The End Is Not Near. It Is Here.

There were a bunch of retrospectives on The O.C. popping up around cyberspace this week as last night's finale approached. I particularly liked this run-down of the top ten episodes and this review of the impact of The O.C. on popular culture.

Lest we all forget though, The O.C. did not, in fact, spawn a brand new genre of TV. Instead, I watched the birth of that genre way back in 1990 with 90210. And yet going back to watch those old Shannon-Doherty-era episodes now, they seem so delightfully naive. The O.C. is so much more clever, ironic, and self-aware. Josh Schwartz consistently used Summer and Marissa's fascination with the teen soap The Valley and Seth's Atomic County comic to remind us that the show didn't take itself too seriously. Then, in last week's episode, we heard Seth and Ryan remark that if they had managed to swap bodies when Ryan received a blood transfusion from Seth, they "could have gotten a couple more years out of it." Brilliant. But this sort of "show-within-a-show" self-awareness in a teen soap did not start with The O.C. Instead, Dawson's Creek really started that trend: the cold open for many of those episodes had some sort of self-aware commentary about how everyone on the show talked too much, and then, of course, film-maker Dawson went on to Hollywood to produce a hit TV show called The Creek.

The other innovation for which The O.C. is getting a lot of credit is its use of the soundtrack to both promote indie bands and reinforce the character and plot development of the show. I'm sure The O.C. was not the first to do this consciously, but it did do it very well. An example: at our old house, N would generally sit in his office playing games on his computer while I watched prime time TV. He pointedly would not sit in the room with me, but he pointedly left the office door open. During Gilmore Girls, I would frequently hear him chuckling to himself. Occasionally over dinner he'd even ask me about plot points that he had trouble following simply by listening to Gilmore. But for the most part, he simply ignored the other shows. That is, until the day that Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah showed up on The O.C. N actually got up out of his chair and came out of his office to find out what I was watching and who was singing. The music was that compelling. I will miss it. For now I'll have to rely on One Tree Hill, which does its soundtrack almost as well as The O.C. did, for my anthematic indie music listening experience.

Last night's episode was a delight. It had appeared that Fox had spoiled the episode with a trailer that gave everything away, but instead the episode was filled with quirky, unexpected twists (like Summer and Seth living together while Taylor had taken off for Paris). The move to Berkeley was not unexpected, but the move back to the house where Sandy and Kirsten had first lived was a great twist on that. I laughed out loud as they moved back in to the house before the gay couple living there had agreed to sell, with Kirsten giving birth in one room, Ryan getting laid in another room, and Julie almost getting married in the back yard. I'm sad to see the end of The O.C. As the montage at the end fast-forwarded through 6 or 7 years, I was disappointed that I won't get to watch the writers and actors play out the stories in between. After a terrible season last year, the writing this season has been smart and funny.

But smart and funny exists on other shows too. Have I mentioned that if you're not watching Friday Night Lights you're missing the best show on TV?

Studio 60 is dead. Long live Aaron Sorkin.

I was a fan of Studio 60 more than a year ago. A friend of mine's got a guy who knows a guy, so last winter I got to read the script for the pilot called Studio 7 (along with lots of other people who found the script leaked on the Internet at about the same time). I loved it. And then I heard the casting news and I was sold. Love Bradley Whitford. Love Timothy Busfield. Turns out I even love Matthew Perry--I was not much of a Friends fan, so that was as big a surprise as liking Calista Flockhart on Brothers and Sisters.

The pilot was great. As the season started, I disagreed vehemently with the naysayers who whined on the Internet about Aaron Sorkin being too self-absorbed and condescending toward his audience. And I still disagree with them. But despite moments of true West Wing-style brilliance, it turns out this show just doesn't work. Turns out a really serious show about a sketch comedy show that has no funny sketches just doesn't really work. In the show's typically self-aware style, we found out tonight that Matt's obsession with Harriet has irreparably hurt the ratings of Studio 60, which goes for both the one that airs on NBS and the one that used air, until tonight, on NBC.

To paraphrase Lorelei's heart-to-heart with Chris last week, Studio 60 was "the [show] I wanted to want." But we maybe jumped into the marriage the shark too soon. Now it's over. Here's hoping that Aaron comes up with another great set-up, writes a brilliant pilot, and knocks it out of the park on the next go 'round.

By the way, have I mentioned how good Friday Night Lights is?

Acting Stupid in Front of Famous People

If I lived in L.A. and worked at Il Sole like the Burger, I would see famous people every day. But I don't. Instead, I go to law school in Maine and occasionally catch a glimpse of a vaguely famous person, like the local TV news anchors who go to my gym.

But last night at RiRa's in Portland, I saw an actual star of an actual show that I watch: Jim Gaffigan who plays P.J.'s older brother Andy on My Boys. He was there most of the night. I spotted him as he walked past us on his way to the men's room at about 10:30 and did a double-take. Two hours later, he walked by again and SL decided we just had to have our photo taken with him. I would have been happy with just a picture of him walking by, but SL was willing to follow him and ask for a picture. I suppose we were a bit obnoxious, tracking him through the crowded bar, but he politely obliged. The woman he was talking with snapped the picture for us and we quickly retreated, terribly pleased with ourselves.

I guess I have mixed feelings about how fans should deal with celebrity sightings. On the one hand, Jim really should have been able to hang out at RiRa's without being interrupted by silly strangers looking for a photo. On the other hand, Jim makes his living because SL and I (and the rest of the My Boys fans out there) watch his show. We were polite and the encounter was brief. So, I suppose, we did ok. It was fun, in any case! Here's hoping that I run into other (preferably hotter) TV stars in Portland soon... like, um, say, the once-and-future-Mainer Patrick McDreamy Dempsey. Then I could really make a fool of myself. (That last link is just for you, Burger!)

Another Pitch for Friday Night Lights

Go watch this interview with actors Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton of Friday Night Lights from this morning's Today Show. Then watch Friday Night Lights tonight. It really is the most under-appreciated new show this year. I was pleased to see NBC promoting it this morning on Today. With a little luck it just might get the second season order it deserves. (For the uninitiated who would like to begin at the beginning, the pilot is available as a free download on iTunes. The most recent 5 episodes can be streamed through NBC's site.)

Studio 60, on the other hand, just needs to be put out of its misery. Better luck next time, Aaron! UPDATE: Funny, looks like I got my wish: one more week of S60 before NBC pulls the plug.

Why I Love Sweeps

What a good week in TV! This is a post for true TV geeks like me.

Since last Sunday, there have been some big doings in my favorite fantasy worlds on the small screen. Some of the highlights:

• Emily Gilmore made me cry. The show has been such a disappointment this season, but this episode was perfect. Simply perfect.
  
• Meredith Grey went for an unexpected swim. Yikes. I love that this twist was never leaked on the spoiler sites. (I know, it would be simpler if I just didn't read the spoiler sites, but what fun would that be.)
  
• Lucas Scott has apparently written a novel. I want to read it. How cheesy is that?
• An earthquake has obliterated Orange County. Has any other show ended its run by literally blowing up the set? Oh, maybe 24, but I think they actually began the season by blowing up the set! With only two episodes left, Josh Schwartz and co. are going all out!
  
• After more than 12 weeks with the tension lurking below the surface, this week's episode was the first to really explore the racial issues in Dillon, Texas: a white assistant coach said way more than he should have to a crafty reporter and the black players walked off the field in disgust. It was a great way to get the conflict between Riggins and Smash to come to a head without either of them really doing anything wrong.
• There's a couch on Survivor!? Really?
• And finally, tonight, Kitty and the Senator kissed (and more)... and he's running for president. This show has really hit its stride with great characters and great writing. Plus, I love Rob Lowe. (And the line about him always liking Demi Moore was hilarious! Did anyone else catch that?)
  

A Sitcom Worth Watching

Has anyone caught My Boys on TBS? There was a marathon on yesterday during the annoying Super Bowl. Now, don't get me wrong: We watched the Super Bowl here. But we watched in HD, so the TiVo was free to record 7 hours of this charming little sitcom.

As a glance at the list on the left of this page will tell you, I don't generally bother with half hour shows. Sure, I've seen enough episodes of Friends to know the general gist of the show, but most of the time I just don't get addicted enough to sitcoms to want to keep them on my season pass list. It's not that I don't like comedy. I do. But it has to be comedy of a certain sort and not the sort based on the notion that one of the main characters is charmingly annoying or fat or dumb (see, e.g., 30 Rock, Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, etc., the list goes on and on). I love Boston Legal which is, quite arguably, a comedy. Ed was great fun while it lasted. But there haven't been very many thiry-minute shows that make my list.

My Boys has a great female lead, P.J., played fabulously by Jordana Spiro. She is a sports-obsessed, pretty-but-tomboyish Cubs beat reporter. She is surrounded by her male friends who play poker and drink at the local corner pub. Despite my general distaste for baseball, the baseball metaphors that set the theme for each episode make some sense to me and don't seem too forced or obtrusive. The show has been compared to Sex in the City, which is probably fair. But this show will, perhaps, appeal to those of us who would rather kick back on the couch and watch the Pats than shop for designer footwear on Newbury Street.

So I'll watch the four episodes on my TiVo that I haven't gotten to yet, and I'll make sure my TiVo is set to catch the new eps when they come around this summer. You should set yours, too!

This Just In: Al Sharpton Bathes Every Day!

The New York Times reports today:

Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, who announced his candidacy on Wednesday with the hope that he could ride his foreign policy expertise into contention for the Democratic nomination, instead spent the day struggling to explain his description of Senator Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat running for president, as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”

Sharpton responded by announcing that he takes a bath every day. (I wonder if he really sits in the bath tub or if he showers!) Biden responded by trying to defend himself on the Daily Show. And Barack comes out smelling like roses...pun intended...as Biden clarifies himself by continuing to heap praise upon Barack: “My mother has an expression: Clean as a whistle and sharp as a tack.” Ain't American politics fun?

What I will be doing on July 27, 2007

I am looking forward to my post-Bar Exam revelry in the world of Mr. Potter and friends, but not so much that I need to give Barnes & Noble my credit card info today to pre-order! I will buy the book at my locally owned bookstore and, perhaps, pay a bit more for it. Can't wait to find out what J.K. has in store for us! I wish the Bar Exam were finished on July 21 rather than a week later!