Big Ick Factor

Ern once tried to watch Big Love and only made it past two episodes. Why? The subject matter, of course. There is a huge Ick Factor for us in thinking about polygamy. It's wrong and weird and cheating. Also, it gives Mormons a bad rep. We know plenty of Mormons, and none of them are polygamists, and we have yet to meet one who is a boring jerk. We view Mormons the way the South Park guys do: most are awesome as people, but we can't get onboard with stuff like the whole "Native Americans are actually Jews" thing. Most of them actually manage to live out the tenants of their faith, unlike a lot of religious people, and they can usually be counted on to supply your party with jello and booze-free fun. Steroetypes aside, the point is, we approve. Polygamy doesn't need to be the first thing that comes to mind when people think of that particular religious sect.

But we've heard rumors for four years that this show is good. It's HBO, one of our most intelligent readers (Cat) likes it, and it's the final season. So one of us is going to lunge forward and force herself to get into it. Past the ick factor and beyond. One of us will be caught up by the series finale and will be able to post about the show as a whole and the ending. We'll keep you updated as to how it goes. And after that, Sons of Anarchy catch-up. And then Nikita.

American Idol - Hollywood Week 1 Thoughts

Our favorites so far:

• Casey Abrams, Lauren Alaina, and Jackie Wilson, naturally.
• Paris Tassin (bad song choice in “My Heart Will Go On” though)
• Hollie Cavanagh (Did sooo much better than her audition)
• Tiffany Rios (almost killed it by being unlikeable and too holler-y)
• Holly the White House intern - unfortunately
• Ashley Sullivan, the crazy Broadway-pop girl. We didn’t get to see her Hollywood week performance, but it must have been good, because she is still in. We got to see her break down crying when she made it. That girl is emotionally unstable, insane, and enthusiastic. We love it.
• Rachel Zevita. We like her more for her audition that her Hollywood week performance though.
  

Kind of like, but not totally sure:
--> Scotty McCreery. We love his deep country tone, but is that the only song he can sing? We've seen that show before and we need a new one. We don't think he will get too far.
--> Brett Loewenstern with the crazy red hair and the crazy good voice. (Leeard is sure. She loves him)
--> James Durbin
--> Chris Medina (even though he sucked in his Hollywood first round. They pretty much let him in because of his story)
--> Jaycee Badeiux
--> Robbie Rosen
--> Jerome Bell

Should not have gone through, but did.
Thia Megia
Rob Bolin
Chelsee Oaks
Jacqueline Dunford (got in because she is pretty and loud, but there’s no beauty to her voice)

Should have gone through, but didn't.
Victoria Huggins (we knew she was going home, because they kept showing her being overconfident. America hates arrogance)
Steve Beghun the accountant. He could do better than that! That was just a poor song choice and nerves.

Nick Fink The Boyfriend (pictured) was so pathetic, trying to sing again. You could tell his girlfriend was embarrassed as she walked out. We know she’s going to dump that guy. That was probably the night's funniest moment though.

SO glad auditions are over and we get to see all the good people/get on with the show. We think, overall, the judges made some great choices this round. There was no choice we were really upset over. These guys know the goods when they see it.

Fringe - Immortality comments

There was a twist on Fringe last night, and the way it was hyped, you would have thought it was going to be a really big deal. But it’s actually pretty soapy and not a surprise, because everyone has speculated about this possibility. Fauxlivia is pregnant with Peter’s baby. Like Peter needed another reason to choose Fauxlivia and the other universe? He still loves Fauxlivia, she’s more fun than damaged Olivia, she’s better looking with that darker hair, Peter is from that universe anyway, and now his baby is over there. They are rightly calling this a game changer, even if they overhyped the twist. If Peter picks real Olivia, and the other universe is destroyed, he destroys his kid too. Olivia had better crawl over there, perform a C-section in a couple of months, and drag that baby back to our place.

We feel so bad for Olivia right now. Oddly, we feel bad for Fauxlivia’s now ex-boyfriend too. We kind of like the twist and hope the baby is carried to term. Did they have to devote an entire episode to this though? We were a little more interested in the bad guy, Dr. Anton Silva. He had an obsession he was willing to kill for, and that was to have his name remembered along with great scientists, even if he would not be there to enjoy the fame. His last words were perfect. Also, Walternate has an Asian mistress. How funny would it be if she turned out to be the key to it all or something? Ha. We missed Peter this episode, but it was about as entertaining as an episode about characters we are not rooting for can be. In fact, we think it made us like Fauxlivia even more. She was really honest with Frank in the hospital. That should count for something, right?

Episode Grade: B+

Bones - The Daredevil in the Mold

Yesssssssssssssss. We know we are supposed to be sad because Booth is sad and always getting rejected, despite his insane hotness and good-guyness. Yeah, that’s realistic. But we’re not, because we (hopefully) don’t ever have to look at Hannah’s face again. In a few months, we will have forgotten her name. In case you missed it, the only important thing that happened on Bones last night was that Booth proposed to Hannah, and Hannah shot him down, reiterating that she is not the marrying kind. Booth was heartbroken and angry. He threw the ring away and went to get drunk.

Hannah called Brennan, and Brennan met Booth at the bar. Booth didn’t want to talk about it, but he said that he wondered what was wrong with him that none of the women he loved in his life ever wanted to be with him forever. Then Booth made it pretty clear that he wasn’t ready to get into discussing the Brennan/Booth romance. He needed a partner, and a drinking partner, that night. She stayed and drank with him.

People on the show kept asking the question that all of us are asking now: “What happens next?” Apparently, the show writers think that having Booth and Brennan fall into a relationship together soon would be too contrived, so they are going to drag it out even more. There will be an episode soon where Booth and Brennan get stuck in an elevator together and are forced to talk a little more in detail about where they stand in their relationship. But we wouldn’t expect them to get together anytime soon.

It looks like this season will be mostly known for Hannah unless the writers can pull off a great sniper arc or have Booth and Brennan get together in the finale. Since Hannah didn’t go out with a bang, we are wondering if her arc was a complete waste of time. Most of us are still hanging onto this show to see a Brennan/Booth relationship. Is anyone enthralled by the weekly cases anymore? At least with Hannah gone, the two are one step closer to getting together.

Friday Night Lights - Series Finale

Notes on the series as a whole, in case some of you haven’t seen it: This show was realistic (except for the season 2 murder plot…stupid) and it had great, well-rounded characters. If you’ve never seen FNL, just watch the season 1 pilot. It’s up on Instant Netflix. If that doesn’t hook you, nothing will. It shows you how the show can make you care, instantly. Good writing, good plots, one of the best marriages on TV, and lots of football. This show will be greatly missed. The good news is that it can find new life on DVD once the full series is out. We highly recommend it. It’s not escapist junk; it’s great, gritty drama. Get the DVDs and enjoy one episode after another, in order, or watch it on Instant Netflix. BUT don’t be alarmed when the quality goes down a bit in season two. It picks back up again shortly. Season one is pretty perfect. This last season was good too.

Notes on the finale: We wanted to love the Friday Night Lights series finale, but we only merely liked it. It didn't pack a huge punch, and it wasn't super memorable. It was just pleasant and everything was wrapped up nicely. Matt Saracen proposed to Julie Taylor and she said yes, which redeemed her for us a little bit, even though she doesn’t deserve him. She almost ran when she caught a sight of Matt’s still-crazy grandma though. We liked the scene where Coach Taylor told Matt that he couldn’t marry Julie. Awkward moment and the coach’s opinion didn’t count for much, but it added some tension to an otherwise merely nice episode. Coach Taylor and Tami moved for Tami’s job, because it was her turn. We approve. It seemed like a great time for that family to roll out, and it showed that even though the coach can be stubborn, he knows when to put his wife’s needs first.

The montage at the end was sweet. There was lots of resolution in the episode, which is what we like in a series finale (none of that Sopranos-type ending, thanks). We love that Tyra wants to go into politics…and that she didn’t give that up for Tim Riggins, even though Tim is a great character and really hot. The most touching moment of the night, for us, was when Vince told Coach Taylor that the coach changed his life. Whether you cried during the finale depends on how attached you were to the characters and the show itself.

Series Grade: A

Lady Gaga - "Born This Way"

The number one song on iTunes right now is Lady Gaga's new single, "Born This Way", which was released today. What we've come to expect from Lady Gaga is an electronic, alternative pop sound (or a few rock ballads that she plays live), and we like that. That's the sound that made her a star. Also, she had subtle, clever, winking lyrics, not hit-you-over-the-head lyrics.

"Born This Way" is a gay anthem, and it's very blunt in its message. Rather than having lyrics that people can figure out the meaning in/relate to, the meaning finds them and demands that they dance. A lot of the lines are good, and it should definitely speak to gay teens. Older people will want something that packs more of a punch or something more subtle. It has a very bubblegum sound. It sounds like a combination of Madonna's "Express Yourself" and Christian singer Rachel Lampa (it even mentions God, positively, a LOT). The "Express Yourself" thought came into one of our heads 45 seconds into the first listen, and the thought still isn't leaving. The song is very pop and generic. It doesn't sound edgy or creative or any of the other adjectives we've come to associate with Ms. Germanotta. We were looking for another "Bad Romance" and got a Jessica Simpson sound instead. Who knows though? Maybe it will grow on us, like most bad pop.

We love the idea of Gaga doing a gay anthem. We just wish this wasn't it. We hope the rest of the album is better than this.

One Glee Rumor and One Glee Spoiler

Here's the spoiler--> Rachel will be having a romantic encounter with someone who is not Puck and not Finn.

Here's the rumor--> Blaine will have a romantic encounter with a woman that will make him question whether he is gay or, in fact, bisexual. UPDATE--> Found a decently credible web site that said it's true. Blaine WILL be questioning his sexuality. We're not 100% sure this is true yet, but it's looking more and more likely.

We hope the rumor is true, and that he is Rachel's hookup. Best couple ever. But then he needs to go back with Kurt, and Rachel needs to brag like crazy about almost turning Blaine.

UPDATE: The rumor is true. Blaine will question his sexuality. We wonder who the girl will be? Again, we hope it's Rachel. Lots of people are really angry about this plotline though....

Going the Distance

A few comments…

1. Meh.
2. Kind of realistic, for a romantic comedy.
3. Justin Long and Drew Barrymore make a more believable couple than we thought they would. Their characters weren’t stereotypical or as flat as the main characters usually are in romantic comedies.
4. There are a few funny moments (and they are mostly crude), and we love seeing Christina Applegate.
5. Drew Barrymore kind of needs to bleach her teeth. Loved her hair though.
6. We liked the ending.
7. A little too long for a story that merely consisted of a long-distance couple trying to make it long distance.

It’s ok to skip this one, but it’s also ok to see it if you really want to.

Grade: C+

Glee - Silly Love Songs recap/review

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and since Glee can't resist a theme, the show jumped all over it. Finn is into Quinn again, but Quinn has decided to not be a dirty cheater and stick with Sam. Finn decided to attack this problem at the knees. No wait, the lips. He set up a kissing booth where all the girls in school could kiss the quarterback who finally got McKinley a championship. He figured that if everyone kissed him for a dollar, then Quinn would too, because of the peer pressure. Santana’s comment? “I’ve kissed Finn…not worth a buck.” Ha!

Quinn resisted, but Sam caught them having a moment and wondered why all the girls but Quinn were paying to kiss Finn. (It’s getting really annoying to write about these two, because of the rhyming names. We hope the tryst is short-lived.) Sam confronted Quinn and Quinn had to kiss Finn in order to prove to Sam that she, Quinn, was over Finn. (UGH!) The result? Fireworks. So they went into the auditorium to secretly make out. Santana saw the guilt and evil on their faces and figured it all out. She infected Finn with mono at the kissing booth, and Finn passed it to Quinn. Santana can definitely be a bitch, but that was awesome. Quinn then decided to stop cheating until she decided what she was going to do about Sam.

Puck started off the episode describing to us his hilarious crush on Lauren. We expected Lauren to fall into his arms immediately, but the great thing about this relationship is that she didn’t. She made him work for it, saying, “I'm not desperate, so if you really want this, you best come correct.” LOVE it. He sang for her (“Fat Bottomed Girls”), asked her out repeatedly, got her a candy ring, bought her chocolates (Lauren--“Your chocolates sucked.” Puck—“But you ate them all.” Lauren-- “I had to make sure they all sucked.”), and still she made him earn it. We also found out that her seven minutes in heaven with Puck were disappointing for her. She walked out on him. (Puck: “But that was only three minutes.” Lauren, sadly: “Three minutes I’ll never get back.”) She finally caved when Puck said that it wasn’t only her curvy physique that impressed him, but the fact that she was just as bad ass as he was. This is true. We saw her go up against Santana this episode. First, she called Santana out for being a bitch, and then when Santana tried to fight Lauren for stealing her man, Lauren tossed Santana around like a rag doll until Beiste broke it off. Hilarious, but a bit hypocritical for the school (and fans) to take such a hard stance on violence in some cases but not others. Lauren told Puck that she wanted to take it slow. This plotline could be another disastrous, unrealistic situation like the time Will kissed Beiste, but these two characters are so funny that it works. It’s not patronizing, because it’s done believably/handled well.

The saddest plotline involved Kurt and Blaine. Blaine admitted to Kurt that he had a secret crush who he wanted to sing to on Valentine’s Day. Blaine asked Kurt if Kurt thought that was lame. Kurt, assuming Blaine meant him because they have been spending so much time together, insisted that it wasn’t lame at all. Sadly, Blaine ended up singing to a Gap employee and getting him fired. Also, the Gap guy is too old for Blaine and not interested. What’s wrong with you Gap guy? If we could be assured a relationship with the super-sexy Blaine, we would undergo sex change operations. Blaine sang “When I Get You Alone” by Robin Thicke to the Gap guy, and let us just say, that’s been playing on our iPods nonstop since yesterday (and our computers since Sunday). Ern has been humming it in law school. SO catchy. But Leeard would like to make it clear that she loves, and deserves to love, both this song and Darren Criss more than Ern. It's an ongoing debate, and Leeard will win eventually. Just for the record, we both would've swooned had Darren Criss serenaded us at work. Anyway, Kurt told Blaine that he had a crush on Blaine. The future of this relationship was left on an uncertain note, because the two don’t want to ruin the friendship. It was really great to see Blaine show his vulnerable side. It makes us love him even more.

Tina tried to sing “My Funny Valentine” to Mike Chang, but she broke down in tears because she loves Mike so much. Oh Tina... So awkward. Artie butchered “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” while Mike frolicked around his wheelchair. While at a diva sleepover (which included Kurt) Mercedes told Rachel that all of the great divas were single when they achieved fame, and that they poured their loneliness into song and it made them greater. Can we have more of these three interacting? Pretty please? So Rachel finally stopped chasing Finn, because she decided that her pining was distracting her from her real goals. But just as she started to move on, Finn hinted that he still had feelings for her. Rachel walked out the door and broke into Katy Perry’s “Firework,” which wasn’t better than the original version like we expected it would be. The episode ended with most of the gang at Breadsticks watching Kurt’s first annual Lonely Hearts concert where the Warblers sang “Silly Love Songs.” Santana and Sam smiled at each other. That’s on. Oh! Also, Mercedes wears a onesie as pajamas. Ern wears a onesie! She is wearing it right now, as she edits the final draft of this post!!! DIVA WEAR, hells yeah.

Episode grade: A-

Much better than the Super Bowl episode, especially the songs.

Pretty Little Liars - Je Suis Une Amie recap/review

The doings of the Liars, from least to most importance. Aria will always be the least important, unless she turns out to be A. Or dies.

Aria - Isn’t (entirely) as dumb as we thought she was. She found out that her parents were up to something and followed them, with Hanna, to the high school. She discovered that they were hooking up. We are unsure how we feel about this.

Emily - Paige was still acting erratic, and it was clear that Paige really wanted to win the swimming showdown between her and Emily. But Emily wanted to win too. Paige appeared at Emily’s door, at night and in the rain, the night before the competition and apologized to Emily. She seemed depressed and like she was saying goodbye. Sure enough, Paige got into a bike accident on the way home but only sustained minor injuries. Paige did not compete in a swim meet that week, and Emily anchored the win. Afterward, Emily comforted Paige, who admitted that she had thought of ending it on the bike that night, and they swam together, just for fun. Too soon? We were liking Paige as a mean beyotch. Emily doesn’t need another sweet friend. We liked the rivalry.

Hanna - Discovered that Caleb, the cute tech geek, is living in the high school, in the walls, because his foster parents, parents, and social worker all suck. Then Hanna admitted to Aria that she had given Ella a ticket to the art exhibit. Aria was upset at her friend’s betrayal and cut off contact with Hanna. Hanna let Caleb come to her house and live in her basement, and she cried to him about her Aria problems. We approve.

Spencer - Saw an advertisement asking for a French peer tutor for Toby. She decided to be that tutor so that she could find out what he knew about Alison’s death. Spencer is upset because she thinks that someone is trying to frame her, since someone bought those bracelets under Spencer’s name. Spencer apologized to Toby for suspecting him and gave Toby a copy of The Catcher and the Rye for him to practice with (OF COURSE he likes that book). Jenna made him give it back to Spencer and fire Spencer as a tutor, but he hid a clue in the book, written in Braille. We know that Spencer will decipher it next week. Spencer and Melissa also fought about whether Ian was trustworthy. Melissa told Spencer that she knows that Spencer and Ian kissed. Then Melissa told Spencer that she was impregnated by Ian’s spawn. The never-fake Spencer did not say congratulations. We love her, so we love all developments surrounding her. Except her sister being pregnant. They better make something awesome happen because of this baby. Maybe the baby is A!

A perfectly good episode of this mystery show. There were no jaw-dropping revelations or extremely dramatic moments, but we enjoyed it. Also, bonus, we didn't have to watch Aria gallivanting around with Mr. Fitz. He wasn't in this one at all! We don't find him sexy, because he is a creeper. Also, he has a distinct Tucker Carlson vibe.

Episode Grade: A-

Dropping Gossip Girl

There was a time that Gossip Girl made us squeal, that the drama was fresh, and we cared about the romances. This was two years ago. Even though we love Blair (and we love her even more with Chuck), we are saying goodbye to Gossip Girl. Although it was one of our favorites for a long time, it's been "blah" for a really long time. Even the fashion has been lacking.

You can't beat the Chuck/Blair romance of season two, so even the thought of one day seeing them together again isn't enough to keep us going. We've started to wonder if the show only has repetitive plotlines left. We're annoyed with Serena's doe-eyed, victim antics, Lily's scheming, Chuck's whoring, Dan's snootery, Jenny's lack of integrity, Rufus getting run over, Nate's boringness, and Blair's refusal to grow as a person, ever. We think Dorota is Gossip Girl, and that's our final guess, because we're done. Our Mondays are full of teen drama (the now-superior Pretty Little Liars), thanks. Strongly disagree? Think we should keep going? Think the show has been good lately? Let us know.

Tell us if anything juicy happens. XOXO.

How I Met Your Mother - Oh Honey recap/review

Marshall was still at his childhood home with his family, helping to take care of his mother for a few weeks after his father’s death. The phone rings, and it’s Robin with a story. She reminded Marshall of a time where she had a dinner party and Zoey came. Zoey and Ted had a moment, and then Zoey tried to distance herself from Ted by promising to set Ted up with her hot cousin. Weeks later, Ted still hadn’t heard from Zoey, so he called her up and asked her to make the hot cousin thing happen. Zoey brought her cousin, played by Katy Perry, to the gang’s bar so they could meet her. Robin explained that the cousin was hot, but very gullible. After everything she said, you would just want to say, “Oh, honey.” So the gang started calling her Honey.

Marshall learned through calls from Barney, Lily, and Ted that Honey wanted to go home with Ted, but Ted was in love with Zoey, so he let Barney take Honey home. Barney told Honey that he had three Nobel Prizes, among other things, so she slept with him. Barney told Zoey about how “Ted fell on his sword so that Zoey could fall on Barney’s,” and Zoey hugged Barney, thrilled. Ted found out about this and told Zoey that they couldn’t be friends any more, but that he couldn’t tell her why. The reason, of course, is that she is married, and Ted is (sometimes) not as much of a jerk as we thought he was. But then Ted crumbled and told Zoey that the reason they couldn’t be friends is that Lily hated her. Lily told Zoey that it was actually Robin who hated her. Robin broke down and said that it was Marshall who hates Zoey. Zoey threw up her hands and confronted Ted, convinced that it was really his problem and that he was being a chicken. Wow, she knows Ted well. Meanwhile, Marshall got a call from Honey, who was looking for Barney, and Marshall tricked Honey into telling him that Zoey and the Captain were getting divorced.

Ted decided to tell Zoey that he hated her, and he started to, hilariously, list all of the reasons why he hated her. But then, mid conversation, Marshall called both Ted and Zoey, individually, and told Zoey about the love and Ted about the divorce. Then they kissed.

We still don’t think that Zoey is the mother, because we’ve seen no indication that she has roomed with Rachel Bilson’s character, and she also doesn’t match other past dropped Mother Hints. But the way they got together played out so cutely on the screen that we like her now. It was rough of them to introduce her as a crazy left-winger though, which is something that some people thought made the character seem over-the-top and rabid.

Katy Perry was good as Honey. We liked that the episode was advertised as being all about her, but really she just played a bit part well and the character set up actual plot progression and good moments between our main characters. She fit into the show, even though her character’s gullibility was a little unbelievable. This episode wasn’t very funny, but the set-up was clever and the end was cute.

Episode grade: B

Fringe and Glee recap/reviews

So, Friday's Fringe and Sunday's Glee are getting a little shortchanged, recap-wise, but it was Super Bowl weekend, so we were busy. We'll make sure everything you need to know is in there though.

Glee: The McKinley High football team has actually gotten better and is going to the championships. But when the football players slushied Artie nasty, Coach Beiste and Will decided to finally get involved in the war that took out Kurt. Will and the Coach decided to force the football guys to join Glee club for one week, the penalty for noncooperation being an ousting from the team and the big game. The Glee Club and the team were slated to perform a mash-up of Thriller and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll” during halftime. This is because the Cheerios had a championship of their own to get to.

The Cheerios championship forced Brittany, Santana, and Quinn to choose between cheerleading and Glee. After some warbling, they chose Glee. Sue’s plan to shoot Brittany out of a canon to win the competition helped them make the decision. She could have died. So Sue lost her National Title and got called a loser by Katie Couric in a post-competition interview. Oh the shame…

The football players got a taste of their own medicine when they were mocked for being in Glee and slushied by the school’s hockey team. The football players dropped out, but the Glee guys were still able to play, because Tina, Rachel, a hilarious Lauren, and Mercedes stepped up so that the football team could have the minimum number of players required. Tina even made a touchdown. Puck rallied the football players before halftime, and Finn got the cheerleaders back, and even Karofsky joined in on the halftime number. They even won the football game. Then Karofsky decided to start being a jerk again and did not stay in the glee club.

We got a glimpse of a Dalton Warblers rehearsal (“Bills Bills Bills” by Destiny’s Child), and Rachel sang “Need You Now” with Puck to demonstrate what Glee does to the football players. “She’s Not There” was the number everyone used to warm-up for the halftime show. The best use of that song is still in Kill Bill. Tarantino makes a mean soundtrack. Also, Quinn kissed Finn. That Quinn is SUCH a cheater!!!!

We weren't digging most of the songs ("She's Not There" was decent), but we're just glad that this show is finally back. Next episode looks great. Leeard swoons every time she sees the clip of Darren Criss singing "When I Get You Alone." And she's watched it about 100 times (no exaggeration). Either Youtube (or Hulu!) that or wait until Tuesday!

Glee Grade: B-

Fringe: Ok, Here’s all you need to know about this episode. We found out that whoever Peter chooses, our Olivia or Fauxlivia, will determine which universe survives and which one dies. And we aren’t so sure it will be our universe, because a mind-reading guy let Olivia know that Peter still has feelings for Fauxlivia. We really feel for real Olivia. Her theory is that of course Peter fell for the other Olivia, because Fauxlivia is just like Olivia, only not damaged. If someone came along who was an unhurt, undamaged version of you (who never went through all the crud that messed your head up) and the man you loved got with her, how heartbroken would you be? UGH.

Fringe Grade: B