Covert Affairs 210 Review- Movin' Out (Annie's Song)

Annie- "I'm in the CIA. Nothing is different."

Danielle- "Everything is different."

Unlike what I predicted last week, the Covert Affairs summer finale did NOT leave us with a cliffhanger. Instead, "World Leader Pretend" simply - and rightfully - shoved our sweet protagonist in a new direction.

Yes, Annie finally told her sister about the two-year old secret she had been keeping, but it was Danielle's reaction that was the most interesting development.

I know we are supposed to side with Annie because she's the main character, but it was hard not to be with Danielle every step of the way as she packed up her sister's boxes. If you're keeping it a secret to protect your sister, then why are you telling her two years later?

You either never bring her into the fold or you tell her right away. Does Annie no longer care about protecting Danielle? Or was her entire reasoning for keeping the secret a lie?

To read the rest of my review of last night's summer finale of Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 210 - "World Leader Pretend"
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Teen Wolf 111 Review- Dancing With Wolves

Stiles- "Well I shouldn't say I told you so, 'cause it's not strong enough. How about, I'm always right, and you should listen to whatever I have to say, and never disagree ever for the sake of your wolvlihood."

Teen Wolf dances are always epic. While "Formality" did not showcase Scott in a white suit going full wolf, like in the original movie, it certainly had enough excitement to keep the audience wanting more from the MTV series.

But, seriously, there was not a single person doing the patented Teen Wolf dance move? What a waste!

Let's take a look at some of the highlights from the dance itself. First and foremost, there was Stiles getting Lydia to dance with him by spewing out a number of compliments, including the fact that she would someday win the Nobel Prize for Mathematics. It's great to see him get the girl, even if it was only for a few songs.

Then, there was Scott's interesting strategy to stay at the dance. Grooving with his gay friend so that the Coach will not want to look like a homophobic jerk? Difficult to pull off, but Scott backed his way into that one nicely.

Finally, there was Jackson in all of his drunken bliss, leaving the dance and heading out to the woods, where he proclaimed his desire to be a werewolf to who he thought was the Alpha. When it turned out to be Chris Argent, the poor child spilled all the beans.

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

Teen Wolf 111 - "Formality"
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Curb Your Enthusiasm 805 Review- The Lunch Confirmation

Larry- "For a guy who can't talk, he has a pretty big mouth."

Larry David will do almost anything with the correct amount of motivation. In "Vow of Silence." he touched Susie's disgusting snot napkin so she wouldn't see the eaten Pinkberry in the garbage, and then embarked on a three-month visit to New York with the sole purpose of missing Tessler's event for challenged children.

Everyone has been waiting to see how LD and the crew were going to make it to the Big Apple in this highly touted "New York Season." How many of you had "Larry's going to just head there in order to miss a commitment?" Well, a good percentage probably, because LD is a pretty big jerk.

In addition to finally getting the New York part of the season underway, "Vow of Silence" was just as funny as ever.

First. there was the original chat and cut, which Larry so nicely called the woman out for. By the way, only LD can call someone out for such a thing, and then so calmly compliment her on it. Then there was the subsequent phantom chat and cut that the customers at Pinkberry claimed Larry was trying to pull, which forced him directly into Tessler's line of sight. Poor LD.

In typical Curb fashion, they spent a good two to three hilarious minutes of run time on Larry and Jeff fighting about who had eaten more of Oscar's Pinkberry. Of course, that led to them finishing the entire thing, along with Susie's sob fest.

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

Curb Your Enthusiasm 805 - "Vow of Silence"
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Big Brother Week 4- House of Lies

Spoiler Alert...Below are the results and my thoughts on this week's episodes of Big Brother 13. Also, we'll take a look at how Mags', Jaydon's, Larry's and my teams are stacking up on the fantasy side of things. So before reading any further, watch the eps, ruin an imaginary house of cards, then read what I have to say.

I am here to help you see what is so hilarious about Big Brother. Case and point: After Daniele won the HoH competition, Brendon consoled Rachel, telling her not to get upset. He claimed that Kalia is not worth it, because she's a nobody and an all-time floater. This was fantastic stuff.

Brendon's shenanigans continued on Wednesday and Thursday, as he cried over and over again about loving Rachel so much, and explaining to her how good she was going to do in the game after he left. Classic material right there.

Finally, the big man did the most ridiculous thing in Big Brother history...he sacrificed himself for the good of his fiance. Not Rachel, his fiance. Point 1: Brendon did fine in this game after Rachel left last year. Point 2: What in the world made him think Rachel would be fine in this game after he's gone?

She is already a disaster. After he leaves it is all going to come tumbling down like a fallen house of cards. Speaking of a house of cards, let us move on to one of the most ridiculous statement in the history of reality television. Brendon claiming that he got Daniele by pretending he was going to take himself off the block and then switching it to Rachel, is the most preposterous statement I've ever heard.

Even if Daniele would have rather had Rachel on the block, she was going to nominate Jordan for the replacement no matter what. If Brendon seriously thought that switching which one of them was gone was going to do anything to her strategy (which he obviously did based on the goofy grin on his face following the meeting), then he needs serious help.

...

Apparently Evel Dick read my blog from last week before he went on the show to analyze how dumb Daniele has been in her recent gameplay.

...

Let's talk the strategy of Shelly for a second. Back during the HoH competition, she should have dropped on purpose well before she ended up falling. By winning that HoH, yeah she would have helped her alliance stay in the game, but she then would have a target on her back (both because she would send someone packing and she won a competition).

By dropping out midway through, she doesn't look like you're good at challenges, and her alliance would have still had the numbers. Good thing for Shelly though, is that one of the big players (Brendon, Jeff) would have gone home. She wasn't on Dani or Kalia's radar, so jump off the skis and remain a floater. Nothing good happens to those who shake things up this early.

Me

Brendon 10: Nom (-10), Veto (+15), Votes (-20)= -5

Lawon -13: W4 (+7)= -6

Adam -8: W4 (+7)= -1

Last Week at -11: Team total= -12

Jaydon

Jeff -18: W4 (+7)= -11

Rachel 0: W4 (+7), Nom (-10)= -3

Kalia -8: W4 (+7)= -1

Last Week at -26: Team total= -15

Mags

Daniele -33: W4 (+7), HoH (+15)= -11

Cassie -95

Porsche -54: W4 (+7)= -47

Last Week at -182: Team total= -163

Lar

Jordan -23: W4 (+7), Nom (-10), Votes (-8)= -34

Shelly -43: W4 (+7)= -36

Dominic -110

Last Week at -176: Team total= -180

Covert Affairs 209 Review- Breaking News

Annie- "Compartmentalizing is the only way that some operatives can cope."

Finally! It has been a long time coming for Annie's guilt to take center stage on Covert Affairs.

During "Sad Professor," Danielle became increasingly more suspicious about her sister's crazy work habits, while Annie seemed to finally come to grips with the idea of telling her sweet sister the truth.

Whether it was Danielle's early suspicion and car chase with the super spy shades on, or her inability to get through to anyone at the Smithsonian about needing to find "ANN-NEE WALK-ERRR," Anne Dudek was terrific this week.

And in a nice bit of storytelling, the Covert Affairs team did a wonderful job coming up with an A plot that would nicely coincide with Danielle's suspicions. The parallels between Annie's relationship to her sister, and Professor Mark to his wife Safia, were enough to make Annie seriously think about telling Danielle the truth about her occupation.

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

Cover Affairs 209 - "Sad Professor"
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Emmy Submission Mission- Lead Actor in Comedy

The 2011 Emmy Awards will be hosted by Jane Lynch and air on September 18. Over the weeks leading up to the event, staff writer Dan Forcella will watch every episode submitted by various actors in various categories and present to you his analysis on each contender.

It's the TV Fanatic Emmy Submission Mission, readers, and it starts with Lead Actor in a Comedy...

Let’s start with the man that seemingly has no chance in the category, Johnny Galecki of The Big Bang Theory. We were all stunned when he was nominated, and the fact that he is up against someone from his own show that is much funnier than him? Not helping his cause.

Johnny Galecki

In his submission episode, “The Benefactor Factor,” Galecki is outdone by Jim Parsons, who should benefit greatly from having a fellow Big Banger in the field. Galecki, in addition to looking bland compared to Parsons, is just too much of a straight man to warrant a victory. While he had a couple of funny quips in this outing, he was downright boring in his own ep.

Let’s stay with the CBS series, as we move on to the returning champion, Parsons. I have never been a fan of TBBT. I watched the pilot, as well as the season two and three premieres, in order to give it a shot, but it's just not for me. That should make the fact that I am putting Parsons as my runner-up even more of a statement.

He is definitely funny, and the fact that he has two episodes to work from this year worries me that he has a really good shot at repeating. He may have actually been better in Galecki’s submission, but he still has a ton of material to work with in his “The Agreement Dissection." He just dominates the half hour.

To read the rest of my Emmy Submission Mission for Lead Actor in a Comedy, head over to TV Fanatic.

Teen Wolf 110 Review- Bite On The First Date?

Kate- "You know how every family has its secrets? Ours are a little different."

Even though scripted television is planned out far in advance, shows can still get complacent, akin to a professional basketball team in first place by a wide margin.

After a couple of great episodes in a row ("Lunatic" and "Wolf's Bane"), Teen Wolf turned in a bit of a dud with "Co-Captain." Filled with plenty of exposition early, the chapter's main purpose seemed to be setting up what should be a fantastic final two episodes of the season.

I enjoy Stiles getting his father hammered for information, and I love most anything Jackson does, but the first half of the hour seemed to fly by with nothing happening. After the thrilling finish last week, finally finding out who the Alpha is, I was expecting more.

Thankfully, there were a couple of plot-driving events near the end of the outing that should have everyone excited.

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

Teen Wolf 110 - "Co-Captain"
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Curb Your Enthusiasm 804 Review- The Two Year Window

Larry- "Cheek to cheek contact for men, that's unacceptable."

"The Smiley Face" was definitely not the best episode in the early part of season eight, but Curb Your Enthusiasm is always reliable for at least a few laughs.

There was Larry claiming that he was the Edmund Hillary of shitting where you eat. We witnessed LD go nuts on Harry Hamlin, which led to the most bizarrely funny lines of the night: "Chocolate pretzels? Get the hell outta here!" And of course, there was the variety of awkward moments that took place at the funeral service, including Lar walking around with the titular smiley face on his head.

But, at the end of the day, it didn't have nearly as many ridiculous antics as "The Divorce" or "Palestinian Chicken," and it didn't come together quite as nicely as "The Safe House." A funny half hour indeed, but Curb has often done better.

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

Curb Your Enthusiasm 804 - "The Smiley Face"
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