Tuesday Tidings- Adrianna Gets Bored

90210
The way Adrianna dealt with her dating situation was so realistic I can't believe it was actually television. I can remember many occasions when I dealt with a relationship the exact same way that she did this week. She was bored with dating Navid, and Teddy intrigued her, therefore she dumped Navid and gave him no real reason and went straight to Teddy. That's how it's done in high school people (at least back in 2002).

The whole Annie/Jasper story line is so very interesting to me. There are a ton of angles to think about. First off, they obviously like each other, but Annie knows that she killed Jasper's uncle and Japser doesn't...or does he? He's known as a freak to everyone in the school, but is truly a nice guy around Annie. He saves her from the creepy rapist type dude, but then gets all knifey on the dude's car like a psycho. When will Jasper find out what Annie did? Or does he already know (or just has a good feeling) and is waiting for the right time to let her know he knows?

Principal Harry brought a good amount of comic relief to this week's episode with his love for being Ryan's wingman. Old guys trying to act cool is always funny.

Melrose Place
Violet may or may not be one level higher than Valerie Malone on the conniving scale, but she definitely doesn't pull it off well for me. Maybe it's because Ashlee Simpson is a terrible actress or she doesn't have Valerie's charm, but it is definitely not working for me thus far. This week she went through a lot of trouble to get back at Michael (he's so smug) for what he did to who she thinks was her mother. Sneaking into his office, buying him drinks at the bar she works at, and then applying to be his kid's nanny. If Valerie, Gina Kincaid or even early Claire Arnold had done something so deceiving, it would have been exciting, but with Violet it was rather boring.

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.

Sunday Speculations- Disrespect by Don Draper

Curb Your Enthusiasm
I'm not going to lie, it was a little disappointing that there was no Seinfeld action in this week's ep. That being said, I think this episode, The Hot Towel, was much better than The Reunion ep. I know that everything that happens early on in a Curb ep is meant to set up something later, but when Larry interrupted Jeff's daughter's horrible singing, I had no idea it wasn't going to be the funniest song stopping of the ep. When LD stopped the fantastic opera singer at the restaurant, I lost it.

More hilarity related to the singing...Larry complaining about how bad a singer Jeff's daughter was to everyone at the party, while she was attempting to sing Frankie Valli's Can't Take My Eyes Off of You. The next morning after LD spent the night at Jeff's, the girl wakes him up with her awful rendition of the same song and Larry yells at her to SHUT THE F*CK UP!! Unbelievably genius, but no one would ever do that.

Finally, I have a bit of a beef with the bit about Larry not being able to go righty with his move on the couch. Didn't they do this same thing on Seinfeld, or am I imagining that? Maybe it's time to wrap it up if you're going to start repeating jokes.

Mad Men
Are we, the viewers, supposed to like Don Draper? They continue to make it difficult for me to respect this dude. It would be one thing if he were a playboy and was proud of it. If he was honest with himself and everyone else, cheated again and again, I might be like this dude is just a stud. He does whatever he feels like. But there's something in the way he acts that is just so cowardly. He never learns his lesson. He just continues to cheat and cheat again, even after Betty confronted him on it. It seemed at one point that he had had an epiphany, but nope he's back at it this week with the new flavor of the week. This time it's a school teacher. Ho hum, another day, another affair.

I continue to enjoy Betty week in and week out, because although she may be going through with an affair of her own at this point, at least I can see that it is taking a real toll on her state of mind. It's like Don cares about nobody on Earth. He proved it two-fold in this episode after he fired Sal for being gay. I know it's the 60s, but many of the characters in the show and people of the time, were respectful of others, but Don just isn't. Oh you're gay and didn't let that Lucky Strike dude take advantage of you? Uhh, you're fired (in the voice of Michael Scott impersonating Donald Trump). That makes it really hard to sympathize with his problems.

Poolies Watch- Sopranos Award

For this week's Poolies Watch we have the action series' that will attempt to win this year's Sopranos Award. Last year it was a three show race and in a surprise to me, Chuck took home the inaugural trophy. This year I have the same three series' at the top of the heap; Lost, Chuck and 24 (in that order), but have added True Blood following a terrific sophomore season. None of the first three have started their seasons yet and True Blood has already finished so there is currently anything going on at the top of the category.

Top of the Heap
24
Chuck
Lost
True Blood

Now in the middle of the current nominees we have a transfer, a sophomore procedural and a new budding star. Last year House was the runner-up for the Dynasty Award and now in what is a tougher category should struggle to remain at the top. The Mentalist is the only procedural cop show that I can watch every week and there is a good reason for that...the characters are fantastic. Early on in its second season, Jane, Cho and the rest have yet to disappoint and The Mentalist looks like a lock for a nomination. Flash Forward is only three eps in, but the fact that it has grabbed me and many others so quickly is a good sign. I've been reading plenty reviews with complaints about the show, but those complaints are buzz and I think any show that can create as much buzz as Flash has been, it's a good sign.

Middle of the Pack
Flash Forward
House
The Mentalist

The final three shows currently holding nominations are pretty funny. First we have the Michael Clayton (Bucs wide receiver) of television barely sticking around in Heroes. Like Heroes, Clayton wowed audiences with a fantastic first season in Tampa Bay. He got everyone's hopes up, including mine which led to me drafting him in round five of my 2005 fantasy draft, and then let everyone down with a disappointing sophomore season. Oh he's still a starter for the Bucs, but there's nothing you can do with him now, just like the super hero series that is Heroes. It's still there, and it gets the job done, but more often then not it disappoints the audience. I have high hopes for ABC's new series V and Starz's Spartacus, but if something else deserves the spot, one of these three will probably get cut.

Hanging On
Heroes
Spartacus
V

Next I'll give a nod to a few shows that may or may not be knocking on the door. Criminal Minds and CSI: Miami are the only other procedural cop shows that I can watch every once in a while. Fringe I liked somewhat, but had to give up half way through last year's first season. I know Mags and Rizzo enjoy it so it gets some love here. Dexter and The Tudors are two Showtime shows that I feel I would enjoy if I ever got a chance to watch, but sadly I haven't.

Knocking on the Door
Criminal Minds
CSI: Miami
Dexter
Fringe
The Tudors

Thursday Thoughts- Jim and Pam's Big Day

Flash Forward
My first thought after watching this week's ep was that there wasn't much action. It was pretty slow moving, but it kept my attention the entire time. I feel that because it's so early on in the season I am much more likely to be curious about every single word that is spoken. If this ep took place maybe 12 weeks in, I probably would have been bored through it. Take for example the middle of Lost season two.

A few questions regarding the situation with Demetri Noh and his fiancé, Gabrielle Union. In her flash she is at her wedding day. When Noh asks her if she saw him, she said yes. Is this some kind of mystery that we/they need to figure out, or was she just assuming it was him and never actually saw him. Why wouldn't Noh just tell her that he saw nothing and he might be dead? Why do people run away from the truth so often? Speaking of him seeing nothing, that would mean that he is dead and she was getting married to someone else less than a month after her ex-fiancé gets murdered? What a slue. Here's an idea Demetri, get married tomorrow! This may change the future and you might not die. Or better yet, wear a bullet proof vest on March 15th!

Is it bad that every time Stan Wedeck speaks I expect him to spit out references from Huck Finn? During his eulogy this week, how could he not ask, "Is a cat a cow? Is a cow a cat? Is a French man a man? Than why don't he talk like a man?"

The end of this week's ep started to heat up again as The Dude began to question the crows dying. Through a little research he found that something like this has happened before?!? You would think that if something like this happened only 18 years ago, they would've remembered it!

The Office
I've said it before and I'll say it again, The Office is much better as an hour long show. This week's ep was more proof of that. The best episode so far this season. I feel it just has more room to breathe with the 42 minute run time. They don't have to cram a bunch of jokes in at once.

Dwight was fantastic this week:
"A three ounce fetus is calling the shots...that's bad ass."

Then once in the great Niagra Falls, Dwight is unbelievable at the kids' table.

As he begins to find out stuff about Pam's relatives, his internet information was unbelievable...the chick's sophomore year volleyball record? Classic.

Michael, thinking that Dwight is trying to find girls for the two of them, is disappointed when Mr. Schrute's remark, "I found twins" is merely that. Twins. Twin fat dudes!

I'll admit that I was as hyped about Jill and Kevin's Big Day wedding video as anyone when it first came out. Of course I immediately thought about the different productions I would be able to come up with for my, or someone else's as the case may be, wedding. What makes Michael so lame, and me not, is that his idea was to do that exact recreation of what Jill and Kevin's friends already did. And that is what made it so funny. To this day, no matter what the situation, that wedding aisle dance is awesome every single time. This erratic performance by the Dunder-Miffliners was no exception. Just great stuff. As a bonus, watch Creed's face while he is dancing. Hilarious.

Community
I feel like this week was a bit of a step backwards. As I, and Seth Cohen before me, have said, big is not funny. Professor Chang, to some extent Phil Knight and now this British Psychologist have all been playing big, outlandish teachers that aren't doing it for me. Why do they have to use these guest characters in such a big role? What is this SNL? Focus on your funny characters, which are Joel McHale's Jeff, Chevy's Pierce and Abed. I'm not getting nearly enough Chevy and Abed in these episodes. Abed's love of movies and tv is a great characteristic for me, personally. Him comparing his and Annie's relationship to that of Phoebe and Chandler because they didn't have many story lines together was classic.

Wednesday Wisdom- Manny's Modern Family

Glee
The ladies carried this week's episode. Sue Sylvester was not in last week's ep that much, and I felt it dragged. She brought things back to good this time as she opened with making fun of Mr. Shue and Emma's terrible lunchtime conversation. Sue then went on to hate on Glee Club in her journal later in the day before taking action by convincing Mr. Shue's wife that he was having an affair with Emma. Sue left during the middle part of the ep, but made a glorious return at the end when she announced she would be taking over as co-director of Glee Club. Great Sue ep.

There is something strangely appealing about Rachel Berry's character. Maybe it's her quirkiness, or that she's just really weird, or maybe how intensely she wants to be good at Glee, but she's drawn me in and I continue to want to see her succeed.

Modern Family
This week's episode was responsible for the single funniest scene on television this season. Manny Delgado is rising up the charts on my favorite character list. In week one he was good with his mom and step-dad, Al Bundy. Week two, he and Al had plenty of quality time together and he was even funnier. This week, his interaction with his step-sister, Claire, was off the charts funny. Claire, being a middle aged woman, and Manny being 10 years old created a fantastic dynamic (especially since Manny fancies himself as a very mature 10).

Manny- "Those cookies smell like heaven...your own recipe?"
Claire- "No, I just throw 'em in the oven."
Manny- "And added the secret ingredient of caring?"
.....
Manny- "So what is the matter Claire?"
Claire- "What?"
Manny- "You seem sad."
Claire- "It's just stuff with Alex. You know, kids stuff."
Manny- "Uggg, kids. You don't have to tell me, my school's full of them."

As I remarked immediately after the episode, another great thing about this show is all of the different combinations of relationships they will be able to go through. This week we had Manny/Claire, Jay/Phil, Gloria/Alex...When Mitchell and Cam start mixing in the pot, I can see plenty of funny dynamics. Interestingly enough, Sepinwall had the same sentiment when I went to read his blog the next day.

Gary Unmarried
So it seems that Sasha, the station manager at the radio station, Curtis, Gary's old friend that works there also, and Gary's brother Mitch are now regulars in this second season of Gary Unmarried. Great call with raising Rob Riggles' character to regular status, and this chick Sasha seems pretty good so far, but Curtis is no Dennis from season one. So if the station manager and another dude that works there are series regulars, does that mean Gary is eventually going to get the job as a sports radio host? He certainly can't take an entire season to paint the station right? I don't know how I would feel if he did get the job. It would create a completely different feel to the show and it might not be in a good way. I guess we'll see. In one final note, Tommy was back in the game with a couple good lines in this week's ep.

Survivor Samoa- Week 4

Is anyone else getting sick of Jeff at tribal council? I dislike how he pokes at people and tries to stir things up. Let them play the game! You asking a leading question isn't fair to some of the players. One of these tribal councils I feel like Russell H is gonna stand up and say "Objection! Leading!" That is my dream.

I don't understand why Galu was making such a big deal about who to get rid of between Monica and Yasmin. They're both terrible at everything, so it's not a big deal. What I don't get is why no one in that tribe is looking at the bigger picture. You guys are still way up on Foa Foa in numbers, why not try and get a strong competitor out while you have the chance. If I'm Erik and Russell S, why not try to boot John or Dave? And vice versa. As Herm Edwards would say, "You play to win the game!"

Fantasy Results

The Technotronics

W. Russell (Foa Foa)-W4 (7), Im (8)= 15
B. Russell (Galu)- W4 (7), Reward (4)= 11
Monica (Galu)- W4 (7), Votes (-8)= -1
Liz (Foa Foa)- W4 (7), Im (8)= 15
Natalie (Foa Foa)- W4 (7), Im (8)= 15
Week 4= 55
Total=158





Sweet Niblets


Erik (Galu)- W4 (7), Idol (10)= 17
Ben (Foa Foa)-
Ashley (Foa Foa)- W4 (7), Im (8)= 15
Kelly (Galu)- W4 (7)= 7
Shambo (Galu)- W4 (7), Reward (4)= 11
Week 4= 50
Total= 93





Canon Controversy

John (Galu)- W4 (7)= 7
Jaison (Foa Foa)- W4 (7), Im (8)= 15
Mike (Foa Foa)-
Dave (Galu)- W4 (7), Reward (4)= 11
Betsy (Foa Foa)-
Week 4= 33
Total= 80






Freecell Makes Me Wanna

Mick (Foa Foa)- W4 (7), Im (8)= 15
Brett (Galu)- W4 (7)= 7
Marissa (Foa Foa)-
Laura (Galu)- W4 (7)= 7
Yasmin (Galu)- Votes (-32)= -32
Week 4= -3
Total= 69

Tuesday Tidings- Melrose Place Mystery

90210
Let's begin with the most important scene of this week's ep...Naomi's meeting with the guidance counselor. Umm, how come that wasn't Kellly telling Naomi what to do with her future? You have a perfectly capable guidance counselor that will bring in the viewers in Kelly Taylor, and instead you use some nobody. Interesting move. Are they getting rid of Kelly on the show? Because that would be a mistake. At least Jackie Taylor was back in full force this episode. But during Naomi's meeting with the no-name counselor there was a fantastic moment. When Naomi told her what she wanted to do after high school, she stated that she was going to go to the fictitious California University because she was a legacy. It doesn't get much better than that. The same made-up college that old gang all went to is getting some love in the new 90210. My only wish would be that this whole crew ends up going to the CU Condors' rival school, Southern California University instead. That would be a nice switch up.

Melrose Place
Another lackluster ratings night for Melrose (1.6 million), but it continues to keep my attention because of a couple of interesting characters and I nice murder mystery storyline. Ella continues to impress me with her charming personality towards her friends, as well as how scared she is and the lack of confidence she shows about where she was during the time of Sydney's death. Speaking of Syd's death...the murder mystery plot is a good way to keep the audience's attention until viewers get a relationship with the characters. My question is, what will happen after they figure this whole thing out? I hope it is not like what happened after the first season of Desperate Housewives. After season one of Housewives, it immediately went down hill because the mysterious aspect of it was completely gone. I feel like the lives of these characters may be able to hold up without the murder story, but it may not. Oh and it will probably be canceled by then anyway.