Back to School Part II #44: Degrassi Takes Manhattan (dir by Stefan Brogren)

Posted on September 17, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Cassie Steele, Mike Lobel, Miriam McDonald, and Shane Kippel in Degrassi Takes Manhattan

(Much as with my previous post, this review probably will not much sense to you unless you’re a longtime Degrassi fan like me. Sorry!)

One year after Degrassi Goes Hollywood, the third Degrassi movie was released. Degrassi Takes Manhattan was broadcast on July 9th, 2010 and, ratings-wise, it was a huge success. Not only did it bring TeenNick its highest ratings ever, it was the number one show viewed by teens that summer.

Why was it such a huge success?

Largely, it was because Degrassi Takes Manhattan served as not only the conclusion to season 9 but it was also the finale of Degrassi: The Next Generation. By the end of Degrassi Takes Manhattan, all of the original Degrassi: TNG plotlines had been resolved. Emma Nelson, who was the show’s main character for 6 seasons, married Spinner Mason. When the series returned for season 10, it would drop The Next Generation from its title and it would simply be known as Degrassi. All of the original characters would be gone, replaced with new students. Degrassi Takes Manhattan was a chance to celebrate what had been and a chance to say goodbye.

And yet, Degrassi Takes Manhattan remains very controversial among the Degrassi fandom. To be honest, a lot of people can’t stand it. My feelings on it are mixed, though I tend to like it more than some.

One of the big problems with Degrassi Takes Manhattan is that none of the original characters actually go to Manhattan. Emma, Manny, Spinner, and Jay all remain in Canada. Instead, the Manhattan portion of the film features Holly J. Sinclair (Charlotte Arnold), Fiona Coyne (Annie Clark), Jane (Paul Brancati), and Fiona’s creepy twin brother, Declan (Landon Liboiron). The New York portion of the film deals with Fiona, Holly J, Declan, and Jane all staying in a Manhattan penthouse and having various adventures in New York. As seems to happen to at least one Degrassi student ever semester, Jane launches a singing career. Holly J interns and falls in love with Declan. Fiona get jealous. It’s nothing all that interesting though it does feature the classic line, “This is New York Holly J, bitch!”

(Say what you will about the character she was playing, Charlotte Arnold was always great at delivering angry one-liners.)

Instead, the part of the film that everyone remembers is Emma (Miriam McDonald) falling in love with Spinner (Shane Kippel) and drunkenly marrying him at Niagara Falls. After Spinner and Emma first look into getting an annulment, they suddenly realize that they really do want to spend the rest of their lives together and they have a recommitment ceremony at the beach!

And it’s actually a pretty sweet scene. As someone who has watched every season of Degrassi, I liked the scene at the beach. It provided closures for a lot of characters. But, that doesn’t change the fact that it didn’t make any sense! In the 9 seasons that led up to Degrassi Takes Manhattan, Spinner and Emma interacted with each other a few times during the first season but, otherwise, they never had much to do with each other. The two of them falling in love came out of nowhere and, at the risk of being dramatic, it almost felt like a betrayal. Anyone who has ever watched Degrassi (and those would be the only people who would really have a reason to watch Manhattan), knows that Emma’s soul mate was Sean Cameron. As for Spinner — well, he dated pretty much everyone on the show at some point, with the notable exception of his future wife, Emma. I always thought he and Darcy made a good couple but, by the time Manhattan went into production, Shenae Grimes was starring on 90210 and presumably wasn’t available to return so that Darcy could get married.

(One thing I did like about the ceremony is that it was conducted by Jay Hogart — played, of course, by Mike Lobel. Jay, of course, was once responsible for Emma getting gonorrhea so it’s nice to see that she’s so forgiving. That said, Jay did look pretty hot all dressed up…)

In the years since this movie aired, snarky fans like me have been joking about how Spinner and Emma probably got divorced a week after the beach ceremony. But, as we all learned from watching the recent reunion episode on Netflix, Spinner and Emma are apparently still married! Well, good for them.

Anyway, controversy aside, I still liked Degrassi Takes Manhattan but, then again, I like anything related to Degrassi. As opposed to School’s Out and Degrassi Goes Hollywood, Degrassi Takes Manhattan is for hardcore Degrassi fans only.

Music Video Of The Day: Feel It By Jakalope (2004, dir by My Pet Skeleton and Lisa Mann)

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s music video of the day is Feel It by Jakalope, one of my favorite Canadian bands!

I’m a huge fan of both this song and this video. The song, which was co-written by Trent Reznor, first appeared on Jakalope’s debut album, It Dreams. It Dreams was also co-produced by Reznor and perhaps it’s appropriate that the video itself is reminiscent of some of the videos that Mark Romanek directed by Nine Inch Nails.

(The video itself was directed by Lisa Mann and graphic artist Vincent Marcone, aka My Pet Skeleton.)

One of the great things about being a fan of Degrassi is that it’s exposed to me Canadian bands, like Jakalope. In fact, from season 4 through 7, Jakalope performed the show’s famous theme song. As for Feel It, it can be heard in Ghost In The Machine, the premiere episode of Degrassi’s fourth season.

In fact, the entire fourth season was full of great music! In particular, Islands in the Stream, the season’s 6th episode, featured a beautiful song called Pretty People, which was performed by the Robber Who Robbed The Town. I have searched and searched and I have yet to find Pretty People ANYWHERE! Seriously, it is sooooo frustrating!

Oh well. At least I have Feel It…

Back to School Part II #28: School’s Out (dir by Kit Hood)

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

School’s Out, a 1992 film that was made for Canadian television, is historically important for two reasons.

First off, it featured not only the first use of the F-word on Canadian broadcast television but the second as well! The first actor to say the word was Stefan Brogren who, in the role of frustrated lifeguard Snake Simpson, complained, “Joey Jeremiah spends his summer dating Caitlin and fucking Tessa!” About a minute later, Stacie Mistysyn (in the role of Caitlin), yelled, “You were fucking Tessa Campanelli!?”

I’m not sure what exactly went on behind-the-scenes before School’s Out broke the F-word barrier. Help me out, Canadian readers. Was this a big deal in your country? Was this controversial? Did you get weeks of warning or was everyone taken by surprise? And was happened afterwards? Does the F-word now show up regularly on Canadian television? I’m sincerely curious and I guess I’ll find out for myself when, after the presidential election, I move to Toronto.

Still, regardless of whether there was any drama behind-the-scenes, it’s interesting that, in 1992, Canada had already progressed beyond America, as far as censorship and broadcast standards concerned. 24 years later, actors on American network television are still not allowed to say what Stefan Brogren said during School’s Out.

Of course, if you’re a fan of Degrassi, you can probably appreciate the irony of Stefan Brogren being the one to break the Fuck Barrier. Brogren plays Archie “Snake” Simpson. When Degrassi: The Next Generation began in 2001, Archie was a teacher at Degrassi Community School. Over the course of the series, Archie married, became Emma Nelson’s stepfather, and was eventually appointed principal. Through it all, Archie has been a well-meaning but somewhat dorky authority figure. Simpson has always been the guy who you can depend on to explain why condoms are important and stalkers are bad but he’s also always been the guy who inevitably says something unintentionally humorous and then wonders why everyone is laughing at him.

But before Degrassi: The Next Generation, there was Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. These two shows aired in the 80s and featured Brogren (and Snake Simpson) as just another student, worrying about getting a girlfriend and occasionally dealing with an issue-of-the-week.

That brings us to the other reason why School’s Out is historically important. School’s Out was meant to serve as the finale of Degrassi High, a chance for the show’s fans to get one last chance to hang out with Snake, Caitlin, Wheels (the tragic Neil Hope), and Joey Jeremiah (Pat Mastroianni, with hair!) and perhaps get a glimpse of what the future held in store for them.

Though the producers may not have realized it at the time, School’s Out also perfectly lay the foundation for Degrassi: The Next Generation. I have to admit that, as much as I love Degrassi, I haven’t seen many episodes of Degrassi Junior High or Degrassi High. Fortunately, that didn’t make it difficult for me to follow School’s Out. In fact, many of the things that happened in School’s Out would regularly be referred to in Degrassi: The Next Generation.

The film opens with the senior class of Degrassi High graduating and preparing for their final summer before university and responsibility. Joey Jeremiah plans to ask his longtime girlfriend, Caitlin, to marry him. However, when Joey proposes to Caitlin, she turns him down. She’s not ready for that type of commitment, not when she’s about to leave town to go to college. (For his part, Joey failed a grade during Degrassi Junior High and, as a result, he’ll finally be starting his senior year while all of his friends are getting on with their lives. While Caitlin is studying journalism at university, Joey will presumably still be trying to pass Mr. Raditch’s history class.) Hurt over being turned down by Caitlin, Joey ends up sleeping with Tessa Campanelli (Kirsten Bourne). Soon, he is — as Snake memorably puts it — dating Caitlin and fucking Tessa.

What amazed me, as I watched School’s Out, was just how much of asshole Joey Jeremiah was truly portrayed as being. If, like me, you previously only knew him from Degrassi, then you know Joey as being a widowed used care salesman, a loving father, and an all-around good guy. So, it’s strange and a little bit jarring to see him here as a remorseless cheater who brags about betraying Caitlin and who cruelly teases Snake for being a virgin.

(Then again, seeing School’s Out adds an interesting shading to Joey’s character. Watching the film, I suddenly understood why Joey often seemed so overprotective of his stepson, Craig. During the third season of Degrassi, Craig made many of the same bad decisions that Joey previously made in School’s Out. Much as Joey was “dating Caitlin and fucking Tessa,” Craig was dating Ashley and fucking Manny. Watching School’s Out, I finally understood that, during seasons 3 and 4 of Degrassi, Joey was often looking at Craig and seeing himself.)

Of course, it wouldn’t be Degrassi if there weren’t a few other subplot going on at the same time as the Joey/Caitlin/Tessa love triangle. Seriously, hardly anyone gets a positive ending in School’s Out. Not only does Joey cheat and Snake curse but there’s also an unplanned pregnancy. There’s a party that leads to a major character driving drunk, killing a child, and blinding a classmate. Yes, the film does end with a wedding but we barely know the people getting married. Nobody, it seems, gets a truly happy ending.

Seriously, Canadian readers, how traumatizing was School’s Out when it was originally broadcast!?

Fortunately, I was able to watch School’s Out with the knowledge that, as bad as the summer was, Joey would eventually find love and Snake would get a job. As for Caitlin, she would not only end up hosting a public affairs show called Ryan’s Planet but, at the end of the 4th season of Degrassi, she would have a brief flirtation with director Kevin Smith.

(Both Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes were in Canada, filming Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, eh? It’s a long story.)

Anyway, I’m very happy that I finally watched School’s Out. I may even go back and watch Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. They’re all available on YouTube now!

On a final note — LOVE YOU, CANADA!

Music Video of the Day: What I Know by Downtown Sasquatch (2004, dir by Stefan Scaini)

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’ll be the first to admit that it’s probably debatable whether or not today’s music video of the day is actually a music video. The fictional Canadian band Downtown Sasquatch performed What I Know at the end of the Rock and Roll High School episode of Degrassi. The video below is taken from the end of that episode.

But, you know what? I think this does qualify as a music video. It’s certainly shot like a music video and, to a large extent, it reminds me of something from the pop culture fueled imagination of Spike Jonze. In some ways, it’s even better when viewed out of the context of the rest of the episode. So dammit, it’s a music video!

Add to that, I love this song!

As for Downtown Sasquatch, they were the most popular band on Degrassi and they went through several lineup changes. Fortunately, What I Know was performed with the first and best lineup.

On bass, we have Marco Del Rossi (played by Adamo Ruggiero), whose epic coming out story played out over five seasons of Degrassi.

On lead guitar, we have Jimmy Brooks (played by Aubrey Graham, though he’s now better known as Drake). Since this took place during the third season of the show, Jimmy could still walk. This would change during the fourth season of the show when he was shot in the back by Rick Murray.

On drums — Spinner Mason (Shane Kippel)! How important a character was Spinner to Degrassi? He was so important that, despite the fact that he started the show a year ahead of all the other characters, it still took him seven seasons to graduate from high school. Seriously, some of us were wondering if Spinner was going to end up celebrating his 40th birthday in Mr. Simpson’s media immersion class. Incidentally, just a season after Downtown Sasquatch’s performance here, Spinner would be involved in the prank that would eventually lead to Rick Murray shooting Jimmy in the back. However, Jimmy and Spinner would eventually reconcile and start a T-shirt business called Squatchwear.

And finally, we have our lead singer and founder of Downtown Sasquatch, Craig Manning (Jake Epstein)! A bipolar photographer and a musialc genius, Craig not only started Downtown Sasquatch but he also impregnated Manny Santos and broke the hearts of not only Ashley Kerwin but Ellie Nash as well!

Speaking of Ashley (Melissa McIntyre) and Ellie (Stacey Farber), they’re both sitting in the audience and watching Downtown Sasquatch perform. If you look closely, you’ll notice that they’re both wearing t-shirts that depict Craig burning in Hell.

Anyway, after all that, here’s the video!

Happy Canada Day From The Shattered Lens!

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy Canada Day!

Now, as our regular readers know, I absolutely adore Canada. I love the people, I love the movies, and I especially love the television! In honor of Canada Day, I thought I would share a great moment from Canadian history!

That moment, of course, is the night that Downtown Sasquatch defeated Hell Hath No Fury at the Toronto Battle of the Bands! It was this victory that not only introduced Spinner Mason to the rest of the Toronto but it also launched Craig Manning into super stardom.

First, a little background. Craig was one of the most popular students at Degrassi Community School but he shocked the entire student body when he cheated on his girlfriend, Ashley Kerwin, with Manny Santos. The end result is that Manny ended up pregnant and had to get an abortion. Ashley, meanwhile, challenged her rage by forming a band called Hell Hath No Fury. Hell Hath No Fury specialized in singing songs about how much they hated Craig.

Craig, of course, was already the lead singer for Downtown Sasquatch. When it came time to write a song for the upcoming battle of the bands, Craig was stunned to discover that his band would be competing against Hell Hath No Fury. Craig was hit with writer’s block. With Craig unable to come up with lyrics for a new song, drummer Spinner Mason and guitarist Jimmy Brooks decided to try to help out. Here’s what they came up with:

Things looked bleak for Downtown Sasquatch. Things looked even bleaker when, on the night of the battle of the band and with Craig still unable to write, Hell Hath No Fury — while wearing shirts that portrayed Craig burning in Hell — performed their anti-Craig anthem, Mr. Nice Guy:

When Downtown Sasquatch took the stage, it was as a power trio. Craig had mysteriously disappeared. Bravely, Spinner attempted to kill time but it was obvious that the audience had turned against Downtown Sasquatch. The future of Canadian music was in peril.

Then, suddenly, Craig returned, walking out on stage with freshly written lyrics in his hands. The rest is history:

Happy Canada Day, everyone!

LOVE YOU, CANADA!

4 Shots From 4 Shows: Degrassi, Lost, Community, Ringer

Posted on March 5, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.

Welcome to a special TV edition of 4 Shots From 4 Films!

4 Shots From 4 Shows

Degrassi: The Next Generation: Time Stands Still Part One (2004, dir by Stefan Scaini)

Lost: The End (2010, dir by Jack Bender)

Community: Modern Warfare (2010, dir by Justin Lin)

Ringer: Pilot (2011, dir by Richard Shepard)

OH MY GOD! It’s a preview of Degrassi: The Next Class!

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Like a lot of wonderful people, I’ve always understood that the day when Degrassi ceased production would be the day that I would officially be an adult. For that reason, I cried when I first heard that Degrassi was being canceled. But then, there were a light on the horizon. Netflix announced that they would continue the Degrassi saga. Well, Netflix did not lie! Degrassi: The Next Class is premiering in January and here’s the preview!

Judging from this preview, it doesn’t look like much has changed at Degrassi but that’s okay. Degrassi is a lot like real high school in that nothing ever really changes that much. Myself, I’m just hoping that Maya has finally found some sort of inner peace. I’ll also be interested to see if Spinner is still managing the Dot. Seriously, he’s never going to get out of Toronto…

So yay! This means I have at least a little while longer before I officially become an adult!

Shattered Politics #65: Election (dir by Alexander Payne)

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last year, when I did my series of Back to School reviews, it somehow slipped my mind to review Alexander Payne’s 1999 comedy, Election. Don’t ask me how I managed to do that. Election, after all, is one of the greatest high school films ever made. Not only does it feature Reese Witherspoon’s best performance (or, at least, it was her best performance up until the release of Wild) but it also features Ferris Bueller himself, Matthew Broderick, as the type of teacher who regularly inspired Ferris to skip school. Trust me — when I realized that I had managed to review Cavegirl while somehow ignoring Election, I was mortified.

But then, a few months later, I decided to do Shattered Politics and review 94 films about politics and politicians. And it occurred to me that Election may have been a high school film but it was also a political satire. Add to that, it’s totally plausible that Reese Witherspoon’s Tracy Flick will someday end up running for President.

That certainly seems to be the concern of Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) in Election. When he learns that Tracy is planning on running for student body president, Jim is concerned. Tracy is an overachiever. Tracy is the type of student who always raises her hand in class and who always has the right answer. Tracy is the type of student that tends to drive other students crazy. As Jim puts it, if Tracy is elected Student Body President, who knows where it will end?

Of course. Jim has other reasons for disliking Tracy. Earlier in the year, for instance, Tracy was seduced by Jim’s fellow teacher and best friend, Dave Novotny (Mark Harelik). When Tracy’s mother (played by Colleen Camp) discovered the affair, Dave was forced to retire and was subsequently divorced. When Tracy mentions that if she’s elected President, that means she and Jim will be working closely together, Jim panics. Jim thinks that Tracy will try to seduce him and he knows that he would be too weak to resist. Instead, Jim would rather have an affair Dave’s ex-wife (Delaney Driscoll) while trying unsuccessfully to get his own wife (Molly Hagan) pregnant.

So, of course, Jim decides to recruit Paul Metzler (Chris Klein) to run against her. Paul is a simple-minded but sweet-natured jock who, as the result of breaking his leg while skiing, has become something of a school martyr. As soon as Paul announces that he’s running, his cynical little sister Tammy (Jessica Campbell) also announces that she’s running, despite the fact that she hates school and thinks that idea of student government is a joke. Tammy’s main motivation is that her ex-girlfriend, Lisa (Frankie Ingrassia) has announced that she was just “experimenting” and is now dating Paul and managing his campaign.

Got all that?

As the campaign plays out, Jim is panicked to discover that, while Paul may be popular, he’s also amazingly inarticulate and really doesn’t seem to care whether he wins or not. Meanwhile, Tammy announces that her first action as president will be to destroy the student government. However, Jim then has reason to believe that Tracy destroyed some campaign signs (mostly because Tracy did) and he comes up with a plan to get her disqualified from the ballot.

Except, of course, it’s not that easy to get rid of Tracy Flick…

One of the things that always amuses me about TV shows set in high school is that they almost always feature an absurdly powerful student council. Remember that episode of Boy Meets World where Topanga is elected president because she gives a speech about how somebody has to do something about the mold in the cafeteria? That’s the fantasy view of the student council. The reality is that, when I was in high school, the student council was something that, whenever we remembered that it actually existed, we all laughed about.

(One of the great things about Degrassi is that it’s one of the few teen shows to acknowledge that the student council has no power. Considering that the current President of the Degrassi Student Council is Drew Torres, that’s probably for the best.)

But here’s the thing — we all knew someone like Tracy Flick. We all knew someone who took things like the student council very seriously and who would always get very angry whenever the rest of us showed less reverence for school institutions. And, in retrospect, you almost have to feel sorry for her because what she never understood was that devotion to the rules and hard work really don’t mean much in either high school or college. The genius of Reese Witherspoon’s performance is that she brings to life a character that we all know and then, at the same time, makes her a unique human being. In the role of Tracy, Witherspoon allows us to understand what motivated the girls who always used to get on our nerves.

And then, of course, there’s Matthew Broderick. Broderick starts out as a glibly self-confident character just to end the film as something of a twisted gargoyle, unshaven because he’s been sleeping in his car and, as the result of a bee sting, a frightfully swollen eye. By the end of the film, Jim has essentially been destroyed by his fear and obsessive hatred of one student. Broderick is not exactly playing a sympathetic character here but it’s still a compelling performance because it confirms everything that I always suspected about all of my teachers — i.e., that they specifically and targeted certain students and that most of them were motivated by jealousy.

Thank you, Election, for letting me know that I was right!

It’s Turbo Kid!

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Just judging from this short teaser, the upcoming film Turbo Kid looks like something that quite a few of our readers might enjoy. It certainly got a good reaction when it premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It’s a post-apocalyptic adventure film that features some familiar Canadian actors. In the role of Turbo Kid, we have Munro Chambers, who is best known for playing Eli, everyone’s favorite bipolar, aspiring filmmaker, on Degrassi.

From some of the same people who brought you Hobo With A Shotgun, here’s the teaser for Turbo Kid!

2014 In Review: 20 Good Things That Lisa Saw On TV In 2014

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

So, I’m sitting here and I’m trying to make out my annual list of good things that I saw on TV over the previous year and I’ve just realized something.

I did not watch as much TV as usual last year.

It wasn’t a conscious decision on my part. Up until this very moment, I was actually thinking that I watched too much TV last year. But, honestly, 2014 was a busy year for me. Between work and dance and family and romance and writing and seeing movies and shopping and being sick and getting well and the manic states and the depressive states, I just didn’t have as much time as usual to devote to television.

In fact, the only shows that I always made it a point to watch were two reality shows and that was mostly because I write about them over at the Big Brother Blog and the Survivor Blog.

That takes me by surprise because I love television. I’ve never made any secret of that fact and I’ve never felt guilty about it. When I’m writing, I find it helps to have the TV on in the background. As well, knowing that a certain show is always going to be on at a certain time tends to help me deal with my Obsessive Compulsive tendencies. I’ve always felt that, in a perfect world, I would have my own TV network. It would be called the Lisa Marie Network (LMN) and I would be in charge of programming every single minute.

But, for whatever reason, in 2014, I didn’t watch as much as usual. So, don’t consider the list below to be a comprehensive list of everything that was good on television last year. Instead, consider it to just be 20 good things that I was lucky enough to see.

So, here’s the list!

1) Too Many Cooks on Adult Swim

You knew that I’d have to start out with this one, especially considering that I still find myself randomly singing the theme song. “When it comes to the future, you can never have too many cooks!”

2) Figure Skating at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics

I actually enjoyed watching most of the 2014 Winter Olympics. (Except, of course, when Bob Costas was there with his fucked up eye.) But what I especially loved was watching the figure skating. How couldn’t you love the chemistry between Charlie White and Meryl Davis or the amazing grace of Yulia Lipnitskaya or Ashley Wagner’s refusal to hide her disgust with the judges?

3) Veep

Without a doubt, the funniest show on television. Anyone who idolizes a politician should be forced to watch it.

4) Community ended its network run on a decent note

After a rough fourth season, Community made a comeback of sort during the fifth season. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep NBC from canceling the show but still, it was good to see a few more decent episodes of Community before the show moved over to Yahoo.

5) True Detective

True Detective has been praised so much that I really don’t have much more to say about it, beyond the fact that I found it to be endlessly fascinating.

6) Sharknado 2!

So, I wasn’t necessarily a huge fan of the first Sharknado. (I was even less of a fan of the way the media seemed to believe that Mia Farrow was the first person to ever live tweet a movie, especially considering how lame most of Mia’s Sharknado tweets were.) But I loved Sharknado 2! Sharknado 2 was everything that the first Sharknado was supposed to be and more!

7) The Old People TV Networks

This is the year that I really made an effort to explore all of the channels that I have available to me. What I discovered is that there are a lot of stations that are apparently dedicated to exclusively showing shows that were made long before I was even born! For a history nerd like me, coming across these networks is a bit like accidentally digging up a time capsule. Add to that, I’ve discovered that old TV shows make for perfect background noise. I call these networks the Old People TV networks but I do so with affection.

8) Seeing my friend and fellow movie blogging Irish gal Kellee Pratt in the audience whenever TCM rebroadcasts that interview with Maureen O’Hara.

9) Opposite Worlds on SyFy

Opposite Worlds was a reality show that was broadcast on the SyFy Network. Contestants were divided into two tribes. One tribe lived in the luxurious future, complete with a fully automated house. The other tribe lived in the past, which basically meant wearing furs and staying in a cave. The two tribes competed every week. Many contestants were seriously injured. I was hoping that Samm would win, mostly because I share her struggle. But I was okay with Frank eventually winning. He turned out to be a nice guy.

(By the way, SyFy, I’m still waiting for a second season…)

10) Bates Motel

Bates Motel got better and better during its second season. I still think Olivia Cooke needs a spin-off where she solves crimes.

11) True Blood ended before it totally went the way of Dexter.

To be honest, True Blood was definitely showing signs of its age. I wasn’t really happy with the final season but I was relieved to see that it still ended on a better note than Dexter did.

12) Flowers in the Attic

2014 got off to a great start with Flowers in the Attic, one of the best movies to ever show up on Lifetime.

13) Lizzie Borden Took An Axe

In fact, the only that kept Flowers in the Attic from being the best Lifetime movie was the fact that Lizzie Borden premiered a week later.

14) The Way The Saved By The Bell and Aaliyah Movies Brought Us Together As A Nation

For two nights, our often troubled country was united by the power of mass snarkiness.

15) Coverage Of The Fact That Paul Rosalie Was Not Eaten Alive

There was something greatly satisfying about how, after spending weeks promising that he would be, Paul Rosalie failed to be eaten alive by an anaconda. I think one reason I especially enjoyed this fact that I didn’t actually watch the special. I thought the whole thing sounded stupid and crass. That made the subsequent ridicule all the more satisfying.

16) Key and Peele

Without a doubt, the funniest sketch comedy program on TV today.

17) Talking Dead

To be honest, the only reason I watch The Walking Dead is so I’ll be able to understand what they’re talking about on The Talking Dead.

18) Daft Punk At The Grammys

It was great to see the Robots enjoying themselves.

19) Weather On The Local News

“Folks, we’ve got a storm system approaching but don’t worry. Channel 4 will keep your 4warned…” Some things never change. I’ve reached the point where I can find the humor in watching our local meteorologists panic every time that it starts to rain. This past year, whenever I was stuck inside while a light drizzle fell outside, I knew that Pete Delkus, Larry Mowery, and David Finfrock would be there to amuse me with their dire warnings of a weather apocalypse.

“A storm’s coming!”

20) Degrassi!

Degrassi endures. And we’re all the better for it.

On one final note: GetGlue, R.I.P. For five years, I enjoyed checking into tvs, movies, books, and emotions on GetGlue. Sadly, GetGlue (or TV Tag as it came to be known) went offline on January 1st. Goodbye, GetGlue. It was fun while it lasted and I’ll always remember that week when me and that guy from Indonesia were violently fighting over who would get to be the guru of pepper spray. (GGers will understand.)

Tomorrow, my look back at 2014 continues with my ten favorite novels of the year!

Previous Entries In The TSL’s Look Back At 2014: