Survivor 2301 Review- I'm Out Of Milk

Coach- "This is Coach 3.0 and I'm here to win."

Survivor's back. Coach is back. Ozzie's back. 18 survivors. 39 days. Let's go!

I'm glad to be reviewing the season premiere of Survivor: South Pacific while TV Fanatic guru Luke Dwyer is on vacation, no doubt somewhere in the South Pacific. Full of intense challenges, plenty of getting to know you periods, some swimming in the perfect blue ocean, and a fight or two, "I Need Redemption" was a great start to season 23.

When we first met the contestants, they were already into their tribes, only waiting to see what returning Survivors were going to join them. There were whispers of hope that neither was Russell Hantz, which was awkward for Russell's nephew Brandon, who is one of the contestants. Eventually, Ozzie from Cook Island and Fans vs. Favorites, and Coach from Tocantins and Heroes vs. Villains, jumped out of the helicopter to a mostly warm welcome.

While it didn't end up hurting her, because her tribe won immunity, Christine was extremely bold in saying that the returning players were simply temporary. Combine that with her pressing need to immediately search for hidden idols at camp, and I have no doubt she would have been first to leave the blue tribe if Semhar could have made a single basket.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Survivor season premiere, head over to TV Fanatic. And stay tuned for fantasy results from week one of South Pacific.

Survivor 2301 - "I Need Redemption"
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Emmy Submission Mission- Lead Actress in Drama

The 2011 Emmy Awards will be hosted by Jane Lynch this Sunday, September 18. In the weeks leading up to the event, TV Fanatic 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 we only have two categories remaining. Take a look back at the comedy categories: Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress, as well as Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor in a Drama. Next up, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama:

Elisabeth Moss

Kathy Bates is a nine-time Emmy nominee. Mariska Hargitay has earned eight straight Emmy nominations for her role. Juliana Margulies has been nominated a total of eight times, including the past two years for The Good Wife. Elisabeth Moss and Connie Britton have three and two straight nominations for their respective roles. Needless to say, there is a lot of Emmy history amongst the ladies of this category.

While all of the women up for Lead Actress in a Drama, including first time nominee Mireille Enos, have a shot at taking home the trophy, it seems to be coming down to a battle between Margulies and Moss. Each had a great overall season. Each is on a highly regarded series in the running for best drama, and each submitted a fantastic showcase episode.

Moss sent in “The Suitcase,” the episode of Mad Men’s fourth season in which everyone was raving about when it first aired back in the fall, and then most continued to talk about as the year went along. Aside from the very beginning of the episode, Moss gets to spend the entire time in front of the camera alongside fellow Emmy frontrunner Jon Hamm. Her character, Peggy, is forced to stay at work all night to help Hamm’s Don Draper with an ad campaign, forcing her to miss a birthday dinner with her boyfriend. She gets so emotional that she breaks up with her boyfriend over the phone, gets into a screaming match with Don, and then breaks down and cries over the events that occurred. While it’s more of a showcase for Hamm, Moss certainly puts forth quite the performance, and would deserve this award any other year.

Unfortunately, Margulies has just as showy a performance in her submission, “In Sickness.”

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

Curb Your Enthusiasm 810 Review- Start The Violin Music

Leon- "Michael J. Fox bout to be Michael J. f**ked up in a minute."

This eighth season was billed as Curb Your Enthusiasm coming to New York. The show worked Larry leaving for NYC in so hilariously that I overlooked the fact that it took half the season to get him here. And while I was ready to criticize the season for not having an overarching theme to the 10-episode run, "Larry vs. Michael J. Fox" brought the New York era to an end in such a funny and poetic manner that I'm ready to forgive the uneven season.

Back in "The Vow of Silence," Larry broke down and went to New York because he kept using it as an excuse to get out of a charity event. It was such a fitting ending, therefore, to have to do the same thing in order to get out of a Michael J. Fox's charity event in New York. Only in typical Curb fashion, they threw a perfect curve ball in not sending LD back to L.A., but to Paris, where Leon bought himself a chalupa!

And that was the thing about "Larry vs. Michael J. Fox," not only was it constructed beautifully as an episode and as an ender to the season, but it was ridiculously hilarious along the way. I noted more funny moments, and compiled more quips for our Curb Your Enthusiasm quotes page, than I did for any other episode this season.

The scene in the park would have made the episode a winner all on its own. Between Larry buying Greg a replacement gift even though the flamboyant seven-year old obviously loved his sewing machine, the kid giving Susie a hand-sewn pillow sham with a swastika on it, and Jeff taking a bullet for Susie, the five-minute span made for multiple laugh out loud moments, as well as a number of times to acknowledge the cleverness of it all.

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

Curb Your Enthusiasm 810 - "Larry vs. Michael J. Fox"
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Big Brother Weeks 10 and 11- You Are Deleted

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, sell water to a well, then read what I have to say.

Well I just finished writing a long post on this week's Big Brother, but then it all got deleted because Blogger decided not to auto-save my stuff. I am not going to write it all over again, so just look at some fantasy scores and get ready for Wednesday's finale, where I think Rachel will defeat Adam in the final of Big Brother.

And with that, I'll turn you over to the fantasy scoreboard, in which Jaydon continues to dominate...

Jaydon

Jeff +51

Rachel +94: HoH (+15), W10 (+46), Nom (-10), W11 (+56)= +201

Kalia +126: Nom (-10), Votes (-8)= +108

Last Week at +271: Team total= +360

Me

Brendon -14

Lawon -35

Adam +115: Veto (+15), W10 (+46), HoH (+15), W11 (+56)= +247

Last Week at +66: Team total= +198

Mags

Daniele +14

Cassie -95

Porsche +93: Nom (-10), Votes (-4), W10 (+46), Nom (-10), Veto (+15), W11 (+56)= +186

Last Week at +12: Team total= +105

Lar

Jordan +76: W10 (+46), Nom (-10), Votes (-4)= +108

Shelly +15

Dominic -110

Last Week at -19: Team total= +13

Wilfred 113 Review- Will Power

Wilfred- "I don't know what you're up to Ryan, but I've got my nose and ears on you...and my eyes too, I guess, but frankly my vision's pretty sh*tty."

Who are you? What are you? Why are you?

Ryan asked these questions of Wilfred during a fit of hysteria in "Identity," and I for one, cannot wait to find out the answers.

Throughout the season finale, Ryan slipped deeper and deeper down the proverbial slope, to a point where he was back to using dirt to win cases, switching urine to save clients, and basically doing whatever it takes to get the job done.

What did it cost him? Well, he forced his pregnant sister to leave her husband and move to India. He pushed Jenna to marry Drew, because she believes that she has a baby on the way. And he caused his pal Wilfred to jump in front of a moving car, which severely injured him, and might have rid him of his memories.

But after Wilfred's fit of amnesia, be it real or artificial, Ryan remembered that the dog was recently writing a will that could help Ryan know what to do if anything happens to [him].

I was expecting the will to be a joke by Wilfred, saying something to the effect of I can't believe you thought I lost my memory, but instead, when Ryan got to the door of his beloved basement, he found a closet! The basement that he has been hanging out with Wilfred in for the entire season has been imaginary? Is that what we are being ed to believe?

To read the rest of my review of last night's season finale of Wilfred, head over to TV Fanatic.

Wilfred 113 - "Identity"
Review
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Emmy Submission Mission- Supporting Actor in Drama

The 2011 Emmy Awards will be hosted by Jane Lynch September 18. In the weeks leading up to the event, TV Fanatic 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 has finished with the comedy categories: Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress. On Tuesday we talked about Supporting Actress in a Drama, so today we move on to Outstanding Actor in a Drama:

John Slattery of Mad Men

After realizing that four out of last year’s six nominees in this category were not going to be eligible for 2011, it was clear that Supporting Actor in a Drama was going to be wide open. Upon hearing the names of the nominated actors, and now having watched each of their submitted episodes, it has become even more difficult to decipher who is going to take home the trophy.

Three nominees stand out as having very similar performances. John Slattery of Mad Men, Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones, and Walton Goggins of Justified each spend much of their respective episodes in reserved roles only to finish with extremely flashy and emotional scenes that will leave voters with a good taste in their mouths.

In Slattery’s submission, “Hands and Knees,” his Roger Sterling stays calm throughout most of the hour as the character soaks in the fact that his mistress is pregnant and that he’s lost his agency’s biggest client. All of that built up emotion comes to afoot when he blows up in a fit of anger, and even lets out a rare AMC bleeped out f-bomb before bursting out into nervous laughter over everything falling apart.

“Baelor” is almost unanimously renowned as the best episode of Game of Thrones’ first season. Whether or not it was the best choice for Peter Dinklage is up for debate, seeing as though he didn’t make an appearance until the 23rd minute of action. Like Slattery, his Tyrion Lannister didn’t go through much for the first two thirds of the episode, but finished with a bang. He tells an emotional tale about the love of his life, who turned out to be a prostitute hired by his brother and father, and concludes with a heroic speech before his men head out for war.

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

Emmy Submission Mission- Supporting Actress in Drama

The 2011 Emmy Awards will be hosted by Jane Lynch September 18. In the weeks leading up to the event, TV Fanatic 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 has finished with the comedy categories: Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress. Next up? Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama, and here is TV Fanatic's breakdown:

Margo Martindale

Three out of the past four years, the Supporting Actress in a Drama Award has gone to a performer that had never before been nominated, let alone won an Emmy. Katherine Heigl for Grey’s Anatomy in 2007, Cherry Jones for 24 in 2009, and Archie Panjabi for The Good Wife last year all came out of nowhere to claim the coveted prize from their peers. If the trend should continue in 2011, we will see either Margo Martindale or Michelle Forbes giving a speech up on stage.

While many thought it a difficulty for Martindale to even receive a nomination, given that Justified wasn’t on the Emmys radar last year, things have changed in 2011. A number of her fellow cast members ended up receiving nominations as well, and there is enough buzz swirling around Justified’s second season (specifically Martindale’s performance), that she definitely has a lot of things on her side.

Not the least of which is how good she was in her submission episode, “Brother’s Keeper.” Almost inarguably the best episode of the series to date, Martindale showcases all of her talents, as her character Mags Bennett goes through many ups and downs over the course of the hour. She is the comforting mother, the angry mother, the stoic negotiator, and the condescending business woman all in one episode. Martindale portrays such joy when Mags thinks her and her family are on top of the world, then comes down in such sadness and disbelief when everything is taken away from her so quickly. With such a great performance, and the buzz to go with it, I definitely see Margo going home a winner.

To read the rest of my Emmy Submission Mission for Supporting Actress in a Drama, head over to TV Fanatic.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Top Ten

Whoah buddy! The fall tv season is upon us, and so are the September Power Rankings here at the Quiet Pool Perspective. Here is your look at what you should be watching, or catching up on if you have missed the boat.

Rank. Show (Last Week) red=moving down, green=moving up

10. Chuck (11) Fridays on NBC
One final go around with the Buy More crew. Let's hope they bring it. This past season was just as weird and funny as ever, but the story lines left something to be desired. Morgan as the intersect? Chuck running his own spy organization? Shaping up to be a great ending.

9. Dexter (9) Sundays on Showtime
I keep hearing that this past season of Dexter was the worst yet, and by a good margin, but how was it any worse than two, three, four and five? Well maybe since it didn't have Jimmy Smits, it wasn't as good as three, but that's about it. This next season still won't measure up with the first one, but it will continue to be exciting.

8. Mad Men (6) Sundays on AMC
As good as Mad Men is, the longer it is off the air, the more I remember it for being boring and the less I recall that fantastic acting and writing. It's going to be hard to compete with the drunken ways of Don Draper from a year ago.

7. Sons of Anarchy (8) Tuesdays on FX
The season four premiere is tonight, and I've heard good things. I can't wait to see what Jax, Clay and company have in store for us this year. I'm mostly pumped for Jackson's new haircut...nothing like a fresh cut.

6. Breaking Bad (3) Sundays on AMC
I was looking forward to writing about how boring this season of Breaking Bad has been, but the past two episodes have pulled the season out of its own downward spiral. Walt has been fantastic throughout, Jesse was great in "Problem Dog" and Gus did the thing this past Sunday. Still, this has been as boring of a season as an all-time great show can have.

5. Community (7) Thursdays on NBC
Michael K Williams. John Goodman. Let's get it started in here!

4. The Office (4) Thursdays on NBC
I enjoyed James Spader in last year's finale as much as anyone, but I don't know how he will do as a leading man on this show. Is his character too weird? We shall see. I'm hoping Jim and Dwight pick it up and become more of the leading men, as long as Jim steps his game up.

3. Game of Thrones (5) Sundays on HBO
Season two is way too far away. I am so jealous of those who have read the books and know exactly what is going to happen when we return. I just wanna see some dragons!

2. Curb Your Enthusiasm (1) Sundays on HBO
Yes, it has been a lackluster season of Curb, so it drops out of the one spot for the first time in a while. Even this most recent episode wasn't an all-time classic, although it was one of the funnier of the year. One ep remaining to redeem itself as the best comedy on tv.

1. Justified (2) Wednesdays on FX
The new champ is here. Justified had one of the best seasons in television history this past spring, and is now the well-deserved best show on television. Will season three be able to compare? Probably not, but I have faith it won't fall like some others have.