The Talking Box

Big Bang: "And Space Beats Water"

2013-05-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Leave it to Howard to want to undermine Leonard's awesome adventure to work on a project for Stephen Hawking! He'll never let anyone forget he went to space (I guess he forgot the lesson her learned on Halloween?). Howard aside, there was a big difference in character growth for Raj... he is now able to talk to women without being under the influence of alcohol. It will surely make it easier to write the character, plus that gag got old sometime ago. What's sad, however, is that he made real strides with Lucy in his life, while Leonard and Sheldon are very much in the same place they were a year ago. When the fifth season ended, Sheldon took Amy's hand for the first time, but nothing has progressed... in a YEAR, he still isn't ready for anything more physical. Leonard, on the other hand, proposed to Penny last year and they dated pretty solidly since then, but when Bernadette mentions the idea of marriage, he shies away like it's a hot potato. All in all, not the greatest episode, and certainly not worthy of a season finale. The big question now is whether Leonard will miss any episodes because of this trip, or if he'll be back with the gang right away come fall... thoughts?

The Big Bang Theory "The Bon Voyage Reaction" (S06E24): Leonard has the opportunity to work on a ship in the North Sea for four months, and Sheldon does everything in his power to convince Leonard not to go. [but he doesn't really give any indication of why he has that stance.] Penny tells Sheldon to lie and say he's happy for Leonard, so he does.

The group wants to meet Lucy, but she's wary of strangers so she just meets one of Raj's friends first. He thinks that Leonard would be the best one for her to meet, but Penny thinks a girl would be better, so he asks Bernadette. [she' be my choice, too. good manners, less awkward, not very intimidating.] Amy winds up being the pick, however, because she was the last one to join the group. [decent reasoning.] The meeting has a lot of on-the-spot moments, forcing Lucy into the bathroom. AGAIN. But, it's all just too much for her, and she ditches Leonard's going away party by dumping Raj via text message. [I am so glad that texting wasn't around until after I was engaged, LoL.]

On the way home from dropping off Leonard at the airport, Penny checks on Raj, who is able to talk to her while sober. Turns out, he can now hang out with Bernadette and Amy as well without drinking, though he is uber-chatty. [what is Raj wearing?? stripes and paisley??]

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What do you think this means for Raj next season?

Fun Friday: Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock

2013-05-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

With the season finale of The Big Bang Theory last night, I wanted to talk about rock-paper-scissors, a game that I learned in first grade. Before that point, I only determined "it" through the means of eenie-meenie, one-potato-two-potato, or odds-and-evens. I was in love with the whole idea that you could TIE in rock-scissors-paper, and got giddy when we would just play rock-scissors-paper over and over instead of an actual game! Years later, it's rarely used, though in college we frequently played it to determine who should play first in miniature golf.

Anyway, because I was not alone in loving the game, I'm probably not alone in finding an upgrade to be AWESOME. If you're not familiar with the expanded version as Sheldon plays it on The Big Bang Theory, the rules are (straight from Sheldon!): "Scissors cuts paper. Paper covers rock. Rock crushes lizard. Lizard poisons Spock. Spock smashes scissors. Scissors decapitates lizard. Lizard eats paper. Paper disproves Spock. Spock vaporizes rock. And as it always has, rock crushes scissors." You can see a handy visual below, originally found at nathanthenerd.tumblr.com.

This game comes up several times in The Big Bang Theory, notably in "The Lizard-Spock Expansion" (S02E08) and “The Rothman Disintegration" (S05E17), the latter of which even credits the creator of the game, Sam Kass. I have yet to really test this version in real life, partly because I need to study it a little harder, and partly because I'm not sure how many other people will really convert to this advanced method. Can anybody out there attest to the powers of the new game?

Family Tools: Invisibility and Mistakes

2013-05-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

Already canceled (and many believe that it was destined to be because of its very late debut), I still think that this show had some great comedic potential. The second episode was a bit absurd, but funny, especially when taken with a grain of salt. The third only had some select moments and seemed to rely heavily on one-liners, but the characters are still being developed. Speaking of which, I found it weird that Tony didn't try to check up on Jack at all in "Now You See Me, Now You Don't," but he was back to his old ways and beyond in "Beachwood Approved," so no harm there. Still, the best line from either installment was definitely "I am a fraud and I need your assistance. How would you like a new roof?" Can you think of any better ones?

Family Tools "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" (S01E02): Jack and Darren are working at an office where the "toolbelt effect" is clear. See, in "white-collar country," guys with tool belts don't exist. Therefore, Jack and Darren mess around to see if anyone notices them. Everything changes, however, when Jack takes off his tool belt to tend to a coffee spill, as multiple people welcome him to the advertising office as a new employee. [they played it up a bit, but this was annoying.] When an old high school classmate, Wendy, chats with him, he claims to have 70 vans and be a hot-shot CEO, a charade that he keeps going for a few days.

Darren mutters an idea for a slogan that Wendy uses as her own, leading to Jack coming clean about who he is and why handymen are people, too. Well, Wendy flees and the two guys envision wrecking a pitch meeting with their power drills. [it was wholly unbelievable but still a little funny. and I was a little bummed to find out it was fake, haha!] In reality, they just tell on a bunch of office employees and take an espresso machine. [tattling? really?]

ABC/Nicole Wilder

At home, Mason likes a goth girl, Louise, and Terry spies on them. Louise loves cockroaches so Mason makes her a collage. [omg.] Mason goes to Tony, Stitch, and Darren for relationship advice. When Darren finally goes to hold her hand, Louise jumps on him. [ha.]

Family Tools "Beachwood Approved" (S01E03): Terry harasses Tony about his health, making him run steps, go for walks, ride his bike, and check his blood pressure. [I like the little doses of reality this show has... family caregivers are totally judged by the improvement of their patients.] When the news at the doctor's office isn't great, Terry decides to use her urine sample instead of Tony's so that as least the glucose level would be good. [gross but funny.]

Mr. Jiffy-Fix gets a job in an expensive community, so Tony is paranoid that Jack will screw it up. [of course.] The owner is even leaving town for two days, which you'd think would mean the guys could take their time and get everything right. Well, Darren throws parties and Tony goes around secretly fixing Jack's mistakes. [Darren and Stitch dealing with their grandfather is annoying, not funny.] In the end, it goes well, and Jack picks up an electrical job in the community. [wow!] But, things go poorly, Darren begs Jack to call Tony for help, and Jack has no choice but to call his dad when there's an unexpected plumbing emergency as well. In the end, we learn that Tony had a job in Beachwood thirty years ago and messed it up, so his son is entitled to make his own mistakes. [not a bad ending...]

The Middle: School Problems, Lies, and Advice

2013-05-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Do kids just not get their hair done for Prom anymore?? I've noticed this on television and it really strikes me as odd! and sad, for that matter. Another thing about these two episodes that shocked me is how much Sue stands out. I think that she's an oddball as much as Brick is, but her plots can be blown out of proportion pretty quickly. I know that it's for the sake of comedy in many ways, but I often wonder what suffers because of those stories. For instance, Mike and Axl's fishing adventure was really about two minutes long if you piece the flashes together... and I know Mike isn't one for a lot of talking, but I think that he could/would have given more advice to his college-bound son. Oh, and this family has a boat??!?

The Middle "Hallelujah Hoedown" (S04E22): Sue thinks that she can stop herself from freaking out while taking her driving tests by practicing Lamaze breathing. [this seriously made me laugh!] But, she fails three more times anyway. [I can't think of anyone who failed more than twice... can you?] Carly makes her feel bad when she gets her license on the first try, but when her other friends also begin driving, Sue feels terrible and turns to Reverend TimTom for advice. [he's always around when she needs him, huh?] She tries to take his advice but blows up at a hoedown when all anyone talks about is driving problems. [completely believable.] Her friends band together to give her more confidence, but she can't take the test again for another month anyway. [half sad and half funny.]

ABC/Michael Ansell

Axl and his friends start a service asking girls to proms for people. [what teacher encourages interruptions like that??] He asks Cassidy to go, though he initially thought that she wasn't interested. [weird.] At Prom, she tells him that she'll be leaving sooner than expected for Vassar, as she was accepted into a summer program. To make matters worse, when she says that they won't be together next year anyway, he breaks up with her on the spot. [so sad!] Axl is crowned Prom King, and has nobody with whom to dance... though WeirdAshley comes to his rescue. [which we all knew was coming!]

Frankie is worried that she'll be getting the shaft for Mother's Day yet again, so she tells Brick exactly what she wants so that he can make it happen. She says he's the only one she's going to tell, but then says the same thing to Sue and Axl. [I love this family!] The problem is, nobody can really remember what Frankie asked for... and when Brick stumbles onto it, Mike isn't sure about getting Frankie something "medical." [the foot spa was season 1, so I don't have a link for you as a refresher, my bad!] Mike decides that it's not his job to pick something out, and Brick decides to get yellow pants for his mother. [hahaha.]

The Middle "The Ditch" (S04E23): Axl realizes that Sue has never missed a day of school, so he encourages her to skip school for a day. She decides to do it, sneaking out of the house and intercepting the call from the attendance office. BUT, because she's never missed before, she wasn't aware that she'd need a signed note when she returned, so she spends the next couple of hours practicing her mother's handwriting. [if you start doing it when you're like 12, you've got it down by 16. just sayin'.] Then, she calls Brad and finds out that there was a surprise assembly of college a capella groups, complete with ice cream! [we had one "surprise assembly" my whole high school career, but it was AWESOME. Ben Glenn came!] In trying to make herself feel better, Sue tries to enjoy some junk food in bed, but spills all over her parents' comforter. [HILARIOUS that she thinks her parents could see what time she used the internet. Mike and Frankie aren't that tech-savvy, LoL!] The whole experience gives her hives and causes her to miss two MORE days of school! [that kinda sucks.]

Frankie has to pay the electricity bill in person because it's late, but the line is long. When one person mistakes her for a doctor because of her lab coat, she goes along with the ruse and gets special treatment from several others, including the girl at the window, who waives the late fees. [not impressed.] When Frankie gets to the office, one of the people who let her skip turns out to be a patient, so Frankie has to act like she's the dentist and the dentist is her assistant. When her boss questions what's going on, Frankie says the guy was stalking her, and the boss bans him from the office. [hahahahaha.]

Brick doesn't want to go to middle school because he'll be lonely and the water fountains are different, so he refuses to take the placement test for his "track." He's sent to the school psychologist, who makes him feel better as soon as he mentions that he'll be at the middle school two days a week. [cuts like this make me sad. my HS had two full-time guidance counselors and one who had other responsibilities as well, and I would've been very upset if I couldn't get in to see at least one whenever I needed something.]

Mike and Axl go fishing, but after they get distracted by some volleyball players, the trailer becomes unattached and stuck in some sand. It takes them a while to get moving again, but Axl saves the day and Mike "never looks at another woman again." [hahaha, yeah, right.]

Secret Life: Marriage and Moving On

2013-05-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

The show of a thousand storylines! We've likely wrapped up Tom, Madison, and Lauren, but I think all of the 20+ other characters still have something going on, which will really start to become pressing in the remaining three episodes. A few major things that stand out, however... Chloe possibly going back to her stripper days. I don't know what she's not getting that she feels she needs this life again... PLUS, I want Ben to talk to Henry and Alice more, not Chloe! Next, Kathleen. I'm not sure why they bothered to write-in her mother for two episodes, except possibly to show the family trend of marrying young. Speaking of which, what was with Grace and Amy telling Kathy to "play the field" when neither has really done that?? The bottom line? I'm starting to become nervous that we're going to get a slipshod ending...

The Secret Life of the American Teenager "First and Last" (S05E20): Kathleen's non-drinking, non-card-playing mother, Victoria, visits, interrupting what was going to be an elopement. She's very critical of her daughter, and even more so of George. [makes sense.] Kathleen hasn't spoken to her mother since Marshall died, but Victoria needs someone to care for her, as her husband left her after she demanded to visit Kathleen before she dies. Bad heart or not, Victoria was shunned from the community for disobeying her husband, who has already married someone else. [seriously??] Victoria knew that Marshall had a girlfriend in Africa, as she heard about it through the missionary grapevine. [ha!]

Victoria isn't the only newcomer to the scene - George's mother shows up after taking a long trip to see all 50 states, which began before the series premiered. With both mothers present, Kathleen and George get married as Grace and Amy cry on one another's shoulders. [LOVED Kathleen's dress!]

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Grace was crying because she's trying to get out of marrying Jack (who is finally cast-free!), though she did accept his proposal. Amy's reason for crying isn't as obvious, though we do learn that she wants to get married the day after she graduates from high school so that she can jet off to New York a week later for summer school. [Ricky is unaware, though Ben has figured it out.] Both George and Adrian are skeptical that the wedding will occur.

Weddings aside, Omar and Adrian have a condom break, and he's paranoid that she's pregnant. She claims that she's on the pill and doesn't need the morning-after pill, but Omar is worried because she got pregnant by Ben when she was on the pill. [you guys know I have so much to say here but I'll refrain...] She suggests that they get married a year from June, after her sophomore year, and then they'll move to New York.

On the educational side of things, a speller named Brian asks Kathy for bee tips, but Ethan doesn't want her to spend time with him. [such a control freak, that boy!] Ethan tries to prove he's a good enough speller to help Brian instead, but it doesn't work. On the flip side, a girl named Layla cheats off Ethan's algebra test, and it takes some convincing to prove that it wasn't Ethan who was copying Layla's paper. [this is another scene I thought that we could have done without. what did it really add??] For the older kids, college acceptances are going around, and although Madison and Lauren got in to Hudson, they're planning to attend Berkeley. [thank goodness that SOMEONE on this show knows what Early Admission means!] Grant is going to Harvard, and Grace is so jealous that she makes a scene. [ha! that's what you get for not putting academics first, Grace!]

The Secret Life of the American Teenager "All My Sisters with Me" (S05E21): Kathleen's mother has passed away, so she wants to be alone, as does Grace. Grace is still trying to get out of her engagement, so she thinks about going to a different college than Jack, then has sex with in an attempt to prove that they're incompatible.

Anne offers the house to Amy and Ricky (and John and Nora), but Amy wants to go to school in New York without her husband and son. Anne then gives Amy a second option: if she doesn't want to get married, the house will be sold and Amy can use the money to fund her single mother life in New York. [either way, that's a crazy deal! I bet Ashley would be mega-jealous!] Ben is also still looking out for Amy, though Leo puts the kibosh on his son having both an apartment and an on-campus room. [good!] Ben can't stop thinking about his first love, however, so Chloe tries to seduce Ben into forgetting about Amy. [hold the phone! this was ridiculous!!] When he turns her down, she calls her old pimp. [huh??!?]

Omar wants to get a condo in New York, but Adrian doesn't want to move into a place a year after Omar has lived there already, and doesn't care if they waste rent money for a year. [she is SUCH a selfish BRAT!!]

George wants Anne to buy him out of the furniture store, but she's more upset that she wasn't invited to his wedding or Kathleen's mother's funeral. [...why would she be??] She talks to Anne about bring "part of their family," and she's welcome. This is especially helpful because Willadeen is with Nora now. [eep!] Meanwhile, Tom grows attached to George's mother, Eva, and the two decide to head to Alaska on her motorcycle. [and Kathleen was thrilled...?]

19 Kids & Counting: Moving, Graduation, a New Baby...

2013-05-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

What's with Anna calling her husband "Joshua" instead of "Josh"?? That's new, and I don't like it. Another thing I'm not terribly fond of is the way that this series milks issues for multiple episodes. I understand that they are trying to drive ratings by using cliffhangers to force people to tune in over and over, but at a certain point it becomes as problematic as the issues MTV faces with Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2: because of the news, tabloids, and social media, the public already has access to the interesting stuff. Whether Josh and family move or not and the sex of the new baby are facts that viewers could look up with ease if they so desired. So, between those elongated stories and the re-hashing of how homeschool works in the Duggar household, this show is just getting staler and staler... agreed?

TLC

19 Kids and Counting "Decisions & Deliveries" (S07E09): Josh has been offered an office job in the Washington, DC area, so he and Anna discuss the possible move, then ask the advice of his parents. [why was all of the commentary negative? certainly JimBob could say SOMETHING positive about this potential change!]

Jana and Jill attend a birth that is complicated by the mother being unable to utilize the tub because of slowed contractions. [I hadn't realized tubs could do that.] When the child is born, there's a defect in the umbilical cord, so the paramedics are called. [I was a bit weirded out!] The omphalocele required surgery to correct the newborn's intestinal area, but the baby healed quickly. [and it gave me a reason to go look up something new to be paranoid about with my own future children, LoL.]

The family heads to Texas for Joseph's ALERT graduation, where they see some demonstrations. Joseph excelled in scripture memory and the endurance hike. [did everyone get commended for three things?]

19 Kids and Counting "Duggars Get Physical" (S07E10): Josh, Anna, and their children head off to Florida to see Priscilla's baby, who is just a couple weeks old. [that bird thing was funny to me because we had the same thing happen in our house last week!] Priscilla and Anna talk about their labors and dealing with newborns while Josh and David have four-wheeler races. [a minute is a huge margin by which David won, I thought. The mud wrestling was just plain weird, though.] Then, Josh and Anna talk to her family about moving to Washington, DC. The next day, Anna watches Baby Paul while Priscilla goes to minister with the other Kellers. [three children under four just sounds rough!]

We see JimBob help with breakfast because Jana, Jess, and Jinger are away on a mission project and Jill is tired from delivering babies. Things run slowly, but they still manage to get to church on time.

Josh and JimBob return to the doctor to do new stress tests, where JimBob increases his time from 12:33 to 14:02, and Josh went from 10:46 to 14:12. [Scenes from the next episode reveal that Josh went from 216 to 203, and JimBob went from 211 to 199.]

Bates Motel: New Worries

2013-05-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

At this point, I don't know why I'm still watching this drama. I have to look away from the screen at least once per episode, and I don't relate with any of the characters. I don't have a favorite storyline or an arc that I'm looking forward to continuing. I think I'm just tuned in because it has not yet given me a strong enough reason to stop doing so! What this means beyond the next episode (the season finale) is beyond me, but I think that the show is just so unusual that many viewers watch for that factor alone! Now, to address the plots... I don't like how the missing girl has just been dropped, or how Norman flip-flops his thoughts about Bradley constantly. I also don't care for all of the secrecy with Dylan's work or why Norma thinks that "starting over" is always the answer to everything. I mean, the final episode of the season can't respond to all of this and more, and if the second season will also only have ten episodes, when will these issues actually be addressed?

Bates Motel "A Boy and his Dog" (S01E08): Dylan has to go to Fortuna to pick up trimmers (people who turn the weed plants into smokable product) and learns that his coworkers resent his quick promotions. He also finds out that you can't "quit," and you don't want to get fired, so he might be set/stuck for life. [that's rather disturbing...] One of the trimmers plays the guitar and is annoying, and when he starts to instigate a riot, Dylan pulls a gun on him to force him out of the van. [yikes!] Later, when they get to town, Dylan sets them up with 7 rooms at the motel for a couple of weeks.

Emma's dad shows Norman about taxidermy on the dog he found. Norma is concerned that it will increase her son's "freakness," but she soon has to drop this to address larger concerns.

Joseph Lederer

After Emma corrects some girls in the restroom about the relationship between Bradley and Norman, Bradley confronts Norman, telling him that she wanted it kept secret. He's so upset by this that he leaves school, earning him three days of suspension. There are also concerns about his emotional instability, so he's sent to a therapist, though Norma insists on attending the session with him. [I don't know which is worse... that she got away with only sending him once or that he really struggled to express himself!] Norma is further angered by the therapist's suggestion that both she and her son could benefit from independent sessions. [ha! though this could really add a different depth to the series!]

Norma's off to fight another battle however... the one against the bypass. She asks the sheriff for a favor, but he tells her to leave him alone. Her next problem is Jake Abernathy, the tenant from room 9. He creeps her out when he watches her clean, and when she later follows him around a bit, she decides to return his money and ask him to leave, permanently. [that sucks. we all know they need the business!] Jake retaliates by digging up Shelby's body (which I couldn't even recognize!) and putting it on Norma's bed. [GROSS!!]

Bates Motel "Underwater" (S01E09): Norma thinks that Jake sent her flowers with a card that reads "see you soon," but without evidence, the sheriff doesn't take it seriously. She's so freaked out, in fact, that she shares a bed with Norman. [awkward.] There's a lot of other things on her mind, though, as her realtor refuses to re-list the property, claiming she paid twice what it's worth and there's no market for it. [a little absurd, yes?] When she comes out of the realtor's office, Jake is in her car and puts a gun to her head, demanding the $150,000 that Shelby owed him. [this scene really made me question what's going on... is Jake involved in the prostitution or the weed? I was previously betting the former, but is there that kind of money in the sex slave trade??] Another problem Norma is dealing with is stopping the motel tenants from smoking pot. She is successful at first, and Emma enforces the rule, too, but the teen is soon tempted by a pot cupcake and gets high on the job. [are you kidding me?? I thought I liked Emma!]

Norman, on the other hand, has a completely different set of issues taking place. First, he dreams of drowning Bradley. Then, at school, he considers asking Bradley to the Winter Formal. Plus, after a teacher praises his short story and helps him get it published, he puts his foot down about a potential move to Oahu, wanting to stay in one place. [how often did they move before his father died??]

Dylan is not without concerns, either. After Bradley asks him to get her into Gill's place so she can get some of her father's stuff, he winds up inheriting the office. [I thought that was a little too easy...] Bradley still wants to see the actual space, though, so Dylan takes her, though they're spotted. She looks for a pocketwatch but finds love letters from another woman. [i don't see the purpose in this arc... the man's dead, so who cares if he had an affair?]

Teen Mom 2: Lows for Jenelle, Kailyn, and Chelsea; Leah's Happy

2013-05-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

Dr. Drew talked about the girls suffering from various issues, but when you look at the list, some of the girls are dealing with much more than others. Take a look:

Issue \ Teen Mom	Jenelle	Kailyn	Leah	Chelsea
Poverty	definitely	overcoming	overcoming	no
Addiction	definitely (drugs)	no	no	sometimes (Adam)
Family Breakdown	ongoing	overcoming	in the past	no
Absentee Father	yes	no	no	sometimes
Revolving Boyfriend	definitely	in the past	in the past	Adam in and out

Here, you can see that Jenelle is still dealing with most of these concerns while the other girls (especially Kailyn and Leah) are getting past them and maturing. That said, I still literally said "shut up" to Kailyn during her segment. Of course, when Dr. Drew asks questions like, "any feelings about that?" some of his interviewees are bound to flip on him, so not all of the blame is hers. And, though MTV has not yet given official word that this series is no more, I'm willing to bet that we're done with the regular installments from these girls. And, that's probably a good thing. As cute as Aubree and Jace are together, these ladies having to continually block tweets to have typical social media experiences has gone on long enough. I bet the money is good and all, but I'm sure they would prefer some privacy after 3-4 years in the spotlight.

facebook.com/TeenMom2

Teen Mom 2 "Check Up with Dr. Drew Part 1" (Special):
Jenelle: She wishes that she had never gone back to Kieffer, as her most recent relationship with him has been the lowest point of her life. Kieffer wanted her to try harder drugs, so she let him inject her... but her body couldn't handle it and she was often sick, even winding up in the hospital multiple times over the course of a month. [holy cow! glad we didn't see all of this! certainly explains some of her behavior, though!] We learn that Gary got kicked out of the Marines for his behavior, which Barbara suspected for some time. [seriously? she seemed so approving of him!] Barbara still allows Jenelle to have Jace Thursday-Sunday, 9am-8pm, but Jenelle thinks it's rude that she has to work around Barbara's schedule. [hahahahaha!]

Kailyn: Jo hasn't paid child support in two months. [and this isn't addressed WHY??] Dr. Drew brings up custody issues, and Kailyn talks about how she'll be taking Isaac if she moves. Everyone knows that Kailyn is being illogical about it, but she's more worried about actually having to meet Vee. Her main concern? Vee smoked weed through a gas mask, so Kailyn doesn't want Vee to be around Isaac. [legitimate! I was also surprised to learn that Kailyn smoked weed before she found out she was pregnant, though perhaps I shouldn't have been.] Vee introduces herself as a full-time daycare worker who is going to school to become a teacher, and Dr. Drew tries to get Kailyn to see Vee as more than a single image online, but Kailyn just storms off instead. [hahaha. wonder if she "boxed it out" off stage!]

Teen Mom 2 "Check Up with Dr. Drew Part 2" (Special):
Leah: She and Jeremy are expecting once again, and Leah plans to be a SAHM until the children are in school, when she will continue her college education. [in reality, she's already given birth to little Addalynn.] Corey talks about the shock of increased child support, and also how he thinks that Jeremy is good for his ex and children. [I thought Leah was forcing the topic about how she's doing much better now than she was before.]

Chelsea: Dr. Drew asks her about her unsafe sex, and Chelsea gives the typical line "I just assumed I wasn't pregnant." [ha!] She and Adam have still been hooking up, as Adam and Taylor are fighting. [SERIOUSLY?? get her back in therapy!]

HIMYM: So Much in Motion

2013-05-14T10:00:00.001-07:00

Apparently, although Marshall only knows eight words in Italian, he knows many more in Spanish. [regardless, "El Ganso con la Riñonera" = "fanny pack dork" is priceless. literally, "the goose with the waist."] And, although everyone knows who Wayne Gretzky is, nobody can name a second hockey player. I found both of these facts pretty funny, which is notable when you consider how much I disliked the season finale. Although not EVERYTHING is certain at this point, two things in particular angered me: first, that the audience "met" The Mother but Ted did not, and, second, that the entire ninth season may wind up being done 24-style to accommodate the final event being "meeting" The Mother. I'm rather conflicted about that being the case... I think that if there was a writing team who could pull that off, it would be Carter and Bays, but I don't know if it's right for the series. Similarly, had that been the series finale, I would have been VERY upset. As others all over the internet have already theorized, two season finales could have existed OR this one slightly re-shot or re-edited, but the very idea that we'd see the face of The Mother without learning HOW Ted met her just drives me crazy! How do you see the next (and final) season playing out?

How I Met Your Mother "Something Old" (S08E23): Marshall and Lily pack for Italy, but struggle to toss stuff. [moving is very cathartic for me, and we always throw out tons of stuff when we pack, but if a move isn't on the horizon, it's very easy to just save everything...] Ted tries to help by getting rid of anything they haven't used in the past year, but he's also biased. [ha!] So, the couple sends Ted for fanny packs so they can "triangle" some of the things they want to ditch. Ted figures it out, though, and admits that he's afraid that he'll be ditched in a year. [awww. but, as sad as it is, it happens.]

Back in 1994, Robin's dad took her to NYC, and she buried a locket in Central Park, under the premise that she'd be back to marry a city boy. [WEIRD.] She asks her dad to help her find it, but he'd rather play laser tag with Barney. [figures.] Ted blows off a job interview to help her, and although they find the box she buried, it's empty. She deems that to be a bad omen.

Neil Jacobs/CBS

How I Met Your Mother "Something New" (S08E24): When Barney and Robin are annoyed by another couple repeatedly, they try to break them up by sending Robyn's engagement ring over to them in a glass of champagne/ This causes the couple to fight because he's not ready for marriage, but it backfires and, after talking to their therapist, they decide to get engaged and thank Barney and Robin. [I liked the "we did that!" to both outcomes, though!]

Marshall's mother calls, unaware that the move is in motion. To please her, Marshall and Marvin head to Minnesota for a week, though that may not be enough to keep her from following them to Rome. [yikes!] Plus, things are further complicated when Marshall is offered a place as a judge in New York. [I'm terribly curious as to what's going to happen with THAT!]

Meanwhile, Lily hangs out with Ted and learns that he's decided to sell his Westchester home and move to Chicago the day after the wedding. [Ted is more obsessed with Robin than Ben is with Amy on The Secret Life of the American Teenager! so annoying!] In talking to Ted, Lily admits that, in 2008, Robin was jealous that Ted was marrying Stella and not her, so she drunkenly went to Central Park and dug up the locket, which then went into a pencil box that's still on Ted's desk. This gives Ted the perfect gift for his friend, and as the episode closes, we learn that it's 56 hours before the wedding, and "the girl with the yellow umbrella" (played by Cristin Miloti) buys her ticket to Farhampton.

2 Broke Girls: The Literal Window

2013-05-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

"Apparently, napkins were the old twitter." Thanks, Earl. I was never much for writing on napkins, though when I was in undergrad I amassed dozens of post-it notes on the walls near my desk! But, lines like this are part of the reason I love this show... yet know it'll never be a classic. Though some of the jokes are timeless, many are so stuck in the era that nobody will know what's going on if they tried to watch in 2023. On the other hand, I bet 2004 shows were wary to mention the new Facebook, and it's still around, so maybe it doesn't matter... Regardless of whether that works, I think the cupcake window definitely will. There's a creme brulee window a couple blocks from my friend's place in San Francisco, and it's AMAZING. I've never seen a line for it, but the space is small enough that it can't be much to rent. And, in this case, if it's a room that the diner already pays for, at least the girls should be able to swing the rent, haha!

2 Broke Girls "And the Window of Opportunity" (S02E24): Caroline wants to go to a seminar on branding, so they have to have a yard sale in order to earn the money. [who has afternoon garage sales? Is that a NYC thing? 1-5pm??] A couple people come by but are only interested in Mac's old Happy Meal toys, with which she will not part. [the "horse in a hat" line made me giggle, but not as much as the prices Caroline was hoping to get!]

Han makes the employees clean the diner so that they can get a positive rating from the health department. [ha!] Han even gets Caroline a manicure to look nice and pays Max to leave. [that Han-prostitute joke made me burst in laughter!] The diner gets a "B" because of the conditions in a hidden room, which Han didn't realize was part of the property. Caroline offers to clean it for $600, but it's so disgusting that she almost doesn't finish. Everything causes Max and Caroline to argue about how badly their first attempt at a business went, and, before long, they're having a pressure-washing fight in the room, where Max is electrocuted. All's well that ends well, however, when they find a large window in the room and decide to create a walk-up cupcake window from the room. [the window is kinda low, no?]

facebook.com/2BrokeGirls

Sophie thinks that Oleg is getting too clingy, but Caroline tells Oleg not to change for Sophie. [that balls line was too much.] Sophie freaks out and goes to the girls' apartment and breaks things. She then goes to smash Oleg's car, too. [this came out of nowhere!]

Cupcakery Savings Total: $1540.00.

Dance Academy's Second Season, Part 3 of 4

2013-05-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

We're back with our third installment of Dance Academy's second season. (part 1 here and part 2 here.) Here, Abigail begins to explore other interests, Kat begins to find her place at the Academy again, and Christian begins a relationship with his father.

danceacademy.wikia.com

S02E14: Tara heads home and ignores the calls of her friends, though she learns that she made it past the preliminaries, behind Abigail. She goes to Sydney for a back check-up and runs into Ben, who volunteers to put on plays with kids at the hospital. It turns out, Ben is a leukemia survivor. [he really is a whiz kid... didn't start dancing until later and is ahead of his national peers?] Back at the Academy, Kat is not getting along with her classmates in the first-year curricula, even after acting more dedicated to her studies. Abigail eventually orders the first-years to treat Kat better. [I'm sick of Abigail.]

S02E15: Ethan struggles to find employment and manages to get a job choreographing a fringe musical. He decides he can do more, however, and goes to Barcelona to try for something bigger. [I've seen a lot of dance movies and Spain is never a place anybody goes... someone want to clue me in?] At school, Tara decides to appeal her expulsion, stating that Saskia broke Tara's vertebrae, which led her to see an outside doctor. Tara is allowed to return, and Saskia eventually decides to go home to Perth. [at least Tara is healed!]

S02E16: Sammy wants to compete in the Prix but because he missed the prelims, he must travel to compete in the region where he was born. Christian goes along and sees his father, who builds surfboards. The man recognizes his son, however, so Christian questions why he left the family. He gives no response, so Christian tells his father about his mother dying, and his father gives him a board. [really? going to try buying his love at this late date?] Back at school, the kids work on solos based on defining life moments, and Tara convinces Ben to do his about his health history, but that causes everyone to start treating him differently. [should've seen that coming, guys.]

S02E17: The first-years and the second-years are at war, though Kat remains impartial for a while. [why is there no question about what side Ben is on?] Sammy, however, is interested in a third-year, and kisses him. Meanwhile, Grace tries to get Tara to be less serious and have more fun, but after Miss Raine catches the probation student drunk, she realizes that she has to get her act together. [why doesn't she get into more trouble?]

S02E18: Christian's dad shows up at school, gives him a motorcycle, and they spend a day together. [whoa.] But, then he heads home unexpectedly. [aww.] Sammy has a rougher time, though, when Ollie goes public with their relationship. Sammy can't handle it and breaks it off.

S02E19: Abigail is recruited to star in the musical, but not before working as a tutor instead. [I really am intrigued by Abigail's interest in non-ballet hobbies.] Tara wants a new crush, so Grace starts trying to figure out who would be a good candidate for the position, though Ben begs for the opportunity. [weird.]

S02E20: Abigail gets in trouble for missing school to attend fringe rehearsals, and when her mother comes to town, her cover is blown. Her family has fallen apart, and Paige now lives with their father. [yep, big change!] Abigail decides to quit the show, even if it was making her happy. [boo!] She also spreads the word about what the teachers thought of the students' chances at the Prix. In non-Abigail news, Ben is worried that his cancer has returned, but it turns out to just be a cold. [phew.]

Big Bang: How Close will Sheldon and Amy Become?

2013-05-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

If you live in the Los Angeles area, why would you fly to Vegas for a concert? Garth Brooks or not, I can't think of a reason that you'd increase the cost of attendance that much! See it locally! Anyway, off my soapbox. I thought that this episode was something... different. The chemistry between the characters on this series has been great for a long time, but writing for these quirky personae has got to be tough! And, yet, the bedroom scene between Sheldon and Amy (and their D&D characters) was wonderful. In his own way, Sheldon was genuine and brave, while Amy allowed her emotions to come to the forefront. Both actors are superb and really made me believe that this strange scenario could happen. Of course, now it just begs more than hand-holding from the couple, but I think I have faith that they could get there. I mean, if Sheldon is not 100% opposed to physical intimacy anymore, why not?

The Big Bang Theory "The Love Spell Potential" (S06E23): The girls head to Vegas while the boys play Dungeons and Dragons, with Howard as the Dungeon Master. Sheldon is initially upset that Leonard isn't calling the shots, but the bigger problem is that Raj ditches them when Lucy becomes available. [I give him a pass, though. how many times have we seen Raj as the odd one out with the boys?] Howard soon wins Sheldon's heart with sound effects and impersonations, though. [haha, Simon Helberg did the same Nicolas Cage on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip!] Unfortunately, Amy breaks a TSA agent's nose during a pat-down and winds up on the no-fly list, so the girls return and join the game. [I'm surprised that Sheldon didn't oppose that!]

Monty Brinton/CBS

Penny livens things up by rolling the dice as if she were in Vegas, and the game soon becomes sexual when a love spell is cast between Sheldon and Amy's characters. Embarrassed that such things don't happen in reality, Amy leaves the room, unsure that she and Sheldon will ever have an intimate relationship. Her long-term boyfriend says that he hasn't ruled it out, but, to him, what they have is already extremely intimate. [and that, right there, was an award-winning moment, in my opinion.] They do play out the intimate scene between their characters. [how mature of Sheldon!]

Meanwhile, Raj and Lucy are out to eat but she's too shy to send back her "funky" crab cakes. When he tries to help her overcome her fear, she goes to the bathroom and climbs out the window. [ha! what kind of default move is this??] However, she's stuck when the fence is topped with barbed wire, so she calls Raj for help, and they kiss. [I don't know... I just can't get into Lucy...]

Fun Friday: Frasier Parodies for "Ode to Joy"

2013-05-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

I've probably mentioned multiple times that I watch a lot of Frasier. I've seen most episodes 3-4 times at this point, which is rather ridiculous when you consider that the show ran for eleven years, yielding 264 episodes. From time to time, I've noticed some continuity errors, strange acts that don't really fit a character, and running gags that sadly got dropped at some point in the run. Today I wanted to point out a funny coincidence that I found.

Originating in 2000, "They're Playing Our Song" (S07E13) features a parody of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy." David Lloyd wrote the episode, which has all of the radio station's hosts coming up with jingles to introduce their shows. Despite the simplicity this assignment requires, Frasier blows it out of proportion, composing a multiple-verse ditty requiring a full orchestra and a choir. But, before he resorts to such a complicated tune, Niles pokes fun at a song his brother "wrote" for a musical in prep school, with lyrics that began, "we are valiant men of honor, wrenching, brawling..."

A little over three years later, "Lilith Needs a Favor" (S10E13) features another parody to the same classical tune. Lori Kirkland wrote the episode, which you might recall as the one where Lilith comes to Seattle to ask Frasier for the sperm to give Frederick a biological sibling. At dinner during her stay, Lilith attempts to evoke positive memories to win over her ex-husband, reminiscing about a song Frederick composed when he was four, which began "my dad is the greatest dad because he cooks me cream of wheat."

This small part of Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9 in D Minor" is one of the most-played songs in the world, so it's no surprise that a series as highbrow as Frasier utilized it during its run, but I still find it interesting that the sitcom parodied it twice in about three years, don't you? Are there other instances of this song on this show that aren't coming to my mind?

Both episodes are available for streaming via Netflix: first one and second one, and Amazon Prime Instant Video: first one and second one.

19 Kids and Counting: Eating, Sleeping, and Getting Well

2013-05-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

There was more to this week's installments than last week's, but the various segments in these two episodes have a severely skewed timeline. "Dinner for Forty" suggests that it's been almost two months since Joseph left for ALERT Academy (decidedly in January), but "A Surgery & A Secret" has JimBob and Josh just starting to lose weight, with numbers that suggest it was at the very beginning of hiring a trainer. When you factor in Anna's pregnancy progress, the timeline could be a little more fluid, but I'll leave that alone.

Perhaps the bigger problem is that we're back to family overview episodes rather than individual characters, which was working nicely. Aside from seeing Joseph eat an MRE and prepare for a 24-hour mission at ALERT, then hearing about Justin and Jordyn's health problems, these two episodes focused on the Duggars (both JimBob's and Josh's) as a whole, which I believe is interesting mostly to newer viewers. Which format do you prefer?

19 Kids and Counting "Dinner for Forty" (S07E07): Anna gives the kids baked tilapia for lunch, and they surprise her by eating it. [why? tilapia is like, the mildest fish out there.] Later, Michael moves into Mackynzie's room... but he's not happy about it. There's so much commotion that Anna and Josh read a book to them, and they both lay down... but then they escape the bedroom again, and again, and again, for hours. [typical stuff that all parents have seen before, but funny to watch when it's someone else!]

The family makes dinner for JimBob's trainer's family and a pastor's family. [they're serving frozen chicken strips??] The pastor's family (six children, named alphabetically) is delighted to be there, and the Duggars talk about attending a service at the pastor's church.

TLC

19 Kids and Counting "A Surgery & A Secret" (S07E08): JimBob and Josh try to drink raw eggs for breakfast before their intense workouts, but they can't go through with it. At this point, Josh had lost 9 pounds and JimBob 7, but the exercise only gets tougher as their trainer continues to push them.

Josh and Anna have Jana and Jill at their ultrasound because they will be part of the birth team. [though we're all starting to realize that this is Jill's thing and Jana is only stuck doing it because Jill needs accompaniment.] Jim, the sound guy, is aware of the sex of the baby and will do a reveal at a later point. [I think that's a funny idea.]

Jordyn snores and talks with a dry mouth so she needs her tonsils removed, though JimBob and Michelle only tell her the very basics. Michelle takes her to pick out some ice cream and popsicles. [Josie putting pepper on her lunch was funny.] She's not the only Duggar under the weather, either... Justin got hit in the eye with a rope and broke a blood vessel, causing him to wear an eye patch for a few days. [ouch!]

2 Broke Girls: Caroline Defends her Father

2013-05-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

When I was a junior in high school, the girl who sat in front of me in Spanish class was HUGE into not-wearing-brown-and-black-together. I had never heard about this fashion faux pas before she'd harp on it, but it definitely became synonymous with her. In fact, last summer when I was chatting with my classmates during reunion season, two people mentioned that "rule" as what they really remembered about her. Well, now I know that she isn't the ONLY one who cares about such things... Caroline and her father belong to that list, too! But, that wasn't the most interesting thing I learned this episode... don't tell me I was the only one to not know that Sophie has a spa??

Oh, and the opener had nothing to do with the rest of the episode, which really is beginning to wear on me... the Monopoly money bad tip was amusing, but Caroline's poor aim in showing off her softball skills was less than interesting. Why would I believe that Han would sign up the Williamsburg Diner for a restaurant league before trying to recruit players?? Do 10 people even work for that diner??

2 Broke Girls "And the Tip Slip" (S02E23): Max and Caroline go to visit Caroline's father in prison because there's a woman, writing a "tell-all" book about him. He asks Caroline to stop her, but secretly tells Max that the woman is spreading a rumor that he has a small penis. [hilarious that he had Max tell Caroline!] Caroline want to dispel the thought on Piers Morgan. When the media gets wind of it, Caroline is so tense that Sophie sends them for massages, where they see the author in person. Sophie arranges for Caroline to spy on her, but Max blows their cover. [the chimes just made me laugh so hard!] Sophie has to threaten her to keep her quiet about Caroline "inappropriately touching" her. [ha!]

Darren Michaels/Warner Bros.

On Piers Morgan Live, Max suggests that Caroline share a photo of her father water-skiing, where his "tip" is quite obviously out of his swimsuit. [how disturbing!] Caroline doesn't want to share it, but Max crawls under the table to pass Piers the image. [I don't believe for an instant that those on set would allow that to happen!] He looks at it and declares the writer a fraud.

Cupcakery Savings Total: $940.00 [did they lose money on the massages? I'm confused.]

Dance Academy's Second Season, Part 2 of 4

2013-05-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Continuing on with the second season of Australian teen series Dance Academy (part 1 here), this batch of episodes really has a lot of non-romantic drama, which is a nice change. Kat decides to re-dedicate herself to dancing, Abigail begins to trust originality, and Tara starts breaking rules when she could lose out on opportunities if she doesn't. Sammy goes back to the bottom of the barrel in his classes, but, as a squirrely guy, gets right back on the horse again. Read on...

danceacademy.wikia.com

S02E08: Sammy is allowed to lock up at the diner, but he forgets to do it and the cash register is robbed. [that super-sucks.]

Christian tries to ditch an exam, leaving Abigail hanging. Sammy dances with Abigail but has been hyped up on caffeine and winds up dropping her in a moment of weakness. Ben and Tara also struggle with their new partnership. Meanwhile, Kat takes Christian along on a gig where they entertain children at a party. [I would have liked to see more of Kat's random gigs.]

S02E09: The students take their final examinations, and Sammy has failed all of his classes. [ouch!] To celebrate the end of the semester, however, the girls head to a hip-hop concert, getting in through Kat's agent. The guys are unable to get tickets, so they decide to get tattoos. [SO not the same level!] Only Sammy is super-serious about going through with it (as an act of rebellion), but Christian tells the artist Sammy's age at the last minute. [I'm surprised they wouldn't check IDs for something like that!] Grace gets the guys into the concert, though she uses Kat's phone to text Christian. By the end of the night, Kat and Christian lock lips, but the next day, he wants to break up. [awww.]

S02E10: Sammy's grandfather suddenly passes away, forcing Sammy to go home for the first time in seven months. [that's quite a while for someone who lives across town!] He wants to become an "independent student" so that he can get a government allowance to cover his tuition, but his father sees that as he wants to be out of the family. [yeah, I could see my mother making the same argument.] Sammy decides that he can't ask to leave his family, but his father secretly decides to pay another semester's tuition anyway.

Grace breaks a bunch of toe shoes, but not Abigail's, so it looks like she did it. Miss Raine wants Abigail back in therapy, and Tara moves in with Grace to avoid Abigail. [that Grace is just rotten!] Saskia assigns Tara a solo instead of allowing her to choose her own piece. It's Kat who gets the good news, however, going from dancing promotional chicken to auditioning for Moulin Rouge. [again, are you not required to be 18 to do anything in Australia? LoL.]

S02E11: Sammy gets a tutor to catch up, but the guy is not really interested in helping Sammy. Meanwhile, Tara secretly tapes Saskia telling her that she'll never make it as a professional dancer. Tara only wants Miss Raine to see it, but Grace wants to put it online. [can we get rid of this girl yet??!?] And, although Kat's dancing is good enough for Moulin Rouge, she's too unprofessional and is dropped before the move to Paris. [I would have liked to hear what her disapproving mother had to say about this!]

S02E12: Kat wants to audition to return to the Academy, and once Miss Raine agrees, Ethan gets Abigail to train his sister. Kat also admits that she's been crushing on Christian since they started at the Academy. [I don't remember if I noticed that or not, but I'm guessing not. going off of Christian's first and second appearances...]

Saskia puts Tara's hip into a painful position, which Ben witnesses. When the pain doesn't stop, Tara decides to see a doctor outside of the Academy in order to get pain relief without being forced to sit out of classes. It turns out, an MRI shows that she has broken a vertebrae and isn't allowed to dance for six weeks. [that's a long time, and a broken vertebrae is a big deal. wonder how this will play out...]

S02E13: Abigail finds out that Tara is seeing an outside doctor, to whom the injured dancer returns for an anesthetic. Tara ignores warnings to stop dancing and injures herself further, causing her expulsion for breaking the rules. Fortunately, she's the only one who has a bad dance experience this episode - Kat has her audition and Sammy has the re-do for his exams.

Saskia asks Abigail to perform "The Red Shoes" at the last minute so that at least one student she coaches makes it past the preliminary round, but Abigail sticks with the original piece Ethan choreographed, and even kisses him before performing. [whaaa???!?]

Big Bang: Professor Proton & Cinnamon are the Stars

2013-05-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

Not one of the best episodes of the season, but there were great moments in both storylines. I would have loved more from Bob Newhart, but not every actor over 80 can be as prolific as Betty White! In the B-story, I could have cared less about losing Raj's dog, but I just want to say that I CALLED IT. Howard and Bernadette began talking about parenthood (in regards to sitting for Cinnamon), and I don't believe we're too far from it becoming a reality for them. Of course, that makes you wonder if this series will go more than one more season, but let's not jump the gun. Rumor has it that Leonard will potentially move for next season, and that's already a bit much. Back on the babytrain, though... who else saw it coming?

The Big Bang Theory "The Proton Resurgence" (S06E22): Leonard and Sheldon are excited about finding a TV scientist from their childhood whom Sheldon hires him for a private party. [I would totally do that, too, but I'd invite a few more people to make it more legit.] This just proves, however, that nobody takes Arthur seriously as a PhD-holding scientist. [awww. I'm sad that Leonard didn't catch onto that.] He does a few tricks but then comes to the conclusion that he doesn't want to be "Professor Proton" anymore. He soon has heart trouble and is taken away by the paramedics, and Sheldon sings him "Soft Kitty." [classic!] Arthur asks him to fill-in for an event the next day, and Sheldon is honored.

Michael Yarish/Warner Bros.

Raj has to work all weekend so he asks Howard to watch his dog, Cinnamon. Howard is initially resistant, but agrees, despite Raj's demands of feeding the canine veal chops and frittatas. [...seriously??] Bernadette and Howard discuss how they might be successful parents just before realizing that they lost the dog at the park. [haha!] Someone finds her and Raj picks her up, only notifying Howard and Bernadette about it hours later. [I think I might have enjoyed a funnier ending.]

Top Ten Animated Openings for Live Action Shows

2013-05-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

This was a fun list to create because it took a lot of thinking... I struggled to come up with anything in the past decade that fit this category, though it seemed to be pretty prevalent in the 80s and 90s. I included youtube clips so that you could see the intros, in the event you haven't seen a few of the more obscure ones, like Even Stevens. In brainstorming and researching, I was surprised at how many of these I was already aware of... perhaps more shows should consider doing these types of openings - they're pretty memorable, apparently!

10. Batman (1966). Here we have a live-action drama based on a comic book, and they kept the original incarnation's feel in the opening titles, even incorporating the written sound effects like "WHAP!" and "POW!" The cape lives up to expectations, the relationship between Batman and Robin is clear, and the batmobile makes an appearance as Catwoman is mentioned but not seen. What more could you ask for?

9. The Partridge Family. How could I not include such a classic? The opening starts with a rumbling egg that hatches a partridge, which grows a family as you hear the song about the family. In between we have monochromatic portraits of the actors in a simple but fashionably photographed way. I like to watch the Mama partridge walk.

8. Desperate Housewives. Admittedly, this is one that I didn't know about before I started brainstorming for this post. Having never seen the show, I didn't know what to expect and was rather taken by the opening. I particularly liked the portraits of women through time, with stops in The Garden of Eden, Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, the Rennaissance, and the twentieth century to today. Still not enough to make me tune in, but cute nonetheless.

7. Cheers. An iconic theme song with an old-time feel. Sure, we see a couple of modern cars in the opening two seconds, but then we're swept away to the world of horse-drawn carriages, the men at a bar all wearing suits, and the intermingling of black-and-white, sepia, and color. The still pictures cut into one another, zooming in and out on those before us who have had good times with those who know their names. The images changed throughout the series' eleven-year run, but the classic look did not.

6. The Mickey Mouse Club. Digging way back, this black-and-white opener even has the sponsored product depicted in animation! It's a longer intro but features the classic characters performing adorable marching band antics. This one holds a special place in my heart because it was a bedtime song what I was young,

5. Bewitched. This one stands out in my memory because it was likely the first animated opening I ever saw for a series that wasn't actually a cartoon. I always found it funny that Sam would dress like a "traditional witch" and fly around on a broomstick in the opening when she didn't do that on the series. I particularly like the sparkly stars

4. Even Stevens. This one is technically stop-motion animation (or "claymation," if you will), but I think that's what makes it special. That, and the fact that it depicts how competitive Ren and Louis are from the time they get up until they're relaxing at home that night. The other family members only get tiny moments but they still encapsulate those personalities - Donnie is athletic, Steve is bewildered by his children's antics, and Eileen is constantly working.

3. I Dream of Jeannie. Some local station always had Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie back-to-back in syndication when I was a kid, and so I often caught the opening of Jeannie but didn't stick around to watch. I think the fact that her head came out of the bottle separately from her body freaked me out. The first season didn't have the very first part, with Major Nelson in the space capsule, but otherwise the sequence remained the same to my knowledge. This is the colorized version, rather than the original, because I found the quality better than any originals on YouTube.

2. The Nanny. Growing up, the only thing about this show's opener that I didn't like was the "joie de vivre" line - I hated that there was French in an English theme song! However, I was stunned at how much Niles, Mr. Sheffield, and Fran looked like their animated counterparts, so that made up for it. I think the funniest part of the sequence is that "she was there" and hence was hired in one of those "right-place-right-times" situations.

1. Home Improvement. The best of so many worlds... blueprints, collages, drawings, video games, sticks & stones spelling things, flashy graphics, and fade-ins all appear throughout the five different intros this series used over the course of its eight seasons. I always loved the gaming moments as a kid, but I think the quickly flashing collage for the look of the house most intrigues me now! The video for this one has the first 1:15 for the first season, then 2 & 3 until 2:30, then 4-6 until 3:23, then 7 until 4:15, then season 8 until the end. Also, be aware that the quality on this one isn't the greatest.

Comment below and let us know which animated titles are your favorites, especially if we left some out!

NEW SHOW: Family Tools

2013-05-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

You may recall that I put this show on my "maybe" list last June, so it's been a really long time since I had read all about it and knew what to expect. Well, in a nutshell, I found the pilot to be above average. The premise is a little far-fetched, but the characters already being developed were pretty hilarious. I thought that the jokes came off well and I'm not dreading seeing the next installment. Ten episodes are set to air, and I think it could be a nice little summer show, though it seems the internet doesn't agree. Maybe they just didn't laugh as hard as I did about a guy drinking coffee out of a 40 oz beer bottle because then someone he owes money won't think he has a job. Or didn't see the humor in the ambulance allowing both patients to ride because the Sheas are good customers. Tell me you thought it was funny!

Family Tools "Pilot" (S01E01): Terry calls the shots in this family, no doubt about it. [but I'm fine with that.] She lives with her widowed brother, Tony, and her 15-year-old son, Mason, until Tony's health just declines so much that his son, Jack, returns home from seminary to help the family business, Mr. JiffyFix. Terry shows she means business by not letting the EMTs (whom she knows by name) attend to Tony until he agrees to retire, and constantly texting Jack from Tony's phone, to make Jack feel more needed and loved. This is not Jack's first return to Mapleport, as he has failed multiple careers before, including the military and the police academy, but his heart is in the right place, and his father does decide to accept his clumsy help, as evidenced by the basement bedroom Tony renovates for his son. [I love how quickly handy people can do this stuff!]

Jack has a long way to go, though. His first day on the job is plagued with issues over assignments (not knowing if he's installing a shower or re-planking a deck), the materials he buys at the hardware store, and conflicts with his assistant, Darren. And, of course, he has to put up with his nosy father trying any ruse possible to get out Terry's watchful eye to spy on him. Sometimes, this just leads to Tony getting away with eating a sandwich, but other times his heart condition worsens.

ABC/ADAM TAYLOR

Jack's biggest problem, though, is with Darren, who buys a dog with emergency van cash, then doesn't stop the theft of their tools. [I laughed at the idea of having the pet to bond them, though.] He can't fire him, as Darren's grandfather is an old friend of Tony's. So, Jack tries to annoy Darren into quitting by flirting with his assistant's sister, Stitch, who works at the hardware store. What annoys Darren more, however, is bare feet... but Jack has the kind of luck where he manages to nail his foot to the deck when he takes off his shoes. [of course.]

The Middle: Brick's Bunnies, Sue's Sleepover, Mike with "Morrie"

2013-05-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

I really thought that the Axl-Brick plot was sweet. We didn't get to see a finished video, and I was surprised that Frankie and Mike didn't seem to ever find out about the animals, but it really brought together the brothers. Plus, those baby bunnies and kitties were REALLY cute! Maybe I'm weird, but I've never thought about dressing up cats before... I bet kittens wouldn't be that opposed, LoL. The Sue-Frankie storyline got very annoying pretty quickly, and my biggest problem with it was that Frankie really thought that she could make a difference. If this was second grade, sure, a sleepover might win you some popularity. After you're fifteen, however, you're not making any more friends or moving up on anyone's list just like that. Oh, and the timeline of events between Mike's Sunday afternoon talks and Sue's sleepover didn't quite make sense, as I doubt she had that party on a Sunday night... or was this episode supposed to span, like, a month?

The Middle "From Orson with Love" (S04E21): Brick's rabbit has multiplied and he gives Axl a dollar to stay quiet about it. [I would have required a lot more than $1!] Axl tells him to bring the bunnies to a parking lot and give them away, but it doesn't work, and he actually ends up with two kittens, too. [okay, that part is weird!] So, Axl and Brick dress up the pets and do internet videos with the intent of making them famous. [fun and all, but I don't see how that would make them easier to give away, really.] It also finally occurs to Brick that Axl is going off to college, so he won't have his older brother around 24/7 much longer. [awww. I almost didn't catch the "keep brothers together" thing in the parking lot, either!]

ABC/Michael Ansell

Sue is upset that she wasn't invited to a slumber party that was all over Facebook, so Frankie decides to create fake profiles and boost her daughter's ego. [as much as I don't think it makes a difference, it is sweet.] She also suggests Sue post more popular things, then confronts Carly about hanging out with cool kids and not Sue. [I can't even imagine how awkward that would be in real life!] Frankie thinks the answer is for Sue to have a sleepover and only invite popular girls and Carly, but then Frankie stalks them to post group pictures all night. [as whom? one of her false identities??]

Mike drives an hour and a half to have lunch with Frankie's dad. [170 miles should take longer than 90 minutes...] Turns out, there's no news, Tag just wants to do a Tuesdays with Morrie thing. [seriously??] Mike puts up with it for a few weeks but then tells Tag the truth, but the guy doesn't get it. Fortunately, Mike is able to get him to do his talks via video. [surprising... Frankie struggles with technology but her father can make internet videos??]

19 Kids & Counting: Michelle & JimBob in Puerto Rico

2013-05-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

19 Kids & Counting "Love & Marriage" (S07E06)
For an hour-long episode, not a whole lot happened. I mean, seriously. I'm going to comment on it and give you the whole recap in about a paragraph. We saw JimBob and Michelle on a marriage retreat to San Juan, Puerto Rico. They had some counseling, talked to one another, and did some fun things like snorkel and zip-line. It seemed to be a one-on-one experience, as opposed to a group session of some sort, and I'm not sure why that was. The only real information divulged? Michelle doesn't like JimBob's dirty socks, and he doesn't like her having to do other things than respond to his concerns ASAP. JimBob also sometimes jumps the gun on plans without talking to Michelle, and she also sometimes just wants to vent without him trying to solve her problems. Back in Arkansas, the five oldest girls speak about dating at a 15th birthday party.

TLC

They pretty much re-hash the same speech every time, and JoyAnna always looks so out-of-place in these conversations, like Jinger used to years ago. Oh, and Anna made breakfast for the family one day. [drinking pickle juice grossed me out a bit. It was also odd that breakfast seemed to be late enough that the kids had already started their daily lessons before they ate.]

Bates Motel: More Corruption; the First Guest

2013-05-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Corruption annoys me. I didn't think that the sheriff was totally innocent and absolved of all the terrible things that happen in this town, but I was completely stunned by how much he wanted to change the story of Shelby's death. I'm not sure how much I'm going to enjoy the show now... I've had to stop watching multiple shows (notably Glee) because of the characters' attitudes and actions ruining the series for me. And, when you add that to how gory this drama can be, I might just finish up this season (three more episodes) and ignore the renewal... we'll see!

Bates Motel "The Man in Number 9" (S01E07): The police arrive, Shelby is declared deceased, and the sheriff tells the Bateses that they need to change the story a little. They agree that the officer killed Shelby, who killed Keith.

Norman dreams he's with Bradley, but at school starts to understand that she's not interested in a relationship. He later confronts Bradley about their status, and is devastated when he learns there's no future for them. [once again, this makes me miss the innocence of my youth - either people didn't have one-night stands then, or I never knew about them existing.] Emma, on the other hand, is still interested in Norman, and will settle for spending the day with his mother. [creepy much?]

Joseph Lederer

There are seven days until the motel opens, and Norman finds a dog under the house. Later, it's hit by a car, freaking out Norman. [I don't know what to make of that.] At least the motel has a tenant, Jake, who wants a standing reservation on a regular schedule for room 9. [yes, the episode title makes you think there's something weird about him, but we don't really get anything.] Dylan gets the guy's information for registration, but he won't hand over a credit card, preferring to pay in cash. [shady shady!] Norma struggles to form networking relationships around town because of the Keith-Shelby scandal, but, thankfully, the new guy wants to reserve ALL of the rooms at the hotel for a week every other month. [what do you think this means?] Oh, and Dylan is still moving out when his arm heals, angering his mother.

Teen Mom 2: Kailyn Marries, Kieffer Presses Charges, Ali's Tests

2013-04-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

We had the final episode of the season, and the first of three known wrap-up episodes. First, the exciting news: Kailyn and Javier got married shortly before he shipped off for boot camp a week before Christmas.

MTV

And, actually, that's pretty much all that happens with them, aside from the fact that they are trying to add more Spanish words to Isaac's vocabulary. Chelsea also had minimal news - she's back in school, though still runs late when Aubree locks her out of her bedroom. Leah and Jenelle, on the other hand, were busting with news. Well, in a way. Ali had tests done, and it does seem that she has a neuro-muscular disorder, though we're not privy to which or how she will be treated. Oh, and the girls compete in a pageant. Jenelle's story is more about Barbara and Kieffer... Barbara tries to get Jenelle committed when Jenelle is back on drugs, and Kieffer presses trespassing charges on Barbara for coming into their home in the first place. It keeps them as the most annoying family on this series, and probably one of the most annoying in their region, as it seems the police and the courthouse folks all know who Barbara is, and that Jenelle is her daughter.

Teen Mom 2 "The End of the Road" (S04E12):
Jenelle: Barbara and her boyfriend go over to Jenelle's and find her and Kieffer hopped up on drugs. Barbara goes to the magistrate and tries to have Jenelle committed to a psychiatric hospital for being a danger to herself and others, but Jenelle is released after a few hours. [I totally didn't know that you could send the cops after someone, though!] Jenelle and Kieffer feel like trespassing and physical assault are a big deal, so Kieffer presses charges. Kieffer then gets upset when he can't find his Xanax. [haha! though I was worried for a second that they were going to get violent!]

Leah: Jeremy goes with the family for Ali's medical appointments in Ohio. Corey's stepmother watches Aleeah while they're gone. It seems that there are issues on the neuro-muscular level, and a biopsy is required.

Kailyn: She makes an appointment to get married before Javi leaves for basic training, and his mother attends the courthouse for the event. Then, Kailyn tells Jo about her marriage. Javi leaves a week before Christmas for Texas, and he cries the night before he leaves as well as during their final moments together. [Isaac really looks like Jo!]

Chelsea: She returns to school but is a day late because she overslept. [why did she even bother telling her father?] The next day, Aubree locks herself in Chelsea's room as Chelsea's getting ready, and it takes her so long to get back in that she is late. [her trainwrecks are so hilarious!]

Teen Mom 2 "Unseen Moments" (Special):
Jenelle: We see Jenelle and Gary get into an argument, and Jenelle is physical yet again. Then, we see part of Jenelle's court hearing over the online harassment of her friend. [I had forgotten about that charge!]

Leah: Ali is getting closer to walking, and the girls are in a beauty pageant. Aleeah wins prettiest eyes and Ali wins prettiest smile. [I'm purposefully not commenting on this one.]

Kailyn: She and Javi are teaching Isaac Spanish with some flashcards. [semi-interesting.] Kailyn's friend, Mark, moves to Georgia. Jo and Vee have been together a year now, but he doesn't want more kids and she eventually wants a baby. [dang, that flew by!]

Chelsea: She takes Aubree and some friends to a zoo. Adam wants to see more of Aubree, but he gets a DUI. [haha. this whole YOLO movement is screwing up people.]

Secret Life: Amy Wants Money... from Anyone

2013-04-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

What was that Melrose Place moment where Didi was talking to Grace? I really didn't like that, though if the series had a longer life than just the next month, I could see it being an intriguing way to go. What's not intriguing, however, is Amy going to Leo... I think it's obvious that she doesn't care if she needs to beg, borrow, or steal to get the money to go to school in New York. This makes it all the more difficult to predict how I think the series will end or even how I WANT it to end... I mean, at this point, Amy has really backed herself into quite the hole. How many people think she deserves anything anymore? She has proven herself to be a spoiled brat time and again. She even takes advantage of Madison and Lauren's babysitting offer, though that did give us a rare opportunity to see those two again. With Ben so intent on going to Hudson, I suspect Henry and Alice will appear next week to talk him down to Earth once more... or at least convince the kid that he does not need both an apartment AND a campus room!

The Secret Life of the American Teenager "Interference" (S05E19): On the plane, Ben takes off Amy's rings as she sleeps. [why is he turning creepy??] He has planned to put them back, but she moves and he pockets them before falling asleep himself. When Ricky notices that Amy isn't wearing the rings, he freaks out, though she just pretends she put them in her purse to go through airport security. When he leaves for work, she has Madison and Lauren come over to tear apart the house, then watch John as Amy goes to ask George for $18,000 a year. [you know, because those are how she prioritizes things.]

But, the night before, Ricky asked George about Amy's college tuition, and George told him he needed to "shut that down," in regards to Amy's desire to live in New York and attend Hudson. [I loved his wording - so 2010s!] Though, Ricky doesn't want to force Amy to marry and go to school in California, her options are running out when George firmly puts his foot down to her. She talks about asking Nora and Margaret, but we see her go to Leo instead. [Nora can't afford an apartment OR a car, clearly she doesn't have thousands of dollars to loan. I don't see Margaret helping Amy in this way, either.] When Ben shows up, Amy gets her rings back, thanks to Chloe finding them in Ben's shirt. [why was she going through Ben's clothes?]

facebook.com/secretlife

Smaller storylines include: Ethan is collecting signatures of people who don't use algebra in their lives, but after he and Kathy knock on Danica McKellar's door, the jig is up. [I find it HILARIOUS that she lives in their neighborhood.] Ethan says that Kathy looks like a stripper to make her feel better, but then he gets chewed out by her dad. Again.

Adrian makes Omar breakfast in bed, and she now says that she'll move to New York, but not for a year. She tries to get his mother to influence him, but that just makes him angry. [I can't believe she went to his mother! remember how much we all hated her in the early episodes? It's coming back!] Omar asks his father for advice, and he says that he should move on from Adrian. [Omar's father out of nowhere?]

Jack asks Grace to talk a couples class with him, but she hesitates. Jack's mother, Didi, then confronts Grace about whether she's trying to secretly break up with Jack, saying that she's never been a good girlfriend to the athlete. [Grace is pretty fickle, but I was shocked that Didi came over there like that!]

2 Broke Girls: They're Not Actresses

2013-04-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

Han has an office?? That was definitely a bit of the diner that I don't think has had a set before! It was seen a great deal this episode, mainly to showcase how everyone milks the TV project for their own benefits. From Han wanting lots of money for fake damages to the girls stealing all the VIP room sushi, the majority of this episode's laughs probably came from scenes in that office. It makes me hope that we see it again! That aside, I'm surprised that there weren't more cracks by Oleg this episode, especially as he seems to have amateur experience in "film making," haha. Though I suppose Sophie trying to "become a star" was enough for both of them.

2 Broke Girls "And the Extra Work" (S02E22): It's Chestnut's tenth birthday, but Caroline says they have to pretend he's six. [haha! cute carrot cake, though.] He needs new horseshoes, and a blacksmith Max knows suggests he also needs medication for a fungus, so the ladies need to come up with $1400. [I know nothing about owning horses, but a quick search looks like re-shoeing actually needs to happen about every two months! CLEARLY the writers aren't up on this fact, either.]

Sonja Flemming/CBS

Law & Order : SVU wants to film a death at the diner, and Caroline, Max, and Earl want to be extras, which pays $112/day plus the tips they would have received. The girls even wear different uniforms for the shoot, and Caroline gets bumped up to be a "special victim," which earns $1000. [kinda neat.] Of course, she messes up and hugs Max, setting off her blood packs early. [figures.] The director invites her to his hotel room for dinner, so she brings Max. [awkward.] The guy isn't turned off by Caroline's incessant talking, and kisses her. He then kisses Max "to make things even," before taking a call from his wife and kids. [insanity!] The next day, Max is given the dying scene... at least until Sophie sets off Max's blood packs. Surprisingly, Han sticks up for the girls and demands $1,000 for Max and Caroline for the director trying to take advantage of them.

Cupcakery Savings Total: $1205.00. [except, this money is ear-marked for Chestnut, so it has nothing to do with their "savings." This is the same as including rent money in these totals, which we know doesn't happen.]