TV Guide: Greatest Moments of...

TV Guide: Greatest Moments of 2004
Full disclosure: I had nothing to do with the choices for this special, which were chosen by "the experts at TV Guide." (Hmmm. Wonder if I should be insulted?) Anyway, my favorite moment made the list at No. 9: the shooting death of Adriana on The Sopranos. The clip has lost none of its power: the long, winding drive into the woods, the pain and despair in Adriana's eyes as she looked out the car window, the flash of terror as she realized she was about to die. I'm not sure what got to me more, Adriana's begging and pleading as she crawled on the ground like an animal or the sound of the shotgun blast. Still gives me the chills. Nice touch: immediately showing the clip of Drea de Matteo's Emmy acceptance speech. Definitely well deserved.

QVC: Affinity Diamonds
Have I ever mentioned my weird interest in QVC? No, it's not what you think — I rarely buy anything. I'm mostly fascinated by the people they put on the air, the ones dropping a fair amount of cash for items they haven't even seen in person. Tonight's diamond hour, and I'm not disappointed. A woman from Connecticut calls about a diamond ring, and it sounds like someone's been takin' a long ride on the speed train. "What an honor! I own this ring! In white and yellow gold! That's the beauty of QVC! You can get this ring in any size you want! Omigosh! I love Affinity! And QVC! That's why they call me Diamond Deb!" Uh, or Delusional Deb. Get a grip.

The Swan
Yeah, I know, it's the two-hour season finale. I've tried, really I have. I just can't.

Everybody Loves Raymond
Last week it was the toaster, this week, the family portrait. Poor Ray, he just can't please his parents, and Christmas time is no different. As usual, Debra knows exactly what he's in for: "a whole awful afternoon with them. Then afterwards, a permanent reminder of the awful afternoon with them." (Not that she helped at all by inviting her parents to the photo shoot.) But while Marie redeemed herself in the toaster incident, she falls way short this time around. Why so over-the-top vindictive? We get it, there's just one mother in Ray's life. Just take the damn picture already!

9 Lives Cat Food commercial
I can't tell you how many commercials I've seen with fat cats doing exactly what my fat cat does all day: sitting there looking cute and gobbling down food. And I always think the same thing: Kitty needs to earn momma some cash, pronto. That is, until I see this commercial. "Morris" does the requisite cute posing and food scarfing. Yep, no problem for my cat. Then several bizarre-looking back flips with a horrified look on his face. Um, that was computer animation, right? Cause I don't think Cinnamon can get her butt that far off the floor.

Two and a Half Men
Man, is Charlie smooth! (You gotta wonder how much of that is acting.) Loved how he hit on Jake's hot teacher: by owning up to his bad influence on Jake while playing up his inexperience with children. All done with the trademark sly grin and his you-know-you-want-some-of-this body language. Of course he's gonna bag her. I kinda wish she hadn't turned out to be such a loon. It's no fun when Charlie seems like the healthy one.

CSI: Miami
Am I the only one who didn't know what a flash mob is (and that they are popular with teenagers)? And did you hear that kid's alibi? He was just part of the "sheeple." (Get it? Sheep. People. Sheeple. Suddenly I feel very old.) Anyway, here's what didn't make sense: When the lawyer's son found out about the dead body on the fairway, why didn't he just make an anonymous call to the police? Why send half the senior class to attract attention and risk implicating innocent people? Wonder why Horatio (Mr. I'll-Answer-the-Question-Right-After-I-Ask-It) didn't think to ask about that?

Degrassi: The Next Generation
Didn't we just see this one about Craig getting beat up by his dad? What up? Normally, we Watercoolians don't write about the same ep twice, but I get so many letters about Degrassi, I didn't want to skip it. Anyone else watch this again? I really love Jake Epstein's character — something about the brooding-musician type gets me every time. Don't you just want to take this guy in when his dad tosses him aside — literally? Poor, sad soul. Anyway, old eps, new eps... I'll keep watching.