Warning: there may be SPOILERS in this post.

 

SkyScreening 1k view celebration: 5 stellar TV scenes

 

Things have been busy for me so I apologize for the inconsistency regarding blog posts. This week happens to be midterm week and I figured it would be the perfect time to procrastinate.

 

In celebration of hitting 1k, I have assembled 5 fantastic scenes from TV shows I frequently watch.

 

Note: these are not my 5 favorite. 3 of my favorites are unsuitable to be posted. All of the unsuitable scenes are from HBO's Girls (already reviewed). Should you wish to view them AT YOUR OWN RISK, one is a dance scene and the other involves characters shouting "you are the wound." I will let you figure out what to type into Google. Both videos contain spoilers and profanity, nothing more than that. The third I will keep a secret for now! It will be showcased at the proper time! I am not responsible for your reactions to any of the videos.

 

Anyway, please enjoy these scenes. I will try to give a little description without revealing too much... if you hate spoilers for any of the following shows, leave now. The shows featured are: Skins, Smash, Scrubs, Sex and the City, and The Newsroom.

 

5. Bollywood number from Smash: The music in Smash is always great but this clip can only be described by one word... strange. Smash does both original music and covers but never Bollywood. I was shocked by the randomness of it... and how much I enjoyed it!

4. Season 4 ending from Sex and the City: This is my absolute favorite episode of the show. It is a beautiful piece of television and the final words left me feeling good. Carrie finds an important friend has moved away before she could properly say goodbye but listens to a favorite song of his and leaves us on a good note.

3. Opening monologue from The Newsroom: This clip is the very first thing you see upon beginning this show. It is raw, honest, and compelling. Note it does feature a curse word or two but it is nothing you cannot handle. It was too compelling to not share.

2. I'm So Lonely from Skins: Sid is reeling from a recent death and Michelle (or chell) is struggling through a tragedy of her own. While out celebrating Chell's birthday with a group of friends, Sid runs off only to be chased by Chell. The scene has only 14 words but manages to convey a wide range of emotions.

1. Season 8 ending of Scrubs: This features MAJOR spoilers. Basically, the main character, JD, is finishing his last day working at Sacred Heart, the hospital the show took place in. He is notorious for having his mind wander and now he is fantasizing about what his future will bring. It features characters from the show and brings the show to a satisfying close. Well, not really, because they made another season afterwards but it was an atrocity so I don't count it. This scene expertly captures the bittersweet feeling of a television show's finale.

 

Please check out the reviews of all of these shows (not Scrubs... it has yet to be reviewed) and all the other reviews and special posts on this blog.

 

Thank you for visiting SkyScreening! I hope you enjoyed this post. See you again soon!

 

Tags: celebration, 1k view celebration, smash, skins, the newsroom, newsroom, Sex and the City, Sex in the City, Scrubs



New Year Celebration: Worst Character Countdown

 

The new year is upon us and most of us were awake to watch the big countdown. Each year, millions gather to count down to a new year, something that never appealed to me. This year was the first year I did not participate in watching the ball drop because the countdown wasn't important to me. Today I was thinking about what countdowns are important to me. I consulted my "Countdown App" that counts down to events I have programed. Among the events I deem worthy are all my school vacations (42 days, 21 hours, and 5 mins until the next one) and the season 3 premiere of Girls on HBO (11 days, 4 hours, 49 mins). Today I have assembled the countdown of  10 of the best and worst characters in television (in my limited experience and opinion). I will attempt to describe each character in a sentence.

Worst Characters: The characters I cannot love

 

10. Karen Cartwright from Smash: Karen has many redeeming qualities but is too bland and whiny to earn my respect.

9. Tamara from Awkward: Tamara starts out as funny but her constant spewing of nonsensical phrases has grown annoying.

8. Hannah Horvath from Girls: Hannah makes both lists because sometimes she acts completely crazy and makes choices I cannot understand and is therefore annoying.

7. Jenna Hamilton from Awkward: Jenna cannot get her act together and I am getting tired of her complaining.







6. Celia Hodes from Weeds: Celia is mean and selfish with very few redeeming qualities... especially in regard to parenting.

5. Ellis Tancharoen from Smash: Ellis is slimy, untrustworthy, and an all around terrible person.

4. Adam from Girls: Adams is creepy, gross, and occasionally borderline abusive. Needless to say, I find it very hard to sympathize with him.

3. Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones: Joffery is mean and pure evil with zero redeeming qualities.

2. Cook from Skins: Cook is supposed to be one of the heroes of the show but he is vulgar to the point of being labeled "a disgusting human being".

1. Jimmy Collins from Smash: Jimmy is ungrateful, rude, and has a temper issue. He is supposed to be a hero but I cannot help but root for his decline due to my complete lack of sympathy. He is utterly infuriating.

 

 

Links:

http://www3.images.coolspotters.com/photos/805276/karen-cartwright-profile.jpg

http://www.mtv.com/onair/awkward/season2/photos/flipbooks/cast/tamara2.jpg

http://static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120412015127/girls/images/0/03/Hannah_horvath_1.jpeg

http://www.trbimg.com/img-4febaeb1/turbine/zap-tvs-most-awkward-pics-022/600

http://rubazahran.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/elizabeth-perkins-como-celia-hodes-en-weeds.jpg

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog_post_349_width/2012/02/smash_jaime_cepero.jpg

http://cdni.condenast.co.uk/592x888/g_j/girls-s2e1-03_gl_7feb13_pr_b_592x888.jpg

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120703113314/gameofthrones/images/0/0b/Joffrey_HBO_Promo_Shot_2012.jpg

http://www.skinsmusic.co.uk/images/season_3/cook/cook_skins%20Searies3.jpg

Tags: celebration, character countdown, friends, awkward, Game of Thrones, smash, the newsroom, Girls, Weeds, skins,













New Year Celebration: Best Character Countdown

 

The new year is upon us and most of us were awake to watch the countdown. Each year millions gather to count down to a new year, something that never appealed to me. This year was the first year I did not participate in watching the ball drop because the countdown wasn't important to me. Today I was thinking about what countdowns are important to me. I consulted my "Countdown App" that counts down to events I have programed. Among the events I deem worthy are all my school vacations (42 days, 21 hours, and 5 mins until the next one) and the season 3 premiere of Girls on HBO (11 days, 4 hours, 49 mins). Today I have assembled the countdown of  10 of the best and worst characters in television (in my limited experience and opinion). I will attempt to describe each character in a sentence.

 

Best characters: The characters I love and the characters I love to hate.

 

10. Janice from Friends: Janice is an incredibly annoying, yet funny and appealing recurring (albeit minor) character.

9. Valerie Marks from Awkward: Valerie is hilarious and unpredictable with no regard for what is appropriate.

8. Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones: Tyrion starts as a simple character but transforms into a very interesting and promising character.

7. Ivy Lynn from Smash: I used to dislike Ivy, but now see her as a tragic yet strong and persistent character that is extremely talented and worthy of praise.

6. Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen from Game of Thrones: Daenerys is strong and kind yet harsh and firm when she need be.

5. Sloan Sabbith from The Newsroom: Sloan is smart and beautiful but incredibly socially awkward which makes her a fun character.

4. Hannah Horvath from Girls: Hannah is such a mess but I can sympathize with her and I enjoy her antics.







3. Nancy Botwin from Weeds: Nancy is confident but flawed and may be a terrible mother... but she is a pretty cool person

2. Phoebe Buffay from Friends: Phoebe is always hilarious and is by far the best in the group.

1. Effy Stonem from Skins: Effy is an exceedingly complex and confident character with an icy demeanor. I am always left to wonder what is happening in her head.

 

Links:

http://cache.thisorth.at/00000/01086/060.460x325.jpg

http://ifelicious.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Screen-Shot-2012-06-20-at-10.06.56-AM.png

http://static.tumblr.com/58f04174d7e2d806d6bd4eb18f62ff4b/omzjqeh/Sj9mj3m6d/tumblr_static_tyrion-lannister-tyrion-lannister-23793056-600-900.jpg

http://www.mytakeontv.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/NUP_146471_3096.jpg

http://static1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130127151117/gameofthrones/images/6/62/Daenerys_S3.jpg

http://newsroom.jepeteo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/sloan-sabbith-olivia-munn-the-newsroom-2.jpg

http://static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120412015127/girls/images/0/03/Hannah_horvath_1.jpeg

http://www.bu.edu/arts/files/2011/12/weeds.png

http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/31400000/Phoebe-Buffay-phoebe-buffay-31435080-640-480.jpg

http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article2013107.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Skins-2013107.jpg

Tags: celebration, character countdown, friends, awkward, Game of Thrones, smash, the newsroom, Girls, Weeds, skins,















Skins (U.K) starts out edgy and addictive but becomes dark, weird, and semi-ridiculous.

7 out of 10

 

 

Note that this review applies to the U.K version. There is an American version of Skins, it's just terrible. Because the show is from England, it is uncensored. Skins follows a group of British teenagers as they navigate life and find strength in their friendships. Each episode centers on a different character but everyone's lives are largely intertwined.

 

When I began the first season, I was immediately hooked. It all felt so fresh and new. Perhaps it was the fact that everyone had an accent but it was a whole new experience for me. The show expertly deals with heavy and relevant issues among teens such as eating disorders, drug addiction, depression, and so much more. It would seem like the show would be a downer but it isn't! Instead, it mixes complex topics with humor. It should be noted that this show is largely aimed at teens due to the fact that the characters themselves are teens and behave in extremely questionable ways. The whole first season was fantastic. The show was funny yet dramatic (at times) and never failed to entertain.

 

Season 2 centers around the same characters but is a somewhat different. The show is considerably darker. For example, one episode centers on a stalker who stalks one of the regular characters. Throughout the season, she does some pretty crazy (and disturbing) stuff. The show is less humorous, instead opting for a more dramatic script. It succeeds in being heart-wrenching but sometimes takes it too far and becomes downright depressing. That is not to say it isn't enjoyable. The more dramatic side of the show was a great and refreshing aspect to add. The end of season 2 is particularly interesting and left with a cliffhanger. I often found myself marveling at the honesty of the show and found it incredibly enjoyable. After season 2, the show says goodbye to the characters and picks up a new cast in season 3 (every 2 seasons there is a new cast).

 

Season 3 has an all new cast and is (once again) different from its previous season. The show once more opts for a more humorous side and the result is somewhat off-putting. Where the show was once clever, it is now crass. One of the new characters, Cook, is a disgusting human being and made the show uncomfortable. Aside from him, the other characters are still good. The story is still occasionally heart-wrenching and beautiful but is sometimes ridiculous (putting Ecstasy in brownies and feeding them to a mother? Come on). The result (sometimes) feels more like a sitcom than the raw and honest show it once was. It is still fun... enough to make me sit for a 4th season.

 

Season 4 was the darkest and craziest yet. The show now feels entirely different but remains engrossing. The season starts out with a suicide which sets it up for the dark product it was. Some parts were good and enjoyable but towards the end, things get strange. It almost felt like the show's writers were sitting in a room thinking of ways to throw "curveballs to viewers". The show feels a little ridiculous but I tolerated it. After all, how much worse could it get. The answer was a lot worse. The season 4 conclusion was appalling. It completely shocked me, in a very bad way. After it was over, I immediately swore off Skins. I also began to notice a pattern that the show follows every 2 seasons. Season 4 was less than perfect.

 

After season 4, Skins was no longer released in the US (apparently they have different DVD players in England) but all 7 seasons are available on Netflix. I plan to continue watching the show and will add to this review once I finish watching. Overall, Skins is an addicting show but is inconsistent.

 

Skins is rated TV-MA

http://static.rookiemag.com/2012/01/1326966179skins-season-1-2007.jpg

Tags: comedy, drama, skins, TV-MA, tvma, TV, television