Doctor Who

So I was reading this blog (Vixen Vintage...I'm a sucker for fashion blogs, especially ones that focus on retro/vintage stuff) and she was talking about her husband's blog he just started (found here) and I LOVED it!  Well, I've been meaning to get into Doctor Who for a while, and this blog pushed me over the edge.  I've always  thought David Tennant was dreamy, dapper, charming in a sort of geeky way so I started with the Tenth Doctor episodes.  It's been a blast and I can't believe I've never watched this before!  I love it!  So yay for the Doctor!  That's all I have to say!  Bye bye!

~Manda

P.S. Check it out...of course, I'm in love with another fictional character in glasses...silly me!  (but just look at him...look at him.)

Gratitude, Opinions, Arts Funding, and Facts

So, I'm in bed today trying to not be sick (and failing) mainly due to all the sing, sing, singing I've had to do and still have to do this week...I can NOT afford to be sick!!!  So, what to do when you're in bed and sick of homework and can't sleep?  Research of course!  First off I'd like to say how grateful I am that I'm not a total gleek-head!  There are some OBSESSED people out there!  It's like with Buffy, no matter how obsessed I am with the show, I know for a fact that there are always people worse than me.  I don't theme my living place around the show, I have no replica props, set pieces, or costumes from the show, no matter how on top of the latest news for the show I am, I'm not obsessed enough that I'm the first to hear it, etc.   I'm glad for that fact about Buffy and about all the other shows I love...oh so glad!

On another note, can I just tell you how WEIRD it is to be in love with a show with such a HUGE fan base?!?!? That's sort of a new thing for me.  It almost makes me want to hate the show, but then I go into my own little world and pretend that I'm the only one who's ever heard of Glee and that I know everything there is to know about it and I'm happy again and go back to obsessing over the audio/visual, idealized throw back to my high school days of being a somewhat star vocalist of my high school choir...ahhh, that's better!

Well, the point of this post is Glee. I was doing my little research thing (and realizing how MANY gleek-freaks there are out there and being grateful to not really, TOTALLY be one) And I found a quote from the creator, Ryan Murphy, that made me sit up, gasp, and cover my mouth with both hands (causing me to almost drop my computer) out of a mix of delight and surprise.  He was talking about the episode where Neil Patrick Harris guest-stars.  Apparently he was a rival of Mr. Schue's in high school, and he apparently hooks up with Sue in this episode...wow...but that's not what wowed me about this article.  There are three little sentences that just make me so happy, as a TV fanatic and as a musician...and here they are:

"It's a very great, sweet, important episode. We wrote it for Neil and for Joss. The whole episode is about arts funding and the importance of arts funding in high schools."

First of all, they didn't just ask Joss to come...or NPH for that matter...they WROTE the episode for them!!!!!!!!!!  (YAY!)  And second of all ARTS FUNDING!!!  This is one big reason I just ADORE the show!  They make choir and music seem awesome.  As a music major and love of all things art related I am so in favor of the push for arts funding, and with the massive numbers Glee has raking in I think they might have some pull...but then again, the people who are the anti-arts types are generally not the types to be watching a show all about song and dance...too bad :(  (Curse you all who believe that the world is strictly scientific and that arts are of no value...you know who you are...I went to high school with a few of you and you heard a piece of my mind then...argue me and you'll hear it again!!!)

For being a little weirded out by the fact that this show is incredibly popular I do just love it so much!  Nearly everyone listens to music (even you "strictly science, art is stupid" wierdos...you might think you could live without art, but I know the truth...you have no idea how much of your life is CONSUMED by the work of artists), and for everyone who listens to music there is a different taste.  I have been pleasantly surprised by the nice balance of music the show has.  My favorite pieces are the Broadway and the Classic Rock, I don't really care for the other stuff, but the cool thing about the show is that you fall in love with the characters and there voices and that makes you want to hear more (at least for me anyway) and that's the beauty of the show.

A couple little tidbits of info I found out that was awfully intriguing:

• Rachel gets a boyfriend whose name follows the Glee custom of being incredibly cheesy: Jesse St. James...hot lead vocalist of Vocal Adrenaline and the actor, Jonathan Groff, was her counterpart when she was in Spring Awakening (this info makes me kind of sad cuz I'm a HUGE fan of Finn, but hey, I've gotten used to this kind of disappointment from the many shows I've watched :(  but still!!!)
• Puck has a fling with Mercedes
• We see Artie out of his wheelchair (but it's only in a dream he has)
• Lady Gaga has given permission for Glee to do one of her songs (she's a freak, and she bugs me, but she has some really fun music!)

Well, I believe I just wrote all this and didn't make too much sense with my buzzing, foggy head and my shallow breathing as a result of feeling like I have about a dozen of those little sword-shaped toothpicks stuck in my throat, but it was fun!  And if you don't agree with me on a few of these things, that's fine...this is just the place I publish my opinions about things TV related...yeah, bye!

~Manda (the sick)

Juvenile Annoyances

So, still on my BtVS kick and I just finished season 4 and am in the second episode of season 5.  I seriously love this show for so many reasons, but like with many shows, there are a lot of things that annoy me for various and sundry reasons.  Right now I'm remembering one that I really can't ever forget: Michelle Trachtenberg.  Loved her in Harriett the Spy, she was cute back then (and not gonna lie, I really wanted to be a spy...still wouldn't mind being a spy now.)  But yeah, she is one of my rather juvenile annoyances...the first time I watched all of Buffy I was about 15 and I really, really disliked season 5 (mostly due to Dawn).  Now I love it, but still have a great aversion to Dawn.  Yeah, that's all.

K, so I just realized that my latest blog entries are more rant-y than informative.  And yet again I'd like to pretend that the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of my tiny, rather pointless blog, but that's ok, I can pretend that.  (But if I don't then I don't have to try to be interesting if I don't pretend that...hmmmm...nice thought).  Well, that's all right now, bye!

~Manda

100!! Awesome!

K, I love Rachel Bilson, I love music, I love television, and I LOVE the 100th episode of HIMYM!!!! If you haven't seen it, you should...because it is awesome!

So, yeah, Rachel Bilson guest starred. I was very excited when I saw that. She wasn't exactly the "mother", but close second: she was "mother's" roommate!

As for the music...I loved Neil Patrick Harris in Dr. Horrible and it was fun to see him in a big musical number all about, wait for it...SUITS!!!

Yeah, it was awesome! Be sure to watch it!

~Manda

Fun things to read, see, and check out

K, so I was just kind of browsing all my favorite TV info spots and I came across a few things that interested me:

First: An unaired season 1 episode of Fringe is being aired three days before the next episode of this season. In it a teenage girl dies only to wake up as doctors are removing her organs and is now able to speak Russian and know highly classified information. The article alludes to the idea that this could somehow take place in an alternate universe, but it doesn't for sure say anything, so who knows. (J.J. Abrams and his alternate realities...what are we going to do with him?) The original article can be found here.

Second: I found an interview with Adam Baldwin about season 3 of Chuck. There were a couple of things that interested me on this one. First of all, I had no idea he was in My Bodyguard and Independence Day. (Now, I've only seen My Bodyguard once and I haven't seen Independence Day for a long long time...and both of those I haven't seen since I've known who he is, but...) Secondly he said something that just made me happy. He talked about how a lot of the Firefly fans have crossed over to Chuck...yeah, happy! That interview can be found here.

Third: While reading the interview with Adam Baldwin I came across this interview with George Lucas...he's pretty awesome, so I decided to share it! (I couldn't get the copy I wanted to work, the full interview can be found here.)

~Manda

The beginning of the end

Gah....you ever get that feeling that no matter what you do you just never have enough time for everything and thinking that makes your stomach hurt? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that feeling is called finals! It's disgusting! And yet, with this ever constant painful time crunch, what do I revert to in the middle of the night and the early hours of the day? Oh yes, I find solace in a little bit of TV watching! Healthy? Probably not. Smart? Nope again. Does it make any sense? Nuh-uh. But does it make life oh so much easier? You betcha!!!!

Well, I really don't have enough time for just any television, just the important shows, i.e. the beginning of the end of Dollhouse. (And that's only 84 minutes of television, so that's not too bad, right?) And oh my, was that a good decision (y'know, watching that 84 minutes of television). If you saw it you should know what I mean.

Summer Glau's Performance of an uber creepy, pretty, adorable genius was awesome! And the doublemint Tophers....how great was that?! The Bennett/Topher dynamic kinda rocked too!

I am busy and don't have a ton of time to blog, so I'll just leave it at that. But if you enjoy Dollhouse you should seriously consider catching up on the newest episodes if you haven't...I have a feeling we'll see some extreme Joss genius in the final days of Dollhouse.

~Manda

Suit-Up!!!!

When I get stressed I do probably the worst thing possible! I start a new series. If I hate it then it's the perfect solution: I get my fix and don't end up wasting too much time. When I love it...well, then there's a problem, and I currently have a problem.

I am Amanda, and I'm a television junkie. It's a sad state of affairs. Now granted, I do have standards, but times of stress are probably my biggest weakness to the alluring nature of the one-eyed monster. I have recently discovered (during a time that I should be focusing on all things educationally musical) the joys, the pleasures, nay, the insane AWESOMENESS that is How I Met Your Mother.

I started watching it for who knows what reason, but I had heard from multiple sources that it is "legen-wait-for-it-dary"! And it is....oh yes, it is! I knew I'd love Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris from what I had seen of them (mostly through the Whedonverse), but it's even better than them! It's a sitcom with a laugh track that I actually enjoy! It's amazing! No...it's awesome!

Well, I just wanted to share that little insight of my life with you. I love How I Met Your Mother. I can't wait to see all of it! (Just learned what a "slap bet" is....awesome!) That's all, gotta get back to Quando Men Vo and Beethoven's 6th Symphony...wish me luck!

~Manda

Happy Thanksgiving: TV style!

So, after (and before) the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pie, we need to remember why we really have this holiday: to remember to be grateful for what we've got! This (thank goodness) means we can show our gratitude for television too! So I decided I'd put together a little thanksgiving list of the top ten things I'm grateful for that couldn't be possible without the great invention of Philo T. Farnsworth's (now granted, all of mine are probably going to be from my lifetime, and probably from the last ten-ish years of it...I haven't been alive all that long...I need to learn!!!)

10. Heroes - I was keeping up at the beginning of the season, but then I got really busy with school and other stuff. Now granted, it has gone a little down hill, but my obsessions with loving comics, Milo Ventimiglia, Zachary Quinto, the really cool characters with really cool powers, among other things keep me watching!

9. J.J. Abrams - even tho I haven't been keeping up on Lost, this man is incredible. His stories are so intense, and his characters so complex. He tends to snowball out of control a lot, but that's fun too! And in addition to his TV-ness, he did a wicked awesome job on Star Trek (wow, that was an AWESOME movie!!!)

I didn't have room for everyone, so I just put these two cuz I found pic with both of them

8. Great actors that make great TV - I didn't really know where to put this, but it is a necessity. Although actors aren't my favorite part of TV, they do make it awfully enjoyable! So I'm grateful for Eliza Dushku, Hugh Laurie, Tahmoh Penikett, Summer Glau, Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Kristen Bell, David Boreanaz, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Zachary Levi, Adam Brody, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, as well as others mentioned in this post (and I could seriously go on and on...there are some awesome actors!!!)

7. sidereel.com - I actually think this could have a number one spot being that it is the way I watch most of my TV, but it just seems wrong for it to be ahead of all my shows and my favorite TV geniuses!!! But I am very grateful for the wonderful invention of sidereel!

6. House - I became a fan of this great show over the summer and if I'm not watching Glee or the Office (or Battlestar Galactica) I am so watching House! It has managed to stay pretty awesome even tho House has kicked the vicodin habit. Love that show!

5. The Office - I still say that season 2 is my favorite, but there is something about this show that calls me back week after week. I kind of have a feeling this something's name sounds like Kohn Jrasinski or Him Jalpert, but I'm not sure (hahaha, I'm a dork, yes!). Regardless of the reason, I have had many a laugh (and surprisingly a cry) over this show! It is a great show!

4. Battlestar Galactica - this was going to be number six (it just seemed so fitting...hahaha) but I couldn't have it be after the Office and House. I started watching it this semester and have on more than one occasion found myself watching it instead of doing something I actually should be doing (don't tell my mom...hahahaha). It had to have a higher number this Thanksgiving!

3. Glee!!! This show has made this season of television so amazing! I love the music, the actors, the stories, and the fact that they are starting to show a little consistency in all those things. It also makes me not hate FOX quite so much! hahahaha

2. Josh Schwartz - He created the O.C., Gossip Girl and Chuck. I had never even considered watching the O.C. till I had already fallen in love with all things Chuck. I have since then actually seen just about every episode and have come to love his humor and wittiness, and I've now been able to see a lot of it in Chuck (in addition to the O.C./Chuck crossover actors -- I love it when that happens!!!)

1. Joss Whedon - Ok, I don't think this number one spot surprises anyone! He created the best shows and has helped with the whole turning television into an art form. I believe he is on the frontier of the television world with this Dr. Horrible business. He's my hero and I hope to meet him someday. (And this number one spot includes him and all the great things he has created...especially Buffy the Vampire Slayer!!)

Ok, in addition to this little list I want to share two of my favorite Thanksgiving episodes I've seen on television (and actually remember).

Pangs: BtVS season 4. I don't think I could ever forget how many funny moments are in this episode, but one sticks out in my mind always: Spike tied to a chair getting hit over and over by arrows that are flying through Giles's house. Also the touching-ness of the help Angel feels he needs to give and how he tries to hide his presence from Buffy. Awww...so sweet (and the follow-up episode in Angel where she goes to LA, he becomes human, realizes it's a bad idea, and erases the day from everyone's memory but his is very awww-worthy too).

The Homecoming: the O.C. season 1. Now granted, I don't know this as well as Buffy (and that's kind of a "thank goodness" sort of thing) but I've been thinking about the beginning of this episode a lot this Thanksgiving. The nearly incoherent ramblings of the darling Seth Cohen make the show, and they make this episode as well. In the beginning of this episode he begs his mother to not cook the dinner at all and she wants so badly to make the holiday unforgettable for Ryan. He also works on dating Anna and Summer at the same time (which in so many ways make season one so incredibly enjoyable). Oh, Seth Cohen on Thanksgiving, great times!!!

So, Happy Thanksgiving to all! Lets be grateful for all we get to have, and in addition to all those great blessings, let us not forget to be grateful for our television!!!

~Manda