Greek: Truth & Comic-Consequences

Greek:
"The Dork Knight"

Strong episode: there were some interesting Cappie/Casey/Evan developments, and I always love a Rusty/Dale/Calvin road trip.

Highlights and my observations:

• Rusty: "So that's when I said, 'Oliver? I barely know her!'"
• Dale: "It's practically expected for me to be loose with my morals and my genitals."
• Haha at Casey stalking Evan and Cappie and making Ash hide behind park benches with her.
• Ashleigh: "Do you even take classes here anymore?"
• Evan: "You know what they say, cleanliness is next to godliness, and you don't want to piss off God!"
• Wow, Evan looks hot in his cleaning outfit.
• Rusty: "She already has friends in New York. What, do they sit around Central Perk? Talk about what to name Rachel's baby?"
• Dale: "As an atheist now, I say, 'Do 'em if you got 'em.'"
• Yea! It's Fisher! It is nice not to have to rely on that Taco Bell commercial to get my Fisher fix (although he is rather good in that commercial).
• Fisher: "So, what do you want to do, girlfriend? That sounded weird, didn't it?"
• Clueless! Fisher has never seen Clueless?! WHAT?!
• "Chambers maid"
• Well, I thought Evan's cleanliness "joke" was cute :-)
• Ha ha, Cappie says he and Evan are vigilante crime fighters.
• Evan is really good at acting like he still hates Cappie.
• Oh no! This Evan/Cappie "fight" started out cute, but now there are frat brothers involved and there is punching and biting! Not good.
• Ashleigh: "I think Clueless is one of the greatest movies in the history of movies!" (You and me both, Ash.)
• Aww, Fisher didn't like Clueless. What a loser ;-)
• Dale: "Vampira69 just told a Twilight joke that would make your ears bleed!"
• Dale: "Dude, comic book conventions are just crawling with hotties! Everyone know that."
  Rusty: "Yeah! No, they don't."
• Casey: "I'm like the worst detective ever."
  Ashleigh: "Oh, stop. Remember Inspector Gadget? He needed a dog and a 10-year-old girl to solve anything."
  
• Is there really an Ohio River Comic-Con?
  
• Poor Calvin. The more he hangs out with Rusty and Dale, the sorrier I feel for him. Nevertheless, I'd totally love to hang out with Rusty and Dale.
  
• Couldn't Cappie and Evan tell Casey they're friends again, but not tell her about the secret society? They could make up some other reason that they became friends again.
  
• Ashleigh says this "seems like the longest semester ever."
  
• Cappie: "Do we just play around it?"
  Beaver: "Like putt-putt? ...Yeah."
  
  
• Cappie: "Ohh, you sucking suck sucker!"
  
  
• Cappie: "Hey, why are kittens called 'kittens'? They're little cats; shouldn't they be called 'cattens'?"
  
  
• I loved how Beaver and Cappie's statistic-laden contraception conversation made Casey think they knew about the walkie talkie.
  
  
• Lol, Calvin's favorite show used to be Leopard Boy. "His mom is human, but his dad is leopard. He solves his mysteries at this posh Caribbean resort."
  
  
• Oh NO! Vampira69 is Sheila! Noooooo!
  
  
• Oh, Rusty... His interaction with the green girl was not smooth at all.
  
  
• Even the contraception PSA with Cappie and Beaver was entertaining.
  
  
• Wow, go Casey! She's in Amphora now!
  
  
• Uh oh, now Casey has to do the Amphora emotional purge. That could get sticky.
  
  
• Look at Calvin's Leopard Boy hat!
  
  
• Calvin's face when he saw Sheila in the outfit was hilarious.
  
  
• Aww, Casey still feels guilty about her role in breaking up Cappie and Evan.
  
  
• Sheila: "Sounds like somebody could use a little self-esteem."
  
• Cappie: "Goonies really does hold up."
  
• Rusty: "Jordan told me to get a life in front of 300 people who live in their parents' basements."
  
• Ok, this Cappie/Casey/Evan friendship is great and all, but surely they all realize that it's going to come crashing down on them the second Casey gets back together with either Cappie or Evan.
  
• Dale: "I was clinging to this notion of me as a sexy, atheist super villain, but that's not me. I mean, I'm sexy, but I'm not an atheist, and I'm not a super villain."
  
• Ha at Calvin singing the Leopard Boy theme song.
  
• Fisher: "Leg warmers are not gloves!"
  
• Poor Ashleigh's arm warmers are taking a beating this season! Rebecca already made fun of them.
  
• Aww, good for Dale. Even though Greek plays his faith for laughs 90% of the time, it's nice that Greek at least acknowledges that some college kids are religious.
  

(photo: abcfamily.com)

Gossip Girl: Marry Me, Lil

Gossip Girl:
"Rufus Getting Married"

I'd say this was by far the best episode of Gossip Girl so far this season. Unfortunately, that's more a commentary on how sub-par the other episodes have been rather than the excellence of this one. Still though, I think it's impressive how watchable this episode was, given the large amount of Rufus/Lily drama it contained. (I've been over the two of them since the season one finale when they decided they loved each other and she married Bart anyway.)

Highlights and my observations:

• I'm sorry, Dan, but your "say hi to Godzilla for me" IM joke was not nearly that funny!
• How does Blair know she hates Nate's new girlfriend? Has she even seen Nate in months?
• Since when does Vanessa not like Georgie? I thought Vanessa was Georgie's great champion.
• Blair: "Do you happen to know what the Swahili is for 'mind your own beeswax'? No reason, of course, it just might be useful on a safari sometime."
• Blair: "Trust me, Nate, I know women, and none of us are that nice."
• Hey, look, it's Jenny and Eric, just wandering around the apartment in a pack as usual. They are like the chorus in Greek drama--they don't really factor into the plot much and just pop up occasionally to say something that advances the story.
• Dan: "You've been running? With jeans on? That didn't chafe?"
• No, Serena, don't waste your time trying to get Rufus and Lily together. I, for one, could not care less anymore. Just let it go.
• Vanessa: "...and C, even though I tried to defend you, you're a full-on crazy person."
• Georgina: "That was just pathetic! Haven't you ever tried to get somebody to dump a celebrity before?"
• Rufus: "I knew I let you kids watch The Parent Trap too many times."
• Holy crap, Chuck is one hot masseuse!
• Blair's voice when she said, "Hey, where are you going? I have tension!" sounded extremely reminiscent of Cher Horowitz in Clueless when she said, "Even Fabion, my masseuse, said I had a lot of tension in my back." Like so reminiscent that it was either a direct send-up or borderline plagiarism.
• Vanessa's wearing a lot of jewelry for a long afternoon of Photoshopping.
• When Rufus and Lily see each other, they piss each other of in a matter of seconds, but then they both look at a photo, and suddenly they're in love again and everything's perfect. Uh, that's because the photo doesn't talk back, people! This detente is going to last for like 5 minutes.
• I still don't understand how Jenny can rule Constance with that hair!
• Oh, Jenny's used to making dresses in one night. Not sure Lily's going to want to wear whatever she comes up with though.
• I liked Serena calling the Constance girls "new mean girls."
• Georgina got Poppy deported? Was Poppy not an American? Whatever, thanks for that belated explanation...
• Dan: "Turns out, she was dating Orlando Bloom behind my back."
  Georgina: "It is amazing how far down that guy's Star-O-Meter has gone."
  
• Chuck: "I'm getting sick of being your travel agent. This ticket's the last, and it's one-way."
  
• I like Serena's dress, but it looks like she needs to give it a hard tug upwards.
  
• Jenny's dress is not my favorite.
  
• If Rufus is never happier than when he's with Lily, he must have been one tremendously depressed dude during pre-Lily. He sure doesn't look happy to me when he's with her.
  
• I'm not sure if that dress is Jenny's best work. It's definitely not her worst work though.
  
• Nice, Lily. Snap at the one child of yours who doesn't already know what a loser you are.
  
• Oh, yeah, Bree did mention that her BFF cousin was jilted at the alter. I remember that now, but I still don't care.
  
• Scott sure travels light. He came all the way from Boston without a bag or a jacket or anything?
  
• This is great; you just find out your son is alive and you just ignore him while you continue your previous conversation.
  
• One way or another, this Rufus-and-Lily-getting-married thing is going to make Serena and Dan's eventual wedding really awkward.
  
• Vanessa's an "all's well that ends well kind of girl"? Really?
  
• Yeah, Bree, please leave. And if you happen to pass Vanessa on your way out, take her with you.
  

Once again, Georgie proves ridiculously easy to get rid of. This time Dorota and the doorman took care of it! And, is flying Georgina off somewhere with the doorman really vengeance on Georgina? It seems like more of a punishment for the doorman to me...

But, seriously, Georgie liked Dan enough to go up to New England to hunt down his secret half-brother and bring him back, but then she's just going to drop the big news and skedaddle? I was expecting her to completely lose it and lock Dan up in the closet of her dorm room and make him wear funny outfits (a la Jan Spears on Days of Our Lives) or something. Frankly, I'm disappointed.

I had expected that Mercy would have gone belly-up by the time that Georgie's last episode aired, freeing Michelle Tractenberg up to make a swift return to GG, but so far Mercy hasn't been canceled (probably because there's no one from The O.C. on it) so I guess NYU will be Georgina-free for awhile.



(photo: cwtv.com)

10 Things I Hate About You: Not Much To Like

10 Things I Hate About You:

"Pilot"

Full disclosure: I'm a pretty big fan of the film version of 10 Things I Hate About You. In fact, aside from Clueless, it's probably at the top of my list of favorite teen movies. It holds a special place in my heart because it came out in 1999, when I was, in fact, a teenager (and not a 20-something who still watches an inordinate amount of teen shows). Therefore, ABC Family's television remake of 10 Things could probably only really go one of two ways with me: I'd love it for reprising characters and story lines I adored or I'd detest it immensely for dragging something I love through the mud. After watching the pilot episode, it looks like you're heading for a sizable payday if you put your money on the "detest" option.

I'm tempted to turn my review into a list under the heading "10 Things I Hate About This Show," but I think I can boil the objects of my distaste down to a few key attributes. (I do, however, reserve the right to pull out a 10-part list if I deem it necessary after watching future episodes.)

First of all, the characters in the show failed dismally in living up to the appeal of the originals. If you think about it, for a teen movie, a lot of the actors in 10 Things turned out to be pretty legit: Heath Ledger (obviously), Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and David Krumholtz all have created fairly solid bodies of work. Additionally, Gabrielle Union and Andrew Keegan were proven mainstays of the teen movie/show genre. Larisa Oleynik (Bianca) has flown fairly under the radar (at least my radar) since 10 Things, but she was pitch-perfect in the film. So, it's not like the young actors in the 10 Things television show don't have some reasonably big shoes to fill.

The problem is that they're not even coming close. I'm not going to even discuss the merits of Ethan Peck vs. Heath Ledger as Patrick, because there's probably no one who could fill those shoes. (But is Ethan even giving it that great of a try? No, not really.) Kat is rather unlikeable (and not like Julia Stiles' Kat was unlikeable because she was supposed to be gruff--this one's just annoying and seems inconsistent). The kid who plays Cameron seems to be trying to channel Michael Cera so hard that it's probably actually hurting. Bianca's okay, but not quite there yet. And this Joey is NO Andrew Keegan (lol). Even the dad in the TV show fails to live up to the charm of the dad in the movie, and he's played by the same actor!

These across-the-board shortcomings lead me to the conclusion that most of the problems with the characters in the show lie with the writing as opposed to the acting. So far, everyone seems like a caricature or a stereotype and not so much like an actual person-esque entity. No one has real soul yet. No one has real dimension.

The one character/actor I did like was Dana Davis (of The Nine, Heroes, and a far superior turn on Pushing Daisies) as Chastity. Sure, she is playing a stereotype too, but she did a good job with it.

Additionally, I'm not sure why this show is a half-hour comedy instead of a one-hour, soap-style drama like Greek. Perhaps the characters would have gelled better if they'd had a little more time. It felt like we were tearing through the episode a break-neck speed and sacrificing subtle nuances like plot and character development. (After all, we did see the first day of school, cheerleading tryouts, the first party, and another school day, which seems like a lot when an entire episode could reasonably be based solely on one school day or one party.)

Highlights + a few other things I hated:

• The background music at the beginning of the episode was a little too decidedly perky and cutesy.
• Michael: "Even the biggest dorks can be cool if they play their cards right. Look at Shia LaBeouf." (Is Shia really the best example of that phenomenon? I'm not sure I ever thought that Shia was that dorky. Goofy, maybe.)
• Cameron is really tall. He doesn't seem as sweet at the movie version either. Just pathetic.
• Kat alternates between being extremely rude and extremely idealistic and humanitarian. It's bizarre.
• One other thing I like better about the movie: it's pivotal scenes don't involve a staring contest.
• Chastity: "Of the 10 things I hated about today..." (Is that how we're tying the title into the show? It's kind of clumsy. I realize that they can't have Kat reading the "I hate the way you..." poem in the first episode since that would wrap up the entire story, but I'd have been fine if the title had never being directly referenced.)
• This keg full of non-alcoholic beer thing is straight out of Freaks and Geeks.
• Why doesn't Kat just leave this poor (Patrick) guy alone? I really don't think he's even trying to mess with her. I think they just happen to be in the same room sometimes.
• At least we know that Patrick can talk--I wasn't sure for a while there.
• This Joey character is completely different. He's not sleazy--he's just "confused."
• Dad: "Are you talking to me or the democrats in your head?"
• Bianca: "Since I'm not going to be popular, I may as well join show choir. Closeted gay guys are fun."
• Ok, now Patrick might be messing with Kat.
• Bianca: "No more NPR. It's giving me menopause."
• Um, shouldn't somebody be paying somebody else to take out the surly sister? Wasn't that the whole point?

(I suspect that the show not really living up to the movie accounts for ABC Family not playing the movie over and over again in preparation for tonight's premiere. It's probably better for them if the superior source material isn't fresh in our minds.)

(photo: abcfamily.com)

Gossip Girl: More Holiday Drama

Gossip Girl: "The Magnificent Archibalds"

So, if last week Gossip Girl achieved a Nabokovian real tower by bringing Clueless' Mr. Hall into the already fantastic Waldorf family, it was ten times awesomer this week to have sitting around Blair's dining room table: Mr. Hall (Wallace Shawn/Cyrus), Lisa Wiseman (Margaret Colin/Eleanor), and Lois & Clark's Lex Luthor a.k.a. John Shea (to whom I wrote a fan letter a couple of lifetimes ago and received a very nice signed photo back from). Blair Waldorf might not always realize it, but she's got one crazy-awesome family.

Unlike poor Nate, who has a ridiculously horrible family. His dad was trying to con him and his mom into going away with him so he could extort Nate's grandparents for ransom money?! Oy vey! I guess we shouldn't be surprised by anything Mr. Archibald comes up with at this point, and it figures that the guy can't even hide in the Caribbean without messing it up. Finally, finally, finally, however, Nate did find a way to coerce his dear old dad into doing the honorable thing and turning himself into the FBI. Congrats go out to Nathanial on that impressive achievement, and I wish him a hearty welcome back to his old, swanky life.

Other holiday highlights:

• Why would you (Serena) want to introduce a guy who is dating you and several other people to your family?
• Eric is condoning Jenny's emancipation scheme?! Come now, that boy has more sense than this.
• Ahh, Nate's prodigal father returns...
• Uh oh, I get nervous when Gossip Girl goes radio silent (blog silent) during the holidays, and I don't have her to guide me through the treacherous world of the Upper East Side!
• Mr. Archibald has been living in a house on the beach in the Caribbean all this time while his wife and his son were floundering? This guy just keeps getting better and better.
• I like Serena's hair flat ironed like this. It's nice. And more proof that she's way too good for this artsy punk.
• Bart knows that Eric's Jonathan is cheating on him?! That is creepy.
• Chuck found the "most amazing photos of Gina," his Italian au pair, in Bart's vault ;-)
• Geez, even the stupid artsy punk's sweater is a disaster.
• Gasp, Cyrus is eating Blair's pie!!
• Blair (to Darota): "Who do you work for?!"
• Oh, Dan, how do you manage to work in all of Serena's character flaws into one random conversation in the supermarket?
• Vanessa is working on paperwork at the gallery on Thanksgiving?!?! (The guy who writes EW.com's recaps is going to have a field day with this one...) Could this girl be any more pathetic?!
• Umm, no, Nate you didn't already alienate Chuck. He tried to talk to you yesterday, and you blew him off (again). If you're so bummed that you alienated him, how 'bout you talk to him nicely for a change, and you'll find that you haven't alienated him! It's that easy.
• Geez, how short is that skirt Serena's wearing?! I know I should be used to it by now, but I'm not. My sister said, "Serena's outfit is ridiculous. Looks like she belongs in Moulin Rouge."
• Chuck: "You have my word, whatever that's worth."
• 8/7/69: Chuck's mom's birthday. As in, were she alive, she'd be 39 years old. And have an 17-year-old son. You'd think they could have stretched the generation gap a little more between her and Chuck since she's dead and they don't have to cast her and embroil her into steamy love triangles. Especially since Bart is clearly not 39. So he was marrying younger women even back then. I mean, this means the poor lady died when she was only 22.
• Darota's ring tone for Eleanor is "I'm a Slave 4 U." Hahahahaha, that's classic.
• Blair: "If we have to wander the Upper East Side like outcasts in a Jane Austen novel, so be it!"
• Did Dan really think he'd be welcome in the Bass home after the stunt he just pulled on Bart?
• Ha ha, I kind of enjoyed watching Dan get called a liar even if it wasn't true.
• "The annual van der Woodsen diner family dinner."
• Lily was in an institution when she was 19?! How does that figure into her already jam-packed back story? That lady lived a pretty darned packed life before the age of, what, 22 when she had Serena. There was her relationship with Rufus that lasted for awhile, hanging out in the back of the Nine Inch Nails tour bus, getting blackmailed into dumping Rufus by her mom, finding and marrying Serena's (never mentioned) father, and now a stay in an institution?! Maybe she just checked in because she was tired and need a rest.
  
• Lily: "How did you get so wise?"
  Eric: "The nanny."
• Poor Jenny doesn't even have a coat. She just keeps getting more and more pathetic. Aww, Eleanor gave Jenny her wrap! That was so sweet! (Except now Jenny really looks homeless.)
• Wow, so it turns out Eleanor is a better mother than Lily after all. Lily lets train wreck Jenny stay at her house and hide from Rufus for days while she flounders around about what to do, but Eleanor takes one look at Little J and drives her straight home where she belongs. Thank you! Finally someone with some sense.
• Harold! Yea!!!
• How can Serena even lie down in that skirt without displaying her entire butt?
• Eeeeew, Aaron's hair is even worse when he's not wearing a hat or whatever he normally has on to cover it up! It's really awful, and should not be exposed to the world.
• Lily calls Eric "E"? That's just silly.
• Oh, that Nate's such a pretty little liar: he sent Jenny a letter to the effect of: "I don't know how to stay away from you, but I have to. I don't know what to do; I really care about you." I have to admit that despite the creepiness factor, I like Nate/Jenny better than Nate/Vanessa.
• So, is Lily's stay in the institution in anyway correlated to her pathetic parenting skills (a hidden mental illness)? And if poor parenting is a sign of a concealed mental illness, when is Rufus going to check in to the Ostroff Center.

I'm including not just one, but two promo pics for this episode in the post. The first one made it because I love John Shea. The second made it because I wanted to provide proof of just how short Serena's skirt was.

Headband Monday: I've forgotten to document my headbands from the last few weeks, but I have been wearing them. Today I wore a headband that is a row of faux pearls.

(photos: cwtv.com)

Gossip Girl: Being Grace Kelly

Gossip Girl: "Bonfire of the Vanity"

In Vladimir Nabokov's Ada (don't worry, I'm not going to talk about the incest...), Ada has a philosophy that that three things occurring at the same time form a "tower." And, if the they are three good things, it's called a "real tower." Well, we had a pop culture real tower on our hands in this episode of Gossip Girl. First, it was an episode of Gossip Girl, which in and of itself is pretty great. Second, it featured another appearance by Margaret Colin, who has been a favorite of mine since Now and Again. And, third, Eleanor's new boyfriend, Cyrus, was played by Wallace Shawn, who played Mr. Hall in Clueless, which is definitely one of my favorite movies ever!

The highlight of this episode was the interaction between Blair and Cyrus. And the coolest part of all was that Blair got out-foxed by Mr. Hall! Who knew he had it in him?

Other highlights and thoughts:

• Rufus = the worst parent ever. His whole don't-force-Jenny-to-come-back-so-she'll-come-back-on-her-own philosophy was asinine. Did he learn nothing from episode 1 of the second season of The O.C.? Seth didn't come home on his own, and Jenny's not going to either. You gotta go get them!
• Yea!!! It's Blair's 18th birthday! Happy birthday, B! It's always nice when TV characters get birthdays (and especially if the get to have them every year like real people and not just one time only).
• That Agnes is a firecracker. Who'd have guessed? Umm, anyone who knew her as Kaitlin Cooper. I guess Little J didn't watch seasons 3 or 4 of The O.C., or she would have known this was coming.
• We're testing Margaret's acting chops here: how believable can she be when she says that Cyrus is the most attractive man she's ever met?
• Why is Bart SUCH an ass? Wait, I know, (SPOILER ALERT) it's because he's going to die soon and they want to make him extra despicable right before he goes.N
• New York Magazine editor about Dan's story: "It's not really fiction though is it?" (Thank you.)
• New York Magazine makes a practice of printing things without putting the writer's name on it? Come on. I called BS when the college newspaper did that on Greek last year, and I'm really not buying it now.
• Dan's article isn't going to open any doors for him if he doesn't put his name on the stupid thing.
• Aaron's hair is tragic.
• Having to watch Serena kiss Aaron is kinda ruining this new Kings of Leon song for me.
• Blair laments that Cyrus has a catch phrase.
• Blair (explaining the pitfalls of being a muse): "But it's only a matter of time before he's into cubism and it's some other girl's eye coming out of her forehead!"
• I can't believe Bart even took the time to talk to Dan. I wouldn't, and I'm a lot less important than Bart.
• Wow, Dan's not only selling out Chuck, but now he's dissing Rufus too. Scum.
  
• Sweet mother of God, Bart invited Dan to the hockey game! This is unbelievable!!!
• Blair: "I am Grace Kelly, Grace Kelly, Grace Kelly..."
• If Jenny's so big on professionalism, does she really think all this black eye makeup is the way to go?
• We're taking a lot of pictures on this show lately... First it was Agnes' creepy boyfriend, now it's Serena's creepy boyfriend...
• Gossip Girl: "Every Bass will have his day."
• Does Aaron's Serena projector show (oh, I'm sorry, "instillation") remind you of the fake snow thing she did for Dan last Christmas? It feel like we've seen this before.
• Blair: "Screw Grace Kelly."
• Who is this random street urchin who knows secrets about Bart Bass, and how did Dan just stumble upon him? And why has no one else found out about this big secret by now? It didn't seem too hard to uncover.
• Sirius: "Your mother is a diamond in an ocean of coal."
• Oh, Blair, he's a sweet guy, just be nice for once.
• Serena! What is the hang up with this Aaron kid?! He's bad news! And he's got gross hair. Move on. This is pathetic.
• Is it wrong that I'm laughing as Agnes burns Jenny's dresses? I feel like Little J had this coming.
• Is it just me, or (except for Cyndi Lauper) is Blair's 18th b-day party pretty lame? It's no where near as cool as her 17th b-day party last year with the sushi and Guitar Hero and Chuck with the Erikson Beamon necklace. I mean, Chuck wasn't even at this party! I'll be darned if I were Blair Waldorf and would ever celebrate a birthday without being in the presence of Chuck.
  
• Cyrus is Aaron's father?! Whaa? If Cyrus is so nice, how did Aaron turn into such a loser? (Hey, normally on GG, it's the parents who are the losers and the kids who are great.)
• Blair: "I wanted a Harry Winston choker for my birthday; instead, I got a conscience."
• Wait, someone died in this building fire? Bart is pretty stupid if he fell for that lame-o Humphrey trick... First Eleanor turns out to have no idea what she's doing, and now Bart? How did these people make it to where they are without the help of their (and other people's) children?
• Blair: "You deliberately let me win factoring in that Cyndi Lauper would prey on my emotions!"
  
• Blair: "You're not what I had in mind."
  Cyrus: "Well, you're not what I had in mind."
• Geez, Dan, can you please name a story something other than a date?! Come on; this already feels soooooooo old.
• Holy crap--Chuck was born in 1991? Did I see that correctly? That's depressing.
• Where did Little J sleep? (Was it Rufus' gallery?)
• It figures Bart apologizes now--(SPOILER ALERT) right before he's about to die.
• Ugh! Rufus' shirt is terrible!
• No kidding, Rufus' plan didn't work out--I told him that was going to happen 55 minutes ago.
• What does not wanting to have forced conversations and social obligations have to do with needing to have multiple girlfriends at once?! I think we're talking apples and oranges here, Aaron.
• Why should Serena have a moment's pause at going outside in her slip? It covers more of her than her "clothes" do.
• Hey, Nate's back next week--I actually kind of missed him. Vanessa, however, not so much.

(photo: cwtv.com)

Gossip Girl: When the Lights Go Out

Gossip Girl: The Dark Night

Hmm, well, I think the main story here was what Chuck said to Blair in his attempt to seduce her. Holy heck, that exchange was hot. Mercy.

But B and C getting caught making out by Marcus wasn't so great. And I know Blair is ruthless and says whatever she needs to say, but I was shocked when she told Marcus that she thought Chuck was him (although upon a second viewing, it did sound like Chuck used a British accent! Come the hell on, Chuck!). I love Blair, but if she had stuck to that story, I would have lost some serious respect for her. Obviously, she knew it was Chuck; he's shorter and hotter than Marcus, and she's certainly kissed both of them enough to be able to distinguish between the two. And pretending that you were almost tricked into having sex with someone (which seems an awful lot like rape) just isn't a good thing to do.

At least Chuck finally realized that he was "blocked" not because he just wanted to sleep with Blair but because he wants to be with Blair (I kind of thought he already knew that, but I guess he forgot). So does Marcus kissing Blair at the end signify that he's taking her back? No surprise here (as I am an ardent Chuck lover), but I've had my fill of Lord Marcus. And his crazy stepmom.

Speaking of the crazy duchess, I thought she told Vanessa that if she couldn't have Nate, she'd kill him. We know that Vanessa doesn't take bribes (see the whole video tape incident of early 2008), so I figured she must have threatened something pretty awful to get V to back off. In actuality, she just threatened to tip off the FBI about Nate's dad's whereabouts. That's certainly a nasty thing to do, but Nate should never have told her where his dad was. Also, I wouldn't have a problem if Mr. Archibald was dragged off to the slammer, so it's not that great of a threat in my opinion.

As for Dan and Serena: guess what, they're still "in love" but breaking up anyway (for the same reasons as always). I don't know why Dan can't just make an effort to better deal with the Fabulous Life of Serena van der Woodsen and the perks it entails. But, unlike those poor Team Dan and Team Serena girls they ran into in the park, I've given up on trying to figure out this situation.

• How clever of the Gossip Girl soundtrack people to play Santogold's "Lights Out" in an episode about a blackout.
• Blair's hosting another party?!
• Marcus: "You're a delicate little flower; nothing like that tart Keira Knightley."
• Should Catherine be parading Nate around in fancy stores in the city? Couldn't people see them? I thought they were going to be sneaky.
• Dan's imaginary new friend "Clyde."
• Sorry, even with a cougar duchess thrown into the mix, I still have a hard time paying attention to Nate and Vanessa.
• Even Dorota reads Gossip Girl?
• Oh no, Blair's tipping the duchess off about Vanessa. Ha.
• Random flight attendants fly in from Tokyo just to have sex with Chuck? I'm trying to decide if I'm surprised about that or not...
• The little Team Dan and Team Serena girls were funny. ("How can you get back with Serena again? Don't you know she's just going to lie to you again?")


• Blair: "And for the record, whatever you're planning with Nate, my bedroom floor's off limits."


• Serena: "Who was that?"
  Chuck: "The whiff of the Far East."


• Serena: "You are not using Blair as sexual Drano!"


• Chuck: "Congrats on you and Humphrey. Water always finds its own level."


• Yea Margaret Colin!!! I just love her. (And according to Ausiello, she's going to get Clueless' Mr. Hall as a love interest? He's sweet and all, but no Eric Close.)


• Smart Nate now realizes that the duchess and Blair are setting him up. He's getting good at sniffing out the schemes of others.


• Dan reading the "should they or shouldn't they" threads on the Gossip Girl site.


• Dan: "It turns out most people think I'm an ass, but a passionate minority hold I'm just an idiot."


• Blair: "Marcus tells the funniest story about Harry running naked across their lawn."


• Blair's dress is lovely.


• Chuck: "Have sex with me."
  Blair: "What?"
  Chuck: "Just once, that's all I need."
  Blair: "You are disgusting, and I hate you."
  Chuck: "Then why are you still holding my hand?"


• Catherine: "I don't like sharing my toys, especially if I've paid for them."


• The duchess holds Nate's hand in a room full of people? Someone needs to teach her the definition of sneaky.


• Nate actually thinks "She's giving me money!" is an appropriate excuse in this situation?


• Catherine: "Blair, have you seen Nate?"
  Blair: "Um, no, it's a blackout."


• Dan: "Do you think there's like a box that says 'open in the event of a Serena van der Woodsen emergency'?"


• Gossip Girl: "I hope you kept the receipt for that tiara, B."


• Rufus' date, Claire, is quite youthful.


• Next week, what I would most love to see is Anne Archibald finally proving that she is actually a mother by charging in and declaring that for no amount of money will she whore out her only son. I won't hold my breath though.

It's Headband Monday! Today I wore this tri-colored silk one:

(Gossip Girl photo: cwtv.com)

Another Gilmore Milestone

Gilmore Girls:
Wow. The second-to-last episode ever. I can't wrap my head around life without the Gilmores. Congrats to Rory on her graduation from Yale. This graduation ceremony wasn't the tear-jerker that her Chilton commencement was, but it was still a lovely moment. And it was all the more appropriate because I was watching the episode in Delaware with my girls who themselves will be graduating in a couple weeks :-)

Rory does seem to have bad luck relationship-wise on her graduation days. She broke up with Jess around the time she graduated from high school, and now Logan's on the way out too. I agree with her decision to decline his proposal for the time being... I mean, what is the rush? But I was a little shocked the Logan turned it into an all-or-nothing situation. Was that necessary? If he really loves her that much, how can he be willing to just cut her out of his life completely? I don't really understand, but whatever; good riddance, Logan.

I liked that Christopher was back for this episode. I find it odd though that only a few months later Chris and Lorelai seem to have already moved on from their failed marriage, while Lorelai and Luke are still all messed up. Like, geez, Luke, just because Lorelai is telling Miss Patty and Babette that her karaoke song didn't mean anything, it doesn't mean that's how she really feels. Like she would tell Miss Patty and Babette the truth about that?

My favorite part was when Chris said he didn't think GiGi is ready for The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll. Ha! Take that, CW.

Better get the kleenex ready for next week's series finale :-( It's going to be hard to say goodbye.

Veronica Mars:
I love this show. It's a triumph, really. Even this week when there was not much mystery in either of the two cases, the show still made for a very entertaining hour.

Yea for Paul Rudd. I have great affinity for him; he is, after all, Josh from Clueless, one of my favorite movies ever. He was hilarious as the washed-up rocker. His radio interview with Piz alone was fantastic. First, he asks the girl in the food court to show him her boobs, then he admits to using drugs and alcohol to get him through the day, and then he points out that a campus Jewish group's initials are S.S. Oy vey.

I also very much enjoyed Dick's online video of himself dancing next to his moving car and running over his own foot. And I do like the Mac and Max combo. Mopey Logan was a little annoying, what with his wondering whether Veronica cheated on him with Piz. No, Logan dear, infidelity is your thing, not 'Ron's. And 'Ron was too busy surveilling Logan to have time to cheat on him :-)

Piznarski is such a sweetie which, according to Paul Rudd, was why he had no women, but now he's got one! Woot! (And Chris Lowell and Kristin Bell are just as adorable in real life! Their interview on cwtv.com is hilarious. Best part is Kristin comparing her seeing Chris to Queen Elizabeth seeing the deer in The Queen. Fantastic.)