Announcing the Summer 2010 to Spring 2011 Television Season

First, I want to say that I just updated the Favorites page with the latest information on my TV shows. I haven’t updated it in a while, and there was a lot to change. I added the new shows that I am considering watching this fall, made changes for all the canceled shows, and made changes for the shows that are coming back in the fall.

That said, of all the TV series that I followed this season (for more than 1 episode), the following will be/will have been canceled by the end of the season: The Beautiful Life (CW), Dollhouse (FOX), Eastwick (ABC), FlashForward (ABC), Heroes (NBC), LOST (ABC), Nip/Tuck (FX), and Ugly Betty (ABC). LOST was not canceled in the traditional sense, though, as it was planned for this 6th season to be the final one about three years ago; thus, we might say it is ending vs. canceled).

Although I have yet to watch it, Happy Town was canceled as well (I do plan on watching it this summer, though, just because of Amy Acker’s involvement). The NBC series Day One was downgraded to mini-series, then 2-hour movie, and then it was canceled; as such, I have never seen it, nor will I. Heroes was canceled, but there are ongoing discussions about doing a limited-run series next season (mini-series consisting of around 4 episodes) or a 2-hour movie, to wrap things up. With one of the most successful international audiences in the history of television, Heroes sure is getting star treatment here; most shows don’t get a wrap-up like this, and such a thing wouldn’t even be considered. On a similar note, the cast and crew of Ugly Betty have also shown interest in making an Ugly Betty movie somewhere along the line, whether on TV or the big screen. I would enjoy it, I’m sure, but the series finale was actually quite satisfying for me. So I would be okay if the movie never surfaced.

Moving forward, the broadcast television networks have announced their fall 2010 plans, and the following series are currently of interest to me: Lonestar (FOX), Nikita (CW), No Ordinary Family (ABC), Raising Hope (FOX), and Undercovers (NBC). I’m still debating on a few others, but there’s little to no chance I’ll actually be able to add any, and I may not even get to watch these that I’ve listed because of school, etc. If you’d like to check any of these out, you can find promotional videos on YouTube. I wasn’t expecting to like Raising Hope, but I was pleasantly surprised by the promos. Ditto Lonestar.

Currently, I’m just waiting for Glee, FlashForward, Parenthood, Breaking Bad, and The United States of Tara to wind down for the season (or forever, in FlashForward‘s case), and then I’ll be ready for the highly-anticipated third season of True Blood, beginning Sunday, June 13th! Mad Men starts season four on Sunday, July 25th. And although I have watched the first seasons of the aforementioned Breaking Bad and United States of Tara, I have yet to see any subsequent episodes, so I’ll be getting caught up over the summer. I also plan to watch the first season of Parenthood this summer so I can be ready for season two this fall; I’ve heard great things about it, and since it teams actress Lauren Graham with producer/writer Jason Katims, I’m sure these things are very true indeed. 🙂

Classes won’t begin again until August 30th, so I won’t have them to worry about until then. Couple that with the fact that I don’t have a real job at present (although I do have a work study position at UBalt that I can continue until June 30th), and we can see the makings of a very productive summer in terms of reading and TV/movie watching. 😉 I’ve already read/finished four books since the semester ended (Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, and Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol). I’m making a dent in my ever-expanding library of books that I have bought and not read. I’m going to re-read The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy soon, because it’s short and I loved it in high school, and then I think I’ll read another mindless Koontz book. And then who knows what!

But I do need to find another job soon. I saw on the Financial Aid calendar that loans for the fall semester won’t be dispersed until August 30th, which means I won’t get my refund until September 10th at the earliest. Although I have gotten, or will soon get, some help from my family this summer, I still won’t have enough money to last until August/September.

Back to the drawing board!

I think I’m going to heat up some spaghetti and watch a few episodes of Sliders. I’m almost done with the fourth season, and then it’s on to the last one, which I’ve heard is terrible, but I’m sticking with it because Sliders was one of my favorite shows, growing up, and I’m glad I can finally watch the episodes I never got to see. Thank you Netflix streaming!

The End Is Nigh

My first year of graduate classes at the University of Baltimore is almost over. This semester, I’ve been taking a class called Experimental Forms, in which we read experimental works of fiction and write experimentally, based on these readings, as well as a workshop in screenwriting and my second graduate-level workshop in fiction (I’d only taken a single undergrad workshop before I came here, to a grad program). Last semester, I took my first graduate fiction workshop and a class called Creativity: Ways of Seeing. All of these, except Screenwriting, are required for my degree. Screenwriting is just an elective—it’s the icing on the cake, considering that I want to write movies and/or for television.

Since late last week, I’ve managed to write three short stories and a reader’s response essay, but I still feel a little overwhelmed by what I have left. In retrospect, it was not a good idea to take three grad-level writing classes in one semester. Anyway, by next Monday at midnight, I have to have my screenplay and treatment finished/revised and turned in. Monday is also the due date for my final experimental piece, but that is one of the short stories that I’ve written in the last few days; I just need to edit, and it will be good to go. Furthermore, my professor said we don’t have to turn it in on Monday, since we won’t be meeting for class; that means I’ll turn it in on Wednesday, which is when the rest of my final projects are due (for Fiction). For that class, I have to put together a portfolio of everything I’ve written this semester, including any revisions, and then I have to write a reader’s response to a short story from our class’s anthology. I’ve already done that, but I’ll still need to find time to edit before next Wednesday. It’s based on Jhumpa Lahiri’s incredibly touching “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine.”

For now, I’m mostly/only worried about my screenplay. It’s not done, for one thing, but I also don’t feel it is up to par on a line level. So I have to finish the storyline and do at least one revised draft of the entire thing, if I can manage that.

I can’t wait for this semester to be over. But then, that breaks open a whole new problem: I need a job so I can afford to stay in Baltimore. I will almost have enough to cover my fixed expenses for two months—almost. But I wouldn’t be able to spend any more money than that, and that’s just not going to work. So I need to make up for those extra expenses, and then pay all my expenses for August. It’s not a ton of money, in the grand scheme of things, but for a poor graduate student in Baltimore, it’s still a lot.

I just hope there are jobs to be had. In the meantime, I’m seriously considering ChaCha, but I don’t think that will really help that much, and even then, it will only help at all if I can pass all the required tests and get “hired.” I can’t believe I’m actually considering this, but I may end up having to go to the nearest Burger King or something. Since I worked for Burger King for 4 years, under both terrible and amazing management, you should consider that a sign of desperation.

It wouldn’t be so bad. Would it? If I’m making money, who cares what kind of crappy job it is?

Which reminds me, I need to find out if taking a graduate assistantship would affect my loan eligibility in any way because there’s a chance I could end up with a (bad but still paying) assistantship next year.

Grandma’s Spring Cookbook

Spring break is finally over, and I’m working like mad to finish my story for tonight’s Experimental Forms class. In fact, it’s almost done, but I only worry because I have to work until 3 p.m., and then I have Screenwriting at 5:30 p.m. I hope I have enough time to make the final edits I want to make.

The story is based on my grandma’s cookbook, which she wrote out, handwritten, for all her children; in December, my mom made my sister and me a copy for Christmas. It’s probably one of the most meaningful things in my possession. Without the Experimental Forms class, I might never have written this story. This is but one reason I am glad I chose the M.F.A. program I did.

Over break, I stayed in Baltimore (except for a couple of trips to the Bowie area). I worked on Monday and Tuesday (but only half-time), and I saw Justin on Monday night and Friday night. We saw Alice in Underland…er…Alice in Wonderland on Friday. In 3-D. It was a beautiful movie and a pretty good story, for the most part. I know some people expected more, but I was actually okay with what I got.

I watched The Office and 30 Rock the other day, online. I never have time to watch them when they air on Thursdays. Anyway, I found The Office funnier than it has been most of this season, even if there were a couple of cringeworthy moments (***SPOILER************Dwight choked Kevin? Seriously?************END SPOILER***).  There were a couple of good Michael scenes, which I was surprised about, because I haven’t liked Michael at all this season. There was also some “inconsistent” behavior and dialogue from some characters (I’m talking to you, Phyllis), but my Experimental Forms and Fiction teacher (he teaches both classes) makes a good point: People are inconsistent. So, I was mostly okay with it, especially when Phyllis called Michael “numbnuts,” and then immediately changed her tone. She knew that wasn’t her, and for that, I loved this moment. My favorite line of the episode: As Dwight stood in the middle of the local dump, he said, “This place has gone to hell.” How meta of him.

30 Rock was brilliant, as has been the case for a while now. Truth be told, I like it better than The Office, these days. I don’t have time to elaborate right now, though.

Last night, I watched the latest episode of Spartacus: Blood and Sand, and it was pretty good but not quite up to par with the best episodes of the season. Even so, for a show that started off in terrible shape, I’m impressed and delighted with how far it’s come.

Finally, I also continued a recent endeavor last night: re-watching the original FOX/SciFi series Sliders (1995 to 2000). I watched the season two opener before I went to bed last night, and I must say, it was one of my favorite episodes of the series and had perhaps one of the best endings of any series. Ever. Plus, I don’t remember having seen it before! I can’t believe I missed this the first time around, if that’s the case. Thank you Netflix for reconnecting me to Sliders!

I guess I’d better go now. Unfortunately, I’m finding that work is the most lucrative time to blog, for me. It forces me to write quickly. Maybe that takes away from content, but every once in a while, I’ll do a blog on my own time.

Those are the ones to wait for. Maybe next time…

Ex-Mayors and Horror Stories

Sorry there haven’t been any updates in a while, if anyone’s been reading. I have so many stories, but I can’t possibly remember them all.

I’ll start with what happened today and see what I remember from there.

I was working—and actually, I’m working right now, so I have to make this quick—and we had a last-minute equipment delivery. Rustam and I had to take a projector over to Institutional Advancement at UB for a conference they were having, but we didn’t realize we would need an extension cord for it; we didn’t know the table was so far from the power outlet. So he went back to get one while I continued setting up the projector. And the woman in charge of the conference actually said this to me, or really just to the room: “Man, you guys are about as prepared as I am.”

First of all, she called us last-minute and expected perfection. Never going to happen! Second, she couldn’t get Outlook to open, and she didn’t know how to log in to the website she needed. Yeah, I think she could have been a little more grateful.

AWKward. It wasn’t our fault you forgot or that you’re having a bad day!

Oh well. I didn’t say anything. At least not until I left.

But on the way out, Rustam and I saw ex-Mayor of Baltimore Sheila Dixon coming out of the Starbucks on North Charles in Mount Vernon. A guy stopped us at the crosswalk and pointed at her, subtly. “Isn’t that mayor Dixon?” he asked. And I’m 99% sure it was. Looked just like her. Shouldn’t she be in jail or something? She must have been spending her last unclaimed gift card at Starbucks!

When I got back to the office, Shirley came out and congratulated me. “For what?” I said. Then she told me I got the second-highest score on the what-do-you-know test we took at work a couple of weeks ago (for orientation part 2). Woohoo! That’s something, I guess. I know what I’m doing at work!

Suck on that, Institutional Advancement lady. 😉 Have a better day tomorrow.

*sigh*

Okay, new topic. Movies!

I went and saw The Crazies last weekend—with Kari, Mike, and Eli—and it was GREAT! It was much more impressive than Shutter Island, which just drove us (Kari, Mike, Lori, and me) crazy with terrible dialogue and clichéd plot “twists” that read as cop outs. Scorsese was really backed into a corner with that movie. Anyway, The Crazies was actually pretty great, even had some good acting.

Tonight, I might be going to see Alice in Wonderland with Justin. I’m excited!

All This Busyness Business

Wow, it’s a busy week.

Sunday, Justin and I went to the aquarium with Lori, Kari, Eli, Wendy, and Danielle. It was a University of Baltimore event night. UB students got in for free; it was only $5 or $6 for Justin. Not bad, considering it’s normally $25 to go, and I don’t think they’re usually open at night. After walking around there for about an hour, and taking lots of pictures (*placeholder for pictures*), we went to ESPN Zone to eat and watch some of the All-Star game (for Lori, Wendy, and Eli) and Olympics. Then we went home. I had to go to bed early because I had to get up at…

7:30, or so, a.m. the next day. I have to work, so I walk Justin to his parking spot at Penn Station (because of the snow emergency in Maryland, there’s no guest parking at my apartment for the time being). He drives me back to the school, and we say goodbye. He goes home. I get my keys from the Public Safety desk and go across the street to the Business Center so I can clock in for work. Since I had a migraine the morning before, I haven’t finished my reading for class tonight. I work on it during any break I can get from work. It’s a pain.

I read at the desk; I read on lunch break; I read after work, at home, where I finally finish the reading. I finalize my writing assignment and print it out. I try to come up with a screenplay idea for my screenwriting class but get nothing. I make a sandwich for tonight since I won’t have much time for dinner because I have class from 5:30 to 10:45 p.m., with a fifteen-minute break between classes.

I go to screenwriting. It’s fun. We do a collaborative “screenplay idea” project, and my group actually comes up with a great idea. The professor has brought snacks, but ironically, this is the only class time in which we won’t watch any movie clips; and it’s because the snow day has caused us to cram material together.

In Experimental Forms, the professor says that he hadn’t contacted us during the snow break (no shit?) and that he decided we will just push everything forward a bit and try to fix the missing class later on. He couldn’t have told us that? So we didn’t break our backs trying to read the assigned reading, as well as finish the writing assignment from the class period that we lost? Oh well. Some of us hadn’t finished the reading anyway, but we all have the writing assignment done. Which we read next, out loud, one at a time. There are around twenty of us, so it takes most of class. One of us doesn’t read; she’s like that sometimes; she’s pretty shy. But she could at least give it a shot instead of saying, “My name is _____. I don’t want to read mine.” She’s the only one who doesn’t read. There’s no way she can keep this up and get a good participation grade. Then again, I’m not feeling so hot about my grade tonight either. I don’t speak much because of the nature of tonight’s class. I can’t comment on things read out loud to me (for the first time, at least), on the fly. I need to see it in front of me and have time for thoughts to fester. I’m not going to like these writing exercise classes. *sigh*

After class, I say goodnight to Mike and Lori and walk home with Kari. We say goodnight at the door and each go to our separate rooms. I come back out and pour some cereal. I eat while surfing the Internet—getting caught up on my YouTubes and checking my e-mail. I have a long e-mail to respond to but don’t have the energy or time tonight. I feel bad because I’ve been neglecting people today. Hélène had called during work, and I haven’t called her back yet. I realize I don’t have to work at 9 a.m. the next morning like I thought; I’m scheduled for noon. I stay up a bit longer, surfing, talking to Justin via IM. I get hungry again and eat some pretzels and Cheez-Its. I go to bed, trying to think of story ideas as I drift off to sleep.

I’m at work now—noon, not 9—writing this. I have to write a story for tomorrow’s Fiction class. I have an e-mail to write and a phone call to return. And a tax return to re-send, because I put the wrong zip code or something. I’m overwhelmed.

I’ll have class tomorrow evening. I’ll finish the story during the day (or not; he had said we don’t have to have them finished, per se). I’ll try to do the tax return, the e-mail, the phone call. I’ll relax at 9 p.m. with LOST on ABC. 🙂

I’ll try to remain sane.

I might succeed.

P. S. I want a Tivo. And a new camera, or two.

UPDATE: Sent the e-mail, finished the tax return. I’ll make the phone call soon. Then I’ll get caught up on my TV (still have to watch last week’s Supernatural and this week’s Life Unexpected), get dinner, and get ready for LOST.