The VICIOUS TV News Wrap 02.14.06

Posted by Steve Vicious on 02.14.2006

Going Valentine's style with recaps on Gilmore Girls, The OC, Arrested Development, My Name is Earl, The Office, Scrubs, Love Monkey, Justice League Unlimited and Law & Order: SVU, plus Mandy Moore is my TV Babe of the Week!



Intro:
It's the Valentine's Day version of the VICIOUS TV News Wrap! Not much in the form of TV news this week, but there was a TON of TV to recap, so that's what I did. I had some problems with my DVD recorder, so my Arrested Development recap is not as bulked up as I would have liked it to be. It was the best half-hour show I have seen since Seinfeld left, although I still have Scrubs, My name is Earl and The Office to fill the empty void that will be left in my life (unless Showtime picks AD up for season 4). I will no doubt PAY actual money to watch Arrested Development on Showtime, if the deal goes through for season four. I'd prefer to see AD on Showtime instead of ABC because the folks at ABC wouldn't know what to do with the show, although it would be a great idea to move that Desperate Housewives an hour earlier (from 9PM to 8PM) and placing AD at 9PM, along with another sitcom, before Grey's Anatomy (ABC's SECOND highest rated show). Anyway, lets get to the News Wrap.

Random TV Thoughts, News, Gossip, etc.
- Bloviate with Bill
FOX News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor had its first "Bloviate with Bill" segment last Tuesday (02.07.06) and it was okay. For those of you who are unaware of what the segment was supposed to have accomplished, it's simple -- normal folks go on air to bloviate with Mr. O'Reilly over today's "hot" issues. However, I was disappointed by the segment because I thought it was going to have people like David Letterman (I lost all respect to him after he said that most of the stuff O'Reilly says is crap even though he has NEVER seen the show) or Phil Donahue going on there and acting all crazy. That would have been great.

- CBS shows no love for "Love Monkey"
CBS has decided to send their mid-season dramedy starring Tom Cavanagh and Jason Priestley on hiatus after just THREE episodes. In other words -- don't expect the show back ever again, unless CBS wants to burn the rest of the episodes off later in the spring or the summer. Poor Tom, he should have moved "ED" over to CBS. STUCKEYVILLE 4EVER!!! However, I'll miss starring at Judy Greer's boobs, even though they're not as big as they were on Arrested Development.

- Ricky Gervais to write on The Office
The New York Post is reporting that Ricky Gervais (the mastermind behind the BBC version and NBC version of "The Office) will co-write an episode of NBC's The Office for its third season in the fall. I'm curious to see if his brand of humor will work in the US. We'll see, governor.

The VICIOUS TV Mini-Wrap:
- Gilmore Girls: "You've Been Gilmored" [02.07.06]Emily tells Lorelai that she would like to get to know her future son-in-law better and asks her to invite Luke over for dinner. That goes over better than I expected, actually. But it seems that Emily & Richard have some MINOR concerns over Luke's daughter because, according to them, the whole thing seems fishy. I mean, the girl popped out of nowhere and they mock the DNA tests that Luke took. Funny stuff. Meanwhile, Rory has been voted as the new editor over the Yale Daily News. Of course, Paris is PISSED over that and kicks Rory out of their apartment. Is that legal? Anyway, since she has NOWHERE ON THE ENTIRE FREAKIN' PLANET TO GO, Rory moves in with Logan. OH, DEAR GOD! And just to make things even more awkward for Rory, Christopher (that's her daddy, in case you didn't know) shows up and takes a tour of Yale with her. He asks to know where she lives and meets Logan at their place. This whole sequence was weird because, if I remember correctly, Christopher hated Logan after catching him getting it on with a half-naked Rory last year. Lorelai takes the news of Rory's moving in with Logan much better than I expected. That's all. Next week, the Gilmores do Valentine's day. ***1/2

- Scrubs: "My Half-Acre" [02.07.06]
J.D. meets a new potential love interest named Julie (Mandy Moore), and Elliot steps in with romantic advice. It seems that Julie is a MAJOR huge klutz, in a J.D. sort of way. Elliot's advice comes from her past relationship with J.D. a few seasons ago and it seems he made some major mistakes with her back then (JD: "You're getting a little thick."). The best moment of the entire episode was J.D. imaging Elliot (dressed exactly like J.D.) making out with Julie. ***1/2

- Scrubs: "Her Story II" [02.07.06]
Elliot tries to convince J.D. that he should stay out of his head for once. He seems hellbent on making his relationship with Julie work, so introduces her to his pals. Julie makes Turk scream because she introduces him to her god father, Billy Dee Williams. However, J.D. soon begins to notice that Julie does not laugh at anything he does, but she does respond by saying, "That's so funny." Turk tells J.D. to ignore that one flaw or else he will be left alone again. Even Billy Dee Williams (Turk calls him "Lando") and Dr. Cox give their two cents about the situation. However, J.D. does break things off with Julie in the end. Saw it coming. Other awesome stuff in this episode had the Janitor start a mini-feud with Carla over her assuming he was two years older than his real age (she assumed he was 45-years old). He does get revenge by mentioning that a new Latina nurse looks like a "young Carla." Carla turns into X-Men's Storm and goes nuts. The whole age thing also worries Carla because she assumes that the reason she has been unable to become pregnant is due to her being too old. However, it turns out that she isn't and all things are good to go. One of the best episodes of the season. ****1/2

- Law & Order: SVU: "Manipulated"
Detectives discover that the body of a young woman, found murdered in her apartment, is that of a lawyer who secretly moonlights as a stripper. What's the twist, you say? Well, the twist in this episode is that the the man accused of killing the lawyer-stripper, and then accused of killing another stripper, is being setup by his paralyzed wife. She seems to have hired a Silver Hammer hired gun to frame her husband, and the hired gun even manages to plant sperm in one of the woman's body (the wife gave him oral and didn't swallow). The hired gun having no fear was very cool, with the best parts coming as he looks to be trapped by Fin & Munch, yet he decides to nail Munch and run away (he's captured, of course). Then, during the questioning, the hired gun threatens to crush Stabler's balls if he doesn't get away from him. Careful, Chris Meloni was on OZ and he was known there as being a serial gay rapist/killer.

Anyway, the wife, of course, denies it all. BOO!!! Meanwhile, the hired gun tells all to Casey -- he was hired by the wife to follow her husband to see if he was cheating on her (which he was, but only with the first woman). The hired gun then explains how he also stole "germs" for the wife to inject it into herself to make her sick. According to B.D. Wong (I keep forgetting his name on SVU!), she only did that to get attention. During the court case, the wife keeps injecting insulin until she causes a seizure. The judge must be a liberal, because she falls for the trick and is all nice to her defense team.

Finally, the detectives pay her husband a visit and try to convince him to turn on his wife. The husband becomes enraged after the detectives tell him how he would possibly know if his wife has become better since he doesn't talk to her doctor. So he grabs his wife and tosses her in their pool, with her wheelchair at hand. We then discover that she CAN walk after all. The husband leaves, pissed off that he has spent the past couple of years caring for her, and she begs him to not leave her. Too bad. Excellent episode, lots of drama and a good enough twist. Plus, how can I not go thumbs up when the guy dumps the lying bitch? ****1/2

- Love Monkey: "Confidence" [02.07.06]
Tom deals with the pressure of filming Wayne's first music video with a director who he does not agree with from an artistic point of view. Things get out of control at the end when Tom goes after the director and fires him in an intense fit of rage. The producers at Tom's record company feel that he has killed the entire video because the budget is gone and they cannot edit it to be any good than the shit it is. However, Tom manages to save the day by shooting a simple video for Wayne. Wayne is too John Mayer for my tastes. But I'm sure teenage girls will love him, so blah. I'm not sure why, but I'm not digging this series as much as I though I would. Okayish. Oh, I miss Stuckeyville. ***

- The OC: "The Heavy Lifting" [02.09.06]
We start off this week by discovering that Johnny is DEAD after all. It goes to show you -- never fall off a big rock. Splat. Anyway, Johnny's hod cousin has come to town for Johnny's funeral. She gives Marissa a necklace that Johnny had asked her to make for Marissa, which had both her and Johnny's birth stones together. This causes Marissa to become even more depressed over Johnny's death and she has a fight with Ryan (UGH!!!). Meanwhile, Kaitlin blames herself for Johnny's death, but she later blames Ryan for it. God, I hate teenagers. They have no logic. And that's not all that Kaitlin has to deal with this week because some boy is stalking her (in a creepy but good way, I guess). They later hook-up and she FINALLY leaves the OC. Thank god. Other storylines this week see Summer and Seth fight over his pot use on Valentine's Day. Seth almost makes nice with her, but Summer slaps him when she discovers that he gave her lingerie (he accidentally switched the bag with his dad's). ***1/2

- My Name is Earl: "The Professor" [02.09.06]
Earl tries to return a laptop he stole and it turns out that the laptop belongs to a professor at a university. Earl mentions that he doesn't do well around intelligent people, and we get flashbacks to Earl's childhood days in spelling bee competitions where he cannot spell any word that has a silent k in it. When Earl gets to the college, he discovers that the professor is a VERY beautiful woman named Alex Myer (Christine Taylor). Earl tries to give the laptop back, but she thinks he is trying to rape her, so she kicks him in the nuts and blows her rape whistle. Later on, Alex talks Earl into being an experiment for her class because of his obsession with his karma list. Earl agrees, but he ignores the fact that he smashed a bus stop sign and promised to fix it the very next day, which he didn't. Anyway, Earl impresses Alex with his stories about life and she invites him a luncheon. Unfortunately for Earl, the fact that he has ignored the bus stop has caused karma to attack him any chance the bus passes the people waiting for a ride. Earl finally has enough of karma kicking his ass, so he heads off to fix the two most recent bad things he has done (the bus stop and punching Freaks & Geeks' Sam Levine in the stomach). He doesn't get the job done, so he heads back to find Alex. However, Alex was attacked by a bunch of bees and her face was the main target. Earl decides to break things off with her and goes off to fix the bus stop sign. Meanwhile, Randy has a blast at a college fraternity. This show is on a major roll. *****

- The Office: "Valetine's Day" [02.09.06]
It's Valentine's Day at the office. Michael heads to New York for a presentation for the company's new CFO. He has a very interesting trip because he walks around the city and thinks he sees Tina Fey walking around Times Square. We get a small cameo by Conan O'Brien and Michael is mad that he missed him. Michael finally makes it to his presentation and tells his fellow companions there that he slept with Jan. The meeting starts and Michael gives us a short film that has clips from the crew of his company. He finishes the film by calling it a "Michael Scott Joint," which is a nod to Spike Lee. One of Michael's companions does not give his presentation the way he was supposed to, so he mentions that Jan wouldn't have done anything to him had he slept with her like Michael did. Jan worries about being fired, but Michael tells the new CFO that he was joking around the whole thing about sleeping with Jan (he technically did, but it wasn't sex). Jan thanks Michael by kissing him, which the camera records on film. Meanwhile, Pam deals with her boyfriend not getting her a present for Valentine's day, although he promises to give her the best sex of her life. What a guy. And Dwight receives a gift from Angela, which turns out to be a bobble-head doll that looks like him. However, Dwight struggles with finding a good gift for Angela, but he eventually ends up giving her a key. ****1/2

- Arrested Development: "Fakin' It"
The Bluths are going to have a mock trial on television for some new TV court show. Michael is asked to be the pretend lawyer, due to his past experiences defending such dangerous clients as Captain Hook ("You're a crook, Captain Hook."). Michael informs the family that they may have to testify, which George Sr. frowns upon. In order to avoid being called to testify, Buster fakes being in a state of coma, although the family worries that he may have taken some of Gob's "forget me now" pills. Michael feels that Buster faked his coma because he may know something big which may have something to do with the name "Nichael Bluth." Michael also feels that his father is setting him up to take the fall for their crimes, thus he must find the TRUTH! Meanwhile, George Michael takes Maeby to get fake married at the hospital (it's to entertain old folks there). Luckily for George Michael, the wedding turns out to be real and he is officially Maeby's husband (she MAY not be his cousin). And Tobias & Lindsay argue over Buster's coma (Lindsay says to pull the plug. Tobias says keep him alive.). I must mention that William Hung (American Idol's most famous reject) makes a special appearance here. Awesome episode. Kudos to Franklin for wearing a "George Bush doesn't care about Black Puppets" t-shirt. ****1/2

- Arrested Development: "Family Ties"
Most TV fans should recognize the title of this episode will deal with Jason Bateman's real-life sister, Justine Bateman (Family Ties), appearing here. Michael continues his quest to look for N. Bluth and all roads lead to a bunch of random phone numbers, one of which has a Nellie Bluth there. Michael makes an appointment to see her and talks all about his life to her when they meet. However, it turns out that Nellie Bluth is actually a hooker. Of course, Michael doesn't realize that she is a hooker and hires her to manage the company's finances. All of the Bluths' workers are VERY pleased with Nellie and they mention that she has "blown them," which Michael thinks is weird because they keep forgetting to say "away" at the end of that phrase. In the end, Michael discovers that Nellie is a hooker and works for FRAKLIN (Gob's puppet). AMAZING EPISODE! Justine Bateman is so f**king hot. Oh, do I need to mention how freakin' awesome the whole love relationship that Buster had with his nurse? Too awesome. *****

- Arrested Development: "Exit Strategy"
I cannot recap this episode due to my DVD-RW disc (I recorded the four episodes on it) malfunctioning. If I remember correctly, this episode saw the Michael & Buster head to Iraq to have Gob released from prison. While there, they meet Saddam look-a-likes and discover a secret room there that may have a weapon of mass destruction. Of course, the weapon turns out to be part of the U.S. government and the Bluths' are free of all charges against them. I think it was this episode that had Lindsay discover that she is really Sitwell's daughter and that the Bluth's adopted her away from him. ****1/2

- "Arrested Development: "Development Arrested (fka Harboring Resentment)"
The Bluths are now on a roll, free of all charges and all, so Lucille decides to celebrate by having a yacht party (seems familiar). Ah, just as the first episode, the feds crash the party and we're left off again the same way we started. Not only that, it seems that ANNYONG is the one who called the feds because the Bluths destroyed his grandfather's banana stand many years ago! OMG! Also, George Michael discovers that ANN is Gob's new girlfriend! OMFG! I thought Anne was supposed to be 16 or 17-years-old? However, she SAYS she's 18-years-old, and I do not believe that for one second. Oh, Lindsay puts the moves on her former brother, Michael. Michael doesn't like that, but Gob steps in to fill the void. Lindsay is not that interested, though. The circle is complete. Now that the series MAY be over, I'm glad that it went out with a bang. However, I'm worried that if the series does get picked up by either ABC or Showtime, it will not be the same because everything has changed about the show. I wasn't too thrilled with Lindsay no longer being a Bluth member, but I can accept it now. *****

- Justice League Unlimited: "Flash and Substance" [02.11.06]
Flash is being rewarded with a museum in his honor for all the times he has saved Central City from the onslaught of super villains. Flash asks Batman to appear at the museum to represent the original seven Justice League members (Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter are all busy with missions). Batman doesn't seem too keen on the idea of going, but Flash manages to sweet talk old Batman into going. Flash responds to the good news by mentioning to Batman that the others think he is a "crazed loner." WAY too awesome. Anyway, Orion was listening to their conversation and questions Batman as to why he would let the Flash talk him into going to the museum opening. Batman doesn't respond but stares at Orion until he decides that he is also going to attend Flash's big day. I love Batman.

Of course, not everybody is happy that the Flash is being honored -- Captain Cold (!!!), The Trickster, Captain Boomerang and Mirror Master are hanging out together and decide to ruin Flash's special day because of all the times he ruined has ruined their plots. They each devise a plan to kill the Flash, but they each fail. Finally, they just crash Flash's museum opening and attack there. Batman & Orion show up and help Flash out a bit. However, a news reporter accidentally falls into one of Mirror Master's portal mirrors and Flash goes after her, leaving Batman & Orion to handle the three super villains (the Trickster gave them all up after having a little chat with the Flash). Flash returns from the mirror portal and helps his two fellow super heroes defeat the three super villains. Unfortunately for Flash, his museum has been destroyed. However, he copes with the loss by joking about it. Excellent stuff and I'm really going to miss the show when it gets cancelled after the end of this season. That would be an even greater shame because I have heard rumors of Bruce Timm and company deciding that they will no longer have any of Batman's villains appear on the show due to The Batman and the film franchise. We want the Riddler and Scarecrow in the LOD!!! ****1/2

TV on DVD News:
- DC Comics collection to grow even larger in June '06!
Warner Home Video will release Volume Three of Superman the Animated Series and Justice League: The Complete 2nd Season on June 20th, 2006. Of course, DC fans will notice that the release date is just 10 days before Warner unleashes the monster that will be Superman Returns (June 30, 2006). Read the rest over at WorldsFinestOnline. http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/news/020906.php

- Choose the DVD cover for the second season of Rescue Me
The fine folks over at TVshowsonDVD.com have announced that Sony is asking fans of the FX show Rescue Me to choose the cover for the forthcoming complete second season. I went with the blue cover that has Tommy falling from a building. Go pick the cover now: http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/rescueme/

New TV on DVD Today: February 14, 2006:
- The Andy Griffith Show: The Complete 5th Season
- Charles in Charge: The Complete 1st Season
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: The Complete 3rd Season
- Gimme a Break! Season 1
- The Golden Girls: Season 4
- Grey's Anatomy: Season 1
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Season 1, Volume 2 (Pick of the Week)
- Living Single: The Complete 1st Season
- Overhaulin: The Complete 2nd Season
- The Pretender :The Complete 3rd Season
- Shaquille: The Complete Series
- Significant Others: Season 1

TV Nielsen Ratings:
1. Super Bowl XL (ABC) 41.6
2. Super Bowl Post Gun (ABC) 34.6
3. Super Bowl Post Game (ABC) 29.0
4. Grey's Anatomy (ABC) 21.0
5. American Idol- Wednesday (FOX) 17.4
6. CSI (CBS) 17.1
7. American Idol- Tuesday (FOX) 16.9
8. Without a Trace (CBS) 13.5
9. CSI: Miami (CBS) 13.2
10. Dancing with the Stars (ABC) 12.3

The VICIOUS TV Babe of the Week: Mandy Moore
Well, I'm starting to have a much more difficult time picking out a TV babe of the week. I was going to go with Justine Bateman, but I couldn't find any good pictures that I could use. So I went with the lovely and talented Mandy Moore. She had an excellent guest spot on NBC's Scrubs last Tuesday, and she is a very impressive actress, especially the awesome "Saved!" film from 2004. I think she has mentioned this, but she says that her feet are really big. I know, I just killed the fantasy, right? She's going to marry Scrubs' star Zach Braff soon, so I wish them the best (Don't marry him!!!).

Around the 411 Horn:
- Cris Murphy gives us another excellent ***** star edition of the Warped News. It also seems that Cris is a Spider-Man, too. One of the many things we have in common, along with the fact that we both dropped a letter from our original names (Steven=Steve; Chris=Cris). It's like we were separated at birth or something. Just call me Steve Murphy. http://www.411mania.com/movies/columns/37672

- I'm 95% done with my Simpsons: Season 5 DVD review, I'll shoot for that this week. I know I promised it last week, but I was too busy.

- I'm also working on OZ: The Complete Third Season DVD review. Hope to get that out on the weekend.

On the Next VICIOUS TV News Wrap (XXII):
- Since Justice League Unlimited is back on Cartoon Network (THANK GOD!), I will do my best to recap the first four episodes from season five and I will have some screen images from those episodes (on my DVD-RW discs). I might do one on the season four finale that had Terry McGuinnis (aka Batman Beyond) discover that Bruce Wayne is his father.