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It All Comes Back to Friends

February 3, 2012

I remember very clearly the fall of 1994.  Specifically, I remember turning on NBC on a Thursday night for the premiere of a new show called Friends.  I remember, again very clearly, only checking it out simply because there wasn't much else to watch and it looked good enough to watch at least once.

A few weeks later, I was still tuning in, but was reticent to predict that the show would last beyond the fall.  Honestly, it was just okay and I came sort of close to making a big mistake and giving up on the ability of these actors to gel, find their characters, and make the magic that we would come to know as the Friends phenomenon. 

Before I get into the meat of this post, that ought to really serve as an example to many network decision makers.  Every show requires time to find its magic.  The actors haven't yet discovered what makes their characters tick.  They haven't yet become a solid family.  The writers are still introducing us to the show and to the characters.  Yes, even Friends needed that time.  In fact, look at many of the greatest shows in television history and you will find the same story. So, please, give shows times. Let them stay on the same night at the same time long enough to find an audience.  And for the love of Pete Brady, give them advertisement!!  I am really tired of losing the Freaks & Geeks of the t.v. world. 

Anyway, back to the reason for this post:  It all comes back to Friends.  Now that we know what a fantastic show Friends was, let's look at the reason why.  The greatest reason has to be because it was so relatable, right?  I mean, there were all sorts of groundbreaking things I could point to that led to the success of the show, but one big aspect is that the writers obviously knew what it was to be in a group of friends. 

To this day, I very rarely complete a hang out session with friends without someone saying at least one time, in relation to some story in our lives, it's like that time on Friends...Just today I was speaking to a friend about our rental home.  My husband and I are becoming landlords and are beginning the search for renters.  This friend says, "Like Joey, when he was looking for a roommate: "Non-smoker, non-ugly."  She doesn't even have to say the show name; you just know who she is talking about.

Look over your life.  In all seriousness, try to go about your day and not be able to somehow remember an episode of Friends that doesn't in some way relate to some part of your day.  It could be the most mundane thing, which is part of what made Friends special.  It was similar to Seinfeld, in being a show about nothing.  In many ways, Friends was a success because it was simply about basic things in life. 

But it can also be about big things in your life.  Pardon me if you think this is too much information, but I was laying on a table in a doctor's office a few weeks ago, having just moments earlier had an infertility procedure performed on me.  No joke, a friend texts to me, "Think Thick."  That was all; she didn't have to remind me of the episode when Phoebe decides to be a surrogate for her brother and sister-in-law.  I just knew. 

Here's hoping that I have opened your eyes to all the ways Friends relates to your life.  And here's hoping you think of me and smile when a Friends reference comes to your mind or pops up in conversation. 

By the way, the aforementioned episode features one of my favorite actors of this generation:  Giovanni Ribisi.  Huge talent.  Best line of the entire episode:  "My sister's going to have my baby!!!" 

New Year's Resolution

January 2, 2012

In truth, I never make new year resolutions.  I much prefer to evaluate my goals from the last year and modify them as needed.  But I will make two right now regarding this blog. 

1.  I resolve to no longer feel guilty for being addicted to television. I have noticed in recent years that it is all of a sudden cool to be into t.v. shows and to find a community of friends based upon the shows you have in common.  It was not like this during my childhood, adolescence, or even college years.  Actually, I should specify "especially in college."  I'm sure the internet has something to do with it; the internet is always to blame. Or maybe it's just what adults do, and now that I'm a full-fledged adult, I'm finding people like me who have nothing better to do than watch a lot of t.v.  Regardless, since everyone is doing it, I no longer need to hide the amount that I watch.  Besides, it's no where close to the number of hours I accumulated growing up. 

2.  I also resolve to be more regular with this blog, like the 1st of the month kind of regular.  Maybe I'll consider trying to get readers. 

Okay, see you in February---with a launch of something really super, duper cool. 

Told Ya So

November 16, 2011

Wow, I've been gone for a while, haven't I?  Please forgive, all two of my readers...the acting career combined with a two year old has really taken up a lot of time lately.  Since that's my gig, I ain't complainin'.  So, let's get to it, shall we?

Referring to an earlier post, I told ya so.  First off, let's talk about casting Ashton Kutcher on Two and a Half Men.  In a super quick google check, we read that Two and a Half men's ratings are falling.  However, we also read that it is still drawing in huge numbers.  That tells us that the curiousity only viewers are satisfied and the weekly fans are hanging in there.  So, score one for Jessi in the prediction category. 

By the way, I did tune in for season premiere, the only full episode I have ever seen of the show--loved it.  Not the show itself, rather the way it was all handled.  Brilliant.

And for point number two, this just in: Anna Kuornikova is leaving The Biggest Loser after only one season.  Ho hum, whatever, moving on...okay, so we don't know anything for sure other than "it wasn't a good fit."  Really?  We knew this was a stupid decision.  Thank you, TBL, for letting her go.

And that's about all I have to say about that.  Short post this time; I promise to not be away as long next time.  I have a lot more television to talk about.  In the meantime, check out Once Upon a Time on Sundays, 8 p.m., ABC---super adorable.

Shows you may never see, but should

August 4, 2011

I love t.v.  I do; I can't deny it and won't even try.  I love t.v.  Every person that has ever lived with me has started out claiming to very rarely watch t.v. and has left me as an addict:  Three college roommates, the adult years roommate, and my husband.  Okay, so my husband hasn't left me, but he does watch an awful lot more television than he used to---the t.v. in the bedroom was HIS idea. 

That being said, I have seen a ton of t.v. shows.  And I would say there are many that have gone unappreciated by the general public and sadly so.  But in today's post, I only want to focus on one show:  Freaks & Geeks.   

Much has been written by the critics and fans of Freaks & Geeks.  It was an NBC show that never got a chance; hardly no advertising and very difficult to find.  It aired in 1999.  I say this not as a fan of the show, but as a fan of t.v. in general:  Freaks & Geeks had some of the best writing, directing and acting of any show in the entire history of telelvision.  I know this is a bold claim, but it's one I'm willing to stand behind.

It focused on two sets of high school kids.  The older ones were more of the too cool for school crowd while the younger ones, led by the younger brother of one of the older kids, were absolute geeks.  It was set in the 1980s, which you might assume would help it, but it did not focus on the bright colors and fads of the 80s; it was much more realistic than that. 

The cast could not have been more amazing:  Linda Cardellini (though I will never forgive her for kissing Cory Matthews and coming between him and Topanga), James Franco, Seth Rogen, Busy Phillips, Jason Segel, Samm Levine, Martin Starr, Joe Flaherty, Thomas Wilson (Biff).  I know it looks like I just listed the main cast and I pretty much did, as that is how amazing this cast was. 

The episodes had incredible humor and heart to them.  In one episode, the big sis wants to throw a kegger while the parents are out of town, but scared of what may happen, her younger brother and his friends replace the beer with nonalcoholic beer.  However, everyone gets drunk anyway on the assumed belief that just being told you're drinking alcohol will make you drunk.  In another episode, one of the friends discovers his dad is cheating on his mom; Samm Levine does some incredible acting in his scenes here; it's quite tough to go through this pain with him. 

The side characters are written with great heart and realism as well.  Cindy, the popular cheerleader, isn't some high fashion, gorgeous model type that we see on high school shows these days.  She is a cute girl in a cheerleading uniform, AND she is, get this:  sweet!  Not snotty like cheerleaders are supposed to be on t.v.  Sweet!

Linda Cardellini's ex-best friend, Millie (who is trying to hang onto their friendship) is treated at first as the immature dork holding Linda's character back.  But we soon find out just how mature she really is, and how great of a friend she is as well.  Additionally, Millie is a Christian and rather than the typical Christian bashing we would normally be subjected to by making Millie either annoying or hypocritical, we get a Millie that is simply caring, kind, sweet and out to be a good person. 

I could go on and on, but I would rather you discover this one for yourself.  More than 10 years later and I still mourn the loss of what could have been.  With only 18 episodes, I hope you'll check it out someday.

Thank you, Mr. Schwartz

July 14, 2011

I don't even know where to begin or end with this post.  Mr. Schwartz has passed away.  What do you say that hasn't been said already, right?  Okay, um, The Brady Bunch was by far and away my favorite show growing up.  Every day after school, 4:05 and 4:35 p.m. on TBS at my aunt's house.  I have seen every episode so many times that I can tell which episode within the first 15 seconds or so--it's my own little game. 

When I was last in L.A., we found THE house.  I was so excited by it I hardly knew how to act once I got there.  All I could do was take a picture and then drive away. 

My favorite Brady was usually Jan. I know she was the forgotten child--not as cute as Cindy, not as perfect as Marcia.  But I always thought Jan was the prettiest and the coolest. I looooved her hair and the way it swung even better than did Marcia's.  I never understood why she wanted to get rid of her freckles, but I have used the lemon juice trick on the dark spots on my face--I don't think it worked. 

I have read every book and have on tape and/or DVD most of the reinventions:  The Brady Girls Get Married, followed by all six episodes of The Brady Brides.  The one where Mike gets trapped in a mine and the one where Bobby is paralyzed in a racing accident.  All three modern tellings (yes, there were THREE!).  The t.v. movie starring Kaley Cuoco.  Maureen's book.  Barry's book.  Waiting on Carol's to come out.  Does anyone out there have the cartoon or the variety show?  I was too young for that and have only seen snippets in t.v. specials.  Okay, okay, you get the point.  But I digress, as they say.

So, that time I was in L.A. and found the house---we were driving down the road and I saw some small advertisement for, get this, The Brady Bunch Musical!!!  Get out of Dodge, Thurston Howell III (a gazillion Brady bucks if you get this reference).  Combining The Brady Bunch and the musical genre?!?!  Brilliant!  So I forced my friend to go with me.

While there, I knew it would be absolutely perfect for the Atlanta stage and when we went to our private acting class the next day, I told our teacher exactly that.  She casually mentions that one of her great friends had produced the play and his name is Lloyd.  Casually mentions that one of her great friends is Lloyd Schwartz!  THE Lloyd Schwartz. 

Here is the problem with being an old soul.  All of the people you dream of meeting your entire life are either already dead or pass away while you're dreaming of meeting them.  The other problem is that you're rather a dork, by virtue of being the only person your age who knows who Lloyd Schwartz is, much less being gaga over having only one degree of separation from him. 

This particular teacher thought he would love to hear from me and subsequently got permission to give me his phone number.  So within days I am standing in the hallway of our hotel, with my phone in my hand, scared to pieces at calling Lloyd Schwartz.  He was a wonderful man; very kind. 

I knew then that his father had been able to create such wonderful family shows because they came from his heart.  Out of the overflow of your heart is what you show to the world.  The goodness of The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island could not have come from someone who did not have that same goodness within him, and it was certainly passed on to his children. 

So, in keeping with what I wrote personally to Mr. Schwartz tonight:  Mr. Sherwood Schwartz, I thank you for being such an integral part of my childhood.  I thank you for giving generations of families shows they can enjoy all together.  I thank you for having such a good humor about it that you were not bothered by the parodies and jokes over the years, rather embracing them.  And I thank your family for being so sacrificial with their time with you so the world could love you.  I pray for them now, the sadness they feel and pray for God's peace to envelop them going forward. 

My (unsolicited) opinion on recent casting decisions

June 20, 2011

Oh, if only they would listen to me! In the past few months, there have been at least two casting decisions that made waves in the tv community.  The biggest shake-up has been the announcement of Ashton Kutcher joining Two and a Half Men, to replace the void left by Charlie Sheen. 

Okay, it must be said: this had to be done. For one thing, sorry Charlie, but there is no coming back from this. The American public is extremely forgiving and highly forgetful; in time, you may rise above these ashes (though if you do, you will probably force us to call you Phoenix), but you have gone so bat crazy that I have trouble seeing this end well---at least not for quite some time. 

Which brings me to the second reason a replacement had to be made:  no way Charlie Sheen was going to get sane in time for the next season of the show and as awesome as Jon Cryer is, he can't carry the show by himself.  This is an odd couple format; you need the other half of the odd couple for it to work. 

Now to say this: I know there is a lot of criticism about this out there, but I am confident in saying that I think hiring Ashton Kutcher was a brilliant move.  I am by no means a huge fan, though I do respect what he brings to a role and to entertainment in general. 

If you're going to replace Charlie Sheen, you can't do it with a carbon copy; you have to go in a different direction. However, you also can't go too far off the beaten path or you ruin the heart of the show.  Enter Ashton.  He has that womanizing charm that doesn't turn off women.  Yet he doesn't bring the arrogance, rather a simpleton approach.  Just enough Charlie without being too much.  And being younger and hotter doesn't hurt, either. 

I also don't think Ashton Kutcher would do this without being confident that it will work.  Though incredible at playing the Kelso type, Kutcher himself is a highly intelligent human being and has the education to prove it.  And he also knows what his public wants, i.e. Punk'd was brilliant and the word "punk'd" is now an integral part of our vocabulary. 

So, my prediction:  Ashton Kutcher will keep viewers and possibly even draw in a new audience.

Now, on to the sad part of this blog: I am sad to report that I believe The Biggest Loser is going to die a slow and painful death, unless they can revive themselves with better decisions.  Please, please, please, TBL--prove me wrong.

So, Bob and Jillian decided to leave the show.  They are amazing and no one can replace them, I agree.  You immediately, and rightfully so, fear that you are going to lose all of your audience this coming fall with both Bob and Jillian gone.  So you do the right thing---you start introducing new trainers during Bob and Jillian's last season; make it a seemless transition.

And then you make this announcement:  replacing Jillian, a highly skilled and educated physical trainer, will be Anna Kuornikova, a tennis player.  Seriously?  This is what you do?  Stunt casting?  Save it for sweeps week, okay?  But an entire season?  No way.  Sure, you bill her as having overcome her own adversity in training in tennis.  But just because she learned how to play tennis in some sort of "poverty" situation (or whatever it was you said in your promo) does not mean she can help overweight people overcome their emotional issues and lose weight.  Bob and Jillian had that insight. 

And, it takes years of education and training to know what exercises work for what people.  You can't just come in and make everyone do what worked for you, especially when you have never dealt will being overweight yourself. 

I understand the fear, TBL.  Just like in Two and a Half Men, you know you can't just replace Jillian with another Jillian.  But, please, give your audience credit for having some intelligence.  We aren't stupid; we know Anna Kuornikova isn't a trainer.  Also, we are a bunch of women.  Do you really think we will be taken in by the beauty casting? 

While Bob and Jillian are fan favorites, the ultimate reason people tune in is to see transformations, lives changed. That is the heart of TBL; that is why we watch.  The trainers add credibility to what we see happen over the course of six months or so.  I beg of you, don't lose that heart. 

My prediction:  It may not be readily obvious, but I do think this is the beginning of the end. 

Praise for the folks at The Office

May 1, 2011

Everyone in the world is offering their take on Michael Scott's last episode of The Office, but since this is a t.v. blog, I must ring in with my own opinion.  My two cents:  brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

Seriously, major kudos goes to everyone associated with this episode.  Here's the deal, my husband and I have been watching the American version since the very first night it premiered in January 2006.  It prompted us to catch the British version.  We love both and think both have their merits. 

I refuse to be one of those "the Americans ruin everything" people.  I think the American version of The Office is still hilarious.  Michael Scott is his own character and boy, did Steve Carell do a fantastic job of making Michael Scott one of the best sitcom characters in all of television history.  There will never be another like him; just like Steve Carell could not reinvent Ricky Gervais, no one else can reinvent Steve Carell/Michael Scott.  The good thing is that they know this.

So, on the episode!  I long believed it was brilliant to make his last episode NOT the season finale.  We don't need a summer of wondering what is going to happen, only serving to lose a lot of viewers when we tune in after hiatus and don't recognize one of our favorite shows.  Now, we can come back the very next week and have a few episodes of adjusting before next season begins.

The writing---GENIUS.  They did a fabulous job of allowing Michael to grow over the course of the season.  We can have full faith that he is mature enough now to not mess things up with Holly while in Colorado.  They will marry and live happily ever after. 

Additionally, it was a beautiful and understated goodbye--no fanfare needed--in fact, had there been the big Office goodbye party, it would have felt like an ending.  The way Michael just gets on a plane and very few people know it lets the viewer say goodbye quietly, and feel prepared to move on. 

Favorite Line of the Night:  "Hey, will you guys let me know if this thing airs?"  Just a reminder that those documentarians have been working on this project for a looooong time. 

Lastly, they thoughtfully and necessarily threw in references to past jokes.  But the best one of them all is the very last line, the almost completely inaudible, "That's what she said."

Like I said, BRILLIANT.

The TVLand Awards

April 22, 2011

Do you think Douglas Fairbanks, all those years ago, would have ever dreamed that he was starting the never ending time of the year known as Awards Show Season?  For those of you not aware, he and a few other major stars of that time banded together and created what we now know as The Academy Awards.  Over 80 years later, we now have The Academy Awards, The SAG Awards, The ACM's, The CMT Awards, The Tony's, The Grammy's, The Dove Awards, The Golden Globes.  Am I missing any?  Since I don't pay any attention to any of them, I may very well be forgetting a few.  However, there is one awards show that I look forward to every year: The TVLand Awards. 

I gotta preface this by explaining that as a young girl, my favorite program was Nick-at-Nite.  My favorite show to watch back then was The Patty Duke Show---must see t.v. if you like the concept of identical-but-opposite-in-personality cousins that live together.

So, years ago when TV Land was formed, I was grateful for so many of my favorite shows to have a home. Then, they outdid themselves when they decided to give out awards and bring back together some of my favorite characters---sort of like mini-reunions for shows like Happy Days or, in this year's case, Welcome Back, Kotter.   

As my first real blog post, I decided to open up with some discussion on the greatest awards show ever, as it just aired last Sunday, April 17.

Basically, it was fantastic.  Since the shows awarded are not current, the awards cannot be for anything like Best Actor in a Comedy; instead the awards have names like Impact Award.  This year I was most excited to see reunions of Cosby Show, Family Ties, Facts of Life, and Welcome Back, Kotter.

Pleasant Surprises:

1.  "Jammin' on the One, J-J-Jammin' on the One"  Remember when Stevie Wonder's limo driver crashed into Denise and Theo's car and as a result, the entire family got invited to the studio to meet Stevie Wonder and they all got put into a mix on his keyboard?  Stevie Wonder presented their award.  Mr. Cosby did the talking for the large cast, which was really beautiful to see.  He is known for having kept a tight reign on his "children" and for making sure they had an education and were good kids.  He is still playing the strong dad type, something all kids need and want. 

2.  I had read a rumor that Gabe Kaplan would not be reuniting with his cast, so it was a delight to see him there accepting for Welcome Back, Kotter. Still really sad to not see Horshack, though.

3.  John Travolta is awesome!  Take note all actors that play iconic characters.  You have one of two choices:  a. Run far away from the role that everyone knows you as, alienate your fans, possibly destroy your career (I'm talking to you, Eve Plumb) or b.  show everyone that you have a great sense of humor, that you respect your fans for liking you the way they do, embrace your famous character and probably then be allowed to break away from it.  John Travolta has become a major movie star and yet he looked to be the one on that stage Sunday night having the best time, even giving us a fun, albeit rusty, impression of Vinny Barbarino. 

4.  My award for best surprise of the night goes to those that planned the Family Ties reunion.  I love montage clips.  They were beautiful reminders of why we loved this show so much and the producers even recognized the relationship between Alex and Ellen, using the song made famous by the show, "At This Moment."  Best surprise?  The lights come up to reveal Billy Vera himself, singing his biggest hit.  My husband thought I was silly when I once told him that we call this Alex and Ellen's song because of the tight connection that exists between the show and the song.  But he does not live through t.v. characters like I do.  Question:  Where was Courtney Cox?  She was on more episodes than Tracy Pollan.