2010 in Moving Images
TV has taken my life over like an imperialistic regime, let’s just say I spent at least 8 hours in a week catching up on TV shows. Let’s see some of my personal favorites of this year.
1) How I Met Your Mother – This comedy is like a huge mystery to us fans – WHO IS TED’S WIFE ?! This season has its basic humor and a little surrealism to elevate it above the past seasons. New schticks and the usual awesome Barneyism. Looking forward to the end to find out (I) who is the wife ? (II) will Robin and Barney end up together eventually ? (III) Will Lily and Marshall have tons of kids? – but not quite looking forward to the last episode as well since this is apparently the last season.
2) The Big Bang Theory – Needless to say, these 4 brainiacs are as adorable as ever since the past 3 seasons. Interesting addition to the group is Amy Farrah Fowler, a girl who is a friend, but not Sheldon’s ‘girlfriend’. I love how she’s the female version of Sheldon. Sadly I find that Leonard’s story is dying down alil but always good to see Raj and Howard getting more lines. Will be interesting to see how Amy and Sheldon gets into a relationship and whether Leonard and Penny will get back together.
3) The Walking Dead – Rise of the zombies ! For those of you who have yet to read the comics (Neither have I, but soon!) will most likely to find it convincing, both visually and emotionally. I love how realistic and established the scenes were and it is definitely one of the most intriguing shows this season. Looking forward to more brains, guts, hearts and the undead.
4) Lie To Me – Tim Roth is really magnetic and charming as Cal Lightman, the soul of the story. I enjoy the acting of the cast but not quite the plot which tends to digress into not-so-important details. It is still fascinating to watch how the Lightman group solves these crimes nonetheless.
5) Community – Meta-sitcom structure aside, Community has wonderfully drawn characters and remarkable cast. I totally love Abed and Troy, they never fail to bring a blast to the end of the show which happens to be the best last few minutes of each episode. Not sure how long can they last in college but will be looking forward to more.
6) Raising Hope – Very similar to ‘My Name Is Earl’ as they are both created by Greg Garcia. I like how it is built around the working class and how ‘screwed up’ life can be. Likable characters (The grandma character is hilarious), fun plot and you really can’t resist the charm of the baby. A simple yet very homely off-beat comedy.
7) Running Wilde - Slapstick humor, another way to describe the style would be ‘Arrested Development’ as it is co-created by its producers. There are flaws but some episodes get the humor. I like Kerri Russel enough to watch the show and I’m still amused by how shiny and ‘plastic’ Will Arnett’s forehead is.
8) The Office – This season has been funny so far and probably it’s all thanks to a good cast. Steve Carell has his ways when it comes to ‘mockumentary’ – of course, clever writing helps. I am still lovin’ it.
9) Nikita – After Alias, I think this gotta be the best female kickass show on screen after a long time. Maggie Q is ever so hot and seductive in her character and I’m glad the plot gets better. A fair balance between sub-plots and action, what more can I ask for ?
10) The Vampire Diaries – Guilty pleasure. I really think Damon (on the right) is the hottest vampire around, who really gives a damn about sparkling Edward. Plot aside, gorgeous cast and excellent OST.
Not forgetting I’m always a fan of Saturday Night Live, Family Guy, singing from Glee (not so for the plot), Tower Prep (I know, it’s aired on Cartoon Network and I’m way overage for that..but Drew Van Acker is too cute to resist and anything with supernatural powers is pretty awesome to watch). Hellcats is another guilty pleasure as the story really sucks but the cast is worth watching, based on looks that is. Criminal Minds and NCIS have been interesting but it gets just alil boring after episodes and episodes of similar predictable endings. I catch a glimpse of Parenthood once in awhile but it gets too sappy for me. Not forgetting the ‘to-catch-up-on’ list of Modern Family,Weed, Futurama and Mad Men.
Oh boy, I sure need more time for TV in 2011. Looking forward to Jan when all my shows return !
AOTW [16] : FAME
A reinvention of the original Oscar-winning hit film, Fame ! This a remake of the original musical & soundtrack made popular in the 80’s. The album features stunning tracks by the cast and other popular songs from the incredible film. After taking a listen to it (courtesy of the nice people at Universal Music), here’s what I think of it!
Tracklist :
- 1.Welcome To P.A. – Raney Shockne
- 2.Fame – Naturi Naughton
- 3.Big Things – Anjulie
- 4.Ordinary People – Asher Book
- 5.This Is My Life – Hopsin, Ak’Sent, Tynisha Keli & Donte “Burger” Winston
- 6.Out Here On My Own – Naturi Naughton
- 7.Street Hustlin’ – Raney Shockne featuring Stella Moon
- 8.You’ll Find A Way (Switch & Sinden Remix) – Santigold
- 9.Can’t Hide From Love – Naturi Naughton & Collins Pennie
- 10.Black & Gold – Sam Sparro
- 11.Back To Back – Collins Pennie featuring Ashleigh Haney
- 12.I Put A Spell On You – Raney Shockne featuring Eddie Wakes
- 13.Get On The Floor – Naturi Naughton & Collins Pennie
- 14.Try – Asher Book
- 15.You Took Advantage Of Me – Megan Mullally
- 16.Too Many Women (Damon Elliott Remix) – Rachael Sage
- 17.Someone To Watch Over Me – Asher Book
- 18.You Made Me Love You – Raney Shockne featuring Oren Waters
- 19.Hold Your Dream – Naturi Naughton, Asher Book, Kay Panabaker
Quite a well-balanced list of up-tempo numbers and a few ballards, though it was almost like Naturi Naughton EP because you can see the name in almost every other song ! Voice isn’t too bad and I thought “Out here on my own” was quite a nice track. Then again, I’m biased since I like Asher Book (featured here as my last AOTW with his song “Try”) alot more ! Love his cover of John Legend’s “Ordinary People” as well !
In my opinion, kids from the Drama/Dance Club will love this OST because of the upbeat songs and if you’ve caught the movie, you’ll know what it is all about. The strong dance-pop influenced album is more of a crowd-pleaser rather than focusing on the original soulful music. Still worth listening if you enjoyed the movie or just need something easy to listen to while working !
The movie is already screening in cinemas since 25th Sept (I know I’m pretty SLOW at this, catch it NOW if you have not) ! The soundtrack is also available out in stores, check out getmusic.com.sg for more information.
[GIVEAWAY]
I have FAME OST CD and goodie to give away as well !
Just drop me an ONE email (exit18 [at] gmail [dot] com) before 15th Oct 2009 2359 hrs with your contact details (name/email/blog if any! *Singapore residents ONLY*)
To win, answer 2 simple questions :
- why do you want win this ?
- Which is your favourite track and why ?
(Winner will be notified via email)
