CT, Bones: What Makes it Different from Every Other Formulaic Show?

So if you read my blog a few weeks ago then you know that Bones is basically my new obsession. I decided to share that fact with the rest of my campus in last weeks Campus Times. 

Click here to read the article online.

Or click here to read the PDF version. Scroll to page 13. (It says it's continued on page 16, but it means page 15)

CT, Lost: The Ultimate Cult Favorite

In this past week's Campus Times I wrote a review of Lost so far this season. I mean it's only the best show on TV right now, so I thought it deserved a place in the spotlight. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Click here to read the article online.

Or click here to read the PDF version. Scroll to page 15.

Had to do the picture that featured Sawyer without his shirt on. What a great hour.

24, "2:00-3:00pm" Am I Missing Something?

I like 24. I do. I even wrote a nice review of it earlier that I never got around to putting up here. I was pumped by the prospect of Tony’s return. Allison Taylor as president intrigued me. Agent Walker was a welcome addition. Loved the idea of Bill, Chloe, and Jack working together in secret against the corrupt government to save the country. But after this episode I have a few problems with the way things are running over in the world of 24. Follow the jump to hear me out.

1) Correct me if I’m wrong. Dubaku is a known terrorist. Madame President knows this man is the one behind the attacks. The FBI knows he is the one behind the attacks. They have definitely heard his voice. From the point when Jack and Walker were about to infiltrate Dubaku’s headquarters and Jack said “I don’t see Dubaku” followed by “there he is” with a clear image on the screen, it can be assumed that they do know what he looks like. Right? Ok, so, if the FBI knows what he looks like, and they know what he sounds like, why on earth can this man walk into broad daylight surrounded by a crowd of people and not be recognized? And in what conceivable universe can this terrorist have (what appears to be) a nice, every day ordinary girlfriend? Doesn’t anyone read papers? If the situation in Sangala is as dier as President Taylor plays it out to be, you would think this man would plastered all over the international section of whatever fictional paper these people are reading. Which brings me to my next point of complaint.

2) How, I ask you, how is the country not storming the White House the planes that just barely collided on a runway, the two planes that fell from the sky resulting in hundreds of deaths, AND a gas leak in a chemical plant? If I were in that world I would be wondering what the hell is going on. The President has yet to deliver a public statement reacting to any of these attacks. There has been no indication that they have announced to the public that there is even a terrorist threat that is imminent. I mean really, are the people of the country really that ignorant? Are the writers trying to say that Americans don’t pay enough attention? Because even I don’t pay as much attention as I should to politics but hell, I would notice if two planes collided in DC. And then I would be pissed if within the next two hours an evacuation were called for in a random town in Ohio with no attention from the President. And wait, that’s not all. The attack in Ohio was solved for no apparent reason with zero explanation to the public. And that brings me to yes, another problem.

3) What exactly is the national crisis Bauer and company are trying to resolve at this point? In the past the country has been at Jack’s mercy. Which is the reason he stays up for 24 hours at a time to save the nation, wonderful super agent that he is. But really. The CPI device has, for all intensive purposes, been destroyed. Next weeks episode looks like its about…saving the First Gentleman? Sure a noble cause. But what makes it dire? Why is it important for Jack to save him? How does it have an audience on the edge of their seats? Personally I wasn’t even that interested in Mr. Taylor’s subplot. So unless his son was up to some seriously nationally threatening business that we learn about next week, I’m not gonna be too happy. I mean like season changing business. Like the episode in season 4 when the nerve gas canisters were reveled in the airport, or when we realized CTU was being targeted. I want excitement! I want danger! I want Jack Bauer to save the country!

If I am totally missing something, please (I beg you) fill me in. I would love to find out that I’m just forgetting a huge plot point that makes all of what I just wrote irrelevant. If not, I’m praying that the writers of 24 have some wonderful tricks up their sleeves to turn the tables this season. So here’s to hoping they know what their doing over there. Cheers!

CT, What to Watch this Semester

Classes are back in full swing, books have been bought, snow is consistently purging from the sky, and television scheduling has never been more of a head ache. Must be second semester. In the first Campus Times of the semester I write a very brief overview of the various shows I will be watching this semester. Click here to read the article.

Or click here to read the PDF. Scroll to pages 13-14.

On my to do list of reviews:

1) Lost (which will be an article next week as well as an in depth analysis of the episode)

2) Smallville-the Legion

3) HIMYM

and more....wow, I've got my work cut out for me.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

What I Did Over My Winter Vacation

To most people the holidays are a time for family bonding, maybe a trip somewhere warm, an excuse to eat lots of food, and most importantly a week or so of pure relaxation. Well, in the Rosenberg household relaxation means a time to binge watch television. Yes, I got to see lots of family at the various holiday and new years events filled with endless amounts of desserts. And yes, I even got to go down to the Sunshine State to catch some rays. But, a rather embarrassingly large portion of my winter break was committed to watching three and a half seasons of Bones. Beware of minor spoilers after the cut.

Three and a half seasons? Sixty-eight episodes? That would be correct. I had not even intended to have a television marathon, let alone with Bones. My Mom bought the DVDs and we decided to watch the pilot as a family (because that’s what we do). To be honest, I didn’t even think the pilot was that great. The basis of forensic anthropology was unlike anything else I was watching on TV (in a good way), but in the pilot episode it was clear the show had not found its voice yet. Despite the fact that the pilot wasn’t super impressive I decided to try out a second episode, and then a third, and then a fourth. Before I knew it, I was hooked.

In case you don’t already know, Bones is about a forensic anthropologist who teams up with the FBI to solve murderers. The television show is based on the life and works of Kathy Reichs, a best selling author and forensic anthropologist. The idea that this line of work, the study of skeletons and bones, can actually lead to the discovery of how a murderer went down is fascinating. Although sometimes there is so much “techno-speak” that I have no clue what the squints are talking about, it really doesn’t bother me because the characters and their relationships are what make Bones a winning television show.

Emily Deschanel’s portrayal of the unbelievably naïve Temperance Brennan (aka Bones) when it comes to all things pop culture related makes for hilarious dialogue. I mean really, who doesn’t know Scully and Mulder? I didn’t watch X-Files and even I know the dynamic crime-fighting duo. However Brennan’s unique beauty and immense IQ make up for her lack of social skills. Not to mention that she can totally kick ass and pull off holding a gun without looking like she doesn’t have a clue. Gotta love a show with some good girl power.

When Brennan isn’t wasting away the hours in the lab at the Jeffersonian, she is teaming up with the adorably handsome Special Agent Seeley Booth, played by David Boreanaz, or as I like to call him Angel. Now I have to say, as a huge Buffy fan I had a little trouble at first envisioning Boreanaz as anyone but the mysterious vampire who stole Buffy’s heart. However, after several episodes (let alone sixty-eight) Booth’s weird sock choices, self-confident manner, and large heart won me over.

Now, what happens when you take a beautiful, socially awkward forensic anthropologist and partner her up with a handsome, somewhat cocky yet loveable FBI agent? Sexual tension. That’s what happens. And it happens in immense quantities in the best possible way. Deschanel and Boreanaz’s chemistry is undeniable in each and every one of their scenes together Whether they are bickering in the car about the use of psychology versus scientific fact or taking shots in Booth’s office after hours, Bones and Booth clearly have more than a professional relationship beneath the surface. Not to mention the occasional exchange of a long, meaningful stare, or their wonderfully awkward sex conversations. Purely platonic relationship my ass. But I gotta say, any show that can keep the tension up for three and a half seasons without ruining the integrity of the show or pissing off the audience too much gets a thumbs up from me.

What else do I love? Dr. Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) and his conspiracy theories along with his ridiculous love for all things gross: bugs, dirt, even animal crap. The team would not be complete without Zack Addy (Eric Millegan) and his ability to be even more socially awkward than Brennan. Speaking of social awkwardness, Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin) brings exactly the opposite to the team. She is pretty, smart, and normal and makes for one of the best TV best friends out there, bringing Brennan back to earth when she gets too caught up in her world of skeletons and bones. Dr. Camille Saroyan brings a similar quality to the forensics lab using her people skills to go between “the man” (whoever that may be, whether it’s lawyers, bosses, etc.) and the squints in the lab. While I did harbor a little hate for her at first due to a certain relationship with an out of bounds agent, at this point I definitely don’t think the team would function without her.

And my favorite latest addition to the show is Dr. Lance Sweets (Freeks and Geeks alum John Francis Daley). As the psychiatrist of partners Booth and Bones, Sweets’ character gets to divulge into the psychology of their relationship while they constantly try to keep him out of the loop. Some of the best moments between the three of them are the ones when Booth and Bones completely ignore Sweets as he attempts to get them talking about their feelings. Even though everyone rips on him for looking so young (constantly driving him to list his credentials) as well as repeatedly insisting that his techniques of psychology are not crucial, Sweets has definitely proven himself. He understands the relationships of the characters and has proven to be pretty useful throughout the investigative work in the FBI. As Angela would say, he really is quite good.

Despite the fact that Bones is one of those shows that follows a formulaic format, (Booth finds some bones where they shouldn’t be, him and Brennan work together to solve the case, tension ensues, etc.) the character relationships and interesting story lines the writers have explored throughout the several past seasons have proven to hold my attention thus far. I am pretty confident that the writers can continue to write compelling stories while delving into the character’s backgrounds and relationships in a way that will keep the audience just as entertained as the past few seasons. There are always more skeletons hidden in the closets of the characters. Personally, I can’t wait to find out the stories hidden in those bones.

The Lists I Didn't Get to Make

Seeing as I clearly was unable to do my eleven days of New Years, I decided to do a quick write up of other lists I may have put more time into otherwise. But seeing as we have approached the eve of the New Year I don’t have much more time to harp on 2008. I want to ring in 2009 with a fresh start and lots of great, new television to look forward to.

My New Favorite Old Shows
This basically includes shows that I watched on DVD throughout the year that I had not previously seen.

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (seasons 1-7)
2. Bones (season 1)
3. Friends (seasons 1-8)

The Holiday Wishlist: DVD Style
The things I got and didn’t get for the holiday season.

1. Damages (season 1)-☺
2. Mad Men (season 1)-☺
3. Lost (season 4)-☺
4. Pushing Daises (season 1)-☹
5. House (seasons 1-3) *really given to my sister, but we play nice and share ☺
6. A blu-ray dvd player…yippie! ☺

Most Memorable Episodes of 08
The title speaks for itself.

1. The Constant-Lost, season 4
2. Chuck vs. the Seduction-Chuck , season 2 (I actually can’t really chose an episode of Chuck from this season that I like way way better than any other, but this one sticks in my head so…that says something.)
3. Comfort Food-Pushing Daisies, season 2
4. The Fight-How I Met Your Mother, season 3
5. House’s Head & Wilson’s Heart-House, season 4
6. Goodbye Toby-The Office, season 4

Honorable Mentions
Not necessarily television related but worth a mention in the lists of 2008.

1. Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog
2. I’m F***ing Ben Affleck-youtube video
3. I’m F***ing Matt Damon-youtube video

So what did I miss? Anything else from 2008 that was worth mentioning that I forgot about (which I would definitely believe considering this was what you might call a rushed list)?

The Long Awaited Naughty List

So I was clearly wrong when I thought I’d be having lots of free time during the holidays. What was I thinking? Between catching up with friends, holiday shopping, and crossing some movies off of the classics list, the blog was kind of placed on the back burner. But now it’s back to business and time to present the Naughty list. So who’s got on Santa’s bad side this year? Follow the link to find out.

Now because I make a strong effort not to watch bad television this is going to be a list composed of the shows, people, networks, or anything else I was disappointed with this year.

1. ABC for canceling Pushing Daisies. The show entranced me from the start and now that the magic is ending I really unprepared to say goodbye. The final three episodes have yet to be given a spot on the air and I have not had my fair share of pie making and dead-waking for my liking. The characters and relationships have grown immensely this season and I’m extremely sad to have to let them go.
2. Tim Kring of Heroes for not taking the show in a new direction. The first season of Heroes blew me away. The fast paced story lines, interesting character backgrounds, and action packed episodes made for extremely entertaining hours of television week after week. Then came around season two and something went horribly wrong. I lost complete interest in the characters, hating the so-called “heroes” of the show, and not really understanding who the villains were supposed to be. Even Kring acknowledged his mistakes and promised to do better this year. However, his promise went unfulfilled and he gave us as uninteresting a season as before. While it was slightly better than season two, season three didn’t prove that the show could live up to its freshmen year. Now at the end of the first arc of season three, we are exactly (and I mean exactly) where we began before the show even aired. We’ll see if Mr. Kring can prove himself this time around, but I’m going to keep my expectations low.
3. Fox for preemptively dooming Dollhouse. Now, maybe the show has had its complications in the pre-production stages, and sure, some critics haven’t given the pilot episode two thumbs up, but still it deserves a fighting chance. Placing the show in the Friday night graveyard doesn’t help.
4. The Writer’s Strike for destroying several months of television and ruining the run of freshman shows (such as Pushing Daisies). I fully supported the cause of the strike and believed the writers deserved to take a stand for themselves. The consequences of the strike are what disappointed me. I hate reality TV, more than other people probably, but the reality that came out of the strike was particularly bad. The combination of bad reality tv and a lack of real entertainment really put me in a cranky mood for several months and most certainly deserves a spot on this list.
5. And the ultimate winner, Shonda Rhimes of Grey’s Anatomy for cooking up possibly the worst story line…ever. And not just for sticking with the story, but for believing that it is good! I mean really, a dead guy having sex with a living, otherwise interesting character. It doesn’t even sound good. I don’t think I can really go on to describe how much I hate the story line because it would be a useless rant. But basically, dead ghost Denny + real Izzie + physical contact – a real reason for his being there thus far = BAD.

Agree or disagree? Who or what did you think deserved to land on the naughty list this year?