Tv.com News

Scandal S02E03: "Hunting Season"

Is Scandal more or less delightful in an election year? I'm on the fence. With all the talking heads, juicy debates, and continuous political coverage happening in real life, it may be that our brains are at a saturation point with politicking politicos, thus making it almost impossible to care about fake ones. Last night's episode opened on some talking heads on a fake news show and my inner voice whispered, "I need a vacation from this vacation!"

Still, it's not like the politics of Scandal bear any relation to what's going on currently in the real world: a Republican Bill and Hillary, essentially, and lots of HOLLERING! Olivia hollered at everyone last night! Usually Olivia spends part of the episode whispering and part of the episode silently incapacitated by a deep love for Fitz before hollering at a couple people. Last night, the shout switch never got flipped off. A wrathful Ms. Pope shouted at:

– all of her devoted employees

– Top TV network executives

– a client she believed was in mortal danger

– a senator who politely asked her to the ballet

– the President of These United States

She spent the episode on edge after a man who looked like the real-world version of Family Guy's Quigley appeared in her back seat and told her the U.S. government was doing that one thing Batman did in The Dark Knight, spying on everyone in the U.S. via their cellphones and laptops so the government could have access to everybody's secrets. And also THEY KNEW ABOUT THE LATE-NIGHT PHONE CALLS!!! Yes Olivia and Fitz's late-night gossip sessions are practically a matter of public record! The one place she could really let down her hair and laugh about the nation's pastor: no longer safe.

So Quigley became this week's client and the show cued its typical "Rollickin' Motown" underneath a rapid-fire explanation of who and what Quigley/Thorngate was. Frankly, the combination of Sorkin-speak and irresistible bounce and the unmistakable lyrics of "Let me tell you it's always cool / And the boss don't mind sometimes, if ya act the fool / At the car wash / Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa" etc. dovetailed my consciousness in such a way that no information passed through my brain.

I mean, not even stuff like "I am sitting on a couch." It was like hypnotism or something, my cerebral cortex was tied up and twisted like a skirt in a Dave Matthews song. Sound editors: No lyrics in background music, PLZ. Luckily, Scandal is not the kind of show that needs you to genuinely care about the information at hand, all you have to do is appreciate the leader of the free world's lip quivering when he realizes his lady love brushed shoulders with her ex-boyfriend.

Ladies, we have GOT to STOP liking it when guys are super possessive. I know it's kind of hot in theory but it leads to abuse and limited opportunities and in this case, a senator getting basically fired? And also a hunting trip? As much as Cyrus is a poisonous Iago set on murdering young interns, I do like that he finally acknowledged Fritz's rage problem in his weekly monologue.

Cyrus knows that when the president is gwumpy it's probably from starvin' for Olivia, so Cyrus essentially KIDNAPPED Olivia so the president could have some quality time with her during his hunting trip. The moment we have all been waiting for for WEEKS—these two getting some alone time—was spent with the two of them running up a hiking trail shouting at each other. (After the POTUS lovingly dropped to one knee, took off Olivia's sensible chunky heels, and laced her into some duck boots. Why do I feel like this is Shonda Rhimes' ultimate romantic fantasy? "We need a scene where he slowly changes her into more comfortable shoes. Trust me.") Still, I wish they had spent part of their long shouted argument holding still; it looked pretty exhausting to walk at a clip uphill while hollering: "YOU ARE SPYING ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT IS AN IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE!" "YES BUT BATMAN DID THE EXACT SAME THING IN THE DARK KNIGHT!"

Until the President grabbed Olivia and passionately kissed her.

(Ladies, we have also GOT to STOP finding it attractive when men impetuously grab us and kiss us in a smouldering rage although I am right with you here it is pretty hot.)

It did make we wonder, would the Secret Service restrain the president from sexually assaulting a lady or are they always on "his side" no matter what?

Olivia was able to hold her own by telling the president, "I am NOT YOURS!" and blowing out of those woods (duck boots still on). For an in-person reunion, it was not as effective as some of the times we saw them together in Season 1, but I will take what I can get with these two they ARE Lizzy and Darcy 2K12.

So anyway, the client actually double-crossed Olivia (which they found out in part because he was somehow connected to a rental car rented by "Will B. Watching." This is just what elite government conspiracies are known for, their sly puns.), and then engineered his own escape and embarassed the Popers in front of the NSA and major TV networks, so Huck had to hunt him down and kill him.

Meanwhile, the FLOTUS, who was rocking a crusty blowout for most of the episode, did a sort of about-face on Olivia. Whereas previously she had demanded Olivia attend to her husband's needs and keep his rage from boiling over, she had a truly terrible speech (sorry, but it just sounded soooo written, so so so written and soapy and written) about how she would blow him away if he was with Olivia again and her political future and she and her baby would take him down etc. etc. I think Millie was a more effective character when she icily did not give an EFF about her husband and was having an awesome affair with a gray-haired guy. I don't like that Millie had an emotional breakdown, but I do like that this is hopefully the end of the needy, insecure, emotional, "Maybe we could make this work!" Millie. She's so much more effective when she's just a conniving robot.

Finally, Quinn needs to STFU about her name being Quinn and her not being a liar. Basically every time she piped up last night I just laughed at my TV, "HI PSYCHO!" because she is legit a psycho. She walked out of a hotel into a new life yet somehow is not a liar? I agreed with everything the redhead bitchily snapped at her and when Quinn told her off at the bar she sounded ridiculous. "I'm not a liar!" Everything ABOUT you is a lie. You are DEFINITELY Lindsay.

Then the redhead had sex with the DA, which, you know, poor thing. Does the redhead have THE WORST ROLE ON SCANDAL?! This may clinch it.

QUESTIONS:

– Too much hollering or not enough hollering?

– Was the president's rageful kiss incredibly romantic or borderline sexual assault?

– Do you fear the government spying on you or do you pity the poor gov't employee who would have to go through your stuffed inbox and watch you picking wedgies all day?

– ThornGate: basically the exact same premise as The Dark Knight, right?

– Would you find it romantic or upsetting if the man you loved laced you up into some duck boots?

– Is Scandal more or less fun at the height of the election madness?

View the original article here

Misfits S01E02 & S02E02: "One" & "Two"

Editor's Note: Hey everyone! Logo has started airing Misfits again on Thursdays here in the U.S. (and they episodes are all on Hulu anyway), but we've been a little bogged down with fall premieres and unable to get these reviews posted. And be "we've," I mean *I* have been a little bogged down with fall premieres, and even though MaryAnn wrote these reviews over the last two Thursdays, *I* wasn't able to get them posted. So here they are now, and we'll return to a regular schedule of weekly Mistfits reviews next week! — Jen

A mysterious note sent via paper airplane (clever!) had our gang gathering around not-so-dead Nathan's grave just in time for Kelly to overhear him wanking off in his coffin because he's classy like that. Also, being buried alive probably gets really boring after awhile when you're immortal. That's why vampires always end up out of their minds after a couple decades underground, right? And I'm talking about Anne Rice vampires, not the sparkly ones. I'm also possibly talking about the Being Human vampires, but I'm pretty sure Suren was nuts before Mommy Dearest locked her up a few decades, so she might not count.

Anyway, Nathan was eventually freed from his grave, went home to visit his mother, and apparently shocked her so badly that she fainted and knocked a few teeth loose. I guess that means he'll continue to be homeless in the community center for the foreseeable future, then?

Catching up with the other ASBO kids, we learned that Simon is still pining for Sally the Corpse Bride, Kelly is really bummed about her almost-boyfriend getting impaled in the Season 1 finale, aaaand Curtis and Alisha are still the golden couple. With Sally on ice, Simon and the others have yet another probation officer, but at least this time he's full of dry sarcasm and general crotchety awesomeness. The third time's the charm, though, and someone—Sally's friend at the police station—has finally noticed the alarming frequency with which this particular ASBO group's probation officers seem to disappear.

The gang's new probation officer made them hang out in an art therapy class where Nathan made the mistake of mocking one of the girls, Lucy, and Simon made the mistake of pretending he didn't spend some quality time with her in a psych ward before landing his community service gig. So I wasn't at all surprised when Alisha appeared to come on to Simon. I mean, I was surprised, but I didn't think for a second that it was actually her, especially after her lips touched Simon's danger zone and he didn't go crazy with superpowered lust. It's all in the details, kids.

However, Simon didn't catch that minor detail and as though it was the blow job that blew his mind (and knowing Simon, it probably was), Simon decided to bury Sally once and for all.

Then everything got a little bit crazy. Stories with shape shifters tend to do that. Still rocking Alisha's face, Lucy went to Curtis and accused Simon of beating her up. Curtis was, understandably, not happy about that and intercepted Simon as he was moving Sally's corpse. Simon protested, saying that he didn't beat Alisha up, but that she totally went down on him, shifting Curtis's ire to his ladyfriend. Lucy's machinations started to fall apart when the real Alisha showed up completely unharmed and insisted that not only did she not hook up with Simon, but he didn't punch her either... by which time Lucy had morphed into Nathan.

Oh, and everyone found out about Sally the Dead Probation Officer. It was a bonding experience, though. Hiding a dead body tends to bring people together, for better or for worse. Usually worse. The realization that Lucy was rocking her Nathan costume and suddenly knew all about the pile of dead probation officers led to, well, ultimately another dead probation officer. But Curtis fixed that. "If I could tuuuuurn back tiiii-ime..." Yup, I'm still singing Cher to myself every time C-dog does this thing.

Lucy impaled Nathan, but now that we know he'll be fine my reaction was more LOL than OMG.

Letting all her crazy hang out, Lucy finally donned Simon's face and devised a plan to confess to the killings of Tony and Sally. She was certain that Simon would end up back in their old unit at the psych hospital, where they would rekindle their friendship and live happily ever after. Working his invisibility mojo, Simon followed Lucy to the police station, where he apologized for having ignored her earlier and made a case for his freedom. No, things weren't perfect with his group of friends, but he HAD a group of friends. Simon admitted to finally being happy and being content with who he was. He couldn't go back to the psych ward with her because he just wasn't that Simon anymore. He's come a long way, hasn't he? We should all be very proud.

And in the span of one episode, Lucy made some progress herself. Despite the obvious obsession with Simon that led to her antics in the first place, Lucy managed to reach an understanding with her former target and maybe even an understanding with herself. Simon said that he liked the person he became during their time apart, a concept that Lucy initially didn't seem to understand, asking Simon if he REALLY thought the other ASBO kids would want to be friends with someone like him. Simon nodded. It was small and a little bit uncertain, but it was there, which speaks clearly to how far his social ineptness and basement-level self-esteem have come.

If the powers on Misfits are meant to reflect an aspect of an individual's personality, then the fact that Lucy can take another individual's (or animal's) shape and essentially become someone else for an extended period of time fits well with her disbelief that Simon could have changed, grown, and evolved into a happy and healthy person who is comfortable in his own skin. Simon essentially outgrew her, which is sad for both of them, but it's one of those things that happens. Relationships change as the people in them change.

So of course I have to ask, does this mean that powers can change too? Or is that just crazy talk?

– Will we see Lucy again? Do we WANT to see Lucy again? (I kind of want to see Lucy again.)

– Is impaling Nathan for laughs the new thing? I can't decide if that would be hilarious or annoying. I'm leaning toward annoying.

– I really like the new douchebag probation officer. Tell me this one doesn't meet (another) untimely demise.

View the original article here

EASY BUSINESS DECISIONS NEWS

... CBS has renewed Big Brother for a fifteenth season because hey, the house is already there and it's like totally impossible to sell in this market so why not use it to film a TV show that costs nothing to make but brings in money during the difficult summer months? [CBS via press release]

... Comedy Central figured it was probably a good idea to renew its number-one show, so Tosh.0 has received an order for 30 more episodes. In a similarly challenging business decision, the CEO of Comedy Central decided not to let a crate of poisonous snakes loose in the network's offices. [Comedy Central via press release]

BUSINESS TIME

... Tony Friggin' Soprano is coming back to HBO! The network has ordered the pilot Criminal Justice, starring James Gandolfini and based on the 2008 BBC series of the same title. The original followed a person charged with murder, changing the characters and case from season to season. The proposed first season of the HBO series would center on the first season of the BBC version, in which a man wakes up next to a party girl who's been stabbed to death. I hate it when that happens, pretty much takes up the rest of the day! [Deadline Hollywood]

... Netflix has picked up Derek, a new comedy project from Ricky Gervais. The series stars Gervais as a guy who works in a nursing home. Yes, Karl Pilkington will also appear, to make the senile old folks feel a little better about their mental faculties. Look for it next year. [NY Times]

... Bravo's Top Chef has a premiere date. The tenth season, taking place in Seattle, will debut November 7. But the bigger news is this: Toppest chef Wolfgang Puck is joining the series as a judge. [E! Online]

... If there is a pilot out there, NBC will pick it up. The network's latest acquisition is At Ease, a mockumentary-style comedy set at a military base in a desert country. At first this sounded stupid and then all of a sudden it sounded good. Happy Endings writers Josh Bycel and Jonathan Fener are behind the wheel, with Jerry Bruckheimer producing. [Deadline Hollywood]

... Fox has purchased a Chelsea Handler-produced comedy called My Inappropriate Life, from Handler's buddy Heather McDonald, a frequent performer on Chelsea Lately. McDonald would star in the single-camera comedy, based on her life with her stay-at-home husband (i.e. a man who is doing it right!), two boys, and stepdaughter. [Deadline Hollywood]

CASTING NEWS

... Starz's Magic City is beefing up its cast for Season 2. James Caan (Las Vegas) and Esai Morales (Caprica) are joining the cast, playing a Chicago mob boss and a Cuban freedom fighter, respectively. [Deadline Hollywood]

... Winning a gold medal is okay, but making a guest appearance on The Vampire Diaries? That's the moment of a lifetime! Gabby Douglas, a huge TVD fan first and Olympic gold-medalist second, will pop up on the show sometime next season. [Zap2It]

... Homeland is bringing in Amadeus Oscar-winner F. Murray Abraham for a recurring role. He'll play a CIA spy named Dar Adul. [EW]

... ABC's midseason conspiracy drama Zero Hour is adding Amy Irving and Ken Leung (Lost) to the mix of its weird Nazi zombie action. Seriously, this show is so ridiculous it has a chance to be awesome. [Deadline Hollywood]

... After dismissing the ladies of The View as a gaggle of "sharp-tongued" hens and vowing he'd NEVER go on the show again, Republican Party presidential candidate Mitt Romney (haha, Republicans) has agreed to visit the show's couch for a second time. Look for him to appear in October and then look for him to be crying a few hours later. [Deadline Hollywood]

View the original article here