PARKS AND RECREATION: Greg Pikitis

In the midst of a breakthrough second season, I have had very few complaints for the cast and crew of Parks and Recreation.  My biggest wish for P&R’s sophomore year was that the Pit debacle be replaced by a long term storyline that focused on the personal lives of Pawnee’s public servants.  Though stars Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones have onscreen romances to navigate, I have become fascinated by the unrequited love story between a man and his green card wife.

Aziz Ansari has shown considerable acting chops in Season Two.  Armed with a barrage of memorable one-liners and opportunities to show vulnerability, the young comedian adds more dimensions to Tom Haverford each week.  Tonight’s episode was Ansari’s best yet, particularly the revealing look at Tom’s true feelings for Wendy.  Hints of Tom’s affection may have been sprinkled into earlier episodes, but Ansari’s face said more than any indulgent monologue could have.  Tom Haverford is the life of the party, but we now understand who he is truly trying to impress.  Kudos to P&R’s creative guru Michael Schur for writing this scene and to director Dean Holland for letting the lens do the talking.

We may be entering new territory in TV fandom, as I cannot recall rooting for an onscreen husband and wife to consummate their marriage.  I am already looking forward to seeing more Tom/Wendy drama in the weeks ahead.  If they ever got married for the right reasons, imagine the size of the dance floor!

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TOP CHEF: Meat Natalie

Hey everyone!  Did you love Top Chef?  Awww, that’s nice.  Actually, I’m just giving everyone a buffer paragraph here because I am about to start the recap off with spoilers and I want to give everyone a chance to bail.  That’s your warning.  You’ve been warned.  Onward!

Well, everyone will be happy to know that we are finally rid of Mike Isabella and his douchebag comments and attitude, but we are still stuck with Robin and the talking.  Seriously you guys, did you just feel awkward for the waiters when she was talking the entire time she was plating?  Because I totally did.  And then the talking at Judges’ Table—Tom just looked annoyed, which made me laugh.  Part of me wants to know if the judges are just effing with us by keeping Robin, but I really thought Mike deserved to go home.  It was obvious that no one was crazy about it, it wasn’t cooked well, and it didn’t have any protein.  Game over, and I also agreed with Gail that he was being WAY too cocky about it.

Since we’re discussing the bottom, let me just go ahead and rip off the band-aid that is Jennifer right now.  I wasn’t really worried for her, in that I knew her dish wasn’t bad, just unsubstantial.  But I AM worried that her mental game is so off right now that she’s having trouble bouncing back, and trust me—as a Colts fan, I have seen this happen over and over.  Thankfully, also as a Colts fan, I’ve seen a lot of fourth quarter comebacks, so I still have hope.  But she REALLY needs to shake it off.
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THE OFFICE: “Subtle Sexuality” Webisode – NEW!

Hey OFFICE fans, check out the first installment of “Subtle Sexuality”, the new webisodes from THE OFFICE.

Behind-the-Scenes

Tonight’s TV Spotlight…Thursday, October 29, 2009

Welcome to Thursday. It’s short and sweet today. I’m heading of early this morning to have the procedure on my back. I’ll take any extra good thoughts you can throw my way today. I’m so ready to be done with all of this. Here’s to hoping it works!

But it’s Thursday and I didn’t want to leave you with nothing, so take a look at just some of the TV on tonight! Much of it is Halloween related so be sure not to get too scared.  I’ve included sneak peeks for tonight’s THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, THE OFFICE and SUPERNATURAL to get you pumped for tonight.  Enjoy!

Heads up – there’s a new show called THE DRAFT premiering at 10:30pm on FX tonight. I really don’t know anything about it, but you might want to check it out.  FX shows are usually a good bet.

And speaking of sports, I might in the minority of people who care, but Bill Simmons aka “The Sports Guy” is guesting on THE COLBERT REPORT tonight. I’ll definitely be tuning in.

Flash Forward | 8pm on ABC
“Scary Monsters and Super Creeps”
Mark, Demetri and Wedeck try to connect Janis’ attack with a separate attack made on them; Olivia confronts Mark about his experience; Demetri and Gough track down a clue from Mark’s; Dylan goes missing from the hospital.

The Vampire Diaries | 8pm on The CW
“Haunted”
Stefan tries to help Vicki when her behavior becomes increasingly dangerous; Bonnie’s abilities surprise Damon; Matt tries to cheer Vicki up by taking her to the high school’s haunted house. [GMMR: Check out a sneak peek of “Haunted” here.]

Survivor: Samoa | 8pm on CBS
“This is the Man Test”
Galu struggles to choose a new leader after Russell’s medical departure, and Evil Russell from Foa Foa visits Galu and strikes up an alliance with one tribe member.

Community | 8:00pm on NBC
“Introduction to Statistics”
Jeff is forced to make a decision when the date he’s scheduled with a hot statistics professor clashes with Annie’s Day of the Dead party.

(The rest of Thursday night’s lineup is after the jump)

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First Look – Season 8 of “24”

This just in from Jack Bauer…
A new day dawns with a 2-night, 4-hour premiere event. Season 8 of 24 starts Sunday, January 17th on Fox.

TV Buzz: Gervais Hosting; Jackson Returning; Friends & the Creek Reuniting and more…

Hear that? That’s the sound of the random TV news buzzzzzzzing around in my head. No rhyme or reason to the following bits of TV news –  just want to rant, rave and review randomness. Since it’s going to be a few more weeks until I’ll be back to full time blogging, I thought perhaps these TV Buzz posts will keep us talking TV. Let me know what you think?

• Ricky Gervais will be hosting the Golden Globes next year.  Honestly, I’m fine if they just skip giving out the trophies and just let Ricky riff on whatever he wants for three hours. There are fewer people that make me laugh more than that man. Brilliant. Are you excited to see Ricky host?  Who else would you like to see take on hosting duties?

• It’s been confirmed that Lisa Kudrow will reunited with former FRIENDS co-star Courtney Cox on COUGAR TOWN.  Am I the only person who could care less about any kind of FRIENDS reunion? I loved the show, and didn’t miss an episode, but for some reason every time they try to reunite different cast members it just seems pathetic. Move on, people. Why do I feel like I should duck before people start throwing smelly cats at me?
  

• With my back injury I missed out on the chance to tell you how much I loved the premiere of USA’s new show WHITE COLLAR.  It’s slick, suave and funny. Oh and it’s got Bryce Larkin from CHUCK. If the season premiere is any indication as to where this show is going, you do NOT want to miss out on this one. Set the DVR for Friday at 10pm.  The show is that good. And for those who asked, yes, we’ll be covering it here on GMMR. Did anyone see the premiere? Thoughts?

• Jonathan Jackson, who originally played the role of Lucky Spencer (Luke & Laura’s son) returned to GENERAL HOSPITAL this week.  I’m off the soaps. Have been for some time now.  But Jonathan Jackson was the center of it all for me back in my GH days. Loved him! His return isn’t enough to get me watching the show again, but maybe I’ve been guilty of hitting ye old YouTube for a peek.  Jackson has always been fantastic and I never understood why his career never took off.  His last “big” role was his four episode stint as Kyle Reese on TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES.

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Why Did Mia Michaels Leave SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE?

When Mia Michaels announced her resignation from SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE via ambiguous postings on Twitter and Facebook, she left many of her long time fans quite confused. Why was she leaving? Was there a fall out of some kind?  Was she ill?  Rumors were rampant. Just why was perhaps the most talented, beloved, feared and respected judges and choreographers leaving the show?

People.com recently caught up with Mia and got her to open up about her decision to leave the US version of the show, and what new exciting adventures she has in store for her…and for us.

Why did you decide to move on from So You Think You Can Dance?
It’s been an amazing five-year journey and I am in a place where I have all these great opportunities that have been presented to me and I am ready to take on all these challenges. So when I was working on the show, I wasn’t able to really focus on anything else. Now I’m really focusing on these other projects that I can’t pass up. I think that’s pretty much the main reason why I left the show.

What went into the decision to make the announcement the way you did? And did anyone, like close pal and fellow SYTYCD choreographer Tyce Diorio, try to talk you out of it?
No, nobody tried to talk me out of it. I’m so about my instincts. Instincts never lead you wrong and they’ve never led me wrong. It was a hard decision, actually, because I love doing the show. I love being an artist that millions of people get to see my work. I knew in that moment and we had not even talked about contracts or anything for the new season yet, so I was just ready to move while I had all this other opportunities in front of me. Before I got into the season with the dancers — you know actually getting into a room and creating on them — I just thought it was best for me to step out before I did that.

What new experiences are you talking about and what are about to start working on?
I am right now in talks of doing my own choreography show. I’m also doing a dance musical that will probably be documented as a doc-reality show. And then I’m working on a clothing line for dancers as well as just everyday lifestyle. And I’m working on a book deal as well.

For the rest of Mia’s interview, click here to continue to read at People.com.

I’m still in denial that she won’t be back.  It seems like she has no ill will for the show so fingers crossed for a surprise appearance sometime this season!

Tonight’s TV Spotlight…Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Happy Hump Day! We’ve got a fabulous night of television ahead of us.  Sadly Fox is airing the World Series and not GLEE, but the GLEEkers will be singing the national anthem before one of the games (perhaps #3) so you can still get your GLEE fix this week. If you are a GLEEker, then maybe you haven’t given MODERN FAMILY a shot on ABC. It’s one of the best new shows and hands down one the best comedies on TV.  Give it a whirl tonight.

Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Lose.
DirecTV subscribers really have the best deal tonight because it marks the season premiere of my favorite TV drama – FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.  If you haven’t yet experienced FNL then please make it a priority to watch it online, buy the DVDs, borrow them from a friend – do what you need to get caught up on this amazing show. There’s nothing else like it on TV today.

Friday Night Lights | 9pm on DirecTV (only)
“East of Dillon”
Principal Tami (Connie Britton) is taking heat for the high school redistricting, her husband is recruiting new team members (including a troubled lad played by Michael B. Jordan), and the mighty Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) struggles with college life.

Given my praise, you may be shocked to know that I have tonight’s FNL season premiere. It’s sitting right next to me and has been for at least two weeks.  But I’ve really wanted to wait until I was pain free enough to truly enjoy it.  Not having a good day today, but I don’t think I can put it off any longer.

It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown | 8pm on ABC
The classic 1966 holiday special is back. Linus waits in the pumpkin patch for the elusive Halloween symbol to appear; a bonus cartoon, “You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown,” features Linus in a run for class president. [GMMR: Yes, it’s on again tonight! Don’t ask me?  Does ABC have that little faith in HANK?]

The Middle | 8:30pm on ABC
“The Block Party”
When Brick’s teachers determine that he is socially challenged, Mike involves him in various activities, eventually settling on the block-party lawn-mower contest.

Modern Family | 9pm on ABC
“Run For Your Wife”
Jay and Gloria have a disagreement about Manny’s choice of outfit for his first day back at school; Cameron and Mitchell freak out when Lily gets a bump on the head.

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SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE: Top 20 Performance

Note: Sorry for the promised live blogging last night. Technical difficulties had me watching on my Slingbox. Here’s what would have posted last night.

Let the games begin! Tonight the Top 20 dancers will be paired together and compete for the judges votes. At the end of the show, one guy and one girl will be sent home.

This week’s injury report is brought to you by Paula Abdul’s empty chair:
As most of you have heard, Billy Bell had to leave the competition due to illness, so tonight we’ll see Brandon Dumlao for the first time on the stage. Also, earlier today it was revealed that Noelle Marsh also suffered an injury. Per the rules, she’ll have one week to get medical clearance to dance. If she can’t, then she too will have to leave the competition.

Tonight the role of Noelle will be played by the fabulous Melanie Lapatin, who if I remember correctly has previously danced during the live show alongside Pasha when his partner was injured.

So sad for both Billy and Noelle. And speaking of sick, it seems our favorite hostess with the mostess is a little sick too. Cat sound a little raspy tonight – but she looks damn fine so who cares, right?

But let’s get to the partner reveals and the dancing!

Channing Cooke (Contemporary) and Phillip Atmore (Tapper)
Jazz by Jason Gilkison

My Take: Being the first couple to take the stage on the first night has got to be nerve racking, but we the audience aren’t suppose to see it. Phillip, one of my least favorite going into the competition was definitely the stronger of the two tonight. Channing looked shell shocked. You could almost see her counting the steps in her head. And her posture was terrible during the whole performance. I never notice things like that but it really stood out to me tonight. She was a bit better in the second half of the routine though. These two had zero chemistry, which I’m willing to overlook a bit, again given that it’s the first week, but on the whole I didn’t really enjoy it.

The Judges: All three judges stayed positive but offered important criticism. They all commented on the lack of energy near the end of the piece. Nigel thought their moves could have been sharper. Mary wanted more than she got.

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Sneak Peek: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES – “Haunted” (SPOILERS)

Elena: “She’s a vampire with issues?”

I know I’m in the minority here, but I hate Halloween.  Always have, even since I was a little kid.  But I can certainly get behind a little Halloween TV.  If you’re like me and need a little VAMPIRE DIARIES fix to get you through until Thursday at 8pm, then check out this scene from the Halloween episode, “Haunted”.

(Scenes after the jump)
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CASTLE: Vampire Weekend

No words can describe the 58 minutes of happiness that played onscreen. There were mentions of vampire and supernatural lore like the WB’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and numerous references to the space Western “Firefly” that came to such an early demise. In addition to those mentions that worked up a storm on the Internet (at one point during the night, “Castle” was the ninth most popular trending topic on Twitter), we were treated to one of the funniest and wittiest “Castle” episode to date. I wouldn’t be shocked if this ended up attracting higher viewership numbers.

Let’s talk about the opening scene. We’re kidding ourselves if the first few minutes did not make you look or think twice about what you were seeing. It’s been roughly five years since “Firefly” prematurely went off the air, and well, it took another project on another network for it to reappear — even if it was for a small portion of the episode. Castle … er, Nathan Fillion … is strapping on a space cowboy costume (a la Captain Mal; doesn’t this make you want to rewatch some classic “Firefly” and “Serenity” right about now?). His daughter Alexis asks, “What exactly are you supposed to be?” Cue in the “Firefly”-esque music, the finishing touch to an already perfect scene. Castle reponds, “Space cowboy.” His daughter replies, “A) There are no cows in space and B) didn’t you wear that like five years ago so don’t you think you should move on?” Semi-hurt and seeing sadness cloud his eyes, Castle quipped right back, “Uh, I like it!”

And Castle, you are not alone. It doesn’t matter if the lines were blurred here — well, only to those of us who have tracked Filion’s career since the space Western graced our television sets or DVD players — it was Captain Mal on television again and if it takes a Halloween episode for that to happen next year, I ain’t complainin’. Paying homage to a brilliant television show is always a good thing in my book.

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It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

The classic 1966 holiday special is back. Linus waits in the pumpkin patch for the elusive Halloween symbol to appear; a bonus cartoon, “You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown,” features Linus in a run for class president.

Tonight’s TV Spotlight…Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Welcome to Tuesday my little chickadees! Other than SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, Tuesday night TV is a little blah for me. I’m still kind of liking THE GOOD WIFE but I’m not die hard about it in the least, and even that’s a repeat tonight.  But of course SYTYCD makes up for it all.

If you’re a horror, sci-fi, comic genre fan then you might want to check out the 2009 Scream Awards tonight at 10pm on Spike TV. Vamps galore my friends.

And I’m not one to usually go out of my way to encourage you to watch Carson Daly, but CHUCK fans should know that Yvonne Strahovski will be one of his guests tonight. We all need out CHUCK fix, right?

I still have some Sunday night shows to catch up on as well and tonight I’m going to start catching up on FRINGE. So I’ll keep myself busy.

Spill it. What will YOU be watching?

So You Think You Can Dance | 8pm on Fox
“The Competition Begins”
Last night you met the contestant competing in this season’s show.  Tonight the top 20 dancers are paired up as couples and perform for the first time; the judges eliminate two dancers.

It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown | 8pm on ABC
The classic 1966 holiday special is back. Linus waits in the pumpkin patch for the elusive Halloween symbol to appear; a bonus cartoon, “You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown,” features Linus in a run for class president.

The Biggest Loser | 8pm on NBC
Derek Jeter talks to the contestants about teamwork before they take part in a baseball challenge; Curtis Stone prepares a healthy meal for the challenge winner; a contestant breaks a Biggest Loser record.

The Forgotten | 10pm on ABC
“Canine John”
The team investigates a John Doe buried at a popular vacation destination; a stray dog standing vigil over the grave is the only clue in the case.

Sons of Anarchy | 10pm on FX
“Potlatch”
SAMCRO takes extreme measures to procure weapons for a customer; revenge is sought following a theft at Caracara Studios that puts one diva at risk; Tara’s professional and personal lives begin to collide.

Also Playing…

• Dancing with the Stars | 9pm on ABC Taylor Swift performs; two couples are eliminated.

• Sheri | 10pm on Lifetime: Trouble begins to brew when the subject of trick-or-treating as a family comes up.

• Scream 2009 Awards | 10pm on SpikeTV: Celebration of creative talent in horror, sci-fi, fantasy and comic genres; awards for “The Ultimate Scream” and “Scream Queen and King.” [GMMR: From what I hear there are TRUE BLOOD and TWILIGHT peeps there. You had me at Vampire.]

• Flipping Out | 10pm on Bravo: Season 3 reunion special

On the late night couch…

• The Late Show with David Letterman: Courteney Cox, Florence and the Machine
• The Jay Leno Show: Ewan McGregor, Tina Fey, Tim McGraw & Gregg Allman
• The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien:  Garry Shandling, Paula Deen, Julian Casablancas
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson: Alicia Silverstone, Salman Rushdie
• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon: Artie Lange, Olivia Munn, David Chang
• Jimmy Kimmel Live:Dr. Mehmet Oz, the latest “Dancing with the Stars” castoff, Morningwood
• Chelsea Lately: Katey Sagal, Loni Love, Josh Wolf, Jo Koy
• Last Call with Carson Daly: Yvonne Strahovski, Kris Belman, Mike Posner
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Steven D. Levitt
• The Colbert Report: Randall Balmer, Gail Collins

What will YOU be watching? Leave a comment or send me an update on Twitter (new: @gmmrtv).

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Top 20 Showcase

The auditions are over. The Top 20 dancers have been revealed. And now the real fun stars. Tonight’s episode of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE wasn’t about the voting, it was about the dancers. For the first time ever, the top 20 took the stage not to compete for votes but to showcase their tremendous talent. It was a chance for us the viewers at home to see all of the dancers perform in their own genre, and my goodness was a show it was.

The sexy, confident and sophisticated opening routine by Wade Robson set the tone early for the night. The top 20 dancers took the stage and performed at a level which would have wowed any Broadway audience on opening night. While every dancer had a chance to shine in their small moments, the real excitement was in the fullness of the ensemble. The provocative and down right cool opening routine let us know just what talent is in store for us this season.

I said a hip hop, Hippie to the hippie, The hip, hip a hop, and you don’t stop, a rock it.

This year’s Top 20 includes three different styles of Hip Hop.  Russel Ferguson of Boston (YAY) is the show’s first Krumper. Kevin Hunte from Brooklyn is a pop ‘n locker with flair.  And B-Boy Jonathan “Legacy” Perez from Los Angeles is already a legacy with his inspired moves. Together the three came together for a hard-hitting, fabulous routine choreographed by Tabitha & Napolean that showed off each of their styles and abilities as dancers. NappyTabs worked a lot with the dancers from America’s Best Dance Crew, and it was for certain that they really brought a lot of the ABDC magic with them in this routine. Their tricks were spectacular and some of those moves were like nothing we’ve seen on SYTYCD so far. I was beyond impressed as were the judges.

We should note that these three hip hop dancers will be joined by another guy representing their style of dance.  Brendan Dumlao from Concord, CA has been added to the Top 20 with the unfortunate departure of Billy Bell.

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SYTYCD Canada Finale – Top Ten Routine by Mia Michaels

Our Canadian friends were treated to a very special Mia Michaels routine during the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Canada finale.  In the opening video, Mia mentions her resignation from the US version of SYTYCD and says that “this piece is representing that place where I was when I was making that decision”.

I’m still in disbelief that we won’t have Mia’s talent on our SYTYCD anymore, but at least we still have the beauty of this routine.  Simply stunning. So Mia.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Canada – “This Moment”

Thanks to @hockeybychoice for the tip on the video!

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