BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Recap: Someone to Watch Over Me

I’m sorry. What?! I just finished watching BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and in theory I’m now supposed to share my thoughts on the episode with all of you in the hopes of spurring a thought provoking discussion. Problem is, I’m not sure what I just watched. I’m certainly left with more questions than answers. Given there’s less than a handful of episodes left it’s a little frustrating, but I’m sure in the end it will be all worth it. Let’s hope so.

Here’s my take on just what went down. I’ll leave it to you to point out the shortcomings of my view on the episode. Deal?

The Cylon biological material being infused into the core structure of the ship continues to serve as a metaphor or rather representation of the integration of the Clyon race aboard Galactica. While the benefits of such an integration is helpful right now, it won’t be enough to save them in the end. The Chief informs Bill, Laura, Lee and Sonja Six that Galactica has only a limited number of jumps left in her until a major catastrophe. The ship is showing signs on instability already with power outages and other electrical failures on a daily basis. Galactica is dying. But the Old Man isn’t ready to give up on the Old Girl just yet.

As for Sonja Six’s presence, well it seems that she has just been elected to the Quorum. Am I the only one that finds it odd that the Cylons are so integrated and accepted that they now are being elected to the Quorum? I understand the acceptance of Tyrol, Tigh, Anders and Tori – these were Cylons people on board Galactica had known for years. But Sonya Six in the Quorum? It struck me as odd. Did she get elected based on a regular election or was there a seat open exclusively for a Cylon representative and that’s how she was elected? (Sometimes I feel so dumb watching this show. Ha!)

The newly elected Sonja states that during the next Quorum meeting, she will be requesting that Boomer is handed over to Cylon custody as they want to try her for treason. If found guilty they plan on executing her, and with no resurrection ship, that would be the end of Boomer. Galen is shocked and devastated. And as we learn through the course of the episode, “shocked” and “devastated” were only two of the many emotions that led Galen Tyrol down a path of destruction. A path that will certainly have effects on the ultimate fate of Galactica.

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THE OFFICE Musical

Now this is talent!  If you’re an fan of THE OFFICE then you don’t want to miss out on this amazing video courtesy of genrocks.  As requested in the video, I’m “forwarding like it’s hot”.

Loved it!  Didn’t you?! Do you part to forward it like it’s hot. Use the “Share This” buttons below to post this on your Facebook page, Send it to Twitter, Digg, etc. And make sure you Yahoo! Buzz it up.

Thanks to Reina for sharing!

30 ROCK: Larry King

Would that I had more goodness to report, but I’ll remember this one primarily as the episode where Liz’s foreign exchange student past finally came to its inevitable “99 Luftballons” nexus, which was admittedly a thing of dweeby, mid-‘80s beauty. It also gave us the hopefully permanent departure of Elisa, with all apologies to Salma Hayek, who proved there are limits even to the awesome powers of Alec Baldwin’s chemistry. Who knew.

And although he’s technically the C story, I will award A story status to Tracy Jordan this week, since his bat-crazy appearance on Larry King saved the entire show for me. As we saw in his single-handed rescue of Lehman Brothers back in “Generalissimo,” this is a man with a plan for every crisis, and here that plan is Thunderdome. Also: freak the geek out. And hide your money in Kenneth. Tracy is so cheerfully adrift in his own sea of absurd that he makes a recap of “Teen Wolf” sound perfectly logical in the context of a promotional appearance on a cable news network, although given his love of werewolves, not all that surprising. In fact, I will give him a solid gold star for being my favorite thing about what has been overall a disappointing season. Devil’s avocado, indeed. (Also good was him leading the on-air treasure hunt for our good friend, guitar icon Peter Frampton, along with spider-face Lutz. I think the thing this season has suffered from most is a lack of exposure for the writing staff in order to focus on Liz and Jack’s personal lives.)

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AMERICA’S BEST DANCE CREW: Dance Decathalon

It all came down to tonight’s performances.  Which two crews had enough to bring them into next week’s finale?  The the final three crews – Quest, Beat Freaks and Fly Khicks – took the stage in a Dance Decathalon in a battle for our votes.  One crew was eliminated and the other two gut a stamp on it with one last dance.  Now it’s time for us to vote.  But first let’s talk about tonight’s show (or last night depending on when you’re reading this).

My apologies for the video.  It’s best I could find on YouTube.

The Beat Freaks

This is the first time in a long time that I wasn’t really into the Beat Freaks.  They were kind of a mess tonight.  Their dancing was all over the place. They were stuck in their heads from beginning to end.  There was this one section when they were “tutting” (is that what it’s called?) and they had all these levels going on, but that was about it for me.  I LOVE the Beat Freaks and I was disappointed they didn’t bring us more.  But they are in the finals and that’s all I could ask for.

On the other hand, Quest Crew – sooo sick tonight! They have so much style and bring so much ingenuity to their routines.  I never know who to watch during Quest routines because everyone is off doing something visually interesting. I am always amazed at what these guys can get their bodies to do. The “tutting” section was again my favorite but some of the flips were crazy tonight too. They killed it tonight. All three judges were on their feet tonight. Nice job, boys! Quest Crew FTW!!!

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Who Made it Through on AMERICAN IDOL?

We are back for another night of IDOL. Three more are moving on and the other nine will be heading home. Will YOUR favorites be moving on?

Kicking things off tonight is another awkward group number. Tonight the kids are trying to get through NeYo’s “Closer”. Adam and Matt opened the number and sounded great together, but the rest of the song was so boring. Between the contestants mugging for the camera and the choral group gone wrong bad vibe, it was kind of a disaster. Isn’t it always with these group numbers? Nick Mitchell and not Normal Gentle showed up for this group routine. We like Normal Gentle.

The first contestant in the Top 12 is….

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I Dare You Not to Smile

Forgive me. I know this isn’t TV related but someone just sent this to me and I had to pass it along. It made me smile and if it can make you smile then my mission is complete.

Tonight’s TV Spotlight…Thursday, February 26, 2009

ou know, I totally forgot it was Thursday until someone just now reminded me.  How sad is it that I don’t know the day of the week until I update the TV spotlight.  I’m ready for a little 30 ROCK.  And don’t even get me started about my excitement for tonight’s AMERICA’S BEST DANCE CREW.  I heard good things from those who were at this week’s live taping.

But I must say that I was devastate to learn that THE OFFICE is a repeat again tonight! I thought since the next new episode was going to address Valentine’s Day that it would at least run during the same month as the holiday.  Completely bummed.

Still, lots to choose from.  What does YOUR TV lineup look like tonight?

American Idol | 8pm on Fox
Find out who will be moving on in the competition.  The top guy, the top girl and the person who receives the 3rd most votes will move on to the Top 12. [GMMR: Did you vote in the GMMR poll yet? DOOGIE !!!]

Survivor: Tocantins | 8pm on CBS
“Mama Said There’d be days LIke This”
One tribe faces a tough decision when members discover weakness in their ranks; the devious plan hatched on Exile Island could spark a devastatingly powerful alliance; one castaway is eliminated. [GMMR: Is there’d a real word? ]

Ugly Betty | 8pm on ABC
“Things Don’t Suck”
Betty makes a surprising discovery when a YETI assignment has her and Marc analyzing Mode’s finances; Betty deals with increased attention from Matt and discovers that Henry has posted unexpected news on Facebook. [GMMR: Does anyone get more play than Betty Suarez? She’s kind of a tramp.]

30 Rock | 9:30pm on NBC
“Larry King”
Jack thinks about taking his relationship with Elisa to the next level; Tracy’s interview with Larry King sends the city into a panic. [GMMR: Am I the only one that is over Selma Hayek?]

America’s Best Dance Crew | 10pm on MTV
The final three crews – Quest Crew, The Beat Freaks and the Fly Khicks (how are they still there?) – take on dance styles from the history of hip-hop.  [GMMR: A challnege like this makes me wonder how a crew like Dyanmic Edition would have survived.  Face it – it’s a hip hop competition people, not just a dance crew competition.]

Burn Notice | 10pm on USA
“Sins of Omission”
A mysterious woman from Michael’s past appears at his loft with a plea to help retrieve her kidnapped son from a black-market trader; Michael tries to befriend a rogue burned agent.

ER | 10pm on NBC
“T-Minus 6”
Dr. Banfield and her husband consider adopting; Dr. Carter tries to jump back into working at County but struggles with new procedures and technology; Sam’s mother (Amy Madigan) comes into the ER. [GMMR: I read that wrong at first and thought it said that Dr. Banfield and her husband were trying to adopt Dr. Carer.  Ha ha!  Anyone watching since Noah Wyle returned? How is it?]

Also playing…

• Secrets of the Furious Five | 8:00pm on NBC: Po instructs a class of eager young students in becoming a dragon master. [GMMR:What the hell is this?  And does it star Howie Mandel?]
  

• Kath & Kim | 8:30pm on NBC:Kath and Phil’s plans for a romantic evening are spoiled; Craig refuses to fund Kim’s new business venture.

• Hells Kitchen | 9:00pm on Fox: The 13 remaining chefs race to feed 50 hungry kids from a football and cheerleading program.

• CSI | 9pm on CBS: TThe team investigates three different cases in one night that seem to be unrelated.

• Eleventh Hour | 10pm on CBS: Dr. Hood must determine how a single 10-minute thunderstorm causes 30 deaths by lightning.

Lots and lots to choose from. What will YOU be watching?

Who Won TOP CHEF?

WARNING! I am totally going to discuss the winners so if you haven’t watched it yet, DO NOT READ ONE MORE WORD!

Y’all, all I can do when I think back (way back, all the way to last night) on this episode is sigh. And then I shake my head and I sigh again. I barely know where to begin.

Alright, let me start with this. Top Chef seems to go in cycles, for me at least. Season One was my favorite because everyone was a little crazy, but they also seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves (junk food blind taste-test, anyone?). Season Two was boring, with the exception of Betty and Marcel, and even Sam’s hotness couldn’t spice it up enough for me to think fondly of that season. I didn’t watch much of Season Three, but Season Four was awesome and had lots of great personalities and a lot of food that I thought I might actually want to eat.

Which brings us to Season Five, this season. I think it’s more on the side of suck. I feel like the chefs weren’t as good, overall, as ones we’ve seen in previous seasons. I think they started with too many people, and I think they sort of shot themselves in the foot with little rules they made for challenges. Could be this has happened in the past and I’ve just forgotten about it by now, but I felt like a real turning point happened when they did the Super Bowl challenge and Jeff, Stefan, and Fabio were in the bottom three, and at that point, they were probably the three best OVERALL chefs (even if not really in that challenge). And I know, I KNOW, they don’t necessarily judge on overall (except you know they kind of do). And then they didn’t let Jeff stay in the finale, even though he did a better job than either Stefan or Fabio. And I feel like had they not made the “you have to win the elimination challenge” rule, Jeff might have actually taken it.

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Lost: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

News flash – I actually followed along with an episode of LOST with out getting, well, lost. Someone quick…give me a gold star.

If you were watching along with me in my living room last night (or rather at 4am this morning), you would have heard a lot of “oh”, “ahs” and “oh I see” – it was the kind of episode that filled in a lot of blanks.  Being that its LOST it certainly threw out a bunch of questions, but it was the answers that satisfied me.

The episode focused on John Locke’s journey from the time he left the island up until his death at the hands of Ben.  During that time he traveled the world as Jeremy Bentham.  Mr. Betham was on a mission – to get everyone that left the island back.  Not an easy task of course, but he was determined.

Locke’s adventures began when he left the island and landed in the Tunsian desert.  A spy cam alerted others to his arrival and he was quickly whisked away.  After his broken leg was tended to, Locke woke up in the hospital only to be greeted by Charles Widmore. Charles hadn’t seen Locke since 1957 when the two met at the Others camp.  For John that encounter felt like it was only four days ago.  Widmore questioned why Locke left the island since he was destined to be there.  Locke said he was off to bring the others back.  Widmore suggested he get his giddy up on because there was a war brewing back on the island and John was needed back there to lead.  What war are you talking about, Chuck?

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Ugly Betty | 8pm on ABC

Betty makes a surprising discovery when a YETI assignment has her and Marc analyzing Mode’s finances; Betty deals with increased attention from Matt and discovers that Henry has posted unexpected news on Facebook.

AMERICAN IDOL: Top 36 – Group Two (Live Blog)

(SPOILER ALERT for those of you on the Left Coast)

I just walked in from work and it’s already time for AMERICAN IDOL.  I’m going to be living blogging tonight’s episode. Sorry that I didn’t give you the heads up on this one, but with LOST and DAMAGES tonight I thought that live blogging IDOL might be the best use of my time.

Ryan is playing it casual tonight in jeans and a polo shirt.  Can’t help but wonder if he’s going to call Paula out on her comments about four judges being one too many.  I doubt it. But the claws are out – in response to Paula’s comments Kara said in a statement, “Paula has a right to her opinions, but I was disappointed by her comments, and hurt that she did not address them to me in person.” Ohhh snap.  GIRLFIGHT!!

Tonight’s going to be interesting.  There are a few familiar names in the lineup tonight including Norman Gentle, my favorite Matt Giraud and in the pimp spot – Adam Lambert.

Just a reminder…the girl and guy with the most votes as well as whomever comes in third will be moving on to the Top 12. I’m hoping there’s some real competition tonight.  Last week was a little lackluster.

Here we go…

Jasmine Murray
Song: “Love Song”
1-866-IDOLS-01

• My Thoughts: This is a simple, sweet song and she’s trying just a bit too hard.  If she wanted to vamp it up then she should have picked another song.  I can’t imagine that this is going to be enough for her to make it to the next level.  I’ve never been as impressed with her as the judges have been. Sorry, but it just didn’t work tonight.

• The Judges: Not a good start to the night.  None of the judges were impressed. Simon likes the whole package, but he doesn’t think she’s ready for this all right now.  Jasmine knows she’s going home.

Matt Giraud
Song: “Viva La Vida”
1-866-IDOLS-02

• My Thoughts: He hasn’t even started to sing and I’m nervous.  From what I’ve heard so far, this guy deserves to be there.  The song choice could go either way.  Hmm.  I liked that he picked a relevant song but there was something missing from the performance.  And I’m not being biased because I’m such a fan, but I felt there was a lack of energy with the band.  Matt definitely has some vocal issues tonight.  His voice was cracking all throughout the song.  Not nearly good enough to make it on I fear. But unless there are other people that blow me away, Matt still gets my vote tonight based on his past performances.

• The Judges: Kara was not having it.  Paula wasn’t thrilled but she hopes he is around for another chance.  Simon thought he did the wrong thing tonight.  Randy was wants him to sing the more bluesy stuff.  Bummer.

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PRIVILEGED: All About a Brand New You

First of all, I hope you guys enjoyed our show last night (and what wasn’t to enjoy?), because in case you weren’t aware it was the season finale. And if you listen to the rumour mill it very well could have been the series finale. The show has been struggling in the ratings and has not yet been given a green light for season two. After such a fabulous episode as last night’s, this is even harder to believe. I was in love with it from start to finish, from Rose’s soul-searching to Sage’s turmoil to Megan actually working with the girls (!) and having her own drama to deal with. Some things must be discussed right away:

1. If the show does come back may I just say that I truly hope that Marco and his wedding planner Olivia (played hysterically by Kathy Griffin) team up and go into some sort of party planning/catering business together. She was fab last night, adding some big laughs. I’ve really missed seeing her (I know she has a reality show, but I’ve never really seen it) and thought she was perfectly suited for the Privileged world.
2. Was it just me or was Will missing a tooth in the breakup scene? I may have been hallucinating but it’s all I could focus on during one of the biggest scenes of the show.
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Tonight’s TV Spotlight…Wednesday, February 25, 2009

With President Obama cutting into my primetime lineup last night I’m looking forward to indulging in a little TV tonight.  Good night to do it with LOST, IDOL and DAMAGES.  Will this be the week I start getting excited about DAMAGES?  I sure hope so.

I know what some of YOU are excited about…the TOP CHEF finale! SB will be back with her take after the episode.

Here’s a few highlights from tonight’s TV schedule.  Tell us what YOU are watching tonight.

American Idol | 8pm on Fox
Twleve more semi-finalists take the stage to compete for your vote.  Just as it was last week, the top guy, the top girl and the person who receives the 3rd most votes will move on to the Top 12. [GMMR: Matt Giraud, my favorite of Hollywood Week is tonight. YAY! And just who will show up?  Nick Mitchell or Norman Gentle?  My bet is on Norman.]

Lost | 9pm on ABC
“The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham”
Locke (as Jeremy Bentham) takes a fateful mission off the island. Walt: Malcolm David Kelley. Matthew Abaddon: Lance Reddick. [GMMR: The episode description alone was spoilerific with that casting news. Excited for the return of Lance Reddick.]

Life | 9pm on NBC
“Hit Me Baby”
Reese is asked to be a part of the FBI’s joint task force; Stark and Crews investigate the murder of a financial adviser who was fond of women and pigeons.

Damages | 10pm on FX
“New York Sucks“
As new tension develops between Ellen and Patty over how to proceed in the case against Ultima National Resources, Ellen provides the FBI with a new lead to bring Patty down. [GMMR: Based on the survey feedback received so far it seems that more people are watching DAMAGES than I thought. I’ll do my best to share my thoughts tonight. ]

Life on Mars | 10pm on ABC
“The Simple Secret of the Note in Us All”
A newspaper columnist is killed, and Sam is sure he knows who did it. The problem: It’s someone he remembers from another murder case 35 years in the future, and the rest of the squad has another suspect in mind.

Also playing…

• Criminal Minds | 9pm on CBS: The team searches for a female serial killer who targets high-powered executives.

• CSI:NY | 10pm on CBS: When a buzzard drops a human eyeball from its claw, the team races to find the rest of the body.

• Top Chef | 10pm on Bravo: The final chefs compete to earn the title of Bravo’s “Top Chef.”

May I ask…what will YOU be watching?

CW’s Renews ONE TREE HILL, SUPERNATURAL, SMALLVILLE, GOSSIP GIRL But Not PRIVILEGED?!

The CW has just announced that it’s renewed a bevvy of its current lineup for next year including fan favorites SUPERNATURAL, SMALLVILLE, ONE TREE HILL, GOSSIP GIRL and AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL and newbie 90210.

Noticeably absent was PRIVILEGED, a little show with a loyal fanbase that took critics by surprise when it premiered this Fall. PRIVILEGED has suffered from low ratings (which is saying a lot being that it airs on The CW) from the get go. Although it has struggled creatively in the second half of the season, it’s still one of my favorites of the new Fall shows. I don’t think the show is dead, but to say it’s on the bubble would be a bit of an understatement. I’m not one for those S.O.S. campaigns, but if you are then I say get on board because this show is going to need all the help it can. Let’s hope that tonight’s season finale is not the last we see of PRIVILEGED!!

Also on the bubble, according to TV Week is REAPER, THE GAME and EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS.

REAPER has been noticeable absent from The CW schedule for quite some time, but it will be returning on March 3rd with all new episodes. Stay tuned REAPER fans because I’ll be posting some info on the new season soon!

Three new shows expecting to be on The CW schedule next year are the remake of MELROSE PLACE (I can’t…), the GOSSIP GIRL spinoff featuring a young Lily van der Woodsen, and a new drama from Ashton Kutcher titled THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE.

I don’t watch much of The CW outside of GOSSIP GIRL and PRIVILEGED but I know these pickups are great news for a lot of GMMR readers.

Thoughts on the pick ups and those shows on the bubble?

GOSSIP GIRL: Basstalk

If you’re like me then you might be going through a little GOSSIP GIRL withdrawl.  New episodes return next week, but until then here’s a little lesson in “Basstalk” courtesy of our friends at The CW.

Any other Bass-isms they missed?

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