Gossip Girl: "O Brother Where Bart Thou?"

Gossip Girl: "O Brother Where Bart Thou?"

Grade: A-

Wow. This is easily the best episode of the season. Sorry it has taken so long. Finals have been crazy. This will be short. Some really great song usages. Not neccesarily because I liked the songs (although I truly liked a couple) but because of the way the songs were used. Emotions were at their peak during the entire episode. The Blair/Chuck stuff was stellar. She tells him she loves him finally (!) and he brushed it off but ends up sleeping in bed with her (they do not do it) and leaves the next morning leaving a note to not come looking for him. Chuck is fucked up because of his father's death. Not he will never get the love from him he wanted. Apparently Aaron will not be on the show when it comes back from hiatus. YAY!!! Although I wonder where this leaves Cyrus, Aaron's dad because he is such a great addition to the show and I do not want him gone. The Cyrus/Blair stuff is soo touching. The Lilly/Rufus scenes just as good. I honestly do not know what to say except that this was possibly the best episode of the series. I cannot wait for January. xoxo.

The Office: Season 5, Episode 12: "The Surplus"

The Office: Season 5, Episode 12: "The Surplus"
Grade: B-

This was a mixed episode of “The Office”. On the one hand it was nice to see Michael’s dream world, with everyone liking him and kissing his ass even though everyone was only doing it to get Michael to pick either the chairs or the copier to spend the surplus on. I think the bulk of this episode showed us what Michael wishes things were like although they addressed it in a way that was entirely humorous and under the radar. Then we had Jim and Pam being on opposite sides of the surplus war which was not really interesting and sort of annoying but then again everything they do is annoying. I was on Jim and Oscar’s side with the copier on this one. Oscar is emerging as one of my favorite characters on the show. It is beyond me as to why they got the chairs. While Michael’s demonstration as to how great the chairs are did show us how horrible they actually are (they really do need new chairs), the fact of the matter is that they are a paper company and they are sending out copies that are fuckity. Michael bringing Hank up was quite funny. While there were several great moments of the episode, this was not one that was hilarious by Office standards. Although I did laugh out loud several times.

The problem I had with this episode was the Andy/Dwight/Angela story. They had a decent part of the episode to themselves as they went to Schrute Farms. On the one hand I really like Andy so giving him more screen time is ok by me. However I cannot stand this story. First of all, I do not like Angela at all. Second of all I do not like Dwight within this story at all either. Third, I feel bad for Andy. Fourth, this story will not end. Fifth, this all leads to me literally not giving a shit what happens to these people as long as Andy has the last laugh. Finally, sixth, what they did this week was ridiculous. So what, Dwight and Angela are fake married now? I don’t get it. Angela had just admitted she made a mistake when Dwight dropped the bomb on her (a bomb that I figured out during the scene when it so obviously took place). This drove Angela into Andy’s arms more so than before. We ended up back where we started except even worse and in a way that seems like this story will never fucking end. Something I am wondering is if we are supposed to be Dwight-Angela supporters at this point. They were a popular couple when they first started their secret relationship and they were well liked. Do the writers want us to want them to be together anymore? Are we supposed to feel sympathy for Andy? Because I do. Are we supposed to accept Angela and Dwight’s stupid and selfish decisions and still be rooting for them? Angela does not have feelings for Andy. So that will never happen. But Angela and Dwight will end up together at the end of all of this and I do not understand if we are supposed to be happy! They are annoying! Why must they get rid of Holly, who provided the other half of the only relationship I actually love on this show?

Anyways, this was a decent episode with a few standout moments, which I will relate to you here. The ones with stars were my absolute favorite moments of the night.

-Oscar’s lemonade stand analogy and later on Michael attempting to explain a surplus to Hank who immediately says he understands what a surplus is.
- Pam: (after Oscar points out that he can’t understand why Pam does not want the copier because she has to use it all the time) “That should tell you how bad the chairs are” (The Pam moment of the night that I really liked.
*-Toby: “We should really have the office's air quality tested. We have radon coming from below. We have asbestos in the ceilings. These are silent killers”.
Michael Scott: “You are the silent killer”.
- *Michael shaking his butt for Pam (Pam: Don’t take it away!/Hot tie guy!)
- *Michael and Jim and Oscar coming back from lunch.
-*Kevin: “Michael’s a genius!”
- Michael: “You think kids in Africa have chairs? No, they just have big piles of garbage.”

Gossip Girl: Season 2, Episode 12: "It's a Wonderful Lie"

Gossip Girl: Season 2, Episode 12: "It's a Wonderful Lie"
Grade: B+

Hello all. Well as I’ve known and I’m sure many people have that cannot avoid spoilers tonight is the night that Bart dies.
The idea of the Snowflake Ball is putting me in the mood for Christmas! Will Jenny begin making custom clothes for people who are willing to pay a lot for it? Bart’s eyes creep me out. Vanessa is an idiot. I understand why she did what she did however Nate is only with her because Jenny didn’t respond to his letters…because she took them!! She could at least say that Jenny somehow never got the letters without giving herself away and be somewhat truthful and see what happens but she won’t even do that!

I started out hating Lilly at the start of the show but I’ve grown to like her. I still hate Aaron. Serena bringing Dan to Aaron’s loft is really forced. She would never do that and it was a clear plot dvice to get Dan to meet Lexie.

Aww Bart’s last meeting with Chuck is sort of a downer. Ugh I hate Aaron’s stupid face. I hope Chuck gets Deroda. That would be pretty amusing. The best scene so far was the one between Blair and Deroda looking for the perfect date for Chuck. Too funny. They need to get Serena a decent plotline because she has become pretty boring.

So Lilly decided to leave Bart before his death. Ohhh. This will seriously hinder things between Lilly and Rufus.

Oh shit Vanessa, Nate and Jenny. Goodness gracious me. Vanessa did a really good job in this episode. I believed her speech and she did a really good job of conveying her feelings to the audience.

Writing this as I watch is such a horrible idea. I have no idea what I’m talking about. My sentences are all over the place.

OMG Chuck’s doppelganger is hilarious.

Wow major developments between Lilly and Rufus! I really never thought I cared about them very much but again I must say that I think I care about them getting together more than the younger people!

Oooh burn! Jenny fucked up. This will undoubtedly put Nate and Vanessa closer and –and I was right because they are kissing right now.

And Bart is dead. Bum bum bum!

Ok so this whole writing about this show as I watch it is a bad idea. Sorry that that whole spiel made no sense. Anyways so for a sum up of my thoughts on the episode; Really strong episode. Serena and Aaron are boring and annoying right now as is Dan. However the Nate/Jenny/Vanessa event was entertaining in a way that ended Nate and Jenny (Thank the Lord) and also made for some great confrontations. While the whole Vanessa’s dress in the spotlight event was well done and effective, I felt it was a little overblown for what it was. Jenny is going back to school and hopefully will get into some shenanigans. Jessica Szohr, while I don’t like Vanessa, she did a great job in this episode. The Blair and Chuck stuff was fantastic. Things were about to move forward between the two of them but alas…Bart. The scene with Chuck and Lilly at the end was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. My favorite parts of the episode were those with Lilly and Rufus, a couple who I never really cared for at all at the beginning but have really grown to care about as time has gone on. Their scenes together were some of the best of the season, arguably the best. Next week looks to be a great one. I hear that Ed Westwick pulls out a whopper of a performance. Here’s hoping. Till next week. Xoxo.

Time Magazine Reviews Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse"

So Time Magazine has reviewed the pilot episode of Joss Whedon's highly anticipated new show "Dollhouse". Overall he seemed to like it however he had a couple of reservations. One was that he did not think that Whedon was meant to really operate under the story of the week format. Another is that does not think Eliza Dushku has the chops to pull off playing another person every week. He said her different personality in the first episode just seemd like she had her hair in a ponytail and she had glasses on. This was what was worrying me about the show. I like Eliza but I do not think she is capable of headlining a show like this. Here's hoping that she can pull it off at least for the 7 or so episodes that the show will most likely last for considering FOX's apparent readiness to cancel the show before the show even freakin airs.

Here is the link:

http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2008/12/04/i-have-seen-dollhouse/

Entourage: Season 5 Finale: "Return to Queens Blvd."

Entourage: Season 5 Finale: "Return to Queens Blvd."
The last 5 minutes: F
The rest of the episode: A-

This season finale of Entourage is hard for me to judge. On the one hand, it was a great episode, one that held a lot of intensity and conflict that had been simmering for a while. On the other hand, it sort of dropped the aspects of the season I found interesting by negating them and decided to wrap everything up really nicely in the last 5 minutes in a way that felt completely forced and rushed.

Vince’s mini freakout towards the end of the episode was excellent. This is what I had been waiting 5 seasons for; Vince to actually show significant frustration. His argument with Eric was also excellent because it let out a lot of stress that had been simmering between the two. Turtle and Jamie are fantastic and thank God Drama knows about them and hopefully he can shut the fuck up for once and drive off of a cliff if I am lucky. Although Drama did say Milk was dope which was nice.

My problems were that this season has been questioning Vince’s acting ability. In the episode before this one, I was not convinced by Vince’s acting. Yet apparently Gus Van Sant was even though he had not been by any of Vince’s other work. If him and I saw the same dailies, I don’t know what is wrong with one of our tastes but I did not feel that his acting was good enough by any means to prompt Gus Van Sant himself to send them to Martin Scorsese who himself was personally so thrilled by the dailies that he casts him as the lead in his new movie without so much as an audition or even a meeting. That for me took me completely out of the episode and made me realize, “Wait, this is Entourage...what the fuck was I expecting?”

Vince and Eric conveniently wrapped up their conflict in literally a minute and a half and everything is hunky dory in the world of Entourage. Whoop de do. I am interested in next season but I have realized with this episode that while there can be great ones, the show does things I do not approve of and will never live up to the potential it carries as a show with any significant meaning. Everything works out for these people without them having to do anything to earn it. It just comes to them. And that makes for a completely uninteresting show that cops out on its audience. We get teases with the incredible idea of Vince going in to audition for Van Sant and that never happens. How amazing would that have been? But no. Nothing like that. We could have been set up for some episode with Eric functioning as a manager without Vince as oneof his clients. This is intriguing to me. But no. The show had an opportunity to slightly evolve and to challenge itself. How do we address these hard times in an effective way for the drama but also to keep the humor of the show completely intact? They took the easy way out.

So what is next for Vince? I feel like we shall be going back to basics here with him being successful. Since this seems to be as far down as the creators of the show were willing to go with him the next logical step is for them to make Vince more successful than he has ever been which is where I think this is going. Scorsese and Vince. Does this mean Oscar? Holy crap I hope not. Ugh the more I think about it the more I wonder why I watch this. It has great moments and this was overall a great season but a great season for Entourage is like a mediocre season of the other shows I watch. Again though this was a great episode until the last 5 minutes which set up the next season and made me completely rethink why I want to waste time on this show.

Judging by the reviews of this episode which I read after I wrote all of this, everyone is saying exactly what I am. Thank God I’m not the only one that watches this show that has some sense.

24: Redemption

24: Redemption

Grade: C-

Out first glimpse of Jack Bauer in a year and a half. It’s been a long time. This movie could have been the shittiest thing on Earth and I wouldn’t care just because I get to see Jack Bauer again. Here is my relationship with 24. It used to be my life. Seriously, my life. Around Season 6, even a bit in Season 5 I started to lose the feeling I would have when it would come on. It became predictable. You could see where things were going and how the season was structured. It became impossible to become surprised by anything because nothing could be shocking anymore. Jack had gone through so much there was literally nothing that could push him into a state we have not seen. I still liked it but it was more fun to pick apart and it was a show that although I liked it, it no longer made me feel the way it used to. It is something that I can never get back. I don’t want to say I grew out of it because it sounds condescending but the show became something that could no longer have that effect on me. This is a combination of the series’ decline in quality and something it can never ever ever ever get back which is its freshness. After you have experienced that tension and it dies down it cannot be revived. After a while I decided to stay with the show. It provides some good moments and I hated the idea of Jack Bauer stuff happening without me knowing. So this was the first Jack Bauer in a year.

I missed the 24 logo, the ticking clock, the split screen. I missed Jack whispering, Jack yelling, Jack making promises, Jack watching people he knows die, seeing half naked character soon to be killed off within 4 episodes. Oh the good times. So yeah this was not a very good TV special. I understand that a lot of set up needed to be done but it felt pretty boring for much of the time. I felt like Jack was not in all that much of it. As it went on it got better I felt. It suffered from ridiculously corny music, typical stereotyping on the part of the show, something that they do all the time. Basically I wasn’t on the edge of my seat and it was annoying having all new people because I felt completely disconnected from everyone except Jack. And Robert Carlyle that is because he was great, immediately brought his presence to the show in a really positive and awesome way only, of course, die. And only, of course have us see Jack cry…again. Jack crying still makes me cry. Always will.

I liked how it set up for next season because I thought it would be a lot more pointless. Yet it still felt that way sort of. The last 20 minutes were very good I must say; at least definitely in comparison to the rest of the film.

“You didn’t give me a choice you son of a bitch” Awesome.

So yeah I did not hate it and I know a C- seems harsh but it just dragged for the better part of it. But it was still fun and obviously really nice to see Jack again. I was having fun with it and laughing a lot at things I would not have been normally. That is what has changed. My relationship with the show. I would never laugh at the show the way I do now back then. I still take it seriously but I just have a different relationship with the show now and I’m not at the edge of my seat. I have fun with that. I like that it saves a hell of a lot of set up for next season. This way we can get right into it.

The preview was decent. I just don’t care for the Tony story. It angers me. Honestly though I find it pretty believable for Tony to have gone bad. He was weaker than Michelle was, he would basically sacrifice the country so Michelle could live, which she would not have anyways. Lest we forget that Michelle would have sacrificed Tony. Tony seems the type to easily turn evil because he wants revenge and because he was a bit of a whiny baby. No offense. Obviously his situation would make most people be the way he was but he gets very angry. It’s not so much the believability of it but the fact that a. he is alive and b. it’s just stupid. We shall see what happens though.

Well, until January!

Gossip Girl: Season 2, Episode 11: "The Magnificent Archibalds"

Gossip Girl: Season 2, Episode 11: “The Magnificent Archibalds”
Grade: B

This week’s episode of “Gossip Girl” started out pretty boring I must say but by the end I managed to be interested in basically everything that was going on in some way. Sorry it takes me a while to get to this show but it is low on my priority list of things at the moment. I’ll do a rundown.

Blair and her annoyance with her mother and Cyrus is at once entertaining but also annoying and repetitive. She needs to do something else at this point. Next week it looks like she will.

Serena and Aaron are stupid and annoying but I did not hate their storyline nearly as much as the week before so that was nice. Dan clearly is still not over Serena as much as he’d like to think he is. I think we all knew this though. Why would you give your folder to someone? Yes it contains all of the bad stuff but who the hell knows what else it might contain. Stuff maybe she forgot about? Not big information but just things that are unnecessary viewing for someone else.

So bad Jenny is gone. Couldn’t you tell from the absence of heavy makeup? I guess I’m sort of happy about this but honestly it was hilariously entertaining and I am sort of mourning its loss in a guilty pleasure way.

The highlight for me was Eric and his discovery of the files. I don’t know why it was so interesting to me. I think it was just because I really like Eric a lot and we do not see all that much of him.

Nate’s story was good this week and probably the other highlight for me. It was nice to see Chuck and Vanessa come together to help Nate out and for him to make a decision. Seeing Chuck and Nate make up at the end was satisfying.

Wow Vanessa. Harsh move taking those letters. Wow. I cannot believe she did that. Why would you want to be with someone knowing they are with you because they could not get a hold of someone else and the reason for that is because you prevented it from happening? I cannot understand why that would be okay for someone. Vanessa is a tricky one.

So that’s it. My episode reviews for this show are not intense, merely a very short very informal overview of stuff.

So next episode is when the much awaited death occurs. I already know who it is but I will not spoil it for anyone.