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Courtesy NBC
I'm sure you can tell by now, that my taste in television is weird. I enjoy some of the most amazing shows ever created ("Breaking Bad") to shows that should be banned ("Jersey Shore"), which led me to conclude why I enjoy "Smash" so much.

It's a combination of lame and awesome television!

"The Workshop" episode had every bit of drama and questionable shots that I could ever ask for.

Basically, the crew must put on the material it has to a group of people to demonstrate it should make it to the big stage.

Karen has decided to opt out of meeting with a big music producer in order to fulfill her unpaid role as a singer in the background. She needs a little more New York in that country-bumpkin personality if she wants to survive.

Michael and Julia are trying to do the best they can to try and separate themselves for the sake of their marriages and children. But when they're trapped in a sweaty building because the boiler is busted, who can blame them in the heat of the moment? So they start furiously making out in a storage room before Tom walks in on them.

Cue the greatest pan in the history of television. After the three of them leave the room, the camera pans over to a freaking creepy Ellis leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face. I busted out laughing, seriously. Who is this guy? What are your motives, bro? His character is so annoying, but the camera work on him makes it so funny.

Julia goes home in tears. Michael has a child. She has a child. What was she thinking? To top it off, she walks home to find her son smoking pot. His retaliation is to call her out on her affair. That's when Julia decides it must end.

Angelica Houstan's character is meanwhile trying to find a way to fix the boiler so the important people aren't sweating during the workshop. While at The Bushwhack with Ellis (still don't get this duo), the bartender knows an illegal who can help her out. Skip to the end, Eileen seems to have a thing for this guy. What the what?

The workshop scenes were pretty boring because, to me, I'm basically hearing the same songs over and over again. But there are certain tid bits that amuse me.

Every time I see the Sex Couch, I can't help but get a grin on my face. Ivy and Michael are spinning around on the prop, and Michael and Julia are the only ones that knew that the dirty dirty went down on that couch. It brings me back to my freshman year of college where I wondered what all possibly could have happened on the chair in my dorm room.

Ivy is trying desperately to please her mother throughout this episode. Her mother was a big performer, so everyone worships the ground she walks on and makes her sings songs, which she pretends to not want to do. I'd hate to be around Broadway people specifically for this reason.

By the end, her mother says that she just wants her to be successful and not fall to the cutthroat business because her daughter is so talented.

The important people at the workshop a in the middle about "Marilyn," so a lot of works need to be done. After toying with the idea of hiring a super star performer like Scarlett Johannsen to replace Ivy, Tom, who adores Ivy, suggests Michael is fired. Can't wait to see that scene.
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by Randi Alu

Picture
via Nickelodeon
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via cartoonnetwork.com
This weekend I viewed one episode each for two wildly popular shows with highly anticipated coming seasons, thanks to separate internet leaks that were open for a time and spread across the web-fanbase like wildfire, or, a bender's fire (#geekingout).

[WARNING!! SPOILERS!!]
(As if that wasn't already apparent)
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By Amy Friedenberger
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Courtesy NBC
Whenever I heard about "Smash" coming to NBC, I was so worried it would be jumping on the "Glee" wagon and do covers and go from promising to cheesy.

But in the spirit of giving shows chances (I even tried "Are You There, Chelsea?" which is based off Chelsea Handler's book. It failed to live up to the hilarity of the book), I have been avidly tuning into the episodes each week.

"Smash" is following the entire cast and production team behind a Broadway musical based on Marilyn Monroe. Each episode is ambitious, exciting and entertaining -- just like Marilyn herself.

While there are weaknesses so far in the show, such as a few characters with weak story lines -- which I'm sure will develop over time -- the strong cast more than makes up for it.

A few of the big name producers include Steven Spielberg, Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, and talented songwriters Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman are behind what is mostly completely original songs.

Debra Messing plays Julia Houston, the songwriter, lyricist and co-writer of the musical, who totally devoted to Broadway to her husband's dismay. She wants a settled life, but can't seem to balance her two desires. For instance, her son gets arrested on marijuana charges, which prevents her from adopting a baby. The show is currently in the middle of exploring Julia rekindle a fling with one of the stars of the musical, Michael Swift (Will Chase), whom she had an affair with during a past production. Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) is the other co-writer, who is is subtly opinionated.

Anjelica Houstan plays Eileen Rand, the musical's producer who is in the midst of dealing with a messy divorce. She's been a little more subtle in the background, which I think is due to the bold and entertaining aspects of the singing and performing coming from the two big stars of the show.

Megan Hilty plays Ivy Lynn, who is currently playing the role of Marilyn Monroe. Hilty is an experienced stage and television actress, notably starring as Glinda in "Wicked" on Broadway. She plays a character who has been working herself up from the bottom to get the chance for a big break. The show has been painting her as the kind of villain of the show. She slept with the director of the musical, and now she is acting negatively toward Katherine McPhee's character -- who almost got the role of Marilyn.

McPhee plays Karen Cartwright, a sweet girl from Iowa moving into the big city to try and pursue her dream of making it on Broadway. I don't think McPhee's acting quite stands up to Messing or Houstan, but I think she has potential. If anything, he singing and performing has substantially improved since her time on "American Idol." Right now, Karen is getting a crash course in New York City Broadway by learning the big names, how to dress, how to compete, and how to act coy. Her character is starting to break out of the naivety.

The show has been successful at balancing the personal dramas while not allowing them to blend into the Broadway production's storyline too much. I find that whenever everything starts melting together, it starts to become annoying that the characters can't just keep aspects of their lives separate. We started to see that a bit when Ivy yelled at the director because he doesn't treat her nicely during the workshops, and Julia and Michael are flirting with their eyes during practices.

Last night's episode made be critique several things, from the choice to do the odd music video-esque song for Ivy, which made her look ridiculous, to Karen's out-of-place Florence and the Machine cover at a bar mitzvah. Ivy is being made into a bitchy, masochistic character who is is punished with a sore throat, and Eileen and Ellis are apparently biffles. Ellis, by the way, is Tom's assistant, who is this slimy guy sneaking through Julia's notes and eavesdropping. It's going to be really annoying when the episode comes where he makes some power play. I'm convinced Ellis is a sociopath with that disgusting smirk across his face.

There are still two more episodes to go before the season finale, and I really hope the show continues on the same path it's currently on so it can really amp it up for another season.
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By Amy Friedenberger
HBO released its third trailer on Saturday night.

It. Looks. Awesome. As I expected. April 1 cannot come soon enough.

Best quote comes from the end, from Cersei Lannister: "The more people you love, the weaker you are."

It really paints an amazing picture of the power struggle the women (and girls in the case of Arya and Sansa) face in light of the exchange of power through different hands.

What did you like about the trailer?
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By Amy Friedenberger
Picture
Courtesy MTV
It's the episode we've all been waiting for. Ever since the season premiere, MTV has been building up to this very episode: the moment where The Situation tells Jionni that he and Snooki hooked up before they left for Italy.

There would be rage. Bloodshed. Spray tan used as pepper spray.

Actually, no. Nothing happened.

The Situation took Jionni outside and told him that he hooked up with his girlfriend while they were together. Jionni shook his hand and told him he respected him for telling him that. Now, not that I think it's more practical to punch The Situation in the face, but Jionni should have demonstrated some sort of rage. The Situation is saying he hooked up with Snooki when he knew she was with Jionni. I'll refrain from ranting about how The Situation should also have been blamed for this alleged hook up.

Jionni decided to passively sit on the couch while Snooki cussed him out. At dinner later, she launched pickles at The Situation. I'm not actually sure where Jionni went to. Home maybe? Then it turned into an all-out food fight with ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise and milk.

And that's it. I feel like MTV just sold me a a Corvette, and when I drove it down the street, the engine blew.

Other than that, what I really appreciated about this episode was the way a narrative has truly formed around this entire show, from season 1 until now. I know I've touched up this in terms of a character arcs, but now we're seeing how the Jersey Shore has tamed these people.

Ronni and Sammi are in a boring old couple relationship where they just lay in bed and cuddle and keep to themselves.

Jenni and Roger set up a date that involved a vagina mold and a morning after snack for Roger that included an energy drink and granola bar. They've become that couple that sets up special sex occasions.

Snooki and Jionni, despite the underwhelming challenge to their relationship, go out and party, and are now engaged and have a little meatball in the oven.

The Situation has been seeing some girl who's name I can't remember, but he's still trying to hook up with girls. But I can imagine him running out of steam eventually.

Vinny and Pauly are still young at heart. Well, Vinny is still young, and Pauly (who's the oldest on the show), is just too young and fun to settle down. Sure, we can argue that the two of them are in a relationship, but they're not going to put a ring on any fingers any time soon. Even in this episode, they get annoyed at all of the relationships in the house and even toss the smush room bed outside because it's been used more for couples than irresponsible hook ups.

This brings me to poor Deena. She feels the pressure to get into a relationship. So when she tries dating this Joey character, and the roommates are all in a fuss about him just using her for sex, Deena is upset that they make her end this little fling.

Next week is the season finale, so we can say goodbye to the cast that started it all.
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By Amy Friedenberger
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Courtesy MTV
MTV has been building up a ridiculous amount of suspense for the seventh episode.

The trailer teased that Emily did something so offensive, so terrible, so punishable by death, that the trailer couldn’t even show us.

Paula and Ty have been flirting and fooling around now for the past few episodes, and poor Emily, who used to date Ty and now has to be his partner after a pretty tumultuous break up, has to bear witness to it all – including when they have sex right beside her.

Emily and Camilla wanted to play a fun joke where they impersonate Ty and Paula. So Camilla stuffed her top with items to give her massive ta-tas to replicate Paula’s fake breasts. And Emily? Well Emily decided to cover her face in chocolate.

“Are you sure this isn’t racist?” she innocently asked Camilla. Camilla said no.

When the two girls went out into the kitchen, the entire house was so uncomfortable and offended at the black face show that they just stood with their jaws dropped or stared down at the counter in fear that looking at her would mean they were also racist.

Ty didn’t look until the girls left, then later stormed up to Emily and said he was leaving the show because he was so offended. I think we all know that wasn’t going to happen, especially considering the lure of a six figure paycheck hangs over his head.

Emily, who is revealed during the aftershow to have been raised in a cult and have no historical knowledge, claimed she didn’t know she was being racist. I think it was genuine. She clearly wasn’t trying to incite racism. And while it’s still clearly offensive, I don’t think she truly knew any better. In the end, everyone kind of just told her it wasn’t OK and moved on because she sincerely apologized.
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Courtesy MTV
Anyway, because this is a game show, actual competition happened.

The couples had to compete in a relay that involved them dressing up as a bride and groom and engage in tasks such as digging up a garter belt and the groom carrying the bride across the beach.

CT and Diem won and exchanged a kiss at the end. Damnit, why won’t they just get back together. They’re so good for one another, and they’re so cute.

Emily and Ty performed the worst in the challenge, so they were immediately tossed into The Dome. The cliffhanger of the show involved CT and Diem not announcing who they would put in with them. I would like to see Johnny Bananas and Camilla tossed in. They’ve won a bulk of the challenges and Ty and Emily have proved to be a force to be reckoned with in The Dome. If CT and Diem are smart, they’ll toss in Johnny and Camilla and knock out a strong team either way.
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By Amy Friedenberger
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Courtesy: Logo
The Snatch Game episode was tough to get past, but this episode did the trick.

For the mini-challenge they had to compete in a classic wet T-shirt contest. I especially appreciated how the fake ta-tas had to be blurred out when they got wet, but they weren't blurred out when they were lying on the table.

At Drag-tona Beach, Willam clearly won with her rolling-around-the-floor performance that included squirting sun screen. Congrats, girl. I love to hate Willam. I want to slap her in the face, but I can also recognize when she kills the competition. I don't think she has any emotions, and if I hear one more time about her roles in televisions shows, I'm going to vomit glitter.

Sharon Needles mocked sexiness by spitting water out in the crowd of roaring men, and Phi Phi lost her wig. And breasts. And it was the absolutely painful to watch.

For the main challenge, the ladies had to decorate a boat for a Pride Parade under the theme "Hope Floats." Each girl was assigned a color from the rainbow. They also had to pair the boat with a fashion forward outfit.

The workroom was pretty calm, compared to the past scream fests. It was just a room piled with glitter, paper, streamers, glitter.

Milan's boat is already sinking with her "flashback to the future" theme. Jiggly Caliente can't seem to get it together because she hates the color orange. Willam is plastering her boat in stickers that bear her face.

This also makes me curious as to what the challengers are allowed to bring to this show, considering Willam apparently brought a box of stickers covered in her face. If that's the case, I'm going to bring a bulky man in tidy whities, a pony dyed in rainbow colors, a sparklers.

Judgement:

NCIS's Pauley Perrette and Kelly Osbourne are the guest judges.

Chad Michaels looks stunning as usual in a pink boat and pink showgirl outfit with a puff on her tush. Judges still think she is playing it safe. She's too perfect. But that's her thing. "I'm a professional," she says.

Sharon Needles is looking sleek in a green boat that looks like it emerged from the jungle. Her arm is used as a snake that she makes strangle herself. Love her. Judges thought it looked like too much foliage.

Latrice Royale is something fab-u-lous! She's like a turquoise Ursula with silver gems on her lips and her hair sculpted into a glittery headdress. I personally think she should won.

Once again, Willam dominates. She comes out in her ego-maniacal boat and drops anchor. She hops out of her boat and strips her jacket to reveal a freaking stunning body in a tiny bathing suit. I hate Willam for having a better body than most women.

Phi Phi O'Hara has found her niche -- sitting in cardboard props. Here's to you Phi Phi, but your talent still lies in you smack-talking all the girls, even though you can't perform well.

Willam's boat was covered in stickers with her face, yet Milan was the one who got called out for having a narcissistic boat because hers was called the "Milan Invasion." In the end, Dida Ritz, Milan, and Jiggly take the bottom spots, and Milan and Jiggly lip sync for their life.

Milan's performance to "Born This Way" was almost as painful as watching Phi Phi's wet T-shirt performance. She did splits after Jiggly. She ripped her wig off. She ripped her top off. Then I realized -- uh, you're a he. And the girls behind it said it: "You really were born this way." If you're being a drag queen, you don't show that you're a man. Defeats the purpose, Milan. Jiggly was awful, it was just a matter of Milan being worse.

At least I no longer have to hear "London, Paris, Milan" come from Ru's mouth any longer. 
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by Randi Alu

Picture
via Panels from The Walking Dead Graphic Novel
After a small hiatus due to stomach illness, I'm back with a vengeance.  First I'll address the degradation of my beloved Walking Dead Series, in addition to Miss Amy's great recap.

[WARNING: GRAPHIC NOVEL SPOILERS AHEAD]
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By Amy Friedenberger

If you haven't seen the trailer for the season two of "Game of Thrones," you need to get on that right now. It's set to the lovely backdrop of Florence + The Machine.

I can't remember the last time I've ever been so pumped for a television show. We'll see how "Breaking Bad" gets me excited for the final season. ("Breaking Bad" has been quiet on the premiere date, unfortunately)
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By Amy Friedenberger
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Courtesy AMC
Tonight's episode marked one episode past the halfway point of the second half of the season. Got that? Only two episodes left to conclude the season.

The main goals that I had for this latter half of the season included a pick-up on the pace of the show.

And after this season: I beg the writers to produce some characters that I wouldn't relish to see zombies shred their rotting, cracked teeth into several times.

I'm just going to weigh in on several things that have to do with the season so far because I've neglected to post on the show.

I know that Rick is supposed to be the hero of the show. It's always good to have a character that tries to uphold some sort of morals of humanity. But I don't think it's clicked enough yet for him (and his wife, which I'll get to) that humanity is gone. He wants to put lives at risk in order to save a man who tried to kill them. And then he proceeded to get in a fight with a rambunctious Shane over their ideologies, making a racket, then almost getting themselves killed again.

Now I know the show needs drama and those near-death experiences, but I can't stand people just being foolish. I would rather zombies come out of nowhere than have the characters continue to fire off their guns even though they know that attracts zombies.

Dale wants to keep guns locked up because it's dangerous to have people wielding guns around. You know what's even more dangerous? Walking around unarmed when there are zombies taking over the world that can eat your face off and rip open your body. But I did find it terribly unfortunate to witness Dale's death. He's been a quiet moral force to the gang, so it'll be interesting to see how the group copes with his death. It'll also be interesting to see the way Carl copes with knowing that he's the one that attracted the zombie to the farm that ended with Dale's death.

Ah, well. Old man Hershel can fill the role of the token old guy. And while he makes some pretty irrational decisions, the group is pretty accident prone, and he's better at outlining a logical way of proceeding with action.

Andrea was never really my favorite character because she was always so cold from the start, but I appreciate her challenging the gender roles that the male characters have felt the need to establish. I loved when she called out Lori in an episode for saying she needed to be helping with the laundry and cooking as opposed to watching guard for zombies. Lori's really taken on this role of a President's First Lady position, and every time Rick makes a decision and he asks her opinion she says, "Whatever you think is best, baby." She needs to stop trying to create this little happy world in the small radius of the farmhouse and actually take a moment to think about the world she is living in -- and the world she plans to bring a baby into!

Carl has suddenly turned into this emotionless boy who hasn't really come to terms of the situation in a logical way, but as someone just making cold statements. There's no reason to yell at a mourning mother who just watched her zombie-fied daughter walk out of a barn that get shot in the face. And he's also foolish. Zombies aren't dogs where you wave around a fuzzy scarf and watch it try and grab it. And while I don't know if I could have beared watching him shoot a zombie, he should have just walked away.

I know I should hate Shane. He sacrificed Otis so that he could escape from a hoard of zombies. He's obsessed with Lori and who he presumes to be his unborn child. He's incorrigible and unpredictable. But you know what else he is? Pragmatic. He's the realist to Rick's idealist. He knows that a barn full of zombies should be slaughtered. He thinks people should be armed. But I actually kind of like his character. The show needs a hothead that is the complete opposite of Rick, or else the group would be living in his annoying bubble where they are "sleeping on it" before making decisions.

But my favorite character is Daryl. He's really badass and tough, but I think he's got a really endearing soft spot. You could tell that he cared about Sophia and Carol's feelings about her daughter's death. I think he makes a nice balance between pragmatism as well as an acknowledgement of morals without letting them distort the decisions that must be made in order for survival.

Viewers can see the gap between the people at the farm and the main cast starting to widen, so I think we can expect to see the cast moving on pretty soon. This will be good to start launching the movement of the plot on a little better. Because while I was glad to see the pace of this second part of the season pick up a little better, I would hate to see season three with the tagline: "Meanwhile, back at the farm..."
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