(from BtVS 7:4)

I definitely knew I was in my post-visiting girlfriend blahs when I cried during my doctor's appointment today (although I do feel it was a positive and productive appointment). But instead of detailing more of my lameness, I am trying to channel how good I felt in yoga and point you to a couple of things that made me happy:

This interview with Wilson Cruz (Rickie on My So-Called Life). God, I absolutely loved that show. It was definitely the first TV show I felt passionately about before BtVS. Reading the interview made me teary which possibly may just be my mood. BUT the interviewer notes how MSCL influenced BtVS and Cruz talks about his own coming out experiences paralleling those of Rickie and also how he sees MSCL's influence on Friday Night Lights. Such a great interview and it makes me want to run home and rewatch some MSCL, which I may do (as well as the new Friday Night Lights of course!).

Buffy #1 Butt-Kicking Babe. When Entertainment Weekly initially posted this list, I was quite surprised that Buffy wasn't included. I'd been expecting her to be #1 (which she is now), and this wasn't a crazy expectation considering how EW has always championed BtVS. So I was one of the hundreds of people who commented appalled that Buffy was omitted. It's actually kinda cool that they responded and corrected the list. This makes me oddly happy, although this possibly just indicates my ridiculous love for EW.

I realized I haven't talked a lot about my current television viewing lately. So I shall try to rectify that. *g* ( Here's the TV shows I'm watching and some brief reactions/comments about each one )

Whew! And now you see why I haven't written about my TV watching... I'm having a hard time watching it all!

I had the misfortune of grabbing a second posting day at fall_for_sx on American Thanksgiving – the disadvantage of being Canadian and not knowing when American holidays are. *g* So, in case you were enjoying yummy food and family/friend time, and missed the final 2 chapters of my Spike/Xander story, It’s Not, I wanted to post the link to it today.

It’s Not: Chapter Four and Chapter Five. The entire story’s just over 7,800 words and all the chapters are here. It also lives in tags here.

So finishing my story seemed to have wiped me out this weekend because I didn’t accomplish the fic reading and commenting that I’d planned to do (and will be doing asap). I did, however, accomplish lots of TV watching!! And I even saw a movie (Casino Royale)!

( Random, and basically unspoilery TV stuff, includes The Simpsons, BSG and House )

( My rant about VM this season, definitely spoilery for season 3 and possibly slightly bitter )

Well, I think that’s enough ranting about VM for today! I hope that everyone who celebrated had a fabulous Thanksgiving! *hugs*

It’s been a rough last few days for me, so I figured what better distraction than to talk about TV?! I haven’t really had the energy to do thoughtful critiques or even simple reactions like “I loved it” or “blah”, so I thought I’d give you a run down of what I’ve been enjoying, what I haven’t and what I haven’t even watched yet. There’s very minimal spoilers in my comments.

( Shows I’ve Been Loving )

( Shows I’m Enjoying )

( Shows That I’m Not All About )

( Shows on my PVR that I Haven’t Seen Yet (or have only seen 1 episode of) )

I must say that overall I’m underwhelmed by a lot of the TV shows this season. (This could be more a reflection of how I'm feeling.) There better be some exciting things in November! I’m most excited about Heroes right now. *hearts* Hiro.

Did I just pick that quote because it has Xander wanting to be gay? Yep! I'm all jittery right now because I have a performance review at my work in half an hour. So because I can't concentrate on work, I thought I'd reflect on the TV I've watched this week so far.

**FYI: I am cutting for spoilers (which I always do *g*) but I rarely include significant spoilers when I talk about my TV shows.**

( The Simpsons - Jazzy and the Pussycats 18:2 )

( The Amazing Race - Real Fast! Quack, Quack! 10:1 )

( Corner Gas (Canadian sitcom) - Hair Comes the Judge 4:1 )

( Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - Pilot 1:1 )

( How I Met Your Mother - Where We Were 2:1 )

( House - Informed Consent 3:3 )

( Dancing with the Stars - 3:2 )

( The Daily Show & the Colbert Report )

Well, I have killed time before my review. It is just a few minutes away now. Oh, and should you be wondering, my icon is for How I Met Your Mother.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY mr_dave_gripes!!!! I hope you had a wonderful day! I'm so happy that you're in my life Mr. Dave, and I wish you all the best for the coming year!! I'm using my new Jon Stewart/Steven Colbert icon in your honour and because I love discussing the Daily Show with you.


In an attempt to combat my general feeling of blah and to avoid a lot of the distressing news in the world, I've watched a lot of (non-news) TV recently. Whenever it's the beginning of the season, I always get excited about new shows & new seasons, and watch a lot of first episodes just to check the shows out. So, I'm dividing up my thoughts on TV in three sections (behind the cuts are brief possible spoilery comments about The Simpsons, Bones, House, Celebrity Duets, Dancing with the Stars, Family Guy, American Dad, Til Death and Happy Hour):

( Worth Watching )

( Fun but Not Vital to My TV Schedule )

( Not Worth Watching (Why did I waste my time on these show?) )

Happy Wednesday!! I hope everyone is experiencing the same lovely weather we are here. I had planned to take notes while watching all 5 of my shows last night, but it turns out I wrote meaningless squee like Vincent!!! Butters! Whoo hooo!, which is not helpful for a thoughtful review. So, as a challenge to myself I’ve arbitrarily decided that I can only write 2 sentences about each of my Tuesday shows. Let’s see if rambly me can accomplish this!

(  Veronica Mars “Nevermind the Buttocks” (2:19) )

(  Gilmore Girls “I Get A Sidekick Out of You” (6:19) )

(  Scrubs “His Story III” (5:19) )

(  House “Sleeping Dogs Lie” (2:18) )

(  Teachers “Golf” (1:4) )

Okay, so I completely failed my own challenge for Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls, and I basically failed it for Scrubs. However I did succeed with House and Teachers, yay me? So that’s 2 out of 5, um, yeah I fail. Tonight is Bones (yay!!), The Amazing Race, and the two hour return of Alias.

Random thing: they turned the air conditioning on at work and now it’s beautiful and refreshing, instead of hot and stiffling.

You'll probably note that the icon I'm using (by kornpeep) has nothing to do with my post. It just amuses me because I love that Buffybot smile and that line of hers always cracks me up.

Last night was a co-worker’s going away party, which I’d organized, and I had a hard time having fun because I kept stressing over the details. Fortunately 2 green apple coolers later (like the favourite drink of Scrubs’s JD, the Appletini), I was all tipsy and happy. At the party my good friend/co-worker E tried to convince everyone that I could be bitchier than her, and NO ONE BELIEVED HER!! Haha, victory is mine! She was griping about it on the way home so I told her it’s like that argument between Buffy, Willow and Xander: You two are the two who are the two. This made sense to me at the time, but I’m not sure if it actually does now. For some reason it still entertains me though!!

Um, anyway … To make up for my (almost) tv-less weekend I’ve been watching lots and lots of television.

( Supernatural ‘Something Wicked’ (1:18), Could I love the brothers more? )

( A couple of How I Met Your Mother episodes including the one with Alexis Denisof )

( Caution: Big time spoilers for Veronica Mars ‘I am God’ (2:18) and Citizen Kane )

( Not really spoilers for House, just a quote )

( Gilmore Girls ‘The Real Paul Anka’ 2:18, More whacked out dreams )

It’s Nicholas Brendon and, of course, his twin brother Kelly Donovan’s birthday. Happy birthday Nick and Kelly!!!

Happy Wednesday everyone!! I’m excited because tonight there’s new episodes of Veronica Mars, Lost, Bones AND the Amazing Race!!! That’s a lot of tv, but it’s all good tv so I’m happy.

Yesterday the weather was insane. There were snow flurries for a few seconds, then they stopped. Half an hour later, there was hail!! Fortunately it didn’t last too long. And then there were snow flurries again. Nothing has stayed and I’m holding out hope this is the last snow for the year. But it’s like the weather has PMS.

Lots of tv has been watched by me the last couple of days:

( 24 ‘10pm-11pm’ 5:16, Who’s evil now? )

( Grey’s Anatomy ‘The Name of the Game’ 2:18 )

( Gilmore Girls ‘I’m OK, You’re OK’ 6:17, Actually no-one’s okay except for Lane and Paris )

( Scrubs ‘My Chopped Liver’ 5:16, Why JD and Turk are the best friends ever! )

I was going to write about House (with Michelle Trachenberg!) but I was just alerted that the Conservatives are re-opening the same-sex marriage issue and holding a free vote about it. I am very mad and upset by this. WTF?!! No government should be taking away human rights. I recall having an argument with someone before the election in which he refused to believe me that the Tories would do this. This is one instance in which I hate being right. There is hope that this will fail because the Conservatives are a Minority Government and the other parties (Bloc Quebecois, NDP and most Liberals), who make up the majority, will vote in support of same-sex marriage. But still…. It’s hard to feel reasonable when we could potentially lose human rights.

To try and end on a happy note I wanted to rec some really good fic I’ve been reading recently:

globalfruitbat’s Heroes which is a beautiful and addictive post-Not Fade Away ensemble story.

octoberxsong’s Placebo which is an amazing Spike/Angel story that could also be a manifesto for the pairing.

Also, if you love Xander, check out the masterlist for The Replacement Celebration -- A Two Xanders Are Better Than One Brouhaha. It’s double your Xander goodness!

Today has been a WEIRD day. My awesome friend, spookymonkey, and I were discussing how the warm weather brings everyone outside. And it also brings out the crazy!

On my way to work I had a freaky experience. At some subway stations there's these automatic entrances (ie. no actual people work at these entrances). There's floor to ceiling turnstiles made of really sturdy-looking materials which turn, like a revolving door, when you swipe your metropass or put in a token and thus allow you to enter the subway station. I should add at this point, that I'm TERRIFIED of getting stuck in one of these turnstile door things, because if you're stuck, there's nothing to climb over. I've actually seen a woman get stuck in one of these turnstiles so this is not a totally insane fear.

Anyway, I swipe my metropass and am quickly went through the turnstile when I'm half-way in and the door stops. My heart starts pounding because even though I'm pushing on it nothing is happening. I turn around and see A GUY CRAMMED IN BEHIND ME!!!!!!!! I just about have a heart attack. I yell "Holy crap man!!" Yes, I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't even really swear, despite being completely freaked out. I guess he was trying not to pay, and sneak in behind me?

Fortunately the door had caught on him and my shoulder bag had stopped him from getting in all the way (yay bulky bag!). He immediately jumped back and I pushed my way through into the subway station. I walked really really quickly down to the platform, and didn't see him again. I am still freaked out about this.

Whenever I went outside for the rest of the day I had strangers talking to me, or asking me if the salsa I was buying in the grocery store is good. On a normal day I would have enjoyed everyone's good spirits about the warm weather but the turnstile experience had me all jumpy.

Enough of RL, on to TV talk!

( House )

( The Amazing Race )

( Teachers )

( Veronica Mars 'The Rapes of Graff' 2:16 )

( Not really spoilers for Bones since I'm in the midst of watching it )

Before I finish watching Bones, I just remembered this discussion my friends and I had about Snakes on a Plane which I thought I'd share:

Me: blah blah blah explaining about Snakes on a Plane.
Friend one: It's like they're combining two different fears together. So the sequel will be Spiders in an Elevator?
Friend two: And then there will be Lizards in a Closet.
Me: That sounds like a porn film.

ETA: I forgot to pimp entrenous88's fun post Secret Fanfic Writing/Reading Shame Meme. I posted my idea for a BtVS/Anne of Green Gables crossover here.

I had this very stressful and busy week, which meant that I didn't watch any of my tv until the weekend (this produced a VERY cranky and anti-social cordelianne). I thought it would be a fun experiment to see if I could keep my reactions about shows to a couple of lines each.

Sunday January 8

The Simpsons – It's funny again!!

Family Guy – Hee. Sychronized swimming and lesbians!

American Dad – I giggled and giggled during the climactic sequence (monkeys!), and I also loved Roger imagining he was in a sitcom (I never do that!).

Charmed – Probably the most original Charmed episode ever ... in a bizarro world where no one realizes this was just a cheap rip-off of a dumb summer movie starring Brangelina.

Grey’s Anatomy – You thought this would be a new episode? Ah ha ha. Welcome to the hell of yet another ABC “recap” episode (I did not watch).

Monday January 9

The Critics Choice Awards – Yay! I’m very happy about the love for Brokeback Mountain!! In other reactions, Dennis Miller as host bored me. Also, I’m beginning to think that Dakota Fanning is a robot; she gives better acceptance speeches than most adults. Maybe Tom Cruise, who – incidentally - she praised in her speech, hypnotized her.

How I Met Your Mother – I LOVE this show! It perfectly captures what it’s like to be single in your late 20s.

Out of Practice – Fun sitcom.

House x 2 - Hmm, both House reruns starred actresses who’ve been on previous seasons of 24. Could Fox be getting us ready for 24’s return?

Tuesday January 10

Gilmore Girls – This season keeps getting better and better! I was highly amused by Rory’s breakdown – the kleenexs!! Also, Lorelei looked so happy & beautiful in her wedding dress – please don’t break our hearts Amy Sherman-Palladino (aka show creator/show runner)!!!

Supernatural – Plot? Who cares about the plot? I love the Winchester brothers and their angst!! I think they’re my favourite brothers on tv. Also, this show is still scaring me at least once an episode

House – I think my favourite moment of the episode was House taking the ball away from the kid. In terms of the romantic stuff, I think it’s going to end badly (Wow! What a shocking prediction!! Maybe I should become a psychic. Ha.)

Scrubs x 2 – These episodes were even better than last week’s. I LOVED the triathlon one and how slow J.D. was, and that Elliot kept catching up and carried him in the end. Also how great was the whole kung fu sequence?!

People’s Choice Awards – After watching this I had to reassure myself that I am indeed a person (I even reminded myself of the Heritage Moment about the Persons Case which proved women are people) because “the people” and I don’t agree on much. Star Wars as best movie?! shudder.

Wednesday January 11

Lost – Watch out Charlie! Now everyone likes Sawyer and no one likes you. Also, we got Eko’s back story which was pretty interesting, and sad.

Thursday January 12

Smallville – sigh. I want James Marsters to return. On the bright side, the villain wasn’t affected by Kryptonite in any way, she was just crazy (fortunately they’ve never had any crazy girls on the show before! Ha, see above re: bizarro world).

Four Kings – Why? Seth Green, why? I only watch this for you, and it’s painful, fingernails on a chalkboard painful.

My Name is Earl – Earl working in fast food! It reminded me of the Buffy “Doublemeat Palace” (6:12) episode (that's a good and funny thing in my book). Oh, I loved the hairnet over Earl’s moustache. hee!

The Office – This show is kicking my ass. I’ve now seen some of the British version and am even more impressed with the American version because it has really become it’s own excellent show. I loved that Michael BURNED HIS FOOT ON A GRILL!! Also, Dwight with concussion was adorable!

Crumbs – I didn’t love it, but it has some potential. It’s fun to see Fred Savage and Jane Curtin again!

Beauty and the Geek – I miss Everwood! Even amusing pop culture questions like “Which of these Jennifers was Ben Affleck not engaged to? (There were pictures of J.Lo, Garner and Aniston), and “Who is the father of Britney Spear’s baby?” could not appease my sadness about the loss of Everwood until March!

Friday January 13

Living with Fran – Fluffy fun.

Reba – Not the best Reba this season, but it was fun to see Reba and Brock get along.

Twins – More fluff.

Numb3rs – Wait, did I say the Winchesters are my favourite brothers? I’d forgotten about the adorable Epps boys. I think the casino in this episode was the one where Gunn and Angel almost lost their souls in Angel “Double or Nothing” (3:18).

The Book of Daniel – This show is a lesser version of Desperate Housewives, Joan of Arcadia and Six Feet Under (I'm not even into Desperate or Six Feet Under). Even the scene when Daniel thinks the 2 mob guys are a gay couple wasn’t as funny as it could be. Just another fluffy Friday night show, I’m not sure how much longer I’ll stick it out.


I've also FINALLY been watching last season of 24 (season 4) to get ready for season 5. Wow! Season 4 is an awesome season - definitely better than seasons 2 or 3. Air Force One gets shot down (see what happens when Harrison Ford isn't President?), there's a nuclear meltdown, torture and all the best characters return (yay President Palmer!!). Chloe kicks ass, or more precisely kills a terrorist. Michelle and Tony reconcile!! Jack experiences lots of angst and people continually doubting his abilities (why would anyone do this?). I just need to watch the 2 hour finale, but I'm already psyched for season 5!!!

Whew! I think I'm experiencing tv overload. Hopefully this week won't be so annoying and I'll be able to actually watch some of my shows!

I'm unwinding from my first day of vacation (I'm off until Tuesday January 3rd!) ... so I bring you some random stuff about movies and tv:

Brokeback Mountain

Damn you Toronto's Cumberland theatre and the faulty equipment(?)/film(?) that caused the film to start PLAYING UPSIDE DOWN AND BACKWARDS an hour into the movie!! WTF!!!

What could be worse than a section of the movie being unwatchable (people were laughing it was so ridiculous)? The Cumberland (the only threatre currently playing Brokeback Mountain in Toronto) couldn't get it fixed, so we had to leave and I haven't seen the remaining hour and a half. Sure they gave us 2 free passes but it still means that I've only seen the 1st hour of the movie, and I didn't have time to catch the next show because I had plans with another friend later (for more movies). Fyi: because it was a matinee they gave us free matinee passes. Personally I thought that was stingy - they should have given us full priced passes - since it ruined our viewing experience, and means we have to find time another day. Of course, I'm pretty grouchy about the whole thing because I was LOVING the movie, and I had just gotten fully into the characters and the story.

To feel better I went shopping at Winners and bought a pair of warm and waterproof winter boots, and 2 warm yet cute sweaters. I'm all about trying to be as warm as possible this winter.

Part One of my evening double bill: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

My annoyance at the Brokeback Mountain situation was soothed by an enjoyable repeat viewing of Harry Potter. I went with a friend who laughs at all the same stuff I do so it was really fun.

Part Two of my evening double bill: King Kong

This is what blockbusters the movie experience should be: good story, edge of your seat action, interesting characters, good acting, homage to old movies, good use of special effects and touching scenes. I love Peter Jackson, and Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

I LOVED King Kong!!! I cried multiple times during the movie. Kong is definitely my favourite character!!

Post-modernism and meta-storytelling is prevalent in this movie ... but in a good way, not in a self-indulgent, I'm just lazy so am relying on other sources kind of way. Peter Jackson succeeds in making this remake an original film.

House

I just saw the Emmy winning episode "Three Stories" and was blown away by the brilliance of the episode. I must congratulate the Emmy voters for actually making a good call. "Three Stories" made me immediately include House Season One on my Christmas Gift List.

I love the way the episode deconstructs linear episode structure by melding at least 4 different time periods together. It's awesome the way this is made clear to the viewer:

House: Oh, right, you guys [House's team] don’t know about him. He doesn’t get bitten until three months after we treat the volleyball player. Luckily, it’s been well established that time is not a fixed construct.

Also, the use of Carmen Electra to stand in for a patient actually made the revelation that one of the patients is/was (I'm going with the whole "time is not a fixed construct" thing) House a surprise for me!

The Daily Show and its coverage of "The War on Christmas"

I'm actually in the Christmas spirit this year: I've decorated my apartment with lights and a small Christmas tree. However, my happiness about the holiday is being ruined by this Christian right dramatics about the so-called "War on Christmas". The whole thing is so annoying and offensive to the many people who aren't Christian that it's hard for me to be articulate about the situation. Thank god Comedy Central for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and its good response to the whole situation. This is why I have a crush on Jon Stewart.

I have a long history of crushes on tv characters. Back in high school it was Jordan Catalono on My So-Called Life, then in university it was Pacey on Dawson’s Creek, and in more recent years it’s been Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. One thing they all have in common – other than that they’re all bad boys – is that my crush is on the character, not on the actors. I’m just more interested in the richly drawn and well-written characters than the actors who never live up to their fictional counterpart. The only exception is Spike’s James Marsters because I will watch whatever he’s in, no matter how bad it is **cough**Andromeda**cough – that’s what the fast forward function is for!

As I become more absorbed in my television obsession love, my list of crushes is constantly changing and expanding:

Rob Thomas (VM Creator)

This is more of an “I want to be his friend, or wish I was him, or both” kind of crush.

I was already filled with love for Rob Thomas because of his fabulously enthralling and smart show. Then my love increased when he had Buffy alumni Charisma Carpenter and Alyson Hannigan both guest star as recurring characters. Rob Thomas delighted me further when it was announced that Charisma and Alyson would guest star in the same episode and he declared: “Believe me, we will bend over backwards to put Charisma and Alyson in a scene together. Whatever it takes, it's gonna happen!” (Watch with Kristen chat transcript, September 26, 2005)

So could my love for him overflow more?! Of course it could! He was so adorable during an online chat with Watch with Kristen my crush actually increased! Here’s a couple of my favourite Rob Thomas quotes during the chat:

“We haven’t shied away from Buffy comparisons. We’re flattered by it.”

“The joy is the journey.”

Watch with Kristin (Eonline TV Columnist)

I’d describe this as an “I want to be her friend so we talk and talk about tv” kind of crush.

Her real name is Kristin Veitch, and she has a weekly column on Eonline about television. I had so much fun watching her interview Rob Thomas online because she’s so enthusiastic. When she talks, her love for television is very evident. I’m also endeared to her because she’s a huge Buffy fan, and has always promoted and supported the show.

In fact, Kristin does an excellent job of helping out less popular shows. Sure she talks a lot about the trendy Lost (a little too much for my tastes) but she’s also there for shows watched by real tv lovers. Over the years she’s championed Buffy, Angel, Arrested Development, and Veronica Mars to name a few of my favourite shows. She also does this neat thing each year in which her readers get to vote for one show that should be saved (ie. Past winners have been Angel and Veronica Mars), and then she uses her pull at Eonline to campaign for the show.

Even though she has a Hollywood Eonline feel to her, I can tell that deep down she’s a big tv geek, and I love her for that!

Jon Stewart (The Daily Show)

I totally have a “you’re so smart, funny and adorable” crush on Jon Stewart.

He’s able to make the news not only tolerable but actually fun. Jon Stewart can always make me laugh, no matter how upsetting the subject matter. He also has such awesome facial expressions! My favourite parts are when he’s having trouble not laughing at one of the other “reporters”.

Thanks to Jon Stewart, the fake news is good enough for me.

George O’Malley (Grey's Anatomy)

Grey’s Anatomy is slowly becoming one of my favourite shows. It’s gone from being good soapy fun to a show with increasingly well-written episodes and smart/interesting story decisions (ie. Having Dr. McDreamy’s estranged wife stay and be a likeable character).

Of course, George – “he’s so adorable and sweet” type of crush – is always the highlight of the show for me. Frequently shows are good at writing the “bad boy” but it’s hard to make a sweet and good character interesting, and George actually is!! I frequently feel swoony during George scenes. T.K. Knight, who plays George, definitely deserves credit for making the nice guy my favourite character!!

Marshall (How I Met Your Mother)

I feel that I deserve credit for not selecting the ex-Buffy actress (Alyson Hannigan). I just can’t resist Marshall, who’s my “he’s so goofy and cute” crush.

Jason Segel (Freaks and Geeks) won me over when he danced like a total dork and wore a Pirates of the Caribbean/Johnny Depp inspired pirate costume. Sure Neil Patrick Harris’ deliciously sleazy Barney is a scene stealer but Marshall is the heart of the show.

Randy (My Name is Earl)

My crush on Randy is similar to my George and Marshall crushes in that he’s the sweet guy on the show. I’d describe my crush on Randy as the “he’s so sweet, goofy and lovable” type of crush. Randy may not be the smartest guy but he has a really good heart. One of my favourite episodes is when he ruins another chance at scoring a touchdown to help out Earl. I would totally a buy that shirt that says “I heart Randy”.

House (House)

House will never be described as sweet, goofy or adorable, he definitely falls more into the bad boy section of my list. I’d describe House as the “entertainingly sarcastic, witty and snarky” type of crush. He’s the kind of bad boy who appeals to me more for his mind than his looks.

I’m also a huge fan of the House and Wilson friendship, and must admit that I love to read a homoerotic subtext into their relationship. As a result I was particularly entertained by this exchange in last week’s episode:

Stacy: What are you hiding?

House: I’m gay. Oh, that’s not what you meant. But it does explain a lot though. No girlfriend, always with Wilson, obsession with sneakers.

Logan (Veronica Mars)

And speaking of bad boys, I have to include Logan! This is definitely the “he’s so pretty and bad, but can be sweet” type of crush.

Jason Dohring continues to impress me with his nuanced and layered portrayal of rich bad boy Logan. He’s particularly skilled at revealing Logan’s vulnerability and making us (I know I’m not alone in this) believe that Logan has the potential to be good.

Ana-Lucia (Lost)

I suspect that I picked Ana-Lucia because she’s reviled across the fandom. Normally my character allegiances are consistent with other people’s, however there are occasions when I enjoy being contrary.

I admit that Ana-Lucia made the list because “she’s hot, tough and kind of butch” and that is a definite weak spot for me. There’s so few butch girls on tv that, at this point, I’m just excited when there actually is one on a show. I’m also a fan of Michelle Rodriguez (who plays Ana-Lucia) in Girlfight and SWAT because she’s all tough and hot.

So I should actually describe this as “my completely shallow crush, that’s totally based on looks.”

Bright (Everwood)

This is definitely the case of “the reformed bad boy who’s still struggling to be the nice supportive guy” type of crush.

Chris Pratt (Bright), like Jason Dohring, brings texture and depth to a character that could have been two-dimensional. Bright started off as a dumb jock but has always been more than just that stereotype (Hello! The O.C., welcome to real acting and good writing, bitch). Entertainment Weekly may have put him on their “Must List” a few issues ago but he’s been one of my favourite characters since I discovered Everwood in its 2nd season.

Lorelei (Gilmore Girls)

After years of watching – and adoring - Gilmore Girls I recently realized that I’m frighteningly similar to Lorelei (except that I didn’t get pregnant at 16, I don’t have rich parents, I don’t own an inn etc.). This crush is more the “your quirkiness is similar to mine and we should friends” type.

Here’s 3 reasons why Lorelei would be the perfect friend for me:

1. I didn’t realize that the characters (especially Lorelei) talk fast until someone else told me.
2. I also have a gigantic video collection of recorded tv shows.
3. I love all sorts of pop culture, the weirder the better, just like Lorelei.

Reba (Reba)

The main reason that I love Reba is because Reba is so kick ass and funny! She’s definitely the “I’m in awe of your many powers” type of crush.

Reba deals with her ex-husband on a regular basis, has forged a friendship his new wife, started a new career, supported her daughter through teen pregnancy, and raised her other 2 children. While doing all that she still has time to solve the perpetual family crises and keeps her sense of humour. Dude, on my best days I’m not that productive and on top of things!


This is actually a short list of crushes for me because I forced myself to stick with one character per show. There are plenty of other characters I wanted to include (special shout outs to Wallace, Lane and Paris), but I’m working on restraining myself. I’m pleased that as I’ve gotten older my crushes have expanded outside of the bad boy realm, although I’ll probably never completely give up on the bad boys. Every time I hear Spike say “What can I tell you, baby? I’ve always been bad” (btvs 5:7) I still get a little weak in the knees. I think the whole bad boy attraction was summarized nicely on Grey’s Anatomy:

"How can someone be so offensive and yet so charming all at the same time?"
"It's an art form." (Grey's Anatomy 2:3)

Joss Whedon & Veronica Mars:

Joss Whedon loves Veronica Mars! He recently posted on whedonesque.com detailing his love for VM. Here's the link to his post. He's all excited about how fabulous VM is - which I totally agree with - and describes it as "The Harry Potter of shows." I love how the connection to Harry Potter describes how VM can also suck you into an obsessive fandom mode in which you want to continually experience the universe and are very invested in the characters. (When I use "you" in that previous sentence, I really mean "me", of course.) Unsurprisingly, I also feel that way about Joss Whedon's shows (which is likely why he and I like Harry Potter and VM).

My unofficial VM conversion campaign is going well, I have most of my friends hooked on the show now. I'm so committed to getting people into VM that I'm lending out my tapes (I normally have a no lending policy). I'm pleased that Joss has declared his love for the show as it should get other Buffyverse fans to check it out. Although my sense is that most people who are into Buffy are already into VM. Veronica Mars really is "the New Buffy" - it's intelligent with excellent dialogue and a smart, independent and fun heroine who's the centre of an enthralling universe of mystery, suspense, humour, pain, drama and often a combination of more than one of the above. What I like about the title "the New Buffy" is that it recognizes that Veronica Mars is it's own show with it's premise (ie. not a copy of Buffy) that happens to share some core qualities with Buffy (namely an intelligent show with a kick-ass heroine).

2046:

It was with great excitement that I went to a free screening of the new Wong Kar-Wai movie, 2046, on Wednesday night. The movie, unfortunately didn't live up to my excitement, however it was still very good.

I'm a big Wong Kar-Wai fan so was disappointed that I didn't love it as much as Chungking Express, Happy Together and In the Mood for Love.

I'd still recommend that people see it (particularly if they've seen In the Mood for Love as 2046 is its sequel, of sorts) because it's still an enjoyable movie. My biggest complaint was that it was too long. Now I'm someone who can watch 5 episodes of Buffy consecutively with only brief bathroom breaks so I don't mind long viewing experiences as long as I feel it's not just because the director doesn't want to cut anything out.

As my friend pointed out, Chow (played by the always fabulous Tony Leung) and most of the other characters are expressions of existential philosophy so their constant state of inaction can be frustrating to watch (which aids in the movie feeling long). Fortunately, the excellent performances by all the actors (including the always awesome Gong Li, Faye Wong and Zhang Ziyi), the beautiful settings, costumes, lighting and incredible cinematography make the movie a worthwhile and enjoyable experience.

House:

As a rule, I avoid procedural shows because I'm not interested in law, order, crime, science, and medicine (I have previously made the exception for Numb3rs). After hearing so many good things about House, I finally saw an episode the other day, Role Model (1:17) - which, no surprise, I really enjoyed. I'm now excited to watch more of the show (I've been taping House for a while now and meaning to watch it). Like everyone else who enjoys the show, I love Hugh Laurie's House - prickly yet an engaging character (he's sort of in the tradition of Dr. Cox from Scrubs, if Dr. Cox was in a drama). There's also impressively witty and sharp dialogue - which always wins me to a show. After watching that first episode, I'm considering buying the season 1 dvd, that's how much the show impressed me.

Smallville:

I'm very excited because I've returned to catching-up on last season tv watching. I basically need to watch the 2nd half of this season of Smallville. I found all the episodes (they're scattered on many different tapes) and started watching the first one I need to watch (from February), Recruit. It guest stars Chris Carmack, from the O.C., and it's very fun to see him again. Because it took me so long finding the tapes, and figuring out which episode I need to watch first, I've only seen the 1st 20 minutes of Recruit so I can't really comment on the episode yet. I am, however, pleased that I'm working to get caught up on last season, especially since I'm psyched for the James Marsters presence on Smallville this season!

Amazing Race:

I keep watching the Amazing Race when I get home from work, which is a fun way to relax ... in theory. Unfortunately for me, the Amazing Race is so engaging that I'm awake and alert when I should be going to bed (I work till late at night).

I'm really enjoying the 3rd season! A few random questions regarding it:

If you have instructions that say "walk to the pit stop", how could you possibly interpret that to mean, "ride a cab to the pit stop and then walk in"? I didn't feel sorry for Heather and Eve when they got eliminated as it was a stupid mistake. Shows you that Harvard Law School can't even get you into the final 6, let alone win the Amazing Race.

Would the stress of traveling, exacerbated by competing for $1 million make most of us as cranky and bitchy as Flo is?

Were Michael and Kathy really as nice as they seemed? I was very sad when they were eliminated.

Is Ian as sexist and domineering in real life as he is on the Amazing Race? I sadly suspect yes.

Am I really in love with how kick-ass and cool Jill is? Am I also loving how sweet and supportive John Vito is?

Will the final three be John Vito & Jill, Derek & Drew, and Ken & Gerard? Those are my picks for the final three, so that's more of a hopeful question.

Serenity:

I'm still very excited about the movie - I saw the trailer again at a friend's house the other night which got me even more excited!

A very nice co-worker picked me up the 2nd of the 3 Serenity comics which are bridging the television show and the movie. I'm enjoying the comics so far, although I don't feel qualified to give a good review as I rarely read comics. This isn't because I don't like comics, I do. In fact I plan to read more in the future.