ladyofavalon77 | Feast to Famine and Back Again... (Reply)

Just when you think there is nothing good to watch you're overloaded with TOO many things to see. Today was a normal work day...sort of. For some reason, my boss thought I had too much overtime and decided to let me leave early. That was good because my whole day was shorter but it was also bad because I had things to do before I went on vacation in Florida for a week. Never mind...better not to look a gift horse in the mouth and lose your gift! Therefore, I headed out to Booksamillion to pick up one of their seven layer homemade cakes with frosting that melts in your mouth as well as pick up the TV guide for a preview of 24 since the season premiere is almost a week a away. No luck on the TV Guide but did pick up the TV Guide Magazine with some shots of Jean and Greg...I'm sorry but Greg looked downright scary with his full beard. *shudders* I also picked up lunch for my boss since I knew we would be busy and she wouldn't get a lunch as well as my brother.

To my surprise, I was sleepy and took a quick nap and woke up an hour or so later deciding to watch the other hour of Season Five I had neglected to finish the other night. So here are some thoughts on Twenty Four: 5.8. Jack finds himself posing as Rossler so they can find the other canisters of nerve gas but soon gets in over his head as the terrorists decide to do a test run at a shopping mall and take him along. CTU then has to decide: stop the one attack but lose the other canisters or let it go through and follow the chip to the rest of the nerve gas. Personally, I can completely understand the idea of letting the one canister of gas be released. People will die but you have to think of the bigger picture. There usually isn't a Jack Bauer there so you need to be willing to suffer losses to server the greater good :) I loved seeing Martha confront Charles about his change of heart on revealing Walt as being a traitor and then he has the last word when he calls her to task by challenging her to tell Walt's grieving wife the horrible truth. I like seeing Martha struggle with this and finally seeing it's sometimes best when the truth doesn't come out...right away. At any rate, the look they exchange as she leaves the room is a wonder to behold and I love them all over again :)

Anyways, I was talking about feast and famine. Remember when there was nothing to watch for the last few days...except hours of Day Five of Twenty Four. Well, I decided to turn on the TV while I cleaned out the desk in my room and what did I find but Grey's Anatomy.

Now I had seen it before and parts were good but not enough to get hooked. However, once again this episode was excellent and had me on the edge of my seat. All the intricate threads connecting everyone to each other and effecting those around them. This was episode 3.9 (From a Whisper to a Scream) and, for once, McDreamy and Meredith weren't so irritating...just playful and cute. However, the ones who really held my attention the whole time were Cristina and Burke. The dynamic between them is amazing and, even though it looks like they're not a couple now because she went and confessed about his weak hand I hope they get back together because there is definitely something special there. I could not believe he ditched her like that after everything she did AND attacking her in the worst possible way by saying he was making up for her emotional shortcomings. That was so cruel. Still it was a great episode to watch.

Then it was time to watch Shark because they were finally airing a new episode.

This one was entitled: The Wrath of Kahn. It was a strange episode indeed. No courtroom drama, just lots of action like it was a cop show. I really didn't like it because there was no battle of wits, just of guns. However, the casting agent really needs to get a raise...she or he finds the best people. The two undercover cops were perfectly cast and could have been in a gangster movie. They looked like they were up to no good but with some layers underneath. I don't know where they find their actors but they always seem to have something a little special going on. Hollywood watch out!! On a sad note, one of the young D.A.'s died in the line of fire trying to save a little girl. He was the idealistic one who loved to fight for the underdog and the illegal immigrant because he knew what it was like from personal experience. He was always a little shy and a little awkward but very lovable...a great loss for a great show.

And of course, I had to end the night with another two episodes of 24 Season Five (5.9 and 5.10).

This time it was quite entertaining because we were getting to the best part (the motorcade attack!) I really hadn't seen nor remembered the episode before the attack so it was like seeing it for the first time. Lynn's spiral out of control just kept getting worse as he tried to act like Jack Bauer and yell at everyone within shouting distance. But you know what is most funny? During these scenes, I was getting a real vibe from Bill and Audrey. I know they were just working together but it seemed to be more than that. I mean they seemed more connected than him and Michelle and supposed he was really close to Michelle. Bill and Audrey as a couple...hmmm :) I also loved seeing Martha make silent appeals to Charles to do the right thing and stand up to the terrorists. However, like Charles said, it's not that simple, Martha...it never is. Another little thought intruded...if he had stayed by her side, she would could have jumped in the motorcade and been in danger. Just like if he had been with her from the beginning, they could have salvaged their marriage :) And of course this last episode I've seen so many times because Jean and Greg give running commentary on it which is hilarious to listen to. The highlights were Curtis staring down the Red Shirts at CTU and putting Lynn in holding while Aaron defended the motorcade alone with perfectly aimed shots that didn't miss once. The man is real live action hero :D I also enjoyed watching Charles undergo personal turmoil as he realized he might lose Martha. Poor guy! And I felt sorry for him at the tough choices he had to make. He had my complete sympathies...as always :D

Besides these shows, there were also episodes of Smallville and CSI to catch up on but no time. I would rather have too many choices than too little :) I bring you a news article on the play Jean will be doing with her real life husband. If only I lived in California! Despite the steep prices, the chance to see Jean would be wonderful *swoons*

Jean Smart and Richard Gilliland Will Read Love Letters Feb. 10-11

By Andrew Gans
January 2, 2007

Husband-and-wife actors Richard Gilliland and Jean Smart will play one of the theatre's best-known un-married twosomes — Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner — in February at the historic Visalia Fox Theater in California.

Smart and Gilliland will star in A.R. Gurney's acclaimed Love Letters Feb. 10 and 11 at the California venue. Ted Weiant will direct the evenings, which will benefit the Visalia Fox Theater restoration fund. Producers are The Visalia Fox Theater in association with Keion Marshall.

Love Letters, according to production notes, "chronicles a relationship solely through written correspondence. The story is about Andrew Makepeace Ladd III (Gilliland) and Melissa Gardner (Smart) whose poignantly funny friendship and ill-fated romance takes them from second grade through adolescence and then into maturity and middle age." The work premiered at Connecticut's Long Wharf Theatre in 1989 with Joanna Gleason and John Rubenstein and has been performed all around the world. Laura Linney and Steven Weber starred in a television version of the play.

Jean Smart received a Tony nomination for her performance in the Nathan Lane revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner and was also seen in the original Broadway production of Piaf. Best known for her work on the award-winning series "Designing Women," Smart received two Emmy Awards for her guest appearances on "Frasier" and was Emmy-nominated for her work on "The District" and "24."

Richard Gilliland was recently seen on the L.A. stage opposite Tony Danza in Bernard Slade's I Remember You. His more recent screen credits include "24," "The Power Puff Principle," "Crossing Jordan," "Joan of Arcadia," "Becker," "Judging Amy," and "Party of Five."

A.R. Gurney's plays include The Dining Room, The Cocktail Party, The Perfect Party, Another Antigone, A Cheever Evening, Sylvia, Ancestral Voices and Buffalo Gal. He is the recipient of a Drama Desk Award, a Rockefeller Award and two Lucille Lortel Awards.

The Visalia Fox Theatre is located at 308 W. Main Street in Visalia, CA. Tickets, which begin at $200, are available by calling (559) 625-1369. For more information, visit www.foxvisalia.org.

And that's all for now! I leave for Orlando, Florida in two days!! A nice week at the theme parks and warm weather :)

You're everything I've dreamed of and so much more...