Season Finale Week: A Little Lesson in Grammar

In order to fully express my feelings about last night’s television, let’s first learn a little bit about grammar. For today’s lesson, we will be learning about interjections. Now, interjections show excitement or emotion and they’re generally set apart from a sentence by an exclamation point or by a comma when the feeling’s not as strong. However, there were no commas to be seen when I was watching the Bones and Parks and Recreation season finales. Interjections like Hurray! Hallelujah! Finally! Awww! And then ones like Noooo! Why?!?!?! Agh! (I know that not all of those are technically interjections, but just roll with it).

First let’s talk about the show that inspired all the happy elations from me: Bones. As much as I loved seeing Booth and Brennan go into their old undercover aliases of Buck and Wanda, as much as I teared up when Angela and Hodgins were waiting to see if their baby was blind, and as much as I was amused by all the humor in this episode, it really all boiled down to the last minute. SPOILER! BRENNAN IS PREGNANT! And with freaking Booth’s baby! This was the first Bones finale ever where I left completely satisfied and excited for next season. Why? Because even if it is not completely smooth sailing next season, they’re obviously going to try and make this work for the baby and because they are in deep smit with each other. I would also like to note, that my mother and I totally called that they had sex in the last episode and that the “Change in the Game” was going to be that she is pregnant. Pony up, all you naysayers!

Now, let’s move onto the show that had me whimpering and shouting expletives at the television, Parks and Recreation. Don’t get me wrong, this was still my favorite hour of TV this week, or should I say my favorite 55 minutes of TV because the it was the last five minutes that broke my heart.

First, I’ll talk about the good. (Obviously, not all the good, because there is simply too much to cover). It would seem that the Knope ladies have a thing for political savvy nerds who get adorably flustered in their presence. The look on Ben’s face after Marlene Knope made a pass at him was priceless, but then I also have a thing for political savvy nerds who get adorably flustered. Also, being a Ben and Leslie fan, I loved all their sneaking around and their politically charged make-out sessions. There was a lot of good stuff that wasn’t Ben and Leslie related (Ron’s singed mustache, Andy’s “5000 Candles in the Wind”, Ron trapped in the Swedish desk, Tom and Andy’s fourth floor adventures, Cube butt, Jean-Ralphio, and the promise of Tammy 1!), but in the interest of time, we’ll move on.

I always knew that public office was in our plucky heroine’s future, but I certainly don’t want it to come at the of this adorkable couple’s happiness! We just got them together! What I am hoping will happen is that Chris will act on his suddenly rekindled admiration of Ann Perkins and have to change the office-dating policy thus making it possible for Ben and Leslie to date scandal free. Problem solved! But nothing is ever that simple in TV Land, is it? All I can say is that the look of uncertainty on the faces of Ben Wyatt and Leslie Knope will haunt me all summer.

Ok, friends and family, I need you to talk me down from this. Tell me everything is going to be okay. Also, how did you feel about our Thursday night programming? Did anybody else watch The Office and get as bored as I did? Are you excited about a Booth and Bones baby? Did you also feel that the real mourning in “Li’l Sebastian” was not over the famed mini-horse, but over our two nerds’ upcoming rocky road to blissful happiness? Leave your comments below!

And here are my favorite quotes from last night's two part season finale:

‎Leslie: "The best part of any relationship is the beginning. No problems, no fights, just white wine, cuddling, and crazy amounts of... History Channel documentaries."

Andy: ‎"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. I read that once on a can of lemonade, but I like to think that it applies to life."

Tom: ‎"I did recently sell my Chronicles of Riddick DVD on eBay for $10. Use the profits to buy the blu-ray."

Leslie: ‎"Absotootley I am! Very sorry that I just used that word."

Leslie: ‎"Somebody made somebody a mix and I definitely heard your feedback from last time so I only put five Sarah McClachlan on this one."

Leslie:‎"That's disgusting and wrong. I don't even get... Why would... I've never had sex with anyone anywhere. It's none of your... You have... Have the nerve, the audacity. Ben is my boss, technically. And he is terrible face-wise and how... How do I know, frankly, that you're not sleeping with him? Maybe you are. Maybe you're trying to throw me off. Hmm. Check and mate. This is an outrage! Who do I call?!"

Season Finale Week: Glee-bles Wobble But They Don’t Fall Down

I must tell you that I had every intention of writing about the decline of Glee in my post-Tuesday post for this week. In my opinion, this season has been very lackluster and has spent too much time focusing on certain storylines. While I can respect the show for making a statement on bullying and gay rights, I don’t need this shoved down my throat week after week and I certainly don’t need it to be taking precedence over every other storyline. Am I alone in this?

Beginning of Spoilerly mentions

However, after last night’s episode, I was unable to sit down and write the Glee bashing I had intended. In last night’s episode we got some good relationship drama, some awesome vocal performances (I’m looking at you Mercedes and Rachel), and I cried more than thrice throughout the episode.

Let’s take a look at the board, shall we!

1) I cried when Sue, Frankenteen, and Porcelain were cleaning out Jean’s room
2) I bawled during Sue’s eulogy, the “Pure Imagination” number, and the accompanying video (I am counting this as one since it was just one long and good cry)
3) I cried when Sue pulled it in for a hug after she told Becky that she was going to be the Cheer captain
4) Finally, I got teary-eyed during Rachel’s song. I’m sorry, but girl had all sorts of emotional power behind that vocal. Also, I loved that she got all Barbara-faced.

While I am not ready to say I want to see a de-snarkified Sue Sylvester it was nice to see her relent for the kids who had arranged such a sweet and touching funeral service for her sister.

Also, being a Finchel and Wemma fan, I was grateful for their progress in this episode, even if neither ended on a particularly good note. Finn, don’t you know that when Rachel sings those treacley love ballads that it’s all for you? Will, she’s crying! Run after her! And just what do we think Quinn is going to get up to in New York, hmm?

I guess all this means that “Funeral” was a win for me and that I’ll have to keep watching Glee. Just when I think I am free, it pulls me back in. Curse you, television!

I have read mixed reviews online of the episode, so what did all of you think? Do you share my feelings about Glee this season, or have you been completely on board? Are we excited for New York next week?

Season Finale Week: Let’s Talk Cliffhangers!

In honor of the bittersweet week that is the week of season finale week, I am going to (try and) post something everyday talking about the insanity that happened the night before. For today, I am going to talk about Castle and boy did it ever deliver on the insanity. I am going to issue a huge SPOILER ALERT if you are following the show, but if you aren’t just know this: For three seasons, Castle and Beckett have been doing the classic “will they/won’t they” game (which I am a total sucker for) and last night as Beckett lay dying from a gunshot wound, Castle held her in his arms and told her not to leave because he loves her. Game changer! They wouldn’t kill off Beckett, right? And if she stays alive this is a huge elephant in the room for them to try and ignore, as they have done with other tender moments in the past. END OF SPOILER ALERT!

This climatic ending got me thinking about my feelings regarding the classic ploy of the cliffhanger used by those crafty show runners to drive me crazy for three months. If the mission is to leave me so utterly flummoxed that I am rendered speechless when I call my mom for our post-TV roundup, than mission accomplished, job well done.

However, seeing as how I can’t remember a finale that hasn’t ended with a finale, I can’t help but wonder if I would be equally, if not more, satisfied with some resolution. Isn’t that the foundation of story telling? You build and build and build until you reach that precipice and bring the audience back down by tying up all those loose ends. Imagine, if you will, that you are a child hearing Cinderella for the first and your mother ends the story with her running from the ball and losing her slipper? What? What about the prince? Will they ever see each other? What about her shoe? Hey, stay cool daddy-o, we still have 10 pages left. Your mother wouldn’t have shut the book and made you wait three months to find out that they lived happily ever after.

Now, I am fully aware that television is a business and that they need viewers to come back, but if I am left happy, I’ll come back anyway. You can count me in.

I’ll leave it open to you guys now. What was your worst cliffhanger? Do you need a cliffhanger to feel satisfied with your finales? Did you watch Castle? If so, what did you think about the ending?

A Pop Culture Ode to My Mom

In keeping with the theme of this blog and also because much of my relationship with my mother is based on our similar affinity for all things movies and TV things anyway, I decided to write a post about my favorite pop culture related activities to do with my mom. After all, this is the woman who had me quoting movies and TV almost from the moment I could talk (and we have the home videos to prove it), so it should come as no surprise that she played a huge role in making me the walking imdb that I am today. In fact, most of my memories with my mom also include a movie or a TV show, which some might see as sad and pathetic. To a certain degree, it is, but if you know my mom and I at all, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

With that in mind, I give you my top ten favorite things to do with my mom. I decided to take out the caveat that they be pop-culture related, as these are pretty much just my favorite things to do with my mom.

10. Lazy Saturday Mornings (that sometimes last all day) – Yeah, it usually starts out with us just watching last night’s The Soup, but it usually evolves into us re-watching other episodes from the week or watching some movie that is on TBS that we have seen a hundred times and own.
9. Educating Each Other – When I entered this realm, I was naïve and had no understanding of what passed as good entertainment, but like every good mother should, Mom took me under her wing and showed me the light. Yes, she got me a lot of crap (I’m looking at you 3 Ninjas), but that’s expected with kids movies. And what other four-year-old was watching Saturday Night Live Goes Commercial, Mystery Science Theatre 3000, or what I later discovered was an edited copy of Grease (the real lyrics of “Greased Lightening” came as a huge shock to me later in life)? Not any that I knew. Now, I think both my mom and I can agree that I have taken the reigns in educating her in what qualifies as good entertainment, much to her annoyance, I’m sure.
8. Award Shows – I remember the first Academy Awards that I actually sat down and watched with my mom. The year was 1995 and I hadn’t seen a single movie that won. I remember this because I was grossly disappointed when Babe didn’t win Best Picture. But at that tender age of 7, I got caught up in the pomp and circumstance of it all and we have watched every year since. Even when we ended up in a hotel room in Seattle one year, we still found a way to have our own little Oscars party complete with IBCs icing in the bathroom sink.
7. TV Show Marathons – Bones, Vampire Diaries, Veronica Mars, and others that are escaping me. What do these shows have in common besides being awesome? Well, my mom and I have watched them in their entirety in far too short a span of time. Like when we stayed up until 4 o’clock in the morning after watching 11 hours of Bones with our dear friend Hailey when on a three day binge of watching the first four seasons. Yeah, we’re awesome.
6. Discussion of the hotness of male celebrities – My friends often make the comment that I will only watch a TV show if I have a crush on one of the male characters (I have no idea where they got this crazy idea), but I probably get this from the woman who used to play computer Hearts with Denzel, Antonio, and Mel. This was before Mel went off the rails, though. She would probably change it to Mark, David, and Matt now, or something like that. (Ryan, Hugh, and George were my other considerations). How’d I do, Mom?
5. Comic Con – Granted we have only gone one year (and tickets for this year!), but it was pure awesomeness and the perfect excursion for us. Four days of sitting in a packed room listening to celebrities and showrunners talk about their TV shows while being surrounded by our fellow nerds. Not to mention all the free swag and the swooning that took place during this moment.
4. British Women Getting Married Movies – This is the title that my brother has given to our BBC period pieces/ any Jane Austen adaptation. When I was home sick one day from school, my mom introduced me to the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and I can literally say it changed my life. Since then, Masterpiece Theatre fare has sort of become our thing and we have expanded to include Dickens, Gaskell, and other fare where… well, British women get married.
3. Entertainment games that no one ever wants to play with us – To this day, my mom is the only worthy adversary I have found to battle me in Scene It and no road trip is complete without some variation of a movie-themed game. Our iPhones have now only made it more possible for us to bone up on our useless entertainment trivia.
2. Our Special Movie Theatre Routine – No one understands the proper way to do movie theatres like my mom, perhaps because she is the one who trained me in the art. It is essential that you show up to the theatre 20 minutes before the movie starts, earlier if it is the movie’s opening weekend. This guarantees you enough time to go to the bathroom, get concessions, check out the new movie posters lining the hallways, and get the perfect seats (the ones right behind that bar so you can put your feet up). But most important of all, you never, EVER miss trailers. This is just blasphemy in the Lloyd household.
1. Post-Thursday night TV phone/text conversations – Thank goodness for TV or my mom and I would have nothing to talk about. If we talk no other day of the week, you can pretty much count on the fact that we will call each other on Friday afternoon to talk about all the insanity that took place during our Thursday night lineup.

Wow, if you are anyone but my mom and you have made it this far, I am impressed and you must really like myself, my mom, or both of us.

Mom, I love you and I hope you have the bestest Mother’s Day!