Color me shocked. I've already started voting on Dancing with the Stars. I called in a couple times last night to vote for Laila Ali, because she was just fantastic last night.
In fact, just about everyone danced very well last night, at least according to the judges. There didn't seem to be much differentiation among all the couples, which make me wonder what's going to happen when we get down to the final two couples. Is it going to be a popularity contest again?
The one couple's scores that surprised me was Brian and Shandi. I didn't think they rated a couple of sixes and a seven. (I think that's what they got. I didn't take notes, so I could be wrong.) It makes me curious if the judges judge just the celebs or if they judge the couple themselves. If it's the couple, I can see why they gave Shandi and Brian a higher score, because Brian was doing all the work. Shandi looked really stiff, so if it's just her that they're judging, I would have given her a lower score.
I'll admit that even Billy Ray looked much better this week. I'm still not thrilled with his choice of music for a quickstep, but he looked a bit better this week. I think the slicked-back hair helped, too.
Heather Mills shocked the heck out of me. If I didn't know that she had a prosthetic leg, I wouldn't have been able to tell with her performance last night. The back walk-over was amazing! I may have to start voting for her, provided she doesn't get the boot tonight. I'm also glad they decided to give her a better looking outfit. She looked so much better this week compared to last week, clothes-wise.
Overall, a very entertaining show. I don't know if I'll tune in to the results and recap shows tonight. DWTS is trying to be too much like Idol, in my opinion. Especially with an hour-long results show. They really don't need that entire hour. And they've added an hour-long recap show. Seriously, this is why I have a little anger towards Idol. Having so many hours of programming devoted to one show is never a good thing, in my opinion. Look what happened to Millionaire!
Anyway, on to the second show of the evening, The Black Donnellys.
I actually felt somewhat bored by this week's episode. It really felt like filler to me, for some reason.
The one thing I did like, of course, was Kate Mulgrew. That woman can say more with one facial expression than a lot of people can say with hundreds of words. When she caught Sean calling Kim, the downturn of her face was amazing. Really, they should give her more to do on that show.
The Jenny and her father story seemed a long time in coming. They've been hinting at her father losing his memory for some time now, and we first get to see that happen now? Seems a bit off to me. Plus, unfortunately, I don't really care all that much whether their diner closes or not. I like Jenny, but the diner story seems so far off from the main story in the show that it feels off whenever it's featured.
Poor Tommy. I know what it's like to have to help people out, but I've never been so in over my head as he is. I felt terrible for him, having to beat up someone that he considered a friend for money. I can tell it's tearing him up inside to have to be so involved in cleaning up his brothers', specfically Jimmy's, messes. Although, I did like how he's still trying to help Jenny out even though he rebuffed her attempts to make nice after she slept with Samson.
I wish Kevin would have a bigger role in the story, too. He's seems more like a sidekick than a brother at the moment, which is unfortunate. I think there's a story for him waiting to be told. I just hope we'll get to see it.
The whole Irish vs. Italian thing is going to lead up to a big mob war, isn't it? I'd really prefer not to see that happen, but I'm guessing that's where it's heading.
I guess I'm less in love with this show after this week, only because I didn't find it as riveting as it could have been. I'm hoping that this is just a little slump. Next week looks to be pretty good, so I'll keep tuning in.
What did you all think, or those of you that watch either of these shows? I look forward to hearing comments from anyone, really.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
AMC's Babe Carey: Where the Writers Went Wrong
Disclaimer: Those people who absolutely adore Babe Carey on All My Children and defend her every action probably won't want to read this entry. Not that I'll be completely bashing Babe, but I'm certainly not defending her actions either.
I've been thinking a lot about Babe Carey lately. Mainly because on one of the message boards I used to go to, people have started to defend her every move without remorse or thought. However, I don't find her to be all that appealing, and with this blog entry, I hope to detail why exactly I feel this way.
First of all, the first episode she appears in, she sleeps with Jamie Martin. This, in itself, isn't a horrible thing. It's kind of labeling her as the new town tramp, and I could have lived with that. However, the reason she slept with Jamie is that she was scared to meet her new husband's (red flag #1) parents. Even this is not so bad. However, then we find out that her husband is none other than JR Chandler, who happens to be Jamie's stepbrother. There's red flag #2.
OK, so that certainly doesn't make her the town saint, but I still didn't mind her. She did have some redeeming qualities, especially her friendship with Bianca. She didn't judge Binks at all, even after Bianca came out to her. They even ended up being pregnant at about the same time. (Bianca was raped, Babe got pregnant and some SORASing occurred in utero.)
This is when it all started to fall apart. At this point came the baby switch plotline that also involved OLTL. Now, this story idea wasn't all that bad. In fact, I kind of enjoyed the storyline in the beginning. What happened was Babe and Bianca got run off the road during a storm and ended up both giving birth at the same time. Bianca ended up passing out due to blood loss, and Babe called her former husband (who she had been married to when she married JR... I forgot to mention that before), Paul, to help her and Bianca. It turns out that Paul's sister Kelly was desperate for a baby to hang on to Kevin. So, Paul hatches this plan to steal Babe's baby to give it to Kelly. However, things go awry when the Chandlers catch up to the faked helicopter crash. Adam was so adamant about getting Babe's baby that Paul was forced to say that Bianca's baby was Babe's. This led to intensely emotional scenes in which Bianca is told that her baby died. (I cried like a baby during those scenes.)
Anyway, this baby switch things happens and Babe doesn't believe that she'd given birth to a girl. She was certain she had a boy, but everyone convinces her to go with the flow and not worry about it. Eventually a DNA test is done on the baby to determine if it really is Bianca's, and Krystal (Babe's mom) switches the labels to protect Babe. This is nothing new for a soap. DNA switches are about as common as people coming back from the dead. Plus, it's just a plot point to keep the baby switch story going.
Babe eventually figures out that her baby was the one that actually "died" in the helicopter crash. And this is where the writers really took Babe down a path of no redemption. If I were writing the show, I would have had her give Miranda back to Bianca, and tell JR that it was their baby that died. Then they could have bonded more over their grief. Does Babe do this? Of course not. Instead, she keeps Miranda (whom they're calling Bess) because JR has fallen in love with the baby. Never mind that Bianca is supposedly Babe's best friend and is still grieving the loss of her child. Babe even goes as far as to make Bianca godmother to Bess. Like that's going to make up for keeping a baby from her mother.
Then Babe found out that her son was actually alive and living as a Buchanan in Llanview. She proceeds to get Jamie wrapped up in a plan to kidnap Ace and take him on the run. She also writes a letter to JR saying that Bess isn't their child and their son actually died in the crash. It's at this point that Babe finally gives Miranda back to Bianca, who is understandably ticked about this whole turn of events.
Again, if I had written the story, and left everything alone up until this point, I would have had Babe figure out her son was alive, but instead of not telling JR, I would have had her plot out a way to get her son back with JR's help. That way their toxic marriage may have had a chance to become more a marriage of love than what it now is.
Of course, she didn't do that. JR eventually caught up with her, and there was a huge custody battle for Little Adam. From then on, she basically stayed with JR, even though she led Jamie on a bit as well.
Some time after that (I don't remember quite how long, though) Babe did something (probably involving another man) that made JR angry, and he ended up plotting to kill her. Unfortunately, he ended up putting Kendall under a pile of rubble instead. Naturally JR was arrested and ended up going on trial for attempted murder. Now, if I had written the storyline, I would have had Babe not say anything and let JR do his time in prison. However, Babe decided to lie and say that JR wasn't trying to kill her so he could avoid a prison sentence. This is where I started hating Babe. (Yeah, yeah, I know it was Dixie's idea for Babe to lie to get JR off of murder charges, but still. She could have let him rot in prison.)
Babe continues to use the excuse that he almost killed her to win fights about their trust issues. That's valid and all, but she'd done her share of damage to JR's trust when she continued to make googly eyes at other men. At this point, it was specifically Josh (Erica's unabortion--I'd go into detail, but that's another blog entry entirely).
The final straw, for me, was when Babe slept with Josh after JR didn't pay enough attention to her. JR had a good reason for this. His sister was presumed dead in a yacht crash. (She wasn't dead however.) JR was basically torn up by this and couldn't allow himself to feel any emotion. However, Babe doesn't understand this and goes to Josh for comfort. They end up at Fusion having sex on the office floor and the roof of the building in a kiddie pool, forever tainting my view of kiddie pools in general. JR ends up finding her on the roof, naked in a kiddie pool, and she offers a lame excuse that she was hot in the office and decided to go up to the roof to cool down.
If I had been writing the show, this wouldn't have even happened, because one of my changes above would have taken effect and taken this storyline in what I would hope to be a completely different direction.
JR goes on a bender after Babe finally admits that she boinked Josh, and ends up throwing himself out a fourth floor window at the Valley Inn. Babe is distraught that JR was nearly dead, and I figured this might be a turning point for her.
And it is, for a while. They come to a tentative truce, and are happily in love for a bit.
Then along comes the Satin Slayer story, and Dixie ends up eating poisoned pancakes that were meant for Babe. This pushes JR over the edge yet again, especially after finding out during Dixie's dying breath that Krystal is carrying Tad's baby instead of Adam's. JR proceeds to use this to blackmail Babe into giving him custody of Little Adam.
Babe is torn on what to do, but doesn't have much time to contemplate her decision before she's attacked by the serial killer. She's presumed dead, but really she's been spared by Josh and others and is recuperating in the sub-basement of Zach's casino. It is at this point where she seriously considers kidnapping Little Adam and running away with Josh. And it is at this point where I hate Babe yet again, because she's done this before, yet hasn't learned anything from the last time.
All this brings us to the present, where everyone knows that Babe is alive. And we're now at the point where I think the writers really screwed up in their intentions with Babe. I don't think I'd hate her so much if more people in town hated her for the chaos she brought to town with her. We have Tad basically gushing that she's alive. (He also helped her instead of his own stepson when she ran off with Little Adam the first time.) We have Bianca forgiving her for keeping Miranda from Bianca for nearly a year. Bianca also asks her for a chance to be friends again. That's what irritates me most, by the way. It should be Babe begging for forgiveness from Bianca and asking for another chance. We also have Kendall setting aside her hatred of Babe for the time being. There's Josh, who's so over the moon about Babe that she's all he thinks about. JR has turned over a new leaf to keep Babe as his wife. Colby now loves Babe, when before Babe "died" it was Colby's sole purpose to get the Careys out of the Chandler mansion. Basically everyone, except for Erica, is singing Babe's praises, even though she's hurt just about everyone in town in some way or another.
This is the point where the writers really made Babe completely unredeemable in my eyes. If she was the town pariah at this point, I wouldn't have as big an issue with her. But she's become the town saint, even though she hasn't done anything to deserve that reputation.
So, this is why I can't stand the character of Babe. She could have been written so much better, and probably have been less hated by me in the process. But because everyone sings her praises even after all the things she's done to make everyone's life a living hell, I can't stand her.
To close, I just want to reiterate that the writers really screwed up on the character of Babe Carey. The one thing they could have done is show how she's making amends for the things she's done, instead of having every other character tell us what a wonderful, walking miracle she is. It's at this point that I've become completely ambivalent about what happens to Babe, and would rather see her off my screen than have her constant presence in Pine Valley ruin my enjoyment of All My Children.
I've been thinking a lot about Babe Carey lately. Mainly because on one of the message boards I used to go to, people have started to defend her every move without remorse or thought. However, I don't find her to be all that appealing, and with this blog entry, I hope to detail why exactly I feel this way.
First of all, the first episode she appears in, she sleeps with Jamie Martin. This, in itself, isn't a horrible thing. It's kind of labeling her as the new town tramp, and I could have lived with that. However, the reason she slept with Jamie is that she was scared to meet her new husband's (red flag #1) parents. Even this is not so bad. However, then we find out that her husband is none other than JR Chandler, who happens to be Jamie's stepbrother. There's red flag #2.
OK, so that certainly doesn't make her the town saint, but I still didn't mind her. She did have some redeeming qualities, especially her friendship with Bianca. She didn't judge Binks at all, even after Bianca came out to her. They even ended up being pregnant at about the same time. (Bianca was raped, Babe got pregnant and some SORASing occurred in utero.)
This is when it all started to fall apart. At this point came the baby switch plotline that also involved OLTL. Now, this story idea wasn't all that bad. In fact, I kind of enjoyed the storyline in the beginning. What happened was Babe and Bianca got run off the road during a storm and ended up both giving birth at the same time. Bianca ended up passing out due to blood loss, and Babe called her former husband (who she had been married to when she married JR... I forgot to mention that before), Paul, to help her and Bianca. It turns out that Paul's sister Kelly was desperate for a baby to hang on to Kevin. So, Paul hatches this plan to steal Babe's baby to give it to Kelly. However, things go awry when the Chandlers catch up to the faked helicopter crash. Adam was so adamant about getting Babe's baby that Paul was forced to say that Bianca's baby was Babe's. This led to intensely emotional scenes in which Bianca is told that her baby died. (I cried like a baby during those scenes.)
Anyway, this baby switch things happens and Babe doesn't believe that she'd given birth to a girl. She was certain she had a boy, but everyone convinces her to go with the flow and not worry about it. Eventually a DNA test is done on the baby to determine if it really is Bianca's, and Krystal (Babe's mom) switches the labels to protect Babe. This is nothing new for a soap. DNA switches are about as common as people coming back from the dead. Plus, it's just a plot point to keep the baby switch story going.
Babe eventually figures out that her baby was the one that actually "died" in the helicopter crash. And this is where the writers really took Babe down a path of no redemption. If I were writing the show, I would have had her give Miranda back to Bianca, and tell JR that it was their baby that died. Then they could have bonded more over their grief. Does Babe do this? Of course not. Instead, she keeps Miranda (whom they're calling Bess) because JR has fallen in love with the baby. Never mind that Bianca is supposedly Babe's best friend and is still grieving the loss of her child. Babe even goes as far as to make Bianca godmother to Bess. Like that's going to make up for keeping a baby from her mother.
Then Babe found out that her son was actually alive and living as a Buchanan in Llanview. She proceeds to get Jamie wrapped up in a plan to kidnap Ace and take him on the run. She also writes a letter to JR saying that Bess isn't their child and their son actually died in the crash. It's at this point that Babe finally gives Miranda back to Bianca, who is understandably ticked about this whole turn of events.
Again, if I had written the story, and left everything alone up until this point, I would have had Babe figure out her son was alive, but instead of not telling JR, I would have had her plot out a way to get her son back with JR's help. That way their toxic marriage may have had a chance to become more a marriage of love than what it now is.
Of course, she didn't do that. JR eventually caught up with her, and there was a huge custody battle for Little Adam. From then on, she basically stayed with JR, even though she led Jamie on a bit as well.
Some time after that (I don't remember quite how long, though) Babe did something (probably involving another man) that made JR angry, and he ended up plotting to kill her. Unfortunately, he ended up putting Kendall under a pile of rubble instead. Naturally JR was arrested and ended up going on trial for attempted murder. Now, if I had written the storyline, I would have had Babe not say anything and let JR do his time in prison. However, Babe decided to lie and say that JR wasn't trying to kill her so he could avoid a prison sentence. This is where I started hating Babe. (Yeah, yeah, I know it was Dixie's idea for Babe to lie to get JR off of murder charges, but still. She could have let him rot in prison.)
Babe continues to use the excuse that he almost killed her to win fights about their trust issues. That's valid and all, but she'd done her share of damage to JR's trust when she continued to make googly eyes at other men. At this point, it was specifically Josh (Erica's unabortion--I'd go into detail, but that's another blog entry entirely).
The final straw, for me, was when Babe slept with Josh after JR didn't pay enough attention to her. JR had a good reason for this. His sister was presumed dead in a yacht crash. (She wasn't dead however.) JR was basically torn up by this and couldn't allow himself to feel any emotion. However, Babe doesn't understand this and goes to Josh for comfort. They end up at Fusion having sex on the office floor and the roof of the building in a kiddie pool, forever tainting my view of kiddie pools in general. JR ends up finding her on the roof, naked in a kiddie pool, and she offers a lame excuse that she was hot in the office and decided to go up to the roof to cool down.
If I had been writing the show, this wouldn't have even happened, because one of my changes above would have taken effect and taken this storyline in what I would hope to be a completely different direction.
JR goes on a bender after Babe finally admits that she boinked Josh, and ends up throwing himself out a fourth floor window at the Valley Inn. Babe is distraught that JR was nearly dead, and I figured this might be a turning point for her.
And it is, for a while. They come to a tentative truce, and are happily in love for a bit.
Then along comes the Satin Slayer story, and Dixie ends up eating poisoned pancakes that were meant for Babe. This pushes JR over the edge yet again, especially after finding out during Dixie's dying breath that Krystal is carrying Tad's baby instead of Adam's. JR proceeds to use this to blackmail Babe into giving him custody of Little Adam.
Babe is torn on what to do, but doesn't have much time to contemplate her decision before she's attacked by the serial killer. She's presumed dead, but really she's been spared by Josh and others and is recuperating in the sub-basement of Zach's casino. It is at this point where she seriously considers kidnapping Little Adam and running away with Josh. And it is at this point where I hate Babe yet again, because she's done this before, yet hasn't learned anything from the last time.
All this brings us to the present, where everyone knows that Babe is alive. And we're now at the point where I think the writers really screwed up in their intentions with Babe. I don't think I'd hate her so much if more people in town hated her for the chaos she brought to town with her. We have Tad basically gushing that she's alive. (He also helped her instead of his own stepson when she ran off with Little Adam the first time.) We have Bianca forgiving her for keeping Miranda from Bianca for nearly a year. Bianca also asks her for a chance to be friends again. That's what irritates me most, by the way. It should be Babe begging for forgiveness from Bianca and asking for another chance. We also have Kendall setting aside her hatred of Babe for the time being. There's Josh, who's so over the moon about Babe that she's all he thinks about. JR has turned over a new leaf to keep Babe as his wife. Colby now loves Babe, when before Babe "died" it was Colby's sole purpose to get the Careys out of the Chandler mansion. Basically everyone, except for Erica, is singing Babe's praises, even though she's hurt just about everyone in town in some way or another.
This is the point where the writers really made Babe completely unredeemable in my eyes. If she was the town pariah at this point, I wouldn't have as big an issue with her. But she's become the town saint, even though she hasn't done anything to deserve that reputation.
So, this is why I can't stand the character of Babe. She could have been written so much better, and probably have been less hated by me in the process. But because everyone sings her praises even after all the things she's done to make everyone's life a living hell, I can't stand her.
To close, I just want to reiterate that the writers really screwed up on the character of Babe Carey. The one thing they could have done is show how she's making amends for the things she's done, instead of having every other character tell us what a wonderful, walking miracle she is. It's at this point that I've become completely ambivalent about what happens to Babe, and would rather see her off my screen than have her constant presence in Pine Valley ruin my enjoyment of All My Children.
ABC Thursday (3/22/07) Primetime Lineup: A Night of Montages
Apparently Thursday night was montage night for all the ABC shows. Typically I hate montages, because I feel that add nothing to the episode. But in Thursday's case, they weren't half bad. There is one exception to that statement, but I'll get more into that when I cover that show.
First off, Ugly Betty. What a fantastic episode! I don't think I have one bad thing to say about this episode.
I was really surprised by the outcome of Marc coming out to his mother. I think it was a good twist that his mother wasn't that accepting. So often, on TV, we see the parents being supportive of gay characters, when that isn't what typically happens in real life. It was refreshing to see a non-supportive parent. Granted, it was still heart-breaking to watch, but it seemed much more true to life.
Also, I found it hysterical that Marc's last name is Weiner. Marc didn't have much of a chance of being straight with that last name.
Wilhelmina was in fine form in this episode. She's definitely back to being a manipulative witch. She knows how to play both the Meade siblings quite well, without them even realizing that they are being played. The only one that was on to her was Claire Meade. (As an aside, how fabulous is it that Judith Light was in this episode, too?) Claire clearly doesn't suffer manipulation at all, and I was thrilled that she didn't fall victim to Willie. The end of that scene, with Claire struggling to get a sip of the vodka was hilarious.
I see now that Claire has put the clamp down on Wilhelmina running Mode, Willie's going to try to one-up her by becoming the next Mrs. Meade. Willie is definitely playing with fire here. She would do well to remember what happened to the last person to get in Papa Meade's pants.
I felt really horrible for Daniel. He's worked so hard to find his place in Mode, and Alexis is usurping all of that, just because she can. I'd love to see Mode readership going down from this issue, just to have Daniel be the one to beat Alexis for once. Daniel, though, seemed to slip right back into his old persona after not getting his issue of Mode into the presses. That makes me sadder, because he's worked so hard to throw off that image.
I was really wondering how the Marc/Betty angle was going to work out this week. It was brilliant to have Amanda be the one to throw them together, especially after the lies Marc told his mother about her. That was definitely a good arc, both funny and heartbreaking at the same time. I especially enjoyed the end, when Marc told Betty that he finally came out to his mom, and told her that she would always be his little chimichanga, but that doesn't mean he likes her. No matter how often Marc and Amanda say that, I have to think that they are getting won over by Betty. How can they not like her?
I felt really bad for Henry, too. Yes, he made his bed by sticking with Charlie, but he has major feelings for Betty. The fact that he knows so many teeny details about Betty shows how much he cares for her. Speaking of which, that is one thing I especially like on TV shows. They should show us how the characters are feeling, not tell us. So, kudos to Ugly Betty for that little scene.
The montage at the end was quite nice, too. Betty reading Daniel's letter was a nice touch to seeing all the scenes of the main characters. I especially liked the scenes with the Suarez family playing cards. They look like such a fun, happy family. It makes me wish I were a part of it. Not that I don't have a fun, happy family, but it's not quite the same thing. Also, that particular group of actors seem to really have gelled as a family, and I found it very heart-warming. A nice way to end the episode, for sure.
Next up is Grey's Anatomy. First of all, I have to yell at ABC's promo department. How dare they throw in a shot of McSteamy half-naked and sweaty jumping rope and not even include that in the episode they were promoting?!?!
OK, I'll get out of the shallow end of the pool now.
Mark's use of a "right now" plan for the hospital was a stroke of genius. The only thing that would have made that scene better was Bailey really going off on him. Maybe that will come in later episodes. I don't know. But I think it would be fun to see him verbally smacked around by the Nazi.
I also liked how Mark semi-used Meredith. It probably had a lot to do with winning points from the Chief, but I think it was good for Meredith to actually do something hard to get everyone to stop handling her like a piece of expensive art.
Alex and Jane Doe were so sweet together. They have certainly formed quite the bond. I'm excited to see how that will change and evolve when her face heals. I really liked how Alex helped her choose which face she wanted by giving them each a personality. I just really enjoy the depth they're giving to Alex.
Hector Elizondo was a brilliant casting choice! I can totally see how Callie came from someone like him.
I really like how George stood up to Papa Torres, too. Granted, he stood up to him as he was realizing what happened the night before, which put a damper on his gaining a backbone. Although, I think that's what helped him.
I'm worried about George, though. Everyone knows that secrets can't stay hidden for that long, and it's only a matter of time before Callie finds out George slept with Izzie. (I'm still mortified by that myself.) I don't see it turning out well for George and Callie at all.
I really liked the scene where George confronted Izzie about the night before. Having no dialogue heard made the scene even more powerful than if we would have heard them yelling and screaming. Kudos to the writer of this episode.
I thought this was a really good episode, although I'm frustrated now that we have to wait for a new episode again. I'm very interested in seeing how all the stories play out for the rest of the season. Even Burke/Cristina, because I thought they were cute in this week's show.
Finally, October Road. This is the show where the montages went wrong. The main thing to note is that I used the plural of montage. Having more than one montage in an hour show is just too much. It makes me think that the writers don't really know how to write enough of an episode for an hour-long drama. Plus, I didn't really see the point of either montage. It's hard to care much about the emotions of the characters when we don't really know the characters at all.
Given that I don't really care about many of the characters yet, I can't say I'm really enjoying the show. The good thing is that I really like the main character, Nick.
I'm not sure about him harassing the dean to get a job, though. That seemed a bit like overkill to me. I just can't imagine that would work in any school anywhere. But, I guess I can suspend my disbelief a bit for that.
Eddie (at least I think that's his name), the guy played by Geoff Stults, is still very poorly fleshed out. I can't believe that he really thinks that getting a girl that Nick likes into bed is getting revenge on Nick. Seriously, what is he, in high school? I found that whole arc to be awkward and completely unrealistic. Plus, I want to know what Nick wrote about Eddie that would make Eddie be so angry with Nick. That's a fairly major plot point to leave hanging.
The rest of the show was just kind of boring to me. I'm still going to give it a shot for at least a couple more weeks, though.
And as a final aside, I finally realized where I knew Bryan Greenberg from. I didn't watch whatever WB/CW show he was on before, but in his interview with tvguide.com, it was mentioned that he was in Prime. Then it all clicked. I knew he looked familiar, but it wasn't until I read that that everything came together for me.
Anyway, I wasn't incredibly thrilled with October Road, but it's not horrible either. Like I said, I'll give it a few more episodes to hopefully find it's groove.
What did you all think of Thursday's shows? Did I hit most of the major highlights?
Oh, and I know this is late, but I was busy Thursday night, so I couldn't watch the shows until last night, and today is the first chance I've had to blog about them since. So, sorry for the lateness, but hopefully my blog is still worthwhile to read.
First off, Ugly Betty. What a fantastic episode! I don't think I have one bad thing to say about this episode.
I was really surprised by the outcome of Marc coming out to his mother. I think it was a good twist that his mother wasn't that accepting. So often, on TV, we see the parents being supportive of gay characters, when that isn't what typically happens in real life. It was refreshing to see a non-supportive parent. Granted, it was still heart-breaking to watch, but it seemed much more true to life.
Also, I found it hysterical that Marc's last name is Weiner. Marc didn't have much of a chance of being straight with that last name.
Wilhelmina was in fine form in this episode. She's definitely back to being a manipulative witch. She knows how to play both the Meade siblings quite well, without them even realizing that they are being played. The only one that was on to her was Claire Meade. (As an aside, how fabulous is it that Judith Light was in this episode, too?) Claire clearly doesn't suffer manipulation at all, and I was thrilled that she didn't fall victim to Willie. The end of that scene, with Claire struggling to get a sip of the vodka was hilarious.
I see now that Claire has put the clamp down on Wilhelmina running Mode, Willie's going to try to one-up her by becoming the next Mrs. Meade. Willie is definitely playing with fire here. She would do well to remember what happened to the last person to get in Papa Meade's pants.
I felt really horrible for Daniel. He's worked so hard to find his place in Mode, and Alexis is usurping all of that, just because she can. I'd love to see Mode readership going down from this issue, just to have Daniel be the one to beat Alexis for once. Daniel, though, seemed to slip right back into his old persona after not getting his issue of Mode into the presses. That makes me sadder, because he's worked so hard to throw off that image.
I was really wondering how the Marc/Betty angle was going to work out this week. It was brilliant to have Amanda be the one to throw them together, especially after the lies Marc told his mother about her. That was definitely a good arc, both funny and heartbreaking at the same time. I especially enjoyed the end, when Marc told Betty that he finally came out to his mom, and told her that she would always be his little chimichanga, but that doesn't mean he likes her. No matter how often Marc and Amanda say that, I have to think that they are getting won over by Betty. How can they not like her?
I felt really bad for Henry, too. Yes, he made his bed by sticking with Charlie, but he has major feelings for Betty. The fact that he knows so many teeny details about Betty shows how much he cares for her. Speaking of which, that is one thing I especially like on TV shows. They should show us how the characters are feeling, not tell us. So, kudos to Ugly Betty for that little scene.
The montage at the end was quite nice, too. Betty reading Daniel's letter was a nice touch to seeing all the scenes of the main characters. I especially liked the scenes with the Suarez family playing cards. They look like such a fun, happy family. It makes me wish I were a part of it. Not that I don't have a fun, happy family, but it's not quite the same thing. Also, that particular group of actors seem to really have gelled as a family, and I found it very heart-warming. A nice way to end the episode, for sure.
Next up is Grey's Anatomy. First of all, I have to yell at ABC's promo department. How dare they throw in a shot of McSteamy half-naked and sweaty jumping rope and not even include that in the episode they were promoting?!?!
OK, I'll get out of the shallow end of the pool now.
Mark's use of a "right now" plan for the hospital was a stroke of genius. The only thing that would have made that scene better was Bailey really going off on him. Maybe that will come in later episodes. I don't know. But I think it would be fun to see him verbally smacked around by the Nazi.
I also liked how Mark semi-used Meredith. It probably had a lot to do with winning points from the Chief, but I think it was good for Meredith to actually do something hard to get everyone to stop handling her like a piece of expensive art.
Alex and Jane Doe were so sweet together. They have certainly formed quite the bond. I'm excited to see how that will change and evolve when her face heals. I really liked how Alex helped her choose which face she wanted by giving them each a personality. I just really enjoy the depth they're giving to Alex.
Hector Elizondo was a brilliant casting choice! I can totally see how Callie came from someone like him.
I really like how George stood up to Papa Torres, too. Granted, he stood up to him as he was realizing what happened the night before, which put a damper on his gaining a backbone. Although, I think that's what helped him.
I'm worried about George, though. Everyone knows that secrets can't stay hidden for that long, and it's only a matter of time before Callie finds out George slept with Izzie. (I'm still mortified by that myself.) I don't see it turning out well for George and Callie at all.
I really liked the scene where George confronted Izzie about the night before. Having no dialogue heard made the scene even more powerful than if we would have heard them yelling and screaming. Kudos to the writer of this episode.
I thought this was a really good episode, although I'm frustrated now that we have to wait for a new episode again. I'm very interested in seeing how all the stories play out for the rest of the season. Even Burke/Cristina, because I thought they were cute in this week's show.
Finally, October Road. This is the show where the montages went wrong. The main thing to note is that I used the plural of montage. Having more than one montage in an hour show is just too much. It makes me think that the writers don't really know how to write enough of an episode for an hour-long drama. Plus, I didn't really see the point of either montage. It's hard to care much about the emotions of the characters when we don't really know the characters at all.
Given that I don't really care about many of the characters yet, I can't say I'm really enjoying the show. The good thing is that I really like the main character, Nick.
I'm not sure about him harassing the dean to get a job, though. That seemed a bit like overkill to me. I just can't imagine that would work in any school anywhere. But, I guess I can suspend my disbelief a bit for that.
Eddie (at least I think that's his name), the guy played by Geoff Stults, is still very poorly fleshed out. I can't believe that he really thinks that getting a girl that Nick likes into bed is getting revenge on Nick. Seriously, what is he, in high school? I found that whole arc to be awkward and completely unrealistic. Plus, I want to know what Nick wrote about Eddie that would make Eddie be so angry with Nick. That's a fairly major plot point to leave hanging.
The rest of the show was just kind of boring to me. I'm still going to give it a shot for at least a couple more weeks, though.
And as a final aside, I finally realized where I knew Bryan Greenberg from. I didn't watch whatever WB/CW show he was on before, but in his interview with tvguide.com, it was mentioned that he was in Prime. Then it all clicked. I knew he looked familiar, but it wasn't until I read that that everything came together for me.
Anyway, I wasn't incredibly thrilled with October Road, but it's not horrible either. Like I said, I'll give it a few more episodes to hopefully find it's groove.
What did you all think of Thursday's shows? Did I hit most of the major highlights?
Oh, and I know this is late, but I was busy Thursday night, so I couldn't watch the shows until last night, and today is the first chance I've had to blog about them since. So, sorry for the lateness, but hopefully my blog is still worthwhile to read.
Lights and Lost 3/21/07
I think I'm just about officially on board the Friday Night Lights bandwagon. I really, really enjoyed last night's episode, for the most part. I'll get to that in a bit, though.
First off, and I've probably already said this so bear with the repetition, the dialogue on this show is so real, for lack of a better word. The characters actually stutter and repeat themselves, instead of sounding very polished. It's just a nice little detail to hear on a show. Not that I don't like polished dialogue, but on a show like this, the dialogue they use seems to fit better.
Anyway, I guess I'll my analysis of the show with the things that annoyed me. The one major thing that annoyed me was Lyla, at least through most of the episode. The way she was going on about how she just made "one mistake" when she slept with Riggins. I'm sorry, but sleeping with another guy when you're engaged or married to someone else does not classify as a mistake. It's not like she tripped, her clothes fell off, and she fell on an equally naked Riggins. Of course, maybe I'm just identifying her with AMC's Babe Carey a bit, who did the same type of thing, and also called it a mistake. Characters like that just annoy me.
However, I did like that Mama Garrity filled Lyla in on Buddy's past transgressions. And the only reason I like that is the way she took out her anger on Buddy. Going and destroying the car dealership was a stroke of genius. I love the symbolism of it all.
Buddy himself continues to annoy me. He's just so smarmy, trying to play Lyla against Mrs. Garrity, and trying to weasel his way back into their lives. If he cared so much for his family, he should have thought more about sleeping with other women. I, for one, am thrilled that he's been kicked to the curb.
At first, I was really shocked that Tyra's mom (whose name I haven't gotten down yet) was so against Tyra being anything more than a high-school dropout. It seemed like such a backward way of thinking to me. Parents should support whatever their children want to do, not discourage them from it. I'm glad she changed her tune near the end of the episode, though.
Question for fans of the show. What happened to Tyra's dad? I've been reading recaps, but I don't recall what the deal is there.
I really like Mrs. Taylor, too. (Why can't I remember her name?) I like how she's trying to get Tyra to see potential in herself. I also like how she didn't take any crap from Coach and Julie when they were all huffy about going to the father/daughter dance. She's such a cool mom.
As you all know, I have a thing for Kyle Chandler, and that is still alive and kicking after this week's episode. I've been reading too many recaps on TWOP, I think, but I was especially paying attention to his hair in this episode, specifically when he was making chili. I also really liked his scene with Julie in the car before the dance. It was a really nice father/daughter moment, and I liked how he wanted to hear Julie's opinion on the possible job at TMU. I also liked the close-up of Kyle's eyes. (I like eyes, what more can I say?)
I'm really glad that Jason is having second thoughts about his engagement to Lyla. And I really like his chemistry with the tattoo girl. They have a nice easy rapport going, and I'd love to see them explore that more. I think my favorite Jason scene, though, was when he was coaching Matt. That was just touching, and I could tell that it made him feel good after not making the team that was going to Beijing.
I also really fell in love with Little Bo. He's such a cute kid. I loved how he was all excited when Riggins was going to stay to watch Back to the Future. I couldn't help but giggle a little at that. I wasn't surprised when Tim tried to kiss Bo's mom, though. I misread that moment, too. I'm curious as to how their little fling is going to play out in the future.
The Smash/Waverly story was kind of boring to me. It just seemed very anti-climactic to end it like that.
Overall, a great episode, and the previews for next week look like another good episode is in store for us.
On to Lost. This was a terrific episode. I have to start out with Michael Emerson. He plays creepy so well. The thing that creeps me out most about him, though, is how he can seem so honest, but yet is always calculating. His putting John against Jack was rather brilliant on his part.
This is most likely needless to say, but I was shocked about how Locke became paralyzed. I knew his father was a creep, but I had no idea he'd ever go that far to get his way. I can't imagine the twisted mind that would do that.
I also have to say that I loved the directing when John was first being put in a wheelchair. I thought that was some brilliant camera work, and seeing John's frightened expression was pitch perfect.
I have to toot my own horn a bit to say that I figured out that we'd be seeing John's father again at the end of the episode. I knew for sure when Ben was leading John to the room where he was holding what came out of the box. But even before that, I had an inkling. I'm not entirely sure what made me think that, but I just had some sort of hunch that we'd be seeing him again.
My favorite non-Locke related scene was the brief moment when Danielle sees Alex. It was touching and heartbreaking at the same time seeing Danielle's look of longing when she finally saw her daughter after 16 years.
The other non-Locke scenes were simply okay in my opinion. I didn't really find anything terribly compelling in those scenes, except for the fact that Kate still has obvious feelings for Jack. But that wasn't exactly anything new.
Next week looks to be very good, too. Apparently another castaway is going to die. I have no idea who it's going to be, but I hope it's more shocking than the last major death we saw.
Now, as usual, here's a list of questions that I'm thinking about after watching this week's episode.
- What is the fallout going to be between John and his father?
- Now that we know that Ben was born on the island, is it safe to assume that he's not healing as quickly because he's become immune to the island's healing properties?
- Who else was born on the island? Ben made it very clear that he wasn't the only one.
- How are Jack and Juliet going to feel that their escape was sabotaged due to Ben's manipulation?
- Is Ben going to remain in power with the submarine gone and with him being in a weakened state? I could definitely see a coup-like attempt happening.
- Where is this magical box that Ben was talking about, and where can I get one?
I guess that's about all from me. As always, I look forward to hearing some of your comments about both of these shows.
First off, and I've probably already said this so bear with the repetition, the dialogue on this show is so real, for lack of a better word. The characters actually stutter and repeat themselves, instead of sounding very polished. It's just a nice little detail to hear on a show. Not that I don't like polished dialogue, but on a show like this, the dialogue they use seems to fit better.
Anyway, I guess I'll my analysis of the show with the things that annoyed me. The one major thing that annoyed me was Lyla, at least through most of the episode. The way she was going on about how she just made "one mistake" when she slept with Riggins. I'm sorry, but sleeping with another guy when you're engaged or married to someone else does not classify as a mistake. It's not like she tripped, her clothes fell off, and she fell on an equally naked Riggins. Of course, maybe I'm just identifying her with AMC's Babe Carey a bit, who did the same type of thing, and also called it a mistake. Characters like that just annoy me.
However, I did like that Mama Garrity filled Lyla in on Buddy's past transgressions. And the only reason I like that is the way she took out her anger on Buddy. Going and destroying the car dealership was a stroke of genius. I love the symbolism of it all.
Buddy himself continues to annoy me. He's just so smarmy, trying to play Lyla against Mrs. Garrity, and trying to weasel his way back into their lives. If he cared so much for his family, he should have thought more about sleeping with other women. I, for one, am thrilled that he's been kicked to the curb.
At first, I was really shocked that Tyra's mom (whose name I haven't gotten down yet) was so against Tyra being anything more than a high-school dropout. It seemed like such a backward way of thinking to me. Parents should support whatever their children want to do, not discourage them from it. I'm glad she changed her tune near the end of the episode, though.
Question for fans of the show. What happened to Tyra's dad? I've been reading recaps, but I don't recall what the deal is there.
I really like Mrs. Taylor, too. (Why can't I remember her name?) I like how she's trying to get Tyra to see potential in herself. I also like how she didn't take any crap from Coach and Julie when they were all huffy about going to the father/daughter dance. She's such a cool mom.
As you all know, I have a thing for Kyle Chandler, and that is still alive and kicking after this week's episode. I've been reading too many recaps on TWOP, I think, but I was especially paying attention to his hair in this episode, specifically when he was making chili. I also really liked his scene with Julie in the car before the dance. It was a really nice father/daughter moment, and I liked how he wanted to hear Julie's opinion on the possible job at TMU. I also liked the close-up of Kyle's eyes. (I like eyes, what more can I say?)
I'm really glad that Jason is having second thoughts about his engagement to Lyla. And I really like his chemistry with the tattoo girl. They have a nice easy rapport going, and I'd love to see them explore that more. I think my favorite Jason scene, though, was when he was coaching Matt. That was just touching, and I could tell that it made him feel good after not making the team that was going to Beijing.
I also really fell in love with Little Bo. He's such a cute kid. I loved how he was all excited when Riggins was going to stay to watch Back to the Future. I couldn't help but giggle a little at that. I wasn't surprised when Tim tried to kiss Bo's mom, though. I misread that moment, too. I'm curious as to how their little fling is going to play out in the future.
The Smash/Waverly story was kind of boring to me. It just seemed very anti-climactic to end it like that.
Overall, a great episode, and the previews for next week look like another good episode is in store for us.
On to Lost. This was a terrific episode. I have to start out with Michael Emerson. He plays creepy so well. The thing that creeps me out most about him, though, is how he can seem so honest, but yet is always calculating. His putting John against Jack was rather brilliant on his part.
This is most likely needless to say, but I was shocked about how Locke became paralyzed. I knew his father was a creep, but I had no idea he'd ever go that far to get his way. I can't imagine the twisted mind that would do that.
I also have to say that I loved the directing when John was first being put in a wheelchair. I thought that was some brilliant camera work, and seeing John's frightened expression was pitch perfect.
I have to toot my own horn a bit to say that I figured out that we'd be seeing John's father again at the end of the episode. I knew for sure when Ben was leading John to the room where he was holding what came out of the box. But even before that, I had an inkling. I'm not entirely sure what made me think that, but I just had some sort of hunch that we'd be seeing him again.
My favorite non-Locke related scene was the brief moment when Danielle sees Alex. It was touching and heartbreaking at the same time seeing Danielle's look of longing when she finally saw her daughter after 16 years.
The other non-Locke scenes were simply okay in my opinion. I didn't really find anything terribly compelling in those scenes, except for the fact that Kate still has obvious feelings for Jack. But that wasn't exactly anything new.
Next week looks to be very good, too. Apparently another castaway is going to die. I have no idea who it's going to be, but I hope it's more shocking than the last major death we saw.
Now, as usual, here's a list of questions that I'm thinking about after watching this week's episode.
- What is the fallout going to be between John and his father?
- Now that we know that Ben was born on the island, is it safe to assume that he's not healing as quickly because he's become immune to the island's healing properties?
- Who else was born on the island? Ben made it very clear that he wasn't the only one.
- How are Jack and Juliet going to feel that their escape was sabotaged due to Ben's manipulation?
- Is Ben going to remain in power with the submarine gone and with him being in a weakened state? I could definitely see a coup-like attempt happening.
- Where is this magical box that Ben was talking about, and where can I get one?
I guess that's about all from me. As always, I look forward to hearing some of your comments about both of these shows.
Dancing and Donnellys 3/19/07
I'm really digging the alliteration in the title of my post.
Anyway, let's talk about Dancing with the Stars, first. This is the only reality show I watch, because I'm fascinated by dancing.
I think this may be the first season that any of the celebrities may be able to go all the way to the finals. Most of them looked good on the dance floor, even with shorter time to train than in previous seasons.
I was especially impressed by John Ratzenberger. He did very well for having only half the time to train as all the other competitors.
The only celeb that I wasn't entirely impressed with was Billy Ray Cyrus. I think he just didn't pick the right music to dance to. Plus, he didn't seem to have rhythm while he was dancing. Although, I do have to give him some props for the shameless self-promotion by using a song of his.
I thought Heather Mills did a fabulous job, especially with her disability. It didn't look like she had a fake leg at all. I'm just hoping that one of her legs doesn't fly off when she dancing a different dance. (Was that too off-color? I'm not sure if I crossed the line there or not.)
I also have to say that Apolo Anton Ohno's hip action made my heart flutter a little bit. (Yeah, I'm shallow. Shut up.)
On the professional dancers side, I was really happy to see Jonathan Roberts back. I was always impressed by his dancing, and it's kind of sucked lately that he hasn't been able to move forward in the competition farther.
Cheryl Burke is the luckiest dancer of all of them. She always gets lucky with the partner they give to her. Drew Lachey, Emmitt Smith, and now Ian Ziering. I hope if she returns next season, they give her more of a challenge.
Brian Fortuna seems like a cocky little guy, but he is a good dancer, so I won't berate him too much. He also got pretty lucky with his assigned partner.
Overall, I think this will be a very entertaining season. I'm looking forward to next week to see what the celebs will bring.
Next up is The Black Donnellys. First, let me say that I was especially happy to see Kate Mulgrew have more of a role in this episode. I like how she's a no-holds-barred kind of mother. She's really good at playing that type of character.
I was also happy to see Sean as an actual character instead of just a prop lying in a bed. That's essentially what's he's been through the run of the series so far, so it's nice to see him fleshed out a bit.
Tommy just keeps digging himself deeper and deeper into the mob scene. I still find myself amazed that how seamlessly he's entered the whole scene. Yet, I can tell that he doesn't exactly like what he's doing. He's a very interesting character, and I've been enjoying his interactions with everyone.
I loved the scene with Jenny and the priest in the church. "I know a sin when I see won," is such a classic line. I like that she feels guilty for what she's done, not only to her husband, but also to Tommy. That didn't come out right. It is totally in character for her to feel the way she does.
I also liked the scene between Tommy and Jenny at the end. He was right to brush her off like that after she basically treated him the same way in the last episode. I definitely see potential for them to get together by the end of the series, whenever that may be.
Kevin had a lot of nice sarcastic remarks during the episode. I enjoy a dry humor, because that's what I tend to use as well.
The scene at the very end, with Kate's son telling Tommy that he knows what Tommy did, was a really good way to end the episode. I didn't see that twist coming, and if this show can keep surprising me like that, it'll keep me tuning in.
I'm kind of thinking that Kate may not be as oblivious to what Tommy is doing as she seems. I could be wrong, but I'd like to think she's got a keen eye. The only reason I think this is the phone call she made to Tommy. It sounded slightly more accusatory than frightened. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it.
This episode was pretty good. I thought it lacked a bit of action, but the plot moved forward, and it was pretty character-driven, which is what I really look for in a drama. With the twist at the end, it's got me as a viewer for at least another week.
Anyway, let's talk about Dancing with the Stars, first. This is the only reality show I watch, because I'm fascinated by dancing.
I think this may be the first season that any of the celebrities may be able to go all the way to the finals. Most of them looked good on the dance floor, even with shorter time to train than in previous seasons.
I was especially impressed by John Ratzenberger. He did very well for having only half the time to train as all the other competitors.
The only celeb that I wasn't entirely impressed with was Billy Ray Cyrus. I think he just didn't pick the right music to dance to. Plus, he didn't seem to have rhythm while he was dancing. Although, I do have to give him some props for the shameless self-promotion by using a song of his.
I thought Heather Mills did a fabulous job, especially with her disability. It didn't look like she had a fake leg at all. I'm just hoping that one of her legs doesn't fly off when she dancing a different dance. (Was that too off-color? I'm not sure if I crossed the line there or not.)
I also have to say that Apolo Anton Ohno's hip action made my heart flutter a little bit. (Yeah, I'm shallow. Shut up.)
On the professional dancers side, I was really happy to see Jonathan Roberts back. I was always impressed by his dancing, and it's kind of sucked lately that he hasn't been able to move forward in the competition farther.
Cheryl Burke is the luckiest dancer of all of them. She always gets lucky with the partner they give to her. Drew Lachey, Emmitt Smith, and now Ian Ziering. I hope if she returns next season, they give her more of a challenge.
Brian Fortuna seems like a cocky little guy, but he is a good dancer, so I won't berate him too much. He also got pretty lucky with his assigned partner.
Overall, I think this will be a very entertaining season. I'm looking forward to next week to see what the celebs will bring.
Next up is The Black Donnellys. First, let me say that I was especially happy to see Kate Mulgrew have more of a role in this episode. I like how she's a no-holds-barred kind of mother. She's really good at playing that type of character.
I was also happy to see Sean as an actual character instead of just a prop lying in a bed. That's essentially what's he's been through the run of the series so far, so it's nice to see him fleshed out a bit.
Tommy just keeps digging himself deeper and deeper into the mob scene. I still find myself amazed that how seamlessly he's entered the whole scene. Yet, I can tell that he doesn't exactly like what he's doing. He's a very interesting character, and I've been enjoying his interactions with everyone.
I loved the scene with Jenny and the priest in the church. "I know a sin when I see won," is such a classic line. I like that she feels guilty for what she's done, not only to her husband, but also to Tommy. That didn't come out right. It is totally in character for her to feel the way she does.
I also liked the scene between Tommy and Jenny at the end. He was right to brush her off like that after she basically treated him the same way in the last episode. I definitely see potential for them to get together by the end of the series, whenever that may be.
Kevin had a lot of nice sarcastic remarks during the episode. I enjoy a dry humor, because that's what I tend to use as well.
The scene at the very end, with Kate's son telling Tommy that he knows what Tommy did, was a really good way to end the episode. I didn't see that twist coming, and if this show can keep surprising me like that, it'll keep me tuning in.
I'm kind of thinking that Kate may not be as oblivious to what Tommy is doing as she seems. I could be wrong, but I'd like to think she's got a keen eye. The only reason I think this is the phone call she made to Tommy. It sounded slightly more accusatory than frightened. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it.
This episode was pretty good. I thought it lacked a bit of action, but the plot moved forward, and it was pretty character-driven, which is what I really look for in a drama. With the twist at the end, it's got me as a viewer for at least another week.
Ugly, Grey's, October 3/15/07
This is the first time I've had to post about three shows that aired on the same night. I have a feeling this is going to be an extra-long entry. Of course, that should really surprise none of you.
Starting off with Ugly Betty, (bolding to make each section easier to see), I really liked last night's episode. There were so many classic lines flying all over the place. I think my favorite part of the episode was Amanda. She looked absolutely ridiculous wearing that beyond skin-tight silver dress. And the hat was just priceless. I was enjoying myself so much that I had no idea it would be the woman she shoved out of the way at the party that was setting her up to look so ridiculous.
I also loved how Amanda always makes herself out to look like the good person when she tells stories about her. Seeing the flashbacks was too funny! I think my favorite line came from Marc, when he said he was a little jealous that Amanda's dress didn't come in his size.
I always like the Christina/Betty scenes. She's definitely what Betty needs. Someone to tell her that she's needs to look out for herself, instead of getting trampled on by other people. I could use a Christina in my life, too.
I knew from the beginning that the whole orthodontist thing wasn't going to work out for Betty. She so clearly still had feelings for Henry. I think even Charlie could sense it, even though she's acting completely oblivious. I'm really glad Betty took Claire's advice to stop hanging out with Henry and Charlie. It was doing nothing but hurting her.
Speaking of Claire, how fabulous is Judith Light? I'm really hoping that she isn't going to disappear from our screens. I love her as Claire, especially her dry, snarky comments. I love me some snark! She even has her human moments, like when she told Betty not to do what she did. It's hard to believe that she hasn't been on the show for the entire run. She's definitely left an indelible impression on the show.
Lucy Liu was magnificent as always. I'm hoping that we see more of her, too.
Ignacio's immigration officer (whose name is not coming to me at the moment) is hilariously crazy. The actress that plays her is amazing. She just goes all out to make this lady obsessed. Hilda doing her hair was hilarious, too. I hate to say this, but I don't think Hilda's going to make it as a hairstylist. Also funny, immigrations officer's impersonation of Mariah Carey. I think I about rolled off my couch after seeing that.
Alexis and Daniel's fight about The Chin was well done. I figured Alexis would get all turned around by Willie (look what happened to Christina), but I'm glad Daniel was finally able to tell her the truth.
It was just an overall great episode of Ugly Betty, and the previews for next week, with Marc using Betty as a beard, look hilarious!
On to Grey's Anatomy. I can't believe that George slept with Izzie!!!! I really hope this doesn't mean the end of George and Callie. I like them together, and want to see them make their marriage work. They both need to work on their communication skills, though.
In a related note, was I the only one that found Callie being an heiress to come out of left field? I'm having a hard time reconciling that with her living in the basement of the hospital.
I'm glad that Meredith had dinner with her family. It was nice to see her bond with the new Mrs. Grey, and to even see her father in a newer light. I hope she continues to try to make that work.
Alex living in Meredith's house will bring an interesting new dynamic to the relationships in the house. That's part of the reason I'm hoping George doesn't break up with Callie. I'd love to see how Alex, Meredith, and Izzie living together works out. I am curious, though, where he lived before this. Clearly he lived somewhere, but we've never seen him outside the hospital or Joe's. I'd actually like to see his character fleshed out even more, and him living in the Grey house will help in that regard.
Speaking of Alex, I continue to be amazed by his soft side when it comes to Jane Doe. I like how he apologized to her for putting her baby in harm's way by encouraging her to go through with that surgery. It's really nice to see him have more human moments, instead of having the doctor demeanor on all the time.
I was surprised to see that Cristina had a long-term relationship before Burke. And I can't belive it was with the Sheriff of Nottingham, um, I mean a teacher at Stanford. (Sorry, whenever I see that actor, I think of Robin Hood: Men in Tights.) Cristina's whole blase attitude about marriage is why I've never really bought her sudden willlingness to be Burke's wife. She really doesn't seem like the marrying type to me. And for as much as Burke says he loves Cristina, he certainly made huge assumptions about her. Maybe he was blinded by love, I don't know. All I know is that that is one relationship I don't see lasting.
The attendings are all acting very childish lately. Even the interns seem more mature than the attendings, which isn't something I would have thought would happen. I'm almost getting the feeling that Richard is going to reverse his decision to retire, based on the antics of the attendings. I mean, the only reason he decided to retire was to get Adele back, but that's clearly not happening, so I could totally see him changing his mind.
Speaking of the attendings, there was this one reaction shot where we saw Mark's very pretty blue eyes that I just loved. Yes, we've all established that I'm shallow, so I had to mention that. Mark has a hot body, but eyes tend to really get to me, and the lighting was just perfect so we could see how blue they were.
My favorite line from the show is from Meredith. "Yeah, I had a near death whatever." That's so Meredith.
I liked this episode in general. I don't think it was as thrilling as the ferry crash arc, but it was still good, and it moved story in new directions, which is always a good thing in my book.
Finally, October Road. I gave this a shot because it looked pretty interesting to me. Plus, I don't watch anything at 10 pm on Thursdays anyway, and it's on after Grey's. So, I figured, what the heck?
I'm not entirely sure what to make of this show. I think there are elements that are quite compelling. I'm kind of a sucker for the returning to your roots story, like on Providence and other shows.
I also find the main character quite compelling. I definitely knew what he was feeling when he was up on stage and had tremendous stage fright. I've been there when I've taught a class, but I've never run off like that. But, I know the anxiety that can come with standing up in front of a large crowd.
The secondary characters, though, all seemed a bit like cliches to me. I'm not really enamored with any of them yet. I just don't find any of them to be all that compelling, or interesting. Maybe in a few episodes, I'll grow to like them, but right now, I don't really care all that much.
I'd really like to find out more of what Nick did while he was away for 10 years. I have the basic jist, but more details would be nice. I'd also like to know more about what he wrote in the book that ticked everyone in town off so much. There are a lot of things I'd like to know about him, and I'm hoping we get a chance to see that.
One question to soaps fans out there. Was Nick's editor played by Nicholas Pryor from Port Charles? I didn't catch all the credits, so I didn't notice his name. It looked and sounded like him, but I'd like some confirmation on that, if anyone can provide it.
So, I guess I'll give October Road a couple more episodes to really determine if I like it or not. The one thing going for it is a great main character. That's always a good start. I'll reserve further judgment until I see a couple more episodes.
What did you all think? Are you going to give October Road another chance? Did you like Grey's Anatomy this week? Did you find Ugly Betty as hilarious as I did? I'm looking forward to hearing from fans of all these shows.
Starting off with Ugly Betty, (bolding to make each section easier to see), I really liked last night's episode. There were so many classic lines flying all over the place. I think my favorite part of the episode was Amanda. She looked absolutely ridiculous wearing that beyond skin-tight silver dress. And the hat was just priceless. I was enjoying myself so much that I had no idea it would be the woman she shoved out of the way at the party that was setting her up to look so ridiculous.
I also loved how Amanda always makes herself out to look like the good person when she tells stories about her. Seeing the flashbacks was too funny! I think my favorite line came from Marc, when he said he was a little jealous that Amanda's dress didn't come in his size.
I always like the Christina/Betty scenes. She's definitely what Betty needs. Someone to tell her that she's needs to look out for herself, instead of getting trampled on by other people. I could use a Christina in my life, too.
I knew from the beginning that the whole orthodontist thing wasn't going to work out for Betty. She so clearly still had feelings for Henry. I think even Charlie could sense it, even though she's acting completely oblivious. I'm really glad Betty took Claire's advice to stop hanging out with Henry and Charlie. It was doing nothing but hurting her.
Speaking of Claire, how fabulous is Judith Light? I'm really hoping that she isn't going to disappear from our screens. I love her as Claire, especially her dry, snarky comments. I love me some snark! She even has her human moments, like when she told Betty not to do what she did. It's hard to believe that she hasn't been on the show for the entire run. She's definitely left an indelible impression on the show.
Lucy Liu was magnificent as always. I'm hoping that we see more of her, too.
Ignacio's immigration officer (whose name is not coming to me at the moment) is hilariously crazy. The actress that plays her is amazing. She just goes all out to make this lady obsessed. Hilda doing her hair was hilarious, too. I hate to say this, but I don't think Hilda's going to make it as a hairstylist. Also funny, immigrations officer's impersonation of Mariah Carey. I think I about rolled off my couch after seeing that.
Alexis and Daniel's fight about The Chin was well done. I figured Alexis would get all turned around by Willie (look what happened to Christina), but I'm glad Daniel was finally able to tell her the truth.
It was just an overall great episode of Ugly Betty, and the previews for next week, with Marc using Betty as a beard, look hilarious!
On to Grey's Anatomy. I can't believe that George slept with Izzie!!!! I really hope this doesn't mean the end of George and Callie. I like them together, and want to see them make their marriage work. They both need to work on their communication skills, though.
In a related note, was I the only one that found Callie being an heiress to come out of left field? I'm having a hard time reconciling that with her living in the basement of the hospital.
I'm glad that Meredith had dinner with her family. It was nice to see her bond with the new Mrs. Grey, and to even see her father in a newer light. I hope she continues to try to make that work.
Alex living in Meredith's house will bring an interesting new dynamic to the relationships in the house. That's part of the reason I'm hoping George doesn't break up with Callie. I'd love to see how Alex, Meredith, and Izzie living together works out. I am curious, though, where he lived before this. Clearly he lived somewhere, but we've never seen him outside the hospital or Joe's. I'd actually like to see his character fleshed out even more, and him living in the Grey house will help in that regard.
Speaking of Alex, I continue to be amazed by his soft side when it comes to Jane Doe. I like how he apologized to her for putting her baby in harm's way by encouraging her to go through with that surgery. It's really nice to see him have more human moments, instead of having the doctor demeanor on all the time.
I was surprised to see that Cristina had a long-term relationship before Burke. And I can't belive it was with the Sheriff of Nottingham, um, I mean a teacher at Stanford. (Sorry, whenever I see that actor, I think of Robin Hood: Men in Tights.) Cristina's whole blase attitude about marriage is why I've never really bought her sudden willlingness to be Burke's wife. She really doesn't seem like the marrying type to me. And for as much as Burke says he loves Cristina, he certainly made huge assumptions about her. Maybe he was blinded by love, I don't know. All I know is that that is one relationship I don't see lasting.
The attendings are all acting very childish lately. Even the interns seem more mature than the attendings, which isn't something I would have thought would happen. I'm almost getting the feeling that Richard is going to reverse his decision to retire, based on the antics of the attendings. I mean, the only reason he decided to retire was to get Adele back, but that's clearly not happening, so I could totally see him changing his mind.
Speaking of the attendings, there was this one reaction shot where we saw Mark's very pretty blue eyes that I just loved. Yes, we've all established that I'm shallow, so I had to mention that. Mark has a hot body, but eyes tend to really get to me, and the lighting was just perfect so we could see how blue they were.
My favorite line from the show is from Meredith. "Yeah, I had a near death whatever." That's so Meredith.
I liked this episode in general. I don't think it was as thrilling as the ferry crash arc, but it was still good, and it moved story in new directions, which is always a good thing in my book.
Finally, October Road. I gave this a shot because it looked pretty interesting to me. Plus, I don't watch anything at 10 pm on Thursdays anyway, and it's on after Grey's. So, I figured, what the heck?
I'm not entirely sure what to make of this show. I think there are elements that are quite compelling. I'm kind of a sucker for the returning to your roots story, like on Providence and other shows.
I also find the main character quite compelling. I definitely knew what he was feeling when he was up on stage and had tremendous stage fright. I've been there when I've taught a class, but I've never run off like that. But, I know the anxiety that can come with standing up in front of a large crowd.
The secondary characters, though, all seemed a bit like cliches to me. I'm not really enamored with any of them yet. I just don't find any of them to be all that compelling, or interesting. Maybe in a few episodes, I'll grow to like them, but right now, I don't really care all that much.
I'd really like to find out more of what Nick did while he was away for 10 years. I have the basic jist, but more details would be nice. I'd also like to know more about what he wrote in the book that ticked everyone in town off so much. There are a lot of things I'd like to know about him, and I'm hoping we get a chance to see that.
One question to soaps fans out there. Was Nick's editor played by Nicholas Pryor from Port Charles? I didn't catch all the credits, so I didn't notice his name. It looked and sounded like him, but I'd like some confirmation on that, if anyone can provide it.
So, I guess I'll give October Road a couple more episodes to really determine if I like it or not. The one thing going for it is a great main character. That's always a good start. I'll reserve further judgment until I see a couple more episodes.
What did you all think? Are you going to give October Road another chance? Did you like Grey's Anatomy this week? Did you find Ugly Betty as hilarious as I did? I'm looking forward to hearing from fans of all these shows.
Lost 3/14/07
Who knew that Claire was a goth chick back in the day? That was one of many interesting bits of information that was revealed on Lost this week.
I should probably start with what should have been the most shocking. That is, Claire and Jack are step-siblings. That reveal landed with a thud, mainly because I pretty much knew it was coming from reading random speculation and spoilers. I know, this should tell me not to be such a spoiler junkie, but I can't help it. This site, in particular, makes it way too easy to find info about certain shows.
I really enjoyed the subplot with Claire realizing that those were migratory birds (even though they just looked like plain old seagulls to me). It tied in nicely with her backstory, and showed that she still wants to get off the island. Also, I liked how it tied Desmond into today's episode and got one more person in on the secret that he's psychic, at least when it comes to Charlie.
As an aside, the rock where Desmond found the bird looked very much like a beach I went to when I went to Oahu just over a year ago. I couldn't tell for sure if it was the same one, but it did look very familiar. That's one of the bad parts of this show. It makes me miss Hawaii, or beaches in general. Seeing all the big waves crashing onto shore last night made me very nostalgic for both Hawaii, and home. (I used to live near Lake Michigan.) Although, it is kind of fun to really watch the show closely to see if I've been anywhere else that they feature. One place I know for sure is when they filmed Locke's sweat lodge daydream, the airport was actually the convention center in Honolulu, which is where I had a conference.
Anyway, I digress. Back to the show.
Was it just me, or did anyone else think that as the birds flew over the Others/Hostiles compound the one carrying the note was going to get shot? It just seemed like something that would happen, since the Island itself seems to foil every escape attempt they try. I was very happy that my fear didn't come true.
I thought the note that Claire wrote and attached to the bird was very well-written. It was a nice summary of what's gone on with the Losties. It also feels like a major plot point. I'm not sure where it will come back, but I feel like it's going to be brought up again either later on this season or in the coming seasons. Perhaps Penny is the one studying the birds? Or am I just grasping at straws?
I'm not sure what Claire's backstory was telling us, besides that she's related to Jack. Sure, she cares about her mother, but beyond that, I don't really feel like we learned much about Claire. I will say that the last scene of Claire's flashback with her apologizing to her mother was very touching, and well-acted.
I also feel bad for Desmond. It's gotta be hard for a guy to see the various ways that Charlie is going to die, and to know that Charlie's going to look at him in a somewhat nauseous manner whenever he's in the vicinity.
Oh, and before I delve into the other part of the episode, I'm curious if I was the only one that thought Charlie telling Claire that she's the one he wants to do some day-seizing with was dirty. I'm guessing probably I am. I really need to get my mind out of the gutter.
The other part of the episode with Kate, John, Sayid, and Rousseau definitely made up for the lack of action in Claire's story. I think my favorite part of that story was the scene when Kate asked Rousseau why she hasn't asked any questions about Danielle. I've never really given all that much credit to the actress that plays Rousseau, but she did a phenomenal job with that scene. I really felt bad for her, and completely understood her position.
I'm really starting to think that John is trying to sabotage any effort to get off the island, especially given the events of the last two episodes. He blew up the communication station, he clearly knew that the house was lined with explosives, and he killed Mikhail. Granted, he said he didn't know that was going to happen, but I'm beginning to wonder about him. How he's been acting lately is very curious.
The last shot with Kate seeing Jack and wanting to run to him, and then noticing that he seems to have become an Other was very interesting. It'll lead very nicely into next week's episode, I think. This is actually the first episode in a long time where I'm really anticipating the show next week, not so much for Locke's backstory, but for what's going to happen between the Losties and the Others.
Speaking of Locke's backstory, I'm a bit leery about the preview stating that it'll be shocking. I'm going to try to keep my expectations low, so maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised next week.
As typical with my Lost entries, I have a list of questions I'm thinking about after watching this week's episode.
- Has Jack really been converted to an Other? If he has, was it by brainwashing via the Clockwork Orange type rooom? Or has he just accepted the fact that he'll probably never see his Losties again?
- The fact that Mikhail and the other Others know so much about the Losties brings up the fate issue again. Were the passengers that survived Oceanic Flight 815 preordained to arrive on the island? And is that why all the attempts to get off the island, except for when Michael and Walt left, always lead back to the island?
- How can the Others possibly know all this information about the Losties? Given the first episode of the season, all the Others seemed pretty surprised that a plane exploded right above them. Do they have some way to communicate with the outside world to get this information? Or are they all psychic? Or is the island a metaphor for purgatory, and all the cast is reliving their past in order to make amends? I know the writers have specifically stated that that's not the case, but evidence keeps trying to lead me, anyway, to that conclusion.
- What will Claire do with the information that Desmond is psychic? Will she help him try to prevent Charlie's death? Will she be able to prevent Charlie's death? It all comes down to the fate issue again.
- Is Claire's mother still alive?
- Is there any significance to Sawyer reading an Ayn Rand book?
- What did Mikhail mean that Kate and others were "flawed"? Is it that they have done some terrible things in the past? Or is it something more fundamental?
Wow. I didn't expect to think up so many questions just from this episode. It's definitely one that made me think. I'm looking forward to hearing other people's thoughts on the episode, and if everyone else is as excited as I am for next week.
I should probably start with what should have been the most shocking. That is, Claire and Jack are step-siblings. That reveal landed with a thud, mainly because I pretty much knew it was coming from reading random speculation and spoilers. I know, this should tell me not to be such a spoiler junkie, but I can't help it. This site, in particular, makes it way too easy to find info about certain shows.
I really enjoyed the subplot with Claire realizing that those were migratory birds (even though they just looked like plain old seagulls to me). It tied in nicely with her backstory, and showed that she still wants to get off the island. Also, I liked how it tied Desmond into today's episode and got one more person in on the secret that he's psychic, at least when it comes to Charlie.
As an aside, the rock where Desmond found the bird looked very much like a beach I went to when I went to Oahu just over a year ago. I couldn't tell for sure if it was the same one, but it did look very familiar. That's one of the bad parts of this show. It makes me miss Hawaii, or beaches in general. Seeing all the big waves crashing onto shore last night made me very nostalgic for both Hawaii, and home. (I used to live near Lake Michigan.) Although, it is kind of fun to really watch the show closely to see if I've been anywhere else that they feature. One place I know for sure is when they filmed Locke's sweat lodge daydream, the airport was actually the convention center in Honolulu, which is where I had a conference.
Anyway, I digress. Back to the show.
Was it just me, or did anyone else think that as the birds flew over the Others/Hostiles compound the one carrying the note was going to get shot? It just seemed like something that would happen, since the Island itself seems to foil every escape attempt they try. I was very happy that my fear didn't come true.
I thought the note that Claire wrote and attached to the bird was very well-written. It was a nice summary of what's gone on with the Losties. It also feels like a major plot point. I'm not sure where it will come back, but I feel like it's going to be brought up again either later on this season or in the coming seasons. Perhaps Penny is the one studying the birds? Or am I just grasping at straws?
I'm not sure what Claire's backstory was telling us, besides that she's related to Jack. Sure, she cares about her mother, but beyond that, I don't really feel like we learned much about Claire. I will say that the last scene of Claire's flashback with her apologizing to her mother was very touching, and well-acted.
I also feel bad for Desmond. It's gotta be hard for a guy to see the various ways that Charlie is going to die, and to know that Charlie's going to look at him in a somewhat nauseous manner whenever he's in the vicinity.
Oh, and before I delve into the other part of the episode, I'm curious if I was the only one that thought Charlie telling Claire that she's the one he wants to do some day-seizing with was dirty. I'm guessing probably I am. I really need to get my mind out of the gutter.
The other part of the episode with Kate, John, Sayid, and Rousseau definitely made up for the lack of action in Claire's story. I think my favorite part of that story was the scene when Kate asked Rousseau why she hasn't asked any questions about Danielle. I've never really given all that much credit to the actress that plays Rousseau, but she did a phenomenal job with that scene. I really felt bad for her, and completely understood her position.
I'm really starting to think that John is trying to sabotage any effort to get off the island, especially given the events of the last two episodes. He blew up the communication station, he clearly knew that the house was lined with explosives, and he killed Mikhail. Granted, he said he didn't know that was going to happen, but I'm beginning to wonder about him. How he's been acting lately is very curious.
The last shot with Kate seeing Jack and wanting to run to him, and then noticing that he seems to have become an Other was very interesting. It'll lead very nicely into next week's episode, I think. This is actually the first episode in a long time where I'm really anticipating the show next week, not so much for Locke's backstory, but for what's going to happen between the Losties and the Others.
Speaking of Locke's backstory, I'm a bit leery about the preview stating that it'll be shocking. I'm going to try to keep my expectations low, so maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised next week.
As typical with my Lost entries, I have a list of questions I'm thinking about after watching this week's episode.
- Has Jack really been converted to an Other? If he has, was it by brainwashing via the Clockwork Orange type rooom? Or has he just accepted the fact that he'll probably never see his Losties again?
- The fact that Mikhail and the other Others know so much about the Losties brings up the fate issue again. Were the passengers that survived Oceanic Flight 815 preordained to arrive on the island? And is that why all the attempts to get off the island, except for when Michael and Walt left, always lead back to the island?
- How can the Others possibly know all this information about the Losties? Given the first episode of the season, all the Others seemed pretty surprised that a plane exploded right above them. Do they have some way to communicate with the outside world to get this information? Or are they all psychic? Or is the island a metaphor for purgatory, and all the cast is reliving their past in order to make amends? I know the writers have specifically stated that that's not the case, but evidence keeps trying to lead me, anyway, to that conclusion.
- What will Claire do with the information that Desmond is psychic? Will she help him try to prevent Charlie's death? Will she be able to prevent Charlie's death? It all comes down to the fate issue again.
- Is Claire's mother still alive?
- Is there any significance to Sawyer reading an Ayn Rand book?
- What did Mikhail mean that Kate and others were "flawed"? Is it that they have done some terrible things in the past? Or is it something more fundamental?
Wow. I didn't expect to think up so many questions just from this episode. It's definitely one that made me think. I'm looking forward to hearing other people's thoughts on the episode, and if everyone else is as excited as I am for next week.
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