Smash- Season 2, Episodes 1-10

You wouldn't know it from this blog, but we've been watching Smash's second season. Last year, we heard that Smash was going to be completely overhauled, its kinks worked out, and its level of quality raised. There have certainly been a lot of changes, especially in the cast. There's no more Leo, Julia's husband with the kick ass singing voice didn't even get to sing before he left, and there's no more Ellis or Dev, thank God. Most of these characters were dragging down the stories anyway.

Community, Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, Smash, New Girl, Secret Circle, and Make It or Break It end their seasons.

Community: Leeard loved the last three episodes of Community, particularly the first and third episodes. Ern was less enthused about them, believing them to not be the show’s best. However, this is a show you should be watching. It’s uneven to most fans, but we think it’s at least consistently worth 22 minutes a week. This season has been pretty strong. The stand-out episodes were "Pillows and Blankets" and the one with the multiple timelines ("Remedial Chaos Theory"). Oh yeah, and the Christmas special ("Regional Holiday Music"). Those three episodes were classic Community. We can’t wait for season four. 
Season grade: A-

Grey’s Anatomy: We are so angry at this show for killing off that character. That was not the character who needed to go. Out of all the annoying people on this show, they took that character? We were very surprised. We like Jackson and April together. We always hated her, but she is way less annoying when she is with Jackson. Clearly, Owen and Cristina need to get back together, if only because we love seeing a TV couple fight that hard for a marriage that has every reason to end. The fact that this show is still churning out episodes we care about is a feat in itself. It is a soap opera in its eighth season. So, bravo Grey’s. Since Cristina and Alex are staying for next year, so are we. 
Season grade: B+

How I Met Your Mother: We did not hate the two-part season finale. It was predictable that Robin and Barney were going to get married, but we like that twist anyway. Marvin is a horrible name, but “Wait for It” IS the best middle name ever. It’s time for us to meet the mother. We love Victoria (especially Leeard), but the show needs to stop dawdling with her. This season was mostly unfunny with a few gems. We will stick with it until the bitter end, because that’s how much we want to meet Mrs. Mosby. But unless the show steps up the actual humor next year, we won’t be happy about it. 
Season grade: D+

Smash: Oh God, this show. We are so addicted to it, but friends, it isn’t good. It lost its last shred of realism when Karen took the stage on opening night instead of Ivy. We want to hear Ivy’s version of that last song, because it’s a really good number and it deserves to be sung by NOT boring, average Karen. Derek is a moron. We like that Julia and Frank are back together though, if only so that next season the world might get to hear that man sing. That’s really what we are holding out for. Knowing this show, Smash will give him a song that won’t show him off properly. We are entertained by this show, but why isn’t it as good as its pilot was? We may or may not return for a second season. It depends on how we feel in the fall. We hope they scrap Bombshell and work to create an entirely new show that's not based on Marilyn. We're not getting our hopes up for that though. The great thing about next season is that Dev and Ellis will not be season regulars. We've never liked Dev and most people don't like Ellis (we thought he brought good drama) and we are sick of hearing them complain. 
Season grade: C-

New Girl: We have rarely seen a stronger first season from a comedy. This show criticized its own flaws in that great Lizzie Caplan court episode and found its voice early on. It also moved its focus from just adorkable Jess to its loveable ensemble. We like every character on this show and their interactions contain a chemistry mostly seen in casts that have been together longer. The finale was cute and funny. We love that Nick didn’t end up with Caroline in the finale. We thought the show might do some cliffhanger where he actually left and the gang would have to get him back next year, but the show chose not to annoy us. Isn’t that nice? We will absolutely, gladly watch this show’s second season. No question. 
Season grade: A

Secret Circle: We will always be mad that this show was cancelled and we will refuse to believe it for a while. Breaking In was brought back!? Can’t the CW save this one? The series finale was more satisfying than we thought it would be. The death of Cassie’s dad was great. The set up for a nonexistent second season was good, yet the finale had a definite ending. We liked seeing Diana take control of her life and ditch the circle. We liked seeing previews of Adam’s dark side. Charles had started to redeem himself. There was lots of action and a magic crystal skull and everything!!! Ugh, why show? Why? For anyone who has read the books- should we? Will they fill that void? 
Season and series grade: A- and we don’t care what anyone says to the contrary.

Make It or Break It: We enjoyed this season and liked that ABCFamily tried to give a little more closure….but this season was not what we wanted. No Emily, very little Sasha, no Peri Gilpin, no Olympics, a redeemed Lauren Tanner (when all we wanted to do was hate her), and Jordan. Stupid, stupid Jordan. The actress playing her was not good and we could not have cared less about her being molested (a “twist” that was not difficult to guess early on). The premiere of the season was cheesy as all-get-out. The tension and backstabbing drama was toned down. We liked the season, but it was nowhere near as good and entertaining as seasons one and two. We feel like the network let fans down with this shortened, cutesy series of episodes that did not resemble the tension-filled, almost powerful seasons that preceded it.
Season grade: B- 
Series grade: A-

Mad Men, Smash, The Good Wife, Game of Thrones, The Voice, Make It Or Break It

Game of Thrones- Garden of Bones

Catelyn tries to get Renly and Stannis Baratheon to band together against the Lannisters. Then she has to see Ned Stark’s remains in a box. GROSS, LITTLEFINGER. She should have just stuck with the mental image of him alive. Now she has the mental image of him rotting, and a nice smell to go along with it. Joffrey becomes even more of a jerk than usual, but at least this leads to the best line ever (“There’s no cure for being a ****). Daenerys finds a city to take her in, and Tyrion continues to be awesome. Arya ends up a cupbearer for Tywin Lannister who hilariously realized she was a good as soon as he saw her. Gendry barely escaped with his life. We’ve heard of that rat torture before, and we have to say, that must be one of the top ten worst ways to die. GROSS. We ship Robb Stark and random healer girl. Melisandre gives birth to a smoke thing. She’s so eccentric.

Episode grade: A-

Smash- Publicity

Rebecca Duvall starts inviting Karen out. Paparazzi follow. Jerry and Nick meet, and Jerry is not happy about it. You know, Nick is way too cute for Eileen. We just have to throw that out there, because we are shallow. But we love the way he handled Jerry. Leo thinks his parents splitting up gives him a blank check to just be a dick. He runs away from home and allows his parents and the cops to worry about him for days. Turns out, he’s sleeping on his friend’s floor. He comes home and apologizes, but seriously dude? Plenty of parents split up and many kids think about running away just to get away from it all and build a wall between yourself and parents who hurt you, but you don’t do it, because it’s mean and it helps nothing. Except in this case, it brought Leo’s parents close enough for a hug, because it’s this show and it’s unrealistic. Hear that kids? Just run away and your parents will unite to look for you. The emotion will bond them!

The Bollywood number was weird. And isn’t A Thousand and One Nights an Arabic story? The show seems to be saying, “Hey, they are all brown and exotic, so what’s the difference?” It was pretty fun though. We like this show a little ridiculous rather than just boring. It’s time for Dev to go, and we are glad that Ellis got stuck on smoothie duty, where he belongs. Ivy’s plot to steal Karen’s dull solo was pretty clever, but she has to know that she will be found out. It’s on again. We like Rebecca Duvall. She tells it like it is and wants some control over her projects. Yeah, she can’t sing, but she’s not going to end up an empty puppet like Marilyn Monroe. Uma Thurman brought life back to this show.

Episode grade: B+

Make It Or Break It- Dream On

It’s semi-qualifications time, so there are cuts. The main cuts victim is Kelly Parker. Fortunately, Kelly is now strong enough to tell her mom to get out of her life. She has a room waiting for her at her dad’s, knows that she will be ok, was strengthened by Kaylie’s friendship, and is ready to discover that there is more to herself than gymnastics. She even admitted that she peaked at World’s and her progress has been stagnant. So yeah, she took it well. It made us like KP more. We’re sad to see her go, but we know that someone important had to be cut this episode. Lauren Tanner’s dreams have been halted since Payson told Coach McIntire about her health problems. Lauren hates Payson now, but we suspect that Lauren will be right back at the training center in a few episodes. Also, Wendy is the mole. Meh. Why do all the girls on this show except for Payson, Kaylie, and Emily have to turn out to be secretly underhanded and bitchy? Come up with a new plotline, show. We’ve decided that the actress playing Jordan is not very good. Leeard hates Jordan with a  fiery passion, but Ern kind of likes her. This episode was really touching with the KP stuff. It felt like old MIOBI. 

Episode grade: A-

The Good Wife- The Penalty Box

Cary is back! CARY IS BACK! Yeeee! Also, Kalinda and Alicia are hanging out in bars again! Friends! Friends forever! Those things are awesome. The rest of the episode was ok. Alicia defends a judge who is in hot water for actions during his time as a prosecutor. We liked her questioning her role and the law at the end of the episode. We couldn’t care less about Kalinda’s FBI business or Will’s new fling. If we could only take two famous people to a desert island? Ern would probably take Tim Keller and Stephen King. Leeard would probably take Donald Glover and Jenna Marbles.

Episode grade: B

The Voice- We are sad to lose Pip and Mathai this week. Pip was versatile and had a genuinely good voice. He just hadn’t found his niche yet. The loss of James Massone was fine. We don’t know what Adam sees in Katrina Parker over Mathai. We don’t need a less good ADELE, and Mathai’s singing was consistently good. Cee Lo continues to make mostly excellent choices. Keeping Juliet Simms over Cheesa was a good call. We didn’t like either of the songs Juliet sang this week, but we liked her voice so much during the first live show last week that we think she needs to stay around so that we can hear more of that. Tony Lucca’s Baby One More Time was a great cover and an even better idea, so he deserved to stay. We think Jamar Rogers was voted saved by the American public partly due to sob story factor, but he has a good voice. Contestants we are rooting for now: Juliet Simms, Lindsey Pavao, Chris Mann, Erin Willett, and Tony Lucca.

Mad Men- Far Away Places

This show finally gave us someone to love. Yeah, Peggy is a nice person, but she started out so timid and she occasionally shows that she has no self-respect. Peggy gave a handjob to a stranger in this episode as a way to forget work and her relationship problems. Megan, on the other hand, is not only interesting but incapable of taking crap from Don Draper lying down. Scenes with her are never boring, and we love the way she’s not afraid to tell Don when he’s being a chauvinist pig, even if it devolves into a melodramatic fight. These two are hilarious. We actually laughed when Don was chasing Megan around the room. Don really loves Megan and we think she’s the best thing for him (at least for now). We used to think that was Faye, but it looks like it’s Megan. As for Roger’s tripping balls, we just kept thinking, “Take those big earrings out before you take LSD.” Try couples therapy with drugs! 

Or not. It just gave Roger permission to leave his wife even if it also gave him some clarity and courage to be honest. That guy is a 15-year-old wreck. At least Don shows a little growth sometimes. But get back to work, Don. This was one of the more entertaining episodes so far this season. The LSD sequence was inspired. We loved the lack of Pete and the format of three short stories with a common theme. It wasn’t your average Mad Men episode. Sometimes the jumping around between characters in this show causes us to be unable to engage with one particular story. This episode stayed with characters until their story was told and it really sucked us in. On a more technical note, this was visually great. We liked the camerawork and many of the shots.

Episode grade: A

Smash- The Movie Star

What Happened- It turns out that, like most movie stars, Rebecca Duvall isn’t Broadway material. She can’t sing. She also has plenty of ideas and wants to make the musical have more dialogue and fewer songs. Tom and Julia are offended, Eileen is worried, and Derek is mortified. He gets Ivy a job in Bombshell’s chorus, just in case Rebecca doesn’t work out and Karen turns out to still be too green by that time. Rebecca offers to take voice lessons and manages to breathe out a decent song.

Eileen breaks reads Ellis’s report on Bartender Nick. She meets with Nick and they talk about his past financial arrangement with criminals. Eileen gets over this, for some reason, and they kiss again. Tom and Sam go on a real date after Julia makes them. She is sick of watching them just flirt. Tom is upset when he finds out that Sam isn’t as into casual sex as he is. Sam believes in God and believes that sex is holy, so he wants to take it slow. He calls Tom out for his intimacy issues and constant singleness. Leo is struggling in school, so Frank and Julia have to meet in order to talk Leo into doing his homework again.

Comments- This episode wasn’t as eventful as last week’s, but it wasn’t a disaster either. We love Uma Thurman for being a good sport and proving that while she can still dance, she isn’t much of a singer. The funny thing is neither was Marilyn Monroe. The breath-y, range-challenged sexy voice actually fits the icon better. The real Marilyn couldn’t belt it like Ivy and she didn’t have Karen’s pleasant tone either. But in order to have a good musical, you need to have numbers that bring the house down and the voices to carry them. With the right side characters getting all the best songs, Tom and Julia could make this work. They’d have to scrap the best song so far though (Let Me Be Your Star, obviously).

Once again, we weren’t thrilled by the songs this week, even though the Rebecca Duvall one was fun to watch. We liked seeing Karen and Ivy hang out, even if Karen ditched her at the end. We agree that Miss Iowa was being way too touchy. We also liked seeing Derek stick up for Ivy. Ellis was pretty lame this week, and after we defended him in our last Smash post! We think it would be unrealistic if Julia gets Frank back. Dev needs to go. Overall, this episode was quiet and mostly pleasant. This show isn't the greatest, but we are weirdly addicted to it. 

Episode grade: B- 

Smash- Understudy recap/review

What Happened- Celebrity hire Rebecca Duvall is in Cuba when she should be in New York rehearsing for Bombshell. Eileen’s investors start to waffle, so Eileen’s bartender Nick connects her with an old rock star named Randy Cobra. Randy agrees to finance the show, since he’s wealthy and insane. However, there are hints that both he and Nick have been involved in something illegal in the past. Nick kisses Eileen at the end of the episode.

Julia is melting down due to her marriage troubles, so she is mean to Tom, Derek, her son, and a reporter. Tom and Julia celebrate their professional anniversary every year by seeing a show they wrote together called Three on a Match. Even Tom and Julia admit the show is terrible. Julia ruins the anniversary with rudeness, but Tom forgives her once she tells him the news about Frank moving out. Tom and his Republican boyfriend break up when Tom’s crush on Sam gets noticeable.

Ivy and Derek are strong this week. They were actually good for each other. Ivy encouraged Derek to be kind to Karen during rehearsals. Derek picks Karen to by Rebecca Duvall’s understudy. Karen plays Marilyn during rehearsals in the celebrity’s absence. Karen is doing well at work, but Dev is not. He did not get a promotion, but he is offered a job in Washington D.C. But Broadway is in New York City and that’s where Karen needs to stay.

Dev loses is when he finds out that Derek sexually harassed Karen in the pilot. Derek comes to Karen’s apartment to tell her that Rebecca will be arriving soon and that she did a good job filling in. Dev sees Derek leaving and the two get into a physical altercation.  At the end of the episode, guest star Uma Thurman arrives to play Marilyn Monroe. Better late than never.

Comments- Poor Ivy! Her one mistake at Heaven on Earth is going to get her blacklisted until one of her friends can hook her up with a second chance. We’d feel worse for her if she didn’t do a cover of Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson. That was such an unnecessary cover. As much as we complain about Glee, that show makes much better song choices, overall. Still, Glee autotunes the crap out of everything, even the perfect Lea Michele. Smash doesn’t do that as much.

The second number (the one Tom sang) had cute lyrics that were on-the-nose about how Hollywood sees actresses. It was also fun to watch due to the choreography, dancing boys, and old-style Broadway flair. There’s no way we are downloading it though. Karen belts a boring original ballad at the end of the episode.  Ivy was cool this week. Derek really is verbally abusive in rehearsals and needed to tone it down. He became a little more human this week after his Marilyn mirage. We were so pleased when he apologized to Karen for trying to bang her on the first day they met.

We already hate Rebecca Duvall for being late. Let us tell you something about being late: It shows that you don’t respect the people you are meeting or working with. Look at how much trouble it caused with Eileen and the investors. It’s a breach of your word and integrity. It’s selfish. Late people are the worst.

It was hard for us to like Julia this week. We know she is going through a hard time, but she brought it on herself. She was a raging bitch to the NYU reporter, and we always judge people on how they treat those they don’t have to treat well. Julia also put her son in the middle of her divorce and stole his cell phone. She shouldn’t be surprised that Frank doesn’t want to talk to her. What do you think happens when you cheat on someone with self-respect, Julia? They stop talking to you.

Is anyone liking Dev at this point? We need a real love story on this show. One that involves neither cheating nor Derek. Get rid of Dev and free up Karen to meet somebody cool. They still have to cast Marilyn’s male co-star since Michael is gone. Maybe Karen could hook up with the new guy? Dev should know that battery won’t help his career in politics. He’s a misogynistic stereotype at this point. Karen handled the harassment and didn’t need Dev to save her.

We actually don’t hate the scheming assistant, Ellis, on this show. He brings drama and cattiness, and we think that’s necessary for this show to become guilty pleasure fun. This episode is all about how directors and showrunners see women as objects. The lesson is that this supposedly caused Marilyn to have a tragic life. We want to like Eileen’s raucous friends, especially after they burned the contracts in front of the old investors. They seem really fun, but the show has made it clear that this is going to come back and bite Eileen. We were surprised when Nick kissed her. It’s unrealistic, but kind of awesome.

Uma Thurman isn’t the best choice for Bombshell. She is beautiful in her way, but she doesn’t have the more traditional beauty that Marilyn had. Her features are all wrong for the part. We can’t wait to see her on the show, since she was decent in The Producers. Overall, the episode was enjoyable and eventful enough to satisfy us. We still don't like most of the characters, but at least they are keeping the characters busy. We are rooting for Karen, Ivy, and (shockingly) Derek at this point.

Episode grade: B

Smash - Hell on Earth

What happened - Karen lands a national orange juice commercial that Ivy was going to audition for. Ivy is back in Heaven on Earth, but she is still on her prescription medications. She takes nearly a whole bottle, goes on stage, and makes a huge fool out of herself. Karen is watching the performance in the wings, waiting to give Ivy her sunglasses back. Ivy is upset that Karen saw her fail, but they go into Times Square together, drink, and sing along with the street performers (Rihanna’s "Cheers (I’ll Drink to That)").

Eileen, Derek, Tom, and Julia work to come up with a name for the show and cast a movie star as Marilyn. Frank finds sheet music for a love song that Julia wrote for Michael. She tries to act like it’s just a song, but Frank sensed something at the workshop and already suspects Julia of cheating. Julia comes clean. Frank storms off and confronts Michael the next day. Michael accidentally tells Frank that the affair happened twice. Frank punches Michael and ends up moving out.

Ellis tries to get a producing credit by securing a movie star to play Marilyn. The movie star is named Rebecca Duvall and will be played by future guest star Uma Thurman. Tom finds out that his boyfriend is a Republican and struggles with that news. He finally accepts it and attends a political fundraiser for his boyfriend’s former roommate. Finally, Julia and Tom pick a name for the musical: Bombshell.

Comments - Frank had better be back to sing a real song, dammit. Ern is obsessed with his voice, especially in The Wild Party. Him messing around and trying to seduce his wife last week didn’t count. It almost counted that he sang Julia’s song at the piano, but that was more the show teasing us than actually showing us how well this guy can sing. He’s better than anyone else who has sung on this show, we’ll tell you that. If he comes back, the song he sings had better show him off properly. Sadly, we will still have to look at him while he sings, and that may ruin it.

We were impressed that Frank figured out that Julia was cheating. He’s smarter than the caveman he looks like. We are glad he finally found out, but their fight was a hard scene to watch. We don’t even care about these characters and that was really sad. We wanted to tell Frank to relax, because it wasn’t even hot cheating. “Bro, like, if there were a TV audience watching, no one would have even been titillated.” It was also sad that Julia didn’t talk to Leo about her cheating after he found out. With his attitude, it probably would have been a disaster, but as a parent, she should have tried.

None of the songs were any good this week. Last week’s awful episode featured that pop song by Kat McPhee playing slutty, and that was catchy. But it wasn’t good and it was so out of place in the show. We like that Ivy and Karen are back on the same footing. With both of them as underdogs, maybe their characters will be used better. We are still digging the idea of both of them ending up as Marilyn, with Karen playing her before fame and Ivy playing the icon version. We sympathized mildly with Tom. Believe it or not, dating someone with different politics than you can cause problems. Good luck electing a gay Republican in New York…or anywhere, for that matter.

We finally got to see Heaven on Earth. Ivy’s meltdown was funny, and we thought it was a great burn when Karen told Ivy that Derek wanted to sleep with her (Karen) first. We liked them as friends. We know it wouldn’t be as interesting if the ice fully thawed between them, but they had great friendship chemistry last night. We are sick of Karen being so perfect, so it was nice to see her fight back a little bit. We like the title of the musical, but we wish Smash had made the musical about something other than Marilyn Monroe, which has been done to death. It’s too late now.

Episode grade: B

Other shows we saw this week

Sunday
Shameless - A Great Cause

We shouldn’t be surprised that Fiona’s mom spent all the family’s money on coke. What with the addict Sheila took in and everything else, this episode should be shown in public schools to discourage kids from doing drugs. Sheila’s drug addict was so awful but so funny. We felt twisted laughing at it. We feel bad for Kevin and Veronica. It was hilarious when Steve lost Marco, Estonia’s love. No good deed goes unpunished. Ian wasn’t allowed to join the military until he finished high school, but we think they should make an exception. War might actually better for his mental health than living with his family. Jody and Sheila need to get together, officially. They are so dumb that they are made for each other. It was nice to see Fiona planning for her future, getting ambitious, getting herself a good job in management, jogging, and considering business school. Obviously, it was never going to last. These kids are her quagmire. Steve tried to get her away last season, but nothing is going to work. If Lip isn’t going to take his opportunities, then he should take Fiona’s place at home for a while. We feel bad for her. We feel even worse for Mandy. We are surprised Mandy isn’t getting an abortion. At least Monica made a lot of cookies while she was having her mental breakdown. 

Episode Grade: B+

Monday
Alcatraz - Webb Porter

In this groundbreaking episode, an inmate from Alcatraz reappears, kills people, and is caught by Rebecca, Doc, and Hauser. Ern thinks this show needs some sort of love story that’s actually romantic, and Ern never says this. She likes things that are based on themes bigger (or at least more unique) than romantic love. This show needs some romance though, and Lucy/Hauser isn’t cutting it, mostly because Hauser is old and kind of an A-hole. Lucy is really sweet though and we are glad this week's inmate could help her. She needs to learn that it’s laughter that’s the best medicine, not music. What kind of doctor is she, not knowing the basics? Webb Porter gives some truly bad haircuts. We like how hard his first victim fought. If you have to go out, that’s the way. There’s a lesson in this, and it’s “don’t abuse your kids” even though they smell and probably deserve it. This episode dragged a little, but it was otherwise ok. This show may get cancelled anyway. We won't be devastated, but we won't be happy.

Episode Grade: B-

How I Met Your Mother - The Broath

This episode had a promising title. We liked Barney’s Broath, his robes, and his monk-chanting CD. We can’t believe Ted Evelyn Mosby broke the broath. He's the worst. Marshall and Lily sound like they have a great sex life…we did get to see the downside of only ever sleeping with one person though. One clever moment in this episode had Ted confronting three college kids that resembled Marshall, Lily, and Ted when they were in college. Anything with an intervention or ninjas is usually a win with us, but this episode wasn’t as funny as it could have been. This season has been really average. Things got too dramatic when Quinn broke up with Barney, even if it did turn into an evil plan. Also, one of us has a huge problem with women slapping or hitting their boyfriends or husbands in entertainment (and in life). If a guy did that, he would be a total monster in the episode or movie. If a girl does it, it’s still abusive. Why did the evil plan even happen? Why is that funny? Oh wait, it’s not. This is turning into a soap opera. We had to watch Ted and Robin fight emotionally in the hallway. What happened to our lighthearted comedy? Then we had homophobic and fat jokes. Original! At least Robin got a promotion. Finally. Maybe we are being too harsh, but we just miss this show being one of the best things on TV. It has fallen farther even than The Office. All of the characters were awful this week. They were dishonest and, worst of all, not funny.

Episode Grade: D+

Being Human - Dream Reaper

This whole episode was about Sally losing it and the guys dealing with it. We love Sally with her straight hair. She looks good with either curly or straight. It was funny when Josh was talking to Sally about how Julia has gotten hotter. Where did they find those creepy pillows with the eyes on them for Sally’s dream living room? The whole color scheme (purple and grey) of that fantasy was pretty cool. Of course this happened on the full moon so that Josh, Aidan, and Zoe were trapped with Sally in the house. It was sweet that even though circumstances were dire, Josh and Aidan refused to consider shredding Sally. It was scary when the Reaper spoke through Sally and told Zoe all the secrets. Josh’s idea to change in the fridge was freaking hilarious. We thought Josh would be the first one to lose it and were surprised when it was Aidan. It was cool to see Aidan and Josh fight, even if it was short-lived. Some guys can still come across as masculine when they cry, and Aidan is not one of them. It was funny when Josh fed Aidan…up to a point, obviously. The episode was cool, but it solved almost nothing.

Episode Grade: B+

Tuesday
New Girl - Fancyman Part 1

Nick’s credit score is about like Ern’s, haha. We liked Dermot Mulroney as Russell and seeing a mature guy interested in Jess. He looks a bit older than 42 though. Just googled it. The actor is 48. Jess’ commitment to art and creativity in the classroom wasn’t funny, but everything else about this episode was. We really loved how impressed Nick was with Russell’s office. We were impressed too. We liked the way Jess delivered the line, “Bidet if I do.” The whole Bidet thing was a good idea. Russell is definitely too together for Jess. 

Episode Grade: B+

Wednesday
South Park - Cash for Gold

You may suck our collective balls, sir. This episode took aim at the home shopping network and their overpriced stuff. What is it with old people and getting swindled easily? Of course Cartman gets in on the home shopping business, because he sees it’s lucrative, and that’s all he needs. If Stan could have just worn the gay bolo tie and shut up, Cartman wouldn’t have found a source of income. The world needs for Cartman to never find his own source of income, other than his mother. Asians never come out well on this show, but at least it’s always funny. Also funny were the parts where Stan and the old people kept calling in to tell the salesman to kill himself. We knew he was going to. When they showed the cycle of how the jewelry was made and sold, the a cappella was a nice touch.

Episode Grade:  B+

America's Next Top Model - J. Alexander
This episode was the best of the Cycle so far, but we really aren't digging this cycle. We don't particularly like any of the girls, even though Ashley has the cutest accent ever. The photo shoots, especially the "toddler" one, have been stupid and unfunny. They had Kris Jenner on the show too. Say what? It was funny when that British model couldn't take criticism and left. It was also funny when Tyra told us she graduated from Harvard. That's important. Tyra spent a lot of time two weeks ago promoting Modelland. She gave the girls superhero model nicknames. One was "Illuminati." Dear Lord. We like this show half high fashion and half hot, dramatic mess. However, this Cycle has been all mess. This episode was a little tamer, but it didn't entertain us.
Episode Grade: C+

Thursday
Missing - Pilot
We were not impressed by this show. It isn't hideous, but it isn't good either. It's Taken with the genders swapped and it's not as entertaining as that movie was. It makes no sense, and there is too much action with too little character development. The action scenes are fun, but they came before we cared about the people fighting. We love Ashley Judd, but we have no time for a show that's this generic and dull.
Episode Grade: D+

Awake 
We are still watching and enjoying this show. It's avoided being uneventful and focuses on the characters more than the weekly mysteries. We like that.

Community - Contemporary Impressionists

Jeff took medication for his anxiety and got rid of all his self-doubt. Britta worried that without that self-doubt, Jeff would turn into a monster. It’s true that getting rid of self-doubt would make a narcissist more obnoxious. However, self-doubt does not tame the ego. Self-doubt is another manifestation pride, it’s just more unpleasant and makes you down on yourself rather than overtly arrogant. In this society, we say that to cure low self-esteem, we need high self-esteem, and to cure arrogance, we need to think badly of ourselves. The reason we are mainly writing this and not focusing on the actual show is that we believe this is a common confusion that hurts people struggling to be both more secure and more humble. Thinking badly of yourself or feeling shame won’t make you more humble; it will just make you depressed and more focused on yourself. You don’t want high or low self-esteem, you want NO self-esteem. You don’t want to always be thinking of yourself and how you are measuring up/looking. Spending time comparing yourself to others or evaluating your abilities (whether you decide you’re making out well or not) is taking time away from getting to know other people or actually doing something you love for its own sake, rather than how it makes you look. You should say what you think is the right thing to say, not what will make you admired. It’s best to take the mind off the self altogether, if possible, because that’s the ultimate statement that it’s not all about you. That’s the anti-ego. Jeff did not get this advice and pulled a Kanye in this episode. It was pretty funny. We loved Shirley’s fake Oprah Winfrey and Britta’s Michael Jackson. The Chang stuff was actually funny this episode. They are learning to use Chang sparingly. However, this episode wasn’t as good as the last one and was merely ok. We still think this is one of the best comedies of all time though. Stay weird, Community.

Episode grades: B-

The Vampire Diaries - Break on Through

Poor Alaric. But is the real problem gonna be Jeremy? We’re with Damon on Stefan’s eating habits. Stefan keeps falling off his wagon, so he needs to ditch the wagon and find a new way to deal with his hunger. Moderation sounds good. Sage showing up a mere episode after she was first mentioned was awfully  convenient. It’s also a little too convenient that there was another White Oak Tree, but we’ll go with it. This show has earned our suspension of disbelief, especially since the many Alaric deaths turned out to be important. Rebekah, you are an Original. Don’t let Damon treat you like this. You could own him with a swat. It’s really too bad that Abby bit Jamie, and not only because he is hot. Klaus, someone might be moving in on your girl… When Sage bit into a human’s arm, it sounded like she was biting into an apple. We don’t know if biting into a wrist would make that same noise. Who wants to try it and tape it for us? Sage looks a little like an older version of Elizabeth Banks. Dancing is foreplay for Damon. He shouldn’t dance with his arms over his shoulders if he wants to appear straight. That’s the rule, most of the time. Unless it’s ballet. This show is so crazy. We never thought we’d root for Meredith over Alaric in a scene. It’s hard not to see her as crazy Melissa from PLL. The third way too convenient development was Abby and Bonnie pulling an herbal cure for Alaric out of their asses. It’s nice to see Stefan and Elena both communicating and working together. We miss that couple. Thanks to Damon, the Original-killing game is finally back on!

Episode Grade: B+

Movies-
We watched Take Shelter, which was a very good movie that we ended up not liking. Sometimes the critics go nuts over something well-made and meaningful, but when it's over, we think, "So what?" We guess it reflected our modern sense of stress and doom pretty well. Certain scenes really grabbed us, there were some definite scary parts, and the lead actor was good. But we got to the ending and felt like we didn't get a proper resolution to all we had sat through. It's easier to be impressed with the quality of this movie than to actually like the movie. Movie grade: C+ Then we watched Attack the Block, which was fun and hilarious. Americans will need to watch it with subtitles because nearly all the dialogue is British slang. It's really funny if you can pick it up, but if you are just listening, we guarantee you will miss most of it. This is in our top three alien invasion movies. Movie grade: A-

Smash Renewed for a Second Season/short review of "The Workshop"

We find this to be welcome news, since we liked the episode this week and think this show needs some time to mature. We'll go ahead and post this week's mini review before this Sunday, since we're already talking about the show.

Smash - The Workshop

The episode started with Katherine McPhee singing the only tolerable song on Colbie’s new CD ("Brighter Than the Sun"). This song annoys the crud out of Ern. We felt for Karen when the guy told her to quiet down in the recording studio. It’s hard for a live performer to swap to recording without advice or a producer because they don’t understand that volume just doesn’t come through as well in a recording. It’s best to quiet down and focus on tone or emotion. Sometimes we can’t believe Anjelica Huston has an Oscar. Bernadette Peters appeared! We love her and think her appearance saved this episode. That said, Ivy’s mother is awful. Peters still has that very distinctive voice and we like it on certain songs. We don’t think “Coming Up Roses” is her best option, but we’ve come to expect weird song choices from this show.

Rule number one of adultery: Don’t let your wife and child visit you in front of your mistress. Michael looks a lot like Prince Charming in Once Upon a Time, especially around the mouth. Derek is so oblivious, haha. He didn’t know that Michael and Julia were really fighting. Joe DiMaggio’s new song was good and the scene was affecting. We started to see why a Marilyn musical might actually be touching and tragically romantic at that point. We’re sorry that Michael is going because he won’t have a job, and that affects his kid. He deserved to be fired for cheating, but he needs to know it’s about that and not his performance, because he was good. We liked Karen keeping her word and doing the workshop. That was very professional. We also liked whoever mocked her saying “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” Great funny British accent, dude. Just when we had stopped caring about Julia’s delinquent son, we started caring again. This was the best Smash episode in a while.

Episode Grade: B+

Smash - Chemistry

We have several problems with Smash at this point. It looked good from the beginning and we weren't the only ones excited about the show. The pilot was great and the second episode was eventful. Since then, the show has disappointed by covering songs that are bad for it and failing to have original songs that are as good as the ones in the pilot. It has also disappointed by being uneventful. One of its biggest weaknesses is that the only likeable, non-slutty character is played by the uncharismatic Katherine McPhee.

We don’t care about Julia because the show had her engaging in adultery too soon. The only reasons we forgave Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City for this behavior were how bad she felt and that the show waited until season three to spring the plotline on us. We were already rooting for Big and Carrie by that point. We found out that Julia was slutty in the third episode. We’re not prudes, but how are we supposed to root for Julia, her family, and her adoption if she’s a cheater? If you are going to have morally bankrupt, grey-area characters, at least make them interesting, like Don Draper.

These people are snoozes and we don’t get why they have no character, except that they are in the cutthroat, sex-obsessed show business and that they are rich and entitled. There are no decent straight guys on the show. Even Karen’s boyfriend has been kind of a douche. Between the boring happenings, the guest starring Jonas brother, and the lack of people we care about, this show is losing our interest, fast. It needs more Broadway, to take more chances, and to narrow in on a few characters and make us like them. It seems spread out between too many characters to do this. This show can still pull it together, but will it get a chance with its low ratings?

They’ve turned poor Ivy into a nearly one-dimensional villain, so it was hard to feel sorry for her when she damaged her voice. Time to get a new voice teacher, Ivy. There are teachers who can help you sing for hours a day with minimal tiredness afterward. Singers need to find those teachers. There should be no pain in the throat when singing, and if there is, singers need to swap to a new coach or get a coach if they haven’t already. What kind of production is this? They need an official understudy. We guess Karen is it, but they should have announced it and told Karen weeks ago.

Thank God Frank is back. Maybe they will let him sing soon, because last we heard, he had one of the best voices in the world. There’s really no other reason to cast him as Julia’s husband. Ivy’s song in her bedroom was histrionic and lame, as usual. Karen covered “Shake It Out” by Florence and the Machine, a song we love, especially its lyrics. It was a sweet version. Florence’s version has a little more distance between the singer and the listener, meaning that there are lots of special effects in the music. We like both versions. Karen butchered those Jewish songs though.

Debra Messing is still so gorgeous. The woman doesn’t age and we want her hair color. Her affair is supposed to hook viewers with its passion, but it’s not hooking us. In an affair, there is excitement, novelty, it’s secret, there’s danger, and it’s bad, so strong feelings are flying around and people mistake them for real love when people are just being fickle. If it’s not real love, we’re not interested. We liked when Ivy blew up at the director. Everything with Eileen was a little dull, as usual.

At least Bernadette Peters will be on next week! Love her.

Episode grade: C+

The Blogging Break Is Over/Last Week's Shows

We will now be posting daily again, for the most part. We reserve the right to take a day or weekend off if school decides to hate us again. Thanks for hanging in there with us. The numbers in our stats didn't suffer at all, meaning just about everyone reading this blog stuck around. That's awesome, and it makes this worth it. We are addicted to blogging anyway.

Sunday
Once Upon a Time - Dreamy
This was a really cute episode, mainly because one of us has adored Amy Acker since Angel. We got Grumpy's backstory (finally?). Apparently, in the Enchanted Forest, he was named Dreamy first, and he fell in love with Amy Acker's fairy Nova. Their bosses find out about their forbidden love and Grumpy turns into Grumpy. In our world, Leroy (Grumpy) falls for Astrid (Nova) and it seems that their love isn't necessarily forbidden, but frowned upon, since Astrid is a nun. People are still being mean to Mary, but things seem to pick up at the end of the episode when Granny lights Mary's candle.
Episode Grade: B+

GCB - Pilot
There was a blogger split on this show. Ern pretty much hated it, thought it was boring, didn't laugh at all, and wondered why it was a full hour. She liked Kristin Chenoweth's performance though. Leeard was just the opposite. She thought Kristin was a weak spot in a funny, enjoyable pilot. One thing we both agree on is the leading lady, Leslie Bibb. She has charisma and just enough mature cuteness to carry this show if the writing gives her good material. Both of us hope that Kristin's character stays to the side so that Bibb can be the main attraction. Kristin is better on the side. A little of that shrill voice goes a long way. We like the way Kristin was allowed to sing in a believable way (church choir). We also like the main character's funny mother and her daughter's new dye job. It's not disrespectful to Christians or anything. The worst thing it does to this group is associate these prideful, superficial, judgmental people with Christians. But, hey, lots of Christians kind of deserve that...We are amazed that they decided on GCB for the title because people are going to wonder what it is when they see it in their TV guides. Even Good Christian Belles would have been better. The original title's B stood for "Bitches", and that really would have been best. But, alas, people are prudes. The show reminds us a little of Desperate Housewives, only with more cattiness.
Leeard's grade: B, Ern's grade: D+

House of Lies - Veritas
Okay, if you're thinking of going to B-School, watch this episode. It epitomizes recruiting events, in the most depressing way possible. Usually the cutthroat person is another candidate, but it's still accurate.
Episode Grade: A

The Good Wife- Live from Damascus, After the Fall

Live From Damascus- Jonathan Groff was in this episode! He cried the entire time, but he still looked hot and manly. Will absolutely made the right decision to accept the suspension. Diane was crazy. The bar would have absolutely disbarred him because messing with client money is like the number one thing they disbar people for. We really felt for Will though, which is rare. Kathy’s brother on The Big C was a defendant in this episode. The case was powerful, and there was an element of tension when we found out it was possible for the lawyers to save a young woman’s life. This show is so good at being aware of the world at large, other countries, complex legal issues, and the way people think. After the Fall- Mina from Off the Map was the opposing attorney! We miss that show. Dexter Morgan’s older brother was the defendant. Will’s sisters are so different from both himself and each other. They were adorable. However, this episode was quiet and didn’t blow us away like the last couple.

Episode Grades: A- and B

Monday
The Lying Game - Unholy Matrimony
Alec and Rebecca are getting married. Emma and Ethan are over (for now), and Thayer is obviously falling for Emma, which we totally support. They're the only decent people on this show (besides Mads and Laurel, but that's beside the point). Sutton is still the worst person on this planet. Kristin finally got awesome and told off Ted and Rebecca for the affair. Ethan and Sutton find the picture of Alec holding a tire iron over Derek's head on Rebecca's computer while they're snooping during the engagement dinner. They show it to Dan and Theresa, who manage to get a search warrant pretty darn fast. Thayer lets the police into the house so they can search for any evidence that Alec was involved in Derek's death. We are loving Thayer in this episode. While the cops are searching the house, they find a bloody tire iron in Alec's golf clubs (!!!). After the cops take Alec away at the wedding, we see Sutton watching the scene from a room in the club. It turns out to be the bridal suite and HOLY CRAP Rebecca is Sutton/Emma's mother and she and Sutton have been planning this all along! We honestly don't know if this is awesome or terrible, but HOLY CRAP! Also, are Sutton and Emma actually Ted's children? Because that would be pretty cool. And how long have Sutton/Rebecca known about each other? Did Sutton actually find her in LA and we just weren't privy to that scene? ABC Family hasn't picked this up for a second season yet, but come on. There needs to be some closure on this insanity, even if it's just a movie.
Episode Grade: A

Pretty Little Liars - Eye of the Beholder

Jenna got the operation and Toby is back! Oh Toby, we’ve missed your face. And your arms. He’s seriously and suddenly looking really good in this episode. He kind of looks like Joaquin Phoenix. Ern doesn’t care how he looks; she will always be team Wren. Leeard, once again, is team threesome. We like the new hottie, Duncan. He needs to calm his tits though. Most people do. We loved that this episode had Toby and Wren interacting. We’ve never found Ezra sexier than we did in this episode. He finally grew a little shrivel of a sack! Wren reminds us of Ezra, looks-wise, only he’s better looking. We are ok with Wren and Spencer because Wren is not Spencer’s teacher. He may be older, but it’s the authority abuse thing that we don’t like. Also, Spencer can handle it. Mona is turning into the best, which makes us think she might be A. We hope not though. Hanna Marin is a hero, hoo-rah. Seven days until we find out who A is. Holy crap! We loved this episode. It was light on the action at first, but we still loved it, and then the action amped up. This show is so good. We can’t even. A is incredible, and Emily is really the best person. Sidenote: shout out to Conshohocken on the show! Nice!

Episode Grade: A-

Alcatraz - "The Ames Brothers" and "Sonny Burnett"
Well it took 9 episodes, but we finally got a case that was actually interesting. The Ames Brothers episode was okay; Hurley was captured by two brothers who tried to steal gold from Alcatraz in '63. They failed back then, even though they had a wildly elaborate plan, because they took the wrong keys from the warden. When the guard they were working with finally gets into the vault in 2012, there's nothing there. However, the audience sees that there was gold in that vault when the warden opens it and basically makes out with a massive gold bar. Sonny Burnett, however, was pretty good (for this show). The inmate who came back was a kidnapper; in our time, he kidnapped Mr. Pierce, who owns a cosmetics empire with his wife. Apparently, Mr. Pierce's wife Helen was, back in '63, basically Burnett's victim/accomplice. She turned him in and he went to Alcatraz. Then, Helen took the money Burnett had hidden away. He obviously wants revenge, so he kills her husband, kidnaps her daughter and buries her in the field where is money was hidden. Well that's terrifying. Of course they find the daughter in time. The only thing we find out about the overall mythology of the show is that some of the inmates have colloidal silver in their blood, keeping them healthier than they should otherwise be.
Episode Grades: C and B+

Smash - Let's Be Bad
Leo (Julia's son) gets caught hanging out with people smoking pot and Tom and his lawyer friend get him off with a bench warrant. Apparently this is enough to potentially mess up the adoption. Julia and Michael kiss outside her apartment (in view of her son) after he stopped by their home. Whatever, we like them together more than Julia and her husband. Derek scolds Ivy in front of everyone and makes Karen teach Ivy how to sing part of a song properly. It's sufficiently awkward for all parties involved, but Ivy plays it like it's what Marilyn would've done, just to make Karen feel worse about it. Ivy starts to go a little crazy. Honestly, we know we're supposed to be rooting for Karen, and we are (in her personal life), but Megan Hilty just IS Marilyn, so we'll probably be a little bummed when Ivy somehow loses the role. The musical is starting to come into its own, and we're starting to actually get excited about the show within the show (if not Smash itself).
Episode Grade: C+

Tuesday
Switched at Birth - Game On
Ugh this episode was so frustrating! We feel really bad for Bay; she wants to help Emmett's mom, but she doesn't want Emmett to hate her. We can definitely relate. Most of the family goes to Daphne's basketball tournament, where Carlton has to play Buckner in the first round. Carlton beats Buckner, which is unsurprising. However, what is surprising is that Emmett freaking sleeps with Simone after a fight with Bay. We're not going to get into the whole teen/premarital sex thing, because it's a tv show. But sleeping with someone he LITERALLY just met and has even less in common with than Bay? After getting into a (legitimate) fight with his girlfriend? Makes us start to hate Emmett. And we really don't want to hate him, because his face is just so awesome.
Episode Grade: C

Cougar Town - Full Moon Fever
Jules and Andy argue about who is the King of the cul-de-sac (it's obviously Jules). Some kids start riding their bikes through their backyards, and ultimately it falls on Jules and Andy to work together to stop them. It's adorable, as usual. Speaking of adorable, Sarah Chalke guest starred as Travis' photography teacher, who falls for Bobby. We like where this is going. Laurie starts dating a soldier through Twitter, which Ellie mocks her for. Once Ellie reads their tweets though, she realizes that this is actually the healthiest relationship Laurie has been in .... basically forever. Maybe Smith was better.
Episode Grade:

Breaking In - The Contra Club
We're pretty glad this show came back. It was pretty funny, and very weird, last year, so it was a nice surprise that it was un-canceled. However, we're worried about the addition of Megan Mullally to the cast. She's great in guest-starring roles (see: Happy Endings), but we're not loving her character so far. It's been one episode though, we'll give her a shot.
Episode Grade: B

New Girl - Injured
Honestly, Leeard needs to stop reviewing this show. She's so biased it isn't even funny. It's just so adorable. Cece and Schmidt finally bonded on a more emotional level, Winston had to say goodbye to his old, rundown car, and Nick finds out that he might have something seriously wrong with him (medically; we already know there's something seriously wrong with him mentally since he's not with Jess yet).
Episode Grade: A

Jane By Design - The End of the Line
Oh hey, another frustrating episode. Ben tries to make Jane quit, but he ultimately realizes that she loves, and is really good at, her job. Jane accuses India of being the mole, and Gray fires India on the spot. It turns out that Jeremy was the mole (which one of us predicted, because India being the mole was way too easy). After the (successful, of course) fashion show, Jeremy starts to tell Jane about his feelings for her, but leaves to talk to Beau. Billy comes in and tells Jane that he's always been in love with her and we groaned. Yes they've made it pretty obvious from the beginning that he's in love with her, but we were so thankful that it they weren't going there. We miss platonic opposite sex relationships on TV. It happens in real life, people.
Episode Grade: B-

Parenthood - My Brother's Wedding
Yes, yes, we know this one was a while ago, but we totally forgot to stick it in the post, and it's a finale! We can't ignore it. The adoption storyline took a sad but predictable turn, and we guess Julia's reward for all her trouble is that she changed Coffee Girl's life? Meh. Good luck explaining to Sid why she has a new older brother. That's going to be pretty interesting. Amber and Bob, why did you not get together? Crosby's wedding was sweet, but we sort of wish they had sold the Luncheonette. The time they've spent there, fighting, has been alright, but we wanted the show to move on from that a little. The finale was sweet, overall, and we are sad to see such a short season. Hopefully the show comes back because we don't think there was resolution here.
Episode grade: B

Wednesday
Psych - Heeeeere's Lassie
We don't mention this show much, but we just wanted to say that while some shows (*cough*GLEE*cough*) need to cool it on the tribute episodes, Psych does them so, so well.
Episode Grade: A

Thursday
The Office - Last Day in Florida
Jim saves Dwight from being fired. After she tells him that she plans on staying in Florida, Andy decides to go there to get Erin back.
Episode Grade: C

Parks and Recreation - Campaign Shakeup, Lucky
Well, we are caught up on this show just in time for it to leave us. There will be a hiatus since Community is coming back, and that's the only reason we aren't screaming. Campaign Shakeup: You know Tim Allen's character on Last Man Standing? Well, Ron is so much more of a man than that guy. We wish he could cross over to Last Man Standing and show Allen what a shemale he really is. The line about slaughtering calves when he was six was a Swanson Classic. This episode featured Kathryn Hahn as a guest star, and we always like her, even if her short-lived show, Free Agents, sucked this fall. And it did. It's disturbing that Leslie wants to bang Joe Biden. Andy's water balloon Kamikaze was great. Also, there's nothing sweeter than the ever-platonic Ron/April relationship. Lucky: Tom is a lot funnier now that he isn't trying to make that business work. We love when he sings. More Tom singing, we say. So Ron's life was shaped by powerful women, eh? That's why he has to be so manly. We are sick of guys who want weak, stupid women so that they can feel more like men. How about you just man up even more, like Ron? Ron got the girl over Chris, in a stunning twist. She must have been impressed with his steak-eating abilities. The lines in both these episodes were hilarious. Leslie accidentally getting drunk for her interview wasn't as funny as it should have been though. We had another famous guest star, Sean Hayes, as the interviewer, and he was just OK. Will the Tom/Ann breakup stick this time? We're thinking not. We will miss you, show.
Episode grades: B+ and A-

Friday
Degrassi - Can't Tell Me Nothing Part 2
We don't usually cover this show, but Leeard just had to say: if Jenna takes ANOTHER one of Clare's boyfriends, we will riot. Even if Clare isn't currently dating Jake, what is WRONG with Jenna? Find your own guys to like, goodness gracious.
Episode Grade: B

Movies
We saw Wanderlust. Leeard thought it was weird. Maybe it's just Paul Rudd, but she agreed with him 100% of the time. There were about five or six uniquely, awesomely funny parts, but they never lasted very long. This movie had split-second moments of brilliance, but the overall movie wasn't that funny. Grade: C+ We saw Woman in Black to support Daniel Radcliffe because we think he is a hardworking, cool person. We liked the Gothic, old fashioned setting, the goreless scares, the plot, and the cast. Dan did alright! There was nothing new in the movie, and if you hate or are not scared of ghosts, there won't be much here for you. It's a traditional ghost story. There were definitely a few scares, and we were really into it by the time the ending came around. But like many horror movies, the ending disappointed and came out of nowhere. Still, this was one of the best horror movies of recent years.. Grade: B. Chronicle was so much fun. Yeah, the "found footage" stuff is everywhere, but you haven't seen a superhero movie do it yet, have you? There was humor, likable characters, a fast pace, tension, action, and high school drama. The acting was great and the script was clever. All three leads should (and probably will) be stars. This was the most pleasant surprise of our entertainment week. Grade: A-. Rampart was mostly an excuse for Woody Harrelson to prove once again that he can act. This one had a good cast with lots of TV favorites, but it was way too long and dour. It succeeds as a character study and close look at a cop who is more evil than good. The plot was meandering and we just got to swim in this guy's self-inflicted misery for a few hours. It was fun seeing Ben Foster as a gross homeless man though. This was more art/indie than a crowd-pleaser or mainstream entertainer. Whether you like this will come down to personal taste. We just wish there had been a tighter plot. Grade: B-.

Books
We read Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain, and it was excellent. If you dislike quiet or shy people/think they are bad and selfish, if you are an introvert (even if you aren't shy) who always wished to be a little different, if you have or are going to have children, if you are a boss in the workplace, if you want to understand yourself better, or if you are an extrovert who just wants to understand literally half the people around you, you should rush to read this book. Cain's writing is readable, despite its academic nature and nonfiction subject matter. It really shows the upsides of being introverted, explains why they are that way (they are highly sensitive to stimuli), and gives advice to both groups. This book is both necessary and interesting, and we are not surprised it's a best seller. Recommended to anyone interested in the topic. We are both ambiverts (whenever we take a quiz, we get 50% introvert and 50% extrovert.) We love our introvert traits though. Introverts are bad ass, and more people should know it. Grade: A

Old Show Alert
Ern is still watching Veronica Mars but didn't get very far into the second season. It was spring break and we were partying it up. Ern was in Seattle, eating all the good food they have there. MMMM. Anyway, Ern watched two episodes of season two. It's weird to see Veronica hanging out with the 09ers and dating Duncan. We thought she grew out of him. He seems a little slow, quite frankly, but it seems like Logan needs to get a reign on his temper in order to deserve Veronica. The bus crash was a surprise, but it was necessary. This show is still huge on exposition and explaining past events, spaced out in flashbacks. That really annoyed Ern in the pilot, but she has gotten used to it, mostly. Normal is the Watchword: B+. Driver Ed: B.

Is the Hunger Games Out Yet? (No, obviously, because we aren't living behind the movie theater waiting for each showing)

This week was really crazy, so as you can see, we are a few episodes behind on some of our favorite shows. Boo. Also, a lot of shows didn't have a new episode this week. Double boo. We hope to be caught up very soon, but this week is spring break and we always have crazy plans for spring break. We're sure we'll watch something though. 

Monday shows: 
Pretty Little Liars - Father Knows Best
After the last couple of weeks, another run-of-the-mill PLL episode wasn't going to wow us. We felt really bad for Spencer's dad during this episode. Emily's dad is awesome. Aria is donning the red coat when she meets yet another player in this game (new guy Duncan). Thank God it's March. It's time to find out who A is already. It cannot come too soon. Unless the reveal sucks.
Episode Grade: B-

The Lying Game - Weekend of Living Dangerously
EMMA SLAPPED SUTTON! Who cares about what else happened in the episode because EMMA SLAPPED SUTTON! And it was awesome! Also, pretty much nothing else happened in this episode. Well, Sutton and Thayer found out that Rebecca has a picture of Ted in her locket (which they discovered held a picture of the love of her life) and Emma and Ethan almost had sex. Ethan finally confessed the ranch kiss to Emma, and they broke up for good. It was actually a pretty boring episode, but that slap guaranteed it'd be getting nothing less than an A from us.
Episode Grade: A

Hart of Dixie - Tributes & Triangles
Okay, first things first: does this episode title remind anyone else of The Hunger Games? Just us? Well okay then. George won some Man of the Year thing and Lavon hosted party in his honor (which obviously sucked for him). Zoe made a big speech at the party and now basically everyone knows that she's in love with George. Honestly, this was probably the best episode so far. When Zoe told George that she got her father to do his dad's surgery, Leeard teared up. This show is a lot better than it has any right to be.
Episode Grade: A-

Smash - The Cost of Art
While we continue to love Julia and root for Karen, this show just keeps having non-eventful episodes. Nick Jonas guest starred and is now funding the Marilyn workshop. Karen got a much-needed makeover (both with style and attitude). Whatever. A Jonas brother will not save this show and we are surprised that was what they tried. They should go full Broadway, take more risks, and have stuff happen. One of us likes Katherine McPhee, but the other of us wonders if her lack of charisma is what is tanking the show.
Episode Grade: C

How I Met Your Mother - Karma

Barney found out that Quinn is a dancer at his favorite strip club and thinks he's dating her, when really he's paying tipping her a bunch of money. Robin moved out of Ted's apartment and into Lily and Marshall's house (temporarily). Everyone realizes that Long Island sucks and moves the heck back into Manhattan, since Ted was nice enough to give Lily and Marshall his apartment. We're left wondering what the heck Ted and Robin are going to do and frankly only one of us cares anymore.
Episode Grade: C+

Tuesday shows: 

Switched at Birth - Write a Lonely Soldier
Emmett found out that Bay had been emailing Ty while he's been in Afghanistan and he got upset. Daphne helped Travis, a student at Carlton, get a job at John's car wash, but he quickly gets fired when he gets in an argument with an important customer. Daphne goes to his house and realizes how difficult his family situation is, with parents who don't know any sign language and a younger brother who only wants to know the curse signs. It's actually pretty depressing and helps explain his earlier attitude. Travis tells John he'll work on communicating better. Overall, it was a pretty good episode. We just with Emmett would stop being stupid.
Episode Grade: B

Jane By Design - The Getaway

Well, Ben finally found out about Jane's real job. Jane and India went to California for the weekend to look for a new location for a Donovan Decker store. Nick realized that Jane would never choose him over her job and Lulu realized that Billy would never choose her over Jane, so both of those relationships appear to be over. Well, to be fair, Ben overheard India make a comment about how Jane shouldn't hook up that night, which didn't help matters. After coming to those revelations, Nick and Lulu kissed. We're actually pretty bummed that Nick and Jane broke up; they were a cute couple, if not at all realistic.
Episode Grade: B

Cougar Town - Lover's Touch
This show is just so, so good. It's funny, it's touching, and it's gotta hang around for a few more seasons. Jules has been neglecting Grayson to focus on the wedding, and he is bummed he hasn't been getting much affection. Then Travis gets into an accident and Grayson gets neglected even more. While Travis keeps telling Jules not to worry about him, Jules gives a speech that, honestly, Leeard's mom has given before. Jules tells Travis that even though he's almost 20 and in college, she's still his mother and she will continue to worry about him and his safety until the day she dies. It's a very touching scene. We love this show.
Episode Grade: A

Wednesday shows:
Suburgatory - Poetic Injustice
Oh Tessa. That poetry teacher was super weird, not super cool, as was Dalia's poetry. George and Dallas finally seem to be getting closer, so that's pretty exciting. This show never really has much of a plot, but it cracks us up on a regular basis, so we appreciate that.
Episode Grade: B+

Happy Endings - Cocktails & Dreams
This show, guys. We don't have sex dreams about Dave, but we kind of wish we did so we could be a part of that group.
Episode Grade: A-

America's Next Top Model- Kelly Osbourne
At least they didn't kick of the girl with the cutest accent yet. However, so far this season is descending into ANTM's trashy worst. What happened to real photo shoots? Why would you pair some of those famous figures. We have no favorite so far, but this show entertains us and always hooks us on the makeover episode. 
Episode grade: C+


Thursday shows: 
The Office - Test the Store

Andy got beaten up by a little girl while trying to defend Pam. Kelly used to be a bully (which we are not at all surprised by). The Florida group opened the test store to "bloggers" (um why weren't we invited?!) to some pretty positive feedback.
Episode Grade: C+

Movies: We saw Act of Valor, a movie that most everyone wants to see (OK, mostly guys), but critics say is underwhelming. Who is right? Well, the reason we go see that movie is to see bad ass Navy Seal action. Let's face it, this isn't the newest Christopher Nolan movie. If anyone is looking for nuance, grey areas, political correctness, an objective look at the military, or multidimensional characters, they can look elsewhere. We want to see Seals be awesome and that's it. The movie delivers that, and so it is a success for its audience. There is a formulaic plot in which the Seals show us what they do. When the explosions, shooting, chasing, and other fighting are going on, the movie is good and realistic. It's exactly what we are here to see. But then they have to stop and talk to each other. Those scenes range from cheesy to unintentionally hilarious. The acting is some of the worst we've ever seen, but the guys are real Seals, not actors. The script and dialogue are unworthy of these heroes, and we wish other people had been involved making it. The end message and action are good; the overall movie is unfortunate. If you like good movies, don't go see this one. If you like action, America, and Navy Seals, do. We like all of the above, so we're giving this a mixed grade of B-. Ern re-watched Warrior to make her dad and brother see it. They liked it. 

Books: We read Fever by Lauren DeStefano, the sequel to Wither. For a book where the bulk of it was spent wandering around, getting sidelined, and trying to look for Rhine's brother, it was pretty entertaining. It didn't move the plot along much and ended with a frustrating cliffhanger, but the end was truly creepy. This book is darker than the first, which was good, but we had to spend most of the sequel waiting for the exciting characters and moments. That is why the first book was better, but the second book sure wasn't bad. There was a lot of suspense built up to when and if we would see anyone from the mansion again. We await the conclusion eagerly. Grade: B


OLD SHOW ALERT: Ern finished season one of Veronica Mars. A lot of it feels like Wonderfalls in tone, especially when they brought in the Russian bride thing. That's not a bad thing. Ern can't decide if she's a Logan fan or not, but it's pretty clear at this point that he's endgame. It was cool how he stood up for her in front of his friends. It's going to be weird going into season two to have Veronica back in people's good graces, but with writing like this, Ern is pretty sure it's still going to be good. Clash of the Triton: A+, Lord of the Bling: B, Mars v. Mars: B+, Ruskie Business: B-, Betty and Veronica: A-, Kanes and Abels: B, Weapons of Class Destruction: A, Hot Dogs: A-, M.A.D.: B+, A Trip to the Dentist: A+, Leave It to Beaver: A+

The Oscars were boring, but TV was not.

Sunday shows:
Shameless - A Bottle of Jean Nate
We liked the stuff with Kevin and V mourning the loss of Ethel. We were horrified at Jody's sexual habits. When is "Kiss from a Rose" going to catch a break? That's a pretty song. Jasmine is a sketchball, but Fiona sort of did owe her a place to stay. 
Episode grade: B

Once Upon a Time - What Happened to Frederick
The stranger has a name, and it's August. We still miss Graham, but August is growing on us. In fact, his scenes with Emma might have been the highlight of this episode. We also really loved that Abigail/Kathryn has her own love. The evil queen's curse actually did something for Kathryn's happiness! It stopped her from leaving Storybrooke and going to law school. 
Episode grade: B

House of Lies - Bareback Town
We already knew that Marty has no morals, but this episode finally proved it. He threw one of the client's employees (someone he's known for years) under the bus just to keep the client. This will not go over well, since she has a new job with the competitor. We really enjoyed this episode because, though he has proven and will continue to prove that he has no scruples when it comes to his job, he's actually starting to care for the stripper we met in the pilot. He's just such a confusing man. His ex-wife is absolutely insane (or, well, more insane than we already knew) if she thinks that she could get full custody of Roscoe. Not only are you certifiably crazy, you're on the road as much as Marty is, and Roscoe's grandfather takes care of him when Marty isn't around. She probably has some psycho tricks up her sleeve though, not that she's usually wearing shirts when we see her onscreen.
Episode Grade: B+

Monday shows:
Pretty Little Liars - Breaking the Code
We have another couple we like: Wren and Spencer. How adorable are they? He brings out her sexy, drunk, even crazier side. Mona just made a bid to become one of our favorite characters. You can't threaten someone who isn't afraid of the truth. What a freaking bad ass. Mona is a great friend. This episode might have even ended with Maya's death. The show did spoil that there would be a death. We almost got rid of Ezra, who keeps chickening out. Aria has to always put the pieces back together and find a way for them to date. Now Ella is helping them work it out? Ugh. But we still think Ella is the best parent on this show of pretty awesome parents. This episode had some great emotion and is starting to address all the Melissa theorists. That probably means it isn't Melissa, unless they want to reveal A's identity before the finale. Doubt it. 
Episode grade: A

The Lying Game - Not Guilty as Charged
Wow how much does Sutton suck? While there are quite a few times that we enjoy her as a character, most of the time we just wish the tv series had started in the same way as the book series - with Sutton's death. Anyway, Ethan's case was dropped due to insufficient evidence, so that's definitely the last we'll be hearing about that case, right? Ha! Sutton pretended to be Emma and told Ethan that she (Emma) had slept with Thayer when Ethan and Sutton were hiding out on the ranch after Ethan told her (Sutton pretending to be Emma) that he had made out with Sutton but that she doesn't mean anything to him. Ouch, but seriously Sutton - you're the worst. You totally deserved that. Sutton then told Emma that she (Sutton) and Ethan slept together on the ranch. We hate you so, so much Sutton. Mads finally called Sutton out on being basically the world's worst friend, and while that might make a normal person change her ways, this is Sutton we're talking about. Also, Laurel and Baz are heading in the right direction, which we're pretty excited about. Justin is a horrible boyfriend and person, and Laurel deserves so much better, because she's pretty awesome.
Episode Grade: B

Hart of Dixie - Snowflakes & Soulmates
Lemon and George tried to elope, but obviously that wasn't going to happen. Lavon got his parents back together and broke up with Didi, because he's obviously still in love with Lemon. Zoe tried to send some macaroons to her dad in Germany, but found out that he moved back to New York and hasn't tried to contact her. Ouch. She and Brick had a little heart-to-heart about that while Zoe drove him to South Carolina (for Lemon and George's elopement which, again, was never actually going to happen). All in all, a pretty decent episode for this show that one of us likes more than is rational.
Episode Grade: B

Smash - Enter Mr. DiMaggio
Ugh. We almost got a male character involved in the show who was straight and not a douche. But it turns out he slept with a married woman and is being awfully friendly to her now that they are reunited. Julia cheated on her caveman! We like the new character though, and we like how that assistant is turning into a full-on villain. The songs were ok, although we don't know that "Redneck Woman" needed to be covered by this show. At least the rock version of "Grenade" made sense in the plot. 
Episode grade: B

The Voice - Blind Auditions Part 4
The only notable voices in this episode, in our opinion, were Jamie Lono (who sang "Folsom Prison Blues") and Charlotte Sometimes (who sang "Apologize"). Jamie really brought something to "Folsom Prison Blues", and honestly, and version of a Johnny Cash song that doesn't immediately make us go "ugh please stop" is really, really good, because we love Johnny Cash. We're glad he's on Team CeeLo. Charlotte Sometimes a) cannot be her real name and b) reminded us of Xenia a little too, so we're glad she's on Team Blake.
Episode Grade: B

How I Met Your Mother - No Pressure

Shockingly, despite lack of early-season hilarity, we liked this one. Maybe it was the hopeful, smart ending. Maybe it was the inclusion of Florence and the Machine's "Shake It Out." Maybe it was how much we were reminded that Marshall and Ted are such great friends. But, overall, this episode did not leave us annoyed and angry, like the last couple. We wish Marshall had paid up at the end though, since we know Robin isn't the mother.

Episode grade: B

Being Human - "Addicted to Love" and "Mama Said There'd Be Decades Like This"

Sally is a rapist who drove a woman crazy now, and Josh is concerned. We're not gonna lie, we thought it was awesome when Josh went to town on Nora's Chris Brown. But it was even more awesome when Nora and the siblings killed him. That storyline was part of the wolves' downward spiral, but this particular step in the downfall wasn't entirely unwelcome. This season, we are liking Nora and Josh more as a couple. We got to see why Mother punished Suren in the first place, meaning that we got a few more shots of Aidan's hideous little mustache. We loved the twist that Henry, Aidan's traitorous underling, was alive. We weren't digging the ghost/imaginary Bishop. Also, we were shocked when Josh traded the purebred siblings for Nora/his freedom. That's pretty rude, but we don't blame him.
Episode grades: B and B

Tuesday shows:
Glee - On My Way
NOOOOOOO Quinn! Maybe you aren't as sad as we are about Q, but we've always liked her. Even when she acted psycho, she at least had a reason to be a jerk, unlike when Mercedes started acting douche-y this season. Quinn's recent good advice, good decisions, and that moment where she advised both Rachel and Mercedes when they went through their "looks insecurity" phase makes her someone we root for. We can't believe we have to wait until April to find out if Quinn is OK, although we are guessing she ___, because of these set photos. Glee did manage to send an important message about texting while driving, we guess. Glee made us cry this week. Literally. And over KAROFSKY, so, bravo show. We know we have a lot of teen readers and that those years can be hard. (Not that suicide is just for teens) If you ever feel hopeless and hate yourself enough to consider suicide, please call a hotline and/or keep fighting. It really will pass and you don't want to give whatever is trying to tear you down a victory. Getting help and sticking around shows that, while you have your problems and life sucks right now, you're a bad ass and won't go down, ever. In "what the hell?" news, Sue is pregnant and the Finchel wedding was moved to right after Regionals (although Quinn's crash might stop it). Also, New Directions won at Regionals. The third place show choir might have been the funniest thing about this episode. We were disappointed in the Kelly Clarkson song, because the voices just didn't have the same oomph as Kelly's. It was a misfire. Also, Rachel's solo didn't fit her voice at all (the original version of the song is fun though). We feel cheated, but not by the cliffhanger and hour-long anti-suicide PSA. Lots of people thought that stuff was sensational and cheap, but we thought it was nice, shocking, and that it fit the show. They hadn't really ever addressed that topic and honestly, given the characters they have, we're surprised it took them this long.
Episode grade: A

Switched at Birth - The Art of Painting
Regina had her art show and Bay was jealous, but got over it (basically). Emmet is still doing speech therapy, and told Bay he wants to drop out of school because he thinks getting a GED is the same as a high school diploma and he doesn't need any more than that to be a photographer. Bay told Emmet's mom, and she forced Emmet to go back to school. Bay, you did the right thing. Don't let Emmet make you think differently. Also, Daphne found out that the Carlton women's basketball team is going to be cut, so she leaves Buckner to go back to her old school. We're glad, since it didn't really make sense that she could leave in the first place. Side note: we really don't mention this show enough. We're working on rectifying that.
Episode Grade: B

Jane By Design - The Wedding Gown
Donovan Decker designed a wedding dress for "American royalty" that the soon-to-be princess didn't love, so Jeremy, India, Carter, and Jane had to stay late to make a new dress for her. Of course, infallible Jane designs a gorgeous gown, that India takes credit for. While we like that India tried to give Jane credit while showing the dress to Jeremy, we wish she would've just owned up to it when Jane told Jeremy that it was her design. We get it, India sucks and Jane is awesome. Anyway, of course the future princess loves Jane's design (which was based on Jane's mother's gown), but the redesign process caused Jane to miss a date with Billy and Nick. Luckily, it gives the boys time to bond and they become friendly. Honestly, this show isn't great, but Erica Dasher (who plays Jane) is just so, so likeable.
Episode Grade: B

Wednesday shows:
Suburgatory - Fire with Fire
Other than Happy Endings and Cougar Town, this is probably the funniest show that no one is watching. We haven't really looked into the ratings, but no one we know watches Suburgatory. Dallas filed for divorce and is feeling and looking better than ever. This inspires Noah's wife to leave him. He wins her back by pretty much every romantic gesture we can think of. Dalia is still upset at Tessa for "stealing" Scott Strauss so she steals Lisa as a friend. Tessa fights back and steals Kamantha as a friend, and Lisa comes back when she sees Kamantha and Malik doing the Dougie at a school dance. Re-reading this paragraph makes us wonder how this show is actually as funny as it is, because nothing in the recap really stands out. Trust us though, it's laugh out loud funny.
Episode Grade: B+

Thursday shows:
Secret Circle
There was no new episode this week, but we have a question: Why did no one point out to us that Daddy is SULLY from Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman? Yeah, we should have noticed ourselves, but he was covered in beard, had short hair, and has aged a bit. Still. That's important information.

The Office - After Hours
Ryan tries to hit on Erin, but either realizes he's "in love with Kelly" when Erin says something about waiting six months to do it or realizes he doesn't want to wait six months for Erin when he has a sure thing waiting in Scranton. Nellie tries to sleep with Dwight. Kathy tries to sleep with Jim. Dwight preventing hookups might just be the best thing this show has done in a while. Sidenote: Poor Darryl.
Episode Grade: B

Parks and Recreation - Sweet Sixteen
The Ron/Leslie relationship is so darling. Ann and Ron are STILL happening, despite April's best efforts (go April!). It looks like Chris is depressed about that. Jerry's birthday surprise was hilarious when only Ben popped up. We love this show. 
Episode grade: A-

Grey's Anatomy - If Only You Were Lonely
Cristina thinks Owen is cheating and Meredith's VO left us unsure. Either Cristina is crazy, or one of our favorite geek goddesses (Summer Glau) is banging Cristina's husband. If Owen cheats, we will be firmly on team Cristina, forever, rather than our current team, which is "Team Both of You Are Wrong But For Good Reasons." You all know we don't care about the Chief and Adele, but this episode made even us feel bad for them. The stuff with Zola's hair was dumb. Bailey just should have told Derek right away. We loved the peds case. The shrapnel in the guy's chest was disgusting. Overall, this was emotional, funny Grey's at its best. 
Episode grade: A

Movies: We watched Courageous, which is definitely a Christian movie. Why is Christian stuff is so bad usually, in modern times? Religious music, like Handel's Messiah, used to be the most beautiful stuff around. There is some good Christian music, but most of it sounds lame. Christian-themed books, like Dostoevsky's stuff, Dante's Inferno, or Lord of the Rings used to be deep and subtle. Courageous was one of the better Christian films we've seen, and it still wasn't very good. Its worst crime was hammering moral points home in such an overt way that it insulted its audience. The audience should be able to apply ideas to life themselves and pick out the themes, not have it spelled out for them. Most of the acting was bad. The plot was all over the place. The movie was hard to get through, and the heavy-handed dialogue proves that just because something is labeled "Christian" doesn't make it good, unless the message of movies are all that matter to you and you are a Christian. We feel cheated, because the opening scene was cool.  Grade: D 

Books: We read Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, which is the first in a series. The reason we read it was because we saw a reviewer call it "everything the Anita Blake books should be." Now, the Anita Blake books are entertaining reads with a LOT of problems (not the least of which being the main character turning into a super slut and the books having no plots halfway through the series), so a series that fixed those problems appealed to us. The main character of Moon Called, Mercy, can turn into a coyote because of some Native American blood. We were not enthused about this because that's not a very cool power. However, Mercy is a cool girl, even if it took her half a book to grow on us. She's less of a Mary Sue than Anita. Her neighbors are a pack of werewolves, a couple of witches, and a few vampires. We didn't see a lot of the vampires, but what we saw was good and creepy. The book started off entertaining, then it slowed to a crawl just before halfway through. Fortunately, it picked up and got entertaining again in the second half. We started to like the secondary characters and could see them being set up like pieces on what should be an entertaining chess board in subsequent books. There's a nice love triangle shaping up. We're team Adam so far. We're not obsessed with this series yet, but we will read another book. 
Grade: B

OLD SHOW ALERT:
Ern is watching Veronica Mars for the first time. She's 11 episodes in, and it's everything everyone says it is. It has a quick wit and snappy dialogue, Kristen Bell will win you over in at least the first couple of episodes, and you will actually care about the overarching plotlines. Bell plays the titular character, a high school girl who works for her PI dad. The show is so good that Ern doesn't even care when Veronica blatantly breaks laws that even PIs have to follow, as if she can't get in trouble. She's just that cool. This is one of those shows like Firefly and Arrested Development that no one watched (even though it got 3 seasons), but everyone should regret their decision that now that the DVDs are out to binge upon. We hear quality drops in season three, but we will tell you if it's worth watching in that final season. This show is smart, funny, and there is drama to spare. Don't you want to see what The O.C. would be like if it were a Twin Peaks-esque mystery instead of a soap opera? There's a gangster kid named WEEVIL. Weevil love you long time. There are a lot of great guest stars (except for Paris Hilton), including future Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain, Aaron Paul, Schmidt on New Girl (whom Leeard calls "Deputy Leo from Veronica Mars" when she watches New Girl), and Josh on Being Human. We recognize someone new every episode. This is one of Leeard's all-time favorite shows, with good reason. Ern is happy Leeard is making her watch it. Leeard is gloating, since she's been trying FOREVER to get Ern to watch it, and is finally vindicated.
Pilot grade: A-, Credit Where Credit's Due: A, Meet John Smith: B+, The Wrath of Con: A-, You Think You Know Somebody: B+, Return of the Kane: B, The Girl Next Door: B-, Like a Virgin: B+, Drinking the Kool-Aid: B+, An Echolls Family Christmas: A, and Silence of the Lamb: A-

Music:
Ern hates most country music, but has come around to Miranda Lambert due to Miranda's attitude about Chris Brown. Leeard notes, "Duh, Miranda Lambert music is good." Miranda is as not-ok with Brown's comeback as Ern is and said, "Where I come from, it's never OK to hit a woman...that's why my daddy taught me to use a shotgun early on." Amen. While Leeard still enjoys Brown's music, Ern thinks he forfeited the right to be famous and have his art heard when he hit a woman, even if Rihanna forgives him. Miranda held up a sign that said "take notes Chris Brown" during a performance of her song "Gunpowder and Lead." It's about a woman shooting an abusive husband. "I'm gonna show him what little girls are made of/gunpowder and lead." It's a good song, even to the ears of a country hater. Also, Ern has finally gotten the Mumford and Sons CD and it's good, especially the lyrics. Due to the Glee episode, we bought Young and the Giant's CD too. Also good.