This was supposed to be a top 10 post, but I couldn’t limit this great character list to just 10! These are the top quirky characters as chosen by voters in last week’s poll. (Be sure to vote in this week’s poll here!) As an added bonus for this top 15 list (and as a thank you for all the actor retweets!), I’ve included links to actor twitter accounts!
Number 15: Parker from Leverage (played by Beth Riesgraf)
Continue reading Top 15 Quirky Characters on TV
This round of Monday Madness, it’s time to look at those crazy characters in the shows we love. Often, they’re on the sidelines – not the main character, their romantic interest, or the person in charge. They provide comic relief in otherwise serious shows, or are a main source of laughter in comedies. They can be indispensable, evil, or hopelessly inept. But they refuse to fade into the background, and the shows wouldn’t be the same without them.
This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite quirky characters. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10!
Even though there are 40 options on this list, I know there are many great characters I left out! As always, you can cast write-in ballots by leaving a comment. Want more of a say in what makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll.
Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 1AM April 16th.
Update: voting is over, but you can vote on this week’s poll here! Winners’ post here.
Who's your favorite quirky character? (Choose up to 10)
Total Voters: 6,353
Loading ...The Final Four continues! Warehouse 13 barely eked out a victory over Burn Notice, but Castle trounced How I Met Your Mother. Now, two shows featuring charming jokesters and their more uptight partners face off for a chance to make it to the final match.
Show descriptions, in case you’ve been asleep for the past three rounds:
Warehouse 13 – After saving the life of the President in Washington D.C., a pair of U.S Secret Service agents are whisked away to a covert location in South Dakota that houses supernatural objects that the Regents, an Authority above and outside any government, have collected over the centuries. Their new assignment: retrieve any lost objects and investigate reports of new ones.
Castle – After a serial killer imitates the plots of his novels, successful mystery novelist Richard “Rick” Castle (Nathan Fillion) gets permission from the Mayor of New York City to tag along with an NYPD homicide investigation team for research purposes. He partners with Detective Kate Beckett, and uses a fictionalized version of her as the main character of his new series.
Make your choice in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for Psych vs. Community!
Update: Castle won! Go vote for it against Psych here!
Another close race with a misplaced tiebreaker let Burn Notice beat out Suburgatory, and Bones put up a decent but ultimately futile fight against Warehouse 13. So now it’s time to decide between a Florida- and a South Dakota-based team, though to be fair, both offer a decent amount of globetrotting.
Burn Notice – After he’s set up and fired from the CIA, a special ops agent puts his training to use by doing a variety of dangerous and undercover jobs for people as he tries to figure out who betrayed him.
Warehouse 13 – After saving the life of the President in Washington D.C., a pair of U.S Secret Service agents are whisked away to a covert location in South Dakota that houses supernatural objects that the Regents, an Authority above and outside any government, have collected over the centuries. Their new assignment: retrieve any lost objects and investigate reports of new ones.
Which show has your vote? Sound off below, and be sure to vote for the other matchups!
Update: Warehouse 13 won! Vote for it here.
I promised I’d continue the discussion on TV show pilots in the future, and now, a month later, I’m finally getting to it. But what a difference a month can make! Many of these pilots have now signed major cast, so we can get a far better idea of what the show will be like.
And for every show a network picks up, another must depart, so we’ll be looking at which shows aren’t likely to get another season. Since scripted shows are this site’s focus, I’ll ignore any changes to unscripted shows and assume they’ll have the same amount of hours next year.
To make things a little easier as I get started, I’m beginning with the lowest-rated broadcast network with limited hours, the CW.
For 2011-2012, the CW has nine regular-season scripted shows, all hour-long dramas. Three are freshmen (Ringer, The Secret Circle, Hart of Dixie), and one is in its final season (One Tree Hill). Ringer is heading for cancellation, and Hart of Dixie isn’t far behind. Sophomore Nikita isn’t much better, but being on a Friday may give the show some leeway, and Gossip Girl hasn’t left the danger zone.
That means there will be 3-4 (or even 5 if the network wants to make drastic changes to improve in the demo) slots open for new shows next season. The CW has ordered 8 pilots, and most look like strong contenders.
Arrow
A modern retelling of DC Comic’s Green Arrow, this show has a strong cast and good buzz (especially for a superhero that looks like a caricatured Robin Hood). Stephen Amell stars as Oliver Queen, with Susanna Thompson (Kings) and Willa Holland as his mother and sister, Katie Cassidy and Paul Blackthorne as his love interest and her father, and Colin Donnell (Pan Am) as his best friend. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a dearth of superhero shows, which may give Arrow an extra edge to make it to series. And having a Warehouse 13 vet helping helm the show should only help.
Beauty and the Beast
A pretty odd choice for a remake show, but since it’s only “loosely based” on the 1980s procedural and stars Kristin Kreuk and Austin Basis, the show may do okay. Since Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale, I’m going to at least check this out if it makes it to series. Fairy tales are in right now, but I have no clue what direction this show plans to take.
The Carrie Diaries
I had no interest in this show whatsoever until I heard it cast AnnaSophia Robb, whose acting I’ve loved since Bridge to Terebithia. I still don’t think I’ll watch. Sex and the City plus the 1980s? Ugh. And even if it does make it to series based off the other show’s (and movies’) popularity, the demographic that would likely watch it aren’t going to be very familiar with a show that aired a decade ago.
Cult
Mysterious disappearances surrounding a cult TV show? Sorry, but I need more than a minor character from Veronica Mars (Alona Tal) showing up to perk my interest.
First Cut
Medical shows don’t really interest me, and I’m not familiar with Justin Hartley (the CW show Smallville’s Green Arrow) or Mamie Gummer. Michael Rady I know as Kostas on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and I don’t even remember Kelly McCreary’s brief appearances on White Collar. Working at a hospital being like high school all over again could work, but I fear the concept would either disappear or be overplayed.
Joey Dakota
Romantic time-travel musical sounds a bit far-fetched, and the name of the show sounds like a cross between the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana. I’m not familiar with Amber Stevens or Leah Renee, the only cast announcements made so far. I’ll check it out for the novelty if it makes it to series, but I think it’s unlikely.
The Selection
“An epic romance set 300 years in the future which centers on a poor young woman who is chosen by lottery to participate in a competition to become the next queen of a war-torn nation at a crossroads.” That was intriguing enough. Then I found out it was being headed up by Angel and Dollhouse scribes Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain. I’m not familiar with leads Aimee Teegarden or Ethan Peck, and I’ve only seen Sean Patrick Thomas in a few episodes of Ringer. Still, I’m definitely rooting for this one, even though many are claiming it sounds too similar to The Hunger Games.
Shelter
The Help. New England resort. J.J. Abrams. That’s pretty much all that’s known about this show so far.
If I had my choice on which pilots make it to series, I’d pick The Selection, Arrow, and Beauty and the Beast (in that order). Based on buzz and cast, I’m guessing First Cut and The Carrie Diaries are more likely to be picked up than the remaining Cult, Joey Dakota, and Shelter.
What shows do you think the CW should pick up, and which shows should it cancel?
Update: cancellation and pickup verdicts for the CW here!
Warehouse 13 meets Joss Whedon’s Buffy/Angel as both Jaime Murray (who played H.G. Wells on Warehouse 13) and Julie Benz (who played Darla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) have been cast in SyFy’s drama Defiance. If that’s not cool enough, the futuristic frontier vibe screams Firefly, although this time the setting is a war-ravaged Earth cohabited by humans and aliens. Definitely something I want to check out!
Julie Benz, Jaime Murray Join Syfy Drama Defiance.
Bones’ FBI triumphed over NCIS: Los Angeles, and Warehouse 13 didn’t give SyFy companion Alpha (featuring Bones’ Ryan Cartwright) one vote.
Bones – Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is a highly skilled forensic anthropologist in Washington, DC. FBI Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) calls on her to assist with investigations when the standard methods of identifying a body are useless – when the remains are badly decomposed, burned or destroyed beyond recognition.
Warehouse 13 – After saving the life of the President in Washington D.C., a pair of U.S Secret Service agents are whisked away to a covert location in South Dakota that houses supernatural objects that the Regents, an Authority above and outside any government, have collected over the centuries. Their new assignment: retrieve any lost objects and investigate reports of new ones.
So do you want Booth and Brennan or Pete and Myka? Vote below!
Update: it’s Pete and Myka! Vote in the next round here!
Warehouse 13 – After saving the life of the President in Washington D.C., a pair of U.S Secret Service agents are whisked away to a covert location in South Dakota that houses supernatural objects that the Regents, an Authority above and outside any government, have collected over the centuries. Their new assignment: retrieve any lost objects and investigate reports of new ones.
TV Breakroom is doing its own version of March Madness! And there’s a prize!
You will vote between two shows by leaving a comment with your choice on a bracket post (not on this post – though feel free to predict the winner here!). Every 6 days this month, I will close the comments, add up the totals, and set things up for the next stage of the bracket. I’ll link to all of the bracket posts here.
Every comment you leave throughout the month, whether to vote in the bracket or normal comments on other posts, will count as one entry toward a $15 Amazon gift card. Only one comment per post will count as an entry, and comments flagged as spam will be ignored. Contest begins on March 1, 2012 at 12:01 EST and ends March 31, 2012 at 11:59 EDT. Winner must provide email address and respond to winning notification within 3 days.
For a show to qualify, it had to air at least 5 new episodes between June 1, 2011 and February 29, 2012. It also has to be a US show (airing originally on a US broadcast or cable network, no matter where it was filmed), and I have to have seen at least 5 episodes of the show.
Here is the final match-up! The order in which shows would face each other was created by Random.org. Click the match-up to go to its bracket post and vote! Voting for this round ends around 1AM on March 31st, so get your votes in now!
Update – go here to see the winner!
Here are the 32 shows:
Well, so much for Elementary being simply an American remake of Sherlock! Having a woman play the role of Watson is sure to make Elementary a very different show. Farewell to bromance. Hello to will-they-or-won’t-they tension typical of Bones, Castle, and the like. Or maybe the show will adopt Warehouse 13’s buddy partnership to make room for Adler. Will Moriarty try to sweep Watson off her feet to get to Sherlock?
My initial opinion of the idea is that the show will either lose too much of its uniqueness by making Elementary similar to other procedurals, or try too hard to “reinvent” Holmes and Watson that it becomes a caricature.
Lucy Liu Cast as Watson in Sherlock Holmes Pilot Elementary — CBS.
2011 has been a year of big changes for this blog. At the start of this year, I only had 3 posts and hadn’t even begun sharing the link. Now, I’m working on post 124 and get thousands of views every month.
As you can see, I’m also ending the year with a big change – a new layout. As much as I loved the look of the old layout, it was confusing for some and also probably hurting my chances of being found by search engines (with no text other than categories on the home page). I do plan to keep the same “wall of TV pics” look as my Twitter background, though. I’m still working through some of the kinks (like having to set images as featured images and adding read more links in ALL my old posts), so please let me know if you come across something that’s not working! Continue reading Farewell to 2011
Of course it’s easy to say, there are no shows quite like NCIS – that’s why it’s so popular! (NCIS is currently the most-watched drama on TV in the US.) But that’s not helpful to you at all. What you really want to know is: If I like NCIS, what other shows will I like?
At its core, NCIS is a procedural drama with a strongly characterized team who solve interesting crimes. The same could be said for most of the shows listed under “Crime Drama” in the top navigation. Shows that come close to matching NCIS’s particular blend of humor, teamwork, and under-the-surface romance would be Castle and Bones. I consider these three shows to be my favorite crime dramas.
Looking for a little more than just TV’s best crime shows? Then answer me this: Who is your favorite character on NCIS?
If it’s Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), try Warehouse 13. Secret Service Agent Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) could be Tony’s long-lost brother. Instead of solving murders, you’ll be recovering artifacts with supernatural capabilities, but don’t worry, there’ll be a few corpses and plenty of humor along the way.
If it’s Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), try Nikita. Maggie Q as Nikita may be even more deadly an assassin than Ziva. She’s trying to make up for her past wrongs, even if she has to take out some bad guys and cut some past ties to do it.
If it’s Timothy McGee (Sean Murray), try Chuck. McGee might not have government secrets and skills locked in his brain like Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) does, but both are amazing with computers, not always super-smooth with the ladies, and share a love of geekdom.
If it’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), try Blue Bloods. Police Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) hates the political games as much as Gibbs, and always knows just the right thing to say to his daughter. His son, Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) is stubborn to a fault and follows his gut.
If it’s Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), try Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s the only show I can think of that has as many facets as she does, plus her love of everything goth fits in perfectly. It’s hilarious with a dark edge, and full of unique characters. Abby has Buffy’s (Sarah Michelle Gellar) father-daughter relationship, Willow’s (Alyson Hannigan) mad skills, and Anya’s (Emma Caulfield) cheerful and quirky mindset.
If it’s Donald “Ducky” Mallard (David McCallum), try Merlin. Not only does this British show match Ducky’s heritage, but Gaius (Richard Wilson) shares many characteristics with him: medical background, longwindedness, and a fierce loyalty. They both also become a mentor to the young men they teach.
If it’s Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen), try The Big Bang Theory. Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) has the same awkward, self-depreciating manner as Palmer, yet still manages to win over (at least eventually) the ladies. Though the science tends to be more theoretical than you’d find in autopsy, this week’s episode did include brain dissection.
If it’s Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll), try Covert Affairs. The agents doing field work hint at Vance’s past, while the political maneuverings touch on his present office. Like Arthur (Peter Gallagher) and Joan (Kari Matchett) Campbell, he’s an expert at negotiating and dealing with foreign agencies.
Who’s your favorite character? Do you agree with my choices of shows? Which shows would you match up with the cast of NCIS?
Nothing invokes the memory of a favorite TV show faster than its opening credits. That may be why I always feel a bit cheated when a show doesn’t have any, or when they’re terrible, or when they don’t match the show at all.
White Collar is a prime example of how attached fans get to show intros. When season three debuted with new opening titles, fans were very vocal about their dislike. Eventually the network hosted a poll, and the fans voted the old opening back in.
I didn’t include any classic shows in this list – in fact, only one show had episodes airing before the year 2000. There are no animated shows, and it’s also limited to shows I actually watch. I made my decisions based on the music, visual appeal, how well they meshed, and how well they matched the show. I included some unique ones as well.
I had a terrible time narrowing the list down to just ten, and that’s even with leaving out the shows that only have title and creator in their intros (like White Collar above and How I Met Your Mother) or have voiceover intros (Burn Notice’s “My name is Michael Westen, I used to be a spy” and Castle’s “There are two kinds of folks that sit around thinking about how to kill people – psychopaths and mystery writers”). This list changed several times even as I was writing this article, and the main excuse I gave myself for leaving Bones off was that I couldn’t find a good video for the credits!
#10 – Alphas
I love the music to this theme, and how well the lyrics fit the show. I also love the mysterious quality – it’s hard to catch everything the first few times you watch it, which works well for a show that has a lot under the surface.
#9 – The Cape
This theme sticks in my head long after I’ve watched the intro, and I love the way the comics dissolve into the show’s characters. Hate that this got cancelled.
#8 – Community
The folded paper design of this intro is just plain fun.
#7 – Chuck
The cartoon Buy More guy getting in and out of trouble is perfectly in keeping with the lighthearted tone of this show.
#6 – Warehouse 13
I love the mysterious quality of these credits, and the music fits perfectly! It’s cool seeing the artifacts “at work,” too.
#5 – Covert Affairs
Unfortunately, this clip cuts off the cool intro whistle (which plays before the credits actually start). I like the juxtaposition of the actors over the virtual background.
#4 – Veronica Mars
Yes, this is NOT the season 3 opening, which I disliked (it wouldn’t have been as bad if they’d simply changed the visuals, but they messed up the song, too). Bonus points for perfect lyrics (which were even quoted in an episode)!
#3 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Apologies for the quality of this clip. Love how this opening meshes scary and funny. I rock out to these credits whenever I’m watching Buffy by myself. 🙂
#2 – NCIS
A classic, solid, intro, with fun music and great transitions. I especially love McGee’s rocket pack impression.
#1 – Psych
No, I didn’t make this my top choice simply because it’s my theme this month and I’m giving away a season. I love how it matches the show, with zany moments and apt lyrics. I also love how they change it up to match special episodes – Spanish lyrics, a Christmas version, even a Bollywood rendition.
What openings would be in your top 10? Did I miss any good ones?
Yesterday’s episode of Castle was chock-full of geeky comic book superheroness. So today I thought I’d blog about those costume-clad episodes of TV shows we love. If I missed any, be sure to let me know in the comments!
For space, I’m not going to focus on the shows that are all about superheroes – whether reimaged comic classics (Smallville), new characters in ordinary clothes with various powers (No Ordinary Family, Alphas, Heroes), or masked vigilantes (The Cape). And I wasn’t going to mention Halloween episodes – but I couldn’t resist the few ones that popped into my head: Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and Howard all dressing up as Flash (The Big Bang Theory). Abed becoming Batman (Community). And Brennan as Wonder Woman (Bones).
Castle – “Heroes and Villains”
A man attacking a woman gets sliced in half by a sword, and the team soon discovers it’s the work of a costumed vigilante. They’re a bit reluctant to go after someone who’s administering justice throughout the city, but things are not as they seem. The costume is from a character in a popular online-only comic (which I thought was a nice plug for a newer medium for comic books). Castle gets plenty of opportunities to geek out during the episode, and even Beckett shares what superhero she would be (Electra, to Castle’s Bruce Wayne), mentions the first comic book she bought, and is embarrassed to have revealed that she pre-ordered Castle’s Derrick Storm graphic novel. (Wow, this is the fourth season, and I just now made the connection that Rick Castle named his character DerRICK.)
Warehouse 13 – “Mild Mannered”
Sean Maher and Jewel Staite (Simon and Kaylee from Firefly) star in this episode where an artifact gives its wearer superpowers. Pete recognizes the costume as mimicking the Iron Shadow, one of his favorite superheroes, and generally revels in the comic-book aspect of this mission. He’s still waiting to receive his comic book collection from home, which may have gotten lost during shipping, but Myka surprises him with the rare Iron Shadow issue he’s missing.
Bones – “The Superhero in the Alley”
For some reason, when I heard about the Castle superhero episode, I thought they’d already done one. I think it was this episode I was remembering instead. Booth and Brennan try to figure out how a costumed teenager died, and Angela reconstructs the unfinished comic book found with him. Despite his geekish tendencies, Zack had never read comic books before, but he makes up for it in this episode. It’s interesting that several scenes from this season take place in a bowling alley, and the last episode that has aired to date was mostly set in a bowling alley as well.
Psych – “Shawn vs. the Red Phantom”
This episode goes beyond comic books to a full-blown convention. Shawn and Gus track a missing teenage boy there only to find he has disappeared as well. Clues point them to website reviews of superhero movies and eventually a villainous plot ripped right from the pages of a comic book. My favorite part of the episode is when Shawn turns his fake psychic powers in a show to get attendees’ attention, complete with help from Gus’s “magic head.”
Any other shows you can think of that have a superhero episode?
My favorite new show from the 2010-2011 season has returned! Yes, Nikita beat out the renewed Blue Bloods and the North American version of Being Human, plus the cancelled Detroit 1-8-7, No Ordinary Family, Outsourced, and The Cape as my most exciting discovery of the regular season. The CW kept me on pins and needles, finally renewing Nikita in mid-May, well after I’d learned the fate of the other shows I watched.
Spoilers ahead!
Last season ended with a huge blow-out episode. Percy (Xander Berkeley) found out Michael was working with Nikita (Maggie Q). Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca) was reeling after finding out Nikita killed her parents. Amanda took over Division from Percy with the help of Oversight. Birkhoff helped Michael escape with a decrypted black box.
As this season opens, Nikita and Michael are on the run and trying to set right the wrongs listed on the black box – without “starting World War III.” They’re unaware that Amanda is now in charge of Division, Percy is locked up, and Alex is working with Amanda as an independent contractor. But they know they have to now bring down Oversight (a group of six highly-connected individuals who are responsible for Division) as well as Division.
Oversight sends in a liaison to keep tabs on Division, Sean, played by Dillon Casey (I’m only familiar with the actor from his appearance on the Warehouse 13 pilot). He butts heads with Alex immediately, but you can tell that the sparks between them aren’t just angry ones. With Thom and Jaden dead, Nathan out of the picture, and recruitment on hold, the show really needed someone else for Alex to interact with her own age, and Sean fits that slot. Whether he’ll end up being a good guy or a bad guy remains to be seen.
At the beginning of the episode, Alex doesn’t really seem out to get Nikita. At least intellectually, she understands that Nikita was only following orders, and the real villain is the man who ordered her parents’ deaths. But to get to him, she has to help out Division, so she’s out to retrieve the black box.
Nikita and Michael both get a chance to show off their fighting skills in this episode – Nikita with taking out Russians who laundered money for Division (her tease about breaking up with her boyfriend was so mean – but it made it all that much cooler when Shane West came barging in on his motorcycle), and Michael with helping a prisoner unwillingly escape from jail.
The prisoner had been investigating a Division money heist, so Percy had him framed and then threatened his son if he ever spoke up. Nikita and Michael are about to go get the son when Alex calls Nikita, claiming to be in trouble and back on drugs. But Alex’s ploy to get Nikita out of the way fails when a Division team zooms in. Badly outgunned, all looks lost for Michael and Nikita when fighter drones fly in, take out the Division team, and knock out the two and the prisoner. They wake up in a lavish house to discover the brains behind their rescue – Birkhoff!
I absolutely love that they brought Birkhoff back for season two. And apparently, this season is going to have more humor than the previous one (that and some awesome guest stars were really the only things that were lacking in season one), and Birkhoff (Aaron Stanford) will be a huge part of that. It was hilarious when, after instructing Michael to tell Division they’re not working together (and thus get Division off his back), he steps in front of Michael during a video chat with Division to taunt their techs. Afterwards, Michael deadpans, “By the way, Birkhoff is not working with us.”
I mentioned in my first post about this show, that despite many similarities to Dollhouse, the only significant (meaning more than Shane West’s few lines in one Buffy episode) Whedonverse connection was Melinda Clarke (Amanda), but I’ve found another since then. Marc David Alpert worked on many episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, even getting his name in several cemetery scenes, and he also produces Nikita.
The climax of the episode is the big fight scene between Nikita and Alex. Nikita tried to talk Alex out of fighting her several times, even dropping her weapon while Alex still has her gun pointed at her, but Alex stubbornly keeps attacking. In the end, Nikita breaks her arm and shoots her in the leg, saying. “I’m doing this because I care” and “Get out while you’re still alive.”
I’d be more worried about this making them mortal enemies forever if Nikita hadn’t shot Michael in the shoulder last season – look where he is now. But its certain to fuel Alex’s anger in the short-term, at least. Looking forward to the next episode!
