Melissa and Joey - Cheesy Fun

It might be aimed at teenagers and families, but ABC Family has some great television programmes. I'm a big fan of dramedies Greek and Pretty Little Liars and have recently discovered Melissa & Joey. It stars TV veterans Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) and Joey Lawrence (Blossom) as, well Melissa and Joey and is similar to a modern day Who's the Boss. Melissa's a successful career woman looking after her niece and nephew after a family scandal sends her sister to prison and her brother-in-law on the run. She hires Joe as her nanny, or 'manny' when he has nowhere to go after being scammed by her brother-in-law. Throw in Mel's crazy assistant, a Dancing with the Stars type dance off and teenage issues and hilarity ensues. Melissa and Joey makes me a little nostalgic for my favourite 90s sitcoms Full House and Step by Step, but it's still a lot of fun.

Catch up on Melissa & Joey at ABC Family

New shows update! Who has a full season pickup? Here’s the story so far…

After Fox lead the charge announcing that Raising Hope was getting a full season pickup, the rest of the networks have followed suit. I was very excited to see that the CW have ordered more scripts for one of my favourite new shows Hellcats and they also gave Nikita a full season pickup. CBS who have had the highest rated new shows have given full season pickups to Hawaii 5 0, Blue Bloods, Mike & Molly, The Defenders, and $#*! My Dad Says. But the best news came from ABC today, they have given a full season order to my new favourite show No Ordinary Family. And also to Detroit 1-8-7 and Better With You. Although I’m not that excited about the last one. In also not so exciting news, NBC has picked up Undercovers and Chase for the full season. Although the true test will be to see what's picked up for a second season... I hope Hellcats and No Ordinary Family can make the cut.

Why You Should Watch Grey's Anatomy Again

Yes, I know. Many people, including myself thought that Grey's Anatomy had jumped the shark. I had given up on the show a few years ago after Izzie was having sex with a ghost and Meredith died and came back to life. I was done. Well, so I thought. I somehow got sucked back in last season and I've gotten completely hooked again. The season six finale (which aired in May), where a crazed gunman ran free in the hospital, was not only one of the best episodes of Grey's ever, but one of the best episodes of television last season. Season seven is also interesting. Derek and Meredith are still going strong, McSteamy's actually in love, even if it is with the very annoying Lexie Grey and the fantastic Kim Raver is now a series regular. Best of all my favourite character, super surgeon Christina (Sandra Oh) is too traumatised to be a surgeon after she was almost killed last season and Sandra Oh is playing vulnerable Christina perfectly . There are also new not annoying doctors, like Calleigh's girlfriend Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) and super good looking Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) who, like Meredith, has a famous surgeon relative. It may have jumped the shark, but Grey's has managed to give itself a new life. Although no more killing Meredith. Please.

Fall in love with Grey's Anatomy again, Thursdays 9pm on ABC.

No Ordinary Family - My Favourite New Show?

I just starting watching No Ordinary Family over the weekend, I actually watched it online, which I hate to do, as I'd heard good things and wanted to check it out. But I had no room for it on my DVR as it's in the competitive Tuesdays at 8pm timeslot competing against Glee, One Tree Hill and for the rest of the America, NCIS. I am not an NCIS fan, but it is very popular.

Anyways, No Ordinary Family is the very realistic story about a disconnected family who are in a plane crash when they're on vacation. They survive, but when they get back to America they realise that something's different... they all have super powers! Dad has super strength, Mum can run like the wind, daughter Daphne can read minds and son JJ is now a genius. And their new found powers help bring them back together. It's kind of cheesy (nothing wrong with a little cheese!) but is also sweet and it stars Michael Chiklis (The Shield) and Julie Benz (the best show ever Buffy) who are both pretty awesome. And now I think I'm hooked, I can't wait to see what they do with their powers next.

If you have a Tuesday night DVR dilemma you can catch up on No Ordinary Family on ABC.com or catch the reruns at 8pm Fridays on ABC.

Modern Family - Comedy Gold?

Modern Family was one of the breakout hits of the 2009-2010 TV season. Viewers and critics both loved it and it picked up the Emmy for Best Comedy over favourite Glee. Do I think it deserved it? That's another question for another blog post...

I did thoroughly enjoy season one of Modern Family though, it included one of my favourite episodes of a sitcom ever, the episode titled 'Airport'. In the episode the whole clan of three related, but very different, families are on their way to Hawaii. You'd think the actual vacation in Hawaii would be the story, but getting to and being at the airport was when the action takes place. High jinks ensue when Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) forgets his wallet, with his ID in it, so his brother-in-law Phil (the hilarious Ty Burrell) accompanies him back to his house to get it. Of course he doesn't have his keys either, but being a real estate agent Phil is able to help him break in. Meanwhile back at the airport young Manny (Rico Rodriguez) is being questioned by the TSA as he has the same name as someone on the No Fly List and his outspoken Colombian mother Gloria (Sofia Vergara) is furious. I've watched the episode at least five times and I can't face deleting it from my DVR.

I've been enjoying the first few episodes of season two, although it's been a little uneven so far and not nearly as funny as the first season. I was really looking forward to the earthquake episode, as I've been in enough earthquakes to see how they can be funny, and I was a little disappointed.

Modern Family is on ABC Wednesdays at 9pm. Stick around afterward to watch Cougar Town.

What You Need to Know About Cougar Town

Cougar Town is an underrated awesome comedy on ABC and it makes me sad that it doesn't get the ratings it deserves.

Here's what you need to know about Cougar Town:
1. The title is not true to the content of the show. I missed the start of the show which was apparently about Courteney Cox’s Jules being a cougar in her Florida neighborhood and chasing after younger men
2. It’s actually a heartwarming hilarious sitcom about friendship and family.
3. It centers around Jules, her two best friends Ellie (Christa Miller) and Laurie (Busy Phillips), her cute neighbor Greyson, Ellie's husband and Jules' ex-husband and son.
4. They drink a lot. So much that there have been drinking games made up around it. My friend Leena and I have made up our own drinking game, please see below and play along.
5. It’s set in Florida (but films in LA's Culver City)
6. It's funny!

Gabe & Leena’s Cougar Town Drinking game
Drink when they are drinking an alcoholic beverage
Drink when they pour wine
Drink when the word wine is mentioned
Drink when the word drink is mentoned
Drink when they are at Gray’s Pub

Watch Cougar Town! Wednesdays at 9.30pm on ABC, after a little show called Modern Family.

Fall TV 2010 - Any New Hits?

I have been totally underwhelmed by the lineup of new fall shows this season. And I thought maybe it was just me, until I read this story by one of my favourite TV critics, Ken Tucker, on my favourite website EW.com

Infact most of the new season shows I haven't even been compelled to watch. Here's my take on what I have seen...

My favourite new season show by far is the CW's Hellcats. It's set in college and is about cheerleading and it may be cheesy but it is also awesome. It's centered around pre-law student Marti, who used to be a gymnast and tries out for the 'Hellcats' when she loses her scholarship, she makes the team and gains a cheerleading scholarship. The Hellcats are in danger of losing their funding so must work together to stay on top. In typical CW fashion there's lots of hookups, melt downs and drama.

I loved and lost Lone Star, about a con man living a double life and trying to go straight. I thought it was filled with many things that make a great show - deception, mystery, drama and hot people. But it only lasted two episodes on Fox, despite being the critical favourite of the season. RIP Lone Star.

I enjoyed the pilot of Hawaii 5 O on CBS, although it's not appointment viewing for me. On my new HD TV Hawaii looks lush and beautiful and that definitely adds to the show. It seems like another cop show though and it's not nearly as good as Castle or the CSI's. I think I'd go back to CSI over getting invested in Hawaii 5 O, but I'll watch a few more episodes before I decide.

I really wanted to love Fox's Running Wilde. It stars the awesome Keri Russell and Will Arnett and the creator is Mitch Hurwitz, the genius behind one of my all-time favourites Arrested Development. And Keri Russell's daughter, Stefania Owen, is from New Zealand! But the pilot, about a spoiled rich man trying to win over a down to earth humanitarian woman, didn't win me over. I'm hoping it can get better as the season progresses... and that Fox will give it a chance.

I also excited about ABC's Better With You, starring JoAnna Garcia from the cancelled too soon and under-appreciated show Privilaged. Trust me, it was fantastic. Better With You however is not. It's a sitcom about three related couples in different stages of their relationship - a newly engaged couple, a practically married couple and a married for decades couple. It's a traditional sitcom, but I found myself squirming a bit too much and not laughing enough. I'm hoping it can find it's way though as their cast is great.

Three shows have been cancelled already, less than a month into the new season, and only one show has received a full season pick up. That show is Fox's Raising Hope, about a 25 year old man raising his infant son with his loopy family. There are a couple of mid season shows I'm looking forward to - ABC's Mr Sunshine starring Matthew Perry and Love Bites on NBC. And if they both fail I'll always have American Idol.

Why The Good Wife is Awesome

The Good Wife is one of the best dramas on TV right now, it's intriguing, compelling, has interesting story lines and fantastic acting. I got on board with the show about half way through the first season after my friend Nat told me how awesome it was. And when I found out Gilmore Girls' Matt Czuchry was in it I was sold. In season two former Chicago states attorney Peter Florick (Chris Noth) is out of jail after a sex scandal and running for re election. His wife Alicia Florick (the suberb Julianna Marguiles), the real heart of the show, is still working as a lawyer at Lockhart & Gardner and is not sure where she stands with her relationship with her husband. I also love Will Gardner (Josh Charles), Alicia's boss and potential love interest. They've almost gotten together several times but the timing has always been wrong. I'm hoping one day soon it will be right! And although young hot shot lawyer Cary (Matt Czuchry) was let go of Lockhart & Gardner in the first season, he's now working for Peter's competitor, current state's attorney Glenn Childs. Although there are ongoing story lines, each episode has a new case that Alicia's working on and which is usually solved by the end of the episode. I'll be watching.

The Good Wife is on Tuesdays at 10pm on CBS.

CSI - A TV Classic

Truth be told I have not watched a new episode of CSI in years, since I moved to LA in 2006. When I lived in New Zealand it was one of the few shows that my Dad, sister and I could agree on watching. I loved CSI for many years though and it happened to be a casualty on my TV schedule as there is so much good television on and although I've tried I can't watch it all. But when I heard that this season (the shows eleventh, yes eleventh!) will probably be Marg Helgenberger's last, a wave of sadness rushed over me. Helgenberger's single mum Catherine Willow's was always my favourite character, she'd had a rough past and got her life together to be a successful forensic scientist and crime scene investigator. And although other characters such as Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) and Gil Grissom (William Peterson) have left, CSI without Catherine just doesn't seem like CSI to me. But whatever happens as long as the ratings are good the show will go on! And I'm sure one day I'll catch up on the last few seasons of CSI and watch Catherine Willows kick butt!

Catch new episodes of CSI on Thursdays at 9pm on CBS and reruns on Spike. Or check out www.cbs.com

New season show - Law and Order: Los Angeles

I think I am one of the few people in America that is not a fan of the original Law and Order or Special Victims Unit (SVU). It just doesn’t really appeal to me as most SVU episodes I have seen are about horrible things happening to children which I can’t handle and I have nightmares about them for days. Last night at my friend Gretchen’s house we started watching the pilot of the newest series in the Law and Order franchise, Law and Order: Los Angeles, which was mainly interesting to all of us as we live in Los Angeles. There was a murder at the Edison! I’ve been there! They questioned people in We Ho on Sunset Blvd. I’ve been there! All the street names that flashed up on the screens I actually recognised rather than them being strange (to me) numbers like the other series have. Although the familiar ripped from the headlines story line, about teenagers robbing celebrities homes, was weak and the acting was average it was fun to see places that I was familiar with. Even if they were associated with murder. So for me the jury's still out on Law and Order: Los Angeles, although I do say that you should never base a show on it's pilot (hello Private Practice!) so maybe it can still win me over. If there aren't too many child abduction story lines.

Law and Order: Los Angeles airs Wednesdays at 10pm on NBC and reruns air on USA.

10 Reasons Why I Love Private Practice

Private Practice is my favourite drama. It might not be the most acclaimed drama on television, but I can’t get enough of it. Here’s why:
1. It’s set in Santa Monica, who doesn’t love Santa Monica? And coincidentally I almost live in Santa Monica (oh okay, two miles away) and work in Santa Monica, a mere three blocks from the Oceanside Wellness exterior. I have SO much in common with main character Addison (the fantastic Kate Walsh).
2. It’s about doctors, all of whom are beautiful and complicated. Although I’m not as beautiful and complicated as the characters on the show I do relate to them and after four seasons they kind of feel like my friends.
3. Weddings! I love weddings, what girl doesn’t? Private Practice has had two weddings in less than a season and they were both surprising and sweet.
4. No need to learn lots of new characters as the main characters all have romantic entanglements within their small group. Which is a little incestuous, but always keeps things interesting. The most controversial being new couple Addison and Sam (Taye Diggs), Sam was married to Naomi (Audra McDonald) who is Addison’s best friend!
5. They’re not afraid to kill off their main characters. No almost deaths here, fan favourite, single Dad and cutie Dell (Chris Lowell) was killed in the season three finale after complications from a car accident. And Naomi's love interest died this season from a terminal disease.
6. Addison was married to McDreamy, had an affair with McSteamy and is now with Taye Diggs’ Sam. Although I don't agree with adultery, being linked to that many hotties is pretty awesome.
7. Annual cross over episodes with Grey’s Anatomy!
8. Taye Diggs! Who does not love Taye Diggs? Seriously?
9. They tackle interesting cases such as a woman that gives her autistic child pot and a father whose baby son dies after he leaves him in the car. Provocative and tear jerking at the same time.
10. So much happens in elevators, their elevator is almost a character in the show.

Private Practice airs 10pm Thursdays on ABC or catch up at www.abc.com

Shows I Love -The Soup

The Soup is one of those shows that I can never get enough of, I have been known to watch the same episode several times. In the same weekend. Incase you haven't heard of it it's a derivative of the show Talk Soup and makes fun of anything and everything in popular culture that week. It's hosted by the funny, talented and good looking Joel McHale. Who is also on a TV comedy that I've been told to watch but haven't called Community (there's only so much time in the day!). Anyways, The Soup tackles the expected topics such as Paris and Lindsay to less common ground in their segments 'Tales from Home Shopping' and 'Gay Shows'. It even makes me want to watch clips from the hideous Dancing With the Stars, just so I can hear what hilarious comment Joel is going to make about it. My favourite was after David Hasselhoff dancing to sex bomb where Joel said something like "watching that made me never want to have sex again and to drop a bomb on David Hasselhoff". The final segment of the show is the 'Clip of the Week' which has been known to show clips from the television show I Love Toy Trains. Yes, there is actually a TV show that exists called 'I Love Toy Trains'. Who knew. Joel McHale that's who!

Catch the Soup Friday nights at 10pm on E! Or throughout the weekend on E! also.

Simon Fuller, genious; meet me, crazy Idol fan

So I want this blog to be about TV and what I love about television. But let me digress for one blog post, as tonight turned out to be an interesting night when I randomly got to meet one of my heroes, Simon Fuller, the creator of American Idol. I was at a meet and greet for the band Sons of Sylvia as my friend Steph works for their record label and Simon Fuller happened to be there. I guess this wasn't a complete coincidence as season four Idol champ Carrie Underwood was the headlining act, but I wasn't expecting to see him there. I had actually thought of what I would say to Simon Fuller if I was ever fortunate enough to meet him. And of course these thoughts flew out of my head when I saw him standing metres away from me! But I did talk to him and I thanked him for American Idol and told him that it had changed my life. We then spoke for several minutes about the upcoming season and he was a really nice guy and thanked me for my comments. And I'm so glad that I did talk to him, that's one of the many things I love about Los Angeles, you never know who you might run into!

American Idol 10 - Randy, J Lo And Steven Tyler?

I can't believe that it was almost TEN years since American Idol started. Truth be told I never got to see the first season (although I am a huge Kelly Clarkson fan), I lived in New Zealand and it didn't air there. We did however get season two and it was a top 10 ratings success. From season three onwards it didn't air during prime time, but that didn't matter to me as I was hooked. Some might say obsessed. Basically from January to May every year I live and breathe American Idol. My friend Amanda compares me and American Idol to Jimmy Fallon's character and baseball in the movie Fever Pitch. And now that I live in Los Angeles I am fortunate enough to be in the studio audience most years. It has kind of killed me how the show has been on a downward spiral since the best season (and highest rated) in season five (2006). Don't get me wrong, I love David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze and even Jordin Sparks (although I was rooting for Blake to win); but for the past few seasons they keep changing the show for the worst. And this is meant to be a blog post about season 10, so I'll save my past season's criticisms for another day...

Season 10 sees the departure of Simon Cowell, Ellen Degeneres and the one I am most sad about, Kara Dioguardi; who has proven to be an articulate and honest judge over the past two seasons. But it was announced last week that Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler (of Aerosmith) will be joining original judge Randy Jackson at the judging table. Who thought that Randy would be the last of the original judges still standing? Not me! I am happy with the decision for a three judge panel though, as three judges means more singing time for the contestants, which is what the show should be about. It may be an initial ratings boost to have stars like Jennifer and Steven at the judging table, but I hope they can stay focused on the goal of the show - to find the next singing super star. It will be hard to tell people that they suck the truth, but the show needs an honest voice of reason. And it might be J Lo? She was a highlight of Idol's worst season when she was a mentor in season six and I'm hoping she can identify and nurture real talent while being funny. Although who am I kidding? No matter what happens in season ten I'll be along for the ride!

American Idol returns to Fox in January. Exact air date hasn't been announced yet, although I'd guess it will be January 18, 2011.

Photo: Me with American Idol 2010 winner Lee DeWyze.