My Weekly Wonders: How I Met Your Mother

During my Christmas break I began to watch a show called How I Met Your Mother. This show is one of those comedies that everyone loves, whether you're a comedy nerd like me, or just like to sit down, watch some TV, and laugh.  It's similar to shows like the Big Bang Theory in that you don't really need to see other episodes to get what's going on. Not saying you can totally jump in anywhere and understand exactly what is going on though because there are certain sections of the plot that are accumulative throughout the episodes and even seasons. Either way, it's a very good show and one that I am currently getting very addicted to. Here are three reasons why you should watch it.

1. I love every single character and you will too.  It's based around five young adults; Ted, Barney, Marshall, Lily, and Robin, who are all unique, funny and very interesting. I know I say that for pretty much every show I ever talk about, but it's totally true.  You absolutely, one hundred percent, fall in love with these characters. Whether it's Barney with his perpetual promiscuity or Lily and Marshall cute and loving relationship, you never ever get tired of them.

2. Every episode is different. It's not the same thing over and over again like solving a crime or curing an illness. HIMYM (yeah, pretty great acronym) always has some new comical story. Whether it's searching for a loved one with the same Halloween costume every year or the "pineapple incident" in which Ted wakes up from a crazy night not knowing where the pineapple in the room was from, this show is always creative in bringing new stories.

3. Lastly, every season is currently on Netflix.  That's six seasons of amazing television... free! That is, if you have Netflix.  If not, that really stinks, you should totally get it.

There you have it, three legit reasons why How I Met Your Mother is amazing and more importantly why you should watch it.   

A Timeless Pleasure

This weekend was a little rough, but whenever I'm down there's one thing that ALWAYS cheers me up. Okay this, plus some really good friends and some really good TV. But if those aren't around and all you have is a computer, check out Whose Line is it Anyway? on YouTube. It's an improvisational show hosted by Drew Carey, the guy who hosts The Price is Right and used to be on that show with the theme song that screamed "Clevland rocks!" It doesn't make any new episodes anymore, but the old ones are comically timeless and hysterically funny. Here's a clip! :)

Why Cancelled?

Some shows don't always last. They can be good, but just not have enough viewership. Of course there are many shows that get canceled for just reasons... cough Pan Am, Work It, Man Up, Charlie's Angels, The Playboy Club cough. Let's face it, all of these shows, who all premiered this year, were terrible.  It saddens me what networks try to pass off as TV sometimes.  I mean Work It? Really? A show about two men dressing up as women to get a job. Did people really think that was going to last? This year has been kind of a failure for new shows. Okay, it's been kind of a failure for comedy shows.  If you think about it, most drama television that was created this year is actually doing really well. But why? Why do some shows do really well but others crumble? How does this system work? Let's investigate.

This year* one of my favorite TV shows called Lie To Me was cancelled. I think I liked this show mostly because it tied in with my interest in psychology. The show was based around a team of psychologists (scientists? crime stoppers? whatever.) who used science to tell if people were lying. This was really interesting because it was actually based on a real science. The show's main character Dr. Lightman, played by the amazing Tim Roth, was actually based of a real behavioral scientist named Dr. Ekman. Lightman and his team use psychology to interpret microexpressions and detect if someone is lying.  They use this for various high profile crime cases or other special cases that they are hired for.  Unfortunately this very interesting show was cancelled. Why? I can only guess. First of all, it's not the "typical cop drama." There are few dramatic gun scenes or much violence at all.  The cases are varied, but they tend to be solved the same way; finding out if they're lying and using that to solve the case. I'm obviously making this sound pretty black and white, but the truth is, a show that is based around science and justice doesn't hold up as much as law and justice. I'm not sure why.  As for the characters, they did not have much depth to them. Cal (Lightman) was always breaking rules, and his teammate who was a psychologist (Foster) was always keeping him in line.  But their relationship was kind of awkward, like they were brother and sister or something. Cal and Foster weren't like let's say Cuddy and House who would have this on and off relationship and had a very interesting dynamic. Instead they often made me feel awkward to watch them. But I digress. This show I felt was an example of a TV show that wasn't really given a chance.  They had very interesting content, they just needed to go somewhere with it.

Another show that I was just reminded of the other day is Dead Like Me, a show very different from Lie To Me but also cancelled after a few seasons.  Dead Like Me was a dark comedy on Showtime that was based around grim reapers who helped people through the stage of life to death.  It was a very strange show, but I gained a liking to it.  It had interesting story lines, complex characters, and it was all free on Hulu. The free part was probably the strongest reason I watched the two seasons of this show... but it provided good entertainment for that summer.  Why did this show get canceled? This reason I can be bit more definitive on. The characters were great and the show had interesting content, but it just went a bit too far.  The whole grim reapers thing just did not go over well with people.  Shows with vampires, werewolves, witches, superheroes typically do well, but I don't think many people were very fond of the concept of helping people reach death.  The grim reapers did not cause it, they were just there to help along the inevitable. The show was just kind of weird, and people didn't get into that.

So is there a formula to being a successful television show?  If you have the easy job of watching the shows and not having to actually make them, then I would say yes. All you have to do is make content with good actors and interesting stories. But it's never that simple. Even when all of that is accomplished shows still do not last.  It's honestly just a factor of whether there are enough viewers.  Shows like Community who are actually really good but don't get too much viewership, tend to get pushed out to make room for other shows that do. That is exactly what happened to Lie to Me and Dead Like Me. These were decent shows, but because they didn't attain the amount of viewers required, they did not survive.




*When I say year I don't mean 2012. I know that doesn't really make any sense, but my years are based on the school year and also when mainstream television is on: fall, winter, spring. So my new "year" really begins when the new seasons of television begin. I know it's not right, but it's much easier than saying last year and then clarifying that it's still the same season (season as in TV season). 

My Weekly Wonders: Modern Family

I must admit, I did not like Modern Family when I first heard about it.  This was partly due to the fact that it was an ABC comedy, in which at the time I had the idea that they could not make good comedies, but mostly due to my ignorance and stubbornness to not watch the show. I remember one year, Modern Family was winning a whole bunch of Emmy's and I was getting really mad because I thought they didn't deserve it. Now that I have actually watched and experienced the amazing writing on the show, I can now say that every one of those awards was completely deserved. This show is absolutely brilliant, and I'll tell you why.

Modern Family is based around three families that make up one big family. The first consists of a gay couple named Mitchell and Cameron who adopted a baby Lily, the second is a mother and father named Claire and Phil Dunphy and their kids Haley, Alex, and Luke, and last is Claire and Mitchell's father Jay and his much younger wife Gloria and her son Manny.  Confused? Don't be.  After you start watching the show, their family really feels like your own family. They do embarrassing things, hang out all the time, and are always there for each other no matter what they do to each other.  

Each family has their own unique characteristics, that when brought together, leads to almost chaos.  We find Mitchell and Cameron usually getting into small fights are so minute that it never threatens their relationship. Such as is in a recent episode when Mitchell brought home a trophy that he was really proud of, but the next day Cameron got out one of his old trophies. As you can see, Mitchell got a little sensitive, but realized he was overreacting and went looking for other trophies of Cam's. He then found a multitude of first place trophies in which he was very impressed with, but to Mitchell's dismay he also found a rodent crawling around and started violently stomping on the ground near the trophies as to which Cam thought he was doing to his own trophies. A lot of the "fights" Cam and Mitchell have are mostly just misunderstandings or a few hurtful words that were taken out of proportion.

The Dunphys also have an interesting dynamic. Phil is not always the brightest, and ends up looking to Claire a lot of the time for how to parent. The two together are hilarious, embarrassing, and definetly not the average parenting couple.  One of my favorite episodes that I like to tell people about is the time when Haley was trying to write an essay for college but was complaining to Claire about how she didn't have any obstacles to overcome in her life and told Claire that she was "too sheltered."  At first Claire was starting to get worked up about it, obviously agitated that Haley was not grateful for her well lived life. But Claire suddenly stopped and told Haley to get in the car "I have to show you something." Naturally Haley was very confused, but followed her mother to her car.  The two drive out a fairly far distance into what looks like the middle of nowhere.  It is there that Claire explains to Haley that there something she never told her and that she should get out of the car and look at the tree across the street.  Haley questionably gets out of the car and walks over to the tree. Claire then drives off, yelling out the window "there's an obstacle to overcome!"

Jay and Gloria's relationship can pretty much be summed up in this clip of that was in a recent episode.

Just with it's very well written scripts, Modern Family would've done very well. But too top it off, all the actors and actresses are amazing.  They are all, except for the kids, nominated for Emmy's every year. If you think about that, that's pretty crazy.  That's six people just from one show! Plus of course the show is nominated as well because it's so hilariously funny.  The amount of crazy and embarrassing circumstances these characters get themselves into will literally keep this show airing for many many years to come.

Books & Television

When I think of the two entertainment sources that books and television are, I find myself thinking of them quite possibly as opposites.  This may just be me, but books just seem like something that is drastically different from television. And yet books are what bring about not only some of the most popular movies but popular television shows as well.  If you're thinking to yourself something along the lines of "what? what shows are based off of books?" then you have come to the right blog.  It just so happens that over the months of blogging endlessly about various of shows I have accumulated the knowledge of many popular shows that have indeed been previously written as a book.  It's crazy right? Not really. If you think about it, movies use books all the time because books provide really great characters, interesting story lines, and can create multiple sequels or in this case multiple episodes/seasons. And now what you've all been waiting for... here is the list of popular shows that have been based off a book:

Show:                                     Book:
Boardwalk Empire           Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic
                                                 City  
Bones                                    The Locator
Dexter                                  Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Game of Thrones               A Song of Ice and Fire
Gossip Girl                          Gossip Girl
M*A*S*H                            M*A*S*H
True Blood                          The Southern Vampire Mysteries
The Vampire Diaries        The Vampire Diaries

The Return of Izzie?

Hey there Grey's Anatomy fans! If you haven't heard, the beloved (or not so beloved) Izzie might be returning to Seattle Grace.  Yes, it's true. The actress Katherine Heigl has asked to come back and join the cast for the eighth season of Grey's.  For those of you who aren't familiar, Izzie was one of the main characters for a very long time on the show, and then one day randomly left the show.  Her exit was kind of strange, and I felt myself wanting to see her come back.  Maybe some of my loose end tying prayers will finally be answered.

Izzie Stevens began her role on the show in the very beginning. That's right, back in the day when Meredith, Christina, Karev, and George, all began there journeys to becoming surgeons.  Back then Izzie was dealing with her post-model status, Meredith's mother was still alive, and George acquired his infamous nickname 007. As the interns traveled along through the many drama-filled years, many moments in Grey's history come in mind when thinking about history. Like her fairly tale relationship with Denny the heart patient in which ended with tears (both her's and mine) as he dies after she risks her career to get him a new heart.  Another memorable image of Izzie is when she got cancer.  I remember her picking out wedding dresses and planning her big day to marry Karev, while dealing with harsh side effects of her chemo treatment. That was the easy I wanted to remember. The one that was hopelessly in love with Karev and fighting (and winning) her battle with cancer.  Although she survived, my favorite character George did not. The scene where the group is sitting on a tombstone, a fair distance from the funeral, is my favorite. I knew Grey's could make me cry at a funeral, but it took me aback when I found Izzie and others laughing. Not laughing at George of course, he was a best friend of them all. No, they were laughing at how many crazy things had happened. It was a strange and yet moving moment in the show, and I think it's one I will always remember.

Sadly Youtube did not provide the funeral scene, instead here's a clip of Izzie after Denny died:

So some might be against Izzie's character coming back. Maybe because she left Karev and maybe beause they never liked her. Whatever the reason, it will be up to the writers and producers of the show. They already have so much content.  They have dozens of different story lines, characters, and medical problems that all can create new dramas for the show. Yes, Izzie would spark some new interest, especially in fans of the earlier seasons, but in all I think the show will still be relatively the same.  Despite this realization, I really want Izzie to come back. Her character brings a different kind of flavor to the already flavorable cast. Ha, get it? Flavorable.. sounds like favorable... yeah. Anyway, for now we don't know what is in store for this twisty turny show, but whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be the awesome drama that Grey's Anatomy is. 

Raising the Bar: The Increased Exposure to Violence and Sexual Content

With the advancement of the entertainment industry, more specifically the television industry, comes an increased bar that must pushed in order to be successful. Whether it is increased violence, sexual content, or whaterver else, these alterations that continue to increase exposure are becoming a threat to the children of our society.  Many are concerned about the many shows on mainstream television that are exposing adolescents to mature content, arguing how easy it is to get access to this. 

In my psychology class we discussed the correlation of violent TV and agressiveness. Although it does not cause agression, the more television violence children watch a correlation portrayed the more they were aggressive.  I've discussed this before on my blog in the post TV Violence, but I didn't address what should be done about this issue, or at least what I think should be done about this issue.

In my psych class we had to write a response to the question of whether networks should restrict the amount of violent content.  In my opinion I don't think it's how much violence that is the problem, I think it's how much children are getting exposed to it.  If parents are so against having their kids watch these violent/sexual shows, then don't let them watch it! It's like saying a movie should have less mature content but still taking their kids to it.  Why would you do that?  Not everyone can look out for your own children. 

But of course there needs to be a limit. There can't be naked scenes on FOX after American Idol because kids WILL be watching that.  Parents know shows that are appropriate and will let their children watch it.  But it has to be a network wide thing (except for channels like Showtime and HBO, please don't let your kids watch that!). I think all the networks should have a meeting and put a limit on how far they can go with language, violence, and sexual content.  If there is a restriction, then they will stop pushing each other to go farther, and instead work on bettering what they are already have with actual quality and not just throwing out the next big scandalous plot.

I must also point out the fact that I've been watching violent shows every since I was in elementary school. My favorite show when I was very young was Power Rangers. Although it wasn't a super violent show, it definetlly exposed me to a lot of new things that I wouldn't of learned watching Scooby-Doo or Spongebob.  One example in particular includes an episode or movie of Power Rangers where they said something that I immediately repeated to my mom.  Of course my mom responded with "where did you learn that?" because it was something that was kind of rude and definetly our of my vocaulary beforehand.  At first I could not think of what this phrase was exactly but after some extensive google searching and looking back on my VCR tapes... no I still couldn't find it. It's going to bug me, so I'll keep searching!

Basically what I'm trying to get across is the fact that I watched violence and a bit of mature content and I turned out absolutely fine. I know many more examples of this as well. I'm not saying the correlation is wrong, just suggesting that it IS a corelation and not cause and effect. There may be lots of violence out there, but I don't think that is the reason for the violent people that live in our society today.