Pretty Little Liars Eps 3 & 4

Episode 3

So this season is all about wearing masks? Aria, Emily, and Hanna track down a very creepy mask maker who made the Alli mask that they found in Mona's things. In order for him to tell them about making Alli's masks (she had a bunch made and then destroyed the mold, or so we're told), Emily has to have her own made. Good thing she's a swimmer, because that must have been a long breath with her face covered in plaster with absolutely no air holes. Meanwhile Hanna snoops out back and find a... Melissa mask.

Melissa is back in town, acting extra snooty, and meeting the new cop.

Toby and Spencer sneak into Radley and discover that his mother couldn't have jumped out of the window that she's reported to have jumped out of.

A is apparently plotting against the PPLs' moms:

• Emily's mom grabs Emily while confronting her about stealing her painkillers for her shoulder and then gets "Family Services" called. 
• Aria's mom is maybe off to Austria with her hot, young pastry chef bf. 
• Hanna's mom looks progressively more guilty of Wilden's murder through Caleb's very blunt detective work. Not only did she skip the play in NY to come back to Rosewood, but she met Hanna's dad to ask him for money, and now Hanna's dad's gun is missing! At first, I thought that Hanna and Ashley's conversation through the locked door was going to end badly, somehow, but she was just running a bath. 
• Is Spencer's mom invincible? Does that mean Melissa is A?

And Aria hangs out with Jake again. Her "TV at home date with new guy" outfit consisting of knee high boots and a shredded shirt was almost my favorite outfit of the episode, but Spencer wins out with this bananas high-low dress and boot combo that she wore to school: 

Episode 4

This episode was pretty uneventful (even wardrobe-wise) until the Melissa information-dump at the end. 

• Toby found out basically nothing from his mom's now-senile doctor except a vague warning about a "blonde girl."
• Wilden had some vaguely criminal-seeming items in his safety deposit box.
• Emily's torn rotator cuff will keep her from swimming.
• Aria is not ready to be dating Jake yet, as demonstrated by her run in with Malcom (without Ezra).

After the hilarious segment of Spencer narrating their very A-like plot to find out Melissa's connection to the masks, we find out that:

• Melissa traded her face to the mask guy for info to see if Alli had it made before or after her disappearance.
• Wilden and Melissa wore the same costume on the Halloween train, and it was Wilden who tried to kill Spencer and Aria, on orders from someone else. (I feel like I need to rewatch that ep, I can't remember what happened.)
• Jenna and Shauna were at the lodge to watch what was happening, but didn't start or save anyone from the fire. 

So basically, we still know nothing. Quote of the ep goes to Aria, when Jake asks about Ezra. "Is he a friend of the family?" he asks, to which Aria replies, "No, just one of my teachers." Awesome.

The Killing S3 E9: A Doozy

RIP, Bullet. Best character this season.

This was an action-packed episode for The Killing! And a heartbreaking one. The almost mirrored images of Holder sprinting to save Linden from Mills and then Linden sprinting to save Holder from seeing Bullet's body were full of suspense and helped develop a deeper bond between the two. They rushed to save one another's physical, and then emotional, lives.

Joel Kinnaman's performance this episode was excellent; Holder's reaction to opening the trunk was perfect and devastating. As was Linden's rebuff of Holder's kiss. I like what that did for their overall dynamic -- Linden and Holder are very Benson and Stabler in that their love for one another lies more in their professional partnership than in romantic potential. Though even the hint of a romantic relationship is enough to add depth to their interactions, and the the show. In going outwardly for the kiss in a moment of extreme emotional stress, it gets that moment out of the way with the least repercussions for their partnership. (Benson and Stabler, being stronger people and on network television, always kept it mostly together. Linden and Holder play by different rules, opening up more possibilities for their romantic tension.)

Not to mention, MILLS IS THE KILLER?! Didn't we rule him out back in the first episode? This is why I focus on the relationships between the characters and the actors' performances on this show -- getting too caught up in the actual plausibility of the plot ruins the enjoyment. Like the magical glow in the dark stars that still glow after 3 years in a dark closet.

The scene with Lyric and her boyfriend in the new apartment was really sweet and sad at the end of the shot as I imagine Lyric's thoughts turned to Bullet.

In the next two episodes, we will hopefully locate Kallie and we will see what happens with Ray. Linden appears to be ignoring him, so his chances for a pardon seem to be gone. Two developments in this episode seemed really random to me, and may set up the conclusion of Ray's story line. I'm not sure I've been paying close enough attention to the jail scenes, because I barely recognized the preacher inmate who apparently has been taunting the other inmates into untimely deaths. And the head prison guard's son killed his mom's "the other man*?" That's what happens when you show your son an under-construction gallows?

I watched the first two seasons of The Killing in about a week on Netflix, so this has been my first experience of watching the show one episode at a time, without the knowledge that I could find out the answers to the cliffhangers right away, if I wanted to. Knowing S2 E1 was just a click away kept me from being as wildly pissed off as I've read most viewers were at the end of S1. I hope that The Killing learned its lesson from S1 and we get some kind of closure at the end of this season!

*I just googled "male version of mistress" thinking that I was having a brain cramp and couldn't remember the word. Turns out, there is no male version of mistress. Urban dictionary offers "manstress" -- and a few old-timey words include "lover" and "paramour," but there really is no dedicated word for the object of a woman's extramarital affair. That's a whole separate blog post.

Pretty Little Liars Season 4, Eps 1 & 2

Episode 1:

A pig?! The resolution of the cliffhanger from Season 3 -- the girls opening the trunk of Wilden's car and gasping -- was pretty disappointing. It would have been a better payoff if it had just been Wilden, whose body was found later, anyway. 

There are new plotlines materializing for Season 4 after last season had us trying to figure out who dug up Alli's body last season (without ever solving it other than "Red Coat"):

The girls and Mona are now sort of on the same team because Red Coat/"Alli" is trying to kill them all(?) plot line:  I wish the Mona spill session had been more gratifying to me, but I didn't remember all of the things she was explaining the answers to. 

The new Toby's mom, what really happened? plotline: This is interesting because it involves A and also because I love Toby and his ever-changing hair. 

The creepy Alli's mom plotline: I get the feeling that this is going nowhere and Alli's mom is just creepy. 

Ezra and Aria:  Good riddance. I wish that Aria's daydream was real. Was that the first time that the show really recognized that A&E were sleeping together and that it was illegal? This relationship never has anything to do with A except to give A reasons to manipulate Aria, anyway. It's fun that Larisa Oleynik is E's baby-mama, but I wish that she wasn't rocking an unfortunate mom haircut.

The college plotlines: Spencer's UPenn rejection better tie in with A somehow or it will become boring, fast. Emily is clearly not actually on board for Stanford with Paige. This situation is a ticking time bomb. 

The New Cop: Someone has to fill Wilden's shoes! (Where is that actor from? He kind of looks like the guy from Heroes.) But who will make out with him first?

Hanging Threads: Jenna's burn! The veil lady! Spencer's sister on the video! Will there be better music on the show this season?

Best outfit: 

The funeral outfits, obviously. These girls rock a funeral. 

Best quote: "Yeah, I have my own set." -Mona, referring to keys to Emily's car.

Episode 2:

First of all, did Hannah get major extensions since last episode? Second, Hanna gets outfit of the ep for her second pair of metallic leggings in two episodes: 

Things are moving right along in episode 2:

The girls and Mona are now sort of on the same team because Red Coat/"Alli" is trying to kill them all(?) plot line: A legit tries to kill Mona! And Hanna tries to play her for the video from Wilden's car, but she knows and gives up the only(?) copy anyway. 

The new Toby's mom, what really happened? plotline: Toby lies to Spencer (at first) about A, again. This does not bode well. But his mother's apparent suicide is very mysterious. Maybe she was saying she was happy, but her face looked miserable, like the wife on Lie to Me. 

The creepy Alli's mom plotline: A talking parrot, seriously? And the A tag at the end feeding it poultry was just too much. 

Ezra Jake and Aria: Ha! Aria takes self defense and kisses her (young, attractive) instructor, and he likes it. What's the deal with his accent?

The college plotlines: Emily pulls a Jessi Spanno with painkillers at the swim meet and kills her Stanford chances (that was fast). Ezra helps Spencer with her college essay. Snore. 

The New Cop: Absent this week! 

Hanna's mom as Wilden's killer plotline: This just seems like another "Toby is the killer" or "Paige is a stalker" plotline, where a character acts very creepily but it turns out to be nothing. And Hanna and her mom have a very open, calm-sounding conversation where Hanna basically accuses her mom of actual murder, and her mom answers very normally, as if that is a standard conversation to be engaged in with her teenaged daughter. 

Hanging threads: The parrot song phone number!

Best quote: "Which freaky woman? There's a couple." -Aria, on their lives. 

Pretty Little Liars: Why I Watch

The promo imagery offers a fair
 portrayal of the show.

Primarily, I blame my sister. I think she stumbled upon PLL during a Tuscan heat wave. Streaming American TV offered her an activity that required minimal sweating during a period of under-employment. I remember her telling me about it jokingly, at first, but by the end of the first season, her recommendation was, "You should seriously watch this." So I did. 

The best description I have for PLL is that it's like an ABC Family cross between Gossip Girl and Bones. The plot surrounds four teenaged girls (Gossip Girl) who are trying to solve the murder of their best friend/ring leader Alli while also being tormented by "A" who is possibly the murderer (Bones). It's super soapy with just enough of a driving mystery to keep me hooked in between the relationship drama, other blackmail fodder subplots, and the insane wardrobe. 

The main characters (in order of my preference) are: Hanna, the "fashionista" former fat kid who has great one liners and an adorable boyfriend; Spencer, the Type-A overachiever; Emily (played by one of the most beautiful humans ever to live), the star swimmer, lesbian, and 'vulnerable one'; and, Aria, whose obnoxious name pretty much says it all. Whatever A, or any of the other nefarious characters of Rosewood, PA, might put them through, and whatever might pit them against one another in the short term, the PLLs are bound by a friend love that keeps them together and keeps them answering one another's "SOS" texts. 

Season 3 was all over the place with plots involving insane asylums, secret societies, AMNESIA, illegitimate children, and of course, murder. The season ended with both Toby and Spencer double-agenting for A, the girls trapping Mona, but "Red Coat" trying to maybe kill them all, but saving them, with several of them hallucinating(?) that it was Alli. 

Overall, PLL is a ridiculous, and ridiculously entertaining, show. Some might call it a guilty pleasure, but I'm not even really that guilty about it. 

Resurrecting the TV Blog?

The miraculous Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock

It must be something about Emmy nominations season, because it was three years ago to the week that I wrote my first post here. I just had fun looking back at what I was watching three years ago during that 6 months or so of posting and seeing what was happening on those shows at that time. 


Well, I still watch TV, and I still have plenty of thoughts about the shows that I watch, so I'll give it another go! 

Summer shows that I am currently watching include The Killing, True Blood (still), and I am about to dive into Pretty Little Liars season 4. I'll address that show later. 

Shows' returns that I look forward to this fall: Parks & Rec, The Mindy Project, SCANDAL, Downton, Girls 

Current shows that I am saving for a rainy day: Breaking Bad, Homeland, Veep 

Crazy good Netflix shows that I look forward to the next season of, whenever they are: House of Cards, Sherlock

Three years ago, I was watching most shows on Hulu on my old laptop and some shows on an actual (crappy) TV hooked up to actual channels. I now watch all shows via a newer laptop through various online sources, and now I can also hook up my computer to my new (to me) nice TV, so the quality is a bit better!

Catching up on Community

I have finally caught up on Community, and it did not disappoint. I think that what I'll refer to as the "blanket fort" episode was intended to be referred to as the "conspiracy theory" episode -- but for me, Abed and Troy will always steal the show. Annie did provide a good Bond girl/sidekick to Jeff, and the gun-pulling at the end was really funny. I'm glad, though, that their romantic plot wasn't significantly advanced, because she's only 19, and that's gross.

Troy's birthday episode was so great. The jokes around his 'expulsion', the relatability of the challenge of picking an acceptable bar for a group, and the added layer to Shirley's character were all very effective and very entertaining. The bottle episode was also great. The puppy parade concept was hilarious, and I, unlike Abed, love bottle episodes for the exact reasons that he hates them. There were no major love developments, but the possibility that Shirley is pregnant is crazy!

And finally, the claymation episode. It truly lived up to my expectations for it, which is high praise! The 'short, sad Christmas song' was incredible, as were Abed's claymation interpretations of the group. Even though the core of the episode was really sad, it was wildly entertaining, particularly John Oliver's character. I think I'll need to watch it again to truly appreciate it, and to catch anything that I may have missed.

Can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store!

My Favorite TV of Fall 2010

So, it doesn't look like it's a realistic goal for me to write a reaction to every episode of TV I watch. I am woefully behind on "my shows" as it is, and technological difficulties often force me to watch several shows in succession when I'm at my parents' house for the holidays, where there's a computer or On Demand that can stream or play the shows that aren't available on Hulu plus. I haven't even seen all of Community! I can't believe that it's not on Hulu plus -- it's the reason I ponied up the $9.99 in the first place! ... It's now $7.99/month, in case you were wondering.

Anyway, to start 2011, I'll just sum up some of my favorite TV episodes of the fall, with the disclaimer that I'm not caught up.

In no particular order:

- The Brittany/Britney episode of Glee. Brittany is a hilarious character and Heather Morris is an INCREDIBLE dancer -- and I will always have a special place in my heart for Britney. John Stamos, too. And since that episode is no longer available on Hulu, here's a close runner up for favorite Glee moment of the season:




I'm just mad that I didn't think of that mash up idea first.

- Bones and Lie to Me having good episodes, finally. I had just about given up on both of these shows. I lump them together because they're basically the same: crime-ish procedurals with just enough of a season-long character/plot arc to keep me interested week to week. But with Bones and Booth separated by Booth's annoying journalist girlfriend and no serial killer, and with Lightman interested in the dirty cop/the blonde lady who gave him money and very little face-reading being done, I didn't feel motivated to watch. I don't watch Bones because I'm dying to find out how the body ended up inside the giant chocolate bar (seriously?!) -- I watch it for the Bones/Booth tension, and a little bit for Angela and Hodgins. I feel a little bit differently about Lie to Me because the crime-solving is actually really interesting to me, when they get into the science of it (the facial expressions, etc.). But I also watch for the Lightman/Foster and Torres/Loker tension.

Anyway, to me, both shows had lost focus on the things that drew me to them, respectively. I was about to write them off (of my Hulu queue), but I gave them each one last chance one night while I was baking up a storm for a few cookie swaps. I was pleasantly surprised by the Bones episode "The Doctor in the Photo" and Lie to Me "Veronica." In "Veronica," Lightman's daughter, and somehow therefore Foster, play prominent roles. I think that Lightman's interactions with his daughter are much more interesting than watching him use his one move on his possible love interest of the week: talking up close in her face. Also, Loker and Torres get to interact for what feels like the first time since their one night stand before Loker's promotion killed whatever romance they had brewing. I feel like I could fill a whole blog with "weak plot devices that kill couples." Like when Joey breaks up with Dawson to draw. I digress.

"The Doctor in the Photo" was a doozey. Bones loses it! And confesses her love to Booth! Who rejects her! Emily Deschanel was great in this episode. And that helicopter pilot broke my heart. Lastly, I love Enrico Colantoni and welcome his presence in any show. It was a mini Veronica Mars reunion between Enrico and Francis Capra! (Someday, I will write a retroactive Veronica Mars post -- likely in conjunction with Party Down -- stay tuned!)

So whether it was November sweeps or just the producers and writers finally figuring out that they had lost their way, Bones and Lie to Me have effectively re-hooked me, easy target though I may be.

- The Office Christmas episode. I still have to rewatch it because it didn't have my full attention the first time, but Holly's return, the Jim/Pam gift exchange, and most importantly, the Jim/Dwight prank-off of the century had me cringing, clutching my hands to my heart, and belly laughing in all the right proportions.


- The season-long Serena Vanderwoodsen takedown on Gossip Girl. I already forget the schemer's name -- but her teaming up with Vanessa and Jenny was evil gossip genius. I wasn't even that mad about Blair and Chuck's getting back together only to break up again because I was too distracted that Serena was in mandatory rehab and Lily had gone over to the dark side! On a related note, I seriously heard the "Lincoln Hawk" song from Season 1 0r 2 in a coffee shop the other day. Luckily, I was with a friend who could corroborate that it was, in fact, a Gossip Girl original song. I wonder if the baristas threw it in the mix just to see if anyone noticed -- because I doubt that that song is in any kind of legitimate circulation.

- SNL: Paul Rudd and Jon Hamm as hosts, Stefan, Arcade Fire, the Miley Cyrus Show, Jay Pharoah's impressions.

- NOT THE MAD MEN FINALE. That proposal had the record-skip noise going off in my brain for days. Although, the scene with Peggy and Joan talking about it was almost worth it. I'll be very interested (as usual) to see what happens next season.

- So I still haven't seen the claymation Christmas episode of Community, but I'm willing to bet that it would make this list, if I had. The trampoline episode was pretty good. Donald Glover is so damn funny.

- The Barefoot Contessa and Scrubs: the TV I watch the most consistently is Ina Garten in the breakroom at work on my lunch break and old episodes of Scrubs at the gym. Ina inspired me to make chocolate truffles this Christmas, and sometimes I laugh out loud on the treadmill at Scrubs, even when I'm reading closed captions.

Things to look forward to in 2011:
- Parks and Rec
- the conclusion of Steve Carrell's tenure on The Office -- Michael and Holly riding off into the sunset
- someday catching up on Community
- Gwenyth Paltrow's return to Glee
- Portlandia:




I CANNOT WAIT for the Portland, Maine response to this show.