Casey Anthony Case

Defense team smothers Casey with hugs after the NOT GUILTY verdict
From www.dailymail.co.uk

I know you're exhausted by the constant coverage that is making this case more of a circus and less of a murder, but I'm gonna have to put in my two cents about the Casy Anthony verdict.

First of all, I am PISSED that her parents were obviously in on the "my father and brother molested me so I keep all my pain buried deep inside" defense.  Why else would they not fucking disown their daughter for saying such a horrible thing?  How else could Cindy Anthony sit there and accept the accusations that make her husband a pedophile?  Plus, the defense team actually suggested the reason no father was listed on little Caylee's birth certificate is because George Anthony or his son Lee could have fathered her!

Speaking of inappropriate behavior: here's defense lawyer
George Mason flipping off paparazzi at the post-verdict party.
Also from www.dailymail.co.uk

That is such a travesty of justice for everyone who has been sexually abused by a family member and puts her right up there with the filth that is the Menendez Brothers.  Which, of course we should have known based on the fact Cindy Anthony claimed she, not Casey, looked up "chloroform" on her home computer even though she was signed in and working on her computer at her office at the same time.

Second of all, her behavior post "accidental" death of her only child is pretty much proof of some kind of guilt.  Getting wasted with friends, stealing checks from them and spending their money, entering "hot body" contests at bars, getting "Bella Vita" tatooed on her shoulder?  That doesn't say "I'm devasted," that says, "Finally, I'm free."

Third of all, I'm in absolute dread of whatever reality show, dating show, tell-all tome or porn she's going to end up in.  There's a rule about not profiting for your crimes, but it doesn't apply when you're acquitted.  Ask Mr. O.J. Simpson.

However, the jury really can't be faulted for their decision.  Prosecutors have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and even with the cartoon characters that are the Anthonys and the defense team they obviously didn't.  It's a crappy situation, but hopefully the jury won't face too much static for actually following the letter of the law.

Coming soon to a crappy TV channel or bookstore near you!

Idea for a TV Show

I think I have a good idea for a TV show.

I've really benefited from attending regular counselling sessions since I married my soldier...talking to someone helps deal with the realities of his job.  I know that, percentage wise, being in the army is not the most dangerous occupation in the United States (even in wartime).  It's commercial fishing. 

So sometimes I think about how family members of those Alaskan King Crab fishermen they show on the Discovery Channel would benefit from therapy, too.

So my pitch is this: a twenty-something woman has just completed her doctorate in psychology or therapy or whatever.  She returns from the big city to the teeny fishing village in the tundra where she grew up to set up a counselling practice.  Except no one wants to go see her because A) they feel betrayed she left to go to the city for schooling and B) grief counselling is considered a weakness and people think they'll be ostracized for attending her sessions.  I think I'll call her...Simone.  Dr. Simone Dylan.

Of course we'll need her family...her rough-and-tumble sea captain dad (who's torn between pride and embarassment about her behavior), an older brother who's his spitting image, a mother who keeps the peace at a great cost to her self and a little sister married to a fisherman who's angry our protagonist has dared to make a different life for herself.  Add in an old high school boyfriend who continues to call her by some slightly annoying pet name and maybe a few folks from a film crew that follows the fisherman around for a cable show and I think it's got potential.

So if you work for a cable network and you're skimming the Internet for new material to impress your bosses with...have your people call my people.

Fall TV

"Girl with TV" by guerrilla artist Banksy
courtesy of Milan Giana's MySpace Page

I love television.  I'm a big fan of media in general, but I love television.  When My Husband was deployed I had our set on almost all the time, just for background noise.  Now I make a conscious effort to shut it off if I'm not paying attention to it, but I love it just the same.

My Husband's deployment was the climax of a series of life-changing events that occurred over the summer of 2009.  We got married in July.  Three days later we moved 1500 miles away to his duty station.  We'd never lived together before...in reality, we'd never spent more than two consecutive weeks together (long distance relationship from the get-go).  We got a puppy.  He deployed.  And I found myself alone (except for the puppy), completely isolated from everyone and everything I'd grown up with...a married woman with no husband.  All in the span of 8 weeks.

There were times in those first weeks he was gone that commenting to the television about something I was watching were the only words I'd speak all day.  Modern Family and Cougar Town actually made me laugh out loud, a sound that was foreign to my ears after hours of solitude.

I digress.  But you get my point.

So I'm pretty enthusiastic about new shows as they arrive.  Here's my list of what looks good for the fall:

ABC

• Pan Am: I love me some Mad Men inspired drama since we don't watch the original that much here (My Husband finds it beautifully shot but very depressing), and this soapy series seems promising...ever since Zooey Deschanel ran away from home to be a stewardess in Almost Famous, I've found this 60s era occupation fascinating.
• Once Upon a Time: ABC is cashing in on the dark fairy tale market with this show about a troubled young woman who moves to a strange backwoods town in Maine only to discover the stories she heard as a child may be based in reality.  I don't think the market is ready for all the magical shows the big networks are financing (see Grimm down below), so I'm not sure this one will make it.

NBC

• Smash: Debra Messing (Will & Grace) and American Idol alum Katherine McPhee star in this mid-season airing song-and-dance infused series chronicling the ins-and-outs of a Broadway show about Marilyn Monroe (how's that for a sentence full of hyphenates?).  I'll try anything about Marilyn once, but this actually looks good.  Plus, there will be singing.  By people who can actually sing (you can thank Glee for that bit of genius).
• Grimm: David Greenwalt (the guy behind a staple of mine, Angel) is working on this fairy-tale inspired detective show that promises to be gritty as well as enchanting.  From what I've read it seems dangerously close to the policeman/witch angle of Charmed's later seasons, but I think we could all use a little more magic in our evenings.

• The Playboy Club: Hugh Hefner is a marketing genius and the idea and execution of the Playboy Magazine empire is a highly underrated piece of American history.  I think Eddie Cibrian, who stars as a Chicago lawyer, is a real-life cad...perversely, this might make him really shine in the role.  Hopefully for new wife LeAnn Rimes he can keep his hands (and all other appendages) off the Bunnies.
• Brave New World: Rumor has it Robby Benson (voice of Disney's the Beast) stars in this half-hour comedy about historical reenacters in a 17th century-era village. This just sounds like fun.

FOX

• The New Girl: Eccentric-but-charming elementary school teacher breaks up with her boyfriend and starts a new life in an apartment with three male roommates.  The formula may seem archaic, but this series stars Zooey Deschanel, whom I love (along with her sister, Bones star and Boston University graduate Emily Deschanel) so I will definitely be tuning in.

• Finder: Speaking of Bones, this new series by creator Hart Hanson is loosely based on the "Locator" novels about a man who has a slightly ridiculous ability to find anyone or anything anywhere in the world.  Since the backdoor pilot is connected to one of my favorite shows (and despite having been burned in a similar situation with Private Practice) I will give this one a shot.

FX

• Wilfred: Suicidal Elijah Wood has to put off offing himself for his cute female neighbor when she asks him to get involved in the care of her dog, Wilfred.  The twist?  Depressed Wood sees a man in a grody dog costume when he looks at Wilfred (and converses with him as such) while the rest of the world sees a regular dog.  I've been looking forward to this one since the promos came out in January.

TNT

• Franklin & Bash: They grow up so fast...Breckin Meyer (of Clueless fame) and Mark-Paul Gosselar (the immortal Zack Morris) play Devil-may-care lawyers who's non-orthodox practices come under fire after they're hired by that slightly creepy guy from the Fantasy Island remake for his stuffy marble-and-glass firm.  I wasn't into this one at first, but the more commercials I see for it the more I think I may like their chemistry. 

CANCELLED!

• Mr. Sunshine: Got a little taste of this light but witty comedy over the spring: the man-child manager of the Sunshine Arena (played comfortably by Matthew Perry) makes a conscious effort to be a better person in all aspects of his existence. I worked in a sports arena through college, and though it wasn't the size of the building in the show this particular setting really spoke to me.  I'm pretty sure Matthew Perry is not the liability that Charlie Sheen is even if he's heading for rehab again, so what's with the cancellation?  Not happy about this one.
• Off the Map: Come on, seriously?!  I loved this Grey's Anatomy-meets-Gilligan's Island doctor fest.  It had the right amount of drama and humor to keep it watchable even when 25-foot anacondas were strangling tourists in the middle of the jungle.  And of course I can't rhapsodize enough about the gorgeousness that is Nicholas Gonzalez.  The worst part is all 13 ordered episodes have aired, so I don't even get any closure :(

Grey's Anatomy

I miss Grey's Anatomy.

I started watching this ABC medical drama when it debuted as a mid-season replacement for a show I can't even remember.  I was a loyal viewer all through college and after graduation...even when they consistently depicted all Army personnel as being gung-ho for battle 24/7 or as tortured PTSD-ridden shells of their former selves.

I was loyal through all of Meredith and Derek's break-ups and make-ups, Izzy's character disintegration (Heigl's eagerness to leave the show was palpable through all her scenes) and Alex's lack of growth.  I loved that show.  I still love it.

But with a husband deployed overseas and overhearing gunshots during our phone conversations, the final days of Season Six and the sum total of Season Seven are beyond my capabilities as a viewer.  I couldn't handle it.  I couldn't handle the finale (a disgruntled husband of a former patient goes on a shooting rampage throughout the hospital, killing many).  I knew I wouldn't be able to sit there and watch Derek bleed from a bullet wound while his wife pleads for his life, offering her own in exchange.

So I didn't.  I haven't watched a single episode of Grey's Anatomy in more than a year.



Season 7 Cast, courtesy of http://www.daemonstv.com



I know it's just a television show and I'm too emotionally invested in such transparent fiction, but I can't help myself.  Instead of giving me some respite from my life, Grey's started to really depress me; I'd be raw for days after an episode would air.  And it may be healthier to face the negative possibilities of a war-time deployment head on, but I found solace in pushing those thoughts from my mind.  Grey's kept them on the surface at all times.

I still follow the show on Wikipedia like some girl who stalks her ex-boyfriend on Facebook but makes no effort to reconcile.  Considering all the story lines based on PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from last season finale's carnage, I know I made the right decision.  Watching people have panic attacks as they remember being two steps away from death is not my idea of entertainment.  Television is supposed to take you away from your everyday life into a world where everything is more dramatic and therefore less realistic...not remind you some degree of these events could be your fate as well.

So I have yet to replace Grey's Anatomy on my TV schedule.  I tried Private Practice (a Grey's spinoff) but was put off by the main character's consistent infidelity.  Off the Map (another medical drama by Shonda Rhimes) seems promising but is over for the season.  Taking place in the middle of a South American jungle, that show has just the right amount of fantasy to prevent me from dwelling on the traumas.

My Husband hooked me on a few shows I never would have tuned into otherwise...Sons of Anarchy and Archer on FX and the station's newest original, a black comedy starring Elijah Wood called Wilfred (starts June 23).  I stopped watching The Biggest Loser (I found it to be too much about winning the game and not enough about losing weight and changing one's life in recent seasons) but am still a fan of ABC's Castle, Fox's Bones and the one-two comedy punch of Modern Family and Cougar Town.

I find myself becoming a fan of House after getting caught up watching reruns on USA Network.  Next season I'm gonna make a real effort for Community (I regretfully skipped it as it used to be on opposite Bones) and some of the promising pilots coming on this fall.

But I don't think I'll ever stop missing Grey's Anatomy.