Anne Ramsay

Anne Ramsay

Obsession Level: More Intrigue Than Obsession...

So let me set this little post up for you.  I was watching Season 2 (maybe?) of the L Word for the second time with a person that I used to wrongly consider my friend.  That in itself is another story.  Anyway, this individual was heckling me about the people that I liked on the show.  She insisted that I always like the older actresses and don't like anyone new.  While that's true to some degree it's not entirely true.  I admit to being several decades behind the times in my television viewing, and therefore the obsessions I follow do tend to be older actors and actresses, but I consider that a side effect of low exposure and not a necessarily a personal preference.

Anyway, during that season there is a character, Robin, who appears in something like six episodes.  She's a love interest of a very confused Jenny who has just broken things off with Marina.  Robin also ends up briefly with Marina.  Go figure.  So when this character is on screen the heckler begins to harass me, betting me that I like this character.  It went something like this:

"I bet you like her, don't you?"
"No, actually I don't."  

I was confident when I responded that I had told the truth.  I did like the character, but I didn't think the actress was attractive.  Or did I?  The more I watched, the more I wasn't sure what I thought.  She reminded me of an episode of Seinfeld where Jerry is dating a girl that they refer to as a "two-face".  Depending on the day Jerry takes her out, sometimes she's attractive and other times she's not.  It's very confusing for Jerry and it's also very confusing for me.  That's what this woman is like.  The one thing I did know for sure was that I had seen her somewhere but didn't have a clue where.  That led me, of course, to go in search of information.

I found out a lot about this actress, and figured out where I'd seen her before, but we'll get to that. What I found out that related specifically to the L Word was that she has an exceptional personality and apparently everyone loves her.  She also had a scene that was deleted in which she had to kiss Karina Lombard (Marina).  She said that Karina wasn't thrilled by this, preferring all her "love" scenes to occur only with recurring cast members, and therefore said that she would do the scene but had the stipulation that the kiss had to be without tongue.  Anne's response was that she was fine with the stipulation, but she "didn't know how to kiss without tongue."  I'm guessing the scene was deleted because it was awkward?  LOL

So, I figured out where I knew her from.  She played Lisa in the television show Mad About You.  I loved that show when it was on the air, and I'm more than a little mad that no one plays the reruns.  It was a good show.  She was the boy crazy and  permanently single sister of Helen Hunt (Jamie).  That's where I knew her from.  

That wasn't all, though, she also played in one of my all-time favorite movies.  She was Helen Haley in A League of Their Own (with Geena Davis).  Her part in the movie was relatively small, but as soon as I saw the pictures (thanks Google), I was reminded of who she was.  I'm quite sure, though, that I wouldn't have put that together if they hadn't told me online that she had been in the movie.  

I also found out that she is in an episode of Drop Dead Diva in season four.  Netflix hasn't made that available to me yet, but I'm sure I'll watch it when they decide to release it.  

So that's Anne Ramsay.  Not really an obsession...but she was for a few days while I figured out where in the world I knew her from!  

Leisha Hailey

Leisha Hailey

Obsession Level: She's Growing On Me!

So I first encountered Leisha Hailey on the L Word as Alice.  She was the cool, spunky one that everyone wants to know as a friend.  I admit that Alice took some time to grow on me.  It wasn't that I didn't like her, that was never the case, but I didn't absolutely love her.  As I continued watching the show, though, she became one of my favorite characters.  She always had something hilarious to say and she delivered most of the best one liners in the show.  Plus she was so adorably awkward that you couldn't help but love her.  

I also knew that Leisha sang.  I know she did some of the songs on the show, but I kind of thought that was as far as it went.  I assumed that she might have told the producers of the show that she had a good voice and recorded a few songs just for them.  I didn't realize that she's actually a musician and makes some really cool music with her partner.  We'll get to that.

So, the L Word is gone, and that's where this obsession ends, right?  I mean I'd never seen Leisha on anything else so I figured that was her one claim to fame.  

I was wrong, though...well at least partly.

I was watching Drop Dead Diva and there is an episode where Jane is accepting an award for her work with the police.  A house wife stands up and accuses Jane of having an affair with her husband, leading Jane on a wild goose chase to find out what happened in her past and also to find out what happened to this husband.  Who played that wife?  You got it.  Leisha.  

Well, if you've figured out anything about me by now, you'll know that this sudden reappearance of Leisha in my life sent me to find out what else she has done, which, is admittedly very little in the way of acting.  She's acted in a few episodes of televisions shows and some shorts.  She has, however been active on the music front throughout her life, particularly of the Lilith type music.

So apparently Leisha started her musical career in the 90s with the group The Murmurs.  I've listened to some of their music and it's a little trippy, but it's pretty cool.  Their look is very late 80s/early 90s, though!  

Check this out!  

Yep, rainbow hair and everything.  From The Murmurs she later started a duo with her partner called Uh Huh Her.  Their music is pretty awesome, so I'd check it out if you were like me and had never heard of them before.

So now I've added Leisha Hailey to my musical interests, but I'm still disappointed in her IMDB list. With the L Word off the air now, maybe she'll get some acting roles in some movies.  She's a good actress, so I wouldn't think it would be that hard to find a role that she'd be good in as more than a cameo appearance.  I'll keep a lookout to see when she stars in some new role and until then I'll just have to listen to music and watch videos on YouTube.

Drop Dead Diva

Drop Dead Diva

Obsession Level: It's To Die For!

I have only recently found this show, but I've already made my way through almost three seasons, and at this time that's all that Netflix has to offer.  Apparently the fourth season recently finished airing on television, but I unfortunately missed it.  I am hopeful of a fifth season, though, and I'll wait patiently while Netflix decides when it's going to make the fourth season available.  

When this show first started being advertised, I thought that it was going to be stupid, so I didn't watch it.  Then my friend began insisting that I watch it because I would love it.  I was hesitant to start watching it, though.  This is the same friend who recommended Twilight, so I wasn't sure that I trusted her judgement.  I finally caved, though, because I wanted something else to watch and I wanted something new.  I'm glad I caved.  This show is great!!!  It has just enough drama to get you every now and again, it's got some really interesting court cases, it's hilarious, and the guest stars are an amazing line up.  

Here's the back story:

Deb

Deb is a character that's one of the most important characters, but really isn't present on the show.  She's a "shallow" model that dies in the very first episode.  She dies at the same time as Jane, the other main character, and her spirit gets sent back to Jane's body.  That's when we start finding out that either Deb isn't as shallow as we thought, or else she's learning a lot through having to live in Jane's non-model world.  

Jane

Jane is the other main character.  She, like Deb, is sort of always there, but not there.  We only briefly meet the actual Jane before she dies and her body is inhabited by Deb's spirit.  From there out we have the whole Deb learning to be Jane thing going on.  It's really a type of Sancho/Quijote blending that takes place.  It's confusing if you think about it too hard, but mostly I just think of Jane as Jane, even though she's really Deb as Jane...fun, huh?

So whereas Deb was a model, Jane is a lawyer, and a very good one.  Deb is lucky in that she inherits Jane's intelligence, because she needs it to pull off some of the cases that she has to work.  

Fred

Fred is Deb's (and thus Jane's) guardian angel.  Because of the little problem where she got sent back to Earth in another body, Fred has been put on Earth patrol and comes to live with her.  He's cute and funny, and he needs her just as much as she needs him.  I hadn't been watching the show too long before I wanted a Fred of my very own.

Fred falls in love with Deb's (and now Jane's) best friend (and now roommate) Stacey.

Stacey

Stacey was Deb's best friend.  In fact, she was on the phone with her when she had the wreck that killed her.  Stacey is also a model who wants to break into the world of acting, but her career isn't going very well.  Deb, upon finding out she's in Jane's body, ignores Fred when he tells her that she can't tell anyone what has happened and she decides to tell Stacey.  Stacey then moves in with her and takes part in the day by day acceptance that Jane must go through.

I'll be honest, at first I hated Stacey.  I thought she was a shallow and annoying dingbat.  She's grown on me, though, and now she's one of my favorite characters.

Terri

Terri is Jane's assistant at the law firm.  She's also great for comic relief on the show.  She, like the rest of the characters, don't have any idea that Jane is not the old Jane that they knew.  Terri knows that there's something different about Jane, but she's quick to excuse it as some strange side effect of the "amnesia" she suffered after being shot. 

Terri is a snarky character and she doesn't like Kim, who also works at the law firm.  I'm with her on that.  Terri is also one of my favorite characters.  

Grayson

Grayson was Deb's fiancé and true love.  Now she has to work with him as Jane and see him going through other relationships.  She can't tell him who she really is, so she's having to hold out and see if he can fall in love with Jane.  Grayson is still madly in love with Deb, so he goes through several relationships seeking what he had with her, all the time using Jane as a friend and confidant, without ever realizing that "Deb" is right in front of him.

Kim

Kim also works at the firm.  She's never very nice to Jane since she's a total snob and dislikes Jane for the way she looks.  I don't like Kim at all, and there have only been a few times that she's inspired even the slightest bit of sympathy in me.  I do feel like the writers are trying to make her a more likable character, but she's still not really getting there for me.  Also, there's just something strange about her face.  It's something in the forehead/eye area that I can't put my finger on.  She kind of reminds me of one of those green cartoon aliens with the odd eyes and face shape...it's probably further added to by the fact that I don't care for her character.

Parker

Parker is the boss at the firm.  He's kind of a secondary character like Kim.  In fact, he has a relationship with her.  I don't dislike him exactly, but he is kind of a jerk.  He works well with Kim, though, and keeps her away from Grayson.  I like him for that.  

There are the ins and outs of the show.  As I said, the main plot is very entertaining, and I think the really cool guest stars that they bring on make the show even better.  I've seen a lot of people that I like on there including Delta Burke, Liza Minnelli, Leisha Hailey, Cybill Shepherd, and many others.  It's a great show.  If you haven't seen it, then you need to watch it!  

And here is a little illustration of what I was saying about Kim...