herc!

Hey, it's me. The underachieving summer blogger. Although it may not seem that way, my summer of television has actually been quite awesome. I am officially caught up and butt crazy in love with Friday Night Lights. Last weekend, I finished the third season. I have yet to get started on the current season though - need a little breather to collect myself.

I won't attempt a full assessment of my FNL experience quite yet, but I will be mentioning the show in upcoming posts - since I've been living and breathing it for the last two months. Oddly enough, I remember watching the first couple of episodes when FNL first premiered, and it didn't really catch me. But as my favorite TV bloggers continually praised it and rabid fan support led to the network "creativity" of marketing it through DirectTV, I knew I had to give it another shot. So glad I did.

Gross summary: I would argue that these are some of the most well written (if not the best) teenagers in the history of television. Between the photo editing, the music, and the casting, I join the chorus of fans wondering why this show doesn't have 100 Emmys. That's not even including the amazing performances by Kyle Chandler (Coach) and Connie Briton (Mrs. Coach) - finally nominated this year - and the seemingly effortless work by Zach Gilford (Matt), Adrienne Palicki (Tyra), Jesse Plemons (Landry), and pretty much everyone else, including the wonder that is Tim Riggins.

Wait! That wasn't the point of this post. I can't even help it. I could go on and on. The point was to highlight one of the smaller, great roles in FNL - that of Herc played by Kevin Rankin. The story of Jason Street could have gone to a teenage-angst-melodrama bad place. But thanks to the writing and performance by Scott Porter (6), complemented so well by Rankin, I would argue it turned out to be a near perfect story. Texas forever.

Kevin Rankin co-starred in NBC's short-lived medical drama Trauma last season. In a semi-under-appreciated show, Rankin's character stood out as the best for me. So, I was really glad to see that he will be on our TV screens again this season. According to Ausiello, Rankin has been has a Patrick Jayne's brother-in-law on the CBS drama The Mentalist. This show isn't quite appointment television for me, but I do keep it on the DVR and enjoy watching. It's clever and easy to watch with great performances from Simon Baker (Jayne). Rankin's character is a con artist womanizer, and there's a possibility for recurring status.

Happy as I am for Rankin, I will not let this hinder my mental image of Herc traveling the globe with the quad rugby team spreading wisdom and breaking hearts on an international stage.

mad men season 4 promos!

It's a promo bonanza for Mad Men! I promise to start posting about non-Mad Men topics soon.

For instance, we need to talk about Friday Night Lights. I'm 4 episodes into season 1. WHERE THE HECK HAVE I BEEN THIS SHOW IS AMAZING.

All of these are character-specific and non-spoiler promos using footage from season 3. Each gives us a reminder of where we left each character last season. Who's your favorite?

General "where we left off" promo for season 4:



Don:



Betty:



Roger:



Joanie:



Pete:



Peggy:

5 more weeks!

quick reference for returning summer shows

We'll be getting into what's new on the television schedule this summer soon (so much!), but here's a quick guide for when to expect returning shows to premiere:

Just for fun, *** inidicates what I'll definitely be watching.

June (some happened already - sorry!)

1: Wipeout on ABC (admittedly watch this from time to time. so funny)
1: America's Got Talent on NBC (they lost me when Hoff departed)
3: Royal Pains on USA ***
3: Burn Notice on USA
6: Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime (heard this is good. anyone?)
6: Ice Road Truckers on History
6: The Next Food Network Star on Food Network
7: The Secret Life of the American Teenager on ABC Family
7: Last Comic Standing on NBC (probably tune in to see Craig Robinson do his thing)
13: Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami on E! (for real?)
13: True Blood on HBO (summer Netflix project for me)
20: Leverage on TNT ***
22: Hawthorne on TNT (this show is terrible)
24: Futurama on Comedy Central
27: Entourage on HBO (need to catch up!)
27: Hung on HBO
28: Make It or Break It on ABC Family *** (sorry, can't help it)
29: Rescue Me on FX (final season, but I need to catch up)

July

12: The Closer on TNT
13: Warehouse 13 on SyFy
25: My Boys on TBS ***
25: Mad Men on AMC *** (duh)
29: Jersey Shore on MTV

August

3: Shaq vs on ABC
9: Dating in the Dark (good god, I can't believe this is coming back)
16: Weeds on HBO (another Netflix project this summer)

a gleeful sendoff

If you're using a magnifying glass, there's a lot of beef to be had with Glee. Mostly, continuity issues like Emma disappearing for multiple episodes and Quinn's pregnant belly missing for most of the season until she gives birth to a toddler who was one month premature.

However, I'm choosing to ignore all of that and just love Glee for Glee. The season finale was so fun for many reasons, including:

• Journey. I mean, come on. What better way to end the season than with a giant cheeseball tribute to a cheeseball band? Don't Stop started it all. I cried.


• Kurt's sailor hat.


• Finn blurting out "I love you!" to Rachel before their performance. Such a teenage boy.


• The girls' competition costumes. And Artie's competition hair. So dapper.


• In the judges' room, when Sue realizes she cares about those kids.


• Sue likening Will's hair to a briarpatch with racist Disney characters singing about the bayou.


• Emma screaming at Figgins for cutting glee (although I thought Will's subsequent love profession was a little out-of-left-field)


• Sue wanting hand sanitizer after shaking Will's hand so she doesn't "catch poor"


• Everything about Jonathan Groff. Damn, that boy can perform.

What do we think about Ausiello's scoop about John Stamos being cast as Emma's dentist boyfriend? Weird, but I kind of love it.

nerding out for chuck

I just finished re-watching the third season finale of Chuck. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - you should be watching this show.

Chuck has something for everyone:

• Action: crazy kung fu fights, gun play, jumping off and out of buildings, explosions, car chases, and of course amazing hot girl fights
• Music: a truly unique rock cover band called Jeffster
• Comedy: from the nerds at Buy More to Colonel Casey to Chuck himself, I laugh out loud every week
  
• Love: even if you're not a Chuck/Sarah shipper, Chuck's sister Ellie and her husband Awesome are enough to make you swoon (by the way, I'm so glad they gave Awesome and Ellie more to do this season).
  

Most importantly, I'm so so impressed with how this show manages to keep things fresh every season with a new surprise and twist at almost every corner. Even this year when I thought things would end neatly given an uncertain future of the show (they were somewhat unexpectedly given an episode extension), we're left with a really intriguing and mysterious set up for next season. It's always unexpected, always entertaining, and always fun. Something you really can't say about many shows these days.

Thankfully, NBC ordered 13 episodes for fourth season of Chuck next year with a good chance for an additional nine episode order (fingers crossed). So, hit Netflix or Hulu this summer and watch the first three seasons. It would be such a fun summer DVD show. I promise you won't regret it.

rebirth

My absence is inexcusable. Millions of readers have wept daily without my television ramblings.

Okay, slight overstatement. But I do apologize to those who stop by from time to time only to find a grossly neglected blog during arguably the most exciting part of the television season - May sweeps, season/series finales, network upfronts, and the start of summer series.

I'll be starting up again this week with some thoughts on the end of a few important shows (LOST) and seasons as well as a look at what's new for the summer and what to expect from the networks in the fall.

If Britney can come back from this, the blog can recover.