That's gonna mess up your TiVo...

DWTS - Week 5 (Rumba/Samba)

2006-10-11T13:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, Emmitt was great, so overall I'm happy, but two things bugged the hell out of me. First of all, the judges comments still aren't matching their scores, which is annoying, but mostly...the music for every single person sucked. Its not that I didn't like the music, but none of it matched the dances, which was annoying. I mean come on, Emmitt danced the Samba to a Cha Cha song.

Joey - I pretty much agree with the judges on Joey. He's a little too...something. He did look awkward, and honestly, it was nice to see him actually not nail something. Not safe.

Willa - Seriously, if Emmitt wasn't in this, I'd be going for Willa. She is SO good. And precious. Her rumba was the only one I really liked. And that's sad, because I love the rumba. Hopefully safe, but not sure.

Monique - There's still something about Monique thats a little too overemotional for me. Maybe its internal, but its definitely something. Her footwork is still really good and she's really natural. Not safe.

Sara - She sucks. That's all. There's no other way to spin it. There's nothing technically wrong with the steps, but its like she walks the whole dance...or something. I feel like Tony has to lower himself to her level. She better go home soon. NOT safe.

Mario - He's really good. REALLY good. But very cocky, so I'm still not on board. In the rumba the woman is supposed to be in control, and Mario took the lead way too much. Safe.

Jerry - He was SO hilarious and he really wasn't too bad on the technical stuff. I'm glad he got his highest scores. I think he really might be safe, but I'm not totally convinced.

Emmitt - AUGHHH! SO GREAT. I knew he would be because its latin, but oh man, he was fabulous. He is such a cutie and man I hope he wins. I love it when he does the hip action! SAFE!

So, I think Joey, Sara, and Monique are in the most danger, considering scores and fan bases. But a pretty good night overall.

DWTS - Week 4 (Waltz/Pasodoble)

2006-10-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

Well...I don't like the pasodoble, and I think the Waltz is dull if you don't do it right, so I didn't really enjoy tonight all that much. That, and the fact that I have no idea what the hell the judges are thinking. Their comments don't match their scoring, and they rarely comment on anything technical. "It moved me." 10! Give me a break.

Monique - I've been impressed with her technically every night except for tonight. Can you be overtheatrical in ballroom? Cause I think she was. Not horrible, but not her best.

Emmitt - ehh...I saw this this coming a mile away and honestly it pisses me off. WHY can't they give Emmitt a dance that suits him? He would have been great at the waltz, but the pasodoble wasn't "his dance". At least the judges *eccentricity* carried over and he got good marks.

Willa - I think this chick is a GOOD dancer. She's been solid every week, and hopefully now that she's got a fanbase, she'll be sticking around for a while.

Sara - If she doesn't go home tonight, I might cry. It. Was. Awful. Again, this wasn't her dance? Len says, well let me ask ya, what IS her dance? Cause I haven't seen it yet. This girl cannot dance. Its sad, but its true...and the fact that she ruined PHANTOM of all things, is just...horrible.

Jerry - Ahh...Tennessee Waltz. It's the only one worth anything, im my opinion. This was absolutely beautiful and deserved way higher marks than it got.

Vivica - What the crap was she wearing, first of all? I sort of agreed with the judges for once on this one...she needs to be a bit more feminine.

Joey - Showy, but good. I thought Jerry's was more heartfelt, which is important in a waltz.

Mario - Great dance, but I just don't like the pasodoble so it always looks awkward to me. And I don't like Mario Lopez, so...its tough.

DWTS - Week 3 (Tango/Jive)

2006-09-27T02:22:00.001-07:00

So yeah, this is going to be more of a rant than a review. Because wow...there's usually at least one thing about the judging that I don't like each week, but this week, there isn't much they did right. I get the rules thing, and you shouldn't break them, but to simply slap everyone else on the wrist while choosing to shanghai Mario was absolutely ridiculous. You don't break the hold, we get it, but was that really necessary? I don't even like the guy, but man. And don't even get me started on giving Joey the Jive and Emmitt the Tango. Here we go...

Emmitt - It was bad. That's it. Not surprising because he's very lightfooted and Tango is not. The Paso Doble is going to be ROUGH if he gets it. He was good, but the strictness required of the tango is just not something I can see Emmitt doing. However, his scores were ridiculously low.

Monique - It's absolutely ludicrous that Joey's quick step got 10's and this didn't. Her jive was amazing...the best dance I'd seen up to this point. She is amazing...I think she'll be alright, but the bias is annoying.

Harry - He was still stiff, but that happened to work for this dance. However, when I think he was going for "sexy", he came across as creepy. It's Aaron Echolls, but still. It wasn't bad, he'll be safe, but I don't see him ever getting very good.

Willa - This was not perfect, but it by no means warranted the scores she got. She can move, and it was a good Jive...with these scores, she's going home.

Jerry - Jerry was cute, but a little awkward...this was actually the only performance that I agreed with the comments, but his scores were too high

Mario - Wow. I understand that because he broke the rules he can't get full marks, but a 6? A SIX? This was by far the most flawless dance of the competition.

Sara - This was the worst. Going in, I thought, if she couldn't pull of the mambo, there was no way she was going to do well at the much more fast paced Jive. And I was right, though the judges didn't agree. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard there praise, this was by far the worst dance of the night. WORSE than Emmitt...and he got a 19. Those cowboy boots are not Jive shoes, and there wasn't one second where her kick went higher than a foot off the floor. Just. Awful.

Vivica - Hers was the best Tango, but it did not deserve the scores she got. I just didn't understand the scoring.

Joey - This is the perfect example of the bias last night. Joey broke the rules, same as Mario, but Len was the only one that stuck with his opinion and yelled at Joey. There dance was really good, except for the lift, but he, along with everyone else that broke the rules, should have gotten the same scores as Mario.

Who should go: SARA, for the love, SARA
Who will go: Willa. She's been in the bottom two with great scores the last two weeks, with bad scores this week, she doesn't stand a chance.

GREY'S ANATOMY - Time Has Come Today

2006-09-23T01:48:00.000-07:00

George: I could, one day, soonish.
Derek: Soonish?? I will love you SOONISH??
Derek: You should tell her, even it its soonish, before its too late.
George: Like...before I die of the plague?

Alright, I fully intended to start this post with something to the effect of, why do I do this to myself, but I have to say...I sorta kinda maybe might have...liked it. I'm not saying I'm back onboard, but this one was actually alright. And Shonda gained my respect back for about five seconds with this line in her blog, "Because what Addison did to Derek is SO much worse than what happened between Meredith and Derek in that exam room at the end of the season." So that's nice. If Finn leaves relatively soon, (because I loathe him after the "he's not good for you" comment) then it might turn out alright. Cristina was absolutely hilarious, loved her.

After this episode, I'm convinced that there is NOTHING that anyone can do to earn back my respect for Izzy. Nothing. She is a pathetic excuse for the doctor and she needs to realize that her unparalleled lack of ethics is what landed her in this situation in the first place. And how good of a guy can Denny really be to encourage a woman to fall in love with a guy that every single day got closer to death. His odds were NOT good, and he knew there was a good chance that he would die, and soon. Smooth. And I have a feeling she's going to be back at work in NO time, which is again, so far out of touch with reality that its disgusting. She would lose her liscence to practice medicine for that...not just get fired. I was touched by her scenes with Meredith, but I'm thinking that was the Meredith part.

Speaking of Meredith, I know I'm a minority here, but I love her. Every single dark and twisty inch of her. She is SO real and SO flawed that I can't help it. I can relate to her, bottom line. I think she's the only thing Shonda does right. (we'll see how long that lasts.) And I know she isn't going to pick Finn, but I'm just saying, if she were to give that jackass another second of her time, I'd be pissed. In fact I think she IS going to give him at least a few more seconds, so I AM pissed. I'll come back to the awesomeness in a minute.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to hate Meredith to like Addison...and I do...like Addison. I hope she gets her stuff together now that the writing's on the wall (of the exam room, of the panties...insert any appropriate cheap joke here). I did however, think it was incredibly petty of her to do what she did with the panties. We are supposed to believe that this is a strong, confident, brilliant woman and surgeon, and yet she keeps doing stuff like this. I honestly don't think she realizes yet that SHE is the one that started this whole chain of events. YOU cheated on your husband, bitch. With his BEST FRIEND, bitch. Oh boo hoo, he fell in love with someone else. Give. Me. A. Break. He tried do to the right thing and he just couldn't. Tough. Get over it, and go back to Marky Mark, who, by the way, you have yet to be honest with Derek about. Its so hard to feel sorry for you. Wow...did I just lie? That didn't sound like I like Addison at all.

I loved the tender moment between Burke and Cristina...it was appropriately held off until the end, and appropriately short and sweet. Alex is still Alex and I love him....and...I have to say...Callie is kinda growing on me. Not Callie and George, I still hate George...just Callie. I actually see her becoming yet another woman that I think is way too good for George. Her scene with Meredith when she shows up at the house is priceless. I love her entire reaction and continuing commentary on Derek and Meredith's exam room romp.

George...and Derek's quarantine was great....but just because of the banter. Nothing to do with George. And how great was the first night flashback? Props Shonda, that's what we call payoff.

So...my moment arrived. An entire season too late, but it arrived. Speaking of which, the respect dipped for Shonda again with this comment on a later blog, "But, don’t worry, I’m not dragging this out all season. I’m not gonna drag it out very long at all. I like to move things forward. " WHAT??!!! You don't like to drag things out??? You move things along? There an entire crap season called TWO that says otherwise. But enough bitching...I could not have loved their scene more. PD was absolutely brilliant with that emotion, and he didn't feel the need to trash Finn to get his point across, but instead relied on his confidence in his love for her. This is a man, take notes Finn. (ps - I really hope I don't eat that comment after this next week) But yeah, you know Meredith's heart was soaring (how cheesy was that?) when Derek said all the things she'd been waiting almost a year for him to say. Finn is SO out of the picture. FLOVE IT!

Derek: But now, all I can say is that I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you forever...take all the time you need, because you have a choice to make, and when I had a choice to make, I chose wrong.

DWTS - Week 2 (Quick Step/Mambo)

2006-09-23T01:14:00.000-07:00

Okay...I'm so behind! I've barely gotten anything in and I totally forgot week one of dancing, but I AM reviewing it this season! Since we're past the first two dances and eliminations, I'm just gonna do a quick review of the dancers in general for this week! I need to get back in the swing of things and remember that reality shows have a clock on them! Okay...Dancing...

Emmitt Smith - Love this kid. Seriously. As a football player, and now as a dancer...LOVE. HIM. I was expecting him to be better than Jerry (even though I love Jerry Rice just as much as Emmitt) just because RBs have quicker feet than WRs. I was so right! I couldn't believe how well he danced the first week and the second was just as good. Couldn't be more thrilled that he's paired with the reigning champ too. Cheryl is so creative and dilligent...I think Emmitt will go far!

Harry Hamlin - Oh dear...CREEPY Aaron Echolls is back on my TV! But really though, its hard not to cheer for him because I love Lisa so much. He seems very dedicated and he's trying really hard. He's not bad, just stiff, much like Jerry, but I don't see him having the audience vote to carry him as far as Jerry went.

Willa Ford - Of the women, her fox trot impressed me the most, and her mambo was more of the same. The girl can dance, I'm just afraid that no one knows who she is, so her dancing isn't going to be enough. I think having Shanna there as another pretty blonde (they look so similar!) hurt her as far as recognition goes, so hopefully now that Shanna's gone, she can get more support, cause she deserves it.

Monique Coleman - She's stiff on the top, but I love her footwork. When footwork becomes a major factor, she's gonna do well. Her upper body got looser this week with her mambo as well.

Jerry Springer - He's so precious as a dancer, never thought I'd say that. I think he'll have the same old guy problem as George Hamilton, but he's not bad. I fear fast latin for him though.

Joey Lawrence - He can dance. I think he's a little weird, but he can dance. Stop tanning dude...seriously. His cha cha was really good, and his quick step was good as well. Not good enough to merit 10s, but whatever. He's good.

Sara Evans - She's. Not. Good. I'm sorry, but I have no idea how she's made it through this far. She's slow and has no rhythm.

Mario Lopez - I hate this guy, but he's not bad. He's got prior dancing experience too....come on, we all saw AC Slater dance. His cha cha was perfection, and was more deserving of tens than Joey's quick step, but his quick step was rough. His arrogance was most definitely shining through when he improvised that stupid move, but even that couldn't save his quick step. I sense he's a latin guy and is going to struggle with the traditional dances.

Vivica Fox - Well, as much as I love Vivica, she's got a ways to go. She isn't completely bad, but Monique and Willa both move better and have quicker feet. I really hope she can improve though, you can tell she really wants it.

That's it for now...Tango and Jive next week!

STUDIO 60 - Pilot

2006-09-20T02:02:00.000-07:00

Matt Albie: Ironically, I’m the one high as a paper kite right now, but legitimately. I had back surgery Tuesday, L5 S1 if that means anything to you. Stop talking now? Yeah, you bet.

OMG it's here! Although I'd seen the premiere several (yeah like 5) times before Monday, the fact that its ON now is uberexciting. I cannot say enough great things about this show. Seriously, its totally my new fav! And next week I get an ep I haven't seen plus GG and Mars! Good times. So I'm starting this blogging season with my newest obsession, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I'm not going to talk about the new shows that I don't like, so this is the first of the new shows that I will absolutely be reviewing. I may do a general post on why the ones I'm not reviewing suck though:)

Although I alluded to my love in my TCA review, I cannot express how much I LOVE Matthew Perry and am so freakin' excited that he's back in my living room! His performance was stellar in the pilot, and I'm sure it will continue. I'd never really watched anything with Brad Whitford (never was a West Winger) but I gotta say, he's good. The chemistry between BW and MP is off the charts. I've never been an Amanda Peet fan, but she's alright in this, and has some of the funniest lines. I think she'll probably grow on me, and the rest of the cast is AWESOME!

So, Studio 60...I think Aaron Sorkin is a genius and a show about tv, perfection. Judd Hirsch's monologue at the beginning was dead on and actually really meaningful and personal to me. I love the art/commerce debate. It's a little too early to talk about actual plot, but I can't see it dropping any of its amazing quality. For the 86th time....I'm a fan!

TCA Press Tour: What's on the Fall Sked?

2006-07-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

I almost took a shot at this back at upfront time but decided to wait until press tour time so I had a little more info on what's happenin' this fall that I'm excited about. As it turns out, nothing much has changed - as the summer's gone on, I'm more pumped about my early favs and the less thrilling ones I'm finding even...less thrilling. I'm only going to talk about the ones that stand out...either really good or really, really bad. I'm more going to talk about my opinions, rather than give a summary of the show, because if you don't know what they're about, then you must live under a rock - or at least not watch tv. And if you don't watch tv, why the hell are you reading this in the first place?

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - These first three are the shows I pretty much can't wait for this fall, but I'm gonna go ahead admit that Studio 60 edges the other two out. Maybe its the fact that its about television or that it stars Matthew Perry...either way, I'm pretty sure its gonna be awesome. The combination of Sorkin's negative stigma from West Wing and the fact that its on, well, NBC, has left critics unsure, but I'm not. I don't care about the hype, this show looks fan*friggin*tastic. As far as the main players go, I'm not a huge fan of Amanda Peet but she actually looks okay, I have no opinion of Bradley Whitford, and well, I'd pretty much have Matthew Perry's babies if he asked...so that's that. All in all, I think this will be a favorite of mine. As far as how well I think it will do ratings-wise...first, its big competitor is CSI:Miami, which I also like, but lets face it, its not Grey's. I think its got a shot. The hype is big, so its got a lot to live up to, but Sorkin is good. I can only hope it grows slowly, because those tend to do better than instant hits. I think it will have a popular fanbase, rather than a cult one though.

Six Degrees - JAbrams. Enough said. Okay, I'll say a little more, but just to be clear, there'd be no need. Every thing the guy touches turns to gold. Seriously. And for the critics (aka Matt Roush) who think the idea is lacking, consider "What About Brian". You were positive that was dead in the water too, and you were wrong, and I was right. As far as this show goes, I'm just surprised it took someone this long to make a show out of this concept. (Yes, I know there's a movie), but if anyone can do it right, JJ can. The question now is, with his WB deal, what happens when he jumps ship, as is inevitable with every show he starts.

Heroes - Okay, Greg Grunberg...don't know what it is about that kid, but I love him. And he plays a telepathic cop - how cool is that?? We watched all six of the 'what power do they have' spots on youtube (LOVE youtube, by the way) the other day...and it is...intriguing. Another favorite in the making. Oh yeah, and its got Milo, and he's sexy. All kindsa potential runnin' around here. I sort of love that all six of these powerpeople exist in completely different parts of the planet...I see so much potential for story its ridiculous. Matt Roush hates this one too. Okay, he doesn't hate it, but he doesn't see the gem that I do. I'm calling it again though, its gonna take off...slowly but surely. And this one's on NBC too...say what you want, I see a comeback in the making!

Justice - This is the only thing I find even mildy amusing on Fox's new list, but amusing it is. Two words: Garber and Bruckheimer. Its like CSI but with lawyers. Sounds good to me! And not that I don't love love love Michael Vartan, you know I do, but if I had to pick one Alias alum to get to keep watching right away, it would SO be Victor Garber. That guy rocks. And I love anything lawyery, this we know. I'm a little iffy on the 'how will it do' factor - its on Friday nights...but who knows. Either way, I'll take it for as long I can get it.

Smith - Okay, I'll say it...at first, I was like - cheap Alias (to which Kel said 'Alias was cheap Alias', which I still don't fully understand), but now, I have to say, I'm gonna give it a shot. I think it might be the bad ass music at the end of every promo. Or the fact that I see a promo every single day after Y&R. Either way, the shit got me. And I like the Ray Liotta promos better than the Amy Smart ones...psa: watch those.

Shark - I am totally NOT sold on this one, but hey, lawyers, right? And in the promo, James Woods already has a quotable line, "truth is relative, pick one that works." That's classic...and worth at least giving it a chance, at least I think so. Did I mention its about the law? Hey, I'm easy.

The Class - Okay...I don't know if this is gonna be good, but I NEED A NEW FRIENDS. Hey, Crane's a part of it...I can hope, right? I'm thinkin' it looks not too Friendsy, but just Friendsy enough. I'll take it. But seriously, I haven't been really addicted to a comedy since May 2004, and that bums me out. I need this to work!

30 Rock - After watching the promo, the confusion surrounding this and Studio 60 is well earned, especially since they're on the same network, but hey, its Tina Fey, and she's cool, I'll give it a go. The trailer made me laugh, and it is about television, so it can't be all bad right? I don't see it being a legend on a Friends or Seinfeld level, but whatever.

On to the iffy, if not outright bad.

The Nine - This is the show Matt Roush is picking above Heroes...I can't figure it out. It seems messy at best, boring at worst. Premise: fallout of a hostage situation. Umm...what? Maybe I'm being very short-sighted, but I don't even see where you'd go with that. Okay, maybe I can see it a little, but it still sounds incredible boring, and I don't see the longterm potential.

Friday Night Lights - Okay, its a little mean of me to pick on this one, seeing as its about (at least the movie) my own little West Texas town, but come on. This has boring written all over it, and nothing like it before has ever survived. This kind of premise classically makes great movies and bad tv shows, and I don't see any reason why this one's gonna change that.

Kidnapped - I just picked this one randomly, but I'm using it to make the point that there are about 5 shows coming down the pike that are exactly the same. I seriously can't tell the difference, and too similar a premise is not gonna bode well for any of them. And that isn't even my main problem, with this, someoneskidnapped someonesmissing wehadtorunaway story, much like Reunion, what happens when that gets resolved, likely at the end of the year? Where do we go then? Too many ifs. Again, great movie plots, not so great for the small screen. Seriously guys...leave the tv shows that should be movies to JAbrams.

Jericho - Here's the deal. This could be great, it could be horrible...I have no idea. I think I'm gonna hate it, but I see it being one of those that everyone loves and I have no idea why. I'm just really unsure. Cult following is my best guess. I want no part of it.

So there's my wacky, unorganized, mildy insulting views on what fall has to offer. Take it, leave it, use it. Because really, aside from maybe Studio 60...nothing will top finding out what the hell is in that briefcase and what Logan and Rory are gonna do with the Atlantic between them. Let's answer those cliffhangers!

IDOL - Soul Patrol it is...

2006-05-26T01:07:00.000-07:00

Well, as we waded around in 2 hours of stalling to get to probably the most anti-climatic conclusion in Idol history...it just served as a reminder that everything happened exactly as it should have this season on American Idol. Kat was the star of the show even though she didn't win, and after hearing about her other offers already coming in, winning might have just held her back...When coming up with medleys for the girls, you know the producers were cursing Randy, Paula and Simon for even putting Melissa in the top 24...mediocrity at its best...and making me sit through Ace, Bucky, and Kevin again was just mean. And did anyone notice that during the judges montage, they had to do a lot of editing to make Simon look stupid, but Randy and Paula pretty much took care of it on their own? Yeah...

As we started off, I liked Carrie Underwood's part in this shindig, not overpowering, but not underplayed, and she is awesome. Comparing Carrie to Kat though, I do think Kat is better. You can tell that Carrie is more polished...she's been singing for a living for a year since her win, but Kat has way more potential. The opening number was mildly enjoyable, mostly because it was Carrie/Kat/Taylor-centric and the other 10 idols may as well have been wearing choir robes for the role they played.

So obviously, of the duets, Kat and Meatloaf was my fav, followed by Chris/Live, Taylor/Toni Braxton, Paris/Al Jarreau, and Elliot/Mary J. Blige. Paris was a little dull, and Elliot basically just stood there while Mary J. Blige sang, but the real toss up was Chris and Taylor. Taylor would have been better if Toni's mike was working (was that the issue?) because I love Taylor's rendition of 'In The Ghetto', but Chris ending up winning, why? Because no matter how much I kept thinking "man Chris, get your own style", I was also thinking "alright if you're gonna try and be someone else it might as well be him" because DAMN that Ed Kowalczyk is hot. Sorry, I'm just a girl. with eyes.

So yeah, I got about five seconds into "Puck 'n' Pickler" before I started fast forwarding this shameless stall tactic so I have no comment. Same goes for the the "Golden Idol Awards"...I'm sorry...I just can't do it. Its embarrassing, and I don't do embarrassing well. Do not waste my time with this crap. I'm more than a little annoyed...can you tell?

Speaking of embarrassing...If you know me at all you know I have this thing were I get really embarrassed really easily for people who do stupid crap on TV...even if they're not real. And when they are real...well...its bad. I bring this up because, well, I had one of these episodes during the guy's medley. Holy crap it was bad...like Summer's head was buried in a pillow bad. Poor Taylor and his harmonica were carrying it and I actually felt bad for them. Of course Elliot was back with his Eminem style, but why was he squinting? Is that a new 8 Mile move I don't know about?

I'm gonna skip right over the frightening Clay impersonator (and you already know how I feel about the awards) and go straight the the real Clay...now to be real honest...the guy creeps me out. I don't like him and I voted for Ruben...there I said it. However, regardless of my personal opinions, there is no denying that the boy can sing...seriously. Watch carefully Kat...its your runner-up future personified. Ruben who?

So if my reaction to the guy's medley was as bad as it gets...the girls was just the opposite. I LOVED it. Katharine carried it beautifully (as she did the entire night) and Mandisa, Paris, and Lisa were on point as well. I just about lost it when Kat started singing "Natural Woman" and suddenly wondered why she hadn't done that this season. I have this overwhelming need to hear her do that song solo now. That being said...that Kat/Paris/Lisa trio gave me chills. I guess it was a no-brainer to end with Mandisa doing "I'm Every Woman" since they knew how it would go...I wonder if Randy thought it was anti-climatic.

I have an enormous amount of respect for Burt Bacharach, I think that comes from my dad, but the first two bars of this medley just gave Kat one more chance to outshine Taylor, something I felt she did the whole night. I feel like if they had a voting night and just told Kat it was an exhibition or something, thats all she'd need to win. She does so much better when the pressure's off. Thank goodness for her she can have a career without competing on American Idol.

Blowing right past brokeback cowboys or whatever, we come to Kat and Taylor's last performance, which I thoroughly enjoyed, being the Dirty Dancing fan that I am, but...can you guess what I'm gonna say? That's right! Kat was better. That dress was over the top, but she was fantastic. Overall, it was a fabulous duet, but there were subtle parts throughout where she had to match him to save his ass, which takes serious skill, although its not surprising thinking back to the impromptu duet she did with Andrea Bocelli. Its the difference between her training and Taylor's...not training. I'm so eloquent, right?

As this season and finale comes to a conclusion I can't help but wonder...they just had stars like Mary J. Blige, Meatloaf, Burt Bacharach and Prince (PRINCE for gosh sakes) on the stage, and stars like Ben Stiller, David Hasslehoff, and Heather Locklear in the audience. Carrie Underwood is winning CMA's and Kelly Clarkson is winning Grammys and....they are STILL presenting this show like some bad afterschool special concert with badly written songs and waving hands and lighters. Come on people...rise above it. If I was Kelly Clarkson I wouldn't want anything to do with you either.

Well, this was definitely a monster of an entry, so thanks to anyone that read it...but I thought, why not, its the last one for a long time. See ya next year!

ALIAS - All The Time In The World

2006-05-25T03:58:00.000-07:00

Sark: does it have to be so filthy? if Rambaldi can prophesie the future, he might have advised me not to wear $500 shoes...

Yep. It doesn't get any better in the second half, folks.

Alright, so its flashback episode...great. A mix of emotions hits me as I'm immediately: relieved that Merrin Dungey's probably playing real not fake Francie, annoyed that their using valuable time for flashback, and pissed off that that freakin' cute kid that played little Sydney in S2 and S3 is not here, instead its some other little kid. Not that this one isn't cute, but come on, that girl WAS little Sydney! And when the teacher says "you can't get started?" I also think of Ella Fitzgerald, because that song is depressing as hell, as is this episode, for multiple reasons.

So amidst the flashbacking, Vaughn is trying to revive Sydney, counting aloud as he does chestbeats, because apparently not only is this the series finale of Alias, but a CPR refresher course as well. 1...2...3...got it? Seriously dude, can you not count in your head? You sound ridiculous. Looking not so ridiculous is Sark, in a black turtleneck and brown leather. In fact, he looks down right edible. For some reason in this scene I'm flashing back to the moment they talked in Tokyo and Sloane was pissed to be having to work with him and Lauren. I guess the word bygones comes in pretty handy when the end of the world is here. I'd want to be on the winning side too. (Wait, I think he says that later.)

So we have, what I think is a pretty pointless flashback to when Irina "died". I guess the point of these flashbacks is to give us some inside into how Sydney became a spy, you know all the psycho-analytical crap. You might also view it as a completely usless and repetitve recap of the emotional side of the last 4 years. I'm going with the latter. Hold on, there's a flashback of little Sydney putting together the crazy Project Christmas puzzle. Didn't we see that in the Indicator in season two? I'm just sayin...

So Sark and Sloane go to yet another Rambaldi cave. Who knew this was "the one"? And...here comes Nadia. "You're talking to your dead daughter. This is an odd time to question your sanity." And I'm with her, the dude has LOST IT. So people are dying outside just like every other Alias scene. Whoo...fucking...hoo. And here comes Nadia again with her enlightening comment in response to the 7th red ball. 8th? 7th? Oh who cares. "So that's it? All this time this is what you've wanted?" And again, I'm with her. Let's travel back to a little scene in season four between Sloane and some weirdo who worked for the Sloane Clone:

Sloane: Do you understand what you’re dealing with here, and for what?
Carter: He told me- he told me that I can live forever.
Sloane: No! Is that what you think this is all about?! Immortality?! You bought the rumor, you simple-minded dilettante!

I'm sorry, was I the only one who heard that? WHAT A FREAKING COP OUT. All that. Five seasons of build up from a tiny red ball...to this. I can't even talk about it. It's just...I can't do it.

So we'll skip to the next horrific end. Irina Derevko: All consuming evil bitch. Again, everything that has ever been established in five years, down the drain. After everything she went through to save Sydney countless times, she's going to kill her. Awesome. Again, I just...can't.

The only good thing to come out of this is Sloane being trapped in his own personal hell for eternity. I mean, it totally doesn't make the immortality crap worth it, but its close I guess. Wait, no its not. Jack dies. Someone tell me when pointless bloodbaths became a regular part of series finales. Tom, who cares. Jack? JACK?? Screw this crap.

The one good part? It seems that Sark's character remains in tact, he's set up to be sympathic for maybe a...spin off?? Other than that, pure shit.

Thanks for nothing Alias. Seriously.

IDOL - The Final Two

2006-05-24T01:03:00.002-07:00

I don't really have much to say on these songs, since two out of the three they have both already done, and you really don't want to know what I have to say about the third for either one. Tonight was sort of a big disappointment for me. My favorite part was 'Journey' playing at the beginning...

Katharine: "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" was as great as it was the first time...which is really great. This to me, is the type of music that Kat should make. She's so comfortable with it, and she looked so classy and in her element...didn't miss a note. 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' was, in my opinion, not as good as it was the first time, but that just proves how great she is, because it was still fabulous. And what the hell is Randy talking about "I wasn't sure about this because you've done it before"? You idiot...they're both doing songs again! So about this "My Destiny" crap...what the hell was that??? That was probably the worst song I've ever heard, not to mention it was so far out of anything she would actually do it was unreal. You could tell the whole time how uncomfortable she was, I cringed the whole time. I don't have anything else to say about that. She was far superior on BOTH the first two, but she didn't have a chance on the third. The song sucked.

Taylor: Alright, maybe its just me, but I did not like "Living For the City"...everytime Simon makes his comparisons to drunk wedding singers, I just want to slap him, but ironically, tonight, that's actually where I would have gone. Taylor did not have his usual presence for me tonight. He was just shouting in the first one, and that jacket was all kinds of hideous. This performance in NO way 'slaughtered' Katharine... "Levon" was a problem for me as well...it started out pretty rough, and Randy was right, it was pitchy. I would have definitely chosen 'Trouble' or 'In The Ghetto', and Paula, what the hell are you talking about??? "Do I Make You Proud?" Not so much...they basically handed him the final with this song. It was so much more in his element, but he still missed notes! He pulled it together in the end, and that will give him the competition, but come on...how much better was this song? I'm just speechless at how ridiculous these last two were. If they had switched these two songs and given this one to Kat, she would have been ahead. You can say what you want, Randy, he would have choked with Kat's song, just like she did. And did you see Elliot chanting Soul Patrol? Nice.

Tonight was so obviously fixed in Taylor's favor. With Paula saying that Taylor "opened" the show...umm actually he choose not to open the show, and Ryan taking him up to the middle of the crowd, to him just getting a far superior song for the third choice...Katharine doesn't stand a chance and I'll be absolutely shocked if she wins.
I got through about 10 or 15 times and I never know how to feel about that. If I get through it means it wasn't busy the whole time, but if I don't get through, I worry that I didn't vote, so I don't know. But I called for the whole four hours, so I did my part. So I'll bitch all I want when she gets shafted, which is inevitable.

American Idol: Taylor Hicks

ALIAS - No Hard Feelings

2006-05-24T01:03:00.001-07:00

Sark: And what was that one for?
Sydney: I'll get back to you.

So apparently, I completely forgot to enter a blog space for this episode, so I went back to cover it, that's why its so late, coming in right before the finale...anyway...

Okay...so this episode was a sarkney fan's wet dream...come on. Even if she was pretending to be Sydpinosa. Two and three were the best seasons because they had Michael and Sark, and tonight encompassed both! But speaking of pretending to be...I'd never been particularly fond of JG, but if I thought I was impressed with her bad girl last week...how impressed was I to watch her (let me try to get this right) good, pretending to be bad turned good. Is that right? Sydney pretending to be Anna turned Sydney. Yeah thats it. I can't even imagine how difficult that must be for an actress, and she did that extraordinarily. And because of that, we got to see Sydney and Sark working together and she had to like it, even if she was pretending, at least she wasn't a double. I can only imagine the fanfiction this will spawn...
(Speaking of good acting, I'll never understand how David Anders does that awesome accent, but to hear him pull of speaking Italian while doing the sexy british accent is even awesomer...that's right...I just said awesomer.)

I was disturbed/heartened...or just plain creeped out by the fact that Sloane was so greived by Sydney's apparent death...but I wasn't surprised. Where was that grief over your own child you freak? He has always possessed that freakshow fatherly gene over Sydney, and whats even more creepy is that I'm pretty sure its more of a Rambaldi "chosen one" thing than the fact that he's known her forever. He's just generally a creepy guy.

So its all nice and good that Tom's good and everything and he found and killed the man that killed his wife, but for the last time...who the hell cares??? Alias got eight episodes to tie up five years of storyline. Why on earth would they waste time on someone no one cares about?

Back to Sark...everyone else is as happy as I am to have that guy back right? I really don't get why he ever left? Come on...I'm not seeing David Anders anywhere else on my TV, and I'm just not okay with that. Really, what else is he doing? The kid needs to be on my screen people. And I say kid because he's my age, and I like it.

Okay, problems with the mythology of the episode. Apparently, Sloane's had this page since Sydney found it in Argentina and he jacked it from the CIA after they got it back from K-Directorate. (That'll take you back) But so yeah, if Sloane had the ability to decrypt it, why is he just now getting around to it? He didn't give up Rambaldi until season four, so that timeline doesn't make any sense. As much as I hate to admit it...more and more its lookin' like I'm right about the writers just throwing this crap together because of the cancellation.

And that Rose guy was just creepy.

ALIAS - Reprisal

2006-05-24T01:03:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I split it up...deal with it.

So the beginning of the last episodes of Alias...ever...starts with the heartwarming reminiscent scenes taking you back through the life of Sydney Bristow asking, "don't you want to see how it ends?" After seeing it, I can firmly say...nope. Didn't really want to. Thanks JJ...taking a moment to be completely serious...I respect you and your amazing abilities, but this bastardization of a great show was unforgivable. So...

We start with a Sydney monologue with a backdrop of Prophet 5. This is my first issue. Am I really supposed to get all emotional over Prophet 5, a storyline shoved down my throat only nine months ago?? Nope. And they could have even done some deep metaphorical comparison to how P5 represents the entire world of organized crime, but they don't even go that far. All we get is some stupid "I've lived with secrets" crap. Do you really? YOU'RE A SPY for cryin' out loud. And that's even made ridiculous by the fact that she doesn't even give up the spy trade at the end.

I did enjoy the missions across the world, particularly Sydney in Sydney...clever. And I love when Marshall goes on missions. What I also love is that months after JG had the baby, in a world of personal trainers and chefs where celebrities drop weight at unGodly rates, she's still chubby. Nice to see that some of them are human. I digress...real quick about world missions, how stupid is Sydney? Sure it made for a real cool stunt, but like Sydney Bristow would have really left the chick she just knocked out naked in the kitchen for someone to find.

As much as Irina's character went completely off the map at the end (I've talked about it before and I will again later), after much thought, I'm gonna go ahead and say that I think Sark stayed alright. I assume some actual thought went into that because if there's a spinoff it will most likely be Sark-centric. I want to talk about this more in the second half, but I bring it up here because of one thing he said, and that was, "you're like me, you have excellent self-preservational instincts." And I think, as a whole, that pretty much wraps Sark up. He says a couple more things later on, but I'll get there in 'All The Time In The World."

So remember that time when Tom died and Rachel was sad?? Was anyone else? Nope. I sure wasn't. Again, who the hell cares about Tom. No one. And he didn't even die heroically. He could have gotten out, he just chose to sit there. So he committed suicide and we closed the book on the most pointless storyline on Alias. You could have killed him the second Vartan signed on again and we would have all been just fine.

I absolutely loved that Marshall stood his ground with Sloane when he was captured. It was lovely seeing Marshall talk about something other than techie crap, and gave KW a chance to act his ass off. (Which he did) He and Sloane played so well off each other and, as usual, RR used it to unveil layers in his character too. Not that he ever had any trouble with that. Nadia's useless appearance put a damper on things though. I always wonder how those conversations go in the writing room. Like, 'hey, lets have Nadia be Sloane's conscience! Great idea! So...lunch??'

As far as mythology goes...I'm conflicted about this Mt. Subasio thing. I always appreciate a good callback, but is hinging the entire basis of the show's mythology on it a good thing or a bad thing? The whole reason Sydney and the entire US Government, namely the DSR, doesn't or didn't, think that she was the Chosen One, was because she went to Mt. Subasio. Now, it turns out that she didn't actually go to where Rambaldi meant by "behind". So what I'm taking from this is that all thoughts that she might not be the Chosen One are gone...but with the Covenant Rambaldi baby and the Sloane obsession and the giant red ball and the fight in Savogda...is there really anyone who hasn't been assuming since season two that yeah, she's the damn Chosen One? Stop beating us over the head with it already.

So I'll end Part I backing up to what I can safely call the asshole statement of the century, solidified not only by what was said, but by WHO said it. Jack Bristow, you've got to be kidding me. "Part of me wanted to believe that he was still the friend I trusted with my daughter all those years ago. Clearly I was wrong." YA THINK?

IDOL - McPheever & Soul Patrol!!

2006-05-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

"So, it is down to you, and it is down to me."
~The Princess Bride

I could have done, once again, without the hour long results show, but I feel good about this. Of course I think Kat should be there...I've thought that since she sang 'God Bless This Child', but I'm good with Taylor too. I think his gimmick is actually better than his voice, but his voice is still very good. The thing is, at this point, we all know they're both safe...just ask Clay Aiken and Bo Bice. I think Kat will have a bigger career than Taylor no matter what the outcome, but I'm a Kat lover in a major, major way. I just think that Kat's style is more "in" right now, so she'll probably be better off in the 'real world', as Simon likes to call it.

If I didn't think Chris was better off without Idol, I'd say it should be him and Kat, but he is, so I'm gonna say good for Taylor. (Not to mention his extremely hubristic tvguide.com interview I just read that laid the 'nice guy image to rest for me for good...no more feeling bad for Chris!)

Did anyone else notice the extreme improvement between Kat's 'Think' from the first time she did it to tonight? It was so great. Her stage presence has improved so much and the quality was just so much better. She deserves to be in the finals more than anyone. I hope Elliot's votes go to her. Either way, the finale will be awesome!

IDOL - One, Two, Three

2006-05-16T23:52:00.000-07:00

Note: I know I'm posting this after the fact, but I did write it before the results, I've just been out of town, so yeah...

Tonight was full of surprises. Randy insulted Clive Davis...Paula dropped it like it was hot, or something...Ryan and Simon agreed on something...and Kat finally said her piece to the judges, and that was a long time coming. If she goes home tomorrow, at least she got it in.

Elliot: 'Open Arms'...first of all...this to me just proved how obvious of a favorite Elliot is. How is it possible that Randy didn't compare him to anyone? He was IN Journey and MARIAH covered the song! It was way too big for him and its just painful to hear him hit up against the top of his range over and over. DO NOT mess with Journey. 'What You Won't Do For Love' brought back the white boy rap moves and the stupid ass vibrato, so I'm out. Third song, sucked, and Randy and Paula were making excuses, but it was nice of Simon to wish him well.
Rank: 3

Katharine: Couldn't you tell how thrilled she was with Clive's pick for her? Yeah, not so much. I wasn't that thrilled with 'I Believe I Can Fly' either, but she pulled it off. It was about time she stood up to the judges though. Randy was so disrespectful...it doesn't matter if you like the song; Clive said it was good for HER and you said he was wrong...good call. I was THRILLED when I heard that Simon picked her song, not one of the other two, and she did SO well. Before Simon said it, I said that I wished that she had done 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' last. It was absolutely perfect. 'I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues' was sweet. Sure, it wasn't as good as the second song, but it was still up to Kat par, whick is pretty freakin' awesome. It was pretty stupid of her to pick something 'uncomparable' and then do something Ella did, but still. She was great.
Rank: 1

Taylor: I was bored by Taylor's first, until Paula started dancing, but he still did it well. I'm pretty sure he's gonna win. He just sings well. I'm sorry, but the entire time I was listening to 'You Are So Beautiful', all I could hear was Alfalfa singing to Darla. Again, so glad that Simon picked for Kat. He did sing it really well, very soulful, although I would argue that it was his best vocal, since I'm still obsessed with 'Trouble'. But either way, he's still a finale shoo in. 'Try a Little Tenderness' was Taylor classic, I thought, and it was a good way to end the night. Over anything, I've got to applaud Taylor's marketing skills. He was pushing himself more than he was singing tonight and I think it worked... he's gonna win. The second spot's between Elliot and Kat.
Rank: 2

FINALE: Taylor, Katharine!!

GREYS ANATOMY - Fight or Flight/Losing my Religion

2006-05-15T23:57:00.000-07:00

Adele: When your Uncle Richard finds out you were cashin' in your V card, none of us will be fine.

I thought about separating these two hours, but there are actually some comparisons that I want to make, so I lumped them together.
The first hour of this seemed really slow to me...it seems almost in real time. I looked over at my sister and actually asked her if she was bored and she said yeah...I agreed. And like I said, the entire thing is Izzy/Denny, so I don't really care about it anyway. I just look back and like I said before, how the hell did we get here? There is no way in hell that a doctor would be able to get far enough off their rocker to almost kill a patient like this...its absolutely ludicris...I don't even want to talk about it. There is no redemption for Izzy and it pisses me off that she's on the show still. That to me, indicates that at some point, she might be a doctor again, and that's just pathetic. Stepping out of the zone of reality, which wouldn't so much bother me if they didn't go on and on about how real the show was, moving on to continuity. I'll give the Izzy thing a pass because she's been going off the deep end for quite sometime, but George, Meredith, and Cristina would never do something like this...especially Cristina. Their reaction when she told them that she told a lie was more appropriate and you don't just put the patient's needs aside for friendship. George just stood there while she cut the wire...yeah right.

I love it when Adele comes around to the hospital, and I loved even more that we finally got to know if she knew about the affair. That's nice. I really don't like Richard that much, but compared to Izzy, Burke and George, he's alright.

I didn't really understand the whole Cristina/Burke thing...why all of a sudden has Cristina lost her edge? We've never seen that about her and it just made the prominence of it in the finale so strange and confusing to me. Yeah, I can see her struggling to stand by him and that was emotional and whatnot, but Cristina has edge without being heartless, which is why I love her, and there's no reason to all of a sudden have her freak out and call it a storyline. Yeah, in the real world, she crossed a line, but in Shondaland, she can apparently date a attending with no consequences, so whatever, don't act like its an issue all of a sudden.

The second hour was a little more upbeat, it had some funny moments. Apparently white and silver POP and Alex did do anything, he's completely innocent. I loved the whole prom thing though, as stupid and contrived as it was. It was nice to see them all dressed up, and any way you'd do that would be contrived right? I don't know, hospital benefit, anniversary party, any other kind of cocktail party...nah, had to go with the prom. I guess they wanted to go with the whole teenage thing though. Meredith and Cristina and Addison talking about who they were in high school, everyone asking each other to prom, Meredith and Derek sneaking off to have sex, very high school. I guess that was the point, but still, very contrived.

So Denny died...shocking. Wait, not really. I don't understand why everyone is so shocked and upset by this...this character was so obviously written to die, so no, I was not surprised, nor was I sad, I guess I'm the only one. I'm also probably the only one who absolutely LOVES Alex...he was so perfect in this episode, in every episode. The truth, when it comes down to it, is the best. Not lies, and not a sugar coating version...just the truth. I love him.

On to the best part of the episode, and quite possibly the best part of the whole season, Meredith and Derek having sex in an exam room. Man that crap was hot. I don't even care that he was cheating on his wife for the first actual time and that she was cheating on Finn, because I don't care about Addison and I really don't care about Finn, who by the way, stole my TV boyfriend's name. He is SO not Finn...Finn is a hot Australian. Not a vet. Sorry. And the best part? Oh yeah, Callie walking in...well, the best part was when he just grabbed her and kissed her, but the second best part was Callie walking in and giving 'McDreamy' that look. It does concerm me that COD is a regular next season, at least that's what I hear. That's not good at all. If she picks the vet, man, I'll be pissed and quite possibly done with the show. But here's the thing. She's looking at Finn and looking at Derek as the show ends for the year, and its not like she looks torn, she looks defeated. She looks like she wants to look from Finn to Derek and then put a pistol in her mouth because she's just done and she can't go on...with this horribly drawn out storyline. And how are they gonna start next season? So she chooses Derek...he's still married, what happens there? So she chooses Finn, she still had sex with Derek, so what happens there? Neither story is happy, so who the hell cares?

GREYS ANATOMY - 17 Seconds

2006-05-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

Deborah (Mrs. Dent): Love means never having to use your girlfriend as a human shield!

Yeah, so after all the finales, I took a little blogger break, cause my brain needed a rest. But here I am, and here we go!

Well, I find it comical that every show goes after fabulous VM actors. Mrs. Dent the journalism teacher and Vinnie VanLowe were in this Ep and Jackie is in the next one...whoo hoo...keep promoting MARS! And Vinnie basically plays the exact same character that he does on the show...typecasting comes to mind...hmm...
So I loved Meredith's monologue about anger because I think its so true, and watching her and Derek interact in the bar was awesome. "after all, it did make the top seven."

The first thing that pissed me off in this episode was Burke leaving Christina and taking Alex instead...come on now. Yeah, alright Burke, you're a person first, whatever, but choosing one intern thats less qualified over another for personal reasons that asked first. Stupid. Burke lets his judgement cloud almost as much as Izzy, and he has way more power, so its way more dangerous.

I don't know if we're supposed to feel sorry for Addison now, or what, but it just doesn't translate to me that this intelligent sophisicated woman would be so incredibly dense and blind when it comes to her husband. Why does she want to settle. Its not like this is the first time there's been something between Derek and Meredith, but now's the first time she loses it? Yeah right. You've got someone else waiting for you in NY...go home. I'm a little confused with the metaphor about the dead girl and the baby though. I saw it as Addison is trying to hold onto Derek even though he's gone, just like the parents are trying to hold onto the girl even though she's gone, but it seemed like they wanted to make it something else. Like Derek holding onto Addison isn't about love its about fulfilling a need or something. I guess I can see that, but Derek isn't the one that came back to Seattle and asked for his spouse back. Derek isn't the one that refuses to see that his spouse is still in love with someone else. Derek isn't the one that is still lying about the relationship he had in NY. I love that the chief gave her what she deserved...you're not the only one with problems lady.

I loved the interaction between Meredith and Callie...they took a real step towards a friendship and after what Callie did for Meredith, I can actually see myself liking Callie eventually. When Callie helped her find out what was wrong with Doc because George talked to her, it was actually the first time I didn't hate George, so that's something.

So now to the thing that I can't even talk about without getting so angry I can't even see straight...I/D. "If I was gonna pick someone who was gonna go psycho and shoot up the place, its Izzy. Totally." Yeah...I mean seriously? They even almost got me on board with Izzy doing this psycho crap because she's clearly lost it. But you know what, Meredith and George and Cristina HAVEN'T lost it...so yeah, more on that later. I think the whole reason that I didn't like these episodes much is because they were so I/D-centric...and the fact that Burke isn't an idiot and he knew about what she was doing, makes me sick.

ALIAS - I See Dead People

2006-05-10T22:42:00.000-07:00

Vaughn: And just for the record, you're a terrible kisser.

Hold on, hold on....MICHAEL VARTAN!

See, open casket. Its the difference between people being dead for real on Alias and only pretending to be dead. I guarantee that if this wasn't the last season that that casket would have been closet. Nope, she's really gone. So, apparently, is Renee. Closed casket, toe tag, same thing.
Question about the chip inside her and Vaughn though...it only makes sense that someone would find one of them after one of them died, which they did, so if they ever wanted anyone to bring Prophet Five down, their parents were banking on their kids getting killed?? That doesn't make much sense.

Nadia coming back to haunt Sloane was a nice touch, although I don't really understand why, if she was going to continue to be on the show, did they kill her? It wasn't a huge shocker that Sloane would do that, and it seems like she could have been cooler used in another storyline. If I was Mia Maestro I'd be pissed I came back as a ghost. Sloane's conscience? That's a joke right?

I have to say though, getting to see JG be bad is truly awesome. Yeah, for 5 years she put on alias', but she was only pretending to be bad. When's she's acting as Anna Espinosa, she's freaking amazing. I could watch that interaction between her and Sloane over and over again. It was great. Ahh...

Now Sloane using Prophet Five just serves them right...come on, you're trusting him? You're gonna get what's coming to you. The smartest brain trust in the world that's been able to avoid and infiltrate all manner of government for how many years is going to fall to Arvin Sloane. Maybe the man deserves more credit. "The sheer audacity of your alleged turn around would be laughable, if you weren't so dangerous" ~Jack, season 3

And...Michael being back, of course felt like old times...he just slipped right back in to the mix. I sort of felt gypped that his first kiss wasn't with the real Syd, but his line at the end was pretty sweet, I guess it made up for it. Question though, why was he limping? Didn't he get shot in the chest?

For five seconds this week...and next week...SARK!

IDOL - What Mystique wants, Mystique gets

2006-05-10T21:31:00.000-07:00

Whoa...so many people are pissed off right now. I was shocked when I watched it but that was three hours ago and I'm over it now. I'm still a little sad, but what can you do. Everyone who's so pissed and calling Idol rigged should turn that finger around. Did you vote like "yameant" it? Then you contributed to the substandard remaining three we now have before us. Taylor, Kat, and CHRIS should be on that stage next week, Elliot should have gone home. Chris was robbed tonight, but not by the Idol producers, or by the loyal McPheever or Soul Patrol fans. Kat and Taylor should be here. They have talent and have consistently shown that through the competition. If you're a Chris fan, be mad at yourself and other Chris fans who didn't vote enough...also get mad at Elliot fans just for being Elliot fans who can't see that, while I'm sure he's a nice guy, when it comes to singing and performing, he is out of his league. The bottom line is, Chris should still be here and Elliot shouldn't, so people who didn't vote for Chris and people who voted for Elliot have no right to complain. I fall into the first category, so while I feel a little queasy that I have to watch Elliot next week, I wasn't willing to give Chris any votes to prevent such an outcome, so whatever, Kat's here, I'm happy.

GILMORE GIRLS - Partings

2006-05-10T01:17:00.000-07:00

Lynny: Some things are just never meant to be, no matter how much we wish they were.

Call me crazy, but I think it says something that the only time I cried my eyes out, not only in this episode, but this entire finale season, was when Logan left Rory for the airport. And I watched this multiple times people. There were tears every single time. To be fair, I did well up when Veronica graduated and at the flashback to her as a child when we still thought Keith was dead, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING compared to the waterworks that came when Logan walked out that door. (My face was powder dry during the entire three hours of Grey's, thank you very much) But I'll leave my rants and raves on other shows for other posts...the comparison I'm actually getting to here is between Logan/Rory and Luke/Lorelai. I've tried to debate this rationally, seeing as so many people are up in arms about ASP's metaphorical 'middle finger' to the fans in this episode...and part of me wants to agree, but part of me doesn't. The truth is, I don't know that I'm such a Lorelai/Chris fan, because its not like I jumped up and down when she got in bed with him, I just didn't give the ass of a rat (to quote Logan Echolls) when she walked away from Luke. Honestly, I think it was probably part of ASP's grand design to have Luke and Lorelai end up together, but none of that matters now. Either way, I'm thinking with all the backlash going on, the newbie wouldn't dare take Lorelai in a different direction, and they'll still probably end up together. But the bottom line is, WHO CARES. I'm so over Luke. His character to me is detestable and always has been. I was cool with him and Lor for a while because he was nice to her and its what she wanted, but if she's unhappy, then screw that crap. Like she said, we figure out how April fits into our lives, not the other way around. She needs to move on and be happy, and Luke's got her in a holding pattern. I'm happy she's finally not putting up with it.

Now, about that middle finger...if I'm going to say anything negative about ASP, its definitely not going to be in regards to what she did with L/L because I'm kosher with that, but the episode didn't seem completely up to par for me, like maybe she just didn't try as hard because she knew she was done. That's totally spec on my part and I could be way off base, but just the whole troubadour thing...how annoying was that? Not that I didn't occasionally love the crazy lyrics, but come on. It reminded me a lot of the bike race of last year's finale, but at least that played the role of filler appropriately. This mess just took the whole show over, and it meant absolutely nothing. These crazy town happenings are supposed to give comic relief, and while, yeah we were in serious need of that this episode, it felt like the singer catastrophe got more airtime than the actual plot. Why wasn't Paris in the finale? Something light with her and Doyle could have made up that time. Emily's comic relief even played nicely. The bombarding troubadours was way overdone and seemed like a cheap way to fill time when ASP didn't want to bother coming up with something else.

Okay, so like I said about Logan and Rory...its continually bugged me this last portion of the season that the only remaining happy thing on this show is continually downplayed. They get almost no airtime, yet they are the couple that I'm caring about. More Logan and Rory! His deal next year mirrors the one he has this season, but whether he'll appear in 12 0r 20 eps, I have no idea...I just really need more Logan and Rory. Going into the final season, you would think that the guy Rory is going to end up with would be a full time regular. I guess that's too much to hope for. What I didn't completely agree with was the conversation that Mitchum and Rory had in the elevator. Not that I think he wasn't partially right, she did need to hear that it was time for Logan to grow up, I just don't think Rory would be super excited about the idea of Logan getting shipped off to become his father. If his dad did it with him and now he's doing it, well great. I'm sure one more arrogant Huntzberger jackass is exactly who Rory wants coming back to her.

On a final note, it was nice to see the opening parallel between Lorelai waking up at Sookie's and then waking up at Christopher's while everyone tiptoed around this poor woman, but I think out of the whole situation it just made me wonder if I've ever really liked Sookie or Jackson. I'm thinkin' no.

Chris: I thought 'restroom' was code for 'follow me and we'll figure out a way to get you out of this'.
Lorelai: What the hell kind of spy school did you go to?

VERONICA MARS - Not Pictured

2006-05-10T01:16:00.000-07:00

Dick: Put on your dancin' shoes Mars, cause tonight we're gonna up chuck to the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie to beat.
Veronica: Up...chuck??
Dick: You heard me.

We're gonna take a moment and CELEBRATE the renewal of my favorite PI! Okay, onto the show.

Busy Beaver always working...nobody likes an eager Beaver...so many quotes this season for that crazy killer. Poor Beaver. Never underestimate the power of neglected child syndrome. Seriously. He went from cute Beaver last week to psyscho Beaver this week and he played it so well...and how could you not feel sorry for him given those last words?? My name is CASSIDY! Yes, yes it is.

I liked the flashback at the beginning and it looks like the writers are finally giving into the epic romance with the Logan/Veronica pairing in the "way things would have been". More on that later. But yeah, when Veronica graduated and Keith stood up and cheered, I definitely welled up. Didn't see that coming. 'You were expecting some other reaction?' It was written so perfectly, and the scene was well rounded out by Dick slapping Veronica's ass. I'm really starting to like that kid. I was a little upset that Weevil got arrested. Geez...just let the poor guy graduate.

It's nice and everything that they found a decent way to wrap up the Jackie storyline, especially since she won't be back, but I could really care less about that. So she lied about being rich and famous...at least Wallace can get back to normal now. I really hope he and V have more good stuff together next year, sort of a season one feel again.

Woody getting captured was sort of a forgone conclusion, and was somewhat underplayed, but it did set up the gutwrenching Keith-death fake out, which, if I was thinking rationally, I would have probably seen the whole time, but I wasn't, and I didn't. I cried then too, especially at that other mini-flashback scene with the puppets. Who knew puppets were sad?

So yeah, when 'CW' walked back in and blew Aaron's brains out, it almost made me less pissed off about the scene in the elevator when he confessed again to killing Lily, just in case we weren't sure. Man, Clarence Weidman is a badass...I've liked him since Rat Saw God. It doesn't, however, take away from the sorry excuse for a murder trial. "Its noir" my ass. Its my first genuine Mars complaint is what it is. There was so much crap wrong with that not guilty verdict its unreal. The first, most obvious, and probably only thing I'll point out is that, yes, Aaron is a rich guy charged of a serious crime, but Jake is also a rich guy who's real pissed off about that other rich guy killing his daughter, so it kind of evens the playing field. Where were Jake and Celeste to testify and make sure everything was being done that needed to be done to put him away? It would have been just as noir to have him get a lesser sentence and still have CW get into the prison somehow and kill him, or time served, or even have him get off, but write it better. It was just the first storyline on the show that just wasn't well written, bottom line. I hope I never have to say that again.

Back to my favorite part...the LoVely epic romance that the season ended on! Obviously I loved that Logan was the one to save V...epic romance at its best! And the callback to the pilot with Logan on Veronica's lap except in reverse was a tearjerker too...Ahh...the whole thing was great. Of course, I didn't expect for them to go all out and be together at the end of the episode, but hey, I'm not complaining...they're the best couple on TV. Okay, maybe their tied with the other Logan and Rory...but still, pretty great!

So cliffhanger...the suitcase. No clue really, but its fun that it has something to do with the mystery instead of V's personal life. At this point I think it has something to do with Aaron or something they did together because she was sort of left after CW killed Aaron and he had something to do with stealing the suitcase from Cliff...so I don't know

IDOL - Three Men and a Little Lady

2006-05-09T23:26:00.000-07:00

Well...we're down to the best and it definitely shows...I don't think anyone was bad tonight...except the judges. Does anyone else notice how every other week Paula changes her tune? One week "staying true to yourself" is what gets it done, and the next its "showing a different side". So basically whatever you do is good. But that's old news I guess. And Simon...don't get me wrong, he's definitely the most sane of the judges, but...a good while ago now, he said that Taylor, Kellie, and Chris were his top three. Well, one of those has panned out nicely...yeah, not so much. But two of the choices seemed solid; when he said it, I actually would have replaced Kellie with Kat and completely agreed, but it seems like he rarely has anything nice to say about Taylor. Taylor more than anyone has had continuity and still lived up to each theme, and for someone he picked as one of the best, each week is "a mess". He liked one of his tonight, but anytime he dances, Simon hates it. He doesn't even bother to judge the singing. I'm not even going to Randy...its not worth it. Elvis...

For the record...I love the times I was born into, but if one thing makes me wish I was born 50 years earlier, its Elvis. I'm as obsessed as someone who wasn't alive when he was can be.

Taylor: From the moment we heard the theme, I knew Taylor would rock, and that he did. Both he and Kat did a good job of choosing an upbeat song and a ballad, and Taylor rocked both. 'Jailhouse Rock' was his, no matter what Simon says. No one is ever going to be Elvis, but he wasn't trying to be...he was just having fun, and its what he's good at, and he didn't miss a note.
'In the Ghetto' was very much like current song week for Taylor when he did 'Trouble' (Ray LaMontagne)...also a great choice. It seemed like he didn't struggle with the high notes, which was something he had been having problems with...it was a good balance between the two songs. Rank: 1 (tie)

Chris: If anyone did an embarrassing Elvis impersonation, it was Chris with those stupidass glasses and turned-up collar. The song however, was very good. I love 'Suspicious Minds' and it was a good choice for him. Like Simon said...it worked. UNlike Paula said...you DON'T forget how good that song is. Did she really just say that it took Chris Daughtry singing that song to know how good it is? Seriously?
'A Little Less Conversation'...I loved how he kept it low at the start, and in the white shirt was even a little sexy...which is definitely a 180 from the first song, but the antics he pulled in the last few seconds just killed it for me. I guess that's a matter of opinion but I didn't like it. It was alright. Rank: 2

Elliot: STOP IT. Everytime Elliot starts singing, thats what I start yelling at the TV. Come on! Does that vibrato REALLY not bother anyone else?? We've eliminated bad vocals at this point. You can't call anyone left in this competition not good, so now it has to be about so much more than that and he puts me to sleep.
This night proved how much I really don't like Elliot...like really a lot. This performance was disturbing for me. I don't believe Elliot has a wild side and hearing him singing about one was icky. He was trying to be like sassy or something and it didn't work for me. He was singing about being evil and again, I wanted to go to sleep. I realize this critique will probably not go over well. Rank: 3

Katharine: I love this chick. Its a man's world now and its man songs this week and yeah she faltered for a sec in 'Hound Dog', but she saved it and the rest was great. The thing about Katharine that you can't say about the rest is that when you watch her, she doesn't seem like she's an Idol contestant. Everyone else seems like an amateur and her voice seems like one you would hear on the radio tomorrow. She got the highest praise from Tommy Mottola, who is someone who could start her career right now...and he loved her. She's fantastic.
Okay, here's the deal. 'Can't Help Falling In Love With You'...I didn't like the arrangement. Cream, apple pie, whatever. But that had nothing to do with the way she sang it. I thought the arrangement was over the top, but she sang the arrangement perfectly, and she performed really well. But she did come in at a disadvantage, and she did great despite that. She's the best, its that simple. Rank: 1 (tie)

This week is so so tough and its all about America, but I'm sticking to what I said and sending Elliot home. Even if something else happens, he is just so far below the level of the other three. I would have tied Chris at one with Kat and Taylor except for that one rocker tail he put at the last second of 'Conversation'.

How does Ryan get around that auditorium so fast?

VERONICA MARS - Just the Facts...trois

2006-05-08T03:58:00.000-07:00

In Plan B
-Weevil brings up graduating for his grandma for the 80th time
-Weevil got an anonymous call saying Curly sent the bus off the cliff because of Cervando
-Curly knows who did it- there's someone in that car in the flashback and its real freakin relevant
-Father Fitzpatrick is pissed about incorporation
-Woody is hellbent on Keith clearing Terrance
-Woody perves on Logan
-Beaver acts really shady and angsty with Mac at the dance
-V and Logan are perfect
-duct-tape...is there anything it isn't good for? quote by Liam Fitzpatrick
-Keith starts to suspect Woody
-Beaver freaks out that Mac talked to Veronica about him

In I Am God...
-a guy named Lucky is in emails from Meg and is a janitor at Neptune High
-Lucky hung out with Dick and Logan last summer
-Betina let Dick ride bareback
-Betina wanted to get pregnant with Dick's kid
-Dick gave the memorabilia gift bag to Betina
-Meg says she has important info
-Ronda's family won a lawsuit with a 2 million dollar lawsuit because the mom found a finger in her ribwich
-VERONICA MARS appears on V's hand just as it was written on Curly Moran's
-Peter says that the relevant question is why was he at the stadium in the first place
-Cervando and Beaver have a run in at summer school
-Cervando clarifies that whoever crashed the bus had to be right there and accuses Weevil
-Veronica assumes that Marcos drew the picture because of the song "I Am God"
-Dick and Beaver are worth more dead than alive
-Marcos mentions art school
-the backpack sitting by V has baseballs and C-4 in it
-Marcos hands V a ringing phone

In Nevermind the Buttocks
-the beneficiary of the policy on Dick and Beaver is Kendall
-V clarifies that whoever crashed the bus would need a visual and accuses Weevil
-Liam's car passed by the bus a few minutes before it crashed and mooned the limo and I'm assuming the bus
-Woody called Gia right before the crash
-someone claimed the reward for identifiying the Baracuda...anonymously
-the sticker Gia talked about was gone
-Kendall and Liam are...friendly
-Duncan's hair is on the newly discovered Oscar statue aka "murder weapon" in the Lily Kane murder case

In Look Who's Stalking
-V has chlamydia
-Logan is way hung up on V
-V totally still has it for Logan
-their story was epic
-no one writes songs about the ones that come easy
-Lucky's tight with the Mannings
-Lucky's stalking Gia and he's real messed up
-Woody knows about it and is obviously worried because he hired security
-Woody is disgusting and drugged some chick at the Camelot and then blames it on Keith
-Terrance claims he didn't crash the bus but he needed to save his career and thats why he broke into the house...and the blown game gets out anyway
-Keith goes public with the lies that Woody was telling
-incorporation DOESN'T pass
-Gia gets pissed at V when she hears what Keith did
-Logan recognizes the sketch of the man who stole Cliff's files as the guy who shared a cell with Aaron....great.
-Lamb is extremely interested in keeping Keith away from Woody
-Why the HELL is Logan wearing a white tux??
-Lucky wouldn't talk about Woody in front of Lamb
-Logan is sorry about last summer and if he could do it over...

Well, that last line about Logan freaks me out...despite everything I can think of, I have this awful feeling that Logan crashed the bus. There's no logic to it...there's no reason I can possibly think that he would have done it, but then there was no reason until the finale that Aaron would have killed Lily...but from what I'm hearing, did Aaron really kill Lily? I'm starting to think that this finale is gonna be out of control.
So, here's my thing...Cervando's whole point in 'I Am God' is to clarify that whoever crashed the bus had to be RIGHT there...and we've been focusing on Liam, and Weevil and whoever else may have driven by, so why haven't I been focusing on the obvious choice?? The limo??? So now I'm convinced that whoever crashed the bus was in the limo. I checked back to the crash and the people we know in the limo are Duncan, Dick, Beaver, and Gia...While I would love nothing more than for Duncan to have crashed the bus so he can be gone forever, I don't think RT would make it someone who hasn't been around for half the season, that just wouldn't be interesting. So the options are Gia, Dick, and Beaver. Gia and Dick are kind of in the same boat because they would both be shockers because they're both clueless idiots who, at first glance, you'd think wouldn't have the know how to crash a bus, and they both have hidden motive. Dick has Betina and I'm sure something I'm not thinking of, and Gia could have done it to protect her dad. Then there's Beaver, who, has been looking shadier and shadier all season, but maybe I'm not supposed to be picking up on that like I have. The thing that gets me about Beav is the incorporation thing, and him totally freaking out when Mac told him she talked to V about him. That's my Beaver red flag. And he's got a gay vibe too, so you know. I did love the Beaver and Mac interaction this week though, so I hope its not him, but he's where I'm leaning.

GREY'S ANATOMY - Damage Case

2006-05-07T23:09:00.000-07:00

So apparently in the land of no continuity, otherwise known as Grey's Anatomy, Derek has turned into a jackass. No matter what Meredith has done, Derek has never treated her this way, and now all of a sudden, I can only assume for storyline, he freaks out on her. He didn't freak out when she slept with a million guys and he didn't freak out when she slept with George, he was actually there for her and they became friends, and now all of a sudden, because he sees her with a vet, what?, he just snaps? What's the trigger in this situation that we're supossed to buy? Nothing happened to make his marriage worse. He just constantly goes back and forth with Addie, so what's the deal? Why all of a sudden is she a whore? They haven't been together for a really long time now and she's been sleeping around for all of that time, so why now? Give me something I can work with. As painful as it was, I did love that Meredith stood up for herself and didn't feel the need to tell him that she actually wasn't sleeping with Finn. There weren't any scenes with Derek and Addison tonight though...not one. Does that clue anyone else in to how we're supposed to be feeling about this triangle? There are always ALWAYS scenes with Derek and Meredith and now there are scenes with Meredith and Finn, but there are rarely if any scenes with Derek/Addison...if that's the route their going, they need to get to it, because its tiresome. They spend so much time investing people in Burke/Cristina, Alex/Izzy/Denny, and now even Callie/George, but Addison/Derek have never felt like a real relationship and they are never going to. The sooner the writers deal with that, the better for everyone. All Addison is is a road-block for Derek/Meredith, and that's all this Finn guy is going to be too. Viewers will never be able to see or root for them with anyone else because that's not how the writers initiated the characters. Its just absolutely ridiculous how out of hand this story's gotten.

Speaking of out of hand...Izzy/Denny anyone? Yeah...no further comment needed there I don't think. And now there's the little issue of Burke being added. Izzy called him Preston? Is this whole case like a personal matter now? Do we have to worry about Burke crossing the line too? This whole thing better explode or it'll be one less show I have to worry about on my TiVo next season.

That whole family case and pregnant woman broke my heart, and I was so proud of Alex for the way he handled the baby and how he took charge and did the C-section. I realize I may be the only one, but like Alex. His snarky remark about 'oh are we still pretending you aren't dating a patient' or something to that effect, was hilarious.

VERONICA MARS - Just the Facts...deux

2006-05-06T16:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, here's the random information gathering post two...again, go with the previouslies thing, you never know why they're choosing to put certain scenes before certain episodes.

In Versatile Toppings...
-Terrance Cook is tied to Ms. Dumas and has a gambling problem
-the people that he has a gambling problem with are tied to the Fitzpatricks
-Dick's unfortunate man encounter that Beaver sets up
-Dick and Veronica have an unusual amount of contact and Dick mentions that V is like rich dude kryptonite
-The actual time of the bus crash is missing from the surveillance footage of Terrance Cook at the casino, but...
-they jam all cell phone signals within a 100 yard radius of said casino
-Ryan asked Mac to beef up security because some "assface" got onto their website and posted some awful stuff
-Peter, the bus crash victim, went on about the outing of all outings
-there's an anonymous blackmail victim who Ryan doubts will come to V for help
-Terrance and Keith take evidence to clear Terrance to Lamb and we remember that Lamb blackmailed Terrrance to give money to the charity ball
-Lamb is obviously trying to pin the murder on Terrance with insufficient evidence (lazy sheriff or something else?)
-Veronica finds C-4 in Terrances cabinet in the hanger where he keeps his cars...its Woody's hanger

In The Quick and the Wed...
-Logan stole the Aaron/Lily sex tapes and burned them
-refresher: Logan and Kendall were sleeping together
-Woody talked about coaching bus crash victims in little league at the stadium (before the bus crash, obviously)
-Big Dick is the one that sent the limo for the rich kids
-David Curly Moran washed up on the beach, beaten to death, with V's name on his hand...
-Curly worked with Aaron, saw V at the candlelight ceremony, and was a biker
-WOODY TOLD GIA NOT TO TAKE THE BUS HOME
-Weevil knows that Thumper killed Felix, but...
-Thumper has video of Weevil beating up Curly
-Beaver wants to start a company with Kendall as the face, he's buying cheap property and doesn't want her to buy the Kane house
-Beaver mentions that her name is on the all the legal documents for the company
-Lamb is way more on the ball when Keith tells him about the explosives than when he tells him about the casino security tapes
-Keith finds out that the explosives were put in place for someone (specifically V?) to find because Detail Mike would have seen them a month ago and they were found the day before he was supposed to detail Terrances cars' again
-Terrance was caught breaking into his girlfriend, Ms. Dumas' house
-Neptune is on the road to incorporation that will make land outside the incorporation worthless and land inside skyrocket...
-Beaver looks SUPER nervous
-Kendall goes and gets a hair out of Duncan's shower

In The Rapes of Graff...
-Cliff gets his briefcase stolen with Logan's murder files in it
-Lamb is dating Madison Sinclair
-An unknown man paid the hooker to steal the briefcase from Cliff
-Danny Boyd, a Fitzpatrick works at the demolition site at Shark field where there are tons of explosives, C-4 specifically, the exact same kind that V found in the hanger

Oh wow...well, my biggest piece of information from these episodes that didn't actually happen in these episodes was that Woody told Gia not to take the bus home...that was huge red flag to me before it was ever even an issue for anyone else...but now that Woody is primo suspect in the bus crash, it pretty much can't be him, so I don't know what to do with it. Maybe he just knew that the bus was gonna crash or he was afraid it might...I don't know. So Versatile Toppings continues the GAY theme, and the Quick and the Wed has pretty much the longest previouslies in the history of the world. The Rapes of Graff don't really any bus crash clues at all, but since I've now seen 'Happy Go Lucky' I'm tending to the since it does have the thing about Logan's trial files, that could be relevant. If Logan crashed the bus, I'll be heartbroken. Absolutely beside myself.

ALIAS - 30 Seconds

2006-05-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

Sydney: Leiu de Pasion?
Marshall: You think it's too tacky?
Sydney: I'll work with it.

I can't handle this crap. Alright I can. But did Renee really have to die? And Nadia? I'm more upset about Renee. I really loved her. Not that I didn't love Nadia...I just got used to her not being there. But Renee, she was a badass. She was the only new character that I actually cared about. Why couldn't they have knocked off Rachel or Tom? I wouldn't have cared about them. I guess that's the point...but still.

I have this issue that I can't just watch the show and enjoy it for what it is...I always have to analyze the behind the scenes crap. Its mostly with stuff that goes way back...like the Michael investigating Prophet Five thing and this episode has it too. Like, did Abrams always intend for Sloane to have kept the real Page 47? And is that even possible? Because lets focus for a second and remember that Page 47 was originally written in invisible ink...that the CIA uncovered first in season one, so is the manuscript one of the artifacts that Sloane stole in colusion with Irina in season two and then turned back over and that's when he forged it? I just wonder about things like that. Especially on a show like this. Do the writers just pretend like thats how it was all along or did they really have that plan the whole time? Either way, it was ******* messed up for Sloane to kill Nadia after all that.

I loved all the french speaking in this episode though. Michael's supposed to be in all the episodes from here on out, and if he even gets one french line I'll be happy. That wall incenerating paint was freaking cool too. All of Renee's stuff was awesome, especially her scene with Sydney in the beginning and it was a cheap was for her to die after her being such a badass. Shannon's sad that she'll always think Sydney killed her. I don't think she thought that.

You can say what you want about JG, but it takes balls to make an idiot of yourself on national TV with that ridiculous accent/outfit at the beginning...not that she doesn't more than get to make up for it the rest of the time, but that crap was hilarious. I still, however, don't understand the significance of doubing Anna. Is it just so there is a double Sydney or is there some reason its Anna? Them meeting will be priceless considering that's only happened before in a dream. All I can say is that next week Michael better know right away that thats not Sydney.

Again...did Renee really have to die?

IDOL - Forget Paris

2006-05-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

Heh. I think I'm funny sometimes...okay maybe not so much, and if you're under the age of 25 you won't even get that, but I guess I'm just showing how exhausting the end of the semester is and its lucky (or not?) that I'm even blogging at this point. Anyway...Paris is gone, and while it was more emotional than say, Ace or Kellie, it was still just as predictable. At this point, the only person I won't be at least a little sad to see go will be Elliot. I'm sorry!...there's just something about him. I'm not in any way denying that he's a fantastic singer...he is...but I just don't like him. I think its the vibrato. And maybe the fact that he really does have no personality. Singing isn't all you need. There are tons of people in this world that can sing...not all of them make it. You need the whole package and he doesn't have it.

IDOL - Rush Rush

2006-05-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

That was quick....but seriously, I don't like it so much when they have to herd contestants on and off the stage to fit them all in in an hour. Since they were quick...I will be too.

Elliot: The first song was crap, the second song was great. I still think he's not winning material. Rank: 5

Paris: I actually think the first song was better than the second. I'm sticking to what I said before, when she's low, she's pitchy. Still not winning Idol Material. Rank: 4

Chris: The first song was pretty good, and the second one was not great. Neither one was his strongest, but they weren't bad. He was stretching his voice at the end, but should still be in the final two. Rank: 3

Katharine: I'm not gonna lie, the first one was a little rough, but the second was absolutely fabulous...Kat at her best. That song was amazing, and very "her element". In your face, Paula. Rank: 2

Taylor: I liked both of them. I thought the first one was so cute and he did the second one very well. Rank: 1

Short and sweet, but I've had a long day. I would actually tie Taylor and Kat for first tonight, because her second song was so fantastic, but since both of his were strong and her first was not, Taylor won out. I'd also tie Elliot and Paris for last, but again, since both of Paris' were decent and Elliot's first was awful, she edged out in front. Chris was in the middle with two good but not memorable performances. I guess I'll go with last week and do bottom two, which, in my opinion is clear at this point, but I guess you never know.

I voted for: Kat, as always
my bottom 2: Paris, Elliot
going home: Paris

GILMORE GIRLS - Driving Miss Gilmore

2006-05-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

Lorelai: What's that smell?
Sookie: Sixty-eight pounds of marijuana.

So apparently severe weather is situating itself in the "big country" during the entire months of April and May and we've got watches and warnings pretty much every night. Does it make me a bad person that my biggest concern here is said weather warnings constantly interrupting my TiVo recordings? Yeah, so I missed half of the GG intro tonight...not happy. It also interrupted Veronica, but lucky for them it was just a commercial. On to the show...

I absolutely loved this...classic Gilmore. Classic ASP. I miss her already. Ahh...so Sookie and Jackson are growing pot, Michelle is getting fat, and Paris and Doyle love the penguins. Its these silly side plots that make the show hilarious and worth watching. Its slightly bothersome to me that Rory and Logan have sort of taken a backseat to Luke and Lorelai. They were only in two scenes together in this ep. Not that those scenes weren't great, just underplayed a bit. As sad as it is, since ASP's plan is irrelevant at this point, I hope they choose to stop messing with Logan and Rory and have them face couple issues together rather than play them against one another next year. Its clear that they both have battles with Mitchum so there's a lot to work with there. There is just something about them as a couple that ranks them No. 1 in my TV book.

I couldn't get enough of Lorelai driving Emily around in the giant Excursion and her damsel in distress routine. Normally when I watch Grey's or VM there are a few funny lines that jump out at me as super-quoteworthy; more VM than GA but like that isn't obvious, I mean come on. But with GG, it feels like every other line could be a potential post-starting quote...and that is writing genius. Not only does ASP keep me engrossed with stories that make me laugh, make me smile, piss me off, and make me cry, but she has managed six years of one liners that, no matter what's going on, keep the comedy coming. Love it, love it...LOVE IT. And it all ends with Emily doing a potential great thing, and while I don't necessarily buy that Lorelai would accept this gift with open arms, it does make sense that she would be open to anyone reaching out at this point, since Luke so clearly isn't, even if its arms that usually extend a bit too far. And Emily chose just the right moment to be their for her daughter, which she usually does.

And I've saved the best ranting for last, of course. Oh Luke. I do hate you. At this point, I want to make it clear that I am ranting about Luke...NOT ASP. I have no issue whatsoever with this storyline. Yeah, it sucks, but to me, this is an example of character growth and story continuity at its best, and this may be shocking, but I KNOW I'm not the only one who doesn't want Luke with Lorelai. I haven't fully decided that I want her with Chris, but I have never been fully onboard the Luke/Lorelai bandwagon. Sorry, just haven't. I think Luke is a baby. Prime example...well everything this season, but tonight specifically. How embarrassing and revealing to see that he is perfectly capable of pointing out everyone else's mistakes and not seeing his own. I was gawking at the screen when he sat there and said every single word that HE needed to hear, directly to TJ. What an idiot. And I'm not a huge fan of the irony, thanks. Luke has so much growing up to do before he even comes close to deserving Lorelai. My sister tries to disagree with this point, saying that his behavior is strictly recent and they deserve to be happy together, but this is categorically untrue and here's why. This ridiculously immature behavior has been going on way longer than just this season or even when they started dating. Is Luke a sweet guy? Yes. Does he do his best to do right by people? Sure. Does that mean he's ready for this relationship? No way. Way back when Lorelai was dating other people he would go postal and treat people like crap in the diner and claim that he wasn't and then when she broke off the engagement it was 'coffee for everyone!'. Childish. He beat up a car when he found his 'wife' was cheating on him. Stupid. When Emily came between them at her vow renewal, Luke didn't even give Lorelai a chance to explain, immature, and he can say this isn't true all he wants to, but he ran back to Lorelai when Emily told him to. Are you her puppet? Can you not think for yourself?

I just don't understand the people who think that, okay, Luke and Lorelai finally got together now they can skip off into the sunset together and never have another problem again...when they're forgetting that there has to be some reason that it took them this long to get where they are in the first place. They both have a lot of baggage and thats gonna cause some rocky stuff to happen. Deal with it.

VERONICA MARS - Happy Go Lucky

2006-05-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

Weevil: If this is your idea of terms I'll understand, I'm going to kill you...or myself. It's a toss up. Screw it man, I'll just cheat.

So, so much happened in this episode, not the least of which was Aaron Echolls getting off for killing Lily Kane. What the mess. I wanted to wring that lawyer's neck too...go Keith! So other than that, we have...
-Lucky dying
-my Marcos Oliveras theory getting proved right
-the little kids turning in Weevil just as he passes Algebra to graduate
-Woody molestes kids, probably his own
-Mr. Lobo gets Terrance out of trouble and demands him to be his indentured servant. He doesn't want Jackie to know, so he sends her to Paris early
-Someone keys Beaver's car with "Amber's a bitch" and Hart is right there too. Interesting timing there, don't you think?
-Jackie's going to Paris and people on the video are speaking french...coincidence?
-V's chlamydia is made real public and we get a shot of LAMB twice
-Beaver and Mac are super cute...I hope it stays that way
-VMVO comments that epic love is grand before talking to Logan for the first time since the nightmare of a run in after alternaprom
-Lucky thinks he had gangrene while wearing a catcher's mask
-Marcos Oliveras and Peter Ferrere are now linked to Woody
-V and Keith finally accuse Woody of crashing the bus, which means he didn't do it.
-Lamb says that the same kind of bomb was used on Woody's car as on the bus...
-he definitely didn't crash the bus because he was in a padded cellt that day

So Woody is a big fat child molester and threatens Keith but Keith doesn't bend so Woody takes off. He is one creepy dude. I hope he kicks in the finale. I have a serious issue with Aaron getting off, but alright. whatever. I don't have much to say about this. But as usual, Logan and Veronica are perfect and have perfect scenes and it now seems like the writers are describing their LoVe as EPIC...at least they're admitting it now!

Last but not least...if Lucky was in Iraq, he would have known a lot about bombs, and he talked about them a lot...and if he put the one under Woody's car and it was the same one as on the bus, well we know he didn't crash the bus, he was in a padded cell...so he hung out with Dick and Logan the past summer. Dick still has the obvious motive and access, but I'm so freaking afraid that Logan crashed that bus.

VERONICA MARS - Just the Facts...un

2006-05-02T05:50:00.000-07:00

Okie Dokie...I'm having a bad day. What do I do when I'm having a bad day? Watch Veronica Mars of course. I'm actually having two bad days because its 8:45 in the morning and I haven't been to sleep and I'm still prepping my presentation for later in the day which, at this point I'm probably going to give on no sleep, so yeah, thats great. Anyway, I digress. Back to Veronica. So far I've watched three random season two eps (Rat Saw God, Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner, & Ahoy Mateys) and I believe I've stumbled upon some potentially vital info that's slowly forming into a theory. Oh who am I kidding...its forming like 8 theories. Whatever, here's what I've got so far.
(ps - some of this info is from previouslies so just go with it)

In Rat Saw God...
-Lamb presents evidence that pins partial blame for the crash on Keith
-Lamb intentionally puts Aaron and Logan in a cell together...
-Aaron denies killing Lily, but does not deny sleeping with her
-Keith finds the rat duct taped to the seat on the bus
-Lamb utters six words that will eventually become my blog title!
-Curly Moran washes up with V's name on his hand

In Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner...
-they talk about Chlamydia in sex ed
-Kendall gets naked in Duncan's room and Duncan never tells anyone what happened in there
-the lawyer tells Kendall way after the bus crash that Dick Sr. left her broke
-Mrs. Goodman is a psycho

In Ahoy Mateys...
-Veronica finds out Marcos Oliveras, a bus crash victim, didn't have many friends and states that, in the yearbook, he is NOT PICTURED. (season finale title)
-MO is/was gay and his parents didn't like it
-Ryan the 100% gay pizza boy was in love with him, his sister is Roxy, who MO ragged on in the radio show
-he ragged on Logan mainly and everyone else in his...
-Pirate radio show, Ahoy Mateys, who he did with Vincent "Butters" Clemens, the principals son

Okay, so holy crap, I will sell you my right arm if this Not Pictured thing is wrong...Marcos Oliveras died in the bus crash, and Veronica specifically describes him way back when with the title of the season finale. That is soooo not a coincidence. Its also proof that I have way too much time on my hands, but also, beside the point. So, to be clear, I don't think Marcos crashed the bus, but think of it in terms of how the season finale of last season was called "Leave it to Beaver"...Beaver didn't kill Lily, but he started the chain of events that eventually led Veronica to Aaron by telling her about Logan leaving Mexico. So I'm pretty sure solving the crash will center around him. In light of that, I started thinking about all the possible connections to MO that I possibly could and there are a lot. And the weird thing was...the first thing I came across was how blind I'd been to the overwhelming homosexual theme in season two. At first I thought it was coincidence that I noticed this and that I happened to have episodes with such relevant info, but then I remembered that the early eps I have are the ones that they chose to air as repeats, so...coincidence?? Maybe not. The first new episode after the repeats was Versatile Toppings, which is when the gayness started overwhelming me...so here are my MO connections.

-Marcos Oliveras died in the bus crash, so he's obviously tied to Peter, Ronda, Meg, Cervando, Betina, Ed, and Ms. Dumas. Those five are most immediately tied to "the outing...", Woody/settlement, Duncan/baby/Lucky, Fitzpatricks/Weevil/Beaver, Dick, his affair, Terrance Cook...respectively
-Lamb is investigating the crash and in prime position to point the blame anywhere
-apparently no one knew him, but we find out he's the "Howard Stern" of Neptune High...there could have been a lot of people who wanted to shut him up
-he did the radio show, Ahoy Mateys with Vincent "Butters" Clemens
-Butters is Mr. Clemens son
-Butters has something going with Mac
-Mac's got something with Beaver
-Mac is also the one who told V about Ahoy Mateys
-he's gay, at least for all intents and purposes, and since he's gay here's who else has had gay associated with them this season...
-The Pirate's Ship people: Peter, another bus crash victim; Kylie, cheerleader; Marlena, her girlfriend; Ryan, in love with MO and tortured MO's parents; Kelly Kuzzio, the baseball player; mysterious unknown poster who Ryan "wouldn't hold his breath on"
-the two most obvious gay links are Ryan who was in love with him, and...
-Peter who was also gay, also died in the bus crash, and also would have had no reason to go to a baseball stadium that day. I don't say that because I'm stereotyping all gay guys as not liking baseball...but because in Ahoy Mateys Ryan gripes about Marcos being made to do "normal" things, suggesting that he wouldn't have normally gone to a baseball game, and then Dick tells Veronica that Peter won the baseball raffle and then threw it away, suggesting that he too had no interest in baseball. Peter also talked about the "outing of all outings".
-The less obvious gay links are Beaver who gives off a strong vibe, Dick, who had an unfortunate experience, and Woody, who perved on Logan while working out. There may be more, but suffice it to say, there some gay things happening in Neptune and with Marcos at the center, I'm thinking gay = solving the bus crash.

So, to sum up, the people that Marcos could possibly lead to are these, and I'm only listing major characters here because RT said he would never make it some random guest star...
Woody, Lamb, Duncan, Fitzpatricks, Logan, Weevil, Beaver, Dick, Terrance Cook, Butters, Mr. Clemens, Mac...
Now of those, the ones that V/Keith haven't accused yet are Duncan, Lamb, Logan, Beaver, Dick, Butters, Mr. Clemens, and Mac.
Now of course two things are true...first, I'm way to huge of a VM fan to possibly think I could ever guess this right, and second, this is a list of eight people so there is an off chance I do but for really broad reasons. So yeah, this is after watching 3 1/2 randoms...more later but definitely before Tuesday!

GREYS ANATOMY - Blues For Sister Someone

2006-05-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, maybe I'm the only one who isn't all gaga over McVet, so sue me. I honestly don't know what it is...maybe I'm just too far gone with too much of a bad taste in my mouth after George/Meredith and Izzy/Denny but there is so little about this show that doesn't piss me off anymore. The only thing that didn't completely annoy me about this episode was the divorce attorney because she was hilarious. But even that was a little tainted because Izzy and George were there. I go back and forth about which one of those storylines I hate the most, and I think I've settled on Izzy. I was talking to my sister about this and I think its because with George I'm just grossed out and pissed off at the storyline...but the Izzy/Denny thing is just ridiculously unrealistic, bad, bad writing. Nothing like this would ever happen in a hospital, especially to this extent and the fact that the writers want us to accept it for dramatic purposes is stupid and insulting.

Chris O'Donnell is cute, and that's fine, but he's not Derek. You started out with this Derek and Meredith thing, and if you can't sustain a relationship and have it be interesting without keeping them apart, then you're not very good writers.

Burktina - I don't like Burke and I never have, but there were some sweet moments to this and I liked seeing his vunerability. His character, of course, will not grow from this at all, and he'll be right back to being an ass next week...and unless Burke/George is your big gay storyline in the works, what the hell is going on there?

And don't even start with Addie/Derek. This is the hazard of the writer's blog. When I watched the episode, I thought Addie telling Mer about the bad sex was so freakin' funny and Derek using Addison for sex when he was jealous of Meredith was not so bad either, but then when I read the writer's motivations behind that, it ruined the whole thing. Apparently...

"[Addison] put herself out there emotionally when she flew across the country to get Derek back and she’s taken a lot of hits and eaten a lot of crow since she walked into Seattle Grace. This particular day has been complete crap for her. A patient got her into big, big trouble. Why would our Addison – world renowned surgeon – put herself in a position where a patient can get her into trouble? Because, Rose is isolated from her husband and Addison saw a way to help them reconnect. Since, Addy so desperately wants to reconnect with Derek, she tried to help Rose.
I didn’t really understand just how lonesome Addison was until she gave that heartfelt, “Thank you” when Derek asked her if she wanted to have hot sex. This gorgeous woman is profoundly lonely and it breaks my heart a little and I think she deserves a few moments of shower bliss with her dreamy hubbie."

REALLY???? So let me get this straight...she cheats on her husband, decides she wants him back, she comes back and interrupts a happy life that he's trying to build, and because its not exactly a walk in the park, she deserves hot sex??? WHAT THE HELL??? She doesn't deserve a damn thing. She is an adulterer, and the fact is, no one asked her to come back, the other fact is, SHE'S STILL LYING TO HER HUSBAND. You can write this ridiculous crap however you want to for the drama, and how you wrote it wasn't all that bad, but don't feed me, an educated, experienced adult, this crap about a lying, cheating woman not deserving to be lonely. You reap what you sow.

And if you make me watch George/Callie sex again I'm done I swear.

MARS - what????????

2006-05-01T00:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here's the deal...thinking back over the last few weeks and the insane amount of information we've gotten...I'm wanting to go back over the episodes I've got saved on my TiVo (which is roughly 10, I know its only 1/2 but its better than none) and blog an entry that just sums up the parts that I think are important that I might have missed. Some of the episodes I have go back to like 2.04/05 so it could be pretty useful assuming RT was dropping clues that far back. Either way, I think it will help me get my head straight for what is sure to be a whammie of a finale...not too sure Tuesday's ep is gonna be any less intense either, so I'm gonna try to get the post started before this week, but it probably won't be done...

In other news, my Stars are officially DOA, and my Stros have fallen so far out of first place in one weekend its not even funny. Choking against the Reds'll do that.

ALIAS - There's Only One Sydney Bristow

2006-04-28T00:16:00.000-07:00

Sydney: You want me to be your best man?
Will: Well I did, now I'm not so sure.
Sydney: How would that work exactly? Would I have to wear a tux?
Will: You don't have to worry about it...cause you're not invited.

Those silly Alias geniuses and their double talk...only one Sydney Bristow. hehe So, as a 100th...up to par? I think so. It had the drama, the comedy, the best friend, and the arch-nemesis. Not to mention the fact that we meet "the twelve" (speaking of the twelve, did anyone notice that the one that talked a lot is the dirty doc from the OC?) and the arch-nemesis ultimately turns into Sydney. I'd say altogether pretty nice. I liked that we got to see the doubling process that has been such a big part of the show and how painful it actually is, and I think I'm on the same page with basically everyone else in thinking that P5's reason for doubling Anna as Sydney is to have her fulfill Rambaldi's page 47 prophecy. Sloane's comment, "That's right Sydney, you have a point; without you that page is worthless," seems very signficant, as in, sure, but not if we make another her. Its like taking what The Covenant was trying to do in season three to a whole new level. Why kidnap the real Sydney when you can just make your own? I'm not ignorant enough to not realize I could very well be way off base, but it just seems to be the consensus for now. I don't, however, think that's why they wanted the page, they already know what it says and what the prophecy is, otherwise they wouldn't have come up with this scenario in the first place...I think they needed the page for the medical anomalies that match Sydney's on that page...heart size, platelet levels, and DNA sequencing...specifically DNA sequencing. It just makes sense that they would need that info for the doubling process when they didn't have a willing participant or one in captivity. Its unfortunate for Sydney that that info is written down somewhere like that. I have a feeling seeing the page burning in the previews might have something to do with that line of thought.

As far as the comedy goes...this one was full of it, just like the old days. This season has seemed especially lacking in comedic value, something Alias has always been good at balancing, and this episode brought that back in full. I think Will added to that significantly, but the CIA-trained baby-sitters didn't hurt...they were hilarious. The whole episode seemed like a flashback to old-school Alias...shining moment? Anna kissing the glass of course. Having Anna and Will there coupled with our knowledged that Vaughn is alive and Sydney does know about it sort of makes everything seem back to normal. When there's a scene with Jack, Sloane, Sydney, Dixon, Marshall, and Will...it almost makes you forget about the weird newbies.

Negatives: not about just this episode but about the season in general that my sister brought up so she gets the credit for...but I'll use this episode as an example. This season there have been a couple times where it was just a couple people on missions, but for the most part its the entire team, and its completely unnecessary and just seems like they're trying to use the actors. Rachel has become completely pointless. I guess that might change, but I don't see how. Take the mission to rescue Will in Moscow for example...having Tom and Rachel there, what was the point? They walked around looking for the same thing Sydney was looking for, something she would have done solo in the past, and as soon as she went after Will we never saw them again. At the most she needed Dixon...having 112 people on every mission is just overcrowded and stupid, especially when its with characters that its impossible to care anything about. But I've already made my position on that clear. For four years it was Syd and Dixon, Syd and Vaughn, Syd and Nadia, Syd and Weiss, and maybe some kind of extra support team that faded into the background...these five and six people missions are messing with the structure and dynamic of the show. Again, props to my sis for bringing up an excellent point.

This is what I don't get...I understand the need for timing the seasonal arc and what not and the reality when Sydney just had a baby, but I'm assuming that Sydney's ultimate motivation right now is bringing P5 down so Vaughn can come out of hiding...and while I know her dad is all over that as much as he can be, its very un-Sydney to just sit at home for 5 weeks doing nothing to bring her fiance home. I wish they would have explained that away a little more...like had Jack and Sydney have a conversation about Jack continuing the work or something.

Overall, great episode...love it, love Alias. Counting down till the next episode is like a double edged sword...on one hand, I can't wait, but on the other, it means it will all be over soon...so sad!

ASTROS - My precious little (NL) Champs:)

2006-04-27T02:46:00.000-07:00

I'm surprised its taken me this long into the season to post about my favorite team in my favorite sport aside from my first bitter comment about the lack of televised play on opening day. My friends, that has not changed. Tell me how the team with the best record in the majors right now (yeah, its true) is getting dropped by FSN for a team thats barely staying at .500? And if you knew how I felt about the Rangers, simply stating there winning percentage is playing nice. If I'm lucky, I'll get maybe one game a week, and I've come to expect it to be on Tuesday at 7 when my TiVo is double-booked with GG, IDOL, then VM. Anyway...this really wasn't supposed to be a ranting post, but what can you do. Is it too much for a girl to ask to want to be able to watch her team play baseball? Since the Stars are down 3-0 in the first round against the nasty Avalanche, they're about to be all I have left. Come on FSN...get it together. The Baseball Tonight replays aren't enough, not to mention the fact that my TV's going to start fighting back if I keep throwing things at it every time Karl Ravech mocks my 'stros for their noticable lack of jewelry.

IDOL - Sorry Kellie...I didn't actually mean GIVE an Acceptance Speech...

2006-04-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

...and yet that's exactly what she did as she thanked everyone she's met in her entire life, including every single person on the IDOL cast and crew, effectively making her the first person to leave sans the exit performance. Was anyone upset about that? I didn't think so. It was like a whole night with good news. Kat got top votes, Kellie got voted off and we didn't have to hear her sing again. I was, however, completely uninterested in Simon and Randy's apology. Regardless of the outcome, the damage was done. How much would the apologies have meant if voters had listened and she'd gone home? Absolutely nothing. Anyway, water under the bridge, the top two were exactly who they should have been, and if I had to venture a guess, I'd say Taylor got more votes than Elliot in the middle. Good results night, but question: how on earth did Simon get the immature tag last night when Paula was the one crying and jumping up and down and interrupting people the entire time? That woman is out of control.

IDOL - Time's Up...Wrap Up Your Acceptance Speech...

2006-04-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna start this post as if I'm not pissed as hell by pointing out that I think its funny that Simon always gets cut off by the music like he's running long on the stage at the Oscars...anyway, back to my raging anger. I should probably point out that this will most likely be my last post should Randy, Paula AND Simon's utterly ridiculous remarks send Katharine home tomorrow night.

At this point I'm switching to the point/ranking system now because predicting safety won't cut it. And the rank isn't based solely on vocals, but on the performance as a whole.

Katharine: Okay, just so I'm clear, she copied a song that was too big for her, she's not supposed to push her limits, and she's not Whitney. Here's an idea...maybe instead of comparing the songs they choose to the people who sang them before, why not focus on how they actually sang it? Simon, I bet if you wanted to know if Katharine was as good as Whitney, you could have just asked her. She would have told you that of course, she is not. No one in this competition is...its not about being better than the greatest singers of all time, its about being the best in this competition right now and having what it takes to make it, and SHE DOES. However, Paula Abdul, I guarantee she can sing circles around you. How dare you tell Kat to stay in her element when she just sang a perfect duet with one of the greatest opera singers ever. I'm sorry if you two don't vibe because she didn't respond to your "stunning" compliment and she doesn't agree that all you need is good shoes. And if Randy says "greatest singers in the known world" one more time I might actually throw up on my television. Katharine was exceptional tonight. I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I actually teared up. I mean I was on the brink, and then when they showed her dad, I went over the edge. She was fabulous. She wasn't pitchy, the song wasn't too big for her, and she didn't copy it. She made it her own, which is key when you do a song from someone like Whitney Houston. What really stood out for me this week for Kat is that for the first time I really felt like she brought it all...she had some spunk and personality and she rocked the hell out of that song.
10/10
Rank: 1

Elliot: Okay, Paula was ridiculous tonight...the tears? Seriously? What the HELL was that??? Here's the deal...Elliot has a great voice, but that's it. This was so incredibly dull to me and I couldn't wait until it was over. And that vibrato is really getting on my nerves. I'm sure he's a perfectly lovely guy, but he wouldn't last one minute in the business because he doesn't have anything to sell the voice, bottom line.
7/10
Rank: 5

Kellie: How ironic that David Foster predicted exactly how Kellie would sing the song...boring as hell. I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with the falsetto advice. Just because Ace is gone doesn't mean we need someone else to pick up the slack. This was a horrifying butcher of one of my favorite songs...that falsetto just doesn't go with her voice. "Its about greatness and I don't get that from you"...Paula hit the nail on the head, but man, I didn't think she had it in her.
5/10
Rank: 6

Paris: Now this was pitchy. I sort of feel like Paris is only great when she's belting. She's good all the time, but she's not always great. And she did over sing it. Also boring. I guess its tough to go first, but none of these have held a candle to Kat's. Best female vocal tonight? Give. me. a. break.
8/10
Rank: 3

Taylor: This vocal was just bad for me, but I hate that the dumbass judges constantly hold him to this standard where if he's not jumping around he's not good. Guess what, the man can sing and he does just fine standing there. Tonight is obviously not an example of that, but its not just, he jumps around=good, he stands still=bad. I liked his rendition, I wasn't bored, I just really thought the vocal was weak, which is a first for me for Taylor.
7/10
Rank: 4

Chris: When Chris just sings and doesn't shout in his rocker voice, I actually love it. I didn't like that he improved a lot with the floor exercise and then went back to the throat. But it was good. Really good. If my reasoning for why he was in the bottom three last week is accurate though, he stands a good chance of being back there this week. How many rocker people do you think want to tune in when they see its opera week? That being said, he looked great, he had a great presence, and he sounded excellent. I am taking away half a point because he went back to singing from the throat.
9.5/10
Rank: 2

After regressing completely back to Kat getting no respect and judges with their heads up their asses this week, I am terrified about tomorrow night. Chris and Katharine should be safe, but the two worst vocals (Kellie and Taylor) are the only two left that haven't yet been in the bottom three. And lets face it, with Kellie, its not for a lack of trying. I don't know what to think. I think I'm going to put her in the bottom three...hey, two bad weeks did it for Mandisa.
I didn't vote, the line was busy, but I'm not putting any faith in that at this point.
My bottom 3: Elliot, Paris, Kellie
Should go home: Kellie
Will go home: no clue...Elliot?

VERONICA MARS - Look Who's Stalking

2006-04-25T22:38:00.000-07:00

Veronica: So my Grandma Reynolds was always saying, 'when life gives you lemons, make lemonade'. I wish she was still alive, because I'd really like to ask what she suggests for when life gives you Chlamydia.

Hold on, hold on...Jason Dohring topless.

Okay, so here's the 411 on Lucky.
-He took shrapnel in the ass in Iraq
-He's a janitor now at Neptune High
-He's tight with the Manning family who its really hard to get tight with
-He hung out with Dick and Logan last summer when Logan and Veronica were dating, which means he was part of the whole "haves vs. have nots" crap
-Meg's point on the bus was to talk about Lucky and she said, "I have important information", a statement that we never got around to hearing about.
-Woody did something to super piss him off and now he's stalking Gia. Either that or he just found out about something bad he did in general and I'm gonna go with that one.

He's looking really suspicious, probably too much so to have crashed the bus, but again, no one has accused him of it. Keith seemed pretty interested in him though...was it just because he's connected to Woody or something else? And Lamb seemed pretty interested in keeping Keith away from him...at first I thought it was just because he doesn't like Keith, but if he didn't like Keith, wouldn't he have enjoyed letting him sit in jail for a night? He went through a lot of trouble to get that key and get him out of those cuffs...at the mayor's request perhaps? I have so many bus crash theories its ridiculous. I mean, what if Mr. Manning crashed the bus to kill Meg, the abomination baby, and the guy that knocked her up? That guy is nuts. What if Jackie crashed the bus to protect her dad from Ms. Dumas? Right now my left field guess is Dick...he's connected to Kendall and Lucky and someone on the bus. At this point I just think there is so much crap getting thrown at us that these last two episodes are just gonna be completely nuts. Like, why the hell would Aaron's cell mate steal the briefcase with Logan's murder case files in it??? Now its looking like Bus Crash, Felix Murder, and Aarons Trial are all interconnected and the finale is just going to explode on my television and I can hardly stand the wait.

Woody better be grabbing his ankles by the end of this season because I seriously hate that guy. Like, more than I hate Aaron Echolls...I don't even really hate Aaron Echolls for killing Lily, just for beating Logan, he just creeps me out, but man, I hate Woody Goodman. I want him to suffer. You don't mess with Keith. The thing I don't understand is, why don't we know more about what Keith suspects Woody of? He obviously suspects him of something, but he's keeping it close to the vest.

Jackie and her dad are cute, but there has to be some significance of him being here in this specific episode...and who released the article about the championship game? My guess would be Woody, but that's always my guess.

It is so completely obvious that Logan is in love with Veronica, and I don't even think he's lying to himself about it, and I just...don't know what to say about the last excruciating minutes of this episode. Everything was so great...the banter in the hall, the banter in study hall, the intimate conversation at the party, the cheap rebound after the rejection...oh wait, scratch that last part. Come on Logan, do you really have to call Kend- Priscilla everytime Veronica dumps you? The good part...we know Veronica feels the same way now, regardless of if she'll ever give him a chance again thanks to this last stunt. Bad news...my paranoid side thinks maybe he might have been trying to protect her from something when he just let her leave. He was with shady Kend- Priscilla after all.

And I don't know if this is important, but both episode 1.20 (M.A.D.), and 2.20 (Look Who's Stalking) end with Logan horribly disappointing Veronica in some relationshippy way. In M.A.D., V found out he was on the one with the GHB the night she was raped and he was left on the yacht at the Albacore Club. Also deja vu from M.A.D. to Look Who's Stalking is Veronica getting scolded in Mr. Wu's study hall. Strange coincidences? Could be, more the second than the first, but that rarely happens with Rob Thomas.

GILMORE GIRLS - Super Cool Party People

2006-04-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

Colin: Honor is on her honeymoon in Mykonos trying to get a flight back and Logan's mom checked herself into some sort of spa in Arizona the moment she heard.
Finn: When the going gets tough, the tough get hot rock massages.
Rory: What about Mitchum?
Finn: The Dark Lord? We left word but haven't heard anything back.

I'll start this post with something completely non-related to this episode...a moment of silence for Team Palladino, who are officially not returning for the 7th and probably last season of Gilmore Girls. At first I didn't know how I felt about the whole Warner Bros. negotiation rumors, but after Michael Ausiello's super interview I'm totally siding with them...I would have left too. That doesn't change the fact that it might as well be the series finale in two weeks because next year will probably suck...not to mention that I think I want ASP to be my best friend. Bye bye TP...we love you.

More Finny moments...YAY!! And nothing makes me crack up more than everytime we see Honor she's got a cigarette in her hand. Not a whole lot of story happened here, but it had the best moments...Finn & Colin, Honor, Paris calling the doctor, and then Rory calling Mitchum...classic. I like that Rory was worried about Logan and they both apologized to each other. I like it when they're happy. In the interview ASP talked about keeping it interesting and mixing it up, and I think she's right with Luke and Lorelai and the show in general, but I have to respectfully disagree with her when it comes to Rory and Logan. Both Matt Czuchry and the way Logan's character is written are so dynamic that their relationship supports itself. They don't need a whole lot of drama and back and forth relationship issues because their daily relationship makes good TV.

So...I'm really hating Luke more and more every week, but who knew that I would start hating Anna Nardini so much. Not trusting someone that has a daughter and raised her in basically the exact same situation is completely and utterly ludicris. I'm pretty sure she's weirdly jealous in some way and she just doesn't want Lorelai in her life and its looking like its moving towards a scenario where he's going to have to choose between his daughter and his future wife and that's just great. Let's think back to when Anna never told Luke he had a kid and as soon as he found out he's been nothing but great (at least with April)...what right does Anna have to made these unilateral decisions, just because she decided not to include Luke in his daughters life??? And Luke, you can't keep someone away from someone else just because you're afraid they'll like them better...that's the epitomy of destructive low self esteem...don't project your issues onto Lorelai.

ALIAS - Maternal Instinct

2006-04-22T03:23:00.000-07:00

Dixon: But you're not just fending for yourself...you're fending for two. And let's be honest, Syd...right now, you waddle.

So I want to tell you two stories. The first one is about the moment I saw Irina behind that glass on the ship. No matter what has happened over the past four years, they've always found a way to make Irina good. So when my sister and I were watching that and she was there, she was convinced that somehow, it was all a part of a plan to help Sydney, not hurt her. I thought no such thing. My position on the matter was that no matter how you spin that, you can't make it okay that she kidnapped her daughter and tortured her for information. You just can't. But even though that was my position, I spent so much time trying to figure out a way that she could possibly still be good...because I love Lena Olin and really like Irina...or I used to.

Tell me, Irina. How did it feel, giving the order? Was it difficult or were you able to remain cold and indifferent? Were you amused?

This is a quote by Jack at the beginning of 4.21, Search and Rescue, when Jack is talking to who turns out to be the Irina double when he thought that Irina hired someone to kill Sydney. Ironically when Sydney is sitting at the bank with Irina after she finds out she's a part of Prophet Five and that she gave the order to have Vaughn killed, this exchange is way more appropriate. I am so pissed that I wasted all that thinking just for them to make it real clear real fast that she's the evil of all evils. Not only did she give the order to have the love of her daughter's life brutally murdered in front of her eyes, but she told her own child to her face that she was a mistake that she never wanted. Yeah there's no redemption from that. I feel bad for Nadia...she got all crazy right after she met her nice mom and now when she wakes up, her mean mom's gonna be back.

So there's a mini-story that I wasn't talking about above about how it was supposedly supposed to hail and flood and whatnot when Alias was on, so there were several parts of my broadcast that got interrupted, so this might not be completely accurate. But yeah, so Jack and Sydney figure out that there's another mole inside the CIA...is it Sloane or is there another one? I'm confused...am I supposed to be confused or did I miss it? Either way, Devlin's investigating APO which makes absolutely no sense at all since they're the ones that found out about it why would he start there? But Sloane gets Rachel to clear them of suspicious activity, and that gets him out of actual dirty activity.

Renee and Dixon, that's a new pair, go to France and we get to see them in action for a bit...I love Renee! And that's JG's favorite wig she's wearing...I know because in all freaking five seasons its had that little strand of hair on the left side that's too long in every way its cut and it annoys me every time!

So Sydney has her baby with her mom and dad helps which just taints it for me because of all the ridiculously horrible things she says and what an evil bitch she is. But Jack's there and he's great so I guess its okay. And the moment we've all been waiting for...

He's alive!!! Which confirms, for real this time, that this is, in fact, "I Almost Died: Part Seven". Hopefully this is the final installment, its definitely the longest, but you never know. So now its time for my second story. I came home from something, I don't remember what it was, but my sister had just moved in and it was after the season premiere and she was just sitting on the couch in sort of a trance and she just kept saying "closed casket" over and over and over. For the next like three weeks and every week after an episode, she kept saying it...closed casket, closed casket, closed casket. It got super old. But when that Asian guy rode that horse up to that hut, I was on top of my couch yelling...CLOSED CASKET!!! So we also known now that both Sydney and Jack know that he's alive, so that probable means that they're the ones that hid him, since Jack said he'd take care of it. It doesn't look like he's going to be in next week's episode...but I hope he's not just going to be in a couple more...I want him to be in almost all of them.

ALIAS - SOS

2006-04-20T00:07:00.000-07:00

IT'S BACK! IT'S BACK! And so worth the wait, right?!!! I was on the edge of my seat almost the entire time. And hold up...Dixon's got dreads. Cornrolls? Dreads? Whatever. Its weird.

So this one was obviously filmed before JG's maternity leave, aka before Alias knew they were getting cancelled. And as much as they say they're okay with it, and its time to leave blah, blah, blah...yeah I don't buy it. I'm pretty sure their altering stories all over the place to get this to finish decently. Not that I don't love it, I'm just saying...this one was filmed before they knew, so it was probably part of the original storyline.

So we find out that Sydney's nice and innocent civilian doctor is not so innocent and not so civilian. "You bitch" is my favorite line of the episode. The biggest question right now is why the hell do they want her baby? With all of my Alias love and knowledge spinning in my head, I can't shake the idea that there is/was this whole prophecy about a Rambaldi baby tied to Sydney and now she has a baby that Prophet Five wants. Not only do they want it, but they performed a surgery that risked compromising their operation by getting caught by Dixon's team. They really want this baby. When the APO team got Sydney off that ship and all we saw was the surgical left-overs, I was sure they took the baby.

Okay, so how cool was the CIA operation inside the CIA? You would think that would be a fear of Langley's all the time. I mean if anyone could break into the CIA it would be the CIA right? And I knew Tom Grace was shady the whole time. I don't really care if he's shady unless its super tied to Prophet Five, which I guess this Cardinal guy could be...but its not like I'll be all holy crap Tom's bad! Who cares.

So Jack finally realizes that Prophet Five has infiltrated their own government, a fact that we and Sloane have long since known, and something that Jack would have too if he'd have taken one minute to think. I will say that when Jack went into headquarters to draw out the mole, I was so afraid it'd be Devlin...I was on the edge of my seat for that one. It's just weird to think about the fact that they're playing like that Davenport guy was dirty all the way back to when he was Vaughn's superior in season one. We thought it was such a big deal that Helatki was on the inside working for Khasinau and that's nothing compared to this.

And last but not least...how great was it to see Greg Grunberg back??? Such a cutie! I was sort of pissed that it was only for a sec, but still so fun!

IDOL - Chris in the bottom 3!

2006-04-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit happy that Chris was in the bottom three, but this week it isn't because he wasn't good...its because he is starting to mix it up and I feel like he is Katharine's biggest competition. He was excellent last night and absolutely did not deserve to be in the bottom three tonight. Plenty of other nights, sure, but not tonight. But I feel like something he said might have rang true...either last week or a couple of weeks ago, after Simon repremanded him for an indulgent choice, he said that was the kind of songs that his fans expected from him, and if thats true, than this week clearly wasn't. So maybe his fanbase didn't care for what he did last night. Then again, maybe its as simple as Chris fans had to work late and Kellie fans were in front of the TV ready to dial. Who knows. I don't get America. Either way...the right person went home...finally.

On a different note...love songs? Is it just me or is that really general? Is there a certain list they have to pick from or just any love song ever?

ALIAS Love Story: Section Five

2006-04-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

Curtis: Just tell us what we want to know. I'm tired of playing these games!
Michael: Quitter.

This one will be a work in progress since its still going on...obviously!

Prophet Five (5.01) - Seriously? Seriously? My name isn't Michael Vaughn? Seriously? I'll have to recap, not review...if I don't it'll go on for a year. Vaughn and Sydney survive the car crash and Vaughn is kidnapped by Prophet Five...which we don't really know anything about yet, other than its super bad. And he's suspected of working for them, but he's actually been investigating them with an assassin named Renee Riene, who's a huge badass by the way. Oh yeah, and his real name used to be Andre Michaux. Major problem with the fact that he looks like Shady McShadester now, but he didn't back when he was investigated by counterintelligence in season two. Then they kill him. Or we're supposed to think. I highly doubt it. Why? That's right, the now notorious "I Almost Died" series. I'm convinced this is not the first part in the new series sans the "almost", just the latest installment in the old one. What makes me thing that? Well, a number of things. First, I couldn't go on watching Alias under any other assumption, second, no one ever really dies on Alias, three, CLOSED CASKET (plus no tears ever from Sydney), and finally, he's back filming until the finale. Yeah, even all my reasons didn't have me totally convinced until that last one was confirmed, but who cares, he's alive....I think.

Important developments include Sydney's pregnancy, Nadia is still in a coma while Sloane is still in jail, and our first important info about Prophet Five...that they have an asset that was able to pose as a US government official. Not good.

Four months after Vaughn's funeral, Sydney tracks down Renee.

Renee: How did you find me?
Sydney: I know everything.
Renee: Then you should have walked away.

...1... (5.02) - Weiss leaves APO for a position in Washington, and Jack hires Thomas Grace to replace him. I'm not trying to get invested in a character who all of a sudden shows up out of nowhere and has no ties to anyone, same with Rachel. I just can't get into either one of those characters. They way they introduced Renee is different...she's obviously had history with Vaughn for years so I care about her. Sydney works with her for the first time, and the man who killed Vaughn dies.

Sydney: I mean, you're #8 on the CIA's Most Wanted List, I get it.
Renee: #8?
Sydney: Yes.
Renee: I'm slipping...I used to be #6.

The Shed (5.03) - Rachel Gibson, former employee of Prophet Five, joins APO because she was in the same situation as Sydney at SD-6. And we meet Kelly Peyton, superbitch.

Mockingbird (5.04) - Sloane is approached by a Prophet Five operative on the CIA inside with an offer to help Nadia and release from him prison in exchange for advancing Prophet Five agenda inside APO. He accepts. At this point the viewers, as well as Sloane are quite aware that Prophet Five has infiltrated government intelligence...APO does not know.

Solo (5.06) - I've already said this to some degree when I talked about The Two being difficult to watch, but Prophet Five wasn't especially painful for me...it was almost surreal to the point where I wouldn't accept Vaughn's death so, like Sydney, I was emotionless. The last scene of Solo, however, gutwrenching. When Sydney holds that mission tape to her belly and we hear Vaughn's voice from beyond the "grave"...I lost it.

Fait Accompli (5.07) - Sloane confesses his double agency to Jack and Sydney and they set a trap to catch Gordon Dean. Prophet Five awakens Nadia for a brief moment in order to draw Sloane in again, so Sloane kills Dean before APO can get any critical information out of him...even though I'm sure Sloane's not thrilled about the idea of working for someone else...you know he got a wee bit of pleasure out of killing the man who'd been barking orders at him for the past few months.

APO finally learns that Prophet Five is embedded in global government and intelligence networks...but they still don't know about the CIA infiltration. At this point, I'd like to say two things...1) that it's completely out of Jack's character not to put 2 and 2 together and realize that if their in other governments, they're probably in theirs, and that would be a logical explanation for while Sloane was suddenly pardoned. And 2) that this Prophet Five thing is way more interesting a set up than The Alliance ever was and I'm extremely disappointed that we only get a year to explore it.

Bob (5.08) - Mr. Julian Sark returns with his authentic, not nearly as sexy, American accent. He's a freelancer now, and he ends up doing APO a favor, so he's kind of good now.

The Horizon (5.09) - Michael! Michael! Michael! He's in a dream, but so damn sexy... I don't quite understand this episode yet...because now we know for sure he's really alive, thanks to the promos. Its really all dependent on if Sydney knows he's alive or not. I'm inclined to think she does, because she didn't cry in the hospital or at the funeral, but if she really does know, then she did a hell of a job pretending that he was dead. How did she have the wherewithall in that hypnotic state to pretend like she was suffering so much? And my whole theories since December about his pulse have hinged on this:
Sydney: I gave you this and then you crashed...Vaughn, I can't.
Michael: You said it yourself, their using me against you. The only way to defeat them, I need to go away.
Sydney: I don't care. I don't want to say goodbye to you again.
Michael: I know, I know, its okay. I need to go away. We'll find each other.
So that exchange is what convinced he was alive...mainly the 'I need to go away' part, but also Sydney said 'say goodbye', not lose or anything else...and that's sort of weird terminology.

Tom: My mother always said, 'if a man's worth shootin' once, he's worth shootin' twice.
Jack: I'm sorry I never met her...she sounds like my kinda woman.

VERONICA MARS - Nevermind the Buttocks

2006-04-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

Logan: Anything else? Oh, I got to second base with Tammy Forester in 8th grade in Duncan’s closet, and last summer I made this townie girl moan without even using my hands. Is any of this relevant? Should I make a list?

For one hour on Tuesday nights my mind is starting to spin. I have no idea what's going on anymore. Kendall?? Man I didn't see that coming...and I'm not sure I buy it. I feel like Veronica would have picked up something on this whole shadiness when she was investigating who she was sleeping with for Beaver. My sister's in love with Duncan and she's pissed because she thinks he might only come back in flashbacks...I hope she's right. I hope Duncan crashed the bus. Harsh right? I know.

So I guess we're done with completely separate MotW's...this weeks was completely tied up in the bus crash, and next week's preview involves Gia, so enough said. But how much did you freak out when you realized Keith was in the house with an armed Liam Fitzpatrick. Man, I hate those guys. I love it when the daddy/daughter duo comes through for each other. This week's MotW reminded me of Weapons of Class Destruction from last season with the creepy guy who's actually not that bad.

So the evidence on Kendall is mounting:
-she's not really Kendall, she's Priscilla
-she was at the wheel when the real Kendall died
-she's hooked up with Liam who we've now placed at the scene of the crash
-she has a secret house
-she's the beneficiary of Dick and Beaver's life insurance policies
-she doesn't mind doing dirty deeds for Aaron Echols
I'm sure theirs more but this is just off the top of my head, but the one thing about Kendall...this is the way Rob Thomas sets up the mystery...just like the Kanes last year, it was so totally obvious that they were guilty so they couldn't be, same with Kendall. Every time V and Keith suspect someone, you can pretty much knock them off your list. Here's my new thought. Now we know, as viewers, that the Goodman has looked shady as hell for quite some time...I'm thinking all the way back to the point where Gia told Veronica that her dad told her not to take the bus home, so for a while, I looked at Woody like the Jake Kane of last year...looked so guilty that he was probably guilty of something, just not the whole enchilada. BUT, while its looking like Keith is getting suspicious of Woody little by little, neither he or Veronica have ever come right out and suspected him of blowing up the bus, a key factor in innocence in a Neptune mystery. So far between Keith and V, they've suspected Weevil, the Fitzpatricks, Terrance Cook, the artist of the coffins, Kendall, and I'm sure there's more that I' m not thinking of...but you can pretty much cross that list over to people who didn't blow up the bus, at least not directly. Have they accused Logan? I forget but I sure hope so. So I'm thinking that maybe the Goodman was looking a little too suspicious, so to take our minds off that for a bit, we're supposed to focus on the Kendall smokescreen for a while now, then bam, its Woody. There are only 3 more episodes left people!

Can I just say that I'm in love with Weevil and my favorite thing about him is that he has never stopped calling Keith Sheriff? He really is such a good guy...love it!!

Veronica: Are you here to confess? Is that your tail I see between your legs?
Weevil: No, but I can see how you might get confused.

IDOL - The Songbook...Seven

2006-04-18T18:13:00.000-07:00

How refreshing to see something great for a change!! First of all, can I just point out how much respect I have for Simon? If I had to sit through Randy encourage the ridiculous boos or the constant insults, I would not be able to keep my mouth shut. And you couldn't pay me enough to work with Seacrest. I'm not kidding.

Chris: Okay...somebody get a tape recorder...Chris was excellent tonight. That's right, I said it. He looked classy, and sounded even classier. It was a great song choice for him, and he never missed a note. There was just enough of himself in it, but it was also a perfect rendition of a classic. I'm still not totally convinced that he'll keep diversifying up to the finale, but tonight, he was inspiring. Safe.

Paris: For the 112th time, pick a style Paris. She sounded very good, but I can't get past the fact that I don't know who Paris is because she's someone different every week. Vocally, it was very good, but like I've said, I always feel like there's something missing. Everyone was so great this week that I think its tough, I don't think she's necessarily safe.

Taylor: I thought this was great. Great song choice, great vocal. I thought he took who he was a calmed it down a bit and was very charming. Then closing the song out in typical Taylor style sealed the deal. He and Chris set the bar tonight. Safe.

Elliot: I actually picked this song for Elliot and it was a great choice for him. His voice is perfect for it, and thankfully we didn't have to sit through any rap moves. However, it was so frustrating to hear Randy and Paula repremand Simon for expressing concern (in what was actually a pretty considerate way) about Elliot's lack of personality, because its true, and he was just trying to be honest. Like I said, the bar is really high tonight and everyone was good, but someone has to be in the bottom three, and Elliot's lack of personality might put him there. That's all Simon was saying and to come back with an "I'm rubber you're glue" comment like "well you don't have any personality," was ridiculous. He might not be safe.

Kellie: Yeah, when I said everyone was good before, I meant everyone but Kellie. She was my concern tonight, and apparently for good reason. She butchered the hell out of this. I know it wasn't her genre, but neither was Queen and she managed to get through that, so I don't see any reason to go easy on her. At this point, these are supposed to be the seven best singers in the competition, and there's no reason for someone in the top seven to have pitch problems. I will give her credit for taking responsibility for her performance though. I mean, at least she didn't finish and say, "I thought I rocked." Based on this performance, she shouldn't just be in the bottom three, she should go home, but her fanbase is solid, so I don't know.

Ace: Okay, first of all, maybe his fanbase won't vote for him because he looked like absolute crap tonight. What the hell was up with that hair? I guess he pulled off the song but I can't get over last week. I know that falsetto's supposed to be his magic trick, but I'm really starting to hate it. He's still obviously below the rest and should definitely be in the bottom three. At least I think so.

Katharine: All I can say is FINALLY!!! I think Paula and Randy read my post last week because Kat finally got (some of) the respect she deserved. And her performance was completely and utterly superior tonight. I could watch it over and over. The thing is, even though this is her element and she should have done well, she has done well at everything every week. With one exception, everyone did well tonight; the bar was high and even so, she blew everyone away. She's a star.

Picking the bottom three is definitely getting tougher as the field gets smaller, but Katharine, Chris, and Taylor were above the rest tonight. They are the only ones that should definitely be safe. Paris was next with Elliot close behind. Kellie was clearly the worst, but since I can't get last week out of my head, Ace belongs there too, in my opinion. Kellie's fanbase and the fact that she admitted that she sucked might save her.

I voted for: 07!! (busy, busy, busy!!)
my bottom 3: Ace, Elliot, and (I'm cheating) Paris/Kellie
going home: Ace

ALIAS Love Story: Section Four

2006-04-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

Bishop: What's your real name?
Sydney: Ima
Bishop: Ima what?
Sydney: Ima gonna kick your ass.

Authorized Personnel Only (4.01/02) - Again, we have a new season that goes in a completely different direction, and the introduction of APO, the new black ops division run by Arvin Sloane. I like it! Its been a few months, but to us, they didn't waste any time hookin' Vaughn and Syd back up and we get to enjoy some nice spysex right off the bat. We do see that he resolved his issues with Lauren, or his "vicious homicidal double agent" wife, as he put it, by burning his house down. Nice.

We also have the most disappointing cliffhanger answer in the history of television. There were so many places they could have gone with what Lauren said to Sydney during their final fight, and for all to be on those papers was that Jack killed Irina was just utterly anti-climatic. Parts of the papers that we saw said things like "project manager: Jack Bristow", "project subject: Sydney Bristow", and "project initiated: april 1975" which we know is around Sydney's birthday. Both Jack and Senator Reed work in intellegence and she talked about them both being pawns in the same game and people controlling them. Come on guys...its got Project Christmas written all over it. And Lauren finding out and getting pissed off would have been a great explaination for why she went to work for the enemy.

Ice (4.04) - This isn't a pivotal moment, just a point I want to make. In Ice, Vaughn has issues with the fact that he killed Lauren. First of all, Vaughn was a psycho at the end of season three and I didn't much care for him, but he's acting like he went out and shot her in the head. He ended up killing her in self defense, and yet that's not the way they told the story at all. He's has all these supposed feelings of guilt, but really, if he hadn't killed her, she would have killed Sydney and probably him. He kills people in self defense almost everyday, and the fact that one of them got to be the woman that betrayed him and tried to kill him numerous times should just be an added bonus, not something to lose sleep over.

Welcome to Liberty Village (4.05) - Although Jack and Sloane's close relationship has been disturbing all season, we find out that they have an alternate agenda when Sloane talks about moving up their time table and they learn the Russians are searching for Elena Derevko.

Echoes (4.08) - Anna Espinoza returns and the prophecy concerning Sydney and Nadia, or the Passenger and the Chosen One, resurfaces, but its been tweaked. Sydney describes it to Nadia and we find out what the Rambaldi symbol, <0>, means. The outer markings are Sydney and Nadia and the circle is the object over which they will do great battle only this time, only one will survive instead of neither.

The Index (4.10) - We find out that Jack and Sloane do, in fact, have some kind of pact, and that they are pursuing something covertly that requires doing non-sanctioned things like stealing blackmail files. At this point, I'm figuring it has to do with Sydney because, as Jack himself pointed out, every compromising thing he does is to protect her.

The Orphan (4.12) - We see Elena, the third and nastiest of the Derevko women (or so we thought), for the first time. We don't know its actually her though yet, but we do know she's connected to Vaughn's father who's supposedly alive. We also learn that Nadia, just like Sydney, worked for a renegade organization fronting as a legitimate government black ops unit. At this point, the Project Christmas angle, however underplayed, is almost more interesting than the Rambaldi puzzle. I won't criticize too much just yet, but after the finale, if its not tied up...well, just wait.

Marshall: Syd, this guy buried you alive.
Sydney: Yeah but he cheated. He hit me with a car first.

Another Mister Sloane (4.16) - The assumption I'd been operating under just got wiped, because we see the red ball for the third and fourth time here and it gets smaller then bigger at the end, or the same size it was in Almost Thirty Years...we see the mid-sized ball as we see the same exchange that took place between the real Sloane and Neal Caplan years ago when Sloane was searching for Rambaldi and kidnapped him to build the neutron bomb. I think it would have been hilarious to bring back Christian Slater back and have Arvin Clone kidnap him instead of the woman scientist. His reaction would have been priceless.

Roberts: The price just went up.
Carter: Name it.
Roberts: $750, plus a neutral place to meet, plus no more grammar lessons.
Carter: a neutral location?
Roberts: Yeah that's right. Or I disappear again, and I take your slinky with me.

A Clean Conscience (4.17) - We learn that Sophia Vargas is really Elena Derevko, who I think looks the scariest when her hair is all the way down, and we find out that Jack and Sloane's mysterious pact is about tracking her down because there is evidence that she's after the Rambaldi sisters. Again, its not clear why at this juncture. I see big...red...balls...

Cloane: Jack are you really wasting are time with this? After all, it was you who taught me to endure torture...
Jack: Listen to me you pathetic freak; even if what you were saying was true, you can be sure I've kept a few things to myself.

In Dreams (4.19) - Crap! I was wrong again...we see the red ball again...and its smaller again...this is the fifth time. My original count of four was way off.

Marshall: Congratulations, man. I'm sure Mr. Bristow's gonna be thrilled.
Michael: Really? I'm just hoping he doesn't shoot me on the spot.

The Descent (4.20) - We get the first glimpse of the ring and learn that Vaughn plans to propose to Sydney, and he and Jack have a lovely exchange.

Katya: Is that look on your face supposed to be intimidating? You forget Jack...I've seen your tender side. ...Do you plan on torturing me?
Jack: If I have to.
Katya: While I know that would be enjoyable for both of us, I should warn you I have quite a bit of stamina, but you already know that about me.

The obvious is stated here...that the Vaughn's father charade, Sloane Clone, etc, etc, etc, is all part of Elena's game, or endgame, and APO figures out that Sophia is Elena. We also find out that Irina's endgame was stopping Elena.

Search and Rescue (4.21) - We find out for sure that Irina Derevko is, in fact still alive and being held by her crazy ass sister Elena Derevko.

Irina: I'm not going to torture you...I'm gonna let him do it, and he really doesn't care for you.
Jack: I'm actually hoping you don't tell us. There's a 50/50 chance Sydney'll cut the right wire.
Elena: You're not a gambling man Jack.
Jack: I didn't used to be, but it's been a rather interesting year for me. It's made me re-evaluate certain parts of my life. I'm trying to have more fun...

Before the Flood (4.22) - Up to this point, this is without a doubt, the best season finale of Alias...so much to talk about. I say up to this point, because I have great expectations for the series finale. They actually could have tweaked this a little...have Nadia live or die, have Syd and Vaughn actually make it to Santa Barbara for once (for the LOVE), etc...and it could have been the series finale. Anyway. First and foremost, Sydney and Vaughn get engaged. I have to applaud the writers for this, because the build up to this moment was 4, and if you really think about it 6, years in the making...the bar was high, but it turned out alright. Then again, we find out that Michael isn't Michael...greaaaat. Speaking of which...you thought we were gonna have a whole season sans our favorite series didn't you? Close, but not quite. "I Almost Died: Part Six" comes at the very end of the season as a jeep broadsides Vaughn and Sydney...although I guess we don't really know yet if its an installment in this series, or a more final, one parter, just called, "yeah I died and that's it."

Then we have the Rambaldi Prophecy coming to a head with the big red ball of all big red balls...I thought this was Rambaldi's endgame...but their hyping that up for the series finale like its tied to Prophet Five, so I guess not. Anyway, we go on a mission with the Bristows to save the world and ultimately succeed, although not without Nadia as a semi-casualty, as the prophecy regarding Sydney and Nadia partly comes true. I think at this point its worth mentioning that the big red ball that I'm so fond of was first designed by Oscar Mueller who is or was involved with Prophet Five.

Also, Irina knows what Vaughn is up to...and although we don't know what Vaughn is up to at this point, it made it a hell of a lot easier to guess who was behind that glass.

Sydney: You wanna be rough or you want me to be rough?
Michael: You're always rough.
Sydney: No I'm not.
Michael: Yes you are.
Sydney: That's not true.
Michael: Yes it is.
Sydney: Are you talking about at home or on ops?
Michael: Both...hey I'm not complaining.
Sydney: Well if I'm rough its because you like it when I'm- Are we on comms?
Jack: Yes...you are BOTH on comms.

IDOL - A little more...Who's left?

2006-04-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

In my last blog I commented that after last week, the top four are clear to me and I wanted to elaborate. At this point I think there are three clear tiers.

1) Katharine, Taylor, Chris, Kellie
2) Elliot, Paris
3) Ace

I'm not saying that the top four have the best voices. But we all know this competition isn't just about singing. If it was solely based on singing, there are several good ones left to chose from. But there are outside factors to consider...the "whole" package, and sometimes people have fanbases that I don't understand. For example, why the hell did Bucky go home after Mandisa?? Anyway, the top tier has consistently gotten better and risen to the challenge, while Ace has gotten consistently worse during the finals. Elliot and Paris are just somewhere in the middle; both are great singers, but there is just something missing. I think Elliot has the best raw talent of the bunch, but that's it. He hasn't gone anywhere with it and there isn't any spark. Paris does so many different things every week that to me it isn't clear what her "package" is. Ace, to me, no matter how hot he is, is clearly a step or twelve below everyone else, and should go home this week whether he pulls off the songbook or not.

ALIAS Love Story: Section Three

2006-04-17T00:41:00.000-07:00

Concierge: Checking in?
Will: Yeah, course. I'm here, she's here, we made it.
Concierge: And you are?
Sydney: We're the next big thing.

SO BAD ITS GOOD. This season is like a train wreck that I couldn't stop watching. A lot of people gave up this season, it turned out to be one of my favorites. I think it's the Jack and Sydney dynamic and how it grows. I hate that blonde bitch though. And its funny as hell, so I'll probably end up putting quotes throughout.

The Two (3.01) - This is by far the most painful episode of Alias to watch...Prophet Five included. There's a DVD extra where JG talks about how hard it was to film and the director says cut and she starts crying between takes. So Sydney wakes up two years after the fight with Allison and everything is different. Vaughn is married, Dixon is director of the LA office, Marshall and Carrie are pregnant, Sloane is a humanitarian, the Covenant is the new threat, and Jack has been in jail for a year, although she gets him out.

Sydney: Well all I said was I couldn't talk about it.
Jack: Which of course has only peaked his interest.
Sydney: What peaked his interest was hearing Simon Walker call me Julia and then kiss me like his prom date.

A somewhat surprising and important development is that Jack allied with Irina to help him figure out what happened to Sydney...so apparently their relationship is peachy again. He contacts her and at the end of their conversation she says miss you and he definitely says it back. Remember when you called her disarming? Yeah...

Sydney: The last thing I want is to be responsible for driving a wedge between Vaughn and Lauren.
Jack: That is a concern I do not share.

A Missing Link/Repercussions (3.04/05) - Ahh, here we are. "I Almost Died: Part Three". Sydney stabs Vaughn because the dumbass gets caught by Walker's team and it makes him realize how much misses Sydney and he has that dream in the hospital...like he didn't already know.

Simon: Were you like lovers or something?
Jack: Not exactly.
Simon: The reason I ask is...if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it.
Jack: Do you?
Simon: Oh yeah...on a scale of one to ten, ten being most degenerate displays of sexual theater known to man, well Julia's like a seventeen.

Breaking Point (3.08) - Jack and Vaughn go to meet Thomas Brille. I don't think Brille is necessarily that important of a character, but I'm bringing up anytime Bill Vaughn is brought up and Brille worked with him. Irina killed Bill Vaughn, and we know now that both Bill and Irina are/were involved in Prophet Five. Either this is not a coincidence, or JJ Abrams wasted an incredible opportunity. I mean come on, Syd's SpyMommy killed Vaughn's SpyDaddy on a supposed CIA mission gone bad, and then we find out they're both involved in P5, which to our knowledge is this monster of a conspiracy going back 50 years or something. The whole Irina/Bill/Sydney/Michael/Prophet Five pentagon mess is fascinating and too good not to mess with or at least theorize about. I know I said I wasn't going to...I lied.

Conscious (3.09) - Lindsay needs to cover himself after he nearly killed Sydney so he blackmails Sloane into hiring a hitman to kill her. This is when we find out for sure that Sloane does in fact have an endgame...and also that Robert Lindsay is the dumbest fictional character on the planet. Come on Lindsay...did you really expect to tie up your loose ends by informing Arvin Sloane that you were one of his? I guess that's the question you were asking yourself just as you realized you paid for your own hitman.

Will: I tell you what. We're gonna get four bottles of champagne and I'm going to tip you like I ordered five. You know what I mean? You do don't you? You cheeky little bastard. Cheers.

Full Disclosure (3.11) - We finally find out what happened in those missing two years, but yeah right Dixon wouldn't tell her what happened. That whole twist that was thrown in there made no sense at all and sort of ruined it for me. Anyway, she was being held by the Covenant, being brainwashed to be Julia Thorne, and ended up working for the CIA as Julia Thorne and a double again, but this time inside the Covenant. Only she didn't want to remember it or what she did with the DNA that was supposed to make her love child with Rambaldi, so she erased her own memory. I think this last part about the DNA is especially crucial because it brings back the prophecy from season one, "...signs that she will be the one to bring forth my work...this woman will render the greatest power...". Also, I'm not entirely sure that this won't come into play later, because now Sydney actually has a kid. I know its Michael's, but is it really...and even if it is, can we be sure that there isn't some other Rambaldi prophecy that he's involved in?? And Lazery also mentions the Passenger for the first time right before Lauren kills him.

Oleg: Your name is Julia Thorne.
Sydney: My name is Sydney Bristow you ugly bastard.

Ding Dong, the bitch is bad. You knew it all along right? Me too. But I was, like, scared that she wasn't. I just figured it was too obvious. Part of me wanted her to not be bad and Michael to just leave Lauren for Syd all on his own. But whatever, I hate her.

Crossings (3.12) - This is the first time since Sydney's been back that Vaughn verbally expresses his feelings that Sydney is the only one for him. Um...YAY! It's also probably my favorite Alias episode...ever. It may be the Vaughn thing, it may be the Damien Rice song at the end...don't really know, don't really care.

While Sydney's in North Korea, its the first time we see one of Irina's sisters, Katya, and we first hear of her other sister, Elena Derevko, who gets important later. Also, Katya's real name is Ekaterina, which is just too close to Irina for my taste...mix it up!

Cole: But in the mean time may I suggest, and this is just a suggestion, that you put the kabash on your husband's extra curricular sextivites.

Blowback (3.14) - We find out that Sloane had an affair with Irina, and even though he's a disgusting pig, I have to applaud his ability to manipulate people. He knows full well he's not Sydney's father and that he has another daughter, but damn it's working well to make the shrink think its possible.

Taken (3.16) - At the end of Taken, Jack figures out that Lauren is the mole, although he can't prove it for a while, when he hears both Sark and Lauren use the phrase, "not if I see you first, love."

The Frame (3.17) - The Passenger resurfaces in what turns out to be faulty intel indicating that the Passenger is a bio-weapon. We know its actually Nadia Santos, Sydney's sister as she becomes so fond of telling us. It gets just about as annoying as the tagline from season one.

Michael: Whether or not you or Sydney believe me, I know the life that I'm living and I know the woman I am married to. Lauren is not Irina and I am definitely not you.

Unveiled (3.18) - Michael finds out about Lauren after he makes an ass of himself to Sydney and Jack...good job buddy.

Vaughn: I should have known.
Sydney: We should talk to Dixon and figure out a way to handle this.
Vaughn: Oh I know how to handle this.
Jack: You will act like nothing's changed.
Vaughn: Okay what's Plan B cause that's not gonna happen.

Jack finds out that Sloane had an affair with Irina and decides not to help him get out of what's coming to him. Although I'm confused as to why he's helping him to begin with. Come on, Jack...if anyone's above being manipulated by Sloane, its gotta be you.

Hourglass (3.19) - We find out, what I think is the entire point of season three, and JAbrams just decided to dance around the issue, that Sydney has a sister who has the genes of none other than Arvin Sloane, and she is The Passenger. Sydney also finds out what Jack already knows, that Sloane had an affair with Irina. We also see just how much of a psycho Sloane is, in that he's willing to risk is life in his quest for all things Rambaldi. You just put a whole lotta faith in a man who despises you dude.

Sydney: It's also possible that my sister is an innocent victim.
Jack: With Arvin Sloane and Irina Derevko as parents? I don't think so.

Blood Ties (3.20) - Although we don't get it in quite as cool a way, we learn that Rambaldi prophesied that Nadia, aka Sloane's spawn, would serve as a direct conduit to him. So now we know why the Passenger and the Chosen One are important. Sydney meets her sister for the first time, and at the end, the connection between the Chosen One and the Passenger is revealed. "The Passenger and the Chosen One will battle, neither will survive." That is so not what happens, nor is it what the prophecy says when they bring it up in season four, but whatever, you get the idea.

Its also time for our next installment in Vaughn's "I Almost Died" series. This one is a little minor, sort of like 3 1/2, but we'll round up and call it part four. Lauren and Sark kidnap, torture, and nearly kill him with the Inferno Protocol...whatever the hell that is.

Resurrection (3.22) - Vaughn kills that ugly blonde bitch, but not before the part five of...you guessed it, "I Almost Died". Just when he's about to get sweet revenge another Derevko reaks havoc on another Vaughn when Katya stabs Vaughn and leaves him for dead. Seriously...this poor guy! I guess that's what happens when you marry a "vicious homicidal double agent".

I loved this season finale, but I've gotta put some stipulations on that statement. First, it was a tad anti-climatic again, although not to the extent of season two, but it felt the same in the aspect that the seasons don't transition smoothly. They resolve whatever they need to resolve and then the cliffhanger goes in a completely different direction. But the shit got me. When Lauren was saying all that stuff about people controlling her and Sydney my mind was racing about all the possibilities that could come from that dealing with project Christmas and whatnot. Her mentioning Irina was just a sidenote I thought. Imagine how pissed I was when the actually sidenote was revealed. Damn it.

Michael: (referring to Sark's nose) I think I broke it.
Sark: Clearly.

VERONICA MARS - I Am God

2006-04-12T22:49:00.000-07:00

Dick: Veronica, sometimes you don't need the prettiest horse, just the one that let's you ride bareback.

Oh My. This was like a mini scary movie...what the heck? But what I keep coming back to is...is this a way to get more information across, because at the end of the day, it was just a dream. Whatever that means, this was a truely creepy way to further the plot...even for Rob Thomas. What I did think was very cool was the role reversal in Veronica taking the lead on the bus crash and Keith handling the MotW...although it was a little underplayed. I had to watch it twice to get what was going on with that anxiety crap.

V got into Stanford so yay for her, but we all know she's going to Hearst, so whatever, but I love love love that Wallace and Logan had a bonding moment, so maybe a Logan and V reunion isn't far away. I swear if Logan had anything to do with the crash I'll personally find Rob Thomas and kill him.

Okay, so the information we got outside of the dreams was this. Dick and Beaver are worth more dead than alive, although I don't know what to think about that because I'm convinced someone put the rat on the bus to drive the rich kids off, so unless someone messed up like whoa, Dick wasn't supposed to die. We also know that white trash Ronda's fam got a huge settlement from none other than Woody Goodman...that is so not a coincidence. When Keith said guess...I didn't need three. This Lucky guy is really shady, especially since there's an episode coming up named "Happy Go Lucky". I doubt there's no relation. Is Beaver's flashback supposed to tell us that Cervando was one of the PCHers working with the Fitzpatricks? Dick also messed around with some chick named Batina who was set on getting pregnant with his kid, and gay Peter had the hots and maybe more for Mr. Wu.

On to info we got in the dreams...The Cervando thing is messed up, and somehow is probably connected to Beaver, at least we're supposed to think that. Why Weevil was at the gas station is a disturbing question, as is why was a gay kid on a field trip to a baseball stadium. And why the hell did the name on Curly Moran's hand appear on Veronica's in the dream? What I don't necessarily buy is the last scene with the pirate radio guy saying that it was Veronica's fault or the creepy C-4 sitting beside her while the phone rings. Not that I don't think someone was after Veronica, but that seems more like her feelings weighing in on her dreams than anything else.

So here's my slowly forming theory, based on Keith's good advice to follow the money. I heard a rumor that Veronica's trouble making mama might be making an appearance and I can't help but wonder if someone else's parent took out insurance on their child. Veronica perhaps? When was the last time they checked her financials? Its just that last season there were absolutely no clues leading up to Aaron so maybe all the people we think are responsible aren't. Sure he was a pyscho, but nothing connecting him to Lily. I don't think its as simple as someone crashed the bus, I think several people are involved on some level, but I'm starting to think Lianne is a major player.

GILMORE GIRLS - The Real Paul Anka

2006-04-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

Colin: ...we are planning the ultimate Life & Death Brigade event.
Finn: Not only the ultimate, but the penultimate!
Colin: Penultimate means next to last, Finn; this is the last one.
Finn: I thought it meant super ultimate.
Robert: How did you get into Yale?
Finn: Slept with the recruiter.

Great Episode...you know why? FINNY!!!! He is my TV boyfriend and I love him!!!! I'm fairly certain I must marry either an Australian or a Brit. He was on for like two seconds, sure, but its so worth it every time. Best Finn moment? His John Travolta/Pulp Fiction impersonation in "Pulp Friction". We are still desperately awaiting the news about whether or not ASP is returning at the helm of GG next season, and I'm panicking because moments like those in "Pulp Friction" won't come from anyone but ASP.

Now that I have sufficiently expressed my love for both Amy Sherman-Palladino and Tanc Sade, I can focus on the fact that Lorelai is officially sharing (with Addison Shepherd) the title of Queen in the land called Passive Agressiva, and even more disturbing is the fact that the only one who's noticing is Emily. The scene where she takes out her issues on Lane's wedding dress and that poor "one-of-a-kind" bag were awesomely over the top and the latter had me wondering when Luke lost the few brain cells he has left. Ah, well, it is the Lorelai way. She couldn't even confront her parents about moving to Stars Hollow, but instead decided to take the not at all believable "trash the town I'm choosing to live in" route.

Sadly, the person who's still as smart as he used to be, and therefore is noticing the giant relationship rift, is precious Logan. Do you think it says something about me that Logan is the one I'm siding with here? I think what Logan did was awful, don't get me wrong, but she forgave him, and now she's going out of her way to treat him like crap. Best case scenario, she's lowering herself to his level, worst case, which is the view I'm taking, is she treating him even worse than he treated her. Unfortunately, as smart as he is, he's never been one for the common sense, and with all that noticing he's doing, I don't see this Life & Death Brigade stunt going well. Message to Rory: you knew what you were getting into. He's not a commitment guy, and you're a smart girl, you knew this was a possibility. Either take him back or don't, and get on with it. Did you really need to kiss Jess to realize there's a reason you keep forgiving this guy?

Part of me wants to see the bonding moments between Luke and April as something sweet, but how dense and neglectful he's being with Lorelai just muddles the whole thing for me to where I don't even care. I realize the tar and feathers are coming any day for what I'm about to say, but...when is that Christopher thing happening again?

IDOL - Elimination 5

2006-04-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

Man I've got mixed emotions about this. When I saw that Taylor, Kat, Chris, and Kellie were separated on top from Elliot, Ace, Bucky, and Paris, I was pretty sure the top row was safe because that's about how I split it, and I was so relieved when I didn't have to hold my breath too long for Katharine tonight.

I was up in the air between Elliot and Paris because they are the most middle of the pack equals. Paris has a lot of talent and a big voice, but there's something missing. And Elliot has an amazing voice and probably the best raw talent left in the competition, but the entire rest of the package is just not there. None of it.

Bucky and Ace however, equally deserved their bottom three spots tonight and I wouldn't be surprised if Bucky just edged Ace out for the lowest number. I am not at all sad about Bucky because he has never been strong, and to me has consistently performed below par since being selected as a top 24 contestant. Ace on the other hand, had some bright moments in the semi finals but has consistently gone downhill in the finals, capped off last night by what I would call the worst performance this entire Idol season. I wouldn't do that alone in my bedroom, much less in front of 30 million people. I was horrified when Ryan made Elliot sing, because I realized that I was probably going to have to sit through Ace's again. Thank goodness for TiVo. The pathetic thing is, I really don't think Ace thought he deserved to be there. You could just see the wheels turning..."but I'm so pretty!". I'm about as sick of his sex appeal routine as I am of Chris' rocker routine. At least Chris can sing.

The ones who have it and the ones who don't are very quickly separating in my mind, and tonight they were separated on the couches. The top row should be the final four.

IDOL - Elite Eight

2006-04-12T02:33:00.000-07:00

At least I was expecting Queen to be bad. My problem this week was with the judges...Simon specifically. Obviously the whole "Queen" week is supposed to really test the finalists because its so hard to do, kind of like a really rough class in college or law school or med school. But let's face it, aren't we the ones that are suffering here? Simon was right, the audience deserves better, but the show is the one that made them do something so off the map in the first place. Plus, its not really weeding them out because in the end only one person is going home, just like every other week...and America tends to forget bad performances by the next show. So the show forces the contestants to perform in an area is that is so far out of most of their comfort zones that its almost impossible to be entertaining and then tells them that they can do better. Ryan was almost tolerable tonight, thats something.

Bucky: What the hell is this guy still doing in this competition? Seriously. This isn't a rhetorical question anymore guys. I'd like some feedback. Every little bit helps. In singing lessons, we used to have to do an exercise saying "mommy makes my mash my m&ms". All I want is for someone to teach it to Bucky. Dude...I cannot understand what you're saying. DICTION. And I've never seen so many karaoke performances on national television. I have a local bar, thanks. I seriously have no clue who's voting for this guy every week, so safe? Not safe? I think he should have gone home weeks ago.

Ace: Well Ryan gets the Captain Obvious award for the week...yes Ryan, the competition is getting more and more intense every week. And Ace, its a bad sign when Queen tells you no, not to their own song. I mean, what can I say? It was just...embarrassing. You did not rock. It was the first awful man-eyeliner moment of the night. I felt like it was something that one of my friends would have done as a joke in my living room on a drunken night while we were all sitting around laughing. Just awful. Not safe. Going home if America grows a brain cell this week.

Kellie: A for effort...I guess. Simon said it perfectly...its a mess on paper, and its hard to get past that. I think ultimately, it was good. The whole look was a little weird, and I thought she was a little awkward around the stage, but I can't find a lot of fault in it. Ambitious, but good. Safe.

Chris: He is the one that I'm going to hold to a higher standard this week...and its his own fault. He has made it clear, against my strong wishes, that he is a rocker. This week should have been a breeze for him, and I have to agree 100% with Simon here. He could have picked a much stronger choice and really shined and he just didn't...bottom line. And he becomes the second male eyeliner tragedy of the night. I feel like Simon was initially super-impressed with him but is finally just getting sick of it, and not that it makes a difference, but it still makes me happy. But he is, of course, safe.

Katharine: I definitely don't think this was Katharine's best night, but compared to the rest of the train wrecks tonight, she did well. The change was definitely a good move for her, but I did think it was a little "indulgent" as Simon likes to call it. And I absolutely hated that shirt. Of the three girls left in the competition though, there is simply no comparison. No prediction.

Elliot: He has got to let this rapper thing go. No matter what he does, you know somewhere in there he's going to throw in those oh-so-dependable, yet no less embarrassing 8 Mile moves. Stop it! He can still sing though. I would love to think on it for a while and hand pick a song for Elliot and arrange it so he can't mess it up. Because man...he. can. sing. I think he should be safe, but America's weird.

Taylor: I loved this. I know he looks like a dork jumpin' around like that, but it was entertaining, and the vocal was very good. Lance physically spit his drink out when he missed kicking the stand over. That was great. It was just fun which, to me, was something missing from this whole show. I liked it. He's safe.

Paris: Another week, another trip to the dress-up trunk, but I actually thought it was good. It was a little big, but what are we really choosing from tonight? I really should have just stuck with Veronica Mars. I wouldn't put her in the bottom three, but I'm not America.

I have a small rant (who are we kidding...its a big rant) before predictions that just came to a boiling point tonight when it became clear how obvious the judges favorites are. And by judges I mean Randy and Paula. Simon, for the most part, is pretty consistent and fair. But tonight was crap. This entire time, basically every single week without fail, Randy has gone on about song choice song choice song choice and this week when Simon throws out there that Chris could have picked a song that did more for him, Randy says no way...its not about the song choice?? You've got to be kidding me. And he and Paula are horrible with this...Katharine is clearly not who they want to win. Ace's performance tonight was pitiful, and yet Paula and Randy are upbeat and try to be a positive as possible, but then when they're judging Katharine, someone who was actually good, they both say as many negative things as they can think of, in as negative a voice as they can muster before half-heartedly admitting that it was a solid performance. When everyone else gets up there, they are so excited and happy for them and jazzed to give a good review if the show warrants it, and many times if it doesn't, but Katharine doesn't ever get that. The most she gets is a solemn, "it was good."

I voted for: no one (line was busy for 05!!)
My bottom 3: Ace, Bucky, Paris (stressing this is prediction, not who I'd put there)
Going home: Please, God, ACE

ALIAS - Love Story: Section Two

2006-04-11T04:46:00.000-07:00

Kendall: I just got off the phone with the Director again, and he asked me again if I knew we were in the intelligence business.

I didn't initially plan to break these sections into seasons specifically, but I guess its working out that way. What can you do? I'm guessing I'll end up putting my favorite quote from the season at the top. What can I say...I love the quotes.

The Enemy Walks In (2.01) - This is basically a continuance of Almost Thirty Years, and we tie up a bunch of lose ends, including how Vaughn survives "I Almost Died: Part One". He swam out of room 47 only to get caught by Derevko's men and taken to France. Of course, all of that could have been avoided if he would have just run when he saw the massive wall of water coming at him instead of standing there like an idiot. I don't think any other Alias moment bothers me more than that one. Its just as well, the hot component is alive and well. We also find that Sloane really did kill his own wife, curiousity didn't kill Will but did turn him into an unemployed drug addict, and we, the viewers, see Irina Derevko for the first time and how Sydney escaped from the room in Taipai only after the mother/daughter reunion included Syd getting shot by Irina. Ultimately, Irina turns herself in.

Cipher (2.03) - In this episode, two things happen that I feel are relatively important, although this is the season where Irina is the major player, so most things are important. Jack confronts Irina for the first time and Sydney allows her mother in on a personal level. Both stupid moves, I think. Jack is way too controlled by this woman, the only person who's ever been able to have any kind of a hold on him, and Sydney is way too guliable in many respects and just should have stayed away, no matter what Irina's ultimate agenda is.

Counteragent (2.07) - Vaughn has his second near death experience, but who's really cares because we will eventually lose count. Via Michael's unfornunate "I Almost Died: Part Two" that was actually a result of Part One, Sark and Sloane form their infamous partnership. Sydney also finds out that Michael has been seeing Alice again. That went over real well.

The Passage (2.08/09) - This is Irina's first real chance to prove her loyalty and disprove those who doubt her, and she comes through. After the family outing Sydney fully trusts Irina, and Jack begins to trust her. She proves her loyalty again in A Higher Echelon, only she's really not, we just don't know it yet.

Phase One (2.13) - Bye Bye Alliance. Right before this, Sloane makes his getaway, but there's no reason to not include everything here. So Sloane is gone, Sydney and the CIA bring down the Alliance, and Michael and Sydney can finally be together. And holy crap, Francie dies. Well, the real one. By the way, Sydney not noticing that her best friend was someone else for half a season is the stupidest plot ever. So basically, this marks not a, but the pivotal moment of all pivotal moments in the world of Alias. Sydney Bristow's life takes on a new dynamic.

A Free Agent (2.15) - Sydney and Sloane have not only their first conversation, but also see each other face to face for the first time since the truth about SD-6 is out in the open.

This has pretty much nothing to do with Alias as it is, but it might have to do with what it will be, once its said and done, and this does change the dynamic slightly. Sydney graduates from school. So what this really means is no more pretending and throwing in a scene ever now and then that reminds us that Sydney is, in fact, pulling triple duty. Thank God.

A Dark Turn (2.17) - Irina goes bad again, or still, or whatever, but she betrays Sydney and Jack and the CIA and everyone else. No matter how you try and justify that, Derevko, its not good. But at least she and Jack get some hot love in before she bolts. Down the road I have issues with this episode too, because Vaughn is investigated by counterintelligence. Wouldn't they have picked something up about Prophet Five since he's been supposedly working on that since the beginning? Yeah.

Truth Takes Time (2.18) - Nothing huge happens here, except that Emily dies for real this time, and I just wanted to point out the irony in that.

Countdown (2.20) - Sloane goes to see the Rambaldi prophet and finds out about, I assume, the passenger, a.k.a, his daughter, a.k.a, Sydney's sister. But, we don't technically know this yet. Sorry if I ruined it for you.

The Telling (2.22) - This is in my opinion, the most anti-climatic season finale ever. If you leave out the part about Sydney going missing for two years, la la la, then you really don't have much, but I figure every season finale's supossed to be important so I'll do what I can. Will is 'officially' cleared, although that whole thing bugged me because they could have tested his blood for that gene therapy medicine in the first place but whatever. We find out that Irina is really good, but really? Is she? She pieces together for Sydney (and us) how she worked it out while in CIA custody. The CIA gets Sark...but he takes off three episodes later, and I guess the most important part is Sloane puts together Il Dire, but we don't know what that does for like a year, so you kind of forget about it, at least I did. But my point is, they go to all the trouble of raiding that building and everyone just gets away. There is that kickass scene with with Syd and EvilFrancie and there's a cool DVD extra that you should check out about that, but the next scene is really part of season three, so thats it.

Sark: Good luck Sydney.
Sydney: I don't need you to wish me luck you son of a bitch.
Sark: That's a wonderful attitude.

ALIAS - Love Story: Section One

2006-04-09T03:32:00.000-07:00

Glasses: Who do you work for? I'll not ask you again.
Sydney: Ok, get a pen, write this down. E-M-E-T-I-B. Got that? Okay, now reverse it...I've got bad news for you man. I am your worst enemy. I've got nothing to lose.
Glasses: That's not exactly true. You have teeth.

Okay, this post isn't exactly like it sounds. I thought about what to call it for a bit and finally decided that "Love Story" was as appropriate as anything because my love for Alias is why I'm writing this post in the first place, and I'm doing it because Alias is ending and well that's just sad. So, what this post is actually about is this. Since I'm watching the first 4+ seasons right now to celebrate Alias' April 19th return (mark your calendars!), I'm going through and instead of doing a synopsis of season 5 episodes liked I'd originally thought about doing, I'm going to mark turning points and pivotal moments throughout Alias history. For example, the first one will obviously be Sydney finding out about SD-6 as a result of her first fiance's death. So its an Alias timeline, if you will, complete with a touch of review and some snark here and there, I'm sure. And since there will probably be at least 4-5 a season, it'll be pretty long, so I'll most likely break it up into sections. This will be section one. Because sections sounds cooler than parts and definitely cooler than chapters, and lets face it, its loosely based on SD cells of seasons 1 & 2. Here we go.

Season One:
Truth Be Told (1.01) - Sydney discovers the true nature of her employer, SD-6, as a mercenary group, rather than a black ops division of the CIA and also learns that her absentee father has also been working for the same mercenary group, but also for the CIA. Read: Syd isn't the only one pulling double duty. Unfortunately SpyDaddy (aka Victor Garber, aka the Sexiest man over 50) , in the same episode, coins the phrase, "you've been working for the very enemy you thought you were fighting," which becomes a part of the Sydney voice over as well as a staple for anytime the true nature of SD-6 is discussed, and which I am convinced was thought up for the express purpose of annoying me.

In the pilot we also see the small red ball that slowly turns into a big red ball. Its also the first time we hear the name Oscar Mueller, who is apparently the one who designed the device. He gets real important later...Prophet Five anyone?

Parity (1.03) - Milo Rambaldi is introduced. We find out that the red ball thing was actually his design and Oscar Mueller was just "an academic". He just found the design and made it or improved it I guess. Anyway, we all know how important Rambaldi is...no need to elaborate here.

The Confession (1.11) - After Sydney and Michael do some sleuthing, they ultimately decide that SpyDaddy's been a bad boy for the KGB including killing Michael's dad (aka SpyDaddy2). The interesting thing is, Vaughn was pretty against turning Jack in for the good of bringing down SD-6 until he found out it was about his daddy. Way to separate the personal and professional there, Mike. Sydney whines a bit, but they finally go to Devlin about it, only to find out that it was actually SpyMommy. That family's more dysfunctional than mine. Sydney, as expected, has some trouble processing.

The Coup (1.14) - I had a hard time deciding whether or not to include this as a pivotal event or not, but I figured what the hell. Its the first time we see the man known as Julian Sark. Actually at this point he's only known as Sark...he doesn't have a first name yet, but who cares because he's still absolutely gorgeous. Anyway, he becomes a major player later on, so I think this is important. I'll talk about him more later when I talk about SpyMommy.

Page 47 (1.15) - This is when Alias gets creepy and completely moves away from anything realistic. Some guy named Rambaldi drew a picture of Sydney, or someone who looks a whole lot like her, over 500 years ago. Sure, he drew plans for a cell phone and created a synthetic polymer around the same time, but none of that is as freakish as looking at a picture of yourself drawn in the 1500's. But so yeah, this is the first time Sydney is tied to Rambaldi, but it won't be the last.

The Prophecy (1.16) - "This woman here depicted will possess unseen marks, signs that she will be the one to bring forth my works, bind them with fury, a burning anger. Unless prevented, at vulgar costs, this woman will render the greatest power unto utter desolation." And we thought just the picture was bad news. Now she's seriously tied to Rambaldi. Not only did he draw her, but he knew her platelet levels and heart size. This guy's good. And the prophecy doesn't seem so important in the span of the first season, but proves how talent JJ is, damn him, as it comes back and becomes oh so important all the way to the third and fourth season, and I'm not convinced it won't come back in the end of the fifth.

Q&A/Masquerade (1.17/18) - We "find out"/assume that Laura Bristow is alive. It's unclear when exactly we find out that her real name is Irina Derevko...its somewhere around here though. We hear it on the video that Jack listens to, but Sydney also types it in the search on her mission with Agent Overbite Hicks.

Rendezvouz (1.21) - Although we know that Vaughn's got Sydney on the brain long before this episode, this is the first one where it becomes an issue/is verbalized. At least by Weiss, who is clearly counting on that vesting. Come on Weiss...you're a government employee, you better be saving your pennies now. At this point, I think she likes him too, but she's still recovering from dead fiance #1, so its still in the back of her head. Ahh, she'll change her tune during his first near death experience.

Also, Will finds out about SpySyd. He finds out about SpyWorld in the episode before this, but what the hell...I threw it all together here. This is actually where he puts it all together and finds out about Sydney, Jack, and the whole deal.

Almost Thirty Years (1.22) - We actually see, or Sydney actually sees (because Lena Olin hadn't been cast yet), that Irina is, in fact, alive. Oh, so pivotal. Unlike a lot of Alias viewers, I haven't even bothered to come up with conspiracy theories about the end of Alias, it makes my head hurt. But whatever lies in store for those last six episodes, Irina is a major player. Its fabulous how Irina Derevko has been such a crucial part of Alias from beginning to end, and Lena Olin was only a regular in season 2, and didn't even appear in seasons one or three. More on Irina later.

We see the red ball for the second time and it has grown significantly. As Sydney put it, "Vaughn, its bigger than I thought."

Sloane: I can't really be the first person to have difficulty taking you seriously can I?
Cole: Well, while that was a moderately clever retort, I'm the man holding the box.

VERONICA MARS - Plan B

2006-04-06T05:03:00.000-07:00

Weevil: Bless me father, for I have sinned.

I know my intro quotes are usually more for the comedic value, but man, this just seemed appropriate. I'm still a little...I mean I had to wait two days to even figure out where to start talking about the PCHer with the cute nickname taking the long dirt nap. First, I love Weevil, and there's no way anything he did could ever make me not like him, but I liked how his desperation was personified all through the episode almost enough to justify what he did for viewers. We've seen throughout what he'll do for his 'boys', especially Felix, but I felt like in this episode it really became clear that it was Weevil's love for Felix, not ego or pride or any other stupid-ass male emotion that drove him to get justice. The scene between he and Molly was awesome. I loved seeing Felix again in the flashback too. He is so cute. Why couldn't it have been Hector? Seeing Felix, Thumper getting whacked, and then the previews for next week just made me think...holy crap do we have a body count for season two? Most of the bus crash victims they just made up to kill them, but Meg and Felix were regulars, and Thumper was this year. It's beginning to be like Lost where you never know if your job is safe. (For the record, I don't watch Lost and never will, its a principle thing) Okay, so if my math is right, we have Felix, 6 students and 1 teacher on the bus, Curly Moran, Meg, and now Thumper. Did I miss anyone? I'd be scared to live in Neptune right now.

Alright, Eduardo Orozco is our most recently deceased. Weevil set him up, Liam F. and Danny B. secured his fate, and Logan actually pushed the plunger, but only because Goodman was negligent in checking the stadium. I would say that Logan is the only one guilt free here (there's a first time for everything) but I'm inclined to think it wasn't just a coincidence that he was the one that pushed that plunger. Now whether he had knowledge, or its just going to come back to bite him in a "wrong place wrong time" way, no idea. Liam/Danny are the actual murderers here, but thats no surprise, we know they're dirty. What I need to still decide is if they are just dirty, or if they are the actual dirt. The duct tape comment, however, is just the sort of sort of subtle clue that Rob would throw in there about the MotYear...come on...the rat was duct taped to the seat! I have a feeling they were doing it for someone else though. Which brings me to the Goodman. He is SO dirty. And I definitely think he might be the dirt, but again, I need a minute. This guy was eight kinds of shady this ep. The whole DVD thing, the way he interacted with Logan, and then not checking the stadium? That's either intentional or just the most bone-headed move in the history of...something, I'm sure. And the latter qualifies as negligence at the very least, if anyone ever figures out what happened to Thumper. And we all know that's not happening as long as Lamb is sheriff. And speaking of which, do we think Lamb is dirty? Is he minimally dirty, like, just getting paid off? Or something more? I just can't fathom a cop being this lazy. And when Veronica gave him that tape, he was disinclined to go after the Fitzpatricks, but when the witness came forward and isolated Thumper, he was willing to do that. Curious.

Back to Weevil. I'm gonna make an executive decision and say that yes, Weevil knew the absolute full extent of what his actions would cause, so in effect, he basically killed Thumper. But no one forced Thumper to get involved with the Fitzpatricks, and not only are they technically who killed him, but by association, who got him killed. If he didn't work for the Fitzpatricks, he wouldn't have been made to kill Felix, then he wouldn't have been set up by Weevil. Thumper was scum, and he made his own bed. If you don't want to die, then don't get mixed up with people who will kill you over drugs. Or a niece/daughter. Speaking of Molly Fitzpatrick, I found her "same scum different wardrobe" comment interesting, as one of the scum she was referring to was PCHers. Wasn't she "in love" with a PCHer? I wonder if the first dead "half breed cholo" would have died for Molly if he'd had a choice in the matter.

So what the hell is going on with Beaver? Is his Mac freak out an isolated "neglected child" thing, or somehow connected to his real estate scam? Is his real estate scam setting up Kendall for the big fall or does he have another agenda or both? Did he factor in the incorporation or is that going to screw up his plans? Is his working with the Goodman somehow? Small, probably premature theory: he really likes Mac, but he's in deep with something dirty and doesn't want to get to close to her so she doesn't get hurt...or figure it out.

And Jackie...touched that she's changing, or too little too late? But I don't like who Wallace is when he's around her regardless. Speaking of Wallace...I don't like the lack of interaction between him and Veronica.

And last but not least, Logan and Veronica's big dance. This alone made the whole episode...at least for me. They're chemistry, just when they're looking at each other, is unreal. I was immediately transported back to the balcony of The Camelot in Weapons of Class Destruction. Ahhh... I'm sorry, she just never had that chemistry with Duncan. Never. Logan and Veronica are equals. What they've been through causes them to be able to relate to each other in a way that no one else can.

Logan: When I dreamed of this moment, 'I've Had the Time of My Life' was always playing. Hmm, what can you do?

IDOL - Finals Elimination 4

2006-04-06T01:17:00.000-07:00

Oh no...Queen?????

Haha. Well, on the downside, she wasn't the worst. On the upside, I guess we'll finally find out if she's a "homophobe". Anybody else heard those rumors? Yeah...from the last two weeks alone, I would say Bucky should have gone home first, but I guess Mandisa would have been a close second. Can someone please fill me in on where this guy's fanbase is coming from? It was so interesting to see 3 completely new people in the bottom three tonight. I was SO SURE it was Ace/Bucky/Katharine. Like, I would have actually put real money on it. It was a little refreshing to be honest. I don't think Paris should have been there. But Elliot, look what happens when you overuse that vibrato. Not cool dude. Do you think they were grouped in order of votes? Were Taylor, Kellie, and Chris the highest, then Katharine, Ace, Bucky, or was that just random? Notice how the first three were the ones that Simon picked to go all the way. These bottom three's week to week are just so surprising. I don't know what to think anymore. I honestly have no clue why Bucky is still in this competition. But if you don't count him, the right person went home this week. And when I realized it was her, my first thought was, oh crap, I have to hear that awful rendition of that Shania Twain song again.

GILMORE GIRLS - I'm OK, You're OK

2006-04-05T16:03:00.000-07:00

Logan: We were apart!
Paris: Oh please!
Logan: We weren't together. Wait...Why the hell am I arguing with you, I don't want you back.

I really liked this episode. I feel like I can finally see where ASP is going and I love it. Okay, maybe I'm not crazy about the actual storyline, but her writing vision is fantastic. First, the parallel between Rory and Lorelai's denial is, in a word, brilliant. I do feel like it's more acceptable for Rory to be in denial about her relationship than it is for Lorelai. There are a lot of reasons for that opinion, but I could start with the 16 years that Lorelai Sr. has on Lorelai Jr.

My two favorite scenes from the episode were number 1) the Logan/Paris confrontation. I love it when these two have scenes together. And 2) when Lorelai walked to the door and whispered to Luke that Emily and Richard were there and he bolted. hehe. And I'm still lovin' Lane and Zach. They could NOT be cuter. Mrs. Kim and Zach are so great...who remembers when she showed him pictures of Lane when she was little? Amazing. I didn't like that "hit song" though.

I like that Rory being editor wasn't completely dropped, and that Paris and Rory made up. In the last ASP interview I read, she went on and on about Liza Weil, and I couldn't agree more. She is perfect and I'd be heartbroken if she was out of Rory's life. And I totally agree about the treadmill. Rapists and murderers are scary! Its why I have one anyway.

I had a debate during the episode about why Rory took Logan back if she hadn't really forgiven him and the fact that it's not like Rory to roll over for someone like that if she takes issue with something they did. Here's my thoughts on the subject. I agree with Logan that he actually did not cheat on her. When they had that fight in the weird karaoke bar, I questioned myself whether or not it was a breakup or not. When Rory said break, I assumed that was the direction we were going, but apparently Logan agreed with me. (another case of superb writing, by the way) But, just because I don't think Logan was cheating on her doesn't mean I think he's any less of a manwhore for sleeping with 50 girls in 2 weeks. And I assume that's right about where Rory is right now. So she can't break up with him for cheating on her, because he didn't. So if she were going to break up with him, it would have to be in a more or less judgmental capacity, and no one wants to be that guy (or girl). To sum up, I kind of think she's caught between a rock and a hard place.
Lorelai on the other hand, just in denial.

Overall, great episode, can't wait for next week. New through the finale. 2 weeks till Alias!!

IDOL - Down To Nine

2006-04-05T00:37:00.000-07:00

First of all, what the HELL is Randy wearing? Ryan pissed me off more than usual tonight and Simon's Desperate Housewives comment was priceless. What is that beard? Are you trying to impress Teri Hatcher? I really really hate Ryan Seacrest. He either loves Simon or he's jealous of him, I can't tell which, but my question is, is it possible that he doesn't realize how transparent he is? I'd put $50 bucks on the fact that he spends all week thinking of possible "quips" to say to Simon. I also loved how Simon called the audience out on automatically booing him every time. Uncalled for, people. But I did feel like Simon shouldn't have even been judging tonight because he couldn't separate his obvious hatred for country and the actual performances. Randy did it a little too. I think Paula was the only one who actually judged the performances. Anyway, I digress. Contestants...

Taylor: Oh. Not good. Since he went first, it didn't sound too bad, until some other people went. I didn't think the vocal was good, and worst of all, I think he missed a real opportunity to do something great. On a positive note, I like that he stood still again. Weird fanbase but not good so its hard to say. Wouldn't call him bottom three, but wouldn't call him safe either.

Mandisa: Not good. This wasn't unexpected, but the country, not so much Mandisa. Her voice didn't match the song, the vocal wasn't good anyway. I think it was too low, but that's just general, I could really pick it apart for an hour. This is two not strong weeks for Mandisa. Possibly bottom three.

Elliot: The vocal was pretty good. I thought it was a good song choice for him. I wish he would have held out a steady note though. I don't know why he thought vibrato was the way to go tonight. Kenny Rodgers gave him some good advice about not over-singing it and he didn't take it. Paula was wrong, Simon was right, its not a hard song to sing. It was good though. I think he's safe.

Paris: I think that every week is like a chance for Paris to play dress up. But, unlike Paula and Randy, I really, really liked this. The opposite of Randy, I thought the beginning was great and the end was a little sharp, but overall I think it was really strong. I prefer the Trisha Yearwood version to the LeAnn Rimes version of the song, so I'm biased, but if we're comparing her to LeAnn Rimes, she kicked her butt. I think its worth saying that Both Trisha and LeAnn have to falsetto "survive" in the chorus, and Paris didn't have to. That really shows her range. She did really well. I think she's safe, but if voters listen to Paula and Randy, maybe not.

Ace: I feel like the past couple weeks, there's been something weak throughout about Ace's voice. He always saves it with the falsetto at the end, but it seems like a few times during the middle he struggles to save some notes. This didn't do anything for me. It was pitched well and everything, just not very strong. He's been bottom three twice, so I'll say there's a good chance that he'll be back.

Kellie: Reba was good for her...I thought she would do it well. For some reason, I felt like the band was drowning her out a little, but I don't think it had anything to do with her song, just sometimes you couldn't hear her. It was a little low at times, but overall very strong. It bothers me that she constantly points at the camera. Its always the same and its really starting to annoy me. The singing, however, was very good. Safe.

Chris: Dang it. I can't complain, I asked for this. But I don't want him to win, and he finally did something different. And it was awesome. I knew the guy could sing, and he did. Finally. In all seriousness, it was nice to see him do something different, and he did it really well, but for me, its too little, too late. Safe.

Katharine: If Simon trashes my girl one more time, I'll kill him. His country wrath all came together right onto Katharine and that sucks. She picked a great song and rocked the hell out of it. Faith was a GREAT choice for her. He didn't even judge her, he just ranted about country. She picked a good song for her that wasn't too country and she picked a good vocalist to match her, and really I think she couldn't have done any better. The same thing happened with her that happened with Kellie though with the band, there were times when the band was just too loud. Not cool. I also liked how she went back to her original style from the top 24. As you know, I don't predict Katharine's safety status. Too Dangerous.

Bucky: Oh My Gosh. You've got to be kidding me. This is Bucky's week and he doesn't choose a country song. I cannot believe it. This is a Vertical Horizon song. The whole time, I was literally speechless. I just stared blankly at the screen. Why on earth wouldn't he do a really really country song when that's what he's good at??? It didn't work well when Gary Allan tried to turn it country. Bucky, learn the lesson. I feel like he and Taylor just missed the boat this week. Man. The vocal wasn't that great either. I'd put him in the bottom three.

I think its also worth pointing out that Randy really did start every single critique except Paris with "Yo". Oh Dear Lord. And when Ryan says to Simon, "With all due respect", how much respect does he really think is due? Come on, does that really mean anything? I would really like to hear a shrink's psycho-analysis of Seacrest's complex with Simon.

Alright, last week really threw me off, so I have no idea who will actually be in the bottom three, so this is just who I think should be there, not so much a prediction.
I voted for: Katharine (Only once though, because I couldn't get through, which I hope is a good thing)
My Bottom 3: Bucky, Ace, Mandisa
Going home: Bucky

IDOL - Country Tonight

2006-04-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

Well, since Idol starts in an hour, I thought I'd throw out some song preferences for the final nine since song choice seems to be the kicker this season according to both the judges and the viewers (in the latest poll).

Bucky: I really don't have anything against Bucky. From what I can tell, he's really been humbled by the experience and he seems like a geniunely nice guy, but he's just not the next AI. Country will definitely be his strong suit, and unlike Kellie, he took advantage of the opportunity to shine last week. The only thing that I didn't like was the diction. He should move away from Tim McGraw, even though it worked for him, just to stay diverse, but maybe stay old school with some Tracy Lawrence or Tracy Byrd? You can be twangy Bucky, and this week its allowed...use it.

Kellie: She needs to step it up because last week she didn't. I think she did well with Patsy Cline, although that opinion was not widely shared, and her voice is a little twangy also. I think something LeAnn Rimes or Reba MacEntire would fit her voice best. Its undershooting, but hey...Mindy McCready maybe?

Katharine: I think this girl can sing anything, but country is definitely not her genre, so I think she needs to go with either Faith Hill or Martina McBride, who I think have two of the strongest voices in country and their stigma isn't so countryish.

Chris: Who cares, he'll turn it rocker.

Mandisa: Oh man, no idea. There's no room for diva in country.

Ace: This will be a problem too I think.

Paris: I think Paris is very diverse and she can probably do anything, but again, this is very out of her comfort zone so I wouldn't be surprised if she crashed. I would expect her to do something older though.

Taylor: I have never not liked Taylor, just always thought he was an odd duck, but it only took one week for me to become a true fan. I think he can do anything. I would like to see him do maybe Clint Black (maybe a little harmonica??) or George Strait or even Alan Jackson. Really anything.

Elliot: This will be out of his comfort zone, but if anyone can do it, I think Elliot can. The kid can sing. Probably something slower and bluesier. Wow, I totally just made up that word. I think he would actually do Tim McGraw well.

I'm pretty eclectic when it comes to music, but I'm actually a big country fan...George Strait is my all time favorite, so I'm hoping someone does that. Love Tim McGraw. And Martina is my favorite all time female voice second only to Christina, so I want that one to show up too. Let's just hope its better than last week.

GREYS ANATOMY - The Name of the Game

2006-04-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

Bailey: I'm still a surgeon, I'm just a surgeon with an excess of estrogen, deal with it. Andrew, can you spell estrogen?
Andrew: E-S-T-R-O-G-E-N
Shepherd: Here's a word for you, delusional.

Alright...good episode, but I'm so afraid of where this Chris O'Donnell thing is going. I just don't know about it. He's very McBreakTheBadRelationshipStreak looking, and I need my Meredith with her Derek. I feel like everything is so confusing now. Its just one big jumble that I can't even sort out. Oh wait, that's life. hehe. I get it. But here's my thing. In drama writing, or dramedy or whatever, you have to have some neatness. There has to be. Its just the way it is. And that point aside, if you're going to harp on the fact that your show is all about real stuff and you're all... thats real life and this show is real, lalala, then make the damn stories real. You can't make the personal stuff real and then make the hospital stuff completely laughable. I'm not saying that Bailey bringing her baby to work and an intern dating a patient doesn't make good TV, it does. (the latter I don't agree with, but most people seem to) But, its just not real life, which seems to be what they're all about. And this whole Callie living in the hospital thing is just absolutely over the line. I'm just...I don't know what to say about it. Its just laughable. Who comes up with this stuff? The sad part is, I'm sure some poor person out there is actually going to think that there is some doctor living in the basement of a hospital somewhere.

I liked the knitting, for Meredith at least, but that's Meredith's thing, or it should have been. The fact that Izzy felt the need to decide and then point out to her patient boyfriend that "if anyone needs to be celibate, its Meredith" just confirms my "most self righteous bitch on the planet" theory. And then there's the whole assuming the worst about Callie and making it her business to intervene there. Damn it I hate that she was right.

I LOVED when Alex told Burke off. Just thought it was wonderful. And it showed that he was right in the end. I love Alex. I think he's trying so hard to be a good doctor and everyone just hates him.

Meredith having a sister was actually the first decent "whoa" storyline we've had in a while. It makes complete sense that she would have a sister, two actually, that she wouldn't know about, given the history with her father and mother and Webber, etc. Unlike the "sense" it makes with George/Meredith, Richards alcoholism, Izzy/Denny, etc. The whole thing was completely touching, from the way Addison handled it, the scene between the daughter and stepmother and Meredith, the interaction between Thatcher and Webber, to the last scene with George and Thatcher with Meredith listening.
The best was Meredith breaking the cast while Callie bitched about George and Izzy came to the realization that George is her McDreamy. GAG me. What I got from this? Izzy, well, she's just Izzy. Callie has already made up her mind about Meredith and has totally sided with George and there's no way in hell she's ever going to give Meredith a chance. Couldn't she see she was having a moment? And Ellen Pompeo is a great actress, even though she was a complete freak on Punk'd. Yeah, you should check that out.

Meredith: Every guy I meet turns out to be married.
Derek: Oh...ouch.
Meredith: Sorry, or Mark.
Addison: Okay, gonna go over there now.
Meredith: Sorry, or remember the horrible thing I did, remember George?
Derek: You're making a sweater.
Meredith: I am making a sweater.

THE OC - The Secret and Lies

2006-04-03T20:56:00.000-07:00

Whoa, two "Viewer Discretion Advised" warnings in a row. How lucky do I feel. Turns out, not that lucky. Last week's was kind of a let down, considering my best guess as to what it was for would be Volchok and Marissa tearing each other's clothes off, and this week was intense, but reminiscent of Jimmy Cooper's beating at the beginning of the season. So, kind of a let down. The question I had to ask myself at the end of the episode was, should I really still be watching this show if all I'm doing is looking for why they feel the need to advise my discretion? It can't be that good, right? Yeah. I think yes is the answer too. Anyway, basic recap. Marissa sucks more and more every week. Seth and Summer are cute no matter what they're doing or how boring they are as a couple, for the love of God, don't mess with them. Ryan and Sadie I like, and I liked that she stayed, but I don't see it lasting. Julie has got to be kidding herself with this Dr. Roberts thing. This man looks at her and says, this is a trial? That's a warning Juls, come on. Oh yeah, I definitely bawled my eyes out during the AA meeting. Twice. Good to see that she's still sober. Or something.

VERONICA MARS - The Rapes of Graff

2006-04-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

Keith: My God, Cliff. You're like a wild animal. Is that what the kids call motorboatin'?

Three words: Jason Dohring Topless.
I'll admit, I didn't laugh as much as last week, but still, a classic episode. Anytime you bring back a classic first seasoner like Troy, you can't really go wrong. When you put that together with that first thing I mentioned and a Tegan and Sara song in the mix, holy crap...GREAT EPISODE. Man, you have no idea how tempted I am to just start at the beginning and review every single episode of VM ever. Ever. That is how obsessed I am with this show. If you read my comment on Grey Matter in one of the Grey's posts (BandAid Covers the Bullet Hole, I think) I made a snide comment about VM being so much better than Grey's. I bet when the writers read it they were all laughing their asses off at me. I bet they called all the writers in to read my post so they could all laugh at me together. It's alright. It's not like I don't know that Grey's kicks VM ass every week by about 20 million viewers. Its not like I don't know that VM is in serious danger of not getting picked up by CW. I know it. But here's the thing. I would give up a kidney if it meant Veronica got to come back next season and rock it for a third year. I'm betting most of those 2 million viewers would do the same, and I'm betting that Grey's viewers would do no such thing. So really, if you count it in kidneys, VM - 2 million, GA - 0. Take that! VM fans are hardcore.
Okay, I seriously digressed there. Back on track.

This episode was great, but I have one sliver of beef. I hesitate to say this, because in an interview, Rob Thomas wouldn't give this away when someone didn't know still after this episode, so I'll go ahead and preface it with...Don't read if you don't want next year's BIG mystery ruined. So after this week, its obvious, at least to me, that next year's mystery is this serial rapist. I know that because I already knew they were introducing it this season. My problem is, while I appreciated the variation by introducing the season long mystery in a different format, its just so not Veronica to leave a case unsolved like that. Hello? V has some serious personal ties to rape and there is a serial rapist right here in Neptune and she's totally cool with not catching the bad guy...yet? I just don't buy that that's in her character. Anyway, that's my only issue with this episode...swear.

Now, all kinds of people are peeing their pants over these Arrested Development kids, but I've never seen the show, and I couldn't even identify them in the episode, so, you won't be getting much from me on that front. I now know that they were the rape victim and the tour guide, and yes, they were good. So was David Tom, however, who used to play Billy Abbott on Y&R. So that's fun, at least for me. Overall, the MotW was good, and it was great to see where Veronica is...*cough*... might be going to school next year. Come on, like that's not obvious.

The hooker storyline got an A+ from me, but anything with Cliff pretty much does. I'm so curious about that darn briefcase though. PCHer? Fitzpatrick? Woody Goodman? Man. They get me every time! And the Lamb/Madison thing? SUCH an added bonus.

Last but not least, Logan and Hannah are seriously cute. But maybe its just Logan. Maybe it was just the Tegan and Sara song. I wasn't that sad that she left, but I still thought they were cute. My guess is she's gone for good though. I think the bottom line is...I need Logan dating someone he actually likes because when that guy is all vulnerable and sweet, it makes me weak in the knees.

ALIAS - Its getting closer!!

2006-04-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

Oh My Goodness! I about peed in my pants last night when I was watching Grey's and Housewives why? Because I saw my first ALIAS commercials!! Yes, it was very exciting! And yes, they were two different ones. It is going to be SO great. I like to think its because JJ has been busy with other projects, but that's me. Nadia, Will, and most importantly, MICHAEL are in the commercials, so that's yeah as well. I might do a brief synopsis of the season so far since its been FOREVER since its been on. And I'm starting a marathon of all 4 1/2 seasons today for the next 16 days in honor of the return!

On a different note, I take serious issue with the lack of baseball on today.

GREYS ANATOMY - Superstition

2006-03-31T01:55:00.000-08:00

Meredith: I got hot chocolated. The She-Shepherd hot-chocolated me. It's her juju.
Cristina: I don't like people who say juju.

We're looking up a little...maybe? Did I convince you? If I did, that's impressive because I didn't convince myself. I always start with the bad first, why? Because well, I don't really care about being positive with Grey's anymore. The only thing I save on my TiVo is Grey's and Veronica and Alias, and since Alias is coming back, the reality is, a whole bunch of Grey's is about to get erased. My main issue with this episode is the complete lack of realism. I know that realism and ratings don't go hand in hand and that getting it right isn't what its all about, but that isn't exactly what I'm talking about in this case. Grey's week to week format pretty much goes like this: Theme of the week based on what the characters are going through/dealing with, and the medical cases are selected to mirror the "lesson" or "moral" that week. Its an interesting way to do it, and its working, so great, and most times its subtle enough where you have to think about it to get how they're all related, but the whole Superstition thing was out of control. The medical cases were fine, but every single person in the hosiptal all of a sudden being superstitious is ridiculous. I mean come on. It was just all crammed together and I felt like it was an episode on steroids. Anyway, it was really the first episode that I had a problem with the self contained episode and not the major plot line. I just didn't appreciate it. Now, for the serial plot.
Things were looking up I thought. Okay, I'm going to do the same thing I've done with my comment to Grey Matter and then comment on that, which I think is fairly effective.

Ok, I have character beef, which is good, it means it was a GOOD episode. Scratch that, GREAT episode...yay! Definitely a look up from recent weeks. My only complaint on the episode is the same one I've had throughout the entire storyline...Izzy/Denny, and I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one, but I'm sorry to say, this cannot be saved. No amount of Izzy learning her lesson for getting too close will make the atrocious lack of ethics here okay. Its so inappropriate its disgusting. On to the actual character observations. Mer/Der/Add - I could pretend I care that Derek's still chosing, but it would be a lie. The truth is, people can say as much as they want that it was childish for Mer to throw her "juju" away, but it was HILARIOUS and really felt like some of that spark and kick from last season that posters have been begging for the past few weeks. I for one, loved it.
George - Oh man...you have successfully made me hate him. Not like an, 'I love to hate him' sort of character... like 'I'm vicariously embarrassed by his actions so much that I have to hide my head in a pillow and I just want him off the show so I can stop missing scenes' hate him. He deserved every word he got from Alex, Alex's intention's notwithstanding. He didn't deserve Meredith, and he doesn't deserve the bone doc. But I'm inclined to think thats about to be her own fault. Exhibit a) he called and hung up...b) he was throwing a tantrum and in a catfight in the girls bathroom. If she doesn't know she's getting a two year old then tough luck. This 'friendship' with Burke obviously means more to him than to Burke and is obviously another way from him to grasp at anything or anyone that show's him the slightest bit of attention. PATHETIC.
Izzy - As hard as it is for me to believe, I think I hate her more than I hate George. Self righteous bitch trumps pathetic needy two year old. I could not be more sick of her thinking she is better than everyone while she's the one breaking the rules. She's kissing Denny now? What's next? Sex in the hospital bed? You've got to be kidding me!! There is NO redemption for this character...please get rid of her. She deserved to be pushed out a window for what she said to Alex...She was using him for SEX. HE is too good for her. All this feeling this episode brought out in me can only lead me to one conclusion...Shonda, GREAT job! You are brilliant and even though there has been some minor disappointment recently, this episode proved that you never lost that brilliance that got you to my TV so you could entertain me every week. You make me laugh, you make me sad, you make me angry, all in an hour, and thats talent...and you deserve ALL of your props by the way. Keep up the good work. We love you!

Wow, reading that back I'm thinking I was in a major ass-kissing mood that day and I can't really figure out why. I just watched the episode again and I wasn't nearly as impressed with it as I protrayed in that comment. I think it might have had something to do with the fact that Shonda wrote the comment that week and man, she makes me laugh. Still, I was way to forgiving. It was much better than previous weeks, but that isn't saying a lot. The Izzy thing really did have me at a boiling point in this episode, which I did say to a certain extent, that there is no coming back from that. I have a feeling now, that Izzy is about to get what's coming to her, but it won't be enough. Time after time she gets to close and its only going to make her a bad doctor. I understand that in TV drama there is a need to sacrifice realism for entertainment value, I gripe about that all the time on my soap boards, but there is a line that you don't cross. There are people watching this show that don't have a clue about medical ethics, which is a seriously uninformed issue, and portraying it in this way is irresponsible. The fact is, even if there is eventually a lesson in here somewhere, in real life, Izzy would have been kicked out of the program a long time ago. Not pulled off the case, not suspended, FIRED. Its as simple as that. And giving viewers a skewed perception of what actually goes on in a hospital is dangerous. Its just plain irresponsible to promote that kind of work ethic to an ignorant demographic. Oh, and I wanted Denny to be the 7th death. As one commenter put it, "I realize I have no soul." Whatever. Okay, I'm done with that.
I hate George. There isn't much else to say that I haven't already said, except I actually feel like they are trying to make me hate this character by turning him into this pathetic, needy disgusting person. The thing is, I know they don't want me to hate him. And that's just confusing and sad. So I don't know what to do.
I know this goes against a growing number of Grey's viewers, but I love Meredith. I love her more every week. I'm sorry, but how can you expect her to just warm up to the woman who she has to see everyday with the man she loves? That's just unreasonable. Anyway, my comment was too forgiving...whatever. The next new episode has Chris O'Donnell in it. See ya then.

IDOL - More on Katharine...

2006-03-30T17:43:00.000-08:00

Okay, just FYI, I also post this AI part of my blog over on the American Idol official website and some people agree with my sentiments, but some people also have chosen to point out that Katharine seemed a bit snotty at her brush with elimination last night. I felt the need to comment on that here, both because I can speak more freely and I've already said this to some degree in comment responses over there.
1) I love the comments like "she's a total snot". Huh...I didn't realize you and Katharine were so close for you to have made such a judgment. Tell her hi for me.
2) This is not American Miss Congeniality, its American Idol. No one said she had to be nice, even if she was a bit miffed. Personally, I was a lot miffed and it wasn't even me. Do you know how many singing stars out there are complete bitches? It doesn't make them any less talented or successful.
3) Another favorite comment, "Sometimes we all need a little dose of reality and its probably not a bad thing that she was reminded that her being a finalist on AI is not a pivotal moment in the universal scheme of things." Hmm...aside from the disclaimer I have to make here because I changed multiple spelling errors, this comment is just tiresome. I mean you could have picked any number of words to replace "pivotal" and not only would that have been one less spelling error for me to correct, but I might not have had anything to argue with you about. Yes, there are starving children in Africa and getting eliminated on AI isn't going to ruin your life, so on the Richter scale of life, no its not terribly traumatic...but not pivotal? Lets examine the evidence. Being a finalist on AI has changed how many lives? Well lets start with the obvious. Kelly Clarkson just won a Grammy. Gayken got a Vegas show and bunch of play...sorry claymates. Carrie Underwood's got advertising deals coming out the wazoo. You're right, its not a pivotal moment at all. Hang on. ... ... ... ...
Okay, I had to go look up pivotal, here it is:
piv·ot·al adj. 1. Of, relating to, or serving as a pivot. 2. Being of vital or central importance; crucial: “Its pivotal location has also exposed it to periodic invasions” (Henry A. Kissinger).
I'm pretty sure I rest my case. I mean when you've got Kissinger, that speaks for itself right? Central importance. Kelly Clarkson's role as an Idol finalist made her into a Grammy winner. I'm guessing previously she only dreamed of that stuff. Sounds pretty pivotal to me.

IDOL - Finals Elimination 3

2006-03-30T02:30:00.000-08:00

All I can say is...you've got to be kidding me. I knew this would come sooner than it should, but I was still shocked. Ace, not surprising. Lisa, not surprising, that she was there or that she went home...but Katharine...I don't even know what to say or where to start. I guess I'll start here...Taylor was overall the best last night. Hands down, he was even better than Katharine. But the thing is...other than Katharine, no one else was even good. Not even decent. I hate Chris, but I hate him because he cops out every week and he never does anything different, not because he can't sing...when he backs off the mike and you actually hear his voice, its evident that he can. But even last night, Randy admitted that he was sharp the entire time. Elliot's vocals were on target, but the rest of the presentation ruined it. I guess if you like the style, Paris was good, so I'll add her. So the conclusion I'm drawing here is this... the only people who had the complete package last night were Taylor and Katharine (maybe Paris). It is unacceptable that one of them was in the bottom three. No wait...I'm sorry, bottom two. And I was actually scared that she would go home. And I was even more upset that Simon renigged on what he said and didn't hold America accountable. He may not of thought that it was Katharine's best, but he damn well knew she had no business being up there when Bucky and Kellie were still sitting down safe. And I would have been just as upset if Taylor had been up there. The only two bearable parts of a horrible night, and one of them almost went home. Just disappointing. AMERICA GET A GRIP!

I'm embarrassed, I'll admit it...

2006-03-29T15:14:00.000-08:00

Alright, I'm standing up and saying it...I'm part of that statistic why 'Deal or No Deal' is randomly doing so well. I'm sorry! Its just funny to watch those people, and nothing really comes on at seven, but you don't really want to do anything else at that point, so its like, alright...sure, why not. I think they really took advantage of time-slot there. There really aren't very many good sitcoms on in that time...so hey, I watch it. Whatever.
I'm trying to catch up on shows right now so there'll be a bunch of new posts in a row. Bye!

Oh yeah...I'm starting to really get into Conviction, so I might start reviewing that...look for it!

GILMORE GIRLS

2006-03-29T15:08:00.000-08:00

Gilmore Girls has pretty much gone the way of a certain other show that hasn't gotten much love from me lately, but since GG has been on hiatus for, like, ever, I'm just going to rant about...*cough*...discuss...the general storylines for the last part of the season in honor of the new GG next week. And before I go too crazy...the synopsis breakdown for the rest of the season actually doesn't look that bad...if you're not a huge Luke/Lorelai fan.

The difference in Grey's and Gilmore Girls is that the creative risks that Amy Sherman-Palladino is taking aren't as risky because its a well anchored show. Grey's doesn't have that well defined fanbase because its only been on for a year. ASP has 5 years of giving me what I want that I'm not going to stop watching in year 6 just because she does something I don't like. Grey's on the other hand, I will, because its barely been around for a season. JJ Abrams took one after two years and we all know that didn't end well. You establish your work and your fanbase, then do what you want. Which is what ASP has done, so I'll gripe about it, but I can't really fault her for it, because as much as fans complain, I guarantee they won't stop watching. Grey's fans on the other hand, already have.

Okay, obviously, like most outraged GG lovers, I don't so much care for the "Luke has a daughter" storyline. I mean, its just so cliche. I remember the preview the week before we found that out, and we actually joked that he had a daughter, and we were like nah, GG is so above that. Well, I guess not. I'll trust her though, she always goes somewhere, so whatever. What bothers me more about Luke/Lorelai lately is the distance. Okay, I should preface with the fact that I'm not a huge Luke/Lorelai fan. I don't not like them, I've just never been sure if I wanted Lorelai with Luke or Christopher. Like when she slept with Chris and then Sherri got pregnant I was so bummed. It just wouldn't break my heart if she didn't end up with Luke. But here's the thing. ASP doesn't let me decide if I like someone. She changes the character and decides for me. She did the same thing with Dean. She had to make him boring and unlikable so that Jess looked interesting and good and we wanted Rory to be with Jess. She's doing the same thing now. Luke sucks and she's making Chris look all fun and interesting and "white nightish". Up until now Luke has been this sweet guy who would do anything for Lorelai and who was completely non-combative, but now his character has completely changed and he's pushing back marrying the woman of his dreams and he didn't even get her anything for Valentine's Day, and he treated Logan like crap and he's just not a nice person anymore. I realize this whole daughter thing has him in a bind, but I feel like that was just the ploy to get him to start acting like this. Its sad really. Right now on ABC Family the beginning of season 5 is airing where Luke and Lorelai first start dating and they are really cute and it just sucks to see where they've come. I mean really? They don't even act like a couple in love anymore. There just isn't any chemistry. Unlike Chris and Lorelai where all throughout the series no matter what the situation, they've always had chemistry, good or bad. They are electric on-screen. Either way, Scott Patterson and Matt Czuchry have both signed their respective contracts for next season, so I'm guessing its not over for either couple and Logan probably isn't going to London. Sucks for him, London rocks. By the way, that slutty bridesmaid, Walker, was on Conviction the other night. That is a good show. I'm sure I'll get around to it on here eventually. Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is, I ultimately don't care who Lorelai ends up with, as long as its Luke or Chris and not someone else or no one. And I will be upset if Rory ends up not with Logan. I think they challenge each other in a really good way.

Okay, how cute were Lane and Zach in the last episode? So precious!! I really liked what happened even though it was kind of out of the blue. I think they are so adorable together, but um, who knew that the actress that plays Lane is 33? What the...? Yeah. Anyway, that is a really good thing thats going on right now.

I really wish there were more fun town things happening again. There haven't been any town meetings or festivals or anything that feels like the fun, upbeat Gilmore Girls that I used to love. The one with the Fesitval of Living Pictures is my favorite of all time I think. But I just want to see more of Taylor, Miss Patty, Babette, Kirk, etc. GG get quirky again. I feel like GG is doing sort of the opposite of GA in that GA is sort of at a stand still. We go through whole episodes and nothing happens. Do I still laugh? Sometimes. Are the characters still good? That's debatable, but ultimately, I'll finish an hour and try to remember what happened, and its basically nothing. I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that they decided to have 27 episodes in a season. In GG, it seems the complete opposite. Aside from the fact that I feel like I get a new episode once every 2 months, it seems like every episode is jam-packed with events. Not that that's such a bad thing, I much prefer it to nothing happening, but its almost too much sometimes. Maybe once I just want an episode that at the end I'm not like "holy ****", and maybe instead I'm just like "that was nice". It's just a thought.

So yeah, there's my thoughts on the season since the reconciliation I guess. If I weighed in on that, it would take up 5 pages, so I'm just not gonna go there. So, new episode tomorrow. Can't wait!

GREYS ANATOMY - BandAid Covers the Bullet Hole

2006-03-29T15:06:00.000-08:00

Umm...Yeah for Teddy Dunn!! Any Veronica Mars exposure I'm over the moon for. Seriously.
Alright...same format...comment from Grey Matter, then reflection...come on now...who doesn't love that??? Note: People weren't commenting on the episode, they were griping about how pointless the blog was. Not that the blog wasn't pointless, it was, but I felt the need to point out that its most likely the only one they get, so back off. I mean, really? I would kill for a VM blog every week. Ah, I should be so lucky. That's what the first part was about. And they actually had the nerve to spell Kane wrong (Cain)...so yeah.

First, a few people have already made this point, but it needs to be heavily stated that the blog is a priviledge, not a right...SERIOUSLY! Get off the writers' backs. How many shows do you watch where you get even that amount of insight to the previous night's show? I'm thinkin' none. We are really lucky to get anything, and props to Teddy (aka Duncan KANE) were in order, and I got that so, I'm happy. And...thats about all the positive criticism you'll be getting from me. I found it intriguing that you're fans of my favorite tiny blonde PI, because if you really did tune in every week, you might learn something about writing in a sophomore season. You are taking too many risks and getting HUGE backlash from it. First season was AWESOME and I am a HUGE fan, but even as well as you're doing, you've got to build a more stable fan base before you take whatever creative risks you want and just say "trust us". First of all, it would be one thing if you didn't claim that you were all about making this show "real" and about real characters or if I didn't dig behind the scenes and simply didn't know about it, but you do, and that makes the fact that everyday you drift more and more away from any type of reality just plain depressing. Bailey bringing her baby to work was explained, yes. The reasons made sense yes, but it would NEVER BE ALLOWED in a real hospital. NEVER. But that isn't even the biggest problem. Next we have the need to rename GA "interns screwing residents/attendings". Again, would never happen. They'd be kicked out in a heartbeat. At least with Derek/Meredith it was addressed as if it might be a problem. Apparently with Yang/Burke it was okay, and I let that slide, but now you want us to believe that George and this new orthopedic resident can have something completely out in the open and thats okay too. Except its not. It too, is completely unrealistic. But thats not the biggest problem either. Izzy/Denny...that's whats infuriating. Its infuriating because you expect us (us being intelligent adult viewers, some with medical knowledge and background) to buy into this ridiculous relationship. The entire storyline is completely unethical. 1) Izzy would never be allowed to get that close to a patient, and when Burke said "you really like him don't you", he would have put a stop to it, only he wouldn't have had to, because, as a doctor, she would have known where the line was. Its ludacris that Alex is the only one that seems to notice the relationship here and/or has a problem with it. 2) She would NEVER be allowed to operate on or even be in the OR with the patient that she is unethically getting so close to. The whole thing is the most far-fetched story I've seen on a drama. I come from a medical family, and I work in a doctor's office/hospital in and around a medical center. You get the technical stuff as right a TV show can get it, but when everything else (ethics, infrastructure, etc) prompts most of the medical community to use the phrase "so fake its insulting", you've got a problem. On to Mer/Der/Add...I'm hugely insulted by the comparison to FRIENDS and Ross/Rachel because while yes, there is a similarity in that they were the couple we pulled for for the duration, when Ross/Rachel were apart, they were genuinely HAPPY, not miserable, and thats what you are making Derek and Meredith and now by extention poor Addison. I don't like her, I'll never like her, but you have successfully made me feel sorry for her. It is completely contradictory and counterproductive in practice to have Derek say he's working on his marriage and 1) never show it and 2) have him do the opposite by allowing himself to grow closer to the woman he loves. Its contradictory in character to have him admit fault and show himself to be genuinely good and then 1) actually not work on his marriage and 2) lie to her/conceal the truth about befriending Meredith. Ross/Rachel's relationship took way more time investing viewers and their initial break up was about 100 years shorter. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. You named an episode that, take your own advice. After reading numerous boards and blog posts and chatting with friends and other Grey's viewers who, like myself, were obsessively dedicated to the show last year, there is a huge consensus and I'm willing to bet that what I'm about to say can be said for not all, but a large part of the GA fanbase. You've got till the end of the season to fix this. Three months is a long time for people to lose interest and a gimmick cliff-hanger won't do it. You guys did amazing work last season and into the first part of this season and it CAN be fixed, but it looks like most people are going to give up if there isn't a drastic difference in the last 7 episodes. Give us back the great show we fell in love with...

Wow. I'm not a nice person. Well, at least when it comes to ruining one of my favorite TV shows. Obviously, the thing that pisses me off the most is the Denny/Izzy thing. The one thing I want to add is, most fans are nuts about Denny and the writers are soaking their panties over him and I don't get it. First of all, from a purely shallow standpoint, I don't find Jeffrey Dean Morgan mildly attractive. Especially when you've got Patrick Dempsey to stare at all day, plus Justin Chambers and Isaiah Washington. The last two aren't necessarily my cup of tea, but I can at least see where people find them attractive. I really think Isaiah Washington is attractive but his character ruins it for me, and if you've seen Justin Chambers act like a nerd in The Wedding Planner for an hour and a half, well, that explains that one, but JDM, I just don't get it. But that's not even why I mostly don't like him. His character is just pathetic. Dude, she's your doctor first of all, and his lines are so corny and he comes off so desperate. Not that I can't see why Izzy is attracted to him, I can, because she sucks too, but seriously, he comes on so strong that its like, dude, how long has it been since a woman has paid attention to you? Is it really necessary that you hit on your doctor? And he doesn't know a thing about her before he starts. The first time he was admitted and Izzy walked in he started listing his qualifications. I don't know who's more pathetic...him for doing it, or Izzy for falling for it. And in this episode I just couldn't take him even more. Was he seriously considering not having a life-prolonging operation just because he doesn't like hospitals? He's a grown man! Get over it! We're talking about an operation that is literally his only chance at living, and he had to think about it. Even on a shallow level he would have known without her having to say it that he'd get to see Izzy more. Come on man. Not cool. I don't like Denny. I'm sorry. And I don't understand why everyone, mainly Izzy just assumes that he's this great guy. All she knows about him, and him her, is what they see of each other when he's in the hospital. How does she know he's not acting for her benefit? How does he know she wouldn't feel differently if he wasn't dying? And yet we're supposed to be over the moon for this relationship that is in no way based in any real setting. Not that it wouldn't work if it was, but there's no way to know that. Okay, so that pisses me off the most, now on to what confuses me the most.

Derek Shepherd. I love you, and I'll never blame you for what the writers are doing to you. Oh how I have a double standard. But his actions are just so confusing. All in one episode, he gets closer to Meredith and is completely devastated that she slept with George, and has a conversation with his wife wherein he admits that he was partly to blame for the disaster of a marriage that they're in and that he's working on it. I wish these writers would let this guy make up his mind. If he's going to focus on his marriage, then fine, do it. If he's going to choose Meredith, then fine, choose Meredith. But its apparent that its not in his character to be so fickle and callous, so what the crap is he doing? If he truly was working on his marriage, then Derek, cut Meredith out. If he feels like there's no hope, then divorce Addie and give her a chance at happiness with someone else so she doesn't have to go have lunch with some old guy waiting for his wife to have a baby. What the crap was that, by the way?? At this point, I feel like the writers are drawing this out for dramatic effect and there is no story to it. We're all just in limbo, knowing this isn't the way its going to be forever. We're not stupid. Get somewhere already. I'm done now. Bye.

GREYS ANATOMY - What Have I Done To Deserve This?

2006-03-29T15:05:00.000-08:00

Derek: It's just too early to interpret girl flip-out into normal conversation.

Oh man...the first official crap episode of Grey's Anatomy. How did I know? The second I heard the George voiceover. It just catered to the thought process that George is the wronged one in this mess. The writer's on Grey Matter said it was because "we needed to make sure that George was going to be okay". What the crap? Why are we more concerned with George than Meredith? So we don't need to know if Meredith's okay? Meredith is the one that's had all this stuff pile on her time after time after time. So one time things don't go George's way. Cry me a river. Like that fat nasty tumor lady said, "You're comparing your pathetic love life to my record breaking tumor, seriously??" It was complete crap that Izzy said she would take George's side when she was the one that told George to go after her in the first place. I love that George was treating Meredith like crap the whole time, and then he fell down the stairs. Now that crap is karma. That's all I'm gonna say about G/M, if you want more, read the whole post about it.

I loved the scene in the trailor, and the quote I put at the top is classic. But, to me, Addison needs to realize that the fact that he doesn't want to yell or talk about it is a sign that he doesn't care enough to. Yeah he's pissed because he's hurt, but the fact that he doesn't want to work it out should show her that she fighting a losing battle here. I mean how long is this smart successful woman going to stay, blind to the fact that she is the only one in this marriage? I didn't like the scene between her and Derek, obviously, because I want him back with Meredith, but it was funny. The whole poison oak thing is hilarious. But I didn't like that Addison somehow thought that her getting poison oak made up for sleeping with Mark, or that even implying that in a joking way was appropriate. And I didn't like that Miranda is somehow trying to help them work on their marriage. I have no basis for that, I just think she's betraying Meredith or something.

If Izzy gets inappropriate with a patient, or self righteous one more time, I'll throw up on the tv. How many times do her bosses have to tell her to not get involved?? And what she said to Meredith? I go back in forth between her and George, but ultimately I hate her more. And everyone thinks Meredith is a slut for sleeping with guys? Well, Izzy is using Alex for sex while delevoping and an inappropriate relationship with a patient. She's a winner.

You know, I have a whole section on the awkward sexual hell, and that's pretty much what this episode is about, and it really just seems like every story is in limbo now, so there isn't much to say that I haven't said, or won't say in upcoming episode blogs. Bye!

GREYS ANATOMY - Meredith & George (aka awkward sexual hell)

2006-03-29T15:04:00.000-08:00

Okay...I'm going to address the complete George and Meredith hookup here, even though it actually happened in 'Yesterday' because that post was already too long, and it just seems to warrant a whole section all by itself. And well, thats just a luxury I have when I go back and contemplate things in hindsight.
Okay...thats a lie, the hindsight part I mean. At least for this next rant. I actually pulled this from my comment to Krista Vernoff on the Grey's blog that I wrote right after the episode. I'll throw some fresh perspective in though. Think of it as a then and now.

I think I am in the minority regarding Meredith. 1) I DON'T think the scenario was a gimmick...but I do think it was forced. Given most of last season, it was definitely something you could have worked with, but you needed to lead into it. I only watched as far back as "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" but thats far enough...George's actions came out of nowhere. This season he has been slowly accepting a friendship with Meredith - to the point where he joked to her (and Izzy) about sex at the end 'Break On Through' and all of a sudden, he's back to awkward obsessive George. We had gotten used to seeing this sweet, more confident, completely-comfortable-around-Meredith George, and suddenly we've regressed to last season. No continuity. 2) I DON'T think Meredith is the one who took advantage. (I'm sorry, I'm not on the 'Meredith is whiny/she sucks/kick her off the show' bandwagon...I LOVE HER) I understand the fact that George was/is unaware of what's going on with her Dad, BUT not only is he aware, but he acknowledged, when she chose the dog over him, that she is going through a really hard time. He understands that her life is in a turmoil right now. Now, since that conversation, she not only had a near-death experience and watched a man die, but her ex-boyfriend's wife's ex-boyfriend came to town, drudging up those old wounds. I don't care what he didn't know. He knew enough to know that she was in no state to hear that crap. He took advantage. He had no right to walk in there and demand that she listen to him say those things, one of which was that he'd never hurt her, which he IS going to do just by the chain of events he is setting in motion. I love George as a doctor, but he needs to be able to move on without Meredith's help...she's not responsible for how he feels and rejection is a part of life.

Yeah alright, I'm not going to change much. I'm actually going to stand by every word I said. It actually gets my blood up just reading it again. Krista added another post about the same episode where she added more justification by arguing the point that "we all" have slept with someone where we've regretted it the next morning. Well I'm not sure who "we all" is supposed to be referring to, but its not me, and I'm sure many more people haven't done it either. What I think a more accurate assessment would be, is that we've all either had a crush on a friend that was out of our reach, or we've been the crushee who just couldn't develop those feelings no matter how nice the guy was or how much we wanted to. While I'm sure not everyone has been in that situation, I guarantee the number is a hell of a lot higher than regretting a one night stand gone awry. The thing is...the writers are trying to argue that the only way for the crusher to move on and get over the crushee is to have some sort of sexual encounter, and thats simply not true. Like I wrote in the comment...rejection is a part of life. Personally, I've been both the crusher and the crushee and I can personally vouch for the fact that in neither situation did anything happen and I have moved on, and so has the guy who had a crush on me. Strange how that happened. Not only is this line of thought erroneous, but as I pointed out in the Grey Matter comment, they have contradicted themselves in storyline. George had already begun to move on from Meredith and then out of nowhere they put him right back in the thick of it with no reasoning at all. How he acted in 'Yesterday' can be most compared to the pilot, and he pined for her up until he found out she was with Derek. From then until right up to the sexual hell, he grew into a healthy, confident good friend. And they've trashed basically half a season with this crap.

IDOL - Top Ten

2006-03-28T20:48:00.000-08:00

Well, to start out...tonight, overall, was terrible. Embarrassing for an American Idol top ten. Katharine and...Taylor were the best by a mile of the night. (Taylor is the surprising part) Another surprising part is I actually agreed with Paula a lot tonight. And I love Simon Cowell...more on that in a bit.

Lisa: Oh dear. Darling, you may have just sign, sealed, and delivered your ticket home. This is actually my favorite song by Kelly Clarkson, which isn't saying much because she's not my favorite, but I actually do LOVE this song. The really sad part is, Lisa can sing. She just didn't tonight for some reason. It was extremely ballsy to pick a hit from a former idol and it did not pay off. I would say she might get away with it, but with her last two weeks in the bottom three, I doubt it. Plus, she hit some of the high notes in the beginning, but there were parts of this song that were just painful. Bottom three material.

Kellie: Oh dear again. I have to totally agree with Simon here. I just hate that she had so many songs to choose from and she chose one that didn't show her vocals at all. She hit the last note and it probably put her safe for the week, but it was just disappointing. And it was way too low for her. She might be safe, but I wouldn't guarantee it.

Ace: Well, Ace, you're cute. You've got that going for you. Although it didn't keep you out of the bottom three two weeks ago. As soon as I heard what he was singing I panicked. This is just so far out of his comfort zone and I have to wonder why he would choose it. The vocals were okay...and out of the first three he was definitely the best but it wasn't great. Stick with what you're good at man. Go boyz II men. I would say he's not safe, but Paula's comment about getting together later might just keep him in.

Taylor: Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh. Tonight I became a Taylor fan. As soon as I heard he was doing 'Trouble', I freaked. This is a great song, and so Taylor! I knew he was going to do a good job and he didn't let me down. And was anyone else so excited that he just stood there and sang?? It was so nice to see him NOT jump around like a goofball and it actually accentuated his vocals, I thought. Randy's critique was crap, Paula's was good...and Simon pissed me off because you could tell he liked the performance but he just had to throw in the negative clothes comment. DEFINITELY safe.

Mandisa: On a positive note, I like that Mandisa was willing to put it all out there and spread the faith on such a widely seen show. I bet she didn't think she was opening the door for Paula and Ryan to blaspheme and throw out sacreligous remarks about what she did, though. Nice guys... Again, though... I agreed with Randy and Simon on this one...didn't like it. It was weird. I'm guessing she's safe though.

Chris: Hated it...again. Shocking right? Real quick though...really funny how Ryan brought up the fact that "Chris's" cover of Johnny Cash's "Walk the Line" was actually Live's cover of "Walk the Line" and he just failed to mention that last week and passed it off as his own. Real cool Chris. I hate you. And how he oh-so-subtly threw in there, hey man, love songs? DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT! There isn't really much to say about Chris anymore, he does the same crap every week. BUT...if I saw Simon Cowell right now, I'd kiss him for what he said. DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT! I replayed it like 8 times. I bet that was a slap in the face. Get out of your comfort zone ass hat. He's safe, but I bet Simon's comment will make some people think...bottom three?? A girl can dream, right?

Katharine: I LOVE THIS GIRL! My sister called me before I'd watched the show and in this real negative voice said "Did you watch Katharine?". So I was worried. But not for long...she was awesome, once again. First, I would never recommend picking a Christina Aguilera song, because she's got, in my opinion, the greatest voice EVER. But, Simon saying she was almost as good as Christina is pretty much the greatest compliment ever. She started out a little shaky, but she came through and was fabulous as always. I'm not going to call her safe or not, because a) she has never gotten the props she deserves from anyone, fans or judges, and b) I don't want to jinx her.

Bucky: Oh Bucky. You know, it really was just cruel for the judges to even pick you for the top 24, because they obviously don't think you should be here. It really doesn't matter what he does, its never good enough. I'll say this, compared to the last two weeks, it was stellar. Compared to everyone else though, he's just not good. Good song choice for him, but not good enough. Bottom three material.

Paris: Randy's assessment of this was embarrassing. Paris, you're not 30, you're not 25, and the fact that you said you wanted to act like a kid before you sang it just made it worse. Newsflash...you're not Beyonce. Good job, Simon. The vocals were good, the girl can sing, but it didn't do anything for me. She's probably safe.

Elliot: I actually did not like this. The dancing made me want to cry. Yes, Elliot, you can sing. But you're not Eminem, and you're not from 8 Mile...and neither is this song. I hate this song to begin with, but the arrangement was awful and it went downhill from there. The actual vocals were all that was good about it. Safe, not safe? No idea.

I voted for: Katharine (112 times)
My bottom 3: Lisa, Bucky, Ace
Going home: Lisa

FINAL FOUR

2006-03-27T00:45:00.000-08:00

Well its one for the history books and I've decided to leave my mouring period since the team that started my downfall is now in the final four. Here's my logic. I have North Carolina knocking out UConn and advancing to the Final Four, BUT. George Mason knocks out North Carolina starting the elimination of all four of my final four teams for the first time since I've ever filled out a bracket, and then keeps going to eventually knock out UConn. So, since I had UNC beating UConn, and the team that beat UNC beat UConn, I figure, I was at least partially right by association...so to sum up...since my ff looked something like Duke, UNC, Boston College, and Go...nevermind its too painful to think about, and now it looks more like LSU, UCLA aka SATAN, Florida, George Mason, screw it...I'm going for GEORGE MASON!!! Yeah Cinderella!! But hey...this year, since I'm pulling for them now, thats pretty much a guaranteed loss.

GREYS ANATOMY - Into You Like A Train

2006-03-26T23:57:00.000-08:00

Izzy: Well, for what it's worth, I take issue with her salmon colored scrubs. What self respecting surgeon wears salmon colored scrubs?
Meredith: This is what I'm saying.

Okay, I know this is a repeat but I want to talk about it anyway because its one of the best episodes of Grey's EVER and it was refreshing considering all the crap their putting us through lately.
I mean its devastating because he chooses Addison, but we're pretty much over that by now, so whatever, but after watching it again, I really get the feeling that at the beginning he had the intention of choosing her and he changed his mind by the end. I know that's not true because Addison tells Izzy that she's staying at the end so she already knew, but his behavior is erratic through the whole thing. Back to that in a minute.

Watching this episode made me realize a few things...first, how much I do hate Alex and what a shitty job the writers do with the continuity of his character. He's nice, he's mean, he's nice, he's mean, he's nice, he's mean. COME ON. Second, how much I used to like Izzy. Her comment about the salmon scrubs is priceless, and her concern for Mer when she realizes Derek chose Addison is great. And third, how much they actually have ruined George's character. All the way back to the beginning of this season he is supportive and not a complete dummy around Meredith and on top of the fact that they have just trashed his character...its completely unrealistic that all of a sudden he'd just go back to being a blubbering idiot in love. I absolutely love his interaction with Meredith in this ep. Oh yeah, Meredith drunk is hilarious.

But my favorite scene of the whole show is when Derek and Bailey are in the elevator and Derek is about to fall apart and Bailey stops the elevator for him. Oh my gosh...every time I watch that episode...right at that moment, I'm right on the edge of tears and that scene just pushes me over.
So here's my only problem with 'Into You Like A Train'. I don't claim to be an expert, but I'm pretty sure Meredith's comment, "How do you decide who gets to live," is supposed to be a paradigm for the whole episode and the two people on the pole are symbolic of Derek choosing between Meredith and Addison. Okay, so that's a given...here's what I don't get. I feel like they really messed up on this because if this is the big episode analogy, he should have chosen Meredith. Especially with the way they've played out the rest of the season. Let's face it, Addison fan or not (I'm or not, just by the way) that marriage is on life support, and it was when he picked her, which is more likened to the girl who had more extensive injuries and less chance of survival. Until Addison came back, Meredith and Derek had a great relationship, he was rejuvenated, and they were on a good path. Even when Addison came back, they hit a bump, but it was minor and could be saved, which was more like the man's injuries that were able to be repaired. So ultimately, the doctors had to pick the case that they could actually have a chance at saving which is what Derek should have done. And all the writers have done the rest of the season is play out that theory. They have proven that this marriage is beyond help and what Derek should have done is just what the surgeons did...pick the person with the best chance of survival.
The other symbolic statement is the one at the end when Derek is talking to the boyfriend of the girl and says, "if love were enough she'd still be here with you." That, in my mind, can apply to both, but more to Addison. If he says it to Meredith it means, I love you, but its not enough reason to leave my wife. But, if he says it to Addison, it means...I'll always love you, but this marriage is too far gone to save and love isn't always enough. Which is much more logical. The only reason this statement is logical in favor of him picking Addison is because its painful for Derek because he still wants to be with Meredith, but "can't", just like the boyfriend can't be with the girl. So they are both in pain.
All in all...great episode, reminds me of the good old times of GA.

GREY'S ANATOMY - Yesterday

2006-03-24T23:56:00.000-08:00

I decided to started reviewing Grey's back to Yesterday because well, thats when it started pissing me off. Up until then, bomb episodes included, my tagline was "FRIENDS better be damn glad Grey's falls in a different genre or it'd have competition". Now...well...the reviews might stop at the end of the season if this show doesn't clean up its act.

This episode stayed with the usual quality up until the last three minutes, so let's stay positive for a while. The first part of the show had me rolling on the ground. Seriously...one of the funniest 15 minutes in the history of Grey's. Burke and Cristina dancing was priceless and there were so many quotable lines, including:

Ellis: I'm exhausted.
Meredith: Me too.
Ellis: I was going at it in the on-call room all night, what's your excuse?

Cristina: What's wrong with you?
Meredith: My mommy's a filthy whore.

Addison: ...until Derek found us in bed together.
Webber: You put your weight behind it?
Derek: Yes, sir.
Webber: Well alright then.

George: Why is he suturing his own face?
Cristina: To turn me on.

Cristina: McSexy?
Meredith: No?
Izzy: McYummy!
Cristina: No...
Meredith: No...McSteamy.
Cristina: There it is.
George: I'm just choking back some McVomit...

Cristina: Does anyone get what McDreamy and McSteamy see in her?
Alex: She's McHott.
George: McYeah she is.

Okay...back to the storyline. Other than the hilarity that Mark being there caused and how hot he was...him showing up was a little out of the blue and random. At the time, I didn't see this as a big deal, but now that all storylines have gone downhill, this just sticks out in my mind more. Just why then? That wasn't explained at all. There was never any indication of phone calls or contact, he just showed up. And after all that pain being drudged up for Derek, he's the one that admitted that he was absent and a little to blame. After this, I don't understand fans who don't like him. Being absent and neglectful as a doctor is an occupational hazard. Addison's a doctor, so she of all people should understand that. a) The fact that doctors have a hard time having lives was addressed in a storyline of Izzy's last season and b) at the beginning of this season, Addison admitted that they were BOTH absent and lazy in their marriage. And yet SHE was the only one that cheated. Cheating isn't an option or something that can be explained away by your spouse's mistakes in a marriage.

I guess I need to go ahead and throw out there that I'm a huge Meredith fan and I'll acknowledge that I know I'm in the minority there. Her going to see her father was heartbreaking I thought, but how can you blame a guy who was married to that wretch of a woman Ellis? Still, he shouldn't have left Meredith just because he left Ellis. I still thought this was one more thing, like Mark, that was contrived for the big bang. Yuck.

The banter between Mark and Meredith was really funny, but I think their ignoring a huge plot for contrivance here. The whole "slutty mistresses" back and forth was funny, yes, but categorically untrue. Mark = mistress, Meredith = not so much. Derek didn't start anything with her until after he was separated from Addison. Was he dating Meredith while he was still married? Yes, so in the most literal sense of the word, I guess you could call her a mistress, but slutty mistress, not so much. Ignoring entire plot points for the sake of catchy one-liners? Not my idea of well written TV.

I have to say...it completely and totally pisses me off that Addison stayed with Mark when Derek went to Seattle. Normally, this would be a good thing because eventually it would come out and be a reason for Derek to leave the redheaded whore (not to be confused with my redheaded love, Michelle Stafford), but for some reason, it just doesn't sit with me. I don't like it that she did that. Plus, there are two other factors here. Shonda Rhimes constantly reminds fans in her blogs that nothing NOTHING that happens doesn't happen for a reason or come back eventually and have impact and meaning. So if you go by that, that "karma" that they are so fond of in Seattle will eventually come back to bite her. On the other hand...in the blog following 'Yesterday', the other writer, Krista Vernoff, I think, heavily implied, something to the effect of, 'wouldn't it be funny if that never came out?? like many things never come out in real life...'. You have GOT to be kidding me. If that crap never comes out, I'll **** * *****. I'm not even kidding. But...no matter how much that last statement makes me want to go to California and run KV down in my car (but not without making a pitstop to visit my MCSCP on the way...drinks all around!)...she's actually right. That crap does actually happen in real life. But seriously...does anyone else watch TV to escape real life?? I'm sorry...I thought thats what it was for. Bottom line...I hope Shonda's logic prevails on this one. It's starting to chap my ass that the Addison fanbase is growing.

Okay...Burktina. First of all...the dancing scene at the beginning was precious. Both of their dancing...styles? were adorable, and I'll actually side with Burke about the Cristina apartment thing. I think it was unreasonable of him to ask her to give up her apartment, she could have sublet her other one or something, but she definitely shouldn't have lied about it. And its a big deal for me to side with Burke on anything...he's not my favorite character, although these days, he's moving up in the world since George and Izzy are seriously outshining him for jackass and jackassette of the century. But he went back to good ol' dependable arrogant Burke at the end of the episode when he decided it was appropriate to chastise the woman he supposedly "loves" and list every single bad thing about her. Come on, Burke, do you honestly think she hasn't, at one time or another, had self doubt regarding all those things? Do you really think it helps to hear them from the one person that she cares about and trusts the most? Oh my gosh you are a jackass. Not only that, but talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Cristina's competitive? Cristina's competitive????? You've got to be kidding me. Walk in and say, I just want to love you so stop lying to me and shutting me out. That'll do it. No need to point out every flaw she has, half of which you share. Thanks.

Okay, now the moment I've been dreading...even writing about it is horrifying...and can I just say, that I knew that we were supposedly waiting for some sort of "big bang" in the last three minutes...and originally, before the episode started and we just knew about Mark, we all assumed it was Addie cheating again or something like that...but the second Izzy said you could try telling her how you feel...I knew. Yep...the last 30 minutes of the last good episode was ruined for me because I knew. I just had to wait for it. And it was just as creepy as I thought it would be. Just as creepy as George is everytime he talks about Meredith. I've never seen so many people standing up and yelling at the TV screaming NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO in my life. Except me. My head was buried in a pillow. I was in shock. And is it just me, or was there more, 'please tell me you didn't do this' feedback, than 'I can't believe this happened' feedback'? Possibly the biggest mistake in recent TV history. Oh yeah...I'm fully counting JJ's tragic 'missing two year' storyline, which I fully blame for both Alias' cancellation and mistreatment by ABC this season. (See any ALIAS post for that rant) TRAGIC. Fallout rants in next time in "What Did I Do To Deserve This?".

The OC - The Undertow

2006-03-24T22:04:00.000-08:00

I could review last weeks OC...if I could remember what it was called, or what happened, or cared. The truth is I have no idea why I still watch this show other than I've been watching it the whole time and it still mildly amuses me from week to week and well...okay, Ben McKenzie. But...the truth is, the show has seriously declined in its third season.
Okay...when we saw the "viewer discretion advised" warning at the beginning, who else was anxiously awaiting the reason for that? Yeah...me too. In all seriousness, this was actually a pretty decent episode. Seth and Summer's foreplay leading up to the final kama sutrac romp was hilarious...they are precious and usually not boring as the couple that stayed together. Its pretty much a miracle how much they've turned Taylor Townsend around considering that she was the devil incarnate earlier in the year. I actually kind of like her.

The analysis into why Marissa and Ryan aren't and shouldn't be together was great as well. I like Sadie but I'm guessing she won't be around for long, as she's the rebound girl. I think Ryan and Marissa are way too over-marketed. I'll admit I was a fan last year, but I think it was just because Lindsay was so unbelievably boring. Now that there's a half way decent alternate in the picture, I'm out. Ryan is actually the most levelheaded guy on this show, considering his past, so I hope giving him the opportunity to see his destructive pattern for himself is the end of it.

I don't really buy this whole "Sandy all of a sudden has no ethics" storyline, but hey, its going in a different direction, so who am I to argue... It's a little surprising that there's been absolutely no allusion whatsoever to Kirsten's drinking in forever. That just went away. No AA meetings? Nothing...

The last scene is I'm guessing what the viewer discretion was for... a little weak considering the last one was for Jimmy Cooper getting the snot beat out of him. Yeah there was Marissa and Ryan having sex too, but still... either way I liked the last scene and it was shot pretty well too.

2006-03-24T22:03:00.000-08:00

I'm in mourning for the next however many days thanks to the back to back losses of my final two teams. Just thought I'd let you know.

VERONICA MARS - The Quick and the Wed

2006-03-23T19:08:00.000-08:00

Cliff: Well, if it helps you decide on your wardrobe...I'll be wearing an 'I'm With Stupid' t-shirt.

That was tough...So many great quotes this week! I have to say...This week was Veronica Mars at its best, highlighting, at least for me, the disappointment of last week. It's alright though, let's not dwell...back to how much I laughed my ass off last night.

B plot - fantastic. One of the best of the season. I was turned off by the initial description of the 'runaway bride' scenario, but it was so well done and the twist at the end got me. Virginia Williams was awesome as Heidi...she was cracking me up at the end at the altar and with her rendition of "I Want You To Want Me". Vinnie Van Lowe is, as always, the perfect 'love to hate him' character...witty banter ensues. Something else worth pointing out I think, is that for the first time since I can remember Veronica makes a significant amount of "doofus" mistakes that a teenage apprentice P.I. might, and is called on it by the bride, which I thought was a tad bit out of character, but I appreciated the realism nonetheless. And did anyone see V's shirt when she was talking to the friends of the bride-to-be? Hilarious! Ultimately, Veronica does help out Jane, in the "sock it to 'em" kind of way, which turns out to be even better than she'd hoped, so its all good. Life in Neptune is sweet again.

My love for Jason Dohring will never cease...ever. At first I thought it was just a Logan/Veronica thing, but this Hannah deal proves otherwise, because with Veronica, with Hannah...I don't care. It's all about JD. Alright...we've presumably come to the predicament that ultimately had to happen. Guy needs leverage with sleazy doctor, guy messes with doctor's cute daughter, guy gets leverage and doctor agrees to back off, oh wait, guy already fell for daughter. Crap. I want to be mad at Logan for what he's doing to Hannah, but eh...I can't. The kid is so needy and he's got no friends, and then he listens to this sweet girl tell her mom that she's sure he's a good guy. Which he is...deep deep deep deep down. Every one just messes with him all the time. I'd be a jackass too. But what does he do now? Break it off or go to jail? Enter Veronica... He's gonna screw her over in the end right? I mean he's Logan. Yeah...

Ok...bus crash. Way to put the pieces together five minutes too late Keith. I know you aren't supposed to keep evidence from the police, but we're talking about Lamb here. You know he's not going to do anything within reason. You gotta take matters into your own hands! Use a brain cell. Think before you act. (By the way, the quote that came in second for the top was, "Keith: Lamb, I've been trying to get a hold of you. Lamb: And I've been dodging your calls...man that felt good to get off my chest.") So finally he realizes how unreasonable it is to think that Terrance would leave that damning evidence out for anyone to find, and how many people have probably looked in that cabinet since September besides Detail Mike. Here's a random thought/hunch/idea from me that may turn out to be nothing, but I see two possibilities. Assuming Detail Mike is telling the truth, and I'm assuming he is because I don't think Terrance did it, someone planted those explosives there to implicate either Terrance/Woody or both or one set up the other. I'm still not completely convinced it wasn't that last one. BUT...up to this point we're a little fuzzy as to who drives Terrance's cars or who has access to the hanger other than Jackie, Terrance, Detail Mike, and I'm assuming (again) Woody. So...if someone planted them for someone to find, they would need to know who was going to be in there. The person we know who's in there regularly is Detail Mike, and he was supposed to come the next day. Keith points out that if V hadn't found them, he would have. BUT...was Veronica supposed to find them?? If so, the person responsible for putting her there was Jackie. Hmmmmm.......she's not too fond of dad. And Terrance getting shot? Again...now he's graduated to a giant sandwich board that reads RED HERRING. I'm betting he was trying to find something to prove his innocence.
Anyway, enough speculating...great show, although, like last week, it raised more questions than it answered. Shout out to Michael Ausiello, my favorite TV columnist...he was the underwearless guy in the orange shirt at the beginning!

2006-03-23T18:34:00.000-08:00

I realized today that I watch too much TV. But last weekend, and again this weekend...and well, pretty every weekend until April its about the basketball. Does sports count? My second final four team just went down...thanks DUKE. I already yelled at UNC way more than any healthy person would. Oh...but its so hard to care when my final is still in tact! Well, that and every one and their Catahoula Leopard dog has a Duke/UConn final...HAH. Gongaza/Boston College baby! I love my Zags!

VERONICA MARS - Versatile Toppings

2006-03-23T15:16:00.000-08:00

Veronica: Our lives are so similar...the Mars family hanger's the spittin' image of this one.

I'm a week late on this one, but I figured hey why not...
For starters, this is my favorite show right now. Thats right, I'm an addict, so this will be the main feature, most likely. And for every entry I'll probably start with my favorite quote from that week. I might even throw in random Veronica quotes anywhere...you just never know. Actually, the title of this blog is a Veronica quote...look at that.

So...at the risk of contradicting myself...this week wasn't the best. You have to know that two days ago I was torn about this because Mars is always good and Rob Thomas is always brilliant, but it just didn't do anything for me. I didn't want to think that....until this week, which I'll get to later, because it confirmed my suspicion that Versatile Toppings was not up to par. The season two mystery took us further and that was as exciting as ever, but the B plot just didn't grab me. And Kristen Cavallari was insufferable. "Pulling gays out of the closet" (as V put it) was not only a bit confusing, but lacked any attention grabbing points that actually made you care. The outcome was horribly anticlimatic, in part thanks to Cavallari, but all the red herrings just made me want it to be over. The only thing I liked was the ever-witty banter between Veronica and Mac, who I NEED to become a regular. I love her. Anyway, there were a few clever, quotable comments from various players, but overall, the mystery of the week, not so thrilling.

Before I get to the bus crash...minor comment on Logan and my love for Jason Dohring...
The growing bond between him and Hannah that I initially hated is actually turning out to be interesting, and as much as I'm a fan of Logan/Veronica, that girl is just so darn cute. I'm actually liking the interaction between the two of them and I'm interested to see where it goes.

Okay...bus crash. Just so we're clear, if I was a gambler, my money would have been on Woody Goodman from day one. Okay, maybe not day one, but for sure from the minute Gia said her dad said not to take the bus. Was that weirdly overlooked to anyone else? So now, Terrance Cook is real suspicious and yeah, he keeps a lot of crap hidden that Keith pretty much has to pry out of him. But a) why would he just keep explosives in a cabinet in plain site? and b) isn't it Woody Goodman's hanger to begin with? So if someone planted the explosives, are they trying to set up Cook or Goodman? Or since its Goodman's hanger and he had access, is he trying to set up Cook? I think my main question about Terrance Cook is, would he really kill a bus load full of people to kill one girl when he has such a dodgy past to begin with? Come on...he's got a giant RED HERRING sign on his forehead.

IDOL - Finals Elimination 2 - 3.22.06

2006-03-23T12:47:00.000-08:00

Finally! America agrees with me! This would have definitely been my choice bottom three if I had my way and didn't think that Kevin had this inexplicable fan base week after week. TWoP called Simon's judging this week on Kevin "reverse juju" which I thought was interesting and appropriate...and best of all, it worked! So...I'm happy. The lisper is gone. Lisa wasn't surprising but I guess I'm surprised that I'm not surprised...if that makes sense. My problem with Lisa is that she is so incredibly talented and her voice is so strong, but she's wasting it! Week after week her song choice fails to showcase her talent and its so disappointing. And Bucky, well, there's no hope for him. Unless someone else seriously screws up next week...he'll be back there. I'll probably pick him to leave again. Until then...

IDOL - Down to Eleven - 3.21.06

2006-03-23T01:26:00.000-08:00

My first official blog...you gotta start somewhere right?
Okay, on a sidebar, I wrote this last night, and I'm just now posting it now, but I still left my predictions at the bottom. Since this is my first time talking about the "idols" it'll be a bit longer and I'll talk about the judges, next week will be shorter unless they just really piss me off...or impress me if your name is Katharine McPhee!

Randy: No feelings either way really, just doesn't say much, or rather, he always says the same thing. Just don't dare sing anything by any of "the greatest singers in the known world" because you'll never compare. He just drives me nuts when he and Paula gang up on Simon.

Paula: This is hard because I initially started watching AI because of her...I was such a big fan in the 80's (judge and snicker all you want, I know, I have it coming) but she is just a pain. It annoys the crap out of me that everyone is good and she always has to be positive. That's not constructive! And no, its not just about having fun. Did anyone see Simon on Jay Leno last week? Lisa Lampinelli or however you spell her name was on after him and she had some choice words for Paula that I shouldn't repeat, but Ace was involved.

Simon: When he comments on weight and appearance that is unacceptable, because like he said himself, its a singing competition. But he's publicly apologized for that, so moving on. I really think its scary that we've gotten to a point in our society that honesty is treated so harshly and Simon is the perfect example. He can't even get two words out without boos coming from the crowd and its ridiculous. He speaks the truth people! And I actually think he's gotten nicer this season.

Ryan: Come out of the closet all ready and stop goading Simon like an 8 year old on the playground. I hate you. (More every week people, my hatred for Ryan doesn't stop) By the way, if you've never seen Kathy Griffin do stand up about Ryan, you haven't lived.

On to the people that matter...
Mandisa: She was pretty much flawless tonight, but there's something about her voice when gets loud that just bugs me. She's cute and sweet and fun, I just don't like her as much as I should considering her voice is as good as it is. The stripper comment made it allllll worth it.

Bucky: Appalling. When he was singing, the entire time I was thinking how on earth did this guy get into the top twelve? Who are we kidding though...he lost me when he butchered a Pat Green song. Hello...I'm from Texas.

Paris: She looked fabulous, but I was surprised the judges didn't comment on her look, given there propensity for wanting the teens to "stay in there range". She blew "Fever" out of the park and gave it her own touch. She's still a bit cocky...let's tone it down Paris. The singing answers last week made me cover my eyes.

Chris: Okay...I know everyone loves him and he's going to win, blah blah blah, but I can't stand him. The guy can sing, I'll give him that...but its a cop out that he never does anything different. He sings the same song every week with different words. The judges love him because he "stays true to what he is" whatever. DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. Get out of your comfort zone! Thank God the Chili Peppers covered a Stevie song, cause otherwise he would have been up a creek. Dude, you butchered a Johnny Cash song, I'm over it.

Katharine: My absolute, all time favorite. Mad girl crush. I've loved her since day one and I've never been behind an Idol so much to get to the end. Seriously, I could go on forever... She's proven she can do different things, and she did ELLA proud! Her voice never falters, even when she chose a bad Stevie song, and she is the most talented, with the most "star quality" and diversity. "Since I Fell For You" was my fav though.

Taylor: He's only okay. I love his passion though, its precious. He's got this huge weird fan base though, so, I'll bet he'll be around for a while.

Lisa: Her voice is great, really awesome, and I love this song, but she did not keep up with that tempo. It was tragic.

Elliot: Only okay. Didn't do much for me. I'm liking the goatee though. My boyfriend likes him...does that mean anything?

Kevin: I can't stand him only a tad less than Chris. How is someone with a lisp still on this show? It's an embarrassment for the judges that they let him get this far. He has good pitch but thats it and I hope its him to go this week, even over Bucky, although I know it probably won't happen.

Kellie: I think her voice is getting better and her innocent dumb girl act is getting worse. I think at first it was genuine and she saw how people responded to it and now she's trying to hard. But I like her. Simon's pick that's she's one of the three best is shameful though.

Ace: I was not fond of the rendition of "In the Still of the Night", one of my all time favorite songs, or the last falsetto note. BUT I blame Paula. She's been too kind to his falsetto. See Paula, look what happens when you lie!! Otherwise he was very good and it was Simon's best critique of the night. Every word was dead on. Oh yeah, and he's dreamy. It doesn't make me vote for him, but still dreamy.

I voted for: Katharine (85 times)
My bottom 3: Bucky, Lisa, Elliot
Going home: Bucky