We love our shows so much we created a blog for it.
athenawj is a writer-mama-artist-editor-blue ribbon junkie who can't get enough of her favorite t.v. shows (and the ridiculous amount of videotapes in her house proves it). She's owned various t.v.s for awhile, but only recently discovered the joys of OnDemand.
merserene is a professional-turned-student who has an unhealthy addiction to some shows. She bought her first TV last year and is particularly fond of old reruns and British comedy.
Alias
Coupling
Desperate Housewives
Fawlty Towers
Keeping Up Appearances
Rick Steves' Europe
Sex And The City
Two And A Half Men
What Not To Wear
A quick word to encourage those who do not watch ST: Enterprise to start watching!
This season, although its fourth, has really taken off. Intrigue, action, and most of all, staying within the ST universe/timeline. Whatever silliness/detractions the writers concoted in the past 3 seasons was wrapped up quickly and tightly in the beginning episodes. The blue Andorians show up, again. We got Arik Soong/Brent Spiner earlier this season and got a glimpse of how the invention gene runs in the family. Also learned about the Eugenics War. Learned more about the Vulcans and their belief system. And then, last night's episode left me with a chill down my back, and I'm about to tell why...
Romulans. Ooohhh. They always frighten me a bit, much more than the Klingons because you know they're brutes, but no one really knows what the Romulans are up to. Yet. The ST history has it that 80 years before Kirk's time, the Federation fought a war with the Romulans. However, no one had ever seen the Romulans - didn't know what they looked like, where they came from, etc. Not even the Vulcans. Not until Kirk's time, that is. But Archer and his crew have just encountered a Romulan prototype ship while trying to broker a peace deal between the Andorians and the Tellarites, and the cliff hanger was oh-so-ominous and evil and exciting all at the same time. How did they manage to see a Romulan ship without seeing the Romulans? Another spoiler: The Romulan ship was entirely remote controlled, likely from Romulus or Remus, with some Romulan completely jacked into a virtual reality system and operating the ship. Throughout the episode you were led to believe the Romulans were on the bridge of that ship, since the surroundings look exactly the same, but oh no. It was one of those "holy crap!" type twists that just makes it so good.
Although Enterprise will never replace TNG, last night's episode really got up there. Probably my favorite Enterprise episode so far. It also reminded me of Babylon 5, which is just one of the best written sci-fi series out there. /end geek moment
10 out of 10! 
Only a few things to comment on: Sam realized that Neela has a crush on Luka. But instead of treating it as the cuteness that it is, she warns Luka before he goes to work to stay away from Neela or else. Uh, wha...? I thought at first she was kidding, but LC played that scene as if she was not. The rest of the show was spent shooting dirty looks Luka's way, and snapping at Neela. First off, when has Luka ever given her the idea that she'd cheat on her? Secondly, all Luka's been doing is teaching Neela; it's not his fault if the girl developed a crush on him.
I know I'm biased because GV is like, omigosh, my dreamboat, but I've never seen what he sees in Sam. She's abrasive (my new adjective of choice), and always seems to be looking for a fight. She snaps all too often, and seems to have too little respect for doctors in general (and I'm not saying nurses have to be subservient). I just don't get it. If LC had started off playing her nicer, I'd like her more, but TPTB and LC seem to be going for 'scrappy' and ended up with 'overly annoying'.
How nice was it to see Chad Lowe again? I remember him from when he was on years ago-- didn't he puke or something during a trauma? Or forget his meds... oh, I forget.
Another ER posing as a PSA: yes, sometimes potential side effects of drugs don't outweigh the positive aspects. However, families should always be aware of those side effects, and be able to make their own decision. Doctors should not play God.
The scene in which the father of the girl with the failing kidney shot himself was tense. Damn. I kept having to look away from the screen. Unfortunately, I saw the blood splatter the wall.
Something Hilarious: has anyone noticed how the doctors keep telling Ray to do things like make phone calls during trauma, they give the other residents the hard tasks during traumas, etc? When has he ever fully handled one by himself? I've heard rumors that, like Michael Michelle, SW can't handle the medical jargon. If this is true, I sincerely hope that this leads to the end of Ray. Because I still can't stand him.
Abby and her medical student: ah, I don't care.
Pretty good one, though.
The task: each team has forty-eight hours to renovate a NJ seaside motel, with only $20,000. Afterward, rent out the rooms. The team with the best feedback scores from guests after check-out wins.
First off, I've gotta say: I would so rock at this task. Baby, do I know about customer service and decorating on a budget. I would have fun on this one.
A-ny-way, although the outside of the motels looked nice, and the pools had thankfully been cleaned, it looked like a hopeless cause once they opened the doors to the rooms. Sopping, moldy carpeting, smelly rooms, broken toilet seats, stains on the walls-- all the signs of negligence. I thought at first that both teams were pretty much on the right track (for instance, Net Worth went through each room tallying what needed to be bought/fixed, although Magna painting? Just no), but then things went sliding downhill for my chosen-to-root-for team, NW. The biggest was, changing his mind while members of his team were off at Target, buying toilet seats, and deciding instead to simply throw out the toilets and buy new ones, as well as vanity covers. Fourteen of them. Now, besides being impractical and biting deeply into their limited budget, all the toilets needed were good scrubbings and new seats. I thought, along with his team, that he shouldn't have done this, and lo and behold, later on they couldn't afford new carpeting. This, in addition to his abrasive, in-your-face, potty-mouthed manner, shot down any respect the team had for him. He ended up fighting almost constantly with another team member, Kristen (who looks too much like that wrestler, China, and could learn a thing or two about being quiet-- the woman is an obnoxious motormouth), and John called him as he rightly is: "A silly little man" (literally and figuratively).
I ended up rooting more for Magna, actually. Danny learned a thing or two from last week and changed into a regular suit. Unbelievable! Although the guests complained about the paint smell, and the rooms really didn't look good-- no plants, pictures, or anything else to really set them apart-- Magna decided to have a party outside, and the guests seemed to enjoy that. Good thinking; when you can't win on renovations, go for hospitality. However, Verna, in charge of hospitality and signing in guests, completely lost it, and without food or forty-eight hours of sleep, took off. Literally; she grabbed her bags and began aimlessly walking the streets. And Caroline went after her. Usually Caroline is silently sneering or snarking, but she was very nice to Vera, walking alongside her, telling her she knew how tough it was, and that if she needed to talk, she would listen. At first Verna kept walking, which pissed me off-- if someone's being that nice, the least you could do is stop walking and look at them. She must have, though, because Verna eventually accompanied Caroline back to the motel, she apologized to her teammates, and offered herself up to be fired, should they lose. I ended up feeling bad for her, and I do think it took a little balls to go back, humbly, and realize what your faults are.
Magna ended up winning, and taking a cruise on Steve Forbes' yacht. Hrm, he's not as weird when he's not running for president. He still reminds me of a badly-misshapen Edward Hermann, though.
NW goes to the boardroom; Trump asks Brian if it was his fault that NW lost. Yes. Should I fire you? Yes. HA! Trump is dumbfounded, but quickly gets the rest of the team to point out why. Although I can't stand silly little Brian, I was sort of hoping that Kristen would get the axe-- she's a silly little wrestler. There was some odd editing, I have to say: one moment Chris is quiet, the next he's screaming irately, cords standing out. Wha...? I still have no idea why he got upset. Anyway, in the end, Brian's caboose got kicked out. Goodbye, silly little man.
Line of the Week (From Verna): "My body is mentally exhausted." Yes, the little brains in my arms and legs often tell me that, too.
Next week: someone quits in the first five minutes. It would greatly increase my viewing pleasure if it's China.
Bah. I can't believe they preempted L&O for the Katie Couric special on teenagers and sex. Couldn't relate then and can't relate now. Was so looking forward to seeing Annie Parisse's performance, too...
Last night was Week Four of the Couples showdown on Fear Factor. I think they started out with eight couples (can't be sure), and now they're down to five. I'm not going to review the entire episode, but I am going to say that I was a little pissed by one of the stunts. The couples had to stick their heads into two plexiglass boxes and backpedal across the floor to four keys; two of which would unscrew the four screws on the box, releasing them. But this is FF, so you know that there's something squirmy to it. The man had snakes in his box. The woman had... 200 tarantulas.
I thought that was totally unfair. Why did the women have to be enclosed with hairy, scary, hyper little things that could potentially harm them? Why did the guys get off so easy? I don't even think it's me, who doesn't have a problem with snakes, and would have gladly done the stunt with them-- I think lots of people would say the stunt was lopsided.
One woman couldn't do it, and backed out. Another shook and screamed and basically freaked out, but she eventually finished the stunt, although she froze up and her boyfriend had to help her. She was really crying, and I felt bad for her. I also know I couldn't handle it, either. Ugh. No fair, FF.
Oh, there's also a jackass on there by the name of Randy, who pretty much cost his team a trip to Jamaica and $10,000 because he can't keep his Big. Yap. Shut. He's really an asshole. This is supposed to be good television? All it does is irritate the hell out of me, wonder what his girlfriend sees in him, and wish he was gone. It's exactly the way I felt watching Jonathan and Victoria (who, hallelujah, got knocked out of The Amazing Race). I wish producers would realize that the majority of us don't find this kind of behavior amusing. It's more pathetic.
Here's a great article on how movies should change in the coming year: http://entertainment.msn.com/movies/newmovierules .
It's long, and I don't agree with some of it, but it's a good read. My favorite section? "Dialogue".
You know, I got so long-winded in my Apprentice review that I'm going to keep it short. Luka, you are hot. Neela, you're cute; I only wish the writers hadn't forgotten that you actually are a caring person, just a little awkward, and not a calculating ice cube. Susan, you're becoming a better Chief. Pratt, you're a prat, but at least you listen when you pretend you aren't. New Guy Who Has a Crush on Abby, I enjoy your smile. Luka, you're hot. Sam, shut up and stop whining about everything when you don't get your own way. Ray, I have a helicopter I want to drop on you. If it was good enough for Romano, it's even better for you. Abby, nice to see that the entire world doesn't revolve around you, and nice to see that you're back (I can't believe I just said that). Carter, were you there? Luka, you are hot. There's a very pretty Indian woman who has the hots for you-- go to her. She's better than Miss Put-Upon.
Luka, you're hot.
There.
Okay, I don't know names yet, so I have the official Candidates page open in another window. But I may not remember who did what...
I also want to put a disclaimer here, one that'll extend through the season: I'm a high school graduate, and yes, I'm rooting for the "Street Smarts" team (at the moment; one of them may piss me off quite a bit later, and I'll switch sides). The other Lady here is a law student. I'm not saying all college grads are bad; just the arrogant ones that end up on this show. Thankee.
The first two seasons of The Apprentice, men and women were split into two teams and pitted against each other. This season there's a TWIST (oh, you crafty devil you, Mark Burnett!), and the two teams are split up into "Street Smarts" (Net Worth Corporation, hokey all the way), and "Book Smarts" (Magna Corporation, which reminds me of lava, not achieving second place in your class, and how come they didn't name themselves Summa?). The Donald's back with his pink tie, as well as Caroline and George. The first task (after pointing out that the Street Smart contestants make three times as much as the Book Smarts, so they can gloat over that fact repeatedly) is to choose from six new burgers, come up with a marketing campaign, and manage a Burger King for a day while selling as many said burgers as possible. The team to sell the most wins.
(Before I go on, I have to say that when the teams first went to the apartment, there was a big spread on the dining table. Included in the foods was caviar. Man, I would so be Street Smart there, and sneak off for some peanut butter.)
In the flat, the teams went to different rooms to get to know each other. Danny, he of the leisure suit, appointed himself CMO: Chief Morale Officer. If I were on team Street Smart, I would have looked the other way and rolled my eyes. And gagged. And he intercut much of the discussion on what to name themselves by shouting "Unbelievable!" I swear I was paying attention to the show, but I have no idea why he kept standing and shouting that. Unbelievable that he was there? Unbelievable that he's not really a lounge lizard? Afterward, they all retired to one of the bedrooms, Danny took out his guitar (I'm not kidding), and they all sang "Kumbaya". Well, not really, but it was just as cheesy.
After getting their assignments the next morning, the two teams headed to two separate locations. John from Tampa (hey, I used to live there!) was appointed Project Manager of the SS team, and Todd PM of the BS team (hey, that's fitting). They then picked their burgers.
SS: The Western Burger.
BS: The Sloppy Cheese Burger. Not really the name, but that's what it looked like to me.
From the getgo, it seemed that Net Worth had it all handled, smoothly and well: the team handled the marketing together, came up with a good plan (they went with a Western theme, a giveaway-- two round trip tickets to Las Vegas, made flyers), and then the entire team worked behind the counter, with three contestants working the registers. And guess what? They actually knew how to work the registers! UNBELIEVABLE!
On the other hand, Lava split up their team and sent Danny and Stephanie away to come up with the marketing. Once it was clear that the BK exec wasn't thrilled with what they'd come up with, Danny completely threw out their ideas, and proceeded to shoot down every single one of Stephanie's ideas. Methinks the polyester is giving him sepsis. Todd wasn't so great, either, and from working in the restaurant industry, I caught his mistake pretty quickly. Instead of learning all the jobs behind the counter, as managers are supposed to know, he sat himself down in a little booth, appointed somone else kitchen manager, and delegated from the table. When Danny cut him off on the phone, he didn't call him back and tell him to get his ass into gear (politely, of course). And he only put two women behind the registers; one who had never worked a register before in her life.
That was Erin, btw. In one of her balcony interviews, she was featured with a lovely pink bathmat around her shoulders. And I swear she gave herself bangs after she got to the apartment.
Anyway, the next day, when they showed Lava's promotional gimmick, it was... Danny standing outside BK playing his guitar. And I totally called to Mr. Calm, "No one's going to stop for him! He looks like a street performer!" Lines all the way to the back of the restaurant because Erin can't tap a button, and Todd couldn't help because-- well, I already said why. Dope. Net Worth, however, had peppy people at their registers, ones who knew how to work them, and the giveaway was a good draw. UNBELIEVABLE!
In the boardroom, Net Worth knew they'd won as soon as Lava's totals were announced (I'm not good with numbers, can barely remember them, so you can come up with one on your own). Yay, Street Smarts won! Lava Loosahs, back to the suite to await your DOOM.
Oh, the winners got to go to 21 with Donald and his fiancee. They ate in the wine cellar. I wonder if it was cold? Brian, El Big Mouth, asked Donald about the urban myth where he supposedly paid off someone's mortgage after they stopped to help his limo driver change a tire. Was it true? Yes, says the Donald. And all I remember is two "fucking"s coming out of Brian's mouth. You know, I have quite the potty mouth (even more so after watching Deadwood for a season), but even I have the good sense not to spout "fuck" in front of my potential future boss.
Erin wears those fugly boots with the fur poking out of the tops.
To the boardroom! Danny is chosen to be the scapegoat, because he came up with the lousy marketing plan and scared away everyone with his guitar. Trump plays the card where he goes down the line and asks everyone who they would fire, and Kendra becomes one of my favorites (oh, what's happening to me? I like someone on the BS team!) when she refuses to play along and names Todd, adding that if an employee of hers got out of hand, she would rein them in. Thank God, someone who made it off the playground. Todd names Danny and Alex to return to the boardroom, and Trump sends everyone else back up to the suite.
In short: Caroline and George both pointed out that Danny was being conveniently used, and it all came down to selling the burgers (or non-selling) that was the failing point. So, bye bye, Todd. Next week, we have to suffer through another episode of Danny. UNBELIEVABLE!
Good Lord, I can't write this much each week.
Either this is one of the really good episodes, or the lack of Serena and the addition of Alex has breathed new life onto L&O. Or maybe both. Sadly, I can't recall the last time when I enjoyed a L&O story like this, and it wasn't even an extraordinary plot like last night's SVU. Fake flu vaccines, fraud, deaths, they don't seem out of the usual for a L&O story line. But thank heavens I can once again enjoy this show for what it is!
Good parts: Annie Parisse. Her error didn't turn out to be as serious as the previews portrayed - the previews are laden with editing anyway, making you believe something different from the actual plot. But how wonderful was it to see someone who can act, who shows emotion when she's sorry, when she's speaking about heinous crimes, when she as a rookie smiles at one of her first trial wins. Also, Jack and his fire. I also don't remember the last time that Jack made a perp cry with his speeches. Then, there's the rapport among Alex, Jack, and Arthur, sitting together like professional, credible lawyers discussing the law, the constitution, and due process.
Bad part: Can't really think of any. Well, except for the fact I actually felt bad for the perp for getting those 16 consecutive sentences. Yes, he's partly responsible, but I think the other people who distributed the fake vaccines knowing they were suspect should also be partly responsible, though we didn't hear much about that.
Moving on to Lost -
That was a good episode. Michael/Walt aren't some of the more central characters, so I wondered what interest there would be in their story or if their story would be interesting, but I found it engaging. Sad, really, that Michael was denied visitation to Walt, and his letters to Walt were even kept from him. Then there's the stepfather, Brian, who supposedly wanted to adopt Walt, but really only to gain Susan's favor.
So, Walt's special ability - is it being able to make things that he's just read/visualized come to reality?
The I-didn't-see-it-coming moments: Michael getting hit by that cab. Doh! And Claire. Without her baby. Guess we won't be seeing a new episode next week.
In my years watching SVU, I don't recall coming across an episode so intriguing, unique, yet disturbing all at the same time. Whoever thought of and wrote tonight's episode, I applaud him/her for delving into a new frontier. Victims of sexual identity reassignment aren't what one would associate with "special victims" in the sense that this series has usually portrayed it. I wouldn't know how often "accidents" happen, but some would consider babies who have been circumcised to be victims as well, since they have absolutely no say in it, plus there is increasing study that circumcisions may be too traumatic and not as beneficial as previously thought.
Enough with the social commentary...
I knew something was up since the preview from last week, when they showed this pair of sister and brother who looked exactly identical. While fraternal twins can look like each other, they don't usually look completely identical. I couldn't get over how much the two look alike - if in fact, there were 2 actors instead of one - and my suspicion was confirmed when they went discovered both were born identical boys. I swear I saw the same blemishes when they showed the kids' profiles - will have to wait until TV Tome or some other site list the credits for the episode to find out if there was one or two of them.
A funny bit in the somber episode: Did the father look familiar to anyone? I giggled to myself as he explained to the detectives that Lindsay had urinary tract infection or whatever medical term it was, because I recognize him from the Viagra commercials as the guy with the Viagra devil horns "who's back" after taking the pill. Hee. It kinda went downhill from there and I couldn't take him seriously anymore.
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
ETA: Ok, a little research on IMDb didn't pop up anything about tonight's episode, but I did come across the famously running joke that apparently everyone has been employing other than us Two Ladies: "Is it because I'm a lesbian?" Some folks on the IMDb boards confess to using that line randomly in their convesations as well, i.e. "You didn't email me. Is it because I'm a lesbian?" The more hilarious anecdote comes from someone who said his guy friend used that line to the Dell Support guy when Dell was about to put him on hold, and the customer rep.'s response is, "Uh, I'll put you right through." :D
I believe "Is it because I'm a lesbian?" will be Elizabeth Rohm's career-defining moment.
Am I going crazy? Updated the "buttons" section yesterday to reflect the newly available buttons, but I couldn't see it today.
ETA: Now I see it. Now I don't. That's probably a sign I should stop playing with the templates for a while.
SVU tonight!
Anyone catch the Golden Globes? I'll talk about what made me happy to see, since Johnny Depp didn't win. 
Mariska Hargitary: wow, she looked absolutely stunning (although honey needed a strapless bra). I was surprised to see her win; I think out of all the L&O nominees, she's the only one who's ever won. The best parts of her speech were win she talked about her mom and dad, and when she thanked Christopher Meloni. Speaking of which, where are his nominations?
Ian McShane (Deadwood): Now, he seems like a loose Limey. I loved how he said Deadwood is the gig of his life. Tremendous props goes to the FPA for giving him the win; the man's the best on t.v. right now.
Dammit Deadwood didn't win for Best Drama!!!
Jason Bateman: finally getting the recognition he deserves. Loved to see him win (hated seeing AR lose to Desperate Housewives), but did he have to thank everyone on the planet?
Jamie Foxx's speech was really great. Usually I don't care for over-the-top grandstanding, but like he said, I say let him have the time of his life. Still, every time I see him, I can't help remembering him from In Living Color, and that butt-ugly character-- Wanda?-- he used to play.
That's it. I didn't care much for anything else. And I skipped Hilary Swank's acceptance speech-- did she remember to thank her husband this time?
athenawj on Thank goodness He/Sh...
Windhazel on Thank goodness He/Sh...
Ain't It Cool News
doc tower's hole in the wall
Food Network
Internet Movie Database
Law & Order
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Roger Ebert.com
Television Without Pity
TV Tome
What Shall It Be Today
today
October 2006
September 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
visited *loading* times
