Grey's: no longer gray

I gave up on Grey's Anatomy back in December, but I figured I'd be back, so I saved all the episodes my DVR recorded between then and now. On Sunday, I sat down and watched them all -- and I'm so glad I did. Grey's. Is. Back.

I don't know why I was frustrated with it before. Maybe it was all the blood during sweeps in the fall. I didn't sign up to watch gross ER-like scenes. (Seth Green, I love ya, but the exploding artery storyline was dis-gusting.) But I honestly think the Grey's writers had gone a bit astray.

Why? Logically, it makes sense to blame Private Practice, Shonda Rimes' Grey's spinoff, for distracting Shonda from her moneymaker. Note that the eps are getting good again now that Private Practice is off the air. You could also blame the Isaiah Washington scandal for distracting the whole Grey's staff and screwing with the chemistry on the show. Or maybe Shonda lost sight of what Grey's viewers really want to see (Strong Cristina, Izzy the Fighter, Lovelorn/Psychotic Meredith, Humanized Bailey, Sensitive but Also Asshole-ish Derek, Unmarried George, and a lot less of the minor/new characters).

Regardless, we're finally back. There's less blood, a little humor, a lot more heart, and I heard that Derek and Meredith are getting together for real at the end of the season. Maybe this is one show that was helped and not hurt by the writers' strike. Seriously.

What are YOU watching?

I'll admit it - the writer's strike was a major TV strike-out for me. I don't know about you, blog readers, but I haven't been watching many of my favorite shows lately, thanks to the strike-induced hiatus.

You may ask how a TV addict could possibly dis her favorite medium like this. I wasn't sure when my shows were coming back, for one thing. I was sick of waiting, sick of checking listings, sick of the hype. More than that, I'd gotten out of the habit of tuning in every week. I started filling my time with actual social interaction (what?!), tv on dvd, documentaries, HBO on-demand movies, and the dreaded cable television (thanks, South Park, for getting me through). And then there's that thing called Hulu.

Now that the shows are back on TV, I find either I don't care very much about a lot of them (Boston Legal, Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives) or I missed the start of the season thanks to staggered start-dates and it's too late to start now (Beauty and the Geek, Top Model, Hell's Kitchen).

Are you having the same problem, blog readers? I don't think I'm alone, based on today's TV Watch from Media Post. Read it here: "Where are the Viewers?"

In this dismal strike season, which network shows have you stuck with? Here are my fabulous few:
- American Idol
- 30 Rock
- How I Met Your Mother
- The Office
- Til Death
- Back to You

Incidentally, I can't help but notice that the shows that have stayed on my roster require little to no attention span, either because they're mindless (Idol) or they're 22 mins long. Interestingly, the ones that have fell off include Grey's, Lost, Desperate Housewives, House, Bones... all hour-long dramas. Shows I've picked up on the way include South Park, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader (I know, I know), Saturday Night Live, etc. I don't know what's going on with me.

Regardless, is this an epidemic? Is this season just ruined for network dramas? I'm sure I'll come back to them next season. Is it just me?

Extras

I've gotta get these DVDs...

Time Zone Argument:



Racism Test:



Wizard! (Sir Ian McKellan):



Extras Promo:

The Return of... Palladino

Had to write up a quick post about The Return of Jezebel James, which premiered Friday night on FOX. It's by Amy Sherman-Palladino, of Gilmore Girls fame, and stars Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) and Parker Posey (from the Christopher Guest movies).

With such an all-star team behind it, I was nervous about this little show, but I was pleasantly surprised Friday night. The script is witty and clever (thanks Amy! So glad you're back writing for TV), and the acting is... well, what do you expect? It's Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose.

Granted, it's no Six Feet Under or Christopher Guest movie... I mean, the show IS a sitcom, so you have to cut it a tiny bit of slack. But for a sitcom with a strange premise (Posey's character can't have children, asks estranged sister to be her surrogate), it's funny and actually kind of sweet, and definitely worth a shot. Check it out.

I think you can watch some clips on the website: http://www.fox.com/jezebeljames

Mariah's Glitterless, but SNL's Back

Is Mariah Carey kidding me on SNL this week? Really, Mariah? Really??

That's all I have to say about that.

I've gotta give SNL props for the Digital Short this week. Very funny. Sets up a "your mom" joke and turns it on its head. I just hope everyone thinks about social norms and why that vid makes them uncomfortable. Anyway, once NBC puts the video online, I'll pop it in here so you can see it for yourself.

SNL's actually pretty good this week.

My fav joke of the night (from Amy Poehler on Weekend Update):
"The CW is developing an updated version of the 1990s hit show Beverly Hills 90210. It's called One-OC-Gossip-Tree-Creek."

Way to come back, kids.

"Tranny, Tranny, Hot Mess."

Well, the strike is over, so I'll be coming back to The Televisionista whenever I actually get time to watch TV. This weekend I watched the new episode of SNL, hosted by Amy Adams, with musical guest Vampire Weekend (VW was amazing). The show wasn't that great (but wasn't as awful as last week's), but there was one skit that was hilarious.

This will only be funny to you if you watched this past season of Project Runway. SNL's Amy Poehler's impression of Christian is spot-on and hilarious. Boy I'll miss that guy.

Click on the play button to display the vid. Enjoy:

Bearded trainwreck.

I still love Conan, but I'm watching his writerless broadcast right now... I can't bear to see it. The man's got a beard, and it looks awful. More than that, he's so nervous that he's out of breath. And he's quite obviously trying to make it bad on purpose. Part of the shtick to get the writers' strike settled, and to get people to watch his show. Painful. He's spinning his wedding ring on his desk right now. I mean, I get it, but -- please. Conan. Come on. You're a writer.

That's why he's doing it though. You can tell he feels like Benedict Arnold.

Let's just get this strike settled, eh?

Waaaa

For the record, I'm getting pretty crabby about this writer's strike. I miss my tv shows.

Writers' Strike

Interesting thoughts about the writers strike, with some nice number comparisons to put things in perspective. Friedman rubs me the wrong way usually, but this is worth a read. From Media Post:

Writers And Networks: Internet Dollars With Less Sense

Speaking of the strike, Carson Daly was the first strikebreaker last night. Supposedly he didn't want his staff fired, which was set to happen today, but as the astute (and incredibly annoying and unprofessional) newscaster pointed out this morning, he probably didn't want his SHOW to get canceled. Since it's a waste of space. Didn't watch it last night, but I have little respect for his writers, so I'm sure it wasn't much different than usual. Terrible, terrible show.

Conan O'Brien: marry me.

Another man I'm in love with, even more than I was before. Move over Stewart and Colbert. Out of the way, Joss Whedon and Aaron Sorkin. Conan O'Brien is my man.

NBC was going to lay off Conan's production staff of 80 today because of the writers' strike, so instead Conan's going to pay all of their salaries.

Read the article here: "Conan O'Brien grows a strike beard"

Also, check this site out: Late Night Underground

New hits?

Article from Media Post's TV blog: "In This Strike-Minded Season, Hope For A Hit"

I'm excited to hear that "Quarterlife" got picked up for TV, mostly because "thirtysomething" creators Zwick and Herskovitz are amazing. Plus, I thought it was pretty cool that they were creating an online series in the first place. (Read about "Quarterlife" here.) And now it's picked up for TV. You've gotta give it to these guys for always tapping into the zeitgeist.

So after reading the Media Post blog, what do you think, readers? What else besides "Celebrity Apprentice" (yikes) should the execs start thinking about? They already did Lord of the Flies this season (thanks, Kid Nation). What's next? Any good ideas?

Nielsen THIS

So here are the top 10 viewed shows last week according to the Nielsen ratings:

1) Without a Trace
2) CSI
3) Dancing with the Stars
4) Grey's Anatomy
5) Dancing with the Stars (results show)
6) Desperate Housewives
7) NCIS
8) NFL: Colts v Chargers
9) House
10) CMA Awards

Seriously?!

When I saw this list this morning, I asked my friend Katie, "WHO are the Nielsen viewers?! People 55 and over? What the hell?!"

Katie's response: "Actually... my 80-year-old grandparents are Nielsen viewers." No joke.

When I heard that, I a) convinced Katie to hijack her grandparents' television and start watching my shows on it, and b) started complaining to Katie about why I hate Nielsen ratings. I learned in doing this that Katie, like a lot of people, had no idea that Nielsen ratings are how advertising prices get set and therefore determine which shows get the boot.

(Read my previous beefs with Nielsen ratings here and here. Or just have a conversation with me at all, and it will probably come up at some point. I have very strong feelings about Nielsen ratings.)

So basically, in case you're not grasping this, Katie's grandparents are deciding which shows stay on the air. Great. Programming schedules full of CSI, Without a Trace, and Diagnosis Murder.

In case you don't know anything about Nielsen ratings, here's a place to start: "How do television ratings work?"

C is for...

Sara from my office made chocolate chip cookies today! Then Jay sent around this video. Thought you might appreciate the flashback:

Kring's my hero

Tim Kring (creator of Heroes) released an apology to the fans recently. Read about it here: "Heroes Creator Apologizes to Fans." You'll note that what he says was wrong with the show are the exact things I've been pointing out since the season started. OBViously he read my blog.

In all seriousness though, you've got to give the guy credit for recognizing that something needed to be fixed. My main man Aaron Sorkin's pride never would have let him do that. (see: Studio 60)

The last two episodes of Heroes have been much improved -- finally some excitement. (And a little lightning never hurt anyone. Yeah, Kristen Bell!) Kring never should have waited until this far into the season to get things moving. No reason this stuff couldn't have happened weeks ago.

Regardless, Heroes is back in the game, and by ending the season in a couple weeks and starting over again, Kring's giving himself an almost-clean slate to redeem himself. Thanks, Tim Kring, for being so super. ;)

Zero episodes of The Office left...

"When is your favorite TV show gone?" -- Entertainment Weekly tallies how many episodes your fave shows have left.

Please, Hollywood. Just man up and give the writers a cut of the online ad revenue already. I can't take this much longer.

One more reason I want to marry Jon Stewart...

As a follow up to my previous post...

There are rumors going around that Jon Stewart is planning to cover the salaries of his writers (and the rest of his employees) for the next two weeks during the writers' strike. This includes the staffs of both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.

Jon Stewart, I love you. (I've told you this before.)

It's not confirmed by the Stewart camp, but I have reason to believe it's true, especially based on Thursday's episode of The Daily Show.

(Thanks to Dave Press for the info.)

Strike out

It was only a matter of time, thanks to technology...
"TV, movie writers go on strike"
Stewart, Colbert and Conan... I'll miss you! (Please end strike soon.)

Who killed Laura Palmer?

If you've never experienced Twin Peaks, now is the time.

David Lynch's masterpiece was a cult favorite back in the '90s. Watch it today, and it doesn't lose any of its luster. It's completely bizarre, but it's artful and unique. (If you know anything about David Lynch, I'm sure you're not surprised.) "Who killed Laura Palmer" was the pop culture mantra of the day - not unlike last season's "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" catchphrase fave.

Twin Peaks was some quality TV. It's finally out on DVD, so give it a shot... If only so you can be in on the phenomenon of days of yore.

If you already love Twin Peaks, visit this site to get cool wallpaper, downloads, widgets, and other Twin Peaks stuff. Agent Cooper is now on my desktop. I couldn't be happier.

No "Origins"

Well, it was a cool idea. But this is for the best. Maybe Tim Kring can fix Heroes now that he's not distracted by a spinoff. Here's hoping.

"'Heroes' spin-off not happening."

Phenomenon indeed

Well, I thought the new show Phenomenon was useless... until I saw this.

These tapings are live, and apparently Criss Angel exposed psychic Jim Callahan as a fraud. ("A fraud?!" I know, you're shocked.) You can read (and watch) for yourself, but basically Angel told Callahan he'd give him a million dollars of his own money if Callahan could tell him what was in an envelope.

Good stuff. All of those people are a mess. Who knew such a crappy show would end up being so entertaining?