-TV Finales-

As I told, I wanted to write a post about past TV season's finale episodes. Few of them were full of surprises and some were just boooooring. These series are in no specific order, and I've left out some series I follow. Enjoy!

How I Met Your Mother

HIMYM season 7 finale was a bit restless with too much going on. Marshall and Lily had their baby Marvin Wait-for-it Eriksen (the coolest name ever) after Marshall got back from his drunken escapade in Atlantic City with Barney. Ted reconciles with Robin, who tells him to go back to Victoria, his ex-girlfriend. And eventually the two drive off to the sunset... no really, that happened. Meanwhile Barney proposed to Quinn, but the flash forward at the end of the episode reveals that Barney is going to marry Robin eventually! That part was set in "future" so it might not happen until next season finale. The upcoming season will have a lot of explaining to do, especially as we know that Victoria isn't the "mother".

2 Broke Girls

 As a newcomer comedy, it was expected that the season wouldn't end in a cliffhanger. The last episode was quite good, combining the strenght of all characters and adding Martha Stewart to the mix. The duo decided that getting Martha's approval on their cupcakes would give a boost to their business so that they would get the money to open their own shop. And of course they choose to stalk her at the MET ball and it can be quite hard to get in. The show has been renewed for second season, so lets hope the girls won't be quite so broke then.

Mike & Molly

Like many of this TV season's show, Mike & Molly ended in a marriage too. Though the episode before the finale, suggested that it would all go down the pooper, the two did eventually get married. Even though Mike's dad made a surprise appearance in town and Vince revealed to Joyce he was still married, all that was sorted out and the wedding  happened. The show was renewed for third season, and maybe now that the two are married they can get a place of their own.

Two and a Half Man

This was maybe one of the most surprising finales, as Jake and Eldridge took jobs in the army. As the boys figured out they had no special skills they decided to become army recruits, to the dismay of their parents. There was some reminiscing of how Jake has grown up on the episode too, so it wasn't all original script. Though the show has been renewed for 10th season, even this one seemed bit too different for me after Charlie Sheen left, he was  such a crucial part of the show. It's still a funny show, but it's not the Two and a Half Man I know, let's see if the upcoming season takes a turn for the better, but I wouldn't be surprised if that become the show's last.

Smash

One of my favourite new shows Smash struggled with low ratings and poor reviews, but still managed to stay on. As expected, the show's finale was about the premiere of Bombshell, the Marilyn Monroe musical that has been the main plot of the show. Karen did eventually get the big part after Rebbecca left, and got a pretty good reaction from the audience. I mentioned on my last post that Dev and Ellis are gone for the next season, thank god. There was too much going on anyways, now we can focus on Ivy's pill popping habit and Karen's newfound fame. I just hope the second season will be a bit longer than 13 episodes.

Glee

I kinda lost interest on the Glee finale as the Nationals episode felt like a perfect ending. But no, they had to stretch out the story to really go over what every character will be doing next season. So far Rachel is the only one that seems to be going to New York, but I doubt she'll make it on her own, so Finn and possibly Kurt will go after her. It's bit hard to say yet what will happen next season since  Ryan Murphy sure knows how to surprise us. There has been a lot of speculation on the next season, but if it's anything like this past season, I might be changing to Team Smash permanently.

New Girl

Another great newcomer and another not-so-surprising ending. The episode was funny as hell, but not really surprising. Nick was going to move in with his girlfriend, who dumped him at the start of the show. After panicking and driving to the desert and then throwing the keys away, the group had to discuss all their problems while they were stuck in the wilderness. Winston's fear of the dark was maybe the funniest part. Obviously the show was renewed for second season.

Raising Hope

I had to cheat a bit and look up what happened on this show's finale, as it was aired almost two months ago, since the show started a bit early. Chance family was shocked as they found out that Lucy, Hope's mom, was still alive and wanted the custody of Hope. As the court gave custody for Lucy, Jimmy was forced to go with her if she wanted still to see Hope, much to Sabrina's dismay. Eventually Lucy came to her senses and Jimmy got Hope back, but before that she went a little crazy trying to kill Sabrina, clearly what a loving mother would do, way to go justice system. The show was renewed for third season, maybe Jimmy and Sabrina will become a bit more serious and get hitched or something.

Cougar Town

Another show, another marriage. Grayson and Jules got married in the finale after a slow start, who picks Groundhog-Day movie as the bachelorette party theme, really? Well what ever makes you happy. The guys struggled to find the fun in Penny-Can again, but a happy ending was guaranteed as the group gathered on the beach to witness the marriage. David Arquette even got a guest spot on the episode. Like the opening title of the episode "Hopefully this will only be the season finale", the future of the show was on the edge for a while, but as I reported the show transferred to TBS and will air a 15-episode season, hopefully that won't be the last

Modern Family

Third season finale of one of my favourite comedies was full of action, especially as the plotline was submerged with a telenovela theme for a while when Cameron and Mitch were at the hospital welcoming their new baby boy, which the mother ended up keeping and left the two sad and empty handed but made them realise they still had Lily. While they didn't get a baby, Gloria was revealed to be pregnant, can't wait to see that! Another "shocker" was that Hailey will be moving in with Dylan which made Claire especially happy... But the real showstopper of the episode was Alex's prom date. The show was of course renewed for fourth season.

Happy Endings

I'm starting to think I'm following too many shows at this point. Too many good comedies! Happy Endings featured another marriage, but not one of any the main cast. Penny's gay BFF Derrick got married with Eric, and the whole gang attended. Max was struggling with his past, he was unsure of how his old band mates in Mandonna, a Madonna tribute band, would see him after all those years. Brad tries to find a way to let Jane know that he has lost his job, and Penny is saddened by the fact that he has no date in the wedding. Introduce Skype and ta-daa she's got a man. In the last moments we see Alex and Dave holding hands, hinting that the couple would be back together again, maybe we will get another wedding in the third season.

 

Parks and Recreation

The fourth season finale meant the end of Leslie's campaign to run for City Council, the event that the whole season has been aiming for. Amy Phoeler told in an interview with Jimmy Fallon, that they shot both situations, Leslie winning and Leslie losing the campaign. Leslie did end up winning, so the season ended happily. Ben was offered a job in D.C. that would require for him to move there part-time. Leslie struggles with this but eventually tells Ben to take the job. Ann got back together with Tom, as he had dreamed. And Andy might join the police force, the streets of Pawnee have never been more safe... Parks and Rec was renewed for fifth season.

Big Bang Theory

Ahh.. Another wedding. Howard was faced with option to postpone the marriage with Bernadette because of his trip to space, but decided to hold them before the launch. After facing a big line at city hall, his friends offer to get themselves ordained as ministers so they could marry them at their rooftop. Overall the episode had a very positive vibe, it was a bit surprising that there was a season finale with a wedding and nothing went wrong. Good thing the show was renewed for 6th season, so that we will find out if Howard made it back alive. Would be bit harsh to kill of that little guy with the tightest pants ever and the most ridiculous haircut, hopefully Bernadette will change that now that they are married.

Up All Night

Well at least this show didn't have a wedding, though it did have a proposal. After Reagan lost her engagement ring, she has to come up with a similar ring that Chris's mother luckily has. All this prompts the to recreate their original proposal that was a bit messy, never a good idea to do that drunken in bar. Meanwhile Kevin tries to win Ava back with success. The show was also renewed for second season, though a shortened one sadly.

30 Rock

Guess what happened in the episode? Nope, not a wedding, but a renewal of vows. After Avery's return, she and Jack have struggled with their relationship, as they both know that they have cheated on each another.  Chris tries to show Liz that he can be a responsible and reliable partner, and Kenneth and Hazel hook-up. Meanwhile Tracy tries to find an African American inspiration, as he has so far been embarrassing them, and ends up with Tyler Perry. The show was renewed for a shortened final season, I don't want this show to end, but it has had a good run.

Saturday Night Live

Though SNL doesn't really have a linear plotline, the last episode of 37th was very important when looking forward to the next season. Two of my favourite cast members confirmed that they will leave the show, Kristen Wiig got a send-off from the crew at the last episode, but just few weeks after wrapping up the season Andy Samberg confirmed also that he would be leaving too. Both have been cast members since 2005. Kate McKinnon, a new castmember, joined the show few months ago and I would like to see a new male actor to replace Samberg too.

Maybe that's all now. If there are shows on the list that you haven't seen, I suggest you seek them out. And if I have forgotten some show you like, let me know and maybe I'll get hooked on that too, I'm very easily addicted.

-22-

Lot of award shows were held during the past week again; Cannes gave out their golden palms (more on that later), Loreen from Sweden won the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbajdzhan, and BAFTA TV Awards were held in London, though there were really no shows represented there that I follow. But before everything else: quotes!

"Actually, Lindsay was so mad at Michael, she decided to meditating to calm herself... she ended up taking a two-hour angry nap"

-Narrator

Ron Howard on Arrested Development

"This Morning I thought I heard a neighbour blasting the new Skrillerx song I like, but then I realised it was just a garbage truck"

-Conan O'Brien

On his twitter @ConanOBrien

"Soon I'll be the queen of summertime"

-Martin

 Russi Taylor (voice actress) on The Simpsons

"Fuck that POTUS (President of the United States)"

-Selena Meyer, The Vice President of US

Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Veep

I might have to make a complete post about my favourite TV Finales this past season, since most of the shows are now finished, Cougar Town and Hot In Cleveland are only two running on my list, if I don't count mid-season replacements like Don't Trust the B**** in Apartment 23 and Veep. But I just gotta share this one SPOILER from Modern Family finale; While Cameron and Mitch didn't get their baby, Gloria is pregnant! Can't wait to watch her pregnancy cravings.

In addition to everything else revealed from the second season of American Horror Story, creator Ryan Murphy revealed that the upcoming season is set during 1960's and Chloe Sevigny (who is well know indie movie actress, but who I know best for her one-episode stint  with Edie Falco on Will&Grace) joins the cast. The second season is set to start airing in October. 

While AHS is hiring actors, Smash is cutting their crew. One of the most hated characters of the past season Ellis (played by Jaime Cepero) is getting cut, even though he did threaten Eileen (Amazing Anjelica Houston) that he would be back. Dev (Raza Jaffrey) won't be returning either, though there is no word yet wheather these characters will return to wrap up their characters. All I really care about is that there is a second season coming up.

Even though the amount of viewers was lower than usually on American Idol finale, the show got record amount of votes as the American people chose Phillip Phillips (really?) as their idol. Gold-piped Jessica Sanchez finished second.

And this is have to put on my weekly post, even though I'm now planning a big TV Finale post. It's too epic to pass. For all of you who don't watch Family Guy, the main character Peter Griffin has a long standing feud with a chicken who gave him a bad coupon long time ago (nothing weird about that). These lenghty battles have occurred through-out the series and latest taking place during the 10th season finale. This is the kind of Family Guy humour that divides the people and why I love the show: 

Then on to the movies news. I've mentioned the upcoming comedy Identity Thief previously, the movie starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy. Now Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet has been cast as a supportive character in the movie, his character is named Big Chuck, more on that at THR.

I've also talked about Great Gatsby before too, but now the newest Baz Luhrman-directed movie has gotten a trailer. And it looks nothing like I imagined, and it looks awesome. I love how Luhrman combines old and modern styles, like he did in Romeo+Juliet and Moulin Rouge!.

One of the most anticipated summer movies, The Dark Knight Rises (in theaters July 20th) has released plenty of trailers, but now it got new character posters (see them all here) and another new poster with Catwoman, or actually just her shoe, but it's still pretty cool.

Cannes wrapped up this weekend, and Michael Haneke took home the prestigious Palme D'Or for his movie Amour. It is supposed to be released for wider audience in October, so we have to wait until then to deal out our judgement. Mads Mikkelsen won Best Actor and Christina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan shared the award for Best Actress. Full list of winners here! Even though Cannes is a great event and full of glamour, it can be a bit annoying for most audiences as the movies won't come to theaters for months. It's like the biggest the tease in film world!

To end the post in a lighter note. Here is the new trailer for Hit and Run, starring Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard and Bradley Cooper. There are a lot of reasons to watch this movie when it comes out, like Copper's dreadlocks. But the main reason I want to watch it, is because of the interview of Dax and Kristen (real life couple) on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, they are so adorable! Remember to watch all parts as this is only part 1 of 3. You'll find them easily if you open the video on full YouTube.

Weekly post coming next week and maybe a TV Finale post for 2011-12 season.

-21-

Before my regular post, I'd like to take a moment to remember Donna Summer, The Queen of Disco, who passed away last Thursday after a battle with lung cancer. Five time Grammy-winner is best remembered for her 70's disco hits, like Hot Stuff and Bad Girls. R.I.P.

Then my weekly quotes:

"-Why do I hang out with you?

-Because you are gay?

-What does that make you?

-Attractive?"

-Jake and Eldridge

Angus T. Jones and Graham Patrick Martin on Two and a Half Men

"My pillow and blanket fell into the pool, this is a disaster"

-Brittany

Heather Morris on Glee

"-Stop staring at my ass

- Stop pointing it at my eyeballs!"

-Jenna and Hazel

Jane Krakowski and Kristin Schaal on 30 Rock

"It was hardly porn, just a topless woman on a tractor. You know what they call that in Europe? A cereal commercial"

-Phil

Ty Burrel on Modern Family

I'll start with movie news this time. Few weeks ago I posted about an upcoming Amy Poehler and Adam Scott rom-com, but Poehler is keeping herself busy with another rom-com (parody) with Paul Rudd called They Came Together. This movie is said to parody mostly You've Got Mail and New Girl's Max Greenfield joined the cast recently playing a couch surfing younger brother, total opposite to his character on TV.

Melissa McCarthy is also keeping busy with her funny TV show Mike & Molly, but she is also filming a buddy cop comedy with Sandra Bullock during the summer.The movie is directed by Paul Feig, who also directed McCarthy in Bridesmaids So it might come out early 2013, since her movie This is 40 is supposed to come out this December. 

Something's Gotta Give and It's Complicated writer-producer Nancy Meyers is penning a new comedy about a royal wedding. The story focuses on an American girl who travels to England and meets a prince. Though this idea seems like a total flop, I'm still excited to see what she comes up with, since I loved her other films. After finishing this script, she goes back to focusing on The Intern, her upcoming Tina Fey movie which I have also mentioned earlier. Talking about Tina Fey, check out this timeline about Liz Lemon's hair on 30 Rock via Pleated Jeans!

Well expected 23rd James Bond film Skyfall released a teaser trailer and poster during the past blog week. You can find the poster here and the teaser beneath. Daniel Craig reprises his role as the titular character, while Naomi Harris and Javier Bardem play supportive characters. Dame Judy Dench also appears once more as M. Looks like it's going to be action packed extravaganza.

During all this, Cannes is happening and is all over the Internet too. Though Sean Penn did blame the world for abandoning Haiti and little storm caused some roof to collapse, the focus is on the movies. Due to the shear amount of movies, there isn't time to introduce all, so here is a link to EW's list of the most anticipated movies. Vulture also made similar list, so these should get you well educated on Cannes. So far most of the mentioned movies have gotten a positive reception, like Django Unchained, Lawless and The Sapphires.

Cannes Film Festival has also inspired lot of sites to come up with lists of Greates Cannes stuff, like moments, breaktroughs and flops. I think this one of the Greatest Cannes Moments was pretty good and there were lot of moments I didn't know about, like a live vulture on the red carpet or the stormtrooper takeover.

I'm favoring a transition via short movies to TV news this time. An CalArts student Toniko Pantoja is getting some early buzz over his work. Both of his short animations were pretty adorable and heartfelt. Here is his animation Crayon Dragon, and you can find his first short Serenade to Miette here!

I'll start my TV part with The Simpsons 23rd season finale which featured Lady Gaga. The episode focused on Lisa's personal issues as Gaga came to town to inspire her. Not only was it a pretty spectacular ending for the season, the episode also featured a commercial for Maggie's new short film that will air in cinemas just before Ice Age 4: Continental Drift. You can find the trailer for that here! And here is the promo for the Gaga episode in case you havn't yet seen it:

And don't forget to look for the season finale of Glee either, which airs tonight. The epidsode is supposed to be a real tear fest, and no wonder, since last episode with the Nationals seemed like a very good ending for the season, but apparently they got enough stuff for one more. The episode also marks the first appearance Santana's mom, played by Gloria Estefan!

Another tear fest was the season finale of Saturday Night Live, which also marked the last appearance of Kristen Wiig as a cast member (hopefully she'll return to host really soon!). Wiig ended her 7-year job at SNL to pursue her movie career. There were rumours that Andy Samberg and Jason Sudekis were leaving too, but showrunner and creator Lorne Michales denied these rumours. The episode was hosted by Mick Jagger. Too bad all the videos of the episode were country coded, so I can't post them here, but I suggest you find another way to see it *wink wink*.

That was my post for the week. In the end I'd like to post the video for Florence and the Machine's new song Breath of Life which is the lead single for the soundtrack of Snow White and The Huntsman. Guaranteed Florence and The Machine quality!

-20-

The past week has been all about TV, since the big networks like NBC, ABC and FOX announced their fall line-ups. There were some moderate surprises, but more on those later. First quotes and then quick movie news.

"Bernadette, I wanna thank you for allowing me to be your maid of honor, I also want you to know I will be happy to do it again  if this marriage craps out."

- Amy

Mayim Bialik on The Big Bang Theory

"Clear alchols are for white woman on diets"

-Ron Swanson

Nick Offerman on Parks & Recreation

"-I would like to present my client's internet search history for that night.

- I would rather just confess to the murder."

Jason Sudekis and Eli Manning during a courtroom sketch on Satudray Night Live

"The shoes at off-brandheelz.com: Christy Labuttons, Johnny Choon,
Dolce-Banana, Merolo Blornig, Prader, Gukki, DKNI, Alexandorp McKing,
 Diana von Fistenbug, and Jessica Simpson"

- Jenna for the off-brandheelz.com commercial

Jane Krakowski on 30 Rock

After the record breaking success of The Avengers, I think it's no surprise that Warner Bros. announced that there will be a sequel for the smash hit. Though Marvel will focus first on a bunch of their other sequels, such as Thor 2, Captain America 2 and Iron Man 3 (which has reportedly attached Rebecca Hall as the female lead). There is no word on who will direct the mega sequel, nor what will the major plotline be like.

Another upcoming sequel shared some casting news. Do you remember the movie RED from few years back, starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren? Well that movie is getting a sequel, RED 2. Catherine Zeta-Jones joins the cast and the movie scheduled for summer 2013 release. The first film was surprisingly good, packed with action and a comedic undertone.

Then the TV news and oh how many of those I've got.  Lets start with the minor (in my mind) ones. After Simon Cowell's X Factor didn't manage to reel in the viewers last season, he decided it was time for judge change-up. There was much speculation for who will join the panel, and now its official. Britney Spears and Demi Lovato will attempt to attract young viewers, though Cowell had to pay big bucks for these judges. Spears is rumored have a paycheck of $15 million.

Glee's third season is soon coming to an end, but the show is already focusing on their fourth season. As some of the students graduate, they move on with their lives, few moving to New York and some staying in Ohio.  Kate Hudson and Sarah Jessica Parker were announced to guest star in the upcoming season. Hudson was reported to have an eight episode arc, which means she will be quite an character. And SJP will have relatively large arc too, and I assume she will be part of the New York storyline.

Last weekend during Will Farrell hosted SNL, the 100th SNL Digital Short aired. This star-studded music video included all our favs Jon Hamm, Justin Timberlake and Justin Bieber. I hope NBC doesn't remove this video too:

Then some great Cougar Town news! Last week I told that the show might move to TBS, well now it's official. Bill Lawrence (creator of the show) told TVline that this move shouldn't change anything on the show. All I really care about is that the show is on air, hopefully this change will bring in the viewers as the show has been struglling after its prolonged break between 2nd and 3rd seasons.

And then some sad news, next season of 30 Rock will be its last one, and it wont even be a full 24-episode season, but just a 13-episode one. Parks & Recreation was also first reported to have a shortened season, but NBC told it will be a full season, thank god! NBC's Up All Night was also confirmed for second season.

Though these were happy news from NBC, they also made some cuts. I was unhappy see that Bent got cut, as it never really got a good chance to shine. This romantic comedy series could have gone far, but it had a very poor timing, in every sense. Another shortlived comedies like BFF and Chelsea got cut too.

ABC renewed Happy Endings for third season too. It might be one of my favourite comedies, though it has been often compared to Friends, but I don't see anything bad about that, both are great shows and I'm happy to see Happy Endings coming back.

I didn't want to list all the shows that got renewed, because there were so many. All the regulars, like Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men were renewed, so don't worry if I didnt mention them.

Then few words about the new shows for the fall season. Here is a quick preview of the season and all the shows. There are many shows on the list that I will want to see, and here are few clips of the ones I look forward to seeing. I don't want to bother with writing too much about them, since trailers really show what the series are about.

I did my best not to let this post run long, so follow the links for full stories, especially for the fall preview, it would take ages to write about all the shows worth watching. Weekly post coming next week!

Happy Mother's Day!

As it is Mother's Day in Finland, I think it was appropriate to thank the TV moms too! Both the pic and video I found via Pleated Jeans, one of the funniest sites online