07 Oct – €0.00 ($21.99) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

Johnny English

07 Oct – €7.99 @ Netto

Just Go With It

07 Oct – €6.99 @ Amazon.de

How I Met Your Mother: Season 6

11 Oct – €6.09 (CA$24.99) @ Amazon.ca (paid partially via gift certificate)

Flatliners / Gattaca

20 Oct – €8.50 @ Saturn

A Knight’s Tale / The Patriot

20 Oct – €9.99 @ Saturn

Speed

20 Oct – €9.99 @ Saturn

11 Jan – €24.01 (£17.99) @ Amazon.co.uk

Mad Men: Season 1 – 3

18 Jan – €32.46 (£24.79) @ Amazon.co.uk

Dexter: Season 3

20 Jan – €17.28 (£12.89) @ Amazon.co.uk

Dune

20 Jan – €12.99 @ Media Markt

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door

20 Jan – €9.99 @ Media Markt

Sherlock: Season 1

20 Jan – €13.53 (£9.85) @ Amazon.co.uk

The A-Team

21 Jan – €10.97 @ Amazon.de

JAG: Season 9

21 Jan – €22.67 ($23.49) @ Amazon.com

Rabbit Without Ears 2

21 Jan – €7.99 @ Amazon.de

My 800th movie:

The Men Who Stare at Goats

21 Jan €10.97 @ Amazon.de

With this I have exactly 3,000 profiles in DVD Profiler:

The Good Wife: Season 1

28 Jan – €18.62 (£14.80) @ Amazon.co.uk

How I Met Your Mother: Season 5

28 Jan – €18.69 (£14.86) @ Amazon.co.uk

Robin Hood

28 Jan – €12.82 (£9.91) @ Amazon.co.uk

New Purchase Items: 131 (141 in 2009)
New Movies: 93 (thereof Blu-ray: 36)
New TV Seasons: 54 (thereof Blu-ray: 7)
New TV Specials: 17
New Special Interest: 1 (thereof Blu-ray: 1)

Money Spent: 1,586.10€ (1,869.30€ in 2009)
Money Spent on Movies: 684.18€
Money Spent on TV Seasons: 813.53€
Money Spent on TV Specials: 78.41€
Money Spent on Special Interest: 9.98€

Avg Spent: 12.11€ (13.26€ in 2009)
Avg Spent on Movies: 7.36€
Avg Spent on TV Seasons: 15.07€
Avg Spent on TV Specials: 4.61€
Avg Spent on Special Interest: 9.98€

Runtime: 45,592m (31d 15h 52m)
Runtime Movies: 10,647m (7d 9h 27m)
Runtime TV Seasons: 33,491m (23d 5h 11m)
Runtime TV Specials: 1,349m (22h 29m)
Runtime Special Interest: 105m (1h 45m)

Cheapest Item: Superman: Vol. 1 (1.00€)

Most Expensive Item: Torchwood: The Complete Series (42.99€)

First Item: How I Met Your Mother: Season 3 (0.00€)

Last Item: V for Vendetta (9.99€)

Purchase by Locality:
United States: 17
Canada: 6
United Kingdom: 80
Germany: 28

For the third time there’s a music video with a song from that time and it’s pretty harmless – unless you think of something else:

If Robin’s beaver devours six inches of wood every half hour and Jessica’s beaver devours eight inches of wood every 45 minutes how much wood will I need to keep both beavers well fed all weekend long?

Her earlier songs were “Let’s Go To The Mall” and “Sandcastles in the Sand”:

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.

Gossip Girl
They certainly have kicked the drama up a notch. I love it that even the viewer doesn’t know what Juliet’s and Ben’s and Colin’s problem with the mains is and what they’re trying to achieve.
[Austin Powers]Gimme more drama, babe![/Austin Powers]

House M.D.
I love the new House, how he’s trying to change, how he behaves with Cuddy. The last episode where he played babysitter was great. “What? How did you eat a dime?” – “House.”

How I Met Your Mother
Somewhere along the way the show lost its appeal. It’s still enjoyable but it’s not high on the priority list anymore.
I often can’t really put it into words why I don’t enjoy that much anymore. But I can still determine it by asking the simple question “Am I going to buy this season on DVD?”. The more important a show is to me, the more eager I am to purchase it.

Life Unexpected
They, too, turned up the drama factor.
Maybe I am gender-biased but when I compare Ryan’s and Cate’s lies and transgressions I still think Cate’s the most dishonest person on the show. Maybe that’s why I like Baze being with Emma. He’s trying to make it work. All Cate ever does is sabotaging her own marriage.

Melissa & Joey
They play very well off each other and I enjoy every episode of it. It’s fun to watch. What more can you ask of a sitcom?

No Ordinary Family
I still haven’t watched more than the pilot and while I like the idea and the characters I’m not too eager to watch the next episode. I think this is going to be a filler series for the mid-season break.

Raising Hope
Still weird. Still very enjoyable. I can’t really explain where the fascination comes from but it’s there.

$#*! My Dad Says
Sometimes it becomes a bit too self-referential (making a career out of writing down what his dad says) but I really enjoy father and son (and to a degree the big brother and his wife).

Smallville
Nothing has changed with this show. Sometime you ask yourself if the writers really know their own canon or just retcon what they need as they go along. Sometimes you have to ask yourself if Clark is ever going to make one step all by himself without being pulled or pushed by a third person.
And still: Clark and Lois, Lois and Clark. They are great together this season. Their “I love you”s in Homecoming, his reveal in Isis, I would totally trade places with Clark just to look into Lois’ sparkling eyes. *extreme character crush*

Supernatural / The Good Wife / The Vampire Diaries
I haven’t even watched one episode of the new season yet. It’s not that they are bad shows; I just wasn’t in the mood yet.

Terriers
Another show I haven’t continued watching (yet!).

The Big Bang Theory
Still as funny as ever. Unfortunately Kaley Cuoco broke was trampled by a horse and broke her leg but it’ll heal and she’ll be back soon.

Two and a Half Men
Even in its eighth year this show is still funny as hell. The focus has shifted a bit from Charlie to Alan but it works.

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.

Bones 6×02 The Couple in the Cave
To quote someone else (Giles): “The subtext is rapidly becoming the text.” After my last review I have to admit I was surprised how fast they got working together again in a business as usual sense. But there is of course the whole Hannah issue now.
And I have to disagree with Bones on one issue: To lay down your life for another member of your species can absolutely make sense in an anthropological view, for example when a mother dies protecting their offspring.

Gossip Girl 4×03 The Undergraduates
It was interesting to see Serena being the odd one out. After everything that had happened before and in this episode I assumed Juliette’s endgame was against her, but the end proved me wrong.
Eva on the other hand reminded me a lot of Dan. She could be the grounding rod for Chuck that Dan was to Serena in the first season.
And Dan, well, he’s still Mr. Dependable, he would have made a great dad. And I’m not sure this whole Georgina baby story has come to an end. I guess we’ll see.

Life Unexpected 2×03 Criminal Incarcerated
And yet anther one: Emma Caulfield’s character (whose name I have not yet memorized) reminds me a lot of Buffy’s Anya. Not the social awkwardness (that this character doesn’t have) but the switching from pure business to suddenly showing a bit of warmth and compassion.
I also liked it how the entire Paige thing blew up in the most perfect inappropriate moment. It was like a chain of tiny explosions that lead to the big boom.

The Big Bang Theory 4×02 The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification
This episode was beyond ridiculous. Sheldon was again cranked up to (his, not normal people’s!) eleven. But I would have loved to see them actually jog. That would have been so much more fun.

Smallville 10×02 Shield
Now they are pressing forward the idea of going public with all their might and I like it.
I also liked that Clark didn’t question the choice Chloe made but recognized her as one of them (he did it before but I like it confirmed).
And I liked the talk between Carter and Lois. But that also caused some problems. Clark must have known that Lois would recognize him, she wrote a front page article about the JSA after all. So even if she didn’t know the secret that would have raised some red flags.
And being a fan of Stargate SG-1 I loved this whole Carter being an archaeologist thing. Granted he’s more than a thousand years old, but the wink is just too obvious. Like in the season nine finale when he was looking for the Kandorians (i.e. aliens) in Egypt and “all he found in Giza were mummies”. Or the specific mention of the sun god Ra (the first Goa’uld they killed).

Cougar Town 2×02 Let Yourself Go
It’s funny how this show can make you feel like something big is changing even though one has known these characters only for a year.
But now let’s go back to the guys doing same crazy stuff…

House M.D. 7×02 Selfish
That was a hard episode. I always feel stronger towards a case when the solving doesn’t only involve some medical magic but also having someone else sacrificing something.
I also loved how House tried to be himself (telling everyone about Huddy) and not being himself (not going up against Cuddy when he feels to).

How I Met Your Mother 6×02 Cleaning House
This was the first episode in a while that I really liked again. It could have used a little less Barney crazydom but overall it tugged all the right strings. I liked Barney’s brother and his dad and I liked Ted and Robin (Why can’t she be the mother?!).

Two and a Half Men 8×02 A Bottle of Wine and a Jackhammer
Alan has learned way too much from Charlie without even realizing it.
And I have to admit, I’m really curious on how this is going to work out because it brought Jake more back into the game. And I like Lindsey (but I also liked Chelsea and she’s gone, too).

How I Met Your Mother 6×01 Big Days
We are still no step further towards the mother. And the episode itself wasn’t that funny. The only really noteworthy thing for me was that Alyson’s breasts are still larger than usual while Cobie’s are back to normal size (in comparison to their respective real-world pre-pregnancy state).
I don’t know, somehow the fun of this show is gone…

Castle 3×01 A Deadly Affair
Aww, they are back together. I don’t mind this whole will-they-or-won’t-they because these two have a great chemistry even when she is mad at him. I also loved how he was always the first at the crime scene (even on the first one as cardboard stand-up), it was a nice running gag.

Two and a Half Men 8×01 Three Girls and a Guy Named Bud
Charlie is still the same and he still has it. The show is still very funny – mainly due to Charlie’s very own view of the world.

Chuck 3×18 / 3×19 Chuck Versus the Subway / Chuck Versus the Ring: Part II
Even though he’s listed as “confirmed casualty” on Ausiello’s season finale scorecard, I don’t really believe that we won’t see Stephen J. Bartowski again. I mean, c’mon. He gets shot a few feet away from a hidden room where there’s cellular regeneration technology that brought Shaw back from the dead. And Ellie was hidden behind a pillar. On a show where death is cheap!
I liked the conclusion of the season and how it took yet another turn to stay fresh. I just wonder if the Buy More storyline is now really over or if they simply open a Buy Something Different store (Remember when in Alias SD-6 was disbanded yet all the characters found themselves in a similar environment again?).

The Big Bang Theory 3×23 The Lunar Excitation
I couldn’t help but to think of Zack as a grown-up version of TaaHM’s Jake.
I enjoyed the episode and was totally with Raj and Howard when they asked themselves what the hell they had done.

How I Met Your Mother 5×24 Doppelgangers
This episode had some nice heart-warming moments and was a nice conclusion to the season. I just hope that they get back on track next year.

Two and a Half Men 7×22 This Is Not Gonna End Well
I have to say I was terribly annoyed by both Alan and Jake in this episode. Not just the usual funny way, this time they were actually annoying.

10 Things I Hate About You 1×19 / 1×20 Ain’t No Mountain High Enough / Revolution
Too bad this show ended with these episode, I really enjoyed it for what it was and I think I’m still going to buy it on DVD, even though it’s just one season.

Doctor Who 5×08 / 5×09 The Hungry Earth / Cold Blood
I really enjoyed this two-parter. It was a quieter one (read: less running ) and I liked that both parties had their faults and the will to overcome their differences.
It was sad when Rory died but it was the most elegant way to get rid of him. But I am also sure that he will be back when the Doctor fixes that whole crack mess.
Though I have to say I consider this a plot-hole: Amy could remember the cleric-soldiers after they went into the light but not her fiancé.

CW 13-22

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.

Gossip Girl

A show about a lot of spoiled rich kids in New York’s Upper East Side and some “normals” who get caught up in the whole mess.
It took them a while to make the transition from high school to university, but they managed to do it. Bonus points for not having all the characters attend the same university (University of California in Sunnydale or Central Kansas A&M University in or near Smallville ).

House M.D.

Specialist for Diagnostic Medicine Dr. House leads a team of doctors that take care of patients that have rare or inexplicable symptoms and try to help them.
It’s still very formulaic but every year is still different. This year House actually tried to be a better person. That doesn’t mean he stops playing games but now they are means to a different end. And next year will be different, too. I’m watching it because House can still surprise you.

How I Met Your Mother

Ted tells his kids the story of how he met her mother. For that he’s going into greater detail about his early life.
The show as a whole is declining. The search for the mother has been put on hold for a while now and it isn’t as much fun as in the beginning. There are still good episodes in it but as a whole it’s getting more generic.

Leverage

If Burn Notice is the unofficial sequel of MacGyver and Knight Rider, this is the unofficial sequel to The A-Team. A group of con (wo)men who live somewhat outside the law try to help people.
I loved these kinds of shows in the 80s and should I stumble across an episode of The A-Team on TV, I’ll still watch it. And I watch this show for the same reasons. And Jeri Ryan (7 of 9 in Star Trek VOY) was a nice addition to the show this year.

Smallville

The myth behind this show is relatively unknown. It’s about an illegal immigrant who hides on a farm in Kansas. That is, when he’s not out in Metropolis and commits crimes of manhandling, B&E and malicious mischief while running around in a T-Shirt with a stylized “S” on it.
I really didn’t like seasons seven and eight. But this year was really good again and I’m looking forward to its tenth and last season.

True Blood

Vampires are real. And they live amongst us. And they want the same rights we have.
The second season was even more explicit than the first one was. I did not really care about the plot about the Pagan Goddess but that was just one aspect and I will tune in for the third season.

Two and a Half Men

A sitcom (with laugh track) about a man in his forties who lives in a beach house with his brother and his nephew.
It’s the same kind of humour this show had from the beginning but after seven years there are only so many jokes you can make about the same subject. I still enjoy it, but it’s not a priority anymore.

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.

Community 1×25 Pascal’s Triangle Revisited
As Abed put it: “Finally. Classic ‘Last Day of School’ plot twist.” Again there was a lot of self-referencing meta humour in it and I enjoyed that. But I have to say that I liked the previous season ending better. But then again: How many shows do actually have to season endings in the same season?

Two and a Half Men 7×21 Gumby with a Pokey
I loved it that Jake had that much screen time and that he still can pull off his dry humour (that is, when he doesn’t do ball jokes).
And Charlie on pot was hilarious with the best part being (of course) that Rose is back. That could become really interesting.

How I Met Your Mother 5×23 The Wedding Bride
Another episode with a lot of meta humour in it. And while I was watching it, I enjoyed it. But now while I’m writing these lines, a bit of “fridge logic” kicks in. It’s not a plot error per se but one has to wonder why Stella and her husband would do that. We know Ted is a decent guy and he didn’t deserve that and from what I remember of Stella she wasn’t a bad person either. It just wasn’t meant to be. It has happened to other people, too. So why did they do it?

Love the trailer, though:

House M.D. 6×21 Help Me
I have to admit that the end came a bit unexpected for me. There have always been “Huddy” fans out there and I always admired that she put up with him but I can’t remember that they ever hinted at the fact that she might have deeper feelings for him.
And it was really sad to see this young woman die and there was nothing he could do about it. It’s been a long while since House seemed to actually care about a patient.

Castle 2×24 A Deadly Game
I liked it that Esposito flat-out told Beckett what she needed to hear. Too bad her epiphany came about half a day too late. And since he couldn’t know she broke up with Theft guy it just wasn’t meant to happen (this time ).
I bet the next step of keeping them apart is that he has a relationship now… We’ll see next year.

Bones 5×22 The Beginning in the End
So, Bones does a time jump I presume. Unless they manage to find an actual archaeological grave site somewhere in Afghanistan and Booth has to protect the dig site.
Let’s just say it could have been worse. They could have ended it with a text page saying “Sgt. Maj. Seeley Booth was killed in action on July, 16th near the Pakistani border.”

Three for three. This season is coming to an end fast. On the one hand I’m actually glad. It will clear up my schedule for other stuff to watch. On the other hand: No new episodes ’till fall.

Cougar Town 1×24 Finding Out
This was a good conclusion to this first season and it contained all the elements I like about the show.
I’m glad that they dropped the entire “cougar” angle and just went along with what they already had.

Justified 1×10 The Hammer
I always like Stephen Root as a guest character on any show. I always enjoy him in his roles.
I also liked all the twists of this episode (the trailer explosion, why the guy came after the judge, the pot grower not being able to identify the shooter…).

Party Down 2×04 James Ellison Funeral
It’s unbelievable how they manage to turn every event you could possibly cater into a “freak show”. I laughed my ass off when the final scene revealed the Asian woman and her child.

The Good Wife 1×22 Hybristophilia
The way they kept Cary on the show was certainly an interesting twist. And I’m also glad that Childs (Titus Welliver) is not going anywhere. I’ve come to like to dislike his characters on several shows (Supernatural, LOST).
But I have to say that I find that new (previously mentioned) red-headed lawyer extremely irritating. You can get away with portraying someone as ditzy despite them knowing exactly what they are doing, but it didn’t work for me here.

Party Down 2×05 Steve Guttenberg’s Birthday
Brilliant episode. Steve as himself and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin in Superbad, Red Mist in Kick-Ass) as Roman’s writing buddies were great. I loved how they read the scenes Roman and Kent had written, it was so spot on on bad sci-fi scripts. And Kyle’s friend Colette was so great as the robot bio-cybernetic organism.

Doctor Who
I won’t be reviewing this week’s episode since I’ve just learned that it’s a two-parter and I won’t be watching it until next week when the second part becomes available.

CW 20 (LOST Finale)