Mini Reviews- April 14th

A very late mini reviews. Just a few episodes I've seen over the last few weeks.

Grey's Anatomy- 6x10/6x11 Holidaze/Blink
Two nice episodes. The first was a holiday themed episode. A little rushed in places and it was a bit disconcerting watching a Christmas episode at Easter but I enjoyed it. The story of Sloan's daughter could've been expanded a bit more, he didn't react at all when she told him she was pregnant. We got a bit more of it in the second episode with Addison telling Mark that he had turned into a doctor and him consequently breaking up with Lexie. Sad to see the couple break up but one of the young residents needs to be single otherwise it gets boring in a show like Grey's. Cristina's also having relationship problems. Unlike most people I like Teddy; she was harsh on Cristina in the second episode with the solo heart valve operation, but she was right, Cristina needs to be pushed and needed to make her own decisions, even if Teddy was being a bit vindictive.

Brothers and Sisters- 4x12/4x13 The Science Fair/Run Baby Run
The first was a silly but fun episode. I'm glad Nora stuck with her head regarding Simon, but I'm sad he turned out to be a rubbish love interest. Nice to see Sarah getting a love interest too, and I'm not sure about Justin being dyslexic, a bit of a cop out maybe.
The second unfortunately was marred with problems. There was some continuity issues with Kevin (one minute at the doctor's, then at a press conference, then back at the doctor's), Saul's storyline was basically a repeat of the end of season 2, without any explanation as to why he was feeling so listless, and worst of all; Robert bowed out of politics because of the hoopla of campaigning only to encourage Kitty to go for his same seat therefore he would have to do all the same campaigning, just as the spouse this time? Stupid and corny. I refuse that he could lose his ambition so quickly, and whilst I'm all for Kitty going into politics, going for Robert's old seat is just silly.
Otherwise it was a funny episode, with Scotty/Kevin and Michelle and I liked the Sarah/Roy stuff, such a shame he's not around for long.

Greek- 3x20 All Children... Grow Up
A very late review, but a great episode especially as it had to be a potential season/series finale. All the major plot points were tied up and some left for next chapter, also with a little fun in the sun on their spring break. Rebecca getting back together was a little hokey, but I'll buy it for now. The Casey/Cappie break up was sad but inevitable, though I'm sure they'll end up together at the end of the next and final chapter.

90210- 2x16 Clark Raving Mad
Funny episode, Naomi is such an idiot for declaring sexual harassment though she was right to not want Liam to know as he's such a hot head there's no telling what he will do. Not a fan of the Liam/Annie pairing they keep trying to push it. Silver and Teddy were a little frustrating in their testing of each other, glad it was resolved. It was nice to see Silver, Naomi and Adrianna have such positive and healthy attitudes about Adrianna's feelings for Gia. The Jasper storyline is getting a bit too The OC for me (they did a similar storyline in season 1) but I liked the cliffhanger ending.

Desperate Housewives- 6x12 If
A bit of a weird episode, not sure if I liked the fatalistic dream sequences. Unsurprisingly Lynette's was the best and saddest, Susan's was the worst and didn't really make sense. Also poor Karl, it ended up that no-one cared he was dead. Even Julie (his daughter!) only looked mildly upset.

Greek Chapter 6- The best yet?

Greek Chapter 6- The best yet?

Well while I wouldn't say it was the best chapter it came pretty damn close, impressive for a show in its third season and 6th batch of episodes.

I had quite a few problems with chapters 4 and 5. They took place over just one semester meaning that 22 episodes worth of events happened in just 4 months. It didn't help that there was a severe decrease in writing quality and some torturous storylines.
Chapter 6 got rectified those problems from the very start. They quickly resolved the more annoying stories from chapter 5 (the fire for instance) so that this chapter could go on virtually unhindered by past mistakes.

House wise, the ZBZ's were mostly embroiled in the frenemy war with the Gamma Psi's. This feud basically took the place of Frannie's faux house and was much more successful. Natalie, the head of the Gamma Psi's was an annoying bitch but she didn't take up too much screen time thankfully. Having a friendly ear in Katherine in the Gamma Psi house meant that the feud could be kept going and simmering all the time but on perhaps on less bitchy terms.
The show thankfully re-ignited the feud between the KT and Omega Chi's. The show always works when these two houses are fighting and after the sad expulsion of Wade, Jeremy and Ferret (budget cuts?), the KT's had a grudge to avenge. Also despite this culling of KT's I liked that we got to see plenty of other brothers as well as more of the brothers in the Omega Chi has as it gives a more genuine feel to the houses.

Character wise, all the characters had something to do here and it was nice to see.
Bringing Dale in as the ZBZ hasher was a terrific idea as it allowed him to interact with more of the cast rather than just Rusty and Calvin. His dalliance with ZBZ Laura was a little weird and started as abruptly as it ended, but as he hoped for in the finale, I too want Dale to have a nice normal girlfriend. I mean if Rusty can get 3 different girls to go out with him I'm sure Dale can!
Speaking of Rusty, the show took time to explore all his sides with his academics, getting more involved in the house as rush/revenge chair and also with two love interests; firstly Katherine with whom he had a hilariously awkward relationship with and then the much more suitable Dana.

It was nice to see a realistic gay relationship in the form of Grant and Calvin, Grant was clearly a bit psycho and not 'the one', but exploring their relationship was fun and it made sense that Grant would want to explore his sexuality a bit more now that he's out.
Rebecca and Evan's relationship had been coming for a long time, since the first episode really. Both from moneyed backgrounds and now estranged from them, this was the perfect time for them to get together. I'm so pleased that Rebecca went back to being her normal self after spending chapter 5 as annoying, screechy Rebecca. Her commitment issues are perfectly understandable, given her dad and made for some great drama when she slept with Beaver. I'm not sure I totally believe in their fairytale make up in the finale but at least we have 10 episodes more to see it play out!

Ashleigh didn't have many of her own storylines apart from finding a job (why she never thought of fashion before is beyond me!) but she was the perfect sidekick to Casey and Rusty- and I mean that in the nicest way! Her and Rusty work incredibly well together and were a delight to watch. Ashleigh and Casey had problems in their friendship but I found these to be incredibly realistic and at least they made up by the end of the chapter.

Finally to Casey and Cappie, the relationship we have been waiting since the beginning to see. The writers kept to couple interesting by focusing on their problems on the road ahead. Personally I never really believed in the Cappie/Casey relationship and found the way they ended it to be thoroughly refreshing. The two do have great chemistry but are very different people and it would be unrealistic for them to sacrifice themselves for the other; both are too headstrong to do that.

Overall then, I'm sure its obvious that I loved this chapter and I am so glad I stuck with it; after chapter 5 I was ready to give up and I can honestly say that especially towards the end of the chapter I was eagerly awaiting each episode. It was a shame that the show wasn't renewed earlier as many of the shows threads were tied up in the final episodes, which could've been left till the next chapter. Either way I'm really excited that we get to see the show run its course and see the older cast graduate!

Greek will return with its (most likely) last Chapter, 7, later in the year

Mini Reviews- March 29th

Desperate Housewives- 6x09 Would I Think of Suicide
Not a bad episode and perhaps better than the last. Gabby/Carlos go to war with Lynette over her hiding her pregnancy. Since I like Carlos, I'm almost glad to see that it was Gabby holding his strings for most of the episode. Carlos had a right to be pissed but he was childish and I was on Lynette's side by the time he fired her.
Katherine's descent into crazy is a little tiresome now, especially since her Mike obsession is a little hard to understand (I mean he's no Nathan Fillion!). Her stabbing herself was very effective though.
Poor Danny Bolen or should I say Tyler? Its a hard on him that his dad got to Julie first, especially when it was obvious that Danny liked her. His suicide did mean we got some more details into the Bolens past, though I have to say I hope we don't get too many too soon as it that has spoiled many a mystery in DH.
Oh and I didn't buy Susan forgiving Bree so easily, Susan is very vindictive and likely to hold a grudge.
Note also was the dead waitress still of school age, Ana said she was friends with her, but the waitress seemed much older.

Brothers and Sisters- 4x11 A Bone to Pick
An endearing yet rushed episode. Ryan's treachery was revealed and no surprises but he was the only match for Kitty and he came through, despite the not very tactful way Nora asked/told him. Kitty's scenes were very sad especially with Evan; her recovery felt rushed though, its probably something that could've waited till the next episode. The side story of Kitty's affair with a famous Democrat was amusing and a bit silly but I liked the way in which in tied the story together and also gave us some sibling time. No comments on her adultery with a married man though, which is odd.

Greek- 3x19 The First Last
Its a shame that the show was only recently renewed as its obvious the show was fearing cancellation so tied up many loose ends in this episode before the characters go on Spring Break next week. The Blue Ribbon competition was nicely rounded off with ZBZ winning back their number one status, though I would've preferred to see another Green Week in the next chapter. Calvin and Grant inevitably broke up- there were hints of a possible Calvin and Heath reunion, which I would absolutely love! I was most excited by the KT's plans for revenge, can't wait for the finale now!

Mini Reviews- March 22nd

Brothers and Sisters- 4x10 Nearlyweds
A lovely episode, if a little disappointing in places. The disappointment I'm referring to is the Nora/Simon storyline. The very first mention of money made the upcoming storyline very clear. Its such a cliche to have him run away with the money- is that all the writers could think of really?! I hope the story turns out to different to whats seeming to be happening.
Otherwise I enjoyed the episode as it had a wonderful family vibe to it. Loved seeing Tommy, Elizabeth and Julia back, especially nice to see Elizabeth. I loved seeing the youngest Walkers altogether for the first time I think at the end. Justin's break down was much needed considering how much he has going on, but I'm glad he came through. The pair should've postponed the wedding though, they showed they were not ready to go through with it.

Grey's Anatomy- 6x09 New History
Sadly Izzie returned to be a bitch to Alex, but at least Alex got some closure and she left after again after this episode.
There was a new arrival in the form of Teddy whom I'm glad was able to show a few things to Cristina who was being a bit of a know it all. I really enjoyed the lunch scene with all the attendings as it was a lot of fun.
Richards drinking problems cam to a head here. Adele accusing Richard of having an affair, especially with Bailey was kinda funny, but obviously lay at the heart of a much bigger issue.

Greek- 3x18 Camp Buy Me Love
Nice 80's themed episode for the show. I love the Ashleigh/Rusty pairing they work so well together and I'm glad he chose Dana at the end of it. Also liked that they hinted at a potential romance for Katherine. Also Evan took back his manhood; good for him, even though he had to hit Rusty to do it.
Casey is being way to pushy with Cappie and his parents showed that. I liked the conclusion she came to at the end as many (most) college relationships break up around the time of graduation, but I'd be surprised if they don't make it through somehow.

Desperate Housewives- 6x08 The Coffee Cup
A bit meh for me. The Angie/Bree/Orson storyline was the best, if contrived. Glad Angie protected both Orson and Bree (who is her boss) and bought Bree some time to make her decision.
Shame to see Carlos turning such a douche over Lynette's preganancy. Then again I would be pissed off too and Lynette was silly to keep that secret from him for so long, especially since they were friends so he might've given her a break.
The shock ending was shock-less for me since the TV guide spoiled it, but I think its too obvious to be Nick, even for DH.

Mini Reviews- March 8th

Greek- 3x15 Your Friends and Neighbours
Excellent episode, well constructed and once again the show is doing the perfect job of capturing the essence of college.
Take Casey and Ashleigh, I have lived that story with my best friend at uni. They were perhaps a little more confrontational than I was, but the story rings true. So many shows just focus on sexual relationships as those that change at/after uni but friendships do as well and its important to remember that.
After the hilarious hijinks at the KT, true words were spoken by 'T-Dog' telling Cappie that you can never go back and he is so right. Whether we like it or not, life moves forward and we have to accept that. For Cappie he looks like he is veering towards not graduating for a while and that's comforting to see he hasn't changed too much, but its also good to see that he realises that this may be problemsome in his relationship with Casey.
I was a little sad to see Evan be a jerk again, though its understandable why he did what he did. Calvin was right to be mad at him though as what Evan did was not okay. Very ingenious idea to get the money back though.

Grey's Anatomy- 6x07 Give Peace a Chance
Great episode. Its another special episode and it worked really well. Derek wasn't great at the narration, it felt a little repetitive and was used too often during the episode rather than just at the beginning and end, but otherwise it was enjoyable to see Derek's side of things. The patient in question was suitably charismatic and hopeful which pushed the episode along. The outcome of the surgery was a little too happy and well rounded but it worked within the episode.
It nice to see all the other attendings weighing in and helping out, rather than the residents, whom get a lot more screen time usually. Lexie and Cristina were hilarious with the nappy (diaper) thing as was Arizona breaking down after confronting the Chief.
There weren't many other plots in the episode which allowed all focus on this one amazing surgery but it was food to see one of the Mercy Westers being nice and trying to actually help Alex with his marriage.

Desperate Housewives- 6x06 Don't Walk on the Grass
A really good episode which seemed to be carefully plotted so that the housewives interacted whilst maintaining their own storylines. The show seems to be elongated stories which in past years might've been wrapped up in one episode eg Gabby and Juanita and this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Gabby's storyline, though it was played for laughs, really showed off her selfishness and maybe we'll see some change in her. Its good to see Tom stand up to Lynette for once for being hypocritical- both are lying and honestly I'm not sure which one is worse.
Bree debating her feelings for Karl was kind of endearing and oddly they make a good couple, but I don't think Karl will ever be able to change his ways completely.
Susan and Katherine's storyline was the worst one and is mostly just ridiculous. Katherine a bit crazy is somewhat funny, but her obsession over Mike is tiring (I don't really see it), though I get her need to take revenge on Susan.

Brothers and Sisters- 4x07 The Wine Festival
A good episode not very imaginatively titled. I thoroughly enjoyed Nora's storyline this week. Its perfectly realistic that this younger man would be interested in her, but also that she would be doubtful why. I like this motorcycle guy and the scenes at the festival were good.
Kitty and Robert had some short but sweet scene, where he sees her bald but I have to say Calista's bald cap was not very well done this week and was quite distracting.
Luc is gone, sadly not for good, but their issues are very real and I wish Sarah could pick less, shall we say, artistic men and maybe go out with someone as driven as her. Nora kept saying Luc is not Joe but honestly they pretty much seem like the same type of guy.
Kevin had the most adorable scene with Saul about picking their biological birth mother and it advanced his and Scotty's storyline forward. I have to say Scotty was right to be frustrated by the whole process.
The festival story felt hugely far-fetched, the wine was good and launched in a day?! Plus they were all drinking in the work day- no wonder the business is failing!. Ryan's treachery at the end was a little sad but also frustrating for the characters and audience. A little success for Ojai would've been nice.

Mini Reviews- February 22nd

Greek- 3x12 Pride and Punishment
This episode nicely wrapped up the fire and song fest storyline from last chapter even if the ending was a little cheesy and completely implausible. It was stupid of Casey to admit what happened but at least the story won't be hanging over the rest of the season.
Still the episode was a good one, I love the Rusty/Ashleigh pairing, bizarrely it works and we also got some nice genuine banter between Rusty and Dale, though I was expecting more fall out from Rusty getting the grant.
We also got to see the brilliant Rebecca/Cappie pairing, as they play girl/boyfriend swap. It was a silly but funny storyline and its sweet to see that Cappie still cares for Rebecca. Also hopefully this is the last of we've seen of the Amphora society, which was an annoying and silly storyline.

Greek- 3x13 Take Me Out
A much more enjoyable episode than the last and some classic Greek on Greek action to boot. I thoroughly enjoyed Casey and Cappie setting Ashleigh up with Beaver as it felt very true to life. Whilst they would make a horrible couple and I hope to see more of Ashleigh's hunky Omega Chi, it gave us some excellent and hilarious Beaver moments.
Rusty also had an enjoyable storyline learning to respect Grant whilst also growing into his role of pledge educator. Grant isn't a hugely likable character and Calvin could definitely do better, but their relationship is interesting for now.
Another enjoyable relationship is Rebecca and Evan. They're well matched with each other and Rebecca is refreshingly realistic against the fairytale, sickly sweetness of Casey and Cappie. Speaking of I'm thrilled Casey didn't throw the game for her boyfriend, winning made a much more emotionally satisfactory outcome to the game. Also I must say I'm enjoying the Gamma Psi girls as the Zeta Beta's enemies. I've always said the girls need an arch rival in the show and Frannie's house last season didn't quite work out. The Gamma Psi's make worthy adversaries.

Greek- 3x14 Tortoise and The Hair
An enjoyable episode. It was great to see Dale mixing with more of the Greeks becoming the ZBZ's new hasher and the sexual confusion with Ashleigh was very funny and quite plausible, considering Dale's high self-confidence. Liked seeing Rusty's blossoming romance (probably) with Dana, but it was silly of him to turn down the interview with Engineering Weekly (nice acronym joke there!) as his professor pointed out, these opportunities only come once or maybe twise in a lifetime.
Casey pursuing her political career felt a little false considering she has tired law and politics before and dismissed them so what is different now? The politics makes some sense, but I can't buy her doing her LSAT's; she could've easily chosen another post-grad course to do. Even though Cappie was a little cheesy, it was nice to see Casey and Cappie facing up to the future maturely, especially Casey in choosing her career first and foremost.

Desperate Housewives- 6x04 The God Why Don't You Love Me Blues
A decent episode, though like the last this felt a little rushed. Bree came across as overly harsh and self involved as she sacked Katherine for her obsession with Mike. Call me crazy also but I don't think Katherine believing Mike will come back to her is that crazy given Mike and Susan's history. The watching through the windows is admittedly going to far but Bree is sending Katherine down a dangerous path by sacking her.
The Lynette boob storyline was in part funny, I really liked her scenes with Tom, but with Carlos it felt sleazy and perhaps a little exaggerated (they weren't that big!). Would Carlos be so openly leery of his wife's friend?
Maybe his behaviour was done to make Gaby's in making Ana lie for her seem less bad. Whilst I'm thrilled that Gaby is committed to Carlos and sets both John and Ana straight, it was unfair of her to make Ana do that. Hopefully that's the last we'll see of John as his returned was not really welcomed.
Angie and Danny whilst being very mysterious have a twisted and yet quite sweet relationship, lets hope that whatever's happened in their past, their relationship stays that ways as its quite refreshing.
I enjoyed finding out what Julie has been doing for the last few years and that she is not the perfect daughter she once was, but Susan's shrillness was a little tiring. I already knew that Nick was Julie's ex lover, but it could be interesting to see how it plays out now that we know.

Eastenders- 25th Anniversary Live Episode

Its been a while since I've watched Eastenders (though I did watch the Christmas Day murder episode) but its 25th anniversary and a live ep was too hard to resist. It was actually a very good episode. Whilst I don't totally buy the surprise ending thing (I think more than a few people would have had to know about the killer considering all the following episodes have been filmed already) and the writing and acting was a little hammy, it was an enjoyable and very suitable episode for the momentous occasion. Dot and Ian watching the video of old Eastenders was a nice way to remember and commemorate the past 25th years and the Archie murder and Bradley's death was a great way to mark the occasion. The stunt was well done and who have to give props to the crew and cast for pulling off such a stunt live. There were a few slip ups, but in a way that good as it gives the show the live feeling.
The aftermath show on BBC 3 afterwards was suitably cheesy and its a shame that they didn't have more old cast members on the show and I did enjoy Larry Lamb being interviewed by son George as it was one of the funniest things of the night (apart from Bradley's death, which I rather morbidly found to be really quite funny!!)

Dollhouse- 2x09 The Attic
Wasn't sure about this episode when it started and some of the human brains acting as CPU's feels a little bit dubious to me, but all in all this was an excellent episode, mostly due to that killer reveal at the end. Adelle proven not to be a bitch was very satisfying and the events through the episode; Adelle talking to all key characters and Dollhouse employees, but us not seeing all of the conversations; are now explained and make perfect sense.
The living hells of the dolls were okay, but I would've liked to have seen more of Victor's and Sierra's. Clyde's living hell of the future was the most interesting as well as finding out key details of Rossum's inception. Really looking forward to the final episodes now.

Brothers and Sisters- 4x06 Zen and the Art of Mole Making
Ah, despite his annoyances, what joy it was to have Tommy back in the fold and the family complete. The whole episode had a lovely family feel to it, especially with Kitty and Nora at the beginning freaking out (like in the season 1 days when they lived together), the family conference call, and of course the explosive family dinner.
Storyline, the episode was less impressive, I liked that Kevin had doubt's and he and Scotty shared some sweet moments over their surrogacy woes, but I'm a little skeptical now that she's likely going to be their surrogate. Think Sarah had it right to begin with, even with Paige's blessing, allowing Luc to stay in her home and inviting him into her children's lives after knowing him for a couple of months feels a little irresponsible. The Holly/ Ryan storylines weren't that compelling, but I did like that Kitty counseled Tommy through whats effectively his mid life crisis. She's the best person to do it really considering they have a lot in common children wise. The ending was great though with Tommy going to patch up his family and Nora for once staying out of it.

Grey's Anatomy- 6x05 Invasion
The invasion of the Mercy Wester's. As a casual viewer, the injection of new blood is definitely a good thing as it keeps the show fresh. The Mercy West residents are a viciously competitive bunch and its kinda refreshing to see- surgery from what I understand is a competitive branch of medicine and the Seattle Gracer's should be more competitive sometimes. The format of giving each of the residents a rival resident to compete with worked perfectly and resulted in a few changed opinions. Poor Alex though with Izzie leaving him at the end. Though it was done for behind the scenes reasons, it works perfectly on screen and adds a sense of drama that even one of the core doctors could lose their jobs.
As a side storyline, Callie got some acceptance from her father. This was a sweet storyline, if a little saccharine. I thought Arizona was refreshingly mature, seeing things from Hector's point of view and encouraging Callie to patch up her relationship with him. Also the bible verbal contest was pretty funny.

Mini Reviews- January 31st

With lots of new TV shows starting I thought it was about time I start doing min-reviews of the shows I'm watching. Hopefully I'll get time to do all of them weekly but if not I'll try and do at least a few!

Desperate Housewives- 6x01 Nice is Different Than Good

A decent premiere episode from the sixth season of Housewives. The Mike/Susan storyline felt eternally silly to me, Susan is a real bitch for marrying Mike just two months after he dumps Katherine, though she does redeem herself at the wedding. Still I'm totally on Katherine's side and can't wait to see a little bit of crazy Katherine.
Bree's affair was so so, Gabby's wars with niece Ana were hilarious and quite sweet especially with the signing of the guardianship papers. Liked Lynette's storyline about not loving her twins, very interesting storyline and kept the silliness of this episode grounded. The new family led by former Soprano Drea Di Mateo were okay, but not enough was shown to really form an opinion of them. Liked the time jumping aspect as it kept the episode moving a long at a nice pace.

Brothers and Sisters- 4x01/02/03 The Road Ahead/ Breaking the News/ Almost Normal

The season started off fairly light with Justin and Rebecca's engagement party which was suitable ludarious for the Walkers. The second and third episodes were a lot more interesting and emotional with news of Kitty's cancer. The whole cast do a great job, especially in the third episode but Calista Flockhart, Rob Lowe and Sally Field are really bringing their A-game. I'm really looking forward to this storyline playing out over the season Kevin and Scotty are moving towards having a child, which is a great storyline for them but I hope they keep moving at a slow pace as they have been. Rob and Kitty were able to adopt very quickly and it felt rushed last season.
I love Justin at medical school; it gives him real direction and decent storylines. Everything at Ojai feels a little bit over the top- is business really conducted with so many machinations and underhand dealings as they are at Ojai?!
The three episodes really felt sibling-lite with Tommy gone completely, Ryan gone from two and Sarah making only brief appearances. Glad the latter has returned to the fold.

Greek- 3x11 I Know What You Did Last Semester

A great return from the students of Cyprus Rhodes, the show was on good form. Whilst the girls involvement with last years fire was quite ridiculous (what was up with Casey telling Cappie?! not very sisterly of her, considering they'd made a pact) but the rest of the storylines were good. I liked Evan and Rebecca's growing relationship with out it being sickly sweet like most other relationships. Cappie dealing with the loss of his brothers was realistic- though are they really gone? If so I'm sad, I liked Wade and Jeremy, Kappa Tau will be a worse of place with out them. Rusty was good as pledge educator but I must admit I was sad that he won the science award over Dale. Poor Dale- I hope they don't forget about him this chapter like they did the last. Also poor Ashleigh, breaking up with Fisher, though I would have preferred it to happen on screen in a more organic way rather than him cheating in her. Maybe we'll see a darker Ashleigh as a result. Liked Calvin and Grant dancing at the ball, though Grant was very dark after a small prank played by their brothers- he seems a bit psychotic!

Scrubs- 9x11 Our Dear Leaders

Great episode, which sadly could be one of the last aired- they shouldn't have brought Zach Braff back at all this season, proved to be a big mistake.
Turk was funny with his jealously over the superstar surgeon but he showed real growth when he took Denise's advice and volunteered as his assistant. Speaking off Denise and Drew whilst avoiding each other for most of the episode seemed to work some stuff out and by the end of the episode they are a lot more solid. Lucy was hilarious in her role of power as was Drew trying to stay away from them. All the med school students work very well together in terms of cast. I also loved Dr Cox in his nice mentor role, its rare to see and shows a new side of him.

Skins- 4x01 Thomas

A terrific opening episode. Thomas is easily my favourite character from this cast making the others seem like stupid, spoilt children. Merveille Lukeba does a great job as emotionally confused Thomas who has to bear the burden of taking care of his family as well as fitting in with his new friends at school. I was rooting for him and Andrea and I'm sad that he decided he loved Pandora at the end as they don't really seem to fit together as a couple any more. The others were unduly harsh on Thomas, they seem to have forgotten that Pandora had an on-going affair with Cook just last year, but Thomas got very little sympathy from that.
The opening sequence was amazing and I'm sure the impacts from that girls drug-fuelled death will continue to be felt for the rest of the series. This episode set the tone for a much darker fourth series which should be good.

End of season, Mid season Break, and On Hiatus

Wow American networks like to take breaks in their shows and they have a lot of ways to describe it. Three shows I watch finished their runs this week until the New Year and here are 3 quick reviews of their seasons/most recent episodes. (spoilers for all shows up to their most recently aired episode)

Chuck season 2

Whilst this was an uneven season, it was mostly enjoyable. Chuck is a very endearing and funny show and when it is at its best, action packed, which makes it a good show to watch. What I didn’t like about the season was the repetitiveness of the episode. So many of the episodes were very formulaic and therefore weren’t that interesting. The Chuck/Sarah ‘romance’ in particular is a storyline that keeps going around and around; tbh its got to the point where I don’t care that much about the pair getting together. Or not.

The BuyMore storylines have increasingly become separate from Chuck’s story and though I enjoy the BuyMore characters for the most part, it has become ridiculous that Chuck even works there anymore. He just starts and ends most episodes in the BuyMore before he rushed off for some national emergency. The best episodes were where the two worlds (spy and BuyMore) collided. Hopefully next season they can find a way to either integrate the BuyMore or from the looks of the season finale, get rid off it altogether.

The best episodes were undoubtedly the Christmas episode and the two final episodes. The finale really set up a really intriguing premise for season 3 and I hope that they follow it through convincingly.

Greek Chapter 5 (Season 3a)

Probably the shows worst chapter and this could be because its the second half of one semester meaning that this one semester has been really dragged out. So much has happened in just this semester and couldn’t possibly happen in real life. Jordan, Rusty’s girlfriend is a key example of this, who managed to move to the college, have two boyfriends and leave again all before Thanksgiving, which means she did this in about 6/7 weeks! That said I’m glad she left as she was annoying!!

More generally this chapter dealt with the Casey/Cappie romance, which tbh I find quite dull especially as I don’t buy them as a couple really. We also had Evan and Cappie become friends and breaking-up again which would have been a lot more interesting if Casey hadn’t meddled continuously.

Rebecca was once again turned into a villain and not a good one but an annoying one. The cliffhanger at the end of the finale means she’ll remain the villain next chapter again.

One storyline I was hoping the show would pick up on more was Dale, a purity pledge, losing his virginity and then his faith because of it. I think it’s an interesting storyline and is something which happens to a lot of people in college and not something really explored in other shows. Instead Dale disappeared for quite a few episodes or just made brief appearances whilst the show dealt with all its relationship drama which was a shame.

Overall I though it was a really disappointing chapter and although the storylines were there they were badly handled and the humour the show once had was gone. At more than point during the chapter I considered giving up the show but persevered. This paid off somewhat as the finale was decent and included some really interesting threads and big decisions. (Wade and other Kappa Tau brothers getting kicked out of college) The writing was also a lot better than it had been all chapter. Hopefully next chapter will improve on this one.

Dollhouse (Season 2a)

Really this has only been 4 episodes before the show was forced into a hiatus. The first 3 weren’t that great and though there were some enjoyable moments, the episodes were largely average. The fourth episode however was very strong, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Echo appeared very little and Ballard wasn’t in it at all. Priya/Sierra proved to be a very convincing lead and her story was very tragic. Topher, also proved interesting here and is quickly becoming a lot more likeable. It was interesting that he chose the morally right thing to do whilst Adelle just sat in her office and drank. I think the Victor and Sierra love story is very cute, even if its a little implausible given that they have no memories.

Its a shame that the show hasn’t been more consistent especially after re-watching the early years of Buffy, I’ve seen how inconsistent the early episodes of Buffy were. The show is likely to be cancelled and if it wasn’t for the promise showed by ‘Belonging’ (and of course Epitaph One), honestly I wouldn’t be too bothered.

TV I'm watching

Glee- the show is still having uneven episodes, the pregnancy storylines are silly and need to go fast, but the musical numbers are still great (apart from the bad dubbing over and autotune). There is definitely sparks of genius in this show and the latest episode ‘Throwdown’ was hilarious, especially die to some great one-liners from Jane Lynch. I liked the voice-over joke as it showed that the show isn’t taking itself too seriously. (its the first sneak peak on this video)



Greek- just when I was contemplating giving this show up for completely losing its quality, ‘The Dork Knight’ comes along and is a pretty decent episode. The boys Comic-Con storyline was the best and I liked Dale’s faith crisis storyline especially as its different from all the other storylines on the show most of which are pretty tired. There also some really funny in-joke lines from Ashley about this being a really long semester (hear hear!) and whether Casey even attends classes anymore. What I liked about the show in the earlier seasons was that whilst the characters engaged in all the usual drama, they still seemed to be doing uni work which kept the show grounded whereas lately it has felt like any other teen drama. Casey and Rebecca are still being really annoying characters in their pursuit to get what they want and the show is definitely suffering from their loss of Frannie as antagonist.

Flashforward- Watched the first 3 episodes of this highly anticipated show and its pretty good, however there are major flaws. As some reviews have pointed out, this show doesn’t have the time or budget to truly capture the global effects of this disaster, which is pretty problematic as this show is about a global events. Though I am pleased they are showing other places other than America as American shows don’t usually do this. The thing that is bothers me the most is that even though the blackout must’ve killed and injured millions, the main characters seem to be going about their lives as usual. A doctor and investigator for the FBI charged with finding out why the blackout happened still have time to go home every night to tuck their daughter into bed, make her breakfast in the morning and both turn up at a parent- teacher meeting. Children are still going to school and ladies are lunching and despite marshal law being instated and some evidence of destruction, there seems to be very little consequence of the blackout with people concentrating on the flashforwards. Surely an event like this would cause widespread panic and emergency service would be rushed off their feet and law enforcement and the government would be working round the clock to be in store law and order and to find out what happened. Instead everyone seems quite relaxed about the here and now.
Despite these flaws the overall premise is enough to keep me interested at least for a few more episodes.

Modern Family- I managed to catch the first episode of this and even though the premise isn’t the greatest and most original, the pilot episode was actually laugh out loud. I like that the families are all related; they had to be connected in some way for the show to work and this is way better than some tenuous ‘they’re all neighbours’ link or something. Here’s my favourite bit from the pilot episode:



I think I’ll carry on watching this one. I’m actually watching way too much TV than I can manage but half an hour shows are great as it they are entertaining and don’t take too long to watch!

At the moment I've been watching...

At the moment I've been watching:

Chuck season 2- Over halfway now and whilst its not my favourite show I still really like it and its a lot of fun. I absolutely adore Casey- he only has to growl and I laugh (though my Casey love has a lot to do with the actor playing him!!) but I must admit I’m finding the constant to-ing and fro-ing between Chuck and Sarah and little tiresome, its a bit too much will they won’t they for me. I’m loving most of the BuyMore storylines though, I would like to see Chuck actually working there more, his storylines seem to be a little disconnected from the rest of the show.

Greek chapter 5- only a couple of episodes in and even though its still a fun show, they are relying way too much of the Cappie/Casey relationship which to be frank is getting very dull. Some of the other storylines are interesting but I’m reserving full judgement until I’ve seen a few more episodes.

Ugly Betty season 3- also over halfway and I’m understanding the dip in quality that most people talked about. I’m enjoying certain aspects of the show- Amanda and Betty living together was a real highlight, and there have been a few good episodes but the show has a very odd feel. It could be the move to New York and the show trying to shoe-horn in as much of the city as possible; it just doesn’t have the natural feel that Sex and the City had to it when the show was on. Also I’m really not loving the shows fashion anymore; I know being a fashion magazine they have to be a bit fashion forward, but some of the outfits look worse than many of Betty’s ensembles!

Entourage season 6- A slight dip in quality (says a lot even from me an avid fan of the show) I’m just not sure where some of the storylines are going. I’m enjoying Turtle and Eric’s storylines but Vince’s stalker storyline burned out and wasn’t nearly as exciting as I hoped. I’m glad Lloyd is standing up for himself finally. (in the last episode Security Briefs) Since he’s a fully fledge cast member I expect he’ll be back at MGA soon enough. Only a few episodes are left and I hope the storylines start to take shape soon.

Glee season 1- After a hugely successful pilot the two following episodes, whilst decent enough haven’t lived up to expectations which is hardly surprising considering all the hype meant that it was bound to disappoint a little. It’s still one of the most enjoyable shows out there and absolutely hilarious. The performances are great as well, even if some are auto-tuned a little too much. Here are a couple of my favourite performances from the 2 newest episodes (sorry for the quality of the videos):

The boys singing I Wanna Sex You Up- lets just say I’m starting to see the attraction of Puck after this performance... ;)

Rachel singing Take A Bow- amazing and perhaps even better than the Rihanna version

The Wire season 5- if a thing such as perfection actually exists, The Wire might possibly be the perfect TV show. Thought season 5 wasn’t its best season; the show from start to finish was amazing, simply incredible. The DVD’s have moved to the top of my DVD’s-to-Buy list and I can’t wait to watch the whole show again. Everything about this show- writing, acting, casting, settings- everything was sensational. I was a little worried that the show was overrated, but this is one of the rare times when the praise that is heaped on the show actually is true.

I want to do a show blog on it, but there is just so much to blog on, I’m not sure I could, maybe after my re-watch. I’ll probably do a favourite characters list at some point thought it will probably be very long!!

The final few episodes of the show left me numb, completely in tears and blown away. The final episode wasn’t perfect, it was very bittersweet, a few happy endings but not many; quality wise, it was excellent and a nice tribute the city of Baltimore.

If I give you any advice it would be to watch this show-start to finish and do your best to avoid spoilers. You won’t regret it!!