Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Yay for Something New!!

As a big fan of The Terminator movies, I was a little reluctant to watch this show. Honestly, if the strike hadn't happened, I probably would have skipped it. But I have to tell you I was pleasantly surprised.

I really liked Thomas Dekker as John Connor. He's, thankfully, not nearly as creepy as Edward Furlong from T2, and he's believable as the scared teen, unsure of his ability to fulfill his certain destiny. Lena Headley makes a good Sarah Connor, although she can't compare to the kick-ass Linda Hamilton from T2. Summer Glau stars as the "good" terminator, sent back to protect John. We don't yet know what model she is, or what her capabilities are. Rounding out the cast is James Ellison, played by Richard T. Jones, who is an FBI agent pursuing the Connors.

The show takes place between T2 and T3 and it seemed to stay very true to the Terminator storyline. We even saw characters from the movies like Enrique Salceda and Tarissa Dyson.

If the show continues to be as good as the first two episodes, I will be adding this one to my must-watch list.

This List of Winners Will Be More Exciting Than the Actual Golden Globes

Yes, talk about a bore...the Golden Globe awards were simply awful. I didn't watch but a few minutes but that was enough. No glitz, no glamour, no excitement, no drama - just a simple reading of a list. Ho and Hum. And who was the genius who let Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell in there? I thought they (specifically Billy Bush) were awful!

If you're interested, here is the list of the winners:

MOTION PICTURES:
Motion Picture, Drama: "Atonement."
Actress, Drama: Julie Christie, "Away From Her."
Actor, Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood."
Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy: "Sweeney Todd."
Actress, Musical or Comedy: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie En Rose."
Actor, Musical or Comedy: Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd."
Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There."
Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men."
Director: Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."
Screenplay: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, "No Country for Old Men."
Foreign Language: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," France and U.S.
Animated Film: "Ratatouille."
Original Score: Dario Marianelli, "Atonement."
Original Song: "Guaranteed" from "Into the Wild."

TELEVISION:
Series, Drama: "Mad Men," AMC.
Actress, Drama: Glenn Close, "Damages."
Actor, Drama: Jon Hamm, "Mad Men."
Series, Musical or Comedy: "Extras," HBO.
Actress, Musical or Comedy: Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Actor, Musical or Comedy: David Duchovny, "Californication."
Miniseries or Movie: "Longford," HBO.
Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Queen Latifah, "Life Support."
Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Jim Broadbent, "Longford."
Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Samantha Morton, "Longford."
Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Jeremy Piven, "Entourage."

People's Choice Winners

As I'm sure you've heard, the WGA has refused to allow participation in this season's awards shows. The Golden Globe ceremony has been cancelled due to the Writers Strike and instead the awards will be announced via press conference on January 13.

The People's Choice Awards had to rethink their ceremony as well and elected to tape the show for later broadcast rather than show it live. Awards were delivered to winners on set and many gave pre-recorded acceptance speeches. Several of the actors voiced support for the WGA in their speeches. Joaquin Phoenix actually did his thank you via cue cards, without speaking a word. They read, "I'm speechless without the writers. Seriously. But in my own quiet way, I want to thank the millions of fans that voted for me for favorite leading man."

Here's the complete list of winners:

TV
Female TV star: Katherine Heigl
Male TV star: Patrick Dempsey
Talk show host: Ellen DeGeneres
Scene stealer: Chandra Wilson
TV drama: "House"
TV comedy: "Two and a Half Men"
Reality show: "Dancing With the Stars"
Game show: "Deal or No Deal"
Sci-fi show: "Stargate Atlantis"
Animated TV show: "The Simpsons"
Female movie star: Reese Witherspoon
Male movie star: Johnny Depp
Leading lady: Drew Barrymore
Leading man: Joaquin Phoenix

MOVIES
Female action star: Keira Knightley
Male action star: Matt Damon
On-screen match-up: George Clooney and Brad Pitt
Movie: "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
Movie drama: "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
Movie comedy: "Knocked Up"
Action movie: "The Bourne Ultimatum"
Family movie: "Shrek the Third"
"Threequel": "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
Independent movie: "Becoming Jane"

MUSIC
Female singer: Gwen Stefani
Male singer: Justin Timberlake
Group: Rascal Flatts
Pop song: Justin Timberlake, "What Goes Around ... Comes Around"
Rock song: Daughtry, "Home"
Country song: Rascal Flatts, "Stand"
Hip-hop song: Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake, "Give it to Me"
R&B song: Rhianna, "Shut Up & Drive"
Song from a soundtrack: "You Can't Stop the Beat" from "Hairspray"
Reunion tour: The Police

COMEDY
Funny male: Robin Williams
Funny female: Ellen DeGeneres

Looks like Grey's Anatomy seriously cleaned up in the TV acting categories.

If You're Finished with my Brain, I'd Kindly Like it Back

I know I am a mom and I am supposed to think for my kids, but I thought after 8 or 10 or 12 years they might start doing a little thinking for themselves. No dice.

Last Night The Pleaser had a Whiz Quiz tournament (yes, he is very smart) and I had given him one task when I dropped him at school: Find out what time we need to be there and where we need to go. Seems simple enough, doesn't it?

I picked him up from school and, as we drove away, asked him if he had that information. He said, "I have a schedule." I drive away so proud, thinking "My kid is so super-awesome." Boy was I wrong (well he is awesome, just not at that moment).

When we got home, I look at the schedule. It is a schedule, but only a schedule of the upcoming tournaments. It doesn't tell me if we meet at his school or go to the tourney school. It doesn't tell me what time he needs to be there, if I am supposed to take him or if he is riding a bus. I kinda need to know these things. I'm sure he was either told or given a handout at one point but that information never seems to get to me (like last year when I found out about the out-of-town Science Olympiad at 3pm the day before the 8am start of the competition). He said he thought the coach told them to be there at 4:45 so I made the executive mom decision that we would go to the tournament school and that turned out to be the right thing to do, thankfully.

Danger Boy was lacking brain function yesterday as well. When I picked him up, he very snottily said to me, "Mom, you need to send me a jacket every day. I didn't get to go to recess today because I didn't have one." I said, "What season is it?" He replied, "Winter." I said, "When you walked outside, did you not notice it was cold?" He said, "I did, but you didn't tell me to get my jacket." I guess it is against the law for him to wear a jacket unless I tell him to put it on?

I don't understand?? Have I done too much thinking for them in their lives. Have I not taught them to think for themselves? Do I chalk it up to the fact that they are just kids. Or is the bigger problem the fact that they are boys?

Wait, I think I know the answer. Phone Guy, don't forget to put on clean underwear.

The DVR That Ate Doctor Who

On New Year's Eve, I made my cheese dip, popped open some Raspberry Ginger Ale (yes I'm a party animal) and plopped down in front of the TV with my boys for a marathon of Seasons 1 and 2 of Doctor Who. I was so psyched. I had watched some of the eppys from Season 1, but I wanted to watch them all, in order, and get ready for Season 3.

So I pulled up my DVR menu and scrolled down to the D's and found all 2 episodes of Doctor Who. Wait? 2 episodes? Yes, 2 episodes. It seems my TV addiction is so bad that I had maxxed out the memory on the DVR and as it was recording all those Rankin-Bass Christmas specials from ABC Family, it was deleting the beloved Doctor.

I guess I have 2 choices: Clean off the DVR or see if I can sweet talk the satellite company into giving me a bigger one. I think I'll try the latter first.

As for Doctor Who, I may now be forced to purchase the DVDs. How terrible! ;)

Happy New Year

It's been a long time, hasn't it? Yeah well, I got involved in doing some freelance writing and I will confess I was in a bit over my head. I kept up with it, but barely and it left no time for my baby here.

It looks like that writing may be coming to an end. At the very least, the job will be cut to 1/3 of what I was doing. That means it's time to dust off Crazy 4 TV and get back to talking about all of my favorite shows and my life in general.

What?! The writers are on strike! There is no new TV to talk about?! You're kidding me! (OK, of course I already knew that...I was just messin' with ya!) ;)

It's not a total loss...yet. We still have LOST starting up in a few weeks. There's one more Grey's Anatomy and 3 more ER's left. Plus there's also a lot of gossip out there and we can always review the writers' YouTube videos if we get bored.

So hang with me and we'll get this puppy back on track. It's good to be home!