Doctor Who Xmas Special – End of Time pt 1

WTF? Seriously….WTF? Besides the amount of lvve I have for Bernard and Donna (and is it sad I’m more concerned about Donna’s fate than the human raceeriously…the whole montage with the “master” race just made me laugh…but I’m actually scared for Donna….she’s the best companion and one of he best people on this show! Screw the human race, save Donna!) but that was the most random thing I’ve seen. Like, very disjointed and…..you know, all these specials have felt that way. They’ve felt rushed, and out of place….this is definitely a show which needs a season’s worth of build-up, laughs and shadowy overtones of DOOM.

AND RTD really needs to stop writing episodes! Let him create shows, but stop writing them! CANNOT WAIT FOR MOFFAT TO TAKE OVER!!!!!!!

what are we watching today?

playing catch-up with true blood and flash forward – can i just say both shows are getting very interesting?

 

true blood has improved vastly on the first couple of episodes – i’m happy i struggled my way through, because honestly, i gave up halfway through the second episode. but i was told to stick with it – and admittedly, it got better.

 

So i played catch up today, with eps 4,5 and 6 – yeah, i got suckered into it!

It amuses me the Stackhouse siblings are played by an Aussie and a Kiwi, with relatively decent accents. I’m still not fussed on Bill at all, and in actual fact, the “vampire” apect of the story does not entice me in the slightest. I think I left vamps behind with my emo days.  It’s the underlying story of people trying to live alongisde each other in equality which sparks my attention. Mixing up vamps with people of different colour and orientation in a southern town is a brilliant portrayal of human culture and fear, and that’s what intrigues me here. Not the copious amounts of sex, deaths or bloody images.

 

Flashforward started off well, lagged a little…and then starting bringing home the bacon. Wow. I also caught up with 3 episodes today – and they have been flying think and fast. I’d caught up to the ep wherewe find out Janice is a lesbian and then gets shot (not for that), the guys in DC are shot at, and Olivia finds out about her husband’s flash forward. Going straight into thestoryline of the blue hand, bringing back characters who’d fallen into the shadows as more prominent storylines played out, killing off a character who wsn’t supposed to die, and also allowing Dominic Monaghan to become a little creepy.

It ahs misses, but when the show gets it right, it really gets it right.

 

Also caught up with TAR – Phil, I knew it was a non-elimination leg, based solely on how you greeted everyone at the mat! Gah – the brothers are starting to grate on me as well – geez, yes they’re bickering brothers, but do they really have to be so mean to each other? And then taking the taxi – yes, it’s a race…..but ouch Game on, peeps!

 

 

 

Glee

Have I mebtioned how much I love this show?

 

at first it seemed to be nothing but put crack!…but they’ve been weaving storylines, giving plots to minor characters (with the exception of the wonderful mercedes…come on, peep, recognise!) and just blowing me awy with its storylines – stories which don’t just sweep everything nicely with sparkles.

 

I fucking love this show so much it hurts.

 

And Kurt. I LOVE him. Gah. Chris Colfer is amazing. They all are.

I need more Glee. Hell, we all need some Gee in our lives.

what are we watching today?

Supernatural s05 episode 05 – Fallen Idols – well, it’s nice to get back to some of the classic meta-comedy SN does so well….even if they had Paris Hilton in it…who admittedly is pretty good. Much better than she was in Veronica Mars (but let’s face it, next to Kristen Bell, she never had a chance….KB is a GODDESS). It was nice to see some follow-up on all the brotherly angst and stuff…but elt’s face it, the only thing that really got us excited was the SOON…….EEE! I want SOON to be NOW!

Grey’s Anatomy – s06 ep04….

Ah. Izzie’s ever-changing hairstyle has gone with the spunky blonde look. Interesting. I like the dynamics of her and Karev’s relationship this seas9on, it seems a little more organic than the ham-fisted great love story of last year.

Interesting to see their technique of getting rid of meredith for a little while – very nicely done, and tying in well with her lonely orphan storyline. Also good to see Yang, although they are ruining her character – she’s going to waste! Come on people, give this amazing woman something to work with! Still…the show is losing my interest again…….well, at least they haven’t brough back more dead ghost sex!

Glee – s1 ep06 – GLEE! Yes – watching this one a little late, but oh glee, you have my heart. Well, Kurt owns me, like a dominatrix owns a slave. (I can totally see it. Kurt, whip in hand, all in shiny black leather and knee-high platforms…errrrr……..let’s move on!) Interesting dynamic bringing Terri in as a nurse, who proceeds to hand out decongestants and get the kids all high on amphetamines *snort*. And loved loved loved Sue’s journal entry. That woman is pure and utter gold. GOLD.

Finn’s still hung up on Rachel, who has called a truce with Quinn…which is an interesting dynamic. There’s still not enough Mercedes, Puck and Kurt! Oh Kurt, they need more Kurt….although, maybe these little bursts of Kurt are better, doling it out in bits and pieces.

I totally <3 this show to death.

Amazing Race – s15 Leg 3 – oh my god! PEOPLE! Zev and Justin, you DUMBNUTS! You ran a brilliantly good leg, coming from last to first, with such joy and goodwill…AND THEN YOU LOSE A PASSPORT AND GET YOURSELVES ELIMINATED.

ACK! Show, you have me, you know you have me by the balls..but dammit, don’t break my heart like this! It kills me.

Oh and Lance? Needs to be off my screen. YESTERDAY. I hate the arsehole. He’s exactly the type of man who should be decastrated and shot.

But thank you for visiting beautiful Cambodia! I seriously love that country and Phnom Pennh is amazing….although, flying there from Ho Chi Minh City? Seriously? It’s a 4-5 hour bus trip – why the hell would production decide to wait 15 hours for a half hour plane flight? That makes no sense to me……More Cambodia, peeps!

what are we watching today?

House s06, ep02 – Epic Fail. Well, now I see how they’ve mnaged to get rid of the new ducklings and bring the old duckings back into the fold. Meh. I’m kind of over this show…but the draw of Chase keeps pulling me back in, dammit! Really wish 13 had stayed a lesbian..she’s pretty hot.

Gossip Girl – s03, ep03 – meh. The sparkle is gone. There’s something about this show that’s…missing. And I don’t know what it is, but this season has so far been rather lacklustre. I think it may be seeing Blair at the bottom of the pile, and not triumphing like the Queen she is. We don’t want this to see Serena fall into pieces yet again or to see Blair torn to shreds…we watch it to see Blair tear everyone else into shreds! Can she please move out of the college dorms, get Dorota back on our screens and go find the bloody people she should be reigning over instead?

Glee – last week’s episode. Dammit. I’ve had Beyonce’s Single Ladies in my head ever since. I LOVE THIS SHOW. Had to rewatch Kurt’s dance yet again. I LOVE KURT SO MUCH. I’m flailing. I’m fangirl flailing. I haven’t done this since I discovered Torchwood canon. I HEART GLEE SO MUCH, PEEPS.

Supernatural Season 4 – as long as we have Cas…..

You know I loved this show from the get-go. 2 hot brothers traipsing around the US in a kick-ass metallicar, hunting down demons and ghosts? Seriously, what isn’t there to like?

But this season…it blew me away. I have episodes in every season which I won’t watch again, out of boredom or sheer annoyance (racist killer truck, anyone?)

And yet season 4 was phenomenal all the way through, if a little myth-arc heavy.

Of course, it would start off with a bang, sending off one of the leads to hell at the end of season 3. It was the awesomeness of the first 3 seasons which led me of course to do a Supernatural marathon in the lead-up to season 4 (an event which will never occur again, let me tell you). So there was a lot of anticipation going into the premiere…

And they delivered.

Ripping Dean out of hell, having 10 minutes of pure silence and just seeing the bewilderment on the poor boy’s face, leading up to the joyful reunions, discovering exactly what a bad, bad boy Sammy has been in the 4 months since Dean died and then learning that it was an angel (a very gorgeous angel with bedroom eyes) who pulled Dean out of hell.

And the show got better, bringing back some of our favourite dead characters for a special episode, where we also learn the myth-arc for the season: Lilith is breaking seals in order to release Lucifer.

Then Dean takes a little trip in time and meets daddy with blue eyes, and his sexy mama – and learns his mother was a hunter as well as why she died by ol’ yellow eyes -and how brilliant of them to keep stringing him through the show, even though he died 2 seasons ago? It’s amazing to see a show capable of picking up plot points and continuing to thread them through in such a way. Oh, how I love this show.

There was an homage to old-school horror films in black and white, Halloween (it took them 4 seasons to get to Halloween?), an after school special, a brilliant out-take to the theme Eye of the Tiger, a very meta episode (now with slash!), prophets, and an overdose of angels. It was a very tongue-in-cheek season, but underneath it all, there was beautiful symbolism, as we gradually learn why Dean is so tortured – he started torturing souls himself – and what this meant for the season – this act broke the very first seal to release Lucifer – and why the angels pulled him out – the first man to start it is the only man who can stop Lucifer. EEP!

Meanwhile, Sam gradually fell to the dark side, indulging deeper in demon blood, provided by New Ruby who sucked. Seriously. I was actually a fan of Ruby – she was portrayed brilliantly and you never knew whether you could trust her or not, and begrudgingly started to trust her towards the end of season 3 – but this one just sucked. I did not want to trust her because I hated her so much.

So, we came down to the wire – Sam is not only sleeping with a demon possessing a dead body (ewwww) and gaining in strength, but Dean is yet again in turmoil and carrying the entire world on his shoulders, attempting to save Sammy from his fate. (And attempting to deny his attraction to the lush angel Castiel – come on, we all saw the eyefuckage going on there!)

And then they fight and break up. Dean tends to his wounds with Bobby until the angels put him into a little green room, awaiting the apocalypse, while Sammy makes his own demon road trip to the church where Lilith awaits him.

And here, it all comes full circle. For you see, this has been Ol’ Yellow Eyes goal all along. This was his game plan. The reason he made those kids special, killed several mothers and then got them to pick one another off, was to find the strongest one of them all – the one who would be able to kill the first demon. This is the final seal, and this was Ol Yellow Eye’s game plan all along.

How freaking cool is that???????

Now, Dean discovers the angels want the apocalypse because they want to swipe the slate clean. Luckily, Catsiel breaks him out but he’s too late – Sammy kills Lilith and releases Lucifer.

And now, Ruby reveals she’s also been playing them all along and has secretly been working with both Yellow Eyes and Lilith to lure Sammy to the dark side so this very event can occur.

And then Dean kills her! And I scream ecstatically and dance singing, ding dong, the bitch is dead……

And end season, on the boys grasping each other (together again!), watching the ground break up as Lucifer makes his long-awaited comeback…and leaves wanting more.

This season was pure brilliance, and also improved in the ratings – although that may have something to do with the angels finally coming into play. For a show about the supernatural, they stuck it out with hell and demons for long enough, and I always knew they’d have to bring the other side into it. Of course, I’m not a big fan of the mythology, as I’m not actually a believer, but considering how ridiculous the show is overall, I can overlook it as fiction. After all, I think the Bible is fiction, so it’s not much of a stretch.

I don’t know where to begin with a high point – In the Beginning was the best episode, coming very close to the best episode of the entire show (and yet it still can’t trump Devil’s Trap…I don’t think anything can!). There’s so much that went right this year – Sammy’s descent into darkness, Dean discovering what he really did, breaking out of hell…it’s hard to choose just one.

The weak pint – well besides the overbearing mythology – would have to be Dean’s mopiness. Come on, he spent the entire season crying woe is me! Where’s the tough as nails hunter we first met? Then again, where’s the brainiac normal Sam? He lost the plot too – but at least we can blame his behaviour on losing his brother!

It’s a critical point now for the show – where do they go after this? I hope it can only continue to improve, although it seems we’re moving into the final season. So I’ll be enjoying every single moment there is left and waiting impatiently for the DVD.

Gossip Girl – my guilty pleasure

i do love her. gossip girl, that is. And while I initially was drawn into this show because it was narrated by the delightful Veronica Mars, the drama, frivolity and pure guilty nastiness of the characters just kept me there.

There is always a fear with the sophomore season for any show with such a brilliant premier season. And although GG did lose the plot from time to time, overall the season held together beautifully and kept the twists coming.

Although we all fell in love with Serena and Dan to begin with, the Blair and Chuck relationship hd crept out of the woodwork throughout the first seson, very similar to Veronica and Logan from VM, the best teen show I have ever seen.

After the fallout at the end of the season, this one was all about Blair and Chuck denying how much they love each other.I will admit to squeeing with glee when Chuck finally comes forward and tells her he loves her.

Wecontinue the back-and-forth see-saw with Serena and Dan, and Rufus and Lily, throwing in Lily’s shock secret – she had Rufus’ child back in the day and put him up for adoption. Well. That could throw a spanner into the works. When they go and find the parents, they are dismayed to find their son died…only for it to be revealed to the audience the parents only said that in order to keep Lily and Rufus away from their child – which is actually an awesome little twist.

Dan had an affair with the teacher who took away Blair’s dream of Yale and while many did not like the storyline, I actually did – anything to pull Serena and Dan apart, plus with people like them, I’m surprised there weren’t more illicit trysts with teachers going on. Of course, now that both Dan and Nate have slept with odler women maybe it’s time for one of the ladies to pick up an older gentleman?

Vanessa lost her morals along the way, but has become more likeable, Nate seemed to disappear for episodes at a time, and then eye-fucked Dan with smouldering looks whenever possible. Yum. Jenny lsot the plot, gave up school, became a designer, and then went back to school, and inevitably became Queen Bee, in some weird surmountable way – and I never realised B’s little fashionistas were a year below.

Eric was sorely under-utilised – I love him. More Eric, please! Chuck’s father died, leaving him the sole heir and to be screwed over by his uncle (Who screwed his girlfriend, but now we’re just getting complicated), and Georgina came back after Serena’s deightful boyfriend screwed everyone over and they needed a way to make her ex-friend pay. Which of course didn’t work, leaving Serena in jail and an opportunity for a terrific flashback episode to Lily’s younger days, a spin-off which will now never happen as the CW prefers to throw money at crappy remakes of awesome 90’s shows.

Oh, and our gangly crew graduated.

High point? So many. But the final episode was jsut brilliant – Gossip Girl’s final gift to the graduating class is to reveal all of their secrets, as she reveals one clue – she is graduating with them. And how can we forget Chuck’s admission of love to Blair? Oh, we all squeeed at that one, didn’t we?

Low point would have to be the plodding mid point, before Chuck’s dad died and everything kind of exploded into a frenzy of drama. It got a little dull. Not to mention Nate and Blair getting back together momentarily. WTF?

This show is my guilty little pleasure. There is no way I can miss an episode of this frivolous little show with its explitative drama and naughty teens. But shh…I’ll never tell.

Gossip Girl, never leave us. And don’t reveal yourself at all – after all, we know you who you are, V.

Ugly Betty – waiting for the uk version

Betty, Betty, where did it all go wrong?

Probably when they got rid of Gio.

My love affair with this show is over, taking a beating throughout the season. Somehow, the enthusiasm I used to have for Betty dwindled until I was merely watching it out of habit.

It’s hard to say what exactly happened, but I think it may have come from the lack of character development for Betty. We finally had some developments with her deciding to be her own person, move out of home and live in the city and..well, grow up (unfortunately this didn’t extend to her fashion taste, but whatever. Obviously the show has no concept of how people actually do evolve over time – and when are those damn braces coming off?).

And then they slam on the brakes and reverse wildly back to the firsts eason, throwing Betty back into the family home and just not letting her mature. It really frustrated me. We see all these people around her growing, expanding their roles and becoming more than the 2 dimensional characters we were first introduced to, and yet our titular character remins exactly the same. There is no need to re-invent her overnight but for god’s sake – by now maybe she could have tried contacts once or twice, decided ponchos aren’t the best idea in the world, experienced with heels and TAKEN IFF THOSE GODDAMNED BRACES.

We saw Daniel maturing with a child of his own, and then a splendid twist, where he discovers it’s not his biological son – but his brother/sisters. Ouch. And while he broods, he meets Molly, his best friend’s fiancé, and the perfect woman for him. Wilhemina softens with a relationship with said best friend of Daniel, and also has a new baby to tend to. We have growth with her, as her hard metal shell crackens occasionally to reveal how deeply she cares about her status in life and does everything within her power to hold onto it.

Even Amanda and Marc have growth, with Marc’s relationship going through the wringer as he becomes uncomfortable being with only one man, a man he loves but doesn’t fit the ideal world he is desperately trying to throw himself into. And then after breaking his heart, he throws himself into becoming a junior editor, which he obviously excels at…but which is cruelly stolen away from him at the end. Gah. I love you Marc.

Even Christina, who has Wilhemina’s devil spawn, gets her husband back, tried to help him with his disease, and then finds herself attached to the child, only to find out it actually is her child and waltzes back to Scotland – see? Some..semblance of…

Screw it. Betty just annoys me.

They keep flinging around the editor-in-chief role like it’s the holy grail, now it’s Alexis, now it’s Daniel, now it’s Willy, now it’s I don’t give a toss. We see Betty develop and then regress again. They bring bloody Harry back to destroy her new relationship with the rich boy, who I was growing to like (although he will never replace the joy which is Gio in my heart –Bring Back Gio!) – and then at the end of it, the new guy’s dad is now in charge of the whole shebang, and brings in the newly heartbroken boy to be Betty’s boss – and I find myself not caring. I honestly don’t care. I want to see Amanda, Marc, Wilhemina, Daniel’s heartbreak over losing Molly to cancer, hell, Hilda and Justin. I don’t care about Betty anymore.

Which is why this show is being relegated off the schedule. I’ll see what the first few episodes bring – and if they don’t entice me, it’s off to E4 with the show. I’ll see it when they finally show the new season next year.

Grey’s Anatomy – ridiculous but just can’t put it down

Grey’s took after its own subject material in its most recent season: started off alright, took a turn for the worse, flatlined, and then miraculously recovered, finishing strong.

GA has definitely peaked, which isn’t surprising as it would have been immensely difficult to keep up those numbers. Even so, the show seemed to fall into precarious waters and all over a dead ghost.

Complaining seems to work well on this show; that or being a Grey. As it is, while we still had our 5 beloved interns to follow around, after 2 seasons we still only know one of their subordinates and that’s solely because she’s little Grey. The others remain nameless characters (although they do manage to have a few beautiful scenes where their own personal dramas bled into the lives of our own doctors, without the back-story: pretty much what we’ve been watching from our famous five, but how everyone else would have seen it. Cute)

The season was mainly dogged by controversy. After disastrously ruining Callie’s strong embodiment femininity, they gave her a lesbian relationship with Dr Hahn (even though Callie continued sleeping with mark) and then spectacularly wrote Hahn off the show a mere 2 episodes later, in what became affectionately known as Hahn-Gate. After Isaiah Washington was kicked off for homophobic slurs, Hahn was kicked off for fear of scaring off the advertisers and network execs. Ouch. And then Hahn was replaced with another blonde doctor- a younger, prettier and more hyper version. May the live happily ever after (or at least however long any relationship seems to last on this show).

Our beloved George had no storyline this year, quite often just popping in to make his single line in each episode. It’s no wonder he asked to be off the show. But what makes this sadder for me is the last episode: Yes, George goes out a hero for throwing himself under a bus – but I never made the connection. Because I was so used to not seeing George on the show anymore, I didn’t even realise it could be him, just disappointed they were treating him so badly as to not even give him a proper farewell.

Christina stayed quiet this year and was in the background for a large chunk of the season, albeit the one shining moment in all the muck Her storyline with PTSD-stricken doctor Owen was pure genius. It’s so old-school romance and perfect and I’m just grateful she’s getting a storyline again.

After pulling out of the Emmy nominations last year due to lack of a storyline, Katherine Heigl was rewarded with a season-long story-arc –inevitably leading to the single incident which broke the show. Yes, it’s the infamous ghost sex incident. Izzie has sex with a ghost, even though the man we all know she belongs with is right there. We waited 4 years for her and Alex to get it on, and when they do, Izzie is sleeping with a ghost.

And then they have to go and fix it by giving Izzie brain cancer which has grown to such proportions it’s taken over her entire body.

And poor Alex, who has obviously had a crappy life, who’s recovered from his crappy exes, who is finally making something of himself (here is an amazing character arc they’ve been driving since season 1) only for it to fall apart when the woman he loves is dying. BAD SHOW.

That’s the problem with this show – the cast is too big (and their egos even bigger) and they just don’t know what to do with them all. It’s difficult juggling so many storylines, but it can be done – something which they proved the first couple of seasons. And yet, lately they’ve really stuffed it up. Characters fade into the background for a whole season before finally demanding they have something to do, while others are being constantly thrown through the exact same ringer time and time again. Yes, morose Meredith and McDreamy. Ugh. I’m so over this relationship. I don’t care. I don’t. And it was so obvious on their “very special” episode it would be Izzie and Alex walking down the aisle and not Meredith and McDreamy. We’re not stupid.

So, while it managed to keep me for the beginning of the season, it spiralled. Callie was still ruined, I didn’t care about Lexie and McSteamy, nor Meredith and McDreamy, and really didn’t care about the serial killer storyline and the tones of grey. Heh.

I wanted beautiful, strong Calliope back (and may that happen next season). I wanted Miranda to stride down the hall like she was the Lion Queen, and this was her kingdom. And then they brought Denny back yet again (intoning once more how he was the great love of Izzie and yes, he was amazingly wonderful and all, but they didn’t even date!) and I came every close to throwing it all in.

And then Izzie’s story came together, and she and Alex grew stronger together, showing how couple can come up against adversity and make it through. They had beautiful scenes between Christina and Owen and actually gave Christina a soul, and it made the show watchable again. Dr Roberts brought out the Callie we all love, and Miranda came back as well. I found the show creeping back up my favourites list.

And then we come down to the final moments with both Izzie and George’s lives on the line. We see the infamous elevator and Izzie in that damn pink prom dress (and when I saw that at the beginning of the season I had a feeling they’d  be killing Izzie off) – the doors open and there’s George. Not Denny. No, because Izzie has finally moved on and actually wants to be with Alex.

Who dies? Well, those who read the spoilers will know the answer. But after all the crap, they managed to pull the show back to its previous standards. Question is, can they keep it up?

Highest point definitely had to be the finale because that was amazing. Realising it was George on the table, realising the lengths Alex would go to, both of them flatlining and that damn scene in the elevator to tide us over…it’s just sad it took them over 22 episodes to get to that level. On the other hand, the scene a couple of episodes earlier where Christina and Owen slowly brush past each other in the corridor was damn HOT.

Lowest point: do I have to spell it out? They ruined a beloved character on this show by bringing him back to have ghosts ex. And who didn’t work out his words, I came for you, meant she was dying? Show, stop treating us all like 5 year olds. Please.

I will be back. But this is your last shot GA – any more shambolic shenanigans like last season, and I’m audi.

Bones season 4 – off the shelf

Wow – I didn’t think it could get worse than the 3^rd season finale.

Not that any particular episode was worse – but the entire season overall was unimpressive, limp and slightly boring. It became my scrapbooking show, so I no longer actually paid 100% attention to it.

It is a procedural show, and I never really understand the immense popularity of these shows. Nothing ever changes in them (except the cast, the victim and the murder weapon) – but this year Bones really felt stale. I hated what they did with Zack, and although I’ve always enjoyed the chemistry between Bones and Booth, I just wasn’t too pleased with the direction they were taking the show this season.

The first 2 episodes in London were pretty cool, if only because I actually live in London, but even then it was a case of the same old tired stereotypes of the British people and the Americans. The season didn’t improve until the wonderful Cesar came along to work his magic – and then it plodded on.

I did like the twist towards the end: firstly with Booth getting knocked out and dreaming about a hockey player, and then being captured by the gravedigger and hallucinating about an old army buddy who died. And as apprehensive as I was about the appearance of Stewie (Yes, from Family Guy) – it actually worked, particularly when they reveal Booth has a brain tumour. That was probably the best plot point the entire season and beautifully played out throughout the season.

I didn’t even mind the revolving door of interns, even though they apparently promised it would be resovled and it actually never was. There were a few good ones in there who I wouldn’t mind seeing again (unless Zack comes back).

I actually enjoyed the final episode, set inside Booth’s head (and boy, maybe we should change the name of the show to Booth) because it was terrific seeing the characters in a different set-up (and hopefully Zack’s mysterious words mean he’ll be released and allowed back into the fold – I miss him).

The low point – gee where do I begin? The stale familiar routine began to really grate this season and it just lost its spark. No Zack. See, show? You need the wonderfulness of Zack to survive.

The high point might have to be Stewie, and the plot behind him. Because that was crack!tastic.

I’m tentatively closing the book on this one this season. Unless we end up totally snowed in for months on end, I just don’t have the heart to get involved anymore – unless they bring Zack back. Bring the fun back. The show needs it.