Showing posts with label Scandal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scandal. Show all posts

March 1, 2015


Last year I binge-watched three seasons of Scandal in the matter of two weeks. In that time frame, it rose to my personal top 10 TV series on the air. However, this season it has eclipsed the coveted number-one slot. Season 4 of Scandal has featured action-packed story-lines that have kept me on the edge of my seat for months.

Entering my final semester of my college career, I began to fall behind on many of my shows, however Scandal was the only one that I kept up with every single week. That is mostly due to the abduction storyline with Olivia. The mid-season premiere had me absolutely fixated while watching. I wasn't live-tweeting, I wasn't texting, I wasn't browsing Facebook - I was completely drawn to my television. It has been a long time since a television show had that kind of effect on me. The twist at the end of the episode, revealing that Ian (her fellow captive in the episode) was actually the mastermind behind her abduction, took me by surprise. It still was almost euphoric to see Olivia shoot down one of her captors. We all knew she was a HBIC, but damn. That just PROVED it.

Each episode since then has been better than the last. Scandal has always been good, but it has never been this good. The auction for Olivia Pope has been one of the most thrilling plot-lines in recent television history. AND THE SURPRISE TWIST AT THE END! I totally called this on twitter the week before! When Quinn had mentioned Stephen in the previous episode, I knew he would be the one to show up and save Olivia. Most people speculated that it would be Papa Pope but I felt that would have been far too predictable - and Scandal has been anything but this season.


Now I have never really been a big fan of Fitz's character. I have always found him overly whiny, especially for someone who is supposed to be the President of the United States. However, I think Olivia went in a little too hard on him in the last episode. I mean, yes - he literally went to war to save her (which ended up not saving her at all) but I think some slack needs to be cut. Everyone did everything within their power to get Olivia back safely (all of them failing to do so except for Abby, surprisingly), including Fitz. His may have led to the most catastrophic results of the bunch but it was a highly emotional time for all the characters.

I am glad that the Olivia abduction storyline was not stretched out until the end of the season. It was wonderfully compacted within those very intense four episodes. I'm excited to see where they are going to go from here. From the preview, it looks as if Olivia is going to start suffering from post-traumatic stress due to her abduction. Kerry Washington is a brilliant actress and I know whatever the writers have in store for Olivia, she's going to nail it.

Take a look at the preview for next week's episode!


Scandal: TV's Most Exciting Series
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Scandal: TV's Most Exciting Series

June 19, 2014


The Critics' Choice Television awards aired tonight and I have to say, they nailed it for the most part. Breaking Bad won for Best Drama Series in it's final year, while Orange Is the New Black took home Best Comedy Series. Matthew McConaughey won for Best Lead Actor in a Drama for True Detective and gave a really inspiring speech as to what makes TV so great, and why actors have transitioned from film to television. 

My girl, Tatiana Maslany won for a second time for her roles on Orphan Black. Just look how adorable her reaction was. Very well deserved and I hope the Emmy voters take note. She is easily one of, if not, the best actress on television at the moment. Do not fight me on this one. My other homegirl, Jessica Lange won for Best Lead Actress in a Miniseries for American Horror Story: Coven but wasn't there to pick up her award. Bummer. But still happy to see her win! 

Bellamy Young took home Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Scandal. YES! Are people finally starting to realize the brilliance that is Mellie Grant? Because after Olivia, she is without a doubt my favorite character on that show. Allison Janney also took home not one, but two awards tonight: Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Mom and Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series for Masters of Sex. 

Full List of Winners

Best Drama Series: Breaking Bad (AMC) 
Best Actor in a Drama Series: Matthew McConaughey, True Detective (HBO)
Best Actress in a Drama Series: Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black (BBC America)
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Bellamy Young, Scandal (ABC)
Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series: Allison Janney, Masters of Sex (Showtime)

Best Comedy Series: Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
Best Actor in a Comedy Series: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Tie between Allison Janney, Mom (CBS) and Kate Mulgrew, Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series: Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)

Best Miniseries: Fargo (FX)
Best Movie: The Normal Heart (HBO)
Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries: Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo (FX)
Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries: Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven (FX)
Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries: Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart (HBO)
Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries: Allison Tolman, Fargo (FX)

Best Animated Series: Archer (FX)
Best Reality Series: Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (FOX)
Best Reality Series Competition: Shark Tank (ABC)
Best Reality Host: Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (FOX)
Best Talk Show: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC)

I'd say the only ones that I truly disagree with are Jim Parsons for Best Actor in a Comedy (should have gone to Adam Scott for Parks and Recreation) and Best Talk Show (when is Conan going to get some award love?). Overall though, I'm very happy with these choices. I can only hope the Emmys will be this good. 

Allison Janney, Tatiana Maslany, and Orange is the New Black win big at the Critics' Choice Awards
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Allison Janney, Tatiana Maslany, and Orange is the New Black win big at the Critics' Choice Awards

May 9, 2014


It’s that time of year again! Renewals and cancellations are being announced by the hour as we all clutch our chests waiting to see if our favorite shows will live to see another season. Unlike previous years, I’m making it out of the 2013-2014 television season almost completely unscathed. With the exception of Being Human and Dexter (both ended on their own without being cancelled), all of my favorite shows have been renewed. This is a first!

Take a look at some of this season’s pick-ups and cancellations on network television.
Network Television Renewals & Cancellations: Did your favorite show make the cut?
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Network Television Renewals & Cancellations: Did your favorite show make the cut?

April 9, 2014

It’s 3am on a Saturday morning and I just finished the last available episode of ABC’s Scandal on Netflix and Amazon Video. I watched over 30 episodes in the span of one week. This wasn’t an easy feat. I watched in the morning, in between classes, while doing homework, and before bed. Basically my spare time was filled with the on-goings of Olivia Pope and Associates.

But now what? I have to wait a week in between each new episode? (sometimes longer because ABC just loves their month long hiatuses). What kind of torment is this? That has been one of the biggest drawbacks to binge-watching that I’ve experienced so far. But overall, the positives outweigh the negatives.

Binge-watching is when someone watches multiple episodes or even seasons of a show in one sitting. There has been a lot of debate over how many episodes constitutes binge-watching. 4-5 episodes of an hour long series and 6-7 for half hour is usually the standard. But it really all depends on the person at hand.

Services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, and HBO Go have made binge-watching more accessible. Likewise people are utilizing their DVRs and cable on-demand services far more (As I type this I have 5 episodes of Arrow on my DVR just waiting for me to watch them).

According to the Nielsen Company, 78% of television-viewing Americans take part in some kind of asynchronous viewing. In my personal experience, I find myself binge-watching television more and more each year. With the pressures of school, trying to find a job/internship, and having a social life – it’s hard for a twentysomething to adhere to a television schedule.

However, there are some shows or special instances in which I have to watch live. This includes series/season finales and shows that I’m more than likely going to be spoiled if I don’t watch live. For example, I know if I don’t watch Survivor at its scheduled time – my twitter dashboard will tell me everything that happened in the episode as almost everyone I know watches it. This is relative to people’s social circles and their personal television consumption as a group.

The first two seasons of ABC's Scandal is available for
instant streaming on Netflix. (Photo via ABC)
With the growing trend of binge-watching, services such as Netflix and Hulu now produce original programming with season-releases only. That is, they release every episode of the season at the same time. Two of the biggest hits to come from this are Netflix’s House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. Both series have received critical praise and multiple award wins and nominations. 

In some cases, binge-watching on Netflix can actually help a struggling series. Scandal and Breaking Bad both benefited greatly after they were added to the instant streaming service. Scandal pulled in so-so numbers within its 7-episode debut season. The political drama, after being added to Netflix, now pulls in an audience of over ten million viewers per episode.

Vince Gilligan credits the success of his show Breaking Bad to the instant streaming service, saying "I think Netflix kept us on the air. I don’t think our show would have even lasted beyond Season 2. It’s a new era in television, and we’ve been very fortunate to reap the benefits."

It's clear that in this new age of technology, our television watching habits are evolving and are no longer constricted to the primetime television schedule. So much so, that some  networks are adapting to this new climate. ABC now offers "binge-watching weeks" in which they upload all episodes of their current shows on their website and allow viewers to stream them all week. As more and more people continue to binge-watch, it will be interesting to see how the television industry adapts and grows from here on out. 
Binge-Watching & Its Effect on Television
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Binge-Watching & Its Effect on Television

February 21, 2014

ABC likes to watch me suffer and is basically just toying with me now. They have announced that the network is developing a new science-fiction drama series about alien life on earth entitled The Visitors… AND I AM ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS. If you're a sci-fi fan, you probably already know why.

Back in 2009 ABC premiered a new show called V based on the 1983 mini-series of the same name. The premise of the series revolved around aliens (or visitors as they were called on the show) coming to earth under the guise of helping humanity – but having their own sinister intentions. AND GUYS, I GOT ATTACHED. I GOT REAL ATTACHED.


It quickly became one of my favorite shows and then after two seasons, ABC pulled the rug out from under me – cancelling it for good. Not only did they cancel it, but they left it on a cliffhanger. Not just one cliffhanger mind you, but MULTIPLE CLIFFHANGERS. We never got any sort of closure. Since then, ABC has gone on to cancel more of my favorite shows including Happy Endings and Don't Trust the B In Apartment 23. I vowed to boycott, yet here I am, showing up every Sunday and Thursday for new episodes of Revenge and Scandal. 

But this? Oh this is a slap in the face. Does ABC not even remember that they had a similar show with an almost identical title on their network just three years ago? But let's be real, there's about a 90% chance I'll end up watching this show and hating myself for it. Science fiction shows are my weakness. Plus, one of my favorite actors just recently signed on to the project. But I'll still make a point to write at least one passively aggressive tweet per episode about how V was better. Take that, ABC! (Weak, I am so weak)
It's Official: ABC is pure evil
1:45 AM

It's Official: ABC is pure evil