Still Here….Kind Of

Yes, I’m still down and out with my back issues. I don’t wish this kind of pain and discomfort on anyone.  Not even those who decided put Leno on at 10pm every night; hold CHUCK back until March; or wait to air FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS until this summer (hmm, anyone else seeing a peacock pattern here.)

As always, much thanks to Team GMMR who are keeping the site alive.  I’m trying to watch TV when I can, but I’m not at the point where I can do much writing these days. Almost all the updates you see have been from them, so kudos all around!

I know that there will be a point in time (hopefully very soon) that I’ll be back to my old self and blogging once again.  But until then, thanks for sticking with us and I’m sorry I haven’t been a better blogger as of late.

XOXO

Kath

CASTLE: Famous Last Words

Let’s get down to business!

Rock star Hayley Blue is found dead in an abandoned alley, her neck broken and hanging upside down Spider Man-style. One of her songs, “Here Kitty Kitty” is on repeat on her blue iPod nano (the same one as mine!) – clearly a sign or clue to her murderer and what happened leading up to her demise … or so we think.

Monday’s episode is the first time Castle’s incredibly mature teenage daughter Alexis plays a large role in the case. Hayley Blue, it turns out, is like “Castle’s” version of Paramore’s frontwoman Hailey Williams. Alexis skips her first class to find out more about what Beckett, Castle and the rest of the team saw at the crime scene, obviously knowing more about the singer than the adults at the precinct.

When Ryan does a search for the song, the music video pops up and it ends up being very similar to the setting in which Hayley was found; a similar alleyway, the same position she was found in. Alexis tells the team that the song was written about an obsessive fan who was following her. Instead of following physical evidence as they usually do, they follow Alexis’ lead, listening to the lyrics and finding out that the stalker is dangerous and that Hayley had filed a restraining order (“50 feet or less”). Frankie Markie’s name pops up in the database. Ryan and Esposito, relegated to their usual sidekick/backup status, follow their only lead and find Frankie Markie headed upstate on a charter bus. Prior to that, Beckett and Castle visit with Hayley’s record producer, Bree Busch, and her husband Ian, who took her in when Hayley got out of drug rehab three months earlier – and find out that she left the previous Monday with all her things, and that her sister Sky was a drug addict.

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SMALLVILLE: Crossfire

Smallville’s Crossfire episode was one of the best 60 minutes of the series this season. Not only did we finally get to see Lois and Clark kiss, and on purpose, we also witnessed Oliver finally picking up the pieces while Chloe met her match. And did Tess do one heck of a number on Zod or what? Onto the details of last night’s Crossfire.

Lois puts the heat on Clark, making him co-host for a morning Metroplis TV show. Clark of course does it in hopes of winning a second date with Lois after standing her up. These two have really come full circle. Lois is openly interested while Clark is actually putting himself out there.

Their blind date project for the morning show really brought feelings of jealousy to the surface for both of them. Especially Clark, who was ready to give up Lois Lane to the Green Arrow out of pity and what I’m sure, was cold feet. His attempt at staying away from humans and the civilized world sure did end fast, thankfully! The fact that Chloe doesn’t seem too fond of Clark’s interest in Lois is still obvious. Although she does tell him he needs to do what makes him happy at the end of the episode.

The good news is Chloe may have met her new partner in crime who is sure to keep her mind off of things. Tess’ IT assistant really throws Chloe for a loop while she attempts to crack all of the firewalls Tess has in place. Smallville’s villain is apparently establishing her own Area 51 while she and Zod play cat and mouse. In the end Tess wins after she demolishes his bodyguard sent to her to find out who the Blur is. Trouble for Clark is definetley brewing. With all if the Kandorains on the loose and Zod joining the ranks with Tess there is sure to be quite a blow out in the episodes to come.

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DEXTER: If I Had a Hammer

When I took this position, I vowed to blog to you in sickness or in health. So, tonight, I write to you in the midst of some sort of sickness. Therefore, if some of my thoughts are rambling, you can blame the fever. However, this doesn’t explain my rambling in any other post.

The writers have gone to great lengths to differentiate Trinity from another season-long killer arc by making him so much like Dexter. As with the Ice Truck Killer, we see that Dexter has the same sense of adoration for Trinity,  but with the former killer, the private life didn’t so closely mirror his own, even though it was his own brother. Trinity is much more than the man Dexter will have to kill by the end of the season. He’s a almost a role model for Dexter. A template for how he wants to live his life.

This week we didn’t have a death by the hands of Dexter, but we got deep into the private life of Arthur Mitchell, whom we’ve known until now as the Trinity Killer. He has a wife, a couple kids and is the perfect family man, even a Deacon at church. He helps to build houses for the homeless…then uses the houses to kill in. Through his research, Dexter found that, with the three killings, Dexter is emulating the deaths of the three people who were closest to him. His mother drowned in a bathtub. His sister jumped off a bridge. His father was bludgeoned to death in an alley. That’s the cycle.

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DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: Don’t Walk on the Grass

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a good Halloween. There was a new episode of Desperate Housewives tonight and tensions are starting to rise among the housewives as things become less black and white and move into a grey zone.

Juanita was in a school play and accidentally uttered a certain four-letter word when she forgot her line. The principal laid out Juanita’s punishment and Gabby got defensive and over- reacted. Of course this ended badly and Juanita is now being home schooled. Gabby thought what she did was best but in reality all she did was hurt Juanita. I can see why Gabby reacted the way she did; the principal’s punishment was completely unfair. I can also see why Juanita was so upset, however, since she now is kicked out of school.

Tom came home wasted one night and from there Lynette began to notice some odd behavior on his part. It turns out that he is bribing some underclassmen to get him answers to his midterm exam. Lynette was furious and Tom pointed out her own dishonesty about her pregnancy. I side with Lynette on this one; not telling someone your pregnant is very different from cheating on a major exam. Tom could very well get kicked out school for his actions.

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Tonight’s TV Spotlight…Monday, November 2, 2009

Welcome to November! Here’s to hoping better things are on the horizon in this new month.  We’ve at least got some new TV to watch tonight, so there’s that! Excited for new eps of HIMYM, GOSSIP GIRL, CASTLE and more.  Especially excited for tonight’s BIG BANG THEORY as Ducky and I were in the audience during the live taping!

But the big TV news tonight is the season finale of GREEK. Casey and Cappie are back together but will it be smooth sailing?

What will YOU be watching? Bring it!

How I Met Your Mother | 8pm on CBS
“Bagpipes”
Barney’s know-it-all attitude gets him in hot water with Robin; Marshall and Lily offer relationship advice.

Dancing with the Stars | 8pm on ABC
Celebrities are paired with professionals in a ballroom-dance competition, with one pair typically eliminated each week. Competitors include Donny Osmond, Melissa Joan Hart, Michael Irvin, Chuck Liddell and more.

Heroes | 8pm on NBC
“Once Upon a Time in Texas”
When Hiro travels three years into the past, he gets a second chance to save Charlie from Sylar; H.R.G.’s past with his Primatech partner is revealed.

One Tree Hill | 8pm on The CW
“I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight”
Julian struggles to fit in with Nathan and the guys during a weekend camping trip; Brooke and Haley bond during a girls night; Quinn tries to help Clay come to terms with a loss; the past catches up with Rachel and Dan.

Accidentally on Purpose | 8:30pm on CBS
“Fight Club”
Billie and Zack have their first big fight after Zack, hoping to surprise Billie, installs a low-flow toilet without consulting her first.

(more of Tonight’s TV Spotlight after the jump)

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TNT Will Pick Up NBC’s Canceled SOUTHLAND

NBC recently and abruptly canceled SOUTHLAND, one of its more promising, quality sophomore dramas.  With Leno taking up the 10pm slot every weeknight, there really didn’t seem to be a place for the gritty police drama.  While TV nation continues to roll their eyes and shake their heads shamelessly at what NBC has become, the New York Times is reporting some good news for fans of SOUTHLAND.

It expected that on Monday the announcement will be made that “TNT will begin to show the seven episodes of “Southland” that NBC introduced last spring, and the six episodes that NBC ordered but did not show. It will monitor the show’s ratings performance before deciding whether to order more.”

TNT makes no promises that the show will live past the originally ordered episodes, but it’s giving the show the shot that NBC never did . Will SOUTHLAND find an audience on TNT?  I guess we’ll soon find out.  But if nothing else it’s an interesting story to watch play out.  Can a cable network turn a cast away network show into a hit for themselves? I’m interested to see how it plays out.  But as a fan, I’m thrilled that we’ll be able to see more of SOUTHLAND, a show that I found myself surprisingly drawn to last season. Nice job, TNT.

Any fans of SOUTHLAND as excited as I am?  What do you think of the show’s chances on TNT?

Who Went Home on THE AMAZING RACE?

Phil: “Flight Time and Big Easy – you look ridiculous!”

In 15 seasons of watching THE AMAZING RACE (ok maybe 14 – I couldn’t bare to watch the horrendous ‘family’ season), tonight was one of the most bizarre, dramatic (if not anti-climactic) and annoying finishes I’ve ever seen. A team that had no business moving on to the next leg did, while another team actually quit the race during a relatively easy (at least in terms of this show) detour.

We’re at the halfway point of the season. Twelve teams started and six remain. As is always the case this far into the season, I have my favorites (go Team Globetrotters), but unlike previous TAR seasons there aren’t many pairs that I’m actively routing against. (Well, not now that Lance and Keri are gone.) There’s enough suspense in the tasks themselves that the show doesn’t need to rely on villainous characters to bring drama. I actually like liking the teams –  it makes for a more enjoyable season.

The racers started off their day in the beautiful Dubai but quickly boarded planes to their next destination – Amsterdam.  After coming in first last week, Meghan and Cheyne’s were the first to depart in the morning. Unfortunately, the next flight to Amsterdam didn’t leave until midnight, allowing all the other teams to catch up. Bummer. I’ve watched this show long enough to know that they never let one team get that much of a head start.  They need to even up the playing field whether it be by a later flight or a closed venue. Without it there would be no sense of competition.  But it’s got to be rather annoying if you’re the first place finisher with a hefty lead going into the next day. Thems the breaks I guess.

Once in Amsterdam, the contestants were off to Martinitoren – now that’s my kind of town. Yes sir, I’ll have another Martinitoren, with two olives please.

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Happy Halloween from SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE

A special Happy Halloween greeting from GMMR and SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE!

Drunk & Moonlighting Ewoks on “The Today Show”

THE TODAY SHOW loves Halloween. Meredith, Matt, Al, Ann and the rest always do up the holiday right. This year they masqueraded as the cast of STAR WARS. But no one expected the Ewoks to get into so much mischief…on live TV.

This video of two Ewoks drinking, fighting and then dancing is hilarious. Watch it all the way through to the end. This was live TV. I don’t think they’ll be invited back next Halloween, although Al Roker might invite them over for a nightcap.

PROJECT RUNWAY: Taking Your Best to the Next Level

Hey GMMRers! With no BONES for a second week in a row, I’m enjoying my second favorite thing to do, which is to lie on my couch and judge people who are way more talented than me. Seriously, I think I can maybe sew a button onto a shirt, but that hasn’t been proven since 8th grade Home Ec, 1994. First of all, what the heck was Heidi wearing during the runway part? That jacket was ill fitting, with the ruffled shirt, and were those silver lame (pronounced laMay) shorts?

But anyways…remember last week when we talked about how there weren’t really any villains on the show? Well, crank up the yankers, because the editors took THEIR best to the next level, filling this episode with moaning and backbiting from the contestants.

It always kills me when these contestants say this stuff to the cameras in their side interviews. Haven’t they ever seen a season of PR? Don’t they know there is almost always a time where that footage is revealed to everyone?

This week Heidi greeted the designers by presenting them with their best looks ever. Each one was a winning design, except Logan, who has not won. The challenge was to take their previous winning look and use it as inspiration to create a companion piece.

Anyways…let’s discuss the looks our designers had one day and one hundred dollars to complete.

(Click to Enlarge)

Carol Hannah:

Not bad. Kind of like last week, I thought Carol Hannah’s dress was nice, but not anything I’ve never seen. Tim G encouraged her to work in her comfort zone, interestingly enough, which is why she chose another dress.

Althea:

The cattiest of the bunch this week, she was more annoyed with Logan’s zipper neckline than the competition, maybe. I liked the design of her top. All in all, her finished look was nice enough to get her through another challenge with high scores.

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Robert Pattinson is “Bothered” by Halloween – Jimmy Fallon

You know I’m a sucker for Jimmy Fallon’s R-Patz “bothered” skit. We’re getting that much closer to the release of “New Moon” (finally!!) so here’s to hoping that The Pattinson will be making a real guest appearance in the tree soon. Hope he’s not too bothered to stop by.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: Haunted

I know it was only one week without The Vampire Diaries, but it was starting to feel like forever and I resorted to forcing my friend against her will to watch Lost Girls online with me, so needless to say, I was definitely ready for this episode. Plus, I love Halloween episodes of TV shows.

I’ve heard people describing this one as “the best one yet” and I liked it, but I’m not so sure I’d go that far. I think I got more sheer enjoyment and shock out of Lost Girls (even if it was disappointingly light on the Caroline, as was this one), but I had some issues with Haunted. For me, the best part of the show didn’t come until right at the end (that’s what she said), but we’ll get to that.

First of all, it cannot be said enough that Katerina Graham (Bonnie) seems like a lovely girl—she’s beautiful, and she is INCREDIBLE at interacting with fans on a level that is at minimum on par with how much The Office actors embraced fans in the early years. On a personal level, I think she’s bomb. However. Her storyline is boring the CRAP out of me. I’m going to need less talking, and more action. And hanging out with your grandma isn’t exactly what I’m picturing here, and similarly, lighting candles at a party with your mind does not constitute “action”. Lighting the mean girl’s car on fire? THAT is action—more of that, please. And there was that one good scene with Damon, although any scene with Damon is pretty okay by me. But I did love the shocked looks they gave each other, and I’m excited to see where that goes. I just hope the payoff is worth this very slow build with her.

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SUPERNATURAL: The Curious Case of Dean Winchester

Okay you guys, I’m torn on this one. On the one hand, there were some (okay, two) awesome aspects to this episode, and I will be discussing those in just a sec. On the other hand, I’m going to be Miss Crankypants and just say “meh”. Every season there is at least one episode that I’m not in love with, and it looks like this season that episode is The Curious Case of Dean Winchester (aka Jensen played two roles in the last ep, so we’re giving him the week off). It sort of had that “filler episode” feeling to me, and I wasn’t super invested in the main storyline (Dean gambling away decades of his life and turning into “elderly Dean” for most of the hour). On the other hand, there were two points of greatness, and those points were named Bobby and Patrick. These alone weren’t enough to make me declare the ep a success, but they did save me from hating it outright (did I say I was torn? Guess not). We’ll get to them soon enough, along with my one request of the writers that will make this episode worth it for me.

So there’s a witch in town offering people the opportunity to gamble years of their lives in a game of poker. I might be willing to gamble a year or two for the opportunity to exchange witticisms and life philosophies with Patrick the Man Witch for an hour, but I digress. When Bobby gets wind of it, he jumps on the chance to turn back time to when his legs worked (he actually gambles 25 years – I guess that was the minimum buy-in?). Bobby doesn’t fare so well, so Dean decides that he can do better and promptly loses. He did manage to get Bobby’s 25 years back, but lost a chunk of his own life, turning into Grumpy Old Man Dean. The rest of the episode is spent trying to figure out how to get Dean’s years back and watching his older self enact every old person joke under the sun (shockingly, no Viagara jokes). I thought the old jokes got…well…old, rather quickly, and whiny old Dean got highly annoying. Seriously – when he was digging the grave, I half-wanted Bobby to beat him to death with the shovel just so he’d shut up. To be fair, I will say that actor Chad Everett did a credible job as “older Dean” – it was pretty believably the same character.

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Tonight’s TV Spotlight…Friday, October 30, 2009

Another week of TV over…almost! Since the networks decided to give Friday night’s a chance there’s actually been a reason to stay home and watch the old tube on Friday night. Between SMALLVILLE, DOLLHOUSE, STARGATE UNIVERSE the return of UGLY BETTY, CBS’s lineup and now USA’s WHITE COLLAR – fans can’t complain there’s nothing to watch.

As I mentioned earlier this week in “The Buzz“, you definitely should check out WHITE COLLAR which airs tonight at 10pm on USA. It’s a fantastic new show and I think you’ll really dig it. So if you’re going out, make sure you set those DVRs.

Ugly Betty | 8pm on ABC
“The Weiner, the Bun and the Boob”
Wilhelmina makes Marc be Betty’s temporary assistant; Betty decides to cover the worst jobs in New York; Hilda causes trouble for Archie’s campaign; Daniel hires a beautiful but inept assistant.

Smallville | 8pm on The CW
“Crossfire”
Oliver is double-crossed by Mia (Elise Gatien), aka Speedy, a young girl he tries to get off the streets by offering to train her. Meanwhile, Lois turns to Clark for help pursuing an on-air position, and they end up being offered a job as a team.

Monk | 9pm on USA
“Mr. Monk and the Dog”
Monk hesitantly takes in a dog whose owner has vanished. Mr. Monk sets out to solve the mystery and return the dog.

Stargate Universe | 9pm on SyFy
“Water”
The ship’s water supply dwindles, prompting Col. Young and Lt. Scott to visit a frozen planet in search of drinkable samples. Meanwhile, the crew attempts to snare an intruder.

Medium | 9pm on CBS
“Bite Me”
Vivid nightmares insert Allison into scenes from “Night of the Living Dead,” leaving her with unexplained cuts and bite marks.

White Collar | 10pm on USA
“Threads”
Neal and Peter infiltrate New York’s Fashion Week to stop a criminal from selling security data that is stored on a piece of technology woven into the fabric of a model’s dress.

Sanctuary | 10pm on Syfy
“Hero”
Magnus traps a superhero (Christopher Gauthier) whose lack of finesse affects the team’s work. Elsewhere, the discovery of an eggshell remnant puts Will and Declan (Robert Lawrenson) on the hunt for a creature that’s loose in the city.

Numb3rs | 10pm on CBS
“Dreamland”
The body of a dead woman turns up at a decommissioned air base where spooky things have been happening.

Crash | 10pm on Starz
“No Matter What You Do”
Ben has a reunion with his ex-wife (Peggy Lipton), whom he hasn’t seen in more than 30 years; Seth is visited by his long-estranged son (Zane Holtz); Bo tries to get his coaching job back and his problems increase when the store is broken into.

Also playing…

• Ghost Whisperer | 8pm on CBS:The Headless Horseman, from “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” haunts Melinda, and she worries when the book mysteriously shows up at Aiden’s school.

• Law & Order | 8pm on NBC: The revelation of a murder victim’s true identity leads detectives to a suspicious web site with threatening posts.

On the late night couch…

• The Jay Leno Show: John Cusack, Frank Caliendo, Adam Carolla
• The Late Show with David Letterman: Regis Philbin, Brian Regan, Weezer
• The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien:Susie Essman, world champion pumpkin grower Don Young, professional monster truck driver Dennis Anderson, Alice in Chains
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson: Lauren Graham, Fruit Bats
• Jimmy Kimmel Live: Paris Hilton, Slipknot
• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon: EWanda Sykes, Josh Charles, the Amazing Kreskin, Andrew Bird
• Chelsea Lately: Mike Epps, Brad Wollack, Natasha Leggero, Ryan Stout (R 10/22/09)
• Last Call with Carson Daly: Masi Oka, the Doves

Which shows will YOU be checking out tonight? Leave a comment here or send me a message via Twitter.

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