Monk.

Okay, I lied and I'm sorry.  Next time I'll really write about Netflix Original Series but I just finished watching Monk on Monday and I wanted to write about it while it was still fresh in my mind.
 

So, Monk.  This show is crazy amazing.  I had watched some episodes back-in-the-day when they were new but I really wanted to watch the series from beginning to end.  Boy am I glad with that decision!  This show offers something that a lot of crime dramas do not, which is plentiful humor and good old fashioned detectives.

Adrian Monk is a peculiar man who is a germaphobic (is that a real word?), has severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and an eye for clues that no one else sees.  He walks into a room, hands up to examine the crime scene, and knows if it was murder or not.  Some episodes he could have everyone against him but he'd always say "he's the guy" or "here's what happened."  Monk is always right.  Sure, there was an episode for each of the supporting characters to solve a crime but it was Monk the majority of the time.

The series started in July of 2002 and ran through December 2009.  It ran for eight wonderful seasons, breaking the record from The Closer for most watched scripted drama episode in cable television history.  The finale episode, "Mr. Monk and the End - Part II" racked in an impressive 9.4 million viewers.

Tony Shalhoub plays Adrian Monk.  Shalhoub is incredibly talented in this role, so much that whenever I see him in anything else I start thinking "It's a jungle out there, disorder and confusion everywhere...." In the series, Monk goes undercover a number of times and Shalhoub's acting ability just shines.  Along with Shalhoub are a few more talented actors who could steal many a scene with their timely acting and of course the great writing and directing.

Ted Levine plays Captain Leland Stottlemeyer and Jason Gray-Stanford plays Lt. Randall "Randy" Disher, a hilarious pair of cops working for the San Francisco Police Department.  Stottlemeyer is a good friend to Monk, a great cop, and a role-model for goofy Randy.

Then there's Sharona, played by Bitty Schram, and Natalie Teeger played by the lovely Traylor Howard.  First Sharona then Natalie were Monk's "assistants."  After Monk's wife died he sort of had a breakdown.  His nurse, Sharona, turned into his assistant and of course his friend.  These ladies hilariously put up with all of Monk's ridiculous antics to help him live his life.

The show ran for eight seasons but almost every main character stayed for the entire run.  Sharona left but she was replaced with someone great and of course she did come back for an episode in the final season to tie up loose ends.  Monk's original shrink, Dr. Kroger played by Stanley Kamel, actually died in real life in 2008 and needed to be replaced.  I think Hector Elizondo was an excellent choice to play Dr. Bell.

Only, Shalhoub, Levine, and Gray-Stanford were in all 125 episodes of the series.  An interesting thing about Monk are the titles to each episode.  All but one episode have titles in the form of "Mr. Monk and (a person or thing)."  The only exception to this rule is the season eight episode "Happy Birthday Mr. Monk."

Another interesting thing is the plot format for the series.  While browsing Wikipedia I found a list of four basic plot lines that Monk follows:

• The killer is known, and how the crime was committed is known. The episode is spent trying to find evidence to arrest that person.
• Monk knows who the killer is, and knows what the motive is, but the killer has a seemingly air-tight alibi. The episode is spent trying to break that alibi and find out how the killer did it.
• In a number of episodes, the plot involves trying to find out the killer, how the murder was done, and why.
• In some episodes, the killer's M.O. is known, but not who did it or why.

The show is predictable.  The episodes all follow one of the four basic plot lines, however the show is still fantastic.  How did they do it?  By the end, my fiance and I were predicting everything that was going to happen but we had so much fun doing it!  How can such a predictable show still be so enthralling?  I'm not sure, but a huge thumbs up goes to creator Andy Breckman and everyone else involved in making this show happen.  It is genius.

It is going to take me while to stop singing "It's a Jungle Out There" by Randy Newman everyday.

Check out the video below where Tony Shalhoub talks about playing Adrian Monk.  He truly is the only one I could ever picture playing that role.

Orange Is The New Black.

Is anyone else obsessed with the new Netflix Original Series called Orange Is the New Black?  Because I think it is fabulous!  Amazing casting, acting, writing, just everything is amazing!  The first season, which is thirteen episodes long, aired July 11th, 2013.  The show was created by Jenji Kohan and produced by Lionsgate Television.  Apparently the show is based on Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman, a memoir about her own experience in prison.  I'll read the book and let you know how it was.  I'm interested in how much of the real experiences from the book are in the show.  Check out this great article here with an interview from Piper Kerman about her experiences and the show.

The show stars Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman, a woman in her early thirties who was sentenced to fifteen months in jail for transporting drug money ten years earlier.  Her ex-lesbian lover, Alex Vause played by the talented Laura Prepon, ratted her out to make her own sentence shorter.  Oh, did I mention she's in prison with Piper?  Then there are a host of talented people such as Jason Biggs who plays Larry, Piper's fiance.

Netflix renewed Orange Is the New Black on June 27, 2013 for a second season.  Yeah, that's right, it was renewed before the show was even aired on Netflix.  Luckily, the show is popular and doing quite well on Netflix but it does seem odd to renew it before it airs.  I mean, even if it does well in testing, it could still bomb to the general public.  But that just isn't the case for this Netflix Original.

This show is unique.  Numerous story lines about male prisons are in existence, like Shawshank Redemption and The Longest Yard (to name two totally different types of movies).  But this is the first time I've ever seen anything about a female prison.  If there is something already about women's prison then I would like to watch it because this is an interesting topic.  It is something I knew little about yet should be relevant in pop-culture.

My fiance posed an interesting question today: Why are men's prisons more violent?  Well, they aren't really.  Women are just different.  We're catty, we back-stab, we fight with our words not our fists.  Orange Is the New Black features plenty of physical fighting, too but it mostly depicts the social relationships between women.  It's fascinating!

If you have not checked out Orange Is the New Black then I suggest you do because it is worth the watch.  It is original and well made.  Kudos to Netflix for another successful original series.  I don't know how they do it but I hope they keep up the good work.

The title theme song "You've Got Time" is an original written and performed by Regina Spektor for the series.  I love Regina and this song is great.  Take a listen to the full song below!

Say Yes To The Dress.

I finished watching the first season of Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta on Thursday evening.  It’s a TLC show that started in 2010, a spin-off from Say Yes to the Dress which features Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan.  Both shows are kind of my guilty pleasure.  Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta is currently available to watch instantly on Netflix, each episode is about 20 minutes long, and is the perfect show when you want to pass a few minutes or want something on in the background while you do something else.

The reality program features Bridals by Lori in Atlanta, Georgia.  Owner Lori Allen, image consultant Monte Durham, manager Robin Gibbs, and their talented team of bridal consultants help brides find their perfect gown.  Hokey? Of course! But it’s a good show nonetheless.  The bridal team is full of funny, talented, and kind ladies who deal with plenty of drama!  Makes for some good television!

Reality shows like this always make me wonder about production.  So I did a little research.  And by research I mean I read Wikipedia and I’m hoping the information is correct.

Apparently, if a bride wants to be featured on the show you have to apply online and go through a casting process.  This makes sense to me because that’s how most other reality shows work.  Though, I had assumed, for some reason, that brides who came in for appointments were just asked if they wanted to be on the show.  That doesn’t make sense at all and I don’t know why I thought that.  Glad I know the truth now (unless Wiki’s lying to me).

The brides who are on the show receive no compensation and don’t even have to buy a dress.  So, if you really want to be on TV and really want to shop at Bridals by Lori, then this is the show for you to apply for!  The beautiful bridal store has twenty-one dressing rooms and only número diez (or number ten, for those of you who do not know advanced Spanish) is used for the show.

I find the process kind of fascinating and I am glad that I looked it up.  I don’t think I would ever want to be on the show because editing makes most of the brides/families look nuts.  I’m not nuts and I don’t want to look nuts.  I do however want to shop at Bridals by Lori and I want Monte to “jack me up.”  If you’ve never watched the show, and I suggest you do, being “jacked up” by Monte Ray means having your hair pulled up, wearing a veil and jewelry, and just being made to look how you would on your wedding day.  Often, a bride’s family will like the chosen dress more once the bride has been jacked up in style.

Monte is amazing.  So is Randy, from the original Say Yes to the Dress.  These dapper gay men swoop in to make any bride look/feel amazing and they totally save the day.  You go guys! You go Glenn Coco!

TLC has also successfully produced some spin-offs from Say Yes to the Dress, Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, Say Yes to the Dress: Bridesmaids, Say Yes to the Dress: Monte’s Take, Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss, Say Yes to the Dress: Randy Knows Best, and Randy To The Rescue.   Now all that’s left is Say Yes to the Tux!  I’m looking at you TLC. Hint hint.

Check out the video below for a Behind the Scenes look at a production day for just one bride.  Apparently it takes five hours to shoot one party!

My First Blog.

I've always been told that I am a good writer.  My fiance told me recently that I should start a blog.  So, here I am.  Writing my very own blog.  I don't know what I will be writing about... everything I guess.  I work and go to school full-time, yet I find myself with a lot of extra free time.  Free time for writing!  School, my cats, my family, the love of my life, and my obsession with Netflix will likely be hot topics in my writing.

I may not have an exciting life to some but somehow people seem to laugh and enjoy my stories.  I love my life and I'm very happy where I am.  I want to share my happiness with everyone.  There just is not enough happiness in this world!  Like, for real.  What is wrong with everyone?  Sometimes I think I could have been a hippie in the 60s.  Peace, love, no war, and equal rights for everyone.  Apparently that is asking too much of the human race.

On a completely non-related note: I am watching Boy Meets World (or BMW, to those in the know) right now.  It's on the television.  Why are things that you've seen a million times better when they're on TV?  It doesn't make sense but it is just the way the world works.  Apparently.  On this particular episode of BMW, Cory and Eric are on their way home from a summer road trip.  They stop at this little country restaurant that serves delicious pie and has pretty waitresses and Eric decides to stay forever.  That is, until Mr. Matthews pays him a little visit and convinces him to come home where he belongs and not to give up.  Why is this show so heartwarming?  And why can't shows be like this still today?  The 90s was a magical time when television and DCOM's (Disney Channel Original Movies) were AMAZING.  I'm 22 and I still thoroughly enjoy watching these programs.  BMW is that good!

OH! The next episode came on and it's the one where Topanga chops her hair off to show Cory that appearance does not matter.  Cut my heart out, why don't you! I love Cory and Topanga. They are always teaching each other lessons and at the end of the day will always love one another.  Topanga tried teaching Cory a lesson but ends up teaching herself a lesson... Way to go BMW for being insanely wholesome and wonderful and teaching us life lessons.