Tag Archives: Showtime

August 1, 2007 · 8:00 am

10 Potential Storylines for Mary-Kate Olsen on Showtime’s ‘Weeds’

On August 13th, Mary-Kate Olsen will emerge from her twin sister’s shadow and take arguably the largest starring role of her career as a cast members of Showtime’s Weeds. I’ll be honest with you: this is stunt casting at its finest. The role of a conservative Christian teenager who falls into a relationship with Silas (Hunter Parrish) could have been filled with scores of other young actresses, but Showtime likely insisted on someone that could get people talking.

So, I figure that Jenji Kohan and her writing staff should take advantage of this and be sure to milk their new co-star’s pedigree of sorts when writing the new season of Weeds (For more info on the new season, you can read Cultural Learnings’ Weeds: Season Three Preview.) Here’s ten possible storylines for the former child star that might get people talking; for some fascinating examples of said discussion, head over to my pal Erin’s juicy Olsen Twins gossip page, MKAshley.

1. Pregnancy

Silas already got his girlfriend Megan pregnant by putting holes in condoms, so it’s not as if there isn’t already a precedent here. Plus, if she gets pregnant on the show, it will start a whole slew of real life pregnancy tabloid rumours that will send the internet into a frenzy. It has all sorts of potential going against her fundamentalist background on the show as well.

2. Marijuana Dependency

The show’s called Weeds, people, so dabbling in the Mary Jane seems like a logical step for Mary-Kate. Silas takes on a new role in Nancy’s business in the fourth episode of the season that could make him into the facilitator of this dependency as well.

3. Alcoholism

It’s big with the teen queens these days (Oh Lindsay Lohan), and the series has not frowned from depicting the effects of alcohol in the past (Celia has a wonderful affair with the bottle early in the show’s third season). Plus, since Silas is a petty criminal, it would help them bond if she had a record as well.

4. Secret Twin Sister

It is somewhat sad I only got to #4 before trotting out this one, but it’s just too perfect. One sister can be the conservative christian, the other one can want to get into Silas’ pants. Comic hijinx ensue.

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July 29, 2007 · 12:00 pm

Preview: Weeds Season Three

When Showtime’s Weeds returns for its third season on August 13th at 10pm, there will be few surprises for fans of the series. Weeds is a sitcom that works on a very precise cycle: mother and pot dealer Nancy makes advances in her field of choice, is faced with a terrifying reality, and then is forced to deal with the consequences before clawing her way back to the top. At the end of Season One, she realized she had fell into bed (literally) with a DEA agent, which then became the overarching development in the show’s second season.

Therefore, it is unsurprising that after the four episodes sent to critics, Weeds has fallen back into this familiar pattern after a second season finale that had Silas being arrested (by a Celia-led cop) with a trunk full of marijuana that Nancy (newly Emmy-nominated Mary-Louise Parker) was supposed to be selling to U-Turn or to the Armenians who “took care of” her DEA Agent husband, and all of whom were now pointing guns at her. That cliffhanger was a doozy, but by the time the season’s fourth episodes kicks around the consequences are all that remain.

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July 19, 2007 · 3:17 pm

The Highlights and Lowlights of the 2007 Emmy Nominations

The nominations for the 56th annual Primetime Emmy awards have been released, and the result is a whole lot of frustration. While there are certainly some attributes in these categories that certainly warrant some sort of positive feelings, the overall impact is limited with some rather vile mistakes made by the voters. Yes, I said mistakes. Let’s take a look at the Best and the Worst of the nominations.

Best Category

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

This one is simple, really. While there were some other categories that had either too many familiar faces or the wrong mix of people, Supporting Actor in a Comedy gets it just right. Jon Cryer is the token nominee for the popular vote, but then you’ve got four awesome comedic talents: last year’s winner Jeremy Piven along with new (And fantastic) fresh faces in Rainn Wilson, Kevin Dillon and Neil Patrick Harris. I really can’t argue with any of these selections. I would have liked to see Justin Kirk in there, but it’s still a great category.

Runner-Up: Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Worst Category

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Three Grey’s Anatomy actresses, two Sopranos actresses, and perennial Emmy favourite Rachel Griffiths. It is clear that the men are where the new talent is making an impact, because these nominees couldn’t be much more predictable. The lack of new talent (Elizabeth Mitchell for Lost, Hayden Panettiere for Heroes) is the biggest problem, and I really hope that this can change in the future.

Runner-Up: Outstanding Drama Series

Most Surprising Nominee

Michael Emerson (Lost) – Supporting Actor in a Drama

I had written off Michael Emerson, one of my early picks, after Elizabeth Mitchell failed to crack the Top 10. However, it appears that Emerson was able to make it in, and with 6 nominees in his category worked his way into the fold. This was likely supported by Terry O’Quinn’s tape, which featured Emerson heavily. It is most deserved, and the most pleasant surprise of the morning.

Runner-Up: Boston Legal – Outstanding Drama Series

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Filed under ABC, Award Shows, Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, Emmy Awards, Entourage, FOX, Friday Night Lights, Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, Lost, Scrubs, Television, The CW, The Office, The Sopranos

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June 30, 2007 · 1:38 pm

The Leak: Emmy Top 10s for Drama and Comedy Series Hit the Web

Well, thanks to Tom O’Neill over at TheEnvelope.com, the Top 10 Drama and Comedy Series according to the popular voters of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences have been revealed. These 10 shows will then screen an episode each in front of blue ribbon panels, and the Top 5 with the two processes combined will be nominated. If they didn’t make this list, they’re screwed.

Top 10 Drama Series

Boston Legal
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Grey’s Anatomy
Heroes
House
Lost
Rome
The Sopranos
24

Biggest Surprise: I’m much happier about Friday Night Lights making it, but arguably Rome is the bigger surprise. The show had much less critical hype and aired such a short 2nd season that it was unexpected to get much attention. It appears that it got the period costume sex drama buzz as opposed to Showtime’s The Tudors.

Most Glaring Omission: Brothers & Sisters had good ratings, buzzworthy stars, but apparently voters didn’t feel the love. The aforementioned Tudors was also quite a shock considering how hard Showtime had pushed it, but Brothers & Sisters probably deserves one of those spots. And, even though it had no shot, Battlestar Galactica deserved better. Le sigh.

Network Breakdown: ABC leads with three series, while HBO, NBC and FOX all perform well with two a piece. Meanwhile, CBS is completely shut out while Showtime grabs the 10th spot.

Who Will Do Well: Lost and the Sopranos are riding the most buzz right now, and Grey’s and 24 both submitted strong episodes.

Who Won’t Do Well: Heroes, having submitted their pilot, will be EATEN ALIVE by these other shows. And Friday Night Lights, unfortunately, might have hit a roadblock against such tough competition. But it’s made it in, and that’s what matters.

Top 10 Comedy Series

Desperate Housewives
Entourage
Extras
My Name is Earl
The Office
Scrubs
Thirty Rock
Two and a Half Men
Ugly Betty
Weeds

Biggest Surprise: Eh, not much of one. We knew there were two spots up for grab, and it appears that voters liked British comedy (Extras) and American commercial success (Two and a Half Men) out of the remaining candidates.

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June 29, 2007 · 12:00 pm

For Your Consideration: Drama Series – “Dexter”

[As part of Cultural Learnings’ For Your Consideration Emmy Nominations Preview, the next two weeks will feature 7 Drama Series and 7 Comedy Series worthy of Emmy consideration. Check back daily for a different series, with drama and comedy alternating positions. For all of Cultural Learnings’ Emmy Coverage featuring Supporting and Lead Acting candidates, check out our For Your Consideration Index.]

Outstanding Drama Series

“Dexter” (Showtime)

When I first decided (Way back about four weeks ago) to place Dexter on my list of Drama Series contenders, I was going out on a limb. This moderately rated Showtime series didn’t get much buzz outside of its deserved attention for series star Michael C. Hall, so many didn’t have it on their Emmy radars. However, Showtime’s aggressive Emmy campaign (Which bolstered Huff two years ago) seems to have done some wonders for the series, as there is confirmation that it has placed in the Top 10 contenders, giving it a solid chance at maybe even garnering a nomination. Of course, some people are up in arms over this, claiming that Showtime is just buying nominations with their DVDs and that Dexter is taking the spot of a better Drama. And thus, since I’ve been a proponent of the show even before this announcement, I want to make something very clear: Dexter deserves to be there. And it is, without a doubt, a Drama series worthy of Emmy consideration.

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June 27, 2007 · 12:00 pm

For Your Consideration: Lead Actresses – Mary-Louise Parker and Kristen Bell

[In Week Four of Cultural Learnings’ 59th Annual Emmy Awards Nominations Preview, we’re looking at possible contenders for the Lead Actress awards in both drama and comedy. Today, we present our fourth set of candidates. For complete listings for all Supporting and Lead Actor candidates from the past four weeks, check out our For Your Consideration index]

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Mary-Louise Parker (Nancy)

Weeds

It has now been about a week since I started watching Weeds, which perhaps makes it difficult to put the show in perspective compared to others. I finished both of the show’s seasons in the span of about a week, and I think that this should be seen as a testament to the show’s quality. However, let’s be honest here: while the supporting performances of Elizabeth Perkins, Justin Kirk, Romany Malco, Kevin Deacon are all great, the entire show hinges on Mary-Louise Parker’s portrayal of a suburban widow turned drug dealer. I think that a single episode could survive without her subtle and engaging portrayal of Nancy Botwin, but the series as a whole requires us to feel for Nancy, understand Nancy, relate to Nancy and to a certain extent judge Nancy on her actions. What Parker nails each and every time is a character who has no idea what she’s doing; every time she tries to assert herself, her character finds things moving too fast, and she’s forced to fall as she always invariably falls. But we always want to pick her back up: we want Nancy to succeed at selling drugs just as much as we would want the Dillon Panthers to win the big game on Friday Night Lights. As individuals living in a legal system that frowns upon this, we should see it as somewhat subversive…and we do, but just the right amount. That is the work of Mary-Louise Parker, and it is work that is worthy of Emmy consideration.

What I like most about Parker’s work is that there is that constant awareness of how dangerous what she is doing really is, and yet also her ability to get swept up in it all. The constant fear that her children will figure out what she does for a living was real for Nancy, especially in the case of young son Shane. Nancy got herself into hot water this season: her DEA agent beau found out about her occupation of choice, she married him to gain protection from the law, her grow operation was threatened by Armenians, her elder son figured out her position (And got his girlfriend pregnant), she realized how screwed she was in her sham marriage, and pretty well everything spiraled out of control in the season finale. And through it all you saw Parker both being overwhelmed by the emotion of it all and getting absolutely giddy as Snoop Dogg digs her “M.I.L.F. Weed”.

While Perkins and Kirk have the real “comic” roles, Parker’s core storyline forms the show’s entire dramatic construct. Without a deft hand, these storylines could become too dramatic, or perhaps even too comic. Instead, Mary-Louise Parker always gives Nancy Botwin qualities we find funny, charming, and just enough to make us sometimes forget the mistakes she’s made. And that is a performance that should garner her an Emmy nomination.

Episode Selection: “Mrs. Botwin’s Neighbourhood” (Aired September 11th, 2006)

“I have fires in two houses, Mr. Botwin…Mr. Scotson.” This line perfectly demonstrates why this episode is a strong submission for Parker: she is faced with conflict on both sides of her life (Mother and Pot Dealer/Grower). Silas’ girlfriend Megan is pregnant, and she tells her parents on her own…and then stops talking to Silas, who had wanted her to keep the baby. Meanwhile, Nancy has to deal with four Armenian pot growers in her neighbourhood who are more than a little hostile and her newly established growhouse, so she turns to her sham DEA husband (Mr. Scotson) for assistance. Combine this with a hysterical attack from Elizabeth Perkins, and you have a woman who is struggling to keep her head above water. She lashes out, attacking Megan’s father for hitting her son and just delivers a great performance in the process. This is Nancy at her lowest with a glimmer of hope in its conclusion, and it is an engaging performance worthy of consideration.

YouTube – “Mrs. Botwin’s Neighbourhood”

Lead Actress in a Drama

Kristen Bell (Veronica)

Veronica Mars

Let’s be honest: Kristen Bell will not be nominated for an Emmy award. The show is too lowly rated, and struggled too much creatively in this its third season, for it to ever be considered a serious contender. However, I cannot help but continue to be engaged by Kristen Bell’s characterization of this young woman struggling with pretty well everything around her. She smart, intelligent, savvy, and yet is in many ways just as damaged as the rest of us. While her character has lost depth in the past two seasons, I still think that Bell remains the show’s highlight: without her turn as Veronica, I don’t know if the show would have ever engaged fans in the first place. As she moves on from the now cancelled Veronica Mars, I believe she has a bright future ahead of her. However, before she moves on, I think it is important that we at least bring attention to the fact that without her strong performance, Veronica Mars wouldn’t have lasted half a season. With wit and charm, Kristen Bell brought sophistication to the realm of teen dramas that it had not seen before: the result was a performance that, to hell with reality, is worthy of Emmy consideration.

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June 22, 2007 · 11:30 am

For Your Consideration: Supporting Addendum – Justin Kirk and Elizabeth Perkins

[With there being extremely few candidates for Lead Actress honours (Seriously, I struggled to even find five), I will alas be unable to fill seven days’ worth of candidates. As a result, however, this gives me a great chance to make up for some of my past errors, if you will. And so, after a marathon week of viewings, I am prepared to add two more to the supporting players lists. The Lead Actress series will begin on Sunday. For all of the past candidates, head to the For Your Consideration Index]

Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Justin Kirk (Andy)

Weeds

After a Golden Globe nomination in a notoriously difficult to enter category, Justin Kirk is looking to be in pretty good shape for the upcoming Emmy awards. While the Hollywood Foreign Press has been notoriously kind to cable television, especially compared to the Emmys, I still think that Kirk has a real chance. Andy is the obnoxious brother-in-law, the knowledgeable uncle, the scheming Rabbinate student, and pretty well the male comic highlight of this series. In a show heavy with drama, Kirk always offers a light-hearted sensibility that is both welcome and hilarious. You never really become emotionally invested in his storylines, but they are a breezy ride that allows the drama to flow from Nancy and Co. without bogging the series down. Whenever the show needs comic relief, it’s very easy to throw Andy into a situation, or give him a monologue…and comedy just happens. That quality, noticeable within even a single episode, makes Justin Kirk worthy of Emmy consideration.

Admittedly, I haven’t finished the show’s second season, but already Andy’s presence is just as strong as it was in the first one. From the moment Andy arrived in the family’s kitchen setting off the smoke alarm after breaking in, the character has been a breath of hazy but wonderful air for the show’s dynamics. This season has seen him expand into his own storyline, joining the Rabbinate and trying to romance his dead of admissions…and getting into some sexual exploits in the process. This is nothing new, perhaps, but Kirk just keeps getting better in the role. Flashes of brilliance within Andy are fantastic: his explanation of Noreaga and Panama to Shane was just a brilliant line reading from Kirk, and the entire series is chock full of them. I would compare him most to Neil Patrick Harris on How I Met Your Mother: often not in the show’s “main” storyline, he steals every single scene he’s in. And that’s an Emmy worthy performance.

Episode Selection: “Last Tango in Agrestic” (Aired August 28th, 2006)

I don’t really need to say anything about this episode. It involves all sorts of things: Silas putting a hole in a condom (Argh, Silas, you frustrate me), Nancy getting married to her DEA agent boyfriend so that he won’t be forced to testify against her, and then Nancy rents a house to grow weed out of. Really, Andy doesn’t even have a storyline.

But he does have this scene. And this scene could very well single-handedly win him an Emmy award.

YouTube – “Last Tango in Agrestic”

Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Elizabeth Perkins (Celia)

Weeds

I don’t know how Elizabeth Perkins does it. Celia is a complete and utter bitch, and yet I am always rooting for her. I seriously think that the way she treats her daughter, her husband, her friends, her community, and just about everything else is so deplorable that it would even overpower the cancer sympathy. And yet, I find her hysterical, and want her to torture everyone and anyone she can get her hands on. She’s a villain in the traditional sense: we do root for Isabelle, her daughter, and her husband Dean in their fight against her tyranny. But in the end, I think I’m rooting for Celia. Perkins embodies Celia’s bitchiness, her insecurities, in such a way that I don’t really know how she has yet to win a major award for her work. Every single time she walks into Nancy’s home unannounced, I wonder how someone so ridiculous could exist…but then seconds later believe it all. As the bitchy and delightful Celia Hodes, Elizabeth Perkins is more than Emmy worthy.

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June 22, 2007 · 8:27 am

Emmy Nominations: How They Work, Who They Benefit

Today, June 21st, the first stage of the Emmy Nomination process ends. Getting nominated for an Emmy Award is not an easy task, and the entire process is ludicrously complicated this year. To help you follow the process as it unfolds over the next month, here’s a rundown on how the decision is made and who benefits from each stage.

Stage One: The Popular Vote

How it Works: Voters select their favourite candidate from all individuals who have submitted themselves for nomination. They read For Your Consideration ads, watch screeners, but in the end likely just pick who they like.

Who it Benefits: Shows that are either perennial nominees or extremely buzz-worthy, and actors that are well-known in Hollywood. Shows like The Sopranos or Desperate Housewives are guaranteed to do well at this stage because they have star power and award show history. Thus, voters don’t really even need to see what these candidates have to offer, they just assume they’re really good. Much hyped new shows, like Heroes and Ugly Betty, will also benefit.

Who it Harms: Ratings-deprived, critically acclaimed programs without any of the above, and actors or actresses who lack star power. While a show like critically acclaimed 30 Rock has a lot of star power (Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey), Friday Night Lights does not and will not perform well at this stage of the competition. Similarly, a show like Jericho lost so much steam in the post-hiatus period that it is unlikely to be on voters’ minds, even with the recent campaign to save it.

Stage Two: The Top 10 Run-Off

How it Works: The Top 10 series from the popular vote are isolated and screened in front of a blue ribbon panel. Each show/actor/actress selects an episode that will be screened for the panel if it makes the Top 10. They also prepare a short written statement explaining their show and the episode in context with the show. For example, should Lost make the Best Drama Series panel (Count on it), they will be screening the season finale, “Through the Looking Glass.”

Then, each member of the panel will rank the shows from 1 to 10, and a final ranking will be decided.

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June 20, 2007 · 9:00 am

Cultural Excuses – Blame it on ‘Weeds’

Hey everyone,

Myles here. I was all set to put together some nice blog posts today, on top of today’s sixth and penultimate Lead Actors Emmy Preview (Which will be posted later today). However, unfortunately, that will be the only post: the second part of my Studio 60 series and another reason to see Ratatouille will have to wait until another day. Because last night, after it sitting here for quite some time unwatched, I began to watch Showtime’s Weeds.

And I’m hooked. I now want to go back in time and recognize Elizabeth Perkins’ fantastic supporting performance in the series, and will likely be featuring Mary Louise Parker next week when I begin to discuss Lead Actress candidates.

In the end, it means I will be putting those two pieces on hold for a day or so. But, since I’m only doing so out of love for television, I think you must forgive me.

In the meantime, here’s a trailer for Weeds’ first season. Which has an annoying voiceover, but I refuse to risk spoilers, even for my faithful viewers. Search YouTube for more if you’re interesting.

YouTube – Weeds

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June 17, 2007 · 11:00 am

For Your Consideration: Lead Actors – Michael C. Hall and Josh Radnor

[In Week Three of Cultural Learnings’ 59th Annual Emmy Awards Nominations Preview, we’re looking at possible contenders for the Lead Actor awards in both drama and comedy. Today, we present our third set of candidates. For complete listings for the Supporting candidates from the past two weeks, check out our For Your Consideration index]

Lead Actor in a Drama

Michael C. Hall (Dexter Morgan)

Dexter

Michael C. Hall spent years on Six Feet Under as perhaps the least nominated star of the HBO series. When it ended, he was probably not expected to make a huge splash compared to his high-profile co-stars like Peter Krause. Well, Michael C. Hall proved them all wrong, landing the starring role on Showtime’s Dexter and knocking it out of the park. Dexter is a character that needs to be likable and yet contain the type of rage and emotional distance required to represent his tortured past. Hall manages to walk this fine line in his various relationships on the show, and I believe that he has one of the toughest roles of any of the drama candidates. While so many of these actors need to act a certain way, Hall needs to present a character who is acting nearly all the time, lying to all those around him. And his deft ability to do so makes him worthy of Emmy consideration.

Dexter Morgan is a character that is a forensic blood analyst by day, but moonlights as a vigilante law enforcer, torturing and murdering people who have wronged others and slipped through the cracks of the justice system. Michael C. Hall brings him to life…well, that’s the wrong term, because part of Dexter (The caring, emotional part) is dead. As the season progressed, it became harder and harder to keep up his lie, and he even found himself regaining some of his emotions with his relationship with Rita. Combine this with the fact that an ice truck killer knows Dexter’s secret and is taunting him, and you have a man in a dire situation.

And Michael C. Hall always represented that. His delivery, his mannerisms, his actions, they all fit the incredibly hard to nail down profile of vigilante murdered lying to his friends and family and incapable of controlling his anger or caring about others. Dexter is not evil: he kills only those who deserve it based on rules set forth by his adopted father. And somehow, even as he murders someone almost every episode, Hall manages to make us empathize and care about this murderer, and yet still fear who he is and what he does. And that is a performance worthy of Emmy consideration.

Episode Selection: “Shrink Wrap” (Aired November 19th, 2006)

The season finale (“Born Free”) of Dexter is what has actually been selected, and it is still a fantastic piece of acting from Michael C. Hall. With his sister in danger and the ice truck killer’s identity revealed, Dexter must face his torturous past while making a final decision: does his past define him, or can he decide his own fate with his sister and the people who care about him? Both offer the titular freedom, but in very different ways, and Hall makes that decision just as hard as it should be.

But I think that the best episode for Dexter is “Shrink Wrap”, where he heads to a therapist as part of a case and ends up finding need for his services himself. It’s a powerful performance from Hall, as the following scene shows: Dexter finally tells someone the truth, if only right before he kills them.

YouTube – “Shrink Wrap”

Lead Actor in a Comedy

Josh Radnor (Ted)

How I Met Your Mother

Ted Moseby, architect. It must be a tough job, being straight man to the fantastic Neil Patrick Harris, but Josh Radnor always seems up to the task. He is an incredibly engaging lead, simultaneously believable as a young architect and as a guy who hangs around and swordfights with his best friend. While I don’t believe that he is the cast’s strongest component, like Cobie Smulders I believe he plays an integral role in ensuring the ensemble works. Ted is the glue that holds all of these people together, in a sense, and even without comic showcases I believe that makes him worthy of Emmy consideration.

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