Watching The CW

Not much happened in this first episode; the ground work laid for what might happen in the future and hints at the past:

- Our Johnny has gone from straight A student to ex-rehab slacker since his father commit suicide in front of him
- His mother remarried way too quickly
- To the dulcet tones of Ms Winehouse we discover that Johnny has not only been to rehab but his mother has relocated them to Palm Springs with his shiny new step-dad
- Some guy called Eddie use to live in Johnny’s house but died (home owners society are glad it sold after all)
- Johnny took his father’s drunk parting words to heart as he now carries a camera around with him as an artistic outlet

The neighbors are an intentionally weird (and somewhat tired) bunch working oh so hard to stand out:

- The mayor, his third wife (who has vodka smoothies for breakfast) and his daughter who is working at the country club over the summer to learn what it is like to be a regular person
- Tomboy Liza who blows up her parents garage and has a crush on Johnny (will he ever notice her)
- Preppy, trickster Cliff who may or may not be the devil in carnet
- Tortured soul Greta, who scampers about golf courses at night and is tangled up in something with Cliff
- Jessy Jo the drag queen who Johnny meets at AA

Well, that’s Hidden Palms see how it continues next week and who knows perhaps it will push up sales of Pablo Neruda ‘Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair’.

The CW, Hidden Palms, Kevin Williamson, Pablo Neruda

The new teen-centric drama starts tonight at 8:00pm, check out the promo and fingers crossed it will entertain us over the long summer nights.

The CW, Hidden Palms, YouTube

Aliens in America will be a new addition to CW’s Monday night comedy line-up for the Fall season. It looks like a comedy of manners slash fish out of water scenario sprinkled with uneasy prejudice.

An all American family in Medora, Wisconsin sign up for an international student exchange. Instead of a hunky Nordic or Mediterranean teen they get Raja, a 16-year old Pakistani teen. Let the comedy commence…

The CW, Fall 2007, Aliens in America

Something new and shiny coming to the CW on Tuesday nights for the summer… Hidden Palms. Trying very hard not to pass judgment until I get a few episodes under my belt and I am just relieved there will be something fresh on (other than Friday Night Smackdown).

I think the show is going for southern California with hidden depth and pale shades of David Lynch (perhaps). Johnny, our protagonist, is a 16yr old of rehab and with his family trying to start a fresh in Palm Springs. Looks like there will be a whole rota of troubled souls that pass the way of our Johnny, and there is the underlying mystery to be solved. Add a straight talking drag queen - who serves as Johnny’s AA sponsor - to the mix and it can’t all be bad!

The CW, Hidden Palms, Friday Night Smackdown

It looks as if we are sliding into a repeats laden summer but the CW appear to be pushing Supernatural hard with showings in its regular Thursday spot and Sundays. Let us hope it drums up some more viewers. Tonight we are rewinding back to the season premieres of Supernatural and Smallville, and we can kick off the countdown to the fall season!

Over at TVguide.com Ausiello Report Rob Thomas hints at a possible Veronica Mars movie…

The CW, Supernatural, Smallville, Veronica Mars, TVGuide, Ausiello Report

So long and thanks for all the memories, I guess, as Veronica Mars bows out after three seasons.

I enjoyed the two hour episode I felt that all of Veronica’s supporting chums got a chance to shine. Mac got some geek love with the super computer, Piz got to be Veronica’s current squeeze (and thankfully blameless over the providence of the sex tape), Weevil got to be cleared of fraud, Wallace stepped up to help Veronica with the mysterious secret society and Logan was Logan.

I thought that the busting of the campus cash fraud ring was beautiful. Did they really think that no one would pick up on “Sylvia Plath” and the rest of the fake names? But, I felt the secret society, The Castle, was labored and a clunky way of tying things back to tall, creepy guy with a beard. (I assume he was a nemesis of the Mars’ in an earlier season.)

The best bits were, as ever, the endless snappy dialogues, Ms Mars packing a tazzer and her relationship with her father. Keith once again proved himself to be father of the year by tampering with evidence (what father wouldn’t?) and subsquently throwing away the election. Wouldn’t a fourth season be peachy - just to tie up these loose ends?

The CW, Veronica Mars

Enjoy the season (and possibly series) finale of Veronica Mars this evening. Here’s the promo - a taster of the two hour Mars-fest.

The CW, Veronica Mars, YouTube

Needless to say I am very happy that Supernatural will be returning for a third season, and I already have some thoughts on how Dean’s pact with the demon might turn out. (And I am currently in denial about the fate of Ms Mars.)

New shows are in italics, and I think that there are few of them to get excited about…

Monday
Everybody Hates Chris
Aliens in America
Girlfriends
The Game

Tuesday
Beauty and the Geek
Reaper

Wednesday
America’s Next Top Model
Gossip Girls

Thursday
Smallville
Supernatural

Friday
Friday Night Smackdown

Sunday
CW Now
Online Nation
Life is Wild
ANTM repeat

Here is a quick recap of part one before I delve into the gorgeousness that is part two of ‘All Hell Breaks Loose’.

Something big and bad is coming, and Sammy gets snatched from a diner. He turns up in a deserted town with some of the other “special” children (including Ava who has gone bad). The Yellow-Eyed demon tells Sam that only one can leave and it is a supernatural flavored hybrid of Survivor and American Idol. Dean teams up with the wonderful Bobby to search for Sam, but on his way finds that the Road House is toast. Dean and Bobby turn up just as GI Jake stabs Sam in the back. Dean is cradling Sammy and it does not look good.

Part two opens with a important recapping montage to ‘Wayward Son’ and I feel like I might start to cry. Sam is very much dead, laid out and Dean is very much dark and drinking. Bobby is trying to get Dean to move on and help with the fight but Dean is much over everything. He has failed his overall mission which is to protect Sam.

Dean heads to a crossroad, summons the demon from earlier in the season and starts negotiating. It does not go well; Dean gets a year but Sam back and it nicely mirrors last seasons sacrifice that John made for Dean. I get the impression that Dean would very much like Sam the Zombie to stay low for a while, this one is going to be hard to explain to Bobby. but, of course newly risen Sam is eager to get back on with the fight and they head to Bobby’s junkyard. Bobby’s look to Dean said it all “What have you done and WHY does Sammy have a pulse again”. Soon it is party time at Bobby’s as Ellen turns up… of course Bobby being the genial host serves her a shot of holy water just in case.

It would appear that all roads point to Wyoming, frontier churches, to iron railway lines and to something being trapped at the center. Jake is on his way there and the gang are hot on his heels, except Jake has been learning all manner of new Jedi mind tricks and is able to open the crypt (with the very special Yellow-Eyed Demon killing gun). All hell literary breaks loose from the crypt. Bobby and Ellen struggle to shut the gates of hell, whilst the YED congratulates Sammy on being back in rotation. It does not look good for the Winchester brothers until spirit John turns up to distract YED leaving Dean to avenge his mother’s death. WOW! It was perfect. I loved that John did not speak but had a moment with Dean and reassured him that he had done the right thing.

The big questions that we are left with:

Is Sammy Sammy? Or has something a bit darker come back?
Will we see John again?
Are our favorite brothers going to be able to get Dean out of his pact with the demon?
What the hell escaped from the crypt before they were able to shut it and are they going to be spending season three hunting them all down?

The CW, Supernatural

Renee, Natasha and Jaslene - who will make it? Two challenges and two eliminations squished into this one hour finale.

It is the Cover Girl shoot and last cycle’s winner came to give them a pep talk (and hand over the crown). The girls are on their own for the photo shoot (should be interesting) and have to ad lib their own life stories. Sadly, they all reacted well their notes and pull it together… thought this was meant to be reality television.

OMG Miss Jay is going to be CONSUMED with his ruffles. Poor Natasha stumbled with the ad libbing, Jaslene was nervous being sweet and Renee photos older (Tyra hinting at too much sun). Tension builds and Renee is going home.

Final two: Jaslene and Natasha- who’d have thought it. They will have to hoof it down a Sass and Bide runway event, and shoot a Seventeen cover. Tyra sneaks into their apartment and has a one on one with the girls - sweet. (Please note Tyra’s barefeet = down to earth.) At the runway event Jaslene had the best walk and Natasha was a little stilted, though she held it together when her skirt came off.

Jaslene is America’s Next Top Model - any thoughts?

The CW, America’s Next Top Model, ANTM

A moment of silence please for the last ever episode of Gilmore Girls and let’s hope that this ending brings us Mars fans another season be it in Neptune or Quantico. Here is the promo for tonight’s episode and next week there will be a two hour, yes TWO HOUR season finale of Ms Mars et al.

The CW, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars

Tuesday: “I Know What You’ll Do Next Summer” is the cheeky title of the forthcoming Veronica Mars episode. It is cutting edge with a tale of a former boy soldier and his memoirs, plus on the Keith front there is a spate of burglaries - I smell a dirty tricks campaign!

Wednesday: It is the finale of ANTM when three become one. Are the catwalks of Milan and Paris ready for Renee, Natasha or Jaslene?

Thursday: I really, really hope they don’t leave us hanging with the conclusion to Supernatural’s two part season finale. We need some closure and for Sammy to return. In Smallville everyone is wearing their hearts on their sleeves, particulary Lana as she comes clean to Lex.

The CW, Veronica Mars, America’s Next Top Model, Tyra, ANTM, Smallville, Supernatural

Oh Dionne, Dionne you could not soften your photographic glare enough to stay in the competition and you have been sent home. If you head over to the CW you can send in questions for Dionne. But, good for Natasha for not sharing and trying to keep her private life well private! It was an okay type of an episode and I’ll be honest not all that thrilled with the final three. Let’s hope Cycle 9 is a bit more exciting!

Have a great weekend and I will be back in the good old US of A next week in time for the finale of ANTM and more importantly Supernatural.

The CW, ANTM, Tyra, Supernatural

I am really, REALLY excited about tonight’s episode of Supernatural. This is the first part of a two-parter that will end the Winchester brother’s second season, and once you’ve watched the promo you’ll understand why I am so darn excited.

- Find out what the Yellow-Eyed demon has in store of Sammy and the other special children
- Dean enlists Bobby’s help
- Pappa Winchester will be back from the dead

Looks like it will be a gut wrenching opener to the seaon’s finale and I’ll have to wait till tomorrow and it coming on iTunes. I guess I will just have to rewatch last week’s stellar episode instead!

The CW, Supernatural, YouTube, All Hell Breaks Loose

I do hope you will be watching Veronica Mars this evening, if only for Paul Rudd and to find out what happened next after Pez and Ms Mars locked lips. Now is it just me or is Paul Rudd not the usual flavor of a sweeps guest star? Don’t get me wrong I very much enjoy seeing Mr Phoebe and he is a perfect fit for VM, and I shudder at the thought of who they could have tried to snag who is more of a “name”. I wonder what Mr. Tribbiani is up to these days.

I look forward to it appearing on iTunes in the very near future - even if the combination of my sloow laptop and a slowish broadband connection meant that it took me an HOUR to download VM yesterday. It is worth it so I can do a double recap post in the very near future.

Some good news TVGuide’s Ausiello thinks that there is hope for Ms Mars in the re-jigged format and read more here. Did anyone else noticed how they dropped in her wanting to work for the FBI last week - is that something that has come up before?

The CW, Veronica Mars, Paul Rudd, Joey, Friends, TVGuide, Ausiello