Television for the Week of September 16th

This is where I talk about all the tv I watched during the week. Featuring Boardwalk Empire, The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Project Runway.

Oops, it's already 2012

But let's talk about our favorite TV things of 2011, shall we? Not too much text in this one, just lists and some crappy photoshopping. All in no particular order:

5 Favorite TV shows of 2011:

1. Game of Thrones (Favorite episode: 1.09 "Baelor"*)
2. Doctor Who (favorite episode: 6.10 "The Girl Who Waited")
3. Breaking Bad (favorite episode: 4.13 "Face Off")
4. Parks & Recreation (favorite episode: 3.13 "The Fight")
5. Community (favorite episode: 3.04 "Remedial Chaos Theory")

*Favorite episodes are just those aired THIS year

5 Favorite TV Characters of 2011:

1. Britta Perry "Community"
2. Jesse Pinkman "Breaking Bad"
3. The Doctor "Doctor Who"
4. Rory Williams "Doctor Who"
5. Jimmy Darmody "Boardwalk Empire"

5 TV Boyfriends of 2011:

1. Matt Smith and Arthur Darvill (Doctor and Rory "Doctor Who") - yes, I cheated
2. Richard Madden (Robb Stark "Game of Thrones")
3. Donald Glover (Troy Barnes "Community")
4. Michael Pitt (Jimmy Darmody "Boardwalk Empire")
5. Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman "Breaking Bad")

5 TV Girlfriends of 2011:

1. Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen "Game of Thrones")
2. Gillian Jacobs (Britta Perry "Community")
3. Karen Gillan (Amy Pond "Doctor Who")
4. Zooey Deschanel (Jess Day "New Girl")
5. Amy Poehler (Leslie Knope "Parks & Recreation")

5 Favorite TV ships of 2011:

1. Amy/Rory "Doctor Who"
2. Troy/Abed "Community"
3. Leslie/Ben "Parks & Recreation"
4. Jimmy/Richard "Boardwalk Empire"
5. Sam/Jon "Game of Thrones"

Yeah! Now it's Zozizzle and Good Grief's your turn! What were some of your favorite TV things of 2011?

Supernatural mid-season finale, but mostly a lot of other stuff

I was going to do a season finale/mid-season finale recap of Boardwalk Empire, Supernatural, and Once Upon A Time. That was until I realized I just had TOO MANY FEELINGS regarding the Boardwalk Empire finale and couldn't even begin to coherently share them with the world. So I scrapped the idea. Before doing so however, I did end up writing a review of the last episode of Supernatural before the break. It's sitting on my harddrive, so I thought I'd post it anyways.

I will say this about Boardwalk Empire however, I thought the finale was actually a great episode of television that wrapped up an exciting, engrossing season. The Jimmy Darmody storyline was executed wonderfully and Michael Pitt has never been better. HOWEVER, I'm not sure I'll be watching the show anymore. The moment that Jimmy died was the moment I realized he was the only character I truly cared about on this show. I enjoy watching so many of the other actors and characters, but only really on a surface level and not on the deep level that I cared for Jimmy. The only character who comes close is Richard, but so many of his interactions came between him and Jimmy or Angela (and Jimmy/Richard was the OTP of the whole dang show, let's be honest). Jimmy dying actually made sense and in a way was a nice wrap-up for a character who was so damaged and lost, but ultimately found a sense of peace and closure in the end. But why, WHY do it this season? Why kill your most interesting character only 2 seasons in? I don't mind Jimmy dying, but save it for a series finale! I just can't imagine this show without Jimmy and I'm not sure I'll really want to. I'm grateful to this season for being so entertaining and for Michael Pitt being amazing every week, but my desire to continue watching might have just died with Nucky pulling the trigger.

Once Upon A Time starts back up this week and I'm excited for it, but still mourning slightly foreign, sexy sheriff Graham. Not only will I miss his face, but his episode was by far the best episode of the series so far and I'm disappointed they got rid of the character right as he was learning the truth (although I do concede that with the nature of the show, there's a strong possibility he could come back or be seen again). Damn those Lost producers and their penchant for killing off attractive characters in first seasons *cough*Boone*cough*. Without going into any detail, I still think the show has its problems, but ultimately it's a fun ride with appealing characters, actors I like, and enough mystery to make it interesting. I'm sticking with it for now!

Ok, so I guess I did have more to say than I thought. Trust me though, I could have said A LOT more. And with a lot less coherence.

One final note however, I just caught up on Breaking Bad. Watched the Season 4 finale a few days ago. And THERE IS SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS SHOW BUT HOW DO YOU EVEN SAY IT?! A;SLDJKF;ALS;DKJF;ALSDFJALSDKJF SO GOOD. SO. GOOD.
I thought about writing posts for it, but I'm pretty sure they'd just devolve into keysmashes and paragraph after paragraph on how Jesse Pinkman is the greatest character ever. Also, Zozizzle is now starting her Breaking Bad watching and I don't want to risk spoiling her. So for now, no BB posts, but maybe one day! And hopefully with Zozizzle in tow! :)

Finally, my Supernatural review of 7x10, "Death's Door":

This is the best episode of Season 7. That's not really saying much since season 7 hasn't been that good so far. But I think I'll take it one step further and say it's one of the best episodes of the entire series. Certainly for me, one of the most memorable episodes of the past 2 seasons and the only episode this season that sticks out for me at all. And this is coming from someone who was never a huge fan of Bobby. It wasn't that I disliked the character, I just hated the show's over-reliance on Bobby as a fact-getter/problem-solver extraordinaire in the later seasons. Relying on Bobby for answers every once and a while is fine. Relying on Bobby for answers every single episode made Sam and Dean seem lazy. I longed for the days when they had to search dad's diary and figure things out for themselves. It was too easy! Still, this episode put the focus on Bobby and showed that the show still has the ability for great character development, interesting storytelling, and the ability to make me cry. Too often this season has told us what characters are thinking and feeling without any explanation as to why. Sam and Dean's "development" this season has felt extremely unsatisfying. I'm not buying their character arcs at all because it feels like the writers keep tacking on "issues" without any logical progression. Not to mention a storyline with the Leviathans that while it has potential, has never really felt like anything new. Sadly, the show had to kill off a main character to get interesting again, but ultimately I think it worked because it believably showed us exactly the kind of man Bobby is.
As Bobby lies dying from a gunshot wound to the brain, we get to quite literally go inside Bobby's head and take a journey through his past. Each flashback leads us to a deeper understanding of Bobby as a character and each one is more powerful than the next,  leading to the devastating scene of young Bobby shooting and killing his abusive father.
Flashbacks aren't exactly a new concept, but structurally this episode found really interesting ways to tell the story. The episode as a whole was visually beautiful, as the darkness, or "death", slowly crept up on Bobby, swallowing his memories. I enjoyed how Bobby was at times a passive observer to the memories and other times actively interacting with his friends, helping Rufus solve a case until even he started helping Bobby along to meet his darkest fear.
It was just a well written episode overall that was entertaining while still being character driven. More than anything though, this episode reminded me of what it feels like to be emotionally invested in Supernatural again. I'm just a casual viewer now. I'm not obsessed like I used to be. I'm not even really a "fan", to be perfectly honest. I watch now mostly out of a loyalty to a show I used to love so much, not because of any great enjoyment I'm getting out of this season. But every once and a while a scene will come along like the one that ended this episode, with Bobby looking on fondly at his two adopted sons, realizing he did alright for himself after all, and I remember what made this show so great.

12/8/11 Week In TV Podcast: No Longer Living Under a Rock

The Ashitaka's Angels: Week in TV podcast 12/8/11 by Ashitaka's Angels

Nay, reader, your eyes do not deceive you. THE OTHER TWO THIRDS OF THE ASHITAKA'S ANGELS ARE STILL ALIVE!!! Many thanks to Good Grief, who has been holding down the fort while Lea and I were living under a rock. Well, living under a rock and watching lots of TV. Last night, we decided, "Hey, we should probably talk about all this TV we're watching. Now, if only there was some place on the internet where we could discuss all the shows that we watch....like... a TV blog. Oh, wait!" Then, we made this podcast. Warning: it is a bit of a WHOPPER. In terms of length, that is.
It is not, unfortunately, a chocolate-covered malt ball or a hamburger.

For those brave souls who end up listening to the whole thing, there's a digital hug waiting for you.
For those who do not want that and want to skip around, here's the rundown on what we discuss:

00:00-04:59 Boardwalk Empire: S2E11 "Under God's Power She Flourishes"

05:00-09:18 The Walking Dead: Season 2 in general

09:19-12:00 New Girl: overall impressions

12:01-13:50 Modern Family: S3E10 "Express Christmas"

13:51-18:00 The Office: S8E10 "Christmas Wishes"

18:01-24:00 Parks & Rec: S4E10 "Citizen Knope"

24:01-35:15 Community: S3E10 "Regional Holiday Music"/ Doctor Who Christmas Special Flail/ Inspector Spacetime Christmas Wish

35:16-40:00 Breaking Bad: Its similarities to Glee, how it has shattered Lea's life, and how she wants it to shatter mine

Enjoy :)