The Office 815 Review- I'm Not Bored. I'm A Pirate

Erin- "Ryan switched his name tag to his pants, so now it's like if you wear yours on your shirt you're a total dip, but if you switch you're a copy cat."

"Tallahassee" had all the pieces to come together as one of the best Office episodes of the season, but the driving force behind it - Dwight's battle to become the Special Projects Vice President while dealing with a big of appendicitis - was not funny.

They were able to play humor off of Dwight's pain - like him continuously thinking he was poisoned thanks to the return of pranking Jim or leaving a message to his infant son telling him to kill Mose in order to keep the beet farm to himself - but much of the back half of the episode was Dwight's struggle between pain and drive... and it was kind of boring.

What wasn't boring, though, was that cold open. How great were Dwight's wake-up calls? Screaming in Pam's Replacement's ear, suffocating Stanley and having Erin seduce Ryan were all great, but the best was the fact that Jim was ready for Dwight with a prank.

This was an old school, well thought it, motivated Jim prank. He ransacked the room, left a briefcase full of money, got fake blood to spell out "It was Dwight," and fell out of the closet like a corpse. Classic Jim. I love this Jim.

To read the rest of my review of this week's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 815 - "Tallahassee"
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30 Rock 607 Review- She's A Joker

Jenna- "Oh don't be so dramatic. That's my thing, and if you take it away from me I will kill myself...and then you."

Did Batman need to get rebooted again? Isn't the Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale series still going on? Oh, sorry, apparently "The Tuxedo Begins" was just 30 Rock's way of parodying the superhero movie style of the first Nolan film.

It wasn't nearly as funny as some of the earlier episodes this season, but the half hour was certainly enjoyable... especially from the rooftop scene onward.

As Jack stood in the dark, using his deep ominous voice to explain to Liz what his plans were to help the city, I got wrapped up in the moment. Liz was there, finally taking her turn into full superhero villain mode (crazy hair, strange clothing, Joker-esque lipstick), which made the fact that she was using the city to her own benefit the final piece to the puzzle.

The rest of that story, with Jack flipping Liz into the trash, and the crowd of New Yorkers applauding the event - which included Mr. Met, the Statue of Liberty and the singing prostitute - was all the more entertaining.

To read the rest of my review of this week's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 607 - "The Tuxedo Begins"
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Survivor Week 1- So Happy Together

It's 11:15 p.m. Thursday night, and I have yet to start watching and reviewing 30 Rock and The Office, so no analysis of Survivor's premiere this week.  Enjoy the fantasy scores from week one...

Champions League

Larry

Michael -95: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= -86
Kat -80: W1 (+1)= -79
Jonas -15: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= -6
Tarzan -1: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= +8

Started at -191: Team Total= -163

Jack

Troyzan -50: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= -41
Christina -65: W1 (+1)= -64
Kourtney -15: Stop Challenge (-10), Leave for Health (-20)= -45
Bill -45: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= -36

Started at -175: Team Total= -186

Jaydon

Matt -95: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= -86
Kim -110: W1 (+1)= -109
Alicia -5: W1 (+1)= -4
Nina -1: W1 (+1)= 0

Started at -211: Team Total= -199

Me

Jay -80: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= -71
Chelsea -130: W1 (+1)= -129
Monica -15: W1 (+1)= -14
Colton -1: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= +8

Started at -226: Team Total= -206




Free Agents
Leif: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= +9
Sabrina: Found Idol (+10), W1 (+1)= +11

Developmental League

Mags

Matt: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= +9
Kim: W1 (+1)= +1
Alicia: W1 (+1)= +1
Tarzan: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= +9

Week 1= +20, Team Total= +20

Marsh

Jay: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= +9
Chelsea: W1 (+1)= +1
Bill: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= +9
Christina: W1 (+1)= +1

Week 1= +20, Team Total= +20

Tippy

Troyzan: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= +9
Kat: W1 (+1)= +1
Colton: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= +9
Monica: W1 (+1)= +1

Week 1= +20, Team Total= +20

Rizzo

Michael: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= +9
Jonas: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= +9
Kourtney: Stop Challenge (-10), Leave for Health (-20)= -30
Nina: W1 (+1)= +1

Week 1= -11, Team Total= -11



Free Agents
Leif: Immunity (+8), W1 (+1)= +9
Sabrina: Found Idol (+10), W1 (+1)= +11

One Tree Hill 906 Review- Road To Redemption

Julian- "Great pep talk Dan. No wonder your sons love you so much."

Dan Scott's road to redemption may have started a while ago, but it became much more obvious during "Catastrophe and the Cure" that it may indeed be the main overarching theme to One Tree Hill.

Sometimes it's thought provoking to take a step back and look at an entire series, figuring out what it really was all about. The events that occur - whether it be pointlessly written storylines, or actors leaving the show - can change the path of the show, but at the end of the day a story is being told.

Over the course of nine seasons of One Tree Hill, that story may end up being about a man making a number of awful decisions on his way to rock bottom, and then finally finding redemption. Whether his family - and the audience, for that matter - accepts said redemption, after all of the heinous crimes he committed, is exactly the kind of grey area that would make the ending to this story so interesting.

If viewers still can't stand Dan Scott - as I know many cannot - and aren't willing to forgive the man for the many awful things he has done over the years, then this might be a more difficult pill to swallow. I, on the other hand, believe this character has paid his dues and is ready to redeem himself for many of his wrong doings.

To read the rest of my review of last night's One Tree Hill, head over to TV Fanatic.

One Tree Hill 906 - "Catastrophe and the Cure"
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Justified 305 Review- The Cadillac of Beans

Dewey- "These are the end times for Dewey Crowe."

The bad guys turned on each other two weeks ago in "Harlan Roulette," and it happened once again in "Thick as Mud" when Layla shot Lance before getting gunned down herself by a tranquilized Raylan laying in a bath tub.

In no way is Justified returning to the Elmore Leonard school of writing for villains too much, but if even if the series continued to use this style over and over again, it would be okay. It's extremely entertaining.

Call me gullible, but I'm surprised every time.  ust as it was revealed - obviously or otherwise - that the two nurses were working together, one knocks off the other with a bullet to the back? That doesn't seem normal, so when it happens, I'm taken back by it, and excited to see what will happen next.

This week, in an unsurprising event, Raylan saved himself from the crazy woman by shooting her in the chest through the body of her victim. It might not have been the most bad ass move Raylan has ever done, but everyone was certainly shocked that it actually worked. Including Raylan.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Justified, head over to TV Fanatic.

Justified 305 - "Thick As Mud"
Review
Recap
Quotes

The Voice 203 Review- Join the Pip Rally!

Blake- "A lot of people don't realize Cee Lo is normally asleep during the show, and that's why he wears the big sunglasses."

It was a good night for Adam Levine on The Voice. Not only did the Maroon 5er gather four new team members, and remind us all that he won last year's competition yet again, but he proved that he is easily the best at stating his case to the contestants.

Levine uses rational, eloquent and convincing arguments to persuade youngsters - with all celebrity coaches staring them in the face - to join Team Adam. Blake's witty insults, Christina's embarrassing attempts to match and Cee Lo's "take me or leave me" attitude have yet to contend with Levine's abilities as a "salesman."

Let's take a look at the performances from the third installment of the Blind Auditions by breaking down The Voice Teams...

Team Adam

Current Members
Tony Lucca, Kim Yarbrough, Angel Taylor.

New Additions
Adam's great night began with a boy named Pip. Yes, just Pip. The bowtie-wearing 19-year old belted out a great version of "House of the Rising Sun" that got all four of the judges to turn around, a feat that went unmatched for the entire episode. The kid's performance was very strong, if not exceptional, and he will do well on Team Adam.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Voice, head over to TV Fanatic.

Justified Exclusive- Erica Tazel On Understanding Rachel Brooks

Through 30 episodes of Justified, we're all still getting to know Deputy Marshal Rachel Brooks. The same can be said for the woman behind the badge, Erica Tazel, who learned of her character's Tennessee upbringing only a few days before shooting last week's "The Devil You Know."

Just as Mr. Limehouse did, the audience learned during the hour that Rachel is a southern girl hailing from Hendersonville, Tennessee. Tazel is also from what many consider the south, "born and raised in Dallas," she told me over the phone late last week, which helps the actress "draw on the rhythms" of her family.

"Any time I feel like I'm getting away from that," Tazel continued, "all I have to do is have a five-minute conversation with somebody from home and I'm like - oh yeah, there it is."

The viewers gained more of an understanding of where Rachel comes from last week, but it was in "Cut Ties" - when Rachel hid in the attic and took out the intruder with a single shot - that we learned more about why Art Mullen refers to her as his best Marshal.

To read the rest of my exclusive with Erica Tazel of Justified, head over to TV Fanatic.

Quiet Poolcast- The River and Luck

This weekend T-Time and I discussed the series premiere of ABC's The River and the second episode of HBO's Luck, before turning to some Over/Unders in this podcast.

Here's the timeline:

The River: 0:00 - 9:58
Luck: 10:04 - 16:33
It's Always Sunny: 16:56 - 20:52
Happy Endings: 20:58 - 22:53
The League: 22:59 - 26:02
Fringe: 26:07 - 27:46
Awake: 27:52 - 29:57

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