Survivor Week 2- Airing of Grievances

Spoiler alert...Below are some thoughts on the second episode of Survivor: Nicaragua. So watch the ep, steal one sock, then read what I had to say.

Tyrone- "Holly keeps getting stranger and stranger...and every time she speaks, it becomes more evident that she's crazy. So I'm gonna keep one eye on her, and one eye on my shoes."

People are going nuts really quickly on this season of Survivor. It's only the second episode. How long have they been out there, five days? You're going crazy after five days? It's amazing the amount of people that come on this show and then realize they're not cut out for it so quickly. How dumb are people? I know I wouldn't be able to handle being on Survivor, that's why I've never applied! Could I do Big Brother? Sure, that's why I almost applied.

Seriously though Holly, stealing Dan's shoes, filling them with sand and throwing them in the ocean? You were watching a little too much Russell for the past two seasons. Not every one can be Russell, as we witnessed by you admitting to what you did so quickly. If you are going to go out on a limb like that, you don't come clean! Holly should be next out the door for the Old Geezers.

Meanwhile, over at the Young Guns tribe, NaOnka has also gone completely nuts. She thinks somebody stole one of her socks, so she steals Fabio's pair of knee highs. Why do you have to cause so much trouble this early in the game? Is it that important to you to lose? Sure seems that way.

And then we got to one of, if not the most outrageous tribal council I have ever seen. Things have been getting closer and closer to this as the seasons have gone on, but last night everyone just flat out said exactly what they were thinking. What is that? It's mostly Probst's fault for trying to pry stuff out of them, but these contestants are all too idiotic. As much as I get mad about how the editing tries to trick us into not knowing how the vote will go down, it's still much better than seeing exactly how everyone feels moments before the vote. I knew exactly how that vote was going down after that conversation at tribal. Where's the fun in that?

I'm not upset that Shannon went home. He was a pretty sweet dude, but I love the strategy taken by the Young Guns. You see, normally you want to keep the strong contestants around early so that your team can win the challenges, but things are different now that it is Old vs. Young. The kids should be able to beat the old coots without a couple of the best competitors, so why not get them out early? I like it.

Fantasy Scores

Brigade Grenades

Sash- W2 (2)= 2
Chase- W2 (2)= 2
Dan- W2 (2)= 2
Jill- W2 (2), Im (8)= 10
Jane- W2 (2), Im (8)= 10
Week 2= 26 Total= 31

The Full Schilling

Jimmy J- W2 (2), Im (8)= 10
Benry- W2 (2)= 2
Kelly B- W2 (2)= 2
Alina- W2 (2)= 2
Holly- W2 (2), Im (8)= 10
Week 2= 26 Total= 31

Power Bottoms

Brenda- W2 (2), Votes (-12)= -10
Marty- W2 (2), Found Idol (10), Im (8)= 20
Tyrone- W2 (2), Im (8)= 10
Yve- W2 (2), Im (8)= 10
Wendy
Week 2= 30 Total= 4

Studio Flow CEO

Shannon- Votes (-28)= -28
Fabio- W2 (2)= 2
Kelly S- W2 (2)= 2
Jimmy T- W2 (2), Im (8)= 10
NaOnka- W2 (2)= 2
Week 2= -12 Total= -7

Sons of Anarchy 303 Review- Porn Star Bar Fight

My review of last night's Sons of Anarchy posted immediately following the episode over at TV Fanatic. I didn't love "Caregiver" as much as it seems a lot of others did, but it was a Sons ep so of course I enjoyed it. Stephen King's cameo was ridiculously creepy and ridiculously funny all at the same time, which made it a great appearance.

With only one advanced screener left for this season of Sons of Anarchy, I'm getting sad. With any hope the next couple episodes will pick up steam and get the action started again. Critics keep saying that this season has a different feel to it and you have to allow it to develop. Well I loved the way season two jumped into everything, couldn't they have just stayed with that strategy? I know I wouldn't have minded.

Sons of Anarchy 303 - "Caregiver"
Review
Recap
Quotes

One Tree Hill 802 Review- Killing Me With Near-Death

I really disliked last night's episode of One Tree Hill. As I was watching the episode I got really excited that I would have the opportunity to trash on it over at TV Fanatic. And so I did. My review of "I Can't See You, But I Know You're There", which I gave two out of five stars, is up over at the Fanatic.

The one thing I'm happiest about in reviewing One Tree Hill so far, is that the commenting over at TV Fanatic hasn't been ripping me for ripping the show. Most of the people reading agree with me that last night's ep was really bad.

One Tree Hill 802 - "I Can't See You, But I Know You're There"
Review
Recap
Quotes
Music

Chuck 401 Review- Budget Constraints

The premiere of what I fully expect to be the final season of Chuck premiered last night on NBC. It was really nice to have it back, and as I noted in this week's TV Fanatic round table, I'm just glad that I didn't have to eat a million Subway sandwiches to get it back on the air this fall.

As you all know, this summer I took my talents to TV Fanatic to do this whole tv reviewing thing on a professional level. Just a week before the Chuck premiere, the boss over there, M.L. House, asked me to add Chuck to my weekly reviews. Ummm yes? Sons of Anarchy and Chuck? Are you trying to cater to my every want?  Anyway, my review of last night's premiere, 'Chuck vs. The Anniversary', is up over there.

Even though I'm already worried that I will run out of new critiques of Chuck as the season goes on, I'm excited to write about it on a weekly basis. Like for Mad Men a few weeks back, I also participated in a Chuck Round Table for the premiere over at TV Fanatic. Check it out if you aren't into reading such a lengthy review.

The links for my Chuck stuff are down below, but don't forget to come back tomorrow for my Sons of Anarchy and One Tree Hill reviews tomorrow. Then it will be The Office and 30 Rock to end the week.

Chuck 401 - 'Chuck vs. The Anniversary'
Review
Round Table
Recap
Quotes

Lone Star 101- What About Bob?

Spoiler alert...Below are some thoughts on last night's series premiere of Lone Star. So watch the ep, put an elastic band around your second cell phone and wallet, then read what I had to say.

John Allen- "This is a house of cards. You don't get to live in it."

After reading and listening to previews upon previews of Lone Star from the likes of Alan Sepinwall and James Poniewozik, I kept getting the same thing: This premiere is great, but where do they go from here? After hearing that last night's episode had less than five million viewers, I realized they might not need to worry about that problem.

If Lone Star does stick around, I have high hopes. The premiere was great, but unlike the tv critics of the world, I think there's plenty of room to breathe in episodes to come. Why have I taken this stance? James Wolk. Tell me if I'm an idiot, but this guy seems great right? To me, he's a charming Coach Eric Taylor. Unlike Coach T, who I kind of like just because, Wolk's con man Bob Allen is a character I loved right out of the gates.

Bob is fantastic as a con man. Even his overbearing father thinks so; "I'd like to think that I've taught you everything you know, but son, you have moves that I have never seen before." We got to see Bob in action in this first episode, so it is easy to see how he's gotten himself into this predicament.

What makes Bob so easy to enjoy though, is this love that he has for the two ladies in his life. When prompted by the sexy stranger at his hotel to "Give me one good reason why we shouldn't continue this upstairs with more drinks and less clothes," the hopeless romantic simply replies "I can give you two." This is a love triangle like no other I tell you. He's in deep and I'm ridiculously interested to see how his two relationships play out.

Add the fact that he wants to stop being a con man and his father isn't at all happy about it, and you have a million different avenues to take these story lines in the future.

Mad Men 409 Review- Secret World of Girls

Last night's ninth episode of Mad Men's fourth season was just fine. It was absolutely nothing to write home about, but alas, I did. My review, fawning over the acting chops of Kiernan Shipka and loving the outbursts by Sally Draper, is up over at TV Fanatic.

Read my full review over there, and check back here tomorrow for my review of tonight's season premiere of Chuck at TV Fanatic.

As an aside, I caught the premiere of Boardwalk Empire from last night. It was great, but strangely I couldn't find the energy to write anything on it. Hopefully next week will be different.

Mad Men 409 - "The Beautiful Girls"
Review
Recap
Quotes

The League 201- Strippers and Kickers

Spoiler alert...Below are some thoughts on last night's season premiere of The League, 'Vegas Draft'. So watch the ep, try the veal...child, then read what I had to say.

Pete- "You can body cavity search me all you want, all you're gonna find is Tennessee running back Chris Johnson!!!"

A decent start to the second season for a show that got much better throughout season one. When chatting about The League on their Firewall & Iceberg Podcast, Alan Sepinwall and Dan Fienberg mentioned how they see promise in this show because it has funny people on it. I couldn't disagree more. By all means, many of these guys are occasionally humorous, but if I'm going to compare it to It's Always Sunny (which is easy because it airs right after it), none of these light a candle to the big three of Charlie, Frank and Dennis.

What makes this show work for me is, once again, the fantasy football elements. A scene like the one in which these five friends fight their way through the airport security line would have been nice and cute on its own. But add to it the fact that they're doing it for the number one pick of a fantasy draft makes it actually funny. Then throw the quote about finding Chris Johnson in the security's cavity search and it totally works as a hilarious scene. The fantasy football elements were much more prevalent in this season premiere than many of the episodes last year, and that is a good thing.

Although Chad Ochocinco didn't bring much to the table himself, his presence gave the other characters much more to play off of. If you're a fan of the Ochocinco or even the NFL, you're aware of his catch phrase, "Child please", so when Andre tries to use it over and over again, it was funny. To a common tv viewer, this wouldn't have worked, but the show is now catering to it's audience. Good work.

Another moment from the premiere that I liked was the fact that Andre used the term "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" and I didn't get angry. This phrase, like the other characters explain, is so played out I was ready to slap them for even integrating it into the episode. It worked though. Andre, much like Matthew Berry of fantasy football fame, is the type of guy that runs things into the ground. If anyone else had said it, it would have been awful, but in this case I actually got a chuckle out of it.

The draft itself wasn't very good and the rapping scene with Taco and Ochocinco almost ruined the entire episode for me, but overall it was a promising start to the second season. If you enjoy fantasy football, it's definitely worth watching again.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia 601- Does This Marriage Make Me Look Gay?

Spoiler alert...Below are some thoughts on tonight's season premiere of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, 'Mac Fights Gay Marriage'. So watch the ep, build a cold, calculated, heartless shell, then read what I had to say.

Frank- "Two dudes getting married, that doesn't seem very gay."

I was bombarded on many sides to start It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia last year. Thanks to the help from others I raced through the first five seasons and caught myself all the way up. It grew on me quickly and is currently in my top five comedies on tv.

Tonight's season six premiere, 'Mac Fights Gay Marriage', was no different. It had a little too much of the one aspect of the show I don't love, Mac, but everything else was great.

As always, the Charlie/Frank story killed. You put these two together and it's gold every time. It's especially good when we get to witness them in their fantastic living arrangement. It's always so nice and tidy when get to view their apartment. Once they start planning their gay marriage, all bets are off.

One of the things I love about Always Sunny is their ability to do awkward so well. What puts them over the edge is that they take the awkward and go so over the top. The conversation between Dennis and Dead Tooth Maureen about her father's death was a little strange at first. After finding out it was a suicide, and Dennis brushing the whole thing off like it wasn't a big deal made it laugh out loud funny (which is rare in awkward moments).

I'll be reviewing The Office and 30 Rock over at TV Fanatic this fall so I probably won't have time to write about Always Sunny again, but I'm sure I'll be tweeting quotes all autumn long.