The TV Chick

As the year comes to a close, I thought it would be a nice time to highlight what I have loved on TV this year. Because this year encapsulates more than a season of TV (and because I watch a ton of TV) there’s a lot that I loved this year. There are a couple of new shows, some old favorites, and some that may not be around anymore (or may not be on for much of 2011). Feel free to weigh in with your choices, and let me know if you think I left any off my list! This list is in no particular order.

Continue reading “Best TV of 2010” »

Say it with me: Party Down needs to be nominated for an Emmy. Whew, glad I got that off my chest. At the very least Adam Scott and Lizzy Caplan should get a nod. I would love for the rest of the cast to get nominated as well, but I understand for it to get nominated in the first place is a far reach. Onto the more conventional: Of course I want to see Glee rake in the nominations. I would love to see either Chris Colfer or Dianna Agron get nominated for supporting roles. Lea Michele and Jane Lynch are shoe-ins at this point for actress (or supporting actress) in a comedy series. I hope to see Modern Family get a lot of accolades. I think Ty Burell has a nomination locked in, but I would absolutely love to see Julie Bowen and Eric Stonestreet get recognition as well. I’m sure it will also secure a nomination in the Best Comedy category. One of the most underrated comedies that I actually ended up loving is Cougartown. It overcame it’s ridiculous title to really come into its own. I would really like to see both Courteney Cox and the show get a nomination. Parks and Recreation had a really good sophomore season, and I’d love to see the show and Amy Poehler get a nod. I love Neil Patrick Harris and I think he’s definitely going to get a nomination but How I Met Your Mother has not been very consistent this year.

As for dramas, I anticipate seeing Juliana Margulies for The Good Wife on the ballot, as well as Kyra Sedgwick from The Closer and Edie Falco from Nurse Jackie. They are three of my favorite leading ladies and they are highly deserving of nominations. I hope that True Blood might finally get some Emmy recognition, but it may not happen. One breakout performance for me though was Ian Somerhalder from The Vampire Diaries. The Vampire Diaries is an amazing show. Anyone who hasn’t watched, I challenge you to catch up over the summer. It’s not just your average Vampire show with teens in it, it’s truly great. The WB/CW doesn’t have the best history of getting nominated for Emmys (ahem, Gilmore Girls is one of the best shows on television ever!) so I’m not holding out too much hope but one can dream, right?

I realize there are a lot that I missed, but these are just actors on my wish list. Who do you want to see nominated? Do you agree with my nomination wishes? Weigh in!

The Emmy nominations will take place live tomorrow morning starting at 5:30 AM Pacific Time.

Party Down has its last episode 2nd season this week, and what a great season it has been. The season finale guest stars Jane Lynch (who is back, and getting married), and if you haven’t been watching, you really should be! It is a testament to the show that Jane Lynch came back for an episode and most of the actors stayed from season 1. Party Down centers around a catering company of the same name where none of the employees really want to be there. There’s the requisite terrible boss (played by Ken Marino) and the love interests (played by Adam Scott and Lizzy Caplan), the huge sci-fi nerd/wannabee writer (played by Martin Starr), the wannabee actor (played by Ryan Hansen) and of course the stage mom (played by Megan Mullally). I think it is one of the funniest, most clever shows on television that deserves a ton more praise and attention. I recently had the chance to chat with Martin Starr (who plays Roman) about the show, his character and even how far he would go for a season three. After teasing me about The TV Chick (and thinking it was/should be The TV Chic), we proceeded to chat about Party Down. There are many rumors going around because so many of the cast have moved on that there might not be another season, but according to Martin, it’s definitely still a possibility. I also have to warn you that while I did edit a lot of this interview down, it is pretty dirty (and awesome).

What originally drew you to the part of Roman?
I wish there was a more complicated answer that I just received a phone call that I had an offer from a TV show that I knew nothing about but that Paul Rudd was producing, and I said “I guess so. Tentatively yes, I would do it. But I’ll read the script first, I suppose.” So I read it, and of course I loved it.

Are you similar to Roman at all? Do you love sci-fi quite as much as he does?
No. (laughs) That will be a disappointment to all of our sci-fi fans I suppose. Although I kind of doubt that we have a massive sci-fi fan base. I don’t know, I don’t really watch that much TV. I love Star Trek, the original with Shatner and all those guys. I used to watch that growing up on TV Land or Nick at Nite, and that was awesome. Actually I think it was just on regular TV late at night before TV Land and Nick at Nite started.

I feel like it was on UPN or something. [Ed Note: This was a total guess]
Yeah, UPN 13.

If you don’t like sci-fi as much as Roman does, how are you like or unlike him?
Hopefully I’m not as grumpy (laughs) and unhappy and sadistic as he is. I hope!

I’m sure you’re not!
Well, you don’t know me yet.

That’s true. Maybe by the end of this conversation, I will think the opposite. I don’t know.
You will now know the real me.

Do you have any personal experiences or know anyone that you draw from to portray Roman? When I spoke with Ryan Hansen, he didn’t name names of course, but he said he did know a lot of the Party Down types.
You mean like the producers he used to go to the bathroom with to get parts from?

Right (laughs)
Is that what you mean?

Yes!
Ryan definitely used to do that. He’s told me crazy stories about San Diego all the fun stuff that happens on B movie sets. Just joking around!

Have you ever had a catering job? Or do you have a job that was your least favorite?
I wish. I wish I had. I actually always wanted to. I still want to. That’s going to sound so (laughs) — I feel like ignorant for me to say this — but I really want to work in a service industry job, because I feel like you gain a lot of respect for people with patience, once you have to deal with 100 morons a day. I feel like I know so many people that don’t have enough respect for people who take care of them. You know?

Yeah.
It’s just the general idea of respecting the people around you, in your environment. The fact that those people, who you may be disrespecting in small ways in your eyes, have the power to shit in your food. So just based on the fact that I don’t want feces in what I wind up putting in my body, I would like to show respect to all the people are kind enough to take care of whatever needs I have at an establishment that I dine at.

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I have been waiting for Party Down to return for quite some time. I have talked it up to all of my friends and called it one of the best comedies of the year. For a show in its first season, that is a feat. Tonight’s season premiere “Jackal Onassis Backstage Party” does not disappoint. The show centers around a group of caterers (the company is called Party Down), who all have no desire to be caterers. Rob Thomas (genius who created Veronica Mars) along with John Embom and Dan Etheridge have created a series that supposedly uses the British Office as an influence. Party Down stars a cast with some familiar faces: Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, Ken Marino, Ryan Hansen and joining them for season 2, Megan Mullally. Jane Lynch was a part of season 1 and she was phenomenal but she left to do Glee (which I’m happy about but wish she could do both).

Nothing can ever go right in Party Down world. People are always goofing off, their boss is usually leading the pack and the last thing any of them care about is actually catering. Lizzy Caplan and Adam Scott (Casey and Henry) start dating last season, but at the end she goes to do stand-up comedy on a cruise. Ryan Hansen (Kyle) will literally do anything for a part, Martin Starr (Roman) is into hard-core sci-fi  and like everyone else in Hollywood, is writing a screenplay. Megan Mullally (Lydia) fits perfectly in the group as she moved to California for her daughter to become famous. I was a bit worried that no one would be able to fill Jane Lynch’s hilarious shoes but Megan Mullally does a great job.

At the end of last season it seemed like the group was disbanding. All of them were leaving to do “better” things including Ron, who went to fulfill his dream of running a Souper Crackers. When the season picks up, however, the crew is back with Henry as team leader. Of course, no one takes him seriously. Their first job is to cater a backstage party for satanic rocker Jackal Onassis. Hilarity ensues when Roman decides he wants to be Jackal Onassis to pick up women. You’ll just have to tune into see whether Casey and Henry’s romance picks up and if Ron is able to handle his new subordinate position. I’ve seen the first batch of episodes and it just gets better and better. There have been rumors floating around that this might be the last season of the show because Adam Scott is now going to be on Parks and Recreation and Lizzy Caplan has another pilot, but I really hope this isn’t the case. The creators have said that they understand they can’t hold people to the show but because it’s a catering company, people (and actors) can come in and out. I’m counting on a season 3, Starz, don’t let me down! Also, if you don’t get Starz, the episode is available online!

The 2nd season premiere of Party Down airs tonight at 10 pm.
Gravity is a new series on Starz, that is truly unique. Here’s what the network has to say about it:

“Starz premieres its new dramatic comedy “Gravity,” which follows the sometimes comic, sometimes tragic exploits of a group from an eccentric out-patient program of suicide survivors. Krysten Ritter stars as Lily Champagne, a twenty-something who just can’t connect to anyone until she actually dies. She stars with Ivan Sergei, who plays Robert Collingsworth, who is despondent following the death of his wife, and who becomes an internet celebrity when his suicide attempt goes comically awry.  He stars with Eric Schaeffer, the series’ co-creator and one of its executive producers, who plays Miller, an enigmatic cop with mysterious intentions. Also in the cast are Ving Rhames as Dogg McFee, the group’s leader and a former Major League Baseball player, now confined to a wheelchair; and supermodel Rachel Hunter as Shawna Rollins, a former spokesmodel and current life coach who is surprised to find herself attracted to someone much younger than herself. Robyn Cohen, James Martinez and Seth Numrich round out the main cast.”

I wasn’t sure what to think of this new series at first. I love Starz, so I had high hopes. Krysten Ritter is a favorite actress of mine from Gilmore Girls (others may know her from “Breaking Bad”) and it’s so great to see her in a starring role. The series premiere, titled “Suicide Dummies” centers around getting to know each of the members of the suicide support group. The premise of the show is interesting and definitely unique but it took until about half way through the episode for me to get hooked. I still want to know more about Lily’s (Ritter) life and what lead her to attempted suicide, but you can’t get everything in the first episode. I think this show has a ton of potential and I am intrigued by each storyline. The creators have gotten some flack about tackling this subject, so I hope they can continue to do it in a respectful way. I am certainly looking forward to seeing more. As with Party Down, you can also watch Gravity online, so you should check it out.

Gravity premieres tonight at 10:30 PM on Starz.

As opposed to my Best of the Decade list which contained moments and episodes from the decade, this list will be less extensive because I didn’t want to limit myself to 5 best shows of 09. Keep in mind, this is in no particular order!

1.  Parks and Recreation: I did not enjoy this show in its first season. It was always all about “the pit” and getting rid of the pit. I adore Amy Poehler, but her role seemed a bit too Michael Scott-esque to me. However, whatever happened during the off-season was fantastic. Season two has been hilarious. The pit has taken a secondary role, and each character has had a chance to develop and grow. I didn’t care for Andy in the first season, but he has become one of my favorites. I think this show deserves a ton of recognition for really stepping up its game. It is a show I look forward to every week.

2. Lost: This past season has been phenomenal. Time changing, Dharma goodness, Hurley’s hilarious questions…it’s all been great. The creators are brilliant, and I have faith that they know exactly what they are doing and that the series finale is going to blow our minds.

3. How I Met Your Mother: This year has had such great episodes as The Playbook and The Front Porch (I will never forget how hard I laughed at suitjamas). While this show can have its up and downs, every episode makes me happy. And any excuse to watch Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) wax poetic about his “bro code” and “lemon laws” is great in my opinion.

4. The Office: Season 5 started off (in ’08) with the Jim and Pam proposal, and ended on a pregnancy. And season 6 had one of the best episodes of The Office ever with the Jim/Pam wedding. It was perfect in so many ways–hilarious but also showed us what we have been wanting for 6 years. I may have watched the boat scene upwards of 10 times. The show is at its best truly brilliant, and it has been a great season thus far. I can’t wait to see more.

5. Party Down: This show on Starz Network has garnered quite a following for itself. Created by Rob Thomas (of Veronica Mars fame) it stars many of his VM colleagues, and is truly fantastic. It is a hilarious and wonderful portrayal of a catering company in Los Angeles, and its employees who clearly want to be more than just cater waiters. It returns for a 2nd season in 2010, where Kristen Bell will be back, and Megan Mullally joins the cast. This is a show you must see! Catch up with it on DVD before season 2 begins.

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