Television: New Seasons Invade Choate Campus 24, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, Ugly Betty, Apprentice Rank High on Students’ Lists
By Andrew Ricardo ‘10
News Staff Reporter
The weather is getting colder, the days are lengthening, and what is there for Choaties to do with their time? They could go work out at the WJAC, practice their instrument at the PMAC, or go to Half Moon for Chai, but a lot of people have been warming up recently with their favorite television shows. Some people buy the shows on iTunes for $1.99 a piece or watch the shows on ABC.com for free.
The shows offered on ABC.com are: “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Brothers and Sisters,” “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” “What About Brian,” “Men in Trees,” “Ugly Betty,” “Men In Trees,” and “The Knights of Prosperity.” Many of the girls dorms even have “Grey’s Anatomy” watching nights. Grey’s Anatomy follows the lives of five interns at Seattle Grace’s surgery ward. Currently, four of the five interns have become romantically involved with a surgeon or attending, one of the interns is married to a surgeon, and another intern is engaged to an attending. The show not only follows the romantic intrigues of the interns, it also shows the hospital at its best and worst. Another new addition to the show is the Denny Duquet Clinic, which one intern, Izzie Stevens, founded in memory of her deceased boyfriend. This should add a whole other socioeconomic aspect to the show.
“Ugly Betty,” another ABC show, stars America Ferrera of “Sister of the Traveling Pants” and Vanessa Williams, a former Miss America. The follows the same plot line as the movie “The Devil Wears Prada”; a cunning and hopelessly normal young woman finds herself as the assistant to a huge editor at New York’s premiere fashion magazine. Betty, a Queens College graduate and hailing from Queens, always finds a solution to the fashion world’s huge problems. Vanessa Williams plays the competitive fashion director, Wilhemenia, who is always clad in the season’s most stylish ensembles.
“The Apprentice” is into its sixth season, and the show’s creators are putting new spin on a classic formula. For one thing, the show’s location has moved for the first time in its history from Manhattan to Los Angeles. But new additions have also been made to the way the game is played: contestants now have to earn the right to live in host Donald Trump’s mansion by winning the challenges he sets out for them. A new thing for Choate is that two Choaties, Angela Ruggiero ‘98 and Ivanka Trump ‘00 are in the show. The losing team is forced to live outside in tents, using outdoor facilities such as port-a-potties while their opponents live in the lap of luxury. Also, winning project managers get to keep their position until they lose, and now are allowed to sit in the boardroom with Trump in order to advise him on whom to fire. With fourteen of the original eighteen contestants still left, there’s plenty of action still left in this season of The Apprentice.
Also into its sixth season is “24,” where the action is heating up and new mysteries are showing themselves. At the center of everything are protagonist Jack Bauer’s new family issues: his brother Graem has a hidden agenda, and seems to want Jack out of the picture. At the same time, Jack and the CTU team are trying to stop the nuclear fallout that’s going on from becoming an even bigger problem. However, Jack seems to be having newfound difficulty coping with his job after suffering cruelty while in Chinese captivity, and also after being forced to kill his comrade Curtis. Though he wants to quit, he just can’t allow the nuclear threat to go on.
“Lost” is continuing its third season this month, picking up at the cliffhanger from the end of the last episode, which aired in early November. The episode had a lot to do with Kate’s love life, panning back and forth between the island and flashbacks to her past. On the island, Kate and Sawyer were being held captive, and had fallen in love. However, Pickett was going to kill Sawyer if Jack didn’t perform a life-saving operation on Ben. Jack had the last laugh, however, threatening to let Ben die if Pickett didn’t let the two prisoners go. Jack told them to run until they were safe, and then to contact him. This episode left everyone on the edge of their seats.
One thing that hasn’t been leaving people on the edge of their seats in the fizzled out “The O.C.” The fourth and final season of “The O.C.” is into its last stretch of episodes now, with only a few more to go until the season finale. Recently in the show, it was Valentine’s Day, and relationships were put through their paces. Taylor and Ryan found themselves caught in the middle of Frank and Julie’s feelings for each other. Frank eventually confessed to Julie that he loves her, but Julie could not say the same to him, attempting to remain true to the Bullit. However, Julie later seemed to change her mind and decide to leave Bullit. Meanwhile, Summer was frustrated with Seth because she felt that he was still in love with the Summer that he knew in fifth grade, and not the real her. Summer explained to Seth that she is taking a break from their relationship and touring for a year with GEORGE, an environmentalist group. Also, Kirsten confessed her secret and her love to Sandy. How will this show finally end this month for good?
With so many good shows and so many cold days, it’s no wonder that Choaties like to keep up with the latest trends in television shows.
