Trachtenberg Joins ‘Gossip Girl’
Posted on March 20, 2008
Michael Ausiello has reported that Buffy star Michelle Trachtenberg, who played the Slayer’s little sister, is set to play Georgina Sparks — described as a troublemaker and scheme queen from Serena’s past – in the freshman series Gossip Girl. Mischa Barton was initially rumoured to have been approached for the role.
This follows the news that Britney Spears will guest-star in How I Met Your Mother as Abby, the receptionist at Ted’s dermatologist. In fact, I believe that’ll air next week. Sarah Chalke of Scrubs is the dermatologist.
Hannigan for ‘Buffy’ Reunion at PaleyFest
Posted on February 23, 2008
According to the Paley Center website, How I Met Your Mother star Alyson Hannigan, who played witch Willow Rosenberg in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is the latest person set to reunite with her old cast members at the PaleyFest Buffy reunion on March 20.
This follows the news that Sarah Michelle Gellar (the titular lead Buffy Summers) and Charisma Carpenter (once-snobby cheerleader Cordelia Chase) have also booked their places at the event, while sources are saying that David Boreanaz, who portrayed vampire Angel, will film a special message to the fans to make up for his absence due to family commitments.
Panelists already confirmed to be showing up are Amber Benson, Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield, Eliza Dushku, Seth Green, James Marsters, Michelle Trachtenberg, and the mastermind behind it all, Joss Whedon. Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran for seven seasons before it ended in 2003, consisting of a total of 144 episodes, and spawned an Angel spin-off that lasted five years.
Other shows making an appearance at the annual festival, which runs for two weeks from March 14 to March 27 at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, include freshmen series Chuck, Dirty Sexy Money, Gossip Girl, Mad Men, and Pushing Daisies, as well as struggling NBC drama Friday Night Lights.
The Aftermath: Your Comments
Posted on February 9, 2008
Because the countdown attracted a small amount of interest, I see no harm in showing some of the reader questions and comments I received (primarily from responses to entries in my personal blog).
It looks like you know what you’re talking about in regards to the telly. I wish I had enough spare time and patience. – Scott
Patience is a fickle thing. I mean, I endured the whole seventh season of Gilmore Girls (and was rewarded with a couple of diamonds in the rough), but couldn’t last more than a few episodes of Bionic Woman. Most of the time, though, it’s not really patience. It’s more that I enjoy what I’m watching, getting past the fact that there will inevitably be bad episodes from time to time.
I love Gilmore Girls. Great show, not to mention Alexis Bledel is smokin’. Smallville has lost some of its thunder, but it’s still hot, especially the new season like Clark and Lana making the world shake [during sex]. – Vincent
By now, you know where I stand on Gilmore Girls, so I’ll move onto Smallville. Being honest, I’ve not been impressed with its latest season. Season 6 was pretty solid overall with the introduction of the Green Arrow (and having Lex finally showing signs of going into the dark side), as well as some great episodes in “Reunion”, “Justice”, and “Freak”, but now it feels like the writers are running out of ideas. All of a sudden, we have a gazillion Kryptonians, and I still think Lana’s outstaying her welcome with no importance other than to delay Clark’s step to becoming Superman. I don’t find it at all surprising to see that the show has hit series low ratings this time, either. Each to his own, though. It’s great to see that you’re still enjoying it.
(Re: #13 – All Hell Breaks Loose, Part I) How great to have Supernatural come in at lucky thirteen! So well deserved, of course. I’d have picked “In My Time of Dying”, “What Is and What Should Never Be”, and “All Hell Breaks Loose, Part II” amongst my favourite episodes, but in reality, all of them are great. Yes, Jensen Ackles is phenomenal [when Sam dies], but you ain’t seen nothing if you haven’t seen the rest of his amazing performances as Dean Winchester. This truly is the role he was meant to play, and he finally has the writing support to showcase what an amazing actor he is.
The beauty of this show is how every episode gives us action, drama, horror, and great brotherly insights, and then every so often, they throw in these deeply moving, very emotional angst moments that take your breath away and reveal even more about the Winchesters. Jensen and Jared [Padalecki] are mesmerizing, accomplished actors, and the writers of Supernatural give them the material to consistently knock it out of the ballpark. Supernatural is the best show on TV, and everyone needs to tune in and see what they’ve been missing. – bjxmas
This is what I mean when I say Supernatural has some of the most devoted, passionate, and crazy fans I’ve ever seen (this isn’t a dig – I’m rather jealous, because there isn’t a show that I’m just as fond as you are for Supernatural). You’ve summed up the show surprisingly well, though, behind all the gushing praise (whether it’s deserved or not, that’s up for debate…I’ll shut up now before I get shot). It excels in a lot of areas, and is genuinely creepy at times. Sure, the dialogue is occasionally clunky and Jared Padalecki’s acting is a little weak at times (…and I think I’ve signed my death warrant), but that’s not enough to keep me from looking forward to each episode every week. I totally agree that the writers do an excellent job at continuing to make the brotherly bond really genuine and heartfelt. “A Very Supernatural Christmas” is the perfect example.
For the record, “In My Time of Dying” is a 2006 episode. If it were a 2007, I’m sure it’d make my top ten. Speaking of my top ten, you must be delighted that “What Is and What Should Never Be” ended up with such a lofty position, and even more so that I’ve credited Jensen Ackles so much in that particular commentary that I’m starting to sound like you.
(Re: #16 – My Musical) “Lack of depth, emotion, and storytelling”… WTF? Every episode is built on all three? Am I misunderstood? – themovi3nut
Now, there’s two ways of interpreting your question. I’ll assume you’re sane and pretend you asked, “wait, are you being silly and stating that each Scrubs episode is built on depth, emotion, and storytelling?” I was merely comparing Scrubs’ musical with Buffy’s. Scrubs is a comedy through and through, so one wouldn’t expect it to produce a musical anywhere near on the same level as “Once More, with Feeling”. But like I said, “My Musical” isn’t meant to be compared to it – dare I say, the pinnacle of one of the greatest series ever (that’s right, not “Becoming, Part II” or “The Body”!) – and I did compliment it a huge amount by providing excellent mindless fun and entertainment. If you had asked, “but wait, isn’t each Scrubs episode built on depth, emotion, and storytelling?” we’d be here all day as I have the inability to stop ranting.
Pushing Daisies is a great show and that episode was indeed worthy of a mention, but I am surprised not a single House episode made your list. I am particularly referring to the one with “Big Love” getting Cuddy’s panties. Great list, though. I definitely enjoyed reading through it. – Jon
Thanks for the compliment. I agree that “You Don’t Want to Know” (the House episode you were referring to) was particularly strong, but along with “Half-Wit”, “Act Your Age” (I’m a sucker for House-Wilson interactions), and “Alone”, they missed the cut. However, did you know that “Three Stories” topped my 2005 list?
It’s funny that Dexter is #1, because that’s the one show I didn’t recognise at first, but then I realised [the first season] doesn’t premiere until later [this month in the US]. – Tyler
You need cable! Showtime’s where Dexter’s at, unless we’re talking about the show’s terrestrial debut on CBS (which will undoubtedly be inferior with all the editing and cutting due to swearing and nudity). So yeah, you need cable, because I’m confident that the original, uncensored episodes will remain far, far superior.
(Re: #3 – Through the Looking Glass) That episode of Lost really was unbelievable. I bet the person in the casket is Charlie, but that would be kind of predictable. – Tish
Actually, I’d say the person in the casket would be boring, and the option not many people would be expecting because of that reason. Having seen the first two episodes of the fourth season, I’m willing to bet reasonable money that the deceased is someone amongst the “Oceanic Six”. Maybe he/she was driven to suicide because of the guilt at leaving “them” behind on the island – the very same guilt that has made Jack suicidal? As for “them”, I’m confident its Abbadon’s recruits (the four parachutists).
(Re: Top Ten) Well, since I don’t watch “TV” (I’m a kid at heart and watch Cartoon Network, The Simpsons, Family Guy, George Lopez, and anything else that looks interesting), I might as well comment with something interesting like: Two of these episode titles are by Guns ‘N Roses and Led Zeppelin respectively. But in all seriousness, Dexter sounds like a thrilling show. - Eddy
To anyone not in the know, Eddy’s referring to “Welcome to the Jungle” (Guns ‘N Roses) and “What Is and What Should Never Be” (Led Zeppelin). “Wishin’ and Hopin’” is a Dusty Springfield song, too, I believe. And yes, Dexter is awesome.
(Re: #5 – Company Man) Good choice on the Heroes episode. It wasn’t my favourite from the whole season, but a tense and exciting episode nonetheless. – Paul
My main beef with Heroes – even though it’s a great show on the whole – is that it’s split up into so many initially unrelated sub-plots. What I neglected to say in my commentary for “Company Man” was that another reason why I loved it so much was because it spent the entire duration on one storyline. The attention the Bennets received really showed. That’s not to say the other episodes are bad and lacking depth – that’s certainly not the case – but there’s a real difference. Also, if there’s a sub-plot that you’re generally not interested in (e.g. Hiro searching for the sword; Simone in general), that’s obviously going to negatively impact your impression of the episode, depending on how much screentime and how little advancement these stories get within that timeframe. Of course, the advantage of having many of these sub-plots running beside each other is that storylines tend to progress faster (unless they’re filler).
On the other side of the coin is Lost. That particular show has undergone a lot of criticism in the past for not progressing the story fast enough or not answering enough questions. As I’m sure you’ll know even if you don’t watch the show, each character tends to get an episode to themselves before the spotlight moves onto the next the following week. Quite the opposite of what Heroes does, but the key to why Lost beats it in character development. To summarise? Both storytelling techniques have their strengths and weaknesses.
(Re: Top Ten) I liked the third episode a little bit more than the first for Pushing Daisies myself, but I picked the pilot for my [own top ten list of 2007 episodes], because I thought it was an original concept, and it was a more refreshing experience, since it was the first episode. “Wishin’ and Hopin’” was a great episode of Grey’s Anatomy, and “Company Man” from Heroes came so close to making my top ten as well. As for #3 and #1, you know I loved those. I just realised that my #1 was third on your list, and my #3 was first. That’s pretty cool! – Anthony
Just in case any of you were curious, his #2 was 24’s 9–10AM hour (at #11 on my list), #4 was Heroes’ “Landslide”, #5 was “Rosemary’s Baby” of 30 Rock, #6 and #7 were “The Deposition” and “Local Ad” respectively from The Office, #8 was Prison Break’s “Sweet Caroline”, #9 was “Crash Into Me, Part I” from Grey’s (my #25), and #10 was Pushing Daisies’ pilot, “Pie-lette”.
A man after my own heart, it seems.