TV & Film Talk

I'm not going to blog about The Mayor of Castro Street tonight. I was supposed to have the day off today, but things didn't quite work out that way. Hopefully I'll have time at some point over the next few days to write about it.

Just a few quick things tonight. First, fans of Pushing Daisies have started a campaign to save the show by getting it moved to another network. These fan campaigns are not always successful, of course, but sometimes they do work.

Take, for instance, the Kiss Campaign and accompanying media blitz enacted by Nuke fans that lead to the end of the months long dry spell between kisses for Luke & Noah on As the World Turns.

Shows moving between networks isn't unheard of, either. It has happened in both daytime and primetime, most memorably in recent times when Buffy The Vampire Slayer jumped from The WB after five seasons to run for two more years on UPN. For the most current example, there is the sitcom Scrubs which will be moving to ABC this January after seven seasons on NBC.

Moves like this are the exception, of course, not the rule. Still, we can always hope some other network will take a risk on the show and fans showing their support certainly helps.

Of course, Bryan Fuller has already returned to Heroes, starting with this season's 19th episode, so saving Daisies might not even be an option, at least not with him involved, unless he could do double duty on both shows.

I do have to say that I'm looking forward to his return on Heroes, especially after I checked out his exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly. I think he's just what the show needs.

Second, I wanted to confess that I watched a really cheesy movie last night about an artist that I don't even like. Why did I sit through an hour and forty five minutes of saccharine Hallmark Channel-esque nonsense? Two words: Jared. Padalecki.

I'm talking, of course, about Christmas Cottage, the film 'inspired by' the life of artist Thomas Kinkade. As an artist, Kinkade reminds me of our Christian Fiction section at work. The same ladies I see browsing there for books that present a safe, idealized version of the world (usually without any troublesome minorities of any kind, let alone of the LGBT sort, around to muddy the waters) probably love his paintings.

Okay, to be fair, my own Grandmother, who is an open minded, intelligent woman, names him as her favorite artist. So, I know I really shouldn't make sweeping generalizations about fans of his work. It's just not my cup of tea.

At any rate, if you'd told me a couple of years ago that I'd see a movie about Kinkade, that in fact I'd move it to the top of Netflix queue and wait impatiently for its arrival, I would have had one response: which hottie is starring in it?

Jared Padalecki has to be one of the hottest guys alive. My God that man is beautiful! Plus, he looked really adorable in his little scarf and hat combo:


I already knew, from Supernatural, that he knocks any emotional scene out of the park, but this mediocre movie definitely gave him a chance to shine in that regard. There are a couple of scenes where Jared gets a chance either to cry or to be on the verge of tears, and he totally blew me away. I just wanted to grab him and hug him.

Jared really rose above a script that should have been filmed for a cable channel at best (as it was, it was released directly to DVD). Peter O'Toole hammed it up in his part as a dying artist trying to paint one last picture, while Marcia Gay Harden had one decent scene opposite her character's ex husband (Desperate Housewives' Richard Burgi) but was otherwise bland as Kinkade's mother. Aaron Ashmore was cute as the younger brother, but had absolutely nothing to do, and the cast was otherwise filled out by familiar faces from old TV shows. So, if you're anxious to see Bull from Night Court, Mrs. Garrett from The Facts of Life and Lou Grant from The Mary Tyler Moore Show get a chance to do their thing, it may be worth checking out.

As for me, Jared made it worthwhile, but I really do hope he can pick a better film next time. I mean, after the remake of Friday the 13th, which he's also the lead in. Yet another movie I'll have to see that I otherwise wouldn't have! Thanks a lot, Padalecki! Maybe you'll at least show some skin in that one?

Television and a Movie Recommendation

Since I discussed television a bit yesterday while mourning the loss of Pushing Daisies, I thought I'd write about the other shows I watch on a regular basis.

Once upon a time, I was a television addict. I had tons of shows that I followed and I'd buy the fall preview issues of Entertainment Weekly and plan out my viewing habits for each new TV season. This was before I had TiVo, too, so I watched most stuff live or had to record it on VHS. Oh, the horrors of the past!

Then I went through a phase that last about four years or so where I didn't start watching any new shows and dropped many of the ones that I'd been following. Eventually, all the old shows I was still watching came to an end, too, so there wasn't much of anything I actually made an effort to watch in primetime.

Then, about two and a half years ago, I got sucked back in. Not through actually turning on the TV again, at least not at first. What got me was TV box sets that were available to rent through Netflix. Someone would tell me how good a show was and I'd think to myself "Well, I'm not going to start watching it when it's already in its third season." But thanks to Netflix, I could rent the earlier seasons, and so I relapsed.

It started with Supernatural. I'd heard it was good and I loved Jensen Ackles when he was on Days of Our Lives but I hadn't tuned in for the first season. I'm not someone who can just jump into a show part-way through the series. That's like starting a book on chapter five! So, disc by disc, I watched the first season through Netflix and instantly became hooked.

Jensen and Jared Padalecki are both incredibly hot and their chemistry together is off the charts (they play brothers, but have been mistaken for a gay couple more than once on the show). The mythology that drives the show has become stronger and stronger with each season, and right now, in the shows fourth season, I can easily say it's the best its ever been. The funny thing is that this isn't really a show about demons and dark forces, as much as those things drive all of the action. It's about the relationship between these two brothers who are pretty much everything to each other.

Supernatural can break your heart (as Jensen Ackles broke mine in the closing scene of the most recent episode) and it never fails to make you laugh and to freak you out, too.

If you haven't started watching the show yet, Netflix is your friend! I don't think you'll regret it. Come for the man candy, stay for the quality writing and acting.

Since I'd decided to tune in to Supernatural's second season in real time, I thought I'd see what else was on that season, and I sort of hit the jackpot. It happened to be the season that Heroes and Brothers & Sisters both started, so I've been following them since the beginning.

Heroes has had a really hit or miss quality about it for the last two seasons, but I've stuck with it because I think it's still better than a lot of stuff that's on TV and because I loved the first season so much and I know that they can find that magic again. Plus, they do bring the hot guys to the table, don't they? Milo Ventimiglia, Adrian Pasdar, Zachary Quinto, Sendhil Ramamurthy, I could go on and on, but you get the picture. They're a very sexy bunch.

Brothers & Sisters is now in its third season and with the exception of last Sunday's episode I've really not cared much for it this year. The first two seasons were really good, even though I can only take Calista Flockhart's Kitty in doses much smaller than we're ever given and I can't stand Rob Lowe's character at all.

But Sally Field and Rachel Griffiths, both incredible actresses, more than make up for this, especially when you throw in hunks like Matthew Rhys, Dave Annable and Balthazar Getty as well.

Best of all, though, is the relationship between Kevin & Scotty (played by Luke MacFarlane, who manages to be both adorable and very sexy all at the same time, and who is out in real life). They're the reason why the most recent episode was better than anything else so far this season and they're a huge part of why I loved the first two seasons.

Kevin, like all of his siblings, is flawed and can be a frustrating character to say the least. But what I love is that his romantic life has never been treated any differently than that of any of the straight characters. I was looking forward to season three in particular because Kevin & Scotty ended last season with a commitment ceremony and I thought we'd see even more of a focus on their relationship. I forgot, though, that the only In-Law ever made a focus on this show is Robert, Rob Lowe's character. The rest of the husbands and wives tend to fade into the background.

Overall, the show is really boring this year. They don't seem to know what they're doing with Rachel Griffiths' character at all, and Uncle Saul, who came out last year, hasn't had any storyline of his own yet. I'm not even going to mention Kevin going to work for his Republican Senator brother-in-law, which is completely out of character no matter how they're trying to spin it!

It feels more and more like the Kitty & Robert show, and that's not a good thing.

I also watch Greek & Kyle XY on ABC Family. Greek is a lot of fun, but Kyle XY is downright amazing. This is another show you should get on Netflix if you haven't seen it yet. I never thought I'd like anything on ABC Family, but they take their slogan "A New Kind of Family" seriously. I only wish we didn't have to wait so long between seasons for Kyle XY!

I also just finished watching the first season of Chuck on DVD and I loved it!

I'll just mention the sitcoms briefly, since I feel like I've been going on forever already: How I Met Your Mother is the funniest show on TV. I don't know why everyone isn't watching this show! I love it so much. I have the first two seasons on DVD and I watch them all the time. I think this is the best ensemble cast in a sitcom since Friends. Plus, it stars Neil Patrick Harris! Enough said.

I also watch The New Adventures of Old Christine which is really enjoyable and 30 Rock, which had two incredible seasons but is making me mad this season because they're relying so heavily on guest stars. It's totally becoming Will & Grace, with the Big Guest Star each week, and it really doesn't need that. I get that they're trying to attract new viewers to pull in ratings, but I think it's mostly just alienating the viewers they already had. It's still funny, don't get me wrong, I think they just need to lay off the guest stars already. Tina Fey & co are funny enough on their own, as the first two seasons demonstrated.

I've heard from several of my co-workers that I have got to watch The Office but I haven't yet. Is it as amazing as everyone says?

On a final, non-Television related note, I saw the film Rachel Getting Married last night and I highly recommend it. It's got some really heart wrenching emotional scenes and it also makes you laugh out loud more than once. Anne Hathaway really surprised and impressed me in the lead role. I tend to think of her as being a less than serious actress, but she was excellent. I think Debra Winger, whom we do not see nearly enough of onscreen these days, was also incredible as the emotionally distant mother. She did so much with body language alone, her character is so tightly self controlled that the one scene where she does lose control is very powerful.

So, there you go, some DVD recommendations if you have Netflix and a film you should go see if it's playing near you.