TV Reviews

Monday, August 15, 2011

My Review of Teen Wolf 1.12- Code Breaker

And so the first season ends with 2 deaths, major revelations, a serious blow, and 2 major questions.....

Ok, last week I made a couple of predictions, one of which came partially true and one of which possibly came true. PsychoAunt is officially dead. She had her throat ripped out by the Alpha in front of Allison. That gets points for trauma to Allison and the Alpha gets style points. Ahhh, justice! I was wrong in that her death didn't drive a wedge between Scott and Allison, probably because he was right there to ensure her safety. So I get a half point. The possibility comes later under the heading of major questions.

No matter how much I disliked the Alpha, he gets points for the greatest line in reference to Lydia. His crack about trying to kill Stiles twice a month was hilarious. Sexist and crude, but hilarious nonetheless.

Let's start with Stiles. Stiles, the ordinary guy who somehow finds a way to put things together and hold it together so that he can help his best friend. He leaves Lydia after calling Jackson because the Alpha told him so he can help Scott. And the username and password to Scott's computer was just too damn funny. "Allison" for both? <snerk> Then going to the hospital and interrogating his dad long enough to figure out who torched the Hale house and mouthing off at Allison's dad because he is pissed off? Geez. Ladies and gentlemen, we have Xander 2.0. Does whatever he can for his friends even though he is sadly ill equipped to do so. And what exactly was in that flask he threw at the Alpha? Whatever it was caused a nice little fire when Allison shot it and combined with what Jackson threw to mostly kill the Alpha. Nicely done sidekick.

And Scott. Running from his girlfriend's dad. Nearly shot by said girlfriend and then blinded by a flashbang arrow. That seriously sucks. But she can't do more than that (thank goodness!) and she should be grateful for that because that is about the only thing that saved her from being killed by the Alpha. 2 Betas (Derek and Scott) v. 1 Alpha and the result is that the Alpha cleans up the floor with them until the humans arrive with nifty chemicals. Nicely done. Only to be betrayed by his "mentor" who kills the Alpha in order to become the new Alpha. That sucks. And if I am not mistaken, that means that Derek's sister was an Alpha. That was an interesting little twist.

Allison, I am so glad you decided not to follow in PsychoAunts footsteps. You'll be better for it, I promise. For a bit there, I was a little worried, but you pulled through nicely and are now even more solidly in the good camp. I am not entirely sure what daddy is going to think about you dating a werewolf, but I suspect he'll not protest too much since Scott did save your life.

And Jackson's good moment of helping was apparently done so that he could get himself turned. <head smack> Be careful what you ask for....

The twist I never saw coming, Derek killing the Alpha and assuming that mantle himself. That cannot be good.

And last, what is up with Lydia. She isn't healing, hence probably not a werewolf, but then what is happening? Is she going to pull through?

We'll have these questions answered next summer during Season 2. Until then!

Monday, August 8, 2011

My Review of Teen Wolf 1.11- Formality

Jackson sinks to new lows, Stiles makes a deal with the Alpha to save someone he cares about, Psycho Aunt shows how psycho she is, and Allison learns the truth....

Well, that was one heck of a part I of the finale! I have some predictions about part II that I will mention at the end of the review.

Scott's life just got a lot more complicated. After a very nice talk with his mom, he tells Allison that he loves her, only to be forced to reveal what he is when her dad and one of his buddies try to crush him between their trucks. The look on her face was just about the worst thing that could have been seen. Allison hears from Psycho Aunt about how bad and evil werewolves are only for it to be revealed to her that her boyfriend, the guy who just said that he loves her, is one. Can we just say that this is one hell of a complication?!?!? And although she doesn't know it, Scott has been going all out to protect her. From getting her called out of the store when the Alpha is near to getting Jackson (!) to take her to the formal. I did laugh at his method of persuasion. That was hilarious. And could Jackson have been a bigger ass towards her? I know he's a jerk, but couldn't he have least pretended to want to be there with her? Geez.....

And how much did I love that Allison got Lydia to go to the dance with Stiles? Yes, he is a total goofball, but he is so sweet and so nice. He deserves good things. Three of my favorite moments were between Stiles and Lydia. Number one was in the store when he was helping her shop for dresses. Read that as, she was shopping and he was acting as her dress carrier. Then at the formal when Jackson totally dissed her, Stiles told her she looked beautiful. She gave him such a grateful look that it was nice to see. The third was when Stiles was asking her to dance, then demanding, and then he told her that he knew how smart she was and that she would go to bigger and better things. That was incredibly sweet and he so did not deserve to be left for her to find Jackson. I do appreciate that she was honest about it after he forced the issue. I so want those two together. That would be nifty. To end their night, Lydia was attacked by the Alpha and Stiles told the Alpha how to find Derek in exchange for saving Lydia. Not the best idea, but given the circumstances, I find it hard to blame him.

Another hilarious moment was when Scott was on the run from the coach because he wasn't supposed to be at the dance and he got Danny to dance with him. Poor guy, he just keeps getting used by people. That had me in stitches.

And Jackson, I want to dope smack you so badly right now. I know your life sucks right now, but giving Scott up to the hunters, so *NOT* a good thing. It is going to take a lot to regain what little respect he gained recently.

Oh, and Psycho Aunt slept with Derek in order to get to his family. Can I just say that I didn't think she could sink any lower, but she manages....

Ok, my predictions for next week. Given the fact that the ads and the actors have said that someone dies next week and the ads saying that not everyone makes it out human, here is what I think will happen. Either Psycho Aunt or daddy hunter will be killed and this will throw a major wrench into Scott and Allison's relationship. I would see poetic justice in Psycho Aunt being turned though. I could also see Jackson getting turned, although I think that is much lower on the list of possibilities.

Next week, part II of the first season finale of Teen Wolf. Until then...

Sunday, August 7, 2011

My Review of One Tree Hill 8.21- Flightless Bird, American Mouth

Last review from LiveJournal. Thanks for bearing with me as I moved everything.

--------

The ladies in Puerto Rico, Brooke and Julian can't keep a secret, the guy become bird-watchers, Mouth and Millie make some TV, and Haley is hit by nostalgia....

I loved this version of the theme. Very similar but with a nice, distinctive style. Very well done.

I'll start with the guys. The main storyline with them was their going camping to find an endangered species of bird that might live on the River Court in order to save the Court from development. The whole thing was somewhat amusing. Clay wanted to stay at home in a flowered(!) shirt in an old chair with a cooler filled with half-melted ice. Interesting way to spend a weekend. Then Nathan unleashed his secret weapon. No, not scantily clad young ladies, but Jamie giving him a pathetic little smile. <snerk> So, he brought the shirt, chair, and cooler with him. And everyone proceeded to insult him and the shirt. Just damn funny, especially when Quinn and the girls saw a guy in Puerto Rico with the same shirt and made a comment about it. While camping, Jamie and Chuck ran across a bulldozer and climbed in, but more on that later. The taping and bonding were just funny. I will say that now Robert's tweets about a shirt that he liked from that episode now make a whole lot more sense....

I have to say that I felt sorry about how Chuck find out about Chase leaving. Given everything he has gone through, his reaction was unsurprising. He proceeded to turn on the bulldozer and start it moving. Chase then jumped in and proceeded to drive over all of Clay's stuff. Poor abused Clay. After this, he got upset at Chuck who got uncharacteristically quiet and withdrawn until he confessed about why he did what he did. And Chase getting Chuck that bike (his dad's last sentence to Chuck was that he would be getting a bike and then teach Chuck to ride it) was just totally sweet. And I loved that when Chuck "chucked" Nathan, Nathan proceeded to kick his butt (literally) and called it a "nathan." ROFL

Ultimately, the River Court appeared to be saved when some eggs from the bird were found where Chuck had driven over. I also liked the Mouth/Millie story. I've said it before and will say it again, the two of them need to keep these nice fun storylines, otherwise they get really boring. Millie's rants (including the latest one where she dressed as a dog to complain about people letting their dogs poop wherever) got the attention of higher ups and they want to give her a morning show. So naturally, Mouth helped out. The manager asked Millie to do something a little more serious, so Mouth suggested the River Court. When Millie did her live taping, she allowed Mouth to keep going. Totally awesome and hope this bodes well for his career.

As for the girls in Puerto Rico, Quinn got a nice storyline where she went around with a model taking pictures of ordinary everyday things for B.Davis magazine that ultimately landed her the cover shot. Very well done. I loved that Lauren got drunk and then sent partially naked shots to Chuck's mom. Fortunately (well sort of), Chuck had the phone and intercepted the pictures before his mom saw them. Drunk Lauren= high amusement factor.

Brooke spent the entire time pretending to not be pregnant. She was not entirely successful as Quinn figured it out and congratulated her. That was nice. So now, Naley, Alex, Chase, and Quinn all know about Brooke's pregnancy. Just waiting for Clay, Mouth, and Millie to find out.

And I love that Haley wants to reopen Karen's Cafe. That will definitely give her something nice to do next season (assuming the show is renewed, which I heard it is). And having Brooke as a partner will be nice.

Next week, Brooke's pregnancy progresses and everyone is cute....

My Review of One Tree Hill 8.20- The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul

A pregnancy, an absolutely hideous spray tan, a recitation of "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Thayer, and the resolution to the Kellerman drama.....

First, the theme. It was ok, but definitely not my favorite. The only good thing I can say about it is that it was better than some.

The episode seemed to be a transition episode. Certain plotlines were all wrapped up and the remaining 2 episodes were set up. I have a sneaking suspicion I know what will happen during the time jump in the finale, but more on that later.

First, the Kellerman storyline is wrapped up. I am glad that Nathan went to Professor Kellerman with the truth and apologized. That was definitely classy of him. It was definitely nice to see Kellerman be a genuine human being and admit that just as Nathan had prejudged him, he had prejudged Nathan. And his explanation for why he protected Ian was very touching. Ian so doesn't deserve it, but its what parents do for their kids. And I must admit that I wish Ian had gotten more than knocked off the bridge and then held under several times. Unfortunately, given that there was really no proof about what happened, nothing more could be done unless Nathan, Julian, or Clay happened to tape the confession. Here's hoping karma will come along and bite him on the @$$ big time.

What is it with Quinn getting all of the embarassing storylines now? Last week with the singing and this week with that absolutely hideously godawful spray tan. I did find Clay's reaction amusing. He was so ready for the date night (particularly after seeing her in the string bikini) and then that spray tan was seen and he changed his tune incredibly quickly. <snerk> Loved that. And so happy that it came off in the hot tub. I meant the spray tan! Geez.....get your minds out of the gutter. Mine is in there taking up all the space. :-)

I must admit that the whole pregnancy storyline took me by surprise. I was not expecting that. The best part was the end twist where Brooke is pregnant and not Alex. That really threw me, but in a totally cool way. For some reason, I thought that they had said that Brooke could never get pregnant, but maybe they just said that it would be really hard for her. I so hope that everything goes ok and she and Julian have their baby because they so deserve it. As for what I was saying about the time jump before, I suspect that they will have Brooke have her baby during that time to avoid the whole fake pregnancy thing. Ok, obvious at this point, but :-P. :-)

I did enjoy having Jamie recite "Casey at the Bat" during the game. If you have never read it, the poem is about a man named Casey who is supposedly an awesome baseball player who ends up striking out due to overconfidence and hubris. So, I was wondering how the ending was going to go. Would they be faithful to the poem and have Jamie strike out? Or would they follow the more conventional approach and have him hit the ball? They did the latter which was nice. I loved that Chuck "chucked" Julian. That was funny. I also liked that Madison and Chuck took on characters from the poem. In the poem, in the final inning, a bad player (Chuck) hits a single and a not-so-masculine player (Madison) hits a double. Casey (Jamie) then comes up and gets two strikes. In the poem, Casey strikes out and so there is no cheering in Mudville. In OTH, Jamie hits it. Sort of fun.

Next week, wacky hijinks with the guys camping and the girls in Puerto Rico. Til then!

My Review of One Tree Hill 8.19- Where Not to Look for Freedom

The truth about the accident comes out, Haley plays mom, Brooke gets a job offer, Julian gets seriously pissed, Quinn organizes a concert (and gets embarrassed several times in the process), Alex sings a song, and a dad sacrifices his life for his son.....

First, the theme. That was godawful, the less said the better.

Let's start with the accident storyline. Before the hiatus, Nathan discovered the vehicle that was a part of the hit and run that nearly killed Jamie and Brooke in Kellerman's garage. Before I get to what happened tonight, here is what I said in my review of that episode:

"And as for the revelation that Ian is apparently the driver of the car that knocked Brooke and Jamie off the bridge, that was not a huge surprise given that they indicated (in the previously on) that something would be coming out about that. A little surprising, but not seriously."

Am I good or what? Ok, maybe that was not that hard to guess, but given how easily Professor Kellerman caved to Nathan, I did see it coming a mile off. I am wondering if anyone was surprised by that. Lord knows that I wasn't. I have to say that Kellerman has risen several notches in my estimation. To have the guts to give up what has made your life to protect your son's life was not something I would have expected from him. Ian on the other hand is a totally different story. I get that he wants to protect his career, but doing so at the expense of your dad is incredibly low and just awful. I am glad that Nathan took the high road here and let the Professor do what he did. And given the fact (from the end of the episode and the preview for next week) that he has figured it out, I would *SO* not want to be in Ian's shoes. James has said that the old Nathan would make a reappearance and I think Ian is in for a world of hurt.

And who woulda thunk that Julian could get so utterly pissed off. That was almost scary. I wonder how he is going to react to the revelation about Ian. I do shudder.....

Ok, how many people just laughed out loud about Quinn's three song related embarrassments? First, Alex finds her singing "Eye of the Tiger" (I think that's the title anyway) in the studio. Then Haley sees her singing something (didn't catch what) to Lydia (and how cute was that?). Finally, the band catches her encore of "Eye of the Tiger" via webcam for Haley and Lydia. <snerk, snerk, snerk> But she did put on a good concert. Jana has a lovely voice and that was a good song. Never heard of Olin and the Moon, but they were really nice as well. Very mellow music.

Poor Brooke spent most of the episode depressed about not being able to adopt. Then she gets an invitation to be the VP of Clothes Over Bros. I have a sneaking suspicion that Victoria has something to do with this. I am not sure how given what she did, but I just have a suspicion given some of the things she said to Brooke. Will Brooke take the job? Given the fact that there will be a time jump in the finale, I would think that she will but will come back for some reason.

Haley didn't do much but be the stay-at-home-mom. I suspect this has to do with Bethany's newborn, but again not so sure.

Clay with a partially open shirt and cowboy hat? Surprisingly hot...

Next week, a confrontation between Julian, Nathan, Clay, and Ian. Uh oh......

One Tree Hill Season 9

Don't know if everyone is up to date on Season 9, but here is the latest that I know of. Yesterday, Sophia tweeted that she, Austin, Jana, Lisa, and Robert have officially signed on for a new season. Last night official word came out that Bethany has as well. I read that Stephen has said that he will come back to and I have heard nothing about Shantel, Jackson, and Lee. James had not signed on yet, and I read that people are speculating that he is waiting to see if the show is renewed. Ironically, his lack of signing may have to do with the show not being renewed yet (or so I heard).

That being said, here is what I would like to happen. The show gets brought back to do a final season. After being on the bubble for 8 seasons and given the storms this show has weathered, we the viewers and the people involved in the show, deserve a chance to see the show brought to a satisfying and natural conclusion. I know that it would also be really cool to see people; Deb, Karen, etc.; brought back over the course of the season (or for the series finale) to see where their characters ended up. I also know that Hilarie has expressed a lack of enthusiasm to play Peyton again, but I would like to think that she would come back for a known series finale with Chad just to show her appreciation to the fans.

If the show ends this year; assuming that the finale wraps things up nicely; I won't be seriously disappointed. My only fear is that they will be canceled with strings left dangling.

Thoughts?

My Review of One Tree Hill 8.18- Quiet Little Voices

It's all about the babies....baby.... (ok, that was oh so bad.....)

First, the theme. It was nice and better than some, but not my favorite. I did love the singers voice though. Anyone know who sang it?

Tonight was all about babies and family. Brooke and Julian were waiting for Chloe to have her baby, Nathan and Haley were awaiting their baby with Jamie, Clay, and Quinn. This episode was also about the past with some nifty flashbacks to events of the past. Think I also caught a new scene or two masquerading as flashbacks. There was not exactly alot of character stuff, as this season has been wont to do, but it was a nice way to get back into the series after a 6 week hiatus.

I loved Jackson's voiceover. He doesn't do them too often (that I can think of anyways) and he did a nice job. I do want to know what this shows obsession is with numbers in voiceovers sometimes. I am just thinking back to the season 3 (at least I think it was 3) opener when Peyton was going on about the number of people in the world. I thought it was so cute the way Jamie was going to create a memory book for Lydia. It gave them a wonderful opportunity to show us some nice flashbacks especially between Naley. And the scene with Naley outside of her house was the reason why "Dare You to Move" is one of my favorite songs.

I loved, loved, loved the scene with Clay, Quinn, and Jamie trying to eat 6 crackers in a minute. That was a riot. I thought the subtitles were an especially cute touch to the scene. I do want to know why Clay even thought of that, but I am almost too scared to ask. And the running commentary about luck and UNO was also amusing. I seriously forgot how violent Haley can be. Those flashbacks of people she hit or told off were amusing. Haley=Mama Bear. :-)

I felt so sorry for Brooke and Julian. I had heard that there was baby related heartbreak and before I saw the episode assumed that Chloe was going to change her mind. I didn't realize; until Julian bumped into her boyfriend in the hall; why she was going to make the decision. I want to hate her, but its really hard to. I so wanted Brooke and Julian to get their baby, but I also like to see moms and their babies. I just can't find it in myself to hate her. I am upset that she hurt Brooke and Julian, but more than that I cannot be. C'est le vie.

And I have to say that Austin did a great job directing the episode. Well done.

Next week, Nathan confronts Kellerman, Brooke receives an offer, and Julian gets coldly pissed off.....