O Canada

Overheard at my apartment last night during the Vancouver opening ceremonies:

“Hey it’s that guy! You know, the guy who does all the sports stuff. What’s his name? You know, that guy?”

“I hope this isn’t as scary as the Beijing opening ceremonies.”

“They’re called Aborigines in Canada? Huh.”

“Did you know ‘origin’ is in the word Aborigines? I didn’t until I just typed it.”

“Look at that old lady dancing with the Aborigines. She looks so happy.”

“What’s the name of that guy? That sports guy…”

“Where are the Russians? They’re going to be hot.”

“Wow, he’s hot.”

“Wow, she’s hot.”

“You know, for the most part, Olympians are really good looking. I never realized that until tonight.”

“HA! Those look like chef pants.”

“It’s Istanbul, not Constantinople.”

“You really dig facial hair, huh?”

“Hey, look at that guy on the sidelines – he’s doing the Carlton dance!”

“BOB COSTAS!”

“Oh, Canada.”

“This is the worst song ever written. These lyrics are ridiculous.”

“They should have gotten Bryan Adams and Celine Dion to sing this.”
“That wouldn’t make this song any better.”

“This guy is just a Bryan Adams soundalike.”

“What?? What happened to Bryan Adams? That’s really him?”

“I don’t get this song choice. It’s beautiful, but it’s about looking back on all your failed relationships and giving up on love. Just because the word ‘cloud’ is in it doesn’t make it about the Plains. Silly Canada.”

“Wow, K.D. Lang is really rocking ‘Hallelujah.’ I forgot she’s actually a great singer.”

“Sarah McLachlan is Canadian? Huh.”

“This reminds me of a school assembly. I bet it’s really great if you’re there, but it’s not translating to TV. Oh, Canada.”

“So on How I Met Your Mother, there’s a character whose Canadian, and they take every opportunity to make fun of it.”
“That’s because it never gets old.”
“Y’know, it really doesn’t… Canada.”

“Uhoh, someone’s getting fired. Wayne Gretsky looks pissed.”

“Poor Canada. They got so far and failed at the climax. They remain the world’s punch line.”

Nostalgia alert!

YOU GUYS. I have some very exciting news.  TVOne, a channel I must confess I didn’t even know existed until last week, is now showing reruns of A Different World

DOES ANYONE ELSE REMEMBER A DIFFERENT WORLD? In case you don’t, let me fill you in. Continue reading

The overwhelmingness of lists

It seems everywhere I look these days, there’s another Best of 2009 or Best of the 00’s list. And while you all should know by now that I love a good list, I’m finding these completely overwhelming.  Seeing everyone’s favorites makes me think I should have a list, but the thought of comprising my favorite movies/tv shows/albums from the last ten years is just too much, even for me. (Though, off the top of my head: Gilmore Girls, Sex and the City, The Office, Extras, Six Feet Under, Dexter and The Daily Show would all make this hypothetical list. And The West Wing. And The Colbert Report. And 30 Rock. See – too stressful!)

The other overwhelming aspect of these lists is there’s so much I haven’t seen that I feel I should. Or, on the flip side, there’s these great shows, such as Deadwood, Arrested Development and the original Office, that I’ve seen, but not for years, and seeing them pop up on every list make me want to watch them again. There are only so many hours in the day and so many days in a year, people! Stop with the list making already!

With that in mind, I’m creating  my own list, with a twist.  The following are TV shows from the past decade I resolve to (finally) watch in 2010.

Continue reading

K-E-L-L-Y: The best musical moments on TV

Lists, lists, we got yer lists here!

I don’t know why I am constantly making up pointless lists about TV in my head. That’s just me.  And yes, I’ve done it again. After the Glee album was released a few weeks ago, I started thinking about my favorite Glee moments, which led to thinking about my favorite TV musical moments. That led to me making a list of said favorites, which brings us here.

Before I begin, a few things: First, I’ve not seen every show out there. These are just some of my favorite moments. I know, for instance, that Ally McBeal was chock-full of musical performances. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen it. Ditto for the first four seasons of American Idol. Second, by musical moments, I do not mean montages. I mean characters actually singing, or music being used effectively in a scene. (But there are a few exceptions for truly outstanding montages that could not be ignored.) Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a musical montage. But the list is long enough already; if I included every musical montage I loved, I’d be writing this entry forever.

Ready? Okay, here we go, in no particular order. Continue reading