Thursday, September 22, 2011

The Return of Sarah Michelle Gellar



 Show: Ringer
Network: CW
Time slot: Tuesdays 9/8c
Premiered: September 8th, 2011


Hells yeah! Sarah. Michelle. Gellar. Of course I loved Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but I also really enjoy her movies, she's just a fantastic actress. Which means I'm super stoked to see her doing some work, especially on television.

SMG did a great job choosing the right show to get involved with. The CW has really fantastic shows, full of drama and twists, all while being sexy and intriguing. The premiere of Ringer was intriguing and had a few jaw dropping moments and cliff hangers, but also got right to the point, which I find really refreshing. Gellar has been quoted saying that Ringer gives answers and doesn't leave question after question, and it's made evident in the first episode.

Kristoffer Polaha
The acting was really great, the casting director needs a high five for sure. Plus, I love that The CW re-hires actors they've had on their other productions as well. Like Kristoffer Polaha, from Valentine and Life Unexpected. And he is just... deliciously sexy. And even though he's a cheater on this show, he still radiates sweetness. And, a lost alum is on the show, Nestor Carbonell. This is why I'm not surprised that  I like this show so much,  even after watching one episode so far (there's another on my DVR, but I've been working a lot so I haven't watched it yet). It has the perfect mix of awesomeness. Great cast and writers, it's suspenseful, sexy, and mysterious.

Although I'm already a fan, there was something not so awesome about this episode. The boat scene... it's been mentioned a lot on some websites, but I'm going to mention it here too since it was that bad. There are so many shows on this network that do just fine in the special effects department, so why they did such a crappy job on the pilot of Ringer is a mystery to me. Hopefully the whole season doesn't have this flaw, because it is just super distracting.




Bottom Line: One flaw is not enough to pull me away from the screen every Tuesday night. With this cast and the reputation The CW has for having amazingly dramatic shows, I will definitively continue to watch Ringer. And you should watch it too!!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Who's That Girl? Jess!!!




 Show: New Girl
Network: Fox
Time slot: Tuesdays 9/8c
Premiering: September 20th, 2011


You would not believe my excitement when I found out Zooey Dechanel was staring in a new comedy on Fox. I'm a huge Zooey fan, from her movies to her music. (If you haven't heard She & Him, you are missing out on some great music). 

Dechanel is awesome at playing awkward and quirky, which makes her perfect for this new comedy. Her character, Jess, is a super dorky girl who moves in with a few guys she met off Craigslist after she catches her boyfriend cheating on her (in a really funny and weird scene where Jess is dancing naked).

Of course, Zooey's character is my favorite. She is believable and interesting, and makes you want to root for her. I think the most endearing thing about Jess is the way her voice changes every so often and makes her sound even more like a dork. I know, that's a totally random thing to mention, but I think it makes the jokes and nerdiness of Jess really stand out.




I also really enjoy Nick (Jake M. Johnson), who seems the most sincere of the guys she moved in with. It's probably the fact that he relates to Jess because he had been dumped 6 months prior. Coach (Damon Wayans Jr) was very interesting, but there's no point of talking too much about his character since he is only in the pilot episode. Though he was funny I enjoy Wayans much more on Happy Endings, so I am not too sad he won't be on New Girl. Then there's Schmidt (Max Greenfield) who, so far, I just have not figured out. He's constantly saying and doing douchey things (he has to put money in a jar that says "Douche Bag" Jar a lot), but then there's small glimpses of him being... almost sweet. Of course, I've only seen the pilot, and if you know me, you know how I feel about pilots, so we'll just have to wait and see how he develops as a character.



gif via littlestweasel.tumblr.com
New Girl wasn't "knee slapping" funny like I thought it would be, but it really did make me laugh out loud quite a few times. They have a solid story line and pretty fantastic writing where they can just go anywhere with these characters. I'm more excited about the concept of having Zooey Dechanel staring on her own show. (And on the same network as her sister Emily Dechanel from Bones, that's pretty neat). The promotion Fox has done for New Girl has been a bit over the top and the anticipation actually led to a little bit of disappointment. I'm not saying the pilot wasn't good, because it really was, but not as good as I expected.

Bottom Line: I'll totally keep watching New Girl. It's a silly show with a dorky leading lady that brings quite a few laughs. Is it the best comedy on television? Not even close. But it's original, quirky, and... it has Zooey Dechanel. How can I not watch something she's in?!


xoxo,
e.m.



9021-Oh!

Show: 90210
Network: The CW
Time slot: Tuesdays 9/8c 
Season 4 Premiere: September 13, 2011

They're back and so is all the drama! The premiere of the 4th season of 90210 was a bit rushed and was kind of the most soap opera like episode I've seen of this show so far. But I'll let it go because I get why they did it-- It's almost like a pilot all over again. They graduated high school last season and now the writers have to set up all new story lines. Not many of the characters are still in the same story-line as they were last season. Mostly they're moving on, which to Naomi (AnnaLynne McCord) means: throwing a huge party and burning things in a fire to let go of their past. The bon-fire ends up burning more than just memories from the past though... it burns a whole lotta weed. Yup, weed. That's what I love about this show... yes, it's dramatic as a soap opera, but there's always some comedy mixed in to lighten up the show.

Naomi is probably one of my favorite characters because they write her so well. She's a total bitch and pretty self-absorbed, but they write so many moments where she's absolutely human with a lot of faults. They've had a lot of things happen to her that can break a person and AnnaLynne McCord pulls off the stuck-up part of Naomi and the more vulnerable side of her as well.Although I really liked her with Max (their relationship was so freakin' cute), I don't think they could have kept them together and kept it as interesting as not keeping them together. In this episode she was really funny, but beneath that you can see that she was still hurting over the break-up. But, if you've seen the premiere last night, you know who she's going to be hooking up with this season. It's usually the person she insults the most. It'll be interesting, but obviously won't last.


Something I found lame was the fact that Annie (Shenae Grimes) was boo-hoo'ing over Liam (Matt Lanter) in the beginning of the episode and then when he does something huge for her she not only shuts him down but then doesn't give him a chance to make up for not contacting her while he was away during the summer. If she loves him like she keeps saying she does, she wouldn't be giving googly eyes to some other guy who isn't even as cute as Liam. Just sayin'.

I really enjoyed Silver (Jessica Stroup) in this season opener. Her acting has gotten a lot better and I think she has more depth to her from the events that happened in the last few episodes of last season. I really hope she never becomes friends with Adrianna  (Jessica Lownden) again. What she did (switching Silvers meds) is not forgivable, and I don't know how the writers are going to redeem her. She's done too much to everyone and to herself. They're trying hard though, having her go to Africa and do charity work and the speech she gave was almost moving, but it's going to have to be a whole lot more before viewers start liking her again. Well, at least this viewer.


I won't go into every character or every plot, because there was a whole lot going on in just one hour, but I do have to mention Ivy and Raj. First let me say, I was not a fan of Ivy in the first handful of episodes she was in, but her story line with Raj is beautiful, and I'm liking her more and more. I know it's going to be a sad ending, because it's going to be a better story for them to make it sad, so I'm sure the writers are going that way with Raj and Ivy's marriage/relationship. However, even if it does end tragically, it's still a beautiful relationship. Both Gillian Zinser and Manish Dayal are doing a fantastic job making these two characters lovely, realistic, and sweet.




Bottom Line: I'll continue to watch 90210. I've been a devoted viewer since episode one and will be a devoted viewer until the very last episode. The CW is really awesome at choosing shows that I can't help but get emotionally involved in. The end of this episode had my jaw to the ground a couple times, so that's a good sign as to what's to come this season!


xoxo,
e.m.