Thursday Night TV OVERLOAD

WHY DOES THURSDAY NIGHT NEED SO MANY GREAT TV SHOWS!  It's no fair!  My DVR is about to explode!  Since I spent what seems like all night watching TV and hitting the fast fwd button through the commercials I just didn't have the energy to actually blog.  I was spent.  And while Big Bang celebrated another hilarious episode following the disappointing season premiere episode, and Elementary made me say "awwww" and "Oh my God I just love him!" more than once, this blog is really going to be taken over by VD.  Not the STD, The CW show and it's new spin off The Originals.  Skip to the bottom for Elementary.  SPOILERS!!

Vampire Diaries is an amazing show in mind for one single reason.  They always keep it fresh.  I have yet to become bored with a plot line or character.  The season premiere opened with a sort of "what I did this summer," montage.... and pretty much all Elena did was Stefan.  Not that I blame her, I'd do the same.  Meanwhile, Matt is traveling the world and having threesomes with Rebekah, Bonnie is also "travel" but really she is just dead and Jeremy is covering for her, Tyler is in helping a wolfpack in Tennessee and kind of avoiding his lady, Katherine struggles with being Human and Stefan is in a box underwater while Silas dopplegangs and Caroline gets ready for college.

Other than Bonnie being dead and Silas being out, things don't seem terrible as Elena heads off to college, though Elena is worried about Stefan.  But of course things go down hill quickly as Elena and Caroline get a surprises roommate who has vervain water.  Ooops.  Quickly the realize how hard college life will be for 2 young vampires... also, is it just me, or do you constantly forget that Caroline is a vampire.  FYI their roommate Megan used to be on Wizards of Waverly Place and Disney's Movie "Lemonademouth" in case you were wondering why she looked familiar.

Meanwhile, back home, Stefan is drowning and coming back to life over and over again, which is giving me a panic attack.  At the homestead, Katherine looks to Damon for protection because she is being followed, while Silas goes around reading people's mind and causing trouble.  Matt is back at his day job serving up beers and Rebekah asks him to keep their "no strings attached" relationship going.  

Things get majorly f-ed up.  First, Megan, the vervain drinking roomie is killed at a frat party, tossed out a window and devoured by a vamp.  At home, Stefan aka Silas reveals himself to Damon and demands he have the cured Kathrine.  Jeremy tries to smuggle Katherine away, but when Silas tells Damon that Stefan is suffering, he asks Jeremy to bring Katherine back.  What does Jeremy care, Catherine killed him and his death killed Bonnie.  But Catherine is a survivor and forces Jer to crash the car, and Jeremeny nearly dies... again as Catherine gets away. 

At the end of the episode Damon tells Elena pretty much nothing, Elena holds some secrets from Damon, Tyler pretty much breaks up with Caroline, Silas reveals he can control lots of minds, then kills Bonnie's dad (fyi why does that upset her so much, she's dead) and the girl Matt had a 3 some with shoves the magic deathproof ring on his finger and has some guy do some weird voodoo that turns his eyes black and kills him.  I fucking love this show.

Soooo I was slightly disappointed in the premiere episode of The Originals.  Don't get me wrong, this show is going to be epic.  I mean, it's full of sexy men with English accents, so you know I'm in (I am especially looking at you Elijah, yum).  Unfortunately this opening episode was pretty much the same a the Vampire Diaries episode that aired last year.  There was very little new information, in fact, they just cut together clips of last seasons New Orleans episode which felt like kind of a cheat.  The plot was only slightly moved forward, but pretty much nothing new until the very end.

Quick recap.   First off, the show started with a flashback that looked like it was ripped out of Interview with a Vampire of the originals landing in the big easy in the 1700s or something.  Basically, in the present day, the witches want the originals to run the oober sexy Marcel and his gang out of NO.  Marcel controls the witches and doesn't allow them to do pretty much anything.  So the witches kidnap Hayley who is preggo with Klaus' hybrid miracle baby.  At first Klaus is ready to let Hayley go down, but my sexy darling Elijah will not let this baby or his family be harmed.  By the end of the episode, Klaus sides with the witches not for the baby but to be king.

Here's where things get a bit hairy.  The witches don't want Marcel dead, the originals don't know why, but apparently Marcel has an ace in the hole.  An extremely powerful witch girl who is in his possession and obviously loyal to him and sense whenever they use magic.  Uh oh.  Is she powerful  enough to even kill Klaus?  Then, again, even if she was, Klaus wouldn't except help in defeating her.  Klaus unexpectedly daggers Elijah.  DAMNIT KLAUS!  YOU'RE BROTHER LOVES YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!  You hot mess son of a bitch!  Oh YOU KNOW I WILL KEEP WATCHING!!!

On a side not about Elementary, it was a great episode for Watson.  We finally learn the whole story about the patient she killed during a routine procedure.  Sherlock was amazing to her, choking me up when at the end of the episode he asked to go to the grave with her, to pay respects to the man who changed the course of her life.  Honestly, Miller is such a raw actor and when he explains to Watson how important visiting the grave is to him I nearly choked up.  WHY IS THIS SUCH AN AMAZING SHOW!?!?

Oh man, Thursday nights are going to be rough from here on in, an emotional roller coaster!  I am going to need a xanax.  

Ahhhh CBS Thursday, It's Like Coming Home Again (Spoilers)

Well, CBS has broken up my Nerd Thursday, moving Person of Interest to Tuesday, but que sera sera.  Big Bang AND Elementary are back!  The first half of this post is Big Bang, the second is Elementary.  Spoilers ahead for those who haven't watched, and if you haven't watched, I highly suggest doing so.

I'm so excited I'm smiling like Sheldon!

In an hour long back to back premiere event, The Big Bang Theory made a glorious return.  No matter how many changes they've made to the shows format that irk me, I just love these characters too much to care.  But I do miss the four boys hashing it out, being nerds actually talking about nerdy things.  Now it's kind of a show about 3 men's different relationships with women... and Raj.  I still miss Howard the Horndog.  I'm having a hard time adjusting to his married life, though Bernadette is adorable.

The first episode, "The Hofstadter Insufficiency", was just that, insufficient.  In an attempt to for a better relationship between every character, the writers pared Bernie and Amy.  To be honest, their plot line was just awkward and kind of unsatisfying, though I do love me my Amy Farrah-Fowler.  The second plot line revolved around Sheldon and Penny missing Lenard who was partying it up on the research ship.  What seemed like a plot that had the potential for extreme drama or comedy, came up a bit short.  Sheldon and Penny do have great chemistry, but I felt like I was waiting for something to happen that just never did.  The final plot involved Raj's new ability to speak to women.  Howard is his wingman at university party, where Raj ends up blowing it with the HR chair, and then having "a connection with her" all surmounting to... nothing.  The episode was a dud, but thankfully the following episode "The Deception Verification" was fantastic.

I wonder if CBS ran these episodes back to back, knowing the season opener was not going to wow audiences.  "The Deception Verification" not only had me laughing, but shielding my eyes and ducking my head in hilarious embarrassment, but we'll get to that.  The main plot involved Leonard getting home early and surprising Penny with a few private Sheldon-free days together.  Of course, Sheldon catches wise and cannot get over Leonard's horrible deception!  That plot was great and fine and whatever, but the real stars of the show were Raj and Howard.  After an enormous amount of estrogen gets into Howard's blood stream through applying hormone cream to his mother, he becomes a walking PMDD commercial.   Overemotional and convinced he's fat, Howard turns to Raj culminating in what me the most hilariously uncomfortable scene ever on TV.  Howard asks Raj if his boobs look bigger.  This results in a Boob-off that I cannot wait to see the bloopers for.  All and all this episode totally made up for the first, and in the end the characters remark that it's nice to all be together again, and really, that's how the show should be.

Sherlock may go 30 years between seasons but thankfully we have Elementary!  AND it's in London this go round! Well, at least this episode... Anyway, I am all in!  God, I just love this show with everything inside of me.  I didn't realize how much I had missed it until Jonny Lee Miller's first snarky line. 

In this episode we get to all of the Sherlock Holmes characters that really just don't fit in New York.  The episode gloriously opens with LESTRADE.  A ballsy, grenade bearing Lestrade.  Not the strait laced cop who leans on Holmes, no, no, this Lestrade is a crazy bad ass in his own right, not to mention Sean Pertwee son of none other than Doctor Who!  Of course Sean Pertwee is a brilliant actor in his own right, but hell, his Dad was a fab Doctor.  Meanwhile Sherlock is breaking cases in NY, with the hep of Lucy Liu's sexy beat down on a criminal Holmes has outed.  Oh yes, this was a fantastic opening sequence.

Seeing Holmes in London just feels right!  All around Shelock Holmes fans will be happy to see wonderful touches that just couldn't exist in NY like 221B Baker Street!  But what really excited me was "My GOD!"  "Mycroft."  AHHHHEEEEIIIIOOOOOO!!!!  That's something like the sound I made when Rhys Ifans walked on screen.  It's the kind of sound that can't be captured by onomatopoeia.  I've, in fact, already blogged about his casting:  HERE.  The connection between Ifans and Miller is instantaneous.  If Miller flared his nostrils any harder they would explode off his face!  AND I LOVED IT!   

Through the episode we not only got a glimpse into Sherlock's old life, but the usual brilliant performances from Miller and Liu.  Both actors have a season under their belts and have gone into season 2 with firmed grasps on their characters, probably after the explosive ending of season one.  Their relationship has gelled and fully formed making something absolutely beautiful, the perfect Holmes/Watson balance.  With a great opening episode following an insane last season I cannot wait to see where Elementary will take me!  You know what I can't get enough of?

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

CBS Nerd Thurs: The Big Bang Theory, Person Of Interest And Elementary Are The Perfect Combination (spoilers)

OH CBS THURSDAY!  How I adore thee!  Okay, Nerd Thurs is kind of lame, but you totally need a slogan for this programming block.  And also, you need to move Two and a Half Men to another night.  Okay, I don't like that show, but it obviously has a fan base and deserves to stay on the air as long as it can because what else will John Cryer do?  But it gives me a half hour of nothing to watch.  It breaks up the nerdy flow.  Anyway, tonight's Nerd Thurs (give me something better people) was wonderful.  We were given an old school episode of Big Bang (Penny/Sheldon/Leonard + Raj/Howard) with an incredible guest star, and episode of Person of Interest that had me so excited and confused I almost had a mini-stroke AND Elementary bringing us closer to Moriarty!  EEEP.

Big Bang delivered us some gold tonight, but then again if you stick Bob Newhart anywhere you have no choice but to laugh.  Newhart's dry humor had me laughing my ass off with nearly every line he delivered.  Newhart played the part of Sheldon and Leonard's childhood hero "Professor Proton," who I guess would be compared to Bill Nye the Science Guy.  Sheldon pays that elderly entertainer to put on a show for just him and everyone of Newhart's reactions to Sheldon was perfection.  We don't get enough of people outside of the group reacting to Sheldon's, well, Sheldon-ness.  But Penny put on a great show too, her mind blown by Professor Proton's experiments.  Newhart delivered some of the best one liners of the night to Leonard about Penny's... well let's put it gently and say "lack of scientific knowledge."

But, the show had more than a great guest star.  This week reverted back toward the show's initial format.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love Amy.  And I LOVE Shamy.  But I haven't been totally in love with the new girls vs boys format.  Some of the best moments in the show happen between Sheldon and Penny and they haven't been together much this season in lieu of the Shamy phenomenon.  It was good to see only Leonard, Sheldon and Leonard together... though I'm ready to see Amy again next week (I hope).

Now, I wish really, really hard that I could give you a real recap of Person of Interest, but trust me, just watch it.  I'm only 81% sure I actually understood what was going on.  I feel like I need to re-watch this entire season because characters that I wrote off as one episode nobodies have become pinnacle parts of the plot and now I am just lost.  Basically, the computer has a virus and has sent every organization ever mentioned on the show to try and get the phone that rings when the machine crashes.  Apparently, whoever gets that phone call will have access to all the info in the world, along with how to get to the machine.  Weirdly though, most of the episode was about how the machine has basically become Sky Net and is semi-conscious which is kind of horrifying.  Honestly, my favorite part of the episode was the brilliant direction.  Since the machine has a virus we get a broken opening sequence, cameras don't work and we see glitches throughout the entire episode.  Just watch it.  I don't even know.

Awwwww, Sherlock told Watson how much she means to him tonight.  But that's beside the point.  This episode was AWWWEEESSSSOOOMMMEEEE (sing that in a high pitched voice).  Tonight's episode brought back my dear, dear, Vinnie Jones as serial killer Moran.  Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Jones will be returning to the show after tonight, as he was threatened by Moriarty and attempted suicide.  I really hope he pulls through because I just adore Jones.  If you haven't seen him as Bullet Tooth Tony in Snatch, stop reading this and get on Netflix right now.  

Anyway, this episode has brought us one step closer into finding out just exactly who Moriarty is.  It turns out that Moriarty has a network of serial killers working for him, it wasn't just Moran as I had initially thought.  Sherlock and Watson slowly put the pieces together in this super convoluted network of murderers that ends in a phone call with the man himself.  I tried in vain to place the voice on the other end of the line, but I nearly popped a blood vessel in my eye trying to figure it out.  The producers are doing a really great job keeping Moriarty under wraps and I'm kind of glad they are.  I want to be surprised.  I want my head to blow up.  I'm sure if I scoured the internet hard enough I would find out the truth, but fuck it.  I don't want to know.  Needless to say I can't wait for next week for 2 reasons.  1) Moriarty and 2) I'm going to a Q&A with Jonny Lee Miller.  Best week ever.

I've gone into nerd overload.  Must.  Get.  Off.  Internet.

Jim Parsons: Just When I Thought I Couldn't Love You More....

So tonight I had kind of a unique experience.  As a member of the Screen Actors Guild I get a lot of opportunities to go to things like film screenings or Q&As... generally I can't make it to any, but when I saw that there was a Q&A with Jim Parsons tonight through the SAG Foundation, I moved mountains to clear my schedule... only to get wait-listed.  And then this morning the glorious e-mail came.  Somebody cancelled and I got a spot.  So tonight I got to experience Parsons in two totally different ways, first as himself and then as Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory and realized how wonderful he really is.

Now, this isn't the first time I've seen Parsons speak.  At the end of the second season of Big Bang, they screened and episode with a Q&A after.  I remember showing up super early wearing my "Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock" shirt, thinking it would be packed.  In actuality the screening was in a small room and maybe only like 12 people showed.  After, I ran into Parsons in the lobby, expressing my love for his character, to which he kindly and humbly thanked me as he walked down Madison Ave.

Tonight, we were in a fully packed theatre.  I got a second row seat, and since I didn't have my "Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock" shirt, I settled on Doctor Who and eagerly awaited.  When Parsons first walked in, I  first thought, "THERE'S SHELDON!" but as he sat and spoke so casually, I couldn't even marry the character and the actor together.  Parsons didn't even look like Sheldon in his snappy clean cut outfit and stylish thick framed glasses.  How could they possibly be one in the same?!  Parsons is relaxed personable and HILARIOUS!  I spent 90% of the hour and a half laughing as he admitted he's never watched an episode of "Star Trek" in his life, to which literally the entire audience gasped.  He responded "Oh!  Come on!  I don't have to!  I'm an actor!"  Then, when the conversation moved toward Parsons theatre career (which is extensive, he is a genius) the moderator spoke of "The Normal Heart."  Parsons gushed about how much he loved the production, but also how devastating the show was and he was brought to tears.  There he was, crying in a raw moment and he was so human... nothing at all like the character he plays on TV.  By the time I left, I couldn't even think of what Parsons was like as Sheldon.  (The video of this Q&A will be on The SAG Foundation's Youtube channel in a few weeks).

Good thing Big Bang was on tonight.  I practically ran to my DVR, and tonight's episode gave us full frontal crazy Sheldon Cooper.  The awkward, rude, smart, anal-retentive Sheldon Cooper.  Throughout the episode, Amy tries to break Sheldon of his compulsion to have finality to everything.  Sheldon nearly has a nervous breakdown as Amy stops him sort of finishing a multitude of tasks, much to Sheldon's complete and total chagrin.  It was some serious Sheldon Cooper gold.  And that's when it really hit me.  So many people in the world just see Sheldon Cooper... but the actor behind that mask is a genius. Not just at this one character, but in every part he plays from stage to screen, but 99% of the world will just see Sheldon Cooper.  I made a promise to myself tonight to see Jim Parsons first, and Sheldon as his incredible creation.

On a side note, the secondary part of Big Bang tonight was Penny wishing she was as passionate about things as the "nerds" are.  Penny finally realized what it is to be a nerd.  It has nothing to do with the type of things you watch or what your career is, it is the all consuming passion that I can never understand how other people don't share.  We nerds may be a lot of things, but we are intensely passionate people.  When we love something, we love it to its core.  But seriously Penny.  How could you not like Buffy The Vampire Slayer.  Shame on you girl.  I kind of wish they tried watching Charmed next though, it would be hilarious if Penny was like "this is awesome!"

Anyhoo, another great CBS Thursday night (nerd thurs?) was made even greater by realizing the awesomeness that is Parsons.