All My Children February Sweeps

I realize it's kind of late to do an analysis of sweeps month on the ABC soaps, since we're already a full week into March, but I needed some time for it all to sink in to make some sense out of it.

I'm doing this blog in three parts, because otherwise it would just get too long.

I'm starting with All My Children for a couple different reasons. First, it was, by far, the worst of the three ABC soaps. Second, All My Children has always been "my soap" so I feel especially compelled to analyze it first.

First of all, I can't help but start with the sweeps before the sweeps, as a certain exec at AMC called it. That is, Dixie's accidental death at the hands of the Satin Slayer. You all have no idea how upsetting that was for me and basically all the fans of All My Children. We've endured a rather hellish year of Dixie being a lurker and being written completely out of character. And just as she was starting to be Dixie again, she gets killed off, for what seems like some really poor decision behind the scenes. We were promised a reunion with Tad and both of them finding their daughter Kate in the near future. The reunion with Tad took the form of him asking her out on a date the morning she died. She found out about Kate after she died. She saw Kate and Tad in the park (as a ghost, no less) and realized who Kate was. Talk about disappointing!

The majority of sweeps month, though, focused on the climax of the Satin Slayer storyline. For those that may only tune in occasionally, AMC decided to do a serial killer story to pare down the cast a bit (which was getting rather large, in my opinion). It was discovered that Zach's father, the presumed-dead Alexander Cambius, Sr., was killing off the women of Fusion to teach Zach a lesson in obedience. This is all because Zach, ne Alex, Jr., faked his own death to get out from under his father's thumb. Senior had also laid the blame of Zach's mother, Amelia's, death on Zach, even though Senior was the one that pushed her off a balcony.

While parts of this story made sense, namely the killer being related to Zach because he was going after women important to Zach's wife Kendall, most of the story seemed to be pulled out of thin air. This is not surprising, since the soon-to-be-former-head-writer admitted to launching the Madden in a box torture story without knowing who buried Madden beforehand. The fact that the killer went after women that are only connected to Zach by the thinnest of threads made absolutely no sense at all. It would have made more sense if the killer would have went after Kendall or Spike (Kendall's baby with Ryan) at first to torture Zach. All in all, it was a very ill-conceived plot device.

Then, of course, we had the faux-death of Babe. Babe was saved from the grave by her sometimes-lover Josh, because he's hopelessly devoted to Babe. (Now I have the Olivia Newton-John song stuck in my head...) So, Josh kept Babe alive, but let her family, including husband JR and pregnant mother Krystal, grieve for Babe. Josh said it was to protect her from the serial killer, but we all know that it's to keep her away from JR. This whole plot stunk to high heaven, too. Especially for those of us who aren't Babe-lovers.

Beyond those three main stories, nothing else happened during sweeps month. To say it was a lackluster sweeps month is an understatement. The only thing that redeemed some of the stories was the acting, specifically by Thorsten Kaye, Alicia Minshew, and Ronald Guttman in the climax of the Satin Slayer story.

The one good thing that happened in sweeps month is that head writer Megan McTavish was fired. Don't get me wrong, I don't like when anyone is fired, but soaps are a business, and if you're putting out a lousy product, you don't deserve to be in charge anymore.

So, that's my analysis of All My Children. The other two soaps will be covered in the following days. Please comment if you feel I've missed something or agree with me or even disagree with me. I love discussions on my soaps.

Lost 3/7/07

I thought this week had a pretty good episode of Lost. I love it when the backstories delve into the character's psyche and explain their motivations to us.

First off, the fun stuff. I thought it was quite interesting that Sawyer didn't recognize a con when he saw one. And I love that Hurley is the one that pulled it off. That was so cute. I knew immediately that Hurley was going to totally beat him at ping pong.

Also, who didn't laugh when Sawyer asked Nikki who the hell she is? I certainly did. That seemed like a nice little shout-out to the viewers.

On to the more serious part of the story. I was very intrigued by Sayid's backstory. It definitely gave us some clue as to who he is, and why he let Mikhail live, and even back to when he let Benry live.

I'm also very glad that Sayid insisted on following Kate to wherever she was going. He has a finely honed lie detector in him, which always seems to come in handy.

I am curious as to why Mikhail made up such an elaborate backstory regarding the "hostiles." I guess Mikhail was just trying to gain the Losties' trust, but still. I could think of better ways to do that.

Poor Mrs. Klugh! After so much time wondering what became of her, she ends up dying in last night's episode. I actually would have liked to learn more about her and what her position is with the Others.

As soon as I saw Locke looking at the computer with what looked like awe, I knew that it was going to end badly. Apparently he hasn't learned anything from the last time he was alone with a computer. And, of course, once I saw that the basement was lined with explosives, I knew that Locke playing with the computer would result in an explosion.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see the very end of Lost. Nature was screaming at me, so I turned up the volume to listen to the dialogue of the show, but I missed the very last scene, and I'm hoping one of my blog buddies can fill me in on what happened. I heard the explosion, and Sayid said they should leave after it happened. Then I heard the music swell, and assumed something important was being shown in the final frames, but I don't know what that was. So, if anyone can tell me about it, I'd be very grateful!

To end this entry, some questions I'm pondering after seeing this episode.

- Will we see the person that Sayid tortured again?
- How is it that people are first finding a whole bunch of stuff in the jungle now? Is this the first time they've really explored the island?
- Was Mikhail really part of Dharma?
- Did Dharma really exist, or was it just some covert government operation? Or was it something completely different?
- Most importantly, if John ever discovers a computer again, will he remember what happened the last two times he played with a computer and not even touch it?

Again, any info on what happened in the very last scene of Lost will be enormously appreciated! And if anyone already has answers to the above questions, feel free to comment away!

Gilmore Girls and House 3/6/07

OK, this week's Gilmore Girls took a slight downturn. It was still a very good show, but it lacked the punch of the previous couple episodes, in my opinion.

I did find it rather funny how Emily kind of invited herself on Lorelai and Rory's trip to North Carolina. I was wondering why on earth they'd all go on a road trip together, but it completely makes sense the way they wrote it.

It was a little bit jarring for me to see a new Mia, though. That's only because I coincidentally watched the episode Mia was in in season 2 just a couple day ago. Kathy Baker did capture Mia pretty well, though. It still was kind of a shock, in my opinion.

I thought the whole wedding thing was nice, and a bit uncomfortable, which is how it should have been with Emily there. We all know how Emily feels about Lorelai's relationship with Mia, and I felt really bad for her.

I wasn't all that impressed with Logan in this week's episode. At least not until the end when he quit working for his father. That was nice to see, in my opinion. I'm glad he realized that the maturity he gained didn't just disappear because he made a mistake.

I really liked the very end when all the Gilmore girls were bonding over a Will Smith movie. That was just sweet. It felt like a turning point in all of their relationships.

I also thought it was sweet that Lane and Zack asked Luke to be godfather to their twins. It does seem like the perfect choice. He's the only man in town that I'd pick to be godfather to my children. I also liked how he was giving advice to Zach. He needs a parental role model, and I think Luke may be perfect.

I'm hoping that the next new episode (whenever that may be) actually shows us Lane with the babies. The end with Rory showing the pictures to Lorelai and Emily aren't going to be enough for me. Just seeing Zack and Lane with their kids could provide plenty of humor and drama. Heck, I could see a potential spin-off happening there, if the writers chose to do so.

Next up is House. First of all, who decides when new shows are going to be scheduled? Seriously, they give us one new episode, and now we have to wait another couple weeks for another new episode?! What's the point? I know it's probably just for Idol, which irks me to no end. I know I'm probably in the minority when it comes to Idol, but I couldn't care less about who wins, or the show in general. It eats up too much airtime the way it is. (I realize that this paragraph is going to get me flamed, but I don't care. I want to express my displeasure at a show eating up airtime from quality shows that should be showcased.)

Anyway, I had an inkling from the very beginning that House was only pretending to have brain cancer. I didn't think it would be just so he could get high, but it makes sense for him.

I did, however, love his code name as a patient. Luke N. Laura. How great is that?! I giggled about that for some time.

The thing I found most bizarre, though, is that Cameron, Chase, and Foreman basically neglected the patient they already had to check up on House. Now, I'm no medical professional, but that seemed to be a bit unethical to me. Yeah, I know they care about House, but he's not the patient. It's just hard for me to suspend my disbelief for that one.

I do think that this was a nice turning point episode for House, though. He may be starting to grow and want to connect more closely to people. That will probably change in the near future, though, knowing House.

I don't really have much else to say about this episode. It was good, not great, but I didn't mind watching it either. I'm still a little ticked that it's being pre-empted yet again, but there's nothing I can do about that.

Anyway, let me know what you all think. Do you think House is growing? Are you surprised that House was faking having cancer? What do you think in general? And let me know your opinions on Gilmore Girls, too. I like getting comments!

Heroes and The Black Donnellys 3/5/07

Yes, I've added two more shows to my roster of primetime TV. Don't ask me why. I guess I like to pretend I have a whole lot of time on my hands, when really I don't.

So, I'll start off with Heroes. I've just started watching this show about three weeks ago, so I'm still learning who the characters are and what's going on with them. But, using the wonderful recaps on TWoP, I've pretty much caught up.

Compared to lsat week's episode that focused only on a few characters, this week's seemed packed to the brim with action and characters, and yet more new characters for people to get to know. It almost seems like they tried to show every character on the show to remind people of everyone before they go on hiatus for six weeks or so.

I wasn't as thrilled by this episode as I was by some of the others, because there was just too much going on.

I did like the twist at the end where the Petrelli's mother knew all about Claire and was trying to protect her. From what I've read in recaps, I didn't think that their mother knew about their powers, so that was interesting to see.

As an aside, I've seen the woman that play Mama Petrelli in so many different things, most notably in season 1 of Gilmore Girls as Christopher's mother.

Claire is quite resourceful when she wants to get something done. Who knew she was a little pickpocket in disguise.

I'm fascinated by Sylar. He's so deliciously evil that it makes it fun to watch him. I knew Mohinder wasn't going to be able to keep him subdued. That would have been too easy. I also like the way they're explaining getting rid of Milo's bangs. It was cool that the camera panned down and we saw a clump of hair fall down.

I wasn't at all surprised by the new girl morphing into Mrs. Bennet. They kind of telegraphed that plot point when she commented on Mrs. Bennet's hair. It was especially obvious when her cell rang and it wasn't that annoying doggy ringtone. It seemed a bit contrived to me.

I'm still confused as to what is up with the company that HRG works for. Why do they want to catch all the mutants, for lack of a better, non-made-up word? I'm just curious if that's been answered and I missed it in the recaps.

Also, I know a lot of people love Hiro, but his cutesy shtick is getting a little annoying to me. Maybe that's just me, though.

Overall, a decent episode, but still too jam-packed with characters to really have a clue what's going on.

Now, The Black Donnellys is a show that I wasn't sure I'd get into. I'm typically not a fan of the mob shows, but I kept tuning in per the suggestions of Rod and others. I wasn't thrilled by the first episode, but it was interesting enough for me to tape it on Monday.

I must say, though, that I didn't expect to be as invested in this show as I am. The stories are great, and it's not as mob-involved as it is Tommy protecting his family. I think it's a show that I'll keep watching.

Of course, I have to give major props to anyone that's going to cast Kate Mulgrew in their show. She's a great actress, and it's nice to see a bigger name on the show. She really sold Mama Donnelly to me.

And can I just say how shocked I was to see how ripped that the guy that plays Tommy is? Seriously, I don't think he had an ounce of body fat on him. He, as eye candy, is enough for me to keep tuning in. (Yes, I know. I'm a shallow, shallow man.)

I also loved the use of humor in the show. Everyone being sarcastic was great, because I'm a big fan of sarcasm. It's my main source of humor.

It was kind of cute how "Ice Cream" (whose name is not coming to me at the moment) kept inserting himself into his stories, and the Donnellys were all confused as to how he showed up. That was just hilarious.

I'm really amazed at how far Tommy's willing to go to keep his family safe. I didn't think he had it in him to be cold enough to start breaking a guy's bones with a sledge hammer just to get rid of evidence. I guess it's true. It's always the nice ones you have to watch out for.

Surprisingly, I think I'm getting hooked on this show after only two episodes. If it can keep up this pace, I'll probably continue to tune in.

Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters 3/4/07

Just so you all don't get confused, I've shortened Brothers & Sisters to Siblings in my title. I'm sure most of you would have gotten that, but I want to be very clear. :)

I wasn't all that enthralled by Desperate Housewives this week. Parts of it were pretty good, but most of it just ranked a blah on my scale. (I know, it's an odd scale, but just go with it.)

I did enjoy that they gave Rex a voiceover this time. It's a nice switch-up for a change. However, I don't really watch the show for the men, so I didn't really care about what was going on with them.

I loved meeting Edie's son. For those that may have recognized him, he played Ben Stiller's son in Night at the Museum. That kid is such a cutie, and he's a pretty good actor, too. I really liked how Carlos went off on Edie for not being a great mother, too. He was completely right in that regard. That short arc also gave a new dimension to Edie, which I rather enjoyed. It's nice to see her being fleshed out a bit instead of showing lots of flesh. ;)

Kathryn Joosten as Mrs. McClusky totally stole the scene she was in. I cracked up when she was talking about her husband's lackluster anniversary gifts. Her last line, "My last gift was a vacuum cleaner. He died two weeks later. I wasn't sad," was hilarious! Seriously, she should be used more often on this show.

Is anyone as curious as I am what cards Ian was holding during their showdown at Tom's pizza place? The only thing he could have had that would have beaten Mike is aces full of something, or four of a kind, or potentially a straight or royal flush. I just want to know how he won, darn it!

In any case, I don't think Mike is going to give up that easily. Considering how much he's gone through in the past year, giving up probably isn't going to happen.

I also liked Andrew calling Austin on being a dog. I enjoyed his little line about liking dogs, too. I could sense some innuendo in that line.

They did a great job finding a stand in for Marcia Cross, too. Although, it was very clear that it was a stand in since they carefully didn't show her face.

Overall, though, it wasn't the best episode I've seen. Especially compared to the last new one.

Brothers and Sisters on the other hand, was fantastic! I like when one little (or not so little as the case may be) thing drives the story for an entire episode. The reveal of Rebecca being a step-sister to the Walker clan was amazingly done.

I love how the whole thing just snowballed, hitting every cast member in a different way.

I'm actually really happy Saul had the courage to go against the rest of the family to tell Nora about Rebecca. I think he had the right idea, since the last secret he kept from her was incredibly devastating. I don't think his choice of venues was the greatest spot for the reveal, but I'm glad he spit it out.

I thought Kevin confronting Saul was great. I really like Kevin, not only because he's gay, but because he seems to be the most sensible one in the family. It felt very in character for both of them to feel the way they felt.

As a side note, could this week's episode mark the beginning of the end for Kevin and Chad? I really hope so, because I don't really like their pairing. Not to bash Jason Lewis, but I don't feel like he's as committed to the part as he should be. Perhaps it's because he's just supposed to be a short term character, but still.

Anyway, back to the main plot. Kitty and Justin's reactions were spot on. I love how Kitty just wanted to sit still because every time she moves something seems to blow up in the family. It's very true, unfortunately. I'm really glad that she has someone to lean on now, though.

I was a little worried for Justin, though. At first I thought he was buying some drugs. You wouldn't believe how happy I was that he just called his sponsor. He's really taking the sobriety seriously, which is great.

As another side note, I've always identified most with Justin, and I've finally nailed down why in this episode. It was when his sponsor was telling him that he doesn't like to see people hurt and that's why he became a medic in the army (or whichever branch he was in). I'm the same way, except for being a medic. I hate the sight of blood, so being a medical professional of any sort isn't my cup of tea. Anyway, bringing myself off the tangent I inadvertantly got myself on, I'm a lot like Justin. I hate to see other people hurting, and I tend to want to help them out, or take on their pain in some way. And if I'm in pain, I typically just want to escape. I don't use drugs as the route of escape; I'm more of a brooder. But, still. I try to escape in whatever way I can. So, I really understand Justin and his mindset with the whole thing.

Back to the main story (again!), I also liked how worried Tyler was for Justin. I'm quite sad that their relationship isn't working out at the moment, but that doesn't mean that they'll never get back together. I think it's good that Tyler walked away gracefully and only wanted to see Justin well. That gives me hope for the future of that couple. They're a great pairing, and I really would love to see more of them in the future.

I LOVED how Sarah told Rebecca the truth. I like how that whole scene played out. First how Sarah thought she'd met Rebecca before, to her inviting her into her office to tell her. I got a lot of delight from that moment.

I'm glad Rebecca went and confronted Holly about it right away, too. That was great. And I'm a big fan of bringing in backstories, so hearing about how William brought Rebecca a doll when she was in the hospital was perfect for me.

I was not thrilled by how Holly acted so hurt that Sarah told Rebecca the truth. Holly's done nothing but tear that family apart since her arrival on the scene, so for her to act so self-righteous about what Sarah did really ticked me off. Although, it's totally in character for Holly to do that, so it wasn't all that surprising. I, personally, just get really annoyed with people/characters who act all entitled when they really aren't. (AMC's Babe, I'm looking at you!)

I think my favorite moment of the episode, though, was the end where Justin and Rebecca were bonding. It was just a nice, touching moment. Small moments like that are what really make a story resonate with me. Plus, I really enjoyed how Justin and Rebecca were practically connected before this by having a friend in common.

Overall, a great episode of Brothers and Sisters, and I'm really looking forward to new episodes, whenever they may air.

Friday Night Lights and Lost 2/28/07

Some of my fellow bloggers will be happy to note that I'm writing about Friday Night Lights this week as well as Lost.

I'll start with Friday Night Lights because I have less to say on that show. I'm beginning to see why so many people recommended it to me. It is a very well-written, well-acted show.

I actually feel like I'm catching up on who all these characters are and what the main storylines are, which is pretty impressive for only watching two episodes of a show with a rather large cast. I'm still confused by some things, though, but that will take time, and the watching of some repeats to get a handle on.

Of course, I can just ask my fellow bloggers for help, too, so that's what I'll do.

First, why is Buddy so upset that Coach might leave Dillon? I understand that people in a small town tend to get invested in their local sports, but he seems to be way too invested in Coach's life, especially considering how his life is in a shambles as Coach rightfully pointed out. Plus, I found it to be very disturbing that he was snooping about why Coach went out to dinner.

What is up with Lyla? I get that she'd be a little threatened by a girl cozying up to Street, since they are engaged, but this tattoo parlor girl didn't seem all that threatening to me. I can understand Lyla's emotions being a little bit heightened after what happened to with her parents, but still, it seems a bit odd for her to go off on Street.

I'm also confused by Waverly. Has she been on for the run of the series so far? If she has, did we know she was on mood altering drugs? Even not knowing the show all that well, I could tell that something was off with her right from the beginning when she snuck into Smash's room. (That was Smash, right? I'm still working on associated characters with names.)

I think that's all I'm confused about. I must say that I really like the whole Taylor family relationship. I especially enjoyed the scene where Coach and his wife (sorry, blanking on names again) were driving to the house and saw Buddy on the porch. The dialogue seemed so real, not like typical TV dialogue. Plus, I can totally understand the wife's reaction. I've had the reaction myself many a time.

Overall, a very good episode, and I'm tempted to keep tuning in.

Now, on to Lost. I have to say that I absolutely loved this episode. True, I'm slightly biased because Hurley is my favorite character, but still this episode was very good.

There was one thing I didn't like about it, though. It seemed a bit disjointed to me, which is unusual for Lost. The whole subplot with Kate going to see Rousseau just didn't seem to belong with the rest of the episode. It's almost like whoever wrote the show found it to be a little short and had to fill in the episode with something.

Don't get me wrong, I completely see where that arc is going. I knew right away that Kate was going to see Rousseau because of Alex. And I think it's a brilliant move on her part. However, it just didn't fit with the rest of the episode.

Besides that, I loved the rest of the episode. Hurley's flashback explained a lot about him. I can understand why he's so desperate to do something productive.

Sawyer was incredibly funny in this episode, too. "Hey, you found yourselves a hippie car!" I laughed out loud with that one. I also giggled when he called Hurley Snuffy. I don't know why I giggled, but I did. Plus, I've said this before, but I love a good pop culture reference.

Speaking of the hippie car, when I saw it, I was still reminded of the bright yellow VW bus in Little Miss Sunshine, even down to how the car didn't work right away. I was half expecting the horn to go a little haywire.

I also thought it was a great touch to open the episode with Hurley talking to Libby. I'm glad that someone on the writing staff is remembering the dead. I'm just hoping that the mention of her name will lead to seeing her in a flashback of someone's. I'm still miffed that they killed her off. She's another character I wanted to learn more about.

I was slightly apprehensive towards the end of the episode. I actually had a slight inkling that they were going to kill Hurley off. It sort of felt like Hurley had worked out all his issues, and we know that that typically means that the character who has the flashback is going to die. I, for one, would have completely tuned out of Lost if they had killed Hurley off. I wouldn't be able to forgive them for that, so I was pretty happy that he made it through the episode relatively unscathed.

Speaking of killing people off, I think my jaw dropped to the floor when the meteor crashed into the Chicken Shack, killing Tricia Tanaka. I knew Hurley had bad luck, but I totally wasn't expecting that. Good job, writers, at keeping me o my toes!

Of course, to conclude, I'll list some questions I'm thinking about after watching this episode.

- Why was there a hippie car in the jungle? How did it get on the island? And why would the Dharma people use it if there are no roads on the island?
- Will Charlie stop moping now that he's cheated death again? Has he really cheated death?
- Will Rousseau help Kate, Locke, and Sayid? What will she do if/when she finds her daughter?
- Is Hurley's curse broken because he found hope?
- Will we ever hear about the numbers again, and will we learn their significance?

It was definitely a great episode of Lost, and it made up for the somewhat disappointing episode last week. I'm very interested to see what will happen next week. I'll be tuning in, that's for sure!

Gilmore Girls 2/27/07

With the exception of a few tiny little things, I think this episode was the best Gilmore Girls of the season.

I guess I'll start with the bad stuff. First of all, while I totally understand that Logan is in a bad place because he made a colossal mistake regarding the company he bought, the fact that he's drowning his sorrows by going off with Colin and Finn takes away a lot of the maturity he'd been showing in recent episodes. I just have a bad feeling about the whole thing. I always thought Logan was the ringleader of that little group and the worst influence, but now I'm thinking that Colin and Finn are the worse influences. I guess I can reserve judgement for a little while, but I don't like where this is going.

The only other thing that disappointed me was the Rory interview thing. I actually wanted to see the interview. I know, it's not really part of the whole theme of the episode, but it still felt like it should be important enough for us to at least see her meet the right bald guy.

Beyond those couple things, this week's episode as excellent! I love that Stars Hollow was very involved in this episode. Seeing Lulu, Gypsy, Babette, Miss Patty, Kirk, Lane, Mrs. Kim, Zach, Brian, Gil, Sookie and Jackson was just great, and gave me warm fuzzies.

I loved how Lorelai was playing mediator between Lane and Mrs. Kim. It makes total sense that they would have a fight about how Lane was going to raise her children. Mrs. Kim is a take-charge type of woman (as evidenced by her selling techniques), so of course she's going to tell Lane what she thinks is best. I'm glad they made up, though.

I thought it was so sweet when Mrs. Kim got tears in her eyes when Lorelai told Mrs. Kim that she didn't want to see Mrs. Kim have the same fate as Emily. That was very heartwarming.

Of course, I loved how Mrs. Kim berated that one driver as they were rolling Lane to the baby shower. "You did not come to a complete stop! And use your blinkers!" That's just classic.

I thought that Liz and TJ were again shown for just the right amount of time this week. Actually, I wouldn't have minded a bit more Liz. I can handle her pretty well, but TJ gets on my nerves more quickly. Although I did chuckle a bit as he was talking about how all Liz's beads and stuff were a choking hazard for Doula (poor kid getting stuck with that name). All I could think as he said that was that he probably still tries to eat beads. Seriously, I can't be the only one that thought that, can I? He hasn't exactly been the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree.

While I was watching today's show, I went back to a discussion in the comments of the last blog I wrote about Gilmore Girls. Someone (I believe it was Amber or Fi, but I could be wrong and am too lazy to go look it up) was talking about how much stock Luke puts in Liz's opinions. That was shown very clearly today when he sold his boat to Kirk, bought a new boat, and talked to April about doing something different when she comes to Stars Hollow for summer vacation. I think he may have been a little too rash in doing all these things, but I really see how much value he puts in his sister's opinion.

Sort of a tangent, but Kirk with a boat! That just seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Look what happened when Kirk tried to drive a car. Granted he got blinded by the camera Taylor so proudly installed on the only traffic light in Stars Hollow, but still. I wouldn't trust Kirk to drive anything with a motor, not even a moped.

Today was just a great episode all around. This show is just proving that they needed a little time to work the show out of the hole that was dug for it last season. Don't get me wrong, I think the Palladinos are great, but I think the show jumped the shark last season, and the fact that it's been pulled back to being good is a testament to the current regime.

Next week's episode looks great, too. The Gilmore girls on a road trip. Sure, it seems a bit far-fetched since Lorelai and Emily can't make it through dinner without picking a fight, but still, it should be hilarious to watch. If nothing else, it'll be trippy. (Yeah, I know, that's a horrible pun, but I couldn't help myself.)