WTF is this?!

Glee is tomorrow...here's your one stop sneak peak extravaganza!

A couple of teaser clips...







Guest star Kristin Chenowith sings!

Survivor: Samoa premiered on CBS a couple weeks ago and I have to admit that this season seems to be a bit more exciting than the previous few. The biggest reason why? Producers found a new supervillian in oil tycoon Russell. But at what cost?

The game has had its fair share of villains, most noticeably Big Gay Richard from the first season and the always conniving Johnny Fairplay. Russell is hoping to go down in history as the bad guy who won big, and so far his antics have been successful. The two people who stood in his way, who noticed that he may not be the man who he claims to be, have been sent packing.

And who does he claim to be? He has told fellow castaways that he is a Hurricane Katrina victim who lost his dog to the flood waters. He's a big dumb country boy who works hard physically and gets a bad rap from dumb girls who aren't contributing enough. In actuality, he's an oil Tycoon from Texas who appears to be an incredibly sexist, power-hungry masculinity trope whose gameplay includes dumping everyone's water out of their canteens. Most of this I take no issue with. I don't care about their water; I actually think that keeping the camp in disarray makes people point fingers and as long as the fingers aren't predisposed in your direction it's a good tactic. And the must talked about lie about Hurricane Katrina? I don't care what people on the internet are saying, lies are necessary to win this game. Hatch lied to everyone and won a million and Johnny Fairplay's dead Grandmother lie was perhaps the best piece of gameplay ever. These shows are as much about my observance of human nature as they are about the manipulation of this nature.

I am, however, observing something pretty troubling. Evil Russell is a masogonistic ass. And he's being rewarded for his trouble. In the first day on the island, Russell makes alliances with three of the young, attractive girls on the island. He then promptly names this the "Dumb Girl Alliance". What exactly made them dumb? Well, they're young and attractive of course. And those two things can never coexist with intelligence. Look at me. I'm dumb as a fucking rock. Russell goes on to let the cameras know that he will be manipulating the girls because they're stupid and easily manipulated. A large male who believes that women can and should be easily manipluated because they belong to the inferior sex. Sounds like my kind of guy. Except that his assertions aren't right at all. In the past two weeks two of the women have gotten leery of Russell's creepy ways (see, girls--even dumb ones-- can spot a dickhead a mile away) and expressed their distrust to Russell. Seeing red at these vaginas having opinions, he has convinced a tribe full of men who buy into these tropes and the women who are too scared to stand against them to send these independent voices home.

I guess the masogony is contagious because Ben, a member of the team hit a girl in the face during the challenge and everyone was cool with it. Cool enough not to vote him off. When Jeff Probst (who seems genuinely concerned about the level of sexist behavior being displayed) questions another male member of the tribe about the incident he replies, "That's how Bennie rolls basically. The guy doesn't just show teeth, he bites." Yeah guys, he doesn't just display idle threats to small women. He punches them in the fucking face. He's a man.

Alas, this is what reality television does. It holds a mirror up to society and says, "Jesus, you guys are messed up! Anybody want to watch a train wreck?" Train wreck indeed.

I thought that I would mention the return of television's biggest cryfest, The Biggest Loser. I've waxed poetic on the blog before about how this show is really the best that reality, or television in general, has to offer. So, what happens to a good reality show once it become popular?

Well, the first thing is the mass ordering of more episodes. The producers of Biggest Loser have done this before with filler outings of Biggest Loser:Families (one episode jaunts that featured the weight loss exploits of just one family at home) proved both inadequate in content and ratings. Instead, the producers tried pushing more and more actual seasons into the year.

The problem with this formula is that the audience gets burned out on the schtick. Reality programming especially has a particularly formulaic editing process. Training, conflict, diet tip, training, personal conflict, overcoming-adversity-story, worried contestants, last chance workout, weigh-in, discussion, voting. I still cry everytime but it's all getting a little...scheduled.

They're certainly trying to make this season different in some ways. They've brought back fan-favorite from last season Daniel--the former largest contestant ever--and he's just genuine enough for his tips and guardian like behavior not to be annoying. Bob and Gillian are training together for the first time and it's fun to see the competition more about personal weight loss than it is about mob team mentality. And the saddest contestant story ever, a woman whose two children and husband were killed in a car crash, makes me want someone to win perhaps harder than I ever have.

So far, the forula seems to be working. Other reality programs have done it before. The Amazing Race and Survivor are both in their teens and twenties, and they're still pumping out quality, fresh product. Biggest Loser could, however, benefit from a little CBS storyline/editing to keep the old standby from getting stale.

Celebrity Fit Club has Finalized Its Season:





Shar Jackson- K-Fed's ex and baby mama. You may know her from Ex-Wive's Club, Celebrity Rap-Off prostituting herself all over whichever magazine or television show will have her. Oh, and Moesha too. That time that she hooked up with Jason Alexander (no, not that Jason Alexander) just to get back at K-Fed was pretty classy.

Kevin Federline- You know him as K-Fed. Or Fed-Ex. Or K-Fat as of late. He's the smarmy, chain-smoking, white trashtastic back up dancer whose burgeoning rap career woo'd the likes of Britney Spears. After a terrible breakup, a shaved head, mental hospital and custody battles, it looks like Britney's back on track and Kevin's life has been derailed. Oh, to see he and Shar back together again.

Bobby Brown- What can be said about Bobby Brown that hasn't already been said by Joel McHale? He used to be in a boyband. Then he was a singer. Then he married a huge star. Then he did lots and lots of crack. After that he did Gone Country and continued to enjoy the residual effects of a lifetime of crack cocaine use. It's really just a beautiful cinderella story that led us to VH1 Celebreality.

Nicole Eggert- She's the pretty one from Baywatch. No, not Yasmine Bleeth. She's long since suffered from caved-out coke nose. But Nicole Eggert (also the pretty one on Charles in Charge), has piled on a few pounds since her red one-piece days, and she's looking for a way to get back onto the radar.

Kaycee Strough- She was the fat one on High School Musical. If Ashley Tisdale can fix her nose, why can't Kaycee get on a treadmill?

Sebastian Bach- The frontman for Skid Row is looking a lot bloated these days. His failing career found him also slumming it on the likes of Celebrity Rap-Off and ManBand. It's kind of sad to see someone cling to fame this desperately. Hopefully it'll lead to awkwardly delicious scale crying.

Tanisha- TANISHA IS FROM BAD GIRLS' CLUB AND SHE WILL START A SAUCEPAN CONCERT IF YOU CONTINUE TO MAKE HER JUMP OFF!

Jay McCarroll- The winner of Season 1 of Project Runway famously lambasted the producers of the show for thrusting ill-prepared designers into the cut-throat world of pop-culture stardom. Last we heard of him he had spent some nights living on the street.

So...it looks like another trainwreck waiting to happen. At least we can be sure of no Dustin Diamond appearances.

Heroes has returned, and after the last two seasons of what can only be described as a putrid, festering corpse of the potential that it once had, I considered this season's premiere a make-or-break episode.

So, how did the sinking ship fare?

I'd say that it's shoveling just fast enough.

When we last left off, Parkman had done his mental mojo magic on a shapeshifted actually-Sylar-but-he-had-embodied-Nathan's-personality-and-visage into thinking that he was really Nathan. Got that? Well, it's a bit convoluted, but I decided to go with it because it means that Nathan and his zeitgeist ways could stick around and Zach Quinto could have the sort of schedule flexibility that allowed for a prompt Star Trek 2.

But I guess the trick didn't really work all that well since Sylar is popping up holding Baby Parkman and joining the middle of Matt's addiction roundcircle. And on top of all of that, Nathan's hearing that incessant clock-ticking which would make anyone turn into a pychopathic serial killer. Ummm...I have a few issues with this storyline. I'm to assume that Sylar is able to walk and talk and pick up adorable babies but no one else can see this mental outcropping of part of a telepathic genius who is trying to suppress his powers by going to 12-step meetings? What are these meetings for? Other police-men who have super-powers that no longer morally coalesce with your lifestyle? And they're just cool with you talking to imaginary people in the middle of the meetings? I hope there're some heroin junkies up in there who can identify.

By episode's end, Matt seems to have rebuked his quest for life without powers in order to force a water delivery guy (who the hell has a water delivery guy???) to never come to the house again. In all fairness, Mrs. Parkman has been kind of a ho in the past, and anyone who's veiwed a couple dozen pornos knows that muscular dudes who deliver things are almost always up to no good. But seriously guys, wasn't Matt just in love with Daphne? Or is this like that time Peter left his girlfriend in the future and then never talked about her again? Cause that really happened.

Speaking of, Peter is back to being the world's brooding-est male nurse. He's effectually ambulance chasing and keeping a creepy newspaper wall of the lives he's saved while using his powers. As always Peter is useless in this episode. I mean, he has the coolest powers possible and they have to be wasted on a guy who would wear eyeliner if he went to high school nowadays. Long story short, I hate Peter.

Uh, Claire went to college. Her perky roommate who used to be on Days of Our Lives (she, in fact, won a Daytime Emmy for her performance and Chelsea--I also love DooL suckas!) committed suicide. Or, that's what the police are saying. The numbers don't add up, and Claire's new creppy friend, little girl from The Nanny, agrees. She also saw Claire throw herself from a window and shove her ribs back into her body. Blah, blah. Seriously, get this chick a throat lozenge.

Tracy still exists. Don't get me wrong. I love Ali Larter. She's the prettiest lady out there with little bitty boobies, but Tracey? She's even lamer than...um...schitzo hero. See, I don't even remember her name. She tries to kill Denko. Then she tries to kill HRG. Then Denko saves him. Then HRG makes a deal with Tracy. Then Tracy goes to Denko's house but some crazy super fast knife guy comes in and kills him. Did I not mention the crazy super fast knife guy from the Carnival? He also happens to be the dude who played Darth Maul, so that's distracting.

Oh, boy. There is apparently a commune of people with powers who live in a carnival and carry compasses? They've lost a member due to some unnamed wrong done to them, and are looking for replacement(s). There's Tattoo Lady, Wheezy, Darth Maul, and Tommy Lee. It's the storyline this season. I'm gonna stop watching this show.

Oh, Brotherly love.

This season of Project Runway is okay. I wish that it was more than just okay. I wish that the location change from New York to Los Angeles hadn't diminished the credibility of one of the few remaining legit reality shows on television, or brought on a slew of "Why are they there?" celebrity judges (Eva Longoria-Parker? Lindsay 'Trainwreck' Lohan?). However downhill it has gone, I'm still watching. I think I'll be on board as long as Tim Gunn is.

This week's challenge was to create an outfit out of newspaper. It's the kind of challenge the show is famous for--asking designers to think outside of the box with construction and materials as well as designs. I'm sort of upset that this wasn't the very first challenge, I mean, what kind of a throw away was the "Red Carpet Challenge"? What they produced was good, bad and ugly.

THE BEST

Althea created this body-contouring cocktail dress which Parker-Longoria said she "would totally wear". It does look like something that most fashion conscious women would put on and the pattern--created entirely from layering pieces of graphic on pages--is as visually appealing as it is creative. I think that Althea should have won but suspect that the judges didn't want her to win two weeks in a row.

I generally think that Christopher's design aesthetic belongs in a prom store in the mall rather than NY fashion week, and that includes the concept of this dress, but the execution of the design and the juxtaposition of the hard and soft (getting paper to sway like that was genius) deserved acclaim.

THE WORST

After a lot of crap talking, Nicholas ended up in the bottom two with a dress that made my boyfriend say, "It looks like a beetle". The judges, too, thought that it was insect inspired and annoying, emo Nicholas almost went home.

Johnny's awkward paper craft project dress got him the boot. And good riddance after he made some BS reason as to why he threw his first dress away (yay for Tim Gunn calling him out!) and used the rest of his time doing a freaking crossword puzzle.

THE WINNER

In the end, Irina won for this trench. I'll give it to her, the look is visually stunning and looks like a trench coat. But it appears costume-y to me. It's as if she's a set designer assigned with the task of creating real-world clothing in an alternate universe where only newspaper is available. Sort of the point of the challenge, I'll admit, but a little to literally responsive to the task. You shouldn't be able to tell that it's newspaper. And the fact that Tommy Hilfiger could see the scotch tape? Unforgivable.

NBC's comedy lineup launched its fall season last night and it got the job done. Here's a breakdown of the shows....

Parks and Recreation

Pawnee public servants.

The Amy Poehler vehicle that nabbed a midseason replacement spot last year had a lot to prove last night. I had originally watched this show loving the concept (an Office-style documentary crew follows the exploits of city worker and hapless optimist Leslie Knope as she attempts to make a difference in her small midwestern town), the cast (all with Pohler, Office alum Rashida Jones, Human Giant comedian Aziz Ansari, Aubrey Plaza--the funny girl from Funny People , and my crush in All the Real Girls, Paul Schneider), and the fact that it was another Greg Daniels comedy.

But Parks and Recreation dropped the ball on a couple of episodes last season, coming up low on laughs and high on awkward timing. I reminded myself that The Office took nearly a whole season to find its footing and gave it another chance. The payoff was worth it. Last night's episode was possibly the funniest yet. It seemed as if the writers were aware that improvements needed to be made, and reached hard to pull out the laughs. There are two things that make this show great, and they seemed to get both of them:

1. The likeability and realness of the characters.

2. The pop-culture referentiality of the scripts.

Leslie, especially is the heart of this show. She is bullish and often insipid in her quest to make a difference, ignoring the trite nature of her accomplishments in favor of highlighting the good that one can do everyday. She is the perfect anectdote to the current politically cynical climate--less HOPE more WORK. In a world where fanatical slogan chanting is proving to be as useless as a ABC comedy (ZING!), Leslie's hard work and dilligence, not to mention steadfast belief in the power of public service are refreshing.

Her crush on longtime co-worker and former one-night stand Mark is endearing in the saddest way, and her friendship with sweet nurse is Ann ,well, sweet. Last night's episode found Leslie embroiled in a gay marriage controversy having accidentally married two male penguins in what was intented to be a cute zoo publicity stunt. Seeing our unassuming protagonist forced to make tough political and personal decisions was satisfying and despite a few comedic missteps (watching penguins hump each is unnecessary and cheap, especially amongst such talented writers), the storyline provided the set-up for some great moments. Leslie at a gay bar with metro Tom was perfect. "Flipper and Eve, not Flipper and Steve" spray-painted on a zoo wall was priceless. Leslie realizing that love is rare and precious--and not to be forsaken--was a tender moment which led to her telling (with a sense of genineness that hints at dramatic acting potential for Poehler) best friend Ann to accept a date with previously turned-down Mark. And can I tell you how great it was to see Ann tell Leslie that she would never date Mark because of Leslie's little crush on him earlier in the episode? Girls looking out for other girls instead of cutting them down is full of win.

Aside from the character intereaction, the show is a more referential version of the docu-style. From Aziz mentioning "peacocking" to Leslie singing Poker Face in a gay club, Parks and Rec makes the ONTD reader in me chuckle. And the Fox News style morning show where Leslie is lambasted for her gay marriage views was a bit overdone but topically thoughtful. It's seriously 2009, ya'll.

Overall, great job guys. Keep up the good work and I hope people are watching.

The Office

I feel the same way about The Office coming back, Kelly.

Ever since Arrested Development got cancelled, The Office has retained the mantle of funniest show on television. The worry with a show like this--especially when it is as popular with audiences as it is with critics--is that at some point it will lose its spark, willowing into a shell of what it once was. If the season premiere is any indication, the show will be just fine this season.

Having found out that they were pregnant in last season's finale, Jim and Pam are keeping the news secret from their co-workers. The issue of these characters' relationship is a particularly tricky one, as a happy couple with no problems does not a funny premise make. The "problem" of pregnancy is a smart move for the writers, as it presents all sorts of complications. The truth is unfolded for the whole of the office when Michael's antics force Jim and Pam to unveil their secret in order to protect a coworker's own hidden indescretion. Here are a couple places where the episode went right:

1. No Dwight Overload-- Hands down, Dwight Schrute is the one of the best characters ever writter and as played by Rainn Wilson he is gut-busting funny. However, a character this overwhelming is dangerous if overused. One ought never venture into Jack on Will and Grace territory, where outlandish supporting characters are overplayed in an attempt to appease fans. Too much of a good thing can give you a stomach ache; the writers gave us the perfect amount of Dwight. "People feel like they can talk to me. I have a face you can trust; I think it's because of my low cheekbones."

2. Creed is Amazing-- My favorite character on the show, the creeptastic Creed, never fails to deliver one-liners that make me roll off of my couch. "If I can't scuba, then what is this all about? What have I been working toward?"

3. Michael Scott is Cringe-Worthy-- There is one thing that The Office has above all other shows on television--the cringe factor. Making the audience feel slightly uncomfortable has always been the surprise element of the show. The writers always take me to the edge of my limit for awkward situations, tempting me to fast forward through the aftermath of potentially stomach-turning moments, but reeling me in the the uneasy laughter that will follow. I still can't pinpoint why this is so appealing. Perhaps it is because it's so fresh, something that feels new and different. Perhaps it's because it makes the plotline and people feel more real, that they are suseptable to real life thudding moments. What is certain is that the office boss Michael Scott almost always delivers us these moments. This episode he idiotically told the entire office about Stanley's affair, thinking that it would be totes hilar like gossiping about the teenaged interns' love lives. Watching Michael Scott in action is like watching a YouTube video of a 3-year-old fall into a hole because it was running too fast. It's so cute you feel sorry for it, but that doesn't make its idiotic actions and the subsequent consequences and less funny.

4. Jim and Pam-- You know why people love Jim and Pam? However much we all wish to win the lottery or lose 20 pounds or move to a big exciting city, we'd give it all up to have what they have. I bet they watch the NBC Thurday night comedy line-up and eat popcorn and go to bed at 11. I bet they go grocery shopping on Sundays. I bet they're totally lame in their home lives. I bet they're really, really happy. Love isn't going to Paris or being swept off your feet or dramatic speeches. Love is a sideways glance as you knowingly make fun of something silly together. Love is Jim and Pam.

Community

(from left) Shirley, Abed, Britta, The Dean, Jeff, Annie, Pierce, Troy

Let me begin this review by saying one thing: I am in love with Joel McHale. As an avid watcher of The Soup in whichever version E! has been running for the past twelve years or so (I liked Greg Kinnear before As Good as It Gets, Hal Sparks was just okay for me and John Henson's skunk spot was especially endearing when his plight for Dennis Hoffman to come onto the show finally paid off), and I think that Joel McHale and the current staff of writers on the show it possibly its best. So, when I heard that he had moved up from bit-part-on-the-cutting-room-floor of Spiderman 3 to his very own sitcom, I was excited. I would have watched even if the thing was on ABC (ZING!), but was especially happy to hear that it was trusted enough to be run alongside comedy giant The Office. But upon seeing the previews for the show, I was scared. It didn't look all that funny. And however much I wanted to remember Three Amigos and not Snow Day, the nightmare of a certain late night talk show inhibited my endless faith in Chevy Chase.

So, as I watched last night's series premiere of Community, I felt wary. McHale's delivery was at times forced, much the same way that Tina Fey's was the first season on 30 Rock. Sometimes hosting a show or delivering fake news makes you a punchline professional but a little rusty at real life interaction. However, the intention was faithful to a well-thoughtout character outline. McHale's Jeff is a lawyer who has been forced to attend community college after he his bachelor's degree from Columbia is found to be more closely related to Bogota than the East Village. Where McHale succeeds is in choosing to play smart instead of smarmy. A cheap lawyer joke is easy but complicating the situation by showing the ease with which a man whose natural proclivity toward situational manipulation might make a less-than-altruistic career choice all too easy, makes the audience see his moralistic defaults as somehow admirable. And understandable.

His classmates and teachers are supportive gems. Chase is the obvious veteran, playing an actually smarmy businessman whose lack of connection with the real world should provide plenty of story fodder in the future. Daily Show alum John Oliver is funny as the hippy Brit Dean whose moral compass is pointed in the opposite direction of Jeff's. Donald Glover is surprisingly hilarious as former high school jock Troy. He's former 30 Rock writer whose also happens to be a YouTube sensation...I see big things in this kid's future. In a television crashing of worlds, I looked up Allison Brie who plays Troy's high school classmate and neurotic student Annie to figure out where I recognized her from, and it turns out that she plays Pete's wife Trudy on Mad Men. She's obviously the "actor" of the show, and with a cast of former writers and comedians, the producers of Community would be smart to keep her around. Yvette Nicole Brown's resume reads like a TV Schedule from the past 10 years, as she has guest starred on too many shows to name. She's the definition of a "I know her from somewhere!" actress, and is quippy and sassy enough to pull off working mom Shirley. Finally, there's Britta played by Jillian Jacobs. She's the romantic foil for McHale, a woman in her late 20's who has gone back to school for unknown reasons. I think that she's meant to be mysterious and charming, but I'm not sure I'm buying Jacobs' portrayal. Time will tell if she can step up to the plate.

The obvious stand out of the cast is Danny Pudi, who plays Abed. I knew Pudi from Greek and Gilmore Girls but had no idea that he could be this good comedically. His delivery as Abed, a student with Asburgers, is technically sounds and comedically hilarious. He easily my favorite character and actor on the show and to be honest, I'd watch it just for him.

I'll keep watching, and I think that the show will only get better.

True Blood's much anticipated season finale has come and gone and it was...well...underwhelming. After a season that had kidnapping, vampire suicide, an Eric/Sookie sex-scene, countless orgies, Lafayette in chains and a near vampire-human war, the hopes were high for an awesome season finale. But, I guess after all of that the writers had run out of creative juices.

Maryanne had captured Sookie, and revealed her intentions to have Sookie serve as a bridesmaid in her impending wedding. "To whom?", you may ask. Well, to The God That Comes, of course. And that crazy egg we were all wondering about? It was just an ostrich egg. Lame. Honestly, the best part of the whole first half of the episode was Lafayette in a bridesmaid dress.

Andy and Jason came into Maryanne's guns blazing hoping to take over but they were soon overtaken by the black liquid eyes. The bad news? We had to watch Jason make out with a fat old lady. The good news? The writers didn't cop out. I mean, it was cool that they tried, but did anyone really think that dim-witted Jason and boozing Andy were going to make a difference.

Evan Rachael Wood made her second appearance as Queen Sophie. Does she look the part? Absolutely. Can she act? Hell naw! The never ending yatzee game bored me to death and the fact that she won't let Eric go is pissing me off. i

Bill saves the day, Sookie cries, Hoyt finally stands up to Mama and Maryanne dies. It all happens in the first half of the episode with no sort of exciting pacing to be seen. Where the heck are we going with the rest of the episode? The answer? No where really. Andy's freaking out for no reason about no one giving him credit. Sam is looking for his long lost real family...the sort of loose end that's good the start in the middle of a season but not savory enough to serve as a season ending cliffhanger. Hoyt goes to Jessica's to try and make things right but she's out feeding off of a trucker which was, frankly, the most interesting character twist in the episode. Jason shoots Eggs in the head because he's pointing the knife with which he had previously cut people's hearts out (stupid, stupid Sookie showed him his blackout periods). What will this mean to last season's teased Jason/Tara love story? The big cliffhanger was Bill being kidnapped. After proposing to Sookie who responded by crying and running out of the room, Bill is choked by a chain of silver by someone in fabulous black leather gloves. I'm guessing it wasn't OJ Simpson and the episode certainly led us to believe that it was Eric, who had previously promised Queen Sophie he would "take care of Bill". My guess is that a different bone was picked...one in the form of a pretty brunette maker.

NEEDS MOAR ERIC.

The short season of America's Next Top Model has begun. It is more pointless than ever, seeing as the girls have gone from a 20% chance of getting work in the Japanese market to absolutely no chance. Ever.

But, without further ado, here are my favs so far...

Rae

Nicole

Brittany

Laura

Nenna-look-alike needs to go home. DNW.

GLEE!!!

So, I haven't commented on the BEST NEW SHOW ON TELEVISION-- Glee!



When I previewed the show months ago, I knew that it was something special. From Ryan Murphy, creator of cable giant Nip/Tuck, the show follows the lives of those involved with a high school glee club in middle-American Ohio. It is equal parts funny and touching--and its musical numbers are making Broadway fans all over the country.

The show re-launched last week and proved that it wasn't an awesome pilot fluke.

Lea Michelle looks exactly like Idina Mezel

Rachel (the Tracey Flick-esque star of the glee club whose drive and pushy passion are as annoying as they are appealing) developed a crush on Finn, the adorable quarterback whose singing talent and recent induction into the club has ostracized him from his popular clique.

Inappropriate thoughts...

The problem is that Finn is dating Quinn, the head cheerleader/president of The Celibacy Club.

I can't seem to hate her

Quinn's also begun to work as a spy for the coach of the cheerleaders (played to a sadistic tee by veteran comedy actress Jane Lynch), which means that she's joined the glee club. But the crush isn't all unrequited. After an adorable romantic set-up on the behalf of Rachel, Finn and the pint-sized singer share a personal moment...but it doesn't mean that Finn breaks up with Quinn, or stops parading it in front of Rachel. The love triangle is nuanced and emotional, providing material that is rife with complication and introspection--especially after Quinn makes a morally positive step towards showing her true colors as a good person.

Rounding out the teenaged cast are Mercedes, a pluz-sized diva with a Jennifer Hudson voice.

Too much sass to handle.

She develops a crush on Kurt, whose affinity for Lagerfeld makes him a boy after my own heart. (As a side note, Chris Colfer, who portrays Kurt, came in to audition for Glee and the producers loved him so much that they created the part of Kurt specifically for him.) This week's episode showed Mercedes' friendship with Kurt blossoming into a full-blown crush, which led to arguably the best piece of acting on the show thus far. Kurt comes out to Mercedes and the continued theme of outsiders--so well portrayed on the show--hits home in the most tender way.

Oh, tertiary characters, you round out the harmonies.

The other two members of the glee club, Artie and Tina, haven't been fully flushed out. Artie is a wheelchair bound baritone who happens to be kind of hot in real life, and Tina is a goth chick with a stutter. Here's to hoping that the writers have something more in store for these two.

Lest we start thinking that drama and raw emotions end with high school, there are adults in the picture who find life just as awkward and complicated.

Nice vest.

Will Schuester (played by veteran Broadway actor Matthew Morrison) is the linchpin of the show, the Spanish teacher come glee club leader whose own high school experience as a popular singer has spiraled into a ho-hum life with a needy wife.

Awkward...

That wife (played by Heroes alum Jesslyn Gilsig) is whacked. Whacked enough to have led Will into thinking that she's pregnant with his prodigal son. Whacked enough to have a craft room.

Singing "All By Myself" in your car is totally normal.

Will is also on the receiving end of affection from the school guidance counselor, Emma. With pastry colored clothing and a severe dirt affliction, Emma is nuerotically cute. Her crush in Will reminds us that life doesn't get any easier after high school. And Will's dedication to his wife, despite apparent feelings for Emma, proves that gaining maturity doesn't create an easy road.

So, basically the characters are awesome, the plotlines are interesting and the dance numbers are AMAZING!

"Don't Stop Believin'"

So, without further ado, here are some Glee extras:

Interview with the cast...



Supposed season playlist---

To be sung by the entire group:
"Somebody to Love" - Queen
"Golddigger" - Kanye West (this is along with Will)
"It's My Life" - Bon Jovi/"Confessions" - Usher (Just the boys)
"Halo" - Beyonce/"Walking on Sunshine" - Katrina and the Waves (Just the girls)

Solos:
"Bust Your Windows" - Jazmine Sullivan : Mercedes
"Last Name"- Carrie Underwood : Kristin Chenoweth's character April
"Sweet Caroline" - Neil Diamond : Puck
"Tell Him" - Barbara Streisand & Celine Dion : Mercedes
"Bust a Move" - Young MC : Will
"Defying Gravity" - Wicked : Kurt (also possibly Rachel, but Kurt for sure now)
"Thong Song" - Sisqo : Ken (LOL!)
"I Could Have Danced All Night" - My Fair Lady : Emma

Cute, epic duets:
"Maybe This Time" - Cabaret : Rachel and April
"No Air" - Jordan Sparks : Rachel and Finn (omg ill die)

Dumb, bullshit performances I'd rather not see:
"I Say a Little Prayer"- Dionne Warwick : for sure the Cheerios... maybe others.
and songs by:
Random songs by The Supremes : Quinn, Santana, and other Cheerio/Glee Club member Jill Scot

"Take a Bow"- Lea Michele



"Push It"- Glee Cast



"Bust Your Windows"- Amber Riley



"Mercy"-Vocal Adrenaline



Kurt was IN A BOYBAND CALLED NLT!!!! OMG!!!



Next Week's Preview...

As reported by Gawker, Camille from NYC Prep got done kicked out of her school. She is, instead, attending the Professional Children's School, which is to say she wants to be an actress now. I'm not one to crush the dreams of silver-spoon-fed Upper East Side ingrates (that's a lie) but I've seen this Tonya Cooley path of reality-show semi-stardom turned actress before. It's not pretty. Just check out Audrina in Sorority Row.

This news acts as confirmation that Camille will be returning to the show next season (and Kelli since she is probably home schooled, Sebastian since he just doesn't give a fuck, and Squats since she just goes to a public school anyway). Hopefully they won't be adding Sebastian's big nosed friend--but they probably will. At least we still have Sebastian's hair.

OMFG!!! BEST SEASON FINALE OF THE REAL WORLD EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When we last left off, the constant infighting in the Cancun house continued as Emileeeeeeeeee got trashed and did a fancy dance all over Bronne's zombie magazine. That really happened. Having previously been treated to an intensely long cut of a film Bronne made about zombies starring Bronne about Bronne fighting those zombies (played by Bronne), we got to see his angry side. See, Bronne is serious about two things 1. Homoerotic behavior and 2. Zombies. After he found his magazine wrinkled and disgraced, he the often overlooked roommate made his stance on Emileeeeeee and Ayiiiiiiiiiiiiia known. According to Bronne, he hates Ayiia and Emilee because they are both crazy-pie. I suspect that he dislikes vowels.

So, what could happen after all of this season's drama to cap off the VD cestpool that has been Cancun this season?

Joey came back! Yes, because producers realized that all of the other houseguests had already slept together and that the last time Joey was here medicated Emilee and cutter Ayiia wanted to kill him and/or themselves, they found a loophole in his not being able to come back. Since the roommates' tenure with Student City was up, Joey could come back and boy did he ever!

Viewers (that means me and the dog, but it sounds cooler to say "viewers" like I'm a real journalist with qualifications and readership), were tense with anticipation wondering what sort of hell would break loose when the lip-ringed bandleader returned. Strangely, no one fights.

See, the roomies played a big ol' joke on Joey while he was away and told him that he had been replaced with a superhot but kind of bitchy girl roommate. HOW FUNNY! So, when Joey gets to the house, all of the old housemates bond over trash talking the fictional human being. The problem is that the fictional human being sounds a whole lot like all of the other girls in the house since the male entities involved refuse to say anything positive about her beyond the measure of her hotness, and call her a terrible bitch without giving any evidence. Joey, mysoginistic gem that he is responds that he hates her too but that he's going to bang her brains out. Sweet, sweet Joey.


The roommates are getting along swimmingly, even Joey and Ayiia, who used to want to murder each other for super mature reasons. And gosh, getting along swimmingly is turning into getting along with a creepy amount of sexual tension. The solution to this surprising twist? Copious amounts of tequila! If there's one thing I learned in college, it's that tequila ensures good decisions and never causes blackouts. Sleey after a long day of drinking, Emileeeeee invites, implores and baby talks Ayiiiiiiia into cuddling her in bed. Meanwhile, Joey is trolling the house for something to hump--and after he's found first choice Jonna pissing her little heart out--he moves onto anything but the black one. He finds the girls and jumps into bed with them, where the humping commences. Ayiia smells jackpot and tries to initiate another roommate threesome but Emilee is having none of it--she's such a throw-away character--and the two people who hate each other most continue their afternoon boink. Minutes after Ayiia feels guilty that she has cheated on her boyfriend and cries and cries. And cries. How awkward for Joey who's all high-fives and post-bang-glow. Jesus, I love The Real World.



Ayiia's boyfriend breaks up with her, Jonna tries to reel Matt back in (he refuses! BAM!), everyone hugs and says goodbye and Joey ends on the note, "Well, Ayiia. Thanks for the sex!"

Good season folks, I look foward to all of you crazies appearing on challenges and encountering Tonya.

More to Love has been little more than fatsploitation throughout its run, and with last week's elimination of my fav girl, I though that all hope had been lost on the show. But alas, my DVR knows better than I do, and the series continued to be recorded so I watched anyway.

The competition has come down to three ladies vying for the affection of real estate industry (what a vague description of his career field) dude Luke. It has been, what 10 weeks now? I still can't decide if he's anything worth competing for. He's kind of cute and seems pretty nice but he hasn't identified any interests other than football and grilling in any of the conversations thus far with the girls. In fact, most of the conversations have been about either food or weight--another disappointing feature of both the show and the man.

However, this episode something gratifying happened. The narrative of the actual events (however prodded by producers, and beleive me, stuff on this show is heavily prodded) forced the storyline to concentrate on the ins and outs of the competition without relying on attention given to the women's weight or demeaning challenges. The girls--Malissa, Tali and Mandie--seems to genuinely be interested in Luke. Some (Mandie) are legit emotionally attatched, some (Tali) appear to be investing themselves in what appear to be close-to-real dates and some (Malissa) are too dubious yet to identify.

So with a perhaps malintentioned vixon becoming a frontrunner, a sweetheart getting the boot and a legitimate cultural obstacle possible getting in the way of Jewish Tali and Christian Luke's romance, the trip to Luke's hometown for the final two showdown suddenly seems all the more exciting. And it doesn't have anything to do with weight. Finally.

90210 is back and it is...well...good.

After a dismal (at best) first season, the classic re-vamp has had a make-over of its own.

Here's where the show went right:

1. No Family Game Nights---

The new show took what had always been a shoddy narrative construct in the first place (the Walshes moving to Beverly Hills from Minnesota was only interesting insofar as it allowed viewers to imagine themselves wearing cool clothes and awesome sideburns---bring on the drinking, catfights and ecstacy-hooked girlfriends!), and turned it into a focal point of the show.

I don't want to see Mom and Dad working out family problems and I certainly don't want to see them dealing with their own. The focus has been shifted fully to the lives and loves of the kids. Where it belongs.

I like that flat top.

2. Boring Kids Aren't Boring

Annie, with her whining and do-gooding, got a little tiring. And to say that Shenae Grimes' acting hasn't grown since her days as the President of Friendship Club is a gross understatement. Limiting her to brooding and fake drunk (which is always hilarious) is a great idea.

3. Pretty, Pretty

Everything on the show is a lot prettier. One of my main complaints last season was that the fashion on 90210 was so unfashionable. It seems that someone got the memo because the clothes this season are so much better.

4. Trio of Trouble

How much do I love Naomi, Silver and Adriana rolling into West Bev like the demon spawn of Regina from Mean Girls. Love you girls!

Cuter than you.

What would I improve?

More crazy Adriana--it's going to get boring really soon. Better storylines for Tristan Wilds, who is the best actor on the show. Less Naomi, more Silver. And under NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you to ever include that awkward white people dancing again.

Oh, white people.

Good start though, folks.

On this week's More to Love Luke dropped the only girl who I like. Boo. That is all.

Farewell Anna, I'm going to stop watching this show.