TV you should be watching

Admittedly, Jeff and I watch too much TV. We tell ourselves it's ok because it's our together time. And that's actually true--we spend as much time talking about what we're watching as we do watching it. The way a character has been written, the cinematography, the lighting in a shot, or how that guest director did on the "special" episode. So, since we are obviously the experts on good TV, I wanted to let you know what TV shows you absolutely must be watching right now.

1. Pushing Daisies--This is the best new show no one is watching. It's quirky and fun, with characters sometimes breaking into song, a narrator, bold colors and costumes, and a seriously silly premise. The main character can raise people from the dead. Unfortunately, once he has touched them, they can only stay alive for one minute before something else around it dies. This can cause some serious problems as you can imagine, especially when he finds his first love has died. He can't bring himself to touch her twice (and so cause her to die permanently), so he lets her live. He hooks up with a PI and they bring murdered people back to life to find their killers. It sounds really dark, but it's surprisingly sweet. This show is for people who are fans of one or more of the following TV shows or movies:

• Edward Scissorhands
• A Series of Unfortunate Events
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Little Shop of Horrors
• Northern Exposure
• Stranger Than Fiction
• Anything else Tim Burton directed
• Gilmore Girls

It's also Chi McBride at his best, plus Swoosie Kurtz, and Kristin Chenoweth. It has a real fairy tale feel and has characters you will love. It's both innocent and macabre, strange and silly. It's hard to describe, so just check it out. (ABC, Wednesday night)

2. Brothers and Sisters--This is probably my favorite show right now. Obviously from its many Emmy wins, they're doing something right. I can't rave enough about Sally Fields (nobody cries like her!), but the supporting cast is fantastic too! Sure, it's a little soap opera-y, but who cares? This season my heart is breaking for Rachel Griffith's (fabulous in Muriel's Wedding) divorce and child custody saga. It is engaging, funny, smart, and just plain fun to watch. It makes everyone simultaneously wish for and dread big families and all the trappings that go with them. It's just fun to see a family who deals with their dysfunctions and issues with love. It feels very real, like, "Oh that's exactly how my family is" or "Geez, that's just like my mom." It makes it more fun to watch. Plus the acting and writing are top notch.

3. Journeyman--Another show with a trippy premise. A guy randomly takes "trips" into the past to try to help someone. And no, it's not about drugs. It has the feel of a procedural to keep you engaged for that particular episode while at the same time mining the vast riches of "What if..." involved with time travel. This gives it a delicious Lost of Heroes feel (when those shows are at their best). Why is he traveling? Who controls the "trips"? What if he's with his kids when he travels (since the vanishing is out of his control)? Why is his former fiance (who is supposed to be dead) also a traveler, and why does she show up on his trips? It's great fun.

4. Chuck and Reaper--These two shows are, sadly, too alike for their own good. Both feature average Joe's in extraordinary situations, each with a dumb/funny sidekick and an unrequited love seriously out of his league. I tend to like Chuck better because I like the main guy better. The guy on Reaper gets on my nerves and I think the chick he's in love with is kind of a loser. That being said, Reaper wins when it comes to sidekicks. Reaper also has Kevin Smith on its side (he works as a producer and writer), but it's just not as endearing to me as Chuck which has a real world quality that I appreciate. I just care about all the characters more on that one and, ask my husband, that's often a big factor me when watching movies or TV. Either way, you should check out these shows. Chuck is on NBC and Reaper is on the CW.

5. Aliens in America--If you love Freaks and Geeks, My So-Called Life, or The Wonder Years, you'll love Aliens in America. This show is about a kid who is so unpopular, his parent imported him a friend. They thought that the blond, hunky guy on the brochure would be the awesome exchange student who would be coming to live with them and instead a Pakistani boy shows up in their Wisconsin town. It's fantastic! Gilmore Girl's Scott Patterson is wonderful here as the boys' father, and their mother is an overbearing yet loving (and well meaning) woman who lives vicariously through her children. It is funny and sweet and relevant for today. There is no socio-political heavy-handedness like you might expect, instead, it focuses more on any kid's high school nightmares. None of it would work if it weren't for the earnest, innocent acting of the exchange student. He's so endearing, you want the whole thing to work. And it does.

Normally, I would have Heroes on this list, but right now, they're dumping up that show. I'm still watching, because I just feel like it has to get better. Other shows you should be watching and you probably already know it: The Office, Scrubs, Survivor, CSI, House (seriously, if you're not watching House right now, you'll kick yourself later. It just gets better and better). If I had written a week ago, I would have included a list of show you should avoid, mostly just Viva Laughlin. If you had the unfortunate joy of watching either of the only two episodes to air, you will join me in saying how truly painful it was to watch people randomly break into singing over the original voices of pop songs. It was so bad, I can't even structure a sentence that can capture the experience. May I sincerely say that it should NOT rest in peace.

Home again

So I'm home. I wanted to write again before I left LA, but the internet is not always super accessible. During the last few days of my trip I saw UCLA, which is a really cool campus. I took some pictures around the theater building. They have this really neat sculpture garden surrounding it with sculptures (clearly) and benches and walkways and fountains where you can hang out. I couldn't get into any of the theaters to see them or anything, so I just kind of checked the place out. I tried to talk to someone from the playwriting program, but the receptionist mostly just said, "Have you checked out our website? We don't have anyone you can talk to. Check the website." So the jist of that experience is that UCLA is a big state school and I am just one more person who might like to go there. It's also a big program, so although my chances of getting in are good, so are my chances of getting lost. After that I went down to the beach in Santa Monica and saw the pier. I walked up and down and enjoyed my first viewing of the Pacific Ocean.

The workshop on Saturday was amazing. It was at USC with three of the professors of the playwriting program. We talked about our personal writing styles and our challenges with writing and then they led us in some writing exercises. It was fantastic. It may just be because I've had little to no formal writing training, but it was really illuminating for me and gave me new ways to develop character, story, and structure. I soaked up everything they said like a sponge.

What was most helpful was getting a few tools in my hands that help me feel like I can really do this. It was empowering and somewhat daunting at the same time. There were about 15 writers around the table, some of whom I know are applying to the same writing program. They only accept 3-4 people into the program each year in order to keep it very intimate. I know how much I would benefit from that kind of small group atmosphere. They said that people from all levels of experience are accepted into the program, so I just have to let my work speak for itself.

After the workshop my friend Andrew drove me up as far as we could go to help me get a good pic of the Hollywood sign. I'm not gonna lie--that was cool. After that, we had a hard time thinking of other "touristy" things to do. See, when I think of LA, I mostly think of famous roads--Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Blvd., Rodeo Drive, Mulholland Drive, etc. So once you've driven on those and seen what's on them, I can't think of what else to do. I did drive down to Malibu, just to see it, and saw Pepperdine University which is built up on the sides and tops of mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It was breathtaking!

My favorite thing I saw was a trolley of people on one of those "Homes of the Stars" tours. We pulled up an intersection just as they did and they all leaned out the sides taking pictures of a big beautiful house that looks just like every other big beautiful house on that street. But, because Paris Hilton or some other tartlet just bought it they need a picture. It was delightful.

I saw the hotel where they filmed "Pretty Woman" and the building where the Screen Actor's Guild is housed. Andrew said we passed Danny Devito on Mulholland, but I didn't see him. I'll admit, I forget to look for stars.

So, I liked LA. I certainly don't want to settle down there for any significant amount of time. The traffic alone makes me want to run for the hills. It's so different than anywhere I've ever been before--you can see how people get eaten alive out there. At the same time, I know I couldn't live there without being stretched beyond my usual self, and in some ways that could be a very good thing. I'm taking this opportunity to check into some other schools in other cities just to make sure I'm looking into all my options.

Here's the second half of my list of things I learned about LA:

1. There are an average of 300 sushi restaurants per square mile in LA.
2. Palm trees can be really BIG!
3. "McGriddle" is the same in both English and Spanish.
4. You can get a sunburn in September.
5. Atlanta should teach LAX something about airport security.
6. I could really get used to 75 degree weather.
7. Incredible views can always surprise you around the corner.
8. Avoid the 405 at all costs.
9. The Fresh Prince no longer lives in Bel Air.
10. The Chinese love the Chinese theater.

So, I enjoyed my trip and neither loved nor hated it. It will be interesting to see how grad school works out!