Television's Amusements of the Week (10/13-10/19)

Most weeks, a handful of amusing moments from TV shows stick out at me. Sometimes these moments are intentional; many times they're not. Regardless of their intent, here are five that caught my eye last week.

1) Silas Goes Greek (The Vampire Diaries)

The flashback styling on The Vampire Diaries never fail to amuse me, but Silas's ancient Greek style might take the cake for funniest costuming yet. Forget the outfit; the curls alone would have earned this moment a spot on the list.

2) Mellie's Drunken Monologue (Scandal)

 

 

I love Mellie in just about any form, but drunk Mellie might take the cake. With just one scene in which she celebrates her continued ability to make her "puppet husband dance," the bouffanted first lady stole the show.

3) Julia's Nightmarishly Hideous Vest (Parenthood)

 

Sometimes when I'm cold, I'll wrap a blanket around myself as a makeshift poncho. It's not a good look, and yet it's still 10 times more fashionable than this sartorial monstrosity. I know Julia's supposed to be in a rough place on the show, but this vest needs to be burned with fire.

4) Sarah's Gummy Bear Scheming (MasterChef Junior)

 

Don't be fooled by the cute exterior of MasterChef Junior's youngest competitor Sarah. As she enjoyed the perks of a challenge win, safety and a massive container of gummy bears, she explained to Gordon Ramsay her plan to make Jack think she's his friend so it will be "that much easier to wipe him out." She then called Jack over so she could drop a gummy bear from above as a sign of good will.

 

 

 5) The Return of Jessie Spano (Dancing with the Stars)

 

 

I'm so excited. I'm so excited. I'm so ... happy that this actually happened. Last week Elizabeth Berkley reenacted her iconic caffeine addiction scene from Saved by the Bell on Dancing with the Stars, and it was everything I wanted it to be.



What television moments amused you last week? Chime in with a comment below.

7 Reasons to Watch Hannibal

I'll admit it; Hannibal sounded like a terrible idea for a TV show. A prequel to Silence of the Lambs?  Really? Upon hearing the premise, I rolled my eyes and prepared myself for some snark upon its premiere. Then I read that Bryan Fuller was the creator. And it was starring Hugh Dancy. And then an intriguing trailer was released. And then positive reviews started rolling in.

So I entered the pilot with pretty positive expectations, but even so, I've been blown away by how good Hannibal is. Not only is it absorbingly entertaining, but it's also a really high quality show. Rather than just focusing on Hannibal the cannibal (Mads Mikkelsen), the show also pushes Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) to the forefront as a special agent to the FBI who uses his ability to empathize with murders to help solve their crimes. Hannibal serves as Will's unofficial psychologist, helping him deal with the emotional toll of the job. The dual leads provide variety to the show and have led to a far more interesting story arc than I'd expected.

Unfortunately Hannibal's ratings haven't correlated with its quality. For some reason, a lot of people just aren't watching. If you're one of these people, I'm here to convince you why you should start watching.

However, I will give one caveat; if you can't handle gore, don't watch Hannibal. It's such an excellent show that I don't mind a little bit of cringing, but if you're easily grossed out, Hannibal probably isn't the show for you. That being said, if you can handle some gore, Hannibal is excellent and well worth your time for many reasons including these seven.

1) It's visually beautiful.

I've said before that Pushing Daisies is the cutest show about murder ever. If Pushing Daisies is the cutest, Hannibal has to be the most gorgeously filmed. There's something very intriguing about the juxtaposition of disgusting body parts filmed in a beautiful way or a lush but cannibalistic feast. As gross as its content may be at times, visually Hannibal is an absolute treat.

2) The acting is top notch.

As mentioned earlier, I was a Hugh Dancy fan before watching Hannibal, but having only seen him in movies such as Ella Enchanted and Confessions of a Shopaholic, I had little indication as to how strong his dramatic acting chops are. However, they're on full display in Hannibal as he plays vulnerable, mentally unstable Will Graham. Mads Mikkelsen is also fantastic in his role as Hannibal. He plays a different, more sophisticated Hannibal than Anthony Hopkins that allows his work to stand on its own rather than suffer from comparisons of quality. The supporting cast is great as well with no real weak links.

3) Hugh Dancy

Hugh Dancy's acting in Hannibal is fantastic, but I also just like to look at his face. If you tune into Hannibal, you can too. Plus isn't his name just fun to say? If you start watching, you'll have plenty of opportunities to say "Hugh Dancy" as you tell your friends how much you love the show.

4) There are familiar names and faces for Bryan Fuller fans.

If you're a fan of Bryan Fuller's previous shows (Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls or possibly even the short-lived Mockingbird Lane) and aren't averse to the aforementioned gore, you definitely should give Hannibal a try. Caroline Dhavernas (aka Jaye Tyler from Wonderfalls) is a series regular, and several actors from Fullers' other shows have made briefer appearances, including Ellen Greene (Pushing Daisies) and Eddie Izzard (Mockingbird Lane). Additionally, Dead Like Me's Ellen Muth is set to appear in an upcoming episode. Even more, an actual character has crossed over between worlds. Wonderfall's Gretchen Speck-Horowitz appears in an episode of Hannibal as a diabetic picking up a prescription. In another episode, a Miriam Regina Lass appears, a name that should ring some bells for Dead Like Me fans.

5) The fun community

For such a dark show, Hannibal's crew, cast and fans have a lot of fun with the show online. Bryan Fuller shares tons of tidbits and jokes on Twitter and is very interactive with fans. Aaron Abrams, who plays one of the crime scene investigators on Hannibal, made me laugh with a tweet about his method of positively reinforcing Hugh Dancy. A quick search for Hannibal on Tumblr or Twitter will also reveal a trove of fun comments and gifs from the show's fans. In particular, the dark humor of the "blank is people" jokes seldom fails to amuse me.

6) It's creative.

I'm not always a fan of procedurals. While there might be a standout episode here and there or a great cast that elevates the writing, I find most of these shows tend to be a little boring and monotonous from week to week. The grotesque yet captivating imagery of Hannibal, however, is far from boring. For instance, a memorable episode features humans used as mushroom fertilizer. Fans of Pushing Daisies should remember, Fuller's flair for creative deaths; it's just that deaths in Hannibal are coated with gritty realism rather than the cartoonish surrealism of Pushing Daisies.

7) Doggies!

I can pinpoint the moment in Hannibal's pilot that Will Graham won me over. He picks up a stray dog, only to take him home and introduce him to a whole pack of strays. Cute dogs are almost always plus. And those like me with lingering memories of the puppy torture chamber from The Following's pilot need not fear; Bryan Fuller has tweeted a guarantee of dog safety.


If you want to check out the creativity, acting and cinematography (or Hugh Dancy) yourself, you can watch Hannibal Thursdays on NBC at 10/9c.

4 of the Worst Wigs on TV This Season

If you've read much of this blog, you've probably come to realize that I love to make fun of things. One of the things I've enjoyed laughing at this television season is bad wigs. I'm definitely no hair expert, so if I've managed to notice someone wearing a wig, it's got to be pretty bad. I've put together a short list of some of the latest fake hairdos I've enjoyed mocking.

1. Carrie Bradshaw from The Carrie Diaries

"What? This one's not that bad," you may say. Don't worry. I thought I'd ease into some of the more horrific hair. Carrie's bouncy curls from The Carrie Diaries pilot looked notably different by the second episode. That's because Carrie's wig first made its appearance then. Admittedly, the wig looks okay enough to me in some scenes (although see my "definitely no hair expert" comment above), but when it's clearly standing apart from her scalp, as in the still above, it's hard to take it seriously.

2. China White from Arrow

I only watched the first several Arrow episodes, but one aspect of the show was burned into my mind: China White's cheap Lady Gaga costume wig. I don't actually know if the wig was cheap or not, but I find it hard to believe it cost more than thirty bucks. Kelly Hu was awesome in The Vampire Diaries as Pearl, but with this travesty of a wig, China seemed more of a joke than a villain.

3. Huck Finn from Scandal

I think it's time I give the CW a break and move on to another network, ABC. I literally burst out laughing when I saw Huck's flashback wig in the episode "A Criminal, a Whore, an Idiot and a Liar" of Scandal. Then I did an instant rewind on the DVR and laughed again. This wig looks more like some sort of dead animal or couch stuffing than a head of hair. I think the guy in the background is supposed to be reacting to Huck's smell, but it could also serve as a reaction to that hideous hair.

4. Kristina Braverman from Parenthood

Perhaps the most notable entry on this list isn't exactly a wig; it's a bald cap. This season of Parenthood has been fantastic. Kristina's breast cancer storyline has been extremely touching and at times tear-jerking. Monica Potter's acting has been fantastic. That being said, Kristina's bald cap is hilariously bad. Monica Potter has a lot of hair, and when put under a bald cap, her head looks ridiculously deformed. I can completely understand Monica Potter not wanting to actually shave her head for the role, but the resulting look is very Conehead.


These are my four choices for the worst wigs of the TV season, but I'm sure I skipped some terrifically terrible ones. If you have another addition to the list, let me know in the comments.

7 TV Show Substitutions to Tide You Over Until Fall

If you're like me, you're eagerly waiting for the return of your favorite fall shows. Sure, there are some great summer shows (such as Breaking Bad and shockingly Teen Wolf), but fall programing offers a much wider selection. While you're waiting, here are substitutions for some popular fall shows.

1) If you like Once Upon a Time, you should try The 10th Kingdom.



If you're still watching Once Upon a Time, you're clearly fine with cheesiness. You may find this hard to believe, but Once Upon a Time isn't the cheesiest of them all. The 10th Kingdom, a mini-series from 2000, is quite possibly the cheesiest show I've ever seen, and I devoured all 400 or so minutes of it in one weekend. Like Once Upon a Time, it mixes the fairy tale world with our world; a girl and her father from our world are sucked into a magical world with an obligatory evil queen. There's also plenty of familiar faces, including Ed O'Neill as a troll and Gilmore Girl's Scott Cohen as a werewolf.

2) If you like Hart of Dixie, you should try Everwood.




Admittedly I've only seen about one and a quarter episodes of Hart of Dixie, but Everwood's premise is so similar that I feel it would make a good substitution. Both shows feature a city doctor's move to a small town. Granted, widowered father of two Andy Brown of Everwood is somewhat different from the shorts-wearing young woman Zoe Hart of Hart of Dixie; so if you're just watching Hart of Dixie for the hot southern guys, you may not fill that void with Everwood. If you, on the other hand, love the small town medicine in Hart of Dixie, Everwood might be right up your alley.

3) If you like The Vampire Diaries, you should try Buffy the Vampire Slayer.



I have such a weak spot for supernatural teen dramas. The Vampire Diaries started out as Twilight-esque mess worth of little more than eye rolls, but by the middle of the first season, it had developed into a fun, twisty ride worthy of only a few eye rolls here and there (although season three drew quite a few more of them). If you're a Vampire Diaries fan and have never experienced Buffy the Vampire Slayer, get thee to Netflix and get your marathon on. The shows share more than a few elements in common, and there's seven whole seasons of Buffy to tide you over until The Vampire Diaries returns. You might be thrown off by the extreme 90s cheesiness of Buffy at first, but once you get to season two, you may even find yourself looking forward to the next Buffy episode more than the next Vampire Diaries one.

4) If you like How I Met Your Mother, you should try Happy Endings.



Unlike the other substitutions on this list, Happy Endings is actually still on the air. It's such a great show that I couldn't help but include it. It doesn't have the same framework as How I Met Your Mother, but they both fall into the group of Friends-esque comedies. While I was ready to swear off Happy Endings after its lackluster pilot, it quickly found its footing. Season one had some great episodes, but season two was full of them. There's nothing wrong with just re-watching How I Met Your Mother reruns of FX (particularly if they're from the golden years of HIMYM), but if you're looking for some new material, Happy Endings shouldn't disappoint you.

5) If you like Castle, you should try Firefly.



On the surface, a police procedural and a sci-fi western may not seem to have that much in common. Okay, they may not have that much in common internally either. What they do have in common, however, is Nathan Fillion. It's hard to imagine Castle achieving the level of success it has had without Fillion's charm, and those of you suffering from Nathan Fillion withdraw can get that fix from Firefly. Don't be turned off by the show's genre; a sci-fi western didn't sound very appealing to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the show's short run. Plus, after watching Firefly, you'll be able to understand the references to it on Castle.

6) If you like The Office, you should try Summer Heights High



If you've never seen Summer Heights High, you're in for a treat. Like The Office, it's a mockumentary featuring kooky cast of characters. Unlike The Office, the three main characters are all played by the same actor.  Chris Lilley plays all three excellently, but I'm partial to snobby, private school girl Ja'mie. While Summer Heights High features a similar off-color humor as The Office does, I should give a warning that the language used on it is somewhat stronger than the language on The Office. I doubt that many people are actually looking forward to The Office's next season (sorry, I had to throw a jab in), but if you are or are looking for a show that's reminiscent of The Office in its glory days, you should check out Summer Heights High.

Alternative: I hated to give another currently airing show as my main suggestion, but fans of The Office should also consider watching Parks and Recreation if they've yet to do so. It's similar to The Office but with more heart. It starts out a bit weak but really finds its footing starting in season two. It's hilarious, and the characters are fantastic.
 
7) If you like Revenge, you should try Veronica Mars.



I confess: I raked my brain for any current show resembling Veronica Mars because it felt wrong to write a list of TV show recommendations and not include it. Revenge and Veronica Mars aren't exact matches, but they have plenty of similar elements. Although Veronica is more of white hat and and Emily's more of a black hat, both enter their series with revenge for a loved one on their mind. Both are strong female leads, both go on undercover missions, and both pilots start in medias res (okay, the similarities are getting little thin). I'd recommend Veronica Mars to just about anyone, but I feel like Revenge fans will particularly enjoy it.


What fall shows are you eagerly awaiting the return of? Do you have any suggestions of TV show substitutions? Leave a comment, and let me know.

Can you feel the hate tonight?: 5 characters currently on TV that I despise

Like many people, I was sad when Lost aired its final episode. It may not have been a perfect show, but I grew really attached to it and miss it now that it's gone. There's one aspect of Lost, however, that I don't miss at all: Kate Austen. I didn't love every character on Lost, but there was no one I came even close to despising as much as I did her. Now that Lost is over, there are still plenty of characters currently on TV who plague me. These characters bring down their shows, and I'd like to see them gone. My desires to see certain characters disappear almost never seem to be fulfilled (e.g. Kate seeming to have 9 lives), but that won't stop me from hoping.

1. Derek Shepherd (Grey's Anatomy) 

I'm not a fun person with which to watch Grey's Anatomy. Every time that Derek's on the screen I can't help but feel a strong hatred towards him, and that hatred often represents itself in comment form. I actually liked Derek a lot during the first season. He was cute, charming, and basically, there was good reason to call him McDreamy. Then came the first season finale and the revelation that he was married, and suddenly, his relationship with Meredith lost its luster for me. It's not just the fact that he was married that bothered me, but also the way he treats women in general on the show. He didn't just end things with either Meredith or Addison; he juggled both of them for a long time. Somewhere in there he also dated nurse Rose while he clearly still had feelings for Meredith. Now he patronizes Meredith on a regular basis. Factor in his self-righteousness, and I just can't stand him.

How to Get Rid of Him: Derek gets into a spat with Meredith and goes to cry in his "house of candles." Then it catches on fire while he's in it, and fortunately, the burns are too severe for him to be saved.

2. Declan Porter (Revenge) 

I'm not sure how much I've talked about it on here, but I absolutely love Revenge. It's my favorite new show this season, and for the most part, I love the cast. Jack's (Kyle Valenti to my fellow Roswell watchers) little brother Declan, however, is horribly out of place. Declan just provides the show with annoying teen drama and distracts from the more interesting storylines. Plus, I've yet to figure out why his accent is different from literally everyone around him, including his brother.

How to Get Rid of Him: Declan does something to land on Emily's hit list, and she does us the favor of removing this blemish on an otherwise great show

3. Alex Dunphy (Modern Family)

I don't have a lot of reasons to include Alex on this list other than she annoys me greatly. There are actually several Modern Family characters that annoy me from time to time, but Alex is by far my least favorite. I don't know what's worse: when she's written as a know-it-all or when she's written as a "regular girl" (e.g. the episode where she crushes on the guy at the dude ranch). It's a close call, but I'll go with the latter. I feel like these moments are only going to increase as the character gets older. It's hard to believe that someone so annoying could be related to Luke, the superior sibling.

How to Get Rid of Her: However annoying Alex may be, she's still pretty young, so I'll go easy on her. Alex goes off to college early, and we never see her again. Or a car that doesn’t stop at the stop sign Claire insisted on hits her. What? I couldn't resist.

4. Leo Houston (Smash) 

Like Alex, Leo is another annoying teen character, but honestly, he's much worse. First of all, the role of Leo was cast terribly. I haven't seen Emory Cohen in anything else; maybe Smash doesn't showcase his abilities well. Still, he's terrible as Leo, and I cringe every time he's on screen (particularly during a crying scene he was inexplicably given a few weeks ago). Secondly (any maybe this ties into the poor acting), it's as if the person writing for him has never met a real teenager. In the second episode he wines about not getting an adopted sister, and questions "what's going to happen to her?" Viewers have also had to suffer through an atrocious storyline about Leo smoking weed. Now, watching him handle his parents' divorce is almost too painful to bear.

How to Get Rid of Him: In coping with his parents' divorce, Leo turns to harder drugs and quickly ODs. Now that I think about it, that would probably just mean more annoying drama for Julia. I'd gladly just accept Leo moving in with his dad and never being heard from again.

5. Ellis Tancharoen (Smash)

As much as I dislike Leo, there's one character that is much, much worse than him on Smash. Smash has a lot of problems, but Ellis is by far the worst. The hate I feel towards him is definitely an unhealthy amount to feel towards a fictional character. I can feel it seeping through me whenever he's on screen. I have a hard time putting my reasoning for despising Ellis into words because I'm not even sure why my hatred is so strong. Ellis is a villain and isn't necessarily supposed to be loved by the audience. Possibly he's supposed to be a character the audience loves to hate, but I just flat out hate him being on screen. He's annoyingly opportunistic, presumptuous, and somehow believes he deserves credit for the Marilyn musical. I wish I could more eloquently explain my hatred for him, but as he seems to be almost universally hated among Smash viewers, you probably know what I'm talking about if you've seen the show.

How to Get Rid of Him: Do it by any means necessary. I'd prefer a violent, painful death (Smashed by a bus?), but I'm not picky. Seriously, just get Ellis off this show.


As you can see, I have a lot of feelings when it comes to fictional characters. How do you feel about my picks? What current characters bother you? Let me know in the comments.

Deputy Leo and Veronica Mars Reunited?: 4 Other TV Reunions I Would Have to Watch

I watched the pilot of New Girl, but I didn't find the show compelling enough to keep watching. Recently, New Girl's Max Greenfield talked about wanting Kristen Bell to appear on an episode of the show. As a huge Veronica Mars fan, there's no way I'd miss a Deputy Leo/Veronica Mars reunion, and I'd definitely be suckered in for an episode. This made me think about other reunions that I would be compelled to watch.

1) Hart of Dixie: Seth and Summer

I like Rachel Bilson, and I really wanted to like Hart of Dixie. I watched the pilot plus some of the third episode. Honestly, it was kind of boring, and the acting was pretty bad. I did, however, watch all four seasons of Rachel Bilson on The O.C. as Summer Roberts. So if Adam Brody were to appear on Hart of Dixie, there's no way I would miss it. Adam Brody even acknowledged the possibility in this interview with Wetpaint Entertainment, but the suggestion was sadly made in jest.

2) Ringer: Pretty Much Any Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reunion

I'm kind of cheating by including Ringer because this is already happening. I'm also kind of cheating because I've actually been watching Ringer. But I'm not really attached to it, and an increase in the number of Buffy reunions might fix that. I've seen several different online comments that have suggested that Charisma Carpenter join the show by playing Juliet's mom (including one on the following link), but sadly, that's not happening. In any case, the more Buffy reunions that take place on Ringer, the happier I'll be. Since Jason Dohring is on Ringer as well, I'll also gladly accept any Veronica Mars reunions.

3) Hawaii Five-0: A Massive Lost Reunion

Hawaii Five-0's promos have made me well aware that both Daniel Dae Kim and Terry O'Quinn are on the show. As much as I love Lost, I have zero interest in Hawaii Five-0, and I'm going to need a little more than that for me to watch. I wouldn't be too picky about the who, but I'm talking several main characters (and no Kate please). This is kind of a ridiculous request, but this is also kind of a ridiculous list. Make it happen, CBS.

4) Pretty Little Liars: Any American Juniors Reunion

Back in the summer of 2003, American Juniors was my show. I was pretty much obsessed. I watched every episode (even taping a few of them on videotapes), fantasized about appearing on the show one day, followed the contestants careers via the internet, and bought the two CDs associated with the show. I honestly thought it was just about the coolest show ever. So when one of the contestants, Lucy Hale, began to appear in various roles, I instantly recognized her. Nowadays Lucy Hale is most well know for her role as Aria Montgomery in Pretty Little Liars. I know a lot of people love Pretty Little Liars, but after two episodes, I just gave up on it. However, if there were to be some kind of American Juniors reunion on the show, I would totally watch. Or you know, at least watch the appearance on Youtube later.

Now that I've shared four TV reunions I'd love to see, I want to hear what reunions you're hoping for. I'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments.

5 Reasons Why I Have Hope for Glee's Third Season (and 5 More Reasons Why That Hope is Probably False)

 Oh Glee. It truly is the show that I just haven't been able to quit. I both hate to love it and love to hate it. Like many of Glee's viewers, I was hooked by its initial greatness (the first half of season one or debatably the majority of season one) and that hook has dragged me along through some of its not-so-greatness (most of season two). Well, you can call me crazy, but I actually have some hope for season three. There are several reasons why I've developed this hope for season three, but as per norm with my Gleepinions, these opinions are going to be mixed. That means for each reason that gives me hope, I'm going to have a corresponding reason why I'm keeping that hope low.

1) More Writers

           Why I'm Hopeful: 
   When watching The Hollywood Reporter's Emmy Roundtable of Comedy Actresses I was surprised to hear Lea Michelle reveal that Glee was being written by only three writers, all of them male. Although I was surprised, this perhaps lends some insight into why Glee's writing is so shoddy. However, there's recently been an announcement that Glee's more than doubled their writing staff by adding six new writers for the new season. Hopefully, this increase in writers will allow them to think through their storylines more carefully and have some consistency. As a further bonus, one of these new writers is Marti Noxon of Buffy fame who wrote excellent episodes like "Surprise," "The Wish," and "The Prom."

           Why That Hope is Probably False: 
   Even with only three of them, the writers of Glee seem to be horribly out of sync. Most of the characters are ridiculously inconsistent, and I suspect that part of the reason for that is the different writers feel differently about the characters. If three writers couldn't create consistent characters together, who's to say that nine writers will be able to write harmoniously. As for Marti Noxon, well, she wrote the "Bad Eggs" episode of Buffy. Enough said.

2) Actual Story Arcs 

           Why I'm Hopeful: 
   Among the many things that have been said about the new season is the statement that Glee will feature more story arcs next year.  The Hollywood Reporter reports that Ryan Murphy stated, 

"Last year you had the baby story line that everyone could follow and this year we didn’t do that." "Next year we’re going to be doing that more. What I have learned from this season is I think people want story arcs,” he said. 

I think most of us can agree that story arcs are an important element of most shows. They give us something in which to become invested and help to keep the viewers' interest. In the past, Glee has had a bad habit of pressing the reset button after many of their episodes, resulting in us getting the same storylines ad nauseam. Story arcs could be a good fix to this problem, would actually allow for plot development, and might even give us some character development.
 
           Why That Hope is Probably False: 
   Honestly, for a show like Glee, story arcs should be enough of a no-brainer that there's no question of including them. Furthermore, the fact that Murphy cites "the baby story line" as an example of a successful one is cause for alarm. For the most part, the baby story line was a drawn-out, confusing, soap-operaish hot mess. From what I've heard of the planned story arcs for season three, I'm not sure that they're going to be much better. I mean, Sue running for Congress may be a new development, but at best, it's extremely questionable.

3) No Guest Stars

           Why I'm Hopeful: 
   Throughout the first and second seasons of Glee, viewers were exposed to a plethora of guest stars. Admittedly, some of these guest stars (Josh Groban, for example) were excellently incorporated. However, many of them were just distracting and took even more screen time away from some of the lesser featured cast members. In fact, I think Gwyneth Paltrow's character Holly Holiday has had more solo numbers than Tina, one of the original New Directions members. However, according to TVLine, Ryan Murphy has said of season three, "We’re not going to have any guest stars." A lack of guest stars could be a huge improvement for Glee and give them more screen time for neglected characters.

           Why That Hope is Probably False: 
   There's a good chance that this statement is simply not true. Reportedly, Idina Menzel is already signed on to return. Perhaps Murphy was just referring to new guest stars, and since her role is big-ish, the term "guest star" is debatable. Still, it's hard to believe that he'll stick to his statement.

4) Damian May Appear 

           Why I'm Hopeful: 
   As I wrote in my post about The Glee Project, Damian is by far my favorite contestant. I'd be excited to hear his adorable accent on Glee. Due to a lack of acting challenges on The Glee Project, it's quite possible that he has about as much acting ability as Tommy Wiseau. Still, I'd be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and I'd be excited to see what character Glee came up with for him.

           Why That Hope is Probably False: 
   There's only a one-in-six chance that Damian will be the winner of The Glee Project. That's a five-in-six chance that this hope is false. Plus, according to its Wikipedia page, Damian has been in the bottom three twice and has been at "low" risk two weeks as well.

5) Samcedes 

           Why I'm I Was Hopeful: 
   When writing my thoughts on the season two finale, I mentioned that I was intrigued by the idea of Sam and Mercedes as a couple. It was a somewhat unexpected pairing, and I was curious to see where they were going to take it. If nothing else, it was a way to give Mercedes a story line that didn't involve tater tots or being an over-the-top, ridiculous diva. Plus, it seemed that they were keeping their relationship a secret, and there was a chance for an interesting plot concerning the reason for that secrecy.

           Why That Hope is Probably False: 
   It's been reported that Chord Overstreet, the actor who plays Sam, will not be returning to Glee this season. So, unless Glee decides to delve into the supernatural and incorporate body swapping into their show, it appears that this pairing is officially dead.


With that, I end my ranty list of my feelings about the upcoming season. Whether you agree with the part of me that enjoys Glee or the part that loves to hate on it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the upcoming third season in the comments section.

11 Best Performances on Glee and a Few Honorable Mentions

I feel like I post about Glee a whole lot. And that's not going to end tonight. (Wow. This intro is being written terribly. Maybe it will get better.) I felt like making a list post, and as I established in my last post, I'm often really lazy. So, I figured that rounding up my favorite performances from Glee would be fun and easy for me to do. I was going to do a top ten favorite post, but I couldn't bare to make it less than 11, and even then, with honorable mentions. In fact, there's a couple more that I'd love to add, but I used my restraint.

1) Run Joey Run

We got this gem of a performance when Rachel decided to make her own music video. And it was hilariously funny because everything about it was 100% Rachel. The cheesy effects, the melodramatics, and the priceless face that Rachel makes at the end are just a few of the reasons why this number made my list.

2) Hello

I've loved the song, "Hello," ever since I saw Kristen Chenoweth sing it on Pushing Daisies. Both Chenoweth's rendition and the original by Lionel Richie are absolutely wonderful. But that being said, I think Glee's version definitely earned a place in my iTunes library. The song is lovely as a duet, and Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff sound wonderful together. I was a huge fan of Jesse St. James (until Glee screwed up his character by making him turn on Rachel), and this was a great choice for his first song on the show.

3) It's My Life/Confessions

Glee has featured several mash-ups in its season and a half run. This one was one of mash-ups featured in the episode introducing mash-ups into Glee's lineup. While the girls' competing mash-up, "Halo/Walking on Sunshine" was okay, "It's My Life/Confessions," was far superior.

4) Don't Rain on my Parade

It's impossible to deny that Lea Michele shines best in her performances when she's able to utilize her musical theater experience to the fullest. This theatrical, showstopping performance by Rachel in the Glee club's first competition is definitely one the show's finest moments. Lea Michele went all out on this song and absolutely owned it.


5) Marry You


So, this number was Glee's take on the "Forever" wedding dance. We saw it done quite literally on The Office (which worked perfectly for the show), but since this is a show about performers, they had to change it up a little. And Glee a hundred percent pulled this off. I was a little turned off by the way they handled the wedding as whole because it was so annoyingly focused on Kurt, but this was a perfect way to start the wedding. This was one of their cutest performances, and I adored it. I've rewatched this on youtube more than a handful of times.

6) Valerie

While the singing on this song was okay, the reason why it's on this list should come as a shock to no one: Brittany and Mike's dancing. The people of Glee have showed off these two talented dancers several times this season, but their dancing in this scene is wonderful. I know next to nothing about dance, and so I can't really analyze it beyond that it looked really cool. Also, I couldn't find a video with only "Valerie," but it starts at around 2:35.

7) Teenage Dream

The Warblers' first appearance on Glee was certainly memorable. Their a cappella performance of "Teenage Dream" was charming and just sounded really really good. I listened to their version of the song on repeat for about a week after the episode aired.


8) Like a Virgin

Glee has gotten into the bad habit of working the story around certain songs rather than working songs in that actually fit their storylines. This performance was included on the list not because the song was so great but because it fit the story so well. It was worked into the story in a very musical-like manner, and I love it for that. Also, they did a great job in blending the three different couples together in the editing of the performance.

9) Open Your Heart/Borderline

I feel like this performance on Glee was somewhat underrated. It wasn't their splashiest performance or song. But, I loved this mash-up. Not only is it a really cute song, but it made for a really cute performance by Finn and Rachel. I find Finn and Rachel really cute together at times and really horrible together at others. This is one of the moments in which a really bought the idea of them as a couple.

10) Piano Man

I absolutely love Neil Patrick Harris, so it was a no brainer that I'd include a performance by him in this list. Originally, I was going to include Dream On because I thought that it was a really well done duet. But, when looking up Dream On, I saw a link for this song on the side. To be honest, I'd forgotten about this one, but once I saw it I knew that I had to include it. Glee's songs are often incredibly over produced. This short performance, however, was understated and quite lovely.

11) Don't Stop Believing

Okay, so this performance is pretty much a given. All of Glee's pilot was wonderful, but this is the moment that made people take notice and realize that Glee could be something great. I'm only a little embarrassed to admit that this performance gave me chills. It's Glee's signature song for a reason. Also, watching it back after a season and a half of Glee, it's nice to see the Glee club at the beginning when they didn't have all of the fancy sets and costumes that they do now (that they inexplicably are able to afford). 

Honorable Mentions


Forget You

I couldn't bring myself to include this under the best performances because it really wasn't that great. Glee's often criticized as being an adult's Kidz Bop, and honestly, this performance is kind of Adult KidzBopsy. So why would I even include it under honorable mentions? Because they just look like they're having a ton of fun (besides Rachel), and I somehow found myself watching this performance multiple times. So, judge me if you will for putting this under honorable mention, but I stand by that decision.

Emmys Intro

I didn't catch the Emmys this past year, but I saw this Glee-inspired performance afterward. I thought it was a really fun idea, included a bunch of fun celebrities, and was just pretty great. I include it under honorable mentions, however, because it's technically not a performance on Glee.

 
Okay, so between selecting the songs to include, finding youtube videos to accompany each song, and writing my reasons for each song selection, this was more work than I thought. Still, it was fun and might just inspire me to make a worst performances on Glee list.