PARKS & RECREATION: The Practice Date

I feel obligated to reveal a few fun facts about myself before recapping this week’s PARKS & RECREATION. On my first attempt to drive, I totaled a car and almost killed an innocent horse. During college, I sold popular toys like Tickle Me Elmo and Power Rangers to pay for cheap pizza and Mountain Dew. While I enjoy a variety of live music, I have seen Dave Matthews Band in concert 35 times. Finally, there is an image floating online of me wearing a Tweety Bird hat, a fashion faux pas that I cannot explain or justify.

Now cleansed of a few embarrassing foibles, I can get back to business. In the midst of a gigantic night of comedy on NBC, the P&R team offered a fast-paced and hilarious lead-in to Jim & Pam’s nuptials.

Harris Wittels may not be a household name, but his script for “The Practice Date” provided moments for each cast member to shine. There were hosts of moments to celebrate, but I want to focus on the cold open. The 24 hour cable networks have been fed a steady diet of political confessionals recently. It would be easy to attach a left or right leaning tilt to the P&R creative team, were it not for an absurdly entertaining speech given by Councilman Bill Dexhart:

“And to my wife, I apologize. All I can say is, I wasn’t just having sex. I was making love to a beautiful woman…and her boyfriend…and a third person whose name I never learned! Furthermore, it was wrong of me to say I was building houses for the underprivileged when I was actually having four-way sex in a cave in Brazil.”

Read more

Another GLEE Musical Number (SPOILERS)

I’m so torn. As we’ve talked about recently, I really hate that so many of the GLEE musical numbers are released early. I think it takes away from the surprise and delight of the episode. But I also hate it because I have zero will power and if someone sends me a musical spoiler I can’t NOT look.

Be better than. Be strong than me. Don’t watch the musical number posted after the jump. Wait for it to air, you’ll like yourself better for it.

If you are a weak human like me, please be sure to have that Kleenex handy. I sobbed.
Read more

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: You’re Undead to Me

I don’t know you guys … I just don’t know. I really like this show a lot, and I loved the Stefan and Elena stuff, and the Damon storyline was good too. The other stories have so much potential, but this episode crossed the line of waaay too much cheese a few too many times for me last night. But let’s start with the good.

Elena being annoyed at Stefan was good—I like Nina Dobrev playing her with some attitude, and I liked Stefan being forced to make it up to her. That dinner scene was BEYOND adorable, and I love them showing Stefan’s interests throughout the years (and that he can eat garlic!). And getting a little Katherine backstory was good. And I loved the car wash, where she was taking her top layer off and got stuck, and said, “So not sexy,” and then he fixed her hair and disagreed. I mean, HELLO. So freaking adorable, right?

And Damon trapped in his vervain prison was interesting too. I was completely fascinated by what was going to happen to him (a living mummy), and the mind games he was playing to try to escape. And it was really interesting to note how powerful he still was, even in an extremely weakened state, especially over Caroline. Which does raise questions of how much of that has to do with how much of her blood he’s had or with that crystal that she picked up. There are still a lot of holes in our knowledge about exactly what kind of control Damon exerts over Caroline and how it affects her when she is and isn’t under his spell, but it appears that she isn’t currently aware that he’s a vampire and she has big blank spots in her memory … but she obviously knows Damon, so it’s not ALL the time they spend together. So is it selective? But I’m still really engaged in that story so the mystery hasn’t become tedious or frustrating yet, and I’m pretty okay with it.

Read more

BONES: Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

“Wrong-ology; keep your grubby anthro-hands off my psych!”

Those are fighting words, BONES fans!

Really quickly, here are some questions for you all to consider.

1. Were Booth and Brennan OOC in this episode, or is this all part of a natural progression? (I’m talking Brennan’s comfort level around Parker and Booth’s comfort level around…whips.)

2. Do you think Booth ‘does fine’, or did he just say that last season?

3. What significance is there in Brennan offering Parker and Booth the guest key to her pool?

THE CASE:

At the beginning of this episode, I felt like I’d stepped into “The Sandlot”. But before Ray Charles could start singing ‘America, the Beautiful’ and I could say ‘you’re killing me, Smalls’, we had ourselves a dead body (albeit not that gross of one!). I always like the cases where I don’t know who the murderer is till the end. And for this case, I was def curious the whole way through. Would it be the jealous wife, Kelly? Bob, the man whose wife and daughter BOTH had affairs with the victim? The neighbors whose dog died of mysterious causes? The landscaper, the therapist, or her husband? Oh, what a tangled suburban cul de sac of a web you weave, BONES writers!

Read more

FRINGE: Momentum Deferred

I’m going to be honest and admit that it was hard for me to make the decision to watch Fringe at its regularly scheduled time tonight. If it weren’t for this blog, I would have been glued to The Office for the big JAM wedding extravaganza. It’s not that I don’t consider Fringe to be must watch TV – I definitely do — but my Thursday night TV line-up is way too crowded! Please, Fox, move Fringe back to Tuesday nights so that I (and the other viewers who are dropping off like flies) can give it the time and attention that it deserves!! That being said, I now don’t regret my decision to postpone the Jim/Pam love fest one little bit since “Momentum Deferred” was completely AWESOME!!! So many questions were answered, that I hardly even know where to begin!

He’s Baaaaaaaaack!!!!!!!!!
Last week I was wondering when we would get to see good old William Bell again and I am happy to report that we did not have to wait all that long. He was back tonight, albeit just in Olivia’s memories, but on screen long enough for the big reveal of what it was that he told Olivia during their time together “over there”.

Here are the facts, as I understand them:

• Walter and William had been trying to create a “guardian” — someone who could protect the gate between universes.

• It is difficult for humans to cross from one side to the other/not many can do it successfully.

• Bell is unable to leave the alternate universe for reasons yet to be disclosed.

• Those “over there” who are waging the war have created hybrids (part organic material/part machine), i.e. the shape shifter soldiers, which can cross over more successfully than humans.

• The hybrids have already crossed over and are referred to as “The First Wave”. They are searching for someone, a leader, who can open the door between universes.

• The leader’s body has a symbol on it (looks kind of like the Greek letter omega or a pair of headphones, depending on your perspective). Olivia needs to find it before the hybrid/soldier shifters or a “storm” will be coming. Bell doesn’t elaborate on what the “storm” is, but Nina later explains to Olivia that it is Bell’s theory of what will happen if the gate is opened – the two worlds will collide and only one will survive.

Read more

THE OFFICE Wedding Dance Down the Aisle

“I’ve been waiting my whole life, for this one night.”

THE OFFICE: Jim & Pam Get Married

“Plan A was marrying her a long, long time ago. Pretty much the day I met her.” – Jim

For those of you worried that tonight’s episode was going to be an hour long sappy lovefest dedicated solely to celebrating Jim and Pam’s love, I give you puke. From the literally nauseating cold open to the ridiculous yet touching final moments of tonight’s episode, “Niagra” was THE OFFICE through and through.

It’s well documented that THE OFFICE is one of my favorite shows of all time. And without getting overly sentimental, it has been a very important show in my life on a few different levels. It’s been my go to show from it’s very first episode (ok, that was a lie, I was hooked with the second episode, “Diversity Day”). I’ve seen the good (“The Injury”), the bad (sorry, but “Phyllis’s Wedding”) and the perfect (“Casino Night”). Tonight’s episode might not have been perfect. It was a bit predictable at times and a little self indulgent, but to me it was satisfying. I’m not sure you can ask more than that.

The episode showcased the ensemble so well and reminded us all that whether we want to believe it or not, Michael Scott got what he wanted – the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin is a family. An incestuous, completely dysfunctional family, but family all the same. And tonight we got to see the family at their finest (which of course is also their worst).

The episode started to really get going when we entered the “The Beesly-Halpret Wedding Rehearsal Dinner in the Passion Package Room”. Jim’s speech was beautiful and sweet. A toast not only to Pam but to all the viewers that have stuck by the couple since the beginning. It was a fantastic toast – well at least the part before he spilled the beans that his fiance was pregnant. As Jim talked about how long he waited for Pam to be his wife, the mental montage of all their moments throughout the years couldn’t help but be played in my mind. John Krasinski’s delivery was so perfect. Whether he was caught in the moment, or is just a really good actor (I vote for both), true emotion could be heard through the slight tremor in his voice.

“Four years ago I was just a guy who had a crush on a girl who had a boyfriend. And I had to do the hardest thing I ever had to do, which was just to wait. Don’t get me wrong I flirted with her. Pam, I can now admit in front of friends and family that I do know how to make a photocopy. I didn’t need your help that many times. And do you remember how long it took you to teach me to drive stick? (Pam: Like a year). I’ve been driving stick since high school. For a really long time that’s all I had. Little moments with a girl who saw me as a friend. And a lot of people told me I was crazy to wait this long for a date with a girl who I worked with, but I think, even then I knew, I was waiting for my wife.”

Read more

This is Your Brain. This is Your Brain on GLEE.

There’s really no debate. The boys totally beat the girls. Hands down. And I don’t care how they did it. I’m all about saying no to drugs, but if it’s going to up your performance and help you win sectionals, then in the word’s of Dr. Horrible, “a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

Judge for yourself.

The Guys….

The Girls…

I can only imagine the fanatical groups calling Fox today complaining about last night’s pro-drug episode. The school “nurse” is prescribing kids some over the counter drugs that when abused gives you a high that makes life (not to mention your singing and dancing better). I was half way to my local pharmacy last night to pick up some Vitamin D but then decided that maybe I should wait…at least until my next karaoke night.

Yes, an episode about high school kids abusing drugs that didn’t come with a PSA anti-drug tag at the end. Thank you! In fact, the most vocal anti-drug advocate of the episode, Rachel, also ended up taking the D. She’s not afraid to do what it takes when a competition is on the line. She didn’t’ want to be F-Rod or A-Rod, but she saw the edge the guys had while on the drugs and decided to try it for herself. It worked. Sorry, I’m not advocating illegal drug use, but there’s no denying it worked. I’m just saying.

Read more

Jim & Pam are Getting Married – THE OFFICE Wedding

Somebody, somebody, somebody, somebody, somebody’s getting married.

It’s time to put on those fancy dresses and those dapper suits.  Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly are getting married today. It’s odd yet quite pleasing to be able to write those words.  In the world of television, it’s not often that our favorite couples get their happily ever after.  But in this case one of the best TV love stories of all time also happens to be one of the most realistic.

It took four years for Jim and Pam to make it to the alter.  But those four years were well spent.  They allowed the couple to form the strongest of friendships. The years gave each of these characters to grow as individuals. The years also allowed the couple to realize that despite others that have come in and out of their lives, they are happiest, and at their best when they are together. It took them awhile to get to the place where things were right to move forward, but ever since Jim burst into the conference room to ask Pam out on a date, the two have never wavered and never looked back.

In the beginning there was Roy. Then there was Stamford and Karen.  But when Jim and Pam finally got together there was no more drama.  Yes, they were separated when Pam left to give her dream a shot in New York, but there was never any doubt that they would make it. We have the writers to thank for that.  They could have easily dragged the couple along the route of most TV twosomes, breaking up, getting back together, always navigating obstacles, and the audience would have been along for the ride.  But it would be disingenuous to their relationship.  In real life sometimes two people that are meant to be actually find each other, fall in love and that’s that.

Read more

TOP CHEF: Dinner Party

Surprise! I know Kath told you that I wouldn’t be able to do the recap and she was going to take over, but Comcast OnDemand got Top Chef up SHOCKINGLY fast, so I woke up early and watched it. And since Kath has a ton of shows on her Wednesday TV plate, this worked out. Yay! I would have hated for my first week not doing TC to be the week Michael Voltaggio was in the bottom!

I’ve gotta say, this was a weird week. And I feel like it definitely played with my emotions, as Top Chef starts to do around this time in the season. And there was just so much … what is the word I’m looking for here? So much douchitude. Yes, that’s it. And since douchitude is one of my favorite subjects, let’s start there!

First of all, with a surprise display of douchebaggery, we have Bryan Voltaggio. I didn’t really see that one coming, and in his defense, I think he was just upset and stressed out for Michael. But I am NOT COOL with him yelling at my Kevin! Poor guy—I think Kevin was just trying to make conversation and Bryan didn’t want to talk about it, and that’s fine, especially saying, “I don’t really want to talk about it since it’s not my food.” But when Bryan took it to the next level with, “Did YOU try the food? Then don’t talk about it,” or whatever, I was shocked with how vitriolic it was. (See, I know real words too, not just made up ones with “douche” as a prefix/root word.) And I think Kevin was too, because he didn’t say anything negative about the food, at least that I heard. And honestly, adults being scolded like they’re children is one of my absolute skin-crawliest pet peeves. I HATE it. So I still have respect for Bryan as a chef, but my respect for him as a person went down a little bit.

Secondly, with an extremely USUAL display of douchiness, was Mike Isabella. Good god, he sucks. And not as a chef, really—he’s inconsistent as a chef, yes, but he sucks as a person. Could he have been any worse of a sport about being paired with Robin? Doubtful. His skeevy talking heads annoyed me every time, and how he refused to let Robin do anything or acknowledge her work at all. It was so unprofessional. But for me, his capital offense was during that little vignette at commercial time, where Robin wouldn’t shut up. And I’ve said before, I GET IT. I know people like Robin whose every thought comes out of their mouths and it is ridiculously annoying. I’d be annoyed too. But don’t sit in the corner and WATCH as your partner cleans up THE ENTIRE MESS BY HERSELF, you ass!

Read more

Tonight’s TV Spotlight…Thursday, October 8, 2009

Jim and Pam are getting married. Tonight. I can’t even pretend to care about anything else today. I’ll be catching up on Thursday night TV well into the weekend. I have a feeling this hour long episode of THE OFFICE will require more than one viewing tonight. I can’t wait!

But alas, there is other TV to talk about besides THE OFFICE. Good TV too. We’ve got new episode of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, SUPERNATURAL, GREY’S ANATOMY, FRINGE and more. All that paired with the wedding sounds pretty darn perfect if you ask me. And next week marks the return of 30 ROCK, so it just keeps getting better and better.

Programming note: Just a reminder that COMMUNITY moves to its new time at 8/7c starting tonight.

So much to watch tonight. But before we get there, it’s time for YOU to tell me what you’ll be watching and DVRing tonight.

Flash Forward | 8pm on ABC
“137 Sekunden”
An imprisoned Nazi claims to have knowledge about the blackouts; Demetri receives an anonymous tip about the future; Aaron tries to get approval to have his daughter’s body exhumed.

Bones | 8pm on CBS
“The Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
When human remains are found at a neighborhood block party, scandals and suburban politics give many people a motive; Booth’s son tries to find a girlfriend for his father.

Survivor: Samoa | 8pm on CBS
“Hungry for a Win”
A tribe member makes a stunning revelation; one determined castaway’s game may change; Russell considers outing one of his allies.

Community | 8:00pm on NBC
“Social Psychology”
Shirley and Jeff bond by gossiping about Britta’s boyfriend; Annie recruits Abed and Troy as test subjects for professor Duncan’s psychology research team.

(The rest of Thursday night’s lineup is after the jump)

Read more

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE….Vegas Week

Thousands auditioned but only 152 dancers made it Las Vegas.  One by one they will be sent home until only the top 20 dancers are standing. These 20 will compete this season for your votes with one being named America’s Favorite Dancer!

Welcome to Vegas Week!

Your Vegas Week judges are: Tyce Diorio, Mia Michaels, Adam Shankman, Debbie Allen, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe.

Vegas Week started off with each of the dancer’s performing a solo in their own style. The judges didn’t provide any critique but the performances were being carefully watched.  After each group of ten solos the judges conferred, and if a dancer received three or more votes they moved on. If not, it was the end of Vegas Week for them.

I suppose if you are a true dancer then you are used to rejection and heartache, but I can’t imagine making it through the hometown auditions and all the way to Vegas only to be cut after one short performance. Devastating. I couldn’t take that stress.  It’s why I decided to kill the dream and stopped dancing. Right…yup.

A familiar face was the first one to take the stage. Nathan Trasoras blew the judges away during his Season 5 audition.  Unfortunately he wasn’t old enough to compete, but that didn’t stop the judges from giving him a ticket straight through to Vegas…for Season 6. Once again he was fantastic. And once again I had to remind myself that I’m technically old enough to be his mother (I would have been Lifetime movie young, but it’s still possible.  Oh the jailbait that SYTYCD dangles in front of my eyes each season).

Read more

GLEE Spoilers: A Musical Mashup Sneak Peek

If you follow me on Twitter then you know I’ve been quite vocal about how many spoilers and how much info Fox has been leaking in an effort to promote GLEE. It was frustrating to see them leak all the musical numbers and best parts from each episode online.  I likened it to going to a movie only to find out that all the best scenes were in the trailer.

I’m not anti-spoilers, but there has to be a balance.

I’m sure I didn’t have anything to do with it, but the crazy amount of spoilers have really let up over the past two weeks.  Nice. Well done. Hopefully Fox and the people behind the online promotion for GLEE have found that balance.

But again, spoilers are out there, and on special occasions I don’t mind sharing them with you.  Of course I must that I think that you should avoid watching the video below, a musical number from tonight’s episode. Trust me, you’ll enjoy GLEE much more if you chose to stay clear from the “play” button.

So as not to tempt you, I’ll put the video after the jump.
Read more

HOUSE: The Tyrant

James Earl Jones is an imposing figure, and his guest appearance on House was bound to be more impactful than a lesser known actor. The story of President DiBala altered the formulaic presentation of the show, foreshadowing personal & professional struggles ahead for Princeton Plainsboro’s staff.

Before I dive into the key story arcs, let me say two things. First, it took me almost half the episode to believe that Mr. Jones was portraying a cruel, calculating dictator. I was distracted by the thought that his entire story was a series of deleted scenes from “Coming to America,” hoping that any moment could bring a cameo by Arsenio Hall or the rose-carrying servants who would administer the royal sponge bath! Second, Cuddy’s decree that House avoid patient contact denied the audience a showdown between Hugh Laurie and the voice of Darth Vader. Was it too much to ask for House to “accidentally” sneak into DiBala’s room while grabbing a cup of coffee. After all, breaking and entering is one of House’s most cherished hobbies.

Based on last week’s teaser trailer, I assumed that this story would focus on House’s relationship with Foreman. With House’s medical license still pending in bureaucratic limbo, it was logical that his understudy would continue to assert his new authority, leading to a series of tense squabbles. Wisely, the creative team allowed that tension to boil temporarily, but tabled it for later episodes. Season Six is shaping up as a year of transition, and Foreman’s journey is paramount to that end result.

Read more

About Last Night…SYTYCD, THE GOOD WIFE, NCIS, THE BIGGEST LOSER

Today is one of those days where I’m going to turn it over to YOU!  I was quite the busy gal with our live chat last night and wasn’t able to watch all the TV I wanted to. My DVR is quite angry at me.

But just because I didn’t watch it doesn’t mean you didn’t.  Since GMMR is for all us, I wanted to give you guys the opportunity to talk about your favorite Tuesday night shows.  You never know, you might connect with other GMMRers who also love your shows, or you might just get a few new people watching.

I did manage to watch SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE last night.  There were some really fantastic auditions.  That little blonde Eastern European ballroom dancers was brazilliant! She kind of looked 40 with all that makeup, but did you see her spins?  She brought Mary to tears (although I don’t think it’s all that hard to do).  A lot of great stand out performances.  So excited to see Vegas Week tonight.

Last week I found out that many of you are fans of NCIS and NCIS: LA. You know me, I’m not one for procedurals, but I did record NCIS: LA last night based on your suggestions.  I don’t think you’ll ever get me watching NCIS, but the LA version has Chris O’Donnell..and I love me some Chris O’Donnell.  How was last night’s episode?  Any good?

Read more

« Previous Page — Next Page »