Thursday, May 27, 2010

'Bones' 5x22 - The Beggining in The End

Snow Indoors: A young boy is jumping on his bed yelling at him mom to come in because it is snowing. He asks him mom to make a snowman with him. I truthfully cannot tell whether this kid is joking or just stupid. Snow is wet and comes from clouds; of course it is not snow you dumbass (yes I called an 8 year old a dumbass). When the mother comes into the snow filled room, she sees cracks in the ceiling around the light fixture. Right after the boy gets off the bed, the ceiling comes crashing down into the room, followed by a ton of junk, and finally a skeleton. It turns out the reason that the ceiling fell in is being he was “one of those guys” which means a hoarder. My mom once was watching an episode of Oprah about hoarders and made me come and watch it. I am not a hoarder; I just think you never know when you are going to need something. There are also bugs and fleas crawling around (which I never had) and Hodgins is in heaven.

Where’s My Poo Poo?: Bone and Booth are on the snowed in scene. After Bone gives a nondescript analysis of the remains, she admits that she is distracted by a new set of remains found in the Maluku islands. Instead of being worried about why she is so distracted he just asks “Where’s My Poo Poo?” When they get back to the lab, Daisy, Brennan and Cam are looking at the remains. Daisy is having a hard time paying attention and screeches announces that she has been selected to go to the Maluku islands. Brennan is shocked and jealous about this news. It is obvious she is dying to go on this trip, and Cam observes this and points it out in her always awesome and well timed commentary.

Soldier in the Park:
Booth and Sweets are in the park getting coffee talking about the case. As usual Sweets is talking psycho babble and Booth is at most partially listening. He sees a soldier behind Sweets staring at him and Booth goes to confront him. It turns out that the army is trying to re-recruit Booth to help train soldiers, but Booth says no.

Later that day as Bones is walking to the Royal Diner she sees Booth talking to the soldier. When she walks in she questions him about what happened, and although he says it was nothing she can tell that he is lying. Booth shows her the letter he received asking him to go back to the army. He tells her that he is not going to go, he wants to stay in D.C. where his job, his life, and most importantly Bones are (the last one was more implied).

Next Parker is the one interrogating his father about not going back to the army. After Booth says he wants to stay home to be with Parker and be with his family Parker is all like “So I am the reason to blame that you are not saving lives?” I know he is just a kid but he completely disregarded everything that is father does for a living. Capturing people who kill other people is saving potential lives. That is the same thing that is done in war. The war is waged in order to save a country and the people who live in it. I guess I really should not be talking though because I used to think all my dad did for a living was talk on the phone all day.

Sweets on the Scene: Sweets shows up to the crime scene (crapnest) in an Oh so perfect fitting crime suit. As he walks around the apartment he finds a snake slithering on this third floor apartment floor. Hodgins tells him he should not be surprised they just followed the other animals like bats, rats, mice and fleas. While at the crapnest Hodgins sees Angela’s dad on the street below, he calls over Sweets but when they look again her dad has vanished.

Angela Bones Time: Brennan and Angela are reviewing the pictures from the crapnest on their fancy technological computer screens. After Angela calls the hoarders collection garbage Bones challenges her saying the intrinsic value of all things are what we give them, followed by “maybe we all overvalue things that are essentially worthless.” Angela picks up that this not so subtle comment is about more than just the case and probes Bones for more information. Bones compares what she does for the FBI to the hoarder’s crapnest. She can stay in D.C. and keep solving the infinite number of murders that will never stop, no matter how many she solve. If she goes to the Maluku Islands though she will forever be known in history; she will find where humans came from. What it comes down to is that she can’t deal with her feelings about Booth and needs some perspective. In order to do this she needs to get away. As soon as she starts feeling vulnerable though, she takes a sharp turn and steers the conversation back to the case.

Male Whining Session: Daisy finally tells Sweets about the Maluku Islands and he pissed. He asks her what about their wedding plans (which have not been mentioned since the proposal over a month ago). She offers up the option of eloping but Lance still does not think he will have anything to do if they move there. She admits that her career means everything to her at the moment and she is definitely going. If he wants to follow her he can live on the islands and become a pearl diver.

Booth, Sweets and Hodgins are all in the crapnest. Sweets is expressing his disappointment that Daisy is leaving for Indonesia and even more that she does not care if he goes with her. Booth makes the completely insensitive comment that he is probably better off without Daisy but makes sure to say “no offense” before as if that somehow makes what he just said less offensive. In a very un-Sweets move, he retaliates and tells Booth that Bones was asked to head the mission and would he “be better off without her?” One point for Sweets. Hodgins tries to join in on the fun, saying that Angela’s dad wants him to steal a car from some bikers. Sweets says that does not make him feel better, but he will help in stealing back the car to show he is Mr. Adventure.

Mr. Adventure: The two boys go to the biker joint to steal back the car and they see vicious dogs on the other side of the fence. They find another wall to climb to get to the car, and while up there realize they have no plan, then the dogs start attacking. Sweets starts to meow like a cat (REALLY REALISTICLY) and the dogs are distracted. When he gets to the car it turns out the whole thing was just a test to show that family do things together. As a gift Angela’s dad gives him the.

B2 in the Park:
While in the lab, Daisy is still gushing about the Maluku Islands to Brennan. She tells Bones that she has to come to the islands and that it will not be the same without her. When Bones tells Daisy that she has to discuss with Booth first and Daisy suggests that Bones is holding Booth back from going to the army just like Booth is holding Bones back from going to the islands.

Bones and Booth meet in the park to talk about their potential opportunities. Bones tells Booth that she wants to take the job but would never take the position without consulting him. When he will not make eye contact with her, Booth finally admits that he does not do well with change. They both decide that they are going to take the opportunities offered to them and conveniently will only be gone for a year.

Caroline Julian Knows All: Booth gives his report to Julian who calls what he wrote a piece of crap. He hands her the letter to show why he did not put his all into this case. Once Booth asks Julian whether she thinks he should stay or leave, she admits she does not care (I do not believe her) but he better clear this case before he leaves. Booth and Brennan go back to Caroline with more evidence for the case but she calls it all circumstantial. As the original Bones-Booth shipper, she says that if this is the last case they do together they should do it right. When they protest that they are going to come back she tells them they should not be so sure with the way they are running away from each other. God I love Caroline.

See You in A Year (or 4 months): Angela and Hodgins decide they are going to take a honeymoon for a year in France so they do not have to break in a new Forensic Anthropologist. This is also a great way that all the characters have a year passed of them not in together by the time next season starts. Sweets and Daisy have a sadder fate and decide that will not stay together while Daisy is away. It would be too much work and not practical. When Cam walks into the lab where Bones has been working all night she asks Bones if she is really leaving.

When Bones answers yes, Cam says that no one will ever be able to replace it. It was a really touching moment because rarely do we get to see Cam’s real emotions. She is usually used as the comic relief. She is a great actor and it is nice to see her soft side once in a while. At the airport she tells Brennan “I really enjoyed working for you.” When Brennan corrects Cam, saying that it was actually the opposite, she just replies “we both know better.” Awe another cute moment. I do not think I have seen so much emotion from Cam since the season finale when Zach left. Hodgins farewell gift to Bones are charts of poisonis animals, bugs and plants on the island and she responds to the gift with “I love you too.” Again, really cute.

Finally it is time for her to say goodbye to Booth. He comes to the airport dressed in his uniform with his hair combed down. He had to sneak away from base to come and say goodbye to Bones. She asks Booth not to be a hero, not to get hurt and most importantly “don’t be you.” He steps in to kiss but instead that two hold hands.

The first time I saw this, I was really upset they did not kiss. I understand that if they kissed neither of them would leave, but I feel like Bones has evolved she is ready for this relationship. The only thing that made it better was the we had [LOST/GREYS SPOILER AHEAD!!!] a Kate and Jack kiss and reunion on the Lost finale and a Callie/Arizona reunion as well on Greys. They decide that one year from today they are going to meet at the reflecting pool, on the mall right by the coffee cart.

I know I did not discuss the case, but it really had no importance. I know that the drama is always what draws people to Bones and not the cases, but this case was exceptionally trivial. I think that it is a smart idea to have the characters leave for a year and then come back together. The show could easily have become stale next season if they did not take this leap. They have admitted they liked each other and now they need to be apart to see who they are individually without the other.

What did you guys think? Do you like this plot twist? Are you upset about Sweets and Daisy? Let me know your thoughts! I will leave you with my favorite quote of the episode and then I am off.

Hodgins: “I am so turned on by her brain. I want to see her brain totally naked.”
Sweets: “That’s a terrible image, just terrible.”

Later,
APB

The End- A Farewell To Lost

When I created this blog, I promised myself I would never write a post about Lost. One reason was becuase there were so many sites dedicated to the show already. Another reason was because, although I have seen every episode, I have not researched all the clues. The show is so complicated and has so many minute details that turn out to have huge underlying meaning that I can't always keep up with them. Other people do keep up with these clues, and do research them, and I wanted to leave the recaps and the writings about the show to those who are truly dedicated.

That said, after watching 4 and a half hours of Lost on Sunday night, I decided to make an exception. The show changed television in so many ways. It rearranged how shows are aired, with continuous airings in the spring season, and no reruns. It also shot on location in Hawaii, and not in Hollywood. It was a truly character driven show that created a fan base much larger than most sci fi shows usually get. As I was getting ready to watch the finale, I had the same feeling as when I was reading the last Harry Potter. I almost did not want to watch it becuase I did not want it to end. I overcame that fear though, and sat down to watch. I have also recruited my friend Lisa to help me write this, because maybe the two of our heads together is equal to a hardcore Lostie. This is not going to be a recap, but more an overview of what we thought and how we felt.

The first two hours of the program were very enjoyable and the last 30 minutes were hard to digest. The more I think about those last 30 minutes of the show, the more I come to understand and appreciate them. Back to the first two hours though, so many characters were brought back to the show in order for other characters to remember the island in the sideways-verse. Shannon was brought back to help Sayid remember their love on the island, and Boone was right there with her. He somehow already had his flashbacks, but we do not find out what caused them. I have no idea what would have caused Boone to remember, he was never in love but I would have been interested to see what his "Ah Ha" moment was. Sawyer and Juliette find each other at a vending machine and when they touch the memories come flooding back to them, and they are reunited (which kinda makes up for showing Juliette's heart wrenching death over and over again). Kate and Claire remember it all when they are delivering Claire's baby (do you think Claire remembers going crazy?) and when Charlie walks in he touches Claire, and he remembers his love for her and Aaron. While Jin and Sun were in the hospital getting a sonogram of their baby, not only do they remember everything from the island, they also can now speak English. Jin is even able to speak perfect English with no trace of a Korean accent. The final person to remember the island was Jack and it was caused by Kate, his true love.

On the island, a lot of crazy shit was going down as well. Jack had just become the new Jacob, and he had become very sure about what needed to be done. He needed to meet with Locke and use Desmond as the weapon to save the island. In an amazingly shot scene, Locke and his crew, and Jack and his crew, meet in a clearing in the woods. It is a show down. The two men then walk to the cave with the bright light and lower Desmond into it (becuase he is the only one who can withstand the magnetism). He uncorks the light of the island (like the cork of the wine glass) and the island begins to shake, and crumble into the ocean. All hope is not lost though because Locke is now mortal and can be killed. In another showdown between Jack and Locke, it looks like Locke (and evil) is about to win but Kate comes to the rescue and kills Locke by shooting him in the back. And here is the moment I have been waiting for, JACK AND KATE FINALLY GET BACK TOGETHER. I am one of the biggest Jack and Kate shippers out there. I have always loved Jack (I loved Matthew Fox back when he was Charlie on Party of Five), and Kate is amazing and their chemistry amazing hence they should always be together.

Another plotline is based around escaping the island on the airplane, and who can fly a plane but Lupitus. Who would have thought that Lupitus survives the rest of the series? The pilot who never takes off his uniform is probably the oddest character in the show. He's pretty much got no personality except being a pilot. Lupitus you rock my world. I have no idea how you survived after blowing up in a submarine and then hanging out in the middle of the ocean for a day, but you did it you dog you. We aren't sure where the plane landed or if it landed, which is a bit disappointing but I suppose they have to draw the line somewhere. What on earth is Richard going to do when he enters civilization?

In the end Jack was the one that had to save the island. He would have to go back into the cave and plug the cork back into the whole in order for the island to stop crumbling. He was sacrificing himself to save his friends and the island like he promised. This is one of the many examples of the strong Christian themes that were present in this episode. Jack is almost Christ like in this episode, and the themes Christianity seemed to be in your face alot of the time. Before lowering himself to the light, he gave the position of protecting the island to Hurley. Many people were surprised by this, but I was not. I have been saying for a while that the protector of the island will be either Jack or Hurley, and it turns out it was both. Jack transfers the power to him by having him drink water from a bottle. I think Hurley is a great choice because he is so connected with the island and he has such a good heart, he's also one of the few on the island who realize that life needs to be fun, not just violent and chaotic. He decided to make Ben his number two in running the island becuase of his knowledge of the island and Hurley will need help.

Like I said earlier the ending of the show was hard to digest. The whole sideways world was purgatory? How did they all get there if they all died at different times? What happened to everyone when they got off the island? The questions go on and on. There were so many questions that it was hard to appreciate what had just happened in this scene. Everyone was back together, and everyone was happy. They had been reunited with the people they had grown to love, their lovers, their friends. Everyone who was on the island was in peace and was forgiven for their sins and was going to move on to the afterlife together. Through all the bickering and the separations and the deaths, all the survivors of Oceanic flight 815 were connected in a profoundly deep way. The show honored this connection to both the viewers and the actors of the show by having them come together one last time before they walked into the light.

While the ending is at first confusing and a little frustrating (I disliked that Jack's father had such a major and omniscient role in this last scene, who does he think he is?) as time goes on it becomes more and more beautiful. It isn't easy to conceptualize the sideways world. Are the other people "real" or "alive"? But the fact that the show ended up being about togetherness was nice. The show was certainly about the insane plot, but it was also very much about its characters and their relationships and developments. Each day I like the ending more and more.

What are your thoughts on the ending? Are you happy, sad, still crying, still angry? Let us know.

APB and Lisa

Sunday, May 23, 2010

FlashForward 1x21- The Countdown... to the end of the series

A lot happened in this episode. It was nice to see the B plots come back to the surface with only one episode left. Almost all the storylines were featured in one way or another. We had Janis’s pregnancy, Jericho, Bryce/Keiko/Nicole, Marks drinking; the list goes on and on.

Poor Charlie Bear: The introduction of the show is put back to its rightful place, black screen, white writing and all, just so we know that the Blackout occurred on October 6. Next it is 3:23 in the morning and Charlie is screaming for her mother. It is April 29th and she knows that it is the day of the blackout. She is scared that her father is going to die. It is really sad. I cannot imagine knowing for a fact that your dad is going to die, and not being able to do anything about it. I would be going insane.

The Unhappy Couple: Mark and Demetri are standing around their car eating breakfast burritos (yum) boasting about catching Hellinger. Mark tells Demetri he has to go on that plane with Zoey to Hawaii or he will regret it for the rest of his life. He even made a mix tape of fifteen covers of “Island in the Stream,” a song I have never heard of before but must be popular if there are 15 covers. Demetri is scared to go because he knows he can’t marry Zoey with this huge secret under his belt. It is bizarre that he was okay with marrying Zoey the first time around even after he slept with Janis.

Demetri shows up to LAX and Zoey is elated. She is in her all white travel attire ready to fly to Hawaii. Demetri looks very tense and tells Zoey they need to talk before they leave. He admits he slept with Janis in Somalia to get her pregnant. The fable I spun about how he somehow artificially inseminated her in that grimy Somalian room vanishes as quickly as Demetri and Zoey’s relationship. Demetri still wants Zoey to marry him but she says no way, and asks him not to come with her to Hawaii.

Hellinger the Great: We find out that Hellinger used the flash forwards in the Raven River experiments to help in his financial investments. He would find the next sure thing invest, and get out right before it busted. That man must be loaded! After 8 hours of interrogation the only six words that Hellinger has says is “I’m only speaking to Mark Benford.” Funny how Mark is the only person people want to speak to, The Nazi, Hellinger, Frost. Mark you should be flattered. Hellinger will not answer Mark’s question about when the next Global Blackout will be but says that he has been here many times in flash forwards and each time something that happens during the interrogation leads to Marks death. He even draws a cute little diagram about it. Mark thinks that this diagram just gave away Hellingers next move.

The Happy Couple: Nicole goes to visit Bryce with “Happy Flash Forward Day” cupcakes from his favorite cupcake store. She sees the picture that he has been sketching of her and turns the page to his past sketches of Keiko. She gets insecure about their relationship, fearing that he is still in love with the idea of Keiko and feels guilty about not telling Bryce about seeing Keiko’s immigration file. Meanwhile Keiko is still being detained in Immigration holding and finds out that she may have to stay there for a year.

Jericho: Back in Afghanistan Aaron bring Tracy to the building that he saw in his vision to save her. Aaron gets a hold of one of the Jericho men and tortures him to get information on why they were after Tracy. It turn out Tracy did not see Jericho wipe out an entire village, instead what she saw was an experimental blackout. She should have been affected by the Blackout but for some reason she was not. The reason that Jericho captured her was to find out why she did not pass out. Tracy is hurt really badly though and after trying to resuscitate her Aaron is told she is gone; she has gone too long without oxygen to her brain. Aaron’s flashforward will not be coming true. It is heartbreaking because just as he is reunited with his daughter, whom he thought was dead for two years, she dies in his arms.

Janis’s Apartment:
We are graced with the presence of Janis in her very well furnished and decorated living room (love that couch and chair Janis). Her hand is on belly like it always is since she found out she was pregnant.
Simon is still in Janis’s apartment, gun in hand, and wants her help to destroy the people who used him for global Blackout. Janis says he should have the FBI help him help but he does not think they can help him get anything done. He says once they get to NLAP and he can see the mainframe himself, he will turn himself in. Just as Simon and Janis are about to leave, Demetri barges. Simon and Demetri have their guns pointed at each other Janis explains to Demetri what is going on; how she is trying to help out the only way she knows how. When Demetri will not agree to go along with what is going on, they cuff Simon and get ready to bring him back into custody. Meanwhile Janis makes a weird face to show something is going on with her baby.

A Family Reunion: Mark follows what he thinks is Hellinger’s next move, but it ends with the death of three agents. Mark is furious, and really beginning to lose it big time. Wedeck will not let him talk to Hellinger (which makes him even angrier) but then Charlie bear shows up and makes him feel better. Olivia brought Charlie to the office in because she did not know what else to do, and she thought Charlie really just needed her dad. Charlie says to Mark “I don’t want you to die.” He gives her a heart wrenching speech about how she has to be strong. And that he will always love her. I think it is the best acting Joseph Fiennes has done all season.



FBI on the Run:
Demetri and Janis are bringing Simon out into the car and Demetri is still shocked by the fact that Janis believes Simon. When Dem asks Janis why she believes Simon she says “After all the lying, I think I realized that you just come to a point where you can’t do it anymore.” She is referring to both herself and Simon with this line kids. She tell Demetri she is not going to come to the FBI to turn Simon it, but not to lie for her about where he found him. After driving 5 feet, Demetri backs up and says he is in, and Janis jumps into the car.

While driving, Simon is asleep in the backseat like a baby, and Janis asks Demetri what made him change his mind. He says that after he found out she was CIA he was so mad and felt like he did not know who she was anymore. But as he was driving away without her, he realized, this crazy plan she had was so something Janis would do, and he does know who she is. Next he tells Janis that he told Zoey about the baby and then Janis makes a face and puts her hands on her stomach again, showing the audience again that there is something really wrong with the baby.

Physics is confusing:
Llyod is working on the QED formula and Dillon walks in and starts fooling around with the papers. He is organizing the papers and says “everything has to be in the right place.” Llyod has a flashback to something that Gabrielle said earlier about doing the numbers together and has a revelation. He goes to Olivia’s house (where he saw himself in the flash forward) but she is not there. When he calls her she is in the car with Charlie, and she tells him that she needs space from everything and everyone and needs to think about Charlie. Lloyd says that she needs to come back to have things work out, but she puts her foot down and says no. This is yet another flash forward that is not going to come true.

Mark vs. Hellinger 2.0:
Mark goes back to talk Hellinger and asks once again “When is the next Global Blackout?” Yet again Hellinger will not answer. He tells Mark that he had a choice, to let him go or die, and he made the wrong choice. He goes on and on about how he thinks that Mark is a decent guy and it is a shame he will have to die, but this is all above his head. Next he calls the mosaic board a “scrapbook of his failures” and lists all of the failures that are on that board. Ouch that must hurt, and Hellinger is doing a good job of riling up Mark. He then tells Mark that Charlie is going to be better off once Mark is gone. That is the breaking point, and I in no way blame Mark for beating the shit out of Hellinger. Wedeck on the other hand can blame Mark and makes him leave the office.

Mark is walking around the streets of LA where there is some sort of a parade occurring and having flashbacks of random scenes from the season. A man bumps into him and says that in his vision he had just stopped drinking and hands Mark a flask saying “It looks like you can use this.” Mark stares at the flask and decides to drink. Next thing you know, Mark is in a bar sipping a shot. I do not really understand why he is sipping a drink from a shot glass, maybe it is something alcoholics do. This annoying guy comes and sits next to Mark and tries to make annoying conversation. Annoying guys says that Mark is fighting fate and it is sad because Mark has already lost. Wrong move buddy, you just made a pissed off drunk man who works for the FBI even angrier. Mark proceeds to get in bar fight, and then placed in jail.

The Happy Couple Becomes Unhappy: Nicole and Bryce get ready to go out to a picnic and watch the fireworks. Nicole does not want to be with all those people and just wants to be with Bryce. She is feeling really guilty and is afraid that her vision is beginning to come true; the one where she is drowning and feels like she deserves it. She finally comes clean and tells Bryce that she knows Keiko is in Los Angeles in a holding facility and that she did not tell him because she was afraid he would lose him. He gets all upset with Nicole and goes to find Keiko. I really do not understand Bryce and how he does not understand why Nicole did what she did. I am on Nicole’s side for this, one mostly because I want them to stay together.

Back in the holding facility, Keiko is told she is being released. She has high hopes that it will be Bryce but it turns out that it is her mother. Her mother says they have to fly out at 11:00 that night, and Keiko says she has to go to be at the sushi restaurant at 10:00. Her mom says no, that if she is not on that flight she will be arrested. Bryce runs to the Immigration place to get Keiko out but she is no longer there.

One episode left guys. What do you think is going to happen? What do you want to happen? Let me know!

Later,
APB

Friday, May 21, 2010

Glee 1x19- A Gleem Come True

You may think to yourselves “Self, what two people can come together to make a great show even greater?” Well good thing that Glee knew the answer and it came in the form of Joss Whedon and Neil Patrick Harris. I am a huge fan of both these guys. I have seen every single episode of Buffy and Firefly as well as every episode of How I Met Your Mother. I have been waiting for months for this episode to air. It was filled with so much emotion and the musical numbers were fantastic. This may be the best episode of Glee yet!

Performances:

Piano Man: Quick random story first: I was at trivia night on Monday and one the questions was “What was Billy Joel’s first hit?” The answer was Piano Man; no one at my table got it though. Okay, back to the show. This was not a full performance, and the song is not being released on iTunes, but it was still really fun. Bryan Ryan, the man who made Will’s life hell in H.S., comes to McKinley High to cut the budget for the Glee club. He is running a Show Choir help group for people whose lives were ruined by show choir and hates all things show choir. After crushing all of the glee members’ dreams, Will brings him out to a bar, plays “Piano Man” on the jukebox and gets Bryan Ryan to sing with him. It is very playful and you get to see Bryan fall back in love with singing and with show choir. It is also funny how only one girl in the bar is watching these two men sing.

Dream On: Will convinces Bryan Ryan to try out for the local production of Les Miserable, but when the two of them arrive, they end up auditioning for the same exact part. Since the director of the play (who also played a stuck up singer on Grey’s a while back) can only leave his dry cleaning store for 30 minutes at a time, the two have to sing a duet. This was a full on rocking performance. Neil Patrick Harris’s was able to hit Stephen Tyler’s high notes easily and the two of them played off each other so well. It was yet again, another entertaining and emotionally driven performance. Both men trying proving to the other that they were better and that they deserve the part.

Safety Dance: When Tina finds out that Artie’s dream is to someday dance she tries to create a performance that would involve him dancing in his wheel chair, like in the “Proud Mary” but better. The “Safety Dance” performance was a dream sequence (if you did not get that the second he stood up, well I don’t know what to say to you) and it showed yet again how versatile Kevin McHale’s voice is. He stands up out of his chair, puts a CD into the mall’s audio system and sings and dances to a song about dance. One of the lyrics of the song is "'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance/Well they're no friends of mine " Well thank God that is not true becuase I would have no friends! Kevin McHale is an awesome dancer, and it is a shame he is stuck in the chair and cannot show it. Everyone in the mall starts joining in on the dance, first Brittany (who is the best female dancer on the show and used to do backup for Beyonce) and Unamed Glee Member 1 (UGM1) join and then everyone else. It is just like the Improv Everywhere video where they create a musical out of nowhere. It was a great song and dance number and it was one of the first times we really got to see deeper into Artie’s character



I also find it interesting that there is a man posing with a cane on his sweater. Not sure whether or not there is deeper meaning to that.

I Dreamed A Dream:
Rachel’s dream in this episode is to discover who her birth mother is. After her initial investigations of the situation she discovers that the famous Patti LuPone is her mother, but Jesse tells her that is not correct and to be realistic. They search through her dad’s “creepy but flattering” shrine dedicated to Rachel in the basement where all her childhood things are, to find more clues. Jesse slips a tape into the box and tells Rachel it is from her mother. I am not going to lie guys, I was really scared that Jesse was going to pretend that Shelby was Rachel’s birth mother when she really was not. I am so relieved that was not the case. Apparently Shelby signed a contract that she could not contact Rachel until she is 18 so this tape is the only way to contact her now. The tape contains a recording of Shelby singing “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserable and Rachel joins in.

I love this storyline because it shows that the writers and producers of the show are listening to the fans. For a long time fans of the show have been saying that Idina Menzel should play Rachel’s mother and they listened. This song was fantastic. As one of my friends said to me the other day “Those are the two best voices I have ever heard in my life.” So obviously, when you add them together, it is like synergy and it sounds even better. There was so much raw emotion in this song and they belted it out like champions, I was in awe. They are both wearing black, on a stage with a black background. They end the song holding in each other and I was a little teary eyed. It was beautiful. Just beautiful.


Dream A Little Dream: This was also a sad performance. This is the number that Tina and Artie had been planning since the beginning of the episode. In the end, Artie does not want to perform, but says that he will still sing the song. Tina chooses..... MIKE CHANG to be her dance partner. MIKE CHANG, oh my god, for the first time in the series they have said UGM1 name (If I am wrong and they have already said his name please correct me and point me to the episode number). All the glee members are sitting one benches in a row, with Artie at the end, and Tina and MIKE CHANG are tap dancing. It is sad, and at one point Quinn puts her hand on Artie's should to comfort him. See is becoming such a better person, and I love it.

So that is all I got for you this time on Glee. Did you guys think this was the best episode yet as well? Let me know comments or questions.

Later,
APB

(All videos and clips courtesy of FOX)

Thursday, May 20, 2010

E.W.'s Farewell to FlashForward

I know I have been writing a lot about FlashForward lately but it is becuase I am still grieving the cancellation of the show. I wanted to direct anyone who is a fan of the show to read Entertainment Weekly's "'FlashForward' RIP: Farewell to a weird and wonderful show".

This is a wonderfully written article about the FlashForward and how it was really a gem that just did not catch on. It does not focus only on the positives on the show but also points out the flaws and that so many extraneous storylines caused strain in the program. He makes the clever comparison saying that "If Lost is the smartest kid in class who’s also a varsity basketball player, then FlashForward is the four-eyed chess prodigy who stutters when girls are around but secretly writes beautiful poetry about old videogames."

This is a very good article, and I would recommend anyone who is a fan of the show to read it. 


APB

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Flash Forward 1x20 The Negotiation

So, for the first time this year I actually was able to play the drinking game for FlashForward. I used to not be able to because of crew but now that my season is over, it is drinkfest in mi casa. There were a few rule changes I made along the way, and I will let you know what they are as the recap continues.

When Did the World Blackout?:
The scenes from last week start and I feel like something is missing. What could it be? Wait, hold on? Did they not remind us how long the Blackout lasted and what the date was? How will I ever remember now? Do not worry guys, they did not forget to tell us, they just decided to change when to divulge this information. They nix the black screen route and have Wedeck tell everyone during a speech, which actually makes it more bearable. While discussing the FBI’s plans to protect the world on D-Day Janis and Vogel are giving each other suspicious looks and Mark is suspicious of those suspicious looks.


Suspect Zero: Meanwhile everyone is called into the conference room to watch a video that has been leaked about Suspect Zero. *(New Rule: drink every time they say suspect zero) It turns out it was a different video from the one the FBI had, meaning someone else leaked it. Next our very own Suspect Zero (Simon) is sitting in a bar trying to learn an American accent (which ends up being better than Mark’s) and his new name. Out of nowhere Leta, (the girl that recruited Janis to the Bad Guys) shows up and offers him a drink and sex. I wonder if that is how she sealed the deal with Janis as well. I would like to believe not because 1) Janis has more moral fiber than that, and 2) that skank Leta for sure would have given her some sort of STD.

D-Day=Demetri Day:
Dem walks into his office and sees Zoey there. She asks him to fly to Hawaii with her on the 26th to get away from the craziness (and his supposed death) and Demetri says no because other people are depending on him. Is this the same Demetri that said he would move to Hawaii for the rest of his life with Zoey if that meant they could always be together? I think you have been hanging out with Mark and his God Complex for too long Dem and it is rubbing off on you.

Gabe is in the house:
Well actually in the office, and he is messing with Mark’s mosaic board of clues. Mark gets all mad and makes him stop, and then and then Gabe freaks out. *(New Rule: Drink every time Gabrielle freaks out).

Janis the Mole: Jan and Vogel meet in a bar and she says she does not want to be a mole anymore and there is no way she is killing Mark. Vogel says she has to do it because if she doesn’t both her and Mark will be dead. He also says “There is no coming in from the cold.” I have heard this phrase more times in this series than I have in my whole life combined. For some reason the writers love it because they used it over and over again in “ The Garden of Forking Paths”. Vogel says that she has to give the Bad Guys something big, and Janis is all sad and alone. I wish I could just give her a big old hug.

Things just get worse for Janis the next day in the office when Demetri approaches her about the bundle of joy growing in her womb. We find out officially that DEMETRI IS THE FATHER!! NOOOO. NOOOO. NOOOO. (That is my soul crying)

Dear Writers: You had a chance to somewhat not make this a stereotypical pregnant lesbian plot line. When you filmed this episode you already knew the show was going downhill and you still made it so these two slept together in Somalia. After “Let No Man Put Asunder” episode it could have gone either way with one option being them not sleeping together. Also Demetri you should have understood that she wanted a donor not a father. There is a difference. Also you cheated on your fiancé that is really fucked up. Unless they did not actually have sex, but they were in Somalia so I do not really see any other way of him impregnating her.

Leta laid Simon:
In a post-coital discussion Simon tells Leta to run away with him. Simon you should take the advice of Dr. Dre that “You can’t make a ho a housewife.” Simon finds out the boss of the Bad Guys is Hellinger (the man who visited Dyson with Psycho and the Dominos a while back). Hellinger asks Simon to work for them (although he kind of already does) and Simon says absolutely not because he knows he has a leg up.

Olivia and Mark:
Mark tells Olivia that they are going to have a security detail at the house and Olivia bites his head off. She says she wishes they could talk about garage door openers instead of scary things. This is a completely different character than the Olivia we met in the beginning of the series. The two of them question Gabe about people involved in Raven River experiment and he shows them a sketch of The Big Guy who ran the experiment, and it turns out to be Hellinger. Gabrielle is blowing bubbles in his soda (something I was never allowed to do) as Mark walks in to talk to him. Mark tells him that he is going to be leaving the office to a new location. The real reason that Mark checks in with Gabe though is to make sure in the futures that he has seen Olivia is safe. As much shit as I give Mark, he really does care about his wife and her happiness. Olivia truly is the one that caused the break in their marriage.

Aaron vs. Jericho: Aaron is in Afghanistan taking pictures of Jericho’s illegal operations and sending the pictures to Wedeck, and sees Tracy. We learn Aaron is a perfect shot as he shoots the two men guarding Tracy each with one shot and gets back his daughter. Meanwhile Wedeck calls Mr. Prez with this new Jericho intel and tells him that he is going to side with Vice President Clemente and information on Jericho will be revealed. Aaron then drives Tracy to the place he sees in his flash forward and all is well.

Clean Clothes:
Janis goes to meet Bitchy Handler and she is bitchier than ever. This time instead of a Fish Store they meet in a somewhat cleaner location, a Laundry Mat. Janis says she can’t kill Mark because she will get herself killed. Bitchy handler is all like “This was not a request, do what I say bitch or you die.” Bitchy handler puts her disgusting creepy hands on Janis’s stomach and says she has the baby to worry about now so she better do what she is told. After hearing her baby is in danger she dishes on Gabrielle’s safe house transportation. Bitchy Handler than gets really close to my girl and tells her she is “Worth the money honey” and caresses Janis’s face in the most creepy and revolting way possible. Seriously I just threw up a little in my mouth.

The Ambush: As everyone is putting on their bulletproof vests for the transportation of Gabe, Janis sneaks to the bathroom and calls the Bad Guys with the information. She looks into the mirror and holds her stomach (to prove she is thinking of her baby).

In the van the radio is playing, and the DJ is telling people that on the 26th he will be at Atomic Wings for Lady’s Night. Demetri calls the DJ a Jackass and Vreede replies “That sounds good to me.” Atomic Wings and lady’s night sounds good to me too Vreede. As they are driving they get cut off by a car and then ambushed and then shot at. Gabrielle gets out of the van, but it is not Gabe, IT IS MARK! Mark tells the bad men that they better play along with him, and take him to Hellinger. When he gets to Hellinger Mark pulls the same farce of being Gabe. He is able to capture Hellinger, but not before he deletes all of the files on the computer, so all the information is gone.

The Mole Uncovered: Mark confronts Janis saying he has known that she is not FBI for a while and wants to know who she really works for. She reveals that she has been working for the CIA. Mark is all pissy about it saying that everyone will be questioning her from now and that the “greater good” is no excuse. Really Mark? This coming from the guy who released a Nazi from jail for nothing? You are such a hypocrite. Janis tells Mark that they are both in the same boat now, both of them are walking alone and asks is it worth it for him to lose his family over this. d Mark says he does not ask himself that question. When Janis replies “How can you not?” Mark only says “Too much at stake.” First of all, what does that even mean? Second of all this line reminds me of the scene when these two were in Germany about to release a Nazi from jail. Mark says to her “I am sorry this is bothering you so much” and Janis responds “Well I’m sorry this is not bothering you at all.” In the end Janis is a moral character and tries to stick to her beliefs. This is why she was sick to her stomach when they were about to release a Nazi from prison for any reason and Mark was not. Janis may be the mole and may have done things wrong, but she still always tries to take the moral high ground.

When Janis tells Demetri about it he is all huffy and puffy about it as well, but mostly because of the baby. He says Zoey and him are involved in her mess because of the baby, and she is all like “There is me and my baby, and then there is you and Zoey. Two different things Dem.” I still do not understand how Demetri does not think that Zoey will be mad that she slept with Janis even if it was just to get her pregnant. When Janis returns home, her day just gets worse as Simon points a gun to her face asking for her help. I should try that to get someone to help me next time, it must be hard to say no to.

 Did you like the episode? Were you crying sadly to yourself that there are only two episodes left?  Let me know what you think as always guys.

Later
APB

*All photos courtesy of ABC

Monday, May 17, 2010

1x18 Glee Loses its Voice

After my fifth viewing of the episode, I decided that it was time for me to write my recap of the episode.

Puck has to get his Mohawk cut off because while his mom was washing his hair she thought he had a mole. The removal of Puckasaurus causes him to lose his popularity. He decides to get it back by dating Mercedes, now popular due her new Cheerio status. Although reluctant at first she finally succumbs to his charms and  has to fight off Santana for him. Meanwhile, Rachel is getting sick because she carrying the weight of Glee on her shoulders since no one else is even singing in rehearsal. She loses her voice, hence the theme for the episode, and thinks that her life is over but Finn rescues her from her self pity. Kurt also has a major storyline this episode revolving around him and his father. He decides he is no longer going to be gay, dresses up in flannel and sings Mellencamp. Oh, and I forgot to mention, he makes out with Brittany!!

Songs Recap:


Jessie’s Girl:
Finn sings this song immediately after he brings Rachel to the doctor to find out whether she will be a singing cripple forever or if she may somehow recover from whatever is making her sick (the more likely option). While there he makes the comment that Jesse should be there because he is her boyfriend, but instead he, Finn, is there because he cares about her more. He would even care about her if she was to lose her voice forever. Cue one of the most brilliant, and the most literal song choice of the series. This song works so well for Finn’s character. He is able to sing a song that he is good at (a rock song) and also tell his story (how he wishes he had Rachel). I have to say, for a while I was not a huge fan of Finn songs, but lately he has been impressing me.

Lady is a Tramp: Puck is trying really hard to impress Mercedes in order to increase his popularity. He decides that the way to win her heart is to go the Black/Jew relationship angle, so he picks a Sammy Davis Jr. song to sing her (because he was a black jew, best of both worlds right?) I am not sure I really understand this song, so if anyone else does please let me know. Why is this woman in the song a tramp if she is high class? Anyway, Puck gets the jazz band to come and play as backup and start singing this song to Mercedes, and he is wearing quite the snazzy outfit including an awesome black and silver vest.
Puck grabs Mercedes up to the stage and the two start singing an awesome duet. Once Santana realizes that the song is not for her (because she truly is a tramp so it was a safe assumption) she gets all pissy.

Pink Houses: After Kurt finds out that his father is taking Finn to a baseball game he gets upset and insecure about his relationship in his father. His fix for this is to become a flannel wearing manly man just like his old pops. He picks the song “Pink Houses” (which originally he thought was about decorating) to show his "voice" to the glee club. Sporting a vest over a flannel, jeans, construction boots, and a baseball cap, Kurt tries to sing the song in a husky voice. When he does not try to make his voice too husky, the song sounds pretty decent but when he tries extra hard to get that low voice it makes me cringe a little bit. No one in the club knows how to take this performance, because this song is so not him. Mr. Schu tells Kurt he missed the point of the assignment and Mr. Shu missed the point of fashion, wearing that sweater over that red flannel.
Brittany takes this performance to mean that Kurt is no longer “Capital G gay” and wants to make out with him so she can have a perfect record of hooking up with every guy in the school. Does this mean that she has also hooked up with Artie? That seems unlikely. Kurt agrees and they awkwardly make out.

The Boy is Mine: I knew what this song was after the first six notes, and a huge grin came onto my face. I love “The Boy is Mine” by Brandy and Monica. This partly is because 8 years ago in camp my group (the Tigers) did a dance to it for a lip-sync competition, which obviously we won. Mercedes and Santana are fighting over Puck in this song. The show picked the parts for the song perfectly with Mercedes singing Brandy’s lines and Santana singing Monica’s. Mercedes voice is softer and a bit huskier like Brandy’s and Santana’s is more sharp (not like notewise but like cutting sharp) like Monica’s. It was an intense performance, including scenes of them passing notes in class around Puck. The song concludes with physical contact, as the two start to push each other, and Schuester has to physically hold them apart.

I want to make a quick comment here about the show. The creator and the actors on the show used to say that this show is not a musical, because the characters do not just break into song, but is instead a staged performance. This is not true. Once they cut to Finn singing in the doctors office while watching Rachel get dressed, it is no longer a staged performance. Are Mercedes and Santana actually singing while in class? No they are not; the other characters are oblivious to the song as they cut to these shots, making it a musical. I would argue that although the show is not a conventional musical, it is still nonetheless a musical.

Rose’s Turn:
Kurt’s dad shows up to school again, this time to bring Finn out to dinner. This is the last straw for Kurt showing that even if he changes the way he looks and the way he talks it will not make a difference. He then breaks out into song. This song expresses everything he has been feeling about his relationship with his father for the last two episodes. He is in the background and people keep glazing over him. When does he get to shine for who he is? It was a powerful performance and his voice is fabulous. His father hears him sing and they come to an understanding for each of them to be themselves and to love each other for it.

One: Finn brings Rachel to meet his old friend, Sean, who has a spinal cord injury from football and is now paralyzed from neck down. He tells Rachel his story, with the moral being that before the injury his life was football, but after his injury he realized that he was more than just the sport. He now realizes he is good at other things as well, including singing. He opened Rachel’s eyes to show her she was not just her voice, and to show her gratitude she gives Sean singing lessons. The first song (and only) they sing is “One” by U2. They start singing together and Sean’s voice is not phenomenal, but not bad. It then cuts to New Directions performing it on stage with Finn and Rachel as the main vocals. This song is expressing how Finn and Rachel really feel about each other. The dance moves for this performance were actually horrendous, but the vocals were great. The song concludes back with Sean and Rachel in Sean’s room as a tear rolls down her eye. She has learned a lesson and will hopefully be more humble because of it.

That is my gleecap, i know it is longer than usual but there was alot to discuss. Let know what you thought of the episode.

Later,
APB

*All photographs courtesy of Fox Network

Friday, May 14, 2010

FlashForward Gets the Axe

It is a sad day in APB land as the inevitable cancellation of FlashForward has finally arrived. I have been keeping my fingers crossed for weeks hoping that maybe the Television Gods would throw me a bone. Unfortunately that just left me with cramps in my fingers and nothing else. It is so sad becuase the show has actually been coming around and is now back to the quality television that it was when it first aired in the fall. I blame the cancellation on the fact (SPOILER ALERT IF YOU DID NOT SEE 1X20) THAT DIMITRI GOT JANIS PREGNANT. I will be sad to say goodbye to Janis but maybe now Christine Woods can find another nice lesbian role to play. A young girl can only hope.

In other news NBC has also officially canceled Heroes (another show with a budding lesbian relationship). Again this was no surprise with the rating slipping since the end of its first season. This last season with the weird carnivals and all the craziness did not help. Also lets remember that FlashForward had a weird ass carnival scene a few episodes ago. I think the message of this post is the following: 
Weird Carnival Plots + A Lesbian Character= Canceled TV Show

Just as a farewell to FlashForward I will leave you with a photo from the show (its a good one, and yes that means one with Janis... and Theresa from The O.C.)

Anyone else as sad as I am about FlashForward? Anyone sad about Heroes period? Let me know in a comment.

Later,
APB

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

FlashForward 1x19 Course Correction

Quick Summary: Blue Hand members are being killed by a creepy teacher. Because of this we get to see a picture of Al Gough and cry quietly to ourselves that he is gone. The bad guys are using Simon’s sister Annabelle to control Simon. Olivia and Lloyd seem to be in a relationship now out of thin air and Bryce is cured of his terminal cancer. Another reason to quietly cry while watching: there is no sign of Janis for the full 41 minutes and 48 seconds of the episode.

Big Bang Theory-We begin in Palo Alto two days before the blackout with Simon Campos and Lloyd Simcoe. In two days they are going to be performing the biggest experiment of their lives, simulating the Big Bang. You know you have made it big when you can make the statement “We’re simulating the Big Bang, what can go wrong?” (Um a global blackout and millions of deaths, or was that a rhetorical question Simon). Also what can go wrong is you mother calling you to inform you that your father has passed away, which also happens to Simon. Next we jump to the day of the Blackout and everyone is getting ready for the blackout Big Bang to begin. There is a countdown to the big moment as we are zooming through the weird scientific contraption and then see a ripple across the world. We get a scene, which keeps speeding up and slowing down, of the blackout with people falling down stairs and hitting their heads. It is bizarre but the shots are effective.

Back to the Present- Simcoe is on the news discussing the Blackout and its effects. I just want to make a comment here that it is amazing how similar Quantum Physics and philosophy are. The result of one’s actions and how it affects your future seems like a philosophical debate to me, but here it is scientific and I find that fascinating. He says that although we can change our future, everyone is being pushed to a certain outcome and that the universe can possibly “course correct” to make sure everything is on track. Celia comes on the show as an example of someone who has escaped her fate and we get to see a picture of Al. Oh Al Gough, how I have missed you. If only Mark killed himself, and not you, the show may not be fighting for its life to be picked up. Anyway, back to the episode, they take questions from callers and Lloyd is afraid that he may have caused worldwide brain damage from the blackout and tells the boldfaced lie to the world that there absolutely positively is no way that another Blackout could occur.

Mark Knows All- Simon is being driven somewhere and sees his sister (who has been kidnapped by the bad guys) on the side of the road. He runs out to talk to her and there are snipers pointing guns at her. She tells him that he needs to steal the QED ring or they will kill her. Simon records the license plate of the van that took Annabelle and asks a random FBI analyst to run it but under no circumstances tell Mark. Mark then calls him in saying that the random FBI analyst told him about the plate and that he wants Simon to start telling him the truth. Because Mark is all about the truth, Mark bleeds the truth. Mark, now, no longer trusts Simon because Simon is trying to save his sisters life. Hypocritical much Mark?

Bryce and Nicole- Onto my FAVORITE B plot of the show. Bryce is getting chemo and although he did not tell her, Nicole finds him anyway. They are so cute together. Bryce goes to the oncologist and discovers that his cancer is in remission and that “they have been optimistic for a couple of weeks” but did not want to get his hopes up. Is it really protocol to give someone chemo even after it is gone, isn’t that shit really bad for your body? That does not really seem right to me. Anyways, Nicole is going through some files of some detainees that she will be giving shots to later, and sees a picture of Keiko. Just as things are looking good for Nicole and Bryce Keiko has to come back.

Nicole is about to tell Bryce about Keiko but then he breaks the news that he is cancer free. He kisses her again and tells her that they should be together no matter what their flash forwards said. (My heart is melting).



People are being Murdered
- Dr. Corday (who is actually Fiona Banks but will always be Dr. Corday in my eyes) is back to investigate the murder of a man who had lived past his flash forward death date (where he was supposed to die from a food allergy) only to be murdered by rat poison. They deduce that someone is killing people who lived past their death date, and Demetri is freaked because he lived after his death date. (Also Cho pulls off that worried look so well) Corday and Nho go and visit the guy who used to be the head of the Blue Hand meetings and he starts ranting about course correction. Obviously this guy is the killer, you can’t be the creepy and not be the killer. You also should not be allowed to be the creepy and be a teacher. You are just teaching your kids to be creepy. Corday, you should go back to ER as a doctor because you suck as a detective.

Loving Annabelle- Simon tells Lloyd that Annabelle has been kidnapped and is all like “I didn’t tell you because you can’t do anything you jackass.” Mark finds out something about Annabelle but will not tell Simon about it. He gives Simon a speech about how he no longer trusts him and his British accent keeps sneaking out. Mark, it is his goddamn sister, why are you such an ass. If it was your Charlie Bear you would do anything to get her back. God, you broke every rule just to get Demetri back.

Al Gough Died for Nothing- Next creepy teach guy is teaching his students about free will, and how there is none, and they are all doomed. This reminds me of how one of my teachers in HS told us that his biggest fear is that he will die alone. Because of this he wants to die in a plane crash so he knows other people are dying with him. The chill down your spine is exactly how I felt when I heard that too. Back to the show though, Corday and Nho realize that CT is going to kill Celia, in the street, with a car. Nho stops him just in time, but then Corday accidently hits Celia, proving that Al died for no reason. Can they bring Al back now? Corday is back in her office and she gets a call that Celia is in bad condition and she is now in the same position Al was in, in his flash forward.

Olivia, Lloyd Sitting in a Tree- In a weird scene of Gabrielle freaking out about his hamburger Olivia and Vreede discover that in one of his flash forwards he saw Mark’s mosaic board, which I am assuming will be critical in an upcoming episode. Next, Olivia is over at Lloyds house showing him scans of patients brains to prove there was no brain damage. They are drinking wine, they kiss, and then the doorbell rings. It is Mark who is there to ask him if he knows where Simon went, but is distraught at seeing his wife in Lloyd's house.

Suspect Zero- Mark finds Annabelle in a white van and out of the goodness of his heart calls Simon to let thhem talk to each other. Afterwords Wedeck and Mark go into the office and find that Simon dooped them and stole the QED rig. While reviewing the video of Suspect Zero they also discovered what the viewers have known since the show came back in January, that Simon Campos is Suspect Zero. I hope the real FBI is not as slow as the one in FlashForward or our country is in real trouble. Mark is questioning Annabelle to see if she heard anything while kidnapped. She reluctantly reveals that Simon “is going to cause another Blackout.” Cue the dum dum dum sound.

Let me know what you think. Did you like this episode? Did it make you miss Al Gough and Janice? Hate me recap? Leave it in a comment.

Later
APB

(All photo's courtesy of ABC)

Monday, May 10, 2010

Glee goes Bad

This week on Glee a video of Sue Sylvester reenacting the Olivia Newton John music video "Physical" was leaked which makes Sue the laughing stock of school. This along with a Glist being spread around school ranking the Glee members popularity gave Mr. Schuester the idea to make the weeks project to take a song with a "bad reputation" and revive it. The Glist also encourages the Glee members to try and reek havoc around the school in order to get a more bad ass image and increase their popularity.

Review of the Music Numbers

1) "Ice Ice Baby"- Even though Will says that after his performance  "this song is officially paroled," I still agree with Jesse that the song "should be arrested for the crime of sucking."  I never really like any of Will's performances, and this song was no exception. He is always trying a bit too hard to be cool, and I am not a huge fan of his dance moves. This is also the second "hip hop" song that Schuester performs on the show and I think again it falls flat. He is just dancing around the room trying to rap. Unnamed Glee Member 1 (UGM1) shows yet again he can move in ways that look somewhat unhuman and  Artie is stuck in his chair while everyone else jumped up to dance. He looked so sad, i feel so bad for him. Even though he is in a wheelchair he is able to pull of this awesome dance move:

2)" Can't Touch This"- In order to increase their bad reputation  Artie, Mercedes, Kurt and Tina (who did not even make the Glist) plus Brittany (who thinks she should be higher on the list becuase she hooked up with everyone of both sexes in the school plus a janitor) do the worst thing a student can do... sing in the stacks of the libs. (At my school I would be more scared my fellow classmate would kill me than the librarian) Sporting M.C. Hammer outfits which included shiny shiny baggy baggy pants, they create a huge disturbance in the library accompanied by impeccable dance moves. This song was all about Artie, whose facial expressions are priceless, wheeling around and taunting the librarian. In the end though, their big show only hurt their reputation due to the fact that the librarian thought they were cute. She asked them to perform at her church on Sunday which is totally not bad ass.

3)"Physical"- Um, I actually could not watch this through the first time and I literally had to close my eyes. Olivia Newton John looked horrible, she looked plastic and fake. It ruined my whole image of her from Grease where she was wholesome and cute and perfect, emphasis on the cute and perfect. Here she is anything but. Her lips look like Meg Ryan's, and nothing above her lips were able to move because of Botox. I also do not think that Olivia Newton-Johns voice was as good as it used to be. Sue Sylvester was the only thing that made this video work. She was hilarious, and I personally think her voice sounded better than Olivia's.


4)"Run Joey Run"- This was Rachel's response to Schuester's assignment of the week. She picked this horrible story song from the 70's. I LOVED this video and song (even though my sister hated it). I thought it was funny and they redeemed this song. Rachel used this song to increase her bad reputation by triple casting the male lead "Joey" with the three boys who she has dated Jesse, Puck and Finn. None of the the boys knew that the others were in the video until its screening. I thought the video was hilarious especially the fact that Brittany and Santana were angels, and the horribleness of the song made it that much better. I did feel really bad for Finn though. He really does care about Rachel and she is just dismissing his feeling for her. He is so much better for her than Jesse and I think she will soon realize it.



5) "Total Eclipse of The Heart"- I will always have a soft spot in my heart for this song. One of my first thoughts when hearing this was how different Lea's voice is in this performance verses "Run Joey Run." It is just another example of how amazing of a performer and singer she is. Rachel is alone, she lost her boyfriend, she hurt Finn, and well Puck is just annoyed at her. She has no one to love her anymore. She conveys so much pain in her voice, it is heartbreaking to watch. My favorite part was when her and Jesse are singing during Ballet. (Side note- every time i watch a scene with Jesse I just keep thinking to myself, wow this guy is so gay, and I love it. Also if you want to read an article about gay actors playing straight check this out. Warning you may want to throw your computer with the authors self loathing homophobia.). The ballet just reiterated how talented Lea is as a performer.

Favorite Quote:
Sue: What's that smell? Oh dear, that is the smell of coffee, it used to be masked by the smell of fear.

Puck: Besides, Jesse will never fully understand what is means to be a Jew.

Artie: I'm kind of getting cold feet here.
Brittany: Can you even feel your feet

So that is my Gleecap. Let me know what you think, comments, thoughts, any grammatical errors. All are welcome.

APB

Friday, May 7, 2010

Feel Good TV- Favorite Epsidoes

This week I was really good and did not watch any TV during Finals Week (I got alot of work done even though  I was going through TV withdrawal). I spent a bunch of time deciding what show I should watch first, after my last final was over. I knew I would be really tired and not able to pay too much attention to detail, so Lost was out of the question. I would not be able to handle too much awkwardness so Modern Family, The Office and 30 Rock were out as well. I decided that as soon as I was done with my finals, I was going to watch one of my "feel good" TV shows.

Most people have a specific thing they like to do when they are in a bad mood. Alot of people watch a certain movie, read a certain book or listen to music. Even though I do those things sometimes (my picks are Moulin Rouge, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Matt Nathanson respectively) I will usually watch TV, and usually the same episodes.

Alot of my friends do not understand TV on DVD, saying how can you watch the same episodes of a show over and over again. My response is always, "How can you watch the same movie or listen to the same song over and over again." And they always answer that question with "It's different." I agree it is different, I think watching TV epsisodes over and over again is even better. TV is so great becuase you can pick an episode where the characters were doing something you loved, maybe your favorite couple was together or there was a certain intriguing story arc. You do not have to deal with the crap you know is going to happen in five episodes where so and so dies, you can focus on the stand alone story and acting of a single episode. It does not matter what happens after that, or what you know is to come, you can appreciate that episode as a single entity and let everything else go. This is something that you can't do in a movie. A movie is a whole; you usually do not watch just the part of the movie you like the most and be done with it. You are supposed to watch it from beginning to end. So even if there is a part of the movie that you love, if there is a part of it you hate as well, it is all included in the viewing.

Here are my go to episodes for TV. I have seen these episodes so many times I do not even have to fully pay attention to know what is going on. Everytime I watch them I feel calm, and I do not think I will ever get sick of them.(They are in no particular order)

"Hush" Buffy The Vampire Slayer- This episode was great becuase there was no dialogue and there was a ton of raw emotion shown through non verbal communication.

"Once More, With Feeling" Buffy- Two words: Buffy. Musical. Enough said

"The Model Home" The OC- Seth has a new friend and Ryan has a new crush... and burns down a model home.

"The 70's Episode" Charmed-Please do not judge me on this one. I used to be a big Charmed fan, it has been my guilty pleasure for a while. They go back in time and see themselves as kids, and the lil witches are adorable.

"Phase One" Alias- SD-6 Falls, and Vaughn and Sydney fall on each other.

Skins -Pretty much any episode of Series 3 and 4 of I can watch and it will make me feel better.

*I want to make sure everyone know that this is not a list of my FAVORITE episodes of TV, or the ones which I think are the best I have ever seen. They are just the episodes that comfort me when I need it*
 
So those are my picks. What TV shows do you guys watch when you are in a bad mood? Comment and let me know.

APB

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Thirsty Thursday 3.0: Bones Drinking Game

Since I still do not have much time to update this week but I really want to I am going to do another drinking game. Drinking games are less of a time commitment to write than a recap and I have been wanting a Bones drinking game for a while. It is another Thursday night show but I guess Thursdays is a big TV night so there should be more drinking games to celebrate that. Thirsty Thursday 3.0 here we go, Happy Drinking!


BONES DRINKING GAME:
Drink Whenever:
Clark gets uncomfortable about anyone's personal issues in the lab
There is a medical term you do not understand
Bones relates a situation to an anthropological fact
Bones and/or Boothe ignore what Sweets says
Bones tells Sweets psychology is pointless
You do not know Bone's Assistants name
Bones missuses a common phrase
Bones does not understand a pop cultural reference.
Someone hates Bones as soon as they meet her
Hodgins conducts an experiment
Someone is called a squint
Someone mentions one of Brennans books or that she is an author

Cam is sexually frustrated x2
Hodgins says "King of the Lab" x3
They mention Zach(for episodes after he left)- Finish your drink
We discover what is on page 187- Finish your drink and start the next
Bones and Booth actually get together- Shotgun or chug a beer

As always let me know if you have any suggestions or rules for me to add. Hope you enjoy!

APB