TV Geek Out 47: TV News Discussion

Happy 2009! In our first post of the new year, the TV Geek Out geeks discuss some of the top stories in the world of television. First and foremost is NBC's decision to have Jay Leno on every weeknight at 10 pm later this year, effectively trimming their prime-time programming schedule by five hours a week. Was this a good move for the network? For other networks? We hash it out, along with Golden Globes nominations, True Blood casting news, and more.

Check it out here.

TV Geek Out 46: Gossip Girl, "It's a Wonderful Lie" and "O Brother, Where Bart Thou?"

TV Geek Out Geeks Dana and Heather bid 2008 farewell with a gigantic Gossip Girl geekout covering two episodes, "It's a Wonderful Lie" and "O Brother, Where Bart Thou?" Our favorite Upper East Siders closed out the year with some of season two's best moments, and, as usual, most of them revolved around Chuck and Blair. Their game-playing and doppleganger dates brought wit to "Lie"'s Snowflake Ball drama, but they dropped their poses for real tenderness in "O Brother". Oh, and Bart was killed in a car accident and Lily had a baby waaaay back when with Rufus. Only one more week til Gossip Girl is back with new episodes!

Check it out here.

TV Geek Out 45: 30 Rock, "Reunion"

Who knew that Liz Lemon was a very special kind of Mean Girl in high school? Considering that she went into comedy for a living, it's about as surprising as Jack adopting the alter-ego Larry Braverman with such finesse at Liz's high school reunion. We also learned that an Etch-a-Sketch is second only to the almighty Blackberry when it comes to executive accessories -- that Cathy Geiss is always teaching us something. TV Geeks Perry and Heather geek out about "Reunion" immediately after watching it!

Check it out here.

TV Geek Out 44: The Office, "The Surplus"

While TV Geek Out Geek Dana was on a special mission, Perry and Heather watched "The Surplus" and geeked out about it immediately afterward -- no notes, no net, no nothing! Fortunately, this episode of The Office offered plenty of geek fodder: Dwight and Angela's surprise Mennonite wedding, the biggest conflict we've seen between Jim and Pam to date, and, of course, Team Copier vs. Team New Chairs. Like Michael in a Burlington Coat Factory, when we watch The Office, we're literally kings (and queens), and we can't help geeking out about it.

Check it out here.

TV Geek Out 43: Life on Mars

Another show the TV Geek Out geeks have been meaning to get around to talking about is ABC's splashy, Americanized remake of the BBC time-bending favorite Life on Mars. With a tried-and-true storyline and a great cast (Gretchen Mol! Michael Imperioli! Harvey freakin' Keitel!), it seemed like a sure thing, but its first few episodes emphasized kitsch and felt like "That '70s Time-Traveling Cop Show." As the season progressed, however, the show gained its footing -- especially with 2008's last episode, "The Man Who Sold the World." Tense and with more than a little supernatural flair, not to mention a showstopping turn from Dean Winters as Detective Sam Tyler's dad, "The Man Who Sold the World" took Life on Mars from interesting to riveting. We can't wait to geek out about this show more in 2009, especially since it'll follow a TVGO staple, Lost.

Check out our first Life on Mars discussion here.

TV Geek Out 42: Ugly Betty, "When Betty Met YETI"

Betty goes head-to-head with Mark to win a prestigious spot in the Young Editors Training Program in this sheepishly controversial episode of Ugly Betty. Despite Mark's more polished presentation, Betty garners the coveted spot; however, she declines when Mark insensitively suggests that she only got it because she's Latina. In addition to the very moral Betty's effective dismissal of affirmative action and the further darkening of Mark's character, the episode skirts around issues of being a gay teen without ever giving full voice to them. After Justin's new friend discards him due to peer pressure, Hilda expresses her love of her son's uniqueness. But is it possible to preach acceptance without ever really getting to the heart of the issue? Though TV Geek Out geeks Dana and Heather were fond of "When Betty Met YETI" overall, we couldn't help but question some of its surprising plot developments.

Check it out here.

TV Geek Out 41: 30 Rock, "Gavin Volure"

30 Rock's opening stretch of guest stars ends with Steve Martin's turn as sneaky businessman Gavin Volure. The episode featured some of the funniest people alive and flawlessly structured comedic writing, so why did the TV Geek Out geeks feel let down by it? We discuss everything from Steve Martin's hair to Japanese sex dolls, and agree that even a not-so-great 30 Rock episode is still funnier than almost anything else on television.

Check it out here.

TV Geek Out 40: Grey's Anatomy, "In the Midnight Hour"

Grey's Anatomy seemed to go off the deep end with "In the Midnight Hour," resorting to steamy GHOST SEX between Izzie and "Denny" in order to keep beloved guest star Jeffrey Dean Morgan somehow on the program. That might not have even been the most ridiculous element of this particularly absurd episode, which also brought us a covert intern-on-intern appendectomy and a seemingly unbelievable poop transplant between a husband and wife (though that actually has a real medical basis!). Was this the episode where Grey's finally jumped the shark? Did that already happen long ago, or is the show shark-proof? Has Izzie lost her mind, or have the writers lost theirs? The TV Geek Out geeks ponder those questions and more, including how the hell any of the doctors at Seattle Grace even still have a job.

Check it out here.

TV Geek Out 39: The Office, "Frame Toby"

Despite providing the episode with its title, Dwight and Michael's attempted frame-job of Toby with a (very fresh-looking) caprese salad is one of the least important things that happens during "Frame Toby." Pam's frustration with returning to the office bubbles over into a not-so anonymous note signed "Disappointed," although she didn't seem to feel that way about Jim's surprise present of his parents' house (or did she?) and Ryan has a farewell makeout session with Kelly before he leaves for Thailand. Evil snails, shag carpeting and disturbing clown paintings and the fine line between controlling and romantic are just some of the creepy and hilarious things the TV Geek Out geeks geek out about this time.

Check it out here.

TV Geek Out 38: Heroes, "The Eclipse, Part 1"

The first half of Heroes' two-episode chapter "The Eclipse" left the TV Geek Out Geeks surprisingly sleepy -- maybe it was the lack of sunlight? Or maybe it was watching every single character encounter the eclipse and their subsequent lack of powers without putting two and two together. At any rate, Sylar and Elle continue their Bonnie and Clyde romance, HRG greatly overestimates Claire's ability to heal during the eclipse, and Mohinder gets his pretty back temporarily (via a pretty gross cocoon-busting scene complete with bloody afterbirth). How the heroes adapted -- or didn't adapt -- to their technical difficulties led to a frustrated, even emotional discussion. Listen, and you'll know what it's like to cry the tears of absurdity.

Check it out here.

Correction: David Anders' character on Alias was named Sark, not Sylar! Dana apologizes for misspeaking, in all her riled-up frustration with Heroes.