I watched General Hospital live today for the first time in forever and it completely WRECKED ME.

First off, I can see the improvements with the new regime. I watched every single scene and was not bored out of my mind. Then again, everything was related to Robin's funeral and no mob stuff was involved, so that's not surprising.

I knew I was going to take Robin's death hard. When I first found out they were killing her off, I was furious, mostly because they were planning on going down the HIV/AIDS route. I thought it was such a disgraceful way to kill a character who's been on the show since she was 7 years old and a beacon of hope for those living with HIV. They've since changed her exit story and even though it was still terrible and pathetic (really, Robin, you went back into the lab for Jason? *rolls eye*), I can at least live in denial that she's not really dead and will be back in the future.

I'm also annoyed that Robin is leaving the show when we finally get decent show runners. I know Kimberly McCullough wants to go into directing and I'm sure she wants new challenges in life, but ugh. I had to suffer through blog wars and Lisa Niles and other awful storylines. Patrick and Robin could have gotten some great storylines in the upcoming months/years! Wasted potential.

Robin has and always will be my favourite soap character and I've invested years into her and Patrick's relationship so it was always going to be tough saying goodbye. I didn't think I would end up BAWLING MY EYES OUT. Every time Patrick was on screen today (with or without Robin), tears would just start leaking from my eyes. I was glad I was watching the show alone because it was quite embarrassing. Jason Thompson is killing it with Patrick's grief. SOMEONE GIVE HIM ALL THE AWARDS.

It also doesn't help that they found the most adorable girl to play Emma.

The point of this post? I am going to be a sobbing mess in the upcoming days. JUST LOOKING AT THIS BREAKS MY HEART.

I'm currently in Paris, gluttonously eating my way through the city after three weeks of working on an organic farm in the Normandy region (hello, regular access to internet!) but at the moment, I feel nothing but sorrow from the news of Jack Layton's death. He was such a positive, inspirational and formidable force in Canadian politics that I thought there was nothing he couldn't do, including beating cancer. And just when the NDP finally became the opposition party! I was so looking forward to seeing him in the house, opposing Stephen Harper. He really was a people's politician, constantly working to better this country. I remember seeing him last summer at the Taste of Danforth, a Greek food festival in his constituency, shaking hands with the people and charming everyone's pants off.

Here are some last words he left for the public, which he wrote two day before his death:

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."

The Good Wife 2x21 promo.

!!!!

Work today was RIDICULOUS (though let's be honest, that sums up my past week and a half), but this improved my mood immensely:



BRING IT ON.

I just spent the past two days watching season 4 of The Wire. I've had the dvds for almost a year but finally started watching them when I got sick over the holidays. I can't believe it took me this long to watch the show because holy eff, it is fantastic. Realistic, complex, nothing is ever black and white and seeing bureaucracy in action is frustrating and infuriating.

I've been watching an episode or two here and there but could not stop myself from clicking "next episode" once I hit season 4. The theme of the season is education and it was completely fascinating and heartbreaking to see these barely-teenage boys grow up and survive in their neighbourhood and pulled into the drug game because that was all they knew.

I'm eager to finish the last season but The Wire is like a good book - I can't put it down, but don't want it to end either.

It's surprising how the death of someone I don't personally know can truly, completely stop me in my tracks.

Mark Dailey passed away today at the age of 57. For as long as I can remember, he did the voiceover for CityTV (a local television channel). To me, he IS CityTV. He used to do these hilarious intros to the movies playing on the channel - a brief summary while injecting his own opinion (i.e. mocking the terribleness of the movie).

At the end of every hour, the channel shows a brief clip or montage of something related to the city and his voice would say, "This is CityTV... everywhere." A simple slogan, yet iconic to the channel. It's hard to imagine anyone else doing the voiceover.

CityTV and Toronto has suffered a great loss today. Mark Dailey, you will be missed.

The new tv season is underway and I may have been a little ambitious with my schedule because I'm behind on shows already. Or I need to give up on shows I no longer have interest in rather than having the episodes build up on my hard drive.

Battle of the Blades:
I talked about the first season of this show in January and the second season has started out even more amazing. The bar has been raised - one week in and the guys were already skating in sync with the girls and doing fantastic lifts. The second week was even better - two double throws were completed successfully, one couple did a leap of faith and all the guys looked like REAL pair skaters. It's the little things (posture, arm and head placement, footwork) that makes a big difference in the routine and it makes me so happy that this year, the guys are really giving their all right from the start. The show has gone international and brought in Kyoko Ina and Katia Gordeeva (!!!), who is partnered up with Valeri Bure (aka DJ Tanner's husband). I need to go to one of the tapings, if only to see Katia (of Gordeeva/Grinkov fame, aka possibly the best pair skaters of all time). I have never seen her perform live before and seeing her skate would make my life complete. BotB never fails to put me in a gleeful mood (whereas Glee does the opposite, but I won't get into that.) Are any Canadians watching this? As for non-Canadians, some of the programs are uploaded on youtube here and here.

The Good Wife:
I don't have anything objective to say about this show because when Tuesday night, 10pm comes rolling around, I become this:



Oh show, so glad to have you back in my life. Also, please make this happen a la Fug Girls:

But imagine how delicious it'd be if, say, she had to take her kids to the doctor, and the pediatrician turned out to be none other than her ex-ER co-star George Clooney, as — oh, let's call him Dr. Ross Douglas. In fact, we'd advocate setting an entire episode in Dr. Douglas's office. And then, if Cloons is in a giving mood, his character could get sued for malpractice and need a lawyer … and the stress could cause him to develop an extremely rare, tragic pants allergy. Truly, the story-line potential is endless.

Leafs:
I know the season just started and it's too early to even be cautiously optimistic, but the whole city is a-buzzing about how we'll they've been playing so far. Last Saturday, I was at a party thing and no one could take their eyes off the tv because we were all in disbelief at what was happening on the screen. Keep in mind, last weekend was a pre-season game and yet, we were in awe that the team was actually playing well. This is what happens after several shitty seasons.

Things I am thankful for: that this is a long weekend. MUCH needed.

( The lineup.Collapse )

I'm giving all the new spy shows a try because I have a soft spot for them from my Alias days. Mr. Sunshine is the only new show I am looking forward to (Allison Janney! Matthew Perry!) but it isn't starting until 2011 because the universe hates me.

Fannish linkage:

+ PACEY-CON. Which lead to this video:

I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU JOSHUA JACKSON/PACEY WITTER.

+ Matt Long is now on Mad Men. You guys, he was on this amazing WB show that no one watched called Jack & Bobby (which also had Bradley Cooper and John Slattery) and I am so glad his pretty self has finally found some decent work.

+ Mark Reads Harry Potter. It's absolutely hilarious and I love going along for the ride as he discovers HP for the first time (he's at Goblet of Fire). I just finished rereading the whole series and was a complete mess during the last book.

+ Also, can it be November already so we can have the Deathly Hallows film (part 1)? I know I'll be disappointed eventually because the movies never live up to my expectations but at the moment, I'm completely hyped up from watching the trailer over and over again.

HOLY CRAPPERS.

Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton were nominated for an Emmy for best actor/actress.

I actually gasped when I found out. After three years of snubs, I've given up hope that this show would get any recognition for its amazingness.

'TIS A JOYOUS DAY.

+ The violent G20 protesters have succeeded in transferring my hatred towards the government for wasting $1 billion of my tax dollars to them because they spent most of yesterday trashing the downtown core of my city. FUCK YOU and get out of my town. I'm so disgusted by the events of this weekend. Whoever thought hosting the G20 was a good idea can go DIAF. (This does not mean I condone the actions committed by the police this weekend; I don't even want to get into that right now.)

+ I'm sorry, but even the G20 wasn't going to prevent me from heading downtown to watch England's game today. (They are the only team I would willingly get up for at 7:30 in the morning.) Dear FIFA: I THINK IT'S TIME THE REFS LOOK AT VIDEO REPLAY BEFORE MAKING A FINAL DECISION. It does wonders in hockey (i.e. to see if a player is offside) and it will prevent refs from making shoddy calls like a goal not being counted when the ball CLEARLY BOUNCED OVER THE LINE. That said, Germany was the better team. England has played like crap this tournament, the defense was practically non-existent today and the strikers couldn't get past Germany's wall of defense. I knew Germany had the advantage going into the game, but it doesn't make the loss any less painful. You think I'd be used to England breaking my heart by now, but... no.

+ I had the most delicious calamari at a Greek restaurant the other day. I'm pretty sure it was deep fried in butter and other unhealthy things, but it was DELICIOUS. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

+ Saw Arcade Fire in concert a couple weekends ago when they did two surprise shows. I've been wanting to see them for years now and they did not disappoint.

+ I'm currently reading Fast Food Nation and it's taking me ages to get through it because every couple of pages, my rage at the food industry becomes unmanageable and I need to take a breather. I'd love to read a book or some articles focusing on the Canadian food system so if anyone can point me in the right direction, I'll be forever grateful.

+ At the same time, I'm also rereading the Harry Potter series and I'm now on Goblet of Fire. I surprisingly got very emotional in book one when Harry caught his first snitch since that moment of joy and innocence is such a contrast to what the same snitch represents in the last book. Seriously, I had tears in my eyes.

+ Beard Papa's cream puffs has finally arrived in Toronto! MY LIFE, IT IS COMPLETE.

Friday Night Lights:
I know I haven't talked about this show in ages but it is still my favourite thing on tv. Season 1 was absolute perfection in my eyes, but season 4 came pretty close to topping it over - it was amazing but on a completely different level. The show became a little darker, the characters more tragic, and I spent the latter half of the season watching the episodes holding my breath, unable to breathe because things were fucking intense. I started off the season hesitant about the new characters but slowly but surely, because this is FNL, the characters worked their way in my heart. Even Becky won me over in her pivotal storyline. Looking forward to another season in Dillon, Texas in the fall.

Now onto my favourite new show of the season:

( The Good Wife season finale.Collapse )

I spend my week waiting for Tuesday to come around for a new episode of TGW so it's going to be a loooong summer. TGW fandom is almost non-existent and there is very little fic to read. Dear flist: please start watching this smart, brilliant show and jump into the fandom. Or write about your thoughts so I can hijack your comments. To win you over, here's a gif of Josh Charles:



You're welcome.

+ The Good Wife: I started watching it this weekend because my friend kept insisting that I check it out, I was promised Dan Rydell/Carol Hathaway action, and my ER rewatch made me realize that I need Julianna Margulies back in my life on a weekly basis. YOU GUYS, I LOVE IT. I didn't think I would because I'm not a procedural show kind of person, but I do.

( Some thoughts.Collapse )

+ Chuck: I can't believe how this show has gone downhill (though there were hints of it last season). I don't care much for Chuck/Sarah and their relationship has sucked the fun out of this show. Also, it's absurd that Chuck is now a real spy and refuses to use a firearm. It's like the early seasons of Alias where Sydney never killed anyone because she was a "good" spy. Please.

+ Parenthood: decided to give this show a chance because of Jason Katims and I think the show has gotten stronger with each episode. No where near FNL quality, but I'm still enjoying it. The storyline I'm most invested in is, weirdly, Dax Shepard's character Crosby. How adorable is Jabbar and Crosby's efforts to be a parent to him?

+ Addison's Anatomy: DON'T JUDGE ME. General Hospital continues to be all mob, all the time rather than a soap opera so I have replaced it with this instead. The medical storylines are laughable, the characters and their relationships are ridiculously over the top but as long as I don't take anything seriously, it will continue to be my fun, soapy show. That Addison/Pete/Violet moment at the end of the last episode? AWESOME.

+ Other shows I'm watching: Modern Family (Cameron love!), SPN (the only person I can stand at the moment is Castiel?) and HIMYM (I want this show to be memorable again instead of me watching the episode and then forgetting everything that just happened.)

For the past two weeks, I've been consuming a lot of ER. It started innocently, when I wanted to watch a couple of Doug/Carol-centric episodes but ended up watching all of season 4 and 5. I wasn't quite ready to watch Carter and Lucy get stabbed so I backtracked and am now on season 3. At the same time, I'm watching clips from the other seasons while reading recaps. My god, I used to love this show and shipped Doug/Carol SO HARD, before I even knew the terms shipping and fandom existed. I had to steel myself to watch 'The Storm' parts 1 & 2 (the one where Clooney left) because I couldn't bear to see Doug's life spiral out of control, but had 'Such Sweet Sorrow' and 'Old Times' to soothe my broken heart. I am so, so thankful that the writers, producers and actors of ER made last season's episode happen. I hoped and hoped that we would get a glimpse of Doug & Carol's life after their reunion in Seattle but to actually see it on screen, nine years later - it was honestly one of the most satisfying moments on television ever, where I thought I was going to burst with joy.

I was reading the recap for 'On the Beach' (the one where Mark dies in Hawaii) and unexpectedly, tears started rolling down my face. I didn't even cry when this episode originally aired and was never a Mark Greene fan so this was a bewildering reaction on my part. I think what really got to me was that throughout the episode, Mark desperately wanted to fix Rachel before he died (who had become a troubled teen), telling her he didn't have that much time left. It kills me (as an audience) that I know, in the series finale, Rachel is going to follow her dad's footsteps of becoming a doctor, even wanting to attend med school at the same hospital where he worked. Mark never got to see his daughter "fixed," but we did.

ER really does a fabulous job of having the storylines come full circle. Some classics:
+ "You set the tone": Morgenstern telling Mark after Carol's suicide attempt (about 3:30); Mark giving Carter the same advice; Carter attempting to pass it on to Morris (start at 7:00).
+ "There's two kinds of doctors": Mark giving Carter the pep talk in the pilot; Carter giving Gallant the same pep talk after Mark's death.

In my bias opinion, ER started going downhill after season 5 but it still had some great moments (helicopters excluded). I'm really glad the show brought back all the old characters in its final season so that we got some sort of closure on their lives.

THANK YOU, TEAM CANADA, FOR TODAY'S WIN.

Today will go down as the best sporting event of my LIFE (until the Leafs win the Stanley Cup, that is.) My friend and I rushed out of the bar after Crosby scored because we wanted to be at the heart of downtown to celebrate the win. The first thing that happened? A guy was running down the street in his hockey jersey, arms opened, and hugged me/lifted me off the ground. AND I DIDN'T MIND.

I spent the next two hours on the streets in a sea of red and white, giving high fives to others and singing 'O Canada' a bajillion times. AND I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT. I was bursting with Canadian pride.

TODAY WAS GLORIOUS AND I WILL REMEMBER THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

Now that the Olympics are over (closing ceremony = LOLWTF INFLATABLE BEAVERS AND MOOSE, OH CANADA), I can go back into lurker mode. I think I've posted more in the past month than I have in the past year. Thanks for coming along for the ride and putting up with me, flist!

Gold in men's curling!



Kevin Martin (the skip, far right) missed his final throw by half an inch in the 2002 Olympics, resulting in a silver medal so tonight was sweet and glorious. He was looking a bit nervous in the 7th end but he pulled his team through and they remain undefeated. He (and his teammates) couldn't stop smiling during the medal ceremonies and I'm glad he can check this final thing off his accomplished career.

HOCKEY TOMORROW.

( Women's Long ProgramCollapse )

This also happened today:



GOLD IN WOMEN'S HOCKEY. Thank you ladies for getting the job done! Now if only the men would follow suite...