The majority of my TV repertoire falls into the reality TV category: Dance Moms (don't judge - the closest any of us has ever come to doing a flawless arabesque is mid wipe-out at the bar after one too many G&Ts), Top Chef, Project Runway, House Hunters, etc. I also have a (weird?) fascination with crime shows like 48 Hours and Dateline Mystery. I do not, however, watch a lot of the scripted shows that pull viewers in each week and cause a flurry of social media updates as soon as the credits begin to roll. This is probably due to the fact that I used to work in public accounting and inevitably had to sacrifice shows that I liked due to my terrible work schedule. Sticking to reality shows that I could watch on my own time without really caring if the current week's episode got spoiled (which it never did because no one is posting about the Top Chef contestant who totally effed up his risotto and was told by Padma to pack his knives and go) seemed to better fit my lifestyle.
Now that I have escaped public accounting and have more time on my hands, I figured it was time to get back into the scripted TV game. Nowadays, if you do not religiously watch House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Breaking Bad (RIP), or Game of Thrones, then you will have some fierce shade thrown your way and be 12 steps behind your colleagues' lunchtime convos. I say NO MORE! I am attempting to break into this club with Scandal and the new ABC drama, How to Get Away With Murder ("HTGAWM"). Note to the reader - turn back now if you don't want to know what happens in the premieres.
SCANDAL PREMIERE
I cannot claim to be an original "gladiator" who has watched Scandal from Day 1. In fact, I started binge watching Scandal this past April while my husband was away at back-to-back bachelor parties. His absence gave me the perfect opportunity to dig up an old email address that I had yet to use for a free trial month of Netflix and get to work. By the end of the first episode, I was hooked. I loved Cyrus and Abby's sarcastic quips and Mellie's piercing comments that left a lasting sting. Top it off with Olivia's graceful style and the way President Grant looks at her, and any
I have been eagerly awaiting the Season 4 premiere of Scandal with bated breath, hoping beyond hope that this won't be the season where the show starts to lose steam, introduces boring/overused/stupid plot lines, or, even worse, fails to keep my attention anymore. I have seen this dance before and had my heart broken one too many times: Gossip Girl, Gilmore Girls, Glee (do I only watch shows that start with "G"?); I don't want to see this happen to Scandal! Not Scandal!
First things first. Olivia Pope is known for drinking gigantic glasses of red wine and munching on large, fluffy bowls of popcorn in her impossibly cute Georgetown apartment (she has a grand piano in there, people). Given that Olivia is teeny tiny yet still manages to rule DC fueled by only two items must mean that this is the diet sent from the TV Heavens that I need to jump on board with ASAP.
To pay proper respect to Ms. Pope, the gaggles of women who gather on Thursday nights for their Scandal fix bust out the red wine and popcorn, preferably drinking their vino out of Olivia's famous oversized wine glass. In real life, though, Kerry Washington does not drink red wine (or any alcohol for that matter) and neither do I. I don't care for popcorn either, so for my solo viewing party (womp womp) I stuck with a Sweetwater 420 and a bowl of lightly salted Snapea Crisps. <<< Try these! They taste like puffy Cheetos without the orange cheese dust. You can even snag them at Whole Foods which instantly makes them chic and healthy.
Now on to the review...
At the end of Season 4, we left OPA and the Grant Administration in a bit of a mess. Fitz's young son had just been murdered on Olivia's father's order, and her crazy mother Maya was accused of the crime and hidden away. Fitz was re-elected for another four years and also found out about his wife's sexual assault at the hands of his deceased father. We were left with Harrison's life on the line, but as all fans know, Columbus Short is not coming back this season due to legal troubles and thus we can assume that Harrison's life is no more. Quinn and Huck had a really creepy romance going on that I wish would end immediately, and Huck learned that his pre-B-613 family is alive and well. Lastly, we saw Olivia and Jake fly off into the sunset in order to escape the chaos of their lives...
Instead of giving a synopsis of the episode that you can read on any entertainment website, I am just going to list out my totally subjective thoughts about the Season 4 Premiere:
1. Loved that Olivia was reading Gone Girl on the beach in the opening scene. I think we would be fast friends.
2. Harrison's death "revelation" was anticlimactic given that everyone knew it was going to happen. The only time the characters seemed to show true emotion about his death was at his uber depressing funeral. Even though Harrison didn't have the most exciting story lines, it is sad seeing OPA a member down.
3. Cyrus, stop trying to make the side-buzz haircut happen, it's not going to happen.
4. Fitz tried to commit suicide after his son's death?
5. Olivia's mom is dead? Doubt it. That woman is like a cockroach - a nuclear blast couldn't kill her.
6. Mellie had some zingers this episode and it was a tear-jerking moment when she laid down on her son's grave.
7. Huck still creeps me out. We would not be fast friends.
8. I'm glad that they brought back the "situation that needs fixing" story line reminiscent of the episode construction of Seasons 1 and 2. Hopefully they will use these situations as lead-ins into more involved plots as opposed to individual problems that are confronted, solved, and put aside at the end of each episode.
9. I'm calling it now - the final scene of the show will be Fitz and Olivia on their farm in Vermont. I just wanted to get that out there.
10. This moment. I can't.
HTGAWM PREMIERE
ABC did a great job of hyping up its new Shonda Rhimes-produced show HTGAWM. The promos were suspenseful and packed with energy, in typical Shonda Rhimes fashion. I was even more excited to tune in once I found out that Liza Weil (aka Paris Gellar from Gilmore Girls) was a prominent cast member. Throw in the actor who played Ginny Weasley's pre-Harry Potter boyfriend, Dean Thomas? Sold!
In full disclosure, I had to re-watch the premiere because I fell asleep 20 minutes into my initial viewing, and I now have mixed feelings after concluding my second showing of HTGAWM. First, I am hoping that the show can slow down and develop a little more. I'm not fan of shows that time-hop all over the place, and this one was (trying to be edgy?) bouncing all over the place from the very first scene. They've already picked which students get to intern at Professor Keating's firm? Law school friends - does this really happen in your 1L year or is it strictly reserved for Legally Blonde and HTGAWM? Professor Keating's husband is dead? I can't imagine that the show will spend its entire life trying to cover up one murder. Only in TV land can someone as important as a husband be killed and everyone seem to forget about it a few months later, so maybe this death is just a small bump in the road. Second, a lot of the characters' lines seemed contrived and a bit predictable. Nothing they said shocked me or made me laugh, as the characters in Scandal are so capable of doing. Third, the guy from Harry Potter has a terrible American accent and I am waiting on pins and needles for him to exclaim, "Neville's got a remembrall!"
I am definitely going to give HTGAWM a few more chances. If you look back at the first episode of any show, it looks and feels totally different than later episodes. Here's to hoping that the producers/directors/actors find a comfortable groove that works for them and for us, and we can all eventually become one happy family.
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