The River "Row Row Row Your Boat": AKA: What A Way To End It

So it's been a few weeks since the season, and hopefully not, but looking more and more likely like the series, finale of my newest obsession, The River.

It was hard to imagine how they were going to top the discovery/resurrection of Dr. Emmet Cole, which occurred at the end of the previous zombie filled episode, "The Experiment", but some how they managed to pull it off with flying colors.

I'm gonna pause for a moment, to warn you that if you haven't yet watched last night's episode, to stop here. There will be spoilers ahead, though if you haven't watched already, FOR SHAME. Anyways consider yourself warned.

We begin the episode with a series of personal interviews. What the crew members look forward to most about going home. Tess and Lincoln's reactions to having Emmet back, that sort of thing.

When it comes to the Good Doctor though, the man has become increasingly tight lipped. When asked what happened to him out there he remains aloof, offering instead apologies to Jonas, who claims to forgive him as if he hadn't left him they'd both be dead, and Lena, who is less forgiving. did anyone else find it odd that Jonas was so forgiving, when in last week's episode he told Rabbit that he didn't blame her for leaving him, he blamed Emmet, saying something along the lines of "blame the Shepard not the flock", but I digress.

So anyway, about ten mins into the episode, all the cameras are shut down since the generator had over heated and Emilio had to power down to clear it out. That's when a bullet meant for our good doctor, who is attempting to reconcile with his son, goes and KILLS Lincoln as he tries to save his father.

 That's right, only ten mins in and they go and kill one of the best parts of the show. It was sudden, shocking and completely unexpected. Ironically the one person equip to treat this kind of injury would have been Lincoln, the rest of the crew is basically helpless, able only to watch horrified as Lincoln dies before them.

Of course since the shooting occurred during the power down, and since no one is confessing, the identity of who shot Lincoln seems to be a lost cause, or is it? This is The Boiuna after all.

Jaleh comes to Emmet and Tess, claiming that she can bring Lincoln back. Tess of course is all for it, as she frequently demonstrates this season, she cares nothing for the safety of others when one of her loved ones' life is on the line. Emmet however, having spent way more time in this mysterious/often evil place, is more cautious. He vetoes the idea, say they have no way of knowing what evil forces can be invited in to Lincoln along with his soul.

Tess, of course, ignores Emmet's warning and has Jahel preform the ritual anyway. I couldn't help but wonder if any of Lincoln would be brought back. I saw Buffy, when they tried to bring Joyce back. What if whatever they invited in to Lincoln's body wasn't him?

During this freaky ritual, we watch as something slowly pulls away the sheet covering Lincoln's body, and the room slowly fill with water. After ceremony is finished Tess hurries her way to the Kitchen to check on Lincoln. She flings open the door and we get not the rush of water we, or at least I expected, but a sopping wet, highly disorientated Lincoln.

He identifies Kurt as the shooter, and despite his claims of innocence, after all if Kurt shot at Emmet, he "wouldn't have missed", the lock him away in a room on the ship. For a brief moment we are allowed to think that everything is alright, but of course it isn't. It wouldn't be The River if it were.

Jonas comes upon "Lincoln" in the kitchen making a sandwich. As Lincoln is having difficulty since his fingers are still numb, Jonas offers to help, telling Lincoln he's glad he's ok. Lincoln retorts with "Because I tried to save you? Because I'm a good person?Not like my dad..." And there you have it, the big reveal, it was Jonas, not Kurt who fired that shot. "Lincoln" tells Jonas he claimed it was Kurt so "I could kill you myself" and WHAM! With lightning fast reflexes, "Lincoln" swipes at Jonas, bare handed mind you, and tears open  Jonas' throat effectively killing him. Looks like Emmet was right, and then Lincoln then goes off to beat the crap out of Kurt.

Emmet, has been spending a lot of time in the editing bay "catching up" on what has happened on the trip. He watches the encounter with Jonas that we have just seen, only in the version that plays back, Lincoln doesn't kill Jonas, he simply thanks him for the sandwich, "just like my dad used to make", and Jonas picks up his camera and leaves. Something about this doesn't sit right with Emmet, maybe it was the fact that I doubt he made Lincoln many sandwiches, or the creepy way Lincoln stared at the camera before walking away, but added to the fact that Lincoln told him he loved him earlier, well Emmet is convinced that whatever that thing is, it is NOT his son. Now he just has to prove it, he goes off to talk to Lena.

Elsewhere, Clark has a mini melt down, because he's in love with Tess, who let's face it is now never going to leave Emmet, AJ admits to Clark he's gay, Clark tries to drink away his sorrows and he and AJ discover what's left of Jonas' body.

Lena tricks demon Lincoln into drinking some sort of potion which weakens him, when he makes an advance on her, maybe I've got too much American Horror Story on the brain but I couldn't help but wonder if his intentions were to make a demon baby with her. His Demon-ness now revealed we now get to see a few truly horrifying scenes of Demon/Lincoln restrained to the table, contorting all sorts of terrifying ways attempting to break free while mentally taunting/terrorizing Emmet and Lena.

Finally the rest of the team calls upon Kurt to ask him what to do, because they only NOW realize that he knows more then he's letting on. Kurt tells them only Lincoln can dispel the demon and he has to "want to". Cue a very "Cat's in the Cradle" type speech given to Lincoln by Emmet. Lincoln, always the fighter, eventually dispels the Boiuna out of his body.

The crew is safe, Emmet and his family are patching things up. Lena is apparently not ready to forgive Lincoln for what he said/did to her while he was possessed, because that make sense. It wasn't Lincoln who said/did those things it was an evil entity inside of him. It doesn't seem fair to blame him for what happened. As they happily make they way toward the mouth of The Boiuna believing their adventures are over, suddenly their GPS stops working. Clark send up the aerial cam and to their horror, see that the river is moving...or rather the land is moving around them, reshaping the river itself and trapping our poor crew.



Thoughts and Theories and Such

During the ritual, Tess asks Jahel how she knows to preform the ritual and Jahel simply starts "She is telling me". The question of who "She" is is ne'er answered. Was it The Boiuna herself, searching for entry to inflict harm upon our crew? Or was it Jahel's on mother, who also possesses Jahel's "gift"?

So Emmet tells Jonas, he's so sorry for leaving him and that he didn't know what else to do, that if he had stayed they both would have died. Despite claiming to forgive him, Jonas, as we later learn, still blames Emmet for leaving him. But Emmet was right. If he hadn't left Jonas, they probably both would have died, and then Lena would never have "felt" that Emmet and her father were alive, causing her to remotely set off the beacon. If she'd never set off the beacon then the "rescue team" never would have gone down to The Boiuna in the first place and Jonas would have been left hanging in the trees, almost dead for all eternity. So in actuality, his abandoning Jonas is what allowed him to be saved in the first place.

I feel like the kind of just threw in that  A.J. was gay. There is nothing wrong with that, and no reason that he wouldn't be, I just feel the way they revealed it, wasn't very believable.

The ending? Ok so if you have to go out in only eight episodes, at least we were given a doozey of an ending. The fucking river TRAPPED them...how horrifying is that?!?! Sure, I think there are still many stories to be told, many new facets to explore, and I def don't like the fact that we are going out with Lena being, needlessly, pissed at Lincoln, but as far as premature endings go it wasn't half bad. There was a brief rumor that Netflix might pick up the show, but I haven't heard anything further on that front. At least, we get a DVD, the first season, is it wrong to hold out hope since the cover says "Complete First Season" and not "Complete Series"?, will be available on May 22nd. You can pre-order it on Amazon here.

The Grey: AKA: Fuck Wolves

Wednesday night I did it. I picked the time, I picked the place, and I picked a really great friend and we did it. We saw The Grey. I remember back when they were casting this film, we had a lot of people go in, in fact a lot of the audition scenes made it into the final script. But I digress, before seeing the film I was presented by two very strong, very polar opinions. Everyone who saw it seemed to either LOVE it or HATE it. There seemed to be no in-betweens. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am that in between.  I didn't hate the movie, but I didn't love it either. I'm glad I went to go see it and I enjoyed it, but is it something I NEED to own and watch repeatedly? Not so much. So let's break it down a bit. By the way, if you haven't see the film yet and wish not to be spoiled, stop reading now.

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD

The Good
1) The casting. This is a big thing for me, doing what I do, I rejoice in great casting. Well done  First of all when it comes to "surviving" Liam Neeson is the man. He is by far my "action hero" of choice.  A friend of mine once described what he "learned" from Taken as "never bring a gun to a Liam Neeson fight", meaning if you are on the wrong side of Mr. Neeson, you are going to die, regardless of what kind of weapon you have. Now let's look at the other men of our motley crew.

• Joe Anderson. Really I don't think anything else needs to be said. I have been in love with this man, talent, looks, accent and all since I saw Across the Universe.  Despite his small role, he was still spot on for it, and I'm always happy he's working. Side bar, I am riddic excited for The River starting this Tuesday on ABC.
• Dallas Roberts, Frank Grillo, Ben Brey, Noso Anozie were all great and Dermont Mulroney was almost unrecognizable as Talget. The man has come a long way and definitely proved that he can hold his on in a movie that doesn't include the word "wedding" in the title.

2) The wolf sounds. Ok, so I know that sounds really weird, but whenever you heard the wolves, but didn't see them, especially in the scene where they are chowing down on the wolf meat, was absolutely TERRIFYING. Throw in the fact that all you saw was there breath rising into the dark sky, and you couldn't help but feel horrified.

The Not So Good

1) The lack of Liam Neeson vs. Wolf fight scenes. So they entire time they are being stalked by a pack of ravenous, pissed off wolves and all the trailers seem to have built this movie up as Taken with wolves, yet in the movie we never actually get to see this epic wolf battle we are promised.

2) The ending. It isn't that the ending wasn't good, it was actually better if you stayed and saw the additional scene at the end of the credits, but it wasn't what I was expecting at all. I expected more of a definitive ending, and instead was given something that I like to call the "open to interpretation" ending. 

3) The dialogue. So I imagine that being trapped in the frozen wilderness while being hunted down by rabid wolves would not create an environment where you would be spouting Shakespeare, but some of the dialogue was just awful. Hendrick's whole speech towards the end, when it was down to him and Ottway, about how he saw Ottway on the last night of camp and never expected to see him alive again, came off more homoerotic than thoughtful. 

The Rando

1) Okay, so this film basically shows you all the most terrifying ways to die, plane crash, drowning, falling across a large chasm and through a ton of trees, freezing, eaten by wolves. I have to say if I have to die I vote freezing to death, Burke had no idea how lucky he was.

2) Part of me was a little annoyed that Hendrick and Ottway gave up on Diaz so quickly. I get that it was for their own survival, and that they probably not to change his mind anyway, but I can't help but think that I wouldn't be able to deal with the fact that I left him there, if I ultimately survived.

All and all I didn't love the movie, I didn't hate the movie, I just liked it. I'm glad that I saw it, and if I walked into a room and someone was watching it I wouldn't walk out, but I don't know that I need to own this one. 

Top Five: Shows of Last Pilot Season...Sorta

Well we are in the thick of pilot season now, which accounts for my lack of updates, sorry guys.

As I wade through scripts for countless doctor/lawyer shows and the inevitable copycat shows, already looks like there is a "new" American Horror Story and a "new" Homeland, I am reminded of what the last pilot season had to offer. So I've decided to do a Top Five of my favorite shows to come out of last pilot season. Here they are in no particular order:

1) Revenge - Ok, I admit it, when I first heard about the show I really didn't understand how they were going to make this premise work as a weekly show. As a movie or mini series sure, but I couldn't see how they could continue out this story week after week without it going stale. I am beyond pleased to say how wrong I was. Revenge has become one of my favorite shows, you know one of those shows you just devour. The cast is amazing, I don't even have words to describe how amazingly talented I find Madeline Stowe. It's a show that I look forward to week after week.

2) American Horror Story - I have mixed feelings about this show, but for reasons that will soon be explained, feel it had to be included in the Top Five. The show wasn't as terrifying as I had initially been lead to believe it would be. The first episode I unnecessarily forced The Boy's Brother, who is our other roommate and 6'5 to watch with me in case I freaked. Was the show creepy? Yes. Disturbing? Often. Terrifying? Not really, well except for the underutilized "infantada". That thing was the stuff of nightmares. But I digress, despite being littered with plot bunnies, often time confusing/frustrating, American Horror Story did do one thing I loved. It got people talking, discussing, theorizing. I'm a big fan of shows that get you thinking. While it was airing, Thursdays, and Fridays too for those of us who would DVR it, meant that the office was a buzz with conversation about that week's episode.

3) Hart of Dixie - I grew up in what I like to reffer to as the "Glory Days of the WB". It was the station to watch, they had Buffy, Angel, 7th Heaven (when it was still good), Dawson's Creek, the short lived Young Americans (which had Ian Somerhalder) and Dead Last (which had Tyler Labine). Side bar if anyone remembers those last two shows we need to be friends. Anyway Hart of Dixie brings the CW back to the WB hay day, with it's cute, feel good vibe and really, it's hard not to love a show that has Scott Porter and a very often shirtless Wilson Bethel.

4) The Finder - So I know we have just recently gotten a taste of this new show but as a fan of Bones since the beginning I felt it had to be given a spot. The show, although still finding it's legs,  has made some positive changes since the backdoor pilot during an episode of Bones last year. Saffron Burrows Ike is no more, replaced, without any mention, with Mercedes Masohn's Deputy U.S. Marshal Isabel Zambada and Maddie Hasson's Willa Monday. Throw in the riddiculously awesome guest stars, Brett Davern (Awkward), John Francis Daley (Bones), Wilson Cruz (My So Called Life), my random adoration Ian Reed Kesler (guest star on EVERYTHING), with Geoff Stults and Michal Clarke Duncan and you got some serious gold.


Okay, okay so after mulling this over for two days I have only come up with four. Sure, there were other shows I like that came out of last years pilot season, The New Girl, Once Upon a Time,  2 Broke Girls, Person of Interest, but they haven't made it to my MUST view lists. Then of course there is Alcatraz, and Touch, which haven't been on long enough for me to officially proclaim them, and factor in the scores of shows I am still DYING to see, Awake (can we just please get that on the air ASAP), Apt 23, The River top that list, by the way. So there you have it my Top Four pilots of last year.

It's the Most Wonderful TIme of the Year

Sorry for being MIA lately, my fabulous brother was doing some updates on my new laptop, and as I was off from work I was sans a way of updating. Plus the holidays are always a busy time. The Boy can attest to the fact that the entire month of December, our kitchen turns into a bakery.

It was a very pop culture Christmas this year, thanks to some brilliantly crafty and slightly sneaky friends. Major props go to my friend Leslie who not only cross stiched the entire Firefly cast (four times no less), but also managed to somehow sneak away at NYCC to get the lovely Jewel Staite  sign & personalize them.

Seriously how clutch is that?

Anyways, I've decided that this post, which will probibly be my last of 2011, is the perfect time for a Best Of list, are you guys tired of them yet? So here are some of my favorite pop culture things of 2011.

• Awkward - This was by far my favorite new show of the year. I knew the moment I read the pilot that I was going to like the show, despite it being on MTV. After the first episode I was hooked, even in all it's insanity, the show is still so real. It brings me back to when I was in high school, but in the good way. I am so excited that a second season is on the way and I can't wait to see where the characters are headed.

• The Resurgence of Mark Paul Gosslaar - 2011 saw the resurgence of one of my favorite childhood actors. I practically jumped for joy when I learned that Mark Paul Gosslaar and Breckin Meyers were doing a show together. I mean seriously what more could a girl raised on Saved By the Bell and Clueless want? The show itself is hysterical, better than I had expected. But things got even better, with both the TNT tv movie Hide, and ABC Family's 12 Dates of Christmas, it felt as though MPG was EVERYWHERE and that just made life better.

• Teemagnet.com - This has to be my new favorite website. Seriously all the best geeky tshirts on display. It's my homepage...it is why I am poor.

• Revenge - I fully admit to not really knowing how the show was going to work, I mean it sounded more like an awesome movie than a tv show, but after watching the first three eps I was hooked. I'm not generally a fan of "soapy" shows but Revenge is pure, gooey, guilty pleasure tv. Madeline Stowe is amazing and Ashley Madekwe is my fashion icon.

• Ring My Bell - Speaking of the lovely Ashley Madekwe, her fashion blog, Ring My Bell is my  newest obsession. This woman is fashion icon, she has a fabulous sense of style and is an all around amazing person. 

• The Return of the Muppets -  2011 also saw the return of the Muppets to the lime light, and I couldn't be more excited about it. Having always been a Muppet fan the fact that they were getting a new movie made me giddy, add in the fact that Jason Segel wrote and stared in it and I was in HEAVEN.  

• Pop Culture Art - So one of the greatest things about going to NYCC this year was getting to go through artist alley and seeing all the amazing pop culture inspired prints. Some of my favorites include, Katie Cook, Brian Kong, Scott Ethan Ambruson and Laurie B.

• American Horror Story - One of the most frustrating/thought provoking shows which I was sucked into this year. While not as scary as I had initially thought, it definitely kept me on my toes, and filled with emotions and tons of questions. While I didn't always love what went on with the story lines, and more often than not screamed in frustration over loose ends, but it was still a wild ride.

There you have it, some of the awesome pop culture stuff of 2011.

American Horror Story "Spooky Little Girl" : AKA: Seriously? We're pulling Black Dahlia now?

Okay, so I get it's a "Horror Story", says it right in the title, and there are therefore supposed to be ghosts, that's a given, but come on now, the ghost roster has gotten WAY too long. Before I continue my rant let's sound off with the ghost we know of in the house thus far:

1. Charles Montgomery
2. Nora Montgomery
3. Infatata/Thaddeus Montgomery
4. Beauregard (Constance's deformed son in the attic)
5. Hugo (Constance's cheating husband)
6. Tate
7. Troy (twin)
8. Bryan (twin)
9. Chad 
10. Patrick
11. Gladys
12. Maria
13. Female Cult member
14. Male Cult member
15. Young/old Moira
16. Hayden
17. Travis
18. Elizabeth Short

Seriously, we are up to EIGHTEEN now, in the house! Not to mention, the five classmates Tate shot, who's ghosts, though not connected to the house, were roaming about on Halloween, and the fact that somewhere Constance has another child, who very well may be in the house as well, and we aren't entirely sure what happened to Larry's wife and two daughters. I mean seriously, I really am starting to think that they've decided to throw the story out and see how many fun ghost stories and legends/guest stars they can address. Did we really need The Black Dahlia this week? Sure it was a cool idea, but I would have much rather focused on what was actually going on with the family. We got like a nano-second of Vivian, a sprinkling of Ben and no Violet whatsoever. Her mother was carted off to a psych ward, and it was basically her fault, but all we "see" of her is Ben mentioning she won't leave her room.

Also why have the police never questioned Ben about the death of Derek? Clearly, they must know he's dead by now and this is the third of Ben's patients to turn up dead. Bianca, the cult member, Sally, the boring woman who committed suicide, and now Derek, seems a little strange to me that no one thinks it's odd that all of a therapists clients are dying.

I've come too far into the season to give it up, but come on American Horror Story, make me want to stay.

American Horror Story "Rubber Man" : AKA: Um, Yuck!

WARNING *SPOILER ALERT* IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN "RUBBER MAN" DO NOT PASS GO. GO WATCH THEN COME BACK TO READ

Ok, so one week after professing my love of Tate, I now find myself shrieking in disgust. Um...he's the S&M guy? Eeewww, he impregnated his girlfriend's mother? Ok, that's just too creepy. I figured that S&M guy was probably one of the ghosts we'd seen, and not a separate entity for a while now, since they showed Tate in the costume in the basement, but I have continued to hold out hope that it wasn't him. I was kind of hoping it would be Constance's dead sex crazed hubby, or maybe even Charles Montgomery in a quest to give his grieving wife a new baby. Seriously, anyone else would have been ok with me, just not Tate.

Icky-ness aside, I have to admit I'm starting to loose a little faith in the Murphy/Falchuk ability to deal with a plot this complex. There have been several small details that have bothered me, things that just don't make sense. Not just in a WTF was that sense, but legit, little things that just don't seem to add up.

• Tate "not knowing" he's dead, but knowing all about the ghosts and how he could only leave the house on Halloween.
• Why if Constance moved next door, is her deformed son still living in the attic of the murder house when Larry is living there with his family? 
• Why did the goth chick say that Tate asked her if she believed in God before he shot her, though when we saw his killing spree he was completely wordless? 
• Why after installing what was supposed to be a top of the line security system is everyone and their mother still able to just waltz in and out of the house as they please? You can go by the theory that Moira let's them in, but I doubt very much she would let Constance in, given how much she despises her. 
• What ever happened to those voices Ben was hearing? 
• Why does it matter that Moira's bones are buried on the property, I guarantee Tate's aren't, so why does it make difference?
• Finally, why if the whole purpose of getting Vivian pregnant was for Nora, and now Haley, to get the babies, do they get her carted of to a psych ward? Seeing as the spirits can't leave the house, isn't that a little counter productive?

The Boy swears there must be good reason for them to want to have Vivian carted off, he clearly has more faith in the creators/writers than I do. I just hate to think that the creatives have merely chosen to go for the scare, than to actually invest in the stories of these characters.  It's a very complicated story to take on, and I have to wonder if they've bitten off just a little more than they can chew.

American Horror Story: AKA: For the Love of Tate

Here we are again, with me starting to fall for another character I really shouldn't love. This time it's American Horror Story's Tate.


*WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD*


Yes, yes, I know, he's dead, and perhaps more importantly he wordlessly mass murdered a bunch of his classmates before becoming so, but bare with me on this. Despite all that he has managed, at least for now, to weasel his way into my heart.

Sure he started off as a creepy psych patient of her father's, but deep wasn't that what Violet wanted? Some as fucked up as she was, to confide in?

Aside from being dead and the whole mass murdering thing, Tate is a pretty awesome boyfriend for Violet. First off he is ALWAYS there for her. Both emotionally and as her protector. He's a sounding board for her to complain about bullies, her parents, really anything that is bothering her. As Ben and Vivian pretty much raise her with a slightly concerned neglect, and having uprooted her from her life and moved her cross country, Tate, at first was exactly what she so desperately needed, a friend. When Violet started to become terrified by the ghostly visions she was having, Tate appeared and told her how to handle them.

Every time Violet has been in harms way, Tate has come through to rescue her. From the very beginning, he helped her put a stop to the bully tormenting her at school. During the first home invasion, it was Tate who appeared to Violet, and told her how to get rid of the intruders, who practically chopped that crazy bitch in half who threatened Violet's life. When the victims of his massacre surfaced on Halloween and threatened his beloved he took off leading them away from her. More importantly, when Violet attempted to O.D. on sleeping pills, he dragged her to the bathroom, pulled her into the tub, turned the water on her, and forced her to throw up. The whole time he is clutching her, begging her to hold on and all and all doing everything in his power to revive her.

What really won me over to the Tate side though was his tearful confession of love to Violet. Telling her he's never felt this way about anyone, but if she wants him to leave her alone he will, because her happiness means more to him then his own feelings.

He just looked so lost and broken, if Tate is playing it's a damn good one.

According to Constance, Tate doesn't know he's dead. Now, I am willing to believe in some sort of paranormal PTSD, as a reason to why he doesn't remember the heinous murders he committed, or how he died, but I don't believe that he doesn't know he's dead. He is far to calm around the other ghosts, clearly he knows Constance, his mother, no longer lives in the house AND more importantly, he KNEW he couldn't leave the house unless it was Halloween. So either Falchuk and Murphy royally suck at continuity, or Tate knows more about his current state of being than Constance let's on.

I'm sure we are in for tons more twists and turns and who knows, in two weeks I may despise him, still, for now, I find myself feeling sorry for Tate, wanting him to get his happy ending.

I'm Still Here...and I've got Theories

I haven't completely dropped off the face of the earth, however between working on NaNoWriMo and the fact that I was lacking power for almost a FULL WEEK, I'm a little behind on on my television. I am working on catching up but it's a slow process.

But I have a TON of theories on some of my favorite shows...so be prepared for the flood gates to open and a wealth of theories and observations to come bursting through....

American Horror Story: AKA: Sucked Into The Super Natural

So I just finished catching up on FX's American Horror Story, and as per usual am left in a perpetual state of WTF, that has come to traditionally follow each viewing.It's pretty smart on the parts of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, seeing as I still don't know if I like the show but I am sucked into continuing to watch.

 After viewing this past weeks episode in preparation for tomorrow, The Boy raised an interesting theory, that Denis O'Hare's character, Larry, "definitely does not exist.", claiming him to be some sort of psychotic split personality of Ben's.  I call this theory interesting, because Larry was the only character who's alive-ness I never questioned. From the very first episode, I pegged Tate and Moira as ghosts, I've even raised doubts about Constance's existence, but Larry?  It was never a question in my mind. Props must be given to Denis O'Hare for some how making a physically disturbing man, humane enough to NOT haunt my nightmares. I suppose The Boy's theory is just as valid as any others out there. Let's hash this out for a mo-mo.

• Larry was a former owner of the house. 
• The only person to ever see him is Ben.
• He seems to be acting only in Ben's best interest
• How did Larry know that Hayden was there?
• How did he dig the hole so quickly/well with only one good arm?

 So, The Boy is claiming "The Fight Club" defense in support of his Larry/Ben theory. I'm now very interested to see if it plays out.

I have to admit, I have never been a fan of Moira's, she annoys me, but for the first time ever, I actually feel bad for Moira. She just wants to go "home", or wherever one goes once they leave this world. She was drugging Ben so that he would find her body, which I suppose would set her spirit free. Now that Larry has buried Hayden's body on top of her, and Ben has sealed off the foundation and built a gazebo over the spot, she is forced to remain in this world. It's quite sad, really.

Three episodes in, and I'm beginning to feel the need for a Ghost type thing score sheet. So far these are the "Things" we have seen that dwell in the house:

1. The Infantada (which is what the American Horror Story Wiki seems to calling that creepy nightmare inducing "thing" in the basement)
2. Young/Old Moira
3. Maria
4. Gladys 
5. Tate
6. Troy
7. Troy's Twin
8. Nora Montgomery
9. The S&M Suit Dweller

And that's only the things we know for sure are there and non living. While I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the show as a whole, it is definitely causing me to sit here and think, theorize and want to discuss, which is what "good" television should do.

Week Four: AKA: Making Decisions

So we're into week four of the fall tv season, and decisions are being made. I've gone through several weeks of new shows and am starting to make my decisions onto which shows I am going to make the commitment to. So far here are my updated verdicts:

Sundays

Homeland (10pm Showtime)
Ok, so I've only gotten my hands on the pilot, but as I've said before I ADORE Mandy Patinkin and as I think the concept an amazing new take on a familiar fear. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more.

Pan Am (10pm ABC)
I wasn't sure I was going to continue watching this show after the pilot, but three episodes later and I find myself looking forward to each new episode. I adore Captain Dean (AKA: Mike Vogal, who will always be Dean from Grounded For Life to me), and Kate Jennings Grant has a recurring as role as Judith Cameron, Laura and Kate's mother. She just flat out rocks, and she is way prettier then they make her up to be.

Mondays

Terra Nova (8pm Fox)
I am well aware I need to be watching this show, and fully admit to it being my fault that I have yet to catch up. However due to my due to my commute anything airing before 10pm is a gamble on whether or not I make it home to watch.

Hart of Dixie (9pm CW)
It's a cute show, and three weeks in and I am still entertained. Is it a thought provoking master piece? Hardly, but it's sweet and a good way to the hour before Castle.

Playboy Club (10pm NBC)
Well the decision was made FOR me here. It wasn't the best show I had ever seen, but it was interesting enough. I was really looking forward to seeing where the storyline between Sean and Bunny Alice was headed. Homosexuality in the 1960's is not something we, the viewers, have been readily exposed to, I was really interested to see how they handled it. Unfortunately we may never know.

Tuesdays

Ringer (9pm CW)
This is one of the saddest hings I've typed. I was psyched for the premiere and raced home for the second episode, I was beyond excited to have Buffy Summers and Richard Alpert once again gracing my screen. Yet now after three episodes, I've realized I don't really care about the story. It's not a bad show, it just seems to be moving fairly slowly, and I don't really care about the characters themselves.I'm going to stick with it or awhile but sad to say when the mid season replacements start up, I'll probably end up watching something else instead.

Wednesday

Revenge (10pm ABC)
This show was honestly a pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure how they were going to sustain this as a tv show, as opposed to a movie, but, at least for now, it seems to be working quite nicely. More importantly, I actually "care" about the characters. I want to befriend Nolan, console Jack about his father, and while I'm not 100% sure how I feel about Victoria, I know that I want to know more about her.

American Horror Story (10pm FX)
We're only one episode in and honestly I am still in WTF mode. I'm not giving up on it just yet, but honestly the jury is still out on whether or not it's being added to my regular schedule. 

Thursday

Person of Interest (9pm CBS)
I still need to catch up but I'm gonna stick with it, because let's face it Ben Linus always has a plan.

American Horror Story: AKA: WTF?

Full disclosure, I was both pumped and terrified for last night's premiere of American Horror Story on FX. I'd heard it was all sorts of creepy and the fact that it was one of the only scripts I couldn't get my hands on during pilot season had me intrigued. Not to mention the most INTENSE/best session I've ever had was some one who came in for the role of Ben.

I scarfed down dinner, grabbed my big, oh so soft purple blanket and curled up on the couch prepared to have the beejesus scared out of me. I even coerced The Boy's brother to watch it with me so I wouldn't have to watch on my own.

I have to say, while I am completely willing to give the show another shot, last night's episode wasn't as gripping as I expected.

First off I love Dylan McDermott, I really do, his dreamy presence was the only decent thing about that abomination of a remake of Miracle on 34th Street from the 90's, but honestly, I didn't need to see that much of his naked body. I started wondering if Ben have something against clothes? And watching him finish himself off and then collapse into tears after catching his version of Moira the maid playing with herself? We get it he's sexually frustrated. This also leads to the question of why does he see a different version of Moira then both his wife and daughter? Are Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk implying that men are more susceptible to whatever the evil in the house is?

Also, why is the evil entity so sexual? Between the multiple attempts of Ben's version of Moira to seduce him, and the creepy black vinyl suit man who Vivian has sex with, while assuming it's Ben, itseems to be driving a message, perhaps unintentional message, that sexuality/sexual desires are linked to evil. I'll admit I'm having a little trouble buy that after not sleeping with her husband for almost a year, Vivian would be so gungho to go for round two a few hours later with her "husband" completely silent and dressed in full S&M regalia.

I have to say, I'm a little surprised they jumped right into the demon baby storyline so quickly. I mean clearly sex with rubber man was going to lead to evil spawning, but how much time passed between the sexcapade and when she told her husband she was craving Indian food? It felt like it was the next day, seriously is it even possible to know that quickly? Do demon spawn has a shorter gestation period?

Can we also touch upon the complete lack of responsibility of Ben treating possible sociopaths out of his HOME office? I fully understand that there are therapists, especially on tv, who work out of home offices, Jason Seaver (Growing Pains), Dani Santino (Necessary Roughness) to name a few, but they don't treat patients there who have a high probability of harming their families.

Speaking of lack of responsibility, do the Harmon's ever lock their doors? I mean ok, I can buy the first time that Addy and her mother Constance got in, the back door was unlocked, but after that unnerving encounter, you would think that they would be a little more neurotic about locking up. Apparently not though, because there seems to always be people randomly wandering about the house.

Dennis O'Hare is absolute perfection as the creepy, mutilating-ly burned former house occupant with an inoperable brain tumor. Alright, I realize how weird that sounds typed out like that but it's the truth.

To be honest, maybe because it was over hyped, I didn't find the first episode all that freaky. I was more freaked/intrigued by the preview at the end of the show than the actual show itself.  I plan on tuning in for the next couple of weeks before deciding if I'm going to stick with it.