New Gossip Girl Trailer

So unlike the previous sneak-peek trailer for Gossip Girl, this newly released trailer actually reveals some key spoilers, and reminds me that, shamefully, I kind of miss watching it.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!********!!!!!!!!!!!

From the looks of this new trailer, it appears that:

Serena and Nate are going to get together… which, we kind of new. But I’m down with it, for now. At least it’s better than that terrible Serena-Tripp fiasco. Or for that matter, the Serena-Carter mistake. Hopefully this pairing actually doesn’t make me want to claw my eyes out.

Rufus confronts Lily about being a big slutty liar! Huzzah!

Jenny gets further involved with the skeezy drug dealer guy, and Rufus punches him somewhere public and fancy. I like where this is going! I love misbehavin’ Jenny.

And most importantly… Chuck pursues the woman who might be his not-so-dead mother! Oooh. I like angry Chuck. Good Chuck is such a bore. Hopefully the writers will make up for the vomit-inducing Chuck of the first half of the season.

And here it is! What do you think?

Lost cupcakes!

These are amazing! Two of my favourite things in life – cupcakes and LOST… combined! I am almost inspired to make my own. Actually, I’ll let someone else do the baking. I’ll be happy to do the consuming. Click on the photo for more Lost cupcakes on a yummy cupcake blog.  Delish!

by kitchen doughdough from flickr

LOST – LAX PART 2

Jack is back at LAX and finds out that his dad’s coffin is missing. Perhaps Christian made it to the island on his own?

And now, back on the island and into the gateway to the temple to somehow save Sayid, according to ghost Jacob’s instructions. Everyone has been captured by evil-looking men with guns. We see the temple, which looks like… a temple. It appears there are many people outside of it and a peaceful looking river. I love that after all this time, there are still little magical hidden pockets like this on the island. Remember when the series started, and we didn’t even know there were other people around, or smoke monsters, or even polar bears? Oh how foolish.

Kate is still in custody back in the real world. But I’m pretty sure she’ll get out, because she’s bad-ass like that. Oh, and there she goes! Just like that, a nice head-smack into the sink and she’s off! Go Kate go. And she ends up in an elevator with Sawyer. Nice timing!

Sawyer wants Miles to talk to Juliet from the dead. Wish we all had a convenient friend like Miles whenever we needed to dig up a secret from our deceased loved ones…

“It worked. That’s what she wanted to tell you,” says Miles. So somehow Juliet knows that in an alternate universe, they are all safe. Cooool.

Back at the temple, the strange temple people attempt to shoot Jack, etc. but Hurley’s guitar case is saving the day. What’s inside?!??!

We’re inside the guitar case and… I don’t know what that is. Some giant wooden symbol, that the head scary guy just broke in half. It appears there is a note inside which has saved their lives by proving they are pals of Jacob.

“If Sayid dies… we are all in a lot of trouble.” Oooh! Why? This calls for some…. scary violins!

New-old Sun is pretending not to speak English so she doesn’t have to help Jin. Aw. I want them to love each other again. It appears what we are seeing is that the island was a sort of blessing for all those who crashed there… but we will see as their new-old fates continue to play out.

The inside of the temple is cool. The temple dudes are about to do something crazy and needlessly dramatic to save Sayid. They are dipping him in a big bath of water. He’s now a Jew! Just kidding.

It looks like they are drowning him, but they have to keep him submerged until the hourglass runs out. Wouldn’t it have been useful for the temple people to explain this to everyone first, before appearing to murder their friend and create needless chaos? Just a minor detail that might have been mentioned.

“Your friend is dead.” No way. Is Sayid really dead? Is this a spoiler I failed to read somehow? Seems a bit early in the season to kill him off. Although I suppose with the alternate reality running throughout the season, it allows all characters to remain in one universe or the other – which somewhat lessens the dramatic effect  and sting of their deaths, really.

Back to Kate’s escape… she got in a cab with Claire. Claire! I’ve missed her.

And back again to the temple. Sawyer and Miles have joined and Sawyer’s been beaten up – again. This guy is going to have some serious brain damage after this is all said and done.

Hurley just revealed Jacob is dead. This seems to upset the temple master. Uh-oh. Everyone is running around like mad and the scary/war Lost theme is playing. A flare is set off and up into the sky. Ooh, pretty! It appears the temple people know that the black-haired-guy/new Locke is back on the island. It also appears that this is very bad. But I think we knew that already.

New Locke tells Ben he wants to go home. Where is home?

Alternate universe Jack and Locke are having a chat. Interesting that even in this universe without the crash, everyone still connects somehow. Aw, Jack is trying to help Locke! Maybe he will cure his paralysis! That would be neat. Maybe in this world, they are friends. Well that’s nice.

Richard Alpert’s gang by the foot sees the flare. New Locke confronts Richard and Richard looks like he just peed himself. Whoa, new Locke is violent! I wish I knew new Locke’s name so I could stop calling him that…

The temple guys need to talk to Jack. This is going to be huge, I have a feeling.

Sayid is waking up!!! Sayid is alive! HE’S ALIVE!

Wow. Who ever said that TV was just passive entertainment. Great beginning to what will most definitely be a great final season. I need some Advil. Goodnight!

The mark: A-

LOST – LAX PART 1

Tonight’s two-hour LOST final season premiere seems worthy of some live blogging. Although with my current level of excitement coupled with the length of this episode, this might get a bit long… Perhaps best to divide into two separate posts. Yes. Thanks for helping me figure that one out.

Here we go! Aiiieeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Jack is on a plane! Does this mean the plan worked and they really went back in time? Rose is beside him on the plane! Okay, the plane is getting bumpy which is not doing anything to help my fear of flying. In fact, this whole show does nothing to help my fear of flying…

Aw, I love Rose and Bernard.

It appears that Jack is remembering something, but doesn’t know what.

Desmond is on the plane too! He’s wearing a suit and looks clean. Jack gets the creeps from him. It appears that the memories are still stuck in the consciousness of Jack.

We are zooming through the clouds and water and I suddenly feel like this is a kids’ action adventure movie. I keep expecting to see pirates. Oh, there’s the big foot at the bottom of the water. Neato. Still not sure about that foot. Still not sure about anything. I LOVE LOST!

Now we are with Kate. Who appears to be stuck in a tree and as sweaty and dirty as always. She also seems to be deaf and we can only hear what she hears, which is making me think I have something stuck in my ear. Oh, the hearing’s back!

Miles is there too. It appears they are still on the island. Wait, Jack is there too! What is going on?! Kate went straight for Jack over Sawyer, which I suppose shows us her true feelings. Oh, and Sawyer is back to being angry and violent. Glad the gang’s all here. Minus Juliet, who is dead. Whoopsy, guess that plan failed.

Ok, Jack is back on the flight and bumps into Kate. It seems we’re in some sort of parallel universe where the bomb plan worked and everything is back as it should have been. Does this mean we’re going to witness 2 opposite realities all season? I’m not sure if I like that. My head already hurts, and we’re less than 20 minutes in. Oy.

Ooh, it’s Jacob! He’s alive! And he’s calm and serene and wants to talk to Hurley! And he isn’t being a wife-beater like he was on Dexter!

Oh no, in new/old reality, Jin is still mean to Sun. Sad. I like nice Jin better.

Hey, it’s Boon! This is fun. Like a reunion of my old friends. Except with my recent Vampire Diaries obsession, it’s hard to not see Boom as Damen. Too much TV colliding!

Wait – a thought – why is Desmond on this plane? He was initially already on the island before these people crashed. But just because the hatch now never existed, why would he happen to be on the same plane as everyone else was? Whaaaat?

Now we’re back with Ben and Locke, post-Jacob killing. Wait, if this is back in the present, where are Jack and his gang? Why don’t they post the year at the bottom of the screen for dummies like me who can’t follow timelines!

Oooooh, Ben now realizes that Locke isn’t really Locke! Oooooh. Scary loud LOST violins! Oooooooh.

Oh, Jacob is a GHOST! That makes more sense. I mean, not in the rational world. But in the LOST world. Okay, I feel a bit better now. Everyone is in the same time in the present. Jacob needs Hurley to take the guitar case to the temple. The guitar case!

Juliet is apparently still alive, stuck under the hatch rubble. Hmm.

Back on the alternate universe plane, Charlie is unconscious on the toilet. The scary violin sounds are beginning to seem almost like a parody, with the intensity swelling every time we see a new/old character, even though we all knew these guys would be back for the final season. But I guess it is pretty cool and violin-worthy. Yah. It is.

Man, whenever I see Jack save a life by doing something cool, it makes me think I should have been a doctor. In case I ever travel to a time-shifting island and need to take care of everyone.

Okay, back to the island and mission: saving Juliet. Sawyer and Juliet reunite. Okay, this is way over-dramatic. Let’s just get her out of the hatch please, and save the mushy-gushy for later.

Ooh, Hurley, taking control for once! To the temple, I say!

A shoot-out is happening in the foot statue. It looks like possessed Locke was shot. THE SMOKE MONSTER! Man, this never gets less weird. Interesting – the smoke monster seemed to not be able to penetrate an area encircled on the floor. Interesting, indeed. Let’s see what the Losties make of that one.

Possessed Locke: “I’m sorry you had to see me like that.” Does that mean he IS the smoke monster? Does that make any sense?! Ow, headache… increasing…

Juliet has to tell Sawyer something really important… oh, wait. She’s dead. Again. Did she really need to die, then possibly live, then die again? This is being played out a bit too much. I don’t like seeing Sawyer cry so much, it makes me feel icky.

Slow-motion plane landing scene! Love the slo-mo moments. It appears the plane has landed safely at LAX. And Charlie is being escorted off by cops and is pissed at Jack for saving his life. And poor Locke is still paralyzed. What now? Time for part two…

Life UneXpected – Pilot

© The CW

Well, mid-season is officially upon us and the long holiday hiatus has come to an end. Time for new updates and new TV shows.

I had to check out “Life Unexpected”, due to the fact that the CW network has me completely and shamefully hooked. What’s more, the show is backed by producers/writers from the lovely “Brothers and Sisters” and dearly departed “Gilmore Girls”. I’m sold.

The premise: Lux is a 16 year old girl who has been in the foster care system her whole life, but somehow seems to have a pretty good attitude about things, coupled with a pretty great sense of style. She wants to be emancipated, but needs the signatures of her birth parents to allow her to do so. Her mom, Cate, is a well-known radio personality with a fear of commitment and having babies. Her dad, Nate, is an overgrown child, who lives on top of a bar that he owns. The two are left to figure out how to raise a teenager together, after Lux fails to get her emancipation. And thus, we have “Life Unexpected”.

Although the first episode was full of clichés and painfully cheesy moments (Kate’s boyfriend Ryan ripping off “When Harry Met Sally” as he tells her all the quirks he loves about her, or Lux proclaiming her wish has already come true after being told to make a wish on her birthday cake, or Lux telling Cate she had always actually been in her life, every day on the radio (okay, that was actually kind of sweet)), I enjoyed watching the pilot episode. Lux (played by Brittany Roberston) is a great young female lead, and seems to have the same spunk and wit as Rory did back in the glorious Gilmore Girls days. The rest of the cast is fairly charming as well. Kerr Smith’s Ryan is a bit far-fetched at this point – a man who is obsessed with marrying his girlfriend even though she continually shoots him down (and cheats on him, although he is unaware of this) and somehow seems completely comfortable with having Cate’s child (who he never knew even existed) become their responsibility. Do you know any guys like that? Because I sure don’t. His kindness and forgiveness is a bit too sappy for my liking – but I suppose this is only the pilot, and hopefully, there is a lot more to his character than we initially see. We can also assume that his nice-guy persona will slightly crumble when he inevitably discovers that Cate slept with Nate the night that they discovered Lux. No show is ever complete without the over-used but always entertaining love-triangle motif.

Although nothing brilliant, the pilot was at least good enough to make me want to watch next week, and in time we will be able to tell if it possesses the same wit and snappy writing that made “Gilmore Girls” the cult hit that it was. Or perhaps it will be something entirely unique on its own. Expect the “UneXpected”. (Oh wait – that’s the Big Brother slogan. Oops.)

The mark: B

Mid-season Promos

If you’re like me, and can’t wait until your favourite shows return (and some new ones begin), here are some previews/promos to hold you over during TV hiatus time. Happy holidays!

Grey’s Anatomy – I don’t watch Private Practice, so a cross-over episode doesn’t excite me all too much. But I realize that for some, this is a big deal.

Desperate Housewives – The big question for January’s episode is, “Who died when the airplane hit Wisteria Lane?” My bet is most definitely on Orson, since his character has been stale and unlikable for quite some time.

Brothers and Sisters/Desperate Housewives Combo – Time to gear up for more tears and heartbreak as we watch Kitty continue to battle with cancer, and her family continue to crumble. This show depresses the hell out of me, and I’m still not sure why I love it so much.

Friday Night Lights – Really excited to see what’s going to happen with the Riggins brothers as they once again embark on a new money-making scheme. Also excited to see what the writers do with Julie, sans Matt.

American Idol – Besides random episodes here and there, I don’t usually follow this show. But with my beloved Ellen joining the cast of judges, I might tune in a bit more often.

Vampire Diaries – Not really sure what’s going on here, but I like it! Still my favourite new guilty-pleasure show of the season.

90210 – With this season getting better and better, I can’t wait for its return. Obviously the most exciting development is Jasper revealing that he knows of Annie’s misdemeanor, and I look forward to seeing the crazy drama that will surely result (however, any insight into that storyline seems to be absent from this promo).

LOST – This promo just uses old footage, in the writers’ attempts to not reveal anything about the 6th and final season, which I am okay with, because this is one show you don’t want spoiled. Absolutely can’t wait for this.

GOSSIP GIRL – As usual, this promo doesn’t really tell anything, but seems exciting nonetheless.

Michael C. Hall Interview

Click here for a great interview with Michael C. Hall, discussing the killer (wordplay!) finale episode. Sounds like quite the fun job working on that set…

Dexter – The Getaway

O-M-bloody-G.

WARNING: If you haven’t yet watched the Dexter finale and plan to, don’t read this! Go watch it, then come back. Major spoilers ahead…

I’ve heard many critics of this season of Dexter claiming that this season has been a bit far-fetched and inconsistent and even predictable. Well to you I say – bugger off. You don’t know what you are talking about. The season 4 finale was all-time, home-run, jaw-dropping perfection and was most definitely my favourite TV hour of the year.

The Trinity plot finally came to a head, with Dexter’s true identity being revealed to the crazed killer, spawning a vicious cat-and-mouse chase between Dexter and Arthur. Once again, everything that can go wrong for Dexter does go wrong for Dexter. Can’t this guy ever catch a break? If only the world knew that he was an undercover superhero, ridding the world of evil, perhaps they’d show him a bit more respect – especially Quinn who is starting to feel a lot like Sgt. Doakes with his suspicions and moodiness and inability to smile.

As Dexter works on revamping his Trinity plan after letting him escape the first time, Deb finally discovers what we’ve known she would for quite some time now – Dexter is the brother of the Ice Truck Killer. Sadly, she doesn’t really put together the main fascinating tidbit here (Dexter killed the Ice Truck Killer), and the whole big discovery is somewhat anti-climactic. But I can only assume this is not the end of this storyline and eventually, our brilliant Deb will put two and two together and realize her brother is a lovable, yet somewhat disturbed, mass serial killer.

My heart was jumping out of my throat as the police barged into Arthur’s home, only to find Dexter already there. Of course he made up some speedy lie to cover his tracks and of course they believed him. Somehow though, the suspense of it still always gets to me, which is what makes this show truly wonderful. We know Dexter won’t get caught – at least not right now. Yet each time someone comes close, we take on his panic and can’t help but think, “What if?” The writers on this show are so sneaky that the truth is, we really don’t ever know what is just around the corner. And on that note…

The big finale moment. Anyone who is a true Dexter devotee of course knew that the episode could not merely wrap up with Dexter killing Trinity and “The End”. No no, my friends. That’s not how this show works. And I suppose that Dexter and Rita’s final scene where it seemed he truly realized his love for her, and she for him, nicely set up the horror that was to come. Yet I didn’t see it coming – maybe I didn’t want to believe the writers would actually go through with it. But they did – Rita is dead. In a final act and his true piece de resistance, Trinity had found Dexter’s home and killed his wife and left his baby alone in a pool of blood. Thankfully, baby Harrison was saved – I’m not sure this show really needs to throw dead babies into the mix. But unfortunately, Rita was not so lucky and became yet another of Arthur’s bathtub victims.

Although Rita annoys many viewers, I think her character was played brilliantly and I am sad to see her go. The set-up now for next season, with Dexter raising 3 (!) children without his doting wife will prove to be beyond fascinating, I’m sure. Will Dexter need to take a break from killing, or will Rita’s murder spark an even deeper fire within him to kill and kill some more?

I suppose I will have to wait until next season to see how this all plays out. I must say – summer seems very far away right now. Let the countdown begin.

The mark: A

Glee – Hairography

©FOX

Well well well, this episode just warmed my little heart. Early on in the season, I was starting to get worried about the path this show was taking, with lots of farfetched storylines and scattered inconsistencies. But the issues seem to be working themselves out, and ultimately, it’s winning me over more and more with each week. I’ve accepted that this show is not genius and in no way illustrates the quality of writing that is currently evidenced elsewhere in the TV landscape (re: Dexter). But I am okay with this, and even appreciate the silliness of it all.

My favourite part of tonight’s episode was Michael Hitchcock as the director of the choir from the school for the deaf. His performance as the deaf-in-one-ear instructor was, simply, hilarious. Eve’s got nothing on this guy. Her ability to hear out of both ears makes her slightly less amusing.

Storylines tonight involved Quinn taking Puck out for a potential-daddy test drive to see if he’s up to the job (turns out, he’s not, after he spends a babysitting session sexting it up with the other cheerleader who hasn’t really ever spoken until tonight). Meanwhile, Terri continues to scheme to steal Quinn’s baby and is slightly less annoying than usual, as she tries to distract Will by buying him his favourite car from eBay (which he then trades in for an ugly wood paneled van. His sweetness and sentimentality are almost becoming too much to handle. Almost.). Sue attempts to destroy Will’s choir once again by getting her hands on the setlist, which she then tries to pawn off to the competitors. Crafty! And Rachel, with the help of Kurt (who had most of the best lines, like usual) dresses up like a skank in a foiled attempt to, once again, win the love of Finn. I’m hoping soon that the writers give Rachel something else to focus on for awhile. The girl is a force, and need not be painted as so pathetic, so often.

Now, the most important part – the singing. The songs tonight were top-notch (well, most of them). I wasn’t the biggest fan of the “Hair”/”Crazy in Love” mashup, but I think that was kind of the point. The standout song of the night was “Imagine”, performed by the deaf choir, with members of New Directions slowly filtering in one-by-one until everyone was singing and signing their hearts out in one big lovefest. I may have even shed a tear, but I will neither confirm nor deny that.

A close second came with the finale of the night – True Colors! I love this song. Give me Phil Collins, give me Cyndi Lauper, I don’t care. It will always be a great ballad. This song was Will’s attempt to teach the kids that all you need in life is your voice, and a stool. (Oh, Will. So hopeful. So silly. But we love you.). As much as I love her, I was glad Rachel wasn’t taking over the lead solo for once, and we instead got to be pleasantly reminded of the awesome talent of Tina, played by Jenna Ushkowitz. Wow can these kids sing (except for Quinn, whose vocal chops are nowhere on par with the rest of her Gleemates).

I am super excited for the lead-up to Sectionals, which I assume will display the best vocal numbers of the season. But with the recent announcement that Glee will be taking a break in 2 weeks until April (!!!!), I’m worried my life will seriously be missing this weekly dose of sunshine. Apparently, glee isn’t meant for the harsh days of winter. Fancy that!

The mark: A-

Bye Bye, Oprah

Although I pretty much never watch Oprah (I’m an Ellen girl myself, if you’re wondering), it seems fairly important to mention the news today that Lady O has announced she’ll be leaving her show in 2011. This doesn’t affect me too much, but I imagine billions of women around the world are crying right now as they turn the pages of their inspirational Oprah book club book, wondering who will teach them how to re-organize their closets (and reorganize their LIVES!) and how to turn into real-life angels. Who will guide us now?

But of course, this is Oprah, and she refuses to disappear. She’s going to put her time into her new network OWN (The Oprah Winfrey Network – catchy!), and I’m sure will use that to launch several new shows which will teach us all how to be superior human beings.

It’s widely known that many people worship Oprah, to the point that she is seen almost as a religious figure for many. But I must say, I’ve always strongly disapproved of her constant interrupting of her guests. Seriously. Sure, she’s saved the lives of villages of people and encouraged millions of people to be literate, but she could seriously learn a thing or two about manners. I’m just sayin’.