Game of Thrones Review: Here’s Your F@#$%&G Crown

Continuing to amp up the volume, this week’s Game of Thrones left me saying “Yeah, that really did just happen.”

Ned Stark (Sean Bean) wakes up in bed, nursing his leg wound from the encounter last week with Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). Queen Cersei (Lena Headey) asks him if he knows what his wife has done, and alleges he drunkenly attacked her brother Jaime after leaving the brothel. King Robert (Mark Addy) puts them both in their place, backhanding his wife for insulting him when he refuses to immediately side with her over Ned. Robert orders Ned to send a raven to his wife (Michelle Fairley) and tell her to free Tyrion (Peter Dinklage).

Ned wants Jaime to see justice for slaughtering his men, but Robert refuses, pointing out he’s half a kingdom in debt to the Lannisters and can’t afford a war between they and the Starks. I don’t really understand medival/feudal politics and economics, but how can one exactly become so much in debt? He is king after all. Robert gives back the pin of the Hand and reminds Ned he thinks of him as a brother. The King leaves to hunt and sits Ned on the throne in his absence. He also insists that Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) unborn child still die.

For her part, Daenerys is going a little bit mystic on us all over at the Dothraki camp. She’s admiring one of her dragon eggs when she drops it on the fire and lifts it out with her bare hands. One of her servants rushes over when she sees her mistresses hands in the fire, and grabs the egg from her. The servant’s hands are burned but Daenery’s remain unharmed. Later, she must consume an entire heart while the camp watches, her brother Viserys (Harry Lloyd) looking on in disgust. She stumbles, but chokes the last bit down, being all but worshipped by her new people. Viserys attempts to steal the dragon eggs after this display, hoping to sell them for a ship and army, but Jorah (Iain Glen) stops him, showing his allegiance to Daenerys over her brother.

Back in Winterfell, young Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) is having another one of his odd dreams about a three-eyed raven. He awakens to see his new saddle has been constructed and immediately takes off for a ride in it, with Robb (Richard Madden) and Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) watching on. Theon wants Robb to avenge his father and go after Jaime, but Robb shoots down the idea. During their discussion they lose track of Bran, who ends up in the forest surrounded by three thieves. They attempt to take Bran’s horse and silver and he tries to talk them out of it, telling them who he is.

Robb comes to his brother’s aid and quickly kills one thief before grabbing the female one. He pauses when he sees the third with a knife to Bran’s throat. The third thief demands the release of the woman, which Robb is about to agree to when an arrow flies threw the man’s back. Point one for Team Greyjoy this week. They allow the woman to live, who pledges to serve them.

In the castle of crazy Lady Arryn (Kate Dickie), Tyrion awaks in his cell, close to the edge of falling out. He tries at first unsuccessfully to bribe a guard with his name, reputation and promises of gold. On second try, he convinces a guard to tell Lady Arryn he wants to confess his crimes. Before the assembled court of Catelyn Stark, Lady Arryn and the young Lord Robin Arryn, he confesses to a lifetime of lying, whoring and pranks, but that he knows nothing of the attempt on Bran’s life. Tyrion demands a trial by combat. Lady Arryn agrees, opening a massive door in the floor that drops out into the abyss below. Various knights assembled volunteer to be the court’s champion and fight him. One of the men comments it is unfair to fight a man so small, so Tyrion finds one volunteer as his champion—a man who last week fought alongside him when they were ambushed on the road.

The court’s knight spars in full armor, with sword and shield, against Tyrion’s champion, dressed commonly with only a sword. The court’s knight endures several blows before falling. Tyrion’s champion executes him and tosses him down into the abyss. Tyrion announces he’s going home, collects his possessions and pays the guard on his way out, saying “A Lannister always pays his debts.”

Back on the hunt, Robert and his brother Lord Renly, whom last week we learned is the kingdom gay with eyes moving towards the crown, are moving with some men through the woods. Robert is droning on about the good times of the past, and sleeping with women across the kingdom as a sign of honor. Renly questions his brother, were these great times the ones when a mad king sat on the throne slaughtering innocent women and children because of the voices he heard, and storms off. Robert takes to drink and continues the hunt.

Back in King’s Landing, a peasant is telling Ned about people ransacking his village and raping the women. The attacker he describes Ned and Petyr realize is Ser Gregor, the hand of Lord Tywin Lannister. They assume he must be striking back at the Tully’s for what Catelyn did to Tyrion. In a bold, and ultimately foolish move, Ned commands Ser Gregor be hunted down, stripped of his title, land and holdings, and ultimately executed for his crimes. Pycelle suggests they wait for King Robert’s verdict before carrying out such a harsh sentence, but an enraged Ned will not stand down. He further summons Tywin Lannister to court to answer for these actions or be branded an enemy of the crown.

Petyr wonders how wise it is to provoke the Lannisters, but Ned has faith in the King and his army. Ned quickly goes to his chambers and orders Sansa and Arya back to Winterfell. Both are unhappy, Sansa because Joffrey’s just presented her with a pendant and promise to make her queen and Arya because she’s finally getting good with her sword training. Ned promises to make Sansa a better match some day, but she argues that she was supposed to give Joffrey beautiful blonde-haired sons.

Let’s break this down. One…Sansa is clearly a bit delusional, drunk with power, I don’t know, something to stay so infatuated with some so petulant as Joffrey. Maybe being raised most of her life as a instrument of union between families has had this strange effect on her. Two…this clearly clues Ned into what I’m sure most viewers have considered since first being subjected to the sight of twincest in the series premiere—Joffrey might not be King Robert’s son. Ned investigates the the Baratheon lineage, where all children for several generations were born with black hair, that is, all children until Joffrey came along.

Later at the Dothraki celebration, a drunken Viserys stumbles in looking for his sister. Jorah tries to stop him, but he comes in demanding Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) deliver what he was promised, an army and means to recapture the iron throne. He draws a sword and threatens Daenerys’ child, saying Drogo bought her, but never paid. Jorah tells him to put it down, but Viserys reminds him Dothraki cannot shed blood in their sacred city. Drogo speaks and Daenerys translates that he shall give Viserys a crown that men will tremble to behold.

He lets his sister go and two Dothraki grab him, breaking his arms. Drogo tosses his golden belt into a pot, melting it. Daenerys makes no attempt to save her brother, nor to turn away from the impending horror of the situation. Viserys pleads with her as Drogo dumps the melted gold over his head, killing him. “He is no dragon,” the Khaleesi says of her brother. “Fire cannot kill the dragon.”

Now this was the kind of episode I’ve been waiting six weeks for. If you’re familiar with the source material, you know this jaw-dropping moment is nothing compared to the events to come, hopefully kicking off with next week’s new episode. Only four hours of Game of Thrones remains to tell the story leading up to the already green lit season two. Scenes from next week promise the return of Jon Snow and his adventures with the Night’s Watch, as well as the much discussed patriarch of the Lannister family coming to the forefront of the kingdom’s political intrigue.

Season 1, Episode 6 “A Golden Crown” (original air date May 22, 2011)

Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.

Images courtesy of Nick Briggs and HBO.

Glee’s Inspiration: Win a Copy of Lady GaGa’s “Born This Way”

Those kids from McKinley High sure love to sing Lady GaGa songs, especially about how it’s okay to be different. With another successful Glee season under their belt, one featuring a supersized episode dedicated to GaGa, Poptimal is giving its readers the chance to win a copy of the Mother Monster’s newly released album “Born This Way.”

Here’s How to Win (No Purchase Necessary)

1. Post your comments to at least one (1) of our front page articles.

2. Email your name, email address and the name of the post you commented on to contests@poptimal.com. Put “Lady GaGa Born This Way ” in the subject line. If you choose to participate for an additional chance to win via Twitter, be sure to add your Twitter handle to the email.

3. Wait. The winner* will be notified after June 6th.

*Contest open to residents of the U.S. & Canada.

** If you’re on Twitter, you will have additional chances to win.  After you enter as stated above, follow us at @Poptimal and send the following tweet: “I entered @Poptimal’s Born This Way Giveaway.” You will receive additional entries (limit one per day) to win the above prizes.

For more awesome Lady GaGa products, check out the Mandee online shop, including the chance to win GaGa concert tickets.

The Celebrity Apprentice Review: All Good Things

We’ve reached the end of another Apprentice journey intact, and I think we learned a lot along the way. To be sure, this particular finale left no stone unturned, and we depart with a better understanding of ourselves and one another when it’s all said and done. Trump greets us this week with the self-assured boldness of a true leader. “This season on the Celebrity Apprentice,” he says, “I delivered the most entertaining cast of stars ever.” Two sweating plebeians roll out a red carpet in front of him as he walks down a street in Manhattan, and I’m reminded why Trump was our best hope for 2012.

I have always hated the live audience aspect of Apprentice finales, yet here we are once again in some venue with an applauding crowd in stadium seating in front of a conference desk. Trump tells everyone that his cast raised over $3 million for charity this season, all while maintaining the rivalries and animosities that keep the ratings up. As he said a few episodes ago, this show is not as much about charity as it is about winning, so let’s head back to the final challenge.

Back at Marlee’s camp, Geoffrey Holder is still missing, and his team is still giving Meat Loaf grief about his participation in their dumb commercial. I feel like this is one of those manufactured snags; everything usually works out in the end, despite the drama. Teams usually recover from momentary setbacks like these. Surely enough, Geoff shows up just in time, leading Marlee to sigh in relief. He’s dressed like a pimp from a blaxploitation movie, all in white with a hat and cane. He sits in a chair and dutifully recites his lines while Marlee dances around happily. Meanwhile, it’s time for John Rich to meet Def Leppard. It’s awkward to see him greet their tour manager, whom he’s been reprimanding on the phone, and the band seems like they’re only there because they owed someone at NBC a favor, or because they wanted everyone to remember they’re still around. When John asks them if they’ve ever heard of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, they respond with blank stares. How in the world can you live that many years without having heard anything about St. Jude? John mentions once again that he’d like the drummer to emerge and play the kick drum while he announces the band, but they’re still patently against it. He caves quickly and agrees to simply tap his food while he brings the band onstage for their epic entrance. Yes, I’m sure that’ll work just fine. Unfortunately for Marlee’s team, they don’t yet have a schedule or plan as they survey their event space. In a talking head, Meat says he doesn’t know where to start. What you never want to do as a team leader is leave Meat Loaf to brainstorm, since that doesn’t usually turn out well. LaToya complains that Marlee hasn’t delegated anything so far. I’m not sure why Marlee is so timid this late in the game.

We’re live again, and Trump is bringing out the show’s cast-offs to the stage. Most have returned, including Star Jones and NeNe, but Dionne Warwick is conspicuously absent. I can’t say I’m surprised that she wouldn’t want to come back. The rest take a seat on the platform, and Trump announces that Richard Hatch is back in jail (for tax evasion) before asking David Cassidy how he feels about it. David gloats about karma, since he and Richard didn’t get along. He feels it’s vindication for what happened to him in the first episode, which seems ridiculously petty. Trump moves on to Lisa, asking her why she didn’t last longer in the game. She subtly blames Star, who is indeed the source of all evil, and Star points out that it’s a competition, so Lisa should have brought her A-game. Lisa answers by saying that she doesn’t respond “to that particular person,” dissing Star from the seat directly behind hers. Sigh. These women are fully grown. I can’t believe people still act like this at their age. Trump proceeds to show a montage of Gary Busey acting like a nutjob and then asks him if he’s “crazy or crazy like a fox.” Does it matter? Gary says some nonsense about how he doesn’t reveal his secrets while working with a team, since he’s mysterious. Meat gives Gary a hug when Trump brings up their fight. He’s a sweetheart. Meat tells everyone that he’s had 18 concussions and a fractured skull, so he understands where Gary comes from. While others try to stifle him, Gary persists in mentioning Omaha Steaks, the company featured on the episode during which he was fired. Gary doesn’t let up until he’s allowed to unveil the kite packaging that the corporation adopted after hearing Gary’s ideas during his team’s pitch about Father’s Day or whatever it was.

We’re taken back to the challenge, where both teams are decorating their event rooms. John Rich’s team is doing a bang-up job with zebra-print ads papering the walls. Star mentions her expertise when it comes to event planning, even bringing up her “fabulous” wedding, which did not produce an equally successful marriage. I think her husband was gay, but I’d still like to blame it on her. John Rich accepts $25,000 from executives representing The Melting Pot restaurant chain, even though this isn’t a fundraising challenge. He’s still concerned about getting as much money as he can for his charity, no matter the conditions of the final challenge. I have to admire that; it’s a pretty baller move. On her end, Marlee is finally swinging into action under the immense pressure, delegating the setup of her space. It turns out looking like a 7UP-sponsored middle school dance, since they’re in a gymnasium, but they get an A for effort.

When Marlee’s event officially begins, she takes care to greet Trump and the 7UP folks at the doors, escorting them through the arena like the Very Important People that they are. She gives a heartfelt speech about her charity The Starkey Hearing Foundation from her podium onstage before showing her team’s commercial. I can’t tell how well-received it is. The crowd seems a bit confused, but Geoff Holder’s voice is phenomenal, and all the actors gave it a good try. Trump only cracks a small smile when Meat Loaf delivers his “bat out of hell” line; thankfully, most of the other dialogue was cut. The Harlem Globetrotters trot out and shoot some hoops, and everyone eats it up. Meat tells the camera that the only thing that could ever top the Globetrotters would be a Beatles reunion. I’ve been to at least one Globetrotters game, and they’re fun, but I’m concerned about how much Marlee’s team is overstating the success of their event. When it’s all said and done, they seem to think it’s in the bag. Marlee prematurely announces to viewers that she’s the next Celebrity Apprentice.

What transpires next would be kind of annoying if sick and dying children weren’t directly benefiting from it. Some guys in suits arrive to hand yet another check to John Rich. I had to do some research to find out who they were, since NBC declined to mention their company onscreen. It turns out that these executives from Dollar General were aware of John and St. Jude’s and wanted to follow through on a previous pledge of funds, despite the fact that this task required no fundraising. They’ve brought $250,000, which is exactly the amount that the winner receives for their charity. The execs are brought into the event as V.I.P. while Trump and 7UP enter by themselves and wonder why they haven’t been greeted by John’s team. John jumps right into his commercial instead of giving a speech, it seems, and the crowd erupts in laughter and applause when Dee Snider transforms into his alter ego before their eyes. Next, John does his little foot-tapping thing while chanting something about 7UP before announcing Def Leppard and running backstage. Unfortunately, it’s only 6:40pm, and the band was told to emerge at 7, so John’s too early, and now there’s an awkward stretch of time to deal with. Of course, Mr. Rich decides to perform an acoustic song to pass the time. He sings a ditty he wrote to Donald Trump about not firing him. This little interlude is completely unrelated to the theme of the event, so I wish he had either talked up the charity or done an 80s cover or something, but I guess he was nervous and on-the-spot. Finally, it’s time for the band to come out as scheduled. I hope they’re happy with their decision against the stupid kick drum. Everything would have been alright had they made that tiny concession. The band sounds good; they perform a sort of bland, tame version of their old hits, which pleases the audience very much. Lil Jon makes his way to John Rich to hug him and give his congratulations. John tells the camera there’s no way of knowing who will win, showing himself to be less presumptuous and confident than Marlee.

Again in front of the live audience, we’re shown a montage of NeNe confronting people before Trump asks her why she left. NeNe says she doesn’t live with regrets, echoing the sentiments of every modern-day pop culture figure in the world. To admit a regret would require some sort of honest self-reflection and admission of one’s own flaws, but the trend now is to say that one can learn from everything, no matter how shameful, so we should never second-guess any of our actions. When asked about her comments to the press over the past several weeks, NeNe maintains that she doesn’t hold grudges, though she does stand by what she said. Why claim to not hold grudges when it’s clear that you’re doing exactly that? I get that Star is reprehensible and won’t ever apologize, since she’s the most oblivious person on the planet, but own up to your bitterness, NeNe! Star opts for a low blow and calls NeNe out for yelling at every Black woman on the show. NeNe points out that Star didn’t use the platform any more wisely, since she spent her time manipulating and backstabbing people just to get her way. Star tries to suggest that this night isn’t about the two of them, since it’s about Marlee and John, but then she fights to be heard as she states for the millionth time that she’s a professional who’s embarrassed by NeNe. I am so sick of her elitism that I can hardly stand it. Fortunately, the audience seems like it’s on NeNe’s side; Star seems to have very few fans in the crowd. LaToya backs NeNe up, saying she has a good heart and started being nicer once she realized that Star was using her. I think that’s pretty apt.

In the boardroom: Both teams are facing Trump for his response to the task. Trump says the 7UP people liked both teams, though the decision is ultimately up to him. The players look at each other’s materials and basically admit that John’s zebra can is more dynamic. In fact, both designs are being rolled out into stores, in addition to the commercials they made. Marlee talks about the success of her team and says she was happy with the execution of the challenge. Meat acts like he’s still in the game and pats himself on the back for introducing the V.I.P.s as they entered the event space. He should have commended Marlee, instead, since she’s the one with the chance to win. Trump announces John’s earnings for his charity, and Marlee doesn’t seem very pleased to hear it. She had just gotten the opportunity to cringe smugly when she learned that his band was late coming to the stage, so this blow is not a happy moment. She looks absolutely horrified at the amount of money that the St. Jude children will be receiving. I know you want to win, but let’s keep everything in perspective here. The only thing about this show that isn’t a farce is the money going to the charities. Assuming those checks aren’t useless props like everything else, I think we can all celebrate them. Trump admits he can’t take the fundraising into perspective when deciding on a winner, even though it might unconsciously influence his opinion of John in a positive way. Richard defends Marlee as having just as much heart for her charity as John does, and she maintains that she surely would have raised money if it were a part of the challenge. She simply didn’t think to do it and was already overwhelmed with the task as it stood.

Marlee and John finally debut on the live stage to learn their fate. Trump takes a quick survey among the ousted contestants and learns that most people are on John Rich’s side for the win. Even LaToya casts her vote for John, though she was on Marlee’s team during the challenge. Before revealing anything, they show us a video of Marlee visiting Kenya with her charity to give out hearing aids to deaf children. It’s positively beautiful to see the adorable kids realize they can hear for the first time. Some of them start to talk and make sounds, and it’s pretty incredible and very touching. (Maybe I’m dense, but why aren’t these particular magical hearing aids in wider use? Couldn’t Marlee have snagged a couple while the staff had their backs turned?) Next up, John visits the St. Jude patients and sings them a song about overcoming illness. Looking at cancer-stricken children is a bit unbearable for me, so I’m doubly impressed that he can make it through the song without getting too emotional. John admits that it was the hardest performance ever.

Please, someone explain to me why we now need John and Marlee to perform the song in front of the live studio audience while students from the New York School for the Deaf sway and sign the words in the background. This is way too much. It’s the most sickening, pandering display I’ve seen in a long time. Too low this time, NBC. John whines on and on about giving to the kids, so I hope this at least brings in donations to the charity from the viewing public.

After the commercial break, Marlee and John sit in front of Trump, with their backs to the crowd. Marlee makes her case by saying that she’s overcome all barriers in her life so far and would like this to be another one. She gets cheap applause by telling Trump that he and she have something in common in that neither will take “no” for an answer. Though she can’t see the crowd behind her, she knows to pause for a spell for the crowd’s reaction. John points out that his body of work during the season was much stronger, as he wrote many of the winning scripts for his team and raised an unprecedented amount of money for his charity, which he took great care to expose as much as he could. Marlee pitifully responds that John has never seen her work before, but her own team knows how she operates and can vouch for her. Didn’t she notice that most of the players didn’t elect her as the winner when asked? There’s a clear winner here, but Trump, Lil Don, and Ivanka go on and on about what a tough decision it is, considering how wonderful they both are. Trump announces John Rich as the new Celebrity Apprentice, and the studio is filled with confetti and fanfare as everyone celebrates. We, the at-home viewers, were not given an immediate reaction shot from Marlee, and about that, I am very disappointed.

Celebrity Apprentice Season 4, Week 13: “Sweet Victory” (original airdate May 22, 2011)

Images courtesy of Douglas Gorenstein and NBC.

Contest: Win Sammi Sweetheart’s New Perfume “Dangerous”

Sammi Sweetheart, the star of MTV’s Jersey Shore, has released her very own fragrance, aptly named “Dangerous” after her “dangerously sweet” personality. It’s a sexy, exciting sweet-floral scented fragrance with hints of mandarin, almond, jasmine, honeysuckle, vanilla and brown sugar.

Poptimal.com is not only giving away one bottle of “Dangerous,” but also a tank top featuring the slogan Jersey Girls are Dangerous. So are you a Jersey girl and proud? Or do you feel like you were born in the wrong state and are a Jersey Girl at heart? Then this contest is for you!

Here’s How to Win (No Purchase Necessary)

1. Post your comments to at least one (1) of our front page articles.

2. Email your name, email address and the name of the post you commented on to contests@poptimal.com. Put “Sammi – Dangerous” in the subject line. If you choose to participate for an additional chance to win via Twitter, be sure to add your Twitter handle to the email.

3. Wait. The winner* will be notified after June 6th.

*Contest open to residents of the U.S. & Canada.

** If you’re on Twitter, you will have additional chances to win.  After you enter as stated above, follow us at @Poptimal and send the following tweet: “I entered @Poptimal’s Sammi Fragrance Giveaway.” You will receive additional entries (limit one per day) to win the above prizes.

The “Dangerous” perfume and tank top combo is also available for purchase at Mandee. Don’t miss your chance to own it!

Alphas Interview: Malik Yoba and the Extraordinary Dysfunction

I have to admit, my geek antennas are showing. So when I heard that the SyFy channel was developing a show revolving around a group of superhuman crime fighters, to borrow from an immortal and oh-so classic song, “I was like YEAH.” Recently I had the chance to chat with star of the upcoming Alphas series Malik Yoba, and during our discussion Yoba tells us why he almost didn’t take on this series, more about his character Bill and why you should all make a habit of following him.

Set to debut Monday July 11th, Alphas follows the group behind the National Security Agency’s Section 8, a superhuman squad, knows as Alphas, whose various abilities all come at a terrible cost. Led by Dr. Leigh Rosen (David Strathairn), these Alphas search for other humans with enhanced abilities and assess the threat that each one may possess to humankind. Part X-Men, part Breakout Kings (in theory), Alphas is a combination of magic and drama unlike anything that you have ever seen on your TV. With great power comes great responsibility, and a heck of a handicap as our heroes find themselves crippled by their own strengths. So how do you fight crime when your powers more often than not bring you to your knees? If you think you’re eager to find that out, try being one of the cast.

Although the preparation for this series has been in production since before the writers’ strike of 2007, it is only now Alphas has found its legs with the perfect team and a perfect home on the SyFy channel. On the series, Yoba plays the role of Bill Harken, a former FBI agent whose amped up “fight or flight” reflex temporarily gives him extraordinary strength. With a long career in television, and a more recent succession of popular movies, Yoba tells Poptimal that he almost passed on this role.

“I was a little reluctant to jump back onto another series given the fact that I’d done so many and it begins to feel like the same kind of thing,” Yoba said. “But doing the show and having the opportunity to have done the pilot, it’s a show that I definitely look forward to going to.”

“There’s thriller elements,” Yoba continues. “There’s comedy elements; there’s drama, sci-fi elements, suspense. We keep saying we’re doing the anti-show show, meaning even from a character standpoint, a performance standpoint, the position of the show allows us to do a fair amount of improvisation and add our own flavor to the show which is not something that happens a lot in television. It’s been a nice surprise.”

So let’s get to the nitty gritty of the conversation. Here’s what Yoba has to say about everything that makes Alphas work.

Keshaunta Moton for Poptimal.com: Who can be an Alpha?
Malik Yoba: Anyone can have an Alpha ability. Tiger Woods, when he’s at the top of his game, is extraordinary.

Poptimal.com: What makes Bill extraordinary?
Yoba: I’m still finding that. One of the things that occurred to me the other day is this character was written for a white dude. So often when I play the only black guy on the cast that always sort of comes up, and I think that one of the things I’m enjoying is that he’s just a dude. I’m bringing it up now only because I notice that it’s not there, I love that. We don’t even talk about that. I don’t think that’s what makes him extraordinary as a character; I just think that that’s extraordinary.

Poptimal: So they’re all screwed up?
Yoba: There’s all kinds of dysfunction in everyone’s character. I have a wife in the show and they time it like we want to show everyone’s dysfunction and these two people are normal and they have a good relationship. The fact that the wife ended up black also made it interesting because she was originally written Asian. So it’s interesting when they’re casting because a black woman, the representation, then takes on a whole different tone with social responsibility or not. If our relationship was dysfunctional then you’ll hear stuff like, ‘Well why does that relationship have to be dysfunctional?’ I love the fact that none of this conversation is never really had on set, with the writers. Bill Harken just has happens to be a black dude.”

Poptimal.com: Favorite part so far?
Yoba: I’ve played a lot of dramatic roles and people don’t really know me; people who know me know that I’m a pretty funny cat. The character Gary is played by a British actor, Ryan Cartwright. The dynamic being written around he and I… he’s actually a really funny dude. He’s primarily been a comedic actor, but there’s this really funny dynamic. They wrote an episode that focuses on our two characters that we haven’t shot yet but I know in that episode we’ll have an opportunity to bring a lot of comedy to it.

Filming for Alphas is currently in its second episode, so Yoba admits that there’s a lot that he’s still discovering about his character but he looks forward to the development over the weeks to come. You can all check out the finished product coming this summer on the SyFy network.

Yoba has also just finished another film, Recalled, about a National Guard soldier who goes AWOL after being denied leave to visit his ill son. The movie also features Bow Wow as the rogue soldier. Keep an ear out for Recalled (type it in Google Search 20 times to get it trending if you have to), follow Malik on Twitter (@malikyoba) to find out what else he has going on, and most of all don’t forget to check out Alphas starting Monday July 11th, at 10/9c only on  SyFy.

For more television reviews and interviews, click here.

Showtime’s Homeland Trailer

Here’s the first look trailer for Showtime’s new fall drama series Homeland starring Claire Danes, Damian Lewis and Mandy Patinkin.

America’s Next Top Model Review: There Could Only Be One

The inevitable moment for which we’ve all been waiting, or at least saw coming: the announcement of the girl who is recognized by the AMTM gods as having the potential of being America’s Next Top Model and who is awarded with a contract with IMG Models, “one of the top model management companies in the entire world,” a spread in Italian Vogue Magazine, a cover of Beauty in Vogue, a six-page spread in Beauty in Vogue, a feature on vogue.it, which is Italian Vogue’s website, and a $100,000 contract with Cover Girl cosmetics.  Runway blunders, lost challenges, runner-up for best photo, and insulting clients notwithstanding, Molly and Brittani learned which one of them would join the ranks of classic, fan favorite ANTM winners Yoanna, Eva, Danielle, CariDee, Jaslene, Saleisha, Whitney, Teyona, and Krista who have come before.

On the shuttle ride home from last week’s elimination, Molly and Brittani reflected on the pre-ANTM road that they traveled to get them where they are.  Molly experimented with drugs and then went to a rehabilitation clinic when she was younger.  Brittani lived in a trailer park, and she and her mom were on welfare for the first eight years of Brittani’s life.  Then during interviews, Molly and Brittani evaluated each other.  Molly recognized that Brittani has a better runway walk than she does although Molly has gotten best photo three weeks in a row.  Brittani admitted that Molly takes great shots although Brittani is more high fashion than Molly.  Molly’s obvious weakness, as she admitted herself, is that she is not Cover Girl-esque.  Portraying the traditional image of a Cover Girl will employ more acting skills for her as opposed to natural charm.  The next day, Ivan Bart, senior Vice President of IMG Models, sat down individually with the girls to evaluate their portfolios and meet them more intimately.  Ivan also acknowledged Molly’s strong portfolio and admitted to looking forward to see Brittani walk on the runway.

After the meeting with Ivan, Jay Manuel prepped the girls for their long-awaited Cover Girl commercial at the LD Bell Country Club.  Pierpaolo Ferrari shot the photos that will become the print ad for the winner of ANTM.  During hair and make-up, Brittani reflected on her previous blunders with and without scripts during the coffee commercial and The Insider live shot.  One important element of the Cover Girl commercial is the script.  While they were shot with three cameras during the commercial, Jay Manuel noted there would be a teleprompter at only one.  While Molly was the winner of the last commercial challenge, she was the most uncomfortable in front of the camera.  The next day the girls went to what Brittani called a “100-room palace” to meet Pierpaolo again, as well as the stylist for Vogue Italia, Valentina Serra, for a photo shoot for Vogue Italia.  Pierpaolo and Valentina noticed that Brittani was very professional and enjoyed her shoot while Molly complained (about missing her chicken – really, chicken?).  She complained about having to sit on cold tile while wearing lingerie, and the photographer and stylist had to remind her not to lose energy.  Although models and photographers do it all the time, this time when they lightly clapped when the shoot was over, they did it as a sign of mocking congratulation to Molly that she’d gotten through the shoot and could go home now.

Back at the Top Model house, Molly and Brittani arrived to the smiles and open arms of Molly’s (adoptive) parents.  Brittani’s mom was unable to put her daughter’s need for her mother’s presence in front of her anxiety disorder. Oh, and she was recovering from a recent back surgery.  While Brittani cordially chatted with Molly’s parents who were happy to temporarily play surrogate parents in the absence of her own, Brittani shed pitying tears for herself as she reflected on the countless times she’s wanted someone to be there for her but was left alone. However, thanks to modern technology, Brittani was able to chat with her mother online.

The next morning, Molly and Brittani met Jay Manuel at the Granada Palace for a salon-style fashion show where they went from one room to the next while modeling the garments of the Vivienne Westwood Anglomania line.  As part of a recent Top Model tradition, joining Molly and Brittani in the fashion show were a few of the recently-eliminated models: Kasia, Alexandria, and Hannah, as well as last cycle’s winner, Ann.  At the runway entrance of the ‘salon,’ rose petals were strewn on the floor from ladies who were leaning over the second floor balcony.  During their last walk, Brittani and Molly walked together.  Brittani slipped on one of the rose petals, crashed into the wall, fell onto the floor, and injured her ankle.  In a the-show-must-go-on fashion, Brittani sniffed up the rest of her tears and other nasal liquids and joined the other models during the finale walk. With Brittani and Molly creating one of the tightest final-two competitions in ANTM history (Tyra & Co. say that every cycle), after the fashion show, Jay and Ivan announced to the girls that Tyra wanted to give them another makeover.  Thus, Molly and Brittani arrived at the final judging with Mia-Farrow-in-Rosemary’s-Baby hair cuts, which is Tyra’s favorite cut.

During her evaluation, Molly was told by the judging panel, which included Jay Manuel, that her walk during the fashion show was too bouncy and during the commercial she looked liked “the mean girl” (maybe that’s because she can be).  However, her Cover Girl photo needed to be hung in a salon, according to Andre’ Leon Talley.  Brittani received obvious critiques for breaking character during the runway when she and Molly posed in front of the judges’ table although Jay Manuel immediately noted that she should be commended for pushing through after she fell.  Her Cover Girl commercial and photo shoot simply rocked.  While Molly had gotten the best photo of the week for the last three weeks in a row and she won The Insider challenge, Brittani became the competition muse of not one, not two, but three of the photographers.  Therefore, the obvious winner of America’s Next Top Model Cycle 16: Brittani!

Cycle 16, Episode 13: “Season Finale” (originally aired May 18, 2011)

For more ANTM recaps, click here.

Check out “Stumbling To The Finish Line,” Desiree Neall’s take on this cycle’s finale.

Images courtesy of Walter Sassard for The CW

 

The Office Review: Search Committee

Creed’s the man. Who’d have thought? No one, at least not until he rolls up to the office parking lot in a Porsche Boxster proclaiming, “It’s a beautiful morning at Dunder Mifflin, or as I like to call it, ‘Great Bratton’.” Unfortunately, he’s totally out of his mind, or at the very least, senile. Scranton needs a new manager, STAT. The search starts at Will Arnett’s feet. The search team, comprised of Jim, Toby, and Gabe begin interviewing candidates in earnest and we begin watching in a similar fashion, knowing that none of these guest-stars are really going to be the show’s new hire. After a while it feels like an exercise in futility and unfortunately, this is the structure of 70% of the episode which begins to grate even through many funny bits.

As Arnett begins to crash and burn mid-interview, the rest of the office has turned into a high school campus  during campaign week, with virtually all rolling the dice and fighting for the coveted manager spot, from the sheepish (Andy quietly wears an “Andy For Manager?” button) to the savvy (Darrell’s self-proclaimed strongest skill: “I’m blaaaaack!”). Dwight, however, has pulled a complete 180 and is no longer even working, instead opting for the silent protest of sitting around in his pajamas and reading the newspaper at his desk, more specifically the classifieds. Yes, Dwight is thinking about moving on.

Enter James Spader, who is hands down the most awesomely hilarious candidate of the episode. For the team, interviewing him is like looking down the barrel of a gun as his misdirected intensity sucks all the air out of the room. Consider his answer to a basic interview question: “There is no such thing as a product. There is only sex.” Post-interview, Jim breaks the silence and admits, “He creeps me out. But I think he might be a genius.” Minutes later in the building lobby, Dwight overhears Spader ripping on the company to an incoming Ray Romano. It’s a truly weird scene in a lot of ways, most pointedly being that James Spader could very well be Dwight Schrute’s Bizzaro-World doppelganger, or more specifically if Dwight popped one of those transparent pills from Limitless, he would become Spader. But the belittling of Dunder-Mifflin is more than enough to set a hatless Dwight off and gives him a sudden burst of inspiration. “See my hat?” he challenges. “That’s because I just threw it in the ring.”

It’s about here that the structure of the episode begins wearing thin and it feels like everyone is on auto pilot. The Manager interviews continue their round-robin of ridiculous. Cue the talking-head segments. Back to interviews, rinse and repeat. Every so often a gust star like Ricky Gervais will come in and quell the monotony, but it is short lived. Jo (Kathy Bates) arrives after the interviews have wrapped to assess where the branch is at. She is immediately pounced on by Dwight, begging for an interview she does not grant. This doesn’t stop Dwight though, and he goes to great lengths to try and get his foot in the door, going so far as to wrap himself head-to-toe in bandages, playing the (burn) victim, but fails gloriously. Despite his insanity, Jo allows Dwight to interview (“I like a little crazy”), the fallout of which leads to an open forum on the office floor, with everyone airing their grievances and opinions of who they want as a boss. The search team reconvenes to make a decision…and it just kinda ends.

Unfortunately, the biggest misstep of the entire finale is the ending, by which I mean there is none. That’s not to say it’s lacking some sort of finality or cliffhanger- its not (Mad Men’s finales by comparison are structured similarly, but there’s always a sense of closure). It simply fails to move forward at all and fully shows how the episode more or less runs around in a circle chasing its tail for an hour. The entire episode is built around finding a new boss, but there isn’t even a loose decision made by the time it’s over and it simply just feels like a waste of time. The show would have been much better off ending the season with Michael’s departure, leaving these last few episodes including the Ferrell arc to kick-start the new season next fall. All in all, the finale wasn’t a total misfire, but it came frustratingly close, especially when you expect some sort of answer and are led on for an hour to end up not getting what was promised. Bummer.

Season 7, Episode 23: “Search Committee” (originally aired May 19, 2011)

Is The Office lost without Michael Scott? Post a comment in our discussion boards below!

Click here for more Poptimal coverage of The Office.

Images courtesy of Chris Haston for NBC Universal and IMDbPro

 

 

 

Supernatural Review: Lord Castiel, Your New God

The two-hour season six finale of Supernatural leaves audiences another cliffhanger that makes me wonder what in blazes is going to happen in season seven? In the last episode Dean (Jensen Ackles) tried to appeal to Cas (Misha Collins) to stop what he was doing and the angel refused. Now things take a turn for the complicated and messed up as Crowley (Mark Sheppard) has Lisa and Ben kidnapped to make certain that the Winchesters stay out of their way.

This is one of the saddest parts as Lisa appears to have moved on to a new man and they’re enjoying a normal non-supernatural kind of day when demons bust in and kill Lisa’s new boyfriend. Poor guy never had a chance.

Dean looks like he’s about to lose it as the only course he sees is to torture and kill demons until one of them squeals. One of them gets lose and is about to kill the elder Winchester when Cas appears and saves Dean’s life. The angel asks Dean to trust him just for once because he has always been there for him without fail and that if they are really family then doesn’t he deserve that as well?

Meanwhile Bobby (Jim Beaver) follows an unlikely lead of legendary science fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft opening a portal to purgatory. The elder hunter goes to interview Jonah, a man obsessed with Lovecraft but Cas beats him to it and takes the man’s collection of Lovecraft letters before Bobby even has a chance to look. All is not lost though as Jonah coins the tale of Lovecraft having dinner party of six where they had tried to invoke a spell to open a portal. They thought it hadn’t worked, but one by one all the invited guests began to die within a year of the dinner party. Bobby goes to investigate their last lead, the son of Lovecraft’s maid who was also there that night and who has been locked in a mental facility since he was a boy.

Bobby discovers that the spell did work and the portal opened. No one else realized it though because the creature that stepped through was invisible and the boy knew because it had taken over his mother. He claimed that she acted different and even smelled different. Due to Bobby’s kindness in saying that he was sorry that the elder man had lost his mom, he was given a surprisingly unexpected twist. He was shown a picture of the mother, who turns out to be Dr. Eleanor Visyak. She was the doctor who gave Dean the sword that could kill dragons.

Cas continues to struggle with his conflicting emotions as he confronts Crowley for kidnapping Lisa and Ben. He was unaware of the demon’s actions until Sam (Jared Padalecki) calls to him for help (without Dean’s knowledge as Dean is unable to trust Cas at all at this point). Suddenly though he is summoned by Balthazar.

Earlier, Sam and Dean call on the other angel for help with Lisa and Ben because they can no longer rely on Cas to help with him working with Crowley. The brothers tell Bathazar that and he pretends to be completely aware of the situation though it’s apparent that he was caught be surprise. He then goes to ask Cas himself if the news is true. Cas denies it without so much as a blink and Balthazar is forced to act as if everything is normal and that he is still on Cas’s side.

He then returns to Sam and Dean telling them, “I’m officially on your team you bastards!” He’s had a change of heart after Cas lies to him and offers his services as a double agent. Balthazar manages to track where Lisa and Ben are being held and transports the brothers to the location.

Sam quickly gets knocked unconscious leaving Dean to kill the other demons and then deal with a demon possessed Lisa. He tries to exorcise Lisa but the demon severely wounds her and now if the demon is exorcised out of Lisa’s body she’ll die. Dean has to anyways and then they rush to the hospital to try and save her life. It’s a heartbreaking scene as Cas appears and tries to explain to Dean that he didn’t know, but the hunter doesn’t care at this point because he’s going to lose Lisa from the severity of her injury. Ben not only hates him now, but will soon become an orphan.

In perhaps the last act of genuine kindness on Cas’s part, he heals Lisa and then wipes her and Ben’s memories clean of Dean and everything supernatural so they can lead a normal life. Dean poses as the man who had hit them on the guise that Lisa was in the hospital after being in a car accident. He says that he’s truly sorry for what he did and that he’s just relieved and glad that they are okay. It’s so sad for Dean to say goodbye to two people he really loved and the reality that having him in their lives was causing them more harm. All season long he’s struggled with making it work and hoping that it was possible for him to be in their lives in some form.

Bobby has gone to track down Eleanor who is in a remote cabin hiding out. She confesses to him that she’s 900 years old and did kill all the guests at Lovecraft’s party to prevent anyone from opening the portal to purgatory. But she’s not looking to open it herself because she’s actually happy and likes the way things are on earth. The hunter insists that she needs to go with him so he can protect her but she kindly refuses because she’s better off protecting herself. This proves to be false though as Cas appears at the end of this episode and abducts her.

The second half of the season finale picks up with Sam running from the police and hides inside a bar where he has no memories of who he is. My first initial reaction is what the heck is going on. Everything is soon explained though as Cas in his own attempt to stop the hunters unlocks the barriers in Sam’s memories that Death had put up when he returned Sam’s soul. Sam in actuality is in a coma and is trapped inside his own mind where he must battle sections of himself to be able to wake up again.

In the real world, Dean is freaking out after recently having to say goodbye to Lisa and Ben and now is in fear of losing Sam all over again. Bobby tries to tell Dean that this is exactly what Cas wants, for him to fall to pieces. It’s interesting that when Cas opened Sam’s floodgates, he said that he would save Sam when all of this was over, which is another clue as to how twisted the angel’s perspective has truly become.

Back at Cas and Crowley’s headquarters, Cas tells the demon that he has two options, flee or die. He re-negotiates the terms of their agreement and refuses to give Crowley any of the souls. I can understand his reasoning because why would he make the king of hell even more powerful? At the same time though Cas is completely oblivious that any creature with that much power is a bad thing, including himself. But he is so far gone that his best intentions have become corrupted with his utter conviction of being right no matter the cost.

Balthazar returns to the hunters with Cas’s location but refusing to take them, saying that he’s stuck out his neck far enough. Dean is torn between going and leaving his brother behind. But at this point they can’t do anything for Sam and decide to leave to go after Cas and Crowley. Poor Balthazar though, after being summoned by Cas he is killed by his friend knowing that the other angel is the Judas amongst them. But as we didn’t see his black angel wings smoldered on the ground, is Balthazar really dead?

Inside Sam’s mind, he manages to kill soulless Sam and absorbs him back, fully regaining his memories from the past year. He then goes on to find the Sam who remembers what happened inside the cage. This version of himself is severely burned and tries to convince him to not do this because the pain that they endured was so severe. Still Sam says he’s got to do this to wake up in order to help Dean. Sam kills cage Sam and absorbs the remaining memories.

In an unexpected turn of events, Crowley betrays Cas by working with Raphael instead after Cas betrays him. It looks like Cas is screwed at this point as he hands over the jar of virgin and monster blood before disappearing. At the very end of the episode, Cas returns after Raphael and Crowley’s failed attempt to open the portal because the jar of blood was switched and now Cas has absorbed all the souls from purgatory into himself.

Crowley quickly disappears and Raphael is exploded to bits at the snap of Cas’s fingers. The angel goes into a monologue of how all his friends betrayed him and didn’t trust him when he was right and was just trying to do the right thing. To emphasize that point, Sam appears behind Cas and stabs him with the angel blade. But its too late Cas is no longer just an angel with all that power inside him.

Dean tried to reason with Cas that too much power is a bad thing and that with Raphael dead, he doesn’t need it anymore. Cas counters by saying that Dean is just scared of him now, which is absolutely true but it’s not fear of Cas himself but of what he has become – another creature that is so powerful that he can do absolutely whatever he wants. Cas has become a dictator who commands that he is loved and worshiped as the new God. Chills went up my spine as the once naively innocent trench-coat wearing angel is now a corrupted force who believes in the absolute certainty of his rightness (at least it seems like it to me). What is actual God planning that he’s allowed for this to happen?

No one could have predicted that Cas would become the new problem that the Winchesters would have to face and it’s been terribly sad and unfortunate that things ended this way. Still we can’t give up the hope that Cas may realize that all the power has gone to his head and give it up, but until that happens it will be interesting to see how crazy he may get in season seven. Will Sam and Dean try to kill Cas though he seems invincible at this point? Then there is Crowley, who must be kicking himself now that he’s helped create a bigger problem for himself. He is definitely Cas’s target number one.

According to showrunner Sera Gamble though, Misha Collins who plays Castiel won’t be back as a series regular in season seven. She assures fans that his storyline will be explored, but as for how much we’ll have to just wait and see. Series creator Eric Kripke and executive producer Ben Edlund though are returning to work on the show and so we can definitely expect some fantastic storylines and new twists and turns as the Winchesters find themselves in another set of impossible circumstances. And I’m certain that the Impala will be back. It has to be.

Season 6, Episode 2o-21: Let It Bleed and The Man Who Knew Too Much (originally aired May 20, 2011)

For more Supernatural, click here.

Fridays at 9/8C on The CW

Images courtesy of The CW and Jack Rowand

Friday Night Lights Review: Growing Up Ain’t Easy

Things figuratively (and for one Julie Taylor (Aimee Teegarden), literally) come crashing down for the residents of East Dillon this week. Coach (Kyle Chandler) and Tami (Connie Britton) have to deal with the fallout of their daughter’s mistake, Luke (Matt Lauria) learns he may not be college bound just yet while Vince (Michael B. Jordan) confronts the ghosts of his past and Julie’s car has a revelatory encounter with a stationary object.

Where to start breaking this week down? Most of the Lions community starts off feeling pretty good. A magazine’s even named Eric Taylor the “Kingmaker”, which the team jokes about by holding up the cover over all of their faces at practice.

Luke wants to talk to Coach about why he asked Vince not to tell him about TMU. Coach lays down a major reality check for Luke; TMU was always after Vince and only used Luke to get to him. A devastated Luke implodes, snapping at Vince and some of the other guys after practice one day. Afterwards he gets drunk and storms over to the Riggins house to see Becky (Madison Burge). Billy Riggins (Derek Phillips) is the only one home and to keep Luke from driving around drunk, instead making him stay and talk. After a potentially disastrous drunk dial to the TMU coach, Billy tells Luke not to lose hope just yet.

A man from Vince’s past comes back demanding five grand or there will be consequences. Vince hands over all the cash he has but it’s not enough, so the guy threatens Jess (Jurnee Smollet) at her family’s restaurant. In a moment of desperation, Vince turns to his dad (Cress Williams), who says he’ll take care of it, and all his son needs to do right now is worry about playing football. He promises Vince he won’t do anything to endanger his probation.

At this week’s game he meets up with the guy, beats him, takes his gun, and tells him Vince is paid up and to keep clear. At dinner with Jess’ family, Vince’s dad tells his son that he’s handled the situation and not to worry about it anymore. But are things every really that simple in East Dillon? The pain of watching Vince reconcile with his dad and their family unit expand is only worsened knowing that these secrets will probably come to a boil before season’s end.

Becky and Mindy (Stacey Oristano) bond over shopping for new stripper outfits, as one does with one’s surrogate mother. But, in a way only Friday Night Lights can pull off, it’s kind of touching. Mindy’s concerned that Becky’s too fixated on Tim Riggins, who called his brother this week from prison, and suggests she go after Luke, a.k.a. the cute farmboy. Becky doesn’t go into details, but says she’s already been there and it’s complicated. Mindy reiterates she’s not trying to arrange a marriage, just a little tension relieving sex, as one’s surrogate mother does from time to time for her daughter.

While Mindy’s back at work, Becky watches her son backstage. When Mindy comes off stage, she’s thanking Becky for staying while tossing her wads of cash on the table.  Becky can’t take her eyes off the money and starts to ask questions about the kind of men that come to watch. Dear Becky, you’ve always kind of felt like a Tyra replacement to me, and for that or maybe in spite of it, I’ve tried to embrace you. Please don’t make me judge you by turning to the pole for some extra income.

In the biggest development of the week, Julie crashes her car on the drive back to college. She is desperate but it’s probably not entirely intentional. She first lies, saying a dog ran out in the street. Later she tells her mother she’s not ready to go back yet, explaining her affair with her TA. She continues to lie about knowing he’s married, choosing instead to say he promised they had separated.

Eric sees through both lies, at one point storming off the practice field and coming home to confront his daughter about her TA’s wife, not even able to look at her while he does it. Tami is stunned but eventually, in a moment that shows just how deep her passion as an educator goes, tells her daughter she’s an adult and needs to face this situation. Julie wants to transfer or drop out, anything but go back to her dorm, but Tami knows if she does she won’t learn her lesson. How this might ultimately resolve itself, I for one, am eager to see.

This episode highlighted the lies our parents sometimes tell us. Sure, it’s not always our parents, we’re probably just as good at lying to ourselves, even while we’re facing the reality of our own circumstances. Vince’s father was desperate to help his son, but the situation probably isn’t over and in those moments where he tells Vince it is, you can see a downward spiral starting to form. It only takes one lie to ruin a relationship.

Luke had convinced himself a scholarship for TMU was in his future, and Billy has him back on the train hoping another one lies ahead. Vince had already put his old life behind him, but this week learned the ugly truths have a way of not staying buried. Still, he didn’t come clean with everyone in his life just yet. The one standout from this is the situation with Julie. Being ever the perfect TV parents, the Taylors dissect their daughter’s lies and pull her to reality. They refuse to let her run away from the consequences of those decisions. We’ll all have to stay tuned to see what this means for Julie’s college life moving forward.

Season 5, Episode 6 “Swerve” (original air date May 20, 2011)

Friday Night Lights airs Fridays at 8/7c on NBC.

Images courtesy of Bill Records and NBC.

« Previous Page — Next Page »