Firefly

Throwback Thursday: Chuck

This was originally on my first blog site Aye, Tortuga!, but I felt that it was appropriate to re-post since all five seasons of Chuck are being taken off of Netflix on November 1st. I updated a few sections with more recent information otherwise, these were my first thoughts about the series. Viva BuyMoria!

A few years ago, I decided that it was finally time to start watching Chuck. I have now watched all five seasons and would consider myself officially part of the Nerd Herd.

I am not really sure why I never watched the show when it aired starting in 2007. I do know that I did not yet have DVR, so I was probably watching How I Met Your Mother instead. I actually do not really remember thinking about it much when it was on. I loved Adam Baldwin in Firefly and Sarah Lancaster in What About Brian, and probably recognized Zachary Levi, but none of them were enough to interest me in the show. This was also about the time that I was not watching Friday Night Lights either so, clearly, I was not thinking straight.

To be honest, the reason I did start watching Chuck was because of Orphan Black. I know that sounds weird, so let me explain. I watched all of Orphan Black after ATX Television Festival Season Two and was instantly obsessed. Shortly after watching the whole first season, the cast went to San Diego Comic Con, at which they did a panel for Zachary Levi’s Nerd Machine. Once I discovered the Orphan Black panel online, I then watched many of the other Nerd Machine panels throughout the weekend that were streaming on YouTube, including one with Levi himself, and soon came to the conclusion that I should at least give Chuck a try.

The only way that I could watch it initially was to get the discs from Netflix, so the first two seasons took me quite a while to get through. (And when I say, “quite a while,” I mean about two months.) I was just starting to lose steam and then, as if they knew exactly what I was thinking, Netflix made the whole series available to stream the following week and I flew threw the last three seasons.

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8 Christian Characters…

It is the season of Lent and Easter is just five weeks away. Since I gave you my list of favorite Jewish characters during Rosh Hashanah, I decided now would be a great time for my list of favorite Christian television characters.

1. Alba Villanueva – Jane the Virgin played by Ivonne Coll.
Jane’s grandmother is a devout Catholic and sharing her faith with her family was important to her. It did not really stick with her daughter, Xiomara, but Jane took it very seriously.



2. President Josiah Bartlett – The West Wing played by Martin Sheen.
A graduate of the Univeristy of Notre Dame, he quoted scripture often (sometimes in Latin) and even considered becoming a priest before going into politics.



3. Coach and Tami Taylor – Friday Night Lights played by Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton.
Their religion was not something they talked about all the time, but they went to church every Sunday and they always tried to instill their morals in their own children and the students they worked with every day.

4. Harriet Hayes – Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip played by Sarah Paulson.
She was the only Christian on the cast for a SNL-like live sketch comedy show. One of my favorite Harriet lines is from the end of the second episode during a pre-show pep-talk: “We say this prayer in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who had to have been funny to get so many people to listen to him.”

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8 of the Best TV Sisters…

Today is my sister-in-law’s birthday and so I have put together a list of my favorite sisters in her honor. I do not know what it is like growing up with a sister, as I only have the one brother, but these relationships made me want one. Sometimes they even reminded me how annoying I was myself.

1. Danielle – My So-Called Life played by Lisa Wilhoit. We did not really know very much about Danielle, except that she was usually jealous of Angela and had a crush on Brian Krakow. I’d like to think that if the show had lasted more than one season, we would have learned more about Danielle and her life.

2. Rudy, Vanessa and Denise – The Cosby Show played by Keshia Knight Pulliam, Tempestt Bledsoe and Lisa Bonet. They fought a lot, just like siblings do, but they were also always there for each other. There was a fourth sister played by Sabrina Le Beauf, but I never really liked Sondra or her storylines and she never lived in the house with the rest of the family.

3. Ginnie, Anne, Marjee and Rose – Related played by Jennifer Esposito, Kiele Sanchez, Lizzy Caplan and Laura Breckenridge. This was a WB show that only last one season, but I really loved the family dynamic between these four sisters. They were each different and had different interests, but they supported each other and were very involved in each other’s lives.

4. Ellie – Chuck played by Sarah Lancaster. Ellie was kept in the dark about what her brother was really up to most of the time but, since their mother left when they were young, she had basically raised Chuck and just wanted him to be happy and safe.

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8 Opening Credits That I Always Watch…

These days, a lot of shows do not really have a full opening theme, they just have a name card, but I really enjoy credits when they are done correctly. Most of my choices are due mainly to the music used for each show and sometimes it is hard to pinpoint exactly what about each one I enjoy, but they all make me really happy when I watch them…and I always watch these.

1. Grey’s Anatomy I am obviously referring to the original credits, as now they just flash the name of the show with random hospital sounds in the background. I just thought that they were creative and fit the mood of the show. I am not sure why they stopped using them, but I still miss them.

2. Jack & Bobby The music is from the movie The Patriot and was composed by the amazing John Williams. I love the combination of this soundtrack with clips of former U.S. Presidents speaking.

3. Deadwood This one is actually the ringtone on my phone. I love the music and the images used. It is beautiful, sexy and captivating.

4. Suits I am not really sure what it is about this one that I enjoy so much. I just think the music and the lyrics in the song really fit with the show. Love that Greenback Boogie!

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8 of My Favorite Character Make-Overs…

Welcome to My TV Family! I have decided to move on from my previous website, Aye, Tortuga!, and start fresh with a more television focused blog. I am glad that you are joining me on this new adventure! To kick things off, I present you with my favorite TV make-overs. Some of these are permanent changes the characters made to their appearance and some are simply one-time looks, but all are amazing.

1. Veronica Mars: At the request of her friend Meg, Veronica is forced to go to the ’80s themed Spring Dance. She describes the Madonna-esque outfit as “Manila Whore Barbie.”

2. My So-Called Life: In the series premiere, Angela is convinced by new friends Rayanne and Rickie to dye her hair red.

3. Firefly: In order to meet a new contact for a job, Mal and Kaylee have to get dressed up and go to a ball. Kaylee uses the opportunity to wear a new dress she had been eying and Mal is her escort, tight pants and all.

4. Orphan Black: After seeing Beth, a woman that looks remarkably similar to herself, jump in front of a train, Sarah decides to take over this stranger’s identity. In order to steal all of Beth’s money as well, Sarah needs a new hairstyle and a new accent.

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