CDog's Guide to Holiday Programming, Day 5 (Or, Christmas With a Side of Noir)

Did the absence of a new post devastate you yesterday? Well, dry your eyes, kids. We're back with a new selection.

21. An Echolls Family Christmas - Veronica Mars, 2004

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

I recently tweeted (I know, so modern) that very few days go by without me stopping and thinking about how much I miss Veronica Mars at least once, and I stand by that statement. Bringing old school detective noir to high school in the form of a diminutive blonde with an acid tongue, sharp mind, and big heart was one of the greatest services Rob Thomas could've performed for the public, and I will be forever indebted. And let's not forget that, among many gifts, my beloved VMars gave me the magic that is Kristen Bell, who has since been criminally underutilized; Alona Tal, who is a supreme delight and impresses the hell out of me in literally everything she appears in; and Joss Whedon as a rental car agent.

Don't even try to dispute its excellence, because your argument is invalid.

Of the show's two Christmas episodes, the first season's, "An Echolls Family Christmas," was the one that didn't leave me sobbing quietly in a corner. This should not at all be interpreted as a lack of quality, but rather a simple difference in content.

The episode starts off typical, even tame, for our plucky but wounded adolescent investigator. After a couple intense reveals about the case that tore her life apart and possibly the real reason as to why her mother skipped town, a run of the mill case involving money stolen from an 09er (I miss saying that casually) poker game seems like small potatoes, even if our VMars does take it on in order to get ex-boyfriend Duncan's laptop back and ensure that any intimate details about their relationship stay safe within the confines of its hard drive.

Of course, things get real when Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin show up, furthering the theory that they have to appear together at least once on everything. Words are exchanged, infidelities are exposed, guys are stabbed...well, just one, but that's Christmas in Neptune for you - a nice reminder that all is not as shiny as it may appear behind the veil of the rich and famous.

What really drives this episode aren't either of the cases. It's the characters. The first season starts off as Veronica vs. the World, and that's important. Feeling her profound isolation not only drives the impact of the Kane murder home but also makes the people who do extend the hand of friendship - Wallace, Meg, Mac - seem all the more invaluable.

As the season gets underway, however, things are less cut and dry. Our first Christmas in Neptune helps us soften just a little toward baddest of the bad Logan Echolls and understand that behind the racist bully facade is a little boy with a jacked up family life, money or no money. Without this understanding, and the subtle shift in dynamic that comes with it, the show would not have been able to evolve.

"An Echolls Family Christmas." Not drowning in holiday cheer, but fun with a bit of poignant sadness thrown in. Sounds like a holiday party to me.

Highlights:

I give you one: the Heat Miser moment between Veronica and her dad right at the beginning. Their relationship will forever be the best of everything.

CDog's Guide To Holiday Programming, Day 4 (Or, COME ON!)

I'm going to depart from my usual style tonight by writing an open letter. To a TV show.
22. Afternoon Delight - Arrested Development, 2004

Photo Credit: Fox

Dear Arrested Development,

Thanks for treating your viewers like intelligent people who could understand a joke without having it explained to them. Part of your genius was the fact that you could make a passing reference in one episode that would then reappear without a direct callback or commentary seven or eight episodes down the line, and it would automatically become 8x funnier as a result.

Also, thank you for shining the brightest light possible on the magic that is the quirky and absurd. It unlocked a lot of brains.

Now, I take you to the highlights, because there is really nothing to say that hasn't already been said by the legions who have been mourning the loss of the Bluths for years.

Highlights

1) The blue fingerprints on the wall that nobody acknowledges. Genius.

2) Never has a montage of a suit's escalating value been so amazing.

3) Alia Shawkat's delivery sharpens with every episode. This is one of her best.

4) "First I blow him, then I poke him."

5) Few things please me more than Buster talking about, "Army."

6) World's Most Effective Use of the Bleep award.

7) "The seal is for marksmanship. And the gorilla...is for sandracing."

8) Mae Whitman deserves every high five in the world.

9) Have any of us really stopped to consider the lyrics of Afternoon Delight? We have now.

10) It's actually a little bit devastating when Tobias misses that call.

CDog's Guide to Holiday Programming, Day 3 (Or, SuperSanta FTW)

Look, up in the sky!

Bird?

Plane?

Nah, it's...

23. Lexmas - Smallville, 2005

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

The one-time WB-now-CW network's Smallville, which wrapped an impressive ten season run earlier this year, ranks as one of my most beloved shows ever. The modern re-imagining of Clark Kent's pre-Superman years as he came of age in Kansas was fun, clever, and often times surprisingly heartbreaking. That being said, it did suffer at times from an overabundance of fluff and cheese, especially before the 6th season shift that saw the show really start to embrace the mythology it was rooted in. "Lexmas" is a bit of the good and the bad rolled into one, but hey, they can't all be home runs, and there's enough of the former to earn it the 23 spot.

At its core, the episode is something of a reverse It's A Wonderful Life. Lex Luthor, who's still in his Maybe I'm Not Evil Even Though I Do Evil Stuff All The Time phase, approaches a shady guy in a shady part of Kansas about waging a dirty campaign against Jonathan Kent in the Senate race. After having a, "Once you go down this dark path, you can't turn back," moment, Lex says he needs to think about it, gets shot by thieves, and wakes up in a dream world where he's a nice middle-class guy married to Lana with a son and another baby on the way.

Now, I don't think I need to tell you that I side with the heroes. My favorite characters on any show tend to be the brave and tortured souls who sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of the world and end up having a million terrible things happen to them before they inevitably die in the most tragic and heroic manner possible. My Nemesis is so named because she's the opposite. In fact, her favorites have murdered mine on more than one occasion. So, naturally, if you asked her, the Lex thread is the best part of this entire episode. For me, it's good, but it's nothing new.

By this point in Smallville's run, Lex Luthor had played the, "Well, but maybe I'm just a good guy who's done some questionable things," card too many times, usually coupling it with a, "I'm the way I am because my dad sucks," that got just as tired. Unfortunately, this makes the better parts of Lex's fantasy life - his desire to have a stable family, open and honest friendships, the trust of the Kents, the love of the town, and everything else he couldn't manage to earn in reality - feel stale. It's hard to believe he might actually be capable of being this guy because he's already turned away from that path so many times. Still, it's a brilliant look at his psychosis, especially when we see that even when everything's perfect, he firmly believes the bottom has to drop out. This is a man who is 100% convinced that he cannot achieve happiness through love. Not the warmest of holiday revelations, but an honest moment for the character.

The Lex-has-been-shot subplot, where Lionel Luthor goes to extreme measures to ensure that his son will not be crippled by his injuries even if it means he will not survive, is forgettable. The episode would not have suffered if it had been cut.

Then, of course, there's my favorite bit: Clark playing Santa. Literally. What I loved most about the fifth season of Smallville was Chloe finally knowing Clark's secret. Their friendship became something really firm and beautiful as a result, and it also allowed for fun little moments like this. Was it cheesy? Yes. Especially when real Santa enters the picture. But it's my kind of cheese, and I embrace it without shame.

As would be the case with any reverse It's A Wonderful Life (clearly, I've decided to make that a thing), our shiny-headed compatriot does not get a happy ending. Having survived his ordeal, Lex calls his contact and instructs him to knock Jonathan Kent out of the race by any means necessary. It's meant to be a symbolic moment - the younger Luthor is finally embracing his dark side. But again, it feels like we've already been there. A few times. It robs the gesture of some of its power.

But then we hit that final shot and can't help but feel a little haunted.

Merry Christmas.

No highlights this time around, as we're 10 minutes away from midnight and I want to get this up. See you tomorrow!

CDog's Guide To Holiday Programming, Day 2 (Or, It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...in Pawnee)

From an alien spaceship hovering over London to the Pawnee Parks & Rec Department, welcome to day 2 of CDog's Guide to Holiday Programming.

24. Christmas Scandal - Parks and Recreation, 2009

Photo Credit: NBC

After a very brief first season that showed several glimmers of potential but failed to really explode, NBC's Parks and Recreation - a sitcom about a quirky group of government employees in fictional Pawnee, Indiana shot in the documentary style popularized by The Office - made some adjustments and came back with a vengeance, earning a reputation as a fan favorite.

"Christmas Scandal," is not only a successful holiday special; it's also just a solid half hour of television. Part of what makes Parks and Recreation so good is that each cast member pulls his or her own weight in every scene without trying to take it over, and this episode is a prime example of that.

The first season fell a little flat in tone. Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope seemed too clueless to ever become genuinely endearing, and the supporting cast's laughing behind her back shtick edged on mean-spirited and would never have made for enduring entertainment. "Christmas Scandal," helps erase almost all memory of that high school humor as Leslie accidentally becomes caught up in a small town political scandal. Her team is forced to take over her duties while she deals with the situation and comes to appreciate just difficult her job really is. It's a message that's delivered subtly as a backdrop to the hilariously sensationalized scandal plot, which helps downplay the cheese factor.

This episode also marks the departure of Louis C.K.'s Officer Dave and takes a couple of nice moments to spotlight the adorableness that is April's burgeoning crush on Andy, two events that help set up the second half of the season and keep the episode relevant to the continuity of the show.

Even the least entertaining thread - Mark's celebration of his perfect Christmas gift for Ann , a less than minor subplot that feels a little unrealized - generates a few laughs, albeit from Aziz Ansari's Tom Haverford. Unfortunately, Paul Schneider's role - first as a sort of love interest, then as the straight man who deadpanned to the camera and shook his head at the madness - never really clicked. The character departed Pawnee after the second season, making way for Adam Scott's less bland Ben Wyatt.

Highlights:

1) The Pawnee City Government Follies. Such a great opening. Almost as good as the skits we do hear are the ones we only see brief glimpses of.

2) Jim O'Heir's long-suffering Jerry Gergich, who you can't help but laugh at and feel bad for all at the same time.

3) Aubrey Plaza underselling April's crush on Andy, making the reveal of her gift to him at the end even cuter.

4) Donna. All the time.

5) "April, I appreciate that, but I don't think it's something worth losing your virginity over."

6) Andy. The transition from lazy rocker to dopey shoeshiner really worked very strongly in Chris Pratt's favor.

7)  "I ship out in four days." "Oh my God. Where are you going?" "San Diego." "Oh my God."

8)  Mo Collins, who continues to make every Joan Callamezzo appearance memorable.

9) The world's greatest public forum.

10)  The credits, which are usually reserved for a parting joke, but in this case quietly follow Leslie's return to the office and highlights her coworkers' newfound respect and affection for her. A simple and heartwarming little scene.

"Christmas Scandal" is available to stream on Netflix under the Season 2 tab.

CDog's Guide to Holiday Programming, Day 1 (Or, Rude and Not Ginger)

Happy December, friends!

It's been awhile. Over a month, in fact. I'm going to skip the super long explanation by simply telling you that I spent my November doing this for the 3rd year in a row and that the idea of writing any extra words over here in addition to the 50,000 I committed to there would have given me a case of the crazies.

However, now it's December, and with it comes Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the solstice, and I'm sure plenty of other holidays I don't even know about. Regardless of what you believe or how you worship, there's a little something extra in the air this time of year - a magic that makes you happy to be alive and thankful for who and what you have. Of course, there's usually something a little extra on the airwaves too, and with that horrible play on words, we've reached this month's theme.

Most television shows roll out a holiday episode at least once. Some warm the heart, some turn the stomach, and others are simply forgettable. Over the next 25 days (well, 24 - I'm a little late to the game, but I'll double up one day), I'll share my personal favorite holiday-themed small screen adventures. If you're lucky, I may also give some tips on what to avoid.

Let's get started, shall we?

25. The Christmas Invasion -Doctor Who, 2005

After the thrilling events of the first season finale of the beautifully revamped British sci-fi classic Doctor Who - an episode that gave us the answer to the Bad Wolf mystery and bid a sad goodbye to Christopher Eccleston's battle-scarred but brilliantly goofy northern Ninth Doctor - viewers had to wait just over 6 months to meet the skinny brown-haired fellow who had dramatically appeared in his place. Even then, it would be almost another 40 minutes before they'd get to know him properly.

Though The Christmas Invasion is the debut of a Doctor, the episode really belongs to Billie Piper's Rose Tyler. As the last of the Time Lords lies unconscious, recovering from his recent regeneration, his companion is left alone to try and make sense of what's happened. When an alien threat emerges on Christmas and there is no Doctor to save the day, it's Rose who has to decide to rise to the occasion, making a last stand that, while futile, is no less bold. It's a huge turning point for the character as she actively decides to stop being helpless and start being the stuff of legend.

And then, right at the 39 minute and 30 second mark, the doors of the TARDIS swing open and there stands a man, asking, with a smile, "Did you miss me?" Within minutes, it became clear that Ten would be my Doctor, and I've yet to love a single season of Who more than his first.

The Christmas Invasion sets up the dynamic of the second season very nicely. Rose needed to realize that she could stand on her own without the Doctor so that she could evolve into being more of his equal, and allowing that to happen before we met the new old man in the TARDIS was a smart decision. It also marked the beginning of a new tradition: every year since, there has been a Doctor Who special on Christmas Day.

Highlights:

1) The opening shot of the episode echoes that of Rose, the first episode of the first season of new Who. A nice welcome back.

2) Jackie wistfully sitting with the present she's gotten for Rose. The last time she saw her daughter, she was headed to what very likely could have been her death. A simple moment that reminds us just how strong and devoted Jackie is, something she proves again and again.

3) The gleeful, "London! Earth! The solar system! I did it!"

4) Killer Santas. Somehow creepy and hilarious all at once. Not the first time we'll see them, but
definitely the best.

6) Rose's simple, "Help me!" in the Doctor's ear being enough to (temporarily) revive him, and Ten's two minutes of badassery before he passes out again - a sign of things to come. It's a moment that really drives home who these people are to each other, in case there were any lingering doubts.

7) Harriet Jones. Everything about you, the good and the bad.

8) Ten. From 39:30 on, everything is gold. From, "Am I ginger?" to "I DON'T KNOW!" to the Lion King reference and the threatening button moment, he dominates and lets us know exactly who we're going to be spending our time with for the foreseeable future.

9) The Doctor, newly dressed, stepping through the Tylers' front door and joining Jackie, Rose, and Mickey. This is something that Nine never would have done, and it was the one thing about him that bothered me - the moment, at the end of World War Three in the first season, when he blows Jackie off. I understood why he did it, but I never liked it. This is a Doctor that has healed enough to sit down with a family and be a part of things - or, at the very least, sit down with this family.

10) The shy exchange between the Doctor and Rose as he wonders if she still wants to travel with him while she wonders if he still wants her to. The hand hold. The echo of Nine's, "Fantastic." The plans for the future. All a good start to a brilliant season.

You can currently stream The Christmas Invasion on Netflix under Doctor Who, Season 2.

Stuff I Like, Vol. 1 (Or, Look At These Cool Things, Vol. 1)

So my last post skewed toward the negative. I make no apologies - it was how I was feeling at the time. However, to keep the universe in balance, I decided to devote this one to the positive with the first installment of what I hope will become a semi-regular feature: Stuff I Like.

Basically, the interweb has enabled creative people to put their stuff out into the universe for public consumption really easily. I'm constantly discovering new purveyors of awesomeness I didn't know existed through things like Kickstarter, TeeFury (as well as shirt.woot and other community designed shirt printers), Etsy, etc., and like most people, my natural inclination is to take the rad things I discover and share them with other people who may enjoy them. So here you go.

I discovered the magic that is Kickstarter earlier this year through a link on Twitter, and it has steadily become my new favorite thing ever. The site gives all sorts of people - artists, musicians, filmmakers, and various other entrepreneurs - the opportunity to reach out to the online community in order to obtain funding for their projects, often with the option of receiving different exclusive thank you gifts based on the amount of the contribution. A fundraising goal is given for each project, along with a set amount of time for that goal to be reached. Backers don't get charged until the end date, and only if the fundraising goal is met.

Part of what makes this such a cool thing is the opportunity to connect in a pretty intimate way with people and/or projects that mean something to you. The first project I backed is a documentary that Colin Hanks is making about the rise and fall of Tower Records. Tower Records stores played a huge part in my youth - I discovered a lot of new music there, got my first Buffy The Vampire Slayer VHS boxed set there (highlights from season 1 - that's how they did it in the days before full seasons on DVD, kids), killed all sorts of time while my mom shopped at other far less interesting stores...basically, Tower - and physical record stores in general, which are becoming more and more scarce - means a lot to me. So I became a financial backer, the project got funded, and I started making it a habit to check out what's going on over at Kickstarter on a regular basis, which brings me to my first couple of picks.

1) Teagueduino

Teagueduino is an open source electronic board and interface created by Seattle-based Teague that allows the user to create various electronic apparatuses without having to solder or know how to write electronic code. Light-controlled alarm clocks? Magnetic field meters? Robots? Teaguedino can help you make them all, regardless of skill level, while helping you get in touch with your inner tech-nerd and learn the basics of programming and embedded development.

As someone who loves tech and has fun building things but could never even hope to understand how to code, I liked the whole idea behind Teagueduino, as well as its potential as a tool to teach and maybe help some creative but technophobic people step outside of their comfort zones.

For more info., check out the Teague and Teagueduino sites.

2) Lust for Love

Lust for Love is an independent film written and (hopefully) directed by Anton King. It came to my attention through the Whedonverse - Dollhouse alums Fran Kranz, Dichen Lachman, and Maurissa Tancharoen (who has also written for and performed in other Whedon projects, such as Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and the current run of Dollhouse comics) are among the cast members.

It's kind of impossible to say that a movie is going to be really awesome before it fully exists and can be seen, but I'm a fan of a lot of the people involved in this project and a supporter of independent film in general. I mean, in a world where seven Saw movies exist, surely we can scrape together $70,000 so that these guys can make their movie too. One you can watch without having to worry about anybody getting thrown into a pit of hypodermic needles, thus making you ill and giving you waking nightmares every time you think about it. Not that I'm talking about me.

Lust for Love hasn't hit its fundraising goal yet, but there are still 22 days left. Check out their Kickstarter page here and consider making a contribution. There are a lot of cool donation rewards still available.

Also, another cool thing about Kickstarter (I know, if I love Kickstarter so much, why don't I marry it?) is that even if a fundraising goal is reached, backers can continue to contribute to the total until the deadline. Overflow often gets used to improve the project, help it expand, cover miscellaneous costs. Whatever. As a backer, you usually get regular updates on the things you've funded, and most creators explain where the extra cash goes.

NOW, to the realm of Etsy, where crafty folks open online shops just for you!

3) foreignspell

My friend Niki, with whom I attended both high school and college, just opened up her shop on Etsy and has filled it with her lyrical illustrations - really awesome and creative designs that have song lyrics incorporated, beautifully melding her love of both music and art.

Many of her designs are customizable. She's got stationary, art pieces, and more. Check out her shop and be sure to leave feedback!

That's all I've got for you this time, folks. Thanks for reading and, hopefully, learning. Feel free to share some of the Stuff You Like in the comments and link to it.

Comprehensive Guide to Who, Part 2 (Or, Old Stuff Is Awesome Too)

Classic Who: US Releases (last updated: 10/3/11)

The following is a comprehensive list of all classic Doctor Who serials that have been released in the United States (Region 1 DVDs), in the order in which they originally aired. The "Lost In Time" sets contain surviving fragments of episodes from the Hartnell and Troughton years that were destroyed.

Not included: Titles whose US release dates have not been announced, as well as the episodes from the Hartnell and Troughton eras that were destroyed.

NOTE: I have not cross-referenced this list with what is available on Netflix, either via Instant or on disc. It is highly possible that a number of these titles are DVD only, or not available at all.

NOTE 2: The years listed after each actor mark the duration of their time as the Doctor. I feel this is fairly obvious, but would not want to leave you with the impression that the performers were both insanely young and quite ill-fated. As it stands, all Doctors are currently living, save for the first three: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, and Jon Pertwee.

So ends my very official, fact-filled message.

First Doctor – William Hartnell: 1963 - 1967

An Unearthly Child
The Daleks
The Edge of Destruction

(Note: Netflix has these in the “Beginnings” boxed set. Be warned: Disc 1 is “The Daleks” and disc 3 is “An Unearthly Child.” No, I don’t understand why either.)

The Keys of Marinus
The Aztecs
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Rescue
The Romans
The Web Planet
The Space Museum
The Chase
The Time Meddler
Lost in Time: William Hartnell – contains surviving parts of:
- The Crusade
- The Daleks’ Master Plan
- The Celestial Toymaker
The Ark
The Gunfighters
The War Machines

Second Doctor – Patrick Troughton: 1967 - 1969
Lost in Time: Patrick Troughton – contains surviving parts of:
- The Underwater Menace
- The Moonbase
- The Faceless Ones
- The Evil of the Daleks
- The Abominable Snowmen
- The Enemy of the World
- The Web of Fear
- The Wheel in Space
- The Space Pirates

The Tomb of the Cybermen
The Dominators
The Mind Robber
The Invasion
The Seeds of Death
The War Games

Third Doctor – Jon Pertwee: 1970 - 1974

Spearhead From Space
Doctor Who and the Silurians
Inferno
Terror of the Autons
The Claws of Axos
Day of the Daleks
The Curse of Peladon
The Sea Devils
The Mutants
The Time Monster
The Three Doctors
Carnival of Monsters
Frontier in Space
Planet of the Daleks
The Green Death
The Time Warrior
The Monster of Peladon
Planet of the Spiders

Fourth Doctor – Tom Baker: 1974 - 1981

Robot
The Ark in Space
The Sontaran Experiment
Genesis of the Daleks
Revenge of the Cybermen
Planet of Evil
Pyramids of Mars
The Brain of Morbius
The Seeds of Doom
The Masque of Mandragora
The Hand of Fear
The Deadly Assassin
The Robots of Death
The Talons of Weng-Chiang
Horror of Fang Rock
The Invisible Enemy
Image of the Fendahl
The Sunmakers
Underworld
The Invasion of Time
The Key to Time – set includes:
- The Ribos Operation
- The Pirate Planet
- The Stones of Blood
- The Androids of Tara
- The Power of Kroll
- The Armageddon Factor

Destiny of the Daleks
City of Death
The Creature From the Pit
The Horns of Nimon
The Leisure Hive
Meglos

The E-Space Trilogy – includes:
- Full Circle
- State of Decay
- Warriors’ Gate

The Keeper of Traken
Logopolis

Fifth Doctor – Peter Davison: 1982 - 1984

Castrovalva
Four to Doomsday
Kinda
The Visitation
Black Orchid
Earthshock
Time-Flight
Arc of Infinity
Snakedance

Black Guardian Trilogy – includes:
- Mawdryn Undead
- Terminus
- Enlightenment

The King’s Demons
The Five Doctors
Warriors of the Deep
The Awakening
Frontios
Resurrection of the Daleks
Planet of Fire
The Caves of Androzani

Sixth Doctor – Colin Baker: 1984 - 1986
The Twin Dilemma
Attack of the Cybermen
Vengeance on Varos
The Mark of the Rani
The Two Doctors
Timelash
Revelation of the Daleks

The Trial of a Time Lord – set includes:
- The Mysterious Planet
- Mindwarp
- Terror of the Vervoids
- The Ultimate Foe

Seventh Doctor – Sylvester McCoy: 1987 - 1989
Time and the Rani
Paradise Towers
Delta and the Bannermen
Remembrance of the Daleks
Silver Nemesis
Battlefield
Ghost Light
The Curse of Fenric
Survival

Eighth Doctor – Paul McGann: 1996

Doctor Who: The Movie