Dancing eliminates two dancers

This week marked the end of the road for two pairs: Holly Madison & Dmitry Chaplin and Steve Wozniak & Karina Smirnoff. How do you feel about losing these pairs? Do you think they deserved to go home?

Spoiler: 90210 - I hate to admit it, but I actually missed you while you were away

It has been weeks since the last new 90210 episode aired and if you remember, the previews they showed were rather intriguing. I'm not going to go into too many specifics about the show, but I do have this to say: Are they trying for a nervous breakdown/possible suicide storyline with Silver? She started by getting a tattoo of Dixon's name, then in this episode she was extremely sex crazed and wanted to do it at every moment and in every setting. Additionally, as a part of a school project, Silver puts together a movie in which she shows her and Dixon having sex. She then later breaks down - continually acting crazy - and freaks because people keep asking her "are you out of your mind?" She is at the tipping point and acting manic. I am not sure what to expect next but the only thing I know for sure is that she is acting crazy. (Update: TvGuide.com has this article about Silver's storyline last night. In the comment section, someone mentions she is probably bipolar. That makes sense but it doesn't mean I enjoy where they are going with it...)

Another point I want to make is that I appreciate how these main characters are high school age and are shown at school. Them being in school is actually a part of the storyline, which adds to the believability of the show. It is so easy for shows to allude to school without ever really showing them there, but here the teenagers are students first.

On a side note, did anyone else notice the scene where Adrianna and Annie are talking in the hallway and the guy walks over to them and calls Adrianna Juno? Very witty.

I have continually willed myself to not become addicted to this show, but I will most likely watch again next week and the week after. Are you still watching? Did you enjoy this first episode back?

Spoiler: GG - "Sounds like everything's exactly the same as the last time I saw you"

Before I start, a note about the quote that is part of the headline to this post. Doesn't Poppy realize that this is the whole point of senior year? Nothing changes. Poppy must have gone to high school herself...

Gossip Girl last night certainly did not disappoint. Here is the New York Magazine Daily Intel and below are some of my own pluses and minuses.

- At their "family" breakfast, someone mentions how their life is like a reality TV show. Chuck then says he wants to vote off Dan. Plus one because these two really do hate one another.
- Minus 10 for the blizzard in New York during this episode. It is spring, embrace it.
- Minus two because when Lily offers to help Rufus pay for Dan's Yale education, she is very obviously only offering to be nice and hardly seems to mean it.
- When Lily suggests the Humphreys move into her house, did no one stop to think how awkward that would be for Dan and Serena? Minus four because someone would have pointed that out.
- Minus two for Serena and Poppy pressuring Jenny to buy an expensive designer dress. Jenny designs clothes herself, she doesn't need a label.
- Plus five for the face Blair made as Nate kissed her on the forehead.
- While on the phone with Serena, Blair starts talking about Nate. Caught off guard and since she does not yet know their relationship is restarting, Serena jumps to a conclusion: "Have you dumped me for Vanessa?" Plus four because of how adorable their relationship is.
- Minus one for the phonecall Dan accidentally picks up. The realtor would not have just assumed the person who answered the phone was Rufus and would have asked to speak to him.
- Plus two for Jenny's line, "I liked my social grave."
- The expressions of shock on Blair and Nate's faces when Vanessa grabs Chuck and kisses him are priceless. Plus three.
- The witty banter between Serena and Dan as they make the bed is worth a plus one.
- Minus four for Serena throwing Jenny under the bus once Lily and Rufus come home. True, the party did get out of hand because of her, but it was still her birthday and she was only responding to prove a point to Serena.
- Minus two for Blair saying "it was too good to last" with Nate. Um, wasn't it only like a week and a half?
- Blair's "favorite spot" would not be a pond where she feeds ducks. She is much too high end for that. Minus one.
- Minus three for Serena just jumping on a plane and going to Spain. Don't these kids have SCHOOL?
- Minus 100 for Vanessa and Chuck having sex!! She knows better and has too high moral standards to do such a thing. (I know 100 is an exaggeration, but I honestly did not see that one coming. It is very out of character.)

The next new episode isn't for a few weeks. How did you feel about this episode and are you looking forward to the next new one? Leave your own tallies below.

Spoiler: OTH - "I like it here. You bring something broken and you fix it up"

Tonight's OTH was pretty entertaining and at moments had me yelling at the screen. Here is a rundown of the action.

- The episode starts with Luca having a nightmare about Peyton having complications with her pregnancy. He is obviously really worried about her and even checks with her to make sure she is OK before going out for the day. They also discuss how they should tell people about the complications because as of now, only the two of them know.
- Peyton is promoting Hailey to the record label. But later in the episode Hailey admits that she is not wholeheartedly working on the record because she really loves and misses teaching. More on Peyton - she is back to drawing. At the end of the episode she opens a box and inside is a bunch of memorabilia from her life. Personally, I think she is preparing to die and is trying to put together this box - with her drawings inside - and through the items she is telling her story to her child.
- Both Skills and Mouth have recently been dumped by their girlfriends. Skills decides they should take a road trip to mend their broken hearts and won't let Mouth refuse. Skills drives them to a college party, which also happens to be a party where he knows Gigi will be. Skills says what Mouth needs is no strings attached sex and Skills thinks Gigi should be his target. And Skills doesn't mind being surrounded by hot college girls either. At the party, Mouth is forced into doing a keg stand, but not before pointing out that it is still light out. They are probably too old to be acting in such a way. Mouth does not seem to be in any better spirits at the party than when he was depressed at home. He even starts looking at Gigi and seeing Millie. They leave the party and in a rare moment where Skills opens up about his feelings he says he believes that if Deb were "the one" for him she would come back; otherwise "the one" is still out there. Back in the car, Mouth falls asleep. When he wakes up he sees that Skills drove them to Millie's doorstep. Millie comes home, he tells her he can't live without her and they kiss.
- Sam and Jack have a visible connection in this episode. And they also become partners in crime. The evil principal is filling in as the teacher of Hailey's literature class since she was fired. The principal is a mean teacher and harsh grader, so the class shows her no respect. Sam and Jack organize it so that the entire class is waiting for Hailey at her house during school hours. They took a stand for Hailey. The principal isn't teaching them anything and the students wanted to learn from Hailey so they were willing to take a risk. Hailey tells them to go back to school, but they say they won't leave until they learn something. Hailey gives them a lesson on Catch 22 (coincidence? I think not) but the principal shows up and they eventually do go back to school. Later, when Hailey is telling Brooke about the kids showing up at her house, Hailey says students wanting to learn more is more rare than a unicorn and that Sam is a truly special girl. In a final confrontation with the principal, it is clear that Hailey pities the principal and that the principal is jealous of Hailey's ability to connect with her students.
- Jamie, Lucas and Nathan have a guys day together. They starts at the River Court where they play some basketball. After Nathan mentions that Jamie feels lost and that he is sad he didn't know Keith, Lucas decides to spend some of their day at Keith's garage. While at the garage they work on Lucas' Mustang. (A side note: One line they said bothered me - Lucas tells Jamie that when guys work on cars together they tease each other about girls. Sexist much? Do they really have nothing else they could talk about? Jamie is only 5 years old.) Lucas tells Jamie about Keith and it doesn't take long for Jamie to see and point out the similarities between the two men.
- Julian goes to Brooke and invites her and Sam to move to California to live with him. He says to her that he knows she will think of a million reasons why she should not, but that he has one reason why she should and it is that he loves her. This entire episode only makes Julian look more like the most perfect boyfriend. Brooke says it would be ridiculous to go. As she is thinking about the proposal, she is thinking about everyone but herself. She thinks about Sam, Peyton and the baby, but not herself and what she wants. At one point in the show, Peyton even goes to Julian to make sure he is sincere is his invitation. He says he wants them to be a family (awww) and Peyton warns him that Brooke is very protective of her heart. In the conversation between Hailey and Brooke, mentioned above, Hailey starts talking about how Sam is such a changed girl and that all she really needed was some stability to help her flourish. Without even realizing it, Hailey is talking Brooke out of going to California. Julian meets Sam at the diner and says she is a wonderful writer. He then tells her about his invitation for her and Brooke to come with him to LA. Sam then goes home and packs bags for both Brooke and her. Before leaving the boutique for the night, Brooke holds Peyton's wedding dress up against her and looks really sad. At home, Sam is talking about how Brooke has done so much for her and that she is completely willing to move to California if it will make Brooke happy. Brooke shows up at the airport with no bags and no Sam to find a waiting Julian very happy to see her, at least until he realizes she is not getting on the plane: "If this were a movie it would end different, but this isn't a movie." He says goodbye and leaves. If nothing else, I am so mad at Brooke for never telling him she loves him.

The preview they showed was a montage of moments from the next five episodes, the first of which airs April 20. I love how they throw all of those indecipherable images at us and then leave us to wonder what they mean for a few weeks. If nothing else, this season looks like it will end is true OTH dramatic fashion.

A Grey's wedding to celebrate the 100th episode

Not that I like posting twice in a row about Grey's Anatomy, but TvGuide.com has this news about a wedding during the May 7 episode, which also happens to be the show's 100th. Here is exactly what series creator Shonda Rhimes said:

"The only thing I'll tell you about the 100th [episode] is that it takes place on Meredith and Derek's wedding day."

Well the TvGuide.com post goes on to talk about how unlikely it seems that Derek and Meredith would be rushing to get married after only getting engaged this week. They also speculate that maybe it is someone else who gets married. Here is my thoughts on this. Who else on the show would need to rush to get married? Izzy and Alex. If Izzy is dying, maybe Alex steps up and proposes they get married quickly. But Rhimes did say Meredith and Derek's wedding day, so why do we have to jump to the conclusion that they won't actually get married? Maybe, for once, they will actually lived happily and no drama will ruin their special day.

What do you think? Is a six week engagement out of character for Meredith and Derek? Do you think it could be someone else who walks down the aisle?

Grey's news: Heigl will stay if they want her to

Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl has been drumming up drama frequently lately. First she took her name out of the running when she was nominated for an award because she said she did not think her character's storylines were worthy of praise. Then there were rumors that she was being killed off the show. Following this was an announcement from fellow castmate James Pickens Jr. that she, as well as T.R. Knight, were leaving the show. Well now we have this story. Apparently, Heigl wants to make it clear that her character, Izzy's, fate lies in the hands of the show's executives and writers.

Spoiler: Private Practice - "I don't know if I'm strong enough to stop it"

Sorry for posting this a few days after the episode aired, but here is this week's show rundown.

- Cooper has a 12-year-old patient who is sexually active and her mother not only knows, but Cooper sees her as condoning the activity. He goes as far as to threaten to call DCF because he thinks the mom is not doing her job as a parent to keep her daughter safe. Violet and Naomi do not necessarily side with the mother, but they do think that she is doing what she thinks is best for her daughter. When the doctors find out that the daughter is pregnant and tell her and her mother, the mother immediately jumps in and says that she will have an abortion. The daughter then proclaims that she will keep the baby. Cooper again gets mad because he thinks it is not right that the mother chose now to start parenting and put her foot down. But in the end the mother admits that she screwed up being a parent and Cooper supports her.
- Sam is called as an expert witness is a malpractice lawsuit. He is on the stand to testify that the doctor being sued did all he could in the medical case that lead to a man dying, but when cross examined Sam's own integrity and medical ability is called into question. He gets slammed on the stand and goes back to the practice to lick his wounds. The lawyer wants him to take the stand again so that he can do damage control. To prepare, Sam goes back over every detail of the case so that he is very prepared. While looking at the material, Sam notices that the doctor being sued is covering up a mistake that he made. The doctor even asks Sam to lie on the stand. Sam struggles with this and when he is finally up there he tells the truth. This leads to the doctor's lawyer, who also happens to be one of his best friends, getting very angry at him.
- At the beginning of the episode, Naomi notices that Dell is late to work. She promptly reprimands him. Dell, in other instances throughout the episode, continues to act out. He says he is sick of always doing the right thing. He is obviously responding to his daughter being taken from him and is letting his personal life seep into his work life. At the end of the episode, Sam yells at Dell for his bad attitude and tells him to get his act together.
- Pete is treating a young child with allergies who keeps talking about his really cool mom, who turns out to be guest star Idina Menzel (real life wife to Taye Diggs). The son knows his mother has been lonely since she got divorced and is trying to set her up with Pete. When the son again comes in to see Pete, he immediately says he has to go to the bathroom as an excuse to get Pete and his mom alone. Pete does ask her on a date, which Violet earlier said was unethical. (More on Violet in a minute.) Pete is even upfront with Violet about the date, telling her right away that he is going out with the mom.
- Violet is becoming self conscious about her weight and the fact that she eats a lot of food. She is also visibly becoming jealous of Pete and his other relationships. She says she is not jealous of Pete because she wants to be with him, but because she just does not want him to be with anyone else. In other Violet news, while she and Charlotte have seemingly become friends in the past few episodes, this week they got in a fight. While talking about Pete and his inability to change, Charlotte tells Violet that she slept with Archer. Charlotte meant this as a way to prove that people can change, but Violet immediately gets pissed saying that even though Cooper forgave her, it is not OK that she cheated. Needless to say, they are probably not going to be as friendly as they were for about the week they were friends.
- Naomi did not really have a large role in this episode, but she did, at the end of the episode, go on a date with Duncan, Sam's best friend who happens to be the lawyer mentioned earlier in this post. She keeps dating close to home, therefore her relationships are, sadly, always in Sam's face.
- Noah's wife, Morgan, is having pregnancy complications and of course Addision has to swoop in to save her. Morgan even opens up to Addison about her marriage, which must be awfully awkward for Addison. Morgan goes as far as to say that her marriage with Noah is extremely rocky and the baby will save their marriage. Noah, after his wife almost dies, gets freaked out and tells Addison that he is ashamed because he does not think about his wife anymore since he is always and only thinking about Addison. Morgan tells Addison that she noticed Noah would not look at her after she woke up post coding. Morgan then sends Addison to look for Noah before her surgery, after he stops responding to her phone calls. Noah says in his soul he feels like he is cheating on Morgan. Addison tells him that he has to put his feelings aside to be by his wife's side during her surgery. At the very end of the episode, Noah shows up at Addison's door. With very few words exchanged, they passionately kiss and then Addison pushes him out the door.

No new episode next week. Leave your thoughts about this one below.

Spoiler: Dollhouse - "How can you not remember something and remember it at the same time?"

Last night's Dollhouse continued to peak my interest. I'm not going to give a play-by-play, but I am going to highlight a few of the important plot points.

- We gets glimpses of Caroline, which was Echo's name before she became an active, in her old life. She is an extreme activist who, with the help of her boyfriend, tried to get dirt on a powerful company - Rossum - which is conducting improper science experiments. Getting caught filming inside the lab led to her boyfriend getting shot and I think is what led to her being forced into trading her life to be an active.
- Many of the actives glitched during their mission and got glimpses of past experiences or missions. I think this is forewarning problems with the memory erasing procedure.
- The episode focused on a drug outbreak on a college campus that saw not only students high, but also a bunch of the main characters - Topher, Boyd, Ms. DeWitt, Mr. Dominic and others - tripping. It was quite humorous.

Next week is being called Dollhouse: The Awakening. From the preview, this is what I got: The actives, while asleep in their pods, have dreams of their past. When they wake up they try to escape the Dollhouse.

Plug pulled on Lipstick Jungle

In an interview with Brooke Shields posted on TvGuide.com, Shields announced that Lipstick Jungle has been officially canceled. I knew this moment was inevitable, but that doesn't mean it is any easier. I truly loved the show and wish I had had the opportunity to spend more time with Wendy, Victory and Nico. Is anyone else as heartbroken as I am?

Spoiler: Grey's Anatomy - "Today is all about Izzy"

The theme of tonight's Grey's episode was moving forward and the need to not get stuck. It was also the episode where Derek returns to the OR to perform surgery on Izzy. It all started with Alex doing the voiceover and discussing how surgeons are butchers and that they very often cause trauma. Nothing like starting on a positive note, right? Well, here is what happened.

- While in bed with Cristina, Owen has a nightmare and "freezes," as he calls it. In the midst of this he grabs Cristina by the neck and almost strangles her. Luckily, Cali could hear Cristina struggling from the other room and when she called his name he stopped. After he wakes up and she is calmer, they confront each other and it is so obvious that he is traumatized. He says he is sorry, even cries, and she forgives him. She knows it is not his fault. Throughout the episode Cali and Meredith are visibly pissed at Owen and do not think Cristina should be with him, but Cristina stands by him. She does not want to walk away because he is wounded and needs her. Even when he tries to break things off with her, she tells him that he has to let her decide how much she can handle. They finally have sex for the first time and it is after that when Cristina realizes that she is not actually strong enough to handle a relationship with him. She admits that she is afraid to fall asleep next to him. It is only then that he decides to get help and try to fix his PTSD.
- Throughout the episode, in the few scenes where he is shown, George shows he is very angry with Izzy because they are supposed to be best friends, yet he was one of the last people to find out she was sick. There is even a scene where he is slamming casts with a hammer and Cali has to pull him away. She also point out to him that while he is mad that he was the last to know, he is probably also mad because he might lose his best friend. There is also a scene where Izzy is in the hospital chapel praying for Izzy because she feels guilty that when Izzy stole George from her, Cali used to wish Izzy were dead. It is weird how someone being sick makes people feel guilty for their own past indiscretions.
- At the very beginning of the episode, Derek tries to propose to Meredith. She, not surprisingly, says no and that today is not the day. Once at the hospital, Alex is not as sure as other people that Derek is ready to do Izzy's surgery. As a matter of fact, a bunch of doctors call Derek out for how he acted when he killed that woman a few episodes ago and it must have fazed him. But Derek knew that he had to save Izzy.
- In the midst of a show focused on Izzy, there is a patient who Sloan and Little Grey are treating. She is very old and her family actually wants her to die. Apparently, she was told she only had a month to live and all of her family members said their goodbyes. But that was three years ago and she keeps almost dying, but then recovering. Alex calls them out, saying that they have no respect. He says there are tons of people in the hospital wishing their family member lives, but here they are wishing she dies. This does not seem to change their attitude. They are all in a rush to be somewhere else. She goes into VTAC a few times, but keeps recovering. Then she doesn't and she really dies. It is then that her family members show their true emotions and they all request more time to see farewell to her. This storyline was a good way to contrast how everyone working at the hospital was pulling for Izzy to survive her surgery.
- Before Izzy starts radiation, the doctors want to take out some eggs so that she would have the possibility to have children if she were to make it through all of her surgeries and treatments. The chief asks Alex to donate sperm since fertalized eggs have a better survival rate. He has a difficult time with this task and eventually opens up to Meredith about three things in particular: He does not think Izzy will be alive for long; he doesn't think that they were supposed to make babies "this way"; and he says he blames himself for not figuring out she was sick earlier, especially after she told him about seeing and talking to Denny. His fear of losing her leads Alex to not visit her before her surgery.
- Izzy's oncologist is very blunt with her - she needs a lot of surgeries and is told it is not going to be fun. She warns Izzy that she has to prepare herself. After this, Izzy tells everyone to go to work and to save lives. What she was not expecting was that no one, other than Bailey, would visit her while she waited for her surgery to begin. It is not until they all sit down for lunch that they realize no one had been to see her, but by then it was too late.
- Izzy is brought into surgery and Derek is nervous. Bailey is there to keep him calm, but the oncologist is also in the room and keeps second guessing him. In the end, the surgery is successful and Izzy will live to see another day.
- Bailey once again steals tonight's show. She is the first to point out that what Izzy does not need is more doctors, instead she needs friends. She also visits Izzy multiple times during the day. After the surgery, she also calls out the other doctors for not visiting Izzy while she was waiting for her surgery. She tells them that they are lucky they get another chance to be there for her.
- After the surgery, in a very symbolic scene, Derek shaves his beard. He then decorates one of the hospital elevators with memorablia from his relationship with Meredith and again asks her to marry him. After turning him down twice in that same day, she finally says yes. Derek and Meredith are engaged!

As Alex points out, "people are better than no people." Hopefully this is lesson they truly learned and that from now on everyone will be there for Izzy throughout her time in the hospital and not just gather to stand outside the OR while she is being operated on.

There were no previews and TvGuide.com doesn't have any listings for the next new episode. But what did you think of tonight's show? It was obvious that Izzy was not going to die tonight, but do you still think they are going to kill her off?

Spoiler: ER - no real surprises, just build-up before next week's series finale

I don't think I had high expectations for this week's episode, and that is why this mostly low-key episode satisfied. Nothing too exciting happened, yet I was still entertained. Here is a play by play of what happened.

- As predicted, that baby who was left by the mother at the hospital a few episodes ago is still in the NICU and Banfield wants to adopt the baby. Before I go on, there was a segment where she says to her husband that they would have to take a certification class before they would be eligible to adopt, which got me thinking. Is it really that simple because they definitely made it seem like something simple. But moving on, not long after this, the baby's mother shows up at the ER. She says she made a mistake and wants the baby back. Banfield says she has to be evaluated to make sure she is a fit mother, but all signs point to the mother getting the baby back and Banfield again being left baby-less. But the mother sticks around the hospital and watches Banfield save a bunch of lives. The mother then pulls Banfield aside and tells her that her goal in life is to make a difference, which would be difficult to do when she would be forced to drop out of high school to raise a child. In the end, Banfield and the girl agree on an open adoption, where Banfield gets custody of the baby but the mother also gets to be a part of the baby's life.
- At the beginning of the show there is a scene where Frank is video-chatting with Neela who is in Louisianna in her new office and showing County staff members around. Simon catches a glimpse of the computer screen just in time to see that Ray is there. About Neela's storyline, I don't like that there are so many unanswered questions. Did she take this new job to be near/with Ray? Do they work at the same hospital? I really wish this storyline would be clarified and yet it was only a part of this episode for a minute or so.
- After Brenner sees Neela with Ray, he is obviously angry. He starts snapping at patients and is visibly pissed off. Sam picks up on this and tells him things will get better. But then we find out that it might not be Neela who is making Simon upset. Apparently, Joanie, the mother who has been on the show for many episodes this season with her daughter, Lucy, is not doing well and her body rejected the heart they transplanted into her a few weeks ago. He is very attached to this family, and that may be the real reason he is angry.
- This episode also saw a few of the County staff members volunteer at a camp for children with heart problems. As one of the little girls in attendance pointed out, at the camp they all fit in because they are not different, only all sick. All of the kids seem to be having fun except for one young boy who prefers to stand on the outside and at one point even acts out. He later opens up to Brenner and tells him that he feels like he is not supposed to enjoy himself because his friend who was supposed to be there with him died the week before. Brenner helps the boy work through his grief. After a day of arts & craft and athletic activities, the camp has a dance party where the kids enjoy themselves and Tony and Morris perform a song and dance. At the end, Morris even talks with his cop girlfriend about how much he learned from the kids during his day with them and kind of proposes, but in more of a fictional way. It was nice to see him so happy.

Overall, this episode was no better or worse than any other. It was a filler before next week's finale - especially since there were no special guests. Next Thursday, the entire night is dedicated to ER. Starting at 8 p.m. there will be an ER Retrospective, which is a look back on the 15 seasons of the show. Then at 9 p.m. the two-hour series finale starts. From the preview expect tons of guest appearances.

So the two big questions I have are: what did you think of tonight's episode and will you be watching next week? Also, what are you expecting from the show's conclusion? Leave it here.

Spoiler: In the Motherhood premiere - A social experiment

ABC's new comedy In the Motherhood, starring Cheryl Hines, Megan Mullally, Jessica St. Clair and Horatio Sanz, is based on real stories shared by real mothers. I watched the premier and have to admit I was pretty entertained. The show is not the best comedy I have ever watched and I definitely was not laughing hysterically throughout, but it was worth watching. The show revolves around three friends (two are actually sisters) and their experiences with motherhood. Here are a few of the jokes in tonight's episode.

- First there is Jane. She has a teenage daughter and a 1-year-old. She also has a "manny," played by Sanz, to help her at home. In this episode we see here lie about still being at work so that she can spend time relaxing with friends instead of going home to her kids, as well as her relationship with a man at work who will be her first date in months.
- There is also Emily who strives to be a perfect mom who, above all else, never lies to her children. When her sister points out that she does lie to them by letting them believe in Santa, she promptly tells her young children that Santa is not a real person. This leads her kids to freak out and her son even goes to school and tells all of the other children. At the end of the episode, they have Horatio dress up as Santa in an attempt to get them to believe again, but when Horatio falls off the roof, the mission is only slightly accomplished.
- Finally there is Rosemary who more than once references having an older child, but we never see her interact with her son or daughter. In this premiere episode we do see Rosemary pretend to be pregnant as what she calls a social experiment. She says she thinks pregnant women are seen as goddesses and she wants the attention. She makes pregnant friends and at the end they throw her a baby shower. Of course it was only a matter of time before the stuffed animal she had stuffed up her shirt fell, yet the scene, especially her explanation for why she did it, was funny.

Overall, I recommend the show to anyone looking for a new comedy to pick up. It airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. For me, I probably will not watch it religiously, but I may possibly watch episodes online when I have more free time.

How about you - did you watch? Did the show meet your expectations? Are you looking forward to more episodes? Tell me what's on your mind.

Shows premiering this Spring that are worth watching

TvGuide.com has this slideshow of the top new shows premiering in the coming weeks (a few have actually already premiered). Included is Better Off Ted, In the Motherhood, Parks and Recreation and, my new favorite show, Castle.

I will, sadly, not be following Castle on this blog because I am not yet caught up and also will probably never watch the show close to when the episode originally aired, but I did want to mention how great I think it is. I recommend it to anyone who likes witty banter and sexual tension, which is humorous and enjoyable between the two main characters played by Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, and there is even some crime drama mixed in.

Better Off Ted is better off dead

The title of the show may be a play on the words, but in reality the show Better Off Ted really should be dead. I watched the premiere episode a few days ago but haven't had a chance to post about it. In honor of the second episode airing today on ABC at 8:30 p.m., I thought now is as good a time as ever. Below is a short description of the show, as well as why I dislike it. To start, here is one of the best lines of the first episode: "It becomes normal. If you keep doing it, everything does."

The show is based in the office of a company named Veridian Dynamics. The company's research development team is in charge of inventing new things from weapons made out of pumpkins to robotic mice that can withstand intense heat.

The show stars Jay Harrington as Ted and Portia de Rossi as Veronica, and a few other characters made impressions in the opening episode. While there were interesting storylines - for example, Ted and Linda's flirting that cannot become a relationship because he has already had his one office affair and he does not want to be known as the guy who sleeps around - but the majority of the show was unfunny. Ted's daughter is much too insightful for a young girl; the freezing the employee scene was not enjoyable; and the uncomfortable chair that will help companies make their employees more productive was not a funny scenario. Overall, the show was not entertaining and not very funny.

I also really did not like how Ted's character breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the audience at points in the show. I prefer shows where we, as audience members, are watching like a fly on the wall; when characters address the viewers it is startling.

Did anyone else watch the show's first episode? Did you enjoy it? Let me know if you plan to continue watching and, if so, what you like about the show that keeps you coming back.

I am pissed with the Dancing with the Stars voters

As Matt pointed out, it is likely that there are computer nerds sitting at home voting for Steve Wozniak without even watching the show. But seriously, how can this show be successful if good dancers are getting kicked off so that a man who got a total score of 10 can stick around and continue to make a fool out of himself?

The bottom two consisted of Holly Madison & Dmitry Chaplin and Denise Richards & Maksim Chmerkovskiy. This season's second casualty is Denise and Maks. Who would have ever thought that they would be sent home before Karina and Steve? Poor Maks. He is such an awesome dancer and not bad to look at either. I'm not sad to see her go, but I am a bit shocked.

Obama's news conference

I probably won't take much time to discuss the content of President Obama's primetime news conference tonight, but after only a few minutes of watching his opening segment, I couldn't help but post my initial thoughts. Particularly that I hate how he is so obviously reading from a teleprompter. One of Obama's strong-points is his ability to give inspiring speeches. Watching him read from a screen in front of him while not looking very animated, is making this address less exciting than I was expecting it to be.

Spoiler: Gossip Girl - "You can't fight against who you are"

Last night's GG episode did not include any real mention of Elle, which was wonderful, but while the show was entertaining, I have to admit it was not as dramatic as usual. Here is the New York Magazine Intel link. They made some wonderful points and actually came out even on the tally, so as I said, we must agree that the show was neither wonderful nor disappointing. Here are some additional point values:

- Minus two for Dan and Vanessa going to Nate's house to watch college basketball. While this is something Nate would enjoy, it is hardly the style of Dan or Vanessa.
- When Chuck walks in on Carter and Blair, she says to Chuck's protest, "He can't be any worse than you." Plus two because it is oh so true.
- Plus one goes to Dan and Vanessa because as Nate's grandfather gives them a tour of the estate, all they can do is crack jokes back and forth. That is exactly how I would also handle the situation.
- Plus five for the best line of the show: "Do you know how exhausting it has been being Blair Waldorf for the past 18 years?" Because only Blair would be this self-centered.
- Plus two for the Breakfast at Tiffany's mention because in the book, much more so than in the show, Blair is OBSESSED with the movie.
- Minus two for Blair's actions at the reunion. (And a side note, minus five because why would everyone be there? Was Blair, Chuck, Serena and the rest of the world really invited?) Blair would never say she wants to be dead and buried with no resurrection. Though she does know a lot of dirt and it was funny to see her spill it.
- Minus three for when Serena told Chuck to fight for Blair. Doesn't Serena hate Chuck?
- Plus three for Dan's line about how Upper East Side grandparents rule their grandchildren's lives.
- Minus 10 for the cliche voiceover at the end of the episode where the Gossip Girl announces that spring is a time for rebirth.

Did I miss any? What did you like/dislike about last night's episode? Let me know.

Spoiler: OTH - Not the dog ate my homework, instead, a dog ate my heart

After last week's disappointing episode, I am happy to report that One Tree Hill is once again back to its core and I thought tonight's episode was rather enjoyable. There were quite a few memorable scenes and character interactions, as well as some witty dialogue. Here is a recap, which will start with an explanation about the title of this post.

- At the end of last week's episode Dan's pager for a new heart buzzed. While at the hospital in the waiting room, Dan watches the man transporting the heart trip, fall and drop the case carrying the heart onto the floor. The heart then rolls out of the container and a dog that happened to also be in the waiting room walked up to the heart and ate it! It was quite a funny scene. Before this happened, Lucas and Peyton were also at the hospital and they run into Dan. Dan says, "I'm getting a heart," to which Lucas replies, "It's about time." After this second failed attempt to get a heart, Dan is starting to believe that he is being punished for his past sins. Dan then realizes that Jamie is truly the only person he has left who cares for him. He asks Deb for permission to take Jamie for a few hours to "say goodbye." While saying goodbye Jamie asks Dan to tell him who killed Keith and when Dan tells the truth and admits he did, Jamie immediately responds by saying, "I want to go home." At the very end of the episode, Dan shows up at the River Court, where Lucas and Nathan are playing basketball, and he apologizes to them for failing as a father, but he also tells them he thinks they are great men and should not change.
- Deb had a strong presence in this episode. After last week where Dan blamed her for Keith's death, in this episode she stands up for herself and tells him it was not her who pulled the trigger, but him. Also, Deb finally admits to herself that her relationship with Skills cannot possibly work since there is too much of an age difference. She breaks up with Skills, even after he tries to tell her that having children is not important to him if he is only with her.
- In a rather cute, small storyline, Skills is coaching Jamie's basketball team. After the team loses a game, Skills is the perfect children's coach and tells them that winning doesn't matter.
- There wasn't much mention about Peyton's medical problem in this episode, though while at her mother's gravestone, Peyton did admit that she is really scared.
- A few weeks ago Hailey went against the principal's wishes and printed Sam's essay in the school newspaper. It lead to her being suspended as a teacher. In this episode, Hailey meets with the principal who says she can have her job back if Hailey publishes an apology in the next issue of the newspaper and also apologies to her class. Hailey, at first, agrees because the alternative is being fired. Nathan helps her make the decision because he reminds her that she has to keep her students in mind and they are much better off if she is their teacher. But in the end Hailey realizes that though taking the high road and apologizing would solve the problem, she would not be telling the truth because truthfully she stands behind running the essay. So, instead, Hailey walks out of class and in turn is fired.
- Sam is at the store, sees Jack and tries to get his attention. He ignores her, walks out of the story and sets off a detector. He had stolen some food. Sam tells him to give her the food so that he can get away. She is caught with the food, but in the end the store did not end up pressing charges. Regardless, Brooke gets very angry with her, even saying things she in the end regrets. She calls Sam "unfixable," which really hurts Sam. Sam finds out that Brooke and Julian are fighting (because of the unreturned I love you utterance) and Sam realizes that Brooke is really mad at Julian and is taking her frustration out on her. Sam even goes to Julian to try to get him to realize how important Brooke is to him. Brooke, before the end of the episode, apologizes to Sam saying she is not unfixable. And to make it up to her, Brooke found Jack and he spends the night with them.
- James van der Beek is again in Tree Hill. At least, he is until Julian gets a phonecall from his father saying the father has been fired as head of the movie studio. This means the movie is "put on hold," which in non-movie lingo means it is now unlikely the movie will be made. As always, the character of Dixon, the director, is humorous. He is raw and vulger, but that only makes his scenes more enjoyable. I am sad that he will no longer be on the show.
- Nathan is not really in the episode except to stand as the voice of reason with Hailey and then later to comment to Lucas about how he leaves to play basketball and everything in Tree Hill falls apart, which is pretty true.

There is a great scene where Brooke, Hailey, Mia, Skills and Lucas are all sitting at the bar at Tric. At first, the audience does not realize how many of the stars are sitting there and starting with Brooke they all complain about the problem currently plaguing them and the camera slowly pans the length of the bar. Brooke is mad at Sam and about Julian; Hailey hates the principal; Mia does not want to listen to the music producers who want her to change a song she loves; Skills is sad he got dumped; and Lucas is upset he lost $300,000 because the movie was never made.

Also, Jamie throughout the episode was making a Sims version of Tree Hill. In it, everything is perfect - Q is still alive; Lucas and Peyton live next door to Hailey, Jamie and Nathan; Julian lives with Brooke and Sam; and, most importantly, Dan got a heart and Keith is visiting him in the hospital because in this world they love one another. If only things were as simple in the real world as they are in this computer game world.

Here are some of the memorable quotes from the episode:
- Lucas says, the cemetery "is way too full of people I love."
- "Sometimes you have to play the game," which was said multiple times and by multiple characters
- "Stand up for what you believe in. The truth matters, so tell it," is the farewell advice Hailey gives to her class before she storms out
- "Sometimes the beauty is in the attempt," which was first said by Dixon about the movie never being made and is then repeated by Julian about his relationship with Brooke

So what did you think of the episode? Leave comments below.

Lily drama (to hold you over until the real GG post is up tomorrow)

The Gossip Girl spin-off, tentatively titled Lily because it follow a teenage Lily van der Woodsen, is by creator Josh Schwartz who not only is currently doing GG, but was the mastermind behind The O.C. TvGuide.com the other day had this interesting news about the creators of Lily discussing the possibility of having the character of Lily interact with young versions of O.C. characters Kirsten Nichol and Jimmy Cooper, since it was also in the '80s that they were frollicking in California. Do you think this plot idea would make sense? And would it make you want to watch the show?

Spoiler: Dollhouse continues to throw punches

This week's Dollhouse episode is framed with a news broadcast segment on the "urban legend" of the Dollhouse. We get to hear what real people think about the Dollhouse; if they think it is real and what they would request if they had the money. But in the action of the show, there were two big surprises.

1) Paul, the FBI agent, finally figured a way to come face-to-face with an active, but when it was Caroline (Echo's names before she became an active) he did not know how to react. Boyd gets her out of the mission, but it was enough of a glimpse to further peak Paul's interest. There is no way he can back down now. The people on the inside of the Dollhouse then send Echo programmed as an assassin to fight Paul. But halfway through a rather intense fight scene, Echo stops fighting to talk with Paul. She says that someone on the inside interrupted the imprint and made it possible for her to give him some information. She tells him that there are Dollhouses around the world and that he cannot bring them down alone. The person on the inside will find another way to contact him and will assist him in his mission.
2) Paul's neighbor, who since the beginning of the show has obviously had a crush on Paul, is what was called a "sleeper active." Paul was talking with her about his Dollhouse search and the people inside the Dollhouse sent someone to supposedly kill her because she knew too much. But really, he was sent to be killed. Once there, Ms. DeWitt calls Paul's phone and on the answering machine says a poetic phrase that when she hears it, the neighbor turns into a dangerous killer. She kills the person sent there to kill her and after another phrase is uttered, she retreats back to her normal identity.

While watching this episode, I more than once actually gasped. It was a great episode and furthered my desire to want to be a faithful viewer of this show. What did you think? Are you still watching? Do you agree that these were two surprises you were not expecting? I can't wait to see what happens next.

Spoiler: Private Practice - still working the character driven plots

There wasn't much in the way of outrageous doctoring in this week's episode of Private Practice, but, again, I enjoyed the character driven plots. I like these characters and getting to know them personally adds to my desire to watch the show each week.

Here is what happened on this weeks' episode:
- There were two storylines that were examined during this episode, both of which focused on patients of the doctors at the practice. The first included a mother who for years has been "crazy" and on medicines to solve her irrationality. But when she gets pregnant she is forced to go off the medicines and learn to cope with her differences. A few months into the pregnancy she is at the practice to get an ultrasound. Dell and Addison find that the baby's heart is not beating and has been dead for a while inside of the mom. When they tell the woman, she cannot handle the news and refuses to accept it. The woman is getting sick because of the baby inside her and there is a heartwarming talk between Dell and her that eventually makes her realize she needs to have the fetus removed from her womb. The other patient-central storyline of the night included a 22-year-old man who for most of his life was very sick and facially disfigured. He is finally better and comes in because he has a soar throat. Sam finds that he has cancer that spread because he contracted HPV and we find out that his girlfriend has the STD. The girlfriend feels so guilty for passing the disease to him that she ends up leaving him in his time of need. As a side note, during this storyline, Cooper ends up talking this kid into having surgery because it will save his life, even though he has already spent much of his life "different" and this surgery would include cutting out a piece of his jaw. Wasn't it just last week when Cooper was fighting for a little girl who did not want surgery because she would rather spend her life living it how she pleases than in a hospital? It seems weird that if Cooper truly felt this way about helping the dying girl live her dream, why would he so quickly jump to suggesting surgery for this new patient?
- Dell's daughter's mom stops by the practice to pick her up and tells Dell that she got a promotion at work and may be moving Betsy, the daughter, with her to St. Louis. Dell freaks, but on the advice of Naomi, does not fight with the mother about it right away. When Dell, later that night, stops by their apartment to talk about the move and figure a way to work it out, he finds that the apartment is empty and they have already moved. Later in the show, while talking with the mom who refuses to accept that her baby is dead, he says he understands how much she wants to believe everything will be OK, but the fact is the daughter is gone, and he means this not only for her, but for himself as well.
- In an adorable storyline, Charlotte shows up at Violet's house looking for Cooper and the two end up telling stories that cause them to burst into a fit of laughter. At the end of the episode, Cooper comes home to find Charlotte painting Violet's toe nails. The two are finally bonding and are actually becoming friends.
- Naomi is desperately trying to find guys with whom to have flings. She first picks up a guy in a bar and then ends up on a date with one of Sam's friends, Bryce. Sam is visibly jealous watching Naomi flirting and dating and even when she asks him for help in setting her up, he doesn't want to. It looks like she is finally moving on from Archer, yet Sam seems to be stuck.
- Pete obviously wants Violet to let him in during her pregnancy even though it is not certain that he is the father of the baby. But to mask his feeling he is taking out his aggression sexually, with a new conquest every night. He finds himself wanting Violet, but doesn't want to get attached. He is there for Violet at her ultrasound and they find out that she is having a boy.
- Lastly, there is the Addision/Noah storyline. Pete gave Addison some pretty great advice: "Just because he's married doesn't make the feelings go away," yet Addison is trying desperately to keep her feelings at bay. When Noah's wife, Morgan, has further pregnancy complications, Addison realizes it is weird being around Noah so she tries to "break up with" Morgan as a patient. But Noah stops by the practice to plead with her not to. Noah promises to keep his feelings in check and he says he does not want Addison to take their problem out on Morgan. Noah even goes as far as to tell Addison he loves her. In the end, Addison takes Morgan back as a patient. She also admits to Noah that the feelings are recipricated but she says she won't let anything happen between them.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty good episode. Let me know what you thought.

In honor of Battlestar

To honor tonight's final episode of Battlestar Gallactica, here is a link to a Boston.com slideshow of the top 50 Science Fiction shows of all time. Guess which is No. 1. Also, feel free to use the comment section on this post to leave me thoughts about the final episode after it airs tonight. I'd love to hear your opinions and, Matt, definitely let me know if the ending includes everyone dying.

The President stops by Late Night - "I've got a good answer too"

President Obama made a stop at the Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight. It is the first time a president has made an appearance on a late night show while the sitting president. Personally, I watched looking forward to seeing the president's funny side, but I did have high hopes. I hoped Obama would not just dance around the issues and tell fluff stories, but actually use this medium as a way to reach members of the American public who may not read newspapers or watch broadcast news.

During Jay's monologue he made a few president related jokes. One was about how they wanted to also have Vice President Joe Biden on the show but because it is only an hour long show, they didn't think they would have enough time. Another joke was about how of course Obama took the chance to travel to California this week since what else are guys to do when their mother-in-law's move in with them? Another included Jay mentioning how fun he thinks it would be to be president. He joked that is he were president he would watch Air Force One while on Air Force One. Also during the opening minutes of the show, Jay pointed out how Kevin, the band leader, was dressed in a suit for the first time ever and when Obama walked out on stage, the first thing he mentioned was how good Kev looked in his suit.

I liked that Obama used this platform to share personal stories. In particular, I liked how he talked about the extreme amount of secret service protection he has and how he now has to live in a bubble. They of course also talked about cars - when does Jay not? - hybrid cars to be specific. Jay also asked Obama how exciting it is to travel on Air Force One. Obama mentioned how his daughters are not as excited about the perks of being president as they should be - for example, they would rather eat Starbursts than look at the Lincoln Memorial. And Jay even asked about the White House puppy and Obama jokingly said it has to be there shortly because he has to fulfill his campaign promise.

In hard news Obama mentioned the AIG bonuses debacle and talked about it in great detail; the new tax bill; his desire to take little steps - without rushing - to guarantee steady economic growth in the future. He talked about how he wants to break the pattern in Washington where everyone tries to find someone else to blame and even spoke directly to the public, telling them that no matter how bad the economy is, do not forget that we, as a country, have a bright future.

Jay seemed to have a good handle on the types of questions he needed to ask and also stuck in a few non-newsworthy questions that allowed Obama to relate to the audience. Overall, it was enjoyable - not too newsy as to turn off the entertainment-central audience, but also not too fluffy as to ignore the bigger issues.

Here is the entire interview:

Spoiler: Grey's - "You can make your way back from anything"

I had a difficult time choosing which quote from tonight's episode to use as the title. In the end I chose this one, but here was the runner-up: "We show up the next day and we try to save the next life."

Now let's jump in:

- In a cute side-storyline during tonight's episode, there is major intern drama happening on the show, which also allowed Bailey to remind Meredith and George about the eloping, LVAT wire cutting and affairing with residents that their intern class participated in. But these interns have a love triangle that has gone wrong and led to one crying (later found to be pregnant) woman, a shiner and a bloody hand. We saw Meredith's claws come out and she told them they had to act like adults and be doctors.
- The major surgery at the center of the episode is a complete face transplant for a man with a deformed face. There isn't much more to say, but the storyline was interesting because of the psychological aspects of the procedure.
- Derek has still not yet returned to work, which worries the chief. Bailey notices this so sends Cali to retrieve him. Cali gets there and shares her own story to try to get Derek to understand that every doctor kills people. It is not long before Derek sucks her in and she too is soon wallowing. Bailey notices that Cali has not returned so she sends our favorite soldier/doctor Hunt. He too shares a story and also gets sucked in and stays. Richard eventually goes to retrieve them all, mostly because Bailey mentions that her soap opera watching self is envisioning them all dead on the side of the road. Once Richard gets there, Derek gets mad at him, saying "you destroyed me" because Richard told Meredith about the ring. The two fight but Richard does not back down. He tells Derek he will be there for him when he is ready to come out of the deep hole he is digging.
- Last week Izzy confided in Cristina that she has very terminal cancer. This week we see Cristina jumping into action, taking the reigns and making a plan as well as setting up appointments with the best doctors for Izzy. Izzy does not go to the appointment and says she does not know if she even wants treatment. Cristina fires back and asks her why she told her if she did not want help. Later in the episode, Cristina tells Bailey and Alex, who then tell everyone else, even though Izzy explicitly told Cristina to not tell about her illness. When Cristina later goes to Izzy, and is expecting her to be mad, Izzy instead thanks her. Now it is in the open and everyone can come together to deal with it.
- Derek finally calls Meredith and she goes to his trailer. When she gets there he tells her he loves her and asks if she would still love him if he were not a surgeon. She tells him no. She says he is one of only a few surgeons in the world who can save Izzy and she refuses to allow him to ignore his gift.

As the episode ends we see Izzy as a patient. In the preview for next week we see her being prepared for surgery. Derek is in the hospital, but will he come through when it means the most?

What did you think of the episode? Personally, I thought it was one of the best in a while. Did I miss anything? Let me know your favorites parts of the night.

Spoiler: ER - "You will be back. County is in your blood."

Tonight's third to last episode flashed back and forth between early in the day and later in the day of Neela's last day at County. The episode starts and ends with Neela, with a few surprises in between.

- The show opens with Lucien walking Neela out of the ER where she is leaving to catch a flight. He tells Neela that he will miss her and that he expects her to end up back at County at some point in her career. We find out that earlier in the day the two fought about her leaving. "I can't wish you luck because I want you to hate it," he tells her. He says he imagined something better for her, but what he means is that he never expected her to leave. In the end though, they part on good terms.
- In the only non-Neela, but still character-driven plot of the night, Morris and his cop girlfriend fought about her returning to work after being shot a few weeks ago while on the job. He says he wants her to stay home or find a new job for her safety, but she immediately reacts and says he is being anti-feminist. In the end, he realizes that his job, and almost every profession, is dangerous and they make up.
- Frank throws Neela a party as his way to make up for not treating her right her first day, which was six years ago. Haleh then takes Neela to the wall where all past doctors who have either left County or died during the years have their locker nametags hanging. While standing in front of the wall, Neela has flashes from her time at the hospital.
- Neela gets to the airport to find that her flight is delayed because of a storm. While at the bar, Simon shows up. Apparently he did not see her before she left and realized that this may have been his last chance to make things right between them. Neela takes this chance to try to explain to him why she has to take this job away from County. She says she constantly carries an "irrational dread" that she will make a mistake and that she hates how she never takes chances. So for one of the first times she is doing something that truly scares her.
- Brenner tells Neela that he did not come to the airport to tell her to stay and when she then asks him why he did show up, he tells her he just knew he could not let her go without saying goodbye. Right before he leaves he thanks her for helping him realize he was stuck. We then see Simon in a session with a psychiatrist. Maybe he is now getting the help he needs.
- Before Neela gets on the plane, she calls Abby. Neela needs Abby to confirm to her that she is not making a mistake. Abby does and tells Neela to get on the plane. (Side note - it was nice seeing Abby on the show even if it was only for a few seconds.)
- The episode ends with Neela showing up at Ray's (Shane West) place of employment. I'm not sure exactly what this means - did she or didn't she accept her new job? - but at least she finally gets to be with the one person she was always meant to love.

My favorite quote of the night: "The truth is a time bomb, but once it's out it can't hurt you anymore" - Brenner

Only two more episodes. I'm not sure that is enough time to tie up all the loose ends - Sam and Tony, Carter, Banfield and the baby - but I am looking forward to more surprises in the coming weeks. Your opinions, as always, are welcome. Leave me comments.

Female TV news anchors more the norm in Boston

I'm not really going to make a judgment on whether or not I think this is a good or bad thing, I am only going to present the facts. Here is a Globe article from today pointing out that because of retirements and layoffs there are more women anchors on Boston news stations than ever before. What do you think? Do women present the news in a more entertaining way? Is this an important feminist step where women and men are equal in their ability to hold powerful positions and positions of importance? Are you more or less likely to watch a news broadcast if the anchors are women?

Obama on the Tonight Show

President Barack Obama will make an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno Thursday night. Bloomberg says he is going on the show to talk about the economy. As soon as this news was announced people - especially bloggers - began criticizing the move saying it is unprofessional and making his presidency into a joke. What do you think? Is this a strategic move? Will you watch?

Dancing's first star to go...

...is Belinda Carlisle and her partner, Jonathan Roberts. Which begs the question, who the heck is voting for Steve Wozniak? Please, put Karina out of her misery and stop voting for him.

Spoiler: Gossip Girl, oh how we missed thee

So last night was the first new episode of Gossip Girl in a while. While it wasn't the best episode we have ever seen, it was entertaining. Here is the New York Post ratings link and below are my own point pluses and minuses.

- Minus two because really, when is putting on a play a school requirement outside of elementary school?
- Minus one for Dan kissing the inside of Rachel's palm. No 18-year-old would ever do that.
- Plus three for the play scene where Dan and Blair are simultaneously reciting their lines and bickering.
- From the very beginning Chuck was told that this secret "club" is not only never talked about but also at time dangerous. Minus four because why would he ever think going to his father's friend would lead him to answers?
- Minus one for Chuck being such an idiot. Of course Elle was only using him for money. But plus one for him realizing that he really wants Blair.
- Minus 10 for Rachel acting like a high schooler and getting caught up in this drama. She sent the rumor blasts to Gossip Girl? She is an adult and it is about time she acts like one.
- Plus five for Dan getting mad at Rachel for the above mentioned lack of adult restraint and running to Blair to say they had sex in the costume closet.
- Minus one because Rufus and Dan would not bond over eating ice cream out of the carton, they should have been reading poetry together.
- Minus 10 for Serena being too loyal to Blair even after Blair treats her so badly and saying "you're still my best friend."

A few more over-arching thoughts:
- Blair is so solipsistic. Why does she think the world revolves around her and at the same time that none of her actions have consequences?
- I am begging the writers to please come up with a storyline for Chuck where we see him acting his own age and not like a middle-aged man.
- Please let the Elle storyline be done.
- The timing between Blair and Chuck always seems to be off, and I have come to deal with that, but please do not start following the books and put Nate and Blair together. The Blair in the books deserves to be with Nate; TV Blair should be with Chuck.

So what did you think of last night's episode? Feel free to add your own positives and negatives with scores below.

Spoiler: One Tree Hill - Not truly satisfying

After weeks of no new episodes, avid OTHers have been waiting for this night. Maybe it was because I had gotten my hopes up too high, but I was disappointed with tonight's episode. The reasons will become clear as I run through a recap of the show, but the worst parts were 1) Hilarie Burton's bad acting and 2) the mini episodes throughout the larger episode. To clarify this, after an introduction back into the lives of these characters we have not seen in weeks, there were separate scenes focusing on each pair of characters. After each commercial there was a new title for the segment to be shown and in this segment only the two people at the center of that plot were involved. The exact format will become more clear as you read the recaps below.

Lucas and Peyton - "The surprise"
Peyton falls down in pain and it taken to the doctor. When she and Lucas return home she is obviously in a trance. We find out that because of pregnancy complications, if Peyton has the baby she could die, yet she is willing to take the chance and still wants to have the baby. She is angry because she refuses to have an abortion and Lucas is angry because he does not want her to die and therefore be forced to live a life without her. In the end, they decide that they are strong enough to take the chance and hopefully both Peyton and the baby will be OK. Though this does not seem realistic and the odds are stacked against them, Peyton is right when she points out that as a couple they have beaten the odds many times before.

Millie and Mouth - "The long goodbye"
Millie is back to pick up a few more of her things before returning to New York permanently. Mouth finds her at their apartment and for the first time, he apologizes. He is angry at her for her actions but he is also sorry because he drove her away. She points out that their mistakes will always be between them but he is willing to move forward and work through their problems. In the end, she leaves anyway.

Hailey and Nathan - "The seven year itch"
I cannot believe Hailey and Nathan have been married for seven years! In their segment they are celebrating their anniversary. Hailey tells Nathan that she has been suspended from teaching and suggests that they buy a house in Charleston to be closer to where his basketball team is centered. Instead of agreeing to the idea, he suggests Hailey go back on the road and further pursue her singing career. He says she could take Jamie with her and since she is a teacher could successfully home- school him. They would have to live separate lives, as Hailey points out, but if anyone could make it work, it is these two. They really make us believe they love and support one another through anything and everything.

Brooke and Jullian - "The deleted scene"
Brooke is freaked out when Jullian tells her he loves her. Jullian figures out that this is because the last person she loved was Lucas and it ended in heartbreak. She is scared and refuses to say it back, regardless of how true and open he is being. He points out that she needs to realize she deserves to be loved. He says he is willing to pretend he never said it and act like the last hour of their time together never happened, but in the end he makes an excuse to not have to spend time with her. He is obviously bothered by her lack of return feelings.

Dan and Deb - "The Cold War"
While Nathan and Hailey are celebrating, Deb is watching Jamie. Jamie invites Dan to dinner, which leads to an awkward evening with Dan and Deb trying to be civil. Once Jamie is in bed, the two begin to fight. She says that whenever she starts to think about the life they could have had, she just thinks about how he killed Keith and it reminds her why she hates him so much. Dan then brings up that Deb was the person who poisoned him - not Keith - therefore making him feel he needed revenge against Keith, so though Dan shot Keith, Deb loaded the gun. Just as the fight was getting good, Jamie walks into the room with Dan's pager, which is vibrating, meaning there is a heart waiting for him.

I hope things pick up in coming weeks. Tonight's episode was not of the usual OTH caliber. What did you think? Were you satisfied?

Spoiler: Private Practice - Choices are never as easy as they seem at face value

This week's episode was all about making choices - Do I choose to be loved? To live? To listen to others? To fight my fears? Something the show did that is unusual is that after every commercial the action jumped one month. I didn't really like this technique for reasons I will describe at the end, but for now here is a rundown of the action.

- We are introduced to a little girl with a heart tumor and after another unsuccessful surgery, she says she does not want any more surgeries. She wants to be normal and have the ability to live a life, even if it is not very long, outside of a hospital. She knows she is going to die, now she wants to do it on her terms. Because she is only 12 years old, her parents have to make the decision about whether or not to force her to have the surgeries. Even with the surgeries her quality of life will be limited. Cooper fights back and forth with another doctor - Dr. Noah Barns. Cooper wants to grant the girls' wish while the other doctor wants her to go through with the surgery. A court order is requested and granted, forcing the decision and making the girl have further surgeries. Charlotte eventually steps in and says, "Keeping her alive isn't the same as saving her life." The little girl is released from the hospital and we last see her celebrating her 13th birthday on the beach, something that would not have been possible otherwise. It is still likely that she will die soon, but at least she is happy.
- As I have been saying for weeks, Violet needs to face her pregnancy. Well in this episode Pete and Sheldon tell her the same thing. They tell her she has to have a paternity test so that the men know who the father is. She gets angry saying it is her body and in the end misses the window for the test. Now that months have passed - in this single episode - not only is Violet showing, but she is getting closer to truly having to deal with her pregnancy. Once she has the baby she will no longer be able to ignore the father. Side note: I wonder who she wants the father to be.
- Throughout this episode we see a car jacking victim who was badly attacked by the thief. She initially cannot remember anything from the attack, but after working with Violet she starts to remember pieces. She is adamant on making her attacker pay for the suffering he caused her, so even when Pete is worried that she is too worn out by trying to remember, Violet thinks the only way she will be able to return to her original, peaceful life is to bring up the event in her memory. Later in the episode she picks the guy out of a police line-up and her life becomes consumed with fear; she sees him everywhere. After another month jump, and more work with Violet, she is preparing to testify against him in court. Before she is supposed to take the stand she panics, but Violet and Pete walk her through what she remembers and will say. She eventually calms down and he ends up being found guilty.
- Before this episode, the last episode ended with Sam saying Naomi's name while in bed with his new girlfriend. Sam and Naomi's relationship also continues to get weirder in this week's episode with Sam telling Naomi everything about his relationship and Naomi trying to help him. She even goes as far as to plan romantic getaways for them. Dell knocks some sense into her, telling her that she should not be so concerned about his life, instead she should be living her own. Naomi then tells Sam that she is done planning his life. In the next scene Sam breaks up with his girlfriend. I don't think this means Sam and Naomi will end up back together anytime soon; I truly think they need to learn to live without one another first.
- At the beginning of the episode we see that Charlotte is acting standoffish toward Cooper. About halfway through the episode we see Cooper get mad at Charlotte for treating him like any other doctor instead of showing him compassion. At the end of the episode we see Charlotte attempt to push Cooper away. She says he is too good and loves her too much. She tells him to stop loving her and it is obvious she can't forgive herself for sleeping with Archer. Yet, through this all, Cooper stands by her.
- Addison and Noah are both surgeons. At a few different instances throughout the episode they run into one another. There is some flirting and Addison wonders why he is not asking her out. During this, Addison is treating a patient who has had multiple miscarriages so Addison is closely following this woman's pregnancy. At another point, Addison and Noah are sitting together and he holds her hand. She then points out that they do not even know each others names even though they have been running into one another and flirting for months. When she tells him her name, he makes an excuse and quickly leaves the room. A few scenes later we find out that he is the husband of the patient Addison has closely been following. The episode ends with Addison meeting the doctor for drinks. She says she thought about not showing up and he tells her he is attached to her. She is willing to cheat on his wife, but Addison who has been there and done that, knows better and walks away.

One thing that bothered me about this episode was the one month jumps. It worked because it was about time Violet started showing and this furthered along her pregnancy, but there were two main ways in which it did not work. First, when Sam breaks up with his girlfriend he returns to the idea that he didn't say his ex-wife's name by mistake and that there must be something missing in this new relationship. But at least three months had passed since that event. In a similar sense, we see that things are rocky with Cooper and Charlotte the first month and yet three months pass with them going through this patch before she finally blows up? The time jump was not realistic.

Hopefully upcoming episodes return to real time so that things can slow down. As for you, how did you feel about the jumps in time? Also, this episode was less concerned with envelope-pushing medical practices and more concerned with the storylines of the main characters. I enjoyed it. Let me know your opinions on the episode as a whole. Leave me comments.

Mischa Barton finds new home

After weeks of rumors that Barton was joining the cast of the new Melrose Place, it was announced yesterday that she will star on another CW show - A Beautiful Life. Ashton Kutcher came up with the idea for the show and is rumored to be involved. The show is about a group of models who live together in a co-ed residence in New York City. Here is an E! Online story that not only announces this casting news, but also talks about some other stars and their next endeavors.

Clip of George Clooney on ER Thursday night

Here is the happy ending to last night's ER, featuring Julianna Margulies and George Clooney reprising their roles as Dr. Doug Ross and Carol Hathaway.

Spoiler: Dollhouse still throwing in unexpected twists

This week Echo's assignment was to become a member of a fanatical religious cult. For the assignment, the doctors made Echo into a human camera, turning her blind and making her eyeballs into camera lenses. She was going in as a part of a police team that was trying to find enough evidence to get a search warrant for the cult grounds.

This week's twist involved Mr. Dominic, the man who works alongside Ms. DeWitt at the Dollhouse. He again brings up that Echo should be sent to the attic. He thinks she is a risk, that too many things go wrong during her missions and that she is too unpredictable. During the mission, just when it looks like Echo may be shot and killed, Dominic enters the burning building she is in, shoots the would-be shooter but then hit Echo across the face with the gun and leaves her admist the fire. She is eventually saved by Boyd, but Mr. Dominic obviously attempted to kill Echo. Back at the Dollhouse, Dominic again corners DeWitt and tells her that he is worried because Echo is exhibiting many characteristics Alpha also showed before he turned violent and went on his killing spree.

We'll see where this goes during future episodes. As for the preview for next week, I didn't really gather any hints about what will happen. But I think Echo comes face-to-face with the police officer, Paul Ballard. That could turn interesting.

Today cancels Matt Lauer's mystery around-the-world trek

Yearly, Matt Lauer travels to exotic and underpublicized countries, a different place every day for a week, in a segment called "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" It has been announced that the Today show will forgo this expensive segment this year and opt for a road trip across America. All four co-anchors - Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Al Roker and Ann Curry - will explore affordable vacation spots. This series, "Today Takes a Vacation," will begin May 4.

The article here says that this decision to cancel the original series was made when viewers were asked to suggest places for the Where in the World segment, but viewers complained that in the current economic climate it would be a waste to spend so much money on the trips. My opinion on this is that Today show executives should not have had to be told by viewers that this segment was unnecessary; This decision should have been clear from the start.

Spoiler: Grey's Anatomy - It may now be time to deal with the truth

I do not have any overall thoughts so I am just going to jump into a rundown of some of what happened, at least the highlights, on last night's episode.

- The chief is still bitter toward Bailey for choosing to specialize in pediatric surgery. While in surgery together, he yells at her and embarrasses her in front of her residents. Bailey then calls in the chief's wife to make him apologize to her. Before she leaves the hospital, Adelle tells Bailey to stop gloating because she should not have called her to tattle on the chief in the first place. Before the end of the episode they seem to settle their problem, but we'll have to see if they can remain civil in the coming weeks.
- A high school band member with epilepsy comes into the hospital and because she keeps coding, Alex is told to stay with her and make sure she is OK. Alex notices that she is coding before she starts having a seizure and argues with the other doctors saying she is not epileptic. The test to prove his theory would kill her if he was not correct, but he stands up for his decision and ends up being right. He saved the girls' life and the doctors later tell him that he has the potential to run the hospital one day, that he is the resident to watch.
- After killing the pregnant woman in the last episode, Derek is a wreck. Izzy says he is "taking stock" - something huge happened in his life and he is planning his next move. Derek goes into the hospital to meet with lawyers who show him all of the charts of the patients he has killed compared to the number of patients he has saved. The killed pile is much larger. Meredith tries to point out to him that many patients who come to him are terminally ill and he is their last chance; Meredith says he often takes on the impossible cases, but Derek only sees it as killing. The chief sees Derek and orders him back to work, but Derek just walks out. Later in the episode, the chief puts it on Meredith to get Derek to come back to work.
- Meredith goes home to find that Derek has moved out. She goes to his trailer and he is there, hitting baseballs into the woods. Meredith tells him he should not be hiding and he yells back that he does not want to operate anymore. Derek picks a more personal fight with Meredith and says mean things to her (at this point it is obvious that he is drunk), before telling her to leave. She tells him that she knows about the ring - that he was planning to propose to her - and his response is to take the ring out of his pocket and hit it with the baseball bat. He again tells her to leave and before he can slam the door in his face, she reminds him that they are in this together.
- Izzy has the interns working on Patient X, who is actually her, throughout the show. When the interns come to the conclusion that there is nothing wrong with the patient, Izzy yells at them, "She's not fine," since she knows there is something wrong with her Once they are back on track and figure out what is really wrong with the patient, we find out Izzy's diagnosis is BAD. With the type of cancer she has there is only a 5 percent survival rate, and she only has a few months to live even if she receives chemo and radiation treatment. At the end of the episode, Izzy calls on Cristina, with whom she does not have a good relationship, and tells her about her diagnosis because Izzy believes Cristina is a robot and can take the information.

On a more broad note, George has no role on recent episodes, it is like he isn't even there. He has no storylines and is always just in the background. I like his character so this makes me sad, even though it has been speculated and I know he is most likely being written off. Speaking of being written off, Izzy spent much of this episode, the time not with the interns learning her fate, smiling a bit too much. She kept talking about how she sees the others in 10 or 50 years as if she is saying her goodbyes to them, which is depressing. But on the other hand, I truly feel like she is refusing to deal with her problem and I do not feel sympathetic with her.

And as for Meredith and Derek, is anyone heartbroken that they seem to be on the rocks at the moment? What about tonight's episode as a whole? Did you like it? Are you still watching? At this point, I almost don't want to watch anymore. I have to admit that I am much more interested in Private Practice.

Spoiler: ER - Human organs for transplant

Even though NBC refused all week to confirm whether or not George Clooney would appear on this week's ER, the speculation was correct, Dr. Ross was on tonight's episode. What I do not understand is why NBC was so secretive about the date of his appearance. Everyone knew he had filmed an episode, so wouldn't it have benefited the network to advertise his guest spot? Wouldn't Clooney's return have boosted ratings and drawn in viewers? I think people knew so watched tonight regardless, but I don't understand the need for secrecy.

As for the episode in particular, it kind of bothered me that none of the special guests this week - Julianna Margulies, Eriq La Salle, George Clooney, Noah Wyle and even Susan Sarandon - were at County. All of their storylines happened elsewhere, which to me was not as interesting since we did not get the chance to see the returning doctors at their old digs.

Other than this minor aspect that bothered me, tonight's episode was overall pretty good. Here is a list of some of the highlights.

- A baby was brought in to the ER by a younger woman who said she found the baby outside her apartment and he looked sick. She hands him to the doctors and slips out. The doctors figure the baby is sick because the parent was mixing formula with water to stretch the formula longer and were able to make him better. With no information about how to find the baby's parents, child services were called in. In the meantime, Banfield was named the baby's protective custodian. The woman who brought the baby in eventually returned to make sure the baby was OK and it was found out that she is the mother. She then quickly runs off again, but not before telling Banfield to make sure he has a good home. My guess? Banfield is going to adopt this baby in the coming episodes. We'll have to wait and see if I am right.
- At the end of last week's episode, Neela and Sam flew to Seattle to retrieve a heart for Joanie, the mom who has been on the show for a few weeks. While they are there they also pick up a kidney for Carter, who is also waiting for a transplant. I will talk more about John in a minute, but Neela and Sam successfully get the organs to their respective recipients, even after a plane mishap that momentarily had them stranded in Seattle with only hours before the organs became unusable.
- While in Seattle, we are given a glimpse of the storyline there. The organ donor is a 16-year-old boy who was riding his bike and was killed by a drunk driver. Sarandon is his grandmother and she originally agreed to donate his organs. But when she was saying goodbye to him, he squeezed her hand, which was explained to be a spasm and not a true sign that he was still alive. In Seattle is Clooney and Margulies, the duo working side-by-side on this case, trying to get Sarandon to agree to donate the organs. Dr. Ross finally does get the grandmother to agree to donate the organs through pointing out to her that her grandson was a generous kid who can continue being generous by saving other people's lives. On a side note, there was a cute scene where Clooney strikes up conversation with Neela and Sam asking them if so-and-so still works at the ER. They do not recognize many names, which only goes to show how much has changed since the time he was on the show.
- La Salle works at Northwestern and stops by to visit with Carter while they are awaiting the arrival of the kidney. We are again told that John did not tell anyone about his kidney failure and La Salle points out that he should not be going through the surgery alone. So he agrees to sit in on the surgery and be there when he wakes up. While in the operating room, La Salle forces the surgeon to slow down and go through a check list, something he does not usually do, and in the end it saves John's life because a material they ended up needing was not in the room before the check was completed. When Carter wakes up he asks La Salle for his cell phone and he finally calls Kem. Though I do think it is weird that he only calls her once the news will be good, at least he seems to be making an attempt to let her back into his life.

I do not yet know how I feel about the guest appearances this week. I think La Salle's performance was more important to the overall composition of the episode, but the roles played by Clooney and Margulies could have easily been played by any other person. I liked that they made an appearance on the show as ER is on its way out, but I think they could have been written in in a more interesting way. I kept thinking that Clooney and Margulies were going to find out that the kidney was going to Carter and were going to get on the plane with Neela and Sam to visit him. I think that would have made the episode better.

As for previews, I think it is odd that with only three episodes left, Neela is having her farewell episode next week instead of just waiting until the end. Why leave early at this point? But there was an Abby returns tease so that could make the episode interesting. Here's to three more great episodes.

Your turn. Did you enjoy the return of old favorites? What would you like to see happen on the last three episodes?

Battlestar Gallactica info (and only because Matt made me)

Yesterday, Matt sent me a bunch of links, all having to do with BSG, and he told me that since he is one of my few regular readers, I have to post about it even though I have never watched the show and don't know much about it. So here goes. (I should also mention that some of the links posted here contain plot spoilers.)

Apparently, there is a Battlestar Galactica panel discussion planned for the United Nations March 17. The discussion will focus on "how the show examined issues such as "human rights, children and armed conflict, terrorism, human rights and reconciliation and dialogue among civilizations and faith," according to Sci Fi." The panel will be moderated by Whoopi Goldberg. Go here for the full story on the Chicago Tribune's website.

Knowing I am a feminist, Matt also sent me this article about how the show, which is usually talked about as being feminist, at many times is actually not feminist. Matt said he doesn't agree with a lot of what is said in this article, because he questions "are the humanoid Cylons actually people, with inalienable rights? Or are they machines who are subject to whatever humans want to do with them. The issue of rape is an example of how they deal with that dilemma." Yet, it is still an interesting read.

Finally, here is another article about the politics of BSG, specifically the show's view on the Iraq War.

Is anyone else out there as devoted to and interested by BSG as Matt? Am I truly missing out?

NBC Nightly News might expand to one hour

A friend brought this to my attention. With the NBC Nightly News doing so well in the ratings recently, there has been talk about expanding the now half hour newscast to one hour. Here is a New York Times article that says this was mentioned as a possibility but that no details have been discussed.

"But NBC’s surge in the evening has been strong enough for the news division president, Steve Capus, to suggest that NBC is positioned to be the first network to expand to a full-hour newscast. (He did not set any timetable for that move.)"

I'm wondering how you feel about this idea. Will extending the newscast help them keep their viewership up, or will it deter people from watching their station?

New Melrose Place gets new resident

Ashlee Simpson-Wentz announced a few days ago that she will be joining the new Melrose Place, which will air on the CW. Does her presence on the show make you more or less likely to watch?

American Idol notes

Some interesting news about American Idol broke yesterday. Apparently no one was smart enough to find out if they have the rights to 13 phone numbers prior to deciding to make a top 13 instead of a top 12 this year. The 13 in the sequence of numbers usually used is actually owned by a phone-sex hotline. They are probably scrambling as I write this to find a solution before the top 13 hit the stage later tonight. On that note, here is a slideshow of the singers who made the top 13.

Series premiere of Castle

Did anyone watch the new ABC show Castle earlier tonight? I think the show seems like it will be fun and entertaining. It is about an author who wants to write a new novel with a female police officer as the main character so he latches on to an attractive officer and causes her trouble. The commercials have been intriguing. The only reason I did not watch is because I know I can't afford to watch any more shows on Monday nights. I already have to juggle Dancing with the Stars, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and The Hills, which is returning in the coming weeks, but I would really like to someday watch this show, even if that means having to watch it online in a few months when time allows for it. If you watched, tell me about it and whether or not you liked it. Leave me comments below.