TV Review: The Big Bang Theory The Complete First Season

I have a thing for dorks. That dictated my desire, no my need, to watch The Big Bang Theory. I quickly fell in love with Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki). The two are roommates and physicists; they know everything about integrals and black holes but have little to no knowledge of women. That is plenty apparent when the blonde bombshell Penny moves into the apartment across the hall and Leonard makes a bumbling idiot of himself and Sheldon is more interested in watching Battlestar and mentions that they tried masturbating for money.

Joined by Raj and Wolowitz, they make a 30-minute sitcom that easily found its way on my Must-See list. Everyone quickly learns to head for the hills when Sheldon gets sick because he’s easily the neediest person alive. Tempers flare when Sheldon and Leonard present a paper at a symposium, but luckily Wolowitz videotapes the entire thing so the dork fight can be viewed over and over on YouTube. Leonard has a semblance of social skills but Sheldon prides himself on one thing – being the smartest person around and even that gets fractured when a child prodigy tours the university where our favorite geeks work.

As far as special features go, The Big Bang Theory is short on special features, but honestly who watches those all that much? The only feature is a behind the scenes look at the creation of the show called “Quantum Mechanics of The Big Bang Theory.” However, the show’s creators do have some help of actual physicists to help the jargon and information be accurate to allow Big Bang to be a genuinely smart show. Now no one can say intelligence isn’t entertaining. Plus, it is sort of nice to see the nerd cast as the hero instead of a sidekick who gets a few chuckles. Maybe it can prove that the nice guy really does get the girl, even if the plot of a beauty among beasts isn’t something new.

Luckily, the ensemble cast works well together with each individual bringing something to the table – from comical timing to a simply refreshing presence. And let’s face it; the casting is what makes the show a hit. The wrong group of actors could have seen Big Bang fall flat very quickly. I enjoy the show a great deal, but there isn’t much a show can accomplish in a 30-minute time slot that could be considered revolutionary. But in a world of hour-long dramas, it’s good to have a witty sitcom that hits the spot.

DVD Review: Gossip Girl The Complete First Season

Canceling Veronica Mars left a void in my CW viewing. Fortunately, Kristen Bell is involved in a new teen drama — even if only as the never-seen, snarky narrator. Gossip Girl may not be about a sarcastic teen detective, but the private-school offerings do serve up some guilty pleasure fodder. Throw in the fact I went to prep school and the show was almost guaranteed to be a hit -- at least for me.

Gossip Girl is the deliciously racy new CW offering of The O.C.’s teen-soap experts. This batch of privileged teens attend an Upper East Side prep school and take the life of luxury to an extreme the likes of Marissa and Summer couldn’t even imagine in Newport Beach. Nay, their lavish lifestyles aren’t contained in ocean-side mansions. The Waldorfs, van der Woodsens, and Archibalds are used to expensive Manhattan hotel penthouses, champagne, and randier sex lives than the stars of Debbie Does Dallas. That’s merely the tip of the iceberg of gossip for which these teens live or guilty pleasures thrive. Strangely, these underage elitists never seem to have a problem drinking in NYC’s hottest bars. Stranger still is lack of smoking cigarettes, apparently smoking is worse than casual sex under the influence of who knows what or drug overdoses.

Cecily von Ziegesar’s young adult series of a mystery blogger known only as Gossip Girl serves as the inspiration for the teen drama where an instant can change friends into enemies and enemies into your only ally. The juicy gossip of Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) and her BFF Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) are enough to get Gossip Girl on monitoring groups like the Parents Television Council. The juicy details that kick off the series are enough to make some parents wish they could lock up their children to keep them pure as Serena returns from an abrupt disappearance to boarding school a year earlier. Why did she leave? Because she had drunken sex with her best friend’s boyfriend of course. But don’t worry because Blair returns the favor to her boyfriend by sleeping with his best friend -- her first time in a limo no less.

But nevermind the naughtiness the parents don’t like, the overboard and extreme nature of Gossip Girl is everything we viewers want in our guilty pleasures. Even more desirable is the first season being out on DVD. The DVD set includes typical special features like unaired scenes (at least two episodes on each disc have them), gag reels, music videos and behind-the-scenes looks. Also included is a downloadable audiobook of one of the popular novels read by Christina Ricci. Warner Brothers are also taking a green-approach by packaging the five discs into the space of one.

Even though the storylines are over-the-top, these young actors bring their characters to life. Dan Humphrey (John Tucker Must Die’s Penn Badgley) and Serena van der Woodsen give all TV couples a lesson in what chemistry looks like. His younger sister Jenny (Taylor Momsen) gives a chilling performance as the girl who goes to almost no ends to make it into the popular crowd. And while Serena’s charisma makes her beauty non-intimidating, Blair is the one who really steals the show. It’s pretty powerful when someone can do all in her power to oust her best friend from the in-crowd and still illicit sympathy from the audience. Naturally everyone on the screen is gorgeous and represents the people we sometimes dream about becoming.

If you want a glimpse into the life you wish you had, I’d recommend you buy the complete first season of Gossip Girl. XO XO.

DVD Review: Scrubs - The Complete Sixth Season

Scrubs is one of the plethora of hospital shows on television. But unlike the rest, it is a 30-minute sitcom. Sure the show deals with some less-than-happy subject matter, but each episode has its funny moments that endear the series. It is also one of those rare shows where the reruns are just as funny as they were when they originally aired. While I have to say the first two seasons were pure gold, season six is still full of great television.

The sixth season of Scrubs had some interesting storylines. JD gets his doctor girlfriend Kim pregnant, Dr. Cox’s wife is pregnant, Carla and Turk have their baby, and Elliot gets engaged to Keith. The season also dealt with more serious issues than previous seasons seem to have touched on. Carla deals with postpartum depression. Nurse Roberts not only winds up in the hospital but also dies. JD has to deal with his thoughts on becoming a father when his girlfriend moves away and breaks up with him. Sure, this season focuses a lot more on the serious aspects of relationships than the first five seasons, but Scrubs hasn’t lost its focus of being a hospital comedy. Dr. Kelso, Janitor, and Ted continue to bring their humorous touches to the life at Sacred Heart Hospital.

Discussion of the sixth season cannot be complete without a mention of “My Musical,” the musical episode of Scrubs. The song and dance routines embrace the spirit of the show by having the serious up against the humorous. Personally, my favorite songs were “Guy Love” and “Everything Comes Down To Poo.” Obviously I am not the only one who enjoyed those songs, as they were one of the multiple Emmy nominations the episode received. Another new thing worth mentioning about the sixth season is characters other than JD narrated a few episodes; in fact some of the more minor characters took over.

Many feel this season stumbled to a point that wasn’t at the standard previous seasons had set. Luckily, Scrubs regained its footing before the end of the season, which had been hinted at being the final season. The creators of the show have agreed to a seventh season, but it is coming to an end. I appreciate ending the show before it goes to utter crap and there really is no reason a television series needs to be around for a decade or more. Unfortunately, the current WGA writers strike threatens Scrubs from airing a complete final season. In fact, it is rumored that the finale may not be shown until it is released on DVD.

The special features include a making of the musical episode. It includes glimpses at why they made the episode, how the cast and crew felt about it, and the special people they brought in to make it perfect. The next one is called “Judy Reyes Keep Talking” which looks at everything Carla – from auditioning, to her relationships with the other characters, to struggles Carla faced on the series, and what is up next. Naturally, a collection of deleted scenes is included but it takes on a different approach than most by showing the scene as aired before the deleted version is shown. Similarly, there is a feature showing alternate lines than the ones used in the show. “The Third Tier” is the next featurette and it is about characters that were initially meant for one joke and ended up with a recurring role. Following is “The Debra and Stephanie Show” which is another look at the musical episode. There are the commentary tracks for each episode and an Easter Egg — if you don't want spoilers for the seventh season, I recommend you not try to find this.

Overall, the sixth season of Scrubs is chock full of scalpel sharp wit and unforgettable characters with their quirks. Like the first five seasons, Scrubs - The Complete Six Season DVD is a must-have set for your television DVD collection.

DVD Review: Veronica Mars - The Complete Third Season

Veronica Mars came to a cruel fate. It was a great show, had a fan following, and received critics’ praises. Usually, that is a recipe for a long-running series, or so you would think. Not so much for Veronica Mars, which was canceled after only three seasons. Now people are hoping for something like Firefly/Serenity with a feature film version, or perhaps a made-for-TV movie and some comics.
For those who live under a rock in a cave and never saw Veronica Mars, you’re lame. Okay, in all seriousness it is worth checking out. Veronica is a teen girl who works for her dad, who happens to be a private investigator. He used to be the sheriff but some stuff went down so he was fired and then he gets to be sheriff again, and well, that’s a different story. Veronica has a knack for investigating things herself, which naturally gets her some side jobs, and some unwanted trouble. Each episode has its own contained mystery, and then there are arcs within the series that work out over anywhere from seven episodes to the entire season.

Season Three saw Veronica in college. She’s up to her same tricks, discovering who a campus rapist is, what really happened to cause the dean's death, there’s even a nerd in love with a prostitute he wants to save. While the third season wasn’t as strong as the first two, even the weakest episodes of Veronica Mars were heads above the best episodes of most TV shows on the major networks.

As far as the DVD set of Season Three is concerned, five discs are your typical bundle of episodes. None seem to have commentary tracks available. But the little booklet that comes with the DVDs is nice enough to include the original airdate, who wrote each episode, and who the director was .The true gem is the sixth disc – it is why any fan of Veronica Mars must get the third season DVDs right now.

The first special feature is one of the best features I’ve ever seen on any DVD set ... ever. It is called “Season 4 Presentation” and is a teaser of what the next season would have been if the show lived to tell the tale. Veronica is a special agent in the FBI and just as prickly as ever. The next featurette is “Pitching Season 4” with supervising producer Dan Etheridge and creator Rob Thomas (not the Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20). It discusses how the new direction of the next season came into being – from the concept of Veronica in the FBI to the color shift to give the show a new look.

Then there is a multi-part feature called “Going Undercover with Rob Thomas” and the sections are ‘Main Titles: Why the Change?’, ‘Rob’s Directing Experience,’ ‘Favorite Guest Star Moments,’ ‘Veronica Mars: Mean Girl,’ ‘The Politics of Veronica Mars,’ ‘Favorite Veronica and Logan Moments,’ ‘Favorite Veronica and Keith Moments,’ ‘Do-Overs?’, and ‘Highlights.’ Thomas and Dan Etheridge host this special feature as well. It sort of serves as the commentary that is lacking in any individual episodes on the other discs.

But wait, that’s not all. The next feature is the Webisode Gallery, which is more of a goofy look at some of the crew and actors on the show. Then there are some of your typical deleted scenes with an introduction from show creator Thomas. Finally, there is the Gag Reel.

Overall, the special features alone are reason to buy the third season of Veronica Mars. Add in the fact that Veronica Mars was a great show and there really is no reason it shouldn’t be part of your DVD library.

DVD Review: Jericho The First Season

I was hooked on Jericho from the first commercial I saw. I made it a point to make room for the show in my appointment TV watching. I easily watched each episode at least twice. The show is far from being cheery, yet it still holds onto a glimmer of hope. It also makes you think about what life would really be like in such a situation.

Jericho is about a small Kansas town and their survival after a nuclear attack on the United States. They have no idea if there are other survivors or if they are alone to rebuild. The show chronicles what would be very real problems like food shortages and looting and then goes a bit further to show war-like skirmishes between neighboring towns that had very different responses as to how to survive.

Jericho is another in the growing popular ensemble-cast thrillers. The thriller aspect comes in from living in a basically post-apocalyptic world. But sprinkled throughout the chaos are stories of the people of Jericho: who they are, their relationships with each other, and what secrets they aren’t telling anyone else. The setup has drawn a lot of comparisons to Lost, just without the supernatural aspect.

What makes Jericho so gripping, and perhaps timeless, is the invisible enemy. Without knowing who is attacking the US or why, it puts a real spin on the plot. I think the mysterious forces behind the nuclear attacks also force the audience to wonder how they would react in such a situation: would they maintain law and order or would it be a free for all?

The casting of the show also works in its favor. Skeet Ulrich (Scream) is the lead and is equally strong and vulnerable, which makes his character more compelling. He’s also ridiculously good looking, so you know some love triangles are in for the making. The cast of Jericho is rounded out by Gerald McRaney (Major Dad, Simon & Simon), Ashley Scott (Birds of Prey), Pamela Reed (Proof of Life), Kenneth Mitchell, Lennie James (Sahara), Sprague Grayden, Michael Gaston, Erik Knudsen (Saw II), Brad Beyer, and Shoshannah Stern (Weeds) who is really deaf.

The special features on Jericho: The First Season are fairly typical extras these days. Most of the episodes have deleted scenes, commentary, or even both available to watch. The sixth disc also has two mini-featurettes. The first is called “Building Jericho” and is a behind the scenes look at how the first season of Jericho was made – from audition tapes, to building the back lot, special effects, and even how fan feedback affected the season. The next feature is a mini documentary called “What If” that looks at possibilities of actual nuclear attacks in the past, present, and future. It chronicles the history of nuclear weapons with stock footage and interviews with various people. The feature also discusses responses to disasters, with Hurricane Katrina being a big example of how it can go wrong without a plan in place.

Technically speaking, Jericho: The First Season is in widescreen format, enhanced for 16:9 televisions. The sound is Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround with options for subtitles in English, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese.

I highly recommend Jericho be added to your DVD collection.

DVD Review: What About Brian The Complete Series

It seems the creators of Alias and Lost have fallen into a rut with the first being over and a scheduled ending in sight for the second. Unfortunately, What About Brian fell into that rut.

What About Brian is about a circle of ridiculously attractive friends and their problems. Brian love Marjorie and she might love him, but she’s engaged to Brian’s best friend Adam. Brian’s sister Nicole is trying to get pregnant but something tragic also happens. Their friends Dave and Deena tried to have an open marriage and now have to figure out how to handle the fall-out from that. Oh wait, they also have some friends, Ivy and Jimmy, who are secretly rich but hiding it.

The entire series of What About Brian is 24 episodes with the five-episode first season and an additional 19 for the second season. The core of the cast included Barry Watson (7th Heaven), Matthew Davis, Sarah Lancaster (Everwood), Rosanna Arquette, Rick Gomez (Band of Brothers), and Amanda Detmer (Boys and Girls). While the characters were interesting in and of themselves, they failed to carry the show. Without further development, What About Brian seemed to end up unrealistic with pretty people living in pretty homes with seemingly pretty problems that made the characters too hard to identify with to make the show appointment viewing. The show was pleasant; it just sort of got boring.

Figuring out where the Bonus Features were wasn’t as easy as most DVD sets since they weren’t listed on the cases of the DVDs along with which episodes are on each disc, but like most DVD sets they are on the last disc. The first is an unaired episode that was originally meant to be the last one of the first season. There is also a featurette is called “Calling All Friends: The Story of What About Brian” and is a behind the scenes look at the series from the eyes of the cast and crew. The last featurette is “What About 3: The Season That Never Was” giving a glimpse into what might have happened if the series had been around for a third season.

And last there is the Audio Commentary with writer/director Dana Stevens for the last episode of the series. The commentary is interesting in giving more insight on how the season changed with news that it was being cut to 19 episodes from the original 22 ordered and looking in hindsight that it is in fact the last episode of the series.

The series is presented in Widescreen format, enhanced for 16:9 televisions. What About Brian is in English Dolby Digital 5.1 with options for French and Spanish subtitles.

Ultimately, What About Brian wasn’t perfect television, but nothing was really wrong with the show either. It’s a charming look at friends and love, even if it isn’t all that realistic. The DVDs are certainly worth watching if you haven’t seen the show and want to watch a sweet, syrupy drama.

DVD Review: NUMB3RS The Third Season

If crime-solving shows aren’t your bag, you’re hard pressed to find much on television these days. In a world full of CSI and Law & Order and their various incarnations in different cities, it is fairly difficult for a new cop show to come on the scene and offer something new to its audience. NUMB3RS is able to give a fresh perspective by focusing on the importance of math. The show also allows enough focus on the personal lives and relationships between the characters that it isn’t just some formulaic way to solve a crime. But the character development doesn’t fall into the trap of being reminiscent of a soap opera, the drama is stuff that explains who the characters are as we already see them. And thankfully there aren’t the cookie-cutter one-liners being spouted horribly from characters we don’t really like that much anyway (David Caruso on CSI: Miami anyone?).

NUMB3RS is an FBI crime drama based in Los Angeles. But the LA in the show is more a reference than a location because it really could be happening in any city. The lack of pretty shots of the city help NUMB3RS maintain a more universal appeal. The show keeps it’s appeal for those who, like me, stopped taking math after high school by creating analogies about what the math is figuring out. The analogies aren’t the strength of the show and some of them are even quite boring, but they distract you enough from the equations being scribbled furiously that you think you understand exactly what is going on.

The Special Features for the third season of NUMB3RS are spread out over discs four, five and six. All the discs except for four have at least one episode with commentary available. Disc four has a featurette titled “Crunching NUMB3RS: Season 3” that looks at the importance the third season has for the series and the various ways the show changed. The fifth disc has a featurette called “Eppes Central” detailing the house used as the Eppes home and why they ultimately had to recreate the home on a sound stage. The final disc has two special features: a tour of the set house and a blooper reel.

Technically speaking, the DVD set has what you come to expect these days. It has a widescreen version enhanced for 16:9 televisions; the sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 English with Closed Captioning. The 24 episodes and special features are spread over six discs.

If you are a fan of the plethora of crime-solving dramas on television, NUMB3RS: The Third Season is worth adding to your collection. The show itself is worth giving a second look if you’re sick of all the forensic following franchises because it doesn’t have the same formulaic approach. Then for you Northern Exposure fans, Rob Morrow is one of the leads, playing FBI agent Don Eppes. Charlie Eppes is Don’s math whiz brother, played by David Krumholtz, and Judd Hirsch plays their father, Alan Eppes.

Gilmore Girls Go On Girls Only Roadtrip

So Gilmore Girls finally sees Logan turning into the jerk we knew he was from the beginning. I knew him being the productive nice guy was too good to be true. With Richard Gilmore not cooperating with Emily after his heart attack, the three Gilmore girls are on their way to Charlotte via a road trip. But Logan tracked her down and showed up at the wedding to talk to her. Rory has grown up and Logan’s showing up to make a grand gesture isn’t working anymore. I’m proud of Rory for sticking to her guns and being angry with him. Unfortunately, things were tied neatly with a bow in the end anyway. Who has these big conflicts that resolve themselves so quickly and nicely? It is unrealistic. But then, I don’t really like Logan anymore anyway.

Lane and Zack cooked dinner to lure Luke to her house to ask him to be the Godfather for her twins. The last episode, Lane asked Rory to be the twins’ Lorelai Gilmore. Lorelai was the adult Lane always felt able to talk to about anything without feeling judged. I think it is great she feels Rory can be that for her children. Zack’s freaking out about becoming a father is hilarious – completely understandable but hilarious.

It was nice to see Emily, Lorelai, and Rory having a pleasant time watching a movie and eating junk food together in the hotel at the end. I know their relationship isn’t perfect, no one’s is, but it is always refreshing to have the glimpses of happiness. That’s what has endeared Gilmore Girls for so many years and I feel it had been lacking last season. The show is more interesting now that it is actually the girls and not one at a time anymore. The show didn’t work with Lorelai and Rory not speaking, the charm was missing.

It would be nice for Lorelai and Emily to have a real conversation and resolve some of their issues. Lorelai tried to acknowledge that it must not have been easy for Emily when Lorelai left, but Emily didn’t take the bait and seemed cold. While I get that Emily is not as warm as the rest of the Gilmore family, it would be nice to see her character evolve a little more. Either have the issues actually dealt with or move on already. The little tease of a resolution is getting old at this point.

I do wish the episode showed Lane going into Labor instead of merely mentioning it. There could have been quite the comedic element with Lane and Zach freaking out, Lane’s mom trying to control everything, and Luke just trying to keep the balance. The four of them have fairly good comedic timing, for shame they didn’t get to exercise it.

It was strange to throw the Mia character back into the mix. Her importance to Lorelai and Rory is obvious, but her wedding seemed rather random. That and the actress playing Mia was completely different than when she appeared several seasons ago. Mia was suddenly younger too.

However, the change in writing staff has been noticed too. The witty banter is missing. And a level of the substance that was underneath the story is lacking too. I think the writers on staff are just trying to do enough to make the episodes last the rest of this season and be done with it. I’m fine if they end the show, I would much rather Gilmore Girls end instead of dragging on and becoming a bad show. But make the end compelling. Give us a reason to want to know how it ends instead of simply hoping it dies a painless death.

Heroes "Parasite" Serves Up Torture On A Monday

Tonight we finally got to see Mr. Linderman. The man has money and men at his disposal and he was in his casino’s kitchen cooking? We also now know why Hiro told Peter he looks different without his scar when they met on the subway earlier in the season.

Unlike last week, “Parasite” jumped between a few different narratives. And unlike Lost, it jumped between narratives quite well. Yes, this is my moment to state that I think Heroes is the best show on television right now. I also think the writers of Lost should take some notes on how to answer questions and leave a cliffhanger. Heroes sets up plenty for you to wonder about; but when your questions are answered, the show answers things you didn’t even know you were wondering yet.

Claire ditches the Haitian to try and find Peter Petrelli, having decided he is the only person she can trust. When she gets there, she finds Grandma Petrelli and the Haitian. Grandma tells Claire who she is and that they’re trying to protect her. If she knows about Claire’s powers, I wonder if she is aware of Nathan and Peter’s powers and if she has power of her own. I also wonder if there is something about Claire that requires more protection than her own sons. I guess it goes back to “Save the Cheerleader. Save the World.” But it was nice to find out whom the Haitian has been working for all this time. And I bet she and Linderman had an affair. I’ll eat brains with Sylar if she didn’t.

Nathan Petrelli has been working with the FBI on gathering evidence against Linderman. Unfortunately, Linderman is aware of this little fact and has Nathan’s FBI handlers killed. He does, however, make Nathan an offer he apparently can’t refuse. Ultimately it boils down to the choice of life or death. It will be interesting to learn what Linderman’s terms are because it is quite a lucrative offer as far as Nathan is concerned.

Hiro gets into Linderman’s collection. He gives the curator a painting from Isaac and finally gets his hands on the Kensei Sword. I don’t know if it really holds power or if it is acting as a placebo, but Hiro finally got his powers back. And with Ando’s power of Awesomeness and protection, Hiro is able to teleport them. His focused powers take him into the future – into New York City after the bomb. Hiro thinks of himself as a failure. I think it will help him refocus his energies on a better target.

The best storyline of the night was with Sylar. Until tonight, I haven’t enjoyed any scene he was in. And maybe I only liked tonight because it showed Mohinder isn’t a completely daft man. Mohinder realizes Sylar is Sylar and not Zane Taylor as he has been pretending. Because Sylar was Patient Zero for his father, Mohinder realizes he needs Sylar’s DNA. Unfortunately, his desire for vengeance overshadows his intelligence and Sylar is able to stop the IV drop keeping him unable to use his powers. The emotion and tension in the scenes between Mohinder and Sylar are so escalated that the rest of the episode doesn’t even matter. It could have been watching someone vacuum a bunny and these scenes would have still been powerful.

Sylar finally became a compelling bad guy. Mohinder somewhat redeemed himself from being completely useless—well other than being eye candy—and I can’t wait to find out what happens next. Too bad for Peter he walked in when he did. But we know he lives since Hiro knows what he looks like with a scar. Peter can mimic other people’s powers, so it will be interesting to see the Ultimate Showdown of Destiny. Unfortunately, we have to wait until the end of April for the next episode. My guess? Isaac dies. He’s painted his death and Hiro saw him dead in the future.

One Tree Hill - Good News For People Who Love Bad News

The newest episode of One Tree Hill was called “Good News For People Who Love Bad News.” I’m curious if there is a relationship to the Modest Mouse album of the same name or not. Either way, the kids of One Tree Hill seem to always be full of bad news.

Peyton and her brother Derek decide to get to know each other. Both are artists, like the same music, and even look alike. He has apparently known about her for a while. Peyton gives him the picture Ellie drew for her. Derek also offers to tell Peyton what he remembers of their father before the man walked out. Too bad it looks as though he’s going to be a psycho. Nothing new for Peyton, I guess, but I am sick of it always being oh woe is Peyton because her life is so awful. I liked that character so much better when she was happier.

Haley is picking up on Rachel’s intentions for Nathan and warns her to stay away from her husband. The whole marriage in high school thing has always seemed a little forced, but the references to it in this episode put that cheesiness over the top. I mean, they haven’t graduated from high school and they’ve already had some huge issues to overcome. We get it, relationships aren’t perfect and you have to work on them, but couldn’t that work without the context of marriage?

As much as Nathan was trying to put the accident behind him, it still plagues him during the game. Skillz gets some play time in his first game as a Tree Hill Raven. And naturally there is a big party afterwards; it just happens to be at Rachel’s house so that ups the drama factor. Brooke kisses a guy she sees walking in with Peyton, but it turns out to be the brother and Brooke takes that as fodder for yet another insult.

Nathan asks Rachel what she remembers form the accident but she doesn’t tell him what he wants to hear. He’s worried about thinking Keith is the one who saved him. Luckily Peyton talks to him and tells him even if Keith did save him, he probably didn’t do it so Nathan would sit around pouting.

Lucas confronts Brooke, telling her she never fights for him. She says he never will so Lucas tells her he isn’t the guy for her. I understand a breakup is never easy and it never feels good, but this whole Brooke-Lucas storyline is already getting old. It is a TV show, if they can recover from the school shooting in one or two episodes – a shooting resulting in the loss of lives – why can’t this whole sub-plot get the ball rolling and go somewhere?

Poor Mouth; he really does deserve someone better than Rachel. Being deemed a great friend upsets him so he gets trashed at the party and is the rude drunk to Derek. It also means he passed out on a bench in the yard.

Somehow Rachel knows Brooke is pregnant. When Brooke tells Rachel to stay away from Nathan and Haley, Rachel uses the pregnancy as a way to insult Brooke. So much for them being friends much longer. And how convenient this fight was so close to Mouth’s sleeping spot on the bench. I’m willing to bet he heard it all and is going to talk to someone about it – either Brooke, Lucas, or talking to a third party.

Haley’s insecurities are gigantic. She tells Nathan she wants to be included in what is going on – even if it means he likes Rachel. That’s when Nathan finally opens up and tells Haley he thinks Keith saved him in the river.

Overall it was an okay episode but One Tree Hill just isn’t what it was the first season. I still care about a few of the characters. Mostly I find myself watching it for the sole purpose of seeing what over the top element they’ll introduce next. Instead of being a fun teen drama, One Tree Hill is becoming a cheesy teen soap opera – you know with the dead people that don’t go away and the girls vying for men they can’t have or introducing random family members no one ever knew about.

One Tree Hill’s “Good News For People Who Love Bad News” episode featured music from The Wreckers, Placebo, and Mat Kearney.

Lost - The Glass Ballerina

You taste like fish biscuits.
Lost continues the third season with a Sun and Jin centric episode. As if often the case with their back-stories, the focus was on their relationship and its troubles. It cuts nicely with Sun, Jin, and Sayid on their journey around the island on Desmond’s boat. Jin insists they return but Sun and Sayid decide to deceive him to save Sawyer, Kate, and Jack.

I had so wanted Sun to not have slept with the bald man teaching her English – I wanted her to be better than that. Either way, the three on the boat find the dock and decide to go ashore. Yes, the dock says Pala Ferry, which is mentioned in the Pearl Orientation film. Anyway, Sun realizes Sayid knows they aren’t safe and is trying to lure The Others to them. Turns out Jin knows English better than everyone thinks and he is fully aware of all the deception and betrayal. Sun goes back on the boat for safe keeping while Jin and Sayid wait on the beach for their plan to come into play.

Ben is told the Iraqi has found the phony village and is sailing around the island on a boat. Finding the village isn’t his concern. Getting the boat seems to be of the utmost importance though – he tells them to gather a team and get the boat. However, his lack of knowledge about the sailboat suggests he doesn’t know as much about the island and he would have us believe. He obviously doesn’t know about Desmond, which begs an answer to if he knew about Kelvin and The Others relationship to Dharma at all.

If the Longfellow reference is lost on you, it seems one signal fire and The Others would attack by land, but with two it was by sea. So much for all of Sayid’s military training. However, The Others’ ability to sneak onto the boat without detection leaves open the possibility for them being the ones slinking in the jungle with the creepy teddy bear – not that I think there is only one group of “Others” on the island.

Left to her own defenses, Sun kicks ass and shoots the female Other after the woman said it would make The Others enemies. The gunfire clued in Jin and Sayid about how they were tricked. It was really a nice touch with Jin and Sun swimming towards each other; even deception and betrayal isn’t stopping the two of them from truly loving one another.

Sawyer and Kate are taken out of their bear cages and led – at gunpoint – to a gardenlike worksite where they are forced to clear rocks from the ground. They aren’t allowed to do anything without the threat of being shocked. The rock thing reminded me of Bent or The Talisman, but unlike either of those I think they are actually clearing rocks for a reason. While they are working, Kate is signaled to the bushes by Alex and asked about Karl’s location (remember Karl from the cage across from Sawyer in the premiere?). Classic Sawyer for pouring out the canteen and kissing Kate. But can she get any more useless, I mean how many times is someone going to have to go to her rescue in some way?

Too bad there are surveillance cameras watching as Sawyer explains to Kate everything he learned from the tussle by the rocks. Ben is a smart cookie and it really isn’t hard to see how The Others keep outsmarting the Losties.

Jack is still held captive in the aquarium but Juliet seems to have better security with regards to opening his door. Ben visits Jack with an attempt –phony or genuine, I’m not sure—to introduce himself to gain trust. Benjamin Linus has supposedly lived on the island his entire life; his age would put him on the island before the Dharma project was underway, according to the Orientation films. I loved the shout out to the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series, but I sure hope they have the written consent of the Baseball Commissioner to show that footage! But knowing they choose to live there really makes me wonder about why Ben wanted the sailboat so badly.

Of The Others, I find myself really liking Juliet, though I suspect she might be the most “evil” of them. Ben just comes off as being too swarmy for me to be drawn to him or even want to believe a word he says. Plus, Juliet has been pretty good with the torturing Jack and anyone doing that gets major points in my book.

Sawyer and Sayid are by far my favorite characters on the show. I would absolutely love to be stranded on some remote island with the two of them – heck I would settle for either one of the men! This episode of Lost certainly had Sawyer’s wit and intelligence shine through, even if only in the way a con-artist would be able to excel. I’m really disappointed in Sayid and hope he makes up for his complete lack of skill in this episode. I want Sayid to kick some major Others ass!

Nip/Tuck - Faith Wolper, PhD

Nip/Tuck always proves to have interesting sub-plots. This week we see Christian fantasizing about being on a romantic weekend getaway with Sean, complete with tiny bathing suits and oiled up male volleyball players. While his dream is heavy on the gay factor, there is still no male-to-male kissing, which is interesting given how much sexual contact Nip/Tuck features between the opposite sexes. The possibility of loving Sean is obviously rooted deep within Christian and isn’t something he is comfortable with, at least not yet. Another interesting note is Christian seems really concerned about Sean and wants to save him – that’s quite a lot more emotion dedicated to a “love interest” than he normally shows.

Christian yelled to the entire operating room about his feelings for Michelle when her husband showed up. But instead of showing up with a loaded gun, he comes for help to remove a penis pump. Apparently it works with a nice, hopefully long-lasting erection he takes to Michelle’s office.

A compulsive sex addict turns up in Christian’s office, she just happens to be a therapist – Christian’s therapist. Turns out she has a tramp stamp declaring her “Property of Marco” in permanent ink she wants him to remove. During the procedure, Christian tells his therapist about his gay dream and makes sure to include there was a female in the dream. A woman Dr Wolper was hoping to be herself when she suggested Christian tell the fantasy woman about his feelings.

Instead, Christian calls it off with Michelle. Then her husband, Burt, calls both Michelle and Christian to his home where he gives them matching robes to wear the next time they have sex. Strangely enough, when Christian says their relationship is over Burt suggests they stay together and let him watch. More like he threatens them to do it due to the urging of a therapist. Yep, he happens to be in the grasp of a conniving therapist with her sights set on Christian – Dr. Wolper.

It seems Monica, the nanny Sean slept with, doesn’t plan on leaving Sean alone. I knew that’s how things would turn out, as it would be too easy for him to stop screwing her and she just disappear. Turns out the little nanny Marlow is sick so Monica is filling in for a week or two. But seriously, what sort of doctor doesn’t discourage a girl from piercing her own bellybutton? Then again what sort of woman sleeps with a married man then nurses his baby with her own breast milk?

Listen up, men. Let this psycho nanny-mistress be a huge warning to you if you are even considering cheating on your wife without her consent. Even if she meets a gruesome fate with a city bus.

Veronica Mars- My Big Fat Greek Rush Week

If you haven’t seen Veronica Mars, don’t think it is a modern Nancy Drew. Sure, both are teen girl detectives with a series of the same name. Veronica makes detective chicks more hip, more real, and a hell of a lot more entertaining than Nancy Drew could have imagined. Add the fact that Veronica Mars appeals to a smart audience requiring more than pretty pictures. However, unlike a more contemporary comparison to say, Buffy, Veronica is saving people from themselves. One mystery at a time. This year’s mystery is a rape.

Apparently when Veronica Mars snuck into Mac’s room last week, Parker wasn’t having a good time but was instead being raped. She’s the latest victim to wake up with a shaved head and no memories but knowing what happened. Sexual assault is one of those things I’d rather not be in forms of entertainment because usually it isn’t done tastefully. When someone is killed in a show, the audience knows it is fake and it is taken at face value. But when someone is raped, the damage goes far beyond the act into what can be one of the cruelest forms of emotional torture that it really isn’t entertaining. Ever. Add the stigma of blaming the victim for doing something wrong and you get a whole new dimension of why rape isn’t entertaining for me.

Keith Mars survived the mysterious shooting. Poor guy thought he was helping Kendall but all he did was lead her to harm’s way -- not to mention his own harm. When Keith leads the local police back to the scene of the crime, no evidence of Kendall is to be found – except some blood on a picture. A picture that will benefit a food bank.

Appropriately the relationship between guard and prisoner is the theme for a class both Logan and Wallace are taking – and the subject of a study in which both volunteer to participate (it is based on the Zimbardo Stanford Prison Experiment). According to the Resident Advisor the study is intense and life changing. Interestingly enough, Wallace and Logan are on opposite sides of the experiment. Guest star Rider Strong is taking his role as a guard seriously.

Logan comes up with some genius plan to help the prisoners out since the guards were relying on one guy to snap (Neal from Freaks and Geeks). Deception really is a recurring theme throughout Veronica Mars and it shows that it isn’t always a bad thing – sometimes it can save your skin. Unfortunately for the prisoners, Wallace also knows the value of false information. And yes, the professor is Homer Simpson, and yes you do hear someone say “d’oh!” during the experiment, glad you noticed it too.

Veronica has landed herself a new job – as a college paper’s photographer. Her first assignment, as luck would have it, has to do with Parker’s rape. Apparently the Theta Beta sorority might be involved. At least, a look behind the Greek curtain is her assignment but Veronica’s new boss knows how to pitch an assignment and Veronica Mars is on her way in a floral dress. So yeah Veronica Mars totally plays up the sorority stereotype – which is completely unrelated to my experience but who says Veronica Mars is based totally on reality? But Veronica does meet a girl that seems a bit more laid back.

Veronica gets invited to the special – read secret – party full of booze and boys. A sorority party also means Dick Casablancas is there “fulfilling [his] destiny” along with a few other folks from Veronica’s past. Veronica plays the drunken party girl until she gets asked to take a Safe Ride home. Her sober driver gives her a lecture about getting liquored up until she can’t say no and then crying about what happens. Who called the blame the victim card would be pulled – me! But the lecturing sober ride home leads Veronica Mars in a green direction.

Parker’s mom tries to pull her out of college but Mac tells her to stay. Overbearing parents aren’t ever fun to deal with so hopefully Parker will be saved from that horrible experience – or at least those hideous wigs. Figuring out who raped her will have to wait for the rest of the season to unfold.

So what do we know so far?

The Theta Beta’s could have easily had access to Parker’s room the night she was raped.

Parker took a Safe Ride home from the Resident Advisor, Moe, the night she was raped.

Other things to ponder:

Remember: Vomit is the new mace.

The writers of Veronica Mars have to be fans of Battlestar Galactica with all the use of “frack” in the show.

Superman is another fave with Dick mentioning kryptonite last week and Bizzaro World this week.

When will they ditch that stupid “Aerie” bit?

Why can’t Veronica Mars be on HBO where we could have seen a bit more of Logan’s streaking?

So far the only things really missing are a decent plot for Keith Mars and any plot for Weevil.

Gilmore Girls - Lorelai's First Cotillion

Oh good, Emily and Richard are back unlike last week. I have always loved the Friday night dinners the Gilmore family has. Even when the entire family is fighting, the dinner scenes are guaranteed to be entertaining. True to fashion, there is a shock tonight with a child answering the door and serving cocktails. But each surprise Emily Gilmore has up her sleeve isn’t without reason – this one just happens to be a cotillion. I sure hope the audience paid attention to the table manners lesson.

And what is with Lane not telling Zach she’s pregnant? The poor girl must be in shock. Zach has noticed Lane is avoiding him and is worried that it is over. When Lane does open up to Zach, he pretty much freaks out; nay he completely ignores the subject. Eventually Lane tells Zach she’s terrified about the major turn of events and finally he talks to her about the whole baby situation.

Paris is back in full Paris fashion, being the slave driver in her new SAT tutoring. But learning things between Rory and Logan aren’t perfect, she suggests phone sex or at least sending naughty text messages. All while she is sending Doyle naughty text messages. Rory caves in and sends a naughty text message, but not without doing research on the words of erotica first.

Michel insists Lorelai take him to her mother’s cotillion. The same night, Rory goes to dinner with her dad. Conveniently they arrive home at the same time and Christopher tells Lorelai he loves her. I’m sorry, but didn’t they try to do the Christopher and Lorelai thing a couple of seasons ago? So why oh why did she call him that night? It didn’t work when she got pregnant with Rory. It didn’t work when they tried it recently. So what sort of crazy plot suckers do the writers take the audience for being? Am I making my distaste for Christopher known?

Anyway, this week’s Gilmore Girls didn’t really have a lot happening. It came off more as a filler or an attempt to set things up for the rest of the season. Either way, Gilmore Girls was lacking. I hope it isn’t due to the new writers because last week’s episode was pretty good. Perhaps they have too many holes to write their way out of to expect each episode to be great. I just hope they don’t make this last year of Gilmore Girls a disappointment.