The winter finale of Psych is now less than a week away on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 10/9c. And I can NOT wait for you all to see it! I got a sneak peek at it this week and it has quickly become my favorite episode of the entire season. Lots of Shawn & Juliet couple-y time plus the hilarious combo of Gus, Lassie, & Henry. (We need to talk about all the great new character combos they’ve played with this season.) I laughed all the way through the episode. Great way to head into a hiatus while also instantly making me hate the hiatus too.

Not only do you have the episode to look forward to on Wednesday, Tim Omundson will be chatting LIVE on USA Character Chatter while you watch! I love that USA Network has been doing these live episode chats. The only one I participated in was the premiere’s Steve Franks chat but I really enjoyed it and think it’s a fun way for fans to immediately interact with the folks behind the show.

To celebrate the finale and Tim’s chat, USA Network has given me a Psych Comfort Pack to give one of you! With an approximate retail value of $200, it includes:

• Laundry Bag
• Snuggie
• PJ Pants
• T-Shirt
• Season 5 DVD
• Pineapple Pillow

To enter all you need to do is share your favorite Lassie moment or quote in the comments below by next Friday, December 16th. Plus, get an extra entry by tweeting the following and filling in the blank: “I’m #PSYCH-O for Lassie because ___________ #LassieChat http://bit.ly/PsychChttr http://bit.ly/v4QnZg”

Please Note: The prize was provided by USA Network but USA Network is not a sponsor, administrator, or involved in any other way with this giveaway. Contest open to US residents only.

Don’t forget to check out the promo for the finale below or to mosey over to the Psych FB page for more photos and treats from the show.

I think my dread may be gone. I don’t have any idea how this trailer plays for people unfamiliar with the books but it gave me goosebumps. The count down at the end? So good. I can’t wait to see this thing on the big screen. (The trailer AND the movie.)

I’m embedding the YT version here but you should go check out the HD version on the iTunes Movie Trailers site. Delicious.

 
It doesn’t quite match The Hunger Games world that exists in my head. At least not what we’re seeing of District 12. I always imagined it… dirtier? Which would explain why the initial images we were getting weren’t satisifying me. I wanted them all to look grittier, covered in some noticable grime. But there seems to be enough of a contrast between The Capitol and District 12 that it won’t bother me in execution.

Have you read the books? What do you think of the trailer?

Wow! She just stuck her hand right in there…
I’m surprised she didn’t climb in the tank.

How would you react if you were led into a completely dark room and asked to blindly stick your hand in a tank to identify the object it held?

That’s pretty much the premise of a new reality show, Total Blackout, coming to Syfy in 2012. A show I got to take part in… sorta. Last month I attended the Syfy Press Tour and they asked for volunteers willing to help out with an interactive demonstration of the show. The catch? We weren’t told anything about the show beforehand. And they meant that. I had absolutely no idea what I was walking into when I was led into that dark room and the creator, Henrik Nielsen, explained the concept to me from his location across the hall.

Just a little while earlier, I had been told I was one of the volunteers who had been selected to participate. I joined four other members of the digital press in the “green room” across the hall to meet the show’s host, Jaleel White (!!!), and Henrik. Who teased us mercilessly but still revealed NOTHING about we’d be doing. At one point Henrik asked me, “Are you good at trivia?” And all I could think was, “Great, now I’m going to look like an idiot when I don’t know the answers to anything they ask us.” HA.

Joining us as the fifth “contestant” was Colin Ferguson who plays Sheriff Jack Carter on Eureka. He claimed he hadn’t been told anything either but I still have some doubts. Not that they told him exactly what we’d be doing but I suspect he knew a little more than we did. Or maybe he’s just used to performing for the camera because his turn through the room is definitely entertaining.

Speaking of The Room… Let me tell ya, you really couldn’t see anything in there. Lest you think we’re exaggerating that part. The door was cloaked with a black curtain to let as little light into the room as possible when you first stepped into it. This gave your eyes no time to adjust before the pitch black descended. I suppose it says something about me that I was more concerned about not tripping and falling than the things they wanted to identify in those tanks. But, come on, I’m clumsy!! Of course, now that I’ve seen the video, all I can think about is how that snake was so close to me as I tried to get my bearings at that first table. The heebie jeebies have me dancing in my seat thinking about it!!

But why keep describing it for you when you can see for yourself! Check out the videos below for a sneak peek at the concept of Total Blackout. The first video is just my turn through the room, the second is Colin Ferguson’s, and the last one is the full demonstration with all five contestants.

Rae Demos Total Blackout

Colin Ferguson Demos Total Blackout

Total Blackout: #SyfyTour Edition

 
PS: The quote at the top of this post is Jaleel White’s reaction to my performance. Love him. He was still marveling at how “fearless” I was later that night. Of course the truth is that 1) I would never be that fearless again and 2) would have been A LOT more cautious if I’d had a little more information. I’d had no time to ponder what could be in those tanks and I was more relieved it was “identify this object” rather than “answer this question” that I dived right in… I imagine, though, if they’d put cockroaches in that tank (which apparently some evil people at Syfy suggested), my reaction might have been more along the lines of those girly screams the Internet wanted. In fact, I may need to go soak in a bleach bath after even thinking about the prospect…

(Don’t worry, I pinched myself and I’m still me.)

But this post isn’t about how brutal I’ve gotten about slashing shows I used to love, it’s about the new shows I like. I wasn’t overly excited about this season at all and that’s probably reflected in just how few new shows have made it onto my list. But, even still, I’m kind of surprised by which ones I ended up liking. Besides the new show that’s really an old show, I don’t think any of these were really on my radar. The previews for Once Upon A Time looked horrendous and Revenge didn’t seem like my sort of show at all. Funny how things change once you’ve actually seen a few episodes…

Hart of Dixie — Look, I still don’t quite buy Rachel Bilson as this bad-ass doctor from NYC. But, then, that’s kind of the point. For one thing, no one else in Blue Bell buys her in that role either so at least I know it’s intentional. The writers know that it’s something they have to prove to us. Plus, as it turns out, Zoe Hart (Bilson’s character) isn’t quite as bad-ass as she believed. Oh, she’s good at what she did in NYC but there’s still a lot she has to learn. And here’s where we get to what I love about the show… She gets it. Sure she fights it and lets the cockiness sneak back in but she’s also quick to adjust how she does things once she realizes she’s wrong. The show reminds me of a cross between Gilmore Girls and Everwood. In other words, it’s a throw back to the type of WB shows I used to love and I dig it.

Happy Endings — I know, I know, it’s not technically a new show. But I haven’t blogged about it yet and so few people saw it last season that it’s basically new anyway that I’m counting it. What can I say? I love this show. Probably because watching it feels like I’m hanging out with my friends. This is how we joke around and talk. In that way it reminds me of how How I Met Your Mother used to feel in its earlier seasons. (I’m one of the few who still love HIMYM but it’s morphed into a show more about finding love than the wacky things you do with your friends.) Plus, it makes me laugh every week. Every. Week. Can’t ask for more than that from a half-hour comedy.

Revenge — This show is delicious. I have no idea how they’ll keep it going for multiple seasons but nor do I care. I’m too busy reveling in it right now. From the start, this show worked for me in a way that Lone Star never did. By that I mean, what Emily is doing is wrong but her motivations are clear and I understand her choices even if I don’t agree with them. And I like that there’s someone on the show who will tempt her away from those motivations. I don’t know that she can ever come back from what she’s done but I’m eager to find out.

Once Upon A Time — This show was made for me. I love fairy tales and I love this mixing of them with the modern world. That in itself is not unique but I like the way they’ve set it up here. It feels appropriately fairy tale-ish in its own right. And it’s fun to try and figure out who each person in town represents. If I have any complaints it’s that some of the kitschy names for things in the town are a little too on the nose. I like it in theory but wouldn’t it just prove the boy’s story is true? Of course logical adults don’t want to believe they are actually fairy tale characters but, if you’re getting hit over the head with fairy tale references, at some point you might wonder…

Leftovers
And, finally, though I am still watching New Girl and Suburgatory, I haven’t decided if I want to keep them around permanently. Something about New Girl doesn’t quite work for me. I like the premise and I enjoy the relationship between the roommates but it also seems to be a lot of schtick that I don’t find all that amusing. Whereas while I do laugh quite a bit at Suburgatory and generally find the father/daughter relationship to be sweet, I just don’t care about the majority of the characters. There’s something a little too broad about the suburbs humor. It doesn’t make me want to tune in each week to see more of it.

What new shows have you kept around?

What is it? An online mystery that has you spanning multiple social media platforms in search of the Hashtag Killer. Best of all, they filmed things with the cast so it you feel like you’re part of the show. I love it.

It reminds me of the Help Me Veronica stuff I helped Sunil with did back in the day for Veronica Mars. Of course that was completely unofficial, to include the help we got from the people behind the show. Imagine how much cooler it would have been if we’d had Veronica herself helping us out?! Ha. Not that we didn’t still have fun with it. All the fans who got on board and filmed scenes for us? They were awesome. And we had fun doing it. Not that it did much for the show itself but I always felt it was the kind of thing networks should be doing for their shows. Even more so now that social media has become such a part of our daily lives.

So, yeah, I love that USA and the folks at Psych aren’t just using these sites throw up more ads for their shows. They’re finding fun and interactive ways to engage people and I think that’s more impressive than flooding our time-streams with boring promotions.

As for the mystery/game itself, I’m actually weeks behind. Sadness. (See, I need to find a house ASAP so it’ll stop interfering with my Internet pursuits!) Although, the way they have things set up doesn’t help. Every time I try to catch up, I can only move forward so far and then it’s like there are “pauses” built-in to the game. I sort of understand that when you want to roll out the info slowly for a specific week but I find it annoying that they’re still there once that week has passed. But it’s like I can never get caught up because I’m constantly forced to stop after I’ve gone so far. Frustrating to say the least. But, given that this is the first time they’ve done one of these online murder mysteries, I think it’s a small complaint. And one that isn’t likely to bother the people who haven’t fallen behind like me.

If you’re a Psych fan and you haven’t checked it out, you should! There’s still time to play along and, better yet, earn some Club Psych points while you do. Hopefully USA will continue to do these type of things for their shows. I don’t know if there’s any way to measure the results but I still believe these type of promotions are important and more networks should take advantage of the ability to do them. Even if they’re aimed more at current fans of the show… Because as networks should know by now, fans can be some of your best advertisement.

I’ve been single for a looooooooong time and, as far as I can tell, will continue to be for an even longer time. (That’s not an invitation for pity, 97% of the time I’m pretty darn happy with my singleton.) The thought of owning a house all on my own? Scares the shit out of me.

It’s not even a money issue (though, of course, that also plays a part). It’s that lack of another person to share the stress with you. Don’t ever underestimate the value of that. I’m not sure it makes up for dealing with all of the other person’s idiosyncrasies but, when you’re single, it sure seems like it does!

But the time has finally come to face my fear. I’m not taking any steps to leave Orlando and, much as I love the friends I live with now, I’m ready to have my own space again. And this time I want it to truly be my space. No more scrambling to find a place that will accept 3 cats or worrying about what those cats are doing every second once I’ve found such a place. No more sharing a driveway with dozens of others or worrying my alarm will wake the neighbors sharing my bedroom wall. It may still scare me but I’m ready to put down some roots.

So, if updates here seem a little sporadic or I seem a bit flustered, now you have an idea why. I’ve already taken the first steps of the process. I’ve been pre-approved. Not that it’s all kittens and rainbows from here but at least I’ve gotten past that first hurdle.

Next up is trying to find a place within my budget that I like. Even with the large number of houses on the market right now, this step seems to be a lot harder than I anticipated. I probably won’t be posting updates on every step of the process (it’s a little too emotional and mercurial for that) but I will check back in once I’ve made some forward progress. And hopefully that’ll lead to some moaning and groaning about moving… AGAIN.

PS: Last week at this time I was shoving my hands in a tank with a snake. Eek! Stay tuned for more details on THAT.

Almost a year and a half ago, I decided I needed a break from blogging. I never meant it to last this long but, as with most things in life, once you fall out of the habit, it’s hard to get back into it. That is, until you realize you miss it. So I’m back. But I’m done with TV blogging.

Err, that is, I’m done with focusing solely on TV.

I loved Ramblings of a TV Whore but it originally started out as a blog about wide range of topics. Probably because, as I learned over the years, it’s easy to burn out when you’re only talking about one thing day in and day out. Doubly so when you start to lose some of your passion about that one topic. I’m still passionate about the shows I love and about the creation of said TV shows but, sadly, the number of shows I love has fallen sharply over the years. I’ve gone from being a TV whore to being a TV nun. My DVR doesn’t know what to do with itself now that it switch channels while recording shows!

Of course, I’ll still be talking about TV. As if I could stop completely! It’ll just be mixed in with whatever other topics are holding my attention from day to day. Hopefully this will make for a more diverse and interesting blog. I’m still proud of what I did with RTVW though, so if you’re looking for something that was originally posted there you can find the archives at: http://ramblingsofatvwhore.raelee.com. (As of October 18th, the original URL will point to those archives.)

As for this site, it’s kind of bare bones at the moment. If you’ve found me in the early days, I hope you’ll bear with me as things gradually change over the next few months. My first goal was to get the new blog up and running and myself blogging again so there’d be actual content to read. Once I’ve found my rhythm, I can go back to making it all look pretty.

So, again, thanks for reading and welcome to my new home!