Fall Television 2012: The End of the World and Good TV

It's Thanksgiving break and I'm sitting here at my computer, telling myself I need to write college essays. But now I'm here. My old blog. How I've missed blogging. I figured what the heck, let's give it a whirl once again. See what crap I can conjure up. So without further ado, here is what television knowledge I have accumulated thus far since my last post a million years ago. And... go!

From the show Go On. Found the pic on a NYT blog.

Fall television has started! The new shows are out, a lot of bad ones are still here, and the good few are still hanging on. All is well in the television universe. Except, what shows should I, you, we, us, be watching? I mean, we can't just go on a merry way without getting a look at what's going on. That just wouldn't be me! So the new shows that came out this year include Go On, Guys with Kids, Malibu Country, The New Normal, The Mindy Project and Animal Practice to name a few.

Can I just ask you guys one thing? Who the hell picks these shows? Like, who decides to produce a show with a monkey as one of the characters in show about an animal hospital? Animal Practice, the one I'm referring to, is absolutely horrible. It's not funny nor is it interesting at all. The fact that it stars a monkey in it is just icing on this crap cake.

Don't even get me started on Malibu Country. That's one I haven't even seen and I want to throw up just thinking about it. I was watching TV the other day with my dad and a commercial came on for that show and my dad was like "didn't that lady already have a crappy show that got canceled?" That wasn't verbatim but you get the gist. The show was called Reba  if you were wondering... to the show's defense, it wasn't that bad. It won a few awards actually.

I think the show that scares me the most is Guys with Kids. Not because it's as stupid or trashy as Malibu Country, but because it's being produced by Jimmy Fallon. The show just looks bad and just really not original. This pains me to say this because I absolutely love Fallon. It's true... just read this or this. He's really funny and I love his show. To see him totally selling his new show on Late Night just pains me significantly. Watch this and you'll understand.

 

It's not like there isn't potential... it's just painfully not original. At all. So many movies have come out recently about parents and babies. And what about Up All Night that just came out last year? I don't even like that show that much but it has funny people and decent original writing. I just really don't see a future for Guys with Kids, at all. Sorry, Jimmy.

 I watched The Mindy Project and was a little bit surprised. . Nothing I would really like to watch again, but it did have it's moments of funniness. I was also hopeful for The New Normal because I liked a lot of the actors they had in it. I wasn't too impressed with the pilot  but I might check in with it later once it's in its groove.

In conclusion, new TV shows kind of suck. I might be one of those old people who only like the "classics" and nothing new, but it's just kind of true. If you want to watch quality television, some of the shows I've been watching lately include: Louie, Mad Men, Dexter, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, New Girl, Saturday Night Live (sometimes), and The Daily Show (my favorite!). Not saying you should watch what I watch... but you should.There are so many great show out there right now. Don't settle for anything less than amazingness! All right, I guess I'll see you guys again... soon? Thanks for reading!

My Amazing Experience in Japan

I got back from Japan about a month ago. I know I was going to be really cool and blog while I was there, but the wifi availability was kind of sketchy and I didn't have my own laptop and didn't want to use my friend's for long periods of time. Sorry it's taken me so long to get this blog post, but come on it's summer! So, here is what I experienced in Japan. I'll talk about some TV stuff and just some normal stuff too about the culture and my experience.

Ready to leave for Japan with our passports in hand! 

First of all I want to briefly explain how I managed to go to Japan. This year my Japanese teacher announced that Cedar Rapids would have a very good chance in be able to send some students to Japan for free through the Kizuna project. Because our teacher is involved with the Laurasian institute (an organization that worked with the Japanese national government to put this together), Iowa does not have many schools teaching Japanese, and they were looking for places that have had natural disasters (we had bad floods in 2008), Kennedy was pretty much a shoe in. But of course, other Cedar Rapids schools wanted to go as well (as they deserved) so we split it up between the three schools (Wash, Jeff, and Kennedy). Sorry for my obsession with parentheses by the way! Anyway, so to pick which students could actually go on this once in a lifetime trip, we had to apply. I wrote an essay, got teacher recommendations, and gave my teacher a transcript. Within a couple weeks my friend and I were informed that we were both going to Japan! And that my friends, was the beginning of our journey.

Before we left we had to learn a lot about what NOT to do. It may sound weird to us Americans, but there was a lot of these in Japan. It's impolite to stick your chopsticks into food and leave them, to sit on the floor, and even poop without playing music! Not joking about that last one... I made a mistake one time of thinking that a music button was the toilet button. It was awkward. All of these cultural rules were kind of overwhelming and frightening. Once we got to Japan and stayed our first night in Tokyo we realized that we really were in a different culture. And that was a good thing! The Japanese people were all so very nice and welcoming. It became a lot less nerve racking and a lot more fun very quickly.

The beautiful pond.

After our first night in Tokyo we headed over to Fukushima, a large prefecture that was affected by the earthquake last year. The point was for us to see how the society of rebounding from the horrible affects of the disaster. Like remember the nuclear scare? They explained that their crops once detected radiation, but then went through the process of testing their current crops and showed us that in fact they were now radiation-free. The cucumbers that were tested were delicious by the way:) I really liked Fukushima because we got to stay in little cottages next to a beautifully scenic pond with a trail surround it. My friend and I got up in the morning to run around it and explore the wonders it held. To be brief, Fukushima really gave me a perspective on a natural disaster I had never seen before. I realized that it's one task to recover from an earthquake, and an entirely different task to actually return to how it was before. To get families and tourist to once again enjoy the town. I loved Tenei in Fukushima and if you ever want a really amazing hotel in Japan to stay in, go to the Regina Hotel in Fukushima near Tenei, you won't regret it!

Our cute little cottage!  

Alright so after Tenei we boarded the bullet train once again and headed back to Tokyo where we stayed a couple of nights. I. Loved. Tokyo! The shopping was so fun and exciting! During the way we had to go to boring museums, but at night our teacher would let us sneak off and explore different areas of Tokyo. I got to try out karaoke, eat ramen, shop in sketchy basements and super high end stores. It was really really fun.

Tokyo!!

It wasn't until after I started my homestay next that I encountered a lot of television. Yes, once and awhile I would turn on my TV in the hotel room or cottage to see what it was like, but we honestly didn't have much time to actually watch it. I was so nervous for my homestay. The fact that I was staying in some random family's house, talking a language I have only been studying for 3 years, eating their food, and keeping up with the proper manners, was so daunting. But right away my family was very nice and welcoming. Their house was near Mt. Fuji so they took me to nearby tower to get a good view. We also visited their grandparent's peach farm where I nervously talked to their family while we munched on deliciously ripe peaches and sat in the shade of their peach trees.

My host family.

Once we got back to their house I sat down in their living room and journaled about my day of activites and watched some TV. The show the family was watching consisted of some random talk show hosts talking about various musicians and showing their music videos. I noticed throughout my stay that there were a lot of  shows that were based around music. In fact, those were like the only kind of shows I ever really saw at their house. Maybe the whole show wasn't about showing music videos, but so many of them had some musical element to them. The next morning they had a morning talk show where they had a host and three panelists who were shown various videos and then the audience would watch their reaction to the video. Some were music videos, but there other ones that I don't even remember. It was really weird trying to figure our what was going on because I had absolutely no idea what they were saying.

At the host school.

During the homestay we also got to visit a school where we interacted with the students and learned about what they did on a daily basis. The homestay overall was quite overwhelming because you are deeply immersed in Japanese language in culture. With that said, it was truly one of the best experiences of my life. It was scary, but so much fun! I probably learned more about Japan in those two days than I have in my entire life.

After the homestay, we headed to Kyoto and Osaka where we ended our journey. Again we visited a couple boring sites but were also allowed to roam around and shop once in awhile. On one of the last days, I remember my friend and I were sitting in our hotel room and I decided to turn on the TV to see if I could find any TV to talk about on my blog. We watched a drama while we were getting ready and noticed some differences from American television. First of all the camera and lighting are like strangely different. Not to toot America's horn, but it's just better quality. You can tell that they shovel a lot more time and money into just the picture quality. I've noticed this in Japanese dramas I've watched back in the states in my class, but the acting is different too. It's kind of hard to determine exactly what the difference is because of course they're speaking a different language, but one thing that I've noticed over the years is how comedy is acted out. In Japan, the men always play the goofy almost weird characters and the girls play cute characters that are funny because they're clumsy or make mistakes. In America, you find more often women are funny because either they're totally stupid or they make super witty remarks. Of course there are also clumsy, goofy, witty, or stupid male and female characters in both cultures, but I think our two cultures definitely have a different sense of humor.

Kinkakuji in Kyoto.

Although my two week Japan trip was extremely fun and engaging, I was ready to come home to Cedar Rapids. I missed my bed, my family, my friends, my dogs, and especially the food! I loved the food in Japan, but I will always love my home food even more. I know traveling can be expensive, but if anyone is looking for an amazing place to visit, I would highly recommend Japan. I'm positive that someday I will visit again because I just absolutely loved it. The people were so nice and welcoming and I really felt like I learned a lot about not only the Japanese culture, but my own as well. It really gives you a way to see your own culture from sort of an outside perspective. It was really the best experience of my life.

My host sister and I wrote this with sparklers:)

I'm Off to Japan!

Hello blog! It's been so long since I've seen you! I've been meaning to blog this summer, but you know... laziness kind of overcomes you when the sun shines and homework is non-existent. But I have so much to talk about. With all the TV I have watched, and all of the buzz going around it, I just really need to share!

I also realized that I'm probably not going to post as much anymore. The fact that this isn't a requirement for a class anymore really makes this a lot less of a priority. So I think I'm going to change it up a little bit. Instead of making any posts on various topics, once in awhile I will make a post combining multiple topics. Sometimes they might have a theme, but mostly I'll just talk about what ever TV stuff is on my mind that day/week/whenever.

So without further ado... my first topic on the agenda is Japan! That's right you read that correctly. I am leaving for Japan tomorrow! It's a two week trip with some of my Japanese classmates that was given to us for free to increase tourism in Japan. What does this have to do with my silly little television blog? Well, I'm really excited to see Japanese television. I'm sure most of you picture some crazy game show (I'll be honest, so do I...), but that's not all Japan has to offer!

They have lots of interesting dramas. We watched some in class like one with a robot boyfriend and another with a teacher whose family was part of the mafia. What I find fascinating about Japanese TV shows is they don't last long at all. They run for like two seasons, with maybe 12 episodes? Then if they were really popular they most likely have a movie. That is so different from American television because one: if a show is good, it will run season after season until the audience grows weary and two: making a movie after a television show is usually a pretty tacky move. When I think of TV movies I think of shows that did not last at all and made a movie for the small number of die hard fans. but not in Japan! TV movies in Japan are a sure sign that the show was really popular and the movie is a like a finale for the show.

Well, Japan is awaiting me. I won't have my own computer, but my friend might let me borrow hers. So with that I will keep my look out for interesting and entertaining television in Japan and try my best to update. I'm so excited to see what I find! Sayonara!:)

Farewell for Now

I can't believe the year is finally ending. I hate when people say this cliché, but it really seems like I started this blog yesterday. I remember being so excited, so ready to regurgitate all the random television knowledge I've been keeping in my brain. I couldn't wait to start watching new shows to rant or rave about them, to offer insight and analysis on why certain shows do well or how they are related to others. To talk about my favorite shows and what they mean to me has honestly been fun. If I hadn't had this blog, I think my friends would've been a lot more annoyed this year. I have gotten to write all my thoughts about television on this blog, exponentially reducing the enthusiastic one-way conversations with my unwilling friends.

I'm going to be honest here and say I will not miss the stressful weekends where I had to fit in blogging. The Sunday nights racking my brain for some kind of topic that would be a sufficient word count were not very fun. But, let me add this: I really did enjoy blogging. While other AP Lang students complained about not being caught up on blogging, I thought to myself "why?" It's the only time we can really express ourselves without worrying about being graded on the content. We can write about whatever we desire. We don't have to worry about a teacher reading and grading it, so we don't need to censor our writing. I was able to write just how I would talk, not having to worry about the formalities that go along with normal writing for various school assignments.

I'd also like to mention that throughout this year I hardly ever got off topic! I'm pretty sure a lot of people ran out of ideas on their blogs and started to talk about things other than what their blog was supposed to. But I didn't! Okay, I did a couple times. But for the most part I have been able to crank out TV topics, whether they were interesting or not.

So this is my last blog post. AP exams are finished, I have a million final projects, finals are just around the corner, and then summer will finally arrive, blessing me with stress-free bliss. I think I'm going to miss this blog. I'm going to miss being forced to write about TV. My mind keeps coming up with new post ideas and I will have no where to put them. Luckily this will always be here, waiting for the time I desperately need to talk about a show finale or a new show I like. We'll see if that actually happens...

 So this is it. It's been a great year, but it's time to say farewell. Good-bye blog.

Blogging Advice from a Survivor of AP Lang

Dear incoming AP Lang student,

I read a lot of random blogs trying to figure out what I would write for my own. Although no one is probably reading this, I'm going to assume anyway that all the new 11th graders out there, eager to start AP Lang, came right to my blog to seek advice on how to make an amazing and fun blog. Here's my advice to you!

Do not pick a topic that you're not super super super super interested in. Something you wouldn't mind talking about for hours. Something that you have an abundance of ideas about. And if some week you didn't have an idea it would be easy to find inspiration. Pick a topic that you love AND can write about. If you love horses? Great. But if you can't write about them week after week you probably shouldn't make a blog about them. I chose television because I knew it was something I was interested in, had a lot to talk about, and could easily find ideas by (you guessed it) watching TV.

Don't stress out about titles, layouts, fonts, etc. This may seem like a no-brainer, but when you first create your blog you probably won't know what you want it to look like and might freak out. The day in class when Mr. Ayers has you create a blog title and you have absolutely no idea what to call it? Seriously, it doesn't matter. First, it can always be changed. And secondly, no one looks at it. I think my biggest audience is from Russia... Also if you need an idea for a blog name, talk to Ayers. He's pretty good with that  kind of stuff.

Don't get behind. You're probably thinking right now "I'm going to stay up with blogging all year. I'll make a schedule and never get behind!" That's not going to happen. At first its pretty easy, you're able to blog periodically during weekdays instead of saving it for the end of the week. Then you get busy and procrastination takes a hold. All of a sudden it's 11 on a Sunday night and you haven't even started thinking about what you're going to write. That happens to everyone, don't panic! Words of wisdom? Ayers doesn't check blogs every week, just go to bed and do it the next night. BUT! Don't wait until next weekend. Seriously, don't. You'll hate yourself even more if you have 6 blog posts to do next Sunday night.

Please. Take advantage of class time. Mr. Ayers usually gives class time once a week specifically for blogging (or sometimes blogging/working on the current paper). Use it!!! Even if you're just reading articles for inspiration or sitting and staring at your blog. It's really good to start thinking about posts early in the week because it's much easier to think of blog ideas when you've been thinking about it for awhile. I still randomly think about blog post ideas throughout the week. You need to get into that mindset!

Don't give up! Take the time to actually put some thought into your blog. This is a chance for you to truly express yourself without getting graded (other than completion points). A chance for you to talk about topics that your friends, family, teachers, priests, whoever, could care less about. But you do! You get to talk about something that you care about and that you want to talk about. So do it! Have fun with it. Forget it's for a grade. Of course blogging wasn't always enjoyable for me, but because I kept telling myself that I did like it, those times became less stressful and more creative.

So have fun and good luck. You'll lose sleep, but you'll learn a lot. That's a promise!

Sincerely,
Former AP Lang Student

House Finale

Next Monday, House will end forever. Not for a short hiatus, not a season finale. The end of the show will be airing next Monday. I have already posted two blog posts on this subject, discussing my acceptance for this end. Check out Letting Go... and Saying Good-bye. Yes all of these titles are very vague, it's more of me trying to be subtle. Not because I'm totally awful at naming blog posts...ha. ha.

So House is ending and I'm not caught up at all. I tried to last Friday, mostly because I needed a break from the acne-ridden stress that has accumulated from AP tests, but I only got through one episode before falling asleep. Not because it was boring! Ok, it might have been a little. But mostly because of my recent obsessive studying. It's really bad when you're not caught up with the last season of a show, mostly because when you innocently click on a video or webpage talking about the season finale, they give away important details. On Facebook I clicked on this video to get myself hyped up for the finale, only to watch a few seconds because I had to quickly click out when House revealed that *spoiler alert* something bad is happening to Wilson. Here's the video. Watch only if you're caught up!! I have no idea if this is actually a good video though, I've only seen about one second.

Even though the show is going downhill, the finale will be amazing. House finales are always amazing. Remember in season 2 House got shot? Or 4 (my favorite) when Wilson's girlfriend Amber and House get in a huge bus accident? Or what about season 5 when House is detoxing from Vicodin but realizes at the end he was hallucinating the whole episode? The list of great episodes, finales or not, goes on and on.

I realize it's sad to say, but I will really miss this show. The days I would come to school Monday mornings, happy because there was a new episode of House on. Or the nights my mom would buy me a big bar of chocolate from the store and I would sit watching House with a warm laptop on my thighs, answering trivia questions as I watched in amazement. Even holidays were spent with my family sitting down and watching House marathons on USA. Or the many times I would enthusiastically talk about the show to my friends who could care less but still pretended to to be somewhat interested (true friendship right there!).

This show has really made an impact on my life. It sounds corny, but it's true. I wouldn't know random diseases, or what Vicodin was, or how incredibly painful and life-altering a drug addiction can be. It showed me how sacred friendship was. How medicine has a huge impact over our lives. Probably the biggest lessons I learned: everybody lies. It may sound depressing, but it's a realization that we all must make. Once we realize this, we can stop lying to others and be true to ourselves. House, although someone who probably let's his true self shine too much, is an example of someone who isn't afraid to be himself. To show his true self. His personality affects all the relationships he has ever had, but because of this he knows that Wilson and anyone else who cares about him truly does care about him. That genuiness is important, and I would never have realized how important it really was without this show.

So I just want to say thank you. Thank you to all who made House possible. You entertained me, taught me, and ultimately got me obsessed with a show drenched in quality. I'll miss you and I hope to see wonderful things from everyone who made this show possible. Especially Hugh Laurie, I cannot wait to see what he does next. It won't be a genius doctor who is a jerk to everyone else, but I know it will be amazing. Good-bye House. I can't believe I'm finally saying this. But, this is my final good-bye.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day episodes on SNL, for some reason, are always hilarious. Anyone remember the Betty White episode? That was Mother's Day weekend. All the really awesome female cast members that had left in previous years came back to celebrate. Anyway my family sat down and watched a clip from last night's episode with Will Ferrell as a guest host. It's pretty great. Happy Mother's Day!

Digital Shorts: A New Tradition

Just recently SNL showed its 100th digital short. If you are unaware of these prerecorded comedy bits, they are created by the team of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. They call themselves "The Lonely Island", and have released two CDs featuring many of their songs from the shorts plus new ones that have not been shown on SNL. If you want more info on them, check out my post I did like a century ago called Digital Shorts and Beyond!  So who cares? Why do these silly digital shorts get so much attention?

First of all, they're on SNL for gosh sakes! These young guys created something SNL has began to feature every single episode. This may not seem like a big deal to people who never really watch the show and don't understand its rich history. The success of digital shorts, I think, is monumental. This show has been around for decades (this is not a hyperbole!). With the coming of The Lonely Island, a whole new segment was added to the show. Something that has been shown in every episode since than, joining  the traditions of the monologue, "Weekend Update", and a musical guest.

But the digital short has been done before. In the first season, SNL featured short films by Albert Brooks. They were good, but didn't really last very long, probably because they were too long and they didn't feature the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" (the main cast at the time). So the short films went away, and were replaced later by random prerecorded clips including the cast and hosts. For a long time these were not shown on a regular schedule, but more intermittent throughout the seasons.

A new era began when Andy, Akiva, and Jorma were all hired. They had been friends for a long time, and were already making small videos on their own. Their first big success was "Lazy Sunday" and the next year they created one of their most well known shorts, "D*** in a Box." Yes, their content is not child friendly, and can be quite grotesque sometimes, but they are really smart and for the most part funny.

One of the biggest catalysts for their digital short success is the internet. Because SNL sketches are so short, they have been perfect for internet usage. More people will invest 3 minutes to watch a video than people who will sit down and watch for 30 minutes. Plus, the internet is filled with mainly younger users, looking for entertainment. Finding a Lonely Island video, most are probably saying, "Hey! There's something catchy and funny that was made by guys that are younger and more adept to youthful comedy! I like this!"

So the 100th episode was shown on SNL last night. It mentioned all of the most popular shorts and of course had some of the featured people come back to celebrate. I can't believe the trio and others have put together so many successful shorts. Some have fallen in unpopularity, but others have become really well known. I hear people at school singing them, they are referenced on TV, they are a new television and cultural element. Just one of the many that SNL produces for our entertainment pleasure.

Oh I suppose I'll share the clip. Viewer discretion is advised. Enjoy!

The Foundation of an Obsession

How does one begin an obsession such as mine? A love for television that cannot be broken by multiple AP classes, time-consuming extra-curriculars, and of course the need as a teenager to have somewhat of a social life? How did this quest to delve myself in TV wonders begin? What shows were the foundation of the TV fanatic I am today?

As I reflect on my upbringing, I realize my parents were not very protective of my innocent mind. I'm kind of glad. I got to see and cherish some really great shows at a young age. One of my earliest memories of TV, other than the obvious Barney and Sesame Street, was the sci-fi show The X-Files. I realize right after I typed this, and looked over at a friend to ask if she has ever heard of this show ("no" was her response), that this show is pretty old...for me. It was created in 1993, before I was born! And it ended in 2002... when I was in 1st grade. Yeah. I was young when I watched this. My family was obsessed with this show. It became a ritual. As my mom reminded me, "I (my mom) would make a dinner you would all hate, a dessert you would all love, and then we would sit down and watch X-Files." Today that same concept has been changed quite a bit due to my busyness and the fact that my mom is obsessed with America's Funniest Videos and our family usually sneaks in an episode of The Apprentice. But back in the day, back at my old house with worn blue couches and our chunky small TV, we had a special Sunday night. The X-Files is what brought us all together, including my teenage sister at the time. We loved the show so much we named our fish Skully and Mulder (the main characters).

How good was this show? Why has it had such a lasting impact? This sci-fi show was based around two investigators , Skully and Mulder, who worked on cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder was totally into the idea of aliens and Skully basically just went along with it to eventually prove to them that it wasn't real. As you can imagine, they do end up experiencing some paranormal situations. It may sound Star Treky or some other stereotypical "nerdy" show, but it was really good and exciting to watch. Not to mention it won 26 awards and received 102 nominations! That's impressive not only for this type of genre, but for any show!

Every Sunday our family would sit down and watch The X-Files. It was our tradition. That show was the first "adult" TV show I had ever really watched. It was very young and did not understand most if not all of the dialogue, but I watched it. From then on, TV was more than just entertainment. I came home and watched a wide array of shows. From Scooby-doo to The Addams Family. From Friends (yes, my mom really did let me watch that) to All That (Hmm, a sketch comedy show for kids. I wonder how that influenced my TV preferences..). And even from the serious comedy like Roseanne to a more silly comedy like Spongebob. I didn't just like these shows because I was bored. I invested my mind into the characters. Into the plot. Into what it meant. I loved these shows. I love them to this day. They sparked something in me that may be nerdy or weird, and probably wastes way too much time, but it allows me to really appreciate the wonders that is modern television. A foundation that will forever haunt and hold me as I cry, laugh, sweat, and smile over the various shows I will have the pleasure of watching in my future.

Finale Season

It's that time of the year everybody! What time is that? Finale season! The most exciting, cliff-hanger-filled, and quality infused time of the year in television. A finale in the television world is the last episode of the season. The writers always try to make it one of the best, if not the best episode of the season. After the season finale airs, the show goes on a long (and depressing) hiatus, usually over the summer. After the hiatus, the show comes back and starts a new season. These episodes are usually pretty anticipated because finales have a tendency to end with some kind of loose end to make viewers excited for the next season.

Dexter had its season finale quite a while ago (December perhaps?). After seeing the episode, don't worry I won't spoil it, I literally freaked out. I wanted to see the next episode so bad! In fact I told my mom basically the premise of the entire show just so I could explain to her what happened and why I could not wait until September for the next season. Although season finales might not be this extreme, they do seem to make us want more.

Dexter season finale

So if season finales are a big deal, what about show finales? Show finales, as I assume you know but I'll explain anyway, are the last episode of the entire show. Although most people would think show and season finales are pretty similar, I find these two kind of episodes to be quite different actually. With season, there is really good writing with one of the best story-lines of the season. With show, the whole episode is concentrated on ending the show. Tying up all the loose ends, making sure I get some crying time in (drama OR comedy... seriously), and of course still trying to make a really good episode. A finale is hard, but a show finale is very very difficult.  Think of how many episodes they have already written. One of the main reasons they are coming to a close is because they are out of ideas! The characters have traveled their arcs and the plot has climaxed and it's time for a denouement. Oh gosh, my AP Lang senses are tingling.

The Mary Tyler-Moore Show finale

In all honesty, show finales are kind of overrated. They're depressing, sometimes kind of boring, and again, they make me cry! House, a show I used to watch obsessively in middle school, will be airing its show finale sometime soon. The show has already been on somewhat of a downward spiral. Of course it was really good, but there are only a few shows in history that can constantly put out quality material every episode year after year. Dramas are the hardest because they focus more on the plot and characters. With comedies, as long as they still produce good jokes and the characters are still interesting, the show can run for decades. The Simpsons and SNL are two great examples.

May is the finale season. Most seasons begin around August or September, which is interesting because this show schedule is exactly like a school year. With two important schedules in my life running in a year format that is different from the traditional calendar system is kind of annoying because I constantly confuse people when I say last year and mean "in 10th grade," but I digress. Finales are so exciting. They have so many great entities and continue to surprise me every year with the overall quality. You would think the writers would run out of amazing ideas, but you would be surprised. So, enjoy the finale season. I know I will in a couple weeks when I actually have time to watch them.

How I Find Time to Watch TV

Watching television in an interesting "hobby." Most would probably not even consider it that, but that's beside the point. When I tell people about my slight obsession they question me all the time about how I have "enough time" to watch all of these shows. I would just like to clear the air on this issue. I'm a high schooler taking multiple AP classes and have extra-curricular activities as well. I do not have an abundance of time. How do I fit in these amazing shows? Here are my strategies.

1. I watch most of my shows on the internet. I say this a lot on my blog, but 90 percent of the time, I'm watching my favrotie shows on my computer. This allows me to decide when and where I can watch it, which works well with my hectic schedule. Why do I not use DVR or TiVo? Actually our DVR doesn't really ever work, but I kind of like not having to worry about recording the shows. You have to remember to do it, and if you run out of memory then you have to start deleting some. It's just so much easier for me to watch on my laptop. I also find it more comfortable. Laying on my bed  or couch with the screen close to my face is my ideal TV viewing experience. Yes, this means I'm alone. Yes, that's kind of sad. But it's comfortable and honestly what I have become accustomed to.

2. I hardly ever watch TV on a weekday. Unless I'm on a break from school, I rarely will sit down and watch TV. School nights are so crazy, I never have time to get in all my homework, let alone watch a show or two. Homework obviously takes priority, but if on the off chance that I have a minimal amount or there's an episode that I desperately want to see, I might take an hour or so to watch. So when do I watch the majority of my shows? You might guess weekends and breaks? Wow, you're right! As all of the amazing shows are accumulating throughout the week, I wait with anticipation for time. Time where I'm not bombarded with assignments and studying. Time that is not now, unfortunately, because AP exams are right around the corner. In my next post I'll explain why this is very depressing (hint: finale season!).

3. I always prioritize! If you've ever read my blog, you would know I watch A LOT of shows. In fact, there are still shows I have yet to talk about on my blog that I watch! When I do get a chance to watch a show or two, I can't just watch all of them. There are way too many. How do I stay up with a season but not cram in twenty shows in one sitting? There are shows that take priority during the weekend. Lately, my priority shows consist of Parks & Rec., 30 Rock, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, sometimes Grey's Anatomy, and Dexter (when its season is going).Why are these my priority? Probably because I like them the best. Well, except for Grey's.. honestly I just watch that because it's my guilty pleasure show. Of course I still throw in my other shows too. I watched New Girl and Mad Men a couple days ago, and I plan on trying to catch up with House in the near future.

So, people who keep asking me how I can fit school and watching TV in the same schedule.. I make it work! I don't go home everyday and watch TV. I have waaay to much homework for that. Instead, I consider it reward for week's (or trimester for breaks) worth of work. Sometimes I'm too busy even on the weekends, like this one. Do I watch it anyway? Of course not. I'm not obsessed to the point that I would hurt my grades or not be ready for the AP exams. TV, as I said, is a hobby. It's not a debilitating addiction that constantly consumes my life. It's something that I'm interested in and I will continue to enjoy for a very long time.

The Comedy Awards

It's AP exam week and guess what's on TV today... The Comedy Awards! I might have to take a study break tonight.

Slow Jamming with the President

A great Late Night with Jimmy Fallon clip to end (start?) the week. Enjoy!

Money or Quality? What's the Difference?

What is it about us that makes us want to watch TV about people making or having money? Why is money such a large factor into what is interesting? I have come to this realization that money is a huge factor in television. When I say it now, it probably sounds obvious. Money is a factor in so many aspects of everyday life. But I find almost discouraging to actually think about how wealth can help a show, and how the lack of it can deeply injure a show. There are so many shows that have the creative capacity to be an excellent show, but the money is not there, either with audience viewership or with funding from the network. It can be quite damaging to a show and ultimately end something very good.

I have always been a strong believer in second chances, which is exactly what a lot of shows need. As I've said many times on this blog, pilots are almost never a good representation of the how good (or bad) a show will be. There is so much that goes into a pilot. Introducing all the characters, setting up what the show will be about, intriguing enough viewers to want to sit through another episode, and most importantly, gaining enough viewers to allow the network to continue the show. Whether a show is the absolutely phenomenal or painfully horrible, the number of viewers is all that counts. This is because many advertisers will pay to have their ads on TV during a show that has their target audience, which is usually the majority of TV watchers anyway. This is where networks and eventually TV shows get their money. Of course, if a show is really good, viewers will usually follow anyway. But what about a show that is creative and good, but doesn't capture the audience needed to receive sufficient funding?

Community is a great example. One of the few innovative and unique comedy shows today, and yet it is constantly struggling to receive enough viewers to stay on air. This reminds me of a psychology term known as cognitive dissonance, when you have conflicting thoughts that bring you discomfort. For instance, if you know that smoking causes lung cancer and your grandfather died from smoking, you may experience cognitive dissonance if you too begin smoking. The fact that Community is a great show and it was taken off air for a mid-season hiatus, makes me experience this psych term. This show is so great, but it doesn't reach out to the audience that is most profitable. Because of this, networks try to shut the show down. They want the best bang for their buck.

Obviously I'm not saying networks are evil and they are hurting television creativity, but this system can be annoying to the regular television viewer. Sure good shows are getting hurt, but what about the crappy shows that stay on? The huge audiences that tune in to watch the various singing, dancing, and bitch-slapping competitions continue to boggle my mind. Yes that's right, I'm talking about reality television. It's pretty much the only thing that still keeps networks like NBC (The Voice and America's Got Talent) and FOX (American Idol) alive. I obviously love other shows a lot more than reality, so to see that these are the shows the Americans latch onto and watch the most is quite discouraging. Why doesn't anyone like a good story anymore? Why are people so obsessed with watching reality? To take advantage of reality TV's popularity, networks are popping them out left and right because advertisers want put their ads with those shows. Now there are reality shows than ever! What does that do? It leaves less money and less time slots for the shows that I and other people who enjoy good TV love.

What if their was a solution? What if networks got their money from some other source besides advertisers. How amazing would that be. Not only would shows be more free to express their creativity, but the audience would free of the perpetually hated commercial break! It would be a utopia. Literally. The system is what it is. If ads didn't pay them, someone else would. But how would they measure how much to pay them? Now by how many fan letters or Emmy nominations they receive. They would continue to be paid according to their ratings and unfortunately that's just the way television has to work.

Comic Books & TV

Ah, the comic book. One of society's surefire ways of determining the "nerd" in the room. When someone confesses their love for such a book, it is never really accepted well by their peers. I know. This is all news to you... The people that choose to spend their time reading comic books are viewed as "weird" or "nerdy," but what if there was some redemption? What if there was a way they could show the world that their comics weren't so weird? There is! And they have been doing it for quite some time.


As many already know, there have a great deal of movies adopted from comic books. From the very successful movies like Batman and Spiderman, to the recent unsuccessful ones like Green Lantern and Captain America. Even with these faults, there have been many more successes. What does this have to do with television? In television there are a lot of less successful shows that reach out to the general public like the good movies do. Most of the comic book movies are popular not only for those who read comic books, but with everyone.  The Dark Night movie from the Batman series is a great example because it did absolutely phenomenal in the theaters, regardless of the fact that it was adopted from a comic. So are there any TV shows that match this success? Unfortunately not. In fact, I doubt there has ever been a show in history that came even close to the success of the Batman movies.


Today, there are many cartoons that try to recreate favorite comic books onto the TV screen. But these shows reach out to a very small crowd compared to other shows. There are also some shows that don’t go the cartoon route, but unfortunately most of them still do not do well. Human Target, created two years ago, is an example. I honestly did not really like this show either, so don’t think I’m trying to be an advocate. Instead of using cartoons, the show was shot in a normal setting and adapted ideas from the comic book. The show actually didn't really follow the comic, so the unsuccessful run was probably not disappointing to many people. 

So am I saying there are no good TV shows, out there today, based on a comic book? Yes. Ha, just kidding. What do you think this was post was for? Just a month or so ago I began watching a popular show entitled The Walking Dead about a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies. Sounds like a nerdy comic book right? In all honesty, the show is really fun to watch and has really interesting content. I'm not one for a lot of violence, but the show is more than just people going around and killing zombies. It deals with the social and psychological tolls this new way of life has on the remaining civilians. The interactions that take place, both with the crazy zombies and the community fighting for survival, has made this show really good an ultimately popular with a large audience.

What does this say about society? That people will watch movies and TV about comic books, but look at those who actually read the book as nerds? Does this make any sense? Probably. I think I have somewhat of an explanation. There is a difference between those who read those books and the average person who watched one of the adaptions. Typically those who actually read those comic books, obsess over it. That's why they are called nerds. When someone obsesses over something to an extent that people might find them a little strange, you might consider them a nerd. This makes me a little uneasy because by that definition I could probably be considered a nerd for television... To some, the sad amount of time I spend learning about TV could be considered nerdy. But I do not talk about it with all my friends at all times. In fact, most of friends rarely take interest in my obsession. I'm not a nerd because I don't let this love I have consume my life.

I seem to be rambling. In summary, television is quickly constantly gradually rarely integrating comic books into shows. There are few successes, but with the popularity of movies to guide them, we just might see more TV shows in the future with a character that has long been read by the fans of the comic book. Does it make reading them a bit cooler? Probably not. But it does show that what they love so much, is not as lame as most people might think.

Dear Internet: Cracked.com

Dear Cracked.com,


I recently read your article about Jimmy Fallon entitled, oh that's clever.. Jimmy Fallon. Unfortunately I randomly clicked on your website to find this article. As a fan of the comedian, I was very upset to find that you began this article with, "no one is entirely sure why this smirking weenis is allowed to be in movies and TV shows. The "Fallon Fallacy" is also named after him." And after a not so glamorous picture of him saying, "here he is, looking even dumber than usual." Wow. Who wrote this again? Some comedic genius the works for a website that no one has ever heard of? Talking about Jimmy Fallon like you're better than him? Here's a little something I have to say to you.


First of all, starting off your article with "just the facts" and then listing five completely false statements about Fallon is NOT LISTING THE FACTS. Ok, you may be right that Fallon was not the best actor on SNL. But let me see here. There are a lot of VERY successful people today who were not very good on SNL either. Hmm. Sarah Silverman? Robert Downey Jr.? Ben Stiller? They did not do well on SNL, and yet they are doing very very well now. How do you explain that?


Secondly, I will have to agree as well with Fallon not doing very well in the movies. Let's face it, he's not the best actor. But he's not the worst either. They don't just take anyone on SNL, and Lorne (Lorne Michaels, the exectuive producer and creator of SNL) liked him enough to make him a late night show. Do you have to be an amazing actor to be an amazing comedian? I think a lot of writers and stand-ups would beg to differ with that notion.


And don't you dare attack his late night show. Let us look at the recent Emmy and Comedy Awards nominations. Hmm. I don't see Jay Leno, David Letterman, or any other late night talk show host other than Conan (a given) and the other guys on HBO, Comedy Central, and SNL (I know that's not a network, but I'm listing it anyway). Wait. Jimmy Fallon is nominated? Thats 's correct. Why? His show is so innovative and genuinely funny. They don't do the same thing every week with different jokes. The writing team, Fallon included, keeps it fresh. They have new bits and new material each week. Of course they also have reoccruing ones like "Thank-You Notes" and "Slow Jamming the News", but that's becase they are very successful and they don't get old with the audience. Oh and by they way, when you use Metacritic for all of your proof, and your judging the show by only the first season, you're an idiot. You think all late night shows start out really well? Like they're just going to be perfect at a show none of them have done before. Why don't you try it? Oh wait you can't. You make stupid articles for Cracked.com.


"Oh, so maybe just the writing staff is funny, but Jimmy Fallon sucks!!" That's my guess what your next response would be.  Well, that could be true. Except for the fact that most of the time he has specific jokes written out and then expands into his own sort of improving. And the audience laughs? And the show does well? Maybe if the show sucked and all it had were the jokes he read from a cue card, I would believe you. But you're wrong! Fallon is constantly joking around. And are you aware that he was a "Weekend Update" anchor. They don't just choose anyone for that job. They choose people that can actually write and get the job done. Funny people.


And Fallon doesn't have good interview skills? That may have been true in the beginning. Let's face it, that first episode is kind of hard to watch. But he has gotten 50 billion times better. Guests on the show are constantly professing how genuinely nice Jimmy is. Guests that aren't just trying to be nice. When someone impersonates Fallon they imitate someone being really annoyingly nice. That's because it's true and guests are always trying to tell the viewers that it's not just some fake persona Fallon puts on for the show. Interviewing people is a skill. A skill that Jimmy will continue to get better at. If his guests are constantly agreeing he is really nice, he is obviously doing something right. He is making them feel comfortable, which is probably the most important thing a host must do to conduct a successful interview.


So Cracked.com, maybe you should start watching what you say about people who are way more famous and talented than you are. I don't mind reading editorials, but when you are being blatantly rude and calling Fallon "just a penis," I take offense. You sound like you want to be a comedian someday. Show biz is all about networking. So stop bitching and start appreciating real comedy.


Sincerely,
TVblogger

A New Segment

In Tina Fey's book Bossypants, Fey dedicates a chapter to responding to some of the comments from haters she found on the internet. That chapter was probably my favorite of the whole book because she did not take cheap shots at them. She made very smart and clever remarks that were very sarcastic and hilarious. Recently I read a nasty article about Jimmy Fallon. As most of you know already, I am a big fan of Fallon. So I decided to start a little segment, named after the chapter from Bossypants, entitled "Dear Internet." My next post will begin this segment. I will probably not continue regularly because there aren't really that many articles that make me that angry. I'm obviously not famous, so there aren't people commenting about me on the internet like people did for Fey. Plus, it doesn't have a ton to do with actual TV. Just the people who are associated with it. But because I wanted this to have a good name and explain what exactly it was, alas I am beginning this segment anyway. Just for fun, I'm going to include one of my favorite Fey responses. If you would like to purchase Fey's book, check it out here!

Posted by jerkstore on PerezHilton.com: "In my opinion Tina Fey completely ruined SNL. The only reason she's celebrated is because she's a woman and an outspoken liberal. She has not a single funny bone in her body."

Fey's response: Dear Jerkstore,

Huzzah for the Truth Teller! Women in this country have been over-celebrated for too long. Just last night there was a story on my local news about a "missing girl," and they must have dedicated seven or eight minutes to "where she was last seen" and "how she might have been abducted by a close family friend," and I thought, "What is this, the News for Chicks?" Then there was some story about Hillary Clinton flying to some country because she's secretary of state. Why do we keep talking about these dumdums? We are a society that constantly celebrates no one but women and it must stop! I want to hear what the men of the world have been up to. What fun new guns have they invented? What are they raping these days? What's Michael Bay's next film going to be?

When I first set out to ruin SNL, I didn't think anyone would notice, but I persevered because, like you trying to do a nine-piece jigsaw puzzle, it was a labor of love.

I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I feel safe with you, jerkstore, so I'll say it. Everything you ever hated on SNL was by me, and anything you ever liked was by someone else who did it against my will.

Sincerely,
Tina Fey

P.S. You know who dose have a funny bone in her body? Your mom every night for a dollar.

Quoted from:
Fey, Tina. Bossypants. New York: Little, Brown and, 2011. Print.

Internet & TV: A Future of Minimal Difference

Today, the internet has become everyone's new best friend. Whether you're checking Facebook or sending an email to a colleague, the internet has become a dominant aspect of everyone's lives. What does this have to do with television? As internet and television have both advanced over the years, they are gradually becoming one.  That's right, I'm talking about sites like Netflix, Hulu, even Youtube! Let's not forget the sites of networks as well, NBC, ABC, etc. These sites show clips and even full episodes of many of our favorite shows. And this number is growing. More and more people using the internet alternative.

Television is a medium that I don't think could ever be replaced with a simple computer screen. Watching TV on a computer is a completely different experience than watching it on an actual television set. I all honesty though, that is mostly what I do. In fact, I watch pretty much all my shows on the computer. But I would never want the normal television to leave! I watch TV on the internet because it's more conventient. I can choose when I want to watch it. I can watch when it best fits my schedule. But there is just something truly amazing about our plain old television sets. How would live shows work? How would we turn on our computers to watch the daily news? How can a family sit around a computer screen to watch their favorite show? Yes, there are some flaws to this trend.

But what if all of those questions could be answered? They can be and someday they probably will. I have a feeling that in the future, a lot more shows will look to the internet to get their viewership. Yes, there will still be live TV, but most of it will be news and reruns. The best part is that TV will become apart of the internet. When you want to watch your favorite show you can simply watch it immediately from your TV at any time.

How will people learn about new shows? Of course there will still be commercials occurring, and the live TV will still be showing these shows. TV and internet will no longer be separated. Television will be internet. This is obviously just a guess, but I have a very large suspicion that this will most likely be our future. It's kind of scary, but kind of exciting as well. I can't wait for the day when I don't have to wait for the episode I want to watch to be on the internet. I can't wait for my favorite TV shows to be more accessible to  more people. Television as we know it will always be changing. This is truly why I love TV. With new shows, more technology, and changing audiences, it will never be the same.

Women of SNL

For the past few months I have been learning a lot about Saturday Night Live. It began with one book, Live From New York by Tom Shales and James Miller. This 600 page book is filled with interviews of anyone who has ever touched SNL in any way. It was so interesting to read and I have learned so much from it. So for AP Lang, we has to write a book review essay that talks about a topic and incorporates a review of the book we read.

Although this may sound like a somewhat easy task, it. was. not. The hundreds of interviews I read from the book were helpful, but very hard to compile together in an essay that actually made a point. Think of all the random facts about the show that are floating around in my head. The names of every cast member in 1975, the story of how Victoria Jackson was hired, what happened after Lorne left, and soooo much more. These facts that have accumulated in my mind are pretty much pointless unless I can put them into my essay with a purpose. So that's what I attempted to do. Of course, not all fo them were actually put in, but I did try to put in as much detail as I could.

So what is the point of this blog post? A question I often have to ask myself.Well nonexistent readers, I will tell you! One very interesting aspect of the book, that was also included into my essay, was the misogynistic actions of cast members and writers on the show. That's right. When the show was conceived in 1975, there were three female performers and very few female writers. Not a huge deal right? Wrong! Those women were not treated well. Many of the men on cast thought they were "unfunny." John Belushi, a well known cast member, is less well known for his acts of sabotage against sketches written by women. As Jane Curtain, another cast member, said: "Their (women on SNL) battles were constant. They were working against John, who said women are just fundamentally not funny. So you'd go to a table read, and if a woman writer had written a piece for John, he would not read it in his full voice. He felt as though it was his duty to sabotage pieces written by women." 

Why did men act this way? Why did they treat women like they were inferior? Well, it has a lot to do with the time period. Apparently this is theme week because my last post was about Mad Men in the 60's, and now I'm talking about 70's where there was also discrimination against women. Although definetly not as much. Although not all men can be put into this generalization, a large portion continued to be in the mindset that women were inferior. Women continued to be paid less and on SNL had a tougher time getting sketches onto air. Did they give up? Heck no! As Geneane Garafola put it, "Life is a boys’ club. So SNL is a reflection of that. But Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer and Cheri Oteri and Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey kicked ass. They came in and would not be denied." She was reffering to a later period of SNL, when some really heavy hitters came in and changed how a lot of people thought about women comedians. 

In all honesty, I hate having to even talk about this. The fact that this even happened, and that it still happens today, really disturbs me.  I will say that I am so very grateful for the very strong women that have paved the way for my generation. I don't know if I would've been able to do the same. It's so comforting to know that women before were able to pull off successful working lives. Thank you to the women on Saturday Night Live, and to any other woman who as persevered through the male-dominated world with grace.

My Weekly Wonders: Mad Men

Last weekend I came down with a flu that stuck me in bed for the majority of the Easter holiday. Although my sickness was not happily accepted, it did give me an opportunity to continue a long lasting tradition. Whenever I'm sick, whether it's a few days or a week, I feed into my guilty pleasure and begin watching a new show.  This probably sounds like an unhealthy obsession that contains no productivity, but honestly when I'm sick there is no way I can be productive. So, in order to follow my past tendancies, I began watching Mad Men, a show I have been meaning to watch for quite some time. Here are my thoughts.

Although I wish I could say I would have liked the show regardless of the buzz around it, I'm not sure.  If you haven't lived in a cave for the past few years, you know that Mad Men is a widely successful show that has won numerous awards and hearts of audience members around the world. Whether you needed that cliche introduction or not, there you go! Anyway, the show is based around a 1960's advertising agency in New York called Sterling Silver. As it's genre title would alude to, the show holds much drama. Their office consists a lot of drinking, smoking, and of course a few a lot of jokes thrown in about women and Jewish people. But hey! It's the 60's. It's what they did back then apparently.

The main character on Mad Men is Don Draper, sort of the head honcho of the advertising agency, but not the main boss. I definetly don't know any terminology for what his position is, sorry! Anyway, I really enjoyed the pilot for this show because Matthew Weiner (the creator of the show, name pronounced wy-ner!) introduced Draper in a really intriguing way. He showed him in the various stages of his day, a visit to an old lover, meeting a new secretary, coming up with a pitch to a tobacco company on the spot, and having a drink and flirting with a female client. By the end of the show, Draper drives back to where we realize is his home and all of a sudden he is greeted by his wife and he kisses his children good-night. Although not something that makes you gasp exactly, I thought it did have an innovative shock value because of Draper's player-esque personality traits that we watched throughout his day. From the first episode Weiner sets up a relationship of Draper and the audience. We know about the many lives he lives, and gradually crave to see more.

So who is this Matthew Weiner, and why do I keep talking about him? Although I have never mentioned him on my blog, he has always been one of those people I have admired and wanted to learn about.  He worked on Sopranos, another hugely successful and very well done show. He's kind of become my obsession, especially after I started watching Mad Men.  I think this is partly due to my envy of his position. Getting to work on a show is one thing, but an amazing one is another. And it's not like he "got" to do anything, he truly has the talent and amazing writing capabilities that have gotten him there.

Anyway! Sorry for the creepy fan-girl paragraph... You might be thinking, "why is she so late on watching this show that has been wildly successful for four years?" Or maybe your still wondering "who the heck is this Weiner guy she keeps talking about?" Either way, Mad Men has always been on my list of shows to watch. It's not like I have an infinite amount of time to watch shows! Okay, summer doesn't count. In all honesty, last weekend I saw Mad Men on Netflix and got really excited. I have wanted to watch the show for a while now, but I wasn't sure if it was on the internet somewhere (sadly I never have time to watch anything on actual TV). We'll see if I actually have time to continue watching the show, or whether I will have to painstakingly wait until summer to continue it. In summary, the show is great. I love the writer. Yes, I'm slow on trends.

When There's Nothing Left to Say...

As I sit here trying to think what to blog about next, I realize that I have never really had writer's block for this blog.  I know, I know, it's crazy. How can one girl have so much to say about her mere 17 years experience with television? I wouldn't go so far to say experience. It's been more of an exposure. Anyway, how can I always have something to talk about? Isn't there only so much I can say? Well, I'm starting to realize this. A problem that most of my classmates have been facing for quite sometime while writing on these blogs, is something I am finally taking on. So where am I going with this blog post?  I'm bringing up a topic that really is pushing its relevance to this blog. It may still have to do with TV, but let's face it, I just want to watch videos of this on Youtube. What is this supposed topic? Bloopers!

What are bloopers? Well, bloopers are are scenes actors acted out but messed up. You know, once and awhile this sort of thing happens. No, this happens frequently. Those amazing actors you see on your TV set are not perfect. I think in comedy especially, bloopers are a given. Think about the scenes that make you laugh in a TV show. Those scenes are funny to the actors too, probably even more so because they are experiencing it in real life.  So maybe they laugh, or mess up a line. The camera is rolling. Of course that footage is not put into the show. So where does it go? The fans want to see it! No worries. The bloopers we all want to see go on the show's DVD extras, or something I enjoy even more, Youtube.

And now what you've all been waiting for. Here are some of my favorite bloopers!

The Art of a TV Show Finale

Today as I was reading various articles, I came across an interview with David Shore who is the executive producer of House. I found this article to be very interesting because he talked about how difficult it was to bring the show to end.  It got me thinking. Show finales, if you think about it, must be the most difficult thing to pull off.  Everyone will be watching with critical mindsets.  It's no wonder finales are always such a big deal. They have to be.

Shore made a point about season finales that really stuck with me. The fact that they have been making one hundred and something quality episodes and yet a lot more people are going to analyzing their last.  This is not just him justifying the final episode, it's an honest point. A point showing that audiences should appreciate the long creative run the show had, and not so much on how it ends.

But it's so hard not to! Finales are always the shows that end with a big bang! I always look forward to the first and last episode of a season because it's then that the writers really try to give the audience an impression.  Take Dexter for example. Pretty much every season finale has ended with a cliffhanger. Something for the audience to look forward to in the next season. But when a show is coming to an end, that's a whole different story.

Not only does it have to have season finale type writing, but it also has to bring the story-line to a reasonable the end. An end that the viewers will be happy with (remember you can't please everyone). Any questions about the characters, plot, anything, has to be resolved or at least addressed in some way.  Take Lost's finale for example.  The writers actually did a really good job answering all the lingering questions in the audiences' minds while also keeping the Lost-esque (aka confusing) writing.

Ultimately, we have to remember that finales are very difficult. They might not end how you want them to. They may not be as good as previous finales. You just have to remember that the shows that are having major finales are the ones that already put out good content and have been working hard for years and years to please the viewers. Don't set out to just judge a show by the end. It's like judging how good an athlete is by seeing them score the last point in the game. It doesn't give you the whole picture.

Click here for the full article with David Shore.

Saturday Night Live: 1980-85

The years 1980 to 85 are known in SNL history as some of the worst years with horrible ratings.  Why did this occur? Well, we all know that Lorne Michaels has been the executive producer of the show, but did you know that he left for these 5 years, and was replaced by two different producers?

It's true, the first was a woman named Jean Doumainan who literally only lasted one year. Sadly she was very inexperienced in producing the show and the ratings dropped dramtically.  Many people think nothing good came out of that one year, but that is not completely true. In fact, one of the most well known comedy actors of our time came out of the Doumainan Era. This actor, the amazing Eddie Murphy, has gone down as one of the few people that legitamtely kept Saturday Night Live on air. With out him, who knows if it would still be on today.

After Jean's one year reign, a much more strict Dick Ebersol came to take over.  He helped create SNL and was much more experienced in producing than Jean. It's true that SNL did gain better ratings when Ebersol was producing, but it wasn't by much. The show was still hanging by a thread, and it had completely lost it's "coolness" it had gained in the "Golden Age." Also, many of the cast members did not like Ebersol. He did not have a very good sense of humor, and many of their sketches that they believed to be very funny were rejected.  Ebersol also replaced all the cast members except for Piscopo and Murphy who were doing very well on the show. 

Overall, these five years of plummeting ratings proved more than just the fact that it was possible SNL could end.  These years showed that SNL, even with conflict and turmoil, could survive. With hardworking writers, performers, and crew, this show could survive anything.  There may have been close calls, but Saturday Night Live still lives today.

Here's a favorite Murphy character named Buckwheat. So popular, they had to kill him off.