Tag Archives: SCANDAL

I might be a Scandal fan . . . or maybe not.

May 29, 2013Robin Covington, Uncategorizedrobin covington, SCANDALRobin Covington

Okay friends – I’ve been writing non-stop forever so I don’t want to talk about writing. Let’s talk about TV instead.

I am a TV snob. I admit it. I watched every episode of all ten years

Photo courtesy of ABC

of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (oh – the genius of Whedon) and gave up TV for an entire year after it went off because nothing was good enough – I kid you not.

I give a show three episodes to grab me or they lose me forever. And if you piss me off with a stupid move in Season 7 (like say . . . Bones?)

***beginning of rant****

I mean really? I stay with you through 6 seasons of “will they/won’t they” . . . I CRY with Boothe when Bones says she can’t love him on the 100th episode . . . and you fast forward over the summer and rob me of all the pleasure of seeing them get together and drop right into a full-blown relationship with a baby on the way? Bones . . . you are dead to me . . .

****end of rant****

So, I am am not an easy TV viewer to woo.

I recently watched the first season of Scandal on Netflix and I thought it had some really great parts. Olivia Pope is an amazing female character – strong but flawed- and the cast of characters (her Gladiators) are all damaged people with hidden pasts. And Tony Goldwyn . . . I have loved him since he played the villain in “Ghost”.

I LOVE the fact that the main couple is interracial. It’s. About. Time.

The political intrigue of the show doesn’t appeal at all. I live near DC and politics are tedious and not my idea of entertainment but I do love the twists and turns. I kept watching past episode three but I have to admit that my mind was wandering and I was resisting the urge to fast forward during episodes 6 & 7.

So, right now I’ve tagged Season Two for placement in my queue and I’m going to give it three more episodes.

So die-hard Gladiators – tell me why you think I should keep watching?

Robin

Contemporary Romance and Primetime TV (My Excuse to Talk “New Girl”:)

May 15, 2013Denny S. Bryce, mermaids, WritingContemporary Romance, Jake Johnson, Jess, New Gril, Nick, reality tv, SCANDALDenny S. Bryce

(New Girl – Season 2 Finale – SPOILERS!)

The TV fangirl in me must speak out! This week two of my favorite shows are having (or had) their season finale, and I am excited, filled with apprehension (somewhat resolved by “New Girl’s” fantastically romantic ending – spoilers – STOP now!). And a bit frightened by what Sondra Rhimes has up her sleeves for this Thursday night’s SCANDAL season finale.

These two shows couldn’t be more opposite in their viewpoint on romance. And what’s über scary for me is that I am A-okay on either side of the romance fence the writers have constructed. I’ve talked about SCANDAL and whether or not a central ‘love’ story could be ‘written’ and allowed in the romance novel cyber book bin when one of the main characters is married and having an affair with the other main character (so, let’s not go there again:). Some of us like edgy, but…?!

New Girl, a sitcom about four just turned 30 roommates (or room-friends), is filled with what romance readers and writers look – great romance, conflict, and chemistry, a TV phrase that romance writers should use. We strive to show why two characters are attracted to each other, and watching TV shows where couples have ‘chemistry’ is visual (and sometimes hard to explain), but it’s there. (I tried to snag photos from the Internet that showed Nick and Jess in shades of chemistry:). But the show writers must also know their characters’ goals and motivation to take full advantage of that connection.

If you haven’t watched check out re-runs this summer or HULU for season one – but what is known to Internet fandom as NESS – Jess and Nick – the primary romantic journey in season two has ROCKED the socks of the hit show’s hardcore fandom (yes, I know this as fact – because I go to Tumblr where the true fans hang:).

What I really like about New Girl (besides the cute hotness of Jake Johnson) is that the show has taken a HUGE risk in the TV world by not extending the angst or the ‘will they or won’t they’ issue. Because yes, they have, and yes, they are going to try and make it work! (This just made me smile when that was the choice the writers made for the finale! And the show is only in season 2). Some shows will take 10 years for the clearly chemistry-packed, in love leads to commit (aka Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Bones), but I believe that REALITY TV has something to do with the shift in the TV viewers’ patience for ‘sex’ and ‘love’, and wanting it to take center stage sooner than later. New Girl is taking the curse of Moonlighting (1980’s show starring Bruce Willis) head on and I think they are going to win!

Happy Fan Girl – out!

ROMANCE? What if the Hero is Married and in Love with Another Woman (the Heroine)…

April 8, 2013Denny S. Bryce, mermaids, Motivation, WritingContemporary Romance, Kerry Washington, Morality, SCANDAL, Tony GoldwynDenny S. Bryce

by Denny S. Bryce

I got up this morning to the sound of chirping birds, geese doing shout outs to other geese, and sunshine bouncing over my lake (okay, it’s the community’s lake, but since I live here now, it’s mine!), but my thoughts kept drifting to SCANDAL.

No, nothing about my personal life here (sadly) – I’m talking about a TV show. Yes, some of you may know my obsession with the ABC series (SCANDAL) from the mind of Sondra Rhimes starring Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn (yes, the actor who killed Patrick Swayze in Ghost).

Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that Sondra Rhimes reads romance novels. Hot, spicy, romance novels, but she reads them and then she twists them into decadent juicy unbelievable (but totally believable) melodrama. And yes, it’s over the top and if you enjoy situations that just don’t fit in the realm of reason but then kind of do, then the show is for you!

In a TV show about many relationships, SCANDAL’s primary one (Olivia and Fritz) is the most problematic – morality wise. The heroine’s lover and soul mate is MARRIED, and his wife although a dark and twisty child herself, is NOT the villain of the story.

So as a writer (or reader of romance) – what are your thoughts about a contemporary romance that pushes this particular envelope? I’m sure there have been fabulous romances written with infidelity as a storyline that work as a romance – tell me about them? Would you read it? Would you write it?

I know. How’d I get from SCANDAL to contemporary romance? Blame the chirping birds and the geese. Anyway, here goes my SCANDAL photo blitz (the real reason I wrote this post:). Because good romance and true love can be SCANDALOUS, and dark and twisty and pull at the strings of your heart, right?