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'Bones' is back! The show's eighth season is premiering tonight on FOX at 8/7 C.
FOX's decision to have it's shows return a week earlier than most other networks may be one of their smartest moves yet. Monday nights are going to be a tough crowd this year...'How I Met Your Mother' and 'Dancing with the Stars' will be 'Bones' main competition in the same time-slot.
'Castle', a show which attracts the same type as viewers as 'Bones', had a strong season last year. Arguably last season was one of 'Bones' weakest. There was a combination of:
a shortened season (due to Emily Deschanel's pregnancy)
writing said pregnancy into the series (meaning fewer case investigation with the show's lead duo)
a decrease in chemistry between the two main characters (unclear if this is because Deschanel and Boreanaz can play subtext better than they can play main text)
'Castle', meanwhile, offered:
a moving PTSD episode (leading to a PRISM award win by Katic and Huertas)
a rift between it's two main characters (which only lead fans to want them to get together more)
further investigation into the murder which propels the series (that of Beckett's mother)
a coupling of the show's main characters that was intense and steamy (proving that Fillion and Katic can do main text as well as they can do subtext)
If fans of both shows are going to choose only one series to watch this season, it's probably going to be 'Castle'. Because of that, it makes perfect sense to start airing episodes of 'Bones' tonight (a full week before the premiere of 'Castle'). If the season opener of 'Bones' is strong enough, it may sway some of the audience toward watching 'Bones' live each week, and leaving 'Castle' the the DVR.
The premiere episode of 'Bones' promises a couple of things: a blonde Brennan, a pissed-off Booth, a reveal of which members of the gang have been aiding fugitive Brennan, and a reunion.
3 Ocak 2013 Perşembe
Grey's Anatomy S9Ep1: Going Going Gone Recap
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'Grey's Anatomy' is back in an episode that's as good as it is confusing.
As a quick reminder, last season ended with a bang. Literally. A plane carrying a team of doctors that included Meredith, Cristina, Derek, Mark, Lexie, and Arizona crashed. In the sob filled finale, Lexie died while pinned under the plane. Cristina injured her arm, Arizona was bleeding badly from her leg, Derek had a damaged hand, and Mark had some serious internal injuries.
You'd expect the premiere episode to pick up right after the crash, but instead the episode leapt several months ahead.
This leap was clearly done to increase the suspense throughout the episode: the viewer didn't know who had lived/who had died, and how each person was impacted. Unfortunately, it also made the episode slightly confusing. There's a thin line between being intrigued and being irritated. Luckily, this episode verged on the intriguing side.
The episode was intercut with numerous home video style flashbacks. The first one was filming Derek and Mark getting ready for Derek's first wedding. As with the rest of the videos, it featured Sloane prominently. This foreshadowed things to come.
We see a timid intern trying to avoid her mean resident nicknamed "Medusa". As the intern slowly approaches Meredith and Bailey, it is clear that Meredith is the resident in the question.
Meredith as a mean resident? It actually makes a lot of sense. Regardless of how the plane crash impacted her, Meredith was trained by Bailey...and they called her 'The Nazi' in the first two season's of the show.
Derek is back in the hospital dressed in scrubs. This alleviates our concern that he'd never be able to perform surgery again. Except it turns out that although he has been cleared for surgery he has yet to perform a single operation. He's nervous about his hand clenching at a crucial moment. Having hand seizures while said hand is inside someone's brain probably isn't the safest.
But today he wants to perform his first surgery. Callie asks him if he's sure he want to do it today of all days, but he insists that he needs it. What is so big about today?
When he walks into the surgery Callie is standing there along with the other surgical staff and they give him a standing ovation. Despite the fact that he says that "it's a wonderful day to save lives" Derek finds himself unable to complete the surgery. His hand shakes--whether it's mental or physical remains to be seen.
Alex is back to his Season One ways; he's making out with random interns in the supply closets. It seems he has delayed going to Hopkins because he has been covering Peds. Arizona is apparently gone. We don't know what's going on: Is she dead? Has she had a nervous breakdown?
Bailey's boyfriend has left to attend his out of state medical program but he is visiting her a lot. And they're having sex. A lot. She seems really happy. So happy in fact, that Webber admits to her that she is no longer called 'The Nazi'. She has a new--less scary--nickname. She begs him to tell her what it is, but he awkwardly refuses. Seems like the ex-Chief is still afraid of the wrath of Bailey.
Everyone at the hospital keeps on mentioning 5 o'clock as though something major is happening at that time. As soon as the camera pans to Mark Sloane lying on a hospital bed, attached to numerous wires and monitors, it's clear that the 5 o'clock deadline has to do with him. Sloane is in a coma and based on his wishes he doesn't want to be kept on life support for more than 30 days. The 30 days are up at 5 o'clock and the doctors realize the severity of that situation: at 5 o'clock Mark Sloane will die.
Cristina is now at her new job in Minnesota and it's clear she's not happy. Despite her displeasure with her supervisors and the climate, even Cristina is aware that 5 o'clock is approaching. Despite the fact that she and Meredith talk often via video conference it's soon clear that they have yet to visit each other. Presumably because they've both terrified of flying after the plane crash.
Although Callie wasn't in the plane crash it is clear she has been emotionally impacted as well. She is trying to hold it together--even going so far as sitting at Sloane's bedside and joking that she's taking her top off (in hopes of snapping him out of the coma). However, she breaks a couple of times during the episode. Her tension is evident when Owen introduces her to the new Peds surgery resident (Dr. Barnett) who is "replacing" Arizona. Does that mean she actually died in the crash?
It's especially heartbreaking when minutes later we see Callie crouched in a supply closet sobbing. Is she crying because Arizona is dead? In the middle of her emotional breakdown the supply closet door swings open and Alex pushes an intern inside. They begin making out but stop abruptly when they catch sight of Callie. She screams at them to "get out!". The intern promptly leaves, but Alex hovers in the doorway. Callie continues to order him "out" but instead he closes the door and leans against it. Alex may have reverted to some of his old ways, but he isn't the jerk he once was. He still cares about his friends.
Dr. Webber prepares to turn off Sloane's life support while Callie and Derek watch. Although it makes one wonder if Sloane has no other family, it is certainly true that Callie and Derek are the closest things to family he has at the hospital. Except for Lexie that is.
In an incredibly sad flashback, we see a home movie shot at Callie and Arizona's wedding. The videographer asks Sloane who he thinks he'll be with when he's old and grey. He admits he doesn't think he'll be with anyone, but if there is one person he's with it would be Lexie Grey. Since Lexie died in the plane crash and Sloane is about to die this statement is all the more powerful.
As Mark is dying his friends and colleagues gather close. While Callie and Derek are the only ones in the actual room, Bailey and her boyfriend, Webber, Alex and Meredith all gather close. The horribly depressing scene is briefly interrupted by a slightly comedic moment. Bailey, who has been trying to find out her new nickname for most of the episode, is abruptly told by Alex that her new nickname is BCB, or Booty Call Bailey due to the excitement (and copious amounts of sex) she experiences when her boyfriend visits.
Meredith can't deal with the stress of waiting for Mark's death. She announces that she's going to see Cristina and rushes out of the hospital.
At the airport Meredith catches a glimpse of Alex and gets his attention. She's mad at him because he's leaving without saying good bye to her. He yells that he can't stick around just because everyone else is leaving and she doesn't want to be alone. As Alex heads to his plane he catches sight of Owen.
Meredith gets on the plane, but freaks out just as it is getting ready to takeoff. It is clear that she is having flashbacks to the crash.
Back in Joe's bar Meredith calls Cristina over her iPad. They both takes shots together, states apart but facing each other as always. Meredith is shocked when Alex sits down next to her. He admits that he couldn't get on his plane and that he's not leaving. He asks Cristina to tell Owen that he wants his job back. He tells her that he saw Owen at the airport and assumes that Owen's coming to visit her--
But he isn't. We see April working at her family's pig farm. Owen approaches and tells her that she has her job back. He said he's made too many bad decisions and lost too many people. He wants her back at the hospital.
Callie walks into her apartment, devastated after Mark's death. She opens the door to a bedroom and we see Arizona, lying in bed, her back facing the door. Callie tells Arizona that she needs to "snap out of it" and reminds her that their daughter just lost a father, and Callie just lost her best friend. Arizona turns around and yells at Callie that she can't forgive her because she cut off her leg. She yanks back the blanket and we see that one of Arizona's legs has been amputated.
And the episode ends.
The entire episode is relatively sob inducing. Sloane's death and the devastation of his friends is heartbreaking to watch. Discovering Arizona's amputation at the very end of the episode makes the whole thing even more anxiety provoking.
Side notes: We're introduced to some new members of the cast. It seems clear that two interns, Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) and Heather (Tina Majorino) will become central this season. The first appendectomy, designed to be failed by a weak intern (remember George's experience in Season One of 'Grey's'?), was performed by Dr. Wilson. This made her the most central new cast member of this episode.
As a quick reminder, last season ended with a bang. Literally. A plane carrying a team of doctors that included Meredith, Cristina, Derek, Mark, Lexie, and Arizona crashed. In the sob filled finale, Lexie died while pinned under the plane. Cristina injured her arm, Arizona was bleeding badly from her leg, Derek had a damaged hand, and Mark had some serious internal injuries.
You'd expect the premiere episode to pick up right after the crash, but instead the episode leapt several months ahead.
This leap was clearly done to increase the suspense throughout the episode: the viewer didn't know who had lived/who had died, and how each person was impacted. Unfortunately, it also made the episode slightly confusing. There's a thin line between being intrigued and being irritated. Luckily, this episode verged on the intriguing side.
The episode was intercut with numerous home video style flashbacks. The first one was filming Derek and Mark getting ready for Derek's first wedding. As with the rest of the videos, it featured Sloane prominently. This foreshadowed things to come.
We see a timid intern trying to avoid her mean resident nicknamed "Medusa". As the intern slowly approaches Meredith and Bailey, it is clear that Meredith is the resident in the question.
Meredith as a mean resident? It actually makes a lot of sense. Regardless of how the plane crash impacted her, Meredith was trained by Bailey...and they called her 'The Nazi' in the first two season's of the show.
Derek is back in the hospital dressed in scrubs. This alleviates our concern that he'd never be able to perform surgery again. Except it turns out that although he has been cleared for surgery he has yet to perform a single operation. He's nervous about his hand clenching at a crucial moment. Having hand seizures while said hand is inside someone's brain probably isn't the safest.
But today he wants to perform his first surgery. Callie asks him if he's sure he want to do it today of all days, but he insists that he needs it. What is so big about today?
When he walks into the surgery Callie is standing there along with the other surgical staff and they give him a standing ovation. Despite the fact that he says that "it's a wonderful day to save lives" Derek finds himself unable to complete the surgery. His hand shakes--whether it's mental or physical remains to be seen.
Alex is back to his Season One ways; he's making out with random interns in the supply closets. It seems he has delayed going to Hopkins because he has been covering Peds. Arizona is apparently gone. We don't know what's going on: Is she dead? Has she had a nervous breakdown?
Bailey's boyfriend has left to attend his out of state medical program but he is visiting her a lot. And they're having sex. A lot. She seems really happy. So happy in fact, that Webber admits to her that she is no longer called 'The Nazi'. She has a new--less scary--nickname. She begs him to tell her what it is, but he awkwardly refuses. Seems like the ex-Chief is still afraid of the wrath of Bailey.
Everyone at the hospital keeps on mentioning 5 o'clock as though something major is happening at that time. As soon as the camera pans to Mark Sloane lying on a hospital bed, attached to numerous wires and monitors, it's clear that the 5 o'clock deadline has to do with him. Sloane is in a coma and based on his wishes he doesn't want to be kept on life support for more than 30 days. The 30 days are up at 5 o'clock and the doctors realize the severity of that situation: at 5 o'clock Mark Sloane will die.
Cristina is now at her new job in Minnesota and it's clear she's not happy. Despite her displeasure with her supervisors and the climate, even Cristina is aware that 5 o'clock is approaching. Despite the fact that she and Meredith talk often via video conference it's soon clear that they have yet to visit each other. Presumably because they've both terrified of flying after the plane crash.
Although Callie wasn't in the plane crash it is clear she has been emotionally impacted as well. She is trying to hold it together--even going so far as sitting at Sloane's bedside and joking that she's taking her top off (in hopes of snapping him out of the coma). However, she breaks a couple of times during the episode. Her tension is evident when Owen introduces her to the new Peds surgery resident (Dr. Barnett) who is "replacing" Arizona. Does that mean she actually died in the crash?
It's especially heartbreaking when minutes later we see Callie crouched in a supply closet sobbing. Is she crying because Arizona is dead? In the middle of her emotional breakdown the supply closet door swings open and Alex pushes an intern inside. They begin making out but stop abruptly when they catch sight of Callie. She screams at them to "get out!". The intern promptly leaves, but Alex hovers in the doorway. Callie continues to order him "out" but instead he closes the door and leans against it. Alex may have reverted to some of his old ways, but he isn't the jerk he once was. He still cares about his friends.
Dr. Webber prepares to turn off Sloane's life support while Callie and Derek watch. Although it makes one wonder if Sloane has no other family, it is certainly true that Callie and Derek are the closest things to family he has at the hospital. Except for Lexie that is.
In an incredibly sad flashback, we see a home movie shot at Callie and Arizona's wedding. The videographer asks Sloane who he thinks he'll be with when he's old and grey. He admits he doesn't think he'll be with anyone, but if there is one person he's with it would be Lexie Grey. Since Lexie died in the plane crash and Sloane is about to die this statement is all the more powerful.
As Mark is dying his friends and colleagues gather close. While Callie and Derek are the only ones in the actual room, Bailey and her boyfriend, Webber, Alex and Meredith all gather close. The horribly depressing scene is briefly interrupted by a slightly comedic moment. Bailey, who has been trying to find out her new nickname for most of the episode, is abruptly told by Alex that her new nickname is BCB, or Booty Call Bailey due to the excitement (and copious amounts of sex) she experiences when her boyfriend visits.
Meredith can't deal with the stress of waiting for Mark's death. She announces that she's going to see Cristina and rushes out of the hospital.
At the airport Meredith catches a glimpse of Alex and gets his attention. She's mad at him because he's leaving without saying good bye to her. He yells that he can't stick around just because everyone else is leaving and she doesn't want to be alone. As Alex heads to his plane he catches sight of Owen.
Meredith gets on the plane, but freaks out just as it is getting ready to takeoff. It is clear that she is having flashbacks to the crash.
Back in Joe's bar Meredith calls Cristina over her iPad. They both takes shots together, states apart but facing each other as always. Meredith is shocked when Alex sits down next to her. He admits that he couldn't get on his plane and that he's not leaving. He asks Cristina to tell Owen that he wants his job back. He tells her that he saw Owen at the airport and assumes that Owen's coming to visit her--
But he isn't. We see April working at her family's pig farm. Owen approaches and tells her that she has her job back. He said he's made too many bad decisions and lost too many people. He wants her back at the hospital.
Callie walks into her apartment, devastated after Mark's death. She opens the door to a bedroom and we see Arizona, lying in bed, her back facing the door. Callie tells Arizona that she needs to "snap out of it" and reminds her that their daughter just lost a father, and Callie just lost her best friend. Arizona turns around and yells at Callie that she can't forgive her because she cut off her leg. She yanks back the blanket and we see that one of Arizona's legs has been amputated.
And the episode ends.
The entire episode is relatively sob inducing. Sloane's death and the devastation of his friends is heartbreaking to watch. Discovering Arizona's amputation at the very end of the episode makes the whole thing even more anxiety provoking.
Side notes: We're introduced to some new members of the cast. It seems clear that two interns, Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) and Heather (Tina Majorino) will become central this season. The first appendectomy, designed to be failed by a weak intern (remember George's experience in Season One of 'Grey's'?), was performed by Dr. Wilson. This made her the most central new cast member of this episode.
 |
| Say Goodbye to Mark Sloane & Lexie Grey |
People's Choice Awards 2013!
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The People's Choice Awards are in! Apparently that's all the motivation I need to update this blog. I don't need anything as major as the Emmys to get my act together. A meaningless ceremony (otherwise known as a popularity contest where those who win are those who understand the internet and tweens best) is all it takes. So, I guess take note or something?
Anyway, GET EXCITED.
The televised show isn't until January 9th, 2013 but you can vote for the nominees now.*
*If you voted before you weren't actually casting a "ballot" (that seems too serious a term for this event) but rather indicating who you wanted to be nominated. Now that they actually are nominated they need your vote again to actually win. Aww, democracy at work.
Since this blog focuses on television, here are the TV nominees (along with some slightly snide commentary)...
Favorite Network TV Comedy
~Glee (at best this is a dramedy)
~The Big Bang Theory (please no)
~New Girl (acceptable)
~How I Met Your Mother (acceptable)
~Modern Family (please dear God, not again)
Favorite Network TV Drama
~Grimm (eh)
~Grey's Anatomy (acceptable)
~Gossip Girl (not happening. oh wait, tweens!)
~Once Upon a Time (acceptable, not that I watch this)
~Revenge (I don't know what's more intense than a drama, but this is it)
Favorite Cable TV Comedy
~Awkward (hilarious)
~Hot in Cleveland (oh Betty White)
~It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (always acceptable...for awards, not for political correctness)
~Melissa & Joey (um? no Baby Daddy?)
~Psych (all right)
Favorite Cable TV Drama
~Leverage (where is Rizzoli & Isles?)
~Burn Notice (definitely)
~Pretty Little Liars (this isn't season one anymore tweens)
~The Walking Dead (completely)
~White Collar (okay)
Favorite Premium Cable TV Show
~Dexter (after this season? well deserved)
~Game of Thrones (meh)
~Homeland (obviously)
~Spartacus (I don't even know what this is)
~True Blood (wait! Is it 2008?)
Favorite TV Crime Drama
~Bones (I love you Hart Hanson, but this season?)
~Castle (yes, please)
~Criminal Minds (questionable)
~CSI (no)
~NCIS (I don't think so)
Favorite Sci-fi/Fantasy Show
~Doctor Who (clarification would be helpful)
~Once Upon a Time (why do they get two categories?)
~Supernatural (no)
~The Vampire Diaries (tweens)
~The Walking Dead (yes)
Favorite Comedic TV Actor
~Chris Colfer (is it comedy?)
~Jesse Tyler Ferguson (don't you have an Emmy?)
~Jim Parsons (Emmy?)
~Neil Patrick Harris (please)
~Ty Burrell (Emmy)
Favorite Comedic TV Actress
~Jane Lynch (okay)
~Kaley Cuoco (not this year)
~Lea Michele (no)
~Sofia Vergara (Emmy?)
~Zooey Deschanel (this seems likely)
Favorite Dramatic TV Actor
~Ian Somerhalder (maybe)
~Jared Padalecki (who?)
~Jensen Ackles (next year)
~Nathan Fillion (yes please. also, Twitter)
~Paul Wesley (possible)
Favorite Dramatic TV Actress
~Ellen Pompeo (good crier)
~Emily Deschanel (wait, no Boreanaz?)
~Ginnifer Goodwin (possible)
~Nina Dobrev (maybe)
~Stana Katic (she wasn't here last year!)
VOTE
Anyway, GET EXCITED.
The televised show isn't until January 9th, 2013 but you can vote for the nominees now.*
*If you voted before you weren't actually casting a "ballot" (that seems too serious a term for this event) but rather indicating who you wanted to be nominated. Now that they actually are nominated they need your vote again to actually win. Aww, democracy at work.
Since this blog focuses on television, here are the TV nominees (along with some slightly snide commentary)...
Favorite Network TV Comedy
~Glee (at best this is a dramedy)
~The Big Bang Theory (please no)
~New Girl (acceptable)
~How I Met Your Mother (acceptable)
~Modern Family (please dear God, not again)
Favorite Network TV Drama
~Grimm (eh)
~Grey's Anatomy (acceptable)
~Gossip Girl (not happening. oh wait, tweens!)
~Once Upon a Time (acceptable, not that I watch this)
~Revenge (I don't know what's more intense than a drama, but this is it)
Favorite Cable TV Comedy
~Awkward (hilarious)
~Hot in Cleveland (oh Betty White)
~It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (always acceptable...for awards, not for political correctness)
~Melissa & Joey (um? no Baby Daddy?)
~Psych (all right)
Favorite Cable TV Drama
~Leverage (where is Rizzoli & Isles?)
~Burn Notice (definitely)
~Pretty Little Liars (this isn't season one anymore tweens)
~The Walking Dead (completely)
~White Collar (okay)
Favorite Premium Cable TV Show
~Dexter (after this season? well deserved)
~Game of Thrones (meh)
~Homeland (obviously)
~Spartacus (I don't even know what this is)
~True Blood (wait! Is it 2008?)
Favorite TV Crime Drama
~Bones (I love you Hart Hanson, but this season?)
~Castle (yes, please)
~Criminal Minds (questionable)
~CSI (no)
~NCIS (I don't think so)
Favorite Sci-fi/Fantasy Show
~Doctor Who (clarification would be helpful)
~Once Upon a Time (why do they get two categories?)
~Supernatural (no)
~The Vampire Diaries (tweens)
~The Walking Dead (yes)
Favorite Comedic TV Actor
~Chris Colfer (is it comedy?)
~Jesse Tyler Ferguson (don't you have an Emmy?)
~Jim Parsons (Emmy?)
~Neil Patrick Harris (please)
~Ty Burrell (Emmy)
Favorite Comedic TV Actress
~Jane Lynch (okay)
~Kaley Cuoco (not this year)
~Lea Michele (no)
~Sofia Vergara (Emmy?)
~Zooey Deschanel (this seems likely)
Favorite Dramatic TV Actor
~Ian Somerhalder (maybe)
~Jared Padalecki (who?)
~Jensen Ackles (next year)
~Nathan Fillion (yes please. also, Twitter)
~Paul Wesley (possible)
Favorite Dramatic TV Actress
~Ellen Pompeo (good crier)
~Emily Deschanel (wait, no Boreanaz?)
~Ginnifer Goodwin (possible)
~Nina Dobrev (maybe)
~Stana Katic (she wasn't here last year!)
VOTE
HIMYM: Lobster Crawl..."But he's her lobster!"
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You know how sometimes something is really, really stupid but it makes you laugh anyway?
That describes last night's HIMYM in a nutshell.
"Lobster Crawl" (S8Ep9) opened with an exchange that was so ridiculous that I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or turn off my TV.
Since this season of "HIMYM" has been incredibly uneven (both in quality and in tone) I decided to bear with it.
I still can't decide if I'm pleased with that decision.
The episode opened with the gang (plus baby Marvin) hanging out at the bar.
Thank god that adorable baby was there, because we really needed him to get through the rest of the scene.
Barney spills some ketchup on his red tie and begins to have a verbal heart attack, spewing about how the tie died so young (and way too close to retirement) and essentially going on and on about the tie as if it were a close personal friend. If you've watched prior episodes you probably remember that this joke has been done before (with a suit) which may be one reason why it isn't terribly funny. When a show starts to recycle it's own jokes without purpose you know that it's near the end of it's tenure.
Robin, after her "huh" moment at the end of last week's episode (where she realized she might actually be interested in Barney the moment he said he was going to let her go and would stop bothering her) was acting like a complete fool. Using a "flirty" voice (I assume that's what Cobie Smulders was trying to do here), laughing like a twelve-year-old, and generally being a tad crazy. Lily filled her normal role of sane one (a role that was to be yanked away from her in the next ten minutes) and pulled Robin aside to confront her.
When Lily heard the story she told Robin it was just like the lobster incident all over again. See, apparently Robin's doctor told her she was super allergic to lobster and could never eat them again. So she immediately went out and ate a lot of lobster. Because when Robin's told she can't have something she really, really wants it.
So Robin had very little interest in lobster before she was told she could never, ever have it again and Robin had very little interest in Barney before...well, you see where this is going.
The interesting thing is that Lily compares Barney to the lobster, and Robin accepts that he's the lobster equivalent, but both of them are clearly wrong. If the past several episodes have shown us anything (and they haven't shown us a lot) it's that Robin really does still have feelings for Barney.
The subtle undertones that Cobie Smulders has been managing this season have been very impressive. Speaking of which, I didn't mean to belittle Smulders' acting ability re: the "flirty" voice. While I found it incredibly grating, I was very impressed with the level of commitment in her acting. She actually managed to make herself unattractive which is kind of hard to believe because have you seen her?
Moving on. Barney and Robin continue to have ridiculous exchanges which were, frankly, almost embarrassing to watch. Meanwhile, Marshall, Lily and Ted have a less important storyline that revolves around baby Marvin.
See, Marvin is temporarily childcare-less because Lily's dad is sick and so Ted volunteers. He's currently unemployed and everyone knows he loves kids so it's a win-win. Except that, being Ted, he completely oversteps and does things like buy Marvin a football jersey for a team that Marshall hates and take the baby to get his first photo taken with Santa without his parents. Lily goes briefly crazy (I told you she would) when she realizes that she missed Marvin crawling for the first time, but by the end of the episode the three of them are okay again (as we all knew they would be).
Meanwhile, Lily attempts to help Robin with her Barney situation. Robin admits that she wants to sleep with Barney one more time because if he's really her lobster* then she should treat him like she treated the lobster: have him one more time and then feel horrible about it and never want it again.
The rest of the episode is filled with Robin's version of Barney's playbook. (Is a show also considered almost over when it starts spoofing itself?) Much as in "The Playbook" (S5Ep8) each pick-up attempt is inter-cut with a story card telling us the title of the play. Here each of the cards are the title of a move that Robin uses to try and get Barney to sleep with her.
Of course, the one suggested by Lily involves using Lesbian taunts...'HIMYM' loves to throw in occasional references to Lily's attraction to Robin.
The lesbian taunt spectacularly backfires as Barney seems more interested in Robin's co-worker Brandi. He leaves with her to go and have sex on the weather set. Robin is upset, but not devastated. I think that her lack of interest in here is because Brandi is the type of woman Barney often has one-night stands with: attractive and not terribly smart.
Later that same night, perhaps because she's more upset with the Barney/Brandi hook-up than she originally let on, she goes to Barney's to seduce him. He opens his door and she opens her coat, revealing lingerie. He tells her he didn't sleep with Brandi and she looks relieved, but then she opens his door further and Patrice is sitting on the sofa.
Patrice has been presented throughout this season as a perfectly nice woman who is irritatingly cheerful and desperately wants to be best friends with Robin. She's also no where near as attractive as Robin (that is not supposed to be an insult toward Ellen Williams, because seriously, have you seen Cobie Smulders?).
Seeing Patrice sitting on Barney's couch and hearing Barney say that they're on a date clearly devastates Robin. Because she knows that if he does hook-up with Patrice it will be more than a one night stand...she clearly is not his typical type.
Barney is easily able to shrug off Robin in lingerie (another blow to her ego) and tells her that if she gets dressed she can come in and play cards with them. Basically giving Robin permission to be a third-wheel on his date.
Robin turns him down, incredibly embarrassed though she does a good job of not showing it, and walks away.
My hope is that the devastation that Robin so clearly feels serves as a catalyst for her to admit that she truly has feelings for Barney. It's not just that she needs to get him out of her system, she just needs him. In other words, she doesn't want to eat the lobster, she wants him to be her lobster.**
HIMYM airs on Mondays at 8/7C on CBS
*Ha! Just realized that this could almost be taken as a spoof of 'Friends'. Ross and Rachel were will they/won't they for years and Phoebe was insistent that they were each other's lobster. Here Barney is being compared to a lobster and we are again having a will they/won't they scenario forced down our throats.
**That sounded way dirtier than I intended.
That describes last night's HIMYM in a nutshell.
"Lobster Crawl" (S8Ep9) opened with an exchange that was so ridiculous that I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or turn off my TV.
Since this season of "HIMYM" has been incredibly uneven (both in quality and in tone) I decided to bear with it.
I still can't decide if I'm pleased with that decision.
The episode opened with the gang (plus baby Marvin) hanging out at the bar.
Thank god that adorable baby was there, because we really needed him to get through the rest of the scene.
Barney spills some ketchup on his red tie and begins to have a verbal heart attack, spewing about how the tie died so young (and way too close to retirement) and essentially going on and on about the tie as if it were a close personal friend. If you've watched prior episodes you probably remember that this joke has been done before (with a suit) which may be one reason why it isn't terribly funny. When a show starts to recycle it's own jokes without purpose you know that it's near the end of it's tenure.
Robin, after her "huh" moment at the end of last week's episode (where she realized she might actually be interested in Barney the moment he said he was going to let her go and would stop bothering her) was acting like a complete fool. Using a "flirty" voice (I assume that's what Cobie Smulders was trying to do here), laughing like a twelve-year-old, and generally being a tad crazy. Lily filled her normal role of sane one (a role that was to be yanked away from her in the next ten minutes) and pulled Robin aside to confront her.
When Lily heard the story she told Robin it was just like the lobster incident all over again. See, apparently Robin's doctor told her she was super allergic to lobster and could never eat them again. So she immediately went out and ate a lot of lobster. Because when Robin's told she can't have something she really, really wants it.
So Robin had very little interest in lobster before she was told she could never, ever have it again and Robin had very little interest in Barney before...well, you see where this is going.
The interesting thing is that Lily compares Barney to the lobster, and Robin accepts that he's the lobster equivalent, but both of them are clearly wrong. If the past several episodes have shown us anything (and they haven't shown us a lot) it's that Robin really does still have feelings for Barney.
The subtle undertones that Cobie Smulders has been managing this season have been very impressive. Speaking of which, I didn't mean to belittle Smulders' acting ability re: the "flirty" voice. While I found it incredibly grating, I was very impressed with the level of commitment in her acting. She actually managed to make herself unattractive which is kind of hard to believe because have you seen her?
Moving on. Barney and Robin continue to have ridiculous exchanges which were, frankly, almost embarrassing to watch. Meanwhile, Marshall, Lily and Ted have a less important storyline that revolves around baby Marvin.
See, Marvin is temporarily childcare-less because Lily's dad is sick and so Ted volunteers. He's currently unemployed and everyone knows he loves kids so it's a win-win. Except that, being Ted, he completely oversteps and does things like buy Marvin a football jersey for a team that Marshall hates and take the baby to get his first photo taken with Santa without his parents. Lily goes briefly crazy (I told you she would) when she realizes that she missed Marvin crawling for the first time, but by the end of the episode the three of them are okay again (as we all knew they would be).
Meanwhile, Lily attempts to help Robin with her Barney situation. Robin admits that she wants to sleep with Barney one more time because if he's really her lobster* then she should treat him like she treated the lobster: have him one more time and then feel horrible about it and never want it again.
The rest of the episode is filled with Robin's version of Barney's playbook. (Is a show also considered almost over when it starts spoofing itself?) Much as in "The Playbook" (S5Ep8) each pick-up attempt is inter-cut with a story card telling us the title of the play. Here each of the cards are the title of a move that Robin uses to try and get Barney to sleep with her.
Of course, the one suggested by Lily involves using Lesbian taunts...'HIMYM' loves to throw in occasional references to Lily's attraction to Robin.
The lesbian taunt spectacularly backfires as Barney seems more interested in Robin's co-worker Brandi. He leaves with her to go and have sex on the weather set. Robin is upset, but not devastated. I think that her lack of interest in here is because Brandi is the type of woman Barney often has one-night stands with: attractive and not terribly smart.
Later that same night, perhaps because she's more upset with the Barney/Brandi hook-up than she originally let on, she goes to Barney's to seduce him. He opens his door and she opens her coat, revealing lingerie. He tells her he didn't sleep with Brandi and she looks relieved, but then she opens his door further and Patrice is sitting on the sofa.
Patrice has been presented throughout this season as a perfectly nice woman who is irritatingly cheerful and desperately wants to be best friends with Robin. She's also no where near as attractive as Robin (that is not supposed to be an insult toward Ellen Williams, because seriously, have you seen Cobie Smulders?).
Seeing Patrice sitting on Barney's couch and hearing Barney say that they're on a date clearly devastates Robin. Because she knows that if he does hook-up with Patrice it will be more than a one night stand...she clearly is not his typical type.
Barney is easily able to shrug off Robin in lingerie (another blow to her ego) and tells her that if she gets dressed she can come in and play cards with them. Basically giving Robin permission to be a third-wheel on his date.
Robin turns him down, incredibly embarrassed though she does a good job of not showing it, and walks away.
My hope is that the devastation that Robin so clearly feels serves as a catalyst for her to admit that she truly has feelings for Barney. It's not just that she needs to get him out of her system, she just needs him. In other words, she doesn't want to eat the lobster, she wants him to be her lobster.**
 |
*Ha! Just realized that this could almost be taken as a spoof of 'Friends'. Ross and Rachel were will they/won't they for years and Phoebe was insistent that they were each other's lobster. Here Barney is being compared to a lobster and we are again having a will they/won't they scenario forced down our throats.
**That sounded way dirtier than I intended.
'HIMYM' Breaking News: Renewed or Cancelled?
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'HIMYM' breaking news!!
The show has officially been renewed for a final ninth season.
Jason Segel was originally hesitant to resign to the hit show, but now that he has acquiesed the rest of the cast is on board.
That means we get another year to meet the mother. Or, as many loyal viewers and fans hope, a year to see the mother acually become a part of the group.
Hopefully fans of the CBS hit comedy will be pleased.
First an engagement, now this, it's certainly been a good 'HIMYM' week.
Wait, what?
No, WHAT?
'HIMYM' breaking news!!
The show has officially been renewed for a final ninth season.
Jason Segel was originally hesitant to resign to the hit show, but now that he has acquiesed the rest of the cast is on board.
That means we get another year to meet the mother. Or, as many loyal viewers and fans hope, a year to see the mother acually become a part of the group.
Hopefully fans of the CBS hit comedy will be pleased.
First an engagement, now this, it's certainly been a good 'HIMYM' week.
 |
| The cast nine years ago, when they were BABIES. |
2 Ocak 2013 Çarşamba
'Bones': Season 8, New Tonight. Premiere.
To contact us Click HERE
'Bones' is back! The show's eighth season is premiering tonight on FOX at 8/7 C.
FOX's decision to have it's shows return a week earlier than most other networks may be one of their smartest moves yet. Monday nights are going to be a tough crowd this year...'How I Met Your Mother' and 'Dancing with the Stars' will be 'Bones' main competition in the same time-slot.
'Castle', a show which attracts the same type as viewers as 'Bones', had a strong season last year. Arguably last season was one of 'Bones' weakest. There was a combination of:
a shortened season (due to Emily Deschanel's pregnancy)
writing said pregnancy into the series (meaning fewer case investigation with the show's lead duo)
a decrease in chemistry between the two main characters (unclear if this is because Deschanel and Boreanaz can play subtext better than they can play main text)
'Castle', meanwhile, offered:
a moving PTSD episode (leading to a PRISM award win by Katic and Huertas)
a rift between it's two main characters (which only lead fans to want them to get together more)
further investigation into the murder which propels the series (that of Beckett's mother)
a coupling of the show's main characters that was intense and steamy (proving that Fillion and Katic can do main text as well as they can do subtext)
If fans of both shows are going to choose only one series to watch this season, it's probably going to be 'Castle'. Because of that, it makes perfect sense to start airing episodes of 'Bones' tonight (a full week before the premiere of 'Castle'). If the season opener of 'Bones' is strong enough, it may sway some of the audience toward watching 'Bones' live each week, and leaving 'Castle' the the DVR.
The premiere episode of 'Bones' promises a couple of things: a blonde Brennan, a pissed-off Booth, a reveal of which members of the gang have been aiding fugitive Brennan, and a reunion.
FOX's decision to have it's shows return a week earlier than most other networks may be one of their smartest moves yet. Monday nights are going to be a tough crowd this year...'How I Met Your Mother' and 'Dancing with the Stars' will be 'Bones' main competition in the same time-slot.
'Castle', a show which attracts the same type as viewers as 'Bones', had a strong season last year. Arguably last season was one of 'Bones' weakest. There was a combination of:
a shortened season (due to Emily Deschanel's pregnancy)
writing said pregnancy into the series (meaning fewer case investigation with the show's lead duo)
a decrease in chemistry between the two main characters (unclear if this is because Deschanel and Boreanaz can play subtext better than they can play main text)
'Castle', meanwhile, offered:
a moving PTSD episode (leading to a PRISM award win by Katic and Huertas)
a rift between it's two main characters (which only lead fans to want them to get together more)
further investigation into the murder which propels the series (that of Beckett's mother)
a coupling of the show's main characters that was intense and steamy (proving that Fillion and Katic can do main text as well as they can do subtext)
If fans of both shows are going to choose only one series to watch this season, it's probably going to be 'Castle'. Because of that, it makes perfect sense to start airing episodes of 'Bones' tonight (a full week before the premiere of 'Castle'). If the season opener of 'Bones' is strong enough, it may sway some of the audience toward watching 'Bones' live each week, and leaving 'Castle' the the DVR.
The premiere episode of 'Bones' promises a couple of things: a blonde Brennan, a pissed-off Booth, a reveal of which members of the gang have been aiding fugitive Brennan, and a reunion.
Grey's Anatomy S9Ep1: Going Going Gone Recap
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'Grey's Anatomy' is back in an episode that's as good as it is confusing.
As a quick reminder, last season ended with a bang. Literally. A plane carrying a team of doctors that included Meredith, Cristina, Derek, Mark, Lexie, and Arizona crashed. In the sob filled finale, Lexie died while pinned under the plane. Cristina injured her arm, Arizona was bleeding badly from her leg, Derek had a damaged hand, and Mark had some serious internal injuries.
You'd expect the premiere episode to pick up right after the crash, but instead the episode leapt several months ahead.
This leap was clearly done to increase the suspense throughout the episode: the viewer didn't know who had lived/who had died, and how each person was impacted. Unfortunately, it also made the episode slightly confusing. There's a thin line between being intrigued and being irritated. Luckily, this episode verged on the intriguing side.
The episode was intercut with numerous home video style flashbacks. The first one was filming Derek and Mark getting ready for Derek's first wedding. As with the rest of the videos, it featured Sloane prominently. This foreshadowed things to come.
We see a timid intern trying to avoid her mean resident nicknamed "Medusa". As the intern slowly approaches Meredith and Bailey, it is clear that Meredith is the resident in the question.
Meredith as a mean resident? It actually makes a lot of sense. Regardless of how the plane crash impacted her, Meredith was trained by Bailey...and they called her 'The Nazi' in the first two season's of the show.
Derek is back in the hospital dressed in scrubs. This alleviates our concern that he'd never be able to perform surgery again. Except it turns out that although he has been cleared for surgery he has yet to perform a single operation. He's nervous about his hand clenching at a crucial moment. Having hand seizures while said hand is inside someone's brain probably isn't the safest.
But today he wants to perform his first surgery. Callie asks him if he's sure he want to do it today of all days, but he insists that he needs it. What is so big about today?
When he walks into the surgery Callie is standing there along with the other surgical staff and they give him a standing ovation. Despite the fact that he says that "it's a wonderful day to save lives" Derek finds himself unable to complete the surgery. His hand shakes--whether it's mental or physical remains to be seen.
Alex is back to his Season One ways; he's making out with random interns in the supply closets. It seems he has delayed going to Hopkins because he has been covering Peds. Arizona is apparently gone. We don't know what's going on: Is she dead? Has she had a nervous breakdown?
Bailey's boyfriend has left to attend his out of state medical program but he is visiting her a lot. And they're having sex. A lot. She seems really happy. So happy in fact, that Webber admits to her that she is no longer called 'The Nazi'. She has a new--less scary--nickname. She begs him to tell her what it is, but he awkwardly refuses. Seems like the ex-Chief is still afraid of the wrath of Bailey.
Everyone at the hospital keeps on mentioning 5 o'clock as though something major is happening at that time. As soon as the camera pans to Mark Sloane lying on a hospital bed, attached to numerous wires and monitors, it's clear that the 5 o'clock deadline has to do with him. Sloane is in a coma and based on his wishes he doesn't want to be kept on life support for more than 30 days. The 30 days are up at 5 o'clock and the doctors realize the severity of that situation: at 5 o'clock Mark Sloane will die.
Cristina is now at her new job in Minnesota and it's clear she's not happy. Despite her displeasure with her supervisors and the climate, even Cristina is aware that 5 o'clock is approaching. Despite the fact that she and Meredith talk often via video conference it's soon clear that they have yet to visit each other. Presumably because they've both terrified of flying after the plane crash.
Although Callie wasn't in the plane crash it is clear she has been emotionally impacted as well. She is trying to hold it together--even going so far as sitting at Sloane's bedside and joking that she's taking her top off (in hopes of snapping him out of the coma). However, she breaks a couple of times during the episode. Her tension is evident when Owen introduces her to the new Peds surgery resident (Dr. Barnett) who is "replacing" Arizona. Does that mean she actually died in the crash?
It's especially heartbreaking when minutes later we see Callie crouched in a supply closet sobbing. Is she crying because Arizona is dead? In the middle of her emotional breakdown the supply closet door swings open and Alex pushes an intern inside. They begin making out but stop abruptly when they catch sight of Callie. She screams at them to "get out!". The intern promptly leaves, but Alex hovers in the doorway. Callie continues to order him "out" but instead he closes the door and leans against it. Alex may have reverted to some of his old ways, but he isn't the jerk he once was. He still cares about his friends.
Dr. Webber prepares to turn off Sloane's life support while Callie and Derek watch. Although it makes one wonder if Sloane has no other family, it is certainly true that Callie and Derek are the closest things to family he has at the hospital. Except for Lexie that is.
In an incredibly sad flashback, we see a home movie shot at Callie and Arizona's wedding. The videographer asks Sloane who he thinks he'll be with when he's old and grey. He admits he doesn't think he'll be with anyone, but if there is one person he's with it would be Lexie Grey. Since Lexie died in the plane crash and Sloane is about to die this statement is all the more powerful.
As Mark is dying his friends and colleagues gather close. While Callie and Derek are the only ones in the actual room, Bailey and her boyfriend, Webber, Alex and Meredith all gather close. The horribly depressing scene is briefly interrupted by a slightly comedic moment. Bailey, who has been trying to find out her new nickname for most of the episode, is abruptly told by Alex that her new nickname is BCB, or Booty Call Bailey due to the excitement (and copious amounts of sex) she experiences when her boyfriend visits.
Meredith can't deal with the stress of waiting for Mark's death. She announces that she's going to see Cristina and rushes out of the hospital.
At the airport Meredith catches a glimpse of Alex and gets his attention. She's mad at him because he's leaving without saying good bye to her. He yells that he can't stick around just because everyone else is leaving and she doesn't want to be alone. As Alex heads to his plane he catches sight of Owen.
Meredith gets on the plane, but freaks out just as it is getting ready to takeoff. It is clear that she is having flashbacks to the crash.
Back in Joe's bar Meredith calls Cristina over her iPad. They both takes shots together, states apart but facing each other as always. Meredith is shocked when Alex sits down next to her. He admits that he couldn't get on his plane and that he's not leaving. He asks Cristina to tell Owen that he wants his job back. He tells her that he saw Owen at the airport and assumes that Owen's coming to visit her--
But he isn't. We see April working at her family's pig farm. Owen approaches and tells her that she has her job back. He said he's made too many bad decisions and lost too many people. He wants her back at the hospital.
Callie walks into her apartment, devastated after Mark's death. She opens the door to a bedroom and we see Arizona, lying in bed, her back facing the door. Callie tells Arizona that she needs to "snap out of it" and reminds her that their daughter just lost a father, and Callie just lost her best friend. Arizona turns around and yells at Callie that she can't forgive her because she cut off her leg. She yanks back the blanket and we see that one of Arizona's legs has been amputated.
And the episode ends.
The entire episode is relatively sob inducing. Sloane's death and the devastation of his friends is heartbreaking to watch. Discovering Arizona's amputation at the very end of the episode makes the whole thing even more anxiety provoking.
Side notes: We're introduced to some new members of the cast. It seems clear that two interns, Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) and Heather (Tina Majorino) will become central this season. The first appendectomy, designed to be failed by a weak intern (remember George's experience in Season One of 'Grey's'?), was performed by Dr. Wilson. This made her the most central new cast member of this episode.
As a quick reminder, last season ended with a bang. Literally. A plane carrying a team of doctors that included Meredith, Cristina, Derek, Mark, Lexie, and Arizona crashed. In the sob filled finale, Lexie died while pinned under the plane. Cristina injured her arm, Arizona was bleeding badly from her leg, Derek had a damaged hand, and Mark had some serious internal injuries.
You'd expect the premiere episode to pick up right after the crash, but instead the episode leapt several months ahead.
This leap was clearly done to increase the suspense throughout the episode: the viewer didn't know who had lived/who had died, and how each person was impacted. Unfortunately, it also made the episode slightly confusing. There's a thin line between being intrigued and being irritated. Luckily, this episode verged on the intriguing side.
The episode was intercut with numerous home video style flashbacks. The first one was filming Derek and Mark getting ready for Derek's first wedding. As with the rest of the videos, it featured Sloane prominently. This foreshadowed things to come.
We see a timid intern trying to avoid her mean resident nicknamed "Medusa". As the intern slowly approaches Meredith and Bailey, it is clear that Meredith is the resident in the question.
Meredith as a mean resident? It actually makes a lot of sense. Regardless of how the plane crash impacted her, Meredith was trained by Bailey...and they called her 'The Nazi' in the first two season's of the show.
Derek is back in the hospital dressed in scrubs. This alleviates our concern that he'd never be able to perform surgery again. Except it turns out that although he has been cleared for surgery he has yet to perform a single operation. He's nervous about his hand clenching at a crucial moment. Having hand seizures while said hand is inside someone's brain probably isn't the safest.
But today he wants to perform his first surgery. Callie asks him if he's sure he want to do it today of all days, but he insists that he needs it. What is so big about today?
When he walks into the surgery Callie is standing there along with the other surgical staff and they give him a standing ovation. Despite the fact that he says that "it's a wonderful day to save lives" Derek finds himself unable to complete the surgery. His hand shakes--whether it's mental or physical remains to be seen.
Alex is back to his Season One ways; he's making out with random interns in the supply closets. It seems he has delayed going to Hopkins because he has been covering Peds. Arizona is apparently gone. We don't know what's going on: Is she dead? Has she had a nervous breakdown?
Bailey's boyfriend has left to attend his out of state medical program but he is visiting her a lot. And they're having sex. A lot. She seems really happy. So happy in fact, that Webber admits to her that she is no longer called 'The Nazi'. She has a new--less scary--nickname. She begs him to tell her what it is, but he awkwardly refuses. Seems like the ex-Chief is still afraid of the wrath of Bailey.
Everyone at the hospital keeps on mentioning 5 o'clock as though something major is happening at that time. As soon as the camera pans to Mark Sloane lying on a hospital bed, attached to numerous wires and monitors, it's clear that the 5 o'clock deadline has to do with him. Sloane is in a coma and based on his wishes he doesn't want to be kept on life support for more than 30 days. The 30 days are up at 5 o'clock and the doctors realize the severity of that situation: at 5 o'clock Mark Sloane will die.
Cristina is now at her new job in Minnesota and it's clear she's not happy. Despite her displeasure with her supervisors and the climate, even Cristina is aware that 5 o'clock is approaching. Despite the fact that she and Meredith talk often via video conference it's soon clear that they have yet to visit each other. Presumably because they've both terrified of flying after the plane crash.
Although Callie wasn't in the plane crash it is clear she has been emotionally impacted as well. She is trying to hold it together--even going so far as sitting at Sloane's bedside and joking that she's taking her top off (in hopes of snapping him out of the coma). However, she breaks a couple of times during the episode. Her tension is evident when Owen introduces her to the new Peds surgery resident (Dr. Barnett) who is "replacing" Arizona. Does that mean she actually died in the crash?
It's especially heartbreaking when minutes later we see Callie crouched in a supply closet sobbing. Is she crying because Arizona is dead? In the middle of her emotional breakdown the supply closet door swings open and Alex pushes an intern inside. They begin making out but stop abruptly when they catch sight of Callie. She screams at them to "get out!". The intern promptly leaves, but Alex hovers in the doorway. Callie continues to order him "out" but instead he closes the door and leans against it. Alex may have reverted to some of his old ways, but he isn't the jerk he once was. He still cares about his friends.
Dr. Webber prepares to turn off Sloane's life support while Callie and Derek watch. Although it makes one wonder if Sloane has no other family, it is certainly true that Callie and Derek are the closest things to family he has at the hospital. Except for Lexie that is.
In an incredibly sad flashback, we see a home movie shot at Callie and Arizona's wedding. The videographer asks Sloane who he thinks he'll be with when he's old and grey. He admits he doesn't think he'll be with anyone, but if there is one person he's with it would be Lexie Grey. Since Lexie died in the plane crash and Sloane is about to die this statement is all the more powerful.
As Mark is dying his friends and colleagues gather close. While Callie and Derek are the only ones in the actual room, Bailey and her boyfriend, Webber, Alex and Meredith all gather close. The horribly depressing scene is briefly interrupted by a slightly comedic moment. Bailey, who has been trying to find out her new nickname for most of the episode, is abruptly told by Alex that her new nickname is BCB, or Booty Call Bailey due to the excitement (and copious amounts of sex) she experiences when her boyfriend visits.
Meredith can't deal with the stress of waiting for Mark's death. She announces that she's going to see Cristina and rushes out of the hospital.
At the airport Meredith catches a glimpse of Alex and gets his attention. She's mad at him because he's leaving without saying good bye to her. He yells that he can't stick around just because everyone else is leaving and she doesn't want to be alone. As Alex heads to his plane he catches sight of Owen.
Meredith gets on the plane, but freaks out just as it is getting ready to takeoff. It is clear that she is having flashbacks to the crash.
Back in Joe's bar Meredith calls Cristina over her iPad. They both takes shots together, states apart but facing each other as always. Meredith is shocked when Alex sits down next to her. He admits that he couldn't get on his plane and that he's not leaving. He asks Cristina to tell Owen that he wants his job back. He tells her that he saw Owen at the airport and assumes that Owen's coming to visit her--
But he isn't. We see April working at her family's pig farm. Owen approaches and tells her that she has her job back. He said he's made too many bad decisions and lost too many people. He wants her back at the hospital.
Callie walks into her apartment, devastated after Mark's death. She opens the door to a bedroom and we see Arizona, lying in bed, her back facing the door. Callie tells Arizona that she needs to "snap out of it" and reminds her that their daughter just lost a father, and Callie just lost her best friend. Arizona turns around and yells at Callie that she can't forgive her because she cut off her leg. She yanks back the blanket and we see that one of Arizona's legs has been amputated.
And the episode ends.
The entire episode is relatively sob inducing. Sloane's death and the devastation of his friends is heartbreaking to watch. Discovering Arizona's amputation at the very end of the episode makes the whole thing even more anxiety provoking.
Side notes: We're introduced to some new members of the cast. It seems clear that two interns, Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) and Heather (Tina Majorino) will become central this season. The first appendectomy, designed to be failed by a weak intern (remember George's experience in Season One of 'Grey's'?), was performed by Dr. Wilson. This made her the most central new cast member of this episode.
|
| Say Goodbye to Mark Sloane & Lexie Grey |
People's Choice Awards 2013!
To contact us Click HERE
The People's Choice Awards are in! Apparently that's all the motivation I need to update this blog. I don't need anything as major as the Emmys to get my act together. A meaningless ceremony (otherwise known as a popularity contest where those who win are those who understand the internet and tweens best) is all it takes. So, I guess take note or something?
Anyway, GET EXCITED.
The televised show isn't until January 9th, 2013 but you can vote for the nominees now.*
*If you voted before you weren't actually casting a "ballot" (that seems too serious a term for this event) but rather indicating who you wanted to be nominated. Now that they actually are nominated they need your vote again to actually win. Aww, democracy at work.
Since this blog focuses on television, here are the TV nominees (along with some slightly snide commentary)...
Favorite Network TV Comedy
~Glee (at best this is a dramedy)
~The Big Bang Theory (please no)
~New Girl (acceptable)
~How I Met Your Mother (acceptable)
~Modern Family (please dear God, not again)
Favorite Network TV Drama
~Grimm (eh)
~Grey's Anatomy (acceptable)
~Gossip Girl (not happening. oh wait, tweens!)
~Once Upon a Time (acceptable, not that I watch this)
~Revenge (I don't know what's more intense than a drama, but this is it)
Favorite Cable TV Comedy
~Awkward (hilarious)
~Hot in Cleveland (oh Betty White)
~It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (always acceptable...for awards, not for political correctness)
~Melissa & Joey (um? no Baby Daddy?)
~Psych (all right)
Favorite Cable TV Drama
~Leverage (where is Rizzoli & Isles?)
~Burn Notice (definitely)
~Pretty Little Liars (this isn't season one anymore tweens)
~The Walking Dead (completely)
~White Collar (okay)
Favorite Premium Cable TV Show
~Dexter (after this season? well deserved)
~Game of Thrones (meh)
~Homeland (obviously)
~Spartacus (I don't even know what this is)
~True Blood (wait! Is it 2008?)
Favorite TV Crime Drama
~Bones (I love you Hart Hanson, but this season?)
~Castle (yes, please)
~Criminal Minds (questionable)
~CSI (no)
~NCIS (I don't think so)
Favorite Sci-fi/Fantasy Show
~Doctor Who (clarification would be helpful)
~Once Upon a Time (why do they get two categories?)
~Supernatural (no)
~The Vampire Diaries (tweens)
~The Walking Dead (yes)
Favorite Comedic TV Actor
~Chris Colfer (is it comedy?)
~Jesse Tyler Ferguson (don't you have an Emmy?)
~Jim Parsons (Emmy?)
~Neil Patrick Harris (please)
~Ty Burrell (Emmy)
Favorite Comedic TV Actress
~Jane Lynch (okay)
~Kaley Cuoco (not this year)
~Lea Michele (no)
~Sofia Vergara (Emmy?)
~Zooey Deschanel (this seems likely)
Favorite Dramatic TV Actor
~Ian Somerhalder (maybe)
~Jared Padalecki (who?)
~Jensen Ackles (next year)
~Nathan Fillion (yes please. also, Twitter)
~Paul Wesley (possible)
Favorite Dramatic TV Actress
~Ellen Pompeo (good crier)
~Emily Deschanel (wait, no Boreanaz?)
~Ginnifer Goodwin (possible)
~Nina Dobrev (maybe)
~Stana Katic (she wasn't here last year!)
VOTE
Anyway, GET EXCITED.
The televised show isn't until January 9th, 2013 but you can vote for the nominees now.*
*If you voted before you weren't actually casting a "ballot" (that seems too serious a term for this event) but rather indicating who you wanted to be nominated. Now that they actually are nominated they need your vote again to actually win. Aww, democracy at work.
Since this blog focuses on television, here are the TV nominees (along with some slightly snide commentary)...
Favorite Network TV Comedy
~Glee (at best this is a dramedy)
~The Big Bang Theory (please no)
~New Girl (acceptable)
~How I Met Your Mother (acceptable)
~Modern Family (please dear God, not again)
Favorite Network TV Drama
~Grimm (eh)
~Grey's Anatomy (acceptable)
~Gossip Girl (not happening. oh wait, tweens!)
~Once Upon a Time (acceptable, not that I watch this)
~Revenge (I don't know what's more intense than a drama, but this is it)
Favorite Cable TV Comedy
~Awkward (hilarious)
~Hot in Cleveland (oh Betty White)
~It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (always acceptable...for awards, not for political correctness)
~Melissa & Joey (um? no Baby Daddy?)
~Psych (all right)
Favorite Cable TV Drama
~Leverage (where is Rizzoli & Isles?)
~Burn Notice (definitely)
~Pretty Little Liars (this isn't season one anymore tweens)
~The Walking Dead (completely)
~White Collar (okay)
Favorite Premium Cable TV Show
~Dexter (after this season? well deserved)
~Game of Thrones (meh)
~Homeland (obviously)
~Spartacus (I don't even know what this is)
~True Blood (wait! Is it 2008?)
Favorite TV Crime Drama
~Bones (I love you Hart Hanson, but this season?)
~Castle (yes, please)
~Criminal Minds (questionable)
~CSI (no)
~NCIS (I don't think so)
Favorite Sci-fi/Fantasy Show
~Doctor Who (clarification would be helpful)
~Once Upon a Time (why do they get two categories?)
~Supernatural (no)
~The Vampire Diaries (tweens)
~The Walking Dead (yes)
Favorite Comedic TV Actor
~Chris Colfer (is it comedy?)
~Jesse Tyler Ferguson (don't you have an Emmy?)
~Jim Parsons (Emmy?)
~Neil Patrick Harris (please)
~Ty Burrell (Emmy)
Favorite Comedic TV Actress
~Jane Lynch (okay)
~Kaley Cuoco (not this year)
~Lea Michele (no)
~Sofia Vergara (Emmy?)
~Zooey Deschanel (this seems likely)
Favorite Dramatic TV Actor
~Ian Somerhalder (maybe)
~Jared Padalecki (who?)
~Jensen Ackles (next year)
~Nathan Fillion (yes please. also, Twitter)
~Paul Wesley (possible)
Favorite Dramatic TV Actress
~Ellen Pompeo (good crier)
~Emily Deschanel (wait, no Boreanaz?)
~Ginnifer Goodwin (possible)
~Nina Dobrev (maybe)
~Stana Katic (she wasn't here last year!)
VOTE
HIMYM: Lobster Crawl..."But he's her lobster!"
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You know how sometimes something is really, really stupid but it makes you laugh anyway?
That describes last night's HIMYM in a nutshell.
"Lobster Crawl" (S8Ep9) opened with an exchange that was so ridiculous that I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or turn off my TV.
Since this season of "HIMYM" has been incredibly uneven (both in quality and in tone) I decided to bear with it.
I still can't decide if I'm pleased with that decision.
The episode opened with the gang (plus baby Marvin) hanging out at the bar.
Thank god that adorable baby was there, because we really needed him to get through the rest of the scene.
Barney spills some ketchup on his red tie and begins to have a verbal heart attack, spewing about how the tie died so young (and way too close to retirement) and essentially going on and on about the tie as if it were a close personal friend. If you've watched prior episodes you probably remember that this joke has been done before (with a suit) which may be one reason why it isn't terribly funny. When a show starts to recycle it's own jokes without purpose you know that it's near the end of it's tenure.
Robin, after her "huh" moment at the end of last week's episode (where she realized she might actually be interested in Barney the moment he said he was going to let her go and would stop bothering her) was acting like a complete fool. Using a "flirty" voice (I assume that's what Cobie Smulders was trying to do here), laughing like a twelve-year-old, and generally being a tad crazy. Lily filled her normal role of sane one (a role that was to be yanked away from her in the next ten minutes) and pulled Robin aside to confront her.
When Lily heard the story she told Robin it was just like the lobster incident all over again. See, apparently Robin's doctor told her she was super allergic to lobster and could never eat them again. So she immediately went out and ate a lot of lobster. Because when Robin's told she can't have something she really, really wants it.
So Robin had very little interest in lobster before she was told she could never, ever have it again and Robin had very little interest in Barney before...well, you see where this is going.
The interesting thing is that Lily compares Barney to the lobster, and Robin accepts that he's the lobster equivalent, but both of them are clearly wrong. If the past several episodes have shown us anything (and they haven't shown us a lot) it's that Robin really does still have feelings for Barney.
The subtle undertones that Cobie Smulders has been managing this season have been very impressive. Speaking of which, I didn't mean to belittle Smulders' acting ability re: the "flirty" voice. While I found it incredibly grating, I was very impressed with the level of commitment in her acting. She actually managed to make herself unattractive which is kind of hard to believe because have you seen her?
Moving on. Barney and Robin continue to have ridiculous exchanges which were, frankly, almost embarrassing to watch. Meanwhile, Marshall, Lily and Ted have a less important storyline that revolves around baby Marvin.
See, Marvin is temporarily childcare-less because Lily's dad is sick and so Ted volunteers. He's currently unemployed and everyone knows he loves kids so it's a win-win. Except that, being Ted, he completely oversteps and does things like buy Marvin a football jersey for a team that Marshall hates and take the baby to get his first photo taken with Santa without his parents. Lily goes briefly crazy (I told you she would) when she realizes that she missed Marvin crawling for the first time, but by the end of the episode the three of them are okay again (as we all knew they would be).
Meanwhile, Lily attempts to help Robin with her Barney situation. Robin admits that she wants to sleep with Barney one more time because if he's really her lobster* then she should treat him like she treated the lobster: have him one more time and then feel horrible about it and never want it again.
The rest of the episode is filled with Robin's version of Barney's playbook. (Is a show also considered almost over when it starts spoofing itself?) Much as in "The Playbook" (S5Ep8) each pick-up attempt is inter-cut with a story card telling us the title of the play. Here each of the cards are the title of a move that Robin uses to try and get Barney to sleep with her.
Of course, the one suggested by Lily involves using Lesbian taunts...'HIMYM' loves to throw in occasional references to Lily's attraction to Robin.
The lesbian taunt spectacularly backfires as Barney seems more interested in Robin's co-worker Brandi. He leaves with her to go and have sex on the weather set. Robin is upset, but not devastated. I think that her lack of interest in here is because Brandi is the type of woman Barney often has one-night stands with: attractive and not terribly smart.
Later that same night, perhaps because she's more upset with the Barney/Brandi hook-up than she originally let on, she goes to Barney's to seduce him. He opens his door and she opens her coat, revealing lingerie. He tells her he didn't sleep with Brandi and she looks relieved, but then she opens his door further and Patrice is sitting on the sofa.
Patrice has been presented throughout this season as a perfectly nice woman who is irritatingly cheerful and desperately wants to be best friends with Robin. She's also no where near as attractive as Robin (that is not supposed to be an insult toward Ellen Williams, because seriously, have you seen Cobie Smulders?).
Seeing Patrice sitting on Barney's couch and hearing Barney say that they're on a date clearly devastates Robin. Because she knows that if he does hook-up with Patrice it will be more than a one night stand...she clearly is not his typical type.
Barney is easily able to shrug off Robin in lingerie (another blow to her ego) and tells her that if she gets dressed she can come in and play cards with them. Basically giving Robin permission to be a third-wheel on his date.
Robin turns him down, incredibly embarrassed though she does a good job of not showing it, and walks away.
My hope is that the devastation that Robin so clearly feels serves as a catalyst for her to admit that she truly has feelings for Barney. It's not just that she needs to get him out of her system, she just needs him. In other words, she doesn't want to eat the lobster, she wants him to be her lobster.**
HIMYM airs on Mondays at 8/7C on CBS
*Ha! Just realized that this could almost be taken as a spoof of 'Friends'. Ross and Rachel were will they/won't they for years and Phoebe was insistent that they were each other's lobster. Here Barney is being compared to a lobster and we are again having a will they/won't they scenario forced down our throats.
**That sounded way dirtier than I intended.
That describes last night's HIMYM in a nutshell.
"Lobster Crawl" (S8Ep9) opened with an exchange that was so ridiculous that I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or turn off my TV.
Since this season of "HIMYM" has been incredibly uneven (both in quality and in tone) I decided to bear with it.
I still can't decide if I'm pleased with that decision.
The episode opened with the gang (plus baby Marvin) hanging out at the bar.
Thank god that adorable baby was there, because we really needed him to get through the rest of the scene.
Barney spills some ketchup on his red tie and begins to have a verbal heart attack, spewing about how the tie died so young (and way too close to retirement) and essentially going on and on about the tie as if it were a close personal friend. If you've watched prior episodes you probably remember that this joke has been done before (with a suit) which may be one reason why it isn't terribly funny. When a show starts to recycle it's own jokes without purpose you know that it's near the end of it's tenure.
Robin, after her "huh" moment at the end of last week's episode (where she realized she might actually be interested in Barney the moment he said he was going to let her go and would stop bothering her) was acting like a complete fool. Using a "flirty" voice (I assume that's what Cobie Smulders was trying to do here), laughing like a twelve-year-old, and generally being a tad crazy. Lily filled her normal role of sane one (a role that was to be yanked away from her in the next ten minutes) and pulled Robin aside to confront her.
When Lily heard the story she told Robin it was just like the lobster incident all over again. See, apparently Robin's doctor told her she was super allergic to lobster and could never eat them again. So she immediately went out and ate a lot of lobster. Because when Robin's told she can't have something she really, really wants it.
So Robin had very little interest in lobster before she was told she could never, ever have it again and Robin had very little interest in Barney before...well, you see where this is going.
The interesting thing is that Lily compares Barney to the lobster, and Robin accepts that he's the lobster equivalent, but both of them are clearly wrong. If the past several episodes have shown us anything (and they haven't shown us a lot) it's that Robin really does still have feelings for Barney.
The subtle undertones that Cobie Smulders has been managing this season have been very impressive. Speaking of which, I didn't mean to belittle Smulders' acting ability re: the "flirty" voice. While I found it incredibly grating, I was very impressed with the level of commitment in her acting. She actually managed to make herself unattractive which is kind of hard to believe because have you seen her?
Moving on. Barney and Robin continue to have ridiculous exchanges which were, frankly, almost embarrassing to watch. Meanwhile, Marshall, Lily and Ted have a less important storyline that revolves around baby Marvin.
See, Marvin is temporarily childcare-less because Lily's dad is sick and so Ted volunteers. He's currently unemployed and everyone knows he loves kids so it's a win-win. Except that, being Ted, he completely oversteps and does things like buy Marvin a football jersey for a team that Marshall hates and take the baby to get his first photo taken with Santa without his parents. Lily goes briefly crazy (I told you she would) when she realizes that she missed Marvin crawling for the first time, but by the end of the episode the three of them are okay again (as we all knew they would be).
Meanwhile, Lily attempts to help Robin with her Barney situation. Robin admits that she wants to sleep with Barney one more time because if he's really her lobster* then she should treat him like she treated the lobster: have him one more time and then feel horrible about it and never want it again.
The rest of the episode is filled with Robin's version of Barney's playbook. (Is a show also considered almost over when it starts spoofing itself?) Much as in "The Playbook" (S5Ep8) each pick-up attempt is inter-cut with a story card telling us the title of the play. Here each of the cards are the title of a move that Robin uses to try and get Barney to sleep with her.
Of course, the one suggested by Lily involves using Lesbian taunts...'HIMYM' loves to throw in occasional references to Lily's attraction to Robin.
The lesbian taunt spectacularly backfires as Barney seems more interested in Robin's co-worker Brandi. He leaves with her to go and have sex on the weather set. Robin is upset, but not devastated. I think that her lack of interest in here is because Brandi is the type of woman Barney often has one-night stands with: attractive and not terribly smart.
Later that same night, perhaps because she's more upset with the Barney/Brandi hook-up than she originally let on, she goes to Barney's to seduce him. He opens his door and she opens her coat, revealing lingerie. He tells her he didn't sleep with Brandi and she looks relieved, but then she opens his door further and Patrice is sitting on the sofa.
Patrice has been presented throughout this season as a perfectly nice woman who is irritatingly cheerful and desperately wants to be best friends with Robin. She's also no where near as attractive as Robin (that is not supposed to be an insult toward Ellen Williams, because seriously, have you seen Cobie Smulders?).
Seeing Patrice sitting on Barney's couch and hearing Barney say that they're on a date clearly devastates Robin. Because she knows that if he does hook-up with Patrice it will be more than a one night stand...she clearly is not his typical type.
Barney is easily able to shrug off Robin in lingerie (another blow to her ego) and tells her that if she gets dressed she can come in and play cards with them. Basically giving Robin permission to be a third-wheel on his date.
Robin turns him down, incredibly embarrassed though she does a good job of not showing it, and walks away.
My hope is that the devastation that Robin so clearly feels serves as a catalyst for her to admit that she truly has feelings for Barney. It's not just that she needs to get him out of her system, she just needs him. In other words, she doesn't want to eat the lobster, she wants him to be her lobster.**
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*Ha! Just realized that this could almost be taken as a spoof of 'Friends'. Ross and Rachel were will they/won't they for years and Phoebe was insistent that they were each other's lobster. Here Barney is being compared to a lobster and we are again having a will they/won't they scenario forced down our throats.
**That sounded way dirtier than I intended.
'HIMYM' Breaking News: Renewed or Cancelled?
To contact us Click HERE
'HIMYM' breaking news!!
The show has officially been renewed for a final ninth season.
Jason Segel was originally hesitant to resign to the hit show, but now that he has acquiesed the rest of the cast is on board.
That means we get another year to meet the mother. Or, as many loyal viewers and fans hope, a year to see the mother acually become a part of the group.
Hopefully fans of the CBS hit comedy will be pleased.
First an engagement, now this, it's certainly been a good 'HIMYM' week.
Wait, what?
No, WHAT?
'HIMYM' breaking news!!
The show has officially been renewed for a final ninth season.
Jason Segel was originally hesitant to resign to the hit show, but now that he has acquiesed the rest of the cast is on board.
That means we get another year to meet the mother. Or, as many loyal viewers and fans hope, a year to see the mother acually become a part of the group.
Hopefully fans of the CBS hit comedy will be pleased.
First an engagement, now this, it's certainly been a good 'HIMYM' week.
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| The cast nine years ago, when they were BABIES. |
1 Ocak 2013 Salı
'Bones': Season 8, New Tonight. Premiere.
To contact us Click HERE
'Bones' is back! The show's eighth season is premiering tonight on FOX at 8/7 C.
FOX's decision to have it's shows return a week earlier than most other networks may be one of their smartest moves yet. Monday nights are going to be a tough crowd this year...'How I Met Your Mother' and 'Dancing with the Stars' will be 'Bones' main competition in the same time-slot.
'Castle', a show which attracts the same type as viewers as 'Bones', had a strong season last year. Arguably last season was one of 'Bones' weakest. There was a combination of:
a shortened season (due to Emily Deschanel's pregnancy)
writing said pregnancy into the series (meaning fewer case investigation with the show's lead duo)
a decrease in chemistry between the two main characters (unclear if this is because Deschanel and Boreanaz can play subtext better than they can play main text)
'Castle', meanwhile, offered:
a moving PTSD episode (leading to a PRISM award win by Katic and Huertas)
a rift between it's two main characters (which only lead fans to want them to get together more)
further investigation into the murder which propels the series (that of Beckett's mother)
a coupling of the show's main characters that was intense and steamy (proving that Fillion and Katic can do main text as well as they can do subtext)
If fans of both shows are going to choose only one series to watch this season, it's probably going to be 'Castle'. Because of that, it makes perfect sense to start airing episodes of 'Bones' tonight (a full week before the premiere of 'Castle'). If the season opener of 'Bones' is strong enough, it may sway some of the audience toward watching 'Bones' live each week, and leaving 'Castle' the the DVR.
The premiere episode of 'Bones' promises a couple of things: a blonde Brennan, a pissed-off Booth, a reveal of which members of the gang have been aiding fugitive Brennan, and a reunion.
FOX's decision to have it's shows return a week earlier than most other networks may be one of their smartest moves yet. Monday nights are going to be a tough crowd this year...'How I Met Your Mother' and 'Dancing with the Stars' will be 'Bones' main competition in the same time-slot.
'Castle', a show which attracts the same type as viewers as 'Bones', had a strong season last year. Arguably last season was one of 'Bones' weakest. There was a combination of:
a shortened season (due to Emily Deschanel's pregnancy)
writing said pregnancy into the series (meaning fewer case investigation with the show's lead duo)
a decrease in chemistry between the two main characters (unclear if this is because Deschanel and Boreanaz can play subtext better than they can play main text)
'Castle', meanwhile, offered:
a moving PTSD episode (leading to a PRISM award win by Katic and Huertas)
a rift between it's two main characters (which only lead fans to want them to get together more)
further investigation into the murder which propels the series (that of Beckett's mother)
a coupling of the show's main characters that was intense and steamy (proving that Fillion and Katic can do main text as well as they can do subtext)
If fans of both shows are going to choose only one series to watch this season, it's probably going to be 'Castle'. Because of that, it makes perfect sense to start airing episodes of 'Bones' tonight (a full week before the premiere of 'Castle'). If the season opener of 'Bones' is strong enough, it may sway some of the audience toward watching 'Bones' live each week, and leaving 'Castle' the the DVR.
The premiere episode of 'Bones' promises a couple of things: a blonde Brennan, a pissed-off Booth, a reveal of which members of the gang have been aiding fugitive Brennan, and a reunion.
Grey's Anatomy S9Ep1: Going Going Gone Recap
To contact us Click HERE
'Grey's Anatomy' is back in an episode that's as good as it is confusing.
As a quick reminder, last season ended with a bang. Literally. A plane carrying a team of doctors that included Meredith, Cristina, Derek, Mark, Lexie, and Arizona crashed. In the sob filled finale, Lexie died while pinned under the plane. Cristina injured her arm, Arizona was bleeding badly from her leg, Derek had a damaged hand, and Mark had some serious internal injuries.
You'd expect the premiere episode to pick up right after the crash, but instead the episode leapt several months ahead.
This leap was clearly done to increase the suspense throughout the episode: the viewer didn't know who had lived/who had died, and how each person was impacted. Unfortunately, it also made the episode slightly confusing. There's a thin line between being intrigued and being irritated. Luckily, this episode verged on the intriguing side.
The episode was intercut with numerous home video style flashbacks. The first one was filming Derek and Mark getting ready for Derek's first wedding. As with the rest of the videos, it featured Sloane prominently. This foreshadowed things to come.
We see a timid intern trying to avoid her mean resident nicknamed "Medusa". As the intern slowly approaches Meredith and Bailey, it is clear that Meredith is the resident in the question.
Meredith as a mean resident? It actually makes a lot of sense. Regardless of how the plane crash impacted her, Meredith was trained by Bailey...and they called her 'The Nazi' in the first two season's of the show.
Derek is back in the hospital dressed in scrubs. This alleviates our concern that he'd never be able to perform surgery again. Except it turns out that although he has been cleared for surgery he has yet to perform a single operation. He's nervous about his hand clenching at a crucial moment. Having hand seizures while said hand is inside someone's brain probably isn't the safest.
But today he wants to perform his first surgery. Callie asks him if he's sure he want to do it today of all days, but he insists that he needs it. What is so big about today?
When he walks into the surgery Callie is standing there along with the other surgical staff and they give him a standing ovation. Despite the fact that he says that "it's a wonderful day to save lives" Derek finds himself unable to complete the surgery. His hand shakes--whether it's mental or physical remains to be seen.
Alex is back to his Season One ways; he's making out with random interns in the supply closets. It seems he has delayed going to Hopkins because he has been covering Peds. Arizona is apparently gone. We don't know what's going on: Is she dead? Has she had a nervous breakdown?
Bailey's boyfriend has left to attend his out of state medical program but he is visiting her a lot. And they're having sex. A lot. She seems really happy. So happy in fact, that Webber admits to her that she is no longer called 'The Nazi'. She has a new--less scary--nickname. She begs him to tell her what it is, but he awkwardly refuses. Seems like the ex-Chief is still afraid of the wrath of Bailey.
Everyone at the hospital keeps on mentioning 5 o'clock as though something major is happening at that time. As soon as the camera pans to Mark Sloane lying on a hospital bed, attached to numerous wires and monitors, it's clear that the 5 o'clock deadline has to do with him. Sloane is in a coma and based on his wishes he doesn't want to be kept on life support for more than 30 days. The 30 days are up at 5 o'clock and the doctors realize the severity of that situation: at 5 o'clock Mark Sloane will die.
Cristina is now at her new job in Minnesota and it's clear she's not happy. Despite her displeasure with her supervisors and the climate, even Cristina is aware that 5 o'clock is approaching. Despite the fact that she and Meredith talk often via video conference it's soon clear that they have yet to visit each other. Presumably because they've both terrified of flying after the plane crash.
Although Callie wasn't in the plane crash it is clear she has been emotionally impacted as well. She is trying to hold it together--even going so far as sitting at Sloane's bedside and joking that she's taking her top off (in hopes of snapping him out of the coma). However, she breaks a couple of times during the episode. Her tension is evident when Owen introduces her to the new Peds surgery resident (Dr. Barnett) who is "replacing" Arizona. Does that mean she actually died in the crash?
It's especially heartbreaking when minutes later we see Callie crouched in a supply closet sobbing. Is she crying because Arizona is dead? In the middle of her emotional breakdown the supply closet door swings open and Alex pushes an intern inside. They begin making out but stop abruptly when they catch sight of Callie. She screams at them to "get out!". The intern promptly leaves, but Alex hovers in the doorway. Callie continues to order him "out" but instead he closes the door and leans against it. Alex may have reverted to some of his old ways, but he isn't the jerk he once was. He still cares about his friends.
Dr. Webber prepares to turn off Sloane's life support while Callie and Derek watch. Although it makes one wonder if Sloane has no other family, it is certainly true that Callie and Derek are the closest things to family he has at the hospital. Except for Lexie that is.
In an incredibly sad flashback, we see a home movie shot at Callie and Arizona's wedding. The videographer asks Sloane who he thinks he'll be with when he's old and grey. He admits he doesn't think he'll be with anyone, but if there is one person he's with it would be Lexie Grey. Since Lexie died in the plane crash and Sloane is about to die this statement is all the more powerful.
As Mark is dying his friends and colleagues gather close. While Callie and Derek are the only ones in the actual room, Bailey and her boyfriend, Webber, Alex and Meredith all gather close. The horribly depressing scene is briefly interrupted by a slightly comedic moment. Bailey, who has been trying to find out her new nickname for most of the episode, is abruptly told by Alex that her new nickname is BCB, or Booty Call Bailey due to the excitement (and copious amounts of sex) she experiences when her boyfriend visits.
Meredith can't deal with the stress of waiting for Mark's death. She announces that she's going to see Cristina and rushes out of the hospital.
At the airport Meredith catches a glimpse of Alex and gets his attention. She's mad at him because he's leaving without saying good bye to her. He yells that he can't stick around just because everyone else is leaving and she doesn't want to be alone. As Alex heads to his plane he catches sight of Owen.
Meredith gets on the plane, but freaks out just as it is getting ready to takeoff. It is clear that she is having flashbacks to the crash.
Back in Joe's bar Meredith calls Cristina over her iPad. They both takes shots together, states apart but facing each other as always. Meredith is shocked when Alex sits down next to her. He admits that he couldn't get on his plane and that he's not leaving. He asks Cristina to tell Owen that he wants his job back. He tells her that he saw Owen at the airport and assumes that Owen's coming to visit her--
But he isn't. We see April working at her family's pig farm. Owen approaches and tells her that she has her job back. He said he's made too many bad decisions and lost too many people. He wants her back at the hospital.
Callie walks into her apartment, devastated after Mark's death. She opens the door to a bedroom and we see Arizona, lying in bed, her back facing the door. Callie tells Arizona that she needs to "snap out of it" and reminds her that their daughter just lost a father, and Callie just lost her best friend. Arizona turns around and yells at Callie that she can't forgive her because she cut off her leg. She yanks back the blanket and we see that one of Arizona's legs has been amputated.
And the episode ends.
The entire episode is relatively sob inducing. Sloane's death and the devastation of his friends is heartbreaking to watch. Discovering Arizona's amputation at the very end of the episode makes the whole thing even more anxiety provoking.
Side notes: We're introduced to some new members of the cast. It seems clear that two interns, Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) and Heather (Tina Majorino) will become central this season. The first appendectomy, designed to be failed by a weak intern (remember George's experience in Season One of 'Grey's'?), was performed by Dr. Wilson. This made her the most central new cast member of this episode.
As a quick reminder, last season ended with a bang. Literally. A plane carrying a team of doctors that included Meredith, Cristina, Derek, Mark, Lexie, and Arizona crashed. In the sob filled finale, Lexie died while pinned under the plane. Cristina injured her arm, Arizona was bleeding badly from her leg, Derek had a damaged hand, and Mark had some serious internal injuries.
You'd expect the premiere episode to pick up right after the crash, but instead the episode leapt several months ahead.
This leap was clearly done to increase the suspense throughout the episode: the viewer didn't know who had lived/who had died, and how each person was impacted. Unfortunately, it also made the episode slightly confusing. There's a thin line between being intrigued and being irritated. Luckily, this episode verged on the intriguing side.
The episode was intercut with numerous home video style flashbacks. The first one was filming Derek and Mark getting ready for Derek's first wedding. As with the rest of the videos, it featured Sloane prominently. This foreshadowed things to come.
We see a timid intern trying to avoid her mean resident nicknamed "Medusa". As the intern slowly approaches Meredith and Bailey, it is clear that Meredith is the resident in the question.
Meredith as a mean resident? It actually makes a lot of sense. Regardless of how the plane crash impacted her, Meredith was trained by Bailey...and they called her 'The Nazi' in the first two season's of the show.
Derek is back in the hospital dressed in scrubs. This alleviates our concern that he'd never be able to perform surgery again. Except it turns out that although he has been cleared for surgery he has yet to perform a single operation. He's nervous about his hand clenching at a crucial moment. Having hand seizures while said hand is inside someone's brain probably isn't the safest.
But today he wants to perform his first surgery. Callie asks him if he's sure he want to do it today of all days, but he insists that he needs it. What is so big about today?
When he walks into the surgery Callie is standing there along with the other surgical staff and they give him a standing ovation. Despite the fact that he says that "it's a wonderful day to save lives" Derek finds himself unable to complete the surgery. His hand shakes--whether it's mental or physical remains to be seen.
Alex is back to his Season One ways; he's making out with random interns in the supply closets. It seems he has delayed going to Hopkins because he has been covering Peds. Arizona is apparently gone. We don't know what's going on: Is she dead? Has she had a nervous breakdown?
Bailey's boyfriend has left to attend his out of state medical program but he is visiting her a lot. And they're having sex. A lot. She seems really happy. So happy in fact, that Webber admits to her that she is no longer called 'The Nazi'. She has a new--less scary--nickname. She begs him to tell her what it is, but he awkwardly refuses. Seems like the ex-Chief is still afraid of the wrath of Bailey.
Everyone at the hospital keeps on mentioning 5 o'clock as though something major is happening at that time. As soon as the camera pans to Mark Sloane lying on a hospital bed, attached to numerous wires and monitors, it's clear that the 5 o'clock deadline has to do with him. Sloane is in a coma and based on his wishes he doesn't want to be kept on life support for more than 30 days. The 30 days are up at 5 o'clock and the doctors realize the severity of that situation: at 5 o'clock Mark Sloane will die.
Cristina is now at her new job in Minnesota and it's clear she's not happy. Despite her displeasure with her supervisors and the climate, even Cristina is aware that 5 o'clock is approaching. Despite the fact that she and Meredith talk often via video conference it's soon clear that they have yet to visit each other. Presumably because they've both terrified of flying after the plane crash.
Although Callie wasn't in the plane crash it is clear she has been emotionally impacted as well. She is trying to hold it together--even going so far as sitting at Sloane's bedside and joking that she's taking her top off (in hopes of snapping him out of the coma). However, she breaks a couple of times during the episode. Her tension is evident when Owen introduces her to the new Peds surgery resident (Dr. Barnett) who is "replacing" Arizona. Does that mean she actually died in the crash?
It's especially heartbreaking when minutes later we see Callie crouched in a supply closet sobbing. Is she crying because Arizona is dead? In the middle of her emotional breakdown the supply closet door swings open and Alex pushes an intern inside. They begin making out but stop abruptly when they catch sight of Callie. She screams at them to "get out!". The intern promptly leaves, but Alex hovers in the doorway. Callie continues to order him "out" but instead he closes the door and leans against it. Alex may have reverted to some of his old ways, but he isn't the jerk he once was. He still cares about his friends.
Dr. Webber prepares to turn off Sloane's life support while Callie and Derek watch. Although it makes one wonder if Sloane has no other family, it is certainly true that Callie and Derek are the closest things to family he has at the hospital. Except for Lexie that is.
In an incredibly sad flashback, we see a home movie shot at Callie and Arizona's wedding. The videographer asks Sloane who he thinks he'll be with when he's old and grey. He admits he doesn't think he'll be with anyone, but if there is one person he's with it would be Lexie Grey. Since Lexie died in the plane crash and Sloane is about to die this statement is all the more powerful.
As Mark is dying his friends and colleagues gather close. While Callie and Derek are the only ones in the actual room, Bailey and her boyfriend, Webber, Alex and Meredith all gather close. The horribly depressing scene is briefly interrupted by a slightly comedic moment. Bailey, who has been trying to find out her new nickname for most of the episode, is abruptly told by Alex that her new nickname is BCB, or Booty Call Bailey due to the excitement (and copious amounts of sex) she experiences when her boyfriend visits.
Meredith can't deal with the stress of waiting for Mark's death. She announces that she's going to see Cristina and rushes out of the hospital.
At the airport Meredith catches a glimpse of Alex and gets his attention. She's mad at him because he's leaving without saying good bye to her. He yells that he can't stick around just because everyone else is leaving and she doesn't want to be alone. As Alex heads to his plane he catches sight of Owen.
Meredith gets on the plane, but freaks out just as it is getting ready to takeoff. It is clear that she is having flashbacks to the crash.
Back in Joe's bar Meredith calls Cristina over her iPad. They both takes shots together, states apart but facing each other as always. Meredith is shocked when Alex sits down next to her. He admits that he couldn't get on his plane and that he's not leaving. He asks Cristina to tell Owen that he wants his job back. He tells her that he saw Owen at the airport and assumes that Owen's coming to visit her--
But he isn't. We see April working at her family's pig farm. Owen approaches and tells her that she has her job back. He said he's made too many bad decisions and lost too many people. He wants her back at the hospital.
Callie walks into her apartment, devastated after Mark's death. She opens the door to a bedroom and we see Arizona, lying in bed, her back facing the door. Callie tells Arizona that she needs to "snap out of it" and reminds her that their daughter just lost a father, and Callie just lost her best friend. Arizona turns around and yells at Callie that she can't forgive her because she cut off her leg. She yanks back the blanket and we see that one of Arizona's legs has been amputated.
And the episode ends.
The entire episode is relatively sob inducing. Sloane's death and the devastation of his friends is heartbreaking to watch. Discovering Arizona's amputation at the very end of the episode makes the whole thing even more anxiety provoking.
Side notes: We're introduced to some new members of the cast. It seems clear that two interns, Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) and Heather (Tina Majorino) will become central this season. The first appendectomy, designed to be failed by a weak intern (remember George's experience in Season One of 'Grey's'?), was performed by Dr. Wilson. This made her the most central new cast member of this episode.
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| Say Goodbye to Mark Sloane & Lexie Grey |
People's Choice Awards 2013!
To contact us Click HERE
The People's Choice Awards are in! Apparently that's all the motivation I need to update this blog. I don't need anything as major as the Emmys to get my act together. A meaningless ceremony (otherwise known as a popularity contest where those who win are those who understand the internet and tweens best) is all it takes. So, I guess take note or something?
Anyway, GET EXCITED.
The televised show isn't until January 9th, 2013 but you can vote for the nominees now.*
*If you voted before you weren't actually casting a "ballot" (that seems too serious a term for this event) but rather indicating who you wanted to be nominated. Now that they actually are nominated they need your vote again to actually win. Aww, democracy at work.
Since this blog focuses on television, here are the TV nominees (along with some slightly snide commentary)...
Favorite Network TV Comedy
~Glee (at best this is a dramedy)
~The Big Bang Theory (please no)
~New Girl (acceptable)
~How I Met Your Mother (acceptable)
~Modern Family (please dear God, not again)
Favorite Network TV Drama
~Grimm (eh)
~Grey's Anatomy (acceptable)
~Gossip Girl (not happening. oh wait, tweens!)
~Once Upon a Time (acceptable, not that I watch this)
~Revenge (I don't know what's more intense than a drama, but this is it)
Favorite Cable TV Comedy
~Awkward (hilarious)
~Hot in Cleveland (oh Betty White)
~It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (always acceptable...for awards, not for political correctness)
~Melissa & Joey (um? no Baby Daddy?)
~Psych (all right)
Favorite Cable TV Drama
~Leverage (where is Rizzoli & Isles?)
~Burn Notice (definitely)
~Pretty Little Liars (this isn't season one anymore tweens)
~The Walking Dead (completely)
~White Collar (okay)
Favorite Premium Cable TV Show
~Dexter (after this season? well deserved)
~Game of Thrones (meh)
~Homeland (obviously)
~Spartacus (I don't even know what this is)
~True Blood (wait! Is it 2008?)
Favorite TV Crime Drama
~Bones (I love you Hart Hanson, but this season?)
~Castle (yes, please)
~Criminal Minds (questionable)
~CSI (no)
~NCIS (I don't think so)
Favorite Sci-fi/Fantasy Show
~Doctor Who (clarification would be helpful)
~Once Upon a Time (why do they get two categories?)
~Supernatural (no)
~The Vampire Diaries (tweens)
~The Walking Dead (yes)
Favorite Comedic TV Actor
~Chris Colfer (is it comedy?)
~Jesse Tyler Ferguson (don't you have an Emmy?)
~Jim Parsons (Emmy?)
~Neil Patrick Harris (please)
~Ty Burrell (Emmy)
Favorite Comedic TV Actress
~Jane Lynch (okay)
~Kaley Cuoco (not this year)
~Lea Michele (no)
~Sofia Vergara (Emmy?)
~Zooey Deschanel (this seems likely)
Favorite Dramatic TV Actor
~Ian Somerhalder (maybe)
~Jared Padalecki (who?)
~Jensen Ackles (next year)
~Nathan Fillion (yes please. also, Twitter)
~Paul Wesley (possible)
Favorite Dramatic TV Actress
~Ellen Pompeo (good crier)
~Emily Deschanel (wait, no Boreanaz?)
~Ginnifer Goodwin (possible)
~Nina Dobrev (maybe)
~Stana Katic (she wasn't here last year!)
VOTE
Anyway, GET EXCITED.
The televised show isn't until January 9th, 2013 but you can vote for the nominees now.*
*If you voted before you weren't actually casting a "ballot" (that seems too serious a term for this event) but rather indicating who you wanted to be nominated. Now that they actually are nominated they need your vote again to actually win. Aww, democracy at work.
Since this blog focuses on television, here are the TV nominees (along with some slightly snide commentary)...
Favorite Network TV Comedy
~Glee (at best this is a dramedy)
~The Big Bang Theory (please no)
~New Girl (acceptable)
~How I Met Your Mother (acceptable)
~Modern Family (please dear God, not again)
Favorite Network TV Drama
~Grimm (eh)
~Grey's Anatomy (acceptable)
~Gossip Girl (not happening. oh wait, tweens!)
~Once Upon a Time (acceptable, not that I watch this)
~Revenge (I don't know what's more intense than a drama, but this is it)
Favorite Cable TV Comedy
~Awkward (hilarious)
~Hot in Cleveland (oh Betty White)
~It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (always acceptable...for awards, not for political correctness)
~Melissa & Joey (um? no Baby Daddy?)
~Psych (all right)
Favorite Cable TV Drama
~Leverage (where is Rizzoli & Isles?)
~Burn Notice (definitely)
~Pretty Little Liars (this isn't season one anymore tweens)
~The Walking Dead (completely)
~White Collar (okay)
Favorite Premium Cable TV Show
~Dexter (after this season? well deserved)
~Game of Thrones (meh)
~Homeland (obviously)
~Spartacus (I don't even know what this is)
~True Blood (wait! Is it 2008?)
Favorite TV Crime Drama
~Bones (I love you Hart Hanson, but this season?)
~Castle (yes, please)
~Criminal Minds (questionable)
~CSI (no)
~NCIS (I don't think so)
Favorite Sci-fi/Fantasy Show
~Doctor Who (clarification would be helpful)
~Once Upon a Time (why do they get two categories?)
~Supernatural (no)
~The Vampire Diaries (tweens)
~The Walking Dead (yes)
Favorite Comedic TV Actor
~Chris Colfer (is it comedy?)
~Jesse Tyler Ferguson (don't you have an Emmy?)
~Jim Parsons (Emmy?)
~Neil Patrick Harris (please)
~Ty Burrell (Emmy)
Favorite Comedic TV Actress
~Jane Lynch (okay)
~Kaley Cuoco (not this year)
~Lea Michele (no)
~Sofia Vergara (Emmy?)
~Zooey Deschanel (this seems likely)
Favorite Dramatic TV Actor
~Ian Somerhalder (maybe)
~Jared Padalecki (who?)
~Jensen Ackles (next year)
~Nathan Fillion (yes please. also, Twitter)
~Paul Wesley (possible)
Favorite Dramatic TV Actress
~Ellen Pompeo (good crier)
~Emily Deschanel (wait, no Boreanaz?)
~Ginnifer Goodwin (possible)
~Nina Dobrev (maybe)
~Stana Katic (she wasn't here last year!)
VOTE
HIMYM: Lobster Crawl..."But he's her lobster!"
To contact us Click HERE
You know how sometimes something is really, really stupid but it makes you laugh anyway?
That describes last night's HIMYM in a nutshell.
"Lobster Crawl" (S8Ep9) opened with an exchange that was so ridiculous that I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or turn off my TV.
Since this season of "HIMYM" has been incredibly uneven (both in quality and in tone) I decided to bear with it.
I still can't decide if I'm pleased with that decision.
The episode opened with the gang (plus baby Marvin) hanging out at the bar.
Thank god that adorable baby was there, because we really needed him to get through the rest of the scene.
Barney spills some ketchup on his red tie and begins to have a verbal heart attack, spewing about how the tie died so young (and way too close to retirement) and essentially going on and on about the tie as if it were a close personal friend. If you've watched prior episodes you probably remember that this joke has been done before (with a suit) which may be one reason why it isn't terribly funny. When a show starts to recycle it's own jokes without purpose you know that it's near the end of it's tenure.
Robin, after her "huh" moment at the end of last week's episode (where she realized she might actually be interested in Barney the moment he said he was going to let her go and would stop bothering her) was acting like a complete fool. Using a "flirty" voice (I assume that's what Cobie Smulders was trying to do here), laughing like a twelve-year-old, and generally being a tad crazy. Lily filled her normal role of sane one (a role that was to be yanked away from her in the next ten minutes) and pulled Robin aside to confront her.
When Lily heard the story she told Robin it was just like the lobster incident all over again. See, apparently Robin's doctor told her she was super allergic to lobster and could never eat them again. So she immediately went out and ate a lot of lobster. Because when Robin's told she can't have something she really, really wants it.
So Robin had very little interest in lobster before she was told she could never, ever have it again and Robin had very little interest in Barney before...well, you see where this is going.
The interesting thing is that Lily compares Barney to the lobster, and Robin accepts that he's the lobster equivalent, but both of them are clearly wrong. If the past several episodes have shown us anything (and they haven't shown us a lot) it's that Robin really does still have feelings for Barney.
The subtle undertones that Cobie Smulders has been managing this season have been very impressive. Speaking of which, I didn't mean to belittle Smulders' acting ability re: the "flirty" voice. While I found it incredibly grating, I was very impressed with the level of commitment in her acting. She actually managed to make herself unattractive which is kind of hard to believe because have you seen her?
Moving on. Barney and Robin continue to have ridiculous exchanges which were, frankly, almost embarrassing to watch. Meanwhile, Marshall, Lily and Ted have a less important storyline that revolves around baby Marvin.
See, Marvin is temporarily childcare-less because Lily's dad is sick and so Ted volunteers. He's currently unemployed and everyone knows he loves kids so it's a win-win. Except that, being Ted, he completely oversteps and does things like buy Marvin a football jersey for a team that Marshall hates and take the baby to get his first photo taken with Santa without his parents. Lily goes briefly crazy (I told you she would) when she realizes that she missed Marvin crawling for the first time, but by the end of the episode the three of them are okay again (as we all knew they would be).
Meanwhile, Lily attempts to help Robin with her Barney situation. Robin admits that she wants to sleep with Barney one more time because if he's really her lobster* then she should treat him like she treated the lobster: have him one more time and then feel horrible about it and never want it again.
The rest of the episode is filled with Robin's version of Barney's playbook. (Is a show also considered almost over when it starts spoofing itself?) Much as in "The Playbook" (S5Ep8) each pick-up attempt is inter-cut with a story card telling us the title of the play. Here each of the cards are the title of a move that Robin uses to try and get Barney to sleep with her.
Of course, the one suggested by Lily involves using Lesbian taunts...'HIMYM' loves to throw in occasional references to Lily's attraction to Robin.
The lesbian taunt spectacularly backfires as Barney seems more interested in Robin's co-worker Brandi. He leaves with her to go and have sex on the weather set. Robin is upset, but not devastated. I think that her lack of interest in here is because Brandi is the type of woman Barney often has one-night stands with: attractive and not terribly smart.
Later that same night, perhaps because she's more upset with the Barney/Brandi hook-up than she originally let on, she goes to Barney's to seduce him. He opens his door and she opens her coat, revealing lingerie. He tells her he didn't sleep with Brandi and she looks relieved, but then she opens his door further and Patrice is sitting on the sofa.
Patrice has been presented throughout this season as a perfectly nice woman who is irritatingly cheerful and desperately wants to be best friends with Robin. She's also no where near as attractive as Robin (that is not supposed to be an insult toward Ellen Williams, because seriously, have you seen Cobie Smulders?).
Seeing Patrice sitting on Barney's couch and hearing Barney say that they're on a date clearly devastates Robin. Because she knows that if he does hook-up with Patrice it will be more than a one night stand...she clearly is not his typical type.
Barney is easily able to shrug off Robin in lingerie (another blow to her ego) and tells her that if she gets dressed she can come in and play cards with them. Basically giving Robin permission to be a third-wheel on his date.
Robin turns him down, incredibly embarrassed though she does a good job of not showing it, and walks away.
My hope is that the devastation that Robin so clearly feels serves as a catalyst for her to admit that she truly has feelings for Barney. It's not just that she needs to get him out of her system, she just needs him. In other words, she doesn't want to eat the lobster, she wants him to be her lobster.**
HIMYM airs on Mondays at 8/7C on CBS
*Ha! Just realized that this could almost be taken as a spoof of 'Friends'. Ross and Rachel were will they/won't they for years and Phoebe was insistent that they were each other's lobster. Here Barney is being compared to a lobster and we are again having a will they/won't they scenario forced down our throats.
**That sounded way dirtier than I intended.
That describes last night's HIMYM in a nutshell.
"Lobster Crawl" (S8Ep9) opened with an exchange that was so ridiculous that I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or turn off my TV.
Since this season of "HIMYM" has been incredibly uneven (both in quality and in tone) I decided to bear with it.
I still can't decide if I'm pleased with that decision.
The episode opened with the gang (plus baby Marvin) hanging out at the bar.
Thank god that adorable baby was there, because we really needed him to get through the rest of the scene.
Barney spills some ketchup on his red tie and begins to have a verbal heart attack, spewing about how the tie died so young (and way too close to retirement) and essentially going on and on about the tie as if it were a close personal friend. If you've watched prior episodes you probably remember that this joke has been done before (with a suit) which may be one reason why it isn't terribly funny. When a show starts to recycle it's own jokes without purpose you know that it's near the end of it's tenure.
Robin, after her "huh" moment at the end of last week's episode (where she realized she might actually be interested in Barney the moment he said he was going to let her go and would stop bothering her) was acting like a complete fool. Using a "flirty" voice (I assume that's what Cobie Smulders was trying to do here), laughing like a twelve-year-old, and generally being a tad crazy. Lily filled her normal role of sane one (a role that was to be yanked away from her in the next ten minutes) and pulled Robin aside to confront her.
When Lily heard the story she told Robin it was just like the lobster incident all over again. See, apparently Robin's doctor told her she was super allergic to lobster and could never eat them again. So she immediately went out and ate a lot of lobster. Because when Robin's told she can't have something she really, really wants it.
So Robin had very little interest in lobster before she was told she could never, ever have it again and Robin had very little interest in Barney before...well, you see where this is going.
The interesting thing is that Lily compares Barney to the lobster, and Robin accepts that he's the lobster equivalent, but both of them are clearly wrong. If the past several episodes have shown us anything (and they haven't shown us a lot) it's that Robin really does still have feelings for Barney.
The subtle undertones that Cobie Smulders has been managing this season have been very impressive. Speaking of which, I didn't mean to belittle Smulders' acting ability re: the "flirty" voice. While I found it incredibly grating, I was very impressed with the level of commitment in her acting. She actually managed to make herself unattractive which is kind of hard to believe because have you seen her?
Moving on. Barney and Robin continue to have ridiculous exchanges which were, frankly, almost embarrassing to watch. Meanwhile, Marshall, Lily and Ted have a less important storyline that revolves around baby Marvin.
See, Marvin is temporarily childcare-less because Lily's dad is sick and so Ted volunteers. He's currently unemployed and everyone knows he loves kids so it's a win-win. Except that, being Ted, he completely oversteps and does things like buy Marvin a football jersey for a team that Marshall hates and take the baby to get his first photo taken with Santa without his parents. Lily goes briefly crazy (I told you she would) when she realizes that she missed Marvin crawling for the first time, but by the end of the episode the three of them are okay again (as we all knew they would be).
Meanwhile, Lily attempts to help Robin with her Barney situation. Robin admits that she wants to sleep with Barney one more time because if he's really her lobster* then she should treat him like she treated the lobster: have him one more time and then feel horrible about it and never want it again.
The rest of the episode is filled with Robin's version of Barney's playbook. (Is a show also considered almost over when it starts spoofing itself?) Much as in "The Playbook" (S5Ep8) each pick-up attempt is inter-cut with a story card telling us the title of the play. Here each of the cards are the title of a move that Robin uses to try and get Barney to sleep with her.
Of course, the one suggested by Lily involves using Lesbian taunts...'HIMYM' loves to throw in occasional references to Lily's attraction to Robin.
The lesbian taunt spectacularly backfires as Barney seems more interested in Robin's co-worker Brandi. He leaves with her to go and have sex on the weather set. Robin is upset, but not devastated. I think that her lack of interest in here is because Brandi is the type of woman Barney often has one-night stands with: attractive and not terribly smart.
Later that same night, perhaps because she's more upset with the Barney/Brandi hook-up than she originally let on, she goes to Barney's to seduce him. He opens his door and she opens her coat, revealing lingerie. He tells her he didn't sleep with Brandi and she looks relieved, but then she opens his door further and Patrice is sitting on the sofa.
Patrice has been presented throughout this season as a perfectly nice woman who is irritatingly cheerful and desperately wants to be best friends with Robin. She's also no where near as attractive as Robin (that is not supposed to be an insult toward Ellen Williams, because seriously, have you seen Cobie Smulders?).
Seeing Patrice sitting on Barney's couch and hearing Barney say that they're on a date clearly devastates Robin. Because she knows that if he does hook-up with Patrice it will be more than a one night stand...she clearly is not his typical type.
Barney is easily able to shrug off Robin in lingerie (another blow to her ego) and tells her that if she gets dressed she can come in and play cards with them. Basically giving Robin permission to be a third-wheel on his date.
Robin turns him down, incredibly embarrassed though she does a good job of not showing it, and walks away.
My hope is that the devastation that Robin so clearly feels serves as a catalyst for her to admit that she truly has feelings for Barney. It's not just that she needs to get him out of her system, she just needs him. In other words, she doesn't want to eat the lobster, she wants him to be her lobster.**
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*Ha! Just realized that this could almost be taken as a spoof of 'Friends'. Ross and Rachel were will they/won't they for years and Phoebe was insistent that they were each other's lobster. Here Barney is being compared to a lobster and we are again having a will they/won't they scenario forced down our throats.
**That sounded way dirtier than I intended.
'HIMYM' Breaking News: Renewed or Cancelled?
To contact us Click HERE
'HIMYM' breaking news!!
The show has officially been renewed for a final ninth season.
Jason Segel was originally hesitant to resign to the hit show, but now that he has acquiesed the rest of the cast is on board.
That means we get another year to meet the mother. Or, as many loyal viewers and fans hope, a year to see the mother acually become a part of the group.
Hopefully fans of the CBS hit comedy will be pleased.
First an engagement, now this, it's certainly been a good 'HIMYM' week.
Wait, what?
No, WHAT?
'HIMYM' breaking news!!
The show has officially been renewed for a final ninth season.
Jason Segel was originally hesitant to resign to the hit show, but now that he has acquiesed the rest of the cast is on board.
That means we get another year to meet the mother. Or, as many loyal viewers and fans hope, a year to see the mother acually become a part of the group.
Hopefully fans of the CBS hit comedy will be pleased.
First an engagement, now this, it's certainly been a good 'HIMYM' week.
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| The cast nine years ago, when they were BABIES. |
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