Mad Men 507 Review- Pity, Dirty, Funny

Glen- "How's the city?"

Sally- "Dirty."

Like many Mad Men episodes, and the series in general, "At the Codfish Ball" was a slow burn. It was taking so long to build up that I was ready to unabashedly declare it the worst hour of the season thus far.

Fortunately, once the Draper clan made its way to the eponymous gala, there was so much to adore that the lack of previous enjoyment was forgiven.

It is so often the little things that make Mad Men such a treat, and nothing epitomized that more than the quick conversation between Pete and Dr. Emile at the event. Of course Emile takes on the opinion that an account man does absolutely nothing at the company. Thankfully, after listening to the academic complain and condescend all episode long, Pete Campbell put him in his place if just for a few moments.

Emile was certainly an easy target, what with his ego ready to burst anyway, but it was a treat to watch Pete do what he does in a matter of seconds.

They were all there to watch Don receive his award, and that he did. What he probably didn't think he would here that night was the fact that nobody in the business liked him or would work with him because of his open letter a ways back. How could they trust you after the way you bit the hand? Ken's father-in-law asked Don.

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

Mad Men 507 - "At the Codfish Ball"
Review
Recap
Quotes

The Borgias 204 Review- Sure, I Like Dags

Cesare- "She chose God, Micheletto, and God repaid her with mutilation."

Not only have the brothers Borgia been literally fighting over the past couple of weeks, but Cesare and Juan have now begun coming to figurative blows about who is going to have the more interesting start to season two of The Borgias.

Thanks to the absence of the latter, and a superb performance by Francois Arnaud, "Stray Dogs" swayed things back in favor of Cesare as being the brother all viewers should have their eyes glued to while watching this captivating Showtime series.

As soon as his nun was found murdered, and he announced that he had lost all emotions but vengeance, we should have all known what kind of thrill ride Cesare was about to embark on. Unsurprisingly, the ride began in style with Micheletto gathering up the rest of Rome's stray dogs, and Cesare rallying them to get revenge on the French through whatever means necessary.

Unlike the Duke of Mantua, Cesare didn't care about fighting with honor. Cannon was too barbaric for the good Duke, so I wonder what he would have thought of our favorite Cardinal's torture techniques... or the way he said he would let the man go after getting information from him, and then just had Micheletto stab in the gut.

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

The Borgias 204 - "Stray Dogs"
Review
Recap
Quotes

American Idol Top 6- Testone Deaf

Here are some scores for you.  Finally Elise is gone!

Fantasy Idol

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Safe (+36)
Skylar Laine: Bottom 3 (-10), Safe (+36)
Erika Van Pelt
Adam Brock
Brielle Von Hugel
Top 6: +62, Team Total: 264

Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Safe (+36)
Shannon Magrane
Elise Testone: Eliminated (-20)
Aaron Marcellus
Johnny Keyser
Top 6: +16, Team Total: 176

Jack
Deandre Brackensick
Baylie Brown
Joshua Ladet: Safe (+36)
Chelsea Sorrell
Creighton Fraker

Top 6: +36, Team Total: 137

Tyson
Heejun Han
Hollie Cavanaugh: Bottom 3 (-10), Safe (+36)
Jeremy Rosado
Hallie Day
Chase Likens
Top 6: +26, Team Total: 124

Me
Colton Dixon
Reed Grimm
Eben Franckewitz
Haley Johnson
Jen Hirsh
Team Total: 58

The Office 822 Review- Guess That Price

Oscar- "If you would have seen the look he gave me, he wanted to rock more than just my vote."

It has been four episodes now since the super team returned from Florida, and The Office still hasn't found its footing back in Scranton. "Fundraiser" featured some humorous moments, sure, but it was another continuation of the less-than-spectacular installments we have witnessed as of late.

There were highlights - such as Ryan's opening rant about Smokey Robinson, Dwight's efforts to win the silent auction or Kevin's straight forward attitude towards Andy - but even these pleasant sequences failed to make me laugh out loud. Not every comedy needs to have that skill all the time, but it definitely helps.

In the cold open, Ryan was just being Ryan. He always has an agenda, and he usually doesn't have any idea what he's talking about. That's what makes him such a great character. Whether it is professing his love for a girl he will most likely cheat on, or pretending to have loved Smokey Robinson, Ryan will always be a douchebag.

I'm not sure which was funnier, Dwight's arrogance as he quietly outbid everyone at the silent auction by thousands of dollars, or his ridiculous celebrations after finding out he won every prize.

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

The Office 822 - "Fundraiser"
Review
Recap
Quotes

30 Rock 619 Review- We'll Do It Live!

Jon Hamm (as Chuck)- "Honey you have a dynamite shape, but you're gonna have to shut up and let a man tell us what's happening."

30 Rock completed a very successful live show last season, which made me believe that Tina Fey and company decided to do another one this year mainly because they felt they were supposed to. I went in thinking that it was going to be a bit forced, but came out thoroughly pleased with "Live From Studio 6H."

You really have to have a good and completely different plan for one of these episodes to actually work. By flashing back to the numerous fake live shows, 30 Rock created both a fun play on the plot, and ample opportunity for the main as well as guest actors to show off their chops.

The MVP Award has to go to Alec Baldwin. Whether it was his exaggerated Jackie Gleason, the drunkard Joey Montero, that quick Nixon impression, or his role in the fantastic NBC News duo, Baldwin proved once again why he continues to get asked back to Saturday Night Live, and that he may actually be underutilized on 30 Rock on a regular basis.

The Best Guest was definitely Jon Hamm.  His blatantly racist character Abner was by far the single funniest moment from the episode. I mean between "I's done stoled this catfish!" and "Zip-a-dee-doo-doo," I was on the ground laughing for that entire flashback.

To read the rest of my review of last night's live 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 619 - "Live From Studio 6H"
Review
Recap
Quotes

Survivor Week 11- Same Ol' Same Ol'

There was nothing remotely surprising about this episode of Survivor, and without Troyzan around, there is very little keeping this season alive at this point.

Champions League

Larry

Michael -17
Kat +137: W11 (+56)= +193
Jonas +9
Tarzan +175: W11 (+56)= +231

Last Week +304: Team Total= +416

Jaydon

Matt -100
Kim +109: Reward (+10), Immunity (+20), W11 (+56)= +195
Alicia +194: W11 (+56)= +250
Nina -24

Last Week +179: Team Total= +321

Jack

Troyzan +224: Votes (-16)= +208
Christina +130: Votes (-12), W11 (+56)= +174
Kourtney -45
Bill -45

Last Week +264: Team Total= +292




Me

Jay +71
Chelsea +111: Votes (-4), W11 (+56)= +163
Monica -5
Colton +25

Last Week +202: Team Total= +254




Free Agents
Leif +146
Sabrina +231: W11 (+56)= +287

Developmental League

Mags

Matt
Kim: Reward (+10), Immunity (+20), W11 (+56)= +86
Alicia: W11 (+56)= +56
Tarzan: W11 (+56)= +56

Week 11= +198, Team Total= +787

Marsh

Jay
Chelsea: Votes (-4), W11 (+56)= +52
Bill
Christina: Votes (-12), W11 (+56)= +44

Week 11= +96, Team Total= +683

Tippy

Troyzan: Votes (-16)= -16
Kat: W11 (+56)= +56
Colton
Monica

Week 11= +40, Team Total= +567




Rizzo

Michael
Jonas
Kourtney
Nina

Team Total= +49

Free Agents
Leif
Sabrina: W11 (+56)= +56

The Voice Quarterfinals (Part 2) Results- To The Semifinals We Go

There was a performance by Florence and the Machine, a lot of recapping of Monday night some last chance performances, and a couple of eliminations on the latest installment of The Voice Results Show.

Who was saved by America? And who was saved by the coaches? Let's find out...

Team Adam

Saved - Tony Lucca

Mathai - "Cowboy Casanova"
This was a lot closer to her disaster on Monday than her quality performances of week's past. The song was just too big, and she didn't change it enough to fit her softer quirky voice. If she was going to continue to give us performances like that, I won't mind missing her.
Grade: C-

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

The Voice Quarterfinals (Part 2) Review- Redzone Gives You Wings

Blake- "I could have done without Captain America swinging around back there."

The Voice's Quarterfinals continued this week, as Team Adam and Team Cee Lo were a bit of a disappointment in comparison to last Monday's competitors. Thankfully, one young lady - Juliet Simms - stood out from the crowd, putting on yet another fantastic performance.

Other than the coaches wasting a ridiculous amount of time laughing about passed gas, and nobody telling Jamar's mom to take the gum out of her mouth before going on live television, there weren't a lot of extracurricular activities going on, so let's get to the performances...

Jamar Rogers - "It's My Life"
They really dug even deeper into the emotion of Jamar's HIV status before the performance, and he certainly allowed some of his feelings to shine through on stage, but this wasn't my favorite of Jamar's. He hit all the notes, but nothing about his performance was special, especially the strange fire people on stage behind him.

Adam thought Jamar was amazing. Blake said the pairing of the song and the person was perfect. Christina liked that he sang with his life on the line, and she's rooting for him. Cee Lo told Jamar that he is such a strong spirit, and that he would die with him.
Grade: B

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

Mad Men 506 Review- I Find Your Product Boring

Bert- "You've been on love leave. It's amazing things are going as well as they are with as little as you are doing."

Many of the main players went to "Far Away Places" in an interestingly structured episode of Mad Men this week. Some left on an physical trip, others took a journey thanks to some killer drugs, and one... well for one, the place she went wasn't so much far as her act there was the furthest from what I ever expected out of her.

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around what happened here. Has Mad Men ever played with structure like this before? With three stories occurring simultaneously, but showing each one separately, this was quite the intriguing strategy. Why do you think Matthew Weiner and company decided this was necessarily the best way to plot this episode?

For one reason or another, it had me even more involved than normal, and "Far Away Places" left me thoroughly entertained. The one story of the three that had me a bit annoyed, however, was Don and Megan's, and it wasn't only because the video effects in the car were so bad.

They were pretty awful, and the fake Howard Johnson's wasn't much better, but it was the constant bickering between the newlyweds that lost me early on. Whether it was over work, sherbet or the fact that Don thinks he is Megan's master, I became a bit uninterested until he just left her on the side of the road like a piece of dirt.

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

Mad Men 506 - "Far Away Places"
Review
Recap
Quotes

The Borgias 203 Review- Say Hello To My Brittle Friends

Lucrezia- "You must cry for me, for I have no more tears."

The second season of The Borgias is not taking its time out of the gates. Following last week's exciting installment in which Juan figured out what was going on between Lucrezia and Paolo, and subsequently murdered the latter, "The Beautiful Deception" played as a thrilling next chapter.

There were two major arcs driving the story of the hour: Lucrezia and Juan's family feud, and Cesare's bold strategy to fool King Charles into retreating.

The former was a fantastic continuation of the main focus in "Paolo," and continued the running theme of the season thus far that the Borgias are fighting just as much with themselves as they are against those outside the family.

Rodrigo has made numerous announcements to his children that the family would not tear each other apart, but recently that seems like all they want to do. This recent battle between brother and sister may have been my favorite yet.

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

The Borgias 203 - "The Beautiful Deception"
Review
Recap
Quotes

American Idol Top 7 (pt. 2)- One More Time?

I'm out...good luck everybody.

Fantasy Idol

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Safe (+28)
Skylar Laine: Safe (+28)
Erika Van Pelt
Adam Brock
Brielle Von Hugel
Top 7 (pt. 2): +56, Team Total: 202

Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Safe (+28)
Shannon Magrane
Elise Testone: Bottom 3 (-9), Safe (+28)
Aaron Marcellus
Johnny Keyser
Top 7 (pt. 2): +47, Team Total: 160

Jack
Deandre Brackensick
Baylie Brown
Joshua Ladet: Safe (+28)
Chelsea Sorrell
Creighton Fraker

Top 7: +28, Team Total: 101

Tyson
Heejun Han
Hollie Cavanaugh: Bottom 3 (-9), Safe (+28)
Jeremy Rosado
Hallie Day
Chase Likens
Top 7 (pt. 2): +19, Team Total: 98

Me
Colton Dixon: Eliminated (-18)
Reed Grimm
Eben Franckewitz
Haley Johnson
Jen Hirsh
Top 7 (pt. 2): -18, Team Total: 58

The Office 821 Review- Just Say No

Ryan- "I'd rather she be alone than with somebody. Is that love?"

The main premise of "Angry Andy" was a smart, if extremely late, idea. Get rid of the Andy Bernard we have been forced to watch in this season of The Office. He has been lame and has never very funny.

Bringing back his anger management issue was a pleasant change of pace for a character that desperately needed something different. Will this be a permanent fix for the character and/or the series? Probably not, but it worked for this half hour.

Andy from the rest of this season would have taken the beating from the conference room impotence meeting, letting it roll off his back. That wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining as watching him yell and scream, throw things and finally punish the wall in the exact same spot he did back before his first stint in anger management.

I'm not saying this was comedy gold, it was just an upgrade from the disasterous arc Andy and Erin were going through up to this point in the season.

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

The Office 821 - "Angry Andy"
Review
Recap
Quotes

30 Rock 618 Review- Negotiating a Nickname

Spokesman- "When did gum get so soft you sons of b*tches?"

Although I am too young to know what a Murphy Brown is, apparently she lied to the good working women of America. Yes, in "Murphy Brown Lied to Us" Liz Lemon took yet another step towards growing up, something she's been doing more and more of lately.

It was mostly thanks to Jack, who set Liz up with Kev's awesome daughter. The girl wasn't just beneficial for Liz, because she helped Lemon realize that she still might want to have kids in this life time. Kat was also extremely entertaining, which is rare for an actress of her young age.

Between her obsession with To Kill A Mockingbird, her understanding that a short haircut would make her look like a lesbian, and her negotiating a new nickname, Kat portrayed a Manny Delgado-esque maturity that played very well opposite Tina Fey.

By the end of it all, Liz realized that she didn't want to throw out that baby Leia costume, and might want to have a kid after all. Thankfully Criss might feel the same way, and if 30 Rock's lifespan isn't all that much longer, it wouldn't be a bad route to take with the series.

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

30 Rock 618 - "Murphy Brown Lied to Us"
Review
Recap
Quotes

Survivor Week 10 Review- Troyzan, The Ultimate Terror

Troyzan- "This is just Troyzan versus everybody else."

Troyzan was on a war path as Survivor went from nine to eight this week, and it was not only because he won the immunity challenge. He was also responsible for some extremely entertaining trash talk - and for causing a very strange vote at tribal council.

After Jay was voted out last Wednesday, and Troy realized he had been lied to and was all alone in the game, he kind of lost it a bit in "I'm No Dummy." He took on a “me against the world” ideology, and took out a lot of his frustrations against those that wronged him most.

The first way he got back at the ladies of Survivor was by winning immunity and forcing them to eliminate a weaker competitor in Leif. Troyzan helped his cause in the competition by refusing to play the Reward Auction with either his heart or his stomach, but rather his brain.

He passed on a number of delicious food items, and a letter from home, in order to wait on an advantage in the challenge that he highly suspected was coming. Although he naively didn't just bid $500 immediately, Troyzan finally outbid Christina (and the entire group goading her on) with $420.

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

Then come back and check out the fantasy standings, in which I'm falling quickly.

Champions League

Larry

Michael -17
Kat +91: W10 (+46)= +137
Jonas +9
Tarzan +141: Votes (-12), W10 (+46)= +175

Last Week +224: Team Total= +304

Jack

Troyzan +158: Immunity (+20), W10 (+46)= +224
Christina +84: W10 (+46)= +130
Kourtney -45
Bill -45

Last Week +152: Team Total= +264




Me

Jay +71
Chelsea +65: W10 (+46)= +111
Monica -5
Colton +25

Last Week +156: Team Total= +202

Jaydon

Matt -100
Kim +71: Votes (-8), W10 (+46)= +109
Alicia +148: W10 (+46)= +194
Nina -24

Last Week +95: Team Total= +179




Free Agents
Leif +162: Vots (-16)= +146
Sabrina +185: W10 (+46)= +231

Developmental League

Mags

Matt
Kim: Votes (-8), W10 (+46)= +38
Alicia: W10 (+46)= +46
Tarzan: Votes (-12), W10 (+46)= +34

Week 10= +118, Team Total= +589

Marsh

Jay
Chelsea: W10 (+46)= +46
Bill
Christina: W10 (+46)= +46

Week 10= +92, Team Total= +587

Tippy

Troyzan: Immunity (+20), W10 (+46)= +66
Kat: W10 (+46)= +46
Colton
Monica

Week 10= +112, Team Total= +527




Rizzo

Michael
Jonas
Kourtney
Nina

Team Total= +49

Free Agents
Leif: Votes (-16)= -16
Sabrina: W10 (+46)= +46

The Voice Quarterfinals (Part 1) Results- A RaeLymination

Two more contestants had to leave The Voice on Tuesday. Did it go down as you expected it would? Let's take a look at what happened on the most recent installment of the NBC hit's live results show.

The Wanted performed with Team Blake I hate that not only do they give the team members nothing to do in these guest performances, but they wait until the last 15 seconds of the song to even bring them out. It is so incredibly worthless.

The Biebs was in the house! He had the Zack Morris haircut from that one episode where the gang becomes a huge rock band, and his pants were around his knees so the world premiere of his music video "Boyfriend" was the last thing we should have been talking about.

Oh yeah, there were also results!

Team Xtina
America picked Chris Mann, so he is moving onto the Semifinals! Ashley De La Rosa and Lindsey Pavao then had to sing for their lives on The Voice.

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

The Voice Quarterfinals (Part 1) Review- She's A Heartbreaker

Blake- "You don't have a boyfriend?"

RaeLynn- "No! I'm a heartbreaker."

There were performances by contestants, performances by coaches and a pair of instant eliminations on the first episode of The Voice's Quarterfinals.

Team Xtina performed "Fighter" together, and the coach's outfit was one for the ages. I also loved that she added to the running joke of Blake and male strippers, as she had two shirtless dudes on stage with her during a second stint of "Hillbilly Bone."

Maroon 5 also rocked out their new single "Payphone," and Team Blake sang "Heartache Tonight." I wasn't surprised at all that Blake gave his team members much more of an opportunity to shine than Christina did earlier in the show.

Let's get to the important performances, though. One member from Team Xtina, and one member form Team Blake were going to head home immediately following the performances. How did they perform under the pressure?

Team Blake - RaeLynn - "She's Country"
If America voted her through last week, I can't imagine how many votes RaeLynn is going to pull in with this performance. She got rid of all the weird she brought last time, and absolutely knocked this song out of the park. Being very familiar with this song, I loved hearing the female vocal on it. It was a pleasant surprise, and I'm back on board the RaeLynn train after two subpar performances.

Christina said RaeLynn makes her want to sing country.  Cee Lo said it was like AC/DC did a country song. Adam noted that Blake finally did something right in picking the song. Blake said that it was the most proud moment he has had this season.
Grade: A

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

Mad Men 505 Review- Down For The Count

Peggy- "Lane beat the crap out of Pete."

Ken- "I can't believe he beat me to it."

The down and out life of Pete Campbell was interesting to witness during "Signal 30," especially when comparing it to how content Don Draper was at this given point in time. It is best summed up by the words of Ben Hargrove...

It might have been living in the country that was making him cry. It was killing him with its silence, and loneliness, making everything ordinary too beautiful to bear.

I'm not sure which combination of living in the suburbs, growing tired of his wife, an increased work load or simply wanting to be like the ad men he has watched over the years forced Pete into this type of behavior... but I'm glad it has happened.

Without his downward spiral, we never would have been able to watch Lane knock him the heck out. How great was that fight scene in the conference room? Between Roger aggressively wanting to see the fight and later claiming he had money on Lane, Don quietly closing the blinds and Pete actually hitting the floor, it was the most entertaining scene of the episode.

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

Mad Men 505 - "Signal 30"
Review
Recap
Quotes

The Borgias 202 Review- Sans Paolo

Vanozza- "Affections can be lethal in this Rome of ours."

Vanozza's words could not have been a better reflection of "Paolo." The Borgias continued its strong start to the second season with a twisted tale of love, family and betrayal this week.

As much as I have commended Francois Arnaud for his performance as Cesare over the course of the first season-plus, darn it if David Oakes didn't steal the show as Juan Borgia during this hour.

I kept finding myself so intrigued by what he was doing and the feelings he was emoting. The character has so much pride and it showed up in spades during that scene at the fountain.

How great was it seeing Juan immediately come to his sister's defense? He was so disgusted by the fact that a commoner would even think about coming near him and his sister; it made for very strange moment out of Lucrezia.

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

The Borgias 202 - "Paolo"
Review
Recap
Quotes

American Idol Top 7- Save For the Belle

I talked at great length about this week's results with Jack and Rizzo.  My two email conversation with Rizz about Sanchez's bottom three appearance and inevitable save can be read below...

From Rizzo...

I have not watched idol from last night yet. But I don't need to because from what I hear they made a big deal about needing to save Sanchez.

I think there is NO WAY she got the least votes. She is the best female voice by far and very popular. Also dialidol.com is never wrong and they don't even have her in the bottom three for total votes. Joshua had the least votes and raw numbers.

I think they did this on purpose for ratings and to draw attention to the show. I think and still think that it's Phillip and Sanchez to the end.

Larry mentioned something about daughtry and how everyone was sure that he would stay so no one voted or something.

Bottom line is no way in hell that Sanchez actually had the least votes. I think they did this on purpose for ratings/attention/press etc.

Also, no idea why I am so interested in this because I have not watched an episode in two weeks.

From me...

haha i love that you are so interested even you haven't watched.  i am also extremely intrigued, haven't watched a single results episode, and only watch the performances (no judges, intro videos, crap) on the regular eps.

here is my thought.  i think it is extremely possible that they staged this elimination and save in order to drum up excitement, however I don't believe it is necessarily what happened.  dialidol has definitely been wrong in the past...heck they had eben frankewicz as the leading vote getter in the top 24!  usually, though, they do have good standings.  since the added the texting votes though, they have been less accurate.

while i agree that jessica is the best of the season (you may like philphil, i may take colton, but sanchez has the best voice talent), I think she may be hurting for votes because she's from southern california.  the other six of the top seven are from the south or southeast, places that are known to vote well (texas, louisiana, south carolina, tennessee, georgia, mississippi). those people have nothing better to do than sit by their phones and vote for their small town girl or guy who is on idol.  it's rare to see somebody from LA, San Diego, NYC, etc. do really well on these shows, because people have lives in those places and theirs no "entire town or state voting for the contestant" mentality.

having said all that, I still think there is an absolute chance that Idol rigged all of that to increase ratings for the rest of the season, but then why wouldn't they just rig every week?  why not rig the entire order of finish?  why would they have a dude win the last four seasons and then complain about it?  there's a lot of merit to the fact that they may be cheating the system, but I'm not entirely sold on it.

Fantasy Idol

Larry
Phillip Phillips: Safe (+21)
Skylar Laine: Safe (+21)
Erika Van Pelt
Adam Brock
Brielle Von Hugel
Top 7: +42, Team Total: 146

Rizzo
Jessica Sanchez: Eliminated (-16), Saved (+21)
Shannon Magrane
Elise Testone: Bottom 3 (-8), Safe (+21)
Aaron Marcellus
Johnny Keyser
Top 7: +18, Team Total: 113

Tyson
Heejun Han
Hollie Cavanaugh: Safe (+21)
Jeremy Rosado
Hallie Day
Chase Likens
Top 7: +21, Team Total: 79

Me
Colton Dixon: Safe (+21)
Reed Grimm
Eben Franckewitz
Haley Johnson
Jen Hirsh
Top 7: +21, Team Total: 76

Jack
Deandre Brackensick
Baylie Brown
Joshua Ladet: Bottom 3 (-8), Safe (+21)
Chelsea Sorrell
Creighton Fraker

Top 7: +13, Team Total: 73

The Office 820 Review- There's Magic Out There

Dwight- "I wonder if king size sheets are called presidential sized in England. I really should have a tweeter account."

It had been almost a month since the last episode of The Office aired, and its return confirmed the sad truth: this show has become a mediocre comedy this season.

"Welcome Party" was filled with a few heartwarming moments, and a couple of laugh out loud scenes here and there, but every new installment seems to make it more and more obvious that The Office is a shell of what it used to be.

Catherine Tate was pretty polarizing in her first few performances, but at least she was giving audiences an opinion. Here, her Nellie Bertram was neither hilarious nor detestable, and instead was used as a sympathetic character taking on the mean-spirited words of her coworkers. Whether Nellie deserved the hate from the office, or the love from Jim's defense, it didn't have much of an effect on our viewing pleasure.

The fake party for Nellie did bring about two of the funniest moments from the episode, though. There was this classic "Kevin is fat" hilarity...

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

The Office 820 - "Welcome Party"
Review
Recap
Quotes

30 Rock 617 Review- Double Donaghy Downer

Tracy- "Son this isn't easy for me to say because my tongue caught what my foot has..."

I became very uninterested in "Meet the Woggles" shortly after the episode started. With Jenna in another weird yet boring relationship, and Colleen Donaghy back to annoy us all, Tracy attempting to keep his son out of college was the only story I could hang on to.

Colleen did have that one good line about the stork, but other than that she was just grumpy as always, and not in the funny old curmudgeon way. She just took most of the life out of 30 Rock this week.

Jenna has been great this season without Paul, so bringing her weird love life back to the forefront was disappointing. Also, the musical group that gave this episode its title wasn't really a humorous addition. I think the Woggles didn't work because they weren't much of an exaggeration on the children's groups they were trying to make fun of.

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

30 Rock 617 - "Meet the Woggles"
Review
Recap
Quotes

Survivor Week 9- Chicken Wings Would Really Hit The Spot

Screw you Jay, and your chicken wings.

Champions League

Larry

Michael -17
Kat +50: Reward (+4), W9 (+37)= +91
Jonas +9
Tarzan +100: Reward (+4), W9 (+37)= +141

Last Week +142: Team Total= +224

Me

Jay +87: Reward (+4), Votes (-20)= +71
Chelsea +8: Immunity (+20), W9 (+37)= +65
Monica -5
Colton +25

Last Week +115: Team Total= +156

Jack

Troyzan +127: Reward (+4), Idol Misuse (-10), W9 (+37)= +158
Christina +47: W9 (+37)= +84
Kourtney -45
Bill -45

Last Week +84: Team Total= +152

Jaydon

Matt -100
Kim +38: Votes (-4), W9 (+37)= +71
Alicia +115: Reward (+4), Votes (-8), W9 (+37)= +148
Nina -24

Last Week +29: Team Total= +95




Free Agents
Leif +125: W9 (+37)= +162
Sabrina +148: W9 (+37)= +185

Developmental League

Marsh

Jay: Reward (+4), Votes (-20)= -16
Chelsea: Immunity (+20), W9 (+37)= +57
Bill
Christina: W9 (+37)= +37

Week 9= +78, Team Total= +495

Mags

Matt
Kim: Votes (-4), W9 (+37)= +33
Alicia: Reward (+4), Votes (-8), W9 (+37)= +33
Tarzan: Reward (+4), W9 (+37)= +41

Week 9= +107, Team Total= +471

Tippy

Troyzan: Reward (+4), Idol Misuse (-10), W9 (+37)= +31
Kat: Reward (+4), W9 (+37)= +41
Colton
Monica

Week 9= +72, Team Total= +415




Rizzo

Michael
Jonas
Kourtney
Nina

Team Total= +49

Free Agents
Leif: W9 (+37)= +37
Sabrina: W9 (+37)= +37

The Voice Top 24 Results (Part 2)- Lucca Who Made It Through

It was another action packed night on The Voice, as the results were handed out and four more singers were sent home. There were some contestants digging down deep to put on the performance of their lives.

There was also time for a quick performance by Jessie J with Team Xtina. Didn't they see that there was no point in brining the team on with the guest performer last week? They didn't do anything up there.

The only other negative from the night was the return of the awkward Sprint Lounge. At least this time Adam Levine mentioned how terrible it was, and hopefully they make some changes. I don't know what those changes need to be, but something needs to happen soon.

Now let's get to the results...

TEAM ADAM
Safe: Mathai, Tony Lucca, Pip
I couldn't agree more with America on these choices, but what about the contestants in danger of leaving?

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

Justified 313 Review- It Wasn't Me, It Was The Two-Armed Man

Boyd- "Well I guess we best both sleep with one eye open."

Limehouse- "I always do."

Justified certainly knows how to pull off a good tragedy. Between the downward spiral and eventual horrific death of Robert Quarles, and the somewhat sad quasi father-son triangle that led to Arlo blatantly choosing Boyd over Raylan, "Slaughterhouse" was a fitting end to the third season of Justified.

Robert Quarles should go down as one of the most interesting and entertaining villains in TV history, and Neal McDonough should receive any and all accolades that are up for grabs this year. His portrayal of the Detroit mobster was riveting all season long, and that was no different in the season finale.

Quarles almost looked content seconds before his arm was chopped off.
The last we had seen Bobby, we thought he had killed Trooper Tom, but we later found out that wasn't true at all. After fleeing the scene at Boyd's bar, Quarles just wanted to get out of Kentucky alive, and make it home to Detroit without a target on his back. That was going to take $500,000 for Theo Tonin, and I doubt that would have even stopped the boss from shooting Quarles when he made it back up north.

McDonough was fantastic throughout Bobby's adventure in attaining the money. First in his hopped up twitchy moments with the Christian family in the van, and then with how his cool customer attitude when seeing Raylan made me die laughing, this was a nice final run for the character. I mean the subtlety in which Quarles asked for Raylan's gun and phone after being turned down ibuprofen was pure genius.

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

Justified 313 - "Slaughterhouse"
Review
Recap
Quotes

The Voice Top 24 (Part 2) Review- Walk Like Er-in-Mar-tin

Blake- "I almost pitched my panties."

The Voice returned for part two of the Top 24, treating the audience to a couple of outstanding performances, a few horrendous ones, a one-way ticket to Bonertown courtesy of Adam Levine, and a cheap shot like none other from Christina Aguilera to Tony Lucca.

Let's get right to the action...

Team Adam - Katrina Parker - "Tonight Tonight"

Adam wanted her to get away from sounding like Adele.  Well, no one was going to confuse her voice with Adele's here.  This was a solid performance, but nothing I would write home about for the first performance of the night.

Xtina said Katrina's voice really captivated her, but wanted her to rock out more and said there were a few pitchy notes.  Cee Lo loved the staging, and then rambled on about the Smashing Pumpkins. Adam thought she killed it.
Grade: B-

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

Mad Men 504 Review- Mystery Halluci-date

Don- "I married you, and I'm gonna be with you until I die...which could be this afternoon."

The good news is that Don didn't actually cheat on Megan in "Mystery Date." The bad news is that he was so sick that he hallucinated, and said hallucination had him cheating on Megan with a former lover and then strangling her to death.

I'm definitely not one to dissect what somebody's extreme fever hallucinations say about their true desires, so I will discuss Don's affinity to cheat without bringing his faux experience with Andrea into the conversation.

That is basically what the entirety of Don's story was about on this week's Mad Men. Is Don going to act differently now that he's married to Megan? While with Betty, the man was a serial cheater, so when Megan and Don ran into a former partner of his, she obviously got upset.

She's worried that it wasn't Betty that drove him to cheating, but rather that it is just a part of who he is. Like the past couple of episodes, I liked the way that Megan dealt with the difficult situation. She faced it head on, bringing the conflict to Don's attention and making him aware of the way she felt.

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

Mad Men 504 - "Mystery Date"
Review
Recap
Quotes