Gone, But Never Forgotten

Friday Night Lights, My beloved Veronica Mars, Pushing Daisies.... Arrested Development! What do all these shows have in common? For whatever reason we didn't watch them (I mean we the public. Not me, personally, of course. I watched all these bitches!) and they were cancelled.

All the shows listed above, however,  ran for at least two seasons. So at least their networks gave them a chance. But there are shows out there that were never even given the chance... Shows that if perhaps the powers that be threw a little more money behind, could've really taken off. Shows that the cancellation of is nothing less than an egregious error, a blight on television history that cannot be rectified! I count down for you now:

The Top Five Shows That Were Cancelled Before Their Time!

5. Wonderfalls. I can't lie. This is the only show on this list that I did not watch as it aired. Why? Because I never heard of it! I think you really dropped the ball, advertising wise, Fox. Boo! But thanks to the wonderful invention of Netflix, I found this little gem and can include it in this list!

Wonderfalls, created byBryan Fuller and executive produced by Tim Minear, tells the story of Jaye, a recent Brown University graduate who now works a dead-end job in a Niagra Falls gift shop where she is surrounded by inanimate objects that communicate with her. Sounds crazy, I know. But it's typical Bryan Fuller genius (he also created Pushing Daisies, Dead Like Me and the first – and best – season of Heroes) and the show was fabulous! Check out a classic scene below:

4. Undeclared. This is the show that actually inspired this list! I find that a story helps distract from the misery I am experiencing when at the gym. Instead of hip-hop or electronica- inspired playlists, I opt to stream comedies on my iPhone and Undeclared fits the bill perfectly! I've been watching it the past two weeks.

Created by the now revered Judd Apatow, Undeclared follows six freshman at an unnamed California university. The series features writing (and acting) by the uber-funny Seth Rogen, Apatow favorites Jay Baruchel and Jason Segel, and who is that playing English cutie Lloyd? Oh, that's right! It's the devastatingly sexy star of Sons of Anarchy (and my dreams), Charlie Hunnam! Every episode of this show has me laughing out loud – the one where Adam Sandler visits, or the one where Ron (Rogen) gets a free keg from the multi-cultural department and demands his roomies help him drink it all – but episode 6... Episode 6 had me cracking up on the elliptical yesterday! Marshall has a cold. He doesn't want to go to the school's health clinic though. He'd rather have the very pretty Rachel take care of him. But Ron knows he needs help. So he pulls Marshall from his bed under the guise of going to get fake IDs made from their student ID card, when the following hijinks occurs. You dropped the ball again, Fox. Dropped. The. Ball!

3. Freaks and Geeks. What can I say about this show that hasn't already been said? It's a critic's darling, yet nobody watched it! Why, people???

Freaks aired for one season on NBC before being dropped for low ratings. But I still to this day don't understand why no one watched it! Hello? James Franco, Jason Segel, Seth Rogen, Busy Phillips, JAMES FRANCO!!! The series made Time magazine's 100 Greatest Shows of All Time list, as well as TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever and Entertainment Weekly named it #13 among the best shows of the last 25 years! The show deserves every one of these accolades and more! Created by Paul Feig and Judd Apatow, the series focused on a bunch of teenagers growing up in the 80s. My crowd would've called them burnouts, but watch the show and you will fall in love with each and every one of them. Busy Phillips, anyone who watched one episode of this series knew you were bound for stardom! Feast your eyes on Freaks and Geeks!

2. Firefly. Many have theorized about why this series didn't catch on. I'm still flummoxed. Brought to us by the creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel and more recently Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog and The Avengers, Joss Whedon, Firefly is part science fiction, part western and all brilliant!

Set in the year 2517, Firefly follows the crew of starship Serenity, captained by the charming, yet crass, Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds. Mal and his first mate, Zoe, are veterans of the Browncoat Rebellion. They currently work as smugglers, trolling the galaxy looking for their next score. The series has a hard core following. They call themselves, of all things, Browncoats! Stop by Comic Con, Dragon Con, Anachro Con, any kind of con, and you're likely to find a Browncoat roaming the halls. In fact, Firefly fans are so vocal, they managed to make enough noise that Whedon got funding to finish up the story with the film, Serenity. Alas, their love was not enough to save the show and it was cancelled after just one season. To blame? What do you know...Fox! You suck, Fox!

I love all members of the Firefly cast, including Nathan Fillion as Mal (Swoon), Gina Torres as Zoe, the hilarious Alan Tudyk as Zoe's husband and Serenity pilot Wash, kick ass Summer Glau as River, the lovely Morena Baccarin as Inara, Chuck's awesome Adam Baldwin as Jayne and the uber-adorable and likable Jewel Staite as ship's mechanic Kaylee.

I couldn't find a good clip of Firefly to share, so you'll just have to take my word for it. It's fabulous. But it on Blu ray, yo!

1. My So-Called Life. I cannot think of my teen years without thinking of My So-Called Life, for nothing summed up what it felt like to be a teenager in the 90s like this show did. And few shows have achieved such cult status as this show either! ABC did this little show a real disservice but putting it on opposite ratings juggernaut, Friends. The show was doomed before it started. 

Nevertheless, the show from the creators of Thirtysomething, never ceased to break new ground. I thank them for their offerings. We should all be thanking them for introducing us to Claire Danes, then 15 but already a little dramatic power house! Who could resist those longing looks she'd throw at high school cutie, Jordan Catalano (pretty, pretty Jared Leto)? I'm pretty sure that every woman my age fell in love with Jordan Catalano. Not because he was worthy but because Claire Danes loved him and she could make us feel anything. 

I miss this show. I miss Jordan and Angela, Ricky and crazy Rayanne! Thanks to Netflix and Hulu, I can relive my youth any time I choose!

Who knows what would've happened to these shows if they aired today? TBS saved Cougar Town from extinction, as Direct TV did for Friday Night Lights. And Netflix is reviving Arrested Development this Spring! Alas, it's too late for these little gems. Thank goodness for the Internet, so brilliant series such as these, though may be gone, will never be forgotten!

I Think, Therefore I'm Single

So… here’s a little update on the whole resolutions thing. I’m doing great at the gym!

I’ve been trying to go three times a week. Last week, even though there were two days I really didn’t want to go, I dragged myself in and left feeling pretty good afterwards – I just have to remind myself of that feeling the next time I really don’t feel like going….

The dating thing? Yeah… That’s a little harder! 

Online dating, what you think it will be:

What it actually is:

What is up with men on dating websites? So, I don’t want to sound like a snob, but… If I put in my profile that I have a master’s degree and I’m working on a second one, and you can’t even string together a complete sentence…maybe you can go ahead and assume that I’m not going to be very interested… Just sayin’.

And I try to hold a conversation, but it’s only been a couple of weeks and I’m already sick of doing all the work! Example chat room conversation:

Random guy: Hey.

Me: Hi there! How are you?

RG: What’s up?

(I’m already wondering what kind of response he’s looking for here… What exactly does he think is up? Obviously not much as I’m clearly sitting at home chatting on my computer…)

I decide to try and spice things up, so I go peruse his profile and notice a picture of him and a couple buddies at a comic book convention. I put in my profile that I like comics though I see no mention of it in his. I’ll use this as a window.

Me: Saw your comic con pic. You’re a Spiderman fan?

RG: Yeah.

Yeah.... Yeah?!? What exactly am I supposed to say next? I type some variation of that's cool and then the conversation completely fizzles. And this is just an example of many conversations I've had! It has me asking, has the creation of Facebook and texting, etc. made it so we no longer know how to hold on a conversation? Where are the questions bro? Or are you expecting me just to swoon at your “Hey” and throw my cell number at you so we can meet up for meaningless sex? What about my profile gave you the impression I was that type of girl?

I'm not expecting to meet a rocket scientist in OKcupid or Plenty of Fish, but I do wonder, where does a girl go to meet a decent, semi-intelligent SINGLE man these days? I'm really starting to think, that I think, therefore I'm single!

The Times, They Are A'Changin'

Is it just me, or is TV not the same as it used to be?

I heard a song on the radio today that made me think of the show the Wonder Years. 

The Cast of the Wonder Years

Damn, I loved that show! Wonder Years was the story of Kevin Arnold, a boy growing up in the Vietnam War era. No matter how complicated life was around Kevin and his friends, they remained innocent and hopeful.

Maybe it's just that I've grown up, but doesn't it seem like TV has lost its innocence? Or it is my perspective that's changed?

I think back to some of my favorite shows growing up and they all had an air of innocence. Take The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. The entire premise of the show was about a kid sent to live with family in Beverly Hills because the town he grew up in (West Philadelphia born and raised) was too violent. You think if they remade that show today Will Smith's character wouldn't be so much more jaded? 

Speaking of Beverly Hills, another show I couldn't get enough of was Beverly Hills 90210. Sure the show tried to be cutting edge. I remember Brenda's pregnancy scare and Donna Martin's shocking speech about the importance of teaching kids about safe sex. But even the toughest subjects back then were handled differently than they are now. I checked out the 90210 remake for nostalgia's sake when it premiered. Within the first 15 minutes there was a shot of one of the character's receiving a blowjob in his car as his girlfriend walked through the parking lot. You'd never have caught Brandon or Kelly doing that!

I know, I know, I've talked a lot about the kind of television that I watch. A lot of it is gory and violent and exactly what I am complaining about. However, most of my favorite shows – like American Horror Story, Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead – all air on cable TV, a vehicle for sex violence that didn't exist in the time I am speaking of.

Violence abounds in the very awesome Sons of Anarchy.

There's a time and place for violence. And in my opinion it's after 10 p.m. on cable networks. My question is, where is the love? The innocence? The sense of wonderment? Where is Kevin Arnold and the Wonder Years???

Hungering for a better choice...

So Lions Gate announced some cast members for the Hunger Games' sequel Catching Fire today! Among them was the character I was most looking forward to seeing on the big screen, sexy little Mr. Finnick Odair!

Who'd they choose? This guy....

Excuse me if you can't hear me over the sound of tires screeching, but what the FRENCH?!? This is NOT Finnick! With sea-green eyes, a glorious tan and a beautiful swimmer's body, Finnick is (what would be) a California boy! This guy is British and he looks it! Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not Finnick!

Here's further evidence:

He's wearing a scarf for chrissakes! Finnick does NOT wear scarves! I just don't get it. Say what you want about the casting they have done thus far, but I think it's spot on! Donald Sutherland is just the President Snow I envisioned. And Seneca Crane??? Forget about it! He's perfect!

I even got behind some of their stranger choices, like Liam Hemsworth as Gale and *ahem* Lenny Kravitz as Cinna (???). A lot of people criticize Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss, but I say pshaw! With the exception of my beautiful, but sadly too-young niece, Kayleigh, there is no more perfect Katniss. Just look at her!

But I just can't get behind the Claflin-guy or whatever his name is as my darling Finnick! This has to be the worst bit of casting since, what??? Oh yeah.......