No Ordinary Family "No Ordinary Anniversary" Reaction

While watching Tuesday's episode of "No Ordinary Family", I had the hardest time getting past the fact that the villain in the episode -- a super-powerered fire-starter who'd apparently been "given" his powers by the same evil force (Stephanie's boss) that gave some of the past villains their powers -- was played by the guy who played Mickey Parke on MTV's boy-band spoof "2gether".

Once I was able to put that bit of randomness aside, I found that "No Ordinary Anniversary" was much like most of the episode this season. There was plenty to like, both in dramatic story and moments of humor, but it's still missing that "something" to bring it all together. Personally, I feel like the show needs to make the motivations of the primary villain more clear. Each week we see a little more of his machinations, but we don't know what it's adding up to. I'm not saying "No Ordinary Family" needs to lay out the whole road map for us, but a street sign or two might be nice to go along with the twists and turns (as I strain my own metaphor to the limits of credulity).

While I started watching the show for "Buffy" alum Julie Benz, the two younger women on the show have really started to capture my attention, and not just because they're both hot -- which they are. Autumn Reeser's Katie gets more adorable every week. On other shows, her random nerd moment of the week (this week was a "BSG" reference) would feel forced, but somehow she makes it feel natural. As for Kay Panabaker, she's really molded Daphne into a character who you can relate to, and even though she's 20, she plays a believable 16.

As for Benz and Michael Chiklis, I thought this was one of their better episodes in relation to how they acted as a couple, even if Chiklis wasn't as much of a driving factor for the second consecutive week. And the reactions of their characters to the consequences of their fight with the fire-starter just felt, well, right. Oh, and speaking of right, once again the show gave JJ a realistic "sport" on which to use his power. A few weeks back it was billiards, and Tuesday it was poker. Both are a much better fit for his genius abilities than the ill-thought-out football plots from earlier in the season.

Like I said, the show isn't quite there yet, but it's getting all the pieces into place, and now it's just a matter of putting the puzzle together.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

Glee "Special Education" Reaction/Song Review

And so we've arrived at Sectionals. Last season, this was a major turning point episode, both for the characters and the show (which got its back-nine pickup and ended the fall season with "Sectionals"). Hopefully that can be the case again this year, and if this episode is an indication, it may be.

Early in the episode, we got Rachel calling Sam and Quinn "Ken and Barbie", which was funny in itself. But then it was followed by Quinn telling Rachel, "you used to be just sort of unlikeable, but now I pretty much feel like punching you every time you open your mouth", which was my favorite non-Britney Spears moment of the season. At least it was until Will lashed out at Rachel, because she needed that. And this show needed that. While it wasn't quite a Season 1 moment, it captured an energy that the show's been missing of late.

For much of Season 1, this show was way too Rachel focused. And it seems that in Season 2, she's really only taken a backseat to Kurt (who has become the "Glee" cause du jour), and as a viewer, I'm getting just as fed up as Will with her diva attitude. It reached the point that when Finn broke up with Rachel (quick recap on how that happened: Rachel found out Finn slept with Santana, so she made out with Puck, and confessed that to Finn, who was justifiably pissed)

And you know, Will's plan for sectionals (really Emma's plan, but whatever), may have come out of nowhere, but he kind of had a point. There was no way that New Directions was going to beat The Warblers on singing ability alone, and I was wondering how the writers of the show were going to get around that -- or if they would even bother, considering how much they've strained the suspension of disbelief this season (and as for the conclusion to that, well, I'll get to that). Plus, I heart Brittany. Her moment when she thought "adultery" meant being stupid, like being a "dolt"… phenomenal.

OK, now on to Kurt, who has dominated this season's stories, for better or worse. I was genuinely concerned that the show was going to make it so when he showed up at Dalton, everything would be perfect for him, but it wasn't. He's not exactly fitting in, in large part because he doesn't want to just "fit in". He wants to be a star, and I think he's slowly realizing that save for the Karofsky situation -- obviously a huge negative in his life -- his situation at McKinley wasn't entirely terrible. And that little pep talk at the end, with the strained bird metaphor, only emphasized to me that Kurt doesn't want to become a new Kurt, but that he wants to be in a place here he can be who he is, unconditionally.

Of course, we haven't seen the last of Kurt, Dalton, or The Warblers, since "Glee" wussed out and had them tie with New Directions at sectionals. I'd venture to guess that means regionals is going to be The Warblers, New Directions and Vocal Adrenaline (who have sadly been absent since the first episode of the season). And while that will make for some great performances in the regionals episode, it also means this Kurt story is going to get dragged out even longer, which I'm not sure is good for the long-term viability of the show.

But, for now, let's leave that for another day and get to this week's song reviews:

This Week in Buffy History: November 30-December 6

November 30
1956 - Lily Knight born (played Gronx in season 5)
1999 - Episode 4.09 “Something Blue” airs on The WB
1999 - Angel Episode 1.09 “Hero” airs on The WB

December 1
1972 - Ron Melendez born (played James in Angel Episode 3.01 “Heartthrob”)

December 2
1952 - Keith Szarabajka born (played Holtz on “Angel”)
1955 - Dennis Christopher born (played Cyvus Vail in season 5 of “Angel”)

December 3
2002 - Glenn Quinn’s dies (played Doyle on “Angel”)

December 4
1954 - Tony Todd born (played Vyasa in Angel Episode 2.08 “The Shroud of Rahman”)

December 5
1971 - Kali Rocha born (played Cecily Adams/Halfrek)
1976 - Amy Acker born (played Winifred “Fred” Burkle on “Angel”)
2007 - Season 8, Issue 9, "No Future for You, Pt. 4", released by Dark Horse Comics

December 6
1969 - Alan Heitz born (played Slook in Season 5)
1978 - K.D. Aubert born (played Nikki Wood in Season 7)

Remember, you can always get your Buffy anniversary updates at The Ultimate Buffy Calendar (now featuring the release dates of the Buffy: Season 8 comics)

Jersey Monday: Juwan Howard

As I write this, the Miami Heat are facing the Washington Wizards, in a game they really need to win. So which jersey in my collection connects these two teams? Juwan Howard, of course.

I bought this jersey at the then-Fleet Center before a Wizards-Celtics game during the first season in which the Wizards were the Wizards. They'd previously been the Bullets (and I kind of wish I'd hung on to my one pre-name-change Washington jersey), and while I think the name change was a downgrade, the jersey change was an upgrade, at least from the horrible red unis Washington had been wearing in the final years of the Bullets era.

At the time I bought this jersey, Howard was part of a young, talented frontcourt for Washington, along with Michigan teammate Chris Webber, former Indiana star Calbert Cheaney and a then-unknown Ben Wallace. He was also just a couple years removed from a free agent bidding war between the Bullets and Heat. Howard originally signed with Miami, but his contract was voided by the league and he returned to Washington.

Fast forward 14 years and Howard is finally a member of the Heat. He was signed this summer as kind of an afterthought, a 12th or 13th man on a stacked roster. But with the injury to Udonis Haslem along with the ineffectiveness of some other Miami big men, Howard is actually playing significant minutes -- which could help to explain why the Heat are 9-8 entering tonight's game (though the suckitude of LeBron, Wade and Bosh explains it a lot more).

Jersey Monday will continue every Monday until I run out of jerseys to spotlight. And since I’ve got more than 150 of them, that could be awhile.

The Simpsons "How Munched is That Birdie in the Window" Reaction

I've been pretty disappointed with this season of "The Simpsons" so far, and while I'm not willing to go all "Comic Book Guy" on you and call Sunday's entry "worst... episode... ever", it's definitely the episode that made me realize we're in for a rough season.

This was another episode in which it seemed the writers spent more time coming up with an overly-long couch gag rather than writing the episode itself -- and the gag itself wasn't even that funny. Then the episode felt like it was assembled from the scraps of "Simpsons" episodes of the past. Bart has to take care of a bird? Simpsons did it. Bart gets attached to another animal, causing tension between him and Santa's Little Helper? Simpsons did it. Santa's Little Helper is causing too much trouble and has to go away? Simpsons did it.

Look,"The Simpsons" is still better than a lot of shows on television, but a lot of shows on television (including the three that immediately follow "The Simpsons") suck. Even when "The Simpsons" started slipping in the ratings, it was still a font of creativity. Now it's all about cobbled-together jokes, cheap celebrity cameos (seriously, why was Danica Patrick even in this episode?) and the hopes that you'll keep watching and buying DVDs out of some misplaced sense of nostalgia.

So, effective immediately, I'm dropping "The Simpsons" from my regular watching schedule. Does that mean I'm never watching it again? Of course not. But I'm taking it off the Series of Tubes home page, and it's no longer a must-watch at 8pm on Sundays for me. Which, I guess means more video game time, because I'm not gonna watch "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition", "The Amazing Race" or highlights of football games I spent all day watching. Or, ya know, I could pick up a fucking book once in awhile.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man #649, Ultimate Spider-Man #150

Ultimate Spider-Man #150


Before I get to the specifics of this issue, can I ask, what's the point of re-starting the numbering on your series if you're going to go back to the original numbering 15 issues later? I know it's all about money, but does this mean we're going to celebrate both sets of anniversary issues? So like when we get to the 50th issue since the restart, that'll be a triple-sized issue, then a year after that we'll get a special #200? Just stick to one numbering set please.

OK, that quibble aside, I liked this issue, which had all the hallmarks of an anniversary story (flashbacks, recaps, multiple artists, and only mild plot advancement). The writing of Brian Michael Bendis continues to be a highlight, as he captures the confusion going on in Spider-Man's life, with Peter Parker torn in all directions. The flashback stories, told from the perspectives of Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, each felt distinct in their writing, not just their art (the art was easy, since they were all drawn by different people). The development of Peter attending "super hero school" would feel cheesy in most other books, but in this one it re-emphasizes the high school tone, something the movies will try to recapture

The back half of the issue fit into USM continuity from way back (I wish I could remember the exact issue of the whole "pick a hero" class assignment, but I can't). While the message of the story was strong, I think it would have been better with more consistent art. I understand the desire to get so many different artists to share their take on a couple pages, but it can really detract from a good story. Still, some of the art was striking -- my personal favorite was the Peter/MJ stuff by Romita.

Still, as much as I enjoyed this issue, I would have enjoyed it more if it had addressed some of the fallout from the last issue, when Gwen ran away. First of all, we have to remember that on some level Gwen isn't really human, so it might not be entirely safe for her to be out there alone unsupervised, and that's even before considering her unstable human history. On top of that, the Gwen-Peter-MJ dynamic has always been confusing, and the incident with Chameleon adds more confusion to that. I care more about the character interactions than the public perception of Spider-Man, and this issue was more about the latter. I'm not saying that's necessarily bad, I just hope the series doesn't forget that its strength is the former.

Desktop Girl of the Week: Olivia Wilde

When making my Desktop Girl of the Week selections, I usually look for someone who is not only hot, but has done something in movies, TV, music or other fields of entertainment that I've enjoyed.

Olivia Wilde does not meet my normal criteria. Oh, she's hot, there's no denying that. It's just, somehow, she's generally evaded my radar for her entire career. I don't watch "House". I didn't see "Year One" (and from what I've heard about that movie, I'm better for it). I never watched "The Black Donnellys", "The O.C." or "Skin". In fact, I think the only thing I've ever seen Wilde in was "The Girl Next Door", but it's not like she had a starring role in it.

However, Wilde is in two upcoming movies that I'm very excited about. The first is "TRON: Legacy", which is coming out next month (and where the image above comes from). I recently re-watched the original "TRON", and it really doesn't hold up at all, but this sequel feels like it's going to be the movie the creators really wanted to make in 1982, but didn't have the technology to do so.

The other upcoming Wilde movie I'm looking forward to is "Cowboys & Aliens", which, despite the stupid name, looks really impressive. I mean, it's got Harrison Ford as a cowboy, fighting aliens. It's like Han Solo in the actual old west. And I'm sure Wilde will look hot in it.

• Olivia Wilde on IMDB
• Follow Olivia Wilde on Twitter
• "TRON: Legacy" Official Site

As always with DGOW, I’ll provide a widescreen (1680x1050) image for downloading. If you want to see past DGOW, then just check the archive album.

Glee "Furt" Reaction/Song Review

Let's address the end of the episode first, since that's what everyone's going to be talking about. After temporarily getting Karofsky kicked out of school, then experiencing the high of his father's wedding to Finn's mother, Kurt finds out that Karofsky is coming back to school, and so his parents (plural now!) take the money they were going to use on their honeymoon to enroll Kurt at Dalton Academy.

I'm honestly a little disappointed in "Glee" here, because it feels like Kurt is running away from his problems, after an episode in which everyone -- including a previously reluctant Finn and a surprisingly sensitive Sue -- showed him that the way to succeed is to stand strong. Is that the message that the show wants to send?

To be fair to the character, things had reached a tipping point, with Karofsky using psychological torture to terrorize Kurt, so much so that the previously oblivious Mr. Schuester picked up on it. He went to Sue to have her do something, but her hands were tied. However, when Kurt's father witnessed Karofsky making fun of Kurt, well, that was the last straw for him.

Mike O'Malley once again was the standout performer in this episode, and though his role has been lessened this year when compared to last year, it'll still be a crime if he doesn't earn an Emmy for his work on this show. He plays Burt as the perfect mix of protective father and unsure role model. In fact, I can fully understand why Burt would want Kurt to transfer, because he's less concerned right now about what will help his son in the long run and more concerned with what will protect him now.

Speaking of protecting Kurt, Finn was reluctant to do so early in the episode, because of his own status in the school as well as a bit of the history between the two of them. But by the end of the episode, thanks in large part to the wedding of their parents, he'd come around. The whole transition could have come across as cheesy, but relative to the rest of the "Glee" universe it actually seemed to be a pretty organic growth of character.

As for the whole "Sue marrying herself" thing, the less said about that whole plot the better. They managed to tie it in with the bullying theme, with Sue confronting her mom, but otherwise it was just weird. And not just regular weird, but weird even by "Glee" standards. What wasn't weird was the music, so let's get to the song review:

The Best Joss Whedon Written Episodes of "Buffy"

As most good "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fans know, there were 144 episodes of the show (145 if you count the unaired pilot, which you shouldn't).

But can you guess how many of those episodes Joss himself wrote?

Before looking it up, I would have assumed he was personally responsible for at least a third of them, but as it turns out, the number is just 24. So out of the 144 episodes of "Buffy", 120 of them did NOT come directly from Joss Whedon's pen.

However, they did all come from his mind, in some way, since he was involved with the episodes he didn't write, and was credited (as executive producer and creator) on every episode, which is a large part of the reason many (most? all?) fans expect the non-Joss-helmed Buffy reboot to fail.

But rather than focus on the negative today -- since I already did that yesterday, extensively -- let's focus on the positive and take a look at the 24 episodes of Buffy that Joss wrote, ranking them from No. 24 to No. 1 (note: there are three two-parters, and it didn't feel right to separate them in the rankings). And since my ranking may not, and probably will not, match up with yours, feel free to rank them yourself in the comments.

24. Lessons (Season 7, Episode 1)
Hey, something had to be last, right? This season premiere is very Dawn-heavy, which I know most "Buffy" fans dislike. The end scene with all the Big Bads is very cool, but otherwise the episode spends a lot of time setting up a story (with Dawn and her classmates) that goes nowhere.

23. The Freshman (Season 4, Episode 1)
Another season premiere, which isn't surprising since Joss wrote most of them (5 of the 7). I still wish they hadn't killed Sunday (the vampire leader) after just one episode.

22. Family (Season 5, Episode 6)
This Tara-centric episode is better thematically than it is in execution, but it's still in the top half of all "Buffy" episodes (in fact, I'd say all of the Joss episodes are).

"Chuck Versus Phase Three" Reaction

Damn you, cliffhangers! This week's episode of "Chuck", "Chuck Versus Phase Three", ended with Ellie and Awesome seeing something on the just unlocked computer that Ellie found in her father's old car. I'm growing increasingly intrigued by this storyline, because more and more it seems like whatever message Stephen Bartowski left behind, it was truly intended for Ellie and not for Chuck.

Overall, this was a fun, if mildly confusing episode. I really enjoyed how Morgan got Sarah into "get Chuck back at all costs" mode, because it raised the stakes in Chuck and Sarah's relationship. Earlier in the season, we saw a Sarah who was skeptical about, if not entirely opposed to, the idea of marriage, but now, upon finding out that Chuck was going to propose, she's all about it. Given what they've gone through this season, that doesn't even seem like much of a leap.

I'm never opposed to seeing Sarah in ass-kicking mode, so those parts of the episode were fantastic. Getting Casey and Morgan involved was just a bonus. The best part about Sarah in this episode, though, was that the ass-kicking came from a place other than just being a super spy. We've seen Sarah kick ass before, but this had the added emotional depth of wanting to save Chuck (and not just because he was the mission, or an asset, like had been the case in the past) and Yvonne Strahovski did an excellent job conveying that emotion.

As for the confusing part, well, that was going on in Chuck's mind, as his kidnappers tried to erase all of his personal memories, leaving only The Intersect in his head. There was almost an "Inception"-style dream-within-a-dream layering going on, and even when Chuck was rescued, it seemed for a moment like he wasn't all there. If they're going to drag out this story about Chuck's broken Intersect, then I'd like to see some more aftermath of his sessions with the Belgians too. Hell, maybe they can even work in a "swiss cheese brain" reference to go along with the return of Scott Bakula.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

This Week in Buffy History: November 23-29

November 23

1999 - Episode 4.08 “Pangs” airs on The WB

1999 - Angel Episode 1.08 “I Will Remember You” airs on The WB

November 24

1997 - Episode 2.10 “What’s My Line? (Part 2)” airs on The WB

1998 - Episode 3.08 “Lover’s Walk” airs on The WB

November 26

2002 - Episode 7.09 “Never Leave Me” airs on UPN

2008 - Season 8, Issue 19, "Time of Your Life, Pt. 4", released by Dark Horse Comics

November 27

1974 - Alec Newman born (played Drogyn in season 5 of “Angel”)

2001 - Episode 6.10 “Wrecked” airs on UPN

November 28

2000 - Episode 5.09 “Listening to Fear” airs on The WB

2000 - Angel Episode 5.09 “The Trial” airs on The WB

November 29

1956 - Hinton Battle born (played Sweet in Episode 6.07 “Once More, With Feeling”)

Remember, you can always get your Buffy anniversary updates at The Ultimate Buffy Calendar (now featuring the release dates of the Buffy: Season 8 comics)

How I Met Your Mother "Blitzgiving" Rection

I'm going to put this as simply as possible: I have a new favorite episode of "How I Met Your Mother", and it's "Blitzgiving."

This marks the third consecutive great episode of the show, but "Blitzgiving" topped them all for me for one reason: Jorge Garcia. Over the course of six seasons of "Lost", Garcia became my favorite actor on the show, and he didn't fail to disappoint in his first HIMYM episode as "The Blitz", the guy who would always leave early and miss out on something awesome.

The HIMYM writers filled this episode with plenty of "Lost" references, from "The Blitz" being a curse that jumped from person to person (much liked the cursed numbers), a direct use of the numbers themselves -- 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 for those of you who've already forgotten -- and even Blitz referring to his curse as having been "on the island".

As the episode progressed, we saw the curse of The Blitz pass from Blitz (real name Steve) to Ted then to Barney, then back to Blitz/Steve at the end. We also saw Zoey topless (naughty bits obscured, of course, since this is a network show airing at 8pm). And like they've done often this season, the writers did an excellent job weaving serious plot development in with utter silliness. Ted's epiphany about Zoey, leading to the defrosting of their relationship, was sweet and done without dragging the episode down.

But the silliness of the episode was what made it work. Skateboarding dog, wang dude, Robin's KISS makeup, they all made me laugh. Barney's sad attempts to break the curse of The Blitz were even better. But Garcia was what made the episode work, with his genuine joy about not being The Blitz anymore mirroring some of the few moments of genuine happiness that Hurley showed on "Lost". I definitely hope we get to see him grab some more roles in the near future.

I had only one problem with this episode. In one of the early "Blitz" flashbacks, he's shown leaving the bar because he just got "Madden 2K1". Only no such game exists. There's "Madden NFL" and then there's the "NFL 2K" series. Also, "2K1" would have been the game that came out in 2000, only the gang, including Robin, is all shown together at McFadden's, when we all know that Ted, Barney, Lily and Marshall didn't meet Robin until 2005.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

11 Reasons the "Buffy" Reboot is Doomed to Fail

Today Warner Bros. confirmed that they're going ahead with plans to reboot "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as a feature film, without Joss Whedon, who has taken his talents to Marvel.

Now, normally I'd be all about more "Buffy", since I spend an inordinate amount of time obsessing about the "Buffy" I already have, but I don't see how this can work. And here are 11 reasons why (why 11? Well, that's been my counting theme of late. Deal with it).

1. Joss Whedon IS "Buffy"
When you say "Buffy", the first name that comes to mind for many people is Sarah Michelle Gellar, but that hasn't always been the case. Gellar didn't play Buffy Summers in the 1992 movie, and the current comic depiction of Buffy isn't really based on her likeness. But in every form "Buffy" has ever been in, Joss Whedon has been involved. And a "Buffy" without Joss is a "Buffy" without a soul (oooh... vampire Buffy... no, no... leave it to the fanfic).

I could stop right there, but this is definitely a topic that NEEDS expansion, so here are the next 10 reasons.

2. "Buffy" isn't just about Buffy.
Over the seven seasons of the TV series, and the nearly one season (over four years) of the comic, we as a fanbase didn't just get attached to Buffy Summers, but to all the other characters in her life. However, barring some miraculous licensing deal, Warner Bros. doesn't have the rights to them. They just get Buffy and Merrick and some other vampires. Oh, and Pike. Fuck Pike.

3. If Joss isn't writing this, who is?
That would be Whit Anderson. Who is Whit Anderson? Well, until this news, she wasn't Whit, she was Whitney Anderson, a relatively inexperienced actress who claims to have grown up a huge "Buffy" fan. Putting aside the fact that no true Buffy fan would get involved with a "Buffy" project sans Joss, Whit has no writing experience whatsoever. How could Warner Bros. put this project into the hands of someone with no experience?

4. Buffy doesn't need to be re-booted
It's been seven years since we've seen "Buffy" on the small screen and 18 years since we got her origin story on the big screen (and 12 years since it was re-done in 1998). That seems like plenty of time to give "Buffy" a reboot. But we've still got "Buffy" going on in comic form, in a Joss-approved direct continuity. This reminds me of "Terminator", when there were two continuities going on in the form of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and "Terminator: Salvation", and in the end neither of them worked out.

"The Futurama Holiday Spectacular" Reaction

To be perfectly honest, "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular" wasn't the best effort from the show, but compared to the utter garbage that FOX aired from 8-10, it was fucking brilliant.

Like the past "Anthology of Interest" episodes, this Futurama special was broken into three parts loosely tied together by a unifying theme -- in this case, the holidays of the year 3,010, and making them more like the holidays Fry knew in his time.

The first segment was the Christmas one, featuring the return of Robot Santa. I thought the song they sang would have worked better with someone other than Robot Santa singing it, since I had trouble understanding what he was saying (and you can't laugh at a joke if you can't make it out). Eventually the crew had to go and get seeds to plant a Christmas tree (and yes, the seed vault is a real thing that was created in 2008), but the seeds were cross-contaminated with a virus, and they ended up overtaking the entire planet. That led to too much oxygen in the air, and when Bender lit up a cigar, it torched the Earth and killed everyone. Personally, I thought the segment was the weakest of the night, because it was kind of all over the place for something that was only six minutes long.

The second segment, featuring Bender's made-up holiday of Robanukah, was definitely better, if only because it focused on Bender's utter disregard for anyone around him. He needed petroleum to execute one of Robanukah's made-up traditions, and when he found out there was none left on Earth (a fact Al Gore was happy to gloat about), he made the entire Planet Express crew go on an incredibly dangerous mission -- one that ended up getting everyone but Bender killed. The "500 million years later" epilogue to the segment really cemented the humor, with Bender still not really caring about the fact that his friends had been dead for 500 million years, even after they turned into petroleum. He just wanted to see slutty robots wrestle in oil. And isn't that the true meaning of Robanukah?

Last, but probably also least, "Futurama" made fun of Kwanzaa, which sadly isn't hard to do. Kwanzaa-bot is one of the most random characters on the show, and it's nice to hear Coolio, if only to be reminded that at one time he was considered a serious rap artist. Now he's rapping a mildly offensive (if you take offense easily) song about Kwanzaa, which I have to admit, I laughed at a bit too much. Then he sent Hermes and crew on a mission to find bees wax (what was it with the robots and their missions in this episode?), which led them back to the planet of giant space bees from Season 5. And once again, the whole crew died.

Like I said, this wasn't a great episode. If I was ranking it along with the rest of Season 6, it'd probably right in the middle of the pack. The funniest thing was probably Al Gore's recurring appearances, followed closely by Kwanzaa-bot.

Grade: B-

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

Sideshow Ms. Marvel Premium Format Statue Review

I've never really been a fan of the character Ms. Marvel. It's not that I have anything against her, per se, it's just that she's never really been on my radar in terms of characters I follow in the Marvel universe.

But I'm generally not one to pass up a good-looking Sideshow statue, especially one of the premium format editions, so way back in February I pre-ordered the exclusive edition, then last week I got an offer to receive one of the "early" shipments Sideshow had received.

I got the statue yesterday and immediately discovered just what that early shipment meant: my statue was #008 out of 750. Of all my Sideshow products, I don't think I'd ever received one before that was numbered in the single digits, so it's pretty cool having this one. Then again, the production number doesn't really mean much in the long run when you're displaying the figure. It's all about how the figure actually looks, and this one looks good.

The UFL Isn't That Bad

The UFL has been around for two years now, and while it's not exactly challenging the NFL for football supremacy, it's doing what it's meant to do -- provide another football option for players, coaches and fans.

I went to Saturday's Las Vegas vs Hartford game at Rentschler Field with my dad, and it was a solidly fun experience. Hartford doesn't have an NFL team, nor does it really warrant having one, but not everyone in the Hartford area is that interested in watching UConn football either. As it turns out, I might be the exact kind of fan the UFL is looking for: someone who likes football, but lives in an area without an NFL team and doesn't have any connection to the local college team.

The five current UFL franchises play in Hartford, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Omaha and Orlando. That's five non-NFL markets, and five markets without a connection to a major college football program. Yes, people in Omaha are likely University of Nebraska fans, but it's a one-hour drive to Lincoln. Ditto for Orlando, which probably is home to a lot of Gator fans, not all of whom want to make the two-hour trip to Gainesville. In fact, Hartford is the only market with a direct connection to a BCS program, with the Colonials sharing a stadium with the Big East's UConn Huskies (insert joke about Big East football here). Next season, the UFL is adding a sixth team that will play in Virginia Beach, which is about 3 hours away from BCS or NFL action.

30 Rock "College" Reaction

Quickie recap: Jack wants to cement his legacy at GE by sabotaging the new microwave they built without him, Liz wants everyone to think she's cool, and the writers discover a website that uses Jack's voice to pronounce words, then use it to play a prank on Pete. Jenna and Tracy appear randomly to give Liz bad advice, which could apply to pretty much any episode.

I didn't think this was one of the better "30 Rock" episodes of the year. Jack's been so focused on the Kabletown stuff for awhile now that it felt weird to see him back in "I Love GE" mode. And the whole "Liz lying to get the crew to like her" mode has been done before -- and better -- in Season 3's "Flu Shot", which also wasn't a great episode overall. Maybe they should just stay away from Liz and the Crew plots.

Still, that's not to say the episode wasn't without its moments. The final scene with the "Animal House" style epilogue was just the right amount of silliness, and the scene before that when Liz started shotgunning the pizza almost caused me to choke to death I was laughing so hard. Also, as convenient as it was to not have Pete get burned by the writers' prank, I liked it, mostly because I like the character so much and I think he deserves to get a break or two once in awhile.

There were also multiple "Star Wars" reference throughout the episode (Jabba's pleasure skiff, the TK-421 microwave), which are always appreciates. As for my favorite lines of the episode, well, there weren't as many as previous episodes, but they were still good ones:

11 Nerdy Moments Guaranteed to Make You Say FUCK YEAH!

So back on Monday, inspired by a post at Topless Robot, I posted 11 (more) nerdy moments guaranteed to make you cry. Well, now it's time to balance out the depression with some unadulterated awesomeness. I've got 11 nerdy moments guaranteed to make you say "fuck yeah!".

Now, to be clear, these aren't the only 11 or even the best 11. They're just 11 (why 11? I dunno, 'cause that's what Monday's post was...). Also, sometimes it can be tough to distinguish a moment that makes you say "fuck yeah" from an "oh shit" moment, but I've tried to to my best. And just like in Monday's post, I limited my picks to one moment per series (again, otherwise my list would just be a series of Buffy moments).

I know my list is way too movie-centric, but those were the first things that came to mind. Also, I think the grand scope of a movie -- particularly in a theater -- lends itself more to the "FUCK YEAH!" moment.

The Death Star Explodes - "Star Wars" (1977)

Does this really need any explanation?

Inigo Montoya gets his revenge - "The Princess Bride" (1987)

"Offer me money."
"Yes."
"Power too. Promise me that."
"All that I have and more. Please..."
"Offer me anything I ask for."
"Anything you want..."
"I want my father back, you son of a bitch!"

Two words: FUCK and YES!

The Big Bang Theory "The Boyfriend Complexity" Reaction

Prior to tonight's episode of "The Big Bang Theory", I think I would have classified myself among the viewers who thought the show worked better with Leonard and Penny not being a couple. But after "The Boyfriend Complexity", I really want to see them get back together.

In this episode, Penny's dad was in town, and it turns out Penny had lied to him about her relationship status with Leonard. The pretend relationship to fool someone is a standard sitcom plot that we've seen a thousand times before, but Johnny Galecki really sold it, with Leonard doing everything a true nerd would have done in that situation. He totally bought into it, taking full advantage of Penny's insecurity and kissing her whenever possible. It was totally awesome. The fact that Sheldon went insane with revising the roommate agreement was just icing on the cake.

Then there were Howard and Raj, who were monitoring a telescope, only Howard invited Bernadette along, which mean Raj had to start drinking to be able to maintain conversation. He got drunk, starting going on and on about how bad his love life was, then misinterpreted Bernadette's comforting and moved in for a kiss. That led Howard to jump in to stop him, only they ended up having the most awkward slow motion kiss in television history.

Yep, Wolowitz and Raj kissed. Then apparently agreed to never speak of it again. Only, we know it will get spoken of again. Just like Leonard and Penny will get together again. Because it's meant to be, dammit.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

Being Erica "Gettin' Wiggy Wit' It" Reaction

Watching Wednesday's episode of "Being Erica," I couldn't help but think that this show -- already amazing -- would be so much better if it had a longer season to work with. That's because in "Gettin' Wiggy Wit' It", there were a couple developments that worked well enough, but had the potential to be so much better if they'd been able to be stretched out longer.

The first was when Erica went back with Camila on one of Camila's regrets. This is really the first glimpse we've had this year at a therapy patient other than Erica and Adam, and it was a welcome development, but the trip back lasted all of two minutes, and quickly became about Erica, rather than Camila.

I didn't mind that so much, because the way it became about Erica allowed for an even better development. In her trip back with Camila, she saw Seth (author of "The Purple Door", the book Erica and Julianne are publishing), only he wasn't in a cult, as his book had stated, but instead was an orthodox Jew. It turns out Seth fictionalized some parts of his memoir when he struggled writing about leaving orthodox Judaism, and Erica finds out, but not until he's gone on national TV to promote the book. Erica wants Dr. Tom to sen her back to when 50/50 Press first signed Seth, so she can fix that "regret", but he won't let her, because it's against the rules. So Dr. Tom does it himself.

That's right. Dr. Tom used some of his doctor magic to go back to the moment when Seth getting ready to meet with 50/50 and tells him to leave, saying he knows Seth's secret and it'll ruin Erica and Julianne's lives. From here, we snap back to the present, where Erica and Julianne are instead promoting "The Fixer Upper", and the media found out about "The Purple Door" after it was published, causing havoc at River Rock (where Brent has been fired).

However, by the end of the episode, Dr. Naadiah has told Erica about the change, she made Dr. Tom reverse it and Erica and Julianne have to figure out what they're going to do about "The Purple Door" without magical doctor help.

If "Being Erica" were a show that had a 22-episode season, then we could have seen the results of Dr. Tom's changes play out over two or three episodes, watching Erica discover if ignorance really is bliss while also seeing Dr. Tom struggling to deal with the consequences of his decision. As it was, we got the third episode in the run of this series in which major universe-altering changes were undone by the end of the episode (joining Season 1's "Leo" and Season 2's "What Goes Up Must Come Down").

"Being Erica" has done a solid job this season stepping outside of its comfort zones, expanding Erica's therapy, giving us glimpses into the larger world of the doctors and even giving Erica's sister her own subplot (which had some interesting developments this week). But I think it still has room to grow as a show, and hopefully CBC will let it do so over the course of many years to come.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

Modern Family "Manny Get Your Gun" Reaction

It's been awhile since I've done one of these -- even though it seems like "Modern Family" gives us a moment like this in every episode -- so before we get to the actual review, here's an animated GIF of Gloria (Sofia Vergara) from Wednesday's episode "Manny Get Your Gun":

Yeah, that's good stuff right there.

OK, on to the review. I think Wednesday's episode, from start to finish, was the funniest of the season. Every single joke worked. By starting the episode at the restaurant (where everyone had gathered for Manny's birthday) then flashing back 30 minutes to show how everyone got there, they managed to have an episode where almost every character (or set of characters) got his/her own storyline, but all the stories were united in some way.

The pace of the episode reminded me of a well-crafted stage play, where everything had to be tight and snappy, and the result ended up energetic without feeling rushed. I don't think there was any period longer than 30 seconds when I wasn't laughing.

In an episode that was so good, it's hard to pick a "best" moment, but there were two that stand out in my mind. The first was when Cam and Mitchell were shopping, and a flash mob broke out into a choreographed dance. At first, I wasn't sure where they were going with it, but then Mitchell jumped in and joined the dance. The look on Cam's face was pretty much the same look I had -- a mixture of confusion and joy.

Then there was Gloria's skills with a BB gun. First, shooting Manny's floating pool island and telling Manny that there was no danger to him because she could unbutton his shirt with the gun. Then, again at the end of the episode, shooting an ice bucket lid out of Jay's hand. It just adds to the whole "everyone is scared of Gloria" mystique of the character, and those moments kill me every time.

I'm loathe to call "Modern Family" the best comedy on television today, because of how much I adore "30 Rock", but an episode like this goes a long way toward cementing that status.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

Desktop Girl of the Week: Amanda Seyfried

Yes, I'm going back to the "Mean Girls" well for the second consecutive week, but that 2004 movie isn't the reason I'm spotlighting Amanda Seyfried this week. No, it's the "Red Riding Hood" trailer, which debuted recently on the Quicktime Trailers site. In fact, let's give it a watch.





Nice right? No, not the movie. That looks, well, mediocre with potential. But I'll see it anyway because Seyfried looks amazing. She's come a long way since "Mean Girls", where she probably ranked sixth in the pecking order among females in that movie (behind Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Lizzy Caplan and Tina Fey.

From 2004 to 2006, Seyfried had a recurring role on "Veronica Mars". Sure her character, Lilly Kane, started the series dead, but she appeared 11 times in flashbacks, and held her own with Kristen Bell. I have to admit that I never saw her breakout role, 2008's "Mamma Mia!" and I don't watch "Big Love", but I adored Seyfried in "Jennifer's Body." Even with the presence of Megan Fox's body, Seyfried was the most watchable thing in that movie. I've also got both "Dear John" and "Letters to Juliet" in my Netflix queue, solely because of Seyfried.

• Amanda Seyfried on IMDB
• Buy the "Mamma Mia!" Soundtrack on iTunes
• "Red Riding Hood" Official Site

As always with DGOW, I’ll provide a widescreen (1680x1050) image for downloading. If you want to see past DGOW, then just check the archive album.

Glee "The Substitute" Reaction/Song Review

I have a question for the makers of "Glee": is your show something that is supposed to be taken seriously, with fun and creative insight on issues affecting today's youth, or is it some ridiculous fantasy land where the absurd can happen on a weekly basis and we're just supposed to accept it. Because quite frankly, I don't know, and this three episode swing from "Rocky Horror Glee Show" to "Never Been Kissed" to "The Substitute" has just been insane.

Amazingly -- and given the stretches this show has pulled over 29 episodes -- I think this episode was the most ridiculous in "Glee" history. Sue somehow being elevated to interim principal, then getting Figgins and Mr. Schuester fired? Umm, what? Will getting sick and having his ex-wife nurse him back to health. Just gross. And the students revolting over the removal of Tater Tots from the school cafeteria menu. That's… actually, I agree with that one.

Gwyneth Paltrow's Holly Holliday joins Kristin Chenoweth's April Rhodes as "Glee" guest characters who seemed like a good idea on paper, but just didn't work. Even with her big confessional with Will at the end, the character just felt like something out of some absurd high school fantasy land. And then, after all the insanity, everything is all back to status quo at the end, sending the message that we've just wasted an entire hour.

As for the actual glee club, where did this whole "Mr. Shue never lets us do what we want to do" thing come from? I didn't hear anyone objecting to the Journey medley at last year's regionals, they beat him down on Britney and performed "Push It" against his wishes at the beginning of last year. It just added to the whole "WTF?"-ness of the episode. And then, again, with the reversal at the end, it just made it seem like everyone was on crack for the majority of the episode.

The episode wasn't without its solid moments. Sue had some great lines, as did Holly. The interactions between Kurt and Mercedes were kind of sweet. And then there was Brittany, who I want to have my stupid, stupid babies:

"Mr. Schuester taught me the second half of the alphabet. I stopped after M and N. I felt they were too similar and got frustrated."

Even a bad episode of "Glee" has music, so let's get to the song review:

This Week in Buffy History: November 16-22

Back when I relaunched DGOW a few weeks ago, I said I was moving it from Tuesday to Wednesday to space things out a little more on the site. Well, I lied. What I was actually doing was freeing up Tuesday for "This Week in Buffy History." During its life, TWIBH has run on Monday and Sunday, but never on Tuesday, which is the day that "Buffy" aired on for most of its seven-season run (thus the quote "Dawn's in trouble. Must be Tuesday."). So it made natural sense to shift it here. And here it will be. Every Tuesday, until I change my mind again.

November 16

1999 - Episode 4.07 - “The Initiative” airs on The WB

1999 - Angel Episode 1.07 “Bachelor Party” airs on The WB

November 17

1928 - Rance Howard born (played Marcus Rosco in Angel Episode 3.04 “Carpe Noctem”

1972 - Leonard Roberts born (played Forrest Gates in season 4)

1997 - Episode 2.09 “What’s My Line (Part I)” airs on The WB

1998 - Episode 3.07 “Revelations” airs on The WB

2002 - Angel Episode “Apocalypse, Nowish” airs on The WB

November 18

1961 - Nick Chinlund born (played Major Ellis in season 5)

1979 - Elizabeth Anne Allen born (played Amy Madison)

November 19

2001 - Angel Episode 3.09 “Lullaby” airs on The WB

2002 - Episode 7.08 “Sleeper” airs on UPN

2003 - Angel Episode 5.08 “Destiny” airs on The WB

November 20

1971 - Christopher Leps born (played Agent Goodman in Episode 5.04 “Out of My Mind”

1973 - Jonathan M. Woodward born (played Holden Webster on Buffy, Knox on Angel)

2001 - Episode 6.09 “Smashed” airs on UPN

November 21

2000 - Episode 5.08 “Shadow” airs on The WB

2000 - Angel Episode 2.08 “The Shroud of Rahmon” airs on The WB

November 22

UNKNOWN YEAR - Michele Kelly born (played Alonna in Angel Episode 1.20 “War Zone”)

1964 - Khalil Kain born (played Gio in Angel Episode 3.03 “That Old Gang of Mine”)

1967 - Erik Betts born (played Agent Brown in Episode 5.04 “Out of My Mind”)

Remember, you can always get your Buffy anniversary updates at The Ultimate Buffy Calendar (now featuring the release dates of the Buffy: Season 8 comics)

11 MORE Nerdy Moments Guaranteed to Make You Cry

Sometimes I find Twitter to be relatively useless, but then there are those moments where I absolutely love it. For example, today, when I saw this tweet:

Things That Make Nerds Cry: http://bit.ly/cFHQhVless than a minute ago via webDark Horse Comics
DarkHorseComics

That bit.ly link leads to this incredible Topless Robot post about "11 Nerdy Moments Guaranteed to Make You Cry".

To be honest, I only agreed with about three of the choices on the list, but the comments that accompanied the post got me crying for the second time today (the first was when I found out my favorite football team handed over a five-year, $78M contract to a 34-year-old quarterback who hasn't even averaged a touchdown a game this season).

So, inspired by all the suggestions in the comments, and my own opinions, I put together this list of 11 MORE nerdy moments guaranteed to make you cry. I tried to limit the list to sci-fi and fantasy, to stick to the nerdy theme, and I've listed them in chronological order, so not to play favorites. I've also tried not to go to the same movie or TV show more than once, otherwise the list would be nothing but moments from "Buffy" and "Angel".

Oh, and there's no Pixar on the list, because otherwise the whole list would be from Pixar movies because they're a goddamned crying factory that preys upon our emotions like tear-eating wolves or some shit. Seriously, "Toy Story 3" was just unfair. And "Up"? Throwing the emotional scene at us 10 minutes in? WTF? I had to go see the movie a second time to figure out what happened in the 45 minutes I missed crying my eyes out.

OK, on to the list...

The Death of Gwen Stacy - The Amazing Spider-Man (1973)

Yeah, it happened seven years before I was born, and yeah, I knew it was coming the first time I read the issue. I still cried.

Artax Drowns - The NeverEnding Story (1984)

I was only four years old when this came out, so I was at the age when I didn't really understand what was happening. But when Artax didn't emerge from the swamp, I figured it out quickly, and it made four-year-old me pretty sad.

Donovan McNabb's 5-Year Extension: Today's WTF Moment

The last time Donovan McNabb played in an NFL game, he was benched in favor of Rex Grossman, against a team that has won exactly four games in the past two-and-a-half seasons. Now, today, McNabb is apparently receiving a five-year contract extension that will pay him a guaranteed $40 million.

That must have been one hell of a bye week. What was he doing, throwing precise 90-yard bombs? Running 4.1 40s? Healing everyone's concussions? Uniting Democrats and Republicans and erasing the national debt? Seriously, WHAT THE FUCK DID HE DO?!

I mean, really, I've put up with some stupid shit from the Redskins over the years (and I have the Heath Shuler, Michael Westbrook and Deion Sanders jerseys to prove it), but this is a special kind of stupid. The timing of the extension -- fresh off McNabb's benching and the bitch-fest between him and coach Mike Shanahan -- is bad enough, but the reality of the situation makes it so much worse.

Yes, the Redskins are improved from last year, there's no denying that fact. But it's not like McNabb is lighting things up. He ranks 28th in the league in passer rating (who leads that category? Umm... how about the guy who replaced him in Philadelphia, Michael Vick.), 15th in passing yards, 26th in passing touchdowns (tied with among others, the man HE replaced, Jason Campbell) and 18th in yards per attempt. In multiple key categories, McNabb is putting up his worst numbers since his rookie season, when he only started six games.

Toss on top of that the fact that McNabb is already 34 years old, so when this extension kicks in, he'll be 35 and when it runs out (assuming Washington hasn't already cut him by then, which they're likely to have done) he'll be 39. It's not unheard of for a quarterback McNabb's age to have a good season or two.  23 different quarterbacks in NFL history have started 12 games and posted a passer rating of 85.0 or better (about McNabb's career average) at 35 or older. But the Redskins are signing on for FIVE of those seasons, something NO ONE has ever done (John Elway came close, doing it in each of his last four seasons before retiring on top). And they're doing it with a quarterback who is already showing signs of age, while also signed on with a coach who's already clashed with that same quarterback. I'm not going to sit here and hope that McNabb goes from Trent Edwards (career passer rating of 75.8) to Kurt Warner (one of the most successful 35+ QBs in NFL history).

Putting it simply, it's shit like this that makes it hard for me to continue being a Redskins fan. This kind of wanton disregard for the evidence in front of everyone's eyes has been going on for more than a decade. This extension might have made sense coming from the Eagles, rewarding McNabb for his years of service, but not from Washington, where he's won exactly four games. Hell, even Patrick Ramsey did that.

Jersey Monday: Allen Iverson

Allen Iverson is playing basketball in Turkey.

Something just seems wrong about that. There was a time when Iverson was one of my top three favorite players in the NBA. The 76ers throwback red jersey shown here is one of two Iverson Sixers jerseys I have, and had he stayed in Denver another year, I almost certainly would have bought an Iverson Nuggets jersey.

Honestly, based on his play over the last couple seasons, it's clear that Iverson is no longer a star caliber player, but the fact that he couldn't get an NBA job this offseason is surprising. Part of that was obviously due to Iverson's own reluctance to accept a minimum salary deal and reduced role, but still Turkey? I mean, we talkin' 'bout Turkey. Not Spain, not Spain, not Spain, we talkin' 'bout Turkey.

Yeah, let's be honest, that's the only thing Iverson is ever going to be remembered for, so let's just get right to the "Practice" rant, which remains my favorite YouTube video of all-time.

Jersey Monday will continue every Monday until I run out of jerseys to spotlight. And since I’ve got more than 150 of them, that could be awhile.

The Big Bang Theory "The 21-Second Excitation" Reaction

Let's get this out of the way quickly: Evil Wil Wheaton is one of the great recurring characters on television today (and yes, it's accurate to say "character" since Wheaton is playing a twisted version of himself, much like Neil Patrick Harris in the "Harold and Kumar" movies). His appearance in Thursday's "The Big Bang Theory" was flawless.

However, the episode itself was flawed, if only because it seemed to end too early, as if they had more script to film, but ran out of air time.

The Wheaton-infused story featured the guys all getting excited about seeing a re-release of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", with 21 seconds of new footage (thus the title). They stop for dinner, then get in line for a midnight screening, but Wheaton and his buddies show up and skip the line. When Sheldon and crew get to the front of the line, they're stopped and told the theater is full. This leads Sheldon to steal the reels for the movie, causing everyone in the theater to run after him, Leonard, Raj and Wolowitz.

Since Bernadette had no interest in joining Howard and the guys at the movie, she joined Penny for a girls' night, and Amy asked to come along too. However, Amy seemed very confused about the concept of girls' night, proving that her lack of social skills easily matches that of Sheldon. This led to a game of Truth or Dare, in which Amy started asking Penny some hard-hitting questions about her relationship with Leonard, leading Penny to hide in her room.

The latter story was the one that seemed to lack a satisfying conclusion, though the former should have at least earned the post-final-break spot (instead we got a mediocre off-screen joke about Amy engaging in a "harmless experimentation in lesbianism" with Penny). The questions raised by Amy were valid ones, and at some point Penny is going to have to confront the answers. While I appreciate that they may be saving that for a future episode, it left this one without a satisfying conclusion.

Overall, I'd probably give this episode a B-. I'm not saying the episode itself was bad, but at the end I said to myself, "that's it?" I think with five more minutes, it would have bumped up a grade level, and to be fair, those five minutes could have come out of earlier parts of the episode (the restaurant scene, while only three minutes long, seemed about twice as long as it needed to be).

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page.

30 Rock "Brooklyn Without Limits" Reaction

There's something about "30 Rock" that makes them able to take a repeating joke right up to the edge of getting old, but never fall off that cliff. Last night was a perfect example, with congressional candidate Steve Austin (played by "Mad Men"'s John Slattery) and his general insanity. The joke was fairly one-note, and got VERY close to getting old, but just when you thought they'd push it too far, they changed course.

Slattery himself was pitch perfect, playing completely opposite what you'd expect from him. I've become so used to seeing him as Roger Sterling that it's hard to see him playing anything else. His other two most memorable roles for me -- in "Iron Man 2" and "Desperate Housewives" -- were so Sterling-like that they solidified that image. Steve Austin, the independent congressional candidate from Rhode Island, was nothing like Roger Sterling. Even at his drunkest, Roger would never be as insane as Steve, and that in itself was funny.

There were two other stories in this episode. One featured Liz and her new "hot" jeans and dealing with the fact that if she wants to keep them, she'd be supporting Halliburton. There was a great visual gag with "Hot Liz" in the jeans always shown from behind (and I kind of want to know who the body double was, since not only did she look thinner than Tina Fey, she also looked taller). The other had Jenna trying to sabotage Tracy's chances at a Golden Globe, only to change her mind after seeing Tracy's new movie "Hard To Watch: Based off the book "Stone Cold Bummer" by Manipulate" (and the clips for the movie were intentionally unintentionally hilarious). The Liz story was definitely the better of the two, but both stories and the main Jack/Steve story all tied in together thematically. Sure, it seemed a little forced at the end, but it worked.

OK, enough analysis. It's top lines time. And here... we... go!

Being Erica "Physician, Heal Thyself" Reaction

Often times, "Being Erica" walks a fine line between being emotional and being treacly, but in Wednesday's episode, "Physician, Heal Thyself", it managed to stay perfectly on the powerfully emotional side of that line, thanks to a strong performance by Michael Riley (Dr. Tom).

First, let's deal with Erica. This was the episode -- foreshadowed a few weeks back -- in which Kai came back on a regret and ended up sleeping with Erica. When Kai showed up, Erica wasn't sure what to do, so she asked the group, and by extension Dr. Tom, who was having none of it.

That's because Dr. Tom was dealing with his own problems. First, we saw early in the episode that he'd asked Dr. Arthur to take on another patient. However, Dr. Arthur was reluctant to grant that request, because he thought Dr. Tom was taking on too much work and not allowing himself to have any kind of life. And just when things couldn't get strange enough for Dr. Tom, his daughter -- who, remember, he hasn't seen in years -- shows up at home. She's broke, homeless and strung out on heroin, but Dr. Tom is compassionate. He wants to help. Only later, Tom comes home and his wife informs him that Sarah took all their money and all her jewelry, which kind of sends him off the rails. But because he can't take out his anger on the absent (again) Sarah, he takes it out on Erica.

At this point in the episode, this could have easily devolved into a re-hash of Season 2's "Being Dr. Tom", but our glimpse into Dr. Tom's past was a lot more introspective. Thanks to Dr. Arthur, we got to see Dr. Tom's first meeting with Dr. Naadiah, and learned that she gave him a second chance at life. Only he's now become so wrapped up in helping people that he's failing to help himself.

Desktop Girl of the Week: Rachel McAdams

Really, was there any doubt?

After my glowing review of "Morning Glory" (in theaters today!), Rachel McAdams had to be the pick for Desktop Girl of the Week. In fact, I was a little stunned to discover that I hadn't already picked her (I think I was mentally confusing her with Amy Adams, which is understandable since they're both really hot).

McAdams has been a favorite of mine since she co-starred with pre-train wreck Lindsay Lohan in "Mean Girls". I still maintain that "Mean Girls" is one of the funnier movies I've ever seen (and why shouldn't it be? It was written by Tiny Fey), and McAdams was incredible in it, playing well below her real age with believability.

Since "Mean Girls", I've been kind of hit-and-miss with seeing McAdams's movies, but I've enjoyed every one I've seen (yes, even "The Notebook"). My favorite has to be "Sherlock Holmes," even if she is underutilized in it, but that might change soon, since after seeing "Morning Glory," I went and added every one of her movies that I don't own to my Netflix queue.

McAdams has a romance ("The Vow") and a rom-com ("Midnight in Paris") slated to come out next year, along with a potential "Sherlock Holmes" sequel, but I'd really like to see her do more straight-up comedy, because as "Mean Girls" proved (and "Morning Glory" somewhat reaffirmed), she's pretty funny.

Oh, and she's hot. Like, really, really hot.

• Rachel McAdams on IMDB
• Rachel McAdams's Environmental Site
• "Morning Glory" Official Site

As always with DGOW, I’ll provide a widescreen (1680x1050) image for downloading. If you want to see past DGOW, then just check the archive album.

Glee "Never Been Kissed" Reaction/Song Review

First things first, I HATE the title of this episode, if only because "Never Been Kissed" might be my least-favorite movie of all-time.

OK, now that the frivolity is out of the way, let's get to the episode. For the past week, I kept seeing promotions on FOX about how IMPORTANT this episode was. After awhile, I became concerned that the IMPORTANCE would outweight the ENTERTAINMENT. But that wasn't the case at all. In fact, I'd say that this episode had the perfect balance, with the things liek the boys vs girls singing contest and Puck and Artie's probation-enforced friendship. Puck calling Artie "Professor X" was a laugh-out-loud moment for me (even if it was offensive), and their interactions with Brittana were outstanding.

As for the issue at hand. Bullying has become a major media issue, particularly the bullying of LGBT teens. Now, I'm not gay, and I'm not a teen, but I did go to high school, and when I went to high school (cue old man rant) bullying wasn't limited to the LGBT community. Instead, anyone who was different was bullied. At various times during my school years, I was the target of bullying for being Jewish, for being red-headed, for being fat, and at one point for being a fat, red-headed Jew who wore a Public Enemy T-Shirt and bright red Air Jordans. But I think in today's society, there's still a portion of the population that thinks of being gay as being the "most" different, and treats them more harshly because of it.

For the most part, "Glee" has done an admirable job of treating bullying as a wider issue, with people of multiple backgrounds getting bullied at various times throughout the show's run. However, prior to tonight, that bullying had mostly been played for comedic purposes, whether it be slushees or dumpsters or Sue Sylvester's general cartoonish villainy.

But tonight, this wasn't about slushees or dumpsters. It was a forum for dealing with the increasing bullying Kurt has received for being gay, and it was done without being preachy. Chris Colfer did an excellent job with a delicate subject. I only wish Mike O'Malley, who did great work dealing with sensitive issues during Season 1, could have been involved. As for the big twist with the bullying storyline, well, anyone who watched "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and remembers the Larry storyline saw that coming, and to be honest, I was a little disappointed that "Glee" went in that direction. I think the message of the episode would have been more effective if the bully was just being an ass because he thought that's what he was supposed to do, rather than compensating for something.

Still, I thought "Glee" did excellent work expanding the issue beyond Kurt to include a storyline with Coach Beiste, who thanks to her name, looks and chosen profession has been treated as an outcast for longer than Kurt's been alive. And while Kurt thought the fact that he'd never been kissed at 17 and gay was a big deal, Beiste's confession to Will that she'd never been kissed at 40 was heartbreaking, and really the high point of the episode.

On to the song reviews, and with all the importance going on in this episode, there wasn't nearly as much room for singing, which is kind of sad:

How I Met Your Mother "Natural History" Reaction

"How I Met Your Mother" is now in its sixth season, and sometimes it comes off feeling a little predictable. Last night was not one of those times.

In "Natural History", we learned that Ted's nemesis Zoey is actually a high-society wife, and after a bit of duplicitiousness from both of them, a friendship seemed to be budding. As much as I'm loving Jennifer Morrison as Zoey, last night's episode was stolen by Kyle MacLachlan as George "The Captain" Van Smoot, aka Zoey's husband. His interactions with Ted led to my second-favorite moment of the episode, when he admitted to Ted that "The Captain" was a self-assigned title and that all the best nicknames are given by yourself, leading Ted to call himself "Galactic President Superstar McAwesomeville." Nice.

But as much as I wish I could say this episode was about Ted and Zoey, it was really about growing up. When Ted called Zoey "a bored little trophy wife who likes to play activist when the shops on Fifth Avenue are closed", that wasn't a childish insult, it was an adult insight. When Marshall admitted to Lily that he wanted to take the five-year offer from GNB, it was about putting the dreams of his youth aside for the responsibility of adulthood.

And then there was Barney. Sure, he and Robin were acting like little kids, touching all the exhibits that had "Do Not Touch" signs, but Barney was confronted with adulthood in a real way when he found out about his father. Unlike a lot of past moments on this show, this was played down, and not played for laughs. It really caught me off guard -- much like it caught Barney off guard -- and it totally worked. The aftermath scene with him and Robin was even better, and you can see the two of them bonding more than they did when they were in a relationship with each other.

In all honesty, this may have been my favorite episode of the season. Sure, it wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as some of the others (though the sight of Barney decked out in the Egyptian costume was pretty good), but it was, well, more grown up. And I think that's a good thing.

For more coverage of the 2010-11 television season, visit the AdamReisinger.com TV Reviews home page. 

Review: "Morning Glory" with Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford

When I first got my passes to see "Morning Glory", I figured I'd go see it because I adore Rachel McAdams and Harrison Ford is generally pretty awesome. I wasn't sure what to expect from the movie itself, and I certainly didn't think I'd come away feeling like I'd seen one of my favorite movies of the year, but that's exactly what happened.

Now, before I get to the reasons why I liked "Morning Glory", let me issue the caveat that this movie isn't going to appeal to everyone, and for good reason. For the most part, the film -- a Bad Robot production, which I wasn't aware of prior to the opening title screen -- follows a standard Hollywood formula, right down to the "fixing things up" montage in the middle and the all-too-perfect ending. There are at least two hinted-at subplots that just disappear without any resolution, and Ty Burrell is criminal underutilized. To put it simply, the movie isn't going to win any awards anytime soon, and may not even do that well at the box office.

But, for me, this was an incredibly enjoyable movie. There were large swaths of the movie that I felt were written just for me, because I could relate to either the characters (particularly McAdams' Becky) or the scenarios so well. In many ways, the movie made me long for the days of working live television, most notably in a scene early in the movie when Becky goes through her routine, which involves waking up at 1:30 a.m. to put on a TV show in the wee hours of the morning (oh, and in case you're wondering, my situation was reversed, and I'd often wake up at about 2 or 3 p.m. to prepare to work until 3 in the morning).

The backbone of the movie is the relationship between McAdams' Becky, the producer of a failing morning show called "Daybreak" at the fictional IBS network, and Ford's Mike Pomeroy, an old-school newsman in the Walter Cronkite mold. (As an aside, there's a scene in the movie where a random person on the street mistakes Pomeroy for Rather. The child of the woman sitting next to me in the theater asked "who's Dan Rather?"I shuddered. Who's Dan Rather?! Sorry... back to the review...)