Greek 410- Satisfy My Soul

Spoiler Alert...Below are some thoughts on last night's series finale of Greek, "Legacy." So before reading any further, watch the ep, spoil the original Star Wars movies for somebody, then read what I have to say.

After finishing the Greek series finale this morning, I tweeted that it "passed out Friday Night Lights for most satisfying finale of the year." Maybe I was a bit hyperbolic in that statement, but I really couldn't have asked anything more of "Legacy" as we said goodbye to our favorite students at Cyprus Rhodes University.

I didn't think we were really building up to a series finale as the last few episodes went by, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much this episode both continued the current story lines, and wrapped up many of the long running themes of the series beautifully and succinctly.

The episode in and of itself had plenty to work with. It had its excitement as the gang pulled together to perform its best caper to date. Albeit stealing that fraternity paddle didn't end up saving the day, but it was still a really fun moment watching them pull off one last set of antics. It also had its sad moment as Rusty, Beaver, and myself all shed a tear for the Kappa Tau house as it was demolished following the unsuccessful movement by Rusty with the frat paddle.

But what the episode really did was leave me completely satisfied with the long running character arcs. Cappie grew up. He was slowly doing so throughout this final season, but in accidentally graduating from CRU and deciding to join Casey in whatever her plan was, Cappie proved that he was a different man than the one we met those few years ago. In standing up to her law professor, Casey proved that she wasn't going to just follow the crowd because it was the right thing to do for her future. This more free-wheeling Casey Cartwright is someone I'm happy to finally see show up.

Oh Rusty Cartwright, how I hated you so. The one they call Spitter sure did get on my nerves time after time, but that won't stop me for being proud of him for stepping up to the plate and being the new President that Kappa Tau needs. Sure he'll probably do some lame things on occasion, which will embarrass the legacy that Cappie left, but it was a perfect arc for this nerd turned frat guy. Him being with Ashleigh though? That's something I'm not as thrilled about. It felt extremely rushed, and that they needed somewhere to take her character. I feel like her going off to be independent might have been a better ending, but I'm just picking nits at this point.

Sure there was Calvin heading off to some foreign country to help people, but the other conclusion I was most pleased with was the fact that Evan finally made up for all his douchery when he sided with Cappie and his friends over his future. This is a character that was so easy to hate at moments, but you could always see how he got off the wrong path. To watch him be the nice guy in the end was so very satisfying.

The best part of the episode though, was without a doubt, finding out Cappie's full name. That was the only thing I went into this finale needing to know. If they never told us what his name was, I would have been extremely upset. More upsetting than any non-answer a Lost fan had following that finale. And to find out his name was as awesome as it was, that was just the icing on the cake...Captain John Paul Jones!?!?! Why I never guessed that Cappie was short for Captain is beyond me, but I'm so glad that I didn't. I was surprised as Ashleigh as she read the name on Cappie's diploma aloud. Fantastic stuff.

The funny thing about Greek is that I started watching the show almost jokingly. If I remember correctly, it was Jackie Boy and Jon the Bon watching it that first summer it aired. I checked it out with them and was laughing at how ridiculous it was and how much I hated some of the characters (Rusty, Calvin, etc.). The show grew into one the series that I took more seriously over the years. It used comedy extremely well, with more pop-culture references per minute than Community, and seemed to be more in touch with the young adult demographic than anything else on tv. They weren't glorifying the life of a young adult, or debasing it, like a 90210 or Gossip Girl tends to do. It just felt real, and that was one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much over the years.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

Even though most prime time television has been on hold for the holidays, and I've been watching The Santa Clause 2 for most of December, that doesn't mean things don't change in the Quiet Pool Perspective's Bi-Monthly Power Rankings. My first ever post on this blog was the Pre-Season TV Power Rankings in September of 2007. Three series from the top ten on that list are currently in the top ten as we begin 2011. As always, the January edition of the Pool's Power Rankings take into account both past and current performance. I am not a prisoner of the moment, but I do take the current state of a series into account. Enjoy and feel free to disagree with me, as I know most of you do.

We begin, per the usual, with the honorable mentions. These shows are not my ten favorites after the top 20, but rather a list of shows I feel deserve a mention as we head into the next two months of tv watching. Whether they have improved, gotten worse, or are merely returning from a long hiatus and thus need to be talked about, these shows are getting a mention at the Pool.

Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

30 Rock- (12) Thursdays on NBC
I was definitely a little too quick on the draw, moving 30 Rock up to 12 back in November, but I may be a little too harsh dropping it off the list completely this time around. It has been better than last season, but still not as good as the other three NBC comedies (no, I'm not counting Outsourced). 30 Rock returns on Thursday, January 20 at 10:00 PM.

The Amazing Race- (-) Sundays on CBS

Flight Time and Big Easy on Amazing Race

The Amazing Race is a great show to have on while you're doing something else. And this season should be better than normal for a couple of reasons. First, it will finally be making the move to HD, and second, it is an All-Star season. Many of your favorite contestants are back, including the Globetrotters and the Cowboys. The Amazing Race returns Sunday, February 20 at 8:00 PM.

Archer- (-) Thursdays on FX
Archer has received plenty of critical acclaim since its first season premiered sometime last year. It is not my favorite comedy out there, or even my favorite animated series, but there are definitely some good bits every now and again. Archer returns on Thursday, January 27 at 10:00 PM.

Greek- (-) Mondays on ABC Family
In the next couple of days here, Greek will begin airing its final season. While it is not of the same popularity or quality of a show like Lost, I am glad that it took the same strategy of ending on its own accord. Since they knew that this would be the end for our friends at Cyprus Rhodes, let's hope everything cleans up nicely by the time it finishes. Greek returns on Monday, January 3 at 9:00 PM.

Hannah Montana- (-) Sundays on Disney Channel
This is epic people. If wikipedia is correct, there are only two episodes left in the history of Hannah Montana. After that, the only time we'll get to see Miley Cyrus is when she's taking bong hits on TMZ. She's already told the world her secret, so where will the two part series finale, titled "Wherever I Go", take Miley Stewart and the rest of the gang? Hannah Montana returns on Sunday, January 9 at 8:00 PM.

Human Target- (-) Wednesdays on FOX

Cast of Human Target

I am still two episodes behind on Human Target, which proves that I can't be THAT in love with it, but it still deserves to be given a chance (if you watch the show, you'll get the pun in there). If you like action, you will like Human Target. Now that former Chuck writer Matt Miller is in charge, I see this second season taking a step up in both comedy and overall story. Human Target returns on Wednesday, January 5 at 8:00 PM.

Men of a Certain Age- (-) Mondays on TNT
Sometimes I have a difficult time deciding if Men of a Certain Age is great television or something is just there. It can be a bit boring at times, but the characters are so very rich that it is tough to look away. Ray Romano continues to shine in the lead role of Joe Tranelli, but Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula have yet to live up to the billing I gave them before the series started. Men of a Certain Age continues Monday, January 3 at 10:00 PM.

Nikita- (-) Thursdays on The CW
I am definitely a few eps behind on Nikita as well. There is nothing about this show that is making me tune in every week, but when I have some down time it is a pleasant enough show to stick on the tube for 45 minutes. If you can get past Shane West's Batman-esque voice then it is enjoyable. Maggie Q definitely isn't what people were playing her up to be, but Lyndsy Fonseca's Alex has more than made up for it. Nikita returns Thursday, January 27 at 9:00 PM.

The Ricky Gervais Show- (-) Fridays on HBO

Animated Ricky Gervais and crew

Karl Pilkington is a buffoon. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant laugh at his ridiculous stories. If this sounds remotely interesting to you, then you'll love The Ricky Gervais Show. Taken straight from Gervais's podcast, the show puts the three guys in animation and uses the cartoons to give pictures to Karl's wacky stories. The Ricky Gervais Show returns on Friday, January 14 at 9:00 PM.

The Sing Off- (-) Winters on NBC
The Sing Off got a ratings bump in its second season, and why not? It has a great format and a ton of great talent. While Ben Folds didn't live up to his first season excellence as judge, the second season of the a capella show was still fantastic. It's short. It's sweet. The Sing Off doesn't drag on and on like American Idol. It gets you the music and gets out. Nobody gets hurt. The Sing Off may or may not return next December.

Also fallen out of the Top 20...The Event (20) and Terriers (Cancelled)

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

Since many shows are on hiatus during the summer, and I am getting ready to leave for an LA vacation (writing this on Sunday), I'm only going to post a few notes on each series. The honorable mentions are some shows that I watch that don't currently make my top 20. They're not necessarily 21-30, but I enjoy them and others should think about checking them out. Without further ado, here are July's Quiet Pool Perspective Power Rankings.

Honorable Mentions

Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

30 Rock- (12) Thursdays on NBC
The TGSers seem to really be falling out of good graces at the Pool as 30 Rock falls from 13th to honorable mention after a strangely bad season.

Eastbound and Down- (-) Sundays on HBO
The Danny McBride comedy finally has a second season premiere date. Kenny Powers will return to the screens, where he's always f'ing in, on September 26th on HBO.

Greek- (-) Mondays on ABC Family
Cappie and company are on what I believe will be a quick hiatus. Greek returns for a fourth and final installment before the end of the summer.

Hung- (-) Sundays on HBO
I'm not a big fan of the HBO quasi-comedy, but since I'm writing about it for TVFanatic.com, I figured I'd give it a quick plug here.

Jonas LA- (19) Sundays on Disney Channel
The reinvention for season two takes a dip in comedy but the corny drama is still really good.

Men of a Certain Age- (-) Mondays on TNT
Ray Romano is getting Emmy buzz for his dramatic role as Joe Tranelli, and deservedly so.

Mentalist, The- (16) Thursdays on CBS
The procedural is losing no steam in terms of ratings, but for personally I'd like to see a bit more serialization here.

Persons Unknown- (-) Mondays on NBC
The first three episodes have been decent to good. It's a nice summer thriller if not nearly on par with last season's Harper's Island.

Ricky Gervais Show, The- (-) Sundays on HBO
Probably just as good as a podcast, but the added animation puts it at the top of my animated series list. Can't beat Ricky's laugh.

Top Chef- (-) Wednesdays on Bravo
Quality reality competition currently airing this season from D.C.

Greek- The Famous Clapper Caper

Beaver- "Then I didn't mean to sleep with your girlfriend, Bing!"

The most disappointing moment from last night's season finale of Greek? Cappie and Casey breaking up? Nope. Rusty's magnificent revenge plan being all about getting Calvin to be president of Omega Chi? Nope. JJ missing the Cyprus Rhodes crew in Myrtle Beach by only a couple days? Yes. Oh sure the Kappa Taus, Zeta Betas, etc. weren't there last night. And they probably weren't shooting on location in the South Carolina Spring Break destination, but that doesn't mean I can't rib JJ for missing out on all the Greek action.

In all seriousness, the most disappointing part was actually the fact that Rusty's evil revenge plan ended up being a stupid little plot made out to get Omega Chi and Kappa Tau as friend frats. You see, I've hate Russell Cartwright since this show first started. I gave him my first place vote for the Lily Finnerty Award for the Character I Love to Hate in a Comedy at last year's Poolies. I went into every episode of Greek knowing that I was going to cringe at everything the young college student did.

During last night's ep I realized that this guy was actually turning things around. For the past four or five episodes I didn't detest him more than everything in the world. I even started thinking that I disliked Calvin and Calvin's ridiculous gay partner more than Rusty. His normal idea to get revenge on the Omega Chis for getting some Kappa Taus expelled got him some points in my book.

Phase 1, phase 2, phase 3 all go according to plan and I'm thinking to myself "is Rusty actually being sweet right now?" You lose on purpose in the golf contest so that the Omegas get the party house in MB. You hire a fake mobster to kick them out of said party house. You make it look like you're paying off mobster so that they try to take back the house. All good. But when the cops that come to arrest the Omega Chis for throwing a party in a house that's not theirs, end up being fake I lost all the minute respect I had for Rusty.

You go through all of that so that Calvin can pretend to sweet talk his way into getting the Omega Chis out of trouble? And now the one or two dudes that see him do this say that they'll vote for him in the presidential election? Wow what an awesome plan. There was no other way to get this done? In the words of Lee Giordano, I doubt that! You could have gotten some Omegas kicked out of school, gotten their charter taken away, but no you want the two frats to be friends with each other. What a bunch of pansies. How did Cappie go along with this? Disappointment inevitably ensues.

This worthless revenge plot by Rusty reminded me of the fantastic moment in Saved by the Bell: College Years when Mike Rogers explains that he concocted the best frat prank ever back when he was in school. He took the clapper out of the bell on top of the school so that when someone went up there to ring the bell..."There was nothing! No sound!" Hilarious moment because Zack, Slater and the gang all made fun of him for it. Unlike here where everyone congratulated Rusty for his useless prank.

Other Points

- Cappie and Casey's break-up was extremely anti-climactic. We all saw this coming a mile away. What happens form here on out? I always wanted the show to end with them getting together, but now that we've seen them together I don't know if that's really that sweet anymore.

- This summer will be the next and final season of the college dramedy. What can they do with another 10-12 episodes. I did hear that they're bringing Franny and Casey's nerd ex-bf back so there should be a couple stories there, but I think this should've been the last one.

- Dale and Beaver obviously killed it again this week. The Beav's quote at the top in response to Evan saying that they didn't mean to get the Kappa Taus expelled from school, was the highlight of the ep.

- Check that. It might have actually been when a drunken Dale asked "who ordered the fat, ugly strippers?" when the fake cops rolled through the party house.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

Now that the Olympics are over many of our favorite shows are set to return. Plenty of new shows are also on the horizon. Let's see where The Perspective's Power Rankings stacks everyone up. January and February brought back plenty of series in the Top 20, including perennial number one LOST. I've also caught myself all the way up on a couple of cable gems (Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad) so things might look a bit different near the top this time around. A few shows that have missed the cut (Bored to Death, V, Eastbound) not because of failure to entertain, but for lack of episodes and too much time off. Without further ado here are the shows you should be watching, The Quiet Pool Perspective's March Power Rankings.

Honorable Mentions

Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

Californication- (HM) Sundays on Showtime
Hank Moody and crew have been off since the last rankings but will return for a fourth season sometime in September. Here's hoping Sue Collini is no longer a part of the show.

Dexter- (-) Sundays on Showtime
I am currently halfway through the second season of this serial criminal action series, but I've seen enough to recommend it to anyone. I've heard that the most recent season four was very good and co-starred John Lithgow.

Gary Unmarried- (-) Wednesdays on CBS
It's obvious. It's corny. It's on CBS. Having said that, it's still entertaining. Jay Mohr is over the top, but his kid Tommy is subtly hilarious.

Glee- (HM) Wednesdays on FOX
Rachel Berry and the rest of the gang won't return from their mega long winter hiatus until April. Maybe they've had enough time to figure out what about this show works well and what doesn't (any drama having to do with Mr. Shue).

Gossip Girl- (HM) Mondays on The CW
Returning this month, let's hope that the loss of a couple of great guest stars in the fall, especially Hillary Duff, won't make the spring session of the teen drama falter.

Greek- (20) Mondays on ABC Family
The spring session of the college series has been subpar so far. For as much as I want to see Cappie and Casey together I feel like they would've been better off to leave it for the series finale. They're making it kind of bland for now.

House, MD- (HM) Mondays on FOX
As I've said, House is House. I'll continue to watch it for Gregory himself, but other than his interactions with different characters there's nothing else really going on here.

JONAS- (HM) Sundays on Disney Channel
The comedy will start back up for its second season this summer. How are they going to work Joe's new haircut into the story of the season?

Men of a Certain Age- (-) Mondays on TNT
Sure it is painfully slow at times, but the work of Ray Romano and Andre Braugher has been fantastic. It's hard to find better tv than Detective Frank Pembleton stuffing his face with Fiddle Faddles in the middle of the night.

Wizards of Waverly Place- (18) Fridays on Disney Channel
This show has the perfect combination of characters in my opinion. Between Alex's overall hatred toward everything, Max and Jerry's inability to take anything seriously, Justin's complete nerdiness and the mom's stern hand, it all just works.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- 20 Through 11

As the winter hiatus is upon us, four months of the television season has passed us by. A lot has happened since The Perspective's November Power Rankings, so let's see where everyone stacks up at the beginning of 2010. These Bi-Monthly Power Rankings take into account both current and past performance. For example, although I have enjoyed Modern Family much more than 30 Rock this season, the NBC comedy stays on top of the ABC laugher because of its historical performance. Without further ado here are the Quiet Pool Perspective's January TV Power Rankings.

20 Through 11

Ranking. Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

20. Greek- (15) Mondays on ABC Family
This series has to be ending soon right? They can't continue it without the likes of Cappie, Casey and Evan. And they have to be graduating come this spring season. Greek will return this month and if they keep highlighting Cappie and Dale it should stay in the top 20.

19. The Mentalist- (16) Thursdays on CBS
The only procedural to make my top 20, The Mentalist succeeds on the performances of its cast. Sure Patrick Jane is one of my favorite leading characters, but between Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt you always get plenty of laughs in what is a crime drama. As the show loses Charles Logan, who will return to 24 this spring, I'm curious to see how the new boss at the CBI fits into things.

18. Wizards of Waverly Place- (12) Fridays on Disney Channel
The Russo clan took a bit of a drop here, but was mostly because I gave Wizards too much love last rankings. The recent rise of Jonas also made me dial back how much I liked Wizards. The start to the third season has been good, but the Frankengirl episode ruined a lot of things for me.

17. Flash Forward- (HM) Thursdays on ABC
Here's the thing. Everyone I trust who watches television (Poolie voters) loves Flash Forward. Everything I read, on the interweb and the blogosphere, says it isn't any good. My two cents are this. It could be really good, but misses out by a smidge and therefore critics are trashing it. It's still a quality mystery show with a good amount of action.

16. V- (-) Tuesdays on ABC
Anna and her friends have only been invading Earth for four episodes, but they have made an immediate impact. As opposed to Flash Forward, V has done a better job (in less time) at giving their characters some substance. I can relate to Juliet, the Father and T-time (or whatever their names are) more than I have with anyone on Flash.

15. Survivor- (HM) Thursdays on CBS
Although he failed to win this season of Survivor, he single handedly moved it up my power rankings. Without him what would this season of the show have been? Terrible is what I'd say. His skills in the game, his cocky attitude, and his ability to tell the camera exactly what the audience wanted to hear made him one of the greatest reality contestants in a while.

14. 90210- (11) Tuesdays on The CW
While other shows have moved ahead of it, there is no discredit to the the West Bev soap. 90210 is gaining steam in its second season, no doubt due to the creator/writing change. The storylines have been better and the acting has been better (if you don't take into account Tristan Wilds). Naomi Clarke is the best female in Beverly Hills since Valerie Malone left.

13. Community- (HM) Thursdays on NBC
The Greendale Human Beings made one of the biggest jumps in the rankings. I couldn't allow for it to be too far behind the other top sitcoms. It has been that good. Although it doesn't have a big gun, a la Michael Scott or Tracy Jordan, the ensemble as a whole has been as good or better than The Office or 30 Rock this season. Even though Abed and Pierce are my personal favorites, everyone brings something to the table week in and week out.

12. American Idol- (13) Tuesdays on FOX
As we embark on the next installment of Idol, beginning this month, everyone should be worried. Sure everyone made fun of Paula and her drunken comments, but wasn't that half the fun? Sometimes I surprise myself when I state that I think Ellen is funny, but I do. Do I think she'll be able to take the place of Paula? That I am not sure of. And after a season with the crazy but fantastic Adam Lambert, Idol could be in for a let down in 2010.

11. Mad Men- (17) Sundays on AMC
Another big jumper this time around. At the last rankings it was 17 with only one episode left in the third season. That final ep wasn't the sole reason for this jump, but it was a good majority of it. As much as I have claimed that I'm not that into Mad Men, and I only watch it because everyone in the world says it's awesome, I really think that it has resonated with me. The longer I have been away from the ad men, the better the show gets.

Monday Musings- Once Upon a Time in Good Heroes

Greek
This week's semi-season finale was less than epic. By all means a quality ep, but last week's Cappie/Casey get together seemed more like a finale than this one did. What I continue to enjoy about Greek is the underrated writing habits. My favorite is the way they can hammer a joke into the ground and then find a way to turn it on its head and get so much more out of it.

This season Casey's sort-of nemesis, Catherine, used the phrase 'moving on' in every way possible. She would say it rudely to make her points clear, but Casey finally had enough and used it back at her. Classic.

The growth of the joke that Evan is not funny keeps getting better and better. This week it was portrayed through the fact that Evan knows that something is wrong when Cappie laughs at his joke.

Heroes
Just when I thought that Heroes couldn't get any worse, they go and do something like this week's episode....and totally redeem themselves!!! Now I'm not usually one who enjoys an ep that brings the story nowhere and totally diverts from the plot of the season, but 'Once Upon a Time In Texas' was definitely an exception. Seeing the same scenes that we saw back in season one, in a different fashion, was fantastic. It was extremely nostalgic to a go back to a time when Heroes was actually a great show. To see Sylar and Hiro both in the early stages of their season one heroics was great. But to have future Hiro there, overseeing the whole thing...whew. Awesome! On the flip side...how pointless was the Noah story with this random chick? Just bad.

Monday Musings- Rusty Cartwright's Awkard Comic-Con

Heroes
I think this week was the first episode in a while that I can actually say was GOOD. Here's the thing though...What is the deal with the deaf girl? It's all well and good that she has this new type of power, but who cares? She can see sounds! That may help her in every day life, because she's deaf, but how will she help the world as a hero? (Fast forward to later on in the episode) Oh now I see...Sound can destroy things, that makes sense.

How come when the girls came to accept Claire into the sorority they didn't pour green slime on her? (Saved by the Bell- College Years)

At the end of the ep we finally got to a great story line! Samuel had a mole at Claire's college! Some girl has been doing all of the horrible things around Claire this whole time. Because her power is invisibility (we've seen this before) she could kill her first roommate and get Claire to hate Gretchen by throwing the flag at her and dropping the book in the dorm room so she could see Gretchen's computer. The question that arises for me is 'what is Samuel's end game with this?' Where do Claire and/or Hiro fit into his master plan? And then there is Sylar/Nathan who stumbles onto Samuel's invisible carnival. Is this thing just a figment of some people's imagination or is the whole thing, and all the people, invisible? Interesting prospect.

Greek
Who would have thought that a major Cappie/Evan friendship would be the main thing holding Greek together at this point? Choking down every Rusty Cartwright scene, while shielding my eyes from the awkwardness, continues to be the most difficult thing to watch on television. I can't tell if I hate his story lines because of how much I can't stand this kid, or if I actually love them because of how much I can't stand the Spitter of a boy. This week it was him trying to talk to girls at Comic-Con and then professing his love to his ex-girlfriend via video chat that was on display for everyone at the convention. The epitome of 'tough to watch.' Luckily Dale was there from time to time for comic relief. By the way when Rusty found a computer at Comic-Con it took him all but 2.7 seconds to pop open a screen with video chat that required no login and his ex, Jordan, appeared on screen 3.2 second later. I gotta find a program/computer that works like that!

One Tree Hill
To start from where I left off last time, I'm beginning to build the relationships with the new characters that I need to sympathize with all of their TRAGIC situations. Of the three major, new characters, Quinn is the only one that I am truly indifferent toward. Clay and Alex are similar in that they have gotten bad reputations based on their prior behaviors. In this week's episode they are both beginning to turn the corner and become very likable. There are not many character archetypes that are more profitable than the bad boy that turns sensitive (see: Dylan McKay and even Nathan Scott of season two). Clay has always been a jerk but he is now reaching out to a wounded Quinn. Alex is a major slew with a drug problem. In this ep we see our first glimmer of hope in her as she decides to try and take her writing career seriously. Her encounters with Julian were obviously hilarious so we'll see if this idea of her pans out or she returns to the wreck that she was. Either way, Clay and Alex are definitely two of my favorites on the horribleness that has been the start to season seven.

Monday Musings- Greek Parties Down

House
The fact that we were back to the same old procedural format this week was doubly bad because House still wasn't back at his old job, so guess who was the center of the show. Dr. Foreman. Yikes. He should really go back to playing basketball players who fall in love with their neighbors because he is awful on this show. Or better yet, instead of wasting all this time trying to fill House's position, he could spend a little more time with his football team! Maybe if he didn't drive back and forth between Princeton Plainsboro and Pittsburgh so much, his squad could be better than 1-2 with a loss to the Bengals!

Greek
So when Evan needed to get a new job so he could stay afloat Cappie suggested this cater-waiter position he saw on the bulletin board. Cap obviously joined him on this venture 'cause there was a cute girl working with the company. When they got the the building it said Party Down Catering on the signage. Are they allowed to do that? Isn't that a show on Starz? I thought maybe it was just a nice quick hitter, but then Cappie and Evan started to put on their pink bowties for the occasion. Okay. I've seen the commercials and promos. Those are their outfits on the show! How is it possible that they can do this?

In other Greek news of the week, they made fun of ABC's medical drama not once nor twice, but three times. I am sure glad I stopped watching that show after one season, or I'd feel embarrassed right now.

Heroes
I know that I'm the type of guy that generally likes villains more than protagonists, but are the Heroes creators intensely trying to glorify its villains? Sure Sylar has been one of the best characters on television for a few years now, and this week's ep didn't stray from the statement, but now this Samuel character is getting me excited all over again. Maybe he isn't going to be a villain in the long run, but right now they're making him seem like one, and a really cool one at that. Peter is lame, Claire is a chick and Hiro is nowhere near the character he was in season one. Don't even get me started on Parkman. This week's highlight...Noah saying, "I'm gonna have to call The Haitian." Hearing the characters on the show call him The Haitian just sounds funny to me, and I enjoy it every time.

One Tree Hill
Another big gripe here. Not only did they bring in new characters that we have no relationship with this season, but they've toyed with our prior relationships with the main characters with all the time jumps they've done. After season four they jumped ahead five years and kept flashing back to the time gap so we could get a fell for what happened while we missed them. This time all we have is the guessing about what might have gone on while we were gone. For example: we haven't enjoyed the journey with Nathan through his first full season in the NBA, so I can't feel for him through his current problems. The only minor storyline that holds any strength is Dan's. This is the only type of thing where the jump helps. He shows up so drastically changed from where we left off with him. Through flashbacks, they give us that back story we need to feel for what he went through to get where he is now. Maybe they want us to like Dan the most (I do right now), but it's sad that I'm losing touch with Nathan, Haley and Brooke because of the jumping around.

Poolies Watch- Dynasty Award

Once a week we're going to take a look at how one of the Quiet Pool TV Awards is stacking up. This week we begin with the Dynasty Award for Best Drama Series. I've done a bit of reshuffling in how I've categorized the shows. Taking Reality and Variety out of the equation, the Big Three have a bunch over overlaps.

The way I've split the series into Comedy, Drama and Action is like this:
--A comedy is a show that is fueled by comedic values and are theoretically a sitcom.
--A drama is a show that is based on the relationships between the characters. Sure they may be comedy involved, but its the people that make up the show.
--An action is a show that begins and ends with the action of the show itself. There can be both dramatic and comedic elements, but its about the events.

Two major changes...
-House has moved from Drama to Action.
-Greek has moved from Comedy to Drama.

Currently holding nomination spots:

90210
Breaking Bad
Brothers and Sisters
Californication
Entourage
Friday Night Lights
Gossip Girl
Greek
Mad Men
One Tree Hill

Outside looking in:

Eastwick
Glee
Grey's Anatomy
Melrose Place

With House switching categories, the Dynasty Award is now much less competitive for Friday Night Lights. Although it won't start until mid-October (this summer on NBC), FNL is looking way behind them at their strongest competitor. Greek steps into the category and is near the top of heap in my opinion. With time we'll see what happens with newbies Melrose, Glee and Eastwick. I see Melrose having the most upside out of those three shows.

Fellow Poolie voters, what show should be nominated that isn't here?

Monday Musings

House
I really enjoyed the new format. I really don't like procedurals in general. Other than House and The Mentalist, I haven't gotten into any. This week's two hour premier was pretty much just a solid House movie. It was a nice break from the ordinary dynamic we see of House with his team. He was so good in the Cuckoo's Nest role. It's too bad that next week and every week there after is just going to back to the regular procedural format that we know and like.

The two moments I enjoyed most: The first was when I went from so happy with what House did for the Freedom Master (taking him to the carnival so he could fly), to so sad for what the Freedom Master did (jumping off the parking garage) because of House in a quick minute. The second was when House got the No-Talker and Freedom Master out of their funks. It was so awesome that he didn't just make Run Lola Run tear up, he got the kid to as well.

One Tree Hill
I used to think this show was great because of its dramatic moments and the ability to use music fantastically well. Whether it is because I have been watching a lot of Beverly Hills 90210 lately or something about One Tree Hill has changed, but I have been more and more unimpressed with Schwan's ability to hit me with the intense moment. The problem I realized last night, and JJ realized upon his first and presumably only watch of an episode last year, is that music plays throughout almost the entire episode. And not score mind you, but actual songs that could be used a gut wrenching anthems. When you play songs through the entire episode it takes away from the moments that could use it the most. When I watch an episode of 90210, I'd say 1/3 of it has no sound, 1/3 has score and 1/3 has songs. That is the ideal way to build up the action of an episode and portray certain moments as calm and comical or highly dramatic. One Tree Hill's technique of playing music throughout gives the impression of the entire episode being important, but all this week's ep did for me, was downplay the entire 45 minutes.

Greek
Unlike Gossip Girl, in which Jaydon explained has been lost on him because of the way everyone just trades off boyfriends and girlfriends, I feel Greek portrays the relationships of their characters in a realistic fashion. First let's take what happened earlier in the season with Rusty, Jordan and Andy-licious. After Rusty steals Jordan away from his friend Andy, we never see Andy again. That is definitely what would happen. Then we have Casey who went from Cappie, before the show started, to Evan who she then broke up with for Max. Cappie and Evan have been mad at each other for the entire series because of the Casey triangle. Sure they're slowly becoming friends again, and Casey may end up back with Cappie at some point in the future, but it's a very plausible situation. In Gossip, Nate and Blaire are an item forever, he cheats on her, she gets with Chuck in a strange non-relationship and then all of a sudden gets back with Nate, and then back to Chuck. Besides a semi-arc of a storyline where Nate and Chuck hate each other, they act like the two of them are completely okay with all of this, and that isn't right.

Heroes
It's like they're trying to start over, but it's way too late. They've screwed up the flow of the series enough that a feeling of new beginnings now seems too weird. Hiro used to be so focused on saving the world and thinking about the grand scheme of life, and now he has started 'Dial a Hero'? Interesting. I was so excited to see the Haitian, even if it was only for two seconds. Parkman's dream Syler is absolutely the best character on the show, and might even be better than the real Syler. He might be the only reason I will stick with this show 'til the end.

Cable Fall Preview

Although many of these cable shows have already started, I believe they need their just due here.

HBO
Entourage
I thought I'd mention the two HBO programs that are finishing up their current seasons. Entourage has four episodes left and it has been as lackluster of a summer as ever for the entertainment dramedy. Lowlighted by Tom Brady's awful performance, season six has been less than stellar. Stop following E's love life. Nobody likes him. It's torture.

True Blood
True Blood, on the other hand, has taken as giant leap in the right direction in its sophomore season. What started out as a weak-charactered vampire show, has turned into a fantastic-storylined supernatural thriller. The 10th episode of this second season was one of my favorite eps of any show in a long time. After this past Sunday's penultimate ep, there is only one left this summer.

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm finally returns on September 20. After what was one of the two best seasons in the show's history, Larry David had a lot to live up to this fall. He found a way to get me even more excited. Prettttty, pretttttty, pretttttty excited. A Seinfeld Reunion. All four of the main actors from Seinfeld, yes Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and even Michael Richards, will be major contributors on this season of Curb. Not only that, but the premise of the season will be Larry and the gang putting a Seinfeld Reunion in the works.

Disney
After the DVD release of Hannah Montana The Movie this month and the television premier of Wizards of Waverly Place The Movie this past Friday, the Disney Channel's big three are picking up major steam. Joined by Sonny with a Chance, these three shows have gotten me hooked on the Disney Channel as I used to be with Even Stevens back in the day. They don't come without major success either, as the Wizards Movie recorded the highest viewership of the summer, with 11.4 million viewers. I'm assuming most of them are not 23 year old dudes.

Greek
I have yet to watch the season 3 premier of Greek that aired tonight (Monday) but I'm definitely excited for it to be back. Whether it's hating on Rusty's awkwardness, loving Cappie's wit, or crushing on Casey for some inexplicable reason, Greek always brings plenty of entertainment.

Mad Men
Mad Men is three eps in now, and it started up where it left off. Interesting, but not entertaining. I find myself a bit intrigued by the stories and historical elements of the show, but they don't manage to portray them in a way that gets me excited for the next episode. I'd much rather watch a show that can entertain without being smart (the late Las Vegas) than a smart show that fails to entertain (Mad Men).

Greek to Me

I don't stray from major network television often, but one show I do go off the beaten path for is Greek on ABC Family. It is quite corny and poorly acted at time, but intentional and unintentional comedy is abundant. Cappie, the unmotivated, middle of the day drinking, prank pulling head of the Kappa Tau fraternity is one of my favorite characters on television. The terribleness of Rusty Cartwright shows no bounds, as he continues to make me want to slap him in the face as if he was stealing a pie from my house (which makes for intense viewing). What makes Greek so different is how pop culture concsience the writers are. There are more references to older tv shows, celebrities and the entertainment world than any other show on the small screen today. My favorite was during last week's homecoming episode when Casey or Ashliegh said something to the effect of "or we could go Emily Valentine and burn the float down."

Last night was the second season finale and it did not disappoint. Casey finally got rid of the awful Max (who will now attempt to ruin the new Melrose Place), she went after Cappie like everyone wanted, and Cap turned her down. Rusty and Jordan were so tough to watch, but the Dale and Calvin story made up for it. Dale is always hillarious and him pretending to be gay was no exception to that rule. Not quite enough Evan or Beav in this finale, but thankfully it's coming back for a third season soon, come August.