Ashitaka's Angels

Chuck vs. The Bullet Train

2012-01-27T01:34:00.004-05:00

As promised the "Hail Mary" of blogging and Chuck Marathon ends in time for the series finale tonight. It's truly sad and depressing to think about, but the Saga ends here. So heres what you need to know before you tune in tonight.

Quinn has kidnapped Chuck, the two are on a bullet train in Tokyo miles away from Sarah and Casey. He plans to force Chuck to rebuild him a clean and working version of the Intersect, but unknown to Quinn, Sarah and Casey did not die but instead Sarah has the intersect and when she and Casey save Chuck and have Quinn captured he has to recalculate his plans. This leads to him using Alex as leverage against Casey.

Back in the States Ellie and Awesome are working to figure out how the Intersect melted Morgan's brain and erased his memories in hopes of preventing the same thing from happening to Sarah. But Morgan and Awesome get called away when they re informed of Aex's situation. But with all their attempts to be stealthy to two also get captured before they can save her. Luckily Jeff and Lester have been snopping in the parking lot where the drama is taking place and somehow with their over the top and offbeat talents turn out to be the heroes in exchange for the truth about the underbelly of the Buymore.

What Ellie learns from her experiment is that the more a person flashes the faster the memories fade. So in an attempt to prevent that from happening to Sarah they blind fold her because she cannot control her flasing and start working on a suppresion device. Unfortunately the formerly neutralized Quinn returns and draws both Chuck and Casey away from Sarah. When he seems to be losing the small space combat he takes off.

When he heads in her direction she takes it upon herself to stop him. As mentioned Quinn doesn't give up easily. So he uses he's transform he's retreat plan into an opportunity to take the Intersect with him and make her work for him. First he continues to fade and erase her memories with triggers from the Intersect; Which he has studied intensely.

The episode ends with Sarah waking up in her hotel room from five years ago without a clue of her life with Chuck. I really enjoy the homage to the old days and it almost feels like we're going to begin--like we get a chance to see what would have happen to her with the Intersect. Of course Quinn uses this opportunity to pose as her handler and inform her that Chuck is to blame for the injuries and loss memories from the last mission. Tonight's episode will be full of confrontations, danger, violence and of course the power of love versus the games life may play with your memories and true feelings.

Chuck vs Bo

2012-01-27T00:55:00.005-05:00

With Jeff and Lester stumbling onto their secret agents for hire lair, Casey and Morgan go to work to make them forget and fill their heads with a faux trip to Vegas. The one thing they don't count on is the 24hour memory erase doesn't get rid of their suscipions about there being more to the Buymore. So this sends them in a loop, constantly ending up between Vegas and Burbank and thoughts of their co-workers being spies for the government.

Due to the recent pregnancy scare Sarah comes up with a new plan for the company in which they track down cyber threats to the country, hoping for a lot less kidnapping, torture and face down guns. Once Chuck and her get the rest of the crew on board all seems to be well.

But a haunted iPhone from Morgan's douche days shows up with a cryptic video related to the Intersect. This gives Carmichael Industries their last secret agents for hire mission.

For the mission to work douche Morgan with the frosted tips and they get led to Vail, Colorado where they run into Bo Derek. It turns out that Morgan had relations with Bo but she was interested in him because he was bragging about being the Intersect four months earlier. Surprisingly it turns out that beyond being the boy hood crush of Chuck and Morgan, Bo Derek is a spy. She also works for an ex CIA agent who was suppose to have the Intersect in the first place. A man named Nicholas Quinn. Eventually they end up figuring out where Morgan hid the shades and have a gunshoot out at a Bizarro Buymore (i.e. Big Michelle). In the end they finally succeed in getting rid of Lester and Jeff's suscipions and have the Intersect.

Just as they are planning to destroy the glasses and toast to their new company Chuck gets kidnapped by Nicholas Quinn. Of course he wants a trade and tells Sarah to bring the shades to get her husband back. Unfortunately Casey and Sarah end up out manned and all Sarah has left after the bullets are the glasses.

The episode ends with the wickedly awesome Walker using the Intersect to save her and Casey's tail. As awesome as an intersect she makes it upsets me that the Intersect keeps getting passed back and forth. The whole point of Chuck having the Intersect was based on the idea that he had a special brain that was receptive to that amount of information. It was a unique defining characteristic of his....I don't know how's its gonna end. Personally I feel that if Chuck doesn't have it no one should.

Chuck vs. The Kept Man

2012-01-27T00:38:00.004-05:00

This episode is mostly about Casey and there's a lot of grunting. First Gertrude returns since the charges of Decker's death have been dropped and she wants to spend some time with her man. But of course Casey is distant in general and uses his job(s) as an excuse. So she hires Carmichael Industries as a security detail on her previously pitched romantic trip to South Beach, now a weapons deal.

Meanwhile Chuck gets caught giving Casey lessons on sensitivity and caring he misses the fact that Sarah thinks she's pregnant. Of course this leads to talks about how dangerous their job is and even if they should continue as potential parents in the future.

When the mission goes south and Verbanski's personal army shows up Casey feels used especially since her affections toward him seem fiscal. Can you imagine Colonel John Casey as a kept man? Super weird, anyways it turns out she does need him for the second part of the mission. When things fell apart it was more of a sting to get to a bigger and badder force in weapons dealing. So when she gets held hostage the crew returns to South Beach and save her and eradicate the ruthless weapon dealer.

With Jeff being clear headed he's picked up on the fact that a lot of suspicious things happen in the Buymore. Him and Lester seek to discover the truth and their secret forth member of the team. Morgan stumbles upon their board of theories and sends them on Awesome's trail because who wouldn't believe he's a spy. Anyways eventually the plan is to tail Awesome with Lester in drag but it ends when they break thru the wall and gets a glimpse of Castle.

Chuck v The Baby

2012-01-27T00:11:00.007-05:00

Five years ago Sarah was sent on a mission thru the CIA to recover a package that turns out to be a baby. Simple right? Well turns out the baby girl is the heir to a large fortune and Sarah handler is dirty. I think as viewers it gets easy to forget the lethal assassin that Agent Sarah Walker was. In the opening scene she takes down eleven mercenaries in a lethal and impressive way.

But here's the thing Sarah never turned the "package" over to her handler or the CIA. So the question on her handler's mind and our is where did the baby end up. This weeks mission is birthed out the need for Chuck to be involved. Obviously we've seen Chuck doesn't handle not knowing something about his wife well. Sarah reluctantly accepts the back up of Carmichael Industries but holds onto the details and secret of why she's headed to Budapest in the first place.

After facing her old handler and being capture, she is reassured of the child's safety. Once the crew gets her out of a bind and they return to the States she realizes her loner mistakes and tells Chuck everything because she accepts her trust in him. Unfortunately her handler has bugged her. So in we are taken to her mom's house where she left the baby girl 5 years ago. Luckily her mom and her sister Molly relocate before the house gets an unwanted remodeling and Sarah gets rid of her greedy, cut-throat handler.

During the mission The Awesome's, Morgan and Alex have a game night which turns into Ellie and Awesome working to bring the two back together and the succeed; cause they're the Awesome's.

This episode is great because we finally got to meet Sarah's mother. Yep kiddos in the bleacher she saved the baby's life by giving her the home and normal life she never had and cut her mother out of her life entirely. The part that I liked the most about this story line is that this mission where Sarah tapped into her understanding, protective and selfless side. This mission prepared her to be Chuck's handler--more importantly it prepared her for a future with Chuck.

Chuck vs. The Santa Suit

2012-01-26T23:56:00.005-05:00

It's Christmas in Burbank and this year the group's big present is the return of Shaw. If you don't remember Shaw he also happens to have the Intersect and a big old chip on his shoulder he'd like to stab both Sarah and Chuck with.

With the Intersect driving his plan, taking Sarah hostage in Castle is a breeze. He immediately informs Chuck of this news and puts him to work. He wants Chuck to retrieve a device from Decker's office in the CIA. While Chuck uses a Santa suit and General Beckman to get into the building, Casey finds a way into Castle. But while Casey is breaking in Sarah gets herself out of Shaw's trap. As soon as Casey gets in his shot by Shaw and thrown into a cell and Sarah is chained to a chair. Disarmed by the cold atmosphere he has created to protect the computers from harm.

Meanwhile the Nerds and Buymore are struggling to combat the Omen virus and get customers thru the door. On the side Morgan assigns Lester and Jeff to find out what the Omen does once it's taken over a system. With this information Chuck figures out Shaw's plan and devises a way to remove the Intersect from Shaw.

Once Shaw recognizes he has uploaded a human virus he still throws down against Chuck. The two face off in a very compelling fight but ultimately Chuck sends Shaw back to cell while Morgan and Casey save Sarah from hypothermic death. With Shaw in prison and Intersectless Beckman is more than thrilled and offers each one of them a job with the agency.

But before Shaw goes to solitary confinement for the rest of his days he plants a small seed of terror in Sarah's mind with the mention of a baby.

Chuck vs. The Curse

2012-01-26T17:11:00.003-05:00

As soon as Casey is returned to Castle by the air duct system, the team is informed that the CIA has warrents to arrest them for the stolen virus and Decker's death. The team forms a plan where Casey heads to meet up with Beckman, Chuck and Sarah take to Orion's old hideout to search for whose behind the hunt for Carmichael Industries.

Meanwhile Morgan heads back to his and Casey's place to find Alex waiting. The two have a sorta date post break up, with Morgan spending the evening trying to secure Chuck's P.A.N.T.S. (Private Artifacts Not To Share). Speaking of dates amidst new parenthood Awesome and Ellie go on their first night out after baby Clara and the pair decided during date night to pretrend they're spies. Of course when you actually know spies and their a chance of mistaken identity this doesn't bode well for the evening. The two end up bargaining chips for the omen against Chuck.

With the Woodcomb's lives in peril, Sarah and Chuck are back to the old days, where Sarah is playing middleman between the love of her life and national security. Previous to this hard decision, Chuck has withdrawn back to his neurotic and slighty unsure self; Concerning himself with a family curse. Of course Chuck is not willing to sacrifice his sister and takes off on his own to face Robin Cunnings.

While Chuck is facing electrocution, Ellie and Awesome attempt to cause a distraction but Awesome himself becomes trapped. In the end Sarah and Casey execute excellent sniper skills to save the day but its seems a little too late because Robin has uploaded the virus.

Once Robin is in their custody they find out that she herself is just a henchman and does not know the face or name behind the hunt for Team Chuck.

Chuck vs. The Hack-off

2012-01-26T16:41:00.003-05:00

Lester and Casey both en wad up in the county jail (bahaha), but it gets better with his tech savvy ways Lester ends up being the shot caller and protects Casey in the joint! In addition to this back at Buymoria in an attempt to get Lester to promise to stop poisioning Jeff they hire an Indian HinJew to make him jealous.

With Casey in jail Sarah and Chuck take a job at Decker's behest to track down a virus, know as the omen, which has the ability once uploaded to destroy and shut down our whole computer system. The deal is to get Casey out of jail. With a new and sketchy mission on hand Casey asks Gertrude to join the team and keep an eye on them for him.

Before this we get a glimpse of the Chuck who apparently has an infamous cyber hacking identity and the best part is that he chugs Charnade, which he calls his think juice. We also get to see hacker Chuck in a beanie! Super funny :)

While on the mission Sarah and Chuck stumble onto a nude cult, which the target happens to be a part of show they blend in. In the end Decker gets want he wants the virus and necessary device to upload it. Unfortunately this also means him framing Chuck and renigging on his promise to release to Casey. Just before Sarah and Casey retreat, Gertrude manhandles Decker and swaps the virus for a bomb. They leave the scene with Decker a dead and as possible fugitives. Ultimately Gertrude takes off and disappers but not before helping Morgan to get Casey out of the pen.

Chuck vs. The Business Trip

2012-01-26T15:31:00.007-05:00

With Jeff being normal Lester has lost his scheming buddy and friend. In an attempt to bring the goofy brain damaged Jeff back he attempts to poison him with CO. Ultimately this causes panic in the Buymore just at the right time for the spy division below and the beloved phrase "Pineapple!" is brought back.

The plan to save Morgan's life is to remover the Intersect and get the hit called off, which Beckman helps with but it seems in situations like this there is always one assassin who cannot be called back once the order has been sent. In this case it's the Viper, with numerous kills under their hat. While Morgan is in lockdown at Castle, Chuck plays human target with Sarah by his side. Everything goes as planned and they capture the Viper, oh so they think until Morgan is being chased through the store and Chuck is facing a sensitive car bomb threatening to take Sarah's life.

It turns out while they were playing decoy and distracted by friendly normal's they brought home their own decoy. Once the carbomb is disarmed and the Viper apprehended the hit is officially called off by Decker. But unofficially the Viper is ordered to cleanse the Carmichael Industries Team and Alex, save Sarah and Chuck. Due to the late suspicions of Sarah, Casey is sent to follow the Viper and overhears these plans and shoots down the Viper squad. Of course Decker shows up to the Bartowski household to arrest Casey for murder.

Chuck vs. The Frosted Tips

2012-01-26T01:27:00.007-05:00

Awesome takes his paternity leave and stays home with baby Clara. He soon finds out that baby time can go by very, very slowly. With him being Captain Awesome he has a hard time adjusting and takes on the project of fixing Jeff. He actually turns Jeff into a functioning, thoughtful, health conscious grown up--super weird!

As I mentioned Casey has a crush on Gertrude from their competiting firm, so when Morgan does the ultimate douchy act and betrays Carmichael Industries and his friends after Beckman gets them a mission that's actually legit, the team has to break into Verbanski Corp. This allows Casey the chance to do some more recon on his love interest and it turns out they uncannily are each others soul mates. The crew walks away with the drive but without their friend. I will say it is truly nice to have the old trio back at their finest. Working hard and standing together.

Just in case you missed it, here's a list of the douche things Morgan did, under the influence of the Interesect:
1. Trades to Verbanski Corp. because of his crazy ego
2. Gets frosted tips
3. Wears overly fancy cologne
4. Drives a motorcar into the Buymore
5. Dumps his girlfriend through text message
6. Hires a interior designer
7. Has his own personal assistant
8. Tells Chuck they are not friends

The episode nearly ends with the showdown between Carmichael Industries and Verbanski Corp. In the end they both split the check for a job well done with an explosion (of course). Chuck also is able to bring his friend back from the douchy dark side transported through a virus that has infected his friend's brain, ego and memories and Casey gets his girl.

But there's more.....thanks to Morgan's blabbing and sharing his Intersect secret there is now a hit on his head!

Chuck v. The Bearded Bandit

2012-01-26T01:02:00.007-05:00

With their funds frozen and the future of Carmichael Industries looking bleak the trio goes on a sales pitch that gets upstaged by Verbanski Corp. The best part of the episode is when you know Casey has a crush on the competition. I knew the moment I saw the glances between Gertrude and Casey :)

While the group doesn't walk away with clients clammering at their door they still seem to snag one interested person. It turns out though after Sarah pulls off the best rock climbing stunt that they are working for the bad guy--who sold them on the story that he needed to save his brother whose life was threatened. When in truth he wanted him dead. Guess who was the brother, another hottie I've missed since he left Smallville: Justin Hartley (yum)

In the meantime, in an attempt to drum up some business in the Buymore Big Mike gets Awesome to shoot a commercial. Who just also happened to be an Ambercombie and Fitch model--no surprise there :)

Now that Morgan has the Intersect its a whole new world and the mission world is not the best place for him. Yet Morgan takes to being the Intersect a whole lot faster than Chuck did. In his excitement he charges into the bad guys massive fortress and gets himself and Chuck into a bind. Morgan believes that Chuck and him can be the heroes and save the day. But now that Chuck has been saddled with the responsibility of being his handler, their friendship and role-change has become even more complex. In his fear for his friends safety he calls Sarah and Casey for backup, against Morgan's wishes. In Chuck's attempt to protect his friend his ends up hurting his feelings.

The boldest move anyone can make is call in their competition to help and that's just what Casey and Sarah do to save Chuck and Morgan. While they saved their buddies they may have lost Morgan, their ultimate big mouthed weapon to Verbanski Corp. This episode ends with Morgan meeting with Verbanski and telling her with no qualms that he is in fact the human Intersect.

It's So HARD to say Goodbye to my bestest TV BF

2012-01-26T00:40:00.008-05:00

There has been eleven episodes of Chuck and I have only seen the premiere.

You may be wondering Why?--since I've been in love with the show from the very beginning. Here's the thing about me I have a hard time saying goodbye so I've been putting it off. So apologies my fellow Nerd Herders, you deserve better so this begins the "HAIL MARY" of blogging.

The premiere was entitled "Chuck vs The Zoom." As promised the crew started their own secret agents for hire company, but things aren't quite as successful as they planned. First off Morgan currently has the Intersect. That's right folks Chuck is back to relying on his intellegience and ingeniuity. And secondly, Decker still has a major vendetta against them, more importantly the formerly CIA funded Intersect.

The episode starts with Sarah and Chuck in a jam. Even though things are looking bleak Chuck uses this opportunity to phish for what Sarah wants in her dream home. Always the romantic, sigh. Then of course somehow Casey gets caught by the guards, leaving their back up to the same fate. So they are forced to bring in the back up to their back up. The new secret weapon. Morgan. They are hoping and praying that'll he'll be able to flash, and I even as a viewer slightly feared for their safety...but in the end Morgan and his tiny body pulls through. Albeit with a bit of the Bartowski charm.

In the end, their funds get cut off by Chuck's nemesis, Decker. So all they are left with is the Buymore. So now they face the challenge to make the store a success. This should be good seeing as their current employees consists of Jeff and Lester. Also if it wasn't clear before its a certainty that Chuck is having a hard time not being the Intersect. More specifically he's worried that his dreams of buying Sarah the perfect home and providing for his new family might fail along with Carmichael Industries and the current Intersect. Ultimately he's having a hard time finding his place on the team now that he's just Chuck.

3.5 For the First Time, 3.6 Mashoff, & 3.7 I Kissed a Girl

2012-01-20T15:48:00.000-05:00

Glee is a show about underdogs, the people that we cant resist rooting for. In addition to that it's about giving a voice to the voiceless and chase after your dreams no matter what may stand in your way. Most importantly it's about be your true self.

Episode 5 of the season, For the first time is about more than losing your virginity it's about growing up and taking the time to be adventurous when your young. In this spirit Kurt and Blaine visit a gay bar and Rachel attempts to lose her virginity. Of course of this ignited by their drives to be best Maria and Tony. Of course Rachel's big mouth rats her out to Finn and he in turn is hurt that she's using it as drive for her career.

Mike and farther come to head once he discovers that his mother has been lying for him. In the end they both end up disowning one another. Also featured in this episode are the Werboler's. I knew I would miss their charm and amazing blazers. It was nice to see them. In the end the show goes on without either of the stars losing their V cards but the show is still a success because they find another way to tap into the necessary emotions. The show also gave Arty the chance to take charge as director and make decisions without being held back by the limitations of his chair. It was great for Arty to have a grown up moment.

No big surprise though in the end after Sebastian has left and Finn doesn't receive a football scholarship, both Hummel/Hudson boys spend the night in memories of first loves.

Mashoff

It's the first annual Mashoff at McKinley High, from the brains of Mr. Schue and Shelby of course in an attempt to get their kids geared for Sectional but more importantly to remember in the end that they're all friends.
Of course in the spirit of this and the crazy amazing talent of the Troubletones Santana takes it to a whole new level of mean and ends up slapping Finn. She slaps Finn because something he said in the hallway to shut her up, had to do with her sexuality, ends up in a political campaign commercial. The main issue is that she hasn't had the chance to tell her family.

Shelby finds out the truth about Quinn, that she has been trying to get to be deemed an unfit mother. Also in a state of panic at the hospital Shelby calls Puck. This of course ends in a bad decision, because all bad decisions start with Puck. Shelby sleeps with Puck and he takes it to mean more than it should, and falls even harder for her. Also during the delivery of their speeches Rachel withdraws from the race and backs Kurt. In the end I felt that this episode produced the best performance yet: an Adele mash-up of Cold Shoulder /Someone Like You

I Kissed a Girl

This episode centers around Santana's rage and her need to accept who she is. Further her friends from both New Directions and Troubletones try to give her the courage she needs to tell her family. So they team up in the old choir room and spend the week singing "Lady Music" after Finn saves her from suspension. In the end she finally thanks him and tells her family; her parents accept it but her Grandma disowns her.

Oh and Rachel stuffs the ballot box, in an attempt to help Kurt win the election. This leads to Kurt being in trouble but Rachel steps up and takes her punishment.

Guilty Pleasure Tales

2012-01-20T15:09:00.004-05:00

OTH the last and final season started last week. The premiere provided a field of questions in the first two minutes. As promised familiar faces have returned. Chris Keller is back, with the oddest pairing, Dan Scott. The sequence continues with Chase being arrested, Haley identifying a body, Brooke enraged and destroying Karen's Cafe with customers inside, Julian is being beaten in a dark and bloody way, and the sweet, dorky couple, Clay and Quinn have a what seems like a heartbreaking break-up.

So I'm sure the fans, like me have a ton questions and can only wonder as to how our favorite characters from One Tree Hill, North Carolina have ended up such tragic and dark places. The only speculation that I am 95% sure of and truly despise is the fact that by the end of the season Nathan will be dead. Which really sucks! Haley and Nathan are meant to have forever...and I'm just waiting to see how everything unfolds.

Chris Keller has tricked his way into running Red Bedroom Records (started by Peyton in season 7), and after crticizing Alex's song and then helping her, Haley places him on secret double probation. So for the moment he's staying in Tree Hill. Alex and Chase are still dating.

Haley keeps finding doors open, which is quite creepy especially since Nathan is out of time. Brooke is constantly trying to get her kids to sleep and Julian bought a sound stage. Which at first was a good investment until the movie he had booked fell through. Financial problems seem to be on the horizon for the Davis-Baker household. Clay has been suffering sleep walking problems. But as in any other good drama, he travels when he sleep walks and this worries Quinn. Finally Dan's burger joint has burnt down leaving him broke and homeless. Dan decides to turn to Haley who yields and he moves into the Scott mansion with his two grandchildren. Without the knowledge of his distant son.

GG's Best of 2011

2012-01-15T01:09:00.003-05:00

Best Artist

Adele, she's gorgeous and her songwriting is beyond amazing

Best Album

The Script's Science & Faith is all about love, heartache and being able to admit when your wrong. Those Irish boys sure know how to speak to a girl's heart and soul.

Best Movie

Thor. I love the film because of it's creative digital creations and the fact that Thor a god has to learn a lesson in humility. Ultimately it marks the start of the Avengers in May. Yay!!! Also Chris Hemsworth is to die for, beard and all.

Best New TV Show

Once Upon A Time!!! It's so good I cannot wait to delve into it further with those of you reading out there. The parallels between fairy tales and reality is great. The writers thus far have done an amazing job.

Of Course we gotta talk about the hotties on my screen:

TV Boyfriends

1.Prince (James) Charming 2. Shawn Spencer/Burton Gustard 3. Neil Caffrey 4. Chuck 5. Dr. Jack Hodgens

Oops, it's already 2012

2012-01-03T22:34:00.000-05:00

But let's talk about our favorite TV things of 2011, shall we? Not too much text in this one, just lists and some crappy photoshopping. All in no particular order:

5 Favorite TV shows of 2011:

1. Game of Thrones (Favorite episode: 1.09 "Baelor"*)
2. Doctor Who (favorite episode: 6.10 "The Girl Who Waited")
3. Breaking Bad (favorite episode: 4.13 "Face Off")
4. Parks & Recreation (favorite episode: 3.13 "The Fight")
5. Community (favorite episode: 3.04 "Remedial Chaos Theory")

*Favorite episodes are just those aired THIS year

5 Favorite TV Characters of 2011:

1. Britta Perry "Community"
2. Jesse Pinkman "Breaking Bad"
3. The Doctor "Doctor Who"
4. Rory Williams "Doctor Who"
5. Jimmy Darmody "Boardwalk Empire"

5 TV Boyfriends of 2011:

1. Matt Smith and Arthur Darvill (Doctor and Rory "Doctor Who") - yes, I cheated
2. Richard Madden (Robb Stark "Game of Thrones")
3. Donald Glover (Troy Barnes "Community")
4. Michael Pitt (Jimmy Darmody "Boardwalk Empire")
5. Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman "Breaking Bad")

5 TV Girlfriends of 2011:

1. Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen "Game of Thrones")
2. Gillian Jacobs (Britta Perry "Community")
3. Karen Gillan (Amy Pond "Doctor Who")
4. Zooey Deschanel (Jess Day "New Girl")
5. Amy Poehler (Leslie Knope "Parks & Recreation")

5 Favorite TV ships of 2011:

1. Amy/Rory "Doctor Who"
2. Troy/Abed "Community"
3. Leslie/Ben "Parks & Recreation"
4. Jimmy/Richard "Boardwalk Empire"
5. Sam/Jon "Game of Thrones"

Yeah! Now it's ~~Zozizzle and Good Grief's~~ your turn! What were some of your favorite TV things of 2011?

Supernatural mid-season finale, but mostly a lot of other stuff

2012-01-03T20:58:00.000-05:00

I was going to do a season finale/mid-season finale recap of Boardwalk Empire, Supernatural, and Once Upon A Time. That was until I realized I just had TOO MANY FEELINGS regarding the Boardwalk Empire finale and couldn't even begin to coherently share them with the world. So I scrapped the idea. Before doing so however, I did end up writing a review of the last episode of Supernatural before the break. It's sitting on my harddrive, so I thought I'd post it anyways.

I will say this about Boardwalk Empire however, I thought the finale was actually a great episode of television that wrapped up an exciting, engrossing season. The Jimmy Darmody storyline was executed wonderfully and Michael Pitt has never been better. HOWEVER, I'm not sure I'll be watching the show anymore. The moment that Jimmy died was the moment I realized he was the only character I truly cared about on this show. I enjoy watching so many of the other actors and characters, but only really on a surface level and not on the deep level that I cared for Jimmy. The only character who comes close is Richard, but so many of his interactions came between him and Jimmy or Angela (and Jimmy/Richard was the OTP of the whole dang show, let's be honest). Jimmy dying actually made sense and in a way was a nice wrap-up for a character who was so damaged and lost, but ultimately found a sense of peace and closure in the end. But why, WHY do it this season? Why kill your most interesting character only 2 seasons in? I don't mind Jimmy dying, but save it for a series finale! I just can't imagine this show without Jimmy and I'm not sure I'll really want to. I'm grateful to this season for being so entertaining and for Michael Pitt being amazing every week, but my desire to continue watching might have just died with Nucky pulling the trigger.

Once Upon A Time starts back up this week and I'm excited for it, but still mourning slightly foreign, sexy sheriff Graham. Not only will I miss his face, but his episode was by far the best episode of the series so far and I'm disappointed they got rid of the character right as he was learning the truth (although I do concede that with the nature of the show, there's a strong possibility he could come back or be seen again). Damn those Lost producers and their penchant for killing off attractive characters in first seasons *cough*Boone*cough*. Without going into any detail, I still think the show has its problems, but ultimately it's a fun ride with appealing characters, actors I like, and enough mystery to make it interesting. I'm sticking with it for now!

Ok, so I guess I did have more to say than I thought. Trust me though, I could have said A LOT more. And with a lot less coherence.

One final note however, I just caught up on Breaking Bad. Watched the Season 4 finale a few days ago. And THERE IS SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS SHOW BUT HOW DO YOU EVEN SAY IT?! A;SLDJKF;ALS;DKJF;ALSDFJALSDKJF SO GOOD. SO. GOOD.
I thought about writing posts for it, but I'm pretty sure they'd just devolve into keysmashes and paragraph after paragraph on how Jesse Pinkman is the greatest character ever. Also, Zozizzle is now starting her Breaking Bad watching and I don't want to risk spoiling her. So for now, no BB posts, but maybe one day! And hopefully with Zozizzle in tow! :)

Finally, my Supernatural review of 7x10, "Death's Door":

This is the best episode of Season 7. That's not really saying much since season 7 hasn't been that good so far. But I think I'll take it one step further and say it's one of the best episodes of the entire series. Certainly for me, one of the most memorable episodes of the past 2 seasons and the only episode this season that sticks out for me at all. And this is coming from someone who was never a huge fan of Bobby. It wasn't that I disliked the character, I just hated the show's over-reliance on Bobby as a fact-getter/problem-solver extraordinaire in the later seasons. Relying on Bobby for answers every once and a while is fine. Relying on Bobby for answers every single episode made Sam and Dean seem lazy. I longed for the days when they had to search dad's diary and figure things out for themselves. It was too easy! Still, this episode put the focus on Bobby and showed that the show still has the ability for great character development, interesting storytelling, and the ability to make me cry. Too often this season has told us what characters are thinking and feeling without any explanation as to why. Sam and Dean's "development" this season has felt extremely unsatisfying. I'm not buying their character arcs at all because it feels like the writers keep tacking on "issues" without any logical progression. Not to mention a storyline with the Leviathans that while it has potential, has never really felt like anything new. Sadly, the show had to kill off a main character to get interesting again, but ultimately I think it worked because it believably showed us exactly the kind of man Bobby is.
As Bobby lies dying from a gunshot wound to the brain, we get to quite literally go inside Bobby's head and take a journey through his past. Each flashback leads us to a deeper understanding of Bobby as a character and each one is more powerful than the next, leading to the devastating scene of young Bobby shooting and killing his abusive father.
Flashbacks aren't exactly a new concept, but structurally this episode found really interesting ways to tell the story. The episode as a whole was visually beautiful, as the darkness, or "death", slowly crept up on Bobby, swallowing his memories. I enjoyed how Bobby was at times a passive observer to the memories and other times actively interacting with his friends, helping Rufus solve a case until even he started helping Bobby along to meet his darkest fear.
It was just a well written episode overall that was entertaining while still being character driven. More than anything though, this episode reminded me of what it feels like to be emotionally invested in Supernatural again. I'm just a casual viewer now. I'm not obsessed like I used to be. I'm not even really a "fan", to be perfectly honest. I watch now mostly out of a loyalty to a show I used to love so much, not because of any great enjoyment I'm getting out of this season. But every once and a while a scene will come along like the one that ended this episode, with Bobby looking on fondly at his two adopted sons, realizing he did alright for himself after all, and I remember what made this show so great.

12/8/11 Week In TV Podcast: No Longer Living Under a Rock

2011-12-09T20:21:00.001-05:00

The Ashitaka's Angels: Week in TV podcast 12/8/11 by Ashitaka's Angels

Nay, reader, your eyes do not deceive you. THE OTHER TWO THIRDS OF THE ASHITAKA'S ANGELS ARE STILL ALIVE!!! Many thanks to Good Grief, who has been holding down the fort while Lea and I were living under a rock. Well, living under a rock and watching lots of TV. Last night, we decided, "Hey, we should probably talk about all this TV we're watching. Now, if only there was some place on the internet where we could discuss all the shows that we watch....like... a TV blog. Oh, wait!" Then, we made this podcast. Warning: it is a bit of a WHOPPER. In terms of length, that is.
It is not, unfortunately, a chocolate-covered malt ball or a hamburger.

For those brave souls who end up listening to the whole thing, there's a digital hug waiting for you.
For those who do not want that and want to skip around, here's the rundown on what we discuss:

00:00-04:59 Boardwalk Empire: S2E11 "Under God's Power She Flourishes"

05:00-09:18 The Walking Dead: Season 2 in general

09:19-12:00 New Girl: overall impressions

12:01-13:50 Modern Family: S3E10 "Express Christmas"

13:51-18:00 The Office: S8E10 "Christmas Wishes"

18:01-24:00 Parks & Rec: S4E10 "Citizen Knope"

24:01-35:15 Community: S3E10 "Regional Holiday Music"/ Doctor Who Christmas Special Flail/ Inspector Spacetime Christmas Wish

35:16-40:00 Breaking Bad: Its similarities to Glee, how it has shattered Lea's life, and how she wants it to shatter mine

Enjoy :)

3.3 Asian F & 3.4 Pot of Gold

2011-12-03T21:22:00.008-05:00

Asian F

Glee took a break after airing Asian F and in turn I have been lacking in reporting (blogging) on anything. Now is the time to make up for that. I hope to get you all

catched up and peek your wits for sectionals.

Finally the writers made a true attempt to focus on another member's problem instead of the main drama causers. This episode was great because we got a look at Mike Chang. Everyone knows him as the loveable and talented dancer with a kicking set of abs.

As everyone is trying out for the musical Brittany has decided that she is also a "unicorn" or magical and therefore has tossed her hat in the rink for senior class president against Kurt. And when Mercedes steps up and tries out for Maria (the lead in West Side Story), Rachel decides to also toss her hat in the ring.

Back to what made the episode so interesting, Mike's struggle between his dream and what his father has planned for him. His dad wants him to quit Glee club and give up on dancing and focus on school. In the end Mike skips a tutoring session and shows his Mom

what it means to follow your dreams. Mike lands not only a part in the play but a singing part due to his hard work and passion for dancing.

Of course there was bigger drama than Mike having to lie to his parent's Mercedes leaves New Directions after she and Rachel are asked to share the part of Maria in West Side Story. Where does she go? Shelby just happens to be looking for AMAZING voices for her group and if Mercedes is one thing she definitely can blow.

Pot of Gold

One of the Glee Project winners is written in. Hello Damian McGinty and congrats! Damian plays Rory Flananigan, a sweet Irish who is friendless and just like any other teenage boy. He tricks Brit into thinking he's a lepachraun so that he can see her "pot of gold," along the way he makes friends with Finn and is inaugurated into the glee club after...drum roll please, Santana and Brit defect to the new group. For those of you who missed it, Rachel's birth mother Shelby is back in town and has open her home up to Puck and Quinn (who is back to her natural hair color), so that they can be a part of their daughter's life. Of course Quinn takes this as an opportunity to prove that Shelby is an unfit mother and a chance to get Beth back.

Anyways so Mercedes has joined the rogue group after she unfairly was asked to share the part with Rachel when she clearly was better during try outs. Also during this episode to uplift the spirits of the group. Blaine not only sings "TGIF" by Katy Perry but he brings his own flair to it. Blaine is the king of Katy Perry's repertoire.

The last thing you need to know, Kurt's dad saves the play and in turn becomes the candidate that Mr Schue was looking for along. Yep, that's right it's a face off between Sue and Burt!

Ted and the Gang

2011-11-16T23:06:00.005-05:00

Things you should know:

Ted still has found anyone to be serious with. Turns our Victoria (aka Cupcake Cutie) is practically engaged to some guy named Claus. But at least now he can move on. He also finally met his slutty pumpkin from season 1 but it turns out they are as far as any two people can be from being soul mates. So Ted continues to involve himself in Lily and Marshall's relationship and milestones. Hopefully the tide changes soon.

Most recently Barney is with Nora and Robyn is with Kevin, her former therapist and all around nice and understanding guy. So why did the previous episode end with them making out in a cab? Peculiar indeed, of course it turns into them seriously cheating on their respective significant others. And at first they with a bit of prodding on Robyn part that it meant nothing and therefore they didn't need to say anything. But in the end they decide they have to. The only problem is that Barney is the only one who ends up going thru with it.

Why Robyn did spill the beans and run to Barney. Well it turns out as ready and mature Barney has become since their last failed attempt at dating, it turns out Kevin is just more mature and more ready. He has better answers and he loves Robyn. Robyn is incapable of seeing pass her previous history with Robyn, but now Barney knows she's the one. The worst part is that as ready as Barney may seem, his heart truly broke when he saw Robyn return to the bar with Kevin. As ready as he is, he's only half of the equation.

Funniest part of the epi:

3.1 The Purple Piano Project

2011-09-28T22:37:00.006-04:00

Last Week, Fox made gleekers happy!!!

The gang returned with the same agenda. Make it and win Nationals. "The kiss that missed" cannot happen again nor will it stop this gang of misfits. To encourage sign ups Mr Schue refurbished and brought in 3 purple pianos.

The challenge, whenever they see a purple piano they are suppose to break out in performance. Of course this catches the unwanted attention of Sue Sylvester. Who is one running for a Congressional Chair....of course she becomes inspired to take a stand against musical education at public schools and well once again Schuester and her are enemies.

Onto the juicy stuff. Kurk gets his boyfriend, Blaine, to leave the Werbols and join New Directions. And this leads to jealous in Finn. Why?

Let's face it Blaine is talented, and has the stage presence to pull off Lead Male in the glee club. Finn is not a complete idiot. Now while the gang has gained a member they also loose a member due to unloyalty. Santana follows Sue order to destroy the purple pianos and as a result Mr Schue, has had enough and dismisses her from the club.

He also faces his own struggle turning away a truly horrible student. So the club is still down three, they've lost Zezis, Sam and Quinn. Quinn has had a complete makeover and hangs with the skanks. Let's just say she's gone to a dark place where singing is not a priority.

Finally, after seeing the glory of NY Kurt and Rachel can't wait to live out their dreams and have cocked a plan to go to Julliard together and live in the Big City. The only problem is that Julliard doesnt have a Musical Theatre program. But that doesn't stop them with the help of Emma Pilsbury, now Mr Schue's live in girlfriend!!--they find another school with a great program and decide to get to work and meet the competition. Which turns out to identical to them and have way more experiences in theatre.

At first they are stopped dead in their tracks but with some pep talk and never say die attitude, they decide to work even harder and Kurt is running for Junior Class President. The club also decides to put on a family friendly musical--West Side Story.

This year should be an interesting one. Also--speaking of class standings, this is the last year for many of the glee kids. So who are the seniors? We've got the recently transferred Blaine; Santana and Brittany (maybe); Popular, then Pregnant to Punk Quinn; Adorable Mike Chang. Utterly lost Finn and the over-achieving Rachel who has the perfect plan for her future.

Competition, Relationships and Hilarity what more could a fan ask for....

HYIMYM Premieres

2011-09-22T17:27:00.006-04:00

For all you readers out there, yup I'm referring to our 3 followers (thanks guys), for warning there may be spoilers but that shouldnt be a problem cause I myself can't even watch them when they air.

On to the good stuff

So what happened when Ted, Barney, Lily, Marshall and Robin returned to our television sets?

It starts with a wedding, well actually it starts with a warning that the story is far from over. This season viewers can tell is going to be about Barney's journey to the aisle. While the show may have started out with Ted sharing his search for love, viewers have come to love the womanizing side-show that Neil Patrick Harris performs oh so well. NPH is a star, his comicly entertaining and it we had a great glimpes of "relationship Barney" when he and Robin were involved.

When the season returns, feelings and secrets are revealed at Punchy's wedding. The gang finds out that Lily is preggers and Robin reveals that she still has feelings for Barney and wants a second chance with him. Unfortunately she finds out that her timing is way off and he has initiated phone calls with Nora. The first half ends with Marshall ruining a wedding and Ted declaring that he is going to start looking for love again.

In the second half of the premiere, Marshall makes a declaration that he is not going to drink ever again. The funny thing about the human condition is that, as soon as we make a promise or take on a challenge to change our ways, it becomes that much harder and well even though he ends up streaking naked at the age of 33 around NY city, he stills ends up landing a job doing what he'll love.

Barney accepts Nora challenge to never lie to her again, even when she asks him about all the ways he has lied to get a girl to sleep with him. Of course this leads to her forming a more distasteful opinion of Barney and she leaves. But before she exits, Barney tells her that he will not leave the all night diner until she gives him a second date. In the end, Nora can't resist her feelings for him and gives him yet another chance.

The most exciting revelation of the season premiere by far is that "Cupcake Girl," aka Victoria is back. For those of you who don't know or remember her, she was the girl that helped Ted move on from Robin for a while. She can be categorized as the one that got away. Victoria is this adorable baker but she got a Fellowship in Germany and had to leave. While Ted and her tried a long distance relationship--it didn't turn out too well. At the end of the first season he lies to Robin about breaking up with her and cheats on Victoria along with losing Robin's trust.
I guess the real question is, is she the one? Most likely not but I can't wait to see what happens between her and Ted this time around.

GG's Fall TV Schedule

2011-09-19T16:22:00.006-04:00

Hey guess who's back, participating with the team!

Yup it's GG, and my apologies but Grad school can be a quelcher of time

Anywho, why am I back at my keyboard?

This week is the second week of premiers, technically, but this is when Fall TV dramas, comedies and new series start peeking out their yellowed eyes from hidden caves.

Up first, tonight How I Met Your Mother, tonight on CBS at 8. All the fans are dying know how Barney is transformed and who is ends up marrying? Will it be Nora, the cute British and extremely forgiving girl, or Robyn whom we all know of love, despite her gun toting ways. Or possibly someone new?

The Dunphees are back on Wednesday. Modern Family airs on ABC at 9. They will be vying for American eyeballs all over the country with the cast of gLee! I am super excited for gLee, even though golden locks Sam is not returning for us to see the romantic endeavours between him and Mercedes. But don't fret Mercedes still has a r omantic interest this Wednesday night. Another great thing to look forward to is the gLee Project winners! I am soooooo excited for Colin and Sam, I cannot wait to see what roles the writers come up with for them.

On Thursday viewers can look forward to The Office and finding out who the new boss will be. Creed will end up burning down the building if he is in power for too long. Plus we always have sweet, ever cute Jam!

Of course that's not all I'll be watching. There are a couple of new series I am interested in this fall.

Revenge and Once Upon a Time have caught my eyes. Their advertisers can give themselves a pat on the back. I'm a sucker for drama, mystery and fairy tales. That last one Disney can take all the credit, all that I have my bitter moments, way deep down I'm a sucker for happy endings.

Revenge airs this Wednesday night, (I'll be doing a lot of cyber watching). And Once Upon a Time doesn't air until October 23rd. Speaking of premiers in the distant future. Returning this fall for a seventh season is Bones.

Unfortunately we'll have to wait til November to see all the new hurtles Booth and Bones have to overcome as a couple, parents and partners! It should be an interesting season. Congrats to Emily Deschancel for her real life pregnancy--it's worth waiting a couple extra months. Anxiously awaiting November 3

Psych returns October 12, and man I sooooo miss my Shawn and Gus with all their hijinks and humorous ways. They are such characters.

Chuck comes back for it's fifth and final season, October 21. I am glad to for the closure we'll recieve but I will certainly miss Zach and his weekly appearances on my television. I do have to say that I am quite worried even a little frightened to see what occurs with Morgan as the intersect, but we'll be getting a close up view into Chuck's struggles with starting his own business and Casey will finally get some love :P

Mark Those Calendars, You Anglophiles!

2011-08-04T19:15:00.000-04:00

Because Downton Abbey (sometimes affectionately referred to as "DownTOWN" Abbey on this here blog) returns January 8, 2012!

Is it just me, or are there 90 people in this cast? It must be all the strategic dovetailing.

Highclere Castle, servants, and Granthams/Crawleys, oh, how I have missed thee.

PBS finally gave a release date for series 2! And I don't know about you, but I huzzah'd pretty loudly. There may have even been a fist-pump involved.

Story-wise, series 2 will bring us smack dab in the middle of WWI. Not sure if we'll get to see any intense battle-scenes, but there definitely will be fancy red suits!

As with most shows, there's some cast turnover. Gwen, the ambitious housemaid, will not be returning, unfortunately (based on her character development last series, I'd like to think she's off being a young professional turned secretary at the war department).

Filling Gwen's empty spot as housemaid is Ethel, played by Amy Nuttall.

She looks innocent enough, doesn't she? Keep your hooks out of her, O'Brien!

Iain Glen as Sir Richard Carlisle is another addition.

Trading in the scruff and the Dothraki sea for a 3-piece suit across the pond*.

An extremely dapper one, I might add. Some of you might know him as Ser Jorah Mormont on a little show called Game of Thrones. He was also in the season 5 episode of Doctor Who entitled "The Time of Angels." If you haven't seen him, let it be known that he's a splendid actor, and, more importantly, his. accent. is. delicious. I already know I will be counting the times he and Dame Maggie Smith steal scenes (from others and, hopefully, each other).

Of course, it'll be nice to see the characters I love to watch (and sometimes, love to hate--I'm looking at you, Thomas!) come back. I'm also interested to see how WWI is dealt with both upstairs and downstairs.

O hai, Carson and William!!

The HBIC and the bitch-tastic Edith.

But mainly, I just want to see if the Dowager Countess will pick up a firearm due to Britian's involvement in the war. If she encounters some new-fangled technology, that'd be great, too! She's already proven she can master swivel chairs. Make it happen, Masterpiece! I'm sure I'll enjoy her story-arcs and the series regardless. (But seriously, make it happen.)

Ahem. Anyways, Downton Abbey returns in January. We at the blog will do our best to keep you posted as we get closer to the premiere!

To get more of your Downton Abbey fix, go here and gaze to your heart's content.

*This picture is for you, Lea ;)

[photo credit: itv.com]

6 Days Until The End, My Friends (Also, yes, the Ashitaka's Angels are still alive)

2011-07-09T15:58:00.000-04:00

Warner Bros. released a compilation of the most memorable moments from all the Harry Potter films. Get your kleenexes ready, ya'll.

I'll admit I got a little lump in my throat watching this (the same thing happened when I saw the live feed of the UK premiere. I felt like I was watching Hermione, Ron, and Harry graduate, only their graduation was 100 times more glamorous than, well, any graduation ceremony I've ever seen. And I have seen 3. There were tears, adulation from scores of loyal HP fans, and really expensive RC outfits. Unfortunately, I missed Rickman on the red carpet, darn the luck).

Who/what are you going to miss after you've watched the epic conclusion?

For me, the answer is twofold: Everybody and Snape. Can you blame me?

[Video Credit: WarnerBrosPictures]

Bridesmaids Interview Goes from Hilarious to Absurdly Hilarious in 0.2 Seconds

2011-06-09T23:22:00.000-04:00

...And it's all thanks to two 'F' words: 'French' and 'farts'.

Enjoy.

Doctor Who Episode 6.5 (and other stuff): love you THIS big

2011-05-27T00:11:00.001-04:00

Docwho 6.5_the rebel flesh by Ashitaka's Angels

Doctor Who! Game of Thrones! American Idol! These are the things you will hear about if you listen to this podcast. Yes, we are late to the discussion about the latest Who, "The Rebel Flesh". Yes, we ramble on & on about our Theon-issues ("Thissues" as I like to call them) in our GOT section. And yes, we had to cut out 20 minutes of singing just for our discussion of American Idol to make any sense. But hey, we're posting this podcast anyways. Aren't you lucky. Enjoy?

American Idol Season 10: Some Stuff Happened

2011-05-20T02:03:00.001-04:00

why is this picture so awkward?

So, some stuff happened on this show, idk. About halfway through the season I realized I didn't actually like this show nor gave a crap about what the outcome was going to be. See, I used to hate American Idol. I used to hate it a lot. And then Kris Allen happened and it took over my life and I've been watching ever since because of what? Some misguided illusion that I actually sort of liked this show? It was a lie. A LIE! In fact, I actually have Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler to thank for my realization, because their completely awful, terrible judging this season started my complete turn around ("the first half of that performance was excellent. The second half........was equally as good"). And everything that used to bug me about this show came flooding back and I was just done.

The majority of posts on this blog are about American Idol! How did this happen?! This is a tragedy! No. No more. I don't care about this show anymoooooooore. And I will not be watching it next season. No more of this!

Sure, the contestants are the best part, but dear lord, it's not the end of the world if your favorite gets eliminated. It is not worth 4 hours of your life to power vote for a contestant! Haley was probably my favorite contestant left, but after she got eliminated I went, ".......k" and then turned the channel to the Office finale. Yes, I know, the Lea from 2 years ago, would slap me in the face and then continue to power vote as she cries about how Kris Allen changed her life. This Lea? Still loves Kris with all her heart. She still is grateful to this show for giving him to her, but this Lea thinks a few votes for Lauren and a few votes for Haley last night were more than sufficient.

This is turning into a rant. I'm sorry. Let's talk about this season and the impending finale.

Hey, get this, this finale? Doesn't bother me at all. Scotty was an inevitable lock for the finale since probably the semis. I cannot begrudge the dude making it this far. Have his performances been groundbreaking, creative, or exciting? Hell no. Did he sing in tune, pick songs that fit his voice perfectly, sing about Jesus, mention his grandma, have a few quirks that young girls and old women found endearing (the sideways microphone! the crazy eyes!), play the guitar, and be the perfect All-American cutie? Hell yes! For all his 'aw shucks' demeanor, I kind of think Scotty is some kind of evil mastermind, because boy has been playing this show like a fiddle. I really do think he's going to win too.

And then there's little Lauwen. I...did not like Lauren at first. Not only was she pimped a crazy amount at the beginning, but she was always all up on Steven Tyler and it was creepy because you know Steven kind of liked it. And then her personality is kind of grating. That...hasn't changed. She can still be pretty insufferable. I give her a little bit of a pass because she is only 16, but girl needs to shut her mouth sometimes. HOWEVER, I totally warmed up to her because while Paul was whispering creepily into the camera and Casey was growling/shouting like a dying cat, there was little Lauwen singing in tune and singing well. I really really do like her voice, and while I don't think she's truly had a 'moment' this season, she's given a lot of really good, solid performances virtually every week. And as much as this song is soooo overplayed, I actually thought her "I Hope You Dance" won the round last night (I almost loved her "If I Die Young" performance before she lost it at the end). Is she going to win? Probably not. Do I want her to? Yes. I'm kind of surprised at how much I really do.

And then there's Haley. Haley is someone else who I kind of hated at the beginning. I totally thought she stole the spot of more deserving contestants and her first few weeks were all over the place. But then "Bennie and the Jets" happened and I was sold. Absolutely flippin love that performance and that studio. In fact, that was the first 'moment' for me this season. I think she had another moment with her "House of the Rising Sun" performance and I also greatly enjoyed her "Rolling in the Deep" and "What Is and What Should Never Be". She was the best contestant because she was unpredictable. She made different song choices and sang them in interesting ways. Was she without faults? Definitely not. She sometimes relied on the growl too much and I never felt like she really truly connected with her songs. But she was fun and seemed like a cool gal and could do wicked things with her voice and tbh, will probably release a better CD now that she didn't win than if she had and was forced to make a generic pop record.

People can get all up in arms about how the best contestant this season got prematurely eliminated, but I think in Haley's case it was too little too late. Haley started off the season with some either bad or completely unmemorable performances. Not to mention, quite a few trips to the bottom 3. Her fanbase was never establishing. Scotty and Lauren's fanbases were established in the first week and they never did anything so offensive that it dwindled. Haley has definitely been gaining momentum as the weeks went on and I definitely think her fanbase was growing, but it was just too late. Basically, it made sense to me that this was her time to go (not that I liked it, it just made sense).

And it totally makes sense to me that she was eliminated after this week's episode, tbh. Her voice sounded great last night, but I was about 99% sure her and her dad lit up before the episode, what with her falling all over the stage, that damn wind machine that had me laughing so hard I could barely hear her performance, and just a general air of craziness and I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude. Not to mention "You Oughta Know" was kind of a hot mess. Dude, the old women and young girls who make up the majority of the audience probably thought she was too weird and voted for the safe country duo. I'll miss Haley's presence on performance night, but I'm sure she'll be there on the finale results show strutting around like a drunk stripper and being awesome :')

A lot of people are already calling this finale "the most boring finale ever", and it probably will be if we get more performances like the ones we did Top 3 night. But I'm really really hoping we're gonna get something crazy. I know Randy has been crowing the "if it aint broke, don't fix it" line, but for once, I want Scotty to sing a pop song! Or sing a hard rock song! Or take an R&B song and make it country! Anything except some mid-tempo country song that I've never heard of. Lauren has actually branched out to other genres a little bit in the competition, but how about some Mumford and Sons? Or something else that you would never connect with Lauren. She has a lovely voice that I believe she can do way more with. I already know she can do pretty little country songs. Give me more! Lauren is going to need it! They need a girl winner, dammit!

So...what is this post even? I almost didn't post it, but there hasn't been an AI post in so long, I thought what the hell. If you read all this, I am truly sorry. But look at the bright side! Only one more week of this shit show!

The Voice, Battles Pt. 2. a.k.a. Pitchy isn't a real word

2011-05-18T13:16:00.001-04:00

Once again, we are watching and greatly enjoying The Voice. It's the ~Battle Rounds~ Round 2! Live blog! Ding Ding Ding!

Our first matchup, Team Cee Lo!
Battle #1: Nakia vs. Tje a.k.a...

..."So much hair"

Because we've had copious name problems in the past, we decided to forgo real names and just give them our own.

Z: ty and nikea?
L: yup
Z: is that how you spell that man's name?
L: Nikea? lol wat is that really his name?
Z: i guess so.
Z: i call him growly bear.
L: omg we're gonna have name problems again
L: ok yeah, growly bear and afro! that's their names.

And later:

L: "Nakia"?!
L: omg Ty's name is spelled "Tje"
Z: lol. i forgot about that!
Z: i would not think to pronounce it that way
L: our names are better for them.
Z: agreed

Cee Lo only needs one color to look fabulous

L: i was like, "omg Cee Lo's wearing red again!!!"
Z: LOL
L: but i think it was the same day lol
Z: it's the same day

As for this battle, we had some problems with it. Namely, that it wasn't very good.

Z: it sounds so forced from growly bear
L: .....i don't like either of them
Z: this song is supposed to be smooth
L: yeah, i do think that Tje is doing better with the song, but I don't find his voice that strong
L: there are some bum notes there.
L: Maybe Nakia is more in tune? But more shouty.
Z: yeah. none of them are wowing me.
L: Not my favorite battle.

We ultimately sided with Cee Lo however on his pick of Nakia

do the chicken suits come with the contract?

L: Who would you take?
Z: based on technicality?
Z: nakia
Z: tje is kind of blah, but he may be more moldable.
L: i would pick Nakia though, I think. Not based on the performance, but thinking about what he could do in the future.
L: he's more unique.
Z: i have a feeling cee lo is going to go with the people who are more 'out there'.
L: I could imagine Kia wearing a chicken suit.

Next up, we go to the side of my new favorite judge, Blake!
for Battle #2: Jared vs. Elenowen a.k.a...

...Daughtry-lite vs. Duo-who-ruined-Falling Slowly (a blogger never forgets!)

At first we called shenanigans! We found it unfair that Poor man's Daughtry had to go up against TWO singers.

Z: how the heck is this going to work?
L: it's like 2 voices against 1. not fair.
Z: i know. and this song is for two people already.
Z: what's that guy gonna do?
L: i am concerned for him
L: except the duo kind of sucks
Z: DON'T DESPAIR DAUGHTRY LITE!

But oh yeah, there was really nothing Blake could have done, so we got over it:

Z: it DOES seem a little unfair, blake!
Z: why are you doing this?!
L: but then again, there were no other duos on his team. what was he gonna do?
Z: true
L: i guess he had to put them up against somebody

Zozizzle really really likes REBA:

REBA

Z: REBA!
L: REBA's name must be written in capslock
Z: YES
Z: LISTEN TO REBA

Z: KEEP THAT SPOTLIGHT ON YOU
Z: LISTEN TO REBA

Z: REBA KNOWS ALL
Z: REBA
Z: she's looking for stage presence

In the end we found we were rooting for...Daughtry-lite? (we also called him "Baldy". We really are terrible with names). Someone who we never would have rooted for normally, but we got behind him because of the underdog factor.


L: I like that he has little girls. that's cute :D Z: it is! he's like this rough looking biker dude, and he probably has to play tea party with them.

L: lol i'm rooting for Daughtry-lite
Z: i am, too
Z: he's kind of the underdog here
L: work it out, baldy!
L: baldy daddy
L: Baldy's got moves
Z: he does!
Z: go baldy!

Also, Elenowen? We weren't that impressed

maybe if we just shout really loud...

L: the guy is pretty good
Z: he sounds nice
L: girl is the weak link!
Z: yep
Z: she seems awkward
Z: she could've gone higher there
Z: some of those harmonies were nice
L: their sum is better than their parts.

We ended up enjoying the battle regardless though. They found a way to compete fairly and to show off their ~skills. And our favorite rocker pulled it out! This is still 10 times more interesting than any early round on that Shamericanidol show.

L: that was actually better than i thought it would be
L: and more balanced too
Z: mmhmm
Z: JARED!!!!
L: YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Z: GO DAUGHTRY-LITE!
L: W00T W00T
Z: he worked it
Z: good for him
L: He fought the power!

Next it was time for Team Adam
In a battle we like to call, Battle #3: Javier vs. Angela a.k.a...


...no brainer

Sorry Angela, but everyone knew there was no way you were going past Javier. Even though I actually liked you, Javier has been the ~contestant to beat ever since he first appeared.
I mean c'mon now: Amazing voice? Check! Adorable family? Check! Cool rearrangements? Check! Cute? Check! Humble? Check! Plaid? Check!
Dude's got it in the bag right now.

L: I think I remember Angela. she was a country singer
Z: ooo stand by me
L: i remember liking her actually
L: but Javier was DEFINITELY the best
Z: yes. this.
L: like, DEFINITELY
Z: i loved his version of 'time after time'
L: I even got his studio!
Z: oh, nice!

You know who else we kind of love a lot? Adam Levine. We want to be on your team, Adam!

and i'm good looking too!

L: The thing I like about Team Adam, is that i feel like he's so knowledgeable. He's done so many things right in the music industry, and I would feel really confident in taking his advice.
L: He also has such a unique voice, so he can help all kinds of voices out.
Z: yeah, definitely. i think he's the most well-rounded judge up there.

Once the battle round started and Javier started singing, we got a little carried away

girlfrand was impressed too

L: uggghghalsdkf his voice
Z: sounds so good!!!
L: sounds so good in my earsssss
Z: i almost want to marry it

And in the most obvious decision ever,

Z: the winner is....
Z: javier!
Z: yep, an obvious choice
Z: i'm liking adam's team so far
L: i feel like Javier could win the whole thing
Z: his was the only audition i absolutely loved

We were not without a little bit of concern, but we still have faith in our boy:

L: except for the fact that he also feels like one of those contestants who are really amazing at first and everyone thinks they are going to win....and then they end up never living up to that first amazing performance
L: i get that vibe lol
Z: oh, yeah
Z: the classic plateau effect
L: right
Z: or in terms of AI--the hollywood week effect
L: exactly lol
L: he still does have a great voice though. can't deny that. i hope he continues using it well.
Z: he seems to be a good musician; that could be his best asset when it comes to arranging and such
Z: and adam is a good coach; he'll keep javier from making bad musical choices.

Our last battle of the night came from Team Christina!
Battle #4: Beverly vs. Justin a.k.a...

...shouty rocker lady vs. lone male diva

We were kind of perplexed by this matchup. Not only did we not remember Justin, we're still trying to figure out if Bev is actually any good.

L: don't remember Justin at all
Z: i do not remember justin
Z: BABA O'RILEY????
Z: wow
L: this favors the woman!
L: Beverly was actually not that good lol, but her enthusiasm was great
Z: it's a big song
Z: that could really help her

We were also skeptical about Christina's coaching methods. Although there's no denying girl can SANG (and for the most part we're enjoying her as a judge), she certainly likes the sound of her own voice.

step aside, fools!

L: oh Christina
L: haha "if you want to make it better just sing it just like me"
Z: "just do what i do!"
L: Christina really does know how to SANG though. i would listen to her advice as well.
L: well....most of her advice
L: she can lay on the melisma a little too much at times.
Z: no, for real. that is like her crutch sometimes
Z: she sings too many notes sometimes
L: i don't really care for singers like that, tbh
L: in fact, i enjoy Sia's voice more
Z: i'm a little wary of her as a judge sometimes; i think her divaness comes so naturally that i feel like when she tries to explain how to improve to her team members, she can't really thoroughly explain it.
L: lol right. like, she doesn't give advice she's just like, "sing it like meeeeee" *does a million runs*
Z: lol yes

The actual battle ultimately came down to a competent singing Justin against a loud, shouty Bev. We actually sided on Team Justin in this regard.

Bev would probably win in a real boxing match against you, Justin

Z: bev's voice is better suited? at this point.
L: i....actually like Justin better
L: he's really going for it!
Z: you think bev's over singing?
L: yeah. kind of a lot
L: it's just...shouting at this point
Z: it's going to come down to who shouts in tune

In the end, Bev won the night by being quirky and shouty and Justin got cut because he was a boy. We look forward to seeing Bev do very well in the competition though.

L: don't know who is going to be picked :O
Z: it's a tough one
L: Bev has more ~character
L: isn't Justin Christina's only boy? lol
Z: i think so
Z: the lone male diva
L: lol yeah
Z: bev
L: I would have chosen Justin actually
L: People will totallllly vote for Bev though
Z: yep
L: it's the ~personality thing
Z: absolutely

We leave this episode of The Voice with only happy thoughts and look forward to more to come! If the judges are going to continue to be insightful and helpful and the contestants are going to continue to step it up? I'm ready to go to the end of the season!

L: so......yay the voice!
L: still liking it
L: many things to enjoy once again
Z: yeah. the battles are fun; they're not dragged out
Z: there's not too much unnecessary drama
Z: it's about the singing
L: they have a little bit of convo w/ the contestants, but they go pretty quickly into the battles
L: i like that
L: and the coaches don't talk for that long afterwards!!!
L: praise jesus
Z: OMG
Z: yes
Z: no one's saying 'in it to win it'

Game of Thrones Episode Reaction 1.5 "The Wolf and the Lion"

2011-05-16T11:58:00.000-04:00

This was definitely my favorite episode of the season as of right now. I adored the first 2 episodes, but I'll admit that episodes 3 and 4 were slightly less enjoyable. They were still great episodes of television and I liked them a lot, but I thought the pacing was a bit off and that the exposition was a little clunky, like they couldn't figure out how to seamlessly fit in the history of the series into the show. Through no fault of the writers, those episodes also featured a lot of "set-up" beats from the story. Episode 5 however is really when things start to pick up. What I liked about this episode is that it balanced the exciting, action-y plot of the book with introspective character moments written just for the screen. And they did it all without Dany or Jon! Something I didn't even realize until the episode had long ended. And while I love those 2 storylines on the show (especially all the Jon and Sam stuff from last episode), I didn't actually miss them; so engaged was I in this episode.

Three scenes in particular come to mind in showing how great the show is doing at adding even more background not in the book. The most powerful of which being the scene between Robert and Cersei. This scene was so good I immediately claimed this episode was the Best! Ever! after it was over. Their conversation about Lyanna kind of blew my mind, and with just a few lines Cersei became more fleshed out and actually more sympathetic to me than she ever was in the book. Their relationship is so sad and they are both just so messed up, and you can see the threads unraveling before your eyes. So many things in the series hinge on the decisions of those 2 characters and this scene went leaps and bounds in telling us why they do what they do. And I have to point out that both of those actors are friggin amazing. I've been especially impressed with Mark Addy. He was FANTASTIC this episode.

I also love that we would never have gotten a scene like the one between Varys and Littlefinger in the book. That's why this show is such a godsend! It's something I've always wanted but never knew I did. And I still hate Littlefinger, but Aidan Gillen is doing a fantastic job at being just ambiguous enough to not know whether to trust. And I will always love Varys and his mind games (in fact, I have a ridiculous soft spot for Varys that cannot be explained). And those two characters battling it out like that? Beautiful! Also? Filled with sexual tension! It was palpable in Varys' eyes.

The Loras/Renly scene was one I had heard about but was a little aprehensive as to how they were going to play it, but man, I LOVED that scene. It's another one we could only get in the show as Renly/Loras is really only ever hinted at in the books (and something I never picked up on until AFTER I finished reading and saw some people talking about it and went, "ooooooh"). So much good stuff coming out of their conversation. I'm not sure whether this scene was as affective to non-readers, but besides setting up their secret relationship, we got an introduction on the Tyrells and their power, information about the dynamic between the Baratheon brothers (Stannis mention!), and what kind of person Renly is as well as planting the seeds for his storyline in the second season. These characters become even more important later and this scene is there as a reminder. I also will not deny the eye-candy. No, I will not (besides that though, I'm really enjoying both of those actors in their roles. Loras is almost exactly how I imagined him).

As far as the rest of the episode goes, the action scenes were suitably tense and violent as all get out. Like, really violent. Does every neck need to be slashed in a way that a fountain of blood flies out in a 10 foot radius? And I really didn't need to see that horse get killed that way D: I was also just starting to fall in love with Jory again and now he's dead! And it's made even sadder when you think back to the conversation he had with Jaime in the last episode :(
I don't need to mention Jaime in every review I do, but I am still loving Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's performance so much. His face in the entire last scene of the episode was just !!!!!!! so much love (even while he's doing a bad, bad thing). But all of the actors on this show are doing really phenomenal work. In fact, this show is just kind of phenomenal.

Bullet points so I'll stop the rambling:

Arya's repeated, exasperated "I'm a girl!" is fantastic.
Continuing to absolutely LOVE the actor who plays the Hound. MOAR HOUND!
Lancel makes me laugh every time he's onscreen. Stupid Lancel.
UNNECESSARY THEON NAKEDNESS IS UNNECESSARY! No...no no no no.
And are they overexplaining the Greyjoy thing? I know Theon becomes more important later, but we went 3 episodes where he was just the random guy who hung out with Robb, and now all of a sudden it's like Greyjoy history lesson every episode! Effin Greyjoys.
Yeah, so, they totally didn't shy away from the total batshit craziness of Lysa and the Eyrie. The breastfeeding was always so disturbing to me in the books, but I didn't think they would actually SHOW IT in the show. But no, it was just...right there. (Catelyn's look of "oh shi-" during that whole scene was amazing).
I did however, love the way they did the sky cells.
I also have a strange soft spot for Bronn in the books. And I am loving him right now in the show.
I laughed at first at the scene with Bran reciting the places with their sigils and words because I thought it was just another way for the show to slip in some lore and exposition. However, that scene ended up being quite sad and heartbreaking for young Bran. I just want to hug him! Cutest child actor ever!
MOAR ROBB!

Shit it going to continue to go down more and more with each passing episode. I know what's going to happen, but I seriously can't wait :D

Doctor Who Episode 6.4: Oodcast

2011-05-14T23:30:00.000-04:00

Doctor who 6.4 doctor's wife by Ashitaka's Angels

Another Doctor Who podcast? Oh shi-
This time it's for episode 4 of season 6 "The Doctor's Wife", an episode we enjoyed a lot! Thanks Neil Gaiman! Also included, a discussion of just why the 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean movie is so goshdarn terrible, and the awesomeness of a little show called Community. Enjoy!

(A Much Delayed Recap of) The Voice, Battles Pt. 1. a.k.a. "I Will Punch You With My Voice..."

2011-05-13T23:32:00.003-04:00

...and you (and all of America) will like it. *snap*

Truth be told, we (at the blog) DID like it! We've actually liked The Voice ever since its first episode. The show's premise (having 4 coaches instead of judges, battles, more focus on people that can sing AND singing, etc.) has been a nice change from that other vocal talent show we sometimes watch. (I won't name any names, but it rhymes with Shamericanidol. Emphasis on the sham part. /rant over)

Anyways, we decided to live blog week the first week of battles on The Voice. A lot of them were pretty close to call, but, of course, that did not stop us from putting in our two cents on not only the performances but also the overall festivities.

First, Onto the Matchups! Starting with Team Christina!

Battle #1: Tarralynn vs. Frenchie singing "Single Ladies" a.k.a...

...DIVA-GEDDON

also a.k.a.: ...The Time When We Discovered Christina Is a Singing Sith Lord

Follow the progression of the images below, paying careful attention to Christina. Sure, she starts out looking normal, but as the vocal battle draws nearer, it becomes apparent that sing-offs bring out a bit of her dark side.

Time until Vocal Battle: 1 Day

"You guys are both amazing! O hai, Sia!"

L: I bet Christina THRIVES off of Diva-offs

L: it gives her power

Time Until Vocal Battle: A Little Less Than 1 Day

"Do I sense some tension?"

Z: they're like her unicorn blood #sheisasingingvoldemort

Z: christina is getting excited at the very thought of this diva-off

Z: it's palpable

Z: they're about to punch each other with their voices

Time Until Vocal Battle: 2 Seconds:

Sith Signal to begin Vocal Battle #1.

L: lollll she's totally encouraging the tension

L: she wants it!

Time Until Vocal Battle: -30 Seconds

Dance of the Singing Sith Lord.

Z: she's feeding off of it!!!

Z: she's like emperor palpatine. the more anger there is, the stronger she grows

Battle #1 Winner: Frenchie. We agreed with Christina's choice.

L: blue dress girl has hit some bum notes

L: like, that last note? no

Z: yeah, she's a little off with her wailing

L: i'm kind of on Team Frenchie right now, i can't lie

Z: Frenchie was more in tune, and she had more flair

Onto Battle 2: A Battle in which Patrick sang against Tyler a.k.a. ....

...The Time We Indirectly Realized Not Only Blake's Sheer Height, But Also His Coolness.

L: omg is Blake a giant?!

L: or are they really short?

Z: he is a country giant

L: can i take the time to mention how much I love Blake?

L: He's funny and smart and has picked some pretty good people, and i've never heard of him

before, but i enjoy him

In addition to his admirable traits, Blake's choice of celebrity judge/helper further upped his coolness:

Actual Fact--> Reba's Total # of Awards from '84-present: Ninety, ya'll. NINETY.

Z: wow. Reba frikkin' McEntire

Z: blake's pulling out the big guns

L: lol Reba PWNS all other judge helpers

11:55 PM

Z: she has as many grammys for each year christina has been alive

Anyways, the Winner was...: Patrick...or was it Tyler? We kept getting them mixed up during the battle.

For the record: Patrick's on the left; Tyler's on the right. It took us half the song to realize that.

L: if you already have another country singer type in your group, choose Patrick?

L: if you're looking for a good country guy, go Tyler

L: omg i'm confusing their names lol

L: switch that

Z: no, tyler's the country guy

L: switch thattttt haha

Z: you were right

L: so confused right now

Z: patrick's the one with the bowtie

L: no, they keep calling him Tyler though!

Z: wait.

L: Tyler is the ging!

Z: i got it wrong

L: haha it's ok

L: I DON'T KNOW WHO I WOULD CHOOSE

Winner: It was Patrick. At least we're 99.99% sure it was.

Yep. Definitely Patrick...right?

Onto Team Adam and Battle #3: Where Tim and Casey sang "Leather and Lace"...a.k.a. the Battle where We Tried to Figure Out Who Casey Sounded Like

Z: who does she sound like?

L: she has a nice tone

L: but yeah, it's reminiscent of someone else

12:10 AM

Z: yeah, she sounds nothing like the high-pitched girl we saw in the beginning

We were both racking our brains the entire song, but to no avail. Who should solve the mystery of the recognizable voice with no name?

...Cray Cray Cee-lo. Of course.

Z: Cee-lo's right!

Z: she *does* sound like a young stevie nicks

L: she DOES

Battle #3 Winner: Casey a.k.a. Young Stevie Nicks

Z: her voice is interesting

L: yeah, i like her too

L: she could be great

Onto Team Cee-lo and Battle #4. But first, some words about Team Cee-lo, who wins the award for Most Random Team Ever Led by the Most Random Coach Ever.

Z: i feel like cee-lo has the most random team

Z: or maybe that's just because of cee-lo's randomness

L: Yeah, Cee Lo kind of just picked whoever the fuck he wanted

L: dat's a lot of red

Z: it is. he looks like the kool-aid man

L: I feel like I never have any idea what Cee Lo is thinking

L: lol like Cee Lo's brain is just madness at all times

If it's still hard to believe that Cee-lo is random, please keep in mind that this is the same man who performed at the Grammys dressed in this:

Gwyneth unfortunately came with the costume.

*Ahem* Anyways, onto the battle, in which Vicci went up against Niki singing P!nk's "Perfect" a.k.a. When We Realized We'll Always Be Biased Against Those Who Try to Cover an Adele Song

Left: Vicci; Right: Niki

L: right now, i'm leaning towards "Teenage Dream" girl (Niki sang it for her blind audition)

L: b/c that other girl sounded like she butchered "Rolling in the Deep" (Adele's hit single, which Vicci sang for her blind audition)

Z: yeah, her high note wasn't good

L: i basically have never heard an Adele cover better than the original

Z: THIS

Z: no one should touch Adele

L: and Kris Allen has done an Adele cover.....so you know it's serious*

L: SERIOUS SHIT

Z: WORD TO YOUR MOTHER

*How shall I put this. Lea is to Kris Allen and his music as Gwyneth Paltrow is to her own reflection.

Battle #4 Winner: To our surprise, Vicci

Z: WHOA

L: WAT NO

L: meeeh

Z: wrong choice, cee-lo

L: my only disappointment

Z: agreed

Z: cee-lo is cray cray lol

L: for real

Our Concluding Thoughts:

L: I enjoyed this episode! You know why? because the duets sounded good! like, it was just pleasant to listen to these people's voices mesh

L: and no one is terrible anymore

Z: Idol should be kicking themselves

they already do that [do group numbers/duets] during hollywood week. they just never made it a huge focus

L: right? and even though the voice is still contrived (boxing matches, an actual ring, etc.), it never feels forced like Idol does

Z: my producer-manipulation-spidey-sense wasn't tingling at all during this ep

it's usually pinging all the time during idol. I like that the judges actually talk about the musical aspects of singing

Z: their criticism sounds more constructive during the rehearsal rounds

Z: there's not as much soundbite generating going on, i feel

L: and i think you have to remember that it's new! and fresh!

L: Idol is stale and moldy

Truer words have never been spoken.

And so ends this live blog. Now, what did you think of the episode?

[Image Credit: JustJared.com; NBC]

Game of Thrones 1.3 "Lord Snow" Recap: The Haiku Edition!

2011-05-03T10:56:00.011-04:00

Yes, you read that right. For this recap of Game of Thrones, we're returning to that centuries-old poetic form: the haiku. Why, you ask? Maybe it's because we relish the simple challenge of whittling down our oftentimes flaily reactions to only 17 syllables. Maybe it's because we're ardently striving to become published haiku authors of great renown. Or, maybe it's because after live-blogging the episode on Sunday night, we read through the chat transcript, looked at each other (figuratively) and said:"Ooh. It's way too spoilery."

Lea and I have both read Game of Thrones already, and during the live-blog, we couldn't help but delve into events that won't occur until much later. While we do engage in a lot of antics on the blog, writing major spoilers is not one of them. Thus, we decided a brief haiku recap for this character-heavy episode of Game of Thrones was the perfect solution. The results of our efforts are below. Please enjoy:

Jaime

Kingslayer, you are.

Evil? Or misunderstood?

Things you do for love.

The Mighty BeardBurns.

You Win or You Shave

Oh mighty BeardBurns!

Your beard and sideburns are one!

Starburns' ancestor.

The Not-So-Mighty Starburns.

Viserys: King of the punks

'Don't wake the dragon'?!

I laugh as you get neck-whipped.

No more horse for you!!!

Syrio Forel

Spritely sword fighter;

Arya's Mr. Miyagi;

wax-on, wax-off, you BAMF.

Ser Jorah Mormont

Knight to Khaleesi,

fluent in Dothraki;

skilled in taking down fools.

L-R: Varys the Eunuch and Littlefinger; a.k.a Shadier and Shadiest

House Others

Deceiving people

since gods-know-how-long;

Their motto: We're the Good Guys *wink*

A No-Brainer

HOW IS BABBY FORMED

HOW DANY GET PRAGNENT

Oh. Khal Drogo did it.

[Images from: HBO; IMDB]

Ashitaka's Angels special edition Doctor Who after-episode reaction Podcast!

2011-04-30T23:26:00.000-04:00

doctor who 6.2 by Ashitaka's Angels

WAT.

Oh, you're in for a treat, my friends. Zozizzle and I got together to watch the conclusion of the Doctor Who season 6 two-part premiere and immediately decided our unfiltered general confusion, flail, pleading towards Steven Moffat, shouted questions in anguish, violence towards one another, Robin Hood tangents, and all around buffoonery needed to be shared with the world. So here it is, 20 minutes of podcast for "The Day of the Moon", a fantastical (and horrifying) outing of our beloved Doctor Who.

Enjoy!

"Jersey Shore" Gone Wilde. Oscar Wilde.

2011-04-27T14:26:00.000-04:00

Though I've delved into many reality shows (a lot of which are guilty pleasures), the world of "Jersey Shore" is not one into which I've ventured. I've just never gotten around to it because it hasn't held much appeal for me. This little number, however, ups the entertainment value considerably: it has fancily-dressed actors delivering only the choicest dialogue (taken right from episodes of"Jersey Shore") in posh British accents.

Dear gentlemen from Broadway's "The Importance of Being Earnest," I bow to you. What you've done I can only describe in one word: scrumtrulescent.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

*Should you wish to see them, parts 4 and 5 can be found here and here.

Doctor Who 6.1 "The Impossible Astronaut, Part 1": The Live Blog Edition!

2011-04-26T01:21:00.009-04:00

WARNING: If you have NOT seen the premiere yet, READ NO FURTHER for there will be, in the words of River Song...

...SPOILERS.

However, if you HAVE seen it, come on in! The water's fine. Sort of.
Welcome to our recap in which we, two-thirds of the Ashitaka's Angels, keysmash and capslock-yell our way through the Doctor Who Season 6 Premiere. In true Ashitaka's Angels style, this post is going to have the minimum amount of coherency and the maximum amount of flailing. There will be pretty pictures, though! Consider it our (belated) Easter gift to you. A nonsensical, capslock-filled, confusion-ridden (belated) Easter gift.

The stetson'd Doctor welcomes you in.

"I wear stetsons now. Stetsons are cool."

In general, the episode was seven kinds of brilliant. Much like the best Doctor Who episodes, "The Impossible Astronaut, Part 1" was filled with moments that ranged from very touching to outright horrifying to downright mind-boggling. When the episode was over, we came away with a lot of revelations and a whole lot more questions.

First, here's what we found out:

1) (Not Related to the Show) We Were Determined To Watch, Obstacles Be Damned

Yes, there was one horrifying moment within the first 30 seconds of the show. And it didn't even have anything to do with the episode. It had everything to do with, um, technical difficulties:

Lea: my dad is hogging the tv OMG NOOOOOO

Z: NOOOOOOOOOOO

9:00 PM get on that television!!!

should i stop watching?

i'm recording it

9:01 PM Lea: oh fuck balls

Z: wha happened?

Lea: ok, i'm watching it but idk if i'm a little behind

9:02 PM Z: amy just got a blue envelope

river song is onscreen

Lea: i'm not at River Song yettttt fuuuuuuuu

Z: okay

i'll wait

Lea: oh, there she is

lol

Z: when you get to the bus, tell meZ: do you see the bus yet?Lea: BUSZ: k!!!

We wasted no time in mitigating the problem because, let's face it, nothing comes between TV bloggers and their TV shows. Especially shows about time-traveling Doctors.

In fact, by the time the intro came on, we were all sync-ed up and settled in:

*Do do dooo!* You know you sing the theme song, too! ...Right?...Anybody?

Z: this is a new intro

Lea: omg new opening?

ooooooooooooh

Z: I KNOW, RIGHT!

it's very amy-intensive

Lea: sings along

Z: doo doo doo

Lea: doo dooooooo

2) (Related to the Show) Doctor Who Fraks With Your Heart & Mind; Also, Steven Moffat is a Sick, Sick Puppetmaster

The Doctor dies in this episode, guys. Killed mid-regeneration by a mysterious astronaut. We were, to put it lightly, distraught:

Astronaut arrives; The Doctor: Still alive

Astronaut Shoots and Leaves; Doctor: Dead; Us: Devastated

Z: ASTRONAUTZ: what is going on?

Lea: WAAAAAAAAT

OMGOMG

Z: who's inside

9:08 PM Lea: WAT WAT WAT WATWAT

WHO IS IT?!

Z: WHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA

Lea: OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING NOOOOOOO

Z: he just got shot!!!!!

9:09 PM is he.....

Lea: OMG

me: killed mid regeneration????

that is a first

Lea: WAT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

9:10 PM NO HE IS NOT, SHUT YOUR MOUTH

I'M CRYIIIIIIIIIIIING

Z: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

9:11 PM Lea: WHY?!

I'M HYPERVENTELATING ON MY COUCH RIGHT NOW

Lea: WHY IS THIS HAPPENING I'M SO DISTRAUGHT RIGHT NOW

9:13 PM AL;SDKJFL;SDKJF;ALSDJF

I'M IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON

3) In the Same Vein, Doctor Who Never Ceases to Fascinate and Confuse Us...But Mainly Confuse Us

For a timelord, time is never in a straight line. To borrow from the tenth Doctor (David Tennant shoutout!), it's more like a "big ball of wibbly, wobbly, timey, wimey stuff." Which makes perfect sense to a timelord. But for two bloggers, who are most certainly NOT timelords?...Not so much.

One source of confusion was when the Doctor came back to life. But...he really didn't come back to life so much as not die yet, making him the Past!Doctor. It was the Future!Doctor that died. See? It's confusing.

The Past!Doctor and his special straw.

Z: HE'S BACCCCKKK

Lea: AS;LDKFJDKSLA;SLDKFJDKSLA;SLKDJFDKLA;

9:16 PM MY SPECIAL STRAW

Z: this an emotional rollercoaster

Lea: DOCTOR, YOU EFFIN BASTARD

Z: STEVEN MOFFAT, STOP IT

Lea: YOU. BASTARD.

Lea: that exposition went by so fast and i know i missed most of it

so this Doctor we're seeing now is Future!Doctor?

9:20 PM Z: no

it's the past!doctor

the future!doctor just died

the past doctor is 200 years younger than the doctor at the beginning

Lea: frick

9:21 PM future doctor invited past doctor to the restaraunt

Z: yes!

9:22 PM that's what i've got down

Lea: K.........still........WTF

Z: yeah. i have no idea, either

This and other plot developments opened up a whole bag of questions/theories. But, more on those later.

Another thing we found out:
3) Mark Sheppard WILL Find His Way Onto Every Show We Watch

Romo Lampkin, is that you? What are you doing off of Galactica?

This man's TV guest appearances include, but are not limited to:

Firefly (Badger)
24 (Ivan Erwich)
Dollhouse (Tanaka)
Chuck (Ring Director),
Supernatural (Crowley, McLeod)
Battlestar: Galactica (Romo Lampkin, WUT WUT)
and now Doctor Who (Canton Everett Delaware III)

According to my precise calculations, he has appeared in 90-100% of the shows Lea and I have ever been fans of. Come to think of it, he probably managed to wriggle his way into an episode of another one of our favorite shows, Lost. I wouldn't put it past him if he just whispered to a producer and got himself CGI'd into the background. The smoke monster? That was really just him.

Mark Sheppard. In the TARDIS. In Lea's words: the luckiest bastard alive.

Z: Romo Lampkin!

Lea: OMG MARK SHEPPARD

9:26 PM CONTINUING HIS QUEST TO BE IN EVERY SHOW I'VE EVER WATCHED

Z: it's so true. only this time, he's got an american accent?

Lea: omg Mark Shepphard has been on Serenity, Galactica, AND THE Tardis!

"IT'S BIGGER ON THE INSIDE"

9:44 PM Z: he has gone where every nerd wants to go

4) One of Us Has An Immense Fear of Alien Faces

Don't look away, gurl! You gon' die!

Too late. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Lea: OMGGLASKDFJGAWIRGJOMG

OMGOMGOGMOGM

I JUST SCREAMED OUT LOUD

9:36 PM OMG WTF THAT THING WAS SO SCARY OMG

Z: I WAS JUST THINKING THAT

ALIIIIEEENNNN

Lea: IT'S SO SCARY

CRYING CRYIIIIIING A;LSDKFJAS;LDKFJ

Lea: OH

GOD

Z: it erases your memory

Lea: OH MY FREAKIN GOD

Z: GUUUURRRLLL

Z: IT HAS FREAKY HANDS

9:39 PM Lea: LS;DKFJLASDKGJHOIWERAI;SNBLKASNFBS;WEIUFJALS;DGNALSFH;LSKCVASRHGOAIWRJS;FLAKJSDLKGJLAFKSDJGLSDK;FJAOSIGJAS;LDGJKFOWRIGJ

BREATHE IT'S SO SCAAAAAAAAAARY I'M SO FREAKED OUT RIGHT NOW

9:40 PM Z: are you watching in the dark?Lea: Yes. i am legitimately terrified omg. my brother was even freaking out lololol

Those are the things we found out. Onto the things we didn't and still don't know--a.k.a. the questions/theories portion of this post, a portion I'd like to call:

"WTF, DOCTOR WHO?! WHA HAPPENED?"

Our first big question:
1) River Song, WHO ARE YOU????!!

Srsly, though. Throw us a flippin' bone here, River!

Exchanges similar to this one...

Lea: WHO ARE YOU, RIVER SONG?!

Z: NO ONE KNOWS

...happened frequently while we were watching.

This is what we do know.
1) She is constantly breaking out of horribly guarded space-prison.
2) The more she gets to know the Doctor, the less he knows her.
3) She is a BAMF, no doubt.
4) A flurry of questions always surrounds her, making her a MYSTERIOUS! BAMF.

...And that is the sum of our knowledge.

What kind of relationship did/will she have with the Doctor?! What did she mean when she told the Doctor he knew she was a "screamer"??? WHAT IS ALL THIS LEADING TO???

Do any of you know? Because I have No Idea.

2) HOW IS BABBY FORMED. HOW AMY GET PRAGNENT

Guuurrl. Who the baby daddy?

So, Rory and Amy have been married for a little while. It would seem only natural that Amy happens to be pregnant, right? WRONG. This is DOCTOR WHO, so this isn't just some normal pregnancy that they would just casually mention. No, this has got to be important. But how? Our theories emerged as such:

Lea: So....what do you think about Amy's pregnancy?

10:13 PM Z: it makes me happy!

Lea: Do you think it's just straightforward and Rory is the father and that's it?

or is there some ~secret there

Z: well, who actually knows

Lea: or it'll get complicated

OR RIVER SONG IS REALLY THEIR DAUGHTER :O

Z: that'd be something if it was part timelord

OMG

WAT

DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID

10:14 PM MY HEAD EXPLODED

Lea: BOOM!

lolol idk if i actually believe that

but i just wonderrrrrr

Z: that's an interesting theory!

Lea: like, WHY DID AMY HAVE TO TELL HIM SO BADLY?

Why was it so important she tell him that she was pregnant?

10:15 PM Z: THE CHILD. IT'S SPECIAL.

i have no idea

Lea: i think there's going to be something fishy w/ the pregnancy

10:16 PM I WOULD LOVE IT IF IT WAS JUST HER AND RORY'S BABBY AND THEY LIVE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE AND RORY GROWS A MULLET

3) Who Is That Child In the Spacesuit?

W.T.A.F. What. Child. Is. This?!

Is this the person in the spacesuit at the beginning of the episode (who also shot the Future!Doctor)? Is this a character's future child? Is she even a real child? Did Amy actually kill her at the end? Again, our wild theories emerged. We may have gotten carried away. All the way into another show--Game of Thrones:

Lea: i wonder if the little girl is still in the astronaut

but [The Doctor] knows them still?

Z: could be! do you think amy killed her?

10:56 PM Lea: maybe the child in the astronaut IS AMY'S CHILD!

I'm just throwing out the most ridiculous theories ignore me

10:57 PM Z: but they could be true!

who really knows

10:58 PM Lea: OMG SO MANY QUESTIONS

Z: Wait! i have the answer!

10:59 PM the child in the space suit is the lovechild of rhaegar targaryen and lyanna stark: jon snow

11:00 PM Lea: IT ALL MAKES SENSE!!!!!!!

secrets and lies and secrets

11:01 PM Z: we are on to you, Steven Moffat

Concluding Thoughts:
If you couldn't already tell, by the end of the show, we were mesmerized:

Yep. Pretty sure we looked like that through the entire show. BTW, if you've made it all the way to this part of the post, you deserve a stetson.

Lea: IT

WAS

10:01 PM BRILLIANT

AMAZING

SO FREAKIN GOOD

LEGIT

DUDE

OMG

LOVE

SO MUCH LOVE

Z: MY HEART IS FULL

MY MIND IS FRAKKEDZ: it packed a real emotional wallop at the beginningand, in true doctor who fashion, was still mentally captivating all the way throughthe best doctor who episodes have me by the mind and heartstrings

Enough said. We absolutely cannot wait for Part 2! Catch it on Saturday on BBC America @ 9 p.m.

Until next time!

p.s. Thanks to Lea for her brilliant screencapping skillz :)

Totally flaily and incoherent review of Game of Thrones!!!

2011-04-18T17:19:00.000-04:00

IT'S HERE!!!!!!! I really can't believe it's here. I feel like I've been waiting forever and now it's here!!!!!!!

A;LSDFJLASDGHLAKSDJ;LAFJ;LAKSDJF;LASKDJF;LASDFJA;SLDFJ

Ok, so...Ok, I got the first book about 4 years ago when I was a junior in college and while it took me about 2 years to get through all 4 of them (school is busy, yo, and those books are looooong), I completely fell in love. It was unlike any fantasy story I had ever read; gritty and dark and uncompromising and brilliant, and the characters! I could go on and on about how much I love (and hate) these characters.

I still can't believe that right after I finished the 4th book they announced that a pilot was going to be made. AND NOW THE SHOW IS HERE!

And I've only seen the first episode, but al;sdkjfals;djf I LOVED it! LOVED IT. I really don't know if I have anything to complain about. I know I'm going to be biased b/c a lot of my al;sdfj;lasdjf is based on the fact that i'm seeing these characters ~come to life for the first time, but i think the tv show did a really good job of staying faithful to the book while still explaining things for the n00bs. IDK i just thought the look of it was perfect and it moved at a good pace and I JUST REALLY LIKED IT.

Some more thoughts:

THE FIRST SCENE IS SO CREEPY. SO CREEPY. I've seen it a few times b/c of the 15 minute preview a few weeks ago, but the white walkers still creep me out so much every time. IT WAS PERFECT.

THE WAAAAAAAAAAALL. BEST THING EVER.

THE STARK CHILDREN OMG. The first scene w/ them all together looking so happy made me so saaaad ;____; lol. I just absolutely loved how they introduced all of the Stark family throughout the episode. You got a good indication of their characters even w/out that many lines. I WAS JUST REALLY HAPPY WITH SANSA AND ARYA AND BRAN. lol I'm one of the few people in the world who ADORES Sansa with my whole being and I have since the beginning. And I liked the little bit we got with her b/c she IS supposed to be kind of annoying at the beginning. And Sophie Turner is absolutely gorgeous <3 And could they have gotten a cuter child to play Bran?! OMG BRAN FLAKES :( I LOVE THAT LITTLE CHILD ACTOR. And Arya in her little helmet, ICANNOT.

UNF JON. UNF ROBB. Thank you episode for giving us a shirtless scene. I know Robb won't have much to do for a while, but UNNNNFFFFFF LET ME STARE, THAT IS FINE. I thought Kit Harington as Jon was great in the scene with Benjen (BENJEN!!) and later w/ Tyrion outside the feast. I look forward to much more emo and brooding in the future :D

The only scenes that I was kind of 'eh' about were the ones w/ the Dothraki, but I remember feeling the same way in the books. However, on rewatch I liked them a lot more. Emilia Clarke is lovely though even though she doesn't have much to do. The best part of the storyline was Viserys, who I still hate so much but Harry Lloyd is so awesome and amusing to watch lolol.

I can't believe I went this long w/out mentioning JAIME! A;LSDFJ I feel kind of awkward admitting that Jaime is one of my favorite characters b/c he's just so horrible in the first book lol. But there is something kind of likable about him in the show, something i didn't even really feel whilst reading the first book (no, my Jaime love comes much later in the books). Besides the fact that he is HOT AS HELL, he's kind of charming as well. I STILL HATE ALL THE THINGS YOU CHOOSE TO DO THOUGH, JAIME.

I was the most worried about Cersei b/c i wasn't sure Lena Headey was going to match up w/ my impressions of the character, but she was great! She's a bit more "reserved" than I imagined her in the books, but still just as bitchy. I loved how much subtle disdain she had while talking to Cat and Sansa at the feast.

I love that we only got little glimpses of Tyrion but already he is awesome and i want more!

I want to punch Joffrey in the face already.

WHAT WERE THOSE CREDITS?! that was pretty damn awesome. and i already have the theme music in my head :D

PUPPIES!!!! Needs more puppies!

The problem for me now is that I WANT ALL THE EPISODES NOW!!!!! I feel like this is torture having to wait a week between episodes! And it's made almost worse b/c I KNOW what's going to happen, I'm just anticipating how they're going to do it. So overall, a great first episode of what I know will be an amazing series. I can't wait for many more to come!

Weekly Recap for 3/20-3/26: The Podcast Edition!

2011-03-26T22:01:00.000-04:00

weekly recap 3/20-3/26 by Ashitaka's Angels

In order to change things up a little, Lea and I did the weekly recap together in this super deluxe podcast, in which we cover the series finale of Big Love and the latest episodes of Chuck, Good Wife, Modern Family, American Idol, Community, The Office, and 30 Rock.
Beware, as there is much ranting and run-on sentences. There are also some surprise shoutouts. We hope you enjoy it!

American Idol Season 10 Top 11: Motown Week = Awesomesauce

2011-03-23T23:15:00.000-04:00

Don't look so scared, Scotty

Casey - "Heard it Through the Grapevine"
Casey's problem has always been that he growls/screams half his songs without actually singing (and never getting called out for it :/). I HATED his Nirvana performance last week. HATED. Ahem.
LOL I have no idea if that was good or not. Or if I liked it. Casey puts so much of himself into his performances you can't help but like him! He's so charismatic. Yet it was still really growly. A LOT more control in it this week compared to last week, so I'm glad. But I really want him to just sit down and sing one week. No vocal acrobatics.

Thia - "Heatwave"
OMG a fast song! A FAST SONG! Don't mess this up Thia. And she's actually smiling and showing personality. She looks way more comfortable up there, except the part where she looked to the backup singers like she forgot the words, lulz. i think this was my favorite performance of hers, buuuuut it was still a little karaoke. Who is she?! Who is she as an artist? I honestly have no idea and have absolutely no clue what kind of CD she'd make.

Jacob - "You're All I Need to Get By"
If Jacob just stood up there and danced he would be my favorite contestant. Some of the contestants problems is that they don't really feel the song. Jacob's problem is that he feels it too much lol. Onto the performance, he's showing so much restraint and this is really great so far. I can finally appreciate how awesome his voice really is. And the faces he's pulling are amazing. AHHHHH THIS WAS THE BEST JACOB PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPETITION OMG. I LOVE HIM AGAIN. JACOOOOOB.

Lauren - "You Keep Me Hanging On"
Wow. Her voice is SO. GOOD. I kind of wish I didn't have to look at her/hear her speak because otherwise she might be one of my favorites. This is one of her best performances I think and I like how she frequently does more uptempo songs.

Stefano - "Hello"
Hey, Haven't you heard? Stefano is the new frontrunner apparently. His voice kind of sounds nasally on this song. He seems to be emotionally connecting to the song though. It was alright. Not terrible, but not groundbreaking. Kind of sleepy if i'm being honest. lol and the judges were all saying he wasn't connecting. idk, i just can't bring myself to liking him.

Haley - "You've Really Got a Hold on Me"
Haley has one of the most interesting voices left. I kind of hated her at first because I felt like she took Kendra's spot, but I've been warming up to her more and more as her unique tone has been shown off. I don't expect her long for this world, unfortunately. Holy moley, is she all over the place lol. That was certainly interesting, but I couldn't even pay attention to her voice that much. She was just jumping all over the place and was walking down the stairs like a drunk stripper. Aaaaaand I'm the only one who didn't like that apparently. I want to like her soooo badly, but her performances just don't match her amazing voice, for me for you.

Scotty - "For Once in My Life"
SCOTTAAAAAY! Being forced to not do country, this is what i've been waiting for! THIS IS HIS TRUE TEST! This sounds exactly like all of his other performances lol. And tbh, I cannot stop laughing his voice sounds so weird on this song. His high notes are a lot better than i thought they would be. I thought it was a solid Scotty performance. But I think it maybe was a little too slow? Still, I like Scotty.

Pia - "All In Love is Fair"
Please don't bore me Pia, your voice is so good. I want to like you so badly. omg another ballad, stopp ittttt. She starts and I fall asleep. Yeah yeah, her singing is effortless and amazing, but omg she is so boring. I wouldn't be unhappy if she won. She would deserve it, but I can't imagine ever buying her CD. I like that the judges are calling her out on the constant ballads though. She better go uptempo next week.

Paul - "Tracks of My Tears"
Paul was my early favorite and while I still like him, I've been pretty disappointed in him the last 2 weeks. I still love his voice, but it just hasn't worked on the songs he's been singing. And the drunken stumbling didn't really help. So the fact that he's using a guitar again this week makes me happy because I really think he needs to do things more in his style. He made it really folksy and different and he's rocking it out. I think I liked it. I was the first drastic rearrangement of the season and I think he succeeded with it.

Naima - "Dancing in the Street"
Things are never boring with Naima at least. She's gonna dance again this performance. I like it when she does that. I like that she's different and contemporary with her style. Her voice sounds sooo much better this week than the last few. Waaaah her dancing breakdown was so fun! Drummers popped up and she just went crazy. SHE'S SO MUCH FUN I LIKE HER. Great performance.

James - "Livin for the City"
James has really surprised me. I've liked his performances waaaaay more than I ever thought I would. I'm still not a huge fan of his voice, but he's using it really really well right now. Great great song choice for him. Ahhh he has so much control over his voice, he's doing really well. I really did like it a lot. I'm not sure if it was my favorite of his performances, but he is turning into one of the most consistent performers this season......I never thought I'd say that.

OMG THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD WEEK FOR IDOL! Perhaps the best overall week this entire season. I have no idea who is going to go home or will be in the bottom. I still don't feel ~attached to any one contestant this season the way I did the past two, but I'm really impressed with all of them.

Best of the night: Jacob
Worst: Stefano
Bottom Three: Haley, Thia, Stefano
Going home: Haley

Uptown Downstairs Abbey Parts 1 & 2: You Read It Right!

2011-03-19T21:27:00.000-04:00

Yes, the second season is currently filming in the UK (huzzah!). However, as is custom with some BBC shows, it still might take eons for it to get here (boo). In the meantime, here's a little something for those in need of a Downton Abbey fix (courtesy of the BBC's Comic Relief Night 2011):

Some Highlights:
-The Narrator? Hogwart's greatest headmaster, of course!
-Yes, that is Kim Cattrall from SATC. Really.
-Daisy as a teddy bear in a maid's outfit
-'Dame Maggie Smith's' myraid grimacing expressions
-Staircase continuity seems hard on the knees
-Thomas: "Why are you so mean? I love it, but why?"
-O'Brien's hair "knitting" itself
-and many, many others.

American Idol Season 10 Top 13

2011-03-04T18:54:00.000-05:00

YOUR TOP 13: James Durbin, Naima Adedapo, Jacob Lusk, Thia Megia, Karen Rodriguez, Stefano Langone, Lauren Alaina, Scotty McCreery, Haley Reinhart, Casey Abrams, Pia Toscano, Ashthon Jones, Paul McDonald.

As far as America's vote of a Top 10, completely predictable (and deserving) on the guys side, not so predictable on the girls. Pia, Thia, and Lauren A. all got through deservedly, but Haley and Karen should not have made it through based on their performances Wednesday.

The wildcard round actually turned out to be pretty suspenseful and made for some good TV. 3 guys (Jovany Barreto, Robbie Rosen, and Stefano Langone) and 3 girls (Naima Adedapo, Ashthon Turner, and Kendra Chantelle) sang for their lives with the judges (apparently) deciding then and there who would make the top 13. I was a little upset I couldn't have heard my beautiful curly-haired flower, Brett Lowenstern, sing one more time, but alas he was cut. Along with early favorite Tim Halperin.

Ultimately though, Stefano probably did have the best wildcard performance of the guys. However, I've always had a soft spot for Robbie and just really enjoy his voice, so I was sad that Stefano got through over Robbie. Stefano probably fits that more "traditional R&B" voice slot in the Top 13 though (and is he the new heartthrob, mayhaps?)

In my opinion however, this performance right here:

was the best wildcard performance of the night. Her high notes were insane and there's something about her tone and her control that I really really like. I can't begrudge Ashthon and Naima getting through over her however, because their wildcard performances were also very good. I'm more upset that Kendra didn't just get through over people like Karen and Haley. I think ultimately though, Ashthon was put through because she fits the "sassy diva" role. Naima got through because she's "quirky", and the judges probably thought Kendra didn't have as much personality and they already had a blonde in the Top 13. Still, I'll never forget you Kendra!

So now it's the finals. I'm not too excited about anybody, but I do recognize that there's a lot of really great talent on this season. Around this time last year, there was a lot of badness going through to the Top 12, but I can honestly say every single person who made it is talented. A lot of them might not be to my preference which is making me less enthused, however, I think this season could give us some interesting performances.

My prediction right now to win the whole thing though: Scotty McCreery

BABYLOCKTHEMDOORS

American Idol: Top 12 Girls; 12 Girls Sing One Really Long Song

2011-03-03T17:08:00.002-05:00

Not really. But it seemed like it, didn't it?

Ohhh, American Idol…..You're making me harken for the halcyon days of Season 9!! Where are the Crystals, the Didis? I may just start pre-emptively clinging to America's Version of X-Factor if this keeps up. This shouldn't be happening.

At its best, American Idol can be a platform for singers with something unique to offer, whether it be in terms of voice, performing style, or personality (hopefully, all three). At its worst, Idol is glorified karaoke that celebrates sameness as well as formulaic pop. Tonight, many of the top 12 girls exhibited more of what’s wrong with the show than what could be right. A lot of their performances followed the same, predictable arc: summoning their diva voices, sassing it up for the judges, and hitting the glory note at the end. The end result was a show that left me feeling kind of ‘meh’. The judges were also disappointing, with the exception of Randy, who, seemingly out of nowhere, emerged as the voice of reason MULTIPLE TIMES. Not once did he utter a single “for me, for you dawg”! He did use word ‘pitchy,’ but I actually agreed with him when he used it!!! Did somebody take out his gratuitous soundbite chip (or at least turn the dial down from ‘gratuitious’ to ‘necessary’)? ‘Cuz I’m liking it. JLo and Steven frequently rewarded contestants who seemed to be the most generic/cheesy (I’m looking at you, Karen Rodriguez!). However, Randy’s actually been the judge whose comments frequently echoed mine last night.

Having Said That,

Let's Start with the Good One(s):

Thia Meghia: "Out Here On My Own"

I willingly rewatched this girl's performance this morning. I actually wanted to hear her sing again. The others I'll watch mainly for the purposes of recapping, but some of them will be a slog to get through. She made a lot of smart choices last night. Singing a kind of obscure song, starting off a capella, having the lights dimmed with the single spotlight on her, standing in one place and just SINGING really set her apart from the other girls. Also, she CAN sing, which also helps. I'm guessing out of all of them, she didn't get the memo that you're SUPPOSED to be all sassy and strut around the stage, and go out of tune. C'mon, Thia! Get with the program! You're supposed to be like everyone else, remember?! Anyways, I really dig her pure tone and voice control. And, I could see where Randy was coming from when he said her tone reminded him of Michael Jackson. I haven't seen her other performances, but she's kind of the lone frontrunner for me as far as the girls go.

Lauren Turner: "Seven Day Fool" by Etta James

For some reason, this girl's voice reminds me of Christina Aguilera,'s only she doesn't do a thousand vocal runs in one song. This is a very good thing. If there's one thing the show didn't need last night it was another girl doing vocal runs. I liked her song choice as well as the tone of her voice, which is strong with a bit of soul. She seems to be a bit of a dark horse, since she was kind of in the middle of the show (a.k.a. not in the pimp spot for all to marvel over), but I like that. If she navigates the stage with a bit more confidence next time, and keeps it up with the soulful vocals, she could be a serious contender.

Who I Kind of Liked:

Pia Toscano: "I'll Stand By You"

~~If we're going on singing ability alone.~~..Wait. If we're going on the ability to hit the most glorious of glory notes alone, she would win the competition. Her voice at the end was impressive. There's no doubt that she can sing well, and I get why she was in the pimp spot. However, I'm hoping she doesn't keep choosing these typical, karaoke songs that are the breeding ground of glory notes and 'showy' singing.

Meh:

Naima Adedapo: "Summertime"

I like that her name is fun. Her singing style is kind of jazzy, which I also like. She's also interesting to watch, mainly for her wardrobe choices (Yellow Dress is Yellow!). However, her arrangement of the song was a little cheesy. As Randy put it, she sounded a little "lounge acty." If Simon was still there, he'd probably say she reminded him of a cruise ship singer circa 1976.

Kendra Chantelle: "Impossible" by Christina Aguilera

While she has great control of her voice, and a nice R&B tone, I couldn't remember what she sang until I rewatched her performance today. She doesn't seem to have as much of a 'story' as the other girls, which could be bad news. She sings better than some of them, but if she makes it to next week, smart song choice in addition to vocal ability will be necessary to make her more memorable.

Ashthon Jones: "Love Over Me" by Monica

It's not Ash-TON, people, it's Ash-THON. I don't know why that fascinates me so much.

Anyways, I could basically write the same thing for her as I did for Kendra. Moreover, her song choice came off as a bit limiting vocally. Monica could pull it off, but Ashthon ain't there yet. Although she sang it competently, I'm not sure it was enough to motivate America to pick up the phone for her over the other girls. Her schmoozing with the judges also made me squirm a little bit.

Lauren Alaina: "Turn On the Radio" by Reba McIntyre

She, like Kendra, has good control of her voice. And it's interesting she went the country route with a Reba song. Uh...that's all I can say. While I'm impressed with her vocal ability, I just don't like her as much as the judges do.

Did Not Like:

Julie Zorrilla: "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson

Okay, ladies, here's rule #1: Never try to out-Kelly-Clarkson Kelly Clarkson. In fact, it's best to stay away from any hit songs by previous Idols (that goes for you, too, Naima!). That was her first mistake. Second, the arrangement had no arc, making her vocal seem a bit repetitive. It wouldn't have been as repetitive sounding if she had enough vocal oomph to cut through the background music...like Kelly Clarkson. Heck, Kelly Clarkson should've just sang it. Can Idol just pay Kelly Clarkson to stand in the wings, ready to bust it out whenever anybody has the brazenness to sing one of her songs?

Haley Reinhart: "Fallin' by Alicia Keys

This song gets soooo overdone on this show. Also, some of her mannerisms/faces onstage struck me as kind of cheesy. Speaking of...

Karen Rodriguez: "Hero" by Mariah Carey

CHEEEESSEFEST. The audiences and the judges loved her, but she was more karaoke than anyone last night. The song (overused), the getup (aging), the glory note (predictable), the switching to Spanish (pandering) all seemed a bit too much for me to take. But she's giving the audience what it wants, meaning she's probably going to stick around. Darn.

How many more people are there?

Oh, right.

Rachel Zevita: "Criminal" by Fiona Apple

When I recognized the song, I got my hopes up. But by the end of the song, my hopes were dashed. The arrangement took out the original's punchiness. It all seemed a bit rushed. Also, her vocals were not that great. She gets a point for wearing a cape, though.

Tatynisa Wilson: "Only Girl" by Rihanna

Maybe it was because of nerves, but girlfriend was OUT of tune. Also, the song itself didn't seem very...singable. Seeing as it's tailor-made for dance clubs, I don't think it was a wise song choice on her part. This girl was setting herself up for a fall because sometimes, even Rihanna doesn't sound good singing that song, and she IS Rihanna. I think it's highly unlikely she'll make it to next week, but if she does, she should focus on singing more than impersonating another pop-star.

p.s. THIS is partially why I'm wistful for the days of Season 9 in terms of the girls. I mean, just listen to them.

And THIS is the reason why I'm leaning towards liking American X Factor. It's because the British X Factor managed to find someone like her (I'd recommend just skipping to 0:50):

Rambling over.

What did you think?

(Cont.) 83rd Academy Awards: The Live Blog Edition!

2011-03-01T23:57:00.040-05:00

If the Ashitaka's Angels were ever to write a letter to the Oscars, I imagine it would go something like this:

"Dear Oscars,

You looked beautiful on Sunday night. The venue, as always, was classy and lustrous. However, the ceremony as a whole was just all right. And here's why:

Whoever writes the best caption for this gets a prize because I CAN'T EVEN. Ready? Go!!!

When Kirk Douglas, who is 6 years shy from claiming his centenarian card, is the most entertaining part of the night (and more awake than one of the co-hosts *cough* Franco!*cough*), it's not the best of signs. We love you, Oscars, for the big stars, the human moments, and, most importantly, for the WTF(!) moments. And while there were some, we definitely could have used more. That and less awkward banter.

Sincerely,

The Ashitka's Angels"

After which, our letter would be promptly thrown away by an Oscar producer's assistant, who unfortunately had enough curiosity to read it.

Anyways, once again, we liveblogged film's biggest night, and discovered many things in the process.

In no particular order, here's what the Oscars revealed to us:

1) Say What You Will, but The Oscars Create Great Montages

Highlights:
-Alec Baldwin trying Capri Sun's newest flavor: AMBIEN
-TRON REFERENCE (We love those here.)
-Anne Hathaway's Double Eye-Patch
-James Franco as a Bear
-Anne's Dance of the Brown Duck & James Franco Hopping Alongside in a Leotard

2) Whoever Styled Anne Hathaway on the Red Carpet and Backstage Needs to Get a Raise. Pronto.

Lea: we should count how many times Anne Hathaway changes her dress throughout the night

Z: oh, good idea!

And, oh, count them we did. We actually counted 9, but apparently, Anne Hathaway had 8 costume changes the entire night. Onstage, the changes were effortless, but backstage, my guess is that Anne Hathaway was constantly being followed by a dense fog of hairspray, semi-bedlam, and hair/wardrobe people.

3) The Boston Accent Conspiracy

Melissa Leo: Oscar Winner for Best Supporting Actress, Ashitaka's Angels Award Winner for Best (and only) Profane Moment

Going into the Oscars, Melissa Leo (from The Fighter), was the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress, perhaps for myriad reasons. We, of course, had our own theories. When she won, we knew our theory had been confirmed:

Lea: I think you automatically win if you do a Boston accent

Z: aw, she's so stunned

Lea: OMG F-BOMB

Z: lol it's on the oscar checklist.

Another event that supported our theory:

Lea: I was wondering why Jeremy Renner was nominated [for Best Supporting Actor in "The Town"], and then I remembered............BOSTON ACCENT

Of course, it was Christian Bale who ended up winning Best Supporting Actor for "The Fighter," which was just fine by us because...he's Christian Bale.

Jesus Bale.

Lea: MY BEAUTIFUL BALE

WHAT DON'T YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND?!

Z: how many times do you think he'll swear in his speech?

Lea: he's holding back, darnit!

HIS BEARD IS GINGERY

It should be mentioned that in the movie, he played a former boxer with what??? That's right--a BOSTON ACCENT.

4) We Will Never Escape TRON

I still want a light cycle.

Not only did Anne and James make a TRON reference in the 'True Grit' section of montage, but Kevin Flynn himself was at the ceremony in the flesh, of course. And, of course, we squeed.

TRON also popped up in a surprising manner later on in the show. Now, if you've seen TRON: Legacy in theaters, you'll probably understand the reaction below.

(as the nominees for Best Sound Editing are being listed):

Z: y'know which movie should not win for sound mixing?

TRON

TOO MUCH BASS

Lea: TRON

(as we find out TRON: LEGACY is a nominee)

Z: lol it's nominated!!!

Lea: OMG THOUGH TRON OMG OMG OMG TRROOOONNNN

5) Though We Have a Bit of an Aversion to Randy Newman, We Have an Even Greater Aversion to Gwyneth Paltrow:

Winning his 500th Oscar for Best Original Song, "We Belong Together."

Lea: GTFO Randy Newman
Z: he's been nominated 1000 times for 5 songs
Lea: and he ALWAYS wins

On which awards show has she NOT sung? Oh, that's right. None of them.

Z: did you know that gwyneth paltrow is performing tonight?

Lea: SHE'S FOLLOWING ME

Z: gwyneth paltrow??

Lea: YES

SHE'S EVERYWHERE

Z: it's because she wants to sing for you
Lea: GO AWAY

Z: LOL you're not alone in that sentiment

6) The Oscars Desperately Wants to be Young and Hip

Yes, it could be said that having Anne Hathaway and James Franco as co-hosts were a prime example of the Oscars' attempt of appealing to a younger audience. But the show went a step further. In a blatant and hilarious attempt to go viral, The Oscars gave us this auto-tuned gem:

Z:WHAT....THIS IS ONE THE GREATEST MOMENTS OF THE ENTIRE SHOW

Lea: WAT WAT WAT WAT WAT WAT

Z: this is UH MA ZING

Lea: CAN'T. BREATHE.

DOESN'T HE OWN A SHIRT

Z: NO WORDS

Lea: I just want to watch the Ron/Hermione thing again lol

7) Jake Gyllenhaal's Hotness Makes Certain Bloggers Come to Blows (Almost)

Jake, WE CAN'T QUIT YOU! Yes, the Brokeback Mountain reference is dated, but, hey, it still applies! Amirite?

Lea: GTFO Amy Adams

Jake, you can stay

Z: lol I HEART YOU GYLLENHAAL. I don't know how to spell your name, but i love you, jake!

Lea: GET THE FUCK OFF MY MAN

Z:i'll fight you, i swear. I ain't afraid.

Also, I am a ninja. And a robot. A ninbot.

Lea: PUNCHES

Lea: I WILL KILL YOU W/ MY MIND, BTW

Z: who are you...SYLAR???? I
'll shuriken you in the eye

Lea: I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY AWESOME SINGING SKILLS. I WILL SING YOU TO DEATH.

8) Our Abiding Love for Colin Firth Continues

King Firth: Best Actor at the Oscars; Also, the Most Swoon Worthy

His performance in "The King's Speech" really made the movie, so it was no surprise that he won. And his acceptance speech was perhaps the best of the night.

Lea: :''''''''''''''')

SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW

HE IS SO CLASSY AND PERFECT

MR. DARCY!

Z: regal in every way

Lea: he's like 30 years older than me, yet i have the biggest crush on him

Z: completely understandable

9) The Academy Ultimately Tends to Lean Toward Movies that have the HIB Factor:

Best Picture Winner; Pantheon of British Talent

...meaning movies that are historical, inspirational, and...well, contain British people. In our minds, this put it over its closest competition for Best Picture, which we (and many others) believed was "The Social Network."

Lea: It's a more "classic" film in a lot of ways

Z: true. it's uplifting, based on a true story, british, pre WWII

Lea: exactly. a really really great film though, don't get me wrong

Lea: i guess for me, TSN was so different and surprising. And i really came out of the movie ~feeling something, you know? It stuck with me

Z: right! jesse eisenberg's an anti-hero with a small moment of redemption

Lea: right? and who is the bad guy in the movie, really? is anybody?

Z: it's a classic story about how wealth changes relationships

me: right. it's ambiguous

Lea: and it's done in such an engaging way

Z: maybe the academy didn't like that aspect of it

Lea: who thought a movie about facebook would be so compelling, really

All in all, it was a night with some bright and inspiring moments, but not too many surprises. It was still a good year for film, though, and hopefully, next year will find us still swooning after a great leading man and good montages, but writing a different pretend letter to the Academy. See you in 2012, Oscars!

[image credits: mtv.com, oscar.go.com, smh.com.au]

[video credits: youtube.com]

83rd Annual Oscars

2011-03-01T01:14:00.002-05:00

In my honest humble opinion the best part of the Oscar's was the Zach and Mandy duet (mostly the Zach part ;) I love that man.

But there were some really great movies this year and it just reminded me how swamped I am with school and how much I've been missing out on. So I've officially made a list of movies to see based on the nominations:

127 Hours

Black Swan

Fighter

The King's Speech (0verall winner of the night, not much surprise there)

The Social Network (I was wafting before but now it's a definite)

*And if I can remember the name of some of those shorts, you can be assured they'll be viewed by moi

American Idol Season 10 - It's the Top 24!

2011-02-25T15:34:00.000-05:00

I don't even remember half of you

Season 10 is an interesting bag. Is it entertaining? The most talent EVER (TM Randy Hyperbole Jackson)? Boring? Exploitative? Does it have too many stage moms? Too many screamers? Is it a girls year or a boys year? DO WE EVEN LIKE IT?! The answer to these questions is I don't know. I honestly don't know! I've seen every episode this season and every episode I feel little flickers of hope and excitement...followed by waves of doubt (and self-loathing). I want it to be good and enjoyable and I will fully admit that I legitimately love J.Lo and Steven right now. However, there's a part of me that thinks that ANYTHING would be better than Season 9, and there's another part of me that suspects this season could go horribly horribly wrong (not that that couldn't be entertaining, of course).

So now we have a Top 24. Now WE get all the power. The possibilities...are endless!

LIST OF TOP 24 WITH PICTURES AND VIDEO (courtesy of MJS Big Blog)

There was some kind of Vegas week this year that felt totally unnecessary, but we got to hear more people sing so i think that's good? And also they all sang Beatles songs, so yay? Some of them were quite good, I have to admit, but group singing always seems counterproductive to me because I honestly don't care whether these people can work in a group or not. Then came the LONGEST "GREEN MILE" EPISODE EVER OH GOD, PLEASE KILL ME. It was nice that we got such long introductions to ALL of the Top 24, I'll admit, but man these episodes were boring.

I'm going to mention some of my early favorites, but I felt like I needed to explain myself as to why there aren't a lot of girls in the list. As much as season 9 was maligned (and in most cases, rightly so), going into the semis the girls had a lot of promise. I admit, a lot of this stems from personal preference, as girls like Didi, Lily, Crystal, and Siobhan all have less conventional, "quirky" voices, which appeal to me more. But is it just me of do all of the girls this season sound exactly the same? Not only that but we have A LOT of pop/diva voices this year for the girls. Unfortunately this means that every time one of those pretty young things walked down the endless airplane hanger runway (why so long, Idol?) and they showed their past performances, my eyes glazed over and all I could think was "I swear to god, I just heard this girl sing". I think it's fairly obvious what kind of girl they were "casting" this season.

Some of my early favorites (who could very easily go home next week and who I reserve the right to turn on at a moments notice):

Paul McDonald

Paul might be my favorite right now. He has a really quiet and kind of uniquely beautiful voice. He also sang an original song for the judges that impressed me enough to take notice, and his "Blackbird" (with other Top 24 member, Kendra Chantelle) was gorgeous: watch his video package.

He also wears suits with glittery roses on it, looks drunk while he's singing, and looks like he should be a member of Driveshaft. And for that, I'm giving Paul a tentative THUMBS UP!

Robbie Rosen

Robbie, aka Aladdin, is someone I remember liking from his audition and every time I hear him sing I like him more and more. He's cute and young, so there's a lot going for him right there, but I'm constantly impressed by his solo performances. He's got talent.

Now he just really needs to sing A Whole New World.

Tim Halperin

Timmy's got a lot going for him. In fact if I was to guess who would win this season based on who has won the past few seasons, I'd put all my money on Tim. Cute, white, soulful, plays an instrument? Oh yeah.

I didn't even notice Tim until Vegas week, when his "Something" performance (with Top 24 member, Julie Zorrilla) really really stood out.

I'm worried he might be kind of boring, but for right now, I'm hoping we see a lot more from Tim.

Thia Megia

The only girl I'm putting up here and I'm kind of reallllly nervous for her. I liked Thia from the beginning because of her awesome name. Not to mention she seemed kind of quirky. However, her Vegas week performance and her final solo were really underwhelming. I'm hoping she can pull out all the stops for the semis because I want her to do well.

Her voice can be amazing for her age though: What a Wonderful World

Some other contestants of note:
Lauren Alaina is the girl they've pimped out the most and therefore is really hard to stand. Not to mention her penchant for rubbing up all over Steven and wearing the most ridiculous outfits I've ever seen. I think she's probably a shoo-in for the Top 12 though.
Rachel Zevita also has a penchant for ridiculous clothing items, but I point her out because she has the "story" of trying out multiple times and never making it. And she does interesting things with her voice that I'm not sure if I like a lot or not at all.
I actively dislike Clint Jun Gamboa, James Durbin, and Jordan Dorsey (if they wanted a male R&B singer, why not Aaron Sanders! He was so good ;__;).
Brett Loewenstern is a cutie, but I was sad to see Colton Dixon and Jacee Badeaux (Fat Bieber!) go.
Casey Abrams, aka Upright Bass! is going to be so much fun going on.
Scotty McCreery makes me laugh. I think I like him, but it's mostly for the lulz.