The Event

The Event – Everything Will Change

     I am not surprised Michael Buchanan is a sleeper alien.  I didn’t really think about the implications of this though:  that makes Leila and Samantha, his daughters, either alien children, or more likely hybrids.  Their mother, Michael’s wife, was murdered when Michael and Samantha were kidnapped, which makes me think she was human.  My guess now is that all the children (and I believe they were also all girls) that were being held in the facility are hybrid children.  And their blood or some kind of body fluids, are being extracted from them as an anti-aging compound, the one Dempsey was injecting into himself.  What I don’t understand is what the bad guy was going to inject into Leila and why it aged him.  Perhaps it was to make her age more normally than she would otherwise?

     The other big development is that Thomas and Isabel lied to Sophia about the money Thomas has made for the cause, and they went off Sophia’s radar, unavailable to her.  They then proceeded to launch a missile, which the President was afraid was a nuclear missile aimed at the US.  Instead it was sent into space and it launched a satellite that sent a message “home”.  What that message said we don’t know, but based on what Thomas and Isabel said, it may have been a call to come to Earth.  They also mentioned that a large number of people will die, so it may also have been a call to arms. 

     This was the last episode for a few weeks, while the show prepares for their back 13 episodes.  I am hearing that the writers and execs are taking some audience commentary into account and will be doing fewer flashbacks, and tightening up the plot in some ways.  I am actually looking forward to the show coming back, and am really intrigued about what is going to happen next.  For the first time since the show started, I am also interested in what is going on with Leila’s storyline!

Modern Family/Cougar Town

Modern Family – Mother Tucker

     Cam’s mother was a little overly familiar with Mitchell, and invaded his personal space and crossed boundaries.  Haley broke up with Dylan again, and might start dating her math tutor.  Phil wore a sweatshirt that looked like it belonged to a girl, and when he saw a girl wearing it, he immediately threw it in the trash.  Jay didn’t feel well, Gloria was unsympathetic, and he ended up having to have an emergency appendectomy.

     This episode didn’t really make me laugh, except when Phil threw the sweatshirt away.  I did also laugh when Claire was trying to prove a point to Mitchell that he gets overly sensitive about his personal space; that was pretty funny, and a realistic brother/sister moment.  I was disappointed that it wasn’t an actual Thanksgiving episode, because my favorite scenes are when the whole family is together. 

     Cam’s mother WAS being inappropriate, and I didn’t find any of it amusing.  Cam being oblivious to it didn’t help, I know he is sometimes self-involved, but he knows Mitchell so well, and is usually pretty sensitive to when something is bothering him, it just seemed out of character.  Maybe he was just blinded by his love for his mom. 

     Where was Lily in this episode?  Her grandmother comes to town for a visit and we don’t even see a single scene of them together.  That didn’t feel right to me.

Cougar Town – When the Time Comes

     Andy being an optimistic thinker dancing around to the Reggae music in his head made me laugh.  I think Andy’s optimism is what keeps Ellie and him together, because she is much more negative.  They balance each other out, and that works for both of them.  I am a bit concerned about their son Stan, where the heck was he in this episode?  Usually it doesn’t bother me that we don’t see him much, but this was a holiday episode, there should have been some acknowledgement of his existence.

     Laurie changed outfits 9 times, and each one got farther and farther over the top, and it was excellent and funny, and she looked pretty in almost all of them,

     The group called Bobbie out on his mumbling and told him sometimes they don’t understand what he is saying.  I think it was also because of his Southern accent, at least in part, although no one said that.

     Jules told Grayson she loves him, but he didn’t say it back.  She then accidentally poisoned him with oyster stuffing; he is allergic to oysters.  She spent the ep stressing about whether she should ask him if he loves her too, but Andy convinced her not to, to let him come to her and tell her in his own time.  By the end of the ep he still hadn’t said, but she was okay with waiting until he is ready.

     I laughed a lot in this episode; at Andy’s optimism, at Laurie’s dresses, at Bobby’s muttering.  This cast has really gelled and I really like every one of these characters.  I do hope that Jules and Grayson can stay friends after they inevitably break up, because the whole group dynamic will change if Grayson isn’t around as much.  He is the straight man to this group.

A NOTE:  This blog is going to be quiet for the next several days.  There are no new episodes of anything I watch until The Event on Monday night, so I won’t have anything TV related to talk about.  I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my friends and readers a happy Thanksgiving, and hope that you all are able to celebrate the things for which you are thankful.

Glee/No Ordinary Family/Parenthood/Sons of Anarchy

Glee – Furt

     This episode is going to remain on the dvr for a while.  I really, really liked it, and felt very emotional when it ended.  The whole “Sue marrying herself” storyline aside, because that storyline sucked, this ep was great. 

     So first Sue’s storyline:  Why on Earth did they do this to her?  Sue deserves better than to be this ridiculous story.  I understand wanting to bring Carol Burnett on as her mother, the Nazi hunter, but this wasn’t necessary for that to happen.  She could have just shown up.  I did love the track suit wedding dress though, and the Carol Burnett-Jane Lynch duet was excellent.

     The other side of Sue, the one that helped Kurt as principal and expelled his bully Karofsky from school is the Sue I would love to see more often.  I know she has to be a foil for Will and the Glee club, but she was so amazing with Kurt I would like to see that more.  Now because of the school board Karofsky is coming back, and Kurt is transferring to Dalton where there is a no bullying-zero tolerance policy.

     The wedding between Kurt’s dad and Finn’s mom made me very happy.  The Glee club performed at the wedding, Will performed at the reception, Kurt planned the whole wedding, and Finn finally, FINALLY seemed to start to accept that he and Kurt are brothers.  When the rest of the guys in the Glee club who are also on the football team warned Karofsky to leave Kurt alone, and physically fought him, Finn refused to be a part of it.  I have a feeling, now that Kurt will be gone and Karofsky will be back, Finn won’t be so quick to walk away.  He will have Kurt’s back, even if Kurt isn’t there.

     This episode was light on the singing, and it was kind of a nice break.  I liked that the music was confined to the wedding, and the rest of the episode was really about storyline and emotion.  After the Gwyneth episode last week, it was nice to be back with our core characters and see some really storyline advancement.

No Ordinary Family – No Ordinary Accident

     Jim’s powers are in and out in this episode and they figure out it was something he was allergic to in Stephanie’s lip gloss.  If bad guys get a hold of this information, Jim could have some serious trouble down the road.

     Katie is dating “Will” who is actually The Watcher.  He is definitely doing it to get closer to Stephanie, under orders from Dr King, but I am hoping he found Katie as cute and nearly irresistible as I did on their date.  I am hoping he develops feelings for her, and maybe that will delay or stop whatever he and Dr King plan to do.

     JJ’s teacher, Mr Litchfield was still being a jerk, and honestly when his car got T-Boned I was kind of hoping he would be dead.  I don’t wish death on real people, but I think it’s okay to feel that way about a character on a TV show.  Instead, dude had a rebar in his chest, and it couldn’t be removed safely because he would have bled out.  JJ convinced Stephanie to operate using her super speed and his super brain, and it worked.  In the end, the teacher didn’t even remember what was going on with JJ, the trouble he was in, and that he was planning to go to the school board and the police because JJ had hacked the school computer system.

     Daphne’s storyline was so inconsequential this week; I am not even going to talk about it.  All I will say is I hope she has finally realized the shallow way in which she is using her powers, and maybe tries to do something better with them in the future.

Parenthood – Happy Thanksgiving

     This Thanksgiving reminded me of our family Thanksgivings when I was growing up.  My mother had 2 brothers and 2 sisters, and they all also had children, so there were many Thanksgivings with my family like this one.  We never played football, but we did WATCH football, and there was one Thanksgiving where a chocolate pie ended up upside-down on the floor courtesy of yours truly.  My grandmother yelled at me, and it ended up with me running from the room in one direction crying, and her running from the room in the other direction crying.

     There were a few Thanksgivings that ended up with someone yelling, some when someone ended up crying, there were always a lot of laughs, and there were some pretty crazy stories that got bigger and bigger every year we sat at the table and retold them.  There were boyfriends that were there one Thanksgiving and gone the next (like Gordon, apparently).  My sister didn’t eat turkey and the fixings for dinner for years, and she would eat only spaghetti-Oh’s (later spaghetti) or Cheerios. 

     Every family has these kinds of stories, and I thought Parenthood did a really great job with this episode.  As you can tell, it made me nostalgic for my family’s Thanksgivings, even while reminding me they were rarely perfect.  The Braverman Thanksgiving wasn’t perfect for them either, but it was a day they celebrated being able to be together, which is honestly what Thanksgiving should be all about.  I hope you all have all the good parts of Thanksgiving, and none of the bad.

Sons of Anarchy – June Wedding

     Thank God we are back to English titles this week; those Irish titles were wreaking havoc on my spell check. 

     Friends and I were talking about this episode, and we all seemed to agree that Stahl is like a cockroach.  She’s dirty, nasty and almost indestructible, not to mention she is constantly rolling around in the shit and seems to like it.  I really hope Stahl is gone by the end of next week’s season finale, one way or the other, and honestly I am hoping she somehow ends up dead.  I don’t care how; I just don’t want her to be able to keep coming back at the club.  Nothing against Ally Walker, I like the actress, and my hatred of Stahl is really a testament to how good she is in the role.  Next season we are probably going to have to deal with Hale and the state police taking over for Charming PD, we don’t need Stahl too.

     Salazar is finally dead and gone at least.  I was glad it was Jax who made the choice, and not Alvarez or anyone else.  Jax put his love for Tara ahead of what may have been best for the club.  His priorities are established, Tara and the baby (and Abel I am sure) ahead of the club.  I am glad Tara and the baby are okay.

     Opie asked Lyla to marry him.  Well, he said he thought they should get married.  He talked to Gemma about her, and how much he dislikes the fact that she is in the porn industry, and he knew he had no right to ask her to quit.  Gemma told him she likes Lyla and she thought if he married her, she would probably quit the business, because then she would have the security she is looking for, for herself and her son.  Then Opie talked to Lyla about the fact that things are changing, and the club is in trouble, and he could go to prison and didn’t know how things were going to land.  So he thought they should get married.  He has said “I love you” to her before, but didn’t during his “proposal”, and it seemed more like a business proposition than anything else.  I think we should get married, so I can give you the security you need and you can quit doing porn, and if I go to jail you can take care of my kids legally.  I did notice she didn’t say yes yet.

     I laughed when it was revealed that the beef between Tigg and Kozik is all over a dog.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand the love of, and for, a dog, but these two are taking it to extremes.  It appears to me that whatever happened, Kozik holds most of the blame and Tigg holds most of the bad feelings.  I am almost afraid to find out what actually happened to the dog, but I imagine we will find out next week, in the finale.

How I Met Your Mother/House/Mike & Molly/Hawaii Five-0/The Event

How I Met Your Mother – Blitzgiving

     Jorge Garcia guest starred and I love him!  First reference to Lost was them shouting out “random numbers” and his character The Blitz/Steve shouting the numbers from Lost.  Then there was a reference to double rainbows that made me laugh. 

     Then there were extensive quotes from my favorite movie of all time, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” and then Barney became The Blitz, and there was another Lost island reference.

     At the end of the episode, The Blitz transfer back to Steve, and I assume we will never see him again.

     I enjoyed this episode very much, but I think it was really just a way to get Jorge Garcia onto the show and throw in some Lost references.  The only story that moved forward at all was that Ted and Zoey are now friends.  Honestly, it felt like if you weren’t a Lost fan you wouldn’t have enjoyed this episode nearly as much as I did. 

     I also have to say I have a fear that they are moving slowly toward some kind of a romance between Ted and Zoey.  This would be fine with me if she wasn’t married, but she is married, and while the marriage may not be perfect she is still married.  If Ted becomes a cheater, I won’t be happy.

House – Small Sacrifices

     It seems like at least once a season we get a “House doesn’t believe in God and neither should this patient” episode, and tonight was that episode.  I do have to say, I thought this particular patient was basically crazy, anyone who would reenact the crucifixion and have spikes driven into his palms once a year isn’t quite right.  I never did understand if whatever his disease was caused him to think this was a good deal with God.  I was just glad he finally relented and agreed to the medication that would make him better.

     In other news, Sam broke up with Wilson, and House apologized to Cuddy for lying two her two episodes (or was it three) ago.  The thing was House didn’t really mean it when he said it; he lied to her again while apologizing for lying in the first place.  AND he promised he wouldn’t lie to her again.  Since we all know that’s never going to happen, this could be the beginning of the end for them.  When he lies to her again, as he inevitably will, it’s going to get ugly.

Mike & Molly – Molly Gets a Hat

     Mike’s mother gave Molly a hat, which she didn’t care for so Mike gave it to Carl for his grandmother.  I knew immediately that she would wear it to Thanksgiving dinner, and that Mike’s mom would notice it was the same hat.

     Molly’s attempt to make her first Thanksgiving was not a failure, but also was not a success.  It seemed like everything except the turkey was edible and even good, but the turkey was a mess.  I thought she did okay though, all things considered.

     I am really trying to like the peripheral characters in this show, but it’s not always easy.  In this ep both mothers annoyed me, and Molly’s sister bugged me for the first half of the episode.  Carl was okay this episode and I love his grandmother, I just wish she were featured a bit more.  I keep hoping these characters are going to become more likeable, but it just hasn’t happened for me yet.  It’s really frustrating because I like Mike and Molly a lot and I don’t understand why the other characters aren’t gelling like they do.

Hawaii Five-0 – Hao Kanaka

     Again with the cousin references, cuz’ this, cuz’ that.  I have several cousins and I don’t think any of us do this.  I guess some families do, but I don’t know any.  It feels like lazy writing, and this show is way too new to be dealing with that already.

     This episode felt like an extended advertisement for the phone they were all using, talking about, taking photos with, etc.

     Danny is sloppy.  He left the drawer open in the kitchen, and then the pantry door open as well.  Apparently it wasn’t a big deal, but it was distracting.  He’s supposed to be a good cop, but he made these mistakes.

     Overall this show is fun for the scenery, both Hawaiian and male, and fun for some of the action stuff, but there hasn’t been an episode yet that has made me think, or stuck with me after it aired.  Basically a good guys always win, bad guys always loose bit a fluff that I find fun to watch, but also won’t miss if it doesn’t air or gets cancelled.

The Event – Your World to Take

     Lost had it’s numbers and The Event has the number 1121944 which I am sure has more significance than just letting all the sleepers know it’s time to gather.  What is it with my shows and phones today?

     Thomas has a girlfriend, Isabella, also from their home planet.  She was pretty unpleasant and manipulative and she really wanted Sophia dead.  Thomas seemed like he wanted to kill her, but when it came right down to it, he couldn’t.  Wimpy boy.  Sophia is a BADASS and forced Isabella to shoot herself in the leg to prove her loyalty to Sophia – totally badass!

     Sean and Leila made some headway in their search for Samantha.  A girl named Abby escaped from the same place Sam is being held, and Sean and Leila made an attempt to speak with her.  I assumed the bad guy of this ep was after Abby, it was a good twist that he was really after Leila.

     Vice President Jarvis was in the hospital after being nearly blown up last week.  He was alive, but his wife and children were threatened by Dempsey’s men, so he may not reveal what he knows to the President, out of fear for his wife’s and children’s safety.

     There are times when this show lags for me, but overall I am enjoying it.  I am often tempted to fast forward through Sean and Leila because I am not thrilled by their storyline, and I don’t particularly care for, or about, Leila.  I do really like Jason Ritter (regardless of Sean) though, and I find him pretty compelling, plus I am interested to see what new ways he is going to get abused every week.  My favorite character this episode though, hands down, was Sophia.  She is intense and very interesting to watch, and I can’t wait to see where they take her character.

Blue Bloods

Blue Bloods – Re-Do

     A violent murderer and rapist named Reed was released from prison due to mistakes made in the DNA lab at the time of his arrest.  Another man was also released at the same time for the same reason, who immediately started to intimidate his ex-wife.  I don’t remember what he did to get locked up in the first place but she had an order of protection against him, and he stayed just far enough away from her to not be in violation of the order.  The cops couldn’t arrest him for being outside her home, but Jamie and his partner did speak to him and asked him to move on.

     The cops stayed on Reed’s house, but Danny and Jackie eventually discovered he had a tunnel built in his basement that lead to a neighbor’s bomb shelter.  He got away from them, and after a couple of red herring, we found out he was going after Erin.  He got to her office and killed a cleaning man, put on his clothes and went after Erin.  She saw the dead man, and ran before Reed could get to her.

     She got herself into an office, and dialed her father before Reed found her, then she hit him with a fire extinguisher and ran again, but Reed caught up with her.  He was telling her about what he was going to do to her, when Frank showed up.  Reed put Erin in front of himself as a shield while Frank trained a gun on him, and Frank just shot him in the head.  Good thing he’s a good shot!

     I thought this episode was a great one because it really put most of the family together in their jobs, and also really showed them interacting both professionally and personally.  The fact they kept checking on each other was great.  Only Jamie was kind of out of the loop this episode, but he is still trying to figure out what the Blue Templar had to do with his other brother’s death.

Big Bang Theory/Grey's Anatomy/Fringe/The Mentalist/Private Practice

The Big Bang Theory – The Boyfriend Complexity

     Penny’s father came to visit and Penny had lied him and told him that she and Leonard were back together.  So they spent the entire episode pretending to be back together to make her father happy.  Leonard seemed to really be having fun with the situation, but Penny was uncomfortable with it, and eventually told her father the truth.  He was disappointed but understanding to Penny, but asked Leonard not to give up on her.

     Howard and his girlfriend Bernadette hung out with Raj while he watched planets on a feed from a telescope in Hawaii.  Raj had some wine, and he and Bernadette bonded a bit and got to know each other better.  Then Raj drank too much wine and tried to kiss Bernadette in a moment of sadness.  Instead Howard pushed him away and Raj and Howard ended up kissing each other.  They both got weird about it, but I am sure it will be fine next week.

     There wasn’t enough Sheldon in the episode, but he was very funny.  At one point he tossed a bunch of papers in the air in frustration, and one of them stuck to the back of his head.  It was hysterical, and it was unplanned and just happened.

Grey’s Anatomy – Slow Night, So Long

     The Residents were on the night shift, not working with our usual Attendings.  Our Attendings were at Joe’s celebrating the fact that Derek won the Grant he wanted for Alzheimer’s research.  It was cool to see some of the Attendings get a bit hammered, especially Bailey, who got to relax and let loose.  Callie and Mark hooked up; she used him as her sexual sorbet, to cleanse her palate after Arizona.  Teddy went on an internet date that lasted less than an hour, then got drunk with everyone else and bemoaned the single life.  I feel ya, sister.

     Hunt was on call, and had to go into surgery, assisted by Avery and Lexi.  Avery rocked the surgery, even thought he was still having nightmares, not sleeping well, and still seemed very angry.  He finally talked to Lexi a bit, not actually about himself but about the patient who will likely experience survivor’s guilt.  Avery basically told Lexi that is at least part of what he is experiencing, why he is dreaming about Charles, and why he is so angry.

     Meredith was on Dr Stark’s service, but he was more interested in enjoying a nice real at a nice restaurant than making sure the children in his care were okay.  Meredith called him in once for a child, and when he decided it was gas, he left in frustration.  When the same child experienced even more pain, Meredith went to Alex, because he had more recent experience in Pediatrics.  They ran some tests, discovered the child had an ulcer, and booked an OR.  They repeatedly tried to reach Stark, but he never once responded to a page, so Alex did the surgery himself, with Mer assisting.  He rocked it, saved the child, and then they both got berated by Stark, while the Chief looked on, more or less amused.  He totally understood what had happened and what had gone on.

     I wish I didn’t have to talk about Cristina and the situation she was in this week.  I understand this storyline, why it needed to be told, why it couldn’t be resolved in just a couple of episodes, and even why Cristina had to be the center of this story.  This storyline shows the amazing talent of Sandra Oh, and has really showcased her acting ability.  All that being said, I want Cristina the rock star surgeon back, damnit!  I hate that she was working as a bartender at Joe’s, and I hate that she got fired ½ way through her first shift.  I hate that she kept acting like she worked there, and then drank herself into an alcoholic stupor, and that she acted more like a stripper than a doctor.  I am terribly frustrated by the fact that she isn’t doing anything to help herself heal.  She knows she is a mess, yet has not gotten professional help.  She forced Owen to get help to deal with his PTSD, yet she hasn’t sought treatment for her own.  I also wish Owen would be a bit more proactive and push her to get help, instead of just holding her hair while she got sick after she got hammered.  I understand he is trying to stand back and let her come to it herself, but she needs his help.  I have to say, it’s a good storyline, because it certainly has me feeling passionate about what’s going on.

Fringe – The Abducted 

     We were back in the alternate universe with our Olivia tonight.  In the Alt-verse every kidnapping as treated as a Fringe case, dating back to when Peter was kidnapped and brought to our world by our Walter.

     The important part of this story was that Olivia figured out who the kidnappers were, with the help of Broyles’ son, who had been kidnapped by these men several years ago.  Olivia rescued the most recent kidnapped boy, and her kindness to both children really affected Broyles deeply.  When Olivia made a mistake and said she was with the FBI, he realized she had remembered who she really was and where she was really from.  Instead of turning her in he walked away.  So, he didn’t help her, but he didn’t hurt her either.

     She made her attempted escape but was pulled out of the tank by Walternate and his team, who were warned an alarm was triggered in the lab.  Before she disappeared from our universe, she was able to speak with a woman in the gift shop that she keeps appearing in within our universe.  She left a message for Peter, and the woman called Peter and told him that Olivia disappeared in front of her but asked her to call and tell him that she is trapped in the other universe.  Of course, Peter was in bed with Fauxliva when she called, so what he is going to do is anyone’s guess.

The Mentalist – Red Moon

     I don’t have a lot to say about this episode.  A serial killer targeted law enforcement, but also killed a woman who was not part of law enforcement.  The woman’s boyfriend/fiancée/husband wanted revenge on the killer, and Patrick eventually figured out that he was actually the killer.

     Once arrested he said he would talk, but he would only talk to Patrick.  When Patrick arrived in his holding cell, the killer was ON.FIRE.  Burned alive, he was placed in the hospital and as his organs were shutting down and he was dying he woke for one horrible moment and whispered something to Patrick that seemed to completely freak Patrick out.  Now, I have to be honest here, I rewound the DVR three or four times, yet had absolutely no idea what he said.  So I searched on line, and apparently he said “tiger tiger” which was part of a poem Red John    quoted to Patrick when he was holding Patrick hostage.  It appeared that this man was working with, or for, Red John.  No wonder Patrick looked freaked out.  This scene would have had a great deal more resonance for me if a) I had been able to figure out what he said, and b) if I remembered the poem. 

Private Practice – Can’t Find My Way Back Home

     When this episode ended the first thought I had was “Finally!”  Finally Charlotte did the right thing, finally Cooper knew the truth, and finally the insane pressure she had been putting on herself under trying to keep her rape a secret from Cooper was relieved a bit.  When Violet told him, my first thought was that Charlotte will never forgive her, but maybe she will.  Cooper was a rock, and said all the things Charlotte needed to hear, and meant them. 

     Charlotte identified her attacker, Lee, in a line up.  I am so hopeful this will allow her to start healing and getting her life back.  She will never be the same, the attack and rape will always be a part of her for the rest of her life, but being able to finally say “this is the man who hurt me” should give her a way to move forward.

     The other major thing that happened this week was that Addison told Sam she wants to have a baby, and sooner rather than later.  She said they don’t need to talk about it, which I didn’t really understand.  I wasn’t sure if she meant that she thought he would just be fine with them having a child together or if she doesn’t really care if Sam is a part of it or not.  At first I really had no idea, but the longer I have thought about it, the more I think she is just going to do it with or without Sam, on her own, and he need not do anything in the conception or raising process.

Modern Family/Cougar Town

Modern Family – Manny Get Your Gun

     It was Manny’s birthday and the whole family met at a restaurant for dinner.  Just as an FYI, I have been to that restaurant, and I am pretty sure that exact location, a couple of times and the food is really good.

     Phil and Claire decided to take separate cars, because they each had a different route and wanted to race to see which one was faster.  Luke thought when they said they were splitting up, they meant their marriage, and he wanted to go with his father.  When Claire realized the mistake, she asked him why he wanted to go with his dad, was it because he is the fun parent?  After a bit of a rant by Claire about why there can’t be two fun parents, Luke just said he thought his dad would need him more.  Meanwhile, in Phil’s car he, Haley, and Alex all ended up crying because the girls don’t want to go to family camp and Phil started crying because he felt they were outgrowing him.  Once he started crying, so did both girls, because their dad was crying.  It sounds really depressing, but it was actually funny.

     Cam and Mitchell were rushing around trying to get Manny a birthday gift, but Cam kept getting sidetracked and Mitchell was getting frustrated.  Then they ended up in the middle of a dance flash mob, and Mitchell was actually a participant in it, which is why he was trying to rush Cam.  He said it was his love letter to Cam, but Cam was upset that Mitchell did it without him.  All I could think about during the flash mob scene was my friend Andrea, because I know she loves those things, and I think both of us cry every time we see one on Youtube.  Andy, did you cry this time?  I loved it, but didn’t cry, probably because it was scripted instead of reality.

     Gloria lost her keys, and spent most of the episode looking for them while being teased and cajoled by Jay about it.  He ended up finding them in his own jacket pocket, after saying he didn’t have them, and he put them into Gloria’s purse.  She got him to admit he put them back in there, because he was trying to teach her a lesson; that she is scattered and needs to be more organized.

     Manny was afraid he missed is childhood, because he has always been mature beyond his years.  However, after watching all of the adults in his family act like children, he realized he still has plenty of time to behave like a child.

Cougar Town – Little Girl Blues

     Travis brought his new girlfriend home from college to meet the gang.  Jules was passive aggressive to the hilt, and even got kind of nasty to Kirsten, just not in front of Trav.  No one was saying her name right, everyone called her Kristen, and even Travis did it after a bit.  I felt sorry for the poor girl, because she seemed to really like Travis but Jules was pretty mean.  Finally, Jules sat her down and explained to her that she knows she can be weird about Travis, but she really loves him and just wanted him to be treated well.  I am afraid no woman is ever going to be good enough for Travis in Jules’ eyes.

     The most traumatic event of the episode was the death of Big Joe.  Well, not real death, since Big Joe was just a giant wine glass, but it was Jules’ favorite wine glass because it was like drinking wine out of a goldfish bowl, and Kirsten accidently broke it.  Thankfully, at the end of the episode, Jules introduced everyone to Big Carl, her new giant wine glass.  I actually think I like Big Carl better, it’s a very cool looking wine glass.

Sons of Anarchy/Glee/No Ordinary Family/Parenthood

Sons of Anarchy – Bainne

     Gemma is a bad ass!  And damnit if Katey Segal doesn’t get an Emmy nomination this year I am going to be royally pissed off.

     When Jax saw the people who wanted to adopt Abel, the longing in his eyes and heart was obvious.  He was seeing what could have been, what he wanted for himself as much as for Abel.  He was seeing the life he and Tara could have had, if not for the club.  It was heartbreaking, and if I didn’t see it right then, I certainly did when he walked into their hotel room and saw them dead.  When he laid the woman on the bed next to her husband, and they put Abel’s hat over their hands, he was also witnessing the death of that dream.

     Tara was awesome when she went after Salazar’s old lady, but I don’t understand why she didn’t just shoot him while he was completely distracted by her injuries.  I understand Tara isn’t really a stone cold killer, but she has had a hand in a couple of deaths already, so this really shouldn’t have been an issue for her.  She could have shot him easily, if not even to kill him, just so they could escape.  Then the woman died anyway.

     Finally!  Abel is in Jax’s hands and back with his family.  Our boys are on their way back to the US, and Maureen gave Jax a bit of a memento, old letters that JT sent her when he went back to Charming.  I will be interested to see his reaction to them when he reads them.  There is certainly a hint there that John had suspicions about Gemma and Clay.  As they got ready to come home, Tig called to tell them what was going on with Tara.  So, they didn’t even get to celebrate having Abel back on the trip home, they had to start worrying and planning before they even got back to Charming.

Glee – The Substitute

     I am not a big Gwyneth Paltrow fan, but I thought she was excellent in this episode.  Her voice was surprisingly good, and she really put it all out there. 

     I was so glad to see Kurt actually smiling in this episode.  He has been so angry, sad, and lonely; it was great to see him enjoying himself.  I am also glad he tried to get Mercedes to stop substituting their friendship for a romantic relationship, and I do hope that she will find someone to date.

     Will needs to get himself together.  Having sex with the ex happens, but Terri is pretty crazy, and I don’t think it was a wise idea.  I think she is going to cause him some trouble in upcoming episodes, which is good because it will keep Jessalyn on the show, but it makes me nervous for Will.

     Not a lot happened with the other characters in this episode.  It was really the Gwyneth hour, which was fine, but they really need to get back to our Gleeks.

No Ordinary Family – No Ordinary Mobster 

     Stephanie found out that it’s possible that they may lose their powers.  At the same time, who knows if that is true, because the woman who told her that was on Stephanie’s boss’s payroll and was paid to tell her what she said.

     Jim catches a bad guy, and the bad guy sees who Jim is, but before he can ID Jim The Watcher kills the bad guy with his mind.  For some reason though, The Watcher doesn’t tell his boss, also Stephanie’s boss (Dr. King) that he recognized Jim when he saw a photo of him.

     Dr King told The Watcher to get closer to Stephanie.  He finds a way in through Katie, who was about to be stood up on a first date with someone she met online, because it was JJ online and he couldn’t show up for the date, and didn’t find a substitute.  The Watcher showed up, and Katie assumed it was her date.  I have to say, while I get that it was a plot device, I have done some online dating, and would never meet someone that I hadn’t at least seen a photo of before the date.  Katie is smart, this would have been a stupid move, to not know what her date looks like before she met him, and I don’t think it worked for me.  It took me out of the story.

Parenthood – Put Yourself Out There

     It was a good, strong episode for Bonnie Bedelia.  She had some strong scenes with Craig T Nelson this week, and both of them showed how and why they are still acting so many years into their careers.  Zeek and Camille are still in counseling but they are not really making a lot of headway.  They both keep falling back into old patterns and behaviors, and I think they are both feeling very frustrated.

     Amber scored very high on her SATs and ended up meeting with a Berkley alumni as kind of a pre-application interview.  She got very nervous about it, but actually told the woman she was nervous, and why, and ended up doing very well in the interview.

     There was some stuff with Max, and the fact that he didn’t get invited to a classmate’s birthday party because she wanted to play games at her party and Max is a sore loser.  The best part of this story for me was that Kristina made a new friend with the mother of the girl.  It was good to see her bonding with another Asperger mother that is kind of on her same level.

How I Met Your Mother/House/Mike & Molly/Castle/Hawaii Five-0/The Event

How I Met Your Mother – Glitter

     Robin Sparkles was back!  I loved Robin Sparkles the first time, liked her the second, and am pretty well over her now.  I honestly hope this plot device is over and done, but I expect if the show comes back next season it will recur.

     This episode was really all about Robin’s and Lily’s friendship, and how the dynamic has changed now that Lily is trying to get pregnant.  There was, of course a lot of miscommunication, they ended their friendship, they both apologized, and they are both back to being best friends.

     Barney’s run of reality show competition send offs was the best part of this episode for me.  I watched it twice.  I don’t know if NPH is a huge reality buff, but I do know he is a big fan of Big Brother, so I knew as soon as he started he would say “You have been evicted from the Big Brother house” which he did.

    

House – A Pox on Our House

     At first I thought I was watching either an episode of Lost or had accidentally switched the The History Channel.  However, it ended up being House and of course being relevant.

     There was a distinct possibility that a family had been infected with smallpox, or at least exposed to it.  The daughter in the family was exposed to something, and the team, and the CDC believed it to be smallpox.  Then the father developed symptoms, and he actually died, but not before House went into the room thinking it wasn’t smallpox, and exposed himself to whatever the father had.

     They finally figured out it was R-pox, not smallpox, which was treatable.  The daughter, who might have died had they not figured it out, survived, and House also survived, of course.  It was a shame that the father died before they figured it out.

     Last week House lied to Cuddy about something; a test I think.  I honestly don’t remember, but Cuddy does.  She discovered he lied to her last week, but didn’t confront him about it until this week.  While she put it aside when she thought he might die, as soon as it was clear he was going to be fine, she picked her anger and frustration right back up again.  She is very angry with him, and this won’t be resolved soon.

Mike & Molly – Mike’s New Boots

     Molly got Mike a pair of rattlesnake cowboy boots.  Mike and Molly go to an OA meeting together, where he wore the boots and got flirted with by a new woman at the OA meeting.  The woman asked to Mike to be his sponsor, after Mike introduced Molly to her as his “friend”.  Molly got pretty upset about that, and I believe she had every right to get upset.

     Mike went to talk to Carl about it, and Carl’s nana talked to Mike about what happened.  During the conversation, Mike admitted that he loves Molly!  As soon as he said it, he said it again, intentionally.  At the same time, Molly and her sister were talking, and she said she loved Mike!

     Mike went to Molly’s and apologized for not introducing her as his girlfriend.  Then he started to say he loved her, but stopped himself, and said he loved his new boots.  He did make it clear to her he meant more than that, but neither of them said I love you to each other.  I don’t know if they both thought it was too soon to say it, or if they wanted it to be a different time to say it the first time, not when they had been arguing but in a better moment, but they didn’t say it yet.

Castle – Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind

     Explosive decompression killed this week’s victim.  Castle was intrigued from the first, since he thought perhaps it was the result of an alien abduction.  I immediately thought her assistant was odd, and hiding something.  The entire episode definitely felt like the better episodes of The X-Files, and Castle constantly referencing Mulder and Scully certainly didn’t hurt.

     Lyle Lovett guest-starred and all I can say about him is that I never realized how much he reminds me of Leonard Nimoy/Mr. Spock.  I thought he was fine in the role, but it really could have been anyone in the part, and it felt like unnecessary stunt casting.

     The final outcome was that it wasn’t extraterrestrials that killed the victim, but her boss who was working as a spy/agent for the Chinese government.  Both the boss and his Chinese handler were arrested, and the case was closed.

Hawaii Five-0 – Po’ipu

     When Danny started talking about Bon Jovi, I literally applauded.  I am a fan, and that cracked me up.  Scott Caan really steals this show.

      A female assassin seduced and killed a member of the advance team for a violent dictator.  When they finally identified her and caught up with her she was hit by a bus and killed.  When her phone was dumped, it was discovered that the last person she called was Taylor, a man who was hired to protect General Pak, the dictator.  He also happened to be someone McGarrett had worked with in the military, and someone he had trusted.  As soon as the team discovered this, they got the General to a safe house and called for backup.  His phone had been cloned however, and help didn’t come, only Taylor and his team.

     While they waited for help to arrive, the General admitted he had come to the US to request political asylum, and to testify against those left in his country.  He was going to admit to his crimes, pay the price, and stop the war in his homeland, to save it.  Taylor was being paid millions to kill the General and his family, and to stop him from testifying.

     Our team killed all the bad guys, the General got his asylum, and he headed off to testify to the UN.

The Event – For the Good of Our Country

     I am not going to recap this show today.  The story just gets more and more convoluted and I don’t have the brain power to try and unravel it today.  Basically, Sean got shot and Leila kidnapped a doctor to help him, which he did.  So, Sean will be okay, but hampered in the next few episodes.  President Martinez and Director Sterling realized that Vice President Jarvis was involved in the attempted assassination of the President by the airplane piloted by Michael Buchanan.  Jarvis was working with Dempsey who wanted the President dead to stop the announcement about the people being held in Alaska.

     So, it appears there are basically three factions at work here.  The President and the people loyal to him, who were at least okay with the President announcing there were “others” being held in Alaska.  Then there are the detainees and the sleepers who weren’t detained but are also not humans.  They are in two camps, those that want people to know about them, and those that don’t.  Third there are Dempsey and the people working with him, apparently trying to keep information about the non-humans from ever getting out.  Sean, Leila, Michael, and many others seem to just be pawns in the bigger game between all these groups.

Desperate Housewives/Brothers & Sisters

Desperate Housewives – Sorry Grateful

     I didn’t really enjoy this week’s episode.  In my opinion, every one of the lead women was strident, except perhaps Bree.  When this show first started, I never thought I would like Bree more than any of the other women, but I have to say this week that seemed to be the case.

     Bree tried to be there for Keith as his parents decided, at Bree’s Thanksgiving dinner table, that they wanted a divorce.  Keith’s father said that it has been a long time coming, but Keith didn’t see it coming, and it shook his faith in marriage.  That may be a good thing for Bree, since Keith has an engagement ring he was obviously planning to propose to Bree.  I don’t believe she would say yes at this point, so maybe it’s a good thing that this has made Keith question his decision to propose.  Also, Keith’s father expressed a bit of interest in Bree, and it certainly seemed to be inappropriate from a man who just separated from his wife, not to mention the father of her boyfriend.  He is more age appropriate for Bree, so my guess would be she will find herself attracted to him as well as to Keith. 

     I am pretty irritated with the rest of the women, and their surrounding storylines.  Because of this, I am not even going to talk about them this week.  This blog is supposed to be fun for me to write, and you to read, and writing about any of the other storylines this week would be neither. 

Brothers & Sisters – The Rhapsody of the Flesh

     I have never been a fan of Sonia Braga.  It’s not that I don’t like her or her work; I just don’t really know any of her work.  I did like her as Luc’s mother here, so I guess that’s a good thing.  I totally understand why Luc doesn’t want her around, doesn’t want her to infiltrate the Walker family, since she wreaked a lot of havoc in one 24 hour period.

     I am glad Nora and Dr. Karl are finally starting to get together.  I am really hopeful they actually work out and last for a while, for two reasons.  First, I think Nora deserves some happiness with a man, and second because I really love John Terry, and am really glad to see him on my television again.

     Poor Kevin and Scotty:  they get two weeks of good screen time because they were in conflict and might break up.  Now they are back together, working on their issues, and back on the backburner.

     Justin spent this episode basically making out with any female in his vicinity.  I kind of understand this:  it’s the first time he has been single, sober, and in the US all at the same time.  He SHOULD enjoy it, but someone needs to explain to him that while that’s okay, don’t do so with women who not only know each other but work together AND work with you.  And don’t stick your tongue down the throat of some woman, whose name you don’t even know, and who is a guest in your mother’s home.  She could just possibly turn out to be your older sister’s fiancée’s mother.

Blue Bloods

Blue Bloods – Chinatown

     Jamie was in Chinatown meeting the FBI contact that wanted him to investigate the Blue Templar, but he told her that he is out, and will not work with them in the investigation.  He then overheard a possible kidnapping, tried to stop it, and chased one of the suspects until the suspect got hit by a car and killed.  The other suspect escaped, but Danny and his partner Jackie find him and arrest him.  Erin informed them that the DA’s office didn’t have enough to charge him so they had to release him.  That, in turn, got him killed by his gang, the Triad.  They figured out who this guy was working with, how, and why, and saved the young woman from having her baby sold to adoption.

     Because of this incident, Jamie was investigated by IAD.  The investigator was told to be especially vigilant by the Commissioner, so there were no allegations of favoritism or impropriety.  They were very suspicious of his conversation with the mystery woman before he heard the possible kidnapping, and he couldn’t tell them it was an FBI agent.  She finally came forward, but not as herself; she came forward with exactly the cover story Jamie had provided to IA.  It was very helpful to him, and IA closed the investigation, but now Jamie owes her, so I don’t think this Blue Templar storyline is anywhere near done.

Big Bang Theory/Vampire Diaries/Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice/The Mentalist/Fringe

The Big Bang Theory – The 21-Second Excitation

     21 seconds of unaired Raiders of the Lost Ark is at the center of this episode.  The guys go out to dinner before a special airing of Raiders with the extra 21 seconds of footage, and he told them they needed to go.  They didn’t listen, and got to the theater when there was a huge line.  As they stood in line, Evil Wil Wheaton shows up with three friends, and they were immediately let in without standing in line.  When those in line were finally allowed in, the theater was full JUST as the guys got to the front of the line.  So if Evil Wil Wheaton and his friends hadn’t gotten special treatment, they would have gotten in.

     The guys were getting ready to go home when an employee came out a side door, so they snuck in.  Instead of doing the expected and sneaking into the theater to sit in the aisle and see the movie, Sheldon stole the entire film, both canisters, and they ran, quickly followed by Evil Wil Wheaton and the rest of the moviegoers, much like something out of the movie itself.

     While the guys were at the movie, fighting off Evil Wil Wheaton, the ladies (Penny, Bernadette, and Amy) have a girls’ night.  It’s very awkward, because Amy has never participated in one before, and she has no idea how to behave.  It was funny in an uncomfortable way, but I definitely prefer the boy storyline.

     I won’t lie; I will love Wil Wheaton and will love every episode of Big Bang that he is in.  He is such a fun foil for Sheldon, and I think it’s great that while Sheldon almost always come out on top with his friends (at least in his own mind) he has yet to best Evil Wil Wheaton.

The Vampire Diaries – Katerina

     We got a lot of backstory on Katherine, and some information on the Originals, and the big-bad, Klaus.  Elena and Katherine spent a great deal of this episode talking, and I actually believed what Katherine told her.  She seemed to be telling Elena the truth about both her past and what brought her back to Mystic Falls and what she was going to do and how she was going to break the curse.

     I am not going to go into the whole Katherine backstory.  It’s very detailed and intense, but the two important things are that she had a child out wedlock, which is how Elena came to exist and Klaus wanted Katherine and now Elena to break the curse.

     Elijah was not killed by Damon shoving a stake through his heart last week, and he can walk in the daylight.  He does wear a ring, so I imagine it is the same type of ring that Damon and Stefan have, which allows him to walk in daylight.  As for surviving the stake, I think as an Original he has more power than most vamps, and staking just isn’t going to be enough to kill him.  My guess is that if they get another opportunity to kill him, they are going to have to cut off his head.

     Katherine did detail what is needed to lift the curse that holds vampires to walking in darkness and werewolves to turning at the full moon.  Katherine was planning to give Elena over to Klaus, along with everything else needed to break the curse: the moonstone, the doppelganger (Elena), a werewolf (first Mason, now Tyler), a vampire (Caroline) and a witch (first the witch she brought to the masquerade ball, now Bonnie).  We also found out through Rose and her friend Slater that if a vampire breaks the curse, werewolves will be forever stuck with the curse of the moon, and if a werewolf breaks it vampires will be stuck with the curse of never being able to walk in the daytime (unless of course they have a daywalker ring!).

     Damon and Rose had sex, and while we only saw the kissing and the aftermath, we did at least get to see Damon shirtless.  That’s always a plus.

     There were two new witches (well, warlocks) in town this week.  Lukas and his father, and Lukas spent this episode flirting with Bonnie, and then he told her that he and his father are warlocks.  Lukas’ father is working with Elijah, which I thought meant that Elijah is also trying to find a way to break the curse.  We did find out that Elijah also has the power to compel other vampires, something else that makes him special.  He compelled Slater to tell Rose they need the moonstone and a witch, and then also compelled him to drive a stake into his own heart, thereby killing himself.

Grey’s Anatomy – Something’s Gotta Give

     Some of these doctors need some pretty serious therapy.  I wish the psychiatrist that was there to deal with the immediate aftermath of the shooting had stayed, because after this episode it’s pretty clear that Alex, Avery, and Cristina could definitely benefit from talking to a professional.

     I am not going to recap this ep.  I just want to say that Alex needs to get a handle on his family issues as soon as possible.  I think that they are setting something up here, perhaps his 16 year old sister is going to need to come and live with him for a time, and we will get to see Alex actually grow up outside of his profession, as he has in his career.  I loved that regardless of all the drama going on with his family, he was still able to find a solution to the baby’s issue with the transplanted liver being too big/heavy.  Then he turned around and was a complete ass to April, bordering very closely to abusing her.  He deserved the beating Avery gave him, and I think even he realized it.

     Avery seemed frustrated that he can’t seem to get himself together, and he was afraid no attendings wanted to work with him, because he has blown it with so many of them lately.  He really needs someone to talk to, someone who is outside of the situation, that he can be really honest with, because his friends weren’t really helping him.  They were trying to be supportive, but it seemed like he needs something more than support.  I think he beat on Alex as much because of the way Alex treated April as because he just really needed to vent some of his anger and frustration, and this was a convenient excuse.

     Then there is Cristina, who is absolutely floundering.  Her dancing around the new place was a great callback to when she and Meredith would try to dance out their problems, but even this didn’t help.  It was great to see Cristina and Callie together, because the show often neglects their friendship, but they ARE friends and were roommates, and sometimes I forget that.  It was great seeing them together, actually having a bit of fun, but Callie was also indulging Cristina’s moods.  I think Cristina is definitely deep in PTSD and may even be a bit manic-depressive at this point.  I can’t understand why Owen hasn’t been more forceful and pushed her into therapy.  She did it to him when he was suffering, and he is a better man for it.  She needs to talk to someone who wasn’t there the day of the shooting, who won’t coddle her, but also won’t be judgmental of her.  It’s frustrating to see her continuing to deteriorate.  I hope she gets help soon.

     The housewarming/intervention would have been a bad idea though, and I am glad Derek kept her from it.  The two of them have actually started to develop a friendship apart from their respective relationships with Meredith, and I like seeing it.  I think if Cristina doesn’t go to therapy, Derek may eventually be the one person who can help her find her way back.

Private Practice – What Happens Next

     Charlotte went back to work and this episode dealt mainly with that.  There were a couple of medical cases, but they were pretty insignificant compared to Charlotte’s storyline, so I am not going waste space here on them.  Charlotte still didn’t want to admit to anyone she had been raped, and didn’t even want to deal with Addison because she is the one person who knows the truth about what happened.

     All of the doctors, except Cooper, came to the conclusion on their own that they think Charlotte was raped.  Addison actually told Sam, because in addition to being alone with the knowledge of the rape, she also did an unauthorized rape kit on Charlotte and was trying to figure out what to do.  Legally she was supposed to report the rape and have the scrapings processed, but she had promised Charlotte she wouldn’t even do a rape kit.  She didn’t know what to do and the conflicting emotions were too hard for her to deal with on her own.  She finally called the police to process the pelvic washings.

     Sheldon was doing his best to do nothing for Charlotte, to leave her alone as she had asked.  She appreciated it, but even he couldn’t just walk away when he thought he might know who raped her.  Violet didn’t come right out and tell Sheldon she thought Charlotte had been raped, but based on their conversation he came to it on his own.  Then he went to the police and told them he thought he knew who Lee McHenry raped.

     Sam went to Violet and asked her to talk to Charlotte.  He didn’t tell her anything else, but just asked her to really talk to her.  Violet saw the signs, and talked to Pete, who was the first one to see Charlotte the night of the attack.  While Pete didn’t know for sure, when Violet asked him if he though she had been raped, he said he thought she was.  Violet went to see Charlotte, and told her about the fact that she was raped in college, and she understands what Charlotte is going through.  While she remained stoic while Violet was talking to her, after Violet left, Charlotte went into a rage and trashed her office.  She was scared, angry, and upset, and vented the only way she knew how.  I think she knew that people were starting to draw conclusions, and that upset her as well.

     Charlotte at least knew herself well enough to know her limitations.  She went to Amelia and asked her to take her to a NA meeting.  Amelia had offered earlier, but Charlotte shut her down.  After the day Charlotte had, and her coming to realize her secret wasn’t so secret, Charlotte needed the support.

 

The Mentalist – Balls of Fire

     Patrick was kidnapped by a hired gun, who was shot in the process, and then was finished off by the actual kidnapper, a young woman named Rachel.  CBI conducted a joint investigation with the FBI to try and find him.  Rachel posed as a witness at the initial crime scene to misdirect the investigation, but they eventually figured out who she was.  In the meantime, Rachel used a cattle prod on Jane, and wanted to torture him before she killed him.  Her torture however, saved Patrick’s life, since if she had just killed him when she got him they wouldn’t have found them in time.

     Eventually Lisbon got close, Rachel caught her and took her to Patrick, and they got close to escape.  However, just before they escaped she figured out what was going on, and almost shot them.  Of course, the CBI arrived just in time, Patrick and Lisbon were rescued, and Rachel was shot and killed.

Fringe – 6995 kHz

     In our universe this week and Fauxliva had seduced and slept with Peter.  He is going to be SO upset when he finds out she isn’t really Olivia!

     Several numbers were transmitted over short wave radio, and the fifteen people that we know of that were listening went unconscious for a brief time.  When they woke up, they didn’t know who they were or who anyone around them was either.  Walter finds a second wavelength, under the numbers, that they believe was used to wipe these people’s memories, and they believe it was done because these people were close to solving the question of what the numbers were.

     Eventually the Fringe team found out that the numbers are coordinates on the world map, latitude and longitude markers.  When the team went to one of those locations and they dug, they found another part of the machine from the alt-universe, which they believe could cause the destruction of one of the universes, with Peter at the helm.  They decided they need to dig up the remaining pieces, 37 in all, and see what they create.

     There were some cracks in Fauxliva’s façade this week.  Nina called her out on the fact that it wasn’t like Olivia not to talk to Walter directly about his concerns.  Also, Fauxliva failed to recognize a name on a list Peter found, a name of a man that Olivia and Peter have spoken to more than once.  Peter seems to have blinders on regarding all these little out of place things, but Nina seemed a bit more curious.  I wonder if she will figure out Fauxlivia is not our Olivia.