It Happened Last Night

'Smallville': The father and child reunion doesn't last for long

2009-11-07T08:19:17Z

Tonight's "Smallville" is like spending your birthday at Disneyland: it's a fun-filled, action-packed day that doesn't disappoint and leaves you wanting more.

We get a lot of backstory filled-in here, what with Zod and Jor-El actually on the same side and Zod is, dare I say it... nice. The souring of the relationship begins with the total annihilation of Kandor. When Jor-El is later convicted of high treason and sentenced to death, it's none other than the good Major who crashes the private hearing and ultimately spares the life of the father of Kal. The catch: Jor-El has to finish the orb and include his and Zod's DNA. This is all well and good until Zod asks for his dead son to be resurrected via the power of the DNA. Jor-El feels as if this is too much for his ethics to handle, dooming him and the House of El to eternal doom.

FlashForward (natch) to the present where Tess has teams scouring the globe for Team Zod and turning up nothing. They're no match for Oliver's high-speed plane and Clark's supersight. Meanwhile, Chloe goes to crash at the Kent Farm when, lo and behold, it's Jor-El. He doesn't seem to be aware of Kal-El, so Chloe spins the tale of Clark... that is, until Tess' SWAT team storms the Kent Barn and takes him out. Later, Tess insists that she's on the side of good. As usual, she has a funny way of showing it. She plays to Jor-El's paternal side by convincing him he has to own up to being the Blur in order to save his son.

Now, in theory, this isn't the worst idea in the world. Jor-El's downfall is that Tess has a horrible poker face, giving away to Zod that he's locked-up in the wine cellar (which turns out to be Zod's new favorite vice!) When they finally meet face-to-face in the here and now, Zod has trouble hiding his true emotion. All he wants is the power of the sun back from his former friend, but no. Even worse, Jor-El's weakened state allows for Zod to deduce that there is another on Earth from the house of El. This allows for Jor-El to be savagely beaten and left for dead on the Farm... just in time for him to die in Clark's hands. His final words were "Save Zod," but this is simply one request Clark WILL NOT follow.

To Clark's credit, he may have lost an actual physical connection to his heritage, but both Oliver and Chloe reaffirm their unwavering support to him. I can only imagine the end battle between Clark and Zod will be epic.

'Project Runway': Meet your all-girl Fashion Week lineup

2009-11-06T08:17:21Z

Tonight's "Project Runway" brought the regular competition to a close with the last challenge -- and finalized the Fashion Week lineup. Going for the win in the Bryant Park tents will be: Irina, Althea, and Carol Hannah.

But first we need to look at how these three ended up in the winners circle -- and I'm sticking to the clothes, because the in-fighting is just boring and I'm over Irina and her complaining. For the record, I've thought this season was a bit underwhelming -- too many red-carpet frocks and not enough fashions created in the produce section of Whole Foods. Where are the drag queens?

Tonight's challenge was a variation on past themes -- drawing inspiration at a museum. But I do have to hand it to the show, because oh what a museum. Anyone who can't find inspiration at the Getty Center needs to check themselves for a pulse. It actually surprised me, though, that designers spent so much time inside. The Getty's collections are spectacular, but the setting is so amazing that the art is almost secondary.

At any rate, here's how it went down:

Althea, inspired by the architecture and flow of the buildings, made a dress with an elaborately constructed, pleated, overworked skirt that made the model look like she wore maybe a size 2 -- but what's worse is that she spent so much time belaboring the skirt that the flowy tank-style top of the dress looked like an afterthought at best. It was ambitious, but as the judges pointed out, ambition needs a plan to succeed, and this looked like a big mess. But as we know, risk-taking is encouraged.

Christopher went outside to a fountain for his inspiration, going with a gray palette with green undertones that were supposed to represent the algae on the rocks. He came up with a dress that was beautiful on top, with a high neck and no sleeves in a flowy print, weird in the middle with a corset, and unfathomable at the bottom with a long skirt of stiff fabric that barely moved with the model. Unusual inspiration is favored, but execution is key.

Carol Hannah took to an elaborate, light-blue French bed with swooping and draping brocade, and ended up with a beautifully fitted gold dress that bore little resemblance whatsoever to the shapes and materials that she saw -- except for some braided trim looping over the left shoulder. It was a stretch at best to try to link them together, but (a) she did heed Tim's warning and headed off what could've been a disaster, and (b) it fit the model like a glove. And we know that craftsmanship is rewarded.

Irina chose a painting called "Mischief and Repose" by John William Godward, shooting for a feeling of lushness, texture and diaphanous fabric. She ended up with a mint/seafoam green, knee-length concoction that resembled Grecian lines but without the tailoring or fit that Rami Kashou offered up in Season 4. The back was nice, but the length was dowdy, proclaimed the judges -- and Irina couldn't style her way out of a paper bag on this one. But you could see the inspiration, and that counts. And at least she dropped the idea for the fur wrap.

Gordana's dress was inspired by Monet's "The Portal of Rouen Cathedral in Morning Light," with its dreamy purples and doorway shapes. Her dress, a floor-length, strapless layering of colors of silk organza, definitely looked like the painting, but while it fit really nicely and the judges liked it, the front was pretty and the back was not. It also struck me as an awfully literal interpretation of the inspiration, and not ambitious enough for the final challenge.

Thanks to a panel including guest judges Cynthia Rowley (whose hair is beyond fabulous) and Cindy Crawford (who looks amazing but seemed thoroughly bored), our Final Three of Irina, Althea, and Carol Hannah is set. Now the question becomes how well each of them can pull together a collection worthy of Fashion Week.

What did you think? Did the judges make the right call, sending the three best designers to Fashion Week? Did you think the pot was introducing itself to the kettle when Irina called Althea "her highness"? Whose collection do you most look forward to seeing?

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'The Office' - 'Double Date': Pam packs a punch

2009-11-06T07:30:37Z

This week's episode of "The Office" gave us two almost entirely separate subplots, only one of which worked entirely. Manic, favor-bestowing Dwight had a couple of decent moments, but Michael and his impeccably bad timing stole the show.

I was expecting "Double Date" to be a cringe-worthy episode on par with the classic "Dinner Party," but what the show gave us instead was something a little different. Watching Jenna Fischer -- who killed it two weeks ago in "The Lover" -- as Pam come around to the idea of Michael dating her mom, only to end up in the same place she'd been before, was just a joy, and Steve Carell as Michael once again did that thing he's so good at where Michael almost seems like a sympathetic guy -- until he's not.

It's hard to feel too much for a guy who starts to freak out because he discovers the woman he's seeing -- with whom he's been really happy for the past few weeks -- is older than he thought (though, really, duh -- if Pam's in her early to mid-30s, then Helene is almost surely in her 50s). But a few of the other things he brought up, like their divergent ideas about travel, are actually valid concerns in a relationship. And in the hands of a normal person, that would have made for a bittersweet realization that perhaps this relationship wasn't meant to last.

But Michael is Michael (oh to have a dollar for every time I've written that in an "Office" recap), and because he's incapable of suppressing a feeling for even a few minutes, he has to tell Helene that he needs to break up with her in the most inelegant way possible, right after she opens his goofy but terribly sweet scrapbook birthday gift (again, watching Pam see how much Michael really cares, or cared, about her mom at that point was really kind of great for being just slightly unexpected). And so on the ride back, Helene is in the back seat with Pam and Jim is up front telling Michael to just shut the hell up already.

And then, and then, it got really good. Michael tries to bribe Pam into liking him again, and he makes the mistake of saying "Do you want to hit me?" as part of his offer. Yes, Pam says, I would like to hit you -- and it's so on.

I don't think I've laughed harder this week than I did at the sequence where Toby gives Pam a quick lesson in power-punching. The bit would have been funny enough if he had stopped with giving Pam the OK so long as it wasn't on company property, but to watch the barely restrained glee with which Toby shared ways to hurt Michael had me laughing so hard that my wife came in to check on me. Just a perfect moment of "Office" comedy.

But kids, take a lesson here: Violence doesn't solve anything -- or at least doesn't give Pam the satisfaction she hoped it would. "Feel better?" Jim asks as they walk away. "No -- you were right," she replies.

And so another Michael Scott relationship is relegated to the trash heap of history. But even still, it's hard to hate a guy who can so quickly put up a brave face and tell the camera that he saw his life flash before his eyes and saw himself being a happy, rich and immortal father whose kids play with Jim and Pam's children. God bless your unflagging and self-deluded optimism, Michael.

The B-story: It makes perfect sense to me that in Dwight's head, bringing bagels for the group carries equal weight in a conspiracy to get Jim fired. And the good deed one-upsmanship he and Andy engaged in -- loved Andy's "Do not test my politeness" talking head -- had a bit of Sideshow Bob and the Rakes (apologies for the poor video quality in the link) in it -- a bit that was funny, went on too long and then continued to go on till it was funny again. But then it kept going even past that and became less funny again.

But I like the fact that Andy was not trying to undermine Dwight -- he was just being his super-polite self, and even as the joke wore thin, that's what kept it from becoming downright grating.

Notes and quotes from "Double Date":

There was only one Creed Bratton moment tonight, but as usual, it was awesome: When Pam tries to fake her way out of lunch, Jim fakes taking care of a paper shipment for her (itself a nice reversal of when Jim tried to bail in "Dinner Party"). Creed smiles, says "Oh thank god," and then tells the camera: "Something's up. That paper was never supposed to arrive."
Meredith updates the group when it looks like Michael is ducking out on being punched: "He's not in the men's room, but the seat's still warm, so we may have just missed him." All together now: Eeewww.
Pam at the restaurant (which, by the way, is called Paparazzo's): "I used to love coming here. The chicken parm is good, big part of my childhood. Oh -- maybe Michael will start dating that too."
Michael tries to justify what he's about to do to Helene by using her lack of desire to snowboard as an example: "Do I really want to go snowboarding? No. But I would like to if I wanted to."

What did you think of "The Office" this week? Do you ever see a circumstance where Michael can get out of his own way?

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'Fringe': Ashes to ashes

2009-11-06T07:02:02Z

After taking a few weeks off, "Fringe" is back with an excellent episode.

Mystery of the Week
There's a Shadow Man running around (well, maybe not "running." More like "shimmering."), turning people to dust. Agent Broyles has seen this before, four years ago in D.C.

In D.C., each of five victims had recently visited the same hospital. A person with intimate details of the crime offered to turn himself in, but only if they could decipher his formula, which is a complex organic compound. Walter to the rescue!

They head for a hospital that the first victim recently visited, looking for an Eastern European employee who also worked at the hospital in D.C. four years ago. Later that night, the Shadow Man stalks around the hospital and gets another victim. The name they find in the employee database who fits the profile is Tomas Koslov, a night nurse. The team heads to his apartment but find it empty.

Back at Walter's lab, he tests the dust for radiation because the organic compound is highly radioactive. Yet the dust has NO radiation, which is weird because all of us have trace amounts of radiation. He then realizes the formula involves titanium tetrachloride and gets all excited.

Meanwhile, the CIA wants to take the case away from Broyles and Fringe division. Koslov is wanted in an investigation in Russia for illegally removing "property" belonging to the Russian Federation. However, Broyles won't take THAT kind of nonsense and tells Olivia to keep on keepin' on but not to leave a paper trail.

Olivia and a hospital security guard scan security footage and see the faceless Shadow Man. They call in the team and Walter is just fascinated (natch). Broyles gets a tip from a friend of his that Koslov didn't steal "property," he stole his brother Vasiliev, a former cosmonaut who the Russians say died in space. Tomas has been moving him around from hospital to hospital, guarding him because he's in a coma.

At the lab, Walter figures out that the Shadow Man passes through victims to absorb their radiation (all the victims except Penthouse Guy were receiving radiation treatments. Penthouse Guy just flew across the country, which apparently is like getting a "big ol' head X-ray"). Walter just keeps plugging away at the formula, while blasting opera music. He posits that the Shadow Man is like a ventriloquist projecting his voice. Vasiliev can project the Shadow Man out of his own body.

They leave Tomas a voicemail message that they've solved the equation. Meanwhile, Walter makes a physical representation of the formula with Tinker Toys (just like high school chemistry!) and finds something wrong. He doesn't think the Shadow organism can be separated from Vasiliev.

Tomas calls Agent Broyles, who says they can help Vasiliev but they need to see him. Tomas waffles and while he is deciding ... all he is is dust in the wind. The Shadow Man gets Tomas and escapes. Oops.

Fortunately, the line stays open (because Big Pile of Dust can't hang up the phone) and the team can trace the origin of the call. They arrive at the motel where Tomas was keeping his brother, find the dust pile and take Vasiliev. But they can't do anything until the Shadow Man comes back to Vasiliev's body. They think they need to stress him out so the organism returns. So Broyles shoots the body. That oughta do it. The CIA shows up and takes him away.

There was also a side plot of how Broyles lost his wife and family when he became so obsessed with this case the first time around. At the end of the episode, he goes to tell his wife that he solved the case. She casts him a lingering look as he leaves. Also as he leaves, a strange man tells Broyles that he has a good friend in Sen. Van Horne because when the CIA says back off, they mean business. He wants Broyles to assure him there will be no report on this case. He also implies that they shot Vasiliev back up into space?

Ongoing Mystery
We don't advance the coming war plotline or the two worlds thing, but the CIA certainly came out looking like a bad guy, huh?

Thoughts & Tidbits

Did the opening scene scare anybody else? I actually jumped and let out a yelp when the Shadow Man appeared in the hallway.
All episode this was bouncing around my head, "Warm breeze tosses the leaves aside, and again -- you're registering as Mr. and Mrs Big-Pile-of-Dust." God, I loved James Marsters as Spike. To a disturbing degree.
Walter: Even 40 years ago, you wouldn't believe what those Pinkos were up to.

Follow Andrea on Twitter and follow Zap2It's general feed for all your movies, TV and celebrity news

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'Vampire Diaries': Meet Mystic Falls' newest vamp

2009-11-06T06:22:22Z

Tonight on "Vampire Diaries," it's Stefan's 162nd birthday and things get interesting when his oldest (literally) buddy, Lexi (guest star Arielle Kebbel), comes into town to celebrate.

The episode opens with Stefan's book knocked out of his hands. A shadowy figure swoops across his bedroom wall and using its superhuman speed, pushes Stefan to the floor and well, does the vampire hiss. Is our reluctant hero in danger? Not so much; it's just Stefan's 350-year-old friend Lexi, a fun and bubbly blonde ready to party like it's .. the 1800s?

Now that Vicki's dead (for real this time), Mystic Falls opens up an investigation into her disappearance. Sheriff Forbes questions Jeremy, Matt, Stefan and Elena about their last days with Vicki. They all say they believe she's left town, but only Stefan and Elena know what really happened. Which begs the question: When will Vicki's death be revealed to the mortals of Mystic Falls?

The most telling sign that Stefan's brother Damon actually fulfilled Elena's wishes at the end of last week's episode was when a straight-laced Jeremy repeats the exact words she wanted him to say about Vicki: "I'll miss her, but I think it's for the best." Maybe Damon does have a heart ... a really, really tiny one. Adding to the weirdness, Jeremy starts doing his homework and isn't drinking or taking drugs. It might make some happy, but not the Gilberts - something's up and they know it.

Damon may not be the most dangerous vampire after all. After an unsuccessful flirting session with Lexi, he gets thrown around by his century-old friend. She makes it clear that she's only in town for Stefan and if Damon gets in the way, hell will break loose, and damnit, I believe her. Damon has finally met his match. Afterwards, Damon pays a visit to Sheriff Forbes and as promised, brings a healthy supply of vervain. It's entertaining to watch the sheriff trust the one person she shouldn't, 'cause you know it'll bite her in the butt. When the sheriff asks him to look out for newcomers, a light bulb goes off in Damon's head. Ding, ding, ding! Make Lexi prime suspect #1!

Bonnie tells Elena that she's a witch and proves it by making feathers from a pillow levitate. Pretty cool for a high school girl. Damon pulls a Jedi mind trick on Caroline, forcing her to throw Stefan's birthday bash disguised as a generic party at the Grill and oh yeah, to get that crystal from Bonnie. Meanwhile, Lexi persuades Stefan out of his brooding shell and to go to his own shindig. Now I see why they're such a great fit; she's the light to his darkness. While Stefan's showering, Lexi meets Elena for the very first time and she's disturbed by the likeness to Stefan's first love, vampire Katherine.

Stefan visits Elena and invites her to his party, but she passes. What their relationship lacks in normalcy, it definitely makes up for in angst. At the Grill, Caroline asks Bonnie to return the necklace, but makes the mistake of hesitating in her lies. Oh Bonnie, always the smart one. Knowing that Damon is the interested party, she's not letting it out of her sight. Damon shows his true colors to Caroline when she tells him Bonnie won't let go of the necklace, and that it shocked her. I'm thinking the shocks are probably tied to Bonnie's witch powers. Pissed off, Damon does the one thing he can do to take back power, and sucks perfect 98.6-degree blood from a high school boy.

Guess Elena changed her mind about not going to the party because Damon spots her sitting alone, staring longingly at a smiling Stefan and Lexi playing pool. Elena asks him what everyone's been wondering: What did he do, or not do, to Jeremy that night? When Damon tells Elena that he took away Jeremy's suffering, there must've been a glint in his eye. Lexi orders some shots at the bar and when the bartender asks to see ID, which she doesn't have because she's so ancient, she pulls a Damon to get her way. She might be nice, helping Stefan and Elena realize their love might conquer their differences after all, but there's something up her sleeve.

A hammered Caroline gets friendly with Matt by the bar. I feel for Matt; not only is his sister dead but his only love Elena is gettin' busy with a 19th century vampire. Not to mention this is one of his most substantial scenes since the pilot. They discuss Caroline's shallowness and we get glimpses into why Elena (or any girl with a heartbeat, for that matter) fell in love with him. The guy's a genuine charmer.

Lexi asks Damon the real reason he's here. "I have a diabolical master plan," he responds. "What is it?," Lexi asks. "If I told you, it wouldn't be very diabolical now wouldn't it?," Damon quips right back. Damon-isms, be still my heart. Remember that boy Damon sucked the life right out of? The girl that high school boy was with points to who killed her make-out partner - and surprise, it's not Damon! Sheriff Forbes shoots vervain into Lexi and takes her out of the bar, but not so fast! Once outside, Lexi throws the officers off her and dodges the sheriff's bullets. But before she can wring the sheriff's neck, Damon lunges a stake into her chest. "It's all a part of the plan," he simply says to Lexi before she dies.

Not knowing that Stefan and Elena were unwilling witnesses to Lexi's death, Damon's chosen his side. In an awesome fight between good and evil, Damon and Stefan hash it out and the "good" brother stakes his "evil" sibling, but spares his life. Is Stefan that innocent? I think not.

What is Damon's big "diabolical plan" and what does the sheriff have to do with it? Will we ever see what happened when Damon was alone with Jeremy? Will Matt finally have a bigger role now that he's closer with Caroline? What about the status of Stefan and Elena's relationship?

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'Bones': Booth and Brennan still won't just make out already

2009-11-06T06:02:46Z

Hmm...something tells me Emily Deschanel, vegan and animal rights activist extraordinaire, had something to do with tonight's episode of "Bones"...and I'm not talking about the murder victim being a chicken farmer. The show aired a surprising amount of real footage from broiler chicken factory farms, and peppered the episode with information and conversations about farm animal treatment. (Full disclosure: I'm also vegan. But this episode didn't make anything up for dramatic effect - I promise.)

The Case: Our victim was discovered by a troop of "Woodchucks" (think awesomely nerdy Girl Scouts) in a river ... and he smells like farts. Ugh. In addition to being full of hydrogen sulfide, our mystery man is missing some digits. They theorize secret military experiment, especially when Angela's reconstruction turns out "half man, half chicken." (Huge forehead, pointy chin, beak-like nose...) Oh, and he's also got chicken parasites.

Instead of a "super chicken soldier," however, our victim is a manager at Clucksten Farms, a broiler farm under siege by protesters: both "animal rights nuts" (ouch) and locals who hate the smell. The hydrogen sulfide from all the concentrated chicken manure inside is so strong that over the years it ate away at our victim Nick's nose until it looked like a beak. And as if that's not bad enough, Nick was killed when someone wrung his neck with a chicken plucker ... and then put his dismembered fingers inside, well, chicken fingers at a local fast food joint. Ewwww! (Yes, that grosses me out more than the rotting, farty smelling body at the beginning. Maybe I'm just disturbingly desensitized to the gore?)

We've got plenty of suspects: an animal-rights protester who put out a video showing how the chickens were treated, the victim's wife, who gave him the video footage because she wanted Clucksten shut down for her husband's sake, the baker whose shop is downwind from the fart factory, and the worker who runs the debeaking machine (don't click if you don't wanna know) that was used to cut off Rick's thumbs and toes.

In the end, though, Brennan identifies Clucksten's head of security, who broke his hand shoving Nick's head into the plucker. Nuts. I was hoping Angela was right about the chicken revolution. His wife got sick because of Clucksten, but when they moved to the next county, she got better. And Nick just couldn't let him have a gas allowance ... from there, the chicken plucker. Booth believes the guy when he cries accident, but Brennan proves that he forcibly pushed Nick's head in there. And if you think it's weird that Brennan picked up on the lying when Booth didn't, you're right. And Booth realizes it.

He thinks he's still not up to speed after the surgery -- still not himself. Brennan: "Well even at half speed, you're twice as fast as anyone else." Still, I can understand why Booth is worried: If he can't bring his great instincts and observational skills to the table, what use is he to Brennan?

Squint Squad/Booth and Brennan: Brennan, it seems, is only vegetarian for health reasons (...and I assume, since she's mentioned it before, because she was grossed out by cannibals and horse meat eaters). In fact, when Angela tries to get a donation from her to save a piglet (why that would cost $1,500, I don't know) Brennan is worse than dismissive. Angela: "It worries me that you can look into [the piglet's] eyes and feel so cold." Me too, Angela. That's one adoooorable piglet! She even goes so far as to question her friendship with Brennan. This distresses Brennan, but Booth won't get into the middle of it to help aside from expressing his sympathy with some intense hand-holding.

Sweets, insultingly, decides that Angela just needs to give up celibacy early because she's "forming strong emotional attachments to photos of baby animals." Okay, first of all, we've been over this: the piglet is cute as a freaking button. (Not this cute, but then, no piglet could ever be. Which is why that's been my desktop background for more than a year. Shut up.) Secondly, maybe she actually cares about the way animals are treated, Sweets. (Though I'll concede that running around and annoying your friends by asking for $1,500 maaay not be the best way to go about helping them.)

Wendell, an "unapologetic meat eater" who owes $40,000 in student loans, immediately ponies up $45. And honestly, if Angela hadn't been all over him immediately I'd have wondered what was wrong with her. How hilarious was it, though, when Cam noticed what was going on and first just looked on amusedly at the awkwardness with Hodgins, and then went in for the kill: "I don't twirl the interns. Perhaps Angela could do it..."

Sweets suggests to Brennan that she be the one who "comes around" this time, despite the fact that she sees saving the piglet as a meaningless act, even though he's "very, very cute." Brennan isn't swayed until she talks to Booth to get perspective from "a full-grown man of experience." When he suggests that she just let Angela have this one, she immediately hops up and writes a check. Now that's trust, people. And growth -- I'm not sure an earlier Brennan would ever have followed anyone's advice without first agreeing with the logic behind it.

She's also clearly gotten better at reading people, because she sees that Booth noticed something while she was gone (Angela and Wendell). She first congratulates him on still having his mad observation skillz after all, and then asks if she wants to know what he saw. And when he says no, she trusts him on it. Aw. They clink glasses and look into each other's eyes, smiling, for like an hour. GOD, just make out already! It's getting kind of silly at this point.

Quotes/Odds & Ends:

Is it just me, or was Brennan smiling a bit when she and Booth got doused in yellow goo and paper feathers by the activists?
Brennan + children = hilarity. Every time. "Their moods are very capricious." Ha!
Booth: "I don't freak out. Do I freak out?" Brennan (hesitantly): "Sometimes."
Cam: "Do not tell me we're back to super chicken soldier again."
Booth: "Listen, Bones, I would do anything for you. I would die for you, I would kill for you. But I am NOT getting in between two best friends."

So...they really should just make out already, right? How do you feel about the Wendell/Angela situation?

'Grey's Anatomy': Arizona's $25 million birthday surprise

2009-11-06T05:43:48Z

Tonight's "Grey's Anatomy" was all about cases involving kids, which means Arizona Robbins and her unit where miracles and magic exist was front and center.

So magical, in fact, that while on rounds, the docs encounter Wallace, who at first seems like a wee Doogie Howser (he's about to turn 11), but is in fact a patient. Afflicted with short gut syndrome, he's been in the hospital for seven months and has been through 15 surgeries. Yet he's a remarkable kid, who Arizona helps with his math and science homework by letting him go on rounds. Wallace's parents, grateful that he's reaching his 11th birthday when they didn't think he'd ever see 9, decide to give $25 million to Seattle Grace/Mercy West, for research to find a cure for his condition.

Arizona, who shares a birthday (but won't make a big deal out of it) with Wallace, is stunned and grateful. The Chief and Larry Jennings (Mitch Pileggi) of the hospital board see dollar signs.

Karev is working with Bailey and Arizona in the nursery, taking care of some really sick babies including a little girl born at 30 weeks, who had a stroke in the womb after her mom was in a car accident and who doesn't look likely to make it. Reed inexplicably keeps hanging around a snarling Alex, whose life just got more complicated by Izzie's $200,000 treatment bill. The baby's mother, a neuro patient, is struggling to hang on but horrified at the thought that her baby could die before anyone has even held her. Alex takes care of the holding part in the nursery, all the while verbally swatting at Reed like a pesky fly. Bailey notices that being held has really helped the baby, and gets Alex to take off his shirt to have skin-to-skin contact with her.

Hunt and Callie are coping with Hillary, a 15-year-old girl who's managed to fall off a roof and break 52 bones. Then the tox screens come back, showing that she was high on mushrooms when she fell. Hillary scoffs at her parents' attempts to admonish her, saying (quite rightly) that she's a parent's dream: straight-A student, student council, runs the school newspaper and tutors underprivileged kids. She just "explored the bounds of her consciousness with mushrooms." "You're bummed I miscalculated because it reminds you of your own fallibility," she tells her astounded parents. "I'm bummed too. Let's just leave it at that."

But in surgery as Callie, Hunt, Avery, and Cristina basically rebuild the girl's legs, she ends up with an air embolism in her chest. Everyone wants to wait until cardio shows up, but Cristina jumps in and takes care of business with an unauthorized procedure, which sends everyone's heads exploding. In her defense, she wasn't just pulling a Hillary, doing what she wanted because she could. She knew what she was doing and had last done that procedure with the Chief -- which she tells Owen when he (rightly) reads her the riot act about how badly things could have gone and how wrong she was.

Your luck's going to run out at some point, he tells her later -- which actually seems to snap her out of her cocky haze, or at least enough to be self-aware about what happened and end up yelling at Hillary -- who was on the phone with a friend looking to score more drugs -- for being so stupid.

Back in the nursery, Reed keeps annoyingly hanging around, trying to help, or be nice to Alex, or whatever she's doing. But he's sitting there, shirtless, with this baby like he's her only line on life. In fact, she's his. He can't go home, he says. He doesn't know where Izzie is, she could be dead, he's got her giant hospital bill, and he can't do anything about any of it. But he can hold this baby. It's great stuff from Justin Chambers.

Getting back to Wallace -- he needs another operation, but Arizona cautions against it, saying he's not strong enough to handle it. She attempts to prepare his parents, but they're determined that he have surgery -- anything that will buy him a couple more months. Those parents will get the surgery whether you do it or not, the Chief says, pushing her into doing something she doesn't want and knows is wrong for the patient. Way to protect those dollars, Chief -- go ahead and sell out your surgeon and her career as long as you get your Benjamins. Where was that "can-do" spirit with Isaac's tumor last week?

Arizona's really troubled by what she's facing, and relies on Callie for a pep talk, which Callie is only semi-good at. Wallace clearly knows what's up -- he's a sick kid who's seen other sick kids die, and he's scared that the same thing will happen to him. Things aren't going well in the OR, particularly with the Chief watching, but Charles emerges from his jackhole shell for long enough to help calm down a jittery Arizona -- and Wallace pulls through. But she gets paged back in when the boy goes into septic shock, and ends up furiously and absolutely correctly telling the chief to get the hell out of her OR, since all he sees when he looks at that boy is a $25 million pile of cash.

I have no idea how someone gets away with talking to her boss that way, but it's making me wonder how many more of these confrontations will need to take place before the Chief gets it through his thick skull. The way he and Jennings have been hovering around this case -- while understandable -- is still unbelievably transparent, if not somewhat ghoulish.

Wallace doesn't make it, and Arizona puts the responsibility for telling his parents on the Chief and Jennings. She's upset, she's a liability, and she knows it. Which is what she's carrying around with her when she walks into the surprise party Callie planned for her. Mark Sloan couldn't have been more right about what a bad idea that was. Worst. Idea. Ever. On top of it, Callie's not exactly the greatest at comforting her crying girlfriend, who does pull it together and goes back to the hospital. She takes Wallace's parents to see him, and in a touching moment does a "bad dreams go away/good dreams come to stay" ritual where his mother leaves off. And Wallace's father tells the Chief and Jennings in no uncertain terms that Arizona is the reason that they'll still be giving the $25 million -- not because of them or their ass-kissing. Bravo.

In the end, Arizona pulls it together, coming home to the aftermath of a party, including hats, gifts, donuts, and a girlfriend in one heck of a nightgown. She tells Callie she loves her, pretty much blowing Torres right out of her socks. And Callie loves her back.

Some other notes:

Derek and Mark's reactions to a shirtless Alex holding the baby were priceless. Derek: "Have you started to lactate yet?" Sloan: "Is this the room for the calendar shoot? I was told it was downstairs." Reed, unsurprisingly, practically drools. Hey, the guy was a Calvin Klein model -- he looks good.
So proud of Cristina for not throwing things with Owen away when Avery planted one on her at Arizona's party, and for both acknowledging that he had reason to be upset and taking him home.
Not nearly enough Bailey in this episode for my taste, but it was great to see how Hunt worked together with Callie and Arizona. It was also a practically Derek-free episode, but the bit about him not accepting his firing and being fine with the Chief ignoring him was pretty good.
I miss Eric Dane's facial hair.
It's kind of funny to see Callie and Cristina's apartment becoming the kind of gathering place that Meredith's house used to be.
Married happy Meredith is kind of cute. I wouldn't necessarily have bought it before, but it seems to fit now.

AND, based on the promos: both Meredith and Izzie return next week!!

What did you think? Do you think Cristina should face more serious consequences after her OR performance? Are you feeling better about the slightly smaller role (except for Reed) of the Mercy West residents this week? Did you want to deck the Chief? Do you want to see more of shirtless Alex?

Related:

'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Private Practice' cross over again
Sneak peek at Kim Raver on 'Grey's Anatomy'

'Survivor: Samoa': That hubris, it'll getcha

2009-11-06T05:31:47Z

Tonight's episode of "Survivor" is why we all watch, people. SO GREAT.

Foa Foa
After tribal, the Foa Foans think they can still stay in this game after the merge. They have to divide and conquer. Russell suggests each of them talk to just one person, and if each person gets one Galuians to flip, they're golden. Even if only two of them are successful, they've at least forced a tie. It's a solid plan. Whether it works remains to be seen.

Galu
Shambo perceives some kind of "90210-little-young-thing" going on and that there's a power struggle. Shambo talking-heads that it's like the snotty cheerleaders who won't let you into their circle. Oh my god, Shambo is stuck back in 1979 when she was a freshman in high school and everyone was mean to her. This is not "Survivor: Therapy." Good lord.

The Merge
There is much feasting and celebrating and hugging -- typical merge-y fun. The Foa Foans, however, are not messing around. Just like they talked about, Jaison goes after Well-Coiffed Pretty Boy No. 1 (I think it's John, but it could be Brett), Natalie goes after Danger Dave, Russell flirts with Skinny Brunette (Monica?). Seriously, too many contestants. It's really delightful to watch.

The new tribe is called Aiga, which means "extended family" in Samoan. That's cool. Galu's hubris does not take long to show, as Erik goes on a rant about how Foa Foa has nothing and Galu has everything and he has the Hidden Immunity Idol and my god, do I hope he goes home without playing the Idol. How smug can you be?

Russell immediately approaches Laura about how if she takes him to the top seven, he'll hand over the Hidden Immunity Idol. His conditions are that one of her guys goes first (meaning Galu). Her response? I'll type it verbatim because it's that good. "That won't happen ... It'll be one of your guys. Or Shambo." Snerk. Isn't Shambo one of "your guys?" Maybe it didn't strike anyone else as funny, but it made me laugh. When Laura tries to tell Russell who's boss, he gives up on her (interviewing that maybe Laura should go first) and then tries his hand on Monica.

Now, I don't think showing the Idol to two people is the smartest thing, but Russell says if they can get rid of Laura, Monica will come a-runnin'. So he goes after John and flashes the Idol with promises of sharing. Hmmm. This is either incredibly smart or incredibly dumb, but John seems to be into it. Russell does say that Babe Ruth "struck out more than anybody" but also hit more home runs so it tells him to just "keep swinging."

You gotta love Russell's moxie, but just to clarify: Babe Ruth didn't strike out "more than anybody." He actually didn't even strike out A LOT. He averaged 60 Ks a season, and over 154 games, that's one strikeout every 2.5 games. That's actually pretty good, especially for a power hitter like Ruth. He ranks 88th on the all-time strikeout list, but he also played 22 years and people don't typically play that long anymore. OK, baseball lesson over.

Anyway, Russell next works on Laura's mortal enemy Shambo, and she's VERY on-board with getting the perceived cheerleader out of there. He also comments that "people trust the South." I don't know that that's necessarily true, but whatever.

There is a masterful bit of editing where Shambo tells Russell to pull Jaison, Mick and Natalie off to the side individually and tell them the plan; intercut is Russell doing exactly that. It's awesome. I hope this works.

Immunity Challenge
It's t-ball. Your ball lands in a section, you get points, and the highest point total wins. The men are competing against the men and the women are competing against the women. I don't understand that. The course isn't so big that men are just automatically going to kick butt. Either way, there are two Immunity Necklaces in play. Oh man. I bet Laura wins one. Dammit.

The men's score totals end up as Dave 3, Jaison out of bounds, Russell 4, Brett out of bounds, Mick 2, Erik goes for the 10 (because he thinks he's awesome and is way over-confident) and lands out of bounds, and John gets 5 for Immunity.

For the women, Natalie out of bounds, Monica 2, Kelly 3, Shambo out of bounds, and Laura gets a 4 for Immunity. I KNEW IT. Damn you, editors! Getting me all excited! But I just have to point this out again: Laura is totally Allyce Beasley from "Moonlighting" (right).

Scramblin' Time
Back at camp, Russell tries to get Shambo to vote for Monica, but she says that Erik and Laura will decide who goes. Why, Shambo? WHY? Don't let them control you! Erik and Laura think they "say" Russell to flush out the Idol but vote for Jaison. John goes to Erik, though, and says it has to be Monica. They're going to have Foa Foa vote Monica but tell Russell he's going home so he plays the Idol.

The Foa Foans don't like being treated like children by Hubris Erik, so they decide to give their four votes to Erik and send Natalie to tell Laura and Kelly about how he said to vote for Monica and how they'll still have the numbers if they vote Erik out. They get Monica on board, then they get Danger Dave, and I'm so pumped that Erik might get blind-sided. But then John gets wind of the putsch, Shambo is confused about who Erik even is, and Jaison worries that it's all a game to flush out Russell's Idol. I haven't been this excited about a Tribal Council since Mookie, Eduardo and Alex got duped into playing the Idol by Earl and Yau-Man. Even Russell is like, "This is the first time that I don't know nothin.' All of a sudden, all hell breaks loose."

Tribal Council
Jeff asks Erik what Galu should base the vote on, and Erik says, "You know, to me, I struggle to see anything that Foa Foa has to offer Galu. Let's just say that they were to get a Galu member to turn, in a very cohesive team, I would be floored if I saw them get one, let alone two or three they would need to actually spin this game. And that's not me being cocky or confident, but I just struggle to see what it is that they can do. Your heart goes out to them, but you know, they're in the hole."

OH MY GOD, SMACK HIM IN HIS SMUG LITTLE FACE. The looks exchanged by various people during Erik's little speech are PRICELESS. I will be so disheartened if he stays. Erik then takes the Foa Foans apart one-by-one and Jaison takes some umbrage. Erik's points aren't without merit, but he's just so freaking full of himself that I'm with Jaison on this one.

The Vote
We don't get to see ANY votes. I'm so excited, y'all! Before the votes are read, Russell plays the Idol. I get the feeling it will end up being unnecessary, but I can see how Russell would be SO unsure on how the votes will go that he had no choice. The votes go: Jaison, Jaison, Erik, Erik, Erik, Erik, ERIK, ERIK, ERIK!!!! MUHAHAHAHA. The change in the expression on Erik's face between the fourth and fifth votes is AWESOME. THIS is why I watch "Survivor!"

Thoughts & Tidbits

Just for the record, the only people who voted for Jaison were Erik and Shambo. HAHA!
Best "Survivor" episode in awhile. The editing with making you think Laura, then dashing your hopes with Immunity, plus Erik's hubris and pontificating and getting blindsided? AWESOMESAUCE.
This season just got so good. I knew it had to turn around.
I'm liking Russell more and more and I really wish he had held the Idol back. Because he said a little too much at Tribal about how conniving he's willing to be. I think he's sunk.
Jeff: Danger Dave... baseball your sport?
Dave: No, makin' love's my sport.
(That was SO disturbing but also SO funny)
Erik: I don't give a f**k if she votes for Probst tonight.
(I would love to see it. Someone knows they're going and votes for Jeff Probst. HAHA!)

'FlashForward': Al Gough changes the game

2009-11-06T04:01:13Z

That Blue Hand Group certainly proved themselves to be a bunch of troublemakers tonight on "FlashForward."

(Big spoiler coming right up, so click away if you haven't watched yet.)

They set Al Gough down a line of thought that resulted in his not only playing Russian Roulette, but also taking a swan dive off the FBI building. Demetri may live as a result, and we know now that the future isn't set in stone, but I'm going to miss Al.

If you ask me, Al, Demetri, and Mark were playing with fire by heading to a Blue Hand Group club. They had no idea what they were getting into -- only that they really wanted Raynaud and were willing to do just about everything to get him.

Al may have won his game of Russian Roulette, but I'm not entirely sure that the bullet was live in the first place (if anyone out there knows by just seeing what we saw, shout). But, what did winning get them anyway? It got them admitted into a freaky club with what looked an awful lot like a torture-taking place. Our guys revealed themselves as agents in front of a group of people doing illegal things who could have taken them down and left no one else the wiser.

Did they find the Raynaud fellow they were looking for? Sure -- but not the real one who died over a hundred years ago. They even stopped him from committing suicide (for now) and worked out that he had been a teacher named Jeff before the flashforward and before he lost the will to live. Why? Because the Blue Hand Group is for people who didn't have flashes, or "ghosts" if you prefer.

They did get Al thinking about the Celia woman he may have been responsible for killing at some point in the future. He opted to prove that the flashes weren't real, that he wouldn't be responsible for killing Celia (which is not the same as her living) and that maybe he could save Demetri too. Suicide still, in my opinion, isn't really noble.

Demetri coming clean to Zoey about his flash was a good call (and something he did before Al jumped). I get where Demetri was coming from, lying to her about being there for the wedding, but long-term that was not going to work. He explained that he was like the folks in the Blue Hand Group, but Zoey wasn't buying. She believed in her vision, which now may actually come true (although I'm still not convinced she ever saw Demetri in it).

He didn't get much to do tonight, but I really like Lloyd. He's a stand-up guy. Going to see Doc Benford to make sure that she knew that he wasn't going to step over any line despite the flash makes him a good guy in my book. I still think he's going to get the chance, though, when Mark and Olivia's marriage implodes due to the flash. He'll be there to swoop in then as the rebound guy. He's smart, that Lloyd.

Quick flashes:

Demetri's fiancÃ©e must have quite the job. Did you see that apartment?
How did Nicole possibly know what that Japanese symbol Bryce had been looking for was? And, if she knew it so quickly, surely Bryce could have asked someone Japanese to identify it as well. Did he really not ask anyone familiar with the culture and language?
Tracy, Aaron's daughter, is alive. I'm going with government cover-up on that one.
I hope that even without Al, we're going to get more of Fiona Banks.
You can go to that Already Ghosts website, but it looks like all it does is lead you back to the ABC official site. Boring.

The TV and Film Guy's Reviews - in no way ABC affiliated.

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'Supernatural': Calling Dr. Sexy

2009-11-06T01:09:25Z

Tonight on "Supernatural," it's a trip through the TV looking-glass.

"'Supernatural' is filmed before a live studio audience."

We're in a sitcom, as Dean ogles a Dagwood sandwich ("I'm going to need a bigger mouth."), and Sam quips about the end of the world -- and the sandwich.

Cheesy opening song, "Two hunting bros..." Just a couple of crazy dudes, hunting evil, riding a tandem bike and motor scooters, tossing a ball and downing brewskis.

Zap! Wellington, Ohio, two days earlier. Two hot medicos in an elevator go at it, but it's just Dean's favorite TV show. Apparently he's "channel surfing." But there is a case, and the boys go into FBI mode to investigate a "bear attack," if bears kill you in you own bedroom.

Apparently the victim's wife is "confused," as she says it was either a bear or the Lou Ferrigno version of "The Incredible Hulk."

Dean eventually concludes it's the work of the Trickster, but Sam thinks talking to him might be better than killing him outright.

"A bloody, violent monster, and you want to be Facebook friends with him?" says Dean.

There's a police call, and we're at an old warehouse, but there are no cop cars and no crime-scene tape. The boys charge in, and suddenly they seem to be in Dean's favorite medical melodrama, white coats and all.

"Gray's Dismemberment," anyone?

Dean recognizes the "sexy, earnest" Dr. Ellen Piccolo, and realizes he's gone through the TV screen into "Dr. Sexy, M.D."

Sam's theory? "The Trickster trapped us in TV land," which Dean points out is not a real place. Score one for Dean, who's nonetheless excited to meet Dr. Sexy -- but the M.D.'s lack of cowboy footwear gives him away.

It's the Trickster, who challenges the boys to spend the next 24 hours in his "idiot box." They get to leave, if they learn how to play their parts in TV land.

This includes Sam suddenly knowing how to do surgery, and Dean suddenly being able to speak Japanese (but before he can figure this out, Sam winds up on the business end of some bad news on a Japanese game show called "Nutcracker.").

Castiel shows up, but he doesn't seem to have a part to play, except being cranky.

And Sam's in a soft-focus genital herpes commercial. Ick.

Back in sitcom-land, the Trickster shows up and zaps Castiel far, far away. Dean is now so over tripping through the TV tulips, but the Trickster says that's only half the fame. His goal is to get the boys to play their roles out in the real world, with Dean as Michael and Sam as Lucifer. Deathmatch!

He says the boys started the Big Fight, now they have to finish it by allowing themselves to be possessed. The Trickster claims he's Switzerland, but Dean says, "You're somebody's bitch." That doesn't go over well.

If the boys don't go along, says the Trickster, then it's an eternity in TV -- which is now something like the bastard child of "CSI: Miami" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," with dark suits and sunglasses -- in the dark.

Turns out Dean hates procedural cop shows (which might be related to "CSI" being "Supernatural's" timeslot competition). The boys do passable Caruso imitations, but at the first opportunity, Sam runs the Trickster through with a big wooden stake.

"Vampire Diaries"?

But, no, it's "Knight Rider," with Sam voicing the Chevy Impala KITT, red grille lights and all. Cool.

Sam speculates that the stake didn't work because the Trickster isn't the Trickster, but who is he? Dean has an idea, but must first drive through autumn leaves to the accompaniment of pulsing background music. Then, at a rest stop, he cries "Uncle!" into the British Columbian wilderness.

The Trickster appears, and Dean demands he get Sam out of the car. The Trickster complies, but the boys trap him in a ring of holy fire, which works because he's actually the Angel Gabriel, hiding in a sort of witness protection. Gabriel just wants the Apocalypse to be over, and he doesn't care who wins -- his angelic brethren, the demons or the Man Upstairs.

"What you guys call the Apocalypse," he says, "I used to call Sunday dinner." It's all about brothers who betray each other, like Cain and Abel or Sam and Dean -- or Michael and Lucifer, who must possess our boys.

"As it is in Heaven," so it must be on Earth" intones Gabe. One must brother must kill the other, and so it has been since the beginning of time.

Dean just wants Castiel back, or Gabe gets to be a deep-fried angel Twinkie. Poof, he's back, and he's righteously pissed at Gabe. Dean needles Gabe for being a weenie hiding on the sidelines, then he turns on the sprinklers.

The boys and Cass (with one last withering look) are outta here. Back to the drizzle, back to the Impala.

"Right about now," says Dean, "I wish I was back in a TV show."

"Me, too," says Sam.

We're all outta here. Next week, same channel, same time, same Apocalypse.

What do you think? Will the boys give in and become angelic meat puppets, or will they pull an Apocalyptic rabbit out of a hat? Most important -- will they get sexy wings?

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'America's Next Top Model': Dive deeper, aim higher

2009-11-05T22:43:55Z

When I think of the word "model" I don't think of a girl jumping to her potential death. Yet that was part of a challenge on this week's "America's Next Top Model."

I mean, it's television, so of course no one would really drown. I'm still pondering what jumping off a cliff into the ocean has to do with being a model, but it does seem that Tyra often puts these girls into the most terrifying situations.

I wonder if while casting the girls, they were asked, "What scares the crap out of you?" And then the team created the photo-challenges based on these things.

During this Dive Deeper Episode, the final five are Jennifer, Laura, Erin, Nicole and Sundai, and all seemed rightfully there but one. Erin. Despite her believing she is the judges' "golden child," she is more uninspiring to watch than ever. The moment I see her cabbage patch pout I'm like "get off this show, please."

Tyra Mail! "You never know what can come ashore, I hope you look appropriate."

The girls ponder the deeper meaning and portraying dead savages with seaweed, mermaids and going fishing come up. Before the girls leave for the challenge, Sundai tells camera that there is nothing else for her out there, and modeling is all she has.

I need to share a side note about why it is important to have more than one interest in life. Modeling is not a stable life. It's a challenging pursuit and it takes a very ambitious and upbeat, positive, determined person to get ahead. Especially for a shorter girl, it is not just about being pretty or a certain height most of the time; it is about your will to market what you do have. When Sundai mentioned nothing more was out there for her, I felt sad. Again, the show has not been sharing enough of the real skills a shorter girl needs to have to excel at any level.

Thankfully it was Laura's birthday to uplift the mood but there is not much time to party plan, the girls are now headed to a deserted beach in Hawaii for the next challenge.

The girls are in bikinis and look disheveled, and even a bit awkward in their bathing suits as they casually walking on the sand. I think a bikini label should have donated the suits they wore and had the girls shoot for their campaign or the winner of the challenge would have gotten that prize. Anyone with me?

In the distance they see something: a canoe with bunch of buff men rowing a princess to shore. Except it isn't a princess, it is something better: supermodel and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Marisa Miller.

Marisa is there to teach. At last a guest judge will be teaching the girls something potentially important. She is hot in her bikini and at thirty-one looks better than any of the pint-size youthful model hopefuls.

She tries to impress the girls by saying her is a Supermodel and that she is "only 5'8"!"

I don't feel the exclamation point however because to me, 5'8" is really tall. I am not even 5'8" in high heels. 5'8" is not petite in my eyes.

Well, anyways, she tells the girls to get all wet in the water, and when Sundai doesn't want to get her hair wet I worry for her; in modeling you have to put all that sensitivity aside and sometimes just cannon ball into the experience. With the girls soaked wet, they are asked to roll in the sand like seals. Laura shares how much her burnt raw skin hates this.

Now the girls are learning about posture and pointing their Barbie toe and how to lengthen their bodies and work what they've got to create a sensual swimwear photo.

The girls are obviously glad someone is walking them through a lesson on posing.

Under a man-made plastic pipe waterfall stand, Laura is the first to go. With Marisa guiding her, she does pull off flaunting her nice curves in a Sports Illustrated style, however Marisa tells her not to grab her boobs. I agree touching yourself too much during a swimwear shoot under a waterfall can begin to look porn-ish quickly.

The water flows out harder for some reason when it is Jennifer's turn. Jennifer sticks out her bottom and gives herself more curve, but the water is pounding so hard on her she doesn't look very sensual. The water also pounds on Sundai and she looks like she is drowning under it, and laughs too much to really get the job done successfully. Each girl gets her chance under the water but this is just the warm up.

In sneakers and bikinis the girls hike up an ocean cliffside. At the top they find Nigel and the gorgeous ocean view and see the rocks below.

Walk the Plank Half Pint

The task is jumping into the water in a graceful and sexy way. The catch is that they girls get only one shot to accomplish this.

Marisa Miller announces the winner will get a chocolate pearl necklace. I am puzzled to if it is edible. Again I think an opportunity to pose for a swimwear brand would have been a better prize.

Nigel chimes in saying the girl who had the best cliff jumping photos gets more frames -- extra film shots-- during the forthcoming photo shoot. This would mean more opportunity to get a better shot when the time comes. Then the winner also gets to pick a friend who gets a little less extra shots and then that girl got to pick a friend who gets a few less shots, then that friend until one girl was left, with a lot less film than the others.

One by one they all take their jump off the cliff and fly in the air. Laura offers to go first again and survives the fall into the rocky waters below. It isn't a pretty jump but she at least makes it. Jennifer has her arm up and hand in her hair while she jumps, Nicole jumps with a side profile commenting on how she remembered what Marisa had said about the side profile shows curves. Sundai falls straight down off the plank but it ends up looking kind of pretty. Erin tells us she loves jumping and that she will jump off of anything.

Knowing Who Your Friends Are

With her side profile angelic jump, Nicole wins the challenge. She picks Sundai first. Sundai picks Laura, and Laura picks Jennifer and Erin is at a disadvantage. She obviously doesn't have any friends here.

Erin blows this off and acts like it is no big deal expressing that if her photos are amazing it will make her stand out that she accomplished that with less shots that the other girls.

A few seconds later however, at Laura's birthday, Erin is frustrated over putting frosting on the cupcakes and even hisses at the birthday girl. In the diary room, she admits to being upset about having not as many frames for the photo shoot and is worried it will get the best of her.

Tyra Mail! "Tomorrow you'll be getting friendly with the local Natives."

They all think they will be posing with an animal. I'm guessing a dolphin.

A Whole New World

Feeling like Ariel from the "Little Mermaid," the girls are about to experience an underwater photo-shoot experience. Sundai is nauseous on the boat and worries about her asthma. Laura is scared because she can't swim but offers to go first, again.

The scarves are back and this time they are a prop for shooting this underwater fashion ballerina shoot. Jay is there to calm and help the girls while they are in the water, but really he just looks at the computer screen and watches from the dock.

Laura gets nervous about the underwater breathing device. For a moment I think she is going to have to come up for air in a panic. But she hangs in there and inhales deeper and holds her oxygen to get a fabulous shot with her yellow scarf and legs bent to give her more length.

Nicole has a blue scarf and is the most natural of the group underwater, a born mermaid. She hopes Erin will freak out when it is her turn.

Jennifer is in a very cute white one-piece bathing suit and has a red scarf. She struggles to get in the groove underwater and comes up to talk to Jay and then goes back under to try again. With straight legs and pointed toes give a simple but beautiful shot.

Sundai is worried about the water and her asthma, Jay tells her that divers have asthma but it is less inspiring and more like being yelled at. Poor Sundai. No sympathy is coming her way.

Erin, self-appointed "Top Model" golden child, wants to do well because she believes the judges are rooting for her. In the end however she blows her opportunity and her shot ends up closer to the surface than underwater.

Little Girl Gone

Tyra is a rude snot and makes Laura take off her sweater that her grandmother gave her for her birthday and right then and there I want to smack Tyra. How dare she take away Laura's sweet birthday present just because it isn't as stylish as Tyra would want at panel? Laura's photo is beautiful though and there isn't much to complain about.

The judges like Sundai's long legs and say she looks like an underwater fairy, but her face got lost. Since she was too nervous to go deeper in the water and with the hair extensions in, her hair is in her face. Tyra makes fun of Sundai's voice as well and then scorns her for being scared and her asthma excuses. I want to smack Tyra again for the teases.

At least she admits to having flat feet and I think it is good that she, for once, admits Tyra isn't perfect.

Nigel likes Jennifer's shot but Marisa thinks her legs are too straight and she should have bent a knee a little to create not such an obvious shot.

Marisa says Nicole looks like a dancer and that the pose is an unexpected position and compliments her for it.

Erin's shot leaves her un-recognizable and blurred since she is so close to the surface there is not enough light to capture her face. Tyra makes a point of saying how when a model is hired and gets paid a lot of money for the job if you can't she the model's face in the shot then they could have gotten someone else to do the job for cheaper.

The best picture is Jennifer and I do think she will win this cycle.

Sundai and Erin are the last at panel and Erin grabs Sundai's arm for comfort, showing her insecurity. You can tell Sundai doesn't like the arm link and she twiddles her fingers against her thigh waiting to hear who's going home.

I am sad to share that it's our little Sundai. It actually makes me very mad. Especially since she was against Erin, who if she is crowned "America's Next Top Model" will prove this show is crazy.

If you review Sundai's photos she did improve. Although the show didn't focus on her assets enough or allow her to really show how the shortest one of the group can model well, I am glad Tyra let Sundai stay on until the last five.

Please tell my why Erin should win this cycle? Thanks. Rooting for Jennifer, at 5'5", she is the shortest one left now.

Isobella Jade is known as one of the tiniest working models out there. She is also the author of "Almost 5'4"," her modeling memoir. This fall her graphic novel "Model Life: The Journey of a Pint Size Fashion Warrior" will be released. Daily, Isobella gives modeling insight and advice on being a shorter-than-average model on her blog, Petite Modeling Tips. Despite her height she has modeled for Marshalls, Victoria's Secret, Easy Spirit, Macy's, Bon Appetit, Time Magazine, TLC, Women's World, and many others. You can find her at www.isobelladreams.com and follow her on Twitter.

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Zap2it's full 'ANTM' coverage

'Eastwick': Red ants and black widows

2009-11-05T07:11:49Z

Tonight on "Eastwick," Cybill Shepherd gets more involved and that's always a good thing.

Roxie
Roxie sees Chad in a dream where his final request is that she "follow the signs." The first sign she finds is a Post-It note on a hammer that says, "Return to Darryl Van Horne." She goes to see Darryl, who convinces her to attend Chad's funeral (even though she was disinvited by Chad's parents). After knocking Chad's grandpa into an open grave (eye roll), she sees a girl wearing the shirt Chad had on when he came to her in the dream.

Turns out Chad was taking guitar lessons from her and had just recorded a song for Roxie's birthday called "I Shall Be Released." Roxie interprets this as Chad wanting her to release herself. She goes to Darryl for help "releasing herself" and he says she needs to move on. To him. Roxie says no, she needs to do it by herself.

Joanna
Joanna is all a-flutter about her telekinesis, but everyone is pooh-poohing her and chalking it up to PTSD. She's so excited about the telekinesis that she doesn't even care about being replaced at work. Her replacement is Max Brody (the yummy Jason Winston George) and they have sparkage. He says she has to recreate the feelings that started her powers in the first place, so she drags him to the Ferris Wheel at the carnival because she's afraid of heights.

They go up on the ride and she swings the bar open so that she can use her powers to latch it back into place because she'll be scared like she was when Pastor Dunn kidnapped her. Max is completely freaked out and tells her she needs to face what happened to her.

Kat
Kat finally has to notice her Mother Nature powers when she magically heals the cut on her daughter's arm with the swipe of a finger. When Eleanor comes to the hospital after seeing a commercial for Darryl Van Horne selling the town's water, freaking out, running out into the road and collapsing, she recognizes Kate as someone who has "the gift." Kat is the Eleanor of her group. Eleanor then disappears, so Kat goes after her with Bun, hoping Eleanor can help Bun get her memory back.

Eleanor gives Bun a mixture to drink then jams knitting needles in the back of her neck, which releases all the ants inside her. GROSS. After Kat and Eleanor stomp them to death, Bun is back to her old self. Kat leaves and Eleanor and Bun decide they need to kill Darryl. Again.

Thoughts & Tidbits

Greasy Stool. What an EXCELLENT name for a bar.
I was expecting more from this episode. As much as I like the Joanna-Max sparks, I found both her storyline and Roxie's storyline really boring. The only interesting plot this week was Eleanor, Bun and Kat.
So if Kat is the Eleanor and (I'm assuming) Roxie is the Bun, who is Joanna's counterpart? Jamie's dead mom?
Joanna: Why did you do that?
Max: Because I'm young and attractive and have no interest in plunging to my death.
Max: Where would we be without critical thought?
Joanna: Floating on a rainbow cloud full of marshmallow bunnies?

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'The Biggest Loser': Tracey's gone! Tracey's gone! Tracey's gone!

2009-11-04T07:03:10Z

It was a very special episode this week, as "The Biggest Loser" heads to the nation's capital. Even more importantly, this season's requisite villain loses the popular vote.

Just in case you were wondering, JetBlue has kickin' TVs in the headrests. Keep that in mind for your next a direct flight from LAX to Dulles. Every season, the cast and crew pack their bags and head to a second location for a change of scenery. I don't know about you, but compared to past locations (Vegas, Australia, New York), this season drew the short straw. However, they didn't have to go on the Tyra Banks show this year. So... win?

This week's pop challenge is difficult for the contestants because it requires human interaction. Which, for most of these people, is not their forte. They each have to rally as many people as possible for a giant workout session at the Washington Monument. Daniel and Amanda have a clear advantage, as their faces have been seen by the masses before. Allen's got a few tricks up his sleeves and recruits some manly fire fighters (and manly giant fire trucks) for the challenge. However, it's Liz's southern charm that woos the tourists. She wins an advantage at this week's challenge. Oh, and dinner at Subway! Because who needs at that delicious fresh seafood that D.C. has to offer?

This week's challenge takes literally, like, all day. Stage One is at Constitution Gardens. They have to run a mile. The first six people finished move on to the next stage. Naturally, we all presume that Shay, Tracey and Danny are probably out. That presumption is correct. Stage Two takes place on the steps of Watergate. They've got to go up and down the steps, gathering thousands of pennies to fill their banks. Thanks to Rudy's giant paws, he scoops up these pennies like they're M&Ms. He finishes first, followed by Daniel and Rebecca. Liz automatically moves on to the next round thanks to the advantage from the pop challenge.

The next stage is at the Capitol building. It requires standing on a tiny ledge while holding a giant ball over their heads. This is one of those challenges that would be hard for anyone, obese or not. It helps to have decent balance, which Rudy and Rebecca obviously do. While Alison Sweeney tries to think of another political pun, we move on the Stage Four. It's right in front of the White House this time. Apparently the only thing they could get clearance for was a couple of stair steppers. The first one to "climb" 206 stairs (an arbitrary number equal to the number of past contestants) wins immunity. Rudy's screwed. He's still got a buck fifty or so on Rebecca, so she's able to whip through this much quicker and wins.

This week's weigh-in takes place in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Most people will remember it as the place where Dr. King gave his famous speech. Or perhaps you think of the inspiring scene from "Forest Gump". Well, now you'll always remember this as the place where "The Biggest Loser" scales once sat. And thanks to Ali dressing up in her Jackie-O garb the entire show, it'll be burned into your memory forever. Anyway, we all know what it's like when everyone's off the ranch. They break routine and usually don't do very well.

This ends up only being true for three of the contestants. Danny, Rudy, Daniel, and Amanda all hit great numbers this week. Shay lost nine pounds and passed the 400 mark, but because she was already so big to begin with her percentage shot to the bottom. She lucks out when Liz and Tracey lose 3 pounds each and fall below the yellow line. Here we go folks; it's the time we've all been waiting for. Tracey's *this close* to being eliminated. At the vote, everyone pretty much agrees that Tracey is still certifiable. Shay threw a wrench in the mix and decided to vote for Liz, but fortunately it's not enough. The damage is done, and Tracey is OUTTA there! Ali lovingly points out that her past indiscretions have come back to bite her in the butt. Remind me to give Ms. Sweeney a high give next time I see her.

The follow-up goes better than we all hoped. Tracey actually looks like she's lost quite a bit of weight. Damn. She actually might win the at-home prize. If any of the eliminated contestants are reading this, please don't let that happen. We're begging you. Can you imagine the bug-eyes and waterworks if she wins a hundred grand? It shan't be pretty.

Other thoughts and stuff:

-Bob and Jill whipped out the "Rhythm Nation" microphones for their group workouts. Next time, they should wear some tight black spandex and include backup dancers.

-The White House invited the gang to pick some fresh veggies in Mrs. Obama's personal garden. They were giddy about "cooking" until all they did was peel a cucumber.

-The contestants and trainers pleaded with a couple of low-ranking senators to add more physical education classes in schools. The senators' glazed expressions said it all.

-We went from Black vs. Blue to singles this week. That was quick, right?

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'Melrose Place': Did David kill Sydney?

2009-11-04T06:13:20Z

Tonight on "Melrose Place," David flashbacks to waking up with a bloody knife the night Sydney died.

Ella & Lauren
Ella is starting to get suspicious about Lauren's many, many dates. Ella gives a very genuine offer to let Lauren bend her ear, but Lauren turns her down. Later, one of Ella's clients ODs on Oxy. Luckily he ends up at Lauren's hospital. Ella tries to get Lauren to create fake admissions documents that say he had an allergic reaction to penicillin, offering her a few grand. Caleb tells Ella to go back to Lauren with an offer of $50,000.

Except Ella finds Lauren's ledger and wad of cash and calls her "Pretty Woman." Snerk. Ella gets all "you won't fudge hospital records, but you'll fudge random dudes" and Lauren gets mad because it is SO not the same thing and Ella knows that. Lauren still turns down the $50,000 because her career comes first. I'm totally with you, Lauren. You'd be DONE as a doctor if you got caught. I'd rather be a prostitute than take that chance too.

Ella goes back to Caleb with Plan B: The Truth. She says they have to let the story out so that they can control it and Jesse gets himself into rehab because if he doesn't stop with the nose candy, he'll kill himself. Ella then finds Lauren and apologizes for trying to buy her. She also says she won't bring up the 'ho thing but is there for Lauren if she needs to talk. Lauren is still mum.

Jonah, Kendra & Riley
They are out for drinks (is this the same drinks as last episode or not?) and Kendra kisses him. Jonah reciprocates for about 3 seconds, then blurts out that he's engaged. Kendra is rather alarmed and wonders why he kissed her if he's ready to get married.

The next day Riley tries to talk to him about Auggie but he's all evasive and weird. When his buddy bails on a wedding they're shooting, Riley inserts herself as his helper. This ought to go well.

Riley is totally deluded, asking Jonah what's up with him and whatnot. Um, what's up is that you kissed Auggie. The Kendra kiss aside, he could STILL be weird about that, you doofus. He finally tells her about it but says his thing is different because Riley kept it a secret and didn't even seem to be bothered. Riley insists it was meaningless and not worth telling him.

Riley confronts Auggie about it and says that there was no "moment" and that they shouldn't hang out anymore because it bothers Jonah. Ouch. Also: that's kinda weak, Riley. Cutting Auggie out isn't going to fix things with Jonah.

Riley tells Jonah what she did about Auggie and he says he wouldn't tell her to do that. She says she wanted to because they come first. When she finds out that Jonah is going to see Kendra again for his movie, she freaks. They talk about how ever since they got engaged, things have been off and Riley says they have to work because relationships are hard.

Violet & Auggie
Auggie offers her some food at work and she says, "I could definitely eat. My dinner was cherries and olives." Um, we can see that, Skin-and-Bones. A big-shot guy named Mason is there to put together a new menu and Marcello totally steals Auggie's menu idea and passes it off as his own. Crazy Eyes is not going to take this lying down.

Except she doesn't get a chance to help Auggie because when Marcello gets lecherous about Riley, Auggie beats him all to hell. Eh. That guy's had it coming. Violet comes by Auggie's later to return his knife set that he left at the restaurant. She "comforts" him by sleeping with him, though we all know who he's pretending she is.

David & Det. Rodriguez
They're suspicious of David because the night Sydney was murdered, Ella hired a P.I. to break into Sydney's apartment and Ella is David's alibi. We flashback to David crying over his mother's grave and it's... pretty bad. Sorry, Shaun Sipos. Anyway, that's where he and Sydney first hooked up. I mean, not ON the grave. They left together.

David goes to Ella, telling her that Rodriguez is on to Ella and the P.I. Ella is stunned. She tells David that if the P.I. got caught, he could've snapped and killed Sydney. David assures her that the P.I. didn't do it and when asked how he knows, David says he confronted Sydney about sleeping with his father and he thinks he could've snapped and killed her and then blacked out.

David then goes to get the bloody knife he buried after he woke up the night Sydney died. Um, what? Dd I miss something? Has he always remembered that or did he just remember? I do not enjoy this, it's confusing. Anyway, the bloody knife is gone. A construction worker found it and turned it in to the police. Uh oh.

David goes back to the graveyard to cry over Sydney's grave and it's still so very bad.

Thoughts & Tidbits

While I'm definitely not sad that Ashlee is on her way out, I think Colin Egglesfield really got shafted. To be honest, I think Shaun Sipos is the weak link.
Ella: Stop putting that stuff up your nose. If you don't, you'll be having a power lunch with River Phoenix ... Who's River Phoenix? Kill me now.
Um, that line doesn't really work since Katie Cassidy was SEVEN years old when River Phoenix died. We can all tell she's not, like, 30. Give me a break.
Not to bag on Ella some more because I love her character but I cannot abide that white high-waisted pantsuit she had on. I don't care how fashionable it is, it is U-G-L-Y.
Ella: Oh and Caleb, for the record. My friend? She's not a nurse. She's going to be one of the finest doctors this hospital's ever had on staff.
More Lauren and Ella interaction. They're the best two things about this show.

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'90210': Dixon, you're NOT a father

2009-11-04T05:23:00Z

Tonight on "90210," Debbie totally busts Sasha on her fake pregnancy. Debbie Wilson is my hero.

Navid, The Blaze & Adrianna
Navid wants to do a piece about the abuse of prescription drugs in high school. Gia pipes up that Jasper is one of the biggest dealers around. Later that night, Adrianna serenades Navid begging for forgiveness. I like Jessica Lowndes' voice, but that is a little weird and creepy, Ade.

Navid says it's way too late after the way she treated him. I'm glad Navid has a spine, I thought he might crumble under the weight of sad crying girl playing the guitar. Ade is so devastated by being rejected she stays home from school. Naomi and Silver suggest she go to a meeting but she won't. They appeal to Navid to ask Ade to go to AA and he agrees.

Needy Ade asks if Navid will go with her and he says no. She starts sobbing and he leaves. Um, seriously. She screwed it up and you don't have to save her, Navid. He heads to the Hollywood party, where Teddy apologizes to him and Navid is cool about it but not overly friendly, which is fair. Liam and Lilo's ex-girlfriend Samantha Ronson encourage him to talk to some girls there, so he does.

Sasha & Dixon
Sasha is getting her crazy juice all over Dixon, trying to be all domestic and avoid talking about what they're doing. When Dixon hints around at an abortion, Sasha balks and says she's keeping it. That night, Sasha sends Dixon a string of "Fatal Attraction" text messages and he finally just blurts out to his parents that he got a girl pregnant.

They are furious not only that he got a girl pregnant, but that it's actually an adult woman. Dixon throws back that Harry had a kid as a teenager too, which does not make it okay. Sasha texts that she's having cramps but when Debbie brings Dixon over Sasha says the cramps are gone and doesn't want Debbie to call her doctor. Sasha then says she's a month along but then says she saw the baby on the sonogram. Okay, we all know that Sasha is lying, right? Everybody was on that train last week, yes?

Thank god Debbie has a brain in her head because she knows something is up, but Dumbass Harry tries to shut her down. Listen to your wife, Want-to-cheat-with-Kelly. Debbie "runs into" Sasha at a restaurant and reminds her that they met at the nail salon. Sasha admits that she followed her that day because she thought Debbie was Dixon's other woman and that was when she found out how old Dixon was. Debbie then traps Sasha in a talk about her doctor and the sonogram and tells her to stay away from Dixon. That was AWESOME! Debbie Wilson for president!

Predictably, Sasha calls Dixon and says she had a miscarriage. He's relieved and guilty and sad, poor Dixon. Debbie doesn't tell Dixon about Sasha's lies. Harry can't believe she would lie like that, but she says that he has to trust her. He looks thoughtful.

Ryan, Jen & Ramona
Ramona? The only Ramona I've ever known is "Quimby." That borders on child abuse. Anyway, Ramona is the bartender from last episode's drinking shenanigans with Harry. Jen tries to play it cool but is clearly bothered. We know this because Jen shows up at Ramona's bar and orders a pretentious wine and pretends to forget Ramona's name and tells her she's old looking and a charity case for Ryan. Punch her. Punch her right in her smug fake-British-like-accent-having mouth.

Ryan confronts Jen about it and calls her on being jealous. He says he won't be exclusive unless Jen is exclusive, which she agrees to. Ugh. I hope she gets hit by a bus. At the Hollywood party, Jen introduces him to people as her "boyfriend." Aw. Gag. Ryan spots Liam and introduces him to Jen because he's one of Ryan's favorite students. When Liam hears that Jen is Ryan's girlfriend, he looks sick and bolts. But later he confronts Jen about how she's scared of him because of what he could tell Ryan about her. BUSTED.

Of course, Jen runs to Ryan spinning a story of how he came on to her at the party and that Liam doesn't deserve Ryan's concern. I HATE HER SO MUCH... it... flames... FLAMES... on the side of my face... heaving breaths...

Ivy & Liam
More flirty-flirty stuff, though Ivy is dismayed to hear that Liam calls her "not really a girl." Don't worry, sweetheart. You're becoming his friend and you have the advantage of not being fat and/or ugly. He'll sleep with you soon enough.

Mr. Mathews informs Liam he got an honorable mention in a city-wide essay contest and Liam tries to act all cool but you can tell he's pleased. That night, Ivy and Teddy kidnap Liam off to a Hollywood party DJ'd by Lilo's ex-girlfriend Samantha Ronson.

Liam leaves after Ryan tells him what Jen said and Ivy follows him home to see how he's doing. She wants to know what's under his tarp (YEAH she does) but Liam waves her off. He teases her about her dress, she says she's not a dude all the time, he says he knows and then they start making out. WOO WOO.

Teddy & Silver
At the Hollywood party, Teddy talks to Silver. When she asks not to talk Cancer, he jokes about his new hair product and asks her to touch his hair. Of course, Ade sees this as she is just arriving, also sees Navid talking to some cute girls, and runs off.

Annie & Jasper
They're all caught up with Annie being Jasper's muse. When Navid tells Annie that Jasper's a drug dealer, she says he's totally lying and not to worry about her so much. Later, Jasper takes her for hot dogs and gets a wad of cash out of his pocket. Annie asks him about it in the MOST subtle way she possibly could. Jasper gets mad at her and storms off.

Annie tracks him down at the Hollywood sign where he's filming the sunset and apologizes. She cries and he hugs her and man, I wish this wasn't going to go so ridiculously badly for Annie because I actually like them together. Of course, after they make up we see Jasper get some pills for someone out of his trunk. Who is that someone? ADRIANNA. NOOOOOO!

Thoughts & Tidbits

Man, Rumer Willis sounds A LOT like her mom, which is awesome.
I don't love that they're retreading Ade's drug storyline, but I do know that an addict slipping when things get rough is realistic, so I'll let it go. For now.
Debbie: I'll give you a hint. It starts with "You're not pregnant" and it ends with "Stay away from my son."
Silver: Teddy, can we talk about something not cancer-related?
Teddy: Sure. I'm using a new hair product in my locks. What do you think? Leaves my hair manageable, yet touchably soft.

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