Source: FOX

I’m not a dancer. WHAT? I know, you’re totally surprised. But I love to watch dancing. I absorb every routine on So You Think You Can Dance every summer like it’s crack. I have my favorite choreographers (Wade Robson and Travis Wall) and my favorite dancers (Mark Kanemura and Mark Kanemura). So, of course I notice the dancing on Glee and in my personal, untrained opinion? Zach Woodlee, the show’s lead choreographer, is Glee’s greatest asset.

Mainly because most of these kids are not trained dancers. With the exception of Grant Gustin, Heather Morris, and Harry Shum. Yet he puts together these great ensemble numbers that I just ADORE. My most recent favorite was the Troubletones’ Section performance which incorporated a type of street dancing called waacking:

They released video of another ensemble dance number from this Tuesday’s Michael Jackson tribute. Again – he made a bunch of untrained dancers look GREAT both dancing through the halls and in a library. Two things that must complicate any routine.

I just love what he does with these kids in these environments. I love how he incorporates Artie’s wheelchair and I love how he still showcases Kevin McHale’s mad dance skills even as he’s confined to that wheelchair. I just love it all and I hate he doesn’t get as much press as he deserves. And then…of course..he’s just adorable. Look at this great Behind The Scenes clip of he and Chris Colfer.

Or this special Behind the Scenes footage featuring him doing his thang during season 2.

I just love him so much. I can’t wait to see what he does in the rest of the Michael Jackson tribute episode on Tuesday.

I mentioned on Facebook this weekend that I hate the weeks after Christmas because the excitement of Christmas is over but we STILL have to wait a few weeks to watch new episodes of any of our TV shows.

After the Golden Globe awards were announced all of my favorite TV critics were excited that Homeland was recognized. Maybe even a bit pissed they weren’t recognized more. Now, I usually don’t like programming on the Premium channels. I joke and say it’s because I don’t like Grown-Up TV. But honestly? That’s not far from the truth. If it’s on a premium channel it’s because it has foul language or sex or violence and I just don’t like watching that stuff on my TV shows.

I KNOW! I’m such a prude.

But something about the way the critics wrote about Homeland intrigued me. They mentioned a lot about the character development. And I love me some good character development.

I gave it a try last week some time using Xfinity OnDemand and I am TOTALLY hooked. (It’s free for us because we subscribe to those Premium channels. Donnie is not as much of a prude as I am.) And yes – it’s all about the character development. I mean, the terrorist plotlines are gripping and I have no idea who is good and who is bad and they throw twists and it’s great. But these characters? Totally 3-dimensional and very complicated. I love it.

I’m also still trying to work my way through Doctor Who. I’m still on Season One, and I enjoy it, it’s just really daunting because I’m SO BEHIND. But I like it! And I’m excited about finally adding Doctor Who to my Geek Cred. All of my true Geek TV friends love Doctor Who, and I’ve always felt a little ashamed that I know nothing about it. I’m watching it using our Roku Box and my Amazon Prime account so it’s free. Yay for free TV!

What other TV shows could I be watching over the break that are Free? I mean, I have 6+ seasons of Doctor Who to keep me busy, but I was just wondering if you had any other suggestions?

To me, if I look at it without my Unabashed Gleek bias, ‘Glee’ seems to either hit the ball out of the park, or strike out every episode. There are no…ummm…crap. I don’t know anything about baseball so I’ve lost this analogy. What’s it called when your hit sends a runner or two home? Not a home run but something still good? THAT’S what ‘Glee’ seems to lack, just the basic good episode. To me? Last night was it.

First? The PERFORMANCES. I’m not a big fan of the song ‘Red Solo Cup’ but the sectionals performances? SCORE ON ALL FRONTS. I’m buying the Troubletones mashup and plan on singing it as loudly as possible when no one is around. And ‘Control’ – HOLY CRAP, I loved it. Actually, I loved the entire New Directions Jackson Family tribute. GREAT singing, dancing, and just all around Get OUT OF YOUR DAMN CHAIR, MR. CHANG! Performances.

Even the plot lines were good! Once you look past how easy it was for Sam to just come back to McKinley (Where’s his proof of residency? I had to practically give a blood sample just because we moved into a new house in the SAME DISTRICT.) it was just a nice episode to sit back and enjoy. I love Sam being back. I wasn’t uber-attached to him last year or anything, but I think his character adds a great dynamic to the group. I LOVE that they followed through and tied up nicely TWO DIFFERENT STORY LINES. Can you believe it? The resolution to the story about Mike’s Dad was well executed and felt solid and the Quinn finally gave up on the GET BETH BACK! crazy train. I like that Rachel was the one to show her how sucky it feels to screw up. I like that they didn’t do any dramatic TEACHER SLEEPING WITH STUDENT storylines. Simple, tied up, done.

I LOVE that they gave Blaine an opportunity to ask Finn WHAT IN THE HELL IS HIS PROBLEM? That’s been bugging me all season, why was Finn being such an ass to Blaine? They were buds last year! He’s dating his brother! They should be friends! And I’m glad Blaine got some scenes without Kurt, to let us see him as a character OTHER than Kurt’s boyfriend.

I LOVE SEBASTIAN. I mean, I hate the jerk for trying to breakup Klaine, but I also love him because he is so unapologetic about it and I think that is FUN. I mean, I love Klaine with all of my heart, favorite couple on TV right now, but it can’t be puppy love all the time, you know? So, getting to see Kurt pissed off and snarky? LOVELY.

And that brings me to my favorite part of last night’s episode. Kurt’s Background Moments. There are Tumblrs created just for Kurt’s background moments (WHAT IS OUTSIDE THE CHOIR ROOM WINDOW?) and they had tons last night. Chris Colfer can give a look that says 1 million words and he gave tons of them last night. His fake smile to Sebastian when he was talking at the Lima Bean was priceless. So good it overshadowed the eye-roll he gave when the guy with, “The CW Hair” first sat down. I loved his shock (and disgust) at seeing Blaine sing and dance to ‘Red Solo Cup.’ He was adorable stopping himself from doing what Sam was teaching once he saw Blaine was mad about it. His reaction to seeing the Unitards and then his enthusiasm for their performance? LOVELY. And my favorite part was when he stepped into the limelight for that one sassy hip-shake in their performance that was SO HILARIOUS that I just wanted to declare him the winner on his own.

Just a fun episode. The reason why I still stand by this show and probably always will.

Everyone is clamoring to jump to the praise of last night’s ‘How I Met Your Mother’ thanks to it’s emotional hook and tender care. But you know what I say? BOLLOCKS.

First – let me tell you why I didn’t like it from the perspective of a general fan of television. I absolutely HATE when a show leads you into one GREAT BIG PLOT TWIST that you weren’t expecting and then – after you’ve spent hours/days trying to figure out the ramifications of that twist – they “undo” it. I spent all week saying, “ROBIN’S PREGNANT!” And then, nope. She’s not.

THEN, they made the kids she talked to the entire episode imaginary. To me? This is just another cheap ploy to generate water cooler chatter. HATE. Last week they had us talking about Robin being pregnant. Then I spent the whole episode thinking that she and Barney eventually end up with kids together. AND THEN THEY TOOK THAT AWAY TOO. The Vampire Diaries knows how to give me a twist, see it through, and not piss me off. WHY CAN’T HIMYM FOLLOW SUIT?

Now…On to Why I Hated This Episode Because Of My Own Reproductive History And The Emotional Baggage It Burdens Me With.

When you have difficulty having children like I had for years, you always wish you could just get a glimpse of the future. Just someone who assures you, Everything will be okay. Especially if that glimpse of the future shows you having kids! YAY!

HIMYM was giving us that last night with Robin talking to her children. I watched the news of her being unable to have kids, and the struggle she had with coping with that news, and I wasn’t too sad because I knew she’d have kids eventually. Somehow. She had too! She’s talking to them!

AND THEN THEY TOOK THAT AWAY FROM ME. Bastards. I was not sad. I WAS PISSED THE HELL OFF. Don’t give a woman who suffered miscarriages for years that kind of hope and then YANK IT AWAY. BASTARDS.

So…I hated the episode. From a general TV-lover point of view, and from a reproductively challenged point of view. Just wanted to put it out there because everyone else in the world loved it and because it upset me so much (YES. I know. EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE.) I had to document my displeasure. Because – you know – that’s what’s really important.

(For the record? That’s the only cheesy reality TV show I ever go into. I’m not sure what that says about me.)

That was probably the start of my love of TV.

I don’t have as much time as I used to for television. I used to watch, on average, 3 hours or so a night. Now, I tended to fast-forward through a lot of those shows to allow me to watch them in minimal amounts of time, but I still watched a lot of TV. Lately, though, I’m down to about an hour a night – on average. And I watch it in the mornings before boot camp, most days.

And lately, those few hours? Are keeping me sane.

I’m a bit frantic in my life right now. I’m in one of those periods where I find myself wondering if I’m the perfect candidate for anti-anxiety meds, or possible alcoholism. So TV? Is keeping me from losing my shit. So I’m going to talk about it some more. YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT?

Bones
Donnie quite watching this some time last season. I stuck with it because I like the characters. The stories every week? Eh. I actually fast-forward through the gross parts, which turns out to be quite a lot during that show. But I love the characters. And I loved the chemistry between Bones and Booth. And last year, when they revealed she was pregnant with his baby? I couldn’t be more excited.

Then the season started back and guys? I’m just not feeling it! It’s like their chemistry is gone. What is up with that? I still love all of the other characters (Sweets! With a gun! So cute!) so I’m watching it, but I’m actually cringing a bit during the Bones/Booth scenes. Even the cute one with the foam guns! DIDN’T LIKE IT. I’m so bummed about that, too! I love those guys, I want to love them together. Anyone else having that problem?

Fringe

Another show Donnie has given up on with the whole, “Peter is Gone!” move from last season. And I’ll be honest, that move pissed me off. BUT – I watch the show for Walter – so I let it slide. And Peter’s back, sort of, so I’m kinda coping. I still like the show because – again – I like the characters. I especially like how much we’re seeing Lincoln this season. Both Lincolns. But I’m not sure if I like where the show is at this season. I don’t like the Walter in this universe as much, he doesn’t have as much joy as he did in the With Peter Timeline, and I miss that. And I wish Peter would talk about that to Olivia and Walter. Let them know that the timeline with him in it was a GOOD one. And then find a way BACK. Because this timeline? Is depressing. I want the silly Walter back! I’m still watching the show, of course, but this season is making me sad without the periodic Walter Joy. What about you?

Revenge

My new favorite show. I LOVE IT. And I love how much I’m starting to love Nolan, especially after the makeout scene between him and Tyler. So many layers of deception to that and I LOVED IT. I love every step of revenge Emily/Amanda takes. HOWEVER, I really want them to stop with the whole “OH NO! WILL SHE GET BUSTED!” type of story lines. We’ve seen the pilot which takes place in the future, where her identity was intact. So, those teases are pointless. Especially with the stripper Emily, I don’t like her being there at all. I just want them to focus on Emily/Amanda getting revenge, and not constantly try to scare us about her inevitable discovery.

And I know that most critics kinda hate Charlotte and Declan, but I think they’re sweet. And I’m very much torn in the whole Daniel/Jack love triangle. I love them both and I love her with them both. Your thoughts?

Parks and Recreation
*SPOILER ALERT* If you have not watched last night’s episode, don’t read any further!!

I tweeted yesterday that if Ben and Leslie didn’t get back together soon, then I was going to quit watching the show. I love them together and the tension irritates the hell out of me and I WANT THEM TOGETHER, DAMMIT. Even Ron You-Would-Make-A-Great-Brunette Swanson wasn’t enough to nullify the irritation I was feeling over the Ben/Leslie separation. So, at the end of last night’s GENIUS episode (Women’s Lasers…BEST CLASS EVER!) when they finally kissed? I – quite LITRALLY – thought F*ck Yeah. ABOUT DAMN TIME.

So, that is proof that some shows DO hear my pleas from my couch. Let’s hope the other shows obey my commands too.

And the ice cream talk with Drew? I HAVE HAD THAT SAME TALK…OFTEN WITH ICE CREAM.

Did you watch it? Did you say, “Shit. I think I wrote this episode? Did I write this episode and not realize it?” Because I did.

I love that Glee is handling Blaine/Kurt like they would any other couple on the show. They are even bringing in another character to fight for one of them – the adorable Grant Gustin seen in the photo here. (Sidenote: He tweeted me recently. YES, HE DID.) But it feels like they have taken the charming, confident Blaine from last season and turned him into a DWEEB. I mean, I thought the bowties and plaid shirts were cute at first, but along with this weird mousy personality he now has? EEK. And he’s suddenly a year younger than Kurt? WHAT? How was the guy who was the strong role-model from last year only a Sophomore?

BAH.

I just have a lot of emotions invested into Blaine and Kurt. They are the first primetime network gay male couple for teens that we get to see being affectionate to each other, that we see just behaving like any normal couple. I love that because Nikki often watches Glee with me and I like that she sees two boys kissing on TV and it is completely normal for her. But, I want Blaine to be the same character when he’s NOT singing as he is when he IS singing! When they put him in a dance number and let him sing, he’s just as awesome as he was in the Warbler blazer. But then he gives these totally dorky (and not the good kind of dorky) speeches in the band room and I kinda want Kurt to ditch him and RUN.

What about you? Do you feel that McKinley Blaine is totally different from Warbler Blaine? Kurt deserves the awesomely confident Warbler Blaine, I’m not sold on McKinley Blaine being good enough for Kurt yet.

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I do want all of you to know that – while I’m making a lot of time for running in my life as I train for this half-marathon – I’m only eliminating unimportant things from my schedule to do it. Like cooking. And cleaning. I am STILL watching TV. Not as much as I used to, which is forcing me to trim some of the shows off my DVR that I just watched out of habit anyway. Here is what I’m watching this fall.

• GLEE – Come on! I’m totally biased with this show because still love it in spite of the ridiculous season it had last year. LOVE IT. And I’m terribly depressed it’s on a hiatus right now. But let me tell you GLEEKS something. I follow Glee spoilers (WHAT?) (No spoilers here though, I promise!) and if you’re a fan of the same adorable couple as I am, it looks like the November 8th episode might rank up there in the EPIC department. I’m not going to spoil it for you, but if you MUST KNOW, you can Google something like “Klaine November 8th” and I’m sure you’ll find it because the GLEEKS are going CRAZY. (For the record, the original spoiler came from Michael Ausiello – the King of all Spoilers. HE CAN BE TRUSTED.)
• Parks and Recreation – Who wants to be a Pawnee Goddess for Halloween? I DO! Also…who thinks Batman Ben is SUPER SEXY. I DO! And who wants to have their own Treat Yourself! 2011? I DO! This season is continuing the excellence of last season without stopping and I want to make out with every episode.
• Modern Family – The show still has the same things that make me laugh hysterically (PHIL!) and also many of the things that make me roll my eyes. But that’s okay, the balance is still in the favor of FUNNY so I still love to watch it.
• Vampire Diaries – OH MY GOD. Did you watch last week? Even Donnie was like, “This show has only been on for 20 minutes? They’ve packed so much into that 20 minutes I thought for sure it was almost over!” I’m telling you – if all TV was written as well as this show – we’d all weigh 800lbs and never leave our couches. Those writers know how to give us an episode full of twists and turns and there are actors who know how to execute it all. Is it just me or has Nina Dobrev gotten SO GOOD at playing the two Doppelgangers that I actually forget it’s the same actress. They are such different characters that now – I actually forget they look the same. If that’s possible.
• Revenge – YOU MUST BE WATCHING THIS SHOW. It’s my only new show pickup that I’ve stuck with. I love it. It’s like Shawshank Redemption meets Gossip Girl. SO GOOD.
• Pretty Little Liars – I’m putting this on here because the Halloween Episode is this week. I don’t want you to forget! This show is SO BAD but I am SO HOOKED on it. I mean, something is crazy about a show that manages to cast and write a situation that has you rooting for the teacher/student relationship. WHAT? WHY AM I ROOTING FOR THEM? Awful. But Awesome. CAN’T STOP WATCHING IT.
• I do not watch Secret Circle anymore after last week. I was into it for a few weeks but they pulled a twist last week and killed off someone I had just started getting hooked on and I take that shit PERSONALLY. I’m not addicted enough to the show for me to allow them to toy with my emotions like that. So it is officially off the list.
• Castle, Good Wife, NCIS, NCIS LA, Hawaii 5.0 – Now, I still record ALL of these shows. BUT – I watch them in 15-minutes, if I watch them at all. I kinda want to keep up with them because I like them, but since time is limited I fast-forward through most of the episode. If my schedule doesn’t loosen up after the race I may have to stop watching them all together. They’ve all gotten a bit predictable anyway…We’ll see.

Now…just to show you my Running Side too – here is a comparison of the results of the 5K I ran this weekend with last year’s results of the same race. This is beyond believable. I can NOT believe how much I have improved.

I’ll revisit this SPEED topic in great detail another day. I don’t want to take the attention away from what’s important in this entry. TELEVISION.

What are your Can’t Miss shows right now?

I drank tea last night! Woo Hoo! I have no idea if it will be something that helps long term, but I went to bed without the cozy blanket of gluttony, and it only kept me awake until about 10:30pm. Which isn’t late, unless you get up at 4am. Which I do.

*sigh*

You know what else I did last night?

Watched the finale of The Nine Lives Of Chloe King. This is one of the many shows I give a try because I’m a sucker for teen fantasy stories. And let me tell you – the first episode? SO BAD. I remember thinking, there is no way I’m watching this show. Last night was the season finale and it’s my favorite show of the summer!

But I’m so mad because the finale was KRAZEE-PANTS. (For the two of you who watch the show – NO SPOILERS! I PROMISE!) They pulled out every “twist” in the book. Some of them TWICE. For realz. It was INSANE. If it is not renewed I’m personally going to approach ABC Family and beg to at least be TOLD what was going to happen. Or I may die a miserable bitter woman.

I AM NOT EXAGGERATING.

Other shows of my summer:

1. Warehouse 13 Always love.
2. Eurkea (It’s getting canceled. BOO!)
3. Leverage Always love.
4. White Collar (Another INSANE finale!)
5. Torchwood: Miracle Day (Not totally in love with the Starz recreation, but I can’t say No to Captain Jack.
6. Suits A new show I watch entirely for Gina Torres who I’ve adored since Firefly
7. Franklin and Bash Ridiculously over-the-top but so fun I kinda love it.

What shows did you watch over the summer to buy you time before Fall Season TV returns?

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The Vampire Diaries is still the show I look forward to the MOST. The writing on that show is superb and keeps me guessing every episode. And now…next season? SO MANY DOORS LEFT OPEN. Is Stefan evil? Is Damon Good? Is Jeremy haunted by Ghosts of Dead Girlfriends? Or Ghosts of Dead Vampires? Or just ALL Ghosts? Will Caroline and Tyler be the cutest Vampire/Werewolf couple EVER? Will the sheriff be one of the good guys? OH MY GOD…I love that show. If you need something to watch this summer? Watch the first season. Then…the second season if it comes out in time. Seriously. It’s fun, it’s gripping, it’s surprising and OH MY GOD…it’s so full of sexy people! SERIOUSLY. You should watch it.

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This was a show that could have totally pissed me off this season with the Will They/Won’t They Peter/Olivia storyline. I stuck with it and had patience, even through the FauxLivia pregnancy, and it paid off. They ended up together. They even fast-forwarded and showed us the two of them MARRIED. I almost DIED OF JOY. And then…THEN…they took it ALL AWAY. Peter? Gone? Never Existed? If this is the way the next season goes I will NOT watch it. Seriously. Peter and Walter are the thing that keeps me with the show. Walter without Peter? Not worth it. Olivia without Peter? Nope. Fringe without Peter? NOPE. Won’t watch it. I guarantee you.

But if they undo that stuff in the beginning of next season? That STUPID twist? If that is somehow undone by the end of the first episode? I’ll return for the next season. If not? I don’t think I can do it. I’ve had patience, more than with most shows, but without Peter? Blah.

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I loved this season of Justified. I would have never in a million years thought I’d get into this type of show but it is so good I just hate when it’s over. Like The Vampire Diaries it’s one I just love every piece of. EXCEPT ONE CHARACTER: Winona Hawkins. Man, I hate that they put them back together this season. I actually skipped almost all of the arc involving her stealing the money just because I HATE HER SO MUCH. I love Ava Crowder, don’t even mind her and Boyd together, but I loved her and Raylan. She’s fragile but strong and doesn’t make me want to punch her in the face like Winona does. I just hated that part of the season. The rest of it? Perfect. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re getting rid of her anytime soon. ::sigh:: Oh well, it’s a testament how much I love the rest of the show that I can hate her so much and still keep watching.

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As with last year, Glee is ALWAYS a total hit or a total miss with me. I watch it an look forward to it every week, but mainly because the hits are so awesome. Kurt/Blaine? Totally have redeemed this season in my opinion. I love them with all of my heart. I love that, for awhile we had more Brittany, less Rachel. Now it seems like it’s gone back to being Rachel-heavy and this annoys me. There are two more episodes left in the season and as long as they don’t screw with what I love about it, I’ll keep watching it, but I often feel like if they took just a few of the characters or storylines out of the spotlight I’d probably stop watching. Because even though it’s GREAT when it’s GREAT…I sometimes feel like it’s SO BAD when it’s not.

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I was bored one morning and watched a few of these on OnDemand and WHERE HAVE I BEEN? I think I watched one or two of these episodes when the show started and just didn’t like it. I think I grouped it in with The Office which I couldn’t get into. I just assumed if I disliked one I would dislike the other. THIS IS A LIE. I have watched this entire season (I think) and am now considering watching the first two over the summer. Do you recommend this? Should I watch all of the seasons or was the first one not very good (and therefore making me feel validated for not sticking with it) and maybe I should just watch the 2nd season?

I made Donnie watch “The Fight” last night, which is the one where they all got drunk. Ron Swanson dancing with that hat on may be my favorite 10 seconds of television EVERY in the HISTORY of television. I want an animated GIF of that one small bit of beauty and I want it tattooed digitally on my eyelids.

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There are several shows I LOVE…but I just don’t the luxury of time to keep up with them. And parts of them sometimes annoy me. Like Parenthood’s storyline with Sarah Braverman: Scriptwriter. Or Julia Graham’s battle with infertility that lasted 5 months. HOW DID SHE COPE? Other shows in this category are just a wee predictable. So…how do I keep up with them? THE FAST-FORWARD BUTTON. I love NCIS, NCIS: LA, Castle, and Hawaii 5.0 — but they are ALL terribly predictable. I watch the first 5-10 minutes to get the Case Of The Week and then I fast-forward through the middle and watch the end. Sometimes I squeeze in an hour drama in 15 minutes (Hawaii 5.0) other times it takes 30 minutes (Castle) because I like some of the relationships outside of the weekly cases. I love seeing scenes with Castle and Beckett or Castle and his mother/daughter. I’ll stop and watch those even if they’re completely irrelevant to the case. I’ve pretty much done this ALL SEASON, and now that several are ending? I don’t feel like I missed out on anything. I still get to keep up with my favorite shows, but in a fraction of the time!

Sidenote: My husband HATES this and thinks I’m insane.

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What about you? How do you feel about this season? Pick up any new shows? Give up on any old shows? What about this summer…what do you watch over the summer? We’re a big So You Think You Can Dance family…so we like Summer TV. What about you?