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Look everyone! It’s Carter Baizen

This is the second time Carter Baizen has reared his ugly(?) mug in Nate’s life. The first time was during Chuck’s card game from a handful of episodes ago. There, his appearance was mostly invisible and entirely forgettable (I found out on TV.com). This time though he couldn’t be missed — at least by me — because his name was said constantly. Carter Baizen! Carter Baizen! Over there, in the foyer, Carter Baizen! This isn’t really of any specific concern to the masses unless you happen to be a die-hard How I Met Your Mother fan and know that one of its co-creators is named “Carter Bays” (who happened to write for The Late Show when I interned there). So when I hear Carter Baizen (which sounds a lot like “Bays” when said aloud) that is immediately what my mind goes to. I suspect I’m one of maybe fifteen people who has this problem (including Carter himself, I’d assume). Anyway, the goods after the jump…

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Um, yeah, I’ll take one jelly, a glazed, and your soul.

Well, I’m back on the horse. After a few weeks away, I’ve been working my way back into Reaper and I think I’m a better man for it. When I bailed a month or so back it had a lot more to do with the excess mediocre programming I was watching (and maybe a bit Reaper’s early tendency toward repetition) than an disinterest in this specific series. Having cut a lot of fat from my lineup (and having finished my novel-in-a-month) I suddenly find myself with — get this! — extra time on my hands. That time has been partially allotted to Reaper. More after the jump…

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Mmmmmm… pie.

Now, there is nothing funny intrinsically funny about eating disorders, but the sight of Blair grabbing that enormous apple pie was hilarious. That she did so after being more or less dared by her mother makes everything that much more ridiculous and by extension awesome. I hate to be crass but there is an unmistakable comedic brilliance in anyone holding a giant pie with a pouty face. The following binge/montage (including the knowing-look from the kind Russian maid) was so over-the-top it was hard not to smile at this poor girl’s struggle. More after the jump…

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My name is William and I make people uneasy in my presence.

There were two priceless moments in this the penultimate Beauty and the Geek. But before I get to them a brief word on William. What’s interesting about this show is the differences amongst the geeks are as vast as themselves and the beauties. You can be a geek and also a moron. You can be socially well-adjusted and yet have no sense of style or coordination. Because of the way the show is presented we’re led to believe that all of the “geeks” are sympathetic figures who just need a little nudge in the right direction. This is not the case for William, who always looks like he’s on the verge of violent rage. More after the jump…

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Better to burn out or to fade away?

This thing is killing me. We all knew the writers’ strike was going to be a major inconvenience, but I never suspected it would have the effect it’s currently having on my psyche. Ever since the writers took to the picket line three weeks ago, television has kind of sucked, and not just because my beloved late-night shows immediately went into reruns. Despite the fact that we’ve still been getting new scripted episodes these past few weeks, the strike has, in a way, highlighted just how solidly mediocre this fall has been. The new series, while marked by very few cancellations (honestly, who would have thought Cavemen would still be airing new episodes three weeks into November?), have generated no significant hits (with the exception of Samantha Who?, but it’s hard to say if it is the show that is successful or its Dancing With the Stars lead-in) while our favorite returning series from years past have either been wildly inconsistent (How I Met Your Mother), shockingly awful (Weeds) or just kind of a mess (Friday Night Lights). To top it all off the two series that have been consistantly good and occasionally great in The Office and 30 Rock are the first to run out of episodes. The whole mess can put your average television viewer into something of an existential conundrum: if interesting stories can vanish as quickly as they appear, what’s the point of it all? More after the jump…

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Wow, that is so embarrassing for you.

Here’s a life lesson for all of us: while Guitar Hero is extremely cool, and girls who play Guitar Hero instantaneously become four times more attractive (that number shoots to eight if it’s a real guitar), and performing admirably on “Free Bird” at the expert setting is certainly cool in and of itself and reason for boasting, and having Guitar Hero set up at a Super Sweet Seventeen party is a nice touch… while all of this is true we should never overlook the fact that no one (NO ONE!) looks cool playing Guitar Hero. It is physically impossible, because no matter how hard you are rocking all anyone sees is some idiot prancing around with a tiny plastic guitar strapped to their stomach, and not even the hotness of Serena van der Woodsen can make us forget this. More after the jump…

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Pic via Flickr

I’m going to forgo the usual episode recaps today as I 1) haven’t actually watched anything from last night and 2) feel like dedicating some space to the WGA strike as tomorrow night will mark the first significant casualty of the work-stoppage. Thursday’s episode of The Office entitle “The Deposition” will be the last new episode we can expect from the show until the strike ends. The Office was one of the first series to close up shop due in large part to the fact that a good chunk of the cast happens to also write for the show.

The Futon Critic has a really handy guide with the amount of episodes each show has left to air before going dark. Most of the networks biggest series will have trouble making it past the first week in December (which, luckily for them, is traditionally dark). We should expect little (if any) scripted programming come 2008.

In the meantime, treat yourself to the endless supply of strike blogs popping up on the internet, the most informative being the guild’s official blog United Hollywood. Here are some others:

Late Show Writers on Strike
Scribe Vibe (Variety)
Show Tracker (LA Times)

One last note: since the major sticking point for this strike is writer’s compensation for ad-supported material posted on the web, I would encourage everyone to avoid using the networks’ video services until a deal is made.

Cool, filtered, smooth.

You know what’s funny? Smoking! And yet there is so little of it going on these days — almost like it’s some sort of national health risk or something. Honestly, seeing anyone smoke on television these days is strangely shocking — which is one small part of what made Mad Men work so well. No gives a second thought to sex and violence these days. But smoking will turn heads. Why? Well because it looks so damn cool! (And because it will, y’know, kill you) More after the jump…

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Booger is DEATHPROOF

Aaaaaaaand I’m back. Okay, this post is about a week late, but figured I should go ahead and get it up as something of a declaration of intent. After having bailed on Reaper a few weeks back a friend told me that last Tuesday’s episode was particularly funny and that I should do myself a favor by checking it out. I did and was glad I made the decision. It was funny. Very funny, and not just because it featured Curtis Armstrong and myriad references to old video technology.

Basically this is the Reaper I was hoping we were going to get after seeing the pilot. The episode still followed their structural formula down to the letter, but the tone was so much more playful and fun it didn’t really matter what was happening. If anything it’s given me an incentive to tune in for another episode.

For those who feel this small blurb in incentive enough to check back in (and god bless you for it), suffice to say you’ll be treated to: a pitch-perfect “bachelorette party at a bar,” an retail hideaway built out of backstock (which I’ve actually done), a magical eight-track, a cute girl named Taylor and some of the best Devil scenes to date. Viva Reaper!

“I have a very popular television name.

If motivation is the basis for all good drama, then Chuck is by far the most interesting character in the Gossip Girl world of wealthy teenage tomfoolery. While everyone else bumps around aimlessly, making mountains of molehills, Chuck knows what he wants and is willing to do whatever he can to get it. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s completely self-destructive. Self-destruction also happens to make great drama. More after the jump…

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Holy moly!

I think it’s safe to say that Dave is the man. First he demonstrates his mad back-handspring skills at a party, then gets two kisses (on the lips!) from the incredibly perky Jasmine, followed by the shocking (and maybe a little stomach-churning) act of him ripping his shirt open during the salsa dance competition. I haven’t seen skin that blinding since the summer I worked at a camp for radioactive children (eh-hem, sorry, I’ve been working on my Family Guy spec). More after the jump…

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Kind of a letdown on most fronts as Monday’s collection of comedies proved to be decent though rarely LOL-funny (even to the point of using “LOL” to describe situations that aren’t necessarily worth of laughing out loud, but just chuckling to oneself). They weren’t bad episodes. I never felt like turning the television off, but the laughs just weren’t there — except for The Boondocks, which is achingly funny. Brief thoughts on Weeds, Aliens In America and Samantha Who? coming up after the jump…

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It’s been a month since new shows started popping up and my god has it been a rough ride. I was able to keep for the better part of two weeks, but lately I’ve had to throw my hands up and declare that once again, the television has won. Part of the problem, for me at least, is this fall seems to have more decent shows than season’s past. There are always one or two really good new programs, but typically the rest of it is just dreck. This year there have only been a small handful of shows I would consider abdominal, but with an unusually large amount resting somewhere in the middle. But how does one justify sticking with a series that is at its very best just OK. I think now would be as good a time as any to look at where we are and decide how to move forward.

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“Vanessa From Queens

Honestly, she might not be from Queens at all, but how often can one tie in a Malkmus song to an episode of Gossip Girl? (Actually, I don’t know the answer to this either as I’ve never really thought much about linking the two. Perhaps its easier than imagined. This might make a fun game for those of you at home.) Either way, Vanessa is here and she’s intent on shaking things up in that quaint berg known as the UES — so long as the shake-ups don’t last for more than one hour (or 43 minutes after you account for commercials). More after the jump…

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Captain of waxed chests.

I had my own geek-out moment during this Comic-Con centered episode of Beauty and the Geek. The primary challenge for the beauties was to devise their own super-hero complete with backstory, special powers, arch enemy, etc. and then have the geeks actually design the costume which was then presented to a panel of comic book experts. On that panel was Eric Powell who writes and illustrates The Goon. I found this to be utterly awesome as he represents the type of comic book writer I most enjoy: those with little interest in classic super-heroes (I’m sure the more fanatical readers will tell me otherwise, but whatever… let a man dream). More after the leap…

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