Category Archives: Returning Shows

‘Once,’ ‘Glee,’ ‘Grey’s’ & ‘Up All Night’ – Has a Change Done Them Good?

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Photo by: Gavin Bond/NBC

By Amy Amatangelo, TV Gal ®

TV shows must evolve. Stay in one place too long and the show will exasperate viewers (see How I Met Your Mother), change too much and viewers feel as if they’re tuning into a completely different show (see Heroes).

A look at how four shows that underwent big changes this season are faring:

Up All Night (Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. on NBC): It’s never a good sign when a show completely reinvents itself in its second season. I take it as an implicit confession. “Um you know all that stuff we did last year? It didn’t really work and we know it.” So Up All Night took away Ava’s (Maya Rudolph) talk show, put Chris (Will Arnett) back to work, had Reagan (Christina Applegate) become a stay-at-home mom and introduced the character of Reagan’s brother. None of the changes really stuck. I miss Ava and Reagan’s work environment (especially the dear, departed Missy) and Ava is stranded with no real reason for being on Up All Night except that she’s played by Maya Rudolph. (It’s a bit of a circular problem for the series since last season’s focus on Ava’s talk show stemmed from Rudolph’s Bridesmaid’s success). Now, all of Ava’s story lines are ungracefully wedged in. (Really, do we need to see Ava’s version of a haunted house?  Maybe she and Sean Hayes can spin-off into their own show. ) Without Ava’s show, it’s hard to understand why Ava and Reagan are friends. But we can’t spend any more time talking about this because Up All Night will air two more episodes this fall before returning in the spring in yet another incarnation.  This time the single camera comedy is changing to a multi-camera show  (As a point of reference, New Girl is single camera, The Big Bang Theory is multi-camera).That means a live audience and a more limited, static stage (the days of Reagan and Chris taking walks with baby Ava outside are probably over). I wouldn’t be surprised if more things changed between now and then (the show is shutting down production to redo the stage). If you want my truly fearless prediction, I’m ready to double down that the show won’t come back at all. I adore Arnett and Applegate. As a parent of a toddler, this show is made for me. However, Up All Night has always had flashes of smart humor but it’s never quite come together. And I’m not convinced the third iteration will be the charm. I am trying to think of when a show reinvented itself and it worked and the only example I could come up with was when These Friends of Mine became Ellen after one season.

Once Upon a Time (Sundays at 8 p.m. on ABC): The drama took a gamble when it blew its original premise away in the first season finale. Certainly it could have wrung a few more seasons out of everyone in Storybrooke not realizing they are actually fairytale characters. In the second season premiere, the show transported its two lead characters back to fairytale land. Now the show has three worlds – Storybrooke, the fairytale world that was and the fairytale world of the present.  That’s a lot of different worlds for viewers to keep up with in 42 minutes.  And it’s doubled the amount of special effects which I’ve always found problematic. The fairytale world looks like the characters are stuck in a video game. I now rate all special effects on a scale of 1 to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s boat scene in the Ringer series premiere (with obviously the Ringer scene being the worst.) On that scale, I would put the Once Upon a Time special effects at about a five. That combined with the idea that Jennifer Morrison can take a Clark Kent approach to looking younger (give her a pair of glasses and she’s 17 again!) often takes me out of the show. I’m nervous about the amount of characters the show continues to introduce – again it’s a lot for viewers to keep up with. But I really do appreciate that Once didn’t go the traditional route with its narrative. I love the introduction of Michael Raymond-James as Emma’s ex-boyfriend and Henry’s father. (In my world of denial, Raymond-James is on the show as part of an elaborate and belated Terriers crossover).  And putting Emma and Snow together with the mutual mission of being able to return home is a great way to quickly bond mother and daughter.  But in general my advice to the show would be the same my father used to give me when I was little and talking really fast – slow down.  We don’t need to meet every possible fairytale character this year.  Every episode does not have to take place in three worlds. Let’s leave something for season three.

Grey’s Anatomy (Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC): My favorite part of this whole season has been Cristina’s budding relationship with Mr. Feeny, I mean Dr. Thomas. Much like he did for Cory and Topanga, Dr. Thomas is full of sage wisdom for Cristina. He’s also softening her character and helping her realize she still has a lot to learn about being a doctor. Plus it just makes sense that Cristina would move on and leave Seattle Grace. I never truly believed Cristina and Owen as some grand star-crossed couple so I’m okay with them being apart. The biggest problem I see the show facing is what to do now. I’m fine with Cristina working and living far away but is that a sustainable model? My other big gripe with the season is the Arizona story line. I’m simply not believing that Arizona, an informed, educated doctor who has made a career out of making difficult medical decisions, would blame Callie. Yes I understand that she’s mad at what happened to her and yes Callie is the easiest person to take her anger out on but I’m still not buying it. It’s a perfectly believable reaction of someone who went through this level of trauma, but it’s not working for me. Perhaps it’s because the show spent so many seasons building Arizona up as this perpetually cheery character.

Glee (Thursdays at 9 p.m. on FOX):  This fantasy version of New York City is a bit ridiculous. Suddenly Rachel’s waking up in the morning with hair extensions, full make up and false eyelashes. Everything that was grating about Rachel Berry has become exacerbated in New York.  But that’s nothing compared to the Kurt storyline. I could go along with the fact that he gets a job at Vogue.com based on his charm and edgy style. But that Sarah Jessica Parker’s Isabelle Wright would confide in him? That one’s little hard to believe. And her fairy godmother act isn’t that interesting. I keep waiting for her to steal one of Kurt’s ideas and claim it as her own.  Back at McKinley High, all the new students have edged out the adult characters. Sue Sylvester, who was a defining part of putting the show on the pop culture radar, has barely been seen this season. And Will has nothing to do. He’s to this season of Glee what Cindy and Jim Walsh were to 90210 once Brenda and Brandon graduated. Glee needs to find better, more relevant storylines for Mr. Schu and find a way to better balance its multiple characters and multiple locations.

How do you think Once, Glee, Grey’s and Up All Night are doing? What other shows do you think have undergone major changes this season and how do you think they’re doing? Talk about it below. On Thursday, I’ll have this week’s best quotes and familiar faces, so if you’ve heard a great quote or seen a familiar face email me and let me know about it.

An interview with Bellamy Young, the First Lady of ‘Scandal’

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Credit – Angelo Kritikos

By Amy Amatangelo, TV Gal ®

Last week I had the chance to talk to the delightful Bellamy Young, First Lady Mellie Grant on Scandal. In case  you missed the great news, ABC recently ordered a full season of Scandal so we will get 22 episodes this season. That means viewers will be treated to much more of the First Lady’s devious scheming.

Ms. Young and I had a lovely conversation, although the North Carolina native was somewhat tight-lipped about what is coming up on the juicy drama (which airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC). She laughed and told me she’s had to go through publicity training to learn to not give away the show’s secrets. But she did have lots to say about the Grant’s turbulent marriage, where their two children are and what it’s like to be fake pregnant.

TV Gal: I’m always surprised by how much sympathy I have for Mellie. How difficult is it to play a character who can be so awful without alienating her from viewers?

Bellamy Young: I’m blessed because our writers are incredible. They always put the pain underneath the anger. It’s always coming from a place of being so hurt and there’s no one who can’t relate to that. We’re never worse than to the people that we love in those dark, dark moments. It really does feel like Tony [Goldwyn, who plays President Fitzgerald Grant] and I have decades of history between us and there have been so many good times. We have two lovely children, a third on the way and you remember that marriages go through a lot and we’re meeting them in a really ugly moment. But there have been so many other times before that. It’s just one sort of dip in the dance that they’re doing together that’s not the prettiest color on either one of them but they’re still very much a team. It’s like taffy you can pull it any direction and it stays intact.

TV Gal: Obviously you’re not a conniving First Lady, what is it about Mellie that you connect to when you play her?

Young: Mellie couldn’t be any more different than I am. On some levels that is so freeing – to be this completely self-confident, my way or the highway, women is kind of a thrill. In terms of the emotional truth so much of it resonates with me – the pain of it all. I’m human. People have hurt me and when they hurt me I lash out. There’s nothing that I don’t understand about where Mellie is coming from in those moments of abject pain and desperation.

TV Gal: This season you were promoted to series regular. What has that experience been like?

Young: It’s truly my first time as a bride. I can’t think of a way to be any luckier. It is a dream and they just keep writing incredible things for me to do. It’s so much fun it almost blows my mind.

This is an incredible next level to be able to relax into something. You never get to have these rich conversations when you’re guesting. It’s very very different when you get to build these lives with a core group of people with the writers and the actors. To live with someone for so long it starts to come from your marrow, from inside your thigh bone, what Mellie would do. You really know her. You start to speak up for yourself and  your character.

The genius and the joy of it is that with every script comes a new revelation. You kind of add that layer to the onion, you get to feel like you have a really complicated, breathing existence.

The other side of this honestly is getting talk to people like you about things like this. I’ve never had an experience and been commenting on an experience at the same time. That has been a huge learning curve.

TV Gal: You worked with [executive producer] Shonda Rhimes before on Grey’s Anatomy, right?

Young: It was actually the Grey’s Anatomy  episode that was the spin- off for Private Practice. It was a two hour episode and I was in the Private Practice part of it. My arc on that episode went from absolutely comedic to absolutely tragic.

TV Gal: You mentioned to me that you are really excited about the eighth episode of the season which you recently completed filming. Can you tell me anything about that or anything else that is coming up on the show?

Young: We have another flashback episode coming up. That was one of everybody’s favorite episodes last year to do and to watch. And again it just delivers in spades this year. It just informs all the drama and wonderment that’s going on in real time so much. The history just makes it that much more angsty and intense.

Mellie has her fingers in some very important pies coming up.  There’s some Abby and David juiciness. We’ll see if there’s any future for Senator Edison Davis and Olivia. We have more Cyrus and James to look forward.

TV Gal: What about Fitz and Mellie’s children? Where are they?

Young: It will be explained in an upcoming episode and hopefully we will see them. They’re in boarding school. Tony and I think outside of Santa Barbara where my family is from. I get that question increasingly. There’s a baby inside of Mellie so people think, “Um is she going to be an okay Mom?”

TV Gal: What’s it like being pregnant on the show?

Young: I love being fake pregnant. As an actor you’re always flummoxed about what to do with your hands, and you can put them on your belly, rub your belly. You can rub that belly and sort of look beatific and say the most hideous things.  It’s a joy plus you don’t have to worry about what you ate, if your belly is fat , if your butt is big. It’s just sort the greatest sort of gift.

TV Gal: Have you filmed the arrival of the blessed event yet? Will we get to see Mellie deliver the baby?

Young: I have to plead the fifth on that one.

TV Gal: The entire cast is very active on Twitter when the episodes air you tweet in both east coast and west coast time.

Young: It’s just incredible to talk to people who are watching the shows in real time. It’s almost like theater again. You get to  really see how it’s all landing with people. (You can follow her @BellamyYoung)

TV Gal: I know Scandal keeps you very busy. Is there anything else  you are working on?

Young:  I will be back sometime this season for two more episodes of Criminal Minds [as Hotchner’s love interest Beth]. And I executive produced and co-starred with David Arquette in the movie The Cottage which is now out on DVD.

Where Have I Seen Them Before and Quotes of the Week for October 25, 2012

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By Amy Amatangelo, TV Gal ®

Where Have I Seen Them Before?

Skyler Day was the teen who wanted to keep sailing even though she might lose her foot on Grey’s Anatomy. She was Amy, Drew’s girlfriend, on Parenthood. Meeghan Holaway was the lawyer for Derek, Cristina, Meredith and Arizona. She played Amanda Burke, the lawyer Kathryn and John had on Switched at Birth before they hired Craig (Sam Page).  Ned Vaughn was the lawyer for the airlines. We just saw him in an episode of The Newsroom, where he played a representative for Halliburton who came on Will’s show.

Patrick Fischler was Artie Hornbacher, the NSA employee who tricked Olivia on Scandal. Fischler has been on so many things but I remember him most as Jimmy Barrett, the comic who did the Utz Potato Chip commercials on Mad Men and Phil, a DHARMA Initiative employee on Lost. Wendy Davis was Kimberly Mitchell, the talk show host. She’s Joan on Army Wives. Steven W. Bailey, who played the bartender Joe on Grey’s Anatomy, was the medical examiner. Brian Letscher is Tom, the secret service agent. I wanted to point him out because he’s the brother of Matt Letscher, who played the evil Billy Chambers last season on Scandal. So Shonda Rhimes hire within her TV family and within real families as well.

Adam J. Harrington was the robot like Congressman on Parks and Recreation. He was Ethan last season on The Secret Circle and Agent Walker on Dexter.

Rosa Salazar was Molly, Kate’s wild high school friend on Ben & Kate. She played Zoe, the woman who changed her mind and kept her baby last season on Parenthood.

Yancey Arias was the father of the missing girl on Elementary. He played Senator Tom Kingsley last season on Revenge but I’ll always remember him as Miguel on Kingpin.

Matthew Del Negro was Kent, Penny’s physical therapist on Happy Endings. We just saw him in the season premiere of The Good Wife as the police officer who pulled over Zach. He’s lodged in my memory as Brian Cammarata on The Sopranos.

Rachel Shelley was Milah, Rumplestiltskin’s wife on Once Upon a Time. She was Helena Peabody on The L Word

Quotes of the Week

“I loved you . . . if only the circumstances had been wildly different. You’re a disgrace to your nation Sergeant Nicholas Brody. You’re a traitor and a terrorist. And now it’s time to pay for that.” Carrie to Brody on Homeland.

“You’ll never be done.” Amanda to Emily on Revenge.

“I’ll wait until I hear them all sing and then I’ll text in my choice.” Axl on which Presidential candidate he’ll cast his vote for on The Middle.

“You gave me cookie. I got you cookie.” Nick to Schmidt on New Girl. This is definitely one of those quotes that makes no sense out of context but I loved it so much I had to include it this week.

“There are no bad ideas Lemon. Only great ideas that go horribly wrong.” Jack to Liz on 30 Rock.

“You see her again, I’ll blow you away. And I’m an excellent shot, remember?” the First Lady to the President on Scandal.

“Christopher, this is no time to be petulant.” Tim to Christopher on Project Runway when he won’t stop sewing when his time is up.

“I’m proud of you but also a bit fearful that we’re verging on what I call feelings territory so let’s stare at the fire in silence.” Ron to Tom on Parks and Recreation.

“It’s going to be old school – guitars and great songs. Just a show for people who love actual music.” Rayna to Juliette about her new tour on Nashville. Rayna could rival Victoria Grayson for biting one liners.

“Now I don’t feel like pie. Wait. No. It’s back.” Kevin on The Office.

“He won the election. Honey, our son is the new president of Cedar Knoll Middle School. God help us all.” Adam to Kristina on Parenthood.

“I will always come find you.” Emmett to Bay on Switched at Birth. Thanks to Diane for the quote.

Best Exchange of the Week

“Who’s your favorite rapper?” Nick to Schmidt in a flashback to their college days on New Girl.

“Brian Austin Green.” Schmidt’s response. I would watch a whole show about Nick and Schmidt in college. Can we make that happen?

Have you seen a familiar face or heard a great quote? Email me through my contact page and let me know about it. And remember to follow my blog (enter your email in the upper right hand corner) so you’ll always know when I have a new post.

TV’s Best Tertiary Characters

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By Amy Amatangelo, TV Gal®

How do you know you’re a great character?

There’s a fan outcry when you aren’t around.

Since Homeland began its second season, viewers have been plagued with questions:  Will Carrie realize she was right? Will Brody get caught? But perhaps the biggest question troubling viewers was: Where is Virgil?

The beloved surveillance expert brilliantly played by David Marciano finally returned on Sunday.  I actually clapped when he came on the screen. There is something so wonderful about Virgil and his relationship with Carrie. He’s exasperated when he should be, protective when he needs to be, and funny when the show is in desperate need of comic relief. Plus, he’s kind of the only character besides Carrie that I truly trust at this point.

But the really interesting thing about Virgil is that he’s obviously not a main character (that’s Carrie and Brody). But he’s not a secondary character either (lsuch as David Estes or Mike). He’s a tertiary character. And to make a tertiary character stand out you’ve got to be really good.

Here are some of my other favorite tertiary characters on television:

First Lady Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) on Scandal: I adore Mellie. First of all, she’s a woman in the right. Her husband, the President of the United States, cheated on her and continues to be hung up on a woman he cannot and should not have.  Secondly, would you want to cross her? Young brilliantly pulls off the tricky act of being simultaneously sympathetic and devious. The scene in the limo where she asks her husband to forgive her? Heartbreaking. The scene where she tells her husband that she needs to start making plans for her future.  A little terrifying.  The season Young was promoted to series regular and is rightly getting so much screen time that she’s almost a secondary character.

Grizz (Grizz Chapman) and Dot Com (Kevin Brown) on 30 Rock: As Tracy’s entourage, the pair have provided some of the comedy’s best laughs with their droll commentary on their boss’s ridiculous antics. They’re the voice of reason not just in Tracy’s world but sometimes for the entire series. I would so watch the Grizz and Dot Com Show. Now that 30 Rock is ending, isn’t it about time for a spinoff?

Cora (Barbara Hershey) on Once Upon a Time: How do you make viewers feel sorry for the Evil Queen? Give her a mother who is worse than she is. Hershey is wonderfully evil. I’m so glad she is still around this season causing trouble. Also bonus points for the fact that Hershey actually looks like she could be Lana Parrilla’s mother.

Brad Bottig (Brock Ciarlelli) on The Middle: As Sue’s enthusiastic former boyfriend, Ciarlelli makes me smile every time he comes on the screen.  He also exemplifies what makes The Middle such a fantastic show.  Brad could have been a one note joke – Sue doesn’t realize that her boyfriend is probably gay. But he has become so much more than that. The Middle thrives because it’s a very funny show with humor based in truth and characters we know. I always say there’s a little bit of Sue in anyone who has ever been a teenage girl. And I definitely had friends such as Brad when I was in high school. He’s simply a fantastic character.

Burt Hummel (Mike O’Malley) on Glee: O’Malley provides some of Glee’s best moments. He is my favorite television dad.  Here’s hoping there’s a holiday episode in our future where Kurt goes home to see his dad.

Who are some of your favorite tertiary characters? Talk about it below.

Happy Endings, Don’t Trust the B ____ in Apartment 23 and Nashville

Here’s my three-part TV viewing assignment for the week:

There are times when I truly believe an episode of television was created just for me. It’s like television’s way of saying “thanks Amy. We’re glad you’re here.”  And the premiere of Don’t Trust the B____ in Apartment 23, which returns for its second season tonight at 9:30 p.m. on ABC, is one of those times.  James Van Der Beek, who continues to hilariously spoof himself, reluctantly decides he will do a Dawson’s Creek reunion.  I don’t want to ruin the jokes by telling you any more than that. But any show that can reference The Facts of Life Goes to Paris and stage a fame intervention is my kind of show. You must watch.

I have championed Happy Endings since it premiered. Dave writing thank you notes after being left at the alter is one of the funniest television moments ever (“Darkness reigns. Hope gurgles out its dying breath. Thank you for the beautiful crockpot.”).  As it returns for its third season (tonight at 9 p.m. on ABC), Dave (Zachary Knighton) and Elisha Cuthbert (Elisha Cuthbert) are back together but keeping it casual. They’re this decade’s Ross and Rachel if you didn’t think Ross and Rachel should actually be together. The show has become more Scrubs-like as the seasons have progressed (more totally out there flights of fancy humor) but the writing remains razor sharp. What other show has hilarious lines such as “You two have fun talking like Scott Caan’s groomsmen.”  Again, you must watch.

People, people, people. What is going on? Why oh why is Nashville (Wednesday at 10 p.m. on ABC) on the bubble? Why aren’t you watching the best new show of the season? This is starting to remind me of Lone Star. Talk to me.  Why aren’t you watching?

That’s all for today. Remember to follow my blog so you will know every time I have a new post. And on Thursday I’ll have this week’s best familiar faces and quotes so if you’re heard a great quote or seen a familiar face email me about them through my contact page.

Who needs to be Ellised? The Most Annoying Characters on TV

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Photo by: Patrick Harbron/NBC

By Amy Amatangelo, TV Gal®

To Ellis: The act of removing a terrible, irritating character from a show.

When Smash returns next year, the much reviled Ellis will no longer be a part of the show.  Thankfully the new showrunner course corrected and decided to exile Ellis instead of trying to save his character. No amount of rewriting could have fixed the show’s Ellis problem.

Sometimes characters simply don’t work – a combination of a poor story arc, bad writing and questionable acting choices. They are characters who are so annoying that we fast forward through their scenes. Their presence brings the whole show down.

A few weeks ago I talked about good characters stuck on bad shows. Today, I turn my attention to bad characters who need to be Ellised out of a show.  They need to go to that great season pass manager in the sky or at least join Ellis on his Starbucks run for the creative team.

Here are the characters I would Ellis off a show:*

Hazel (Kristen Schaal) on 30 Rock: Kristen Schaal is a funny lady but I am so tired of Hazel. As a one-off joke as Kenneth’s replacement, she would have been fine. But I do not need to see her on a regular basis.  Hazel’s shtick got old very fast. Her character gets more freakishly bizarre in each episode but I’m not the least bit curious about her.  This is the final season of 30 Rock. We can’t be wasting valuable screen time on her.

Charlie Matheson (Tracy Spiridakos) on Revolution: Of my many issues with Revolution, my biggest one may be that I cannot stand Charlie. I probably should be rooting for the teen at the center of this post-apocalyptic battle but she is whiny and annoying. Honestly she could work with Emily Owens.  Revolution has been about shocking deaths lately. Let’s make Charlie one of them.

Charlotte (Christa B. Allen) and Declan (Connor Paolo) on Revenge: Sure Fauxmanda also is an annoying character but at least she serves an important plot purpose. Declan has absolutely no reason to still be on the show. The show keeps wedging him into the ongoing storyline. Really now Declan is going to become a part of a teen robbery ring? Paolo is returning to Gossip Girl for its final season. Can’t he take Allen with him and then the star-crossed duo can live out their remaining TV days on the Upper East Side.

Sam (Taye Diggs) on Private Practice: Why I’m still watching this insipid show is a blog post for another time but Sam is my pick for the worst character on TV right now. He’s an awful friend, a terrible romantic partner and a lousy brother. He’s a different character each week who is always righteously indignant about something.

Nick (Marc Warren) on The Good Wife: We can’t blame all the problems with the Kalinda storyline on Nick. The whole thing is the epitome of When Good Shows Go Bad. But Nick isn’t helping matters with his petulant sneer and penchant for food products.

Sugar (Vanessa Lengies) on Glee: When I first heard about Lengies’ casting last season, I was confused. The actress played a teenager on American Dreams, then actually got to play an adult on Hawthorne and now she was back to playing a teenager again? Her vapid character really doesn’t serve any purpose on this increasingly over-populated series. She’s not nasty enough to be fun to hate. We don’t have enough of her back story to actually care about her character. It would be easy enough to get rid of Sugar. I often forget she’s even on the show. And then Lengies, who I’ve always liked, can move on to another project.

*Please note that I decided not to pick on any child actor. I simply couldn’t do it.

Who do you think needs to be Ellised off a show? Talk about it below. And remember to follow my blog so you will know every time I have a new post.

TV is Stressing Me Out

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Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS

By Amy Amatangelo, TV Gal®

These are the television things keeping me awake at night and stressing me out. I’m so going to need to invest in some new anti-wrinkle cream.

  1. That there might be a ninth season of How I Met Your Mother:  At this point I feel about the characters on How I Met Your Mother the way I felt when I saw Sex and the City 2. It wasn’t a good movie but I was happy to see everyone again. HIMYM hasn’t been funny this season (except when Barney recapped the entire show in true Barney style) but I still like spending time with the characters each week. I said this years ago and it’s even truer now – the show should tell us who the mother is and stop dragging it out. It was an inspired and clever gimmick to build a show on. And it was a gimmick that worked for a while. But the series, at its height, was funny enough without the gimmick. Now delaying the inevitable is making viewers cranky.  We all know Victoria isn’t who Ted marries so we are spinning our wheels watching any story lines about Ted and Victoria. Executive producer Craig Thomas told me that there’s an ending sequence that will get activated once the show knows it’s in its final season.  So please the show needs to end this season.  No more yellow umbrellas (what is that umbrella made of that it has lasted for all these years?). No more false hopes. Let us meet the mother and let the show have a glorious series finale in May.
  2. The leaps of logic and plot conveniences on Homeland: Let me be clear: I love Homeland. It is the absolute best drama on TV right now. That scene at the end of Sunday’s episode where Carrie realizes with relief and vindication that she was right?  Brilliant. And Damian Lewis is an amazing actor. Brody snaps a man’s neck and yet I still feel sympathy for him. He lies to his wife without flinching and I understand his plight. Lewis does an astounding job of conveying Brody’s internal struggle. But I have this nagging feeling about the show. There are times when you can totally tell the people behind 24 are behind Homeland.  It was a little too convenient that Brody just happened to be in the White House and was called into the situation room to see the attack on Abu Nazir, And that he was able to text a warning without anyone seeing what he was doing. Really? Isn’t Brody a nationally recognized war hero? Would he really simply don a red baseball cap to go take a terrorist to a safe house? Show his face to the gas station attendant? What I loved about the first season of Homeland is that the show continually surprised me. I never knew what it was going to do or where the plot was going to take viewers.  It makes me nervous when viewers are supposed to just roll with these leaps of logic and the writers take shortcuts to take the story where they need it to go.
  3. The Kalinda Storyline on The Good Wife: I’ve talked about this extensively in the weekly reviews I do of The Good Wife episodes for Paste Magazine but it’s time to sound the alarm. I am in full panic mode. The Kalinda storyline is in a free fall – it’s getting worse at an alarmingly rapid pace.  It’s bringing down the show and ruining one of TV’s best characters.  Make it stop. Now please.
  4. Daphne and Chef on Switched at Birth: I have had it with the whole teenage girl has a relationship with her boss/teacher/fill-in-the-blank authority figure.  Switched at Birth is such a terrific show – I’m bummed it’s taken on this television trope.  I miss Wilkie. Can he please come back from boarding school?

What is stressing you out on TV these days? Talk about it below. Also be sure to follow my blog so you’ll know every time I have a new post.  I’ll have this week’s “where have I seen them before” and quotes on Thursday so please email me your favorite quotes and familiar faces through my contact page.

Am I Breaking Up With the TV Bad Boy?

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By Amy Amatangelo, TV Gal®

I never dated a bad boy. And I definitely didn’t marry one. Really, the worst thing my husband ever does is forget to run the dishwasher at night.

But, oh, how I have loved the TV bad boy.  The bad boy on TV makes for great viewing while never actually causing you any emotional damage.  Here’s a chorological list of my long- term relationship with the TV bad boy:

Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210: That sexy scowl! Those sideburns! Dylan was my first TV bad boy and, as the saying goes, you never forget your first. When Kelly famously told Brandon and Dylan, “I choose me,” I was proud of her girl-power decision but I thought she was a little nuts to let this brooding bad boy go. The rumor that Luke Perry and Jennie Garth are now dating in real life has caused me to nearly explode with happiness.

Pacey Whitter on Dawson’s Creek: Before you question whether Pacey was really a bad boy, remember that when we first met him, he was sleeping with his teacher. Good boys don’t sleep with their teachers. Pacey was always my first choice for Joey (and honestly now that Katie Holmes is a single again, he still is). I get chills thinking about when he told Joey he was going to kiss her and then started counting backwards from 10. Sigh.

Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike was so very wrong for Buffy. I knew it. She knew it. All of Hellmouth knew it.  Their often violent relationship was one of the most dysfunctional ones on TV.  But when Buffy tells him Spike she loves him right before he dies and he replies, “No you don’t but thanks for saying it,” it breaks my heart every time.

Logan Echolls on Veronica Mars: Logan just couldn’t get out of his own way. He was the perfect storm of a bad boy – troubled home situation (very troubled!), the propensity to lash out at the ones who loved him most, and a soulful stare that made even my remote blush. When he was bad, he was very, very bad but when he was good, Veronica couldn’t do any better.

Sawyer on Lost: I so wanted Sawyer to smile his sly smile and come up with a nickname for me. Maybe he’d call me Carmela because of my Italian last name. Or maybe he’d dub me “Lamy” because I would be the one always telling him that his cockamamie plan was DANGEROUS. Sawyer was the best kind of bad boy – his brass exterior hid a damaged, sweet soul.

Tim Riggins on Friday Night Lights: Let me be clear: I have never, ever liked long hair on guys. Until, Tim Riggins. I wanted to reach into the TV and tuck his hair behind his ears. He could have worn his hair in French braids and I would have thought that was fantastic. His romance with Lyla was oh so wrong – she was dating his best friend who had just been paralyzed. But, you couldn’t help but root for Riggins to succeed. Texas forever man.

Damon Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries: Obviously. What I love most about Damon is that the character completely made me forget Ian Somerhalder had ever been anyone else.  Boone who?  I will admit that I haven’t kept up with show but I know if I ever visited Mystic Falls, I would want to hang out with Damon not Stefan.

So that’s many years loving the TV bad boy. But something has happened to me. I totally rooted for Jake on Awkward. Not Matty of I- treated- Jenna-terribly- but- am- really- sweet-and-misunderstood fame. But Jake of I-always-treated-Jenna-with-the-upmost-respect-and-have-always-been-nice-to-her fame. I rooted for Jake long before Jenna broke his heart. And Jake could never, ever be a bad boy.

What is going on? Am I breaking up with the TV bad boy? Am I suddenly maturing? Are there no good bad boys left? It’s like I don’t even know the TV viewer I’ve become.  But I’m definitely on Team Jake. Just don’t tell Dylan, Pacey, Spike, Logan, Sawyer, Riggins or Damon that I said that.

Who is your favorite TV bad boy? Vote below.

The TV Gal Character Relocation Program

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Photo by: Timothy White/NBC

By Amy Amatangelo, TV Gal®

We are a few weeks into the new television season and I believe it is time to activate the TV Gal Character Relocation Program (CRP). In the CRP, I sweep in and pluck good characters from bad shows and relocate them to a new series where their talents will be put to the best use. Really, it’s a public service.

Here are the current candidates:

Shania (Bebe Wood) on The New Normal to Glee:  The New Normal makes an Aaron Sorkin show look subtle. But aside from all the pontificating,  my main problem with the show is that it’s not funny. And, you know, I like my comedies to be funny. Sometimes I wonder if maybe I missed something and the The New Normal is actually supposed to be a half-hour drama.  But Wood is fabulous. Her impersonation of Little Edie from Grey Gardens was one of the best things I have seen on TV this year.  Let’s send Shania to Glee, another Ryan Murphy show which sure is uneven in quality but at least when it’s good, it’s very, very good. Shania could be a child prodigy who becomes the newest member of New Directions. Sure that’s a bit of an outlandish plot but is it anymore outlandish than Kurt landing a job with Vogue.com? I don’t think so.

Louis (Michael Urie) on Partners to New Girl:  Urie is trying his best with material he’s given. But honestly if you close your eyes and just listen to the show, it’s as if you’re watching a really bad version of Will & Grace. Same set-up (My analogy: Ali is to the jewelry design business as Grace was to the interior design business). Same jokes. Same elevator, even. Just a lot less charm. Louis could move into the apartment on The New Girl. He could talk fashion and, more specifically belts, with Schmidt while Nick and Winston could convince him to take his shtick down a notch or two. Now I would love to save Wyatt (Brandon Routh) too but, unfortunately, the CRP only allows me to save one character per show.

Miles (Billy Burke) on Revolution to Homeland: I’m exhausted by the fact that Revolution has been picked up for a full season.  I was really hoping the show would just go quietly to that great TV season pass manager in the sky. But no, now I’m going to have to keep up with its gaping plot inconsistencies and bad acting. Bill Burke is a great actor who has done a number of wonderful guest arcs (most recently as the nefarious Phillip Stroh on The Closer). The man deserves to be on an Emmy winning drama. On Homeland he could play a CIA agent who believes Carrie and helps bring Brody down. And then he could win an Emmy for his performance. See how well this could work out?

Dr. Brett Robinson (Zach Gilford) on The Mob Doctor to Grey’s Anatomy:  Seattle Grace needs a few new doctors and, given The Mob Doctor’s ratings, Dr. Robinson could be available very soon. Here at TV Gal, we leave no one from Friday Night Lights behind.

Marny (Tempestt Bledsoe) on Guys with Kids to The Middle: I’m delighted to have Vanessa Huxtable back on TV again. Now let’s get her on a show that’s actually funny. Marny could be one of the Heck’s new neighbors. She and Frankie could become friends. Maybe she could even help Frankie find a new job.

Which characters would you enter into the CRP and where would you relocate him or her? Talk about it below.

Grey’s Anatomy and Revenge

Last week, two shows totally tried to fake out viewers. On Revenge, the nighttime soap tried to convince viewers that Victoria Grayson was dead. While I believed there was no way that the series would kill off a character as great as Victoria, it was a very nice touch to not list Madeleine Stowe in the opening credits. It didn’t fool me, but I appreciated the effort and attention to detail.

I’m kind of disappointed that the alliance between Victoria and Emily was so short-lived. I loved the idea of the two former frenemies being in cahoots together. I do want everyone to know that Revenge is currently in my “Could So Easily Go Off the Rails” file. Revenge is great because of its over-the-top line delivery and plot twists. The show is so much fun. But I’m concerned it could start racing through plot twists and character reveals. (We’ve seen this happen before on many shows including Heroes). If Daniel is going to be evil, let him be evil. And please find some way to make Ashley useful to the plot. The show hasn’t seemed to know what to do with her since the beginning.

On Grey’s Anatomy, the show spent the entire hour trying to convince us that Arizona was dead but we’ve all watched TV long enough to know that unless there’s a funeral, he/she is probably not dead. (Unless, of course, you’re a show like Revenge when they can say you’re dead,hold a memorial services and you’re still not dead).  I knew we were going to see Arizona in the closing seconds of the episode. I holding out judgement of the Arizona as an amputee story line until I see tonight’s episode. The premiere didn’t really work for me for three main reasons:

  1. I simply can’t get too worked up about Mark Sloane dying. I never really bought Mark and Lexie as some great star-crossed couple and I’m really not that sad that McSteamy is gone.
  2. It’s annoying that now Meredith is the one terrorizing the interns. Medusa? Really? Another sign that it’s time for a show to end is when they pull an old plot line out of the bin and try to recycle it.
  3. I’m saddened by what’s become of Miranda Bailey. I’m glad she now knows that her nickname is Booty Call Bailey but the Miranda I knew would never have let it get to this point.

That’s all for today. Make sure to follow my blog so you know every time I have a new post.  And if you see a familiar face or hear a great quote of the week, definitely email me about it through my contact page.

An interview with Vanessa Marano star of ‘Switched at Birth’

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Credit: ABC Family

By Amy Amatangelo, TV Gal®

I recently got the chance to talk to Vanessa Marano, who stars as Bay Kennish on Switched at Birth, about the current season of hit ABC Family drama (Mondays at 8 p.m.)   I really liked what Marano, who I’ve watched grow up on Without a Trace and Gilmore Girls, had to say about her career, her show and Bay and Emmett. I think you will too.

TV Gal: I like that Bay hasn’t gotten back together with Emmett after he slept with Toby’s girlfriend. But Emmett is obviously so apologetic and devastated and he drew a beautiful mural for her. How do you feel about Bay and Emmett?

Marano:  I’m definitely one of the few people who thinks they shouldn’t get back together. That was really awful. I’m from a belief that if someone betrays you in that way, you don’t give them another chance. It’s incredibly disrespectful. But I think what this season does teach, which I think is super important, is that you can still forgive somebody. You don’t need to necessarily to have them in your life in the same way or feel the same way about them or be a doormat but you can forgive them.

TV Gal: Will they get back together before the season finale on October 22?

Marano: I really don’t know.  It’s heartbreaking because they were such a cute couple. What I like about our show is that with so many intense, crazy, dramatic things happening, it really is character driven and through that so many real emotions come out and that’s what keeps the story grounded.

TV Gal: Are you surprised by how popular Switched at Birth has become?

Marano: More than surprised I’m incredibly grateful. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ve done so many pilots that don’t get picked up. I’ve always put my heart and soul into everything I’ve done

I’m so glad that this was the one that was successful. I love everybody I work with. It’s a great show. It’s very interesting and it teaches people sign language and really a well done program. But, more than anything, I’m so proud to go to work with a cast and crew that I adore.

TV Gal: You didn’t know sign language before? How challenging is it to act while signing.

Really hard. It’s easier to speak it than to understand it.  The hardest part about it is I started doing scenes with Sean Berdy [who plays Emmett] and Sean doesn’t talk and I didn’t know when my cue line was. If he put his hands down he could be taking a dramatic pause. And when we started to do fight scenes that was so hard. It’s really hard to elevate your voice. It’s really difficult to fight and scream essentially with yourself.

TV Gal: You started acting when you were very young.  How did you know this is what you wanted to do?

Marano: I knew I wanted to act when I was six. My mom was a drama teacher. She was a professional actress and ended up being a drama teacher and opened her own theater so I was always surrounded by it. I just saw my mom direct teenagers in plays and I thought, ‘That looks like fun’ so I begged my mom for two years and she said, ‘No it’s a horrible industry. I don’t want to turn into a stage mom. I don’t want to drive you around. It treats women really badly and you should have a childhood.’ And I said, ‘But I want to do it.’ So two years of that – that combative back and forth

A friend of hers, who was a child actress, said to her, ‘You’re not being supportive of your daughter.’ So she said, ‘Okay. Fine.’ And she looked up agents and there was this one agency that crushes the souls of children and destroys their dreams and she was like, ‘Ah sweet!’ I go in and my mother, who’s an acting teacher, does not help me prepare the dialogue.  I go in and read for the agent, she calls my mother in and says, ‘I’ll take her.’ My five-year-old sister walks in and says, ‘Oh I don’t have an agent.’ And the agent says, ‘Oh I’ll take that one too.’ So my sister didn’t even have to beg or audition by the way. I did all the hard work. And now we’re both employed by the Disney Corporation. [Her sister Laura Marano stars in the Disney Channel series Austin & Ally].

TV Gal: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me. I love the show even though I know I’m not in the target demographic.

Marano: Anyone who watches is our ideal demographic.

ABC Thursday Night! ‘Last Resort,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Scandal’

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Credit: ABC/DANNY FELD

By Amy Amatangelo, TV Gal®

I’m usually willing to suspend quite a bit of disbelief while watching TV. Honestly, I don’t require a lot of pragmatism in my TV shows. Jack Bauer can make it across Los Angeles in ten minutes and never hit traffic. No problem.  Detective Kate Beckett can chase the bad guy in high heels and long, flowing hair when I can’t even cook dinner unless my hair is in a ponytail and my shoes are off. Sure, why not? It’s probably why I was never really that angry with The Newsroom. I didn’t expect it to actually show me how a real newsroom is run.

But I’ve had all summer and I still cannot get over what was the tiniest detail in the Grey’s Anatomy season finale. Another hospital was expecting a team of doctors to arrive by plane and all they do when the doctors don’t show up is leave a message for Owen? Really? We can’t, oh I don’t know, call the central switchboard and demand that Owen be paged since a WHOLE DAY has gone by and the doctors haven’t arrived. Obviously, this was done for dramatic effect so the other doctors could go about their day in the hospital not knowing that their friends were in peril but I’m simply unable to get past this leap in logic. The final shot of Owen finally listening to his voice mail was ridiculous. I actually threw something at my TV it was so ridiculous. (Thankfully sports isn’t my forte so the TV was safe.)

A sure sign that it’s time for a show to end is when the amount of things that have happened would mean that all of the characters would be in a straitjacket, staring at a wall and rocking back and forth. Given the bombing, the shooting and the catastrophes, they all should have had a complete nervous breakdowns by now or at least have switched jobs. Cristina is the only one who seems to realize this since she at least tried to change careers and announced “I don’t understand how this keeps happening” after the crash.

ABC didn’t make tonight’s premiere (9 p.m. on ABC) available, but here are my hopes/thoughts about the ninth season opener:

  1. Please don’t kill off Arizona (Jessica Capshaw). Let Alex (Justin Chambers) have guilt because she gets injured not because she’s dead.  Callie has already lost one spouse. She doesn’t need to lose another.  Since Eric Dane is leaving the series, you can go ahead and kill off McSteamy though. I’m totally okay with that.
  2. Please don’t put Cristina and Owen back together. They are the definition of dysfunction and I’ve never particularly cared for them as a couple anyway. Let them move on with other people.
  3. I love seeing a happy Bailey. But no more of Bailey sneaking off to the supply room for a little hanky panky or acting ridiculous in the OR. We all love Bailey because often she’s the only sane and professional doctor around. Let’s keep it that way.

Are you excited for the Grey’s premiere or are you fed up with the show? Do you think the show should end after this season? Talk about it below.

Credit: ABC/CRAIG SJODIN

Last Resort

A pilot shouldn’t be that complicated to follow. It’s the time to invite viewers into the world you created and get them invested in your characters and your plot lines. Tonight’s premiere of Last Resort (8 p.m. on ABC) doesn’t really do that until the final moments. The drama takes a circuitous and convoluted route to the main plot. Submarine Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher) receives orders to fire nuclear weapons on Pakistan. The orders don’t come through the regular channel which would mean that Washington, D.C. has become totally incapacitated. However, when the Captain turns on the TV, he finds nothing but daytime talk shows and Hannah Montana reruns.  So , you know, the country clearly isn’t in crisis.

When Marcus questions the orders, he’s relieved of his duty and his second-in-command XO Sam Kendal (Scott Speedman) is put in charge. Only Sam isn’t so quick with the trigger finger either. This all leads to the entire crew seeking refuge on a remote island where things probably won’t go smoothly between the natives and the crew.

Along the way, there’s a positively ridiculous character introduction to Autumn Reeser’s Kylie Sinclair. Worst. Character. Introduction. Ever.  You get to see Max Adler (Dave Karofsky on Glee) again. And there’s the requisite girl back home pining away for Sam (Jessy Schram).

Braugher is fantastic in anything he does. He’s in my “I’d watch him read the phone book” file and, as I mentioned in my story on Scott Speedman, it’s really great to have him back on TV again. The duo have a terrific on-screen rapport of mentor/student (or father/son) that should propel the series forward. I’m invested in their relationship.

TV has been searching for another Lost since Lost began. Last Resort is clearly going after that viewership by launching a central mystery immediately  (why were they being told to attack Pakistan?) and also establishing the central characters as outlaws trying to forge a new life in a foreign land. The show films in Hawaii so, like me, you may be on the lookout for the smoke monster.

But I had quite a few issues with the pilot – from its convoluted storytelling to its often hokey dialogue. Shawn Ryan, the man behind The Shield and Terriers (which I adored), is at the helm here so that alone makes me believe the show will sort out its problems and could potentially become a great series, but right now it’s just an okay one.

(As a side note, Last Resort is the latest in many show titles that I want to put a “the” in front of as in The Last Resort.  I also sometimes want to say The New Girl. But I only wanted to write Mob Doctor instead of The Mob Doctor. I’m vexed by the “thes” this season. Just had to share.)

Credit: ABC/CRAIG SJODIN

Scandal

Scandal returns tonight (10 p.m. on ABC) and there’s almost nothing I can tell you without ruining the great plot twists the show has in store. This was one of my favorite new series from last season and if you are not watching Scandal, you should be. Kerry Washington is fantastic as fixer extraordinaire Olivia Pope. Washington manages to make Olivia simultaneously fierce and vulnerable.   The show is over-the-top but in a highly entertaining and enjoyable way.

Okay that’s all for today. Don’t forget to watch Elementary tonight  (10 p.m. on CBS) which was my pick for one of the best new shows of the season.  And remember I’m bringing back quotes of the week and where have I seen them before so send me your favorite quotes and familiar faces through my contact page. And don’t forget to follow my blog so you’ll know every time I have a new post.