The Return of "Mad Men": Tonight's BT

The draught is over folks.  (Metaphorically and literally - it's raining like crazy, again, and this time I'm so over it.)  "Mad Men" returns tonight with its first new episode in 17 months.  This has been a weekend of absolutely excellent entertainment (more on that tomorrow) and I am fully expecting tonight's two-hour premiere to cap it all of nicely.

Need a little refresher course before the big event?  Click here for a character-by-character rundown of where we left off from The Daily Beast.

Tonight, 9 pm, AMC.  Will you be tuning in?

Penguin Cam / "Frozen Planet": Two New Best Things

image source: dsc.discovery.com

A couple weeks ago a coworker of mine - who is super awesome and knows me (and my love of animals) quite well - sent me a link to a Penguin Cam:  a live feed of the "Penguin Encounter" at Sea World San Diego.  I love it, and click over to it any time I need a momentary breather from whatever I'm working on.  There are two views to choose from:  Topside Penguin Cam and Underwater Penguin Cam.  I prefer Topside because of the sound feed - squeak!squak!socute! - and they are just so adorable waddling around!!...  But on the other hand, Underwater definitely has that calming/soothing aquarium effect.

To check it out for yourself click here:  http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/frozen-planet/penguin-cam/.  If you watch closely you might catch all five Antarctic species:  emporers, kings, Adelies, gentoos, and macaronis.

The Penguin Cam was set up to celebrate Discovery Channel's new series: "Frozen Planet" which began airing on Sunday evening with a 2-hour premiere.  I set the DVR but ended up watching it live and was enthralled (obviously).

The show takes place in the harshest climates on Earth, and the filmmakers do an excellent job of depicting what life is like for the species that live there.  Understandably, there are "predation" sequences - sometimes resulting in a kill, and sometimes not - which are difficult for me to watch no matter who is doing the hunting (I had a hard time watching the seal go after the penguin, but I had an even harder time watching the Orcas go after the seal).

Similar to "Planet Earth" (and from the same creators), "Frozen Planet" takes the viewer to places and scenes they would almost certainly never experience on their own.  The sheer logistics of "how did they get that shot" are astounding to me and I can't wait for "The Making of Frozen Planet" on April 8th.  And if you, like me, are really into behind-the-scenes stuff, check out this awesome Q&A from Entertainment Weekly with series producer Vanessa Berlowitz and director Chadden Hunter:  http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/03/17/frozen-planet-qa/.  An impressive statistic from the article:  During four years of production, the temperatures went as low as -58°F and the winds as high as 148 miles per hour. In total, the crew spent 2,356 days in the field, 840 hours trapped in blizzards, and 134 hours filming under the ice.

Holy wow.  I'm currently re-evaluating my "I need to go work on one of these series" mantra.  (Though if offered the chance I'd still jump on it in a heartbeat).

Take a look at these breathtaking stills from the show:

New episodes air Sundays at 8 pm on Discovery Channel.

Paley Fest: IMBT

I realize this is brand new *shocking* information to you, but I enjoy television and watch a lot of it.

(I know none of you are the judge-y type, but just in case, this is all I have to say.)

One of the best things about living in Los Angeles (if you love film & television) is the near constant access to panels, screenings, events, etc. having to do with entertainment.  The WGA (Writers Guild of America) hosts panels about, quite indubitably, writing - I went to one back in 2009 with the writers of one of my all-time favorite shows, "LOST", which was fascinating.  The TV Academy hosts panels - often leading up to Emmy season - about current television programming.  I've been to panels featuring the executive producers and casts of "Mad Men", "The Office", "Glee", and many others over the years.  Similarly, the AMPAS (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences - the same group that gives out the Oscars) hosts panels about all facets of filmmaking, particularly around Oscar time.  The individual guilds hosts panels as well - also back in 2009 I went to one hosted by MPSE (Motion Picture Sound Editors) about the Sound of STAR TREK.  To be honest, most of what was discussed went over my head, but J.J. Abrams was there which was pretty cool.

Mark P. Stoeckinger, left, J.J. Abrams and Maryann Brandon.

Photo by Mel Lambert|content-creators.com

If you just totally geeked out and want to read the some excerpts from the panel, you can actually do just that here.

ANYWAY, The Paley Center for Media (p.k.a. The Museum of Television and Radio) also hosts a series of panels over two weeks every spring - known as the Paley Fest - featuring mostly current hot shows and usually at least one "throwback" night (e.g. last year's "Undeclared"/"Freaks & Geeks" Reunion night).  As an attendee "you get to meet the casts and creators of your favorite shows, hear all the inside stories, and even participate in an itimate Q & A.  If you're a fan of these shows, or just are interested in how TV shows get from a writer's brain to your flat screen, you will enjoy these special evenings."  (Thanks KROQ)  I believe my first Paley Fest panel was the "Brothers and Sisters" one back in 2007 when it was still held at the DGA building.  Then "Gossip Girl" in 2008 at the Arclight, "True Blood" in 2009 at the Arclight, and "LOST" in 2010 (I was obsessed) at which point it had moved to the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills.

image source: fanpop.com

As ticket prices have gone up (almost all panel events in LA are free, with this noted exception), and I've moved further west (both home and office), it's been increasingly challenging to make it to the panels, especially on weeknights.  Fortunately for me (and YOU), the Paley Fest is streaming their panels live this year!!!  Not only can you watch all panels live for free, you can watch them in your pajamas while eating a bowl of mac and cheese!  (I am neither confirming nor denying that I've done such a thing.)  Additionally, if you really must insist on hitting the gym, a few of the panels will be posted on Hulu as well after 3/15.  Hooray!

image source: dailyactor.com

On Monday night I Livestreamed the "New Girl" panel.  As you may remember, I'm a big fan of the show and it was definitely interesting to hear them talk a little bit about the creative process.  They seem like they're all having a lot of fun working on the show, which in turn always makes the panels fun as well.  I had an event last night and wasn't able to catch the "Parks & Rec" panel, so I'm glad it's going up on Hulu (along with  Saturday's "Community" panel).  I've also set reminders in my calendar for next week's "Mad Men" and "Modern Family" panels.

Big props to the Paley Fest folks who made the decision to Livestream the panels.

Which ones will you be tuning in for?

REAL LIFE IS FOR MARCH

Last week both "30 Rock" and "Parks & Recreation" had special Leap Day episodes and tonight "Modern Family" will do the same.  Since when is Leap Day a thing?  I'm not complaining, it's cute, but besides for the disastrous Amy Adams barf-fest which taught me that "In Ireland, a woman can propose to a man on the 29th of February"* (which, side note, is an INCREDIBLY specific situation (especially if you don't already live in Ireland) and is also ridiculous and is ALSO detrimental to the entire Feminism movement), I don't think I've ever heard 2/29 referred to as "Leap Day" before.  So I repeat, since when is Leap Day a thing?  Has everyone always referred to it this way?

Either way, thank you to "30 Rock" for supplying the title of today's post.

In other news, I would also like to thank the documentary film UNDEFEATED for almost single-handedly helping me to win a total of $120 in two separate Oscar pools.  Almost everyone else I knew put down PARADISE LOST as the winner so this category really secured it for me.  I would also like to thank my "lucky" number 13 for helping me with the tie-breaker in one pool - we had to predict the running time of the telecast and I had it down to the exact minute (3 hours 13 minutes).  Woot!

Here are some photos of some of my favorite/best moments/things from the evening (images from LATimes.com):

Judd & Leslie - my favorite dress of the night

Zach & Will - perhaps the first presenters to enter/emerge from the orchestra pit?

Jim Rash/Dean Pelton impersonating Angelina

Rose & Melissa - continuing their drinking game from the Globes

Ben & Emma (my BFF) & Robert backstage

Esperanza & Gil - I loved her rendition of "What a Wonderful World"

Colin & Meryl - Oscar royalty

Jean & Uggie - I don't think it gets any more adorable than this

One final Oscar-related item before I can move on with my life:  This article about the connection between THE ARTIST Director Michel Hazanavicius and Producer Thomas Langman.  As a grandchild of four Holocaust survivors, this made me love the film even more (who knew that was possible?).  Thank you to my aunt for sending me the link.

And now, as we look forward to March, LET THE COUNTDOWNS BEGIN:

23 days 'til THE HUNGER GAMES!!!!!

image source: novelnovice.com

25 days 'til "Mad Men" returns!!!!!

image source: huffingtonpost.com

It's going to be a fun month, don't you agree?

The Puppy Bowl: OBVIOUSLY IMBT

GUYS.

The starting line-up was released today.  I haven't been able to get past the first picture:

This puppy's name is Aberdeen.  Aren't you just DYING of cute?  I love the fun facts for each puppy - Aberdeen's is that she's saving to buy a sailboat.

Whoever at Animal Planet came up with this inspired bit of counter-programming is a genius.  I will actually sit and watch the entire show from start to finish.  Did you know that all the puppies that play in the Puppy Bowl are available for adoption?  I'm sure the applications come pouring in right away.  And if puppies aren't your thing (really? who are you?) there's always the kitty half-time show, the chicken cheerleaders (they used to be bunnies - I wonder why they made that change?) and the hamster blimp pilots.  SO MUCH CUTE!

Wondering how it all comes together?  Check out this little behind-the-scenes video:  http://animal.discovery.com/videos/puppy-bowl-vii-behind-the-scenes/

I've been invited to what sounds like an EPIC Super Bowl party this year, but I'm considering not going because I'd rather stay home and watch the Puppy Bowl in my pajamas.  Decisions, decisions.  In the meantime, which is your favorite puppy?

IMBT: Really GOOD Commercials (Especially If They Have Dogs In Them)

In our house we almost NEVER watch live TV.  We watch lots and lots AND LOTS of recorded TV, but almost never at the time it actually airs.  This means we get to skip all the commercials and get through 3 hours of programming in about 2.5 hours.  Awesome!  But I have a secret:  I'm one of those rare people who actually enjoys watching commercials.  Not every commercial - because there are a lot of crappy ones out there - but definitely the really good ones.  What does "really good" mean?

A) The commercial features a dog or other really cute/funny animal doing something cute/funny.
B) The commercial references a movie or television show in an interesting/funny way.
C) The commercial features an awesome song (that I can sing or hum along to).

I realize that this is all, of course, completely subjective, but let me give you a few examples.

This post was inspired by this "game day teaser-commercial" (since when is that a thing?), which I saw yesterday when it was posted on FB by the American Humane Association:

What's great about it (besides for the dog dressed as the AT-AT at the end) is that it doesn't even mention Volkswagen until the very end, but you already know what it's for because it reminds you of this incredibly genius ad from last year:

I also happen to really love the commercials for the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas.  Here's the one that airs frequently (isn't the song great?), followed by a longer, much more expensive/difficult to produce version:

Here's another fave:

And how about this classic from the late 90's:

You just can't go wrong with horses and dalmatians.

What are some of your faves?  Let me know in the comments and maybe I'll do a follow-up post!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! It's EVRYONE'S best thing! (1/6 Edition)

First:  A huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! to my roomie Aaron (who will probably never read this).

Me & Aaron - probably at least 4 or 5 years ago

Second:  IT'S BAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!  America's favorite Guidos & Guidettes and the inspiration for this blog returned to TV last night.  Did you watch?  Did you catch these gems from PaulyD and The Situation?:

"I'm tanorexic!"
"I just have unbelievable genetics."

Truth be told, it wasn't the most exciting or interesting episode.  The most surprising part was that they picked up *right* where we left off with them departing from Italy and returning directly to the shore house.  No wonder the break seemed so short.  But frankly I'm getting tired of Mike starting fake drama - who gives a sh*t at this point whether or not he hooked up with Snooki?  Let's move on please.  I just hope Vinny doesn't leave for good - the show just won't be the same!

image source: mtv.com

Third:  Has anyone out there been watching the HBO* Sports Documentary Series "24/7Road to the Winter Classic"?  The last of four episodes aired last night and I just want to say how much I enjoyed it.  The series follows the two teams who have been selected to play in the NHL Winter Classic - an outdoor hockey game played on New Year's Day (or in this year's case, the day after) - in the weeks leading up to it.

image source: projects.accessatlanta.com

Boyfriend first got me into the show last year (in it's first season) when it featured the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals.  As you know, he's a huge Pens fan and was understandably very excited for both the show and the Winter Classic.  I didn't expect to like it, but the storytelling - both the stories themselves and the "how on earth did they get those shots??" moments (I'm referring primarily to camera, but also to hockey) - just sucked me in.  Since Boyfriend had managed to get tickets to the Winter Classic (being played at the Steelers' stadium in Pittsburgh), and since I was driving down from Cleveland to go with him, I was extra invested.

This year featured the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers - two teams I knew NOTHING about, but now can name at least 5-10 of the players & coaches off the top of my head.  Once again I was sucked in by the superb storytelling, only this time I didn't have any biases going in.

image source: tonightshealthyscratches.com

My favorite moment over the four episodes was probably when my new crush, Rangers Center Brian Boyle, dressed up as Buddy the Elf (see left) for the Rangers Christmas party.  They used the soundbite of him yelling out "SANTAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!  I KNOW HIM!!!" at least twice, which made me very happy (I love that movie so much).  The show also followed him to his family's Christmas dinner where we met his TWELVE siblings!!  And then of course my least favorite moment was when they showed him making out with his date(? hopefully not girlfriend?) on NYE.  Vom.

I'm dying to know what they shoot on, as it looks f*cking amazing.  The interviews in particular are lit SO WELL - huge props to the DP and camera teams on this show.  I'm also dying to know how many crews there are and how the producers map out when to shoot and who to follow.

By the way, I'm not the only one who finds the show fascinating.  Check out this write-up in the New York Times, this write-up on ESPN.com, and this write-up on NHL.com (who I guess kind of have to like it, but whatever).  The bottom line, as ESPN puts it, "For a fan of the game at any level, the HBO experience gives us the game shot through a completely different prism.  At its best, the HBO series continues to tell us hockey stories in terrifically unique ways and show us things that even those of us intimately involved in the game don’t see."

If you missed the series and want to see what all the fuss is about, sign on to HBOGo - there are a few short, promo-y videos and the full Episode 1.  The rest of the episodes will undoubtedly be added soon.  Trust me, you won't regret it.

*An an employee of HBO I am required to say: These are my own views and they donʼt necessarily reflect the views of HBO.

Last:  I leave you with this incredible selection of photographs - hopefully it will put a smile on your face as we break for our first weekend of 2012.  My favorite is below.

Happy Friday Y'all!!

Sharing LSHWCMs With You: IMBT

image credit: au.tv.yahoo.com

 Last night, while watching HIMYM ("How I Met Your Mother") with my roommates, we had a LSHWCM (laughing so hard we cried moment).  Not because the show was particularly funny - in fact it was actually a pretty emotional moment - but because I made a comment and Ted (Josh Radnor's character) seemed to reply back to me directly.  To help me explain here is a clip from the show:

http://www.cbs.com/shows/how_i_met_your_mother/video/2173790401/how-i-met-your-mother-cheering-robin-up

At precisely 2:19 I exclaimed, "THAT IS AMAZING!"

And at precisely 2:21 Ted says, "Yes, it is."

We died.

---

image credit: nbc.com

On Sunday evening, while watching SNL ("Saturday Night Live") with my roommates (yes, we record it and watch it at a later time if we're not home for it Saturday night), I had another LSHWCM.  Most of my favorite recurring characters show up during Weekend Update - Stefon, Garth & Kat (who inspired another LSHWCM with my roommate and her sister attempting to improvise a song in unison once), etc. - so it's no surprise that I will now be adding Drunk Uncle to that list:

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-drunk-uncle/1371747

"You can't even say 'Merry Christmas' anymore!  You gotta say, 'Hey, Baby Jesus, you wanna do Pilates?"

I died.

---

Have you had any LSHWCMs this week?

"New Girl": IMBT

How hilarious was last night's episode of "New Girl"?

I didn't even realize how much I missed it until we turned it on.  I realize it has haters (doesn't everything though?) and that a lot of people find it annoying, but I really don't.  I think it's delightful and adorable.

Two reasons I find it so endearing: A) The way Jess likes to sing everything reminds me so much of one of my male roommates who likes to sing everything all the time and B) It makes my female roommate crack up, and her laugh is totally contagious so I always crack up as well.  I don't mean just a chuckle or light laugh, I mean wiping-away-tears-and-having-to-rewind-so-you-don't-miss-the-next-joke laughing so hard.  I think the way they push jokes to their perfect limit - prime example: Nick getting Jess to properly say "penis" - really helps.

Highlights from last night's ep include:

• Jess' suggestion to watch FAME or AN AMERICAN TALE ("It's about a little Jewish mouse, with a big heart...") instead of the scary movie the boys put on.
• Jess' description of Nick's belly as "The little pooch where you keep your extra cookies."
• Lake Bell as the mystifying Amanda and Nick's out-loud exclamation of shock that she went for him.
• The aforementioned penis pronunciation scene.
• Schmidt's latest idiosyncratic need to see Nick's penis so as not to be the only one who hasn't.

I'm hoping the news of the show's dip in ratings doesn't really mean anything.  Fox doesn't think so, though they kind of have to say that.  But I have a feeling, in this case, they're right.  Unfortunately I don't have a clip from last night to share, but here's the pilot promo for any of you who haven't seen it and would like a a taste (you can catch up on Hulu as well):

PS.  Totally am going to start a Slow Chicken Dance at the next wedding I attend.  Who's with me?

Graduating from "Best Thing" to "Best Day of My Life"

image source: mtv.com

On last night's episode of "Jersey Shore," the boys went to Sicily to meet Vinny's Italian famiglia.  Vinny's uncle's brother's father's nephew's brothers dug up some old family photos which featured a 13 year-old Vinny who, by the way, LOOKED EXACTLY THE SAME.  This delighted Pauly D so much that he took a picture OF the picture with his digital camera and declared:

"This is the best day of my life right now, in this camera."

Pure gold.

The Return of the Bluths!

If you haven't already heard, "Arrested Development" will be coming back to TV with 10 episodes in addition to the highly anticipated feature film that has been in the works for a couple years.

image source: Huffington Post

YAYYYYYYYY!!!  I loved this show when it was on the air: the next-time-ons which had absolutely nothing to do with the next episode, Gob's illusions, Maeby and George-Michael's creepy cousin romance, Tobias' neuroses (see below), I could go on an on. 

image source: stripersonline

I just really hope they bring back the stairs truck - I once got to "drive it" (sit in it and pretend) on the Fox lot - it was a little stinky, but so fun!  I have a picture of that somewhere, but I'll have to dig it up later...  Anyway, if you're STILL not excited (which I find hard to believe), check out this hilarious blooper reel (language NSFW) which should get you back into a silly Bluth-loving mood:

Dinosaurs + Time Travel = "Terra Nova" = My Best New Drama [hopefully]

Two of my all-time favorite movies are BACK TO THE FUTURE ("My density has brought me to you.", "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.", "If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits eighty-eight miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious shit.") and JURASSIC PARK ("John. If the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists.", "God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs...   Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth...").

So you can only imagine my excitement when I first read about "Terra Nova", the new Fox superdrama (yes, I just made that word up) premiering tonight (at 8 pm!) (finally!) about a family who travels back in time to the Mesozoic era to save the world. Guess what lived in the Mesozoic era?  DINOSAURS.  (Though, fun fact, apparently not enough - I read the show is borrowing from other eras as well.)  Steven Spielberg is Exec Producing, Jack Horner is advising, the couple reviews I've read have been mostly positive, and the trailer is just awesome (though I have to admit, it does feel a lot more JP than BTTF).

Check out the show's official site HERE
Watch the trailer here:

Hold on to your butts!

Winning Emmys: It's My [Place of Work's] Best Thing

I work for HBO.  I love my job, and I'm not just saying that because this is a public forum - I really do.  There are so many great things about it, the most important being that I'm part of the behind-the-scenes team, which is what I moved here for!  Also at the top of the list is seeing the shows we work so hard on get recognized during awards season.  Of course the Crème de la Crème in the television world is the Emmy, the award given by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.  Because the main show is televised and can only be so long, many of the prime time awards are given out a week prior at a separate ceremony called the Creative Arts Awards.  This year HBO won a total of 19 awards, more than any other network.  This is the 10th consecutive year HBO has been able to make that claim.

In past years, shows I've worked on directly have taken home most of the HBO statues (i.e. TEMPLE GRANDIN, GREY GARDENS, YOU DON'T KNOW JACK, etc.), but this year my colleagues got the glory.  So congrats to everyone who worked on...

"Boardwalk Empire" (8 wins)

Photo credit: popsugar.com

Click here for a brief, but interesting interview with Martin Scorsese (who is so much one of My Best Things that I've wished for years he would adopt me as a niece and I would call him Uncle Marty and we would make amazing pictures together).

















MILDRED PIERCE (5 wins)

A Getty Images photo from socialitelife.com

Lesbihonest, isn't Guy Pearce just generally amazeballs?  I mean MEMENTO?  L.A. CONFIDENTIAL?  PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT?  Some of my all-time favorite movies!!


















"Game of Thrones" (2 wins)

Photo credit: Getty Images

In case anyone is wondering, the other win for GOT was for Outstanding Title Design.  And if you don't know what that means, just watch this.  (And this.  And this.  Though the award is for the design, not the music.)

















Other HBO winners included CINEMA VERITE (which I did work on directly - woot!), "Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour", GASLAND, and "A Child's Garden of Poetry".

And just for fun here's a few pictures of me and my coworkers at the HBO After-Party:

Damn, we are good-looking.  And now, back to work on the shows you'll hopefully see win lots more awards at next year's Emmys!

Cookie Monster Cake: "me don't want to touch, me want to eat."

Last night I got together with some friends to watch the VMAs, and someone brought THIS:

I mean, does it get any better than a cake, covered in icing, with cookies sticking out of it?!

It turned our lips/tongues/teeth bright blue, which was HYSTERICAL (but lesbihonest, after 3 glasses of champagne almost anything is hysterical).  In the end we only really ate the "face" so I brought the leftovers in to work today.  I can't wait to see who of my coworkers will be walking around with blue lips!


PS. that is a legit Cookie Monster quote in the title of this post.  It is from "Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art" (1983).  The full quote:
[Cookie Monster sees a painting of fruit]
Cookie Monster: Me eat picture!
Bob: No, no, no, Cookie Monster. You can't touch the picture.
Cookie Monster: No, me don't want to touch, me want to eat.
Bob: No, you can't, nooooo!
Cookie Monster: Let me eat frame.
Bob: The sign, Cookie Monster, look at the sign.
[sees a sign that forbids eating pictures]
Cookie Monster: Please don't eat the pictures. Aw, this going to be long night.

I <3 Cookie Monster.  Sesame Street was totally one of My Best Things during childhood and I hope it's around forever!