Freedom!

I am officially DONE with this semester - emailed my last paper to the professor last night. Which means I'm free... for a whole two weeks, and then the summer session starts. Oh well.

Anyway, it's that time of year, so if you're curious whether your favorite shows will be back next year, here's the chart for you. I'm happy to see that only two of my shows are "on the bubble" - Chuck, as ever (eat more Subway!), and Life Unexpected, which was cute, but I probably won't miss it. Getting the axe are 24, which I knew about and am ready for the end, and Dollhouse, which was canceled in the spectacular chaos of "let's cram five seasons worth of plot into the last six episodes" six months ago, so I'm not sure why it's even worth mentioning.

skool?

I am officially a student again - had my first grad school class last night. It seems like it's going to be interesting and fun. I have a different class tonight; we'll see how that one shakes out.

It kind of just occurred to me on Saturday that I ought to go shopping for a bookbag and notebooks and, like, school supplies stuff. I'm so out of practice, it didn't even occur to me that I'd need this stuff until now.

In other news, I think Joss Whedon is conspiring to make me watch the second season of Dollhouse. It's like he heard I wasn't thrilled and said, "Hmm, what can we do to make this show more appealing to Laura?" and obviously he couldn't fire Eliza Dushku, so he went with the next best thing. Hiring Jamie Bamber, Michael Hogan, and Alexis Denisof to guest star. If James Marsters shows up, I'll know something's afoot.

In other-other news, Leverage was renewed for a third season. Yay!

Finally!

Usually, if I'm not posting for a while, it's because I'm busy, and then there's this whole catching-up process where I try to cover everything that I missed over the X number of weeks I wasn't able to check my regular blogs.

Lately, it's been the opposite. Plenty of time to read, nothing to talk about. Most shows are winding down (WTF was up with the Bones finale?), and so the only big news is in what's getting renewed. If you've been following along with the cheat sheet I linked to a while back, you should be up-to-date, but in case you're not, here's the deal.

First and foremost, CHUCK IS BACK! Albeit with a reduced budget, but that seems to be par for the course in TV this year. Also an emerging pattern is that low-rated shows seem to have a better chance at renewal this year, since I guess the networks would rather spend their money on low-performing shows they already have than risk spending it on new shows that might do even worse. That's apparently what saved Dollhouse (along with, again, the slashed budget thing), which I'm kinda "meh" about. I was ready to call it quits, but I hung on till the magical episode 6, and... yeah, it's better now than it was at the beginning, but I found the finale somewhat disappointing, and wouldn't really have minded if that was the last we saw of it. I feel like this time Joss' grand statement is kind of getting in the way of the storytelling. (Also, I no longer trust him farther than I can throw him, after how he ruined the Buffy season 8 comics.)

Also, this article is mostly for Kelly, but honestly, it pisses me off that my diploma is in Latin. I find it ridiculous that we need to make up Latin words like "Franklinus et Marshallanium" (I have no idea if that's right but it's close enough) just to make ourselves sound smarter. It's bullshit. That's not the name of the college I went to, and I don't want it on my degree.

Ouchie

I hate my dentist. All I wanted was one teeth cleaning, and it's spiraled into 5 appointments! First, they wouldn't clean my teeth until I came in for a consultation, so there's two appointments right there. Then, I had cavities, which necessitated two more appointments, since apparently, they can't do fillings on both sides of my mouth on the same day. Whatever. So I went for the first filling appointment on Tuesday, and for the past two days, the filling has been cutting the inside of my mouth with its sharp edge. Which means I am going back AGAIN today to have it fixed. Plus, I've still got my second filling appointment a month from now. *is bitter*

Anyway, Joss apparently can't make up his mind on Dollhouse - first, he said a second season pick-up was unlikely, then changed his mind and said he was optimistic at the Paley Festival's Dollhouse event.

Also, spoilers on who's gonna survive this season of 24, since they're coming back for season 8. (It's Ask Ausiello, which means there's spoilers for just about every show on TV, so be careful.)

Slow holiday Friday

It is DEAD today. No one is working in my office... or in any other office, judging by the utter lack of phone calls I've gotten today. Which leaves me plenty of time to search the internet and find fun things for you.

I haven't been terribly interested in Dragonball: Evolution, despite James Marsters being in it, so I've been avoiding linking to the eleventy billion interviews that have been released in conjunction with the movie's promotion. However, I will link to this one, because it's geeky and cute (I am now imagining his son going "Fat Piccolo! Fat Piccolo!"), it covers just about all his recent projects, and he talks about Andy Hallett. If you're really interested, I can find plenty more...

The Dollhouse season finale fiasco seems to have been straightened out. But yeah, you're probably gonna have to get the DVD if you want to watch the mystical 13th/14th episode.

Aaron Sorkin may be coming back to TV, with another show-within-a-show idea.

And apparently having babies is the cool new thing, because now Sarah Michelle Gellar is pregnant.

Remember me?

In an attempt to rehabilitate this blog, I thought it might be nice if I posted once in a while. Sorry I've been superbusy in work, but it doesn't really seem like it'll let up any time soon. I seriously, seriously need a vacation, but that's not going to happen when I'm trying to find a new job and move to DC.

Anyway, I watched Dollhouse last week. (If you'd like to read about it, Whedonesque has links to about eleventy billion interviews with Joss and/or Eliza.) I was not impressed. I really don't think Eliza can pull off this role, and I'm still iffy on the premise. I'll give it a few more weeks, but just the fact that it's Joss isn't enough to make me want to watch.

On the other hand, several of my favorite shows are coming to an end, either for good or for the season. We're up to the last five episodes of Battlestar Galactica (ever!) and I think my head might explode (in a good way). The Psych season finale is tomorrow (wow, that came up fast), and Leverage ends on Tuesday. I've really been a fan of Leverage (enough that I just gave it its own tag), so I recommend you all catch up during the break, as they've been renewed for a second season.

On the other-other hand, My Boys is coming back March 31st. Also, Kristen Bell is guest starring on Rob Thomas' Party Down, which means I'm wishing even harder than I got Starz.

More stuff!

Took a time-out from work to watch the Inauguration ceremony, and now I'm back with a whole bunch of TV news (since I know that's what you really care about).

Interviews with both the final Cylon and the character who died in Friday's episode. (I'm not spoiling because I want you all to watch the show!!) Also, Tahmoh Penikett talks about BSG and Dollhouse.

Good news on the Mad Men front - Matt Weiner's contract issues have been resolved, so he'll be back at the helm for season 3.

Rob Thomas is writing the Veronica Mars movie!! Which puts them one step ahead of the Dr. Horrible sequel, which is still in the "everybody wants to do it, but Joss hasn't actually written it yet" stage.

And finally, more casting news: Ted is getting a new girlfriend, but she's probably not the Mother.

Hi, guys! Remember me?

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year's. I've been oddly busy (work-related) over the holidays, so not much time to post in what should be a downtime. As evidence, here's a few links from before the holidays that I never got around to posting. Hopefully, I'll be back soon with, you know, current stuff.

A not-too-good review of Dollhouse, and an article about Tahmoh Penikett. Also, confirmation that Michael Cera is the one holding up the Arrested Development movie (since Megan mentioned it at Christmas). Oh, well. I don't mind... I've only watched season 1, so I'm in no hurry for a movie. :)

I did start rewatching Angel over the holiday (actually, I started around Thanksgiving, and then got sidetracked, and then started up again this week). I forgot how awesome it was. I LOVE Doyle (or maybe it's just my newfound Irish love), and other than a few clunkers, season 1 was a lot better than I remember. And season 2 thus far has just been unbearably squee-worthy. Angel singing! Gangsta Gunn! Lorne! Darla! Yaaaaay!

TV stuff

If anyone's thinking as far ahead as the Super Bowl, The Office is the lucky show that gets the post-game timeslot, and it features Jack Black, Jessica Alba, and Cloris Leachman as guest stars.

Also, interviews with Amy Acker and Neil Patrick Harris, as well as Joss' review of the "Dr. Horrible" DVD.

Gah!

Such a headache. Hard to concentrate. Good thing it's Friday.

Bryan Fuller is apparently going to save Heroes . I'll believe it when I see it. Lauren Graham's getting a new show. And Joss says no talking about the final Cylon on the Dollhouse set.

TGI Friday

Man, it is deader than dead today. Here's hoping this lasts through the holidays.

A couple sorta-good reviews for Leverage, which premieres on Sunday, as well as a sorta-good review for Dollhouse, which to be honest is exactly what I've expected from the show all along. (I don't care how many times Joss says Eliza Dushku is a brilliant actress. I've seen her in plenty of roles by now, and I'm not convinced she can do the "different person each week" thing very convincingly. There are at least six actors from the Buffyverse alone who could do that better than her.)

Also, really interesting interviews with Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss on Mad Men.

Rainy afternoon

I'm sitting here listening to a 3.5 hour conference call, so I'll probably be posting a crapload of links, trying to catch up after posting kind of sparingly since the election.

I can't remember if I linked to this article or not, but much rending of garments and angry fist-shaking was happening on the internet last week due to Dollhouse being bumped to the death slot on Friday nights. On the plus side, Bones will NOT be on Fridays, and Fringe, which I'm still watching, has a good lead-in with American Idol.

Life has gotten a full season pick-up, which I'm very happy about. Like Bones, it's a procedural with a fun twist, and it centers around a really interesting main character.

The prodigal Darling returns on Dirty Sexy Money, as Juliet is set to make a guest appearance. (She was mostly written off the show after the actress had drug problems, I think.)

Damages is returning in January! Gosh, it seems like such a long time since this show was on (due to the writers' strike), and I've missed it so. Speaking of shows I haven't seen in forever (but have missed somewhat less), Kiefer Sutherland talks about filming the 24 movie in Africa.

My Own Worst Enemy has been canceled. I feel a little bad for Christian Slater, because I like him and wanted his show to do well, but it was pretty sucky, and I didn't watch past the first episode, so it's not terribly surprising.

And finally, the writers of The Daily Show talk about their jobs, and Kristen Bell talks about... a lot of stuff.

I also watch TV

So, while the election is certainly the most important thing happening today, there's also lots of other stuff to mention. (Also, there's nothing to do in work and I'm bored. This is what happens when ever single legislator and their staffers leave town to campaign.)

Let's start with interviews. The showrunners of Bones and How I Met Your Mother both have interviews on where the shows are headed this season. There's also the first part of Christian Kane's interview about his new TV show, Leverage. And someone finally tracked down Jimmy Smits to see how he feels about the whole Obama/Santos comparison.

There's also a new Joss Whedon interview, in which the interviewer seems to be really, really defensive of Buffy and really, really hates the new vampire series True Blood. I'm not entirely sure why, other than "It's not Buffy." Joss, however, is happy to talk about both the Buffy comics and Dollhouse.

And finally, Jenna Fischer's got a new movie.

Leaky kitty

Was a little concerned last night when Chelsea appeared to have a leakage problem, dripping saliva from her mouth. I tried calling the vet, but they were already closed, so I settled for Google, which led me to believe it was probably a a tooth/gum problem. In any case, she was fine this morning, but I called the vet anyway, who said it probably wasn't serious. She probably just scratched her mouth on a bit of food or something. This parenting thing is so nerve-wracking!

In other news, Bradley Whitford is getting a new sitcom, which is awesome since I love him, and was just reminded how much because I was watching election episodes of The West Wing last night. (Shut up, Kelly!) Also WW-related, the New York Times apparently just figured out that this election is similar to the Santos/Vinick election. Dude, where were you back in February?

Jon Hamm is guest-starring on 30 Rock (which I'll probably get around to watching someday).

Dollhouse fans, I think you're being mocked.

Hump day!

We're halfway, guys! And Friday is Halloween - anyone have any good costumes? I haven't gotten dressed up since... freshman year of college? It always seems like too much effort.

Anyway, TV stuff - Joss makes a list of happy things, and Tahmoh Penikett talks about BSG and Dollhouse.

Also, another post-season 2 interview with Matthew Weiner, and also the WTF? news that he may NOT be the showrunner for season 3 of Mad Men. That's absolutely ridiculous. That'd be like Joss not doing Buffy or Aaron Sorkin leaving the West Wing (and we all know how that turned out...). Bad move, people! You don't want to lose Matt Weiner - he IS Mad Men. Work it out!

Happy Monday!

I seriously considered calling in sick to work today, but I'm a honest sort of girl, so here I am. My weekend mostly consisted of cleaning the apartment and writing myself recommendation letters, but I did (finally) watch "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." And OMG, guys. Why did no one tell me about the puppets?? Everything about that movie was all "Jason Segel's penis" blah blah blah... PUPPETS, guys. Dracula puppet musical. There are no words for how much I love Jason Segel right now... it cracks me up that he actually wrote that as a for serious musical.

I was also blown away by the Mad Men season finale last night. Holy wow, this is the best show on television right now (thank goodness this and Battlestar Galactica aren't on at the same time, or my head might explode).

Joss Whedon posted to explain the situation with Dollhouse, since rumors of shutdowns and tossing out episodes have caused fans to freak out. Seriously, Whedon fans get waaaay too worked up about this shit. Calm down, crazies. I know you've all been burned with Firefly, but seriously? The show's not even airing for another two months. And it's going to get terrible ratings if you've all had heart attacks from freaking out for six months straight. Trust me, all this panicking can't be good for your blood pressure.

Also from the Whedonverse, Alexis Denisof got a job, possibly prompted by a need to provide for the impending baby.

Life is getting its third new timeslot of the season, which I guess is good because this one's better than Friday nights at 10 when no one watches TV. Also, it nicely plugs the hole in my Wednesday night schedule, between Bones and Dirty Sexy Money.

And finally, you may have heard that Barack Obama purchased 30 minutes of airtime this week on the major networks, back before he had a humungous lead in the polls and this whole exercise seemed unnecessary. Various people give tips on what he should do with his airtime.

Now for the fun stuff

Interviews with Neil Patrick Harris and Carter Bays on HIMYM! More on Dollhouse! Chuck's new season! And Katee Sackhoff's new show!

I'm just trying to acclimate you...

...to not having frequent updates, as I'll be away for much of the next three weeks.

But because I've been lazy the past week, I've got a shitload of pop culturey links for today. (See? I'm giving you a break from the politics.) Okay, I think lists are the way to go here.

Casting news: The Battlestar Galactica movie posts an updated cast list, including Admiral Adama and most of the Cylons, How I Met Your Mother's got a sister for Stella, and Chuck's Sarah is getting a dad played by Gary Cole (not to be confused with Gary Coleman, who just hit someone with his truck).

Shows that have been temporarily shut down and/or retooled: 24, Dirty Sexy Money, and Dollhouse, which might be causing some concern.

Interviews: John Slattery and Jon Hamm (both of Mad Men), as well as Amy Ryan and Paul Lieberstein on The Office.

And finally, a preview for 24: Exile and a review of Fringe, which I totally meant to watch on Tuesday except I was out drinking, but there's an encore on Sunday night, so I'll try to catch that.

Spoilers!

Want to know what's happening on your favorite shows this fall? Kristin at E! has lots of info on Bones, The Office, Heroes, HIMYM, and just about every show ever, so be careful if you're trying to avoid spoilers for any particular show. TV Squad has a similar minefield, with info on those shows plus 24, Friday Night Lights, and more. There's also a more detailed post about Bones.

Also, an interview with Tahmoh Penikett about Dollhouse.

Linky linky

Lots of links today.

First, New Clue disturbs me. Don't mess with my childhood!

Big (spoilery) developments on How I Met Your Mother. Plus, Regis Philbin guest stars. Also HIMYM-related, which NPH character would make the best VP for Barack Obama? I vote for Barney.

Friday Night Lights casting news: It'll be a rough year for Matt Saracen, since his estranged mother is apparently popping up, and there's a new hotshot quarterback in Dillon.

And finally, links to interviews with Tahmoh Penikett (where he talks about BSG and Dollhouse) and Aaron Sorkin (where he talks about why Studio 60 failed, and how much we all miss Sports Night).