him that there needs to be a balance. They used to get days off and he thinks that provided more fun drama than crazy drama. 
• On Tonya: Says she is singlehandedly responsible for the limits on alcohol on the show now. Her (and Katie Doyle) would be drinking at 8am and drunk by 11am, would show up to challenges and eliminations wasted. 
• On the other girls: Paula is pretty much a guy, Jenn and Coral are 'fiesty'. Robin and Katie Doyle are nuts, too. 
• Robin was hooking up with an MLB player when he was starting out with the Yankees.... I heard rumors it was Derek Jeter? Confirm or deny?!
• On the HBO drama: Unintentional or not, this is his brand. You look up 'johnny bananas' on YouTube, and you find him. Don't steal his thunder. Bill (or the other host) likened it to The Wire  - 'He's on your corner... You got to get him off your corner.'). And the plot thickens... Mark Wahlberg, who produces Entourage, was on Diem's show and said he was a big fan of the Challenges. Soooo he obviously knew Johnny Bananas was taken, right?

Click here to listen to the whole podcast, which has a lot more reality TV goodness including Bachelor Pad, Basketball Wives, etc.

Bloody Good. True Blood Finale.

Let's be honest: I was confused going into this final ep of True Blood. Last week felt like the season's conclusion, no?  Marnie was dead, Jesus/Lafayette harnessed their witch powers, Jason and Jessica had a nice little heart-to-heart.... It even had some weird fairy stuff to set us up for next season. I thought we were done. 

Not so fast. We got one more ep. 

It was off the a slow start. I've noticed that a lot of HBO shows use their season finale more for resolution of conflict or next season's set up than crazy, action-packed cliff hangers (Dexter does this a lot), but the first 20 minutes or so just seemed slow for True Blood. Was I the only one who thought that? 

Anywho. Kudos to Pam, Lafayette and Arlene this season (and this episode). They had bigger story lines that usual this year and I really started to like their characters. Pam showed weakness over losing Eric to that fairy vagina Sookie (best insult ever). Lafayette played three characters this season. And Arlene, she's my homegirl. Love her. And she provided the best LOL moment of the ep when her daughter dressed up like Janelle from Teen Mom. Ha. 

The finale did set up some stuff for next season rather nicely: We've got the return of Reverend Steve  and Russell. The promise of a vampire vs vampire war now that Eric and Bill are on the outs with the Authority. Another Arlene/Terry storyline, this time involving Scott Foley and Terry's military past. Lafayette will probably be talking to a lot more ghosts. I guess the fairies will come back, and force Andy to help them. Oh yeah, and Sookie will have to tell Alcide she just blew Debbie's head off. I know he broke up with her and all, but I can't imagine that conversation is going to go well. 

And finally, a True Blood recap (of mine) wouldn't be complete without a couple of gripes...  

First of all, was the only purpose of the creepy baby plot to show us the Lafayette was a medium and could be possessed by ghosts? Really? 

Did zombies really just save the day? It was that easy all along? 

And (if you ask me) Jesus' power doesn't seem all that powerful. So it makes your face into a scary mask. It didn't keep Marnie from being stopped (by Gran, no less). 

Did they really introduce the fairy/Andy storyline last episode and then not even hint at it in this one? 

And what the H-E-double hockey sticks ever happened to the werepanthers?! 

The New Boy

"Justin Long has joined the cast of Fox's new rom-com New Girl for a multi-episode arc, according to The Hollywood Reporter... Long, whose credits include He's Just Not That Into You and Dodgeball, will play Paul, a music teacher who catches Jess's eye."

It must be refreshing for Justin to not just be the Mac guy and/or Drew Barrymore's boy toy anymore.

Passion

I have a new boy crush and his name is Jack Passion. Stayed up way too late last night watching Whisker Wars.