Pop Culture Curmudgeon

Countdown to New Shows: Spring 2010

I’ve been enjoying the returns of Chuck and Gossip Girl so far, but there are still so many other shows I need back on my screen. Here’s my countdown.

Flash Forward: March 18 (Only 2 short days)
The United States of Tara: March 22 (6 days)
Supernatural: March 25 (9 days)
True Blood: June 13 (89 long days)

What shows are you awaiting?

Like

Unlike

Pop Culture Roundup, February 11

So, my laptop spent some time in limbo these past few days, deciding whether it would die or whether it just needed a good reformat. The reformat worked, but I still need to do some work to get it to recognize that it does, indeed, have a DVD drive installed. The joy of technology!

Movie Stuff
TV Stories
Supernatural
Random 80s Flashback

Movie Stuff

Dune Film Finds a New Writer
I haven’t decided if I want to see the new Dune movie. I was such a fan of David Lynch’s version (and, yes, I would sit through the entire 13 hour director’s cut) that I am afraid to read the books because they may ruin my perceptions of that movie. I love Lynchs style, and Dune was a great early example of the director who would create my favorite TV show of all time. But, I really enjoyed Taken, so I think this writer has a good chance of making a film I could enjoy. That Sci Fi Channel adaptation was booooooooring.

TV Stories

Why I Caved, Bought Cable TV, and Gave Up on My “Hulu Household”
We’re not there yet, but man, when we can get all of our television content over the Internet, I am so there.

Women Can’t Create, White Men Can’t Jump: Worst Network Pilot Season for Women Pt. 2
Nikki Finke looked at the dearth of female writers in this season’s pilot pickups in this post. Neely Swanson posted an interesting response/further research on the issue. It’s a nice look at the realities of the Hollywood system and the fear that women are not reliable at bringing in audiences.

Dancing with the Scars
Leave it to Chelsea Handler to make me want to read a story about a washed-up Playboy bunny and her stint on a reality show I have never and will never watch.

Friday Night Lights: 10 Reasons Why Season 4 Is the Series’ Best
I know that not everyone agrees with me (and that’s okay, Katie), but I think season 4 has been a return to what makes FNL great. It has felt like season 1 to me, with the depth of storylines and the great acting. I hope all of you who haven’t been watching this show on DirecTV catch it when it premieres on NBC this April. Last night, we said goodbye to some favorite characters and saw others get hurt, get punished, and play some football.

Supernatural

Let’s Talk Supernatural, The Song Remains the Same
Maureen Ryan’s recap and review of last week’s episode. She also includes information about a charity auction to benefit the relief efforts in Haiti.

Supernatural: The Song Remains the Same
Another recap/review of last week’s episode, this one from the San Diego Tribune blog.

Supernatural: The Song Remains the Same
Suzanne has our final recap over at Damsel Undistressed. She loved the episode, but I think she might have been basking in the afterglow of the amazing season premiere of Last last week.

Supernatural and Vampire Diaries Taking a 5-Week Hiatus
Sadly, My Bloody Valentine is our last episode of Supernatural for a while. They had best come back from this hiatus with an episode in which we get to see Death. That was my biggest disappointment with this set of episodes. They didn’t resolve the cliffhanger.

Two Previews of Supernatural’s My Bloody Valentine
Need to get the scoop on tonight’s episode? Here are two clips to whet your appetite.

From Smallville to Capain America
More rumors that Jensen Ackles might be Captain America. Make of it what you will.

Supernatural: Preview of Episode 5.13 “The Song Remains the Same”Get ready for tonight’s episode with a synopsis and a clip.

Random 80s Flashback

Secret Admirer
Most movies from the 80s just don’t hold up. The humor was too steeped in the time frame, and the jokes no longer work. The exceptions, though, are great. All of the John Hughes teen films remain awesome. And Secret Admirer, starring a very young Lori Loughlin, Kelly Preston, and C. Thomas Howell (we called him Tommy and looked at his dreamy photos in Bop and Tiger Beat back then), is another timeless comedy. It centers around misplaced love letters, and the stellar cast of adults and teens help keep it from being too formulaic. Rent it from Netflix or catch it on the Reelz Channel.

Like

Unlike

The Biz

Fox, ABC Give out Pilot Orders
The Hollywood Report describes a couple recent pilots ordered by ABC and Fox. ABC ordered a comedy based on an Israeli show (because that worked so well for CBS ad The Ex-List), and Fox ordered a show about a police psychologist turned bounty hunter. Not sure I’m up for either of these shows.

Sundance, the Gifting that Keeps on Giving
It’s always funny that the wealthier you are, the less stuff you actually have to buy. Find out just a little bit of the free stuff Sundance attendees were lapping up.

Special Focus on the iPad

As if there is any pop culture story other than the unfortunately named iPad. Here are some links.

Supernatural

Supernatural Episode Recap: “Sam, Interrupted”
Read TV Guide’s synopsis of last week’s episode.

Supernatural: Two Clips from Episode 12, “Swap Meat”
A couple fun previews for tonight’s episode.

Fight the Apocalypse
Play the online Supernatural game.

Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles Do Not Have Twitter, Facebook, Etc.
The boys confirm that all social media accounts in their names are fakes.

Supernatural Spinoff in the Works
Will you watch it, though?

Supernatural Drinking Bingo
This looks like a way fun drinking game.

Drinking with the Stars: Supernatural’s Misha Collins
Speaking of drinking, Korbi Gosh (from Zap2It) takes Misha Collins out for drinks and some questions.

Random Stuff

Valentine’s Day Gifts Inspired by the Men of Chuck
This is quite the collection of potential gifts for your man. Personally, I dig Awesom’s vegan soap and Jeffster’s Employee of the Month runner up shirt.

Like

Unlike

Plans for 2010

With all of the new and returning TV shows this month, my head is spinning! What have you seen so far that you are excited about? And, what are you looking forward to this week?

I’m enjoying Chuck’s long-awaited return. They’ve done a great job keeping Chuck who he is while allowing him to grow into a slightly more effective spy. I even suffered through watched part of Spies Like Us to help me better get the references to that movie. The movie wasn’t as bad as I remembered it being.

I enjoyed last night’s premiere of Life Unexpected. I have some minor quibbles with the authenticity of the Portland setting, but that won’t hamper my enjoyment of the show.

And I can’t wait for this Thursday’s Supernatural. What do you think of the news that Kripke is now seriously considering a sixth season of our beloved show? I’m still not sure, mainly because I don’t know how they could ramp it up to another level for the next arc. I mean how do you top the Armageddon? (That said, I will likely watch. I watched Friends up until the end. I did break up with The X-Files during the Robert Patrick era.)

So, you may have noticed that I’m posting on a less than typical day. For 2010, I’m focusing on building a writing and editing client base, so I’m going to be blogging less frequently. I’ll be posting on Tuesday and Thursday for sure, and when I get a wild hair, I’ll post some extras.

Tuesday will be a typical Pop Culture Curmudgeon posting, me complaining about some pop culture story, providing my own perspective on current happenings, or (I hope) answering the niggling questions of the pop culture world.

Thursday will be something new for me: a link roundup. I read a lot of interesting stories around the interwebs, and I’ll be sharing the ones I found most interesting, amusing, or bizarre. This roundup will also incorporate the Visions of Winchesters blog carnival, so you won’t lose that.

After I get a few posts in, I’d love to hear what you think of the new schedule and the link roundups.

Like

Unlike

The New Year of TV

I am looking forward to January as if it were the beginning of the new fall season.

I can’t wait to see how they explain the Kate/Peter relationship on White Collar. I am looking forward to seeing all of the loose ends get tied up on Lost. And our Winchesters will be back!

But, by far the most exciting series return in January is Chuck. NBC is launching the new season with a multi-day extravaganza. The first episodes of the new season will air Sunday, January 10, and then the show will settle back into it’s Monday night time slot.

Can’t wait til January? Join fellow Chuck fans in daily missions in the Chuck Me Out game.

What shows are you looking forward to in the new year?

Like

Unlike

Did You Get Chucked Last Night?

To quote Lorelai Gilmore, Dirty!

As many of you know, we were successful in our campaign to raise awareness about the awesomeness that is Chuck and to help it get a third season.

But, if we want our show to continue past the third season, we know that we need to keep our excitement high. We need to continue to recruit new viewers and to ensure that our loyal viewers keep tuning in.

To do that, many of we fans are visiting the WB website and watching Chuck episodes at 9 ET on Mondays nights. And those of us who are so inclined are tweeting while we do it. We’ve even got a recapper giving his take on the episodes.

Did you watch last night? Were you a new viewer, or did you revisit the pilot?

Like

Unlike

My Fall TV Viewing Schedule

[digg=http://digg.com/television/My_Fall_TV_Viewing_Schedule]Now that the fall lineups have been announced, my viewing plans are falling into place. Mondays and Thursdays are still full, especially now that NBC has announced that they will not move Chuck to Fridays.

Mondays, I’ll be on CBS, watching How I Met Your Mother at 8 and giving Accidentally on Purpose a Chance at 8:30. I’ll be recording Gossip Girl and most likely watching it at 9. Then to ABC for Castle. I am okay with the thought that I am breaking up with Heroes, but we’ll see if Mr. PCC records it on his DVR.

Tuesdays, it appears that no one has given me a reason to break up with 90210, so I’ll be all CW, all the time, watching 90210 at 8 and Melrose Place at 9.

Wednesdays are free until 9, when I visit Fox for Glee and then move to ABC for Eastwick.

Thursdays are pretty standard. Watch Vampire Diaries on the CW at 8 and DVR Flash Forward. Stick with the CW for Supernatural at 9 (obviously) and record The Office and Community/30 Rock. [Edited to add: Thanks to Rainn Wilson and Twitter, I realized that Joel McHale has a show coming out this fall: Community. I watched the preview at Zap2it, and it looks pretty funny.]

Fridays, I’ll be watching Dollhouse, but that is pretty much it. Thanks, Fox, for picking up this show for a second season.

My weekends look free. When DirecTV announces when it will play Friday Night Lights, I’ll update the spreadsheet I keep so that I won’t miss out on a new show I am interested in. (Yes, I’m that much of a TV geek. I make a spreadsheet each May and use it when the new shows premiere in the fall.)

Most of my favorite shows and ideas are slated for midseason: Chuck (NBC), Lost (ABC), Better Off Ted (ABC), The Body Politic (CW), Happy Town (ABC), V (ABC). I haven’t decided if I will follow Tyler Labine to Sons of Tucson.

Here are links to night-by-night grids to help you do your own fall TV planning, spreadsheet suggested but not required.

Most Exciting Upfronts News

Which last-minute renewal made you do your happy dance? Feel free to explain your rationale or even describe your happy dance in the comments section.

Personally, I was most excited about Chuck’s renewal, but most surprised by Better off Ted. I really enjoyed that show, but I was sure it was a goner after the first episode. So, bravo to ABC for sticking with a fun and quirky show. Let’s hope we can make it past the second season, too.

Like

Unlike

Happy Upfronts Week

We’re going into this week of fall schedule announcements and pageantry after a weekend of fabulous announcements.

Chuck, Castle, Dollhouse, and Better off Ted were all renewed. There were budget concessions in some cases, and the orders weren’t for a full season (13 episodes instead of 22). Those were huge wins for the fans and for creativity, but our work isn’t over.

We have to keep the momentum and make sure that we watch our shows, talk about our shows, and flex our consumer muscle so that our shows get renewed next year.

Like

Unlike

Looking Forward to the Upfronts

I don’t know what happened in the past 24 hours, but it completely improved my outlook on next week’s upfronts, when the major TV networks (and The CW <cue rim shot>) unveil their fall line-ups.

Perhaps it was the news that Reaper may become a syndicated Sunday show. Or perhaps it was the awesome finale of Supernatural last night. Or the news that Party Down was picked up for a second season. I don’t know, but I like it.

Anyway, here’s a link to the schedule for the upfronts. We only have a few short days before NBC confirms that Chuck will be back.

Like

Unlike