TELEVISION: TV TIDBITS 2020

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TV TIDBITS 2020

I absolutely meant for this to be mini-article, but, after watching the shock series finale of God Friended Me the other night, I had so much more to say. (I’ll get to that near the end.)

Karen Salkin and Freddie Highmore, the star of The Good Doctor. Photo by Lisa Politz.

Karen Salkin and Freddie Highmore, the star of The Good Doctor. Photo by Lisa Politz.

With most of the world being stuck in the house these days, I’d venture a guess that TV watching is at an all-time high!

I’m semi one of those viewers; I’m not all in because I seem to have a dearth of concentration these days. The second I start watching a series episode or movie, my mind wanders off to concern for everyone in the world amid the coronavirus pandemic.

But despite all that, I have kept-up with my regular group of series, and I’ve even gotten to fit in some old movies, which was one of my passions in life when I had a bit of time on my hands, before I began this e-zine and my YouTube channel.

Jennifer Lopez's bare, natural nails on the Global Citizen concert.  (And her lip-synching of People was much worse! This is one of the few images where she wasn't entirely covering her mouth.)

Jennifer Lopez’s bare, natural nails on the Global Citizen concert. (And her lip-synching of People was much worse! This is one of the few images where she wasn’t entirely covering her mouth.)

So, below are just some of my thoughts on recent TV developments. (And yes—I do watch series on network TV only, despite not only having a satellite network now, but being one of the few who had an original satellite dish back in the day, before anyone else did! And it’s still up in my backyard—it’s too gigantic to remove!) I hope enough time has passed since these recent episodes that I’m not issuing any spoilers.

Here goes:

~ If the Global Citizen concert taught us one thing, it’s that no female celebs can do their own nails!!! How is that even possible?! So, in case they, or you, missed it, here’s the link to my tutorial on how to do Isolation Manicures in your home: www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_y6A4bxFfA.

~ The thing that has upset me the most, out of all the shows that I watch, was Dr. Melendez’s horrible death on The Good Doctor. How could they have done that? I don’t get it. Just as his romance was heating up with his resident, Claire, they had this shocking development! Even after the credits rolled, I was still sitting there, expecting them to take it back. And it wasn’t just the very unnecessary kill-off—it was the rotten way in which they did it. They let him lie there alone for most of the time, knowing he was about to die. And God forbid they should have let those two characters kiss after declaring their love for one another. The whole thing stinks!

Shaun and Lea's season finale kiss.  It was so much more uncomfortable in movement than it is here in a still.

Shaun and Lea’s season finale kiss. It was so much more uncomfortable in movement than it is here in a still.

And while we’re on the subject of kissing on this show, (or lack thereof,) how cringe-worthy was that kiss between Shaun and Lea at the end of the season finale? It was so uncomfortable! Even with Lea loving Shaun as a person and her best friend, there’s no way she’s now attracted to him, no matter how wonderful a person he is. (And how incredible an actor Freddie Highmore is! What is wrong with awards outfits to not at least nominate him for one??? He’s spectacular! I watched his freaking-out-at-Lea scene towards the end of this season so many times, hoping that at least one tiny drop of his acting technique will work its way into my psyche. The guy is a master!

Tate Donovan, with his unkempt eyebrows, and showing the tops of his creepy teeth caps.

Tate Donovan, with his unkempt eyebrows, and showing the tops of his creepy teeth caps.

~ Going back to gratuitous deaths, MacGyver had one this season, as well, although we hadn’t seen the character in awhile, anyway. It’s like they brought Mac’s dad back just to have someone to kill-off. But I wasn’t too sad about it: I’m just thrilled that I won’t have to look at Tate Donovan’s gross teeth caps and dreadful eyebrows anymore! (At least he didn’t smile a lot on this show.) How does an actor, especially one who was the boyfriend of not just Jennifer Aniston but also Sandra Bullock, not know any better?! Does he not have any mirrors in his house???

~ Conversely, Manifest did not allow a character to die, although it looked like he had done just that. They saved Zeke, about whom I do not give a darn. But I had a feeling they would wimp-out and bring him back to life at the last minute. If I had the power to trade his life for that of the aforementioned Dr. Melendez on The Good Doctor, I would in a heartbeat! (Do you believe I actually care about this stuff? I would even if I wasn’t in isolation!)

Masked Singer judge Nicole Scherzinger.  She's had so much facial surgery that her visage looks plastic now.  But she cannot disguise her wrinkly hands.  Photo by Karen Salkin.

Masked Singer judge Nicole Scherzinger. She’s had so much facial surgery that her visage looks plastic now. But she cannot disguise her wrinkly hands. Photo by Karen Salkin.

~ The Masked Singer is really annoying me this season. They brought on so many nobodies! It’s a shonda. When half of them have been revealed, Mr. X has queried aloud, “Who???” I know who most of them are, sort-of, but would never have guessed them because…they’re not celebrities! They’re minor reality people whose voices no one but idiots would recognize. And footballer Rob Gronkowski, who cannot sing a note, lasting longer than music biz icons Dionne Warwick and Chaka Kahn was offensive. We all knew it was Gronk under his costume, and definitely Dionne, so what is wrong with those in-studio voters?! It’s embarrassing for people like those uber-talented ladies, and Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight on previous seasons, to be eliminated so early. Performers of that caliber should stop going on this show!

Pregnant Leighton Meester, which I, Karen Salkin, was the first one to call!

Pregnant Leighton Meester, which I, Karen Salkin, was the first one to call!

And the audience is just creepy. It’s clear that they’re being told what to do, from doing chants for each contestant, (complete with annoying physical moves,) to acting amazed at every little thing. The only honest thing any of them has ever done is genuinely laugh at the hilarious judge, Ken Jeong.

On that note, (get it? “note?” singer?,) let me say that Ken is the main reason to watch this show. His fellow judge, Robin Thicke, is also good, and I love how he gets such a kick out of Ken. Host Nick Cannon is perfect for the gig. But the two female judges, Nicole Scherzinger and Jenny McCarthy, are the worst!!! Mr. X and I can’t bare listening to them, especially that loud-mouth Jenny, whoever she is!

~ On some happier, more uplifting news, I totally called Single Parents’ Leighton Meester’s pregnancy! Three months ago!!! I could see it in her face on the show, and the baggy way they’ve been dressing that skinny little girl recently confirmed it for me. So, unless, just like the rest of us, she’s been engaging in constant nervous isolation eating, the secret is out. I’m so happy for her and her adorable hubby, Adam Brody, (who’s done a lot of other commendable work, but, to me, will always be Seth Cohen from my favorite show ever, The O.C.!)

~ As I mentioned, I’ve been watching a bunch of old movies on TCM. I have no idea why I chose this one, but 1956’s Hot Blood just might be the worst movie ever made. But Mr. X and I got plenty of unintended laughs out of it. And at least it led to me doing research on Gypsies in Los Angeles, (because that was the topic of the film,) which was really enlightening. So something good came out of it. I never knew much about that group, except for something my father said every summer. Whenever our family of five packed-up the car to go on vacation, and we had so many auxiliary bags, (not just our suitcases; things like coolers, snacks, totes full of pool shoes, etc.,) my father would survey it in disdain and declare, “We’re traveling like gypsies!” It even made me laugh again just typing this.

Just one of the very dumb scenes in Hot Blood.  That's supposedly Cornel Wilde leaping into the scene from the right. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Just one of the very dumb scenes in Hot Blood. That’s supposedly Cornel Wilde leaping into the scene from the right. Photo by Karen Salkin.

~ I did see, and really enjoy, one sort-of recent film, 2017’s The Upside, and it gave me a new respect for Kevin Hart. Who knew he was such a good actor? Comedian, we knew, but he’s really excellent in this heartwarming sort-of true story.

~ Okay, let’s finish-up this article with my very many thoughts on God Friended Me ending! What??? Just a few days before the series finale aired, I found-out that would be the end of the line for this mild-mannered series. I was pretty surprised because I had not heard of its cancellation. I had no idea, and I’ve been watching it since Day One!

Just look at the too-short pants on both the guy and the seated girl, closest to us.  Ugh. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Just look at the too-short pants on both the guy and the seated girl, closest to us, in the God Friended Me series finale. Ugh. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of the finale, I have to say that the only good thing about not seeing this show anymore is that I will not have to look at the absolute worst wardrobe that has ever been on TV in the entire history of the medium! As I tweeted back in October, “God may have friended them, but he’s certainly not choosing their wardrobe!” After all this time, I still have no idea what the wardrobe person was going for, unless it was to show that every single character who was on there is a nerd! If they think they were just showing they were regular people, they missed that mark, big-time. With all the people I know in the world, not even the freaks and geeks dress that badly! [Note: When I looked-up who did the wardrobe, so I could assign blame to the correct person, there were thirty-five people who worked in that department over the two seasons. So I can’t just name them to shame them, as I had planned. Sorry.]

Here's another example of the dreadful outfits on the God Friended Me actors, which the big image at the top of this page show, as well.  Photo by Karen Salkin.

Here’s another example of the dreadful outfits on the God Friended Me actors, which the big image at the top of this page show, as well. Photo by Karen Salkin, as is that picture.

As I watched this week’s series finale, I thought it seemed a bit strange for a series-ending episode. It sooo didn’t look like the storyline was headed that way. I kept checking the clock, to see if they would have enough time to steer the narrative in another direction. And then, all of a sudden, when Cara, the love interest of Miles, the series lead, was telling him that she didn’t still love him, I was in shock; that’s how they were going to end it??? But then, all of a sudden, there was a voice-over of Miles, saying they got back together and showing a montage of it happening, even though those visual snippets were all from previous episodes. They did the same for the secondary couple’s story, even though we had not seen that girl for what seemed like most of the season! The whole episode just seemed odd.

And then, after promising the viewers that we would find-out who was behind the “God account,” (which was the show’s raison d’être,) we just see Miles on a mountain in the Himalayas, with a little kid monk calling to him and saying “She’s ready for you.” And that’s it!!! After two years of a mysterious entity pulling the strings, all we get is…another mystery! Soooo unsatisfying.

Karen Salkin and Brandon Micheal Hall, right before he got the lead role on God Friended Me. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Karen Salkin and Brandon Micheal Hall, right before he got the lead role on God Friended Me. Photo by Karen Salkin.

But I did get to the bottom of this uber-weird season finale, for those of you who are as confused as I am. God Friended Me had been cancelled just two weeks before the finale aired, so I’m assuming we were originally meant to be left with Cara breaking Miles’ heart, only to repair it throughout next season. They also had her minor character mother moving out of town in this episode, which made me wonder who exactly would care about that at the end of the series. So, I’m pretty sure the entire episode was already shot with questions to be worked on next season, and then, when they got the cancellation news a mere two weeks before it was all over, the producers just added the montages and voice-over from Miles. That was probably the most clever way they could have handled it, especially with not being able to shoot a different ending during the virus situation, but it just made the whole thing so weird. And sad. And unsatisfying. Maybe a family-oriented channel will pick the series up now, but I have my doubts. I have a feeling the series star, the adorable Brandon Micheal Hall, will be in much demand by other new series. If there are ever new shows being able to be filmed ever again!

So, this just may be the time to bring back my one-woman TV show, right?!

And I’ll leave it at that.

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