In Memoriam...

This year, it seemed an unjustifiably high number of big-time shows left us after successful runs on TV. Shows that changed the face of television. Shows that had an impact on society. Shows that left their imprint in our lives. Here they are, in no particular order:

24 (8 seasons): Jack Bauer. Jack Bauer once bit a chunk out of a guy's neck. Chloe. Edgar. President Logan. President Dennis Haysbert. Jack Bauer once bit off a man's ear. Tony Almeida. Michelle Dessler. Jack Bauer once cut off a man's head and put it inside a bowling bag. The CTU ring tone.

Ugly Betty (4 seasons): I still think about the Suarez family and wonder what they're up to. How are Hilda and Bobby? How is Betty in London? And I will forever miss Wilhelmina's one-liners and withering glares.

Lost (6 seasons): I will not miss this show. As well-written and nicely shot as it was, and as epic as the whole story was, there was a lot that aggravated me about the show. Kate and her love triangle. Juliet and her lack of facial expressions. The killing off of almost every minority. The appearance of random new characters late in the final season. The sheer arrogance with which the finale was written, like the creators were spitting in the face of every fan who had questions about the show.

Law & Order (20 seasons): The granddaddy of all law dramas, one that tied Gunsmoke's record for the longest-running American TV drama. I didn't watch Gunsmoke, and I didn't watch Law & Order. I should tip my hat to this show, because without it, there would not be a Law & Order: SVU.

So there you have it. However you felt about these shows, and whether you even watched them, you know that TV will not be the same without them.

Ugly Betty: The End of an Era.

I just watched the last episode of Ugly Betty.

It was everything an Ugly Betty fan could want. We got to say goodbye to all our favorite characters--Marc, Amanda, Betty's family, Claire Meade, and Wilhelmina. We got to see Suzuki one last time. And in the episodes prior, we got to say goodbye to Henry and Gio and Christina.

We didn't say goodbye to Daniel. We didn't have to. He ended up moving across the Atlantic to spend time with Betty in London. I don't know who came up with the idea to end the show this way (Silvio Horta?), but it really, really, REALLY irked me. I mean, why??? After four years of being Betty's boss/friend, he now has FEELINGS for her? What??? I love this show, but this, this I just don't get.

That's my only complaint about how the show ended. Really.

Ugly Betty has special significance for me. I remember when I first started my job in television research, back in the summer of '06, and it was maybe a month in that I was given the chance to check out the new TV pilots from ABC. I honestly don't remember what else was in those pilot DVDs, but Ugly Betty was one of them. I remember sitting on my parents' bed with my sister and going through the pilots one by one. They were mostly eh. Then we got to Ugly Betty. Right away, my sister liked it. She knew it'd be a hit. I also enjoyed it. We were both excited to see more of it that fall.

Oh, and sidenote: Back then, the show was called Betty the Ugly. I liked that name. Then ABC changed it to Ugly Betty, and I thought, No! It was good the way it was! Now, I can't imagine what the show would've been like with the original name. I know a title's just a title, but still. It wouldn't have been quite the same.

Anywho, another personal relationship I have with the show is with Betty herself. Back when the show started, I too was a recent college graduate starting her first real job in New York City. My company wasn't full of mean assistants, and I didn't wear a poncho and walk into a glass wall on my first day, but I related to Betty nonetheless. And over the past four years, as Betty has matured and found her place at Mode, so too have I at my company. Now, after four years at Mode, Betty is moving on to a new life across the ocean. Now, four years after I started working at my company, I am moving on to a new life across the river. The East River, to be exact. I will be starting law school in the fall.

As I've blogged about previously, there are only three shows out there that just make you feel good watching it, and Ugly Betty is one of them. Betty, I salute you for entertaining your fans for four years. ABC, I salute you for giving us Betty as long as you did (though not long enough). I know I'll be thinking about this show for years to come, wondering what Betty and the gang are up to. I'm getting sad just thinking about it.

It's been a hilarious, heartwarming, colorful ride with Betty and her braces. Television will not be the same.

Ugly Betty, Stop Dating My Man!

This weekend, the fiance and I caught up on the last 8 episodes of Ugly Betty. We are now just two away from the series...gulp...finale.

I'm going to write a whole 'nother post about the show, give it its due. But I wanted to write a quickie post today, to tell you something interesting and disturbing:

My fiance looks like Betty's latest squeeze.

His name is Aaron Tveit, and he recently appeared on Gossip Girl playing a congressman and Serena's married boyfriend. He's not an EXACT match to the fiance, but it's close enough to give me the willies. Imagine Ugly Betty grabbing your fiance and planting a big one on him.

I love you, Betty, but seriously, get your hands off my man!

(Pictured: Aaron Tveit. I mean my fiance. I mean Aaron Tveit.)

Why, ABC, Why???

ABC has canceled Ugly Betty.

I am so...

I can't speak. I don't even know what to say.

The current season will be the show's last.

R.I.P. Betty.

Devastated.

10 TV Wishes for 2010.

A friend, hearing my cry for something new to watch in the wasteland of reruns, recommended I try Damages. I'd always heard good things about it, but for some reason, just never gave it a shot. So I'm downloading the first two episodes now.

In the meantime, since today is the last day of 2009, I'm going to share my TV wishes for 2010.

1) Chuck gains a bigger audience. This will not happen. Look, people know it exists, they just choose not to watch. Sort of like with Friday Night Lights.

2) Ugly Betty gains a foothold on Wednesdays at 10PM. This probably will not happen either. I don't think all the fans who left just because the show moved to Fridays will suddenly come back. I know if I give up on a show, I give up for good.

3) The return of Wentworth Miller. I gave up on Prison Break after season 2, yes. But that wasn't me taking Wentworth for granted. That was me refusing to watch a show as it got more and more absurd.

4) A TV show starring a non-white person/family. I know what you're thinking. And no, The Cleveland Show does not count. It's a CARTOON.

5) Speaking of diversity, I would like for Tina C. to sing another solo on Glee. I didn't love her attempt at Tonight from West Side Story, but her rendition of True Colors is beautiful (like a rainbow). It's uplifting, it's moving, it's well done. I may or may not have shed a tear when it first came up on my Pandora.

6) The cancellation of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. This will not happen, because The Bachelor is a very popular franchise. Even though it is, in fact, a cancerous mole on the face of television.

7) No more TV remakes of shows from before I was born. Sadly, the three major networks are charging ahead with The Rockford Files (NBC), Charlie's Angels (ABC) and Hawaii Five-O (CBS). I'm putting myself to sleep just typing those titles.

8) More likeable/memorable contestants on The Amazing Race and Survivor. I hated this season's final four teams on TAR and I didn't know anyone's name except Evil Russell's and Shambo's on Survivor: Samoa. This wish may actually come true: Big Brother's Jeff & Jordan are rumored to be in the next TAR, and the next Survivor is an all-star edition and Evil Russell's in it. Let's hope he takes home the money this time around.

9) No more lawyer/doctor dramas. Unfortunately, ABC has The Deep End (lawyer) coming up, and CBS has Miami Trauma (doctor). I'm not watching these. I'm guessing you won't either.

10) More crazy, jaw-dropping moments like the lawn mower incident on Mad Men and Rita in the bathtub on Dexter and the entire Wentworth Miller episode of Law & Order: SVU. I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to watch a show and suddenly go HOLY CRAP DID THAT JUST HAPPEN???

And that's a wrap! What are your TV wishes for 2010?

Dear Ugly Betty: You're Still the One. Love, Linda's TV.

I've always loved Ugly Betty.

There are naysayers out there who say this show is done. Who point to this season or that season and say, That's when the show went off course. They complain Betty has had her braces way too long, Betty's not advancing fast enough in her career, Betty should dress better now that she's been working at Mode for two years, etc, etc.

I would like to tell these people to shove it.

For me, Ugly Betty has always been consistent. Consistently good. It's one of the few shows on television (the other ones being Glee and Modern Family) where I enforce the Rule for my fiance:

"Pause it if you want to say something."

That's because almost every single line on this show is witty, zingy, or both. I'll give you an example of what Wilhelmina said in a recent episode, about an ugly bathing suit:

"And this swimsuit doesn't know what it wants to be. It's the Anne Heche of swimwear."

This weekend, I finally started watching the current season. What a pleasure it was to sink back into the world of Ugly Betty, with the funky modern offices of Mode and Betty's pattern-clashing outfits and the absurd yet plausible storylines. What a pleasure it was to see Amanda grow a heart and still utter lines like this: "Hold up, skinny b*tches! And Betty." What a pleasure it was to see Adam Rodriguez show up at Hilda's house to fix her heater and have to take off his shirt. Wait, did I say that out loud?

My only objection to the show is that it makes me cry too dang much. Example: when that crazy cult lady (played by Jamie-Lynn Sigler of The Sopranos) told Daniel to talk to Molly. Molly died suddenly in last season's finale, right after she and Daniel got married. So this season, Daniel attends grief counseling, where he meets said crazy cult lady, who encourages him to look up at the night sky and say what he wants to say to Molly.

Sob.

Then there was the episode where Hilda's son Justin is crowned Homecoming Queen. Hilda herself was supposed to be queen in high school, but she couldn't accept her crown because she was pregnant with Justin at the time. Anyway, Justin gets up on the stage and gives a speech about how his mom is the one who deserves the crown. He invites her up to the stage and puts the tiara on her head and gives her the flowers.

Got Kleenex?

I have one more episode of Ugly Betty before I officially run out of things to watch until January. That's a scary prospect. I still haven't come to terms with it. I guess this is the time to start planning my wedding...

Ugly Betty: Back from the Dead Zone.

Ugly Betty is moving to Wednesday at 10PM this January. You know what this means: A bigger and more compatible audience--it'll air right after Cougar Town. Looks like ABC finally corrected its boneheaded decision to move Betty to Fridays. And it only took them four months realize this. Better late than never.

Sadly, I have not watched a single episode of Ugly Betty this season. I had a bunch of episodes downloaded, but they somehow got erased. Anywhosers, I'll definitely try to catch up over Christmas break. From what I hear, this season has been STELLAR.

Nice move, ABC!

CSI: Miami: Sunset Beach Redux. Plus: Glee Gets Picked Up!

Before I get started on last night’s premiere of CSI: Miami, I have good news: Glee has just been picked up for the full season! It’s a great sign this show is here to stay—so keep watching, folks!

On to CSI: Miami. Last night, we went back in time to 1997, when Horatio didn’t have sunglasses, Delko was a tow truck driver, Calleigh was extra smiley, Speedle was still alive, Natalia was at some other lab, and Frank Tripp had hair. It was also nice to see Alexx with the two x’s, and Ryan Wolfe, too. Man, I’ve missed this gang. It has been one long summer without them.

The episode jumped back and forth between past and present. In the present, Delko is in a coma after Calleigh shot him in the head by mistake. In the past, Delko is alive and helping Horatio solve a murder. It was, by the way, the easiest case in the world. There were only two suspects, the handsome, estranged husband (played by the guy who played Michael on Sunset Beach—more on that later) and the weirdo, pervy-looking gardener. Guess who the perp was.

One of the highlights of the episode was Eddie Cibrian. I’ll let you take a moment to enjoy that. Eddie Cibrian. Eddie Cibrian. There he was, looking just as handsome as he did when he starred in my favorite canceled soap, Sunset Beach, as Cole Deschanel the jewel thief. I swear the guy has not aged in the TEN YEARS since SB was canceled. It’s just not fair. How funny it is that he and Michael got to do this episode together.

Another great moment, one that would only happen on this crazy show, is how they nabbed the perp. Horatio checks out the gardener’s shirt, his hair, etc. for blood. He finds nothing. Gardener smirks. Then Horatio goes wait a second, and someone gives him a swab and Horatio sticks it up the guy’s nose because apparently a teeny drop of the murder victim’s blood HAD LANDED ON ONE OF HIS NOSTRIL HAIRS. How can you not love this show?

At the end of the episode, the whole gang was gathered around Delko at the hospital, waiting for him to open his eyes. And when he did, I cried. This show gets to me. Every time.

And guess what? Cole, I mean Eddie Cibrian, is now a regular on this show. Meanwhile, Delko is on his way out. You’ll see him next on Ugly Betty playing Hilda’s ex. And I just realized. Eddie Cibrian was ALSO on Ugly Betty as Hilda’s boyfriend. Whoaaa Nelly!