Summer Endings, New Beginnings

I feel guilty for ignoring my blog for the entire month of July. I just haven't made time for it. I've been sleeping/working/traveling/actually watching television, but not writing. I will be back in full force, though, because a lot of my shows are about to kick off their new seasons. I've already made a calendar of premiere dates! (Really. I do that kind of thing.)

When I'm at school, I watch most of my tv alone. I hope that doesn't sound like a pity party because it's not! I like having that time to myself. I've always got a few projects going with some of my friends, as well as weekly tv dates to watch Chuck or The Office or whatever. But I spend more time watching by myself, whether it be old favorite episodes or new stuff for my own television education (Learning is a lifelong process. I wonder if I will ever make it through my "Shows to Watch" list...?)

This summer, however, I have been less self-indulgent. I'm still not finished with Six Feet Under because I wasn't willing to watch even an episode every day. Almost all of what I've watched has been time spent with my family and friends.

So that's it for the explanation part of this post. Here's what I've been watching. But first! My Emmy dream ballot, as previously promised. I didn't choose 6 for each category because I know there are deserving shows out there that I have yet to see (Breaking Bad, In Treatment, etc.), so I leave slots open for them. A star indicates a place where the dream was a reality on the nominations list.

BEST DRAMA SERIES

Battlestar Galactica

*Lost

*Mad Men

True Blood

*Dexter

BEST COMEDY SERIES

*The Office

*How I Met Your Mother

Chuck

*Flight of the Conchords

The Big Bang Theory

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA

Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights

Jeffrey Donovan, Burn Notice

*Michael C. Hall, Dexter

Edward James Olmos, Battlestar Galactica

*Jon Hamm, Mad Men

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

Mary McDonnell, Battlestar Galactica

Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights

*Elizabeth Moss, Mad Men

Anna Paquin, True Blood

*Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY

*Steve Carell, The Office

Zachary Levi, Chuck

*Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies

Ken Marino, Party Down

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Anna Friel, Pushing Daisies

Yvonne Strahovski, Chuck

*Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA

*Michael Emerson, Lost

Josh Holloway, Lost

*John Slattery, Mad Men

Michael Hogan, Battlestar Galactica

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

Elizabeth Mitchell, Lost

Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

Katee Sackhoff, Battlestar Galactica

Katherine Heigl, Grey's Anatomy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY

*Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother

*Rainn Wilson, The Office

John Krasinski, The Office

Chi McBride, Pushing Daisies

Adam Baldwin, Chuck

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Jenna Fischer, The Office

Cobie Smulders, How I Met Your Mother

Jane Lynch, Party Down

*Kristen Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies

A few notes:

-It is truly pathetic that the Academy cannot bring itself to nominate genre shows like Battlestar Galactica. They are closing themselves off to some of the greatest work in television.

-I will probably end up watching the awards ceremony, if only to see Neil Patrick Harris as the host. With Jeremy Piven out of the running, I feel pretty confident that he will finally win for his portrayal of Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother. Also, I like Michael Emerson's chances. Ben is a badass.

-As long as Two and a Half Men is still getting nominated for anything, the Emmys lacks all credibility as a serious merit system.

-I realize that 30 Rock is better than I give it credit for- and I hope that one day I change my mind- but I just don't like it. So that's why I don't include it.

-The most criminal omissions on this list- Mary McDonnell as Laura Roslin. Connie Britton as Tami Taylor. Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet Burke. Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse. Where is the love for these stunning actresses?

So You Think You Can Dance- This was a special time for me, my mom, and my sister every week. We watched certain dances over and over ("Calle Ocho"! "Hush, Hush"! "Mad"!), voting hundreds of times for our favorites: Ade, Brandon, Janette, Jeanine, and Kayla. By the Top 8, we were all united behind one dancer- Jeanine. And she won!! Very fun and exciting. And now we don't have to wait until next summer to see more entertainment provided by those rockin' judges/choreographers/dancers/towering British hosts

named Cat Deeley. Season 6 premieres at the beginning of September. From what Adam Shankman has been tweeting about the auditions, it seems like we will be seeing insane amounts of talent.

Burn Notice- The first half of Season 3 concluded with an intense episode for Fiona. After fighting for several weeks with Michael over his dogged efforts to clear his burn notice and get back into the intelligence community, Fiona decided that she couldn't stay in Miami anymore. But an enemy from her past in Ireland came to hunt her down. Michael realized what was most important to him when Fiona's life was in danger. There were many touching moments between the two of them, without them explicitly stating their feelings (which would, of course, change the very nature of their relationship). So this does not imply that Michael is no longer trying to be a spy, but I think he will not be willing to do so "whatever the cost," as his attitude has been up to this point. This season has contained some of the best episodes of the entire show, although I don't think it has overall been as good as Season 2 and the Management/Carla storyline. The Detective Paxson investigation into Michael's activities never posed an effective threat and, as a result, was not a real source of conflict for him. After that situation went away, the rest of the episodes contained only small elements of forward plot movement, with Michael trying to find contacts in the spy business who could help him get back in. The cliffhanger involved the death of his main contact, so that should provide some momentum when Season 3 resumes in January.

The Closer- Episodes so far have been consistent but not extraordinary. I'm not unhappy with them, I just haven't found any standouts. Brenda's grieving over her cat lasted too long. From there, things have shifted to a new houseguest for Brenda and Fritz: her teenage niece, Charlie, who had become too difficult for her parents and grandparents to deal with. Played by Kyra Sedgwick's own daughter, Sosie Bacon, Charlie is bringing out Brenda's maternal instincts. She needs to have a baby already!! Fritz would be such a good daddy. I'm looking forward to an episode that touches my heart. One always comes. Maybe it will be the one that brings back creepy lawyer rapist. I've never seen Brenda as terrified of someone as she is of him, even crazy woman burner, Billy Kroelig.

Nurse Jackie- With only 1 episode remaining in Season 1 (actually, 2 have yet to air, but for some reason, Showtime OnDemand puts up the next week's episode), I officially like this show. Moral ambiguity fascinates me (see: Dexter) because it explores people's complex motivations. Jackie Peyton is a nurse who cares for her patients. After all her years at that job, she still gets emotionally invested. She will do anything necessary to work the system to help her patients. At times, this means doing something illegal. Jackie is deeply concerned for her family. She is also deeply concerned for her boyfriend, Eddie. And for her drug habit. My absolute favorite aspect of this show, and what sets it apart from any other hospital show I have seen, is that it always manages to find the humor in a very serious world. Hospitals are centers of pain, tragedy, and misfortune. But these people do not allow themselves to be darkened by it. They work within it and maintain their optimism. Nurse Jackie is a drama. Yet, I am constantly laughing. Like when Dr. O'Hara steals Zoe's stethoscope and finds great amusement in watching the timid nursing student try to get it back. Like when Jackie's adorable daughter Fiona (played by Daisy Tahan) says ANYTHING. Like when the sweet and oblivious Zoe tries to hug Jackie. Like when bureaucratic administrator Ms. Akalitus grows attached to an abandoned baby and then pretends that the baby is dead when the irresponsible parents try to reclaim their child. Like when Peter Facinelli's Dr. Cooper acts like a little boy (which is all the time). Good show. I'm looking forward to seeing how they do a season finale next week.

True Blood- Saving the best for last! An awesome development: I have started writing for the True Blood fansite, www.truebloodnet.com, as a contributor of news articles related to the show and the people involved with it. The show itself is 8 episodes in to Season 2, and it just keeps getting crazier and better with each week. Sookie and Bill traveled to Dallas at Eric's behest to find out what happened to the Sheriff of Area 9, Godric.

There they met with the Dallas vampire-cowboys, who were convinced that the Fellowship of the Sun Church was responsible. Stan, the leader of the nest in Godric's absence, wanted to go into the church, guns a-blazin'. (Isabel: "Vampire-hating church annihilated. Wonder who did it? Brilliant.") Sookie offered to go to the FOTS posing as someone interested in joining their congregation. She would listen in on people's thoughts and discover the truth about Godric. Isabel knew how worried Bill was about Sookie's safety, so she sent her own human, Hugo, to accompany Sookie on her undercover mission. Problem was-

Steve Newlin knew exactly who Sookie was when she got there, so he locked her in the basement. And Bill sensed that she was in danger. But he couldn't get to her because stupid Eric summoned Bill's Maker, Lorena, to keep him occupied so that he could save Sookie himself. Just as she was about to be attacked by one of Newlin's goons, Godric stepped in to protect her. Then Eric came to Godric (his Maker, from the Viking period), who instructed him to get Sookie out. Newlin was arming his people for a war, which very nearly happened when Bill finally got away from Lorena and made it to the church, followed closely by Stan and the other Dallas vampires. But Godric kept the peace. They all returned to Godric's lair, where Lorena confronted Sookie (Cat fight! It made me very happy to see Sookie get so defensive about her man. Go Team Bill!), Jason apologized to Bill and Sookie for being such an idiot, and Luke from the FOTS brought in a bomb of silver chains and tiny wooden stakes...To be continued after the next episode.

Meanwhile, Jessica made a love connection ever with Hoyt Fortenberry. Too

cute for words!

Maryann has been exercising a powerful control over the citizens of Bon Temps. Wild parties that turn into drunken orgies with demonic black eyes and lots of violence. She is cra-azy. Tara and Eggs are unable to resist her influence, even though they both feel suspicious about the circumstances in which they find themselves. Wake up, morons!

Maryann has a strange fixation on Sam. Like, she wants to eat his heart. She used shapeshifter Daphne to seduce him and then killed her when she was unable to deliver her prey. Sam is definitely going to start fighting back soon! And so is Sookie, when she gets back from her trip and learns what has been going on in her town.

In other True Blood news, Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin are engaged! I am so excited and happy for them. Sookie and Bill 4-eva, no matter what Eric does! I'm not ready for them to break up on the show, even though I know that's where things are headed because stupid Charlaine Harris made Bill a stupid jerk in the books and made Sookie start jumping from man to man like a big stupid ho. I'm speaking out of anger... I love this show.

My television schedule for the fall:

SUNDAY- Desperate Housewives, Mad Men, Brothers & Sisters, Dexter

MONDAY- House, Heroes, How I Met Your Mother, Castle

TUESDAY- Sons of Anarchy

WEDNESDAY- So You Think You Can Dance

THURSDAY- Bones, The Office, Grey's Anatomy, So You Think You Can Dance results show

FRIDAY- Dollhouse

New shows I will be checking out:

Flash Forward on ABC, Community on NBC, Glee on Fox

Summer Musings

After moving into our new house, Charter decided to make my life wonderful by adding HBO, Showtime, and the other premium movie channels to our cable subscription. This has meant that: a) I can watch True Blood when it originally airs instead of on Surf the Channel a day later, and b) I have access to On-Demand. I have definitely been using this newfound power of mine. In the past week, I watched all the episodes of the new Edie Falco drama, Nurse Jackie; the entire first season of Dexter; and random episodes of Sex and the City, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Party Down. No commercials, just quality television at the press of a button. Magic.

This summer is project time for me.

1) Mom, Claire, and I are halfway through Season 2 of Bones. We girls love us some Seeley Booth.

2) Claire and I are a couple of episodes in to Season 2 of Dexter. She resisted it at first, but now she can't deny that she is intrigued by the show. This is only my second time to watch all the episodes, and I am constantly blown away by Michael C. Hall and how he makes Dexter grow from beginning of S1 to end of S3.

3) My friend Camille and I are working our way through LOST. We started at about episode 2.18 because she had watched those last year but never finished. I think it's a good idea for me to return to the earlier episodes because I see details that I haven't thought about in a while. It gives some perspective to the events of Seasons 4 and 5.

4) And for my own television project, I have started watching Six Feet Under with my friend Will. It is so good- hauntingly beautiful and morbidly funny. The characters are seriously messed up. Frances Conroy is possibly one of my top 5 favorite actresses now. And Alan Ball has definitely joined the pantheon of my television gods.

In addition, I've been keeping up with my regular summer programming, plus a couple extras.

The Closer- The first few episodes have been sad ones. Kitty died, and Brenda was very upset. It seems that marriage has awakened her more emotional side. Now, though, she needs to move past it and give Fritz something to do besides take the cat to the vet! Episode 3 gave Corey Reynolds time to shine when his character, Sgt. Gabriel, shot an unarmed kid while pursuing a murderer. As a result, he was being investigated by a police captain from another department, played by the magnificent Mary McDonnell. She and Brenda engaged in a tug-of-war cat fight for the entire episode that kept me on the edge of my seat. I hope to see more of McDonnell this season! What I need from this show now is a light-hearted episode that features more Lt. Provenza. I want to laugh.

Burn Notice- Michael Westen is no longer bound by chains to "The Management" that burned him, but that means he is also no longer protected by them. So this season began with Michael's arrest. He is being watched and scrutinized by an annoying and inconvenient detective played by Moon Bloodgood. Meanwhile, he is trying to get his spy life back because nothing is standing in his way. This causes some tension with Fi because she wants him to be content with the life they've made for themselves these past couple of years. The standout episode of the season so far was a Collateral-esque thriller that saw the return of clever arms dealer Brennen (played by Jay Karnes) who picked Michael up in a car and said, "Steal this stuff for me today or I will kill your brother, Nate." Michael always breaks out his smartest stuff when his friends and family are in danger, like the Cantenna that used a hanger, some metal washers, and a potato chip can to hack into the bluetooth of Brennen's cell phone.

So You Think You Can Dance- Such a fun show. I fell in love with it last summer, and I'm still enjoying it immensely this season. Granted, there is no "Joshua and Katee" couple that I was instantly attached to and voted for every week. But the format of this show is perfect. It's why I bend my no-reality-tv-shall-ever-pollute-my-brain rule. The choreographers, the dancers, the judges- they're all so entertaining. At this point, I'm rooting for Brandon/Janette and Ade/Melissa.

Nurse Jackie- I've only seen 4 episodes so far, which is too soon to make a solid judgment, but I will say that I instantly got a Mad Men vibe from this show, which bodes well for it. Just like Don Draper in the pilot episode when we got to see the enigmatic man spend a day at work, visit a woman in her NYC apartment, and then drive home to a wife and kids that we didn't see coming, Jackie did almost the exact same thing. She's a tough lady. Yet she has an addiction to pain killers. She is morally ambiguous. She turns a dead kid into an organ donor to save lives. She sleeps with her hospital boyfriend and

then goes home to her adorable daughters and loving husband. Hmmmm.... As for the supporting cast, they are funny and wonderful and pretty much unknowns to me, which I kinda like. The only one I'm familiar with is Peter Facinelli who plays Dr. Cooper. He's adorable.

True Blood- Ahhh, now on to my addiction. The season premiere, "Nothing but the Blood," jumped right back in where we left off. With a foot hanging out of Andy Bellefleur's car. We all feared it would be Lafayette. That's what happens in the book. But Alan Ball cast the entire season in surprise when the foot was revealed to belong to someone else (Miss Jeanette who performed Tara's exorcism). Lafayette is being held as a prisoner by Eric in the basement of Fangtasia because of what happened to Eddie. Bill and Sookie are adjusting to life with Jessica. Jason has joined the inner circle of the Fellowship of the Sun. And Tara is still living with Maryann, whose intentions are very suspect. I could go on and on, believe me, but for now I think I'll just list some of my favorite quotes so far:

"Is there blood in my hair? Pam's going to kill me." -Eric

"We also recycle in this house. TruBlood and other glass items go in the blue container, and paper products go in the white container." -Bill

"Make me a vampire. I'm already a person of poor moral character, so I can hit the ground running." -Lafayette

"I cannot, and I will not, lose you. For all the ways I have dismayed, aggrieved, or failed you, I swear, I will atone. But I am not sorry. I refuse to apologize for what you have awakened in me. You are my miracle, Sookie. For the first time in a hundred and forty years, I've felt something I thought had been lost to me forever. I love you. And for that I shall never feel sorry." -Bill

In my next post, I will take the ballot for the Emmys and make my dream nominations list. If the majority of my picks match with the actual nominations released next month, I might reconsider my boycott. Stay tuned.

A Brief History of EVERYTHING (By which I mean, the last few weeks)

Okay, so this was a super stressful week of classes, and more is still to come next week. That means that today and tomorrow are all about giving the ol' brain a little downtime. But I have a lot of catching up to do on my blog. My solution: delivering my thoughts to you in incomplete sentences, which is probably not what my shows deserve because they have been stellar the past few weeks. Props.

In alphabetical order so as not to show favorites (even though LOST is by far my #1)-

Battlestar Galactica-

Frakking with my mind. 2 intense weeks in a row when Gaeta (whom I loathe with every ounce of my being) staged a takeover of Galactica with the help of Tom Zarek. Things starting to slow back down as we learn more about the history of the "Final Five" Cylons. This past episode was all about the background that, having been revealed, brings the entire series into a new clarity. The EW recap by resident BSG expert Marc Bernadin sums it up perfectly:

"It was as if some hidden vault of information opened up in front of me, kind of like the Ark of the Covenant, and by the end of the hour, it melted my face off... And there were so many little touches. Anders' pre-op ramblings ('All the forgotten faces, all the forgotten children, we speak a forgotten language. The mind is its own place. The Hell of Heaven.'); Ellen the Machine Goddess offering Boomer the apple of knowledge; Roslin passing the mantle of leadership to Lee; Tigh laying his head on Caprica-Six's swelling belly. At the end of the day, you know why I loved this episode so much? Because I earned it. We all did. All of us who've been watching, faithfully, from the very beginning. It was like finally getting to the 'mystery solved' speech in a Sherlock Holmes yarn. We've put in the time, and now here's our reward. Now we know the truth behind the Cylons but knowing is half the battle."

Bones-

Follow-up to Season 2 milestone, "Aliens in a Spaceship." Booth escaped with the help of a ghost, a young soldier he fought alongside. Bones swooped in to save him. Creepy Gravedigger (turned out to be a woman, who saw that coming?) taken down with the help of Little Booth, Jared. Not as emotionally gripping as its predecessor but still great. Nothing beats the beginning of Angela-Hodgins love. Or the Booth-running-and-digging-Bones-out-of-the-dirt scene.

Burn Notice- Moving kinda slowly right now. Not that I have a problem with that because there is lots of Michael-Fiona cuteness. I am looking forward to some intense action going down between Michael and Carla soon. And I read something about finally finding out WHO burned him?

Chuck-

Post-Super Bowl episode in 3D. Except only barely so as not to exclude people without 3D glasses. Kind of a disappointment on that front. Awesome on the guest star front, though. Dominic Monaghan as a rock star being hunted by terrorists.

The Closer- Wedding of Brenda and Fritz happening soon. Lots of good episodes since it came back in January. Sanchez dealing with the fallout of his gunshot wound. Provenza being his awesome self. Last week had another Billy Kroelig-type creepy bad guy who got away with multiple rapes and a murder. Gives me chills but hope to see him again. Next week has Amy Sedaris as Fritz's sister.... Sweet!

Desperate Housewives-

Eh. Lynette continues to wear me down with her dismal storyline. Bree has nothing interesting going on. Gaby is trying to get her old self back- complete with excessive amounts of money and a hot body- but realizing that she should leave some of her less attractive former personality traits behind (we'll see how long that lasts). Susan is ridiculous. She doesn't deserve to get Mike back. Dave's masterplan seems to be at a standstill.

Friday Night Lights-

The DirecTV run ended, leaving us with no assurance that there would be a Season 4. If there isn't my heart will be broken, especially since Season 3 was spectacular in every way. Perfect exits for Street and Smash. Matt/Julie and Tyra/Landry reunited.

Life wasn't all happiness, though because JD's father was the worst kind of scum and got Coach Taylor fired. The Dillon school board offered him the position at the about-to-reopen East Dillon as the Head Coach of the Lions. Whoa. Switching my loyalties away from the Panthers will be a difficult adjustment, for me and all the characters on the show. Which is why there needs to be a Season 4 so that we can see what happens next.

Grey's Anatomy-

Lots of dramatic buildup to a Meredith-Derek proposal. Private Practice crossover didn't do much for me because I hadn't been watching Private Practice and neither knew nor cared who Archer was. Mark has definitely become a better man thanks to Lexie's influence, and their flirting is adorable. Owen-Cristina interactions have me hooked. Don't care about anybody else.

Heroes-

My once-great love for Nathan and HRG has disappeared almost entirely. Hoping some hidden layers are there that I don't see. Sylar as a mentor to a young boy is twisted but fascinating. Rest of the heroes are having to band together to hide from the Hunter/stop Nathan from this hypocritical persecution.

How I Met Your Mother-

Has lost a little of its magic from previous seasons. I might retract my judgment in retrospect, but I'm just not enjoying these episodes as much as I used to. Funny aspects remain (almost all revolving around Barney), but not with the same mixture of humor and sweetness.

LOST-

People on the island- Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel, Charlotte, Miles, and Locke- have been flashing through time. Good opportunities for us to learn more about the island's history as we have seen the period when the Dharma Initiative was active. Returned to events we have already witnessed- Claire giving birth to Aaron; pillar of black smoke. Desmond working in the hatch.

Rousseau arriving with her team, pregnant with Alex. Jin came back after floating in the water on a piece of wreckage. Charlotte died from time-travel sickness. Desmond and Penny are married and living on a boat with their son, whom they named Charlie (*tear*). Faraday came to Desmond in the hatch and told him that the on-island people needed his help. In the present-day, Desmond woke up and remembered that it had happened all those years before. Now looking for Daniel's mother=Mrs. Hawking=First name, Eloise, so potentially the same person as the young Ellie who is part of Richard Alpert's band of "hostiles" (along with a young Charles Widmore). Ben trying to get the Oceanic Six back to the island. What he will gain from getting them back, I don't know... Jack is fully on-board because he has finally come to accept that his destiny lies on the Island. Kate is angry. She wants to keep Aaron away, but she should come around soon because she will follow Jack to the end of the world. Sun is willing to go back because Ben gave her proof that Jin is still alive (How will Jin react when his wife brings his baby girl, Ji-Yeon, to that place?). Hurley is in prison. Sayid is the biggest holdout because he resents Ben for making him kill people. I can't wait to see the reunion between the 2 groups.

The Office-

Post-Super Bowl episode, "Stress Relief," definitely full of moments of high hilarity. Overall, not the greatest episode ever (I still argue that "Money" has been the only hour-long to successfully maintain a great story that is consistently funny). Favorite parts were with Andy, thinking that Pam & Jim were really insightful about the movie they were all watching together, even though they were talking about something completely different. 2-part episode, "Lecture Circuit," was awkwardly wonderful. Michael and Pam traveling to other Dunder-Miflin branches. The hope of a Holly Flax reappearance was dangled and then snatched away. Soon, my friends. Soon. Back in the Scranton office, Jim and Dwight trying to function as the party planning committee. Angela licked her cat.

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

The Closer Season 4 Premiere

My beloved summer show has finally come back to me. And what a glorious reunion it was.

The greatest part about The Closer is that it always leaves me craving more. That's why it's so difficult to only have 13 episodes in a season- it's only around for 3 months before it's gone again. Luckily, for the past 2 years they have been doing 2-hour specials in December. Because they have so long to work on them, these episodes tend to be the best.

Anyways, Monday night's episode was great. Brenda had to find out whether a forest fire that killed 3 people was an act of arson. This provided an opportunity for the wonderfully creepy Billy Kroelig to return. Played by Jason O'Mara, Kroelig likes to soak young women in alcohol and set them on fire- and he's never been caught. He is the only murderer who has ever been able to get to Brenda. Whenever he's around, you can just see the tension in her body and the fear in her eyes. Perhaps it's because he's the only criminal who she hasn't been able to catch, the only one who might be smarter than our brilliant Chief Johnson. In the premiere, he didn't even start the fire (that was done by a firefighter played by Charmed's Leo Krause), but that was irrelevant. Maybe for the first time ever, I didn't care who had committed the murder. Kroelig absolutely gave me chills when he took Brenda to the place where the fire started and said that he could still smell the burning flesh.

As for the rest of the season, I hope to see some good storylines for the supporting characters, especially Chief Pope (J.K. Simmons), Sergeant Gabriel (Corey Reynolds), and Lieutenant Provenza (G.W. Bailey). Also, I can't wait to see Frances Sternhagen and Barry Corbin again. As Brenda's parents, Willie Ray and Clay Johnson, they are absolutely perfect. I think they're coming back for 4 episodes. Maybe Brenda and Fritz will finally move into their new house and/or get married...?

The Closer

Today I never changed out of my pajamas. I woke up at 1:00 in the afternoon, relocated from my bed to the couch in the living room, and never really left. Did not set one foot outside. Why, you may ask? Because The Closer is awesome, that's why. An all-day marathon, followed by the premiere of Season 3.

I love this show very much, which rarely happens for me with any of these detective-type series. Couldn't care less about any of the Law & Order's or CSI's. Ok, granted, I did grow up watching Matlock. When I was a kid- cartoons? No, thank you. Ben Matlock was The Man. That's why it's so cool to have found another character-driven show where justice is served daily. Kyra Sedgwick plays Brenda Lee Johnson, a homicide investigator from Atlanta. She's got the Southern manners, the little personality quirks, and and the general bad-ass nature that intimidates murderers into confessions.

This episode had one of the most surprising twists in any of the cases to date. Opens with: mom, dad, and 12-year old daughter stabbed to death in their home. No broken windows or doors. Drugged out teenage son hiding in the attic. But, just like always, the first suspect is never the guilty one... Twist: father was a bigomist. His son from his other family found out about his dad's double life, decided to confront him, and things got out of control.

sidenote: Jon Tenney, who plays Brenda's boyfriend Fritz, is so cute. He is another example of one of those guys who gets better looking as he gets older. I never fully realized until I saw Tim Daly in the Grey's spinoff, Private Practice, but that's a pretty common thing. Now that I've thought about it, totally true. George Clooney, Patrick Dempsey, Paul Newman. To use a calculus term, the limit of their attractiveness does not exist. Unfortunately, it only works for guys... Thanks for being so fair, universe.