TV Gal

TV Gal Signs Off

2010-06-08T06:36:25Z

Hi everyone,First of all I want to thank you for all your kind emails and comments after I gave birth to my daughter Molly. It really meant so much to me to hear from you. I know I've been gone a loooong time and I've missed out on talking to you about so much TV! I wanted to let you know that I've made the difficult decision to not return to writing my TV Gal column. When I started writing my TV Gal column 13 (!!) years ago it was because I loved TV and I wanted to talk about TV with people who loved TV as much as I did. I've always loved that my column connected me with all of you. But the TV Gal column has never been my main job - it was always an added and very wonderful thing I did and so enjoyed doing. But since the birth of my daughter, I've...

Baby Update!

2010-03-12T03:31:29Z

Hi Everyone, So sorry for the my delay in giving you my update. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Molly, a few weeks ago. We're all doing really well and enjoying our first few weeks together. Thanks again for all your well wishes. I hope you're enjoying all the spring TV. Amy ...

Oh baby! 'Parenthood,' 'In Plain Sight,' and other important TV things I need to tell you

2010-02-12T18:12:00Z

You know how on TV shows when a child is about to go off to college, the parent grabs them and tries to impart all the knowledge they possibly can in their remaining minutes together? That's kind of how I feel about today's column. I'm trying to remember everything I want to tell you before I head off on my maternity leave. So here it goes: I'm surprised by how much I've liked Ellen so far as a judge on "American Idol." I knew she would be funny but I'm really enjoying her constructive criticism. I'm also declaring my early favorites to be Andrew Garcia, Katie Stevens and Ashley Rodriguez. We haven't seen nearly enough of Dana Delaney this season on "Desperate Housewives" but she'll be appearing on a two-part episode of "Castle" on March 21 and 22. She'll play Federal Agent Jordan Shaw and this, of course, reunites her with Nathan Fillion, who played her...

'The Middle,' 'The Good Wife' and Other Favorite New Faces of the 2009-2010 TV season

2010-02-08T18:46:40Z

With each TV season, we discover new characters andstars to fall in love with. Remember there was a time when no one knew who Simon Baker or Eva Longoria Parker were. Here are my favorite new faces of the TV season: Charlie McDermott as Axl on "The Middle" (Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. on ABC): Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn may be the big names on this show but it's the kids who make this comedy a must-see series. And yes Brick is adorable (whisper: adorable) and Sue's unbridle enthusiasm is hilarious but it's definitely Axl who makes me laugh out loud the most. From his exasperated sighs to his penchant to never wearing a shirt, he perfectly captures an adolescent ennui. McDermott is so good at morphing into his roles that I just now realized he was also Melissa Leo's son in the movie "Frozen River." Brian Van Holt as Bobby on "Cougar Town"...

'The Office,' 'Greek,' 'The Closer' and other TV romances I Love

2010-02-05T17:16:32Z

It really is quite challenging to be a good TV couple. First of all viewers have to want you together which is no easy feat. You never quite know what's going to create a palpable on-screen chemistry. Will you be a Buffy and Angel or a Buffy and Riley? A Dylan and Kelly or an Annie and Ethan? And then once you get two characters together, you have to make sure the audience is okay with that and not instantly dissatisfied that they finally got what they wanted. Quickly the couple could easily regress into a totally boring, blah pairing now that romance has finally happened. (The go-to example being Maddie and David on "Moonlighting.") In honor of Valentine's Day, let's take a look at some of my favorite couples currently on TV: Jim and Pam on "The Office:" It was a little rocky after they first got together but now they've settled into...

How do I love these TV couples? I don't. Romance on 'Grey's,' 'House,' and more

2010-02-01T18:39:36Z

Valentine's Day is about two weeks away andon Friday I'll chat about some of my favorite TV couples currently on TV. But before we get to the romance, I thought we would take a gander at some of the more dysfunctional couples currently on TV. Cristina and Owen on "Grey's Anatomy" (Thursday, ABC, 9 p.m.): See I was all for their relationship - for awhile there it was the only mature, fairly believable one on the show. I even liked the addition of Teddy. I liked that Teddy was so honest about her feelings for Owen and I thought it could make for quite an interesting love triangle. But as much as we know Cristina puts her career above all else, I still thought it was completely bizarre that Cristina would tell Teddy she could have Owen if that meant Teddy would stay at Seattle Grace. Is it a good thing when you consider your significant other property...

Will I be lost without 'Lost?' Coming to terms with the beginning of the end

2010-01-29T17:20:49Z

As I mentioned on Monday, I'm excited/stressed out/freaked out that "Lost" returns for its sixth and final season next Tuesday at 9 p.m. on ABC. I can't wait to see the two-hour season premiere but once the premiere is over, I know there will only be 16 hours of the showleft. Cue the "24" theme music because the clock is definitely ticking. As glad as I am that the show is ending while I'm still in love with it, I'm not ready to say goodbye. There are so many questions - from the four toed-statue to the nefarious black smoke to Jacob's seemingly epic battle with the man in black to who is John Locke now (is he the man in black or is that too simple of an explanation?) to why doesn't Richard Alpert age and how does he have such amazing eyelashes, the list goes on and on. So far, ABC, the...

Sodapop leaves 'Brothers & Sisters' and I'm okay with that

2010-01-25T19:02:26Z

I was surprised by how much email and comments I received about Rob Lowe leaving "Brothers & Sisters." I guess I wasn't that surprised to hear about his departure since it does seem like the show doesn't quite know what to do with him these days. Especially because the series is suddenly much more interested in Kitty's political career. They've already almost broken up Kitty and Robert and had them reconcile, so they really can't do that again. He's survived a heart attack and countless Walker family dinners. It seems time for him to move on. Perhaps I'm biased since I've liked Rob Lowe ever since he played Sodapop on "The Outsiders" (Best. Movie. Ever. Especially if you're in the sixth grade. I watched it over and over again on VHS.) But I think I would prefer to see him on a show where he gets more screen time. On a scale of one...

I am so in love with the third season 'Damages'

2010-01-22T18:31:33Z

How do I love "Damages," which returns for a third season Monday (Jan. 25) at 10 p.m. on FX? Let me count the ways: 1.I love the format. Once again, the show flashes six months into the future, shows us something shocking, and flashes back to begin to tell us how the characters got from not-so-bad point A to the oh-so-terrible point B. This is a show you can't watch lightly. You have to pay close attention and that's just the way I like it. 2. I love the story line. This season, I feel like the end the show is working towards is more shocking and gut wrenching than it's ever been because we as viewers are already so invested in the characters. About a year has passed since we last hung out with Hewes and Associates, Ellen (Rose Byrne) is now working for the District Attorney's office while Patty (Glenn Close) has...

Unexpectedly good -- the new CW show 'Life Unexpected'

2010-01-18T18:01:28Z

Let's be honest. Some of you get mighty cranky when I talk about any show that airs on the CW. Mighty cranky. So if you're one of those people, you might want to skip down to the Highlights of Week section. OR you could pretend like I'm talking about a WB show because that's what watching "Life Unexpected," premiering tonight at 9 p.m. on the CW felt like. The show took me back to the "Felicity," "Everwood," "Gilmore Girls" years when shows were smart not smutty, the dialogue was earnest but not cheesy, and I didn't worry about the fate of future generations while watching the show (as I've said many times, if teens really do behave like they do on "Gossip Girl" it really is best that I don't know about it). It's been quite awhile since we've had a family drama that I think both adults and teen viewers will enjoy. Shiri Appleby stars...

Another long day begins -- the season premiere of '24'

2010-01-15T18:38:40Z

Sweetheart, listen to me. Go to the northwest corridor and upload the schematic and patch me through to Chloe. I'm 10 seconds out of beginning this column. The eighth longest day of Jack Bauer's life begins Sunday at 9 p.m. on FOX. It's a four hour premiere of "24" so that means two hours Sunday night and two hours Monday night. The season is off to a fairly solid start. The big problem that "24" faces is that, by this point, we are very experienced viewers. We know the beats and the rhythms of "24." We know not to expect realism or for anyone to need to go to the bathroom or have a drink of water. But it's also getting harder and harder for the show to surprise us. For example, from the moment the show started, I was looking for the traitor. Let's just say he/she wasn't that hard to spot even...

Nothing suits me like the 100th episode of 'How I Met Your Mother'

2010-01-11T18:27:09Z

You know I tend to pick on the shows I deeply care about. So admittedlyI've been a little hard on "How I Met Your Mother" this season. But that's because I know how good the show can be. I'm so happy to tell you that the 100th episode (Monday at 8 p.m. on CBS) is really good. It's funny. It's poignant. And there's a musical number! As is befitting a 100th episode, there are great guest stars -- Rachel Bilson as Ted's newest love interest, Tim Gunn as himself and Stacy Keibler as McLaren's new bartender - and we get a little closer to finding out how Ted met the mother of his children. I won't say much more but I thought the reveal was satisfying while still leaving the viewers wanting more. But the best part is Barney's musical number "Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit." We all know Neil Patrick Harris can sing...

So much TV on Sunday - 'Chuck,' 'The Simpsons,' & 'Big Love'

2010-01-08T19:30:38Z

Forget programming your DVRs. You might have to clone yourself to keep up with all the TV happening Sunday night. "Chuck:" There are a lot of reasons not to love NBC these days. The abrupt cancellation of "Southland." reality dreck like"I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here," and moving all their 10 p.m. shows to the 9 p.m. time slot to make room for Jay Leno. If I could muster up the energy to care about the current Jay Leno rumors, I would say that I kind of feel bad for Leno. The idea of a daily prime time talk show had "disaster" written all over it before it even premiered. But it's hard for me to care about the rumors when I didn't care about "The Jay Leno Show" in the first place. So let's focus on a positive thing NBC has going on this week. "Chuck" returns with a two-hour season premiere...

Making New Year's Resolutions for '24,' 'American Idol, 'Chuck' and more

2010-01-04T18:03:39Z

Well I hope you got plenty of rest during the holidays and didn't make any crazy resolutions like to watch less TV (the horror!).There is so much TV coming your way this month that I can't wait to discuss with you like the 100th episode of "How I Met Your Mother" (January 11), the premiere of "Chuck" this Sunday, the return of "American Idol" (January 12), "Project Runway" returning to New York (January 14), the eighth season of "24" (January 17), the second season of "Being Erica" on SOAPnet (January 20), more new episodes of "Greek" (January 25), and the third season of "Damages" (January 25). Plus we have new series including "Human Target" on FOX (January 17), "Life Unexpected" on the CW (January 18) and "The Deep End" on ABC (January 21). And that's just January, two days into February and the final season of "Lost" begins. But before we move full throttle...

That's What They Said - Lost,' 'True Blood,' 'Psych' . . . My Favorite TV Quotes of 2009

2009-12-28T17:18:17Z

Here are my favorite TV quotes of 2009: "If Skynet actually did exist in the Future, a perfect way to infiltrate and destroy all of mankind would be to send Terminators back posing as actors who have played Terminators in popular films and television series, lulling us into a false sense of security - i.e.: 'That's Summer Glau from 'The Sarah Conner Chronicles.' No, Summer! Don't kill me! I'm pro-robot!' Pow! Aaaaack!" Sheldon on "The Big Bang Theory." "A 12 year old Ben Linus brought me a chicken salad sandwich. How do you think I'm doing?" Sayid to Sawyer on "Lost." "The boat was Plan C. The church was Plan B. Plan A was marrying her a long, long time ago. Pretty much the day I met her." Jim about his wedding to Pam on "The Office." "I am a vampire, I'm supposed to be tormented." Bill to Sookie on "True Blood." "I've just...