Saturday Night Live Bringing on the Christmas Spirit

People were getting into the Christmas spirit early this season. Black Friday and Cyber Monday kicked things off in November. They get into their Fa-La-La-La-Las pretty early every year. And while they were having their moments with televised tree-lighting ceremonies and festive concerts with Jingle Bell Rock, I took a different approach.  I laughed my way into the festive mood with some late night comedy courtesy of  Saturday Night Live …

Giving it up to Homelessville Charity

 

Season’s Eatings Skit

 

Mary Catherine Gallagher and Whitney Houston.

 

The Christmas Song

 

This has become one of my favorite holiday specials. I often look forward to the SNL Christmas Special and hope they include my favorites. There was nothing better than cracking up to Justin Timberlake’s charity battle with the Salvation Army Kris Kringle, The Season’s Eatings skit with Pete Schweddy, the Catholic School Christmas Concert with Mary Catherine Gallagher and Whitney Houston, and the Christmas Song with Horatio Sanz, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan.

The Christmas spirit is definitely warming up to me. Comedy and Christmas … a great combination.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette

Silhouette

Turu-tururururuturuuuuu … Turu-tururururuturuuuuuu

As soon as I heard it, I knew.

The Master of Suspense.

“Good evening …”

As a teenager I spent my Sunday afternoons hearing those words as I watched re-runs of his show.

He scared the crap out of me.

He made me afraid of birds … you know … whenever there was more than four in a group.

He maximized my anxiety and fear.

He never disappointed.

He was The Master of Suspense.

The most famous silhouette ever.

Alfred Hitchcock.

 

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Big

Big — Tom Hanks

Big.

Hanging out on the couch watching this movie with my Uncle Erick on a VCR — yes back then I had a VCR.

Hanging out wishing I had a big piano like that.

Hanging out wishing that when I “grew up” I’d have a job like Josh Baskin.

Hanging out and my Uncle Erick cracking up because I knew the song…

Down down baby, down down the roller coaster.

Sweet sweet baby, sweet sweet don’t let me go.

Shimmy shimmy coco pop, shimmy shimmy rock.

Shimmy shimmy coco pop, shimmy shimmy rock.

I met a girlfriend- a triscuit, she said a triscuit-a biscuit,

ice cream soda pop, vanilla on the top

Oooohh Shalida, walking down the street, ten times a week

I meant it. I said it. I stole my mama’s credit.

I’m cool. I’m hot.

Sock you in the stomach three more times.

The 80s. They were pretty Big with me.

Big.

It’s The Reason Why I Watch The FX Network

I don’t consider myself a biker chick. I don’t own a leather vest or leather chaps. I don’t own anything Harley-Davidson related. I have no tattoos. But I am a SAMCRO follower. I’ve been there since the beginning.

Image via FXNetworks.com

I hear the guitar strum … then my heart beats, and I nod my head in rhythm …

Riding through this world
All alone
God takes your soul
You’re on your own
The crow flies straight
A perfect line
On the devil’s bed
Until you die
Gotta look this life
In the eye …

Me … the sporty nerd was part of the masses. I was one of the 5.4 million viewers that tuned in this week to watch the season premiere of  Sons Of Anarchy.

Charlie Hunnam … dude.  Charlie. I took no phone calls. I turned off the computer. Made sure the kids were asleep by eight-thirty and then I ignored everybody in the household. It was SAMCRO time.

Image via FXNetworks.com

I wasn’t with my feet up, relaxing on the couch. I was on full edge of the couch alert mode, completely engaged in all the drama and action.

Why is it that I found myself completely ignoring the what’s-for-dinner question? I mean other than Charlie Hunnam … dude … Charlie. Hmmmmmm. He plays Jax Teller. Hmmmm. Jax Teller. No it wasn’t only the hot dude. It was  his opening monologue.

“Finding things that make you happy shouldn’t be that hard … There’s an old saying ‘that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, I don’t believe that. I think the things that try to kill you make you angry and sad. Strength comes from the good things. Your family. Your friends. The satisfaction of hard work. Those are the things that will keep you whole. Those are the things you hold onto when you’re broken.”

Who does that? Who writes nitty-gritty awesome life advice like that? A genius.  A genius with a beard. Kurt Sutter.

If you haven’t watched the show … it’s O.K. I forgive you. They’ve got Hulu and Netflix now. You can catch up. But in short … it’s about an outlaw motorcycle club  in the city of Charming, California and their struggle to protect their club’s existence and semi-peaceful way of life. It’s got drama, violence, dark humor, and motorcycle stuff. It’s also got my undivided attention every Tuesday night.

Jax Teller is trying so hard to do the right thing, leave the motorcycle club, and make a new life with his family far away. But the drama, the past, the ties to his father who was an original member of the club, the revenge for his father’s death, the feud with his step-father who’s also a club member — a sneaky one, and his controlling mom whose all up in the club’s business,  keeps pulling him back in.

All this keeps me coming back every season.

I like watching Jax Teller’s inner conflict surface. Not because I enjoy people’s troubles but because he’s genuinely a good guy with a pure heart in an outlaw world, living by a code and trying to do what’s right for everyone.  He’s trying to stick to his father’s manifesto and bring the club back to a good place, but conflict arises and he tries his best to deal with it. He’s just like everyone else on earth … conflicted … except everyone else isn’t the president of an outlaw motorcycle club.

I was glued to the television this week, and will probably do so the entire season. So if it’s Tuesday night you’ll know where I’ll be … sitting on the edge of my couch along with the other 5.4 million people who watch.

Dude. FX rocks.

Murders, Politics, and Ding Dongs … or Why I Became a Fan of TNT

Seven years and now she’s gone. I’ve been with Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson every Monday night for seven years … even re-runs.

For seven years I’ve tuned in to see this neurotic, intelligent, quirky, Southern Belle, bad-ass Deputy Chief of the LAPD, played by Kyra Sedgwick, take the criminal down. But it wasn’t her strong will, bend-the-rules attitude or awesomeness as an interrogator that drew me in to The Closer. It was what she said in the first episode that got me. She overheard her fellow detectives talking about her at a crime scene and didn’t stay quiet.

Image via TNTdrama.com

“If I liked being called a bitch to my face I’d still be married.”

Dude.

I was like who is this chick. And then she said:

“I never bluff, Sergeant. I merely express my optimism forcefully.”

I so wanted to be her friend. I tuned in every week to see how the case unfolded and how she was able to gather details and piece them together to solve the case. I loved how everyone, except for me of course, hated her in the beginning because they felt threatened by her. And then she slowly won them over by doing her job and doing it better than anybody.

Her southern accent didn’t even bother me. In fact I enjoyed her classic “Thank Youuuuuuuuuu” line. It was her polite way of giving people the finger. Some people just have a knack for doing clever stuff like that and believe me she mastered it with her “thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu” I tried to study her quite closely.

And throughout all the crime and drama I was able to see that not only was she bad-ass, but she was also flawed. And I loved it! I loved that she was not perfect. She was conflicted and I tuned in every week. I had become a follower. Kyra Sedgwick made me a TNTenthusiast.

Image via TNTdrama.com

It was probably the drama the drew me in as well — the fact that she was great at her job but couldn’t stand the inner workings of LAPD politics was drama in itself. She didn’t like to play games, and I loved that about her. This office politics crap happens to a lot of us in our every day jobs. I mean how many people are great at what they do, but then have to deal with the bureaucracy of the system. Most of the time Brenda bent the rules when it came to this, and most of the time she got in trouble. But she closed cases. Major crime type of cases. But when the politics got too much who was her ally? Who helped her out?

The cocoa bean.

She turned to chocolate. She indulged in it. When she was having a bad day, a bad office politics day, a bad district attorney who messed up and let the criminal get off kind of day, she’d open her drawer and search through the multitude of candy and find her favorite stress reliever: Ding Dongs –the chocolate mini masterpiece.

We were on a first name basis from this point on.

I was sad to see her go, but happy that she finally got that serial killer in the end. I swore the writers were going to mess it up and leave me with that empty you suck feeling of an unsolved case that plagued Brenda for seasons.

Thank God they didn’t leave me hanging with some ambiguous ending. That would have required a massive amount of Ding Dongs.

I Had Become a Behind-The-Scenes Nerd

What kind of nerd looks at the behind-the-scenes footage of a movie or TV show on DVD? I’m not talking about the outtakes or bloopers. I’m talking about the actual behind-the-scene footage where the director, actors, or writers give you the commentary. No acting, just the nooks and crannies.

Image via tornasol-films.com

Who does that? Who listens to these people talk more after the story is done. I mean the credits roll for a reason right? What kind of nerd makes time for this?

Me.

I do.

I’m that nerd.

I’m all about the nooks and crannies. I’ve always been, I think that’s probably the same reason why I watch shows like Law and Order SVU, Breaking Bad, and anything involving AMC or HBO. I imagine it’s the same reason why I pursue a writing career.

Behind the Scenes: it’s all about the intention, the meaning behind the story, the creator’s vision. And I’m all about finding that out. I want to know the “why” and it’s not like I’m ever going to run into these people at In-and-Out so that I can ask them. So this is my chance to find out.

The thing is … I’m curious, but I’m not stalker curious. I’m not one to watch gossip shows, or scan the web for celebrity nonsense.  I’m a behind-the-scenes person that checks out the creative nitty-gritty.

It’s like an encore, without the curtain or stage.

How did I realize I was this kind of nerd?  The Olympics and Adam Levine.

I hadn’t thought about it before, because for some reason it was automatic. I’d rent movies or watch a tv series on DVD, and it would be second nature to press the behind-the-scenes button. But when I saw a commercial for the Olympics just recently and Adam Levine’s new video for his song Payphone … it hit me. I was a behind-the-scenes nerd.

Every four years NBC does a behind-the-scenes look at all our American athletes doing their best to win the gold. Sometimes they get a little crazy with behind the scenes information and feature too much. But for the most part I love these stories. I get to see how these athletes began, what makes them unique, and how they got to the starting line. It’s the reason why I cheer for them. This is where I thought it began.

When did it go too far?

When I was watching the Maroon 5 video for their new song Payphone. I love Adam. He’s pretty good-looking. I like Marron 5. Their songs rock. So when the video finished and I was asked, want to go behind the scenes? What do you think I said?

Yeah. I did it.

And then it hit me. I was all about the nooks and crannies, and this was just a video. The making of it. Nothing dramatic. Just Adam telling us about the song and his character in the video.

I knew … I knew right then and there. I had become a behind-the-scenes nerd. No escaping it. Just embracing it. Embarrassing or not. It’s just another part of being The Guat.

I’d Still Like to See Someone Slap Pete

I couldn’t believe what happened last night. I was completely taken aback.

Pete is such an ass.

While trying to appreciate all the fallen American Soldiers in The Pacific, on D-Day, in World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, with programs such as Band of Brothers and The Pacific during Memorial Day I still couldn’t forget that jackass.

It happened yesterday, and I still couldn’t shake off the ugly feeling. Pete that pimple.

Image via AMCtv.com

He’s one of the characters on Mad Men. He’s the jackass, but not just any jackass. He’s the conniving, manipulative type. Yup, yesterday he made it to the top of the list.

I get so involved in this show that the characters actually piss me off. I spent a couple of hours during the day burned out by his chauvinistic attitude.

In the show, Pete is a partner at one of the top ad agencies in 1960s New York — Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. He deals in accounts. The wining and dining to land big time clients. Most of the time he’s sucking up. But yesterday as the firm was trying to land their first car client — Jaguar — the car guy proposes that Pete provide him a night with Joan Harris — the smart red-headed bombshell from the office.  And the thing is … he actually makes Joan the offer. According to Pete, it would make or break this firm.

Pete’s always prostituting himself. It’s the ad business and he has no morals. But this time, it was a different kind of prostitution. This time it actually involved pimping someone else out. Pete is the I’ll-do-anything-to-get-this-account kind of guy. After Joan rejects his offer, he talks to the other partners for help finagaling the situation. All but one, agree to go forward with this. Don Draper, the main guy of the show and the one partner that was vehemently against this proposition, told her it wasn’t worth it. They didn’t need an account this bad. But Pete pressed on.

Image via AMCtv.com

In the end Joan does what is suggested and she’s given a five-percent stake in the company as well as a partnership for this transaction. This is what she demanded in exchange for this indecent proposal. They win the account. 

I felt bad for her. I felt bad for all the Joans out there. I imagined that something like this probably did happen. It wouldn’t surprise me. There are a lot of immoral Pete Campbells out there. That’s probably why I was so hostile after watching this episode. But in the end, it was one of the ways she was able to get her “voice” heard in business matters in the late 1960s. She earned a partnership in Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.   

I’ll have to see how this partnership unfolds the rest of the season and whether or not it was worth it for her.  But regardless of what happens, I’d still like to see someone slap Pete.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands

Jerry and his date.

 

Hands.

You go out on a date.

She’s got awesome eyes.

She’s attractive.

She’s smart.

She’s a great conversationalist.

She’s funny.

But then you see it …

She’s got Man Hands.

They’re bigger than yours.

They’re stronger than yours.

They’re like Andre The Giant‘s, they open your beer bottles, and crack open your lobster.

The date goes downhill.

Why?

Hands.

Man Hands.

The HBO Club and My Dad

It was no surprise that as I flipped through the channels I would think of him.

It was no father-and-daughter tearful family moment on a television drama. Nor was it was a family reunion of the long-lost daughter meeting her Dad for the first time on a made-for-TV movie on Lifetime. It was detectives Lester Freamon and Jimmy McNulty trying to figure out the code Baltimore’s notorious drug dealers used on The Wire.

The police; from left, Roland “Prez” Pryzbylewski, Cedric Daniels, Jimmy McNulty, Rhonda Pearlman, seated: Lester Freamon, and Kima Greggs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This show featured violence, drugs, corruption, and the media. It’s a cop show, but not like the others. It was HBO. Apparently it won the Peabody Award … that David Simon is badass. HBO … My Dad loved that channel. He must’ve seen every original drama that channel produced … and we were there watching every minute of it.

Well … my Dad started The Wire at season 1, I didn’t come along until season 5. He kept talking about this one show and how he couldn’t miss it. He’d be glued to the TV. Then I saw one episode and was hooked. We had HBO power-talk sessions after each show, analyzing characters, examining plots, and throwing out predictions for next week. It was like a book club, but without books. It was the HBO Club. We had snacks. My dad was the organizer, leader, host, remote-control holder, and caterer. I was the moderator.

A week before the series finale I was able to get us into a lecture and Q&A session with creator David Simon. It was hosted at my alma mater. My dad was so excited to have been there. It was a bunch of college students, alumni and my dad. It was awesome. My dad was able to meet the dude that created this series and I was so happy I could do that for him.

So as I was flipping through the channels and saw a re-run of the show, it brought memories of our HBO Club and our little field trip to my old college campus. I missed my dad and our conversations. I wished he hadn’t passed away. So in an effort to be somewhat closer to him, I had a HBO Club Pow-wow myself. I rented the first season of The Wire on Netflix. It was a marathon. I saw six episodes in one sitting. It was a late night, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I thought of all the things my Dad would say as I watched part of the first season.

It was good to have the HBO Club resurface. But now I was the organizer, leader, host, remote-control holder, caterer, moderator and lone member.

Club is still in session and my Dad is watching from above.

DVR Worthy

You create expectations. You get invested. You get emotionally involved, and then they pull the plug.

There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s out of your control.  They’re gone.

Dramas. I love them. I’m not a reality tv fan, I’m a drama fan. Ever since LOST and 24 it’s been hard to find good ones, but when I see something I like it becomes DVR worthy and I become DVR addicted. There are a  few shows that get the I-need-to-record-you-every-week-just-in-case-I-don’t-make-it slot. They carry action, suspense, good writing, good characters, and great story, but most of all drama. Drama … it’s that thing that makes you gasp and unconsciously ignore the people around you as you watch the show. It’s the holy-crap moment that really gets you. This is what becomes DVR worthy. If you don’t have a holy-crap moment you’re not making the DVR or TiVo record list.

And now because of these suit and tie people my DVR will get no action. It’ll be stranded and alone. Like a cheap hooker with bad perfume.

As a lover of television, the summer is a scary time of year. It’s the season where good shows go to die. Sometimes your best distraction during the week ends up getting the ax, and then your stuck with stupid shows like the Bachelorette. I mean if I was interested in watching some chick cry and kiss a bunch of dudes and then pretend to fall happily in love for eight weeks, I’d watch Univision … they have hotter looking dudes with accents.

Ugh. Television Suit and Tie People … sometimes I don’t know what you’re thinking.

Ashley Judd — Missing

Ashley Judd is a badass … you must be haters of women if you don’t want her on television. She was a strong woman, mother, and former CIA agent  in search of her son who was kidnapped by a rogue agent,  involved in espionage and trafficking. That same rogue agent framed her husband, who had to disappear for ten years, also had her Italian love interest shot. Yeah … a regular family drama with badass car chases and kicking skills.

Alas it has been cancelled … so I am in withdrawals as I have to go through all these upcoming dumb shows of the summer and fall.

Thank God for cable. At least I’ve got the AMC and the USA Network channels, they’ve got some pretty good shows with awesome writing. At least my DVR will not feel lonely for long. I got some DVR worthy programs coming up.

 Giddy up!