Blog Posts by Rachel Stein

In case you haven't heard the news, FX President John Landgraf announced yesterday on a media call that "Louie" will be taking an extended hiatus and probably not return until spring 2014. Louis C.K. fans will be happy to hear that this isn't some kind of Dan Harmon/"Community" situation where someone is getting removed against his will -- C.K. personally asked for time off to help his creative process. To explain the decision, talk about the future of "Louie," and reflect on the excellent third season, C.K. and Landgraf answered some press questions and tried their best not to rub C.K.'s multiple Emmy wins in everyone's faces. Below are the highlights.

On taking time off
John Landgraf: Louis, maybe you should also talk to the folks about the fact that while the 39 episodes you have made and the three seasons you made stand on their own as separate seasons, they also have a coherent theme and art to them, and they could be viewed in some measure as the first act of a three-act show.

There's a lot you can say about "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," but one thing we can all agree on is that it's educational. Each week, the Thompson family teaches us new lessons about life that you just can't learn anywhere else. Don't believe us? You better redneckognize and take a look back at Season 1's best and most practical tips.

Beauty and Hygiene
If you're getting a pedicure but are self-conscious about your feet, have the manicurist polish your toenails over your socks.

Over-crowded house? Wash your hair in the sink... just be sure to empty the sink bucket outside when you're finished.

Once your clothing starts smelling like a chain-smoking goat, a bowl of oyster stew, or is literally stained with fresh urine, it's probably time to take it off.

When in doubt: All that vajiggle jaggle is not beautimous.

Cooking
Want your potato chips to have a little kick to 'em? Squeeze ketchup directly into the bag, shake it up, and then eat and enjoy.

The Ultimate Lemonade: Five pounds of sugar,

This wasn't a terrible season of "Weeds." Yes, the eighth and final installment followed the same pattern that every season before it had -- immediate chaos after the previous finale, a new place, relative stability for the gang, utter insanity, and then the illusion of character development that eventually reveals itself as a temporary mood change -- but the drama in Old Sandwich was fun. I really enjoyed the stuff with Tim Scottson, Jill and Andy turned out to have a lot of believable chemistry, the Earth didn't collapse onto Silas, Nancy didn't totally ruin everything, and Shane … well, Shane had that cute girlfriend and some fun with crooked cops. Doug wasn't even in it that much. Really, not bad for this show!

The finale, on the other hand? A spectacular mess. This isn't the first time Jenji Kohan has done a time jump in "Weeds," and as a general rule in long-running TV series finales, a peek into the future is pretty welcome. Even the premise of "It's Time" sounds pretty good:

I am not above "Dance Moms" -- Season 1 was a surprise hit, and the beginning of Season 2 made for some of the best candid reality TV viewing in recent history. The second half of the season, however, definitely lost some of the magic. Everything good and bad with the current state of "Dance Moms" was seen in last night's finale, "Nationals 90210," which says two things: (1) There's still so much potential in this Lifetime series, and (2) The current storylines have peaked and it's time for a change. If Abby and the gang don't straighten some factors up by next season, we doubt we'll make it through much more of her drama ... after all, ahhhveryone's replaceable.

Favoritism
Oh my gosh, we get it: Maddie is the superstar and every mom hates Melissa and Abby for it. It's not like their frustration is unfounded, but I am so sick of watching the moms rehash the same stupid fight about Abby not loving their kids as much as she loves Maddie -- and I'm sick of Abby's blatant partiality. Just

It's official: "The Office's" Season 9 will be its last. While we can't say we're sad or even surprised that NBC is canning the series, there's always some nostalgia provoked when a long-running show finally gets an end date. Just in case the writers are completely sick of coming up with new "Office" material (and judging by Season 8, we're pretty sure they are), we've got a few bright ideas on how to tie up this once-great sitcom.

Michael Comes Back
The most obvious choice for a fan-pleasing series finale would absolutely have to include a lot of help from Steve Carell -- and since this show loves weddings so much, what would be happier and easier to write than Michael and Holly's nuptials? It could even be a two-parter and include another hour-long shower with guys. We mean a guy's afternoon in ... a GAI.

Someone Goes Postal
Any one of the current employees could easily go crazy and force "The Office" to go out bloody. Maybe Gabe finally loses it after Andy and Erin get engaged.

With so many absurd reality shows at our fingertips, we expected the CW's musical chairs-based reality competition to be delightfully stupid. Instead, "Oh Sit!" -- hosted by Jamie Kennedy and Jessi Cruickshank and developed by Phil Gurin (the brains behind "Shark Tank" and "The Singing Bee") -- is more boring than anything else. Sure, it's great that the show clearly doesn't take itself seriously and doesn't blatantly promote sexism like the equally mindless "The Choice," but at the end of the day, "Sit!" is more of a sub-par "Wipeout" rip-off.

But not all hope is lost! There are several ways "Sit!" could be improved, none of which would take too much work. Might we suggest...

Make the Obstacles More Extreme
The race to the chairs includes a grueling obstacle course during which contestants fall into freezing cold water and cross frustrating moving bridges in order to ultimately claim a chair before they're all taken. Each chair holds a bonus cash prize and based on how well a

After "Ringer" was rejected by CBS, The CW valiantly swooped in to save little Buffy and her soapy primetime series. And we were smitten with the show at first, thanks to Sarah Michelle Gellar and the promise of lots of dark twists and evil twins. Fast-forward 20 episodes later and we've all but given up on what has now become a forgettable drama that we barely remember exists. The CW has yet to announce any plans of renewing the series, but we have a few reasons why this week's Season 1 finale should be the series finale.

The Two-Month Hiatus Was a Death Sentence
"Ringer" took a winter break at the end of November and didn't come back until the end of January. During that time, life went on -- new shows premiered and we gradually lost interest in Siobhan's schemes, Bridget's relationship with Andrew, Gemma's murder, and everything surrounding Bodaway Macawi and Victor Machado. Since a second season wouldn't start until at least September, there is no way we'll even remember any of

While we're still trying to figure out whether "Glee" was actually ever good to begin with, we're positive about one thing: It isn't now. At this rate, we highly doubt Ryan Murphy can turn around his once-at-least-entertaining high school singing show. Therefore, instead of getting viewers to start believin' again, we present a handy guide on how he and his writers can make the series even worse. Our apologies in advance if you see any of these pop up in Season 4.

Make Brittany Dumber
She already believes in leprechauns and thinks Santa is real, so it couldn't hurt to have an entire episode (or three!) devoted to her forgetting her own name and how to dance, only to make everyone feel like BULLIES when they point out that she could not possibly be this inept… while gratingly referring to her by her full name of Brittany S. Pierce, annoying initial and all.

More Sugar
You know that character who is supposed to be stuck up, annoying, and generally intolerable? The one who is given