Gossip Girl: Affairs to Remember

Gossip Girl:

"Last Tango, Then Paris"

I told myself that if Gossip Girl could string together a couple tolerable episodes, I'd go back to blogging about it. And the last two episodes ("Ex-Husbands and Wives" and "It's a Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad World") have been all right. The show is much better when all the characters are together in one or two main story lines, instead of each of them being off in his or her own dumb plot.

So here's the blog for the Season 3 finale. Play-by-play first, then additional reflections:

• Oh, yes, Rufus, when your teenage daughter has run amok, the best way to handle her is to send her to the loft to live with her 19-year-old brother. That's fantastic parenting.
• And what makes it even better is that Rufus apparently never even bothered to call Dan to make sure that Jenny actually made it to the loft.
• Eric: "Go ahead and send her crazy ass away."
• Jenny, you should not sleep in that much eye makeup. That has to be bad for you.
• Chuck brings Nate breakfast in bed? (Is that breakfast? I can't tell what's on the tray.)
• Wow, Vanessa's been gone for like a day and Dan's already having "meaningless kisses" with "old friends"? To me, that says a lot about how much he really "loves" Vanessa. Not sure how he really could love Vanessa that much though. Especially after all that Tisch crap she was trying to pull over on him. At least Dan knows Serena will never edge him out for an educational opportunity he's interested in.
• Gossip Girl: "Spotted: A family reunion only Faulkner would approve of."
• Blair: "We all try on own clothes and are pleasantly surprised when they still fit, but that doesn't me we should wear them ever again!" (That's actually really quite helpful advice to me personally, because I recently made an attempt at cleaning out my closet.)
• Rufus: "Was that my Lincoln Hawk t-shirt Serena was wearing?"
• Who was the lady with all the flowers who was in the elevator behind Nate?
• It's May for goodness sake! Take off your winter coats!
• Blair thinks Nate and Serena are "mythic"? Did I hear that correctly? Mythic?! I think Blair needs to look up the definition of mythic.
• Blair: "Dan loves Vanessa, God knows why..."
• Dan and Blair interacting is usually entertaining.
• Oh, the elevator lady was bring Chuck's flowers for Blair.
• If you leave, Jenny, you'll get to be with your mom, so you'll have the shot of having a quasi-responsible parent. Which would be one more than you've got now.
• Wow, that's Serena's outfit for visiting the hospital when her best friend's maid is giving birth!?! A mini skirt and a shirt with a very plunging neckline and 4-inch heals? Is Darota giving birth in the middle of a Beyonce music video? Because that's the only excuse for wearing an outfit like that for the occasion.
• Blair: "Goodbye, Georgina. May God save your soul. Again."
• Wow, Darota's got a lot of people in that delivery room with her.
• Blair: "Hi, I'm meeting a young man here. Probably in a bow tie, possibly carrying peonies?"
• Well, what time is it? Was Blair late or what? Couldn't she have sent Chuck a text to say, "Wait an extra five minutes"?
• Noooooooo, nooooooooooo, noooooooooooo, noooooooooooo Chuck and Jenny. Noooooooooo Chuck and Jenny. Nooooooooooo Chuck and Jenny. Noooooooooooooooooooooo!
• Ok, Jenny, I'm sure you can find a way to "not be alone" without having to sleep with Chuck Bass.
• Well, Eleanor and Cyrus are definitely better choices for godparents than Chuck and Blair.
• Oh, yeah, Dan and Vanessa are REAL happy. The two of them together is just a pile of laughs.
• Why are Dan and Serena still hanging around the hospital? The baby's born. I'm sure they're free to leave.
• How long did it take Blair to get from the Empire State Building to Chuck's hotel? Did she get mugged on the way there or something?
• Why don't you take Blair out of the apartment with the crazy girl in it, Chuck? Do not mess around with Jenny.
• Wow, Jenny looks terrible! That eye makeup is sooooo not designed for crying.
• Oh, yeah, Serena, you being "alone for awhile" is really going to work. That will last for like a second.
• What a mournful cover version of Band of Horses' "The Funeral"! I am such a sucker for haunting versions of indie rock songs.
• Don't just leave her there, Eric! Oh, ok, he went to get Dan. I guess that's ok.
• Nate: "Yes, Serena, it is you." (Snap! Go Nate!)
• Chuck: "You know what would make this night even better?" (How I finished his sentence for him in my head:) "If I hadn't just slept with Jenny Humphrey."
• Whoa! Dan! Fists of fury!
• While it's nice to see Dan finally sticking up for Jenny, isn't it kind of a day late, a dollar short? Most of the year, Dan's been, what, completely indifferent to Jenny, at best? And now he's charging in to defend her honor?
• Sorry, Dan, I'm not sure I believe that this really "begins and ends with Chuck." Not after the tremendous amount of crap Jenny's been pulling all year long. She was in a bad situation of her own causing and it led her to make yet another terrible decision. If anything, this begins and ends with Jenny Humphrey.
• One week later... Blair let Jenny stay in New York for a whole week? (Was she allowed to be in Brooklyn, or was that off limits too?)
• So, even after hitting rock bottom, Jenny refuses to abandon the horrific eye makeup? That look is not working out, Little J. It's time to move on from that too.
• At least Jenny's train wreck of a story line only got her sent away and she didn't have to be mowed down in the street like Marissa Cooper.
• Of course the reason Serena wants to go to Paris is for the lingerie!
• Ha! Ohhhhhhh, Dan. And we thought Jenny was the messed up Humphrey.
• I hope Dan is smart enough to DNA test that baby. Am I confident that he's smart enough? Not really. Maybe he can talk to Blair on the phone and she can plant that idea in his head.
• CHUCK!!! NOOOO! Just when I was commending GG on not killing off Jenny, Chuck gets shot!
• How come when people get shot on TV shows, they don't react at first and then just slowly look down? Why does no one yell "OW!"?

Further reflections on Georgie's big secret: On second thought, Georgie's not even really pregnant is she? Earlier when she was talking to Chuck it sounded like she was in trouble with the Russians, and how would her having Dan's baby get her in trouble with the Russians? (The Russians have heard how annoying the Humphreys are and don't want there to be anymore of them?) She couldn't get whatever she wanted from Chuck or Blair earlier, so she concocted a new scheme while listening to Dan and Serena talk about babies. It seems too perfect to me that she's pregnant with Dan's baby right after hearing him say that he likes babies.

So, overall, this episode was an explosive end to a lackluster third season (which is so very like The O.C.). Did the no-holds-barred drama of the finale make up for the muck of the rest of the year? No. Does it set the show up for an interesting fourth season? Perhaps. I'm not convinced that it does, but maybe the show will come back with new ideas and a renewed sense of purpose.

From this interview with Michael Ausiello, executive producer Stephanie Savage makes it pretty clear that despite last being seen lying in a pool of his own blood in the street in Prague, Chuck is not dead. (Unless Blair's about to embark on a long relationship with a dead man a la Izzie on Grey's Anatomy.) Personally, I really don't understand why she gave that interview, which was published literally minutes after the finale ended. Why not let viewers sweat out Chuck's fate, which was one of the two main cliffhanger from the finale, for a little while at least? (Obviously no one really expects them to kill off Chuck Bass, but why bother to shoot him if they're going to assure us within minutes that he's going to be fine?) I said this after the Heroes people posted an interview explaining the Season 1 finale soon after it aired and I stand by it: Don't give an immediate interview after a finale. Let it fester for a minute or two. If your season finale can't stand on its own, write a better season finale.

(photo: cwtv.com)

**By the way, I'd just like to point out that the outfit Serena is wearing in this picture is what she wears to hang out at a friend's house.

Greek: It's the End of the World as We Know It

Greek:

"At World's End"

I've really been delayed in getting around to watching the second season finale (I think that's what this episode technically was) of Greek, but I was really in the mood to watch something fun, and Greek definitely delivered with this episode.

Granted, I could frankly take or leave this Cappie/Casey stuff at this point, and I was sad to see Max in such despair when he finally saw the writing on the wall about that situation, but for the most part, this episode was fun, fun, fun. The best part was that it managed to work in almost all of the show's mostly awesome characters. (Evan and Beaver did get a little bit shafted, but they were there. I don't think Betsy was in it though, but she was mentioned.) And the episode had so much fantastic Dale/Calvin interaction, that it was impossible not to love it.

Highlights and observations:

• Dale's distaste at Rusty and Jordan's debate on "Jordy" vs. "Rustdan"
• Dale: "Can anybody tell me why this class is worth three units? Every first-grader in Wetumpka knows that the pig is whipping that guy because of lustfulness."
• Ash: "I feel kind of Betsy-ish having a drink at lunch anyway."
• Is it a bad sign that when Max came home early, he knew he'd find Casey in the bar during lunchtime?
• Aww, Max got Casey the lipstick she wanted from his advisor lady.
• Ash: "You know how P. Diddy has an all-white ball in the Hamptons? I was thinking that we could do a similar thing here and have an all-blue ball."
  Cappie: "I can't top that."
• Frannie: "Everyone knows you hate my house."

  Cappie: "I like the English Tudor style."
• Ashleigh might get expelled from the university over this homecoming float prank?! Sheesh.
• Max: "Good, because I just picked out the costumes for our Star Wars wedding.
• The Kappa Taus brainstorming is usually hilarious. (The highlight here being Ben Bennett's "No, girls!" and Cappie's "No girls!?"
• Jordan: "We talked about the end of the world in art history today."
  Cappie: "That's it!"

  Heath: "Art history, baby!"
• Dale and Calvin together are just too funny.
• Dale: "See, she's making me a sundae! She's putting the chocolate on two scoops of...breasts, breasts, breasts...."

  Calvin: "I think she's looking for the banana split, Dale."
• Calvin: "Why can't your purity pledge brothers help you out with this?

  Dale: "They took a trip to Fire Island together. Smart guys too; in this economy, they booked a single queen to save money. Speaking of single queens, what are you going to do about Grant?"
• Calvin: "We're in the same fraternity. Having sex with your brother is like--"

  Dale: "Having sex with your brother?"
• Aww, a Dale and Calvin purity pledge!
• At least Casey didn't get dirty when she fell down the manhole.
• Aww, I'd forgotten that I like Max/Rusty way more than I like Max/Casey.
• Max is looking kind of buff. He must be beefing up for Melrose Place version 2.0.
• WHAT?!?! Now there are marijuana plants in a sorority house?! Put another tally in the "Greek rips off Veronica Mars" column.
• Dale: "But, baby, won't we be late for Showgirls?"
• Rusty's advisor: "Why would you take a liberal arts class as an elective? Those classes seem easy because they're stupid! I tried to have that whole side of the campus razed, but apparently hippies need classrooms too."

  Rusty: "Stupid hippies. That tie-dyed guy in the quad is the one who recommended art history!"
• Why is Casey tripping and falling so much? Her equilibrium seems very off. Does she have an inner-ear imbalance or something?
• If Sheila's so interested in having sex, maybe she shouldn't date 19-year-old Christian boys who have taken purity pledges.
• Calvin: "Sheila, stop! Dale is my boyfriend!"
• Aww, Frannie threw herself under the bus a little bit to save Ash. That was a flash of niceness. Kind of. Maybe.
• Soooo, about Jordan, does anyone else miss Jen K.? Just kidding, that was mean. Jordan's not that bad.
• Ash: "You used to be this focused, driven person. When did you become this girl? Someone who sits around making lists and second-guessing your choices. Paging Dr. Grey! No, wait, you are more like Joey Potter. No, you're worse. You're the F word."

  Casey: "Don't say it!"

  Ash: "Felicity."

  Casey: "You bitch."
• Actually, Casey's kind of like Kate from Lost. Kate's the ultimate bouncer between love interests.
• Casey's eye makeup is kind of goth for making lists.
• Um, shouldn't Casey break up with Max before shoving Cappie into a closet and having her way with him? This is not very classy behavior.
• Cappie: "You'll remember that I'm a childish, lazy, unreliable, unpredictable, unambitious frat guy who let you down before, and that's why we didn't work."
• Well, good luck at Cal Tech, Max. Hopefully the girls there have some more class.
• Cappie: "To a new world, gentlemen! Good riddance to the things we hated and may we not miss the things we loved!"
• I take that back, Jordan is that annoying. I hereby reinstate the Jen K. comment.
• Dale: "But it's not the end of the world! Don't you read the scriptures I leave on your pillow? There's going to be signs!"
• Casey having too much alone time is kind of what got us into this mess in the first place.
• Grant: "I wanted to let you know that your boyfriend's cheating on you. With a woman."
• Wade (after catching Calvin's purity pledge ring): "My precious!"
• Aww, poor Max. Casey is not worth this.
• Casey opening the door and saying "Oh, what are you doing here?" while we can't see who she's talking to is another send up to Veronica Mars (the season one finale). It was pretty funny that it ended up being Frannie.
• This is not the end of the semester, right? Rusty said he still has time to fix his grade, but Frannie's saying goodbye to Casey now? Even if Frannie shuts down the sorority, if she still has to finish her classes, she's probably going to see Casey on campus sometime.
• Fisher! They're cramming everyone into this episode.

So, I'm thinking that Casey and Cappie are going to get together and be relatively happy for, oh, about 10 minutes, and then she will start to remember that he's childish, lazy, unreliable, unpredictable and unambitious. And then, hey, hasn't Evan been looking kind of good lately and acting kind of sweet? And, boom, we're off and running on Cappie/Casey/Evan triangle version 3.0. (Or is it 4.0 by now?) We only saw the original Casey-is-with-Cappie-but-starts-to-like-Evan saga play out in that one flashback episode though, so we could probably sit through it again, but it would be kind of nice if Greek surprises me and comes up with something new. And, by the way, Evan dating Rebecca does NOT count as "something new."

We won't have to wait long to see what Cappie's going to do next--new episodes of Greek return in August! What I'm most excited to see, however, is Kadeem Hardison a.k.a. Dwayne Wayne from A Different World guest starring as Ashleigh's dad. I seriously loved A Different World when I was little, so I'm all kinds of excited about this casting.

(photo: ABC Family via Jbabzy)

Glee: A Joyful Noise

Glee:

"Pilot"

Glee, a new show that is on FOX's fall schedule, debuted its pilot episode this spring to give everyone a sneak peak. After seeing many raves from critics, I decided to give the show a look. I thought the pilot was pretty good, though I'm not sure that I was as infatuated as many of the critics seemed to be. The show does display a good deal of promise, and I'll definitely watch future episodes.

Ok, I'll admit it, the real reason I watched Glee was to see Charlie from Kyle XY acting like a half-decent person. Boy, is he cute when he's not cheating on Amanda with girls who put out...

The aspect of Glee that I liked best was its witty banter (examples of which are coming up in the highlight list). The aspect I liked least about Glee was its harping on the importance of living your life passionately and following your dreams--a moral that was not-so-subtly reinforced with the big "Don't Stop Believing" production number. (As far as I'm concerned, bring on more irreverent selections like "Rehab" and fewer earnest ones like "Don't Stop Believing" and "You're the One that I Want.") The didactic nature of it all was getting kinda old.

My suggestion for future episodes would be that they make sure that the other members of the glee club are featured more in the musical numbers. The more Finn/Rachel duets we watch, the more Glee starts looking like High School Musical. And that's not quite the goal the show should be aiming for.

Highlights and my observations:

• Aww, they threw the kid with the jacket from the newest Marc Jacobs collection in the trash. That's not cool.
• Hey, look, it's Elle's dad from Heroes. He's so much better in this. (Big shocker there.)
• Will's wife won't let him have $60 a month? Who is she, Kate Gosselin? (Sorry, couldn't help that one.)
• I love this "Mr. Cellophane" kid (Kurt).
• They do have kids with some serious pipes at this school. It shouldn't be too hard to revive glee club.
• Lol, about Rachel "not knowing" which of her two gay dads is her biological father.
• Oh, ok, they just have these five kids. The choreography's not quite there, but at least they sound good. Why does glee club even need choreo anyway?
• Rachel: "Mr. Schuester, do you have any idea how ridiculous it is to give the lead solo in 'Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat' to a boy in a wheelchair?"
• Principal Figgins: "What is it with you and this club? You've got only five kids, and one of them's a cripple!"
• Ohh, who is this lady playing Schuester's wife? She looks familiar. Ok, I looked it up and she was on Heroes (playing Claire' biological mother), so that would explain the animosity that I instantly felt towards her.
• Mrs. Schuester: "But, Will, I'm on my feet four hours a day, three times a week here!"
• Sandy: "It wasn't easy though, being dismissed--and for what I was accused of! My long distance girlfriend in Cleveland nearly broke up with me. ...Oh, God, don't you love a good monkey?"
• Lol, drug-dealing Sandy is taking a page out of Walter White's playbook.
• Sue (cheerleading coach): "High school is a caste system. Kids fall into certain slots. Your jocks, your popular kids: penthouse. The invisibles and the kids who play live action druids and trolls out in the forest: bottom floor."
  Will: "And where to the glee kids fall?"
  Sue: "Sub-basement."
• Ken (football coach): "I can't see any of my guys joining glee club. Last month, they held down one of their teammates and shaved off his eyebrows, just because he watches Grey's Anatomy."
• The football players signed up someone named "Butt Lunch" on the glee club sign-up sheet.
• Will: "You'll get kicked out of school. You'll lose your football scholarship."

  Finn: "Wait, I have a football scholarship? To where?"
• Aww, poor Finn. Framed and backmailed into joining the glee club.
• Why did Will marry this woman? I am at a complete loss.
• Ah, so he was the high school "golden boy" and she was head cheerleader. Even so, that is no explanation/excuse for marrying this psycho woman.
• Finn lying to his teammate, saying that his mom had prostate surgery.
• I love the other school's glee club singing "Rehab." They're not doing a great job of lip-syncing though.
• Whoa, Finn's one teammate (the one who looked up that chicks don't have prostates) looks like he's at least 30. Or 40...
• Um, is crazy wife really pregnant or is this just her way to get him to quit the teaching job?
• Kurt: "You nailed all my lawn furniture to my roof."
• Rachel didn't out do herself with this choreography. It frankly looks like there's no choreo going on at all.
• I think they're going to need to better utilize the four other members of this group if they're going to win Nationals.
• The previews for the episodes coming up in the fall made them look better than this pilot.

(photo: FOX.com)

Damages: Looking in Closets

Damages: "Uh Oh, Out Come the Skeletons"

Boy, could this episode title apply to every single episode of Damages ever!

The play-by-play:

• Nooooo, Ellen, don't go to Wes' up-state cabin!
• So what's the secret angle involving the FBI Agent #1's divorce? Because there's seriously something up with that.
• Whoa! FBI Agent #1 was watching Ellen's "6 month later" conversation with Patty! (And the subsequent gun shots!)
• I'm glad that the FBI guys don't understand this energy trading scheme either.
• So, Patty's son (Michael) didn't actually apply to colleges (I'm speculating on that one), and he has a secret girlfriend? I figured he had to be up to some shenanigans by now. The kid is trouble.
• Why do Stan and Walter always seem to meet in the bathroom?
• Um, is Claire showing a bit too much boob for a work function? She looks like freaking Serena van der Woodsen on a trip to Yale!
• Ahh, yes, Walt's integrity is just astounding.
• Holy moly, is that Michael's girlfriend? She's awesome!
• I thought "Pam's" phone voice sounded a little manly in that earlier scene. So what's this dude (FBI Agent #1) up to?
• Oh, yeah, I forgot that Ellen had the same mom at George O'Malley.
• Pathmark! They have those in Delaware! Where does Ellen's family live?
• You can't tell your employees to "live their lives on their own time" one second and then ask them personal questions the next, Patty!
• Phil: "So what are we thinking? Schizoid? Skinhead? Scientologist?"
• Holy crap, that's not the fun piercing girl! This lady's like 40! (Ph. D. in 1988? Is that what she said? That makes her, what, 45? She doesn't look 45. I hope I misheard.)
• At least Claire is displaying less cleavage for the lunch with her father. Well, marginally less cleavage anyway.
• If you're trying to pull something shady, you probably shouldn't live with another FBI agent.
• Who wants to know stuff about the Patty Hewes investigation? Is it Patty? Is that how she knew about the infant mortality case? I don't think she knew for sure what was up with that though. Maybe it's Tom? Holy crap, would it be nice to see Tom not just being Patty's doormat for once!
• Patty: "Mention that name to your boss, and whatever settlement figure he's authorized, tell him to triple it. Then we'll start boring each other from there." (Patty, being badass again.)
• Katie!!!!!
• Ellen sexed-up her hair to go out.
• Oh no, Drunk Ellen is bad news. It's nice to see her acting like something other than a balled-up wad of nerves for a change, but this is kind of a disaster.
• Wow, Daniel and Claire aren't as dumb as they look. They figured this whole energy trading scheme out extremely quickly. (And, added bonus, I now understand it too! Yea!)
• Thank goodness the only person who went home with Ellen was Katie! I love Katie's sweater.
• Don't talk to Katie, Ellen! I love the girl, but she has no filter! She just blurts out all the important secrets at the drop of a hat (like Amanda from Kyle XY).
• Well, if that wasn't a tacit admission from Walter that Aracite is toxic, I don't know what is.
• Ugh, Michael's lady friend (cougar) is annoying.
• Patty: "You will break his heart, and when you do, I'll rip your face off."
• Eeew! Who was the unfortunate sap who had to watch Claire and Daniel getting busy? Yucko.
• Oh dear, who were the people in the FBI Agent #2's house?
• Hey, Ellen, check in Wes' closet while you're there!
• It does sound like Ellen's rocking a southern accent in this scene (just like I thought last week when they showed the previews)! "I'm gonna lose my mind!" She sounds like Blanche DuBois!
• Well, it's not the end of the world that she's telling this to Wes, since he already knows it all anyway (more or less). If anything, it might score her some sympathy with him and make him less inclined to off her.
• Rick! Scruffy's name is Rick!
• Hmm, what did Wes do that Scruffy Rick knows about that would send him to jail for the rest of his life?
• So Stan is paying off FBI Agent #1 and killed FBI Agent #2? Who the hell is this guy, anyway?
• There goes my hope that Tom's not being a doormat for once...
• Ok.....Did Ellen shoot Patty but not thoroughly enough to prevent her from stumbling out to the elevator in a daze? Or did Ellen shoot somebody else whose blood Patty got on her hands before she stumbled out to the elevator? Oh, but in this episode before-the-theme-song clip, both Ellen and Patty confirm that it is "just the two of [them]" in the room. (Unless they're both trying to hide the presence of someone else...) This is soooooooo complicated. It's amazing how they can show you what happened, but you still don't know what the hell's going on.
• In any event, you gotta love the symmetry of Patty now ending up bloody in Ellen's elevator, as last season's iconic image was Ellen bloody in Patty's elevator.
• I'm confused about something else (HUGE understatement). Ellen was approached by the FBI before any of this UNR stuff existed. So the FBI was after Patty pre-UNR. Stan's interest seems to be with UNR. Was he paying off the FBI guy pre-Patty/UNR? Why did he want to see Patty go down before she even started messing with UNR?

Wow, there are only three more episodes left in this season! So something will start making sense soon, right? Nah, that's probably wishful thinking.

My Take on Twilight's Casting

I know that everyone and their little sister have already weighed in on the Twilight movie adaptation's casting decisions, but I can't help but throw in my two cents as well.

Of anyone in the whole world, I think the person who best embodies the vampire's combination of excessive beauty and inherent scariness is Jonathan Rhys Myers. There's certainly something other-worldly about him. Unfortunately, Twilight couldn't really capitalize on Jonathan's clear vamp-ish qualities, because he doesn't really fit any of the book's characters. Perhaps one of the other myriad of vampire related films and shows will be able to take advantage of them at some point.

I'm not sure entirely which Twilight role they should have given him, but I'm convinced that Ed Westwick should have been in the movie. These photos prove that he's got the pale, beautiful, and brooding thing down. Masterfully.

Personally, I don't have a problem with the casting of Twilight's leads. Kristen Stewart is okay by me, and I think she fits Bella pretty well. And Robert Pattinson has certainly turned out to be quite the find. What confuses me is the supporting cast. And namely that several members of the supporting cast were featured in the sub-par season three of The O.C. I don't think Josh Schwartz even liked that season, so why would anyone look there for casting inspiration? And if you had to scavenge amongst The O.C. season three actors, why wouldn't you pick Willa Holland or Johnny Lewis or Eric Mabius, who were definitely the bright spots among the new cast members that year? Why would you pick Volchok and Sadie and Caitlin's boarding school boyfriend? The choices just seem bizarre to me.

Frankly, I imagine I'll always hold some sort of grunge against Cam Gigandet for playing the guy who killed Marissa Cooper and Nikki Reed for her stint as whiny Johnny's annoying jewelry-making cousin. Ick. It's been years, and I still don't even like to think about that whole debacle. What's especially weird about Nikki's casting is that she's playing Rosalie who is supposed to be tall and blond and Nikki is neither of those things. And it's not like tall blondes are rarities in Hollywood, right? I would think you could walk down the sidewalk and swing your arms around and hit 20 or 30 of them.

But this necessary hair dying thing seems to be a trend with the Twilight casting selections. The blond kid from 90210 (Kellan Lutz) had to dye his hair brown. Peter Facinelli had to dye his hair blond. It seems like they were trying to force certain people into certain roles whether they really fit or not.

Peter Facinelli, for instance. I like Peter; I thought he was great in Damages. But I don't think I'd necessarily classify him as "more handsome than any movie star," which is what Dr. Cullen is supposed to be. (And especially not when he's got this freaky blond hair and white makeup.) My suggestion for Dr. Cullen, and I'm pretty confident about this one, would be Ryan McPartlin a.k.a. Chuck's Captain Awesome! I cite his appearance in Mad Men as proof of his handsomeness. I mean, Betty Draper wouldn't put down her gimlet and have a tryst in the back room of a bar with just any guy, right?

Oh, and I've also been pretty turned off to Elizabeth Reaser in general by her messing with poor Alex on Grey's Anatomy and her love of combining Ugg boots and shorts in The Ex List.

I am kind of excited that Rachelle Lefevre landed a role in the film. She keeps popping up in various television shows I watch, and I always wonder what else I've seen her in before I remember that it was Big Wolf on Campus. Yes, I'm admitting that I used to watch Big Wolf on Campus.

So, anyway, my copious television watching has certainly colored my opinions about the Twilight cast. Will any of this stop me from going to see the movie at my earliest convenience? No, it absolutely will not.

(photo: Twilight Official Movie Site)

The Ghost of Grey's Past...

Grey's Anatomy: These Ties That Bind

In the past two episode of Grey's Anatomy, Dr. Izzie has been besieged by the hauntings of the incessant ghost of her dead fiance Denny Duquette. Now I love Denny as much as the next person (and people do still like him a lot, considering he was killed off three seasons ago), but seriously?

The unrelenting haunting story is certainly causing a ruckus (examples one and two), but my objection to it is not so much that Denny's back as a ghost, but that Denny's back as a ghost AGAIN.

It's hard to not get the feeling that when the Grey's writers are sitting around and brainstorming ideas, invariably someone says, "Hey, remember Denny? He was great." And then someone else says, "Yeah, I love Denny and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is adorable." And then Shonda says, "I also love Denny and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and it stinks that I was never able to finish working on that pilot about foreign correspondents that I was writing for him before the network made me devote all my attention to Addison's spin-off/character assassination." And then they all decide to write an episode (or, better yet, a multi-episode arc) where Denny comes back as a ghost.

So far, my hypothesis to explain the whole Izzie-sees-hears-and-touches-a-ghost thing is that Izzie has a brain tumor (I learned from previous episodes of Grey's that brain tumors can cause hallucinations) or aneurysm (a la Eli Stone). Which conveniently feeds into the Izzie-is-getting-killed-off rumor that's been floating around out there since Katherine Heigl ticked off the show's writers by taking her name out of Emmy consideration. I'm okay with giving Katherine something more important to do than performing CPR on a deer, but I don't want to see her killed off. I firmly believe that there's more story to tell about Isobel Stevens; the writers just have to find it.

I'm also a bit annoyed with the timing of this whole incident. Why do all of Alex's girlfriends end up crazy? That hardly seems fair; the poor guy's been through enough. Also, there's already precedent for this: the first time Alex finally manned up and admitted he wanted a relationship with Izzie, Denny showed up and derailed the whole thing. Now, three years later, Alex and Izzie are finally making another go of it, and darned if it isn't Denny showing up to ruin it again.

Where the heck was Denny during the debacle that was Gizzie (George and Izzie)? I would have gladly welcomed undead Denny showing up to ruin that disastrous coupling (preferably before that bathtub scene).

Speaking of Gizzie: what has happened to George? He used to be a main character, but I don't think he has had a darn thing to do all season (I guess he did get to retake a test...fascinating). Wasn't one of Isaiah Washington's weird post-firing assertions that T.R. Knight leveraged his gayness into juicier story lines? Seems like it's time for T.R. to gay himself into something more interesting than one line asking someone to fill out some paper work.

(photo: abc.com)

Premiere Watch '08: The Ex List

The Ex List: Pilot


Just bullets for this one. I'm not convinced it's worth further comment:

• How did this show get on CBS? It's not about forensics!
• If Bella doesn't get married within the year, she'll never get married? Doesn't that put a time limit on the series? Like one season? That seems like they're just expecting to fail.
• It looks like Elizabeth Reaser spent a lot of time in the tanning bed.
• It's Mr. Matthews, Cory's dad.
• Bella was riding her bike without shoes on. Is that the best idea?
• Is this mystery guy who is her soul mate really Alex Karev? What about Tom Everett Scott, since he played her ex-boyfriend on that show about paramedics?
• Oh noooooooo. It's Eddie from The O.C. With some majorly hideous long curly hair. He's being quite dramatic.
• Who are these people Bella hangs out with? Where'd they come from? What's their story?
• I've never seen so many rubber platform flip flops on television. It's bringing back bad memories of college...
• Ha, it is funny that Eddie's song is about how she dumbed him on his birthday.
• Umm, totally could do without an entire subplot about the intimate shaving habits of her blond friend. Like, seriously, must we? I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt uncomfortable with this whole thing.
• Sister: "Maybe you're just supposed to get back together with him long enough to dump him on Christmas so that he can put out a holiday album."
• Ugh, it was creepy when Eddie just walked up to her and kissed her.
• Wow, she's really pushing this thing with Eddie hard. She's beginning to look desperate. Oh wait, I guess she is--she's only got a year, after all.
• Oh no, she's turned him sappy again. Oops.
• Mr. Matthews: "What are they, shipping out tomorrow?"
• Bella: "So how am I the most stupid person in the world? When did that happen?"
  Friend: "I think you've actually been working on that for a while."
• Thank you to Eddie for suggesting that maybe she should have the mole looked at by a doctor if it's that gross.
• This is a really long show........
• Wow, this guy went to some major extremes to get revenge on her. He had to put up with all the fake craziness and he faked crying... Umm, I find his plan to be a little sketchy. If the fake crying had driven her away before his next gig, how could he embarrass her by singing a mean song about her?
• Wow, I realize that she wants to get married, but talking about it every time she sees Elliot is just annoying. ("I thought you could go to brunch with me?" "Forever?")
• Umm, they canceled Moonlight and put this in its time slot?
• Well, at least Eric Winter is showing up next week. He's generally a little more likable than Eddie from The O.C. at least.

This wasn't the worst show I've ever seen, but it wasn't the best one either. I'm not seeing the long-term potential here. First, there's the one year time limit. Also, if Bella insists on sleeping with every guy on her admittedly lengthy list of past boyfriends, she's going to look pretty skanky pretty fast. And, can a whole show balance on one girl's year-long husband search? There's going to have to be something else going on. Plus, if they used a sub-plot about waxing in the pilot episode, I think that's a sign that the writers are already running out of material. I'm not very optimistic about this one, folks.

Premiere Rating: 4.0/10

Premiere Watch '08: Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy: "Dream a Little Dream of Me"

This episode felt over-long to me. It seemed like there was about an hour of medical content, and they tried to stretch it into two hours by rehashing a lot of the same emotional/non-medical stuff a few more times than was necessary. When the medical stuff wrapped up, there was still about 20 minutes left, and personally I was already over everything else. I wish networks didn't feel the need to premiere their shows with episodes that are twice as long as they should be (Bones, 90210, Heroes, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, etc., etc.). We've got a whole season with these people to look forward to, there's no reason to overdo it right out of the gate.

Speaking of overdoing it...what happened to Rose? Last year she was so vanilla and boring, but this season she's providing sarcastic commentary in the middle of brain surgeries, stabbing people with scalpels, and cracking the unfunniest kinds of jokes ("I'm carrying your baby, Derek."). Crazy, party of one... Thank goodness she's gone off to pediatrics now. Good riddance.

It was interesting that Seattle Grace has found itself demoted from the No. 3 teaching hospital to No. 12. Ouch. Now I realize that these doctors have a lot of sex and get distracted from their medical work a fair amount of the time and that there have been a few scandals (Denny's death, Burke's hand, etc.), but Seattle Grace has also performed what can only be a disproportionate amount of really cutting-edge, dramatic medical procedures. There was the bomb in the person's chest, the ferry boat accident, the people stuck on a pole, the guy encased in cement, the penis fish, the "pregnant" man, the conjoined adult twins, the person with toxic blood, the using viruses to kill brain tumors, etc., etc., etc. It seems like every third person who crosses through the doors of Seattle Grace has some kind of extremely rare/bizarre medical problem that receives some kind of extremely rare/bizarre medical treatment. And, a lot of the time, the doctors end up saving their patients. You cannot tell me that there are 11 other hospitals in the U.S. with this kind of a remarkable track record.

My only explanation for the No. 12 ranking is that somehow the review committee got wind of Izzie using hospital equipment to resuscitate the deer.

And, honestly, after the promos for the next episode--which suggest that the whole freaking roof of the hospital collapses in mid-surgery--Seattle Grace is going to be lucky if it can hold onto the No. 12 ranking.

I could also have done without the dream sequences, which I thought were weird because in only one of the cases was the person actually dreaming (Meredith dreaming Derek had been in an accident). Izzie was wide awake when she saw Denny (Again. Please, move on Izzie, please. It's been over two years since Denny's dying episode aired. It is time for Izzie and the show to get over it.) Christina, I guess, was the one who "dreamed" about her and Meredith as old people, but she wasn't asleep and she didn't seem to be losing consciousness at any other point despite having been run through by an icicle. (At least Old Mere and Old Christina were really cute, even if they weren't relevant to the plot.)

Things I did like:

• Sloan badgering Lexie about liking George.
• Meredith: "And they'll be Derek's kids, so they'll have perfect hair."
• Christina: "As you weigh your options, just consider the possibility of shutting the hell up."
• Hunt, the military doctor, was kind of cool. He was also kind of creepy though, what with randomly pulling the blinds and kissing people and all. And it was weird that they had all those doctors around and still allowed him--someone who is not on hospital staff--to treat Christina.

Premiere Rating: 5.5/10

My Boys: Failure To Transition

My Boys: The Transitioning
Well, I called it! (Technically, I guess I just said who I wanted it to be, but whatever--I'm taking credit for it.) P.J. chose Bobby! Yea! Of course, Bobby didn't seem to know that she chose him to be anything more than a traveling buddy. Oops.

And, thus, My Boys was back to start its, um, second or third season (I'm not sure anyone really knows which one it is). Before discussing the episode further, can I just say how annoying it is that TBS is now airing My Boys opposite the second half of the So You Think You Can Dance results show? My Boys aired on Mondays last summer, and that was so much more convenient. I mean, come on, why make it so hard on me?

Back to P.J. and Bobby: Well, she made the right choice, but a fat lot of good that did her. Absolutely nothing came of it at all, as P.J. couldn't find the right opportunity to "transition" her friendship into a romantic relationship. And so--in one episode, mind you--P.J. decides that she's over Bobby and abandons the whole darn thing. Which seems strangely familiar because it's exactly what happened with her and Brandon during the last season premiere. Why does P.J. always try to convert one of "her boys" into her boyfriend in the season finale episode, only to have it completely peter out in the first episode of the next season? It's becoming a pattern and it's a little disturbing. Will Kenny be next?

Perhaps all is not lost completely though, because Bobby did seem rather peeved when P.J. acted like sleeping with him would be so ridiculous. (Although, if he didn't want her to think that way, he probably shouldn't have whipped out the sleeping mask and mouth guard on the airplane.)

A thank you goes out to Steph for pointing out that trying to start relationship with her "friend" and then giving up has become a theme with P.J. And even P.J. admitted that she has a problem, saying, "When I figure out how to transition a friendship to a relationship, I'll write a book." To be fair, P.J. doesn't do a particularly great job of transitioning a relationship into a relationship either. She seems to have commitment issues in general, a la Meredith Grey. Or, perhaps, the root of the problem is that the writers want to her remain single so as to not upset the confines of the show.

Speaking of the confines of the show, this episode's best development was that P.J.'s voice over did NOT include an annoying, cliched, clumsy baseball metaphor. Hallelujah! (Not to toot my own horn again, but I also have previously said that the metaphors needed to go.)

Unfortunately, the use of a voice over in general didn't get the kabosh too. The voice over is still absolutely unnecessary. In this episode, it didn't tell us a darn thing that we haven't already figured out for ourselves. Jordana Spiro may have been on One World (I pulled that reference out of nowhere, huh?), but that doesn't mean she isn't a good enough actress to show us in her face that she is sad without having to also tell us, "I am sad." We get it.

Highlights:

• Steph: "What exactly did you say?"
  P.J.: "Uh, I think I said, 'Hey, how about coming to Italy with me?' Then I might have said, 'dude.'"
  
• I can't believe the waitress fell for Mike hitting on her using "the McConaughey." It was repulsive!
  
• Romantic aspirations aside, bringing Bobby on the trip to Italy was genius--he's rich and he's like a walking travel guidebook.
  
• Steph: "And you should have seen this fleabag place I had to stay in! I mean, there's charm and then there's dirt."
  
• Bobby: "I don't even know him, and I haven't talked to a man in like two weeks."
  
• P.J.: "Maybe we shouldn't have goals."
  
• Andy: "This is my new car... This watch is new. What else is new?"
  P.J.: "You started tying a sweater around your neck."
  
  
• Brandon's adult contemporary radio voice is hilarious.
  
  

Grey's Anatomy: Extraordinary Expectations

Grey's Anatomy: "Freedom"
Well, here's to Grey's for proving that it still can be rather extraordinary, as Ellis Grey would say.

Grey's season 4 finale last night was worlds better than the monstrosity of depression that was its season 3 finale. During last year's finale, there was just horrible thing after horrible thing after horrible thing. In this year's finale, sure, several horrible things did happen (one of the clinical trial patients died, Ava/Rebecca proved to be unfixable by Alex, etc.), but then--amazingly, mercifully--several really nice things happened too! And that, my friends, is how you make your season finale both touching and watchable.

The episode even got off to a great start with some very vintage Grey's banter among the core group of former interns. Izzy's play-by-play of how Alex and Rebecca were acting was amusing ("And he was like, take a bite, take a bite!"), and also great was Meredith's "Now, George, we have had this discussion and we decided it's not appropriate to call Izzie crazy. She's sprited!" It's important for Grey's to not lose sight of the fact that it can be pretty darn funny when it wants to be.

Another highlight was Jurnee Smollett's guest role as the first person to survive Meredith and Derek's brain tumor/virus treatment. Jurnee certainly made a strong play for the Best Acting by a Former 'Full House' Child Actor award, not that she has all that much competition in that area these days. After tearfully parting with her boyfriend before his surgery, I absolutely loved her delivery of the line, "Do not kill him."

I do wonder, though, how it is that all the people who find their way into MerDer's clinic trial seem to have such complicated/unusual/dramatic love lives. There was that first guy and his supposedly unextraordinary wife, the gay soldier with his soldier boyfriend, the lady with her "made up" boyfriend, and now two kids with brain tumors who are in love. Who knows what the other 8 people we didn't see were up to?!

I liked that George demanded his second chance (nice job pointing out that everyone else in the hospital seems to have gotten at least one second chance). I could do without the Hahn/Callie/McSteamy stuff, probably because I don't like Hahn and I'm not a huge fan of Callie. I did like Christina finally telling Hahn to shut up and the chief giving Hahn a lecture. And Bailey coming through on her promise to save the boy encased in cement was great.

I was a big fan of the Izzy/Alex stuff (but, then, I'm always a fan of interactions between those two). It's nice that lately they've had Izzy toughen up. She handled the Ava situation very well. And, poor Alex, with his admission that as a child he used to have to take care of his mother. The scene of him crying at the end was heartbreaking (very nicely done by Justin Chambers). We've always known that there were some painful secrets in his background, so it was nice to finally learn a bit about them.

Also sharing some painful childhood secrets was Meredith. After hearing about Ellis' half-assed suicide attempt, it's no wonder Meredith is so messed up. But good for her for finally working through it and figuring out that she can try to do better in love than her mother ever did. Her candle/blueprint grand gesture was lovely, but what was great was that she was annoyed and ranting about it by the time Derek showed up. I don't think Meredith should apologize at all for admitting that she still doesn't really trust Derek, because he's certainly had his moments of buttheadedness. But, yea for them finally reuniting to be "extraordinary together."

I cannot refrain from one final dig at McDreamy: he knew he was going to find Meredith. He knew he loved her. He knew they were going to open the champagne and make out. But he didn't bother to break up with Rose before going to find Mer? So he had to kiss her and immediately run away? What a loser. It's like he seriously wanted to string that other poor (pathetic) girl along just in case things didn't work out... Whatever. The important thing is that this year--unlike last year--things did work out. Hallelujah.

Thursday Night Highlights

Ugly Betty: "Burning Questions"

I can't think of any particular one-liners that I loved, (at least not as much as last week's "We want her to be crazy, not thin and crazy!") but I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Daniel's dream sequence of Betty being in love with him was funny.

30 Rock: "Sandwich Day"

Kenneth: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for a good man to stand by and do nothing."

Tracy: "Please ask my permission before you quote me, Kenneth."

Liz: "I'll move to Cleveland when you get that IKEA... Never!"

I liked how last year's episode about Cleveland made it out to be a mythical, wonderful place, where as this episode made it seem a lot less cool.

Also, how cool/funny/weird is it that Liz Lemon got her hands on the same dress that Cameron Diaz just wore to her movie premiere?

Grey's Anatomy: "Piece of My Heart"

I thought the first two post-strike episodes were both pretty good. George and his funny comments were the highlights of the first ep. I was glad to see Izzy realizing how ridiculous she's become in the second ep. Also liked Bailey telling Alex to stuff his feelings back inside. I'm intrigued by what crazy, non-pregnant Ava is up to. I'm glad Meredith is (finally) seeing a therapist.

As for Addison, I could not care less that "it is killing her" that Meredith has let "Addison's husband" get away. I stopped caring about Addison's feelings when she moved to L.A. and started dancing naked around her house.

By far the highlight of these two eps (and the whole darn season of Grey's as far as I'm concerned) was this exchange, which reminded me how seriously funny this show can be.

Callie: "Does anyone ever think you two are a couple?"

Meredith: "No, because we screw boys like whores on tequila."

Christina: "And then we either try to marry them or drown ourselves."

(photo: nbc.com)

Greek: Flashbacks and a Myriad of References

Greek:

"Freshman Daze"

It figures Greek picks the night Gossip Girl comes back to bring out the truth behind the "bing." But now I'm ready to graduate from the high school soap and spend a little time in college.

Tonight's Greek was a very interesting episode. Probably not the most entertaining ep of Greek ever, but definitely a good one since we now have the back story pretty well hammered out. To summarize: Cappie and Evan have known each other since childhood because they attended the same camp. Upon arriving at college, Evan talked Cappie into rushing a frat, and only got into his top choice Kappa Tau (!) because of his affiliation with Cappie. Which leads us to the issue that's been nagging us for weeks:

The Kappa Taus call Evan "Bing" because he was half way between a "bid" and a "ding." Yep, I would never figured that one out. It doesn't help that I've never heard of a "ding" before. Of course, I have a Bachelor's of Arts degree in English and I didn't get Frannie's Of Mice and Men reference either, so my self-esteem is a little damaged right now.

Meanwhile, the Cappie/Casey/Bing triangle had been going strong since the moment Casey met the two boys. After Cappie stands Casey up for the ball, Evan offers to take her, and then Cappie finally shows up and a major beat down (a "snafu" according to Casey) takes place between the now ex-BFFs. Hmm, a fancy party and a fight...how delightfully like The O.C.

Other observations:

• Ugh, Rebecca's back. I thoroughly enjoyed the lack of her last week. Although, she did temporarily win me over with:
• Frannie: "Isn't Casey doing a great job?"
  Rebecca: "Beats our last president."
• Cappie: "Listen to the name, Spitter, it's a ball...like a testicle. I don't want to go to a testicle!"
• Kind of gutsy of Evan and Cappie to drink beer in their freshman dorm room on the first day of college with the door to the hall open. I think even my lackadaisical RA would have noticed that.
• "Hot-man-istan" was stealing from his host family. Ha. And putting it in his "fanny-pack-istan."
• Ashleigh: "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
  Casey: "Um, not really." Ha.
• Casey's starting to look nuts with her anti-Frannie mantra. This seems to me like it might be an Oliver situation a la The O.C. season 1 when Ryan maintained that Oliver was nuts until everyone started to think that Ryan was nuts, only for Oliver to then really turn out to be nuts.
• Dale's "USAG Ball." Oh nooo.... "It's going to be a sin-free evening filled with non-alcoholic drinks, line dancing, and subtle prostilitizing."
• I loved the Dale flashback of him pushing the kid who was converting to Catholicism.
• Did you catch Cappie's extremely astute passing reference to the Jonestown massacre? Wow, that kid really is smart if he's whipping out allusions like that. Nicely done.
• Ahh! Look at Beaver's long, flowing blond hair! And how great is it that he got his nickname because he chewed a baseball bat. I was definitely expecting something worse.
• Evan: "Cappie was already a monster; I just pointed him toward Tokoyo."
• Props to Greek's attempts to recreate the pop culture of 2006 with the Grey's Anatomy spoof, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love," etc.
• Rusty: (explaining his search engine prowess) "I use a lot of Boolean navigators." (Wow, how crazy is it that I've had to Google four different things from tonight's Greek? This isn't Lost, people!)
• I like Casey's red dress.

Well, after this episode and its flashbacks, I've definitely been pulled much further into the Casey/Evan camp than I've ever been before. In the flashbacks, I actually felt sorry for Evan. Aside from his beyond iffy facial hair, 2006 Evan was pretty great. I guess we'll see how great 2008 Evan is next week when Casey maybe tries to get him back.

And, best of all, it looks like we'll get more Dale next week! Wohoo! I was wondering how long it would take for us to see Dale enter the dating world.

Ode to Chuck

Unlike other shows that premiered strong and then tailed off a little or a lot in subsequent episodes (cough, Reaper, cough), the quality of Chuck started high and has even been steadily improving. The two Bilson episodes were fantastic and Bryce's return was also stellar. Along with Gossip Girl, Chuck now tops my list of appointment television. So, the question becomes: is there any way Josh Schwartz could make a show that I wouldn't love?

Oh, Chuck, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Chuck is hilarious. I've got weeks worth of lists of the hilarity that is this show, but I'm going to try to narrow it down to a few examples.

The shining example (at which I'm still laughing) in "Chuck vs. the Nemesis" was:

Awesome: "So, Thanksgiving: we're all supposed to say what we're thankful for..."
Casey: "Pass."
Chuck: "I'm thankful that Bryce Larkin is dead and is not currently in my bedroom making out with my new girlfriend."
Morgan: "Wow, buddy, that was dark."
Awesome: "And specific!"

Highlights in "Chuck vs. the Imported Hard Salami":

Morgan: "She is the hottest piece we are ever going to get! ...Beg for her back, Charles!"

Chuck: "Normally, here on planet Earth, a man will consider his feelings for a woman before jumping atop her."

"Chuck vs. the Truth" was fantastic. I mean, come on: Marshall Flinkman as a former elite gymnast turned rogue intelligence agent? Awesome. (I shudder to think what the world will come to if Blaine Wilson or the Hamm twins turn rogue.) Some of the best lines were:

Morgan: "I am a very busy man-boy."

Ellie: "Chuck, you need a haircut--it's starting to make funny animal shapes... At the time it seemed really important to have a New Kids fanny pack... Words taste like peaches!"

Chuck: "God, [Sarah,] you're so pretty. And Casey, your jaw was chiseled by Michelangelo himself!

And my favorites from "Chuck vs. the Sandworm":

Casey: "I'm sick of feeling like Team Chuck's little fat kid."

Chuck: "We are--chronologically speaking--adults."

And Chuck and Morgan's endless debate about which sandwich they'd want if they were stranded on a desert island, especially Chuck's: "Think about it, Morgan, this is a desert island--mayonnaise doesn't fare well in the tropics!"

Chuck loves The O.C. almost as much as I do. There was my sneaking suspicion that a picture of Ryan and Marissa at Tijuana was hidden amongst the Intersect images and the shout out to "The O.C...season 2, which was underrated" during the awesome Buy More 'name-that-show' competition.

But The O.C. homage to end all homages came at the end of "Chuck vs. the Sandworm" when Chuck and Morgan reenacted shot-for-shot the iconic (to me, anyway) Ryan/Marissa New Year's Eve party moment. They played Finley Quaye's "Dice," Morgan sat looking glum, Chuck ran in out of breath, they spotted each other across the room, Chuck bumped into someone as he hurried toward Morgan and my heart was so full of love I could barely stand it.

Chuck is surprisingly sexy. "Chuck vs. the Imported Hard Salami" was hotter than anything on Grey's Anatomy in at least a year. Chuck (Zach Levi) and Lou (Rachel Bilson) made talking about sandwiches wildly hot. And then the Chuck/Sarah kiss in front of the ticking bomb was crazy sexy. Kudos to Zach Levi for finding a way to be both goofy and sexy. In case the past few years in popular culture haven't convinced you, here's some more proof that geeks are hot.

Chuck is extremely sweet. It is nice to watch a show about a guy who loves his sister and his friends and is a little meek and underachieving and a lot adorable. It just is.

Thursday Recap

Ugly Betty:
Another good episode. The best part was when Wilhelmina confronted Betty on the roof and Mark was making thunder noise with the metal sheet. Ha!

Other highlights:

• Mark: "Yeah, yeah, and I wish I knew Marlon Brando before he was fat." (Me too.)
• Christina: "Ten bucks says there's a coat in there made of dalmatian puppies."
• Since when does Bradford attend the Luke Danes School of Postponing Your Wedding To Reconnect with Your Long-Lost Daughter?

The Office: "Dunder Mifflin Infinity"
I loved this episode even more than last week's! I take back what I said about hour-long episodes of The Office...I enjoyed every second of this one. So many highlights:

• Can't believe Toby spilled the beans on Jim and Pam. He's so vengeful ;-)
• Dwight: "I don't see it. I think they both could do better."
• Michael: "All grown up and no place to go."
• Jim and Pam are still way too cute to stand. Air high-fives for crying out loud!
• Phyllis: "I couldn't see your hands."
• Jan and Ryan's little showdown. (Jan: "I love the beard; keep it forever.")
• Kelly telling Ryan she's pregnant. Ohhh, Kelly...
• Mr. Dunder is Uncle Mickey from DooL! Ha, and Mr. Mifflin killed himself.
• Michael and Dwight driving into the lake was hilarious! Dwight: "It can't mean that! That's a lake! There's no road here!"
• Ryan asking Pam out, saying, "Wear something nice." Pam turning him down and Jim's little wave when they were talking about him.
• Michael: "WHERE ARE THE TURLES?!"
• Michael: "I drove into a [bleeping] lake! Why? Because a machine told me to. A machine told me to drive in a lake and I did it."

Grey's Anatomy:
This episode was decidedly better than last week's premiere. There were, after all, no deer for Izzie to defibrillate.

I thought that the crystal meth baby storyline was particularly affecting, especially because it allowed us to see Alex Karev, champion of all babies, back in action. I hope that Grey's doesn't forget that he was heading toward switching his specialty from plastics to neonatal surgeries. Unfortunately, that storyline, which I really liked, becomes a lot less manageable now that Addison is gone. Anyway, I thought he did a great job diagnosing what was wrong with the baby, although I wonder how he knew what crystal meth smells like. And, dare I say it, I might be coming around to the horrendous facial hair.

It was also nice to see that Marissa Cooper's yard boy is still finding work. I thought his performance as the "I'm not that guy" drug addict was very good. I never cease to be astounded when "D.J." shows up on other things and is actually a pretty good actor, because those scenes between him and Mischa were freaking painful on The O.C.

And, I'd be remiss to not celebrate the guest appearance of Ben Vereen, whom I have loved since I was about two years old and an avid fan of Zoobilee Zoo.

What irked me (and only me, from what I can tell from reading critics and other blogs) was Mama Burke's omniscient observations about everyone who stopped to talk to her. First of all, she was out of line dressing down Meredith for what she said when announcing that Burke and Christina's wedding was off. Look, lady, if your son leaves his fiancee at the alter when the whole wedding was completely his idea, then he has coming to him whatever her best friend feels like saying. And I was also bothered that she seemed to instantly ascertain Derek and George's romantic situations...especially since I'm still not entirely sure what their problems are.

Premiere Watch '07: Grey's Anatomy

One day after Addison got off to a lackluster start with her Private Practice, we got a new episode of the flagship to enjoy. And, yes, I did actually enjoy this episode of Grey's, which is much more than I can say for last May's one hour crapathan of a Season 3 finale.

The Season 4 premiere got off to a great start with each of the previous interns (except poor George) trying their hand at giving their new interns the same speech that Bailey gave them on their first day. Their "Nazi" impersonations resulted in various degrees of success, with Izzie fairing the worst and Meredith losing credibility when she hilariously went off the script: "On call room. Sleep when you can where you can...but not with anyone...especially not attendings. Sleeping with attendings: not a good idea."

After a great start, the episode lost some steam. Callie was in over her head and I don't feel sorry for her; Lexi seemed a little too perky and excited to meet Meredith; Izzie was doctoring a deer for crying out loud and then lectured her interns saying that she "did the impossible" (please just get over yourself, Stevens); and Meredith still just can't handle a relationship with Derek for, oh, some combination of reasons. But, even considering those things, this episode was better than any of the Grey's we've seen since at least last November.

Highlights and random observations:

• I'm not loving Karev's new facial hair.
• Christina: "Why is everyone so tinkly and hurt? I'm the one who got left at the alter." Tinkly? Do they have to go to the bathroom?
• Bailey: "You and Grey aren't smelling each other in the elevator anymore."
• With the addition of all these new interns, doesn't it seem like there are a ton more people working in the hospital now than there were before? It just seemed like most of them were getting in the way.
• Lexi picked a bad time to introduce herself.
• Steamy: "You want to rub up against me, you're going to have to buy me a drink first."
• Callie needs to get her head in the game. Weird comment about George being a daddy since she's not pregnant...or "maybe" is. I found it all borderline creepy, but maybe that's because T.R. Knight was giving her a look of sheer terror the whole time she was talking.
• That's one fake looking deer.
• Hey, another pregnant chick who's all alone. Maybe Karev can have this one.
• The scene with all the interns conversing around the severed arm had a lovely, vintage GA feel to it.
• Meredith: "Spiritually, Bailey's over everybody's head."
• So the Chief's wife still won't talk to him? Come on! They reconciled! That was the one even half-way positive thing that came out of that train wreck finale and now that didn't even stick! Geez!
• Ha! George thought Izzy was talking about him when she referred to "Bambi."
• Thank you, Derek, for finally sticking up for Meredith. Too bad that you were the one complaining about her for all of last year.
• Well, that was a ridiculously easy childbirth, considering the mother was out cold having an arm reattached.
• So why did Lexi change her plans and do her internship at Seattle Grace if she really wanted to go somewhere else?
• McSteamy to McDreamy: "I didn't come to Seattle for Addison. I didn't come to Seattle to be chief. I came Seattle for you, okay? I came to get you back." Hilarious.
• I liked the Alex/Christina alliance at the end and also that George found a new friend in Lexi.
• And then George goes and tells Izzie that he loves her. Well, I guess I'm glad someone does, because that girl is on my last nerve. I would like to point out that George didn't have to watch her doctor the deer. Maybe if he had, he'd feel differently.

The dynamics of the show have changed with departure of Burke and Addison and the original interns now holding positions of power. It will be interesting how the characters and show deals with this shift. Now we just have to wait and see if this season will be full of good Grey's moments (the chat around the severed arm, McSteamy's proclamation to McDreamy) or if those painful Grey's moments (Izzie and the deer, anything from last year's finale) will continue to creep in.

Premiere Rating: 7 / 10

The Best of the 2006-2007 TV Season!!!

Most Shocking Moments:
"Through the Looking Glass" Lost -- We find out that Jack and Kate both make it off the island in a "game-changing" flash forward.

"In or Out" Ugly Betty -- The mysterious veiled figure is revealed to be not Fey Sommers as expected, but Alex Meade, post gender reassignment surgery!

Funniest Moments:
"The Return" The Office -- Jim and Pam hide Andy's cell phone in the ceiling, causing him to freak out and punch the wall. "That.....was an over-reaction." Yes, Andy Bernard, but it was a hilarious over-reaction.

"Beach Games" The Office -- Andy Bernard falls into the river wearing a blow-up sumo wrestling suit and floats away. Physical comedy at it's best.

"Gay Witch Hunt" The Office -- In the season three pilot, we see a quick flash of Roy's DUI mugshot... and he's a huge mess.

"Swag" Ugly Betty -- When Bradford finds out that Wilhelmina has been charging personal expenses to the magazine like, say, her "butt lift," she responds, "Well, good luck returning my ass!"

Funniest Characters:
Andy Bernard, The Office -- He's just a Cornell graduate trying to take over the world using three sure-fire tactics: name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a hand shake. As he is responsible for two of my Funniest Moments of the season, it doesn't take a degree from Cornell to conclude that Andy belongs in this category.

Tracy Jordan, 30 Rock -- I have an unnatural love for Tracy Morgan. Everything that comes out of his mouth is hilarious, including: his belief that vampires are the best golfers but we'll never know it, his admission that he steals dogs and does the robot backwards into Starbucks, his discovery of anagrams, and "the manatee becomes the mentor."

Justin and Marc, Ugly Betty -- Both the youth who loves jazz hands and the cattiest personal assistant at Mode stole every scene they were in this season.

Dick Casablancas, Veronica Mars -- It's funny. In college I came across literally hundreds (perhaps thousands) of boys who act just like Dick Casablancas and couldn't stand them at all. Yet I love this guy. I love how he's an unapologetic himbo and always ready and willing to say something wildly inappropriate. How amusing people like this are when you personally don't have to deal with them.

Best Performances in a Drama:
Ellen Pompeo, Grey's Anatomy -- Although her acting chops aren't usually the ones people mention when talking Grey's, Ellen really brought it this season. She was especially fantastic in the episode where Ellis miraculously becomes lucid. Watching the look on Meredith face when her mother complains that she's ordinary is like getting kicked in the stomach and Pompeo nailed the confrontational speech and subsequent realization that her mother's Alzheimer's is back. And, showing her range, pre-appendectomy drugged-up Meredith was a riot early in the season and a breath of fresh air in the over-drama that was the third season of Grey's.

T.R. Knight, Grey's Anatomy -- T.R. may not have had the best material to work with this season (even though he leveraged his gayness to get better plots according to Crazy Isaiah Story #3), but he absolutely nailed what he got. His ability to thrive in the extremely drawn-out story line about Burke's hand and the torturous Gizzie scenes proves his value to this show.

Sally Field, Brothers and Sisters -- We like her! We really, really like her! Sally was spot-on throughout the season as Nora, the glue that held the Walkers and this show together. She excelled in both the dramatic moments of dealing with her late-husband's infidelity (the late-night swim comes to mind) and the comedic moments (like the food fight with the mistress) that were my favorite part of the show.

Best Episodes:
"Spit and Eggs" Veronica Mars -- Veronica solves the case and quickly becomes the target of the psycho-villain. It's a cliche on this show for a reason. Making this time even more exciting, Veronica ran frantically down a hallway to dance music, a la vintage Alias. If only all rapists got stabbed by a unicorn horn. Add a crazy Piznarski dance, Wallace talking about "pity balloons," some classic Mac, and Logan smashing a cop car to get in jail to beat the living daylights out of Mercer and you've got one of the best hours of TV this year.

"The Bitch is Back" Veronica Mars -- "After all these years, do you not instinctively fear me?" Veronica asks, and if we didn't, we sure do now. Do not mess with V. In the series' last ep, Veronica goes after the people who posted a sex tape of her on the web, and with friends like Wallace, Weevil, and Logan to mess up cars, go undercover into secret societies, and punch mobsters, she's going to take the bad guys down. And don't forget Keith, whose attempt to cover for his daughter results in the two of them becoming the outcasts they were when the series began. That's called coming full circle, kids, but it's a shame that the CW canceled this amazing show with so much story left to tell.

"Through the Looking Glass" Lost -- It's a flash forward! Whoa! And even though Future Jack seems even more depressed that Present Jack and Past Jack, this episode was one of the best of the year thanks to Sayid snapping an Other's neck with his feet, Hurley and his van saving the day, Sawyer avenging Walt, Charlie's Alias Season 1 finale-esque drowning, the obscured newspaper clipping, the funeral parlor anagram, the mystery man in the coffin, and Kate and Jack's clandestine meeting. Oh, the Alice in Wonderland reference in the episode title is pretty darn cool too.

"Company Man" Heroes -- Heroes really found its stride in this episode, narrowing its focus to the events taking place in the Bennet house as several heroes clash together. Some Lost-style story telling gives us new insights into Noah Bennet's character and he has the Haitian erase his memory to protect Claire Bear.

"The End's Not Near, It's Here" The O.C. -- I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The O.C. rocked it's series finale. The saying good-bye to the Cohen house, the Seth/Ryan hug, the new baby Cohen, the new old house in Berkeley, the few acknowledgements that Marissa Cooper existed and that we loved her, the Julie Cooper college graduation, the Seth/Summer wedding, and the architect Ryan helping out a kid all combined for the perfect ending to one of the coolest shows ever.

Best New Shows:
Heroes, Men In Trees, 30 Rock

Best Comedy:
The Office

Season Finales, Season Finales Everywhere!

Grey's Anatomy:
Wow. This sure was one depressing hour and fifteen minutes. Where along the line did the people at Grey's get the impression that in order for a season finale to be good, horrible things must happen to all of the characters. Seriously, not a single person escaped this monsoon of badness. They might as well have had all the characters stand in a row and have people throw things at them :-)

Burke, Steamy, and Addison didn't get the chief job (and they all kind of got insulted in the process); George failed his test; Bailey didn't get chief resident; Alex realized his love for Ava about a half hour too late; George snubbed Izzy (yet again. Get some self respect, Izz); Derek and Meredith careened toward a break-up for no real discernible reason; Burke didn't marry Christina and disappeared; Adele lost her baby.

Actually, about the happiest thing that happened was that Adele losing the baby brought her and Chief Richard back together again...and miscarriages are not happy, folks. And those hikers...why were they even still around? And, better question, why was Derek interrogating them instead of the police? I love that his holier-than-thou attitude now qualifies him to be a detective. Can you tell that the doctor formerly known as McDreamy is on my last nerve?

Oh! Oh! Oh! I almost forgot about him telling Meredith that she should be worried that his flirtation with Bar Slut/Reunion girl/Mere's little sister was the highlight of his week! It is such a shame that Meredith was so wrapped up with the death of her stepmom, her best friend's wedding, and the most important test of her internship that she neglected her duty to entertain Derek! Poor, poor Derek. Perhaps Meredith should hire a clown to follow him around and keep him amused.

And speaking of whiny, middle-aged men....Burke does not get to leave Christina at the alter! The whole thing was his freakin idea!

One more thing that I didn't like about the episode was that the scene where Christina freaks out in her wedding dress looked exactly like Carrie Bradshaw's SATC wedding-dress-inspired panic attack.

Another thing that sucked was that the National Inquirer or whoever published all those Grey's spoilers turned out to be alarmingly accurate... so none of this crappy stuff was even a surprise.

Oh well, let's just hope that next season is better.

The Office:
Jam is on!!!!!!! Does anything else matter?

It's been days and I'm still glowing about "Pam, are you free for dinner tonight?" It's about freaking time, Halpert and Beasley. Now, let's just hope that next season we don't back track on the Jam like we did this year. I mean, honestly I thought Jam was on last year after the hot-office-Casino-Night kiss, but it clearly was not. This time, let's hope it sticks. I do feel a bit for Karen, but clearly Jim and Pam are made for each other...and Scranton (ouch, that part sounds like an insult). And Karen could be a bit of a jerk (telling Jim his hair made him look homeless, ordering Pam to photocopy their sales reports).

Poor Michael. Now he's stuck with crazy unemployed Jan living in his condo. Seriously, though, was Jan always this nuts and we just didn't realize it because she wasn't around that often and compared to Michael, no one is crazy? Or is it new? Because I never realized she was this deranged. I mean, dating Michael was certainly a tip off to some sort of mental instability...

And how cool was the "game changer"? (I love that The Office has stolen that terminology from the overly self-important Losties.) Ryan the temp is in charge! Good for him. See, getting that MBA does pay off.

And, of course, the episode was funny:

• Dwight's reign of terror, complete with soil lectures and "Schrute Bucks" (and now, thankfully, we know that the correct ratio of Schrute Bucks to Stanley Nickels is the same as the ratio of unicorns to leprechauns).
• Pam getting to be the secret Assistant to the Regional Manager for a morning.
• Creed's "blog" a.k.a. a word document with a URL address typed at the top.
• Michael calling his decision to take back the bigger-breasted Jan "emotionally magnificent."
• Jim wanting to see the U.N. building while in New York and saying the last time he was in the Big Apple was a sixth grade field trip. Now that is just too freaking cute.
• Andy working in a little more Cornell bragging. I'm never going to be able to take anything involving Cornell seriously again :-)
• Oh and Beasley so totally pulls her comedic weight. Her "Maybe I'll find my own Karen" monologue ending with a slightly panicked "I'm not gay!" proclamation was adorable.

But, of course, what really matters is that Jam is on! Did I mention that?

Ugly Betty:

Ok, since when does UB get its plotlines from Days of Our Lives? It kind of seemed like they wanted something big and splashy for the finale, but couldn't quite come up with anything, so just threw in every somewhat trite storyline they could think of. Did Santos really need to be shot in a random convenience store hold up? Did Amanda suddenly need to be Fey's daughter? Did Henry's ex need to be knocked up? And, um, didn't Gilmore Girls do that whole storyline in season two? And didn't they do it a heck of a lot better?

Random question: Even provided that Alexis is so stupid that she didn't realize that after putting out a hit on Bradford, his car might not be the best vehicle to use to take her brother to the hospital, why, why, why does taking Daniel from the Mode office in midtown Manhattan to a hospital require her to drive on a very twisty road through a secluded forest? Are there not hospitals in Manhattan? Because there totally are.