Mad Men update

Fear not, Mad Men fans, series creator Matt Weiner has been re-signed to a two-year deal with AMC. There had been concern when the third season was announced in October with Weiner's status in limbo, and salary negotiations were said to be contentious. But the Emmy-winning show lives and dies with Weiner and AMC apparently realized it couldn't continue without him. Season 3 is on track to premiere next summer -- July, in fact -- with a fourth season likely the following summer.

Speaking of Mad Men, series star Jon Hamm will make a guest appearance on an upcoming story arc of 30 Rock as Liz Lemon's new love interest. I'm concerned -- such a convergence of favorite actors could very well make my girlfriend's head explode.
Read more!

I'm back. With a list.

I know, much like Pushing Daisies, I seemed to have vanished without a trace. But I'm back. Blame job-hunting, Christmas madness and the lack of anything on TV worth commenting on.

The end of the year brings the inevitable Top 10 (or 20) lists, and they've been done to death, and really, I can't add to them. Like everyone else, I loved The Wire, The Shield, Lost, 30 Rock, blah blah blah. So what I'll offer is this: My 10 favorite, most mind-blowing, most memorable TV moments of the year.

1. Lost: The island disappears. The bad guys are coming, and Ben climbs down into the depths of the island and finds. . . a big switch? And ZAP, just like that, they're gone. What. . . . the . . . . hell? The most stunning moment in a season full of them.

2.The Wire: Omar's demise. It came out of nowhere, a sudden bust of violence from the least likely candidate that was shocking even for a show that made shocking violence commonplace. It's not often a scene makes me bolt upright and shout a Vader-like "Noooooooo!" R.I.P. Omar. You were a bad, baaaad man. In such a good way. And like Vic Mackey (see next), it was the only appropriate way to go out.

3. The Shield: Vic's new job. The series finale was full of heartbreaking and gut-wrenching scenes (Shane's family laid out neatly on the bed, anyone?), but the introduction to Vic Mackey's new workplace was jaw-droppingly awesome. The sight of Vic in an ill-fitting suit, being reminded to put his name on his bag lunch and to be sure to call building services to adjust the thermostat was stunning. The wild beast was finally a caged animal. Or so we thought, until he stuffed his gun into his pants and stormed out of the building in the final scene. A perfect ending.

4. Mad Men: Season finale. I didn't watch the show religiously, but when I caught an episode it never failed to be outstanding. And the finale, from Don's reconciliation with Betty with so much left secret and unsaid, to Duck's power play crumbling as he underestimated Don, to the poignant and reveltory conversation between Peggy and Pete, all taking place with the Cuban Missile Crisis and the possible end of the world looming, was as gripping as anything on TV in 2008.

5. Battlestar Galactica: This is Earth? In a season full of shocking surprises – Cylons revealed, uneasy alliances, deteriorating mental states – this was the biggie. After all that running around the galaxy for so many years, Earth was finally found. Only it was a scorched, post-apocalyptic landscape. No dialogue – the looks of shock, confusion and disappointment on everyone's faces said it all.

6. Sons of Anarchy: The hit gone wrong. You could see it coming, the plan to kill Opie for his (wrongly) perceived betrayal and the horrible switch between drivers. Opie and his wife switched cars for the most ordinary reason, and because she was driving the wrong car at the wrong time, and because Tig was too cowardly to look his victim in the face before killing him, she died in a drive-by shooting. One of those moments where you know nothing will ever be the same in that show's universe.

7. Top Chef: Season 4 finale. Forget about sourpuss Lisa, this was all about the two consistently best, most personable chefs in the season – Richard vs. Stephanie. It's rare on a reality show to have two such likeable people vying for the win, which only made it all the more nerve-wracking. Richard had an off night, and Stephanie didn't – and she took the victory. I'd eat in either of their restaurants any time.

8. The Office: The dinner party. Finally, a comedy makes the list. This was probably the funniest episode of the year, with Michael & Jan having Jim & Pam and Andy & Angela over for the most awkward dinner party ever. Which, of course, was crashed by Dwight and his babysitter/date. From the stinky candle room to the 3-hour wait for the main course to the teeny tiny plasma TV, this was The Office at its best.

9. Life on Mars: Finale. Technically not a 2008 show, but it aired on BBC America this year, so I'm counting it. After two seasons of wondering if Sam's world exists only in his mind, or if he's a time-traveler, all is revealed – he's been in a coma and it all was a dream. But what was even more shocking was what Sam did next, after waking up and being forced to live in a now-unfamiliar present day. (And don't worry, ABC says they won't end their series the same way, so this shouldn't spoil anything.)

10. Saturday Night Live: Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Tina Fey single-handedly made SNL relevant again with her spot-on impression of possibly the worst vice-presidential candidate in history. Really, a couple months after the fact, I'll bet more of us remember Fey's skits more than the real thing.
Read more!

Settle down . . .

Why haven't I been posting? I've been a little busy moving. Then there were some DSL problems. But I should be back to posting fairly regularly by the end of the week. So hang in there, all three of you loyal readers!

And just for a slight fix: I'm bummed that Team Geek got bounced from The Amazing Race (how galling that the smart team got burned by such a dumb mistake), I've come around and am fully onboard with Sons of Anarchy, I'm debating whether or not to drop Heroes from my lineup, and I'm wondering what the heck Don Draper is doing. Kath & Kim was awful, but Testees might have been even worse. And I have a whole mess of shows waiting for me on my DVR, including the premiere of Life on Mars.

So once I catch up with shows and finally get settled in, things will get back to normal.
Read more!

The week in review

The TV season isn't in full swing yet, so there are still gaping holes in my viewing habits. That being said, here's a list of not so much my favorite shows from the past week, but the shows I watched. Ranked in order of awesomeness.

1. The Shield: This is the highlight of any week it's on. God, this show is good. The tension just keeps winding up, and you know it's going to explode before the season's over. Vic playing two organized crime syndicates off each other while double-crossing both of them? Vic and Shane working together to make things "right"? Vic trying to keep his career as Claudette has him in her sights? And while his own daughter almost blows everything up by trying to press charges against him? Tick tick tick tick.......this is not going to end well for anyone. Oh, and how scary were the Spook Street boys? And they're NOT one of the Top 10 gangs? Yikes.

2. Fringe: OK, the acting wasn't great, some plot points were absurd and there was a ton of awkward exposition. But the mystery was outstanding and I love conspiracy theories. The Cate Blanchett lookalike they got to star in the show is no Dana Scully, but that's probably a good thing -- there are already too many X-Files similarities. But I generally liked her character. Pacey -- err, I mean Joshua Jackson's character -- was a little young to be quite so patronizing, but once he dropped that act he was tolerable. And you've gotta love any show with Lance Reddick (Daniels from The Wire). He's just as ominous here as he was in his guest role on Lost last season. The giants locator subtitles were kinda cool (and were reminiscent of the Lost title, hmmm), but that's a trick that might get old. But overall, good production values, nice complex mystery that'll take forever to solve, and good bits of humor to break the tension. And I love how it was shot in Boston in winter. Like X-Files when it was shot in Vancouver, the location adds all kinds of moody undercurrents.

3. Entourage: The boys are back. Are they better than ever? That remains to be seen. But after a year-plus layoff, it's good to have them back. The opening scenes made me want to go to Mexico ("Wow, it's gorgeous, I never knew the coast of Baja was like that!"), until I realized they shot it in Hawaii ("Oh. Nevermind"). Vince is broke and a Hollywood pariah after his awful Medellin (reviewed in a hilarious guest appearance by Richard Roeper), which went straight to video (ouch). Hopefully he'll bounce back quickly because this show is at its best when Vince & Co. are living the high life. Broke Vince doesn't do much for me. But that bizarre bit with Drama and his new French girlfriend chirping at each other cracked me up.

4. Gossip Girl: Last week I said I wasn't hooked on it. OK, maybe I'm a little hooked. It's soapy and trashy, but not brainless. Which gives it one up on The Hills. This is quickly becoming my guilty pleasure show. The dialogue is snappy, the plot twists are delicious (Nate becoming a man-ho? Nice!), and it's self-aware enough that you know it's never going to have "a very special episode."

5. Sons of Anarchy: It seems to exist in the same universe as The Shield (One-Niners, corrupt cops everywhere), but not in the real world. It just throws me how it's set in San Joaquin County, but in a San Joaquin County with mountains, where Lodi is the major city, where heroin is bigger than meth, and where it's not oppressively hot. That bit of fantasy aside, I'm liking this show. I'm glad Charlie Hunnam (the Brit from Undeclared) finally has a good show, Katy Sagal is building an Emmy-worthy role as the resident Ophelia/Lady MacBeth, and I love how the gang is made up of a who's-who of character actors who look like serial killers (especially Kim Coates and Tommy Flanagan). I'm not completely hooked yet, and I hope it gets more compelling, because if not, it's in danger of dropping to my wait-for-DVD list once more shows start up.

6. Burn Notice: I haven't watched this week's episode yet, but it came back after a three-week, U.S. Open-induced break. This is one of my favorite shows and it has a secure spot on my weekly best list, even sight unseen.

7. The Hills. I don't know if I saw the most recent episode of last week's. Either way, it just annoyed me. I'm so over this show. The gang jetted to Vegas for Frankie's birthday. Drama ensued, yadda yadda yadda. It's sad watching this knowing that these are real people. They're all just so vapid and shallow. I can get all the same trashiness with Gossip Girl, plus not feel dirty for watching real people humiliate themselves.

What I didn't watch:

True Blood. Ehhh, it just doesn't sound up my alley. Maybe I'll check it out On Demand if I'm bored someday. Buffy gave me all the vampire storylines I'll ever need.

90210. Seriously? I didn't even make it through the pilot. It's baaaaad.

Mad Men. I know, I know, it's the best show I'm not watching. I've seen it, I've liked it, but it's just not compelling enough to get me to watch every week. It's in my DVD pile.
Read more!