Happy New Year!!! I do plan to finally update my fic masterlist soon but in the meantime I thought I’d round up the year by sharing my favourite tv shows of 2008.

It’s interesting because – and this pains me to say it – but I don’t think this has been the best year for TV. The writer’s strike – which I fully supported – ended up negatively affecting a lot of shows, in ratings and in quality and quantity. This fall was the first time I wasn’t excited about any new tv shows. And some shows had been gone so long – Dirty Sexy Monday and Chuck – that it made it easier to stop watching them.

It has also been the year in which I’ve become increasingly frustrated with the stupid plotlines of Grey’s Anatomy (the horrible ending of the lesbian relationship and the stupid “we’re trying to be Ghost Whisperer” storyline), and in which I gave up on Bones after it destroyed a beloved character and devolved into making the characters parodies of themselves. I also don’t have the patience for Heroes anymore.

But there were shows that continued to be bright spots for me and which I looked forward to each week. ( My favourite dramas, comedies and reality shows – no spoilers )

So, what about you guys? Did we have similar favourite shows?

I'm feeling hungover, not from alcohol, but from trying to watch both the US Vice-Presidential debate (I ended up fast-forwarding, cannot handle Palin) and the Canadian English Leaders Debate (Steve Paikin: best moderator ever!!! As one of my coworkers said Steve Paikin won the debate). So I think it's the perfect day to post about TV, but the fun kind of TV! :D

I know you've all been dying to know what shows I'm watching this year. I'm trying to be ruthless (which is hysterical cause I'm so not a ruthless person) and cut back on my shows. So here's the ( Shows I'm Watching and Loving - no spoilers )

(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!

On my birthday I received a wealth of gift certificates to buy TV shows on DVD and I totally splurged. I am now the proud owner of The Office S3 (I already have S1 & S2), 30 Rock S1, Friday Night Lights S1, Joan of Arcadia S2 (I already own S1) and Pride & Prejudice (A&E Miniseries). [Aside to carmen_sandiego, the A&E version is still the first in my heart. *g*] So of course it was kinda crazy to buy that many DVDs all at once although the plan was that it would distract me when my laptop was sent in to be repaired... but then they broke it and gave me a new one so now I'm trying not to get distracted by my new toy while focusing on all the DVD watching before the new season of TV begins.

I've been relatively successful so far, and have already watched and fallen in love - again! - with FNL. Seriously, if you haven't seen this show, please check it out - it's the best drama on TV. If you're turned off by the football aspect, don't be, if you're not into football, you'll love it because it's about the people - and the acting, writing and directing are all fantastic! The first season is on sale and is very reasonably priced, and of course you can rent it or netflixx it. /promoting the awesome FNL

I'm currently in the midst of The Office mania because I had already been watching S2 (a recent pre-birthday purchase) so I've been mainlining the last couple of seasons. Another fantastic show! Both these shows got me thinking about the previous television season, so I bring you....

( My Eleven Favourite Moments from the 2006-2007 Television Season (no spoilers) )

Well, those are some of my favourite moments from the last TV season. Did I miss any of your favourites? *g*

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms on my flist – I hope you’re having a wonderful day! I’m looking forward to calling my mom later and chatting. I feel very fortunate to have a mom who I get along so well with, who I can talk about almost anything with and who’s so supportive of everything I do. Soon she’ll be moving to Toronto and I’m looking forward to living in the same city as her again, there’s often so many things I wish she and I could do together so it’ll be nice to have more opportunities to do that. Today is also a day I recall my grandma fondly and think about what an important person she was (and still is) in my life, and in my mom’s life. She’s very much missed by both of us, but she’s in our hearts.

So, that may give you a hint that I’ve been down recently which is why I’ve been mostly absent from LJ. It’s also been super busy at my work what with launching a bunch of new things (which I was responsible for) as well as giving performing reviews – being a manager of department is a lot of work (yeah, I know – duh!). Although I am pleased that an incentive programme I launched has been embraced by my customer service representatives (because – I believe – they all work together for a goal, instead of competing against each other) AND that the first month was a success and they exceeded their goal. Still it’s been a stressful time which has culminated in me having much trouble writing fic recently – and I have been despairing because my posting day for spring_with_xan is this Thursday and I only have two chapters of Outside Pride written (I’d wanted to already be finished all of the remaining five). But I’m reassuring myself that if I continue to be blocked, at least I have two chapters to post.

Anyway, enough of emo!cordelianne! I like my LJ to be a fun, positive space for me, so instead I thought I’d give you an update of my life, in list form. So here's ( What’s Making Me Happy Right Now )

So that’s my update! I hope you all are doing well, and I shall be endeavouring to be better about commenting. *hugs*

We're all concerned about how gross you look. (btvs 2:18)

So yeah, I’ve been sick. Not feel-like-I’m-dying sick, just annoying-head-cold-that-sticks-around sick. And it’s made me cranky and whiny and low on energy. Fortunately I didn’t have to travel anywhere for Christmas because my family (mom, dad, brother and brother’s girlfriend) converged at my apartment for Christmas. I don’t have the biggest apartment ever but we all fit comfortably (fyi: they slept at a hotel – it wasn’t that cozy). And my mom – who’s very awesome – prepared the meal so basically I just had to show up in my own apartment and try not to sneeze on anyone. I feel very spoiled by the lovely Christmas and all the fabulous gifts I received (of fannish interest: I got a Puppet Angel, the Vamp!Xander action figure and the Scruffy Wesley action figure).

I’m finally feeling mostly better today (*fingers crossed*) – which is good because on Sunday I’m heading out to visit the fabulous girlfriend! I’m so excited about visiting with Camisha – we’ll have just over a week together. Of course, I would be more excited if I wasn’t flying through Denver. I’ve spoken to my airline and apparently it’s possible that things should be cleared up by then and it should be alright when I fly through there. But I’ll have to keep calling and checking that the flight’s still confirmed, because if not, they will re-route me … but that could mean I won’t arrive for New Year’s Eve which had been my original plan.

So in an effort to not stress out, I thought I’d tell you my top 10 list of TV shows for 2006 (ie. the shows I enjoyed the most this past year). Oh! I am planning to do my fic wrap-up but I probably won’t have that ready to post till the new year.

( My Top 10 TV Shows of 2006 – spoiler free! )

So that’s it for me for now. I hope you all have been having a wonderful holiday season and I wish you all a Happy New Year!

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*

This has been one of those weird weeks. ( Cut for spaceyness, lost wallet and voting hijinks )

And OMG, the other night I ALMOST DRANK A SPIDER!!!! It had somehow gotten in my water glass and as I was tilting the glass to my lips I happened to notice something moving. *still gets freaked out thinking about it* My poor friend was on the phone with me at the time, so got to experience me shrieking and being distressed.

I've also been focused on my fall_for_sx fic, It's Not. /self-promoting
Oh! And today's savoytruffle's day at fall_for_sx, check out her awesome fic: Or Forever Hold Your Peace.
I'm also happy because entrenous88 has been posting new chapters of Cuddly Predators.
So in conclusion, yay Spander!!

I also have some very brief TV comments! This morning I was reflecting that I know it's November sweeps since the characters are all in danger (or so it seems).

( Veronica Mars - Of Vice and Men (3:7) )

( Bones - The Aliens in the Spaceship (2:9) )

( Dancing with the Stars - Finale )

I'm ridiculously behind on so much TV right now. Three separate co-workers harassed me about not seeing this week's Heroes yet. If only there were more hours in the day! *contemplates trying to find that time turner Hermione has in Harry Potter*

I hope you're all good! *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.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY a2zmom!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you've been having a wonderful day! I wish you all sorts of lovely gifts and delightful surprises! And lots and lots of salty David Boreanaz goodness!


I'm away right now - and having a fabulous time!! - so my internet time has slightly decreased, but I'm still checking in on LJ. I won't be able to see Battlestar Galactica until I return home on Friday the 13th, so I've been totally avoiding all your posts about the episode (the same for this week's Smallville, the Office and Supernatural).

I haven't had time, but I've wanted to post about how much I loved the Veronica Mars season premiere, as well as how I'm continuing to adore Studio 60, the Office, How I Met Your Mother, the Amazing Race, Grey's Anatomy, Bones and most of the other shows I watch (although Gilmore Girls was pretty damn heart-breaking and depressing this week). Oh! I'm totally getting a kick out of Heroes - it's such an entertaining show.

I had a couple of amusing moments recently that I suspect are signs that fandom has eaten my brain:

1. The night after watching the Veronica Mars premiere, I had a dream in which I was going to have sex with Dick Casablancas!! I'm still disturbed by this, because although I love his character I would never want to meet him, let alone sleep with him. I think this is the result of me trying to understand the fandom love of Mac/Dick. If anyone has insights about why these two would make a good pairing please share, because I don't get it (and I normally love "so wrong, it's right" couples).

2. My friend's sister, Victoria Banks, has a fabulous album You Don't Know Me, which I've just been loving. Recently I had the opportunity to enjoy a live performance and when she was playing her song Saints and Angels I realized it would make the perfect Buffy/Angel vid, or the perfect inspiration for a Buffy/Angel fic. And I'm supposed to be working on Spike/Xander fics right now, not getting B/A ideas!! Check out a clip of the song here and the lyrics are here - they're so B/A!!

3. And in the good way that fandom has eaten my brain: I was entertained while traveling on Thursday by working on the final two chapters of my BtVS/VM crossover fic Murder at the Neptune Express. Fandom can turn long travel times into fun!!!

OMG I just discovered that CTV (a MAJOR Canadian TV network) aired the WRONG Grey's Anatomy episode!!!!!! It turns out that they aired the SECOND episode of the new season instead of the season premiere!

I am SO VERY RELIEVED that I didn't post any comments about it yet, because I would have unknowingly spoiled people. *wipes brow* Okay, I will stop wearing out my caps lock key.

When I saw the episode I thought that they'd just jumped ahead in time a bit. And there were a couple of scenes in the previously ons that I didn't remember, but I just thought it was because of my very bad memory. I won't say anything spoilery, just that it was an excellent episode. So good that I haven't deleted it from my PVR yet so I can rewatch it (this will now be helpful for me so I can watch them in order).

CTV is going to air the season premiere this coming Thursday at 8pm instead of reairing the second episode again. Or if you're fast and have time shifting you can catch the repeat on ABC (at 11pm EST).

So to CTV I say: "Because you DON'T screw me over the way ABC does and annoyingly run the shows a few minutes over so that my PVR cuts off the last bit of an episode, I'm going to forgive you for this mix-up. But, CTV YOU'RE ON NOTICE!" (Yeah, I'm using the caps lock again and blatantly ripping off Stephen Colbert.) ETA: After reading the article more carefully, I see that it was a human error in California where the feed is sent from so it wasn't really CTV's mistake.

Since I'm talking about TV, I must say how much I loved Bones and the Office this week!!!!!! Yay for the Office being back! My Name is Earl was pretty good, but not as fab as other episodes have been. And Jericho? Totally cracked out. Not even comparable with Battlestar Galactica's complex portrayal of a post-apocalyptic scenario, and not as cracktastic as 24. The music was good though. And if the best thing I can say about the show is that the music is good? Not a good sign.

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.

Today is the last day that the WB will exist. Tomorrow it and UPN merge to form the CW. I'm mostly excited about this (despite being sad about Everwood and Reba being casualties of the merger), however I am sad about the WB ending. And, I wanted to remind you all that:

As a good-bye, the WB is airing the pilots of its significant shows today.

5pm - Felicity
6pm - Angel
7pm - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
9pm - Dawson's Creek

**check your local listings**

I will totally be watching! I missed out on seeing Felicity when it first aired so I'm excited to check it out. Even though I think it's weird that they're playing Angel before Buffy I'm excited to watch them one last time on the network that (mostly) nurtured these two brilliant shows (I'm trying not to focus on the too soon cancelling of Angel). And it'll be fun to end with the post-modern teen angsting of Dawson's Creek!

I thought it would be fun, as a good-bye, if I listed my favourite memorable moments from the shows I watched on the WB. ( Good Times on the WB )

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?) )

At this moment I am watching Celebrity Duets (and I totally blame savoytruffle for introducing me to this guilty pleasure *g* - Lucy Lawless aka Xena, Carlton from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - hee), so it seems like a good time to give you all a heads up about which shows I'm planning to loyally watch this season. I believe you'll see that I've found plenty of good stuff on TV!!

( My Fall 2006 TV Schedule - includes series/season premiere dates and links to info about all the shows )

And as bonus, since I'm talking about my love of TV here's the opening sequence of the Emmys, which is Conan entering the worlds of all sorts of different TV shows. Very very fun. ( I've embedded the link behind this cut! )

*hugs you all* and then *collapses into bed*

In previous years I've held out hope that my favourite shows and actors would get Emmy nominations. And I've always been disappointed when it seems like being on HBO guarantees a nomination, the same shows get nominated year after year, and mediocre actors like Charlie Sheen and Patricia Arquette get nominated (and win!). So, last year after gazing at the awards and declaring It's like these people don't actually watch television! I decided that (other than the industry prestige and glitzy parties) the Emmys are silly and meaningless, and if I made up my own nominations to celebrate my favourite shows, actors and writers it is way more meaningful. Why more meaningful, you ask? Because I love television!! And I'm sure I watch way more tv than the average Emmy voter.

So, if you want to see who the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences nominated click here. ETA: There are NO spoilers behind the cut. And if you want to know why I nominated something or why I didn't, please ask - I didn't have the energy for lengthy explanations (thus, why no spoilers). Now, onto the real nominations: ( The Second Annual Nominations for the Cordelianne Emmys )


I'm sure you're wondering how the winners will be determined. I will be making that decision and announcing it on (or close to) Emmy night. I will likely do a poll to determine the people's choice around that date, but I will ultimately have to pick one from my favourites in each category (which will be a challenge!!).

I'd wanted to do more categories (ie. writing and directing) but am exhausted from all my preparations for visiting savoytruffle (I leave on Monday!!! eeeeee!!!) and for Writercon!!! The excitement levels are VERY HIGH here!!! I'm pretty much ready although there's a couple of last minute things I need to do tomorrow and Monday (eg. I still need to get American money. I remembered to set aside my Veronica Mars dvds but not get cash. *headdesk*).

*squishes you all* *collapses*

Okay, so I'm totally behind on reading my f-list, I want to be reading more of the Gud Summries Ficathon entries (my contribution is Chicken Dancing) AND I am supposed to be working ... but I cannot resist a meme (which I grabbed from kimberly_a) all about the tv shows that I've watched!! The thing to keep in mind is that I didn't watch a lot of tv as a kid (we didn't have a colour tv or cable until I was 10 years old).

• Bold all of the following TV shows which you've ever seen 3 or more episodes of in your lifetime.
• Bold and italicize a show if you're positive you've seen every episode of it.
• If you want, add up to 3 additional shows (keep the list in alphabetical order).

( Click here to discover the sheer volume of television shows I've watched! )

Work's been all stressful this week (thanks in part to all the preparations for Pride this weekend) and my co-worker/friend and I had to - temporarily - take apart our desks and computers for Pride-related reasons... but that means I have a three day weekend!! Yay!

The Emmy nomination ballots are being prepared, and since the shows that I love rarely get nominated, I thought it would be fun to give them some love. Because I'm feeling unoriginal, I'm blatantly stealing the categories from TV Gal's Nominations for the 2006 Amy Awards (I love her awards because the categories, nominations and winners are all decided by the readers of her column). WARNING: Spoilers for Veronica Mars season 2 for numbers 1 & 5 and for Everwood and Smallville behind the cut ( Here's my take on the TV Gal awards categories: )

I'm using my Hannah/Bright Everwood icon because I love those characters and miss the show lots and lots.


So, as mentioned above, this weekend is Pride here in Toronto (actually all week is Pride week) which means I may not be around too much. Or it means I'll be around lots because I'll be overwhelmed by the crowds and commercialism. I'm planning a low-key Pride but these things always grow. So HAPPY PRIDE!!!!

This post contains only good news! Things that are making me happy and will hopefully make you happy too!

1. Thanks to everyone who voted in my 'Decide cordelianne’s TV Watching Schedule for Her' POLL - you have helped me!! ( Brief run-down of which shows I'm cutting from my schedule - all chosen by YOU )

2. Veronica Mars is loved by all! Or at least those of you who voted in my poll. You all approve of me watching it! I'm pretending that Gilmore Girls got similar love instead of a surprising amount of horrified votes.

3. AWESOME Veronica Mars news!!! On vm_navigator (which is a great newsletter because it really seems to cover a lot of the VM fandom as well as interesting VM news) I read that for those who live in Ontario, Veronica Mars has been picked up for the Fall 2006 schedule on SunTV (I think that's channel 15 in Toronto), in simulcast with the CW on Tuesdays at 9PM EST! Currently you needed digital cable, satellite or internet help to see the episodes close to when the show aired in the U.S. This also means I won't need to keep lending my tapes out as much!

4. According to a reliable source (okay, a co-worker but he's normally right about this stuff), Battlestar Galactica Season 3 will be airing in Canada (on the Space channel) only a day after it airs in the U.S. (Saturday night)!!! This is awesome news and means I won't need to use the internet to see the episodes. Also, now my friends and I will all be at the same point and I won't be trying to remember back to something I saw months ago when we talk about the show!

5. When I scanning through "the Initiative" to check details for my Giles/Xander drabble (ie. Is Xander wearing long sleeves? Do they have military gear?) I declared to my friend OMG I love this show even on fast-forward! I then stopped to watch Riley punch Parker and giggle gleefully. It's just so wonderful to still be so filled with love for BtVS after so many years.

6. I read this lovely Anne of Green Gables Anne & Gilbert ficlet by cherusha: Echo. It feels like a lost scene from the movie or book!!

It's a good thing that the most responses to my poll's question "Am I too obsessed with television?" were "Obsessed? Sure. But that’s what I love about you" ... because every item but one is related to television!! Oh, and I'm using this icon because it always makes me smile and hopefully will make you all smile too. *hugs*

I have all these posts I’ve been planning to make (ie. a BtVS essay/opinion post & drabbles), but I’m not finished any of them yet. So I’ve decided now is the perfect time for:

( 'Decide cordelianne's TV Watching Schedule for Her' POLL!! )