There are just two episodes of The Office left which means that the cast are doing the late-night talk show rounds to promote the show. Last night John Krasinski (sporting a lovely post-Office beard) stopped by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Krasinski introduced the world to lip sync battle; a game that gave both John Krasinski and Jimmy Fallon a chance to show off their best lip sync skills. A range of songs were performed from several genres giving both men the opportunity to try and out emote the other. As with most of the games on Late Night this segment is a lot of fun, especially when you get to the Boyz II Men big finish (involving some clothing removal). There will be swooning.
Archive | May, 2013
TV’s Women of Comedy Shine at the 2013 Met Gala
7 MayLast night the 2013 Met Gala was held in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and while all eyes were on what Beyonce, Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow were wearing, here at TV Ate My Wardrobe we want to highlight what the women of television were wearing. Actresses from both comedy and drama were at the event and as this is meant to be fun night of outlandish and creative fashion we’re going to focus on the women of comedy.
The theme of the night was “Punk” as the Costume of Institute Gala celebrates the opening of Punk: Chaos to Couture; an exhibition examining the impact that punk has had on high fashion from the 1970s to the present day.
It’s a broad theme and as you will see from the variety of outfits and some took this to mean dramatic make-up, whereas others like Miley Cyrus embraced the punk look from head to toe.
Girls creator and star Lena Dunham arrived at the event in Erdem and with designer Erdem Moralioglu in a black floor length gown with a polka dot (!) mesh panel. This panel meant that you could see Dunham’s back tattoo and worked well with the punk theme. The combination of the floral print on the dress and the polka dot is pattern clashing at its best and this is my favorite red carpet look of the night. Both her make-up and hair are simple, opting for smokey eyes that were a bang on trend at the Gala (darker make-up equals punk in the fashion world).
Aubrey Plaza has featured several times on TV Ate My Wardrobe’s “Look of the Week” list for her April Ludgate costumes that I covert and while this outfit isn’t something you would see on Parks and Recreation, it is also one of my favorite ensembles of the evening. Plaza was dressed by Vogue magazine in a Marios Schwab dress with Barbara Bui heels. A dress with a built in cape satisfies my inner superhero and one that sparkles as much as this does is an instant hit.
Zooey Deschanel’s one shouldered Tommy Hilfiger might not automatically suggest anything remotely punk, but her clutch purse featuring an image of a safety pin in hot pink adds a slight punk edge to this classic look. Deschanel doesn’t go for the heavy make-up approach and she’s also ditched her famous bangs for the evening giving a fresh face appeal. Like many others on this red carpet Deschanel hasn’t fully embraced the theme, but the New Girl star looks elegant with a dash of punk with her purse.
Mindy Kaling (seen above with Mindy Project/The Office co-star B.J. Novak) joked to Popsugar TV that she was the “antitheses of punk” as she couldn’t stop smiling on the red carpet. Kaling also claims that the most punk thing she did when she was growing up was to stay up late to watch Saturday Night Live. This early foray into television comedy has certainly paid off as after a rocky start, The Mindy Project has found its feet and is my favorite new comedy of the year (though sadly it doesn’t have much competition). Kaling embraced the smokey eyes and photos on her Twitter page reveal a close look at her hair and make-up (bonus sparkles). Bold lips and eyes can be hard to pull off, but Kaling does just this. There were a lot of updos but Kaling rocks a textured hair down approach which goes with the make-up and dress choice (you can follow Kylee Heath who did Kaling’s hair on Twitter).
This last addition is cheating a little, but as Taylor Swift is appearing on the New Girl season finale next week her inclusion doesn’t feel too outlandish. Plus she looks really great and different from the usual sweet Taylor that we see on the red carpet. Wearing a black J. Mendel gown with mesh cutouts, Swift is one of the starlets that looks more punk than her usual appearance. This is another example of heavy eyeliner and dark eyeshadow, which was rather ubiquitous at the Gala and it strikes a nice balance with the soft pink lip color. Like Kaling, Swift has gone for ruffled hair and she’s also added a subtle dash of pink to her blond locks.
Mad Men Music Monday
6 MayWe return to “Mad Men Music Monday” with a song that played as we got a look at the Chevrolet lobby in Detroit on this very fun episode of Mad Men. This recalls the caper type atmosphere of the season 3 finale “Shut the Door, Have a Seat” this song worked perfectly to emphasise those elements that are occurring once again. The band Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels points to the car manufacturing headquarters they are visiting and the lyric “I ain’t masochistic but why do I dig the pain?” sums up Don in a rather succinct fashion. “For Immediate Release” is a huge turning point for this season and I’m glad we can associate it with this fun song “Baby Jane (Mo Mo Jane).”
Also this has nothing to do with the music on Mad Men but this gif from “For Immediate Release” might overtake my previous favorite Pete Campbell gif where he dances alone in his office.
Parks and Recreation Season 5 Finale “Are You Better Off?”
3 MayThe Parks and Recreation season 5 finale asks the town of Pawnee “Are You Better Off Than a Year Ago?” This time last year I hadn’t watched any of Parks and Recreation and now it features in my top five shows, so my answer to this question is an emphatic “Yes.” Summer is the time for enjoying warmer weather, but it’s the perfect opportunity to catch up on those shows that everyone is talking about that you somehow missed (there is a project for this year that I will announce soon). Parks and Rec was the 2012 choice (along with copious amounts of the Olympics) and after a bumpy start, I quickly fell in love with these characters and Pawnee.
There are two different types of marathon watches; the show that has finished (I just watched all of The West Wing for the first time recently) and the show that is still on air. Parks and Rec obviously falls into the latter category and that means going from a season in a week to an episode a week. I now also have to suffer through the “will it get renewed?” nerves. Thankfully this Vulture article has soothed any worries I had (and really at this point it’s still a good show for NBC to have despite the low ratings).
Back to the finale now that you’ve had my history of how I started watching this show and while the end of season 5 was perhaps more muted than Leslie’s triumphant victory last year or Li’l Sebastian’s memorial that closed out season 3, it showcased everything that makes Parks and Rec one of the funniest and smartest sitcoms. There’s no other comedy that makes me laugh or get teary as much as this one and that’s because they have created a well rounded group of characters for us to laugh with and cheer on with their endeavors. Each of these characters has progressed from where we left them at the end of season 4, so when Leslie asks this question to the town they can all answer yes even if over 300 people are mad at the changers that Leslie has made and now want to recall her.
April’s story has been the stand out for me as she started the year in Washington D.C. as Ben’s assistant while he worked on a campaign and she’s now been accepted into veterinary school. Animals have always been preferable to April (“I hate people”) and the gradual move towards this career hasn’t felt forced. She still gets to be the same April who suggests burning Rent-a-Swag to the ground for the insurance money, but she also has a career goal to go with the eye rolls and the acerbic wit. April is in a similar position to where Andy was at the end of last season as she strives towards her dream job.
Not everything in Pawnee goes the right way for these characters as Andy remains the optimist with his Bert Macklin persona, but without the police officer role that he wanted so much this year. Is Andy the only one who isn’t better off when it comes to career? Even if he didn’t get his dream job Andy does still have April and he’s more intuitive than his goofy disposition suggests. On a completely different note and it won’t be a huge surprise for anyone who reads this blog, but I also really want April’s shirt in the photo below.
Like April, Tom has improved who he is this year as he opened his own business that has been a roaring success. So much so that there is a mystery person wanting to buy Rent-a-Swag and when Tom turns this person down, they’re now going to set up a rival business across the street. Who is this mystery buyer? Sadly for Tom it’s unlikely to be either Diddy or Jay Z.
Donna is still fantastic and my only gripe is that we don’t get enough of her. Donna is one of the best advice givers on this show, whether it is business related for Tom or which Game of Thrones characters can “get it” (the answer is all of them).
Over this season we have seen Leslie navigate through the many obstacles that a role in politics brings and this was neatly demonstrated at the town hall meeting as we saw a list of gripes against the changes she has implemented in Pawnee. The obesity issue that has been a long running joke (they’ve gone from 4th to 9th most obese town in America) featured heavily and it’s so very wrong that I’m intrigued by the triple decker pancake breakfast pizza that gets mentioned (see also macaroni and cheese pizza). They’re not all bad testimonials and it was good to see Jason Schwartzman and Brandi Maxxx pop up in support of Leslie (Brandi Maxxx was in both Argo and “Our Goo”).
Work is where the struggle is for Leslie as she is in a happy relationship (and the wedding episode/proposal are highlights of season 5) with Ben. Ben reminds Leslie of how much this job means to her and the more she achieves, the more she will anger some people. Leslie’s press conference manages to be both heartfelt and name at least five dance movies I haven’t seen and it is moments like this that show the true genius of Parks and Recreation and Amy Poehler.
The big mystery of the finale is who is pregnant and this is a job for Bert Macklin! Anne teams up with Andy when it soon becomes clear that it’s not her (but she is having lots of ridiculous sex with Chris – who is also the nipple king). I bought the April fake out but the real answer is far juicier. In “Win, Lose, or Draw” Ron told Ben that things worked for Ben and Leslie because they’re the type of people who “like to hold hands and jump off cliffs together.” Ron likes things to stay the same (he owns one bowl and has had the same haircut since 1978) and he emphasizes this point while he’s talking to Andy, right before Diane walks in and changes his life forever. Thanks to the magic of Tumblr you can relive this moment in gif form.
I’m hoping that whatever show I choose as my summer catch-up project brings me as much joy as Parks and Recreation and I will once again reply “Yes” to the question “Are You Better Off Than a Year Ago?”
Out of the Box: Look of the Week
3 MayIt’s “Look of the Week” time! Once again there has been a rich amount of different costumes across various shows this week. This is a snapshot of what I have been watching and each pick is for a variety of reasons including; what it adds to the storyline, what it tells us about the characters involved or simply because it looks good. This week we take a look at a couple of season finales and it is an all female edition. Near misses include the many flashback looks of New Girl and the return of Bert Macklin on Parks and Recreation.
Winner: Alicia Florrick on The Good Wife “What’s in the Box?”
The costume design on The Good Wife is flawless; from Diane’s epic statement jewellery to the tailored perfection of Alicia’s courtroom suits. Daniel Lawson who is the man behind these pieces writes an episode-by-episode column for InStyle and explains how he alters certain outfits and discusses the reasons behind his costume choices. Color is really important on The Good Wife and we have seen red used on multiple occasions to express how Alicia is feeling and this can impact the mood of the scene. Lawson explains that this Antonio Berardi dress was chosen because “Julianna and I didn’t want her to look like the typical candidate’s wife.” It’s a simple black dress with a twist and this is indicative of this final moment where it looks like Alicia is meeting Will, but instead she is making a huge move in regards to her career. Bonus points go to the bold lip color (which I now really want – no surprise there). This was an excellent way to end the season and I cannot wait to see what the costume department brings us with all the change that is coming in season 5.
Runner Up: Megan Draper and Peggy Olson on Mad Men “The Flood”
Every week I could simply write Janie Bryant is a genius as she continues to work her costume magic on Mad Men. In this scene Megan and Peggy are at an awards ceremony and both are in bold patterns that the late 60s is famous for. This isn’t a period for a wallflower when it comes to fashion and even Peggy is embracing the trend. Peggy’s dress is not as fashion forward as Megan’s and she is still playing it safe with bows and flowers. Megan is an actress after all (even though she is up for an advertising award) and so she is wearing the most flamboyant dress of all the female characters we see. It has an I Dream of Jeannie feel and even though these two women clash in both pattern and color there is warmth to this scene and between these two characters. I would love to see more interaction between Peggy and Megan as they could both benefit from a close friendship. The costuming in this moment contrasts with the rest of the episode after the news of Martin Luther King, Jr’s death is announced and the far away place the Megan’s dress evokes is just a fantasy.
Runner Up: Elizabeth Jennings on The Americans “The Colonel”
This is the third week in a row that Elizabeth Jennings from The Americans has featured on the list, but as it is the season 1 finale it felt appropriate for the show with the best wigs and disguises on TV to appear once again. This look is pretty similar to how Elizabeth usually appears, her hair is blonder and those aviators are not something Elizabeth would wear but other than that it’s not an elaborate disguise. It’s on this occasion that Elizabeth is closest to being caught by the FBI and if she had been apprehended it wouldn’t have taken Stan very long to ID her. It’s also fun to see how quick Elizabeth and Philip can shed their disguises and hopefully in season 2 they will show the process of how they become someone else. The Americans is so much more than wigs and costumes, but these aspects add a layer of fun to this spy drama.
Who would you choose as your look of the week?
Taylor Swift’s New Girl Appearance: First Look
2 MayWhen it was announced that Taylor Swift was going to guest star on the New Girl season 2 finale my initial reaction was apprehension as it felt like stunt casting. This isn’t to say that I have anything against Swift (“Red” has been on constant rotation since it was released) and I find her rather fascinating, but my worry was whether she would add anything to New Girl beyond “Oh hey it’s Taylor Swift.” What makes the casting more intriguing is that Swift isn’t playing herself even though she has been referenced a couple of times on the show (Nick dancing to “22” is a sight to behold), instead she’s appearing as a former girlfriend of Cece’s fiancé Shivrang. Entertainment Weekly has got a first look at this guest appearance and it takes place at Cece and Shivrang’s wedding. Spoilers ahead.
Swift’s character is called Elaine and it’s probably not a coincidence that the title of the episode is “Elaine’s Big Day” and Schmidt isn’t the only one planning to sabotage the wedding. Jess is the maid of honor and has her own personal issues to deal with as she is trying to figure out what is going on with Nick (after that HUGE moment this week). It’s a sitcom wedding so expect a mixture of comedy and drama as well as heartfelt declarations.
New Girl creator Liz Meriwether was super complimentary about the singer and tries to reassure viewers about this casting telling Entertainment Weekly “She kind of came and nailed it. We love bringing in guest stars, but we really try to make it feel like they’re part of the show and it’s not just stunt casting.” Meriwether also teases that Swift “did a little bit of a riff on one of her songs.” Please let it be “I Knew You Were Trouble.”
What are your thoughts on Taylor Swift appearing on New Girl?
The Americans Season 1 Finale: Family Matters
2 MayThe Americans is currently holding the title of the best new show of this season (with Hannibal currently in a close second) on TV Ate My Wardrobe and it’s not just because of how wonderful the wigs and costumes are. Last night’s season finale showcased everything that has been good about this freshman season; tension, careful plotting, emotion, an excellent soundtrack and of course those fabulous wigs. I’m pretty sure I have no nails left thanks to the sequence that made it look like Elizabeth would get caught, even if it’s too early for either of the Jennings’ to be caught by the FBI. Thanks to how each mission played out it felt like this could be a possibility and this anxiety increased as Paige became suspicious about her mother’s late night laundry folding activity.
The first half of the episode had Elizabeth and Philip debating which one of them should go to meet the Colonel as they both figured that this meeting could be a set up. As the audience we are in the privileged position of knowing that this isn’t the assignment they should be concerned about (though if Prince breaks in custody then both missions are going to end up with an arrest). Philip and Elizabeth don’t know this of course and each thinks that the other is who should be responsible for the kids; Elizabeth has had weeks of their resentment after the separation and so she thinks they would be better off with their father, Philip has other thoughts and wants Elizabeth to take them.
Family is essentially at the core of what matters in The Americans and when we saw Philip discuss this with Elizabeth in the pilot, it’s a concept that she doesn’t even want to consider as country is her number one priority. As the season has progressed Elizabeth has remained steadfast to the cause, but she has also changed her perspective of what her family means to her. This started when they were taken by the KGB pretending they were FBI and her family was used as a way to break her (Philip got old fashioned torture) and has continued with their evolving marriage. The back and forth with this marriage plot has frustrated some viewers, but it has felt necessary in terms of developing who these characters really are and where their priorities lie.
One scene that really stands out in the finale is when Elizabeth sits alone in the garage of her family home —the location in the pilot where she found out exactly how far Philip would go for her as he killed the man who raped her — and has a very different experience. Here she is curled up listening to a tape from her mother, perhaps the only physical reminder of her family in Russia, talking about the family that Elizabeth has in America and what has been going on at home. It’s heartbreaking because this is all the contact Elizabeth is going to have with her mother and her mother is all too aware of this fact as she mentions the family photo she has been sent “I know I’ll never meet them, but knowing you have them… that makes me happy. They are my family too…” Keri Russell is superb in this scene as she hugs the tape player as if it is her mother and prepares to leave her family for good too. It’s also worth noting that other items in this safe include guns, wigs, drugs bottles and money; it’s basically a spy emergency getaway kit.
Elizabeth doesn’t get to go to the meeting with the Colonel as Philip slips away before she can stop him and this inadvertently places her in the line of fire. When Philip realizes this, the fear in his voice is palpable (it’s at this point that there was no hope for whatever fingernails I have left) as he dashes to stop his children from losing their mother. While the separation storyline might have seemed like another obstacle for the Jennings’ marriage it has also given Elizabeth time to see why Philip is so important, to both her and their family. It’s why Elizabeth couldn’t ask him to come home when he got his new apartment, as it really had to mean something and this is achieved when Elizabeth asks him to come home in their native tongue as she lies in recovery after being shot. It would make more sense as a spy for Philip to leave Elizabeth in that warehouse under the watchful eye of Claudia to maintain their cover, rather than leaving the kids with Stan but he is playing the role of the husband here with no pretence. Matthew Rhys gets his own emotionally charged moment here and I hope that this show has a lot of Emmy nominations when they’re announced in July.
It’s also about time that Paige and Henry start questioning exactly what their parents are up to, they are after all the offspring of two master manipulators and so Paige’s venture into the garage makes sense. No she doesn’t find anything, but her instincts are telling her that something is off and this could be a really interesting thread to follow in season 2. So far the children haven’t fallen into the trap of annoying kids and quite often in shows like this (see Homeland and 24) storylines are developed to include the kids that bend plausibility and turn these characters into unnecessary complications. I am tentatively praising The Americans for not falling into this trap and I hope next year will include Paige and Henry in an organic fashion rather than a forced one (no cougars or hit and run stories please).
Family comes in all shapes and sizes in The Americans; the opposing institutions that these characters work for and the loyalty that is required is very much a family dynamic. Nina doesn’t think that Stan can be turned, but she is told that he is “weaker and more vulnerable than he seems.” Nina has become so good at lying recently and she is utterly convincing as she acts saddened by the news that her exfiltration is no longer going ahead. I’m glad that Nina has made it to the end of this season alive as the role she is going to play next season is going to test both Stan and who she is really loyal too.
One person that I will be sad to see go is Claudia if she is shipped back to Moscow (Margo Martindale is doing a sitcom pilot for CBS so this is a possibility). Her interactions with Elizabeth have been fascinating as Elizabeth takes the role of the petulant teenage daughter in their meetings. Claudia might have manipulated Elizabeth into mistrusting Philip, but she has her back with everything work related and is the reason that Elizabeth isn’t ultimately caught.
What about poor Martha? Well her relationship is the fakest of them all; she is an ends to a means and all she will be left with is a ring in a box.
This has been a solid first season and now that Philip and Elizabeth look like they have their personal relationship back on track it means that they can concentrate on outside threats when we return for season 2. The ending with Paige was ominous and suggests that one of these threats will come from within. The FBI are looking for a couple and so they might have to shift their methods of working together and of course there will be more disguises when we return.
New Girl and How to Handle a ‘Will They/Won’t They’
1 MayA ‘will they/won’t they’ relationship is tricky for any TV show to navigate but New Girl is showing how it can be done and last night’s episode hit another important milestone for Nick and Jess. In “Virgins” the group revealed embarrassing (and not so embarrassing) tales of how they lost their virginity and this led to another first time. With just two episodes the tension and stakes have increased as Nick and Jess will have to navigate what this means for their relationship.
The second half of this season has taken this coupling to a new level that started with a super hot kiss and led to non-declarations of feelings, a shouty make-out session, a first date that was three terrible first dates and lots of lingering looks. Finally Nick listened to his father (shout out to Dennis Farina making a return from the grave in the flashbacks) and what he told him the night Walt had gifted Winston and Nick prostitutes; “I just want to make sure that you don’t miss out on the things in life that are happening when you’re not thinking, because believe you me, those are the best things in life.” Sound advice from Walt Miller and Nick hasn’t always followed this course of thinking, he was after all the guy who was afraid to run into the ocean in season 1 (“Injured” is still one of my favorite episodes). In fact a lot of this season has been about these characters doing things that they previously wouldn’t attempt and this evolution is one compelling aspect of New Girl.
So, ‘will they/won’t they’ couples can be a hard line to walk; you get them together too early and it might mess up the tension, you get them together too late and it feels stale. The way the Nick and Jess relationship has developed from the beginning of the show and particularly this season has felt organic. Last year there was flirtation and chemistry that made it clear that something would happen eventually, but both characters have had a series of serious and casual love interests, and this hasn’t felt out of place either. When the focus shifted this season after The Kiss (capitals definitely required) this was also part of the natural progression. Cece pointed out in the last episode that it was all getting a tad farcical and 7th grade and if it had continued in this manner then the audience might get just as frustrated. Thankfully the next step has been taken and after an episode discussing having sex for the first time, Nick and Jess did with each other.
This moment was part of a longer sequence involving everyone else; Schmidt and Elizabeth, Cece and Shivrang, Winston and Daisy. Schmidt has recently got back in touch with his first college girlfriend Elizabeth and the flashback showing their first time was one of the funniest bits of physical comedy that New Girl has produced with Nick and Schmidt rolling around on the floor after too much lube was used (see above). I’d really like to see Merritt Wever’s Elizabeth stick around as she brings out a different side of Schmidt and because she’s so, so good. This will also add something extra to the other ‘will they/won’t they’ of New Girl with Cece and Schmidt turning it into a love quadrangle of sorts. Cece and Shivrang discuss having sex before their wedding (which is in two days) and Cece says they shouldn’t, they both look away awkwardly and this doesn’t bode well for this union. Winston’s performance anxiety troubles with Daisy are soothed when he sees Titanic on the TV, the movie that he’d been watching with Nick just before he (unknowingly) lost his virginity to a hooker.
Back to Nick and Jess and the moment over the closing credits was played extremely well by Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson with 30 seconds of post sex reactions including wide eyes, huge smiles, laughter and the best use of “Ruh-roh.” Rather than opt for the standard romcom cliché of “What next?” it just ended on a Scooby-Doo reference and “Oh boy” (I always read this as a shout out to Quantum Leap). It’s both awkward and comfortable and I hope they play the rest of the season like this.
So what next (I am a romcom cliché)? New Girl creator Liz Meriwether spoke to E!Online and said “Going forward, we were just interested in what does the sex mean to both of them and how does it deepen and complicate the issues that they have between them. I think that’s what the end of the season is about.” A line has been crossed and because they live together it’s going to change the dynamic in the loft. Everything is pretty much out in the open prior to this and Schmidt and Winston have previously thought a Nick/Jess romantic relationship wouldn’t work. Schmidt’s going to be preoccupied with Cece’s wedding as he tries to come up with a scheme to ruin the big day (with Winston’s help) and so this might give them some space to figure stuff out. Or not as Jess’ dad (guest star Rob Reiner) will make a surprise visit.
New Girl has a 25-episode run this year and I’m glad they got an extra episode to play with. This has been one of the consistently funny sitcoms this season and they manage to balance emotional arcs around set pieces that include a giant jar of lube; an impressive achievement from Liz Meriwether and the whole creative New Girl team.
TV Ate My Wardrobe 
