Epic Post

Apologies for my absence over these last few months! I know it was deeply upsetting to my readers--all 3 of you (Hi, Mom/Claire/Tina)--not to have me rambling about my television obsessions. Well, you asked for it - and now you're gonna get it! (Nobody "asked" for it in the literal, out-loud sense, but hypothetically speaking...whatever! You're gonna get it whether you want it or not!)

True Blood- Waiting for Season 3 has been very painful. To cope, I have rewatched Seasons 1 & 2 approximately 47 times. Also, I am still writing for TrueBloodNet.com, so I am not in complete withdrawal from the show. The actors returned to work last week, and news has been coming out about casting for new characters. I'm excited when I read these because it gives me things to speculate about instead of just freaking out over the unknown, like what the hell happened to Bill?!?!?!?!?!

Mad Men- Season 3 was outstanding, especially the second half. Normally MM is subtle, and viewers can glean from small moments of character interactions what the 1960s were like in terms of gender roles and social norms. Well, with "Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency" (S3, episode 6), a secretary ran over someone's foot with a John Deere lawnmower, and things never slowed down from there. Don had an affair with Sally's school teacher. Sal got fired. Joan smashed a vase over her jerk husband's head. Don secured an account with Conrad Hilton for his hotel chain. JFK was assassinated. Betty discovered Don's secret drawer, and all the lies upon which their marriage was based came crashing down. She ended up leaving him for a man she barely knew. As if that weren't enough, PPL, the British company that bought Sterling Cooper at the end of Season 2, was preparing to sell the agency to a rival ad firm. Rather than let that happen, Don joined together with Roger Sterling, Bert Cooper, and Lane Pryce to start their own firm. The finale was probably my favorite episode to date. Written and directed by executive producer Matthew Weiner (new television genius who joins the ranks of "People whose work I would watch no matter what"), "Shut the door. Have a seat" featured Don and his new partners trying to persuade certain employees to join them. Before any of this could happen, Don had to put aside his differences with Roger and admit that he needed Roger's people skills/client relationships or they would never have enough money to operate. From there, they got Pete Campbell through flattery--Head of Accounts. They got Harry Crane by saying 'join us or we'll lock you in the storage closet'--Head of Television Media. And they got Peggy Olson as their Copy Writer because Don was finally willing to tell her how much he valued her work and needed her help. "What if I say no? You'll never speak to me again." "No. I will spend the rest of my life trying to hire you." My favorite acquisition for Sterling, Cooper, Draper & Pryce--Joan as Office Manager. She's the one who will keep things running smoothly. She may be a glorified secretary, but it's a lovely truth to realize that without Joan, those guys would be completely lost. They set up shop in a hotel suite for the time being, and Season 4 will be about this new business. I am looking forward to Mad Men more than I ever have before.

Dexter- Season 4 has been pretty mediocre in my opinion. On the list of things that interest me: 1) John Lithgow as the Trinity Killer. He has repeated the same pattern of kills in cities across the US for 30 years. Each death represents a member of his family. So creepy, but so fascinating. 2) Seeing Dexter adjust to marriage and fatherhood has been interesting insofar as I was curious to see how he would indulge his "Dark Passenger" when he had a family to take care of. It hasn't presented any major obstacles. 3) I was glad to see Keith Carradine return as FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy, but he was killed when he got too close to discovering the true identity of Trinity. 4) Jennifer Carpenter's performance in the aftermath of Lundy's death was stellar. I have come to expect greatness from Michael C. Hall, and that greatness always overshadows the supporting cast. In the episode "Dirty Harry," I don't even remember what happened to Dexter, but Debra's emotional breakdown at losing the man she loved left a deep impression on me. Unfortunately, the list of things I care nothing about is much longer: 1) Angel's relationship with LaGuerta. 2) Anything having to do with Quinn. 3) Rita's flirtation with her neighbor. 4) Ghost Harry's useless advice. I really like James Remar, but his character has become superfluous. I understand that he is there to function as a sounding board for his son's killer thoughts, but he no longer brings about important character developments for Dexter like he used to. 5) Trinity's home life. I find it highly unbelievable that Arthur Miller would be able to keep up the elaborate act of being a deacon at his church, a volunteer house builder, and a devoted father and husband, when he is so crazy and has an explosive temper. I also find it highly unbelievable that there have never been any security cameras at his kill sights that would get him caught. Seriously, he beat one dude to death in an office, and another time he kidnapped a kid from an arcade. If that happened in real life, he would never make it as a serial killer eluding capture for decades. 6) The fact that Dexter killed his first truly innocent man. He broke The Code. He didn't check his facts enough, and it ended up costing a man his life. Perhaps I would feel more strongly about this if Dexter did, but it hasn't even phased him. So overall, not a great season for me. Although there was a big twist last week that shocked me, and I hope to see more surprises in the final two episodes.

Sons of Anarchy- I wrote about SOA in the newspaper article I posted on here a couple weeks ago, so I'm going to abstain from writing anything more right now. With Season 2, it became one of my favorite currently airing shows, and I fully believe it has the potential to become one of my favorites ever. For that reason, I am going to devote an entire post to it soon, in which I will talk about the implications of the finale and why this cast (especially Katey Sagal) is doing some of the best acting around.

How I Met Your Mother- Only halfway through the fifth season, and they have already ended the Barney-Robin relationship. If it never reemerges, that's going to be very disappointing. My favorite episodes this season have been "Duel Citizenship," (in which Barney spends the entire half-hour making fun of Canada, and Ted, Marshall, and Lily take a roadtrip that highlights the ways that friendships change when someone becomes super couple-y) and "Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap," (in which Marshall unites the group with the 4th slap of the infamous slap bet). I have high expectations for the latter half of Season 5 because of the special 100th episode (a musical edition!!! NPH + music = yay!), and because I am hoping that Ted makes some significant progress in finding the Mother, now that we know he is a professor at her school.

The Big Bang Theory- I went back and watched all the episodes of this show for a couple of reasons. Because I needed more comedy in my tv-watching schedule, and because I am unashamedly a huge geek. All the Battlestar Galactica and comic book references fill me with joy, as do the super-smart, socially awkward boys because they remind me of my own guy friends. I am basically obsessed with Sheldon, played by Jim Parsons. Now that Leonard and Penny are in a relationship, the story is kinda secondary, but that doesn't bother me in this show. The characters are well-developed, well-written, and make me laugh on a consistent basis.

Castle- Nathan Fillion is still being his charming self and making this show one of the highlights of my week. Season 2 has been just as fun as the first, and I was so pleased that ABC ordered the back 9 episodes, increasing it to a full season. The chemistry between Castle and Beckett remains as engaging as ever, and the father-daughter relationship between Castle and Alexis is so adorable and strong that I don't feel like I'm exaggerating to compare it to Veronica and Keith Mars (which, if you've seen VMars, you know is high praise).

Dollhouse- Like SOA, I can't do justice to DH in one paragraph. There are only 8 episodes left in Season 2, and then this little series about the Active that could will be gone forever. Joss Whedon has made it pretty clear that he's not leaving it open-ended for a movie or comic book continuation. So I am appreciating every moment that's left, and continuing to marvel at the spectacular abilities of the writers/directors/actors. More praise to come in an upcoming post.

The Office- Season 6 has been kinda hit-or-miss for me. Episodes like "The Lover" and "Murder" had me rolling on the ground in fits of laughter, while episodes like "Mafia" and "Scott's Tots" had me sitting on the couch feeling confused and uncomfortable. I like new receptionist Erin--I think her eagerness to please Michael is a funny contrast to the way we saw Pam act for 4 years, and I enjoy watching Andy try to ask her out. I like seeing Jim as co-manager with Michael because it wouldn't have made sense for him to go on avoiding work as a salesman and playing pranks on Dwight forever. He has a wife now, with a baby on the way, so his ambition and sense of responsibility has kicked in. He thought the job would be easy because he had seen a fool like Michael do it for so long, but it has presented more obstacles than he expected. For one, Dwight keeps trying to plot to remove him. Another problem is the impending financial collapse of Dunder-Mifflin. Nobody knows if or when they are going bankrupt, so a good solution is to play a murder mystery theatre game to keep everyone's mind off of it. Hilarious. For the rest of this season, I would like to see more of the supporting characters (especially Kelly, Angela, Oscar, Andy, Erin, Creed), AND PLEASE BRING BACK DARRYL (Craig Robinson).

Bones- Season 5 has focused on Booth readjusting to life after having surgery to remove his brain tumor. He's forgotten things about himself, like his garish socks and "cocky" belt buckle, and the fact that he hates clowns. He also lost skills he once had, like how to do his own plumbing and how to shoot a gun with accuracy. But more importantly, he has been affected by the memory of his coma dream. He emerged from it completely in love with Brennan. When Cam and Sweets found out, they told him: Don't tell her unless he's sure because she will never recover if he breaks her heart. The rotating interns continue to be a source of comedy sometimes and annoyance at other times. I only like Wendell, Mr. Nigel-Murray, and Fisher. I can't stand the rest. I don't want Angela to be with Wendell even though I think he's a sweetheart. She needs to get back with Hodgins yesterday. They belong together! The Christmas episode, "The Goop on the Girl," promises to be wonderful. It has a lot to live up to since the Season 3 mistletoe kiss, but with Zooey Deschanel guest-starring as Brennan's cousin, Ryan O'Neal guest-starring as Brennan's dad, and Booth stripping down to his boxers (his clothing is evidence, it has to be done!), I feel certain I will find plenty to enjoy.

Friday Night Lights- Season 4 is knocking it out of the park. Or, should I say, scoring touchdowns (Hehehe......puns used to be the highest form of humor). Coach Taylor and some former Dillon Panthers like Landry find themselves stuck at the rundown East Dillon High School after redistricting divided the town into, essentially, the haves and the have-nots. Tami has stayed on as the principal at West Dillon, but she is no better off than her husband. After she sent the Panther's star player, Luke, to East, Joe McCoy and the boosters were none to happy with her. Football fans are calling in to sports radio to complain about her. They see her as the enemy, and it's tough to see a character I love be so hurt by the hateful things being said about her. She was only doing her job. Meanwhile, Eric is trying to build a new football program with the Lions. They lack discipline and experience, and it will be a while before they win a game, but they have some true talent in RB Luke and another new character, Vince. Offensively, defensively, the boy can do it all. I thought it would be awhile before I felt loyalty to this new team, but it only took a few episodes for me to get the Lion pride. It helped that Panther QB J.D. McCoy has transformed into a total jackass. Life without Lyla and Tyra has been strange, but they aren't gone forever. Soon, we will be losing Matt Saracen, too, and his sendoff has been even more emotional than the touching goodbyes for Jason Streete and Smash Williams. Matt's father was killed in Iraq, and Zach Gilford gave a performance that has many critics calling for his Emmy nomination next year. It felt completely real to the experience of losing someone, and stayed true to his character.

Grey's Anatomy- This season has been hectic and overdramatic, but what else is new? I'm still really into the Owen-Cristina relationship, and I think that merging Seattle Grace with Mercy West Hospital has shaken things up in an interesting way. Sure, I dislike some of the new doctors, but the conflict created by the situation has felt organic. We knew in Season 5 that economic difficulties were plaguing Seattle Grace, so this solution that Chief Webber came up with to keep his job made a lot of sense. It also allowed Shonda Rhimes to deal with her actors' conflicts (Ellen Pompeo's maternity leave, Katherine Heigl's time off to work on a movie), by adding new characters without sacrificing screen time for the people we know. McDreamy hasn't had any major storylines this season, but at least Patrick Dempsey has remained a solid presence. Honestly, I don't really care what he does, as long as he's there for me to look at. He's pretty. My favorite characters have been the same for a couple of years now. Lexie, Mark, Owen, and Cristina. I just think that those actors--Chyler Leigh, Eric Dane, Kevin McKidd, and Sandra Oh--are giving really dynamic performances that keep me invested. It's by no means one of my favorite shows anymore like it was in Seasons 1 & 2, but I can't let it go yet. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters, which have become casualties of their own ridiculousness.

As for my new shows--V, The Good Wife, Modern Family, and FlashForward--(all of which I wrote about recently), they are going on the Christmas hiatus along with the rest of the television shows. The issue here is that the networks are scheduling their 2010 returns for strange times. I am referring to V and FlashForward, both of which ABC doesn't intend to bring back until March. That seems almost like a death sentence to me! How can they expect a new show to retain whatever audience it has managed to establish thus far in its first season, when they are not putting it on the air again for 3 or 4 months? I find it hard to imagine that either V or FlashForward will get renewed for a Season 2 with that poor placement. It would be a shame to lose both sci-fi newbies. Although, Glee is getting pushed off, too, with FOX keeping the second half of Season 1 until April, and I feel pretty confident that it will survive. I guess nobody knows at this point what will happen. At least Modern Family and The Good Wife appear to be performing well for ABC and CBS, respectively, and will be coming back with new episodes in January.

I AM SO EXCITED FOR MY MIDSEASON PREMIERES, LOST, CHUCK, CAPRICA, AND BURN NOTICE!!!<--See, I couldn't help myself but to write in all capital letters, so you know how excited I am! Chuck Season 3 begins on January 10th; Burn Notice Season 3, Part II, on January 21st; Caprica Season 1 on January 22nd; and LOST Season 6 on February 2nd. I predict awesomeness from each of them. Obviously, I haven't seen Caprica before (except for the pilot/movie), but with Jane Espenson writing it and a foundation in BSG lore, how can it go wrong?

I don't know why, and I'm certainly not complaining, but TNT will also have a few new episodes for their original series over the next couple of months. The Closer airs for 3 weeks, starting December 7th, during which time Beau Bridges and Mary McDonnell will be guest starring. I've got my fingers crossed for my prediction to come true, which is that Brenda and Fritz will adopt a child. I am always astounded by how patient and loving that man is--he so deserves to be a father! Leverage has several more Season 2 episodes to air, starting on January 13th. This show is another recent acquisition of mine, and one that I am drawn to because I like heist stories and playful banter. Timothy Hutton leads the cast as Nate, "The Mastermind" of the vigilante team, which also includes Parker ("The Thief"), Sophie ("The Grifter"), Hardison ("The Hacker"), and Eliot ("The Hitter"). They do con jobs to help people who can't help themselves. It's like Burn Notice combined with Ocean's 11. Lots of fun.

The Joy of the Season: How I Met Your Mother, Dexter, and other stuff

Happy Christmas Eve! I have been taking this time during the hiatus to: 1 watch a new show (and hopefully another guilt-free one before I return to school/have classes that give me work that I will probably not do anyways because I am always watching television), and 2- prepare for the inevitable emotional toll that Season 5 of LOST and Season 4.5 of Battlestar Galactica will take on me. Based on the way things were left in my other shows, here's what I'm anticipating the most:1) Pushing Daisies- There are only 3 episodes left, and rumor has it that they will all be aired back- to-back one night in January. And instead of the original cliffhanger ending for the final episode, Bryan Fuller did some reshoots and work in post-production to make a satisfying conclusion. Thanks, dude!

2) Friday Night Lights- NBC did not order more than 13 episodes for Season 3. This means there are 2 more to air on DirecTV in January, and then the entire season will be replayed on NBC. We are in the same position as we were last year- we really don't know whether NBC will pick it up for Season 4. DirecTV is happy with the way it performed for them this Fall, but who knows what NBC thinks about it. Their decision is supposed to be announced in mid-January. In the meantime, I am trying not to worry and enjoy the end to this wonderful season, in which the Dillon Panthers are heading to state, Billy Riggins and Mindy Collette are getting married, and the future of all the characters will be revealed (colleges, relationships, etc.). Texas forever.

3) The Office- When will Andy find out the truth that Phyllis revealed to the office at the Moroccan Christmas party? When will Jim and Pam finally get married? What will stand in Angela's way of getting an annulment from Dwight? These are the questions that I have. Mostly I'm just excited for the hour-long, post-Super Bowl, Jack Black-filled episode that promises to be an Office masterpiece.

4) Chuck- Fulcrum continues to hunt for the Intersect. They arranged an elaborate scheme in the Christmas episode to find out about Chuck. And he found out just how far Sarah would go to protect him. It obviously scared him, but I think it will be an important part of their future development. I am looking forward to the Ellie-Awesome wedding (which I am sure will bring the return of Bruce Boxleitnere and more Scarecrow and Mrs. King nostalgia for me), and to as much John Casey as I can get.

5) Desperate Housewives- Even though we are no longer wondering why Dave Williams is on Wisteria Lane (his wife and daughter were killed in the car accident that led to Mike and Susan's divorce), I can't wait to see how his plan unfolds. He is clearly intending to make Mike feel the same pain that he did, which puts Susan and M.J. in certain danger, but I am more interested in the implications this will have for Mike and Susan's future. Seeing them hold hands at the bowling alley, I couldn't help but realize that I still care about their crazy rollercoaster of a relationship over this show's 5 seasons. Bree and Edie are on the backburner right now. Lynette's got a pretty intense storyline at present, but it doesn't intrigue me in the slightest (I think it's the consequence of the ridiculous extremes to which her character has been taken. They've completely lost the nuanced mix of humor and tragedy that she had in Season 1, which is an unfortunate waste of Felicity Huffman's talents). Carlos' sight has been restored which promises to create a lot of interesting situations for him and Gaby.

6) Bones- The first half of Season 4 went out with a dud that didn't really leave one pondering and craving the show over the month-long break. I'm absolutely positive, however, that it will hit its stride soon. I read that the Gravedigger will resurface soon. And this is the preview for the next episode, airing January 15th: "The death of female conjoined twins who worked in the circus is investigated. The investigation leads Brennan and Booth to go undercover as a Canadian knife-throwing act, and also causes Booth to come face-to-face with a clown." That just makes me smile :)

7) Heroes- I'm kind of confused as to how I feel about Heroes right now. This ambiguity, of course, keeps me curious enough to tune in every week, but there are times when I feel like I might abandon it for good. Some episodes are really great ("The Butterfly Effect," "Dying of the Light") and I get excited and think the show is back to Season 1-caliber, and then something happens that just ruins everything (e.g. Nathan suddenly becoming a bad guy who has turned on Peter and Claire and everyone; Hiro losing his awesome control of space and time; Sylar displaying hidden layers to his character and then becoming completely 1-dimensional again and killing Kristen Bell!). Good news: I haven't given up yet, so I remain hopeful. Especially with the confirmation that Bryan Fuller will be moving from my darling Pushing Daisies back to the Heroes writing team. Character development, here we come!

Quick news:

-This Fall, I said farewell to Gossip Girl and Private Practice. Sure, I sometimes have pangs of missing Chuck Bass and Tim Daly. But I think, ultimately, I'm better off for keeping my standards high. This is not to say I think people who do watch those shows have low standards. That would be hypocritical of me, considering I did watch many episodes of both. I just can't be a good, critical tv-watcher when I watch shows like LOST right after I've finished an episode of Private Practice.

-I got behind on Life on Mars, but hearing that the show has continued to gather momentum is motivating me to catch up.

-Brothers & Sisters has sort of fallen to the wayside. I've watched a few episodes without being impressed by what has happened this season. This is not to say I have abandoned it completely- I will read recaps and watch those episodes that seem compelling. I will say this: Steven Weber came back for 1 episode and his chemistry with Rachel Griffiths could not be any hotter. The executive producers should seriously consider making him a recurring character again.

Dexter Season 3- Dexter's relationship with Miguel Prado came to a head when both men had exhausted every possible option to gain control over the other. Our serial killer champion had the benefit of experience after years of living by a code and always accomplishing his goals, in spite of Miguel's power in society as the Assistant District Attorney. In the second to last episode, Dexter understood that Miguel fit into Harry's Code because he had killed an innocent person and would probably do it again if he had the chance. So, he choked the life out of his former friend, whose dying words were: "This isn't over." The truth was that it basically was over. The final episode saw Deb finally receive her much-deserved Detective shield and the last-minute details of Dexter and Rita's wedding fall into place. The only lingering problem that Miguel posed for Dexter was when George King kidnapped him and tried to skin him for information about Freebo's whereabouts. That lasted about 4 minutes before Dexter escaped and broke King's neck. Then, the wedding, and happily ever after! Some people in the online community were disappointed by the normalcy of the finale, but I can appreciate some normalcy after the intensity of this season. Besides which, it was an unexpected way to end things, and to be surprised is what I always expect from this show (if that oxymoron makes sense). And Season 4 will be father time for Dex. Killing people + babies = only awesome on Dexter.

Lastly, a few words on my new acquisition: How I Met Your Mother. By some unique formula, this show manages to be a hilarious sitcom all about friends living in New York (not unique), in addition to a fun and mysterious puzzle that is slowly pieced together (very unique). A father in the year 2030 is telling his 2 kids all about what his life was like as he became the person who married their mother and had them. The main character is Ted, played by Josh Radnor, who I had never even heard of before. I truly do like him, but I must admit that my heart was stolen

by Alyson Hannigan's Lily, Jason Segel's Marshall, and especially Neil Patrick Harris' Barney. He has taught his friends so much about the importance of suiting up, the art of being a wingman, and how to make things legen...wait for it...dary!

My favorite episodes:

1) "Swarley"

Season 2, Episode 7- Barney gets a new name and the gang has lots of fun with it. "Hey, there's a call for Swarls Barkley."

2) "Slapsgiving"

Season 3, Episode 9- Slap #3, my personal favorite, because it is followed by a special song to commemorate the occasion.

3) "World's Greatest Couple"

Season 2, Episode 5- Barney lets Lily stay in his apartment and finds that a fake wife is good for getting rid of one-night stands. Marshall adjusts to single life in a couples-oriented world by going to brunch and the theatre with one of his guy friends.

4) "Slap Bet"

Season 2, Episode 9- We learn about Robin's secret past as a teenage Canadian popstar, and the slap bet begins.

5) "How I Met Everyone Else"

Season 3, Episode 5- Ted's crazy new girlfriend, and reminiscing about the first time they all met.

6) "Intervention"

Season 4, Episode 4- The group decides they should hold lots of interventions because they are so good at them- to get Lily to stop using a fake British accent, to get Ted to stop pronouncing words strangely, to get Barney to stop doing magic tricks, and then an intervention to stop doing interventions.

7) "The Bracket"

Season 3, Episode 14- A review of all the women Barney has slept with and who would have the greatest reason for hating him.

8) "Showdown"

Season 2, Episode 20- Barney goes on The Price Is Right because his mother told him when he was young that Bob Barker was his dad. Lily and Marshall try spending their nights apart before the wedding, but they end up sneaking to a hotel to spoon because they miss each other so much.

9) "The Return of the Shirt"

Season 1, Episode 4- Ted thinks he ought to try again with one of his old girlfriends, but he realizes she's not the One. So he breaks up with her on her birthday. For the second time. Barney gives Robin money to make a fool of herself on the air when she's reporting stories on the news.

10) "The Limo"

Season 1, Episode 11- Ted tries to plan the perfect New Years Eve. A line-up of 5 parties, and meeting not-Moby.

Scene from the end of "Slapsgiving"


Robin Sparkles' hit song

An Update on the Frenzy That Is November Sweeps

Happy Thanksgiving, all! As always, I am incredibly thankful for my television shows and how they continue to bring such great joy to my life. Everything has started to wind down as the end of November draws near. Sweeps have been going on for the past few weeks, which has meant more pivotal storylines, and now the shows are in the process of airing their last episodes until January- the month which will signal not only the return of all of these Fall shows, but also the premieres of Season 5 of LOST, Season 4.5 of Battlestar Galactica, Season 7 of 24 (I remain hopeful for the upcoming season, especially based on this exciting promo, but Jack Bauer could be decidedly less badass after the disaster that was Season 6), and Season 1 of Dollhouse.

Friday Night Lights concluded with Episode 8, "New York, New York," in which Riggins took Jason Street to New York so that he could try to find a job as a sports agent and reunite with his son and girlfriend. Knowing that his "6," his best friend in the world, was leaving Dillon for a new life brought tears to Tim's eyes, which brought tears to mine. Jason's last words to him: "Texas forever." The same words Tim said to him back in Season 1, Episode 1, back when all that mattered was football. Things have changed so much, bringing us to these young men- one of whom has become a fully functioning paralytic with a baby boy and woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with, and the other of whom who is in his first mature relationship with a girl he loves and has colleges trying to recruit him. I am very much looking forward to seeing what the future holds for the Panthers

when FNL comes back in January.

Also finished is Bones, which ended on a not-very-spectacular note, with the episode, "The Bone That Blew." Even though the murder case was unremarkable, it was nice to see Ryan O'Neal again, who Dr. Saroyan hired to be a

science teacher for kids at the Jeffersonian. Bones came up with many reasons why she wanted him to be fired (which Sweets tried to psycho-analyze, of course), but when it came down to it, she said he could stay because she could see how much it mattered to Booth that Parker have smart people around him who could inspire him to learn things.

Heroes has had a run of very good episodes. We've had glimpses into the past, especially the Petrelli family. Sylar has quickly become the coolest character. He and Elle make for a fun team to watch. Hiro and Ando are using the wisdom of comic books to help them on their quest. Peter and Nathan have gone off to find the Haitian, who might be the only person with the power to stop Arthur Petrelli from taking over the world with the power serum that he has acquired. Except the eclipse has taken everyone's powers away, which has had the greatest effect on Claire, who was shot by Elle and is feeling pain that she never thought she would have again. So you know HRG is out for revenge on Sylar and his electric lady friend.

Chuck has been causing me no small amount of anxiety over my favorite geek and the return of his former girlfriend, Jill (played by Jordana Brewster). How quickly he forgot about his love for Sarah! But, of course, Jill turned out to be evil, Chuck realized that his trust was misplaced, and now things are back to fake-relationship normal. Next week, we meet Captain Awesome's parents, and I recently discovered that his father is played by Bruce Boxleitner! Lee Stetson, formerly of Scarecrow and Mrs. King, my first tv love.

Desperate Housewives went with their token, seasonal disaster. A fire, oh no! The only thing valuable that we learned from that was that Dave Williams' plan involves Mike. Revenge about something related to his time in prison, perhaps. Susan is back with Jackson, which I'm really curious about because of the aforementioned Gale Harold accident. Katherine is sleeping with Mike, which I think is lame because, as Bree perfectly put it, women don't do that to each other. Gaby has been dealing with a rich old lady who wants to control the Solis family with her money. I saw a preview in which a doctor told Carlos that his sight may be restored and Gaby doesn't want him to open his eyes and see her diminished attractiveness, which I am very intrigued to see.

Dexter rocked my world with this past episode. I thought I had pegged Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits), and then I had the rug pulled out from under me. Dexter feels very betrayed, which cannot end well for the instigator of that betrayal... The wedding is fast approaching. Deb has been working tirelessly on the Skinner case was driven to solve it out of desperation when her new boyfriend, Anton, was taken and about to be killed. Do I see a shield coming her way? Harry has become incorporated into the story in a new way- Dexter no longer remembers the lessons of his father in flashback form, he envisions him in fantasy form as a sounding board for ideas in his head.

The Office. Pam is back so she and Jim can have happy in-love moments again. That's the only thing important to mention.

Grey's Anatomy has understandably been weirding people out with its Izzie-Denny love story. I am slightly ashamed to say that I have enjoyed it, but I admit that I'll take Jeffrey Dean Morgan in whatever way I can get him. There was some drama with the interns performing surgeries on each other to learn the procedures. Cristina and Dr. Hunt are slowly but sweetly being drawn together.

And, finally, I'd like to take this opportunity to honor Pushing Daisies, which is definitely at an end. Such a beautiful, heartfelt little show that presented love in a unique way that will never be replicated. I will miss the Private Investigator and Digby and adorable Olive Snook, but most of all I will miss the Piemaker and the way he loved the girl named Chuck. I hear the 13th and final episode concludes with frustrating ambiguity, but thanks to showrunner Bryan Fuller, we have the reassurance of satisfaction with a possible comic book series and feature film.

I'm not quite sure what my next tv plans are. Obviously I'll watch the last episodes of everything before the December break kicks in fully. I'm sure I will watch 1 or 2 new shows. Most likely The Wire and something else. My sister is pushing me to watch True Blood, but I don't know if I can resist comparing it to my already beloved vampire show. We'll see. 'Tis the season, for enjoying new television shows and all sorts of wonderful things.

The ULTIMATE Post, Part 1

Hello, wonderful readers! It has been exactly 1 week since I returned from my European adventure. I feel well-rested after 3 months of exhaustion (totally worth it, though). In addition to lots of sleep, I have been steadily making my way through all the television that I missed while I was gone. I finished with all my shows a couple days ago and have since turned my attention to the new Fall shows that I have heard good things about. Almost done with those, so that post will come soon. By the time Sunday night rolls around, I will be just like every other tv-viewer again: watching shows one episode at a time and having to wait an entire week before the stories continue. To tell you the truth, I'm looking forward to it. It gives structure and normality to my life to be back on my tv schedule. I'm not even kidding, most of the time when I was traveling in Europe, I didn't even know what day it was.So here begins my quick (but remarkably thorough and poignant, of course!) recap of everything that went down over the past 3 months.

The Closer- This show has really started gaining in popularity and critical acclaim. It is for this reason, I'm sure, that the network ordered a bigger season and decided to split it into 2 halves of 10 episodes each. What they had been doing since Season 2 was showing 13 episodes in the Summer and then a 2-hour special finale in December. I loved this setup and thought it

worked really well. This new arrangement, though, means that we get more episodes, which can only be a good thing. So the first part of Season 4 aired from July to September. I would say that my favorite episodes were:

1) "Time Bomb," episode 10- They seriously stepped it up for the mid-season finale. The body of a teenager is found, which leads to the uncovering of a terrorist plot involving the dead boy and one of his friends at school. Brenda seems to have figured out everything, but as she is tying up a loose end, she realizes that a third boy was involved and that he was about to launch an attack on the mall. Her team goes into action to stop him, and Sanchez is shot while acting as a human shield for Lt. Provenza.

2) "Dial M for Provenza," episode 5- Lt. Provenza goes undercover and is hired by a woman (played by Jennifer Coolidge) to kill her husband. The evidence gets stolen, and hilarity ensues.

3) "Sudden Death," episode 7- Heartbreaking. Sanchez's younger brother is killed, so it becomes a very personal case that Brenda and the squad are determined to solve.

4) "Controlled Burn," episode 1- For the reasons that I mentioned in my previous post, mainly Jason O'Mara's return as Billy Kroelig.

5) "Split Ends," episode 8- The death of a hairdresser in Hollywood. I liked this one a lot because Brenda's parents were visiting, pressing Brenda and Fritz to set a date for the wedding and start having kids.

Mad Men- Season 2 presented interesting journeys for all the characters, and slowly but surely, the past was unraveled. We got to learned what Peggy went through in the hospital after she had her baby. We met another person connected to Don's former life as Dick Whitman. We saw some of what Betty's family life had been when she had to return home to see her father after he had a stroke. Pete's humanity was developed more, through his interactions with his wife, Trudy, and their attempts to get pregnant, as well as through his father's death in a plane crash (on an airline that Sterling Cooper represented). My favorite episodes:

1) "The Mountain King," episode 12- Don is AWOL from Sterling Cooper after his business trip to California. He stays there for a few weeks with an old friend, Anna Draper (the wife of the real Don Draper), remembering all the things he missed from his life and trying to decide what is most important when he returns to New York.

2) "Meditations in an Emergency," episode 13- Betty finds out that she's pregnant. Don finally comes home. Peggy tells Pete that he got her pregnant and that she gave the child up for adoption. The future of Sterling Cooper and its employees is uncertain after a merger.

3) "Six Month Leave," episode 9- Everyone is dealing with the news that Marilyn Monroe committed suicide. We see once again what kindred spirits Don and Peggy are.

-I thought this season was great, but I didn't love the first half of the season because Don's affair with Bobbie was very jarring for me. Don Draper is a fascinating man, but I like him the most when he's being honorable- which, to me, always seems to be when he's with his family- or when he's being brilliant- which happens when he's working on an ad campaign. I do not like him when he is having affairs.

Desperate Housewives-

The 5-year leap forward has created an abundance of material for them to address this year in Season 5, some of it good and some of it bad. I don't enjoy this season as much as I did Season 4, and certainly not as much as Season 1 (still one of the best stand-alone seasons of television that I've ever had the pleasure of watching). Nevertheless, I am invested enough in these characters' lives to continue watching, and I have found some of it to be very interesting. These are the current stories of each housewife:Susan- She and Mike are recently divorced. They broke up because, one night as they were driving to dinner for their anniversary, they got into a collision that killed the woman and child in the other car. Susan's guilt caused her and Mike to fight until they just couldn't be together anymore. Upset over the failure of her marriage to the man who was undoubtedly the love of her life, she began sleeping with the guy who was painting her house, Jackson (played by Gale Harold). At first, they both just wanted a physical relationship, but his feelings for her began to grow. When he broached the subject of his moving in, she refused. He realized that even though he loved her, she never wanted to be with him long-term, so he left. (This may or may not be the last we will see of Jackson, but it is for the time being because the actor was recently in a motorcycle accident and suffered severe injuries.) Meanwhile, Mike is still in the picture for M.J., his and Susan's adorable 5-year old son. In the last episode we saw, he began renting Mary Alice Young's old house right across the street from Susan so that he could be closer to his kid.

Bree- This woman has been through more than any of her friends, from Rex's death, to her alcoholism, to the terrible things her children have done. In flashbacks, we have seen that Orson went to prison for 3 years so Bree would forgive him for what he did to Mike. While he was gone, Danielle returned. She had gotten her life together and married a lawyer, and she took Benjamin away. Things really couldn't get worse for her. So, for some balance in Bree's life, Marc Cherry has improved her situation substantially. She runs a successful catering business with Katherine. She just released a cook book. Her son, Andrew, is working as her manager. Orson served his time in jail and has returned home. On the surface, everything seems to be great, but, up-close, her seemingly perfect life has many problems (Isn't that what this show is about, after all?). Her success has made her friends jealous. Katherine, in particular, resents her because they were supposed to be partners but Bree has gotten all the credit. Orson is mad that she didn't fight harder to keep Benjamin.

Lynette- Zzzzz. Oh, I'm sorry, what was I saying? Perhaps how bored I have been with

Lynette's story this season? Honestly, I don't understand how they could let Felicity Huffman go from having the best and most complicated arc in Season 1 that let her explore all the nuances of a "desperate housewife," to this snooze fest. Lynette's experiences in seasons 2-4 were intensely dramatic, bordering on ridiculous. Tom discovered that he had a daughter named Kayla from a one-night stand before they met. Kayla's mom died in a hostage situation at the local supermarket, during which Lynette was also shot, so Kayla had to come live with them. Kayla turned out to be a demon child that hated Lynette and pretended that she had been abused so that Lynette would get taken away. Tom decided to leave the advertising business and open a pizza parlor. Lynette quit her job, too, so she could help him run it. They hired a cook for the restaurant, and Lynette sort of fell in love with him. Lynette got cancer. A tornado demolished her house. It's just too much! But the alternative has been to make her story irrelevant. Oh no, her teenage sons get wild sometimes. Oh no, her husband is going through a mid-life crisis. Blah.

Gaby- And the winner of the "Housewife with the story I am not annoyed or bored with" award is...Gabrielle Solis! What a fantastic idea to take the stunningly beautiful woman who was all about the material things in life and to turn her into a mother, now too tired to worry about her appearance. We have gotten to see a whole new side of her, as she takes care of her 2 daughters and Carlos with more love than we knew she possessed. She hasn't completely changed, though. Upset that she was losing her social status, she and Carlos crashed a party at the country club. Bringing her blind husband in through the service entrance because she hadn't told him that they were not really invited, she wanted enough people to see her there so that they thought she was still somebody, but she stayed too long and Carlos was thrown out by security. We saw last week that Gaby's period was late. She was getting angry, and her daughter Juanita asked her why: "Mommy has a friend who visits her every month, and she's late. And that's bad because she's the one who assures me that you won't get a baby brother or sister. Mommy really misses her friend, and Mommy's going to be sad if she doesn't show up soon. Now go downstairs and play, Mommy has some praying to do." At the end of the episode, Carlos told her that he was hoping they would have a baby boy. After seeing how much Gaby has grown as a person, I hope that happens, too.

-Unfortunately, Nicollette Sheridan and Dana Delany have been vastly underused this season. Edie returned to Wisteria Lane after her expulsion 5 years ago because her new husband insisted that she mend her relationships with her former friends- and bringing her back seemed to be just an excuse to introduce him. This husband, Dave Williams (played by Neal McDonough), is our obligatory dose of creepy this season. All we know about him is that he recently got out of a mental institution because he has rage issues. He puts on the air of a very calm guy who wants to assist everyone on the road to self-improvement, but he has released his irrational anger a couple times. We don't know why he wants so badly to be on Wisteria Lane, but he has a plan that somehow involves being in a band with Tom and Mike. Katherine has not had anything to do this season except to resent Bree. It's so tragic- I want more Dana Delany!

Brothers & Sisters- I am sad to say that I have not been drawn in by Season 3. It's the kind of thing where I will watch it if I have time, but if I miss it, I probably will just read the recap the next day. Kitty and Robert are in the process of adopting a child. Justin and Rebecca are in the early stages of their relationship. Kevin has quit his job at his law firm because he wanted to make partner but his bosses were having issues

with the fact that he's gay. Sarah quit Ojai and is now adjusting to being a stay-at-home mom. Saul quit, too. The entire Walker family is curious about Ryan, but we haven't met him yet. (They're saving him for November sweeps, of course.) Whatever...

Dexter- The best aspect of this show is still (and will forever be) Michael C. Hall. Nobody except Dexter has anything particularly interesting

going on. Deb still wants to get her Detective badge. Some cop girl keeps trying to get her to spy on one of her fellow officers. She keeps denying that she will ever be a rat. Angel made Sergeant. Masuka wants more respect. Nothing of consequence for any of them, really. Dexter, on the other hand, is dealing with something huge- he's going to be a father. This took a long time for him to come to terms with. How could a man with no emotions help raise a child and teach him/her anything about life in this world? But he's sticking by Rita and preparing himself for the responsibility because, in spite of his sociopathic nature, he knows that he is not completely bad man. He would do anything for Rita and Cody and Astor and his future son or daughter. He even proposed to Rita and is getting ready to join his new family in a new house, knowing that he will have to sacrifice the freedom and independence he has always possessed. On the "Dark Passenger" side of things, Dexter accidentally killed a man in the premiere who got in the way of getting his intended victim. This man turned out to be Oscar Prado, the younger brother of Sheriff Ramon Prado and Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado. Miguel (played by Jimmy Smits) has remarkably become the closest thing Dexter has ever had to a best friend. The crazy thing is that he understands who Dexter is- he does not know that Dexter killed his brother, but he knows that he brings bad people to justice- and believes that he is doing good. I wish that there were more interesting storylines for the supporting characters, but I guess you can't ask for everything.

Chuck- I am absolutely loving Season 2 of Chuck.

It is my probably my favorite show at the moment because, somehow, they have gotten me to the point where I am in love with every single character and care so much about what they are going through. All the episodes have been as enjoyable as the last, not to mention an impressive list of guest stars, from Nicole Ritchie and Ben Savage in "Chuck vs. the Cougars," to Michael Clarke Duncan in "Chuck vs. the First Date" and Michael Strahan of the NY Giants in "Chuck vs. the Break-Up." I don't know how long he will be staying for, but Tony Hale (Buster from Arrested Development) was introduced last week as the new Assistant Manager at the Buy More. He is hi-larious. If I had to pick, I would say my favorite episode thus far has been "Chuck vs. the Seduction," in which Melinda Clarke from The O.C. played a

woman called "The Black Widow," whom Chuck was supposed to seduce. A suave, older gentleman agent came in to help Chuck on his romance tactics. Everything this season has been building towards a way to get the Intersect out of Chuck's head, even though we know that once that happens, Casey has been assigned to kill Chuck because he knows too much of the government's secrets.

(In other Josh Schwartz news, I have abandoned his other show, the ever-trendy Gossip Girl. I just can't take anymore of the ludicrous web of relationships and teen angst and the struggles of that unfortunate life on the glamorous Upper East Side. I do miss Chuck Bass, though, so I read the weekly recaps to see how much tension there can be between him and Blair.)

Heroes- Welcome back to the show I became addicted to in its spectacular first season! Everything has been turned upside down: there is a formula for a drug that gives abilities to non-heroes. Mohinder has taken it and is now quite powerful, and evil. Mr. Petrelli was revealed to be the top villain- he steals people's powers. For Adam Monroe, this meant that he disintegrated from his supernaturally long life (Farewell, David Anders! It was nice while we had you!). Peter Petrelli is now powerless. Sylar appears to have had a change of heart after discovering that he is actually a Petrelli. With this newfound family, he has started trying suppress his hunger for understanding and power and has (almost) stopped killing. He has been working for the Company as HRG's partner, hunting down people with dangerous abilities. As much as I love HRG, he keeps trying to kill Sylar, refusing to trust that he, or anyone else, might have changed. This has begun to make Claire doubt her father (I have disagreed with some of his decisions, as well, but he reminds me too much of Spy Daddy to make me question his motives- those kinds of dads always want to protect their daughters first and foremost). As for Sylar, I would say that I think this change of heart is all an act to acquire even more powers, but Peter went to the future and Sylar was a sweet, loving father of a little boy. I don't know what's going on with Claire. In the future, she was a cold-hearted killer. Her disillusionment is happening gradually. Ali Larter has lived on, but not as Niki- she is her sister (separated at birth) and has the ability to freeze things. Nathan survived being shot (by Future Peter, as it turned out) and believes that he was saved by God. He is now serving the people as the Junior Senator from New York. Matt Parkman, usually a moral compass, is now a bit of a wuss. He went on a spirit walk in Africa and saw his future in which he was the father of a baby girl and was married to the speedster, Daphne. In the present day, though, she is a

villain working for Mr. Petrelli, and Parkman wants so badly to get to that happy future that he is allowing her to trick him into thinking she has changed her ways. Wake up, Parkman! With everything that's gone on, it's hard to distinguish between who is good and who is bad, a line that Heroes has always blurred, especially in this, its Villains chapter. The only person I have faith in is Hiro, who is still trying to pursue his destiny as a hero who saves the world.

-The coolest thing about this season: we finally learned Mrs. Petrelli's power! She dreams the future. That is awesome.

Coming soon: my take on Samantha Who?, Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, Friday Night Lights, The Office, and Grey's Anatomy

Mad Men + Dexter

It took me until about the fifth episode of Season 1 to get into Mad Men. This is kind of how my thought process worked: This is Don Draper. He is handsome. I like these clothes. I wish men still wore fedoras and three-piece suits. Wow, everyone sure smokes a lot. I'm nearing the end of the first episode and I still feel like I know absolutely nothing about Don. Oh wait. He's married. Dammit. I hate affairs. Okay, everyone's still just doing their job, smoking, and having affairs. Pete Campbell is a jackass. So is Roger Sterling. Hmm, somebody just called Don the wrong name on the train. That's interesting. I've already forgotten about it. What's the point of this show again?

And then, a man enters who turns out to be Don's long lost brother. And we find out that Don Draper is really Dick Whitman who supposedly died in the Korean War. And Don doesn't want to talk to his brother about the past because he has a new life now. And then Don is at home and he puts something into his briefcase and he's going to visit his brother at his hotel late at night. I'm wondering if Don is going to pull out a gun and shoot his brother. But instead Don gives his brother $5000 in cash to disappear and never contact him again.

And now I'm intrigued.

For the rest of the season, I'm trying to figure out who the hell is this guy? "Don Draper." The man with fewer emotions than a tree. My favorite scenes, inevitably, were the flashbacks- the windows into Don's past as a child on a farm during the Depression and as a soldier who switches dog tags with his burned-beyond-recognition lieutenant, Don Draper, in order to fulfill his service requirement early (or maybe it was just to get away from where he had come from?)- because then I got to see a little bit about what was going on inside the head of this mysterious man.
(**spoilers ahead**)
Mad Men gives you a glimpse into another culture, presenting both the good and the bad. Sure, they say "swell" a lot. But they say other stuff, too... Horrible, objectifying things about women, who get treated no better than dogs. I'm telling you right now: if a man ever tried to tackle me because a bunch of guys were playing a game where they guessed what color underwear I had on, he would be coughing up blood for a week. The only woman able to break out of the typical-female mold is now-Junior Copy Writer, Peggy. Speaking of whom, congrats to creator Matthew Weiner for the curve ball in the finale. I had imagined the possibility of her getting pregnant by Pete, but I, like everyone else in the office, thought she was just gaining weight. She freakin' went to the doctor and popped out a baby, like, a second after she found out she was pregnant! Awesome. Also great about the finale: Betty Draper. That woman can be so annoying. Don is completely right when he says that sometimes it's like living with a little girl. She seems so petty about so many things, especially about the divorced woman down the street. I swear, when she told her friend that she didn't like her family portrait photos because "Sally looks fat" (Sally being her daughter, who can't be older than 8), I could have reached right into the show and punched her in the face. In the finale, however, a sequence of events happened that left me absolutely reeling. Her friend, Francine, comes over in hysterics because she discovered that her husband was cheating on her based on telephone records. Betty talks to Don about it and asks how a person could do something like that to the person they claim to love. Betty looks at their phone records and calls a number. Her psychiatrist, Dr. Wayne, picks up. She knows that Don talks to Dr. Wayne about her sessions. In her next appointment, she moves beyond the petty stuff and starts talking about Don's infidelity and how she feels sorry for him because "he doesn't know what family means." Sadly for Don, I think he begins to understand when he presents his idea to Kodak about the Carousel, looking at pictures of his kids and his wife and talking about home being the place where you know you are loved. He goes home to an empty house. End of Season 1.

On an almost completely unrelated topic: Dexter. (The small connection being that Mad Men and Dexter are both superb dramas.) Until recently, I have had no one to talk to about this show. I watched it because I try to make a point of watching as much great television as I possibly can, but when you're the only person you know who watches it, it's harder to get emotional about the characters and the story. When I have really intense reactions at something hilarious in The Office or something awesome in LOST, the first thing I want to do is talk to my respective Office/LOST buddies to see what they think. Otherwise, I end up having a whole lot feelings that I keep to myself. Now, however, after 2 seasons of Dexter, during which I tried explaining to a few people how incredible it is ("You see, it's about a serial killer who only kills bad people! Get it?! It's, like, the coolest justice system ever!!" "But doesn't that make him a bad guy too?" "NO!! It's stretching the traditional moral code! It's complicated and wonderful!"), I finally have a Dexter-buddy! Watching Season 3 is going to be infinitely more exciting because now, when Dexter does something badass, I can text my friend, "That was so badass!" instead of silence.

Ever since I got into learning about the Mafia, by which I mean watching The Sopranos, Martin Scorsese movies, and The Godfather, I have been fascinated by the anti-hero. I'm sure I was fascinated before I started loving everything about mob culture, but gangsters are the epitome of the anti-hero. You have to wrestle with the fact that you are rooting for Tony Soprano to be successful and realize at the same time that he can garrote a man to death with no remorse. In a similar way, Dexter Morgan murders people. These murders are premeditated, calculated, and he enjoys them. And they all deserve it. And he works for the police department as a blood analyst. Season 1 revolves around a series of murders by someone called the Ice-Truck Killer. He leaves his bodies in pieces with their blood drained. Dexter respects his style. (Dexter's style is to sedate his victims, bind them to a table with plastic wrap, they wake up with him standing over them, he makes an incision on their cheek and puts a few drops of their blood onto a glass slide, then he chops their bodies up, and dumps the garbage bags in the middle of the bay. His collection of glass slides = trophies.) About halfway through the season, we get to see who the Ice-Truck Killer is. Not until the finale is his true identity revealed: Dexter's brother. Dexter kills him and comes back in Season 2 with all sorts of emotional problems. Well... to the extent that Dexter can feel emotion. He has killed the only person who would ever accept him for who he truly was. It creates a sort of mental block for him, making killing difficult for a little while. Plus, all the garbage bags with his past victims are discovered in the ocean, making things very interesting.

Up to this point, I have managed not to mention a single supporting character. This is not to say they are not good. Dexter's sister, Deb, is a police officer, as well. She is in the unfortunate position of having been the girlfriend of the man who turned out to be the Ice-Truck Killer. And he tried to kill her, too... As you can imagine, this makes her a bit unstable in Season 2. Dexter's girlfriend, Rita, was totally awesome. She had 2 adorable kids. Dexter really liked her because she was "damaged, too," as he would say. He kinda ruined things with her because he cheated on her with Lila, or as I like to call her: "The Worst Human Being on the Planet." Literally. As in, she tried to burn children. Sgt. Doakes is the hardcore police officer who knows that there is something not right with Dexter. In Season 2, he starts following Dexter around because he wants to catch him "in the act." Unfortunately, Doakes is no longer with us, thanks to the worst human being on the planet. While I think that each of these characters adds something important to the show, Michael C. Hall is Dexter.