Britney Spears Week on ABDC!

So excited for this.

Beat Freaks - Damn, they're doing choreography to "Womanizer"!  Haven't seen a single B-girl move yet. That they can be so sultry while doing choreography in addition to their usual stuff... wow, this is why they're gonna last much longer than Fly Khicks.  DAMN.  I love that Lil Mama associates "classy" with "Womanizer".  Oh, JC, please don't try and create new slang.  "Crispy" is never going to happen.

Strikers All Stars - "Gimme More"... what, no striptease?  Great prop, though (it rotates!)

Side note... wow, viewers do not love Team Millennia... in the bottom two again!

Dynamic Edition - Doing "Stronger," which is totally Britney's first SEX BOMB video (thank you, director Joseph Kahn... also, thank you for "Toxic" and "Womanizer" :D) Good lord, my eyes cannot keep up with the cloggers' feet.

Side note... Ringmasters are in the bottom two.  No way Lil Mama lets them go home unless they give a severely bad performance.  Buh bye, Team Millennia.

Quest Crew - "Toxic" (nah nah nah nah).  With blindfolds.  Them boys know how to dance (and with their hips).  Just sayin'.  And that move at the end by Ryan (that was like a banana kick but he ends up on his back... on purpose and with control)?  Wowza.

Fly Khicks - "... Baby One More Time".  Unfortunate for them because they've already been criticized for being too cheerleader.  Which, um, hi?  There was something off at the beginning, but they got in step.  Somehow... not as sexy as Beat Freaks.  Also, is that dance move really called "the Single Ladies"?  Guess I didn't consider the heels.  Meh.

Team Millennia - "Me Against The Music".  God I hate this song.  Nice shout out to the Britney/Madonna kiss at the 2003 VMAs at the end.  They hit the choreography, but you expect them to.  Hm.

Ringmasters - "Circus".  Yeah, well they're gonna have to dance to this, aren't they?  They didn't have to use props.  But, wow.  There's a lot of wow in this performance, especially the opening.  Only issue I have is that there was a section where the choreography was all in their hands... they weren't moving their feet.

Color me unshocked (but also pleased) with the results.  My guess is Fly Khicks and Dynamic Edition for the bottom two next week.

Ultimate, my expected Top 3 doesn't change... Beat Freaks, Quest Crew, and Strikers All Stars

Meet Charles Widmore

ARE YOU KIDDING ME, LOST!?

SERIOUSLY!?

Goddammit, is it just me or is/has this show somehow been outdoing itself every episode since it came back from the writers strike?

Private Practice

Based on several recommendations on PIFeedback.com, I finally streamed last Thursday's episode of Private Practice (since next week it's the crossover, so I wanted to get a feel for the characters if it was worth the time).  Anyway, I haven't watched the show in a while and it seems like an ENTIRELY different show than what premiered in Fall 2007.  It's not early-Grey's good... but is it better than current-Grey's?  Yeah.  I think so.  At the very least it hasn't descended into ghost/Angel of Death Denny sex and heavy-handed metaphysical preponderance.  Yeah, it does have the life-or-death stakes in most/all of its cases, though I guess it tries to replace that with ethical quandaries.  But a generally enjoyable, watchable hour.

Addison is no longer Ally McBeal 2.0.  She may not be Addison from Season Two of Grey's Anatomy... but she's much closer to that than what she was made into at the start of this series.

Hm.

I still don't understand the point of the KaDee Strickland character.

Seriously.

So, Grey's. I've decided to do the live-ish bloggy thing for tonight because it promises to be a Very Special Episode.

Denny is doing the voiceover, talking about heaven, hell, and limbo. Ooh, spooky. Anyway, he keeps badgering Izzie telling her that he's there for her. So, he's pretty much the Angel of Death and I now expect Izzie to die sometime this season. I figure Denny disappears whenever she faces her own mortality, and she's dead ("but we did everything we could") in the season finale. Or sooner, who knows.

Mer calls Bailey in to hint that she's trying to kill the serial killer patient so Bailey's young patient can get his organs because they're a match. Bailey, thank god, calls her on her bullshit (which is only slightly dampened by the promos that show Bailey walking into Derek's surgery on the serial killer begging him to let the guy die... so I guess she comes around).

And, um, Lexie just broke Sloan's penis. That's, um, tight...? ROFL...??

With the way Denny is telling Izzie she doesn't have time to think about anyone but herself... well, I suspect we know what's really up by episode's end.

Love Sara Ramirez. Callie's reaction to Lexie breaking Sloan's, um, bone...r was priceless.

Boring things are going on between Cristina and Major Hottie.

Hey! George gets a scene!

Derek is asking people (namely Cristina) if Mer will like the ring his mother gave him last week. He is so, so, so stupid. I want Cristina and Mer back together, dammit.

Hey! George gets another scene! And there's a patient in the hospital about to die who is not a donor but is a match. Jeez. How lucky! How unlucky, the doting wife (Amy Sloan from Big Shots and her hilarious lazy right eye... sigh, she's so pretty otherwise) won't let George and the Chief harvest her soon-to-die husband's organs.

And Derek puts the ball in Bailey's court, and she tells him to finish his surgery (btw... Derek is such a dick for making her do that).

Dear lord the way the meaning of "I'm here for you" finally dawning on Izzie was so freaking overt.

Is it wrong that I kinda wanted the kid to die? Just to have a horribly bitter ending? Serial killer lives (temporarily), innocent kid dies, Izzie realizes she's dying. Everybody loses! Yay!

At least Chandra Wilson has an Emmy reel.

Snooze

Well, the Oscars have managed to successfully protest their relevancy with today's ho-hum nominations. Don't get me wrong, I loved both Milk and Slumdog Millionaire. But the absence of both/either of The Dark Knight and WALL•E in the Best Picture category shows just how out of touch the Academy is. Yes, yes, both scored multiple nominations elsewhere (with Heath Ledger getting his lock nomination as Supporting Actor). Still. This is a very disappointing development. And, of course, the ratings will suffer.

Because You Left / The Lie

Well, today was a fickle bitch, as they say.

Thank god for Lost's premiere. And tomorrow morning the Oscar nominations are released! Are work shouldn't be quite so hellish! Yay!

I might even find the time to post final nationals on PIFeedback...

And rewatch Lost because my brain was so fried by the time I got to my friends' viewing party that I was, y'know, watching but not totally mentally on top of everything.

I feel like this season is going to be The Two Towers to next season's Return of the King. Doesn't mean I can't be happily surprised when, say, it turns out that Ms. Hawking ("Flashes Before Your Eyes") might be Daniel Faraday's mother.

I'm digging this season's narrative format that, at least for these two premiere event episodes, followed everyone instead of being centered around a specific character's flash-something. It's pure narrative drive.




LOST IS BACK!!!!!!

The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened

What!?

Where the hell did that episode of Desperate Housewives come from? I mean, I know, I know, 100th episode... but it wasn't, like, a pull-out-all-the-stops game-changing very-special-episode episode. It was just... amazing. Except maybe Edie's flashback. Could've done with something from Katherine (during the 5 year skip, perhaps?) instead / in addition to (since the firm/perk line was great). Emotional fulfillment. I has it.

Kinda funny how, pretty much, nothing happened in the episode, but it was satisfying nonetheless. And centered around character we'd never seen before and never will again.

Sigh, and there's three weeks until the next episode?

ABDC3

So America's Best Dance Crew premiered this Thursday... who knew? Apparently FauxVo did. It's snap judgment time!

Strikers All Stars - Nice way to start off the night, very exact choreography. Jury is out (I'm not the biggest step fan, admittedly).

Beat Freaks - Yes! B-girls! A team of B-girls! And they (borrowing show terminology) ripped it.

G.O.P. Dance - I agree with Lil Mama (although she was much more upfront with her disappointment than I would have been... biatch be blunt!) Sigh, I feel like this is an unfortunate name for a crew... G.O.P.? I can't even remember what they said it stood for. Pretty obvious routine for the sudden death.

Quest Crew - Great costumes (although I love purple, it's a little Fall 2008...), very high energy and entertaining.

Fly Khicks - Sexy, but in a competition with a girl team like Beat Freaks... I dunno. I thought their sudden death was much more exciting than their main performance (maybe because G.O.P. Dance went before them and they weren't that hot). Don't see them making it too far, though.

Ringmasters - I don't even know what to think... but holy contortionist hell! I feel like this may wind up more of a novelty than lasting, but, um, yeah, wow, hi.

Boxcuttuhz - This season's Fanny Pak (but not as good)? Mixed genders (though only one girl, and Lil Mama called her out), but they aren't doing B-boy stuff, it's all costumes, props, choreography, and theatricality. With a touch of nerdy.

Dynamic Edition - Hehe! Tap shoes! Clogging! On ABDC!

Team Millennia - Glad they lost out to Fanny Pak last season, but it was fun! Theatrical opening was the best part of me.

Favorites? Beat Freaks and Quest Crew. If everyone keeps up the same level of performance / there aren't any major f*ckups, I'm putting these two in the finals.

When Did Fridays Start Getting Programming Worth Watching?

I have no reactions. Because, um, wow. BSG. FNL. What? Also Psych but I haven't watched that yet.

I just can't even talk about BSG. I can't. WTFrak.

Benefits

Oh my god, you guys. Did you watch last night's How I Met Your Mother? It was GENIUS. I don't normally laugh out loud through much of HIMYM, though I am generally entertained. Last night was hi-lar-i-ous. And touching.

This episode showed why this show is a step above other multi-cam sitcoms. The quick cutting back and forth and short scenes that "traditional" sitcoms don't do because they tape in front of a live audience (admittedly, a 10-second scene won't be very funny when taken out of context of the surrounding scenes).

Anyway. Holy eff. I think we already have a nominee for Best of 2009.

Oh, and the ratings?

A 4.8/12 in the demo and 11.847 million viewers.

Elsewhere on FOX

Damn you, Fox.

First you move Bones to Thursdays.

Then President Bush wants to make a farewell speech so you postpone the premiere.

Then you make it a two-episode premiere meaning I have to choose between 9pm Bones and Grey's Anatomy for the second tuner while the first on my DVR records The Office/30 Rock.

Then I see that thanks to American Idol and the NAACP Awards the show is essentially going to air a new episode every other week and be preempted the weeks in between (Bones two-hours on 1/22, Idol on 1/29, Bones on 2/5, NAACP on 2/12, Bones on 2/19 and 2/26, Idol on 3/5). Stability: Impossible.

Haven't you done enough f*cking with this show yet?

Hm?

It is(/was) a stable, mid-sized utility player that attracted 10 million viewers on Wednesdays and was (easily) winning its timeslot in the the demo. You have no idea how it's going to perform on Thursdays without the above maddening preemption schedule.

STOP F*CKING WITH BONES.

Hour 3 (and Lie To Me*)

Much better. Bill Buchanan and CHLOE. Jack in an interrogation room. Revealing that Tony was doing secret covet things with the terrorist organization because the government can't be trusted (yay...? although wasn't there a big undercover agent working with terrorists but wait not really thing back in season three?)

Oh. And CHLOE VERSUS DARIA IN A BATTLE OF THE COMPUTER HACKERS. Please let them meet IRL over the course of the day. Governments and financial markets will rise and fall at their every whim.

Meanwhile, other things are still happened with the African Subplot That Is Actually The Main Plot, and with President Woman President's husband / suicide committing son. Sorry for adopting Dave Barry-speak, but, well, I'm just so gosh darn entertained by him. [EDIT: Please note that I wrote my capslock Chloe versus Janeane Garafolo thing before actually reading Dave's blog to see that he referred to it as a far more eloquently and entertainingly put "KEYBOARDING DUEL OF DEATH."]

The FBI is "setting up a perimeter". Woo! Perimeters!

Seriously, though, good to know four ex-CTU agents and staffers can basically thwart the FBI in a matter of minutes.

Onto hour 4!

Oh, there's a Lie To Me* commercial. I was displeased with that pilot. It's not terrible, but it's just a run of the mill pure procedural with a gimmick that wore thin halfway through the episode. I certainly won't be watching any more of Tim Roth reading facial ticks and explaining what they mean to solve crimes. I mean, what's the most interesting thing they can possibly do on this show? Put him up against an expert poker player? Meh. Giant heaps of meh.

Family, Death, Irony

Oh, Gossip Girl. You continue to astound and confound my expectations with a combination of misleading promos and completely true-to-character developments that, like a car crash in slow motion, you knew was coming a mile away but keep watching hoping it can be diverted. It's like "I know where you're going with this! But I can't believe you're going there! OMG you went there, took pictures, and came back!" Seriously though, a pretty predictable episode... but still a massively entertaining one.

Desmond Harrington as Jack Bass (who is somehow Bart Bass's brother?) is fantastic. Somehow even better here than on Dexter, where I'm still sure his Detective Quinn is up to little-to-no good. Well played, sir. Well played. Chuck and Blair were too busy being, um, themselves and teenaged and in love/hate that they didn't notice your moves. OTOH, you only got yourself a higher paying job. The board can't strip Chuck of his 51% controlling stake in Bass Industries, just the position he decided he desired. And, oh my, the resulting Chuck/Blair seeming-final break-up (of a relationship that never actually started). What's a Chuck Bass to do now?

Meanwhile stuff happened/came to a head with the Lily/Rufus lovechild plot. Yay, it's done (and, um, Matthew Settle, you're totally hot with your shirt off, but if you're going to wax the front, you might as well get the pits)! Only it's not because there's still potential for it to come back because the Sekrit Van Der Woodsen-Humphrey First Born isn't actually dead. Remember this, people. No matter how hard those adoptive parents try to hide it, the lovechild will come back into play. Eventually.

That final tableau of Dan, Serena, Jenny, and Eric looking on at Lily and Rufus walking in (as Lily says something about always wanting to be family) and grasping hands...

The thing is, I think the six of them work MUCH better as a family than as well-preserved starcrossed lovers, a couple of twitterpating teens in an on-again off-again relationship, and a girl and her best gay.

About this weekend

Quickly about the rest of 24's first night... meh. Glad I stopped the minute-by-minute commentary because eventually it would've started droning on about "goddammit, why am I still watching this series?" I'll watch tonight's installments and make my decision about continuing to record the show. There had better be some more thrilling cliffhangers. The ratings were middling, and without knowing the effect having House as a lead-in will have on 24, come February it and Heroes will likely be neck-and-neck in the demo (though 24 will likely have the viewer advantage, I am guessing).

Anyway / also... Legend of the Seeker.

The 100-ish pages about Denna, the Mord'Sith (basically the fantasy-world combination of a dominatrix and a professional torturer) was the only truly original and entertaining part of Wizard's First Rule. So I was super-excited that the title of the episode was Denna. But oh my was that an arch performance. Great costuming job, though. However, I seem to remember the description of the pain-inducing instrument (the Agiel) as being a stick that was about foot long and a finger thick. So I got a hefty guffaw when the Agiel prop looked, well, much more like a sex toy than a long, thin, horrifyingly painful instrument of torture and death. Maybe it's just me?

But having Craig Horner shirtless, sweaty, and hanging from the ceiling for much of the episode was appreciated. See, I'm very easily amused when it comes ot campy fantasy series.

And, oy, we're something like 8 episodes into the series and they've already introduced something called "the breath of life" (I don't recall this from the book, but it has been a while and I didn't read past the first in the series)... which basically eliminates death provided you get "the breath of life" shortly after you die. Good lord, we've learned nothing from Heroes' second season. NOTHING! Anyway, Denna was brought back to life at the end of the episode, unbeknownst to our heroes, so I guess the show wanted a recurring villain. She's no Callisto... but I guess she'll do?

There's No Time

(all tape-delayed-live-blog hour/minutes are "into broadcast," so 1:05 = the fifth minute of the second hour of tonight's premiere)

0:00 - Hey, it's that guy from The Nine! He's so hapless.
0:01 - I dunno, I get T-boned and go into a tailspin, I'm screaming like Egan Foote's daughter, not semi-worriedly glancing over my shoulder.
0:01 - Do you have any idea how difficult it is to time one car crash intentionally? Let alone two? PWN.
0:01 - Downtown LA just got f*cked up. Oh, wait, it's supposed to be DC. The props department isn't doing a great job with substituting the street signs. Just saying.
0:02 - The credits say Carlos Bernard is in the show, so even if I somehow were unspoiled... Tony Almeida is back. Yeah, we've known this for about 18 months and I *still* don't get it. And I don't trust the show to give a decent explanation. Anyway... the Soul Patch is back, too!
0:03 - Jack is so badass he doesn't even care that Kurtwood Smith is eating up valuable ass-kicking time by setting the stakes so we know that the government agencies are doing a 180 later when he needs a hacksaw.
0:03 - Oh, and the multiple angles of the same person are back on the split screen! Yay! This stylistic thing was sorely missing in Day 6. Ugh. Day 6. Ugh.
0:04 - Jack is fingering that pencil something fierce. Did he watch The Dark Knight? I want him to make the pencil disappear. Do it! Do it!
0:05 - Oh, now Jack wants a turn at setting the stakes by saying that when he's activated, he's brought in to do whatever he deems necessary to stop a threat.
0:06 - Someone vaguely familiar looking just walked in. Was she in 24: Redemption?
0:06 - Right, like Jack is going to be back in the Senate when the reconvene the next day at the same time. Right.
0:07 - She is not Special Agent Walker. Special Agent Walker is on Chuck.
0:07 - Janeane Garafolo is delivering semi-snarky exposition. Is Chloe back? I miss Chloe.
0:08 - Oh, and there is high-flying co-worker tension at the FBI, too. Love. It. Also, hi clean-shaven Billy Walsh!
0:08 - Hey, the FBI is using CNN's magic screen! Can a hologram of will.i.am be far behind?
0:09 - Terrorists! Aaah! Also, it's only been 7 minutes, but they have Egan Foote wherever they wanted him and he's already doing whatever they wanted him to do. So... yeah. I buy that not?
0:10 - And he finished whatever they needed him to do already. With post-car-accident bleeding going on.
0:10 - Something will eventually happen with the terrorists, Egan Foote, and that airplane. But for now...
0:11 - Something will eventually happen between Not Chuck's Special Agent Walker and that Larry person. But for now...
0:12 - CIP Firewall explanation... check.
0:13 - Can I just say that in the six minutes it took for Jack to get from the Senate / DoJ committee / whatever to the FBI Washington Field Office, his hair became a mess.
0:13 - Touché, explanation for Tony being alive. Touché. Sort of.
0:15 - Nothing happened to the plane (yet)? What a twist!
0:16 - Dammit Tony, stop threatening Egan Foote. He was in two car crashes 15 minutes ago, you know. Not to mention that whole 52-hour bank hostage crisis.

COMMERCIALS!

Hm, a thought occurs. It's 12:42am and I have work in the morning, as well as about 65 minutes of this premiere to watch. Sadly, I must sign off for the night, but any further large scope thoughts will assuredly be blogged about on the morrow.

The Shonda Night

Overnights are in for Grey's Anatomy / Private Practice's premiere as lead-in/lead-out.

PP kept 2/3 of GA's ratings. Just like the first repeat did back in December. Which, if it holds true across all demos (like the repeat did), will result in "pretty decent" ratings for the ABC relocation.

Marc Berman's PI Newsletter reminds that this isn't up against original CBS programs... but it WAS on against the BCS Championship Game. Which is much stronger competition than a new CSI and a new Eleventh Hour, even if the football audience is heavily male skewing (CSI/11H are much more male skewing than the ABC shows, too).

EDIT

So, fast nationals are in and while the 2/3 thing holds approximately true... it's still not positive news because, like Desperate Housewives on Sunday, the December/holiday hiatus hurt GA and it came back below 14 million and at a 5.1 in the demo. Leaving PP at 9 million and a 3.3.

ABC needs new hit shows... stat!

Oh, and 30 Rock (which was new last night along with the rest of the NBC lineup except for The Office) was the highest rated new sitcom on NBC's schedule but the ratings were bad. Why would the Peacock air most of its gender-even/male-skewing comedies (a) against the CBS Championship, and (b) without the flagship show? It makes no sense. Just leave them all in repeats!

Lordy, the only intelligent people at the Big Three seem to be at CBS these days... CBS aired all repeats!

Dear Suarez Family

Oh my god, you people are ridiculous. I'm 40 minutes into the episode (and have to leave for a friend's birthday party), but Betty just walked out of Hilda's party celebrating the reopening of her salon... because she has a small glimmer of a chance to fix a gigantic error made at work that cost Mode magazine 30 pages of ads (that's the business version of it). Um... you can't / won't fire her from her family. They could fire her from work. PRIORITIES, PEOPLE. God, and the guilt trip they laid on Betty. I'm so annoyed at them. Even after two years of Betty at Mode they don't understand. Ugh. UGH!

Anyway, to the dinner party!

Damages Season Two Premiere

While I will say that the show is pretty disjointed (which makes sense give the show's format of slowly piecing together past and present until they converge)... damn that was exciting, entertaining television. Here's hoping the pace and thrill can be kept up throughout the season this go around. The new cast members are obviously amazing (um, and Paige Turco as William Hurt's wife! aww) Timothy Olyphant is probably my favorite so far. He's understated yet creepy. Although I guess that's par for the Timothy Olyphant course? Of course we haven't met Marcia Gay Harden yet.

Also: I now know that the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid only gets 20 MPG city. It's a hybrid, people.

That Wasn't Funny

There was something very, very off about last night's two Scrubs episodes. Like the almost complete lack of comedy (the show isn't incredibly often laugh out loud funny, but it's often amusing and Dr. Cox's rants and the cutaways fill the void). And the lighting! There was a lot of darkness. Anyway. Hm. Dammit, this better be the final season because that's the only reason to keep watching / crawling and gasping to the finish line.

Okay, the new "tag" thing the show is doing over the credits is kinda funny. Especially the first one which was the show being totally, 100% obviously-and-embracing-it meta about the fact that the show has been on for 8 years and its ratings suck.

Peace the Spork Out, 90210

So, I told myself I was going to give this show one final viewing before making my final decision (cut or not cut). I mean, there are occasional moments of fun. Not everything has to be dark, broody, delicious Gossip Girl. But, um, wow. The classroom scene about "seeing without using your eyes... it's called intuition" was possibly the WORST THING EVER. This was such an underwhelming episode. So very poor. Not even having friends who work on it will keep this on my DVR list.

Sigh, next week American Idol comes back. Guess I'll be recording two reality shows on Tuesdays from 8-10pm and catching up on Scrubs via the internet.

Also The Mentalist. Saw a preview for tonight's episode and it was about the Red John case, which is what interested me about the pilot. Then the second episode was pure procedural and I was like "Oh my god, I'm so bored" (haha, that was totally the best line on last night's GG... respect the Girls on the Steps, dammit!) Anyway... I'll find that online tomorrow since I saw the preview at a friend's house and didn't get home until after it already aired.

However...

... while I won't do a Top 50 episodes of 2008, here are the two that stood out to me. Don't ask me to pick. Please?

Lost - "The Constant". If only Heroes had taken notes note on how to properly infuse time travel into a narrative. This episode was just pitch perfect. And that phone call. Just thinking about it makes me come close to tears.

The Wire - "Late Editions". If The Wire had submitted "Late Editions" instead of "-30-" (the series finale) to the ATAS blue ribbon panel, I'm convinced it would have been a nominee for Best Drama Series. "Late Editions" had it all... and didn't have the extra 30-some-odd minute running time and wrap-ups for characters that people unfamiliar with the show wouldn't fully comprehend as genius. Sigh.

Location Location Location

Hah, the "gay club" Susan and Lee went to in tonight's new Desperate Housewives (new? who knew!?) was Boulevard3. That space is so recognizable. Many a drunken night spent there... with straight friends. Well, that's the magic of television.

But, clearly, what Susan thinks happened didn't, and Lee knows what did. Right? I mean... you don't sleep with the hag...

No Top 50 of 2008... but here's some favorite things

Not doing that this year as inevitably every one of the top 40-some-odd slots would be filled by The Wire, Mad Men and Lost, with a couple 30 Rock, The Shield and Battlestar Galactica episodes thrown in. Also there was that whole writers strike and there's so much less TV to choose from. Also I cut down semi-significantly on my TV consumption this fall.

Instead here are a few of my favorite things from TV 2008 (outside of the above shows... which, um, d'uh), in no particular order. Please beware of spoilers. Ride the walrus.

- Tina Fey. Oh, come on, you knew she'd be on this list and for reasons no one in their right mind can deny. There, I said it. Lemon, out!

- Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf. Where would I, and Gossip Girl, be without them? Also the Yale episode (hahah, shot at Columbia... just like the University of Pennsylvania substituting for Princeton University in this summer's Transformers sequel)

- Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper, Ph.D. on The Big Bang Theory.

- Amy Ryan as Holly Flax on The Office. And then she left and the show sucked again.

- Grey's Anatomy. Shut up, I know! Here's the thing. For a lot of 2008... Grey's was actually kind of good? Not, like, back to its apparently-a-fluke second season good. But much better after the writers strike. Meredith seeing Amy Madigan as a psychiatrist worked. The way season four ended totally worked. And the start of season five worked, too. And then Erica Hahn had a minute long diatribe and glasses and foliage and lesbianism and Izzie started seeing ghosts and then Melissa George showed up and the interns started playing basement surgeons on themselves and then Izzie STARTED HAVING SEX WITH GHOSTS. Shut up, I know... basically all this shows is that Shonda can put together a string of pretty good episodes when not burdened with having to do more than, y'know, about 5 episodes. She'd do great in the UK. Anyway, the revival and quick fall from grace (again) of Grey's is totally one of my favorite things about TV 2008.

- Jimmy Smits dies on Dexter. I dunno, I just don't like him in, well, much of anything. And I thought his character, among other things, brought season three down several notches from the first two seasons (also hurting: obvious plotting and a snail's pace). But I was relieved when the last few episodes built to his death in the penultimate episode of the season, because it showed that Dexter still had it.

- South Park. The fall half-season wasn't so great (although who can forget the Indiana Jones Gets Raped sections of the premiere?), but the spring half was typical South Park genius. Cartman gives Kyle AIDS, Britney is ritualistically killed off in a harvast ritual (watch out, Miley!), cat pee drugs, The Writers Guild of America Canada goes on strike for more internet revenue, Mrs. Garrison (a MTF transexual who is a lesbian, who used to be a gay man, who used to think he was a straight man) gets her penis back (so, is Mr. Garrison straight now?) as Cartman teaches inner city kids to cheat like Beel Belichick in a Stand and Deliver parody, the internet fails... the only down note of the whole half-season was the finale.

- Frumpy Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives. Okay, Eva Longoria Parker doesn't ever look bad but, um, that character now has a few more layers and that's what I've been asking for since early season one.

- Kevin and Scotty get civil unioned on Brothers & Sisters, a week later the CA Supreme Court rules that same sex marriage is legal in the state, then the dolts at ABC air the episode that talks about Prop 8 a week after the election. While on the topic of B&S... Kima Greggs as the birth mother to Kitty and Robert's not-yet-born baby!

- Ugly Betty kinda sorta gets its groove back? The show has certainly opened up since moving production to NYC. They use those locations (but, um, Gossip Girl did it first!) And I think that, somehow, Betty's wardrobe has gottem even more clashy/poofy/over-the-top/unfashionable since the NYC move. I loved the episode "When Betty met YETI" because, now in her third season, Betty really needed a kick in the pants to start moving away from Daniel's desk, and the resulting conflict showed some truly ugly behavior from Marc (who remains my favorite character), but then some real heart from both he and Betty and yay. Also Justin's straight/str8 friend at school rejects his offer to go see In The Heights together because his friends are hecklers and homophobes. Also Amanda as Betty's roommate has been fun. The only things not working for me at the moment are the slight declawing of Wilhelmina and WHEN THE EFF IS CHRISTINA GOING TO BIRTH THAT BABY!?

- Anne Dudek as Cutthroat Bitch on House is dating Wilson and then she dies. Season five just hasn't been as good.

- Chuck. Man is there any other show currently on the air hitting it out of the park pretty much every episode the way Chuck has this season? Although they're going to run out of women who turn out to be secret agents for Sarah to get into girl fights with at some point... but hopefully not soon! "I hate you, Bryce."

- How I Met Your Mother's ratings rise. Who knows if it's linked to having a strong/funny/compatible lead-in with The Big Bang Theory, but in its fourth season, finally HIMYM isn't a bubble show. The final 2008 episode "Little Minnesota" was a lot of fun (Barney's smutty holiday song parodies... the Canada bar with karaoke at the end). Oh, and "Sandcastles in the Sand"! Barney/Robin! If only the show could get rid of Ted...

- David C beats David A in the American Idol season seven finale. Who knew there were more hungry cougars than horny teenage girls?

- Isis on America's Next Top Model.

- Christian Siriano winning Project Runway 4 and forever destroying the show in the process (seriously, even the top group of season five's designers sucked in comparison to, like, all of the season four designers... and they were all trying to catch phrase it up... annoyalicious!)

- Stephanie from Top Chef: Chicago and Jamie from Top Chef: New York.

- Ed pleading with America to let Heba be in The Biggest Loser Families finale instead of him and then America so obviously telling him it hates his wife by choosing him over her 84/16.

- The Mentalist showing freshman series can be hits (and simultaneously that, perhaps, once again, broadcast TV isn't dead)... even if I didn't like the second episode so stopped watching...

- True Blood showing that, while it's possible to make television shows about vampires, you're inevitably going to get Buffy comparisons and you just won't win that battle. Also the series started out laughable, got better, then became, um, just odd? Also for showing that you should never reveal to the audience who the killer is in a serial killer mystery before the main character(s) know unless there's going to be some sort of super awesome twist. Which there, y'know, wasn't. But, hey, at least HBO is making buzz-worthy TV again (cough, Entourage sucks, cough). Also... Ryan Kwanten.

HD

Wow. So DVR recorded part one of the Damages season one recap in HD (because now that I know I have FX in HD, I'm of course recording the series in HD instead of SD).

Let's just say that one of my biggest complaints about the first season was that the video quality made the show practically unwatchable. I knew that it was an HD/SD issue (as well as potentially bad calibration on my TV set... but none of the shows I recorded at the time in HD had color or contrast issues). The problem persisted on other cable shows, so... yeah.

Anyway, the recap looked AWESOME. Yay high definition video quality! Can't wait for the Damages premiere. And BSG (another show I had video quality problems on so would often just wait and watch online... and now I have Sci-Fi in HD, too!)

Here's hoping, should I still have Time Warner Cable, when Mad Men season three comes out, I have AMC in HD...

It's January 2009?

I'm back from being away on vacation. Oh, my, it was necessary. Don't go back to work until Monday, so it's not entirely over, but the "away" part is.

Anyway, Happy New Year, everyone!

Have you all programmed your DVRs to record the plethora of new/returning programming that January brings us?

I must say, I was going to post today about being angry at Time Warner Cable for dropping Viacom's MTV Networks, meaning I'd lose my beloved Comedy Central programs (South Park - available online, The Daily Show / Colbert Report - available online, and Futurama repeats - available on DVDs I already own) but an 11th hour agreement was reached and I no longer give a flying nun.

But, looking into this revealed that TWC has started supplying several new HD cable channels without informing me. Which means that come January 16th, I'll be watching the final season of Battlestar Galactica in HD. Woo!

I've also programmed Psych to record, as I watched the holiday special over Thanksgiving and was charmed at least by the character-based interplay between the two leads, if not astounded by the crime case (it's supposed to be funny, and it succeeds at that).

We've also got Damages returning this Wednesday and to a lesser extent Nip/Tuck (which is now very much a "save for weekend" show... but still one I can't stop watching for some reason).

Oh, and, um, can anyone say LOST!?

2009 is looking good, my friends.

Rachel Maddow

She really is the smartest newsperson currently on TV, isn't she?

The Biggest Loser Finale

ROFL, "America" voting in a 84/16 landslide AGAINST what Ed and Heba wanted and what Ed directly asked viewers to do. I mean... love it! For the irony, of course. Since if it had been the other way around, Heba would've won the competition and $150K more than she got.

Villains, and other Monday Television

I'm still not watching the next chapter (given the oh-so-been-there-done-that of the glimpse at the "Fugitives" volume... really, another X-Men plot rip... although knowing me I'm sure I'm going to watch the first episode just as I'm watching the 24 premiere against all logic) but is it possible that from the series' worst season, the best volume finale was made? I mean, they did kill off a LOT of characters, which at the very least helps the series concentrate-ish on the few characters the few viewers may still have an affinity for.

Perhaps it's all relative.

I wasn't vastly entertained during the first half of the episode, but I think it built to several decent, if separate, climaxes.

Ironic that Ando gained a power and it's AMPLIFYING OTHER PEOPLE'S POWERS. Meaning he's still got nothing on his own. Also Hiro is now powerless? My guess is that's undone during the next premiere, although NOT having a time traveler (er, except Peter? or does he need to reacquire all the powers he previously absorbed so now only has the power to fly like Nathan?) will help avoid the time travel plot device the show always falls into (and they have brought back the African version of Isaac Mendez meaning the show will continue to rely on paintings that show the future).

Sigh.

Anyway.

How I Met Your Mother - hilarious Christmas episode (Barney's sexually charged parody carols!) capped off by one of the best/most unexpected tags the show has ever had (Marshall in a Canadian bar with Robin karaoke-ing Robin Sparkles' "Let's Go to the Mall")! Ted is a dick and I'm glad Barney and Ted's sister showed him, using Lily's new inability to keep a secret.

Big Bang Theory - the show's first Christmas episode, and of course Sheldon has his own special holiday. So glad I was (easily) convinced to not remove this from my DVR series recording list. Also Michael Trucco! That reminds me, BSG in one month! Have you been watching the webisodes?

Gilded Globes

The Golden Globes are a joke. These nominations, on the whole, are terribly uninspired.

Hollywood better hope that the Academy has better sense than the HFPA. If neither The Dark Knight nor WALL•E are nominated for Best Picture, it's going to be yet another low-rated telecast. And both those movies thoroughly deserve BP nods.

House shipping...

OMG did Foreteen just happen?

Leno in Primetime?

Not sure how I feel about the news that, starting next fall, Jay Leno will bring some form of his show on the road to the 10-11pm hour from Monday through Friday for NBC. From a ratings perspective, the show is bound to do better than, say, My Own Worst Enemy. But Jay can't come cheap, and while his show may have a pretty stable viewing base after so many years in late night (so we probably won't see the typical second episode slide from a premiere we see with basically every new show)... his show has been on for many, many years. Are new viewers going to flock to it just because it's earlier? Will younger viewers watch it? I don't know. This seems like a desperate attempt to plug up the sinking ship that is NBC... and it may be a lifeboat, but I just don't see it as the savior NBC needs.

Plus we all saw how disastrously stripping 5 hours of primetime with the same show worked for MyNetwork TV in 2006-07. Granted, Jay Leno's show isn't exactly a telenovela...

... the loss of 5 hours of primetime real estate for scripted television depresses me wholeheartedly.

Oh Thank God

1) Scare of the weekend tonight when I came home from a friend's place where we watched the penultimate Dexter of the season... and my DVR would not play anything back. I was able to watch much of Brothers & Sisters live, but because it was still recording I didn't want to unplug my cable box to reboot. Anyway, 11pm rolled around and I did. And the DVR was working again! And...

2) Thank God that Nick and Starr won The Amazing Race. Nick and Starr were perhaps the only fully competent team on this cycle. If the show ever does another All-Star edition, I'd love to see them competing against other capable teams. Did anyone else, um, totally notice the absence of Toni and Dallas at the finish line? Can we get a spin-off about the State Department getting them home from Russia after Dallas lost the passports? And then an MTV reality show about Starr and Dallas dating? And some more interesting and smarter contestants next cycle? Ken and Tina's putting their wedding bands back on was touching.

3) The Simpsons actually had some real laugh out loud moments tonight. I had to pause and cackle for about 30 seconds after Mr. Burns shot the guy in the gorilla mascot costume. And, of course, Homer's WALL-E moment.

4) Yay for Desperate Housewives letting us know the reason Dave is after Mike... and it's a reason that some people (at least in online chatter) predicted, but not many. Which, IMHO, is a sign that the writer is doing a mystery correctly (if some can guess, then it can't be entirely out of left field, but if most haven't guessed, then it's still a good reveal).

Character Promos

Now that The CW has given two Gossip Girl characters their own promo spotlights (er, aside from the way the netlet originally promoted the show...) what character/song combos do you suggest for the other four main teens (no, I don't count Vanessa)? Remember, they apparently need to be tarty modern upbeat pop songs... so as much as we want Dan to have a promo to Radiohead's "Creep" it's just not gonna happen.

Chuck / "Womanizer" (Britney Spears)


Blair / "Keeps Getting Better" (Christina Aguilera... OH NO THEY DIDN'T!)


How about character/song combos for other shows?

R U SRS

Dallas and Toni. DALLAS AND TONI.

You give me such pain.

Okay, first of all, sending Dallas to do a mental task? Very smart (can you detect sarcasm?) As Toni acknowledged in confessional. Dallas soooo is lucky Tina helped him.

And then LEAVING THE BAG WITH MONEY AND PASSPORTS IN A CAB!? R U SRS!? As I'm watching and the camera lingers I'm thinking "surely, the producers are contacting the cab company and will have the bag and money and passports waiting at the Pit Stop. Remains to be seen, but... um... yeah...?

If I were Toni I would (a) be kicking myself really hard for sending my dumb son to do that Roadblock, and (b) be kicking the ass of my dumb son.

Also Phil's explanation of the detour took about 5 minutes. Damn this is a complicated leg... and there's so much stupidity-induced drama!

Also... WTF DAN'S DANCING. OMFG. AND HOW THE EFF DID THAT LADY GIVE THEM THE CLUE BASED ON HIS SO NOT GETTING IT!?

OMG DAN AND ANDREW ARE IN THE FINALS. SANJAYA. SANJAYA!

You know there's gonna be some plane-related and task-related bottlenecking, but seriously if Dan and Andrew somehow beat Nick/Starr or Ken/Tina... I don't know what I'm going to do.

Psych

Sat down with the family to watch holiday specials of both Monk and Psych tonight. I'd seen a few episodes of Monk in the past and had decided the schtick was just not for me. And tonight's episode was no different. Psych, OTOH, I had dismissed after the pilot and hadn't watched again despite several friends telling me they thoroughly enjoyed the show. And I must admit I enjoyed tonight's episode. I believe that Psych has a new convert in me.

Not like I'm recording two other things on Fridays at 10pm that it would be a conflict (and BSG doesn't start again until the week after Psych returns).

See, I can admit when I'm wrong.

Hehehe

ROFL

So Long, Vic

Just watched The Shield finale, since I took the red eye last night back to the east coast.

All I can say is... yes.

Absense. Heart. Fonder?

Starting 24: Redemption now.

I loathed the sixth season of 24. Had the Writers' Strike not happened last year, the foul taste left in my mouth would still be so pungent that I would not have considered watching it (until people told me if/that the show had markedly improved... I've already heard from Fox friends that Cherry Jones will win the Emmy for her role). Of course, those people (well, not them specifically) also greenlit Do Not Disturb) so... grains, salt, etc.

So here we are, about 18 months after "Day 6" counted down its final minutes (in such a boring, boring way as I recall).

And this two-hour movie is going to air.

And I'm... well, I'm watching it. Hopefully, as a two-hour standalone piece involving Jack "There's No Time / It's For National Security" Bauer is, well, two-hours of standalone story it won't be bogged down by the tiresome antics the writers of 24 constantly employ (a mole! in CTU? again?) and thus, perhaps, it has a chance of being a fun action-thriller MOW (movie of the week for those not versed in TV Industry English).

I wonder what Dave Barry has to say about this... he was the only thing that got me through "Day 6". Well, I'll find out after I've watched.

If this doesn't completely suck (read: it's markedly better than the "Day 6" average), I will be watching the 2-day, 4-hour premiere and making my decision then on "Day 7".

Dammit, I thought we had a legit time jump (a would-be first in 24 history), but apparently the first few minutes were prequel to the rest of the "events occur in real time" (which they are back to saying out loud, I see...) two hours.

Onward, etc. It's 11:33pm, I'm going to shut up unless I absolutely have to comment on something. After all... tomorrow is Monday.

The Amazing Race Where Contestents Couldn't Read Good

OMFG WTF DAN AND ANDREW.

How are you IN FOURTH PLACE in this cycle of TAR when YOU CAN'T READ THE CLUES. CONTINUOUSLY. LIKE, EVERY LEG OF THE RACE.

Only 27 minutes into this episode, so they could still somehow pull victory out of the jaws of defeat... but could they please NOT?

HOW THE EFF IS DAN "SPORTS AND TV BASED" WHEN HE CAN'T MARCH? AREN'T SPORTS PEOPLE SUPPOSED TO BE MODERATELY PHYSICALLY COORDINATED? AND AREN'T TV VIEWERS USED TO WATCHING THINGS!? OMG LOOK AT THE OTHER PEOPLE YOU STUPID, STUPID PERSON.

I know this is probably a non-elimination round... but can it please be an elimination round?

And can someone PLEASE make that Dan and Andrew blooper reel and post to YouTube?

K thx bai.

Srsly though, the only characters this cycle who have been remotely interesting are the semi-villains Ken and Tina (really just Tina) and kinda Ugly Americans Terrance and Sarah (really just Terrance).

Though we do enjoy the presence of Nick, Starr, Dallas, and Toni (well, not so much Toni).

ETA: Dallas, seriously, do them one at a time. I R Dumb Jock.

ETA: Dammit, it was non-elimination.

Um 2

Grey's Anatomy. WTF. You are killing me with your CRAZY.

How do you go from hilarity like "Who's making a porno in Izzie's room" to THE INTERNS TAKING OUT THEIR OWN APPENDICES.

Plus side: Melissa George has great abs.

Also... Izzie having sex with Ghost!Denny... WTF.

W.

T.

F.

Was at Twilight earlier. Just watching now (about 1/3 of the way through). 30 Rock was amusing, The Office was... odd. Felt like we skipped an episode coming off last week with Pam coming back. Weird.

America's Next Top Mehdel

ANTM is not going to win fans back by continuing to kick fan favorite models out in 3rd place and leaving choices between "meh" and "bad" for the crowd. I mean... SAM!? Over Analeigh? Seriously? With those CoverGirl photos? SERIOUSLY!?

Good to see last season's ought-to-be-the-winner is getting booked like crizazy in the "Top Models in Action" segment. Love the brunette look on Anya sooooo much more than the Joely Richardson blonde.

Tyra pulled me back into ANTM this season with the tranny. But I'm just as disappointed with this finale, and with this season's contestants as a whole, as I've been the last few cycles. Cycle 8 had some spark, Cycle 7 was probably the best group of contestants the show ever had (at least from an entertainment standpoint... and from a modeling standpoint! CariDee? Melrose? The twins?) Since then it's just been crap, crap, and more bland crap.

Glad that Tyra, from her talk show, is giving Isis the sex change operation. You go, girls!

I think I may be done with ANTM.

So it's a tumor, right?

WTF is wrong with Izzie Stephens?

KTLA

WTF. Tomorrow will be the 3rd week in a row that Top Model is preempted in LA for a Clippers game. THE FREAKING CLIPPERS. FOR A THIRD WEEK IN A ROW.

This would never happen on a real network.

At least it hasn't happened on Gossip Girl night.

Yet.

Dear God, It's me. Barney Stinson. What up?

I only realized what was happening on HIMYM 20 minutes into the episode when Ted and Robin walked into the bar and were fighting so Robin is going to stay somewhere else for the night.

BARNEY AND ROBIN ARE ON (maybe).

Why did I wait to watch this until 9am.

Oh, right, I fell asleep in the middle of Heroes (yeah... I decided I was going to keep watching until the end of this arc... OMG that was the most retcon episode of television I HAVE EVERY SEEN).

Dammit, Ted and Robin made up and Barney and Robin aren't on. This makes me sad.

Marshall better get ready to have a kid fast... Alyson Hannigan is preggers.

FYI

I'm quite behind in television viewing. Have been insanely busy with the Prop 8 protesting effort since Wednesday. Have no voice... not that it should affect typing or TV viewing. Anyway... peace and love to all. Am sitting down to watch Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters (which I hear has a Prop 8 plotline that, because of faulty scheduling information given to the producers or something... is, um, too late).

Back to the Island

Lost returns Wednesday, January 21st with a three-hour event (two-hour premiere following a one-hour clips show).

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now let's play scheduling shuffle.

Private Practice to Thursdays at 10pm following Grey's Anatomy (which will help the reported February sweeps crossover arc... although February sweeps is actually in March in 2009 because of the DTV transition... FYI)

Life on Mars to Wednesdays at 10pm, it should do as decently as it's doing now when airing against a currently weak NBC, CSI: NY, and having a more male-skewing audience in its lead-in.

Dirty Sexy Money is canceled (I've heard rumors that ABC told Berlanti to choose between DSM and Eli Stone and Berlanti chose ES).

Pushing Daisies is canceled, as I previously reported but it hasn't officially leaked out yet. But who knows what will be sacrificed to the (rusting?) Idol machine.

Pushing Daisies Going Six Feet Under

Hearing Pushing Daisies has been canceled. Not sure if they'll air the rest of the series. It's off the air next week for the CMA Awards.

Rumor Mill

Hearing that two ABC midseason dramas, Castle and The Unusuals, had their orders cut from Pilot + 12 to Pilot + 9. Purely for economic reasons, is what I'm hearing.

Legend of the Seeker

Well... let's just get this out of the way.

Xena it ain't.

I've read the first book in the "Sword of Truth" series on which Legend of the Seeker is based. I liked it a lot. I was told by friends who'd read the rest of the series or at least other books in the series that subsequent installments suffered from diminishing returns and from eventually excessive preachiness on the part of author Terry Goodkind.

Anyway.

We've got HD New Zealand scenery. That does count for something. And we've got two women on horseback with heaving bosoms (the women... not the horses...) with a bunch of armored men in hot, archery heavy, occasionally slow motion pursuit. Oh, no, blonde breasty woman in black garb got shot. I don't remember this from the book. But I read it over three years ago... so it may have happened? Um, actually, I'm pretty sure it didn't. But yay death in shallow, muddy streams. And Kahlan runs into a shiny barrier. Ah, yes, this definitely did not happen in the books kind of sort of at least not at the beginning. I'm remembering the books better now. Three separate kingdom-ish things with barriers keeping them apart since times of yore based on some moral issue surrounding the use of magic. I think? Anyway, the books started with Richard, our naive woodman soon-to-be hero, as opposed to Kahlan the Confessor, she of the cool temper and impeccably white dress. Kahlan was already through the barrier. There may have been a flashback-y explanation of her coming through at some point... again, my memory ≠ perfect. But I totally understand using this sequence to start off. There's urgency, death, and, well... women with heaving bosoms. Are you liking what you're seeing, young male viewing audience?

Sidenote... IIRC the last 150-ish pages involve Richard becoming some dominatrix's torture victim. How's this going to work on TV???

Okay, I'm just gonna let the mindnumbing action-hour (or two!) take me back into the cold, dead, raped corpse of the book I read years ago. Peace out, ya'll!

But don't get me wrong. I'm very happy to have a fantasy hour on TV.

I just wish George R. R. Martin would get A Song of Ice and Fire done faster so HBO could do the seven books. Read "A Game of Thrones" if you haven't. It'll knock your socks off.

Finally

Up to the title card on Grey's Anatomy. Finally. This is shaping up to be a great episode. I mean... great. There's in-hospital drama in the form of Shephard and Sloan versus Hunt. Romcom beats with Cristina's attempts at avoiding him (ducking around corners... using Lexie as a human shield so he doesn't see her...). Relationship drama between George/Lexie and Izzy/Alex. Professional ambition (Chief Webber is finally prepping Bailey to be the new Chief when he retires). Moral objections to what Hunt is doing with the pigs is sure to ensue.

And then there's the curious case of Callie/Hahn... I really don't know what to make of that whole "glasses" speech and the "I'm gay, I'm so gay!" declaration. Um, yeah, Callie went running.

And if downgrading the hospital to a Level Two Trauma Center was just a 5-episode machination to bring Kevin McKidd's character on fulltime... I'm actually on board.

So, there you have it.

Bravo, Grey's Anatomy.

TV Movie to Feature Movie... how's HSM3 doing?

So a bit over a year ago, HSM2 shocked-ish the ratings world with a then-record-smashing 17.2 million viewers and something like an 80 share in female kids/tweens. And with all of the "viewing parties" there was really no tracking exactly how big it was. The date of the movie premiere was also considered "genius" as it was a Friday night after many kids are back from summer camps and before they go to school.

Then Disney decided the third installment wouldn't be seen for free on TV, but people would have to pay (what Box Office Mojo claims in 2008 is) an average of $7.08 per ticket to see it. Oh, and it came out towards the end of October when kids are still in school.

So the question is... how many would show up?

Estimates for Friday are in. $16.9 million That's 2.387 million people based on average ticket prices. That's certainly a decent sized audience immediately going out to buy for something they used to get for free. Oh, and of course we have no idea what Saturday and Sunday (with their matinees) will bring. In fact, I have a feeling that the kiddie matinees are going to be huge.

The only thing that's going to stop HSM3 from reaching Iron Man and Indiana Jones 4 is that it doesn't cross over very well to adult audiences. However, I suspect it's going to get pretty close. After all, the teenage girl repeat audience is largely responsible for Titanic's $600M domestic take (that film, however, had massive crossover appeal, huge drama, and a cartload of Oscars). Repeats of the original HSM and HSM2 continue to put much on The CW to shame for sheer audience size (certainly for repeat audience size)... so there's definitely going to be some longevity in HSM3. The question is how much. And we talking about a film that plays in the Top 5 through the winter holidays? Or will November 21st's Twilight take a, er, chunk of the teen audience away?

BTW, Saw V for about $14 million, and certainly won't catch HSM3 because horror movies typically have their best day on Friday (date night). So it'll go down a bit tomorrow, and severely on Sunday.

30 Roxor

So, next week's season premiere of 30 Rock is now streaming on NBC.com. Go watch! It's not the height of the show's hilarity (we've all heard the 11/6 episode with Oprah - wait, you heard she's guesting on the show, right? no? really? - is an absolute riot). But it is funny. Uneven, but funny. And so much fun.

The great thing about this show, and let's face it, all sitcoms, is repeatability. I don't watch episodes of Grey's Anatomy more than once. Ever. But I'm still watching repeats of South Park, The Simpsons, Futurama, and Family Guy. I've sat through a Big Bang Theory repeat and guffawed along and the better episodes of How I Met Your Mother often get multiple plays.

Anyway, my point is that I've watched episodes of 30 Rock multiple times... and despite having seen the premiere already, will be more than willing to laugh along with the jokes again (and catch new ones) when it premieres next week.

And good call by Broadway Video and Tina Fey managing to get her onto this week's SNL: Weekend Update Thursday.

Be the dubs... Grey's was fun tonight! Straight-forward, moderately interesting surgical case reflecting on the doctors' lives. Remember the days when this was the norm, and you cared more for the characters?

Finally... quote of the evening!

Michael Scott: "It squeaks when you bang it. That's what she said!" (regarding a toy gavel)

Previously On Heroes

Previously on Heroes: stupid people did stupid things for no reasons other than their own stupidity.

Also, the show now considers Sylar a "hero". And the previously on keeps referring to bad guys as "the Villains" like they were a gang or League of Evil or some such thing.

And now, Heroes continues.

Zzzzz.

I swear to god, if this weren't the episode that supposedly Papa Petrelli showed up and did shiz, I wouldn't even bother sarcastiblogging about it.

Eh, I actually don't care enough to keep typing.

Damn That Mother Chucker

Viewing Schedule

I'm considering cutting several shows from my current schedule. None that I truly love, but ones that I've fallen out of love with and still watch because I haven't been able to let go yet.

- American Dad (far too miss on the hit-or-miss spectrum)
- Entourage (just not fun any more... Hollywood is so over it)
- Terminator (clearly headed to cancellation)
- Big Bang Theory (I don't love it... but I do find it incredibly funny and that's a rarity on TV these days... so this is really a question of "is the 30 minutes of time worth the price of several guffaws?")
- Samantha Who (simultaneously not funny enough and not endearing enough, despite the charms of Applegate and Smart)
- 90210 (because... really)
- Fringe (hyped disappointment that I feel I ought to be addicted to but am definitely not)
- Janice Dickenson Modeling Agency (it's like soft core gay porn... which is a good thing... but is that worth the hour?)
- Pushing Daisies (clearly headed to cancellation... and it's whimsical and candy-colored and has delicious dialogue wordplay but dramatically it's such a non-started and doesn't interest me any longer)
- Private Practice (I watch because of a deep love for Addison... who changed when she moved from Seattle to LA - don't we all - and this is probably not making it to a third season though it'll be around all year whether on Wednesdays at 9pm or Thursdays at 10pm)
- Dirty Sexy Money (clearly headed to cancellation)
- Life on Mars (wasn't wowed by the pilot, though it was infinitely better than the original US pilot... so I'm probably gonna give it another episode or two... but should I bother?)

Weigh in and come to any show's defense (or offense against it) if you care to.

Et tu, 90210 2.0?

Jessica Walter has been removed from the regular cast for the back half of the season, and will only recur. I know they haven't exactly figured out how to incorporate her (read: haven't really tried) but she remains the best thing going for this show. This is depressing news.

JGarn

I don't usually watch The Rachel Zoe Project (after all, it's only a 6 week run... and, um, so much else to watch!)

Anyway, I heard Jennifer Garner was gonna be on this week. And, um... can she provide running commentary about the ins and outs of Hollywood for every reality show? Hi-lar-ious.

I miss JGarn. Can she stop reproducing and get back onto my silver or small screen on a more regular basis?

My Name Is Travis, and I Have an Addiction

And its name is Gossip Girl. Seriously. How did this show sneak up and become so wildly addictive? I must've been suffering withdrawals last week when it wasn't on. While I'm not sure how I feel about the kinda-sorta "all our main characters are going to get into Yale!" of it all.

But... anything to have an A-plot about Blair versus Serena this good is worth it. I mean... damn. DAMN. Also... during the Dean's reception the orchestra was playing an instrumental version of Muse's "Time Is Running Out". Love it! Also love that Blair continues to dream in Audrey Hepburn movies. And Chuck versus Nate! And sorta Nate versus Dan! And Chuck versus Nate! And Chuck VERSUS SKULL AND BONES!

But... OMFG BLAIR VERSUS SERENA! NO HOLDS BARRED! SHE RIPPED THE BOW OUT OF BLAIR'S HAIR!

Only Jenny and her plodding fashion job travails fell semi-short. I mean, that was transparent.

Viewers please note... these shenanigans are not necessary to get into an Ivy League school. Just some combination of good grades, good boards, good essays, good recommendations, and a good interview. We did it! And not everyone at Ivy League schools is a trust fund kid (though there definitely are plenty...)

Also, Heroes is on season pass cancellation watch. Episodes remaining: 1.

Meanwhile... brava to Christina Applegate for going so balls to the wall on Samantha Who? post-double mastectomy. The show's not that funny, but it is amusing and she's just magnetic.

Heil to the Chief

Grey's Anatomy would be a lot better show than it is if they got rid of the bumbling chief. Last night he was just terrible. He has no reason to be on the show, but he takes a moral high ground on every issue and is constantly wrong. He should've retired at the end of season three when the show's plot gave him an opportunity to do so. Asshat. You want to know why Seattle Grace has fallen to #12 in the rankings (and, um... stupidest plot point every, why would I want to watch a show about a hospital that is in the same city as a BETTER hospital and thus won't be getting the best surgeries?) well, look no further than the chief.

It's all wrong.

ANTM: Wrong! Lauren Brie? Really? She of the "Top 5 ANTM Photos Ever"? Gone with SEVEN GIRLS REMAINING? She didn't have much of a big personality... but whatever! I mean, really, of working high fashion models, how many really have "signature" walks and poses? Hm? Sheena isn't going much of anywhere in the fashion world until someone pays for her augmented breasts to get removed. Anyway.

Project Runway: Wrong! Or at least sorta wrong. We don't get a great look at the collections in the first part of the finale, but the glimpses we saw, I really wish Jerrell had made it to the official section of Bryant Park (he obviously still showed his collection). What glimpses we got had that regal, colorful, shiny, assymetrical flair. I just don't see Korto's collection winning in anything resembling the state we saw some of the pieces (which was the furthest from the designers returning to NYC, so who knows). That wedding dress was bad. Anyway, based on the wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses, Leanne and Kenley totally deserved to show their collections, so... sorta wrong. But, y'know, I loved a lot of Korto's designs, so whatevs, all bets off. Unfortunately for all of them, nothing is gonna stand up to Christian Siriano's collection.

South Park: Wrong! Because it's so right. Even though the show has already riffed on Speilberg and Lucas for their changing and remastering of their classic films (6 years ago in "Free Hat"), this episode was right on the money with the B-plot repressed memory most of the characters had of Indiana Jones getting raped by the two directors during Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Seriously. Cartman/Butters A-plot of Cartman having nightmares about the Chinese Olympics opening ceremonies and the Chinese taking over the world. ROFL.

Pushing Daisies: Wrong... because I think it's time to start getting detached from this whimsical, nonsensical, colorful mess. It will probably be 5th place in the timeslot in A18-49, and by November it might be behind ANTM in viewers (okay, that's a stretch... but who knows! After all, this is a world where Heroes is so bad - and it is - that it's tying HIMYM in the demo on Mondays... OMG Heroes is so bad...)

Behind...

Thanks to weekend activities, I'm behind in TV viewing (just watched Dexter... better than the premiere... still have Mad Men to watch eventually) and probably won't get caught up until... this weekend? Still haven't watched last week's Bones. And didn't record Terminator tonight so I could get the CBS comedies and Chuck (thank you, CW, for not having new Gossip Girl this week).

Sigh.

Relaunch

I can't wait to see tomorrow's ratings... will ABC be able to successfully relaunch its semi-successful Wednesday night lineup from last season?

I suspect mixed results, and potentially disastrous ones.

Private Practice will be tops of the ABC hours, but at the most a 4 in the demo (and thus losing in viewers and demo to the horrible Criminal Minds). Pushing Daisies will be lucky to breach a 2.5, as viewers gave up on it last season. Dirty Sexy Money is my question mark. Addition of Lucy Liu to the cast might help (and I love that sultry "so many secrets..." tag on the DSM ads) and I've heard amazing things about its creative direction this season (as well as a death coming up in episode two that will make me sad... but I'm not telling!) Plus, the competition is far less at 10pm than at 8pm (even if I'll be shocked if Knight Rider even does a 2 in the demo).

Speaking of... I can't wait to see how far NBC's lineup tanks. America's Got Talent will be pretty stable, but Knight Rider and Lipstick Jungle? Please.

Also Gary Unmarried. I will be quite surprised if it holds up week-to-week (and not because of increased competition, as ABC had the special DWTS which will undoubtedly do better than the Pushing Daisies premiere). Quite surprised.

I personally welcome the ABC dramas back because with the exception of Bones (which I am not recording tonight, as Hulu is a far better online player than The CW's) all I'd been watching on Wednesdays were reality programs (and next week, the diversion that was Top Design gives way to South Park).

Show reactions... relative to expectations, the opinions are these.

Pushing Daisies brought back its particularly brand of whimsy, no more and no less than I'd recalled. The partially-new, partially-not opening was a good intro to any new viewers, and they wove the various cliffhangers in throughout so it wasn't overload right off the top. The mystery of the week was, also, whimsical and weird and just so convolutedly strange in the way that defines the show's you-love-it-or-you-hate-it affect. Grade: B.

Private Practice was unexpectedly dramatic, following an opening few minutes that reminded us of the relationship status of all our main caricatures. In fact, this episode brought in things like issues! And drama! That kind of superseded the nonsense that is Oceanside Wellness' incestuous dodecahedron! It was some much appreciated gravitas (shudder). Though the baby storyline, I think, was far more effective than the HIV-positive teenager storyline. One of two ain't terrible, though! And a company dealing with financial troubles... hm, I wonder if we're going to be seeing a lot of that soon (and hopefully less of what occurred on How I Met Your Mother's adequately funny but terribly timed episode featuring a plot where a bank took over a local hamburger stand). Grade: A- (remember, this is all relative... I think it was the best PP episode yet, but that's not saying much, y'know?)

Dirty Sexy Money. Eh. Now sure what to think. It didn't really draw me back into the world of the Darlings until the very end. Which I guess is why they opened with the tired-and-true teaser and flashback to 48 hours prior. Grade: C.

New Series Update

Fringe: I was going to drop it, but I rather enjoyed last night's episode (now that I've watched it... thanks, Jewish holidays). I still find Walter Bishop far less entertaining than the show wants me to find him in all his crazy. I'm glad they've toned down the barf-inducing gross-out factor that plagued the post-pilot episode (and also are telling better stories than the sleep-inducing episode from last week).

The Mentalist: Episode two was big ol' pile of meh. Not as fun as House is even when House is doing mind-numbingly formulaic episodes. And I get my cute banter crime procedural quota filled by Bones. I've been convinced to give it one more episode, but that's it (though I may delay that last episode until the season gets a bit further along and the networl allows them to go break from a formula they're only now establishing... so if they ever get back to the Red John story, someone let me know k thx).

90210: I'm still watching... but now that Brenda is gone and Kelly is temporarily gone... I'm not sure why. The sole diversion in the Wilson family is the oft-absent Tabitha, and the only moderately compelling new characters Hot Teacher and Troubled Jock (whose "special" older brother added a somewhat interesting dimension). I could give a rat's ass about Naomi's family woes... they really needed more of her being deliciously bitchy before they tried to make us like her. The whole Adriana thing bores to tears. Though I did enjoy Jessica "Weight Issues" Stroup's character, Silver, talking about "normal looking girls" being brainwashed into looking like models by the fashion industry.

I think those are the only new shows I'm watching this (fall) season... and they're all on Tuesdays! Le. Sigh.

It's Alive!

OMFG, ya'll. Sunday night TV.

Dexter: Went to a friend's house who gets the east coast feed of Showtime so we watched Dexter. Eh. That premiere did not have a ton of oomph. At the end of season two it seemed like there was going to be this massive transformation in how Dexter went about, y'know, his business. But after the 7 minute "previously on" (eye roll...) segment... not a ton changed besides Deb's hair (cute!) Highly underwhelming. And am I the only one who didn't care fore Jimmy Smits? The show is always so spot on with creating these characters and making amazing, unique casting choices... this didn't work for me. Well, I'm still hooked, of course, but... eh.

The Amazing Race: God I've missed this show. It was such a mistake for CBS to only do one cycle last season. This show demands you watch it. It's the only show that keeps you on the edge of your seat and your heart, er, racing the entire time. The usual business of a first episode for the cycle, and I'm sad to see the team that left leave so early (they definitely stood out in the crowd), but it looks like there's a lot of Ugly American activity brewing. Yay! Also... we have a new himbo.

Desperate Housewives: First few minutes? Wow. They didn't come out and say it, per se, but THEY KILLED MIKE. In such a quaint, amusing way! And the device bringing us from the "characters we knew" to the "five years later" versions was used to great, smooth effect. Well done, show. GABRIELLE'S KIDS ARE FAT. Bree... you're Martha Stewart. And you always should have been. And Andrew's... well, in a suit. Can he please have a gay boyfriend this season? Now that he's an adult and all. Katherine: "If there's one thing you're really good at, it's posing as a chef." I wish they would've shown the pie-in-face hilarity (they still may). Parker and Preston... eh, they're still causing trouble for poor Lynette. And Brian Kinney is screwing Susan! Of course he was fantastic, Susan, he's Brian Kinney. Hm, the awkward kicking-him-out-of-bed and secret-relationship talk makes me think that (a) Mike is not dead, and (b) Susan is having an affair... but she's just "still getting over it" etc. Hm, Brian needs to work on his abs. Hm, creepy blonde dude moving into neighborhood by sorta-force-evicting some old dude... and he's married to Edie! Edie's back! Okay, time to enjoy this show and stop gabbing.

Hi, okay, I'm trying, I really am, but yay to the gay househusbands sitting on their porch and snapping a cameraphone (even if it was a clunky piece o' crap phone) a picture of Brian Kinney escaping Susan's house in his skivvies in the middle of the day. Marc Cherry, please, keep this quality up!

Fun Orson cameo. Is Kyle MacLachlan going to be on the show or will he just be doing that brief bit of The Doors karaoke? Aw, Bree took Orson back. And Danielle took her son from Bree and Orson. Where is Susan's son in all of this, b-the-dubs?

... and Mike is not dead. Not sure how I feel about that. Though it does explain where her son has been while she's, y'know, sleeping with Brian Kinney. I like that this episode progressed all these characters so much without writing people like Orson and Mike off.

The ending with "creepy blonde guy married to Edie is (a) really crazy, and (b) on Wisteria Lane to hurt/kill/whatever some mystery person" was extremely clunky, though. I've always found the serial mystery plotlines to be the most forced and, after the first season, unnecessary part of the show. But, well, everything else in this episode was so good that I'll let it slide... for now...

Brothers & Sisters: The only issues I have going into this premiere are (a) icky Justin-Rebecca feelings lingering, and (b) the fact that I know that Ryan, the new "other Walker sibling" won't be around UNTIL EPISODE 14 (thank you, spoilers from casting friends). This is my favorite guilty pleasure, sappy-emotional fluff hour of TV. I don't analyze and criticize it like I do, say, Heroes. I just laugh and smile and cry and hold my breath along with my heart on my sleeve. And to do so... I need to just watch. So... yay, the Walker family is back, I'll blog ya tomorrow with thoughts on Mad Men and the Fox comedies (er, not King of the Hill of course) if I feel an urge to (and if I'm able to watch them tonight, as it's already close to midnight and tomorrow is, well, Monday...

"Stick it in your mouth, but don't swallow it." "No? Nothing?"

Opting for a night in after this last whirlwind of a week (and of course debate-watching shenanigans).

Finally watching The Office. 10 minutes in (first commercial break). Um... wow, this show came back STRONG! I don't think I laughed as much as I have during these ten minutes during the entirety of last season.

Amy Ryan is unexpectedly pure comic gold.

Gotta Love The Press Release

At the bottom of ABC's blurb about the Grey's numbers:

Please note: Based on last season ('07-08), "Grey's Anatomy" is the most recorded and played back program on all of TV, as the show gained +2.1 million viewers and grew by +1.1 rating points in Adults 18-49 (+13%) from its first reported Live + Same Day number to its Live + 7 Day number. With current DVR penetration nearing 28% this season, up from about 19% at the same point a year ago, "Grey's" will see even greater increases in viewership this season from the initially reported next-day overnight ratings to the final numbers including all DVR playback.

[TY - It's a shame there isn't really that much info about the Live+7 versus Live+SD numbers out there. I also found the following enlightening...]

Grey's represents TV's most-watched scripted series telecast since early-April (4/10/08 - CBS' "C.S.I.") and highest-rated among Adults 18-49 since the beginning of February (2/5/08 - Fox's "House" coming out of "American Idol").

[TY - I except CSI will be more viewed when it comes back in two weeks... but the A18-49 numbers won't touch the Grey's premiere.]

Strut Your Stuff

Bravo, ANTM for having a double elimination episode. And having the first elimination halfway through and based solely on runway, without the panel (and thus Tyra) weighing in. Glad Isis's story as a transgender came to the forefront again, I was a bit miffed last week when they had her in a swimsuit and there was nary a mention of, y'know, downstairs. It was definitely time for Isis to leave, but, again, a bravo to the show for (a) bringing her on, and (b) knowing when it was time to let her go (instead of kicking a model with far better photos off).

House Needs an Idol Shot in the Ratings Arm

Thus far this season, House's original episodes have rated far lower than it did during its third and fourth seasons' fall runs. And I think the second season may have have higher rated fall runs, too, though I can't find data to back that up so I'm not going to use it for what I'm about to say.

House needs to be back at 9pm after Idol on Tuesdays.

I've been preaching on PIFeedback.com for a while that Fox should move House to Thursdays to grab a beachhead much as ABC did with Grey's.

Now I'm not so sure.

Thanks to the strike, and to Fox moving House to Mondays at 8pm when it came back with new episodes so Hell's Kitchen could air post-Tuesday Idol, House's ratings have fallen. Back in its first season, Idol made House from a failure into a hit (including repeats of fall originals rating like new episodes). The show came back in its season season far stronger than it had been before (but, again, I'm not sure if it was stronger then than it is now). Then Idol that winter/spring made House into a megahit. House returns for its third fall campaign even stronger. During some post-Idol episodes of House during that third winter/spring, House even beat Idol in some key categories. House comes back huge last fall for its fourth year... and the strike happens. And now House isn't hitting 7s in the demo, it's barely hitting 5s (the finals for today will be 5.0, I'm betting, as it paired until 9:01pm).

Fox doesn't have a comedy that's going to be helped by Idol at 9:30pm on Wednesdays. But it does have several dramas that should be infused with the Idol lead-in. House can now count itself among them. Shift Wednesday's Idol results show to 8:30pm (should Fox stick to the plan to keep it to a still-overblown 30 minutes this season), and make use of that 9pm hour.

The Fall TV Season... We Has It

Gossip Girl: Um... how awesome!? I hate Vanessa. With an unequaled passion only approached by my distaste for Dan Humphrey. Self-righteous idiot. Can't wait to see next week.

How I Met Your Mother: Ted/Stella/Marshall plot: eh. Very predictable and not incredibly hilarious in that I'm sure we all saw each "twist" coming (although that opening montage of the things going through Ted's head as he waited for Stella's answer... hilarious ending with the football jock meathead... what's up, turd?). However... that wasn't the point. The point was the "awwww" at the end. And we love Sarah Chalke (both here and as Elliot Reed on Scrubs). Barney/Lily/Robin plot: de-wait-for-it-lightful. I'm glad they found a way to keep the Barney we know/adore and progress (ish) the Barney/Robin romance. Quite enjoyable.

Big Bang Theory: Jim Parsons makes his case once again for an Emmy nomination... will he be heard this season?

Terminator: I'll watch tomorrow... or over the weekend. Definitely before next Monday. Probably.

Heroes: Starting it... now. This is sure to elicit some form of reaction... anything is better than apathy, no?

Hey, at least there's no long, drawn out mystery as to Nathan's shooter. And, yay, Heroes is "borrowing" from classic X-Men storylines again! This show is always much more entertaining when it's repeating plotlines I already know instead of failing to create decent plotlines of its own. Anyway... Nathan is interestingly not dead. Although he was dead, according to Dr. Emergency Surgeon. And yet it's not because of Claire's blood (again, apparently). Which means the series has created yet another way to cheat death and render death inconsequential, and thus merely a cheap, narrative ploy. Bravo, show. Bravo.

Act Two... Hiro has mastery over his powers. Finally. Although for all you aspiring time-benders out there... please be more wary about how you treat space-time. Holes happen! If Hiro is bored, he should visit the Upper East Side and hang with the Gossip Girl crew. He has the necessary net worth! Oh, and, yes, Hiro is back to using the word "unmei" in every sentence. A good sign!

Dear Peter... I know you're all cliffhanger-y in Texas, but maybe call Claire to tell her that Nathan is alive (?). K thx. Sylar's "I bet you've been wondering where I've been since you saw me last" smacks of meta... but I'm less interested in where he's been and the long-winded monologue-y explanation it surely will be and more interested in him finally slicing the cheerleader's head open. That is all. Wait a second. It was only sort of long-winded. And it skimmed over most of the details of season two (thank god) including calling Maya of the Wonder Twins a "bad taco". Oh, Sylar, you win. You win. Excluding when you got whacked in the face by a trophy and when you lamely use your telekinesis to make Claire's house into some sort of even more boring haunted mansion. Apparently his bitch mother never told Gabriel not to play with his food.

OH GOD, IT'S MAYA. WITH MOHINDER. I COULD NOT BE MORE BORED. Dammit, why didn't she just kill him... um, if Mohinder now thinks the abilities are produced by adrenaline and not blood, then why did Claire's blood work as an instant resurrection tool? Hm? Oh, I suppose her adrenaline might be in it... whatever.

Please tell me he's going to bottle the endocrine system and sell it on the black market. That would be so 4400 of him.

Hiro's father obviously never read the Art of Rhetoric or he'd have known that when he said "never open the safe" all Hiro heard was "open the safe". Kaito also must've never heard the phrase "curiosity killed the cat". Unless this whole thing is a reverse psychology ploy, which it must be if a button on a thing on the desk by the safe opens said safe. Hahah, at least the video will of Kaito calls Hiro out for being an impudent brat. And, oh my, someone stole that thing lickity split. Hiro, you have your mission.

Although, I'm concerned about the conversation Hiro has with Lady Flash. And she's moving at, say, the speed of sound (okay, let's call her Lady Quicksilver... though the VFX implication certainly is reminiscent of light speedbands), and Hiro has now stopped time (or slowed it down considerably). How do they TALK TO EACH OTHER.

Yes, yes, I'm not supposed to notice that.

If the bullets went straight through Nathan, and he healed inside... why did Dr. Emergency Surgeon imply Nathan was dead? Oh, the plot holes... they begin...

... where did Parkman go just now?

... if I'm ever going to get to sleep tonight, I'm going to have to stop the play-by-play commentary because I've been "watching" Heroes for 50 minutes but am only 23 minutes in... including two commercial breaks. Of a 2 hour premiere. To the couch, and away from the keyboard...

... okay, I tried. But come on, Heroes. "His condition has been upgraded to stable"... from, what? Dead? ZOMG. Okay. I'm really just going to watch now. Seriously.

... hey. Me again. I couldn't stay away (though am having no problems staying awake). Linderman works as an explanation for Nathan's recovery... but I'm afraid it just means a roundabout explanation for why Linderman isn't dead (y'know, after Leonard Roberts put his character's fist through his head). And given the odd camera angles and ensuing lack of recognition by other people in the room with Nathan... imaginary figment?

Also... Niki/Jessica/whatever is alive. Cue zzz (especially if we get a lot of Micah and Monica...)

... dipping back into the "Hiro sees a cataclysmic future" well again, are we? Well, at least it was just Tokyo... not like that city doesn't get trampled by every mecha/demon/Godzilla attack ever recorded...

... and an answer on the WTF is Angela Petrelli's ability!

... Weevil got faaaaaaaaaaaat...

... jeez, quote Yeats much, Mohinder? I liked your thematic VOs better. They were somehow less pretentious!

... okay, really going to step away from the computer. Probz won't give detailed thoughts on part two. Because, obvs that takes a while from me, what will all the hole poking...