I’m going to start off this post by saying that I never had any interest in Law and Order, or any versions of CSI. I’ve watched a few episodes here and there, and decided early on that those type of shows weren’t for me. That’s why I never really tried out Criminal Minds, because I labeled it, in my head, as “another one of those cop shows”. However, when summer approached this year,  I’d spent nights flipping through television channels as I enjoyed having the house to myself. I’d never been able to find anything worthwhile to watch, and I noticed that A&E was marathoning the show for hours on end a few times a week. So, I decided to watch some episodes.

It’s about a month and a half  later, and I’ve just finished watching the season finale of the most recent season. I’ve completely fallen in love with the show, the characters, the case, the plotines, and the psychology. It’s not just a crime show – it’s all about the psychology of serial killers. It’s not 42 minutes worth of them finding evidence and analyzing DNA. It’s about criminal profilers analyzing every single detail of a disturbing crime scene to determine who a killer is, and what explanations lie behind every move that they have made.

This show has quickly become my second favorite show behind Lost (which will probably never be thrown out of its #1 spot). My favorite characters are definitely the nerdy genius (yet unintentionally attractive, all thanks to the wonderful Matthew Gray Gubler) Dr. Spencer Reid, as well as the tough Emily Prentiss, played by Paget Brewster (you might know her as Kathy from Friends). If you’re someone who doesn’t usually like cop shows, I would try out a couple of episodes. I think it’s the best procedural show I’ve ever seen.

As I mentioned previously, it marathons on A&E every Friday from 7-12 EST, as well as every Saturday and Sunday from 8-11, and again from 12-3.  I would recommend the episodes The Big Game/Revelations(a two part episode), Mosley Lane, Minimal Loss, No Way Out parts 1 and 2, The Fisher King parts 1 and 2, Amplification, 100, Penelope, Lo-Fi/Mayhem, Instincts/Memoriam, Conflicted, Derailed, The Internet is Forever, and Omnivore (based on a real-life serial killer in Canada).

I can’t believe I haven’t posted anything in two weeks. Anyways, I completely blame my teachers for overloading me with assignments – I have an art history paper, a philosophy exam, and a Gym Project and presentation due this week, and next week I have to hand in an English Paper, and I have an Art History exam, among some other little things. I won’t be posting much, but I thought I’d take a moment today to talk about my latest musical obsession: Avenue Q!

I know that this show has been around for years, and some songs (such as “The Internet is For Porn”) are quite popular by themselves, but I just recently started listening to it regularly about a week ago. I also watched a video of the show this weekend, and absolutely loved it. It’s amazing how talented these actors are – being able to manipulate their voices and the puppets and still sound and act amazingly well. It’s such a cute show, but at the same time it sends so many messages.

I really love all the songs in the show, but my personal favorites are:

The Internet is For Porn
My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada
If You Were Gay
You Can Be As Loud As You Want
There is Life Outside Your Apartment
Schadenfreude
What Do You Do With a BA in English/It Sucks to be Me
The Money Song

(This is pretty much half the songs in the show, but they are all really great!)

I would definitely recommend giving them a listen – most of them are up on YouTube, in video form performed by the original Broadway cast.

These girls are beautiful, funny and extremely
talented. Their songs are all so funny, but at the same time they reflect stuff that women actually go through. It’s rare to be people to find women who are funny enough to come out with songs as great as these!

Below I’ve included one of my favorite songs and some links to their other awesome songs.
You could also find more information about them on on their website and Riki’s YouTube Channel.

Garfunkel and Oates sing “Self Esteem” live!

Some other great songs:

My Gay Boyfriend

Me, You & Steve

I Would Never

Sex with Ducks

F*ck You

Present Face

One Night Stand

Skins is an English show that revolves around the lives of teenagers living Bristol who are attending the fictional sixth form college Roundview College. The series recycles its cast every two seasons, since at the end of two years the characters have (for the most part) moved on and gone to university. Every episode also centers on one character in particular (sort of like LOST, but with no flashbacks), although each episode usually tries to include everyone in some way, even if we just see a couple of glimpses of them.

Even though I watch shows like Gossip Girl, that depict a rather glamorous and unattainable form of teenage life, I much prefer Skins because of its blatant realism. Teenagers are shown for what they are: most of us are messed up and confused about who we are and who we want to be. We fall in love several times a week, and we try to make sense of our overwhelming hormones and emotions. We are overwhelmed with the responsibilities that we are starting to face, but resentful of the fact that the world still treats us like children. We dream big, but we’re conflicted about whether or not we should live for the now and risk messing up our lives later on, or give up having fun in the present in order to concentrate for a better tomorrow. Being a teenager is not fun, which is exactly what this show is all about.

One way in which Skins differs from other shows that revolve around teenagers is that the actors are actually teenagers themselves. It’s hard to watch a show like Gossip Girl or The O.C. where the actors are all 25+ and still relate in some way. The creators of the show actually had a limit on the ages of the actors who could audition for the roles, which I believe was either 17 or 18. Joe Dempsie, who played Chris in the First Generation, actually lied about his age to get the role, because he was 19 at the time he auditioned.

Although I believe that it exaggerates teenage behavior (I don’t know anyone who spends that much time drinking, smoking, and having sex), I think this show has definitely nailed the emotional aspect of being a teenager. I think everyone who watches this show can relate to at least one character, especially characters like Emily, Effy, Sid, Cassie, Chris and JJ. Although all the characters are messed up in their own way, they all still have redeeming qualities that make us love them and cheer them on every week. Personally, I relate to both Effy and Jal, even though they are both entirely different characters.

My favorite characters in the show are Tony, Effy (the whole Stonem family is interesting), Chris, Sid, JJ and Emily. I honestly love all the characters on the show, but I would have to say that those six are the ones that I look forward to seeing the most. Especially after last night’s episode, I would have to say that Effy is ultimately my favorite character of the whole series. She is also the only character who has appeared in all four seasons – it’s going to be sad when she leaves with the whole second generation.

Skins is currently in the middle of its fourth season and plays every Thursday night. The episode that aired last night focused on Freddie, while the next two episodes will focus on JJ and Effy. The last episode is not centered on anyone in particular and is called “Everyone”.