Veronica Mars

8 Characters to the Rescue…

Author Brenda Hiatt, posted this question on Facebook: “You’ve been kidnapped. You can call on the characters from one television show to make a rescue attempt. Which show do you pick?” My pick would be Strike Back. Then I started thinking about which individual characters from different shows I would want to come save me. So, here is that list.

1. Veronica Mars – Veronica Mars
She is a private detective that no one ever suspects is actually a private detective. She always has her taser with her and she will not stop until she has the problem figured out. She will even work with people she does not like in order to get the answers she is looking for.



2. Sgt. Michael Stonebridge – Strike Back
It was hard to choose between Strike Back’s Michael and Damien but, ultimately, I think Michael is the more level-headed one…plus, he has a sexy British accent. He is also a Royal Marine who works for an elite special operations unit and always has that sharp military focus.



3. The Doctor – Doctor Who
If you are kidnapped by aliens, you would definitely want his help. How else is the team going to get to the ship or planet where you are being held? I also always thought Veronica would make a good companion for him.



4. Brian Finch – Limitless
On NZT, he is basically the smartest person on the planet. He will be able to see clues that other people miss. He might clash with the Doctor a bit, but I think that they would ultimately be interested in working with each other.

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Quotes of the Week: October 18-24

These are my favorite quotes from the past week, not just from shows currently on the air, but also other random things I happen to be watching.

Once Upon a Time
Arthur: You betrayed me. You broke the sacred trust of the Round Table.
David: You tried to trick me with a catchy title and a comfy chair.

Homeland
Saul: I’m not a statesman, Heir Düring. I’m a spy.

Quantico
Shaw: I teach the people who find people. You think I couldn’t find you?

The Leftovers
Laurie: I don’t want to hurt them, but they won’t jump out of the way.

Jane the Virgin
Rogelio: Cruise ships is where old people perform! I mean, who am I? Charo?!

Narrator: Never was there sounder advice from a tipsy hallucination.

Blindspot
Jane: It wasn’t your fault.
Kurt: I’ve heard that my whole life.
Jane: But you haven’t heard it from me. It wasn’t your fault. You told me Taylor was my starting point. I think you’re wrong. You…you’re my starting point.

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8 Sensates…

The newest Netflix show Sense8 is about eight uniquely different people from all around the world that start seeing and hearing things that they have not experienced themselves. They each have specific talents and often help each other out of their individual predicaments by being able to share senses within their group. It sounds super complicated, but is actually a really great show that you should be watching.

Inspired by this show, I decided to make a list of TV characters that would make a good group of Sensates. I admit that I am totally stealing this idea from Todd VanDerWerff and it was not as easy as I thought it would be. Trying to come up with a list of people that all have different skills which compliment each other was incredibly difficult. I also decided to leave out anyone who came by their gifts supernaturally, because that just opened an entirely different can of worms.

1. Cosima Niehaus – Orphan Black
She has Ph.D. in Experimental Evolutionary Developmental Biology, which basically means she likes to make crazy science, but she will also keep everyone mellow.

2. Mike Ross – Suits
He may not be a real lawyer, but he can pull it off because he has a photographic memory.

3. Melinda May a.k.a. “The Cavalry” – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
She is smart, resourceful, knows how to fly a plane and will kick your ass if you mess with her.

4. Rickie Vasquez – My So-Called Life
He is brave, compassionate and protective of his friends, but also has a flare for the dramatic.

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8 Basketball Players…

March Madness is upon us, and my Elite 8 is already screwed up because of Iowa State’s loss to the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In honor of the NCAA Tournament, I compiled a list of my favorite TV basketball players. This was a lot harder than I thought it would be, and I am attempting to write this while simultaneously watching the games, so bear with me 🙂

1. Nathan Scott – One Tree Hill, played by James Lafferty
After playing for the Tree Hill Ravens in high school and the University of Maryland, Nathan was about to be drafted into the NBA when an accident paralyzed him from the waist down. He works his way back to walking and then playing basketball again and gets drafted by the Charlotte Bobcats. He eventually becomes a talent scout.



2. Mark Cooper – Hangin With Mr. Cooper, played by Mark Curry
Mark was a former NBA player for the Golden State Warriors that became a teacher and high school basketball coach at Oakbridge High.



3. Wallace Fennel – Veronica Mars, played by Percy Daggs III
Wallace was the star player for the Neptune High Pirates and went on to play for Hearst College. He then became a teacher and basketball coach at his high school alma mater.

4. Julie Connor – Hang Time, played by Daniella Deutscher
I honestly do not remember a whole lot about this show, except that she was the only girl on the boys Varsity team at Deering High School in Indiana.

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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 Things For Which I Am Thankful…

Thanksgiving is next week and instead of bringing you a standard list of favorite themed episodes, I thought I would give you my list of television related things for which I am most thankful this year.

1. Generous Friends
This is definitely number one. As a girl on a budget, I cannot always afford to pay for the premium channels or live in a place where I can choose my cable provider, so I have to rely on the generosity of great friends to help get me access to a few of my favorite shows, without which I would not be able to watch things like Outlander or Kingdom.

2. A Darker, Twistier Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
I enjoyed the first season, but it did take a little while for them to find their way. They picked up steam at the end of last year and are powering through this season at full speed. The tone is a little darker, which I love, and the character development has been amazing.



3. Kurt Sutter
Sutter and his Sons of Anarchy writer’s continue to blow my mind each week and I cannot believe there are only two episodes left! Although, sometimes I worry about which lines and situations on the show make me laugh. I find Tig’s sense of humor to be totally crazy and sometimes creepy but always hilarious…and that scares me just a little.


4. Jane the Virgin
This is absolutely my favorite new show this fall. It is well-written and funny and I love it more with each episode. Also, for the record, I am on Team Rafael.

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8 Great Police Officers and Firefighters…

In honor of Patriots Day and the 13th anniversary of the September 11th attack on our country, I present you with my list of favorite TV firemen and police officers. There was a huge number of people I could have listed, but these are some of my favorites.

1. Tommy Gavin – Rescue Me, played by Dennis Leary. Gavin is a third generation New York City Firefighter. As one of the first responders, his house lost four men in the attacks on 9/11, including his cousin Jimmy.


2. Wayne Unser – Sons of Anarchy, played by Dayton Callie. When the series started, Unser was Chief of the Charming Police Department. While he was Chief, he worked with the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club to keep drugs and violence out of their small town.


3. Kate Beckett – Castle, played by Stana Katic. Beckett originally planned to be a lawyer, but decided to join the New York Police Department after her mother was murdered.


4. Lennie Briscoe – Law & Order, played by Jerry Orbach. The character is introduced in season three as a senior detective for the New York Police Department after Detective Logan’s partner was shot. He remained on the show for 11 seasons, until his character retired.



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8 Schools It Would Have Been Fun to Have Attended…

Everyone went back to school this week here in Austin, so I thought I would give you my list of TV schools that would have been a lot of fun to have attended in real life. I was never a big fan of studying when I was in school, so most of these choices are not academic in the least.

1. Liberty High School – My So-Called Life Executive Producer Marshall Herskovitz is from Philadelphia and I am pretty sure that this show is supposed to have taken place at Lower Merion High School, so technically I did go to Liberty. However, I do not remember Jordan Catalano being there.


2. Neptune High – Veronica Mars Sadly, I probably would have been friends with the 09ers in high school, or at least the jocks. However, I definitely would have gravitated towards the Meg Mannings, as opposed to the Madison Sinclairs. Either way, Veronica always kept things interesting.


3. Cyprus-Rhodes University – Greek I was not in a sorority in college and I definitely would not have joined Zeta Beta Zeta, but I would have had a lot of fun hanging out with the Kappa Tau’s at all of their crazy parties.


4. S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Who wouldn’t want to learn how to be a super secret agent?!


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8 of the Greatest TV Pets…

Last week, I lost my best friend in the whole world to cancer. His name was Archie, he was a 13 year old Shetland Sheepdog and I really do feel like I lost a part of myself. What is shocking (and a little weird) is that several of my friends have also had to put their dogs down in the past two weeks or have recently found out that their pets are ill. So, this week’s post is not just in memory of Archie, but also for Charlie, Fleur, Jake, Maddie, Harry, Augie, Alize and anyone else who has lost their friend.

1. Marcel – Friends His favorite song was The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens, he had a thing for Curious George and he eventually became a movie star, how could you not love Marcel?!

2. Backup – Veronica Mars He kind of disappeared after the first season but, when he was around, he always protected Veronica from the bad guys.

3. Wildfire – Wildfire Kris saved Wildfire from being slaughtered and Wildfire saved Kris from her delinquent past so the two became forever linked. In the series finale, Jean and Pablo gave Wildfire to Kris as a wedding present because of their bond.

4. Burt Reynolds – Hart of Dixie He belongs to Bluebell Mayor Lavon Hayes and scared Zoe on her first night in town. He was also once kidnapped by the mayor of neighboring town Fillmore. I just wish we saw more of Burt.

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8 of My Favorite TV Lawyers…

In honor of my older brother’s 35th birthday today, and because he is a fancy New York lawyer, I give you a list of my favorite television lawyers. I decided to make my list of characters from shows that are *not* about lawyers, because otherwise there would just be too many from which to choose.

1. Clair Huxtable – The Cosby Show played by Phylicia Rashad, an awesome lawyer, a partner at her firm, and a fantastic mother of five. I want to be Clair when I grow up.

2. Marshall Erikson – How I Met Your Mother played by Jason Segel, he went to law school in order to protect the environment but often uses his lawyering skills against his friends.

3. Ally Lowen – Sons of Anarchy played by Robin Weigert, you have to be pretty bad-ass if you represent a motorcycle club that runs guns.

4. Cliff McCormack – Veronica Mars played by Daran Norris, as a friend to her dad, Cliff is always willing to help Veronica out of a jam.

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