The Talking Box

Teen Mom 2: Moves, Lawyers, Fights, Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Is it just me or is it hard to believe that this season of Teen Mom 2 is almost over already. Similarly, is it just me or does everyone agree that little-to-nothing even happened this season? I mean, let's look at it - Isaac turned one, Kailyn got her own place, and she files for child support. That's really about it. Jenelle and Kieffer fought, broke up, got back together. She got kicked out of her mom's house, moved back in, moved out voluntarily, then moved back in again. Maybe it sounds like a lot, but it's really the same ol', same ol' with her. It gets even worse from there... Chelsea got back with Adam but he dumped her, she moved to a new place, and she got a job. The first part is pointless, the second point hardly matters, but great on the third part. Corey wants a change in careers, Leah gets a full-time job but ends up only working one day a week, and Ali doesn't have MRI problems or a known genetic disorder. For them, this is basically just an update, not a season of stuff. Am I being too hard on the show?

Teen Mom 2 "The Beginning of the End" (S02E09):
Leah: They go to look at some land where they could put a new trailer. It's $5,000, and closer to town, schools, and doctors. [sounds like a big improvement.] Corey likes it, so Leah goes to her mom's house to use the internet and look for a mobile home. [moving ahead, good idea.] But, Corey then tells her that he's been thinking and decides that he doesn't want to move right now - they can save more money where they are now. [it IS a good point.] Corey talks about getting a new truck now and a house later. [not the worst idea, until we learn some more...] Leah mentions that they had made this decision together, and asks why is he going back on that, but he just says that this was his thought process. Leah's friend helps her bathe them in a tub that's downstairs, cold, and doesn't really have a proper faucet. [it also looks like an accident waiting to happen... as soon as the girls are slightly more independent!] Leah has lunch with her mom and stepdad while Corey takes the girls to his mom's. Leah talks about Corey's priorities, and it comes out that Corey has only had this truck for like four months. [well, now they're not living in a safe environment AND there seems to be no reason to upgrade the vehicle.] Her stepdad says that he'll help her find a place to live. So reasonably, she tries to reason with Corey, telling him about the problems around the house and whatnot, but it comes down to her telling him that she's going to move, whether he comes or not. [wow... look at her taking charge! It's impressive though that she might leave him over this.]

Photo by MTV

Kailyn: her semester is going well. [remember? she's the only one on this show who is working on her education.] She gets a copy of the letter Jo wrote that says why he doesn't think he should pay $488/month in child support. Kailyn calls Jo to ask him why he's appealing the child support order, and he says that it's too high, she should get a better-paying job, and won't even tell her if he's getting a lawyer. [I don't know that the better-paying job would make that much of a difference... Jo would still pay quite a bit.] She meets with a lawyer who tells her that Jo's amount is 63% of what was determined as the cost to raise Isaac. She suggests that Jo would try to go for "downward deviation," claiming that he can't afford it, that he gave her some support already, and that she needs to work harder. But, the lawyer sees no grounds for these things. [does the fact that he supported her in the past factor in at all?] Kailyn pays a $350 retainer and now she has a lawyer.

Chelsea: she hasn't started studying for GED. [still. I've got nothing... her mom clearly will watch Aubree whenever. Her dad seems more than willing to help on weekends. how has she not gotten to study AT ALL yet?] Adam broke up with her, so she complains to her mom that Adam "just doesn't like me anymore." [cry me a river.] Her mom basically tells her to move on. Similarly, when she complains to her dad that all she can think about is Adam, he doesn't know what to tell her, as he's said it all before. [girl. you're not in the 8th grade. get over it.] Chelsea starts her job, and her mom picks up Aubree... and we learn that Chelsea puts lipgloss on her one-year-old. [that can't be good.] She puts on her uniform, clocks in, then starts filling out paperwork. She learns how to check-in people and how to clean the tanning beds. She'll work at least 15 hours a week.

Jenelle: Barbara and Jenelle go to social services and Jenelle is ordered to start paying $30/week in child support. [really? Jenelle asks her mom to turn off the windshield wipers when it's visibly raining out?] Jenelle complains that she hasn't slept in two days, and Barbara reminds her that Kieffer just isn't good for her, which, of course, makes her yell for a moment. See, Jenelle heard that Kieffer has been talking to other girls, and things only get worse when he won't tell Jenelle who he's texting. She actually drives off to a random location and leaves him there. [I don't know that this girl thinks. ever.] She goes home to complain to her roommate, and Kieffer shows up at her place to get his stuff. [why does she immediately have to complain?] Kieffer shows Jenelle his phone, and it was his ex-girlfriend whom he was texting. Jenelle and Kieffer get into a fight, and she slams some doors while crying about how nobody cares about her. [if she wasn't currently living in a different location, they pretty much could have used stock footage for this.] Oh, but Jenelle finds even more to be angry about... one of her housemates has had friends over all afternoon. [...what's so wrong with that again?] Jenelle then argues with Tori and says that she's going to move out, since she's not getting money for groceries and stuff. [how did Jenelle even get money to front for such things?] Jenelle goes into Tori's room and demands her clothes back. Tori asks Jenelle to leave the room, but she won't. Well, they get into an all-out girl-on-girl fight... and then the boys do, too. When it ends, Jenelle just yells about how everyone needs to leave her alone. [sound familiar?]

Teen Mom 2 "A Closer Look" (Special): not much was actually revealed in this thirty-minute presentation, so don't get your hopes up.

Chelsea: Just why can't she move on from Adam? She takes everything personally and wants to know what Adam doesn't like about her so that she can become the person that he's after. [really? you want to change into what he'll like? GET OVER IT.] She doesn't want Aubree to have a stepmother figure. [not only does she cling to the past, she's completely against the future. not a good sign.] Chelsea says that it's a misconception that she's a pushover - that only happens around Adam. [thanks for clearing that up, because you do indeed seem fairly useless in society.]

Jenelle: She says that living with Tori and Tori's boyfriend was like living in a frat house and it wasn't a good thing. She had never previously been in a physical fight with Tori. She says that it's a misconception that she's a bad-@$$ and hard to get along with. [...really?]

Leah: Corey has never bathed the kids downstairs. [wow. NEVER??] Leah says that the idea that she's a "cheating whore" is incorrect.

Kailyn: She's quit the job she had working with Jordan. [well, that's new.] She feels that Jo didn't tell her if he had a lawyer so she'd spend the money to get one, sabotaging her. [at first I thought that this was a bit of a stretch, but then I thought about it... it could be just the sort of thing that Jo would do!]

Alcatraz: To Be an Expert

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

So between last week and this week, I got to thinking. For Doc Soto, this is a really cool thing. He was working in his comic book shop and creating stories of his own, but then this giant opportunity comes along to put his knowledge into practice. He's written four books on a niche subject (Alcatraz), so he's uniquely qualified to serve as a historian of sorts. And, as pointed out in this episode, an expert spends 10,000 hours on a subject, and Doc has likely spent twice that on studying Alcatraz. Well, if you were offered the opportunity to serve as an "expert" on something, what would it be for? Why would you be called into such a service? For me, I'm not sure. The most likely answer is The Rocky Horror Show, as that's what my Master's thesis was about. But I haven't gone to the event a hundred or a thousand times like some people have, so I am not the most knowledgeable person regarding the latest in shout-backs and the like. But, at the same time, perhaps I have a unique understanding of the script, having spent about 30 pages analyzing various things about it. And of the history behind the show's various productions, which took up another large chunk of the paper. And then there's the evolution of the extra-textual material, probably my favorite part of my Rocky Horror studies. Oh, and that whole third of the project that was devoted to the process of producing the show and analyzing audience members' reactions to it. I didn't hit 10,000 hours (which is the equivalent of spending 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 5 years), but I can't think of anything else that would rival the amount of time I spent studying Rocky Horror. What have you spent the most time studying?

Alcatraz "Kit Nelson" (S01E03): In Walnut Creek (CA), a guy carries a flower and uses a key to enter a home. He turns off a lamp, then goes upstairs and wakes a sleeping child, abducting him. [creepy topic for such an early episode, no? or is that where we're going with this show?] The next day, the guy (Kit Nelson) takes the kid (Dylan) fishing, using poles that he stole from a hardware store. They rent a boat, and Kit soon has both of them in the water. He asks Dylan to hold him underwater as long as possible, which he does reluctantly. However, then they switch positions, but we don't see it. [thank goodness. I think that this would have freaked me out!] They then head to the movies, where the guy makes the kid eat popcorn. They go to have pie, and we find out that Kit takes his victims to do things that his brother used to like to do. Then, they head to a bomb shelter to play checkers. Dylan asks to go home, and soon takes off a shoe, throws it at a lightbulb, climbs up the hatch, and makes a run for it.

Now that you know the crime and what the criminal does, let's look at his past. In 1960, there was a a fight in the Alcatraz recreation yard. Kit is beat up because the other inmates don't like that he beat up kids. [I had never thought about how other inmates might dislike you because of why you're locked up. yeah, perverts don't bode well for most!] The doctor offers Kit a cigarette, but he doesn't take it. He's then abused a bit by the doctor. When his father comes to visit, he says that his mother died and left a dried chrysanthemum. But, before she passed, she told his dad that Kit killed his brother when they were children, and she had covered it up by saying that the boy died of scarlet fever. [I wonder if this show is just going to end up being too much for me, emotionally...] Kit is brought to solitary confinement, where the warden talks to him by matchlight, demanding to know what Kit did to his brother. [well this doesn't seem legal...] He's threatened that he'll have to stay in solitary if he doesn't admit what he did to his brother, so he comes clean, saying that he strangled his brother, that he liked it, and that he knew he had to do it again. The flowers were a favorite of his mother and brother, and that's why it became what he left with the bodies. The warden leaves Kit in solitary anyway. [the whole idea of being in a dark room 24/7 disturbs me. maybe that's part of the reason I take issue with a show half-set in a prison!]

Now, let's look at how our heroes manage to catch their culprit. We see Doc drawing a comic book about his experiences when he hears about the 11-year-old missing boy on a police scanner. He grabs a file and runs out to bring it to Madsen, who is with Hauser, checking on the state of Lucy. This criminal's pattern is to kidnap a boy on a Friday night, then return his body on Sunday night. Madsen and Doc go the house of the missing boy and show the mother and brother a photo of Kit Nelson, whom they recognize as a guy from the hardware store. They go to the hardware store, where they find out that a uniform was stolen along with the fishing poles, so they ask where someone would go fishing around there. [this is starting off like a wild goose chase, no?] When they reach the Lafayette recreation area, Kit and Dylan are already gone, so they head back to the boy's house. They ask his mother about what Dylan liked to do, but they don't match up with what the duo is doing. Doc is working on cracking the pattern when they find out that Hauser canceled the Amber Alert on Dylan. It seems that Hauser is more interested in catching the criminal than keeping the kid alive, and if there are no cops around the house, they'll just grab him when he goes to return the body on Sunday. Doc, of course, is upset that the boy will be dead by then, and heads off to try the cherry pie at every diner in town. [he apparently either remembered that Kit liked pie or that it was a link in the other old cases or something.] Hauser isn't sure that Doc is needed, but Madsen convinces him that Doc can make more out of the clues than they can.

Cr: Liane Hentscher/FOX

Well, by the fifth diner, Doc finds Kit and Dylan, and tries to stall them while Madsen is en route. It's clear that he doesn't know what he's doing, however, and by the time Madsen arrives, Kit pulls a gun and threatens to kill the boy, only letting up when Madsen and Doc are handcuffed to a dumpster, without a gun, keys, or a phone. Back at Alcatraz, Doc goes through the boxes and finds that Kit had some really expensive cigarettes... they find his commissary account and look up where the money came from - he used to build bomb shelters, and that's where he hides with the kids. [time out. I just want to say that Alcatraz is a PAIN to get to, and Walnut Creek is nowhere near there. We're talking about a 40-minute drive PLUS a ferry ride. I realize that they can't set all of the crimes in San Francisco, but I think that this is going to become a problem sooner than later.] They head to the only bomb shelter in Walnut Creek and arrive to hear the boy screaming in the woods. They find him and Hauser shoots the assailant, who, by then, had caught up to the boy.

So, that's the story in this episode. But, before we leave it, let's look at a few other things. For instance, Hauser apparently knows more about Doc's background than Madsen. Hauser confronts Doc about having "arrested development" (when you face a trauma as a child and get caught up in being that age, not growing past it), but he needs to move beyond being eleven years old if he's going to be helpful on this team, regardless of the point that he is an "extreme expert" on Alcatraz. Doc agrees, but isn't able to muster up the courage to explain the situation to Madsen. [well, I'm dying to know!] He does, however, tell a little of the story to Dylan when he brings him three issues of a comic that the boy was missing from his collection: when he was eleven, he was kidnapped, and he got away. He goes on to say that, "once you know you can do that, it sort of gives you a superpower." [...and now we know why he is making a living being a comic book writer. very interesting!]

But that's not even the most messed up part. Hauser brought Kit's body to his secret underground Alcatraz replica, where THE DOCTOR FROM THE ORIGINAL ALCATRAZ is working! [super-mega-creepy! ahhhhh!]

Switched at Birth: Your Own Projects

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I love how the storylines came together in such a way that so many of the characters (except for John, Melody, and Bay) had a side project going on. Kathryn had her book, Angelo and Regina had the salon, Daphne tried to bake cupcakes, Emmett tried to repair motorcycles, and Toby and Wilke tried to make a music video. Teamwork at its finest in some instances, which is great. However, it's not always enough. As we see, nobody is able to help out Emmett with his fine, and he's forced to sell his beloved motorcycle. And, with both he and Daphne (who lost her driving privileges for a month) out of wheels, I wonder how they'll be getting to school? And, speaking of wheels, we saw some nice glimpses of Bay's "Thing" again, which is fun. What's not fun? This creepy past of Angelo's! According to the scenes-from-the-next, though, it looks like we're closing in on learning what he's been up to!

Switched at Birth "Les Soeurs d'Estrees" (S01E14): Emmett has Daphne over to help him study for trigonometry, and she imagines them kissing. [you gotta admit, they did look totally cute together!] Melody comes home and lets Emmett know that the $5,000 fine is due in a week, and she doesn't have the money. He thinks that his dad will help out, but Melody suggests he sell his motorcycle, which his dad bought it for him for his 13th birthday and fixed it up with him. [that sucks. also, I guess we're not going to see a trial or anything? you can just press charges and a fine "happens" ??] Daphne thinks that she can sell 200 cupcakes at $5 each to help with the money. [um, girl. $5 each? It may be Buckner, but that's steep. Sprinkles doesn't even charge that.] Then, while Daphne is baking, Bay tells her that the tagging that Emmett did was a birthday present for her. [ooooh... I didn't realize that Daphne didn't know that yet!] Regina buys the first cupcake, then she sells some at Buckner, but she's not really getting anywhere. It doesn't help that Wilke tells her he doesn't even want to be friends anymore. [well, you know. she kinda acted like a tease.]

abcfamily.com

A new lawyer comes over and says that there's no way the hospital will actually want to go to trial for the case, and they'll likely offer a new settlement anyway. [is that what the Kennishes want at this point, though?] Kathryn admits that she's writing a book, and is told to be careful with what she writes, since all of it will be admissible in court. [hmmm... so wait until after a legal battle to write it all down??] They then interview another (younger) lawyer, who thinks a memoir will be great, since it's moving testimony for a jury. Kathryn likes this guy, but John wants someone more experienced. [I wish we had more about what Kathryn liked about him.] They take a break from talking with attorneys for John to learn that the detective STILL can't find anything on Angelo for the missing two years. So, John goes to Angelo's to ask him what he's been up to, and Angelo talks about living with a wealthy woman in Chicago and working under the table. [something seems strange...] John fills in Angelo about how Regina found out that the girls were switched thirteen years ago and did nothing about it. This, as expected, blows Angelo's mind. [what room were John and Kathryn in when they poured drinks? They have a full bar in their house?] Angelo reacts by rushing over to Regina's and demanding to know why she never told him, then says he's done with her. [I wouldn't bet on it...]

This would have put a damper on the fact that Regina was going to have Angelo act as a silent business partner in the salon, but Angelo decides that Regina must have been doing what was best for the girls, and decides not to give up the "dream." This is, of course, aside from the fact that they're apparently still interested in one another romantically, since we see them kiss toward the end of the episode. [definitely not a good thing...] You know who else isn't a fan? Daphne. When Regina tells her that she's looking for a salon location, Daphne isn't really okay with Angelo being part of the project, but she doesn't want to be the reason that Regina isn't happy, so she says she's fine with it. [I thought it would have been nice for Regina's mother to comment on the whole situation..]

Bay and Daphne have been brainstorming about how they could get more money to give to Emmett, and Daphne comes up with a pretty good plan. She tells John and Kathryn that she lost her hearing aids, and they promptly write her a check for $5000. Plus, since she doesn't want to bother Regina, it'll be a secret. [awesome. love it.] But then she screws up when she mis-texts Regina instead of Emmett, and Regina then catches her in a couple of lies. [when you're doing something of this nature, Daphne, you need to come up with your lies AHEAD OF TIME. do better.] Daphne admits the truth, seemingly unable to come up with anything else plausible on the spot. Regina makes her give the money back right away, so she heads over to tell Kathryn (John isn't there). [if she already had the check cashed, why did she even go home? you'd have a much better shot at making this work by going directly to Emmett's afterwards!] She gives Kathryn the cash and apologizes, starting out with a lie about finding the hearing aids, but then admitting the real truth, which makes Kathryn not trust her. [I liked the idea of her sticking with the "I found them" bit, but I guess Regina would have found out.] Kathryn takes away Daphne's car keys for a month, then goes to Regina's to talk about it. This doesn't go too smoothly, since Regina tells Kathryn about the salon project. After leaving there, Kathryn then confronts Bay, thinking that she must have put Daphne up to that charade, and is hard-pressed to believe that Bay isn't all evil. [poor Bay. I hate it when mothers do that!] Clearly, Bay goes to Daphne to find out what went wrong with the plan, and then decides to try to convince Daphne to woo the money from Wilke. [not the best idea in the world, but it might work.] Daphne claims she doesn't want to manipulate him, but off they go to find the boys.

Now, before the girls actually get to the guys, let's look at what Toby and Wilke have been up to this episode. Still set on doing a music video with a capybara, Wilke gets costumes for the rodent, then gets Simone to be the director and camera person, since she has to do a project for a class anyway. [I'm not a fan of Simone. In fact, I don't really like her at all. But, it sure looks like she's going to be around for a while!] And, although she was once with Wilke, she's apparently now into Toby, and hits on him. Oh, and Toby is an amazing singer. Okay, now, when Bay and Daphne arrive at the taping, they point out how Emmett has helped the guys in the past, and they should help him now. Toby says that they've pretty much spent all the money already (though there's no sign of this expensive capybara until later...). The girls are left to tell Emmett that they couldn't come up with the money. He's forced to sell his bike for $4750, but he and Bay do take a last ride together. Oh, but in order for them to go for a ride, Daphne gets left alone... and she calls Wilke to give her a lift. [and I'm just going to sit here, shaking my head...] Another episode-ending scenario that's bound to change things? Emmett announced that he's going to be moving in with his father. [excitement! how will this impact EVERYTHING??]

And, we'll end back on the lawyer thing. So, the young guy tells a publishing friend about Kathryn's idea, and since it was well-received, he brings over a few other books so she could see what sorts of things they publish. [do you really start looking for a publisher before you have anything for them to read?] He reminds Kathryn and John that the other lawyer is going to get them money, but he'd make the hospital sorry for what they did, and this really hits home with John, who hired him. [I don't know a lot about hiring lawyers, but I'm not 100% sure that I would've went with this guy OR the other one we saw this episode. Though, I wouldn't want to interview every attorney in the metropolitan area, either.]

House: Gaining Freedom

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:30:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I didn't like Taub not being in this episode. I'm not sure exactly why it bothered me, but I guess I got used to having him in the episodes... at this point he's a little easier to relate to than Park, Adams, or Foreman. And, with the absence of Cuddy this season (who I found pretty easy to relate to), it's important to have some sort of character that seems realistic to a certain extent. And, speaking of ridiculous characters, can anyone see Melanie Lynskey as anyone other than Rose from Two and a Half Men these days? Don't get me wrong, I loved her as Lurlynn in Sweet Home Alabama, but I think that she's kinda "holed" as Rose these days. But here in House? I don't think that she really shined. Not that the patient or the case were all that memorable, either. The ongoing Foreman-House battle for power is getting old. Trying to give Chase's character some new depth via a sister ain't gonna do much. I think we all need to accept that this show is just about done. I'm seeing one more season at best, people. I wouldn't be surprised if FOX blows the whistle on the show any day now. The first eight episodes averaged 7.5M views each, but that's counting the season opener, which came in with 9.78M... since then, it's only gone over 7.55M twice - and once was for this episode, the first since November. We're looking at four more new episodes in the next four weeks... then another month-long hiatus. Anyone want to argue that these are good signs?

House "Better Half" (S08E09): A different doctor's patient, Andres, struggles to know where he is or what things are, but he's planning to start a drug trial for a new Alzheimer's medication. When he suddenly starts coughing up blood, he becomes a patient of the diagnostics department. Chase is fine with a family friend being in the room as they do tests, but Park kicks him out. [I imagine that this has got to be one of the tougher things about being a doctor... the regulations don't define "loved ones," as some of us do.] The patient gets violent toward his wife, then there's blood in his urine. [what's with Adams' neckpiece?]

Cr: Adam Taylor/FOX

Soon, he wanders out of the hospital, but Chase and Adams find him at a track field not far away. When the patient comes to after being frozen, he's speaking Portuguese, his native tongue. House can't go to the patient's house to check for toxins, and he can't make the team do it because Foreman overruled him, so he tries to talk to the patient's wife, but that doesn't really work. [really? nobody went to the house? that is so rare!] House was, however, able to translate about what her husband was talking about.

Meanwhile, House is petitioning to have his ankle monitor removed, thinking that he has concocted a great plan to convince Foreman to sign... [I don't know that I want House left to his own devices already... it's still just episode nine, folks. And, if you'll recall, House was in prison at the start of the season, so he hasn't been on "house arrest" all that long.] House has notecards taped to things with predictions of what Foreman will do. [slightly amusing. very character, tho.] Foreman can't control House, and that's the big push/concern. [why did Foreman ask where House's petition was if it was THE ONLY THING ON HIS DESK?] In the end, House is able to have his ankle monitor removed after all. [surprising. and probably a bad move.]

Also on Foreman's plate? The hospital is at risk of losing donors, as they have dropped in the rankings. Foreman says that the drop is due to the diagnostics department temporarily being shut down, but the donor believes that it may be more likely due to the change in management, and asks to see a five-year plan. This may spell trouble shortly. [I hate it when Foreman does things like House - like has an epiphany in the middle of a conversation and running off to check his suspicions.]

On to Wilson, who has an asexual patient. And, it might not be that much of a rarity - apparently, nearly 1% of the population identifies as such. [this interests me a little, but not enough to actually go do my own reading on the matter, LoL.] House bets Wilson $100 that there's something medically wrong with the patient that makes her not want to have sex. Wilson tells House that he can't contact the patient, but he can run tests on some already-drawn blood. Well, House gets around this by contacting the woman's husband, and they find out that he has a brain tumor that has stopped him from wanting sex. [wow. didn't know a brain tumor could do that.] The wife admits that she has had sex before, and that it's fun, so maybe they can "go through it" together. [awkward!]

Now, the final round-up. Taub wasn't in this episode because he was "taking time off for a sick daughter." Chase calls his sister for the first time in years. The most memorable thing said was, "most happiness is based on lies."

Cake Boss is Back! Buddy & Lisa's Vow Renewal

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I was a little surprised to see that this show was back on so soon. I figured that they'd wait until Cake Boss: The Next Great Baker was wrapped up (which is only two weeks away), but apparently not. I'm glad that they did an hour-long episode about the vow renewal, since there was a ton to see. There are certain things that I would have focused on differently, but I thought that it was a nice overview of the family vacation. I did have a couple glaring questions though... for instance, why in the world did Buddy want to make his vow renewal cake so ENORMOUS?!? I just couldn't figure that out - I mean, it's one thing to want something grand and stunning, but if you're going to throw away half of it, who's winning? Another thing, on at least two of the four cruises I've been on, there were strict regulations about not bringing flowers, plants, fruits, etc. back onto the ship, since there are concerns about non-native species being brought to other places. Maybe not all cruiselines enforce this? Regardless, this was a cute, memorable episode that I'd watch again.

Cake Boss "Cake Block, Cruise, & a Carlo's Ceremony" (S05E01): Buddy is working on coming up with a neat cake design for the vow renewal. They use styrofoam cakes to get a feel for it, since Buddy wants a combination of the original design with some newer stuff because he's learned a lot in ten years. [makes sense.] Buddy got some hints from Lisa about what they dress looks like so he can work some appropriate lace into the cake, and has has a new mold to make sugar lace. Problem is, it doesn't work well. Luckily, they found that baking it at 100 degrees for 15 minutes helps the lace come out of the molds, which helps. [this was interesting to me. I don't know that I'd want to go through the same tedious trouble, but it was interesting to learn about.] They're also doing tropical flowers and fondant seashells for the vow renewal cake because the ceremony is on the beach (but the reception will be on the ship). After the lace is on the cake, Buddy isn't thrilled with the look (he really struggled to see where the cake was going), so he just starts piping. [that cake is SO BIG!] Everything is going super until they drive the truck to Florida (the family is going out of Port Canaveral), and the humidity makes the flowers fall a bit. [awww!]

The gang is also doing a replica of the the Disney Dream for the ship's first anniversary of sailing. Mauro hasn't been on a ship since 1968, when he came over from Italy, other than "booze cruises."[wow... that cake looks AMAZING!] Everything goes smoothly with this cake until it comes time to present it at the event, and it's too large for the ship's elevators! Everyone has to carry the cake up several floors.

Now, on to the trip itself! The Valastros manage to pack 20 suitcases for their family alone - they're over-packers. [how would you know which piece of luggage was missing if one was?? I struggle when we bring three bags on a trip!] They board, take some photos, and then we see the family up on deck, on the slide, etc. The family makes a big deal of getting Mauro to go on the water slide, since he's a big fraidy-cat. They finally convince him to go on it, tho. We see the family at Animator's Palette for a meal, interacting with a computer-generated Crush from Finding Nemo. In Nassau, the women and kids take a bus to do some shopping while the guys go buy some fresh flowers to solve the sugar flower dilemma.

Phelan Ebenhack/DCL

The vow renewal is planned for the day that they're at Castaway Cay, and the ladies get their hair and nails done while the guys work on fixing the flowers on the cake. [I liked the original flowers better... just me?] While everyone's getting ready, clouds roll in and a storm brews. When the rain starts coming down, Lisa's mother tells Buddy that they just can't do have the ceremony outside. [major bummer. It's tough to have rain spoil your wedding day. Having been to a dozen weddings in Florida, it happens a lot!] So, they do it in a beautiful room with a 360-degree view. [I liked how Buddy shuffled his feet a bit while waiting for Lisa to appear, so cute!] Sophia is the Maid of Honor, and the three boys are the Best Men, which is a big switch from the original bridal party - Buddy and Lisa had eighteen bridesmaids and eighteen groomsmen!!

Cake Boss: The Next Great Baker: Cakes for a Queen

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I just noticed that the cake in front of Buddy in the opening titles has figurines of all of this season's competitors! How neat! Well, we're down to the wire now. Just the finale to go, and it's bound to be exciting! The finale last season was pretty neat, as I really enjoyed watching the finalists try to run the bakery and sell their own wares at Carlo's. I think that the remaining contestants all have a great shot at becoming "The Next Great Baker," and I'd root for all three under different circumstances. But, enough about the predictions, let's look at why Chad is no longer in the running. Well, he certainly showed some great skill with making a large cake mostly on his own in eight hours. Too bad he didn't see past the fact that the client was a beauty queen. I think that the assessment that his cake would be great for a wedding or a Sweet Sixteen was spot-on, and I'm sad that he didn't give the other aspects of the customer into consideration, since I think he might have busted out something rivaling the other cakes. Looking at the sketches, I thought Ryan had it in the bag. But, he thought the same, and his ego was just a bit too inflated throughout this challenge, don't you think? Marissa's early struggle really made me doubt her overall ability, but you have to remember that Buddy sometimes takes a while to come up with an awesome idea for a cake. I thought that Nadine had some good design aspects in her cake, but I also thought it could have been a big larger. Keep reading for more details on what happened!

And, let us know who you think will be The Next Great Baker over here to enter to win a cupcake plunger!

Cake Boss: The Next Great Baker "Crown-Winning Cakes" (S02E09): Chad still thinks that Marissa is the one to beat, and Ryan thinks he's a shoo-in for the finale. [I've been finding it interesting all along that Nadine isn't asked what she thinks about the remaining contestants and her chances, but maybe her responses are just boring so they're not shown?]

Baker's Challenge: Make a modeling chocolate rose. Buddy is known for it, so you gotta know how to make sugar flowers. None of the competitors are really experienced with this, as Ryan has never done it at all, Chad hasn't really tried it, Nadine has only made flowers one petal at a time, and Marissa tried it twice when she was in school. In five minutes and eleven seconds, Buddy is done, and it's gorgeous. The contestants have 15 minutes to do this, and the winner will get an edible printer. [nice!] Buddy watches as they work. Nadine's flower is the worst, and Chad comes in third, due to a poor center (he liked his own work, tho). Marissa finds flowers to be tedious [they are!] but she comes in second, as hers is well-balanced. This leaves Ryan in first, due to the ton of petals he made. Marissa isn't thrilled. [she and Ryan have such an ongoing feud!]

Elimination Challenge: It's a free-for-all, which thrills Ryan. The guest judge/client is Miss USA, who was previously Miss Teen USA and is from New Jersey. Chad is excited because he knows her background and loves pageants. [...he already knows her background? Is he super into pageants or what?] The cake is to celebrate the client and what she loves, so Buddy demonstrates how to ask a client what they like. Miss USA likes cooking, traveling, is a girly-girl, and loves gowns. Buddy gives the competitors ten hours to build an appropriate cake. The girls sketch, Ryan measures, and Chad goes straight for supplies. When there are four hours left, Buddy comes to announce that he's going to take away two hours of their time (worrying the girls much more than the boys), BUT, some of the losers from this season will be helpers for the remainder of the time! [I figured we'd see some of the old contestants again - who did you expect?] Buddy pairs up Ryan with Melo, Marissa and Jasmine, Nadine and Heather M, and Chad and Wes. [whoa. Wes is here. so the entire show was probably filmed before any of it aired... interesting. I guess I had figured that they'd start running it on television half-way through or something. guess not.] All four of our competitors are happy with their assistants. [impressive. I wouldn't have expected everyone to be happy with their assistant since there were so many clashes early on... but maybe Buddy just thought it all through so much that it didn't much matter.] Oh, and the cakes don't have to be delivered for once. Grace joins Miss USA as guest judges.

Nadine [27, NYC] wants to focus on travel. She's never constructed the base on her own before, so that's a major obstacle. After Heat M arrives, she puts her to work on the suitcase. She also has Heather print out edible "colorful flags" for the cake. [I thought it was funny that she went for pretty flags and not countries the pageant queen has likely been to or can identify.] In the end, Nadine's cake tells a story but is a little small, and the girly-girl part also didn't really come out. [I don't know that it needed to, though, since so many other areas were captured.]

Marissa [24, Pompton Lakes, NJ. and we just found out this episode that the reason she hasn't listed what she did before and just talked about her background in culinary school is that she was fired from her executive pastry chef job for having an attitude!] struggles to come up with a design, so she starts with the structure... though she struggles using the tools. Marissa takes nearly 90 minutes to come up with a design, but still isn't sure about her idea or the colors. [that's a LONG time. at that point I'd probably go see what two other people are doing and combine their thoughts, LoL.] She asks Chad about her design, and asks Ryan and Chad both about whether the client said she likes to cook or just likes food. [the variance in how each competitor understood the client's interest amused me!] When Jasmine arrives, Marissa has her work on an assortment of tasks, and the finished cake really shows the client's journey, with Italian and Jersey roots, etc. Grace says that the color of the suitcase didn't "pop," but both Nadine and Marissa have the top cakes, according to Buddy.

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Ryan [30, Rhode Island] is doing a suitcase, some fashion and makeup, and a little food . [a nice combo of Miss USA's interests. But, Ryan's "they're screwed without me" attitude got old]. His plan is for a really big, 500-pound cake. [good thing he doesn't have to move it alone!] With Melo around, Ryan assigns him to make a dress form, which he then has to ask to be dressed up a little. Ryan's cake is clean, but rather scattered and does not have a lot of detail. It wasn't "special enough." [interesting choice of words.] His vision is just disappointing. Ryan claims that he's a go-getter and will do whatever it takes to succeed, while Chad's cake wasn't even what the customer wanted. Ryan is spared.

Chad [43, Dallas] is really fired up about this cake. He's planning six tiers full of feathers, ruffles, pink, and bling. ["all the girls I know in pageants." um, the drag queens? or does he have friends that do mainstream pageants as well?] Ryan and Nadine are concerned that Chad's cake is too pageant-y, especially as the loads of sparkles and touch of feathers really put it over-the-top. Chad has Wes work on adding small details to the cake. Chad thinks that Ryan will have to go home because his cake looks unfinished. Well, the judges decide that the bottom layer in particular is great, the overall cake is pretty, but it has too much bling and not enough about the client. Grace points out that the cake was too wedding or Sweet Sixteen. [agreed.] The work is flawless but the design doesn't fit. [a shame, really.] Chad says that he is more technical, very diligent, hardworking, a leader, and his heart is in it. Still, he's sent home. In the box truck, Chad says he isn't too disappointed, since he's gained so much from the experience.

Pan Am: Kate Steals, Maggie Says No, Laura Blushes, Ted Learns

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I really enjoy the music in this show. I thought about it a few episodes back, but now I'm rather sure that it's brilliantly orchestrated/edited. I also loved Kate as a pickpocket, though I don't know if we needed to see her practice so many times. I don't like how we're not getting much of a response on how the Colette/Dean thing is going to pan out, especially knowing that only a few more episodes will definitely be shown. Speaking of which, the longer ABC holds out, the more I'm thinking that maybe they will renew the show after all. But, we may still be a few months away from knowing, unfortunately. Maggie's character is also getting annoying, since she's constantly dealing with either men who want her, keeping her past secret, or both. As much as I like Christina Ricci, I think that they're just going to have to expose her fake degree soon enough. And, although I liked the actress playing Amanda, I'm rather glad that it's looking more like she's a short-term cast member, and Ted will eventually go back to Laura, at least for a little bit. Now that I look back at what I've written, I wonder if I'm rooting for/against too many things on this show, LoL. What do you want to happen, or hope doesn't happen?

Pan Am "New Frontiers" (S01E12): Kate is learning to pickpocket in Central Park so that she'll be able to lift some important plans when she's in Rome. The main feedback that she's getting regards being sure to do it like a woman would, not like a man would. [interesting advice - makes sense to me!] Kate practices on Maggie, but this makes Maggie think that she's giving off a "vibe," and Kate drops the wallet anyway. Later, she tries to pickpocket Dean, but he, too, catches her. When it comes time to do it for real, her skills must have vastly improved, as she needs to perform the task three times! [at that point, don't you think you'd notice anything being missing?]

(ABC/ERIC LIEBOWITZ)

The first time, she takes a lighter. She has a drink with him and grabs a pen and a coat check claim the second time. She heads to the coat check but he spots her and she ends up having to make him look for his check ticket while she drops it on the floor, so he gets it not thinking anything of it. She helps him on with his jacket and finally manages to grab the actual objective at that point. [man, was that close!]

Maggie is looking at some stuff from the Kennedy campaign at home when Amanda comes over to apologize for the kiss, saying that she just must have been excited with everything going on. Maggie tells her that she'll keep it a secret from Ted, but breaks that trust almost immediately, though Ted doesn't really believe her. [well, in 1963, the culture was different and there were not very many people open about the sexuality, so I'd believe that he was a bit taken aback.] She ends up saying that she's joking to stop Ted from freaking out. She can't focus on the situation much longer, however, as she is invited to lunch in Rome, where she is told that she won't have a career in politics if she stays down the road she's headed. [um, did I miss the fact that Maggie wants to be in politics?] She's invited to join an underground smuggling ring, then blackmailed when she won't. Even though her false college degree may be exposed, she still does not want any part in the crime. [really? THIS is what Maggie has a firm moral belief system about? the black market??]

Dean is worried about his relationship with Colette, and tries to make plans with her in Rome. We learn that she's hoping to transfer routes, and is more or less avoiding Dean. On the flight, Colette takes a liking to a mysterious man who boards the aircraft at the last minute, and they plan to see Rome together. However, there's something peculiar about the gentleman, and after being questioned by Italian customs agents about a ton of cigarettes in the cargo hold of the plane, Dean wonders if that guy could be the culprit. Colette and the gentleman ride a scooter through the city, but Dean spoils the end of their time together by implying that the guy is a smuggler. This doesn't really stick, and Colette just defies him by inviting the guy to be her guest at a big party later (the one where Kate was pickpocketing). Dean unleashes the authorities at the party, but they find out that the mystery gentleman is actually a prince undercover, not a smuggler. [ha! didn't see that coming! nobody seemed to, really.] As he's hauled off to go home, he and Colette make plans to see one another again. [man! we're not even ditching this guy?!?] The new problem is that, with the mysterious man no longer a suspect, the blame for the customs breach falls once again to Dean, who is told to think about insider folks who may be working an angle. Well, this gives Dean just the clue he needs, and he immediately goes over to the smuggler and socks him in the stomach. [yikes! so I wonder if the pressure will be on Maggie even more now??] Dean later apologizes to Colette.

Now on to the folks now on the airplane this episode - namely, Laura and Ted. Laura takes photos and someone comes up to her, having recognized her from some nude photos in a gallery. She goes to check it out, and they're being displayed by a guy who bought them from the original photographer. Laura is really upset about it, but the exhibitor can't do too much, as he has already sold the prints to a third party. He does tell her that he'll sell them to her if she can get $500 together before the other customer. [I guess that's reasonable? But if the images are already "sold," how can you "sell" them to another person?] She runs to Ted for help in getting the money, but Amanda decides that modern girls need to stick together, and writes her a check. [that's a LOT of money...] Laura returns to the gallery and some onlookers tell her that the pictures are empowering and transcendent, and Laura begins to feel less self-conscious about them. Andy Warhol is the one who wants to buy the prints, and he wants to meet Laura, who might possibly become his new model. [nope. I see this falling apart at the seems.]

Ted and Amanda look at dish patterns and glassware, but he's worried about their relationship. When he goes to ask her about their honesty toward one another, she kisses him and that ends his train of thought. [just like a woman - always flipping on the charm to get out of an argument!] He later points out that he's never met any of her friends, and that there are a lot of things that he doesn't know about her. [really? He never bothered to try and get together with a single friend of hers in the month that they've been dating? He would propose marriage to someone he hardly knows?] He questions how happy she looked with Laura, and Amanda brings him into the bedroom. She doesn't have the best experience, and doesn't let him watch when she re-dresses. [I don't think that's too odd. I mean, if they've only been naked once, it's probably awkward to look at one another again right away.] They meet the next day and he still wants her to be honest, so she admits that she's more comfortable with women, and doesn't know why. She says that she's always felt that way, but that she does love him and want to marry him. She tells him that it'll be an open marriage on both ends. [really? rather than discuss the idea of an open marriage, she just up and announces that's how she wants it to go? What precedent is she working with here?]

The assassination attempt on JFK finishes the episode, though he has not yet died as the credits roll.

Little People, Big World: Zach's Future

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:30:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

It's a good thing that there are plenty of outlets reminding us that Little People, Big World is still doing specials here and there, because the randomness is quite ridiculous. I have no idea why they decided to air a new hour-long look at the Roloffs right now. The last one was centered on Matt, and the one before it on Jeremy, so I guess we're working our way through the family with Zach this time. Molly's been kinda camera-shy through the years, so I guess I'll bet Amy is next, and then maybe a Molly/Jacob combo? I always enjoyed the episodes that focused on Zach, since watching him grow up and confront various milestones was pretty interesting. He takes a different approach from Jeremy, and Amy often mentioned how certain things are just difficult for dwarfs. This episode illustrates just that - Zach taking strides toward making his dream of becoming a professional soccer coach a reality, and opening up about his first real relationship, including his first kiss. Maybe I read too much into it, but I had assumed he had kissed that one girl he took to a dance back in the day. oops. I'm very happy for Zach, though I think they might have stretched something into more than it needed to be. I mean, they haven't even been together for a year and half of this special is designated to their relationship?

TLC

Little People, Big World "Zach's New Love" (Special): The twins are 21 now, though we don't see Jeremy this episode, since he's off in college. Instead, we focus on Zach, who has had the same job for pretty much five years now, though he does have more responsibilities than when he started. He's also dating a girl named Tori now, and has been since pumpkin orientation. [there was a tiny bit about them hanging out in a previous special.] He also shared his first kiss with her, though he was rather insecure and worried in the beginning about the difference in their heights being a problem. Tori assured him that it didn't bother her, and they have a lot in common, including playing soccer on a co-ed team. We see the couple go to the beach with Molly and Jacob and ride recumbent bicycles on the sand. [it was really windy!] Jacob asks Zach [a very staged] "how long have you and Tori been dating," and the answer is seven months. Later, we see Tori come over to the house to help Zach clean his room. [dang, it was messy!] We learn that Tori is a good student who wants to be a teacher. [didn't Zach was to teach at one point?] Zach talks about some of the issues that they have when they go out - like Zach tending to walk in front or move to open spaces so he can see in a crowd. [again, interesting, since these are things I don't think about.] Zach admits to the camera that he thinks Tori is close to saying "I love you," but he thinks that she's waiting for him to say it first. [Zach is so cute.]

Matt wants Zach to think about how he'll make a living in the future, and even tells him that he'll lose his girlfriend if he doesn't figure out a way to "bring home the bacon" and go somewhere with his life. Amy also asks Zach about what he wants to do beyond the soccer stadium, and says that if he doesn't move on, Tori may move on without him. [interesting that both parents are trying to hold his girlfriend over his head as a reason to try harder in life.] Matt takes Zach to race go-karts in an attempt to bond, and he took the time to call ahead and have them modify the cars for their sizes. [wow. again, so interesting since I didn't think of that.] Matt races faster, but ends up wiping out when he pushes the car too hard. Well, all of the comments from the family must be impacting Zach at least a little, since he decides to call the Portland Timbers to try and get more experience. He goes in for an interview and is told that it's a really rough career and incredibly stressful. [tho I think Zach was a little in awe at being next to the coach, LoL.] In the end, he is told to stay in touch, and to work on his next license in the mean time. Amy tells him to follow-up ASAP, so Zach has Tori, Molly, and a friend help come up with some good things to say in an email. [I don't know that asking for so many different perspectives was a good thing. Maybe he could have talked to Tori and/or Molly in private?]

We don't know how much time passes, but Zach is asked to do an internship for the final Timbers home game of the season, which Matt coincidentally has tickets to. Zack arrives three hours early and receives a uniform. He'll be helping to track the event's progress, much like a stage manager for a show. [it's got to be awkward to have a camera crew there for your first time at a "job."] Zach enjoyed watching the coach throughout the game and had a good time. [I guess this was probably a good opportunity to feel out someone's skills and whatnot, but isn't a few-hour "internship" kind of strange? or is that how it's done in sports?]

The Exes: Doing for Another

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

In the first episode recapped below, Stuart helps out both Holly and Phil. In the second, Phil helps his ex-wife and Haskell helps out unknown strangers. And, of course, as always, Eden is helping out Holly in the romance department. It's interesting what a "team" dynamic this show has already developed in the first set of episodes. Obviously that's part of what the premise had in mind by putting three "needy" guys together in one apartment, but I think that this aspect of the show is really coming together. I may not be a fan of the constant "Holly sucks at dating" theme that's flooding the storylines, and I really wonder why Haskell isn't getting fuller plots to himself, but on the whole, I think that this sitcom is really shaping up to be pretty good. [and, as regular readers may recall, I've been having my doubts about this show on and off since the pilot.] The overall critical opinion is mixed, and the numbers aren't amazing, but it might just make it. Now, we also need for the episodes to continue to be interesting, because three or four duds out of the first ten ain't a good sign.

The Exes "Lost in Translation" (S01E07): Haskell bought a coffin... basically because he had no reason not to. [so THIS is the type of guy he's going to be...] He polishes it and puts up ads around the building to sell it. He does, however have to keep it at Holly's because it kills the mood for Phil's date. [haha]

Holly, Phil, and Stuart go out to the downstairs bar, and Stuart messes things up immediately. Holly tries to get him to help her meet a guy, but she ends up ruining that when she hacks on a popcorn kernel. [who serves popcorn at a bar? it goes stale so quickly! Also, LoL at "omg I'm such a big fan of buildings."] Eden helps Holly by putting some of her mail into the guy's mailbox (they live in the same building), so he'll have to bring it back to her. [how many sitcoms have done this now? haha.] She sits around waiting for him to show up, but after hours go by she decides to go out to get wine and ice cream, feeling sad. [makes sense. In fact, I've almost been there!] Unfortunately, when she gets back to her apartment, he's in the hallway to deliver her mail... she's quite a sight after being out in a storm, tho! It only gets worse when they go inside and Haskell wakes up from taking a nap in the coffin in the living room. [why in the WORLD was he doing that??]

So, that was Holly's story. After Stuart tried helping Holly at the bar, he ended up needing to help Phil. Phil was hitting on a girl who only speaks Serbian, and Stuart happens to know the language and can translate. [why would someone act so awkwardly around someone, regardless of whether they're a lingerie model??] Stuart leaves the duo alone and they head upstairs, but the language barrier quickly becomes a problem without a translator. [the episodes of Frasier and Friends where Roz and Phoebe need translators, anyone?] The Serbian girl asks Phil to dinner the following evening, and Stuart will be joining, of course. He also develops a thing for her, even putting on some of Phil's cologne. [I feel like cologne/perfume is one of those things you just don't use without asking... am I wrong?] The girl flirts with both of them, and Phil worries that Stuart will steal her from him, so they decide to make her choose... She wants them to be a threesome of sorts, but it's over when they won't kiss one another. [this was never going anywhere anyway, so at least it ended on a funny note.]

The Exes "My Dinner with Phil" (S01E08): Haskell is taking traffic school for other people... and making $200 a pop in the process. [hahaha. SO illegal. funny, tho! I'm sure a few folks I know would pay for such things!]

Eden tells Holly that one of the other lawyers in their office is into her, but Holly is afraid that she'll lose her job if she accepts his advances. [very true. you gotta be careful!] Eden continues to try and get Holly to flirt, but when she won't, Eden interferes and makes up reasons why they have to work at Holly's place the following day. Holly believes it may get romantic (borrowing wine and candles from the guys), and that's the way the meeting begins. [interesting!] However, it comes to a halt quickly when the guy suddenly has a heart attack! [Holly just can't catch a break.]

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Stuart's favorite restaurant is closing down, and he wanted Holly to come with him for a final meal. [awww. how sweet.] But, she has to work late, so bribes Phil to take her place by saying that she'll just forget about how he's two months behind on the rent. At the restaurant, Stuart goes to feed Phil some bread when Phil's ex-wife shows up. [hence, the image to the right.] It's a pricy place, so when Phil sees that she's drinking champagne and eating lobster while he struggles to pay both rent and alimony, he's pissed. [yep!] The guys end up getting thrown out of the restaurant, and Phil's ex-wife comes to the apartment to complain about how he embarrassed her in public. They make out for a hot minute before she reveals that she's getting married the next day to a TV marital therapist. [are we supposed to believe that Phil is just that irresistible? because I'm not buying it.] Well, now that he doesn't have to pay alimony anymore, he dances around, plans to buy a motorcycle in celebration, and goes out to dinner with the guys to celebrate. He doesn't get to be too jubilant, however, because he soon sees "Dr. Ted" with another woman. [well that sucks. and you just KNOW Phil's going to do the honorable thing and tell his ex...] Stuart wants Phil to tell his ex the truth about what he saw, but Phil tries to ignore it so he can stop paying alimony. But, when Haskell intervenes, Phil ends up going to tell his wife the truth. [really? Haskell convinced him?] At first she doesn't believe him, but after realizing how much money it'll cost him to tell her, she goes to confront Dr. Ted. [OF COURSE she didn't believe him right away. I'd be shocked if she did!] Phil manages to get the restaurant to open just for them two days after "closing," and the guys and Holly enjoy a meal together.

Hot in Cleveland: Melanie Chooses Bad Dates

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

There are times in television comedy where the plotlines are so extremely unrealistic that it works anyway. And, there are times when it doesn't work at all. This first episode is an example of the latter. Two characters who don't always get along being penned up together for three days in a small space should have been hilarious. It wasn't even the funnier of the two semi-boring plots. On the other hand, the second episode was fairly believable in terms of comedy. Too bad the bulk of the jokes could have been condensed down into half an episode. Don't get me wrong, I love Hot in Cleveland. But neither of these episodes were examples of the ensemble's best work. Do you disagree?

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Hot in Cleveland "Two Girls and a Rhino" (S03E07): Victoria is doing a story at the zoo, where two black rhinos are not reproducing as they should. Elka is there, too, as she volunteers at the zoo. [did we know this before?] Joy shows up, bringing Victoria some eye drops. [this write-the-character-into-the-scene seemed a tad forced to me...] The zookeeper realizes that Joy's scent and Elka's scent together excite the male rhino... so, they both must live there until the mating ritual is complete, which is a three-day event. Joy is hard to sell on this idea, and is creeped out at the idea of staying in the zoo (tho Elka loves it!). Elka starts conversing with some primates but Joy is upset because she's hungry. [I didn't understand why they weren't providing food for the ladies...]

Meanwhile, Victoria and Melanie are out at the bar, fishing for guys. They land a triathlete/janitor and a state senator. [interesting combination.] Melanie gloats at the idea of dating a politician, but the next morning she receives a dirty picture on her cell. The senator says that he was hacked, but Melanie wants to be sure, so she sneaks a look at his phone during dinner - no dirty pictures. [something's still odd, though...] However, she drops his phone in soup. [haha!] Later, she's at his house and sees a fancy face product that was in the background of the naughty photo, so she's sure that he's a creep after all. Elsewhere, Victoria finds out that her janitor boyfriend went to Princeton, but she's still pretty shallow about his profession, so it doesn't work out. [I wouldn't have expected anything less from her.]

The end? The rhino is pregnant and will eventually birth "Jelka." The Senator ends up resigning because of all the women coming forward in the sex-text scandal. The janitor wins millions in the lottery. [karma much?]

Hot in Cleveland "God and Football" (S03E08): Melanie takes Elka into a football locker room for her 90th birthday, where she squeezes the kicker's chest. [LoL.] However, while Elka wanders off to see some other attractive men, Melanie gets a ball thrown at her head and winds up in the hospital. The kicker comes to see her, and, although he's not the brightest guy, he asks Melanie to dinner and she accepts. [Melanie has the big dates in two episodes in a row? odd.] The other ladies are also at the hospital, and each becomes involved in something going on. The hospital is looking for AB- blood, which is the type Victoria has, but she will only donate if it's on-camera. [makes sense for the character. A bit rough in real life.] Unfortunately, she finishes before the crew arrives. [I did like the bit about Victoria not wanting cookies with fat in them and not wanting orange juice without vodka in it.] She jumps up when the television crew arrives, which causes her to faint. She envisions she's in heaven, and that Elka is God. She completely believes it when she comes to, and Elka plays it up, having heard her mumble in her unconscious state. Joy and Elka have physicals done, and the results show that Elka is a picture of health but Joy is in a sad state. [I wonder if we're supposed to believe that Joy has led such a more debilitating life than Melanie or Victoria?]

Melanie and the football player are getting quite a bit of publicity, but he decides that he's ready to quit playing football, one game from the end of the season. [is that common?] Melanie convinces him to finish it out, but he ends up being quite injured, and that makes Melanie annoyed... as a non-famous guy, he's pretty dumb. [you'd think she'd learn one of these times!] Joy, trying to give up drinking, smoking, etc. hits on the ex-player, trying to help Melanie break up with him. It doesn't work out, however, and Melanie has to break it to him gently. [Melanie played the whole thing poorly. Why not make sure it's going the way you plan before you barge in shouting things?] He immediately asks out his nurse, who accepts. [whaaaa? jerk.] Victoria is volunteering all over the place, but it soon starts to wear on her. However, fearing God/Elka's wrath, she continues. But, Melanie and Joy get a laugh out of Elka having Victoria convinced that she was God, and we are treated to the line that "you may not be God, but you are certainly divine." [The gag at the end with Joy adding an extra 0 to make her "900" was funny. They shouldn't have shown part of that in the commercials for this episode.]

Suburgatory: Tessa's Gaydar & Love Life

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:30:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

My biggest gripe with these two episodes? I didn't think that "Out in the Burbs" was a very fitting title for the first episode. ESPECIALLY since the second one has more than a few "but that's why you live in Chatswin" remarks that would be more fitting for that title. Yeah, I realize that it isn't a big gripe. But I have others... like why did we leave the water-emergency hanging? Why didn't Tessa think to hide Lisa's "love box" better? If George knew he wasn't going to be able to handle Tessa being alone for 24 hours, then why not have her stay at Sheila's or Dallas' to begin with? And how did the guidance counselor go from being completely closeted to having a boyfriend at community events in two consecutive episodes? On the bright side, George finding the box may bring us back to the premise of the show a little, which has been an ongoing nitpick of mine. And, the sexual tension between George and Dallas now being a bit diffused helps those characters, I think.

Suburgatory "Out in the Burbs" (S01E11): Tessa says that her favorite thing about the suburbs is the water pressure. [I can agree with that - I lived on the eighth floor for a year, and those were not my best showers ever...] And, with that, they immediately lose water, since someone ran over the fire hydrant in the front yard. [I love that they didn't know they had a hydrant in the front yard!] The water damaged the neighbors' driveway, and they want tons of money. [how can it cause damage THAT quickly??] So, although George has been avoiding Dallas since Christmas, he has to take a job working for her. She wants to build a store to sell crystal paperweights with 3D etchings inside. [I do think those things are neat, but it's SUCH a niche market!] George tells Dallas that she needs to knock it off with the double entendres, but apologizes a day or two later, realizing that he jumped to the wrong conclusion. Dallas explains that the kiss wasn't about him, it was about her marriage. [um, okay. not.]

(ABC/ERIC MCCANDLESS)

At school, the guidance counselor assigns Tessa to be the buddy to a new kid, Josh, who is actually an undercover narcotics agent. [I guess this means that Tessa isn't "the new kid" anymore, right?] Lisa instantly falls for the guy, but when Tessa tries to put in a good word for Lisa, she begins to think that Josh is gay. When Tessa tries to help him find a guy, he misinterprets and thinks that she knows he's a narcotics agent. [well this should get funny...] She tells Lisa, who is then determined to get the guy to switch teams. [hahaha.] Tessa goes to the guidance counselor to get some advice about how to help "her friend" "come out." [I was angered at how big a disaster that scene was. just sayin'.] Lisa dresses like a man to try and get Josh, but it's incredibly awkward. Moments later, the narcotics agent comes out and has two assistants to make an arrest for the possession and sales of steroids. [and, in true 2012 fashion, all of the students take videos with their phones.] The episode ends with the guidance counselor telling the cafeteria not to take drugs, get into cars with strangers, etc. Oh, and he admits to being gay, which he tells Tessa he was able to do because of her encouragement. [nice.]

Suburgatory "The Casino Trip" (S01E12): There's a charity dance in the suburb, and the parents are hanging out with their kids, which Tessa considers weird. [...yeah...] It only gets stranger when the closeness of the families is demonstrated when sharing that a teenage girl began menstruating is no big deal. [ahhh! horribly awkward! I like Lisa's hair at the dance, tho.] Tessa talks to the guidance counselor about his openly gay relationship. [really? open? already?]

George wins a trip to Atlantic City, and asks Noah to come with him. [Dalia really didn't know how to pronounce "thirteen" ??] The all-guys weekend involves some of the men lying to their significant others, like Fred telling Sheila he has an ill aunt. George tells Tessa "no partying" and leaves, trusting her to behave for a little bit. Tessa tells Lisa that she plans to have a make-out session with Scott, but Lisa thinks that Scott is going to want to do kinky things, so she offers Tessa some syrup and other sexual items. [anyone else curious as to how Lisa decided what to put in this box?] Turns out, both girls are wrong, as Scott wants to take things very slow, as he had some eye-opening experiences in Africa.

Meanwhile, in Atlantic City (where they seem to only have a single night of debauchery, by the way), the guys have to deal with Fred's gambling problem, which he didn't share until they arrive. [leave it to Noah to know something like this and completely forget.] George ends up calling Dallas to have her check on Tessa, though it takes Dallas a few minutes to agree to spy. The guys spot Steve, Dallas' wife, in the casino, though he's supposed to be in Singapore. After a moment, they agree to keep his secret, and Steve even comes in handy later, when Fred tries to hang himself in the bathroom after winning $14,000 on a dog race. Yes, there are a couple "entertainers" in the suite, but most of the party is too busy dealing with Fred, plus George is anxious when Dallas tells him that Tessa had a boy over. [sad that the "entertainers" left after Steve's speech, though. I guess that's how they kept it family-friendly?]

After the trip, Fred comes home and Sheila thinks his aunt died... and the money came from the inheritance. [ha! guess that'll work!] George does go into Tessa's room and sees the "love box," which upsets him. [Tessa! you couldn't have hidden that?? Demanded Lisa take it with her? c'mon now!]

The Middle: Death & the Super Bowl

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Here we go again with the double-episode recaps. All of the Wednesday shows are doubles, so be prepared if you were hoping for the next few posts to be on the short side. Sorry. But, after The Exes, we'll be all caught up and ready to proceed in our semi-normal fashion.

Frances Bay, who played Aunt Ginny on The Middle, passed away a few months ago. I have been wondering how they were going to deal with this on the show, and we went quite a while without it really being addressed. However, the time came, and it was very "Heck," in that the occasion taught the family that they can't "float" things all the time, as well as to pay attention when milestones are met. As someone who is guilty of letting events slide until they're more convenient (my husband and I both have birthdays within a month of Christmas, so we sometimes pass off the celebrations to a calmer time), I found it to be quite touching. While the second episode, "Hecking it Up" didn't receive the same great reviews from some, I thought it was a pretty good episode. Sue and Matt were cute and all, but seeing Frankie strive to get a "good assignment" for the SuperBowl and the entire family sneaking around to play with the neighbor's car was good comedy. Maybe it could have been shown slightly later (like after the play-offs, for instance), but I think that it was pretty solid goodness. Am I alone?

The Middle "The Map" (S03E13): [broken down by character today. First, Frankie. Then, Axl & Brick. Then, Sue.] The family is coming home from Aunt Ginny's funeral and talking how Mike and Frankie's will is on a napkin. [what did you expect?] Later, Frankie goes to see how Aunt Edy is doing, but she doesn't remember that Ginny died... and has to be reminded daily. [that's gotta be rough!] While going through some paperwork, Frankie discovers that Ginny turned 100 last year, then becomes upset that nobody made a big deal out of it. [that IS sad. 100 is a big deal!] This causes Frankie to decide that they can't be "too busy" anymore... they need to go and do things. Frankie also tries to find a caregiver by putting an ad in the paper. [good thing that the economy sucks right now. and hopefully this will have her interviewing some colorful folks in an upcoming episode?] Late in the episode, the family sings a belated Happy Birthday to Aunt Ginny... then proceed to celebrate five birthdays, two anniversaries, an Easter, and a graduation. [hahaha. so funny.]

Axl eats Brick's Indiana dough map, so they have to make another one, as Frankie is swamped with errands due to Ginny's passing. The boys don't know the ingredients or directions to make the salt dough, so Axl decides to use brownies, since those have instructions. [well done, actually. though I should have seen the smoking quilt coming... that's a running gag that I keep forgetting about!] They try to shape the brownie to look like Indiana, but they end up eating the whole thing in the process. [saw THIS coming, tho!] They can't start over because there's no more brownie mixes, so Axl tries pancake mix. Brick is worried that they'll eat that, too, so they add dirt to the batter... but then they STILL gobble it down! [gross! bleh!] So, they order two pizzas... one to eat and one to make into Indiana. [wow, Axl's really thinking now! and the toppings make a great relief map!] Just then, Brick reads the assignment and finds out he was assigned Texas, not Indiana. So, Brick decides to take the incomplete, since he doesn't want to start over. [part of me can't believe that this is how the storyline ended, while the other part should have just seen it coming.]

While Sue is cheering for the wrestlers, a boy stops and talks to her, and Brad tells her later that the kid, Matt, likes her. [interesting. not sure where I want this to go. you?] Sue tells Mike about the boy, but he doesn't really believe her. [fail!] Then, she tells Frankie, who tells her that she doesn't have to like the boy just because he likes her. [true, but not very Sue.] Sue confronts Matt at the next opportunity, and he admits that he does like her. Unfortunately, Sue more or less tells him that she's not interested because she "has to make herself happy first." BUT, Matt and the wrestlers do a choreographed dance of sorts to tell Sue he likes her, and she says that she likes him back.[well, YEAH! clearly the boy knows the keys to her heart!]

The Middle "Hecking It Up" (S03E14): Frankie is excited to be volunteering for the upcoming Super Bowl event, and is hoping for a great position. [...cool.] Meanwhile, Sue is excited to start studying for her learner's permit, which she can earn in six months. [I don't remember how early I started studying for mine... is six months common?] Matt is over at the Heck house with Sue, and he seems to eat a lot, which Mike isn't thrilled about. [reminds me of Danny & Jesse not being fans of how much Steve (DJ's boyfriend) ate when he was over.] Frankie has been stuffing envelopes, manning booths, and even knit a scarf to "suck up," but she is assigned to deal with parking in French Lick, which is a satellite lot and quite far from the stadium. [awww. I would be super disappointed, too.] She later decides to confront the volunteer coordinator about wanting a better assignment, and she winds up being a "stadium hospitality liaison," though it's just a fancy term for directing traffic in the porta-potty area. [I'm unclear as to why she's given a different position, tho I was happy for her.]

Nancy Donahue (who is going to the Super Bowl) calls to ask Frankie to move her new car into the garage. But when Frankie gets in, it's so nice that she puts it in her own garage instead... and proceeds to use it the week that her neighbor is gone. [a brand-new car is going to have really low mileage... taking it more than a few miles is bound to be noticeable, isn't it??] But, she's not the only one making use of it. Brick has been in it to play with the GPS, Axl took it for a chicken run, Mike took a nap in it, and Sue practices some of her driving moves in it. Actually, Sue ends up driving it around the block when the car rolls a little and she's uncomfortable using reverse to get it back into the driveway. This made for a hilarious minute, as Sue freaks out a few times over items and people in the road. Sue makes it out to be a near-death experience, and tells her wrestlerette "friends" that she felt awful that the last thing she said to Matt was that she liked ham. [not funny but not not-funny...] So, in true Sue fashion, she promptly finds Matt and tells him that she loves him, which leaves him nearly speechless. [of course. she is so quick to ruin a good thing unintentionally.]

When Frankie starts the car remotely, everyone checks their pockets, so the family now knows that they're all messing with something that isn't theirs. [ha!] They develop a schedule to share the car, and the next thing you know they're singing "High Hopes." [are we serious? could this happen?] But the Donahues call... they'll be home in twenty minutes because the girls are sick.

(ABC/RICHARD FOREMAN)

So, Mike brakes hard and food flies everywhere (because, of course, the Hecks had take-out in the vehicle) as they high-tail it back to the house to clean the filthy car inside and out. [I was hoping this would be more comical than it was.] Matt comes to see Sue, and locks the two of them in the car to tell her that he loves her. They kiss, then announce to the other Hecks that they're in love. [gag.] The Donahues instantly notice a scratch on the car, and Frankie admits that the entire family has been in the car. [I don't know that the admittance of guilt needed to include everyone...] Frankie apologizes for the Hecks, and is shocked when Nancy is thrilled that they drove it - this way, neither she nor her husband have to worry about who scratches it first! [talk about dumb luck!]

Oh, and one random thing about this episode? When Brick is in the room and Axl takes a phone call, Axl makes Brick put a belted pillow over his head! [what the..?]

Giveaway: Cupcake Plunger!

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

It's been a bit since we had our last giveaway, but hopefully this one will spark some interest! With Cake Boss: Next Great Baker being all the rage (and one of the more popular topics on this blog - take a look to the left and see how many of the current "what people are reading" articles are related to the show!) and ending soon, I wanted to give away something baking-related. And, this cupcake plunger is the lucky item that you could win!

While I'll admit it's not my favorite way to fill a cupcake, it's a pretty easy kitchen gadget to use. The basic idea is that you put it over the center of a cupcake (already baked), plunge down the trigger to your preferred depth (there are two suggested lines pre-marked), twist out and remove the middle, and push down on the plunger to extract the cupcake. You can then fill and frost, or trim the removed section and add it back on, or create your own way to enjoy your pastry. There are a few YouTube videos with suggested methods as well, so you've got plenty of options!

To Enter: To receive your first entry for this giveaway, you need to comment on this post, answering the question: Who do you think will win this season of Cake Boss: The Next Great Baker? (Hint for those who don't watch the show regularly: the remaining contestants right now are Nadine, a 27-year-old from NYC; Marissa, a 24-year-old from Pompton Lakes, NJ; Ryan, a 30-year-old from Rhode Island. Chad, a 43-year-old from Dallas, was eliminated Monday night.) After that, you will have the opportunity to gain extra entries, by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, or tweeting about this giveaway. Just be sure to click the green buttons so your entries are counted. One winner will be selected at random. You have until 12:01am ET on Sunday, January 29th to enter, and the clock in the below widget should have that countdown there for you. :)

The widget?!? What?!? Yep, we've upgraded to a new way of tracking the entries for our contests and randomly choosing winners, so please give me some feedback as to whether you preferred the old system. I think that this will help you out a lot in earning more than one entry if you desire, but we'll have to see if that's what our readers want! [also, don't be concerned about the "log in" part - if you don't want to go thru your fb/twtter/etc there's an option for just name & email!]
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Switched at Birth: Things Aren't What They Seem

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:30:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

ABCFamily knows that this show has a lot of signing, and therefore has a lot of captioning. Therefore, they know better than to place large, opaque advertisements in scenes where captions are needed. They've issues an apology via Twitter for this "technical issue," but I'm still disappointed that it occurred. Hopefully there will be measures in place to prevent this from happening again.

I thought that playing off Daphne being on Buckner's basketball team so that the school can qualify for a grant was good. Yes, it made me sad, but I bet that this happens fairly frequently and is yet another important thing about the disabled culture that able-bodied folks don't really know much about. Similarly, the replay of the final scene from last week, only this time from the POV of the police officers (aka with sound) was fabulously done, I thought. Also, Angelo having the money to open a salon AND being completely off-the-books for the past two years has got to be a bad sign... though I'm struggling to predict what the story is behind that! I'm also getting really mixed signals from John on what he thinks about Kathryn writing a book. I mean, it became clear a while back that she's looking for a new project, and it was hinted that she might even help out with/at Regina's salon, so I'm not sure where the writers are going with Kathryn's ambitions. And I haven't even comments on the current issues in the Bay/Emmett relationship yet! But, I'm going to wait on that one... I think that we're on the brink of something major there...

Switched at Birth "Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear" (S01E13): We see the previous episode's final scene, this time from the police's point-of-view. When Melody shows up at the police station, she demands to know if Emmett was treated appropriately as a deaf suspect. For instance, he should have had his hands cuffed in front of him. [interesting. I can't remember if I knew that or not.] He's being charged for first degree trespassing and vandalism, as there are digital pictures of him tagging the billboard. Melody tries to say that it won't happen again, but charges are still being pressed. [sad face. poor Emmett.] Regina gets a text from Melody about Emmett's arrest, and Daphne asks Bay if she knew about it. [don't you just love how word spread so fast?] Bay rushes off to Emmett's, but he's grounded and Melody tells her to "stay away," finger-spelling it for emphasis. [I liked the finer-spelling to make it completely clear. I wonder if that's like a "do I have to spell it out for you" -type thing?] Bay goes to Emmett after school to apologize and say that she'll take responsibility for what happened, but he says that it doesn't matter, as he's the one caught on film. [I take it that John and Kathryn have no idea that Emmett was arrested? Because it's only a matter of time before Kathryn puts everything together and realizes that other tagging all over town has been done by Bay...] Later, Daphne goes to see Emmett, and he apologizes for missing her first basketball game for Buckner. She asks him about being arrested and what it was like, and he tells her about how he hated being deaf during it, and how he hated himself for hating being deaf. [deep, yo. I like it.] When Melody meets with Regina, we learn that Emmett is facing 20 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine.

abcfamily.com

[eep! that's a hefty amount.] After Emmett avoids Bay's texts, she eventually shows up at his house and gets his attention by shining a flashlight in his window. She convinces him to come out with her, and she brings him to a space where she sets up a projector to showcase a tagging without actually vandalizing a space. [oh technology. coming in handy every day. Tho, at the same time, only rich kids are carrying around projectors, LoL.]

Emmett wasn't the only one misbehaving this episode, though. When Bay meets Angelo for dinner at a Cuban-Chinese place (she's allowed to go without a chaperone now, which I'm sure will soon end up being a mistake..), he orders espresso for her, which parents don't let her have. [not the biggest deal - he didn't know. And Bay isn't eleven, she's sixteen. While I agree with the Kennishes on this, I'm not too bothered by the fact that Angelo saw no problem with serving her espresso. at least it's not wine!] When Bay gets home, she tells Daphne to give Angelo a chance. Daphne doesn't want to, but after talking to Toby (they had been practicing signals for her new basketball team's plays), she realizes that her relationship with him is really causing a lot of her problems. Daphne looks at an old photo album and sees that Regina removed all of the ones with Angelo in them. [while this makes sense, I'm surprised that Daphne never flipped thru the album before now. Or maybe she just didn't notice pictures were missing?] Daphne asks to see them and Regina brings her a stack. Later, Daphne gets up the nerve to go see Angelo, and asks him if he left because she went deaf. She has to ask him a bunch of times, and he finally says that he mainly left because he found out that Daphne wasn't his biological daughter, though her deafness was a small part of that. Daphne tells Bay about the interaction, and it makes her realize that John is a good dad. [I'm not sure that I would have drawn that conclusion now, let alone when I was sixteen!]

Continuing on with what's up with Daphne, she wasn't played at her first basketball game, which upsets her and John. [I don't know that I consider that to be a big deal. In football there are games when certain players never get put in. Is that not the way basketball works? Plus, she's pretty new to the team, wouldn't there be a trial/break-in period or something?] Afterward, Simone tells Daphne that it will take a little time to win the coach over, but then Simone tells Toby that she overheard her dad say that Buckner qualifies for a grant to upgrade the locker room by having Daphne on the team - a student with a disability. [ooooh... dang.] It's not long before Toby spills this to Daphne, and she gets so upset that she throws out her playbook. [that must have been difficult for Toby to say, but I'm glad that he did.] Daphne confronts Simone for not telling her directly, and Simone basically apologizes, then says that Daphne will play eventually - she's good. [I love how Daphne confronts people. Such a straightforward way of doing things!] After a while, Daphne decides that she will continue to be on the Buckner team, and asks John to coach her so she will excel. [wow. Now THAT took some bravery!]

Enough of the kids, let's go back to the adults... Kathryn is working on the book, and John thinks that they should let the lawyer know that she's writing it. [I suppose that makes sense.] When she goes to see the lawyer, however, she sees her with a guy who is on the board of directors for the hospital! So, when the lawyer comes to the Kennish household, John reminds her that it's a conflict of interest to be involved with someone so close to a lawsuit. [yeah! why was Amanda so nonchalant about it all??] They decide that they need to go with a different lawyer, and Amanda's parting words to the couple were "make the hospital pay - they deserve to." [hmm. interesting.] When the files arrive from the attorney's office, John notices that the detective searching for Angelo had found a two-year gap 2009-2011 where there is not one drop of information available. [uh oh.] Stepping away from the lawyer issue and back to the book, however, when Regina finds out that Kathryn is writing a book, she protests. She doesn't see the point and fears that it will paint her in a negative light. [well, nobody's perfect, but there's no way to ignore some of Regina's flaws when you look at the story...] Kathryn responds that she's sick of sitting on the bench. [I imagine this will eventually cause yet another rift between the women.]

Oh, and there's even more going on with Angelo, speaking of him... Angelo tells Regina that he has enough money to lease a space for her salon, AND he's already scouted one and started sketching up some ideas. [whoa there, hoss...] Regina thinks it's a bad idea if they work together, but after her boss yells at her for potentially opening up a competing salon nearby and taking some of his customers, she becomes determined to do it. [really? you get yelled at for competing and whatnot, and that makes you want to do it even more? I think there's going to be an issue here...] Angelo ends up being a little wary of the idea because of his encounter with Daphne, but Regina wins him over and they even dance together. [I realize that Angelo is in this show pretty much to cause problems, but he's driving me crazy!]

Archer - "The Man from Jupiter"

noreply@blogger.com (JBTec) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:30:00 +0000

by Jonathan Bredemeyer

Hello, TheTalkingBox Readers! We're thinking of adding Archer to our lineup. This is our first review of it, and if enjoyed, we'll keep it up. Let us know what you think!

[Note: This show is rated MA, and may be reviewed in a similar style.]

Archer "The Man from Jupiter" (S03E04): In a rare twist, this episode opens with Archer striking out with the 'not pretty chick' and getting beat up by Burt Reynolds [playing himself by the way...]. After kissing up as hard as possible to Mr. Reynolds, Archer's mother shows up as his date.

Day drinking in the ISIS office, Archer and mom argue about Burt Reynolds and sex. Apparently, Archer has an issue with his mom being with his childhood idol. [For some reason, all the ISIS employees have box-shaped computers with a red enter key and phones built into them?] They can still look up Burt Reynolds' pictures apparently...

Cyril bugs Archer as Lana teases Archer about the Cuban hit squad currently after him. She suggests he go to the safe house for while, but Archer refuses, convinced that it's a ploy to get him out of the way while mom bangs his man-crush. So, as a solution, Archer sends a card to his mom from Burt Reynolds, breaking it off while he kidnaps him.

image courtesy of FOX FLASH

Having Burt Reynolds as a prisoner proves too much for Archer [while he orders a Pimm's cup in a pimp cup], and he narrowly avoids being suckered by getting credit for a screenplay. The ISIS team is headed up to Archer's apartment when they get ambushed by the Cuban hit squad. Archer strikes a deal with Burt Reynolds that if he can't catch the Cuban hit squad, he'll never call Archer's mom again.

As Burt Reynolds' driving terrifies Archer chasing the Cubans chasing the ISIS team, he crashes a bunch of cop cars, goes on two wheels through an alley, and then tricks the Cubans into shooting each other. As a final act of personifying heroism, he saves the ISIS team from crashing, then heads off to take Archer's mom on their date.

Why do the only disturbing comments come from Pam nowadays?

Memorable Lines from the Episode:
Pam: "You could drown a toddler in my panties right now."

Burt to Archer: "You should get a bat pole." "Yep, $9000."

Teen Mom 2: Chelsea Working, Jenelle Detoxing, Kailyn & Leah Around

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

As the title of this post suggests, not much happened for Kailyn and Leah this week. We saw Kailyn file for child support last episode, and this episode we get some more specific figures and see her talk about the situation with Jo. Otherwise, not much. For Leah, Corey expresses an interest in becoming a coal miner, and Ali gets splints (which we were expecting), so not much there. The other girls, on the other hand, had decent storylines. We see Chelsea apply to a few jobs, take an interview, and later be offered a position at a tanning salon, a job that will probably fit her well. Oh, and she has issues with Adam, but I'm almost ready to ignore him completely these days, what about you? For Jenelle, we learn just how big a problem marijuana is for her, as she's incredibly stressed at not being able to smoke EVERY SINGLE DAY. She's trying to stay clean, but, in her mind, neither Barbara nor Kieffer are making that easy. In what may be bigger news, Jenelle actually moved out of her mother's house (again!) and in with a friend. You know this probably won't last, but it should make for an interesting scene or two as they fight and Jenelle demonstrates yet again just how non-personable she really is.

Teen Mom 2 "Making Moves" (S02E08):

Photo by MTV

Chelsea: She loves the new apartment. [good.] She applies for jobs at a gym, a beauty supply store, and a tanning salon. [on the bright side, she seems to know the areas in which she might excel!] She gets an interview at the tanning place, and they later call to offer her the job, starting Tuesday the 25th. [of January, 2011.] Her mom is planning to watch Aubree when Chelsea works. [convenient.] Adam apparently lives 30 miles from Chelsea now, and when he goes over there, he sits there playing with his phone, which annoys her. [well, yeah. she was planning on a movie night, after all.] After a quiet fall-out, Adam stops talking to her... again.

Kailyn: Joe is upset that Kailyn will be working for $8/hour part-time and living off the government and child support. [the girl is going to school. She doesn't have a lot of work experience. the economy sucks. how exactly is she supposed to make much more than that?] He's afraid that the child support will take 25-50% of his paychecks, and it ends up being nearly 50% when he later finds out that it'll be $489/month. Kailyn and Jo have a pretty mature talk about the situation, but Jo thinks that too much is being taken, especially since they're not together. [they totally don't see eye-to-eye about how the amount is calculated, though they both try to reiterate their perspectives.] The conversation eventually escalates, and Jo says that he's going to take Kailyn to court about all of this. [which we all expected. and I'm willing to bet that his mommy is going to tell him what to say, or even say it for him.]

Leah: Corey wants a different job, one with better insurance. So, he's thinking of getting into coal mining, and wants to start working for his certification. [interesting. I wonder how one just "decides" to start mining coal. Did a friend in the business just tell him that it's good money?] They might move later on, which could help them out a bit. Ali gets her splints put on, and they find out that Ali may have an unspecified type of skeletal dysplasia, a form of dwarfism. [sounds like Corey waited until the last minute to bring up the coal thing, since he started classes the NEXT DAY.]

Jenelle: Jenelle is struggling to quit using drugs. [good!] Barbara will let Jenelle feed, bathe, and put Jace to bed. [that's a good start, I think.] Barbara also wants her to get a job, but that seems to be the breaking point for Jenelle. "I have not smoked all day... I'm about to freak out." [oh my goodness! she's gone A WHOLE DAY without drugs and she thinks she deserves a medal??] Barbara offers Jenelle some drug rehab, which she clearly needs at this point, but all that does is make Jenelle go complain about Barbara to a friend. It just so happens that this friend offers to let Jenelle have a room at her place, for $300-$400/month. [how in the world will Jenelle be able to pay for that?] So, Jenelle tells Barbara about her plan, and Barbara tells her that she needs to be civil with her and make plans to see Jace more than an hour a week. [truth!] She's moving out immediately, even though Barbara reminds her that she doesn't have a job yet. Kieffer messages her on Facebook and wants to meet up. [...and you know where this is going...]

Last Man Standing: Lies, Lies, Lies

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This show has been doing pretty well in the ratings, indicative that the average American is enjoying it for the most part. However, there is quite a camp of critics that pan it, week after week. Yes, I agree that it's Home Improvement, Part II, but I still think that it's a funny show. Yes, some of the gags have been done before, and I've caught myself called Mike and Vanessa "Tim and Jill" on more than one occasion, but I think the show is funny. Maybe it's related to the fact that I was a big Home Improvement fan fifteen years ago, but I'll take it. And, I'm not the only one. Do the similarities between Last Man Standing and Home Improvement bother you?

Last Man Standing "Odd Couple Out" (S01E14): There's a bunch of wine bottles in the trash, and Mike wonders if it's the girls. Turns out, the neighbors are having parties and put things in the Baxters' can when they run out of space. [sensible, but this type of behavior bothers me. I'd like to be asked first. And, yes, this has happened to me in real life, only it was the plant/brush container...] Vanessa is really upset that she and Mike haven't been invited to the latest parties, so she interrupts Mike giving the girls another lecture (complete with pamphlets!) on drugs (he's in charge of drugs and alcohol, while she's in charge of sex) to ask him if he has any idea why they fell out of favor with the others. [especially since Kristin was invited to the party!] A month prior, at a 70s-themed party, Mike insulted the fact that Michelle (the neighbor) is a TV weather announcer. [haha!] Of course, he doesn't share this fact with Vanessa, but she finds out soon enough. She tells him not to be mean to their friends. ["you just threatened me with life"] At work, Ed tells Mike that women can't get rid of shoes or friends. Mike tells Vanessa that he knows she has a lot of shoes, and she has no idea what he's talking about... [much like Jill would be confused when Tim would come in and garble Wilson's words of wisdom.]

Vanessa tries to get back in with Michelle by going to a raw food restaurant with them, but Mike isn't excited. [I wouldn't be, either. Though, admittedly, I've never actually been to a raw food restaurant...] Michelle's boyfriend says that he was a Navy Seal, but then he quotes the Marines' motto, which Mike finds strange. [I did, too.] After a few more slip-ups, Mike tells Vanessa that the guy's story is full of crap, but she wants him to play nice anyway, even telling him that she'll root for Michigan over Ohio State, an act which makes her physically ill. [I love it. this little family rivalry is a lot of fun.] Mike keeps quiet, but after Michelle tells the Baxters that they aren't invited to her next party because another couple doesn't like them, Vanessa tells tells Mike to lay it on, and he points out some major errors in the guy's Navy Seals story.

(ABC/PETER "HOPPER" STONE)

Throughout the week, as all of this is going on, the girls are dealing with a lie of their own. Mandy only has to screw up one more time to lose her car (apparently she has quite a few tickets). [Mandy bothers me. I suppose this is what they're going for and all, but her lack of concern over anything that matters bothers me.] Well, Eve asks Mandy to move her car so she can play basketball, but Mandy tells her to move it herself. [now, why, exactly, would Mandy do that? She knows Eve has never driven before. AND, I don't think that Mandy would eve bother to get off the phone to drive anyway...] Of course, Eve gets a big dent in the car. [what exactly did she hit? why not ask Kristin (who is obviously home) to move it for her? and what's with Kristin's deer sweater??] Kristin knows that Kyle has a dent remover, but they'll have to wait until he can come over. Just then, Mike comes in to see what's going on, and Eve says they were going to surprise him by cleaning the garage. [hahaha!] He suggests they power-wash the floor. [LoL, even better!] Later, when Kyle comes to fix the dent, he pulls off some of the paint. [ahhhh!] Mandy mourns her car, figuring it'll be taken away from her, and Eve jokes about moving, right up until Eve realizes that there's a simple solution to the problem.... [what's with the cupcake hat Mandy was wearing?] Put a giant "Say No to Drugs" sticker on the missing paint! Mike figured it out REALLY QUICKLY, but doesn't say anything since making Mandy drive around with it on there is punishment enough. [love it!]

Other things this episode: Kyle doesn't know how to play poker, but is joining Ed and Mike's game. [will this come back up in the future?] And, Mike's vlog was about antiques, specifically old guns.

Two and a Half Men: Walden's Got a New Look

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, regular readers know by now that I often complain that nothing ever happens on this show, and we rarely see any secondary characters. This episode managed to have something happen (Walden changed his look and Alan's back with Lindsay), and we saw Lindsay, Eldridge, and Berta. I don't know how I feel about Lindsay being back in the picture, honestly. Eldridge is fairly useless, though if he and Jake manage to do something more than smoke pot, maybe a good storyline or two will come out of it. I'd still like to see more Berta, and I really don't understand how we're not doing much with her anymore. Also, I thought that Alan's online dating profile situation was going to be good, but it only lasted a minute or so... hopefully this will come up again, though I doubt it while Lindsay's back in the picture.

Two and a Half Men "A Possum on Chemo" (S09E14): Walden and Zoe are having issues - she wants him to have a cleaner look, more or less. Meanwhile, Alan is working on putting up an online dating profile, but he struggles to take a good photo. He talks his way into joining the couple on a night out, and immediately annoys both of them in different ways. [this was just so typical that part of the comedy wasn't there... we know that Alan bothers people, often without trying. Who are we trying to kid?] At the restaurant, Alan sees Lindsay so he goes over to talk to her... she's on a date though, with a guy named Dylan who drives a Ferrari! Alan tries to act as if Zoe was his date (and Walden's little sister), but that doesn't work when the two start making out in plain sight. [I know that this was supposed to be funny, but it was just too easy to predict.]

Later the night, Jake and Eldridge are high and watching Beavis & Butthead, and Alan joins them out of boredom. [have we reduced Jake to nothing but a pothead now?] Eldridge tells Alan that Dylan is gay and that Lindsay misses Alan. None of it was true... the boys just wanted to get rid of him. [this, I thought, was funny.] When Alan gets to Lindsay's, he can hear Lindsay and Dylan having sex, so he doesn't bother to go inside.

Walden wants to know why the beard is bothering Zoe all of a sudden, and she admits that she wants a clean-shaven guy by her side for an office party coming up. Walden decides to have Berta cut his hair (apparently she used to be a hairdresser for a prison), but then he decides that he shouldn't change for a woman, and shows up at Zoe's unchanged. Obviously, he soon ends up leaving. Zoe comes over to Walden's, and he appears with short hair and a face like a baby's bottom. He explains that, "turns out, when you weren't nagging me to do it, I wanted to."

Alan gets a call from Lindsay, so he goes over there. She tells him that she and Dylan are over, then complains about how problematic it is to date a young man, and how great it is that Alan has low standards. [ooooh....] [all the fart references got annoying to me.]

2 Broke Girls: What Does Your Neighbor Do?

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, the girls are down another sixty bucks. Not thrilled about that, I gotta say. The addition to Jennifer Coolidge to the cast may end up being interesting, but in this, her first appearance, I'm not the biggest fan. And I generally like her in the random roles that she tends to play. The main gripe that I had about this episode, though, was that they could have done so much more with the miscommunication about what Sophie meant at dinner. The girls assume they're being solicited to become prostitutes, but that isn't Sophie's intention at all. But, rather than drawing this out for a bounty of fresh jokes, it's played late in the episode and cut away quickly. Oh well, maybe I'm just too big a sucker for Comedy of Errors-type stuff.

2 Broke Girls "And the Upstairs Neighbor" (S01E14): Caroline thinks that they should have a sexual harassment seminar in the diner, as Oleg is getting to be just too much. Max suggests that they try and pull the dirty stuff on Oleg, but Caroline struggles to do so. Max and Caroline have a financial assessment meeting, and learn that they're up to $725 in five months, which disappoints Caroline and impresses Max. Max thinks that it's only going to get worse, so they should quit while they're ahead. [insert masturbation joke this early in the episode.] A detective comes to the apartment, as it turns out the person who lived in the apartment above them died two weeks ago and nobody knew. [the place wasn't smelling up a storm by then?] Caroline decides it's weird that they don't know their neighbors, so she brings over some cupcakes to the guy across the hall... but although the gentleman is friendly, he's also on a leash, which causes Caroline not to want to get to know anyone else. [well, can you blame her? also, it's 10 o'clock at night... who delivers cupcakes at a time like that?] The new upstairs neighbor is playing music, annoying Max to the point that she writes a threatening note. The girls slide it under the person's door, then run downstairs and wait to hear the music stop. It does, but the neighbor also storms downstairs, calling the note "horrible, horrible." [oh no. is this about to be her catchphrase?] They invite her in, and learn that Sophie is Polish and likes cupcakes. [haha at the dark & heavy, light & fluffy comparison.] Caroline gets a lipgloss from the woman. [who has handfuls of makeup in a purse??] Looks like there's a little tension, but all will be well in the end.

At 3am, the music is playing again, and Max taps a broom on the ceiling. The girls are especially upset because the woman took a bunch of cupcakes when they "made peace." They storm up there to complain, but find out that Sophie is having a party with a bunch of women sitting in lingerie. [I couldn't even figure out a single explanation, so I'm glad that Max suggested Sophie is a Madame... an old hooker.] Ten hours later, Caroline is afraid that she is getting an infection on her lip. [haha!] Sophie comes into the diner, as Max invited her for a free meal.

Sophie then invites the girls out to a nice meal, and Caroline is overly excited about caviar. We learn that the girls make $60-80 on a good night, and Sophie suggests that they work for a nice restaurant where they can make $300-350 a night. The girls think that they're being asked to be hookers, tho. The girls confront Sophie about it, and it turns out that she runs a cleaning company, not a brothel. The girls go up to apologize, and see that Sophie has a 3D television.

Cupcakery Total: $665.00 (down $60, since the girls had to pay some for that nice dinner after all.)

HIMYM: Lily & Marshall Don't Live Here Anymore

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Not the most fitting title for an episode.At least I didn't think so. The episode had a few merits, but on the whole it was rather boring and not worth a re-watch. Though I may be partial because I'm not a fan of Lily's dad, and am not the biggest fan of segmented episodes that don't involve Marshall with the guys. Plus, Kevin isn't adding much to the dynamic here... how much longer are we really going to keep him around? I mean, I know that Kal Penn wants to be back in entertainment and all, but hasn't his character served its purpose on this show? Or are we waiting until the have sex and worry about a possibly conception again? Because that's not going to be a worthy episode. Hopefully we'll drop him by the end of the season if nothing else, right?!?

How I Met Your Mother "46 Minutes" (S07E14): Marshall and Lily give out spare keys to their new house, which is 46 minutes away by train. [awww. it's like the end of an era! but, seriously, who gives out that many spare keys to non-neighbors and non-family?] Lily's father has been visiting for two weeks now, and he keeps changing the way the couple decorates. Marshall blows a fuse and can't find the fusebox, but they already told Mickey that they don't want his help, so they're kinda stuck. [in a very dumb way for a very dumb reason.] Mickey steals the matches so Marshall can't find them, making the situation even worse. He does eventually decide to help Marshall, but has him doing strange things to find the fuse box, though it works. The whole experience inspired Mickey's successful board game Lites Out! [hahaha!]

Ted, Barney, and Robin all sit on one side of the booth and won't let Kevin sit on the other side, since that's where Marshall and Lily used to sit. [gag me. you're kidding, right?] Barney decides that he's the new leader of the gang, and he and Kevin believe that the group should move on, and Barney pushes for everyone to go to a strip club. [LoL at early-relationship-chicken. so true for youngins... dunno about these guys...] StripperLily is at the club, and so is her boyfriend... so Barney deems them the new members of the gang, and we see a Russian version of the opening titles, complete with the new characters instead of Marshall and Lily. StripperLily and her boyfriend head to a poker game, so the group goes with, at Barney's insistence. Ted is winning, but things turn violent. StripperLily and FakeMarshall take the group to a big party with an expensive cover charge, which DrunkTed is willing to pay from his winnings. An hour later, they realize they were robbed. So, Ted decides to take charge, and they head to Long Island to see Marshall and Lily. [yes, in the middle of the night.] The bigger deal here is that Kevin actually says "no," and now he and Robin can be honest with one another. [...good?]

In the morning, the gang is there and they all enjoy Mickey's pancakes. Lily even decides that her dad can stay... though the episode ends on the creepy note of Mickey spying on a widow through the window.

The Simpsons: Ted Nugent for President / Coder Lisa

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:30:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

It makes me sad when I really and truly dislike an episode of The Simpsons. Not because it's my favorite show or anything, but because there are so many haters at this point that I don't know how many more "bad shows" they can risk. Now, luckily, when The Simpsons does a great episode, it tends to be pretty phenomenal. Each of the two episodes I am recapping and remarking upon today fall under one of those two categories. The first episode I found to be so bad that I almost turned it off, not caring about what would happen. The second one, however, was so brilliant that I found myself pausing multiple times to write down various amusing lines and clever puns. Yes, I care more about social media than politics, but I don't think that was the full reason as to why I so immensely preferred one over the other. It's rare that I look at two back-to-back episodes of anything, but I think that it's particularly amusing in this case. Did you find the quality to vary widely between the two as well?

The Simpsons "Politically Inept with Homer Simpson" (S23E10): [blackboard gag was not amusing. the couch gag, however, made me laugh.] We start with the family at the airport, as they're heading to a cousin's wedding. [loved the bit about doing these things so as not to make someone feel bad.] Homer's bag is two pounds too heavy, and everyone ends up having to throw away some stuff. [except they threw away more than $25 of stuff, so why not just check a bag??] Then some silliness ensues... a baby checks Maggie's bottle, Marge gets chided for not breastfeeding, Homer gets a massage instead of a pat-down, and Homer's bag won't fit in the overhead compartment. It only gets worse from here, though, as they wind up sitting on the tarmac for seven hours, and when Homer isn't allowed to use the restroom, he grabs the PA and starts making announcements. [I bet the family saw this coming, don't you?] The air marshal confronts Homer, and he is clubbed outside the plane. Bart had recorded the entire thing and posts it online, with tons of people tuning in all over. [hello, 2010s, glad to see you dating this episode, since it's otherwise pretty difficult to tell when in the Simpsons canon something belongs!] It gets 150M hits... so many that Homer now has to go out in public in disguise. [...really?]

Homer ends up on a television debate over what happened, and Marge tells him to rant and rave as if sports were on television. [this made me laugh, honestly. I thought that advice was pretty funny.] He ends up succeeding, and is offered his own show, Gut Check with Homer Simpson. He does a segment on how awful it is that a school in Nebraska is doing away with football. [haha at the joke of painting a Shrek mask yellow.] Some people are starting to question how much Homer is crying on the show, but, of course, there are other people taking Homer's actions on the show to heart... leading to marches with people wearing gravy boats on their heads. (yeah... so Homer poured a gravy boat of paint over a meat outline of America. truth.)

CR: FOX

Marge and Lisa try to talk to Homer, but it doesn't help. Ted Nugent shows up and Homer decides to endorse him for President. [you know, I knew this storyline was coming and completely forgot about it!] Homer has nightmares about the Presidents, and figures out that politics are important. [wow! novel concept! and, haha on both "that's what a play-within-a-play is for" and "no strangling on school days."] It's only moments before Homer figures out that the family planted those ideas in his head, and he's back to supporting Ted Nugent. But, when it comes time to make a campaign video, Homer can't muster up the enthusiasm. [yeah, that's pretty much it. seriously.]

The Simpsons "The D'oh-cial Network" (S23E11): The couch gag starts with the family in a NYC taxi, but the traffic makes them get out and keep going on foot, making their way toward Letterman or some other such show. [kinda funny? a bit long, too.] The official episode begins in a courtroom, and Lisa is on the stand. ["Leave her alone, that's my only talking daughter." hahaha!] Lisa starts a story from the beginning, a few months earlier. [let me interject here and point out that I don't know that the story of HOW her family got a Mapple computer means anything to the rest of the storyline, but okay.] The family went to a new mall, and immediately pull the ol' the-guy-in-that-car-thinks-we're-leaving-so-let's-see-how-long-he'll-wait-for-this-spot trick. They find it hilarious. [it rather ticks me off.] Then, they spot Lenny, who has moved into the condos in this fancy new area but he's pretty depressed. [I thought it was strange that this doesn't factor in later, tho...] Marge tosses a bunch of gift cards for stores that have closed. [quick moment of silence?] Then, family splits up and goes to various stores to use the other gift cards. [so I guess timing-wise, this episode does happen near Christmas and that's why she has all of these cards all at once?] Homer eats cinnamon buns, Bart uses so much moisturizer that he can glide along the floor, and Lisa wants to buy a building block set. [haha at the idea that if you build something else other than what the set was designed for, you'd be sued.] Then, Lisa runs into the twins, who are getting feathers in their hair. They make fun of Lisa and silly bandz. Meanwhile, Homer wanders into the MappleStore and buys a laptop. ["provided you charge me for services that Google offers for free" lol!]

Later, Lisa realizes that she has no friends, so Homer lets her play with his new Mapple computer. Soon, Lisa realizes that it's easier to be friends with people online than in real life. [I'm on the brink of arguing with this theory, but it's a bit complex so I'll refrain.] So, she wants to create an online meeting place of sorts, and recruits the guys in the computer lab to sit around writing source code (on old computers, mind you. There are iMacs sitting on the shelves). Adults and children alike are all over SpringFace, and everyone becomes attached to their mobile devices. The episode pokes fun of people with multiple profiles (Milhouse) and those who use loopholes regarding putting up their real profile pictures (the aunts). In person, though, Lisa is still lonely. [the joke about Ask Jeeves was too drawn-out for me.] Lisa says that SpringFace was used in ways that she never expected, and before long it's causing accidents because people are using it while driving. [the MappleCare ambulance was great.] Lisa ends up taking down the site and telling people to get lives, and a familiar tune begins to play. Instantly, some girls come over to ask Lisa to play Marco Polo... outside the pool. [I didn't understand this at all - not the invitation nor the playing-it-on-land part. I did like SpringTwit, tho.]

The story ends with Marge's sisters rowing against the WinkleVoss twins in the 2012 Olympics with quite a few references to how bratty they were in the movie, The Social Network. [whoa on the makeout session at the end!]

Amusingly, after the episode, there was apparently time to kill. So, they put on a "show's too short" short at the end, and although it was rather amusing and old-school, the rhyming was really the best part about it.

News Roundup: Early 2012 Development & Fun

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:30:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This is the final part of our first news round-up of the year, so it covers nearly three weeks of entertainment fun facts. The original post was so large that we broke it up to be more digestible for you guys. Next week we plan to return to our normal, one-news-post-per-week schedule.

Shows in Development:
There's a new animated/live action comedy hybrid in development called Honey Badger U... yes, based on the viral video of Honey Badger.

Like those period television shows that are on? ABC has ordered a pilot for another one - Gilded Lillys, set in 1895, about the opening of the first luxury hotel in NYC.

Hulu has announced its first slate of original programming, including A Day in the Life (which will launch its second season in March), Up to Speed (which will be a documentary series debuting this summer), and Battleground (a mockumentary to debut on February 14th).

Back when the CW was the WB (and UPN, for that matter), they had bought a crime drama called Cult, but it never got made when the CW swallowed other projects. Now, it's back on the table, though it'll be altered to fit the "teen content" of the network.

Also for the CW, they're getting close to finalizing a deal for a pilot called Arrow, to be based on Green Arrow, a la DC Comics fame. Oh, and a prequel to Sex and the City, called The Carrie Diaries.

CBS is betting on an adaptation of Sherlock Holmes to work out for them.... it'll be called Elementary and take place in modern-day NYC.

OWN has three new shows coming up: Lovetown, USA (two expert matchmakers will spend 30 days in Kingsland, GA to help eight dingle find true love), Lives on Fire (about four female firefighters in California), and Are you Normal, America? (a game show where people admit what they do and a jury of polled folks will determine if that's normal).

Dance Moms is getting a spin-off... Dance Moms: Miami.

TNT's first reality competition series will be called The Great Escape. Ten episodes will air this coming summer. They also ordered a drama series called L. A. Noir, based on John Buntin's book, L. A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City.

Marcia Gay Harden will play the matriarch of "a normal middle-class family that wrestles with the challenges of everyday life while raising a daughter who has magical qualities" on Isabel, a comedy pilot for NBC.

A&E is developing a miniseries of Bonnie and Clyde. They're also working on a Psycho prequel series called Bates Motel.

AMC, on the other hand, is looking to develop a Goodfellas series

Tom Hanks has a futuristic animated series in the works, and Electric City's twenty episodes will air on Yahoo this spring.

SyFy has a two-hour pilot coming called Rewind, an action thriller set to begin production this April.

IFC has two new scripted comedies coming in June - Comedy Bang! Bang! (a sketch variety show) and Bunk (a game show parody).

FOX has a pilot going called Ben Fox is My Manny, a single-camera comedy, about a single mother whose brother moves in to help her raise her child. Living Loaded is yet another of FOX's pilots for next season.

Remember that musical chairs game show that the CW was talking about? It's called Oh Sit!, and ten episodes will debut later this season.

Starz has plans to make Marco Polo a series.

J-Lo and Marc Anthony created !Q'Viva! The Chosen, a Latin-American reality talent competition set to debut on Univision in October.

Bravo is adding quite a few new programs to their lineup in 2012, including Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis (starting March 14), Shahs of Sunset, Love Broker, Million Dollar Listing New York, Don't Be Tardy for the Wedding, and Kathy, a primetime talk show with Kathy Griffin. [NBC Universal - Bravo Press Release]

Big fan of Martin Lawrence? CBS sure is. They're developing two different shows in which the comedian may star. One has him being a foster parent and the other has him keeping his kids grounded in spite of wealthy in-laws. More info will be coming soon!

Other Fun Stuff:
NBC is incorporating Instagram to integrate "compelling user-generated content into its local news delivery on air and online." You can send in photos of breaking news, special events, severe weather, etc. [NBC Universal Press Release]

After last month's barrage of the Duggars and their memorial for their stillborn baby Jubilee, they're back in the news for backing Rick Santorum for the GOP. 12 of the children are part of the campaign! Michelle recorded some robocalls for the candidate as well.

The annual Nielsen "Television Audience" survey reported that, for the first time in nearly two decades, TV ownersehip actually declined, dropping from 115.9 million homes with a TV to 114.7 million. At the same time, 56% of the nation now have three or more televisions in the home. Oh, and the average viewing time per household is up to nearly 60 hours each week.

MetroPCS became the first cell phone company to announce a Samsung Smartphone that will be able to tune into live (local) television broadcasts. They will receive special Mobile DTV signals by 72 stations in 32 cities.

FOX's New Girl was the most DVR'd new series last fall.

The Simpsons is trying to break the Guinness World Record for "longest continuous television viewing" with a fan marathon... that will last from February 8th through the 19th at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles.

Time Warner is distancing itself from Netflix, Redbox, et al. New DVD releases now have to wait 56 days before they're available through those outlets... it used to be 28 days. Time Warner's HBO folks won't be selling DVDs to Netflix at all.

AT&T U-Verse and Verizon FiOS customers can now access Showtime programming through their free iPad app.

The first ever Golden Collar Awards will be given out this year in five categories, to honor the past year's Best Dog Performances. Best Dog in each: Theatrical Film, Foreign Film, Direct-to-DVD Film, Reality Television Series, and Scripted Television Series. Awards will be presented at the dog-friendly Hotel Palomar in LA on February 13th.

Wondering what else Ryan Seacrest is up to these days? He's working on re-branding a new network, to be called AXS (pronounced "Access"), which will launch this summer.

If you're a White Collar fan (or even if you're not!), there's a new six-week game you can play, coinciding with the mid-season episodes. There are weekly challenges, and when you complete all six, you can enter a sweepstakes to win an iPad2.

News Roundup: Early 2012 Cast & Plot Updates

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This is the second part of our first news round-up of the year, so it covers nearly three weeks of entertainment fun facts. As mentioned before, there has been a TON of news in the past three weeks, so we split the post into three topics to be more digestible (though you may notice that this is the smallest section of the bunch). Next week we plan to return to our normal, one-news-post-per-week schedule.

Cast & Plot Updates:
Carl Reiner will guest on Parks and Recreation. So will Paul Rudd.

Whoopi Goldberg will play Sue's guidance counselor on The Middle.

Emma Stone will be on 30 Rock on January 26th.

Brian Stokes Mitchell and Jeff Goldblum will play Rachel's dads on Glee.

Howard Stern is the newest judge on America's Got Talent. [NBC Universal Press Release]
Word around the tabloids is that Leah from Teen Mom 2 is pregnant again... AND engaged. But that's not all. Jenelle has been charged with making harassing phone calls and communicating threats. She was released on bond. Later that same week, she was arrested again, this time for violating a domestic protective order.

The new season of Who Do You Think You Are? premieres February 3rd. But, more importantly, it will feature Martin Sheen, Maris Tomei, Helen Hunt, Reba McEntire, Rob Lowe, and more.

Next fall's The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" episode is already underway. Showrunner Al Jean has said that, "It deals with in no particular order, The Mayan calendar's prophecy of the end of the world, black holes, Paranormal Activity and what would've happened if Homer and Marge hadn't gotten ready."

Mike & Molly's eponymous stars will likely get married for May sweeps.

News Roundup: Early 2012 Scheduling

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:30:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This is our first news round-up of the year, so it covers nearly three weeks of entertainment fun facts. Ergo, the full post was very long. So, we split it up into three posts to cover three areas, hoping it'll be more digestible for readers. Next week we plan to return to our normal, one-news-post-per-week schedule.

Renewals:
Flashpoint has been renewed for a fifth season.

Giuliana and Bill has been renewed for a fifth season.

USA renewed Psych for a seventh season.

TVLand renewed Hot in Cleveland for a fourth season.

The Glee Project was renewed by Oxygen for a second season.

Last Man Standing will now have 24 episodes this season instead of 22.

Cancellations:
You'll also start seeing Last Man Standing more often, since ABC canceled Work It after just two episodes.

So You Think You Can Dance has had its results show canceled.

China has canceled 88 television shows since October.

The Martha Stewart Show has been cancelled, partly due to high production costs. After April, only repeats will be running.

Other Scheduling Updates:
Fairly Legal and In Plain Sight will move to Friday on March 16th.

Life's Too Short, a faux documentary starring Warwick Davis as a fictionalized version of himself, will debut on February 19th on HBO. Look for it on Sundays. HBO's Luck debuts on Sunday, January 29th. HBO's Game of Thrones returns Sunday, April 1st, at 9pm for its second season.

Disney XD is going to launch "Marvel Universe" on Sunday, April 1st. It's a programming block that will feature the new animated series Ultimate Spider-Man.

Mad Men will return for a fifth season on March 25th, starting with a two-hour opener. The Killing returning on Sunday, April 1st.

Swamp People's third season will premiere on Thursday, February 9th.

Cougar Town is back February 14th.

Degrassi is back on Monday, February 20th on TeenNick.

Some ABC premiere dates: Don't Trust the B--- in Apartment 23 will premiere on Wednesday, April 11th. The River will premiere on Tuesday, February 7th. Scandal will premiere Thursday, April 5th.

Sunday, April 8th is a big day for Showtime - Nurse Jackie, The Big C, and The Borgias are all back that night!

Being Human comes to BBC America on Saturday, February 25th at 9pm ET/PT. Absolutely Fabulous comes to the network on Sunday, February 12th at 11pm ET/PT.

Netflix's original series, Lilyhammer, will have its entire first season available to watch in the US and Canada, starting February 6th.

Can't wait to see Smash when it officially debuts on February 6th? You don't have to - some American Airlines flights will have it in-flight through January 30th, it'll stream on NBC.com and Hulu from January 23rd thru February 6th, and it'll be available thru February 6th on iTunes, Amazon Video on Demand, Xbox, Zune, Playstation, Vudu, and Samsung MediaHub.
New Comedy Central series Key & Peele (with eight episodes to start) begins Tuesday, January 31st at 10:30pm. The duo is most known for their improvisation and celebrity impressions. [Comedy Central Press Release]

NEW SHOW: Alcatraz

noreply@blogger.com (AmyKB) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:30:00 +0000

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Surprised that we're covering this new drama? We've mentioned a few things about the show here and there, but we never really went over what our plans were for the mid-season programming this Spring. Alcatraz is one of the few that we've earmarked for interest, others being GCB and Smash, and *possibly* The River. I've never been a big fan of police shows, so I'm not sure how long Alcatraz will last for me, but I do know that the first two episodes were pretty intriguing. I wasn't into Lost, so I have no big background with Jorge Garcia like some people do (in fact, looking at his IMDB resume, I don't even remember him on Becker, and I had already forgotten he was on last year's failed Mr. Sunshine). But, I really liked him as "Doc" Soto, a comic-book writer who has written no fewer than four books on Alcatraz. The girl who plays Madsen? Not as enticing. Parminder Nagra? Always a favorite. Sam Neill? Other than Jurassic Park, not too big a fan of his. But I'm not a big believer in a cast necessarily "making" a show, so let's not focus on that too much. When it comes down to it, both my husband and I wondered if a film wasn't a better outlet for what's going on here. Though, it seems to fit that medium in the same way that Terra Nova would have been suited for it... so maybe things are just changing. Not that we've seen a renewal for Terra Nova yet, but still. I have no reason to drop this show at this point, as I'm crazyinterested in what is going to come next and the reason for the "disappearances" in the first place!

Alcatraz "Pilot" (S01E01): The opening suggests that, on March 20th, 1963, instead of the inmates being transferred off the island, they just disappeared. 302 men - inmates and guards alike, gone. This was covered up by faking transfer papers, and, later, death certificates, apparently. On that fateful night, two police officers arrives at Alcatraz but no guards met them, so they're on high alert. They find the prison empty, and we learn that the younger of those policemen was Hauser, who now runs a secret division of the FBI. [okay. quite the interesting premise.]

In present-day, a little girl hears a sound while touring the antiquated penitentiary and wanders off to explore, coming across a guy sleeping in a cell. [will all of the missing folks come back inside Alcatraz?] The guy begins to meander about the island, and he even mysteriously has a ferry ticket in his pocket, as well as some money and a key. [how exactly did all of that work?] He thumbs through someone's book to see himself, Jack Sylvane, listed as a prisoner, booked in 1956. Flashback to his stay in 1960: his cell is ransacked, a screwdriver is found (he says it isn't his), and he's denied rights to see his visitors that day. He is put into solitary confinement and later was bled for no apparent reason. [super weird. I wonder how this is going to factor into the future of this drama...] The following month, when he sees his wife at visitors' day, she asks him for a divorce.

A female cop in San Francisco, Madsen, lost her partner in pursuit of a criminal three months ago, and has not had a partner since then. She finds something wrong with each potential pairing that is suggested. [I probably would, too, if my original partner was a great match!] She's called to go to the scene of a homicide, but the feds soon tell her to back off. She steals a photograph with a damaged frame and finds that it has Jack Sylvane's fingerprints on it. [did they not track people often by fingerprints in the 60s? Otherwise, shouldn't the guy have known better?] The victim was a Deputy Warden of Alcatraz, so after she puts two and two together, something doesn't add up. She goes to Diego Soto, an expert on the prison. He tells her that Sylvane robbed a grocery store that sold stamps, making it a federal crime. She tells him that Tiller was killed the night before and Sylvane's prints were at the scene, but Soto says it's not possible, as Sylvane has been dead for thirty years.

Madsen goes to talk to a family friend, who was once a guard at Alcatraz. [and a friend of her grandfather's, apparently.] He tells her to walk away from the case, as it isn't her jurisdiction. [smart guy. but I bet he knows she won't listen to him...] Soto brings her Sylvane's death certificate, but they plot to sneak around The Rock the next day. They try to get to the barracks where the guards lived with their families, since Soto knows that there are files off-limits there. Being a police officer, she picks the lock and they start going through stuff. The lights suddenly go out and a can of gas goes off. When they wakes up, they're with the feds - Hauser and his assistant, Lucy, work in a bat cave of sorts UNDERNEATH Alcatraz. They soon admit that Sylvane's transfer and death certificate are fakes. [was the gas necessary? And did Hauser and Lucy really move those bodies on their own?]

Meanwhile, Sylvane is running loose, and goes to a gym to find the locker that is opened with the key he's carrying. There's a gun inside, and Sylvane roughs up the kid working there. The kid at identified Sylvane for the agents and passed on the license plate number of the cab he took. [well done, kid!] Sylvane kills two cops and goes after a guy named Flynn, asking for a black bag in a safe, which contains a key... then he shoots Flynn. Later, he goes after his brother, who married his late wife. [this is how awful his wife was... she asked for a divorce so that she could MARRY HER HUSBAND'S BROTHER.] The agents are in hot pursuit by now, but when they arrive Sylvane has already taken his brother to their wife's gravesite. Madsen asks him to put down his gun, and he says that he was just doing what he was told, but he doesn't reveal who gave him those instructions. [how strange...] He goes to shoot her so that she'll have to shoot him, but another agent beats her to it. [this whole scene was a bit overly suspenseful, don't you think?] He's removed by Hauser, who pretty much tells Madsen that her work is done, and that Sylvane got a new identity so he can serve a life sentence. When Madsen asks about Alan, she's just told that he won't be a problem. However, there's more to it than that... we see Hauser put Sylvane in a hidden prison that looks just like Alcatraz. [okay. super creepy. really??]

CR: James Dittiger/FOX

Lucy and Hauser tell Madsen that they knew the 256 prisoners and 46 guards that disappeared were going to come back, and that they've been waiting a long time for it to happen. [but they don't say more than that? Madsen and Soto don't ask for more information??] Madsen and Soto are brought into a room filled with the photos of the folks who will reappear. In this room, Madsen learns that grandfather wasn't a guard, he was an inmate... and he was the guy who killed her partner three months earlier. [wow. talk about a double shocker!] Howser has Madsen transferred, though he tells her that she has to keep quiet... this is extremely secret work. [no sh!t, Sherlock!] She requests Soto be her partner, who accepts and is accepted by Hauser, who now doesn't have to kill the guy. [eek!] Their mission: find all of the missing folks, as well as whoever took them in 1963. [this should keep them employed for quite a while!]

Alcatraz "Ernest Cobb" (S01E02): Ernest Cobb was a serial killer who requested to be moved to Alcatraz so that he could enjoy a private cell. [just like the head warden, I was amused by this request.] He then requested to be in solitary confinement, to abstain from yard visits, etc. but his request is denied, which makes him freak out. He eventually disobeys orders to get thrown into solitary, but the head Warden is onto him, so he makes him share a cell with a talkative fellow that that the situation is a true prison for him. [that SUCKS!!] Cobb spent more time than any other inmate in solitary confinement while at Alcatraz. [and it was by choice. how interesting!] Eventually something else must have happened, though, as he wound up in a straight jacket, and Lucy was his doctor!! [we don't know who all knows this at this point, but I assume Hauser is in the loop on it.]

Lucy asks Sylvane if he knows Cobb, but doesn't learn much. [so already-captured former prisoners will be recurring on the show for questioning?] Sylvane says that he was in his cell 50 years ago, but something happened. She asks him about the key he was found with... but he doesn't know what it opens nor who asked him to get it. This whole time, his hands are on some sort of lighting device, which is a type of lie-detector. [interesting. Is this a futuristic device or am I just not aware of such technology?]

In present day, Cobb has a picnic alone in San Francisco. He uses a scope to look at people, then shoots three from a great distance. Seeing a couple dead crows lets Soto know immediately who the marksman was, and, since Soto knew what kind of gun Cobb preferred, they are able to figure out the range rather quickly. [I love the character of Soto. so smart!] Madsen, who has to remind Soto not to let his emotions cloud his judgment, leads her partner up a hill, where she finds a casing, despite Soto's warning that Cobb was kinda OCD. [I wonder about the OCD comment. That wasn't too necessary this episode, I didn't feel. was it to set up something that'll happen later?] Lucy, Madsen, and Soto go to a specialty gun store to show a worker a picture of Cobb. [why did Hauser send Lucy on this errand?] Cobb used a prepaid credit card with no name or address, and had a hotel key on him. They track down the hotel and go to the room, but Cobb isn't there. [wow! what a run-down place!] Instead, he's across the road, and shoots through the window to wound Lucy in the heart, who is taken by ambulance to St. Mary's and is later in a coma. Hauser goes to Sylvane to ask if Lucy was a target, but he doesn't know. [hmmmm.... so I guess Hauser doesn't know that Lucy was a doctor at Alcatraz?]

Madsen notices that there's always a girl who looks 15- or 16-years-old in each cluster of shootings, so she's trying to figure out why. [are we to believe that nobody ever picked up on this before? because that seems highly unlikely...] Soto finds a letter addressed to Cobb that he never received... when he went to meet his mother (he grew up in an orphanage), she slammed the door in his face, but he saw she had a daughter slightly younger than him, hence his hatred of girls that age. [okay. I get it. a teeny bit of a stretch, but okay.] Madsen recreates Cobb's cell, then spends all night trying to piece things together. Eventually she realizes that he had made a scope to watch the city. [resourceful guy!] Soto and Madsen compare the area of San Francisco that Cobb used to watch with a current map to locate two buildings that would have a high enough vantage point to match a second round of shootings that is going on. Hauser and Madsen find Cobb, and although Madsen is nice to him, Howser shoots him in the hand, to avenge Lucy. [gross.]

A final note: In his books, there's not much about Tommy Madsen, and Soto says that's because he couldn't find much about him. [hmm. this is obviously going to resurface again...]