90210 S1E2: The Green Room

The first appearance of Dylan! I remember Dylan being super hot in a wounded, brooding, bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold way, so if this is ruined I will be supremely disappointed. All I really remember here is that Dylan’s family is ridiculously wealthy, but his father is never around and the two have a tortured relationship.

Ah yes, here is the house I remember, in white stucco with a red-tiled roof. Also, Brandon’s mullet is gone. Everyone else looks pretty much the same. Although Andrea is still being called “ANN-dreah.” I remember it being “AAHN-dreah.”

We meet Dylan because he stands up for Scott when two jocks pick on him. To be honest his hotness doesn’t hold up quite as well as, say, Jordan Catalano, but he’s still got it. He has a very affected James Dean hairstyle; enjoys the collected works of Byron for “leisure reading”; drives a black Porsche convertible; and wears a black leather jacket, white t-shirt, black converse with no socks, and … overalls. That are half undone. WTF?!? What were they thinking to model Dylan after James Dean and then make him wear overalls? Stupid costume designer.

Brandon likes Dylan and asks him on a lunch date. Dylan takes him surfing instead, where Brandon meets Dylan’s surfer friends: Sarah and two dudes she hangs out with. One crazy night, they crash a hotel and break into someone’s suite. Brandon is uncomfortable and leaves amidst a chorus of jeers, but Dylan chases him down and admits the suite belongs to his father. His parents are filthy rich, and they don’t “do” parenting. Besides, Brandon wouldn’t want to ruin his reputation, right? Brandon says, “I wouldn’t want to ruin the only thing real thing you’ve got.” Seriously, this relationship is way intense. If I didn’t know better, I’d think these two were in love.

Meanwhile, Brenda enlists her mom to help her “make for free what trendy stores sell for $150.” How Pretty In Pink of her. She is shocked when she learns that Brandon is hanging out with Dylan McKay – everyone knows he’s, like, major trouble.

Later, Brandon runs into a drunk Sarah on the beach and says, “This isn’t you.” Keep in mind that at this point, he’s met her twice. He then runs into Dylan, and they have another weirdly intense conversation where Dylan says he really wants them to be friends. After getting the cold shoulder from Brandon, Sarah gets all upset and nearly drowns. Brandon and Brenda save her, and the doctor at the hospital tells them she’s an alcoholic. Brandon goes to the beach to beat up Sarah’s surf buddies but almost gets his ass kicked. Dylan intervenes, and then breaks one dude’s surfboard in half by slamming his foot down on it. Um...what?!? Is he Superman?

When Sarah recovers, she tells Brandon she is enrolling in a program. This episode really glosses over the issue of teen alcoholism. I much prefer the Dawson’s Creek method, in which we watch a major character spiral downward over the course of an entire season.

In the end, Dylan calls his parents in France and learns that they have moved on without leaving any forwarding info. In this ep we also learned that Steve doesn’t have a great relationship with his mom, an actress who stars as the perfect mom in a popular TV show. And in the last ep, we saw that Kelly isn’t super fond of her mother. I smell a pattern brewing amongst the richies.

90210 S1E1: Pilot Parts 1 and 2

Back in the day, I came to the 90210 party a bit late, so I’m reasonably sure I’ve never seen the pilot, which will introduce us to a family that has just moved from the wintry clime of Minnesota to sunny California. I’m expecting bad outfits, terrible hair, and lots of “we just don’t fit in!” angst.

Ok, first off the Walsh home is NOT the house I remember. I thought it was kind of Spanish-style, but this is a large brick building that looks like it’d be more at home in the Midwest. There are still moving boxes everywhere. Yikes! Brandon has a serious mullet. The rest of the family doesn’t look as dated. With a couple small tweaks, Brenda’s hair could work in a contemporary drama.

With the move, Brenda plans reinvent herself. When Brandon asks where the toaster is, his mother dumps a box of kitchenwares onto the ground in front of him. Nice. There is a drawn-out scene showing “life at West Beverly High.” Here are some of the things they do to make us understand that WB is not like other schools: valet parking for students, sheiks walking on campus, BMWs and Jaguars, a guy talking on a cell phone the size of a brick, and … lots of West Beverly parking stickers. Don’t most schools have parking permits? The staff parking lot is full of Gremlins and VW buses.

We meet Kelly and Steve, who used to date. Kelly had a nose job over the summer, which will improve her social standing. They are faux polite to one another. I never found Steve attractive and I’m pleased to report that nothing has changed in that arena. In an attempt to keep the fat girl in Chemistry class from sitting with her, Kelly pretends to have saved the seat for to Brenda, thus cementing their friendship forever. Steve and Brandon meet in Spanish class.

We meet new freshmen Scott and David. David is desperate to be cool; Scott is along for the ride. We meet Andrea Zuckerman, the “intense” editor of the school paper who (we learn later) is also poor. She lives in Van Nuys and lies about her address to be allowed to attend the best school in the city. Brandon meets Andrea when he joins the school paper. She is obviously attracted to him. One of the ambiance shots is of a girl studying and I’m 75% sure it’s Sun from Lost. (Note: I looked it up later, and it was not her).

There is a huge back-to-school party that some girl throws at her parent’s mansion. Steve wears white Reeboks, white slouch socks, white shorts, a white polo, and a navy blazer; Kelly wears a shapeless dress that makes her look 30 pounds heavier than she is; Brenda wears an orange dress over white bike shorts; and Brandon meets a random girl hiding out alone who turns out to be the hostess. The moral of the story is, “Sometimes popular people get lonely too.”

OMG! The next day at school Kelly wears this outfit: black loafers, hot pink slouch socks, electric blue tights, white bike shorts with black polka dots OVER the tights, a purple turtleneck tucked into the bike shorts, a black belt, and a cropped red jacket. Um … I have no words.

Brandon and Marianne each lunch together at school and two things show us that they are worlds apart: A) he jokingly asks her to go to Paris for the weekend and she thinks he’s serious; B) he eats PB&J while she eats sushi. As Brandon and Marianne begin to date, he learns that she has a “reputation.” He shows her that he’s interested in more.

But then some guys in his PE class ask him what has happened between them and Brandon says, “I did something with Marianne that most guys probably couldn’t handle.” Which, naturally, is misconstrued. And Brandon may be a nice guy, but he’s still a guy, so he doesn’t set the record straight when the rumors start flying. Finally, after Marianne yells at him, he feels guilty and agrees to be interviewed for the school radio station so he can tell everyone nothing happened.

Meanwhile, Brenda and the girls go to a club with fake IDs. Djimon Hounsou is the bouncer. Brenda gets in, but nobody else does. The bouncer rips Kelly’s ID in half. Ah yes, I remember my flimsy Arizona ID, and how some asshole at the Crystal Ballroom destroyed it because he thought it was fake. Only I was 22 at the time.

At the club, Brenda meets an older man (Maxwell Caulfield from Grease 2 and Empire Records). She orders a banana daiquiri because she can’t think of any other drinks. She starts dating the dude, pretending she goes to UCLA. Eventually she realizes she has to tell him the truth and “if he loves her it won’t matter.” Obviously he doesn’t love her and it does matter, so he dumps her.

Let's venture down memory lane...

Much like with My So-Called Life, I have vivid and specific memories of Beverly Hills, 90210. And, with the CW's new version launching in the fall, I figured what better time to re-watch it. However, I am only going to do the seasons that I watched during their initial run. Before watching each episode, I will reminisce. After each episode, I will re-examine. Let the games begin!

A brief history 0f 90210, courtesy of Wikipedia:

Beverly Hills, 90210 was a popular prime time television drama series that aired from 1990–2000 on the FOX network. The show followed the lives of a group of teenagers living in the upscale, star-studded community of Beverly Hills and attending the fictitious West Beverly Hills High School. The show was created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling and Spelling Television. The "90210" in the title refers to one of the suburb's postal ZIP codes.

Originally the central characters were twins Brandon (Jason Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty), who moved with their parents, Jim and Cindy, from Minneapolis to Beverly Hills. However, during the show's run, the focus shifted as characters came and went. The show addressed many topical issues like date rape, alcoholism, domestic violence, gay rights, drug abuse, teenage suicide, AIDS, and teenage pregnancy.

90210 gained popularity during the summer of 1991, when FOX aired a special "summer season" of the show while most other series were in reruns. The series became one of FOX's top shows when it began that fall. The cast members, particularly Jason Priestley and Luke Perry, became teen idols. The series would also make actresses Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, and Tori Spelling household names.

When 90210 began, the show was heavily issue-oriented, with Brenda and Brandon facing a different teen issue nearly every week. As the show progressed, it became more character-driven, with the characters entering into various love triangles while dealing with general high school issues. As the show moved into the college years, episodes became largely plot-driven and much more soap operatic.

Due to the various cast changes and changes behind the scenes, ratings for the tenth season declined to an average of 10 million viewers per episode. The lower ratings, along with the high costs associated with a show in its later seasons, led FOX to cancel the series in January 2000. The final episode aired in May 2000. However, even with all the cast changes, the series finale of the show attracted a large number of viewers.

Trivia!
No single character appeared in all 296 episodes of the show.
The filming location for West Beverly High was Torrance High School, also seen in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Dylan McKay was intended to appear for only one or two episodes. Aaron Spelling paid his salary during the first two years until Luke Perry won the network over.
The main characters were juniors in high school during both the first and second season. FOX specifically asked that they be kept in high school as long as possible.

Upfronts & Whatnot

Here's a list of what has caught our eye so far here at SDYW...

FOX
Dollhouse (Joss Whedon, eeeeek!)
Fringe (J.J. Abrams + Joshua Jackson)
Do Not Disturb (Jerry O'Connell + Niecy Nash, hmmm)
Class Dismissed (various Arrested Development alumni, name changed from Sit Down Shut Up)

CBS
Swingtown
The Ex List

CW
90210

ABC
Life On Mars

And we will continue to remain loyal to How I Met Your Mother, Supernatural, The Office, Gossip Girl (hopefully), Friday Night Lights, and (perhaps) Reaper.

How about you?

Unicorn fighting a werewolf. It's the ultimate battle.

Reaper – Cancun
The demons target Sam when they fear he may pose a greater threat to their rebellion than the devil himself. A treacherous trap is set, bringing surprising allies to Sam's side and leading to shocking revelations that could have explosive implications for his future. Meanwhile, Sock falls for a demon.

This finale was chock-full of fun, but with my inability to move my arm, I didn’t take notes. Sooo, here is the quick and dirty recap: Tony and his demon army build a cage to trap the devil – or at least that’s what they tell Sam. Really, the cage is for Sam, the spawn of Satan. Sara escapes the clutches of the INS, leaving Ben to go to jail, but sweet ol’ Cassidy sticks by him all the way.

Sam tries to talk to his mom & dad about his true parentage, but they both give him the brush-off. Josie dumps Sock, so he turns around and falls for a succubus, who shaves a year off his life every time she kisses him. Yikes.

Now that Sam and Andi are together, she has been relegated to doing research and being asked to stay behind while he and the boys do various things. Nice.

In the end, Tony traps Sam and his dad when the poor man tries to save Sam. But then Steve appears. Tony sees that Steve has gone to heaven, and recognizes that what they are doing is wrong. He saves Sam, but Sam’s father is buried alive in the cage.

Sam, Sock, and Ben light a large straw effigy on fire in homage to Sam’s dad. I dunno if this was supposed to be touching, but it was a little too jubilant. In the end, we see Sam’s mom digging in the dirt, and Sam’s dad’s voice says, “What took you so long?”

We're not just friends...we're brothers.

How I Met Your Mother – Miracles
In the season three finale, Ted has an accident and his close call with death finds him reevaluating his life and his relationship with Stella.

This finale had everything you’d expect: Stella invites Ted to a wedding that is six months away, so he breaks up with her. Then, he gets into a car accident and all his friends rush desperately to the hospital to learn that he’s fine – only he has realized he never should have dumped Stella. He says that in a near-death experience, your life doesn’t flash before you. You only see the things you love. Stella, who doesn’t realize they’ve broken up, shows up and everyone’s all, “How cool of you to show up even though Ted just dumped you.” So then she dumps him.

Meanwhile, Lily calls Barney to tell him about Ted’s accident, and Barney runs all the way to the hospital and gets hit by a bus. There is kind of a weird scene where he’s in traction and asks Ted if they can be friends again and Ted says, “We’re more than friends, we’re brothers.” And then Ted and Barney and Marshall all start to cry. With Barney’s permission, Ted runs off to win back Stella, and Marshall asks what Barney saw in his near-death experience. And what did Barney see? BOO-YAH! He saw Robin! He doesn’t say that though.

Ted finds Stella and asks her to marry him, and that’s the end.

Sorry for the lack of updates!

Sorry for the severe lack of updates, but I have been totally waylaid by a pinched nerve in my neck. Being immobile sucks. But I'm back!

How do you say "donkey show" in Spanish?

Supernatural – No Rest for the Wicked
In the third-season finale, Sam summons Ruby for help as time runs out for Dean. The brothers, against Ruby’s advice, steal her knife and, with Bobby’s help, prepare to face off against Lilith and her minions.

Mmmm. I love that every season finale begins with “Carry On Wayward Son.” It’s just perfect.

Dean is running through the forest, terrified. He is cornered by a hellhound, who attacks him. And then he wakes up. With 30 hours to go, Bobby has a way to find Lilith. Instead, Dean wants to make a run for Tijuana and see a donkey show. He doesn’t want to rush in half-cocked. Sam wants to summon Ruby, but Dean says no, she is “the Miss Universe of lying skanks.”

Unconcerned, Sam summons Ruby anyway. Of course he does. As much as these brothers love each other, they absolutely don’t listen to each other. Ruby admits she knew Lilith held Dean’s contract, but that the boys weren’t ready before. Sam threatens her, and she is surprised to see how much he has changed. She actually does know how to save Dean – Sam can do it if he uses his dormant abilities. Lilith is afraid of him, because he can destroy her without moving a muscle.

Dean, who knew Sam would defy him, suddenly he pops up and warns Sam that this is all a trick; Ruby just wants him to give in to his demonic side. Sick of proving herself, Ruby says, “This is how you save yourself, you dumb spineless dick.” And then the two of them get into a fistfight. While they beat the hell out of each other, Dean manages to steal the demon-killing knife AND trick Ruby into a devil’s trap. She is pissed.

The boys load up the heavy weaponry. Sam wants to save Dean. Dean wants to save Sam. Dean says he is tired of making the same mistakes over and over; they all keep trading their lives for each other. Dean admits that Sam is his weak spot, and he is Sam’s. The demons are using that against them, and he wants to stop being a martyr. They’ll go after Lilith their way, they way John taught them, and if they lose, that’s that.

Lilith is getting some R&R in Indiana, which apparently means she’s torturing a family by taking over their child and making her do awful things like kill the family pet. The boys are all set to leave but Bobby has nicked some part of the Impala, so it won’t start. He gives them a little speech about family. Bobby totally loves the Winchester boys like they are his own children. During the trip, Sam tries to say a heartfelt goodbye, but Dean is having none of it. Instead he turns on the radio, and the brothers sing Bon Jovi’s “Dead or Alive” in lieu of saying goodbye.

Suddenly, they get pulled over. Without warning Dean kills the cop, who turns out to be a demon. He could see its real face under its human skin. Bobby says with 5 hours to go, Dean is piercing the veil to hell. This will help them on their way to find Lilith. Dean’s response? “I’m glad my doomed soul’s good for something. This is a terrific plan, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”

The team finds Lilith. Dean is still caught up in his own martyr crap, but Sam tells him that this isn’t about saving him. It’s about saving everybody. The brothers fight their way through a couple of demons while Bobby makes holy water. Sam looks totally crazed. Ruby suddenly appears and attacks Dean, but before they can get into it a bunch of demons appear. So much for the element of surprise. But then, the sprinklers come on and start shooting out holy water. Hooray Bobby!

They get into the house Lilith is hiding in, and Sam and Ruby go upstairs to find her. Sam finds the little girl asleep at her terrified mother’s side. The mom tells Sam to kill her – in fact she says it like four or five times – but Sam can’t do it. Looks like Sam isn’t quite as strong as he needs to be, yet, but this turns out to be ok, because when Dean arrives he can see that Lilith is no longer in the little girl’s body.

With no other options left, Sam is all set to unleash his demonic capabilities in an effort to save Dean. Dean says no, and Ruby says they’ve missed their chance. Dean makes an impassioned speech: he has to go to hell. This is all his fault. Sam needs to keep fighting; needs to remember what John and Dean have taught him. The clock strikes midnight, and the hellhounds come.

The team lines the doors and windows in an attempt to keep the hellhounds at bay. I would call this “reneging” on the contract and I am kind of expecting Sam to drop dead. Which would have also been a good ending, but is not what happens. Ruby offers to go outside and fight the hounds off, but right then Dean realizes that she’s not really Ruby. She’s Lilith!



Rubith lets the hellhounds in and they rip Dean to shreds. Sam screams and cries, but Lilith is unswayed. Somehow (I wasn’t quite clear on this part) Sam gets the upper hand and stabs her, but the demon escapes in a cloud of black smoke. Ruby’s body falls to the floor next to a bloodied, lifeless Dean, and Sam bursts into tears. The camera focuses in on Dean’s dead eyes, and we go inside to see Dean chained up in hell. He starts screaming out for his little brother and … the end.

Yep, Supernatural just gets better and better. This episode went exactly the way you expected (unless you were one of those fools who thought Dean would get out of his contract), and it was fantastic. How long will Dean remain in hell? How will he escape? I would like to think that the writers are done with the soul-swapping, so what else can they do? Will Bobby somehow become embroiled in the Winchester martyrdom? We never saw him again after the holy-water-sprinkler trick. Was he left outside to fight the army of demons? Rubith said she sent Ruby “far, far away.” Is Ruby gone for good? And how on earth did she get out of the devil’s trap in the first place? Will Sam become the ultimate bad ass? Will Dean come back from hell a shell of his former self? I’m getting all worked up just thinking about it!

The real crime, I think, was the beard.

The Office – Goodbye, Toby
In the S4 finale, Toby prepares to bid adieu to Dunder Mifflin (much to Michael’s delight), so the desk jockeys throw a party in his honor. Meanwhile, Toby’s replacement arrives only to become the victim of hazing.

As we open, Michael is thrilled that Toby is leaving. He wants to throw a going away party, but wants it to be fantastic and overdone. So, Phyllis takes over and naturally head party planner Angela is insanely jealous.

Meanwhile, Toby trains his replacement, Holly. Michael wants to haze her, so Dwight tells her that Kevin is mentally challenged. Holly then speaks to Kevin as one might speak to a very stupid child, which Kevin interprets as romantic interest.

Michael decides he’s in love with Holly, who actually seems to return his attraction, and Jim manages to convince him to take it slow. Pam gets accepted to a summer design school program … in New York. Jim decides that he will propose to her that night, and asks Phyllis to have fireworks at the going away party. Courtesy of a video on YouTube, the entire office sees Ryan get arrested for fraud. However, Oscar points out, “the real crime is the beard.”

The party is fantastic and Michael even sings a goodbye song for Toby. He and Holly are getting along famously when suddenly … Kevin calls, asking Michael to meet him at the grocery store. When Michael arrives, he finds Kevin standing with a pregnant Jan. Pretty much everyone saw this coming, so it is not a shock. What is surprising is that the baby is not Michael’s (or Hunter’s). Jan went to a sperm bank. But she does ask for Michael’s help, and he agrees to think about it.

Back at the party, the fireworks start and Jim slips the engagement ring out of his pocket. He’s just about to speak when … Andy grabs the microphone and proposes to Angela. Her reply? A monotone “okay.” There is no way I believe that Angela would accept this proposal. I know the writers needed something to stop the Jim-Pam engagement, and I love them for doing so, but this falls extremely flat.

Jim puts the ring back in his pocket, and in a side interview Pam is disappointed because she “really thought he was going to propose.” Michael is so desperate to have a family that he calls Jan to say he’ll help her with the baby. And … woah! Phyllis walks into the office to find Dwight and Angela having sex on a desk.

ANTM Cycle 10: Only One Can Win Edition

America’s Next Top Model – And the Winner Is…
As the 10th season concludes, the three remaining models shoot a cosmetics commercial and pose for a print ad. The judges then send one lady packing, and the final two contestants take part in a runway challenge to determine the winner.

The girls do a Cover Girl TV commercial and print ad for Lash Blast mascara. The print ad will run nationally including a billboard in Times Square. The pressure finally gets to Anya, and breaks down in tears right in the middle of getting her hair & makeup done.

During the commercial:
Fatima is first. She memorized the lines well but she speaks monotone, running all the lines together. Jay says she is robotic and seems inhuman.

Whitney is second. She is determined. She forgets her lines. But she takes pauses at the right times, has great energy, and smiles a lot.

Anya is incredibly nervous. She cannot get through a single take, but she has great energy and an innocence that displays well on camera. She looks amazing.

During the photo shoot:
Fatima doesn’t give a lot of variety.
Whitney is great.
Anya models from her toes up.

During panel:
Fatima’s commercial is not good. Nigel says it’s more like a toothpaste ad. Her photo is stunning but not perfect. She’s looking up too high, "as if she saw God.” She doesn’t smile with her eyes.

Whitney is directable, but her commercial reminded Paulina of the Miss America competition. Her photo is stellar.

Anya’s commercial, taken all together, was a train wreck. However, she did the best because it was totally her. Unfortunately, her photo has no personality. Paulina says she looks stupid.

In private deliberation:
Fatima makes a wonderful print model but lacks confidence.
Whitney’s photo is her first flash of brilliance, but her size is a problem.
Anya did not do her best, which at this point is a problem. She can do better.

Fatima is booted off.

Whitney and Anya both do a Seventeen cover shoot with Nigel, and both do really well. Their final challenge is to participate in Versace runway show. It’s kind of anticlimactic -- certainly no “crazed gothic bride” show like CarriDee and Melrose had to do in Cycle 7. Whitney is a bit too bouncy and Anya’s face is blank except when she looks like she’s going to fall down.

During the final judging:
Anya didn’t bring it as strong as she should have, but she was stunning.
Whitney hit it, bam! It was a little too much was it was great.

During private deliberation:
Whitney was amazing. She has presence. Miss J says her “juicy booty did a damn good job.”
Anya didn’t have any fire. She fell apart.

And…



Whitney wins! And already people are asking, “Do she think she won because she’s plus-sized?”

Gossip Girl: Woman on the Verge

Gossip Girl – Woman on the Verge
An embarrassed Serena resurrects some troubling old habits as she continues to hide the truth from Dan, and her feuding friends rally to help her. Meanwhile, Rufus’s band scores a high-profile gig, where an unexpected guest shows up to lend him support.

Serena didn’t murder anyone. Not that any of us thought that she did. There was a sex tape; actually more of a make-out tape. After Nate and Serena had sex a year ago at some random wedding, Serena then traveled to a hotel room to hang out with Georgina and some drugged out fellow. Georgina secretly set up a video camera and the dude practically attempted to rape Serena. In an effort to curtail his advances, Serena encouraged the dude to have some more coke before they progressed any further. Dude had more coke, starting seizing, and then died of an overdose. Serena somehow convinced herself that she was to blame and has been shouldering the guilt ever since.

Overcome with remorse, Serena turns to Blair, who contacts Chuck and Nate so they can all pull together to save Serena from herself. Let me just say that Chuck was looking really good this episode, with a new hairdo I believe. Blair encourages Serena to tell Chuck and Nate her dark secret in order to lift some of the guilt. They all share a moment. This seemed really overdone since it was evident that Serena didn’t kill the guy. But then again, maybe when you are 17 things like that get a little foggy. Not knowing from personal experience, it is difficult to say.

A great deal of this show is centered on Rufus’s band playing a reunion concert with Lisa Loeb. What??? Gossip Girl is getting way too 90210 lately, especially with the random insertion of a ’90s musical act. Vanessa is working as the roadie for Rufus’s band. This girl seems to be the master of all things alternative. She and Nate plan a date to catch the show, but Nate arrives late due to Serena’s meltdown. Meanwhile, Georgina’s alter ego Sarah befriends both Dan and Vanessa. When Dan confronts Serena (mid-meltdown) about how she has been avoiding him lately, for some silly reason Serena lies and says she slept with someone else. Naturally Dan is devastated and turns to his new friend Sarah (really Georgina) for comfort. Confused yet?

Lily shows up at Rufus’s show. Remember that Lily used to be a photographer and used to snap photos of Rufus and the band back in the day. Sparks fly during their set and Lily and Rufus have a moment of intense eye contact. Lily runs out after the set is over and Rufus runs after her. Lily tries to avoid talking to him but they end up smooching. I’ve been waiting for this moment throughout the season but when it happened it seemed anticlimactic. Their chemistry was pretty nonexistent.

The episode leaves us with “Sarah” and Dan walking hand-in-hand after Dan had his heart broken by Serena. Georgina is totally creepy and luckily Nate warned Vanessa to keep away from her, but for some reason Vanessa was unable to properly warn Dan.

Recently Vanity Fair posed the same question we have for our readers: Has Gossip Girl jumped the shark??

Do you have any idea how hard it is to shoot a man who's crying like a little girl?

Reaper – The Leak
After Sam turns in a soul named Mike who somehow keeps returning to Earth, the devil tells him there is a leak in hell and he better find out who is responsible. The boys discover that Gladys is helping Mike escape, and aren’t sure whether to turn their friend over to a very angry devil.

So … yeah. We didn’t watch it. And, to our immense shock, the CW has renewed Reaper for a second season (at least 13 episodes; it will likely be paired with Supernatural). Apparently it was revealed that Sam might be the devil’s child. Nobody who reads this seems to watch Reaper, but if by chance you do, please tell us what happened!

Sounds like that bitch had it coming.

How I Met Your Mother – Everything Must Go
When Barney and Abby realize that they have one thing in common – their mutual hatred of Ted – the “couple” goes to the bar to flaunt their new relationship. Desperate to get a rise out of his former pal, Barney pops a surprising question to Abby.

Though I have never seen a bad episode of HIMYM, this one lacked oomph.

Storyline #1: Marshall tells Lily she needs to sell all of her designer clothes and accessories because the cost of fixing their crooked floors will be more than expected. Lily tries to sell her paintings instead. She fails miserably, until a veterinarian sees one and discovers that Lily’s art “speaks to the canine sensibility.” He buys four paintings, and the kids get enough money to finish the floors.

Storyline #2: We learn that Abby (Britney Spears) is the one who was bad-mouthing Barney all over town in “The Bracket.” She is also upset that “lame and awesome” Ted is dating Stella. She and Barney pretend to be a couple to make Ted mad. Or something. This makes no sense, since Ted doesn’t care a bit about either of them. Trying to get a reaction from Ted, Barney proposes to Abby. She thinks he’s serious; he thinks she knows they’re doing a bit. In the end, Barney says that Ted asked him not to marry Abby because he, Ted, is in love with her. Abby is thrilled.

Again, when the story doesn’t focus on Robin, the writers give poor Cobie Smulders NOTHING to do. And … woah. I googled her name to make sure I spelled it right and according to Wikipedia her full name is Jacoba Fransisca Maria Smulders. And she really is Canadian. Ted didn’t have much to do either, besides boast about how he can pull of red cowboy boots. Which he totally cannot.

Surprisingly, this ep was also bit light on fab quotes. Abby’s laments about Ted being “lame and awesome” were basically it … although I did love when Lily told Ted she yelled at a little girl in her class who only draws rainbows and Ted replied, “Sounds like that bitch had it coming.”

Finally, if you feel like doing some good, HIMYM is having a sale to benefit Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Go to www.marshallandlilyselltheirstuff.com.

The other website mentioned, http://guyforceshiswifetodressinagarbagebagforthenextthreeyears.com, is also real. But no good will come of it.

Is Hans Blix Lost?

Hi folks. Many of you have asked/written about our recent lack of Lost posts. As much as it pains us to admit it, we think we have lost our Lost blogger. Hans has a lot going on these days, and hasn't had the time to entertain us with his fabulously witty posts. We will attempt to woo him back , or we will hire a new Lost blogger. The show must go on! Anyway, here's the un-fun, quick & dirty version of what's happened in the past two weeks...

Lost – Something Nice Back Home
Jack’s health is seriously compromised (appendicitis), forcing Kate and Juliet to work together to save him. Meanwhile, Sawyer, Claire, Aaron, and Miles continue their trek from Locke’s camp to the beach.

Lost – Cabin Fever
Locke discovers the location of Jacob’s cabin, and life aboard the freighter becomes increasingly perilous.

If you'd like to give a better recap or discuss what you think is happening with the island, please feel free to do so in the comments! Who knows, maybe YOU could be our new Lost blogger!

We're gonna ditch this bitch. You in?

The Office – Job Fair
With Andy and Kevin in tow, Jim hits the golf course in order to score his biggest client yet. Elsewhere, Michael mans a booth at the local job fair in his quest to find a bright summer intern.

Basically, nothing happened here. Michael attends a high school job fair, taking Darryl, Oscar, and Pam to up the hipness quotient. Unfortunately, he has no presentation ready, so the students are not interested in the Dunder Mifflin booth. Except one, but Michael insults him because he’s not cool enough. Meanwhile Jim, Andy, and Kevin go golfing with a potential client who could become Jim’s biggest account. Jim is a bit lackluster until he realizes how much is on the line, so he steps up and finally signs the account. In the end, Pam returns to the job fair to ask about a graphic design job. She is under qualified, and the employer suggests that she go to school in Philadelphia or New York.

So. I know I’m in the minority of viewers who don’t want Pam and Jim to get engaged, and this bit at the end gave me hope. Perhaps Pam will realize that she’s not quite ready to settle down. There are obviously things she wants to accomplish, but at the same time she’s kind of lazy. Same with Jim. He doesn’t particularly like working at Dunder Mifflin, but he keeps at it. I understood that more when he wasn’t with Pam – working there was the only way to stay close to her. But now? He could easily leave. This is precisely why I have always thought they shouldn’t get together until the very end. And since it’s obvious that neither of them will be leaving the show, their storyline is going nowhere. These are two young, smart, charimstic people who dislike their jobs and are drifting through life aimlessly even though they have grander ambitions. I know that’s kind of the point of The Office as a whole – the mundane nature of everyday life – but for Jim and Pam, it’s just not working for me anymore.

Zombie with skills ... Dr. Quinn, Medicine Zombie.

Supernatural – Time Is On My Side
Sam and Dean investigate zombies in a small Pennsylvania town, where they find a doctor with a sinister agenda. Meanwhile, Bobby learns where Bela is hiding, so Dean confronts her, leaving Sam to deal with the doctor alone.

We open in Erie, PA which for some reason makes me think of the old show Eerie, Indiana. I loved that show; it was the preteen version of shows like Buffy and Supernatural. Anyway, a man is attacked and thrown in the trunk of his car. Later he appears at a hospital, covered in blood and begging for help. A nurse tells him she’s seen everything, but when he opens his coat she screams her head off.

Meanwhile, Sam & Dean interrogate a demon, trying to find out which demon holds Dean’s contract. This demon won’t talk; the only thing he’s afraid of is the demon holding Dean’s ticket. Besides, there are plenty of demons in hell that are dying to meet Dean Winchester.

In other news, Sam finds a case. The guy at the hospital was covered with the fingerprints of a man who died in 1981. Dean is irritated, as usual: “You’ve been on soul-saving duty for 3 months, and now you’re up for some hot zombie action?” The man’s liver was missing – not ripped out, but removed surgically. Sam realizes that John had hunted this zombie: it’s Doc Benton, who was obsessed with alchemy, especially eternal life. As his parts wear out, he just replaces them.

A man is jogging at night and gets attacked. He wakes up strapped to a table with a freaky ass doctor bent over him. Ah, this is the guy in the promo photos that caused so much hubbub on the web. He does kinda look like Dean. Fucking hell! Just the idea of using a rib spreader on someone who is conscious makes me shudder!

Bobby calls to say that he’s heard Bela is in Vermont. Dean wants to go after her and the Colt; Sam wants to finish the case. He thinks chasing immortality is what’s going to save Dean. Dean says he won’t let Sam stay, and Sam says “How you gonna stop me?” Wow, Sam’s asserting his newfound strength and independence. The boys separate. Again!

Dean goes to see Rufus, the hunter who told Bobby about Bela. Rufus is stubborn, unhelpful, and awesome. Dean sways him with scotch. Rufus wants to know why Dean is wasting the three weeks he has left chasing Bela. I love when the hunters on this show give speeches; they’re always so dark. Rufus says no peashooter is going save Dean. It’s the job. Even if he manages to get out of this one, there’ll be something else down the road. There ain’t no happy ending in this life. “I’m what you’ve got to look forward to if you survive.”

When Dean finds Bela, she claims she has sold the Colt. We learn that Bela killed her parents when she was 14 and inherited millions. There is a quick B&W flashback to Bela’s childhood that implies that she was abused. She doesn’t tell Dean that, though. He is about to shoot her when he sees something on the wall above her and says she’s not worth it. After he leaves, Bela calls a number and says Dean found her, but Sam wasn’t with him.

Sam tracks down the doc. He calls Dean and says he found the doc’s lab book, and his formula. Its not black magic; it’s just science. Dean can use it, and Sam can use it too. And then Sam is attacked. He wakes up with his eyelids taped open. The doc starts to scoop out Sam’s eyeballs, but Dean arrives and shoots him. It doesn’t work. Dean stabs him. Doesn’t work. But Dean has dipped the knife in something – I think a sedative of some kind – which apparently does work. The dying doc says he can help them with the formula. Sam’s all for it, but Dean says no. He won’t be a monster.

Bela goes to a motel and shoots two sleeping figures. Who are not Sam and Dean. They are blow up dolls. The phone rings and it’s Dean. He knows Bella is trying to hold hell hounds at bay. She didn’t kill her parents; a demon did her dirty work and now her bill is due. She stole the Colt to save her soul, but the demons changed the deal. She begs and cries, but Dean says she should have told them the truth, and asked for help sooner. Bela says the demon that holds her contract is the same as the demon that holds his: Lilith. Dean hangs up. And the hell hounds come for Bela.

I cannot wait for the season finale. I think Dean has to go to hell, even if only for a short while.

ANTM Cycle 10: Paparazzi Edition

America’s Next Top Model – Ready For My Close-Up
The four remaining models photograph Paulina Porizkova for a challenge. Their own photo shoot, directed by Nigel Barker, requires them to impersonate movie icons.

How the hell has Dominique made it this far? Whitney is worried that she’s been in the bottom two twice in a row. Anya is supremely confident because she’s won so many challenges. She isn’t worried about the other girls. Fatima, Whitney, and Anya discuss the fact that they can’t believe Dominique is still in the competition. They also think she eats too much candy. Fatima is disappointed that she hasn’t yet won a challenge.

At the challenge: The girls go to a park, where they get a quick-and-dirty photography lesson, then meet the editor of Seventeen magazine and each get five minutes to shoot Paulina. They are evaluated by how well they work with the model, and how good the finished product is. The winner gets 50 extra frames at the next shoot. Fatima gives good direction, and is firm but gentle. Dominique does not give good direction and has no vision. Whitney knows exactly what she wants, gives great direction, and is very encouraging. Anya’s focus is all over the place. The winner is Fatima.

Back at the loft: Fatima seems to be the only one who practices. Everyone is tired of Dominique. She never shuts up; she’s one of those people who say the same thing over and over again, almost like she’s trying to convince herself because she doesn’t quite believe what she’s saying. The funny thing is, she’s talking about how much she believes in herself.

During the shoot: The girls are dressed up like movie stars from the ’50s who are caught by the paparazzi. They each share their shot with a male model, and Nigel Barker is their photographer.

Anya looks awesome but she’s modeling too much – so much that Jay says, “Oh really, is that how women get caught by the paparazzi?” In one shot Jay distracts her and she misses a step, stumbling a little. It is easily her best shot.

Fatima is uncomfortable posing with a male model. Her shots are pretty but she doesn’t look like she’s been “caught.” She keeps forgetting where the camera is. They stop to show her what her photos look like, and she’s horrified by how bad they are. Nigel is bored stiff.

Whitney looks a little too “pinup girl” and poses too much. But, Jay says, her “booty looks cute.”

Dominique’s shoot has a lot more action than the other girls, but feels staged. Nigel tells her to be herself, but she doesn’t really get it.

At the end, Jay and Nigel are both very frustrated.
The girls are terrified of panel because they all know they did awfully.

During panel:
Anya’s shot is great but she fell into it, didn’t encapsulate a star, she lacks focus.
Whitney looks stunning but stiff; she found it hard to get into the moment.
Dominique is wearing bad clothes to panel (again), in her photo she looks like a transvestite.
Fatima’s photo is pretty but she wasted her extra 50 frames, didn’t take it to the next level.

Nigel points out that Anya had an advantage because he’d already shot her (for the 7-Up ad) and had learned her angles. He is disappointed with her shoot. Cover Girl of the Week is Whitney.

In private deliberation:
Anya lucked into it, it was an accident but she did get the best shot.
Fatima missed the point, made excuses, came off snooty, and doesn’t listen.
Whitney is pretty, but could’ve given a bit more.
Dominique is not pretty enough, or soft enough, for a Cover Girl contract.

The first photo is Anya.
The bottom two are Fatima and Dominique.
Dominique is sent packing. Jesus, it’s about time.

I want ANTM to prove me wrong but … it’s totally going to come down to Anya and Fatima. Anya is the golden girl, so she’s not going anywhere. Whitney is plus-sized, and the judges’ criticisms of her have been the same each week. She’s not improving. If you look at her portfolio on the CW website, her face is the same in nearly every single photo. Fatima has her own issues, which are too numerous to mention, but she did well in the Italian commercial so it stands to reason that she will do well in the Cover Girl commercial they shoot next week.

Tune into the CW next Wednesday for the season finale, or tune in here on Thursday for our recap. And I leave you with this: unlike the judges, I thought Whitney’s photo encapsulated the idea behind tonight’s shoot pretty well. They pointed out that the male model looks angry, like he’s trying to protect his woman, and if she had just “purred” it would have worked better. But I think she looks the part – she has that sly “oops, you caught me but really I want to be caught” look on her face.



What do you think?

Gossip Girl - All About My Brother

Gossip Girl – All About My Brother
Georgina threatens to disclose damaging details about Serena’s past, while Blair and Jenny spread rumors about each other through Gossip Girl. Meanwhile, Dan has information about Asher that Jenny ignores, and Rufus turns to Lily for parenting advice.

This week's titular reference to Pedro Almodovar's All About My Mother leads me to believe that I have missed possibly the best Gossip Girl episode to date. What did I miss? I am relying on you, dear readers, to fill me on the juicy deets!

I gave up my soul for one night of over-the-clothes heavy petting.

Reaper – Greg, Schmeg
Andi’s ex-boyfriend Greg reappears on the scene and asks her out. When she not only says yes but ends things with Sam as well, Sam learns that Greg has sold his soul to the Devil in order to woo back the love of his life.

Sam takes Andi on a hot date in Sock’s Cadillac so they can have sex, but she’s more interested in talking about the souls he’s captured. While making out, they get attacked by a maniac with a chainsaw. The next day, standing in front of Sock’s destroyed Caddy, all Sam can say is, “I’m so sorry man; I should have taken my own car.”

Sara and Ben are still married, but Ben sleeps on a yoga mat in the kitchen. He is not psyched. Sock and Sam take a repair estimate for the car to Gladys. They check the mug shots of hell’s most wanted, which include Abraham Lincoln. Gladys tells them it was probably just a random act of violence by a sick human being.


Meanwhile, Andi’s ex-boyfriend Greg shows up. Ben realizes the chainsaw killer (we’ll call him CK) is from a series of horror movies. He goes to the hospital to see Cassidy, who is irritated that it’s their fifth date and he won’t take her out in public. He forgets he’s wearing his wedding ring, and when she sees it she’s all, “WTF?!?” Charming Ben explains that it’s a green card marriage.

The devil whisks Sam away and gives him a giant hunting knife that he “might need sometime.” He takes Sam into a house, where they see Andi and Greg making out. Then he vanishes, leaving Sam standing there. Holding a giant hunting knife. Andi says she doesn’t know what happened, or how she got there. Sam takes her home, and Greg stares menacingly down at them from the window.

Sam is convinced that the devil is messing with him. Sock and Ben are convinced that Sam has somehow driven Andi into Greg’s arms. At a Work Bench staff meeting, Sara announces that she’s pregnant. Ben is furious, seeing as they haven’t had sex. My earlier guess that Sara is secretly in love with Ben is quite wrong. She already has a boyfriend named Esteban, who has commitment issues and is already married. Regardless, Ben is not allowed to date Cassidy, because when he made a commitment to Sara, he made a commitment to the baby. Yikes. Recently I read this on TVSquad: “I sometimes think the writers try and figure out what would be the typical TV plot line and then head in the exact opposite direction.” I agree wholeheartedly. The Ben-Sara-Cassidy storyline is going exactly the opposite of how I expected.

Greg shows up again and it becomes clear he is using mind control on Andi. The boys are attacked by CK. They are positive it’s a soul, though the devil claims he doesn’t know anything about it. The devil whisks Sam away again, and through a rifle sight shows him Andi & Greg kissing. He admits that he has bought Greg’s soul in exchange for the power to convince Andi to take Greg back. If Sam kills Greg, he breaks the spell and the devil gets the soul. It’s a win-win.

The devil also says something quite interesting, which clearly won’t amount to anything because this show is totally getting canceled, but here it is: “There’s always a catch when you make a deal with me. Things aren’t what they seem.”


At work the next day Andi dumps Sam, who tells her the truth about Greg. Under Greg’s spell, she doesn’t (can’t) listen. Sock and Sam return to Gladys, who says she has no record of a chainsaw-wielding soul. Gladys takes the boys to a portal to hell in exchange for cat-sitting. Dennis, the property manager, finds a vessel for them. Sock asks if he has anything to repel Greg, and Dennis says what they are telling him is impossible. The devil has no dominion over the human heart. The vessel is a super soaker that will send anything to hell – a soul, a human, the Space Needle…

Ben goes to see Cassidy again, tells her about the baby, and says he can’t see her anymore. Sam decides that if he can remind Andi that she loves him, he can’t lose. Sock points out that Andi might not actually love Sam. Sam finds her, and asks if she loves him. She says she thinks she does. Right then, Greg calls and gets Andi under his thumb again. CK suddenly appears to attack them, and the vessel doesn’t work. CK skips Sam and goes straight for Andi. She gets away, and Sam runs into the devil, who whisks him off to the bar.

Turns out CK is Greg’s id, who has manifested as the killer from Greg’s favorite slasher film. Again, the devil tells Sam he needs to kill Greg. It’s the only way to save himself, and Andi. So, the boys go to hunt Greg, taking a shotgun and plastic to wrap the body in. Goodness gracious.

Unfortunately the ammo Ben bought doesn’t fit the gun. The boys are coming to the realization that they can’t kill a person when Greg appears. They sit down to chat and Greg realizes he made a mistake by giving his soul away for nothing. Greg gets really angry, and CK pops out of his torso. The boys can’t calm Greg down, so Sock knocks him out and CK vanishes.

When Greg comes to, Sam is waiting at his hospital bedside. They have a heart to heart. Ben brings Cassidy to the Work Bench, introduces her to Sara, and lays down the law. Sara agrees that he can see Cassidy, but then pretends that they’re having a threesome so as not to cast doubt on the marriage. In the end, the devil and Sam have one of their deep talks. The devil is proud of himself for causing so much trouble, but then Sam uses his get out of jail free card to save Greg’s soul. He says he’ll take his chances.

The one problem with this ep was that the “mystery” was ruined by the promos. I don’t understand why the marketing department created that commercial if the identity of the chainsaw killer was supposed to be a surprise. Regardless, it was full of goodness as usual…

Ben, after catching the kiss Sara blows to him:
“Does anyone want this?”

Ben: “Women like to give nonverbal cues...”
Sock: “... i.e. making out with another dude.”

Sock: “I’m a little relieved Sara’s bun didn’t come out of my oven.”

Sam: “The chainsaw dude is a soul and he’s trying to kill me.”
Devil: “Seriously? Weird.”

Sam, to an unhelpful Gladys:
“I’m gonna bust in here with my own chainsaw and see how you like it!”

Sock, when Gladys asks them to cat-sit:
“By cat do you mean cat, or do you mean some kind of dragon?”

Greg, realizing his mistake:
“I gave up my soul for one night of over-the-clothes heavy petting.”

Ted offering to help Ben, Sara & Cassidy turn their triangle into a square, then walking into a sign.

It's like your virginity: the sequel.

How I Met Your Mother – Rebound Bro
Ted betrays Stella by sharing an intimate secret with his friends, which threatens his relationship with her.

Plotline #1: Ted tells his friends that he and Stella haven’t had sex yet. She wants to take things slow, and Ted is ok with waiting. Soon after, though, a desperate Ted tries to have sex with Stella in her office, and she admits that she hasn’t had sex in five years. Ted immediately tells his friends. Stella decides that she’s ready to sleep with Ted, and they plan an intimate night at a hotel. Ted starts to feel a lot of pressure because “it’s like her virginity: the sequel.” Lily says that Stella “needs it so bad that anything you do will seem like fireworks.” Marshall tells Ted to lower Stella’s expectations. When Stella comes to pick up Ted and runs into Marshall and Lily, the couple makes it clear that they know about her little secret. Stella is not cool with that. She says there’s always a reason not to sleep with a guy, and Ted just gave her his. He accuses her of looking for a reason to be mad at him just because they’re getting serious and she’s scared. The next day, Stella admits she overreacted. She says she’s in. It’s cute. And then she takes him to meet Lucy, her daughter.



Plotline #2: Barney, trying to save face, tells Ted he has to let him go. The gang wants them to get back together, and Robin asks why Ted’s not as mad at her. Ted says he’s not mad, he’s just outgrown Barney as a friend. Randy, a guy at work, offers to be Barney’s new wingman, but Barney rejects him, telling him this job is like “vice president of awesome” and Randy is “assistant undersecretary of only okay.” Barney tries to recruit some old friends but learns they’re all either settled down or already have other bros. Unable to find anyone, Barney finally relents and asks Randy to be his wingman. And Randy is adorable, taking notes when they hang out and eagerly explaining that he’s been reading Barney’s blog for years. Unfortunately he can’t talk to women, but he does mutter to himself, hide under a table, and get a nosebleed when he gets an erection. Trying to pick up a girl, Randy tells her she’s a fat, ugly whore. So, Barney calls Robin to act as a stand-in so Randy can practice. Robin points out that Randy is just a rebound bro, so Barney breaks up with him.

In other news, Ted’s son has gotten really old. This episode was not the best ever, but it wasn’t terrible. It certainly had its moments, like Barney’s old friend who is ready to party with Cranium and 27 Dresses. But Barney needs to be let back in the group again. And poor Robin. When she’s not the focus of an episode, she really doesn’t do much. And now I leave you with my favorite bit…

Barney describes Ted to Randy:
Barney: When I met him, he was an even bigger loser than you.
Randy: What a loser.

Is that BustyAsianBeauties.com?

Supernatural – Long Distance Call
Dean gets a mysterious phone call that appears to be from his dad, explaining how to get out of the deal, and he decides to follow the advice despite the fact that Sam doesn’t believe it was really John on the line.

It’s a dark and gloomy night. A man named Ben is drinking Scotch. He seems tortured. He gets a phone call from Linda, with whom he is apparently having an affair. He says she can’t keep calling, and hangs up. The phone rings again. She says she won’t sop calling; he says he loves her and he’s sorry, and hangs up. The phone rings again. He rips it out of the wall. The phone … rings again. So he says “Ok, you win, I’m coming” and shoots himself in the head. How I love this show.

Bobby calls the boys about the case of the mysterious phone calls. But the boys are already on a case – Dean’s case, trying to break his deal. Dean, who is becoming increasingly frustrated, finally admits to Sam that Ruby doesn’t know how to save him. Sam is sad, but is also pissed that Dean didn’t tell him. Ahhh, brotherly strife.

The boys go to Milan, Ohio. The dead man’s phone has caller ID, and Sam sees that a call came in at the time of death. Ben’s wife says that she once heard him on the phone with a woman named Linda, but when she picked up the other line there was nobody there. He was talking to no one. The boys discover that Linda was Ben’s high school sweetheart, killed by a drunk driver. The phone number is a century old. They boys visit the phone company and meet Stewie, who spends his days looking at porn while flies buzz around him. He traces the number, and finds that it is responsible for calls to 10 different houses in the past month.

The brothers split up to check on the people who have received calls. Sam meets Laine, who acts shifty and doesn’t believe that he works for the phone company. He calms her down, and she admits that she’s been talking to her dead mom. Sam calls Dean, who has also learned that “stiffs are calling freshes.” They hang up, and suddenly Dean gets a call from his dad.

Sam is way skeptical about the call from John, and cannot figure about why anything supernatural is gong on in the town. Dean, however, has found that Milan is home to a museum that houses Thomas Edison’s “spirit phone.” Sam doesn’t think the spirit phone has anything to do with anything. John calls again. In a heartbreaking conversation, he asks how Dean could sell his soul, and Dean replies, “I was looking after Sammy like you asked me too.” John tells Dean this wasn’t what he wanted, and that he loves him. John claims to know a way to save them both. I had forgotten that Sam will drop dead again if Dean backs out of the deal.

Considering the case that these boys are working, I find it hard to believe that Dean doesn’t think his dad calling him is related. Anyway, Laine gets an IM from her mom asking her to kill herself so they can see each other again. Creepy!

Dean becomes obsessed with the idea that the demon with the contract to his soul is in town. Sam tries to talk sense into him; neither he nor Bobby think the exorcism John “rattled off” will work. He asks why Dean still has such blind faith, and Dean retorts, “Maybe blind faith is all I got!” Sam wants to check on Laine again, and Dean is angry that Sam isn’t more interested in saving his life. Sam asks Dean not to go anywhere until he gets back.

Sam goes to see Lanie, who is totally freaked. While they’re talking, her little brother Simon gets a call from Mommy. When Laine tells Sam her mom said “Come to me,” Sam realizes what’s going on. Meanwhile, John calls again so Dean breaks his promise to Sam and goes to a house. Laine sees that Simon is gone; Dean enters the house. Simon walks into traffic; Dean spray paints stuff on walls. Sam saves Simon, then calls Dean to tell him they’re hunting a crocatta. Dean says, “They live in filth. It’s the flies at the phone company.” But when Sam arrives at the phone company, Dean isn’t there. It’s all a trick.

Sam attacks Stewie, but then another guy we saw for like 3 seconds when the boys visited the phone company pops out and hits Sam and Stewie over the head. When Sam and Stewie come to, and they’re tied to chairs. Clark stabs Stewie, then eats his soul. Sam realizes he didn’t actually call Dean; the crocatta intercepted the call.

Meanwhile, a policeman gets a call from his dead child. She says she knows who killed her, and he’s at the house right now. The policeman arrives at the house and tries to shoot Dean, but Dean lures him in a devils trap. Since this guy is not a demon, it doesn’t work. At the phone company, Sam manages to untie himself and attacks Clark. At the house, Dean fights off the cop. I could count on one hand the number of times we’ve seen the boys separated during a showdown, but it did illustrate that Sam might be ok once Dean dies. He is becoming stronger.

Reunited at last, Sam and Dean are thrilled to see each other in the usual way: stoically. Dean admits that he’s really scared, but immediately starts joking around. It’s the Winchester way.

Stanley is a beautiful, sassy, powerful black man.

The Office – Did I Stutter?
Office friction results when Stanley barks at Michael during a meeting, and Michael then works to adjust Stanley’s attitude. Meanwhile, Dwight revs up to buy Andy’s car and Pam encounters an unforeseen problem after spending the night at Jim’s.

Finally, an episode that takes place entirely in the confines of the office, and brings nearly every character into the story arcs. As we open, Michael rushes into the office asking for ideas. There is wet cement outside and he wants to leave his mark. Eventually he decides to cover his face with plastic wrap and press it into the wet cement, leave a deep groove that will surely cause people to trip. Way to go, Michael!

The main story here revolves around Michael and Stanley. During a meeting, Stanley won’t participate (as usual). He keeps saying no, and when Michael pros him Stanley yells, “Did I stutter?” Ouch! Naturally, Michael’s feelings are hurt. Toby wants Michael to take disciplinary action, but Michael has convinced himself that Stanley was just kidding around. He decides to “fake fire” Stanley, who counters by threatening to sue. Michael clears the office so that he and Stanley can have a heart-to-heart. Stanley admits he doesn’t respect Michael, and Michael accepts that but says that Stanley must stop being rude to him. Michael is his boss, and that’s that. Stanley agrees.

I recently read an article that wondered if Michael has become the weakest link in the show. Using last week’s gum-and-peanut-butter event as an example, the writer suggested that Michael’s character has become preposterous. I always like the moments when you realize that Michael can be good at parts of his job, and his resolution with Stanley was a nice example of that.

In other news, strife between Jim and Ryan develops when a visiting Ryan calls Jim into a meeting with Toby and then gives him a verbal warning for hanging out at the reception desk and goofing around too much. In reality Toby is jealous of Jim because he loves Pam, and Ryan is angry because Jim criticized his website.

Jim continues his fake proposals, apparently trying to throw Pam off when the real one comes around. Pam has to wear ugly glasses when she can’t wear her contacts. Dwight fools Andy into selling him his car, and then flips it for a much higher price.

ANTM Cycle 10: Renaissance Rock Edition

America’s Next Top Model – We Are Spartans!
The models train like gladiators for a challenge and the winner receives a shopping spree in Rome. Tyra directs the photo shoot in a Roman castle.

In many of this cycle’s photos, it is really hard to see the girls. I cropped the above photo a ton; Fatima is a tiny part of the original. Anyway, as this episode opens Fatima is feeling really confident. Katarzyna continues to be quiet and sweet, which causes the other girls talk about how dull she is. Awwww, poor Kat.

The girls go to some ancient ruins, where they see gladiators faux fighting. Fatima is uncomfortable with this because she’s “not a violent person.” Whitney thinks it’s “AWESOME!” A fight instructor named Alex teaches them some moves, but they have to be elegant at the same time. Katarzyna has a ton of fun. Fatima finds it too confusing, and has this weird side interview where she calls Dominique a bitch and then laughs like a crazy person. Closed captioning changes bitch to “bich.” Ha.

The girls get dressed up in gladiator outfits and are surprised to find Mr. Jay and Miss J waiting for them. Jay says the judges are frustrated because the girls are not strong enough. Then he drops the bomb – their photo shoot is right now! In the shoot, they have to “fight” a large, strapping man who grunts a lot. Whitney is more unclothed than we’ve ever seen, and she looks fantastic. An average shoot consists of roughly 75+ frames, but this time the girls get only 5 frames each.

The Jays don’t comment during this shoot so it’s kind of hard to tell how the girls are doing. One thing is obvious, though – Fatima is terrible. Dominique tries to stand out by doing odd poses like standing on one foot, but she just looks like an ungraceful stork.

After the shoot, the Jays critique the girls:
Katarzyna looked like the sword was too heavy, which ruined her pose; her face wasn’t great.
Dominique’s was her prettiest photo yet, but she did not do what was asked of her.
Fatima really struggled; she over-thought it; she was the worst.
Whitney did a great job; she’s unafraid.
Anya actually did the poses Alex taught her; takes direction well.

Whitney wins a € 1,000 shopping spree. She can pick a friend and split the money, or go by herself. Because she’s nice, she takes Anya. Later, the girls go to a gorgeous old castle where Tyra herself shoots them in a “modern interpretation of the Renaissance” complete with ugly wigs.

During the shoot:
Katarzyna asks what Tyra’s vision is, which is a good start, but does not do so great.
Dominique gets it, is amazing, Tyra “loves her.”
Fatima is fluid and beautiful. Tyra was “so impressed.”
Whitney was stuck, wasn’t high fashion. Tyra says, “More fashion less sex.”
Anya gave great poses, is comfortable with her body, and understands her angles.

Fuck, it’s going come down to Katarzyna and Whitney, and Kat’s totally going to get cut. Fatima is getting way too conceited, and there is an awesome moment when Anya says Dominique was the only one Tyra liked and the camera zooms in on Fatima while ominous music goes “BOM!”

Cover Girl of the Week is Katarzyna.
And hey, here’s Veronica Mars’ Wallace again, this time in a commercial for Orbit gum.

During panel:
Katarzyna is pretty but doesn’t punch through; something is missing; she looks bored.
Dominique is gorgeous; Tyra wasn’t excited to shoot her but Dom “proved her a fool.”
Fatima is stunning and was like a ballerina on set.
Whitney looks mad; the judges expected more; she’s too sexual and is stuck in a rut.
Anya looks marvelous; “100% Italian Vogue”; is stunning; she rocked.

In private deliberation:
Katarzyna works with her brain, not her eyes.
Dominique has consistently gotten better but still looks terrible in person.
Fatima is not strong enough, but her face is amazing.
Whitney is gorgeous, rounded, and interesting.
Anya is just getting better and better, but she’s weak in personality.

The first photo is Fatima.
The bottom two are Katarzyna and Whitney.
Katarzyna is out.

I cannot adequately express how NOT INTO the final four I am. I do like Whitney but I swear to god a plus-sized model will never win this competition. I mean seriously folks, Dominique?!?! While I admit she has improved, she is 100% not top model material. I will be shocked if it doesn’t come down to Fatima and Anya.

Wow, look what I just found on Wikipedia:
After filming of Cycle 10, the producers of America's Next Top Model were served with a lawsuit from Michael Marvisi who owns the loft used as the Top Model house. The lawsuit claims the contestants as well as the production crew caused an estimated $500,000 in damages to the loft. Marvisi claims the contestants engaged in food fights, made holes in the walls, caused water damage to the bathroom, damaged a $15,000 chandelier beyond repair, and more.

Also:
In Cycle 10, Fatima Siad was kept over Stacy Ann Fequiere, which has sparked some controversy in the fan community, since Fatima broke two eligibility rules (being an American citizen and having a valid passport).

If Fatima wins some people will be PISSED!