BN:  The Brandon Network

Man it took me forever to name this page.  I knew I was way off course when I got into Spanish soap opera names like Telebrando and Telenowalka.  Let's be honest: very little is off my TV radar.  I mean, even shows I don't watch, I usually try and keep up with what's generally going on (except shows I want to preserve mystery for, like HBO shows or other critical favorites), and I've had TV pages out the wazoo without an area of the site to consolidate them.  So consider this my Department of Homeland Security, just with way more thought put into it.  Thanks, I'll be here all night.

 

Shows I'm Currently Watching
Brothers
and Sisters
Chuck
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show
 with Jon Stewart
Entourage
House
How I Met Your Mother
It's Always Sunny in
 Philadelphia
Mad Men
The Office
Project Runway
Pushing Daisies
Saturday Night Live
Shows I May Not Continue Watching
Dexter
Gossip Girl
Hiatus Watch
30 Rock

Oct. 30
The Sarah
Silverman Program

October 2008
Battlestar Galactica

January 2009
Burn Notice

January 2009
Damages

January 2009
Breaking Bad

2009
Flight of the
Conchords

2009
Lost

2009
Reaper

2009
Scrubs

2009
Friday Night Lights

March 2009
Rescue Me

March 2009
Kathy Griffin: My
Life on the D-List

Summer 2009
Weeds

Summer 2009
Man vs. Wild

Who knows?  This show has the weirdest schedule

White Noise

9-27-08

Chapter 47 in which Architecture School finishes their house

Last Wednesday, a late summer gem aired its finale, and in just six episodes vastly outshone the new fall series. I'm just getting around to writing about it now because of a busy week, something the students featured on Architecture School know plenty about. I had no idea the season was ending so soon, and now that it's over, I realize how much I loved it. Airing on Sundance, Architecture School is a documentary series set at the Tulane School of Architecture in New Orleans. Working with local organizations, the students in the URBANbuild program design a house for a low-income family--the house is subsidized so the standards are moderately high for the families living there--in the fall semester and build it in the spring.

Prior to the series, the program had successfully accomplished the erection of two progressive houses. This season focuses on the parallel stories of building the third house and finding a buyer for the second house, the lots just a few blocks from each other.  The informative aspect of the series--learning about the designs, seeing construction, enduring the endless search for a financially stable buyer--is compelling enough, but this dynamic series is so much more.

Click here for the rest...

 

Great Episodes

Think of this like the Great Movies page of Ebert's site.  He lists and lauds his favorite shows, and I intend to do the same, particularly since I already have an analogous section for individual characters.  Just so you know, they're not ranked or anything, just in the order I think of them.  Also, for this first batch, I tried to stear clear of finales and stick with first season episodes, just because that way it's more universal, and you can all read everything without spoiling anything.  Of course, later on I will go into later episodes, so as always, try to avoid reading about an episode you haven't seen yet.  And lastly, they are all, as should be self-explanatory, great episodes. 

Latest Addition: 

#190.  "The Obsolescent Cryogenic Meltdown" - The Middleman

Any episode that starts out at the Batter of the Bulge Pancake House is sure to be a great one, and my only complaint about this one is that Lacey was barely in it.  That's because it was a Middleman story, featuring the unfreezing of Ida's old boss Middleman '69 who is more James Bond than Austin Powers.  Kevin Sorbo was fantastic as '69, but Ida was even better, skating around mixing drinks like she was back in the '60s too.  The ridiculous card game '69 and Wendy join was hilarious, and it gave Middleman a chance to swing in on a rope and save the day.  The Middleman is never a sappy show, but I was elated at the end when Wendy and Middleman hug; watching their relationship grow has been one of the best parts of the show.  As for obscure references, this episode scored points with The Third Man and Dr. Strangelove.

Wendy:  It's a polite way of saying BLEEP!

 

The Brantheon

This is the section for TV characters that I worship, or not so much worship as think are generally awesome.  Consider it the anti-Capeside, or the anti-Seattle Grace, if you will. 

Newest Member: 

#30.  Gaius Baltar - Battlestar Galactica

Gaius Baltar is, to my mind, the most interesting character in the new Battlestar Galactica, and I want to make it clear that I find BSG to have one of the best ensembles ever.  No matter what horrendous things he ends up doing (whether coerced by the cylons, his love for Number Six, or his own tremendous capacity for survival), I find it difficult to judge him.  As he makes clear in Season 3, they've all done wrong, and a lot of Baltar's crimes were gray at best, particularly given the gun to his head.  Brave he is not (well, he's had a couple moments), but that's not enough to condemn him, and I find his quest to discover if he is a cylon or god or both fascinating. 

"You'll forgive me, Madam President, if I don't wish to be executed based solely on your...gut feeling." 

 

Brandon's Best:

9-05-08

My 10 Favorite Pilots

TV Guide thinks they've come up with the 10 best first episodes (not pilots). Unsurprisingly, I think they're nut-burgers. But I'm gonna be brief because I don't think my picks add anything new to the conversation. Also, I'm on borrowed time, er, computer.

So, this is the TV Guide list. Not the worst list I've seen, but the fact that it's ranked (and so poorly) drives me batty.

1. Lost
2. 24
3. The Shield
4. The Sopranos
5. 30 Rock
6. Football Wives
7. Desperate Housewives
8. Saturday Night Live
9. ER
10. Alias

I have to abstain from opining on the ones I haven't seen, so that takes out The Shield, Football Wives, Desperate Housewives, and ER. I haven't seen all of the SNL series premiere either, but it's safe to say I wouldn't include it on my list.

Brandon's Best continued

 

Main    2004    2005    2006    2007    2008

 

Roundups

For certain shows, I want to have a roundup once I've finished them where I can collect all kinds of things like reactions to each seasons or standout episodes, favorite scenes, top ten lists, or random things I've noticed.  So it should go without saying that the roundup for a particular show is going to be drenched in spoilers.  Literally, saturated with information about who ends up dead.  And if all goes according to plan, I will get to add to them as I rewatch shows and come up with new ideas, so this is just a starting point.  Also, I will only do them for shows that are over and for which I have seen every episode.  The Wire will be first, with Deep Space Nine on deck, but you can expect a roundup for all of my favorite shows eventually. 

 

2007 Pilot Preview

 

Miscellany:

My TV History - Every Show I've watched organized by how much I've seen

TV Character Web - See how all the best shows are connected

My Dream TV Network - What would I air if I were creatively in charge of a network? From Sept. 2006

Best Everything of Television - What are my favorites?  From April 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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