The Golden Globes Nominations

So, the nominations came out. While the awards show is probably the most entertaining of all the shows - the combination of the open bar and Ricky Gervais makes for unstoppable laughs - however the nominations themselves drive me a little nuts. I say this every year, so I leave this one complaint to one sentence: supporting nods for TV  needs to be separated!!!!! (Sigh)

As for the movie nominations, I honestly can't comment too much because I haven't had a chance to see too many of them. I wish Justin Timberlake would have been up for The Social Network (you hear me, Academy??). The comedy/musical categories are always funny because they are obviously just filler. I'm talking to you The Tourist - I read the reviews. But the Hollywood Foreign Press LOVES Johnny and Angelina so I'm not surprised. And I'm glad to see some love for Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine. Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway for Love and Other Drugs. Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield for Social Network. A lot of names I love, so we'll see how it goes.....

Now on to the TV, since I obviously will have more to say about that. Every year I have three general reactions. I'm excited for certain inclusions, enraged about many exclusions, and dumbfounded by some other inclusion. This year's award for biggest stumper: Jennifer Love Hewitt for The Client List. First, let me say, I'm not anti- JLH. She is charming and not a horrible actress. But were there so few lead actress roles in a Made for TV Movie/Mini-Series that she is needed as obvious filler?? 

While I'm on the Mini/MforTVM bit - Very excited about Romola Garai being up for Emma. As you may remember I loved that version of Emma, and she was my favorite Emma ever, and that is saying something. However I'm upset that The Pacific didn't get any acting love. Oh well....


Now as for the rest (Comedy/Drama) I think the best way to deal is for me just to make my own ballot. We'll pretend that supporting is separated so I can include that too. I'll include some notes on my thoughts. One other thing to keep in mind - despite appearances, I don't, in fact, watch everything. So there may be people/shows you can't believe I don't have on my list and that may be because I don't watch the show. Sorry. :)

Drama:
Boardwalk Empire
Friday Night Lights
The Good Wife
Mad Men
The Walking Dead

(I'm actually not too disappointed with the list the HFPA assembled, however I did change one. Dexter out, FNL in. If only because FNL is the most deserving show that never gets ANY love. Yes, Mad Men gets a lot of love over and over, but this season deserved it more than any other. If only for the episode, The Briefcase, which may have been the most perfect hour of television. Honorable mentions- Fringe, Justified and Lost. Beyond honorable mentions: Terriers and Rubicon. They were two of the smartest and best acted shows ever on television and it truly saddens me that so few people watched. )

Comedy/Musical:

Chuck
Community
Cougar Town
Modern Family
Park and Recreation

(So this is probably the most difficult category because there are SO many quality comedies on TV right now. I only had one hold over from their list - Modern Family. What I didn't include: BBT, HIMYM and Glee. They are next on my list and very close. Here's why they didn't make my cut: First - the ones on my list make me laugh WAAAY more than these three have this season and never get the love for it (again, besides MF, which is too genius to ignore). Second- BBT, HIMYM and Glee have had rocky seasons so far. But I still love them dearly. Honorary shout out to Raising Hope, a series that is as charming as it is funny - much like Greg Garcia's previous show, My Name is Earl. )

Actor- Drama:

Steve Bucemi (Boardwalk Empire)
Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Donal Logue (Terriers)
Timothy Olyphant (Justified)

(So, here's the thing. I hate when people get nominated OVER and OVER for doing the same damn thing. So, Michael C Hall and Hugh Laurie I love you both a lot, but you are out. Byran Cranston, you just win awards repeatedly when other people should so I'm mad at you. Jon Hamm, you made the cut because, again, The Briefcase. Seriously. Outstanding. Steve, Donal and Timothy were beyond amazing in their shows and they are all new. And Kyle has been overlooked so many times that it counts as a travesty. I literally mourn his being snubbed. This will be repeated in a minute with the name changed.)

Actress - Drama

Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)
Anna Torv (Fringe)
Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries)


(Alright let's get that last one out of the way. I know. It's on the CW and therefore doesn't count as real television in the eyes of anyone handing out the awards, but she has been nothing short of perfection this season. And really, they have Piper Perabo up for Covert Affairs. Love her and the show, but COME ON. As for the rest - Julianna and Elisabeth are from their list and deserve to be there so not messing with it. Anna is there for the same reason I put Nina - convincingly playing two different people to the point where I'm starting to believe Hollywood has perfecting cloning and there are two different actresses on screen. And then Connie ----- Connie has been overlooked so many times that it counts as a travesty. I literally mourn his being snubbed. - Told you I'd repeat it)

Actor - Comedy/Musical

Ty Burrell (Modern Family)
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)
Zachary Levi (Chuck)
Joel McHale (Community)
Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory)


(Only one holdover from the list the HFPA gave us. Jim Parsons is fantastic on BBT, and he can keep his spot. The rest.... Alec and Steve, we know you are awesome, but give the new kids a chance. Thomas Jane - you are great on Hung, but the show is iffy at best and you aren't the one saving it. Matthew Morrison.... It's not your fault. You are amazing. Ah-maze-ing. But they have given you crap this season and Shue has turned into a first class Douche. Look at my list. Those guys are all 1- FUNNY. 2- TALENTED and most importantly 3- Carry a show full of other equally talented people and still manage to stand out. Emmys. I expect you to rectify this in September)

Actress- Comedy/Musical

Courteney Cox (Cougar Town)
Lea Michele (Glee)
Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation)
Cobie Smulders (HIMYM)
Julie Bowen (Modern Family)

(My reasoning on these are basically exactly the same as the ones I had for the previous category. Plus, besides Lea, these girls don't get much in the way of recognition. I still think Tina Fey is one of the greatest things on TV - Liz Lemon is one of my favorite characters ever on televison - but I enjoy putting some new people in there. And these 5 ladies make me laugh A LOT. Plus it is a musical cateogry and does anyone sing like Lea? They may autotune the girl, but she doesn't need it. YouTube her Les Miz stuff.)

Supporting Actor - Drama

Scott Caan (Hawaii Five-0)
Josh Charles (The Good Wife)
Alan Cumming (The Good Wife)
Michael Pitt (Boardwalk Empire)
John Francis Daley (Bones)

(Alright.... I know I'm a little out of left field here with some of these. Scott Caan is the only drama holdover from the Globes. Yes, the show can be a bit cheesy, but I dare you to find someone that says he isn't the best part about that show. He is the show. Well, him and Grace Park in a bikini, but we don't have a category for that. Chris Noth made the list for The Good Wife, but I don't like it. He's good, but not as good as the rest. If I had a sixth slot, Matt Czuchry would be in it. The show may be about the titular "wife" but it's the men on this series that make it amazing. Michael Pitt is my favorite part of BE, so I had to include him. If he qualified, I'd include Jack Huston - the man with half a face - because he is so phenomenal I don't have words. Make him a regular!! As for Sweets.... well, I felt bad not including more Bones love, but it's tough with what is out there. But if I had to choose ONE nod for Bones, it would be for Sweets. Right??)

Supporting Actress - Drama

Christine Baranski (The Good Wife)
Jessica Collins (Rubicon)
Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)
Kelly MacDonald (Boardwalk Empire)
Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife)

(Hello, my name is Melissa, and I'm addicted to The Good Wife. Sorry. I actually tried not to put both Archie and Christine, but I couldn't help it. They are amazing. Remember how I just said that show is really about the men? I lied, apparently. Anywhoooo. Christina Hendricks is the best part of any moment of Mad Men she is in. Even if she is just standing there. Kelly MacDonald was a constant wonder and surprise on BE, so I have to keep her on the list from the Globes. And Jessica... well I know you won't realize this because you didn't watch Rubicon, fools, but she was a revelation on that show. She conveyed everything with the slightest change in her face. I miss her the most.)

Supporting Actor- Comedy/Musical

Dan Byrd (Cougar Town)
Chris Colfer (Glee)
Garrett Dillahunt (Raising Hope)
Danny Pudi (Community)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family)
 
(The only holdover is Chris Colfer because he is wonderful as Kurt. Sometimes Kurt, like Rachel, drives me insane, but I love him and that is in large part thanks to Chris's performance. Moving on, Dan Byrd is the one small bit of sanity on Cougar Town and he plays it to perfection, "Way to go, adults." If I was his mom I'd smother him too. Garrett is just hysterical and it's fun to get to see him be fun on a show again. For those who love him - try finding Book of Daniel, where he played Jesus. Greatest Jesus since Jesus. Jesse is always losing out the love to Eric Stonestreet. Maybe because Eric is straight in real life. Either way, I think Jesse is just as deserving so there he is. And Danny Pudi.... I want someone to argue Danny being on this list. Go ahead. Try it. You can't.)
 
Supporting Actress - Comedy/Musical
 
Alison Brie (Community)
Jane Lynch (Glee)
Busy Phillips (Cougar Town)
Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope)
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)
 
(Jane and Sofia are both, of course, up for their shows. I can't argue with this because they both make me laugh more than anyone else on either show. Martha Plimpton is so funny and sweet - in a white trash kinda way - on Raising Hope, and as always is the best thing about anything she is in. Maybe I just prefer Annie over Britta, but I love Alison Brie on Community. And then there is Busy Phillips. I ADORE Busy. Hello - Freaks and Geeks, people. I wanted to be best friends with Kim Kelly. I just want to be best friends with Busy Phillips, actually. And her character, Laurie, is the most ridiculous and loveable girl ever.)
 
This was a lot harder than it looks, and I don't envy the HFPA (or the Emmy's or anyone else) for having to come up with these lists. However, I also don't condone their tendency to be lazy and just do a bunch of repeats until a show gets cancelled.
 
Who do you want on your list??

Week in Review: 10/17-10/23 (Wed-Sat)

This week was a little lighter this week because of baseball, so this won't be as long as normal. And I'm a little upset about it because I miss Bones. A lot. But instead of dwelling on the shows we didn't get to see this week, lets talk about the shows we did get to watch! Focus on the positive, you know? :)

TERRIERS: I realize that probably none of you are watching this, but I'm going to tell you, you should. It is one of the best new shows this season. In fact I think the only hour long drama that tops it is Boardwalk Empire. The characters are all interesting, the stories are compelling and it is just plain smart. Donal Logue and Michael Raymond James are AMAZING as the leads. Sometimes I complain of characters being too one-dimentional, but that is not a problem on this show. My only complaint: Karina Logue's character, Steph (Sister to Donal Logue both in real life and on the show) left this week. I hope she is back too.

MODERN FAMILY: This show is simultaneously ridiculous and brilliant. Gloria was especially funny this week when she "took care of" the dog next door that wouldn't stop barking. Sophia Vergara is shockingly good on this show. But the best moment was when Phil and Claire were "shawshanked" by their daughter in the no-internet bet when she carved a phone out of a bar of soap and colored it black. That girl is dumb, but she is not stupid! She still doesn't get the car she was promised though....

COUGAR TOWN: (This week's title card: 100% Cougar Free!) I'm not sure exactly when Grayson finally became part of the Cul de Sac Crew, and frankly neither is he, but I'm glad he is. He is such an amazing boyfriend to Jules who is the most frustating woman ever sometimes. And he is also a great friend to all those people who visibly annoy him. Grayson is swoonworthy. Also - the show is pee in your pants funny. PENNY CAN!

VAMPIRE DIARIES: Holy. Shiz. This show is more than just a regular TV show. It is epic. I know, it's on the CW, so how epic can it be? But take my word for it. More happens on one episode of this show than happens all season on some other shows. This week: Bonnie wasn't a bitch (a BIG deal!), Stefan almost died in a well filled with vervane, Elena found the moonstone in the well, Caroline made up with her mom and then made mom forget the whole thing, Stefan and Elena broke up, Damon killed Mason (sad face!), Katherine made Jenna stab herself in the stomach (HOLY WHAT! Best shot scene ever, by the way. Check out the camera angles on that scene. Amazing direction!), Katherine made Matt decide to harass Tyler until Tyler kills him. All in a matter of 45 minutes! Love this show!!!!

NIKITA: All I'm saying is Devon Sawa better come back. I loved his character. (Though it weirded me out that his name was Owen and his girlfriend's name was Emily) I like that he is a source of jealousy for Michael when it comes to Nikita. Bring him back!

COMMUNITY: I've decided that Abed will be who I pray to from now on. Who is with me?

30 ROCK: I love that Jack and Liz are best friends and that Jack admits it. Really, who else do they have that they can count on? Liz's bizarre sexual issues are hysterical, but they were all topped by the reveal that she had a Gunther Gabel Williams poster up in her room. 30 Melissa Points to anyone who that is without doing an internet search!! Another 30 if you ever saw him in person. And another 30 if you too had a poster. (Guess what, I just earned 90 Melissa points. Though said poster was up only briefly after seeing him, it did exist) This episode also made me very sad that there is no Carvel out here. Dammit. I want a Carvel Ice Cream Cake for my birthday like I used to have every year!!!!

THE OFFICE: Listen, I still haven't watched it but some people keep pointing out that I haven't been posting about it. :) Honestly, of all the comedies I watch now, Office comes in dead last in the funny. Some of it is still SOO GREAT, but the rest makes me just annoyed. However, this week Timothy Olyphant is on, giving me a bit if a reprieve from missing him during Justified's hiatus. (Small plug: Justified is back in February, so if you somehow missed season 1 earlier this year, now is the time to catch up. You won't be sorry. Trust me.) Look forward to watching him on there when I get a chance to catch up.

GREY'S ANATOMY: Let me just say, hurray for a big win for Meredith Grey! I feel like everyone has had their moment in the OR except for Mer, and she finally got it by performing a solo surgery on some girl's brain. Amazing. Love love love the look Der got while watching her finish up. So sweet. As for the million, it was obviously between Owen, Der and Bailey (at least I thought so) and it is hard to argue with Owen's points. Especially with the shooting so fresh in everyone's minds. But Derek losing out on the possibility of saving his wife, well that was just sad.

PRIVATE PRACTICE: Christian de la Fuente started this week as an oncologist that butts heads with Addison. Being that he is Christian de la Fuente, this led to some sexual tension. Here's my issue: Addison is a cheater. We have been discussing this major character flaw since she first stepped foot in Seattle Grace on Grey's. But she acknowledges this flaw and aims to fix it. I know they say "once a cheater, always a cheater," but REALLY do we need her to be distracted by Christian now that she is settled with Sam? Really? I don't need the heroine of the show to perfect, but I don't want her to be a big fat cheater that never learns either. My point of this rant: if she cheats on Sam I'm gonna be PISSED at Shonda Rhimes.

SUPERNATURAL: Five Reasons I LOVED this week's episode:
1. The title was "Live Free or Twihard" proving once again that Supernatural has the best episode titles. (Other favorites include: "Criss Angel is a Douchebag," "Are You There God, It's Me... Dean Winchester" and "Jump the Shark")
2. The (human) girl in the opening had long brown hair and wore a flannel shirt. Her name was Kristen. The (vampire) boy in the opening had fabulous hair that defied gravity, said cheesy lines about how they "shouldn't be together" and "he's a bad guy." His name was Robert.
3. My new favorite adjective: Rapey.
4. Dean Winchester is still totally badass and totally funny when he is an almost-but-not-quite-vampire.
5. Finally proof that Sam is NOT Sammy. We can no longer call that guy Sammy. I don't know where Sammy is, but that ain't him. (And what does Grandpa know, if anything??)
Only thing that was missing: Castiel.

And that's the week, my peeps. Oh SNL was on too. Emma Stone was pretty good, but the episode itself was sort of blah. The best part was Bill Hader as Stefon on Weekend Update. I love watching how easily he laughs at his own character.

Comment away!!

Week in Review: 10/17-10/23 (Sunday-Tuesday)

Have you missed me? Or did you not realize I was gone?? LOL. Sorry. Just been extra busy with school. But I had a few minutes, so thought I would get a first half of the week blog out there. Mostly because I SO loved so much television already this week. My poor friends keep getting texts about shows they haven't even watched yet. I harass for people to catch up so I have someone to discuss with. And now I turn to you, loyal 5 readers, so you can chat with me about some of them. Ready? No? Too bad! 


RUBICON: Listen, I know the ratings sucked, AMC, but for the love of God just bring it back one more season. Please? PLEASE? Hands down, this is the smartest show on television. I was so excited that they revealed that the neighbor was totally part of the consipiracy. And that Will finally told Miles what was going on. As if poor Miles wasn't paranoid enough. But I'm still sooo sad about Katherine. And that Will didn't take the DVD. What did David say??? TELL ME!! If this doesn't come back, I demand to know anyway!

MAD MEN: I think we can sum up the season finale of Mad Men in three little words: What. The. Hell. Seriously???? Megan??? What happened?? I have no idea what is going on. However, I did enjoy Megan with the kids. She is 300 times the mother Betty is. Speaking of - I wish Carla had smacked Betty. How awful! But back to Don and his sudden love of Megan after months with Faye - you know, an actual smart adult woman. I love the Peggy was comfortable enough to not just congratulate him, but instead to check and see if he was drinking or losing his mind. I also liked the look of jealousy that crossed Peggy's face. And the confusion that seemed to immediately follow that jealousy. Not just for the situation, but her jealousy of it. And then her scene with Joan was pitch perfect. Love those two when they are shooting the shit. And Joan. Joanie, Joanie, Joanie. I knew you didn't go through with the abortion, you crazy girl. Can't wait until Roger finds out your still knocked up.  Is it next summer yet??

BOARDWALK EMPIRE: Oh Nuk. Really? You know that Mrs. Shroeder is not dumb like your girl. She is smart and she notices things. And apparently, she won't be ignored. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And apparently that fury turns on Treasurer Thompson. GREAT ending scene, but me thinks that gonna cause some problems. The dumb girlfriend isn't going to like that. And I don't think the Fed is going to like it either. On to my favorite character- Jimmy. I just love that kid. I love that he took care of Pearl. But I also knew Pearl was about to kill herself, which didn't make it any less heartbreaking when that shot rang out. (And did that really have to happen on the St. Patty's Day episode?? REALLY?? Oy) I hope Jimmy finds the guys that did that to her and kills them all. Slowly.

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: Glad that we moved on from the Bree/Renee fight over Keith. Sure, Brian Austin Green is dreamy, but come on, ladies! Besides, that storyline was getting old after just an episode and a half! At least we aren't losing BAG. I know that he is on until at least episode 9. Hopefully he doesn't die or get paralyzed like Bree's other men. Honestly, not much else is holding my attention on this show. But I do still love Gaby. She cracks me up, even when I don't like her storyline all that much.

CHUCK: Somebody was watching Charade when they made this episode. The funeral scene where the old team comes and checks that Casey is dead by poking him with needles and burning him with a cigar is right out of the movie Charade. (I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it. One of my top 5 all time favorite movies) Besides that, the episode as fun, if only for the one scene where Morgan tells a paralyzed Casey that he is dating Casey's daughter, Alex, in order to shock him out of the paralization. SOOO FUNNY to see Casey's eyes go all big like that. And I love we had an episode where we didn't worry about Chuck being overly involved in his relationship with Sarah, or Sarah having to prove she loved Chuck and was committed. Next week: Mama Bartowski is back! Along with Freddy Kreuger.

THE EVENT: I just want to say, I love that Layla is a fighter. She is aware of her surroundings, she stays observant even when being held captive, and she has faith in her adorable boyfriend, with good reason. I also love that Sean is a fighter and will do anything to get to her. That storyline has been great, but I'm also VERY glad they have been reunited. I'd rather we come up with something else for them than to prolong that arc indefintely. As for the detainees - I have no idea what is going on there, but I hope we let Michael out soon. Scott Patterson is way to awesome to be locked in a box for this many episodes. I want him in a backwards hat and serving Lauren Graham coffee. Oh wait.... nevermind. I'll just turn on ABC Family at 5.

CASTLE: Loved all the Grey's Anatomy references in this episode! Especially the doctor, who we never saw, named Rhonda Shimes. HA! But, let's face it, it's really about Castle and Beckett, isn't it? Last week Castle basically admitted (if only to himself) that he loved Beckett, who is now dating a hot doctor. But this week Beckett told Castle she would break him out of jail. Something she didn't realize meant a lot to him - Mama Castle just finished telling him that it was a sign of true love. Awwww... Something I love about this show: the leads and the creator, Andrew Marlowe, have never been shy about admitting that Castle and Beckett are meant to be. We just have to wait until they figure it out.

HOUSE: Funny: House and Wilson babysitting Rachel. My husband was in the room when I started watching this episode, and even he was laughing (he doesn't particularly enjoy this show) at how cute Rachel was and how inept House was with her. Love that she did end up eating a dime. Not Funny: baby cancer. Just saying. I get enough of the babies/moms of babies dying over on Private Practice. I don't need it here.

HAWAII 5-0: Did this guy never watch TV?? You never just ignore the cops and go straight to the kidnappers yourself. Duh. It always backfires. Always. Dad deserved to get shot. But glad he didn't. Poor girl was traumatized enough. And, fell in love with Grace Park even a little more this week when she stole the dog from the "madame" in the sex slave ring. So funny. Not really enjoying the snooping sister or girlfriend out of nowhere storylines, but whatever. Scott Caan makes it all better.

ONE TREE HILL: Quinn is having zombie dreams and bought a gun in case crazy Katie comes back. Maybe instead of sending Quinn to South Africa, Clay should get her some therapy? Hmmmm?  Anyone?? I did love this episode though, if only for the costumes. My favorties: Haley as high school her, Clay as Edward Cullen and Quinn as Super Quinn (even if it didn't read - Loved that running joke). Sharon Lawrence has joined the crew as Julian's crazy mother. She is going to be as enjoyable for Brooke as one of Chase's drinks. Oh and Julian and the high five?? I LOVE they make that guy such a HUGE dork.

LIFE UNEXPECTED: I'm going to go on record and say when this show started I wasn't totally on board. I thought it was okay, but a little cheesy. However, this season it is great, due in no small part to the addition of Shaun Sipos as Will Daniels, Lux's teacher/crush. I will also say when that story started I thought we were just going to repeat this summer's Pretty Little Liars fun. But thankfully this is taking a whole new route and I LOVE it. There were so many swoon-worthy moments in this episode! Especially when Will went to find Lux after she ran out on him after watching The Outsiders. His speech about why he tutors her.... sigh..... So great. And there are also adults on the show! I kind of want to go back and rewatch some of the episodes - was Ryan really THAT angsty?? And how much more Julia are we going to get? As for Baze and his boss.... eh. I don't know. But I love me some Emma Caulfield, so I'll take it.

PARENTHOOD: I want Kevin Alejandro back. Sure, Billy Baldwin came through in the end of this episode, but Kevin Alejandro is soooo pretty. Oh well. Really liked that they gave Max a win this episode as he conquered the haunted house on his own. And that mom acknowledged that she needed to give him some space. But they really need to have a talk with that kid about his aspergers. It's getting a little ridiculous.

THE GOOD WIFE: Wow. What an episode!! The leak! The car smashing! Loved it! I still love Cary, even if he is working for the dark side (literally - he is working for The Man in Black!!). I also loved that when going over all the connections in the room he mentioned "whatever it is you to have going on" to Will and Alicia. If only they would talk about it! Will has a new girl though - someone should tell him she is a vampire though! I love Elizabeth Reaser. And then there is that leak. Eli realized it came from someone who wanted to run against Peter and Childs, but was mistakenly lead to believe that person was Judge Adler. Turned out it wasn't, though she led Diane to believe it was her so that they would all back off. Instead it was Anika Noni-Rose's character, Wendy Scott-Caar. Oh Snap. I thought the best moment of the episode was going to be Kalinda smashing in Blake's car, but no. It was Eli immediately getting on the phone and saying, "Who is Wendy Scott-Caar?!?" Good question. (Second best moment - Will and Alicia high-fiving. Get it together you crazy kids)

Ok.... so that is it through Tuesday. Comment away. And if you haven't watched yet, well do it already. It's not like any of you are getting married in a few days and are busy.  Oh wait..... :)   (But still.... watch OTH and LUX!!)

WEEK IN REVIEW: 9/26-10/2

So, I didn't split it up this week. I wanted to, but I just ran out of time. I should be done with the novel by Monday at the latest, so hopefully I'll be able to do it next week. So this week we won't get everything. (Oh, and RIP Lonestar and My Generation. We barely knew ya)

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: I'm so happy that Vanessa Williams is back on television!! I love her and her snarkiness, which is in full force here. Hoping we get a lot more of it. We also found out that Juanita was switched at birth, which Carlos isn't telling Gabby. And Bree tells Gabby that Andrew killed Carlos's mother a million years ago, which Gabby doesn't tell Carlos. Both sort of blah - but not as bad as Susan's story which I will just ignore. Bree is deciding to remodel now that she is divorcing Orson, and her handyman is being played by Brian Austin Green. Somewhere in Heaven, Aaron Spelling is squealing in excitement!

BROTHERS & SISTERS: Gilles Marini in his skivvies. Was there other stuff? Sorry I stopped paying attention at that point.

RUBICON: Listen you can ask me what happened on any given episode of this show and all I will be able to say is, "a lot," without any real explanation. Partly because it is so subtle and partly because I'm just not smart enough. But it is consistently one of my favorite hours on television each week.

MAD MEN: In not a completely shocking twist, Joan is knocked up with baby Sterling after their tryst in the alley. Joan decides to "take care of it," although Richard is willing to let her keep it and pass it off as her husbands. After a rather awkward appointment with a doctor Richard suggested, she goes for an appointment in Morristown with a doc who does the "taking care of it." But we never see it happen, or even her go into the appointment, so if you ask me I say she didn't do it. What's crazy about this episode is that was the least intense storyline. Between Lane's crazy father who beat Lane with his cane and told him to dump his "chocolate bunny" and go home to his wife and kids and then Don almost getting revealed as being Dick Whitman thanks to Pete's airforce account, things got really scary really quick at SCDP. And to top it off, the loss of the air account and Lucky Strike (tho Richard has yet to reveal it) could mean the end of their upstart company. EEK!

CHUCK: There was some great stuff this week - the return of the non-efficient Buy More, with Morgan made manager, Karolina Kurkova, Lou Ferrigno, Sarah unpacked, Awesome went baby crazy, Isaiah Mustafa, Casey calls Alex - but frankly the only thing I am left thinking about is this: WTF was up with Bronson Pinchot? He was in the guest credits at the start, but had no line and was only on screen for, I'm not kidding, 5 seconds. Again I say: W. T. F.  ?????

THE EVENT: Dude. Love. The Jason Ritter part is like a fantastic Hitchcock movie (he is Jimmy Stewart and Sarah Roemer is Grace Kelley) Loved loved loved their meet cute in the pool. Swoon to the tenth degree. Then there is all the sci-fi/conspiracy thriller fun stuff. The detainees are what? Aliens? Maybe. Although if you ask me and Kev, we say they are from the future a la The 4400 (where the abductors were not aliens, but future humans). The changes in DNA - not alien, but just evolution. They talked about how a chimp is only 2% different in DNA, a 2% difference that can be accounted for by evolution, if you go with that explanation for mankind. And since this is a sci-fi show, we are going with that explanation. As for the end - there is no way Scott Patterson is dead, so I'm hoping the other 200 people aren't either! Harsh.

HAWAII 5-0: Looks like Hawaii 5-0 is going to give Castle a run for it's money in the awesome guest stars category. This week: Ivana Milevic, Scott Cohen (Max Medina!!) and Martin Starr. All awesome, although the casting of Ivana made the twist that she was a plant very very obvious. Hello! The bad guys were Russian!! Anywho, still a great ep, and loved the fake graduation for Kona. Got a little misty. But when don't I?

CASTLE: Bess Armstrong! Rachel Boston! I don't know though, H50 may have still won this week. But they had the "Alexander" moment at the end of the ep, so point Castle. Mini-swoon. AND DOUBLE RAINBOW SHOUT OUT!!! ATW!!!

 HIMYM: Before I get to the best part of the episode (or should I say the season, because short of revealing the mother, I don't know how they'll top it) let me tell you the best line of the episode. When they are cleaning out Barney's mom's house and find the Santa suit she would wear to fool the kids they discuss parents lying to kids, "Santa is a good like. Like when we tell Ted that he will meet the right girl and settle down." HAHA. It's funny cuz we know he will, but seriously, it's taking For. Ever. Anyway, best part was when Wayne Brady and his dad (I am convinced in real life) Ben Vereen sing Stand by Me, and NPH joins in. Just awesomesauce. Small shout out to Cobie/Robin's reaction in the background. And then the closing bit with the Kanye voice box? Gosh I love NPH.

GOSSIP GIRL: I love when Serena and Blair work together to take someone else down. So you can imagine how much I loved this episode! And I also LOVE Lily and Chuck scenes. So hurray for that! Speaking of Chuck - anyone else think that Eva has some sort of ulterior motive? Anyone??

90210: Mr. Cannon is super super icky.

NO ORDINARY FAMILY: A good pilot. I adore the actors (hello! Julie Benz!!) and thing the characters are all a lot of fun. Especially the "friends," played by Romany Molasco and Autumn Reeser. Autumn is basically played Taylor from The OC, but a science geek. And Romany is playing a DA, which I find to be odd casting, but I understand it's purpose and I'm letting that go because he is hysterical. Also, good setup for some mythology - her boss is evil and they aren't the only supers! Interested to see where it goes. (Also - plant Stephanie was talking about during the meeting related to whatever that was in the water that made them super??)

GLEE: It's Britney, Bitch. I was very curious how they were going to incorporate all the Brit because I knew that Mr Shue was going to be against it. Love how they did it as dream sequences while they were all getting work done by the adorable dentist/Emma's new boyfriend, Carl. Can he sing already, please? Uncle Jesse, FTW. Someone obviously spent a lot of time with some Britney videos, because those were all spot on - much like Vogue in the Madonna episode. But despite all the Brit, my favorite parts were Sue related, of course. When she went on some bizarre rant about the Democratic National Convention, Will had one of the best reactions ever where he did almost a triple take and looked around to see if anyone else was hearing this craziness. But Sue had the best line, "You wear more vests than the cast of Blossom." It's funny cuz it's true. Ready for next week's ep, Grilled Chessus. But scared to watch because I started to cry during the previews!

THE GOOD WIFE: Dammit all the hell, Eli! Why oh why did you erase that message?? WHY?!?!?! Sigh.... Other things that made me sad: I can't love Cary any more. And Kalinda's new possibly nemesis is played by Scott Porter (Friday Night Light's Jason Street) and I'm not sure we are going to be able to like him yet either. Or the new partner played by the also very pretty Michael Ealy. And yet despite all the drama that makes me sad, I'm still so excited this show is back. It's just great adult drama.

ONE TREE HILL: Dear Will, Thanks for dying so that Clay could live. Sucks for you since you seemed like a good kid, but poor Quinn needs Clay to live. Don't text and drive! -Melissa 

LIFE UNEXPECTED: That was a whole lot of exposition just to get to the inevitable Mr. Daniels will be tutoring Lux storyline! But it did give us some more of that cutie Jones. And Math finally telling Lux something she needed to be told: she is full of crap for whining about her parents! Thank's Math. We love you. But, for the first time ever, the best part was Ryan and Baze, who finally have come to terms with each other. Ryan and Cate gave Baze the money for Paige's part in the fire. Ryan put up a hoop for Baze to practice basketball with Lux. And Baze is being a big boy with a big boy job (with Emma Caulfied!).

UNDERCOVERS: Well, it's official. Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Kodjoe may be the pretty star faces of the show, but it's the supporting cast that really makes this show fun. Gerald McRaney has perfected the crotchedy guy in charge. Ben Schwartz who could be grating as the spy in love with Boris's character earns my respect with his actual skills as a spy and last but not least (in fact best) Carter MacIntyre as Leo Nash (ex-boyfriend to Samantha and ex-partner/friend to Steven) is hysterical. I only hope that they don't wait til half way thru to bring him in every episode. When he says things like, "I don't want it to be awkward that I used to do sex with your wife," you don't want less of him.

COUGAR TOWN: Three words: Dead. Baby. Lasagna.

HELLCATS: This show may be about Marti, but it is Savannah and Danny that keep me interested. Danny is a playboy and Savannah, as Marti put it, "wouldn't know casual if it came up to her on the street and said 'hey, yeah, whatever.'" But thanks to Savannah sticking up to her awful mother, and managing to be classy and loving in the process, Danny has become smitten with her and is going to give the whole "one girl" thing a try. (Very Logan/Rory, isn't it?) But back to our main girl, Marti - it's episode four and we already have her singing. How long til Tisdale is working it on open mic night?

MODERN FAMILY: Beso! Beso! Beso! (If you saw it, you get it. If you didn't, well, I'm just sad for you.)

30 ROCK: How does 30 Rock get Paul Giamatti, Brian Williams (love!) and Andrea Mitchell on an episode and it's not even sweeps. It's just the second of the season. What is going to happen come sweeps? (And I really missed Matt Damon)

FRINGE: This season is equally good and frustrating. The storylines are great, and that Walter/Peter scene broke my already fragile Fringe-loving heart. But Fauxlivia, oh Fauxlivia, you drive me effing nuts! First of all, HUGE shout out to Anna Torv who plays her alternate reality character to perfection. She plays Fauxlivia in a way that you understand why she is fooling everyone, but at the same time never fools the viewer. We see the differences (I think she even sounds different) but you can see how well she is hiding them. I can't wait for her to be discovered! I'm hoping it's Astrid. I love me some sassy Astrid.

BONES: Sigh..... Hannah. You seem like a good person. I don't want to hate you. I really don't. For those that watch Grey's, Hannah is like Addison. She is the other woman, you want her hands off the man whose heart clearly belongs to the titular character of the show, but you kinda can't help but like her just a little. That said, she needs to get the eff out of her. Did you see Bones' face every time Hannah was around?? It's the first time we finally saw how sad she really was about about it (aka how much she loves Booth). Even Clark, who hates any of this silly personal crap, can see it! Dammit!!!

VAMPIRE DIARIES: This exchange is why I love this show:
Mason: Great to meet you. Heard really great things about you.
Damon: Really? That's weird. Cause I'm a dick.
I heart you, Damon.

GREY'S ANATOMY: Who else got really sad when Lexie basically told Mark to eff off right before he was about to tell her he loved her? I love these two together, and want Mark to be happy, because his pouty face is oh so sad.  But more importantly than these two crazy kids: Christina Yang is losing it thanks to that whole 'performing on her best friend's husband at gun point' thing. She even thinks about divorcing Owen after 15 seconds of marriage. But Mer, of course, talked her out of it. And right after that Owen came in with a fantastic speech to win Christina back. Christina gets up, tells Owen they should go home and walks out the door. Owen gets a look of pride that his well-rehearsed speech work, to which Mer says, "I fixed her right before you came. But that was a nice speech." Oh Owen, you should know better than that now!

PRIVATE PRACTICE: These are some of the most child-like adults ever. I say it all the time, but it's always true.

NIKITA: Do we need a scene in every episode where Nikita and Michael hold each other at gunpoint and have a conversation that consists of Michael telling Nikita she will never win this fight and Nikita telling Michael that he is a sheep when it comes to Percy? Every episode? I still like the episode, but the repetition with that is getting a little annoying. Also - who else thinks Percy is Michael's father? I thought that was what he was going to tell Nikita in that flashback at the end of the episode.

SUPERNATURAL: Alright, that's better! Much better episode this week. Fun to go back to an old school monster - the shapeshifter- and learn that they have an "alpha" leader who doesn't need to shed to change? Crazy! Speaking of crazy- what is up with Grandpa? Who was on the phone?? Who is he working for?? And why?? And why after all these years when Dean tells Sam that something is weird about someone does Sam not believe him? Does no one else remember Ruby?!?! Plus we finally got some real quality Sam/Dean time. In a cheap motel room with a weird partition! And a baby! Well, that is new, but loved the baby's name! Bobby John!! But as great as the episode was, nothing, I mean NOTHING, is going to compare to the end. First Lisa has to go and make me like her but telling Dean he needs to hit the road because that is where he wants to be. AND THEN......... METTALICAR!!!! The beautiful Impala (and the only girl that really has any place on the show) was finally unveiled from underneath the tarp. I can't wait to see her on the road next week. Also next week: CAS!! WOOT!

Ok, that's the week! I'm excited I got that done. And still managed to get most of it in there!

Comment me!!

Week in Review: 9/19-9/25 (Wed-Sat)

Alright, finally get to the rest of last week! There is a lot to get to, so no witty intro today. (And yes, some stuff will get skipped. If I didn't talk about it this week, I hope to talk about it next week)

UNDERCOVERS: I'm not totally sold on this one, however I liked it a little more than I expected to. Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw are both gorgeous and talented indivudials. I really like their chemistry together and with the rest of the supporting cast. And when I started to fade at the end of the episode, Gugu loaded a rocket launcher with one hand while driving and then put it out the window and blew up the bad guy she was chasing. Bad. Ass. JJ Abrams likes his chics bad ass, and she definitely lives up to that. Speaking of JJ Abrams, you know how I knew he directed the pilot? Two words: Solar. Flares. Seriously, the guy LOVES them. Final word: still watching it. Interested to see how the first non-exposition episode plays out.

BETTER WITH YOU: Positives: Joanna Garcia, Kurt Fuller, Josh Cooke and the rest of the cast (those are the 3 better halves of each couple, IMO). Some jokes are very funny. Negatives: Some jokes are really bad. Laugh Track. And that last one is a BIG negative. Final word: I'll give it another episode. Either the funny will outweigh the laugh track, like HIMYM, or not. We'll see.

HELLCATS: How do you know you are a big fat nerd? When on a CW show a pretty blonde cheerleader gets a law class assignment with the name Kobayashi in it and the first thing I said (to myself on the couch) was, "It's a fake test! There is no way to win it!! But I bet she's gonna go all Captain Kirk and find a loop hole!" And was I right? Yep. Did it make it less entertaining? Nope. Speaking of the law class, Gale Harold is playing Marti's professor - did anyone else notice something non-professor/student like going on there? Just me? Maybe I've been watching too much LUX and PLL. Ok then. In another relationship: can we please end the love triangle with the "adults." No one cares. Oh, and there is no way that Jeff Hephner is 6 years older than Sharon Leal.

MODERN FAMILY: Hurray! The best comedy on television is back (according to the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences). And they are better than ever. I loved the storyline with Cam and Jay trying to keep Mitchell from helping build Lily's princess castle. Why? Because Mitchell is the most dangerous man ever to hold a tool. Just ask Jay. He says building shelves with Mitchell "It was my Vietnam. And I was in Vietnam." I could list so much more, but needless to say, the point is this show is still on fire. They didn't start phoning it in because they won a bunch of awards. If you somehow have never watched this, please do. Unless you hate to laugh. Then don't.

(STILL) COUGAR TOWN: Or so says the tounge in cheek title card, on the second half of a very funny hour of television on ABC. If you like the funny and tune in for Modern Family, stay for Cougar Town. I discovered my new favorite game on the season premiere. The two movie game. For example: A group of kids solve mysteries in a van in racially charged Brooklyn is Scooby Doo the Right Thing. Get it? Love. And the premiere was extra fun for Friends fans, because Jennifer Aniston starred as Jules' crazy ass therapist. Grayson and Jules are still going strong. Even if Jules won't let him be alone for 3 minutes. But it turns out, even if she does give him space, he just misses her anyway. Because they are adorable. If you like ridiculously child-like adults who still manage to be good people (unlike some other sitcoms) you'll love this. It brings me joy for 22 minutes every week.

THE DEFENDERS: This was cute. I really like Journee Smollet (the ex-exotic dancing lawyer) and Natalie Zea (the prosecuter). Jerry and Jim are both good too. Not sure if I like it enough to keep tuning it. We'll see, I guess.

COMMUNITY AND 30 ROCK: I could literally just transcribe both of these shows right here. I just laughed my ass off for the entire hour. (I haven't gotten to The Office yet, but to be honest I didn't miss it even half as much as I missed these two). These shows make up what is officially the most meta hour of television. Between lines on Community like "That was so season 1" or on 30 Rock Liz Lemon waking up and saying, "Season 5. Here we go!" This shows are aware of their place in pop culture, and pop culture's place in their show. It's fantastic. And the seasons are just going to get better: 30 Rock is going live (with Jon Hamm!!) on October 14. And Community has a zombie Halloween episode, and a claymation Christmas episode on the way (like the old Rudolph and Frosty cartoons). If Modern Family and Cougar Town are the hours of television that make you think "oh good, other people are crazy like me too", Community/30 Rock makes you think "oh thank god I'm not that crazy." And yet, you love all of them!

BONES: YAY!!!!! Bones is back!! And Booth! (See what I did there? I wasn't talking about the show, I was talking about the character. Anywho....) Cam is in trouble because she can't prove the remains she found are those of a missing boy, so Caroline, the greatest DA ever, gets the gang back from all the corners of the earth. Bones and Daisy are on a dig in dlkjflsla (does anyone ever actually catch the name?). Booth is in Afghanistan. Hodgins and Angela are still in Paris. And Sweets is in a piano bar. With a hat, longer hair and a goatee. So cute, Sweets! Anyway, of course they solve the case. Or cases as it turns out. But what's important is that A- Booth has a girlfriend now and B- Ang is knocked up. Let's go good news first: how cute was Bones' reaction to Ang telling her she was pregnant? I expected something almost clinical, but she was genuinely excited. Some growth! As for that other thing.... well the only good news is that whether or not Bones realizes she is jealous, her face shows that she is. She loves Booth, and I just don't think her mind has caught up with her heart yet. My favorite moment of the episode is when Booth said he was going to be like a flea and Bones got the look of a teenage girl when her crush says her name. But, best line was:
Bones: Booth fell in love in Afghanistan.
Angela: Oh, Sweetie, I'm so sorry.
Bones: Why? Are you in love with Booth?
Angela: Well, a little bit. But that's not what I mean.

Aren't we all a little bit in love with Booth? Or a lot a bit? Oh - and I hope they keep the Wooly Mammoth.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: First things first: ALARIC!!!!! Oh, how I've missed your pretty face. And so has Aunt Jenna, but she played it cool. Until the end when he laid a big fat kiss on her. (adorable) Alaric goes on a road trip to Duke with Damon and Elena, who is not happy for all the time with Damon. But Stefan is busy doing vamp training with Caroline (more on that in a second). The road trip is to Duke to find Isabella's research to get more information on Katherine and what she could possibly want. At Duke they get help from Isabella's assistant, after she tries to kill Elena with a cross bow (Damon takes the shot. swoon). Damon tries to win back at least a little of Elena's friendship, after that whole almost killing Jeremy thing. But in the end, he admits he didn't see the magic ring, but regrets it and is glad Jer is okay because he couldn't have lived with himself otherwise. All this doesn't move Elena - she says their friendship is lost forever. Don't count on it, Elena. This show would be sad if there was no Damon/Elena fun. As for the other Salvatore brother, he was a busy man. First he had to convince Bonnie to make a magic ring for Caroline (bonnie is such a pain) and then he has to train Caroline to not be such a super jealous neurotic, epsecially with Matt.  It doesn't work. She ends up nearly killing Matt, and then deciding to force him to break up with her. Poor Little C. (I'm changing her name since she appears to have stolen Little J's makeup artist from GG). Oh... and Mason is a werewolf, and chances are so is Tyler (when he turns 18, perhaps?) and a were bite can kill a vamp. EEK!

BIG BANG THEORY: This show is still funny. And Mayim should be back full time. That's all I got this week. :)

GREY'S ANATOMY: This show is still on fire following the phenomenal season finale. Derek is messed up - but still functioning a little, as he finally quit being chief and gave Webber his much deserved job back. The Twisted Sisters (as Owen calls them) are the two that still haven't been cleared for surgery. But that doesn't mean they aren't doing alright. Christina is hiding in her wedding to Owen (so sweet) and Mer has yet to tell anyone that didn't already know about her miscarriage (including Der). One of the best parts of the opening for me is that April and Jackson are now just part of the crew. No more Mercy West/Seattle Grace separation. So glad for it, by the way. I like Sarah Drew, and would be happy to like April, and we all know how I feel about the hotness monster! My favorite part of the episode was when Lexie finally tells off Alex for being a total douche. I cheered. Alex needs a swift kick to the nuts.

PRIVATE PRACTICE: Ummmm.... it was a good episode, but I don't have much to say. Although I totally called Sam and Addison still together and just not talking about it. So hurray? Whatever. These people are so messed up!

FRINGE: I Love Olivia and was genuinely sad when she started to fade and Fauxlivia started to break through. But I loved, Henry, her cab driver and was glad to read he would be on more episodes. But none of that sadness on the other side measured up to the way my heart broke when Pacey, I mean Peter, gave Fauxlivia a kiss. I'm dreading this weeks episode because. Oh, and the director of the episode, Joe Chappelle, apparently went to the JJ Abrams (creator of the show) school of directing - the episode was very  solar flare heavy!

NIKITA: The episode was good, and I really liked guest star Julie Gonzalo (Veronica Mars, Eli Stone). But the best part was when the tech guy said he was like "River Phoenix is Sneakers." Bonus points for that awesome reference.

SUPERNATURAL: I'm SOOOO excited this show is back. You have no idea. Well, I know a few of you do. Anyway, that being said, this episode was not the best. The montage at the start that went back and forth between Hunter Dean and Domesticated Dean was great and made me sad. I was even more sad later when I realized just how much of Domesticated Dean we would be getting. My biggest issue was that there was just a whole lot of Dean saying "Wait, what?" or some form of that. I felt so bad for him when he realized that even Bobby knew that Sam had been back the whole time. And I will say that seeing Lisa going the way of Mom and Jessica (ceiling, bleeding, fire) was upsetting and made me giggle. (I actually like Lisa, but I want her gone so I can get Dean back!) It was also creepy seeing Azazel again. But I liked all the throwbacks to the old stuff. Biggest question: WTF is up with Grandpa Campbell (and the cousins)?! Why didn't he kill that chic? What is going on there? Considering Sera Gamble, Eric Kripke and the rest of the crew have been saying "it's back to monster of the week," this episode seemed to be going the route of mythology. That is not a bad thing, by the way. Just curious as to where it is going....

SNL: Amy Poehler rocked it! So great. And so was Katy Perry in the Brooklyn Beat skit. So fabulous!! Also loved Jimmy, Tina, Maya, Rachel and, of course, Justin Timberlake!!

Alright, friends. What did you think of this past week? Let me know!

Week in Review: 9/19-9/25 (Part 1)

Welcome to the official start of the fall season! Since I watch approximately 387532 shows (give or take a few) I've decided to try splitting up my blog. This one will have what I watched Sunday - Tuesday, and then this weekend I'll cover Wednesday-Friday. Or that is the plan. I don't always watch when shows are on, so if your favorite Sunday - Tuesday shows don't make it into this blog and you know I watch them, look for them this weekend.

I'm very excited about quite a few of the new shows, and very happy with many returning favorites as well, so enough chit chat, and let the celebration begin! [throws confetti and then curses because remembered there is no maid]


BOARDWALK EMPIRE: I'm in. I was in after the first 10 minutes. No, scratch that. I was in 10 minutes before the show started while watching the pre-show. This is the show that replaces The Sopranos. True Blood is completely fabulous, but it is camp and The Sopranos was definitely not camp. This show is also not camp. Even if I hadn't known Scorsese was directing I would have been able to tell. It was perfection, and the montage at the end (specifically the shot of the guy at the record player) was classic Marty Scorsese. Love. Buscemi is more than I could have hoped for, but the highlights to me are Stephen Graham as Al Capone (GREAT introduction to that character, by the way!) and Eddie, Nucky's butler or whatever, made me laugh everytime he was on screen. A great way to break the tension going on in a lot of the scenes. Although Nucky is pretty funny himself, of course. I can't wait to see where it goes. Oh, and really glad the wife beater got it in the end. That guy as disgusting.

MAD MEN: Oh, Mrs. Blackenship, we were just getting to really appreciate you. And then you died. But thankfully that didn't mean the laughter had to stop. As always, Joan stepped up to the plate and helped take care of things, because like Don said, "I'd have my secretary do it, but she's dead." Fabulous. When Joan wasn't busy helping take care of Don's dead secretary, she was getting mugged and then having sex with Roger in an alley (as you do). But she came to her senses (or not) the next day when she pointed out they were both married and that it just wasn't going to happen for them. The episode was titled, The Beautiful Girls, as in those that surround Don. That was really highlighted this with the Sally running away storyline. As Peggy, Joan, Megan and Faye all took turns helping out with Sally we saw how much support Don actually has around him. Unfortunately, Don doesn't always see it or appreciate it. But as all the woman stood in the doorway around Don as he brought Sally out to the ever clueless Betty, I was breathless. Despite the issues, these women have become his family.

CHUCK: HURRAY! Chuck is back!! Over the summer Chuck and Morgan have been on a world wide secret (expensive) mission to find Chuck's mom, who at the end of last season we discovered was a spy. Of course, it just leads them back to LA, much to the dismay of Morgan who has been in charge of the financials. Chuck has also been keeping this mission a secret from Sarah, to avoid having her worry. Meanwhile Sarah and Casey have been on the hunt for this week's big bad, Dolph Lundgren (looking fab for being 110) and that has put a strain on their relationship. But don't worry - Josh Schwartz has told us Chuck and Sarah fans have nothing to fear. The general is eager to have Chuck back as a spy, so she sabotages all his interviews, and rebuilds the Buy More as a CIA cover where we meet the awesomely pretty, Greta, played this week by Olivia Munn. This week, at least. So Chuck is back to spy-hood. Of course both Sarah/Casey and Chuck/Morgan follow leads (to Dolph and Mom, respectively) that take them to Russia - by choice or kidnapping. Chuck saves the day with his ass-kicking intersect skills and everyone is happy. Well, Ellie won't be when she finds out Chuck is a spy again, but besides that... Best of all, I'm happy. Because this show is rocking. And because Linda Hamilton still kicks ass (or at least I think it's her. Hard to tell through the soft focus)

THE EVENT: The pacing of the show may have give me a little bit of a headache, but I like it. Josh Ritter is fantastic. I'm going to enjoy him as the hero of the show. I'm also looking forward to how they play Scott Patterson's character after he went to crash a plane into the president's Miami party. And where did that plane go, by the way? Was Benjamin Linus turning a big wheel at the bottom of a well somewhere? But apparently these questions are already answered by the next episode, so I'm not too worried about having to ask these questions for a long time. One thing I will say for this show, they do know how to build suspense. I almost died when the little girl was grabbed outside her house! (Speaking of that whole family a few little tidbits - Scott Patterson and Josh Ritter have both played love interests to Lauren Graham (Scott on Gilmore Girls and Josh on Parenthood). And the actress who plays Scott's wife, Julia Campbell, played Trinity's wife on Dexter and her daughter on Dexter was played by Vanessa Marano who played April, Scott's daughter on Gilmore Girls. Get all that? No? Doesn't matter, just something that I found amusing and no one else in the world would).

HOUSE: So, we've got Huddy for real now. No hallucinations. Although they did give you a scare there for a second when Wilson came knocking on the door. But we all know Huddy is on, for now. But the other big story this week was the exit of Thirteen so she could go play with Cowboys and Aliens (coming soon to a theater near you). She finally got some closure with Foreman, and then a not so unexpected proposition from Chase. Her leaving forced his hand - apparently he was playing a long game. A little disappointed she didn't take him up on it, because, well, he is hot. And there is the accent. Speaking of Chase, my favorite moment of the episode came when he went to tell Cuddy's assistant that he was a neurosurgeon, so the hospital ER wouldn't get shut down. When the assistant said that Cuddy's first instructions were not to believe anything House or his team says, Chase then said, "I'm not a neurosurgeon?" Fantastic. A little sad to read there won't be more of the assistant.

LONE STAR: I'm trying not to get attached because the ratings SUCKED, but I found this show completely charming, as was the lead. I'm interested to see where they want to take it - how long can this guy conceivably lead two lives and con everyone without being found out? But I have a sneaking suspicion I'm not going to get to find out... and if I don't, someone please snatch up James Wolk quick. Perhaps as Kyle Chandler's brother in something?

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: SO excited this show is back, and already better than last season. What we learned: Marshall tells WAY too much to his dad. Lily is scared she won't be able to have kids and therefore disappoint an already very invested Marshall. Robin has not taken the break up with Don well. But cleans up real nice! Ted remembers that Cindy's (Rachel Bilson) roommate just may be (is!!!) the one. But that wasn't the chic in the bar - that girl, as it turns out, was Cindy's one. Ted is so awful, he turned poor Cindy! LOL. And Barney, well Barney still wants to find his dad. And thinks Robin is really hot. Speaking of..... Are we all on the same page about what was happening in the flashforward at the end of the show??? We are right?? If you aren't on the same page, then get on it, because I'm right. I know I am. Seriously, I have confirmation. My reaction: SQUEE.

GOSSIP GIRL: One word: Swoooooon. Ok, more than one word? Chuck Bass, you heart breaking bastard. The scene towards the end of the episode literally broke my heart. I'm a big Chuck/Blair fan, however I know they need to not be together right now. But let me put down the wonderful words of the end of the conversation, just because I rewound and watched it like 5 times, (partially because that dress was super fab):

Blair: I don't love you anymore. But it takes more than even you to destroy Blair Waldorf.

Chuck: Your world would be easier if I didn't come back.

Blair: That's true..... But it wouldn't be my world without you in it.

Sigh... Anyway, there was more than just these two. (And thankfully Chuck went back to being Chuck at the end). Dan still doesn't realize that Georgina is gone, but is back with Vanessa thanks to a nudge from Nate and his new girl. Poor Serena, left out again because she took too long to decide. Best line of the night goes to the super fab (and shady!) Katie Cassidy: "The life of Serena Van Der Woodsen is like the most complicated Jane Austen novel ever." Yes, yes it is. And really, we wouldn't want it any other way.

90210: Man, these kids are effed up. I really don't have anything else to say. :)

CASTLE: My Nathan Fillion is back on TV and all is right in the world. Well not really, since Castle didn't call his buddies at the precinct and they are none too happy about it. But charming as he is, he gets back into their good graces by helping solve the case. Even more adorable than how obviously hurt Beckett was by not hearing from Castle, was the damper it put on the bromance with Ryan and Esposito. I especially enjoyed the moment when Beckett and Castle, once again, said "I know who the killer is" in unison. The look on Beckett's face said she was a little sorry she let him back in, but knew it would happen. And the look on Castle's face was, well, charming, of course. A little arrogant, because he knew he would win this game, but also a little relieved because even if he is back with his ex wife, we all know Beckett is his girl. By the way - I'm a little too in love with Fillion to ever judge this show objectively. Thought I should finally admit that now that we are into season 3.

HAWAII 5-0: Are you done humming the theme song yet? No? That's ok neither am I. But I despite the new constant soundtrack in my head, I looooove this show. So much fun. The chemistry between all four main characters is really great, especially between Alex O'Laughlin as McGarrett and Scott Caan as Danno. It's key these two play well together on screen, and thankfully they did. Scott is especially funny. But my favorite part was, of course, James Marsters as Spike, I mean, I honestly don't remember because I kept calling him Spike in my head. And then when he fought with McGarrett, I will admit to being just a little disappointed because Spike would have totally kicked Mick St. John's ass in a vampire battle! Yes, I did think about this during their fight scene. Yes, I realize that is sad. Whatever. Point is, I liked the show. Isn't that enough for you??

GLEE: Oh sweet Glee, I am so happy you are back. Have I mentioned that? Because I really really missed you. And I was so not disappointed. Every musical number was great. Even the rapping for Empire State of Mind didn't upset me too much! Speaking of, can not tell you how much I enjoyed the meta moment when "Jew Fro" (what is his name? I never remember) asked Mr. Shue how he felt about everyone on the blogs hating his rapping. Dear Ryan Murphy and Matthew Morrison, thank you thank you thank you for having a sense of humor!! So let's see. Tina is now with Mike Chang (and his abs). Poor Artie. Finn and Rachel are still together, and somehow Finn is okay with that. Quinn is thin again, and with the loss of baby weight, her head-cheerleader-ness returns. Santana ain't happy about it. Brittany spent the summer in the sewers? And there is a new football coach - Ms. Bieste. Love her! But it's about the songs right? Love the new guy. (The exchange about balls in his mouth almost made me pee my pants). And then there is Sunshine. Wowza. If you youtube Charice, you will see that she is famous for singing Listen from Dreamgirls. And I can see why. When Amber Riley sang And I'm Telling You my reaction was, that was amazing, but Jennifer Hudson was better. As far as Charice/Beyonce, they are tied, in my opinion. That was insane. And Finn's face as he realized what it was doing to Rachel was classic. Rachel was at a new low this episode, and I hope they make her likeable by next week, because I love her. But as far as I'm concerned she made up for it with her rendition of What I Did For Love. Soooo fantastic. And used in the correct context! Hurray!!

ONE TREE HILL: Well, Hallelujah, Haley was smart enough to look INSIDE the house when she hadn't heard from Quinn. Take note, Nathan! During the episode Quinn and Clay are in some sort of limbo and Clay says Quinn needs to go, with the promise that he will wake up too. Let me say this: if he doesn't, I'm going to be really pissed. Why? Can't these people have a moment of normal? Seriously. Tree Hill is a scary ass town. But when i wasn't cursing the producers, I was laughing at the always adorable Jamie who said that Mia and Chase tried to kidnap him. Love that kid. Speaking of Chase: really?? Alex?? Really? You always seemed like a good kid with a head on your shoulders but the cherry stem in a knot thing was enough for you? Really?? I'm not sure I like you anymore. My thoughts on all of these things are reserved for next week. (BTW: Mouth and Millie again, huh? Ok then...)

LIFE UNEXPECTED: In student and teacher love connection 2.0, teacher is coming off way better than one Mr. Fitz. First, Mr. Daniels doesn't make goo goo eyes everytime Lux walks into a room. In fact he very convincingly acts as if she is nothing but another student. However when he realizes he almost took an apartment where he would be living with her part time, he didn't take it, making her think there is something there. He denies it, but of course, when Lux uses her sad face he eventually admits he totally thinks she is hot and they had a "moment." Not sure where this show is going to go with it. It's not as campy as Pretty Little Liars, so I don't think they will be making out in his car in the rain in the next episode, but who knows. Meanwhile, another Buffy alum is on TV and it brings me so much joy! Baze got a job working for his dad's company, but more specifically, working for Emma, played by the oh so awesome Emma Caulfield (Anya on Buffy). And soon I think Emma and Baze will be doing more than working together if you know what I mean, wink wink, nudge nudge.

Alrighty, that is what I've watched so far from the Sunday-Tuesday field. Whatever I missed should hopefully make it into the blog this weekend. Enjoy! Comment! Avoid telling me I watch too much TV! (I know already)

Week in Review: 9/12-9/18

Hello everyone. It's a little late, but I'm here getting my week in review done, as promised! Going to try to do it on the weekends from now on, but no promises on that one. 


MAD MEN: Somehow voice over is more interesting when Don Draper is the one doing it. Another great episode from this series that has been on fire, with no end in sight. And while Don may have been giving the narration, the real highlight this week was the power struggle between Joan, Peggy and Joey. Joey enjoys a good joke at Joan's expense feeling that she is a useless overblown secretary. Joan, frustrtated, gives them a talking to that makes me cheer, warning them that when they are in the jungles of Vietnam they will look back and realize how great it was to just have to deal with her. Peggy decides that is not enough and fires Joey. Joey was a douche, but I will miss Matt Long's pretty face. Joan says all that will do is make Joey and the other men in the office, resent them even more. But more exciting that any of this: Anne Dudek was back as Francine! WOO!

ENTOURAGE: What a long downward spiral it has been for Vincent Chase, ending with the cops finding cocaine in his pocket while in the hospital after getting his ass beat by Eminem and his thugs (classic). I'm very interested in how this series wraps up during it's final season next summer. Hopefully all goes well for the boys we've grown to love. Yes, even Drama. But if something bad happens with Eric and Sloane I will hunt Mark Whalberg down and smack him. Just kidding. If I found him I'd probably just stare at his pretty.

TRUE BLOOD: So, the finale. Well, I liked it. But as someone who read the books, I was kind of left a little unsatisfied. To avoid spoiling anything (or I should say I possibly spoiling anything) I will leave it at this: There are things that happen with Eric and Jason that I want to happen on the show, and they didn't. However that is not to say they won't. In fact Jason being in Hotshot makes it very likely his will still happen. And I believe the thing with Eric has already been confirmed by Alan Ball, so fingers crossed. That being said: I'm relatively happy with the ending of the season. It didn't quite end of the same note that the other seasons ended on (you know, Sookie screaming) but it was still good. My biggest question is not where did Sookie go or did Sam shoot Tommy. It is, what the hell was with the creepy baby doll on the floor of Hoyt and Jessica's new house? Seriously. Of anything that has ever happened on the show, THAT was the creepiest. Also: I miss you Godric. Please come back some more.

90210: The kids of West Bev are back and more screwed up than ever. Annie is off house arrest (Her punishment for killing that guy. Whatever happened to the storyline that she didn't really do it?!), has a new intership and is making kissy face with the yummy Liam. Naomi is going cuckoo for cocoa puffs after getting raped (for reals this time). Silver and Teddy are still going strong, until Teddy is found with a practically naked Naomi. Wasn't what you thought, Silver, but just a hint: it's not going to matter in the long run anyway. Dixon is jealous of his girlfriends new live in old friend, who she does have a crush on, but it doesn't matter cuz he is doing her mom. And then there is Adrianna, right after Javier tells her she is totally useless and she is off the tour, he gets killed. And then she steals his songs. Fantastic. Oh, and there was an earthquake. Whatever, just another day in Beverly Hills.

GOSSIP GIRL: Dear Upper West Siders, Things are still crazy with our favorite friends. Dan is a baby daddy (or is he?) and is about to discover he is a SINGLE baby daddy. Nate has slept with all of Manhattan, but then meets the totally awesome Katie Cassidy who seems cool, but because she is played by Katie Cassidy, is totally shady. Eric seems to missing. Lily and Rufus are still shaky ground thanks to the Chuck and Jenny debacle. Speaking of Chuck, he was saved from the alley in Amsterdam by Fleur from Harry Potter who does not know his name. But now they are in Paris, which is where S & B are. Serena has been sexing it up and Blair has been shopping it up. They fight and make up as always (over boys, Serena choosing Columbia over Brown) and are about to get a bit of a shock when they find Chuck this week. Good times. Oh, and best of all: Little J is still mercifully in Hudson (or wherever) with her mother. Good riddance.

COVERT AFFAIRS: This was sold as a "two hour season finale" but really it was just two episodes blocked together, one of which was the season finale. In fact the first episode, a fun one guest starring Gregory Itzin and Anna Chumlsky, seemed a bit out of order. But whatever. As for the regular season finale, well, that was a good hour of television. It was fun to see Annie and Ben together now, not in flashbacks. Ben is a great character, and I love him. Although Ben and Jai with their constant "protect Annie" bit was annoying me as much as it was her, which is why I am glad she wasn't the one that needed saving in the final battle at the building. But when Ben was shot.... well, let's just say I was not happy. And as my husband pointed out, they didn't seem to be heading to the nearest medical facility! Let's all keep our fingers crossed that we haven't seen the end of Ben Mercer. Even if we all know the end of the show will have Annie and Auggie married with kids (is that just in my head?) Ben is too much fun to lose after only one short season.

LIFE UNEXPECTED: For those of you who watched Pretty Little Liars this summer, you may have had a sense of deja vu when Lux met a handsome young man while she was in a bar who then assumed she was of legal age (you know, cuz she is in the bar) and they have a "moment," only to discover on the first day of school that the handsome young man is her new teacher. (Why hello, Aria and Mr. Fitz, nice to see you again!) They did play it differently on this show, and I still like the storyline, so I'm not complaining. Plus, on this show you get to know teacher a little better. While I enjoy Aria and Fitz on PLL, I always felt like he had no personality and his sole purpose was to listen to Aria complain about shit. Anyway, back to LUX. The ex Mrs. Dean Forester of Gilmore Girls, Arielle Kebbel (also the chic Sam shot in his flashback on True Blood) is the new bartender at Baze's bar. Then she set it on fire... turns out she is also Ryan's sister. But she is not the only mystery woman in Ryan's life, there is some woman Julia who sent them a weird vase. Between Paige, Julia and the new co-host, how will Ryan have time for Cate?

ONE TREE HILL: There are so many things I can say about this episode. Love all the Brooke and Julian cuteness. Love the Haley and Nate cuteness. But my biggest issue is WHY THE HELL HAS NO ONE GONE TO SEE WHERE QUINN AND CLAY ARE?!? It's been over 24 hours. When Nate knocks on the door, why doesn't he go around back and check? Aren't their cars in the driveway? Shouldn't that make him suspicious. Obviously you can get in through Clay's bedroom since crazy Katie/Sarah did to shoot them. How long are they going to lay there bleeding out? And how long can they and we actually are supposed to believe they survive?? Seriously!! So mad about it.

PARENTHOOD: Was Jasmine this selfish last season? I don't remember her being this selfish. Oh well, I guess we will see where it goes. I really enjoy this show, and I'm glad it is back. If only because not having Lauren Graham on TV every week after Gilmore Girls ended was killing me a little. Also really glad Minka Kelley was back. I heart her and anyone else who was ever on an episode of Friday Night Lights. My new favorite character is Joel. His arguments on the roof with Zeke won me over.

DARK BLUE: This two part season finale guest starred Johnnt Messner, Seamus Deaver and Todd Stashwick making them my favorite episodes of the season. Also a highlight: all the Jamie and Dean love. They are my favorite, and they have been ignoring their relatioship most of the season. Glad to have them back, at least kind of. Not sure if this was renewed for another season, but if Tricia Helfer is back and they keep going with Dean and Jamie, I'm in,

HELLCATS: Still not totally sold on this show, but this week's was better than the pilot. Love Matt Barr as Marti's friend Dan. I especially like that they don't have him in love with Marti, but instead interested in Savannah. Also just love that he isn't totally psycho like on One Tree Hill. But I keep waiting for that to happen. I find it funny that the moral of this show seems to be "Trashy or Snobby, all moms suck." LOL. Even if Marti's mom redeemed herself at the end of the episode, I can guarantee that won't stick!
VAMPIRE DIARIES: I don't know about you, but I am in love with Vampire Caroline. I can't wait to see how she does with this. I didn't like her all that much last season, but now she is really fun to watch. Not as fun as Damon though, who cracks me up. When he said to Stefan, "Aren't you afraid one day all the forrest animals will band together and fight back? Surely they talk." I almost died laughing. Classic Damon. Also loved that he seems to like Jeremy. And in a way, that Jeremy seems to like him. Their banter when Jeremy came into the house to kill him was great - especially when Damon pointed out how crappy Jer's whittling skills are. Not loving Bonnie though. Listen, witch, Damon may have gave Caroline that blood, but you told him to, and Katherine was the one that killed her, so quit trying to burn the most interesting character on this show alive! One big question/complaint: WHERE THE EFF IS ALARIC??? I miss my Matt Davis.

NIKITA: Still loving this show. I'm finding it very Joss Whedon- esque. Hot girl who is snarky and kicks ass? Check. Even snarkier tech nerd? Check. Brooding hot guy whose loyalties are in question? Check. It all makes me happy. Wondering how long Shane West's Michael can really keep his loyalties in line with Division. Even if you know you can't beat them, does that really mean you are supposed to stay with them? Speaking of Shane West, I find his brooding face to be very similar to Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester. And his gravelly voice to be like, well, every male character on a CW genre show! Just saying...

Ok. That's it. Next week, the DVR explodes, as will my blog! Can't wait! Already in love with Boardwalk Empire. Looking forward to hearing what you guys all think!

Comment away!

A Long Overdue Blog

Hellooooo my lovely readers. Have you forgiven me for taking so long to write a blog? Had to get back into the swing of things with school. But it's under control now. I've even written 4500 words of my 50000 word novel. That is almost 1/10 done! Woo! Did you like that math? Impressive, no?

Anywhoooo, since this is covering about two weeks worth, I'm just going to talk about the shows in a random order, and what has been going on in the past couple weeks or so.

MAD MEN: Wow. Just wow. There was a really great episode two weeks ago, but honestly, does anyone want to talk about any episode of Mad Men besides "The Suitcase?" It was the best hour of television in as long as I can remember. If you have been reading my Mad Men posts, you will know that the Don/Peggy relationship is my favorite and that even the littlest tid bits they have been dishing out have been the highlights of the season. So imagine my joy at an episode where almost the entire hour is just Don and Peggy. There rode an emotional roller coaster that night from laughing at Roger's recording for his memoir to the Don receiving the news of the death of Anna Draper. This episode was pitch perfect. I have watched in 3 times. Seriously. While the episode is better if you have been watching for the past 3 1/2 seasons, the episode works well as a stand alone. I don't know how they are going to top it. And while Don and Peggy were the highlight, the moment when Pete saw Peggy and Trudy exit the ladies room together was hysterical. That moment of blind panic that flashed on his face for a split second before he could compose himself was perfection. Nothing like seeing your former baby mama and current baby mama (the latter unaware of the former's status as baby mama) exit that mysterious void that is the ladies room!

RUBICON: Listen, I know this show is slow and quiet. But I kind of like it. When so many shows are in your face (not a bad thing, just saying...) it is kind of nice to have a show that really makes you listen and work for the information. Television can be smart, and this one is. But for as intense and intricate as this show can be - it is also pretty funny. Between Will's ragtag group of analysts (the best being sad sack, Miles) and Maggie's school girl crush on Will there are a lot of laughs. Especially when poor Maggie is so lonely she invites some guy from her class over for a booty call, only to have a scared Will surprise her at her door at 2am to find her with said booty call. So sad. But the most interesting character on the series is Kale, Will's boss who is equally amusing as he is scary and completely unreadable.

COVERT AFFAIRS: Oh, USA Network, you truly never let me down. The past two weeks have been big on this series. Two weeks ago we learned a lot more about Ben as he finally made contact with Annie in order to get her help with an old CI. Unfortunately, said CI wound up dead anyway. And Annie broke protocol which got her in trouble with Joan. But as we have seen all season, despite using Annie to get at Ben (on her husband's orders) Joan is very protective of Annie. They have almost a mother/daughter relationship. Annie gets in trouble, Joan scolds and punishes her, but ultimately loves and will protect her. But there is more than just Joan working Annie to get to Ben - Jai was placed her for the sole reason of using Annie to find intel on Ben. And for that reason he gets himself invited to a family BBQ at Annie's sisters. This moment two weeks ago was a big pre-cursor to the events of this past week's ep. While on vacation with Danielle, Annie recalls that two weeks with Ben. Now that she knows he is also CIA, she is remembering things that otherwise never stood out to her. Such as him talking to a certain guy in a hat. A guy that turns out to be: Jai. Not a huge surprise for us, but a knock out for Annie who has grown to trust (and crushing on) him. Can't wait to see what that twist leads to in the two part season finale this week! And before I finish up my CA portion of this blog a thought for all of you other fans of this show: Kevin and I have, since episode 1, thought that Danielle's husband, Michael, is somehow connected to the CIA or other government agency. Originally there were two reasons: 1- his job has always been bizarrely non-descript. 2- while having "outside family" is nice for Annie's character, it will eventually be dead weight if it doesn't get tied in (see: Alias). But since the pilot additional reason have piled on such as: did he REALLY lose his job? Or has he been on some sort of mission? And how crazy of a coincidence is it that when Annie suddenly has a mission go all crazy in Niagara Falls, Michael suddenly appears, no longer having to do whatever work obligation was keeping him from the trip?  If it turns out to be nothing, then we are just crazy, but if that twist shows up, remember we said it so I don't have to say I told you so!

WHITE COLLAR: There were so many things I was expecting to happen on these last episodes. Almost none of them happened and I am so happy. First I expected some big rift between Neal and Peter. Nope. I expected either Danielle or Diana to turn bad. Nope. I expected Kate to show up. Nope. Hurray for none of these things happening! Also hurray for the reveal of the real bad guy: Paul Blackthorne, who always plays a really great villain. And hurray for a really great cliffhanger: Poor Mozzie getting shot on a park bench outside Central Park. Not hurray for him getting shot, but hurray for a truly unexpected cliffhanger! And let's face it. We all watch a lot of TV- I'd put good money on Moz getting help in time and being just fine when we return in January!

PSYCH: So the past two episodes have had a new character: Declan played by Nestor Carbonell. The mysteries of the week have been ok. Honestly, not that interesting. Although I did enjoy the fun casting of Franke Potente in the Bourne episode for the finale. If only John Cena had been able to come back! But despite that fun, I've been distracted by the Shawn/Jules/Declan love triangle that has started. Here is why: Shawn and Juliet have both been acting like 12 year olds when it comes to their relationship recently and playing stupid stupid games. But then the last 10 minutes of the finale happened. Shawn (while still wearing a wire) admitted to Gus that he was upset about Juliet and Declan, but all he wants is for her to be happy and if Declan does that for Jules he can't say anything. BUT, he wants to be happy too, and the only way he sees that happening is if Jules is in his life. A revelation that, while not surprising, was still a shock to hear exit "Serious Moment Shawn's" mouth. It shocked Gus, Shawn and Jules who was listening to the whole thing in the truck!! (Let's ignore that uber-observant Shawn should have realized he was still wearing a wire and that Jules was not at the bust and therefore probably in the truck, because thinking about that ruins the moment!) If that wasn't enough for Shawn-Jules shippers, then there was the last couple minutes. As Shawn gives a rambling and heartfelt speech to Jules upon hearing that her vacation with Declan was 2 weeks (!), a speech that was meant to say "I love you but I want you to be happy" without saying the words, she kisses him. SQUEE! Love the way James Roday played the moment - almost as if he didn't really know what to do. And so the season ends, with Jules going shopping for her trip leaving Shawn with a look over her shoulder of sadness and confusion. Thank goodness this one comes back in November and not January!!

And now that we are done with all the finales (or already premiered) shows, let's look at the few shows who started their fall season this past week:

HELLCATS: This show was OK for me. I liked that Ashley Tisdale wasn't the villain. I liked Aly Michalka. And DB Woodside (Buffy Alum!!). But, I found a lot of the episode almost cringe-worthy. I just wanted some scenes to end. However, I am willing not to judge on the pilot, as they are often not the best the show has to offer. More opinion after next week.

TERRIERS: I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. The previews I had seen didn't show much, but it was created by Shawn Ryan (The Shield), stars Donal Logue (sorry dude, you are always and forever Jimmy the Cab Driver) and Michael Raymond-James (Rene from True Blood), and it received great reviews. Had to give it a try. Glad I did. It is a lot of fun. Basically, it is Veronica Mars with scruffy guys instead of a pretty high school girl. They are PIs, unofficially (like Veronica), help the little guys (like Veronica), are both really snarky (like Veronica) and they get into a big war with one of the rich and powerful men in town (like Veronica). While the similarity may be unintentional it is very apparent to anyone who was a VM fan. And I'm not saying it is a negative. Hardly. Veronica Mars was one of the most enjoyable and smartest shows I have ever seen. And while I'd probably pick Kristen Bell over any actor any day of the week, Logue and Raymond-James are great picks for "scruffy guy" fill-ins. But if they got some VM alum on there I would be extra happy.

NIKITA: Unlike the other new show on The CW, I'm really loving this one right off the bat. Maggie Q is great as the title character, Nikita (don't call her Niki!). As are all of the other leads. Melinda Clarke, once again, playing a madame of sorts - she is the one in charge of "grooming" the girls at Division, the secret government organization Nikita was once part of and is now trying to take down. Shane West is always adorable, and is playing her former handler very well - torn between his love (?) for her and his loyalty to Division. And then there is my Lyndsy Fonesca, the newest trainee at Division. And girl with a lot of mysteries. The action was fun. And Maggie doing a crazy fight sequence in a bathing suit that leaves nothing to the imagination earns her a lot of points from me. And then there was the last 5 mintues which revealed a HUGE twist that changes the course of the show right off the bat. Bravo, writers, Bravo. Not expecting it even a little, and have to say makes me even more excited for this series.

And last but certainly not least (by a long shot!)

VAMPIRE DIARIES: Oh Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson, you crazy kids sure know how to make a TV show. Last season you had the best finale of the season. And if you don't agree with that (I accept the argument that Mad Men's "Shut the Door, Have a Seat" was superior overall), it certainly had the best cliffhanger, hands down. How can they top it?? I don't know, but they did! What an insane hour of television. The CW may be a teeny-bopper network, but it is churning out some truly legit programming! First: props to Nina Dobrev. If I didn't know better I would think that Katherine and Elena were being played by two different people! Genius work girl. (And if I'm being honest, she is acting CIRCLES around this years Emmy winner for Actress in a Drama, Kyra Sedgwick. Sorry, Kyra) Then there is the best relationship on this show: Stefan and Damon. The scene on the bench outside the memorial service for the mayor where they discussed how to handle Katherine was fantastic. Their back and forth is always the highlight of any episode. And while the episode was a lot fun (Hello very pretty Uncle Mason, and good bye, I assume just for now, very pretty Uncle Jonathan), the last 5 minutes were EPIC. What the hell?? Kissing, neck snapping, smothering, oh my! Game on, indeed, Katherine. Game! Friggin! On! Is it Thursday yet?


So there you have it. Sorry for the long long delay. I will be back next weekend to discuss what is left of summer TV, and rejoice in the start of more CW programs!

Comment me!! I miss your comments!

Week in Review: 8/22-8/28 (And the Emmys!)

Hi friends! So, from this point on I'm probably just going to be doing Week in Reviews. Though I will try to get a special blog in for the season finale of True Blood. (Guess what... I don't think Eric dies!) And yes, I know this one is super late. BUT the Emmys and school starting sort of threw off my schedule. Anywho, let's get to it.

MAD MEN: The very start of the episode was Don Draper's assistant doing a crossword. Rubicon has me thinking she is going to find some sort of crazy code and then kill herself. Which Don would probably be ok with since she is the worst assistant ever. This episode had my jaw on the floor the entire time. Between the horrible parenting of Betty Draper and Rogers horrible reaction to the Japanese owners of the Honda Corporation, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Although that is not to say there weren't some laughs. One was unintentional- Patricia Bethune as Sally's therapist? Bon Temps's local drunk, Jane Bodehouse, should not be around children, let alone providing them therapy! This exchange was an intentional laugh, and one of my favorites of the week:

Honda guy (in japanese, while looking at Jane's breasts): How does she not fall over?
Jane: Not very subtle are they?
Japanese translator (looking at Jane's breasts): No they aren't.

DROP DEAD DIVA: This week the two cases were the "I Want to Marry Ryan Banks" storyline and a guy so depressed his wife died he dresses like a clown. You read that right. Let's go with case one. Doesn't matter the details, all you need to know is that it was a re-do of the 2004 ABC Family movie "I Want to Marry Ryan Banks" starring Jason Preistly, Emma Caulfield and BRADLEY COOPER! Why ABC Family does not re-air this all the time is beyond me. Anywho... the first case dealt with that but had Camielle Gauty in Emma's role, Matt Letsher in Bradleys and (gag) Jake Pavelka in Jason's role aka The Bachelor role. Quite a stretch. The clown in the other case was played by Barry Watson (7th Heaven, What About Brian?). I love Barry Watson, so glad to see him, but wish we actually saw him. The storyline was sweet. This show is good at that- cheesy yet sweet.

LEVERAGE: While I enjoy this show, especially Christian Kane, I usually find it kinda silly. However, this week's episode where they one by one explained how they did (or actually) didn't steal a dagger five years ago was very clever. I did see the "twist" that they were all in each other's backstory from the first time Sophie went through the scenario. And I knew who was going to be which character - Parker is always the caterer, Eliot is always the guy in the glasses, etc. But it was a fun episode to watch. And I think we all knew where it was going (Nathan did it!) but I enjoyed the ride more than usual.

SECRET LIFE... : The week before this episode, at the very end it was revealed that everyone forgot Amy's birthday while she was in NYC. It was the very last moment of the show, so I was mad because how can they have a show that star's Molly Ringwald and do the "forgotten birthday" story without acknowledging that connection. Thankfully, at the start of this episode when Ricky let's everyone know they forgot Molly's character says this, "It is a big deal! Everyone forgot my sixteenth birthday and it stayed with me my whole life." Literally the best thing ever on this series. It can't be topped.

WHITE COLLAR: Tiffani Theissen without a green screen! Hallelujah!!! I squeal in delight! This was another great episode, especially because of all the Moz fun. Like learning one of his hideouts is named Tuesday because he goes there on Wednesdays. Classic. I'm glad they are putting Moz more in the fold instead of just keeping him in Neal's apartment.

COVERT AFFAIRS: LOVED this Auggie-centric episode. Christopher Gorham is great on this show, and I'm glad we got to see a little bit more about his character. It seems to me that the show will eventually go the Auggie-Annie love connection route, but I'm glad that they are taking the long way around to get there. In the meantime, I am enjoying their very innocent flirting and Annie's flirtation with Jai. I'm interested to see where the game Auggie is playing with the reporter goes. Seems like someone is going to get hurt!

FLIPPING OUT: Love the chic that owns Casa Verde. Just have to say that. Although how much are those margaritas?!?! Insane. Speaking of insane, that house in NorCal?? Jeez! That place was unbelievable.

MEMPHIS BEAT: Already the season finale? Really? The opening of the episode showed Dwight having a dream within a dream.... hmmmmm..... was his idea to take another look at the case of the missing girl Inception??? Did the top stop spinning? HA! Speaking of the dream- what is with the strange sexual tension that is going on with Dwight and Lt. Rice? Am I the only one picking up on that? It's freaking me out. Make it stop.

PSYCH: Kevin Alejandro is dreamy......

BURN NOTICE: How did this episode not begin by everyone saying "I told you so!" to Michael about keeping the truth from Jesse. I'm glad he knows and I'm glad that Fiona and Mom had a chance to try to talk some sense into him. Not that it will do Michael any good now that he is dying on the side of the road after Jesse shot him (to save him) and then Michael flipped the car he was in with Robert Patrick. It's not looking good for him. Except for the fact that Jeffrey Donovan is the star of the show and also a producer, so I'm thinking he will survive....

ROYAL PAINS: Finally the truth about Eddie R. Lawson is revealed: he is trying to get out of his own troubles with the DEA by getting evidence against Boris. That bastard!! Eddie is a pain in the ass and Boris, for all his faults, is a good man. But at least Boris knows that Hank and Evan weren't in on it, thanks to Rena Sofer. But now what? And what up with Divya and the hot super awesome photographer guy? She can't leave and go to London with Raj, so I hope this is what keeps her around.

That's it for the week, but let's talk Emmy's for a minute.  Jimmy Fallon did a great job! Especially that opening number! Even if it did have Kate Gosselin in it. But Jane Lynch, Cory Monteith, Lea Michelle, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley, Joel McHale, Tina Fey, Jon Hamm, Jorge Garcia and Nina Dobrev more than make up for her. If you didn't see it, please check it out:

 

Also fantastic: Ricky Gervais. I almost peed my pants. You MUST watch this! He gave out two award, but you have to watch both (go ahead and skip the awards part if you want. But now when he announces):



But they also gave out some awards, so I suppose I'll talk about that now. But not all of them, because that is just craziness. In general- pretty happy with them. Good for Temple Grandin except I thought that the ones it was up opposite The Pacific, The Pacific should have won. But oh well - I'm biased anyway. And hurray for Top Chef finally beating The Amazing Race. Although, SYTYCD should have been up. Anyway, on to the ones we care about! I split it up comedy/drama.

COMEDY:

Support Actor: Eric Stonestreet got this one. I know we were all pulling for NPH, and I really wish he had won. However, in this category, as long as it wasn't Jon Cryer, I was happy. I LOVE Modern Family. LOVE IT, and I think Eric is genius on it, so it was a well deserved win. But next year, for the love of God, give it to NPH.

Support Actress: Jane Lynch. If it hadn't been Jane Lynch I would have given up television. That is how sure I was it would be her. It was ridiculous that there were even other nominees. Just plain silly. Sue Sylvester is the greatest character on TV, and we all know it. And if you don't well.... I'm just sorry for you.

Actor: Jim Parsons! BAZINGA! Joel McHale should have been up, but he wasn't so we will move on. I think that Jim does an amazing job with Sheldon. A lot of Sheldon is in the delivery, not just what is on the page. He could be such an awful character to watch, but he is fantastic, and I was very happy with this win. And NO TONY SHALOUB! Woot!

Actress: Edie Falco. And here is where the Comedy category lost me. I don't watch Nurse Jackie, but I have seen bits and pieces. Is she the funniest/best comediec actress on right now? Nope. Now, I think Courteney Cox should have been up for Cougar Town. And Busy Phillips, in support now that I mention it. But as for who was up, give it to Amy Poehler. She is the heart and soul of Park and Rec, and show that got so much better this season there aren't words. Or Lea Michelle - the girl works her ass off on Glee. Sigh...

Comedy: Modern Family. We all knew it came down to two nominees, Glee or Modern Family. I'm not suprised this is the way it turned out. The Emmy voters are old fashioned and would go with the the more conventional comedy of the two. However I do not think that is a negative. They are both equally deserving in my book. Two of my favorites of last season. And unless one of the new comedies really stands out this year (I'm thinking not so much) these two will be right back at the top of the list next year. But hey, Emmy voters, why don't you knock Curb and Office off that list and make room for more deserving shows like Community and Cougar Town. Just saying...

DRAMA:

Support Actor: Aaron Paul. Here's my thing with this one.  He may very well deserve this (many, many critics had him as their pick) however I have not seen much of Breaking Bad and I don't think it's really my thing. BUT I have agreed to get it on Netflix and check the first season out. EVERYONE I trust in the TV world loves it, and who am I to say they are wrong without giving it a chance myself? Soooo... I reserve judgement on this one. However, if I had to choose, it would have been John Slattery for Mad Men all the way!

Support Actress: Archie Punjabi.  GO KALINDA!!! If you read my "returning favorites" blog you will know that I am completely happy with this win. I LOVE Kalinda. BUT I would have been equally happy with ANY of the nominees and this is the only category I can say that. Ellen Byrne on Damages has grown into an amazing actress. Christine Baranski is genius as always on Good Wife. Elisabeth Moss has gone through so many changes on Mad Men and done them all so well. Sharon Gless is the highlight of every episode of Burn Notice. And Christina Hendricks... well if it had to go to someone else I guess I wish it was her. Christina and her character Joan Holloway are they greatest thing on TV. Love love love Joan. But, sooo happy for Archie!!

Actor: Bryan Cranston. You know all that crap I said about Aaron Paul. It doesn't count here. Three years in a row is way too many. And Kyle Chandler, Jon Hamm and Hugh Laurie are Emmyless? And Matthew Fox and Michael C Hall are equally deserving this past year as those three. I am sure Bryan is fantastic on Breaking Bad, obviously. But give it too another guy. Kyle and Jon are perfection each and every week. Give them the award!!

Actress: Kyra Sedgwick.  She is a lovely woman. I think she is great. I really really do. But she should not have won. For the love of all that is holy, it should have been Connie Britton. Hands Down. No Question. My heart breaks she didn't win.

(Speaking of all this Friday Night Lights love - check it out starting on Tuesdays on ABC Family next week! From the beginning!! It's SOOOO good!!)

Drama: Mad Men. I'm torn here. I think that last season was possibly the best yet for Mad Men, so I'm not sad to see it recognized. However I don't think it should win three years in a row. I think there should be a two year limit. My choice: LOST. If not just for the amazing final season but for the series as a whole. If not, The Good Wife, just for being so very good. Actually my real choice: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!! WATCH IT!!!!!!  DO IT!!!!  CLEAR EYES! FULL HEARTS! CAN'T LOSE!! (sigh......)

So there it is. Sorry it wasn't more. But do comment away and I will try to comment back!!