Insert Foot in Mouth (Top TV of the Decade)

I'm really hypocritical. Remember my last HuffPo article where I begged for no more "Top Ten of the Decade" Lists? Or the post just before this one, in which I practically said outright I was done blogging for 2009, and that I intended on ridiculing all this "TV as Art" crap?

The thing is, everyone is writing their Top Ten of TV Shows of the Decade lists and while I agree with many, I figure I should get my own chance to throw out a few selections. So, with what little authority I have, I'm sharing mine. I do plan on writing a post that completely makes fun of this desire to whittle things down to the TEN BEST OF THE DECADE! but until then, I'm just gonna keep my foot in my mouth, and share my list. Anyway, what other TV blogger is proclaiming The Hills as one of the best shows to come out of the aughts?

First, a disclaimer: there are many shows that I know are brilliant and amazing but that I have never watched, and while I know some of these shows (like The Wire) are deserving of a place on my list, I simply can't include them (yes, it's outrageous I haven't watched The Wire, and I plan to - it's on my Netflix queue). This is a biased list - however I'm approaching it by looking at shows I feel have changed the game or defied expectations. These are the shows that continue to resonate with me; the shows I would tell anyone I think are the best of the past ten years.

Without further ado, and in no particular order...

Arrested Development (2003-2006)
I'm not sure there is any other comedy show I quote as frequently as I quote Arrested Development. Years after its end, the show is still relevant, still funny, and still genius. I'm not sure any other comedy has even come close to this show in terms of consistently bringing the funny in a smart and clever way. What's interesting to me is that I don't even think any other comedy has tried to copy the style of Arrested Development - it's a standalone masterpiece, almost as though everyone knows there's no chance of matching its perfection.

Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)
I loved this show because it wasn't about science fiction. Sure, it's title all but screams sci-fi, but the show itself wasn't. BSG was about ethics, morals, religion, politics, relationships - all the social, economic and political issues we debate on a global scale every day. And what other show invented a new swear word or inspired panel discussions at the United Nations (please note I did not research if, in fact, other shows have been presented at the UN, so I could be wrong, but for the sake of my very-biased Top Ten list, go with me on this)? Holy frak this show was phenomenal.

Bones (2005-present)
I do not like procedurals. I am not one of those people who can watch hours upon hours of Law & Order or CSI, and so it was with some reluctance that I started watching Bones early last year, and really only because Entertainment Weekly was always writing about it, so I figured I'd see what all the fuss was about. I watched the pilot, and then I watched a few random episodes from the first two seasons. Then I realized I was hooked, bought all the seasons on DVD, caught up to the current season and joined the rabid fanbase for this "little engine that could" kind of show (I say that in the sense that Bones is not a show that's popularly debated over office water coolers and I doubt it's showing up on any other TV critic lists - it's overwhelmingly underrated, in my opinion, and yet is a show that's now hitting a new stride in its fifth season). Bones is not a procedural, at least not in my mind. It is a character drama that tackles very heavy issues through crime-solving. It is also rife with comedy. The stories and characters are compelling, and the two leads have so much chemistry I could probably watch them driving in a car for an hour and still be entertained.

Firefly (2002-2003)
Nathan Fillion is about half of the reason I love this show. His Captain Mal Reynolds, the cavalier leader of an odd collective of (and how to write this without making the show sound insane, but also convey the story...) cowboys in space, a spiritual leader, a concubine, and the two outlaws they're harboring; is the sort of character I want to hang out with. Interestingly, this show was the first Joss Whedon show I ever watched, and at the time I had no idea who Joss Whedon really was in the grand, significant TV-changing landscape, academic sense of things. I hadn't watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer (don't worry, I have since then), so Firefly was my intro to the Whedonverse. This is another show that's so much more than it seems - more than science-fiction certainly (and it even features a pre-High School Musical Zac Efron as a young Simon Tam). In fact, I don't think I can accurately convey why this show belongs on my Top Ten list beyond Nathan Fillion as half the reason (he's really great). It's only one season, sadly, but it's one season of fantastic entertainment.

Friday Night Lights (2006 - present)
If someone were to ask me to name the best show on TV, I'd answer, without thinking, Friday Night Lights. This is not a show about football, or Texas, or race, or families, or relationships - it is a show about all these things, and so much more. FNL is a show about people. This is a show grounded in reality, tackling issues anyone can understand and relate to, issues that many of us often face. The beauty of FNL is that it resonates with everyone. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, this show embraces the themes and challenges of our lives, in a seamlessly authentic manner. When I watch FNL I am reminded of my mother, my upbringing, my friends, my family, how lucky I am - how lucky we all are. FNL is humbling in its storytelling and its message, and is a cinematic masterpiece that invades your living room once a week, but stays in your mind for long after.

The Hills (2006-present)
I have tagged 34 entries (not including this one) of my blog with "The Hills." I have written about my deep love/hate relationship with this show over lengthy diatribes, or two sentence rants. I have obsessed over The Hills and my own fascination with it so much that I've given myself headaches. I can credit my various commentaries on The Hills as the reason I now blog for the Huffington Post (seriously - it was a Hills post that got me noticed over there). To be honest, I no longer watch the show, or at least I haven't consistently since somewhere during the middle of the third season, and I certainly wouldn't put this in the same realm as Friday Night Lights (how ironic that in this list, it directly follows FNL), but the reason The Hills is one of the Top Ten Best TV Shows of the Decade is that it's a total game changer. I suppose I ought to credit Laguna Beach as the ultimate game-changer in this area, however, it wasn't until The Hills came along that scripted-reality really flourished. The Hills is brilliant in that it infiltrated popular culture on such a grand scale - redefining fame and reality television, spawning fashion lines, online games, new forms of social media interaction and TV viewing, and its own spinoff. This show is so often overlooked because in some ways, it's pure crap - but I can't deny its genius, and thus it is well-deserving of a spot on this list.

Lost (2004-present)
If there's any no-brainer item here, it's Lost. In fact, I don't know that I have as much to write about this show, beyond that it's an obvious example of purely great television. It's consistently changed, evolved, and maintained intrigue - embracing a clever storytelling conceit with the flashback, and then the flashforward, in a way that was not at all contrived or unnecessary. Lost has accomplished the difficult, sometimes the near-impossible as it resolves plotlines while creating new stories. I have no doubt that as the show enters its final season in 2010, its mark on the past decade of television will linger on for years to come, but I have a feeling no show will ever hit that mark quite as well.

The Office (2005-present) and 30 Rock (2006-present)
I totally cheated by listing these two shows together, but I often think of them together as two comedies that stand as prime examples of reinventing the wheel. I suppose I should credit the original British version of The Office, however the American version, with its ups and downs, and occasional off-episodes, is at its core, so simple in idea, and so brilliant in execution that it's far outlived it's British derivative. 30 Rock is of the same mindset - a simple plot that finds outlandish humor in what we might often deem to be the mundane or irrelevant. While these two shows take place in two very different worlds, the humor is perfect, and mostly thanks to the hilarious characters (and the actors that play them, and writers that write them). We've each got a bit of Michael Scott or Liz Lemon inside, and thanks to The Office and 30 Rock, it's a little easier to laugh at ourselves.

Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)
To be honest, I am fairly shocked this show hasn't popped up on more critics' lists. Pushing Daisies was a whimsical dream of a show - almost as though Tim Burton, Salvador Dali, and whoever it was that did the movie Amelie sat down in a room together and decided to make a TV show about crime-solving and forbidden love set in an idyllic dreamworld (side note: I'd love to watch Pushing Daisies in 3D). It's a shame this show was canceled when it was, but I am glad that it received honors through the Paley Center and a few Emmy nominations. Pushing Daisies was a show unlike any other, and if this was the decade that TV became art, I don't know that there is any other show more indicative of that.

The West Wing (1999-2006)
When I used to watch The West Wing I remember telling my friends I felt INVOLVED. How ironic - that spending hours upon hours watching a fake president and fake White House staffers embroiled in fake (albeit, real-ish) political issues, I felt as though I was doing something significant along the lines of civic duty. Or something. The thing is, The West Wing made politics approachable in a way that hadn't really been done before. The characters were certainly fascinating, and for a while there I pretended Bartlet was in fact the current U.S. president. The West Wing effectively created a political world I wanted to live in, and beyond Aaron Sorkin's genius dialogue (seriously, how does that man do it?), at its core, this was just a damn good television show.

Honorable Mention goes to Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog (2008), for revolutionizing digital media and original online content, as well as for completely redefining the musical comedy genre. Hell, this show redefined television entirely.

Well, there you have it. Agree? Disagree? Think I'm insane for not having watched The Wire yet? Pissed that I forgot anything obvious? Feel free to weigh-in with a comment below.

That's So Maine

I'm on vacation. Could you tell?

I'm currently in Maine, enjoying a life without cable TV, or at the moment, hot water (seriously). It's really nice to get out of the LA bubble, and even nicer to be back in a small town, get down to your roots and whatnot.

You read that correctly, by the way - I do not have cable TV or hot water.

Fortunately the plumber is coming this afternoon to deal with the hot water issue, which is a good thing. Last night I attempted to take a cold shower, which really just felt like I was taking an ice pick to my brain.

Also, I slept for 11 hours last night. I can't even remember the last time that happened... vacation really is a beautiful thing.

Happy Holidays by the way... new posts to come next week when I am back in LA, including a best of the blog roundup and my new years resolutions, one of which is blogging more regularly (both here and for HuffPo). And again to "be professional" which hasn't worked out too well for me thus far. But hey, I'm still gainfully employed, so that's something, right?

This probably won't be my last post of 2009, but some things to look forward to in 2010 include:

• A fun crowdsourcing article-writing experiment
• I'm going to have to throw my hat in the ring with a best of the decade's TV post, (or something along those lines... I'll probably make fun of other people's posts, and then talk about why I love Bones or attempt to convince people that Twitter is THE FUTURE).
• I'll be starting a new freelancing gig that should bring about some interesting Hollywood stories, or at least some more money in my pocket
  
• I might get a hair cut
  
• After a few rewrites I'm going to start letting people read my TV pilot

But for now, I'm going to wait for the plumber.

My Christmas Card

I hope Santa makes all your dreams come true this holiday season. Even if he doesn’t return your calls.

Cheers!
Annie

Yes, it's so LA, but the card was designed by my dad. Like the cartoon? Find more here: http://gigundoindustries.com/

UPDATE: In typical Hollywood fashion, the card is already making the rounds, without credit. Props to my dad and his drawing partner, George Hughes - the credit is all theirs!

Trying to make my "interests" interesting... (or that time I wrote a lot about myself)

I was just looking at my Facebook profile, and realized I updated my "interests" somewhat recently. Some of them are a little odd. Some are heavily connected to the TV pilot I'm working on, actually a surprising amount (and the last batch of interests also had a large influence on the script, now that I think of it). Some are really obvious and require no further explanation, but I figure why not share a little bit more about these interests... not that you care, because you probably don't, but I'm indulging my narcissistic side a little more than usual today. Pretend you find it endearing or something. Now, in no particular order...

sweet'n'sour sauce
The greatest thing McDonald's ever created. Especially good with Chicken McNuggets or French Fries. These are the only things I will ever order at McDonald's. And I always ask for extra sweet'n'sour sauce because you never know when you might be craving it, and surprisingly, it also tastes good with Morningstar Farms fake chicken nuggets.

my animal spirit god
I'm convinced I have one and maybe I've even seen it before. Maybe not. They're tricky that way.

tv on dvd
This doesn't need explanation beyond my opinion that this might be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Although I am not sure sliced bread is all that great. Sure, it's convenient... but what's the origin of this saying? Anyone? But yeah, TV shows on DVD are just really fantastic.

astronaut ice cream
This shit is crazy. Crazy delicious. (Also crazy). I love it so much it's become a major plot point in the TV pilot I am writing.

the silver lining
There's one of these in everything and I like finding it. Cheesy? Probably. But I mean it. Finding the silver lining in things has been pretty helpful in getting me through the bad stuff in life.

fig newtons
I fucking love fig newtons. Always have.

gender neutral first names
My mom's name was Palmer, it's also my middle name, and I have to say that in the years after she passed away I really considered going by Palmer. But I'm much more of an Annie. Actually I am much more of a Stamos. In general, I love gender neutral first names because they are often old-fashioned and different - and I don't know... fun. Although names like Pat suck. Perhaps I should revise this to unique gender neutral first names...

aquariums
Sometimes an aquarium can make me so happy my heart hearts. Truly. The Boston Aquarium is my favorite aquarium. There's a nostalgic component here, sure, but also... I love fishies. I think that if I had either been better at science, or more willing to work harder at it, then I would have ended up a marine biologist. And yes, I love aquariums so much that they are another major plot point in my TV pilot work-in-progress.

Maine
duh.

freedom
I love freedom. Both in the ironic and non-ironic sense. If you don't understand what I mean, you clearly love freedom as well, but only in the non-ironic sense, which is unfortunate for you.

insensitivity
This is something I excel in, at least by Hollywood standards. Thus, it is of great interest to me.

theme songs
I love theme songs - from movie themes to TV themes, to personal theme songs. Everyone should have a theme song. Mine changes on the regular.

manu chao
Probably my favorite band. In the history of music. Bold claim? Yes. But I feel strongly about this.

local ads
who doesn't love a budget local ad? Oh man, there used to be some GREAT ones growing up in Maine, many with excellent jingles about local geography.

dudes
This interest is twofold: (1) I, like most heterosexual women, like guys - so that's sort of a no-brainer and (2) I love guys who are dudes in the total dudetastic sense of being a dude - and I love hanging with dudes. Dudes are awesome. Chicks who are dudelike are also awesome.

the toaster oven
A great invention. You can accomplish so much with a toaster oven. My roommate Becca is a culinary genius with ours.

good hair days
Never underestimate the value of a good hair day. My hair, in my opinion, is one of my best features, however I am so incredibly lazy when it comes to my hair that when I've got a good hair day happening it does a whole lot for my ego. Also, my hair is so terrifying when I wake up in the morning (and this has also inspired a moment in that TV pilot), that when I actually get it calmed down, it feels like a real accomplishment. It's the little things.

Holy Hotcakes! This Trailer is Rad!

The newest trailer is further proof: Alice in Wonderland is going to be fucking amazing. Yeah, that totally warranted an F-bomb. And I don't drop F-bombs lightly.

First of all, I LOVE Tim Burton. This weekend when I am in New York I am going to his art exhibit at MoMA, which I've been anxious to go to since it opened.

Secondly, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen? Brilliant. These two always act so well together.

And even though I dislike Anne Hathaway, Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat is another great casting decision.

And finally, I love, love, LOVE the original stories of Alice and another film version will be amazing, no doubt.

Without further ado, see the trailer for yourself:

I love KCRW so hard

I think one of the best things about moving to LA a little over two years ago was discovering truly fantastic public radio.

Growing up in Maine I always associated NPR with shows like "Car Talk," "All Things Considered" (gotta love that intro music) and drives home from Sugarloaf, the ski mountain we flocked to many weekends during the winter. So in other words, public radio lulled me to sleep over countless car rides from the age of 2 and on. (Yes, I learned how to ski when I was 2. What else do you think we did during Maine winters?)

However, I stopped listening to NPR on my own, in fact I never listened to the radio when I was at school at Middlebury - beyond random listens to a friend's show on the college station. I did have grand intentions of doing my own pop culture radio show with a witty friend, but that never came to fruition, and I ended up co-editor of the magazine Also instead (a sure sign I was a better writer than a talker? Maybe. Ironically, one of my favorite issues I contributed a lengthy article about Bob Dylan, music, and social movements - could have made for a great radio show, I suppose!).

Since moving to LA, however, I've rediscovered NPR. Now I associate NPR with KCRW - LA's fantastic public radio, and specifically with Jason Bentley's kickass music show "Morning Becomes Eclectic." Ever since the Indie channel here went under (boo) I pretty much stopped listening to the radio all together, but fortunately KCRW has Bentley's perfectly DJ-ed two hour show where I get to listen to some solid jams, whether I'm late to work, or streaming online once I've gotten into the office. It's the perfect way to start your morning. (Also, Jason Bentley sounds like he's hot. Something about that low, slightly monotonous voice... kind of like David Duchovny... and now I'm getting distracted...)

For those non-LAers who are interested, check it out for yourself at KRCW's website.

And don't worry, I make a point NOT to listen to NPR when driving home from ski trips nowadays. That's a recipe for disaster, no matter how interesting the the music or news topic!

I like this B-Roll so much, I'm in it!

"Why is she touching a wall?
I don't know, that's what depressed people do!"

Where I spend most of my time...

If you're curious, I spend an anywhere from 9 to 12 hours a day sitting in between these two computers:



Why share this? Well, it started because I got my new mouse sent over from our IT department and it's rad. Like, really rad. And it's for my iMac so it's just remarkably prettier. Then I upgraded my TweetDeck which I had been reluctant to do because I don't know how I feel about the new RT policy on Twitter (if you're a non-Twitterer you probably don't care right now) and then I made sure the three Twitter accounts I have (don't worry, two are for work, only one is personal) were loaded and then I made that TweetDeck screen nice and big and now I just have a constant stream of bitesize information. (And that was one hell of a run-on sentence, huh?) At least, that's what the iMac is used for when I'm not doing any of the digital or graphic stuff... tracking the news.

My main computer is the PC, and it is here where I read, I write; I do it all. Actually, a surprising amount of writing takes place on this computer - from this here blog to the HuffPo pieces, and as FinalDraft is soon to be installed, hopefully I'll start doing some of the screenwriting here as well (mostly I do that at home). Granted, it's mostly email that happens at this lovely desk, but when I have a spare moment, you better believe I am writing. Or on Twitter. Or both.

It's worth pointing out my AstroBoy HappyMeal toy, as well as the sweet coffee mug I've had for ever (on the inside, when you drink everything up, it says "The End").

Now for the flare:



Here I've got the personal touches, and I'll give you a rundown of some of the stuff you can see here... yes, another DVD/CD burner to complete my space station, but you can see I've got about three different programming schedules up as well. Actually one is a production schedule and one is my personal Fall TV schedule so I can keep track of all the shows I watch. Oh and one is the dog's exercise schedule. So never mind.

Here we also have my obligatory John Stamos photo, my Obama HOPE postcard, stickers for TOMS and Aviator Nation - two of my favorite California apparel companies, a postcard of a Dali painting, a postcard of the Eiffel Tower, a picture of me and my brother (awwww) and some X-Ray Spex (don't ask). And a friend who works at FBC (that's the FOX network - and trust me, it's hard to keep track) gave me the postcards for Bones and Fringe, which I have up as motivation - you know, when you work in TV, it's a good reminder to remember what else is out there. Now I just need someone at NBC to get me a Friday Night Lights poster and I'm all set!

Most important would be the Pop Rocks bag I've got stuck up on the bulletin board. I LOVE POP ROCKS. And that bag is unopened and currently being saved for a day when I absolutely need them. No idea what could warrant that absolute need for Pop Rocks, but I'll let you know when it happens.

That's pretty much it. Bored yet? Yeah, this is my life. My fabulous glamorous life, where I stare at two computers all day.

But to be honest, I do love it... At the end of the day, I'm making TV. So you'll see no complaints from me!

One complaint: My TV, (not seen here, on the other side of the desk) needs cable. And DVR. But then I might as well request a bed and stuff... and then I'd never leave. So scratch that - no complaints!

Making a List, Checking it Twice

In case you missed out, my Pop Culture Christmas list is up at HuffPo.

But I know what you really want. You want my REAL Christmas list, the one I actually send to my family, because even though I am 26 years old I still write a Christmas list, every single year (I wasn't kidding when I said I value the importance of the list and its ability to help your loved ones shop at a greater ease).

So for a refresher, last year's list, and now the new one... (pulled from the family email chain).

I really don't need anything, and it's funny because this might be the first year where I seriously struggled to think of what I want/need:

But as Carla has insisted...

Here ya go (bigger stuff listed near the top):

Coachella tickets
Digital Camera
Barbour "Beaufort" coat in Olive - or whatever they are calling green (maybe Sage?)
a bike
Someone to pay off my credit card debt? (A long shot, I know)
That we go onto the AT&T family plan!!!
New headphones (with a mic) for my iPhone (I legitimately need these bc those ones that came with the phone are shitty and I've already gone through two pairs)
Up! on DVD
Save the Cat (screenwriting book)
Elephant Bucks (TV writing book)
Maybe a gray purse? I am into slouchy messenger bag types that aren't too big... or dark brown, or a bright red/orange bag?
Gift certificates to any of the following are always great: J. Crew, Madewell, Piperlime, Anthropologie, Amazon, Target, Lulu Lemon, Orvis
New Yoga mat and maybe one of those nice yoga blanket/towel things

Some thoughts:
(1) Yes, I asked for a gift card to Orvis. I'm from Maine, remember?
(2) I really, really want an excuse to not pay my cellphone bill so I figure the family plan is the best bet.
(3)The one common thing on both lists? Someone to pay my credit cart debt. How sad.
(4) Compared to last year, I'm a little less obsessed with working out, it would appear.
(5) I don't want to disclose how many digital cameras I've gone through, which is why I know that's one thing on my list I probably won't be getting...
(6) Ha. Hahaha. I "struggled." Haha. Lies.

This Makes Little to No Sense

But it makes me laugh.



"What do you say we make apple juice, and fax it to each other?"

I'm predictable, no?

My brother just sent me a text message with this picture and note:


The perfect board for you.

He knows me so well! Unfortunately it's around $400 which is WAY over my budget. But it would look SO good next to all my other Lilly clothes/housewares/accessories...

I should probably learn how to surf first.

WTF Comcast

Another dumb blog that must be read: WTF Comcast. I don't even have Comcast, but I find this hilarious. And I can relate. And the captions are the best... okay stop reading my inane ramblings, just click on the link and have a laugh!