TV: Reasons Why The Mindy Project Matters

I used to write TV posts for a now-defunct blog and I miss it. I thought I'd feature some TV-related articles here. And possibly soon, to an outside blog/site near you! 

The Mindy Project is one of my favorite shows. It debuted last year and I binged through all the episodes in a day or two. The show returned to FOX Tuesday with new episodes through January 28. Then? It goes on haitus until April. Come on now FOX. Do not mess with my shows. 

DO NOT MESS WITH MINDY.

The Mindy Project is needed on TV. Here's why:

• Female Led Comedies  From I Love Lucy, to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, to Roseanne, comedic women changed television. Women bring a different voice to comedy, and we need to see more female voices alongside men. It's not an either/or. This is a show set in a gynecological office that manages to eschew most typical female anatomy jokes. While the tides are shifting, there are still so few shows with female leads, and even fewer comedies. (For further reading, see this excellent NYTimes article where Roseanne and Mindy are interviewed together.) 

• Hooray For Diversity! How many Indian women have their own TV show? How many Indians are on American TV period? Mindy is US-born, and I like that the show doesn't have to center around her ethnicity, though it naturally factors in. New York City is a diverse place, and it's nice to see that reflected on TV (unlike, you know Friends). Also, Mindy is refreshingly not rail thin like so many TV actresses. Again, how often do you see women on TV with a more average weight who are 1.) not the funny friend 2.) not the butt of constant fat jokes. Mindy's character playfully jokes about dresses that make her look skinny, but it's clear she's a full, confident character who isn't cramming herself into Spanx for a laugh (Sorry Rebel Wilson, I had to give up on Super Fun Night).

• Ensemble Cast Similar to New Girl and the Andy Samberg starring Brooklyn 9-9, Mindy smartly spreads the funny throughout an excellent cast. Mindy Kahling's character drives the show, but the story, the good lines, the humor, all balance among characters. Ike Barinholtz (Mad TV) is my new favorite former prison inmate turned nurse. Though bro-doc Peter is consistently funny in a cringe-inducing way. 

• It's Funny, Yo I rewind clips at least three times per show. I re-tweet funny lines. I've rewatched several episodes before deleting from my DVR. If this was a comedy of self-importance--look, we're diverse! Our voice should be heard too!--the comedy wouldn't ring true. The humor is a mix of slapstick, commentary, and characters playing off each other. It's the right balance of funny to make those other elements stand out. 

• Nuance Like Parks and Rec, another female-led comedy, Mindy has a sweeter side. It's self-aware but not so much so that it can't delve into earnestness. Mindy is the quintessential career-driven single woman trying to find love in the big city. The show takes some expected routes, but some unexpected ones too. Mindy struggles with giving up her identity to please someone she is in love with, spurring some larger character development. To prove to her coworkers she is not superficial she dates a total bonehead (the amazing Timothy Olyphant as a 40+ year-old skater dude). But we most love her friendship with Danny, blue-collar (though a doctor) coworker who looks out for her. Who choreographed a dance for her. This is hilarious on many levels because: 1. Danny is a tough guy who can't exactly dance 2. He's dancing to early 2000s R&B 3. This is just the thing Mindy would completely appreciate while anyone else would think is weird. Thus, sweetness.

I kind of want that cake...

Do you watch The Mindy Project? Who is your favorite character?

TV: Reasons Why You Should Watch Justified

Part of my TV series!

Justified, on cable channel FX, returns January 7 (preview here on Geekexchange.com). It's one of the best shows on TV, and here's why:

image: Goodreads

Elmore Leonard
The author famous for the books behind Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and 3:10 to Yuma wrote the basis for Justified in a short story. He worked as a consultant on the show until his passing in 2013. Watching this show as a writer is a treat. The dialogue is flavorful, efficient, eloquent in its sparseness. There is no wasted dialogue or cheap lines here. Leonard has famously quipped on his ten rules for writing. Considering he says to use regional dialect sparingly, he crafts his character's speech in such a unique way that it does the job without going overboard. It's what the writing community calls voice, and he has loads of it. He wrote a follow up to his short story, Raylan published in 2011, which Justified then used as source material for additional seasons. Every TV show has writers, but what other shows have this guy?

image: promo shot FX

Boyd Crowder
Walton Goggins plays Boyd, a backwoods thug with an expanded vocabulary; the kind of man who will take you down and give a thoughtful speech while doing so. He's a racist and a criminal who becomes a preacher. Who then becomes a criminal again--or was he the whole time? He crafts villainy into anti-hero, but there's never much chance that he's actually a hero. He and Timothy Olyphant's Raylan both come from similar dirt-poor, crime-ridden families, having grown up together. The dynamic between them is intense and occasionally funny, as Boyd tests Raylan's commitment to his marshal duties, and Raylan questions Boyd's oddly particular loyalties.



Ava Crowder

image: Zap2it.com

Lest you think the show is limited to modern cowboys, the women of Justified have complexity and fire that aren't shown enough on TV. Ava, a Crowder by marriage to Boyd's brother (who she is separated from at the start of the show), fends for herself, and makes poor decisions often born out of loyalty, though it's loyalty to criminals. She's tough with a softness, ruthless in way that's heartbreaking to watch. She finds herself the wrong way of the law by habit, but it's her choices that make her compelling. She doesn't choose easy; she is a survivor, and will go to great lengths to preserve herself. Raylan's ex-wife Winona shows maybe a little less spitfire, but she also navigates her own story in unexpected ways. They've hinted a bit US Marshal Rachel's backstory, and every time she's on screen, I want to see more. More Rachel!




The Entire Cast
Okay, let's be honest here. Everybody is awesome on this show. Every actor gets good lines. Even the thugs with one line get a good line. Down to guest stars and extras, I've never once caught on that someone on the show felt disingenuous, like Hollywood had invaded rural Kentucky with too much gloss. Jeremy Davies who plays Dickie Bennett (who also played Dr. Faraday on Lost) is mesmerizing as a petty criminal whose enterprising ways further derail him from any sense of normalcy. There's a reason he was nominated (and won) an Emmy. Margo Martindale also won an Emmy for her guest arc as a terrifying matriarch of a Kentucky-hollar crime ring. Bobby from Supernatural shows up from time to time and is given a satisfying twist to his role in Season 4. Comedian Patton Oswalt doesn't disappoint as a third-rate cop down on his luck.

Take your run-of-the-mill procedural and dip it in rural Kentucky, throw in talented actors and a legendary American author. This is the best show you could be watching.

Do you watch Justified? Are you excited for the new season?

TV Season Finales: Which Was Your Favorite?

As the regular TV season winds to a close, I've been clearing out my DVR to catch up on everything that's ending in May. So far, a few have stood out:

The Vampire Diaries

image: CWtv.com

Instead of watching American Idol crown a new winner, I played The Vampire Diaries' season finale from May 10. I will refrain from spoilers, but let me just say, this show takes all the risks you don't expect. Characters die (frequently, sometimes multiple times). Many come back, but some don't, unless it's in a flashback. I'm a bit heartbroken at season 3's ending -- a few specific characters I can say I'M NOT PLEASED about. But what impressed me most was the storytelling device of revisiting events that triggered the first season. Glimpses of Elena's life with her parents before the accident, a first meeting with Damon which he wiped from her memory (vampire magic is great for continuity). Elena's memories of the accident interspersed with current action worked beautifully together, enhanced by a haunting Sigur Ros song (premiered on the show) that added another layer of drama. Then, a final scene that really threw me for a loop, and brings a whole new spin to the series.

Modern Family

 For the past 3 weeks I thought I was watching the season finale. First the Disneyland ep, then last week's very funny episode where each character had some issue with another member of the family, pitting them against each other, but resulting in some character defining moments that managed to do so without being overly schlocky (how do they do it?). But last night's was the finale, involving Cam and Mitchell racing to the hospital to potentially adopt a baby boy who was being born that minute. The family spoke Spanish so they brought along Gloria to translate. What followed mirrored a Spanish telenovela as the drama unfolded with the birth family, with Gloria zipping between a hysterical Cam & Mitchell, and the nurses, abuela and a mysterious man in a cowboy hat. The episode ended with a pretty cliche season finale twist, but I won't spoil the surprise. I'm amazed at how this show manages to combine heartfelt moments with total hilarity, and it works.

Castle

Castle has ridden the will-they-or-won't-they romantic tension for 4 seasons now. Castle and Beckett need to make some progress, and although I knew a change was coming -- it had to after Beckett admitted she remembered everything from when she was shot last season, including Castle telling her he loved her. But still, the writers pushed it and pushed it until even I doubted they would directly face the issue. This episode had me yelling at the TV; Beckett does every dumb move in the stubborn girl's handbook, including a vigilante mission to track down the man who shot her with only Huertas at her side -- and no back-up, behind the backs of the NYPD. It made for some great action, but come on Beckett, you aren't a superhero! So some inevitable things happen, and some not so inevitable. And again, the final scene is one that was a long time coming, but still managed to be a little different than I expected. It will be interesting to see how the next season unfolds.

I'm still making my way through 30 Rock, Bones, and a few others. What final episodes have you watched that have you excited for next season?

TV Review: Project Runway All Stars

Project Runway is one of the few reality shows I've stuck with, and it's probably my favorite, closely followed by Top Chef and Survivor. If you haven't kept up with Project Runway All Stars, let me tell you a bit about what you're missing. And what you're not.

What's Good:

The Talent

The always-subtle Austin

As soon as the all star edition was announced, I imagined a stellar line-up of designers due for a second chance at winning and of course, drama. What I love about Project Runway drama is it's rooted in fierce talent. Everyone here is skilled - no question. I'm continually amazed by the creativity and drive of the contestants. Not only do the assignments require forward-thinking concepts, but the contestants have to actually sew them. No handing off work to a low wage seamstress; they do it all.

The cast for All Stars is delicious: a mix of runner-ups and mid-way cast-offs: Micheal the crier, bitchy retro-loving drama queens Mila and Kenley, southern diva Anthony, and Austin Scarlett. Austin Scarlett is man you cannot invent. He is too original and bizarre, although surprisingly charming when he wants to be. The designers are up to their old tricks: Mila's still trying to convince everyone she's more than colorblocking and mod (which I love), Kenley thinks all her designs are winners, Jerrel and Mondo both turn out solid designs but Jerrel is usually overshadowed, while Mondo gets the film editing treatment of a man wronged and seeking revenge (probably true, given how season 8 turned out). It's a good cast.

The Guest Judges

Moi? A guest judge?!

The best judges add to the challenges and enhance the runway critique. In the second episode, Miss Piggy is the celebrity judge. MISS PIGGY. This delighted my Muppet-loving self, but even better was an entire hour of hearing the designers discuss her like she was a real person. "I understand Miss Piggy," Austin says with complete seriousness. Michael explains how she's a fashion icon.

She is made of felt. She is a puppet. No one says this.


What's Not So Good

Different Host/Mentor/Regular Season Judges

a.k.a. NO TIM GUNN.
Tim Gunn is no where to be seen and his presence is missed. It's gotta be disappointing for the cast. No one else can attempt a 'gather round like Tim.

No Heidi, either. This doesn't bother me nearly as much as missing The Gunn, particularly because I haven't quite forgiven her poor judgement in pushing Gretchen as the season 8 winner over Mondo. Michael Kors is to blame for that too, and I questioned the integrity of the show after the judges showered praise on Gretchen's dowdy hippie fare. By the way, Kors is out for the All Stars edition, as well as Nina Garcia (I'm surprised this installment is still sponsored by Marie Claire). Instead, we get Isaac Mizrahi, who shows up most of the time, but when even he doesn't care enough, an array of random costume directors and "fashion mavens" fill in.

Shorter Running Time

The format is back to 1 hour rather than the 90 minutes PR has run since it moved from Bravo to Lifetime two seasons ago. After getting used to more time for interactions between contestants, more Tim Gunn consultations (not needed here), the hour format feels truncated.

I can't resist keeping up with my favorite contestants, but something is missing with this edition. The returning cast deserved the full Project Runway treatment: regular host, Gunn, the 90 minute format. Instead it feels... off the rack.

(Sorry, that was inexcusable)

Are you watching? What do you think?

Hart of Dixie: Guilty Pleasure?

I'm trying to figure out why I like Hart of Dixie. I think it falls into that guilty pleasure category, and its general predictability feels comforting. It's the type of show I can turn on as background filler and not feel too lost if I've missed some dialogue.

The premise is unlikely - Rachel Bilson plays a doctor (I know, please stay with me) who inherits her father's medical practice in Alabama. She doesn't know her father at all, so when he dies (he's quite a bit older than her mother), it's a total shock to find he left her anything. After not getting her dream job in NYC, left with few options she heads south to take on the challenge in her cute shorts and heels.

Plus, her name is Zoe Hart so that's why it's Hart of Dixie. Groan.

That's the set up. So, why is it Hart of Dixie is so appealing? Here are my possible explanations:

1.) The Cast

Several former Friday Night Lights actors are series regulars which lend the acting some credibility. FNL is one of those shows I was persuaded to watch, considering I had no interest in football or Texas. But it's wonderful, and clearly fan allegiance is strong enough to create viewer loyalty in another series. Cress Williams, who played an ex-convict and deadbeat dad in FNL is cast here as a charming, former pro-football player who is mayor of the small Alabama town. Scott Porter plays George Tucker, a potential love interest for Zoe if he wasn't with such a lemon named Lemon (yeah, his girlfriend is named Lemon. But she's awesome at playing a spoiled former debutante). 

2. The Setting

Hart of Dixie excels in the same way Friday Night Lights did with making use of a small town setting. To be fair, FNL was cinematic, capturing wide shots of barren west Texas landscape backed by sparse indie instrumental music, and it filmed in real houses and structures in Texas. Hart of Dixie is definitely more of a typical TV set, but it has a soft edge to it, a homey-ness that just looks pretty.

3. Social Media

The twitter feed for #HartofDixie is an active one - fans might be small in number but they're dedicated and forming character alliances. Eveyone has their own ideal love match: Zoe with George Tucker, Zoe with Wade, Zoe's often shirtless hot neighbor (who's pretty funny, too), and Zoe with the mayor, who's all kinds of flirt although he's mainly Friend-Zoned and has a history with Lemon (which seems improbable on his end, but whatever). Similar befuddled tweets can be found about the strange attraction to the show - I'm not the only one saying, "Can't wait for HoD; not sure why but I love this show!" It's more fun to watch a something like this with the twitter feed as a companion - if you don't have anyone in your household willing to watch it with you (ahem).

Yes, it's a silly premise, it's frequently predictable, but sometimes that's OK. This one is not meant to be challenging television.

Do you watch Hart of Dixie? What do you think? Or do you have another show that you're somewhat embarrassed to admit watching but are completely entertained by?

DVD Throwback: Felicity Season Two (Part One!)

When season 1 left off, Felicity had the choice to spend the summer in Europe with Noel, her ex-boyfriend (but recently determined to be somewhat more than friends), or she could road trip it with Ben, her recently single crush, from NYC to their home state California.

Who did she choose?

**Warning: Spoilers**

(This warning is generous considering the episodes originally aired 13 years ago!)

She chose Ben!

(Booooo)

When fall semester hits, everything is bonkers because Ben and Felicity are together. It's what she wanted all through high school and half of freshman year in college. But now Julie won't talk to her because Ben is her ex and the break-up was pretty fresh when he and Felicity ran off together. Noel won't talk to her because she chose Ben over him. Plus, things are JUST OK because Ben is not really that cool and Felicity didn't listen to her viewers from over 10 years in the future.

For the record, I thought this would be one of those "I choose me!" conclusions, where Felicity ditches both guys and goes on a community service trip to help inner city kids or something. But no, she chose Ben!

The living situations are all mixed around this season. Felicity and Pop-Goth Meghan decide to become RAs (their interview and training process is either so minimal or non-existant that it isn't even mentioned) and because of a housing crisis, they have to share a room. This actually happens, I can atest, and it sucks if your room is single and booked as double because those rooms are incredibly tiny and not at all like what you see on TV! Noel and Elena get an apartment together (? but OK) while Julie is still crashing with Ben and Sean. Julie has plans to move out, but when it falls through, the guys are more than grateful to have her stay. Which leads to a new love storyline: Sean and Julie. I LIKE.

These guys can't figure out who they like.

Did I mention Noel HATES Felicity? It's almost difficult to watch; he can't stand her and will tell her to her face how she ruined his life (by choosing Ben over him). Eventually the hate fades, but there are some uncomfortable moments. Noel is dating Ruby (Amy Smart of Just Friends fame) who's enamored by his skills with the iMac and his general nerditude. She confides in Felicity about Noel, unaware he and Felicity dated. Felicity goes on a blind date with her professor's son, which at first goes as horribly wrong as expected, but it turns out David is just a hurt guy trying to find love again and they start a real relationship.

Things with David culminate in a visit from her parents at Thanksgiving when his family and hers have dinner at Noel and Elena's. Noel and Felicity have too much punch and kiss (that's a lame excuse. They WANTED to kiss). David ends it and Felicity's probably not passing his mother's class. I love that Pop-Goth invited herself to Thanksgiving at Noel and Elena's, completely abandoning three lowly freshmen waiting on a dorm event Pop-Goth forgot about. Worst RA ever.

Meanwhile, Ben is dating an older (probably 30 - gasp!) caterer who happened in on the coffee shop where he works. She looks part Helen Hunt part Jodi Foster. It's of course a terrible relationship because - whoops! - she's married and forgot to tell him. Their storyline is mostly boring, just like most storylines about Ben outside of Felicity. Even with the haircut he's just not intriguing.

SPEAKING OF HAIRCUT, this is the season I heard about back before I ever saw the show where Felicity cuts her hair. And she doesn't just trim the fro'ed-out curls, they're hacked off. Like almost to a Britney Spears breakdown level. It sort of works, but only because Keri Russell can pull off just about any hairstyle. I liked that an entire episode was based around her haircut, so it wasn't like the actress abruptly made a style change and freaked everyone out. It became part of the story, as a symbol for her rediscovery of herself, paired with the inevitable dropping of pre-med.

The rest of the season seems to be gearing up to more tension among Felicity and Noel and Noel's girlfriend Ruby, and Ben is questioning his breakup with Felicity. Also, Felicity's parents are separating. Stay tuned!

Throwback DVD: Felicity - Season 1

I got through most of season 1 during my holiday break and just caught up on the last few episodes. My initial reaction: this show's pacing is the polar opposite of The Vampire Diaires. Felicity is slower and quieter. It's a thoughtful show.

The big pitch of Felicity is she's a mousy nerd who doesn't think for herself, planning to go to med school like her parents want, but on impulse, she enrolls in a (fictional) New York university to follow Ben, who finally signed her yearbook after years of drooling over him behind her perm. So she shows up in NYC and Lots of Awkward happens. This show has awkward down.

Felicity befriends Julie and Elena, eventually convinces Ben she's not a total freak, and her RA Noel falls in love with her. Her pop-goth roommate Megan is mostly hostile, but she has some great moments, like when her parents show up and she's dressed like a homeschooler with all her black clothing stuffed away in the closet.

So far, I'm not really a huge fan of Ben. He's not a jerk, but I don't get the attraction. He reminds me too much of Dawson (of Dawson's Creek, another show I never watched) and blond jocks are not my thing (at all).

Dawson chillin'

Ben starin'

Felicity and Julie both have feelings for Ben, and I like that the typical tension between friends and love interests morphed into something believable. I couldn't take an entire 22-episode run with Felicity longing for Ben. Something needed to give, and thankfully it does way beforehand. Ben and Julie get together, Felicity moves on...

Noel: TOTES

So enter Noel. He's enamored by Felicity, and ends up on the receiving end of Felicity's pining for Ben for far too long. I loved that his staff meetings with other Resident Advisors were more like counseling/bitching sessions (having been an RA it that is exactly how it is) and he asks the RAs advice for a "friend" on how to deal with a girl who's in love with someone else. I had to laugh when Noel got a new iMac and declared how fast it was (then promptly dropped it). But my favorite Noel moment so far is when he tries to get a deal on a new vending machine for the dorm. A girl from his floor refers him to her seedy cousins at a warehouse by the docks leading to a shady exchange.

The ex & current gf: AWKWARD

Lots of familiar faces pass through Felicity: Jennifer Garner is Noel's long distance, then ex, then on-again girlfriend. As a viewer, you kind of gear up to hate whoever his girl is since he's clearly meant to be with Felicity (maybe just my opinion) but when I saw it was Jennifer Garner, I thought, dangit, I can't not like her! Another pre-Alias J.J. Abrams favorite is Greg Grunberg, who was in Alias and played Matt Parkman in Heroes. He was also the pilot in Lost (and considering what happened to the plane, it was only a guest appearance). Greg plays Sean, one of Ben's roommates, because for some reason Ben lives in a loft and not the dorms. I must have missed why that's the case, but no matter. It gives the characters a reason to get off-campus and discuss their feelings in a new setting!

Krakow: more '80s than '90s

And then there's poor Brian Krakow. He's the curly-haired nerd from My So-Called Life who realized his chance with Angela Chase was futile after she quit yearbook and dyed her hair. He's another loner here as The Pink Guy (because he makes the tragic mistake of not separating colors and whites) and Julie takes pity on him and they date. But, the story's not over. Brian Krakow is... a rapist. The rape episode includes all the right lessons: Julie reports him, she questions what a sexual assault means, the rapist is vilified by other students. Krakow is defeated. He knows he's done for and sadly transfers back to Minnesota. And we haven't seen him since 1999...

One last face I proudly identified is one of the guys in the dorm who's always trying to use Noel's crush and eventual relationship with Felicity as blackmail, citing RAs can't date students (which seems really stupid) so he can get away with installing a satellite dish and running a hand model agency from his room. This actor played Chuck who wrote the Supernatural book series in the TV show Supernatural.

Chuck is not nearly as cool as Sam or Dean

*crickets*

You guys don't know Supernatural? Dean and Sam realized their lives were recorded in book form and showed up at their own fan convention... OK, moving on. (You should definitely watch Supernatural).

They actually go to class!

Toward the end of the season, everything is falling apart. Everyone's breaking up or getting together with someone who's probably totally wrong for them. Ben is GAMBLING. Noel is MOVING OUT. Felicity has a fling with an ARTIST (who's way cuter than Ben but I don't quite like him enough to oust Noel). Sean is filming a DOCUMENTARY. It's very Reality Bites.

In the season-ender, Ben is SUDDENLY HAIRCUT. He looks totally different and kind of cute. He also fends off the advances of his a friend's girlfriend, respecting the bro over the ho (I can't believe people legitimately say "bros before hoes"). His relationship with Julie ends, although at least it's not because he cheated on her. Noel didn't move out but he's going to Berlin for an internship for the summer. Felicity and Noel are on, then off, then... sort-of. There was going to be a road trip from NYC to California with the whole gang (not Elena since she's boinking Professor Prince Humperdink (really, it's the same actor)), but now the trip is just Ben, going back home to CA. Noel's heading to his internship earlier than he thought, and he invites Felicity. She's got to decide: Europe with her sort-of boyfriend, or a road trip with her long-time crush?

WHO WILL SHE CHOOSE?!

Throwback DVD Review: Felicity

Felicity is one of those shows I missed entirely when it was on, so here I am over 10 years later catching up. I was in college when it first aired, and I hardly watched TV. I mentioned this once to a guy in my dorm, something to the effect of not having turned my TV on in a week, and he looked at me with sincere incredulity: then what do you do?

Being a huge J.J. Abrams fan (Lost, Fringe, Super 8, the Star Trek reboot) I saw Felicity is available on Netflix streaming and figured I could recapture my lost TV years. Last year I devoured Gilmore Girls - all 7 seasons - which I also missed when I apparently had a more active social life.

So, I'll be writing a series of short recaps, as well as related twitter updates. If you like the Felicity, please chime in with your thoughts!

Here's Forever Young Adult's Highly Scientific Analysis of the relationships on Felicity if you want to know more.

TV review links: Once Upon a Time, Grimm

A few weeks ago I blogged about the premiere of Once Upon a Time which takes fairy tale characters and tosses them into our world under a curse (hey, just what are you saying here, TV people?!)

Since some of you who read my blog are interested in the writing I do elsewhere on the internet, I wanted to share the link for the slackerheroes.com article I wrote. Here it is if you want to check it out:

Once Upon a Time: The Literary and the Literal

Another writer did a piece on Grimm, the other fairy-tales-in-real-life show to premiere this fall. I actually liked Grimm more than I expected to, it has an easier premise to buy than Once Upon a Time does, in my opinion. Read more here:

Grimm Picks Up

If you're a fan of either show, go ahead and leave a comment on the slackerheroes site. Thanks everyone!

Fall TV and Twitter

To keep everyone updated, I'm writing some TV reviews for a site called Slackerheroes.com. Here's my most recent write-up on The CW show The Secret Circle, which I basically summarize as The Vampire Diaries with witches. And The Vampire Diaries already has witches.

Anyway, it's been fun connecting with more TV bloggers and pop culture sites on twitter. For those of you new to twitter, or who might not use it much, it can be fun to search a show's hashtag (such as #TheSecretCircle) and follow the feed when the show is on. It's like a live blog with anyone on twitter who's commenting. #Project Runway's is particularly amusing, so long as you are watching in real time otherwise you will see spoilers. Probably reality shows in general work with twitter since you don't have to pay attention to plot every second and people are so opinionated about the shows. #Survivor is also entertaining.

I barely ever channel surf anymore since I have a DVR that can record 4 shows at once (a technological marvel!) so I always have something I want to watch. A couple weeks ago I discovered Dateline is still on; it's seriously been years since I've had nothing to watch and resigned myself to Dateline. Of course, I was immedately hooked by a premise of a screenwriter acting out a Dexter-like serial killer existence and writing about it (thus his arrest since the police found his script detailing where he dumped the body - Derp!). I wrote a tweet about the obnoxious (but somehow effective) voiceover and used the #Dateline hashtag. Reading the feed was hilarious. It's like the water-cooler conversation you have the next day at work about TV but it's happening live. Then weirdly enough, the real life author of a book about the criminal case started plugging his book on the twitter feed. I suppose anything goes, but by the 4th plug it was a bit much.

A couple suggestions of TV blogs & twitter users to follow are:

• Television Without Pity (@TVWithoutPity on twitter) They have recaps which are hilarious although quite long (they now have an abbrieviated feature) and some pretty great feature articles similiar to what Slackerheroes does.
• The Onion's AV Club (@TheAVClub on twitter). Excellent commentary. They even feature past shows like The X-Files and Angel, doing more of a scholarly dissection. You laugh, but it's awesome!

Do you follow any TV blogs or twitter users who write about TV or pop culture? What are your favorites?

Slackerheroes.com: I'm a contributor!

I'm excited to announce I'll be contributing TV reviews for the awesome Slackerheroes.com! The site features content appealing to fans of comics, sci-fi, and pop-culture on the fringes of those categories. Articles are more opinion and feature-oriented rather than simply recapping TV episodes. There's a really great one up now about a re-imagined Season 6 Angel.

I'm thrilled to be reviewing 4 new fall shows:

• The Secret Circle - from the makers of The Vampire Diaries and based on books by the same author, L.J. Smith. Thursdays, The CW (Sept. 15)
• Ringer - Sarah Michelle Gellar returns to TV and plays twin characters in a dark action-mystery. Tuesdays, The CW (Sept. 13)
• Pam Am - Christina Ricci stars in a 1960s-era soapy drama about the airline. Sundays, ABC (Sept. 25)
• Once Upon a Time - Cutie Ginnifer Goodwin is a reimagined Snow White in this curious series by two writers from Lost (they have plugged that pretty hard). Sundays, ABC (October)

I just realized all these shows feature strong female leads. Cool! I admit I have a few doubts on Once Upon a Time, mainly because the staying power a fairy-tale based show seems fragile, despite the resurgence of fairy tale trends in books and movies (two Snow White films will be released in 2012).

As for SlackerHeroes, you can see my first post here where I so helpfully list 10 essential Vampire Diaries episodes from seasons 1 & 2. Picking 10 episodes almost drove me insane, it was downright difficult considering how much plot churns through each episode. If you haven't seen the show, it's a lot of fun, vacillating between campy and a typical teen drama.

I make no excuses for totes belonging to Team Damon, and it's not just because he played Boone on Lost. As my husband said,  his eyes are LASER VILLIAGE. Don't think too hard on that, it doesn't actually mean anything. But look at his eyes, deep into his eyes...


Speaking of this actor and my taste in general, pretty consistent?