Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Best Christmas/New Year Episodes of T.V.

There are so many t.v. shows that air holiday episodes, but not all of them truly capture the feeling of Christmas. It's rare to watch holiday t.v. and get that warm fuzzy feeling inside. Luckily though, there are a few shows that have managed to pull off amazing episodes that you can watch any time during the year and feel the holiday spirit. I've compiled a list of the best episodes.

    In season one, episode nine of "Bones": "The Man In The Fallout Shelter" truly captures the holiday spirit. This episode takes a place two days before Christmas and Angela  (Michaela Conlin) is trying to get everyone to attend the work party, but while she is trying to convince Brennan (Emily Deschanel) to attend, she receives a call from Booth (David Boreanaz ) about a murder. A happy to be off the hook Brennan and Booth show up at the crime scene, only to find that the bones were remains from 50 years ago. When Hodgins and Zack cut into the bones, the bio hazard alarms and locks the lab. That ends up leaving everyone trapped inside for the next few days and they aren't released until after Christmas has passed. This is where everyone talks about their family traditions and what they would be doing if they weren't stuck in the lab. Angela uses some of her equipment to make a 3d hologram tree and presents  undernearth it and talks Brennan into making decorations to make it slightly more holiday like. On Christmas day, every ones family's comes to visit them. With everyone being quarantined, they are stuck behind a giant glass wall and need a phone to communicate either their families. In the end, they are all finally released and everyone gets to celebrate the right way.




              This show is a bit older, but 3rd Rock From The Sun had a great Christmas episode in their second season. It was season two, episode 12, "Jolly Old St Dick". This is where the Solomon's experience their very first Christmas. Sally and Harry gets jobs at the mall, she's a gift wrapper while he is Santa's helper. Dick is really excited about Christmas, until he goes tree shopping. Tommy is panicked, looking for the perfect girl for his girlfriend, August. He took Dick's credit card and purchased many expensive girts for her so he would know what to give her depending on what she gave him. Only to find out she has decided to give him a picture of the two of them in a homemade frame. He laughed at her and told her his gift was so much better, making hers look like a joke.






                            How I Met You Mother is another show that really pulled off a great feeling. In their season season, episode 11, "How Lily Stole Christmas". As Ted and Lily are decorating the apartment for Christmas, they come across their old answering machine. Ted told Lily he had unplugged it back when Lily and Marshall were broken up because Marshall told Ted he couldn't be around it because it reminded him of how Lily would leave him messages. So they decide to plug it in since their back together now, and realize there are messages on there still. Lily plays them and realizes it was Ted giving Marshall a fell better speech, but in dong do he called Lily a horrible name. (The word Grinch is placed where "Cunt" would be). this upsets Lily because Ted won't apologize, so she takes all of the decorations and brings them to her studio. a little late in the mail. When he caught up to the mail tusk he found out that the mail man didn't have enough time to pass all packages out, so Marshall helped him so that all of those packages could be received for Christmas. Ted tracks Lily down and they fight again, he repeatedly yells "Grinch" and her landlord turns her power off for the abusive language. ted decides not to ruin the holiday for anyone else, so he goes to spend the holiday with his overly religious cousin. That turns out to be a disaster but Lily shows up to apologize, after she gets her gift from Marshall and he tells her that Ted suggested the gift, because he remembered her mentioning back in college that she always wanted an Easy Bake Oven as a child. Meanwhile, Marshall told everyone that he was working on a paper and didn't want to celebrate Christmas until he was done. But he was really going to pick up a gift he purchased for Lily that was running a little late in the mail. When he caught up to the mail tusk he found out that the mail man didn't have enough time to pass all packages out, so Marshall helped him so that all of those packages could be received for Christmas. Ted tracks Lily down and they fight again, he repeatedly yells "Grinch" and her landlord turns her power off for the abusive language. ted decides not to ruin the holiday for anyone else, so he goes to spend the holiday with his overly religious cousin. That turns out to be a disaster but Lily shows up to apologize, after she gets her gift from Marshall and he tells her that Ted suggested the gift, because he remembered her mentioning back in college that she always wanted an Easy Bake Oven as a child.


            

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Shows that need to be saved!

There are so many great shows today, but they aren't promoted correctly, or are put in the same time slot as already established shows. It's sad that great shows are cancelled before they get the chance to grow, while shows drunkin promiscuous baboons is kept on t.v. season after season. One show that I had heard of and that was going to be a terrible show, was actually pretty good once I sat down to watch it, is Chuck. the show revolves around Chuck Bartowski, (Zachary Levi) your typical dork, working at a Buy More (same idea as a Best Buy) working in the Nerd Herd (Geek Squad) receives an e-mail from his ex college roommate sends him an e-mail full of private CIA and NSA files, called the Intersect. When Chuck opens the e-mail, all files flash one by one and ends up uploading all of the information in Chuck's mind, turning him into a human intersect. Once he is tracked down he has a CIA handler, Sarah Walker (Yvonna Strahovski) and an NSA handler, John Casey (Adam Baldwin). Since the intersect was destroyed after it was uploaded into Chuck's mind, he had to go on missions w/Walker and Casey, as Chuck "flashes" when he sees a person or an object that is the intersect has information about. He is able to help them identify things or people and take down the bad guys. you also see how had it is for Chuck to keep up with living a double life. Especially when it comes to ling to his sister whom he lives with, Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and her boyfriend Devon Woodcome a.k.a. Captain Awesome (Ryan McPartlin). The Buy more is full of misfits that are almost always coming close to uncovering Chuck's secret. As the story progresses you learn that Chuck's parents are spies, and that is why Chuck was sent the intersect in the first place. As each episode goes by, the characters become more and more lovable and the story really reels you in. This show is a must see to understand. The second show that shows a lot of promise but hasn't been confirmed for a second season, is Harry's Law. Another Monday night NBC show in danger of being cancelled. Kathy Bates stars as Harriet Corn, who quit her Patton Lawyer job at 60 to start her own Criminal Law Firm. Her new firm is in an old high end shoe store in the ghetto. There were a ton of shoes left over, so now Harry has her office assistant, Jenna Backstorm (Brittany Snow) selling the shoes to give everyone a paycheck. Another lawyer that woks in her firm is Adam Branch (Nathan Corddry). He is rather annoying in the beginning but is very passionate about his job and truly believes in justice. Also working in the office is a young man, Damien Winslow (Johnny Ray Gill), who works off the books for many local businesses. They pay him to make sure that their establishments are kept safe. Malcolm Davies (Aml Ameen) is in school to become a lawyer, so he helps on most cases. There is more drama in this office that any office should every have. All of these employees are constantly bringing their personal problems to work, or having problems because of work. that leaves a reluctant Harry to pick up the pieces, something she frowns upon whole-heatedly. During one of the first cases we get to see, we meet Tommy Jefferson (Christopher McDonald). He is a very high profile lawyer. He turns all of his cases into a huge public events, with press conferences and commercials. He is one of the most annoying characters ever, but that eventually beings to fade as his layers are peeled off one by one. Harry always ends up with poor people needing assistance in court that can not pay her. That does not stop her though. She almost always wins her cases and truly wins the jury over. There are rival lawyers that Harry meets along the way that end up playing major roles in her life. Aside from the drama and the stress, the show is great. It's much better than I was expecting.