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Grimm, Whitney and More: Most Surprising TV Series Renewed For Fall Now that the television season is over and the upfronts are finished we know the ultimate fates of some of our favorite shows. What’s surprising this year is the amount of on-the-bubble shows that will be returning next fall for a repeat performance. Some of these shows were saved by passionate fans and some were saved in spite of ardent detractors. But in some ways all of the following shows were unlikely renewals. Grimm The supernatural fairy tale caper initially didn’t seem to have a chance. First, the market looked to be saturated with fairy tale fare this season, especially ratings hit Once Upon A Time. Then the show, led by cult veteran and former Angel scribe David Greenwalt, ended up in the Friday death slot. Clearly, NBC wasn’t showing a lot of confidence in the freshmen series. Yet somehow, against all odds, Grimm actually did well in its Friday slot of doom. So next season Grimm will return to solve more fairytale mysteries, like the case of the show that survived despite unlikely odds. Fringe Fringe really owes its survival to the supernatural show’s dedicated band of followers. The show’s twisty fourth season got even more complex, making it basically impossible for the show to attract new fans. The Friday night death slot FOX sent the show to certainly didn’t help. Perhaps FOX, having been burned by cancelling multiple cult classics (Firefly and Arrested Development come instantly to mind) just got cancellation cold feet? Or maybe it was the siren lure of 100 syndication-worthy episodes? Whatever the reason, the Fringe team will return next fall for a shortened fifth and last season. Whitney Ask any critic and most would shake their heads that the critically reviled Whitney got a second lease at life. The show was never a ratings hit, pulling down only modest numbers in its initial Thursday night slot. Of the two shows with star Whitney Cummings’ name on the marque, it was nowhere near CBS hit 2 Broke Girls. NBC tried the show on a less competitive night for comedies, Wednesday, with little more luck. Most saw Whitney as an inevitable contender for the cancellation pile and were shocked at the show’s renewal. Sure, the show will be returning in the Friday time slot of zero confidence, but most didn’t expect it to return at all. Private Practice The Kate Walsh medical drama from executive producer Shonda Rhimes seemed likely to be on its way out. Never having captured the buzz of mothership show Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice has nevertheless been a decent performer for ABC. But the show’s modest ratings and lack of buzz seemed to finally be catching up with it. Plus, going into its sixth season the show seemed a bit long in the tooth. However, ABC, perhaps to keep up relations with mega-producer Rhimes, decided to give the show another season. So expect Addison back on your screens this coming fall. Gossip Girl You know you love Gossip Girl but the ratings have not loved the formerly buzzy Upper East Side drama. This is no shock, despite getting tons of ink and holding down hot starlets, Gossip Girl has never been a ratings bonanza. Perhaps this is because the show operated on the modest CW network or perhaps it’s because its younger-skewing audience was watching in different ways. This season, however, tested even the low bar set for the scandalous show. Maybe it was the storylines (Dan and Blair? Really?) or maybe it was the age of the show, but this season’s ratings were not exactly gossip worthy. With one season left on the contracts of all the major cast members, however, The CW decided to give the show a final season of 10 or 11 episodes to bid farewell to the Upper East Side. CSI New York CSI New York was never quite the powerhouse of the original flavor CSI franchise. With CBS beginning to dump some of the older crime procedurals from its slate, this big apple edition seemed destined for the chopping block. Indeed, one of the CSI franchises did fall this season; it just wasn’t the big city version. CBS cancelled David Caruso’s CSI Miami, making 2012 the last year for us to watch him take off his signature shades. In a surprise turn, however, the eye network decided to keep around CSI New York. Touch Most didn’t expect the Kiefer Sutherland drama Touch to make it to the renewal pile. Despite literally months of buildup the show disappointed in the ratings when it actually arrived. Further, it wasn’t all that critically loved and didn’t lead to the kind of watercooler moments the network hoped for. It’ s a good bet, however, that after the long-running 24 FOX would like to stay in the Sutherland business. So Touch will return for a second season, with the network hoping that the father and autistic child drama will pull down more viewers. Community Six seasons and a movie were always a bit of a pipe-dream for the critically loved, little watched Community. While the meta sitcom about a strange study group at an even stranger community college went to weird and often great heights this season, the ratings never materialized. After a fall run, NBC abruptly yanked the show off its schedule. That was bad news for anyone who has watched a beloved and low-rated gem on the way to cancellation before. Fans rallied around the show, staging literal protests outside NBC and starting Twitter campaigns. All the campaigning worked…sort of. Community will be back in the fall for an initial 13 episode order. That’s the good news. The bad news? The sitcom will be airing with Whitney on Fridays and mad genius creator Dan Harmon has been fired and replaced with two new show runners. Community might carry on, but it certainly won’t be the show that fans and critics fought to save. —Read the full article and sound off in the comments at RoadRunner.com HERE!!

Grimm, Whitney and More: Most Surprising TV Series Renewed For Fall

Now that the television season is over and the upfronts are finished we know the ultimate fates of some of our favorite shows. What’s surprising this year is the amount of on-the-bubble shows that will be returning next fall for a repeat performance. Some of these shows were saved by passionate fans and some were saved in spite of ardent detractors. But in some ways all of the following shows were unlikely renewals.

Grimm

The supernatural fairy tale caper initially didn’t seem to have a chance. First, the market looked to be saturated with fairy tale fare this season, especially ratings hit Once Upon A Time. Then the show, led by cult veteran and former Angel scribe David Greenwalt, ended up in the Friday death slot. Clearly, NBC wasn’t showing a lot of confidence in the freshmen series. Yet somehow, against all odds, Grimm actually did well in its Friday slot of doom. So next season Grimm will return to solve more fairytale mysteries, like the case of the show that survived despite unlikely odds.

Fringe

Fringe really owes its survival to the supernatural show’s dedicated band of followers. The show’s twisty fourth season got even more complex, making it basically impossible for the show to attract new fans. The Friday night death slot FOX sent the show to certainly didn’t help. Perhaps FOX, having been burned by cancelling multiple cult classics (Firefly and Arrested Development come instantly to mind) just got cancellation cold feet? Or maybe it was the siren lure of 100 syndication-worthy episodes? Whatever the reason, the Fringe team will return next fall for a shortened fifth and last season.

Whitney

Ask any critic and most would shake their heads that the critically reviled Whitney got a second lease at life. The show was never a ratings hit, pulling down only modest numbers in its initial Thursday night slot. Of the two shows with star Whitney Cummings’ name on the marque, it was nowhere near CBS hit 2 Broke Girls. NBC tried the show on a less competitive night for comedies, Wednesday, with little more luck. Most saw Whitney as an inevitable contender for the cancellation pile and were shocked at the show’s renewal. Sure, the show will be returning in the Friday time slot of zero confidence, but most didn’t expect it to return at all.

Private Practice

The Kate Walsh medical drama from executive producer Shonda Rhimes seemed likely to be on its way out. Never having captured the buzz of mothership show Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice has nevertheless been a decent performer for ABC. But the show’s modest ratings and lack of buzz seemed to finally be catching up with it. Plus, going into its sixth season the show seemed a bit long in the tooth. However, ABC, perhaps to keep up relations with mega-producer Rhimes, decided to give the show another season. So expect Addison back on your screens this coming fall.

Gossip Girl

You know you love Gossip Girl but the ratings have not loved the formerly buzzy Upper East Side drama. This is no shock, despite getting tons of ink and holding down hot starlets, Gossip Girl has never been a ratings bonanza. Perhaps this is because the show operated on the modest CW network or perhaps it’s because its younger-skewing audience was watching in different ways. This season, however, tested even the low bar set for the scandalous show. Maybe it was the storylines (Dan and Blair? Really?) or maybe it was the age of the show, but this season’s ratings were not exactly gossip worthy. With one season left on the contracts of all the major cast members, however, The CW decided to give the show a final season of 10 or 11 episodes to bid farewell to the Upper East Side.

CSI New York

CSI New York was never quite the powerhouse of the original flavor CSI franchise. With CBS beginning to dump some of the older crime procedurals from its slate, this big apple edition seemed destined for the chopping block. Indeed, one of the CSI franchises did fall this season; it just wasn’t the big city version. CBS cancelled David Caruso’s CSI Miami, making 2012 the last year for us to watch him take off his signature shades. In a surprise turn, however, the eye network decided to keep around CSI New York.

Touch

Most didn’t expect the Kiefer Sutherland drama Touch to make it to the renewal pile. Despite literally months of buildup the show disappointed in the ratings when it actually arrived. Further, it wasn’t all that critically loved and didn’t lead to the kind of watercooler moments the network hoped for. It’ s a good bet, however, that after the long-running 24 FOX would like to stay in the Sutherland business. So Touch will return for a second season, with the network hoping that the father and autistic child drama will pull down more viewers.

Community

Six seasons and a movie were always a bit of a pipe-dream for the critically loved, little watched Community. While the meta sitcom about a strange study group at an even stranger community college went to weird and often great heights this season, the ratings never materialized. After a fall run, NBC abruptly yanked the show off its schedule. That was bad news for anyone who has watched a beloved and low-rated gem on the way to cancellation before. Fans rallied around the show, staging literal protests outside NBC and starting Twitter campaigns. All the campaigning worked…sort of. Community will be back in the fall for an initial 13 episode order. That’s the good news. The bad news? The sitcom will be airing with Whitney on Fridays and mad genius creator Dan Harmon has been fired and replaced with two new show runners. Community might carry on, but it certainly won’t be the show that fans and critics fought to save.

—Read the full article and sound off in the comments at RoadRunner.com HERE!!

Filed under Features community six seasons and a movie dan harmon fringe grimm whitney whitney cummings touch gossip girl private practice site: roadrunner for: BuddyTV

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Revenge: Saints & Sinners of Season 1 What a season it’s been in the Hamptons for the duplicitous bunch on ABC’s vengeance soap Revenge! It might have started out in the sunny summer months of beach-going fun, but the series ended its first season run in a pretty dark place. Along the way from summer into winter, the show hasn’t been shy in reveling in the moral ambiguity of its main characters. No character is more bad and good than series heroine Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp), formerly Amanda Clarke, who uses friends and enemies alike in her revenge quest on the evil Grayson family. This season, the show has featured some surprising twists and turns. But if there’s one thing Revenge has learned, it’s the value of a good old fashioned take-down. Here are a few moments from the show’s first season that had us carving infinity signs into our porches…because that’s how long we’ll love this show. Emily Leaks Therapy Tapes One of Emily’s first take-downs was also one of her juiciest. With the help of a spy camera, Emily was able to record all the sessions rich Hamptonites had with a specific therapist on her hit list. Once she had all the biggest secrets of the rich, famous and sun-kissed, Emily set up a website and let the secrets free. Among the clips playing on loop at a charity benefit was one of arch-nemesis Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe) saying she never wanted to have daughter Charlotte (Christa B. Allen). Ouch! Charlotte is Emily’s Half Sister If you thought Charlotte was upset with her mom after the therapy tape, you only had to wait as this season saw another shocking revelation about Charlotte. This time it had to do with her parentage. You see unfortunately for Charlotte, Victoria is still her mummy dearest. But daddy dearest? That would be Emily’s father Daniel Clarke, who Victoria had an affair with before setting him up to take the fall. This revelation fundamentally changed the way that Emily saw Charlotte. Now Emily even looks out for her, like a good big sister would. Except in this case she’s also trying to destroy the rest of her little sister’s family. It’s complicated! Burn Treadwell Burn Journalist Mason Treadwell was on the top of Emily’s hit list. Why? He promised a young Amanda Clarke that he would write a tell-all exposing the innocence of her father. Of course, he did exactly the opposite. Thanks to a bribe from the Graysons, his career took flight on the wings of a book about Daniel Clarke’s guilt, not his innocence. No worries, because Treadwell got his comeuppance. Emily burnt down his house with all his pretentious, type-written research. Talk about a fiery take-down! A Killer Engagement Party The show opened with a killer start: an engagement party at which the groom was presumably shot dead. Of course, viewers fell in love and potentially saved Daniel Grayson (Joshua Bowman). Not so lucky was his psychotic friend Tyler (Ashton Holmes) who had hoped to tie his fate to the Grayson’s rising star. After flaming out spectacularly, Tyler tried to tell Daniel that his lovely bride-to-be wasn’t so lovely. Unfortunately he tried to do it at gunpoint. Daniel wrestled the gun from Tyler and shot him in self-defense. Then Emily’s mentor Takeda ( Hiroyuki Sanada) bopped Daniel on the head in cold-blooded vengeance and shot Tyler in the back. This almost landed Daniel in the slammer and put him in the hothouse of public opinion. Don’t Mess With Mama Victoria Grayson is certainly a dangerous enemy to have. Her cold shoulder can mean social suicide and her hugs are apparently powered entirely by hatred. (Just ask Lydia!) But it can be just as dangerous to be loved by Mama Grayson. This time you can ask Daniel, who received a tough prison beating thanks to the Grayson matriarch. Sure, her defense was that she was just trying to get Daniel remanded to house arrested. I’m not sure Daniel would have agreed with her tactics. The Power of Shamu Throughout the first season, there have been two superstar companions in the Revenge universe. One is the dearly departed Sammy, the 200-year-old golden retriever. The other is Shamu, the whale-shaped hidden camera. Shamu has been through a lot this season but has always stood by her good friend Nolan ( Gabriel Mann). Whether it was to record a murder attempt or just a good old-fashioned sex tape to be used for blackmail, you could always count on Shamu. -Read the full article and sound off on your favorite season one moments on RoadRunner.com HERE!!

Revenge: Saints & Sinners of Season 1

What a season it’s been in the Hamptons for the duplicitous bunch on ABC’s vengeance soap Revenge! It might have started out in the sunny summer months of beach-going fun, but the series ended its first season run in a pretty dark place.

Along the way from summer into winter, the show hasn’t been shy in reveling in the moral ambiguity of its main characters. No character is more bad and good than series heroine Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp), formerly Amanda Clarke, who uses friends and enemies alike in her revenge quest on the evil Grayson family.

This season, the show has featured some surprising twists and turns. But if there’s one thing Revenge has learned, it’s the value of a good old fashioned take-down. Here are a few moments from the show’s first season that had us carving infinity signs into our porches…because that’s how long we’ll love this show.

Emily Leaks Therapy Tapes

One of Emily’s first take-downs was also one of her juiciest. With the help of a spy camera, Emily was able to record all the sessions rich Hamptonites had with a specific therapist on her hit list. Once she had all the biggest secrets of the rich, famous and sun-kissed, Emily set up a website and let the secrets free. Among the clips playing on loop at a charity benefit was one of arch-nemesis Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe) saying she never wanted to have daughter Charlotte (Christa B. Allen). Ouch!

Charlotte is Emily’s Half Sister

If you thought Charlotte was upset with her mom after the therapy tape, you only had to wait as this season saw another shocking revelation about Charlotte. This time it had to do with her parentage. You see unfortunately for Charlotte, Victoria is still her mummy dearest. But daddy dearest? That would be Emily’s father Daniel Clarke, who Victoria had an affair with before setting him up to take the fall. This revelation fundamentally changed the way that Emily saw Charlotte. Now Emily even looks out for her, like a good big sister would. Except in this case she’s also trying to destroy the rest of her little sister’s family. It’s complicated!

Burn Treadwell Burn

Journalist Mason Treadwell was on the top of Emily’s hit list. Why? He promised a young Amanda Clarke that he would write a tell-all exposing the innocence of her father. Of course, he did exactly the opposite. Thanks to a bribe from the Graysons, his career took flight on the wings of a book about Daniel Clarke’s guilt, not his innocence. No worries, because Treadwell got his comeuppance. Emily burnt down his house with all his pretentious, type-written research. Talk about a fiery take-down!

A Killer Engagement Party

The show opened with a killer start: an engagement party at which the groom was presumably shot dead. Of course, viewers fell in love and potentially saved Daniel Grayson (Joshua Bowman). Not so lucky was his psychotic friend Tyler (Ashton Holmes) who had hoped to tie his fate to the Grayson’s rising star. After flaming out spectacularly, Tyler tried to tell Daniel that his lovely bride-to-be wasn’t so lovely. Unfortunately he tried to do it at gunpoint. Daniel wrestled the gun from Tyler and shot him in self-defense. Then Emily’s mentor Takeda ( Hiroyuki Sanada) bopped Daniel on the head in cold-blooded vengeance and shot Tyler in the back. This almost landed Daniel in the slammer and put him in the hothouse of public opinion.

Don’t Mess With Mama

Victoria Grayson is certainly a dangerous enemy to have. Her cold shoulder can mean social suicide and her hugs are apparently powered entirely by hatred. (Just ask Lydia!) But it can be just as dangerous to be loved by Mama Grayson. This time you can ask Daniel, who received a tough prison beating thanks to the Grayson matriarch. Sure, her defense was that she was just trying to get Daniel remanded to house arrested. I’m not sure Daniel would have agreed with her tactics.

The Power of Shamu

Throughout the first season, there have been two superstar companions in the Revenge universe. One is the dearly departed Sammy, the 200-year-old golden retriever. The other is Shamu, the whale-shaped hidden camera. Shamu has been through a lot this season but has always stood by her good friend Nolan ( Gabriel Mann). Whether it was to record a murder attempt or just a good old-fashioned sex tape to be used for blackmail, you could always count on Shamu.

-Read the full article and sound off on your favorite season one moments on RoadRunner.com HERE!!

Filed under Features revenge Emily Thorne Emily VanCamp Victoria Grayson Nolan Ross gabriel mann Nolan/Emily/Shamu ftw Daniel Grayson jack porter Madeleine Stowe charlotte grayson ashton holmes Revenge: super soapy soaps ftw site: roadrunner

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The Best Moments from ‘Gossip Girl’ Season 5 I think we can all admit that season 5 of Gossip Girl was a bumpy ride. There were good times (mostly involving pets), sad times (see you in that gin bar in the sky Cece!) and OMFG times (hello there Bart Bass). But just because this was arguably the worst season of Gossip Girl doesn’t mean it wasn’t chock full of amazing moments. Here are my favorite moments from Gossip Girl season 5. — To read the whole list of 23 best moments (including Rufus’ uselessness, Cece studio 54ing, Blair and Chuck and hookers and Chuck’s onesie) go to BuddyTV HERE!

The Best Moments from ‘Gossip Girl’ Season 5

I think we can all admit that season 5 of Gossip Girl was a bumpy ride. There were good times (mostly involving pets), sad times (see you in that gin bar in the sky Cece!) and OMFG times (hello there Bart Bass). But just because this was arguably the worst season of Gossip Girl doesn’t mean it wasn’t chock full of amazing moments. Here are my favorite moments from Gossip Girl season 5.

— To read the whole list of 23 best moments (including Rufus’ uselessness, Cece studio 54ing, Blair and Chuck and hookers and Chuck’s onesie) go to BuddyTV HERE!

Filed under Features gossip girl gossip girl season 5 chair dair blair waldorf serena van der woodsen chuck bass nate archibald Dan Humphrey Leighton Meester Blake Lively ed westwick chace crawford penn badgley cece rhodes ivy dickens site: BuddyTV

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New Girl Wrap-Up: Best Moments of Season One When New Girl started up this season, it relied heavily on its “adorkable” star Zooey Deschanel. What the show soon realized, however, was that viewers’ appreciation of Jess Day (Deschanel) varied widely. Some found Jess adorable, relatable and hilarious. Really, Jess does feel like a “New Girl” on the network television landscape. She’s not the likable best friend, the sexy bombshell or the tough no-nonsense girl. Instead, Jess is a dork who sings too often and loves polka dots. Others found Jess grating and overly twee with her abundance of quirk. So as the season progressed, the show slowly began to refocus itself to become more of an ensemble piece. Jess’ quirks suddenly became no weirder than those of her equally screwed up roommates. Let’s look back at some of the best moments from New Girl’s first season: Thanksgiving Disasters For New Girl’s Thanksgiving episode, everything went wrong and then some when Jess tried to cook a turkey for new beau Paul (Justin Long). In case you needed to be told, putting a turkey in a dryer is not the way to go if you need to defrost. The hilarity ended when Jess and company decided to use a neighbor’s kitchen, only for poor Paul to discover the neighbor had already expired in the apartment. Nick Farms Tomatoes After a series of bad breaks, Nick (Jake M. Johnson) decides to give up on the dating game altogether and focus on produce. Like everything else in his life, however, this too goes terribly, terribly wrong. Soon buzzards are circling overhead and Nick begins transforming little by little into a backwoods farmer character from Deliverance. The Gang Teaches Russell Their Drinking Game Jess suspects that new grownup beau Russell (Dermot Mulroney) doesn’t want to spend time at her apartment with her friends. So she convinces Russell to spend the night and the gang teaches him their favorite drinking game, True American. It involves lava, jumping around on furniture and facts about America. At least it’s patriotic! Murphy Brown Versus Baby Birds In one of the show’s best episodes, New Girl tackles its harshest criticisms in the form of Julia (Lizzy Caplan), Nick’s tough lawyer girlfriend. Julia thinks that Jess’ personality is just a shtick, a way for her to get out of problems like traffic tickets. Julia says Jess seems like she gets dressed by little cartoon birds in the morning. Jess, as the voice defending not just herself but the larger show, explains that just because she’s girly doesn’t mean she’s weak. She might not wear Julia’s Murphy Brown pantsuits or have a cynical attitude, but these facts don’t make Jess a weak person. It’s a great defense against the criticism equating the appreciation of all things girly to being weak and it’s one of the most meta digressions New Girl has taken. Handle Your Hand Bell After recasting Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.), it took some time for Winston (Lamorne Morris) to establish himself as a character. He really shined, however, in the episode about helping Jess coach her hand bell team all the way to… whatever a hand bell championship would be. His epic hand bell rendition of “Eye of the Tiger” is not to be missed. The Almost Threesome Jess and Nick disagree about their viewpoints on the world. Jess sees people as intrinsically good and Nick as intrinsically bad. Both try to prove each other wrong about their landlord — with hilarious results. Soon, Jess and Nick are playing threesome chicken to the smooth sounds of Rusted Root’s “Send Me on My Way.” Nick’s Health Scare After a sports injury makes Nick finally go see a doctor, he gets some unpleasant news. This makes everyone face their own mortality in interesting and unexpected ways. While Nick runs into the freezing ocean, Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Cece (Hannah Simone) take their relationship to a more emotional level. Winston Gets a Job As mentioned, the show spent most of the first season trying to figure out its Winston problem. At times the show seemed unsure of what to do with the character, which worked well with Winston’s directionless post-basketball career. Finally, Winston got a job in sports radio with a tough boss that harasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and convinces Winston to get an earring. Schmidt and Cece Get Serious One of the most inevitable yet still shocking developments this season was the relationship that sprung up between Schmidt and Cece. It was clear from the beginning Schmidt wanted a relationship with Cece, but it was hard to foresee her actually giving in. Yet give in she did, and their relationship from hookup to real feelings has been delightfully fun to watch. The Douche Bag Jar The Douche Bag Jar has made only sporadic appearances since its inclusion in the pilot. The primary investor in the jar is Schmidt, who gets fined for constantly popping his shirt off, the way he pronounces “chutney” and owning driving moccasins. Lately, Nick has been a contributor for dating college girls and a teen that went to school with one of Jess’ middle school students. —Read the full article on RoadRunner.com HERE!

New Girl Wrap-Up: Best Moments of Season One

When New Girl started up this season, it relied heavily on its “adorkable” star Zooey Deschanel. What the show soon realized, however, was that viewers’ appreciation of Jess Day (Deschanel) varied widely. Some found Jess adorable, relatable and hilarious. Really, Jess does feel like a “New Girl” on the network television landscape. She’s not the likable best friend, the sexy bombshell or the tough no-nonsense girl. Instead, Jess is a dork who sings too often and loves polka dots.

Others found Jess grating and overly twee with her abundance of quirk. So as the season progressed, the show slowly began to refocus itself to become more of an ensemble piece. Jess’ quirks suddenly became no weirder than those of her equally screwed up roommates.

Let’s look back at some of the best moments from New Girl’s first season:

Thanksgiving Disasters

For New Girl’s Thanksgiving episode, everything went wrong and then some when Jess tried to cook a turkey for new beau Paul (Justin Long). In case you needed to be told, putting a turkey in a dryer is not the way to go if you need to defrost. The hilarity ended when Jess and company decided to use a neighbor’s kitchen, only for poor Paul to discover the neighbor had already expired in the apartment.

Nick Farms Tomatoes

After a series of bad breaks, Nick (Jake M. Johnson) decides to give up on the dating game altogether and focus on produce. Like everything else in his life, however, this too goes terribly, terribly wrong. Soon buzzards are circling overhead and Nick begins transforming little by little into a backwoods farmer character from Deliverance.

The Gang Teaches Russell Their Drinking Game

Jess suspects that new grownup beau Russell (Dermot Mulroney) doesn’t want to spend time at her apartment with her friends. So she convinces Russell to spend the night and the gang teaches him their favorite drinking game, True American. It involves lava, jumping around on furniture and facts about America. At least it’s patriotic!

Murphy Brown Versus Baby Birds

In one of the show’s best episodes, New Girl tackles its harshest criticisms in the form of Julia (Lizzy Caplan), Nick’s tough lawyer girlfriend. Julia thinks that Jess’ personality is just a shtick, a way for her to get out of problems like traffic tickets. Julia says Jess seems like she gets dressed by little cartoon birds in the morning. Jess, as the voice defending not just herself but the larger show, explains that just because she’s girly doesn’t mean she’s weak. She might not wear Julia’s Murphy Brown pantsuits or have a cynical attitude, but these facts don’t make Jess a weak person. It’s a great defense against the criticism equating the appreciation of all things girly to being weak and it’s one of the most meta digressions New Girl has taken.

Handle Your Hand Bell

After recasting Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.), it took some time for Winston (Lamorne Morris) to establish himself as a character. He really shined, however, in the episode about helping Jess coach her hand bell team all the way to… whatever a hand bell championship would be. His epic hand bell rendition of “Eye of the Tiger” is not to be missed.

The Almost Threesome

Jess and Nick disagree about their viewpoints on the world. Jess sees people as intrinsically good and Nick as intrinsically bad. Both try to prove each other wrong about their landlord — with hilarious results. Soon, Jess and Nick are playing threesome chicken to the smooth sounds of Rusted Root’s “Send Me on My Way.”

Nick’s Health Scare

After a sports injury makes Nick finally go see a doctor, he gets some unpleasant news. This makes everyone face their own mortality in interesting and unexpected ways. While Nick runs into the freezing ocean, Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Cece (Hannah Simone) take their relationship to a more emotional level.

Winston Gets a Job

As mentioned, the show spent most of the first season trying to figure out its Winston problem. At times the show seemed unsure of what to do with the character, which worked well with Winston’s directionless post-basketball career. Finally, Winston got a job in sports radio with a tough boss that harasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and convinces Winston to get an earring.

Schmidt and Cece Get Serious

One of the most inevitable yet still shocking developments this season was the relationship that sprung up between Schmidt and Cece. It was clear from the beginning Schmidt wanted a relationship with Cece, but it was hard to foresee her actually giving in. Yet give in she did, and their relationship from hookup to real feelings has been delightfully fun to watch.

The Douche Bag Jar

The Douche Bag Jar has made only sporadic appearances since its inclusion in the pilot. The primary investor in the jar is Schmidt, who gets fined for constantly popping his shirt off, the way he pronounces “chutney” and owning driving moccasins. Lately, Nick has been a contributor for dating college girls and a teen that went to school with one of Jess’ middle school students.

—Read the full article on RoadRunner.com HERE!

Filed under Features new girl Zooey Deschanel Max Greenfield Jake M. Johnson Lamorne Morris jess day nick miller Schmidt schmidt/cece who's that girl? IT'S JESS! site: roadrunner

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Exclusive Interview: Buffy Writer Jane Espenson Talks Tough TV Heroines If you’ve been watching television in the last 15 years, there’s a good chance Jane Espenson has written for your favorite show. She might even have written your favorite episode. This is especially true if you’re a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where Espenson was a writer and producer for much of the show’s run. Espenson’s work has made an impression all over the dial, from new breakout hit Once Upon a Time to cult hit Battlestar Galatica to the charms of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls. However, she’s perhaps best known for her time playing in Joss Whedon’s universe on Firefly, Angel and most notably on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You also might know her from her hit webseries Husbands which tackles the issue of marriage equality in a hilarious fashion. The show was “renewed” for a second season thanks to fans who donated $50,000 in a week as part of a popular Kickstarter campaign. Legendary Women was recently lucky enough to speak with Jane Espenson through email about writing tough women, genre fiction and of course Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Who was your favorite female character to write for on Buffy? Anya.  The more extreme a character is, the easier she is to write, and Anya was a great character.  More or less well-intentioned, a little self-involved, logical in a blunt way… I loved her.  Like Cordelia, she was pretty much lacking in subtext, but her text differed in interesting ways – she saw the world in a very clear-eyed way, unmucked up by sentimentality.  You wrote some of the great farce and comedy episodes of the series. What drew you to the more comedic episodes of the show? In particular, Cordelia has always been a personal favorite character and you wrote one of my favorite episodes featuring her for Angel “Rm w/a Vu”. Could you tell us a bit about writing that episode and writing for Cordelia in general? Comedy drew me to the more comedic episodes!  There are different ways to be entertaining, but if people are laughing, you know you scored.  There is nothing better.  I loved writing Cordy almost as much as Anya.  I believe the first line I wrote for her was the “I love standardized tests”/”I can’t have layers?” exchange in Band Candy, and I sort of decided when I wrote that, that I could have fun with her.    The Angel episode was one I hadn’t planned on writing, but was pulled into sort of last-minute-y because I’d written for her before.  I remember sitting with Tim Minear and Joss as they broke the episode.  I don’t think I had tons of input on the story, but I remember I wanted the ghost to be named Dennis so I could get a “phantom Dennis” joke in there.  That’s often how I contribute to story talk – I grab the nearest pun and hold on. —Read the full interview including talk of Husbands, Once Upon a Time and Game of Thrones (and of course BUFFY) at LegendaryWomen.org HERE!!

Exclusive Interview: Buffy Writer Jane Espenson Talks Tough TV Heroines

If you’ve been watching television in the last 15 years, there’s a good chance Jane Espenson has written for your favorite show. She might even have written your favorite episode. This is especially true if you’re a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where Espenson was a writer and producer for much of the show’s run.

Espenson’s work has made an impression all over the dial, from new breakout hit Once Upon a Time to cult hit Battlestar Galatica to the charms of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls. However, she’s perhaps best known for her time playing in Joss Whedon’s universe on Firefly, Angel and most notably on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

You also might know her from her hit webseries Husbands which tackles the issue of marriage equality in a hilarious fashion. The show was “renewed” for a second season thanks to fans who donated $50,000 in a week as part of a popular Kickstarter campaign.

Legendary Women was recently lucky enough to speak with Jane Espenson through email about writing tough women, genre fiction and of course Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Who was your favorite female character to write for on Buffy?

Anya.  The more extreme a character is, the easier she is to write, and Anya was a great character.  More or less well-intentioned, a little self-involved, logical in a blunt way… I loved her.  Like Cordelia, she was pretty much lacking in subtext, but her text differed in interesting ways – she saw the world in a very clear-eyed way, unmucked up by sentimentality. 

You wrote some of the great farce and comedy episodes of the series. What drew you to the more comedic episodes of the show? In particular, Cordelia has always been a personal favorite character and you wrote one of my favorite episodes featuring her for Angel “Rm w/a Vu”. Could you tell us a bit about writing that episode and writing for Cordelia in general?

Comedy drew me to the more comedic episodes!  There are different ways to be entertaining, but if people are laughing, you know you scored.  There is nothing better.  I loved writing Cordy almost as much as Anya.  I believe the first line I wrote for her was the “I love standardized tests”/”I can’t have layers?” exchange in Band Candy, and I sort of decided when I wrote that, that I could have fun with her.   

The Angel episode was one I hadn’t planned on writing, but was pulled into sort of last-minute-y because I’d written for her before.  I remember sitting with Tim Minear and Joss as they broke the episode.  I don’t think I had tons of input on the story, but I remember I wanted the ghost to be named Dennis so I could get a “phantom Dennis” joke in there.  That’s often how I contribute to story talk – I grab the nearest pun and hold on.

—Read the full interview including talk of Husbands, Once Upon a Time and Game of Thrones (and of course BUFFY) at LegendaryWomen.org HERE!!

Filed under Angel Anya Arya Stark Battlestar Galatica Buffy The Vampire Slayer Cordelia Chase Features Firefly Game of Thrones Husbands Husbands webseries Interviews Jane Espenson Jane Espenson interview Joss Whedon Once Upon a Time buffy huffington post legendary women women tv writers women writers legendarywomen

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The Borgias Returns for More Scandalous Fun “We are family. We shall achieve the greatness that is your birthright. Together,” says Jeremy Iron’s Borgia pope in the season opener of Showtime’s addictive historical drama The Borgias. These Borgias might be family, but it seems doubtful that the titular clan will ever be as united as their pontiff patriarch hopes for. Premiering last season amongst a crop of period fare, The Borgias managed to do well by flying mostly under the radar. It premiered around the same time as Camelot on Starz and Game of Thrones on HBO, shows that had radically different fates. Camelot suffered from its dour unimaginative storytelling and was subsequently cancelled after the first season. Game of Thrones has gone on to become a massive cultural phenomenon, winning an Emmy for star Peter Dinklage and putting the fantasy book series on the New York Times bestseller list. The Borgias ended up somewhere in the middle of these two dramatically different poles. Premiering last spring, the show posted good ratings boosted by a stellar cast, beautiful costumes and scandalous stories of papal bad deeds in Renaissance Italy. Now the show returns for a second season, close on the heels of the buzzy Thrones, and seems ready to up its own “game”. (See what I did there?) The first season, for all its bloodshed, sex and papal politics, felt almost slow-moving at times. This worked in the show’s favor, allowing it to establish the primary family and the world of Renaissance Italy around them. We met the politically motivated pope Rodrigo Borgia, played with delight by Jeremy Irons and his national treasure of a voice. We also met his children Juan (David Oakes) the perennial screw-up, Cesare (Francois Arnaud) the intelligent cleric more suited to combat than prayer and the beautiful Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger) just starting to learn the power and sacrifices of her position. Like most families, things in the Borgia household are far from perfect in the show’s second season. Juan and Cesare are in constant competition, Rodrigo’s eye is wandering from mistress Giulia Farnese (Lotte Verbeek) and brother-sister duo Cesare and Lucrezia look like they are always mere seconds away from making out with each other. More tragically, it seems as if the whole family was attacked by a curling iron sometime between this season and the last. The more nefarious the family becomes, the more secrets must be stored in their crimped hair. By the end of the season, I expect everyone will be sporting afros. The relationship between Cesare and Lucrezia, inappropriate as ever, continues to be the heart of the show. Executive Producer Neil Jordan has managed to create a relationship so sweet and weird, at once beautiful and completely off-putting, that you could truly buy into the incest rumors. In the world of The Borgias, I can both buy that the historical rumors of incest between brother and sister are fabrications and that anyone watching give each other eskimo kisses would be willing to believe it. This is certainly helped by Francois Arnaud’s incredible chemistry with every living, breathing human being he comes into contact with, making even benign family scenes at times deeply uncomfortable. Kids, come on now. You are related. It’s these finely observed details that make the historical family feel less like abstract names in a textbook and more like people with distinct personalities. Unlike European cousin Tom Fontana’s Borgia, the Showtime retelling puts less emphasis on action and more on the characters. The problem many people have with history is an inability to connect to historical figures as flesh and blood people. Realizing this, Jordan took his time establishing the central relationships in the first season and now intends to use those same relationships to propel the action in season two. Perennial disaster Juan gets much darker and more devious this season, successfully alienating himself from both siblings. His combative relationship with Cesare is particularly interesting to watch. If you thought the two brothers were at each other’s throats last season, just wait. <David Oakes teased a particular standout scene back when I talked with him in December, a family dinner minus the pontiff that is rife with dastardly innuendos and family strife. Lucrezia also begins to get her hands dirty this season and discovers her power in the process. Last season Lucrezia subdued the French troops like a boss with only the power of being awesome. This season Lucrezia gets her time in the spotlight on the throne of St. Peter’s and uses it appropriately to mess with some cardinals and bake a cake. Grainger really has full command of her role and makes Lucrezia both tough and vulnerable at the same time. She’s particularly terrifying once crossed, a mistake brother Juan makes early on. A great subplot that looks to continue through the season is the awesome Renaissance lady justice league formed by Giulia, Lucrezia and her mother Vanozza (Joanne Whalley). As someone who admittedly loves tough historical ladies, I appreciated this team-up. Also appreciated was the reintroduction of warrior woman Caterina Sfroza (Gina McKee), who looks to play a bigger role as the season progresses. I have a feeling we’ll soon be finding out why she is commonly referred to as the “Tigress of Forli.” While history fans might demur with some of the changes made this season, the show feels like it’s really picking up narrative momentum. The first four episodes move quickly and rack up a high body count. This includes some players from last season whose deaths will have repercussions for our favorite amoral family members. In fact, judging from the first four episodes vengeance looks to be the theme of the season. Now that the Borgia family’s power is firmly entrenched, getting even is foremost on their minds. The trick will be keeping the volatile family from turning on each other. —Read the full article and sound off in the comments (if you please!) at Huffington Post HERE!

The Borgias Returns for More Scandalous Fun

“We are family. We shall achieve the greatness that is your birthright. Together,” says Jeremy Iron’s Borgia pope in the season opener of Showtime’s addictive historical drama The Borgias. These Borgias might be family, but it seems doubtful that the titular clan will ever be as united as their pontiff patriarch hopes for.

Premiering last season amongst a crop of period fare, The Borgias managed to do well by flying mostly under the radar. It premiered around the same time as Camelot on Starz and Game of Thrones on HBO, shows that had radically different fates. Camelot suffered from its dour unimaginative storytelling and was subsequently cancelled after the first season. Game of Thrones has gone on to become a massive cultural phenomenon, winning an Emmy for star Peter Dinklage and putting the fantasy book series on the New York Times bestseller list. The Borgias ended up somewhere in the middle of these two dramatically different poles. Premiering last spring, the show posted good ratings boosted by a stellar cast, beautiful costumes and scandalous stories of papal bad deeds in Renaissance Italy.

Now the show returns for a second season, close on the heels of the buzzy Thrones, and seems ready to up its own “game”. (See what I did there?) The first season, for all its bloodshed, sex and papal politics, felt almost slow-moving at times. This worked in the show’s favor, allowing it to establish the primary family and the world of Renaissance Italy around them. We met the politically motivated pope Rodrigo Borgia, played with delight by Jeremy Irons and his national treasure of a voice. We also met his children Juan (David Oakes) the perennial screw-up, Cesare (Francois Arnaud) the intelligent cleric more suited to combat than prayer and the beautiful Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger) just starting to learn the power and sacrifices of her position.

Like most families, things in the Borgia household are far from perfect in the show’s second season. Juan and Cesare are in constant competition, Rodrigo’s eye is wandering from mistress Giulia Farnese (Lotte Verbeek) and brother-sister duo Cesare and Lucrezia look like they are always mere seconds away from making out with each other. More tragically, it seems as if the whole family was attacked by a curling iron sometime between this season and the last. The more nefarious the family becomes, the more secrets must be stored in their crimped hair. By the end of the season, I expect everyone will be sporting afros.

The relationship between Cesare and Lucrezia, inappropriate as ever, continues to be the heart of the show. Executive Producer Neil Jordan has managed to create a relationship so sweet and weird, at once beautiful and completely off-putting, that you could truly buy into the incest rumors. In the world of The Borgias, I can both buy that the historical rumors of incest between brother and sister are fabrications and that anyone watching give each other eskimo kisses would be willing to believe it. This is certainly helped by Francois Arnaud’s incredible chemistry with every living, breathing human being he comes into contact with, making even benign family scenes at times deeply uncomfortable. Kids, come on now. You are related.

It’s these finely observed details that make the historical family feel less like abstract names in a textbook and more like people with distinct personalities. Unlike European cousin Tom Fontana’s Borgia, the Showtime retelling puts less emphasis on action and more on the characters. The problem many people have with history is an inability to connect to historical figures as flesh and blood people. Realizing this, Jordan took his time establishing the central relationships in the first season and now intends to use those same relationships to propel the action in season two.

Perennial disaster Juan gets much darker and more devious this season, successfully alienating himself from both siblings. His combative relationship with Cesare is particularly interesting to watch. If you thought the two brothers were at each other’s throats last season, just wait. <David Oakes teased a particular standout scene back when I talked with him in December, a family dinner minus the pontiff that is rife with dastardly innuendos and family strife.

Lucrezia also begins to get her hands dirty this season and discovers her power in the process. Last season Lucrezia subdued the French troops like a boss with only the power of being awesome. This season Lucrezia gets her time in the spotlight on the throne of St. Peter’s and uses it appropriately to mess with some cardinals and bake a cake. Grainger really has full command of her role and makes Lucrezia both tough and vulnerable at the same time. She’s particularly terrifying once crossed, a mistake brother Juan makes early on.

A great subplot that looks to continue through the season is the awesome Renaissance lady justice league formed by Giulia, Lucrezia and her mother Vanozza (Joanne Whalley). As someone who admittedly loves tough historical ladies, I appreciated this team-up. Also appreciated was the reintroduction of warrior woman Caterina Sfroza (Gina McKee), who looks to play a bigger role as the season progresses. I have a feeling we’ll soon be finding out why she is commonly referred to as the “Tigress of Forli.”

While history fans might demur with some of the changes made this season, the show feels like it’s really picking up narrative momentum. The first four episodes move quickly and rack up a high body count. This includes some players from last season whose deaths will have repercussions for our favorite amoral family members.

In fact, judging from the first four episodes vengeance looks to be the theme of the season. Now that the Borgia family’s power is firmly entrenched, getting even is foremost on their minds. The trick will be keeping the volatile family from turning on each other.

—Read the full article and sound off in the comments (if you please!) at Huffington Post HERE!

Filed under Features the borgias Borgias cesare borgia lucrezia borgia juan borgia rodrigo borgia Cesare/Lucrezia francois arnaud holliday grainger david oakes jeremy irons guila farnese caterina sforza Lotte Verbeek showtime the borgias season two site: huffington post

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CBS TV Shows/Season Finale Sneak Peeks: Get Set for Surprises What a season it&#8217;s been! CBS continues to dominate in the ratings and has even reached beyond its older-skewing comfort zone to debut some buzzy new comedies aimed at the young folk. As the television season winds to a close, what can fans expect on the finales of their favorite shows, and what of their chances for survival? We break down some of CBS&#8217; favorites below: How I Met Your Mother (One-hour finale May 14th) This season, How I Met Your Mother has been all about the tribulations of growing older, and growing up. Ted (Josh Radnor) and Robin (Cobie Smulders) had to face the pink elephant &#8212; or in their case blue tuba &#8212; in the room when they finally addressed the lingering feelings left behind from their relationship. Meanwhile, Robin broke Barney&#8217;s (Neil Patrick Harris) heart, sending him into the arms of stripper Quinn (guest star Becki Newton). Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall (Jason Segel) tried out the suburbs but found that their hearts really did belong to New York City. In the season finale, we&#8217;ll finally learn the answer to the question raised at the end of last season: just who is the bride on Barney&#8217;s wedding day? Earlier this year I would have put money on ex-girlfriend Nora (Nazanin Boniadi) but now it seems likely to be Quinn. But I guess you can never rule out Robin. The show has sidelined their issues recently, possibly because they&#8217;re planning to explode soon. What about lovelorn Ted? The gang advises him to go after the &#8220;one that got away.&#8221; Which of Ted&#8217;s many paramours might this be? I guess we&#8217;ll have to tune in to find out. Finally going into its final season next year, How I Met Your Mother will undoubtedly ramp up the tension with no renewals in sight. That means that very, very soon we&#8217;ll finally know who the titular mother is. &#8212;Read the full story including what&#8217;s going on in your favorites Criminal Minds, 2 Broke Girls, The Good Wife, The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men on RoadRunner.com HERE!

CBS TV Shows/Season Finale Sneak Peeks: Get Set for Surprises

What a season it’s been! CBS continues to dominate in the ratings and has even reached beyond its older-skewing comfort zone to debut some buzzy new comedies aimed at the young folk. As the television season winds to a close, what can fans expect on the finales of their favorite shows, and what of their chances for survival? We break down some of CBS’ favorites below:

How I Met Your Mother (One-hour finale May 14th)

This season, How I Met Your Mother has been all about the tribulations of growing older, and growing up. Ted (Josh Radnor) and Robin (Cobie Smulders) had to face the pink elephant — or in their case blue tuba — in the room when they finally addressed the lingering feelings left behind from their relationship. Meanwhile, Robin broke Barney’s (Neil Patrick Harris) heart, sending him into the arms of stripper Quinn (guest star Becki Newton). Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall (Jason Segel) tried out the suburbs but found that their hearts really did belong to New York City.

In the season finale, we’ll finally learn the answer to the question raised at the end of last season: just who is the bride on Barney’s wedding day? Earlier this year I would have put money on ex-girlfriend Nora (Nazanin Boniadi) but now it seems likely to be Quinn. But I guess you can never rule out Robin. The show has sidelined their issues recently, possibly because they’re planning to explode soon. What about lovelorn Ted? The gang advises him to go after the “one that got away.” Which of Ted’s many paramours might this be? I guess we’ll have to tune in to find out. Finally going into its final season next year, How I Met Your Mother will undoubtedly ramp up the tension with no renewals in sight. That means that very, very soon we’ll finally know who the titular mother is.

—Read the full story including what’s going on in your favorites Criminal Minds, 2 Broke Girls, The Good Wife, The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men on RoadRunner.com HERE!

Filed under Features CBS how i met your mother 2 broke girls Criminal Minds criminal minds season 7 The Good Wife The Big Bang Theory two and a half men charlie sheen sheldon cooper neil patrick harris ted evelyn mosby site: roadrunner bill for two

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How Would the Cast of &#8216;Gossip Girl&#8217; Win &#8216;The Hunger Games&#8217;? The Hunger Games is set in a world where 24 children age 12 to 18 are picked at random, a girl and boy from each of 12 districts, and put into an arena to fight to the death. Clearly, it&#8217;s a comedy. What better group of people to survive an insular, dog-eat-dog universe than the insular social climbers from the CW&#8217;s Gossip Girl? Serena van der Woodsen Serena is the resident golden &#8220;It&#8221; girl of the Upper East Side. Things come easily to Serena van der Woodsen, so I can only assume that winning the Hunger Games would go the same way. Serena would end up winning in some freak accident she mistakenly caused, where all the other contestants get blown up simultaneously. This would probably happen mere hours after the games began. &#8220;I guess I won,&#8221; she would shrug and then go back to braiding a flower garland for her hair as the dust settled.   Blair Waldorf As the ultimate Queen Bee, Blair would seem like the perfect competitor. With her ability to gain and deploy minions, Blair would manage to form a strong alliance with only the strongest and most attractive tributes. Once she gave them a good makeover so they were wearing only this season’s best couture survival gear, she would use them to do all the dirty work for her. As soon as they were no longer useful, however, she would dispose of her minions with the ruthless efficiency she employed to ruin Nelly Yuki’s SAT scores. Once a victor, Blair would start a capitol-wide headband craze.   Chuck Bass Chuck Bass is the bad boy of the Gossip Girl universe. However, he&#8217;s never struck me as much of a physical force to be reckoned with. His scheming powers, however, are unparalleled. Chuck would learn everything he could about his fellow competitors and then use that information to pit them against each other. When the dust settled there Chuck would be, straightening his bow tie and smirking.   Nate Archibald I have to be honest; it&#8217;s hard to imagine a scenario of how Nate would win at the Hunger Games. Gossip Girl&#8217;s resident cougar enthusiast isn&#8217;t cold-blooded enough or particularly brilliant. One could imagine him being easily duped by his fellow competitors. But there is one thing that could give him a competitive edge: his stoner past. While the other contestants get taken down by poisonous berries and dangerous plants, Nate’s expertise would finally come in handy. He would find the only marijuana plant in the games arena and wait out his victory with a nice high.  Dan Humphrey Dan Humphrey is Gossip Girl&#8217;s resident &#8220;poor person,&#8221; and as such is slightly more moral than the rest of the gang. Therefore Dan would most likely rail against the Capitol and their evils like Katniss&#8217; District 12 paramour Gale. However once in the actual games, I expect Dan would turn into a &#8220;career tribute&#8221; &#8212; the phrase used to describe inner district kids bred for killing. While Dan started Gossip Girl on the outside, he eventually made his way all the way to the Inside, even publishing a book using his glitzy friends as unwilling subjects. Something tells me Dan would take to killing the same way he took to Upper East Side politics.  Jenny Humphrey Jenny Humphrey might have left the show, but she&#8217;s still in our hearts. OK, maybe not everyone&#8217;s hearts and maybe she&#8217;s only lurking in a dark corner of your heart putting on more and more eye-shadow but she&#8217;s in there. Besides, Jenny would probably be great at the Hunger Games. As the show&#8217;s ultimate social climber and yogurt bomber, she seems uniquely adapted to the cutthroat world of the games. Jenny would most likely form an alliance and shadow a tougher, stronger competitor &#8212; much the way she did with Blair in Gossip Girl&#8217;s first season. Then with everyone else out of the way Jenny would kill her former partner, probably by choking them to death with her ratty extensions. Mentor dispatched, Jenny would take her place of glory as victor.   Rufus Humphrey Rufus would win by hiding in the bushes, ignored by everyone else. While everyone kills each other, Rufus would learn how to make waffles out of tree bark and survive. Who&#8217;s a useless househusband now?!  &#8212; Read the whole article (PLUS SLIDESHOW!) on BuddyTV HERE!!!

How Would the Cast of ‘Gossip Girl’ Win ‘The Hunger Games’?

The Hunger Games is set in a world where 24 children age 12 to 18 are picked at random, a girl and boy from each of 12 districts, and put into an arena to fight to the death. Clearly, it’s a comedy.

What better group of people to survive an insular, dog-eat-dog universe than the insular social climbers from the CW’s Gossip Girl?

Serena van der Woodsen


Serena is the resident golden “It” girl of the Upper East Side. Things come easily to Serena van der Woodsen, so I can only assume that winning the Hunger Games would go the same way. Serena would end up winning in some freak accident she mistakenly caused, where all the other contestants get blown up simultaneously. This would probably happen mere hours after the games began. “I guess I won,” she would shrug and then go back to braiding a flower garland for her hair as the dust settled.  


Blair Waldorf


As the ultimate Queen Bee, Blair would seem like the perfect competitor. With her ability to gain and deploy minions, Blair would manage to form a strong alliance with only the strongest and most attractive tributes. Once she gave them a good makeover so they were wearing only this season’s best couture survival gear, she would use them to do all the dirty work for her. As soon as they were no longer useful, however, she would dispose of her minions with the ruthless efficiency she employed to ruin Nelly Yuki’s SAT scores. Once a victor, Blair would start a capitol-wide headband craze.  


Chuck Bass


Chuck Bass is the bad boy of the Gossip Girl universe. However, he’s never struck me as much of a physical force to be reckoned with. His scheming powers, however, are unparalleled. Chuck would learn everything he could about his fellow competitors and then use that information to pit them against each other. When the dust settled there Chuck would be, straightening his bow tie and smirking.  


Nate Archibald


I have to be honest; it’s hard to imagine a scenario of how Nate would win at the Hunger Games. Gossip Girl’s resident cougar enthusiast isn’t cold-blooded enough or particularly brilliant. One could imagine him being easily duped by his fellow competitors. But there is one thing that could give him a competitive edge: his stoner past. While the other contestants get taken down by poisonous berries and dangerous plants, Nate’s expertise would finally come in handy. He would find the only marijuana plant in the games arena and wait out his victory with a nice high. 


Dan Humphrey


Dan Humphrey is Gossip Girl’s resident “poor person,” and as such is slightly more moral than the rest of the gang. Therefore Dan would most likely rail against the Capitol and their evils like Katniss’ District 12 paramour Gale. However once in the actual games, I expect Dan would turn into a “career tribute” — the phrase used to describe inner district kids bred for killing. While Dan started Gossip Girl on the outside, he eventually made his way all the way to the Inside, even publishing a book using his glitzy friends as unwilling subjects. Something tells me Dan would take to killing the same way he took to Upper East Side politics. 


Jenny Humphrey


Jenny Humphrey might have left the show, but she’s still in our hearts. OK, maybe not everyone’s hearts and maybe she’s only lurking in a dark corner of your heart putting on more and more eye-shadow but she’s in there. Besides, Jenny would probably be great at the Hunger Games. As the show’s ultimate social climber and yogurt bomber, she seems uniquely adapted to the cutthroat world of the games. Jenny would most likely form an alliance and shadow a tougher, stronger competitor — much the way she did with Blair in Gossip Girl’s first season. Then with everyone else out of the way Jenny would kill her former partner, probably by choking them to death with her ratty extensions. Mentor dispatched, Jenny would take her place of glory as victor.  


Rufus Humphrey


Rufus would win by hiding in the bushes, ignored by everyone else. While everyone kills each other, Rufus would learn how to make waffles out of tree bark and survive. Who’s a useless househusband now?! 

Filed under Features gossip girl Hunger Games serena van der woodsen blair waldorf chuck bass nate archibald Dan Humphrey jenny humphrey rufus humphrey Blake Lively Leighton Meester ed westwick chace crawford Taylor Momsen penn badgley Jennifer Lawrence katniss everdeen The Hunger Games gossip girl season 5 site: BuddyTV

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Bad Boys of &#8216;Revenge&#8217;: Don&#8217;t Hate These Hunks On ABC&#8217;s new hit primetime soap, Revenge is a dish best served by stone cold foxes. With vengeance-obsessed Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp) and the icy Grayson matriarch Victoria (Madeline Stowe) stealing the spotlight it can be easy to forget the men of Revenge can be just as wicked. An impending murder trial might put the spotlight on at least one of the bad boys of Revenge. While we Revenge obsessives carve infinity signs onto our porch railings and hide our vengeance boxes under the floorboards, let&#8217;s check in with our favorite Hamptons bad boys and look ahead to what&#8217;s in store. Daniel Grayson (Joshua Bowman) Poor sweet, simple Daniel Grayson has found himself in a bit of a mess. He was all ready to run away with Emily on the night of their fire and ice engagement party before he got shot down by Emily herself. Apparently running away to Paris isn&#8217;t as romantic as he thought, especially since Emily&#8217;s idea of a good time is lighting people&#8217;s houses on fire. So instead Daniel had a not-so-romantic beachfront confrontation with Tyler (Ashton Holmes) that ended in bloodshed. Now Daniel is being accused of murdering Tyler and his cagey attitude and protestations that he doesn&#8217;t remember anything aren&#8217;t helping his innocence. Of course, we know that Daniel shot Tyler once in self-defense and the other two shots in the back came courtesy of Emily&#8217;s mentor in vengeance Takeda. What&#8217;s Next: Jail. It looks like the judge is going to make an example out of Daniel, sentencing him to a maximum security prison on Riker&#8217;s Island. I just don&#8217;t sense that Daniel will do too well in jail. I also really doubt he has the Prison Break powers of escape either. But he should have plenty of time to think in jail about what Tyler told him about Emily, which is that she&#8217;s not trustworthy. Will he finally cotton onto her scheme? Nolan Ross (Gabriel Mann) Acting as Emily&#8217;s minion is basically a full time job for the ginger millionaire now, I have no idea how he gets any actual work accomplished. Between putting out hits on people for Emily and making sure that Jack doesn&#8217;t date killer strippers, being Nolan is exhausting lately. Sure, Nolan probably isn&#8217;t what you&#8217;d call a great guy: he is after all helping Emily take down the Graysons and he routinely spies on people with his Shamu cam. But he is a loyal friend to both Emily and Jack. Friendship is his true vulnerable spot, and the only times he and Emily butt heads is when he&#8217;s concerned about her or their favorite townie. What&#8217;s Next: Nolan will obviously continue helping Emily in her quest to take down the Graysons, even though he is seemingly getting more and more uncomfortable with the human fallout of her quest for retribution. He also knows a powerful secret about Grayson family helper and social climber Ashley (Ashley Madekwe), which is that she&#8217;s the one who leaked the picture of Daniel on the beach. Will he share what he knows with Emily or play it close to his multiple popped collars? Only time will tell. Jack Porter (Nick Wechsler) Sweet Jack Porter only wanted to sail off in his boat the Amanda, named after his childhood friend who disappeared after her father was convicted for the Graysons&#8217; crime. It&#8217;s been more than half a season now and Jack is no closer to pulling up anchor. First his father died, leaving him in charge of the bar and younger brother Declan. Then he fell for the real Amanda Clarke in the form of Emily, followed closely by a tumultuous relationship with the fake Amanda Clarke. Finally, Jack had said his goodbyes to pal Nolan and somehow more-than-friend Emily. He was ready to sail off and start helping people in Haiti far from the over-dramatics of the Hamptons elite. Until Amanda came to say goodbye and left a bloodstain in her wake. When Jack followed her to the beach he was so convinced she had shot someone that he told her to get away and tried to hide the body. Thankfully, no one saw him except for Declan so his attempted cover-up is safe. For now. What&#8217;s Next: With Amanda&#8217;s stories about the Grayson&#8217;s ringing in his ears, Jack is closer to the heart of the action than he&#8217;s ever been before. Now that Amanda is on the run, will Jack try to take the Graysons down in her place or will he try to find the girl he thinks is his childhood sweetheart? Declan Porter (Connor Paolo) Declan has had a tough time of it lately. His father died, his girlfriend&#8217;s family hates him because he&#8217;s poor and steals lobsters and his brother was trying to cover up a murder. There have been better times to be a townie. At least Declan is finally displaying some smarts instead of just whining and slamming the door to his room, teenage-style. He found the hoodie that Jack was wearing on the beach and immediately disposed of it. Finally Declan is protecting someone else instead of whining about being poor. What&#8217;s Next: Looks like Declan will have his hands full when the show returns between protecting brother Jack and girlfriend Charlotte. Charlotte, of course, is developing a pill-popping addiction that is surely only going to get worse as the knowledge of her paternity mixes with the continuing murder trial of half-brother Daniel. &#8212; Read the full article and sound off on your favorite Revenge hunk on RoadRunner.com HERE!

Bad Boys of ‘Revenge’: Don’t Hate These Hunks

On ABC’s new hit primetime soap, Revenge is a dish best served by stone cold foxes. With vengeance-obsessed Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp) and the icy Grayson matriarch Victoria (Madeline Stowe) stealing the spotlight it can be easy to forget the men of Revenge can be just as wicked.

An impending murder trial might put the spotlight on at least one of the bad boys of Revenge. While we Revenge obsessives carve infinity signs onto our porch railings and hide our vengeance boxes under the floorboards, let’s check in with our favorite Hamptons bad boys and look ahead to what’s in store.

Daniel Grayson (Joshua Bowman)

Poor sweet, simple Daniel Grayson has found himself in a bit of a mess. He was all ready to run away with Emily on the night of their fire and ice engagement party before he got shot down by Emily herself. Apparently running away to Paris isn’t as romantic as he thought, especially since Emily’s idea of a good time is lighting people’s houses on fire. So instead Daniel had a not-so-romantic beachfront confrontation with Tyler (Ashton Holmes) that ended in bloodshed. Now Daniel is being accused of murdering Tyler and his cagey attitude and protestations that he doesn’t remember anything aren’t helping his innocence. Of course, we know that Daniel shot Tyler once in self-defense and the other two shots in the back came courtesy of Emily’s mentor in vengeance Takeda.

What’s Next: Jail. It looks like the judge is going to make an example out of Daniel, sentencing him to a maximum security prison on Riker’s Island. I just don’t sense that Daniel will do too well in jail. I also really doubt he has the Prison Break powers of escape either. But he should have plenty of time to think in jail about what Tyler told him about Emily, which is that she’s not trustworthy. Will he finally cotton onto her scheme?

Nolan Ross (Gabriel Mann)

Acting as Emily’s minion is basically a full time job for the ginger millionaire now, I have no idea how he gets any actual work accomplished. Between putting out hits on people for Emily and making sure that Jack doesn’t date killer strippers, being Nolan is exhausting lately. Sure, Nolan probably isn’t what you’d call a great guy: he is after all helping Emily take down the Graysons and he routinely spies on people with his Shamu cam. But he is a loyal friend to both Emily and Jack. Friendship is his true vulnerable spot, and the only times he and Emily butt heads is when he’s concerned about her or their favorite townie.

What’s Next: Nolan will obviously continue helping Emily in her quest to take down the Graysons, even though he is seemingly getting more and more uncomfortable with the human fallout of her quest for retribution. He also knows a powerful secret about Grayson family helper and social climber Ashley (Ashley Madekwe), which is that she’s the one who leaked the picture of Daniel on the beach. Will he share what he knows with Emily or play it close to his multiple popped collars? Only time will tell.

Jack Porter (Nick Wechsler)

Sweet Jack Porter only wanted to sail off in his boat the Amanda, named after his childhood friend who disappeared after her father was convicted for the Graysons’ crime. It’s been more than half a season now and Jack is no closer to pulling up anchor. First his father died, leaving him in charge of the bar and younger brother Declan. Then he fell for the real Amanda Clarke in the form of Emily, followed closely by a tumultuous relationship with the fake Amanda Clarke. Finally, Jack had said his goodbyes to pal Nolan and somehow more-than-friend Emily. He was ready to sail off and start helping people in Haiti far from the over-dramatics of the Hamptons elite. Until Amanda came to say goodbye and left a bloodstain in her wake. When Jack followed her to the beach he was so convinced she had shot someone that he told her to get away and tried to hide the body. Thankfully, no one saw him except for Declan so his attempted cover-up is safe. For now.

What’s Next: With Amanda’s stories about the Grayson’s ringing in his ears, Jack is closer to the heart of the action than he’s ever been before. Now that Amanda is on the run, will Jack try to take the Graysons down in her place or will he try to find the girl he thinks is his childhood sweetheart?

Declan Porter (Connor Paolo)

Declan has had a tough time of it lately. His father died, his girlfriend’s family hates him because he’s poor and steals lobsters and his brother was trying to cover up a murder. There have been better times to be a townie. At least Declan is finally displaying some smarts instead of just whining and slamming the door to his room, teenage-style. He found the hoodie that Jack was wearing on the beach and immediately disposed of it. Finally Declan is protecting someone else instead of whining about being poor.

What’s Next: Looks like Declan will have his hands full when the show returns between protecting brother Jack and girlfriend Charlotte. Charlotte, of course, is developing a pill-popping addiction that is surely only going to get worse as the knowledge of her paternity mixes with the continuing murder trial of half-brother Daniel.

— Read the full article and sound off on your favorite Revenge hunk on RoadRunner.com HERE!

Filed under Features revenge Nolan Ross gabriel mann Daniel Grayson Joshua Bowman Jack Porter Nick Wechsler Declan Porter Connor Paolo site: roadrunner for: BuddyTV