Curb- Seinfeld Reunion and Finale

This week's season finale was not quite up to par with last week's stellar episode. Having said that, I still thoroughly enjoyed almost everything about it. I especially liked that it was 40 minutes long. So much good stuff that they had to extend their normal 25-27 minute range for the second straight week.

Other than getting to actually see another Seinfeld ep (on Larry's tv) the best part of the night was definitely Larry and Jerry's conversation a the party for Jason's book. Jerry stepped up big time and proved why his character on Seinfeld (which is almost identical to his real life persona) is in my top ten characters of all-time. I lost it when he was explaining to Jason that the title of his pamphlet could have also been Acting with Acting. He then ties in the entire convo he had with Larry, by saying to Jason "Having said that, I think this is a terrific title."

Jer also came up huge by doing the LD stare down to LD. Although not as good as the original, Jerry's final burst of bug-eyed stare was fantastic. Final note on Jerry was that I loved his very Seinfeld-esque observation that Larry's unimaginable love for wood meant that when he is at a funeral, he is more concerned for the coffin than the deceased. Classic.

How were the other people on the stage not cracking up at Larry's version of George? It was hilarious.

And final note on the Curb side of things, George doing LD's pretty, pretty, pretty good was also extremely enjoyable to see.

Great season.

Now to all the haters out there that were unhappy with the Seinfeld finale back in 1998. What were and are you thinking? It was a great finale. It did what a finale should do. It summed up the show in a way that gave it a complete ending. Going through and bringing back all the old characters to show how sick and twisted Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer were was both eventful and fulfilling. I would have been extremely unhappy at the time, if the finale had been something like what Curb's Seinfeld ep within an ep was. There was no closure on the characters. In '98 the four guys go to jail because of all of the trouble we've seen them get into. It was a perfect end to a perfect series.

Sepinwall, like most I assume, disagrees...

In fairness, placing this "Seinfeld" reunion in the confines of a "Curb" episode makes it easy for it to stand out. It's all the good bits, none of the plot mechanics: just joke, joke, joke, joke, joke. But what we did see of it, here and in "The Table Read," felt much more along the lines of what the finale should have been: just one last collection of stories involving these four socially maladjusted people.

In a final mini-rant, I'll say that I don't want my series finale to be just like any other episode, which he is basically say here. I want it to be momentous, like the original finale was. Having said that, this reunion ep inside of Curb was great for what it was. A way to get these four actors, and at times characters, together again for one more time in a way that they would all enjoy.

Poolies Watch- Titus Pullo Award

With many of the action shows yet to begin this season, and last year's winner most likely in prison for a long time (Tony Almeida), The Titus Pullo Award (Best Supporting Character in an Action Series) seems to be up for grabs. I currently have Gabriel Sylar and Ben Linus at the top of the heap. Although Heroes has gone way down hill, Sylar's character is still fantastic week in and week out. And then with Linus, I don't know whether he will be here or in lead character this season, but either way he'll be a front runner.

Top of the Heap
Ben Linus- Lost
Gabriel Sylar- Heroes

Next we have four guys currently receiving nominations that we have seen already this season. Eric of True Blood and Cho of Mentalist had and are having a great second season and I am pretty confident in them getting nods come June. Lafayette and Wilson are on thin ice depending on what others bring to the table in 2010.

Those We've Seen
Eric Northman- True Blood
James Wilson- House
Kimball Cho- The Mentalist
Lafayette Reynolds- True Blood

Now we have four dudes that have yet to come on screen this season, but are currently occupying spaces based on previous performances. Captain Awesome and Lester of Chuck have proven to be great comedy, while Desmond and Richard Alpert of Lost make the list for many other reasons. The problem with these two, as with many Lost characters, is that I have no idea how much screen time they will get in the final season. Richard has been lacking in that area most of the time, but I feel we need to hear more of his story this year, and that it will be sweet.

Yet to Come
Desmond Hume- Lost
Devon Woodcomb- Chuck
Lestr Patel- Chuck
Richard Alpert- Lost

There are plenty of worthy characters waiting to grab a spot. There is also the 24 wildcard, since they have so many new characters from year to year. And if Jacob sees any kind of a larger role in Lost, he could have the potential to jump up (that is if he isn't also dead). Also there is the slight chance that I catch up on Sons of Anarchy and they have anyone worth while in the category.

Outside Looking In
Andy Bellefleur- True Blood
Big Mike- Chuck
Jeff Barnes- Chuck
Sam Sullivan- Heroes
Stan Wedeck- Flash Forward
Steve Newlan- True Blood
Wayne Rigsby- The Mentalist

Survivor Samoa- Week 10

After getting yelled at by Lar for having nothing to say about the greatest episode in Survivor history last week, I'll have a bit more to say about what was the second fantastic episode in a row. In what started out as a pretty boring season, the past two eps have picked up a notch.

First of all I can't stop thinking about how fantastic last week's tribal council was when Russell used the hidden idol to perfection to save himself. Great move by a great guy. When Probst announces that the idol will go back into the game, I would have bet $1,000 right then and there that Russell would find it again. Fast forward to this week. The winning reward team receives a clue that the idol is under a rock. As soon as they get back to camp, Russell is on the prowl. Bald Dave starts following him like a crazy man. Russ finds a rock he thinks is it but sprints off through the woods to lose Dave. He then comes back to the rock and what do ya know, there is his third idol of the season. Are the producers helping this guy? Or is he really this good?

Jaison continues to prove how he is the worst. His little tent conversation with I think Monica (could've been some other former Galu) was painful. He tells her that they have five people voting with them. "I can't tell you who it is, but we have five. The fifth person knew what was going on at last tribal council." What a complete idiot. Like it isn't completely obvious that he's talking about Shambo. She's been on the outs with former Galu since the beginning, and you think giving her up to Monica will help in any way? You're dumb. There goes Monica running back to the rest of old Galu to tell them about it.

Finally we get to what was maybe more of an exhilarating tribal council than last week. Everyone in the tribe and the viewers knew it was going to be a 5-5 tie. Is this tie rule new, or were there no ties the past two seasons? After a tie, they take out the two that were voted on (Laura and Natalie) and the other eight re-vote. If it is a 4-4 tie, the remaining eight draw rocks and the odd man out leaves the game. What?!? Why would you risk it to the hands of a 1-8 chance of going home?! Switch your vote please! And the man that I have grown to enjoy and respect over the past couple of weeks, John, did the right thing. He switched his vote from Natalie to Laura and now will be on the side with a 6-4 advantage.

Fantasy Results

The Technotronics

W. Russell-W10 (46), Reward (4)= 50
B. Russell-
Monica- W10 (46)= 46
Liz-
Natalie- W10 (46), Reward (4), Votes (-20)= 30
Week 10= 126
Total=697




Canon Controversy

John- W10 (46)= 46
Jaison- W10 (46)= 46
Mike-
Dave- W10 (46), Reward (4)= 50
Betsy-
Week 10= 142
Total= 631







Freecell Makes Me Wanna

Mick- W10 (46), Im (20)= 66
Brett- W10 (46)= 46
Marissa-
Laura- Reward (4), Votes (-20)= -16
Yasmin-
Week 10= 96
Total= 602

Sweet Niblets


Erik-
Ben-
Ashley-
Kelly-
Shambo- W10 (46)= 46
Week 10= 46
Total= 399

Heroes- Nathan/Sylar Is Making My Brain All Kooky

As my cousin Mikey would say...This whole thing with Nathan and Sylar's bodies and minds switching around is making my brain all kooky. When Nathan's mind inside of Sylar's body touched Sylar's mind inside of Parkman's body, Nathan should have been deleted completely right? Or at least suppressed. If the result of the hand touch wasn't Sylar just pretending to act like Nathan for an extended period of time so that he could kill Peter, then I have absolutely no idea what is going on anymore. I lost faith in Heroes a while ago, but this is just getting awful.

Nice little round table question from TVFanatic that fits in nicely.

If Sylar is back inside his body now, why does Nathan still act and think like Nathan?
M.L. House: I'll give someone $10 if he/she can explain what actually took place in Parkman's hospital room. Ready... go!

Dr. Shepherd: I have no idea.

The Barnacle: Stop! You're making my head hurt. Can't we all just mourn Nathan's death next week... even though, you know, he already died last season.

Curb- Leon Whites That Sh*t Up

The penultimate episode of this season of Curb Your Enthusiasm did not disappoint. All of the waiting for the Seinfeld action was worth it. Seeing all of the old Seinfeld sets and having the extraneous characters (Banya, Estelle) at the table read was fantastic. The only Seinfeld-related character that continues to disappoint me is Jason Alexander. He just is so far less funny than George it's not even fair. Jerry is Jerry, Julia and Michael are slightly less funny than their on screen alter egos, but Jason has just been blahh from what I've seen.

Watching Jerry, Julia and Wayne Knight (Newman) rehearse was unbelievable television. Now I'm the type of guy who like to watch the credits of a movie so I can see the outtakes when the actors start laughing. I enjoy when people on Saturday Night Live start to laugh during a sketch. And I love when Jimmy Fallon laughs at his own jokes during the monologue of Late Night. Watching Jerry, Julia, Wayne and Larry cracking up at their own scene for about five minutes was just gold.

Leon knocked this episode out of the park. From his pretending to be white, to his cracking up at the Seinfeld rehearsal, he was perfect. As he pretends to be a Jewish Danny Duberstein and told Michael Richards that he had three bar mitzvahs with a stone cold face, I lost it. As he searched for the reason that he beat Groats disease, all he could think of was the hat on his head? Unbelievable. Leon whited that sh*t the f*ck up. He then goes on to kill it when he watches Jerry, Julia and Wayne rehearse on the set. He is cracking up all over the place because he's never seen Seinfeld before. As Newman stands at the entrance to Jerry's apartment Leon loses it. Fantastic.

I'm extremely excited for the finale.

Poolies Watch- Arthur Spooner Award

In what was a stacked, and pretty wide open category in the inaugural Poolie Awards, the Arthur Spooner Award seems even more so this year. Kevin Malone and Andy Bernard from The Office finished top two in 2008-09, but this year Andy, if not both of them, are hanging on for dear life in my book. My four leaders at this point were not nominated a year ago. One of them, Leon Black, was simply a huge oversight on my part last time. The next, Robby Ray Stewart, was not in my wheelhouse last year. Andy Dwyer from Parks and Rec has taken on a much bigger role in the second season and has shined. Finally, Manny from Modern Family is having an unbelievable first season on a fantastic new show.

Leading the Way
Andy Dwyer- Parks and Recreation
Leon Black- Curb Your Enthusiasm
Manny Delgado- Modern Family
Robby Ray Stewart- Hannah Montana

Honestly, I could see anyone in the next 12 making the list come season's end, but for now I have these six as the nominated ones. I assume Kevin and Kenneth will make the cut, because they are mainstays of their respective comedy juggernauts, but the rest of these guys could go either way at this point.

In for Now
Abed Nadir- Community
Andy Bernard- The Office
Cameron Tucker- Modern Family
Kenneth Parcell- 30 Rock
Kevin Malone- The Office
Max Russo- Wizards of Waverly Place

The fact that these guys are on the outside looking in, is truly a testament to how good this category has been this year. Pierce Hawthorne and Jerry Seinfeld have come on really strong recently in Community and Curb, respectively. Meanwhile Stevie Janowski from Eastbound is a product of his show not being on the air yet. He could skyrocket once it comes back on.

Outside Looking In
Frank Rossitano- 30 Rock
Jerry Seinfeld- Curb Your Enthusiasm
Mitch Brooks- Gary Unmarried
Pierce Hawthorne- Community
Stevie Janowski- Eastbound & Down
Tommy Brooks- Gary Unmarried

Although ultimately I have the final say on nominations, I definitely need some help with this one. All suggestions will be considered. Who do you like?

SNL- January Jones and Kathy Lee Gifford

Granted there was a lot of this given episode that was pretty bland, but nothing made me want to kill myself this week like Taylor Swift did last time. January Jones messing up her lines was actually an improvement over Swift's dry, terrible acting. Jason Sudeikis was all over this ep, which is always a good thing, but Fred Armisen was noticeably absent, which is not. The digital short was not funny. I kept on waiting for it to change gears, but they just kept going with the same bit the entire time. The whole episode I was waiting for my boy, Josh Duhamel to pop in a sketch, but it never happened. Oh now you stop bringing people's famous boyfriends on! Highlight of the ep was definitely Kristen Wiig's Kathy Lee Gifford. She is always fantastic. Jenny Slate is no where close to as good as Michaela Watkins was as the sidekick, Hota Kotb.

Survivor Samoa- Week 9

Decided to throw in a new rule. If you successfully use the immunity idol to save yourself your vote points get nullified and you get an extra 10 points. Given that, I'm going to also subtract 5 points if you use it when it was unnecessary. Since Russell has done both in the past two weeks, he gets and extra 5 points.

Fantasy Results

The Technotronics

W. Russell-W9 (37), Idol (5)= 42
B. Russell-
Monica- W9 (37), Reward (4)= 41
Liz-
Natalie- W9 (37)= 37
Week 9= 120
Total=571




Canon Controversy

John- W9 (37), Reward (4)= 41
Jaison- W9 (37)= 37
Mike-
Dave- W9 (37), Reward (4)= 41
Betsy-
Week 9= 119
Total= 489







Freecell Makes Me Wanna

Mick- W9 (37)= 37
Brett- W9 (37)= 37
Marissa-
Laura- W9 (37), Im (20)= 57
Yasmin-
Week 9= 131
Total= 506

Sweet Niblets


Erik-
Ben-
Ashley-
Kelly- Reward (4), Votes (-16)= -12
Shambo- W9 (37), Reward (4)= 41
Week 9= 29
Total= 353