There aren't enough hours in the day for all of the television I want to watch. Which is why God invented Netflix. But on a college student's budget, one-at-a-time unlimited isn't the best way to watch seven seasons of the West Wing. But someday, perhaps when I have a job that only requires a four-hour workday, I will catch up on these 12 shows:
12) The West Wing (7 seasons, 155 episodes)
11) Rome (2 seasons, 22 episodes)
10) Buffy the Vampire Slayer (7 seasons, 145 episodes) This is inexcusable, especially considering that I'm sharing a blog with the biggest Buffy fan of them all. I love Joss, and I love James Marsters, so I'm sure I'll get around to this...someday.
9) Bones (2+ seasons, ongoing) What can I say, I'm a sucker for a good unrequited love story.
8) 30 Rock (1+ seasons, ongoing) It's on right before The Office and Scrubs, so it just makes sense to watch. And I'm tired of getting mad at Alec Baldwin for taking away Steve Carell's awards without giving him a fair look.
7) Deadwood (3 seasons, 36 episodes) I only got HBO last year, so I have to play catch-up.
6) Felicity (4 seasons, 84 episodes) I can't call myself a full member of the cult of J.J. until I watch his first TV series.
5) Weeds (3 seasons, 37 episodes) The first season is actually in my Netflix queue. I'll get there eventually.
4) How I Met Your Mother (3+ seasons, ongoing) I'm tired of hearing about Robin Sparkles and not knowing who she is. Also in the Netflix queue.
3) Mad Men (1 season, 13 episodes) Yeah, as soon as AMC hurries up and actually releases it on DVD. I'm WAITING!
2) The Sopranos (6 seasons, 86 episodes) Again, I'm way behind the HBO curve. I'll get there.
1) Veronica Mars (3 seasons, 64 episodes) I really should have tuned in earlier, but at least I saved my self the heartache of the "cancelled/not cancelled/skipping ahead 5 years/switching networks/sill cancelled" game.
There we go! By my rough math, I have 45 seasons, 811 episodes, and right around 770 hours of television to watch.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
American Idol: The Lucky Six?

Season 1: Christina Christian, RJ Helton, Tamyra Grey, Nikki McKibbon, Justin Guarini, and Kelly Clarkson.
Season 2: Carmen Rasmussen, Trenyce, Josh Gracin, Kimberley Locke, Clay Aiken, and Ruben Studdard
Season 3: John Stevens, George Huff, LaToya London, Jasmine Trias, Diana DeGarmo, and Fantasia.
Season 4: Constantine, Scott Savol, Anthony Federov, Vonzell Solomon, Bo Bice, and Carrie Underwood
Season 5: Kellie Pickler, Paris Bennett, Chris Daughtry, Elliott Yamin, Kat McPhee, and Taylor Hicks
Season 6: Phil Stacey, Chris Richardson, LaKisha Jones, Melinda Doolittle, Blake Lewis, and Jordin Sparks
And now Season 7 has left us: Syesha, Brooke, Jason, Carly, David C., and David A.
If anything, the Top Sixes are getting better as we go. In each of the first five seasons, there was at least one terrible, how-in-the-hell-did-they-last-this-long singer that brought the rest of the group down: Nikki in 1, Carmen and Josh in 2, John and Jasmine in 3, Constantine and Scott in 4, Kellie (and I would argue Taylor, but I know that's not a popular opinion) in 5. While 6 and 7 may have uninteresting singers (Phil, Syesha) or singers that some may find offensive to their tastes (Blake, Jason, David C.), I don't think either season has given us a patently untalented Top Six member.
Of course, having a lack of bad singers can't be the only measure of how good the Top Six are. How many seasons have given us great performances once we reached the Top Six? Season 1 gave us Big Band Night and Kelly Clarkson setting the standard for all other Idol performances with "Stuff Like That There." The week after, Tamyra sang "A House is Not a Home," and in the semifinal week, Kelly sang "Without You." So there were three in Season 1, from two different contestants.
Season 2's Top Six night was Diane Warren night, which flopped miserably, but their Top Five night ranks among the series' best. Treynce sang "Proud Mary" and "Love Will Keep Us Together," her two best performances. Clay had a stellar night with "Build Me Up Buttercup" and "Solitaire," and Kim Locke continued her hot streak with "Where the Boys Are." Next week, Clay had "To Love Somebody" and Ruben sang "Night on Broadway," which was his best since "A Whole New World." Top Three had Kim Locke's "Inseperable," and the finale had the second-greatest Idol performance of all time, Clay's "Bridge Over Troubled Water." So Season 2 had nine stellar performances in the Top Six, from four different singer.
Season 3 was awful. Top Six night was the ill-fated Gloria Estefan Night, which featured John Stevens "singing" "Music of My Heart." Really, the only three standout numbers from the second half of that season are LaToya's "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Top Five night, Diana's "Enough is Enough" on Disco/Top Four night, and Fantasia's final performance of "I Believe," which, despite the cruddy lyrics, reaches the upper tier of Idol performances on sheer emotion.
Season 4: I can't remember Season 4. I know I watched it, but it's like a haze is blocking out Idol from that year. I remember Bo's a capella to "In a Dream," I remember Carrie's "Independence Day" and Bo's "Vehicle" from the finale, but that's about it. Maybe there were only three standouts from Season 4 as well.
Season 5: I freely admit that I am a biased observer, and I think it really comes out on Idol when I have a favorite, as I did in Season 5 with Elliott. But as unbiased as I can be, I think 5's Top Six had seven great performances. Taylor's "In The Ghetto" in the Top Four, Kat's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on Top Three, Elliott's "A Song for You," "Home," and "Trouble," and Daughtry's "I Dare You" and "Suspicious Minds." If I were to indulge my Elliott-bias more, I would include his final song, "I Believe to My Soul." So there were either seven or eight standouts from 5, depending on how much you liked Elliott.
Season 6: I think this group's Top Six night, with the Bon Jovi theme, was the strongest Top Six night of them all. Three of S6's six standout numbers come from that night alone. Blake's "You Give Love a Bad Name," Melinda's "Have a Nice Day," LaKisha's "This Ain't a Love Song" -- I still listen to those songs on my iPod. I also include Jordin's "Broken Wing" from the finale, Blake's "When I Get You Alone," and Melinda's "Nutbush City Limits."
So maybe Season 2 still holds up as the best year for Idol, but I think Season 5 makes a good run at it. I don't exactly have high hopes for this year's crew, but I guess we'll see in the next month and a half. Right now, barring another huge shocking upset on Top Four night, I think we're headed straight for an all-David finale, with Archuleta squeaking out the win.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Dancing with the Stars, Week 5
It's Latin Week! I spent the whole episode looking forward to Jason's performance, and debating whether or not I would rather have him do a rhumba or a samba. Hmmm, maybe I've picked a favorite.
Mario is up first, and he and Karina will be performing a samba. Instead of devoting every spare second to practicing, he goes to hang out with "his good friend" Stevie Wonder. Stevie's not going to help you with your posture, is he, Mario? They're dancing to "A Tisket, A Tasket." For a samba? Really? Mario looks more comfortable than he has sincce week one, but I still don't think he's getting any better. He's just trying to get back to as good as he was that first week. His "hip action" is great and he moves with a lot of confidence in the samba, though.
When they're done, Tom reminds us about the band. Why does that one woman always wear a headdress and spandex? Is that the next new fashion thing that I'll have to ignore, a la stretch pants and giant sunglasses?
Anyway, the judges loved Mario's samba. Len tells him to watch his feet. Mario gets a 9,9,9 for a total of 27.
Priscilla is next, and she and Louis will be performing a rhumba. She has chosen to wear an odd, sparkly shawl that makes her look 20 pounds heavier than she is. I think this was her weakest performance. She does a very impressive split in the beginning--how many 60-year-old women do you know that can do that? But her hands are bad, and their final hold is really, really shaky. Len rips it apart. 7,7,7 for 21 total. Even with the low score, I wouldn't count her out yet. The old-lady vote can be pretty potent. (See: Osmond, Marie)
Marissa and Tony will be performing the samba. What is it with Tony's shirts this year? For weeks now, he's had the most bizarre fashion choices. Maybe he's trying to distract from the fact that his partner is not very good, even though I think this is their strongest performance yet. It still has the same problems as some of their earlier dances: it's too slow, and there are too many hip-hop moves. The judges give moderate praise, and give her three eights for a 24.
Cristian and Cheryl will be performing the rhumba. In practice, Cheryl criticizes Cristian for not being manly enough, and then sticks him in a pink satin shirt. Here's the thing about rhumba: it's a slow dance, so I can never tell how much movement around the floor is a good amount. Because it looks like Cristian is just standing there while Cheryl spins around him. Len calls it "very competent." The judges are tougher this week than they've been, probably because the scores were so high last week. Carrie Anne says they weren't "erotic" enough. Can you say that in the 8 o'clock hour? They get a 7,8,8 for a 23. And going back to his dance after watching Jason's, Cristian's was like being served broccoli when you were expecting chocolate. (Not good.)
Marlee and Fabian dance the samba, and for the first time, you can see how Marlee not being able to hear really affects their dance. She stumbles a bit and gets off the beat a couple times -- maybe because the samba is so rhythm-dependent. Her "hip action" isn't great, and their hold is a bit off. The judges all carefully critique her, by which I mean they all say she's so "inspirational," and then they tell her what she did wrong. She gets a 7,7,8 for a 22.
Kristi has had two kids! And she looks like that! Wow. She and Mark will be dancing the rhumba, which Kristi says she's a bit nervous about because it's such a sensual dance and she's married and a mommy. She calls Mark a "hot young thing." Sing it, sister. He can even make the lavender outfit he's wearing look good. I can't even take notes when I watch Kristi. It was amazing and beautiful. The judges agree, and she gets a 9,10,10 for a 29.
Shannon and Derek had to suffer through another health scare this week, when Derek comes down with food poisoning on Monday morning. He's well enough to dance their samba. Going into it, you kind of knew Shannon wasn't going to do well with the hip rolls and Latin beat of the samba, and while there are some nice moments, the dance as a whole is a definite step down from last week. Carrie Anne makes a great point, though: she really went for it. Shannon's scores are 8,8,7 for a 23.
Finally! Jason and Edyta are doing the rhumba, and it's going to be amazing. During the dance, my notes are just a bunch of exclamation points: his hips! his hands! he's so graceful! How can this guy be a football player?! Maybe Kristi doesn't have this thing so wrapped up, after all. I really think that if Jason keeps getting better, we'll have a real battle on our hands. He gets three nines for a 27.
Top Three: Kristi, Jason, Mario
Bottom Three: Marlee, Priscilla, Cristian
If I had to guess: Priscilla hangs on for another week, Cristian goes home.
Mario is up first, and he and Karina will be performing a samba. Instead of devoting every spare second to practicing, he goes to hang out with "his good friend" Stevie Wonder. Stevie's not going to help you with your posture, is he, Mario? They're dancing to "A Tisket, A Tasket." For a samba? Really? Mario looks more comfortable than he has sincce week one, but I still don't think he's getting any better. He's just trying to get back to as good as he was that first week. His "hip action" is great and he moves with a lot of confidence in the samba, though.
When they're done, Tom reminds us about the band. Why does that one woman always wear a headdress and spandex? Is that the next new fashion thing that I'll have to ignore, a la stretch pants and giant sunglasses?
Anyway, the judges loved Mario's samba. Len tells him to watch his feet. Mario gets a 9,9,9 for a total of 27.
Priscilla is next, and she and Louis will be performing a rhumba. She has chosen to wear an odd, sparkly shawl that makes her look 20 pounds heavier than she is. I think this was her weakest performance. She does a very impressive split in the beginning--how many 60-year-old women do you know that can do that? But her hands are bad, and their final hold is really, really shaky. Len rips it apart. 7,7,7 for 21 total. Even with the low score, I wouldn't count her out yet. The old-lady vote can be pretty potent. (See: Osmond, Marie)
Marissa and Tony will be performing the samba. What is it with Tony's shirts this year? For weeks now, he's had the most bizarre fashion choices. Maybe he's trying to distract from the fact that his partner is not very good, even though I think this is their strongest performance yet. It still has the same problems as some of their earlier dances: it's too slow, and there are too many hip-hop moves. The judges give moderate praise, and give her three eights for a 24.
Cristian and Cheryl will be performing the rhumba. In practice, Cheryl criticizes Cristian for not being manly enough, and then sticks him in a pink satin shirt. Here's the thing about rhumba: it's a slow dance, so I can never tell how much movement around the floor is a good amount. Because it looks like Cristian is just standing there while Cheryl spins around him. Len calls it "very competent." The judges are tougher this week than they've been, probably because the scores were so high last week. Carrie Anne says they weren't "erotic" enough. Can you say that in the 8 o'clock hour? They get a 7,8,8 for a 23. And going back to his dance after watching Jason's, Cristian's was like being served broccoli when you were expecting chocolate. (Not good.)
Marlee and Fabian dance the samba, and for the first time, you can see how Marlee not being able to hear really affects their dance. She stumbles a bit and gets off the beat a couple times -- maybe because the samba is so rhythm-dependent. Her "hip action" isn't great, and their hold is a bit off. The judges all carefully critique her, by which I mean they all say she's so "inspirational," and then they tell her what she did wrong. She gets a 7,7,8 for a 22.
Kristi has had two kids! And she looks like that! Wow. She and Mark will be dancing the rhumba, which Kristi says she's a bit nervous about because it's such a sensual dance and she's married and a mommy. She calls Mark a "hot young thing." Sing it, sister. He can even make the lavender outfit he's wearing look good. I can't even take notes when I watch Kristi. It was amazing and beautiful. The judges agree, and she gets a 9,10,10 for a 29.
Shannon and Derek had to suffer through another health scare this week, when Derek comes down with food poisoning on Monday morning. He's well enough to dance their samba. Going into it, you kind of knew Shannon wasn't going to do well with the hip rolls and Latin beat of the samba, and while there are some nice moments, the dance as a whole is a definite step down from last week. Carrie Anne makes a great point, though: she really went for it. Shannon's scores are 8,8,7 for a 23.
Finally! Jason and Edyta are doing the rhumba, and it's going to be amazing. During the dance, my notes are just a bunch of exclamation points: his hips! his hands! he's so graceful! How can this guy be a football player?! Maybe Kristi doesn't have this thing so wrapped up, after all. I really think that if Jason keeps getting better, we'll have a real battle on our hands. He gets three nines for a 27.
Top Three: Kristi, Jason, Mario
Bottom Three: Marlee, Priscilla, Cristian
If I had to guess: Priscilla hangs on for another week, Cristian goes home.
Links n' Things

The Nashville City Hall staff is still mourning the end of "The Wire." Who isn't?
Another article on why FNL is awesome, even while a lot of sport-themed shows are not.
Stephen Colbert is in Philly this week to cover the final week before the Pennsylvania primary. Mrs. Obama will be his guest tonight.
Tim Goodman wrote this interesting article about being a TV comedy snob. The thinking goes that if you watch NBC's Thursday-night bloc of half-hour comedies, ("My Name is Earl," "30 Rock," "The Office," and "Scrubs") you won't be watching when CBS debuts an all-new line-up of its half-hour comedies tonight. ("The Big Bang Theory," "How I Met Your Mother," "Two and a Half Men," and "The Rules of Engagement) It's an interesting theory, and one that hits home with me, right down to the part about mourning "Arrested Development." I won't be watching CBS tonight, and with the exception of "How I Met Your Mother," I have no desire to watch any of those shows. I freely admit to being a TV elitist, though, so my opinion probably doesn't mean much. Thoughts?
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