Chuck Review: Don’t Mess With My Man

It must have been a strange episode to film for most of the cast, seeing as their titular character was absent from most of it. There could be no show without Chuck, but with him sidelined, the rest of the cast got more meaty scenes, and the story still held up, even managing to propel some plot points forward. Now, I love me some Zachary Levi. Don’t get me wrong. A week with less Chuck is a sad week indeed, but no Chuck meant waaaaay more Sarah. And Yvonne Strahovski got to show off her weeping skills and her rumbling chops all in one episode.

“Chuck versus Phase Three” centered around Sarah, her absolute devotion to her boyfriend and her unwavering dedication to rescuing him. We all knew Sarah was a beast, but she will forever be known as the “blonde she-male” after this week. The audience saw Chuck as he was tortured by one of The Belgian’s scientists “somewhere in Thailand.” The scientist theorized that anxiety triggered the Intersect, so via dreams, they could manipulate Chuck into flashing. Stateside, Sarah and Casey kidnapped a Thai national on foreign embassy soil and then took him to their government facility. Sarah was ready to take out some knees, but Casey knew they had to follow some semblance of protocol so he tried to reign her in. Thankfully for us, he failed miserably.

Morgan convinced Sarah to get some rest, but when he found her at home, she was clearly depressed. (The little bit with Sarah sniffing Chuck’s shirt was so quick and silent but so poignant.) Morgan has been shuffled around so much this season. It’s almost like Joshua Gomez has gotten more storylines than anyone else, and he‘s juggled them well. He’s moved up to management at the Buy More. He’s played a role with the CIA in managing Castle or at least the aboveground part. Morgan has gone on important missions and even played the role of savior during one of them. He really has become the glue that holds everyone and every Chuck component together.

So I wasn’t so angry when he spilled the beans to Sarah about Chuck’s proposal plan (somehow including a DeLorean). She did find a poorly drawn map of Chuck’s plan first and questioned Morgan about it, so he would have had to think on the fly and lie his way out of things. That’s not one of his strong suits. Plus, Sarah was all doe-eyed and teary already. Also, Morgan missed his friend too. The two had a real moment between them, and Morgan told her that ever since Chuck lost the Intersect, he had put the plan on the backburner. This threw Sarah into a tizzy because she’d love him whether or not he was a super spy, but she realized she’d never really verbalized that since Chuck’s burnout. A fire was lit under Sarah to go even more rogue than she’d already played things. For spies, torture is always a go-to rogue action, right? So cruelty and agony it is!

Though torture didn’t get Sarah very far at first, it did make her realize how soulless she could be without Chuck and how far she’d go to reach him. Yes, as far as death by ammonia injection actually. The kidnapped man did keep his humor about him. “It’s amazing what a woman would do to find a husband. Even the toughest spies in the world are just racing against that biological clock. Tik, tik, tik, tock.” (Anyone get a Dexter flashback?) But, Sarah’s still really scary and did plunge that ammonia-filled needle into his neck, threatening 200 other ways she was trained to kill him. He gave up his hideaway in Thailand pretty easily after that.

Sarah spent a majority of the rest of the episode kicking butt and taking names all across the country until she found the right man with the right information to lead her to The Belgian. The man did require her to beat his best fighter before he’d give her said information, which led to a fantastic fight scene and an egregious water bottle showering. I could have done without the latter, but every punch and scissor kick gave me a serious Sarah-crush. (And, I understand, Chuck writers. You have to grab viewers’ attention however you can.)

When they finally found Chuck, Phase Three had already been put into effect. Phase one and two included lucid dreams. One of Sarah seducing him into flashing. Another where she leaves him because he won’t flash. Another where he escapes and calls Ellie who attempts to coax him into flashing. None resulted in actual flashing, so it was time to push harder. Phase Three was a lobotomy, erasing all of his memories and creating a blank slate, leaving the Intersect for the taking. It’s the voice of Sarah that began to bring Chuck out of the void, but even then he was distrustful, believing it all to be a dream again. When she finally told him how much she loved him and his proposal plan and that she’d say yes and then kissed him, he woke up. Sure, the “Miss Friday” song by Nico Stai with lyrics like “wake wake up get out o’ your head /you got a lot to live for” was a little too on the nose, but I swear my heart still skipped a tiny beat as she plead for him to wake up and come back to her. I’m forever a romantic at heart.

The flow of this episode was perfect with its combination of action, fun entertainment and the love story. When the stakes are higher for our core characters, such as saving a loved one and not some random VIP or valuable piece of information, the story has a great sense of cohesion. I could also begin to appreciate all the marriage pretext from earlier in the season, because the reunion moment would not have meant as much to us. I also enjoyed Beckman seconding the notion that with or without the Intersect, Chuck is an asset to the CIA. I wasn’t too intrigued by Ellie and Awesome’s storyline that brought all of the Buy More employees to their home. Awesome wanted to team to help him fix the mysterious computer found in the back of Ellie’s “new” car (the one given to her by her father). Trading medical advice for tech assistance was funny at first but also pretty boring and lazy in terms of writing. I could have sworn the computer was going to turn out to be a backup Intersect, but from the looks on Ellie’s and Awesome’s faces when they finally got it to work, it is something much, much more. Now, that’s something I’m intrigued about.

Hopefully, we’ll get some answers by next week’s Thanksgiving themed episode. Happy Turkey Day, fellow TV enthusiasts!

QUOTABLES

“I’ve had this awful taste in my mouth ever since Chuck disappeared, which makes me think wherever he is, he’s probably eating something icky…Strange twin thing….” – Morgan

“I over-share to connect. I’m a connector.” – Morgan

“Anyone else want to be my boyfriend.” – Sarah, after knocking a guy out.

“People have been talking much about the giant blond she-male.”

“What?! Seriously?! Does no one care that there’s a cobra in there?” – Morgan

For another opinion on this episode, read Mallory Elis’ review here.

Season 4, Episode 9: Chuck vs. Phase Three (originally aired November 22, 2010)

For more on Chuck, click here.

Mondays at 8/7C on NBC

Images courtesy of NBC Universal.

Chuck Review: Chuck Versus Phase Three

Chuck and Sarah are rolling around in bed, but Sarah’s more interested in seeing the Intersect than anything else Chuck has to offer. He can’t flash, which sucks all the frisky right out of Sarah’s awful babydoll nightie. It also summons Lester, who’s suddenly in the bed next to them, which prompts another patented Chuck bug-eye and a sudden jolt into reality and Belgium.

Sarah’s doing some intense Olivia Wilde channeling with slicked-back hair and a leather jacket. Oh, HELLO. She’s also trying to save Chuck, which is fine. More importantly, I just realized that the Belgian is Richard Chamberlain! Dr. Thornbird and Morally Conflicted Scientist #2 decide to move on to the next phase when it becomes clear that these fake dreams aren’t helping Chuck flash. Oh my God, I hope the next phase isn’t what I think it is, because I am totally getting a Human Centipede vibe from these scenes. Don’t click on that link.

The next phase is a lobotomy! They completely lobotomize Chuck. Show over. Happy Thanksgiving!

God, fine. Sarah takes a page out of her namesake’s book (no, not like that) and goes rogue, determined to rescue her boyfriend even if it does mean neglecting to stop the release of crucial government secrets – because Chuck was going to propose before getting kidnapped, y’all. Someone’s reading the Rules! The mission involves some bar-fighting in Thailand and – oh. Oh my. I’ll, uh, I’ll be in my bunk, you guys.

More? God, you’re demanding. Sarah saves Chuck! He’s still gonna be a spy! They’re still gonna get married! Oh, and Ellie uses the laptop her dad left her while Chuck’s gone and is shocked by its contents.

For another opinion on this episode, read Don’t Mess with My Man by Inisia Lewis.

Season 4, Episode 9: Chuck vs. Phase Three (originally aired November 22, 2010)

For more on Chuck, click here.

Mondays at 8/7C on NBC

Images courtesy of NBC Universal.

The Next Iron Chef: Q&A with Marc Forgione

The battle for the next Iron Chef is over. This Sunday viewers watched as chef Marc Forgione defeated fellow contestant Marco Canora for the title of Iron Chef. In a Q&A Conference Call with Forgione, the Michelin-star restaurateur talked about how it feels to be an Iron Chef, reveals his nearly pants-less state and calms viewers’ fears about a turkey-less Thanksgiving.

There’s just something about that name
When asked why he wanted to be an Iron Chef, Forgione admits that being able to win the title of Iron Chef is the prevailing attraction for joining the competition. You get tons of props for being an Iron Chef, but with a history of such traits of ingenuity, innovation and resourcefulness (a new trait highlighted every week), the title comes with a heavy weight of responsibility. This is not a responsibility that Forgione takes lightly, when asked what quality he connects to most as an Iron Chef, the winner was clear. “I think honor and respect are two things that I’ve always held true in this business. I try and educate everyone that works here about the people that have cooked before me and the chefs that have laid down the work. I really think you need to know how we got here before you can advance.”

The Good, the Bad, and the Pants-less
Forgione’s time on The Next Iron Chef was spotted with some fabulous highs and some rending lows. When asked which challenge was the most difficult, Forgione recalls the dreaded buffet challenge; you know the one with the three-way tie for last place. In this challenge, the chefs had to prepare 5 dishes for 25 guests, which must then be served buffet style. And it is this last detail, creating food that must sit before being served, that proved challenging for the seasoned chef. “We had to create three hot and two cold, and you had to feed 25 people and it had to be food that could sit for an hour with a sterno underneath it. It was just very challenging, not stuff I was used to ever doing before.” And as viewers watched, these seasoned chefs stumbled mightily at this challenge with 4 out of 5 chefs being called out for their dishes. But for Forgione, this challenge was doubly difficult as he reveals his secret disadvantage during the task: “My pants ripped open halfway through that battle, and they don’t stop the clock for anything so I just had to kind of adjust my apron to cover my derriere.”

Turkey-less Thanksgiving?
Even though Forgione stunned viewers and judges alike with his unconventional take on Thanksgiving dinner (also known as the meal with no turkey!!!), be assured that when it comes to Thanksgiving in Forgoine’s restaurant tradition has not been forgotten. Forgione says, “At the Forgione restaurant, we do a very traditional Thanksgiving. We do have turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. I think Thanksgiving for everybody it’s about getting together, cooking food you’re familiar with, with people you’re familiar with. I was just trying to…showcase something different and give the judges something different. ”

Thoughts on Finale
The final battle between Forgione and fellow finalist Marco Canora proved to be beyond Thanksgiving dinner and really showcased the differences in these two chefs. Forgione describes watching the final battle: “I knew we were doing two opposite things while it was going on, but to really watch it, to me it wasn’t even like a battle of Thanksgiving, it was almost like Alton Brown said at the best ‘which do you want to go with,’ do you want to go with unpredictable genius or safe and soulful. And I think he cooked safe and soulful for that battle, and I cooked unpredictable genius with that battle and it was just kind of the microcosm of the whole thing.”

Plans for first Iron Chef Battle
When asked how he plans to begin his reign as an Iron Chef, Forgione promises to continue with the same passion and drive that lead him to victory on The Next Iron Chef. Forgione says, “I actually made it a point to attack it with the exact same… [gusto], I made sure that I stayed true to what got me there. There was a reason I got there and I’m not going to change that now.”

You can watch Forgione’s gusto on Iron Chef America; he will begin his reign as an Iron Chef this Sunday, November 28th at 10 pm on the Food Network.

Iron Chef America airs Sundays at 10/9c on Food Network.

For more television reviews and interviews, click here.

Images courtesy of Food Network.

Video: Poptimal.com Supports Cookie Monster’s Bid To Host SNL

We are sold!  We are getting on the bandwagon in support of Sesame Street’s Cookie Monsters campaign to host Saturday Night Live (SNL).  Here is his video submission.  Our favorite is sketch Cookie GaGa singing “My, My, My, My, Cookie Face, My Cookie face.

Be sure to check out Poptimal.com for reviews of your favorite TV, Movies, or pop culture events from people like you!  We have many chances to win tickets to advance screenings and gear!

Also, check out our latest bi-weekly pop culture rundown from our writer Erin Biglow:  What U Need To Know w/ Erin Biglow! (Available on iTunes)

Dexter Review: Time Is Of The Essence

It seems hard to believe mere weeks ago Dexter fans were bemoaning the meandering sloppy seconds this season seemed to be dishing, after last year’s climactic Trinity showdown set viewer expectations higher than ever. Now, nine episodes in, Jordan Chase has evolved from being the voice of Boyd Fowler’s personal hero to the full-fledged fifth season nemesis for our hero, the internally conflicted Dexter Morgan. With the final three episodes looming on the horizon, Dexter has made sure to strategically arrange all its plot elements like pieces on a proverbial chessboard to ensure a checkmate-worthy alliance of suspense and intrigue.

Sunday’s episode opens with Dexter subtly infiltrating Jordan’s professional life by posing as a client. While he expected a traditional one-on-one discussion akin to a therapy session, Dexter is instead chagrined to learn Jordan is untraditional in his life guidance techniques and has them jog on side-by-side treadmills for an hour while engaging in relative small talk. Dexter narrates that he had intended to use his session as an opportunity to gather evidence of Jordan’s involvement in Lumen’s torturous kidnapping. Instead, he notes, he’s “stuck running in place,” both literally and figuratively. At the end of their meeting, Jordan suggests Dexter may not be fully forthcoming with him about his true feelings and frustrations. Since Dexter is pretending to use Jordan’s services as a way to cope with Rita’s death, he has a viable reason for seeming closed off. When Dexter asks Jordan what tragedy he experienced to enable him to help others in their grievous matters, Jordan decides to reveal the real secret of his success. After reading Plato’s Symposium years ago, Jordan capitalized on the philosopher’s concept of human beings as “fractured creatures trying to become whole.” Jordan’s subsequently lucrative career as a best-selling motivational speaker and author of self-help books, he admits, was rooted in a direct rip-off of the ideas of one of history’s most renowned thinkers. Thus, his entire business model has no actual personal resonance and is essentially a total sham. “Now you know my secret,” Jordan clucks, “you should tell me yours.” Dexter gives him a friendly smirk. “Over your dead body,” he narrates. Heh! On his way out, Dexter notices the heightened security around the office. “Mr. Chase has decided to ‘beef things up,’” the receptionist explains. Dexter knows, however, the increased protection is due to the fact Mr. Chase’s associates are dropping like flies.

Dexter calls Lumen to tell her he’s planning to steal a sample from a mysterious vial Jordan wears around his neck. The contents look like blood, and Dexter will have access when Jordan hangs the vial in his locker during his post-run shower. As he and Lumen discuss whose blood Jordan could be preserving, she hears intruders break into the house. Dexter stays on the phone and tells her to hide in the bathroom. Wielding a knife and shaking with terror, Lumen is unexpectedly greeted by Astor and a friend, both drunk and far from home. Astor has chosen to channel the grief over her mother’s murder through good old-fashioned adolescent rebellion, as she’s appeared to age herself a couple of years via short skirts and black eyeliner. Dexter is at a loss of how to handle the two tipsy runaways, and Harry shows up to chide him while Lumen puts the girls to bed. When Dexter insists he wants to “make things right, be a good father,” Harry offers an unpleasant reminder. “There’s a reason serial killers don’t have children,” he flatly declares. The girls’ presence will only delay Dexter and Lumen from making further progress in their vengeful mission, and Astor’s irritable reaction to an attractive young blonde living in the house where her mother was killed is hard for Dexter to repudiate.

Lumen suggests the girls spend the night to sober up before Dexter decides to inform respective parents and grandparents of their shenanigans. The next morning, Dexter asks Lumen for advice on how to establish productive, parental rapport with a teenage girl. She recommends he “talk to her” and share something rebellious he did at that age. “I killed the neighbor’s dog,” Dexter informs her. “Well, don’t tell her that,” Lumen replies. Dexter unwisely decides to make a crack about Astor’s morning-after makeup instead, which doesn’t exactly inspire the connection he’d hoped. Poor guy really doesn’t know anything about women, apparently – he’d have been better off telling her about the dead dog. Astor’s already chilly reception toward Lumen officially turns to ice when Harrison calls her “Mama.” Lumen, especially, is paralyzed with awkward discomfort. Dexter quickly changes the subject and tells Astor they need to talk when he returns from his “meeting,”

Back for a second consecutive appointment at the Jordan Chase compound and a second consecutive trip on the treadmill, Dexter deftly inserts a needle into the questionable vial while Jordan takes the shortest shower on record. Dex hurriedly rids the area of any evidence and manages to close Jordan’s locker door just in time for him to return and pick up their conversation. Jordan tells Dexter he feels he still isn’t “being completely honest” with him, but acknowledges this session seemed more productive than their first. After Dexter leaves with the promise to make another appointment, the meticulous Jordan realizes the door to his locker is ever-so-slightly ajar. He immediately inspects the vial of blood and notices a tiny drop where Dexter’s syringe had leaked. Uh-oh.

Meanwhile, Deb’s so nervous about her meeting with the union rep that she’s slamming everything around the kitchen, from cupboard doors to coffee mugs. She’s convinced the Club Mayan disaster and her unfortunate scapegoat status as the responsible officer will get her fired. Quinn comforts her by letting her know she has a boyfriend who “loves” her, and his impromptu use of the L word catches them both off guard. When Deb bolts out of there to avoid responding, Quinn takes a call from the ever-persistent Liddy. Despite Quinn’s decreasing interest in his pursuit of Dexter’s demons, Liddy has attached himself to the case after uncovering curious photos of Dex and Lumen boarding a boat in the middle of the night, luggage of limbs in tow. The most curious part, Liddy mentions, is the lack of said luggage when they return. Plus, he notes, the obvious weight of the contents means there must be either “narcotics, maybe a body” inside. This guy’s detective skills are inconveniently sharp. When Liddy makes himself at home at Quinn’s later that day, Quinn tells him he’s through with the investigation and throws a wad of cash on the table as a makeshift severance. Liddy scoffs and tells Quinn he thinks he’s on the verge of “something so big,” he’ll surely reap redemptive glory if he uncovers the mystery surrounding Dexter’s nocturnal habits. When Liddy threatens to tell Deb about he and Quinn’s agreement to investigate her brother, Quinn counteracts with physical threats of his own.

While thankfully not fired, Deb’s temporary demotion still has her rightfully resentful as she’s banished to the file room for a few weeks pending the reinstatement of her detective status. After dishing in some girl talk with the file clerk about Quinn’s unexpected proclamation that morning, Deb oversteps her diminished duties and reads the file on the “barrel girl” case they’d pinned solely on Boyd. After further analysis, Deb realizes a coroner’s report listing DNA from multiple perpetrators – including the just-offed Cole Harmon, Jordan’s head of security — had been added to the file after the department closed the case. She brings this info to Batista and Masuka and the three agree the case needs to be reopened immediately. Lieutenant LaGuerta’s the unfortunate sounding board on such a notion, however, and Batista’s title as Mr. LaGuerta makes him the sacrificial lamb forced to bring up the new evidence. He reassures Deb that his allegiance with her regarding the Club Mayan shootout remains intact; in fact, the police report he filed backed Deb “100 percent” despite the higher-ups’ decision to side with LaGuerta.

When Batista comes forward with the new information regarding the barrel girl case, LaGuerta refuses to acknowledge it and even insists Deb is only trying to exact revenge for being thrown under the bus. Batista calmly informs LaGuerta Deb discovered record of DNA evidence, thus something she couldn’t have made up, and suggests with the perfect hint of belittling disparagement that her refusal to reopen the case lies within her own job insecurities. Well, zing!

Fresh from his not-so-covert operation at Jordan Chase’s office, Dexter gets an unsettling phone call from Lumen telling him the girls are missing. She’d run out to the store and came back to find the back door wide open and both their cell phones left behind. “What 14-year-old girl leaves her cell phone behind?!” Lumen frantically asks. She and Dex assume one of Jordan’s minions kidnapped them (clearly the only viable reason a teenage girl would leave her cell phone behind), and Dexter immediately feels guilty for stealing the blood sample while Astor and Olivia were in proximity. He can’t help but wonder if Harry’s perpetual warnings were right; perhaps he really can’t be a killer and a father. Unfortunately, it’s too late to choose. When Lumen asks neighbor Elliot if he’d seen anything, he finally puts his nosiness to good use and reports a white panel van briefly parked in front, and partial license plate. Dex decides to call his colleagues at Miami Metro despite he and Lumen’s ongoing project. Back at the station, Dexter is forced to reveal his association with Jordan Chase, specifically their meeting that morning, and is met with a series of raised eyebrows. “A lot of f—ed up people circling that guy, Dex,” says Deb, having just shed the new light on the barrel girl case. When the cops corner a white panel van matching the partial plate number, the driver turns out to be Olivia’s mother’s live-in boyfriend, Barry, who’s also searching for the girls.

When they’re finally found, giving themselves a five-finger discount at a local mall instead of inside a formaldehyde-filled barrel, Dexter tells Barry he’ll take them back to his house to pack and will meet him at a nearby café in an hour. Deb follows and is met with the unexpected sight of Lumen staying at the house. “Didn’t know he had a ‘tenant,’” Deb snorts. “Didn’t know he had a sister,” Lumen shoots back. After realizing the whole homicide department knows about his meetings with Jordan Chase and Deb’s now met his “partner in crime,” Dexter admits to himself, “This is not my day.” No kidding. After a feeble attempt at a heart-to-heart with Astor, Dexter finds out Lumen saw bruises on Olivia’s stomach and back. Barry’s been physically abusing her, and Astor reveals she’d only come up with the plan to run away to get Olivia away from him. “I’m gonna take care of this,” Dexter promises.

After a glorious scene in which Dexter meets Barry alone and beats the living daylights out of him in a nearby alley, Harry reappears with a message Dexter’s not used to hearing from him: fatherly pride. Harry admits he didn’t think Dexter had enough humanity in him to put someone else’s well being before his own, but his protection of the girls from a bottom-feeding douchebag like Barry has him rethinking his assessment of Dexter. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been raised to hone his instincts to kill after all?

Back at the station, Deb confronts LaGuerta about her assumption that Deb has a personal vendetta against her and is using the barrel girl case to follow suit. Deb shoves a brilliant argument in her face about the fact that the killers of these victims are still on the loose and it’s impossibly shallow of LaGuerta to think Deb’s only trying to get back at her. Word. LaGuerta looks sheepish and finally agrees to reopen the case, but conveniently lets slip that she’s done favors for Deb, too – particularly when she suspended Quinn, not put him on mandatory vacation like Deb thought, to “protect [her] brother.” When Deb asks what Quinn’s suspension had to do with Dexter, LaGuerta suggests she take that up with Quinn – and Deb does exactly that. Quinn comes remarkably clean about his suspicions that Dexter was Kyle Butler based on the eerily similar police composite sketches. He conveniently leaves out Liddy’s participation (he’s not a complete idiot), but Deb is furiously devastated nonetheless. Quinn makes a valiant effort to redeem himself and plays the “I love you” card with believable sincerity, but the damage has already been done. Perhaps Quinn can crash at Liddy’s.

As Dexter drops Olivia off at her happily Barry-free household, he and Astor finally bond over the mutual recognition that they’d both put the needs of someone else over their own. Dexter tells Astor that Lumen is a friend he’s helping get through a difficult time, just like Olivia, and Astor asks him if helping Lumen makes him feel better about Rita’s death. Perceptive kid. Dexter looks as though a light bulb should be floating above his head as he recognizes the similarities in their respective grieving processes. Astor invites him inside to visit Cody and the grandparents, despite the fact it’ll reveal her excursion to Miami, and Dexter happily obliges. As they lift Harrison out of the back seat, his favorite stuffed toy falls to the ground and he calls out, “Mama.” Well, isn’t that cute. Dexter narrates that if he were to answer Jordan’s question about what he wants most out of life, he would say, “to be a good dad.” Aw, shucks.

Back at the lab, the DNA results for the sample from Jordan’s blood vial reveal a match, though not someone Dexter would have expected. Instead of a victim, the blood belongs to the very alive Emily Birch, a repeated DUI offender in Coral Gables. Perhaps not so unexpected is the fact she is a young, attractive blonde.

At the house, Lumen answers the phone assuming it’s Dexter. It’s not. As soon as Jordan Chase’s voice oozes through the receiver, Lumen tenses with fear so paralyzing she can hardly function. When Jordan utters his signature line, “tick, tick tick…” it seems as though he couldn’t say anything scarier, until he does. When he finishes leaving his cryptically ominous message for Dexter, his closing line also closes the episode: “Take care, Lumen.”

Despite earlier foreshadowing elements pointing to the possibility that Jordan may have been privy to Dexter and Lumen’s deadly rendezvous with his associates, the clarity provided in this episode sets a whole new tone for the rest of the season. The final three episodes have been properly prepped plot-wise, and are also partnered with a consistent underlying theme for the present and future development of characters. Although Jordan is the de facto arbiter of Plato’s Symposium theory, the writing of Dexter as a whole seems to follow the philosopher’s belief that humans are all broken shards of existence trying to find the missing pieces. Dexter’s continuing plight to create a healthy marriage between his dual lives is no exception. Despite closing threats of varying intensity from Jordan, Liddy and even Deb’s growing knowledge of his extra-curricular activities, Dexter is undoubtedly making serious progress in his journey toward becoming whole. While being able to carry out duties for his dark passenger in this episode, Dexter was finally able to simultaneously take care of his familial needs, as well. Harry’s proud acknowledgment of this success means Dexter can be proud of himself, and perhaps feel like he’s finally stopped running in place.

Season 5, Episode 9: Teenage Wasteland (Originally aired November 21, 2010)

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Sundays at 9pm EST on Showtime.

Photos courtesy of Showtime and Randy Tepper.

The Amazing Race Review: Caution Double U-turn Ahead

This week’s episode of The Amazing Race just goes to show how very fickle success is. One minute you’re on top of the pack, cruising your way to a sweet victory and sooner than you know it, thanks to a milkshake, double u-turn and bike bench you’re persona-non-grata and out of the race. This week Chad and Stephanie learn the greatest lesson The Amazing Race has to offer: when it comes to the chance of a million dollars DON’T STOP FOR THE MILKSHAKE!!!

The teams started off this week on even ground as they traveled from Oman; all the teams were scheduled on the same flight with a 12pm arrival time. Chad/Stephanie were the first to book this trip, Jill/Thomas were second. After receiving their tickets Chad/Stephanie decided to take a break from the race and went to get burgers and milkshakes at the airport food court. Second place team Jill/Thomas secured tickets for the same flight and then pestering the airport agent until they found tickets on an earlier flight arriving a whopping 7 hours before the other teams!!! So, barring any major screwups these two have officially landed first place. Nick and Vicki also did some conjuring of their own and managed to secure an earlier flight as well, leaving Chad/Stephanie, Brook/Claire, and Nat/Kat on the same flight.

This week’s episode introduced the double U-turn. In past seasons, the U-turn could be used by one team to send another team back to complete the second task; now,  the double U-turn allows two teams to send two of their fellow competitors back to complete a second task. The U-turn is about the lowest of Race sanctioned activities. It relies not on skill or task, and feeds on the depravity of human nature to throw a wrench in the other competitor’s games and effectively cut them off at the knees. You use it for two reasons, self-preservation or scare tactics. In self-preservation teams use the U-turn when competitors are close on their heels, sending the other team back, and it buys them time to make a lead but often causes tension if both teams continue to the next leg. In scare tactics, teams in little danger of being eliminated use the U-turn to try to slow down another competitor whom they deem to be stronger. It’s about as low down as you can get. That being said, I love it as much as I thoroughly detest any competitor who uses it. It’s a tricky situation but hey, such is life.

Jill/Thomas arrive at the U-turn first and they decide to U-turn Brook/Claire. This is a smart move considering that Brook/Claire are arguably one of the strongest teams left on the race. Now, with their 7 hour lead this move is made purely to stop Brooke/Claire and not for any means of self-preservation. Nick/Vicki arrive at the U-turn and while Nick wants to U-turn Chad/Stephanie, Vicki does not think they need to stoop to this in order to win. They leave it untouched. Nat/Kat are the next team to arrive at the U-turn, seeing that Brook/Claire are already on the board, they decide to U-turn Chad/Stephanie who are the only team left. Nat/Kat, Brook/Claire, and Chad/Stephanie all ran neck and neck this race so Nat/Kat’s attempt to distance themselves seems plausible as a means to get them to the next round. As it stands, the U-turned Brook/Claire, Chad/Stephanie go back to complete their second task and manage to catch up with Nat/Kat on the last task of the race.

The last task of the race required the teams to reassemble a rickshaw. Nat/Kat arrives first but Nat can’t seem to manage the mechanics of putting together the bike. Halfway into the task she expresses her frustration over not understanding it, which only grows as she sees Brook/Claire followed by Chad/Stephanie arrive at the task before she is completed. Stephanie/Claire drive through this task with enviable ease until at the end where they are both held up by one last part to assemble. Claire can’t seem to fasten her bell onto her bike, while Stephanie can’t fit the seat into the rickshaw. Claire finishes first, but was quickly followed by Stephanie. It was a race to the finish, but Brook and Claire managed to ride their lead to a fourth place finish while Chad/Stephanie came up short in last place. They were eliminated.

Here are the rankings:

1. Jill/Thomas- winning a $15,000 gift card!!!
2. Nick/Vicki
3. Nat/Kat
4. Brooke/Claire

Season 17, Episode 9: There’s a Lot of Nuts and Bullets (originally aired November 21, 2010)

Sundays at 8pm ET/PT on CBS

For more on The Amazing Race, click here.

Photographs courtesy of CBS and imdbpro.

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The Real Housewives of Atlanta Review: Doctor Who?

It’s not every day that we get a Real Housewives of… birth on Bravo, so let’s get right to it. We may have to wait until next week to learn Phaedra’s baby’s name, but we get a lot more interesting and hysterical confirmations this episode.

Phaedra was ready to “drop that load” as Apollo so sweetly put it, so the two headed to Augusta to stay with Pheadra’s OB/GYN Dr. Lue and his wife Sarah until it was time to head to the hospital. Even the doctor and his wife asked questions about weight and weeks, so honey it’s not just the housewives. Apollo won’t cop to the fact that Phaedra swears his mother told them that he’d be born over eight pounds yet three months prematurely. But by the fact that Dr. & Mrs. Lue’s jaws dropped to the floor, I’d say it’s pretty implausible.

Supernatural Review: Keeblers Have Boobs

In a hilarious X-Files opening, brothers Sam and Dean find themselves investigating a series of alien abductions in a small town in Indiana. This is uncharted territory for the Winchesters who are used to dealing with supernatural creatures, not extraterrestrials. Still they, well at least Dean, are determined to figure out what happened to the four missing people.

The first person missing was a high school football player named Patrick who was making out with his girlfriend in a cornfield when he heard a noise and went to investigate. Soon enough he came to a clearing where white light from the sky enveloped him and he vanishes.

Sam and Dean interview an array of people including a local woman who believes in fairies, the town sheriff and a UFO enthusiast who’s in town for its recent notoriety as a hotspot of alien activity. The brothers make their way to Patrick’s father who is a watchmaker by trade at his shop. The father acts intense and mysterious about his son’s disappearance and that leads Sam and Dean to know he’s hiding something.

Dean heads over to check out the cornfield while Sam stays behind to watch over the watchmaker.

The next scene is hilarious as Dean starts screaming to Sam that he’s being abducted over the phone while his brother is at the local bar ordering a drink like it’s absolutely normal. This moment is just another example of Sam’s lack of emotions or empathy from being soulless but it is ridiculously funny to watch their reactions – Dean’s complete freak out and Sam’s monotonous nonchalance.

Sam finds Dean’s cell phone at the cornfield and heads to where the UFO enthusiasts have camped out to seek more information. But what he finds is that no one has any real concrete evidence or ways to track it down. What he does find is an overly helpful hippie chick who he proceeds to sleep with.

Dean in the meantime is beamed back to the cornfields, gun and knife ready. He’s still freaking out but manages to make his way back to their motel. Dean gets into a philosophical argument with his brother that it’s not okay to have sex because he’s been abducted. The elder Winchester is flabbergasted that Sam doesn’t have an ounce of empathy for an incredibly traumatic moment in his life. Sam doesn’t see anything wrong with having sex because he didn’t have any new leads on how to get Dean back. Dean is insistent that his brother was supposed to suffer in his absence, which lead to the discussion of having a soul means suffering. Nice boys.

Dean starts to describe his encounter with the third kind, bright glowing lights, a probing table and of course having a complete freak out as he began to shoot and hack everything in sight. That is apparently what prompted his return to the cornfield. He’s left alone in the motel to read up on aliens on the Internet while Sam does his research at the library. All of a sudden the lamp inside the room goes out and a bright light appears outside again and it looks like the aliens are back for Dean. Except it’s not an alien after all.

Dean manages to trap a small, glowing figure and he nukes it to death with a gleeful “hah-hah!” One of the best moments is when he finally gets a closer look and utters the word, “boobs?”

Turns out he wasn’t abducted by aliens because they were fairies, or the fey. The brothers go and see the woman they had interviewed early in the episode to learn more about these creatures. Poor Dean feels like he’s going crazy as they listen to her talk about elves and their love for cream. They also find out that fairies apparently like first born sons. It’s after that they notice the watchmaker loading cartons of cream into the back of his car.

Further investigating, Dean sees elves working inside the watchmaker’s shop. He calls Sam to tell him what happened and he notices a man following him again. Dean had thought he previously saw the same guy skulking outside the pub they had been to earlier in the day (post-abduction). Sam in the meantime decides to get some answers from the watchmaker who’s sitting at the bar. The guy finally comes clean and explains that he summoned a fairy to help him because he began to exhibit Parkinson’s disease and was about to lose his livelihood. He had received an old spell book from his grandmother and tried it out, thinking that it wouldn’t work. It did though and he got a lot more than he bargained for. What appeared was a leprechaun who cut a deal: they would make him successful beyond his wildest dreams in exchange for a place to rest. Unfortunately it turns out that place to rest was his oldest son. I guess they used them for body warmers?

Sam and the watchmaker head back to the guy’s workshop to get the book where there’s a spell to send the fairies back to their dimension. But before the watchmaker can finish reading, he’s stabbed. Turns out that the UFO enthusiast is actually the leprechaun. Sam comments on how ingenious it is to propagate the alien theory to cover up what’s really going on which is fairy abduction over the centuries. The leprechaun also explains that since Dean’s been to their dimension he can see fairies while others can’t. He also senses that Sam is missing his soul and offers him a deal. Apparently leprechaun magic is strong enough to withstand the forces of heaven and hell. It’s an interesting detail to note that the leprechaun said it was the human’s devil, not his. He implied there were back doors to get Sam’s soul back with real magic. But Sam says no deal and they continue brawling.

Dean mistakenly attacks a short man who he thinks is a fairy and gets thrown into jail for a hate crime against homosexuals. But then the real fairy appears in his cell and proceeds to beat the crap out of him.

Just in time though Sam dumps a tube of salt onto the floor forcing the leprechaun to stop and start counting each piece giving the younger Winchester time to banish him back to his dimension and saving Dean as well.

At the end, Dean asks Sam why he didn’t take the leprechaun’s offer to get his soul back, wondering if he has any second thoughts on being fully human again. Sam says that a deal has never been good for and that he wasn’t having any doubts, but his expression said otherwise.

The episode does give us a new kernel to chew on, namely there could be magic stronger than the forces of heaven and hell. I love where this could go because while last season we met a slew of gods from other religions and beliefs, they all were weak compared to Lucifer. But the idea of having the fey be more powerful than the baddest badass Sam and Dean have encountered is a nice new twist. It goes to show that there are more things that they don’t know about but it could also be the very thing they need to get out of working for Crowley.

Lastly, I continue to enjoy seeing Sam be the one waitresses and girls flock to instead of Dean, who is brooding over his relationship with Lisa. Truly the tables have turned over but in a way that still stays true to the characters and the past seasons.

Season 6, Episode 9: Clap Your Hands if You Believe (originally aired November 19, 2010)

Fridays at 9/8C on The CW

Images courtesy of The CW and Jack Rowand.

Bones Review – Maximum Gross Out

I don’t know when I’m going to learn my lesson about sitting down in front of Bones with food in front of me. I did it again Thursday night. A lovely, yummy, bulging Chipotle burrito nearly ruined by blood and bodily fluids oozing and dripping from the inside of a giant chocolate bar. It’s grossed me out before, but I think that’s the ickiest first five minutes in six seasons.

The maker of the chocolate was none other than Wayne Knight, otherwise known as Newman from Seinfeld, and he had no idea how a dead body got into the world’s biggest chocolate bar.

Booth (David Boreanaz) and Bones (Emily Deschanel) are on the case, their time uninterrupted by Hannah (Katheryn Winnick), who is still out of town on business. What they find is the dead woman is not at all who she purports to be on her resume, a jealous sister, at least one jilted lover, a chemist fanatical about his chocolate, and a never ending string of lies.

Speaking of lies, the time has finally come for Hodgins (T.J.Thyne) and Angela (Michaela Conlin) to announce their pregnancy to the rest of their friends – which, of course, Angela did several weeks ago even though she knew he wanted to wait and do it up right. Hodgins insists they invite everyone to their usual hangout and share the big news. Angela warns everyone that they’ll have to look surprised, and if they can’t do it convincingly, don’t bother showing up at all. There isn’t one person who works in that lab that can lie worth a crap, so I sensed a plan fail on Angela’s part. Although Hodgins guesses that she told everyone without him, he takes the small betrayal in his usual, good-natured way. Thus ends the little storyline with absolutely no fanfare whatsoever. Snoozers.

In other borderline ridiculous behavior, Cam (Tamara Taylor) is worried because her adopted daughter Michelle (Tiffany Hines) is only concerned with applying to the college where her boyfriend accepted a football scholarship. It’s a simple state school, and not even a well known one at that, and Cam is more than a little concerned that Michelle is making the decision for all the wrong reasons. Duh, she’s a teenager.

Apparently, I could be a shrink because that’s exactly what Sweets (John Francis Daley) tells her when she goes in to seek his advice. Kids make mistakes, but you have to trust that they’re smart and will figure out how to fix them on their own. Cam acts like she agrees with him – you know, because he’s right – but then does something really stupid, and immoral, and awful. She fills out applications for Michelle, even writing essays. Um, sorry, that’s called cheating (not to mention terrible parenting), but I think the show wants us to think it’s cute and endearing. Wrong again, writers.

The case resolves when Booth and Bones discover it’s not Wayne Knight and his anger management issues that caused a lovely lady to end up smothered in chocolate, but the fact that she worked as a corporate spy. In order to steal the chocolate secrets for their rival, she cozied up to the fanatic engineer, teasing all of his recipes and chemical compounds out of him over pillow talk. You can imagine that didn’t go over terribly well, and he whacked her in a fit of rage.

I have to say, it wasn’t a terrible episode. It didn’t go for the stupid, cheap laughs like last week’s, and the case itself held my interest and challenged Booth and Bones just enough. Mr. Nigel-Murray (Ryan Cartwright) got some screen time, and I always enjoy his appearances.

The two subplots they tried inserting were either offensive (bordering on illegal) or totally expected and yawn-worthy. If they’re going to give the (once great) supporting cast screen time, I hope they can come up with something better for them to do in the future. Hannah’s going to be back in two weeks, and I’m looking forward to it. At least she keeps things interesting.

Season 6, Episode 7: The Babe in the Bar (originally aired November 18, 2010)

For more on Bones, click here.

Thursdays at 8/7c on Fox

Photographs courtesy of Fox, IMDbPro.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Best. Set-up. Ever.

There are two kinds of people in this world, those who are obsessed with Harry Potter, and those who aren’t. No matter which one you are, you should see the first part of the HP Finale anyways.

I went on Friday night with two friends: one a die-hard-read-the-books-2394 times like me, and another who had never read or seen an HP movie before. I was in my own world during the movie, but I am going to choose to believe that we all loved the experience. I have been faithful to the movie franchise because it is inherently another part of the wizarding world, and I am not going to be left out of anything having to do with HP. While the movies have definitely never come close to the world I created in my head from reading the books, Deathly Hallows Part I comes closest to getting the essence of HP right.

There is (and there isn’t) that much action in this one. There isn’t in that there are no quidditch games, there are no house points, and there are no side-story angsty issues that the other movies have tried to capture, but never did justice. Rather than being forced to pick and choose from the thousands of pages of mythology and story line in HP, Deathly Hallows is allowed the room to really get into character. I have never felt closer to Harry, Ron. and Hermione on the big screen than during this movie. By being focused on the one issue (find the effing horcruxes), we get to see the subtleties of true character development that I think we have been robbed of in the previous 6 films. This time around there are quiet moments where a look tells an entire history, and the action scenes are that much more meaningful because they seem to be backed by serious motives. I finally feel like I got to know the friends I made while reading the books, and now I am incredibly anxious for the next and final  installment.

For most of the world, we know that this is only the first part of an epic finale to the movie adaptations of J.K. Rowling‘s brilliant contribution to humanity. I know how lofty and over-dramatized I just made childrens’ books seem, but honestly, these books and the HP world has been part of my own since middle school. I grew up with these characters and I have loved watching them come to life, even though their movie universe could never top their written lives. Yet, this movie finally seemed to cross over. This time, we got to see a movie version that most closely aligned with the story and the essence of the 7th book. This one finally validated the obsessive need to see the movies the second they came into theatres, just to see if they were going to be as good as the books. Alone, the movies have always been entertaining and well done, but most of us knew that they were lacking in ways that people who never read the books just couldn’t understand. I can say with confidence that this is the movie where people are missing out the most if they didn’t read the books. I have rarely seen movie adaptations that so perfectly do justice novels, and being able to appreciate that made the movie that much more powerful.

I don’t want to risk giving a single second away, but I will say that I laughed out loud, screamed out loud, and cried visibly during this one. It was a whirlwind, and filled with dark spots and emotionally tolling moments (and some awkward ones…let’s not forget we are watching British teenagers here). The movie moves slower than the others, giving us time to get into Harry’s world more than we have ever been able to before. It’s heavy and rewarding. It was an clever and brilliant set-up to what is going to be one of the biggest finales in movies history.

Mark my words, this is the best HP movie we are going to get. The finale has too much to live up to, but this first part of the finale was given the chance to find its feet and explore these characters with a sense of urgency without becoming burdensome. There is no chance that people will be satisfied with The End, or will even want to admit that it’s all over, just like with the books. This one played its part perfectly, and even though it is part of a much bigger whole, has accomplished much all its own.

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