Melissa’s Musings

The final episode of Eastwick aired on ABC last week, overlooked with little promotion and an odd airdate. If my DVR hadn’t been programmed to grab it, I would have missed it, and it looks like only about 3.26 million other people noticed it. Terrible numbers for the end of what should have been at least a moderate hit and …

Have you noticed how the end of the year warrants umpteen lists of the best this and worst that and most whatever? I’m a list-maker by nature, as the other Nice Girls can attest, so this way of recapping a year is one I can get behind. Besides, far be it from me to shirk tradition! Herewith, the 10 most …

Advertisers are constantly trying to come up with the next buzzworthy commercial to promote their product. Few actually hit it, most are just white noise, but now and then there’s a real stinker. Here are few of the most groan-worthy commercials I’ve seen recently. (Yes, despite my love of my DVR, I do still see commercials.) Boost Mobile – Cannibal: …

I wish. In reality I’m preparing for 10 days off work. Normally that time is spent sleeping late, catching up on TV, cleaning out a closet or a junk drawer, oh, and a day or two of celebration with family and friends. This year I’ll get the celebration in, and maybe get to sleep late once, but I have a …

I’m a sucker for a feel-good holiday story. You know those Christmas-themed romance anthologies? Love ’em. Christmas mysteries? Sign me up. Special holiday episodes of my favorite shows? Yes! It should come as no surprise that my DVR works overtime this month, catching all the new cheeseball movies. I mean, where else can you see familiar faces, in between jobs, …

It’s the beginning of Thanksgiving week, a time when it’s considered cool and hip to show your gratitude. In the spirit of the season, here is a list of things that I, a person who watches too much TV, am thankful for. My DVR: how did I call myself a TV watcher before I had a DVR? The freedom to …

Warning: possible spoilers ahead! There’s no shortage of twists, turns, major reveals on our shows, and this season the flashback emerged as a favorite way to show us those big secrets. It also gives the cast and creative team a chance to mix things up with new sets, costumes, and even actors. The Vampire Diaries: In “Lost Girls” Stefan agrees …

A recent Nielsen report on DVR viewing habits, discussed in this New York Times article, shows that 46 percent of the coveted 18-49 demographic still sits through ads when watching shows on DVR. Wait, what? Wasn’t DVR supposed to kill network television because viewers could skip the ads? That was the cry from the networks when DVR usage really took …

Fox decided to pull Dollhouse from the schedule during November sweeps, choosing to air reruns of House in that timeslot instead. What does Fox see as a result? A 62% increase in ratings. With a rerun. (The rerun also trumped ratings for new episodes of Brothers and ‘Til Death, but I don’t watch them so I don’t really care.) I …

My family went to the local amusement park on Saturday, descending on the place en masse. It was me, my mom, 2 brothers, 1 sister-in-law, and 9 nieces & nephews running around riding as many things as we could before the legs gave out. The adults’ legs; the kids were good to go for another 6 hours. Anyway, the park …