Doppelgangers

The past few weeks of the CW’s hit show The Vampire Diaries have been nothing short of amazing. In every episode I’ve gasped, I’ve laughed and I’ve had my heart strings pulled....vigorously. 

Tonight’s episode was no exception. 

“Rose” dealt with the aftermath of Elena’s kidnapping after the Katherine take down by Team Awesome (Jeremy, Bonnie, Stefan, Damon and Caroline) at the Masquerade Ball.

Tonight I pulled a mini marathon of sorts and got all caught up on our favorite citizens of Mystic falls and boy, am I glad I did!!! This show really knows how to bring it’s ‘A’ game. Although none of the episodes have yet lived up to the phenomenal season premiere, ‘The Return,’ they’ve come pretty darn close.

So for those playing catch up like I did, here’s a quick run down of what’s been going down:

- Elena (Nina Dobrev) and Stefan (Paul Wesley) broke up re: Katherine hurting Jenna (see below)

- Damon (Ian Somerhalder) killed Mason Lockwood (Goodbye Taylor Kinney, you are really hot!)

- Tyler (Michael Trevino) is now a werewolf

- Katherine is locked in the tomb with the moonstone

- Jenna (Sara Canning) is laid out on the couch. Katherine compelled her to almost commit suicide.

- Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) has gone all pro-active on stomping out the evil in town and is all of a sudden very attractive.

Now, onto tonight’s episode, Rose (Lauren Cohan) and Trevor are two 500-year-old vampires who kidnap Elena as bait for ‘The Originals’. They want to make up for Trevor's mistake in trusting Katerina ‘Katherine’ Petrova long ago and not have to run anymore. Since Elena is the Petrova Doppelganger, she is apparently the key to reversing the Aztec curse of the sun and the moon (you know, the one that says vamps can’t come out in the sun, and wolves can only come out at the full moon!). If her blood is spilled, then the curse will be reversed. (off topic side note: I can’t say that and not think of the Red Sox.) We also learned that the moonstone everyone has been looking for all season is what binds this curse. Elijah (Daniel Gillies) a vamp who works with/for ‘The Originals’ comes to strike a deal with Rose and Trevor but the Salvatore boys come in and save the day to get Elena back. After Elijah kills Trevor, Damon kills him (or so we think….he pulls the stake out of his stomach towards the very end of the episode). Rose comes back at the end of the episode to warn Stefan that 'The originals' quest for Elena is far from over and offers her help. ‘The originals’ are doing their work for Claus.

In other story lines....

At the whim of Damon, Caroline (Candice Accola) tries unsuccessfully to convince Tyler that she doesn’t know his secret. Luckily it doesn’t work and the two start to bond. I really enjoy these two together. They play well off of each other and both characters have come so far since we first met them. Fingers crossed things stay that way. I’m really kind of hoping they can all bond and Tyler can become part of this group they have going on but you know that the sh*t’s going to hit the fan once he finds out Damon killed his uncle.

Bonnie (Katerina Graham) and Jeremy spent the episode together as well and let’s just say I am totally Team Beremy!! These two have great chemistry together and I’m loving Jeremy’s new gung-ho protective attitude. I really hope they make them a couple. We also learn that Bonnie’s powers are getting even stronger but they can sometimes drain her out.

In what was the most heartbreaking and best scene of the night, Damon pours his heart out to Elena telling her “I love you and it’s because I love you that I can’t be selfish with you.” He tells her he doesn’t deserve her and then says “I wish you didn’t have to forget this but you do.”  For me, this was like I was back in High School watching the ‘I will remember you’ episode of Angel all over again. The Powers that Be took away the day Angel was human and Buffy would never know what it was like to eat peanut butter in bed with her boyfriend.

God, it was a great scene. Ian Somerhalder plays vulnerable real well and always finds a way to make me feel for Damon, despite the sometimes crap things the character does. I love it.

And so that’s the gist of it then..... Another fantastic episode of a consistently awesome show….If you’re not watching the Vampire Diaries…you should be!!!

If not for the great story lines and phenomenal acting then at the very least for the extreme hotness of the cast!

Quips of the night:

- “Can we not do the whole road trip bonding thing? The cliché of it all makes me itch” – Damon

- “The elephant in the room let’s out a mighty roar” – Damon

- “I can’t think of a better reason to die” – Stefan

As always check out the CW.com  for full episodes, videos, etc. When Zap2it and EW post their recaps I’ll link them over.

9021-CREEP 0

While i originally planned to write some 'Quips of the Night' from that other CW guilty pleasure, 90210,  I realized this week's episode "How Much is that Liam in the Window?" was not very quotable but was indeed, very creepy.

Is it just me or is this show becoming increasingly more creeptastic each week? Every storyline seems to be just a tad bit disturbing. It's great, completely unrealistic in most points and fun to watch but severely creepy. So here's the rundown of this week's episode with some back story on the creep factor for those who haven't watched recently.

Adrianna

Ade is still working for Javier's creepy uncle, Victor. She was a creep stealing her dead peer's songbook and he's a creep, blackmailing her into super stardom. He made her pose topless, wants profits from Silver's senior project on her, and he's taking 50% of the profits she makes. But Ade's seduced by the fame and slowly falling away from Navid. Overall, it's a strange and eerie situation.

Naomi/Jen/Ryan

Michael Desmond/The CW

Last season, Naomi was raped by the creepiest of all characters, Mr. Cannon. In last week's episode, we saw the girls try to set him up at a hotel room to prove that he is inappropriate with his students. The plan backfired, however, when Mr. Cannon brought the school's principal and therapist to meet up with Silver. Knowing she is bipolar, the school assigned her some therapy sessions for her proposition and let it be. In this week's episode, Jen (Naomi's evil sister) hears Silver and Naomi talking about her rape. In an unsurprising and heartfelt turn, Jen is pissed and ready to go to bat for her sister. She wants to kill Cannon and from this, we get some great insights into the human side of her. A sweet moment ensues between them. Which brings us to Ryan (Naomi's teacher, Jen's baby daddy).....He apparently saw Naomi and Cannon together that night in the spring as Cannon was closing the blinds. Due to his drunken state, he didn't see too much more but he's willing to come forward. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of the end for this creep show. I'm really feeling a bit uncomfortable every time I see Mr. Cannon (Hal Ozsan) on screen.

Ivy/Laurel/Oscar

Michael Desmond/The CW 

First of all, Where did this Oscar fellow come from? He graduated high school in another country but is still attending events at West Bev? I don't really remember the exact details of his arrival and am not into looking them up right now (bad i know!) but he is really lame and annoying. He slept with Laurel (Ivy's mom) all summer and now he's slept with Ivy. As we learn at the end of this week's episode, he was out for revenge against Laurel for ruining his family. Looks like he got it, and so I'm assuming or at the very lest hoping its 'Sayonara Oscar.'

Liam/Annie/Charlie/Laura

Michael Desmond/The CW

Annie is dating the deep and dark playwright Charlie who is Liam's brother. Liam is being pseudo stalked by Laura (his purchaser at the date auction) and is now living in her pool house (Thanks to a job offer/play to stay he accepts from a woman whose name he doesn't even know!) Both brothers seem to have mysteriously large scars which I'm assuming they got together or gave to each other back in Minnesota. There is definitely some creepiness in this storyline.

Dixon and Silver didn't have much to do tonight except for play in the background while Teddy was MIA for the whole episode. I wonder what they'll get into next week?

And that's pretty much what's going down in the creepy world of West Bev. In next week's episode, some of the gang heads to the senior achievement awards while others head to the undies (under achievement awards). If you're a fan of the show, I'm sure you can figure out what characters go to which.

What do you guys think about the creepiness factor in 90210? Are you still finding it entertaining or is it just getting ridiculous? What do you think happened to Charlie and Liam? Comment below and let me know!!

90210 is on Monday Nights at 8pm EST on the CW. Head over to cwtv.com for full episodes, pictures and more. 

Quips of the Night: Gossip Girl

Lord knows I don't have a lot of time on my hands, so I'm starting a new 'column of sorts' to get writing about a couple more shows... QUIPS OF THE NIGHT ...and i'll try to include a summary

90210, Gossip Girl and most other CW shows have some great one liners, and you know how much i love those at the end of the my glee recaps....so here it is my first 'Quips of the night' 

Gossip Girl  "Easy J"

PHOTO CREDIT: GIOVANNI RUFINO/ THE CW ©2010 THE CW NETWORK. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Oh Little J, How much did I not miss your presence on the upper east side? Although I must say, I liked the use of your character's brief appearance as a plot device in last night's secret revealing episode of Gossip Girl.  'Little J's' return to the island was orchestrated by the one and only Chuck Bass. She's here for an interview with Tim Gunn to get into Parsons, Chuck sets her up for Blair to ruin the interview, and 'Little J' reverts to her bitchtastic ways as a result. He's out to get Blair in full force and knows just who to use to do it. Little did he know that 'Little J' would spill the beans about their dangerous liaison last spring to gossip girl and embarrass all parties involved. Then before she hitched the train back to Hudson, she'd show some growth and dispense some wisdom about our dear Chuck and Blair. In other developments on the island, Serena had/has a big thing for the cab stealer/business professor Colin Forrester who in the OMFG moment of the night is in cahoots with Juliet and her brother. (But WHY?!?!) Nate and Juliet had a rendezvous at the jail, and she broke up with him after her bro put the smack down on Daddy Archibald in prison and Dan didn't have much to do except for act like a big brother and that's that. Vanessa was MIA. 

Here's your Quips of the Night: 

"A Jenny free holiday season, it's been on my wish list for quite some time” – Blair

"She's the wicked witch of the Upper East Side. I'm sure one of her monkeys spotted me getting off the train or something" - Jenny 

“Office hours, not his apartment!” – Blair re: Serena breaking it off with the uber-hot Colin 

“Nothing could be more entertaining than bottle blond recon ...” – Penelope

“Yes, it is 100% vintage crazy ass Blair” – Little J

“Give it up Blair, Everyone knows I did, and who I gave it to” – Little J

"You two used to be in love, and together you were invincible, but now that you've turned against each other, it's just a matter of time before your mutual destruction." - Little J

" [...] If we keep going we'll both end up dead, and I like myself too much to let that happen, I assume you feel the same" - Chuck

"About myself? More"-Blair

“Why don’t you just sky write the word 'double cross', it’d be more subtle” – Blair

"It was no one's fault, It was fate, tragedy." - Chuck 

 As always you should check out some great recaps from EW and Vulture. 

I know I know...

....it's been a while since my last post. I've had some crazy weeks at both of my jobs, started a writing class, and have hardly had a second to breathe. When those seconds have come, i've basically plopped myself on the couch and/or tried to maintain some snippet of a social life. Good news though...it seems for this week I won't be working my per diem job (which may suck a little money-wise) but it means i'll have plenty of time to work out, watch the mountains of TV on my TiVo and write. To tide you over until i get the next post up here's a sneak peak found through EW who found it on you tube of the cast of gLee doing the "Time Warp" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Head on over to EW for more or search 'em on youtube! The CD is available on itunes/in stores tomorrow and the episode will be on October 26th at 8pm EST! Don't Miss It!

"Thank You, Grilled Cheesus"

from gLee's facebook page 

Religion. It's a tricky subject to talk about...It can bring love, it can bring war, it can inspire. It does many different things to and for many different people. To the many characters on Glee, it meant all sorts of things tonight. And it was most definitely, quite the tone change from last week's anesthesia induced fluffy and fun Britney Spears hallucinations. Tone change, none the less, it was very welcome to have songs that really contributed to and developed the plot....And i really hope you brought your tissues when you watched because I clearly needed them. 

Tonight's episode began when Finn found his faith in a "grilled cheesus" sandwich. He felt connected with God as he found an image to represent his presence in the world. Although the title of the episode was "Grilled Cheesus," the main force bringing religion, spirituality, and faith to the forefront happened when Kurt's world was rocked by his father Burt's heart attack induced coma.  :( Not only did this crisis affect Kurt and his lack of faith, but all the glee-clubbers and their ways of coping and helping their friend in his time of need. Mercedes, Quinn and Rachel (?) all appear to be active in their respective faiths and in times of crisis, this is what they, as many, turn to. Whereas these characters look to God for guidance and love, Kurt is a firm believer that "God is kinda like Santa Claus for adults." He'd rather rely on scientific methods, such as acupuncture, rather than prayer. Finn's religious journey with his "cheesus" went from not believing, to believing, to realizing that we're all kind of just "floating around in space." I liked how Ryan Murphy and Co. used Puck to show Finn that religion isn't just something you use to get what you want. Also, Thank god it appears Burt Hummel will be ok after this setback. Tonight's episode brought a lot of opinions up, and showed the importance of being open minded when sticky subjects such as these come up. It really made you think and overall, i think that was it's purpose. So, Mission Accomplished, Ryan and Co. 

Here's some of my additional thoughts on what went down at McKinley tonight: 

- The softer side of Sue gets an A+ 

- Kurt and Burt = best. 

- Hello Academy of Television Arts and Sciences? Your repeat nomination for supporting actor in a musical/comedy at the Emmys 2011 is Chris Colfer. 

-"I want to hold your hand" --- Did anyone else's heart break during this performance? It was perfect. and the little kid who played Mini Kurt....I swear he must be related. Zap2it has got some scoop on the little one over at their site. 

- Corey sound phenomenal on the "Losing my Religion" track. 

- Yay! Mercedes and Puck solos! and Kurt for that matter...it's about time!

- Rachel's dramatic faces/crying while singing are starting to get to me. 

- Heather Morris, keep Brittany's one liners coming. They're gems. 

- More group performances please with sugar on top. I really enjoyed "One of us" but it was so short and I need some more group action. 

Quips of the night

-"I think you kinda owe it to him, you did screw him in the leg department" -- Finn re: why "Cheesus" should get the football team to win for Artie

- "I'm a total Jew for Jesus. He's my number 1 Heb. What i dont like is seeing people using J$ to cramp  everyone else's style. It seems to me like true spirituality or whatever you want to call is about enjoying the life you're given. I see God every time I make out with a new chick." -- Puck 

- "Brittany, Jugs the Clown; let's go" -- Sue

- "What up, Grilled Cheesus. I need to ask you something. I didn't go to Sunday school, so I don't know if God works the same as a genie and I only have three wishes" -- Finn 

- "Mercedes, you had me at fabulous hat." --Kurt

- "The big questions are really big for a reason. They're hard but you know what? Absolutely, everybody struggles with them" - Emma  

So that's it for the my glee recap of the week! What did you guys think? Did you like "grilled cheesus?" 

Is Chris Colfer not amazing? What was your favorite performance?

Next week on Glee, we've got some duets headed our way. Watch with Kristen posted a link to a sneak preview of some of the songs we'll hear! and they've also got some video and articles with scoop from Ryan Murphy on the rest of the season and a video of the cast talking about 'NSYNC (ah!). Be sure to check it out. 

side note: At least I've been kind of consistent in writing these! It seems Tuesday nights/Wednesday afternoons are when I have some time to get some blogging done so we'll see how much I can keep this up. Let me know how you're liking it! 

Thoughts on the Newbies

I've finally had some time today to sit down and watch some of the new shows that have hit the airwaves this fall so thought I'd give y'all some scoop and thoughts about them.


Hawaii Five-O, CBS, Mondays 10pm EST

photo seen at TV Fanatic

I wasn't too sure about this one at first but I wanted to tune in because of the stellar cast. Alex O'Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim, and Grace Park star as the special task force working to keep Hawaii safe in this reboot of the classic series. We start with Detective Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) losing his father at the hands of Victor Hesse (James Marsters!) and heading back to Hawaii to attend his funeral and investigate his death. He gets roped into a special task force for the HPD by the governor (guest star Jean Smart) who grants him immunity and so begins his time kicking ass in Hawaii. He soon forms a reluctant partnership with Detective Danny "Danno" Williams (Scott Caan), picks up Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim) and his cousin, Kono (Grace Park) along the way and the task force is complete. The first two episodes centered around McGarrett attempting to avenge his father's murder, and a kidnapping of a man with lots of government secrets. There was a lot of action packed into the first two episodes and it was overall really fast paced and fun. I would say my favorite part of the show thus far is the crazy good chemistry between O'Loughlin and Caan. Both men are great actors and play off each other so well! Caan is caring and hilarious, just as he was in his recent stint on Entourage and O'Loughlin is tough and rugged.  They are really great together and needless to mention, very easy on the eyes! The scenery in the episodes is also gorgeous and provides a great contrast to the gritty crimes they're investigating.

Verdict: so far, so good, I'll keep watching!

No Ordinary Family, ABC, Tuesdays, 8pm EST

photo seen at daily zombies

This show is very much like 'The Incredibles' but live action. So i guess you could say it's like 'The Fantastic Four.' While it was cute, and relatively well acted, I wasn't immediately drawn in. The premise of the show is that a family survives a plane crash which lands them in some water which gives them super powers. The mom, Stephanie Powell (Julie Benz) is a high power researcher who becomes super fast. The dad, Jim Powell (Michael Chiklis) is a police sketch artist who becomes super strong. The daughter, Daphne (Kay Panabaker) becomes telepathic and the son, JJ (Jimmy Bennett) becomes super intelligent. See it's 'The Incredibles,' except no one can become invisible?  It seems their family was in a bit of a tough way prior to their superpowers and that this is what will bring them together. The rest of the characters are rounded out by George (Romany Malco), Jim's confidant and best friend; Katie (Autumn Reeser), Stephanie's confidant and lab tech at Global Tech, and Dr. Dayton King (Stephen Collins) who is Stephanie's Boss. Seems Dr. King knows something about people with these super powers as we see towards the end of the pilot. Meanwhile, Jim wants to become Michael Chiklis's other super strong character, The Thing from 'The Fantastic Four.' I love the actors in this show and the story line seems alright thus far.

My Verdict: I need some more episodes to make a final decision but for right now I'll keep with it!

The Event, NBC, Mondays, 9pm EST

photo seen at screen rant

Right from the get-go, I wanted to watch this one, because I needed to know "WHAT is the event?" These types of shows always hook me, and when i heard it marketed as another Lost/24, I knew I would probably love it. I was hooked the moment  **SPOILER ALERT** Leila's (Sarah Roemer) family got attacked and she got kidnapped. I loved how it was made out like her and Sean (Jason Ritter) were never on the cruise.  The show is set up in a great but somewhat divisive structure (you'll either love it or hate it), going back and forth between different times that give you insights into how the different characters fit into the Event.  It felt like a puzzle that we had to put together. It was very exciting, and interesting and I can't wait to learn more. I don't want to talk too much about what happened exactly to avoid completely spoiling the show for those who haven't seen it but there was a lot of action, great relationships and some awesome plot/character development. If you want to read some good recaps about what's happened thus far, head over to EW.com for Jeff Jensen's always fabulously intelligent recap. Also check out NBC's website for the show for some great character bios and other information!

Verdict: a must watch!

I've yet to watch Nikita, Undercovers and Running Wilde but they're sitting on my TiVo waiting for me, so when i get to them i'll post some more thoughts on this new crop!

it's brittany/britney, b*tch!

found at twitter.com/britneyspears

If you know anything about me, you know that Britney Spears is one of my most favorite things/people/pop culture icons ever. Needless to say, i was a little bit more than excited when I found out that Ms. Britney Jean would be the center of and cameo in an episode of Glee, also one of my most favorite things/shows ever.

The collision was bound to be epic.

And epic it was in terms of performances, dancing, and overall Brittany/Britney awesomeness ....but in terms of story line there wasn't too much there. I know glee isn't really known for it's story lines (with the exception of Finn/Kurt/Burt) but I have to say I like it better when the songs performed help further the plot and really speak to what the character's are feeling. Ryan Murphy and co did a great job of this with the Madonna centric episode last season. Last night, this wasn't the case. However, i guess the anesthesia induced hallucinations were a clever little plot device to enable the glee club to be Brit-nified and introduce Carl (John Stamos), Emma's new love interest.

Now with all that being said, I really did love the episode. The video recreations were spot on, the songs chosen were awesome, and it was a really fun time! Heather Morris was freaking FANTASTIC tonight. She is definitely going to be a superstar after last night's episode. Ms. Brittany S. Pearce had some great one liners (as always), and while she may not have the best voice or biggest range, i think i could watch her dance all day. She is SO talented.

I also really enjoyed Artie's version of "Stronger" as it did enhance his storyline a bit. I will say though I was a tad disappointed that the infamous chair scene of that music video wasn't done by Brittany. 

  

Here's some of my additional thoughts on the episode:

- Does anyone else only think of *NSYNC when they hear "Sailing?" All i see is Justin's curly hair and the boys flying in the rafters everytime that song is on! (Aw memories of a teenage me!)

- Where was Kurt's  (Chris Colfer) Britney solo? Wasn't he the one pushing for her all episode? And we didn't get so much as a line sung out of him? Lame.

- Also where is Quinn and Puck? and Mercedes for that matter? I miss them.

- Mr. Shue should calm down on the creepiness a bit. Although Matt Morrisson is a great performer, watching his character dance around with the kids was way uncomfortable. He was also a bit annoying with the whole Emma and Carl situation.

- Jacob also got way beyond creepy in this episode and pretty much tried to ruin the performance of "Toxic."

- Rachel is a beyotch!

- Anyone else hate the jocks on this show? It's like they're from the 50s and are prejudice against everything. They're such jerks!

- Love the shout out to the infamous "David after Dentist" youtube video!

- Do you think every episode is going to end with a Rachel solo? I love Lea Michele to death but I sure hope not!

- We need more BRITNEY!

- Anyone else think that whole speech to Finn by Rachel in front of the WHOLE glee club was a bit awkward? Anyone?

 Quips of the night: (be warned...there are MANY!)

“No like seriously you can totally drill me whenever…” I love Santana re: 'the hottest dentist she's ever seen

“Please don’t pull all my teeth, when I smile I’ll look like an adult baby but with boobs”--Brittany

“Also I’m more talented than you” – Brittany to Rachel

“Ok, listen. My dad’s a doctor and not a tooth doctor, a real one. He like went to college or something which means I have a killer health care plan that pretty much pays for everything so get up in my grill cuz Brit and I want to get our anesthesia on” -- Santana

“I think that guy just broke up with his girlfriend over there just so he could stare at you” – Finn

“It looks like a Jewish cloud” -- Brittany re: Jacob's hair

“Well Rachel, congratulations! Normally you dress like the fantasy of a perverted Japanese business man with a very dark specific fetish but I actually dig this look…yay” -- Santana

“You’re all dressed up. You look like a cast member of Kids Incorporated” – Emma re: Will

“It’s a Britney Spears sex riot” -- Sue

“I mean seriously you wear more vests than the cast of blossom” -- Sue

“It’s like a inkblot test, that butt sweat stain, stare into it William, and you will see the light of all that is good, go out of the world” --Sue (so gross but hilarious)

For some other great recaps and reviews of glee check out:

@tvmcgee's recap at HitFix, 

@jbomb11's redux at E! Onlineand 

@gmmrtv's take  GLEE: Brittany/Britney The Best episode of Glee ever?

Next week on glee we're heading back to furthering the story line (yay!) with what looks sure to be a tearjerker. I'm breaking out my tissues for "Grilled Cheesus!" and I promise I'll try to get this up in better time next week!