Buffy/Angel Crossover Guide

Buffy the Vampire Slayer began airing as a midseason replacement in the winter of 1997. After three seasons, Angel was spun off. Angel initially aired directly after Buffy on Tuesday nights, which made it my favorite night of television for quite awhile, and there were several crossovers. When Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended, one of the Buffy characters moved over to Angel for its fifth and final season.

This little article is intended to help new viewers figure out when to watch what. I'll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, but a little bit of spoileryness cannot be helped.

To lessen the confusion of the show names and the character names being the same, I'll refer to the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer as BtVS, and the show Angel as AtS (Angel, the series). Plus I am only counting crossovers when actors appear. If I counted every mention, this would be really, really long.

The seasons ran as follows:

BtVS 1 (1997)
BtVS 2 (1997-1998)
BtVS 3 (1998-1999)
BtVS 4 -- AtS 1 (1999-2000)
BtVS 5 -- AtS 2 (2000-2001)
BtVS 6 -- AtS 3 (2001-2002)
BtVS 7 -- AtS 4 (2002-2003)
AtS 5 (2003-2004)

And here we go!

BtVS season four, AtS season one

BtVS 4.1 "The Freshman"
AtS 1.1 "City Of"

Angel calls Buffy on the phone, but hangs up without saying anything. We see Buffy's side of the phone call on BtVS, and Angel's on AtS.

BtVS 4.3 "The Harsh Light of Day"
AtS 1.3 "In the Dark"

Two-part story about the gem of Amarra that begins on BtVS and ends on AtS. Oz and Spike cross over to AtS.

BtVS 4.8 "Pangs"
AtS 1.8 "I Will Remember You"

In "Pangs", Angel arrives in Sunnydale, but stays in the background; Buffy doesn't know he was there until the last moment of the episode. In "I Will Remember You," Buffy goes to Los Angeles and confronts Angel. (If you're just watching BtVS, you don't want to miss "I Will Remember You".)

AtS 1.10 "Parting Gifts"

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce from BtVS season three arrives at Angel's office in Los Angeles and becomes a cast member on AtS.

AtS 1.15 "The Prodigal"

Includes flashbacks of Darla.

BtVS 4.15 "This Year's Girl"
BtVS 4.16 "Who Are You?"
AtS 1.18 "Five by Five"
AtS 1.19 "Sanctuary"

Faith returns for a four part cross-over that begins with a two-part story ("This Year's Girl" and "Who Are You?") on BtVS and ends after skipping an episode with a two-part story on AtS ("Five by Five" and "Sanctuary"). Darla appears in flashback in "Five by Five." Buffy appears in "Sanctuary."

BtVS 4.20 "The Yoko Factor"

Angel comes to Sunnydale to argue with Buffy about what happened in "Sanctuary" and has a delightful encounter with Riley.

AtS 1.22 "To Shanshu In L.A."

Darla returns.


BtVS season five, AtS season two

BtVS characters Darla and Drusilla are prominent continuing characters on season two of AtS. Darla is in nine episodes (2.3-2.5, 2.7, 2.9-2.11, 2.15-2.16), and Drusilla is in four (2.5, 2.9-2.11).

AtS 2.1 "Judgment"

Faith appears briefly.

BtVS 5.7 "Fool for Love"
AtS 2.7 "Darla"

"Fool for Love" and "Darla" are my favorite crossover episodes, with many shared scenes and flashbacks, plus all five of the Buffyverse's most popular vampires: Angel, Darla, Drusilla, Spike, and the Master. "Fool for Love" is Spike's backstory, and "Darla" is Darla's.



AtS 2.12 "Blood Money" and 2.14 "The Thin, Dead Line"

Chanterelle/Lily/Anne (played by Julia Lee), who appeared in the BtVS episodes "Lie to Me" and "Anne", appears on AtS.

BtVS 5.17 "Forever"

Angel visits Buffy in Sunnydale.

AtS 2.17 "Disharmony"

Harmony visits Cordelia in Los Angeles. Cordelia and Willow talk on the phone.

AtS 2.22 "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb"

Willow stops by to give Angel some news.


BtVS season six, AtS season three

BtVS 6.4 "Flooded"
AtS 3.5 "Fredless"

Buffy and Angel meet off camera in between these two episodes. Not much of a crossover, and that's it for BtVS season six/AtS season three.


BtVS season seven, AtS season four

The final season of BtVS and penultimate season of AtS includes something very like a Firefly crossover, with Nathan Fillion appearing in the final five episodes of BtVS (7.18-7.22) and Gina Torres appearing in five episodes of AtS (4.18-4.22).

The producers of the two series wanted Angel to be in the final two episodes of BtVS, so they staggered the air dates of the last half of this season. "Lies My Parents Told Me" (BtVS 7.17) aired *before* "Orpheus" (AtS 4.15). The season finale of AtS occurs before the last two episodes of BtVS.

AtS 4.13 "Salvage"
AtS 4.14 "Release"
AtS 4.15 "Orpheus"

Faith returns for three episodes of AtS, and then returns to Sunnydale for the final five episodes of BtVS. Angelus calls Dawn on the phone in "Salvage". Willow appears in "Orpheus."

BtVS 7.17 "Lies My Parents Told Me"

Fred calls Willow on the phone, before Willow arrives in Los Angeles in "Orpheus".

BtVS 7.21 "End of Days"
BtVS 7.22 "Chosen"

Angel crosses over for the final two episodes of BtVS, bringing something he was given in AtS 4.22.


AtS season five

The entire fifth season of AtS includes Spike as a cast member and Harmony as a recurring character. Adam Baldwin, who played Jayne in Firefly, appears in five AtS episodes: 5.17-5.19, and 5.21-5.22.

AtS 5.11 "Damage"

A visit from BtVS character Andrew.

AtS 5.16 "Shells"

Angel calls Giles on the phone.

AtS 5.20 "The Girl in Question"

Buffy is supposedly in this episode, but we never see her face and Sarah Michelle Gellar does not appear. Unfortunately.

AtS 5.22 "Not Fade Away"

Chanterelle/Lily/Anne appears.

---

And that's it. People have written and asked me for something like this several times, and now it's finally done. And all revisions mentioned in the comments are now included.

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Vampire Diaries: The End of the Affair

“It’s never going to be the same.”

The soap-operatic long-form storytelling structure of the Vampire Diaries rarely results in episodes with a distinctive structure. “The End of the Affair,” however, is a marvel of both extended narrative and short-form parallel structure. Both of tonight’s plots focused on two people coming together to rescue someone from their complicated captors. The emotional stakes of each plot illuminate the complexity of the other. And OMG that’s Gordon Ramsey’s little brother!

The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye

Rick: “I’m sorry this happened to you.”

I love this show. There is nothing like waking up in a hospital room and finding out the world has ended. I know it’s been used before, but it is such a great way to move from everything’s okay to complete disaster without all the icky bits in between.

Haven: Business As Usual

Stu: “People are already divided. All that’s left now is for you to choose a side.”

So I guess this is business as usual for Haven. The troubled on one side and the non-troubled on the other. And all this has happened before. How long has it been going on? It seems like hundreds of years. I hope we get some answers next week but we won’t get them all. There’s a whole other season coming.

Weekly Weirdness

Stu was our troubled person of the week. Poor Stu, he dessicated two of his friends and now can’t touch his wife or anyone else until the troubles are over. I’m not sure I would have gone off with Stu. What if you touched by accident? Would gloves work? I guess so since it is his sweat that affects people. Still pretty risky business for love. Patrick Grolsh is “troubled” in a different way. He is a total bigot and loudmouthed lawyer. I couldn’t believe that he was actually willing to kidnap Stu, use him to kill Audrey or anyone else who got in the way and then burn Stu alive. Seriously, and it’s the troubled who are Haven’s problem? On the other hand, as I’ve been saying all along, I’m not sure I would understand if Stu dried up one of my loved ones even by accident. Haven is not a safe place for anyone. I think if I lived there I would be afraid to go out.

Overarching Mystery

Audrey isn’t Lucy she just had her memories in a previous incarnation. That was a surprise to me. For a moment I actually thought we might meet Audrey’s mother. The previews they show of the previous episodes are often misleading. It seems that Audrey/Lucy/whoever she is has been erased before and may be erased again. Is killing her what erases her? How does she manage to pop up again when needed? How many versions of Audrey/Lucy have there been?

Dave and Vince are the keepers of the town secrets and they are disagreeing over how to handle them. Dave is up to something. I didn’t like the look in his eye when he talked about providing a space for the meeting. Vince is trying to stop things from replaying but Dave is stirring things up. Ps. Vince is a terrible liar.

Dwight also seems to be in the middle of things and he knows more than our scoobies. He may not have known what was in the box when he went for it but he figured it out just before or as soon as Duke cut him. Why would he have been willing to kill Duke if he knew what it was ahead of time?

Duke found his father’s legacy. Is this what is supposed to save him from being killed by someone with a tattoo? What are the weapons for? It seems that spilling the blood of a troubled person with one of the weapons gives you your own trouble or power or at least super strength. Do different weapons work on different people or provide different powers? So many questions. But the big question is why is Duke supposed to kill Audrey and will he even consider it?

Relationships

Well, it only took two seasons to get Audrey and Nathan to kiss. What happens now? He admitted his feelings for her and she returned them. While I was happy to see them finally connect I’m a bit worried about what happens now. Once you put the leads together you have to find a way to separate them again to keep up the sexual tension going. I wonder what the writers have in mind? And how does Duke fit into all this? Let’s just forget about Chris. He became old news really quickly.

Bits and Pieces

The troubles are definitely triggered by emotional stress. As Nathan said, he had never seen a trouble triggered just by physical stress.

This was the episode of the crappy parent. Evi’s mom wanted her stuff inventoried before it is sent. Dwight’s father was willing to send him to Afghanistan without warning him about his trouble. And Duke’s father has left him what seems like a terrible burden.

Nathan looked adorable after Audrey kissed him. Lucas Bryant does an excellent job of being that vulnerable, good guy. I hope Audrey doesn’t crush him. Chief Wournos didn’t end too well.

Quotes

Nathan: “People winding each other up.”

Dave: “It’s time this town faced its realities, all of them.”

Audrey: “Nathan, that man was jaywalking.”
“State law, you’ve got to cross at the corners.”

Lucy: “My God, you’re really here.”
Audrey: “Did someone tell you I was coming?”
Lucy: “You, 27 years ago.”

Duke: "What happened to honour amongst thieves?”

Vince: “If people really knew what you were doing... you’re starting a war.”

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Ringer: If You Ever Want a French Lesson...

This didn't have the most auspicious of openings, with Bridget using her own bizarre logic to assume that Andrew hired the hit on her, since he owns the same holiday-snap that the hitman had on his person. Was this another sign of 'Ringer: Contrivance is thy middle name?' Luckily I stuck around for longer than the opening couple of minutes, since If You Ever Want a French Lesson... was undoubtedly the strongest episode so far. Gone were the annoying Hitchcock throwbacks and bland characterization, instead we got a doozy of awesomeness.

The one major success here is that Bridget finally became pro-active. While Sarah Michelle Gellar has become overly reliant on walking into every room looking confused, she managed to infuse Bridget with some form of backbone and spark. I loved that the writers allowed her not to cave to the cleaner guy's demands and picked up the cellphone from the park bench. I loved that she got herself some leverage in this situation, and seemed to prove that she wasn't going to take any more shit. I thought Bridget was the weak link in the previous two episodes, but they're already shaking things up and doing interesting work with her character, which is great.

This was the first script by a non-EP writer, and Hank Chilton has experience with trashy soap operas after his years on Nip/Tuck. Here's to hoping he'll steer the show in a positive direction, since he seems to have a handle on the tone. One of the most intriguing moments this week was during Bridget's trip to Siobhan's lawyer. It added another level of intrigue as Bridget discovered that Siobhan had implied abuse had occurred in her marriage, and once again we're left stumbling around trying to work out whether Andrew is a bad guy, or if Siobhan is a master manipulator. Or maybe both. Sarah did her finest work so far in that scene, too.

Elsewhere, I'm glad we saw Siobhan outside of her routine 'Paris coda sequence'. I'm guessing she's pursuing that guy for a reason? That final scene was pretty affecting, too. She's clearly in love with Henry, and that silent phone call implied that she's maybe stuck in something that reaches above her, as if she's not the one pulling all the strings.

Ringer is constantly balancing a dozen separate plot strands at once, and this episode was by far the most successful at that so far. I'm enjoying the characterization for our two twin protagonists, as well as Andrew and his mega-bitch business partner Olivia. After two flat episodes, this was a step in the right direction...

Previously posted at Unwelcome Commentary.

Glee: I Am Unicorn

Brittany: “Out of all the kids in this school, I think you are the biggest unicorn.”

We Are Unicorn

What is the plural noun for unicorns? Seems like I need to know it for Season Three of Glee! Brittany, herself a massive unicorn (or possibly bi-corn), recognised how strong Kurt had to be last season through all the bullying, and tried to make him embrace his uber-gayness. Of course, there is such a thing as going too far! Kurt’s discomfort with the posters and with what he overheard while eavesdropping on the directors suggests that maybe he doesn’t see himself as quite as gay as everyone else does. Thankfully Daddy Hummel was there to explain that Kurt won’t ever be mainstream rom-com hunk material, and he shouldn’t feel like he needs to be. Unfortunately, it was too late to stop Kurt getting rather injured when his Shakespeare scene went wrong. While I can understand Rachel getting the giggles when it came to kissing her friend, Coach Bieste should know better – as a muscly, hirsute woman she should be more sensitive to people struggling with gender roles. On the other hand, it was very funny!

More unfortunately, the final nail in Kurt’s rom-com coffin came when he saw Blaine’s audition, and how the judges reacted. Blaine is also a unicorn, but managed to stay true to his gayness and his nature as a performer while still exhibiting the masculinity that the directors were looking for, for the role of Tony. For any gay guy who hasn’t got that masculine side, it can be difficult to accept. We know Kurt’s had issues with his sex appeal (or lack thereof) before, but this time, the guy he previously turned to for help is not only his boyfriend, but the guy who’s about to get the lead in the school musical instead of him. What’s gonna happen, dun dun duuuuun?!

Don’t Mind Doing it For the Kids

I hope I’m not alone in saying – Shelby, why are you here? Is it to sing duets with Rachel, then making her do her sad face when you refuse to be a mother to her? Or is it to make Puck and Quinn go all m/p-aternal, then make them do their sad faces when you refuse to let them be full time parents? Perhaps it’s the rather dodgy plotting and characterisation of Shelby from Season One, but I can’t sympathise much with her situation, and the way she’s been reintroduced this Season just seems like she’s going to stir up a whole bubbling pot of trouble and then vanish again. How about agreeing to start a second glee club at McKinley High? How could that end well for anyone? One silver lining of her reappearance was that Puck became a whole lot more likeable in his strong desire to be a good father in whatever capacity he can. On the flipside, it seems Quinn has become even more of a wing-nut. Does she need reminding that she gave her child to Shelby because She, Quinn, wasn’t ready and able to be a good mother? Does she think that chain-smoking and lunch money stealing make for good maternal traits? Does she think that it would be at all healthy for Beth if Quinn and Puck got full custody, thus depriving the child of her actual, effective mother whom she’s already bonded with? Thanks for the wake-up slap Mr Shue, it was much needed, but I think Quinn needs a few more.

Loved

- Brittany is simply a fantastic person. One who has clearly watched K$sha's video for "Blow" very often.

- One of Kurt’s posters had the slogan “Ride the Rainbow”…. SO wrong! Thankfully Brittany didn’t go with the draft version with the unicorn being on top.

- Fun Sack contents: Teletubby, rainbow flag, badge, Silence = Death sticker, unicorn, ruby red slippers and copy of Burlesque. Not quite what's in MY Fun Sack, but still impressive Brittany.

- Becky’s right – Mr Shue IS sexy when he’s angry!

- Finn is now working for Burt in the car-fixing shop – wow, they really were father and son waiting to happen, huh?

- The Mike and Mr Shue dance classes were great fun – I’m glad that Mike is able to contribute more and Finn can get some more confidence about his own abilities (or lack thereof!)

- Two episodes, two solos for my favourite new main character. I also love Blaine for his obvious discomfort at being asked to read for the role of Tony and thus possibly dash his Kurty-pie’s hopes.

- They’re sticking with the songs from musicals, and this was the fewest songs in any episode of Glee to date. I didn’t clamour for more songs, but I do hope we get a different genre of music next week.

Didn’t Love

- It seems like the gay-related plots on Glee are always the strongest. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does seem like the writers are much better when they’re sticking to subjects they know.

- Mr Shue is cool with a second glee club at McKinley? Why?

- Shelby. At least she can sing.

- Kurt’s studded shirt. Too weird and medieval. Where do they find this stuff?

- Sugar Motta needs to give up singing right now. Oooh, that would give Shelby an excuse to leave, yay!

- No matter how popular Kurt gets, those unicorn horn on the forehead posters he made Will get defaced. You know what I’m sayin’?

Glee Against the Music

Somewhere from West Side Story performed by Shelby and Rachel:
Beautiful rendition, and if this was supposed to be challenging for Rachel, I didn’t buy it for a second! Pertinent lyrics too. Grade B

I Am The Greatest Star from Funny Girl performed by Kurt:
Ooh. Sorry Kurt, but that’s not a patch on the original. Maybe it’s that it’s such a talky song, and newcomers to Funny Girl wouldn’t really know what Kurt’s talking about, but despite it being a smashing vocal performance this fell kind of flat for me. The scaffolding started off as a plus, but then when the moves became more acrobatic I found it too unbelievable. Grade C+

Something's Coming from West Side Story performed by Blaine:
What with some of the West Side Story songs already featured I reckon they might not actually put on the show. Despite that, Blaine definitely deserves to be cast as Tony after that performance. It wasn’t just a great vocal, he really acted the song too. Plus, check out those triceps! B+

Quotes for Gleeks

Rachel: “Mr Shue, I glad you’re so concerned with our special needs members, but what about me?”
Classic Rachel!

Kurt: “I don't know what to say.”
Brittany: “That happens to me all the time. My lips move and only dust comes out.”

Burt: “You're gay. You're not like Rock Hudson gay. You're really gay. You sing like Diana Ross and you dress like you own a Magic Chocolate Factory.”

Sue [to Emma]: “Are you still at freakishbonyginger@gmail?”

Beiste: “In college, I was in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. I played the Forum”

Kurt: “I wanted toned down.”
Santana: “This is toned down. In the original, the unicorn was riding you.”

Puck: “I haven't had a drink since we talked. Except beer. And I did some research. Napoleon? Turns out not just a dessert. He was a real dude.”

Sue: “First, smoking kills. Second, it really does make you look cooler, doesn't it?”

Beiste: “He owned that song like it was his prison bitch.”

Kurt: “I know what you're thinking, but I got written permission from the woman, herself . . . Rachel Berry.”

---Quote of the Week--- Brittany: “We're gonna call it Kurt Hummel's bulging, pink, fun sack.”

Three out of four giant cheques that have solved our toilet paper problem. Wipe Away!

Terra Nova: Genesis

"We are at the dawn of a new civilization. No pressure."

Time travel, dystopia, conspiracy, manifest destiny ... safe to say that Terra Nova isn't just a garden party with vegetarian dinosaurs grazing in the distance. There was a lot going on in this massive and obviously expensive two-hour pilot.

Chicago

The story began in Chicago 2147, a chaotic mess of environmental catastrophe, overpopulation and martial law, much like Blade Runner but without the rain and the replicants. Even though she's a doctor and he's a cop, Jim and Elisabeth Shannon were living with their three children in a tiny apartment and hiding their youngest daughter in an air vent when the cops stormtrooped by. After Jim Shannon went to prison for two years because of their illegal child (a science fiction crime staple), Elisabeth and the two oldest children were offered a spot in the latest pilgrimage to Terra Nova, 85 million years in the past. Improbably, the Shannons managed to miraculously break Jim out of jail and smuggle in their five-year-old in a backpack so they could all go together.

Terra Nova

The large, circular Terra Nova compound appeared at first to be a utopia with futuristic houses, friendly dinosaurs, and literally too much fresh air. But danger was lurking -- well, not beneath the surface, but inside and outside of the impressive-looking fence. This pilot episode set up so many plot possibilities that I'm sure I didn't catch them all.

There were some lovely character moments in the first hour. The best was when the seriously adorable little Zoe had a petting zoo moment with a huge brachiosaurus hanging its head over the fence. Jim's first job of "weeding" led to another nice moment as he tore off his shirt and sat on top of the fence, exhilarated by the fresh air, exercise and the beauty all around him. Less fun were mom Elisabeth's bug-filled medical duties, while Maddy, the middle child, got the typical cute-boy-next-door scenes. Although I rather liked Maddy because she was smart enough to research the time period, and was cool about sharing a room with her little sister.

But then we had... extremely stupid teenagers

Although many shows haven't even returned yet, the eldest son Josh has already received my fall award for most annoying character cliche. He didn't want to leave Chicago because he had to leave his girlfriend behind, and we all know that's a lot more important than the future of his entire family. Instead of respecting the sacrifice his father had made for them, or his mother's decision to give them a new life, Josh was sullen, defiant and insulting. Instead of going to orientation and drinking the liquid diet shakes necessary for the body to adjust to its new environment (I bet he'll be puking his guts out tomorrow), Josh went off to find something to eat, encountered a group of emancipated and/or orphaned teens, and promptly went off on an OTG (outside-the-gate) jaunt. And everything went wrong. What a surprise.

I'm probably being too hard on this, but did we have to get such a transparent story device about how dangerous the frontier can be? Doesn't anyone with half a brain know that when you time travel into the past, it's smart to follow the freaking rules? That huge creatures aren't called "slashers" for nothing? That you do not force an entire group of adults to risk their lives rescuing you from your stupidity? I'll probably despise Josh as a character forever unless they put some serious time into redeeming him as a character. And if the show catches on. And if I keep watching it.

The cast

The Shannons are somewhat engaging. The standouts so far are Jim, self-sacrificing parent and jailbreaker extraordinaire, and Zoe, who is a miniature scene stealer. The most intriguing character in the pilot, though, was by far and away Commander Taylor (Stephen Lang).



At first, I thought Taylor was simply reprising the hateful jerk he played on Avatar. But after a few scenes, I started to like him, and by the end of the episode, I thought he was the best character on the show. He could be good, he could be evil, and he's probably both. In fact, he was sort of their version of John Locke. It was quickly established that he has secrets, like the real reason for Terra Nova's existence, and what's going on with his son. But he was nice enough not to slam all those irritating, irresponsible teenagers into the stockade for a year. I probably would have.

Taylor was the first person to go through the time crack seven years ago, and even though others came after him, he was alone for 118 days and survived. Did he know where he was going when he stepped through? What did he bring with him? How did he survive? I want explanations and flashbacks, and I want them now. In fact, I'd be fine if they decided to drop the Shannons and shift the focus to Taylor.

Answers and questions

I liked that the writers put some science in their fiction. There are probably a zillion things they got wrong, but I'm a science fiction fan, not a scientist, and I loved that they addressed some real stuff. Like newbies needing a period of adjustment to the food, like the moon being significantly closer to the earth, and especially their logical discovery that they are creating a new time line. Because we can't have a butterfly effect, now can we?

Where did the time crack come from? Why 85 million years ago and not, say, just a few thousand? How do they communicate with the future if there is no way back? *Is* there no way back, really? Why is Taylor's missing son scrawling equations on rocks at the forbidden waterfalls? Do the equations have something to do with time travel?

The idea that we can just go back and rewrite the history of the earth is exceptionally arrogant. Yes, let's go back in time and fuck up the planet before we actually did fuck up the planet. How can they possibly keep it from happening again? Although if it were my family trapped in horrible future Chicago, I'd go. Wouldn't you?

The "Sixers", members of the sixth pilgrimage, rebelled en masse from Terra Nova and now live outside the walls with their very own dynamic leader, who reminded me of Auntie Entity in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. There are Sixer spies in the Terra Nova compound, but we don't know who they are, of course. Who sent the Sixers, and what is their agenda? Are the Sixers really the enemy, or do they just know something that we don't?

Homages

On top of the obvious rip-off of Jurassic Park that even included the famous dinosaur head-chomping moment, there were a number of other callbacks as well. Avatar, of course. There were aerial hovercraft ads right out of Blade Runner. When the Shannons arrived in bright, colorful Terra Nova after the grayness of Chicago, it reminded me of that iconic black-and-white to color moment in The Wizard of Oz. And Taylor's name has to be an homage to Charlton Heston's character in Planet of the Apes.

I'm looking forward to the next episode. Yes, we've been through this "is it the new Lost?" bit before. Terra Nova will probably lean more toward isolation, action-adventure, monsters and conspiracies, and a bit less toward heavy-duty character development, intelligent literary references, and obsessive detail, but if this show innovates and takes risks, it could be good.

I don't like to rate pilots, but feel free to click on your rating and/or post a comment. What did you all think of Terra Nova?

Billie

Eureka: You Don't Know Jack

… in which Tess’s “story-catcher” for the Eureka time capsule project subjects the audience to the dreaded clip show and causes the town’s residents to start losing their memories. Meanwhile, Carter and Allison become trapped in Tess’s lab just before GD is scheduled to undergo a sonic cleaning.

Hawaii Five-O: Ha'i'ole (Unbreakable)

Please excuse this interruption to our regularly scheduled science fiction and fantasy show coverage, but I feel compelled to report the geekfest that just happened on the second season premiere of Hawaii Five-O.

I'll admit that the reboot didn't thrill me at first. I kept watching longer than I usually would with a cop show or procedural because of the casting. (Much like Castle, which, by the way, I am still watching.) But Hawaii Five-O got steadily better as season one progressed, and I've been looking forward to season two.

(I'm definitely spoiling the episode below, so don't read any further if you haven't seen it yet!)

Last Monday's premiere definitely did not disappoint. The "McGarrett framed for murdering the governor" plot was undeniably far-fetched and in real life, an innocent man is never exonerated so quickly, but it was still done well enough that I actually exclaimed aloud three times: when Hesse stabbed McGarrett, when Hesse was found dead, and when we found out sweet little Jenna had been working for Wo Fat all along. It even seems possible that Wo Fat was aware that the murder had been filmed, because he was so careful to keep his own face out of the picture. Talk about devious supervillainy.

But the reason I wanted to post this brief review is the actors. We already had a heavier than usual geek level in the cast: Alex O'Loughlin (Moonlight), Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica), and Daniel Dae Kim (Angel and Lost). In this episode, Masi Oka (Heroes) joined the cast, James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville) returned as Hesse, Terry O'Quinn (Lost) guest starred as Steve's former commander and mentor, William Sadler (Wonderfalls) returned as Steve's father, and Richard T. Jones (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) guest starred as the lieutenant governor. Two vampires, an android, a Kryptonian supercomputer, a superhero and a god. And let's not forget the chairman of Iron Chef America.

We've comprehensively covered 43 shows on billiedoux.com, and by "comprehensively," I mean that we have either reviewed every episode, or we intend to review every episode. Actors from nine of "our" shows were represented in this single episode. That's what? 20%? What can we call that? There must be a term we can make up that applies to this situation. "Geekfest" doesn't seem quite descriptive enough. Dan had an obscene suggestion that started with the word "cluster," but I'm not sure that works. Suggestions?



For you Lost fans out there, yes, Terry O'Quinn and Daniel Dae Kim had a scene together where their characters met for the first time. I really wish it had started with "Haven't we met before?" but, sadly, no. I was also worried that Terry O'Quinn would (1) turn out evil, and/or (2) get killed, but fortunately, no and no. His character is quite cool, and Terry O'Quinn makes everything better just by his very presence. I was hoping they would bring him back, and according to IMDB, they will.

Doctor Who: Closing Time

Doctor: “It's a papoose.”

Tonight's episode reminded me a little of 2005's “Bad Wolf”. That, too, started off relatively lightweight, before revealing some unexpectedly devious depths. Despite enjoying “The Lodger” (Gareth Roberts' last effort and prequel to "Closing Time"), it didn't exactly set my world alight. Tonight's offering was a slight improvement. It's rare we get to see the Doctor in a bromance story. It's even rarer we get to see him almost copping off with another character. Steady on, Matt. You're not in Christopher and His Kind now.

Community: Biology 101

“You could have lived the rest of your life in blissful ignorance and died a happy pansexual imp.”

It's the beginning of another year at Greendale Community College and this one promises to be more fun and less weird than the first two years combined. I know this to be true because they told us so during a great big Glee-ish style musical number. Oh, and it looks like this is the year that Jeff and Annie are finally going to sleep toge- what do you mean that was a dream sequence? Dammit, Community! Don't tease us with your musical of lies like that. You more than anyone should know how fragile and borderline insane we Jeff/Annie shippers are. Do that again and I'm going Jack Torrance on the magic table.

A Gifted Man: Pilot

In a nutshell? Grey's Anatomy meets Ghost Whisperer.

Michael Holz is a brilliant, arrogant neurosurgeon with his own top-of-the-line practice. His busy, well-regimented life changes when he unexpectedly runs into his ex-wife Anna, they spend a casual evening together, and the next morning he discovers that she died in a car accident two weeks before.

Anna shows up repeatedly in this pilot, getting Michael to help resolve her unfinished business -- she ran a low income medical clinic, and the employees and patients are devastated by her loss. Michael makes a couple of half-hearted attempts to get rid of Anna, including a new age-y scene with incense and chanting that could have been funnier. In the end, Michael does exactly what Anna wanted him to do, which is help the needy patients at her clinic. In the process, he becomes more open to the problems of his flaky sister and her rebellious teenage son.

I'm not sure if this is the show for me, probably because it's hard to tell from a pilot just where they're going with this. Is it just a medical show with a supernatural twist? We certainly got a lot of the medical, which is so not my thing. But of course, they're signaling that this show is also very much about what it takes to be a good person. It's obvious that this is why Anna is haunting Michael. She loves him and wants him to be aware of how short life can be and what good he can do. She wants him to be a better person.

Patrick Wilson is believable as the driven but confused Michael, and Jennifer Ehle (star of the best version of Pride and Prejudice) projects non-threatening sweetness as Anna. I liked them both, but didn't feel that they had any chemistry as a couple. Julie Benz, who plays Michael's dippy sister, is a long-time favorite of mine from Buffy and Dexter, and I'd really like to see her land on another good series. Margo Martindale, who just won a well-deserved Emmy for her work on the second season of Justified, plays Michael's efficient staff assistant, who is none too happy when he starts scheduling MRIs for people who can't pay for them.

I may give this series a few more episodes and see what direction they go. But I don't care for medical dramas and I wasn't wowed. I like being wowed. Wow me, please.

Fringe: Neither Here Nor There

“I know what it’s like to have a hole in my life. It’s been there as long as I can remember.”

I always get nervous returning to a show after a long hiatus. Especially a show like Fringe, which produces precisely the type of massive theorizing that I am so resistant to, post-Lost. Will I be pilloried if I don’t spend paragraphs meditating on the significance of the yellow/amber/orange credits? Will I miss a massive “clue,” get it all wrong, and have a bizarre idiosyncratic reaction that no one else can agree with or even understand?

Person of Interest: Pilot

Reese : “Bad things happen to people every day. You can't stop that.”
Finch: “What if you could?”

From what we’ve seen in its very fast-paced pilot, Person of Interest looks like a promising show. We were introduced to the two core characters, Reese and “Finch”, well enough to know they are three-dimensional, but more than enough was left to keep them mysterious.

Supernatural: Meet the New Boss

"We all saw him. No beard, no robe. He was young and sexy. He had a raincoat."

Sometimes I think I'm just a one-woman Supernatural cheering squad. But this was an excellent season premiere, wasn't it?

Warehouse 13: Insatiable

… in which Pete and Myka attempt to identify the artifact causing apparent zombie attacks. Meanwhile, Claudia continues to struggle with Jinks’s firing.

Zombies. Why did it have to be zombies? Sigh.

Okay, okay. I know the artifact victims weren’t actually zombies, but they were pretty much treated like zombies for the bulk of the hour, and it all came down to a moment in which one character was trapped by a horde in a single-minded feeding frenzy, so close enough. Sigh. I find zombies incredibly dull, and Claudia’s love life is something the writers have never been able to make interesting, so other than a few laughs here and there, this episode didn’t really do much for me. I didn’t actively hate it or anything, I just found it rather “meh” and a bit of a chore to get through. (At least I was able to fast-forward through most of it on the rewatch.)

Even the final reveal of the artifact and how it came to be was a little underwhelming. I like the idea of something associated with the Donner Party turning people into monsters suffering from hypothermia and an insatiable hunger, but the item being a jar that was triggered by putting money into it was just bizarre. I give the writers credit for keeping me guessing through most of the episode, but the ultimate answer to this mystery was less than satisfying.

The only bits keeping ‘Insatiable’ from being entirely disposable were the snippets with Jinks. His harsh attempt to sever his relationship with Claudia, and his later smile when he received her “you can’t get rid of me that easily” text, just confirmed for me that he’s playing a role here. He needed to appear burned and completely cut off from his friends, so that Team Evil would come knocking. Which, of course, they did.

I liked the way Jinks worked the recruitment scene. Before the “mole” idea occurred to me, I thought the notion that he would turn to the dark side because Mrs. Frederic tortured Agent Sally was patently ridiculous. It made sense that he would object to her methods, but why would he then throw in his lot with a group that uses those same methods? Highly illogical. So I was very glad to see the issue addressed here. “You people are murderers. […] Why would I work for you?” Given that the Warehouse burned him so thoroughly he’s now got “no career, no prospects, no future,” I can see how “the enemy of my enemy” would, in fact, have some appeal. On the surface at least. I don’t actually believe Jinks would be that easy to sway, but since he’s likely still working for the good guys, I’m cool with the rationale presented. And he very effectively sold himself as a “reluctant” recruit. Well played, Jinksy!

Other Thoughts

Ithaca! I love Ithaca. Especially this time of year. Ithaca is Gorges!

The continued presence of the Warehouse dog amuses me.

Pete: “If some psycho tried to off your mother, wouldn’t you want payback?”
Artie: “You never met my mother.”

Myka couldn’t recognize a human bite mark? Seriously? At least she knew how to use her Tesla this week.

Myka: “It kind of sounded like he said ‘Peas. Elk. Bison.’”
Pete: “Well, at least there’s some vegetables in there.”

Artie: “I changed my mind. I’m mercurial. Deal with it.”
Claudia: “Not exactly the adjective I’d use right now.”

I feel like we haven’t really seen enough of the Claudia and Jinks pairing to buy into the idea that she considers him her very best friend in the whole wide world. I know they care about each other, but they weren’t partners for that long. Would they really become besties so quickly? It feels a little forced. Then again … after seeing how cagey Claudia had to be with the musician --- and knowing how isolated she was for most of her life --- I guess it does make a certain amount of sense that she would quickly bond to someone with whom she was able to have such open, honest communication.

The mouse skittering across the floor in the basement of the frat house cracked me up. It totally looked like a phony mouse on wheels getting dragged! Ridiculously fake!

Myka’s hair was kind of curly again this week. Yea!

Artie’s attempts to connect with the first victim’s son were painfully awkward. Please, no more forcing Artie to interact with young children! Dogs, yes. Children, no.

Claudia threatening the “Sultan of Suckwad” was hilarious. “It’s on.”

So not a fan of the Claudia romance stories, but I did like how she laid things out for Duane at the end. “Listen, Duane, this is the warning label on Claudia Donovan, okay? Stuff happens to me. A lot. Sometimes weird stuff, sometimes bad stuff. But, it puts things in perspective. I never know what fresh hell tomorrow’s gonna bring.”

Final Analysis: Zombies. Meh.

Vampire Diaries: The Hybrid

“Here, doggy doggy.”

Was this episode perfect? Yes, it was perfect. Hilarious, touching, fast-paced, tense, covered in blood and gore. And Alaric is adorable even before his morning coffee.

Alphas: The Unusual Suspects

Agent Cley: “You can’t actually sit there and tell me none of your co-workers fit the profile of someone who might go over to the other side.”
Bill: “You know what? If they didn’t before, you’re sure driving them in that direction.”

What an action-packed, suspenseful episode. They had me guessing until almost the end, although I started to think that Dr. Rosen was the mole at the warehouse. I was pretty surprised when it turned out not to be him at all.

The trouble begins when several members of the MK-ULTRA committee are murdered and the only people who had the information necessary to find and contact them were our Alpha team. The men were part of a secret project during the cold war that had to do with Alphas. These “poor, old men” were willing to engage in unethical human experimentation and their secrets got them killed by a Red Flag assassin. Our team still has those secrets and Gary is the only one who can delete them. I think that Nathan Cley is right. Red Flag is just going to keep on coming.

This Week’s Superpower

Again, we got two for the price of one: an Alpha assassin who can poison people with his touch, and his partner who can morph into other people. The first is pretty straightforward, but becoming someone else is a pretty complex business. He must have observed Dr. Rosen for a long time and learned a lot about him and the team. I’m not sure that I buy that you could sound so completely like someone else. even if you did completely copy their vocal structures. There is just so much to the development of speech. Maybe he had practiced for hours and hours. (You can see that I sometimes have difficulty with the whole suspending disbelief thing.)

The Alpha Team

I’m worried about our Alphas. It didn’t take much for the tactical team to take them down. I’m sure they will be more wary now, but they must also be wondering who they can or should trust. Agent Cley has a point when he says that if he hadn’t acted swiftly, Dr. Rosen/the team would have been dead or framed -- but I can’t see the team getting over their imprisonment very easily.

The one positive note is that they did work together pretty effectively to get out of Binghamton (great fight scenes) but that fell apart as soon as they hit the warehouse. Harkin and Hicks went at each other without much thought (another great fight scene -- strength vs. speed and agility). Gary fell apart, Rachel was hysterical and Nina, who should have at least tried to use her power, stood aside helplessly. They need to learn and gel as a team quickly, or they are going to be an easy target. And now Bill is in trouble.

Bits and Pieces

Anna and Gary are still talking -- but not about work. Is Anna genuinely Gary’s friend or is she using him in some way?

Gary is learning to lie. It’s a social skill. I am really enjoying Gary.

Building seven is where they send the worst Alphas. Nobody ever comes out. If I was an Alpha, I’d have a hard time not joining Red Flag.

Cameron is a collectible. He makes enough money from being a minor league anomaly to build his son’s college fund.

The tactical team didn’t seem to like Alphas much, even those who are supposed to be on their side.

Quotes

MK-ULTRA guy: “Some mistakes never go away.”
Killer Alpha: “Some do.”

Cameron: “Everybody’s seen Casablanca. It’s the greatest love, bar, spy, tuxedo movie ever made.”

Nina: “Scared of making eye contact with the evil mind-bending Alpha?”

Cley: "Your friend is a Red Flag terrorist.”
Gary: “Ya, I know that, but we don’t talk about work.”

Gary: “You’re a signal bully. It sucks.”

Rachel: “We all worry that men in black will swoop in and we’ll end up here. We’re afraid of this, of today.”

Gary: “Bill doesn’t like being in jail. He likes putting people in jail. Two different things.”

Gary: “The real Dr. Rosen is here and he hurt his leg and he has bad hair.”

Cley: “I’m trying to conduct an investigation.”
Rachel: “More like a witch hunt.”
Cley: “It’s not a witch hunt if one of you is guilty. And one of you is guilty.”
Rachel: “Unless you’re wrong and then you’re turning friends into enemies.”

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Eureka: One Giant Leap

… in which Global prepares for the imminent Astraeus launch, as Jo ponders what comes next for her in the wake of Zane’s departure. Meanwhile, black holes begin randomly appearing all over town.

Haven: Who, What, Where, Wendigo

Audrey: “From now on, Nathan, it’s just you and me.”

Well that was quite the episode! Sometimes things move too quickly in this show for my taste. The writing can be a bit ham-fisted and things that I would have liked to watch slowly unravel are done in a heartbeat. Yet, I come back every week because I want to know what’s in store for the characters. I care about them and the town.

At least now everyone (well, almost everyone) knows they are at war. It looks like a particularly bad idea to get in Audrey’s way. Is that why it was Lucy who Dave saw as the most terrifying thing he could think of? Audrey is obviously on the edge. Who knows which way she might fall?

Weekly Weirdness

I had heard of Wendigos before as part of Algonquin mythology and they have popped up in various movies and other supernatural shows. But in Haven anything can happen, and so this horrible monster that has terrified people for centuries turns out to be a family of little girls. Little girls who crave human flesh but still vulnerable, uncertain and needing adult protection. They find it from Nathan, Audrey and Dwight, but the Reverend, man of god that he is, is very prepared to kill one of them (or all) and feels justified in doing so because he has declared himself the final arbitrator of evil. This after one of the girls clearly indicates her humanity and compassion by freeing him. Again, the question appears to be, who is really the monster?

Overarching mystery

Well we learned that the Reverend had many of the answers to our mystery but Audrey literally killed that source of information. Duke is as central to the whole mystery as Audrey and Nathan but we knew that as well. He is supposed to save the town--but what does that mean? The Reverend’s definition was wiping out all the people who were troubled. I will be very disappointed if that is the route Duke takes. Speaking of the Reverend, if he was the centre of things will everything change now that he is dead? Or was he just the middleman for others? We only have two episodes to find out. Or perhaps next season. Or the next. I do like mysteries but I get frustrated when they get too drawn out. I know this seems to contradict my point above about moving too quickly but I think there is some middle ground of optimum suspense and many shows miss the mark. I want this show to get it right.

Characters and Relationships

Audrey is strung out, on caffeine, on post-break-up blues, on post-traumatic stress from last week’s lockdown. She looked frail and edgy. I can’t decide if she was quite rational when she shot the Reverend. Was she protecting Duke from that door he might kick open, was she protecting the troubled or was she just tired of being threatened? Duke is in a similarly fragile place. He has lost Evi and now he has lost his source of information and the subject of his revenge. Would he really have shot a young girl or is he just annoyed at Audrey? He seems to have walked away from the triangle. Nathan doesn’t seem to know what to do. The end scene where he looked at Audrey was almost painful. They looked so awkward and forlorn just standing there.

Bits and Pieces

I continue to love Dave and Vince. On at least two occasions they were left to fend for themselves. I was afraid we were going to lose them.

Dwight had a daughter Lizzie. She obviously died before her ninth birthday. I wonder when and how and if that is what brought on Dwight’s trouble. I loved that Dwight was willing to sacrifice himself even if it would have been pretty gruesome.

The Reverend was extra creepy this week. There is no doubt that he was about to go on a killing spree but I wonder if there was another way that Audrey could have stopped him?

Quotes

Nathan: “I didn’t just go through a break-up.”
Audrey: “You did just get demoted, there was anarchy at the police station and the new police chief died right in front of you.”
Nathan: “Ya, But I didn’t just go through a break-up.”

Audrey: “Guess when you look like a Viking, people just believe what you tell ’em.”

Dwight: “A kid is missing, barely is enough.”

Audrey: “Creepy and invisible, not my favourite combination.”

Dwight: “Nothing else looks quite like people being eaten by people.”

Reverend: “We know how to hunt down evil and we know what to do when we find it, unlike you.” (Maybe Audrey proved him wrong).

Nathan: “Two squirrels chattering means they’re having a conversation. This is just one. That means he’s scared of something... large.”
Audrey: “Boy Scouts?”
Nathan: “Moose Hunter magazine.”

Duke: “I feel like I’m on to something big but I don’t know what it is.”
Audrey: “Welcome to the club.”

Audrey: “Some doors you kick open you can never close again.”

Sophie: “I can’t eat you, you’re going to save me.”

Crazy hunter guy: “So what, she’s a monster, he’s a man of god.”

Audrey: “While you’re looking for answers, the rest of us, we’re fighting a war.”

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Star Trek: The Enterprise Incident

Spock: "What is your present form of execution?"

There's so much to love about "The Enterprise Incident." Espionage. Sex. Ears.

Glee: The Purple Piano Project

Glee is Back! *does the Dance of Joy*

Didn’t your mp3 players feel sad all summer? I know mine did – admittedly it did take me a long time to get bored of listening to The Warblers’ CD, and then hunt down all the cast members’ solo musical efforts (I’m full of recommendations if you want any), but now the wait is over, and I’m so glad Glee is back. You Can’t Stop the Beat already has 23 plays on my iTunes. Eek. Oh, you came to read a review? Ok then…

Deep Purple Pianos

This week’s assignment was to sing songs whenever the New Directions were in the presence of some ghastly purple pianos that Mr Shue in his not-so-infinite wisdom decided to distribute around the school. This led to the pianos getting mauled by Sue and the Cheerios - I didn’t like that Santana agreed to turn double agent for Sue again so quickly – did she forget Sue almost fired the love of your life out of a cannon? Bisexual doesn’t mean two-faced! Ah well, the new tough Mr Shue sent Santana packing – I guess it was part of his new butch vibe that is sparking Actual Sexual Feelings in Emma, although you have to question the ferocity of a man whose idea of attacking someone is sprinkling glitter on her.

The New Kids on the Block

There were so many new characters introduced in this episode! We were rather unceremoniously told that Sam has gone and Mercedes has a new Marcus man mountain in her life. We met a crabby geometry teacher, Sugar the rich, bitchy auditionee with a voice like a strangled cat, Quinn’s unwashed, scowly new clique, as well as Harmony and her group of NYADA hopefuls who look like they’ve been tap-dancing since they were two. Coach Bieste seems to have resurfaced, Becky Jackson seems to be getting more to do (yay!) and… wait for it… Blaine Anderson transferred to McKinley! *Dance of Joy again* Finn looked rather nervous about Blaine joining New Directions – aww Finn, what’s the matter? Are you afraid there’s a new, non-mediocre leading man to eclipse you? I don’t actually think Finn is mediocre at all but he met well have to compete for solos a lot more this season.

Anything Shows

Was it just me or did this episode feel more like a musical? Maybe it was partly because all the songs were quite condensed – we got more than 15 minutes of no singing at all, then after that it was a number every couple of scenes. Add to that the fact that practically all the songs were from musicals and felt very much like a themed episode. I hope it isn’t, I hope we get another Glee musical episode on a par with The Rocky Horror Glee Show this Season.

Loved

- Quinn’s new look, she even seemed to have a deeper voice to go with it.

- The ‘Skanks’ are such an unlikely bunch that as they were introduced I found I myself saying out loud “That would never happen!” Funny how Glee still has the power to make me do that sometimes.

- The gorgeous dark-haired member of the Skanks is played by Courtney Ann Galiano who has been a dancer in Vocal Adrenaline and one of the pregnant girls that danced with Quinn in Season One’s “Funk” – I sense a future New Directions sign-up!

- Kurt and Blaine holding hands, awwww.

- Blaine was wearing his Starkid sunglasses!

Didn’t Love

- Not so sure about Blaine’s ensemble for It’s Not Unusual, he looked like a dolly mixture in black, white and pink. You don’t have to dress that way Blaine, you’re already edible.

- The prospective NYADA students may have been fantastic performers but they don’t have nearly as much style as Kurt, ok maybe Harmony did have a bit of a Rachel vibe but ‘Robert Pattinson’s future husband’ – that hat?! Just, no.

- Gulp, is this the end of us watching The Warblers? Surely not! I would be completely gutted if that were the case. Funny how I would miss a group of character who barely even had speaking lines more than I’ll miss Sam. Poor Chord Overstreet.

- This isn’t really about the episode, but just to say I hope that Artie gets another dancing dream sequence this year. I saw the Glee concert over the summer and seeing how amazing his moves are and how much Kevin McHale loves performing Safety Dance, they need to get him out of that chair again!

Glee Against the Music:

We Got the Beat - The Go Go's performed by New Directions:
Meh! That’s not how I want to feel watching the first Glee song of a new Season. Maybe I’m just another Bangles girl, but this didn’t really grab me, in fact I thought the best part was the food fight at the end. That guitarist had quite a long solo, I wonder if they’re going to start introducing more instrument playing characters? Grade C+

Big Spender from Sweet Charity performed by Sugar Motta:
Sugar’s performance was obviously supposed to be terrible, and thus it was a huge success. A+!

Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead from The Wizard of OZ, in the style of Barbra Streisand and Harold Arlen performed by Kurt and Rachel:
Wasn’t this magical? Kurt and Rachel do love their witchy musicals (Ooh, could they please do songs from Once More, With Feeling?) and this was the perfect part two to their NYC Wicked performance. I loved the broomstick choreography. Grade A-

It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones performed by Blaine:
It’s Blaine! *swoon* Ok, even I have to admit that this wasn’t Blaine’s best work. Note to Blaine - you’re always sub-par when you sing on the steps of McKinley High, why is that? Another note to Blaine – I still love you, will you marry me? Ok, ok I’m getting back on track. Great singing, dodgy outfit, fun choreography, but I’ve come expect more from my new leading man! Grade B+

Anything Goes / Anything You Can Do from Anything Goes / Annie Get Your Gun performed by Harmony and prospective NYADA students:
I already knew Lindsay Pearce (Harmony) had a great set of pipes on her from watching The Glee Project, but in character as Harmony she’s got a lot of stage presence, looked amazing in the black white and red, and the red light served to make her look quite imposing, especially with all the pointing her finger at Rachel and Kurt and the lyrics “I can hold any note longer than you”. I look forward to the sing-off in the near future. Grade B+

You Can't Stop the Beat from Hairspray performed by New Directions:
Did Mike throw an invisible ball up Brittany’s bum?! Watch it again, you’ll see! This was a great performance, worthy of being the finale of the first episode of a new Season. There were several touches that harked back to the “Pilot” and Don’t Stop Believing, like Quinn watching from the shadows, everyone wearing outfits of one bright colour and Finn being on the drums, but it’s easy to see how much New Directions have grown, with more members, better choreography and an overall more polished act. Loved Rachel’s slow, stripped down introduction, but also Mercedes’ singing Maybelle’s verse as the camera zooms toward her open mouth. It’s just a shame Mr Shue couldn’t have joined in playing Link Larkin. By the way, you should really listen to the full version of this song, it’s Awesome. Grade A

Quotes for Gleeks:

Jacob: “Twitter says you're officially dating Sam Evans a.k.a. Trouty Mouth a.k.a. Hobo McBieber.”

Jacob: “Brittany, what are your plans for the future?”
Brittany: “Wait. Are you working on a time machine, too?”

Sue: “Allow me to ladle you a piping hot bowl of This is How It Is.”

Emma: “So this is what being turned on feels like.”

Brittany: “I have pepperoni in my bra.”
Santana: “Those are your nipples.”

Harmony: “I've been acting since I was a fetus. Literally. An ultrasound of me was featured on 'Murder She Wrote.”

Rachel: “They have credits. In utero credits.”

Puck: “She's the one who got away. Really, really slowly.”

Becky: “What about toast? Bread's already been baked. I don't get why you need to cook it again.”

Mike: “My mom still hasn't decided if I'm going to Harvard or Stanford.”

Rachel: “West Side Story!”
Brittany: “Is that the one with cats?”

Quote of the Week goes to Santana: “When I look at a person, I don't see someone who looks a certain way, or has this or that amount of chromosomes -- I just see someone who I may or may not have to destroy.”

I am so happy Glee’s back, but I think there’s room for improvement. Three out of four neon Starkid sunglasses.

Ringer: What Did You Think?

We're still on the fence about Ringer here at billiedoux.com. Was the second episode, "She's Ruining Everything," good? Was it bad? Did it, in fact, ruin everything we hold dear about the CW and Sarah Michelle Gellar? Most importantly, will it have any staying power? The second episode has gotten some pans and some accolades (I sorta liked it). So now it's your turn:

What did you think?

Use the comments to sound off. Did you like it? Did you hate it? Is this a show you're committing to--or something you'll watch after you're done with Glee and Dancing with the Stars?

Doctor Who: The Curse of Peladon

"Haroon haroon haroon..."

It might not have aged all that well in places, but I adore ‘The Curse of Peladon’.

2011 Emmy Award Winners and Losers

The Emmys come but once a year. That’s good news for us, as we’re not huge Emmy fans here at billiedoux.com. Our shows never seem to get nominated, although a few of them are in the running this year. Click below for a list of major categories in which one of “our” shows was nominated. Winners are in bold, and the losers will always hold a special place in our hearts.

And: Way to go, Tyrion!

Best Comedy Series

The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
The Office
Parks and Recreation
30 Rock

Best Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Mad Men

Best Drama Actor

Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights)
Hugh Laurie (House)
Timothy Olyphant (Justified)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)

Best Drama Actress

Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Kathy Bates (Harry’s Law)
Mireille Enos (The Killing)
Mariska Hargitay (L&O)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)

Best Supporting Comedy Actor

Chris Colfer (Glee)
Jess Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family)
Ed O’Neill (Modern Family)
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)
Ty Burrell (Modern Family)
Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men)

Best Supporting Drama Actor

Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones)
Josh Charles (The Good Wife)
Alan Cumming (The Good Wife)
Walton Goggins (Justified)
John Slattery (Mad Men)
Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age)

Best Supporting Comedy Actress

Jane Lynch (Glee)
Betty White (Hot in Cleveland)
Julie Bowen (Modern Family)
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)
Kristen Wiig (SNL)
Jane Krakowski (30 Rock)

Best Supporting Drama Actress

Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire)
Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife)
Christine Baranski (The Good Wife)
Margo Martindale (Justified)
Michelle Forbes (The Killing)
Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)

Best Writing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special

Todd Haynes and Jon Raymond, Mildred Peirce
Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey
Steven Moffat, Sherlock: A Study in Pink
Peter Gould, Too Big to Fail
Heidi Thomas, Upstairs/Downstairs

Best Writing for a Drama Series

Matthew Weiner, “The Suitcase,” Mad Men
Andre Jacquemetton and Marie Jacquemetton, “Blowing Smoke,” Mad Men
Jason Katims, “Always,” Friday Night Lights
Veena Sud, “Pilot,” The Killing
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, “Baelor,” Game of Thrones

Creative Emmys (Awarded Last Week)

Best Casting in a Drama Series: Boardwalk Empire
Best Casting in a Comedy Series: Glee
Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Gwyneth Paltrow, Glee
Prosthetic Makeup: The Walking Dead
Main Title Design: Game of Thrones

Did you watch the broadcast? Let us know what you thought in the comments!

Doctor Who: The God Complex

Doctor: “I'm not a hero. I really am just a madman in a box.”

I struggled with tonight's episode. It was only after listening to Toby Whithouse's commentary on Doctor Who Confidential that I understood half of what went on. Second time through, it made a lot more sense. But watching DWC shouldn't be a prerequisite for understanding an episode. Maybe I'm a bit of a dunce, but it all felt unnecessarily convoluted. I did enjoy the last ten minutes. I just didn't want to believe them. I still don't.

Alphas: Blind Spot

Rosen: “I’ve allowed this to go so far beyond what I envisioned for all of us.”

Wow, this week’s episode was great. Full of action, issues and developments.

The Secret Circle: Pilot

Based on a book by L.J. Smith (author of the Vampire Diaries series) and produced by Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, and Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain, The Secret Circle has a strong pedigree. All the requisite components are in place: orphans, missing parents, and wacky parents; a small town (Chance Harbor, Washington); supernatural secrets; woodsy settings; romantic lusty drama.

The cast is promising, as well. Britt Robertson (as Cassie Blake) did a serviceable job on the otherwise lackluster Life Unexpected, and Thomas Dekker (Adam) gets better in each role I see him in, from Heroes, to Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, to Cinema Verite (an interesting film, by the by). Natasha Henstridge, as the school principal and mother to the brattiest witch, is still lovely and rather interesting.

However…

I am either too old or too young for this show. It was absolutely horrifying. Not horror-film horrifying, either—more like watching a car crash, or watching a mother beat her child at the grocery store, or watching someone take a shine to black tar heroin. Specifically:

1. The show opens with a murder: someone (we find out later it is one of the residents of Chance Harbor) kills Cassie’s mother by burning her alive in her own home, with magic. Later in the show, the same bad guy does some magical waterboarding.

It’s dark, yes—dark is what we get in the 9pm time slot. But I think it’s actually too dark for me. Something about hands-off murder, burning alive, and waterboarding strikes me as unpleasant. Do I want to invite that into my home each Thursday night? I’m really not sure.

2. One month later, the day after Cassie’s arrival in CH, a teen witch decided to try to burn her alive in her car, using magic. That teen witch, the appropriately-named Faye, claims that fire wasn’t her fault, but she is so creepy looking that I can’t believe her. The actress who plays her is not particularly impressive, but her smile is deeply creepy. I never knew dimples could look so unsettling.

Despite the obvious parallelism, none of the characters seem to realize just how tacky it is to trap someone in a burning car just 30 days after her mother died in a similar manner.

3. Diana, the good-girl witch, is so perky and full of good intentions that she will clearly wind up making the world explode, or killing all left-handed people, or doing something equally Hitlerlish. “We can do great things, but we need to control the magic,”* she says at one point, with a crazed-zealot gleam in her eyes. I’m truly not sure if she is supposed to be even more disturbing than Faye. Today, the student council; tomorrow, invading Poland? (*That is also not an exact quote; see below.)

4. The witches—five in all, until Cassie joins the eponymous circle—decide that, having waited approximately 36 hours for Cassie to realize she is a super-powerful witch, they need to lure her to an abandoned house in the woods, gang up on her, and try to convince her to join their witchy cult. Cassie, with perfect logic, runs away. I would have done exactly the same thing, with a bit more shin-kicking. But then she stops and chats with Thomas Dekker, and lets him hold her hands in the woods while her eyes are closed!

I don’t care how long his boy-eyelashes are, that’s just creepy, dangerous, and stupid.

5. Above all, I was disturbed by the amount of power these witches, both teens and grown-ups, had. Faye’s mad rush to create a storm, her glee at shutting down lights on boats—it was upsetting. “Kids shouldn’t have this much power, gosh darn it!” I exclaimed to an audience of no one.

This must be how people who don’t like vampire shows feel about vampire shows. “What are they thinking? Blood-sucking, murderous pasts, and sex that seems a lot like rape (and sometimes is rape)?” I like vampire shows, but I am not sure I like The Secret Circle. Crazy teenagers who can bend the laws of nature to their whims, just for the rush? Give me puppies nailed to walls any day, but not that.

6. This isn’t a big deal, but I’m still confused: if there are five+Cassie members of the teenage secret circle, and all of their parents were witches, that would equal an earlier-generation circle of 12, right? So, if 6 is the magic number for super-powered magic, is 12 like double-super-duper magical?

The Promising and Not-So-Promising

I was dead wrong about Vampire Diaries, which soon became one of my favorite shows to watch and to review. The skin-crawling, soul-itching unpleasant sensation I got from The Secret Circle could certainly disappear. Many of the ingredients for success are there. And, frankly, my aversion to this show is sort of hard to pin down. Ultimately, it just rubbed me the wrong way, like black licorice and olives.

However, VD has some handsome, funny, older characters for us grown-up ladies to lust after. Damon’s quips are wonderful, but there’s no quipper in Chance Harbor (at least not yet). I typically watch episodes twice, noting funny quotations the second time. I couldn’t bring myself to watch TSC again, but I also don’t remember anything funny that I would need to take note of. Without humor, this show could quickly turn into a turgid supernatural soap opera.

I’ll give it another try next week. But if I keep getting the bad kind of goose bumps from it, I’m giving up unless you all can convince me otherwise.

Vampire Diaries: The Birthday

“Never let that go.”

The Vampire Diaries, and especially Mystic Falls, resembles the Hotel California. Even dying won’t get you out. But even if characters rarely really leave our show, they can still leave one another, which is nearly as heartbreaking. Elena’s eighteenth birthday resulted in one loss after another—some of which she doesn’t even realize yet—and even more for Damon.

Ringer: Pilot

"You have the wrong girl."

The phrase that kept going through my head as I watched this last night was, "turgid supernatural soap opera" -- but without the fun supernatural part. I'm fond of Sarah Michelle Gellar, but do I like her enough to watch her when she isn't kickboxing monsters?

So we have Bridget the good twin, a troubled stripper-prostitute-drug-addict-in-recovery who apparently has an uncharacteristically strong sense of right and wrong. And we have Siobhan the bad twin, a rich bitch socialite who is cheating on her husband and has just set up her twin to take her place for nefarious reasons of her own. Bridget thinks she's doing something terribly wrong, but circumstances forced her into it. We don't know what the hell Siobhan is thinking, but whatever it is, it's not good.

Because you can never have enough strongly dramatic plotlines, Bridget is on the run because she witnessed a murder and was supposed to testify against a very bad man who dismembers women. Siobhan was obviously estranged from her husband and stepdaughter, leaving Bridget with a huge emotional mess to disentangle. Nestor Carbonell, Mr. Eyeliner from Lost, is supposed to be protecting the missing Bridget, and is now hanging around Bridget thinking she's Siobhan while looking for Bridget.

Confused? You'd think you would be. But Ringer, at least so far, is like a Bette Davis movie -- predictable. They already set up the "Bridget would make a much better wife to rich, handsome Andrew than Siobhan ever did". They're also doing a lot of artful shooting of mirrors and reflections, where actually the best bit of symbolism in the pilot episode was Siobhan leaving her wedding ring in a prescription bottle. Unfortunately, the only way they made Bridget and Siobhan different is a hair style. Sarah Michelle Gellar is a good actress, and she is capable of a more subtle performance.

I shouldn't judge too quickly, though. It's only the pilot, and there's a lot of potential. Dan liked it more than I did, and we'll probably give it a chance. After all, I didn't fall madly in love with Buffy until the second season, and Jason Dohring is coming along eventually.

But is it wrong of me to want some supernatural with my turgid soap opera?