BIG LOVE SEASON FINALE: I had mixed feelings about the season finale right after it ended but now that I’ve thought about it, there was a lot to love. First and foremost, the masterful closing shot of the episode that had Bill, Barb, Margene and Nicki onstage, holding hands, wearing red, white and blue after Bill announced that their marriage is a plural marriage. Will they all move into that big new house and live together openly? Will Bill’s home store business fail now that he’s gone public about his family? Will Barb stay?
Other thoughts:
–Will Alby Grant continue to become scarier and meaner? I fully expect so given his desolation after Dale’s suicide. Matt Ross continues to amaze and scare me with his performance as Alby.
–I absolutely loved the fire scene and thought it was perfect justice for the character involved.
–Did anyone else’s jaw drop a bit at the almost threesome of Anna, Goran and Margene? Wow. They went there.
–I’m still worried about Nicki and how she’ll cope with her inability to bear children. Nicki is acting out on so many of her feelings, I have a hunch this will manifest itself in some way, I’m just not sure how.
Yes, I’m already anticipating the next season of BIG LOVE. We’ll get ten episodes instead of nine next season and I’m already wondering what they’re cooking up.
CHUCK: Zachary Levi directed last night’s episode and he did a very solid job. The most striking part was the scene toward the end when Chuck had a very honest conversation with his best friend Morgan. This led me to wonder how serious a spy Chuck can be if his emotions interfere constantly. There’s no answer to the question and this issue keeps rearing its ugly head which makes me wonder if Chuck will ever commit to being a full-time spy. It’s not like you can be a spy and take your family and friends everywhere you go. That said, I really did love that Chuck got his spy mojo back after his heart-to-heart talk with Morgan.
“MAGIC & BIRD”: Though I’m not the biggest sports fan, I watched this HBO documentary and found it very moving. It’s a story about a complicated friendship that gets even more complicated as the two athletes become huge NBA stars. And then there’s the racial element. It’s a fascinating portrait of the two men and I highly recommend it.
DAMAGES: I’m really enjoying the fact that Ellen Parsons has become every bit as Machiavellian in her behavior as Patty Hewes. Ellen uses everything and everyone as a means to her own end and it delights me to no end to watch her evolve that way. I also love that her end is not necessarily that of her bosses, in this case, the Assistant D.A. My other favorite part of this season: it’s all about following the money. Reminds me of ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN.
FALLING OFF MY VIEWING LIST: GOSSIP GIRL has become boring. I don’t even know how that’s possible but it has. I still adore most of the cast but there’s no sizzle anymore and the writing doesn’t seem nearly as sharp as it was the first season.
STILL LOVE THESE SHOWS BUT I NEED TO CATCH UP: HIMYM, CASTLE, LUX
HAVEN’T WATCHED YET BUT WILL DO SO THIS WEEK: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? The show airs Friday night on ABC. Lisa Kudrow and various celebrity friends explore their ancestry and find surprising info along the way.
PALEYFEST: I attended the DEXTER program and will write that up for the next SURF REPORT.
EARLY HEADS UP FOR TOMORROW (WEDNESDAY) NIGHT: The CW’s AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL returns to start a new cycle, followed by the premiere of HIGH SOCIETY “starring” socialite Tinsley Mortimer in a new “reality” show.
TODAY’S SURF WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO: “Is There Nothing We Can Do” by Badly Drawn Boy – because the music in the PARENTHOOD promos is completely cribbed from his music: http://www.myspace.com/badlydrawnboy
Tonight’s rundown: The 10pm hour is super competitive with SOUTHLAND, THE GOOD WIFE, PARENTHOOD and tonight’s season finale of WHITE COLLAR.
ABC: Lost (repeat), Lost, The Forgotten (season finale)
Tonight’s new episode of LOST is a Ben-centric episode. Congrats to LOST composer Michael Giacchino for his Oscar win for UP. Giacchino makes such moving music for every episode of LOST and if you saw UP, you know he did an equally wonderful job on that sweet, lovely film.
CBS: NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Good Wife
On THE GOOD WIFE: Alicia and Will defend an attorney arrested for murder.
NBC: Biggest Loser: Couples (2-hrs), Parenthood
FOX: American Idol, Glee (repeat)
CW: 90210, Melrose Place
Animal Planet: Wild Recon (season finale), Madman of the Sea
BIO: Shatner’s Raw Nerve
BRAVO: 10pm: Millionaire Matchmaker
Food: Chopped (season finale)
HGTV: My First Place
History: Life After People
ID: I (Almost) Got Away With It
MTV: 10pm: 16 & Pregnant
Oxygen: The Bad Girls Club (season finale)
Spike: Blue Mountain State, Players
Syfy: WWE NXT
TLC: 19 Kids and Counting, The Miss Turkey Trot and Miss Drumstick Pageants (special)
TNT: 10pm: Southland – tonight’s episode is titled “Butch & Sundance”:
“John and Ben are the first responders to a gruesome triple homicide in Hancock Park, where a mother is bludgeoned to death and her young daughters are found bound, gagged, raped and dead in their bedrooms. In investigating the case, Lydia and Rene realize they have two very different styles of doing detective work. Sammy continues to have problems with his wife, who seems unable to complete even the simplest of tasks. And Ben confronts John about his increasing reliance on pain pills.”
Travel: Food Wars (series debut), Food Wars
USA: 10pm: White Collar (season finale)
That’s a wrap for now.
