“The Goodbye Gossip Girl”

Time to toss your caps and gowns girls and gals, it’s graduation day for our favorite Gossip Girl socialites.

For the first time this season those at the focus of the gossip fight back. After being interrupted right in the middle of their big day the class of 2009 can’t help but have their feelings hurt as cruel labels are handed out to each who matter, cause those with new names to feel abused and those with no names to feel ignored. You really can’t win, can you?

Serena is especially tired of all the drama that’s come her way due to Gossip Girls’ scheming. She launches a witch hunt to find out exactly who is responsible for the brutal blasts. First finding support among her tightest friends; Dan, Chuck, Nate and Blair, she then manages to anger the whole class as Gossip Girl fights back. Promising to not only keep her identity a secret, but to also follow the crew right into college. Heaven help us! I was hoping the buck would stop here.

Those staying behind may receive slightly more peace. Jenny is crowned Queen Bee, already determined to lead a peaceful pack. Even better, true love has found Lily and Poppa Humphrey during their new engagement. Hope their love can make it through another shocking discovery, because I think they’re about to meet the son they once left, found and lost again.

So, will next year bring peaceful bliss to the new couple Chuck and Blair with Georgina ready to show up at her door? Could Dan’s brother end up his roommate or best friend first? Will Serena finally find her Dad? Will this show survive another season? As long as the tweens are alive,  GG will thrive.

XOXO ~Dena

And it all comes down to this.

Tonight, CBS aired their 18 live season finale of Survivor. After spending 39 days and nights out in the wild of Brazil James “JT” Thomas Jr. outwitted, outlast and of course, outplayed all 15 members of his competition.

Perhaps, making his biggest betrayal of the season in order to persevere in strategy J.T. and his strongest alliance member sent home Taj, their third musketeer. This left them with Erinn, who, let’s face it, stood no chance of winning more than one of two jury votes if she were to make it to the final two.

After winning immunity, yet again, the game was completely in J.T.’s hands as he had to decide between his best friend on the show Stephen whom he’d promised to bring to the end and Erinn, the girl who he could most definitely win again.

After bringing along Stephen and pleading out his case to the seven jury members it turns out that J.T. was able to be both loyal and a vote-sweeping winner. Winning every single one of the jury members votes this good ol’ country boy made it to the very end and walked away, not only a winner, but with several new friendships that may just last a life time. Not many people who have won Survivor can say that.

It’s true, I never did want J.T. to win, but obviously I missed something about this survivor that his cast members never forgot. He must have truly swept them off their feet. To that, I tip my hat. Well done good ol’ boy!

Bones decided to go alternate reality on us for its season finale. Bones and Booth are cast as a couple who own a nightclub called “the Lab.” Bones and Booth’s nightclub is the site of a murder and the investigators are Booth’s brother Jared and Cam. The show uses the dream episode as a good excuse to drag in every actor who’s played a lab assistant or bit character to come back for more. While last week the crime was secondary and somewhat lame, in the finale the crime is the centerpiece of the story.

The murder in the bathroom of “the Lab” brings all of the employees into the mix as suspects. Sweets is the bartender. Angela is the hostess. Hodgins is a crime novelist. Even Zach reappears as a goofy busboy. The arrows of the investigation seem to repeatedly point toward Bones and Booth. Their ever loyal employees don’t help matters by concealing evidence and generally acting like detectives. Evidence points everywhere but is all inconclusive. From gang ties to possible infidelity between the fantasy-couple, motives are everywhere. In the counter investigation that Booth is conducting Jared his brother and Bones’ father Max come up as prime suspects.

Bones gets a complete head scratcher of a guest star for its season finale. Motley Crue shows up to play “the Lab” as part of Booth’s head trauma-inspired dream. At the same time, Jared and Cam end up in a standoff in the club’s alley. Jared is exposed as the murderer. He killed the victim protecting his brother wife who the victim had come to kill as retribution over disputed protection money. Bones steps into the fray, thanking Jared for his protection and asking that he now give himself up. He does and is taken into custody just in time to have Motley Crue play “Dr Feelgood.”

Booth awakens in a hospital bed with Bones gently writing at his bedside. Teary and relieved Bones rushes to him. She explains that he’s been a coma for several days but that his operation was a success. Booth looks quizzically at Bones and asks her “who are you?” The season ends.

Bones does a pretty good job of playing up its campy side this week. Keeping track of each character’s new role is a little difficult, and that’s to the episode’s detriment.  Generally though, I found it more fun that it sounds on paper. My general problem with this episode is that it just felt drama-less. I figure most of the audience assumed that this was all an intense dream sequence brought on by Booth’s brain surgery. Thus, where is the tension? The only tension the episode is able to serve up in anticipation of next season is Booth’s amnesia. Though that may play itself into a more interesting set of stories next season, in itself it doesn’t carry enough weight. Here’s looking forward to next season’s round of fresh corpses and unrealized sexual tension.

One of the best lessons that Seinfeld taught TV networks is that it really isn’t important to have life lessons built into prime time sitcoms. 30 Rock has been a great torchbearer for that sentiment. The biggest emotional reach they decided to take in setting up this week’s season finale was to have Jack find his long lost biological father.In an attempt to generate more interest, the long lost father is in need of a kidney. Despite that somewhat lame cliffhanger, 30 Rock did try to deliver some season ending fireworks via a round of high powered musical guest stars.

After barging in on Jenna’s newfound stardom, Liz goes on a daytime talk show giving relationship advice. Despite being a total wreck herself, Liz is a smash hit. She hands out the same meaningless catchphrase “that’s a deal breaker” over and over to the delight of squealing women. Liz for the first time, is getting recognized.

While hesitant at first, Jack becomes enamored of his new found liberal father. After testing the two and finding their kidneys are not a match, Jack is off the hook. However, Jack has taken a shine to his new father and he pulls out all the stops to create a “charity” with the sole purpose of getting his father a kidney. Elvis Costello, Clay Aiken, Wyclef, Sheryl Crowe and a whole gang of others are assembled to awkwardly sing a crazy tribute to Jack’s father and his need for a new kidney. Its very funny and it was impressive to see all the musicians having fun playing with their public images.

Its was a good episode to be sure, but it seemed like a low note to end a season with. Though the episode was still better than any episode of Kath and Kim, I expected more as a wrap up to 30 Rock’s most successful season. Never the less, I hope we’ll get to see more of Alan Alda as Jack’s father next season. Plus the fact that a quirky and smart show like 30 Rock is safe from cancellation should be comforting. I hope we get to see Tina Fey and the rest of the writers feel some of the freedom that comes with that success and take a few more risks as well.

“Here’s to Future Days/ Now or Never”

This may possibly be the most heart-wrenching season finale that Grey’s Anatomy has ever have. With a two hour episode I can’t possibly provide you with all the incredible details, but the breakdown is as follows.

Derek awakes, the morning after Izzie’s wedding, with the knowledge of how to remove her tumor. After a heated debate that pin Meredith, Cristina and Izzie up against Derek and Karev the groups decides that surgery would be best as opposed to a cocktail of treatments. This, however, put not only Izzy’s life on the line, but her memory and personality as they all know it.

Incredibly enough, the surgery is a success and all parts of the tumor are gone. With a do not resistate hanging in the balance, Izzie wakes up completely alert and any fear of brain damage is quickly forgotten. That is, until she can’t remember what happened five minutes ago and finds herself on constant instant replay mode.

On the other side of the hospital the rest of the team is also elbows deep in drama. Hunt almost joins the army but decides instead to stay and give his relationship with Cristina and his family a fighting chance. George, however, after being inspired by Hunt and a patients tales of acceptance and purpose, decides to enlist. The whole hospital goes crazy forming opinions as to whether George is incredibly or insane and a large group of the asylum favoring crew decide to stage an intervention for the end of the work day in order to convince him to stay.

Other, more minor, dramas that occur results in Bailey bawling her eyes out to the Chief when she admits that her husband gave her an ultimatim. Either she chooses general surgery or she loses him. He fears that a future in pediatrics will keep her from her own child and husband. Unwilling to be in a relationship where she’s forced to decide she opts for general surgery sans husband and realizes that she’s now on the tough path of single motherhood.

After a John Doe patients arrives having been dragged for a block under a bus trying to save a pedestrians life and with Izzie’s life in the balance Meredith decides to take control of her own. Derek and her exchange promises to each other and declare themselves married. At the same time Lexi turns down Sloan’s proposal to start a life together but makes it obvious that she would still like to carry on with their relationship as it is for now.

So much for excusing the details right? I told you they were too good to miss! Now I hope you were paying attention because in the last paragraph I told you about a John Doe patient of Meredith and the crews who was near death. It was clear from the start for me that he recognized Meredith and I suspected that she was unknowingly working on her father. It doesn’t become obvious until right before Izzie recovers her memory that the John Doe is George. He’d been given the day off to spend time with family before shipping off and no one even knew!

Just as Izzie is celebrating her recovered memory with Karev after he completely blew up at her with words he’s sure to regret during a moment of frustration, we see that George is flat lining during surgery. And then she’s gone. Just as was rumored all season, Isabel Stevens was given her curtain call. The elevator opens to Izzie in a beautiful ball gown reminiscent to earlier seasons and she gets on pushing the button awaiting who might open the door. Hoping for Denny, but knowing better, there stands George. Dressed out in full military ensemble the pair are ready to descend into the next life together, somewhat softening the blow that both of their deaths have caused, yet reminding us that two incredible characters are no longer a part of what we know as the love and drama on Grey’s Anatomy.

With only five contestants left, tonight’s Survivor was a real nail-biter.

On the one hand you’ve got Coach. He’s arrogant, fake, a drama king, and yet, a huge fan of the good ol’ boys club. The club in which J.T. holds a V.I.P. membership. With J.T. always holding all the cards, and Stephen previously willing to go along with whatever his country buddy suggested, all hope looked lost for our other contestant on the chopping board, Erinn.

Truth be told Erinn hasn’t looked like much of a contender from day one. Physically, she’s no star athlete. Mentally, she’s a follower. She sort of reminds me of last season’s Susan to be honest. The whole season Susie merely floated along practically forgotten about. Yet, when it came to the season finale, she came in as the winner’s biggest threat. Who knew? That’s how I feel about Erinn. She’s still here and moving on to live another day… who knew?

Thank God Coach is gone though. It supremely irritated me to see him so easily pull the wool over J.T. and Stephen’s eyes when he all of a sudden tried to avoid exile island by playing up his weaknesses. Then, to play the martyr on top of it, you’ve got to be kidding me! I’ll give him this, he knew how to play the game. He knew exactly how to suck up to J.T. and be the “brave warrior” role model. I just thank God that Stephen’s smarter than I once gave him credit for. Perhaps he caught on to the fact that J.T. just might throw him under the bus in order to save Coach for the final two in the end. And why not? Just as Jeff said during their final challenge, this is the challenge they’d be waiting for “young buck” against “old warrior.”

My vote for the season winner: Stephen. He earned some major brownie points in my book tonight.

This has been an uncharacteristically uneven season of House. there were episodes of pure brilliance like last weeks, and still other’s that felt stale and repetitive. The formula that has driven the show has become so expected that sometimes it isn’t really important to know much about the illnesses at all. Its Dr House himself (and to a lesser extent the crew) who make the show worth watching. This season-ending episode was proof positive of that. Last week, House kicked his drug habit, stopped hallucinating and finally slept with Cuddy. It was a pretty big week. This week, we’re left to deal with the aftermath.

The patient this week is a man whose left a right brain functions are deviating. So much so that his left arm (operated by the left brain) slaps his girlfriend around while the other hand caresses her. Though it is pretty funny seeing the patient dealing with a sort of tourette’s syndrome for the hand, in reality its a bad metaphor for the conflict that House lives every day.

In typical fashion, he starts by pranking Cuddy and she responds in kind. As their back and forth marches on with eye rolling predictability, the patient and his separated brain illness gets worse. The high point of their pranks is the addition of an elderly patient who the two use as a pawn. The elderly patient is played by TV legend Carl Reiner. There’s no need to go into Mr Reiner’s biography here, but for those who don’t know who he is should check his IMDB profile.

Another left over from last week is the conflict between Chase, Cameron and Cameron’s dead husband’s sperm. Cameron wants to keep it “in case” things don’t work out with Chase. Chase eventually decides that regardless of how strange it may be for his wife to keep her sperm-cicle, its something he can live with. This whole plot just makes no sense to me. Maybe I just don’t get the symbolism of the frozen man mayo, but it feels like a completely unneeded addition.

House and Wilson talk and inexplicably, Wilson suggests that House ramp up the crazy.  Taking his advice to heart, House stands on the balcony of the hospital and makes the grand announcement that he and Cuddy have slept together. Obviously furious, Cuddy fires him while House suggests they move in together. Then seemingly at random, House is approached by the elderly patient. Talking to the patient about his problem somehow triggers his epiphany.

It isn’t pretty.  All the good feelings, all of House’s memories about kicking his drug habit and sleeping with Cuddy where hallucinations. She was never there. He never quit popping pills. It was all in his head. Now, as House realizes how crazy he really is, CTB and Kutner reappear. Now rudderless and terrified, House admits that he needs help. We’re supposed to believe that House spent all day thinking that his bottle of pills was Cuddy’s discarded lipstick. Its a bit more far fetched than usual, but it is a show stopper.

As the season ends, happy scenes of Chase and Cameron being married are intercut with grim shots of Wilson driving House to a dark and creepy psychiatric hospital. There aren’t any answers delivered here, only a cut to black. The patient is simply left without a proper resolution. Sure there is a quick few lines from Taub about their misdiagnosis, but generally this proves my earlier point. The illnesses and the diagnosis of those illnesses is just window dressing.

All season I clamored for change in a show that I love, but found stagnant. In the last several episodes, Kutner has died and House has gone crazy. In taking these risks, House has cracked open a whole new book on how these characters can interact with each other. Who knows how evil a jerk a completely sober Gregory House could be?

” Valley Girls” (S02E24)

You’ve got to love a good flash back Gossip Girl style.

Brittany Snow guest starred as a young Lillian who, once expelled from boarding school, runs away from home with mom to crash at her music mogul Dad’s pad. Too bad 80′s star Andrew McCarthy won’t have her. It seems there’s still a little bit of brat stuck in this pack.

Though I can’t remember one present day episode where Lilian’s sister graces us with an appearance, I really can’t wait for that day. She was everything a cool older sister is meant to be and more. First by standing up for what she believes in against a youthful Van derWoodsen, and then again by bailing lil sis Lillian out of jail.

Hmm, bailing someone out of jail, sound familiar? Perhaps that’s what inspired grandma to show up at Serena’s defense when grown-up Lillian had her thrown in a cell to save socialite face. In any case, Serena’s just as determined as her mother was at that age. She doesn’t allow either grandma or mom to come to her rescue. Instead she breaks out for the only important life event of high school still left to complete: Prom.

Proudly crowned prom King and Queen after Chuck stuffed the ballot box, Nate and Blair achieved everything she once dreamed of and more. And then, suddenly, he wasn’t worth much more. Officially offing it with Nate, Blair decided that she was ready for bigger and better things, apparently bigger than staying with her high school boyfriend.  That’s a pretty lame reason if you ask me. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chuck is more the reason then she’d like to let on. We shall see…

While there’s been some pretty compelling posts around the net suggesting that Dollhouse is Josh Whedon’s best work, the general consensus seems to be that Dollhouse was a massively ambitious disappointment.  In truth, the potential that was there has only been showing up over the last five episodes. What will humanity look like when all of our experiences and personality traits are just space on a hard drive? What makes you human if your body and mind are separable? What is the difference between exploitation for the common good and evil? All surprisingly deep philosophical questions for a show whose original facade was that of a high end brothel. Though wrapped in kinky fantasies and kung fu kicks, Dollhouse really did try to tackle those ideas. Sometimes with a fair amount of success, like the episode “Needs” but also with some shallow detours like the god awful “Stage Fright.” In the final tally, Dollhouse simply wasn’t able to grow up enough to catch a steady audience over its twelve episode run and this will likely be the last episode ever broadcast.

This is it. Alpha has Echo captive out in the wild and Ballard is captured by the Dollhouse. What exactly the clearly insane ex-active has in mind with Echo isn’t clear but its bound to be ugly.

Through out the episode we catch flashbacks of Alpha’s time as a doll. Turns out Doctor  Saunders has a much bigger role to play than we had originally known. She too was an active. The House’s most popular in fact. Alpha’s non fatal attack on her seems to be even more significant now. After Echo arrives, Alpha takes an interest in Dr. Saunders aka Whiskey, the same way Victor had been taking an interest in Sierra.

Ballard and Mrs Dewitt are joining forces to try to capture Alpha and Echo. Ballard seems to be able to handle all of it with surprising smoothness considering how obsessed he’s been with the Dollhouse. Ballard attempts to help Topher, Dewitt and Boyd decipher what Alpha’s motives and target could be. Realizing that the first thing that Alpha destroyed was his primary or original personality, Topher discovers that Alpha too has stolen Echo’s primary personality.

Now having built his own imprint chair and kidnapped a hostage, Alpha’s plan for Echo starts to crystalize. Alpha wants to build his own perfect mate. To do that, he has to remove Echo’s true self and dump all of her previous imprints into her at once. To do that, Alpha uses his homemade brain chair to put Caroline (Echo’s true personality) into their hostage. At this point Alpha delivers a psychotic and gripping soliloquy. It’s proof that Alpha has lived up the boogeyman persona that’s been building all season long. Tudyk is once again excellent, playing up the glitches in Alpha’s programming. One personality overrides another as Alpha’s ticks and freaks out.

Once again in flashback, we see Alpha and Whiskey in the Dollhouse. Whiskey is the most popular doll and is consistently being called out on jobs. Suddenly Alpha appears over her and says in a creepy childlike voice “Whiskey, let Echo be number one” and slashes her face. Now subdued Alpha appears to be getting another treatment, but something goes wrong and Alpha’s imprint is warped as he struggles.
Back on the manhunt, Ballard tries to understand Alpha in some deeper sense. He thinks the actives still posses a soul and that understanding who Alpha was before he was wiped could tell them who he has become. You can almost hear the Whedon sub plot bells ringing.

Now with Caroline imprinted on the hostage, Alpha sets out to make Echo into his own super crazy love partner. Alpha fancies himself god-like and superior to ordinary people and he intends to make Echo the same. Thus transforming her into his “Omega”. Caroline is trying to appeal to Echo. Its fascinating for the mind, encased in another body to try to talk rationally with her own body, even without her persona. Alpha expects Echo to kill Caroline and exorcise her original self permanently. Echo isn’t going that way though.

In a fantastic twist, the newly crowned Omega turns on Alpha laying him out with a pipe to the face. Even with all of her actives in her head, Echo maintains a feeling of self. Her inner soul as Ballad called it, continues to see the evil nature of Alpha. Who we discover through Ballard’s detective work was well on his way to becoming psycho before the Dollhouse picked him up. After some esoteric conversation with her own mind, Omega and Alpha begin the inevitable fisticuffs. Omega gets the upper hand and it looks like we may have a neat tidy ending, but just as Omega/Echo is about to escape Alpha shoots Caroline in the throat.

Ballard and Boyd are breaking out their old police skills as they track down the victim of Alpha’s last act of free will before becoming an active. Once they do, they discover that she too has the facial scars that Alpha has made a calling card. It seems like Balard and Boyd’s sleuthing could turn something up and the two are closing in.

Alpha has the upper hand and he forces Echo back into his home made chair. Claiming he’s going to destroy the hard drive with Caroline on it if she doesn’t comply. Echo is having none of it though. Now reversing roles, Echo is chasing Alpha just as Ballard and Boyd arrive.

Now with all the principles in place for a finale showdown, there’s an excellent foot chase using a power station as a backdrop. During the fray, Alpha throws away the hard drive containing Caroline. Ballard catches the hard drive thus finally getting to save Caroline in an incredibly esoteric way. Alpha escapes to be a specter should the Dollhouse magically get renewed.

Back at the Dollhouse, Topher begins to see that the active Whiskey is peaking through the cracks in the composite of Doctor Saunders. She too is able to see beyond her imprint. Ballard is working at the Dollhouse now in exchange for “Millie’s” freedom. In the final moment as the actives return to their pods for sleep Echo whispers one name “Caroline.”

Whedon’s premise became obvious. Though personalities and memories can be calculated and copied, a person’s true nature can’t be overwritten. Its a very good ending to what became a very good series. It had the potential to be great, but Dollhouse just never was able to get there. Sadly, it looks like Whedon will once again be without a network TV home. Though the airwaves might be poorer for that, I’m guessing with the success of Dr. Horrible, the internet will be made richer.

30 Rock has gotten attention as being a show created mostly for liberals. With Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin impersonation and Alec Baldwin’s very active political endorsements, its hard not to agree with that. Compared to the first two seasons however, the third season has been relatively independent. This weeks episode might show a return to the leftist bent of the past two seasons just in time for the season finale.

The show left us with a minor cliffhanger last week. Jack discovered that the man he thought was his father was not. So with Liz egging him on, Jack goes on the hunt for his real father. Jack hires his shady PI, played well by the terrific Steve Buscemi, to find his father. The Investigator returns with a list of three possibilities. Pushing him toward a “Mama Mia” moment, Liz summons all of the men who could be his father. Its immediately obvious who Jack’s father is. Mr. Green, played by Alan Alda is the opposite of the corporate conservative Jack. He’s extremely liberal, possibly Jewish and worst of all, in need of a kidney. Jack’s decision with the kidney is left for next week.

Jenna is finally having some success on the show with a new catchphrase. Its a line that Liz wrote, but that Jenna is getting all the credit for. Liz’s frustration boils over when Jenna is asked to be photographed for a magazine article proclaiming her the funniest woman in the world. Insisting she gets credit too Liz tags along, eventually stealing the spotlight from Jenna but not before making an ass of herself.

Tracey annunces he has an illegitimate son who he has been supporting financially for the last three years. Though the cast eventually tells him that this man is probably not his son, Tracey explains that he knew the whole time and that he was supporting the scammer as some sort of charity work. Tracey continues to be both stupid and wise.

30 Rock, like most comedies, probably doesn’t feel the need to ramp up tension in order to try to get viewers to tune in for its season finale. The Jack’s long lost father who needs a kidney story is as close as they’ve come. Although I’d love to see more of Alan Alda, I’m not sure that he’s a compelling enough twist to carry viewers through the summer rerun break. Regardless of that, 30 Rock has settled in to be one of the most successful comedies on TV.