The TV Chick

Every Monday, there will be a teaser video for the third season of True Blood. I cannot wait until June (waiting does suck, True Blood teaser video!), so I thought I would share the first clip. There will be many more in the weeks to come.

When last we left our favorite sarcastic, quirky hospital crew, Nurse Jackie was passed out on the floor after taking a great deal of morphine. When we pick it up, Jackie is very tan, on vacation with her family and seems really happy. Kevin gives Jackie the ring he and Fiona picked out for her. She gives him a card (which is rare). Grace is still struggling with her anxiety issues, but Fiona is happy as ever and finds a dead animal skull on the beach and insists on sending it to Dr. O’Hara. Later, Dr. O’Hara very kindly offers to set up college funds for the girls with her inheritance money from her mother insisting that her and Fiona are kindred spirits.

After vacation, Jackie returns to the chaos she left. Akalitus has hired a new nurse. Remember Sam who was a temp at the end of last season and high on drugs? Yeah, he’s back. Supposedly he completed rehab and had many glowing recommendations. Mo-Mo’s gone….which makes me very sad, because he was fantastic. They don’t really address it too much other than that he was underpaid but besides Sam, all the regular crew are back.

Jackie is now stealing drugs from the pixus. There is a hilarious scene in the premiere where Akalitus asks her to show everyone how it works, and she steals a vial from underneath everyone’s eyes. Zoey talks to Akalitus about her “desk duty,” and the incident with the ear. Thor has his own problems, and struggles with diabetes during a procedure.

And Sam…I don’t really care much for Sam. (Maybe because Jackie doesn’t?) He believes he and Jackie are now kindred spirits because of Jackie’s drug problems, and offers to go to a meeting with her. She of course, rebuffs him and denies her addiction. I just think he isn’t as funny and doesn’t have as much personality as Mo-Mo did. I understand why he is there — eventually someone will find out about Jackie taking drugs — but I wish he was more of a developed character instead of being the temp who used to have a drug problem. I guess in time that could change.

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Last night’s Life Unexpected was full of discoveries: Cate’s sexual preferences, Lux isn’t a virgin, Math still loves Cate, and Ryan is not budging on the break up.”Formal Reformed” centered around Lux’s winter formal. She agrees to go with Jones, who asks her out on a real date (not prompted by Baze’s encouragement). Baze is thrilled by this news, and Math is still sulking about his obsession with Cate. Cate comes to the bar to speak to Lux, after Ryan tells her not to take no for an answer. This prompted a sad exchange between Cate and Ryan where Cate says she just has to accept no when it comes to their relationship. Baze informs Cate that she needs help with a dress and Lux reluctantly agrees even though they are still not technically on speaking terms.

Lux and Cate go shopping, and she tries to open up the lines of communication but Lux isn’t having it. Cate picks out a dress that Lux deems too expensive (I believe the witty words were – does this come with a limo?) but Cate says she wants to buy it for her. Cate bashes on Baze (which is sort of an every episode occurrence) and Lux storms out, telling Cate to pick whatever dress she wants.

In Baze world, he tries to get Math to forgive him and encourages him to go for it with Cate. This leads to a discussion about how Baze thinks parenting is easy because Lux is such a good kid. Math is surprised that Baze wants her to go to the winter formal because of what happened at their own dance. He says that what kids are doing these days is worse than what they did during high school. Math tells Baze to have “the sex talk” with Lux.

Lux gets back to Baze’s and discovers that Cate bought her the beautiful expensive pink dress. And then, Bug is back! I was a bit surprised at how soon this happened, but I knew he wouldn’t stay away for long. She confronts him and how he just left and is now acting like nothing happened. He kisses her and she pushes him away, telling him it’s not that easy. He explains that he didn’t want to be who he was being with her, he loves her and he wants to change. I loved this scene because it was so real. While Lux does fall into his arms fairly quickly, it isn’t without hesitation. She forces him to explain himself instead of just immediately taking him back. While Lux and Bug are — how do I put this mildly — getting it on, Math shows up at Cate’s and asks her to chaperone the dance with him. He does it in such a way as to make it seem like he is helping Cate go to the dance to see Lux in her dress and keep an eye on her. But at the end, he actually asks if it is a date, and Cate says yes.

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Justified is a new western/crime/drama premiering on FX tonight at 10 pm. In my review, I talked about how this genre of television is not usually my favorite but Justified is phenomenal. (And I am hooked). The show centers around Raylan Givens (played by Timothy Olyphant), a U.S. Marshall forced to return to his hometown and face his demons. In this land of men, one of the stand out performances was Joelle Carter, who plays Ava Crowder (Raylan’s old friend and flame). Ava is a take no prisoners kind of girl who shot her abusive husband with his own rifle. I recently had the chance to speak to the lovely and talented Carter, about the role of Ava, working with Olyphant, and what makes Justified so unique.

What originally drew you to the role of Ava?
I love when people ask me that. I’m like what didn’t (laughs) attract me to the character of Ava. I mean, she’s a lovely, delicately flawed character. She’s just recently been put in a crazy circumstance and in some ways, what she’s done is actually freeing her. It was the conflict of the whole character and the deliciousness of the way Elmore Leonard writes these scenarios he puts these characters in that they can act in a completely different way. And just the cast and Michael Dinner directing and Graham Yost. It was like a win, win, win win situation.

Absolutely. And how do you relate to your character? Obviously, you two are very different.
I think mostly that she’s kind of seen in one way, but yet she has a lot living inside that comes out at certain times that might surprise people, what really makes up the core of her. I think through my life and experiences that I have a lot that I carry around that I have inside that people might not necessarily recognize from the outside. You know what I mean?

Yeah, of course.
I liked her unpredictability. I loved that she really is sexual and she loves to use her sexuality almost in an un-subconscious manner. It’s just the way she is, with no excuses and no apologies. So I love that too. She’s really forward and strong. But yet soft and southern.

Ava is such a strong female character in a land of men. What has it been like playing such a powerful female lead?
Oh it’s — especially in Hollywood I think women jump at the chance to play a part like this. It’s interesting because you can really draw off the fact that you’re in an industry that is male-driven and even the show is so — I mean there’s Sarah Timberman [Executive Producer] up at the top there but then it’s like so many men controlling the project and there’s very few women parts anyway in the whole show, so it’s like stand strong and fight for what you want and it’s interesting how it kind of travels beside each other — the reality of the circumstance you’re in and the character’s circumstances.

Justified is incredibly different from any other show out there right now. What do you think makes it so unique?
Well definitely the environment. The fact that it takes place in the south in Kentucky, there’s not a lot going on — I can’t remember I guess Deadwood was the last one that was kind of more of a Western-y feel, southern…I don’t know “Little House on the Prairie?” (laughs)

(laughs)
So — uniquely, the town and the environment is a character in it’s own, and that gives it it’s own uniqueness.

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Life Unexpected is all new tonight with an episode titled Formal Reformed. It involves Lux and Jones at her winter formal. Of course, Baze and Cate go too. They are determined for Lux not to repeat their own history and I would assume there is some sort of freak out in one way or another. Whatever happens, I can’t wait!

If you can’t wait until tonight (I know I can’t), here are some video previews of “Formal Reformed”

Episode Preview from the amazing creator Liz Tigelaar:

Clip 1:

Clip 2:

Be sure to tune in tonight at 8 pm to the CW to see Life Unexpected “Formal Reformed!”

Justified is a new series coming to FX, the network that has brought us The Shield, Sons of Anarchy, Damages, and most recently Archer. The show centers around Raylan Givens (played by the incredibly talented and may I add good looking Timothy Olyphant), a Deputy U.S. Marshal who gets relocated back to his hometown of Harlan, Kentucky after he shoots and kills an enemy. The guy (who we learn later has a long history with Raylan) pulled a gun on Raylan first so it was justified, but his boss relocates him as “punishment” and to avoid bad press.

Raylan grew up with a career criminal father, and desired to be everything he wasn’t. Even though he got out of Kentucky, his past still follows him around as he finds out when he has to return to town. His new boss Art Muller (played by TV and film veteran Nick Searcy), gives him a case that involves a guy he used to mine coal with when he was a teenager, Boyd Crowder (played by Walton Goggins who you might recognize from The Shield). Boyd was involved in a church bombing, but is a neo-nazi who partakes in vigilante justice from what I could gather. To get to the bottom of the case, Raylan visits an old friend/flame Ava Crowder (played by Joelle Carter). Ava was married to Boyd’s brother Bowman. After his football career became non-existent, he became abusive and Ava killed him with his own rifle.

The rest of the premiere involves Raylan investigating the case with Boyd and Ava, coming to terms with his past, sexual tension and much more. The show is absolutely beautifully shot. What I was most surprised about is that generally, westerns that involve gun-slinging and violence don’t usually keep my interest. I am more of a comedy/feel good drama type of girl so a show that centers around a U.S. Marshall who shoots a lot of people isn’t generally my type. However, this show completely impressed me. The acting is phenomenal. Timothy Olyphant is a perfect leading actor and the rest of the cast is well-rounded and equally as impressive. A show that is essentially a modern western runs the risk of being unable to translate to a contemporary audience but I thought Justified was very relevant. There were lighthearted moments in addition to tense, super dramatic ones and all the writing felt genuine and natural. I also loved seeing a very strong female lead to balance out the strong lead male. Joelle Carter is great as Ayla and I am interested to find out what her relationship with Raylan develops into. I also wonder if there will be more pieces of Raylan’s past that come back to haunt him. His father (I’m pretty sure/presuming he is still alive) will inevitably come into the picture at some point, and there’s just so many possible storylines and places to go. Also at the end of the episode, his ex-wife comes into the picture, and I want to see  what happens with them. Sometimes I say that pilots have a lot of potential, but this show not only has a lot of potential, but really is already there, especially in terms of character development. As with Legend of the Seeker, when I had previously declared myself not really a lover of all things sci-fi/fantasy, Justified may have converted in me into someone who enjoys this justice/law/western type show. It is procedural in a way, but the show is about the characters and not the cases. And these are some amazing characters with incredibly interesting jobs and histories.

Justified premieres tomorrow night at 10 pm on FX. This is really a show that is not to be missed!

I absolutely adore The Biggest Loser. Bob and Jillian are fantastic trainers who consistently challenge the contestants to bring out the best in them and change their lives. It’s a dream of mine to one day be trained by Jillian, but I digress. Each episode brings plenty of drama, but also a great deal of personal growth. I recently had the chance to chat with Cheryl George, the contestant who was most recently voted off the show. She talked about her biggest challenges, work week and her friendship with Sherry. Her dream shopping spree is at Macys (how adorable is that) and she was just so gracious with her time and honest about her experience on the ranch.

How did the work week affect your number and are you worried now that you’re home that it’s going to be a factor for you to continue in your weight loss?
Actually my workweek, I lost two more pounds then I did the week before so it didn’t really – having a workweek, yes it was more difficult, but actually it was really a good week. And as far as being home… I don’t think I’ll have any problems.

Now how are you keeping up your progress today?
And I just make sure that I am burning more calories than I’m eating, of course, that is the most important part and I’m doing nothing different than I did on the ranch. You eat clean, you eat correctly and fit in the exercise.

And how many times are you exercising a day, or how many hours are you exercising a day?
Pretty much three hours.

I’m wondering how realistic was work week for you as far as taking yourself out of kind of like the seclusion of the ranch and trying to put yourself back into kind of a real world scenario with work and gym hours and that sort of thing?
Okay, the biggest thing is I’m a person that really has to get that workout out in the first part of the day so I usually workout before I would go to work and you just have to make sure that all your foods and snacks are packed for the day. And if you do that everyday of your life whether you’re going somewhere, going to work, or even when you stay at home you’re packing and you know exactly what you’re eating for the day then you just really don’t even have to think about it.

And then as far as being home, what are some of your favorite new things of this healthy new lifestyle, new foods that you enjoy or workouts that you enjoy or any other aspect of this new life that you enjoy?
Okay, there’s different classes that I can take just for enjoyment which I like body (vibes). I like body combat and those are almost like – almost enjoyment classes. And I do a boot camp. As far as my favorite foods it’s got to be – my favorite food and probably the most used staple is going to be the Greek yogurt because there’s so many different things that you can substitute that for. I mean, you’re talking mayonnaise, sour cream, and it’s just my favorite breakfast food and I eat that with blueberries and the Kashi Crunch Go Lean and that’s my favorite meal.

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Who doesn’t love the Food Network? I am thrilled to offer this amazing giveaway from Food Network and Ultimate Recipe Showdown!

This season, home cooks nationwide submitted more than 8,000 recipes in hopes of achieving culinary fame in one of six categories: Comfort Food, Party Food, Hot & Spicy, Burgers, Cakes & Desserts, and Hometown Favorites. In this six-week series hosted by Guy Fieri (Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives; Guy’s Big Bite), each episode focuses on one category and features the top four contestants who compete in two rounds of competition including a signature dish round and speed dish round. Three expert judges choose one ultimate winner in each category who receives a $25,000 prize as well as $5,000 of Food Network products from Kohl’s. For more information check out http://www.foodnetwork.com/ultimaterecipeshowdown

This season there are 6 categories the contestants will tackle including: Comfort Food, Party Foods, Hot and Spicy, Burgers, Cakes & Deserts and Hometown Favorites.

The following 6 items in our “Ultimate Kohl’s” prize package include:

• Food Network Pizza Wheel: Stainless steel blade with air pockets provides easy food release, and soft-grip handle ensures comfortable control. Price: $19.99. Episode Category: Comfort Food

• Food Network 4-pc. Square Bowl & Bamboo Serving Tray Set: This Food Network square bowl and bamboo serving tray set keeps every party chic with sleek line that add a contemporary touch to any table. The dishwasher and microwave save square bowls hold condiments, appetizers and more. Episode Category: Party Foods

• Food Network Conical Box Grater: Unique conical design provides comfort and stability while grating, and stainless steel construction lasts for years without staining or rusting. Episode Category: Hot and Spicy

• Bobby Flay Ultimate Spatula. This stainless steel spatula is a must-have for all grilling needs. Durable stainless steel construction ensures long-lasting use and serrated edges aid in cutting and cooking. Built-in bottle opener adds even more versatility. Wooden handle provides a safe, comfortable grip. Episode Category: Burgers

• Food Network Dough Scraper: Long-lasting stainless steel construction maximizes use, while a ruler on the blade’s edge makes measuring easy. Episode Category: Cakes & Deserts

• Food Network Digital Thermometer & Timer: Digital readout tracks time and temperature simultaneously, and versatile setup allows for wall mount, magnetic mount, or countertop use. Episode Category: Hometown Favorites

Approximate Retail Value of Prize Pack is $130.00

All you have to do to enter to win this amazing prize pack is tell me what type of food is YOUR favorite. You can choose from the six categories: Comfort Food, Party Foods, Hot and Spicy, Burgers, Cakes & Deserts and Hometown Favorites OR choose something completely different! I look forward to reading your answers!

And check out this video preview of Season 3:

Sadly, last night was the season finale of Make It Or Break It. Thankfully, it will be back in the summer with all new episodes. This finale was not without surprises and drama. The episode, titled “Are We Family?” centered around China’s unstoppable team coming to the US to compete against a “rogue” Rock team that Sasha Belov put together of his best girls. When the Chinese team arrives at The Rock for a press conference, Kaylie is nowhere to be found. Sasha announces that an alternate will take her place, and the Chinese coach isn’t pleased about this at all. All of the girls get interviewed during the press conference: Payson says she’s not up to competition level yet but she will be on the floor supporting her teammates, Emily gets embarassed by reporters who don’t really know who she is, and Lauren claims she had the stomach flu in Beijing. Meanwhile, Damon is at the Pizza Shack and Carter encourages him to leave a note for Emily. A lot more on this storyline later.

Lauren and Carter then show up at Kaylie’s place after she fails to show up for practice, and she doesn’t want to hear it. Carter explains that Lauren was only being a friend, and he was staying at her house after he got kicked out of his own house. Kaylie reminds Lauren that she promised she would stay away from Carter, but Carter defends her. Carter tells Kaylie she shouldn’t use this to pull out of the China meet. Lauren tells her they need her to compete, but Kaylie scoffs that they only need her because the team will do better with her than without her. She declares that this time she is looking out for herself. Lauren leaves, and Carter tries to defend himself. Kaylie closes the door in his face.

In the last round of training before the competition, Emily is still struggling to land her Yurchenko one and a half with a blind landing. Leo (Kaylie’s brother) is helping her, but she still can’t get over her fear. Kaylie’s mom (Ronnie) comes to The Rock to ask Sasha to go talk to Kaylie and convince her to compete. Ronnie tells Sasha he’s the only man in Kaylie’s life right now, and she needs him. Sasha, quite intelligently I might add, goes to talk to Kaylie’s dad and asks him to step up and be there for her daughter. Emily returns to the Pizza Shack to pick up her check and Leo sees the note Damon left for her and takes it before Emily can see it. Emily had previously talked about how she didn’t want any distractions and Leo obviously likes her and thinks he’s doing this for her own benefit.

The next morning, a crowd is ready for The Rock vs China meet. Emily is scared to do her new vault and tells Payson she might go back to her old one. Payson admits she still hasn’t been able to get on the bars since her injury. Emily tells Payson she and Damon said I love you to each other, and Payson explains that if she can do that, then the vault shouldn’t be a problem. I really like this new found Emily and Payson friendship. They both balance each other out quite well. Emily needs help trusting, and so does Payson, and I like that they have been able to help each other overcome their fears.

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Pilots in general aren’t usually the best episode of any series. I can probably count on one hand the pilots that I thought were so phenomenal I didn’t know what could top them. (Modern Family, Glee, Gilmore Girls). That said, I really enjoyed the pilot episode of the Parenthood reboot, and I was excited to see more. The 2nd episode, titled Man vs. Possum involves all of the family members. For Sarah, it’s about starting her new life and trying to find a job. Her dad encourages her to apply for a PR job (not a bartending job) and she reluctantly agrees. However, her dad goes to talk to her brother, Adam to get him to make a phone call to bring Sarah in for an interview (unbeknownst to her of course). Julia is still struggling to bond with her daughter, and insists on taking her to school. She runs into trouble in the parking area, which later leads to an interesting mother showdown. Crosby, now a new dad, finds out that his son and his son’s mother actually decided to move back into town. Crosby tries to bond with Jabbar but finds that he doesn’t really know what he’s doing. And remember the mom from the parking lot, she has an adopted daughter who is friends with Sydney (Julia and Joel’s daughter) and is spending a little too much time with Sydney and Joel for Julia’s liking.

In addition, Adam and Kristina find out that Max does have Aspberger’s Syndrome (they hadn’t gotten a final diagnosis in the pilot). They meet with a family whose son was also diagnosed and of course he is playing guitar and dancing around in his underwear. The parents explain they will have to change Max’s diet, see a ton of behavior specialists, and Adam and Kristina are clearly overwhelmed. They get into see a specialist, who helps them understand how to treat Max’s condition.

There’s also a storyline with Sarah and her kids, some other sweet moments, and obviously there is a possum involved somewhere, but I don’t want to spoil too much. I can tell you that after this second episode, I am hooked. I would watch anything that Lauren Graham is in, and after the first episode, I decided I would give the show a shot. However, after the second episode, I truly see a ton of potential in this series. The episode was heartwarming in many ways but also had it’s funny and quirky moments like any good drama should have. I found myself wanting to see more once the episode ended and that is an extremely good sign. People have come up to me and told me that they can’t wrap their heads around watching Lauren Graham play someone other than Lorelai Gilmore. I completely understand and at first it was strange for me too. But I feel like Graham is embracing the role of Sarah, while bringing pieces of Lorelai to it as well. They are certainly polar opposite characters but there are moments in Parenthood (especially in this episode) where you see Lorelai’s wry smile or her sense of humor and sarcasm shine through. There are serious moments for Graham as well (perhaps the ones that seem out of place if you are used to Lorelai), but I’m asking all my readers who might not have been crazy about the first episode, to give this show one more try. If you watched the Friends pilot when it aired, you might have given up on that, but I think Parenthood is going great places. Jason Katims hasn’t let anyone down with Friday Night Lights, and I think he will take Parenthood to great places. The cast of this show is phenomenal, and I like that there are so many story lines to become invested in. I can’t wait to see more.

Be sure to tune in tonight to NBC at 10 pm for “Man vs. Possum.”