twotrey

I'm not really sure what my favorite Rachel/Lea number of all 6 seasons is, but the last few days at the forefront of my mind is "Roots Before Branches"--probably because the scene/song/performance is such a better series finale in terms of closure/emotion/bittersweet/sadness about a conclusion/open-ended hope and optimism at a future of endless possibilities than the one they ended up coming up with.

If they weren't going to give token throwaway lines as to what exactly Puck, Quinn, Santana, Brittany, et al. were up to in 2020, as cliche as it is, I would've been down with them doing the whole "zoom in on one person with text card explaining what happened to him or her" thing during the final number. Actually, a little surprised RIB didn't break out that old convention. (And it could've been fun re: Matt, considering we didn't have much a read on him in season 1, never mind nothing after he "transferred," to have some elaborate fate written out for him. Good seeing Dijon again, though, in "2009"--one of the better jokes this season)

She was pretty chummy with some of the actors and others involved with the show from what I could see, so while that doesn't necessarily mean something's in the immediate works, given the musical bent of the show and her apparent familiarity with involved parties (and not to mention being in the Fox family), I'd put her turning up on the show somehow as a very realistic possibility at some point, somewhere down the line, considering that show looks like it'll have a long run. (Great, now I'm finding myself *needing* to hear her do a duet with Jussie Smollett) Given how terrible this season has been, I'm just glad that with the show nearing the end, we're hearing all the news of most everyone's next moves, which is what I'm more interested in, not whatever twisted mess Murphy and company have in mind for the characters' endings.

It's not as far-fetched as you think. I was at the Empire premiere in Hollywood at the beginning of the month, and who did I see while roaming about the afterparty? Amber.

My favorite takeaway from these two perfectly watchable (a huge compliment for this show these days) episodes? Seeing Dot-Marie Jones upgraded to regular in the credits. (But what's up with the new "Fox presents" pre-title now?)

Admittedly it's not the most organized of sites, but the reasonings are laid out in the *many* pages describing the links between a given pair of shows. Scroll down to "Crossover and Spin Off Alphabetical List" and those articles describing the links (both crossover/spinoff or not) between pairs are listed alphabetically, and it's from there that they were able to come up with the groupings.

I actually got into the whole TV shared universe phenomenon *years* ago through many wasted hours reading this website as it grew over time: http://poobala.com/crossoverlist.html . It doesn't appear to have been updated in a few years, but it offers a good starting point on distinct master groups/universes some shows fall into.

For me, the be all end all is the reveal of Laura Palmer's murder in Twin Peaks, bookended by "The World Spins" performed by Julee Cruise. The opening usage sets the appropriately somber mood that makes the pure horror of what's the follow that much more unnerving, then when the song resumes, just such incredible sadness. For me this is probably the best sequence of television, like, ever, for it still knocks the wind out of me as much today as it did when it aired that Saturday in 1991 (and it's pretty unfathomable to think that this actually aired on broadcast network TV). Needless to say, massive Twin Peaks spoilage in the clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aggTrvJc_gs and, while I'm at it, the late, great Jimmy Scott crooning "Sycamore Trees" in the series finale. And everyone (understandably) bashes Cop Rock, but this was one notable occasion where music/performance/song placement really came together:

One of my favorite instrumental themes, the uber-'80s synthpop of Nightingales (great editing on this open as well, nicely timed to the ebbs and flows of the rhythm... and this show in general was one of my faves. So what if it emphasized the student nurses' aerobics classes and time in the shower room over actual, you know, student nursing? This was Aaron Spelling after all...)

The Banana Splits theme made me think of other kids' show themes I loved. Zoobilee Zoo: 3-2-1 Contact (clip is also about the making of the theme): Today's Special: Robotech: Beverly Hills Teens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-t3NuNl1EU And best of all... Jem (funny how everyone knows this theme song when it was only really used for a handful of episodes; the "Jem Girl" theme was more commonly used): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRyDxEBiQUY

Yes, a shout out since Equal Justice was going to take over the Cop Rock timeslot. Speaking of Cop Rock, I met Peter Onorati a couple of days ago at a film festival, and we had a great conversation about the show. It clearly was a great experience for him (actually, others who were on the show that I've met have only had glowing things to say about the experience), and he enjoyed talking about it, and I got to tell him that for someone who had never sung at all before the show, he ended up being one of the strongest and most distinctive voices (also helped he had the best character). I will go to my grave thinking that show did have some decent songs... alas, the theme song wasn't one of them. (How's that for a segue back to the topic?) Not Randy Newman's best moment by any stretch of the imagination, and watching Barbara Bosson bob her head still cracks my shit up after all these years (though maybe not as much as her tuneless caterwauling during her musical numbers). And speaking of people who had worked on Cop Rock, the show was boring as hell, but I liked how the MyNetworkTV telenovela Desire used Sheryl Crow's "Always on Your Side": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMwcEFOnkbY

One of my favorites... the original, full-length seasons 1-2 version that is, which feels like a completely thought out song, with the breakdown at the end, and I much preferred the general arrangement. Apparently there was a proper, long version of the song recorded that was never released. The shortened, re-recorded version from seasons 3 onward was obviously supposed to "amp it up," so to speak, with the added vocal improvs, but it ended up feeling watered down. I'm an unabashed fan of the Punky Brewster theme. It makes me happy. Some of my true favorites, though, are from short-lived shows. Loved the sultry Crystal Gayle-sung theme to Masquerade (between the song and visuals, obviously going for a faux-Bond vibe): And then probably my all time favorite... the soulful jam that opened Equal Justice: A theme I'm still not sure if I like or loathe... from the short lived medical drama HeartBeat. The wordless, harmonized wails to a backbeat are completely WTF, but they've been ringing in my head for the last 20 or so years.

Opening title sequences are pretty much sadly extinct on TV these days except one place: Spanish language telenovelas. (Is it any wonder that the Spanish language networks seem to be only ones to be gaining viewership these days? heh) Anyway, I adore the opening from this Telemundo novela of a few years ago, Perro Amor. Song is catchy, and whoever decided to make it a full company dance number was truly inspired. Just pure fun and joy for a minute and a half. another favorite for differing reasons, the classy scene-setting opening titles for Televisa/Univision's Pasion:

It was also mentioned that Santana would be joining Mercedes and Brittany on the mall tour when they hit Reno. Overall, not as big of a meh/WTF as last season's finale, but still meh/WTF. It's amazing that it was only two seasons ago this show had (despite season 3's own issues) such a knockout closing scene such as "Roots Before Branches," which for me was quite the emotional powerhouse while also recharging one's investment and excitement about what happens next, which Rachel's tears making way for genuine, hopeful exhilaration when she set foot on the NYC streets. Tonight, I got nothing. When they were all going their separate ways and talking about what a great two years they had, it was like, but you *just* got here?!

That quick zoom from the clock to the calendar at the beginning made the month hard to see, but the month was April 2014. So we are back in real time--that is, assuming that the April 2014 was intentional and not just the second unit shooting whatever calendar they had hanging on the wall at the production offices.