Quest crew deserves the crown

I have not been posting about America's Best Dance Crew throughout the season, but I have been watching. And after weeks of competition, I feel compelled to post. Quest crew must win. As full discloser, I am a So You Think You Can Dance Fan and from the very beginning have been pulling for Quest because I love Dominic and Hok. But at this point, they have proven themselves and completely pulled away from the competition. The have consistently been the best crew on the show and their two dances Thursday night were spectacular. This Thursday is the last episode and if they are not crowned the winner, I will be shocked.

Here is a video of their performance from the other night. Watch and enjoy. This is such a wonderful dance. And on a similar note, VOTE FOR THEM! Voting is open until March 5, so there is plenty of time to vote. I have probably already voted 200 or more times. I just sit there, not paying attention, and keep hitting redial. I promise you, they deserve to win.

Spoiler: Dollhouse - Yes, I'm still watching

I know I keep saying I am done with this show, but then Friday rolls around and I watch. And of course once I watch, I feel compelled to post about it.

Last night's episode was quite possibly the best out of the three that have aired so far. Below is a short list of some of the things they did really well, along with a few things that seemed really wrong.

- What a cool and unexpected twist when we find out that the guy the cop keeps bugging for information about Dollhouse is actually an active. So when he keeps saying he knows nothing about it, he really knows nothing about it.
- I think it was weird that they chose to show such a dark side of pop stardom through the night's character Rayna. She was suicidal and wanted to be killed onstage by a crazed fan so that she could truly give her fans "a show." The last few minutes of the episode, where the two women are held hostage - one by Echo and the other by the crazy fan - was a bit intense and a little too dark.
- In the final moments of the show, there was discussion about how Echo is a threat because she can think outside of the pieces of memory they give her. It was said that maybe she should be sent to the attic. I wonder what that means. Like, naughty actives get their minds wiped clean and are sent somewhere to be alone and die? I hope this is further discussed in coming weeks.

So what about you? Did you watch? And more importantly, did you enjoy?

OTH news

It looks like Chad Michael Murray is not the only main character leaving Tree Hill after this season. TvGuide.com has this news about the possibility of Hilarie Burton, aka Peyton Sawyer, also leaving. Without Lucas, it kind of does make sense to also get rid of Peyton. But if two of the five original main characters are not going to be on the show, will it still be the same OTH we love and adore? What do you think? Can OTH overcome the absence of two of its main characters?

Wheel of Fortune's 5,000th episode

Tonight Wheel of Fortune celebrated its 5,000th episode. They didn't do anything too glitzy or attention-getting, instead Pat just continuously mentioned the milestone throughout the episode. Also, some of the puzzles were appropriately themed for the night. Some of the answers included "A huge milestone," "Spin or solve," "The magic of television," "Often imitated never duplicated," "Secret formula" and "You ain't seen nothing yet." They also said the show started in 1983, so Pat and Vanna discussed some fun facts from that time in pre-recorded clips before each commercial.

I can't imagine a show lasting 5,000 episodes. Congrats to them! Here's to 5,000 more.

Blog special: Podcast with fellow television addict

For an assignment, my professor wanted us to put together a podcast related to our blog topic. It didn't take me long to realize that the most entertaining way to complete this assignment would be by recording a discussion with my friend Matt. You might ask why Matt is a legitimate source for such an interview, and so I will present some background information. Matt is a fellow senior journalism major at Northeastern and he also loves television. (We're more similar than he would like to admit.) He likes TV so much so, actually, that when he took the Online Journalism class I am currently in a few semesters ago, his blog was also based on television. What is even better, and what makes this podcast interesting, is that Matt and I have pretty different tastes in television. While I watch ER and One Tree Hill, he watches 30 Rock and Lost. But a little bump in the road is that because I am using the free blogger option I cannot load the podcast here directly. But I really want you to listen! So to listen to the podcast go to this link. The podcast is great because it is a glimpse into some shows not usually discussed on this blog. I hope you enjoy it!

Spoiler: ER - No more running with scissors but cut those mattress tags

This week's episode was the sixth to last, as was made evident by the title of the episode "T-minus-6," and I must say it didn't disappoint. The episodes recently are not must sees, but they are definitely entertaining. Here is a rundown of what happened on tonight's episode:

- To explain the name of this post, there was a couple who came into County tonight because they needed treatment after driving their car into Lake Michigan because they were following the directions of their GPS. After talking with them for a few minutes, Morris finds out that they are perfect citizens and always follow the rules and do as they are told - whether it be by a machine or the president. So Morris tells them they have live a little and be more free spirited. He has the wife cut the tag off a mattress, which is freeing for her because she is breaking a law. When they are discharged the wife pressures her husband to cross the street before the walk sign is illuminated, which would have been fine if he did not then get hit by a passing moped. As they are leaving a second time, Morris tells them they have to tone down their actions to which the wife asks if it would still be OK to run with scissors. This comic relief was a cute addition to the episode.
- Kate Banfield and her husband, at the start of the episode, are at an adoption agency breakfast. She gets into an argument with another couple who do not seem to be taking the idea of adoption seriously and the confrontation ends with Banfield's husband hitting the other husband. He later shows up at the ER because his hand still hurts. They further discuss adoption and decide that this experience was a sign to not go the adoption route and they choose to take some time away from the baby-trail.
- This was the first where Carter is back doing doctor-ly duties. From the very beginning it seems like everyone doubts his abilities - Banfield wants him to take things slow and won't leave him alone with patients, Tony calls him rusty and keeps correcting him, etc. It is not until Tony and Carter are working on a mom who was in a home explosion and Carter decides to perform a risky and surgical procedure that Tony give him props and says he admires his guts even though the patient died.
- Carter also gets into a fight with Neela about what procedure should be completed for a patient. Carter wins and Lucien backs him, which leads to a fight between Neela and Lucien. Neela does not think Lucien will ever truly trust her and see her as an equal. This leads Neela to pulling her name out of the running for a resident position, meaning she will not be a doctor at County forever, but is officially looking for a position elsewhere.
- Carter admits to being on dialysis. He also says the reason he is back in the states is that he needs to be on a list for a kidney transplant. I must admit that the scene where he tells Banfield that he came back to County to meet her and get her to agree to donate a kidney to him, then tells her he is kidding, was funny. I thought he was being serious, but I guess he always was a bit of a joker. This was important because at least we now know his backstory.
- Sam's mother, who she has not seen since she was 15 years old, was transferred from Texas to Chicago in this episode. Sam finds out her mother is in much worse condition than her sister let on and we see that the mother does not have much of a memory. The ending, where Sam sings to her mom as a way to comfort her, was heartwarming and sad. Her mom doesn't even realize that Sam is her daughter, instead she says she wishes she had a daughter like her. Tear.
- Simon and Neela have their first real fight as a couple in this episode. The show started with Simon dodging questions about his childhood and past. We know that he was sexually assaulted as a child, but she does not. We also see Lucy, the little girl who has been on the last few episodes, again. She tells Brenner that she feels uncomfortable in the foster home where she is living. She says the father walks around naked. This caused Brenner to take it upon himself to talk to both the foster mother and then also confront the father. He denies the action, but Brenner is too convinced. We then see Brenner realize that he is overreacting and he walks away distraught. He later shows up at Neela's door drunk. She wants to talk about her bad day, but he refuses to listen. They get into a fight because she wants him to talk to her but he refuses. I really hope they work this out and I hope they follow this storyline about Brenner's abuse. At this point they have given time during two shows to it; hopefully they don't just drop it. He also really needs to open up to Neela.

Wow! I just wrote a lot. One last thought. It was cute how Chuny said to Carter as he was walking out of the ER, "It's like you never left." I agree. I'm glad he is back.

So only five more episodes. I will be sad when it ends, but the coming weeks promise more guest appearances and hopefully an appropriate conclusion. What did you think of the episode? As the episodes wind down, are you also getting sad? Here's to five more weeks of entertainment.

Lipstick Jungle's future now even more uncertain

As I said in a previous post, I love Lipstick Jungle. I also have little faith that it will be coming back. I am mostly basing this theory on the fact that at the end of the season they showed a montage of memorably scene from the show. Honestly, how often do producers put together such a showing unless there is little belief that there will be more to come? And then there was this announcement today that one of the main characters, Lindsay Price who plays Victory, has signed on to play on another television show come next season. The TvGuide.com article says that if Lipstick were to be renewed she would have to uphold her commitment to that show first, but I still take this as a bad sign. My fingers are still crossed, but things aren't looking so promising.

CW announces renewal of a few of my favorites

TvGuide.com has this report announcing the renewal of six of their television shows for next year including three of my favorites - One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl and 90210. This is exciting news, even if OTH has to go on without Chad Michael Murray. We all know how dramatic OTH can get so I can only imagine how they would write him off. I have a feeling it would end in death. As for GG, I have a lot of friends who I know are going to be very excited with this news.

Digital transition already happened for some

The date for the DTV transition was officially pushed back until June 12 after government officials decided not enough people were prepared. Some smaller stations could not afford to delay, including some stations in my home state of Rhode Island, so they went ahead with the change to all digital on the original date, which was Feb. 17. I don't know if you heard this story, but a man who stopped receiving feed to his television took his gun and shot at his TV. This isn't a picture from this exact situation, but in class we are experimenting with Creative Commons and other photo sharing websites. So here is a photo of what a damaged television might look like.


This is a Creative Commons photo found on everystockphoto.com. Some rights reserved.

The setting in which I usually watch television

For my Online Journalism class my professor wanted us to load some original photography onto our blog. The one stipulation: It had to be topic related. Since my topic - television - is one that is difficult to find original photography for, we came up with the idea to document where and how I write my blog posts. Below are pictures of my bed in my Boston apartment, which is where I sit while I watch most of the shows I blog about; my tiny television on which I watch television daily; and a shot of my notes so you can get a glimpse of what I write down while I'm watching shows and what eventually is used to type my posts.

I don't even watch but I still find this weird

Though I don't watch the CW show Privileged, I have a few friends, my roommates included, who do. As I was watching the CW last night I was shocked to find out that Privileged will have its season finale tonight. Not only are most CW shows taking time off for a few weeks, thus there are few new episodes being aired on the station, but this was not properly advertised. When I told my roommate, who faithfully watches the show, that this week was the finale she had no idea.

I am only blogging about this because it is actions like this that piss me off. How can television networks expect people to be faithful viewers if they do not at least inform them about important aspects of the show, including, I don't know, that the season is ending?

True, I probably have no right to be as passionate as I am about this since I don't watch the show, but I want to hear from you. For those who do watch Privileged, are you shocked that the finale is happening so early in the season and with little warning?

Gossip Girl thoughts

As I watched part of a rerun of Gossip Girl earlier tonight I couldn't help but think - and I know I have brought this up before - that Nate is underused and in many cases he hasn't even been in recent episodes. Chace Crawford is gorgeous and he actually seems to be a good actor. Does anyone else feel like his storylines have been pushed to the background and that the show is worse off because of this? I think this is one of many problems GG will have to overcome if they are going to regain viewership.

Grey's Anatomy announcement, plot spoiler

Tvguide.com has this info about Derek quitting his position at the hospital when Grey's returns from a short hiatus in a few weeks. So what do faithful viewers think? Is he gone for good or is this just a bump in the road? Do you think he is overreacting or is this action warranted? Do you think this will have negative effects on the Meredith/Derek relationship? Personally, I can't imagine he is really leaving the show or that they would be writing him off so this is probably just a short-term fix and after he licks his wounds he'll be back to his rock-star neurosurgeon ways.

Oscar viewership up

There has been talk in the media, including a blog post here, that Oscar viewership was up from last year, but that the ceremony was still one of the three least-watched Oscars ever. Did you watch last night? What did you think of Hugh Jackman as the host? Any memorable moments?

Spoiler: Private Practice also tackles a usually ignored subject

In a week that saw Law & Order: SVU use a transgendered child at the center of an episode, Private Practice had an episode where a baby was born with ambiguous genitalia. I love PP for always tackling the difficult issues and I give them props for writing this into the storyline. One thing that did bother me though was that as soon as the baby was born, the term intersexed should have been used. It was not until later that they referred to the baby as intersexed and the word was only used once. The show did a good job of discussing the options for intersexed babies and their parents and bringing light to an issue that is more widespread than people think. I also was very pleased when Addison stood up for not choosing the baby's gender with corrective surgery performed on the newborn, instead opting to have the parents raise the baby with mixed genitalia and allowing the child to choose their gender later in life. This is a controversial subject and I'm curious how other viewers took it? This is another subject I have been talking about in my Communication and Gender class so I have many thoughts about it, but what about those who do not have a background in the topic. Did you understand the storyline?

As for other things happening on the show:
- I'm glad to see Archer gone. He was obviously not going to change his womanizer ways and he was only causing trouble for Naomi.
- The only important thing I got out of the Sheldon/Violet couples therapy storyline was the importance of communication. Does this mean Violet will be ready to open up to Sheldon and Pete in coming weeks? I hope so because she really needs to let Cooper off the hook so that he can be happy with Charlotte.
- I have always been on Charlotte's side, but this week when she sleeps with Archer in an attempt to make Cooper mad at her, instead of the other way around, I was expecting Cooper to walk. I give him a lot of credit for standing by Charlotte, which proves he really does love her unconditionally.
- I can't believe Sam called his girlfriend Naomi! And he didn't even realize he did it. Trouble, trouble, trouble.

What did you think of the episode? Are you sad that Dell has been underused in recent episodes? What do you want to see happen in the Charlotte/Cooper relationship? Leave your opinions here.

Spoiler: Grey's - Sometimes it is just better to give up

The title to this post has bigger implications and was a theme throughout this week's episode. It saw Derek and Sloan get in a fist-fight, Cristina get kicked out of an OR, Bailey with a new hair style and more Addison. Here is a rundown of some of the highlights from the episode.

- I usually do not like the voiceovers at the beginning and end of episodes and thus usually tune them out. But this week, when Meredith talked about how people see doctors as Gods because they have to or else they will see the doctors' flaws, I liked the message that opened the show.
- The pregnant wife was still on the episode this week and was the reason for Addison's stay on Grey's. Derek is still trying to make up for the mistake he made during her first surgery, which leads to multiple other surgeries. The baby is in distress and Addison has to take the baby out. But not before Derek takes out parts of the mom's brain and eventually the mom dies. Derek got too close to the case, which becomes all the more evident when the chief has to come to the OR to tell Derek to stop the surgery and to also pry Derek from the room. I think the stand off between Addison and Derek was supposed to be emotional, but at that point I felt no sympathy for Derek.
- In my post a few days ago about ER I mentioned how I like when storylines carry over from week to week. I should clarify by saying that when we meet memorable characters who have interesting storylines, then seeing them in future episodes is interesting. With this recurring storyline, the one with the husband and wife, I don't like their characters or their storyline so I did not like that they were at the center of three episodes in a row. I am glad to see them go.
- The first ever female surgeon at the hospital, Dr. Campbell, makes an appearance on the show (not like she had ever before been mentioned). She is old fashioned and Cristina realizes she botched a previous surgery, therefore needing to redo it. At the end of the episode she says she knows she has to retire and tells Cristina to be careful because at some point Cristina will be in the same place Campbell is.
- Bailey is trying for a new position in pediatrics surgery and therefore a new hair style is in order. She is also attempting to get letters of recommendation from anyone willing to write one. Her face-off with the chief at the end of the episode, when she confronts him about using a form letter and he yells at her for looking into another position when she was supposed to replace him, was well written. I liked when she threw in his face that she is not his son and therefore does not have to follow in his footsteps.
- As I was watching the Derek/Sloan fight I could not help but think that they are way too old to get in such a fight. Not that it was not entertaining, but they are adults so they should act like adults. On a similar note, I loved Lexi's line at the beginning of the show when she called Sloan her Anne Frank boyfriend because she has to hide him in the attic. It was a humorous exchange.
- At this point, does anyone doubt that Izzy is dying? Why are the writers stringing us along? She needs to just figure it out so that the rest of the cast can be let in on the secret.

Though ABC called this week the third and final in the crossover with Private Practice and Grey's Anatomy, the only thing crossing over was Addison. Addison's presence on Grey's linked the two shows, but as I have said in previous posts, I am happy that the combination is done. I like these shows when they stand alone, so here's to a return to that formula.

So what did you think of the episode? Anything stand out that I missed?

Spoiler: Dollhouse needs to find its footing

I truly think the idea for this show has so much potential, but who, other than me who is home sick, is going to stay home on a Friday night to watch a television show? Shows get moved to Friday nights to die. They shouldn't start there if the network has any hope of them gaining an audience following, even in the age of DVR and TiVo.

That said, I do not think it is too late for the show. But I think there would need to be substantial changes in how the show is formatted for it to succeed. Here is a list of what I do and do not like about the show.

- As I said in my previous post about the show, I like the premise. The idea that a person could have their memories and thoughts wiped clean so that they can be programed with different personalities and abilities is very interesting and I'm sure the science advancements necessary for such a thing to be really possible is not too far off. I just wish the show would focus on this and not the rest. This idea alone could hold the show with each week Echo being programmed as something new. There is no need for the other stuff, which I will go into detail about in a minutes.
- That said, I did enjoy seeing the relationship between Echo and her handler explored this week. Their trust needs to be real and it would not have been something the viewers believed until they saw it in action, which we did see in this episode.
- As for the things I could do without, there are two main things. First, I do not think that in the show's second episode we should already be seeing the flaws with this scientific process and how the science can go wrong. Through both the Alpha storyline and Echo's visions/memories we see that there are problems with the programming process, but for this to be part of the story so early into the series seems weird. How can I be expected to believe that these actives have their memories wiped clean if I have already been shown that things can go wrong? On a similar note, starting with the first episode last week the audience gets a glimpse into the fact that there is a police officer who suspects the dollhouse exists. If there are people on the outside trying to discover the dollhouse, I think it could have been used to stir up trouble later in the series, but not from the start.

I feel like the show's flaws are caught in the fact that they are trying to thrown in too many wrenches too early in the series. The show should focus on Echo and her missions, forgetting about all of the outside forces for a while. Maybe down the line the show will need some spicing up, but until then I think these side storylines are only distracting from the possibilities that are available in the ability to change people using science, plain and simple.

What do you think? Are you watching? Am I totally off base with this?

Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice posts to come

I had to work until 9 p.m. today so by the time I got home Grey's was already half done. I decided to watch ER tonight and put off the duo until tomorrow. I will watch both shows tomorrow after my three classes and if I don't post tomorrow, then I promise to post sometime Saturday.

I hope those who watched enjoyed the last part of the crossover. If you have things you want to say, then feel free to post ahead of me through the comment option. I already heard from a friend who said I have to make sure to mention Bailey's hair. I don't even yet know what she means, but it does make me want to watch the show sooner rather than later.

Spoiler: ER - Welcome back, Carter

It is going to be great having Noah Wyle on ER for a few episodes. In a final season where old cast members returning is commonplace, I am glad Wyle joined in. How adorable was it when Carter walked in and no one knew who he was? That just proves how long it has been since he last graced the halls of County. I like how he described the ER as bizarro because it is both the same and completely different. But I must say, this entire episode Carter just kind of seemed to lurk around. He didn't have a real storyline and we don't know the real reason he is in Chicago, though we did get a glimpse at the end of the episode when they showed him hooked up to medical machines. I'm looking forward to next week if only for more details about his return.

As for other points of interest following tonight's episode:

- I know I say this every week, but how cute is Brenner? I want someone to make a romantic gesture like planning a trip to Venice for me. Neela is lucky.
- The stolen glances between Sam and Tony were pathetic. This is my opinion and it may be a bit harsh, but I didn't agree with her reasons for breaking up with Tony in the first place so if Sam still has feelings for him, then she needs to grow up and be with him.
- I don't know how to feel about the police brutality storyline. I know this is going to have a negative affect on Morris and Claudia right when they were starting to be happy, but other than that it was something the show could have done without.
- Same with the mushroom/Midsummer Night's Dream/love potion storyline. I was more confused than anything with that. Though Jerry hitting on Carter after drinking the potion was funny.
- Who else would be weirded out by using your neice's egg so that you could have a baby with genes similar to your own? Banfield is against adoption (or at least she is until she talks with the little girl from last week, Lucy) but using a family member's egg is a better idea? I don't get why adoption always seems to get such a bad rap on television shows.
- I like when the writers carry over interesting storylines from week to week. We once again saw the mom and daughter from last week, and things did not seem to be looking up. The doctors thought they had a new heart for the mom but mid-way through the transplant they get a call saying there had been a mistake. Apparently the donor had a different blood type and the heart could not be used. Worse was that they had already removed the mom's faulty heart so she is now living on machines, waiting for another donor. The daughter then made her mom a Valentine's Day heart. Though it won't work as well as a real one, it was heartwarming to watch.

Well here's to great episodes in the coming weeks as the show draws to an end. Did you like tonight's Valentine's Day episode five days late? Any memorable moments I missed?

Product Placement in television shows

There has been a bit of controversy recently surrounding blatant product placement, especially on NBC. Here is a boston.com blog post about it and below follows my thoughts on the topic.

At some point normal advertising techniques – like television commercials, print media ads, billboards, etcetera – aren’t enough to garner the attention of consumers, and advertising companies have to push the envelope further to sell their product. For the advertising process to work, members of the audience have to agree to be consumers. We have to see an advertisement and then buy the product. If the consumers ignore the ads being presented to them, then no one buys the product and the advertising process fails. Equally as important is that the assumption that ads will sell products has to follow through or else the ads are useless and no products are sold. This is why advertising is so important as a part of the mainstream media and an American consumer culture.

Product placement is a popular form of alternative advertising that garners attention from consumers. But one major problem with product placement is that it at times changes the storyline of shows and movies. There are two types of product placement: product placement that is subtle and product placement that is obvious and can even distract viewers. Some product placement is so understated within a plot – a box of cereal on a kitchen counter in the background of a scene or a character reading a magazine clearly showing the cover to the audience – that it does not interfere with what is happening on screen. But everything can be taken to extremes.

The real question is, should television shows and movies allow advertisers the opportunity to control the content of their media but paying for product placement? Does such product placement change the quality of the show? As consumers, there are most likely mixed opinions about this topic. It is probable that some consumers do not even notice such product placement, but there must also be consumers who are annoyed because they are being bashed over the head with the product while they are supposed to be relaxing and enjoying a television show.

How do you feel about product placement? Does it bother you or is it just another form of advertising?

Spoiler: Giving SVU its props

I am not going to go into a lot of detail, but I am going to salute Law & Order: SVU for once again touching upon the topics other television shows run from. Tonight's episode focused on a transgender child. The 13-year-old at the center of the episode goes by Hailey but was born Henry.

When I first heard that this was going to be the topic of this week's episode, I must say I was initially worried. I was afraid the show would go about discussing the subject in very stereotypical ways. But the show did many things correctly. They defined transgender in a way people could understand and, more importantly, they said all of the right things. The common phrases "body betray you," "feel trapped," "anatomy is irrelevant," etc. were all used.

In a class I am taking, Communication and Gender, we have spent the last week or two talking about transgender people and seeing the issue brought up in the mainstream media means a lot to me, especially since this is not a topic usually used for material.

How to fix Gossip Girl

TvGuide.com has this humorous list of suggestions for ways to fix Gossip Girl. I agree that things during the last few weeks have been less than wonderful, but I am still addicted to the show and I really hope it does not get canceled. Read the list if you get a chance and let me know what you think. Is the show too far gone to be saved? What do you think can be done to rebuild viewership?

Spoiler: ER - "You're our hero"

Thursday's ER episode was heartfelt and moving without being too sentimental. There was a return to character-based storylines, something that had been put on the back burner during the last few episodes.

There were three main storylines during the episode. One was based on Tony, another on Morris and the third on Brenner.

1) At the beginning of the episode, Brenner announces that Banfield will not be working that day (she hasn't been on the show in a few weeks) but that everyone's mission is to get their patient satisfactory levels up, especially Tony. So Tony is sent to work on some elderly people and told to keep them happy. He works with this one man in particular who does not like doctors because he watched his wife die after receiving care. The old man is dying and surgery could help extend his life, but he is 78 years old and says he would rather just let life take its course. The man has family who care for him and at first Tony tried to scare him into agreeing to treatment, but Neela tells him that they have to stand by his wishes. As the episode comes to an end, Tony shows the man compassion and tries to make him realize that there is still a lot to live for. It is only then, after Tony proves he is a caring guy, that the old man agrees to have treatment so that he can live long enough to see his granddaughter graduate from college.

2) We see a little more of the Morris/police officer relationship bloom in this episode. Morris thinks he is in for a romantic date, but is instead blindsided when he shows up at the address she gave him and finds himself at her nephew's birthday party surrounded by her entire family. He obviously does not fit in and this becomes all the more obvious when he is asked to dress up in a superhero costume as the party's entertainment. By the end of the party one of the kids gets hurt and Morris has to take a trip to the ER in the costume, hence the quote that is this posts' title is uttered.

3) The episode starts with the happy couple - Simon and Neela. Neela gets a call for an interview at Duke and we see that Brenner really does not want Neela to leave. He obviously has strong feelings for her. Once at the hospital, a truck slams into an ambulance in the docking area of the hospital and inside is a mother and daughter. They become the central storyline of the night. We find out that they are alone and it is just the two of them. The mother has a brother but she does not want him called. Brenner calls him anyway because the daughter needs someone to stay with while the mother is in the hospital for about a month. When the brother shows up we find out (SHOCKER) that he is actually the daughter's father. No he did not have a child with his sister, but he did have a child and when she was 3 years old leave her with his sister while he ran away in the middle of the night. She then raised the girl as if she were her own daughter. Brenner tries to talk to the father and get him to agree to care for the daughter for a few weeks and at first it seems as if he might. He even fills out the paperwork, but the episode ends with Brenner and the little girl waiting outside for the father who they both know is not coming back.

One of the best scenes I have seen on the show in a while also happened within this storyline: The mother goes into v-tack and they have to use the defibrillator on her. The young daughter is in the room while this is happening and she is crying and freaking out. The entire time this is happening the viewers are sitting at home yelling at the TV "why is she still in the room?" Then Brenner saves the day. He stops working on the mother long enough to swoop the girl out of the room and carry her down the hall. It was a very emotional scene.

So what did you think about this week's episode? Are you as excited as I am for the return of Noah Wyle as John Carter for five episodes? The preview said it starts this week. I can't wait.

SNL Valentine's day episode

I won't be posting any clips from last night's show, but that doesn't mean the show was a dud. Alec Baldwin hosted and the Jonas Brothers performed (and were even in a few skits). The show was humorous (there of course were some pretty awful skits) but the funniest skits - the Vincent Price Valentine's Day special and the Wii playing with the father and sons - were high on the sexual innuendos so I am not sure how appropriate it would be to put them on my blog. If you are interested I suggest going to the SNL page on nbc.com to find them.

But the reason I really wanted to post about the show was that I appreciated how the show, though it took place on Valentine's Day, did not bash you over the head with mushy stuff and constant love reminders. It was just another show and I appreciated it.

Dollhouse premiere - "Who does she think she is?"

Going into watching this show I had pretty low expectations. I was watching it more for something to do since I am really sick and stuck in the house but ended up enjoying it. I don't know if I will continue watching, but it was worth experiencing.

So here is the premise. There are these people called actives who have their minds erased so that they have a clean slate and can be turned into different types of people. The actives are regularly reprogrammed to become a specific person. For instance, they can be an assassin, a dominatrix, a teacher, whatever. What is more interesting is that they are not only programmed to know what to do, but the actives are given memories and personalities based on other people's real memories and personalities. The people in charge of the operation call themselves humanitarians but they also acknowledge that if anyone even found out about what they do they would go to jail.

Echo, played by Eliza Dushku, is the main character. We learn early in the episode that this sort of lifestyle makes it difficult to form relationships. Also, as you watch the show and see the people who live in the "dollhouse," which is where the "treatments" happen, they act like robots. They cannot think for themselves and show no emotion.

I won't go into too much detail about the premiere episode in particular, but I will mention this: Throughout the episode we see that there is someone on the outside who suspects that this dollhouse exists. He seems to be a cop of some sorts and when he tells other people about it, they do not believe such a place is real. As the episode ends, we are shown a video recording of Echo before she became an active. She is graduating college and talking about what she wants to do with her life, which consists of a pretty long list. She says, "I want to do everything, is that too much to ask?" For someone who wants to do everything, her life as an active makes this possible. But I have a feeling she did not become an active by choice. But how cool must it be for an actress to get to play so many different roles on a television show?

So what did you think? Did you watch the premiere? Will you continue to watch?

If you want to see a one minute recap of the first episode, you can go here. Who knows, maybe your interest will be peaked.

Spoiler: The crossover that did happen ...

...and will continue next week. I don't know about you, but I am over this idea of the Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice double episodes. The shows need to return to their stand alone form. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the episodes tonight, but it was only OK because I thought it was going to end shortly. I guess ABC is truly trying to garner audience attention and this was the best idea they could come up with.

A lot happened in the two hours, so I think the best way for me to handle this post is to just run down a bunch of facts and explain what happened. I may throw in a bit of opinion, but mostly I will leave that up to you.

- Owen's ex-fiance is in the hospital because her father, who has cancer and has already been through radiation but has not told his daughter, is there. For the first time we learn a bit about Owen, including that his mother does not know he is home from Iraq and that his ex-fiance thinks he has changed and is harder since returning from way. We also get a glimpse into his relationship with Cristina. He tells her that he is a different person from when he left for Iraq and that he feels like a ghost but the only person who truly sees him is Cristina. This made me almost sympathize with him. He is still pretty screwed up, but at least we know a little more about him.
- Izzy, as a way to boost morale with the interns, organizes a game for them to play. At points throughout the episode Izzy is unable to see out of her peripheral vision and Alex notices. Later in the episode, he questions Addison about whether or not she is happy. He tells Addison that he is thinking about running away from his problems like she did and all she really says is that she did not run but walked. Alex says he loves Izzy but wants to run because he senses something really bad is about to happen. (Foreshadowing, anyone? Not that we didn't already know she is dying.)
- Tonight's episodes seemed to imply that Sloan is actually ready to commit to Lexi. We'll see if this actually happens in the coming weeks.
- When Addison, Naomi and Sam show up with Archer in Seattle, they are reunited with Derek and Sloan and there is a lot of reminiscing and celebrating (especially after Derek saves Archer).But this leads Meredith to feel left out and she tells Cristina she feels like she does not really know Derek. I think this is foreshadowing Meredith turning down Derek's proposal, if he ever actually asks her to marry him. She is going to feel like they are not ready because they do not know each other well enough. This is just my opinion, maybe they will actually live happily ever after.
- I think it is hysterical that Archer is the pain in the butt of the episode. Bailey, more than once, refers to him as evil and unlikeable. It is also humorous that Derek saved Archer's life, yet Archer previously did and at the end of the episode still hated Derek.
- How cute was Sam throughout the episodes? First, he travels to Seattle to stand by both Archer and Naomi. How awkward must it be to watch your ex-wife with one of your oldest friends? But he stands by. And then he starts having bad asthma attacks. Addison and Sloan say they think it is because he is still in love with Naomi and they are being caused because he is watching her with Archer. But then we find out it is because his prescription was refilled with the generic brand and he is allergic to something in it. He then gloats and tries to get Naomi to understand that he is over her. But right before the end of the episode, Bailey (always the voice of reason) makes Sam realize that he may not really be over Naomi.
- The opening of the second hour was humorous. Archer's surgery had already been successfully completed (or at least they thought so at the time) and the cast members at Oceanside Wellness are sitting in the staff room worrying about Archer and wondering why they have not yet heard from anyone. Then it cuts to Addison, Sam and Naomi in the bar rather drunk and dancing. It was a cute scene and an interesting contrast.
- As for the important case happening in California, Cooper has a mother come in who is obviously sleep deprived and it is through this case that the rest of the Cali-side action happens. We find out that the mother has postpartum depression and momentarily tried to kill her newborn baby. Cooper, Pete and Violet work together on the case. Pete uses discussions about the case to talk to Violet, essentially telling Violet that he does not want to be cut out of her life. It was sincere and I hope she realizes soon that having Pete in her life would be a good thing. Violet also starts to have bad thoughts about herself when thinking about the circumstances of the postpartum mother. She starts to list off ways in which she could screw up being a mother to Cooper, who tells her everything will be fine.
- I love Charlotte. When she corners Cooper late in the second hour and tells him that she understands that he needs to be there for Violet, I almost melted. And then it continued and she admitted to him that he can't have Violet as a best friend because he should want her to be his best friend. She is right. That is what true love is, now when is Cooper going to realize it?
- In Seattle, Derek needs Addison's help on a case. He did a surgery and during it he made a mistake that led to him needed to give the pregnant patient a blood transfusion, which later led to her having pregnancy complications. Addison swoops in and saves the day, much like how Derek saved the day with Archer by removing eight cysts filled with parasites from Archer's brain. But as the episode closes, we find out that the patient may not actually be fine, which leads to yet another week of crossover that must be used to complete the storyline.
- On the Archer front, even after he is continuously told that all of the cysts are gone and that he will be fine, he swears that he is still dying and requests more tests. Therefore he begins to confess past sins and share his sole, only to find out that he is not at all dying but will actually be just fine. It was funny to see him slapped in the face after making embarrassing confessions.

So I think that is it. I guess we have to watch for one more week before this crossover event concludes. Tell me what you thought. Any non-Private Practice watchers out there confused by the storylines? Did experiencing some of the show convert you into PP watchers? What are you looking for from the conclusion next week? I want to hear from you.

Dancing with the Stars couples announced

We knew a few, but here are all of the pairings:

Belinda Carlisle & Jonathan Roberts
David Alan Grier & Kym Johnson
Jewel & Dmitry Chaplin
Shawn Johnson & Mark Ballas
Lil' Kim & Derek Hough
Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke
Ty Murray & Chelsie Hightower
Steve-O & Lacey Schwimmer
Nancy O'Dell & Tony Dovolani
Denise Richards & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Lawrence Taylor & Edyta Sliwinska
Chuck Wicks & Julianne Hough
Steve Wozniak & Karina Smirnoff

I don't usually watch the show faithfully, but it is always worth watching a few episodes. I'm looking forward to seeing who's good and who's horrible.

Also, I like that So You Think You Can Dance stars keep trickling onto Dancing with the Stars. First Lacey and now Chelsie.

But here are some of my worries. Lil' Kim and Derek? Steve-O and Lacey? Edyta with another athlete? Cheryl with the nobody actor, good or bad? What do you think?

I couldn't help but post this

I didn't see it live (I am more of a Jay Leno girl) but this has been put on almost every website today. Remember when Joaquin Phoenix was normal? Well here he is barely conscious on the David Letterman show. Letterman tried to make a joke out of it, but Phoenix hardly mumbled a response. It is so bizarre. One word answers? Seriously?! And who can believe him as a hip-hop singer? Stick to what you're good at, honey.

"Joaquin, I'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight."

Spoiler: 90210's Valentine's Day episode

I had pretty low expectations for tonight's episode and almost did not watch, but a lot actually happened. Some of it is interesting, some bizarre and some depressing. Here is a rundown of the interesting plot-points of the night.

- I absolutely love how adorable Silver was at the beginning of the episode because she was in love. Even Naomi mentioned how Silver seemed like a "completely different person." Funny how love does that to people. It is also interesting that the first time Dixon and Silver had sex was on tonight's episode and it was only eluded to and not really shown. And the last thing I want to say about this is ... what the heck was Silver thinking getting a tattoo of Dixon's name as a "permanent way to symbolize" their love?! She went from adorable in love to psycho in love very quickly. We'll see how long their honeymoon lasts and how long it takes for Silver to realize what a stupid idea a tattoo was.
- I hate the Annie/Ethan/Rhonda love triangle storyline. In the next episode Ethan obviously has to choose between the two girls. I hope at that point it will be the end of the needless drama and Annie's crying (isn't she an awful fake crier?).
- I'm happy Navid is standing by Adrianna even those she is a mess, as he put it. That is what true love looks like, kids.
- I am curious to see where the Naomi/adorable bartender storyline is going especially now that we know he is also in high school.

Two end notes
- I love that there aren't really any main characters on this show. Each of the kids have their own storylines and they are all explored. This makes for interesting episodes and well-balanced plots.
- The previews at the end of the episode said the next new episode is not until March 31. That is quite a few weeks away. I wonder why there is such a long break. Are you going to go through withdrawals? I liked tonight's episode and the preview made the new episode look intense so I am intrigued. But I guess I will just have to wait.

Two Grey's stars reportedly leaving the show

Us Weekly has this exclusive saying that Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight, aka Izzy and George, are leaving Grey's Anatomy. The information comes from James Pickens Jr. who plays the chief on the show. No real details have yet emerged, like when and really why, but I have to admit that I'm not all that surprised. Is anyone crushed by this news?

My take on the Michael Phelps saga - People are always watching

This post is going to be a little off topic since it doesn't really have anything to do with television. But for my Online Journalism class, our professor wants us to write a post about Michael Phelps specifically talking about what it is like to live in a world where every moment of our lives can potentially be captured through technological means. She doesn't want us to sound off about the controversy in general, but instead use it as an example. But for those who didn't see it, there was a great Op-ed in the Globe the other day about this. I agree with most of what is said in here. But back to the topic at hand.

Michael Phelps is a celebrity. He may not have always wanted to be one, but wining god-only-knows how many gold medals forces you into the spotlight. And very often celebrities are followed by paparazzi. But the sad thing is that this was not a case of the paparazzi exploiting their way to get a photo, the picture was snapped by someone at the "party" where the bong hit happened and that person then sold the picture. There are two things at work here and they are on two different levels. First, it just proves that people have to always be careful what they are doing and who is around. Anyone can take a picture and that picture is not something that will easily go away. Also, the Internet, and other such technology, allowed for this picture to spread like wildfire. Within a day of the picture becoming public, everyone had seen it and it was all people were discussing. Without recent technological advancements, who knows whether the picture would have ever been taken or if it would have been seen by as many people.

On a more personal level, I don't usually think about the possibility of people taking my picture or recording my every move, but maybe I should. A few times I have been on the T and thought about how easy it would be for someone sitting across from me to pretend to be talking or playing with their cell phone when really they are taking my picture. But I always wonder what bad could possibly happen from that? I'm not a celebrity so I don't see how much harm can be done.

I did also think about this idea a few days ago. I got a new digital camera for Christmas and in the weeks that have followed I have become the designated photographer for my group of friends. Last night I posted pictures from the weekend on Facebook and all of the friends who I tagged immediately freaked because they said the pictures were unflattering. They then started de-tagging themselves. But then I reminded them that these pictures hold our memories and that some day in the future they will thank me for documenting our crazy party college days. They agreed and kept themselves tagged in a few pictures. But on the other hand, sometimes I see pictures following a crazy weekend and immediately want to delete them or at least disassociate myself from them. You never know who will see the pictures and what kind of judgments these people will pass. I want my online image to reflect my true personality, not the self who danced around like a crazy person some Saturday night. So as you can see, I am torn on this. Are the pictures worth keeping because they hold memories or are they too embarrassing? I don't think this is actually a question that has an answer.

So what are your opinions? Do you think technology is too invasive? When is it taken too far? Do you have any stories to tell based on this "technology is everywhere" idea?

Idina Menzel to guest star on Private Practice

I love Idina Menzel. This is great news. I am excited to explore a storyline with her later in the season. And it is cute that she frequently takes roles with her husband, Taye Diggs.

Dancing with the Stars new cast announced

I have to admit that I really enjoy reality television shows based around dance whether it be Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance or America's Best Dance Crew. I danced competitively most of my childhood and through high school, and I still love dancing.

Well, last night while everyone else was watching the Grammys, ABC announced the new cast for this season of Dancing with the Stars, which starts March 9. Here they are:

Shawn Johnson - gymnast
Belinda Calisle - musician
Steve-O - from Jackass fame
Jewel - singer
Lil Kim - rapper
David Alan Grier - comedian
Chuck Wicks - musician
Gilles Marini - actor
Ty Murray - rodeo cowboy
Nancy O'Dell - television anchor
Denise Richards - actress
Lawrence Taylor - former NFL player
Steve Wozniak - Apple computer co-founder

So what do you think? Any favorites stand out? Who do you think will be cut first?

Also, for more juicy details about the contestants - like, did you know that Jewel and Ty Murray are married - check out the article here.

Spoiler: SNL - Weekend Update is always the highlight

I am going to embed three clips from last night's SNL Weekend Update segment. They are all so funny and some of the funniest parts of the episode.

Mark Spitz skit



Seth Myers' Michael Phelps Really?! skit



Skit of James Harrison from the Steelers



Enjoy and laugh. I know I did.

Spoiler: ER - "You're all here because of this guy"

Let me start this post by saying that I really enjoyed this week's episode. That said, I feel like this season, since it is the last, there are not really any overarching storylines. Instead, the writers are doing all they can to write in plots that allow for old stars to return. This week it was William H. Macy's turn to return to the show. I looked on imdb.com and it looks like he was one of the original cast members.

So here is what happened. An old man, who looks like he has been beaten up, stumbles into the ER. He keeps seeing flashes of a different, older time period. We find out that he used to work at County and that his name is Oliver. The flashes he is having is him seeing the hospital from when he worked there. Morris recognizes the name and says he is a legend; he even helps the doctors who had misdiagnosed a woman with cancer when she really had tuberculosis. Then Macy shows up and tells us that he may have flashes of memory, but he does not talk and "does not interact with the present." He is DNR so they take him off machines and he eventually dies.

If nothing else I bet this episode was fun to film. In Oliver's memory flashes some of the main characters, Sam, Brenner and Morris in particular, were dressed in old style doctor and nurses uniforms and had different hair styles. It was fun to see how much things have changed.

In other happenings, I like Neela and Brenner together. But what is with Lucien? Is he jealous? He is definitely acting strange around Neela.

And how about Sam's storyline. Other than mention of her son, Alex, and his father, there has never been any real discussion about her family life that I can remember. When her sister showed up, I was caught off guard. And then we got to hear some of the details of Sam's life. Apparently, when Sam got pregnant at 15, her mother kicked her out of the house and would not allow Sam to communicate with her younger sister. I wonder if they will pursue this storyline any further in coming episodes.

Well that's it for now. NBC keeps teasing big guest appearances. Who will be next? I'm still watching, I hope you are too.

ER - my thoughts to come later

I will usually write about ER on Thursday nights. But since ABC is playing games with their shows and teasing "crossover events" I spent tonight watching Private Practice instead of ER. Next week I will be doing the same. So come back in a few days for my thoughts on tonight's episode of ER. I DVRed it, so I will watch it when I get a chance and report back then.

Spoiler: The "crossover" that didn't actually happen

For the record, I HATE TV episodes that are "to be continued." They are such a tease! Now that I have gotten that off my chest, let me start at the beginning.

As ABC has been teasing since last week, tonight was supposed to be the "crossover event" that brought together Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. While I never expected this mix to work smoothly, I was, at the very least, expecting it to actually happen. The crossing over tonight probably made up a total of one minute between both shows; It was a shared phone call between Addison and Derek. The real action happens... NEXT WEEK. So basically, all that build up was for nothing. Tonight they were, as per normal, two completely different shows. I will write my thoughts on each here:

Grey's Anatomy

- Of course much of this episode was centered on "love" with Valentine's Day only about a week off. There was the second sex inflicted injury in two weeks; Owen and Cristina shared multiple romantic moments complete with classical music while walking the hallways of the hospital; Derek prepared to propose to Meredith; Cristina is reading Meredith's mom's diary, which includes her romantic happenings with the Chief; etc. But the one part that stood out to me, and not in a good way, was Callie being depressed about being single: "Alone people don't like to hear about together people." Seriously? Can anyone at this hospital survive if they are not in a relationship?
- I am worried about Bailey. She is usually such a capable doctor, but the last few episodes she has been having a hard time working on children because she is afraid they will die. But I'm hoping that helping her patient tonight will allow her to get back to normal. Especially after the Chief proved he has faith in her, I am waiting for her to once again hit her stride.
- I am glad there was not much focus tonight on Izzy. I am really over her and her storyline. Unless something important and real is going to happen, then keep her in the background.

Private Practice

- I am glad Violet finally faced reality and told Sheldon and Pete that she is pregnant. Now she can be the adult that she is and deal with it.
- It was also good that, as the episode came to a close, Dell finally realized he may actually be a good midwife.
- I don't like that Cooper and Charlotte cannot seem to get on the same page. I hope they can finally find happiness together sooner rather than later.
- As the episode went on (and while I was waiting for the "crossover" to start) I found myself feeling really bad for Addison. She really loves Archer and she is honestly doing everything she can think of to make sure he is OK.

So I guess next week is when the REAL crossover happens. The previews for next week showed that some of the Private Practice cast will actually be in Seattle and it seems like there will just be one show that lasts two hours. The preview seemed intense and, though I am truly pissed about the tease this week, I do find myself looking forward to next week. But, again, what about the viewers who only watch one show? Are they going to be left out and confused next week? We'll have to wait (another week) and see.

Digital transmission date maybe delayed? They can't seem to all get on the same page

At this point there just seems to be a lot of back and forth. I have already posted about this, but the latest news is that, yes, the date will most likely be pushed back to June 12 to give those not yet prepared time to get the digital converter they need. Here is the latest Boston.com blog post about it.

Spoiler: 90210's see-saw of emotions

Tonight's episode of 90210 had many highs and lows. Here are some thoughts.

- I am really upset that we find out Ethan is absolutely fine 30 seconds into the episode after all of the build-up following the car accident.
- I'm happy Silver finally came to her senses and realized she loves Dixon too.
- The writers are trying too hard with the Ethan/Rhonda storyline. We get it, Ethan is the stereotypical jock who never leaves his bubble, but do we really need some plain Jane character stirring up trouble?
- I have a lot of problems with the Adriana/Ty pregnancy dilemma, so let's start at the beginning. Why did Adriana think it would be a good idea to tell Ty he had fathered a child while at a party? Also, how dare he immediately say, "you'll just get it taken care of." Since when is that something he can demand a woman to do? On that same note, I can't believe his parents drew up a contract essentially telling Adriana how to live her life. I am so happy she stood up to Ty's parents (with help from her mom). And the last scene of the episode, where Adriana broadcasts to the entire school telling them all she is pregnant was such a brave thing to do. I am proud of her.
- And just a tiny, minor problem I had with the episode. I hate when the writers of shows think the viewers are idiots. In the last episode, which if you follow the timeline should have only been a few days before the action of tonight's episode, Adriana was on a beach in a bathing suit. So we are supposed to believe that in the span of a few days she starting showing? And more than just showing, but really, really showing.

Best line of the episode: "I just got finished being rehab girl and now I have to be pregnant girl."

What did you think of the episode? Any highlights you would like to mention?

Spoiler: GG took a turn for the worse

Here is the link to New York Magazine's rundown of last night's episode. And below are my own pluses and minuses as well as some other thoughts.

Positives

- Plus 2 for Serena being jealous of Miss Carr and Dan right from the beginning. At the start of the episode when she sees Rachel and Dan eating breakfast and Rachel mentions what a wonderful writer Dan is, Serena says, "Believe me, I know."
- The New York Magazine list had this as a negative because of the stereotype it implies, but I think it should be plus 3 for Nelly wanting to check the Dow when she finally gets her hands on a cell phone. At least her priorities are in the right place.
- Plus 1 for Jenny writing the GG post headline on her hand so that she could show it to Dan as evidence and since cell phones were taken away, this was the next best thing.
- Plus 2 for Dan following Blair into the women's bathroom.

Negatives

- Minus 5 for Rachel and Dan bonding because they are both "outsiders." They have already proven that they aren't real outsiders, only people who fit in and like to pretend they are outsiders.
- More specific about Nate and Chuck not being at school, minus 1 for Nate being in uniform but not at school.
- Minus 10 for Blair being so selfish during the episode. I understand that she hates Miss Carr, but when she starts the rumor about Dan and Rachel, why isn't Blair thinking about how this will potentially hurt her best friend? Serena was willing, later in the episode, to put Blair first and get the evidence needed to get Blair reinstated at Constance, but Blair only ever cares about how things affect her.
- Minus 10 for Constance's headmistress saying they were reinstating Rachel because a scandal would hurt the school. Seriously? You'd rather have a student/teacher affair happening? I think that is more of a scandal by itself.
- I also think we should minus hundreds because of the stupid Chuck storyline. Where is that going?

Thoughts

- Now that Rachel and Dan have had sex and we know that Rachel is in the process of being reinstated as a teacher, she can't come back, right? There is no turning back after having sex with a student. Writing it into the show that she would then once again be a teacher is an awful idea. She cannot accept her position back.
- I hate how Dan and Serena are constantly getting together and breaking up. They don't trust one another, as was made obvious in the episode last night, so I hope this break up lasts longer than usual. I want to see these two characters flourish on their own for a change.
- I want to see more of the Nate/Vanessa storyline. Right now they are always mentioned in the background, but never the center of attention. I hope their storyline is expanded in future episodes.
- I am over all of the "this is for Yale" references. In the books this was a problem too, but not nearly as bad as it has been in recent episodes. If they (Blair in particular) just continue to act as they did the previous three years that helped them get into Yale in the first place, then maybe there wouldn't be any problems? Or is that wishful thinking? I'm glad they got into college, but let's focus on the here and now instead of continually referencing something that isn't going to happen until next year.

So what did you think about the episode? I obviously had more negatives than positives, but maybe things in coming weeks will begin to look up. Feel free to leave comments and rate some other moments from last night's episode.

Spoiler: OTH episode didn't disappoint

First off, this episode was directed by Bethany Joy Galeotti. TVGuide.com has an interview with her about her experience. And I must say, I really enjoyed it. This was the episode where they were casting for the movie based on Lucas' high school experience. I knew going in that this was going to be a good episode and I wasn't disappointed. There were many extremely humorous scenes and even more humorous lines.

But before I get to what I liked about this episode, I have to go on a slight rant. As a feminist, I had a few problems with tonight's episode.

- Was it really necessary for everything out of James Van der Beek's mouth to objectify women? "Audiences like boobs." Seriously? All he talked about was sex and sex appeal while they were trying to cast for the movie. At times it was funny, but at what point is it pushed too far?
- When Peyton and Mia were trying to put together the crib, Mia immediately says, why not just have Lucas do it? Peyton says back that they are two strong women and can do it themselves. But then they fail. They can't put it together. What is that saying about their ability to care for themselves and do "manly" tasks like put something together?

But enough with that. Here are some of the highlights of the night, many of which are examples of why I love this show.

- Jamie tonight was too cute. I love that he wanted to ask a girl over "to play" and when she showed up it was his teacher. And then there was the scene where Jamie thinks Dan is trying to steal her from him. He says to Dan, you're making fun of me. And even when Dan says he isn't, Jamie continues. "You are just trying to make me look bad so that she'll like you better." And he then shouts, "He was in prison!" and stomps out of the room. All he knew was that he wanted his teacher all to himself and would stop at nothing to get it. (As adorable as this was, would a 6-year-old really know anything about this? They write lines that are just too mature for him sometimes.)
- When they are casting for the movie, are they really expecting the person they are casting to look exactly like the original? It was almost too eerie when the camera panned Tric and there were dozens of people who all looked alike. And on a similar note, it was cute to hear the people auditioning reciting lines from past episodes.
- I can't believe Lucas threw a temper tantrum. I don't get why he is being so indecisive. He is making too big of a deal out of making a decision and it honestly annoyed me throughout most of the episode. But lucky for him he won my heart back at the end when he made it to Peyton's sonogram.
- Nathan truly is a team player and I'm glad the coach made him the starter. But I also feel bad for Mr. Tough-guy Basketball player who got fired and actually has, not only a softer side, but also a family to support.
- I'm glad Brooke stood up for herself. As she said, there is so much more to her than just sex and I was happy to see her and Julian work things out at the end.
- When Peyton pointed out to Brooke that they have now shared three guys, I couldn't help but thinking GROSS! With them, the girl code really is shot at this point, huh?
- Hailey, and at the same time Bethany Joy Galeotti, really are the stars of this episode. I didn't realize Hailey was in charge of the school newspaper, but I am so happy she stood up to the principal and stood by freedom of the press, instead of simply cutting the essay and saving her job. She didn't want to take Sam's voice away. She did what she knew was right and didn't care about the consequences. Good for her!

The last few minutes of the episode were especially great. I loved how they spliced between past and present as the "new" characters completed a table read of the movie script. When put into this perspective, we realize the characters actually haven't changed all that much.

Here is the link to another TVGuide.com post that has a few clips from tonight's episode. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Jennifer Hudson singing the National Anthem

In case you missed it, Jennifer Hudson sang the National Anthem at the start of the game tonight and it was amazing. The hair on my arms stood up and I got goosebumps. I found it up on YouTube already, so here it is. I don't think she was lip syncing, do you? Her performance seemed so genuine. After all she has been through, the murder of her family members a few months ago, this was the first time she appeared publicly and I think she shined.

(The YouTube video I had posted was taken down but you can still see the video of Hudson singing if you go here, to UsMagazine.com.) And that post was even taken down. So hopefully you got to see it while it was up.

Super Bowl ads

I work at Northeastern's student newspaper, the Huntington News, Wednesdays and Sundays so I did not get to devote my full attention to watching the Super Bowl tonight, though I truly would have enjoyed watching the game both for the action on the field and the commercials. As the game comes closer to the end, I want to hear from you: What did you think of the commercials? Any favorites?

A few standouts from the ones I did see include the Doritos commercials where every time the guy in the commercial crunches a chip something great happens to him, yet when the bag is empty he gets hit by a bus and the Pepsi Macgruber commercials that also aired last night during Saturday Night Live and are based on a recurring SNL skit. Pretty funny stuff!