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Tonight's My Boys Finale Ends With Another Cliffhanger

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:30:50 -0700

If you've been watching My Boys on TBS for all three of its seasons, you've probably noticed that each season ends with a cliffhanger of some kind, and according to the show's star, Jordana Spiro (P.J.), tonight's cliffhanger is "far and away" her favorite one. The gang heads to Arizona for the Cubs' Spring training and P.J. tries to get a fresh, interesting story for her column. To get these scenes, apparently Spiro and a camera operator walked around the stadium and Spiro interviewed random people in character as P.J.

There's the possibility that P.J. and Bobby will "take the next step" in their relationship tonight, though I sort of hope they don't - I like watching their relationship gradually grow. Another thing I like: the snarky teasing between Stephanie and Kenny (who had quite the night in last season's finale!), who are so clearly into each other. I wonder if something else will happen with them tonight?

What do you think of this show? Have you been watching this season? For a sneak peek at tonight's finale, read more.

Photos courtesy of TBS

PJ's Back With All Her Boys on TBS Tonight

BuzzSugar — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:30:41 -0700

I may have disliked this show at first (waaaaaay back in '06!) but I ended up tuning in for its second season and somehow the characters on My Boys grew on me like barnacles. The cast members seem to be more comfortable with each other, making for a relaxed playfulness that I think was missing from this gang of buddies in season one. The last season ended with a great cliffhanger (not to mention some episodes set at a gorgeous winery that gave me total travel envy) and I'm excited to see what season three has to offer.

Plus, I've missed Jim Gaffigan on my TV every week.

I recently took part in a conference call with Jordana Spiro, who plays PJ on the show, and she promised big changes for PJ, Stephanie, and each of the "boys." She also talked about the major change we can expect to see in PJ's life - real, steady relationship with a guy.

Will you tune into My Boys tonight? To check out a clip from tonight's premiere and a four-minute video recap of the last season, read more.

Season premiere sneak peek:

If you didn't see all of the second season, or would like a quick refresher, here's a four-minute recap:

Photo courtesy of TBS

My Boys Returns to TBS Tonight

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:36:22 -0700

So I've made it clear in the past that the TBS comedy My Boys is not exactly my favorite thing ever. But it's possible that the show is growing on me. A little. Maybe. Last Summer, I went a little easier on My Boys when its second batch of episodes made me laugh harder and cringe less, and I admit I'm curious to see what happens when the show returns tonight at 9:30 p.m. EDT and PDT.

For one thing, My Boys has apparently ditched the obnoxious sports metaphors that used to pepper main character PJ's every voiceover. Now, I like sports just fine, but as a metaphor for life, the device wore thin after about four minutes. I'm thrilled to know that the writers are now letting PJ (played by Jordana Spiro) just, you know, talk. The cast was always fairly charming, but it sounds like they're now getting material that warrants good performances. And I have to give the show's marketing folks credit for coming up with a My Boys-themed Facebook application that works like that old game of MASH (as in Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House). Nothing promotes the show's "every(wo)man" image quite like dredging up my favorite game from fourth grade!

Tonight's episode picks up with PJ and a mystery date on a trip to Italy. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew is back in Chicago, getting into all sorts of shenanigans of their own without PJ to guide them. Will you be watching? To check out a promo, just read more.

Photo courtesy of TBS

TNT and TBS: The Official Networks of Strong Women?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:44:25 -0700

I got a promotional e-mail today touting the Summer programming lineups on TNT and TBS. As I scrolled through looking for a return date for The Closer (July) and a start date for Raising the Bar (September), a banner at the bottom caught my eye:

"Kyra Sedgwick, Holly Hunter, Laura San Giacomo, Jordana Spiro, Nancy Travis, Jane Kaczmarek, and Gloria Reuben are just a few of the strong women coming to TNT and TBS this summer."

And they have good reason to spotlight that: Of the five series featured in the e-mail, only one (The Bill Engvall Show on TBS) has a male character in the lead. The rest are either female-led or have women in the majority of the starring roles: My Boys on TBS and all three of TNT's dramas, The Closer, Saving Grace, and the new series Raising the Bar. And, what's more, three of those four series have leading ladies over the age of 40 - a relative rarity in Hollywood.

I'm not sure if TNT and TBS set out to become networks full of programming featuring women who are tough, quirky, and relatable (and succeeding in roles typically earmarked for men, at that), but regardless, I find it encouraging that it's happened. They aren't the only networks in this game; FX's Damages drew a ton of acclaim with Glenn Close in its leading role. I just like the fact that these networks see their roster of shows with older, female stars not as a risk but as something to be celebrated. What's your take?

TV Tonight: "My Boys" Returns

BuzzSugar — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 09:30:00 -0700

Okay, I know that last year I kinda hated on the TBS original comedy "My Boys." A lot. And I maintain that it's obnoxious to say that being a laid-back, funny, down-to-earth girl with a few guy friends necessarily means that you can't get a boyfriend because guys are, according to this show, thoroughly turned off by confident girls who like sports. Plus, the show, all about a woman named PJ who writes for the sports section of the Chicago Sun-Times was deeply fond of using sports puns to reflect the action, which is rarely interesting and especially grating after the zillionth time ("Sometimes you just strike out!").

However, I have to admit that having seen the first few episodes of this next season, which starts tonight on TBS at 10:00 PM, the show has improved. For starters, they've given the character of Stephanie (played by Kellee Stewart), PJ's one girly friend more screen time, more dimension and far more funny lines than she ever had before, which is a pleasant surprise. I shocked myself by actually laughing out loud at some of Stephanie's lines. For another thing, they did well to bring in some new comedians, such as Nicole Sullivan who you probably know mostly from "Mad TV" and Sierra Mist commercials, and there's even a funny cameo by "30 Rock"'s Jack McBrayer in the second episode. And they did reduce the number of sports puns to a just mildly annoying degree.

I don't know that this will become one of my regular shows to catch, but I will begrudgingly cease to ridicule it quite so much. You can watch all 13 episodes of the first season on the "My Boys" website before the new season begins tonight.

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What to TiVo: Thursday

BuzzSugar — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:50:16 -0700

Fox is new with Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and So You Think You Can Dance
NBC is new with Last Comic Standing and Fear Itself
CBS is new with Greatest American Dog, has a repeat of CSI, and is new with Swingtown
ABC has repeats of Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy and is new with the documentary series Hopkins
The CW has repeats of Smallville and Supernatural
Bravo is new with Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
TBS is new with The Bill Engvall Show and My Boys
USA is new with Burn Notice
MTV is new with Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew
VH1 has VH1 Rock Honors
Comedy Central is new with The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report
Late-night highlights include Ricky Gervais and John Mellencamp on Late Show with David Letterman on CBS, David Spade, Jordana Spiro, and Coldplay on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC, and Aaron Eckhart, Caroline Rhea, and Dr. Dog on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on NBC

What to TiVo: Wednesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:50:40 -0700

Fox is new with So You Think You Can Dance
NBC is new with Deal or No Deal and Celebrity Circus
CBS has repeats of Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY
ABC has repeats of Wife Swap and Supernanny
The CW has a repeat of America's Next Top Model and is new with Farmer Wants a Wife
MTV is new with The Real World
VH1 has 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s
TBS has Tyler Perry's House of Payne
Bravo is new with the Top Chef Chicago reunion
Comedy Central is new with The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report
Late-night highlights include Martha Wainwright on Late Show with David Letterman on CBS, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kaitlyn Doddridge, and Against Me! on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC, and Mike Myers and Jordana Spiro on Late Night With Conan O'Brien on NBC

What to TiVo: Friday

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 23:34:41 -0700

Fox has a repeat of "Bones" and is new with "Standoff"
NBC has repeats of "1 vs. 100," "Las Vegas" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"
CBS has repeats of "Ghost Whisperer," "Jericho" and "Numb3rs"
ABC is new with the premiere of "Set for Life," followed by new episodes of "Greek" and "20/20"
The CW is new with "Friday Night SmackDown"
USA is new with "Monk" and "Psych"
VH1 is new with "Best Week Ever"
TLC is new with "What Not to Wear" and "A Model Life"
The N is new with "Degrassi: The Next Generation" and "The Best Years"
E! is new with "The Soup"
FX has a repeat of "Rescue Me"
Late-night highlights include Julia Stiles on "Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS, Rob Schneider on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on ABC, Glenn Close on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on NBC, and Kevin James and Jordana Spiro on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" on NBC

Soapbox: What's the Matter With "My Boys"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 11:49:43 -0800

Because I went to journalism school in Chicago and have lots of guy friends, I was excited to watch the new show "My Boys," which airs Tuesday nights at 10 on TBS. The show follows a sportwriter named PJ (played by Jordana Spiro), who lives in Chicago, writes for the Sun-Times, and has a pack of close guy friends. It sounded right up my alley.

But after seeing the first two episodes, I've mostly just been nothing but annoyed and frustrated by this show. Many reviewers have compared "My Boys" to "Sex and the City," since the protagonist is a writer who provides continuous narration about her love life. But in this case, the narration is in the form of relentless sports comparisons, i.e. "Love is like baseball". According to "My Boys" creator Betsy Thomas, the show is meant to be a kind of "Sex and the City" for women who don't always relate to the super-feminine characters on that show. In an interview on Zap2it.com, Thomas says

"I love sports and sort of begrudgingly wear makeup, and I have a weekly poker game, and I think when I first wrote this, I felt very alienated by a lot of the women portrayed on TV."

But in attempting to offer up a less cliched version of "Sex and the City," the writers for "My Boys" have just dug those cliches deeper and deeper. For the rest of my rant, read more

Instead of the age-old romance issues that Carrie Bradshaw struggles with in "Sex and the City" (namely, the Mars versus Venus conundrum), PJ's problem is that she's too much like a guy, and this, apparently, isn't sexy. The thing that is hard to understand, however, is what could be NOT sexy about PJ. She's physically attractive, intelligent, straightforward, and assertive. She doesn't seem to like playing relationship games. She loves sports, poker, and beer. She is, it would seem, a dreamboat.

But on the show, these traits are a major problem. In one scene in which PJ is trying to make out with love-interest Bobby (Kyle Howard), he wants to slow down and just talk. He then freaks out, saying that "the girl" is supposed to be the one who wants to slow things down. Really? I thought guys liked it when women see what they want and go for it.

And then there's PJ's one girlfriend, Stephanie (Kellee Stewart), who exists solely to provide the "girly" voice in this masculine world. She is the quintessential caricature of girliness, to the point where I wonder what on earth she could possibly have in common with PJ. Opposites may attract, but how would these two get through a conversation in real life without becoming disgusted with one another? For a show that seems to be reaching for refreshingly real, this friendship is laughably unrealistic.

Yet overall, the reviews for this show have not been as bad as I would have expected, and this is surprising. What am I missing? Is the appeal simply that PJ is a new, different character on TV, giving voice to all the women who were called tomboys growing up? The good thing I will say about this show is that, unlike of every other movie or TV show in which the woman is too masculine/plain-looking/forward/loud and changes to be more attractive to men, PJ hasn't (yet) compromised her values or her personality to be more pleasing to her love interest. That's one less "foul ball" for this show, I suppose.

Have you guys watched "My Boys"? What did you think?

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