the most wonderful tiiiiiiiiime of the yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaar

I'm having an identity crisis. Do I post here, or do I post at tumblr? I'm thinking I really should be combining the two, but until then, I might be doing some re-posts and duplicate posts and who knows what. SO JUST BEAR WITH ME YOU GUYS, OKAY?

So, over at my tumblr I just geeked out over TV pilots - I've been getting a bunch of the new shows already this week and hoping that the pilot library at work only increases as the week progresses. I'll provide comments here or on tumblr or Twitter as they come to me. (And when appropriate - watched a pilot last night I was NOT supposed to have so I'm remaining tight-lipped on some). I don't want to spoil any shows, and as I'm not ACTUALLY a critic I'm not going to give reviews either - just my opinions! YOU KNOW I'M GOOD AT THAT! Oh and because it's my biggest pet peeve when the clips networks release are the worst ever at conveying the actually strength of a pilot, for any of those shows with trailers that make them look shitty, I'm for sure going to encourage you to watch. Like Bent, for example (just go read my tumblr post and you'll get it).

But yeah, I love pilots. I love TV. It's this time of year when I remember why I moved out to LA in the first place, and am so very thankful that I did!

Why I Will Watch 'The Chicago Code'

Tonight you can catch the premiere of the new Fox drama The Chicago Code. Have you heard of it? Did you watch the Super Bowl yesterday? Are you an idiot? If you answered yes to the first two questions and no to the third, then you know what I'm talking about. 

Based on the advertising, and what I can gleam from the various trailers, teasers, and promos that have been filling the airwaves recently, I don't know that this would normally be a show that screams "must-see TV" for me (Why? Cops. Not really into shows about cops).  However, there are three reasons I will watch The Chicago Code:

(1) It's a pilot. I always like to watch pilots. I almost always watch the first episode of any show. Even if I don't think I will like it. Okay so maybe I didn't watch the pilot of Shit My Dad Says but that was out of principal.  But Blue Bloods? Not a show I would typically watch, and truthfully, that's a pilot I never watched until I was on a plane last week. But that show is GOOD.

(2) Matt Lauria. Also known as Friday Night Lights' very own Luke Cafferty, who is just an outstanding actor, and is one of The Chicago Code's regular cast members. And he's pretty nice to look at. And yeah, FNL. I'll probably watch anything that anyone from FNL is in from now on. (Except for Off the Map. Sorry Zach Gilford - I tried, I really did).

(3 - and this is the MOST important) Middlebury. I know you're thinking: um, Stamos? It's called The Chicago Code, not The Middlebury Code (which on a side note, could be a gripping CW drama about like, the ubiquitous dress code of polo shirts, Patagonia fleeces and gray New Balance kicks and the one student who dares to mix things up by maybe NOT popping his collar). But get this - the show's creator - Shawn Ryan (The Shield, The Unit, Terriers) - is one of Middlebury's most notable alums. Also an alum: me. (Less notable, but relevant, here okay?) So obviously I'm going to support any Middlebury alum (related - I'm apparently the co-president of the Los Angeles Chapter of Middlebury Alumni, a fact that entertains me to no end) and get real excited by my distant association with The Chicago Code. I mean, if at the end of every episode of a TV show I get to see MIDDKID pop up on my screen then I'm happy:

Screengrabbed from Hulu - hence the buffering.

Also? I'm going to watch the show because apparently it's really, really good. So that's something else to consider.


What about you? Will you be catching the premiere of The Chicago Code tonight? Did you know that Shawn Ryan went to Middlebury? Did you know that Middlebury has the same mascot as FNL's Dillon Panthers? Wait - before you answer that, did you know that Middlebury is actually a FOUR YEAR college in Vermont that is, kind of like, AWESOME? (Yes there's a need to insert FOUR YEAR college because I cannot tell you how many people in LA seem to think Midd is some community college in Fresno or something...)

Midseason TV to Watch: LIGHTS OUT

As I previously wrote, I loved the pilot for the new FX show premiering tomorrow night, Lights Out. I may or may not have a little something to do with the show (like, really, super, duper, indirectly, but I feel the need to be straightforward and own up to my slight bias before I wax poetic on why you should watch the show, other than to support something I am distantly connected to) - however I've only seen the first episode, and while all 13 episodes of this much-buzzed about first season are at my disposal, I plan to watch the show in real time - it just has the appeal of one of those shows you want to soak in with the collective pop culture group, ya feel me?

However, I'll say this - you should for sure check out the pilot tomorrow, and to whet your appetite here's an in-depth character piece that FX has put together in anticipation of the show's premiere. Check it out:

Farewell 'Terriers', Hello 'Lights Out'

As you guys know, I'm a huge fan of the FX show Terriers - so no surprise here that I'm super bummed it was announced today that the show has not been picked up for a second season. Considering its horrible ratings, this isn't much of a shock, and I imagine we should be thankful to have gotten 13 episodes of such a show in the first place, but still, I can't help but be saddened by the news.

However, we are lucky that FX has remained committed to quality programming, and the future only holds more of that. We've got a second season of Justified coming soon, as well as Archer, but more importantly, I'm looking forward to the January premiere of the new show Lights Out. I watched the Lights Out pilot late this summer, and it was fantastic. Holt McCallany is a really captivating presence onscreen and I've been informed that the episodes only get better from the pilot, which means this should be one helluva of a damn good show. Furthermore, this might be one of the best promos ever:

It gives me chills. The music? The editing? I mean shit, this looks damn good!

So, I bid a fond farewell to the greatness that was Terriers, and look forward to the next great show FX will bring us - hopefully Lights Out lives up to that expectation.

The best part about My Generation? The iPad App

In case you haven't yet, check out my latest rambling column/post/blog item up at Huffington Post - "The Horrifying Return of Fall TV." Or just read the comments because there are lots of trolls blowing up my shit and it is seriously entertaining.

Now, on a related note I want to talk about My Generation, a pilot I've followed sort of since it was first picked up by ABC.  First of all, this subject matter (the show was previously titled "Generation Y") is of interest to me simply as a former trend-forecaster who still occasionally is a freelance trend-forecaster and likes to stay abridged of trends generally (yeah that was superfluous but whatever) and happens to be a member of Generation Y. So I like, know this shit.

So I read the pilot and I thought... meh. Which was accompanied by a shrug. Then I watched the pilot, which was certainly better than I expected, but still didn't have me jumping out of my seat with joy at discovering the MUST-WATCH BREAKOUT HIT OF THE NEW SEASON!

And then came the marketing... that horrible, HORRIBLE marketing campaign that makes little to no sense and happens to just annoy the shit out of me.  You've seen it - those weird billboards that have pictures of Jaime King with the miserable tagline "You know this ring comes off, right?" or something equally indecipherable.

So then I started thinking about the premise of My Generation a little more - it's about a group of kids who graduated from high school during the height of the Enron scandal - so these kids are about a year or two older than me (I guess two? They graduated in 2000... so yeah, two years older than me) - and then are reunited ten years later and discover they are interconnected in all sorts of crazy soapy ways like baby-daddy drama and unrequited love etc etc etc. And it's all just such a SHOCK to their little lives.

Now, pause for a moment. These people - have they heard of FACEBOOK? Because I can tell you right now, I am Facebook friends with a lot of my high school graduating class even if I haven't talked to them in about seven years, and even if I wasn't great friends with them in the first place. So I have some sense of what these people have been up to the past few years.  Apparently this does not apply to the characters My Generation is based on, so okay, yeah, that's a believable premise and what not... you know, considering that EVERYONE IS ON FACEBOOK. And what not... but whatever... I can attempt to get past this.

But iffy premise and annoying camera-in-the-face-a-la-Real-World narrative tricks aside, My Generation is totally fucked. It's in probably the toughest time-slot of the TV season - Thursdays at 8pm, up against such stalwarts as Bones and The Big Bang Theory.  Frankly, I think the show is going to tank, with the time-slot issue being a major contributing factor. And I don't want to get attached to a show that's probably going to get canceled in the first place... so why watch?

At this point the only redeeming quality about My Generation is its kickass iPad app. Seriously. Check out the app - it's AWESOME. Not only does it make me want an iPad, but it miraculously increases my interest in the show, and actually hones on my initial curiosity - a sense of accelerated nostalgia, reminiscing about high school, the confusing life-stage of the twenty-something, etc. If I actually got sucked into this show, that is, assuming the second episode is a significant improvement upon the first, then I could see myself obsessing over this app, and having a good time with the transmedia interaction. But unless people are raving about the second episode, there's a good chance I won't be watching.  So yeah. Bummer.

I still would like an iPad though.

New Show to Check Out: TNT's 'Rizzoli & Isles'

I first heard about the new TNT show Rizzoli & Isles during the overwhelming pilot pick-up season. It didn't pique my interest much beyond the fact that Janet Tamaro, a former Bones scribe, was attached in some sort of producing capacity. Then the other day, one of my Twitter followers referred to the show as the the "bicurious Bones" which gave me a good chuckle.

Then lo and behold, yesterday while going through the pages of the most recent EW, I came upon a cute ad for the show:



Okay. I'm intrigued...

The premise of Rizzoli & Isles, similar to Bones' origins, is based on a crime drama novel series by Tess Gerritsen's. From TNT:

RIZZOLI & ISLES follows Boston detective Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and medical examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander), complete opposites and good friends who solve crimes and bust some of Boston's most notorious criminals. Growing up at opposite ends of the economic spectrum, the two remain strikingly different from one another in many ways. Jane, the only female detective in Boston's homicide division, is a tough and gutsy cop who doesn't let her guard down (except with Maura), dodges her overprotective mother and is better at basketball than her brother. Maura, meanwhile, is usually more comfortable among the dead than the living. She is always impeccably dressed in designer duds with a steady, sometimes icy temperament. And she is working on curbing her tendency to diagnose the people she meets - including her first dates. Jane and Maura often find themselves working together as both use their brilliant minds and expertise to figure out the "who done it" as well as the "how done it" of Boston's most complex cases.

Despite their many differences, Jane and Maura are best friends, with a quirky and supportive relationship. As Tamaro explains, "That Jane and Maura are so different and yet so effective as a team makes them unusual. There's something rare about their relationship that I see in the world but not enough on television: two smart, strong, competent women who instinctively drop the protective shield when they're with each other."

RIZZOLI & ISLES also stars Lorraine Bracco (The Sopranos) as Angela, Jane's demanding and intrusive mother; Lee Thompson Young (FlashForward) as Det. Barry Frost, Jane's somewhat green partner; Bruce McGill (Law Abiding Citizen) as Det. Vince Korsak, Jane's seasoned former partner; and Jordan Bridges (Dawson's Creek) as Jane's brother, Frankie, a patrol cop who hopes one day to become a detective.

Sounds interesting, right? Personally, I think it will be refreshing to see a female-female partnership, as opposed to the opposites attract male-female pairings we're so accustomed to on procedurals. I think Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander should make for an interesting duo.

Here's some behind-the-scenes fun to en

joy:

So what do you think? Will you check out Rizzoli & Isles? I for one, plan on giving it a shot. The show premieres this Monday, July 12 on TNT at 10/9 pm. For more, click here.

Bullet Points

Despite what you may have heard, I have not been in hiding since the disappointing Celtics loss in the NBA finals last Thursday. The days just seem to get away from me so here are a few bullet points as to what's going on...

+Yep, I lost that Celtics-Lakers bet, which means I need Twitter followers to start responding to me or Marisa with what show they think I must suffer through. And we're getting a lunch date on the books so I can endure the pain that will be donning Laker gear for a picture.

+KCRW's recurring series World Music Night at The Hollywood Bowl kicked off this past Sunday, and I was one of the lucky attendees. I went mostly for Brooklyn band Yeasayer, but I'm a huge fan of Tinariwen and Baba Maal as well - yes, folks, I love World Music, and if you've been following this blog you know this is nothing new.

+Yesterday I opened my mailbox to find a letter I had written to myself in April 2001. It was pretty crazy reading something from 9 years ago - and I had to laugh at my sweet worldly intentions - see I wrote it during the second day of a three day solo during a semester I spent in high school living on a farm in Maine (seriously). So it was hardly surprising that one of the items of advice I gave myself was "listen to birdsongs. You know them." Seriously. Truth is - I actually did know them; I spent that semester taking ornithology classes!

+Two weeks ago I went to the book party for the new Bret Easton Ellis novel, Imperial Bedrooms, the much-anticipated sequel to his well-known classic Less Than Zero. The party was exactly what you might expect - at a lovely suite in LA's famed hotel The Chateau Marmont, and I swear to God the DJ just took the soundtrack from American Psycho and pressed play. Celebrity spottings included Rose McGowan and Shannyn Sossamon, and then there was the general crowd of attractive-people-who-look-familiar so maybe there were more.

+I took a pause on writing up recaps of The Hills for The Huffington Post because that show is just so bad. I briefly considered writing them for The Bachelorette, but that show is way too long for me to be interested in recapping. I mean I'm all for making fun of crappy TV, but those 22 minutes on MTV are a lot easier to handle than two hours of awkward dates.

+I've been watching more TV pilots - including the much-buzzed about Lone Star, airing on FOX this fall - definitely a show to check out. The lead actor, James Wolk, is a sort of cross between George Clooney and Kyle Chandler.

+Two bands I've gotten into recently are Grum and Four Tet - check them out.

Happy Summer, by the way! Hopefully regular blogging will resume now that I've emerged from whatever fog my head's been in.

Coming soon to a TV screen near you: Sexpionage!

That's right folks, we've got a new word to enter into our pop culture lexicon and it's sexpionage. Thank you, J.J. Abrams.

Yep, I've seen Undercovers.

Earlier today an alert went around the office that the new NBC pilot Undercovers was available for screening on a WB website, but to login ASAP as it would likely be taken down. Well, being the J.J. fan that I am, and TV junkie (obv), I logged in immediately - and good thing because sure enough, mere minutes later the site was no longer accessible (in other words, someone at Warner Brothers is in deep shit right now, because that link went to a TV tracking board with a reach far and wide in this town, and I'd say Undercovers is the pilot on most severe lockdown this year).

Fortunately, I had left the link open in my browser after successfully logging on, and was able to watch the whole thing. I'm not going to give away major plot details or anything, especially since I wasn't technically supposed to see this pilot, and it sort of just fell into my lap, but I will share some first impressions...

Undercovers is sexy and stylized, from the music, to the title card, the locations, and of course - the two leads. Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw play a fun and believable married couple, who happen to be spies (and caterers - quite a combo). Obviously, they're both very good looking, but they were well-cast and they have good chemistry. These two definitely bring the fun (and yes, the sexpionage) to the show. I will add that while watching I couldn't help but think this is closest to Abram's other beloved spy-show Alias, minus the sometimes convoluted mythology, and there were a lot of fun action scenes that reminded me of Alias in its first two seasons.

My only major quip with what I saw was that occasionally the show bordered on the cheesy (yep, the word sexpionage is actually uttered in dialogue - more than once!) and there were some character developments that were a little, well, underdeveloped. Furthermore, there were a few instances when everything seemed to come together just a little too conveniently. But ultimately it's a good pilot that sets up what is likely to be a fun and engaging show. I was most surprised to finish the pilot with a sense that this would definitely have a bit of a prodcedural nature - although I think that format will work for Undercovers, and as it is from J.J. Abrams, I can't imagine the show wouldn't have some sort of serialized component.

However, is NBC the right network for Undercovers? Honestly, I'm not sure. Last night I watched another heavily-guarded NBC pilot, Love Bites from Cindy Chupack (another big name), which is also a fun, well-styled unconventional type of TV show, and again unlike the network's other programming or perceived brand. Or at least, what NBC's brand used to be. The thing is, NBC really is in a place of transition, so who knows. Undercovers felt a little better suited for ABC or FOX to me, but it could be just the sort of fresh breath of air the network so desperately needs.

I would definitely recommend tuning in when Undercovers premieres in the fall. I'm not sure if it will be compelling enough to keep me tuning in week after week, but I definitely found this first episode to be a fun ride, and I'm willing to give it a shot. I mean, for the sexpionage, at the very least!

Covert Affairs: Will You Watch?

You may have seen the new teaser/trailer for the upcoming USA show Covert Affairs staring Piper Perabo. If not, check it out here.

Thanks to a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend (you know how these things work), I've seen the pilot. I watched an early cut about a month ago. And while this show has potential, especially with it's Alias meets Burn Notice vibe, I didn't walk away from the pilot enamored. However, I'm still willing to give it a shot - I always try to give new shows at last three episodes before I give up.



But what do you think? Does this teaser have you interested? And does anyone else just want to watch Coyote Ugly again after seeing Ms. Perabo?

A Song of Fire and Ice

No, that's not the title of my new music album. "A Song of Fire and Ice" is the master title for the series of epic fantasy tomes by George R.R. Martin, the first of which is A Game of Thrones - which HBO just picked up to series.

Well this little nerd just got REAL excited because not only are these books AWESOME, but they are perfect for a TV show. Yeah, okay, it's in the fantasy genre but it feels a lot like historical fiction or something. With dragons.

And when I said epic tome up there I meant it... I think the last book I read of the series (which is still incomplete) was well over 1000 pages.

Anywhere, here is the only released photo connected to the show - an image from the opening shot of the first episode - which by the way, I have read. And, yes, it's AWESOME. SO THERE.

What's happening here? Is it Summer Hiatus?

As has been well-established, I love the Olympics. However, there's been this weird void of other TV shows I normally watch on a weekly basis, because even though these winter games are airing exclusively (and shittily, it should be mentioned) on NBC, all the other networks aren't really even attempting to counter-program. (Except for FOX, with American Idol, which almost always gets the gold).

Truth be told... it's kind of nice. I don't feel pressure to watch the Olympics. Sure I enjoy watching, but there isn't the same intense feeling of "OHMYGOD I need to get home to make sure I have enough time to watch four hours of television because it's MY JOB to do so."

Instead, I've been reading lots of pilots, watching pilots, writing a pilot and spending my evenings doing other more worthwhile things (like doing pilots. Heh. Hehe. Not really. I don't know any actual pilots, but that would have been funny). It's kind of like summer! Ahh summer hiatus, a time when TV-watching is put on the back burner and I'm less concerned with staying up on all the TV news and more concerned with my tan.

But then there comes a night such as tonight. I thought I had work drinks, but they cancelled. I was invited to go to some party in Hollywood, but I passed, because that whole Hollywood thing ain't my scene. And I already worked out today. So what am I going to do when I get home tonight? READ. Lots and lots of reading. What a novel idea! (Get it? Novel idea? Reading? God I am just full of puns today!) Now if it only were summer, and it was light until 9pm. Then I would go to the beach. My life is really, really hard.

Pilot Season

I wrote a big trend piece on TV pilots that went live on the Huffington Post this morning.

I'm still making my way through a few scripts each night, so maybe the article was premature, but I couldn't help it. When you're struck with an idea, you must write, right? Right!

That being said, I realize the business of "trend forecasting" is a tricky one. I mean, really, what authority do I have to attempt to analyze anything and predict what will stick and what won't? Yes, I did work at a trend forecasting company for a brief stint, and yes, I specifically covered TV trends, but still. Still! It ain't perfect.

Anyway, read the article, share your thoughts, etc etc etc. I plan to cover the pilots as they go through the next big step after casting - actually being shot and viewed.

Insert Foot in Mouth (Top TV of the Decade)

I'm really hypocritical. Remember my last HuffPo article where I begged for no more "Top Ten of the Decade" Lists? Or the post just before this one, in which I practically said outright I was done blogging for 2009, and that I intended on ridiculing all this "TV as Art" crap?

The thing is, everyone is writing their Top Ten of TV Shows of the Decade lists and while I agree with many, I figure I should get my own chance to throw out a few selections. So, with what little authority I have, I'm sharing mine. I do plan on writing a post that completely makes fun of this desire to whittle things down to the TEN BEST OF THE DECADE! but until then, I'm just gonna keep my foot in my mouth, and share my list. Anyway, what other TV blogger is proclaiming The Hills as one of the best shows to come out of the aughts?

First, a disclaimer: there are many shows that I know are brilliant and amazing but that I have never watched, and while I know some of these shows (like The Wire) are deserving of a place on my list, I simply can't include them (yes, it's outrageous I haven't watched The Wire, and I plan to - it's on my Netflix queue). This is a biased list - however I'm approaching it by looking at shows I feel have changed the game or defied expectations. These are the shows that continue to resonate with me; the shows I would tell anyone I think are the best of the past ten years.

Without further ado, and in no particular order...

Arrested Development (2003-2006)
I'm not sure there is any other comedy show I quote as frequently as I quote Arrested Development. Years after its end, the show is still relevant, still funny, and still genius. I'm not sure any other comedy has even come close to this show in terms of consistently bringing the funny in a smart and clever way. What's interesting to me is that I don't even think any other comedy has tried to copy the style of Arrested Development - it's a standalone masterpiece, almost as though everyone knows there's no chance of matching its perfection.

Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)
I loved this show because it wasn't about science fiction. Sure, it's title all but screams sci-fi, but the show itself wasn't. BSG was about ethics, morals, religion, politics, relationships - all the social, economic and political issues we debate on a global scale every day. And what other show invented a new swear word or inspired panel discussions at the United Nations (please note I did not research if, in fact, other shows have been presented at the UN, so I could be wrong, but for the sake of my very-biased Top Ten list, go with me on this)? Holy frak this show was phenomenal.

Bones (2005-present)
I do not like procedurals. I am not one of those people who can watch hours upon hours of Law & Order or CSI, and so it was with some reluctance that I started watching Bones early last year, and really only because Entertainment Weekly was always writing about it, so I figured I'd see what all the fuss was about. I watched the pilot, and then I watched a few random episodes from the first two seasons. Then I realized I was hooked, bought all the seasons on DVD, caught up to the current season and joined the rabid fanbase for this "little engine that could" kind of show (I say that in the sense that Bones is not a show that's popularly debated over office water coolers and I doubt it's showing up on any other TV critic lists - it's overwhelmingly underrated, in my opinion, and yet is a show that's now hitting a new stride in its fifth season). Bones is not a procedural, at least not in my mind. It is a character drama that tackles very heavy issues through crime-solving. It is also rife with comedy. The stories and characters are compelling, and the two leads have so much chemistry I could probably watch them driving in a car for an hour and still be entertained.

Firefly (2002-2003)
Nathan Fillion is about half of the reason I love this show. His Captain Mal Reynolds, the cavalier leader of an odd collective of (and how to write this without making the show sound insane, but also convey the story...) cowboys in space, a spiritual leader, a concubine, and the two outlaws they're harboring; is the sort of character I want to hang out with. Interestingly, this show was the first Joss Whedon show I ever watched, and at the time I had no idea who Joss Whedon really was in the grand, significant TV-changing landscape, academic sense of things. I hadn't watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer (don't worry, I have since then), so Firefly was my intro to the Whedonverse. This is another show that's so much more than it seems - more than science-fiction certainly (and it even features a pre-High School Musical Zac Efron as a young Simon Tam). In fact, I don't think I can accurately convey why this show belongs on my Top Ten list beyond Nathan Fillion as half the reason (he's really great). It's only one season, sadly, but it's one season of fantastic entertainment.

Friday Night Lights (2006 - present)
If someone were to ask me to name the best show on TV, I'd answer, without thinking, Friday Night Lights. This is not a show about football, or Texas, or race, or families, or relationships - it is a show about all these things, and so much more. FNL is a show about people. This is a show grounded in reality, tackling issues anyone can understand and relate to, issues that many of us often face. The beauty of FNL is that it resonates with everyone. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, this show embraces the themes and challenges of our lives, in a seamlessly authentic manner. When I watch FNL I am reminded of my mother, my upbringing, my friends, my family, how lucky I am - how lucky we all are. FNL is humbling in its storytelling and its message, and is a cinematic masterpiece that invades your living room once a week, but stays in your mind for long after.

The Hills (2006-present)
I have tagged 34 entries (not including this one) of my blog with "The Hills." I have written about my deep love/hate relationship with this show over lengthy diatribes, or two sentence rants. I have obsessed over The Hills and my own fascination with it so much that I've given myself headaches. I can credit my various commentaries on The Hills as the reason I now blog for the Huffington Post (seriously - it was a Hills post that got me noticed over there). To be honest, I no longer watch the show, or at least I haven't consistently since somewhere during the middle of the third season, and I certainly wouldn't put this in the same realm as Friday Night Lights (how ironic that in this list, it directly follows FNL), but the reason The Hills is one of the Top Ten Best TV Shows of the Decade is that it's a total game changer. I suppose I ought to credit Laguna Beach as the ultimate game-changer in this area, however, it wasn't until The Hills came along that scripted-reality really flourished. The Hills is brilliant in that it infiltrated popular culture on such a grand scale - redefining fame and reality television, spawning fashion lines, online games, new forms of social media interaction and TV viewing, and its own spinoff. This show is so often overlooked because in some ways, it's pure crap - but I can't deny its genius, and thus it is well-deserving of a spot on this list.

Lost (2004-present)
If there's any no-brainer item here, it's Lost. In fact, I don't know that I have as much to write about this show, beyond that it's an obvious example of purely great television. It's consistently changed, evolved, and maintained intrigue - embracing a clever storytelling conceit with the flashback, and then the flashforward, in a way that was not at all contrived or unnecessary. Lost has accomplished the difficult, sometimes the near-impossible as it resolves plotlines while creating new stories. I have no doubt that as the show enters its final season in 2010, its mark on the past decade of television will linger on for years to come, but I have a feeling no show will ever hit that mark quite as well.

The Office (2005-present) and 30 Rock (2006-present)
I totally cheated by listing these two shows together, but I often think of them together as two comedies that stand as prime examples of reinventing the wheel. I suppose I should credit the original British version of The Office, however the American version, with its ups and downs, and occasional off-episodes, is at its core, so simple in idea, and so brilliant in execution that it's far outlived it's British derivative. 30 Rock is of the same mindset - a simple plot that finds outlandish humor in what we might often deem to be the mundane or irrelevant. While these two shows take place in two very different worlds, the humor is perfect, and mostly thanks to the hilarious characters (and the actors that play them, and writers that write them). We've each got a bit of Michael Scott or Liz Lemon inside, and thanks to The Office and 30 Rock, it's a little easier to laugh at ourselves.

Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)
To be honest, I am fairly shocked this show hasn't popped up on more critics' lists. Pushing Daisies was a whimsical dream of a show - almost as though Tim Burton, Salvador Dali, and whoever it was that did the movie Amelie sat down in a room together and decided to make a TV show about crime-solving and forbidden love set in an idyllic dreamworld (side note: I'd love to watch Pushing Daisies in 3D). It's a shame this show was canceled when it was, but I am glad that it received honors through the Paley Center and a few Emmy nominations. Pushing Daisies was a show unlike any other, and if this was the decade that TV became art, I don't know that there is any other show more indicative of that.

The West Wing (1999-2006)
When I used to watch The West Wing I remember telling my friends I felt INVOLVED. How ironic - that spending hours upon hours watching a fake president and fake White House staffers embroiled in fake (albeit, real-ish) political issues, I felt as though I was doing something significant along the lines of civic duty. Or something. The thing is, The West Wing made politics approachable in a way that hadn't really been done before. The characters were certainly fascinating, and for a while there I pretended Bartlet was in fact the current U.S. president. The West Wing effectively created a political world I wanted to live in, and beyond Aaron Sorkin's genius dialogue (seriously, how does that man do it?), at its core, this was just a damn good television show.

Honorable Mention goes to Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog (2008), for revolutionizing digital media and original online content, as well as for completely redefining the musical comedy genre. Hell, this show redefined television entirely.

Well, there you have it. Agree? Disagree? Think I'm insane for not having watched The Wire yet? Pissed that I forgot anything obvious? Feel free to weigh-in with a comment below.

Trying to make my "interests" interesting... (or that time I wrote a lot about myself)

I was just looking at my Facebook profile, and realized I updated my "interests" somewhat recently. Some of them are a little odd. Some are heavily connected to the TV pilot I'm working on, actually a surprising amount (and the last batch of interests also had a large influence on the script, now that I think of it). Some are really obvious and require no further explanation, but I figure why not share a little bit more about these interests... not that you care, because you probably don't, but I'm indulging my narcissistic side a little more than usual today. Pretend you find it endearing or something. Now, in no particular order...

sweet'n'sour sauce
The greatest thing McDonald's ever created. Especially good with Chicken McNuggets or French Fries. These are the only things I will ever order at McDonald's. And I always ask for extra sweet'n'sour sauce because you never know when you might be craving it, and surprisingly, it also tastes good with Morningstar Farms fake chicken nuggets.

my animal spirit god
I'm convinced I have one and maybe I've even seen it before. Maybe not. They're tricky that way.

tv on dvd
This doesn't need explanation beyond my opinion that this might be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Although I am not sure sliced bread is all that great. Sure, it's convenient... but what's the origin of this saying? Anyone? But yeah, TV shows on DVD are just really fantastic.

astronaut ice cream
This shit is crazy. Crazy delicious. (Also crazy). I love it so much it's become a major plot point in the TV pilot I am writing.

the silver lining
There's one of these in everything and I like finding it. Cheesy? Probably. But I mean it. Finding the silver lining in things has been pretty helpful in getting me through the bad stuff in life.

fig newtons
I fucking love fig newtons. Always have.

gender neutral first names
My mom's name was Palmer, it's also my middle name, and I have to say that in the years after she passed away I really considered going by Palmer. But I'm much more of an Annie. Actually I am much more of a Stamos. In general, I love gender neutral first names because they are often old-fashioned and different - and I don't know... fun. Although names like Pat suck. Perhaps I should revise this to unique gender neutral first names...

aquariums
Sometimes an aquarium can make me so happy my heart hearts. Truly. The Boston Aquarium is my favorite aquarium. There's a nostalgic component here, sure, but also... I love fishies. I think that if I had either been better at science, or more willing to work harder at it, then I would have ended up a marine biologist. And yes, I love aquariums so much that they are another major plot point in my TV pilot work-in-progress.

Maine
duh.

freedom
I love freedom. Both in the ironic and non-ironic sense. If you don't understand what I mean, you clearly love freedom as well, but only in the non-ironic sense, which is unfortunate for you.

insensitivity
This is something I excel in, at least by Hollywood standards. Thus, it is of great interest to me.

theme songs
I love theme songs - from movie themes to TV themes, to personal theme songs. Everyone should have a theme song. Mine changes on the regular.

manu chao
Probably my favorite band. In the history of music. Bold claim? Yes. But I feel strongly about this.

local ads
who doesn't love a budget local ad? Oh man, there used to be some GREAT ones growing up in Maine, many with excellent jingles about local geography.

dudes
This interest is twofold: (1) I, like most heterosexual women, like guys - so that's sort of a no-brainer and (2) I love guys who are dudes in the total dudetastic sense of being a dude - and I love hanging with dudes. Dudes are awesome. Chicks who are dudelike are also awesome.

the toaster oven
A great invention. You can accomplish so much with a toaster oven. My roommate Becca is a culinary genius with ours.

good hair days
Never underestimate the value of a good hair day. My hair, in my opinion, is one of my best features, however I am so incredibly lazy when it comes to my hair that when I've got a good hair day happening it does a whole lot for my ego. Also, my hair is so terrifying when I wake up in the morning (and this has also inspired a moment in that TV pilot), that when I actually get it calmed down, it feels like a real accomplishment. It's the little things.