Last minute Pre-Oscar thoughts

It's been a little over a month now since I posted my views on the Academy Award nominations, and not much has changed. Now I'm looking forward to watching a show with some fresh hosts and worthy contenders. I have to say it's the first year in a while where I feel like almost every single nomination is deserved. There's no outrageous "Crash" nomination, there's no "Avatar" or Sandra Bullock nomination for a Lifetime movie. This year, about 8/10 movies in the running for Best Picture deserve their nomination. And the front runners at this point - "The Social Network" and "The King's Speech" - completely deserve it. Looking back on my views on the nominations, the Best Picture category is the only one where my prediction has changed. "The King's Speech" has picked up a lot of awards lately in critics circles as well as the BAFTAs. "The Social Network"'s hype looks to have petered out and left the excellent Brit movie to take the lead. "The King's Speech" is the safe, Oscar-friendly choice, and I'll be rather surprised if they go back to "The Social Network" now. The Brit drama will probably take Best Picture and Best Actor for Colin Firth while the Facebook movie takes Best Director for David Fincher and Best Adapted Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin.

Every other win seems decently predictable, although even if there is an upset, it's not going to be a case where a much hyped but mediocre performance wins over a deserving but less flashy one. Unless the Academy goes nutso and "The Kids Are All Right" wins for Best Picture, we're not going to encounter another heinous "Crash"-beating-"Brokeback Mountain" scenario.

As for the show itself, I actually kind of enjoy the In Memoriam and I hope it's a straight-forward memorial to those who passed. I'm still bitter about times when the In Memoriam played, but a celeb was singing the background music so the camera was on them more than the memorial video. No fancy camera work swooping in and out, please. Just pay respects to the dead in a tasteful way.

I'm cautiously optimistic about James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosting. I'm happy to see some fresh, younger faces in there (without sacrificing quality, that is. They didn't go with Kristin Stewart and Michael Cera or something crazy like that). Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin last year were fine, but they definitely aren't the way to intrigue younger viewers. I always hate forced awards show banter, but it's something you have to live with and if the host is capable, they can pull it off without too many cringeworthy moments. I'm just glad we don't have to deal with a Ricky Gervais scenario again, where the host is one-note and not particularly funny with his one note. Personally, I rather see a Neil Patrick Harris or Ellen DeGeneres hosting. They are seasoned hosts, they appeal to young and old, and they can be funny in a safe way in that they aren't pissing off the people in the room or boring the people at home by being too tame. I even enjoyed Hugh Jackman two years ago or Jon Stewart the year before that. Whoever they go with, I'm realizing that the Oscars has a much better track record for hosts than the Emmys or the Golden Globes.

It's differed over the years and over awards shows, but I hope the Oscars show clips from movies. The Golden Globes did this a little by basically saluting each film with a movie trailer. Rather than focusing on the actor as their name is announced, I prefer a short clip of them from their respective movie that shows why they deserve the Oscar. It would be a great reminder of movies that came out a while ago and it would be a refresher in why their nomination is deserved. But that's just me. And you would have to choose wisely so the clip is strong and short so the show doesn't run past midnight. (Maybe we could remove those documentary categories? Or at least speed those up a bit more?)

To conclude a post that ended up longer than I intended, I'd like to end with some humor. Both from the same website, the first is a Trailer for Every Academy Award Winning Movie Ever while the other is "6 Awards That Would Actually Make the Oscars Worth Watching." I think this article makes some great points about certain areas of filmmaking that go unrecognized by awards shows.

All of my favorite things rolled into one video

I just finished making and posting a music video. Anyone who loves TV, dancing, or the Scissor Sisters will enjoy this video. I tried to include as many shows as I could, but since I tend towards dramas (where characters rarely break into spontaneous dance), I could only include about 25-ish different shows. Also, I didn't want to include shows I don't watch. It's my vid, after all, and I wouldn't know how to hunt down clips for other shows anyway. I just hope other people have as much fun watching it as I did making it.

Why isn't "Cougar Town" on?

Just in case I have any "Cougar Town" followers after all my gushing over the show, I know some people out there are probably wondering where it went. It's going on hiatus until April 13 to make room for Matthew Perry's new show "Mr. Sunshine." Unfortunately, his new show is doing better in the timeslot than "Cougar Town" does. Why they couldn't bump the dreadful "Better With You" is beyond me, but before you panic, "Cougar Town" isn't being kicked off the Wednesday lineup anytime soon. It was already renewed for a third season, so rest easy. There's room for all the "Friends" alums on ABC.

My Top 10: TV Pet Peeves

I'm not normally one to bitch and moan about tiny details in TV shows. Product placement doesn't bug me. Historical anachronisms don't elicit any hate mail from me. Language blunders make me groan, but little more. But there are some TV show pet peeves I have that annoy me more than all the others. Some of them we've been trained to accept by now, but that doesn't make them any less unrealistic. I'm talking about those tiny details that actually take me out of the show because they're so incredibly irritating.

10. Not wearing weather/job appropriate clothes

("Does anyone realize that I'm actually 41 years old?")

Most shows shoot in LA, meaning they don't get realistic winter weather or very much wind (most of the year). This makes it difficult for shows set in New England to create realistic settings when characters are outside in supposedly December weather wearing light jackets. Just in the Midwest the winter weather is bad enough to render your eyes red, nose runny, hair mussed, and skin dry from a short walk outside. This works in reverse as well for shows set in scorching places like Miami, Florida and not a single character looks hot or remotely sweaty. I also mention job appropriate clothing, mainly for procedurals. Female cops in warm weather climates apparently wear nothing but tank tops and let their hair flow free, even when examining delicate crime scenes. If you're smart enough, they'll even let you wear completely inappropriate goth clothing! (Yes, I'm looking at you, Abby from "NCIS.") I don't mean to be some ultra-conservative who is anti-self expression, but while you're at work at a federal government job, odds are low that they'll let you indulge.

9. No one uses toothpaste

("I have twelve cavities but at least my teeth are shiny white and smooth!")

You can't have actors foaming at the mouth every time a character attends to their hygiene, but it's still painfully noticeable when they don't use any toothpaste.

8. Intuitive spellers

("Matthew McConahay...McConaghy....Mconuhay....&%@# forget it")

"I need a background check on Alan O'Shaughnessy." "Got it. Two prior arrests, one for assault..." No matter what the name is, no one ever needs it spelled out for them. TV police departments are always filled with snarky geniuses, so I suppose it's not entirely fitting for the smartest people in the room to stop and ask about spelling.

7. Huge dorm rooms/living beyond means

(Enjoy, Freshman. You get to share that with three other people. There's a bucket down the hall if nature calls)

This is an obvious one from sitcoms like "Friends," but that's pretty naturally accepted by now and the dorm room one bugs me more anyway. Dorm rooms in "Gilmore Girls" were like luxurious apartments (maybe Yale is different because the students can afford it anyway?). Dorm rooms in the "Transformers" movie were multi-room as well, with plenty of space for a team of geeks to huddle over tons of computers. In real life, a college dorm room is more akin to a storage closet. And I don't even mean that as hyperbole. I've seen rooms that fit two beds bunked because two wouldn't fit in the room otherwise, and two human beings are supposed to live like that. A large portion of dorms I've seen don't even have air conditioning, since most universities are quite old and therefore the dorms are quite old unless they keep up-to-date on renovations. Fictional dorm rooms are like swanky Manhattan apartments - real life dorm rooms are an exercise in solitary confinement, claustrophobia, and heat stroke/hypothermia.

6. Old-fashioned answering machines

(Old answering machines are not without their perks)

You know the ones I'm talking about - those ones that play the message out loud. They're a favored plot device when you need someone to overhear something they weren't supposed to hear. Ask Rita from "Dexter" when she heard what Lila really thought about her. Ask Jerry's girlfriend from "Seinfeld" when she heard George relay the description of her 'Elmer Fudd sitting on a juicer' laugh. Ask Luke from "Gilmore Girls" when he overheard Christopher leave a message on Lorelai's answering machine. I'm sure there are a million more examples, probably plenty from sitcoms. Does anyone (or at least anyone under 30) still have these kinds of answering machines? This plot device just reeks of laziness, especially from modern shows like two of the ones I mentioned where this accidental eavesdropping isn't even realistic.

5. Sunny mornings

(Just another normal 5am breakfast at Luke's Diner in the town of Stars Hollow)

"Gilmore Girls" always bugged me the most for this one, but many many shows have irked me for this. Most any show with kids going to school falls victim to this. Say a kid has to be at school by 8:30. Even if they have to do things before school, like eating breakfast, it will inevitably be bright and sunny outside. I know it would probably suck for the lighting crew to reenact sunrise, especially if any natural light is in the shot and therefore already dictating what time of day it is. But unless you're in a weird Northern location and it's summer, the sun is not out and shining like noon at 6 am (definitely not in winter in Connecticut, "Gilmore Girls!" I hate to keep picking on "Gilmore," but I know the show really well and love it, so these minor pet peeves absolutely don't overshadow its greatness).

4. Fake CPR

(Don't worry, Charlie, your actual death is much more heroic and cool)

Everyone knows (or at least should know) what CPR looks like. Even if you don't know the exact counting and breath/compression ratio (it seems to change every so often), you know that you're not supposed to bend your elbows when doing chest compressions. I even saw a character in a TV show give compressions to a person on a bed. And when all else fails, the desperate pounding Fist of Life will revive a person.

3. Taste-testing drugs

("Get Agent Johnson in here to taste all these substances, we need to know what they were cooking!")

What? You mean they don't give lessons on this at the Academy? Surprisingly, law enforcement doesn't encourage their investigators to stick a finger in a mysterious white powder and taste it to identify it as an illegal narcotic. Strange how we can apparently get the reflection of the killer off of the victim's eyeball in an image, but we can't test the drugs in a timely and efficient enough manner for TV investigations.

2. Enhance that photo!

("There's a reflection of the killer in the car door! Rotate, zoom, and enhance!")

This is a famous one and one of the many good reasons why I cannot watch "CSI." Investigators will bring up a slightly blurry photo and ask the techie to "enhance it." They then zoom in on the aspect they're interested in, and the photo magically clears up! In real life, you zoom in on a photo and that's it - it's just blurriness blown up. But in the world of procedurals, cameras have higher resolution than us mere mortals can dream of. As I mentioned, you can even get the reflection of a suspect off of someone's eye!

1. Empty coffee cups

(Don't lie, Gibbs. We know there's nothing in there.)

Sure, you can't have actors waving around actual cups of steaming hot coffee, risking stains and burns every day. But can we not put water in the cups? Or something semi-solid to weigh it down like bean bags or something? Everyone knows what a cup full of liquid looks and feels like. And everyone knows you don't tip a cup horizontal to take a first sip or take big gulps of supposedly scalding hot coffee.

Honorable mention: No one saying goodbye on the phone; turning off lights never resulting in total darkness; it only rains when something sad/dramatic is happening; carjackers searching for car keys in the glove compartment or visor (who on Earth leaves their keys in the car?); Tyler Perry presents Tyler Perry's Tyler Perry starring Tyler Perry; "I'll have a beer" (which is like walking into a restaurant and ordering a 'sandwich'); groceries in paper bags; windows never having screens; ancient prophesies about the apocalypse foretelling the end of the world at midnight - which conveniently happens to be the same exact time zone as our heroes in California.