I wanted to review a show a currently am following and
though this is more of a recap than a criticism it is full of the authors
opinions and makes comparisons to other current shows.The writer starts by talking about how good
the show is and compares it against other “bad prime time television”.He is not shy to speak his opinions on the quality
of a program and gives some backing up to it. He is obviously actually a fan
and follower of the show as it is littered with quotes and references to past
seasons. He does explore some of the questions and developments of characters
at the end of the piece in more detail than just a summation.His style is short paragraphs following a
character or seen.
Scandal is back and it seems a bit more scandalous than ever. Last night, after another juicy episode of Grey's Anatomy (on its 10th season), ABC premiered its third season of the highly anticipated hit television show scandal. The ending of season two left us all hanging on the edge of our chairs begging for answers to the most intriguing questions while anticipating the wittiest answers. Writers of the show have a way of doing that to audience members. We were excitingly welcomed to season three by the publicized claims that the president was having an affair with Olivia Pope. Yes- yes- yes- the reveal has come. Leave it to Shonda Rhimes to add the perfect twists in this upbeat series. The shows flow was well paced and Kerry Washington (Olivia Pope) does a great job keeping true up-beat flow of the show as she continues her take-charge, take-no-prisoners methods. But I must admit it’s crucial you pay attention to the bulky dialogue or you will get lost. I understand you have to squeeze a lot in but can we slow it down a td bit ABC? ... Just a suggestion.
Aside from the spoilers and the delicious gossip (for those who are not caught up), I'm pretty sure we all were anticipating the infamous mistress Miss Pope and her latest fashion statements. The shows wardrobe team has done a great job keeping miss popes attire match the character perfectly. It has been a statement for miss "Pope" to wear all white, which usually symbolizes purity (ha-ha), which has definitely contributed to her character traits. I know we all love to see her revved up in the heels we all feel we need. Season three did not disappoint as far as fashion is concerned. Miss Pope looked professional but her outfits also let the public know why the president (Tony Goldwyn) has his eye on the sophisticated diva with a soft side.
Thus far the premiere episode did not disappoint and I am excited to see what else the show has to offer. I do fear however that writers may add too much twist in the show which may overwhelm us butI guess the only way to find out is to tune in and I’m willing to continue to give it a chance.
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I decided to write my blog about the hit show Scandal and my writing style will be inspired by Maureen Ryan of the Huffington post. I chose Ms. Ryan because I enjoyed her writing style and topics she wrote about. Her reviews are a reflection of her personal opinion as well as thought that many audience members may share. I also enjoyed her comparison of shows, word choice and side comments as she critiqued and analyzed a show. Bellow are some examples of her work...
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: The third season of "AHS" is making it's comeback with the Coven. Marie Delphine LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) was a "lady of her time" in New Orleans. She just so happened to be a serial killer who tortured and killed her African American slaves. Marie Laveau (Angela Basset) was considered the city’s most famous master of voodoo during the same time period. Both characters are historically accurate, dating back to the late 1700's. It's unknown if they ever did cross paths in reality -- but for this story they do. American Horror Story focuses on a “coven” of witches in modern time, who just so happen to live in the same spooky city.
THE PLOT: Zoe Benson (Taissa Farmiga) is forced to Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies because of incidents that exposed her powers. This witch boarding school is located in New Orleans and houses five teenage girls with special powers: Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe), Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts) and Nan (Jamie Brewer). All of these women have unique powers that give them clear advantage over a normal human-being.
Despite the school’s small class size, there are several big secrets that they keep hidden behind closed doors. Currently the school is ran by a middle-aged witch, Coredlia Foxx (Sarah Paulson), but it seems as if her mother Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange) may end up changing that.
MY SAY: The big question is how does Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies relate to LaLaurie and Laveau?
With a proven cast as well as two exceptional creators (Ryan Murphy and co-creator Brad Falchuk), it’s hard to expect anything shy of a “magical” season. A-listers Lange, Bates and Basset have already appeared in the premiere episode and that is not the only big names we will see. Others we can expect to appear throughout the season include Patti Lupone, Frances Conroy and Christine Ebersole. It is amazing that all this talent is brought together for just one season (13 episodes).
Will it match up against season one and two? I’m not sure as of yet. Regardless, I am excited to see what is in store for season three.
BOTTOM LINE: If you’re into witches, creepy plot lines and continual twists, this series is worth a shot!
GRADE: B+
Paige Wiser, TV Critic for the Chicago Sun
I chose Paige Wiser as the writer that I'll attempted to emulate. I chose her because she has a long career as a writer landing a job at the Chicago Sun fresh out of college and remaining their ace TV critic for 17 years. When looking for a critic to copy I looked at sites where critics were rated and Wiser a 5.8 rating higher than other critics. Then I did a little research about her to get a profile of the type of person she was and the types of things she wrote about other than television. I found that she was recently fired from the Chicago Sun for lying about a story. She was sent to cover a Glee concert, she took her son and daughter and shortly after the show started one of her kids got sick so she had to leave the concert. Instead of writing about her actually experiences at the concert she chose to comment about one of the songs in their play list. A reader who knew what songs were actually performed that night revealed that the song she talked about was never played that night.
Wiser had previously covered an Oprah Winfrey event which she was reprimanded for by the Chicago Sun for writing a lousy review so when it was discovered she lied about the Glee concert the Chicago Sun had to protect their reputation and send her packing.
I read her reviews looking for fabrications, exaggerations, and embellishments as if my eyes are keen enough to could detect them. I found that she's just a good writer who because of her experience and knowledge of the players ( writers, directors, casts) is able to explain to the couch potato eye the brilliance or lack there of in the events taking place in that rectangle box before them.
While re-watching 8 seasons of Supernatural in preparation for the ninth season, I came to the realization that the writers of the show really put their actors to work. They make Jared Padalecki play a lot of different roles. Granted, most of them come from his main character of Sam, but still, he really puts the "actor" in "handsome actor guy". While tuning in you can get Sam possessed by demons, Sam possessed angels, shape-shifters posing as Sam, leviathans posing as Sam and so much more that I'm not remembering. Here are four of the best characters he's been forced to play in supernatural.
#4. Soulless Sam
No need to be a dick, sam
Supernatural was supposed to end after it's fifth season but there was one problem, it makes The CW too much money, so they couldn't let it end. The contract for more seasons was drawn up(creating some major loose ends) and they needed more material so it's a very strong possibility that this idea just got pulled out of a writers ass, but even if it was, who cares? Soulless sam, or as I like to call him, 'Sassquatch'(for obvious height related reasons and how he talks back to everyone he meets) is a nice change from the normal pool hustling, monster killing, law school dropout Sam. He makes not having a soul seems pretty liberating, allowing you to say whatever you want to whoever you want and not care how they feel about it or for that matter not caring about anything, at all.
#3. Gary Frankle
....said by my mother every time Jared is on screen
This time, a 17 year old kid named Gary pulls a Freaky Friday and steals Sam's body for a few days. what's interesting here is that Jared improvised a lot of the lines that made it to air, he really took to acting like how a kid who just got put into the body of a 6'4" underwear model would act, flexing in the mirror and admiring himself(ok not really HIMself but let's not worry about the details) whenever he got the chance, not realizing when women are hitting on him and of course, ordering alcohol just because he can now.
#2. Jared Padalecki playing Sam, who is trying to act like Jared Padalecki, playing Sam.
No, no, you read that right, my brain hurts a little bit too. There is an episode of Supernatural where they don't just break the fourth wall, they are literally thrown through it as the main characters are hurled into a parallel universe where their world is just a TV show and Sam is actually an actor named Jared Padalecki. Jared is acting as Sam who has to pretend to be Jared to make everything seem normal to everyone and that involves playing himself(sam) as they film an episode. Just think of the worst acting you have ever seen, and multiply it by ten.
"I don't know what do i do with my hands"
#1. Lucifer
This guy
for a few episodes was this guy
Actually, he was the perfect vessel for Lucifer and because Lucifer is an angel he needs your consent and it's a whole thing that that they explain in the show. Anyways, the result is fucking amazing, Lucifer had been in a bunch of episodes already and was played by Mark Pellegrino but now since Luci's home in his "perfect vessel" he really gets to cut loose as he conquers the planet. Cutting loose of course by making a bunch of references to pop culture like Rugrats, and Star Wars as he speaks.
(who would have guessed the devil was a Lucas fan? oh wait I WOULD HAVE.
It's the only explanation for The Phantom Menace)
As mentioned above, Supernatural really puts Jared Padalecki through his acting paces and to say the least, he makes it through them with ease. Each season and sometimes, each episode finds him playing a new character or a new version of his character and it's certainly a good way to keep the show fresh and open up new plot points.
Gilmore Girls will be a show you'll one day be forcing your own daughter to sit town and watch. Whether it be for the fast-paced witty banter or the just-odd-enough-without-being-downright-creepy citizens of the small town setting, Stars Hollow, this show brought everything it could to the table for 7 years. The first 6 seasons are where the meat is all at. The ups and downs of the lives of best friends for life/mother daughter duo Lorelai and Rory Gilmore will capture your heart, lock it away, and throw the key away. Lorelai was a teen mom who struck out on her own when Rory was born to get away from her rich blue-blooded family. She grew into the woman (admit it) we all want to be. Beautiful, funny, and down right intelligent, we see as she raises bookworm Rory through high school, and how their relationship takes on a new light as she enters college. As you reach season 7 however, you will see the unfortunate downward spiral and blow the plot took as original creator and writer Amy Sherman-Palladino and her sidekick husband Daniel Palladino left the show. It’s still worth a watch in my opinion, as you will be so invested in these characters you will find it impossible to not see where Rory and Lorelai ultimately end up. The cult following of this show are still true to this two woman sisterhood. A quick google search will lead you to essays of debate and criticism. Gilmore Girls is a true marvel of television history. One last remark before you embark on the quirky adventure into Stars Hollow, don’t let the constant onslaught of pop culture references get you down, the DVDs and box set come with your own handy-dandy Gilmore-isms guidebook!
FRIENDS: THE ONE WITH WHY IT WAS ALWAYS A GREAT SITCOM
Photo from Slate.com
Only 56 million viewers tuned into the Friends season finale in 2002. Oh what a pitty, only 56 million! However, the last time I checked, one of the most famous shows today, Breaking Bad, only received 10.3 million viewers for its season finale. Breaking Bad may not be a sitcom and may be on cable television, but that does not negate the fact that the characters in both series were large reasons as to why people would bite their nails waiting for the next episode or scream “NOOOOO” when the episode ended. Let's take a more personal and closer look at the characters of Friends.
PHOEBE BUFFAY
Photo from weheartit.com
Let’s start with your average “ditsy” character who is an awful musician and an even worse poet. From telling you it’s not your fault if you have a smelly cat to using her graceful good looks and comical charm while giving sensual massages, Phoebe Buffay, played by Lisa Kudrow, sure is a natural “one of a kind” talent with biggest heart... Especially if it means carrying her brother’s babies.
CHANDLER BING
Photo from Buzzfeed.com
He may not be the best at giving advice or cracking a sexy smile, but joke cracking Chandler Bing, played by Matthew Perry, surely had a great following during his time on Friends. Chandler Bing is the quick-witted comedian of the group of friends and graduated top of his class in sarcasm school.
JOEY TRIBIANNI
Photo from idolol.com
“How you doin’?” Coming from a family of eight siblings and being the only male, how can Joey Tribbiani, played by Matt Leblanc, not love woman as much as he does? From being the hunky Dr. Drake Remoray actor, to the smooth-talking ladies man, Joey certainly loves his subs and sandwiches. Although he may not be the smartest in the bunch, Joey has the best heart and is always there for his friends... even if he does try to cop a feel here and there.
ROSS GELLER
Photo from pics5.imagezone.org
If you are ever interested in having an hour long conversation in a coffee shop about prehistoric dinosaurs, Ross Geller, played by David Schwimmer, is your paleontologist pal. Just because Ross may be all brains, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the charm...to marry three woman and divorce them all. When he’s not battling for Rachel Green’s love, he can be found in a tanning booth or in a dentist’s chair whitening his teeth, just waiting for his next love to come around.
MONICA GELLER
Photo from headoverfeels.com
She may defend her impeccable cooking and neurotic cleanliness before she would her own family, but Monica Geller, played by Courtney Cox, sure has come a long way since her pizza pounding days. Now a head chef and a tidy tyrant, Monica is able to find the love of her life just right under her bossy nose... or perhaps right across the spotless room.
RACHEL GREEN
Photo from Google Images
Putting her princess and popularity high school days aside, Rachel Green, is your typical gorgeous “daddy’s girl” who eventually gets her dream job working at Ralph Lauren. Managing to still stay grounded, Rachel maintains a sense of humor while still skipping around from sexy Italian men to hunky doctors. But somewhere, under that glorious Rachel Greene haircut, does she hold a special place for that one passionate paleontologist.
Photo from Google Images
So nobody told you life was going to be this way? Well, as the name of the sitcom exemplifies, “Friends” was a way for the average American to escape their daily lives and flop onto that brown couch every Thursday night with their favorite friends: Phoebe, Chandler, Joey, Ross, Monica, and Rachel.
For this assignment I decided to mimic the style of Chris Suellentrop especially in this article that he wrote. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/assessment/2004/05/friends.html . Because I completely disagree with almost everything he wrote in this critique of Friends, I thought it would be a good experience to write in the same style as him: witty and sarcastic. Instead of writing negative aspects of Friends and how it was not a great sitcom, I decided to use the same sense of humor but go into depth about each character and analyze them. Hopefully by doing this, I am able to exemplify how their characters were the reason as to why the show thrived so much. Chris Suellentrop is the deputy editor for blogs at Yahoo News and a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine. He has reviewed video games for Slate, Rolling Stone, and NewYorker.com.
