Heroes: Cautionary Tales

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @ 9PM ON NBC

Noah is dead! Holy crap! (well maybe...; but more on that later) Not only did I think they would end up changing the future from what was portrayed in Isaac's paintings but I never thought it would come about so quickly. I'm so used to the stories playing out over a long season that it never occurred to me that any of this would materialize as soon as it did. Unfortunately for Noah it did and if you're looking for someone to blame then look no further than Dr. Suresh. For a smart guy he is extremely naive and stupid most of the time. You'd think after everything that happened last year and everything he knows about the company he would take what Bob has to say at face value so easily. Well, he did and the immediate implication turned out to be the death of Noah while the more important implication appears to be an outbreak of the virus which he started when he and Nikki were there fighting Maurey. So there we have it, Suresh chose the company over everyone else and killed Noah. Terrible...

Now, if we're talking about people who have done stupid things then we have to talk about Hiro next. If Suresh is to blame for the current turn of events then Hiro should be just as blameworthy. He is the one that created the person we know as Adam and he is the reason that a vendetta has been burning inside of Adam for 400 years. So we can't point the finger at Suresh and totally let Hiro off the hook. And this week, Hiro almost changed the future again and probably not for the better when he went back in time to prevent his fathers death. In the end at least he listened to his father and decided not to mess with things that should be left as they are. It was touching though to see the two of them pay respects to their mother at her funeral again. I think most people would like to have such a personal moment with a loved one before saying goodbye once and for all. Speaking of implications of your actions, Hiro may have finally learned his lesson when he discovered it was Adam who threw his father off the roof. This might very well be the turning point for him and what turns him into that future Hiro we saw a lot of last year. Personally, I'd like to start seeing more of the kick ass Hiro than the softy Hiro.

So what could we expect in the next two episodes? Well, I think Parkman is going to have a big role to play. Now that he knows what he can do his powers seem to be growing much faster. He's already starting to control peoples thoughts and actions which can only mean it's just a matter of time before he'll be able to control what his father was able to do by placing people in a prison inside their heads. Also, this episode really showed Claire growing up, at least a bit. She's definitely more forceful and she knows what she wants. Plus she's very smart; she saw through Bob's disguise even though it was extremely surprising that he'd make such an obvious mistake.

Like last year, Claire will probably have a lot to do with the outcome of the season.

We learned the most important piece of information tonight - that Adam is looking to kill everyone in the picture simply because they locked him up. Although I'm sure he'll be looking for Hiro when he's done too. As I said at the beginning of the review, Noah may not be dead after all. It appears that Adam hooked him up to an IV with his blood in it which as we know should bring him back to life very quickly. The last second shot of Noah's eyes would seem to indicate this is exactly what happened. With Noah on his side as well as Peter, Adam may have assembled an unstoppable team. Oh, and lets not forget that Maya may be a source of the virus and Silar likely won't be idle for too long. I can't wait to see how this plays out. Until next week enjoy the review!

Chuck: Chuck Versus the Imported Hard Salami

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @ 8PM ON NBC

Lou is the best! Come on, how many girls do you know would make you a mouth-watering sandwich on the first date? Probably none. She's totally cool, funny, makes incredible sandwiches, and is not above making out in a car for an hour. She's pretty damn awesome if you ask me. Too bad it didn't work out for the two of them, I thought they made a great couple. At least she now knows the truth behind his secret identity, an undercover FDA agent in search of illegally imported deli meats. That was hilarious but Rachel Bilson played that with more of a straight face than I ever could have.

Speaking of Chuck's undercover persona, Lou ended up dealing with her ex-boyfriend to smuggle in precious deli meats. Unfortunately, Chuck happened to catch them in the act, putting an end to her devious plan to take over the world with delicious sandwiches. At least she didn't turn out to be a terrorist or another undercover spy. I really wish I could taste one of those sandwiches; that meat looked incredible. I think at this point though they need to get Chuck just one normal girl. So far Lou has been the least of his problems (and she had a criminal of an ex-boyfriend lurking around) and clearly Sarah isn't all that normal or easy to handle. This guy deserves to have someone normal in his life; hopefully Sarah will realize she has the chance to be that person. I'm going to miss Lou being around; it could be cool to have her come back somewhere down the road. These two are great together and if he can never have anything with Sarah then he should at least get the chance to be with Lou. Even their moment in the deli when he apologized to her and she forgave him was amazing. Definitely one of the best moments so far and the comedic aspects were some of the best yet.

As for Sarah, I think she definitely realizes how she feels about him, at least to some degree. That kiss didn't come out of nowhere and she's definitely been jealous about Chuck and Lou the last couple of episodes. The bigger problem now is that Bryce is apparently still alive; which I'll put to the side for a minute because my rant may go on for a bit. Obviously things are not going to progress for the two of them as long as Bryce is around, if ever. It's unfortunate because the two of them make for a great couple and even better viewing. They're always funny together and as the sexual tension grew so did the funny in their relationship. I hope they get a chance down the road (as I'm sure the will), it's just a matter of when and how long down the road.

Now to Bryce; what in the world were the writer's thinking when they stormed up this doozy? This is one of the worst plot ideas so far this season and possibly over the last few seasons. This was the dumbest and most ridiculous idea ever. I don't care how they end up explaining it, it is never going to be alright with me that they did this. The only reason I'll keep watching this show and not storming off in protest, is because I'll keep my hope going that he'll be gone soon and we'll have things back to normal. There is absolutely nothing interesting or intriguing about Bryce coming back. The only thing we cared about was whether he really set Chuck up or not and we already know the deal with that. This was a stupid idea and hopefully it won't be around long enough to ruin the show.

With my rant and the ridiculousness of the final plot aside, this was a decent episode. Not the best but certainly up there with the better episodes of the show so far. Keep it up "Chuck" and hopefully we'll see Bryce gone soon. Until next week, enjoy the review!

The Hills: With This Ring

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @ 10PM ON MTV

As the title of the episode suggests we had a lot of Speidi drama this week. Also, as you can imagine it's Spencer who causes most of the problems. We knew this kid had no sense the first time we met him but I at least gave him credit for knowing to stay out of the way in the wedding planning when he proposed to Heidi. No matter who the woman, you do not mess with the wedding. Like always, Spencer proved he's as dumb as he looks and of course for the last couple months he's been doing everything he can to screw up his pending nuptuals.

Tonight, he really took his efforts to a whole new level however. To start he couldn't possibly have made it any clearer that he does not want anything to do with the plans Heidi is making for the wedding. At the same time, how could she be so surprised? He's been apathetic at best about everything to do with getting married. So when she took him to the church and on top of suggesting an expensive wedding there she informed him that the church requires marriage counselling before the wedding, it shouldn't have been much of a surprise when he had a look of utter terror and disappointment on his face. And seriously, does she think marriage counselling will do any good? Do any of us? Please, you can counsel the devil to be a saint.

Then, Spencer decides that if he can't convince her to change the plans with his amazing ability to convey what he's thinking (sarcastic...yes I am being that), he will pack her bags, light some candles, and this will convince her to run off with him to Vegas to elope. Not only that but he already put the deposit down on what I'm sure is a gorgeous honeymoon sweet. And yes, I'm being sarcastic again. How in the world did he think that would be a good idea? Heidi was almost as stunned at the gesture as I was. I just sat there shaking my head. This kid just seems to surpass his ridiculousness every single week; it's simply unbelievable that he's been able to do it so consistently. Thankfully Heidi grew some sense for once and called him out on it. I'm just shocked that she hadn't handed him back the ring before. I think she forgave him too quickly given all he's put her through but I have a feeling she might not be completely past it all just yet. She needs to realize that he just does not want to get married; plain and simple. Even if he's willing to elope, look at the fact that he doesn't want anyone to see them married or even his family to know or be there. That should be saying a lot to her but clearly she's doing whatever she can to ignore that. This is just a disaster of a relationship and I just hope they don't procreate.

Leaving Speidi aside, tonight Whitney got her game on! We haven't really seen her go after the guys too much so it was good to see her mackin' it with her trainer. Apparently the girls only go to this gym to get dates with their trainers. Personally I think this guy is a bit plain and boring but if Whitney likes him then more power to her. He does need to stop saying "Cheers" when they go out; that was getting a bit old after the first 8 times he said it. I was glad to see her getting out there and it was even funnier watching Lauren and Audrina cracking up while watching her play pool with him.

Things seem to be getting pretty interesting over there in The Hills. Enjoy every minute of it as the third and final season comes to a close soon. Until next week, enjoy the review!

How I Met Your Mother: Slapsgiving

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @ 8PM ON CBS

This was a classic HIMYM episode and one of the best they've ever showcased. I was not one of the people enamored with the slapbet countdown clock. I thought it took away from the anticipation of the moment to give us a time when it was next going to occur. The last time Marshall used one of his slaps it came totally at random and was one of the funniest moments of last year. In the end though, the countdown actually worked out relatively well and the comedy of the moment was not lost; in fact it was damn funny!
The slapbet is one of the best comedic story lines on any show today and I doubt it will be surpassed for quite a while longer. Even better was the creation of "Slapsgiving." This is the greatest holiday ever, second only to "Chrismukkah." It was nice to see Lilly resume her role as Slapbet Commissioner. She takes the role so seriously (as is required) that I can't stop laughing while she ponders her rulings, although the postponement of the slapbet for the remainder of Thanksgiving was very much telegraphed and predictable. Although I was a bit annoyed at the postponement and the obvious attempt at building more suspense, it turned out alright so I can't be too upset. The saving grace for Slapsgiving was Marshall's surprising Slapsgiving song to commemorate the occasion. I swear I was laughing so hard that I started to cry during the song. The constant "oh oh oh's" from Barney, the lighters waving in the air, Robin's really old date waving a cell phone with the light on, and Marshall's wonderfully funny piano playing/song singing, are things I'm not likely to forget for a very long time.

A great side note to the whole Slapsgiving event was the buildup. Barney was so afraid of Marshall that I almost started to feel bad for him. Seriously, Marshall can be VERY creepy when he wants to be. When he starts talking in that low, deep voice and his eyes radiate evil, I really started to get creeped out myself so I'm sure Barney would be. Usually he's so put together though that you couldn't picture him like this. Definitely a nice change of pace and a new side of Barney that we got to see.

As for Robin and Ted, tonight was great! I love these two together and although I know they don't end up getting married I miss them. They really do have great chemistry together as actors and bring out the best in each other. I'm glad we finally started to see the awkwardness between them post-breakup that we weren't seeing before this. It's never easy going through a breakup but to have to hang out with your ex everyday is unimaginably hard. It was just a matter of time until they let loose and slept together again. They didn't breakup because they fought or didn't love each other anymore, so you had to know this was coming given the intensity of their feelings for each other. I personally love the fact that they slept together again. I'm hoping we get some more of them before the writer's decide to introduce someone new for Ted.

Speaking of awkward ex-situations, when Robin and Ted were alone making pies he threw out one of the best and most awkward comments of the night and the season: "Remember last Thanksgiving when we slept together 7 times?" So funny! By the way, while I'm mentioning the pie making, it was so wrong for Robin to have Ted making a pie for Bob. They might be friends but that's really a knife to gut.

I should mention something about the inside couple jokes. It is so true that couples have inside jokes that no one else ever gets but them. This joke I totally got but I definitely wouldn't have thought it was as funny as they did. Very good idea to come up with this joke; extremely insightful of them to notice how people tend to put military titles in front of innocuous statements.

Briefly, why in the world does Canada have Thanksgiving? I never knew the reason they celebrated it but that's the oddest reason to have a holiday than I've ever heard of.

Hopefully next week Robin won't be dating anymore really, really old guys. Truthfully he wasn't that old but watching an actual old guy make out with Robin (even if it was a figment of Ted's imagination) was disturbing. I could definitely do without that from now on. Anyways, I hope the greatness continues, as I have no doubt it will, so until next week, enjoy the review!

Smallville: Blue

ORIGINAL EPISODES, THURSDAYS @ 8PM ON THE CW

Yet again I'm disappointed in the writers at "Smallville." I don't get how they think, I really don't. Time and again they give us formidable foes for Clark to go up against and every time these guys get beaten in one episode. Why do the writers on this show refuse to keep an enemy going for more than episode, with the obvious exception of the Luthors? It makes no sense to me. Don't get me wrong, I love this show; it's one of my favorites. But it gets me angry when I invest so much time in the show, get excited about the new characters, and then they're gone after 40 minutes.

Anyway, tonight Clark went up against Zor-El, Jor-El's nemesis and brother. As usual, Clark's emotions got the better of him and when he heard his mother's voice from Kara's crystal he put it into the panel at the fortress which released bother his mother and Zor-El. Well, actually I shouldn't say released as much as recreated them from the DNA in the crystal. Clark seems to be letting his emotions get the best of him entirely too much. They control his actions when he should be using his brain instead. Just as it always happens, this didn't turn out quite the way Clark had hoped. In the end, he couldn't control Zor-El and he had to choose between what he wanted and what was right; either his mother stays and so does Zor-El or both of them go. Clearly, he had to choose to destroy the crystal and say goodbye to his mother. I really couldn't feel all that bad for him since it was his brash actions that brought all this about to begin with and it almost culminated in the deaths of every person on the planet. You can't bring back the dead and he needs to get past that or he'll never be able to move on.

The idea of the blue kryptonite was interesting though. I never read the comic books but I really hope this is the end of all the colored kryptonite. Every season there seems to be a new kind that messes with Clark and to be honest, it's getting a little old. The fact that the the blue kryptonite strips him of his powers is a very dangerous weapon however and Clark better hope there aren't any other sample laying around anywhere.

Lara was beautiful, kind, and a great mother. I can see why Clark would want her to stay. What was more interesting however was the insightfulness of Kryptonians. After only a couple minutes with Lana, Lara was able to see the darkness growing inside of her; something that Clark has been blind to for so long. Hopefully she'll head Lara's warnings before it's too late. The fact that she saw it so easily might be the shock that Lana needs to snap out of her funk.

There were a couple HUGE events towards the end of the episode though. First, Kara lost her memory!!! Yet, another side effect of Clark's refusal to put his emotions aside and listen to his brain. When he destroyed the crystal Kara was somehow transported to Cleveland (or was it Detroit?). Not only that but she has no memory of who she is at all. Clark though believes she's dead and has no idea if she's alive, let alone somewhere with no memory. This can't be good and I hope there's more to this than just Kara walking around trying to figure out she's special. That would be terrible and extremely boring. Second, Gabriel is Julius Luthor! I definitely did NOT see this coming. I knew he was in Lex's back pocket but I never would have guessed this. With Gabriel/Julius defying Lex and still seeing Lois, this should become a very interesting family feud.

Before I go, I should mention that Clark seems to have something interesting going on. Whatever Jor-El did to him can't be good, it never is. Maybe he's going to force him to begin the training program he wanted him to do or maybe send him to some sort of prison. Maybe he'll even strip him of his powers for a time. Who knows. But for now enjoy the review and I'll see you next week!

The Real World Sydney: The Birds & Off The Hook

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 10PM ON MTV

So here's how today's review is laid out. I'm basically combining the last two episodes into one review because I think they fit well together and the same drama has sort of bled it into each episode.

Let me start by saying that Isaac is insane. It's plain and simple, he's just insane. He sees birds because he used to be addicted to acid? Now, I'm not a doctor or anything but I'm sure there is absolutely nothing normal about that occurring even after being addicted to a powerful drug. Add to the insanity the fact that he sees black birds once in a while and if he does it means someone close to him is dead. That's just creepy and the fact that it actually turns out to be correct is even creepier. How in the world can something like that happen? What's even more odd to me is that he claims its a result of taking acid for a long time. So is he saying that if you're addicted to acid then the after effects cause you to become some sort of psychic? I don't know what's wrong with this guy but I've had this odd feeling all season that something just wasn't right with him. He's always seemed a bit off and this may explain a whole lot.

So what was Isaac's response to seeing the black bird? He leaves the house very early in the morning to go back home for his grandfather's funeral. At least he told Noirin where he was going so that someone knew but he should have mentioned something to the roommates. Plus, his note about being faxed to China was just weird. Hopefully everything was alright back at home, or at least as alright as it can be after losing someone close to you.

I was VERY angry at the blatant attempt at creating drama by the producers during this episode. Are we really expected to believe that it was pure coincidence that Dunbar, Ashli, Kelly Anne, and Cohutta were put on the same work team? I think it's pretty crappy to screw with a guy that's trying to stay faithful to his girlfriend (not that he's trying all that hard as we see in the next episode). More than that though, it's a shot at our (the viewers) intelligence that we wouldn't notice such an obvious attempt at creating drama. Also, Parisa and Trisha on the same team? Blatant attempt to create drama? Hmmmm. On this note though, I have to say that I think Ashli is very scummy. She claims to not be the type of girl that hooks up with a guy who has a girlfriend yet she takes every opportunity she can to flirt with him and put her hands on him. For instance, when they were at the bar not only did she call another girl trying to hit on Dunbar a slut (which was totally random and not necessary) but she also was openly flirting with him and grinding with him on the dance floor. Who really was the slut there?

Dunbar better watch out or Julie is going to dump his butt faster than he can even say the name Ashli. As we see in the next episode, he finds even more creative ways of getting close to crossing the line he can never go back over.

(next episode)

In "Off The Hook" Dunbar became a moron. Alright, alright...he was a moron even before tonight. Does the guy seriously think that just because he hasn't actually hooked up with Ashli at this point that Julie isn't going to dump his butt when the episodes aired? If my girlfriend was constantly talking about another guy, flirting with him non-stop, grinding with him at the bar every night she goes out, and now sleeping in the same bed with him, we'd be over in a heartbeat. I cannot understand what he's thinking at all. Obviously he isn't thinking too much or he wouldn't be doing any of this. Can he really think that just by placing a pillow between himself and Ashli in bed that he's safe from being accused of cheating? PLEASE! You two were cuddling all night while your faithful and understanding girlfriend is at home thinking you're still in love with her. Then on top of all this Dunbar picks a fight with Julie because she thought the nickname "Dummybear" was funny. Which it totally is by the way. If Julie has any respect for herself she'll dump him the second she sees this episode because there's no way he'll stay faithful down the road if he's willing to do all of this and justify it too.

Before I move on, I'd just like to point out again how ridiculous Ashli is. She totally pulls Dunbar into this web of cheating even when he's not thinking about it (not that he's totally innocent). The perfect example is Ashli's teasing about having a 3-way spooning with her and Kelly Anne. No guy in their right mind would avoid that conversation. Any conversation about two beautiful girls wanting to spoon with you will always be something you want to hear about. And Ashli totally kept pushing the point, trying to get him worked up thinking about it. She's very devious and I could totally see her getting Dunbar to cheat and then being like, oh whatever I don't want you now. He needs to watch his back and decide one way or the other what he wants.

As for everyone else in the house Kelly Anne and Cohutta have been pretty quiet lately with their goings on. Apparently they sleep in each others bed on a regular basis but we haven't seen too much drama from them. For now I'll take that as a hint that they may actually be establishing a legitimate relationship there. Unfortunately, it seems a pregnancy scare is going to be coming their way in the near future...

Next we get to Parisa and Trisha. Ah, don't we just love these two. Well...no we don't but I do have some friends that think Trisha is gorgeous. Personally, I think she's alright; nothing special. But that's all besides the point. The point here is that these two just cannot seem to get along at all. Every week I go back and forth between who is right and who is wrong. Each of them seems to do something stupid and inconsiderate to the other, alternating between aggressor and aggressee. I've come to the conclusion though that they're is no right person in all of this; they're both equally wrong. They both purposely egg on the other and both of them purposely attack the other, looking for ways to start a fight. Tonight, for instance, Trisha purposely had to push Parisa's button about the phone calls while Parisa just had to ignore all the roommates cleaning and go work out. Parisa knew this would drive Trisha nuts just as Trisha knew making fun of Parisa's family would do the same. In the end though, it seems Trisha may have lost. She let her temper boil over and pushed Parisa down to the floor. As we all know, physical attacks are not permitted in the house and I guess now Parisa gets to decide whether Trisha stays or goes.

Parisa certainly has a tough decision to make now. Given the animosity with Trisha and how much she's been hurt, of course she should want to send her home. She probably even deserves to go after everything she's done to her. But if Parisa sends her home then the other roommates are going to be pissed at her the rest of their time there since Parisa has been just as bad. This is a tough situation but I think Parisa may end up letting her stay. These situations often turn into love fests where the person in Parisa's shoes allows the other to stay. Then they end up reconciling the rest of the season. I don't see them being best friends but if Parisa wants to save face and show she's above all this she should let her stay.

Fun times at the Real World house. I'm glad to see the drama picking up a bit. Things should start to get even more interesting in the next couple of weeks. Until next week, enjoy the review!

Gossip Girl: Seventeen Candles

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 9PM ON THE CW

Blair is 17 and things aren't so rosy. First off, her relationship with Nate has ended and although she's sort of still hoping they could get back together, she's immensely depressed that their 10+ year relationship is ending. Second, she slept with Chuck! In the back on a limo! After stripping in his burlesque club! Crazy! We all knew she was a bit of a hard ass and has no problem taking anyone on and making them feel like less than nothing. But a wild child? I thought that title went to Serena's pre-exodus from New York personality? Looks like she's taking a page out of Serena's well written book and throwing all caution as well as reason to the wind.

Unfortunately, in all of this Chuck as fallen for Blair. Who knew he could ever actually feel something for someone else? This guy is one of the worst people you could ever know, loves sleeping with loads of random women, and yet somehow he falls for Blair after one night? I somehow doubt this would be possible in real life, so I'm going to suspend my disbelief for the time being. I have been enjoying the quick retorts to Chucks advances by Blair. She's very witty and it's fun watching her put him down at every turn. I wonder if maybe this is just a rebound for her. I mean, she wanted nothing to do with him after that night until Nate never showed up at her birthday party and she started making out with Chuck again. If that's the case then good for her because Chuck is definitely not the best boyfriend to choose.

Speaking of messed up relationships, Alison (Rufus' wife) showed up with Jenny! She's beautiful but dangerous. This woman not only left him and the family but she also had an affair. It doesn't matter that she's telling the truth now or that it only happened once. The fact is that she did it and abandoned her family. I understand that Rufus is still in love with her but he needs to be more careful. He jumped headfirst back into the relationship in this episode without solving any of the problems that led to the current state of affairs. It's never good to ignore such major issues because they're just going to be there again when the euphoria of the moment wears off. At least there's one person happy in all of this - Jenny. This really just goes to show how immature she still is and how exposed she is to being hurt as she tries to immerse herself in the world of the rich.

As for Dan, his relationship with Serena seems to be the only normal one. They're really getting a lot closer despite some problems they're having; which by the way are totally normal. Vanessa is definitely a buzz kill and can totally ruin their relationship if she doesn't back off. At least her and Serena seem to be making an effort to get to know each other now. The Guitar Hero duel was awesome; Serena is pretty sick at that game. I think they could really be friends if not for the fact that they're in love with the same guy. By the way, it was totally fair of Serena to want to be Dan's go to girl. He can't be with her and still go to Vanessa all the time even if she's his best friend. He's walking a tricky line right now and he better watch out because before he knows it he could be left without any girls in his life.

Before I end tonight's review can I just say that Nate and Jenny are totally random and not at all a good couple. I don't see it at all and I'm a little disappointed in this story line. I guess it's sort of necessary in order to give Jenny her chance at the throne. Anyway, I'm sure you're all just as anxious to see the next episode after having the Thanksgiving Week off, so until then enjoy the review!

Pushing Daises: Bitches

ORIGINAL EPISODES, WEDNESDAYS @ 8PM ON ABC

"That's the most tragic thing I've ever heard with the exception of the big ticket items like famine and genocide." Best line of the night; best line of the week; best line of the month! This show is great and the writing is becoming more and more exceptional every week. I'm actually surprised at how much this show has grown on me. Before the premiere I was debating whether I even wanted to start watching at all and here I am a month and a half later touting the greatness that is "Pushing Daisies."

It's hard to describe exactly why this show is such a work of genius without making you think I'm on some sort of controlled substance. The premise of the show, as you all know, is far out there and no where close the traditional formats we're used to watching. I mean, for starters, it's about a guy who can bring people back to life my touching them. I could say about a thousand more words on the show and a newcomer still wouldn't hear anything other than that and automatically dismiss me. So if you haven't watched this show, don't expect me to put the premise into some easy to use, microwavable format for you so you can decide quickly if you want to watch. Just trust me, and the millions of loyal viewers who tune in every week, and take a leap of faith. Give the show a chance for a few weeks and I promise you won't be disappointed.

Most viewers probably think that Ned and Chuck are the reason this show is successful, and while they are a big part, the truth is that Emerson is what completes the circle. Without his comedic presence this show wouldn't be what it is and likely would be very boring. I absolutely love that he is sickened by all the lovey-dovey talk between the characters. It really makes scenes that might otherwise be sappy extremely funny. Speaking of which, excellent use of the term "Gangsta Love" by Emerson. I actually think he should pursue the wife #3 of the polygamist. They were hilarious together and her equally brash and sarcastic attitude compliments him well, bringing out an even funnier side of his character.

I should mention that Ned was an idiot for not telling Chuck about Olive's kiss. He did nothing wrong and should have told her. By hiding it he made it seem as if there actually was something to hide. It is interesting how much the idea of having someone to touch is getting to Ned. I don't think he really likes Olive but the fact that it's an actual possibility and someone he doesn't have to worry about touching, is why he keeps thinking about. Ned and Chuck seem to have worked out their issues with that for now but I have the feeling this isn't going away for good anytime soon.

By the way, did anyone else recognize the setting for the funeral in this episode? It was Stars Hollow!! Both "Gilmore Girls" and "Pushing Daisies" are filmed on the Warner Bros. lot in California and Stars Hollow is actually a permanent, free standing set located on the lot. It was great seeing the old town again.

This episode was an excellent, yet generic, "Pushing Daisies" plot. I will give the writers props for originality by using a crossbred dog as the catalyst for one of the four wives of the polygamist murdering the husband. Never saw that coming but I did enjoy the episode. It was also great to see Olive a regular part of the gang now (although as Emerson made sure, she gets no cut of the reward money). She's a great and vital part of the cast and I'm glad she's finally part of the overall story lines.

I very much enjoyed tonight's episode and I'm sure you did too. Keep tuning in for as long as the show is still on the air until the writer's strike catches up with the episodes. I'll do my best to get an updated count on the new episodes remaining and let you know about it next week. Until then, enjoy the review!

Technological Difficulties

Due to a few issues with the computer and the blog I have been unable to post many of last weeks reviews. They will be up early this week. Please check back for the latest reviews and thoughts!

House: Ugly

ORIGINAL EPISODES, TUESDAYS @ 9PM ON FOX

Sorry Michael Michelle (Samira), you may be gorgeous but you suck at being a diagnostician. I really thought she was going to be around for a while given her high profile stint on "ER" but alas House is just too smart for her and at the same time too dumb. Apparently, he unknowingly hired her believing her abilities were greater than reality because his judgment was clouded by her good looks. It seems this isn't the only time this has happened to him as he thinks it may also be happening with thirteen. Personally I think Olivia Wilde (Thirteen) actually is good at her job but now he's questioning his perception and this may not be a good thing for her. House did bring up an interesting question though, did the same thing happen with Cameron? I think we could all agree it didn't, so a better question is why didn't it? I'm not really sure; I'll have to think about this one a bit longer and get back to you.

Meanwhile, House and his interns spent the night trying to help a young boy with a severe deformity have plastic surgery; or at least everyone was except for House. In an interesting turn, not surprising however, House was more interested in saving his life than getting him the surgery just to keep his feelings from being hurt. Granted none of us could imagine what his life is like with that deformity but I was totally with House. There's no reason to rush into plastic surgery no matter how crazy the deformity if you're going to put your life at risk.

As I alluded above, Thirteen isn't as stupid as House thought she may be. After an hour misdiagnosing the boy, it turns out one of Thirteens ideas that were dismissed was correct. The boy had Lyme Disease; the only problem was that the bullet target at the site of the bite was hidden by his hair. Very good pick up by Thirteen and I think this pretty much shows us that she's going to be around for a while longer.

It was an interesting perspective watching much of the episode through the lens of a documentary film camera. Although I should point out that this wasn't very original. "ER" accomplished this feat many, many years ago when they shot a live documentary of a day in the ER. Still, it was a nice change of pace and an interesting touch to the episode. I loved watching House try to dodge the camera by finding new and interesting places to hide so that the interns wouldn't feel inhibited.

This was kind of the standard "House" episode and very enjoyable. With a mix of the usual mystery, humor, and witty remarks from House, I thoroughly enjoyed this hour of television. From what I'm hearing there's only 5 episodes left of "House" before they run out so enjoy it while you can. Until next week, enjoy the review!

Journeyman: Winterland

ORIGINAL EPISODES, MONDAYS @ 10PM ON NBC

Amazing! Livia lives in the past!!! To be clear she actually lives in 1948. Apparently, she began time travelling to the future in order to complete tasks in the same manner as Dan. Until one day when she travelled to the 80's and never went back. She has no idea why but since she was stuck in the future she began to live her life and take advantage of all the opportunities available to a woman in the 80's that wasn't available in the 40's. So, she went to law school! Too funny; you have anything in the world you want to do and you go to law school. That aside, as we all know, she ends up with Dan later on but eventually she was sent back to 1948. Why? We don't know that much yet but it's amazing to know this much now. It makes a lot of sense considering everything but it also opens up a host of new questions. For instance, how can she travel forward in time but Dan only back in time? Is this whole time travel thing only happened to them? Is there a purpose to that?

Keeping these questions in mind for the future, I love this new twist. Although I think it pretty much sets aside the idea that Dan and Livia will ever get back together one day. As she said herself, they were doomed from the beginning and never meant to be together. The two of them tonight got to meet up on the 70's at a key party. I know a lot of crazy things happened back then but a key party?! Really? That's cheesy and kind of weird. I'd hate to be the daughter who saw her mother having sex with the complete stranger. I totally understand how she was messed up after that; wouldn't any of us be? I can barely stand the thought that my parents had sex at least the one time before I was born let alone think about either of them having sex with strangers while still married. The challenge for Dan and Livia during this episode was decent; not the best of the season but definitely not the worst. I like when there's some action and excitement to his time travelling rather than just detective work. The best line of the night took place when Dan got home and told Katie about his trip back to t he 70's:

Katie: "I love that you went to a wife swapping party and it was Nixon that turned you on." (referring to the Nixon speech denying his involvement in Watergate that was on the tv at the party)

Speaking of Katie, she and Dan seem to be doing a little better. They had a nice little love session and they also appear to be supporting each other more. She stood up for him against Jack whereas a few weeks ago she was going to Jack for help. I think their communication about everything is getting better which is helping them get through everything. Although by the end of the episode Katie broke down. Understandably so because Livia told Dan that through her own experience the trips begin getting longer over time. It's got to be very hard having your husband disappear randomly, for unknown periods, with no control over it and no way to even speak to him.

The marital stress probably isn't being helped by the FBI which has begun to force their way into the their lives thanks to Jack. So, how were they to deal with this problem? Well, it all leads back to the money so if they don't have the money then they can't be in trouble. That's a bit of a simplification but it's really what it all boils down to. Dan ended up leaving the money in the past so I believe this will be the end of the FBI involvement for now. How can it not be right? If the money was back in the past then it never could have come into Dan's possession and then no FBI. I'm really hoping this is the case because this story line has been pretty lame so far.

As for all the time travelling questions, Dr. Langley is definitely involved in everything. Why would he keep contacting Dan if he wasn't? Plus, when Dan disappeared right behind him he had a smirk on his face that clearly showed he knows more than he's letting on. It seems we're starting to get more and more information about him and I'm sure we'll be getting a big dose before long. I also think all the talk about Quartz Crystals as Dan travelled to the past may play a role in the answers we're looking for. They supposedly have the properties that could make time travel possible and with talk of them popping up all over I have to believe we're getting some hints here. What do you think? Anyone know some information about quartz that we don't know yet?

Anyway, this was yet another solid showing from "Journeyman." Hopefully the show will be back after the hiatus due to the writer's strike. I believe we only have two to three episodes left before they run out. I really hope the strike gets worked out soon so we don't lose our favorite shows, including this one, for too long. Until next week, enjoy the review!