In the last few weeks I didn’t feel much like watching anything. But then the hill turned into a mountain. Luckily some of the series are pausing for some weeks and I decided to play catch up before I have to cross the Alps. Since this was a bigger marathon session I won’t talk about every individual episode but rather about I like the season so far.

Bones
With Bones it’s business as usual. I like their cases and their chemistry and I just enjoy watching them.
And I loved it how Brennan managed to jump over her own shadow for this kids show:

Castle
The same is basically true for Castle. Castle and Beckett are hilarious together and I love the way they solve their cases. Both shows have put the WTWT topic on a back burner which is good for now but it’s obviously still there and will become an issue again. I don’t mind as long as it’s well executed.

Chuck
Chuck’s family tree is becoming more complicated than the one Jennifer Garner had in Alias – and that’s saying something.
Chuck as a person has grown but luckily that doesn’t take away the humour and the appeal of the show. If anything the addition of Morgan as Casey’s “partner” made it even better.

Community
I love it how every episode is mainly about one or two characters but it doesn’t really feel that way because everyone is contributing their own point of view and in the end it’s always an ensemble show.
The zombie movie homage in the Halloween episode was so cool – and I don’t even like zombie movies.

Cougar Town
The show continues where it left at the end of the first season. I’m glad that it doesn’t really matter that Travis is in college because he’s either at home or they are visiting him, so he’s still a full cast member.
I also love how they toy with the series name, for example in episode five the title card read 100% Cougar Free Cougar Town.

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Categories: TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: $#*! My Dad Says · Alias · Bones · Castle · Chuck · Community · Cougar Town · Gossip Girl · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Life Unexpected · Melissa & Joey · No Ordinary Family · Raising Hope · Smallville · Supernatural · Terriers · The Big Bang Theory · The Good Wife · The Vampire Diaries · Two and a Half Men
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Better With You 1×01 / 1×02 Pilot / Better with Firehouse
I watched the first two episodes but I don’t really get it. I think it has to do with the fact that I don’t see the irony in not being married and why that’s supposed to be a source for humour.
What also doesn’t work for me are these scenes where they show all three couples doing the same thing – just differently.

Community 2×02 Accounting for Lawyers
Jeff in his natural habitat. It was cool to see the lawyer from the pilot episode back and how he could twist anything to his liking.
It was also cool to see them all in formal wear and going on a Mission Impossible.

$#*! My Dad Says 1×02 Wi-Fight
Shatner as the grumpy old man totally works for me. I’m not sure about the older brother and his wife though. Maybe they need a bit more time to find their pace. They are lucky that they have Shatner and I am willing to give them that time.

Melissa & Joey 1×08 Dancing with the Stars of Toledo
It was an OK episode. I really loved the all-male Tango, it was incredibly funny to watch them dance and they really pulled it off. I also liked the drug-induced dream sequence. It’s of course a staple of these kinds of sitcoms but you also have to find two people that can actually pull it off and I think these two can.

Raising Hope 1×02 Dead Tooth
Even the show acknowledges that it’s weird. And as the cast is getting wider, more weird people come into it. But it also shows the genuine care between father and daughter.
What makes it more fun for me is the fact that I can’t stop seeing Garret Dillahunt as the Terminator from The Sarah Connor Chronicles and then to watch him here.
And Sabrina reminds me a lot of the young Ally Sheedy from WarGames.

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Categories: TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: $#*! My Dad Says · Better With You · Bones · Buffy the Vampire Slayer · Community · Cougar Town · Gossip Girl · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Life Unexpected · Melissa & Joey · Raising Hope · Smallville · Stargate SG-1 · Terminator · The Big Bang Theory · Two and a Half Men · WarGames
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Melissa & Joey 1×07 Up Close & Personal
So now they start wading into WTWT waters. It’s okay. I enjoy watching them and that’s the most important thing in a sitcom, isn’t it?
And it’s Hammer time!

(Still) Cougar Town 2×01 All Mixed Up
I enjoyed having Jennifer Aniston in this episode but it’s not a must-see reunion. And I enjoyed this entire episode, I’m so glad that they are back. It’s such a great bunch that feels so organic.
I just hope that Travis’s going to college won’t remove him from the show.
And I quite liked the irony of the show’s title (Still) Cougar Town since it was under consideration to rename it.

House M.D. 7×01 Now What?
Absolute Huddy overdose. I’m usually not that big of a shipper. But I really, really loved this episode. House and Cuddy were so great together. It felt so right and absolutely honest.
I have no clue why Thirteen left (real-world and in-universe) but I was surprised at how it didn’t bother me at all. I never had anything against her but I’m already not missing her.

Gossip Girl 4×02 Double Identity
Of course Chuck is back. Gossip Girl wouldn’t be the same without him. But for now it’s not the old Chuck that is back and that could be interesting. I really liked him and his new attitude. It basically continues the development of this character if one ignores the huge elephant that was the last third of the last season. But no matter what Chuck Bass he is, he can always say “I’m Chuck Bass.”.
That Georgina’s baby isn’t Dan’s comes at no surprise to me (an AB+ father cannot have an O- baby, that’s biologically impossible – wow, I did remember something from school after all! ).

Categories: TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: Cougar Town · Gossip Girl · House M.D. · Melissa & Joey
Comments: No comments

The new season is slowly beginning and just like last year I will keep a diary of all my shows I watch on a weekly basis. I’ve already reviewed some of the newcomers, like Melissa & Joey, Hellcats, Terriers and Nikita and now the “old” shows are coming back.

Gossip Girl 4×01 Belles de Jour
I would have been more surprised if there wasn’t something fishy about Georgina’s baby. Frankly I’m stunned that the Humphrey family took her and her doctor’s word for it that it was Dan’s. I mean how could they even assume that the doctor tested it against Dan’s DNA – if he isn’t even in on the game.
And Blair blew it really nicely with her prince… Now I’m just wondering if Chuck has changed or if this is just temporary.

Categories: TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: Gossip Girl · Hellcats · Melissa & Joey · Nikita · Terriers
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Hellcats @ Wikipedia
Hellcats @ IMDb

Marti Perkins is a scholarship student at the Lancer College in Memphis. Due to budget cuts her scholarship gets cancelled and the only way for her to remain in college is to get a cheerleading scholarship. And since she used to be a gymnast, she gives it a try even though she has no love for the sport. And her arrival at the team is also met with mixed feelings.

I thought I gave it a try since I like Bring It On with Kirsten Dunst and Eliza Dushku and Bring It On: All or Nothing with Hayden Panettiere. These movies didn’t really take themselves seriously and had a high Guilty Pleasure factor. But this series seems to be all work and no play. I’m also not really impressed with the lead character. So I think, I stay with Life Unexpected and Gossip Girl, that’s enough drama for one season.

Categories: Short Review, TV Season 2010/2011 Diary
Tags: Bring It On · Gossip Girl · Hellcats · Life Unexpected
Comments: 2 Comments

Deutsche Version | Those that came … those that went … those that did both … and those that did neither nor

The Big Bang Theory

A sitcom (with laugh track) about four scientists and their hot neighbour.
I’m still enjoying this show very much. I don’t understand why they broke Penny and Leonard up (especially because it felt like one of the most normal relationships on TV) but at least they didn’t put any bad blood between them.

Bones

Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan and FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth investigate murders where only a skeleton is left of the victim.
Quite a few episodes of this season where just “OK” but it’s still watch-worthy and I assume that next season will have a totally new dynamic due to the “time leap”.

Burn Notice

Michael Westen is a former spy who has been “expelled”. He now works as a “problem solver” for people whom the police can’t help.
It’s a good show but I hope that one day they’ll drop the whole “I want to go back to the spy game” aspect of it and just run with the main plot.

Castle

Richard Castle is a best-selling thriller author who solves crimes with Detective Kate Beckett who has become his inspiration for his novel heroine “Nikki Heat”.
They are only in their second year and both characters already know they have feelings for each other. Progress! While the WTWT is certainly an aspect of the show that can’t be ignored, I tune in because of the crimes they have to solve and the ways they do it. For me, it’s the unofficial sequel to Murder She Wrote.

Chuck

A guy who works in an electronics superstore get all the secrets of the government uploaded into his brain. From now on he works as a spy and helps to put the members of the most dangerous organisations behind bars.
I enjoyed the first third of the third season but then disliked where the show was going with Shaw and Sarah. Not because I’m a Charah shipper (I am that, too ) but because it didn’t feel real that Sarah would tell Shaw (who just came into her life) things, she didn’t share with Chuck. But now the show is great again, and I can’t wait to see the finale and the fourth season.

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Categories: Short Review, TV Season 2009/10 Diary
Tags: Bones · Burn Notice · Castle · Chuck · Gossip Girl · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Knight Rider · Leverage · MacGyver · Murder She Wrote · Smallville · Star Trek VOY · The A-Team · The Big Bang Theory · True Blood · Two and a Half Men
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Deutsche Version | CW 13-19 | CW 20 (LOST Finale)

The Big Bang Theory 3×22 The Staircase Implementation
It was a nice “origin story” that I enjoyed (The hair! The suits! The North-Korean spy-girl!).
But I like Babylon 5!

Chuck 3×17 Chuck vs the Living Dead
Even though Shaw might be back I enjoy this season 3.5 much more than season 3.0. I love how Ellie is getting drawn into the spy game and how his father figured out he still was the Intersect. My favourite scene was when Sarah “intercepted” the knife and Orion was wondering whether she also had an Intersect.

Gossip Girl 3×22 Last Tango, Then Paris
It wasn’t bad but a few things bothered me. For example Dan following Serena headlessly without thinking about Vanessa. And even though Jenny was “deported” I didn’t get the feeling that she was actually punished for what she did this year. And Chuck getting shot in a dark alley was a bit too clichéd for me.
But I loved the idea of Georgina returning (and her condition!). And since Mercy was axed she could play a larger role next season.

LOST 6×16 What They Died For
I loved Desmond as sideways-Mastermind, I really enjoyed these parts of the episode. But I also liked the parts on the island. I just don’t think that Ben has turned again (I think he’s conning Smokey) and I don’t think that Jack will actually become the lighthouse keeper; I think there will be yet another twist to this all.

10 Things I Hate About You 1×18 Changes
I was a bit disappointed of Kat’s behaviour. Patrick’s friendly banter didn’t feel out of place. But her reaction to it did.
I enjoyed the rest of the episode though.

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Categories: TV Season 2009/10 Diary
Tags: 10 Things I Hate About You · Babylon 5 · Bones · Castle · Chuck · Community · Cougar Town · Doctor Who · Gossip Girl · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Justified · Kick-Ass · LOST · Mercy · Party Down · Superbad · Supernatural · The Big Bang Theory · The Good Wife · Two and a Half Men
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Deutsche Version | CW 18 | CW 19-20

Chuck 3×16 Chuck vs the Tooth
I already like this new mini-arc (there are only three episodes left). My guess for the end is something like this: Ellie and Orion get caught by the Ring and Chuck and Sarah have to burst in to save them and thus revealing themselves.
I loved to see Christopher Lloyd in this episode and while I only know him as “elderly person” I was a bit surprised how old he actually looked now (he’s 71 after all…). On TV Tropes there’s a trope called “Running the Asylum”. It has a different meaning but I loved the idea that an inmate of the Cuckoo’s Nest is now the chief psychiatrist for an asylum full of spies.
Spoiler (mark to read):
Since I’ve read that they introduce yet another game-changer into the finale my guess would be that Orion removes the Intersect from Chuck’s head for good. Except for the Karate they didn’t make much use of it this season anyway (or at least I have that feeling). I think Chuck is ready to be a spy in his own right and they don’t actually need the Intersect as plot device anymore.

The Big Bang Theory 3×21 The Plimpton Stimulation
“You are my landlord and you are my movers. And I can’t pay any of you.” Great episode. It was a great fun in itself.
I’m still somewhat troubled over that whole break-up thing. I don’t have the feeling that they’ve actually explained why they’ve broken up. Penny just ran out on him and that was it. No real aftermath or real explanation. For me that makes it a bit unreal.

10 Things I Hate About You 1×16 Too Much Information
The first episode was a bit anvilicious (modelling & eating disorders…) but I liked that Kat tried to help Patrick open up.

10 Things I Hate About You 1×17 Just One Kiss
I liked the second episode better, especially with bringing Blank/William back.

Bones 5×21 The Boy with the Answer
I liked it that they brought the Gravedigger case again. I also liked that the writers and actors made me really hate her for attacking “my people” by questioning their integrity.
I also smell change coming. When characters start to question their own purpose and goals right before the season ends, most of the time they are going to change the concept of the show (at least for a while).

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Categories: TV Season 2009/10 Diary
Tags: 10 Things I Hate About You · Angel · Bones · Castle · Chuck · Community · Cougar Town · Doctor Who · Good Will Hunting · Gossip Girl · Happy Town · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Justified · LOST · One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest · Party Down · Smallville · Spartacus: Blood and Sand · Supernatural · The Big Bang Theory · The Good Wife · Two and a Half Men · Veronica Mars
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Deutsche Version | CW 13-16 | CW 18

Chuck 3×14 Chuck vs the Honeymooners
I’ve enjoyed this episode very much. It had the typical Chuck mixture of fun and action the early seasons had. Sarah’s Texan impersonation was also very funny and I don’t think I have to say anything about her habit of walking around in lingerie all the time.
But I also really enjoyed Jeffster’s (IMHO good) interpretation of Leaving on a Jet Plane.

Romantically Challenged 1×02 The Charade
Nope, nothing special about this show. Just your average multi-camera sitcom with laugh-track.

Happy Town 1×01 In This Home on Ice
I’m a bit confused. Is this pure mystery? Is there a supernatural element in the story? What’s up with Chloe?
The pilot felt a bit rushed because so many different characters had to be introduced (however briefly) but it certainly looks intriguing and I’ll continue to watch.

10 Things I Hate About You 1×15 The Winner Takes It All
If there’s one thing in TV Land that gives me the creeps, it’s public embarrassments in front of a big audience, especially if one sees it coming. I always cringe and even try to stall the inevitable moment by pausing(!) the video. And yet I will not skip over it.
In contrast, I have no problem with putting myself into a spotlight and do things I’m not talented enough to do – just for the fun of it.

Unfortunately, 10 Things won’t get a second season. While it’s not the best show out there, I certainly enjoyed it.

Bones 5×19 The Rocker in the Rinse Cycle
This is one of the episodes I have my problems with. Bones always dealt with magic when it came to solve their murders but the way they found the cause of death this time was once again too over the top. It was like the episode where the bones turned into foam and they still could determine the way the blade (bullet?) went through the rips. Wall Banger.
But I enjoyed the other parts: Booth getting loose, B&B singing, Hodgins & muslim guy talking Baseball, Angela invoking her father, …

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Categories: TV Season 2009/10 Diary
Tags: 10 Things I Hate About You · Bones · Chuck · Cougar Town · Doctor Who · Firefly · Gossip Girl · Happy Town · House M.D. · Justified · Leverage · Romantically Challenged · Smallville · Stargate Universe · Supernatural · The Good Wife · White Collar · X-Men
Comments: No comments

Deutsche Version | CW 13-15 | CW 13-17

Romantically Challenged 1×01 Don’t Be Yourself
What I’ve seen so far is a run-of-the-mill sitcom and I’ve seen nothing (except for Alyssa of course ) that makes this one special. Maybe I watch a few more episodes, maybe I don’t. But I honestly don’t think I’ll miss something if I don’t.

10 Things I Hate About You 1×14 Meat Is Murder
It was really cool how Blank played Kat while being completely honest with her.
But I also liked how Bianca tried to smooth things up with Cameron and how she “trained” Stacy (especially on the topic of LOST) so that she would be perfect for Cameron.

Bones 5×18 The Predator in the Pool
Rena Sofer, huh? I can see why Booth would be attracted to her. I find it fascinating who both Bs know that it’s “wrong” what they are doing and yet go through with it (for now). But I liked the uncomfortable look on Brennan’s face because the ball is on her side now and she has to act.
As for the case: A lot of convenient coincidences in this one (like the fish burping out the skull at the right moment). I have no problem with written coincidences on TV shows but please not too many and not blatantly obvious.

Castle 2×21 Den of Thieves
Michael Trucco, huh? Starbuck fell for him, Penny fell for him – so why not Kate?
I really liked it that Ryan and especially Esposito played a bigger role than usual. They have been criminally underused so far. And it was great how the two of them and Castle totally “inconspicuously” investigated Trucco’s character.
I also liked how the episode ended and they all covered for Esposito.

Cougar Town 1×20 Wake Up Time
Again the men were the highlight of the episode. Grayson on the emotional level, Andy on the funny level and Bobby on his usual weird level. Too bad Kylie is gone already; I really thought she and Grayson made a nice couple.

And now for “emotional chicken”:

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Categories: Misc
Tags: 10 Things I Hate About You · Bones · Castle · Cougar Town · Doctor Who · Gossip Girl · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Indecent Proposal · Justified · LOST · Party Down · Romantically Challenged · Smallville · Spider-Man · Star Trek VOY · Supernatural · The Good Wife · Two and a Half Men
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