The TV Chick

E here with another Flashback Friday! Have you missed me during my absence the past couple of weeks? I’ll just assume yes. In any case, if you have not been keeping up with Boy Meets World on your own, you missed a lot.  We sailed through Season 2 and Season 3, and ABC Family is now currently airing the beginning of Season 4. This past week has had some solid episodes.

We’ll start off with “I Never Sang For My Legal Guardian.”  This is a Shawn heavy episode.  He’s really moody with everybody in this episode because he’s having Dad Abandonment Issues even though Mr. Turner is the most amazing legal guardian.  He has a cool bachelor pad, an earring, a mullet, and makes ‘Tang’ Chicken.  What more do you want Shawn Hunter?! Blood?! Apparently, he just wants his sketch dad back who is living just a few hours away in a different part of PA trying to pay off a few parking tickets before he continues on his search for his wife/Shawn’s mom.  The Hunter men finally run into each other at the local police station, and Shawn convinces him to stay.  It’s acting like this that convinced me that I needed that 8”X10” glossy of Rider Strong.

LOL moments go to Mr. Feeny and Cory.  In the Mr. Feeny scene, Eric is asking Feeny where he went wrong (as far as his grades are concerned) and Feeny replies, “I’d have to say in 5^th grade when you took that ride in the dryer.” Our second one comes from Cory when he pronounces “There’s no such thing as good news before I have my grape nuts.” Ha.

Our featured episode of the week is “The Happiest Show on Earth.” Guys, this is the obligatory Disney World episode.  Gotta have it.

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Now that The Biggest Loser season is over, I am going to miss my favorite ass-kicking trainers on TV. Lucky for me (and us!), Jillian Michaels will be back on a new show premiering next week on NBC. “Losing It With Jillian” centers around Jillian spending a week with a family getting their diet and their lives back on track. Game playing and immunity challenges are left for her other show, as she delves deep into what got the families down an unhealthy role to begin with. I am very excited for this show, and I was thrilled to chat with Jillian on a media call. She talks about the biggest surprises filming the show, her most memorable moment, and her methods to help people lose weight. You also might be surprised to see a softer side of Jillian on this show, and I can’t wait!

A lot of this has validity because you went through this yourself and you lost weight and so forth. Could you run us through that just a little bit? How old were you when you started to put on weight and when you took it off again?
Okay. You know, I went sort of up and down from being a toddler to being a pre-teen. I got my heaviest after my parent’s divorce when I was about 12, 13 years old. I was about 175 and 5′ tall, so roughly two to three inches shorter than I am now and about 60 pounds heavier than I am now. You know, this is something that we have a genetic predisposition. Some of us are predisposed to gaining weight when, you know, we don’t eat properly and what have you while others of us can get away with murder, which I’m very bitter about even still to this day. But nevertheless, it was also systemic within my family. You know, my father was overweight and I learned the behaviors of bonding over food and late night eating and being rewarded with food and food is love and all of that stuff, you know, as a product of nurture as well. So it’s – becomes kind of a combination. Then after my parent’s divorce, my mom, not really making this about my weight but more about me being kind of angry and having problems in school and she was looking for an outlet for me because I didn’t have any friends. I was like the loser kid. And she got me into martial arts and that’s really what turned things around for me over time – mind you, did not happen right away. It took at least a year for me to kind of take it seriously and appreciate what it was about and – but that really is where I learned to appreciate fitness as a means to transform your whole life, not just your body.

 I understand you did some filming in the Boston area, and I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about the families you worked with up here….and maybe some of the challenges you had up here with them.
Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay. The first family we worked with, they’re they Mastropietro family. Jimbo and Agnes Mastropietro and then they have a 20 year old son and I think Michelle their daughter is like 23. And each family has an instigating event that becomes sort of their unwinding. And what I mean is in this show, you will see how physical health and emotional health are really symptoms of deeper problems. You know, we deal with the why, which we do on Biggest Loser as well, but it’s kind of, you know, you don’t see as much of it. And I tend to think of this show as the behind the scenes of Biggest Loser, all the stuff that America isn’t getting to see. You know, why they got unhealthy and all the tools we implement for them to use at home and so forth. So this family lost a child. And granted this was 22 years ago but they lost a child. They were children themselves practically when it happened. They were in their 20s. And it’s become a kind of don’t ask-don’t tell policy in the family of not pushing each other to confront issues, demons. They enable each other with food. Food has become love. Food has become this thing to kind of comfort the pain because no one’s talking. And when we get this family to sort of communicate with one another and we create space for conversation and dialogue and healing, you’ll see that all of the various aspects from health to the interpersonal dynamics of their relationships fall into play. So, that’s our first family. And then the second family is a single mom – well, she’s – I’m sorry. She’s actually a widow named (Deb Jones) and she has a 10 year old and a 12 year old, a boy and a girl. Her husband passed away 5 years prior and they are sort of just coming out of the aftermath of that and getting ready to get back into living. Their whole entire lives sort of went on hold. And now, you know, obviously after going through something that traumatic, there comes a time where you finally start to heal and you’re ready to move forward and that’s kind of what that is oddly both of these families have deaths in them. The other – there’s none of that in the other families but both of these families had those two particular issues. And it becomes about her taking charge of her family and learning to manage time as a now, you know, solo parent and catalyzing her children with positive reinforcement and getting them all on the same page to move forward towards health and her kind of taking control because she didn’t feel like, you know, I think that there was a certain amount of like she kind of gave up. She flat out gave up on life. And you’re going to see her reclaim her life and her health and her kids and her relationships in the process. 

I’m sure you had expectations going in this show, but what was the biggest surprise for you that you, you know, didn’t see coming?
Wow. Truthfully we, you know, we had thought that it would be like okay I move in with families across the country and we teach them how to eat and we teach them how to work out and yay everybody’s happier and healthier. But I found that moving in with these families, they already knew the information. And we underestimate how intelligent we are as a society. And all these families, they were like ashamed to show me what was in the fridge, ashamed to make the foods they normally eat. And that’s when we realized that the show wasn’t about calories and crunches, that it was more about what the breakdown is and how come people aren’t living their dreams and pursuing their destinies and living their best lives. And, you know, after doing the pilot, the show changed and it became kind of a life makeover. And that was what was so surprising to me is, you know, going in thinking okay we’re going to clean out the cabinets and then we’re going to go to the office and clean out the work kitchen and it’s not about that at all – not at all. I mean it’s in there and you see all of it because that is an integral part of the show so of course there’s the workouts and there’s the healthy cooking and all that stuff but it’s – becomes much more about the why, not the what of health and wellness. Does that make any sense? And you know, since you’re living with the family, is it – do your emotions get wrapped up in it more because you’re actually getting to know them really well on a very intimate level. Oh my God. I don’t think that I have cried so much in my entire life. I mean every week I am hysterical crying. It is just – it’s horrible. And it definitely – it’s very strange. Like my show runner who travels with me, her name’s Stef Wagstaff, and she’s like Jill, you’re becoming – I become sort of like the families when I move in. I take on their accents, their – the way that they walk, kind of the things that they say. And she’s like you are so strange the way you kind of meld into the family and like a sponge. You sort of take on their dynamic and their personalities and I become very empathic with the families. And I think it’s – I had to really process that. I think part of it’s so that I can understand them and kind of get in their heads and try to help them implement solutions that will work for them as, you know, a unique family entity and unique – uniquely as individuals. But it’s definitely a roller coaster ride and it brings up so many different things for me of being a latch key kid, going through the divorce, losing loved ones, and it’s just – it just – it wrecks you. It just wrecks you but in the most beautiful way because you’re also a huge part of their healing process. And of that aha moment and those transformations, and I wouldn’t have it any other way but honestly I think I’ve gone through more Kleenex, a whole forest worth. So it’s pretty intense.

Could you at least share one or two of the best ways that parents can get their children interested in fitness and restructuring how they eat …because as we all know, kids are so consumed with fast food like most of us are.
Of course. Of course. Okay. I have a great episode that I just did with a 7 and a 9 year old in Detroit. And one of the things we did is first thing is we made the cooking fun. So for example, we played little games of okay, pick colors and then go and buy two fruits and two vegetables in your favorite color. So if it was purple or if it was orange, they had to find two orange fruits and two orange vegetables. And it kind of makes it fun for them. It makes it a game. And then with the kids I also incorporated cooking with them so that they felt involved and invested in the foods. Like they would pick a recipe and we would make it together and I would explain to them the healthy ingredients and the differences what they do in their bodies. And honestly, tell kids the truth. So – they can handle it. Tell them the truth. I took – with the 7 year old, she was really upset because I was throwing away all these white bleached processed breads that they had in the house. And I sat her down and I took out a piece of my bread and a piece of her bread. And I said, “You know, what do you see in my bread?” And she was like, “I see all kinds of stuff in there, and nuts and seeds.” And I explained to her what those things do for her body and how they’re going to help her grow strong and healthy and live a really long time. And then I asked her what she saw in her bread and she said, “Nothing.” And I said, “Exactly. There’s nothing in here that’s good for you or that’s going to make you strong or healthy.” And then I said, “What color is your bread.” And she said, “White.” And I just leveled with her. I was like, “How do you think it gets that color?” And she said, “I don’t know.” And I said, “Have you ever watched mommy do the laundry?” And she said, “Yes.” And I said, “Have you seen her put bleach in the laundry?” And she said, “Yes.” And I said, “That’s what’s making your bread white.” And she was horrified and I was like, “So what do you think? You want to eat it?” And she was like, “No I never want to eat it again,” and we threw it away. Level with them. Tell them the truth. And, you know, don’t scare them like oh bleach is going to cause cancer and kill you, but tell them what’s in there. They’re super smart. They can wrap their heads around that. And then again, get them invested. Start a garden with them. Make it fun. Cut things into fun shapes and sizes and you can sneak it into – like I made brownies with these kids and my brownies had, you know, applesauce, yogurt and olive oil and like unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder instead of, you know, white sugar, white flour, tons and tons of butter. So you can also sneak healthy stuff into their favorite foods and you don’t even need to let them know. But make it fun for them, invest them, incorporate them, educate them in the process. And then when it comes to fitness stuff, you have to lead by example. It can’t be about – you can’t be a do what I say not what I do because that will just never happen. You your child’s primary role model. And when they see you putting your health first, they’re going to follow suit. Make it something you can do as a family, you know, with my Boston family we went – the mom and the daughter took dance classes together. We all went canoeing on the Charles River together. Make it something that you guys can do as a family where you’re healthy and active and find a sport that the kids love. You know, we’ve been basically utilizing resources in these communities. So one of our kids loved swimming and we got him on a swim team at the Y. Another one of our girls wanted to be a majorette. You know, she was 14. Another one of our boys wanted to be – wanted to try out for basketball. So find an activity that your kids can love that’s fun and social that they can enjoy, and then set the example yourself because you are their primary role model.

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I have thought a lot about last night’s episode, that made me break down in tears on more than one occasion. I try not to read too many reviews before I start my own, but one in particular struck a chord with me. It was all about how one storyline from last night’s episode was done in a terrible way, despite some good acting. I want to respectfully disagree, and I will elaborate more on that later.

“Theatricality” focused on two major stories: Rachel and her new found mom, Shelby and Kurt, Finn and his dad. Overall, it was about being true to yourself, which I think is a common lesson taught at McKinley High. Tina was in trouble for dressing like a goth (partly because Figgins thinks vampires are real) and is struggling to find a new look. Vocal Adrenaline was pulling out all the stops and going Gaga. In response, Schue decides that the Glee club’s assignment is to go Gaga as well. This of course excites Kurt, the girls (and me) and results in a mind-blowing performance of “Bad Romance.” Gaga to the rescue for Tina! I am constantly amazed by how the covers of these songs completely trump the originals. I love Lady Gaga, don’t get me wrong, but this was amazing. All of the girls and Kurt walk around in crazy Gaga gear, and Kurt gets a lot of flack for it. The rest of the Glee club did too, though. Rachel’s crazy stuffed animal costume (because her dads couldn’t sew) was hilarious.

When part of the Glee club goes to spy on Vocal Adrenaline, Shelby sings “Funny Girl,” which leads Rachel to confronting her mom. It was certainly not the warmest of receptions, and Rachel shared a sweet metaphor about her dads bringing her water when she was upset, so she wasn’t sure if she was sad or thirsty. They have a nice talk but it wasn’t exactly Shelby begging Rachel to be her mom. This particular storyline hit home for me for reasons I don’t tend to share with a lot of people (more of a dad thing than a mom thing) In any case, there was no sugar coating here. You might expect in a show that is full of music and happiness that Rachel would go running into her mom’s arms and all would be great in the world again. But Shelby sees that she’s missed out on so much, including her chance to be a real mother.

In Kurt/Finn world, Finn is upset that he has to move in with Kurt and his dad. Kurt decides to redecorate the room to impress Finn. Their relationship is a complicated one, that’s for sure. Any unrequited love is complicated. I know I went through my fair share of crushes in high school, and none of them were over once the other one found out. Emotions don’t just automatically go away, no matter how hard you try. You change and grow and eventually get over it. Believe me, I think often of embarrassing crush moments, but I had them. Everyone does. I don’t think that Kurt having an innocent crush on Finn was an irrelevant storyline. If anything, it was realistic. People want things they can’t have, even if they try to manipulate things to have them.

When Finn comes home to his newly redecorated room, he goes off on Kurt. He calls some of the decorations the “f” word and yells at him a lot. Kurt’s dad (Burt) hears what’s going on and completely loses it. He puts Finn in his place, and confronts his ignorance. He says that he used to call things the “f” word before and he knows what it means. Finn meant it in that way, and he can’t have poison like that living under his roof. This was a powerhouse performance by Mike O’Malley and if anyone deserves a Guest Emmy nomination, it’s him. I think that it all made sense in context. Burt may not have known about the Finn crush but what Finn said was still awful. Kurt’s redecoration might have been in an effort to win Finn over, but as I said, we all do things in high school we regret.

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I am thrilled to offer this fantastic giveaway! BBC’s “Life” was a thrilling and touching series. Any show that focuses on animals is great in my book. Everything was so well done! And who doesn’t love free stuff?!

Planet Earth brought you the world as you’ve never seen it before. Now the next chapter of Planet Earth begins with Life. Available on DVD & Blu-ray June 1st.

Four years in the making, filmed over 3000 days, across every continent and in every habitat, Life is the latest wildlife blockbuster from the BBC’s award-winning Natural History Unit, the producers of Planet Earth and The Blue Planet. Narrated by Oprah Winfrey, the series presents 130 incredible stories from the frontiers of the natural world, and details the extraordinary tactics that plants and animals have developed to stay alive, overcome challenges, and push the boundaries of behavior.

The series will be widely released on DVD and Blu-ray beginning June 1st, but is available for giveaway right here at The TV Chick!

LIFE: Narrated by Oprah Winfrey – DVD 4 disc set includes the following added features:

• Life on Location – Ten 10-minute production video diaries showing the exhaustive efforts of the filmmaking team 
• Deleted scenes – Scenes removed from US broadcast
• “Music Only” viewing option
• French, Spanish and English Subtitles

In order to enter to win this DVD set, all you have to do is leave me a comment telling me if you could be a wild animal in another life, what animal would you be? If that’s not your thing, just leave me a nice comment. 

It is very rare that I say this, but last night’s series finale of Lost was perfect. Does that mean I am left without questions? Of course not. But has Lost, in its 6 years of existence, ever left you without questions? No. When the final moment of Jack closing his eyes and dying happened, and the famous Lost text appeared across the screen, I wasn’t quite sure what this whole season meant. But if you listen closely to Christian’s (Jack’s dad) words, and ponder it a little bit, it all begins to make sense. The sideways world was a limbo of sorts — perhaps a purgatory (but not as dreary as that), where each character had to learn to let go. When they were ready, all their memories of the island would come flooding back. It makes sense that Jack was the last one to remember, because he was in a lot of ways, the protagonist or the narrator of this whole adventure (even if we didn’t hear his voice as the narrator).

Each couple that was meant to be together, wound up together. It could have been in the afterlife, or not, but they all had their happy ending. Claire and Charlie was one of the most touching moments. I loved when it all came back to them. However, Juliet and Sawyer were my favorite couple who reunited. I absolutely loved the reference to grabbing a cup of coffee sometime, that they made together when Sawyer held Juliet in his arms on the island. When I spoke to Elizabeth Mitchell a little while back, she said she was half satisfied with her ending. I think I would have liked to see more of Juliet but I understand what she also understood–is that it’s about everyone, not just one individual character. I also really loved at the end when Jack and Kate finally kissed (afterlife or limbo or not this was a great moment).

One of my favorite non re-uniting moments was between Ben and Hurley. We are led to believe that Hurley and Ben ruled the island together for quite some time. I adore this. Hurley has always been the heart of the show, the guy who points out the crazyness and tries to make sense of it all. He has been the audience voice for quite some time. It was fitting that Jack would make him the new leader if he didn’t survive. I would absolutely LOVE to see a Hurley/Ben spin-off but I digress. In my head, Ben and Hurley ruled the island with compassion, and both eventually left and passed the torch on. I don’t think my theory is far off.

The End was about Jack letting go, and being together with all of his loved ones after he did. They all died at some point, but I’d like to think Kate, Sawyer, Miles and Desmond all lived post-Island lives. I loved that Jack was able to see the plane fly off the island. There are fans/critics on both sides of the spectrum. Some people really hated the episode, or hated the last part of it. They wanted answers to every question. I knew that I wasn’t going to be told the purpose of the entire island and their whole journey. Whatever reason Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse would give us at this point would probably seem contrived. We all have our theories, and I think that’s the way it’s meant to be. As cheesy as this might sound, in my head, it was magic. Not the entire island and all the things that come with it, but the non-coincidental meeting of all these strangers, and time travel and where their lives eventually led them, is magic in my eyes. Because every week, I was given a chance to escape into this world of the unknown. And I am so thankful for that. Perhaps the purpose of the island was to give each person who was on it a real purpose in life. Jack didn’t die alone (I mean he did have Vincent), he came together in the end with all the people that cared about him.

Afterlife, limbo, purgatory, crazy Man In Black, Smokey, flash sideways, flash forward and back into the 70s, each character ended up with who they were supposed to be with, and in such a great way. (Also, any sighting of Ian Somerhalder on my TV is naturally a great one). Damon Lindelof posted on Twitter last night “Remember. Let go. Move on. I will miss it more than I can ever say.” Wise words from the show’s co-creator. I don’t know that I want to let go and move on right away, but I know I will miss it. For those upset that all their questions weren’t answered, were they ever in the entire 6 seasons? The show is at its core about faith, and that’s why it was such a fitting ending. Have faith that these 6 seasons had meaning and have faith that the creators knew what they were doing. Lost has provided some great and interesting discussion over the last 6 years, and I know it won’t end now. “The End” was a perfect tribute to characters I will sorely miss.

Critics are going to pick apart the season and the finale and overanalyze and I suppose that’s acceptable. I think they might want to listen to Damon’s words though. Was the entire series perfect? Of course not. But the finale was, and that’s all I hoped for. I am considering re-watching from start to finish to pick up on more implications and if I saw any of this coming. For right now, I just want to say thank you. Thank you, Lost, for transporting me to another world week after week and for ending things in such a great way. People may be hating the church scene but to me, it was like the goodnights of “Saturday Night Live.” Everyone appears on stage while music plays and they hug and wave goodbye. I realize that these two shows cannot be compared (but maybe it’s no coincidence that Damon is a huge SNL fan) but the end scene was a chance for everybody to let go and say goodbye. And after two and a half hours and lots of shed tears, we got our happy ending.

I want to hear your thoughts! What did you think? Did you love it? Hate it? Tell me your theories.

Here’s your chance to buy an original piece of art/doodle from one of your favorite stars! There are Glee and Life Unexpected cast doodles, and many, many more. All of this is for a great cause! It’s clearly a win/win situation. Here is the info about National Doodle Day:

Since 2007, NF, Inc has been collecting hand-drawn, one-of-a-kind cards from various stars of film, TV, music, and sports in order to raise money for research to find a cure for the genetic nerve disorder. This year we have collected some great ones from Cory Monteith, Kristoffer Polaha, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, Tim Conway, Gillian Anderson, Florence Henderson, Matthew Perry, Howie Mandel, Elizabeth Mitchell, Kal Penn,  Lizzy Caplan, Tim Allen, Gary Cole, Melissa Joan Hart, Nolan Gould, Doris Roberts, Amy Poehler, and Tim Daly.

Tonight is the big season finale of Community, the freshman NBC comedy. It started off slow in the ratings, but really found its voice at the second half of the season and took off. The ensemble cast of Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Donald Glover, Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown and Chevy Chase are hilarious. While I wasn’t quite sure what to think of the show when it started last fall, it has turned into a show I really enjoy watching, and causes me to laugh out loud quite frequently. I recently had the chance to chat with Gillian Jacobs (who plays Britta) about her character, the will they/wont they storyline with Jeff, and her dream guest star.

How did you originally get the part of Britta?
It was pilot season last year, and you get a stack of scripts. I was very wary about doing a half hour comedy on TV, but the script just blew me away. I actually laughed out loud while I was reading it, and I loved the character and I thought the writing was so smart. So I went in and read for Dan Harmon and the Russo brothers, and I actually had a 102 degree fever, so I was not really feeling my best. I kind of dragged myself out of bed. But I think they responded to me, and then I read with Joel, and read for the network, and thankfully I got the part. It was definitely my favorite script that I read.

Are you anything like Britta at all?
(laughs) You know, it’s so funny because originally at the beginning of pilot season, I was making a movie in the middle of the woods, and I was not auditioning for things. And one of my best friends, whose also an actress, called me and said “I just read this script, and it’s you. And you have to go out for it.” And I said “I can’t do anything about that! I’m in the middle of the woods, I have no ability.” So when I called her and told her that I got “Community,” she was like “That’s the part I was talking about! That’s you!” So I definitely think that there’s a link between me and Britta. And I sort of got her sarcasm, and I got her wary-ness of Jeff Winger in the pilot. And I really felt like I understood her. I think as time goes on, I see the ways in which I’m different from Britta. I think that I’m a little less rigid than she is, and I guess a little bit better at school than Britta is doing. And I hope that I’m not a buzz kill like Britta, but I totally understand her.

And what has it been like working with such a great ensemble?
It’s so terrific. I really feel so lucky, and I think that people do see that on screen, that we really do get along as friends when the camera isn’t rolling. Also, I feel like we’ve developed such good energy and chemistry together as a cast when we’re in front of the camera, that it makes the work day so much easier. It’s just a bunch of really nice, smart, funny people who sit around all day trying to make each other laugh. It’s a great job.

That leads perfectly into my next question. Is there a lot of breaking character just because of the hilarious cast?
Oh my God, yeah! Yeah! We all break. And I used to think that like Danny Pudi [Abed] was a robot and could not be broken, but he started to break down as well. A lot of times when the camera is rolling on Ken Jeong as Senor Chang, I’m so glad that it’s not on my face, and you may catch my shoulders shaking at times because I just lose it. I lose it so much of the time, and you kind of have to bite your lip or punch yourself in the leg to stop from breaking. There are just certain things that get you no matter how many times you do that scene, you’re always going to break a bit at that line.

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One more network unveiled its lineup today and only the CW is left! As you hopefully have heard, Life Unexpected was renewed for a second season, so all is right in the TV world. Regarding the CBS lineup, they made a bold move in having a comedy night on Thursday pitted up against the NBC comedies. I’m looking forward to seeing Hawaii Five-O and mildly curious about S**t my Dad says. They also have a bunch of shows at new times, which will cause a lot of DVR problems for many.

MONDAY:

• 8:00-8:30 PM: HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

• 8:30-9:00 PM: RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

• 9:00-9:30 PM: TWO AND A HALF MEN

• 9:30-10:00 PM: MIKE & MOLLY (New)

• 10:00-11:00 PM: HAWAII FIVE-0 (New)

TUESDAY:

• 8:00-9:00 PM: NCIS

• 9:00-10:00 PM: NCIS: LOS ANGELES

• 10:00-11:00 PM: THE GOOD WIFE

WEDNESDAY:

• 8:00-9:00 PM: SURVIVOR

• 9:00-10:00 PM: CRIMINAL MINDS

• 10:00-11:00 PM: THE DEFENDERS (New)

THURSDAY

• 8:00-8:30 PM: THE BIG BANG THEORY

• 8:30-9:00 PM: $#*! MY DAD SAYS (N)

• 9:00-10:00 PM: CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

• 10:00-11:00 PM: THE MENTALIST

FRIDAY:

• 8:00-9:00 PM: MEDIUM

• 9:00-10:00 PM: CSI: NY

• 10:00-11:00 PM: BLUE BLOODS (New)

On Saturday, CBS will air Crimetime Saturday and 48 Hours Mystery

SUNDAY:

• 8:00-9:00 PM:  THE AMAZING RACE

• 9:00-10:00 PM: UNDERCOVER BOSS

• 10:00-11:00 PM: CSI: MIAMI

For the most part, everything I’m hearing about last night’s Glee echoes my own sentiments. I can sum it up in one word: Wow. I realize I have never-ending love for Glee, but if you read my review from last week, you would know that from time to time, I’m not super crazy about an episode. However, “Dream On” completely blew me away. The episode, directed by Joss Whedon, starts with Mr. Schue meeting Brian Ryan (the unstoppable, super talented Neil Patrick Harris). They have been rivals since high school and Brian has basically come back to make Schue’s life a living hell (and shut down the Glee Club but what else is new?) One of the best moments was when Brian is shown participating in a show choir support meeting. Brian decides to ruin the Glee kids dreams by telling them they will never achieve them. What a way to deflate hope, NPH! You redeem yourself later though.

The episode centers around the concept of dreams: Artie dreams that one day he’ll be able to dance, Rachel dreams about meeting her mom and Brian Ryan dreams about being a star again. Tina and Artie have their first of many heart to hearts at the beginning of the episode. She found out Artie’s dream, and he thinks it’s stupid and he’ll never become a dancer. Tina asks Artie to do a project with him (since Schue didn’t assign one) and asks him to dance with her. Tina and Artie rehearse and he gets up on crutches but then falls over and yells at Tina to go away. This scene has gotten a variety of different critiques. Personally, I don’t think the purpose of this scene was to pity Artie. He is a strong character with strong viewpoints who has a great personality. It was a sad moment, but it did show us that Artie had pride in himself and hopes and dreams like the rest of us.

Rachel’s dreams are quite obvious (to be a Broadway star), but she confides in Jesse (Jonathan Groff, so so happy you are back!!) that the thing that is missing in her life is her mom. Jesse wants to help her find her mom, and seems extremely overzealous about this. Rachel thinks her mom is Patti Lupone. She researches her and does the math and it was quite hilarious. Jesse asks why she’s so afraid of finding out the truth. They are going to investigate in her basement, at Jesse’s suggestion. We find out why he is so into this later in the episode.

But back to our favorite high school rivals, Schue and Brian Ryan. We find out that Terri Delmonaco was the one that got away from Ryan, and thus finally finding out Terri’s maiden name! I know she’s back soon, and I am so excited to see what happens. Schue explains to Brian that music gave him the strength to get out of a terrible marriage. Brian admits to being miserable since he stopped performing. He sneaks to NY to see Broadway shows. They sing “Piano Man” which was fantastic. This was one of their two duets on the show and both were amazing. Schue convinces Brian to try out for a local production of Les Mis. It is at the audition where they sing “Dream On.” Can I just stop for a second and praise Neil Patrick Harris. Not only is the guy a brilliant actor, comedian, magician and overall awesome guy, but he can sing his heart out. “Dream On” probably ranks in my top 5 musical performances of the entire season, and that’s saying a lot.

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My love for Glee knows no bounds, but tonight’s episode, entitled “Dream On,” really outdoes itself in terms of greatness. The episode is directed by Joss Whedon, and guest stars Neil Patrick Harris, but one of the characters that really shines is Artie. I don’t want to spoil everything (although anyone could probably find out if they looked hard enough), but let’s just say that you see Artie in a way you have never seen him before. And it’s fantastic! I recently had the chance to catch up with Kevin McHale, who plays Artie, about his biggest challenges filming the show, dancing in the wheelchair and even his dream guest star and song.

Congratulations on all the success of the show. You’ve definitely had a whirlwind couple of weeks. What was it like being on Oprah and visiting the White House?
Oprah itself was insane on its own, and then only to be trumped by the White House. (laughs) Oprah is big as it is, and then we get to go to the White House. And Amber sang from the White House balcony, and we got to meet the first family. It was so surreal. After that, we were like what are we going to do next week? (laughs)

I was about to ask what was your most surreal experience?
Yeah, it definitely was. I mean Oprah saying [In Oprah voice] “Keeevin” (laughs) and more than meeting the first family, was to see Amber standing next to him [President Obama] on the balcony singing the National Anthem.

Yeah, I watched the feed online. That was quite incredible.
Yeah, she was incredible.

And what has awards season been like for you?
Insane! It was just unreal. Growing up, I was a big awards show kind of person. Like I was the guy in the house who would make my family shut up so I could watch the Golden Globes.

I’m the same way!
And I brought my brother with me, just getting out of the car and seeing the sign of The Golden Globe Awards behind you. It was so surreal. Granted, it was raining, but nothing could have stopped me from being there.

Right, absolutely. And talk a little bit about the audition process and how you got the role of Artie.
It was just like any other audition. I’ve been to dancing auditions, I’ve been to acting auditions, it was kind of both of them combined. It was actually a pretty easy process in terms of the amount of auditions. There were four auditions, but I was one of the first ones to be put on hold to test for it. And so, I auditioned pretty early on, and my callback and first audition were within two days of each other. The worst part was waiting like 6 and a half weeks until I got [called] for it. And like “They’re probably trying to find somebody else for the part, what am I going to do?” And I was hoping I didn’t forget how to play the part. But luckily, it was all worth it.

Of course! What did you sing for your audition?
I sang “Let It Be,” by the Beatles.

Good choice. Do you know if they were looking for someone who was in a wheelchair?
Well the part was originally in a wheelchair, but they audition able-bodied and disabled people. I think it was just about who got part the part down, [and] what they saw that they liked. They’re all very, very creative, specific people: Brad, Ian and Ryan. So luckily, they saw something in me.

How has it been playing Artie? How do you relate to him?
We’re very different, but at the same time, we’re very, very similar. I mean, he’s definitely more confident with ladies than I am. Because, like last week, he was saying “If you want to get up on this.” I would never do that. (laughs)

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