Death by Television!

Wednesday, 21 July 2010

D is for...Degrassi Junior High

Degrassi was a Canadian teen soap opera that ran from 1987 to 1989, but has had a couple of 'sequels' including Degrassi High and Degrassi: The Next Generation. There was nothing like Degrassi made in the U.S., it was edgy and more realistic than 'Saved By The Bell' or 'Beverly Hills 90210'. It dealt with such as drug use, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, homosexuality, racism, and divorce, and these problems were not wrapped up in one episode but continued through out the series. The show wasn't patronizing and didn't talk down to us kids. But it also didn't try to 'down' with the kids and try to be ultra cool. The characters were like people we'd actually be at school with, maybe that's because they weren't professional actors. Basically, Degrassi was like 'Skins' but for the late 80's.

Here's the YouTube link for all the Degrassi episodes:
Degrassi on YouTube
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Thursday, 15 July 2010

C - CSI...all of them...

Search Amazon.com for csi Search Amazon.com for csi

The CSI franchise started in 2000, in Las Vegas with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. CSI: Miami followed two years later in 2002 and then CSI: NY in 2004. More than 2 billion people worldwide watch CSI...and I'm one of them.

Now I'm going to write about each city but I'm saying straight off that CSI: Vegas is my favorite. The original and still the best. The Vegas team is lead by forensic entomologist Gil Grissom, who's a little socially inept but a great scientist. And Catherine Willows, the most kick ass ginger on T.V.! I have nothing bad to say about CSI: Vegas, I have never mocked it with friends...unlike...

CSI: Miami, which is one of the most ridiculous shows on T.V....but at some point it was the most watched show on the planet. This is not because it's good, that the story lines are riveting or the acting is Oscar level or the editing is cutting edge. No, it's because it's so bad and because of the hero to the down-trodden and the enemy of all the bad guys...Horatio Cane. (I'm rolling my eyes just thinking of him) Ginger For Justice!

One of the things that make CSI: Vegas so great is the humor and the chemistry between the team members. You can actually believe that these people like each other and are friends. When one of them makes a cheesy one-liner, another one will call them on it or give them a look like 'what did you just say?'. On CSI: Miami there is no humor, at least not intentional, all the humor is from the overly earnest dialogue and acting and the crap editing and ridiculous plots and...you get the picture. I'm surprised that Horatio has any time to solve crimes, since he's always telling the children of crime victims to call him anytime.

When there was the Miami/NYC crossover to launch CSI: NY, David Caruso looked like the horrendous actor he is next to Gary Sinise, who's not only won an Emmy and a Golden Globe but has been nominated for an Oscar and a Palm d'Or. It was embarrassing.

The crossover introduced us to Detective Mac Taylor, who's wife died in the 9/11 tragedy and the rest of his team. CSI: NYC is a bit darker than the other two shows...literally, it's lit really dark. I like CSI: NY but it's getting a little crazy with all the celebrity guests...Pete Wentz & Ashlee Simpson, Nelly, Kid Rock, Nelly Furtado, Joey Lawrence,
Marlee Matlin, Sasha Cohen, Maroon 5, Julia Ormond, Criss Angel, Suicide Girls, Chris Daughtry, John McEnroe (as himself)...really it's getting ridiculous!
All the CSI series have had an unfortunate side effect to being so cool and showing us how crimes are solved...the 'CSI effect', which...

'is a reference to the phenomenon of popular television shows such as the CSI franchise raising crime victims' and jury members', even criminals', real-world expectations of forensic science, especially crime scene investigation and DNA testing.'

I know that most of the things they do on the CSI shows aren't actually correct and they don't have 'magic' computers but I still love them! And I have to admit that I often 'CSI' things myself...oh god...I really do watch too much T.V.!

Wednesday, 14 July 2010

B is for BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (ORGINAL)

Cover of "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century...

Cover via Amazon

I'm writing about both of these because they were on T.V. at the same time and were both developed by Glen A. Larson and even used the same props, costumes and sets.
I loved Buck Rogers as a kid. I guess you could say it was the beginning of my geek journey, along with seeing Stars Wars at the age of 4 years old in 1977. Obviously, being a kid I didn't know that it was cheesy and tacky but even now as an adult looking back at the shows...I still love it, maybe because it it so cheesy.
Buck Rogers was a NASA pilot on a mission in 1987 is 'accidently' frozen for 504 years and wakes up in 2491. There's all sorts of shenanigans and adventures as Buck learns about the future and Earths past. Actually, there were some pretty kick ass, strong women on Buck Rogers...Colonel Wilma Deering and main villain Princess Ardala, who wants to take over Earth and Buck.
It was also chock full of 'guest stars' including; Gary Coleman, Cesar Romero, Jack Palance, Roddy McDowell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jerry Orbach, Julie Newmar...and oh yeah, Mel Blanc as the voice of Twiki!

Battlestar Galatica was more serious and darker than Buck Rogers. From Wikipedia:

Humanity lived on twelve colony worlds in a distant star system. They fought a thousand-year war with the Cylons, warrior robots created by a reptilian race which expired long ago, presumably destroyed by their own creations. Having never been commanded to cease fire, these warrior robots waged war against the colonials. Mankind was defeated in a sneak attack on their homeworlds conceived by the Cylons, carried out with the help of Count Baltar (John Colicos). Protected by the last surviving warship, a "battlestar" (the word, presumably coined by Glen Larson, is short for the phrase "line-of-battle starship") called Galactica, the survivors fled in available ships. The Commander of the Galactica, Adama (Lorne Greene), led this "rag-tag fugitive fleet" of 220 ships in search of a new home on a legendary planet called Earth. The episodes dealt with the fleet's struggle to survive the Cylon threat and to find Earth.

But for me as a 5-6 year old; this is the show that gave me one of my first crushes, besides Shaun Cassidy, and that was...Starbuck as played by Dirk Benedict. Don't even think I knew why I like him but he was my favorite, maybe because he was charming and funny.
I haven't seen the new Battlestar but have been told by many people I should watch it...so here I go!

Sunday, 4 July 2010

How I was a Big Mouth on Big Brother's Big Mouth...

On Friday July 2nd, I was in the audience of Big Brother's Big Mouth. I don't remember how they got my number but they've been calling me for a couple years to try and get me on the show...but I've never been able to go on it because of work or school or whatever. Well, now that I'm temporarily unemployed I was able to do it!
I'm not gonna go into why I was an hour late getting to Elstree Studios, where Big Brother is filmed, but let's just say I say a lot of North London suburbs and walked quite a bit.
When I finally got to Elstree I was taken to a 'workshop', basically a building where sets and props are stored, and given to drink tickets because the booze will make us more talkative. There was a curtained off 'room' where the other audience members, about thirty of us, were drinking and watching that nights Big Brother. Some of the audience were totally over-dressed and glammed up, I found out later that they had auditioned to be on Big Brother but obviously not got on. Everybody was very nice and for some reason there were quite a few Brummies. Some of the audience had been on before and one guy had been on sixty times!
They took our bags and phones so we couldn't text who was evicted to anyone...there's a couple minute delay to what's broadcast. One of the researcher's Emma came round and talked to people who wanted to be a 'top talker'...and I was one of them! They want to find out who's going to have something good to say and who you like and dislike, who you want out of the house. The 'top talkers' get the best seats so Davina can get to you easier.
So we got to see the eviction...SUNSHINE! YEAH! BOO! I wanted her out. I thought She was annoying, patronizing and selfish and an attention seeker. So we wait around whilst Davina interviews Sunshine but don't get to see the interview. They lead us over to the studio, make us wait outside for a bit and then get taken in to the studio. As a 'top talker' I get the best seat in the house, right on the front row! I sit next to some girl from OK! magazine and we make fun of Jodie Marsh's plastic surgery.
One of the crew tells us not to read along to the telepromoter and to whoop it up when Davina introduces the audience! WHOOOOO! HOOOOO! Some rapper I never heard of performs and we have to dance. Oh by the way, I'm wearing a green dress.
Davina comes out, she looks amazing and is wearing Louboutins. We talk about Shabby and Keyva (spelling it phonetically). Shabby's friends are sitting behind me. They're really nice and cool and I like Shabby more because of them. Suddenly, Davina sticks the mic in my face and asks me if I think Keyva is flattered by Shabby attention...I quickly get over the initial shock and say 'Yes, everyone likes to get attention.'
Ad Break...Davina comes and sits next to me and I give her a little squeeze. She's lovely.
Then we talk about Ben and Marion and Dave, how they're always touching each other. I say 'They are bonding like monkeys or chimps.'
Sunshine comes out and isn't as annoying as I previously thought. She seems alright actually.
The guy who's been on sixty times says something really mean to Sunshine and everyone turns on him and boo's him. Sunshine takes it on the chin and keeps going. She shows us her nasty rug burn and grosses everyone out.
There's only a minute left and I pull a hat trick and say 'If Dave hadn't won the challenge he'd be out right now and not Sunshine.'
End of show...the rapper comes back out again we all dance and Marcus is doing karate! Brilliant.
We were told that if they like how we did we can come back and maybe even for the final! Fingers crossed!

Friday, 4 June 2010

Today on Murder, She Wrote...Dead to RIghts

Jessica reluctantly agrees to help her former researcher on a murder charge despite the fact that the woman is a pathological liar. (from http://jesmaine.tripod.com/mswseason9.html)

Jessica is still in Cabot Cove. Her assistant, Dana, heads back down south to Portland, Maine after helping research a book. Dana is applying for a job at a securities company. She's totally blagging it.

OMG! It's Hodges from CSI. He play this guy Todd at the securities company.

Dana totally messed up on the research on Jessica's book and she has to re-do all of it.

Then Dana pretends to be Jessica and gives herself a glowing reference to Ethan Stevens, the boss at the securities company. So she gets the job.

Mr. Stevens has been doing insider trading and fraud. He gets threatened by his partner. 48 hour...48 hours.

Jessica's at dinner with a publisher. Mr. Stevens, thinking he had talked to her earlier that day, comes up and says hi. Jessica is flummoxed by the conversation.

Jessica comes to the brokerage to confront Dana. She's still lying about pretty much everything. She's shocked when Jessica tells Dana that's she knows Dana a 'big fat liar'. (my words not Jessica's)

Mrs. Stevens confronts Dana and basically threatens her...'He is my major clown.'

Later on that night...Mr. Stevens is shot after saying...'Dana, what are you doing?'

Even though Dana's a 'big fat liar', she's no murderer. But she's arrested for his murder. Her prints, hair and blood were on the gun and she had GSR on her hands.

Dana's public defender, Vincent Polaski. asks Jessica to investigate the case for her because his P.I. is in rehab. He guilts her out and she ends up doing it...as long as 'she can go for 5 minutes without lying.'

Her blood was on Mr. Stevens desk because she claims to have lost an earring in his office.

The prosecutor, Bruce Hastings, looks like a cross between Gordon Gekko and Pat Riley.

Jessica and Polaski think that Dana had inside help getting a job at the brokerage because she knew too much about it. So they go Polaski's grandma, Wanda, who's a computer hacker.

Of course the inside guy is Hodges...I mean Todd. Dana and Todd went to the same high school in Vermont. Mrs. Stevens shows up with Baker Lawerence, Mr. Stevens, partner.

The police psychologist says Dana has 'borderline psychosis'...no duh.

Jessica wonders why Mrs. Stevens and Baker were in Ethan's office on the day of his funereal.

Polaski and Jessica go to check out Stevens office again. The security guard pops in and out. They hide under the desk. It's made of jasmine wood, which is 'unusually soft' there's no way she hit her head on the desk...someone had to have hit her over the head with something.

Holy Crap the prosecutor was Ethan Stevens partner in crime! And his killer!

Dana goes into therapy for her lying.

Thursday, 3 June 2010

Today on Murder, She Wrote...The Big Kill

The murderers of a fisherman and a banker have nearly the same M.O., but are the crimes connected?

(from http://jesmaine.tripod.com/mswseason9.html)

It was a dark and stormy night in Cabot Cove...The Sheriff, Mort, shows up at the cove and helps fisherman Henry carry something onto his boat, but he is clueless as to what it is, he's just being nice. And then one of the Warriors, Michael Beck, turns up and threatens the other fisherman Al.

Oh yeah...the plot...I was too busy uploading the picture of Michael Beck...money and armaments and smuggling.

Henry the fisherman calls the Sheriff and says he has something important to tell him. He does this after giving his daughter $1,000 from poker games...she doesn't believe him.

There's a traffic jam in Cabot Cove because of an over-sized truck from the evil company that MichaelBeck works for. It's owned by Chad Everett, he used to be famous too. He has a mustache in this.

The Sheriff goes to meet Henry on his boat and finds him dead...carbon monoxide poisoning.

Al has some guy tell him that he can't be 'shipping' the merchandise he has. He calls someone and threatens them.

Eve the local real estate agent is 'in love' with Chad Everett's character, Martin Fraser, and is helping out networking etc for the 'underwater imaging' thing.

He's in it too. His name is Henry Gregg. You probably recognize him, he's in everything. Usually a bad guy like in this, Carl Ward, he threatens Mr. Fraser. Wants half the money he gets from his contract.

A second body is found on the docks with almost the same wounds as Henry, it's Carl Ward!

Michael Beck's character, Brian Bentall, doesn't seem to be a bad guy, he's super smart.

Henry's daughter gets a package from him that he sent before he was killed. It's his log book and a bunch of other evidence.

Jessica goes to see the Sheriff about something...I've kind of lost track of the comings and goings of the so called plot.

Jessica sees some ropes in some guys truck and of course knows where she's seen it before. They are Mr. Fraser's boat.

AN INTERNATIONAL ARMS DEALER IS IN CABOT COVE!?!

Mr. Fraser has an alibi, he was with Eve...until breakfast both nights. Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink.

Seth the doctor says 'Gossip gets round this town faster than a phone call.' Which triggers Jessica into solving the murders.

They go to see Mr Bentall to drop some hints...oh no! He did it! But Why?

He goes to the docks to get something and they confront him.

A very old cell phone was used in the murder...seriously, it's a brick.

Poor Eve...Mr Fraser is going to jail. But don't feel bad for her, a handsome gentleman needs her to find him a home in Cabot Cove.

Judge Judy Quote Of The Day:

GROW UP!
She almost made the girl cry.