Halloween Lives On, on Primetime-On-Demand Cable

Officer Nick Burkhardt (David Guintoli) investigates a crime scene along a jogging trail in the pilot episode of Grimm.

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. I love having an excuse to dress up in costume, savor chocolate (and not feel guilty about it), watch scary movies, and attend parties with friends, giggling at everyone's outrageously creative get-ups.

In my opinion, Halloween should always fall on a Saturday, similar to Thanksgiving, which is always on a Thursday, or Easter, which is always on a Sunday, in part so that children can go trick-or-treating and not worry about it being a school night. It should occur on the last Saturday of October and be combined with the annual “fall backward” time change from daylight savings to standard time, which gives us one hour extra at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning. That way, bars would be given one additional hour to stay open that night – a great pairing with what is actually the second largest income-producing retail holiday of the year.

The Sing-Off

This year, Halloween fell on a Monday, so regularly scheduled primetime Monday shows took advantage of the timing to really go all out with a Halloween theme. More notably, Tvgrrrrl’s favorite talent competition show, The Sing-Off, which airs every Monday on NBC [channel 4 or 1020 here on Brighthouse Cable in Orlando] from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., produced a really spectacular song and dance number featuring several hit creepy tunes: This Is Halloween, Werewolves of London, and Ghostbusters. It was so very well done, better than even some Broadway musicals I’ve seen. Hats off to these talented a cappella performers for making me forget that there is no orchestra, or band of any sort, no bass or drums, just voices creating all those beautiful sounds. The performance occurs at the beginning of the show, so it only takes five minutes to view, just in case you are short on time and can't watch the entire episode. [channel 307]

The Simpsons

Another of my favorite shows, The Simpsons, produced their annual Halloween show, “Treehouse of Horror XXII,” which features three separate gruesome mini-stories. I’ve seen nearly every one of these, and although this wasn’t my favorite over the years (the Edgar Allen Poe and alien episodes are epic), I still enjoyed one segment in particular, featuring Homer, who becomes paralyzed due to a spider bite and learns that he can fart in order to communicate. In typical Simpson’s style, there’s always a bit of a twist to each story, which adds quite a “chunk” of hilarity. [S23Ep3 airing on 10-30] The Simpsons regularly airs on FOX TV at 8 p.m. each Sunday [channel 3 or 1035 here on Brighthouse Cable in Orlando].

In addition to Halloween themed shows, there are also a slew of series with scary themes throughout their season, perfect for watching on cold, dark and dreary, spooky fall nights by the fire.

Grimm

One of the newer shows debuting this season is Grimm, on NBC [channel 4 or 1020 here on Brighthouse Cable in Orlando] airing on Friday nights at 8 p.m. Filmed in and around Portland, Oregon in the dark and drippy rainforest of the Pacific Northwest, the show is really no scarier than Eerie, Indiana, a G-rated creep show which used to air on Saturday mornings. The premise of the show is that police officer Nick Burkhardt (played by super hot David Guintoli) is visited by his Aunt Marie, who is dying of cancer and reveals to him on her deathbed that he is actually a “Grimm,” a special person with the unique ability to see past the disguises of supernatural monsters who pose as humans and walk the earth, committing heinous crimes. Each episode begins with a quote from a fairy tale (not always from Grimm’s Fairy Tales) and the crime committed is somehow related. The first is a twist on Little Red Riding Hood [episode 101] and the second [episode 102], a twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Think X-files meets Fringe, complete with Outer Limits theme music.

American Horror Story

The FX network also features a scary new series, American Horror Story, about a family of three who moves into a house which they later discover is the site of multiple murders, haunted by an active collection of ghosts. It’s a complicated show and written like a soap opera, but is extraordinarily dark and creepy and worth the time to watch. Unfortunately, the pilot episodes are no longer being shown on primetime-on-demand. However, you can catch up beginning with episode 2 here online, quickly, before it also expires. The show regularly airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX [channel 70 or 1283 here on Brighthouse Cable in Orlando].

The SyFy Network

The SyFy network, though primarily known for science fiction and fantasy, is full of freaky/creep shows as part of their regular season’s lineup this fall, including: Ghost Hunters, Fact or Faked, Paranormal Witness, Urban Legends, and Scare Tactics. [channel 69 or 1286 here on Brighthouse Cable in Orlando]

Each of these shows can be found in rerun on Primetime-On-Demand. Here in Orlando, Florida, these are found on Brighthouse channel 304 on digital cable.

TV’s gone to the dogs, or to Wilfred, at least

One of my favorite brand new TV shows this year is Wilfred, a sweet little show about a boy and his dog. They play ball, snuggle, and spend nearly every waking moment together…

Really…

But don’t let this blah description fool you. Wilfred is no ordinary dog. While he looks ordinary to everyone else, to Ryan, an unemployed 30-year old lawyer played by Frodo (Elijah Wood), he looks exactly like a man – a man dressed in an odd curly gray dog suit.

Other than a penchant for smoking pot and cigarettes, Wilfred is amazingly dog-like. He digs holes; romps in his food; pees on trees and fire hydrants; sniffs butts; humps stuffed animals; stares; chases balls, Frisbees, and even the dot generated by a laser pointer. He can talk to other dogs, but is somewhat distrustful, manipulative, and even conniving. He loves any human who dotes on him, no matter how terribly the human functions in “human” society. And he feels anyone who treats him poorly or doesn’t love him to death is somehow sub par, despite how wonderful they may appear to other humans.

Oh yes, and he talks – in perfect English with a distinctive Australian accent, as brilliantly portrayed by "human" actor Jason Gann.

Wilfred is full of advice. Although Ryan, is actually not the “owner” of Wilfred, due to having lost his job, he has a remarkable amount of free time on his hands and has offered to watch Wilfred while his beautiful single neighbor, Jenna (played by Fiona Gubelmann) is at work. Not only does Ryan hang out with Wilfred all day getting high and watching TV, he takes Wilfred on errands with him, including to family functions, parties, the beach, a yard sale, and to visit his mother in the “institution,” where we discover that the apple does not fall far from the tree. In one episode, Ryan even tricks Wilfred into going to the vet.

The show is raw and raucous. It is not even slightly child appropriate and I must admit, I’m shocked it even made it to basic cable TV. Preceding each show is a red seal with the warning: MA (for mature audiences) and additional letters for L (language), V (violence), or S (sexual situations). It’s so adult in nature, you have to enter your birth date in order to view the episodes online.

However, it's also quite intelligent. Each episode begins with a literary quote. And not to promote smoking, a special website has been implemented to assist fellow dog owners with dogs who cannot kick the habit: mydogsmokes.com

Originally airing in Australia in 2007, the show was remade here in the United States and premiered on June 23 this summer, but after completing it’s season last week, only reruns are now being shown.

This is the perfect time to catch up on “Wilfred” since the first episodes will be shown in order beginning on Saturday night (actually Sunday morning) on FX channel 70 on Brighthouse Cable networks:

• 12:30 am Saturday night -- Episode 1, “Happiness”
• 1:00 am Saturday night -- Episode 2, “Trust”
• 3:30 am Sunday morning -- Episode 1, "Happiness"
• 4:00 am Saturday night -- Episode 2, “Trust”

The following weekend continues with episodes 3 and 4.

Due to my busy work schedule, I have been watching re-airings on my on-demand Brighthouse cable channel 304. Fortunately, this is one show where the viewer does not necessarily need to follow a soap-opera-like, “miss one episode and you’re screwed” story line. With the exception of the season ender, episode 13, “Identity,” If you pick it up in the middle of the season, you’ll enjoy almost as much as if you’ve seen every single episode.

A complete episode guide and character rundown is found online on the official Wilfred website here at the Episode Guide. Videos of the last three episodes are found online here: Videos.

Wilfred is so nutty and full of surprises, there's never a dull moment. Be prepared to be shocked. I was and it takes a lot to shock tvgrrrrl.

Reminded of “What If’s?” inThere's Something About Mary

Ted and Mary awkwardly date after reuniting as adults after 13 years since high school. In the end, the guy gets the girl, and the girl gets her knight in shining armor.

This week, hidden among the complex menu of the “On Demand” TV shows is the movie, “There’s Something About Mary.”

TV On Demand
Channel: 304 Brighthouse Orlando
Network: FX
Movies: About Mary

Originally released in 1998, the movie speaks of the eternal unrequited love it seems we all carry buried within our hearts. While in high school, a dorky young man, Ted, falls for Mary, a radiantly beautiful girl, and though he manages to win her over through his valiant defense of her disabled brother, a romantic relationship never truly comes to fruition. The two go their separate ways until thirteen years later, when Ted bravely decides to hire a private investigator and get in touch with Mary to see where life has taken her and “what if,” by chance, there’s still some spark – and some chance -- between them. Despite believing that she now has four children with different fathers, weighs 250 lbs, and is on her way to get married in Japan, he is still determined to go with his heart and seek her out in Miami. Now, that’s love, baby! Writers Ed Decter and John Strauss’s plot is one that even William Shakespeare would have been proud to have written.

There’s really nothing to pick apart in this movie.

From a girl’s point of view, it’s a winner on the romantic, teary eyed, “that’s so sweet,” point of view. Face it girls, we all want to be Mary. We all want to be “that girl,” the girl who everyone is in love with, from superstar Brett Favre to the pizza delivery man. We all secretly hope for a knight in shining armor: a wonderful guy out there who’s been harboring an obsession over us for a dozen years who’s willing to fight for us.

From a guy’s point of view, the movie offers over-the-top hilarity in every scene – from the zipper incident, to the jail cell, to the mistaken hair gel – to the subtle comedic details, such as the family portrait featuring Mary’s Dad in a giant afro. Men like the idea that Ted is an “average” guy, that he makes mistakes, takes bad advice, is far too trusting, and really isn’t special in any way shape or form other than simply being “a nice guy.” Despite his average appearance and mid career “haven’t-gotten-there-yet” stage in life, he “gets the girl” in the end, anyway.

The cast is thoughtfully chosen and packed to the brim with comedic talent, with Cameron Diaz as Mary; Ben Stiller as Ted; Matt Dillon as sleezy private detective Pat; Lee Evans as the crippled architect; Lin Shaye as golden girl Magda; W. Earl Brown as Mary’s brother Warren; and Chris Elliott as hive-struck Dom. More familiar faces pop up in each scene. Even Magda's dog Fluffy is adorable!

The music score is well derived, and cleverly complemented by a pair of narrating strumming minstrels, guitarist/singer Jonathan Richman and drummer Tommy Larkins, who change instruments throughout each appearance and become an integral part of the plot at the end of the picture.

Directors Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly (the Farrelly Brothers) have carefully staged each scene to be both entertaining and sweet. The movie is set in picturesquely lush and colorful Miami, FL.

The On Demand movie runs roughly 2 hours and is sprinkled with short commercial breaks, mostly trailers for other comedy movies. On Demand has fewer commercials (knock on polyvinyl chloride plastic) and you have the added advantage of watching it when you want, rewinding, and pausing when needed.