KBearlog

On March 10, 1997, a new show on the WB called Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered. I can say with some pride that I actually watched that first episode. Not that I did it on purpose. The WB was a new network, UPN had gotten more publicity because they had Star Trek: Voyager. I heard about the show, I even read a positive review about it. I still wasn't that interested because come on, a show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the WB. I could think of better ways to waste my time. On that night I was flipping through the channels because there wasn't anything I wanted to watch on TV. I didn't have cable at the time so my choices were limited. So while flipping through I came upon the scene where a English gentleman I would later learn was Giles, was asking a cute blond who I would later find out was the slayer herself if she could identify vampires. The mixture of comedy, horror and teen drama was unlike anything I had ever seen on TV. I was hooked immediately. The next night the WB showed an "encore" presentation of the premiere. I was able to catch the beginning of the episode this time. Seven years later I was still watching. It's safe to say that Buffy is my favorite show. I own the DVD's of the show, I've bought books about the show, I got involved with online fan sites. To celebrate the show's anniversary I've been having my own mini marathon. The episodes don't feel dated at all. This article from Flak Magazine talks about the influence Buffy has had. Well I've got to get back to my marathon. Becoming Part I and II are up next. Better break out the tissues.

Last night was probably the last episode of Studio 60 unless NBC plans on showing the final episodes sometime this summer. If it gets renewed for next season it’ll be the biggest upset since the Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals after being down by 2 games and being behind by double digits entering the 4th quarter. (That was a great game, D WADE) Anyway NBC’s original plan was to air the show until February 26 and then put it on hiatus, airing The Black Donnellys in its timeslot. Unfortunately for Studio 60, their ratings were so low that NBC decided to start their hiatus after last night’s episode. So it appears NBC has lost patience and hope with this show. A lot of people have been wondering what went wrong. Tim Goodman gives his opinions on what went wrong. I agree with him 100%.

When I first heard about this show last spring, I thought it sounded interesting. As they kept adding case members, it appeared that this would easily be the best show in the fall. The pilot was very good and you got the impression once Sorkin settled in the show would take off. Instead the show just got more bewildering. The skits that were in the show within the show were unfunny. It undercut the premise that Matt was some kind of comic genius. The romances didn’t work at all. Danny and Jordan happened too fast. I like the chemistry between the two, but I don’t buy them as a happy couple. First Danny is stalking her, and now they’re the cutest expectant parents in the world. No way. The biggest problem in the romance department was Matt and Harriet. Their relationship was supposed to be the centerpiece of the show. It was the worst part of the show. If I were stuck at a dinner party with them, I would induce vomiting to get away from them. Their bickering wasn’t playful banter, it was just tedious whining. I was never convinced they loved each other or even liked each other at one time. Separately the characters were okay, together they were toxic. I grew to dislike the show more and more each week. I just kept watching because like any train wreck, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The show had a lot of good moments, but they never added up to a good episode. So thank you NBC for relieving me of the burden of being a viewer.

Happy Valentines Day to everyone out there; I hope that you’re able to spend it with someone special. I know it’s just a holiday the greeting card companies created, but we all like a little romance. A few days ago I was reading an article called The 15 Sexiest Characters in TV History. I couldn’t tell you which guys deserved to be on the list, but I do have some opinions on the woman who were on the list. I also thought of some woman I would add. If you’re looking for some men on the list, sorry, the best I could do for you is list People’s Sexiest Men list because I really don’t have an opinion. The coolest guys, maybe, sexiest guys, no way.

Let me comment on the list of women in the article, and then I’ll list the woman I would include.

I wouldn’t have listed Mary Ann Summer. I always liked Ginger better. I know we’re always supposed to like the pretty, wholesome girl next door, but who wouldn’t want a wild weekend with Ginger.

I do agree with Lily Manning, she was a sexy soccer mom. Sela Ward is also from my hometown, so I like her even more for that.

Any man who doesn’t want his own Jeannie is probably a guy who can list the sexiest men. (Just kidding)

One thing my father and me could agree on, Wonder Woman was fine. Lynda Carter still looks great. She’s going to guess on Smallville in April playing Chloe’s mother. That’ll be one episode of Smallville I won’t miss.

I was happily surprised to see Thelma Evans on his list. Probably not a character a lot of people would have thought of off the top of their head, but a great choice. I saw Bernadette Stanis on Girlfriends a couple of years ago. She still looked great; I’d like to see her on TV more.

Seven of Nine wasn’t my favorite character on Voyager, they damn near made the show the Seven of Nine adventure hour; but Jeri Ryan did fill out that cat suit quite nicely.

Sydney Bristow is in my pantheon of great TV characters. Well to think about it, half the cast of Alias is on that list. Sydney was a sexy girl next door who could kick your ass, while wearing a pink wig. What’s not to love there. I really like Jennifer Garner, I even sat through 13 Going on 30. Now that’s devotion people.

There really isn’t anything I can say about Dana Scully that hasn’t been said or written about her a million times. Just watch an episode of The X-Files and you’ll understand. The power of Dana Scully, I continued to watch it even after Mulder left. Two years people, some people don’t go to jail for murder that long. Still if it meant watching Dana Scully, I suffered in silence. Yes I know what you’re thinking, how noble can one man be. (Or that he really needs to get a life)

Now to the characters I added to this list. It isn’t any numerically ranked order. All of these ladies are very sexy to me.

Emma Peel, The Avengers, 1965-1967 (Dame Diana Rigg) Mrs. Peel is the definition of cool and sexy. She’s probably the reason I watch BBC America. She is England to me.

Samantha Stephens, Bewitched, 1964-1972 (Elizabeth Montgomery) Even as a child I knew Samantha was too good for Darrin. She was too hot for him to begin with, and he kept trying to subdue her powers. I was always happy when Endora would turn Darrin into something.

Toni Childs, Girlfriends, 2000-2006 (Jill Marie Jones) Toni was a bitch, through and through, but she was a lively and beautiful one. Girlfriends hasn’t been the same since she left. I’ve only watched a few episodes since she’s left. They should have just paid Jill Marie Jones what she was asking for. She took a lot of the spirit of that show with her.

Paris Geller, Gilmore Girls, 2000- Present (Liza Weil) Paris is my favorite character on that show, and the sexiest woman on it. I realize probably more people would say Lorelai or Rory, but I have to go with Paris. Aside from being lovely, Paris is the type of intense crazy that when she decides to get her freak on, she just might hurt a brother.

Whitney Gilbert, A Different World, 1987-1993 (Jasmine Guy) Whitney was of course beautiful and a southern belle. Whitney could just walk into a room and get every brothers attention. What I liked about her most was how sassy and smart she was. Her falling in love with Dewayne gave all of brothers some hope. If Dewayne could get Whitney, why can’t I.

Colleen McMurphy, China Beach, 1988-1991 (Dana Delany) McMurphy was every G.I.’s dream girl and for good reason. She was as tough as any soldier in the field, completely dedicated to her patients, and a loyal friend. She was the woman you could take home to mama, but one who you’d want to get into your bed first. She was the only good thing to come out of the Vietnam War. I wonder if we’ll get a Colleen McMurphy for this one.

Zoë Washburne, Firefly, 2002 (Gina Torres) If Zoë is the type of woman we could expect in the future, then humanity will be alright. She was a beautiful sexy warrior. It seems that Gina Torres can play these women in her sleep. I think the first time I saw her was on Xena: The Warrior Princess and on Hercules. She was the only reason to watch Cleopatra 2525. She was a great nemesis for Sydney Bristow. She really came into her own as Zoë. It’s too bad that the show didn’t last longer, there was so much about Zoë we all wanted to know about.

Hey did you know that Anna Nicole Smith died recently? If you didn’t, that means that you’ve just woke up from a coma, or you just returned from deep space with your communication devices broken. You literally can’t get away from it. Even sources of news you’d think wouldn’t talk about it are. I was driving home from work and was listening to Randi Rhodes on Air America and she devoted her entire first segment to Anna Nicole. Even on CBS Sunday Morning they did a segment on her under the “premise” of trying to understand all the press coverage on her death. It just seems like the media can’t get enough of this story. I doubt the general public is an entranced by her death, but I’ll admit I could be wrong. It just seems that we have become a nation of busy bodies, minding everyone’s business but our own. Our constant need to gossip about these celebrities reminds me of people in church gossiping about their fellow congregates. Again I don’t know if it’s the media that is pushing this on us, or we as consumers are demanding tabloid news 24/7. I’ll admit I check out Defamer and Gawker at work. I do it when I have the time, and it’s hard to read the latest death toll from Iraq. I don’t have anything against gossiping about celebrities, but when stories like Anna Nicole Smith pop up, it does make you wonder where the fascination comes from.

Thursday night is the best and worst night of TV. The best, because there are so many great shows on that night, the worst, because there are so many great shows on that night. I had to give up CSI because all of the networks have a show on I’d like to watch at that hour. Since CBS repeats their procedurals I figure I’ll catch up with this season’s shows over the summer or the syndicated repeats. I record Grey’s Anatomy on Friday nights, (thanks ABC) allowing me to record and watch Scrubs and 30 Rock over the weekend. During December when the other shows were on hiatus for Christmas, I watched The OC and I’m impressed that they have gone back to season 1 like quality, but it’s too little too late as they’ll be off the air in a few weeks. So the show I make sure to watch is Supernatural, which even to my surprise is the best show on Thursday night.

When the show premiered last season I decided to catch it because I like genre shows with monsters and spaceships; i.e. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X- Files and Battlestar Galactica. The show got better as the season went along, and this season it has been great. There have been a few episodes that were okay, but most of the episodes have been out of this world. Last night’s episode is a good example. Sam goes missing for over a week and Dean is frantic with worry. Sam finally calls and says he’s in trouble. When Dean gets to him, Sam is covered in blood. They investigate to find out what’s happening and they find a tape showing Sam killing another demon hunter. Sam tries to get Dean to kill him so he won’t hurt anyone else but Dean refuses to. Sam knocks him out and goes after Jo, trying to force Dean to kill him again. We discover that Sam is possessed by the demon that possessed a girl named Meg from the first season. The demon is back to get revenge on Dean. Dean and a family friend finally exorcise the demon from Sam, not without a lot of angst and action. If you didn’t see the episode last night, watch at the CW website when it goes up.

Supernatural is a well written show that gets good acting from its two leads, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. They are both veterans of WB series, but I didn’t realize how talented they were until this series. They give off a realistic brotherly vibe. The show reminds me of the X-Files. We have partners dealing with the paranormal with only each other to depend on. It doesn’t hurt that the show is filmed in Vancouver, where the X-Files was originally filmed. The show has a lot of action, a nice amount of humor and it can be pretty creepy at times. At the heart of it is the relationship between the brothers. It’s one of those great shows that no one is watching because everyone is watching Grey’s Anatomy and CSI. I hope the CW is smart and renews the show for next season. It and Veronica Mars illustrates the kind of smart shows this network should be creating, making the CW necessary in the TV world.

Lost is back after nearly being off the air for the past 10 years. Well maybe it hasn’t been that long but it seems like it. When we last left our survivors, Jack was telling Kate and Sawyer to run while he was threatening to kill Ben (or whatever his name is) on the surgery table. To be honest, aside from the season premiere, the rest of the episodes that were on this fall weren’t that interesting. The Others were more interesting when they were mysterious and I was tired of seeing Sawyer in a cage. I’ll be glad when Jack, Kate and Sawyer are reunited with the rest of the gang. I hope the time off has helped the writers to really write some compelling stories like they did in the first season.

Surprise announcement, Gilmore Girls was good last night. Best episode since Lane and Zach got married last season. It lets you know how long a drought it has been for this show. If you didn’t see it, Richard had a heart attack, and the three Gilmore girls, Lorelai, Rory and Emily anxiously wait in the hospital while he’s in surgery. Logan takes a helicopter to be by Rory’s side, and Luke drives to the hospital the minute he hears about it. On the complete opposite side of strong, caring manhood was Christopher who was still in a snit about the letter Lorelai wrote for Luke’s custody hearing and he wasn’t answering Lorelai’s desperate calls. He finally shows up at the end of the episode and acts like a simpering bitch when he sees Luke and Lorelai talking. For all you Christopher lovers out there, you’re boy is going down for the count. What made this episode so great was the stellar acting of Kelly Bishop. How this woman has never been nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal as Emily Gilmore is another reason why I don’t take the Emmy’s that seriously.

Whoever does the promos for the CW should be shot; or at least sent to their room without dinner. Last week their promo suggested that Veronica Mars was in the family way. The thought of a smart show like Veronica Mars going that route nearly made me not want to watch last night’s episode. Thankfully the brain trusts behind the show aren’t stupid like the CW promo department and they didn’t knock up our heroine, or even have her think she was pregnant. Keith only thought that because a religious group sent him a picture of Veronica leaving a family planning clinic, but Veronica was able to explain quickly to him she was only there for a case. The episode itself turned out to be good, with the show not going with the cliché of making Veronica’s client’s preacher dad be the bad guy. I should have had more faith that Veronica wasn’t going to be pregnant, but after the Gilmore Girls produced an unknown daughter for Luke and let Lorelai and Christopher get married, any good show can do something really stupid.

Michael Richards, Kramer from Seinfeld had a complete meltdown at the Laugh Factory comedy club in West Hollywood. Unfortunately for Kramer his meltdown was caught on film. Kramer was doing his routine and was being “playfully heckled” by two black guys. Kramer took exception to this and responded to these brothers saying, “Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a fucking fork up your ass.” Kramer continued, “You can talk, you can talk, you’re brave now motherfucker. Throw his ass out. He’s a nigger! He’s a nigger! He’s a nigger! A nigger, look, there’s a nigger.”

I hope that Michael Richards has invested his money from Seinfeld well because there’s a good chance he won’t be working again for a long time. Tonight he began damage control. Jerry Seinfeld was already scheduled to appear on Letterman. To help his old cast mate out, Jerry had Richards appear on Letterman. Michael Richards appeared to be very nervous. He apologized for what happened and appeared to be confused by what happened himself. Letterman’s audience was nervous as well and laughed at in him the beginning. Seinfeld asked them not to laugh. It was a totally uncomfortable experience. David asked some tough questions and Richards seemed flustered. It was good he apologized but I don’t think it helped him that much. His career has been in the toilet since Seinfeld went off the air. The last time I’ve seen him on TV was in 2000 in his short lived show The Michael Richards Show. While he’s been off the radar, the other people associated with the show have been successful. Larry David has gained great acclaim in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld has successfully restarted his standup career, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has a hit show on CBS and while Jason Alexander doesn’t currently have a show, he was recently on Everybody Hates Chris. Michael Richards during this time period, nothing. With his meltdown, this should continue.

Here's a link to Kramer's apology on Letterman last night.