Revenge "Suspicion": AKA: When the Shit Begins to Hit the Fan...

I've said it a thousand times, I am not a soapy show fan, but Revenge just too good to leave. The holidays put a bit of a delay on my tv watching and I finally got around to watching my favorite guilty pleasure. By the way, I've come to the sad conclusion that all the shows I have adored in the past few months are classified as "guilty pleasures".

So Kira, or Fauxmanda, as our darling Nolan so fittingly called her, has decided that she not only doesn't want to leave, she wants to BE Amanda Clarke, and get all the handsome, bartender perks that come with the identity, namely Jack Porter. Oh Jack, I understand why you may have fallen for Fauxmanda's lies, but please snap out of it. Sorry to Margarita Levieva, but I have formed a deep seeded hatred for Fauxmanda. I know, I know the poor, troubled girl just wants to settle down and have a life, but seriously, there are far better lives to have than that of a wrongfully accused, terrorist's daughter. Sure, Jack is definitely a catch, but he's meant to be with Emily. So back off bitch. Plus she is mean to Nolan, and I am not a fan of anyone who is mean to Nolan.

Speaking of people being not so nice to Nolan, the monstrosity that is Tyler once again rears his twisted little head to cause trouble. Honestly, I can not stand Tyler, he makes me want to punch things. Which is just a testament to the awesome acting ability of Ashton Holmes. Remember when he was Mark on the Rent tour and we all wanted to cuddle him?

Tyler has apparently stolen our sweet Nolan's credit card, which he is rationing as payment for services rendered. I guess this means he fancies himself a hooker then? On the heterosexual side, he did use it to buy Ashley a killer black dress for the future investors party. I'm sorry, as much as dear little Ashton may claim in interviews that Tyler does have feelings for Ashley, I don't buy it. Boy is way to calculated for that, too Dexter-ish, if you ask me.

As things are starting to spin out of control, Emily calls upon her Asian Guru of revenge. Um, how many "mentors" does this girl have? The cops find Frank's phone outside the Grayson house, and decided to build a case against Conrad.

Lydia who is now wise to Victoria's previous feelings of hatred towards her, has Conrad relocate her from the Grayson's summer home to... somewhere else, we never actually do learn where.


Back to Tyler, who Nolan has been ordered by Emily to "take care of". Nolan calls Tyler over, and despite Tyler's coy advances, Nolan say he wants the cash back, instead. Go Nolan! Proof the boy was only using Tyler and not that he had been seduced. [Insert happy dance here]. Tyler tells Nolan to invest in Grayson Global at the party so that he can get the commission, then he'll pay him back. Nolan turns him down and leaves, but not before turning on trusty little shamu.

Side bar, seriously where can I get one of these little whale cameras? How freaking awesome is that thing? Plus it's come in handy more than a few times now. It is because of this handy little device, Nolan learns that Tyler has come into possession of Lydia's banquet speech, which reveals that the Grayson's framed David Clarke.

To put a tighter leash on the boy, Nolan goes to the inverster's party and tells The Talented Mr. Hamptons he'll invest if he gives him a little incentive. Of course, Tyler obliges, reaching a hand to caress Nolan's face and indulge him in a kiss, when a glass shatters on the floor the boys turn to find an understandably horrified Ashley, who then runs out. Tyler runs after her and attempts to explain, saying he was only doing "what was necessary" to get what he needed. He then goes on to tell her she needs to man up and "get in the game".

There is just SO MUCH WRONG here, I can't take it. I know, this is a sudsy drama, so clearly Ashley is going to buy the load of crap Tyler is spoon feeding her, but come on. First off, from the sight she walked on Tyler was clearly the aggressor. Even if you are willing to buy that she couldn't have seen or known that, then fine, how about the fact that your boyfriend was kissing some one else? For those of you saying, yes but for all she knows it was just a kiss, it's not like they are engaged. Ok, but the man admitted he is willing to do ANYTHING to get what he wants. Where's the line? There has to a line! Would he murder someone to get what he wants? There is such a thing as too driven.

Also, despite several times having provided commentary on how cut throat and mean her employers and company seem to be, sweet little  Ashley seems more than willing to throw her friend Emily, who, if I may remind you SHE introduced into this whole Hamptons circle of wickedness and deciete, under the bus in order to gain ground with. Note, how after making plans to discuss Emily with Victoria over brunch the next morning, she addressed her employer by her first name for the first time. Ashley's getting a little ballsy. Unfortunately, in this show, that can't be a good thing.

But lets end on a happy note, Charlotte and Declan. Love them. Just do. Although, side bar, Charlotte's text of "2nite's the nite!" seemed a little cliched. Regardless, they adorable together, hell even their plotting against Victoria, is somehow quite sweet. I mean come on, we all knew Declan wouldn't give her up for any amount, despite lack of funds, the Porter boys are just hopeless romantics. It's nice to see at least one romance going well in this verse...at least for now.

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.

The Muppets: AKA: Childhood Revisited

There are two types of people in this world, those who like The Muppets and those who LOVE The Muppets. I've never met a person who claimed they didn't like and/or hated The Muppets. If you know one of those people, pity them, for they have no soul.

I grew up on the Muppets, not just reruns of The Muppet Show, which aired on Nickelodeon, remember when Nickelodeon had good shows?, but Sesame Street, all the Holiday specials and such. In my house, whenever a Muppet special aired, it was to be tapped, yes that's right taped, to be watched over and over again. I watched through golden years, The Muppet Show, The Muppet Movie, ect., I even watched through the not so golden years, Muppets From Space, Muppet Wizard of Oz ect. I mean, you're talking to the girl who took people down to Goodspeed Opera House two years in a row to see their productions of Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas the musical, and would have continued to do so had the theatre continued to bring the show back for a third year and beyond. Seeing the Muppets without fail brings me kind of giddy joy that is so often lacking in my day to day world.

I can not even begin to tell you the pure happiness and excitement I felt at the announcement that they were making a new Muppet movie. Excitement that only heightened when I learned that Jason Segelwas writing/starring in the film. It was no secret that Jason has a tremendous love of the Muppets.

So today, after having a riddic countdown, I dragged a friend to see The Muppets. Seriously, an awesome way to spend a rainy November afternoon. This new movie, hearkened back to what we all love about those furry little creatures, it asked the question, has the world become too cynical for The Muppets to be relevant? The answer, of course not.

Sure, the world may have become far more cynical than back in the 50's when Jim Henson created them, but maybe that is why we need them more than ever. The Muppets have always been about good, clean, wholesome fun. They are a family, able to accomplish just about everything, as long as they are together. In this newest movie, the gang, who have spent many years apart, are brought back together, by Walter (the Newest Muppet), his brother Gary (Jason Segel), and Gary's long time girlfriend; Mary (Amy Adams), in order to save the Muppet theatre from a greedy oil man, Tex Richman (Chris Cooper).

What's so amazing about this new film is that Walter doesn't start off as a Muppet, he starts off as a regular-sh guy who loves the Muppets. They save him, help him feel that despite being different, there is hope. In essence Walter is all of us. All the kids/kids at heart who love and admire the Muppets. I don't know about any of you but I would JUMP at the chance to meet any of the Muppets. In fact it has always been a life long dream of mine to appear on Sesame Street, or let's face it any type of Muppet program where I got to interact with the fuzzy little creatures of  my childhood.

I give major props to Jason Segel for all his work in bringing the Muppets front and center back into our lives. Honestly I can not wait to go back and see this movie again.

Castle "Kill Shot": AKA: Castle's "Emmy Episode"

Every so often an established show does what I like to call "the Emmy Episode", the episode where you just know the writers/director thought, "This is the episode that will get [insert actor here] nominated for their Emmy."

You notice it most in Law & Order: SVU. Next time you are watching one of the inevitable SVU marathons think about that while either a Stabler or Benson-centric episode is on. My personal favorite is the one where Olivia goes undercover in the woman's prison and almost gets raped by one of the guards, but I digress.

Last night was, from what I can remember at least, Castle's first "Emmy Episode." The tone was drastically different from the usually lighthearted flair Castle puts forth. That's not to say that was a bad thing, "Kill Shot" was a powerful, and beautifully done episode.

 Kate was finally forced to deal with the trauma of her shooting when the gang comes up against a sniper. Now, Castle's writers could have taken the easier route and glossed over Kate's trauma in the first episode or two, but thankfully they didn't. Instead they brought Kate back, seemingly fine until she gets knocked off kilter by being up against the same type of killer who attempted to end her life. The result was a powerful and meaningful hour of television.

The entire episode was shot differently than any other episode, and the overall effects of this were gut wrenching and stunning at the same time. The shots showing Beckett's heightened senses and the complete chaos going through her due to her PTSD, were the perfect, terrifying glimpse into what she was experiencing. The scene where she freaked out while home alone in her apartment and ends up accidentally cutting herself and ending up a terrified ball in the corner, gun drawn, was electrifying. In those short moments, we saw Beckett show more fear than in the entire almost four seasons, thus far.

It's important to remember that despite being called Castle, the show is just as much Beckett's story as it is Richard's. So it was nice to, at least for this pivotal episode, get a good hard glimpse at the other half of this great dynamic duo.  It was all about Beckett and Stana Katic definitely rose to the occasion. She played the fear, the madness, the fight for control beautifully. It was almost painful to watch her Kate slowly slipping in to madness, clinging so desperately to the idea that she could do this on her own. Which is probably made her scene with Esposito, where he forces her to confront her fears with the actual gun that shot her, all the more powerful. As a former sniper, Esposito was the perfect choice to be the person to help Beckett deal with her situation. Points to Jon Huertas for playing the scene with a powerful, brotherly tough love.

Last night's episode was a complete 180 from the "normal" feel of Castle, which is not a bad thing. It proved that the show has really come into it's own. Not only can it have the episodes like "Heartbreak Hotel" full of hijinks and shenanigans, but also bring on the hard hitting emotions, and both formats are amazingly well done. It was a great and important episode, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to more of the usual banter between this amazing cast...

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.

Revenge: "Treachery" : AKA: The Plot Thickens

 After watching this week's episode I have finally figured out my team situation. We know Daniel is gonna die, which absolutely pains me, but they pretty much showed us that in the pilot, so for now Emily can totally be with him. When he is no longer around then she can be comforted by Jack. Tada problem solved Team Both forever!

But back to the issues at hand, it appears Amanda, or rather Kira now, will not just go quietly into the night. She's gonna be sticking around for a while, and from the look of previews for next week make in the moves on Jack. I am SO not ok with that. She murdered someone! While our Emily is no saint herself, she's never, at least to our knowledge, killed anyone. She's more of a life ruiner than a murder. Plus, Kira seems move than a little obsessed with Emily. It's a little too Talented Mr. Ripley, for my taste. As I mentioned before I HATE that movie, and would appreciate it if the writers would stop drawing from it, ok thanks.

 Jack and Nolan made up, which makes me giddy. Nolan having friends makes me happy, plus I think some of my favorite scenes involve the camaraderie between Nolan, Jack and Declan. They have such great chemistry together. Also, I want to be a part of the Porter family, marrying would be best option, but honestly I would totally settle for being their sister.

Speaking of Declan, I'm still in love with him and Charlotte being together. He's just so sweet to her. The was so adorably nervous about making every thing perfect for their date, assuring her there was no pressure with him when she came in looking upset. Then the way he put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head to comfort her while she was freaking out about her dad moving out warmed my heart. Seriously, I was a bit mushy over that scene.

As for the Grayson family troubles, I found it interesting that when Conrad was comforting Charlotte about him moving out he told her, she could get through this because "You are a Grayson". Seems a strange thing to say, and I am chalking it up as groundwork to make it even more shocking when they reveal the Charlotte is Victoria's love child with David Clarke. I know, I know it may just be me projecting, but come on, you know it would be an awesome kink in the story.

Lydia is awake and Victoria has her recouping in the Grayson summer home, she apparently doesn't remember anything leading up to her fall, which is lucky news for our Emily, and Victoria as well.

Side bar, I am completely OBSESSED with Victoria's red dress in this episode. It was amazing, I want it!

Then of course in classic soap opera style she over hears Victoria and Conrad arguing about their involvements in her accident. Oh Revenge, just when I forget you are a soap, you always find a way to remind me.

Tyler has some what successfully attempted to poison Ashley against Emily. Um, hello where did that come from? Ashley, are you so blinded by a pretty, yet psychopathic, boy that you would agree with nasty remarks about one of your best friends? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Ashley the one who introduced Emily to the Graysons? And, at least as far as Ashley knows, hasn't Emily always been a good supportive friend to her? I don't know about any of you, but while I may not dump a guy just because my friend may not like him, I would most certainly not allow him to make nasty remarks about them to me. Chicks before dicks, Ashley, chicks before dicks.

Community: "Documentary Filmmaking: Redux": AKA: It's Not that Easy Being Dean...

The first episode after the benching announcement and the Communies were out in full force. Twitting up a storm attempting to trend such phrases as #savecommunity and #sixseasonsandamovie. They even took to tweeting sponsors as their commercials aired to prove that despite what Neilson may say, we are watching. Take note NBC, "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!" That's right, I just quoted Independence Day at you.

The episode itself included all the mad cap craziness we've come to know and love. Opening with a classical cheesy 1980's-esq commercial advertising our beloved Greendale. Turns out the Dean has finally gotten the board to allocate funds for a new commercial. Of course the natural choice to star in this new ad is every one's favorite study group, with the priceless idea to have Jeff play the Dean. Gotta say in his Dean garb Jeff bares a striking resemblance to Damon Lindelof. True to form rather than be in the commercial, Abed decides to film a documentary on it's creation.

Things don't go exactly as planned and when Louis Guzman calls and tells the Dean he would LOVE to be a part of the commercial, it all start to go awry. The episode was full of all the things fans love about the show. From the Dean's epic meltdown to Abed coming through to save the day, it was completely ridiculous, and yet some how completely sincere. It's very rare for a half hour comedy to find a perfect balance of absurd and heartfelt, yet Community seems to have been able to achieve just that.

So come on NBC, get off your ass and tell us when we can expect to see the Greendale gang back in our weekly schedule.