community: s01 e01-02

Oh my Goddess, I haven't laughed as much as this in ages. Not since we watched the whole first seasons of How I Met Your Mother and Big bang Theory. It's silly, it's odd, a lot of it doesn't make sense in that perfect way where it's wonderful, and I love it. There will be more. I'm just sad i watched it now instead of waiting until it was done so I could watch it all at once.

special: obama on letterman

It's no secret that my allegiance lies firmly in Camp Obama, but even if they didn't, this show would have swayed me. There wasn't much that I saw that was new or different, nothing I'd consider inflammatory or scandalous, so I don't have a lot to say about what was said, but I can say that Obama comes across as kind, dedicated, very principled and well-informed on all his subjects. And best of all, he seemed comfortable and could keep up with Letterman's signature zaniness and left-field questions and comments. It was lovely. He's a person who can talk intelligently about things he really cares about, and that's such a nice change from any official public appearance Bush ever made, that it's very encouraging. And there's a little sass there-- "I don't know if you're aware of this, but I was black before I ran for President". My only criticism isn't really a criticism-- it's that he comes across as so sincere that he kind of makes me want to take him out and get him drunk so he can goof off a little more. It's almost... intimidating? Unnerving, maybe, that there's nothing bad to say about him as a person. Maybe that's why so many people can't see his charms; they want something that will make him seem like less of a good guy, something that will bring him down to a level they can deal with, instead of making him seem like an honestly good person-- which can make people who aren't that good and caring feel inadequate.

But it was a good hour, and I hope he does more like it-- Presidents are meant to take care of the people, and going on talk shows and just hanging out lets him sort of connect with the people who put him where he is. And let us connect with him. And it's awesome.

castle: s02 e01

The full review, as before, is on Examiner, and, also as before, I'll give the less professional reactions to the episode here, and follow with actual reviews later.

- I love Nathan Fillion. Seriously. He's got that quality that I really love in an actor, where he can switch gears in no time flat: silly and flirty to sudden recognition of his own wrongdoing? No problem. Serious as a heart attack to goofy and charming? Easy peasy. He's all over the emotional depth, and I adore watching him. This show would be boring without him, and I'm glad he gets to keep it.

- Stana Katic does uptight and self-righteous very well, but there's that edge of fun that she doesn't need for the part, but it's presence makes Beckett more interesting, like she's repressing a much more fun self that she's decided isn't useful. She comes across as smart enough to keep up with Castle, bold enough to run a team, and sure enough to know who she is and where her morality lies-- and to follow up on that when it's not necessary, like when Castle gets himself in trouble. Which he does whether she's mad at him or not.

- The crime drama could have been a little more forefront, but it's the second season, and they're allowed to loosen up a little. Just don't go all Bones-Season-4, where the crime is hardly even there, when it's supposed to be the purpose of their partnership.

- I like that he's a writer, and that he's actually seen writing. This is good. And it's good that when he's shown writing, it's just him on a computer, and nothing fancy, because that's how writing actually is.

- Alexis needs something to do. She's just uniformly sweet and unintentionally insightful, and there's got to be something else. I don't want her to go down the troubled-teen path (every teen on TV does that), but it'd be nice if she got to be somewhere other than the house, got to be involved in something, got to have a life of her own where she can be more interesting. She should be a pillar of society, since her dad is such a child most of the time.

- And the cops-- I don't even remember their names. They need to be fleshed out, too. Characters, back stories, events in their own lives. I like them, but they're just sort of a greek chorus of snarkiness now, and I'd like them to have stories of their own.

- Over all, it's a good start to the season, though, and I'm glad they didn't draw out the issue of Castle being exiled from the team. It's the partnership that makes the show work, and when they're separate, there's really no reason for them to be in one show.

bones: s05 e01

Bones is back!!!!

I already wrote up an offical review over on Examiner (along with Fringe, which will be chonicles in the SciFi Blog), so here I'll takae this space just to squee-out:

- Like I said there, the balance seems to be back between the drama / soapiness, and the crime-solving. This is good. Last season seemed pretty much cursory over most of the crimes, and that sort of weakened the concept of the show.

- Bones and Booth are so gret together. Scenes where they're apart are so much less than ones where they can bounce off of eachother.

- David Boreanaz seems to have gotten tanner, and maybe lost some weight over the summer; the lines around his mouth look deeper-- but the smile is still there, and that's what matters.

- So Booth has come to grips with the fact that he's in love with Bones-- and the scene where Cam totally already knew what he was going to say before he said it was just priceless, but I really want someone at some point to say something to the effect that they have all know Since The Beginning and they were getting tired of waiting for them to figure it out-- but now he thinks it's fallout from brainsurgery and doesn't trust himself. I prefer to think that before his surgery, his brain was occupied with other things, like not dying, and didn't have a chance to be mooning over Bones at the moment of the brainscan, and it makes me sad that people might convince him that he doesn't really feel the way we all know he does. But the fact that Sweets knows about it means they'll probably have to talk about it in therapy, and that means maybe they'll face it this year. His frustration at their denseness has been mounting, after all... man, these writers know how to jerk me around!

- Bones vs Pyschic was pretty awesome, and that really charmed smile when Avalon told her that 'he sees the truth of you and he's dazzled by it' was so sweet. If only she could make the connection there.

- Booth said it! He confessed-- and immediately threw her a safety rope before that wide-eyed slack-jawed look could settle in, but he said it. I wish the camera had given us just a moment more of that look-- the looked terrified.

- Cam rationally offering a hug was brilliant. Hodges not even pretending to be rational about it was equally brilliant.

- That moment with the 'king of the lab' bit could have said something about missing Zack there, it's been two years by now, but it didn't and I'm sad.

- Cyndy Lauper probably isn't the best actress, but she was great for the part they gave her, and she was remarkably sweet and affecting. She didn't overplay the psychic thing, and that was great. It could easily have gone too far and been a joke. I hope she comes back; it's fin to have someone even less rational than Booth around, and see how he gets closer to Bones in mindset to allow for it.

- Caroline. I love me some Caroline, and it's always great when she's grumping up a scene and making everyone else play off her. I'm glad she's still around, and I love that she made Booth cram his big manly self into the back of her tiny two-door car. I also love that Booth had that moment of overflowing affection and she didn't know what to do with it-- and when he turned to Bones and she looked positively alarmed.

- Ooh, and that sweet moment from the physicist episode where Booth pushed Bones into the wall and his hands were in her hair made it into the opening credits montage, so I'm going to take that as an indication of future plans. I mean, it's been five years. Real people have gotten married and had a kid by now. It's not like they rushed anything.

- I wonder how long they're going to drag out the recovery thing? I'm hoping on the shortest amount of time possible unless it's forcing issues they won't deal with; otherwise, it will just become a crutch for him to be inconsistent, and that would suck. And the sooner he gets his confidence back, the better... unless a lack of confidence drives him into Bones's arms. You see where I'm going with this.

Overall, it was a great first episode, shippy enough to keep me afloat, real enough to make me sad and hopeful at once, and I love how they didn't go the easy way through this-- Booth didn't deny his feelings again, didn't waffle about needing to tell Bones (until someone made him doubt himself), and when it came down to that moment at the end when he's forced to face that he isn't quite right, he told her anyway, and let it hang there between them for just a moment before sparing her, and it was all very sweet.