I Love Shark Week

Sunday, August 1st, 2010, it will begin. Discovery Channel's annual ode to the fish with many teeth: Shark Week. For one week, the network will load it's schedule with new and old programming devoted entirely to sharks - documentaries, educational shows, real-life accounts. I believe Craig Ferguson will even make an appearance somehow.

I don't remember when I started watching Shark Week. Feels like forever. But I'm looking forward to it again this year. Not necessarily because I love sharks. I like them. Jaws is one of my all-time favorite movies. They're fascinating, simply prehistoric. And Air Jaws is just plain awesome.

No, my love of Shark Week can be traced back to my mother. My mom is by no means a violent person. She's not crude or loud. She's really all class with a dash of goofiness. Her soul belongs to the sea. Yet despite all the violence and sea mammals bitten in half, on Sunday morning my mom will be sitting in her chair, in her pajamas with a cup of coffee, watching the Discovery Channel. Her eyes will be wide and her voice will have the same timbre of Christmas morning.

"It's Shark Week," she'll say.

And together we will watch lemon sharks, bull sharks, and tiger sharks. We will see great whites leap into the air in slow motion on our HD TV. It will be amazing. But it will only be as great as my mom's excitement. This is her week. So thank you, Discovery Channel, for giving us this annual tradition.

Happy Shark Week.

(Photo Credit: Discovery Channel)

"The Office" Must Go On (So Says NBC)

Today, NBC confirmed Steve Carell's exit from "The Office" at the end of next season. The actor himself said so awhile ago, but the network has been in denial. NBC also confirmed that the show will continue on without Carell's Michael Scott. Sigh.

It wasn't too long ago where I was borderline obsessed with "The Office." When you live 15 minutes away from Scranton, it tends to feel personal. Thursdays were my favorite day of the week again. That second and third season, I practically drooled over every episode. In 2007, my boyfriend and I sat on the bedroom floor and rolled coins so we could afford VIP tickets to "The Office" Convention in Scranton. It was thrilling. I was super defensive of any critics of the show. I stuck with them through Jim's move, the Connecticut branch closing and moving in with Scranton, Pam's stint in art school... the whole thing.

But now... I'm almost ashamed. I still have not seen the last few episodes of this season. After Jim and Pam's wedding, which was a great episode, I almost no longer cared. Everyone in the show is great, but I was fully invested in their relationship. After they were officially married, it's like everything I watched for had been realized. That wasn't a conscious decision. But I can't think of any other reason.

Maybe the show should end. This will be it's seventh season. That's a great life span for a sitcom. There's nothing worse than watching a once great show putter to a weak end. (Friends, Seinfeld... NBC, hello?)

But it's too late. The show is going on without Michael Scott. No disrespect to the ensemble cast. They're awesome. But it will be a very different show without Michael.

There was a very important balance of heart and stupidity, ego and emotion. This was a lesson they had to relearn on "Parks and Recreation" with Leslie Knope. She only started to work when she reacted with heart. Otherwise, the stupidity and ego feel too harsh or too dull. It works in England with Ricky Gervias. It doesn't work in America were sitcoms run for years and years.

Who can replace Carell? Dwight Schrute? Holly Flax? Somebody new? Whoever it is, they must be different and interesting enough to highlight the ensemble. I wish the best for Dunder Mifflin.

(Photo Credit: NBC)

Who Will Die on True Blood?

It's been circling for awhile now - Joe Manganiello, werewolf Alcide and series director Scott Winant have both confirmed there will be deaths this season on HBO's True Blood. Well, duh. This is a vampire soap on a pay cable network. There better be deaths. But we don't really know who.

Sure, we know who probably won't. Manganiello, for example, who recently signed on as a regular for True Blood's fourth season. According to the telling article on E!, it's not so much the amount of deaths, but the chosen characters that are shocking. So it's somebody important. Then who? Most of our favorites are simply required to stick around - Sookie, Bill, Eric, Sam, Jason... These guys are pretty safe. But thanks to the influx of new characters this season, we have a wide variety to choose from. Here are my thoughts on who it could be and why or why not.

1. The King
Why: Eric is hellbent on revenge for King Russell's wolves killing his family. Understandable.
Why Not: If Russell is murdered, there must be a steep penalty for the offender. And I'm not sure if Russell is really a "shocking" death.

2. Talbot
Why: He's in a stalled relationship that's lasted 700 years. He's tired of coming in second to the King's work. And supposedly, the King will be devestated by something...
Why Not: Talbot's had some of the series best lines this year. But again, not really the huge loss we've been teased with.

3. Lorena
Why: Because it's time. Lorena has wrecked havoc over Bill's life for long enough. Also, Lorena does meet an untimely end in Charlaine Harris's books (but we all know that doesn't always mean something for the series, thank you Lafayette). Since it appears Lorena will send Sookie to the ICU, it's just a matter of time. But how? Eric, perhaps?
Why Not: Lorena does provide a great enemy to pretty much everybody. Not sure another character could pull that off.

4. Tommy
Why: Might be easy if he's dog fighting or if Joe Lee loses it. It might give Sam's character major grief and guilt to deal with. And losing either Joe Lee or Melinda Mickens wouldn't be a huge loss. Tommy would be, sort of.
Why Not: Tommy's character while working at Merlotte's has been refreshing. He's great with Jessica and Lafayette. Not sure if he'd stick around til next season, but he's providing some fresh blood at the bar.

5. Franklin
Why: He's crazy. Tara will do just about anything to escape him. He's not dead yet, despite the mace-bashing. Unless he actually turns Tara, she's going to get away. Then what will he do? Besides, Franklin's become more popular once it was revealed just how insane he is. Losing him would hurt a little.
Why Not: He's too much fun. A great wild card in a world of somewhat predictable supes.

6. Pam
Why: This would upset me greatly. But it's very possible. Pam's life is in the hands of an angry Magister and Eric's been forced to take his time working with Russell. And this is a character worthy of the "shocking" death we've been promised. A heartbroken Eric may turn to Sookie for some comfort.
Why Not: Because Pam is awesome. There's a severe lack of female vamps and Pam's provided baby vampire Jessica with a role model of sorts. Did I mention Pam is awesome?

7. Tara
Why: Franklin's determined. It might be interesting if Tara is actually turned. It's a great tease - somebody dies and it's big. They could kill Tara without losing her.
Why Not: If Tara is successfully vamped, there will be one less human character on the show. Not sure we can afford the loss.

There are a number of other characters who probably will disappear one way or another (Coot, Deb, the Queen), but none of those would be a major issue. I guess we'll find out soon enough. We're already halfway through the season. Place your bets, folks.

(Photo Credit: HBO, Inc.)

2010 Emmy Nominations - Thoughts

The 2010 Emmy Nominations came out today and for once, there are some fresh faces in the categories. My quick thoughts:

Most excited about Chris Colfer and Mike O'Malley. Playing Kurt and Kurt's dad on Glee, they are my favorite characters. I mean, I do not like Wicked, but I'll listen to Kurt's version of Defying Gravity any day of the week. And I just have a soft spot for O'Malley. Not to belittle his performance. He plays the tough-guy, single dad of a gay kid really, really well. But Mike and I go way back, back to the days of d-d-d-do ya have it? Have you watched GUTS recently? It used to be on Nickelodeon's digital cable channel GAS, which is no longer in existance. But O'Malley's extreme energy is certainly worth some kind of award. Agro Crag, baby.

Also excited about True Blood sneaking into the Outstanding Drama Series category. The second season had some brilliant episodes. On a side note, it also got a Best Make-Up w/ Prosthetics nomination for the episode "Scratches."

And I am most certaintly thrilled about the multiple nominations for The Tonight Show with.... Conan O'Brien. That's right, folks. The jilted host makes a strong Emmy nominee while his replacement didn't even get a mention. Whether Conan will win or not is a tough call. He's in the same category as Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, both of whom have had really creative seasons. But who knows? Maybe the voters want to stick it to the networks and vote for the guy they kicked out.

My usual darling, The Office, had an off-year. However, it still snagged a nomination for show and for Steve Carell. Steve has yet to win and I don't think this is his year. He'll have to wait for next year, which if it will be his last, will let the voters give him the "last chance, why the hell not" win. The episode "Niagra" got a writing nod, which I think is fitting. I really enoyed that episode. Thought it was true to the characters, funny, and heartfelt. Awww.

Great to see all the Modern Family nominees. Hope they get some wins.

Did anybody see the Nonfiction series nominations? This is where you'll find The Deadliest Catch and Life. Also, America: The Story of Us. I'm sorry. I did not like that series. I watched it up until the last episode. It focused on strange facts and skimmed over imporant events... not a fan of the Michael Bay-ish visuals and commentary by random celebrities. I hope the Deadliest Catch wins every award it's nominated for.

I'm not commenting on Reality or Competition Series. Not worth it.

Emmy snubs? Hard for me to say. At the very least, Alexander Skarsgard deserved a nomination. Nelsan Ellis would have been nice, too. Maybe some more Community attention - Joel McHale, perhaps, and even Chevy Chase.

Emmy noms gone wrong? Look, I love Tony Shalhoub. Loved him in Wings, in Men in Black, and in Monk. But he wins every damn time. It's almost not fair at this point. Supporting Actress in a Comedy - Kristen Wiig... WHY??? I don't get why people think this woman is funny. She's not. She plays every character the same. Ana Gasteyer could show her thing or two.

That's about it. For the first time since I don't know when, I'm very excited to watch the Emmys (on Auguest 29th, NBC - oh, even sweeter if Conan wins). The great nominees will keep me entertainted since Jimmy Fallon probably won't.

PS - Betty White must win. The writing for that epsidoe of SNL should not, but Queen Betty must win. Do you hear me, people? Must win.

(Image Credit: NBC)