TV Squad

• Sarah Silverman: best comedy actress?
  

  Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Boston Legal, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Medium, Celebrities, Big Love, 30 Rock, Ugly Betty, Damages, Weeds, Emmys, Pushing Daisies, Samantha Who?, Reality-Free, Mad Men

  As the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences tries to whittle the submissions down to actual nominees, it's interesting to take a look at who has made it to the semifinals. It's not a nomination, but it's one step away. Today comes word of the finalists for best...
  




• The Golden Globes: Best Television Series - Drama
  

  Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, OpEd, House, Grey's Anatomy, Big Love, Awards, Damages

  I think it's reminiscent of "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" What if they gave out Golden Globes and no one was there to walk down the red carpet? Perhaps I'm just a cynical so-and-so, but I think the ceremony is as much a part of it all as are the actual trophies, perhaps even more important to many in the industry. It's their chance to shine, to glow,...
  



• The Golden Globes: Best Actor - Drama
  

  Filed under: OpEd, House, Big Love, Dexter, Awards

  The nominees for Best Actor in a Drama are not all from the movies like the Best Actress nominees are, but they are still a damn fine group of actors. I am glad that I don't have to vote officially for the Golden Globes, because I really think this is a very hard group to choose from. I have to say that my top three contenders are Michael C. Hall, Bill Haxton, and Hugh Laurie-- and not just because of their performances last year, but also because of their bodies of work as a whole....
  



• Big Love: Oh Pioneers (season finale)
  

  Filed under: OpEd, Big Love, Episode Reviews

  (S02E12) Things certainly didn't end up the way I thought they would in the season finale. And now I can't wait to see Season 3! I hate having to wait for so long for new seasons. I don't want to say too much before the jump, though. I'll just say that I thought I had a lot of things pegged a certain way, and one of the great things about this show is that it shows us that people in all of their wonderful complexity. None of these characters can be easily pigeon-holed.

  Continue reading Big Love: Oh Pioneers (season finale)




• Big Love: Take Me As I Am
  

  Filed under: OpEd, Big Love, Episode Reviews

  (S02E11) This was another great episode in a solid season of Big Love. Again, every line, every nuance is so charged, it is hard to unravel it all. But let's give it a whirl, shall we? Margene has come a long way, baby. The clearest indication of the changes in Margene came when she said to Nicki (paraphrasing), "If she [Barb} just hates us all so much and she wants to leave, just let her."
  
  When Barb left at the beginning of the season, Margene was crying on the phone to Barb that she didn't know if she could stay married...
  



• Big Love: The Happiest Girl
  

  Filed under: OpEd, Big Love, Episode Reviews

  (S02E10) I'm going to go out on a limb here and argue that Bill has essentially not changed since the beginning of the show. Oh, sure, he is still acting and behaving-- but I don't think there is anything inherently different about the way he is behaving. He is still ambitious, still thinks he is right, and he is a salesman: He thinks he can talk his way into or out of any situation. However, I bet that was cold comfort at the end of tonight's episode, considering who he ended up in bed with...

  Continue reading Big...
  




• Big Love: Circle the Wagons
  

  Filed under: OpEd, Big Love, Episode Reviews

  (S02E09) Things are certainly heating up on Big Love. I don't know for certain what big finale we are gearing up for. I used to think that it was Bill taking over as head of the U.E.B. (United Effort Brotherhood). I thought last season was leading Bill toward being the prophet. But now I'm not so sure. Now, more and more, I think things are careening toward Bill losing everything. I don't think he'll lose the store (though, that would make Margie's concerns foreshadowing), but I think he is going to lose Barb. And that, in Bill's world, would be...
  



• Big Love: Kingdom Come
  

  Filed under: OpEd, Big Love, Episode Reviews

  (S02E08) [Spoiler Warning!] Please don't read the extended version of this review if you have not yet watched this episode. What a great episode. There were so many threads in this episode, it was great to see how fast and furious old and new facts were being hurled out through the dialogue. Oh, poor Benny. How humiliating. I think it's bad enough for any teenager to have his parents find out that he's having sex-- but it has to be especially bad when those parents think not only is he too young, but what he is doing is also a...
  



• Big Love: Good Guys and Bad Guys
  

  Filed under: OpEd, Big Love, Episode Reviews

  (S02E07) Sorry about my absence last week. I was actually in Utah, visiting family who do not have HBO. Things were complicated and I also did not really have an Internet connection before this afternoon, so I couldn't do a review. I have seen last week's episode "The Dating Game," though. I liked Ana, and I thought her friendship with Margene was very sweet. I admired Bill, though, for realizing that maybe it was just lust on his part and ending the relationship. I also admire him for not sleeping with Ana, though can making out with her without two of...
  



• Big Love: Vision Thing
  

  Filed under: Big Love, Episode Reviews

  (S02E05) The Wild Thyme Cafe & Bakery.

  That's where this installment of Big Love started. With Bill Henrickson's right-hand man and confidant telling him not to keep his frustrations about his personal life all bottled up inside.

  Then, as if on cue, a waitress named Ana, in a frilly pink and black uniform descended upon Bill's table and offered a sympathetic ear to listen to his troubles. And she also offered him a sweet piece of pie.

  Maybe it was the pie. Maybe it was her uniform. Or her accent. Or maybe, perhaps, Bill was just feeling a bit randy and wanted a distraction. But it was...