S.O.S. Save Our Shows!

It's that time of year again. The snow has melted, flowers are beginning to bloom and network television shows are coming to an end. For many shows it's not the true end - only the end of a season. We'll see them again in September. Sadly, the fate of other shows is still unknown.

Many of our favorites here at Nerdy Pop are on the brink of extinction. It's happened before and it's bound to happen again. Brilliant, funny and top-notch series get left behind while shows we've never seen continue to be seen by tens of millions of viewers, apparently.

Luckily, the way ratings are tabulated is beginning to evolve along with the way we all watch, taking social media into consideration. But, in the meantime, we'll still lose shows way before their time. Below are my three favorites that need saving this season.

Emily Owens M.D.

If you're one of the few of us who have even heard of this show, you might be thinking "Um, wasn't this already cancelled?" and technically you are correct. I don't think time of death has been called yet, but not being granted a back 9 by the network pretty much means you're done. I, however, love this show so much that I'm not giving up hope!

Emily Owens M.D. reminds me of the early seasons of Grey's Anatomy, except Emily, for me, is much more relatable than Meredith Grey. 

Emily (played by the fabulous Mamie Gummer) is a hospital intern who knows her stuff, but is also able to connect with patients on a personal level in ways her colleagues often aren't. Although she knows what she's doing at work, in her social life Emily's more unsure of herself.

Yes, it sounds like you've seen this show before. But, it's so well done and Emily grows up so much just in the 13 episodes of season one that it's more believable than many other series that's have tried this angle before. You root for Emily at every turn. After introducing this series to a friend she was raving about it FOR DAYS!

If you haven't watched I encourage you to do so. Maybe we can help it make a full recovery!

Community

By now you probably know how much I love this show. It's been back for a few months and is just as good as ever.

I was concerned at first. It took a few episodes for the new show runners to find their own voice without compromising the Community tone fans are used to. If you ask me, I think by now they've got it down.

Well, Why Not? 2013's Pilot Season

This year promises to deliver a lot of dramatic comedies and some more female leads.  My favorites all lie in ABC's hands.  S.H.I.E.L.D. was already greenlit nearly as soon as its announcement.  So let's take a look at the nerd-centric pilots that could potentially be airing on our TVs in the fall or midseason.

S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC)

Joss Whedon will direct, produce, and co-write the pilot.  His brother Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen will work on the pilot as well and will take the reigns post-pilot.  Jeffrey Bell and Jeph Loeb will also be developing the pilot.  The espionage, peacekeeping government organization will follow a group of its active members.  Some Avengers may show up, as well.  Clark Gregg resumes (and revives) his role as Agent Colson, alongside Ming-Na, Brett Dalton, Elizabeth Henstridge, Ian De Caestecker, and Chloe Bennet.  (UPDATE: S.H.I.E.L.D. was picked up.)

Murder in Manhattan (ABC)

Bridget Regan (eh-hem excuse me...BRIDGET REGAN!!!!!!!) and Annie Potts star as daughter (Lex) and mother (Blythe) as a duo of amateur sleuths.  Lex, described as sexy, works at the Mayor's office by day.  The joy I have at this duo is only exacerbated by the addition of Enver Gjokaj (Lex's best childhood friend Jack) and Brendan Hines (Bylthe's son/Lex's brother).  Jack works for the NYPD and Hine's character works as an Assistant District Attorney, both of whom I'm sure help the mother-daughter sleuths out.  (UPDATE: ABC has not order the pilot to series.  I have been CRUSHED.)

Regan, Potts, Hines; photo courtesy of Brendan Hines (@Brendan_Hines)

Looking Forward 2013: Movies, Pt. 2

Dates to be Announced

The following films do not have release dates yet.

Blue Jasmine

Everything about this is hush-hush except for the basics.  Woody Allen, you better not disappoint!  It would be hard not to with Cate Blanchett, Louis CK, Alec Baldwin, Michale Emerson, Sally Hawkins, and Peter Sarsgaard.

Drinking Buddies

Written and directed by indie-driven Joe Swanberg, Jake Johnson and Olivia Wile star as Luke and Kate, who work at a Chicago brewery and drink and flirt together, though they are both in committed relationships.  Anna Kendrick and Ron Livingston co-star as the significant others Jill and Chris.

In Defense of the Oscars

Have you ever loved something, but felt like you were the only one? In the last few years that's how I've felt about the Oscars. I call it my Super Bowl, as on the night most Americans gather around the TV to cheer on their favorites I watch movies breaking only for the half time show.

True, this year's production of the Academy Awards didn't go unnoticed. Approximately 40 million people watched and are still talking about the winners days later. However, for me it still feels like I know no one who embraces the event as much as I do. I'm not saying no one else cares, I know many of you do, but I keep my love for it in check. I get REAL excited you guys. On the inside, I'm beaming.

In the last few years I've attempted to watch every Best Picture nominee before the big night. This year I was unsuccessful (blame my fabulous social life I suppose). Thanks to reading and research I figured Argo would take home the prize so I made sur to at least watch it. Three hours before the main event Sunday night I curled up on my couch and pressed play.

Argo really is a great film and deserves all the accolades it received this year. At the end, though, a thought crossed my mind. The name associated with the film is, of course, Ben Affleck. Again, he and his team deserved the award they were given - an award for a film. But still watching the movie I couldn't help but think that the man Affleck portrays in the film, CIA Officer Tony Mendez, deserves praise of his own.

And then I realized that if Argo the film hadn't been made, I would not know who Mendez was, nor the impact he's made on our country's history. That got me thinking of all the other characters portrayed in the Oscar films this year and I came to the conclusion that the Oscars is more than a celebration of the year in movies. It's also a celebration of incredible people.

IMO: The Most Romantic Movie Scene EVER

In case you haven't noticed, nerds, it's Valentine's Day! What better way to celebrate than with a love story played out on a screen by professional actors?

In cinematic history there have been many romantic moments: Rhett & Scarlet, Rick & Ilsa, Harry & Sally, Jack & Rose. Ask someone what scene is the most romantic they might suggest the moment Noah tells Allie it's not over. Or possibly one of my favorites when Darcy confesses, again, his love for Elizabeth. But it may surprise you to learn that neither of these takes the cake for me.

The scene that does isn't very famous. The movie itself, truth be told, isn't all that great. Time and time again, however I'll watch just this scene and the magic never goes away. Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor are serenading each other in 1956's Anything Goes. I don't know what it is. The song maybe? The chemistry perhaps? Maybe I just really like Donald O'Connor? Either way I can't watch this and not feel swoony.

So, I hope your holiday has been delovely, nerds. And tell me what do you think is the most romantic movie scene?

Literally a Literary Crush

A post over at one of our favorites HelloGiggles inspired me to write of my own devotions to literary characters.  I wasn't too much of a reader growing up, and females weren't a heavy presence in many of the books I was reading.  T.A. Barron perhaps wrote them more than any other popular young adult/children's fantasy author.  And I found myself reading Louis L'Amour books just to have a quick read so I could meet my quota.  We didn't have a great selection at our school's library.  Books were very much directed towards boys or girls.  It was westerns and sports books geared towards boys and romances and babysitting adventures with girls.  So I typically found my literary crushes in X-Men, because that's where strong females were most present!  Thankfully I met good taste in books at college, where I fell in love with so many great characters.  It's strange that someone who went into college as an English Education major didn't fall in love with books until college, right?

STORM (X-MEN)

My first literary crush would most definitely be Storm from the X-Men.  Bold, rational by heart, and incredibly strong as a person and a leader, Ororo Munroe ripped out my heart (not co much like she did Marrow's though) with every panel.  Whether she was fighting her possessed friends (it's best when it's Cyclops) or comforting her friends like the beautiful scene between her and Iceman while his dad was in the hospital, Storm blew me away.  Her ties to nature, love of plants, and claustrophobia were aspects of her personality I could admire and relate to.  (I couldn't relate to her goddess complex, though.)  She was a nurturing individual, yet could be ruthless if called for.  I couldn't get enough of her, even with her weird-ass lines in the animated series.  ("I shall meet you at the monorail!")

Geek Chic: Pants A La Petrie

The year was 1961. A new television sitcom was premiering: The Dick Van Dyke Show. Like others before it, this black and white comedy focused on an average family — Dad has his job, Mom has her home. Just your standard, happy wholesome family television show. And then... scandal!

The wife wore pants!

It's true, Laura Petrie, the character Mary Tyler Moore played from 1961 until 1965 was a trailblazer. Until her, the traditional TV housewife stuck to her uniform of dresses and heels. From the beginning, though, Moore insisted Laura wear pants, arguing that all the housewives she knew wore them. Finally, TV housewives were set free! 

We've been through a lot since Laura. There were the flowing peasant skirts of the late 60s, high-waisted bell bottoms of the 70s, acid-washed jeans of the 80s and baggy carpenter jeans of the 90s (oh, how fashion was unkind to me in middle school). Which brings us to today when we find me flipping through the March issues of fashion magazines and I see ads for these:

Yes, they're jeans, but still don't these look familiar? The bright colors. The high hem. Hello stranger.