"Nothing makes a smart man stupid like a quest for vengeance."

I cannot believe that it is almost September. I feel like this year is flying by and I am a little sad that summer is already over. The only good thing about the start of Fall is that it also means my TV shows are back! Here is my list of returning and new shows that I will be watching...

Returning Shows:

Arrow
Castle
Elementary 
Grey's Anatomy
Hart of Dixie
Homeland*
How I Met Your Mother
Nashville
New Girl
NCIS
Once Upon A Time
Parenthood
Raising Hope
Scandal
Sons of Anarchy
The Carrie Diaries
The Good Wife
The Vampire Diaries
The Voice
The Walking Dead
White Collar

New Shows:

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Almost Human

The Black List

The Crazy Ones

Dracula

Enlisted
Hostages

Masters of Sex*

The Michael J. Fox Show
Mom

Once Upon A Time In Wonderland

The Originals

Reign

Sleepy Hollow

The Tomorrow People

Trophy Wife

I seem to add a ton of new shows to my schedule every year, but always manage to make it all work. Shows that I have dropped since last Fall include Blue Bloods, Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23, Happy Endings, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Revenge and Suburgatory. Several of those were canceled and the others just lost my interest, but I have plenty more to check out!

"There you go, finding a hidden advantage in an unfortunate circumstance...

...using pain to take you to the next level. Those are the things that turn players into kings."
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I wanted to post this last week while I was home in Philadelphia, but my mother's computer has gotten so slow that it would have taken me all week to finish. So here now, only a little delayed, are my favorite episodes of television from the past year. As I remind you every year, I do not think that they are necessarily the BEST episodes from the year, just my favorites. Be forewarned, there are plenty of spoilers ahead.

So, without further ado...

Sons of Anarchy "Laying Pipe"
This episode completely destroyed me. I was literally in a ball on the floor crying my eyes out by the time it was over. All that really needs to be said is that Ryan Hurst is a warrior and gave an incredible and heart-breaking final performance as Opie Winston. His presence on the show will be sorely missed but he went out in stellar fashion. I really enjoyed the entire season, but this hit me harder than anything else this year and really intensified everything else that happened the rest of the season. It will really set the tone for who Jax ultimately becomes. I said it last year and I will say it again, Kurt Sutter is a crazy genius and he has a phenomenal and totally under-rated cast backing him up.

The Vampire Diaries "Memorial"
Another episode of television that made me cry. I loved the whole episode, but I especially enjoyed the end where they released the Chinese floating lanterns in memory of all the friends and family they have lost over the past four seasons. And then, of course, when Damon refused to participate, he went to the cemetery to rant at Alaric's grave and as the camera pans out we see ghost Alaric sitting beside him listening and he says the best five words of the whole episode: "I miss you too, buddy."  So good.

Parenthood "One More Weekend With You"
This show has really stepped up its game this season. Parenthood has always been a great hour of television, but season four has been absolutely amazing every single week. A breast cancer storyline and a new character who is an Iraq War veteran has upped the stakes this year and every single actor has risen to the challenge. Monica Potter, Peter Krause, Mae Whitman and newest addition Matt Lauria are all especially mind-blowing in their performances. I liked this episode the best because it showed Kristina going through her first chemo treatment and the reaction she has from it in an incredibly realistic way. It also shows us for the first time, the real struggle that Ryan is going through after having lost one of his military buddies and how Amber deals with him and his situation. I really love the characters on this show and all of the actors that portray them. There really is not one weak link. It just continues to make me wish I were a Braverman.

"As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!"

On this Thanksgiving, I give you a few clips of awesome Thanksgiving themed episodes of television. The first is "Turkeys Away" from WKRP in Cincinnati. I was not actually alive when this episode originally aired, but I think it is hilarious. Apologies for the quality of the video:



I have recently been rewatching The West Wing and I really love this episode where President Bartlett calls the Butterball Hotline. I just always enjoy that he has to pretend that he is someone other than the President while talking to the woman on the phone. It reminds me of the scene in The American President when Michael Douglas's character tries to order flowers over the phone. But I digress, here is Martin Sheen in all his Presidential glory.



Another great Thanksgiving episode of The West Wing involves the President pardoning a turkey and C.J. having to choose between two candidates.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer also has a classic episode involving the spirit of a Native American warrior who is angry about having been massacred by Sunnydale settlers. There were not a lot clips available, but I do enjoy this one where Buffy accidentally turns the Native American that she is fighting into a bear :)



I also enjoy Xander and his syphilis in this episode and, of course, the appearance of Angel.

And, of course, no list would be complete without a Friends clip. They always had the best Thanksgiving episodes every season.  The Gellar Cup, the one where Rachel puts meat in the trifle and the one with Brad Pitt are all so good! This one involves a flashback to when Monica accidentally cuts off Chandler's toe.



A few honorable mentions that I could not find clips for includes New Girl "Thanksgiving," How I Met Your Mother "Slapsgiving," Felicity "Thanksgiving" and Parenthood "Happy Thanksgiving." Although, I do have to say, shows need to get more creative with their titles :)

At the beginning of this holiday season, I also ask you to remember that there are still many people struggling after Hurricane Sandy. I have listed some places below where you can donate money and find places to help volunteer. Every little bit helps!

I hope that everyone enjoys their holiday and stays safe.

xoxo
c

Staten Strong
Presbyterian Disaster Asisitance
American Red Cross
Habitat for Humanity

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"Tell me you love me."

September is finally here and that means so is the start of Fall Television. Therefore, as is tradition, here is my list of all the new and returning shows for which I will be tuning in. As always, I have packed my schedule.

Returning Shows:

Blue Bloods
Castle
Community
Don't Trust the B---- In Apartment 23
Grey's Anatomy
Happy Endings
Hart of Dixie
Homeland
How I Met Your Mother
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
NCIS
New Girl
Once Upon A Time
Parenthood
Revenge
Scandal
Sons of Anarchy
Suburgatory
The Good Wife
The Vampire Diaries
The Voice

"Here's to God and football and, ten years from now, good friends livin' large in Texas. Texas forever."

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I watch a lot of television. However, my obsession did not really start until college. I watched a lot of TV in high school, but never really paid much attention to specific actors or directors. While it mostly started out as a way to avoid studying for my college courses, it eventually turned into something more than that. Once you start watching a lot of television, you quickly learn to decipher between good shows and bad shows. That is not to say that many bad shows cannot be entertaining, but you begin to recognize the different calibers and styles of acting/writing/directing/etc.

I eventually became the person that all my friends turned to when they wanted to know about new shows or when they recognized a guest star on Grey's Anatomy and could not figure out what else they had seen that actor on. There are more of us TV nerds out there than you probably realize and now we have some place to celebrate that, just like all you movie and music lovers :o)

This weekend I have the esteemed pleasure of volunteering for the first annual ATX Television Festival here in Austin. Beginning tomorrow night, June 1, and running through Sunday, June 3, this festival will bring together actors, writers, directors, producers, music supervisors, studio executives and fans to talk about the past, present and future of television. Operating similarly to a film festival, there will be screenings, panels, parties and live music with some of the industry's leading professionals.

To kick things off on opening night, ATX is screening the season premiere of USA Network's Royal Pains along with an episode from the first season of Suits. Also in attendance will be the executive producers from both shows, David Bartis and Michael Rauch, and Royal Pains cast member, Judy Greer. A few other shows screening this weekend are: Life Unexpected, Parenthood, The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Firefly, Criminal Minds, a few Web series and even some Hasbro cartoons.

The panels throughout the weekend include Women in Television, TV Fantasy Goes Mainstream, a Love Monkey Retrospective, Music in Television and a final goodbye to One Tree Hill. There will be a discussion between Bill Lawrence (creator of Spin City, Scrubs and Cougar Town) and a few of his friends about what it has been like to work together over the years. Jason Katims will also reflect on his career, which started on My So-Called Life and also includes Boston Public, Roswell, Friday Night Lights and Parenthood. Moderators for these panels and screenings include Meg Masters from TVLine, Robyn Ross from TV Guide and Ben Blacker from Nerdist.

And if all that was not enough to make your head explode with excitement, the Alamo Drafthouse is hosting The Ultimate Children's Hospital Marathon on Saturday afternoon. Cast members Rob Corddry, Rob Huebel, Ken Marino, Erinn Hayes and Executive Producers David Wain and Jonathan Stern will all be in attendance.



However, the event that I am probably most looking forward to is the Friday Night Lights Outdoor Screening taking place on Saturday night at the Hotel San Jose. It is open to the public and includes a screening of the Pilot and Finale episodes and will showcase music from cast members Alicia Witt, Dora Madison Burge and Jesse Plemons. A few of the other cast members who will also be on hand for the event are Scott Porter, Gaius Charles, Michael B. Jordan, Matt Lauria and Louanne Stephens. It should be tons of fun and I cannot wait!

This weekend, there is really something for everyone and if you are not in Austin you are definitely missing out on what is sure to be a FABulous time.

Like I said, I am working for the festival Friday through Sunday, but I will try my best to update Facebook and Twitter with behind-the-scenes info and pictures. And if I manage to meet Kristen Bell, it has been nice knowing you all because, I will probably die of excitement :o)

xoxo
c

For more ATX  Festival information:
http://www.atxfestival.com/

For Children's Hospital Marathon information: http://drafthouse.com/movies/the_ultimate_childrens_hospital_marathon/austin
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"Gettin' knocked up and kidnapped kinda wipes the slate clean."

Sadly, my beloved Philadelphia Phillies have made an early exit from the post season. The only good thing about this is that I do not have to worry about catching up on all my TV shows because I am not watching any more playoff games, watching any baseball is just too heartbreaking :o(

But I digress...

Last week, I checked out American Horror Story on FX and I am not really sure what to say about this new show. Parts of it were interesting and parts of it were just weird. I cannot tell where the plot is going or how they are going to make an entire season out of it. I have not yet watched this week's episode, but I will give it another chance before I stop watching, if only because I really like Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott. As we all know, horror is not my thing, but if the story and acting are good, I might be able to enjoy this regardless.

Against my better judgement, and mostly only because I could fit it onto my DVR, I also tried to watch Last Man Standing, starring Tim Allen. I could not even get through the first episode. I made it to the first commercial break and then I had to turn it off.

As expected, I am loving the new seasons of Parenthood, The Vampire Diaries and Sons of Anarchy. In fact, Tuesday night's episode of Sons of Anarchy totally blew my mind. I am ridiculously excited to see what Kurt Sutter does with the rest of this season.

And I think I can now officially say that Prime Suspect is my favorite new show of the season. Maria Bello is fantastic as New York City Detective Jane Timoney. I especially love the scenes when she is antagonizing the ex-wife of her boyfriend, played by Kenny Johnson. I also enjoy the other detectives in her office played by Kirk Acevedo and Tim Griffin because they make me laugh a lot. I can also now say that New Girl, starring Zooey Deschanel, is my favorite new comedy and I am a little sad that it will not return until November because of the MLB playoffs.

"I know there's alcohol at high school parties. I've seen Friday Night Lights."

This week, I have watched the season premieres of Parenthood, The Vampire Diaries and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the series premieres of Ringer, Up All Night, Free Agents and The Secret Circle.

I get made fun of a lot for liking The Vampire Diaries, but it is mostly from people who do not watch the show. I know I have said this a lot, but it is so good and just when you think that it cannot possibly get any better, it does! The season three finale was fantastic. A few questions from last season's finale were answered, a few were made more confusing (in a good way) and some new questions were posed. I do not like to spoil things for people who do not watch the show yet, but what is going with Mrs. Lockwood?! I am intrigued and excited. This is one of the few shows that I need to watch the night it airs because I just cannot wait until the next day. I am serious, you really should be watching this if you are not already.

Parenthood is another awesome show that just keeps getting better. The relationship between each of the family members is always changing and always full of fantastic drama. Lauren Graham and Mae Whitman especially give great performances each and every week. It may sound a little crazy, but The Bravermans make me want to have a big family of my own. One can only hope that they will be as entertaining. :o)

"If you don't believe in even the possibility of magic, you'll never find it."

As I have done the last two years, and with the start of Fall TV upon us, I will now share with you the shows I plan to check out. There are a lot of new shows this year that appeal to me and many returning shows as well, so I am going to be very busy this year.

Returning Shows:
Blue Bloods
Castle
Community
The Good Wife
Grey's Anatomy
Happy Endings
Hawaii Five-O
How I Met Your Mother
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
NCIS
NCIS: Los Angeles
Parenthood
Sons of Anarchy
The Vampire Diaries
The Walking Dead

"I traded my pig for you!"

Since everyone else on the internet seems to be making these lists, I have decided to share with you who I would pick if I could vote for Emmy nominations.

Actor Drama
1. Charlie Hunnam - Sons of Anarchy
2. Timothy Olyphant - Justified
3. Mark Harmon - NCIS
4. Kyle Chandler - Friday Night Lights
5. Matt Bomer - White Collar
6. Donal Logue - Terriers

Actress Drama
1. Katey Sagal - Sons of Anarchy
2. Connie Britton - Friday Night Lights
3. Jennifer Beals - The Chicago Code
4. Mirielle Enos - The Killing
5. Lauren Graham - Parenthood
6. Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife

Supporting Actor Drama
1. Josh Charles - The Good Wife
2. Ron Perlman - Sons of Anarchy
3. Walton Goggins - Justified
4. Matt Czuchry - The Good Wife
5. Joel Kinnaman - The Killing
6. John Slattery - Mad Men

Supporting Actress Drama
1. Michelle Forbes - The Killing
2. Margo Martindale - Justified
3. Archie Panjabi - The Good Wife
4. KaDee Strickland - Private Practice
5. Mae Whitman - Parenthood
6. Christina Hendricks - Mad Men

Best Drama
1. Sons of Anarchy
2. Justified
3. The Good Wife
4. Parenthood
5. NCIS
6. Friday Night Lights

Actor Comedy
1. Joel McHale - Community
2. Josh Radnor - How I Met Your Mother
3. Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory
4. Zachary Levi - Chuck
5. Steve Carrell - The Office
6. Charlie Day - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Actress Comedy
1. Mary-Louise Parker - Weeds
2. Kaitlin Olson - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
3. Tina Fey - 30 Rock
4. Kaley Cuoco - The Big Bang Theory
5. Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation
6. Melissa McCarthy - Mike & Molly

Supporting Actor Comedy
1. Chris Colfer - Glee
2. Neil Patrick Harris - How I Met Your Mother
3. Danny Pudi - Community
4. Jason Segel - How I Met Your Mother
5. Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family
6. Adam Scott - Parks and Recreation

Supporting Actress Comedy
1. Heather Morris - Glee
2. Kristin Wiig - Saturday Night Live
3. Alyson Hannigan - How I Met Your Mother
4. Alison Brie - Community
5. Busy Philipps - Cougar Town
6. Jane Lynch - Glee

Best Comedy
1. How I Met Your Mother
2. Community
3. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
4. The Big Bang Theory
5. Chuck
6. Weeds

I do not watch a lot of comedy shows, so some of those choices are a little random. They mostly came from liking specific actors in other projects that they have done. I also only watch about three reality TV shows, so I did not list my choices for that at all.

Do you agree/disagree with my selections?! Let me know! The actual nominees will be announced July 14. Make sure you are following me on Twitter and/or Facebook for that.

xoxo
c
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"You know, I was two years in Vietnam. Do you know what I thought about, what I dreamt about?...

Is coming home and having a family, having grandkids. I dreamt you, Amber. And Haddie, and Drew, and Sydney, and Jabar, and Max. We almost lost you, Amber. I know you've had some bad breaks, not feeling good about yourself, didn't get into Berkley. Well, boo-friggin-hoo. You gotta suck it up, girl. You're a Braverman. You got my blood in your veins. And if you ever do something like this again, you even think about doing something like this, I will personally kick your little butt all the way from here to the Golden Gate Bridge. You do not have permission to mess with my dreams! Are we clear?

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I know it has been a while since I have written an actual post, so I apologize if my television reviews are a bit of old news.  I am also going to be making a conscience effort to post significantly more during the month of May.  Hopefully it will be every day, but it will at least be a few times a week.  I am attempting to increase my followers and pageviews, so we shall see if this works.  Also, if you know of anyone that you think would enjoy my blog, please share it with them!

In terms of recent television, the Grey's Anatomy musical and the season finale of Parenthood stick out the most to me. One was amazing and the other...not so much.

The musical episode of Grey's was not a complete disaster, but the musical part of it also did not really make sense within the episode.  I think it was supposed to be part of Callie's mind, but then why were people singing when they were not near her? Sometimes they were not even in the hospital. And sometimes it seemed like when one person was singing, no one else in the room was aware of it. Yet other times, like when Owen was trying to get them to figure out a plan, he was singing and everyone seemed to know he was singing but did not think it was weird. However, I did enjoy the actual music itself.  There were good songs and they were well sung.  I just do not think Grey's was the right forum for a musical episode.

The Parenthood season finale, on the other hand, was awesome and was hopefully not the series finale.  Lauren Graham and Mae Whitman delivered phenomenal performances and Craig Nelson had one of my favorite monologues of the TV season so far. (See above). He says this to his granddaughter after she was in an car accident because her friend was drunk driving. Not only is this a great show about the inter-workings of a big family, but it has also done a great job of showing a realistic portrayal of a child with autism.  I love this show and I cannot understand why more people are not watching it. Since the finale had improved ratings, it is likely to get renewed for another season, but nothing is ever for sure.

As far as getting to the movie theater, I have not been in a few weeks.  I am trying to avoid seeing the mediocre movies that are out right now so that I can save my money for all the potentially amazing movies coming out this summer.

The last new movie that I saw was Source Code and I thought that it was really good. Although, it is difficult to really talk about the movie without giving anything away.  Basically, Jake Gyllenhaal plays a soldier who wakes up in the body of a stranger and has to relive the same eight minutes over and over again until he finds the bomber of train heading into downtown Chicago. If this movie proves anything, it is that Jake Gyllenhaal continuously proves that he is an excellent leading man.

I also finally saw Coco Before Chanel from Netflix, which was definitely interesting.  It was well acted but just lacked something.  I do not feel like I learned anything from the movie about Coco Chanel that I could not have read online somewhere.  It was just very bland.

In a totally unrelated topic, apparently, according to my Google stats, Henry Cavill seems to be the thing that brings the most people to my blog while searching on the internet. I love him too, so I understand the draw, I just thought it was an interesting fact.  So, if you are here in search of Henry Cavill, I unfortunately do not have any new stories about him today, but if you type his name into the little "Search This Blog" box in the top right corner, you will be taken to my other two posts where he is mentioned.  Enjoy! ;o)

As always, if you have comments or questions for me, please let me know below. If you feel that there is a TV show that I should be watching or an issue I should address, I would love to hear about it!

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter and a Happy Passover!
xoxo
c

Another horrible natural disaster has hit our country, so I have once again listed some places where you can donate money for relief efforts:

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
American Red Cross
Habitat for Humanity
United Way
World Vision
StillerStrong
The Nature Conservancy
National Wildlife Federation
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"I do believe in killing the messenger. You know why? Because it sends a message."

Just like I did last August, I have decided to give you a list of the TV shows on my schedule for this year. My list seems to be significantly longer than last year, so I either will not have much of a life or several shows will eventually get cut. Needless to say, my DVR will be a blessing, as usual...and who am I kidding, I do not have a life :o)

My Returning Shows:
The Vampire Diaries
Gossip Girl
One Tree Hill
Life Unexpected
Parenthood
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
How I Met Your Mother
Castle
Glee
NCIS
NCIS: LA
Community
Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice
Brothers & Sisters

New Shows:
Nikita
Lonestar
Hawaii Five-O
My Generation
Blue Bloods
No Ordinary Family

I am super excited about the start of The Vampire Diaries, Castle and Community. Grey's Anatomy, despite the AWFUL Thanksgiving/Christmas/NYE episode, was getting really good again last season, so I am hoping that trend continues this season. I am not sure that I will get into Nikita or Blue Bloods, but Nikita has been getting good reviews and Blue Bloods has Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg and Will Estes (who you may remember as JJ Pryor on American Dreams), so I will at least give them a shot.

Greek is also one of my shows that I will still watch this year, but it does not start again until January, so I have not included it on my list.  I also do not know when the second season of Justified is starting.

Tonight is the season finale of White Collar and my other shows will probably be wrapping up over the next few weeks. Nikita and The Vampire Diaries start this week on the CW and the rest of the premiere dates can be found at TV Guide.

What shows are you excited about this season? Are there any shows you think I should be watching that I am not currently watching? Let me know and maybe I will check them out.

I hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend! Happy Start of Fall TV!
xoxo
c
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