TV Round Up: 30 Rock, The Office, Fringe, and Undercovers

Hello patient readers! I'm going to try to start a better posting schedule so I can refresh my brain and organize my thoughts better. Of course, this is not the best week for me to be starting, but we shall see how it passes!

Out of schedule, I would like to share a few little snippit thoughts on some shows this week. This Thursday in particular was amazing for me as a viewer.

30 Rock, The Office, and Fringe were my far my favorites. Those episodes are some of my favorite of the entire series of the shows thus far.

30 Rock because I am a sucker for politics and I loved Queen Latifah's Representative Regina Bookman. I hope she comes back. The race dialogue in the show was especially interesting as I just finished reading Watching Race by Herman Gray that dissects presentations of blackness in television in the 1980's and early 90's, including the role of exceptionalism (Twofer) that is explored in the episode.

The Office was just pitch perfect for me. I'm one to still have high regard for the show since Jim and Pam got together. I think the writing is still superb week-to-week, even if my fan enthusiasm has waned, but this week just filled me with joy. Seeing Andy sing, the unrequited aspect of his feelings for Erin, seeing Jim and Pam grow up, Michael's silly shenanigans, Darryl. It all just worked so perfectly. I laughed, I ached, I did all the things that needs to be done. It probably comes down to seeing Andy in Sweeney Todd.

And Fringe. Playing with the new alt!world is allowing the show to grow more than it would have normally. Watching Olivia try to retain her old memories and getting to know the alt!world is more memorizing than I expected. It's like seeing another side to the characters you know and love.

As far as least favorite, Undercovers was underwhelming for me this week. I am a fan of the lightheartedness of the show, and the spy genre in general, but this week was flatter than the other two. I'll keep on it because I still find the show charming and cute, nothing serious to wrap my brain around, but I am finding their trope a little trite and I don't know how long I can keep it up if every episode is the same. Let's see some development! Just a little? It doesn't have to be a super serious spy show to have some substance.

These are not the only shows I watch, but I just felt so much love for these episodes I had to share.

{Photos from FOX and NBC}

In defense of: The Jonas Brothers

I've been sitting on this post for a while (it's been sitting in my drafts for a couple weeks) and this topic has been running in my head for quite a bit longer than that. I figure since I haven't posted in a while, I figure I will just throw caution to the wind.

The first in my "In Defense Of" series, I will try to explain my undeniable love for, of all things,The Jonas Brothers and most things they touch.

I hate the term "guilty pleasure", because as the wise John Mayer once said "I don't believe in guilty pleasures, I believe in pleasure". He might be talking about prostitutes, I'm not sure. The point stands that if you like it, you shouldn't feel pressured to feel like you shouldn't. If that makes sense.

This is my relationship with the JoBros since I'm a little bit older than their normal demographic, and, I hate to use this phrase, but cool (because I don't really know what cool is - but most of my music is described as indie, another term I hate to use, but describes what I need for now). I've never seen an episode (or even a clip) of Jersey Shore, I don't have the taste for trashy reality tv. It doesn't make me feel better about myself (as my friends and reviewers have mentioned for watching such entertainment).

But I do have an affinity for saccharine sweet, hooky pop music at the right time. Summer is usually my peak of such notes, this one is no exception. Yes, they're a little bit hokey, but that's part of the fun. And I like to think they don't take themselves seriously.

This would't really be a problem if I didn't have so many opinions about these boys and their endeavors that I have no one to share with. But I think it's easier for me to deal with this group in particular (I also enjoy the occasional country-pop no-longer teen, but don't have the same fondness for her character - and constantly pick at the grammar and structure of her songs) because I feel they do all this with a little wink the to side. Sometimes I will listen to a song and burst out laughing (often...). I feel I'm laughing with them and not at them, but who knows. My delusions save my feelings of guilt from becoming too powerful. Maybe I think they're more self-aware of themselves than they are, or maybe not.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to prove with typing this out, this has just been something on my mind often. How I do have reasons for enjoying music aimed at audiences half my age; it's hooky, they write their own music, they haven't folded their personal values (as far as we know), they're hilarious, adorable and growing more and more attractive (thank goodness they have left behind the long-straighten-their-hair days), and have better style than most kids. They strike me as genuine, which is hard-to-come by in this fast-paced, self-edited world we live in.

I will probably never see them live as much as I find them to be great entertainers and would love to see it, something about the price and the thousands of screaming tweenage girls repels me, but they make me happy and I shouldn't feel guilty of that.