 |
| We say goodbye to James. Rock on! | Credit: American Idol |
Earlier this week, I realized that most of the TV shows will soon end but I find it strange that I am not feeling the build-up just yet. It should not be this way so I am doing a quick recap of the shows that I follow and how good a build-up these would have towards a great finale.
How I Met Your Mother
“HIMYM” was pretty much hit-or-miss this year. I won’t be tackling how the rest of the season went because I will not have anything to blog about when I hand the final letter grades two weeks from now. I hate getting spoiled so I never read any sneak preview on the next episode. With the finale arriving a few days from now, all I can say is that I am clueless on what direction they want to take towards the finale. The themes this year were prevalent but with Ted breaking up with Zoey in the penultimate episode, the season finale’s main story lost its build-up.
How I Met Your Mother
“HIMYM” was pretty much hit-or-miss this year. I won’t be tackling how the rest of the season went because I will not have anything to blog about when I hand the final letter grades two weeks from now. I hate getting spoiled so I never read any sneak preview on the next episode. With the finale arriving a few days from now, all I can say is that I am clueless on what direction they want to take towards the finale. The themes this year were prevalent but with Ted breaking up with Zoey in the penultimate episode, the season finale’s main story lost its build-up.
Barney and his father’s arc was great but it seemed like weeks ago that their story was last tackled. The momentum was lost. As for Ted, I hoped he broke up earlier with Zoey. She stunk so much that I am quite thankful that the break-up will not occur in the finale (or is it?). I doubt that Ted will meet “the Mother” in the finale. It would be so out of the blue as Punchy’s wedding was not tackled for a bit in a very long time. But because “How I Met Your Mother” was able to deliver some great episodes this year(shades of Season 1), I will just trust the writing crew of Carter and Bays to end this wild season with a bang.
Glee
 |
| Credit: Glee |
I know that it would still take almost a month before we watch the Nationals. The good thing about “Glee” is that we know what we are going to expect in the finale (a competition, duh!). It would at least be tackled in the lead-up. The bad thing about “Glee” is that they seemed to have hired the same writers of “Heroes.” The show appeases the masses but the richness of their storyline is inexistent. They will throw random themes week after week as their characters change personalities like they change their clothes. The upcoming episode is entitled “Funeral” so at least it is quite compelling. Is Kurt’s dad going to die? If someone is going to die, I hope that the writers use it as a very good tool in building up the climax of the show. No matter how messy they do it, it’s fine by me. I will try to understand their direction on how they want the fate of New Directions would be in the finale.
I was supposed to include “Game of Thrones” here because I thought that they will just have six episodes. Upon checking IMDB, I noticed that the show has ten and its finale is on my birthday. Wow. I hope that would be a nice present to me. But whatever, I already know how the story would unveil. Someone’s head will be cut off (not sure if they will have it this year or next year). The only concern for me is that, I really loved the book so I am not sure if the TV series would bring something huge. This is in contrast with “The Lord of The Rings” where I endured reading the trilogy (with several nap times). By the time they showed “Return of the King,” I was amazed on how they executed it.
Modern Family
I honestly do not know where to rank up “Modern Family” this year. I religiously follow the show but it had its share of ups and downs. It sometimes becomes forgettable but there were also some notable scenes. I think that the show has shown a better direction this year but the novelty is starting to wear down.
The good thing about “Modern Family” is that it is light and subtle. The show does not need to wow its audience with a major event in its season finale. I just hope that they execute it well.
The Office
I was supposed to include “Game of Thrones” here because I thought that they will just have six episodes. Upon checking IMDB, I noticed that the show has ten and its finale is on my birthday. Wow. I hope that would be a nice present to me. But whatever, I already know how the story would unveil. Someone’s head will be cut off (not sure if they will have it this year or next year). The only concern for me is that, I really loved the book so I am not sure if the TV series would bring something huge. This is in contrast with “The Lord of The Rings” where I endured reading the trilogy (with several nap times). By the time they showed “Return of the King,” I was amazed on how they executed it.
Modern Family
I honestly do not know where to rank up “Modern Family” this year. I religiously follow the show but it had its share of ups and downs. It sometimes becomes forgettable but there were also some notable scenes. I think that the show has shown a better direction this year but the novelty is starting to wear down.
The good thing about “Modern Family” is that it is light and subtle. The show does not need to wow its audience with a major event in its season finale. I just hope that they execute it well.
The Office
 |
| This scene is one of the reasons why 'The Office' is one of the bests this year. | Credit: The Office |
This TV series has shown the most build-up, yet I am clueless on how they will be pulling it off in their season-ender. I am still on a Michael Scott hangover because of the great build-up they had for Michael’s farewell. The storyline for the build-up is quite obvious (Michael’s replacement and how they would do in the office post-Michael). It has been the focus for quite a few episodes now. Whatever happens, “The Office” has vastly rejuvenated its franchise this season. It will earn at least a B+ in my final rankings.
Quick Take on the NBA Playoffs
Memphis is for real. I am loving their franchise now. They have been the laughing stocks for quite a while (i.e., Gasol trade, being a lame team, overpaying Mike Conley). But because of this, it makes it easier to root for them. 1) They are a small market team. 2) A good part of their city has been submerged with water that they need a feel-good story. 3) Whenever their fans cheer in unison, you can feel the passion and energy oozing. 4) They are underdogs. 5) Hell, it’s about time! I do not know how it will end up for them. I also like the Oklahoma City Thunder. I just wished that they did not have to eliminate each other this early. Maybe, it is because I prefer watching passionate small market teams succeeding in a league where big market teams dominate easily (hence, I am rooting for a hard cap to be put in place).
Amidst all these pleasantries, it makes me cringe if Stern ends up derailing a Memphis/OKC visit to the NBA finals. It will be a ratings nightmare but at least we have two big market teams duking it out in the East.
Quick Take on the NBA Playoffs
Memphis is for real. I am loving their franchise now. They have been the laughing stocks for quite a while (i.e., Gasol trade, being a lame team, overpaying Mike Conley). But because of this, it makes it easier to root for them. 1) They are a small market team. 2) A good part of their city has been submerged with water that they need a feel-good story. 3) Whenever their fans cheer in unison, you can feel the passion and energy oozing. 4) They are underdogs. 5) Hell, it’s about time! I do not know how it will end up for them. I also like the Oklahoma City Thunder. I just wished that they did not have to eliminate each other this early. Maybe, it is because I prefer watching passionate small market teams succeeding in a league where big market teams dominate easily (hence, I am rooting for a hard cap to be put in place).
Amidst all these pleasantries, it makes me cringe if Stern ends up derailing a Memphis/OKC visit to the NBA finals. It will be a ratings nightmare but at least we have two big market teams duking it out in the East.
UPDATE: OKC has defeated Memphis. Congratulations to both teams. I am happy I rooted for both of them in this year's playoffs. I guess the Oklahoma City Thunder are this year's Haley Reinhart after all. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook's monster game was like Haley Reinhart's "Moanin'" and "Rolling In The Deep" combined. Simply transcendent. Speaking of which...
American Idol
American Idol
 |
| Nobody puts Haley in the corner | Credit: American Idol |
Haley Freakin’ Reinhart. She did it again. Who would have thought that she would reach the Top 3? I didn’t. I am so ecstatic when I learned that she survived Top 4 elimination last week. As much as I liked James Durbin, I did not initially feel bad about his exit. More on that later…
I do not know what was behind the Powers That Be’s minds regarding Haley Reinhart. They bus her in her first performance then she gets a standing ovation in the next round. I see two things coming into play: 1) they are blatantly trying to eliminate her, or 2) they really want her to advance to the finale. Yeah, I know: DUH! But whatever is in play, they are doing it in such an extreme way that it turns a lot of viewers off.
1) They are blatantly trying to eliminate Haley.
This was the obvious scenario. They criticized Haley so much while other contestants never got a critique even if they sang out of tune or were just plain horrible. This has been going into play for Haley for the longest time. It seems like the producers want to get rid of her as soon as possible because they do not know what to with her talent. It is quite depressing though, because she has made the most risks this season and she has the most remarkable moments as well.
Randy Jackson was at his all-time worst when he mentioned that all three were good while Haley was awful. I know that he wants to channel his inner Simon (to give the complaining fans what they want) but that cannot happen if he never sees the fault in others. Even Simon critiques his favorites. How many times did Randy miss the fact that James was off-pitch this year?
I have already tackled how unfair the playing field has been for Haley this year. The judges (except for Steven Tyler) are consistently inconsistent in their critiques. Their script is obvious. And, here is how it goes: 1) they exaggerate their negative criticism on Haley to put off casual voters to ever consider her; 2) their over-the-top criticism leads to Haley talking back to them (we all know that it never is good to talk back on America’s show about likeability); and 3) they blatantly expose her face when she gets bussed. To add further on the conspiracy theory, Haley gets relatively less airtime. (can somebody remind me what she talked about with her parents during the Windows 7 promo?) Lastly, I can see the standing ovations as a ploy to somehow make her fans complacent. Obviously, these things backfired. And, I have been laughing my ass off at the judges’ failed attempts for several weeks already.
2) They really want Haley Reinhart in the Finale. This conspiracy theory only came to my mind because the first theory was failing miserably these past few weeks.
Who does not love a good underdog story? Haley’s storyline is the most genuine the whole season. We have Lauren lying her way to say that she cannot belt out notes (are you freaking kidding me? Weren’t you the early chosen one when you belted “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing?”) We have that fabricated storyline of Liar Lauren rising from the ashes. If anything, she was riding on her early frontrunner status and her massive fanbase. As for Scotty, does he really have a storyline? All I know is, he is the frontrunner, nobody can beat him and he is this year’s American Idol.
In this second theory, TPTB realized that Haley is legit but because she is attractive AND polarizing (being an attractive lady hurts your chances in “American Idol”), they have to make a way to make her relevant. We all know that voters get complacent. Thus, they had to critique Haley in order to alarm her fans to power vote more. Making it vastly unfair would give Haley more pity votes. Then, they give Haley the (well-deserved) standing ovation in the second round to make sure that she grabs the casual voters. If this is TPTB’s strategy, I have to say that it is working quite fine. Haley Reinhart has dominated Dial Idol’s Raw Numbers the past two weeks.
At the end of the day, I am more leaning to Conspiracy Theory #1. The big kicker would be making Haley talk back. They blatantly exposed this last week to their full advantage. If the producers are using Conspiracy Theory #2, they would not be having Randy Jackson blatantly showing his bias just to make Haley defend herself. Right now, America sees Haley as the sassy, whiny bitch who has no poise. Of course, this show is a likeability contest – not a singing show – so we are going to say goodbye to Haley in the Top 3 Elimination Night.
Call me crazy, but I think Steven Tyler is the only good judge this year. He may not be harsh but at least he is genuine and consistent. He also makes great punchlines. I am an Aerosmith fan but I once thought that the decision to have Steven as a judge was horrible. Thankfully, I am wrong.
We now talk about James…
I do not know what was behind the Powers That Be’s minds regarding Haley Reinhart. They bus her in her first performance then she gets a standing ovation in the next round. I see two things coming into play: 1) they are blatantly trying to eliminate her, or 2) they really want her to advance to the finale. Yeah, I know: DUH! But whatever is in play, they are doing it in such an extreme way that it turns a lot of viewers off.
1) They are blatantly trying to eliminate Haley.
This was the obvious scenario. They criticized Haley so much while other contestants never got a critique even if they sang out of tune or were just plain horrible. This has been going into play for Haley for the longest time. It seems like the producers want to get rid of her as soon as possible because they do not know what to with her talent. It is quite depressing though, because she has made the most risks this season and she has the most remarkable moments as well.
Randy Jackson was at his all-time worst when he mentioned that all three were good while Haley was awful. I know that he wants to channel his inner Simon (to give the complaining fans what they want) but that cannot happen if he never sees the fault in others. Even Simon critiques his favorites. How many times did Randy miss the fact that James was off-pitch this year?
I have already tackled how unfair the playing field has been for Haley this year. The judges (except for Steven Tyler) are consistently inconsistent in their critiques. Their script is obvious. And, here is how it goes: 1) they exaggerate their negative criticism on Haley to put off casual voters to ever consider her; 2) their over-the-top criticism leads to Haley talking back to them (we all know that it never is good to talk back on America’s show about likeability); and 3) they blatantly expose her face when she gets bussed. To add further on the conspiracy theory, Haley gets relatively less airtime. (can somebody remind me what she talked about with her parents during the Windows 7 promo?) Lastly, I can see the standing ovations as a ploy to somehow make her fans complacent. Obviously, these things backfired. And, I have been laughing my ass off at the judges’ failed attempts for several weeks already.
2) They really want Haley Reinhart in the Finale. This conspiracy theory only came to my mind because the first theory was failing miserably these past few weeks.
Who does not love a good underdog story? Haley’s storyline is the most genuine the whole season. We have Lauren lying her way to say that she cannot belt out notes (are you freaking kidding me? Weren’t you the early chosen one when you belted “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing?”) We have that fabricated storyline of Liar Lauren rising from the ashes. If anything, she was riding on her early frontrunner status and her massive fanbase. As for Scotty, does he really have a storyline? All I know is, he is the frontrunner, nobody can beat him and he is this year’s American Idol.
In this second theory, TPTB realized that Haley is legit but because she is attractive AND polarizing (being an attractive lady hurts your chances in “American Idol”), they have to make a way to make her relevant. We all know that voters get complacent. Thus, they had to critique Haley in order to alarm her fans to power vote more. Making it vastly unfair would give Haley more pity votes. Then, they give Haley the (well-deserved) standing ovation in the second round to make sure that she grabs the casual voters. If this is TPTB’s strategy, I have to say that it is working quite fine. Haley Reinhart has dominated Dial Idol’s Raw Numbers the past two weeks.
At the end of the day, I am more leaning to Conspiracy Theory #1. The big kicker would be making Haley talk back. They blatantly exposed this last week to their full advantage. If the producers are using Conspiracy Theory #2, they would not be having Randy Jackson blatantly showing his bias just to make Haley defend herself. Right now, America sees Haley as the sassy, whiny bitch who has no poise. Of course, this show is a likeability contest – not a singing show – so we are going to say goodbye to Haley in the Top 3 Elimination Night.
Call me crazy, but I think Steven Tyler is the only good judge this year. He may not be harsh but at least he is genuine and consistent. He also makes great punchlines. I am an Aerosmith fan but I once thought that the decision to have Steven as a judge was horrible. Thankfully, I am wrong.
We now talk about James…
 |
| Heart-wrenching moment for the resident rocket | Credit: American Idol |
First of all, I applaud James for trying his best to keep his composure. I think some people may have been put off by his dramatic antics. Thanks to “Parenthood,” I have a better understanding about Asperger’s and Tourette’s. That syndrome is not a joke. If you are not aware, look it up. That was why he was fighting his tears. He seemed to have a big ego when he was interviewed but you cannot fully blame him. Blame the judges – they praised him to high levels.
His syndrome may have also been the cause as to why the judges were so nice to him even if he is already off pitch. After all, he was emotionally perfect. Right, Randy?
HAHAHAHA! I am laughing at these biased judges once again. Whenever they try to manipulate their audience blatantly, it always reminds me of Kris Allen’s victory. Yes, I was bitter when it happened but the more I look into it, it was the perfect Eff You to the producers for over-manipulating the show. Good criticism does not always equate to good performance. America has ears.
Don’t get me wrong, I was not laughing at James. Hey, Top 4 ain’t bad. As much as I liked him (pegged him as #1 in my power rankings before), he really floundered the past two weeks. It did not help his case that Scotty and Lauren also improved. James was consistent before but it was not as consistent as Jennifer Lopez was trying to make it to be. He still had several pitch issues. His props just made his performance entertaining. I personally got disappointed on his renditions of “I’ll Be There For You,” “Living for the City,” and “Saturday Night’s All Right For Fighting.” However, James was still great but to say that his elimination was an ultimate travesty, I have to disagree with that. I do not think he should have been eliminated but I understand why he got the boot. For me, Lauren Alaina should have been eliminated last week
With James leaving, this is how I would rank the Top 3:
1) Haley Reinhart
2) Scotty McCreery
3) Lauren Alaina
However, I still think that Haley will get the boot this coming week. There is no effin’ way the judges will give Haley another standing ovation. Either they totally bus her or she gets the indifferent treatment. If you think that Scotty and Lauren will suffer because they will have a vote-splitting fanbase, you are definitely wrong. I think a lot of James Durbin fans will not vote for Haley because she is the obvious scapegoat (even if she does not deserve to be) because the judges have already branded Haley as the weak and inconsistent contestant in the group. Most of James’ fans joined his bandwagon early in the season (when Haley was still a cannon fodder). The bad thing in “American Idol” is if you are a die-hard fan (of a contestant), there is a good chance that you won’t be changing your perspective on some of the contestants because you are blindly rooting for your idol. Not all are like that but I have a hunch that a good chunk would still be biased against Haley on how undeserving she is in there. Sometimes, it is really better to just be a casual fan.
His syndrome may have also been the cause as to why the judges were so nice to him even if he is already off pitch. After all, he was emotionally perfect. Right, Randy?
HAHAHAHA! I am laughing at these biased judges once again. Whenever they try to manipulate their audience blatantly, it always reminds me of Kris Allen’s victory. Yes, I was bitter when it happened but the more I look into it, it was the perfect Eff You to the producers for over-manipulating the show. Good criticism does not always equate to good performance. America has ears.
Don’t get me wrong, I was not laughing at James. Hey, Top 4 ain’t bad. As much as I liked him (pegged him as #1 in my power rankings before), he really floundered the past two weeks. It did not help his case that Scotty and Lauren also improved. James was consistent before but it was not as consistent as Jennifer Lopez was trying to make it to be. He still had several pitch issues. His props just made his performance entertaining. I personally got disappointed on his renditions of “I’ll Be There For You,” “Living for the City,” and “Saturday Night’s All Right For Fighting.” However, James was still great but to say that his elimination was an ultimate travesty, I have to disagree with that. I do not think he should have been eliminated but I understand why he got the boot. For me, Lauren Alaina should have been eliminated last week
With James leaving, this is how I would rank the Top 3:
1) Haley Reinhart
2) Scotty McCreery
3) Lauren Alaina
However, I still think that Haley will get the boot this coming week. There is no effin’ way the judges will give Haley another standing ovation. Either they totally bus her or she gets the indifferent treatment. If you think that Scotty and Lauren will suffer because they will have a vote-splitting fanbase, you are definitely wrong. I think a lot of James Durbin fans will not vote for Haley because she is the obvious scapegoat (even if she does not deserve to be) because the judges have already branded Haley as the weak and inconsistent contestant in the group. Most of James’ fans joined his bandwagon early in the season (when Haley was still a cannon fodder). The bad thing in “American Idol” is if you are a die-hard fan (of a contestant), there is a good chance that you won’t be changing your perspective on some of the contestants because you are blindly rooting for your idol. Not all are like that but I have a hunch that a good chunk would still be biased against Haley on how undeserving she is in there. Sometimes, it is really better to just be a casual fan.
 |
| Who would've thought she'd reach the Top 3? | Credit: American Idol |
Haley won’t advance because I am starting to see some of her fans in forums believing that she will win. My advice to them: don’t expect. The stomach punch will soon come because Scotty is just too popular and is too likeable to be defeated. Complacency and overconfidence kills. Keep your guard up. The stomach punch is coming, Haley fans.
I bet the Powers That Be are furious that their Big Three was broken up. They will make a point of eliminating Haley Reinhart to make it an all-Country Finale. If only Lauren risked more… oh wait, isn’t she going to have her ‘moment’ ready next week? Yeah, she will. Look for Lauren to belt it out to put a climax on her fabricated storyline. As for Scotty, there is no chance in hell that he will get eliminated. There is a reason why James looked defeated when he learned that he and Scotty were left in the “Bottom Two.” Some people will also not vote for Haley because she is now VotefortheWorst’s pick. She has the highest chance of leaving. Speaking of which…
VFTW Victory!
I bet the Powers That Be are furious that their Big Three was broken up. They will make a point of eliminating Haley Reinhart to make it an all-Country Finale. If only Lauren risked more… oh wait, isn’t she going to have her ‘moment’ ready next week? Yeah, she will. Look for Lauren to belt it out to put a climax on her fabricated storyline. As for Scotty, there is no chance in hell that he will get eliminated. There is a reason why James looked defeated when he learned that he and Scotty were left in the “Bottom Two.” Some people will also not vote for Haley because she is now VotefortheWorst’s pick. She has the highest chance of leaving. Speaking of which…
VFTW Victory!
No comments:
Post a Comment