Big Brother- Can't Catch a Breakdown

Spoiler alert...Below are some thoughts on the third week of Big Brother 12. So watch the eps, re-conceptualize what a fighter means to you, and read what I had to say.

Matt- "The only two people I didn't want to get picked for the power of veto competition were Brendon and Rachel."

Big Brother is a reality television show. What is the point of reality television? To entertain us with the antics of really dumb people right? Well if that is so, this third week of Big Brother really got the point across. I was highly entertained by the stupidity put forth by Matt the doctor! CBS is absolutely right in giving him the moniker of "self proclaimed genius," because he is one of the dumbest smart guys I've seen.

Let's analyze what he did during his week of power as head of household. Matt's first order of business was to select two house guests to put on the block. Instead of putting up a strong player (Brendon) with a pawn, or putting up two contestants that are in the only known alliance (Brendon and Rachel), he goes with personal issues and vows to get rid of Kathy because she voted against him in the last elimination ceremony.

So he's not the first idiot to take this game too personally. But when you go around explaining to everyone (and America) that you are playing these house guests like fiddles, it's not acceptable. So he went against his fellow Brigade members' wishes to put up Brendon and Rachel. In the diary room he explained that he might think about putting one of them up if the Veto got used...but probably not because he was "sitting pretty."

Here's where things get interesting. After Brendon wins the Veto comp and doesn't use it, Matt all of the sudden starts complaining like a little baby that his master planned got ruined. Not just whining to his fellow Brigaders, but to America! To quote him, he said "My empire is crumbling. My master plan is destroyed." Excuse me?!? You may be able to pull one over on your house mates, making them think it was your plan to backdoor Brendon the entire time, but not us guy. We know your original plan was to get rid of Kathy. It was probably a terrible idea, but that was your idea.

Now that Rachel has won HoH again, Matt is going to continue complaining about the Brigade not being able to catch a single break. Seriously this guy is annoying. He's worse than CJ trying to convince people he's good at FIFA. Honestly the Brigade is catching horrible breaks. They're just not playing well at all. We just witnessed them screwing this week up by not putting up Rachel and Brendon. If we take a look back at week one we will see that Hayden was HoH and put Brendon and Rachel up for eviction. What happened there? The Brigade was convinced to get Annie out instead of one of the power couple. Two out of the three weeks you've had the upper hand. I'd call that catching some breaks.

Other highlights from inside the house

Lane and Enzo have both stepped their game up. Enzo has spit out a few good lines, while Lane was yucking it up with Britney. As the two of them replaced their voices with Brendon and Rachel to make fun of them, Lane got nostalgic for his role-playing days in Texas..."I love role playing. I've role played a couple times back in Texas. Mainly with horses and cows you know, wondering what they're saying and what they'd say to me."

Sometimes I feel like these contestants have never watched the show before. When Matt came up with the idea to keep Andrew in the house because he was starting to act crazy, Enzo and Hayden thought this was the most novel idea ever. I've only been watching for three seasons, but isn't that Big Brother 101? Keep the crazies in so that they have the target. Now I know it never happens, because it becomes a great excuse to get rid of that person, but it should.

Andrew went out with a bang as he got swept in the vote to leave the house. I've never seen someone pack so much into the slotted time to speak. Chelsia from a few years back might have been more cruel, but Andrew gets the award for most information spewed. Remember how sometimes people just say "I hope you don't vote me out. Thanks." Yeah simpler times.

Summer Poolies Watch- Drama

And so we round up the Summer Poolies watch with a quick look at what's been going on in the drama department. First up is the Dynasty Award for Best Drama Series and let's begin with a couple of sure fire nominees. I have no idea when Treme is going to air in 2011, but the three eps that we got in June, including 'All On a Mardis Gras Day' were fantastic. There has only been one Mad Men ep thus far, but it is a lock every season.

Other shows looking for a nomination: Entourage has been much more enjoyable this season, as Scott Caan has proven to be a wonderful addition. Jonas makes the switch to the drama category, and even though its revamped style isn't nearly as good as the first season, I love me some Jo Bros. Glee aired two eps at the end of season one in June, and if things don't get less annoying on that show, it might miss out on nominations. Then there is Hung and Pretty Little Liars. The first has given no real entertainment, while the second has been much better than expected (although still underwhelming).

The Dr. Doug Ross Award for Best Lead Character in a Drama is next up. Ari Gold (right) has one the supporting category two straight years, but it's about time to realize that he is a lead in this show. There are basically five leads. If I were to say who the two with the most screen time were, I'd guess E and Ari. Then of course there is Mr. Draper of Mad Men and a couple of French Quarter guys, in Davis McAlary and Antoine Batiste of Treme. If any of the Jo Bros stand out from each other, they could have a good shot at a nomination in a much easier category than the comedy one they were in last year.

Supporting characters. The Noah Hunter Award. With Ari hypothetically out of the group, I like Roger Sterling and Scotty Lavin of Entourage as my early favorites. Creighton Bernette and Albert Lambreaux of Treme also put forth good performances in June, but the big man won't be around next season so that limits his ability. Puck of Glee, although not as cool as I want him to be, has his moments and should be in the running for a nomination next year.

I'll be interested to see if any of the smaller female characters of Glee step up next year. The Veronica Mars Award already is packed with hopefuls, but Quinn Fabray (left) and Santana Lopez of the singing drama deserve some consideration. Of course they'll be competing with their teammates Sue Sylvester and Rachel Berry. My early favorite though? Annie of Treme. I just loved watching her take a beating from Sonny and then falling into Davis's arms. Macy Misa and Stella Malone don't get that much of a break from the category switch as it is just as tough over here in drama for the ladies. Others of note: Janette Desautel of Treme, Jessica Haxon of Hung, Lizzie Grant of Entourage.

Another category loaded with talent is the Marissa Cooper Award for the Character You Love to Hate in a Drama. I could fill this whole thing with people from Glee and The CW. Kurt, Emma, Mr. Shue, Mercedes, Artie, Finn...keep 'em coming from Glee. Then there are the category staples of Entourage's E and Mad Men's Peggy Olsen. I can't tell if I hate Sonny from Treme because he's so awful to Annie, or love him for it so that's a tough one. Others of note: Tanya Skagle of Hung, Dee Zee of Jonas, Henry Francis of Mad Men.

Episodes of note thus far would be Treme's 'All On a Mardis Gras Day', Mad Men's opener 'Public Relations' and maybe the most recent Entourage 'Tequila Sunrise.'

And there we have the Summer Poolies watch. I might come back in October for a Fall Poolies watch, but I might not. If any of you Poolie voters have any suggestions leave them here (although I know no one but Jaydon or T-time would).

Summer Poolies Watch- Comedy

Before I get into chatting about the comedies that have been airing this summer, I'd like to give out a two-sided warning. If you are one of my readers that love the Disney Channel shows, continue on excitedly. If you are one of my readers that write off the Disney shows without ever giving them a chance, then stop here because Party Down is really the only other comedy that's been on the air so far this season.

Let's take a look at the big one. The Seinfeld Award for Best Comedy Series. The only series nominated last year that that has aired is Jonas and after a revamp of the show, I'm shifting it to the drama category. So who then who is vying for a spot thus far? Well Party Down is right there on the cusp, but it's schedule really hurts it for the Poolies. Six eps of the second season aired during last year's time frame, and then four more came out in June. With no third season in sight, it's hard to imagine a nomination for four eps.

So now we get to the Disney shows. Here is my current order of how good they've been since June 1st. 1) Sonny With a Chance. 2) Hannah Montana. 3) Wizards of Waverly Place. 4) Good Luck Charlie. Sonny has excelled thanks to the vast improvement of Demi Lovato and an awesome two-parter in 'Falling for the Falls.' Hannah is off to a good start in its final season, with the exit of Smokin' Okin coming as a pleasant surprise.

What else have I been checking out on the comedy circuit? TVLand's Hot In Cleveland and FX's Louie. Neither have done much for me. Even though Louie is getting rave reviews, it's all Mr. CK and his down on his luck character/personality is not funny to me. And then with Cleveland we have a 90s style sitcom, which I'm mainly watching for the appearance of Joe Jonas later this season.

I only have four dudes in the running for the Cory Matthews Award for Best Lead Character in a Comedy, but does anyone other than Larry David have a shot if Curb comes out before June 2011? Henry Pollard and his final four eps lead the way, while Justin Russo and Chad Dylan Cooper, from Wizards and Sonny, respectively, have had good starts to the season. Louie CK, who some feel is the funniest man in the world, rounds out the group.

The Arthur Spooner Award for Best Supporting Character in a Comedy has had more competition early on. You have a trio of Party Downers in Kyle, Ron and even Roman who wasn't as annoying to me this season. Robby Ray Stewart has kept up his obnoxious antics so far and should be able to secure a second straight nomination if things continue the way they have. Although Sonny's Grady Mitchell knocked it out of the park with his "coupon" lines, Max Russo of Wizards is the only other one with a chance.

Quietly becoming one of the toughest categories to crack, the Phoebe Buffay Award for Best Female Character in a Comedy is off to a good start. What can you say, but adult television doesn't know how to create funny female characters. They leave that to the kids shows. The triple Disney threat of Sonny Munroe, Alex Russo and Miley Stewart will most likely be my one, two and three next June no matter what else happens. Casey Klein of Party Down had a very good showing this season and should be in the running for a nomination. Then there is Lilly Truscott of Hannah and the Duncan girls of Good Luck Charlie.

Not much to hate so far in the world of comedy. One comes to mind though. Lydia Dunfree of Party Down. As a replacement for Jane Lynch's Constance, she annoyed the heck out of me every time she was on screen. Also a couple to hate from Sonny are Nico, who was nominated last year, and Zora who should have been.

And finally we have the 'The Dealership' Award for Best Comedy Episode. I've got two in mind so far. Party Down's 'Company Picnic' and the aforementioned 'Falling for the Falls' of Sonny With a Chance.

And next we will have a look at the early season drama doings here at the Pool.

Summer Poolies Watch- Action

After just finishing up the the 2010 Quiet Pool Television Awards, let's take an early look at the 2011 Poolies. Two months of the season have already gone by and a lot has already happened. Sometimes these summer shows don't get as much recognition because they air so far before the awards are voted on, and sometimes it's because they're just not that good. Either way, let's take a look at what has happened so far in the action award categories.

First up is the Sopranos Award for Best Action Series. Now first up to mention are Breaking Bad and Justified, both of which aired their final two episodes of the season in June, qualifying for the 2011 awards. Both had fantastic endings to their third and first seasons, respectively, and currently sit at the top of the rankings. True Blood is the only other previous nominee to have aired so far this year. The first six eps of this third season haven't been as good as last summer's affair, but still a worthy candidate for sure.

Also on my radar for the Sopranos Award are Persons Unknown and Covert Affairs (right).  Persons is a mystery thriller that has been good but not great. I'm really curious to find out all the answers to why everything is happening, but the process isn't entertaining me right now. Covert Affairs airs its third episode tonight and I'm decently excited. On USA, I didn't have much hope for it, but the cast and the feeling of serialization won me over. Piper Perabo is extremely cute as the lead agent. Add Christopher Gorham from Harper's Island and Peter Gallagher, most known in my parts as Sandy Cohen from The O.C., and you have me on board.

I have viewed four other actions since June 1st...none of which have any shot at earning a nomination. The Good Guys is the best of the bunch, if only because there are a few funny Bradley Whitford moments that I can hear while I'm multitasking. I gave up on ABC's The Gates after a few episodes, dropped TNT's Memphis Beat after two, and would have already been finished with SyFy's Haven if it didn't take place in Maine.

Let's talk about some characters. Let's start with the Frank Pembleton Award for Best Lead Character in an Action Series. The two returning nominees are Raylan Givens and Walter White who finished third and seventh in 2010, respectively. Only two of their eps from last season should count, but next year should be more of the same for both of them. At this point I'm bumping both Jesse Pinkman of Breaking Bad and Eric Northman of True Blood to lead and putting them right in the thick of this thing. Anyone else have a chance? Maybe The Good Guys' Dan Stark for his humor if the category is light due to the lack of Losties. Also on my radar: Joe of Persons Unknown and Jason Stackhouse of True Blood.

So now we get to the newly named Desmond Hume Award for Best Supporting Character in an Action Series. Now that Lost is off the air I wanted it to be more represented in the Poolies, and since Jack and Sawyer split their award the past two seasons, I felt Desmond deserved the honors for dismantling the competition in 2010. Thanks to Jaydon for the tip, and no offense to Rome's Titus Pullo, but he was more of a lead character anyway.

Although we again lose the Lost favorites in this category, 2011 should be as crowded as ever for this award. I could make up a ten man list of worthy nominees just from what has aired since June 1...

• Boyd Crowder- Justified
• Saul Goodman- Breaking Bad
• Andy Bellefleur- True Blood
• Gus Fring- Breaking Bad
• Bo Crowder- Justified
• Auggie Anderson- Covert Affairs
• Hank Schrader- Breaking Bad
• Blackham- Persons Unknown
• Lafayette Reynolds- True Blood
• Art Mullen- Justified

Action has been depleted in good female depth the past two years. Ava Crowder is the only returning nominee to have taken the screen thus far, but she has some competition from her own show in Winona Hawkins, who made a late season push. Then you have Jessica Hamby and Sookie Stackhouse from True Blood. The latter was a nominee for worst character last year, but hasn't been nearly as annoying this season. I know it's only two episodes in, but Covert Affairs' Annie Walker is extremely fun to watch (and not only for aesthetic reasons). Also on my radar are Skyler White of Breaking Bad, Janet of Persons Unknown and Joan Campbell of Covert Affairs.

Who has ticked me off so far this summer? Well if it isn't those characters vying for a nomination for the Teri Bauer Award. Now that Bill and Sookie are out of my dog house on True Blood, there is plenty of room for newcomers. Where to find them...hmmm...how about True Blood? Tara Thornton and Franklin (left) have been equally awful, while Lafayette's new man Jesus is giving them both a run for their money. The Breaking Bad trio of Skyler, Marie and Walter White, Jr. are also always in the running.

And finally we have the 'Through the Looking Glass' Award for Best Action Episode. Both Justified and Breaking Bad's season finale's 'Bulletville' and 'Full Measure' are on pace to earn nominations. Both the Persons Unknown and Covert Affairs pilots were good and are on my radar. Nothing from True Blood has stood out yet.

So there you have it. An early look at the action awards at the 2011 Poolies. Next up is comedy.

Quiet Pool at TV Fanatic- Hung's 'Sing It Again Ray'

Along with the added bonus of reviewing Mad Men this week, I also did my weekly Hung review over at TV Fanatic this morning. Not as fun of a job, but the more I write about this series, the more interesting it gets. Just watching it is not nearly stimulating as figuring out what it is trying to do on a week to week basis.

In this week's episode of Hung, 'Sing It Again Ray,' Ray and Tanya help Damon fit in with some new friends, Ronnie and Jessica argue about babies, and just as the episode title explains, Ray sings it again...and again...and again.

Hung 204- 'Sing It Again Ray'
Review
Recap
Quotes

Quiet Pool at TV Fanatic- Mad Men's 'Public Relations'

The head honcho over at TV Fanatic, the one known as M.L. House, is off this week. What did this mean for me? A bump up to the big leagues. Today over there, I got to review the season four premiere of Mad Men. As a show I enjoy quite a bit more than Hung, I was extremely pleased to get the job.

Like myself, some of the Poolie readers have had a tough time getting into Mad Men. It is slow, and even boring at times, but watching the quality of writing on this show makes up for it most of the time. Things definitely started to pick up the second half of last season, ending with one of the best episodes of last year, the season three finale "Shut the Door. Have a Seat."

Season four's premiere was quite up to that level, but it was still fantastic. This week over at TV Fanatic I discuss how Don's talents as an ad man led to a strange irony, along with much more. A lot happened since we left the Mad Men crew, and a lot happened in this one hour of television. We see the new Sterling Cooper Draper Price working out of a make-shift office building, the new Draper family situation is explored for the first time, and Donald Draper learns a new way to sell both himself and the agency.

So whether you're a fan of Mad Men or just want to trash on it (or my review), head over to TV Fanatic. You can comment on how I don't deserve to write for such a good show, or just read some of the great quotes from this week's premiere episode.

Mad Men 401- 'Public Relations'
Review
Recap
Quotes

The Sopranos Award- Best Action Series

Named For: Sopranos (HBO) 1999-2007
Awarded To: Best action series from June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010
Last Year's Winner: Chuck (NBC)

Place. Show (Network) Points (My Vote)

10. Dexter (Showtime) 0 points

9. The Mentalist (CBS) 1 point

8. Justified (FX) 4 points

7. 24 (FOX) 6 points

6. True Blood (HBO) 12 points (5th)

5. Flash Forward (ABC) 16 points

4. Sons of Anarchy (FX) 18 points (3rd)

3. Chuck (NBC) 20 points (2nd)

Runner-Up
2. Breaking Bad (AMC) 23 points (4th)

and the Poolie goes to...
1. Lost (ABC) 36 points (1st)

Here with his thoughts on Lost is Poolie voter, Larry...

There has been so much literature written about LOST it’s kind of annoying to put something together here.  I haven’t read everything out there, but it seems like there is an obligation in every write-up to give your thoughts on the final season/season finale (down on the season, loved the finale). Everyone knows what happened, so that’s all I really want to say about the actual show. I’d rather talk about what LOST did outside its time slot.

To say the show had a cult following would be misleading, because it was actually more intense. With LOST, more than any other show, you were either in or out. I love that. Outsiders hated when a LOST conversation broke out because it seemed like people were speaking a different language. If you found a random stranger who watched the show, you immediately had material to fill up an hour long conversation. Honestly, it’s one of the only ways I could ever enjoy a conversation with a stranger. The show would not have become a phenomenon without this passion. On the internet, the craze spilled over into what seemed like a thousand online forums and even its own wiki-like site.  The resources never seemed to end. You can’t help but appreciate that kind of devotion. Even a contributor to this site found inspiration from the show for his Twitter wallpaper.

So although I was down on the season as a whole, no show came close to entertaining me as much on and off the air. That’s why I voted for it and that’s why I think it is the best network television show ever. I have always said I am jealous of people who still haven’t seen it, because they have 120+ hours of entertainment sitting there, completely new to them. I can’t say that about any other show up for the award, so while this category is stacked, it really wasn’t that close.

by Larry Avitabile

Big Brother- Mean Girls Too

Spoiler alert...Below are some thoughts on the second week of Big Brother 12. So watch the eps, lie about your significant other's health status, and read what I had to say.

Britney- "I am so gonna miss sitting in the back yard and talking with you about how high waisted Kristen's pants are, and how skanky Rachel's dressing every day, and how annoying her laugh is, and all the things we could do with her hair extensions. It's gonna be really, really, really hard without you."

What an incredible end to an unbelievable week long performance by Britney. That has to go down as the best farewell speech of all time right? It was the best I've heard in the past three years, that's for sure. Not only did the Britney/Monet power house of comedy and awesomeness come out of nowhere in week two, it came out extremely strong.

They started out on Sunday just getting clips of them hating on every single person in the house. As I hate most people, it is great to here others hate on the terrible attributes of others. As Wednesday's ep came along the duo kept bringing the heat and stepped their game up a bit too with gems from Britney like...

"I don't usually just like to hang out with whores like for fun." And...

"Every time she wears a skirt I feel like STDs have gone airborn."

Then on Thursday Britney capped the whole week off with that fantastic farewell speech to her best pal Monet who got the boot and is the second contestant to leave the house.

As the great Pete Bell once said, "It doesn't matter what you do, God Damnit! It's how you do it!" Because if Natalie and Lydia were saying these same things last season I'd want to throw up or slap them in the face. There's something endearing about Britney when she acts like a complete jerk and she's going places for it.

And then there was the week that Matt had for himself. I'm a bit more confused by this situation. At first I wasn't a big Matt fan because of how bad he seemed to be at playing the game. But then he came up with the whole 'faking his wife's health status' thing.

You see one of my rules of Big Brother is that this thing is a game. Anything you do or say in the house is part of the game and in no way is indicative of how you may or may not behave in the real world. So making up some story that your wife has a disease in which she could lose her leg in order to gain sympathy from the other contestants is fine by me.

I love the effort by Matt, but dislike both the execution and the timing. It is way too early bro. He came dangerously close, like Brian a few years ago, of getting sent to the showers quickly for playing the game too hard, too fast. Again I'm fine with making up this story, it's actually kind of funny to me, but do it half way through the game. Don't shake things up so early on.

Secondly his execution while telling the story was God awful. He was smiling and laughing in telling to anyone who would listen. Show some different emotions if you want people to buy this as a sad tale.

Unlike Dan Gheesling from a few seasons back, who was controlling the game at one point, Matt merely thinks he is pulling a number on everyone by offering himself up as a pawn and then crying to Britney and Monet about it. He's lucky that getting called out on the whole thing didn't send him home right then and there. It's a good thing for him he has The Brigade on his side.