Posted Nov 24th 2009 1:52AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Recaps

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S09E20) It's the finals of
Dancing with the Stars and the trophy was placed in front of the judge's table. Tom announces that three couples have three new dances; technically Mya was part of Team Paso Doble in week seven.
The second round was the megamix, and I would rather have them return to the group dance-off format. The three couples dancing at the same time was too much to handle. I missed individuality.
I was very disappointed with the Freestyle round. There's free reign and it didn't seem like anyone even took it. I was expecting Kelly to rock out and Mya to pull off a tasteful hip-hop piece. Alas, I got neither.
Continue reading Recap: Dancing with the Stars - Performance 10
Posted Nov 17th 2009 1:12AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Recaps

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S9E18) For the first time in
Dancing with the Stars history, the semifinalists have to dance three dances. Fortunately, their third dance was the dance-off they've been practicing for weeks. For the Latin dances, each of the contestants have to do a solo.
With next week being the finals, all the contestants are stressed and more emotional than normal. There were a lot of tears being held tonight.
As the contestants walked down, I couldn't help but gawk at how beautiful Kym Johnson looked in her tango costume. Unfortunately for her, it will probably lead to her and Donny's downfall.
Continue reading Recap: Dancing with the Stars - Performance #9
Posted Nov 10th 2009 2:30AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Dancing With The Stars, Episode Recaps

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S09E16)
Dancing with the Stars is only two weeks away from the finals. With only five contestants left, each have to perform two dances to ensure that we fit the two hour block.
The two dances consist of one ballroom and one Latin routine. The biggest flaw with having two dances was that everyone spent all their time making sure that the Latin dance was amazing, and their ballroom dances felt lazy.
I'm shocked to see the seven paddle still around with only five contestants left. This season's quality level was nowhere near Shawn Johnson, Gilles Marini, and Melissa Rycroft last season.
Continue reading Recap: Dancing with the Stars - Performance 8
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 2:22AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Recaps

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S09E14) It's week seven of
Dancing with the Stars, and the pressure is on. Lacey Schwimmer was the victim of a cold; Anna Trebunskya has stepped in to help Mark Dacascos. The other victims tonight were the professionals who were forced to wear costumes designed by the celebrities. While it worked for Kelly, it backfired on Joanna.
You know that there will be longer commercials between performances when you get a professional opening sequence. Five professionals and one woman who wasn't named performed a tango and paso doble. The dance was supposed to be an example of teamwork, but the paso and tango was also not as synchronized as I expected.
Continue reading Recap: Dancing with the Stars - Performance #7
Posted Oct 27th 2009 12:42AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Dancing With The Stars, Episode Recaps

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S09E12)
Dancing with the Stars had the Waltz or Jitterbug for individual dancing, but the big twist tonight was the Mambo group competition. All the couples will dance the mambo at the same time. The judges determine the elimination: as the couples dance, Len holds up a paddle and that team is eliminated. The first couple cut gets two points while the last team standing earns ten.
As the contestants walk down, both Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower trip on the way down. It's a bad omen and never a good way to start the show.
Continue reading Recap: Dancing with the Stars - Performance 6
Posted Oct 23rd 2009 4:02AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free, Episode Recaps, FlashForward
(S01E05) FlashForward took us to Washington, DC to see the political ramifications of the blackouts, as well as some of the maneuverings that the city is made of, at least in this reality. Also in this reality, Peter Coyote is President. I've always liked him, and I like how he plays the characters as a very regular and relatable guy.
We were introduced to a new character in Senator Joyce Clemente (Barbara Williams), and she's definitely set up to be a major thorn in the side of the ongoing investigation. There was always something a little wacky about the LA office taking Mark's vision and building an entire investigative force around it just because they felt like it. And now, they have to face the music and justify their very existence.
It made for some pretty intense television. That and the bullets flying at the heads of our intrepid heroes.
Continue reading Review: FlashForward - Gimme Some Truth
Posted Oct 20th 2009 1:05AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Recaps

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S09E10) After reading news about Derek Hough
getting sick, we start
Dancing with the Stars with Joanna walking down the stairs with Maksim Chmerkovskiy in hand. Turns out that flu-like symptoms hit Mark, as well, but he recovered quickly enough.
It's a night of passion and hi-jinks with the Argentine Tango, Paso Doble, and the Hustle. I was disappointed with the order. The last five solos consisted of four Argentine Tangos and one Paso Doble.
I don't often like complaining about Samantha Harris but I really have to suggest that she goes back to classic straight hair and tasteful dress. She's no
Cat Deeley.
Continue reading Recap: Dancing with the Stars - Performance 5
Posted Sep 8th 2009 11:26PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Episode Recaps
(S02E01) - "I'm not going to swap one outlaw for another one." How do you turn a group of gruff biker outlaws who deal potent drugs to street trash and hardcore hardware to ruthless killers into a likable group of huggable stud muffins?
That's easy. You make a group of radical white supremacists into their enemies. It's the old "lovable by association" tactic of TV writing. Is the audience not buying your childhood version of Darth Vader? Then throw in a wise-cracking alien that sounds like Pee Wee Herman with Down's Syndrome.
However, in the case of the second season of
Sons of Anarchy, it's a pretty sweet power play for a show that already packed more punch than an Absinthe smoothie.
Continue reading Sons of Anarchy: Albification (season premiere)
Posted Sep 3rd 2009 3:41PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, Episode Reviews, Episode Recaps

(S0603) Bacon might be one of America's unhealthiest foods. But as comedian
Jim Gaffigan pointed out in his last special, bacon also holds awesome powers that are far beyond the grasp of mere mortals.
Given enough patience and time, bacon can move mountains, eradicate poverty and help scientists discover a lifelong cure for herpes simplex one.
Bacon's divine power proved itself once again in last night's
Top Chef.
Continue reading Top Chef: Thunderbirds
Posted Jul 22nd 2009 12:12AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, Big Brother (US), Episode Recaps
(S11E06) In the
Big Brother 11 house, Ronnie is the boy who thought he would be king. He's the supreme gamer. He's the debate champion. He is the mega-fan who can recite the order of every eliminated house guest on the show throughout the seasons. He's in the brains clique. It's like this guy should have been declared the winner the first night and spared us the summer. I mean, no one in his shoes can screw this all to heck and back ... can they?
Continue reading Big Brother 11: Power of Veto #2
Posted Jun 25th 2009 12:42AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Episode Recaps
(S05E09) Things were getting too exciting during the competition episodes, so the producers brought in Toni Basil to join Nigel and Mary on the panel. Even though it's a big deal to be receiving a prestigious award, I still found myself dozing off when she started talking about it.
This year, the competition is so tight that it's hard to figure out who's going to be in the bottom three from week to week. So many of the contestants are really impressive in picking up the different styles, and that continued tonight.
What also continued was couples who were great last week being not so great this week. And there are still so many couples that there are only a few favorites sprinkled throughout. In other words "What have you done for me lately?" is in full effect. So what did they do?
Continue reading So You Think You Can Dance: Top 16 Perform
Posted May 22nd 2009 12:25AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Episode Recaps, So You Think You Can Dance

"Your metal rod is showing" – Sonya Tayeh(S05E01) Screams and potential contestants wailing to the cameras start off our show. What did I get myself into? Cat Deeley preps us that we have thousands of dancers, six cities, lots of tears, and one obsessively screaming judge. I guess we don't get an explanation as to what happened to Joshua, other than making it to the opening credits. Whatever did happen to Step Up 3D? Let's hope it doesn't go straight to DVD.
We started the night with New York City's auditions, specifically in Brooklyn. Cat does the Brooklyn Dance while more people dance for the camera. Our judges today are Nigel, Mary, and Tabitha & Napoleon, our favorite lyrical hip-hop choreographers. The dancers still have the same process for auditions: win (straight to Vegas), lose (rejection) or draw (choreography round where the judges will make their decisions).
Continue reading So You Think You Can Dance: NYC and Denver Auditions
Posted May 18th 2009 11:59PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, 24, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Episode Recaps

(S07E23/S07E24) "You don't know what I've done." - Jack
When 24 first premiered back in 2001, we were all taken off guard. It was so different, innovative, and action packed - like nothing we'd seen on TV ever before. But do you remember why it worked so well? Sure, there was a vast conspiracy that enshrouded the whole day in darkness, but for the most part, it was all about Jack and his family. The Bauers were what made Day 1 so memorable.
You felt horrible when Jack held Teri's lifeless body in those final seconds, and it was because the season focus was weighted towards them and not Drazen or Nina. Because of that formula, the show took off and with each season from then on, 24 became bigger than itself and so did the conspiracies. Then the bubble burst with Day 6 when it all came crashing down - we'd seen enough nukes, bio-pathogens, and Middle Eastern terrorists. The difference? All of that became more important than Jack. After Day 7's stellar finale, I think we can all agree that 24 has found its roots again.
Continue reading 24: 6:00AM - 7:00AM / 7:00AM - 8:00AM (season finale)
Posted May 15th 2009 10:00PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Cancellations, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Episode Recaps

(S04E21/S04E22) "I don't want to run anymore." - Michael
I'm happy that Prison Break is over. I've been a fan since the beginning, and even though it tested your threshold for absurd and ridiculous TV moments on more than one occasion, Prison Break was still one helluva ride. While part of me wishes that it had gone out on a creative high after maybe a season or two, I still appreciate what Paul Scheuring, Matt Olmstead, and Co. tried to do in season three and on some level, I even respect what went down here in the final season - arguably the drama's worst. That being said, tonight's two-hour finale offered some solid closure while wrapping up most everyone's story in ways that actually felt believable.
Continue reading Prison Break: Rate of Exchange / Killing Your Number (series finale)
Posted May 14th 2009 8:42AM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Lost, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Episode Recaps

(S05E16/S05E17) "See you in Los Angeles." - Jack
I'm not really sure where to begin, but I think this is a pretty good starting point: holy crap. Just like every season finale before this one, Lost has once again left us all with our jaws on the floor and our brains on overdrive. This changes everything. The big question? How does it change everything? Is it January yet?
Continue reading Lost: The Incident, Parts 1 & 2 (season finale)
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