Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Some Fun Marvel Movie Goodness: X-Men Days Of Future And Past PLUS Avengers News!


PETER DINKLAGE AS BOLIVER TRASK?!  Well that's what Bryan Singer's twitpics seem to be hinting at.  Not only did we get this photo of Dinklage looking dashing and mustachioed, but twitpics of a Trask Industry clothed person standing over a craft services table!

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Now, this isn't 100% officially the character he will be portraying, but I think it's pretty obvious and really exciting.  I am happy to see Dinklage do anything, but to see him in my favorite Marvel franchise... well I near shat myself at work.  I got so excited in fact that I immediately posted this article to my facebook: Yahoo X-Men Article (fun fact in the article, Trask's face is based on Walt Disney).  One of the first response I got was "Which X-men.  I don't remember any midget X-men."  I don't think any comment ever made on my Facebook page has ever made me so angry.  Two reasons why:

1.  Peter Dinklage's acting ability is far more superior than his size.  He has proved himself in every role he has played from his triumph in The Station Agent to his glorious portrayal of Tyrion Lannister.  Even though, yes Tyrion is a dwarf and he was called an "angry elf" in Elf, most of the time Dinklage's dwarfism isn't the definition of the role.  The fact that he is a little person should not be a factor in his casting, nor honestly in anybody's.  Dinklage is breaking barriers with his talent, giving every kid with a dream hope whether they are short, tall, gay, strait, black, white, talent is the deciding factor and Dinklage is the mouthpiece for that.

2.  The not-to-be-named Facebook poster obviously did not read the article.  I think that Dinklage's dwarfism will add a new twist to the Trask plot line.  For those who don't know here is a quick breakdown. Trask sees the rise of mutants as a threat to humanity, despite the fact that both of his children were born mutants (his son a pre-cog whose powers which are suppressed through his father's technology and his daughter a time traveler who disappears).  Trask develops the Sentinals and sort of hides behind them to fight the mutants.  The Sentinals become an epic villainous force in the X-Men universe.  Dinklage's height can play as a factor in his building of the Sentinals as he is not only powerless against the mutants as a human, but as a little person as well.

But, Dinklage isn't the only exciting casting news!  Quicksilver, son of Magneto, will be introduced to the series as well... and who will be playing the supersonic mutant?

TATE... I MEAN EVAN PETERS!!!!!!!!  Well shit, this is going to be the best movie ever.  

But see, there is a bit of the snag in the whole casting of Quicksilver.  The Avengers 2 will also be introducing the character along with his sister Scarlet Witch (rumored to be played by the brilliant Saoirse Ronan).  So?  Evan Peters gets to be in two huge blockbusters.  Not exactly.  Here's the problem, The Avengers and X-Men have two different parent companies, even though they were both created by Marvel.  When asked, Joss Whedon said that he had not cast Quicksilver, so it's doubtful Peters will be pulling double duty.... besides, I would like to see him in the next season of American Horror Story.

So, basically X-Men: Days of Future and Past is going to be the greatest movie ever, even if it doesn't gross what Avengers 2 probably will.  With Dinklage and Peters added to 2 veteran casts combined (the original movie series plus the cast of the pre-boot First Class) we are in for a TREAT!  But people, listen, put good vibes into the Whedonverse and maybe we'll build up enough Whedon based karma to get Peters into both movies.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

RUGRATS BRAINWASHED ME!


So, without my nerd Thursday I turned to tumblr. to try and stave off my newly found Thursday night boredom.  As I liked gifs of Sherlock and Doctor Who or chuckled at funny little gifs I didn't think I would stumble upon anything that interesting.  Most of the stuff on tumblr. is reblogged to imgur and I had already exhasted today's images on there.  And then I had my mind blown.


 Of course, The Nerdist figured this all out before I did and here is the link to their site with the full tumblr. thread http://www.nerdist.com/2011/01/rugrats-dalek-easter-egg/.  As you can read on the link, the creators of Rugrats were huge Who fans and based Tommy Pickles off the Doctor!  THINK ABOUT IT!  Tommy is always going on adventures through time and space via his imagination instead of the TARDIS.  He has a trusty screwdriver that gets him not only out of his playpen but other sticky situations.  Not to mention his loyal band of misfits, that despite the risk, always follow the brave Tommy Pickles to adventure.  Can we even go as far to call Angelica his Master?  Well okay may that's going too far.. but still MIND BLOWN!


So, it would seem I have been brainwashed into becoming obsessed with Doctor Who and I have Rugrats to thank!  It makes me wonder what other subliminal messages I missed that affect my life today.  I have a great affinity for 90s cartoons, I've even blogged about it http://thedefinitionofnerd.blogspot.com/2013/02/it-snowed-im-bored-lets-get-down-with.html.  If anybody else has any fun facts about 90s cartoons or fun Doctor Who references (like Daleks in the terrible Looney Tunes: Back in Action) please comment!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Psych-Lock



So I've been doing a lot of blogging lately about Sherlock Holmes.  First, I posted about all the incarnations of the character (House, Sherlock, Elementary, ext) and I followed Elementary like a good little member of the new fandom.  But, with Elementary's season over, BBC's Sherlock still in production and a third Sherlock Holmes movie barely out of the gate I began to feel a void in my life.  Then it hit me as I set my DVR to record tonight's episode of Psych... Psych basically is The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes!  Don't believe me?  Read out doubter, read on!



Shawn Spencer/Sherlock Holmes:  Shawn Spencer is the Psych's crime solving genius.  Like Sherlock, he sees everything and can deduce things at a moments notice.  Now Shawn is not an addict or a completely antisocial, conceited, sociopath, but he has his own way of pushing people away.  First of all, Shawn is overconfident, feigning psychic powers in order to be a detective on his own terms.  Like Sherlock being the police's Consulting Detective, Shawn is the SBPD's psychic detective.  Shawn is immature, rude, sloppy, takes nothing seriously and does his best to get on people's nerves, but no matter what, at the end of the day, he always solves the case.  Sound familiar?


Burton Guster/Doctor Watson:  No, Gus isn't a doctor, but he does work for pharmaceutical company.  Like Watson, Gus is the only character that connects with and can kind of sort of control Shawn.  Gus, like Watson with Sherlock, gets easily annoyed with Shawn, but for some reason sticks by him not matter how bad it gets.  Shawn often degrades Gus, puts him in horrifying situations and still Gus is always there for him.  Also like Watson, Gus often uses his knowledge of medicine to help Shawn with cases he works on.  In some ways, Gus's mind is more like Sherlock's as he has incredible knowledge of seemingly everything but, he doesn't have the same ability to make the deductions Shawn can.


Juliet O'Hara/Irene Adler:  Juliet is not only Shawn's love interest, but the only one on the police force who can really go toe to toe with Shawn.  SPOILER IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCH THIS SEASON  Juliet is the only person who figures out Shawn's big psychic secret.  Like Irene, Juliet is smart, cunning, bold, and making a name for herself in what is considered a man's world.  


Henry Spencer/Mycroft Holmes:  Henry is Shawn's dad who taught him everything he knows.  Like Mycroft, Henry is even headed, cool and stern.  Also like Mycroft, Henry is not only just as smart as Shawn,  but one of the few people who can talk to him reasonably.  Henry was once a high ranking police officer, but is no retired and often just wants to stay out of the messes Shawn makes, but almost invariably gets pulled in.


Carlton Lassiter/A Combination of Inspectors:  So in the Sherlock Holmes books there are several Inspectors, all of which have a different relationship with the consulting detective.  Like in BBC's Sherlock's Sargent Sally Donovan, or even the books Inspector Bradstreet, Lassiter acknowledges that Shawn is good at what he does, but has no tolerance for his tom foolery.  Lassiter in his own right is a smart and capable detective, but Shawn constantly one-ups and insults him.  The Lassiter Shawn relationship is a love/hate thing for sure.


Chief Karen Vick/Inspector Lestrade:  Like Lestrade, Vick has little to no patience for Shawn.  She knows that he is the best and will most likely be the only one who can solve the most complicated cases, but God does Shawn drive her crazy.


Mr. Yang/Moriarty:  Mr. Yang is a serial killer who nearly destroyed Shawn's world twice.  Yang is an genius, his/her mind the only one to ever challenge Shawn.  Like Moriarty, Yang becomes obsessed with Shawn and challenges him personally.  The only times Shawn has nearly fail have been at Mr. Yang's hands. Yang and Shawn nearly destroy each other, but like Sherlock, Shawn eventually does prevail, but not without some major losses.

So there you have it.  I'm positive I haven't stumbled onto anything new, but I'm really missing having Sherlock Holmes in my life.  Hope you enjoyed!



Tuesday, May 21, 2013

BATES MOTEL SEASON FINALE RECAP! AH!!!!


After an intense first season we have finally come to the end.  I am kind of relieved the finale is here because this show kills me week after week.  Thankfully, the finale really delivered, setting us up for season 2 with a bang... well not really a bang, but... it's good.  I see a lot of awards in this shows future, especially with Farmagia's powerful performance.

We open with Norma storming the police station like she is storming the Bastille.  She screams through plexiglass that it is a "matter of life and death."  The secretary is flippant, but Sheriff Romero calls her into his office.  Norma tells him all about Abernathy's threat and is met Romero's general coldness.  All he tells her is that he will take care of it, not telling her anything more.  He promises no harm will come to Norma or her sons.  She needles him about a plan, but tensions raise as she is met with silence and Norma walks out.  The Sheriff looks very conflicted after her.


We find Emma staring at the Winter Formal poster looking rather glum.  Norman walks up next to her and comments about how pathetic she looks, trying to be cute, but coming off with the Norman weirdness.  She tells him nobody has asked her to go, and tries to play it off like shes fine, but Norman sees past her flippancy.  He tells her that he would go with her, to which she responds that he will only be going with her because he feels sorry for his friend.  He agrees, that's exactly why he is doing it.  Emma smiles and replies, "Okay jerkoff, I'll go with you.

Norma makes breakfast for Dylan and it seems like a sweet moment until she begs him for a gun.  Dylan immediately says no, even after Norma explains the entire Abernathy situation.  She tells Dylan that even though the Sheriff promised they would be safe, she doesn't trust him, saying she thinks he is as bad as everybody else in town.  Duh.  Dylan only replies, "You and a gun is a bad idea."

The Sheriff pulls his car up to what looks like an abandoned garage.  Next to a dusty old car sits a chest... and what's in said chest?  150k in a duffle bag.  DAMN IT SHERIFF!  You are the worst law enforcement of all time.

In town, Norma has some dry cleaning to do.  On her way into the store, she bumps into a man who gives her major attitude and Norma finally blows screaming "SCREW OFF SHIT HEAD!"  Norma realizes she may be losing it and shows up at Norma's psychiatrist's office.  He is surprised to see her without Norman, but quickly realizes that she is here for her own needs and lets her in.  Norma asks the doctor how she can better handle stress.  he asks what kind of stress to which Norma replies "Normal life stuff."  Oh yeah, that normal stuff like rape, murder, Asian sex trafficking, patricide.   The doctor quickly turns the whole session around on her, asking he about Norma growing up and how he feels about how he will be leaving her soon.  Norma deflects until he asks her if this is what she thought parenting would be like when she was a little girl.  At first she says she doesn't remember getting a far away look in her eye and almost speaking in a baby voice.  She opens up a bit, speaking highly of her dad and saying almost nothing about her mom, and it all seems too perfect.  When the doctor asks if she has siblings, she says no but quickly her mood changes.  She gets jumpy and makes weird faces.  She quickly excuses herself saying her stomach is upset and she has to go home.


Norma find Miss Watson, aka Miss Sexy, on the phone screaming at somebody, telling them never to call again.  She is in tears as she stares into the rain and Norman makes his presence known by asking if she is okay.  She asks how much he heard and he lies saying "Nothing."  He tells her that he definitely does not want to publish his story.  She tells him that's fine, but asks him again to forget what he saw.  She touches his face and tells home that they have a secret now, before giving him a very un-teacherly hug.

The Sheiff pulls into the driveway of a broken down house.  A women with a busted face is getting out of her car and we realize that she is Keith's sister.  She remarks to Romero about how she hasn't seen him since Keith's funeral and how it was odd to just bury a hand.  Romeo tells her that he is here on business, asking her what happened to her face.  When she doesn't answer he tells her that he knows that she was doing the book-keeping for the sex business.  Romeo asks if it was Abernathy who hit her, but she says she knows him by another name.  Abernathy had threatened her about the money, but realized she didn't have it and left her alone.  After her confession she asks Romero what he is going to do and he tells her nothing as long as she keeps her mouth shut.

Emma walks into the motel for work as Norma is on the phone, making sure the house is still being patrolled.  When Norma hangs up, Emma tells her that she and Norman are going to the winter dance tonight.  Norma is surprised, but when Emma shows her the dress she brought, they have another mother/daughter bonding moment.  Norma holds the dress up so Emma could see how it would looks with heels, and Emma sees the scar on Norma's leg.  Norma panics, immediately saying that they scar is nothing, she just spilled hot chocolate on herself when she was a kid and that it's no big deal.  Norma leaves in a rush, but Emma looks after he knowing that Norma hasn't told the truth.


As Norma walks back to the house, Dylan pulls up and actually gives Norma the gun she was asking for.  Norma looks relieved, but Dylan tells her not to make him regret this decision.  Dylan takes her out back and  teaches Norma how to shoot.  He gets super pissed when Norma prematurely fires the gun, but like Norma, she deflects asking him what kind of job he has that he needs a gun.  Dylan confesses that he watches the weed fields.  Norma judges him, but Dylan is not having it, giving it to her about how he is a grown man who can make his own choices.  Norma ignores the outburst, aims and shoots hitting her target.  She is overjoyed, and then we all realize that Dylan called her mom.  Norma breaks down in tears of happiness and fear, confessing how scared she is.  Dylan tells her to trust in Romero.

Later on we find Norma playing maid again.  She is startles by Keith Summer's sister, telling Norma that if she has the money she better give it to Abernathy because he will kill her.  Summer's sister says no more as she goes to her car and drives off leaving Norma panicking on the porch.


Norman is doing homework on his computer when the doorbell rings.  He is startled to find Bradley there asking for Dylan.  Dylan comes down the stairs with a box of Bradley's father's things.  The three of them stand awkwardly in the foyer until Norman excuses himself to finish his homework.  Bradley thanks Dylan again for his help, even if they almost got shot doing it.  She promises that she won't bug him anymore, but Dylan assures Bradley she can bug him any time.  Norman stands in the doorway listening to the entire conversation with tears in his eyes.


We find Norma in her bedroom playing with her new gun.  For a minute it looks like she is going to commit suicide  but she pops open the chamber and it looks to be empty.  In the room next door, Norman freaks the fuck out that he can't find black socks.  He storms into Norma's room and she quickly  hides the gun.  They scream at each other about the missing socks and Dylan comes in saying Norman can wear a pair of his.  As Norman pulls on his socks he gives Dylan major attitude about Bradley.  They have a very brotherly fight over her and Norman tells Dylan to just date her.  Norman is clearly at the boiling point and I am already starting to get scared.

Norman and Norma wait for Emma.  As the time ticks by to midnight, Norma begins to feel her life slipping away.  She only has a few house to meet Abernathy who very well may kill her.  Norma turns to Norman and tells him that she wants to confess something to him that she has never shared with anybody before.  Norma begins to weave the horrifying tale of her childhood.  Norma's brother forced her to have sex with him starting wen she was around 13.  Her father was violent and abusive, and her mother is an empty shell of a women.  Norma got the scar on her leg because one day, while her brother raped her, her father came home early and in her rush to not get caught a hot iron fell on her leg.  Norman is horrified as he tells her he is so sorry.  This was Norma's suicide note.  Emma's knock interrupts an intense mother/son embrace as they put on their happy faces.  Norma watches Emma and Norman go to the car, and her face tells us that she thinks this is the last time she will see them... but at least she looks happy.  That is, until Abernathy calls to remind her of their appointment.

 The Winter Formal is a bit too perfect for this small town, but whatever, I can look past it.  Emma is beaming, but it is obvious from moment one that Norman has eyes only for Bradley.  This is going to be awkward.

Back at home Norma fills her gun with bullets.  For some reason, she is packing a bad full of clothes, stuffing a pillow inside as well.  WTF is she doing?  Is she going to bolt?  Or does she really think that will fool Abernathy?


Back at the dance, Emma and Norman slow dance, but Norman is too focused on Bradley to notice Emma's longing.  Emma finally has enough and storms out, leaving Norman without a ride.  Norman turns away to find Bradley's boyfriend in his face.  He asks him to step outside and silly old Norman follows.  Bradley's boy tells Norman to leave her alone and that he knows what happened between them.  Apparently Bradley told him that Norman took advantage of her grief to sleep with her.  Before Norman can defend himself, he receives a serious punch and is left on the floor in the rain.

Norman decided to just walk home in the rain, nose bleeding and all.  A car pulls alongside him and we find Miss Sexy staring at him.  She tells Norman to get in the car and is horrified when he sees his bleeding face.  Miss Watson offers to take Norman to her home to clean him up and then give him a ride back to the motel. He agrees.

Norma is at the dock with her lame duffle bag of "money".  A car pulls up, but it's not Abernathy's, its the Sheriff.  Norma hides behind some fishing gear and watches as Abernathy and Romero confront each other. Abernathy asks who the Sheriff is, wondering where the "cute but nutty lady" is.  Romero says he is in charge now.  Norma watches from her hiding spot as they have a bit of a man-off, and she is trying to decide whether to shoot or not.  Romero tell Abernathy he wants to go in on the biz with a 50/50 split, kicking the money back over to Abernathy.  Abernathy reaches for the bag and Romero SHOOTS THE SHIT OUT OF HIM!  After that, things went like this:
Romero: Not in my town you piece of shit.  You can go home now Norma.
Norma:  I almost shot you!
Romero:  When I say trust me, trust me.

Our next shot opens with a very tight close up on Miss Sexy's boobs.  Miss Watson's dress is quite inappropriate.  As she cleans Norman's wound, his eyes role to the back of his head and the audience can feel that we are losing him.  Watson tells Norman that she will drive him home after she changes and the proceeds to strip in front of a mirror.  Norman watches with adolescent nervousness as he teacher slowly strips.  Suddenly Norma appears, wearing her hair exactly like the mummified version of herself in Psycho.  She even effect the "Norma/Norman" voice from the movie as she admonishes Miss Watson for her strip show, ending with "YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!"  Fuck.  Fuck.  Fuckity Fuck.  The next thing we see is Norman running through the rain.

Norma nearly hits Norman as he runs home.  They hug and cry, Norma sees Normans face and he explains what happened.  But Norma doesn't freak because she is just so relieved!  She keeps telling Norman that everything is going to be okay, that everything is back to normal and they are safe.  It all seems like such a happy ending as the frame closes on the Bates Motel sign.

But it's not over yet.  Our worst suspicions are realizes as we find a pool of blood in Miss Watson's bed room.  She lies dead with her throat slit.  He killed her.  Norman killed her.  Well fuck

Can. Not. Wait. For. Season. Two.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Doctor Who Season Finale: Questions Answered, Questions Raised. Ugh. (spoilers)


In what has been a bit of a choppy season we are given a season finale that makes it all worth it!  My God!  Everything from the episode title to the last few seconds was fantastic.  Okay, so the tagline is kind of misleading.  Even though Moffat has publicly stated that he will soon be revealing the Doctor's name (which kind of feels like a shark jump considering we are only on Doctor 11 and know there are still more Doctors to come), it turns out he was just dangling a juicy tid-bit in front of whovians faces.  Apparently, his name is not the Doctor's biggest secret, but what we find is mind blowing, insanely puzzling and intensely exciting.  There is a secret that is answered however, why the impossible girl Clara Oswald is so impossible, and in true Who fashion I don't think anybody could have ever figured it out.  If you haven't seen the episode and don't want to know what happened read no further.  At the bottom of this post I have theories about the 50 year special so if you wana glaze over the recap be my guest!


Like every season of Doctor Who, season 7 had a repeating question, "Who is Clara Oswald?  Who is the impossible girl?"  Every whovian had a theory, but I don't think any of us could have guessed why this one girl kept popping up and popping out of the Doctor's life.  The episode starts with Clara falling through some sort of time rift, running after every version of the Doctor, screaming for him.  In a voice over monologue Clara says "I don't know where I am.  It's like I'm breaking into a million pieces and there is only one thing I remember.  I have to save the Doctor."  She finishes with "I'm Clara Oswald, the impossible girl, I was born to save the Doctor."  Well what the hell!  All I wanted to to was fast forward my DVR just to see who Clara is, but I patiently sat through the episode.  Here is a super quick recap of how we finally find out who Clara is.

Madam Vastra and her band of Victorian misfits find out that somebody has found out the Doctor's biggest secret.  Vastra calls a subconscious meeting with all of the people most important to the current Doctor, Madam Vastra, Strax, Jenny, Clara and.... RIVER SONG!  She's back and just a naughty as ever, changing a cup of tea into a flute of campaign.
Things go a bit off in this dream world as Vastra and Jenny are attacked by some crazy looking monsters in the waking world.  River wakes everybody up and makes Clara tell the Doctor whats going on, that his secret has been revealed.

Clara does as she is told and in some beautiful acting by Matt Smith, the Doctor realizes he must go to the one place a time traveler must never go... to their own grave.  We find out that the Doctor has been buried on Trenzalore, a name which has been thrown around in quite a few episodes, now we know why.  Of course the TARDIS doesn't like this time stream cross and blows up like always, but the Doctor and Clara make it on to this graveyard planet.  Here we find the Doctor's grave in the form of a dying TARDIS that has grown, now unable to keep up with the whole "bigger on the inside" thing.  Still mentally linked with Clara, River speaks to her without the Doctor being able to see or hear her.  For a second you think maybe the Doctor can because he turns and says "River" only to find her grave.  But of course, we know that this can't be River's grave, she died in the library a long before this. And that's when we realize the sad truth.  Clara is talking to the dead River, the River that was uploaded into the library.  Before your heart has a chance to break completely, the Doctor and Clara are attacked by those horrible creepy monsters and River tells Clara that her grave is a shortcut to the Doctor's tomb.


Meanwhile, the Vastra crew have all been brought to Trenzalore as well, where they discover the true nature of these monsters, they are all part of the Great Intelligence from the Christmas episode.  Remember all of those minds that were uploaded in "The Bells of Saint John"?  Well they fed the Great Intelligence with enough power for him to make copies of himself in the form of Doctor Simian.  The Doctor meets them all in front of the TARDIS tomb and Simian demands he open it using his name, his true name.  Of course every whovian heart is POUNDING thinking this is it!  This is the moment we find out!  Every one of the doctor's companions is being attacked by Simian's unfinished doppelgangers and you think, the doctor must use his name!  It's coming!  "PLEASE!"  The Doctor yells and the doors open... his name is please?  Oh no, Moffat you dirty genius you, RIVER in psychic form and knowing the name of the Doctor opened it without the audience ever hearing.  Whew!


Inside the tomb, we find not a body, but the scar tissue of the Doctor's journeys through time and space.  All that is left of him is an echo of his entire lifespan, of every moment he ever lived.  So what does the Great Intellegnce do?  Well he jumps on in!  He is ripped into a million pieces and spread across every moment in the Doctor's life!  HE UNDOES EVERY GOOD THING THE DOCTOR HAS EVER DONE!  We see what would happen if there was no Doctor in the universe.  Jenny disappears, Strax goes all Sauntaran, the stars start going out and the Doctor struggles in pain on the floor as his life gets re-written.  Well there is only one way he and the universe can be saved.  Clara throws herself into the Doctor's time stream, essentially killing herself.  River tries to explain that the copies won't be Clara, but Clara doesn't care, "Just like my mum said, the souffle isn't the souffle, the souffle is the recipe."  THAT is why there are so many versions of her.  She spread herself throughout space and time in order to constantly save the Doctor from the Great Intelligence, Clara is literally every Doctor's savior.  


But just when you think "YES!  We finally know who Clara is!"  River Song goes and spoils it all.  It turns out that the Doctor knew she was there the whole time, "You're always here to me, and I always listen and I can always see you."  The Doctor had been ignoring her because he knew talking to her would bring him pain.  They share a proper, beautiful kiss and a final absolutely beautiful goodbye.  But, before she says her final "Goodbye sweetie" that brought tears to my eyes, River gives us one last spoiler.  "I was mentally linked with Clara," she says, "if she's really dead, how can I still be here."  WELL WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!  Is she just referring to the fact that Clara isn't dead?  Is she saying she has some really important connection with Clara?  IS THIS THE FOREVER LAST EPISODE FOR RIVER!  UGH DAMN IT!

Anyway, the Doctor throws himself into his own time stream in order to try and save Clara.  They both end up in this sort of smokey dusty pit that looks like an old set from Charmed.  The Doctor is able to reach Clara, as she sees every version of the Doctor run past in the collapsing time stream.  Finally number 11 is able to come through and grab hold of her, but not before facing the secret... the Doctor's biggest secret.  A man stands at the edge of a pit.  The Doctor confesses that this man is him.  You think "Is it a future Doctor?" but no.  This man, is just a secret.  The Doctor tells Clara "My name my real name, that's not the point."  The name he chose, "The Doctor" is a promise he made, this man is who broke the promise, he is the Doctor's secret.  They have a brief conversation.

Man:  What I did, I did without choice, in the name of peace and sanity.
Doctor:  But not in the name of the Doctor.

The mysterious man turns around and we see legendary actor John Hurt with a caption.  "Introducing John Hurt as The Doctor."  WHAT?!?!?!  

SO MUCH INFORMATION!  Of course I've already started to wonder about the implications of this episode.  Is the John Hurt doctor the one who made the decision to end the Last Great Time War?  Is he a personification of the Doctor's real name?  Does he count as a regeneration?!  They have left us with such an enormous mystery!

Obviously Hurt is going to be in the 50 year anniversary episode.  Here is a clip of Smith and Tennant talking about the special.  They talk about an actor and a character who is "bemused" by them and now I assume they are talking about Hurt.


Also, this episode gives pretty good insite to how Smith's Doctor and Tennant's Doctor both show up in the 50 year special.  The Doctor has crossed into his own time stream... on the way out does he end up in Tennant's?  It makes sense, he was the last Doctor before this regeneration... does he get out of the time stream too soon?  That would be my guess but when it comes to Doctor Who I am always wrong.  I guess that's a good thing!  Welp, I'll see you whovians back in November for a 50 year anniversary blog post!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Elementary My Dear Thursday (SPOILERS)


OH CBS!  YOU MAKE THURSDAYS WORTH BEING THURSDAY!  While tonight's episode of The Big Bang Theory was wonderfully hilarious (Kunal Nayyar giving us some lovely acting), this Thursday belonged to the 2 hour season finally of Elementary.  If there was any doubt this show didn't hold up the the Sherlock Holmes mega-fandom these two hours have put those naysayers to bed.  Now, I am usually the kind of person who makes a keen effort to figure things out for myself, using extensive amounts of time on the internet combined with my connection to the film/tv world.  I generally find out what I want to know.  And for the life of me I could not figure out who would be playing the infamous Moriarty.... needless to say, tonight's big reveal caused me to only write "Holy Fuck" in my notes about the episode.  So, if you haven't watched tonight's episode WARNING READ NO FURTHER!  This is not a recap but I give everything away.  Please don't ruin this for yourself.


Now, Sherlock Holmes has been born and reborn again like a million times in the last few years.  We've had House and Wilson, we've had steampunk Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes and of course the ever sexy Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock... so when re-re-re inventing a plot one begins to kind of role their eyes at the idea.  When Elementary came around switching Watson's gender and the location from London to NYC, it didn't seem all that exciting.  But, both Jonny Lee Miller's and Lucy Liu's performances kept it all fresh and I couldn't stop watching until I was totally and completely in love with this new-new modern spin on the premise.  So, I was sad when the season finally began to approach, but with promos of Sherlock overdosing I was also kind of excited to see where it was all going.  Now last week we finally met the love of Sherlock's life, Irene Adler, played by Game of Thones actress Natalie Dormer.  But who would be playing Moriarty... who... WHO.... WHO!?


THAT'S RIGHT JONNY!  IRENE IS MORIARTY!  This photo was a clue!  It's no wonder they kept who was playing Moriarty such a tight secret there was no other actor!  This is by far the biggest twist that I never saw coming ever.  Let's dial it back a bit.  At the beginning of the episode we are given a tortured broken Irene Adler, mentally destroyed over a year of psychological torture.  How could this sweet young American artist be anything but the woman Sherlock loved and lost?  But, when she and Sherlock make plans to go on the lam, Sherlock notices she's had a mole surgically removed.  How could somebody who has been kidnapped so long have had a mole removed?  And that's when he realized she worked for Moriarty.  Well I wasn't so surprised that she would be working for Moriarty, she does in every incarnation of the character, but when she shoots Sherlock's would-be assassin to death and declares herself Moriarty well... a piece of my brain leaked out of my ear.  No seriously I don't know how I'm going to get the stains out.


Natalie Dormer really wowed me tonight.  I mean I love her as Margaery Tyrell (aka boobs) on GoT, but she really got to show range, damaged American vs. English psychopath.  Also, her American accent was flawless.  I had to IMDB her just to see whether or not she was in fact American.  We also of course got great moments from Miller and Liu.  My favorite scenes being Sherlock's terrifying anger over his realization that Irene was working for Moriarty (pre-the big reveal) and Liu having a tense meal with Moriarty where she showed no fear in the face of true danger.

It was a big risk to once again change the gender of one of the Sherlock characters, but this one really served a purpose.  In my mind since minute one, despite the gender difference, Watson and Sherlock have no love connection, just the love of great friendship.  But, it is a great tool to have Moriarty and Sherlock actually love each other.  In every Sherlock/Moriarty pairing there is always great respect and reverence  but to actually love each other.  That is a whole new depth that has never before been explored.  They could never truly kill each other because love binds them, but like all people in love, they will constantly hurt each other.  What was even more interesting about this double gender twist is that there is an almost jealousy that Moriarty has towards Watson.  Watson becomes the confusing variable.  What is her purpose if not for sex?  Moriarty's inability to figure that out becomes her downfall.

Now, the actual ending seemed like kind of a cop out.  I was hoping the OD would lead to a cliff hanger ending, but such was not the case.  I really hope, however, that Dormer's reign on this show is not over.  Currently Moriarty is just in jail and a woman of her power can probably easily get out.  Here's hoping for more sexy girl Moriarty next season!

So that's my diatribe on all that, and while I would normally live blog something like this episode, I did write down some of my favorite quotes.  I hope you enjoy:

Sherlock:  No!  This is your home!  (when Watson asks if she should leave now that Irene is back)

Sherlock:  I've never had a nemesis before!

Moriarty:  Would you prefer I just kill you?
Sherlock:  Yes.

Sherlock:  We both made the same mistake.  We fell in love.

Sherlock:  There's only one person in the world who could surprise you.  Turns out there are two.  (on Watson being the brains being the Moriarty take down)

Watson:  You named a bee after me?

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Bates Motel: Underwater (RECAP SPOILERS)


Oh man!  This show knows how to serve up suspense and horror.  I am really enjoying how they are giving us a great homage to Hitchcock, because there has been very little blood and gore and yet my heart pounds between commercial breaks.  Tonight's episode was mostly set up for the season finally, but it still delivered a lot of gasps and at least one HUGE "OH MY GOD!" moment.

The episode opens with Shelby's body being carried from Bates Motel yet again, this time with a bunch of stoner onlookers.  Inside we find Sheriff Romero staring at the stained mattress where last week we saw Shelby's body grinning up at Norma.  Norman tries to comfort his mother with some tea, but this time Norma is really shaken.  Romero asks if she has any idea who did this and she immediately accuses Abernathy, since not only was he creepy, but he was asking a lot of questions about Shelby and Summers.  Norma tells Romeo that Abernathy was convinced that she had something that Shelby was supposed to give to him, but she has no idea what.  When Romero pushes the subject, Norma goes... well Norma and demands to know why she is a crazy magnet.

The next day, Dylan and Norma take the mattress out of the house.  Dylan is pissed that Norma is making them set fire to the gross mattress, also complaining that Norma will "make a meal" out of this ordeal for the next year... but to be fair, it was fucking horrific.  Norma meets them outside and tells the boys she smells something.  For a minute you think "oh shit another body," but it's just the hippies smoking weed.  Norma goes bananas on one of the stoners names "Rauf" who gives her lip about the town being built on weed.  She screams at him basically telling him that this isn't the town, this is her property and on her property there will be no weed smoking.  Norma then takes Dylan aside asking "What kind of people are these people you brought here."  He alludes the question and Norma FREAKS out.  She screams about hating this place and moving.  Norman doesn't seem to keen on this idea.

Bradley lays fully clothed in a bathtub.  She looks forlorn when suddenly BOOM!  Norman pounces on her, drowning her, hands around her throat as she gasps for air.  Even after Norman wakes up from this dream, he continues to fantasize about drowning her.  That's weird Norman, get it together.

Emma comes early to help Norma organize the motel office.  Norma tells her to just trash everything other than the original deeds and any paperwork pertaining to the property.  Norma also tells Emma that she will not tolerate any pot smoking at the motel so she should "bust up" any of that nasty behavior.  As Norma walks out the door she runs into a flower delivery man.  Emma comes out as well, commenting on the gorgeous flowers and Norma looks over the moon... until she reads the note... "See you soon."  Chills!  Norma immediately calls the Sheriff's office, but once again he isn't there.  She leaves a message with his very flippant secretary about the flowers and demands that Romero get in touch with her.

In town, Dylan runs into Bradley.  She gets weirdly flirty with him and asks if he knew that her dad had an office at Gil's place, where Dylan is currently working.  Bradley wants to get inside her dad's old office to get some of his stuff.  She manipulates him and Dylan reluctantly agrees.  Dylan isn't the only one in town though, Norma is as well and she busts into the office of the Realtor that sold her the motel.  She demands to know why he didn't tell her about the bypass, but he swears he didn't know it was going to be approved.  Norma demands her money back, asking him to put the motel on the market ASAP with an immediate open house.

In school, Norman stares dreamily at a sign for the winter formal.  Miss Sexy, I mean, Miss Watson, catches up to him, gushing about how wonderful the short story he wrote is.  In fact, she thinks it so good that it could be published.  And, if that wasn't great news, she also informs him that he's gotten strait As for the quarter.  Norman seems really happy about all the news and agrees to meet Miss Watson after school to edit the short story for publishing.

Norma gets back to the motel and plays maid to the hippie nastiness   As Norma returns to her cart she sees a black car slowly drive by.  She can't be sure it's Abernathy, but it doesn't matter, at this point he is in her head.  Back in the house, Norma does an internet search (on a search engine I've never seen before) for "safest cities in America."  Norman comes in and Norma demands that he lock and bolt the door.  Norma meets Norman at the top of the stairs, and Norman is carrying the newly taxidermied Juno.  Norma tries really really hard to be proud of his work, but you can tell she is freaked out.  Norman tells her the good news about his 4.0 average, saying that he really loves his school, but Norma points out that he is the one getting the good grades, not the school.


In his room, Norman uses this unknown search engine to look up "Drowning someone in a dream."  Dylan walks in and upon seeing the stuffed Juno immediately says "that's juts weird dude."  Norman shuts the door and asks if Norma has said anything more about moving.  Dylan says he hasn't, but then he sees Norman's internet search.  He asks about the dream, but Norman says it's just a dream, reading from the website that dreams like that means that he is overwhelmed in life.  Dylan pushes to know who he was drowning and after trying to avoid answering Norman admits that it Bradley.  Dylan looks horrified, but admits that what he assumed, Norman swears it was just a dream and that he has never wanted to hurt anybody in his life, "except you once and a while."

At Gil's pot farm, the potheads are processing a FUCKING TON OF WEED.  Dylan takes Gil aside and asks if Bradley's dad had an office there.  Gil misreads the question, thinking that Dylan is asking for an office, and since Gil is so furious with her dad he tells Dylan he can have to office, "Just throw all his shit out."

Emma goes to work at the motel and finds a young kind of cute stoner smoking weed.  She goes to confront him, but he quickly runs into his room.  Emma doesn't back down, knocks on his door and tells him he needs to stop.  He tries to sweet talk her, asking is she wants some, but she is a verbal Zorro and gets him to snuff out the joint.  As she walks away the cute hippie watches her.  Ah young stoner love.

Miss Sexy and Norman work very closely on his short story.  Norman's story is about a man who is on fire on the inside, how do you deal with daily life when you are burning up and can't put it out.  Miss Watson stares into Norman's eyes, as they sit way to close, and tell him what an old soul he is.  She gets misty eyed for a moment, and you think they may kiss, but quickly the get back to work.


The night, the stoners are outside singing GooGoo Dolls for some reason, but "Slide" is one of their best songs, so whatever.  The Sheriff pulls up and Norma watches, hoping he will bust the stoners.  Romero asks where they are working and when they answer "Gil's Drydock" he gives them a nod and goes to Norma's office.  The Sheriff really hates Norma.  He gives her attitude about the flowers, they could be from anybody, oh and Abernathy, he doesn't exist the info is fake, oh and, you cleaned the room he stayed in, oh and you didn't get his drivers license   Norma is stunned by the lashing she gets, asking what Romero is going to do.  Romero answers "Nothing.  Call if anything happens."  Then he walks out.  Norma finds her balls again and runs out the the Sheriff "LIKE WHAT!  IF HE DIGS UP ANY MORE DEAD PEOPLE AND PUTS THEM IN MY BED!"  Romero coolly responds "Yeah, like that."  Oh yeah, something is def up with Romero.  I don't know what yet, but he is involved, either with the sex slaves or the weed... maybe both.

At school, Norman and Dylan smile at each other.  At first Norman looks okay, but then defeat spreads across his face and we hear a whisper of that high pitched squeal that turns him psycho.  Later, Bradley meets Dylan at a dinner.  Dylan says he is just going to pack up her dad's things and give them to her, but Bradley gives a sob story about how he mother threw all her fathers stuff out and it feels like he is completely gone.  Dylan falls for the sob story and promises to get her in the office, even if he know it's a bad idea.  Bradley, what the fuck is up with you?

Emma is back working at the motel.  When she gets in, she finds a cupcake waiting for her from the stoner who she "busted".  The apology note attached gives us the name Gunner.  The phone rings and Emma picks up.  On the other end a guys looks for "Dave" but she tells him its a wrong number and hangs up.  Emma decides suddenly to eat the cupcake.  She eats that thing like she has never eaten a cupcake in her life, shoving it into her face.  Up at the house, Norma is looking at real estate, finding a cottage in Hawaii that she is really excited about.  Norman doesn't want to here  it, he doesn't want to move saying, "I won't do it and you can't make me."  Norman is sick of starting over, he knows it will be the same because Norma "does things that don't make sense," ultimately calling her "CRAZY!"  Before either of them could respond to Norman's outburst, Emma wanders in looking like Gandalf the Grey and suffering from a really bad paranoid high.  She kind of freaks out, but Norma figures out she is high and makes Norman get her some food.  Norman tries to apologize for calling her crazy, but she responds "just get the toast."

Dylan and Bradley sneak into Gil's warehouse and are immediately met with gunfire.  Luckily it's Remo and once Dylan identifies himself he stops shooting.  When Remo sees Bradley he is dumbfounded, constantly calling Dylan a dumbass for bringing her there.  Dylan swears that they will just be five minutes in the office and Remo lets them go.  In her dad's office, Bradley gets misty eyed.  Dylan goes to give her a minute but Bradley asks him to stay because she likes having him there.  Bradley has some serious problems with men.  She tells Dylan she is just looking for a gold pocket watch, but as they look for it, Bradely finds some love letters from "B".  She immediately thinks that he father was having an affair and runs out.  Dylan chases after her, but not before taking the letters.  Outside, she demand to know who B is and why her dad would do that.  Dylan responds by saying "People are complicated.  He was still your dad, he still loved you."  Who wouldn't love Bradley.  Apparently nobody.  They hug for a little too long before getting out.


Norman is in bed and Norma comes in asking if she can sleep in his room.  Norma says he'll sleep on the floor but Norma insists that they will both fit and Norman's bed.  When he agrees, she gives him the creepiest, happiest smile.  They are snuggled up together talking about sleepovers they had back when Norman was a kid, and they get weirdly intimate.  Norman rubs her arm and she kisses his neck as the chat.  They both apologize to each other, Norma about the move and Norman about calling her crazy.  its... its just wrong.

Norman goes to see Miss Sexy (that's her name now) the next day.  Norman says he doesn't want to send in his short story because he doesn't think his mom would like it... because she wont get it.  Miss Sexy asks how the therapy is going and he admits he only went once.  Miss Watson (just in case you forgot her real name) tells Norman that he doesn't need to tell his mother, but he says it doesn't seem right.  Miss Watson tells him "I know what its like for you," and you get the impression that she was once in an abusive relationship.  She seems to be connecting with Norman on a level a teacher never should.


Norma goes back to the Realtor's office to see how the plan's are going for the open house.  Unfortunately, there won't be an open house.  Because of the bypass, nobody wants to buy the motel, it's only worth half of what she paid for it.  "It's underwater," he tells her.  Norma threatens to sue, and he basically tells her to go ahead and try as he is basically bankrupt.  So what does Norma do?  She beats him with her purse.  Seems rational.

Norma gets in her car to find a ticket on her windshield and it seems like it's the last... OH MY GOD ABERNATHY IS IN THE BACK SEAT WITH A GUN!!!  Abernathy tells Norma that Shelby owed him 150k from the last batch of girls.  He is convinced she has it and wants her to bring her the money tomorrow night.  He asks her over and over if she can do that, and she agrees to bring the money.  WHAT MONEY NORMA!  YOU DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY!  Oh Lord... Abernathy tells her that if she falls through, he will kill he sons, and then her.

Thanks to pickupthepi3ces on tumblr.

Next week's season finally is sure to be epic.  Just think about the terrifying moments that have come at the end of nearly every episode, imagine how those moments will culminate into a season finally!  CAN NOT WAIT!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Dear Neil Gaiman, Please Write Every Episode Of Doctor Who


Ah!  Neil!  Don't blink!  God I love this man.  In what's been a kind of "bleh" second half of series 7, Gaiman    DELIVERS with the scariest version of the cybermen ever.  You know how zombies were always kind of scary, but at least you could always run from them... that is, until movies like 28 Days Later and Resident Evil when not only were they terrifying but they were FAST.  Now you couldn't just run from those brain eating fuckers, you have to fight them!  Well, until Gaiman came along, the cybermen were slow walking, robot voiced kind of outdated villains   But Gaimen lends his genius to the Whoniverse yet again and we get fast, constantly upgrading versions of a old favorite, and they truly become "Nightmares in Silver."



Now, I'm going to honest with you folks, and please to beat me off the internet because I rather like it here, but something about series 7 hasn't been as exciting as other series.  I can't quite put my finger on what's missing, but it feels like there is a lack of passion lately, there haven't been any mind blowing moments and I don't see what we are leading to.  Is it just that the creators have been focusing all their energy on the 50 year anniversary?  Is it true that Moffat and Gatiss are spreading themselves too thin between Sherlock and Who?  I don't know.  Maybe when I go back and re-watch the whole thing I'll feel differently, but right now I'm just not in it as much.  So, when I knew a Gaimen episode was coming I was beyond excited and rightfully so, because this episode, in my opinion has been the best since the 2nd half of this series began.


Gaimen is an amazing writer, "Graveyard Book" is one of my all time favorite books and "American Gods" just got a development deal with HBO which is sure to produce something epic.  So, when Gaimen wrote his first Doctor Who episode I was nearly bouncing off the walls to watch it, and my excitement was rewarded with "The Doctor's Wife," one of my favorite episodes ever.  Only a mind like Gaimen's would think of personifying the TARDIS and only Gaimen could give her the perfect voice.  Great characters are Gaimen's specialty, which is why I think he is so great at writing for Smith.  The two episodes Gaimen has written have given us some of Matt Smith's best acting.  He really gets Smith's Doctor and understands how far Smith can go as an actor.  In "Nightmare in Silver," the Doctor is put at war with himself, characterized by Smith's incredible ability to use his body in ways it doesn't seem he should be able to.
Now, it did get a little "Borg-ish"... a little like when Captain Picard was briefly assimilated, but WHO CARES!  We got to see inside the Doctor's mind!  And it was beautiful!  Red washes and Gallifreyan script in the background, images of Clara and his previous regenerations.  AND MATT SMITH SAID ALLON-SY!  I actually rewound and watched that part like 5 times.  I'm not ashamed.  We got to watch Smith go up against himself and it was awesome.  Full on nerdgasm.

Now, beyond giving us an awesome upgrade, if you will, of the cybermen, Gaimen gave Warwick Davis an opportunity to play something other than every Harry Potter character that isn't a wizard.  I have loved Davis since I was a kid and saw Willow for the first time.  Davis is a wonderful actor, but like many actors with dwarfism isn't always given the great parts they deserve.  Davis has played his share of trolls and leprechauns, but in "Nightmares of Silver" he is an EMPEROR!  It was wonderful!  He really is a gifted actor who isn't used as much as he should be.


Neil Gaiman needs to write more episodes of Doctor Who.  He really does such a fantastic job and I think Smith would be happy about it.  Oh!  And if he could get his lovely wife Amanda Palmer to write some music for the episode, well I think that would be just perfection!  Maybe she could even play an alien or some futuristic rockstar, she would fit in perfectly in the world of Doctor Who with her drawn on eyebrows and devil may car attitude.  That would probably be the best episode ever.


Friday, May 10, 2013

CBS Thursday My Favorite Night Of The Week (some spoilers)


Woot!  Not only was it my beloved CBS Nerd Thurs, but alternate side parking was suspended today!  Best Thursday ever!  Tonight we got the super exciting, question answering, season finally of Person of Interest, and with Big Bang Theory and Elementary nearly at their season finales the stakes get raised on both shows.  No seriously, some interesting shit went down on Big Bang.  I know I say it every week, but CBS has created a nearly perfect programming block.


OH YES!  I was so afraid that The Big Bang Theory was losing steam, but the upswing of this show is so promising.  Sometimes after a certain number of years, sitcoms lose sight of what they once were.  Characters change, plot lines get muddled, and sometimes they throw a baby into a mix.  My mom's theory on sitcoms is that once they throw in a baby, the show goes downhill, and she isn't totally wrong... the only truly successful baby I've seen is on How I Met Your Mother and you barely see that kid.

Anyway, I've gotten off topic.  In tonight's episode, "The Love Spell Potential," the girls and boys find themselves playing a Howard-run game of dungeons and dragons.  Between Simon Helberg's dead on/hilarious impressions of celebrities like Nick Cage and Al Pacino and Sheldon's unbridled joy with how Howard narrated the game I could not get enough of this episode.  But, when Penny suggests that Sheldon and Amy's characters in the game have sex, we are given the most uncomfortable sexless sex scene of all time.  It was genius.

Tonight's season finale of Person of Interest answered a lot of questions.  Now, I'm not going to do a recap of the whole show, but I will give you my favorite bits, starting with the fact that John became buddies with the machine... at least for a while.  We even got this cool moment where the machine helps/watches John shoot some bad guys and it looks kind of like one of those arcade shooting games I used to play when I was a kid.


Another bit of exciting news is that we FINALLY find out how Reese ended up with his injuries and everything comes full circle.  Augh, I really don't want to give too much away because this is an episode that needs to be watched, especially because I think that Amy Acker's performance as Root is brilliant   Watch the episode, you'll understand.  J.J. Abrams  why are you such a genius?  Can you imagine if he go together with Steven Moffat?  It would be... it would be beautiful.


OOOOOHHH!!! It's getting so good!  Why does it have to end so soon?!  I'm so happy that we have finally gotten to the Moriarty plot line!  BOY are they doing a good job on keeping the actor playing the infamous character under wraps.  It's all coming to a head and I can't wait to see where it goes, even if it does spell the end of the season.

On Tuesday I got to attend a Q&A with Jonny Lee Miller.  Watching him in person is so different then seeing him in anything he's done.  Miller is a very lose guy, constantly shifting his position and twitching his feet.  Nothing like the put together, ridged Holmes he has created... but can I just say, handsome. as. fuck.  I snagged a front row seat to see him in all his glory.  Miller answered questions about both his TV/Film career and his life in the theatre.  He spoke of Danny Boyle as a God among directors, describing his work with him and Benedict Cumberbatch on Frankenstein as the greatest thing he ever accomplished.


Miller also spoke extensively about his work on Elementary and how he nearly turned down the role!  Can you believe that!?  But he said once he read the script he couldn't turn it down, and rightfully so.  He also talked about how he and Cumberbatch have a great relationship and speak about playing the same role once again, but when the questioner asked for him to elaborate, Miller said that those conversations are private, but not before saying Cumberbatch is an amazing human being.  Miller was funny, sweet and just down right wonderful to listen too.  Not to mention he had just come from running a 50 mile "mega marathon" for charity, so basically he is awesome.

Now, at the Q&A the questioner talked about how Natalie Dormer (who I affectionately call "boobs" on Game of Thrones) would be playing Irene Adler.  Somebody in the audience yelled "IRENE IS DEAD!"  Miller looked momentarily thrown, then replied "Irene is dead," and spoke of flashbacks.  Tonight's episode however shows us how good Miller is at avoiding spoilers.  No matter how much the questioner probed about upcoming episodes Miller stayed tight lipped and thank GOD he did because if he spoiled tonight's twist I would have been sorely disappointed.  Not to mention that Miller's performance upon seeing his lost love was beautiful.  Oh, if only I was in charge of the Emmy's...

OK, done with my ranting... G'Night