[Fantastic Five Fridays] Five Shows You Were Referred To By Other People

It's Friday, I got a job, I got other things I need to write BUT I was in the mood to blog and The Weekly Enthusiast has yet ANOTHER great topic and so here I am again.  Should I really be writing when I'm the creator of sentences like that one?  It's too late now because here I gooooooooo.

Since I am kind of crazy about TV, I usually choose my own shows and make recommendations to others.  That's why it's so fun when people recommend shows to me.  It's like they know me or something!  Here are my top 5 (except it's really 6) shows as recommended by people who get me.

1. Lost and The Office.  Referred by: The Hubs

Yes, I know that's two shows.  No, I don't care.  I decided to lump these two together because they were both recommended by the same person, and they both seem to be following the same course.  That is, they started out strong but haven't kept that same momentum as the years go by.  We've basically stopped watching The Office but I'm sure we'll put in the effort to see the finale.  It's just... not the same.  Though, of course, I do still love Jim and Pam.

As for Lost, well... the first season of that is one of the best ever.  I kept with it much longer than The Hubs did, though I tried to break up with it in the third season and then Jack was all WE HAVE TO GO BACK and so I said OKAY LET'S GO.  

stinking beardy jack and his jears.

2. True Blood. Referred by: my brother and sister-in-law

During the summer of 2009, I took up residence at my brother & sister-in-law's house while Hubs and I looked for a place to live.  This coincided with the second season of True Blood.  Bro & SIL thought it might be up my alley, so they invited me to come watch it them.  My first episode was Episode 2.02 "Keep This Party Going," which begins with a disembodied arm spurting blood and smacking a character in the face. A character who is chained to a pole in a dank, dirty basement somewhere.  I was like, humna?  Oh, it cracked me up.  True Blood is pretty nonsensical, but if you're read the books... well, you knew that was coming.

Cheers, hookas.

3. 30 Rock. Referred by: my OTHER sister-in-law.

Back when this first premiered, Hubs and I gave this a shot.  It just didn't work for us then.  So I ignored it, despite all the Tina Fey references.  So last Thanksgiving, OSIL is like, Jessica, honestly, you need this.  YOU NEED THIS.  And the rest, as they say, is something about night cheese.

4. Doctor Who. Referred by: my aunt, uncle, and cousins

Technically, they didn't refer it to me so much as they watched when I was in their house and I was like, ooh this looks kind of random, and then they kept on watching it every time I was there and then Christopher Eccelston was on Heroes and I sort of adored him and then it was on Netflix so I thought, what the hey?  I still have so many episodes to watch because Hubs decided to take this show over with a vengeance, but I still love it.

Why, hello there.

5. The West Wing. Referred by: pretty much everyone ever

Everyone needs to watch this show.  It's the best.  The cold opens are some of the most exquisite moments that television has ever given us as people.  Watch it.  CJ Cregg, I love you.

[Fantastic Five Friday] Five Favorite TV Kisses

Blanket spoiler warning, although every kiss I'm about to mention aired in 2007 or earlier.


I love TV.  I love kissing.  I love blogging lists.  I love The Weekly Enthusiast for starting this blog meme.  This one's a no-brainer, people.

Pushing Daisies, S1E3 Aired 10.17.2007, "The Fun in Funeral"
also known as The Cellophane Kiss
Ned and Chuck's relationship is one of my favorites, because it's so damn sweet and so damn heart-breaking.  He cannot touch her because if he does, SHE WILL DIE.  They must find creative ways to show their affection that do not involve actual skin-to-skin contact or else Chuck becomes The Lonely Tourist Dead Charlotte Charles once more.  And, since this is a Bryan Fuller show, it's gotta be quirky as can be.


Veronica Mars, S1E18 Aired 4.12.2005, "Weapons of Class Destruction"
also known as First LoVe
Logan and Veronica had been doing this strange and crazy dance around one another for a few episodes before this, building up the tension as all the best shows will do.  She had been helping him out on a case, and he dropped many of the bitter feelings he had in the past for her.  It all culminates in this awesome sweeping kiss that you don't see coming just as much as you do.  None of the videos would let me embed the actual kiss, so here's what I've found.  THIS VIDEO is the lead-up to the kiss, which you should watch because it includes a mulleted JTT (YES!) and Logan calls him "Jump Street" and it's just good to have back story.  THIS VIDEO is the kiss itself.  It looks like the picture below, but... you know... moving and stuff.

Like this, but with more kissing.

Friends, S2E7 Aired 11.9.1995, "The One Where Ross Finds Out"
also known as That Scene That Always Plays Whenever Anyone Talks About Ross & Rachel
Before they became a veritable punchline, Ross and Rachel's will-they-or-won't-they carried quite the punch.  I'm a big ole Friends fan, still to this day.  I remember watching the build-up to this for weeks (yes, when it aired back in 1995 when I was just barely 14 years old) and my baby-teenage heart was FIT to BURST.  And then, it happened.  Oh my, did it happen.  Watching the video of the kiss still gave me chills, even this many years later.  Again, unable to embed so entire scene can be viewed RIGHT HERE.

Well, hello there, Dr. Geller.

The Office, S2E22 Aired 5.11.2006, "Casino Night"
also known as The Night I Yelled at My Boyfriend For Making Me Love This Show
Y'all.  In doing my research for this entry, I just fell down a serious Jim and Pam rabbithole, and THE FEELS.  THEY ARE OF THE KILLING KIND.  I'm such a Jim and Pam fangirl.  This is another that I remember so SO well.  I remember watching their relationship unfold, breaking my heart piece and piece as it went, because I never thought Jim would be able to get the girl.  They were too tentative, too shy, too good at their little dance that they couldn't see around it.  So it's Casino Night, and something in Jim sees that this is his moment and... Pam says no.  And I cried like a little girl, hands pressed to my mouth, tears streaming down my cheeks.  But fear not, True Believers!  It wasn't over yet!  Actions speak louder than words!  THIS VIDEO is a poor quality version of the kiss itself, but the below video is so so sweet, and it's rocking the Ingrid, and you can see the kiss again starting at about 2:36.


Gilmore Girls, S4E22 Aired 5.18.2004, "Raincoats and Recipes"
also known as That Time I Squeed So Loud I Terrified My Neighbors
No TV list of mine is complete without one GG reference.  And you know it had to be Lorelai.  What I adore about Luke and Lorelai as a pair is that it wasn't so hit-you-over-the-head obvious as TV couples usually are.  Yes, it was established in the pilot that Luke was a dude that gave Lorelai The Feelings, and yes it gets pretty properly hinted at over the course of these 4 seasons, but it didn't take over the plot as a whole.  Not until the end of Season 4, and suddenly Luke Can See Her Face, and that surly, hat-wearing diner owner is DONE.  Love it.

May we have an Awesome Blossom, please? Extra Awesome?

In honor of Labor Day, I'm having a marathon of The Office.  You know... because they labor in their Scranton office... and also, Pam had that baby that one time...  TBS had the idea, and I missed the Office Olympics episode to meet my passing-through parents for lunch.  Thus, today is being sponsored by the second season of The Office.  Right now, Agent Michael Scarn is selling some paper to county employee Tim Meadows.

Also, I have recently purchased a new Wii "game" called Gold's Gym Dance Workout.  It's kicking my lilly-white ASS.  I think it's probably close to a Zumba light, but in general, I'm a fan.  I swear I've already lost a pound, and it's been three days.  I'm seriously trying to keep up with this and not bail like I usually do, but when I see results, it makes me WANT to keep it up.  Plus, it's kind of fun :)  It makes me want to look into ACTUAL Zumba.  I think I need to be a little more "fit" though.

HEE. Dwigt.

Ventin' & Plannin' (the original Wishin' & Hopin')

Having another one of those frustrated days.  Every time I feel like I have a hold on this feeling, I have a day like this that thrusts me right back into the pit.  It's such a pain.  I'm just so... burnt out.  I'm so irritated and frustrated.  The worst part to me is that I'm irritated and frustrated about a topic that I can't discuss on the interwebs, but this is my best way of expressing myself and dealing with things, which then makes me more frustrated, and there was an old woman who swallowed the fly.  Blah blah.  I could write it down, but I'm nervous to write it down because THAT'S how I make crazy discoveries about myself, and I really don't want to have one of those epiphanies that backfires.  I don't know why she swallowed the fly.

This isn't helping.

I just feel like I have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders, more than I'm used to dealing with.  It feels like it's starting to cave in, though it's probably not.  The stress and anger and issues of the past few years seem to have just piled up, and I feel unable to stop it.  It's like a self-inflating balloon... which I don't know if that even exists... maybe a better metaphor is one of those inflating punching things.  You know, the ones with the weighted bottoms so where you can just punch it and punch it and no matter how hard you hit it, it keeps popping up and mocking you with its stupid clowny face?  Ugh, THAT is what it feels like.  Like I'm punching this crap as hard as I can to make it GO AWAY, and yet it KEEPS COMING BACK.  When will this feeling end?  When will I feel like I'm finally on some kind of track?  I don't care about my instinctual feeling that everything will turn out right; I want to know WHEN it will.  Errrrrrrrrrgh.

Surprisingly, that DID help.

Lots of TV tonight, and I'm loving my DVR because of it.  If I didn't have it, I'd be dooooooomed.  It's a delicate process, and this two hour Grey's has really thrown a wrench in the usual clockwork of Thursdays (I originially typed "wench" instead of "wrench" and now I can't stop laughing).  So, at 8, it's live watching Bones and taping Community, at 9 I would LIKE it to be live watching Grey's and taping The Office, and then I'd like to watch the taped stuff tomorrow.  HOWEVER, I'm fairly certain I'm gonna lose that battle, and we're gonna live watch The Office at 9 followed by the recorded Community, and I'm gonna end up staying up later than I want to finish this crazy Grey's. From the 7 minute clip I saw on Hulu, it looks VERY similar to the plot of ER where Carter and Lucy got stabbed, which is like my favorite ERs ever, so... I'm pretty much stoked.  That might sound a little disturbing, but I don't much care.  I'm so excited.  I'm so... scared.

Can you un-jump the shark?

For the past 5 years, The Office has constantly and consistently been one of my favorite shows.  It's awkward, it's funny, it's romantic, and it's a show Jack actually likes to watch (since he was the one who got me into it in the first place).  Not only that, but it's one of my favorite shows to watch WITH Jack.  As I've said before, I'm an active TV watcher (aka I talk to the screen quite a bit), and watching The Office with Jack can be interactive.  I think he still has shoulder issues for all the times I'm smacked him for claiming to be "Team Karen."  I've even pitched a mini-fit that I wouldn't get home in time to watch the 3rd season finale because my friend's food was taking too long to come out at a restaurant.  (The story ends happily, with Miguel getting his burger, making it home just a few minutes late, and Miguel seeing it for the first time and becoming a mega-fan like me.)

However, this past season has been pretty weak, especially in the portrayal of some of my favorite characters.  There is only so many awkward story lines you can write for them before they become caricatures of the characters.  This kind of thing happens frequently on TV (most memorably for me on Friends, the last season of Gilmore Girls, and more recently How I Met Your Mother which is depressing me!), and I didn't want to see my once-beloved show turn into The Office Variety Hour.  I could see fins looming and getting closer, and Fonz started to strap on the skis.


Then, last night happened.  Holy crap, I haven't laughed so hard at that show in... well, probably a year at least.  So many classic throw-away moments, my favorite being teeny Angela accidentally sneaking up on Dwight and causing him to flinch and curse.  I don't want to call it too early, but... is The Office back?  More episodes like this, and I'm calling off the lifeguards.