The Perfect Episode

Sometimes when I'm on the treadmill, I have no idea what to watch. So I return to something I know and love, usually a Buffy episode because there is always a nice adrenaline rush during a fight scene and usually some good music. Recently I re-watched my favorite episode of Northern Exposure: "Spring Break." That episode is absolute television perfection. The music throughout, particularity at the beginning and end (a song by Lindsey Buckingham, which surprised me when I researched who sang it) is brilliant, the acting and writing hilarious, and everything in it has the perfect amount of quirk. [For those of you who are into Get Well Soon, here's a bit of trivia: when I was actually hospitalized, it was during Northern Exposure's run on TV. I was so into the above episode that I was constantly quoting it. One of the best lines is when Ed (What the heck happened to Ed?! I loved him!) is investigating some thefts and says he found a pencil, Ticonderoga #2. So, in real life, Tracy, the real Tracy not just the Tracy in my book, sent me a bunch of packages at the hospital, and one of them contained a box of Ticonderoga #2s!] It got me thinking about other perfect episodes of shows, and I started to make a list. I'm sure there are quite a few that I've collected in my brain over the years, but there's a lot of junk up there now blocking the way. So here's a tiny, not at all comprehensive list, of "perfect" episodes of TV shows.

1. Buffy - The problem with Buffy is that there are SO MANY perfect episodes. Really. I think "Once More With Feeling" is brilliant: not only are the songs catchy, but the musical aspect of the show actually moves the plot of the series along significantly. "Hush," of course. "Becoming," when Buffy has to kill Angel. ("Close your eyes." Sniff. Sniff.) "The Wish," when Cordelia wishes Buffy never came to Sunnydale. I could go on. And I probably will at some point.

2. The Adventures of Pete and Pete - I am not biased just because I interned on this show. This particular episode came well before my internship and was one of the reasons I HAD to work on this show! "Day of the Dot" is the single most romantic episode of a television show ever created. There's innocent kid love and crazy bus driver love, all wrapped up in the glorious music of Miracle Legion. Seek this one out, if you haven't see it.

3. Degrassi High (Original Flava) - The episodes of this show really flowed together, but for some reason I watched this particular one over and over. "Everybody Wants Something" is the title of the ep, and it's also the title of one of the catchiest, if not repetitive, songs ever written! Here it is. Just try and get it out of your head. (No, don't. It's so awesome it needs to stay in there.)

One of my favorite aspects of this episode is the appearance of Clutch, my biggest Degrassi crush. Oh, Clutch, where have you gone?

4. 30 Rock - It's odd I include this, since I stopped watching this show on a regular basis (for no reason, really, except that having a child makes it hard to keep up with TV). There were so many laughs in the episode entitled "The Source Awards." There's all sorts of stuff in the episode, from disgusting champagne to Tracy Morgan dressing up as Oprah, looking at himself in the mirror, and asking (in a hilarious Oprah voice), "What would I DO-OOOO?" It also had this:

Ahahahahahahaha!!!!! I will never tire of that. NEVER.

I'm going to check out my DVDs and see if there are other "perfect" episodes out there. What would be on your perfect list?

Oh! And if you're up for a Julie interview and a chance to win a copy of the original Get Well Soon (the sequel, Have a Nice Day, comes out October 16!), head on over to Patricia's Particularity.

Wonder!

I love this ad. At first, it looked boring. But then you see the name of the shirt: the 3/4 sleeve WONDER BLOUSE. Wonder and blouse are two words that should never be in a sentence together. Actually, I think we should banish the word blouse altogether. And panties. Anywho, you WONDER why this shirt has such an exciting title, but then you read the rectangle in the bottom right corner and discover the brilliant reasoning behind the title: "You'll WONDER how you lived without one!" They then go on to use the words cuff, smart, crisp, and NARY. How can I get a job writing for these geniuses? I WONDER!

I Heart Blossom

I just had a flashback to watching an episode of "Blossom" when they were going to have to move (probably almost lost the house and then got it back in the nick of time), and it was during the period of time when my family was about to move out of the home I grew up in. I was bawling, and my dad was all annoyed with me. Um, delightful memory, yes, but it was the first thing that came to my mind when I wanted to reference "Blossom." Because I am totally in love with Mayim Bialik. She is the only reason I watch "Big Bang Theory" anymore because she is hysterical. Like, beyond hysterical. Her delivery, her stance, her facial expressions, her voice = pure genius. On top of that she really is a mega scientist smartie (which, apparently, I am not, based on what I just wrote). Here is a fabulous interview with her on NPR's Science Friday (Let's not even pretend I listen to this on a regular basis; my mom told me about the interview). And, on top of all this awesomeness, she is a mother very much into attachment parenting, as, I recently sort of figured out, so am I (I mean, I knew I subscribed to a lot of the practices, but I guess it's time to call it what it is). I'm looking forward to reading her book, too. I sure wish I could have lunch with her. I think we'd have a great time.

Speaking of great times, I am now in full ALA/Disneyland research mode. I have been reading over which authors will be signing autographs (I'm one of them: Friday, June 22 at 6:30 at Macmillan Kids), and the one I'm most excited about is K.A. Applegate. I've met her before, and she's delightful, but I'm super excited to see that she's signing Animorphs books! I LOVE that series. Did they re-release it? I may have to read it again. Would that freak Romy out as a bedtime story? Remember that one where they all became ants, and no one could think for themselves? Good night. Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite!

Countdown!

I just realized that HAVE A NICE DAY, the GET WELL SOON sequel, will be out exactly five months from today! That doesn't seem so far off. And there's just a little over a month until ALA which, I must say, is really exciting because it happens to be at Disneyland. Well, not inside Disneyland. Although, how cool would THAT be? Like if they had all of the authors replace the animatronic kids on the It's a Small World Ride and in order to get their autographs you had to ride by in boats? Yeah.

Also, did anyone see this list of Joss Whedon's favorite Buffy episodes? I think the list itself is a little light on the Joss wit. Did he even write the list? I don't care. Anytime Buffy is in the news (I also refer to TMZ as "The News"), I'm happy. I actually sat down and read over 200 comments about the favorite episodes of regular people, like me. Tres dorky. I agree with most of his list, but I would add "Selfless," the Anya episode in season seven. In it, she has gone back to demon Anya and massacred a bunch of frat guys, then Buffy has to try and kill her. We get to see Anya's history. She totally should have had a spinoff. The "extra" song she sang was gut-wrenchingly beautiful. I wish I could find a video clip, but there are only homemade ones to share. I also love how it's not so easy to kill Anya. Like, hell yeah, Slayer, you're awesome, but she is over 1,000 years old! And poor Halle. Oy. Am I talking to myself as a crazy Buffy fan? Oh, would you look at the time? I need to get on the treadmill. And I know exactly what I'm going to watch. "I'm the Mrs. I will be his Mrs..."

Alligators All Around

I just read that Maurice Sendak passed away, and I'm thinking lots about it. Of course I am a fan of his work and grew up with his books, and I even have a signed print of his hanging in my house. I have also visited the incredible Rosenbach Museum in Philadelphia twice (baby Romy had a first look at original art from "Where the Wild Things Are"). It's just interesting when you hear things as an adult either about a person or said by a person or first hand interactions with a person who was a part of your childhood. It's never quite what you want or expect. Not that I know anything horrible about Sendak; not like learning my favorite childhood author, Roald Dahl, was an anti-Semite (Fact? I still don't know for sure). But lots of authors and illustrators, along with filmmakers and musicians, aren't what I expect. Some people can overlook the personality or opinion of an artist if they like their work. I am not one of those people. Like, I could never get into Oasis because the guys seemed like such assholes. Plus, their music was boring. Not that Oasis is relevant anymore (or was ever as relevant as they thought they were). Um, what was I talking about? Maurice Sendak. I hope this doesn't sound like I have some horrid opinion of him; I do not. I'm just thinking about being a grown-up and knowing things that I didn't know when I was a kid. My favorite Sendak works are by far the Nutshell library. And I think I have Carol King to thank for that. I am a fierce lover of Really Rosie, Pierre, and all of the gang from the cutest, darkest little box of books to ever grace my bookshelf. I had the Carol King album of the songs as a kid, and I hilariously autographed Carol's name on her photo in the album fold. My favorite of all is Pierre. It's so nonsensical, and yet it completely makes sense. At least it did as a kid. That's pretty much how Sendak's books work, I think. Most recently, my daughter fell in love with his monster pop-up book, "Mommy?" I thought the book would freak her out, with all of the monsters and weirdness, but she loves it. She gets it.

Alack, aday, oh whoa, oy vey. Chicken soup passed away.

The Big Book of Boob Boobs

Not blogging for a while really stops the blogging flow, so instead of trying to explain and excuse and all that, I'm just going to pretend like I've been blogging everyday and there is no catching up to do at all. 'Kay?

Who else out there is watching The Client List? I actually started watching the show after reading about it on GoFugYourself, which is actually a fashion blog but one that likes to talk about ridiculous TV shows. Their recap intrigued me. I haven't had time to watch TV by myself in ages, but my mom came over a bunch last week. I used that time wisely and watched the first three episodes of TCL, in which J. Lo Hew's character loses her husband (vague, fo sho) and gets a job at THE RUB giving "massages." The show is filled with vagaries, like what is it exactly Jlohew (even shorter nickname!) is doing to the wangs of the oddly buff dudes coming into the parlor? Not vague? Jlohew's boobs. They get plenty of attention. Not, like, full-on naked, but they're always hanging out in some MILF-y manner.

Another thing I love about this show is that the owner of THE RUB, Ms. Georgia Cummings (aw yeah), is played by Loretta Devine. She played the hilarious aunt on the way too short-lived recent Raven-Symone (I had no idea her name spelling was so complicated!) sitcom, State of Georgia (sad. I liked that show a lot. I'll watch anything with Raven. I think she is a comic genius!). Not only that, but she plays Halle the Hippo on Doc McStuffins! So whenever she says something sassy on TCL, I hear the voice of the hippo saying, "The Big Book of Boo-Boos!" I also recommend watching Doc McStuffins. Over and over and over. The way I have to.