Dollhouse: Season 1, Episode 9: "Spy in the House of Love"

Season 1, Episode 9: “Spy in the House of Love”
Grade: 8.7

Wow. This is a great episode. Using a plot told from each Actives perspective this could have been really overdone and hacky. However it is glorious. We learn so much here.
Mellie: First revelation: We see Paul find out that Mellie is an Active and not only an Active but a sleeper agent. She goes back to thinking she is Mellie while Ballard now gets the fascinating task of pretending she is not an Active and trying to act normal. The first great scene of the night.

Sierra: While essentially this does not end up really doing much for the episode we got to see Sierra basically be in an episode of “Alias” complete with awesome heels and wig. I would so much rather watch Sierra do this than Echo. Sierra is my third favorite character after Adelle and Saunders. Fourth would be Boyd.

Victor: ADELLE IS MISS LONELYHEARTS!!! How depressing is that? But also how freaking great is it for her character? Seeing her cry at the end of the portion and then seeing the way she reacts to what happens in front of people makes her so fascinating to me. I also just really like how we see the day that Adelle plans for Victor and herself. This whole section just completely knocked me for a loop. Williams does such a great job in this episode.

Echo: We see Echo voluntarily offer to be imprinted as she speaks to Topher which is really quite surprising as well and not something I expected to happen. She interviews everyone about why they are at the Dollhouse and we learn some very interesting slight insights into particularly Saunders who never leaves the place. It turns out Mr. Dominic is the spy although I’m a bit confused as to whether or not there are more than one. Still a little confused about his motivations and such but whatever, a lot of things about this show confuses me. It all leads up to us seeing what The Attic specifically is which is not real surprise outside of the fact that the whole process is much more disturbing than it might have been. Then we get in my opinion the greatest moment of the series so far: Adelle getting nicked by a bullet and literally not reacting at all and staying for the Attic process as she bleeds through her shirt. Adelle in this scene has been my favorite part of the series thus far. Until Friday…

Sorry in particular these review suck. Dollhouse has a lot going on which I do not normally catch and this plus it being a while since I have seen it makes these reviews pretty difficult outside of the basics.

Dollhouse: Season 1, Episode 8: "Needs"

Season 1, Episode 8: “Needs”
Grade: 8.0

Holy hell I did not expect to learn this much about everything so soon. The Actives wake up with their personalities but no memories as in an experiment administered by Dr. Saunders my other favorite character. They each know nothing about themselves but we eventually learn a bit about each of the 4 active Echo, Victor, Sierra and November.
I’m not so sure this episode completely worked. It’s been a long time since I have seen it but I simply remember not being entirely satisfied with it. Still there are so many interesting things going on here.

The most interesting part was seeing everyone with their basic personalities and with no memories. We get to see what they are each like on the most basic level. This was great as a building block to later further establishing their characters.

Ballard had a dumb dream that I did not like as it furthered along this obsession with Echo that he has which is really lame.

It was really interesting to see things from the ex-for-the-moment- Actives point of view and how barbarically they view whatever is going on because it really just is horrible.

We learn that November had a daughter named Katie who died.

The saddest thing here is Sierra’s past in which she refused to sleep with the scuzzbag to end all scuzzbags and he actually put her in the Dollhouse as opposed to her volunteering. Now she is a regular client of his. That is so sick and her visit to him is all the more horrifying. Fuck this guy. I hope she castrates that fuckwad. Ugh. I hate that guy.

Victor is charming but ultimately not that interesting. I have a feeling that I am going to be more interested in Victor in the Dollhouse as opposed to Victor outside of the Dollhouse if that ever happens. That being said I love him and Sierra and their stuff together was some of my favorite of the episode. I adore them.

Caroline of course wants to save everyone and go back in. Yay. Again I’m just not all that intrigued by her. But her conversations with Topher and Adelle were really great.

So all in all it was an experiment and so even though Caroline succeeds in letting them out it does not matter because at a certain time they pass out and are brought back to the Dollhouse to be put back. So yeah it’s obviously been a while. I can barely remember the episode but I know that I really liked it even if it was flawed for whatever reason.

Dollhouse: Season 1, Episode 7: "Echoes"

Dollhouse:
Season 1, Episode 7: “Echoes”
Grade: 7.8

This is the second of a string of great “Dollhouse” episode we are to see. All of this leads up to my personal favorite of the series thus far “Spy in the House of Love”. Here we see a really heavy amount of humor that surprised me with its effectiveness particularly with the interaction between Adelle and Topher and anything involving Dominic. While the plot had a ton of holes to it and altogether basically no effort was put into having any of it make sense as long as the characters were acting zany and wacky apparently that is all anybody cared about.
We get to see Caroline through flashbacks. Eliza Dushku and the problem I have with ever feeling any sort of emotion when she is on screen is starting to take its toll. Caroline did not interest me at all and while the incident involving her boyfriend was very traumatic and awful, I never felt it or anything for that matter at all and thus it did not hold a lot of power for me. Still though, it was nice seeing some stuff with Caroline. We also learn that Adelle had been trying to get Caroline to join the Dollhouse for 2 years which means that something else must have happened to make Caroline actually join. We get mention of the Rossum Corporation.
Blah blah more stuff with Mellie and Ballard the most annoying pairing of all time although not nearly as annoying as the ridiculous idea of Caroline/Paul that they seem to be slowly pushing at. She leaves Thank the Lord.

Ok so again anything involving Adelle and Topher – that’s right- Topher was tolerable- in this episode was gold. Adelle is my favorite character on the series at this point based on the last episode that aired. Boyd playing the piano was great. And of course Dominic who was hilarious.
Sam the person who had been helping Echo out has bad intentions and drugs her.

24: Season 7, Episode 18: "1:00am-2:00am"

24: Season 7, Episode 18: “1:00am-2:00am”
Grade: 9.5

I have been wondering what to give this episode for a while. It’s not what prevented me from writing the review sooner. I’ll be more caught up with things when school ends. Even though the twist at first upset me greatly, I have gotten over it and am simply ready to see where the show takes all of this even though it will probably end with Jack killing Tony. I also would like concise explanation writers. Seriously, make me believe this. I guess the reason I am so ok with this is because of the strong reaction I had to it. 24 made me react like that in the past. It had not for such a long time though; no show has really gotten that reaction out of me for years. So that is ultimately why I loved this episode, for better or for worse, the episode absolutely left me screaming at my television set in ways I could not have imagined. But it is not simply this; the rest of the episode was incredible. Really really great. So off we go.

We had President Taylor trusting Jack in ways that only Jack Bauer can do. I love the relationship he had with Palmer (David not Lame Wayne). We saw her hold her own in a conversation with Jonas Hodges and painfully have to endure going through his list of ridiculous demands. When they started reading those off and we saw what he wanted it became clear to me just how lame Hodges is. What kind of delusional world is he living in that he thinks he can walk away with these privileges’? What a loser.

Then we had Renee tell Jack that Kim was there to see him. They threw in an interesting twist here. While I had originally assumed Renee would butt her way into Jack’s business like she always does, Kim had actually been trying to get a hold of him all day and for a long time now. The scene between Renee and Jack was ridiculously intense and incredible. Kim’s always been the only thing that Jack cannot face. And I love his line to Renee ''I am dying! And I was okay with it. I could handle it. And now you put in front of me the one thing — the one thing that's going to make this unbearable?...I specifically told you: Do not drag my daughter into this!'' It’s just so true and I was already crying by this point.

Then we get the Jack/Kim reunion which was thank God all hugs because I could not handle them getting into a fight. Is it me or did Elisha look not so good? I was surprised by how old she looked and I wonder if that was intentional. Anyways, Jack is crying, Kim is crying and I am sobbing. Then Kim leaves and jack starts sobbing and then I go into emotional breakdown mode. Seriously…I cannot handle it. These scenes were just so satisfying as a fan to see and I love that these last few hours have showed us that Kiefer could do more than yell at people. The guy can seriously act when it comes to Jack Bauer and I do not think there is a TV character I am more attached to. I’ve been watching him for 7 years. That’s insane. We have not seen the last of Kim and I hope they keep this up with keeping her out of the danger. I sincerely do; the one thing they can do to fuck up Kim’s return is to put her in danger.

Onto the Tony extravaganza. Well…I knew something was up. I had an off feeling. The shots to Tony at the elevator, Moss taking off Tony’s handcuffs, the one too many shots of him in the helicopter. I said to myself “This feels weird” but I never even went to the idea of Tony being bad in my head. Never. I truly believed him when he said he was ready to answer for all of the things he had done. I had heard something big was going down in the way of the silent clock although I was so caught up in the happenings of the episode that I do not even know if I heard one. Either way, I figured Moss would die about 20 minutes in; just a hunch. Did I know Tony would kill him? Fuck no. It really sucks for a couple of reasons. One is that I genuinely liked Moss. A lot. I had texted my mom at some point in this exact episode that simply said “I love Moss”. I thought he was great; an idiot sometimes to be sure but ultimately pretty awesome. So his death really blows just as a death on the show. Then we bring Tony into it. Can Jack handle this? I sure can’t. What I am going to hate seeing is us knowing what is going on with Tony and knowing that nobody else knows what is going on. I hate that. I just want everyone to know. He killed Moss with his bare hands!!!!!!!!! What the hell?! The reason that I am more excited about this than I am pissed about what they did with Tony specifically is because between Seasons 5 and 7 I got over Tony. He was my favorite. I liked him more than Jack. When he came back I had simply moved on from the character. I still care and I still really like him and Jack/Tony will never get old. But it’s not the same with Tony. However it is exactly the way with Jack as it has always been and that is why I am pissed; not because of what they specifically did to Tony but because of what that will specifically do to Jack. So here is hoping they can pull this off. The episode proved that the show still has the ability to completely pull the rug out from under us. They will not get an opportunity to do something quite this substantial I suspect for some time if ever so let us hope they make the most of it.

My So-Called Life: Season 1, Episode 5: "The Zit"

Season 1, Episode 5: “The Zit”
Grade: 8.7

This is my favorite episode outside of the pilot so far. See, while I hate Sharon, as I’ve said before I totally understand where she is coming from and am actually on her side in the whole Angela/Sharon breakup. But I still hate Sharon. She grates on me. But the scenes between Sharon and Angela are my favorites on the show. So this was essentially a gold mine for me with two incredible scenes with the two of them. The first is when Angela asks Sharon if she is participating in the mother/daughter fashion show and Sharon is just not ready to pretend she did not basically dump her. So Sharon calls Angela out on the zit in the title which was really very harsh and uncalled for. Then Angela comes back with a doozy by calling her out on being named Best Hooters on a list that had been made in the episode. Ohh snap. Fucking classic. The second is when they do actually bond a bit but then Rayanne comes in and they stop talking. Rayanne tells Angela she can be friends with Sharon if she wants but Angela says she does not want to be. Really harsh.
So yeah, said list. Rayanne is named most Slut Potential which she is really proud of. Angela states that she does not like it because she does not want people saying things about her.

Rayanne calls Angela out on not wanting people talking about her because Angela is associated with her. Wow. Good call. I like that Rayanne is made to be a lot more intuitive about things than you would think.

So Angela is not on the list which makes her think she is ugly and that she does not matter. I related to this so much because about 4 years of my life was basically what Angela went through in this episode.

Patty wants to be in the mother/daughter fashion show and basically pretends that Angela is interested. I enjoyed this storyline as well.

I love love love love love love love the randomness of the interactions between Ricky and Brian. They are not two character you would expect to get time together and the show constantly surprises me with the people they put in scenes together. This was some of the best stuff of the episode.

Sharon deals with her boyfriend who is a nimrod. He’s nice. He’s just a nimrod though.
Something else I’ve really liked about the last 2 episodes though is that Jordan is in little of them. This will all change soon though. : (

Best moments:
- The last scene
- Jordan saying to Angela about the Metamorphoses: “So it’s not a true story right?” Ahahahaha. What a dumbass.
- Rickie: What? Who's in there?Brian: Sharon and that guy.Rickie: Oh, so what? Were they kissing?... More than kissing?Brian: He was, like, making her beg for her shoe.Rickie: Wow! I never heard of that.

My So-Called Life: Season 1, Episode 4: "Father Figures"

Season 1, Episode 4: “Father Issues”
Grade: 8.4
Have I mentioned I love Graham? Seriously he’s the best dad ever. But Angela does not seem to think so. She suspects he is having an affair because, well, he almost did. She resents him for it. Something that surprised me about the episode was the fact that Angela and Graham do not have a scene together that confronts the issue. The episode ends pretty happily but they still never confront that. I kept waiting for it but it never came. Graham senses that Angela hates him so he tries to win her over by giving her and Rayanne Grateful Dead tickets. Rayanne is really really pumped while Angela could really care less.
My favorite aspect of the episode was the interaction between Rayanne and Graham and everything involving Rayanne in the episode. Rayanne really appreciates Graham, clings to her interaction with him because she does not have a father like that. So when Angela sells the has Jordan scalp the Grateful Dead tickets literally because she just wanted something to say to Jordan, she gets very angry with her and chastises her for not appreciating her father. I thought I was going to hate Rayanne. I actually love Rayanne. I know she is going to do some things to piss me off because I already know a decent amount about what happens on the show, but right now I love her and I love the way they handled this issue because I figured she would just get pissed because she wanted to go to the concert. This is an example of writers taking something a step further than one usually would and really getting some great characterization, interaction and scenes out of it.
Patty is also dealing with father issues with her dad when their business gets audited. I was not a huge fan of this story but I did like it enough and I liked the scene at the end with her and her father. I also liked how Patty comforted Graham because Angela was having issues with him because she is always the one in that position.
We also got a very nice scene between Angela and Brian in his car. Brian always finds a way to mess everything up. Even though Angela has a ridiculously short tolerance for Brian.
Favorite Moment: The end when Graham sees Brian and wants him to help him with the roof and Brian just waves and keeps riding his bike around in circles.
So yeah I guess that wraps it up.

My So-Called Life: Season 1, Episode 3: "Guns and Gossip"

My So Called Life:
Season 1, Episode 3: “Guns and Gossip”
Grade: 8.0

These are hard to do because unlike Buffy I cannot find satisfactory recaps of the episodes and it has been a long time since I watched this one. But here I go. I’ll do it by character:
Angela: A gun goes off at school and all Angela cares about is a note that is being passed around about her having to do with the rumor going around that her and Jordan had sex. As I’ve said before I like how they make Angela quite flawed but in the way all 15 year olds are. An example of this is how Angela does not really care about the gun going off and is way more concerned about the gossip about her. Then Jordan suggests they have sex and then when she turns him down he later apologizes in an unintentionally harsh way by telling her that he has no interest in her and it was wrong to suggest that. He has no idea the way she feels about him. Danes is of course perfection in every episode and she really shows the audience what she is going through in her head in that scene while Jordan cannot see what we do.
Brian: It turns out Brian is the one who started the rumor about Angela and not Jordan. Correction; Brian told Sharon because he felt used by Angela and then she in turn told everyone. I cannot wait for “Life of Brian” because I am just utterly fascinated by him and how he drifts in and out of the other characters lives and is essentially an observer. He’s so weird and in such a unique way. Brian Krakow rules. Also Brian is pressured by the principal and police to tell them what he knows about the gun show because he witnessed it. I thought he would say what he knew but he did not. Good for Brian. Even though…
Ricky: …Ricky wanted Brian to tell the police what he saw so that everyone would be afraid to mess with him. Her we see just how tormented Ricky is at school and it’s very sad. And the worst thing about it is that the issue is just as prevalent then as it is now. We’ve made no progress. I love the scene between Ricky and Angela in the car. It was very touching.
Patty: Patty goes to a school meeting to discuss the gun incident and meets Rayanne’s mom. Rayanne’s mom is exactly who you would think she’d be. It’s great. Then Patty thinks that Angela is sleeping with Jordan and tries to talk to her about it which does not go well. It’s absurd how long it takes Angela to tell her mom she is not having sex.
That’s all I can think of for this episode. Overall a very good one.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 6.8: "Tabula Rasa"

Season 6, Episode 8: “Tabula Rasa”
Grade: 9.5

I had no recollection of having seen this one before until I started it and realized it was one of the ones Amanda had shown me. This has some of the funniest stuff I’ve ever seen on this show and also some of the most intense. Let us start with the funny:
- I’m just about obsessed with everything involving the memory loss in this episode. Anya and Giles thinking they are engaged, Spike thinking he is Giles’ son. These interactions are things you will only see in this episode and that is what makes it special. Spike thinking his name is Randy. I could go on forever about how many times I laughed out loud during this episode.
- I liked that Buffy picked out the name Joan for herself.
- I actually liked the shark guy. It was really corny but it reminded me of early Buffy so I enjoyed it.
- Spike as Randy thinking that they wanted spiked instead of Spike.

The Bad:
- The episode lost steam about 30 minutes in for a few minutes and then picked it up again for the end.

The Serious:
- A really really intense scene gets cut because of Willow’s stupidity. Buffy was actually having a breakthrough or breakdown when it got cut off. Ugh. That stuff was insane.
- Giles telling Buffy he was leaving is depressing. I don’t even know whose side I am on for this one.
- Love the conversation between Willow, Xander, Tara and Anya about Buffy being in heaven and what they did. Willow suggesting a spell to fix it was absurd and seriously she’s retarded. Way to completely avoid dealing with any life issue Wil.
- Enjoyed the Willow-Tara break up scene. It’s so interesting how Willow really just immediately tries to solve the problem with the spell. She really does not take anything Tara says seriously. I like how Tara applied it to her violating her mind and brining up Glory.
- It was really depressing to see when Buffy remembers everything again. That realization and overflow of emotions must be insane.
- Everyone’s reaction in the tunnel with Willow and Tara
- The end scene with “Goodbye to You”. Don’t like the song but it worked well in the context of the scene.
Overall this was a great great great episode. One of my all time favorites of the series to be sure.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 6.7: "Once More, With Feeling"

Season 6, Episode 7: “Once More with Feeling”
Grade: 10

What can be said about this episode that has not already been said? Like “The Body” there’s really not much to say because it’s just a work of perfection. I saw it years ago and it’s so nice to finally see it in context. Every single song is a knockout. Seriously. Even the Sweet song which I did not think I liked, I actually really like. The way the episode is not just a throwaway in plot is incredible. So much actually happens in this episode. Each song deals with the inner torment of the characters. Even though Willow gets nothing to sing because of Alyson Hannigan’s lack of a singing voice, it also unintentionally makes it really messed up that she has nothing to sing about. She sees no problems with anything she does. Buffy being forced to deal with her issues through song. The Disney-esque “Going Through the Motions” juxtaposed against the really depressing lyrics. “I’ve Got a Theory” rules. The ridiculousness of “The Mustard” and “The Parking Ticket” “Rest in Peace” gets slightly lame at times both in visuals and in music but it’s still pretty solid. I love how short Dawn’s song is; it’s like 10 seconds. It’s almost as if the show does not even respect Dawn’s lame inner emotions. “I’ll Never Tell” is a really light and fun way to expose the issues that won’t be so light when they come to a head. “Under Your Spell” is simultaneously romantic, beautiful, depressing and pornographic. The literalness of what Tara is singing and the fact that she has no idea that the song is literal is so sad. It such a beautiful song though and Amber Benson’s voice is absurdly stunning. “Standing” is a beautiful scene and even more beautiful is the “Under Your Spell/Standing” Reprise. Holy shit, Anthony Stewart Head and Amber Benson singing together is incredible. Willow’s reaction to Buffy being in heaven is amazing. “Walk Through the Fire” and “Something to Sing About” are songs I cannot even talk about because they are so perfect. I just cannot handle this episode and its brilliance. Tara figures out that Willow has made her forget, Spike explains his feelings for Buffy again, Giles decides he has to leave, Buffy tells everyone where she was and Buffy and Spike kiss. Insane stuff. The best thing about this episode is the absurd watch ability factor of it. I could watch it all day and not get bored. Incredible.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 6.6: "All the Way"

Season 6, Episode 6: “All the Way”
Grade: 6.8

This episode was not as bad as I thought it was going to be but there are a lot of things here that are just really underdone and annoying. Basically the over focus on Dawn is fine. I don’t really like her but I don’t have a problem with her being the focus; IF THEY ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING WITH IT!! They do nothing with her here. Just her being rebellious. I mean there is some intense stuff going on with her willing to be bitten and her trying to have her own friends and stuff. But nothing is done with it because Buffy never even talks to her about it. I know that has to do with Buffy simply not putting the effort into doing anything but because of that we get no aftermath with anything Dawn did in the episode. They have the opportunity to develop her but instead it’s just all “I steal things and nobody cares about me”. Seriously writers; that’s the best you can come up with? I expect better character development from this show. In the meantime we get handfuls of good stuff with everyone else but we keep leaving those conversations to go back to Dawn and her lame ass friends which by the way, her having them as friends makes me like her less because they are really stupid. But there is some really good stuff here:

The Good:

- The dance of capitalist superiority
- Everyone helping Anya at the Magic Box
- Xander picking that moment to tell everyone they are getting married. You can see that even though he is not going to go through with it that he really does love her.
- Everyone’s various reactions to the engagement announcement
- Willow’s decoration spell and Giles and Tara’s reaction to it.
- The ridiculousness of Willow attempting to transfer everyone at the Bronze to a different dimension quickly to search for Dawn. And Tara standing up for herself and telling Willow she is worried. Great scene but seriously Willow is such a bitch. It’s crazy how much I love Tara after she stops stuttering and comes into her own.
- Everything involving the creepy old man. The audience being fooled into thinking that he was the bad guy. He’s just a lost soul. I don’t know. I just liked the randomness of his presence.
- Buffy telling Spike “good fight”
- Buffy: “Is that why you always clean your glasses?”
Giles: “Tell no one”
- How fucked up it is that Willow erased Tara’s memories.

The Bad:
- I did not like how much time was spent on Dawn with their being no real point to any of it or any real consequence or character development. It’s a huge detractor. Huge.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 6.5: "Life Serial"

Season 6, Episode 5: “Life Serial”
Grade: 7.8

Overall I liked this episode. It got off to a shaky start but once it got into the swing of things it established a good pace and The Trio was slightly less annoying only because I liked the concept of the episode. The episode had some humorous moments with one really great scene. Definitely some shaky parts but overall I enjoyed this episode quite a bit.

The Good:
- Buffy not knowing what to do with her life and not looking like she really cares even though she is pretending to. That whole scene.
- The structure of the episode is great as we get to see Buffy try out construction, college again and working at the Magic Box.
- The first sequence with time rushing by was really great. It forces Buffy to become active. I just like the way this sequence was done.
- The idea of playing poker for kittens amuses me even though its awful.
- Buffy’s face every time she takes a swig of alcohol.
- Even though everyone complains about Buffy not being the same I still find that the humor is very much in place even with Buffy although it’s slightly more morbid. She’s retained this sense of humor. I expected Buffy to be a walking zombie in this season and while there is definitely some of that, she is more active than I thought she would be. Even if she’s doing not so good things with her activeness.
- By far the best part of the episode was the time loop sequence. Another of my favorite scenes of the season so far. Hilarious. I love all of the different things she goes through in order to break the time loop.
- The way they introduce Giles seeing that Buffy depends too much on him.
- Drunk Buffy trying to fight.

The Bad:
- The Trio although they were slightly less annoying and I like the idea of each of them having a specialty and testing it on Buffy. Still though….ugh.
- The second sequence with Buffy working at construction with Xander was not bad or anything but it was not very good.
- Something that pisses me off is the idea that Buffy never works at the Magic Box again just because of the time loop thing. Yeah, I know she hates working there anyways; yeah I know she helps out during certain busy days. But why not just suck it up and work there? I don’t get it. It’s better than where working eventually at the Doublemeat Palace. I just hate that.
- I thought the idea of Spike and Buffy spending a night out was interesting and the way it goes is amusing but I thought it went on for too long and was overall underwhelming.
- “Free Cable Porn. Ooooh” Shoot me.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 6.4: "Flooded"

Season 6, Episode 4: “Flooded”
Grade: 7.3

I am so confused as to what to do with this episode. There are things I loved (anything and everything involving Giles who very well might come out of this series as being my favorite) and things I hated (slow pace, The Trio, The Trio, The Trio). So let’s start with the things I liked.

Good:
- While it could have been handled better I very much like that they are addressing the fact that Buffy needs to have a stable income and that they are bringing money issues into the show because it is very realistic.
- Anya being the one to figure out the state of Buffy’s financial situation
- Willow trying to purposely upset Buffy to get some emotion out of her. Willow does not want to do that for Buffy. She wants to do it for herself so she can feel that what she did was right. What a selfish bitch.
- Giles and his return were the highlight of this episode. His reunion with Buffy, his conversation with Buffy. Him trying to reach out to her and her rejecting it. Everything.
- One of my favorite scenes in this series ever was the one with Willow and Giles. We have never seen them clash like this and Giles is absolutely furious over what she did to Buffy. She is ridiculously arrogant and the way she talks about how cool the spell was is really messed up. While I do not think Willow would have gotten to a point where she would have said “Maybe it’s not such a good idea for you to piss me off”, it was such an intense moment that I didn’t even care about whether or not she was at that stage yet. I just love how pissed off Giles is because seriously, he should be. Also Willow and Giles have always had a special bond and to see it crumble like this is very substantial. He lost respect for her because of what she did.
- Spike and Buffy’s conversation on the back porch.
- Love the end with Buffy going off to see Angel.

The Bad:
- First of all I had read this comment somewhere and I am totally in agreement. If Tara and Willow live there shouldn’t they offer to get jobs as well instead of leaving Buffy to figure out the money problems? They live there now and it should be just as much their responsibility. That is such a ridiculous plot hole that carries throughout the season it seems and it’s just absurd.
- I thought that the whole money issue thing with her getting a loan could have been handled better. I was pretty bored by the whole M’Fashnik thing.
- My big issue with the episode was the introduction of The Trio. I know we are going to be seeing a lot of them and I am not excited about it. They had so much screen time in this episode. So much. Andrew is ok. The other 2 I hate. Hate hate hate hate hate. I hate Johnathan and I hate Warren. I don’t think they are funny. At all. I find that I feel like I need to take a shower when I see a scene with them. They are disgusting sexist misogynistic pigs. All they care about is objectifying women and porn and sex slaves and its sick. I know the show is not sympathizing with them but at the same time it’s supposed to be funny how obsessed they are with it all and how completely undersexed they are because they are all geeks but to me it’s not funny; it’s sick. Their bantering annoys me and actually makes me ashamed to be a geek. I like the concept of the Trio and it really has nothing to do with the actors although I just find that they go waaaay over the top with it. I know they try and its nothing against them in particular. And I like the idea of these villains being human and the motivation behind their goals is interesting and it’s a different spin on things. But I am just not a fan. I cannot wait for Warren to get flayed. Color me excited.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 6.3: "After Life"

Season 6, Episode 3: “After Life”
Grade: 8.3

This is a very good follow up to “Bargaining” as we see Buffy try to adjust to being alive and everyone’s reactions and feelings on the matter. I think it’s interesting that everyone just assumes that Buffy went to hell. How nice of them. Seeing Spike’s reaction to Buffy being alive was very touching while everyone else just pesters her and sucks. And I love love love that Spike knew she had to claw out of her own coffin. One of the only things that Dawn has done that I have praised on the show so far is when Dawn tells everyone to leave her alone. Dawn showing Buffy around the house was a nice scene as well.

Some observations:
- I love that Anya is the one who points out (just to Xander) that she does not seem normal at all.
- Love love love the scene between Xander and Spike outside.
- I like how the demon is something that was brought back. The possession scenes were quite effective, particularly Anya’s and Dawn’s was funny in the not so good way.
- Buffy saying “I miss Giles”
- I really appreciate the time taken to have Buffy be drawn to Spike be totally believable, because it is, under the circumstance a completely natural thing.
- The scene between Xander and Tara was really nice because we never really see interactions between just the two of them.
- Of course, the final scene was fantastic as Buffy explains to Spike that she was in heaven.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 6.2: "Bargaining: Part 2"

Season 6, Episode 2: “Bargaining Part 2”
Grade: 6.0

I had a lot of issues with the second part of the episode however. The only reason it is even this high of a grade is because of the fact that there are some really important and nice moments. Basically “Bargaining” was supposed to be one episode but the network wanted two. So they drew it out and this is what we get; a half assed attempt to draw the story out into 2 episodes when it could have been a lot better. The episode is essentially a lot of people running around and lots and lots of stupid biker demons that suck. But there are nice moments:

- Xander questioning what Willow went through and what just happened. Their scene by the tree was my favorite of the episode.
- Willow thinking the spell did not work.
- Buffy clawing out of her coffin.
- Buffy seeing the BuffyBot get ripped apart.
- Buffy’s interaction with the other Scoobies.

Buffy thinking she was in hell was pretty disturbing. However another of my problems with the episode was that this was one of the rare instances where I did not buy Sarah Michelle Gellar’s acting. It was a little much for me and parts of it felt slightly reminiscent of “Beer Bad”. Sorry folks. Another problem I have is that while I liked the scene with Dawn and Buffy atop the tower, I really cannot take Michelle Trachtenberg seriously when it comes to doing anything serious. I am 100% always aware that she is acting. And I wonder if people would have liked Dawn better if a different actress could have brought some serious acting skills to the table. Also the scene went on far too long.

Something I do like however is the immediate sign that protecting Dawn and being there for her is no longer Buffy’s priority at all. She is way too disconnected to even think about that.
Also Buffy’s face when Dawn hugs her is not what you would expect although I expected it because I know what happens. It’s still a powerful moment though and it is when you realize that things are not going to be the same.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 6.1: "Bargaining: Part 1"

Here we go. I am 8 episodes into Buffy Season 6 and I would like to do each episode review now if I can. A lot of people are split between Season 6. The cast basically did not like it; a lot of fans don’t either. I actually like it a lot. However the freshness is certainly gone. The cast essentially hated each other or at least Sarah at this point and the chemistry between everyone is not as lively as it once was and I think in addition to the change of tone in the show that the onset tension contributed to that as well as a lot of people simply not enjoying their time on the show anymore. I can understand everyone’s frustrations about the show the direction it took. That is not the problem for me actually. I always like it when series evolve and take risks; for me it’s like dealing with the people who think Lost was the best in the beginning. I respect it but I think Seasons 4 and 5 are incredible and it’s because of the evolution of the show. While the show definitely has some problems at this point in the game I will always respect the naturalness of the characters and their evolutions. It’s always done with respect. That being said; let’s get into it.
Also it’s been as long as 3 weeks since I have seen some of these.

Season 6, Episode 1: “Bargaining Part 1”
Grade: 8.4
I very much liked this opener because it addresses a lot of the issues within the Scooby group that are going to be staples for the season. Most importantly is Willow’s magic addiction. A lot of people hate this whole story but actually it’s the most fascinating thing for me in the season just because I love Willow so much so it’s sort of fun as a viewer to see your opinions about her change and to see how they pull of her descent into the dark side. We get to see what life is like without Buffy and that it has been 5 months. They use the BuffyBot which was great and really creepy and disturbing that someone that acts like Buffy is still in their presence. Her interaction with everyone is interesting so it was a nice element. I enjoy that Spike kept his promise to protect Dawn.
I had a lot of favorite parts; one was the scene in which Willow kills the fawn because it was so unexpected. The other one was Giles at the airport and everyone rushing there to say goodbye to him. It was so touching and will surely be one of my favorite scenes in the series. The Buffy resurrection scene was really messed up as I did not expect it to go that far with the pain that Willow went through. Her determination for this to work and confidence was quite off putting. I really liked the time that they put into addressing the groups reservations about the spell particularly Xander. We learn that Xander and Anya have not told anyone about their engagement which is not surprising. The unfortunate thing about this plotline is that they set it up too early; even if I did not know how this would all end, you can see where they are going with it. Also at the end of the episode it was really really disturbing to see a 5 month decaying version of Buffy. I am glad they added that touch.
Detractors:
- I know that the biker demons are there so Buffy thinks she is in hell once she gets out but seriously they were way lame and took up way too much screen time.

Random Moment:
Tara: “Grr. Arrgh”

South Park: Season 13, Episode 6: "Pinewood Derby"

South Park:
Season 13, Episode 6: “Pinewood Derby”
Grade: 6.3

I was hoping for a lot more from this episode. I’ve never seen a bad episode of this show. I know there are so many I have not seen but I have yet to see a bad one. This was not a bad episode. It just was not a good episode. It started out with a lot of promise in the way it represented the stress, bonding and overly determinate fathers of the Pinewood Derby competition perfectly shown through Randy. Then it devolved into an alien plotline with a misguided attempt to spoof on the gangster movies and speech patterns of the 30’s with its repetitive storyline. The parts that I liked involved Randy because I love Randy. Randy getting upset is always a treat and it has not failed to make me laugh. Here it does as well. His anger towards Finland as they think about telling the truth was the best part of the episode. I know a lot of people hate an overexposure of Randy but I just get such a kick out of him. I did miss the complete lack of interaction between the kids which is really what makes the show what it is in the end and became a big detractor for the episode. The other best part of the episode was when Stan and Randy’s rivals, the Hollis’ in the Pinewood Derby lose and in response the father commits suicide. Hilarious. I also enjoyed the name Baby Fark McGeezax.

The Office: Season 5, Episode 22: "Heavy Competition"

The Office:
Season 5, Episode 22: “Heavy Competition”
Grade: 7.9

This episode could have been great if not for a crappy B Plot. I really enjoyed the Dwight/Michael stuff but not as much as I so thoroughly enjoy the Michael/Pam/Ryan interactions as the Michael Scott Paper Company. The cold open with the Cheese Puffs was so funny because it showed this group bonding together in their desperation to occupy themselves. They are becoming an adorable unit. The way that Pam and Ryan try to help Michael understand that Dwight was talking about him and Charles and that Dwight robbed their office was really great too because they are making him more aware of what is going on because their surroundings force Pam and Ryan to take an active part in Michael’s business. The other aspect I really liked was once again seeing Michael as a competent salesman. It’s always one of my favorite parts of the show to watch Michael actually succeed and be charming within his job and to show that he does in fact have skill. So to see Dwight make an ass of himself and Michael looking like the calm and collected one of the two was extremely satisfying and deserved on Dwight’s part. At first I thought that the color code on the back of the cards was too much of a stretch I had forgotten about Michael’s technique for remembering people’s names and I realized that Michael does indeed have a uniquely functioning brain. Anyways, this Michael Scott Paper Company is forcing Michael to be consistently on his feet and it is showing that he actually might be able to pull this off. His sales pitch was quite convincing.

I actually really liked the Dwight/Michael plot in this episode. It felt like filler at first to me but then I realized that the relationship between the two of them has now changed a bit I would assume because of this episode. I was surprised by how little it took for Dwight to betray his loyalty to Michael. But then I realized that Michael has never taken Dwight seriously and that by Charles showing Dwight an iota of respect and actually suggesting he has more responsibility, Dwight would take that over Michael any day. I was surprised that Dwight trashed the office but again I find it pretty realistic within the confines of the shows reality (obviously not in reality reality).

The issue I had with the episode that really brought it down quite a bit was the Jim/Andy plotline. It seems that they are struggling with Jim and his story at times and outside of the new Charles development, they seem to not know what to do with him. The Jim/Andy story took up way too much time, it was boring and it was predictable; really predictable. Instead of giving Jim nonsense stuff to do why don’t they actually address the fact that he feels the need to fuck around with people every day in a bland effort to avoid doing any work? Jim can no longer fuck with Dwight in quite the same way he used to because he needs to look good to Charles so now he is looking for less outlandish ways to distract himself. I feel bored by him right now. I love the Jim/Charles stuff. I just hope it goes somewhere and I hope that once it ends, the writers actually give Jim something to do instead of avoiding his issues. Hell, Pam addressed her issues. Yeah she may be regretting it but she is in a new environment and guess what? I legitimately care about Pam now. I’m serious. Even if they did Pam/Jim stuff I think I would really care. I am actually invested in her now. It might not last forever once she gets back to her normal routine but I honestly care about what happens to her. So while I really really liked the Dwight/Michael stuff and anything involving the Michael Scott Paper Company, the Jim/Andy plot took the episode down some significant points.

Moments:
- Andy making invisible music to his music tape.
- Dwight purposely ordering Michael the worst sandwich that the restaurant makes and Michael’s subsequent reaction.
- The opening with the cheese balls: one of my all time favorite openings to the show.
- Michael and his sales pitch to Harper Collins.
- Dwight driving and listening to Michael’s conversation at Harper Collins through the phone .
- Dwight and the shirt sleeves.
- Tall. Beets.

Quotes:
- Michael: (talking to Dwight on phone) I want you to listen to me, friend, and I want you to listen to me good. I'm going to come at you, and I'm going to come at you hard. I'm going to steal all of your clients, and then I'm going to kill them in front of you.

- Charles Miner: Michael I want you to stop pestering my salesmen and I want you to leave Dunder Mifflin alone do you understand?

Michael Scott: I.Understand. Nothing.

- Pam Beesly: Tell us what you're talking about.

Michael Scott: It's like a girl says she'll make out with you but then her boyfriend is waiting around the corner with a pee-filled balloon.

Pam Beesly: We can't help you if you don't just tell us what happened.

Michael Scott: I got hit in the face with a pee-filled balloon, Pam! Ok? I don't know how they did it. They filled the balloon with pee. A funnel? I donno! Is that clear enough for you!

My So Called Life: Season 1, Episode 2: "Dancing in the Dark"

My So Called Life:
Season 1, Episode 2: “Dancing in the Dark”
Grade: 7.9

Yes I am finally experiencing this show. Matt happens to love it very much and is determined to expose it to me. And I am very much enjoying it as well. I find myself wanting to watch more. What I love most about the show is Angela’s narration. It could have come off as contrived and yes it is a clichéd thing to do but what she is saying is so crucial to why this show is as critically acclaimed as it was and is. The things she says are always so spot-on it’s ridiculous. I find myself at several points during the episodes I have seen saying to myself “How do they know that?” in relation to something Angela narrates that just nails it. I love Claire Danes. She is the only person who makes my cry every single time she does. She has a talent for crying that nobody else has in my opinion. It nice to know that several people have said that I look like her and we basically have the same body so it’s nice. I feel connected with her in a very superficial way and add onto that how much I indentify with Angela in terms of who I was at that age.

I like that Angela is not perfect. I like that she can be very selfish as most people that age are. The way she uses Brian and does not care is a good example. But of course Brian is not perfect either. If I had been Angela’s age while watching the show I would have been on her side for the conflicts going on with her mother but seeing it now I side with the mother more although I totally get where Angela is coming from. Her relationship with her mother was a lot like mine and my mom’s and still is a bit. They can hate each other one minute but be great the next. It’s very off and on and I find that to be quite accurate with my own experience with my mom.

I really like Brian. I really like Ryanne a lot more than I thought I would actually. I like Ricky a lot. I like Patty and Graham. But I hate Sharon. Oh lord I do. I really do. Truly. But I understand where she is coming from at the same time. And I really do not like Jordan. A lot of it has to do at this point with the fact that I find him to be dull and boring. A lot of it has to do with the fact that Jared Leto is insufferable and annoying as fuck and spends his life making shitty music for a living these days and gaining weight for movies that are not supposed to be good in the first place. So I have trouble getting that out of my head. I cannot believe I really used to like him. Ugh. But I do get Angela’s fascination with him.

This episode: Patty and Graham taking dance lessons did not particularly interest me but I like that the parents have a big part of the show and are not just there. It’s nice to know that the show acknowledges that every stage of one’s life involves going through serious stuff. Sharon sucks. I liked the conversation with Angela and Jordan in the car. I did not expect it to go that way. That’s pretty much it only because it’s been like a week since I have seen it. Sorry. : ( that the review sucks.

Angela’s Voiceover Moments of the episode:

Angela (voice over): I couldn't believe how long it had been since I'd been inside Brian Krakow's house, considering how many hours I spent here when I was little. It smelled exactly the same, which was reassuring and annoying, sort of like Brian himself.

Angela (voice over): The thought that I might be seeing Jordan Catalano in a few hours was, like, too impossible comprehend. Like when they first tell you about infinity.

South Park: Season 13, Episodes 3, 4, 5

South Park
Season 13, Episode 3: “Margaritaville”
Grade: 8.3
The reason I liked this episode so much was because it focused on the kids with a heavy dose of Randy who is my favorite adult on the show that is if you can call him an adult. Basically everybody listens to Randy’s advice which is to live in an ancient like society where economy barely even exists. Kyle thinks this is the opposite of what everyone should be doing and pretty soon he has followers as Kyle becomes a Christ like figure. Stan spends the episode trying to get rid of a Margaritaville that his dad bought which eventually takes him to the United States Treasury where he discovers that they base their decisions on a decapitated chicken that runs around on a board with their options on it. Cartman wants to deliver Kyle to Randy because he wants the new Grand Theft Auto game.

I thought that the episode had a great balance of having the episode focus on the kids a lot but also on the adults and at the same time giving a great reading of the economic crisis through the shows lens. My favorite stuff of the episode was basically everything involving Stan and Randy. The chicken reveal was the best part of the episode. The best scene was probably the recreation of the Last Supper with Cartman as Judas and the way he handles the news that someone will betray Kyle, knowing it was himself. It has been a while since I have seen it but I remember loving it.

Season 13, Episode 4:“Eat, Pray, Queef”
Grade: 7.4
This is a hard one to judge because everyone is so split on it. For one, I was basically laughing my ass off the entire episode which many parts leading me to consistent tears in my eyes from laughter and often times leaving me unable to catch my breath. Some people think this is the worst episode of “South Park” or one of the worst. If this is the worst episode of “South Park” well, then that’s pretty damn incredible.

I find the toilet humor on this show to be hilarious. I have no idea why but on this show for whatever reason, toilet humor amuses me here and nowhere else. The problems I had with it are that queefing is not nearly as common as farting and so the concept of it cannot hold up too well but I guess that is a stupid complaint to have about “South Park”. The other problem is that Terence and Philip are funny but not funny enough to carry such a huge chunk of the episode. I wanted to see more of the kids. And the “Sideways” parody was funny but it went on for far too long and I feel that it went over a lot of people’s heads because the movie came out 5 years ago and its pop culture stamina is somewhat strong but not that strong. Those are my complaints.
You will notice that the toilet humor used in the episode is not a complaint. Yes there was too much of it so it got repetitive but whatever. The reason this episode is good is because of the argument it makes for feminism. The case it makes, although it uses a disgusting example of it, it completely accurate. The women are not allowed to queef or to find it funny because women basically have to be a certain way for men and seem a certain way for men in order to keep up a specific appearance for them. Women are not allowed to be gross and the double standard is ridiculous. And I find it funny that a lot of the men who watched the episode did not seem to understand at all what it was trying to say. I’ve read a lot of reviews of this one because of the debate it sparked and so many men hate the episode while most of the good reviews I read came from women. Basically what I find is that if some of the men watching the episode cannot understand what the episode was doing than all the more reason it should exist.

Best parts:

-Butters reaction to the girl queefing on him
- The “Road Warrior” queef
- Martha Stewart
- Cartman on the phone

Season 13, Episode 5: “Fishsticks”
Grade: 8.1
Really great episode. This has to do with it being so kid heavy which I love. They also managed to rip apart Kanye West and Carlos Mencia. They really nailed Kanye’s whole schtick but they probably spent too much time on him overall. I just love how he could not let the issue drop and thus it got bigger and bigger. Mencia though they exposed for the plagiarist unfunny hack that he is. The fact that anyone could ever even crack a smile when he says anything sickens me to my core. So to see him be treated the way he was in this episode was a treat.

The Fishsticks joke was so funny precisely because it was so damn stupid. I really enjoyed Kanye being like House and trying to connect why someone would call him a gay fish by listing out his and gay fishes traits on the dry erase board.

My favorite thing about this episode though was Cartman and Jimmy. Cartman’s increasingly exaggerated versions of what really happened with the joke were just too funny. I love that this is what is going on in his head and this is how he sees the world and that he thinks Jimmy is the delusional one by the end of the episode. My favorite part of maybe this season so far though has got to be the moment when Jimmy’s mom kills the black widow spider and he says “Thank you. You might have saved my life”. Trust me it is so much funnier within the context of the show. OMG hilarious.

And of course the Gay Fish song at the end which parodies West’s “Heartless” was extremely amusing. West’s solution to everything to listen all too literally to what people are saying to him leading him to believe that he is in fact a gay fish.

Season 13 in Order So Far:
1. 13.1: “The Ring”
2. 13.3: “Margaritaville”
3. 13.5: “Fishsticks”
4. 13.4: “Eat, Pray, Queef”
5. 13.2: “The Coon

The Simpsons: Season 2, Episodes 1, 2, 15

Season 2, Episode 1: “Bart Gets an F”
Grade: 8.4
I saw this a long time ago so this review will be very short. Again this proves that the early Simpsons episodes struck a balance between comedy and sincere and charming sentimentalism that is sorely missed from today’s television animation. My favorite stuff was:
- Anything involving Martin and his short descent into rebellion.
- Homer and Bart each hearing a succession of “blahs” when they listen to adults was really good.
- Bart’s presentation on Treasure Island.
- Otto explaining why staying back is not so bad.
- The fact that the happy ending involved Bart getting a D-

Season 2, Episode 2: “Simpson and Delilah”
Grade: 7.5

Good episode. Homer’s reaction to having his hair and then his reaction to losing is again were the best parts of the episode. Homer watching the trivia game with Bart and Lisa and getting every question horribly wrong was a highlight.

Season 2, Episode 15: “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Grade: 7.7

Another one I watched a long time ago. Danny DeVito voices Homer’s half brother that he never knew he had. Solid. Not amazing but solid. There was very little of the supporting character in the episode which was a little disappointing but they cannot all have all the characters in it. The car that Homer comes up with is so ridiculous which is why it is so funny.

The Office: Season 5, Episodes 17, 19, 20, 21

The Office
Season 5, Episode 17: “Golden Ticket”
Grade: 7.8

This was a pretty awkward episode of “The Office” as we see Michael actually be a huge jerk and not redeem himself by the end of the episode. I like that they finally did this as I cannot remember the last time this has happened when he has not had any sort of redeeming moment by the end. I loved the crisis that Dunder Mifflin goes through as a result of Michael’s marketing scheme goes awry. This was a huge deal; Wallace was freaking out as well. Michael wants Dwight to take the fall which is ridiculous because that would mean him losing his job. Michael tries to convince Dwight that taking the blame would be the best things for him and he sucks up to him and takes him out for a walk and other such things. It’s quite cruel. But Michael gets his comeuppance when the marketing scheme ends up being a great thing for Dunder Mifflin and then Dwight actually does take the credit for it while Michael becomes jealous for someone else taking the credit for his ideas. I really enjoyed the twist for this episode with Michael’s plan backfiring and Dwight taking the credit; we kind of saw it coming but it was still great to see play out. It was also great to see Michael lose his cool like that and Wallace’s face and reaction were perfect.

The subplot was pretty boring. Although I love that they brought back Lynn and Kevin. Them I love but the plot was a little redundant.

Dwight explaining his inspiration for his idea that was not in fact his was my favorite part of the episode: "Okay guys, listen up. Here's the deal: I love candy; sweet, sugary candy from the second it touches my tongue, to the moment it's metabolized by my stomach acids, so naturally I liked Willy Wonka."

Moments/Quotes:-
Michael: Hey! Hey idiot!
Darryl: Start over.
Michael: Sir...

- Michael: "I do want the credit...without any of the blame."

-Jim: "This meeeting sounds like its Wonka fans only."

- Michael: "I have an idea for a fancy men's show store called 'Shoe La La'".

- Dwight: "Horse boat! A canoe built around your horse so that you can go from riding to water travel without slowing down. Horse Boat!"

Season 5, Episode 19: “Two Weeks”
Grade: 8.1
This episode continues a streak of really interesting and good episodes that The Office has begun in late Season 5 as Michael sits in his office and does nothing during his two weeks’ notice, Jim continues to look like a fool in front of Charles and other such stuff. Michael decides he wants to build his own paper company and because of this it gets him kicked off of the lot. Something I loved about this episode was the way we see that the coworkers, while they find Michael extremely annoying, would rather have him for a boss than an actual boss. We can tell they already miss the idea of him being there.

Moments/Quotes:

- Everyone being really enthusiastic about Michael’s quitting story
- Addressing how difficult it would be to start a paper company at this time.
- Michael getting kicked out of the office
- Michael crawling back into the office and particularly when Charles sees Phyllis’ in her chair moving from his window because Michael is pulling on her chair from the ground.
- Kelly and Angela competing over Charles

The end of the episode was what I really loved. I am not a Pam fan but I have always loved her interaction with Michael. So to know that she is the one who left with him and quit is extremely satisfying, it makes me like Pam a lot more because now she has a something else to do not involving Jim. I do not know how realistic it was that she actually quit but I really liked the way they tied her experience with the copier into causing her to actually quit. The very end of the episode was exactly like “The Graduate” when Ben and Elaine come back to reality following the actions they take at the very end and have a “what the hell did I just do” look on their faces.

Season 5, Episode 20: “Dream Team”
Grade: 8.5
Continuing on this great streak of episode we have Pam and Michael attempting to start up their business and Jim looking like a fool again in front of Charles. I love what they do with the story in the office. Andy pretending to like soccer to get on Charles’ good side was so funny because it actually worked. Then everyone pretending to like soccer in that short scene was hilarious with Stanley literally reading off of a piece of paper who he liked. Then Dwight turning the tables on Jim to make him feel like an idiot in front of Charles was still really refreshing to see. Poor Jim. It’s very satisfying to see this as painful as it is for Jim. Michael not being able to convince his Nana to invest in his company was pathetic. I seriously hate Ryan though. Seriously hate him. He is such an asshole and as we will see from the next episode he has no limit to how annoying he can be. The thing though that is so brilliant about Ryan is that he is so frustrating because there are so many people like him. I do not know if I have ever seen a more accurate and/or slimy representation of the type of person Ryan is and I love the way they are shining a light that Ryan’s exist out there; lots of them. Again the last scene with Michael and Pam is what made the episode for me. The way Pam explained her reasons for quitting rang true and Michael’s reaction to her crying and the fact that he knows that he works best when people do not believe in him (which is often) was very touching. Also the very very last scene with Michael and Pam putting up their name on the directory because they have an office in the Dunder Mifflin building was subtle and sweet.

Moments/Quotes:

- The opening with Kevin attempting to transfer a call.
- Dwight: Oh no! The new boss does not find Jim adorable!
- Michael getting eggs spilt all over him.
- Ryan being called shoe-bitch.
- Phyllis getting hit with the soccer ball.

Season 5, Episode 21: “The Michael Scott Paper Company”
Grade: 8.2
Not quite good as “Dream Team” but still a really great episode of the show.

I loved the beginning of this episode with the credits and how they made it about The Michael Scott Paper Company. Classic. It reminded me of a couple of concept credit things they have done with Buffy before.

I cannot explain how badly I want the Michael Scott Paper Company to succeed. There were many highlights for me despite the episode feeling like it dragged a bit (although I think they wanted that feeling in that Michael, Pam and Ryan had such a torturous first day in that awful office). My favorite scene though did not come with Michael, Pam and Ryan but with Dwight and Andy with their competing interpretations’ of John Denver’s “Country Roads”. I was cracking up during that scene. I like that Andy and Dwight are now friends (at least for now) because even though they have always been enemies it seems that they would make such a good pair up. They are both equally ridiculous and oblivious in their own ways. They each live in their own universe. The new receptionist being impressed with Andy’s singing talent (if you can call it that) is the specific moment that would be my favorite of the episode. I thought that this particular Plot B was entertaining.

Kelly’s “you wanted me” scheme is as Jim said not the worst plan ever but it’s still pathetic which means it’s funny for us.

I loved that Pam refused to make the copy. There is no reason she should have to go back to being a receptionist and Ryan’s attitudes towards Pam in that copying should be her job were ridiculous and sexist and I hate him.

Basically I hate Ryan. It’s not even really I love to hate him. I actually just hate him. He has always been entertaining to me with his ridiculousness and I find that his transformation as a character is the most intriguing and extreme but ugh. The way he treated Pam in this episode was horrifying. Such a dickwad. I love the way Pam handled it though which was basically not to take any of his shit and to be almost as childish as he was being. Go Pam. I never thought I’d say that. I felt bad when she went back to ask for her job. How humiliating. My favorite moment of this portion of the episode was Michael complaining on the phone to his mother about Pam and Ryan and how annoying they were being. “I have to go Mom. P’s being a B”.

The thing I did not like about the episode was the rundown Plot C with Jim. I felt that they could have come up with something else to continue the Jim-Charles conflict that did not have to be that. Mainly this is because I fail to understand why Jim could not have simply looked up what a rundown was on the internet.

I loved the Wayne Gretsky quote with Michael’s name underneath, giving him credit for even putting the quote up there.

I also really liked the glimmer of hope at the end with the MSPC making their first sale.

Quotes/Moments:
-Poor Stanley can’t do his crosswords anymore.
- Toby: "Hey have you been watching Damages this year? Its so good."

Buffy - Second Half of Season 5 Roundup

So this is my Buffy roundup for the rest of Season 5. Overall I liked Season 5 better than Season 4 because it felt like it had more of a purpose. There was a greater urgency to things and I was never a fan of the Initiative. Still there were a lot of great things from Season 4. I personally enjoyed “Pangs” more than anything in Season 5. I’ll give a quick roundup of my thoughts and then a quick (really quick) review if each episode. They all blend together for me because I watched them altogether.

Overall as I said before I really liked the season and I am not sure if I will see a more skillfully crafted episode of television as “The Body” was. I really love Spike and his evolution through the season He changes the most and I like him more this way. I really just like the way he sort of becomes part of the gang in his own way. The Giles and Buffy relationship was incredibly strong this season because of his being her Watcher again. The Willow and Tara storyline worked for me this season. They did not ring true to me at first especially with Oz fresh in the picture who I loved so much. But now that they are in a steady relationship, I really love them together. I like how there is a noticeable change in Tara after “Family” as well. I love the subtlety with which they develop Willow’s magical powers and their extreme growth. It’s never addressed outright outside of people commenting on it and especially during Tara and Willow’s fight in “Tough Love” but by the time it is going to be in the forefront in Season 6, its been built up for so long and really consciously kept in the picture. I love how they have done this.

While the show feels incredibly different I think that it was a very natural progression and I actually love it. I love it because you can appreciate the first seasons for their feel and unique qualities and the later ones for their feel and unique qualities. Buffy’s descent into apathy was a smart and gutsy move. They were not going to let us these characters get over Joyce’s death that quickly. Basically everything comes to a head for her in this season as the pressure she has felt to be there and to have a plan and to protect everyone plus no Riley and Joyce just make her eventually catatonic. Heavy stuff.

Xander and Anya are still a couple that I have a lot of love for. I know people can get sick of them after a while but I have not. I like how Xander’s relationship with Buffy gets some time spent on it. He really has a lot more going on than his humor and his relationship with Anya. His friendship with Buffy still get a lot of great moments particularly in “Into the Woods”.

I am still not a huge Dawn fan. I do not hate her the way others do. She has some good moments and she has some bad ones. I like the connection she has with Spike. I just think that Michelle Trachtenberg’s acting falls flat a lot of the time and I get taken out of the situation. Hmmm. What else?? Still cannot decide whether or not I liked Glory. There were some parts with her I loved which I will get to in a bit when I talk about specific episodes.

I did not like the minions and their nicknames for Glory. That got old quickly. Buffy’s trip to the desert to speak with the First Slayer fell really flat for me. The Knights of Byzantium were uber lame.

I like the Magic Box and how it slightly resembles The Library. Feels like old times.

When Glory was around and when she was not was a little too convenient to what was going on with the plot.

Poor Buffy gets put through the wringer in this season.

I just have to say that I think “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” does character evolution and change over time better than any show I have ever seen. I am serious. Better than any show I have ever seen. Even Lost. Even BSG. Even SFU. Anything.

Episode 14: Crush
Grade: 7.9
Again, Spike’s reactions seem plausible here. It does some nice stuff with him while he also gets himself into some serious trouble with Buffy because of his actions here. Harmony and Spike and their role play with Harmony acting as Buffy was priceless. Even though the episode dragged in places this was a really good one.

Episode 15: “I Was Made to Love You”
Grade: 8.3
I have no idea what it was about this episode that I loved so much but I loved this episode. Maybe it was because April really worked for me. I enjoyed Buffy punching Xander in the puffy suit. Spike gives the plans over to Warren for the BuffyBot. I really have no idea what it as about this episode but something about made me totally entertained for every second. Of course this is the last episode of this section of Buffy as things will never be the same as Joyce is found dead at the end of the episode.

Season 5, Episode 16: “The Body”
Grade: 10
I have no idea what to even say about this. It’s all been said. The shots, the lack of music, the long takes, the dialogue, the visual techniques, repeatedly showing Joyce’s body, etc. All of it. It’s all brilliant. The thing that took me the most by surprise was the way in which Buffy reacted and the numbness and the things she says. She stops speaking properly. Completely and I did not expect this at all. Its haunting and completely threw me for a loop even with the years of prep I’ve taken before seeing this ep. I really just cannot say anything about this that has not been said. But I spent the first 25 minutes absolutely sobbing and the last 15 minutes in a complete state of numbness. This is the best examination of death that I have seen depicted on television and quite possibly in film as well. It’s just an extremely unique piece of art.

Season 5, Episode 17: “Forever”
Grade: 8.4
This is quite a great follow up to “The Body”. For me though it issues were how much time was spent on Dawn and the fight with the Gora Demon which was so lame it was ridiculous. But everything else going on was quite good. The scene when Spike brings Buffy flowers anonymously was so good. The last scene with Buffy and Dawn was fantastic and totally depressing. I loved the scene with Angel. I just cannot handle how great it is that he showed up. The scene in the funeral parlor in the beginning was great as was Anya’s speech at the beginning. Plus we get the really interesting sign that Willow I ok with Dawn attempting to resurrect Joyce and even helps her out while Tara does not agree with it.

Season 5, Episode 18: “Intervention”
Grade: 8.4
I absolutely love the Buffy Bot episode. Love it. I hate how long it takes them to understand that the BuffyBot is not real. I hated Buffy’s trek in the desert because I thought it could have been done much more effectively. Everything else was perfection. Sarah Michelle Gellar as the BuffyBot was refreshing and funny. It gave her an opportunity to show off her comedic skills, an opportunity she rarely gets these times on the show. Xander and Anya’s reaction, Willow’s conversation with BuffyBot and other things. Spike gets tortured and does not say anything which gets him basically forgiven by Buffy. He even gets a kiss out of it. It was so touching to see just how devoted to her he really is.

Season 5, Episode 19: “Tough Love”
Grade: 8.5
Willow and Tara have their first fight. Tara gets brain sucked. The crappy effects of this took me out of the moment a bit but Alyson Hannigan’s acting put me right back in. The conversation and subsequent fight between the two of them is a great scene. Really great. Willow is getting much cockier with her magical abilities. Buffy also drops out of school in this episode and tries to be an authority figure for Dawn. I really liked the math lessons with the human triangle. It was adorable. We feel the full extent of Buffy’s new responsibility towards Dawn. We get to see finally the full extent of Willow’s powers. She actually lasts a little while in a battle with Glory. The part of Season 6 I am looking forward to is all of the tuff with Willow. Great final scene as well leading right into “Spiral”.

Season 5, Episode 20: “Spiral”
Grade: 7.0
For me this was a disappointment. Too much battle. Too much Knights of Byzantium who I hate so much. It sucks because there are a lot of great moments here but it’s all buried under relentless action and not great action at that. We learn everything about what Dawn is. We see how much Buffy is starting to break which leads up to her catatonic state at the end of the episode when Dawn is taken. My favorite parts of the episode were Buffy’s basic state of frustration and desperation. She really just has no idea what to do and basically wants to give up throughout which again she does. The other stuff I liked was the conversation on the Winnebago before they get attacked. While there was a lot of good stuff here, a lot of it was just meh for me.

Season 5, Episode 21: “The Weight of the World”
Grade: 8.0
I love that they actually made Buffy go catatonic. It really hits home with how fucked up things have gotten and how much of a toll things have taken for Buffy. The episode feels like it lingers a bit too much. I really liked all of the stuff with Willow inside of Buffy’s head. My favorite aspect of the episode was Buffy inside of her head reenacting a moment when she wanted to basically die over and over. Things feel very desperate in this episode and it does a good job of conveying that. Tara is crazy, Buffy is not functioning, Giles has been injured and Dawn is taken. I did not care about the stuff with Ben because Ben has always been totally boring to me and I have no interest in him whatsoever. Glory’s scene with Dawn discussing human existence and particularly her speech about it was the best part of the episode and not only that but one of the best scenes of the season. Easily Glory’s best moment. So a bit slow with some boring stuff mainly with Ben but with some great stuff, mainly with Willow inside of Buffy’s head and with Dawn’s scene with Glory.

Season 5, Episode 22: “The Gift”
Grade: 9.4
Really great season finale. The opening scene when we realize that there is a vampire who has never heard of Buffy. Xander’s proposal. The Uber creepy Joel Grey as Doc. I really find Buffy’s total refusal to compromise and even consider killing Dawn to be interesting. She is a Slayer but she will sacrifice the whole world to save her sister who would die either way. I thought the blood connection between Buffy and Dawn could have been explained better. Also Spike getting pushed off of the tower and living seemed unrealistic. Buffy’s explosion towards Giles was quite intense and that whole scene was beautifully executed. I loved Buffy inviting Spike into her house again. I liked how all of the items like the BuffyBot, the Hammer, the Dagon Sphere, etc all came together. We get more evidence of Willow’s power. I loved Buffy beating the shit out of Glory with the hammer for an extended period of time. The episode has such a final tone to it, an end of the world tone, an all or nothing tone. Giles killing Ben was intense and really haunting. And then of course Buffy sacrificing herself was incredible, extremely moving with beautiful music. Really a great moment. I cannot believe this potentially could have been the series finale. Wow.

Favorite to Least Favorite Episodes in Season 5:

1. 10: “The Body” – Episode 16
2. 9.4: “The Gift” – Episode 22
3. 8.9: “The Replacement” – Episode 3
4. 8.5: “Fool for Love” – Episode 7
5. 8.5: “No Place Like Home” – Episode 5
6. 8.5: “Into the Woods” – Episode 10
7. 8.5: ”Tough Love” – Episode 19
8. 8.4: “Intervention” – Episode 18
9. 8.4: “Forever” – Episode 17
10. 8.3: “I Was Made to Love You” – Episode 15
11. 8.0: “Checkpoint” – Episode 12
12. 8.0: “The Weight of the World” – Episode 21
13. 7.9: “Blood Ties”– Episode 13
14. 7.8: “Crush” – Episode 14
15. 7.7 “Family” – Episode 6
16. 7.7 “Shadow” – Episode 8
17. 7.4: “Triangle” – Episode 11
18. 7.4: “Listening to Fear” - Episode 9
19. 7.3: “Out of My Mind” – Episode 4
20. 7.0: “Spiral” – Episode 20
21. 6.5: “Real Me” Episode 2
22. 5.4: “Buffy vs. Dracula” – Episode 1

Extras: Season 2, Episode 1: "Orlando Bloom"

Extras: Season 2, Episode 1: Orlando Bloom
Grade: 8.3
I can tell you right now from this episode that I think I am going to like Season 2 better than Season 1. While I really really liked Season 1 a lot I absolutely love anything involving Andy’s show that he gets on the air so I am really excited to see how that develops. My favorite scene in the entire series so far was in this episode and it is when Andy is trying to direct a rehearsal for hi new show and one of the actors, Keith cannot act sad, not look at the camera and hit his mark all at the same time. It is freaking hilarious. I also loved the stuff involving Orlando Bloom and Maggie with him trying to convince her that he is extremely attractive while he is just not her type. Also Andy’s speech and the fallout of it show how stuck Andy is with the low brow aspect of his show. They also show how Andy’s show has no soul because of the sympathetic way Maggie looks at Andy during the taping of the show that shows that she knows that it’s not what Andy wanted. “Are you having a laugh? Is he having a laugh?

Parks and Recreation: Season 1, Episode 1

Parks and Recreation: Season 1, Episode 1
Grade: 6.0
It’s weird. There were a lot of jokes in the episode. A lot of funny things. It has a great great cast. I love Amy Poehler. But something about this show did not grab me. I’ll keep watching. I might as well. But it felt distant. The whole thing felt a little cold and a little too calculated. While there were a lot of funny jokes, a lot of them felt like recycled Office jokes. Added to this, I know that it is from the same creators, but everything just felt like a second hand version of The Office. In fact Leslie Knope is exactly like Michael Scott except she does not have the mean streak that he can have. So while it has a great cast and it was a funny pilot, this pilot just did not grab me the way I wanted, it could not completely hold my attention at all times, it just put me in the mood for The Office and it felt a bit distancing despite the great cast and the funny bits. The show has potential. I hope it can come into its own

24 Season 7: "12:00 - 1:00am"

24: Season 7, Episode 17: “12:00am-1:00am”
Grade: 7.6
This week 24 proves that it can have a really good episode without having much of Jack in it. That is the mark of something good. I loved that Jack was in the background this week and that Tony was basically in Jack’s position. The future solution to Jack’s exposure has been revealed with the stem cell research. We have also learned how Kim is going to enter the picture.
Overall a solid episode. We had Olivia being a whore but being a whore with a purpose. We had President Taylor calling off the assault. Poor Tony and all of that work he did. It was not fun seeing Jack having a seizure and such. And wow; Jon Voight giving a cold blooded kill. That was fucked up. However I did not see why Taylor cannot tell at least a couple of people in her cabinet about why she called off the strike. Hey I wonder if we are going to see the VP again

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 1, Episodes 6, 7, 8

Curb Your Enthusiasm:
Season 1, Episode 6: “The Wire”
Grade: 7.8

Larry sure does run into a lot of assholes. This week that asshole is Larry’s neighbor, a lawyer who subtly refuses to sign papers for a wire to be taken down outside of Larry’s house unless he gets to meet Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Watching Larry try to act politely after seeing what the lawyer and his wife are scheming is quite entertaining. Everything involving the wife’s cat dying and Larry and Julia visiting the house and the wife getting out the camcorder was very funny as well. We also get to finally see Suzie’s first true scene and she is in classic yelling form calling Jeff every name under the sun. Season 1 is ridiculously solid.

Quotes:
· Larry: What's the guy, four years old? He's got to meet Julia Louis-Dreyfus! What kind of person is that?!
Cheryl: He's a fan.
Larry: What does he expect to gain from such meeting? What does he think, he's gonna go over there, she's gonna be so charmed by him that all of a sudden they'll start becoming friends? They'll talk on the phone and go out to dinner together, go to the movies? What, start e-mailing each other—summer vacations? Is he out of his fucking mind?!

· Larry: (on Jerry Seinfeld) He's a eunuch. Yes, his testicles were cut of when he was about 13 because he was in the Beth Shalom choir. And that's what he wanted to be, he was a choirboy.
Phyliss: Julia, is that true? Does he really have no testicles?
Julia: You know, I've got to tell you, I don't have any fuckin' idea.

· Susie: (to Jeff) You weren't even thinking. Do you know why? 'Cause you're a fat, fucking asshole!

· Phyliss: I'm finally in the house that Jerry Seinfeld built!Larry: With his own hands, and some hammers, he actually worked on it, like Jimmy Carter.

Season 1, Episode 7: “Aamco”
Grade: 7.3

I love seeing most on this show is watching Larry have to deal with people in a civilized way even though they do something to piss him off because he needs something from them. We see it in the last episode and we see it here. Dealing with the Aamco guy even though he sits at the head of his table and leads everyone in a prayer. The concept of the Aamco commercial being used in the episode is brilliantly inspired. Larry also has to deal with a caterer that steals leftovers. You know even though I like Cheryl a lot I admit that she should really do something herself. If she wants the leftovers she should go get them herself. I mean what else does she do all day?

Season 1, Episode 8: “Beloved Aunt”
Grade: 9.7
I would be shocked if I saw an episode of this show that tops this. It is absolutely drop dead funny from start to finish. Every single thing happening in the episode is gold. “Beloved Cunt” is fucking genius. Absolutely fucking genius. Jeff’s mother thinking Larry molested her because he held up a toaster up to her so she could see what the glasses he bought her looked like and she walked upto him and her breast touched up against his hand. Genius. Larry not knowing how to go about wrapping a gift. Larry getting kicked out of Jeff’s house. Larry getting kicked out of the hotel. Larry telling Cheryl’s sister’s boyfriend to break up with her when they get home because it’s not like her mother died. After all of this though, the best part of the episode is Larry sitting with Cheryl and her family while they mourn and talk in Cheryl’s house. The faces he makes, the way he tries to get out of it and the things he says are absolutely incredible. This is simply put, one of the best and funniest episodes of television I have ever seen.

- Jeff: How did she die?
Larry: Killed herself.
Jeff: No, she didn't!
Larry: Killed herself—
Jeff: Why?
Larry: Why? Nobody knows, she didn't leave a note. That is so rude, isn't that?
Jeff: That is really rude

- Jeff: Sweet dreams.
Larry: "Sweet dreams." I'll dream of fucking your mother, sweet dreams.

Favorite to Least Favorite Episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” Season 1:
1. “Beloved Aunt”
2. “Interior Decorator”
3. “The Bracelet”
4. “Porno Gil”
5. “The Pants Tent”
6. “The Wire”
7. “Ted and Mary”
8. “Aamco”