Season Finales - Waiting for next season

Desperate Housewives managed to save a difficult season with a fantastic finale... not only did we get lots of dirt on Katherine (and finally got the real story behind her secret), but we saw more bonding between our ladies, and I really liked the wives banding together to save Katherine after she kills her psycho ex-husband. Wisteria Lane holds many secrets.... and having the right friends can make such a difference.

I loved the whole "flash forward" ending and the new possibilities that it brings to the storyline.... and wonder if it was a glimpse into the future or where things start off next season. I am completely hooked on Gaby being a mom (to twins?) and some of the possibilities that we saw.... and need to know what the hell happened to Mike. Good work there Mark Cherry-- you got me hooked again.

Bones ended the season with a quick wrap up of the Gormogon storyline that was too convenient for my taste.... I loved the whole fake death at the beginning (and Bone's reaction to finding out the truth)... and was right into all the red herrings that were being thrown around implicating Sweets and Hodgins as possible apprentices to the killer. When all was said and done (and blown up)... it seems that Zach was the apprentice (what???) and that part of the story is tied up.... only I see some huge dangling plot twist that has the skeleton disappearing the same time that Zach gets hurt -- so I don't see how he did it and still think that Sweets is involved. There is still something that doesn't sit right with this story and I want more closure. I am sure this will be followed up next year. Now hopefully next year we get more scenes of Booth & Bones chatting in the bathroom ... Booth was looking pretty damn fine in that tub.... but is that anyway to treat a comic book?

Dancing with the Stars finished up pretty much how I thought it would, the only difference being that I wanted to see Marissa in the final 3 and not Cristian.

The Finale was typical of season's past, the judges award the same score to the 2 final couples (why bother? it makes no difference) and it all comes down to how the viewers voted. Kristi went in to the finale with a perfect score, and had the highest overall scores that they have ever seen on the show.... so for me it was pretty much a done deal that she would win. There was that small outside chance that the public could have voted in droves for one contestant, but I think the judges would have tried to balance things out if that was the case.

I do get a tad tired of these " Walk of Shame" moments that all the competition shows do as they celebrate those who fallen in competition... but it was a trip to see some of the dancers again (and you still ask why some of them were there from the beginning as they look so out of place, sorry Monica) and it was nice to see that lots of the previous dancers from season's past were around to see the action. It's a feel good show, and I was happy to see Mark win as well, he is such a cute guy.
Congrats to Kristi & Mark for a great season, and I am looking forward to the next one!

Weekend Rant -- End Games

Our wacky season (seriously-- a strike year is not a good thing) is wrapping up... and even with the abbreviated seasons and feast or famine situations, there was some decent story telling this year. Maybe this year was one to force the actors and writers to do their best possible in trying times, but I still feel cheated in many ways and really hope that we don't have another one of these situations again for quite awhile. Amen to that.

Dancing with Stars broke my heart this week with the elimination of Marissa, but I can hardly wait to see the Finale this week and watch Kristi win the trophy. This has been one of the best seasons ever.

Samantha Who? ended the first season well, and I am glad it has been picked up for next year, the chemistry between the characters gets better and better each week and I love the flashbacks to "bad Sam" and the continual struggle to do the right thing.

Medium was different this year, but had tons of interesting elements and after all is said and done things seem to be more back to the status quo of season's past. Maybe it was an experimental season, but I enjoyed it and happy that it will be back again next year.

American Gladiators hit the screen again this week, and not only do I love the new games (Rocket Ball rules!) and the new Gladiators (long and lean is so sexy...) but I am concerned about having a pregnant Layla Ali so close to the action. This show is too much fun.

Farmer wants a Wife continues to be the Guilty Pleasure of the moment, and besides the trashy psychotic girls (yeah-- we found your address on one of the magazines and we are stalking you), it has had some really bad innuendo thrown in. "Sorry to have hit you with my big wood" says Farmer before letting one of the city girls go. The fighting between the girls is getting all out of hand (those slutty church girls) and it is just plain insanity.If Matt wasn't kind of cute and some of the girls weren't kind of okay this would be like watching some really BAD VH1 dating show....

Smallville ended this season with lots of stuff blowing up (as usual) and more angst than should be allowed on any TV show. It was all pretty dull and predictable, and my hope is that Lana is gone for good, Clark finally gets it on with Lois and that they find a decent villain to replace Lex. I am not sure how the show can make it with out Michael (Lex).... he simply made that character into one of the best versions ever. I think it's fine time that they give Clark a spine and get him to start being the hero that he is destined to be.. besides if they are in the final season then go for broke. Thank god Chloe is back next season.

Supernatural did a season finale as it should be done -- great story, fantastic cliffhanger ending and the visuals were astounding. I wonder if we could get these writers to take over for Smallville for it's final season and give Clark some balls? The brothers were spot on (as usual), Lilith is the scariest kid ever on TV (yikes!) and I loved seeing the struggle to try to save Dean. Here's hoping some one gets out Hell real quick-- it doesn't look like fun at all.

There is still more to come over the next 2 weeks -- and then all the new summer stuff that is on it's way.... including my favorite " So you think you can Dance?" and more of the insanely funny Kathy Griffin. For every ending there is a new beginning... or some kind of crap like that.

Dancing with the Stars - Semi Finals

The Final Four took to the dance floor last night, and while maybe not the first choice of the Judges, I am still pulling for Marissa & Tony to go to the finale next week and in all honesty I am hoping for Cristian to hit the road. Usually if a contestant is injured, they are removed from the competition, and while I admire that Cristian and his partner (the every demanding Cheryl) are trying, Cristian is still too limited in his movement and I DO NOT applaud the Judges in their giving him high scores... this is just silly and pandering to him. Let`s have some full dances and turns for a change, and Cristian always looks like Bambi caught in the headlights at the beginning of each dance and it`s simply not cute any more at this point.

Jason & Edyta are still doing well, and they did some nice performances last night, but the couple to beat is still Kristi & Mark. They are doing the hardest and most complex routines, and the Judges are being too critical on the tiny details, especially when they are doing tons of moves the other competitors would not even attempt.

I think it`s time our Judges got off their high horses and gave them a break-- seriously.

So-- I hope Cristian hits the road- and that next week it`s a battle between Kristi, Jason and Marissa for the Mirror Ball trophy. Good luck Marissa!

Survivor: Micronesia - End Game

Survivor: Micronesia ended out a great season with more twists and turns. I actually like that they went back to the `Final 2 ` concept (it was harder splitting the final votes 3 ways), and I was pretty much happy with the outcome. I was hoping that Amanda would win, but it appears that she is suffering from Bridesmaid syndrome. She did get Ozzy as part of the game... so she can`t be complaining that much.... I sure as hell wouldn`t.

I knew as soon as they said it would be going down to the final 2 that Cirie would be the next to go. Natalie was the obvious first elimination as the girls were pretty strong about keeping their original alliance together.... but I did feel bad for Cirie and know who badly she wanted to win. She tried hard, and if she had gone to the finale she probably would have won. Amanda was smarter in choosing Parvati... but she didn`t think that some of the jury would appreciate how Parvati played (and she was ruthless) and ultimately made everyone know who the better player was.

I have to agree that this was one of the better seasons so far -- and I loved how the girls took control and bounced those big strong guys out one after another. Here`s hoping the next season will be even better (and it will be great having another round in Africa) and I can hardly wait to see one of my favorite shows in HD. Congrats Parvati!

Weekend Rant - Playing Catch Up

The Couch Potato had a real busy week, and have not had any time to post this week so this is probably going to be the busiest rant I have done in ages..

Start your engines:

Survivor:Micronesia proved once again that in this game you never know what is going to happen. Erik honey, you can run but you can't hide the fact that you made the biggest blunder in Survivor history (much to Jame's joy-- he finally loses that title) by believing that he could give away Immunity to win votes. Ummm is this an episode of Smartest Model? Erik was worked over by all the girls (except Parvati, who seems to think she is on vacation) and my money is on Cirie winning the whole thing but my choice is Amanda who has played a great game. That girl has been working it left, right and centre the entire game. If they don't get rid of Amanda next council, she might steal the crown.... so I think that Cirie will try to get Amanda out. If that fails, bye to Natalie (and the last Fan). This season has been great and I was howling with laughter as Erik got played at council.... even Jeff found it amusing. All will be revealed tonight, and there is no way I am missing the finale and reunion, I can hardly wait to see Erik get raked over the coals a bit for his "stoopid move". I mean seriously-- a chance to be in the final 4 and you give that up? Seriously? sigh...... but we do have the first all female finale.. sharpen your claws....

Dancing with the Stars had me having kittens after the performances on Monday and apparent bad scores for Marissa & Tony. I was breathing a sigh of relief and jumping for joy when she was put through to the semi-finals and was glad it was Mario who got ousted. Now I am not sure if it was just me, but Karina was so blase about the whole thing (and had the total don't frack with me look on her face) and I see that some of the other female professionals are starting to get a bit tired of the whole thing. I am hoping to see Cristian eliminated next and
I am not really sorry to say but Cheryl is really starting to get on my nerves and I can't wait to see her leave. Edyta is the only female dancer that seems to have a decent attitude (and who can't with her yummy partner Jason) and the male dances seem to be hanging in better. I still think that Kristi & Mark are going to win it all.

The 100th episode celebration was interesting-- I loved seeing Mel & Maks again (they have such great chemistry) and it was an interesting trip seeing the evolution of the series (and thankfully they glossed over some of the really bad ones quickly) but I found it interesting to see that our year one winner seems much less qualified compared to our current competitors. Kelly was okay.. but she wouldn't have made it past the first couple of weeks if she was competing now. They have got to find some way of getting Sabrina back on the show -- she was eliminated way before her time and I am still dying to see more.

Lost knocked another ball out of the park with more time discrepancies relating to the Island (the doctor on the freighter finding out his fate before it happens was freaky), but more of the back history of John, and besides finding out the he was a premature baby born to a single teenage mother, there was the surprising guest appearances and tests with Richard (does that guy ever age?) that were designed to see if he was the chosen one. I loved John's artwork of a smoke type monster that was attacking a guy.. very vivid imagination for a child. Later there was more of the mysterious Mr. Abaddon and some inspiration to John to go on his infamous walkabout that brought him to Oceanic Flight 815, and then this repeating scene and the revelation that Jacob's cabin was built by a mathematician (very interesting considering the unique properties of the Island) and said cabin currently houses Christian (Jack's Dad) and in a strange twist of events , Claire (his illegitimate daughter)... it's all very freaky and interesting stuff but what is going on with Claire?

And this thing about it is now time to move the Island ...

What?? My head is going to explode with all the players, shakers and movers .. what about the soldiers who want to kill all of them? What about Jack and the others on the beach and not really aware of the danger? and dammit there are only a couple of episodes left until the end of this season... arghhh!

Weekend Rant - May Sweeps

Farmer wants a Wife kicked off this week, and if the first episode is any indication, I know that I have found another Guilty Pleasure that had me in minor fits of hysteria from the moment it started.

First of all, Farmer (Matt), is a pretty good looking, good old boy who likes to farm (shirt and underwear free), has abs for days, and now suddenly has 10 ladies ("city folk") after his hot ass.

The majority of the girls are way out of their element, but there are a couple that stand out, and it has the makings of a great, trashy show. My picks for the Farmer are Brooke and Christa as they seem to have some chemistry already... Kanisha is trying real hard and seems to be quite interested in Matt, and the biggest joke has to be Josie. I don't think the farm needs another cow...

Besides seeing the girls trying to deal with farm life (and lose those pumps quickly girls, they aren't practical for walking through fields), we got the best elimination ever..... can you believe that the girls need to check under their chicken to see if they have an egg to find out if they are still in the running to be the wife??? Too hilarious... it certainly contrasts your typical "Rose Ceremony" or the Torches on Survivor and added another quaint element to the show. Hopefully enough people will tune in so we can see the whole thing play out.

Lost continues it's season with another outstanding episode. This week's Jack-centric episode was another complete mind-frack, with seeing more of future Jack & Kate, the dilemma of Aaron, Jack's dead dad popping up to visit with both Jack and his " no one knows that she is his daughter also " Claire.... it was all another surreal experience that convinces me more and more that the Island is some sort of a nexus for time and space... we had more references to Alice in Wonderland and I wonder if some one needs to go back through the rabbit hole to change things or to get home. I was surprised that suddenly Jack didn't have a hairy chest (I think this has something to do with his participation in the Speed Racer film) and it was relative to the whole surgery thing... but continued in the flash-forward? It doesn't seem like his personality to have to do all that manscaping but at least were treated to some more hot make out scenes with Kate and Jack. Poor Kate... all those hot make out scenes with Jack and Sawyer-- what's a girl to do? (except wear pants?)

Jack's appendicitis and surgery with Juliette was interesting, but it was more the participation of Rose and Bernard this episode that got me excited. We haven't seen much of either of them this season, and per usual Rose was the big voice of reason and she wants to know that if the Island seems to be a place of healing then why was Jack sick? Good question... and I wonder if they are leading up and beginning to explain why only some of them (the Six) get off the Island -- others stay to live as they know that they can't live in the real world. Locke, Rose and others know that for the grace of the Island they are still alive.... and that leaving is becoming less and less an option.

There is still something big going on with Claire.... her visions of dad and disappearing tonight, as well as the messages to Jack that he is not supposed to raise Aaron all tie into the first season when Claire was told that she had to raise her child (by the psychic who freaked out) or there would be hell to pay.... I keep thinking that if the Island is some sort of nexus that maybe time is more fluid and that events can be changed... as they have been hinted at before with Desmond and Daniel. God this show just sucks me in and gets my head spinning...

Survivor: Micronesia pulled off it's best episode of the season with Amanda finding that damn hidden Immunity Idol, and pulling it out at the last minute to save her ass and get Alexis eliminated. Poor James got booted due to medical reasons (rough season this year) and poor Erik is the last boy standing. The claws are coming out and I am hoping that Cirie's days are numbered, that woman was cold and evil this week and has not one decent bone in her body if she can turn off her Nurse instincts as easy as that ..... yikes!

I had to check out Ugly Betty this week just to see Christian Siriano milk his Project Runway fame for another 30 seconds and found him bland and repetitive. (Fierce is so over and he has the gall to call Rebecca a "hot tranny mess" when she isn't really a tranny but plays one? Puhleese.... )

Nina Garcia as his "handler" was brilliant and she stole the show, and had the best lines of the evening. We all know who the real star is -- someone get the Nina a better deal.

Now that would be fierce. snap snap snap

Dancing with the Stars - Week 7

Things continued along nicely this week after the no surprise elimination of Marlee last week. Things may be a little bit more chaotic this week with Cristian having his second dance cut short by a nasty cramp (a first I believe in this series)... but last night was surprises a plenty... and it was a night that each of our remaining teams had to perform 2 dances, one Ballroom and the other Latin.

It goes with out saying that Marissa & Tony are hitting their stride, and I honestly have never seen such a big goofy grin on Tony before. It looks good, they are dancing well together and kicked some butt last night. They started off with a great Tango and then later followed with a Rumba. Marissa is shining like a star and got her best scores, and ended up overall for the evening in the top performers.

Cristian & Cheryl had a bit more of a challenging time last night, and while their first dance (Viennese Waltz) was okay.. but they are trying to hard to play up the cutesy factor with Cristian and started showing his daughter... sigh... I hate it when they try to exploit children to get votes. Their second dance was a Samba, and Cristian was shaking it all like crazy until he got a cramp and things ended painfully. The poor guy was even sent off for medical care (what?) and they got a crappy score for effort. I don`t think that he will be cut tonight because of the injury... but they did have the lowest overall score for the evening.

Kristi & Mark were HOT HOT HOT again last night, and although they didn`t get a great score in their first dance (Viennese Waltz) because it was too `out of Len`s comfort zone`, they pulled off a great performance and in my eyes are still the team to beat. Their second dance (Cha Cha) was even better, but because non conventional it was panned by Len again. Mr. Cranky-pants was no fun at all last night while our other judges were all excited by seeing something new and different. After all was said and done, they were still up near the top of the pack. I don`t expect to see them get eliminated... but this is the first week that they have gotten lower scores than usual.

Mario & Karina are still boring me senseless. Yes I know he is cute... but I don`t like their chemistry and don`t find myself particularily interested in their performances (which is funny because the first couple of weeks I loved him and now have lost interest). They got a great score for their Mambo but only a decent one for their Foxtrot. I don`t expect to see them around at the end of the season. I expect to see them in the bottom 2 again tonight.

Shannon & Derek are trying to defuse the tension that has been around since they went on their rant about getting bad scores (and dissing the judges and other participants) and Shannon even went to the point of slapping on some fake booty to try to get some more hip action happening this week. It was okay.... they got a good score for their Tango (best score to date) but their Mambo (even with prosthetics) was just okay.... I have the feeling they will be leaving sooner than later but then again it depends on how the votes go. They are my choice to leave this week, but have the feeling it might be an upset and Cristian will be eliminated. We`ll see later!

MADtv - Albanian Idol

More genius from this past Saturday's all new MADtv. Their spoof of Idol was brilliant for the characters and the hilarious translation of the songs. The subtitles are too much... I was in hysterics with the lyrics to that Titanic song.

Weekend Rant - Spring Boost

Thursday is turning into a 3 night event as there is wayyyyyyyyyy too much playing this particular evening to be able to see all of it "live". Case in point, this week I watched Survivor, Supernatural and Lost the actual Thursday evening, and caught up with Smallville, Step it up & Dance on Friday evening while getting my Battlestar Galactica fix and then finally got around to watching CSI and l'il Bush on Saturday while getting the latest Doctor Who from the BBC (another astounding episode)..... and getting treated to a new Mad TV things are getting a little out of hand with this up and down/back and forth season... and I am looking forward to things getting back to a more normal pace.

I still don't understand why so much has to play on one night -- and thank the gods of wherever for file sharing and DVRs, otherwise I'd miss out on a few things. Yeah I know, it's pathetic.

This season of Survivor is turning into one of the better ones in recent years (and now it seems, future seasons will be in HD -- watch out!) and the last episode hit another home run with yet another "stoopid move". Last week Ozzy got blindsided and eliminated with out playing the Immunity Idol, so it was "re-hidden" on Exile Island. Jason gets sent to the Island, discovers it, and after another chain of events (and the most creative use of the word "Bitch" by Natalie), Jason gets blindsided (dolt) and gets sent home just like Ozzy... and that damned Idol is going back in to hiding, and we will have to see if someone finds it again....

The guys are in short supply ( only James and Erik are left) and the girls will start fighting amongst themselves once again.... girl power can go so far but it all depends on who wins Immunity over the next few weeks... and it seems that James has a nasty infected finger so you never know who will get an advantage this game... I still say watch out for Cirie.

Smallville didn't hit as well this week, Clark seemed pretty whiny and intense (none in a good way) and if Chloe wasn't around to keep it all together I am not sure what would be going on. Umm next week is about Time Travel and going back to Krypton? huh? Secret Agent Jimmy was mildly amusing but I would have preferred a better follow up to last week's better written episode. Still... another Lana free episode and that is a good thing in it's self.

Supernatural came back (again) this week with an okay but not great episode. I liked the premise of the episode ( Ghost Hunters Facers) but it was missing all of the Sam & Dean interactions that make the show so great. The other characters weren't interesting enough and once all was said and done (and erased) all they had was some bad memories and a lost friend, and that seemed kind of sucky as far as endings go. I think I am expecting more because there haven't been as many episodes due to the strike, and in a regular season it would have been better received.

Lost keeps sucking me in further and further and I hate to say it, but I might actually be pulling for Ben (yes, believe it or not) after this week's stunning death (be at peace Alex) and this Ben-centric episode. Seriously.... first there is the whole phone call warning system (way cool) and then Ben has weapons stashed everywhere and he gets everybody where he wants to make his stand. Unfortunately, he tries to bluff his way out of a dangerous situation where there are holding his daughter(not?) Alex as hostage and he pushes too far, believing that his conviction that because Alex supposedly doesn't mean anything to him, will not be used as a pawn in this struggle.

Ben miscalculates, or as he sees it, the rules get changed and Alex is sacrificed as a result. Ben goes wild, disappears through a mysterious door with hieroglyphics and before you know it the Smoke Monster is taking care of the invaders (I guess he turned off the protective field) and the next thing we know he is in the desert in a Dharma uniform. After assaulting a couple of probable bandits (in a very nifty way), he is off to Tunisia where we learn it is 2005 and he is meeting up with Said (as one of the Oceanic Six) and we learn why Said is working with Ben.

On the island.... something is up with Jack but I am not too worried as he has been seen in the flash forwards. Our gang learn that their new friends aren't there to save them (thanks Bernard) and there was some general mayhem everywhere. With Smokey on the loose I worry for the rest of the gang, and we already had several casualties courtesy of the invading force and I worry that there won't be any survivors other than the Six at this point. Locke, Hurley and Ben are off to see the wizard... Jacob on Island time but in the future things end up with Ben getting into a private building and his warning to Mr.Widmore about changing the rules and now it will cost him his daughter (Penny) had me on the edge of my seat.

So this is the shape of things to come.... things are moving along quickly and I have so many questions, the biggest being How the frack can Ben travel in time? This show is too cool...


Battlestar Galactica continues it's final season with great episode after great episode. I loved all the freedom of religion undertones this time around, but also all about the intense feelings of redemption and guilt that are being experienced by Tigh. His projections of his dead wife on Six were most disturbing, and even more disturbing to hear Six explaining how pain makes her feel and how she shares it with Tigh. yikes.


The President, and her way of dealing with Baltar, impressed the hell out of me ( I loved her comment to him that she was no longer in the mood to indulge him) and the weird scene of Six helping Baltar make his stand and taking back his right was strange.... it makes me wonder how real Six is and how she is not seen by the others yet can physically manipulate Baltar. There wasn't enough action with the big group of cylons this week nor with Starbuck and her crew but there is always next week.


Doctor Who is still a fun a ride as ever with not one, but two companions this week. Donna and the Doctor run into Martha, and we have some fun and games with the Sontarans, some interesting green technology and a rotten child genius. I love the character development and interaction, and find it quite interesting that Donna keeps running into some of the other companions of the Doctor, first Rose (although she didn't know it) and now Martha. I like how things are tying together, and the episode is great fun with Donna's family realizing that they know the Doctor from different situations. Of course it's a big cliffhanger, and I can hardly wait until the next episode to find out how this one turns out.

Girlicious: Thank god it`s FINALLY over

After the last couple of months, and last week`s ultra suckey episode where not one of the girls got eliminated, they finally decided to go with 4 of the girls (instead of the 3 that they said they were looking for) and poor Charlye was the only girl eliminated. Why you ask? Because she was HONEST and told the Judges that she wasn`t interested in being in a group with those 2 bitches, Natalie (uber bitch) and Chrystina (baby bitch).

I think the thing I found the most hilarious was how Charlye just up and vanished off the stage the moment she was eliminated... and was not interested in hanging around to see what happened next. It`s a shame really, because she has such talent and hopefully she will find something more interesting to do. All in all, I am pretty disappointed with the last couple of weeks and the sudden changes in group numbers. If Charlye had played nice would it have been all the girls? I still see some major meltdowns happening (I bet that Tiffanie will leave over time as she wasn`t too fond of those other 2 girls) and I can`t see how they can advertise that the 4 girls are the `Best of friends` --- we all watched the show and saw how catty and bitchy some of them are. Anyways.... let`s just hope that there are no more vanity projects in the future for Ms Antin ... do we really need another Pussycat Dolls clone?

Dancing with the Stars - Week 6

Dancing with the Stars continued a great season with it`s first perfect score (big congrats to Kristi & Mark who pulled out a fantastic Jive and wasn`t Mark adorable all nerdy?). I loved the behind the scenes stuff and was surprised to learn that Kristi was born with club feet and managed to become a Gold medal winning figure skater. She is turning into an even bigger surprise than I expected. At the rate those 2 are going it`s going to be hard for any team to catch them....

Following up from last week.. it was no big surprise that Priscilla was let go last week and this week it looks like Marlee is in big danger of being let go. It`s your typical `Survival of the Fittest` and last week we had the oldest competitor let go and this week it will more than likely be the hardest working but most challenged competitor. I feel for Marlee as you can see how hard she works (and it is just astounding that she has done as well as she has to date), but as the competition advances and the dances become harder and harder it is even harder for some one who can`t hear and who needs to be on the beat all the time.

I think that Marlee has broken a lot of assumptions that we all have regarding deaf people, and I think she has been an astounding role model and example to everyone. Her dance with Fabian was good (she still surprises me) but you could feel how it was forced and how her partner kept grabbing her and moving her in the right direction. I do have to say that she looked great-- and I am still really impressed overall.

Shannon Elizabeth & Derek danced a nice Rumba and you can see that there is some definate chemistry between the 2 of them (Samantha called them on their ` Showmance` and the 2 of them tried to blow it off.) They got the average score of the evening (24) and should still be around this week. The girls in the audience seem enamored with Derek (mr bare chest at the beach) and that might help keep em around for a couple of more weeks.

Jason Taylor & Edyta pulled off a nice and steamy Cha Cha.... and although Jason didn`t `dance big` he has great chemistry with Edyta (they look so hot together) and they got a decent score (24). The judges seemed to be kinda bitchy last night (mostly Bruno and Carrie Ann) but they were still giving out good scores.

Cristian de la Fuente & Cheryl did a Foxtrot, which, was Cristian`s best dance to date. They looked great together, the dance flowed well and it`s kind of funny that Cristian does better in Ballroom than in Latin... it must be more of that Chilean stuff. They got all 9s and were in the top performers of the evenign which was a big difference over last week when they were in the bottom 2. Len promised to moon if they were in the bottom 2 so let`s just hope that the public voted!

Mario & Karina did a steamy Rumba... which was a little too slutty for Len (no surprise there) but was loved by Carrie Ann and Bruno who thought it was `hot hot hot` and better than good sex. I still find their chemistry kinda funny, but they did a nice job and got an almost perfect score of 28.

My favorite was on fire last night. Marissa Jaret Winokur & Tony pulled out all the stops with the Viennese Waltz and they had a lovely, flowing dance that whirled around the dance floor. Marissa has really gotten her groove back and I was happy to see that they got a couple of 9s and Marissa (and Tony) were both so excited. They really are a good example of how much fun the show is.

It was fun last night to see the first group number (even if it was pretty chaotic) and I am still pretty impressed with the overall quality of the dancers this time around... and I wonder if those rumors that Paula Abdul wants to participate (she was there last night--hmmm) are true?

So tonight will be the big result show... and rumor has it we will see some of our favorites from year`s past, including Mel & Maks, and I can hardly wait! I just hope that they don`t rush it all at the end like last week and that our eliminated couple has time to say good bye before doing their last dance. Bye Marlee, you did a great job and you will be missed.

Weekend Rant - Things are going to get a bit messy

Smallville pulled out one of their best episodes (of all time) this week with "Descent" and the episode really highlighted Lex as he continued down his path to complete evil. Killing your dad and then burning your manifestation of your "good" side makes for a very deep and disturbing character and it was an extremely well performed episode by Michael (Lex). I am still in complete awe with his portrayal and interpretation of the character. Lex is on a one way ticket to hell and he doesn't care who is in his way or what he has to do to get to his goal. Kudos to dear old Dad, who, unless there is some other miraculous resurrection, will be gone and the last "adult" cast member will be finished on the series.

I could have done with a bit less of the hokey Veritas crap and the Traveller stuff, but the episode was pure story without all the usual angst that is in a regular episode of Smallville.... could it possible have been the fact that Lana wasn't in this episode (Kara neither) made it seem less whiny? Things are tying up nicely this season, and now if they could finally start getting Clark "oomphed" up a bit and get him flying, (they are still avoiding that, but the time has come my friends-- you better go with it) but they have started upping the anty when it comes to Clark and his powers ( I thought his creative use of Heat vision was great this week) and I would really like to see him becoming more of his potential and less of the angst ridden whiny character that they often portray him as.

Cirie has reinforced (once again) my theory that you CAN NOT trust her in the latest happenings on Survivor:Micronesia ... and I have been saying for weeks to get rid of her-- and now Ozzy has been eliminated from the competition in a bone headed move that is way up there with "bad moves" in Survivor. (James is still the champ with having 2 Immunity Idols and getting the boot). It broke my heart to see Ozzy go, but let's be honest here... he was starting to get way too egotistical about the whole thing and he was outplayed in some major shenanigans. Erik is really growing on me after his visit to the Micronesian village (and after all that beer and Betel nuts) and he is quickly becoming my favorite player to watch with his whole "wide eyed innocent thing". The girls are getting their groove on in many ways and I think the claws will be coming out soon which should make for some good episodes. I still wish Ami was around to work that whole "girl power" vibe, but just seeing the look on Eliza's face when Ozzy got eliminated was worth the shock. Ozzy was less than graceful with his exit and he should have followed his earlier feelings and pulled out the Idol. Yet another one wasted... what is the use of having one if you don't use it? It's still a shame to see him gone and it looks like the guys are the endangered species this round.

Battlestar Galactica is so fracking good that I am now dreading the day it ends.

This week's episode "The ties that bind", continued rocketing our storyline into much unfamiliar and very disturbing territory.

The ties that bind - Cally & the Chief - besides the obvious;their child -- is their violent past and when Cally discovers, much by accident and suspicion, all about her dear hubby and some of his friends their shocking Cylon secret ("skinjobs") and she ultimately pays the price for this knowledge. Her discovery, the surreal scene that followed of Chief chatting with her and trying to explain the false truth and her violent attack on him before going off to try to commit suicide was astounding.

I was worried for the baby (probably some hybrid?) and you could feel the fear and tension that Cally had as she wrestled with the dilemma of Cylon hubby (and crew) and when one of our dear skinjob friends shows up (Tory) and tries to play nice before ultimately slapping her down and grants her death wish by blasting Cally out the airlock ... I was completely blown away. Just when you thought there was hope and redemption for some characters you realize that they are a lost cause. Tory has been mostly a background character, but since the reveal that she is one of the Cylons her storyline has been taking on a whole new direction and she has been given the chance to show some acting chops. Her sudden shifts have been very effective. Now of course... if Cally shows up next week on a Resurrection Ship we might have the identity of our unknown Cylon... and maybe that could explain why their baby has never shown up on the radar as important before... just a theory.

The ties that bind -- Starbuck & Anders -- the on again off again couple are off with a crew on the Demetrius looking for the way to Earth. Adama still has a spark of hope in Starbuck, and although our heroine is feeling disconnected and not quite herself (me thinks red herring, making us think that she might be Cylon when I think she will be the one that will save them all) and has some rough hot sex with stud man. Starbuck is painting some pretty pictures and going all Sistine Chapel in her quarters. The girl is not as crazy as anyone should think. The whole " Oh frack it let's just frack " scene should clear up any misconceptions about the word frack.

The ties that bind -- Six & the other Cylons -- and their ongoing civil war. Suddenly there is a vote and they want to unite the 12 models? I never imagined Cylons to have neither a spiritual nor such an emotional side and am fracking fascinated over the current internal struggles with in the machines. Seeing the trap that our friends just jumped into (and not a Resurrection ship around) might mean some change in the status quo.

There was still tons more (incredible to believe, all that in one hour) but I was less intrigued by the political stuff (although I love the President) and think that they are still wasting the Apollo character. I am sure this will all tie together in ways I could never imagine.

Bones - The Man in the Mud

After several months off (the last time was before Christmas), we finally got down to some fresh Bones this week and I am a very happy camper indeed.

Things picked up well from where we were last time, and our friend Sweets is now an official member of the cast (for how long no one knows -- I still have the feeling that something about him is too good to be true and would not be surprised if there is some kind of a connection with the mysterious Gormagon ... time will tell on that one.)

I think the thing that I have missed the most is the rapid fire and very funny exchanges between the characters. Bones is so out of tune with regular day to day stuff and her apparant lack of social skills always makes for a good laugh. The storyline with the body being discovered in the mud pool and Bones insisting that the mud be drained and sent off for analysis was just too funny. People don`t know when/how/if to take her seriously (and they should, she doesn`t really joke around) and it always makes me giggle to see how easily Temperance can make people`s heads spin.

Unfortunately there wasn`t a lot with some of the supporting cast this week (Zack and Jack were hilarious playing king of the lab while Angela didn`t have enough of a role this week and neither did Cam) and I was pleasantly surprised to see one of the `Others` from Lost playing the snarky lawyer for one of our suspects. His comment about sarcasm not being translated well on the transcript was pretty good, and I wonder if he will be another character that will show up from time to time.

Having the sessions with Bones, Booth and Sweets was absolutely the best part of the episode. I love the interaction, the `double date` scenario and how Bones and Booth turned things around (and against) Sweets while watching him have a meltdown with his fish loving girlfriend. Bone`s sheer incredulation about `fish and people aren`t the same-- people can`t breath underwater` went beyond answering a rhetorical question to clearly demonstrating her different perspective on life. Booth was such a surprise on the `date`.. and for someone who didn`t want to go and `make something`, he did a great job on his horse (too funny) and had a much better time watching Sweets and his girlfriend bash heads than anything else. Having Sweets taken under the care of Bones and Booth at the end of the episode (after Sweets gets dumped) was brilliant, and made for another great episode. I can hardly wait until next week!

Dancing with the Stars - Week 5

After letting go of Adam Corolla last week (no real surprise here) and having the big shock of seeing Priscilla Presley in the bottom 2, things got quite a bit messier this week.

Latin week is usually touted as being a hot and sexy night... and spray tans aside, I was pretty disappointed in the over all performance level last night. Some of the teams did very well, but if you didn`t do well it was, well, pretty crappy.

I was happy to see that Marissa is really getting her groove back. After pulling out a great performance last week, she was my favorite again this week with her very sassy Samba. I have to say that this is the first year that I really like Tony (he usually grates on me, but this year we are seeing a lighter, funner side of him) and they are doing a great job together. Seeing Tony all excited and happy for Marissa makes each performance even more memorable, and I really hope to see them around for several weeks still. They got medium scores (all 8s) but had some of the best energy last night.

Mario & Karina started off the evening with their Samba.... and I have no idea what the judges were seeing, because it was not one of the highlights of the evening for me. I have completely lost interest in Mario`s performances and didn`t understand why he scored well.

Priscilla Presley & Louis tried to do a pretty intricate Rumba... but it was too difficult and felt forced and awkward. As much as I love Priscilla I think that she will be finished after this week and it may be the right time. She still looks great and works like a demon, but that isn`t always enough. She is still the classiest act on the dance floor this season.

Cristian de la Fuente & Cheryl did an adequate Rumba, but it was lacking the `oomph` that they had last week. They have weird chemistry.... if they could fix that they could probably go a lot further.

Marlee Matlin & Fabian did an amazing job for an intricate Samba that must be impossibly difficult for some one that can`t hear. Seriously-- I have no idea how Marlee does so well and keeps such a positive attitude with such a big challenge. They didn`t get the best score, but deserve to stick around and show the world more of their great attitude and effort.

Kristi Yamaguchi & Mark are still the couple to beat, and did another amazing Rumba last night. They got the highest scores (2 10s-- wow) and work so beautifully together. I always look forward to seeing what they will do, and they made it all look so effortless last night compared to other teams. It may be hard to know them off the top spot after this week.

Shannon Elizabeth & Derek got bad comments from the judges for their Samba, but I really think the judges were being too harsh. They put together a great routine, and although Shannon didn`t shake it as much as some of the other girls (she has less to shake), they did a great job and you can tell how much she puts into it by her level of exhaustion at the end of the performance. Poor Derek got hit with food poisoning this week (bad season for him) but there seems to be some kind of connection happening with his partner and I wonder if there is another romance in the works?

Jason Taylor & Edyta finished off the performances with a Rumba that was very smooth and had some interesting extensions done by Edyta (good lord...). They got great scores and are sure to be around for the next while as they are pretty much the number 2 team. Why is it that all the girls wear such mini costumes yet we are not treated to the same thing with the guys? Seems a little sexist to me....

I think that Priscilla will be eliminated tonight.... but stranger things have happened and you never know...

Desperate Housewives - some answers... and yes more questions

It was great getting back to Wisteria Lane last night, but I am still finding the whole TV season pretty disjointed and hard to keep up with. The Strike screwed up most of this season but atleast there was some interesting developments last night.

I never saw the OC, but after my first episode with the yummy Chris Carmack as Susan`s cousin Tim (huh? where the hell did he suddenly come from?) who guest starred in this episode and I was wondering what I had missed previously. The guy is pretty hot... and he certainly got busy very quickly during his visit...

Susan was slightly more bearable this week, and I loved how she was freaking out worrying that her cousin was after the 18 year old... when it turns out it was Katherine that took his virginity at 16 when he visited before `Band Camp`. This was around the time that Katherine got rid of the abusive ex husband... and them hooking up again seemed to be good timing, after all she is just breaking up with her current husband and I guess Katherine`s cougar instincts come out in times of crisis....

We got tons of info concerning Katherine and the great mystery that is her ex-husband. The way things look.... it appears that Katherine killed her ex with the candlestick in the Library (?) or maybe the Study... it all seemed very Clue to me... all I know is that her other ex is still in the picture and her poor daughter is in serious need of therapy. I`d still like to know more about that mysterious burial in the woods.... I am assuming that is close to home and a big surprise that Lynette`s gang of monsters haven`t discovered it. I think the cross in the ground formed out of rocks might have caught some one`s attention... but I digress...

Gaby and Carlos were probably the most fun last night, and besides Gaby being the vapid and completely self centered woman that she is, she has me in hysterics with her abusing Carlos after she learned he might be permanently blind. Oh the drama... the bitchfest with Edie made the whole episode for me, and I love how those 2 interact.

I wasn`t that thrilled with Lynette`s sudden need for Church (and don`t believe that almost everyone in that particular `hood goes to church every week either..) but her interaction with Bree and the Minister was great... and her acceptance by the Catholic Church (`They are the only ones that don`t care if I have this many children`) was hysterical. Bree is one scary woman when she wants something and their discussion on faith was quite interesting.

I am still wondering where the gay couple is.... can`t they try to do a half decent story with them? Still.... I am happy to have some new episodes and looking forward to some new dirt...