Monday, October 10, 2011

REVENGE ~ WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT 10:00 PM

I thought I would watch this show to see some fluff and maybe have
a laugh or two.  I find myself completely engaged in it and would be
a bit embarassed by that if all my friends were not engaged in it too!

Emily VanCamp stars and I remember her from years ago on Everwood
and she was pretty one dimensional but has matured into this role.
She is a young woman whose father was wrongly imprisoned when
she was a child and she was in foster care until she was 18 and by
then her father had died. (or so she is told).  When she leaves the
care facility, a young man is there to tell her about her father and
to give her some things he left for her.  Nolan also informs her that
her father invested in his business which made a fortune and she
now has all the means necessary to invoke her revenge on those
who wronged her and her dad.

She moves to the old house that she lived in as a child and her
revenge begins.  One by one, she takes them down in pretty
inventive ways and gets lot of help from computer genius Nolan.
Everyone else doesn't know who she is and it is a cat and mouse
game each week.

There are beautiful parties, beautiful people, fancy clothes ~ it
is a lot like we live.  I still find myself curious enough to continue
watching, it's like Dallas and Dynasty and the Kardashians all rolled
into one.

Victoria and Conrad Grayson are the biggest enemies to her and she
seems to be saving them for last. Throw in a couple of love interests
and you can see that young Emily is busy, busy, busy.

She's taken down three people so far, what will this week bring?????

Friday, October 7, 2011

PROJECT RUNWAY - Lifetime Channel ~ Thursday night

Six designers are left and now it gets very, very interesting.  They
are all talented to have gotten this far and one bad design and it's
"out" for them.  But they are now tired and losing inspiration
quickly. This week's challenge was to draw inspiration from
three birds that they had, a raven, a parrot and a cockatiel.
Everyone was paired up but the challenge was to compete
against their partner.  Each pair had a losing and a winning
look.  That certainly changed the dynamics of the outcome.
But the winner would have a spread in Marie Claire magazine
as well as winning $20,000.00 from Loreal Cosmetics.  That
is a lot of incentive!!

They were give two days and $300.00.  At this point you
can see that they all work hard and have great ideas so
it's routine to watch them work on the garmets.  Kimberly
burned her dress with a glue gun and cried in the bathroom
but that was the extent of the drama this week.  Everyone
seemed to enjoy Bert now and treat him with respect which
is nice to see.  Later in the day Tim came in and announced
a small twist - another look inspired by the bird was to be
made - another $300.00 and another trip to Mood.  They
moaned, they groaned and sewed and sewed.  Tim then
announced (after having them drop their scissors) that
only one look would be used and to use the rest of the
time on that one design.

The runway show was a success and it was hard to have
to choose a winning and losing look from the three pairs
but the judges did it.  Lots of pointers for the designers
who should know exactly what is expected from them by
now but sometimes forget.  Anyway, Bert was out but
seemed sincerely grateful to have gotten this far.  Anya
won the challenge and Joshua had a small bitch fit and
whispered about how her model had to be cut out of
her dress.  Those two may have a big fight before this
season is over.  We're down to five and only three get
to go to fashion week - who will it be???????????????
 

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES - The final season

We all know that this is the final season for this terrific show.  I know it is
a little soap-operay but when it began it was such a refreshing change
from what was on TV.  So now it is near the end, with the same cast
of characters and oddly enough the same actors playing those crazy
people.

Last season ended with Gabrielle's abusive stepfather tracking her
down.  No 911 call for this family to rid themselves of this creep,
instead Carlos kills him and the girls are ready and willing to help
him get rid of the body.  So begins this season with a voice-over
about good friends who stay after the party to clean up the mess.
They go out in their fine clothes and bury him in the woods and no
one sees or wonders where they all are - hmmmmm.

A new man in the neighborhood and the women are like dogs
in heat, same old, same old.  Lynette is separated and they
finally tell the children the bad news.  This is sad but only
because it happens so often.  Susan wears her long face
and only changes it to cry, I don't think I will miss her.
Bree is finally happy with a police officer boyfriend and
there is a very funny scene where she and Gabrielle
try to ditch the dead guys car.

It did move pretty fast as I'm sure this season will -
see you next Sunday night ladies.

Monday, September 26, 2011

BREAKING BAD ~ SUNDAY NIGHT ON AMC

Only two episodes left and this show had gone from very slow to warp speed
in a matter of weeks.  There is so much going on, you have to pause it to catch
your breath.  Hank is hell-bent to find Heisenberg and has detected that there
is a laundry facility owned by Gus in town.  He convinces Walt to drive him
there and Walt drives into a truck to deter him.  Walt is getting as reckless
as Skyler.  Walt goes to Jesse's house, is so happy that he is okay and is
abducted by Gus's thugs.  They take him to the desert and Gus appears
to read his future to him - Walt is fired and he will be killing Hank.  If
Walt tries to interfere then Gus will kill the entire White family.  What
to do Walt - Better Call Saul.  He is given the name of someone who
will help the family vanish for 1/2 million dollars.  Walt is excited and
ready to leave only to discover that Skyler has given Ted the money
to pay the IRS. 

Onto the other storyline - Skyler goes to Ted and tells him to write
a check to the IRS.  He tries to get more money out of her.  What
to do Skyler - Better Call Saul.  Saul arranges for two of his thugs
to visit Ted.  They have him write a check, sign the IRS forms and
as he tries to run away, he slips, falls, and hits his head.  We are
never told that he is dead but you get that impression.

Sidebars:  Mike is left in Mexico.  Gus gives Hector the necklace
that they took from the Cartel.  Someone has been cooking in
Walt's lab.  Whoosh - can't wait until next week.  

Sunday, September 25, 2011

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills - Bravo, all day every day

Yes, I indulged in this reality (?) show today.  This was last week's
episode of the trip to Camille's home in Beaver Creek.  We get
to see how they live with hot tubs, skiing, lots of wine, chefs and
tears galore.  This week was Lisa's turn to meltdown and I felt
uneasy watching it knowing that her husband committed suicide
before this season aired.  Bravo had said that they would edit
the show but there still seemed to be a lot about Russell that
seemed inappropriate at this time.

Lisa is bone-thin and fragile and everyone has the solution
to her problems.  Other than that, everyone got along pretty
well.  Adrienne's team is leaving Sacramento and she and
Paul are going to the final game and the build-up is that fans
will be mad and bad things may happen.  But they are troopers
and go to the airport to their private plane and wait for Kim
to get it together to go along on this fun, fun trip.

Yes, that was about it for an hour of my time.  But I get
to see beautiful homes, clothes and people and forget
about how dire things are in Michigan and sometimes
you just need to do that.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

THE OFFICE ~ THURSDAY NIGHT ON NBC AT 9:00

This is the time slot that "Seinfield" dominated years ago and I
hope this tradition of great comedy continues.  We all know that
Michael Scott has left the building.  Last season ended with
the question of who would replace him.  Andy was chosen
and he is a good fit for the position.  He brags about going
to Cornell but is very unequipped to manage the office.  You
can see him agonize over every little thing (much like Michael
did) and building a whole day around a five minute job.  I
personally know many, many managers like that!!

Dwight is furious and who knows what he will do this season.
He meditates, karates and generally is just plain mad.  Pam
is pregnant again and everyone else is status quo.

Enter James Spader with his serial killer stare and scares
everyone including the audience with what he is thinking.
Great acting (I hope) and adds a new dimension to the
sometimes boring group that sells paper.  He leaves his
planner on the receptionist desk and after awhile the
entire office has seen it, analyzed it, made copies, and
work has ceased as they band together to find out what
the list of names means.  It is a pretty true to life show
and I enjoy it a lot.  It will be fun to watch how the
season developes .......................

Friday, September 23, 2011

PROJECT RUNWAY ~ Thursday on Lifetime at 9:00 p.m.

Even with lots of new episodes and new shows debuting this week
some old stand-bys are still the best.  Project Runway is doing lots
of new things this year and this was no exception.  It was called
"Image is Everything."  Once again, there were teams but it made
very little difference as there were no team leaders and each made
an individual look and the looks didn't have to be cohesive - why
the team?  Then one judge mentioned that it didn't seem to be a
team effort!  Anyway, their challenge was to design a look for
rock band "The Sheepdogs".  The winning look would be featured
in a Garnier ad and worn to a Rolling Stone event which gives
the designer tremendous exposure, they could leave next week
and still be on their way to a career.  The group has made it
to the part that is very, very important to their career and
they need to do their best but they are getting tired by the
challenges.  They had to create looks for one band member
so they heard their ideas and off to mood with $300.00 they
went.

Work, work, work, no meltdowns this time but you can see
the strain of trying to come up with fresh ideas.  Instead of a
traditional runway showing on models, the band did a performance
wearing the clothes.  The drummer was shortchanged because
both of his outfits looked similiar and unfortunately looked
similiar to bowling shirts.  The other looks were good and bad
and you can now name who will be going in the coming weeks
because the differences in tailoring and listening to the client
are coming into play.

Viktor won again and I predict he will be in the top three.
Oliver is gone.  Once again, he presented a not completed
outfit and kept complaining about how big his client was
but it was time for him to go.  Oddly enough, he is a menswear
designer, the only one in the group.  I guess just for small
men.  Too bad!!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Two and A Half Men - CBS ~ Monday at 9:00

The new season of Two and A Half Men began last night.  It
has been highly anticipated by fans of this show, of which I am
one, and it was pretty good.  The writers did kill off Charlie
and did explain what happened - Rose was involved but we
all knew that relationship would end badly.  Lots of pretty
women attended to be sure that Charlie was dead and his
mother pitched the sale of the house to everyone.  It was
an indicator of Charlie's life and I will miss that character
a lot. 

Ashton Kutcher tries to drown himself in the ocean and
ends up on Charlie's deck and into the house.  I was a little
disappointed in some of the writing but maybe I just enjoyed
the Charlie character so much that I never noticed before.
Ashton is heartbroken and Alan takes him to a bar.  Ashton
doesn't drink, which I hope they continue.  He is sad and
two women try to make him feel better.  This is pretty
lame writing, I think I saw it on Zack and Cody last
week.

The characters should mesh in the upcoming weeks and
maybe Ashton (Walden) won't have to keep walking
around naked.

Monday, September 19, 2011

BREAKING BAD

Only 3 episodes left this season and one more season of the entire series - need to
savor it all.  This week was more about Jesse as this whole season has been.  He
is flying to Mexico with Mike and Gus and is scared to death (rightly so).  He
is to show the Cartel how to cook meth.  He has a showdown with their cook
and gains Gus's respect by getting his way.  The meth is cooked and is 96.2%
pure - way to go Jesse.  He is told that he will have to stay in Mexico now but
Mike assures him that "either we all go home or no one goes home."  Gus
gives a bottle of liquor to the Cartel boss and he shares it with everyone.
They all are poisoned and begin to die during a party.  Mike gets shot,
Gus in slightly poisoned and Jesse is the Superhero getting them into a
car and driving off into the desert.  Again, way to go Jesse.

Walt, meanwhile, is losing ground with everyone.  His son gets him
out of bed where he is recovering from his fight with Jesse (he even
calls his son Jesse) and tends to him, repairing his glasses and sleeping
on the couch.  He rewards his son by crying and lying and telling a
long story about how he remembers so little about his own father
because he was only 6 years old when his father died.  Shameful
behavior by Walt considering he missed his son's 16th birthday
and the lame car that Skyler picked out for him.

Skyler makes lawyer Saul give money to Ted so he can pay his
back taxes and keep them both out of trouble.  Ted rewards
her generousity by leasing a Mercedes and getting his company
up and running again and figuring out how to "get a better deal
from the government."   Saul told her it was a bad idea and so
she decides to tell Ted that she gave him the money.  More and
more recklessness from the White family.

Pretty intense episode.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

UP ALL NIGHT~ NBC ~Wednesday night at 8:00

Terrific show!! Can't say anything less than that.  Great cast, I was kind of ready
to be disappointed.  Christina Applegate is Amy's Mom and Will Arnett is Amy's
Dad.  Mom works on a talk show with Diva AVA, played beautifully by Maya
Rudolph (the bride in Bridesmaids) and Dad is a former hockey player who
left his law firm to stay home with the baby.  Mom and Dad were partiers who
will admit that a little part of them misses the night life, but love, love, love little
Amy.  It's only half a hour and I would have liked more, which is a good sign
for a sitcom.  The acting isn't over the top or stupid, crisp and sharp writing,
funny, authentic and reminds me somewhat of Modern Family (no bigger
compliment).  I set the series on my DVR and you should too..!!!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Parenthood ~ NBC Tuesday at 10:00 p.m.

Finally - a season premier on network TV.  Been ready for awhile.  This
show is in it's third season  and took a little while to take off.  It
has a very talented cast - with Bonnie Bedelia and Craig T. Nelson as
the parents of four adults and we follow all of their lives.  It is ambitous
with so many characters and it is a bit cloying at times - perfect faces,
perfect houses, lots and lots of sensitive dialogue and a lot of music
when things get dull.  I still like it and this season we are dealing with
a baby, empty-nest, new career and that's just the first show!!!

The best acted part of this show was where Haddie goes to a party,
gets drunk and her boyfriend who is a recovering alcoholic comes
to her rescue only to assault another boy at the party.  He is arrested
and you can see all that he has worked for slipping away.  Great
acting and too often real life.

Julie wants to buy a baby, Sarah turns forty (complete with the perfect
party and cake), Adam hope to get a job that he is totally unsuitable
for but is desperate, and Crosby (least likeable of the four kids) is
his usual self-absorbed character.  

More to come................

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Protector - Lifetime Channel ~ Monday Night

This episode was a little different.  It usually has Gloria as the lead character
but she is stuck in a room for a couple of days waiting to testify.  She meets
a former friend who is now divorced and goes on a date.  Otherwise, she
isn't involved in the case.  When each episode begins, it usually contrasts
what the victim is doing and what Gloria is doing, getting you interested
in what happens to each one.  This week was a high stakes poker game
with wealthy players and Gloria playing solitaire.  The game is robbed
and a divorce attorney and bodyguard are killed. 

With Gloria gone, Michelle is teamed up with the Captain to investigate.
The mayor's office sent a higher ranking officer to the investigators to
oversee.  Trouble is, it's Ramon's ex-wife played by Vivica Fox.  Woo
Hoo!! the sparks fly, but not good sparks.

The robber is soon shot and we also have a car bomb.  Lots of suspects
who hated the divorce attorney so lots of characters to interact with.  Turns
out it was a former mob boss who hadn't been seen in 15 years.  The
connection was that he lived across the street from the attorney and
hated the noise from his constant construction.  Kind of a different twist
and gave us a lot of insight into several character's personal life.  Ready
for the next episode, please.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Breaking Bad

Busy ~ Busy episode..!!!

The tension is building with many storylines going on.  The ongoing theme was
summed up by Walt to Jesse "we're both dead men anyway."  Hank needs a
ride to the warehouse he has discovered belonging to Gus.  Walt buys some
time (again, does Hank know about Walt?) and let's Mike know about Hank.
The lab is being moved when a shot rings out from the hills and a man is killed.
Jesse is so scared he can't move and Mike tackles him so he isn't shot.  Soon,
Gus walks out and every bullet misses him and he puts up his hands to surrender.
He talks to the Mexican cartel and agrees to their terms.  He invites Jesse to
dinner at his home and explains that Jesse is to go to Mexico and teach them
how to cook meth.  Jesse is more scared than ever.  Rightly so.  Walt has
bugged Jesse's car and confronts him about being with Gus.  The plan to
rip their loyalty apart has been successful as they physically fight each
other and Jesse orders Walt out of his house and to never come back.

Skyler White is pretty busy herself with the car wash and shrink wrapping
money for her crawl space.  Her former employer and lover, Ted, shows
up at the car wash to let her know that he is being audited and her name is
 on the financial papers.  It was a classic scene as she shows up at the
IRS, boobs hanging out, and works the ignorance is bliss con on the
auditer.  I think I will watch that part again!!

Will Jesse go to Mexico?  Can he cook Walt's recipe?  Will Skyler keep
Ted and herself out of jail?  Next week we may answer some of these
questions.

Friday, September 9, 2011

PROJECT RUNWAY ~ Thursday on Lifetime at 9:00 p.m.

The pressure is on - we are down to 10 competitors.  This week was a favorite - the
create your own fabric challenge.  There were two teams of five and no team leader,
recipe for unlimited drama!!  You could tell after teams were chosen which was the
stronger team but I watched anyway.  They did not disappoint.  The challenge was
for each team to create of 5 piece collection from the fabric they had designed and
to also produce the fashion show (music choices and video creation).  They had
two days but it's a lot to do.  Betsey Johnson stopped by to give advice, she is
always a joy to see, always makes you smile.  Team names were chosen, Team Nuts &
Bolts and Team Chaos.  Everything clicked for Team Chaos from fabric, to video,
to design.  Everything was chaos for Nuts & Bolts and they did act like a bunch
of nuts.  The video was poorly made as well as completely irrelevant to their design,
it took a lot of work to make it so bad.

The finished fashion show was great and poor as we knew it would be.  Oliver did
finally do a wonderful jacket and Michael Kors said was possibly the best he had
ever seen on all of the shows.  I think Oliver has coasted along on his perceived
potential and this time did come through.  Enya was the competition winner and
I think she had more talent than I originally thought, waiting for more unexpected
surprises from her.

Team Nuts & Bolts couldn't even stand together without looking out of place with
each other, they couldn't even fake a team for the judges.  The judges trashed
each and every outfit and eventually Becky was sent home.  Joshua wins the
drama queen award (again) and seemed to look sad for Becky but it's pretty
plain that is what he had wanted from the first time he laid eyes on her.  I'm
hoping Joshua will go soon, he is not nearly as talented as he would like to
think that he is and who isn't sick of his bitch fits???????????

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

RIZZOLI & ISLES ~ TNT ~ Mondays at 10

This was the last episode before the "summer finale" of next week.  A young woman
is murdered on the loading docks in Boston and Rizzoli & Isles work to find her
murderer.  She is stabbed with an ice pick and that is a trademark killing for
Isles' father who is a mob boss.  Her father is shot and shows up at her apartment
for medical treatment.  This has been an ongoing story where Isles was adopted
and found out recently who her father is and still doesn't know who her mother
is.  Another story within the story is Rizzoli's brother Tommy who is staying
with her mother after getting out of prison and there is heavy flirting going
on with he and Isles, as well as a long, involved chess game.

Even with all of this going on, they are still able to solve the case and attend
sensitivity training!!  These are a couple of wonder-women (maybe I need
some sentivity training too).  The young woman who was killed had come
to Boston to find out the truth about an "accident" that her father had six
months before.  She was right that it was a setup by the union rep and
a mob boss owner but died while trying to film the evidence.

I do like this show and will miss it after next week.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Breaking Bad

Another dark, dark episode.  Gus comes in for questioning and has explanations
for everything.  Hank brings it up that there is no record of him living in Chile
but that is passed off by countries not keeping accurate records.  Gus's story
is okay with the other police but Hank still feels that he is guilty of something.

Hank has Walt drive him to Gus's chicken shack and wants
him to put a GPS devices on Gus's car.  Meanwhile, Mike pulls alongside of them in
the car.  Walt sweats bullets as he tries to keep his spinning world under control.  He
is still in remission from the cancer and tells another patient to always maintain control -
a lot of irony in this show.  Walt begins to pressure Jesse to kill Gus, how much more
can that young man take?  You can see he is just waiting to die.

The ending was a long, sub-titled scene of Gus and the Mexican Cartel from
long ago when Gus wanted to get into the drug business.  One man
is killed and Gus is spared because "I know who you are".  When will we know
who he is??????

Friday, September 2, 2011

PROJECT RUNWAY ~ Thursday on Lifetime at 9:00 p.m.

Another week has flown by and another episode of Project Runway has
entertained us for a hour and half.  There were 11 contestants left this
week in this "Back to School" episode.  Everyone went to the Harlem
School of the Arts and were paired with a teenage student that attended
this school.  The challenge was to have a collaborations with the student
and create an avant garde look that is inspired by the work of art created
with the student.  They had two days and $300.00 to complete the
challenge.  The students made a visit to the workroom and observed
how things worked and really seemed to enjoy that, you could see
the youthful enthusiasm in their faces.

Everyone worked hard and it is come to the point in the competition
where you have really good and really bad.  It will only get better
each week from here on out.

Oliver held great promise at the beginning, he was my personal
favorite but the luster has worn off.  He has no time management
skills and tried to glue the top of the dress to the model.  Those
models are troopers as she agreed to whatever it took to complete
the task.  Burt is growing on the others and shared some personal
history with them which seemed to make them appreciate him more.
His look was awful and very, very dated.  I believe he's around to
add some drama but he'll get the heave ho pretty soon.

The guest judge was Kenneth Cole and he had a lot of input into
the decisions that were made and he added a lot to the runway
show.  The students returned for the runway and seemed so
happy with how their designs had inspired others.  They were
proud and should be.

The winner was Anthony Ryan but all three in the top were great.
He had taken fabric and made long strips that resembled brush
strokes down the front and lightened them as they appeared to
drip down the long dress.  Very striking look.  The odd man
out was Josh C. who was very lost in this challenge.  He had
an original idea but changed it when Tim spoke with him and
it all ended up with no direction.  He was just brought back
last week so it was doubly sad for him to lose because he was
so intent on not going home and got sidetracked.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

MODERN FAMILY ~ ABC ~ WEDNESDAYS AT 9:00 pm

How can a network give us a dreadful show like "Shark Tank" and an
incredible, wonderful show like "Modern Family".  I'm ready for some
new episodes of this crisp, fast-paced comedy.  It deserves all of the
awards it has been given.  But until mid-September we will have to
make due with re-runs which are so funny, who cares??

Claire and Phil had a fight, a doozy with a fire extinguisher, ripped
off microwave door and frozen vegetables everywhere.  Phil doesn't
know what he did wrong and spends most of episode trying to
figure it out in true Phil fashion.  His comedy timing is terrific and
he takes the clueless, doofus just far enough to not seem stupid.
Mitchell forgets to mail invitations for Cameron and his party is
destined to be a flop.  Cameron is hilarious with his earpiece
barking out orders to little Luke even though he is standing
right beside him.  Mitchell saves the day and Phil saves himself
and Gloria sends back her karaoke machine when her son
finally tells her how awful she is.  I did have to look up "wedge
salad" and it looks pretty good.  Claire was mad because
Phil tried one after his friend suggested it and she had suggested
it for years.  Those who have been married for awhile or have
children will understand and agree how frustrating it can be.

Mid-September can't come soon enough, until then there is
another episode on right now.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

RIZZOLI & ISLES ~ TNT ~ Mondays at 10

This episode featured a couple of story lines.  The beginning was a man and
his adult son that were shot and beaten after leaving a restaurant.  The older
man died and his son was in critical condition.  It appeared to be a random
robbery gone bad (that's what gives us cop shows) but things aren't always
what they appear to be.

The second story line features Maura Isles and an old flame of hers that
shows up out of the blue.  He is a doctor and does work in poverty
stricken countries.  How come every accomplished woman on TV has
one of these men, they never seem to just take up with an insurance
salesman or everyday guy.  Rizzoli and her mom are suspicious and
her mom snoops around and finds that he has three passports and is
wanted for questioning by Interpol.  Again, not your everyday guy.

More people die and it is finally discovered that the son who was
beaten was smuggling heroin into the country.   Not much new about
that but it was clever in how they did it, they used liquid heroin and
soaked packing blankets in the truck.  When they arrived in this
country the herion would be processed back into dry form.  A rat
in the container ate the heroin and died and that was how it was
discovered.  I haven't seen that used before.

The son was arrested, his kidnapped son and wife were found
and Isles loverboy left the country with boxes of drugs for people
in Africa.  Isles did cry which I haven't seen before either -
pretty good episode but Rizzoli's mom needs to get a life.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Two and A Half Men - CBS ~ Monday at 9:00

This episode was called "Looking for Japanese Subs".  Charlie is sad
because his stalker Rose has gotten married.  Of course, we know that
she faked it all with a large dummy in a bad wig but Charlie is in love
with her because he can't have her.  It should be a stupid sit-com but
I still laugh out loud at it when I watch it.  I wonder what will happen
to the Rose character in the new season with Charlie gone.  Anyway -
Charlie professes his love for her and they spend time in bed
together.  It was a bit of a cliffhanger because it ended with Charlie
still thinking she was married to a human.
The other story was Jake and his pal trying out stupid stunts to post
on You-Tube.  They would seem far-fetched if I hadn't watched a
video of a co-worker setting cans of paint on fire in his back yard -
he would light, run, and laugh.  I'm sure a lot of alcohol was involved
with his video, however.  So Jake did some crazy stunts that never
worked out and Alan just gave up.  I may be entertained by this
show because it makes my home and family seem sane - hmmmmm.

Monday, August 29, 2011

BREAKING BAD - Problem Dog

Each episode gets darker and darker - I was really mad when it ended this
week.  So much happened!!  After 14 minutes of this show I wanted to
cry for how Jesse, Walt and Skyler have been changed by one rash, illegal
choice that Walt made one day that seems like ages ago. 

Jesse is ready to kill Gus, "first chance he gets" Skyler is super
 businesswoman and Walt is doing donuts in a parking lot until
 he sets the car on fire and Better Call Saul has to bail him out.
 This is just one morning in their lives.

Jesse gets to be a thug for Gus when Gus meets with the Cartel
or rather one member of the Cartel, which seemed pretty insulting.
Walt has given Jesse some poison to give to Gus but Jesse is
quite conflicted on where his loyalty lies.  He thinks that Gus
sees something in him but Gus's exact words were "I see
things in people".  We always hear what we want to hear.
Jesse goes to a NA meeting where he talks about killing
a Problem Dog which is code for Gale.  When no one will
understand why he killed an innocent, healthy dog he admits
that he joined the group to sell them meth.  I had forgotten
about that.

Hank is great - thriving, in fact.  He takes Walt Jr. to the
chicken restaurant and schmoozes Gus.  His "aw shucks"
attitude is terrific, you never quite know if it is real or not.
He gets a fingerprint from Gus and matches it to a print
from Gale's apartment.  The last scene is Hank telling his
story to his captain and partner - he's so close to Heisenberg
you can feel the heart beating faster.

Jesse was told by Mike to keep his "eyes open & mouth shut"
which is exactly what I did for this addictive hour of TV.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

HOT IN CLEVELAND ~ TV Land ~ Wednesday at 9:00

This season for Hot in Cleveland is almost over and that's too bad because
it is a witty, fast-talking show that I enjoy a lot.  The general story line is
that three close LA friends were flying to Paris and had to make an
emergency stop in Cleveland.  Once there, life was so much better
for them that they decided to stay.  Maybe it's because I am from the
Midwest too that it appeals to me.  Our backwardness is exaggerated
but funny.  This show stars some great female comedy talent -
Wendie Malick from "Just Shoot Me", Jane Leeves from "Frasier"
Valerie Bertinelli from "One Day at a Time" and Eddie VanHalen.
The real star is Betty White from just about everything these days.
She's an 80 year old widow going on about 19, mouthy and hip at
the same time.

This week Betty White's character Elka is getting married and wants
a simple wedding.  Of course, a few bridal magazines later she is
over the top.  The episode is call Bridezelka and is very funny if
you are a fan of Bridezilla and other such shows.  She is so emotional
that eventually the groom throws in the towel.  All ends well with
the ladies all getting a lesson in how things can keep building and
building out of control.  Not an especially new plot line but their
fast-paced insults are very, very funny.  Next week is the season
finale with the wedding taking place, sorry to see it go.  Not sure
if it has been renewed for a fourth season but I sure hope so.

Friday, August 26, 2011

PROJECT RUNWAY ~ Thursday on Lifetime at 9:00 p.m.

Ahhhh - my favorite show of the week (and not just because there is
nothing else worth watching).  Our competitors woke up to new outfits
of workout gear and had to go to the New Balance track to meet Tim
and Heidi.  They were then told that the challenge for this week was a
team of three challenge which is always fun because they have gang-ups
within the teams.  They all had to race around the track once and the
first four across the line became team leaders.  This is different and
interesting.  The first four were all men and got to pick their teams.
In the meantime, Cecilia quit the competition and the team with only
two members was able to choose who they would like to come back
to the competition from all the "your out" from past weeks.  They
chose Josh C who was welcomed back by everyone. 

The challenge was to design 3 cohesive looks to go with the sneakers
that Heidi designs for New Balance and sells on Amazon.  One is denim
and one is suede and the looks did not have to be gym wear.  The
winning design would be sold on Amazon.com as part of Heidi's
line.  Heidi has become quite the salesperson!!

Of course, the gang-ups began against Bert and Becky primarily because
they are older and not cool.  No one would listen to their ideas and there
were tears, an apology, and a group hug in a women's bathroom stall -
another Project Runway first.

The looks seemed pretty boring to me.  Lots of black and gray and very
little imagination.  This group seems to be burned out already and the
hard part is still to come.  The very, very dreadful ones couldn't even
be explained by the person who created it, they just would look at it
and shake their head in dismay.  It does make for drama/comedy TV. 

The judges had trouble deciding the best and the worst and had the
same conversation I have heard before about whether they are judging
the designer on their overall ability or does each segment stand alone
for judging where one bad outfit will get you fired.  The overall ability
theory won and Danielle was out.  There were two winners with Viktor
and Joshua who have immunity next week.  Viktor worked hard this
week, from racing fast so he could be a team leader to really listening
to his team, he has become a real contender.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Buried Treasure ~ FOX Network ~ Wednesdays at 8pm

This was the series premiere for this show.  It features the Keno twins, Leslie and Leigh,
expert appraisers from The Antique Roadshow.  They are going into family homes and
finding objects that the homeowners hope are worth a fortune.  They went to 3 residences
in the New York city area to see what they could find.  The first home belonged to Liz who
was a hoarder but had some amazing things.  At the end, they had a pre-sale value of about
$119,000 for only 4 items.  She and her daughter were very happy with the outcome and
you had to hope that it was start for Liz to clean up her home.  Next was a man and his
wife that collected comic books.  He was taken to a high-end comic collectors office where
he was in heaven but for what he had he didn't get what he thought they were worth.  Some-
one had taken ink and tried an "amateur restoration" which sunk the value.  He ended up
with a fair amount of money but not what they wanted.  Third home was family who had
a violin that belonged to the homeowner's deceased father.  An appraiser and
violinist were there to authenticate it.  It turned out that it was not an original but it was
bittersweet because he could keep it as a keepsake from his father. 

As one woman pointed out, the Kane brothers are the rock stars of the antique world.
They are attractive, well-dressed and friendly to everyone.  It was fun to watch but way,
way too many dramatic pauses.  If you didn't have a fast forward button on your DVR
it would be easy to lose interest and turn it off.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

FLIPPING OUT ~ BRAVO ~ TUESDAY NIGHT AT 9

Another Flipping Out and Jeff is flipping out each week it seems.  This week his
anger was vented towards Randy, his contractor.  I can see Jeff's point, there
is an air of desperation coming from Randy as he drowns in debt and insists
that Jeff give him a check to buy materials that he won't use for two weeks.
They go round a little bit and then Jeff fires him.  Do you notice there is one
casualty per week this season?

The other drama was Jeff's dog Casey.  He had a pet communicator (very
California) come in and listen to the pets.  Casey was in pain so Jeff took
the dog to the vet and he required surgery.  Everyone was concerned and it
was touching how they all went to the animal hospital to visit.

Jeff continues to work on his design business and films a commercial with
a new business partner, Caesarstone, as Gage works hard and worries
about building a solid business for he and Jeff.  He is the grown up in the
family and good for him.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Two and A Half Men - CBS ~ Monday at 9:00

Last night's show was a re-run as is usual for summer on Network TV.  But my choices
were to write about this show or Shark Tank which I see was first shown in 2009.  It's
slim pickens for sure.
Anyway, this episode was funny with lots of mis-communication, not too much new with
that, but funny anyway.  Alan is newly dating Lindsey and is worried that Charlie will
take her away as he has with past girlfriends.  There is one girl's name that keeps
coming up - Alan was happy to get to second base with her only to find out many
others had gone everywhere else with her.  Lindsey is having a house-warming party
(apparently Alan set a fire there and it has been re-done) and because she wants
to invite Charlie, Alan won't attend.  He does, however, stalk the party from outside
the window only to have a skunk spray him.  As he hoses off at his ex-wife's house,
her current husband tries to help Alan with V-8 juice and ketchup.  When asked why
he wasn't at the party he replied "Well I wanted to but Judith came down with a migraine
and by migraine I mean bitch fit." (Best line of the night).  Alan goes back to confront
Lindsey only to find out that Charlie has left earlier with two women.  By now he
is reeking of "Skunk, Dog Crap and Ketchup" also the name of episode.  Lindsey
locks him out of the house but we all know that she remains in his life.  Pretty funny
but still looking forward to the show next month with Ashton Kutcher which will
change all the dynamics of the show but I'm confident the terrific writers will
make it work.

Monday, August 22, 2011

BREAKING BAD - ANOTHER TERRIFIC EPISODE!!

Last night on TV was another episode of Breaking Bad.  It seemed like the quiet episode.
There wasn't a lot of music, just a lot of close, intimate dialogue between Jesse, Mike,
Walt and Skyler.  You can feel the tension building up and what long, long days these
characters all have.  The cartel executes another revenge hit on Gus's truck, more lives
lost and Mike and Jesse are to go retrive the meth that was stole.  Jesse's own addiction
serves him well with this job but he has crossed the line now and seems to have no
problem holding a gun to another human being.  He seems to be detoxing, but it's a
difficult trade.

Skyler disappears for awhile with the baby only to realize that this is her destiny, like
it or not.  It's hard to tell if she likes it or not.  Walt is paranoid with the cameras
knowing that Gus is watching his every move.  It's quite a chess game that they
have going on.  Gus watches, Walt works, Jesse is taken away by Mike, Walt
gets some of the women from the factory to clean, Gus has them deported.  Your
move Walt.

Everything is building - Walt bought a flashy car for Junior and Skyler wants is
returned.  They are in a lot of ways like every suburban family.  Makes me wonder
about my neighbors.

Friday, August 19, 2011

PROJECT RUNWAY ~ Thursday on Lifetime at 9:00 p.m.

This week rolled around so fast and it's time for another Project Runway.  I am ready for
there to be fewer designers in this challenge, it seems like it drags a little bit at this point
before it gets very, very competitive.  This week's challenge was another Runway first
with everyone designing for Nina Garcia.  She is an editor at Marie Claire magazine and
has been a judge on Project Runway since the beginning.  They were to design an outfit
that would go from work to evening events and had one day and $200.00 to complete
it.  Nina didn't like loud patterns, pleats, or a whole lot of other things that made it hard
for the contestants to shop for what they wanted.  Nina met with each designer and gave
them a lot of feedback on two different occasions.  Why some of them created what they
did from what she said is a mystery to me.  The winner gets immunitiy and the look will
be in an editorial in Marie Claire magazine as well as featured on top of cabs in New York.
It will be thrilling for the winner and wonderful exposure for an unknown artist.
The three outfits in the bottom were dreadful and I can't believe that the designer didn't
just cut it up instead of sending it down the runway.  Usually, there is some redeeming
quality, good tailoring, good fabric etc. but there truly was nothing for these three.
I don't know how they decided the worst one!!  I also don't know how they decided
the winner because all top three were great.  But they did pick Kimberley who designed
a beautiful gold colored top and tailored pants, it was stunning.  Julie is out but seemed
extremely sad and lost to be going and didn't seem to have any Plan B for her life, hope
I interpreted that wrong.  See you next Thurs.!!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Rocco's Dinner Party - Bravo Channel ~ Wednesday at 10:00 p.m.

I had to look up on the Bravo website to find out who Rocco DiSpirito is.  I know that
he is good-looking, has a great apartment and what else?  He is an award winning chef
and cookbook author and this show is pretty interesting.  It begins with three chefs and
they cook for Rocco and one chef is eliminated.  In this case, all three were equal and
they competed a second time in a five-minute cookoff .  Tony was eliminated and we
were left with Lucia, an opera singer who loves to cook and Frank, a self-taught
caterer from New York.  They had to choose a room for dinner and explain to
a designer(Jes Gordon) how to decorate the room.  Then they decide who will
go first and what they will cook.  They had a budget of $500.00 and off to the
store they went.  This show is an hour and a half and you need that much time
to watch them cook and serve.  Just before the Lucia was to serve, Rocco came
in to announce that there were vegetarian guests and a guest that was eating
Kosher and she had to quickly re-arrange their meals. 
The decorator did a great job interpreting the chef's vision and each room was
beautiful.  The meals were great and the guests did have negative comments
on each chef's choices.
It was Liza Minnelli's birthday with other celebrity guests and it was fun to see
them in this casual, friendly setting.  Liza was very lively, told some great stories
and you felt you were a guest too.
Frank was the winner but not by much.  He won $20,000.00 and got to drink
a toast with the guests as Lucia packed her knives.  Pretty good show, I'll
watch again if only to see the chefs criticize the opponents food and then it
turns out to be a great dish that Rocco loves.
the guests and Rocco love it.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

It's Worth What? ~ NBC ~ Tuesday night at 9:00 p.m.

I've had enough of the drama shows and opted last night for a game show.  It's on NBC
at 9:00 p.m. and I had never watched it before.  I was pleased to see that Cedric the
Entertainer was the host, he's always fun.  There were two men who were co-workers
as well as best friends that were the players.  Apparently there are only two players
each week.  There is the potential to make a million dollars and Mark and Rob were
ready to play.  You have to guess the value of different items a few different ways.
Most are rare or collectible and it is hard to judge.  We saw cars, comic books,
a live zebra and more.  The boys only made $30,000 but stopped at that and
were grateful and appreciative for that (refreshing to see) and I couldn't have
done any better because my guesses were similiar to theirs.  It's a fun show but
drags on A LOT.  Cedric explains how much money they have the potential to
win, the audience claps A LOT and the contestants have to say several times
what their answer is and they have to be sure-sure!!  It's a fun show that should
only be a half-hour long but I learned a little about different items (there is an
expert appraiser so that we know it's all real) and will watch again sometime,
I'm sure-sure.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The Protector - Lifetime Channel ~ Monday nights at 11

Is it me or are there a lot of female cop shows on cable today?  Maybe I just seem to
be attracted to them, so here is another one from last night.  This show is called The
Protector and is about a LAPD homicide detective named Gloria Sheppard.  She is
recently divorced with two young boys and lives with her brother Davey.  The rest
of the show is pretty routine.  You have a murder which she investigates, you then
have a chase scene (this one was in a car wash), some time in a bar and finally an arrest.
This week's victim was a cop groupie and it was thought that one of Gloria's co-workers
was the suspect.  His wife became part of the mix too and it was discovered that
a perp from his past had set him up.  All in all this is not a bad show.  There is the
usual workplace flirting and home life chaos so I guess my only criticism is that
there isn't anything fresh or new about the cast of characters.

Monday, August 15, 2011

BREAKING BAD - SHOTGUN

It's Sunday night and it's time for another terrific episode of Breaking Bad.
Jesse spends the day with Mike picking up money in remote areas where
it has been hidden.  Jesse fights off some bad guys and he is a hero which
is what Gus wanted him to do.  He now feels he is an important part of
the operation and I think he realized that he wants to live after he thought
Mike was taking him to the desert to kill him.  Kind of a "scared straight"
day.
The car wash now belongs to the White family and Walt and Skyler are
pretty much back together.  Skyler invited Walt to move back in but you
can see he has reservations, not sure where that is going.  She likes to have
her way, so tread lightly Walt.
Walt seems to spend more and more time angry and frustrated.  Hank is
getting out of his funk and thinks he still may be able to find that Heiserman
guy.  Seemed to be a lot of loose ends this week, anxious to see where
they take us.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

AGAINST THE WALL - LIFETIME CHANNEL~SUN AT 10 p.m.

I was pleasantly surprised by this show.  It looked a little too overacted in the
previews but it is well acted and has several ongoing stories in it.  It stars
Rachael Capana, Kathy Baker and Treat Williams.  Rachael plays Abby
who has just made detective but the only opening is in Internal Affairs and
her goal is homicide so she takes the job as a stepping stone.  She has
three brothers and a father who are all police officers and Internal Affairs
is the enemy.  She is good at her job and takes her stress out by having
sex with one brother's partner.  Meanwhile, her family is not happy with
her decision, her father isn't speaking to her, her mother isn't speaking
to her father and on and on.  Not an especially creative storyline but
as I said, it is well acted.  The setting is Chicago and there are lots
of big city skyline shots, some sad music and heavy sighing (both
in and out of the sex scenes).  I will watch again, it caught my interest. 

Friday, August 12, 2011

Project Runway

Thursday night has rolled around again and it's time for Project Runway.  This
week is the first time in the history of Project Runway that there has been an
outdoor runway with the public and press invited.  It takes place in Battery
Park in New York City and the other twist is that all of the models are
walking on stilts -  I have no idea how they learned to walk a runway on
stilts but they did it very well. The challenge was with teams of two (always
good for drama and tears) and they had one day to complete the outfit.
They were warned not to make it look like a circus and off to Mode they
went. 
Bert and Viktor bickered a lot, I think they will both be eliminated pretty
soon.  Bryce and Fallene had their work cut out for them, both have been
in the bottom each week and this week was no different.  Bryce isn't that
creative and Fallene relied on her artistic sense but lacks basic sewing
skills.  I'm not sure how either one of them made it to this show.
It was exciting to see the competitors respond to a live audience, there
were quite a few people there that were taking photos and lots of
noise, it looked like a good time.
Kim Kardashian was the guest judge - can't say too much sarcastic
about that since I have been known to indulge in watching her show.
There was a variety of outfits, again this early in the show you have
really bad and really good.  It gets more cohesive as the better
designers stay on the show.  Laura and Anthony won the challenge
but only Laura got immunity for next week which Anthony was
gracious to give her all the credit for the design.  Fallene was the
loser and was sent home, she cried a lot, I guess I would too.
It was a pretty good episode and I'm still in awe of walking a
runway on stilts.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Combat Hospital - ABC, Tuesday 10 p.m.

This is another show that I have never watched so I went to the ABC website to see what it
was all about.  It's about military doctors and nurses set in Southern Afghanistan (modern
day M*A*S*H* perhaps?).  It's modeled after a real Canadian-lead NATO Role 3
Hospital which is the highest level of care available in Kandahar.
The show begins with surgery and the ever-present arrogant, genius, surgeon.
He has a heart of steel which will melt before this episode is over.  The rest
of the cast is very attractive and very professional and competent.  There is
a record going for how many days without a casualty and one doctor, Bobby,
is accused of trying to keep that record by understating the injuries of a burn
victim.  The staff takes sides on his decision and there is lots of the usual
work-place drama we have all encountered.  The burn patient does pass
away but her daughter lives - this is what melts the heart of Dr. Know-it-all.
There is a small boy who appears with minor injuries and becomes the shadow
of one of the doctors and is still there when the show is over as they are
searching for his family and he won't speak to anyone. 
There is a little personal time between the staff and one Private has a personal
challenge that he overcomes just by observing what stress and life and death
decisions these soldiers have to make each and every day.
I liked the show, will watch again, would recommend that you watch it too.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

RIZZOLI & ISLES

This is the second season for this police drama on Monday night, TNT Channel.
Jane Rizzoli is a Boston police detective and Maura Isles is the medical examiner.
Jane is from a tight-knit family, Maura comes from money but gives back by
helping the crime victims.  There is more interaction on a personal level this
year and it adds a lot to the show.  They both have more warmth and depth
then just solving cases with a lot of technical dialogue.  They are attractive
and not botoxed to where you can't tell if they are distressed or laughing
(Sela Ward in CSI:NY).
This week's story was about a semi-pro baseball team and the murder of
a sober coach (?) and the star player on the team.  There are twists and
turns but it stays interesting until the end.  You have divorcing team owners
and feuding team mates to add to the suspects.  Rizzoli's brother is just out of
prison and that adds more drama to the story line.
I like the show and like the way the characters are developing.  I hope it
continues but you never know with cable channel shows ~ they come and
they go.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Breaking Bad - Bullet Points

This is the fourth episode of my favorite show.  It seemed to have moved a little
slow this season but perhaps it was because I was so anxious for it to return.
This episode, however, did put me on the edge of my seat.
You assume that the name of the episode "Bullet Points" applies to the shoot
up of Gus's truck in the opening scene but instead it is an elaborate story
that Skyler has created to explain the purchase of the car wash - the story
has a number of bullet points.  When the White family goes to Hank and
Marie's for dinner and to tell their story, Walt realizes that Hank is investigating
the murder of Gale and still trying to catch Heisenberg.  The acting is
so subtle and nuanced that you really don't know what Hank believes
or if he knows the whole story and is going to let Walt stew in his own
juices.
Jesse is now officially out of control and is last seen riding into the desert
with Mike and is too messed up to even care what happens to him now
but Walt is furious and realizes how very little control he has over his
or anyone else's life much like the meth addicts that he feeds.  Can't
wait until next week!!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

NECESSARY ROUGHNESS

There was nothing good on last night, so I watched a DVR I had from last
Wednesday night.  The show is called Necessary Roughness on USA channel.
The story line is about Dani who is newly separated from her cheating husband
and has gone back to work as a therapist.   Her clients are high profile athletes
with various issues to be resolved.  She has TK, a pro football player, as a
regular patient and then another patient each week. 
This week, TK suspected that he had a son from a one-night stand but in
true TV fashion, it wasn't true and he was off the hook.  He wasn't sure if
that was a good thing or not.  Dani counseled him for about a minute and
a half to help him through it and all was well - whew, close call!!
The other story was a professional skateboarder that was having
nightmares and paranoia.  He was bi-polar.  It took her most of
the show to figure out what most of us knew at the beginning. 
You can probably tell that I am not a fan of this show.  It has a
very attractive cast but no warmth, original storyline, or snappy
dialogue to make it worth the time to watch.  It's now off my DVR
schedule.  How about yours?

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Alphas - Syfy Channel

This is another show I have never watched before, it was recommended to me and
it is terrific.  It's a fast-moving action show.  This was encore performance that was
originally aired on Monday, 8-1.  This show is on Monday nights at 10 pm and it's
now a part of my DVR settings.
The plot is that five ordinary people have extraordinary abilities, some physical and
some mental.  They are led by Dr. Rosen, who is not an alpha (only a genius).
Because Dr. Rosen has assembled this team, they don't always like each other
and have to really work on being a team  - I guess they are pretty human after
all!  These are good Alphas and they fight against the bad Alphas.  This episode
was about catching bad Alphas that were going to blow up a pharmaceutical
plant that was creating a new drug to prevent birth defects and it was felt
that would stop the creation of future Alphas.  It also had some personal
themes where a teenage boy Alpha meets a teenage girl Alpha and finally has
someone like him to talk to.  It added some warmth to the show.  I
liked it and would recommend it and may watch some more episodes
online at the Syfy Channel website.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Project Runway

Another week - another terrific episode.  This was the "unconventional challenge".
The competitors were taken to a pet store and were to create an outfit from
the store items.  They had $300 and one day to complete the challenge.  The
judges were looking for original designs not just re-done dresses from dog
beds.
It is always amazing to see what these talented people can do, the vision
they see from these unusual objects.  The materials are unstable so that
becomes a factor in the final design too.
As is common in the beginning episodes of this show, the best is pretty
good and the worst is beyond bad.  One contestant had to agree how
awful her dress was - she couldn't see any good qualities in it!!
The show is now an hour and a half so we get to see all of the drama
as they create.  The group seems very friendly and supportive but
it usually changes as the group gets smaller.
Oliver won, he had a lovely top and skirt made with hamster bedding,
Josh is out - he did two terrible outfits in a row, we knew he was
doomed.  Bert was disappointing, he had immunity and just threw
together something - poor judgement on his part.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

STORAGE WARS

I'm trying to watch some shows for the first time and this was one of them.
It's called Storage Wars on A&E channel.  These episodes were set in
California, Mission Hills and Costa Mesa.  The units are unlocked and
everyone has five minutes to look at the contents.  They can't open any
boxes or go inside the unit.  Then there is an auctioneer that runs the
bidding.  After someone has won the bid, they go into the unit and
hope for a gold mine. Lots of junk in these storage units and some-
times there are rare finds.  If they find anything of interest, they go
to an expert to find the worth.  It's similiar to Antique Roadshow -
everyone wants to pay $100 for something worth $100 million.
They have the same bidders each time and at the end it lets you
know how much money they made or lost.  Dave made $21,000
by taking a chance on a unit full of boxes from China.  I'm not
a gambler but I can see the rush they would get from doing
this for a living.  Will watch again.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

FLIPPING OUT

This season of Flipping Out on Bravo is the best yet.  The new guy is Gage,
Jeff's current boyfriend and is a great addition to the cast of characters.
He adds a lot of sanity to the show, is well-organized and professional.
Lots of drama on last night's show - there is a mean client who doesn't
like Jenni but Jenni will work hard to change that.  There is a new intern
and Zoila is home after her cosmetic surgery.  (She looks great!)

The ending was sad as Sarah was fired for making too many mistakes
and will look for something she is better suited at.  Last week she
did a dance on the stripper pole in the limo in Vegas and was very,
very good, but I think she is too sweet to pursue that career.  Sarah
took it very well and it was nice to watch Zoila comfort Jeff and for
Gage to have walked Sarah to her car - it had a real family vibe about it.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Two and A Half Men

With the departure of Charlie Sheen coming soon it gives us an opportunity to
focus on the wonderful talents of the ensemble cast of this show.  The plot of
this episode was the usual - a beautiful blonde shows up (fresh out of prison)
and goes to Vegas with Charlie.  The other family members worry that she's
a goldigger.  It's isn't much of story but I can always count on fast, funny
banter - even though the premise is old, the banter is pretty fresh.  I get
a big laugh out of it.  There is a lot of hype for the new season and I
will be watching and hope that is very successful.

Monday, August 1, 2011

BREAKING BAD - EPISODE 3

You can feel the noose tighten around Walt and maybe even his family. Skyler is
naive and even asks Walt if he is in danger.  He makes meth - what does she
think?????

Jesse and Marie spiral downward in their own personal version of Hell.
Jesse's house looked like a Hollywood movie set for druggies but it
sadly is probably pretty realistic with bodies strewn around.  When
Jesse throws money in the air, people swarm like ants - it is a
very powerful scene.  Marie trys to get some control of her life
but is soon stopped from her shoplifting, lying ways.

I'm predicting that Walt will kill Gus before the season ends.
Can't wait for next week - Breaking Bad follows Pulp Fiction
(one of my favorites)- should be quite an evening!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Project Runway

Ahhh - Project Runway has returned!!!  There was a show on the auditions and the selection
process which was pretty interesting.  The former finalists were judges and it made it seem
pretty impartial.  Twenty were chosen and they all came to New York but only sixteen made
the final cut.  I was sorry to see Serena go but sometimes they make a comeback, you
never know.
 I'm waiting for a lot of drama between Laura (refers to herself as "a pretty girl")
and Anya who was Miss Trinidad - I can already imagine the sparks that will fly there.
The challenge was to use their sleeping attire and their bed sheet to create an outfit.  The
results of the first show are always pretty clumsy and it's fun to see how far the designers
come in the weeks ahead.  Rafael lost and had to go home. It was the right choice, his
design was DREADFUL and Bert won.  You can't help but root for Bert, he's 57 and
a recovering alcoholic and just as nervous and unsure of himself as the young contestants.
Ready for a season full of surprises!!!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Big Rich Texas

Watched one of my recorded shows called "Big Rich Texas" on Style
Channel and it is almost as dreadful as it sounds.  It's about mothers
and their daughters (and one godchild).  They all have lots of hair and
I often think that if you were a drain cleaner in these reality show communities, it
could be very lucrative.  The amount of hair-flipping is surpassed only
by the eye-rolling.   They prepare for a beauty pageant and the name of
the winner is saved for last - what a shock when ALL the competitors
win crowns, some are just taller.  It was a lot of work to watch the entire
episode and I am now deleting it from my scheduled show list.  Let me
know if it gets any better.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

on TV

Last week was the opening season for Breaking Bad.  It wasn't kidding when it said there would
be "intense violence"!!  Gus looks like he's been working out A LOT, Jesse hasn't ate in six months
and Hank just wishes he was dead.