Fall 2010 television (new shows)

This is mostly for Taylor, who has been asking for it, but also for anyone else who reads this thing and for whatever reason cares about my opinion.

The Fall 2010/Spring 2011 television season is going to be interesting for me because two of my favorite shows, 24 and Lost, are now gone. Granted they both aired in the Spring, but I feel a void has been left in my viewing habits, in terms of the serialized mystery and the action genres. The Fall season always offers a whole host of new shows, 3 or 4 of which I watch all the way through and another few I start off watching and eventually stop. I am not going to go through every new show, but go with the 6 or 7 I am definitely checking for and a few others I am going to at least give a shot.

The 5 I will definitely be watching:

6/7. Walking Dead/Boardwalk Empire- These shows are not on your regular channels, so I am going to lump them together. Walking Dead does not premiere until November anyway. Walking Dead is about, well, zombies. I am not sure how that will play every week, but it is created by Frank Darabont and the pedigree is insane. Boardwalk Empire is another show with a great pedigree, produced by Scorcese and the pilot was directed by him as well. I will have to download these shows to keep up, but they are both interesting to me.

5. Nikita- I think this show is going to fill the 24 void in terms of action. Maggie Q is sexy as hell and The few television critics I like say the pilot is great and should work. The fact that it is on the CW should worry me, but my favorite current show, Supernatual is on that channel. I know the CW believes strongly in the show and the action from the trailers make it look pretty awesome.

4. No ordinary Family- The Incredibles/Fantastic Four hybrid show, that looks like it has the sense of humor Heroes generally lacked. The cast is really strong, even if it might take a few episodes to see them in new roles. Chiklis as a good family man and not as a cop who killed people, is going to be tough. I am pretty excited for more superpower stuff on television, and the effects look pretty good. I guess the show could go either way, but I am optimistic for it.

3. Lone Star- I need a low down dirty soap in my life and this one fits the bill. Actually it seems this is the show people/critics are most intrigued by. The story looks interesting, steamy and sexy and Jon Voight was great in 24, so I am sure he will be great in this Dallas-esque show. I am not entirely sure what is going on, but I think the mystery is part of the hook. I am kind of following the lead of the critics on this one.

2. Undercover- J.J Abrams produced/created television will always be high on my to-watch list. This sexy spy show is not different. It looks a bit like Alias, which is not inherently a bad thing. I like spy shows, and I like watching sexy people do sexy spy things. Much has been made of the African American leads, but it will not matter if the show is not good. Abrams knows how to create tension and put people in awesome circumstances and the two leads are sexy as hell. The tension will carry this show for sure.

1. The Event- I do get sucked into these types of shows and they can reward me like Lost, or frustrate me by getting cancelled like FlashForward, or they can just burn out like Heroes.I am always willing to take the chance that one will capture me the way Lost did. A kidnapping, a hit on the President and other crimes are not the event but they lead up to the event. We do not know what the event is, but I want to know just based on what little I have seen. This show has the biggest potential to fail miserably, but I kind of like that as well. I like the risk factor, even if I can get my heart ripped out.

Some other potential shows:

Hawaii 5-0- I would not think this is a show I will like, but Scott Caan and Daniel Dae Kim being involved interests me a lot more. I am sure it is going to be a more raw show than the original and that could be cool, but as far a cop shows go, it is going to be hard for something to be more interesting than The Wire or The Shield. Still, I think I will check it out.

Running Wilde/Mike and Molly- A year after Modern Family and Cougar town made me think interesting sitcoms were making a comeback, nothing in that genre really does much for me. These two I am going to check out based mostly on the cast. Running Wilde has Keri Russell and Will Arnett, both of whom have great television credentials and Mike and Molly has Sookie from Gilmore Girls and is about fat people, of which I am one. Because they are only 22 minute long, they might work for me.

Detroit 1-8-7- I think this kind of looks like NYPD Blue, but in Detroit, which means it could be even more raw and gritty. I loved NYPD Blue, so I am going to give this show a few weeks to grow on me. It might end up being too procedural for my tastes, but it could end up being a really interesting cop show.

Guilty Pleasure television:

Hellcats: It is a show about sexy cheerleaders on The CW. I should not have to say much more. I am sure the show is awful, trashy and probably going to get cancelled after 1 season, but I am excited for the catfights, cheerleader skirts and sexy time!!

LOST: Dr. Linus

For the beginning of season 6, I have been saying that the stuff off the island has been better than the stuff on the island and actually, the on the island stuff has been pretty obnoxious. The last few episodes have started changing that. Jack's episode had some interesting on the island stuff and Sayid's episode really ratcheted up the action and intrigue on the island. Now this week, we get a Benjamin Linus episode. Finally!

Linus is one of the most interesting television characters I can ever remember. What started as a guy being tortured like crazy for maybe knowing too much has turned into one of the most fleshed out, while still being unknowable, characters to appear on television. he is well written to be sure, but also, Michael Emerson acts his ass off every week. His line delivery is pitch perfect, but the man can say more with an eye brow raise than most actors can with a whole monologue. He takes the idea of face acting to a whole new level. This week finds Benjamin Linus as a crossroads on the island, maybe beginning to pay for all of the devious things he has done. Linus is forced to dig his own grave, realizing he has no allies, no friends, no one who really cares. He tries to plead his way out and eventually bribe his way out, but it takes Not-Locke to come give him freedom, but Linus is surprised by what happens after that.

Off the island, in what have become known as "Flash Sideways", Linus is a high school history teacher. He has a Ph.D and he is miserable. His dad is alive and sick, but Linus takes care of him. We learn that they did go to the island, but they did not stay. So in this flash sideways world, the island exists, just not as we know it? It is the first reference to the island in the flash sideways. It kind of blew my mind and made me wonder if the island is going to start playing a part in the off the island stuff. Linus appears to be very mild mannered, meek and submissive in his flash sideways, but much like when we first met Mr. Linus, he is not what he seems. When he gets wind that the principal may be having a sexual affair on campus with anurse, he blackmails the principal to get what he wants, but unlike the Ben we have come to know, he backs down. Having the student that Ben cares about be his daughter was a nice, if a little on the nose, touch. It was nice to see that Ben has flairs of the man he was on the island. The parallels make me curious if I missed similar things in the episodes from earlier in the season.

With super intense stuff off the island and interesting character stuff off the island, this week's Lost is my favorite of the young season and keeps me getting excited for upcoming episodes. I love that the Linus storyline still gave us all this other stuff. We got to witness more of Not-Locke, then there was the great cliff hanger and most importantly and most intensely, Jack and Richard.

Jack is a character many people do not much care for, but he has always been one of my favorites. I think he has undergone more changes in character than anyone else on the island and well, I kind of like Matthew Fox. This week, we see a new side of Jack. He is slowly starting to pick up clues as to what is going on the island. He does not understand the motives, and he cannot answer the "why" question, but he is starting to understand some of the rules of the island. Richard wants to die and his impassioned reasoning was perfectly played, but he cannot kill himself, so he asks Jack to do it. Jack and Richard then engage in this crazy intense back and forth about fate and destiny all while a stick of dynamite is lit and is slowly burning. Oh man, some seriously crazy few moments!

As the final season winds down, we are faced with the knowledge that not every question will be answered directly for us and that is okay with me. I like that we have an understanding of what the smoke monster is and how these people came to be on the island, but more importantly, I am thankful for great television every week. That is what is important! Lost continues to deliver top notch intrigue and thrills, while throwing in enough humor for levity and it almost always works. This week worked in every way imaginable and I am already hankering for next Tuesday!

Television recap (Nov. 8-14)

Modern Family did not have an episode this week and I found myself very sad about that. It really has become appointment viewing for me. It is right up there with my favorite shows.

10. The Office- I really only want to talk about a specific moment in this episode. The show is actually annoying the crap out of me, but Creed is amazing. Creed shows up late for work and does not know everyone is playing a game and when Michael tells Creed a murder has been committed, he just leaves the office and gets back in his car, like someone found out where he hid a body. Creed is one of my all time favorite throw away characters. He gets these amazing throw away jokes and bits and he makes them memorable. He almost never figures into the stories of the show, but he makes the show worth watching so often for me.

9. The Big Bang Theory- Penny and Leonard had their first big fight and it leads to Sheldon freaking out and everyone who watches this show knows that a Sheldon freak out is always the best thing. I like how the show dealt with the fight between the hottie and the nerd. It seemed believable and I like that Leonard did not back down just because she is way hotter than he would normally get. It was clever writing and I think it stayed true to the characters. However, the key moment was the end with Sheldon huddled in a corner of the comic book shop with comics and action figures. I loved it!

8. So you think you can Dance- I was trying to think about what my favorite dance was this week, or my favorite couple, or something, but for whatever reason the thing I kept coming back to on this show this week, was the whole group number at the beginning of the results show. I loved the caveman theme, the song and how each member of the group was used to create the story. I loved the aggressive dancing and how it showcased some awesome hip-hop, especially Legacy. Honestly, I have not seen someone break dance the way he does in such a long time. I know I keep going back to that, but it consistently amazes me.

7. How I met your Mother- I am not going to lie, fat suits almost never work for me. I thought maybe putting NPH in one would make it work for me somehow, but it really didn't. This would not even be on the list this week except the end of the episode ended the storyline and Alen Thicke was involved. There were some really great callbacks, including the song from James Van Der Beek's character's band from last season. However, the big reveal that somewhere there is a video of a failed variety style show starring Robin Sparkles and Alen Thicke is already making me weak in anticipation. All of this saved the fact that the show used the obnoxious fat suit gimmick.

6. The Vampire Diaries- I feel like this episode was meant for a season finale or something leading up to a season finale. We had a way too short story arch of a witch's ghost, Damon revealing he wanted to save Katherine, Damon and Stefan are now going to leave Fall Rivers and we may have a new vampire in town in the body of the new history teacher, who may also have a ring that allows him to be in the light and then the reporter came back from the dead, meaning he is probably also a vampire. If all of this happened only 9 episodes into the season I can only imagine what the hell else is going to happen. It is exactly what I expect from Kevin Williamson, the guy who killed Drew Barrymore in the first 10 minutes of a movie.

5. Grey's Anatomy- Izzie came back for an episode that had all kinds of good stuff, which was good because I was worried when Izzie and Meredeth came back I would go back to hating the show, but I didn't. I loved it. Of course, I loved it mostly for Owen, Christina and the pretty boy new doctor. I was disappointed in the lack of sexy short haired new doctor, but I loved the episode for Bailey and the chief and the idea of the work-husband/wife. Mostly though, it was to see how all of these cuts and budget problems finally took its toll on the chief. I am very excited to see where this new revelation take us and I hope it brings us some great Derek the hero moments. I could always use more Arizona, too.

4. Californication- Hank Moody decides he needs to not have sex with the three women anymore so he can be prepared for Karen when he goes back to NY. He does alright in breaking up with the unbelievably sexy stripper and then he plays gay to help out the sexy teacher's assistant, but is not so sly on breaking up with her, but then it comes to the sexy head of the English department and he just cannot bring himself to stay away when he realizes she is about to sleep with a douche bag just because she wants to cheat on her husband. None of this is nearly as important as the big finish with Moody's daughter going crazy on him and making Hank realize his years of being a bad influence are starting to work against him. I found it to be a powerful moment, and wonder what is in store for the final few episodes.

3. Glee- This was, hands down, my favorite episode of this show. Not musically, because it did not do too much musically that excited me, but in terms of the show and the story. I think what makes this show popular among young people and maybe people in general is that it gives voice to the voiceless. It takes the idea of the people in high school that no one liked and gives them personality and spark and humor. Sure, we have football players and cheerleaders, but the heart of the show resides in the people like Kurt, who is playing his confident, but sensitive gay youth with such gusto and heart that it really lends something deeper to a show that is too often all style. I did not like how the too brief romance between the wheelchair kid and the shy Asian girl ended, but I guess tragedy is so much more interesting than happiness.

2. Dexter- Taylor, this is getting tough to keep it inside! I hope you appreciate this! Dexter is defying his dead father more and more and I have been wondering when it would hurt Dexter. We get a flash of that this week. Mostly though we get some amazing stuff between Dexter and Trinity. John Lithgow is incredible every week and this week he even took it a step further with the whole hitting a deer thing. This week was kind of a set up episode, but rarely are set up episodes this intense and amazing. I know that the next episode is where shit really starts to get going, but this was an episode we needed to get us prepared for the shit storm!

1. Supernatural- Last season there was a character introduced who had been writing a series of books called Supernatural. It turns out he is writing the gospel of Sam and Dean, but the show took this moment to have some fun with the fandom of Supernatural. The show;s wicked sense of humor was evident here at a Supernatural convention, which included a bunch of people dressing up and pretending to be Sam and Dean, a fake ghost hunt, that turned real and a bunch of jokes at the expense of the fans. They also included "Jumping the shark" jokes and a whole bunch of jokes poking fun at people who write fanfiction where the brothers have sex with each other. The ghost stuff was actually pretty cool too, but as a one off, stand alone episode, it provided levity. I think, because they are battling the devil in this season, they need these lighter episodes more than ever and this was a wonderful break in the peril and death of the end of the world.

television recap (Oct.25-31)

I am coming at this a day late, I apologize. My Halloween weekend was much busier than my weekends usually are. A few of the shows I watch were on hiatus this week, this might look a tad bit different than normal in some aspects.

10. So you think you can dance- Putting Russell in the bottom totally shocked me, but I get it. He is going to be a fan favorite, I think, so it was good he did not go home, but it was worth it to watch him dance his solo. I tend to fall on the side of liking really aggressive looking dancing, especially hip-hop and it does not get much more aggressive than Russell's brand of crumping. He straight up killed it. I also loved Monday's show because all 3 hip-hop dancers were in a dance together. Legacy's breaking is ridiculous and I hope I get to see some more kick ass hip-hop this season!

9. The Vampire Diaries- The show gets points for putting the sexy female lead in a sexy nurse costume, but loses points for putting a witch in a witch costume and a vampire in a vampire costume. However, the episode was pretty well done aside from that. They killed off a character and it was kind of gruesome. I am used to seeing vampires disappearing after being staked, but this one just shriveled up and died. It was cool, but it also means the girl could return in some way or other. I also liked that the show is giving away a little bit of mythology with the witch, the necklace and the compass. It is moving a little slowly for my tastes, but the slow build could lead to a big sexy pay off. At least that is my hope.

8. Community- The Halloween episode this week is the funniest episode of this show since the pilot. Chevy Chase on a drug trip while dressed as the Beastmaster was priceless. Then you have Abed as batman and thinking he might actually be batman, complete with voice over narration at the end and of course you have Jeff giving up sex to help his friends. Oh and Ken Jeong was in the episode so it is hard to not enjoy that. It feels a little one note at times, but I think this episode made it work for me. However, the best part of the show is often the tag at the very end of every episode, usually between the same two characters every week. it is almost always some kind of nonsense and this week it was the two guys talking in their batman voices worrying that if they were made of doughnuts they would just eat themselves.

7. The Office- The episode was pretty funny, with Michael falling in the water and all of the jokes, but honestly the opening was my favorite. Michael wanted to put on a haunted house for a group of children and Craig Robinson is pushing the kids through and failing miserably to guess what any of the workers are dressed as, but the kicker in the bad haunted house is when Michael appears to have hanged himself and actually freaks the kids out. It was not quite as good as last year's everyone was dressed as The Joker opening, but The Office is not exactly the great show it used to be. This was a really funny open and it was also had really knowing character moments, especially for Michael.

6. Californication- Hank Moody sends his daughter to New York for a weekend and in comes Moody's BFF from his high school days. I enjoy episodes where a character from the past visits because it gives us insight into who our favorite characters were before we met them. Moody was also more emotionally open to this friend than he is to anyone, which was interesting to see. There was a lot of strong writing in the episode and then it had the BIG kicker at the end of the episode which is really going to make the rest of the season a whole bunch of fun. I am curiously drawn to this Hank Moody character because his life is a lot like mine except he actually has sex with all of the girls, I just admire them from afar, but we both find beauty in all women. It makes me think that if I looked like David Ducovney I would get sex all of the time. I like that!

5. Grey's Anatomy- I don't know why, but I am really liking the episodes with less Meredith and Izzie. Christina and Owen are always a joy to watch and Lexie has kind of become a favorite, well after Arizona. Arizona going off a bit on the chief was kind of a high point and I want to be a lesbian just so I can be with her. But this episode was all Derek and his sad eyes, which this week became all sexy intense eyes. He was going to save that man's life someway some how and it was all in his eyes. SIGH. I liked seeing an episode from Derek's perspective and I thought his voice overs were interesting, not to say Meredith's aren't, but Derek's are more confident, assured and mature. I could always use more Dr. Bailey and less Chief at this moment, but maybe it is how it needs to be. Here is to hoping for more McDreamy episodes.

4. Modern Family- Every week after this show is over I wish I lived next to a wonderful gay couple with a little Vietnamese baby. Mitchell and Cameron are far and away my new favorite couple on television. They are totally adorable and this week when they locked the baby in the car and Cameron was going to throw a trash can through the car window, I nearly died from laughing so hard. The rest of the characters are funny too and the first week of school theme was nice and it was great to see an episode that did not end with the entire family together. But no matter what happens, Cameron and Mitchell continue to make this show for me. I love how prissy they are and how in love they seem. They have the funniest lines and this week was no different. This show really has the most laughs of any show I have watched in quite some time.

3. FlashForward- The Blue Hand episode was AWESOME! Using Halloween was a nice idea and how intense did the show get in so many areas this week. First the little autistic boy ended up in a house he doesn't know until the future which really ramped up the drama in the house of our favorite Alcoholic F.B.I agent. Then, Harold and The Famous Jett Jackson go on a tour of Baltimore Street, which looks as ghetto as the actual Baltimore and come up on a creepy house, with dead bodies that have blue on their hands, which is equally creepy. I loved all of the confrontations, but the winner of the week is Joseph Fiennes chasing a group of masked kids into a creepy cemetery, on Halloween to a kick ass Halloween style song. The show is doing a good job of keeping up the pacing while slowly letting the story unravel. I stopped worrying about how this show lasts more than a year and am just enjoying the ride!

2. Supernatural- Oh Poker, how I love you in television and movies. For some reason it just always works for me. It has so much intensity when done properly. It was done properly this week because the stakes were much higher than money. The chips represented years of life! Awesome premise, right? We got a sexy witch, Dean aging 40 years and being played by an awesome older actor with Dean's perfect attitude and Sam getting to be the hero, which is always a nice change of pace for the show. We also got some great serious conversational moments and finally got more than a tiny glimpse into who Bobby is now that he is wheelchair bound. It was a bit heart breaking in all honesty, but this show balances the scary and the serious better than most before it, then when you add in the humor, you have the perfect Kyle television cocktail.

1. Dexter- HOLY CRAP!!!! I cannot say too much for fear of spoiling it all for Taylor, who is my most faithful reader/only commenter, but I just want to say the final two minutes of this episode were shocking, subtle and AMAZING!! The rest of the episode was not slouchy in any way either. We got brutal violence, a nice intense semi-chase, great Dexter quips and Dexter's ghost dad getting in some serious work. There really is not a slow moment in this season as far as the main story is concerned. The Rita stuff is getting a bit tiresome, which was my worry about the season, but the John Lithgow stuff is so damn good, I am willing to forgive the Rita stuff. Oh and a hot topless girl writhing around in orgasm does not hurt in any way shape or form. Keep on being awesome Dexter. I need you in my life!

Television Recap (Oct. 4th- 10th)

This is merely a place holder. Normally I get this up in the morning, but with this being closing weekend, I have been too busy to watch a few of the shows, so I will get this done tonight instead. Sorry for the hold up.

EDIT

Okay, I am back and have watched everything I need to watch, so here we go.

10. The Big Bang Theory- The first truly hilarious episode of the season has finally arrived. Sheldon trying to condition Penny to good behavior with the help of chocolate was absolutely a great use of Sheldon and Penny together. Then the b-plot of the other two friends going to a Goth club was a really nice use of the second tier characters. In fact, this is kind of the best use of all 5 characters I have seen on this show in quite a long time.

9. Melrose Place- Some how this show keeps finding its way onto my television. Do I dare call it appointment television? I am still most interested in the hooker med student and now she has a madame, for real. She also had a very sexy strip tease, awesome. Then, the murder plot picked up a bit with us finding our about Ella's back story which was very well done, but mostly, Ashlee Simpson's character turned on the crazy to another level, which was wonderfully entertaining. I like the "normal" couple more on this show than on many shows, but I would not mind it if they got at least a little bit sexier overall.

8. How I met your Mother- I wanted to hate this because of the dig at having a degree in English, and it did not really further Ted's story, but You have to love an entire episode dedicated to all of Robin's quirks and dating habits. The Ted's douchey professor side came out and Barney was straight up hilarious and then in the b-plot, Marshall is used in perfect Marshall fashion, waiting for someone to take his old barrel. It is hard to explain, but Jason Segal commits so perfectly to the bit that you cannot help but laugh. I am looking forward to the show getting back to Ted's search, but I like these one-off episodes every so often.

7. Grey's Anatomy- I have to admit I am pretty impressed with the show this season. This week was a little too "Oh god" for me with Meredith being the sister with a match for her not-there father, but I thought it was handled very well. However, the combination of Izzie and Owen Hunt really worked for me this week. I think Heigl really rose to the occasion and McKidd is definitely the strongest male on the show, acting wise. I am very curious to see where this whole merger takes us, but so far it has made for such better drama than relationship drama. On the relationship front, though, I am loving Callie and Arizona, they are adorable!

6. The Office- Much like The Big Bang Theory, this has been a horrible season for this show. However, this two part wedding episode was absolutely delightful. I still had too many cringe worthy moments, as I am prone to have anytime Michael Scott makes big events worse, but the Jim and Pam stuff is just so darn adorable! A lot of the side stuff was truly hilarious, but Oscar getting downright offended when someone thought Kevin was his boyfriend, was far and away my favorite moment. The Chris Brown "Forever" Youtube inspired dance was pretty dumb, but I did not like the Youtube video much, and it was funny to watch Dwight kick a girl in the face. I hope this is the turning point of the season.

5. Modern Family- Far and away the funniest show on television right now. It is too early to say how funny it will be, so I am not going to make comparisons to classic comedy shows, but this is cooking on all cylinders early in the season. I am still a little unsure of the "awkward father" character, but the gay couple in Costco more than makes up for it. I loved their story of how they met and they are just super adorable and funny. Also, Ed O'Neill is really finding his groove as the more-than-a-little-mean grumpy man. The show is also finding a balance of sweetness, which is a welcome surprise, especially from the Hispanic wife character, sorry I have not learned the names yet, nor has anyone else.

4. Dollhouse- There are still some questions as to the relevancy of a place like the dollhouse and one has to wonder how a place with so many malfunctions can stay operational, but this week featured Eliza Dushku playing a kind of dumb, super peppy college girl in a little skirt and knee high socks, so I cannot complain. Dushku does tough well and she does sexy well, and in this episode she gets to do both, so score one for Dollhouse. This episode also featured some creepy serial killer moments and then some of the great comic moments the show is generally missing. I really liked the idea of the dolls transferring their imprints and having Dushku turn into the serial killer and Victor thinking he was a peppy college girl who loved to flirt and shake her ass. Also, Ballard's level of discomfort at having the dolls get "dressed up" is intriguing and his serial killer line was perfect, maybe he is not so humorless!

3. Dexter- When Dexter does something that I typically hate on television shows, it almost always gets it right. It is stunning just how rich this show can be. Michael C. Hall is having his best season acting wise and we are only two episodes in! Also, John Lithgow is such a joy to watch. So far he has not said much, but just watching him watch people is super cool and super creepy. I love where the season is headed and I hope they can keep up this break neck pace for 13 episodes. I believe this is the fastest moving season thus far. I truly cannot wait to for the moment where Dexter and the John Lithgow character meet. It is going to be like Dexter vs. Jimmy Smits all over again and that made for perfect television.

2. FlashForward- I still am unsure if this show can keep it up week after week, but so far, so effing good! This week brought us more knowledge as to John Cho's fate, as he worries he is going to die, but his fiance saw him in her FF? Hmmmm, is she lying? Is the mysterious phone woman lying? Also, we got another awesome cliff hanger, but this time instead of revealing another person, we get the reveal that this blackout has happened before, just in a much smaller sample size. Who or what is doing this? Joseph Fiennes is turning out to be a fabulous television leading man and his marriage to Sonya Walger is really the heart of the show and I think they are playing it just perfectly thus far.

1.Supernatural- This could be first based merely on the fact that Paris Hilton is in it and she gets her head chopped off. However, it is actually more than just that. First off, we have Sam and Dean doing an old school one-off mission to see if they can work together again. Then, we have all this tension between the two brothers that leads to some uncomfortable moments. But you also have some hilarious moments, like Ghandi attacking Dean, or Dean knowing random Ghandi facts. Paris Hilton playing some kind of creature who used to be famous ages and ages ago was pretty good stuff. It shows that Hilton is kind of in on the joke that is her life. The writing made good use of the idea that celebrity is so dumb these days and how there was a time when you needed a talent to be famous. This point was made by having the creature come in the forms of James Dean, Abe Lincoln, Ghandi and then eventually Paris Hilton. Well Played Eric Kripke.


I am starting to feel very torn about Glee. The musical moments are fantastic and I love the acting, but the stories are just not working for me. Pregnancy in high school is one of the stupidest television plots, ever and this show is not handling it well at all. What I want is more Lea Michelle in little skirts, please!

Television recap (Sept. 27th- Oct. 3rd)

I have to admit, my television watching habits are pretty much out of hand, but I am not sure which shows I feel like I can get rid of. This week brought the return of Dexter and Californication, to add to the amount of shows I watch.

10. Californication- The shows third season opened with Hank Moody falling asleep during sex and that was not nearly the wildest moment in the episode. I love having Hank Moody back. He is one of the coolest anti-heroes on television. He flicked a cigarette at a guy on a bike, hit on a married woman, gave alcohol to a recovering alcoholic and wondered if his daughter and his daughters best friend were lesbians. I never know what to expect with this show, but I know that I cannot wait to watch. I am unsure of what I think about his ex-wife being in New York now, but if they continue to have phone conversations like the one in this episode, it could work.

9. Modern Family- This show is really coming along nicely. Every week we get three separate stories and they may not even connect. Your enjoyment level will depend on what you think of all of the characters in any given episode and so far I am most taken with the gay couple with the little daughter. I am especially loving the bigger gay guy. This week featured the following exchange, which is all I needed to put it in my top 10.

Gay #1: I know, I know, I'll dance like a straight guy.
Gay #2- No smacking your own butt.
Gay #1: But that's how I make my horsie go!

8. Melrose Place- This is another show I figured I would burn out on after a few weeks, but so far it still has my attention. The serial aspect of the murder mystery keeps things interesting, but it is still soap opera-y, which I need with this show. This week brought some good Elle (Katie Cassidy) moments and brought a former Melrose resident back home. I am not sure what exactly is going on most of the time, but again, a girl who wants to be a doctor is hooking, so things cannot be all bad, especially now that she might have a madame! The engaged couple remain the moral focus of the show, which is nice, but I am still waiting for the show to get steamier.

7. How I met your Mother- This episode kind of encapsulates why I love this show- it featured the absolutely absurd and the truly romantic. First we get that the group often sees doppelgangers of the group- Lesbian Robin, Moustache Marshall and now Stripper Lilly. It is hilarious and ridiculous. Then Ted goes on a blind date with a girl he went on a blind date with 6 years ago. Ted remember tat he did not call her because he is looking for someone who loves his quirks, not someone for whom he has to change. It is a wonderfully romantic notion and it balances out just how absurd it is to have a Moustache Marshall.

6. Grey's Anatomy- I was getting to the point that I felt I watching this show out of duty than anything else last season. However, the show is really cooking so far this season. I am loving the new drama of everyone worrying about jobs. So far the romantic drama has taken a back seat and that is a welcome change for me. I love who Alex is becoming for Izzie, I love who Owen Hunt is becoming for Christina and I love Arizona and I love that Derek has taken charge as The Chief wusses out. However, this week the patients were the key. How amazing was the woman with the crazy son. I really thought it was a powerful story. I think people prefer this show when it is a romantic drama, but I like when it goes away from that for a while. Then we get to see that most of these people can actually act.

5. Glee- This was the first episode I loved. This was the first episode where the non musical stuff was just as good as the musical stuff. Finally the show was deserving of the hype. This was reached by not having Will's crazy wife be featured very heavily. It was also reached it by having Kristin Chenowith guest star as a boozy former high school peer of Will's. Of course, the musical stuff still wowed, especially Chenowith knocking out Carrie Underwood's "Last Name." I would have liked to see Lea Michelle and Chenowith have more to do together and I wish the duet from Chenowith and Morrison would have been more of a duet, but those are minor complaints. I absolutely loved "Somebody to Love." I thought it was a powerful moment.

4. Dollhouse- I was not sure from the previews, if I would enjoy this episode, but man it was awesome. There was not a lot of fighting action, but I think, it gave more of a reason as to why the Dollhouse exists for people and asked all kinds of moral questions, which is what the show is trying to do. Eliza Dushku's Echo had her mind make her think she had just given birth and in order to do that Topher altered her at a glandular level, which is brand new. He talks about the possibilities, in the first of 3 or 4 conversations about the moral properties of the project. Having the former agent Ballard as Echo's handler adds a level of intrigue to the show and just like the premiere, Ballard and Echo have a very interesting conversation to close the episode.

3. FlashForward- Oh FlashForward, can you possibly keep up this crazy amazing momentum for 22-24 episodes?? God, I hope so! Week two of this glorious new show brings more questions, possibly answers a question or two, but mostly it gives us a bunch of awesome scenes and wonderful acting. Now we know that it is possible 2 people were moving during the blackout. Also, will the children be the key? Can the future be altered in some aspects and made the same in others? These are the questions this show is perfectly asking. The pacing was very strong, even if the one comic moment fell too flat for me and then, just like last week, we get a kick ass cliff hanger. I am going to continue going along for this thrill ride and maybe, just maybe, us Lost fans are being left in good hands.

2. Supernatural- Dean goes to the year 2014 after the Apocalypse and finds the world in absolute ruins. Castiel is no longer an angel but a pot smoking hippie who engages in orgies, but mostly, Dean sees that Sam gave into Satan and is now a vessel for the Devil. The bleak look of the future is consistent with the show and it was even caused by something in the shows already established mythology, which was nice. Plus, Dean ran into the 2014 version of himself which led to some classic Dean moments, but also showed us that the brothers need each other to retain the humanity that could easily be lost in a world where all they do is battle the evil of the world over and over again. It took seeing that world to make Dean realize what is important and the brothers were reunited after two weeks apart.

1. Dexter- My favorite narrating serial killer is back! And he has a child! And that is all kinds of fun! Oh and Jon Lithgow has entered the picture as a very naked serial killer. Man was he amazing with only two or three lines. Keith Caradine returned as the serial killer hunter to add more grief to Dexter. I am not sure how much I want to say about the actual episodes because one of the few faithful readers of this blog watches this show on DVD, and I do not want to spoil it for her (Hi Taylor!). So I will just say that having Dexter back on my television makes for funny, creepy and interesting television. And Michael C. Hall is fantastic as a more frazzled out of sorts Dexter.

Television recap (Sept. 19th-26th)

Now that the television season is pretty much in full swing, I am going to attempt to run down my top 10 shows/moments of the week and then maybe mention a few other random things and probably a disappointment or two. Again, this might get some tweaking in the coming weeks.

10. Melrose Place/ Vampire Diaries- These are both shows I was unsure about when they started, but 3 weeks in and I am totally hooked on both of them. Melrose has a pretty interesting murder mystery arc going on, mixed with a bunch of hot people. Vampire Diaries has some funny writing, and a cool villain oh and hot people. I imagine that if I get too busy one of these shows would still be the first ones to go, but for now I am having a good time with these CW shows. Vampire is in no danger of being cancelled and The CW has ordered more episodes of Melrose, so it should not be in any danger, either.

9. The combo of Modern Family and Cougar Town- Okay, this is mostly for Modern Family. Cougar Town had a few laughs, but feels very forced being saved by Courtney Cox spending ample amounts of time in her underwear. By contrast, Modern Family had me rolling at times. It is a little too close to The Office in tone, but still very funny. The acting is really great, especially by the gay couple and I think attention has been paid to each of the main characters. I am most taken by the little Hispanic kid, but the whole thing worked in the first episode. There were a lot of great lines, but the best moment was when one of the gay fathers presented their new kid while playing "The Circle of Life."

8. How I met your Mother- The premiere episode may not have been the funniest episode, but How I met your Mother has always been a fine balance of laughs and story and this week, I think story won. I love any chance we get to see Douchey Ted and Professor Ted is certainly the easiest way for us to see Ted at his doucheiest. I love that he was in the wrong class and that it was Barney's advice that kept him in the wrong room for far too long. However, Robin and Barney were the focal point of the premiere and I liked the way they handled it. Neither one really wants to admit they want to be in a relationship and in true Lilly fashion, Lilly locks them in a room until they have "the talk." The ending was sweet and honestly, any opportunity for Neil Patrick Harris to act his ass off, is great for me.

7. Glee- Everyone else I know seemed to really love this episode, but not me. It was probably my least favorite of the show so far. The musical numbers are my favorite thing in the show and so an entire episode built around essentially 1 number, was lame. I loved watching the football team do the "Single Ladies" dance, but The West Side Story moment and the Celine Dion song did nothing for me. Also, teenage pregnancy is something I loathe in television, almost as much as I loathe the fake pregnancy from the annoying wife. This show pretty much lives and dies by the music, so this week, it just died.

6. The Emmy's- I rarely actually care about the awards in these shows, which is good because I would have been disappointed all over the place. What matters to me are the host and presenters. Now I was pretty much primed to enjoy this show because of NPH. He was a wonderful host. he was funny, but not too funny that he pulled focus and he was an endearing host. He also had a wonderful opening musical number, where he impressively got the names of a lot of television channels. As far as the presenters go, Ricky Gervais really killed with his bit as a presenter. He was funny and charming and will certainly host something in very near future.

5. Community- It is official, I love this show. Joel McHale is a wonderful lead and adding Ken Jeong as the Asian Spanish teacher just killed me. The episode had a lot of great stuff, from college kids pretending to be activists, to what friendship is and some great lines from all the surrounding cast, but the climax of the episode was perfect. Chevy Chase and Joel McHale acting out some epic story while we see it in slow motion over Aimee Mann's "Wise up." It got me with some serious laughter.

4. Grey's Anatomy- I am not sure how long I will watch this season because at times I feel like I watch this out of routine than any real reason, but this week had some great stuff. As usual, the acting from the supporting characters was excellent, especially Chandra Wilson and Kevin McKidd. The first hour was some of the toughest television to watch because of how depressing it was, but was also very realistic in how different people react to death. What I also loved was how quickly the passed time. It means the show does not have to focus for a long a time on George's death. It was quite a great move by the writers of the show.

3. Dollhouse- I am sure there are people who were not wowed by the opening but I really loved it. Eliza Dushku got to kick some ass and look gorgeous as a bride. Then, The show moved forward a bit with the Topher and Whiskey stuff. I am sad to see Amy Acker go, even if it is only for a short time. I know she has a new series, so maybe she is gone for good, but she went out with a bang, doing great acting. Having the former Agent Ballard as Echo's new handler is a nice touch and the ending put, yet another twist into the nature of the show. I am already along for the ride here. I think the show is going to be a slow boil for a little while and then explode in the back half, which I like. Not every episode needs to be on fire.

2. FlashForward- HOLY CRAP!! I was hooked about 30 seconds in and then the show went ahead and hooked me even further with every passing minute. I want to know what is going on and I think they gave us enough tidbits about is what is going on to make me think the writers have an actual idea what they are doing. I loved the quick and disorienting flashes and I thought Joseph Fiennes did some great acting work. The show was twisty throughout but then they really threw me for a loop in the final moments and it just makes the show seem even cooler and more interesting. The effects were great and the destruction looked epic. If this is the new Lost, it started with the same kind of bang that lost did. This could be a whole lot of fun!

1. Supernatural- Get used to seeing this show towards the top of my recaps. I. Love. This. Show. Sam and Dean have gone their separate ways and the opening moments of the episode really showed us that nicely. I actually really liked the Dean and Castiel dynamic, as Dean actually had some fun, which he realized never happened with Sam. For Sam's part, he is trying to figure out how to live life without hunting and it is not proving to be easy. Dean, as per usual, had the best lines, Sam had the best angst and then the show moved its mythology forward by giving us Lucifer and Sam having a conversation. Since season 1 the show was building towards Sam and Dean being on opposite sides, but this season has raised the stakes in crazy ways! Oh man, I know this is supposed to be the final season, so anything goes!!

A few random thoughts:

The Big Bang Theory- This is usually one of my favorite shows, but the premiere left me very cold and unsure of what I think going forward. I did not like the way the entire "summer" break ended up being for no purpose other than making Penny realize she wanted Leonard. I really did not like the way the friends acted towards each other and I hated how easily they wrapped it up at the end. I know it is a sitcom and I should not concern myself so much with those things, but I hated everything about the episode.

The Office- I might be getting over this show. The premiere was pretty funny, I guess, but this episode just did nothing for me. I might just be done with Michael Scott and his awkwardness. I am going to give the show a few more weeks because I love the Pam and Jim dynamic but nothing else in the show really has me at the moment.

So you think you can Dance is the opposite of American Idol in that the audition process just is not very exciting.

Television recap (Sept. 13-Sept. 20)

The television season is still not in full swing, but it is getting closer. This week brought NBC's Thursday comedy block and then this week brings the rest of the season, pretty much. So, on to the recap.

VMAs- Much has been made of Kanye West, so I am not going to discuss that. What I am going to do is talk about Jay-Z's performance. I love how they built it up, and how easy he made it look. Alicia Keys looked amazing and her piano playing is always nice. I enjoyed all of the performances except for The Muse, but that had more to do with my inability to make out the words from the singer. Russell Brand was not as funny as last year, but he had some good jokes. Also, why did Cobra Starship not perform? That song was a smash this summer.

Entourage- I know a lot of people do not like Zac Efron, but he really was funny in this episode. Actors appearing on this show always have a great time and Efron was no exception. The episode raised the stakes a bit overall and then they had a really silly turn of events regarding the big stalker storyline, some may think ti was lazy, but I think it was exactly what makes Entourage fun.

Melrose Place- The girl who wants to be a doctor is turning tricks to pay for Med. school. If I ever need to really see a doctor, I want to know she was passionate enough about being a doctor that was willing to turn tricks to pay for it. Katie Cassidy is still my favorite, but she is a big tease thus far. Actually, the whole show is too much of a tease right now. Also, the show is moving incredibly fast with the twists and back stories.

SYTYCD- The audition aspect of this show is definitely the weakest part of the show. They work so hard to create stories that we do not get a lot of dancing and certainly not enough Cat Deeley! This week we did meet a gorgeous hard of hearing girl, whose story was perfectly exploited for tears. I highly doubt she is going to make it to the final 20, but I am rooting for her.

Glee- This week the focus was on the teacher and his A-Capella group. I loved it! Anytime I can get "This is how we do it", "Poison" and "I wanna sex you up" in the same episode, consider me happy. Matthew Morrison is effortless in his singing and acting. Plus, this episode did not feature the annoying wife except during all the sex, so that was good. However, I was most impressed by Josh Groban. The guy seems like he could be such a douche bag, but he proved to me that the guy is a nice charming guy, who happens to be ridiculously talented.

Community- I am just going to embed my favorite moment from this show because it might be the funniest new sitcom I have seen in like 3 or 4 years. Joel McHale is in excellent comic form and the surrounding characters all add something nice to the show. It is a collection of assorted comics, and character actors and they really have a nice chemistry. However, the show will live and die with McHale and so far he has risen to the challenge.

The Office- I am not going to lie, I was not nearly as excited about this premiere as I thought I would be. I think the show is funny, but I do not know if I am just kind of tired of it, or what. However, I am really glad I watched it because it was quite funny. Steve Carrell was in top form as he created rumors about everyone. I love how the show deals with really serious issues, without making a big deal about them, but I kind of wish there would have been more about Pam's pregnancy because Jim and Pam are so flipping adorable!

Supernatural- My favorite show in the fall is just getting better. This episode featured so much amazing stuff it is hard to digest it all. First we have the return of some of the other hunters, which is always fun. Then, we get the first Horseman of the Apocalypse and the horse he rides in on is a sick mustang car. Then you have the cool reveal of what is really going on and finally you have the shows biggest shift with Sam and Dean parting ways. It was a shocking moment for the show, made even More shocking that it had nothing to do with the supernatural aspect, it was just two brothers realizing things were not working. I was literally on the edge of my seat!

The rest of my shows come back this week, except Californication and Dexter which premiere next week.

Television recap (May17-23) and Housekeeping

A quick recap of the season finales of The Office, 24 and How I met your Mother. Then, a recap of the series premiere of Glee and finally some blog changes/housekeeping.

How I met your Mother- HIMYM always does a great job of blending the literal with the metaphorical, but this finale took it to a whole new level with "The Leap." Will Robin and Barney leap into something new together? Will Ted leap into a new career direction? The Robin and Barney thing goes mostly unresolved save for a great confession from Barney, Robin "Mosbying" Barney and some hot kissing, but for the most part we are exactly where we were before. Ted gets beat up by the goat that we have heard about since season 1. The goat caps off a horrible year for Ted and he decides to change directions and becomes a college professor, which is where he will eventually meet mother. I thought the episode was perfect. Marshall was funny, Lilly was mothering, Robin and Barney were funny and charming together and Ted was in the center of it all. I can only imagine 2 or 3 more seasons of this show, so I am glad they are progressing and I can see all kinds of hot girls parading around Ted's college professor life.

24- The final two hours somehow managed to be very exciting, even with Jack Bauer not able to do too much. I wanted a stronger final confrontation between Jack and Tony, but with Jack nearly dying, how much more could I have wanted. Of all the season finales 24 was the only one that actually brought tears as Bauer was lying on his death bed with a new friend at his side. I liked that Kim Bauer actually was proactive and helped get herself out of her situation and any chance to watch Elisha Cuthbert run on my television is a win in my book. The episodes had nice shootouts and a nice chase and some very solid acting, especially from the President as she had to make a very hard decision about her evil daughter. I was glad to see Agent Pierce get something heroic to do and I am hoping he will be kept on next season when the show moves to New York. Overall I felt like this was a pretty great season of television's most ridiculous action show.

The Office- I missed it last week, so I had to catch it on-line this week and I am so glad I did. How great was this finale? How sublime was Steve Carrell in this episode? He captured all of the things about Michael Scott that I like. He was awkward, but it was not forced, but most of all he was romantically wounded and Carrell sure knows how to play that! Wow. However, in true The Office style we also get the silly sub-plot of a Volleyball tournament where Corporate becomes the villain and Scranton becomes the hero for all branches. But mostly, we watched Jim get all big faced and happy at some news we did not hear, but we know what it is. I loved how they shot that scene and how wonderful John Krazinski was in that moment. Jim and Pam have become one of the most endearing television couples because the show avoids the usual sitcom drama and this was a really nice pay off.

Glee- I had no idea this show was going to be an hour long, so that concerned me right off the bat, but the energy and the optimistic attitude displayed for the hour really made the show shine. It was a bit uneven and sure, it had some stereotypes, but overall I found myself really enjoying the show. I could do without the wife and her idiosyncrasies, and Jane Lynch who is usually hilarious feels trapped by the network television standards and the principal is not nearly as funny as the show wants him to be, but Lea Michelle makes up for all of it. She is so incredibly gorgeous, energetic and shows a flare for comedic timing. Of course, the real key of this show is the music. Every week it is going to have to make songs interesting and fresh and the premiere did a great job of showing a great variety of songs. We got Amy Winehouse's "Rehab", some show tunes and the big winner was Journey's "Don't stop believin.'" I am on board for now and plan on being on board for the long haul, but I am not a fan of waiting until the fall to catch the next episode.

Housekeeping

With the regular television season gone and with summer here, I am going to slightly tweak the blog and hopefully with no papers to write, I will be able to properly keep it up, but remember there is only one of me. From now on things will look as follows:

Sunday- Lists. This will give me the whole weekend to work on them. I will also take requests here for any lists anyone wants to see.

Monday/Tuesday- The summer movie season offers me enough new movies that I should be posting at least one review each of these two days, but probably more than 1 per day. This week I am going to try and knock out 3 a day, but I might have to put off a few for next week.

Wednesday- This is still a wild card day that will include album reviews, DVD reviews, random reviews, essays or random movie thoughts.

Thursday- I am going back to work on watching Robbie's list of movies released before 1990 for "Throwback Thursdays." I have enough free time now that it should not be a problem.

Friday and Saturday will be off days for now. I am not sure what else I could possibly fill this blog with, but am always open to suggestions. The current grading system and the television recaps were both ideas from readers, so if you have a way to improve it please let me know.

I am going to try and do a better job of linking to the blog, as well. I will link to it every day from Twitter (username: KyleHadley), I will link a few times a week from Myspace bulletins and then I will probably link from Facebook on weekends.

television recap (May 10-16)

With the end of the television season here, I am only going to write about the shows that had season finales this week, so expect MAJOR SPOILERS!!! It also means How I met your Mother and 24 will not appear until next week. So expect MAJOR SPOILERS!!!

The Big Bang Theory- I am not sure I am behind putting Penny and Leonard together, but this episode sold me on it. Keeping people apart who should be together is an age old sitcom trick, but not too many shows send one of the characters to the north pole for the summer. The episode was a little too focused on Penny and Leonard, but it made it worth it when penny quietly whispered "It means I wish you weren't going." Of course, it gets old to have characters not just say what they feel, but I guess Penny did not want to keep Leonard from having the adventure. I really did not expect the show to actually send all 4 guys on the trip, so that was a nice surprise. The episode had some nice jokes, the best involved Sheldon's various pranks since he is not typically a prankster.

Lost- This is the big one of the week. I liked the finale, but did not love it, like I did the last few. First off, I figured it all out pretty early, which is not a problem, exactly. The problems just out-weighed the good. First off, Juliet's flashback served absolutely no real purpose, except as an easy trick to write Juliet in a way she would back up Kate because Sawyer would listen to her. Her flashback was not in sync with all of the other ones and existed solely so she could say something about love isn't always enough, or some nonsense. Lost worked so hard to get me on board with Sawyer and Juliet and to have it go this way was super annoying to the point where it soiled the tragic moment at the end. Many people liked the screen turning white with black LOST letters, which is fine except the cliff hanger was exactly what you would have expected since Faraday mentioned the bomb. The better cliff hanger would have been to show the minute after the bomb went off, whatever it is going to be. Now, the fight between Jack and Sawyer was intense and perfect and the gun battles on this show are always super, but when did Jack Shepard turn into Jack Bauer?

Grey's Anatomy- I would have expected a lot more water works from me with this episode, but the only thing that hit me emotionally was Dr. Bailey's breakdown. Watching Alex try so hard to keep it together for Izzie really shows how far Alex has come, but when Izzie is pronounced dead at the beginning of the next season Alex will go back to be a jerk, so it will have been short lived. I am not annoyed that the show reused an old E.R. episode by making George the John Doe, because I think it works with the show. George has consistently proven he would put himself in danger to save a complete stranger and how good did T.R Knight look with that Army hair cut and Army gear at the end? I like that Shonda Rhimes used the publicity of Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight wanting out to set up simultaneous cliff hangers, even if they were obvious cliff hangers and I thought the acting all around was nice. I hope Kevin McKidd and Jessica Capshaw are made full time players on the show next year. I thought the post-it wedding was cute, but I think fans are going to feel robbed of a real wedding, even if the post-it wedding is more in tune with the characters. Lastly, Katherine Heigl has been killing it in the acting category this season and she continued to do a bang up job this week.

Supernatural- The little show that could keeping on trucking. I assumed the final shot of this episode would be Lucifer risen, but instead we cut before that happened, awesome. Instead we get a shot of the two brothers, finally back together, grabbing onto each other for support knowing what was coming. By keeping the brothers apart for the whole episode, the final moment was that much stronger, plus, Dean finally got to kill Ruby! I know many fans who feel rewarded that Ruby was bad all along, but I think Sam fans are probably going to be furious. Both young men acted their asses off and with the creator writing and directing the episode there was a really nice sense of urgency here. This finale reminded me of the season two finale, where it sets up what the next season will be. Next season is supposed to be the final season for this show, as dictated by the creator, so maybe Dean and Sam will spend next season really saving the world. Awesome!

Television recap (May 3-9)

I imagine this part of my blog will disappear in a few weeks because I tend not to watch much summer programming. The season is coming to an end with a few of my shows ending their seasons or even ending the series. I am going to also embed a few clips this week because some of them just need to be seen.

10. American Idol- I have to be honest that this week was a bit dull, which is sad because it was Rock Night. I think I would have liked rock night a bit more with more participants. However, the highlight was Fog Hat's "Free bird" in duet form by Adam and Allison. This was a fairly obvious attempt by the show to push these two, by putting it at the end of the show. It did not exactly work but in a week that should have rocked hard, this was the only moment that truly rocked.

9. The Big Bang Theory- I will always enjoy a show that is taking place inside a comic book shop, as this show is doing more and more frequently. This week saw the guys try and help fix a space toilet and saw Penny go on a date with a fellow dork. The highlight was Sheldon taking the time to explain the jokes and then let out this laugh that can only be described as a snicker. Only Sheldon would have to explain a joke before he can laugh at said joke. I know this was not the big reveal of the episode, but since I am not sure I like Penny and Leonard, Sheldon's joke explanations get the big win from me.

8. Grey's Anatomy- Katherine Heigl wanted better stories, and the writers delivered. What could be better than cancer? Heigl is knocking the storyline out of the park, but she is getting solid help from Justin Chambers' performance of Alex. Alex, looking worse for the wear and a little pudgy, swoops in all tuxedoed out to give Izzy the wedding she is supposed to have. Now, the ramifications of this are awful and if Izzy lives the case could be made that they were not ready for marriage, but it was a beautiful moment and so what if Alex kind of jacked a college graduation speech from a patient. It was a beautiful moment on a show that is trying to find its way back to being great. This was a step in the right direction.

7. Lost- yes, this is the lowest this show has been on my weekly list. I do this not because the episode was weak, but because the episode pissed me off with one thing and because of that one thing, it dragged the episode down. Why do the writers/creators/directors/whoever force these nonsense love triangles? By putting Kate in the submarine, all they did was destroy a really nice moment with Sawyer and Julliette. I am not a "shipper" because those people annoy the living crap out of me, but this entire season has been about getting things to normal and Sawyer and Julliette don't even care about normal, they just want to be together and it is touching that they believe they can be just as happy in 1979 as they could in 2009. But, nooooooooo, Kate is on board too. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

6. The Office- A disco dance party erupts in the office of the former Michael Scott Paper Company. It begins with Kelly and the adorkable new receptionist doing some crazy dance moves and before long everyone at Dunder-Mifflin is taking part in dance fever. The last 10 minutes of the episode are some of the best from this show is quite some time and it was a nice reminder of how this show can work. The entire cast is having fun and just letting loose and we get a nice dance off/flirtation between Andy and Kelly, Kevin makes out with a girl, but most of all Pam and Jim realize they want all of this beautiful corniness at their wedding, so they decide not to go elope. AWWWW!

5. How I met your Mother- I am not sure if any show rewards continued viewing the way HIMYM does. Sure, friends would use "We were on a break" every so often, but HIMYM constantly rewards people who watch the show regularly. This week we got a nice little intervention that has been used to great effect a few times this season. It was all the better because it was for Marshall overusing charts and graphs, but how in character is it for Marshall to go nuts on charts and graphs! I love it. Of course, that was not the big moment. The big moment came without words at the very end of the episode. An episode that featured everything I love about HIMYM. It was hilarious, time jump-y, and gave us beautiful future Ted monologue about fate.

4. Saturday Night Live- Justin Timberlake was hosting which meant we got his reoccurring Mascot character and the return of the "Dick in a Box" guys. I am just going to show the clips.





3. Dollhouse- The season (hopefully not series) finale does what, I think, Dollhouse has tried to do all season: it offers up questions about what it means to be human. It looks at the consequences of trying to get away from serious trouble by just disappearing. It does it with brilliant story framing and awesome flashbacks. Alan Tudyk continued to be mesmerizing as Alpha the runaway doll showing symptoms of full on crazy and Amy Acker showed off some acting chops and a seriously sexy side! However, the best moment comes in the form of a full on Buffy style fight! Wash from Firefly and Faith from Buffy get their tussle on! Wielding pipes and wicked dialog, the two go at it for a while in a dark cave looking place that is damp and full of electrical equipment. AWESOME!

2. Supernatural- I am still not totally on board for what is going to happen next week, but I like that the show has just 100% embraced this religious aspect. For 3 season the show dealt solely on the side of the evil and then BAM in the 4th season we get all touched by an angel, but these angels are not all warm and fuzzy and this week they may have purposely set the brothers to be on opposite ends of the fight. It is hard for me to pick just one moment because the episode had some great ones, but I am a sucker for a Sam and Dean confrontation and Jensen Ackles as Dean in the scene in the motel room just about rips your heart out when he realizes he and Sam are going to be apart. The argument flowed real well right into the fight and then when Dean hits Sam with the ultimatum, you can just feel Dean dying a little bit inside. Next week's finale should be one to remember.

1. 24- The season is quickly coming to end and Jack Bauer is getting closer and closer to dying. This week saw Tony kidnap a Muslim man and coerced him into taking the fall for the upcoming terrorist attack. Jack and Janice clash over racial profiling and Jack lets her know that he hates it too, but sometimes bad things have to be done to save the day. The key moment was when Jack and his new F.B.I partner questioned a Muslim man and then cuffed him and forced him into coming with them. When Jack realizes they made a mistake he apologizes to the man and the man, I think saw that Jack is just trying to help. The man tells Jack he forgives him, and that Jack should forgive himself, but Jack responds"I stopped trying to do that years ago." Batman has nothing on Jack Bauer in terms of sacrificing for his country.


Now, the actual best moment from the week came from the (hopefully) series finale of Scrubs. I am going to just embed the final scene from the show, but I want to talk about it a little bit. Scrubs had its ups and downs, especially in the 5th-7th seasons, but when it was good it was wonderful. Mixing zany slapstick with earnest belief in wanting to help people, Scrubs had a nice balance of laughter and tears. Zach Braff/J.D was the perfect point of view actor/character to show us the journey of a doctor with infinite belief in the positive. The cast was perfect and the relationships, while a bit over the top at times, were really well played and for 8 seasons we watched as this group of doctors did their best to live together, work together and love together. In the end, we get J.D thinking about what his life could be and that moment captures everything that was perfect about Scrubs.



This ending is so perfect, I hope it is good-bye.

Television recap (Apr. 26-May 2)

Finale season is upon us and that typically translates into pretty awesome television. Reruns are basically done and shows are setting up for the big cliff hangers/game changers/endings. Because of this, this list becomes more difficult to numerate, but I tried to really think about the moments in order, so I think I have them all in the right place.

10. The Office- The show has become awkward again. I am not sure if I love it because I was digging Michael as a confident and wily businessman. However, casual Friday offered some pretty great moments. I am not sure where the season will end because they already had someone quit, so that cliffhanger will not work. For this week though, the key moment does not belong to any of the main characters, because it belongs to Meredith. Her response to the question "Where are your panties?" was simply "It's casual Friday." It is hard to argue with such sound logic.

9. The Big Bang Theory- I am actually glad they did not put Sheldon in the Las Vegas awkwardness. Sheldon is the funniest character in the show, but he is over used in his awkwardness and he is best used with Penny and their connection in this episode was really perfect. The Vegas stuff was great too, with the beautiful Jodi Lynne O' Keefe playing a hooker who will give "The Jewish girlfriend experience." Funny stuff really, but the best moments came from Sheldon trying to understand the concept of "friends with benefits" and then at the end of the episode telling Leonard that he better understands the concept after sleeping over at Penny's. Leonard's face was priceless.

8. Reaper- This show is really at its best when Ray Wise's devil is heavily featured. This episode was king of a mixed bag as parts of the mythology were too easily changed and some parts just getting more awesome. I like that the "Soul of the week" was dropped and I like Nina stripping down to her underwear because, well, I had no idea she was so, ummm, tight. However, the devil as lovestruck gets the win. The devil sets Sam up only so the devil can come in and play the hero. Of course, the romanticism of it all is ruined when he just wants to nail the girl, but the idea of the devil as the chivalrous hero is perfect because Ray Wise is just having so much fun playing the lord of darkness.

7. Grey's Anatomy- This show no longer carries the weight with me it once did, but this episode was a reminder of why I used to love this show so much. They have a great case, relationships in flux, some great acting and my favorite thing on this show, great confrontations. Meredith unloads on the chief, only to have the chief come in and give a heart breaking apology to Meredith that I am sure left a few people in tears. George is really starting to get the hang of trauma surgery, Callie fixes a girl who broke all of her limbs and Dr. Hunt offers three word responses to Christina. That last thing led to the best confrontation of the week. Hunt goes into a heartfelt and depressing monologue to Christina that proves Kevin McKidd is one awesome actor and really injects a serious energy into this show.

6. Supernatural- This is the lowest this show has appeared on my weekly list. I am unsure of what I think about the idea of Sam as an addict for demon blood, but this is only lower this week because of how good other things were. Dean and Sam are being set up as forces of good and evil. I am not sure I want a big confrontation, but they were not the focus of this week. The human vessel for Castiel became human again and lost his faith. The key moment was when he was back with his family and getting ready to eat dinner. His daughter asks him if he is going to pray and with tears dripping from his faith, he cannot muster the faith to pray. The show has gone ultra religious and this was a great moment in that season 5 mythology.

5. 24- The season is coming to an end and Jack Bauer is on the verge of dying. He is not about to let that stop him from trying to save the country one last time. After everything he has been put through he still wants to help. That is a real hero folks. This week was really just a set up for the final few episodes as it was high on exposition and low on action, but Jack Bauer did get one awesome moment when Janice snarked out "Hello Big Brother" after C.T.U's servers went back on-line. Jack looks at Janice and lets her have it, but he says "President David Palmer" twice and then he realizes he is losing his grip on reality. I know the show has an 8th season, but Keifer is doing a great job selling the potential death of Jack Bauer.

4. Dollhouse- Next week will bring the season (hopefully not series) finale, so this week was the perfect set up. The big season long question was "Who is Alpha?" This week we got the answer and what an awesome answer. The key moment is not so much a moment as it is an actor: Alan Tudyk. Yes, Wash from Firefly is Alpha. At first he is playing a paranoid, funny weakling and then with the flip of a switch he is CRAZY!! As Agent Ballard infiltrates the dollhouse, Alpha is causing all kinds of issues before stealing Echo. Victor with a slashed up face, Topher stunned into a coma, agent Ballard captured and Echo stolen. Next week should be a pretty kick ass, but man how good was Tudyk? Consider me very impressed. I thought of Alpha as someone younger, but I am willing to buy Tudyk because of how great he did as crazy.

3. How I met your Mother- I could talk about the moment, but I am just going to show it:


If you do not think that is some of the funniest stuff ever, you do not have a funny bone. NPH delivers is perfectly and it is a perfect analogy. I love it!

2. Lost- For a little while, I have felt the show was just a bit off and this week was supposed to be a big one. I have read that a lot of people were disappointed, but this episode reminded me why I loved this show so much. We get philosophy, time travel, guns, explosions, Hurley jokes and a show that does not insult the intelligence of the audience. It shows us scenes we have seen before without needing to remind us of the context. It trusts that we will just remember the things that happened. The key moment is Daniel's mom telling him he has to go back to the island. I am sad about what happened at the end and even more sad that ABC has said what happened is final, but the emotional pull from that moment made it worth it. The show is at a place where it is really discussing destiny/fate and whether or not it can be altered, or will destiny always find a way to be the same and that is awesome. Plus, just how good has Jeremy Davies been as Daniel Faraday? I will tell you how good, he has been amazing.

1. Chuck- I have to begin by saying if this show does not get renewed then this is the worst season finale ever. If does get renewed it is a genius game changer that makes me so amazingly happy. The finale features everything I love about Chuck. They have a kick ass fight to an awesome song (Mr. Roboto), Chuck is very happy before being completely miserable, Sarah fights in a little dress, Casey saves the day by being a bad ass and Chuck makes a difficult decision. When you throw in a really lovely beach wedding and Sarah telling Chuck she wants to stay with him, you get a really well rounded episode. Of course, the cliff hanger is what makes this episode. Bryce is killed and Chuck decides to sacrifice his normal life and downloads the intersect back into his head, but this intersect is new and...CHUCK NOW KNOWS KUNG-FU!!!!!! Really nothing has ever been cooler, unless that is the end of the series. BOOO!!

Television recap (Apr. 19-25)

There were still too many reruns of shows I watch, so in order to get to ten I will double up on shows, yet again.

10. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon- I never catch an entire episode, but every so often I watch the show for a few minutes and I have to admit I liked Jimmy fencing with Jerry O' Connell. It was a nice funny moment and I think Fallon is finding a niche as the host who is game for anything. I think this comes from his background at Saturday Night Live, which called on him to be up for everything. Fallon lost the fencing match, but he did get the first point, which I am sure was unexpected.

9. Grey's Anatomy - Alex and George have always hated each other and this week it all finally erupted. The two actors really stepped it up and their verbal fight was highly intense and then the final moments with the two characters was equally nice. I am fairly certain we are losing George at the end of the season, which is too bad because when he was getting good story lines he really did well with them. This was a glimpse of that.

8. The Office- Well the arc of Michael with his own company finally comes to an end. I am not sure if I liked the storyline, but I liked Michael in it. The show so often plays up Michael as a clueless guy who could never have been a manager of a store for so long and these last few episodes showed that there was a time when Michael could really bring it and this week he brought it hard! Michael, with his company about to go under, finds a way to get Pam, Ryan and himself jobs back at Dunder/Mifflin. The episode was not as funny as some episode, but it was a great moment, nonetheless.

7. Scrubs- Anytime I get to see Elizabeth Banks on my screen, I consider it a good thing. This week we got Banks and Scott Foley. Foley and Braff have always had a funny screen chemistry as two guys who hate each other and that continued here. The funniest moment was when the two couples could not figure out how to sit as to make it not awkward. As Scrubs winds down, I find myself fully connected to the characters again, something that has been missing the last two seasons. I am kind of sad to see it go.

6. Supernatural- Fans were up in arms about this episode before it ever aired because it featured a previously unknown about 3rd brother. In television terms it is called a "Jump the Shark" moment. It is a single moment that destroys the whole show. The title of the episode was "Jump the Shark" but the episode was very serious, save for one reference to a Jump the Shark moment by naming the diner "Cousin Oliver's" which is a reference to The Brady Bunch's Jump the Shark moment. Well played Mr. Kripke.

5. Dollhouse- This week featured a really interesting story idea. A client dies, but finds life again as a doll. This led the head of security to question where it all ends. It also gave another reason for the Dollhouse to exist, which has become an important thing for Joss Whedon and company to do. However, the best moment in the episode came when Topher turns one of the dolls into a buddy. It is something he gets to do one time a year. I like the idea of it. he is a guy who loves his job so much, but it is more than full time job, so one day a year he gets to play. It provided some funny moments, but I think it really humanized Topher.

4. 24- At first I was unsure of keeping Jack on the sidelines because he is such an action hero. However, having him out of the action have shown us just how smart Jack is. We have always seen the flashes of Jack intelligence, but now as he watches everything unfold, he has to use only his brain to help. This moment was very evident when he went out in the field after Tony was shot and deduced very quickly that there had to be a second shooter. Jack Bauer is the single greatest U.S.A saver ever.

3. Supernatural- When Dean and Sam find out they have a third brother the brothers have very different reactions, but what I liked more is that they seem to be different reactions than they would have had early in the series. In Supernatural, the things that happen in the past continue to change the outlook of the brothers and I really like that. Whereas Dean was once single minded, Sam has become that now. Dean telling Sam that Dean was more like their dad was a very telling moment. I am really excited to see where this is going.

2. Chuck- One episode left in the season and this show is pulling out of all the stops. This episode was full of great things, but it all pales in comparison to Chuck and Sarah making out in bed. HOW HOT WAS THAT?? First off, it starts slow and sensual with the two waking up and holding hands, nice and slowly running their fingers over their hands and then BAM!! Hard core awesome rolling around in bed making out. Oh Chuck, way to finally make your move. The climax to the moment was depressing, but perfectly Chuck, but who cares, he was rolling around in bed with Sarah. Damn, dude. Just damn.

1. 24- I was trying to find a way not to spoil this for anyone who watches it on DVD, but I cannot find a way to do it. As Jack finally realizes what Tony did, the two men have a confrontation. However, Jack cannot keep it up as his seizures start to get the best of him. Jack has just lost his only friend left and on top of it, he is dying. Keifer continues it be amazing this season and what makes this more exciting is knowing that before this season is over Tony and Jack will meet again and my guess is Tony will not enjoy it one bit. No sir!

Television recap (Apr. 12-18)

With two of my shows off the air and another three on hiatus for the week, I am not sure I even have ten moments this week, so I am going to cheat and a few of my shows will have two moments.

10. American Idol- This week had the awesome Quentin Tarantino on, but the week sucked. The songs chosen by the singers were just so obvious and boring. The only person I actually loved this week was Kris Allen and his version of "Falling Slowly" from the film Once. He was the only person to emotionally connect to the song and to the movie, which Tarantino pointed out was probably the idea of this kind of challenge. Kris will probably come in second to Adam when it is all said and done, but he could have a nice career doing his Jason Mraz/Jack Johnson thing. Mostly, he gets kudos for not over singing a song, which is a rarity for a show like AI

9. The Office- I am still not sure I love the idea of two warring paper companies, but I enjoyed seeing Michael Scott at work this week. The man has survived in the business for 20 years and this week we got to see why. The man can flat out sell and his war with Dwight was funny, but mostly because Michael stayed sane while Dwight went crazy. The key moment was when Michael was trying to steal Dwight's client while leaving his phone on so Dwight could listen to the master work. Great stuff.

8. The Big Bang Theory- This week we actually saw the guys in a comic book store. The episode was full of great things, but the kicker had to be watching Penny maneuver around a comic book store. As she walks in all of the nerds inside the store freeze and stare at her. Leonard leans in and whispers "Don't worry, they are just as scared of you as you are of them" and Penny responds "I doubt it." The show has really figured out how to perfectly use Penny finally.

7. Scrubs- Part two of the weird wedding. Scrubs has had quite a ride and this season finds the show a lot more grounded in reality, which is nice. It has also gone back to the idea of one universal theme for all of the characters in an episode. The highlight this week includes an acoustic version of Andre 300's massive hit "Hey Ya." As that song plays the three main couples realize what love means and how they are supposed to work as a team to remain happy. Scrubs has never been afraid of getting a little sappy and I feel like all of the actors are earnest enough to make it work.

6. How I met your Mother- I know there are some people wanting this show to start moving on with Ted and a girl, but I am liking the idea of Ted starting his own business and stuff. However, his story this week was not the main attraction. With Marhsall worrying about getting fired he needs a gimmick to make him invaluable. As he and Barney think about it we are introduced to different invaluable guys: food guy, toy guy, etc. The best moment, though, was at the very end of the episode where the ninja shows up in the office and Barney says that ninjas have been known to infiltrate the building. What does Barney do???

5. Chuck- I will keep championing this show as long as it is on the air. This season has really caught fire and this week continues that trend, with awesome spy stuff, great humor and even a really good B-plot at the Buy More. However, this week's moment has everything to do with the music. First, a heavy assassin chases Chuck to the sounds of Duran Duran's Hungry like the Wolf, offering a very funny chase. Then during an awesome gun fight, we get Twisted Sister's "We're not gonna take it" blaring as Sarah lays down the law on a series of bad guys. I have always been a sucker for a girl who can kick my ass and Sarah continues that trend. The gun fight was an awesome combination of bullets, slow motion and a kick ass song. Chuck needs to be renewed!!

4. Lost- Miles finally gets his own episode. I enjoyed the flashbacks because it was a totally new experience and any time Marsha Thompson(Naomi)is on my screen I consider it a good thing. however, the moment I love happened on the island. With Miles and Hurley carpooling (To maybe stop Global warming before it happens) the two engage in a nice conversation about Star Wars. One thing I love about Lost is how they constantly form and change the dynamic of groups. Miles and Hurley, somehow, have connected in a funny way, recently. First they had the Back to the Future conversation and now they use Star Wars, which gives Hurley a great analogy with Darth Vader and Luke.

3. 24- With Jack dying, Kim returns and 24 gives us one of the longest scenes in the history of the show. It is also the quietest, most touching and heartbreaking scene in the series. So many people have hated Kim for so long, but it was nice to have her back. My guess is that she did not actually leave, but it still gave us a great scene. Keifer is such a talented guy at playing gruff, but in the quiet moments when Jack is reflecting about how much he has lost, Keifer really brings it and this week was no exception. Jack was okay with dying but now that he has seen his daughter it is going to make the whole thing much more difficult. Great stuff!

2. Lost- For weeks I have been missing Daniel Faraday. I have needed my nerdy scientist fix. I need the guy back who actually knows what is going on. After spending an hour with Miles, I was getting curious about Daniel and where he went. I knew he would be back in the past because of the quick flashback we had earlier in the season, but it was still so exciting to see him pop out of the submarine this week. It was also nice that he had that smug knowingly smile as he said hi to Miles. With so much going on that no one can seem to explain, Daniel is all knowing and I need that force to help figure out what the hell is going on.

1. 24- This show has made its mark on television with the unbelievable twist. Seasons 1 and 5 had these amazing jaw dropping, from out of nowhere twists that "changed the game." This season has had the usual mole and cool reveal of villains, but this week they dropped another major twist and I swear I never saw it coming. Triple crosses do not happen all that often. I had stopped worrying about the motives of Tony like 7 hours ago and then BAM! Plus, it marked the death of a character I was just starting to like, which should have been a clue that he was going to die.

television recap (Apr. 5-11)

I know I am a day late here, but I did not get the chance to watch Lost until this morning and felt I needed to hold off until I had seen it. So, without further waiting, here are last week's top 10 television moments.

10. Jimmy Fallon- I have yet to sit through an entire episode of the show because I am not one for the late night talk shows, but I stumbled upon a segment early in the week with Cameron Diaz. First off, The Roots are his house band, which is beyond incredible. He and Cameron had a funny dance off while The Roots played original tunes. Diaz won with her hip shaking, but Fallon and Diaz had a nice chemistry and I think Fallon is settling into things.

9. Saturday Night Live- Zac Efron turned out to be a pretty good host. He did not set ablaze the comedy world, but he was charming and willing to do everything asked of him. The highlight was the HSM parody where Troy Bolton comes back to East High and tells all of the graduating seniors that there is no singing in college. The sketch is funny for musical geeks, but I liked it because Zac was hitting in issues with Zac not Troy. Will we accept Zac as someone who has moved on from HSM, or will he have to go back to Disney forever?

8. Reaper- Is Sam giving into the idea of the Dark Side? I do not know, but I am liking where this episode took the show. I have grown tired of Sock and his step sister flirting and am glad they finally did the deed and I saw the end coming a mile away, but this episode was made worth it by the fact that Ben was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice because he thought he lost the girl he loved. Part of the best thing about this show is that the 3 guys have very distinct personalities and Ben being the softer guy, it made sense.

7. Scrubs- As the final season starts to wind down, it is time for J.D. and Elliot to have issues. I liked the way they brought up the issues by putting the whole cast in an exotic locale. I am not sure how so much of a hospital staff was able to get away for a fake wedding, but whatever, it is Scrubs. This season has had less of the crazy daydreams and focused more on the reality and the J.D./Elliot love story has been a pretty grounding force throughout the run of the show. The moment at the bar made the episode as it showed how differently J.D. and Elliot think in terms of love. Of course, a scene featuring Elliot in a bikini in slow motion runs a close second.

6. 24- I am not sure how long I want Jack on the sidelines in all honesty. I like that Tony is running around making things happen, but I need Bauer Power!! With Bauer nursing his life threatening chemical agent, Tony infiltrates and finds the chemical weapons, but is it in time? I am confused as to where this story can go from here. This season seems to have gone off the typical short arcs building to a bigger arc, all of a sudden. I could be wrong, of course. The best moment came as Jon Voight, in all of his villain-like glee, gives the President an ultimatum. Good television!

5. Chuck- This episode really makes me hope this little show of awesomeness will get renewed. it was so packed with everything that makes it wonderful. First off, Scot Bakula as Chuck's dad was totally perfect. Bakula should find a way back on network television. I loved it. Then Chevy Chase as the villain was also cool. However, the coolest moment was Chuck, clad in spy gear, shooting knock out darts into Casey and Casey stumbling and slurring how badly he was going to kill Chuck. I need this show to keep going!

4. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles- Whether this is the season or series finale I do not know. What I do know is that all of my fears about where the show would go without Derek were eased by the truly awesome final scene. Cameron is gone, John and his mother are now in two different times and John is in the future, as a young John. I am not sure how they will go forward, but I like where they left things. The finale had guns fights, a prison break and John and Cameron hotness on a bed. So what if she is a Robot. She is Summer Glau. YUMMY!

3. Dollhouse- This was another exceptional episode from the Dollhouse team. I liked that we saw everyone's story, in a sort of overlapping method and any show that opens with Eliza Dushku as a dominatrix gets automatic points in my book. Sierra has totally grown on me as a sexy and smart female and Echo, is still awesome. The scene that started as an interrogation and ended in a fight, stole show because it was awesome and because it provided a twist I truly would have never seen coming. I am going to miss the character, but I think it was a good move in terms of story telling.

2. Friday Night Lights- Another great season finale in the books. I am so freaking glad this show has been renewed for two seasons because I think they set up the next two seasons perfectly in this finale. There are so many great moments starting with the 5 month spanning montage to open things and then the wedding party giving every character a moment to shine at the end. Picking one moment to highlight is tough, but I am going with Coach Taylor's quiet, gentle but firm plea for his job. Kyle Chandler is one of those actors who says more with his face than many can say with words and this moment really drove that home.

1. Lost- Speaking of actors who can say a lot with their face, Michael Emerson as Ben Linus continues a master class on acting over at Lost. The show is finally back on track this week with an awesome episode full of pulpy weirdness, cool story twists, and a brutally quick and intense fight. Lost is always better when John Locke in confident and in charge. His aloof arrogance is awesome in this episode as he leads Ben to a Smoke Monster trial. Picking one moment is again tough, but I think I will go with John and Ben having their first conversation. Emerson and Quinn are masterful in their facial expressions as these two island leaders try and figure out what the other knows.

With Terminator and Friday Night Lights ending their seasons, I am going to probably pick up Harper's Island and either Southland of The Unusuals depending on which pilot I like better.

Also, The Office would be my pick for worst of the week. Neither new episode really did anything for me, which makes me sad.