True Blood Review: I Smell A Rat

Greetings, loyal Truebies, as we inch one step closer to the imminent Season Three finale set to occur in a mere two weeks.

After we were left hanging with Russell’s epically shocking behavior involving both a declaration of war between humans and vampires and the spine removal of an unfortunate newscaster – on live television, to boot – I had predicted a more relaxing episode this week, hoping Alan Ball and company would have the good judgment to prevent viewers from suffering complete sensory overload from another mind-blowing development. Indeed, “I Smell a Rat” followed suit with my expectations and toned down the theatrics, serving as a meditation of sorts on the aftermath of last week’s shocking shenanigans. Some would say this means the episode was boring, but I found it strangely reassuring to watch the characters at least attempt to make sense of the messes they’re in, both collectively and individually, and try to assess the extent of the havoc wreaked upon the residents of Bon Temps.

Of course, this is True Blood, so the hour was by no means devoid of an eye-opening backstory and game-changing developments that could thwart the trajectory of multiple characters’ storylines by the end of the season. Sticking to business as usual, a few impulsive decisions were still made that ended up essentially negating any otherwise promising progress rational behavior would have secured.

We start things off with an attention-grabber, as the first line of dialogue spoken in Sunday’s episode is Sookie’s incredulous response to Bill divulging her identity: “I’m a faerie?!” she scoffs. “How f—in’ lame.” While this piece of information may have been one of the worst kept secrets ever as far as most viewers are concerned (I silently echoed Sookie’s sentiments to myself, verbatim) and gave the anticipated disclosure a rather anti-climactic feel, Bill’s subsequent statements certainly made my ears perk up.

After explaining that one of Sookie’s ancestors had been forced to procreate with a faerie long ago, establishing the supernatural bloodline in the Stackhouse family tree, Bill tells Sookie that her appeal to Russell, Sophie-Anne and Eric lies within the fact that faeries’ blood is “delectable and intoxicating” for vamps. Bill assures a skeptical Sookie his feelings for her are genuine, however, and not inspired by his instinctual drive to suck her dry. Whatever you say, Bill. The opening credits are then cued by perhaps the most pertinent piece of information in the entire episode: Faeries, as a species, are generally believed to be extinct, annihilated at the hand of hungry vampires. Hmm. No wonder that Sookie Stackhouse is such a hot commodity.

Outside Merlotte’s, Jason and Tara are processing his impromptu slaying of Franklin – a character I’m sad to see go, frankly. He and Russell could have had dueling insanities for seasons to come, and I’d have stayed glued to my seat. Jason is immediately reminded of both his secret slaughter of Eggs and vampire Eddie’s brutal demise months earlier at the hands of his then-girlfriend Amy, and begins to go a bit crazy himself. While practically rolling around in Franklin’s stringy remains and simultaneously experiencing the five stages of grief in record time, Tara snaps him out of it and instructs him to “DIG!” He and Tara do a rather shoddy cover-up job of the guts and speed off in Jason’s truck to burn Franklin’s clothes.

Hats off to the editors for smoothly cutting to another careening pickup, as Jesus, Lafayette, Crystal and a bloodied Calvin hightail it to the hospital to mend Sam’s brutal handiwork. Instead of the ER, however, Lafayette stops at his house to give Cal a drop or two of vampire blood, healing his mangled mug almost instantly. While Crystal cries with delighted relief, Jesus is shocked and intrigued by the effects the V had on Calvin’s injuries. Calvin, meanwhile, is horrified at Crystal for letting a couple of gay guys feed him “fangers’ blood,” an apparent double-whammy to a hillbilly’s ego. Crystal tries to point out that his life has been saved, but Calvin’s pride is too damaged and he focuses on the fact Crystal has ditched Hotshot and her birthright to have Felton’s children (corrective side note: I’ve been calling Felton “Fenton” for the last couple of recaps. Apologies.) to shack up with a human. “We ain’t supposed to mix,” Calvin sneers at Crystal, who doesn’t help matters by declaring she doesn’t love Felton. Calvin charmingly informs Crystal, “You ain’t supposed to love him. You just gotta lie under him.” Touching. As Calvin runs off and a more-pathetic-by-the-second Crystal chases after him, Lafayette utters the best and most succinctly accurate character assessment of the season: “Them f—ers is a whole new dimension of trash.” Hee!

Calvin’s miraculous recovery is unbeknownst to a guilt-ridden Sam, who’s using whiskey to aid both the physical and psychological ramifications of his sudden attack of brutality at Merlotte’s. After pondering a series of unsupportive voices from the past, Sam takes an ill-advised trip down memory lane to ripen his already looming self-destruct. It’s flashback time, to 2003, where we see a clean-shaven, suit-wearing Sam, hair slicked back, enter a hotel room with a comely blonde. He and his lady friend are all over each other and drooling over the contents of the bags Sam has brought with him. As fistfuls of expensive jewelry tumble out of the sacks and the blonde’s eyes widen with glee, it’s become apparent Sam has not always used his shifting abilities for the greater good. As he begins to project a future of bar ownership and good-looking kids with his girl, a sleazy-looking fellow with a pistol sneaks around the corner and holds the barrel of the gun to Sam’s temple. Turns out, poor Sam was taken for a chump by both the blonde and her real boyfriend as they run off with Sam’s loot and he’s left on the floor of the hotel room with empty pockets and a broken heart.

Meanwhile, back at Fangtasia, a seriously spooked and seriously screwed Eric is frantically getting his affairs in order in the likely case a vengeful Russell decides to show up and rip out his spine. As a lawyer recites the terms of his will, Eric reveals he intends to leave his entire estate to Pam (or, Pamela Swynford de Beaufort, a name almost as fit for a Southern belle as Scarlett O’Hara). Yvetta, serving as a legal witness, is upset she isn’t being considered in Eric’s life beyond the “job and good sex” he promised her. Eric isn’t in the mood for whining and shouts a handful of offensive obscenities in Yvetta’s direction until she flees the room in tears. A disgusted Pam clearly isn’t impressed and calls Eric a “cold hearted bastard.”

Back in Bon Temps, Bill is watching perennial TV talking head Nan Flanagan desperately try to spin the PR disaster Russell’s homicidal tirade had on the AVL’s cause back in her favor by likening him to Jeffrey Dahmer – the horrific acts of one person, she claims, shouldn’t create a backlash against their entire species. There certainly wasn’t an anti-human movement after such monsters as Dahmer went on their killing sprees, were there? Nice try, Nan, but Russell’s outburst has spiked the fundamentalist fear-mongers’ motivation through the roof and anti-vampire sentiments are saturating through society like a wet sponge. Case in point? Arlene, watching TV at Merlotte’s, is transfixed by the smug return of Steve Newlin and his Fellowship of the Sun movement as though it were the Second Coming. Newlin states to his audience that if he weren’t such a good Christian, he’d say, “told you so!” regarding the allegedly proven unforgivable evil of the vampire race. Between this and Jessica’s discovery of a burning cross in her front yard, I could write a thesis about the wry symbolism True Blood uses to parallel vampires’ plight for civil rights to our political climate in real life, but the transgression could distract me for pages. And pages. While I love me some shirtless Eric as much as the next gal, my love for True Blood as a show lies directly in its cutting satire of society and its ongoing bigotry throughout history, and scenes like this only rekindle said love and make my heart aflutter. Sigh.

As Nan continues, Eric interrupts and announces to a startled Bill that he, too, knows what Sookie is (thanks, Hadley) and asks Bill if the rumors are true — can faerie blood actually neutralize a vampire’s aversion to sunlight? Bill scoffs at Eric, asking him why he’d bother revealing any information to Russell’s “butt boy” (Bill’s uncharacteristically crude words, not mine). Eric informs Bill rather plainly that his standing with Russell was destroyed as soon as he killed Talbot. Bill sarcastically thanks Eric for single-handedly setting vampires’ cause back 1,000 years at the whim of a madman, and then admits that faerie blood only makes a vamp able to stay in the sun for a few minutes and smolder more slowly than normal — but smolder nonetheless. This question had apparently been of particular interest to Sophie-Anne, as Eric mentions she’ll be “disappointed” upon this news. Eric then cryptically warns Bill that he’ll “tell Sookie the truth” if he loves her. Before I can ask, Sookie appears and takes the words right out of my mouth, inquiring, “what truth?” Bill, the predictably bad liar he always is, says the “truth” they’re referring to is the remarkably un-earth shattering news that Sookie’s a faerie, which is a glaringly lame cover but somehow suits Sookie just fine. What is Bill hiding? Why is Sookie so frustratingly dumb when it comes to this guy?

After an increasingly creepy Tommy hits on Jessica at Merlotte’s, again, and hilariously assures her he isn’t too good for her (I’m howling – what an idiot), Hoyt is seen enduring yet another painfully awkward date with the painfully eager Summer. Poor thing – both of them. Hoyt can’t take it anymore (can’t blame him) and heads to Merlotte’s to declare his love for Jessica, much to Tommy’s raging chagrin. Jessica is dumbstruck at Hoyt’s gesture and responds by citing her history of doing “terrible things” as a vampire as the reason behind her unworthiness for Hoyt’s affections. Hoyt and his broken heart slump out of Merlotte’s where a pesky Tommy tries to be a smart ass and rightfully gets clocked in the face by a morose Hoyt. Tommy then shifts into a pit bull and tears a serious gash in Hoyt’s arm before Jessica shows up, tosses Tommy (still in pit bull form) into the woods (another guffaw-inducing moment), and tells a profusely bleeding Hoyt, “I love you, too. Now drink my blood.” Aww.

Back at Jason’s house, Bill and Sookie have been hiding out and are greeted by a Franklin-covered Jason and an unhappy Tara, still targeting much of her residual anger at Bill for his disregard for her safety while she was being held hostage at Russell’s. Sookie begins to protest Tara’s vehement disapproval of Bill’s reappearance in Sookie’s life when Tara finally explains what Franklin had done to her and that Bill hadn’t “lifted a finger” to help her. Instead of being horrified that her boyfriend had treated her best friend this way, Sookie chooses the sympathetic route and gives Tara a hug. Oh, Sookie. Bill, meanwhile, has asked Jason to make sure he has adequate weapons to protect Sookie from the impending werewolf attack should it happen during the day when he can’t be there. Jason assures Bill he has it all under control, which I would find the least-assuring statement possible, coming from Jason Stackhouse.

The next morning, Jesus and Lafayette are discussing the previous night’s events after Lafayette discovers Jesus rummaging through his stash of V with visible curiosity. After a convincing campaign from Jesus, they each take a taste and embark on a hallucinogenic trip so deeply vivid they share the same visions and catch a glimpse of each other’s paranormally inclined ancestors. From Lafayette’s great-grandma Winnie using a magic powder to protect her from her abusive owner to Jesus’ sorcerer grandfather who practiced “black arts,” it seems my assumption that the relationship between Jesus and Lafayette wouldn’t involve any supernatural activity was dead wrong. I remember Ruby Jean’s mysterious mumblings about Lafayette’s “power,” but I had assumed any further exploration of this tenuous subplot would either go completely ignored or remain untouched at least until next season. As a fan of Lafayette, Jesus and their intensifying romance, consider me intrigued.

Sam braves surely one of the worst morning afters of his life and quietly steps into Merlotte’s with a visible, albeit quivering, resolve. It’s immediately clear the entire staff is terrified of him after they all witnessed him beat someone to a pulp the night before, but Sam announces that Lafayette had called to tell him “the guy’s fine” and everyone can go about their work and “pretend to be normal.” Ha! The mysterious Holly hands Sam an, ahem, herbal remedy she says curbs rage, defending her nosiness with the assertion she’s a practicing Wiccan. Sam raises his eyebrows and informs Holly there are two rules at Merlotte’s: no dancing, and no religion. All right, then. Tommy tells Sam he was “proud” of his “big brother” for his testosterone-drenched demonstration the night before, a statement to which Sam replies, “Yeah, well, you’re an idiot.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Meanwhile, Terry has snuck out back for a smoke and Arlene corners him to  finally fess up about the baby being Rene’s. She explains she wants to “get rid of it” because the spawn of someone so heinous couldn’t be anything but evil, but Terry responds all kinds of adorable and insists he’ll raise the child as his own and the loving household they’ll provide will insure the kid is a relatively normal human being — under Bon Temps standards, anyway. Despite this amazing declaration of devotion from Terry that would turn most women into a helpless puddle of goo, Arlene asks Holly the self-proclaimed witch about her alluded-to “other ways” to end the pregnancy.

Back at Stackhouse central, Sookie and Jason are discussing Jason’s murder of Franklin, an act that, combined with his guilt over the deaths of both Eddie and Eggs, has culminated into a grief so profound Jason can barely speak without wailing in despair. Sookie is confident Jason did the right thing, considering Franklin’s monstrous treatment of Tara, but recoils in horror when Jason admits to his role in Eggs’ death. Sookie insists Jason tell Tara the truth because “people always find out anyway and it’s 10 times worse.” She has a point, but Jason says he’s kept the truth about Eggs from Tara to protect her. Sookie is dubious, saying Jason isn’t protecting Tara, he’s just lying to her. Those two things, says Jason, “ain’t so different.” Besides, says, Jason, Sookie’s opinion is unfairly biased because no one can lie to her – no one, that is, except vampires. Duly noted.

As Sookie naps on the sofa, she dreams about a visit from Eric in which he insists, “you know you have feelings for me.” Although Sookie responds with a tart “Ew,” the predictable dreamland sexytime commences anyhow. More importantly, Eric tells Sookie, again, that she “can’t trust Bill,” and the consistently cryptic, increasingly  maddening, loose end of this plotline continues to drive me crazy. What does Bill have up his sleeve, if anything? Considering the amount of heavy-handed foreshadowing devoted to this exact topic, it had better be something. Eric begins to munch on Sookie’s jugular and she wakes up with a jolt. Jason has taken Tara breakfast in bed, slowly working up the guts to spill the beans about the murder of Eggs. Tara derails his intentions by batting her eyelashes and gushing how Jason has “been saving [her] since [she] was a little girl,” and they actually kiss for a few seconds before Tara realizes she’s made a mistake and begins to run out of the room with embarrassment. Before she gets too far, however, Jason blurts out rather impulsively, “I shot Eggs,” and Tara’s stunned silence evokes a deeper level of anguish than the loudest shriek ever could. She seemingly tries to keep her eyes from popping out of her skull, and runs out of the house. Jason begins to chase after her, but then makes the unfortunate discovery that Sookie has skipped town, leaving a completely uninformative note regarding her whereabouts.

While Jason begins to frantically look for Sookie, we find out she’s headed to Fangtasia to confront Eric about her dream and demands to know why she can’t trust Bill. Yeah! Before I can get too excited, however, Eric all but avoids the question and launches into a soggy proclamation about his imminent execution at the hands of Russell, and his inability to live with exiting the world without ever having really kissed Sookie Stackhouse. Whoa. Sookie tries her best to pretend she didn’t completely fall for that (nice try), but the kiss happens anyway, and it’s actually quite glorious in terms of fluffy True Blood anticipated romantic interludes. Pam, however, interrupts as her fabulous self walks into Eric’s office, drolly stating, “Blah, blah. Vampire emergency. Blah,” as her reason to lure Eric away from Sookie. An incredulous Pam is miffed Eric is purposely bypassing the opportunity to relieve himself of Russell’s ire – if Eric just handed Sookie over to Russell’s captivity, he would no longer have to fear for his life. Eric vehemently denies this option as a viable possibility, which hurts Pam’s feelings because she can’t believe Eric has such deep-rooted feelings for a human that would make him choose Pam, and his life, second. Sniff.

As for Russell, he’s separating himself farther and farther from sanity as we catch him propositioning a male prostitute in a dirty alleyway, Jar ‘O Talbot in tow. The young escort looks dubious at the glass urn of guts his prospective client is carrying with him, but seems to overlook all warning signs as the many faces of Benjamin Franklin are waved in his face. As Russell and his new companion lie next to each other in a seedy hotel room, Russell is clearly hallucinating the young man as Talbot, and talking to him as though he were still alive. The escort looks visibly, and understandably, terrified, but we then see him through Russell’s eyes as Talbot himself looks back and Russell says his final goodbye and stakes him through the heart. Yikes.

Despite his put-together appearance at work earlier in the day, Sam clearly hasn’t sorted through his issues, as he drunkenly stumbles through the woods and continues to reminisce his past. A return to 2003 is shown where the conniving blonde and her pistol-toting boyfriend are counting Sam’s stash by a campfire while a cute, inquisitive beagle looks on from a distance. As the pistol is set down on a tree stump, the beagle rushes toward the campfire and shifts into Sam (was that supposed to be a surprise?), then grabs the pistol and demands his money back. Bonnie and Clyde don’t acquiesce as quickly as Sam would like, and he begins to beat the real boyfriend within an inch of his life, showing similar lack of control as he did with Calvin. As the blonde screams for him to stop, Sam has no restraint and accidentally shoots her in the chest. Horrified, Sam feels he has no choice but to also kill the boyfriend, demonstrating a pattern of impulsive rage he’s clearly had problems processing for years. Turns out, Sam has more Mickens in him than we previously thought.

Back at Jason’s, Bill is livid Sookie has gone missing under Jason’s watch. Jason reminds Bill he knows as well as anyone that she’s going to do whatever she wants regardless of what her boyfriend or brother say – and, oh yeah, how dare Bill give him a hard time when he’s the one who almost killed her with his own two fangs. Tired of Bill’s nagging and using the opportunity to vent his pent-up frustration, Jason revokes his invitation to let Bill in the house, forcing him by the vampire code to back out the front door until Jason says otherwise. Jason, having a Suck it, Bill! look of satisfaction on his face, hears a strange sound in his bedroom and discovers a gorgeous (albeit glaringly CGI) black panther intently staring at him. Stunned, Jason’s only response as the panther shifts into Crystal (I’m glad this is finally getting somewhere, but again, was this supposed to be a surprise?) is a meek, whispered, “Mama.” My level of interest in Crystal has increased a hair, but will only remain on the up and up if most of her screen time is spent in panther form.

Back at Fangtasia, Eric has apparently found a new spring in his step after his conversation with Pam as he marches back into his office where a pouting Sookie begins to shout how he can’t just keep her prisoner if he feels like going somewhere without her. “Oh, yes I can,” Eric tartly replies as he flings her over his shoulders and chains her up in the basement. WHAT?! Oh, now I get it: “I Smell a Rat.” Indeed. Cut to black.

While I agree Eric’s change of heart is founded upon good timing now that Russell’s energy is surely focused on revenge after paying final respects to Talbot, I have to wonder what his motivation really is. His devotion to Pam is surely a factor, but one mustn’t forget he does have a deal with Nan and the AVL to kill Russell or he’ll have far bigger problems than a telepathic waitress in his basement. With only two episodes left in the season, so many loose ends remain I can’t imagine how everything could possibly be tied up in a couple of weeks. I’m anxious to see which storylines will be given the axe and which ones will be carried over into what is shaping up to be an intense Season Four. Villains don’t have a good track record on True Blood, given Rene’s death in Season One and Maryann’s long overdue demise in Season Two, but I’m hoping Russell Edgington breaks the pattern and sticks around Bon Temps for a while to come. With the paradigm between vampires and humans shifting so profoundly in the True Blood universe, I can’t imagine the character most responsible being killed off just as things get rolling – but, as we know, stranger things have happened in Bon Temps.

Season 3, Episode 10: I Smell a Rat (originally aired August 22, 2010)

For more on True Blood, click here.

Sundays at 9pm on HBO

Photographs courtesy of HBO and IMDbPro

Jone Dome: Clip of NJ Housewife Daniel Staub’s Horrible Performance

After you enjoy the whackness of the video below, be sure to listen to the our Recent episode of the Jone Dome where Ference & Double Edge will be sure to make fun of whack crap like this. You will also have a chance to win prizes and gear from your favorite TV shows and Movies (Available on iTunes).

The CW (DC 50) Interviews Poptimal.com

Our writers were interviewed by DCOnHeels and the CW on DC 50. Check out their candid answers about the Silahi’s.  We think it has been running on TV all week.

(If you liked this video below, be sure to check out the our video other video link.  Warning not for the timid: ALT VIDEO).

So You Think You Can Dance Review: Just So We’re All on the Same Page

In my years as an Angeleno and a reality-television viewer, I cannot remember a time when young performers were so lucidly and realistically tuned in to their successes and failures. Perhaps it’s the discipline and the constant self-awareness dancers at the level of So You Think You Can Dance finalists must have in order to advance to the final rounds. After talking to Lauren, Robert, Adechike, and Kent after Wednesday’s show, each finalist knew exactly where he or she stood in the eyes of the audience, judges, and themselves. Frankly, in a city and industry inflated with self-congratulating, and occasionally self-deluded reality show stars, these kids were a breath of fresh air.

In the spirit of chivalry, let’s discuss the ladies first, or, more appropriately, the lone woman standing–Lauren, whose demure and astute reflection on the night’s judgments were spot on. Lauren, who admitted to only having taken a handful of ballroom and partnering classes prior to the show, killed her tango and contemporary jazz pieces, the latter of which was so athletic I thought I was watching the olympics . All of this she did in heels, and she pointed out, “I don’t know if you noticed, all three of my dances were in heels this week. I have never danced in heels the way they’re making me dance in heels these days.” So naturally, it was disappointing for both Lauren and her fans, myself included, when the judges downplayed the magnificence of her incredibly difficult contemporary piece, executed in ridiculous slippery 2.5 inch heels. Lauren cryptically expressed disappointment about the judges’ critique of this piece when she said “seeing some of the judges make some comments that I didn’t agree with and seeing my family being hurt” were some of the lows of her evening. I could not help but feel outraged for Lauren, and wonder if a male dominated panel of judges may have something to do with the shortage of female finalists.

Similarly, Adechike, who was clearly the night’s weakest contender, graciously, though slightly begrudgingly, accepted the judge’s critiques and the likelihood that he would not be making it to the next round. Adechike could do no right as far as the judges were concerned, and their biggest critique was that he seemed tired and that his back was stiff, which impeded his ability to lose himself in his dancing. As big of an Adechike fan as I am, I agreed with the judges. However, Adechike, knowing tonight was not his crowning achievement, remained optimistic about his future as a dancer and said, ” I got to work with my idol, Desmond Richardson. If this is my last time here, I think I went out with a bang. I’m not going to base my success off of what four people say…I want to take advantage of this opportunity to launch himself into other opportunities.” Adechike has big aspirations to keep working as a dancer in either a prestigious company or commercially, goals which are entirely attainable if he continues to grow as the judges have instructed him.

Prince Robert, who nailed both of his pieces, really blew me away with his hip hop dance as a deranged clown. He was completely in tune with the theatricality of the piece, and gave it the performative edge that set him apart from other contestants. When asked if he had a background in acting, he said “I’ve always wanted to act. Glee is one of my favorite shows and I want to be on it so bad. I even take voice lessons…I think as a dancer you have to be an actor too.” Robert’s ability to connect to his dances as a performer telling a story is what’s made his work so compelling thus far.

Last but not least, the wide-eyed Kent so articulately described his night in simple terms: “Disco LOOOOW, contemporary good.” Questionable disco dance aside, Kent’s breathtaking contemporary piece, choreographed by Travis, blew everyone away and pretty much sealed the deal as far as Kent’s advancement in the competition was concerned. Outside of Kent’s virtuosic athleticism and grace, perhaps hi simple approach to life as a dancer is the key to his success, as he expressed “I just wanna go everywhere and dance and be happy. I’m just searching for happiness!”

These humble young dancers, so it seems, are hip to the haps, and have a clear understanding of their abilities and limitations, which, talent aside, may be one of their strongest assets as they continue to take on the crazy world of dance and Hollywood. Thank you for keeping it real, SYTYCD finalists!

Comic Con 2010

Comic-Con 2010 has come and gone, and Poptimal was there to get all the scoops on our favorite TV shows.  Below are  links to the various events that we covered:

Panels

• Leverage Press Room: Conning the Con by Ayang
• Robot Chicken & The Venture Brothers by Nicole C
• Sucker Punch Press Room by Nicole C
• Children’s Hospital Panel by Trisha Leigh
• Eureka & Warehouse 13 Panel/Press Room by Trisha Leigh
• Merlin: The Buffy Fame Holds by Trisha Leigh
• Dexter: A Killer Good Time by Erin Biglow
• Super: A Superhero For the Disillusioned by Erin Biglow
• Caprica: Doomed, Bloody and Foreshadowing by Nicole Cukingnan
• Being Human Panel by Keshaunta Moton
• The Expendables Panel by Keshaunta Moton
• Community Panel by Keshaunta Moton
• RED Panel: More Than Just Action? by Trisha Ziegenhorn
• The Event: Panel & Press Room by Trisha Ziegenhorn
• The Big Bang Theory: Not So Nerdy After All by Trisha Ziegenhorn
• Family Guy and The Cleveland Show: Seth McFarlane Happy Hour by Keshaunta Moton
• The Cape: The Cast to Beat by Trisha Ziegenhorn
• Seth McFarlane Happy Hour (Family Guy and The Cleveland Show) by Keshaunta Moton
• Falling Skies – It’s The End of the World As We Know It by Erin Biglow
• Futurama – The Future’s Never Looked Better by Nicole Cukingnan
• Psych Press Room: Finding the Pineapple by Ayang

Interviews

• Being Human Press Room: A Vampire, A Ghost, and Two Werewolves Walk Into A Room by Bilal Mian
• Family Guy & The Cleveland Show: More Reasons to Find Voiceover Work by Erin Biglow
• Caprica 1.5 Meatier by Nicole Cukingnan
• White Collar Press Room by Ayang
• 30 Days of Night: Dark Days by Keshaunta Moton
• The Cape: The Cast to Beat by Trisha Ziegenhorn

Coming Soon!  More panels and/or  interviews on:

• G4’s Attack of the Show

Follow our writers on Twitter!

• Ference – @Poptimal
• Keshaunta Moton – @Katye_M
• Trisha Zeigenhorn – @TrishaleighKC
• Bilal Mian – @Bilal_Mian
• Nicole Cukingnan – @Nixpoptimal
• Erin Biglow – @ErinBiglow
• Keith Robinson – @WKeithRobinson
• Jamal Henry – @Sage_Ninja007
• Ayang – @ayang3

Hung Season Premiere – Sun. 10:00pm (EST) on HBO

Poptimal.com is exited about the premiere of Hung on HBO tonight.  Check out this clip before the fun starts tonight:

The Bachelorette Review: How’s the Weather Down There?

I am behind my Bachelorette viewings and it is making me incredibly anxious, so we are just going to combine the past two episodes (or, as I prefer to think of them, pre-dinner and post-dinner showings) into one awesome post.   Here we go:

Ali’s hair: Deserves it’s own bullet point (not that I am actually using bullet points, but stay with me). What were they (makeup artists, her inner voice, God) thinking with these extensions? The girl can’t even manage to properly pull back shoulder length hair and they give her Kate Gosselin extensions? Not good. Not good at all. When she gets out of the pool/hot tub/bed it is always like “whoa, gross”. I don’t want to feel that way when I watch the bachelorette in action. I want to root for her and be friends with her in my head, then have her give me all the awesome guys she rejects (see: my love for Jillian and Reid). So far, Ali is just doing this all wrong. She is too young and inexperienced with life and can’t comb her hair and has no job security or direction. See, look how bitter and bitchy I’m being to this girl I hardly know, damn you ABC! Reason 23408 Gia should have been the Bachelorette. Just sayin.

Ok now let’s really start with last week’s episode:

Frank: Marry me. My feelings for Frank are similar to those for Reid. He got the first one on one date with Ali and they did all kinds of typical LA stuff: driving a vintage car, breaking into a fenced off area to get kissy face below the Hollywood sign, and getting kissy facier on top of the vintage car overlooking the Hollywood Hills (LC, OMG!). But really, I think Frank is awesome. His glasses are super cute and he could get Ali some crazy discounts at the store he manages before his screenwriting work really picks up…or something. I like how he didn’t even pretend to know anything about cars to try and fix their ride when it broke down on the highway. Way to play to your strengths and tell a joke, Frank.

Jesse: Also got a one on one date. In Vegas. With a private concert. And got a new suit. Oy. This guy is cute, but seems like he’s got the personality of a brick. Also, what is going on with his tattoos? I don’t think Ali really likes him, she just likes the way he looks and booze just makes her fluff up her hair extensions and be annoying . I can’t recall anything meaningful about Jesse. I’m sure their connection just grew stronger with a private concert from Jamie Cullum. What is with this show and private concerts? I think they are awktown and then the couples are just forced to makeout to distract from the fact that some musician was flown out to sing to two losers who now cannot have a convo because of the music… but it wouldn’t have been coherent anyway because of all the booze. I really don’t dislike Jesse that much, who knows why I am ripping on him and Jamie Cullum so hard. Oops.

Craig M.: What on earth was he doing on this show? I thought everyone from Canada was supposed to be kind? He started picking on the Weatherman (aka Jonathan) the other week, and Tiny Tim was not happy about it. Jonathan called hm out on being an egomaniac and a bad person. Craig was too busy posing in the mirror trying out different hair flips to notice. Jonathan told Ali how he didn’t like Craig after FREAKING out when it was time for the group date photo shoot. Oh yeah, they had a group date that involved all the boys posing in various stages of undress on a beach. For charity? Unclear. It was stupid. But Ali frolicked around with her terrible hair and bikini top while the Weatherman felt uncomfortable. That is about all that happened.

Ty: Harmless, but I’m over him. It is time to put away the guitar, sir. He looks a little dumb in the face, which sure is distractin’ when tryin’ to follow this compleeeecated program.

That episode was kind of bla. I could see how the producers were so badly trying to draw some drama out of the guys by probably constantly asking Jonathan which guy  he hated, while giving Craig M. more hair products and mirrors, which just fueled the fire on both ends. Jonathan eventually told Ali he thought Craig was dangerous, Ali told Craig, Craig basically said he wasn’t really into Ali anyway, and then things got stupid. Bla. Craig is gone though, shock.

This week’s episode made me uncomfortable A LOT. Thanks, Weatherman.

Jonathan: Get it together. I actually felt terrible for him. This week’s stupid group date was to film the music video for a Barenaked Ladies song. A have a few issues with this one: 1. I thought the Barenaked Ladies stopped making music in 1994. 2. Why are music acts so intertwined in this ragamuffin’s search for love? 3. These people can’t dance. Why would you make them stand awkwardly in front of the band in the hot sun while pretending that the Barenaked Ladies were still bitchin, or even relevant? 4. NO. 5. This is not play pretend. Ali can’t just decide she’s an “actress” and get kissy face with everyone. Which brings me back to Jonathan. The poor Weatherman was sweating bullets and sooooo uncomfortable with having to kiss Ali in their “scene” that he cried. HE CRIED. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhsdo;gejirmv; ougwrigtj;iohtr;giowrmv; SO AWK.

Kirk: Ali and Kirk made a porno in the middle of the Barenaked Ladies music video. Again, this isn’t play pretend. You can’t just “act” with these male suitors. The whole date was so weird I still can’t totally wrap my head around it. I just know that Kirk is a borderline ginger and Ali likes to make out with him and not exchange words. She doesn’t know anything about him but gave him the rose on the group date after getting drunk and getting her extensions wet in the hot tub and making out with him some more in front of all the guys. She then looked like wet dog/rat creature when slobbering about how much she liked Kirk that day. Frank’s heart broke and I wanted to kiss him on the mouth.

Chris L: Please don’t turn out to be as boring as I think you are. This wicked Massachusetts couple finally got some alone time on the group date. It was enough time for Ali to ask what Chris’s tat was (his mother’s signature), for him to explain the significance (her death), and for Ali to not react properly at all. Maybe she was too wasted? Maybe her extensions cut off blood flow to her brain? They had no emotional chemistry even when he was laying heartfelt emotional porn on a silver platter for her. These two are looking great on paper but seem mismatched right now. Bla.

Roberto: I think that Ali is just playing the lyrics to “Alejandro” in her head every time she sees Roberto. Her one on one date with him was one of the stupider things I have seen on this show. The whole, “let’s fall in love” or “walk the line” or “go the distance” translated into an xtreme activity is tired. I would have kissed anyone on that wire tightrope thing just because I was happy to still be breathing. Also, that tightrope was super lame. Roberto and Ali weren’t even doing anything, the chains being pulled by circus members were. And I’m pretty sure gravity prevents you from bending over at a 45 degree angle and kissing Rob Rob Rob-erto (try to put that to the lyrics of Alejandro…it kind of works..). Oh well. Ali got drunk and kissy with Roberto on the roof of some hotel that provided them with a pillowed picnic and champagne deal. Yawn.

Justin: I almost forgot to write about him I’m so over Rated R. He hobbled to Ali’s house because he felt like he had to make an impression with his broken foot bla bla bla. So he went over to her house, and they basically got to have a little afternoon date full of emotional over-share and a picture album. WTF, I feel like this is cheating? He completely stole the thunder that was needed for Hunter’s date some twenty minutes later, and when all the boys found out that Justin went to Ali’s house (when she conveniently let it slip during the cocktail party) they made him cry. Where did the producers find this group of sissies?

Hunter: Poor guy. He seemed nice enough but…. crickets.

Craig: I like him because I am pretty sure he was wasted the for the entirety of the past two episodes.

Guy no one knows: Who the hell is that guy? Ali picked him and I have no idea who he is and they didn’t exchange two words. He was on the date with the Barenaked Ladies crap show. I leave the mystery name to you all.

And now for some words on the departed. I thought that Steve was so cute. He made a cute little picnic for Ali during the rose ceremony! Good thing she was wearing a duvet cover as a dress so she had a little cushioning to sit on. I think she should have kept him around instead of John Doe. Speaking of Johns, even though I am still 80% that John C. prefers men, after the veryyyyyyyy end clip after the credits of him and Chris trying to catch a mouse, I’m a little bit in love. I do have a tendency to fall in love with gay men though, so I may have just proved my own point. I wish he could have stuck around a little longer though after seeing that. Siiiigh.

So here is where we are: I love Frank. Justin, Jonathan, and Steve have cried. Ali has yet to cry. Or brush her hair. No one has rhythm.

I wonder where the drama is going to come from this season? Seems a little dry, but the weird previews for next week seem to get into how crazy Kasey (aka Kermit) is. I will now take bets for who the guy is that disappoints Ali and walks away in a plaid shirt in the upcoming episodes. I know Justin would be the most obvious choice here, but I am going to with Roberto. Don’t call my name.

Season 6, Episodes 2 & 3 (originally aired May 31 & June 7, 2010)

For more on The Bachelorette, click here.

Mondays at 8/7c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC, Chris Chavira, and Rick Rowell.

Lost Review: Waterworks

Tuesday’s episode of Lost has left me sitting in shock and I wouldn’t be surprised if a majority of the Lost fanbase felt the same way. In an episode full of plot advancement, a flash-sideways with a significance I’m still trying to figure out, and Death swinging his scythe without mercy, “The Candidate” is likely to be an episode many won’t forget.

In the flash-sideways Jack has an obsession with trying to convince the recovering John Locke to undergo an experimental surgery that will allow him to walk again. Jack says John is a candidate for the spot. John is a candidate for a procedure that will set him free from his bounds? Is this foreshadowing of the possible outcome of Jacob’s candidate? Looking back at the titles of this season’s episodes it becomes quite clear that most of them seem to be an occupation for the characters.

In search of more information on Locke’s injury Jack finds himself visiting Bernard, who happens to be Locke’s dentist. Not given much to go on Jack is given the name Anthony Cooper, Locke’s father. After inquiring through Helen about Locke’s father, he is brought to the nursing home where a paralyzed, wheelchair bound Anthony Cooper resides.

Back at the hospital Claire visits Jack to learn about the death of their father and the significance of the item that was left to her in the will. Jack takes a look at the item only to have the same reaction I did. What the hell is up with the music box? Anyone remember anything from the past because I can only think of Danielle’s Music Box back from season five that Jin stumbled across. Claire heads out to leave for her motel, but Jack stops her offering her a place to stay at his house since she is family.

Jack sees Locke again as he is being discharged from the hospital. Locke informs Jack that he was in a plane crash that led to his disability and his father’s paralysis. Locke was a newly trained pilot and carries the blame for the accident on his shoulders. Jack tells Locke his father is gone and that he should move on. Hoping to convince Locke for a final time, Jack says he wants to help him, but Locke leaves in silence bringing the flash-sideways to a close.

On the island the Losties captured by Widmore’s group are brought to the cages, but are instantly broken out as Jack, Sayid, and Locke (in the form of Smokey) wreak havoc amongst Widmore’s crew. The group heads to the airplane to fly off the island, but are greeted with dead bodies that were once guarding the plane. Locke emerges from the plane saying he killed the guards and that the plane was booby trapped with C4 that would have gone off if the plane was started. Instead of taking the plane off the island, Locke convinces them they need to storm the Submarine.

The Losties come across an unguarded submarine and take it easily as they infiltrate group by group. A shootout breaks out when Jack shoves Locke into the water. I guess Widmore’s men didn’t want to open fire with the smoke monster around. Kate takes a bullet in the chest, which doesn’t kill her. The few seconds where I thought she was dead was short-lived as Jack carries her to the submarine.

Locke emerges from the water and makes quick work of Widmore’s henchmen with precise marksmanship. I guess being a smoke monster allows you to have great aim with a handgun. The submarine leaves leaving Claire and Locke on the dock alone. Claire cries out, but Locke says it’s better that she isn’t on the sub.

In the submarine Jack tells Jin to give him his backpack which contains the first aid kit. Opening the bag to retrieve supplies to heal Kate, Jack stumbles across the bomb Locke had found in the plane. Sawyer tries to defuse the bomb, but it only speeds up the process of the countdown. Sayid, realizing that there is nothing they can do about stopping the bomb, reveals that Desmond is in a well on the main island and runs off with the bomb as it explodes. The sub takes massive damage as water starts to seep in. Frank Lapidus is killed as a door blasts open from water pressure knocking him unconscious.

Jack grabs an oxygen canister and hands it to Hugo. He tells him to take Kate and swim for the beach. Jack, Sawyer, and Jin try to pry the trapped Sun from the wreckage. Sawyer is knocked unconscious from a falling object causing Jack to grab him and go. Sun, still trapped, tells Jin to leave her, but in one of the most emotional scenes of the series Jin tells her he won’t leave her ever again. The two hold onto each other as the water slowly rises bringing them to their watery grave.

On the beach Jack and Sawyer wash up on shore. Hugo and Kate rush up saying they can’t find Jin and Sun. Jack informs them that they didn’t make it leading to an emotional breakdown amongst the characters. On the docks Locke informs Claire that the submarine has sunk, but not everyone is dead. The episode comes to a close with Claire asking where Locke is going. Locke responds, “to finish what I started.”

This episode was an emotional rollercoaster. It was heart wrenching to watch Jin and Sun, a couple who has been separated for three years, to finally get back together only to be killed in the next episode. The emotional breakdown on the beach also brought up another issue I’ve been having with season six. It has been becoming harder and harder to have proper character development with the concentration mostly on the plot this season. It was great to see the Losties showing that they are still human and have emotions amongst all the craziness surrounding them. Also what is the deal with Charles Widmore? Was he on the submarine? Did they really kill him off camera? I seriously hope the creators weren’t that lazy.

With the villain finally set, candidates becoming narrowed down, and the series finale only weeks away, Lost is winding down to its final moments at an incredible pace.

For other opinions about this episode, read Last Minority Standing by Nicole Cukingnan and And Then There Were Four by Liz Cooper.

Season 6, Episode 14: The Candidate (original air date May 4, 2010)

For more on Lost, click here.

Tuesdays, 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and Mario Perez.

House Review: The Open Marriage Fiasco

Marriage, relationships and honesty are all at the center of this episode of House.

Our patient is Julia, a woman who is in an open marriage with her husband Tom. This means both parties can sleep with whomever they like outside of their own marriage. During one of her sessions with a random boy toy, Julia begins suffering from horrible stomach pains that gets her admitted to the hospital.

The notion of an open marriage has everyone on House’s team buzzing, especially Taub. Taub once cheated on his wife, and he looks poised to return to his old habits after establishing a very friendly relationship with one of the nurses. He brings up the notion of an open marriage to his wife Rachel, who at first is completely against it. She then decides to give it a try, but before Taub can go anywhere near the nurse, Rachel changes her mind again. Taub feeds her some story about only wanting her, and he seems genuine enough, but now why does he start making out with the nurse at the end of the episode?!?

Julia’s condition has nothing to do with STDs as one might have expected given her numerous partners. It’s also revealed that Tom is not having sex with any other women – only his wife; the “open marriage” is completely one sided. But Tom does have his own secret: he spent all their savings and the family is nearing bankruptcy. While Julia thought she had the perfect, honest marriage, everything was still a lie.

As it turns out, a bee sting triggered off a disease called Henoch-Schonlein Purpura in Julia. The team was unable to diagnose it sooner because the rash that usually accompanies HSP was hiding in the roof of her mouth.

Wilson’s relationship with Sara goes from good to bad to good again throughout the span of the episode.  Using his manipulating, psycho techniques, House points out to Wilson all of Sara’s flaws: she doesn’t put the milk in the right spot in the refrigerator; she doesn’t put her cup on the coaster. Seems like Wilson is just a tad-bit OCD about things! House’s subliminal plan almost works, but Sara and Wilson learn to overcome their differences and are happily back together by episode’s end.

For another opinion of this episode, read Do. Not. Get. Married by Cameron Cubbison.

Season 6, Episode 18: Open and Shut (originally aired April 26, 2010)

For more on House, click here.

Mondays 8/7c on FOX

Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal and IMDbPro.

POPPIN THE “CON”: DC POP CULTURE GURUS GEARING UP FOR WHAT MAY BE THE LAST COMIC-CON EVER! . . . IN SAN DIEGO

DC Metro Area – April 26, 2010 – All the passes have been sold out.  All hotels within a seven (7) mile radius booked.  The countdown to geekdom has begun . . . and Poptimal.com is gearing up for front row seats.  Making its second appearance at the largest convention in North America, Poptimal.com plans to send many of its writers and their infectious audio podcast The Jone Dome to Comic-Con in San Diego, CA.

“Last year we just had a couple writers attend the convention and while our coverage was good, we missed out on a lot of the celebrity sightings and panel discussions.  This year, we are gearing up to get it all, especially since this may be its last year in San Diego,” said Zuberi Williams, Editor-in-Chief.   Since it’s debut in 1970, ComicCon has grown tremendously in popularity. By some estimates, over 140,000 people attended last year’s convention.

The conference is not just for comic book enthusiast, it has morphed into a Hollywood celebrity fest, with most of the hottest actors, directors, and producers promoting their new movies or television shows.  Fans in attendance get to be up, close, and personal with their favorite celebrities.  Last year’s attendees included: Zachary Levi (Chuck), Johnathan Galecki and Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory), Tyrese Gibson (Legion), Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes), Mila Kunis and Justin Bateman (Extract), Seth Green and Breckin Meyer (Robot Chicken), Rebecca Romijn (Eastwick), Peter Jackson (District 9), James Cameron (Avatar), Robert Downey, Jr. and Rachel McAdams (Sherlock) and Denzel Washington (Book of Eli), just to name a few.

“We have really been gearing up all year, by covering the WGA Awards in New York and Los Angles and WonderCon. We also plan coverage of NBC’s press day outside L.A.”

Poptimal.com is still accepting sponsorships for those advertisers interested in a potential audience for 140,000 and even more over the web.  For inquires, contact editor@poptimal.com.

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