Favorite Episodes: 7th Heaven

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

7th Heaven ran for a long time before I even knew it existed. I started catching reruns during the summer of 2003 or so, after it had already been on the air for a good seven years. I instantly fell in love with the characters, and the show skyrocketed to the top of my book for its remaining three (which became four) seasons. While it is marketed as a family drama, the show focused on outside characters more often than not. Yes, there were plenty of storylines dealing with the kids, but there was almost always an ancillary character who needed the help of the family, or who was causing the mischief that the others were getting into. Although I was overjoyed when it got surprise-renewed for the eleventh season, the craziness of the plots at that point made me kinda wish that we ended it at the end of the tenth. Of all the characters that came and went on the show, I think Peter was my very favorite, even if I didn't care for either of his parents, haha. Anyway, let's get going on favorite episodes... sorry there aren't more video clips!!

Season 1: "With a Little Help from my Friends" (S01E12). Mrs. Bink keeps calling Matt and asking for help with household tasks. He agrees to keep it a secret from his parents, but once she calls the school with a family emergency, things get out of control. Meanwhile, Eric is trying to help a family that lives in their van, but they insist they are okay. In the end, the family moves in with Mrs. Bink, who watches the daughter while the father helps around the house, etc. Lucy thinks that nobody cares about her thirteenth birthday, but she ends up with an awesome surprise party, despite hurting feelings in the process. Clip from TV.com.

Season 2: "See You in September" (S02E01). It's the first day of school, and each of the Camden kids manages to get into trouble right off the bat. Matt borrowed Eric's jacket, but when the pager goes off, he's in trouble. Mary gives Lucy an aspirin, but of course the passage of drugs from one student to another sets off a red flag. Simon gets in trouble when Annie puts a knife in his lunchbox. Ruthie, in a strange moment, is getting the naughty finger when part of her outfit could be deemed to be a gang tag. Meanwhile, Eric is unavailable because he's busy trying to talk down a kid from jumping off a building, all because his mom bought him the wrong jeans to wear to school. No video available.

Season 3: "And a Nice Chianti" (S03E05). Mary finally has her learner's permit, but nobody in the family really wants to drive with her. Lucy and Simon would rather ride the school bus (which they dread anyway), and Ruthie takes to wearing a helmet and pads when she's in the car with Mary behind the wheel. Matt pulls over to help a pregnant girl with car trouble, but she steals his car, and when the police arrive, they suspect he stole the car at the site. Eric works on trying to help a woman from the church find the people who received the organs that her dead son donated three years ago, and that has a really cute ending. No video available.

Season 4: "Come Drive with Me" (S04E04). Annie and Lucy are putting in a bathroom in the attic, while Eric and Ruthie shop for a new car. Mary is upset that she isn't good at helping with the remodel, and the deacons at the church don't want to give Eric a raise after they see Eric and Ruthie test-driving a convertible. They end up with an electric van, but Ruthie breaks the rules when she heads into the deacons meeting to give them the rundown on what's going on at home. Lastly, Matt meets a special needs child at the hospital and realizes that he wants to go into medicine as a career. No video available.

Season 5: "Losers" (S05E03). Mary, on her umpteenth job, meets some new friends, who are teenage parents. However, they also smoke pot and drink underage, and encourage her to drink with them. Lucy has to watch the twins at home on the weekend while also taking care of an "egg" with her partner from home ec. Matt is supposed to give Simon a ride for his date with an older girl, but he gets distracted following a girl of his own. Ruthie waits for Mary to come home so they can have a private pizza party, but Mary's out partying with Frankie and Johnny instead. No video available.

Season 6: "Drunk" (S06E13). Simon goes to a party with some older kids, and winds up drunk. Matt, Mary, Lucy, and Ruthie argue over whether to cover for him or tell on him, and end up scheming to keep Simon out of their parents' sight while sobering him up. Their plan goes awry when one of Simon's friends comes to the house to tell Eric and Annie the truth. Meanwhile, Matt receives letters from two medical school and is terrified to open them. Plus, Mary and Lucy are taking some of the same classes at the local college, and Mary tags along with Lucy and her friends at a bar. Someone has put together just the parts with Simon in them, so here's a couple of links to those. Clip 1 | Clip 2 | Clip 3

Season 7: "Stand Up" (S07E16). Lucy confesses that she's always wanted her father to officiate at her wedding. This leads Eric to have to seriously consider coming back to the church. Simon finds out that Cecilia's father's business manager is stealing money, and the guy tries to pay off Simon. When he tries to tell on the guy, the guy turns on him, and it becomes a big problem that Cecilia's father won't believe Simon. Since Chandler is serious about Roxanne, Roxanne's father (also a police officer) starts making his life miserable. Annie starts planning Lucy's wedding without her, and Lucy starts getting really upset. Lastly, Ruthie and Peter try to help Ben get a girlfriend, but end up losing his police dog. No video available.

Season 8: "Simon's Home Video (Simon Camden)" (S08E05). This is my very favorite episode in the whole series. It's my sister's favorite, too. Simon makes a video detailing his life and why he should be granted early admittance into college. It's a great reflective on many of the past storylines, and really shows each of the characters' true personalities. It's really cute.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

Season 9: "Paper or Plastic?" (S09E12). Lucy's been on bedrest and is upset that she hasn't done all of the shopping for her baby. Matt agrees to take her shopping in secret (although it's not really a secret to the rest of the family), and Annie throws her a baby shower. But, Lucy goes into labor in the store's elevator, while Robbie and Mac are shopping for gifts for Lucy. Meanwhile, Kevin buys a house without Lucy's approval, and Ruthie gives him the lowdown on how that's not gonna fly. All I could find was a short clip (less than 5 min) of when she has the baby.

Season 10: "And Thank You" (S10E22). It's Simon and Rose's wedding, but Rose's ex-boyfriend shows up unexpectedly and both the bride and groom are having second thoughts. Matt and Sarah (and Carlos for that matter) arrive from New York for the wedding, and both Sarah and Mary are expecting twins. Lucy is also expecting twins, but that's about it for the happiness. Simon and Rose decide not to go through with the wedding, and Ruthie, with the help of Lucy and Kevin, decides to spend a semester in Scotland. No video available, aside from the opening and closing credits, LoL.

Season 11: "Tit for Tat" (S11E15). Sandy starts falling for a handsome doctor, and it's throwing Martin in loops. It's also Valentine's Day, and Ruthie and T-Bone decide to get tattoos to symbolize their love for one another. Kevin & Lucy skip town when they get wind that the Colonel and Ruth are coming, and they come back just in time to see them before they head out again. Eric is freaking out that his parents know about his health/heart problems. No video available.

5 More Season Finales Down!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Friday:

Miami Medical (S01E08): season finale for the first season, technically. I was confused as to how this little girl came to be playing golf with those guys she didn't know. Again, I enjoyed the visual history of the patients so I could recognize who was who. Dr. DeLeo's references and personable nature continue to be an asset to the show. This show was a lot more graphic, what with the severed limb and all. Fun cameo of Sergeant Michaels from 7th Heaven. I can't believe that they pulled the foot from inside the alligator. Um, it was kinda creepy that last week, both Miami Medical and House had field cases, and last week House had a leg amputation argument, this time Miami Medical has an arm amputation argument. I couldn't believe that the foot guy died!! Although I don't really agree with the way he did it, I did like how DeLeo made it look like he was on the father's side, then on the daughter's, then he gave his true medical opinion. I thought it was funny that the 8-hour drive to Tallahassee was "all day" to get to a Chili Peppers concert... I know DOZENS of people who make that drive like it's no big deal. I liked the mini-concert they threw in the parking lot, LoL.

Sunday:
Minute to Win It (S01E12): I don't know that we really need to have a theme show like couples already. At least the host introduced it in an amusing way. Jason was funny and personable. Mel was a little too hyper for me. The host was getting to be a bit over-the-top with the music references, LoL, and I didn't like his questioning of the couple's choices. By the time vendor donations got involved, though, I was about ready to tune out. It was fun watching them try to decide if they should try to go for $250,000, and the fact that they have two lives to work with is good... but in the end, Mel is torn, Jason is stoic, and they head home happy. I actually think they're the first people who haven't decided to keep going, LoL. Remember when nobody ever went home on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ...well that's changed. People go home with less all the time. No lie, just last week they aired an episode where a personal friend of mine walked away with $50,000.

Game 1: Chocolate Unicorn: Use one hand to stack 7 dingdongs on your forehead, leaning back. Try as many times as you want in one minute. Jason went for it. He got it and they were very excited. They even had 25 seconds left.

Game 2: Extreme Hanky Panky: Empty TWO tissue boxes, one with each hand!! Mel's turn! She looked like she was going really slowly to me, but somehow she finished with 21 seconds left!

Game 3: High Strung: Use a looped string to lift a raw egg from the top of a bottle, then carry it over and place it on another bottle top. They both thought they could do it, but Jason got to go for it. On the first egg, he dropped it as he was going from one bottle to the other. On the second egg, he wavered a bit at one point, but ultimately made it!

Game 4: Matchmaker: 16 candies (four each of four colors) are under 16 cups. Flip over the cup, grab a candy, and put it in the appropriate jar around the circle. Get them all in the right places in 60 seconds. She starts off stumbling by dropping the first candy. When she had about 15 seconds to go, I got nervous. But, she made it with 1 second remaining.

Game 5: Raisin the Bar: flick mini raisin boxes out from under upside-down glass bottles so that the boxes remain on their mouths and do not topple over. Get three of them to remain standing, out of a possible ten. Mel loves this game, although Jason thinks he's better at it, so in the end they let Mel do it. She did it too fast, and more toppled over after she whizzed by them. And whiz she did... she did all of them in TEN SECONDS. So, Jason takes a turn, and only had 2 done in ten seconds, LoL. But bottles 1, 2, and 4 won it for him with 37 seconds to spare.

Game 6: Ka-Broom: Use a broom to catapult a marshmallow from a plate into a cup. Do it 4 times. Mel seemed afraid and defaulted to Jason. He looked didn't really look confident, either. But, he got it done without too much trouble!

Game 7: Shoe Fly Shoe: Stand nine feet away from a table and fling off your show to land on it. You have 12 tries to get it once. I had a friend in high school who used to love flinging off her shoes... one time she did it on the way to Driver's Ed and hit another girl in the head... 20 feet away, LoL!! Here, Jason goes for it, and the pressure of it all is obviously hitting him. He nails it on the third try, and the excitement in both of their eyes was contagious. He looked like he was in genuine shock.

The Simpsons (S21E23): this is the season finale. I laughed at the Punch & Judy opener. Lisa trying to catch Flanders in an evolution debate was cute. How come nobody wanted to sit next to Moe? Why was Krusty the judge of the ugly dog contest? oh. entertainment. should've guessed. I didn't care for Moe as a judge on American Idol. Well, we know for sure that this show isn't in California, LoL. Wait... more people come to the bar because Moe can't show FOX... what kind of advertisement is that for its own network??

Family Guy (S08E20): this is the season finale. not super-excited about the opening, and the $58,000 elephant. There were some good references here and there, but overall not a lot to say. Worth watching. I still think it's awkward that they sold it on DVD back in December but just now put it on television. Have they ever done this before?? put it on DVD BEFORE putting it on television??

Monday:
How I Met Your Mother (S05E24): This is the season finale. I was rather angry that they chose to "wrap-up" the doppelganger storyline immediately... why not let that play out a little bit... instead of the end of the last episode with Lily and Marshall and the first minute of this episode. Worst wrap-around ever. AND, Lily's "put a baby in my belly" was the worst line EVER. Now it makes me laugh TREMENDOUSLY that Barney was the fake cab driver. I liked "around the world in 180 lays." Leave it to Marshall to chicken out and not tell lily that it was Barney the whole time. Ted as a blonde makes him look kinda like a stereotypical lesbian (and I typed this before Marshall made the "Ellen DeGeneres" comment). Lily has been looking a TON bustier since the actress had her baby, but in the bed tonight they looked much, much bigger than they used to. I thought that the in-head conversations this episode were random. Now, I knew that the Robin-Chicago storyline would play out that way (read the spoiler some time ago), but it was so shocking when Robin turns it down and immediately finds out that she gets dumped when he takes that exact same job. "we only see what we want to see when we want to see it" ...and we'll come back next season to either a struggling-with-fertility couple, or a knocked-up-with-giganto-baby couple.

Little People, Big World (S05E35 & S05E36): Oh good, I was wondering about the second half of the fundraiser. I'm sad that they were fundraising but still in debt over the golf tournament. Jacob's getting tall. I thought it was funny that Jeremy dubbed Molly in charge but they kept questioning her choices at the grocery store. Wow... I didn't realize there was a ball-drop component! The helicopter ride looked pretty neat (I still haven't done that, but my brother has!).

Matt is just now realizing that Jacob has different interests than Jeremy or Zach or Molly?? So, just because Jacob doesn't want to build a fort, Matt has 15 kids over and has them build 3 forts?? How needlessly expensive was this? He had shirts made for all of the kids??

Tuesday:
Table for 12: nope. I wish we'd at least get some sort of status report on what's going on with this show... it hasn't even been promoted on TLC's summer schedule.

missing the eps "summer," "busy day," "jumping in," "brace yourself," "back to school"

19 Kids and Counting (S04E17): This is the season finale. I was surprised at how hard JoyAnna was trying to get out of lawnmowing... usually the kids don't seem to mind chores too much. And barefoot is like the WORST idea EVER. And her brothers knew what she was trying to do, and even knew that she'd go for JimBob's heartstrings with the wanting to see Josie. Actually, I'm surprised that mowing was even JoyAnna's job to begin with... Well, when you have a sibling in the NICU, I guess the hospital gift shop and the hospital cafeteria is as good as you can hope for on your birthday, LoL. It worked out well, though, and he seemed to have a good time seeing his baby sister. I thought it was interesting that we saw his birthday again (we saw his skating party last year), since there are several of the children's birthdays we haven't seen at all. I'm kinda bored of hearing about how they decided to homeschool, but I guess they need to repeat it in episodes like this for first-time watchers. The younger kids don't actually get buckled into their carseats?? That seems like a bad idea to me. I thought that the "each Duggar could drive just 15 minutes" thing was kinda an irrelevant and pointless pop-up. I thought it was interesting that the kids said it was "totally different" without Michelle there... I would have thought, at least from the older girls' perspective, that they'd be doing most of the same stuff regardless of whether Michelle was there. I also thought it was interesting that they had Michelle put her thumb over Josie's weight in that particular entry. Was it because she was back-writing and we didn't need to see she was faking it?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Off season:
Jon and Kate Plus Eight: still missing the finale, "It's a Crazy Life, But it's Our Life"
Wipeout (June 1, 8pm... then skip to the 22nd...)
The Secret Life of the American Teenager (June 7, 8pm)
The Goode Family (Mondays at 10pm on Comedy Central)
Futurama (June 24th, 10pm)
Cake Boss (May 31, 9pm)
16 and Pregnant / Teen Mom (Teen Mom back this summer, not sure on 16 and Pregnant) Sons of Tucson (will air the other 9 episodes this summer)
South Park (haven't heard, but I assume October or so)
House, M.D. (season 7 starts in September)
Hot in Cleveland (new show, starts June 16th on TVLand)
Mr. Sunshine (new show, starts in the Fall on ABC)
Kate Plus Eight (new show, starts in a couple weeks on TLC)

10 Favorite Best Friendships

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Last Wednesday I was in Florida, having spent just about a week with various friends. The night before I left I had dinner with my two best friends and then we played Phase 10, our mutually favorite game. So, in honor of friendships, today we look at ten great pairs of best friends.

Now, before you look at this list, you kinda have to know that a) I specifically left out trios & ensembles, like Danny-Jesse-Joey on Full House, the six on Friends, the four on Seinfeld, the six/five on Saved by the Bell, the five on How I Met Your Mother, etc. b) there are some famous duos I've never seen, so I can't comment. This includes groups like Laverne & Shirley. c) I also left out shows that only focus on two individuals, like Square Pegs. And d) I didn't consider people who are work-friends only, since we rarely see them in a social setting.

I also struggled to find female-female best friends... and I'm not sure why. I came up with four or five female ensembles, but no one-on-one best friendships of note. Anyone think of any? I'm sure I'm just drawing a blank here, right??

10. Larry Appleton & Balki Bartokomous (Perfect Strangers) These two guys are thrown together by chance, really. Larry isn't thrilled with what's about to transpire, but he powers through and the two end up having a lot of fun over the run of the show. Balki's positive thinking and natural ability to find mischief keeps this pair on their toes. Sometimes you have to wonder what's keeping them together, but they are sure one hilarious pair to watch interact with each other and others!


9. Kevin Arnold & Paul Pfeiffer (The Wonder Years) Being a teenager is tough, and it's important to have a good best friend, especially one with whom you can learn about sex, deal with the woes of studying, rely on when times are tough, and turn to when all hope is lost. Kevin & Paul really go through the whole "coming of age" thing together, and although it's clear early on that their lives are destined for different paths, their friendship is always there. And, while we all know that girls tend to come between buddies as they get older, these two manage to get past the few such occurrences that happen in their lives.

8. Philip J. Fry & Bender (Futurama) Time, space, and species no longer matter in this one-of-a-kind friendship. Fry has a difficult time fitting in when he's fast-forwarded 1,000 years, and so his fellowship with robot Bender seems to come natural. Not to mention the fact that they met in a suicide booth, LoL. Neither of them are particularly bright, and both enjoy a good time causing mischief, so their pairing off fits the show well, and allows for a great number of storylines where their close-knit relationship is apparent but not overwhelming.

7. Hawkeye Pierce & BJ Honeycutt (M*A*S*H) If ever there was a pair who had more fun together trying to make the best of a bad situation, let me know! These two goons are absolutely hilarious together, and are always there for one another around camp. The tricks that they come up with to play on their fellow doctors and nurses are clever, and their banter in any given situation is comical. They may very well be the funniest duo on this list! Thank goodness for their sense of humor, because otherwise the war would have been much less exciting for the 4077th!

6. Michael Westen & Sam Axe (Burn Notice) Sam used to snitch on Michael... and not like you tell the teacher on a copycat. Sam was an informant for the FBI, haha. But, that was a long time ago and Michael is now a free agent, so he and Sam are free to be the best of buds. This is handy, since they can't seem to pull off their antics by themselves, really. The fact that they think fast on their feet is probably the biggest asset to their friendship, as one generally needs to bail out the other at a moment's notice... sometimes even less.

5. Gregory House & James Wilson (House, MD) For most of the series, it's not really known how many other friends these two have besides one another. The friendship is kinda one-sided, in that House mooches off of Wilson in every way one can think of, but Wilson takes it and is generous towards House. Wilson does do nice things for him, even if they're kinda out there... like drugging and kidnapping House to bring him to his father's funeral, LoL. All in a day's work for these doctors.


4. Will Truman & Grace Adler (Will & Grace) These two are just so good together, and have been from the get-go. They need each other to stay sane at times, but have proved that they can also function independently. They are probably the most similar in personality on this list, since they have a lot of common dislikes and hobbies, and are on the perfect wavelength to be one another's partner in games like Tribond (which is good, given hoe competitive Grace can be!). They do things for one another, large and small, time and time again, and it just warms my heart with how much consideration and compassion they have for each other. The fact that they seem to fall out of touch in the look-into-the-future at the end of the series just broke my heart.

3. Kimmy Gibbler & DJ Tanner (Full House) I learned a lot about friendship by watching Kimmy and DJ. There's always a prettier friend, there's always a smarter friend, and there's always a sluttier friend. While it's more often DJ putting her neck on the line for Kimmy than vice versa, their friendship stands out for the realism of it all. Kimmy changes a grade for DJ here, DJ helps Kimmy study for a Spanish test there, etc. Although, DJ does things with Kimmy for at least three of her birthdays on the show, whereas DJ really only has one major birthday on the show, and I always found that to be a bit weird. But, running off to Reno at a moment's notice to stop your best friend from marrying the wrong guy is probably one of the crowning friendship moments for this pair.

2. Tommy Pickles & Chuckie Finster (Rugrats) The adventures that these tiny tots get into are often remarkable, especially considering how fortunate they are that no adult is ever paying attention to them when the chaos is about to start or already in progress. Tommy and Chuckie would never turn their backs on one another, despite Chuckie often being portrayed as the coward of the group. They share everything, there's no adventure too treacherous, and we know that they remain best friends when they are pre-teens (All Growed Up).

1. Cory Matthews & Shawn Hunter (Boy Meets World) These two are the epitome of best friends. From middle school through high school to college, from one relationship to another to one's wedding and the other's constant family issues, no two friends can be closer than Cory and Shawn. I laughed with them, I cried with them, my heart was touched as they stumbled through some of life's biggest moments together. Shawn's continuous search for love and acceptance (through friends, girlfriends, parental figures, the cult...) is always aided by Cory's everlasting dependability, and Cory's always wanting to live more wildly and unpredictably is covered by Shawn's creative and devious nature.

Who's left out? I left out Tucker & Becca on (the old) Flash Forward, since you could argue that they don't do a lot for one another on a regular basis, and both had other "best friends," too.

Favorite Episodes: DuckTales

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

As I sat there this morning trying to decide what to write about today, my mind drifted over several options. However, I feel like we've done a lot of heavy ones lately (and, by heavy, I mean long-running, so there's a lot in them), and I wanted something lighter. And, just like that, DuckTales struck me. It ran for four seasons, and really captivated me as a youngster. The movie-turned-five-part-episode, "Treasures of the Golden Suns," is probably my very very favorite. I thought it was awesome the first time I saw it, and enjoyed the different aspects it brought, like major globetrotting, a big role for Webby, winter coats, and genuine danger. But, since it's kinda a kick-off to the show, I'm not going to count it here today as a favorite.

Season 1 is ridiculously larger than the subsequent seasons, and by the final season there's only a handful of episodes. Season 2 consists of two movies, really. Each is shown as a 5-parter in syndication, and for this reason I'm forced to choose my favorite of those ten segments below.

Season 1: "Scrooge's Pet" (S01E35). Not really a pet, per se, since it doesn't last beyond this episode, but Scrooge befriends a lemming. He loses the new combination to his vault when the lemming takes it, and Scrooge is forced to try and hunt it down. I think that this episode particularly stands out to me because of the ton of lemmings flooding town, and they get led out again, kinda like the Pied Piper, which was a favorite story of mine when I was little.



Season 2: "Super DuckTales 3: Full Metal Duck" (S02E08). This is the segment where GizmoDuck is really new and popular, and Ma Beagle and her smart son use a remote control to gain power over him. They are planning to use GizmoDuck to rob Scrooge blind.



Season 3: "Allowance Day" (S03E02). The boys really want another allowance so that they can buy a scooter. So, they decide to trick Scrooge into thinking it's the next day so he'll pay them. Well, that works... except Scrooge is so important that if he thinks it's the next day, then it is... and the whole world believes him. The boys have to eventually confess to their uncle what they did, in order to set the world right again.



Season 4: "New Gizmo-Kids on the Block" (S04E04). Fenton's mom goes to wash the GizmoDuck costume and accidentally shrinks it. She tries to build him a new one, and it's horrible. Meanwhile, Huey, Dewey, and Louie find the real suit and take turns wearing it. They end up having to stand-in for the real GizmoDuck when crime doesn't stop in Duckberg. There's also a mini-storyline going on with Ma Beagle and Fenton's mom vying for Mother of the Year.

Finale for House, Regular Episodes Otherwise

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Friday:

Miami Medical (S01E07): That was a really weird trail that he was running on... I usually have mixed feelings about doctor episodes that are in the field, and this one was no exception. I think that the split story made a difference in how entertaining this particular episode was, but it still wasn't bad. The Truman being alive but his body accounted for buy showing up at the hospital thing was weird to me. I don't know how much I like mystery in this particular program, LoL. Serena's crisis over whether she's doing the right thing in being a trauma doctor was overdone. I did like how DeLeo ran out as soon as he realized the kid might still be alive, and how Serena subsequently stopped the chopper. The juxtaposition of Truman breathing and the DNR guy stopping breathing seemed forced. What was that paper he was looking at before he shoved it back in the envelope? I enjoyed the "re-birthday" stuff, and how he's fitting in better with the group in private now.

[tonight is the season finale (to be reviewed for next week), and the show has already been canceled, so this makes me sad. :(] They will, however, air the final 5 episodes over the next month, and they'll serve as a "second season" for some reason.

Sunday:
Minute to Win It (S01E11): This is last Wednesday's episode... Jonas brother in this episode. Apparently he contacted them and told them he wanted to be on it to donate his winnings... okay whatever. He watched the episode with blowing the cards, and decided he could go on there, LoL. Which means he hasn't had all that much time. He dies out on Game 9, which makes him the highest-scoring contestant on the show so far. Also, the show got renewed, and the second season starts July 7th.

Game 1: Nervous Nelly: pedometers on all four limbs, get 500 jerks total within a minute. He was pretty amusing to watch. 186, 189 on legs; 180, 186 on arms.

Game 2: Nosedive: transfer 6 cotton balls from one bowl to another, using petroleum jelly on his nose. He does it with like 7 seconds to go.

Game 3: Junk in the trunk: Get 8 ping pong balls out of a tissue box strapped to your backside. He gets it with 23 seconds to go.

Game 4: Egg Roll: use a pizza box to roll three eggs to a certain area. He has one egg that keeps going in circles, but he makes it.

Game 5: The Nut Stacker: Slide 8 hex nuts off a single chopstick onto one another vertically, one at a time. This one is always SO hard! On his first try, he knocked them over midway through. On the second try, he made it but there was a lot of wavering in the second half, and even the audience was looking mighty nervous. He had about a second to spare, too!

Game 6: Ka-Broom: Use a broom to fling plates with single marshmallows on them, and catch the flying marshmallows in the cup. Get it done four times out of ten tries. He gets the first one easily, misses a few, drops his original, then gets all four in the end.

Game 7: Matchmaker: 18 chocolate-covered peanuts are under 18 cups. 6 each of 3 colors. Lift a cup, bring the candy to the cup that matches its color around the circle. Get them all in the right places in 60 seconds or less. He did really well remembering where the different cups were, and the audience called out the colors as soon as they saw them. He did it with 5 seconds to spare... he was right when he said that his strategy was just to keep his feet moving!

Game 8: Keep the Change: Dollar bills are hanging over the edges of glasses, held by five quarters sitting on the rims of the glasses. Snatch out 2 of the dollar bills with the quarters staying on the rims... you have 8 tries. I kinda feel like I could try this one all day and never get it once, LoL. But maybe it's not *that* hard... he got the first two! And then did several more!!

Game 9: Don't Blow the Joker: 53 cards are on top of a bottle. Blow off 52, leaving the bottom card (the Joker). He notes that this is his archenemy. He fails on his first try. On his last life, he comes close on the second bottle, but fails overall. Still, he brings a nice chunk of change to his charity.

The Simpsons (S21E22): How long have the twins in the band been playing gameboys or whatever instead of violins? Who was that little drawing kid? I almost spit water when I heard how the Springfield people are going to DETROIT for better lives... hahahahahaha. The "hi Bart" medley was funny, and the BART reference from SF was great. He bought the neighborhood wi-fi?? Bart is old enough to get "boner" jokes now?? The super-locked prison cell has a slot short enough for kids to see through?? Eh... I could've done without a Sideshow Bob episode... I feel like they're too frequent, LoL. The whole folded feet was gross, and the performing Face/Off to yourself was weird. I love that they invested his money while he was in prison, haha. My jaw dropped when his face started falling off. The whole "one state two state which state no laws broken" thing was weird, and I wonder how that really works. Also, since when does Bob actually care if he gets caught, LoL? Oh, and Dumbledore joke was good. haha, the government spies on hybrids. Flanders' extended family might be funny... I wonder if we're going to carry them over.

[May 23 is the season finale]

Family Guy (S08E19): The fact that Peter messed himself every time he heard that joke was gross, as was the underwear octopus thing. The Nightmare on Elm Street thing was creepy, and Peter putting on Quagmire's pants to get him to stop telling the joke was funny. The tracking of the joke was great, especially the part with the "heard it from a friend who" song. Quagmire's diverting the women by asking about childbirth and female coworkers was hilarious. I thought it was funny that Cleveland was in the chain of the joke but he hadn't told them the joke when they were last together (the chain is long enough that he must have known it some time ago, LoL). Why/how does Cleveland know that bellhop so well?? ANd the bellhop remembers him, too?? I liked the Obama monument phallic joke, and the joke about the US no longer being the most powerful nation was funny too. "Fatty McLoudmouth" hahahahahaha. I also love how there was a crying baby on the prisoner plane. Geniuses create dirty jokes... awesome. The stabbing was gross. hahahaha "he didn't grab one check."

[May 23 is the season finale]

Monday:
How I Met Your Mother (S05E23):Friendly Marshall was funny, the breakdancing was great, and the Sesame Street reference was good, too. "PORN" is a strange acronym, and I really enjoyed the pieces of suitcases throughout, with various funny problems written on them. LOVE the fact that Marshall inadvertently helped robbers! "held up at hoe point" hahahahahaha. "Jed Mosely" hahaha. It looks like the most ridiculous and junky movie EVER. Never do that many people clap at a rom-com. FAKE. I love that the goat was mentioned. I didn't really care for the voice-over type thing going on in the movie theater. I really enjoyed the ending, and thought about how true it is... everyone has baggage, no matter how much they want to deny it. Oh, apparently the real end is where we find out she's been left at the altar THREE times... yikes! not so enjoyable.

[May 24 is the season finale]

House, M.D. (S06E22): this is the season finale. I wasn't expecting House to give Cuddy the book so soon! I also thought it was funny when he ordered Foreman to steal an ambulance, LoL. Cuddy and Lucas got engaged?? I am completely shocked. hahahaha, "switched carriers" lmao. I don't really believe how House told her she could keep her leg, then had to be the one to convince her to allow the amputation, then actually perform the amputation. I would think he'd have more helpers for such an operation. I've seen field amputations done on ER and this was rough to watch. At least they spared us the gore. Overall, I'm confused as to why House was in the field and the team was at the hospital... why not have Chase and Taub in the field or something? I know Cuddy wanted House's expertise, but really she knows that he doesn't really care for boring stuff (like crush injuries), and would prefer the exotic stuff going on at the hospital. Is a fat embolism really incurable? Why is the hospital front desk vacant? These places are 24 hours, LoL. Awwww, and Thirteen is getting worse. But what was Taub doing there? I sat in silence as House ripped off the cabinet from the wall and stared at the bottles... and then Cuddy shows up, announcing that she ended her engagement (after a day? really? why bother saying "yes" in the first place?). So she really does love House... and she wants to be with him... amazing. I can't believe it... absolutely, positively stunned here. But, if she loves him that much, why let him go back to drugs? Why not stop him? wow.

Little People, Big World (S05E33 & S05E34): Good point... when you organize a golf tournament, you should learn to play golf, LoL. It was quite the schooling for me, too. I didn't realize golf clubs even had grips like that, LoL. Where has all of this scrap wood been previously? I love that Matt is trying to get around Amy even finding out that he's building the shed. "a little more harder" is one of the few times Amy makes a grammatical error, LoL. Sometimes I think that Matt tries to push the boundaries. I don't like how Matt interchanges "strategist" with "husband," either.

I liked hearing about the history behind DAAA. I was surprised that Amy was so busy that she forgot her anniversary... that doesn't bode well for the future of the Roloffs, LoL. I liked Amy's dress for the auction. Interesting that Marty is back again, LoL. Did she also change her hair? It was strange that nobody was bidding, but I'm glad that Zach talking about the opportunities DAAA has given him made people get on the ball. I really hope they film the cruise for the show!!

Tuesday:
Table for 12: nope. I don't understand why we saw one episode from the new season and now nothing. :(

missing the eps "summer," "busy day," "jumping in," "brace yourself," "back to school"

19 Kids and Counting (S04E15 & S04E16): last week: It's about time we see Josh play that piano that sits in his house! Anna is wearing new eye makeup, looks good. That pink bow on Mackynzie's head is UGLY. Where in the world did this cousin come from?? We've never seen or heard of him before, but apparently he's the son of one of Michelle's sisters. Beachballs on sticks... whatever works! I thought the girls took down the Christmas decorations when they went back? Interesting rope swing... but probably safer than letting kids under 10 use a weedwhacker. Michelle seemed so out of it, I'm glad that Jill was able to make the 911 call.

this week: the little kids learn to read by rote? What were those flashcards at the very beginning? I love looking at how amused the cameramen are. I feel as if Jordyn didn't always wear gigantic bows... is it only since Josie was born? I know we've seen it before, but I really love the brickwork on that house! I've always wanted to be able to whistle like that... I can't really whistle AT ALL, LoL.Poor Josie has to get to EIGHT pounds before they can do more testing??!? That's a LOT for a baby born so small. we know she gained 1 more ounce in this episode, but we don't know what her total weight is. Jill likes watching the kids the most... intriguing. I like how Jinger said Jill was more patient... makes sense if you've read the book, where Michelle and JimBob talk about how easy of a baby she was. The Little Rock Zoo looked pretty cool, although Jennifer still isn't a big fan of animals. I don't know why Jordyn sat in for an interview, LoL.
[season finale next week]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Off season:
Jon and Kate Plus Eight: still missing the finale, "It's a Crazy Life, But it's Our Life"
Wipeout (June 1, 8pm... then skip to the 22nd...)
The Secret Life of the American Teenager (June 7, 8pm)
The Goode Family (Mondays at 10pm on Comedy Central)
Futurama (June 24th, 10pm)
Cake Boss (May 31, 9pm)
16 and Pregnant / Teen Mom (Teen Mom back this summer, not sure on 16 and Pregnant) Sons of Tucson (will air the other 9 episodes this summer)
South Park

10 Best TV Weddings

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Last week I posted about my thoughts on Little Family, Big Values, but the week before that I did my 10 favorite television weddings that DIDN'T happen... now it's time to look at those who took the plunge and went through with it. My main rule here was that I would only pick one wedding per show (because otherwise FOUR slots would have gone to Friends, LoL).

10. Luka & Abby on ER. I was one of the seemingly few who didn't really care if these two ever got together in the end. But, they did. Abby seemed so afraid of commitment for so long, and Luka arranged the wedding as a surprise, with the help of Hope (who disappeared not too long after the wedding). I think that, besides the surprise, the most memorable things about their wedding are Archie and Hope using the suite at the hotel, and Ray ending up a paraplegic after he leaves the reception.


9. Robert & Amy on Everybody Loves Raymond. Of course there's family drama... it would be a completely different show if there wasn't. It's really a bad day, starting when Ray can't get himself dressed, but finally turns around with Raymond's Best Man speech, and, of course, Amy and Robert doing a choreographed dance to "A Little Less Conversation."

8. Darlene & David on Roseanne. I always liked David, and Darlene was a lot more fun that Becky (to me), so their union was exciting to me. I still laugh at the comment that Roseanne makes to Dan about how their daughter is marrying someone who they consider to be their son, making them officially white trash. The wedding itself was very "them" being in the woods and all, and when Dan has the heart attack moments before the ceremony begins, it made for an unforgettable wedding episode in television history.

7. Whitley & Dwayne on A Different World. They were engaged by the fourth season, and married at the end of the fifth. HOWEVER, it was at Whitley & Byron's wedding where Dwayne comes down the aisle, begging her to marry him. This is probably the least well-known of my selections here, so if you haven't seen it, check it below. The good stuff happens starting around 4:00, and by 5:10 it's crazy.
6. Matt & Sarah on 7th Heaven. Their first date was amazing... they were enthralled by one another's backgrounds, and ended up getting married that very evening. While each of the Camdens tries to figure out what Matt's up to, it's Ruthie who manages to not only uncover where he is, but what he's been up to. She is the only one to know this little secret for quite a few years, until she's forced to blurt it out to throw the family off the track on another secret. Matt and Sarah go through a lot of problems as their "wedding day" approaches, and nobody is ever the wiser, probably because of how difficult things keep getting for their respective families.

5. Jesse & Rebecca on Full House. I was young when I watched this show, so I think that the courtship of Becky & Jesse had a big effect on how I looked at courtships and weddings. Buying a ring for Becky was amusing. Jesse trying to make a good impression with Rebecca's father was funny. I particularly love the "cake tasting" by Michelle. The wedding itself is a great two-parter in the series, the highlights include Michelle being friends with Howie, Jesse deciding to go skydiving but ends up in jail, and Becky driving a bus to bring Jesse back to the church while Joey and Danny hold a sing-along with the guests.

4. Niles & Daphne on Frasier. Forget that Niles and Daphne got together by breaking up Daphne's first wedding ceremony. Any marriage that starts off with three ceremonies in order to appease everyone is hilarious in my book! It was particularly hilarious that they just kept hiding the fact that they were already married, time and time again.





3. Steve & Janet on Beverly Hills, 90210. Um, how can a surprise scavenger hunt wedding NOT be awesome?? It gets rid of the hectic preparations, and the teamwork mends the gang to a certain degree. And I can't remember when I've ever seen Steve act so sincere. (S10E08 on youtube if you want to watch the whole thing.)





2. Phoebe & Mike on Friends. The engagement was awesome, with Mike stealing David's spotlight thanks to Monica & Chandler. And then there's the whole "let's donate the money we'd spend on a wedding to charity!" and then change your mind several times. And at the rehearsal dinner, where Monica won't let them speak. The cake, however, is taken when Phoebe fires Monica as her wedding coordinator, and a blizzard pops up. Roles are thrown out the window, all hell breaks loose, but it all manages to come together for a beautiful ceremony.


1. Cory & Topanga on Boy Meets World. I couldn't not put them first. From the shocking moment when she proposed marriage during high school graduation to the frustrations of them dealing with all of the wedding planning, it's great. I love how Eric manages to connive their way into an exclusive reception hall, how Feeny wants to do the music, and best of all, how Cory has to tell Shawn that he's gotta talk to Topanga now.

Who didn't make my list but might have made yours? I'm thinking someone would want Sully & Michaela from Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Or perhaps the famous David & Donna wedding on Beverly Hills, 90210. Oh, and I know somebody wants to argue for Zack & Kelly on Saved by the Bell (I couldn't include them because I don't count the Vegas movie as part of the official show). Who else? :-)

Favorite Episodes: Beverly Hills, 90210

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This one was a big undertaking, let me tell you! Not only did this show run for ten seasons, but each episode was a full hour, so a lot took place each episode. Storylines continued for weeks, months, years. Some characters came and went, others were there for the entire duration, and some are even still connected to the show through the spin-off(s). I wouldn't have been ready to watch it when it came on originally, but I am glad that I've now seen every episode, thanks to a combination of the internet and SOAPNet.

Beverly Hills, 90210 offers a lot to write about. There's the whole idea that living in Beverly Hills and having money causes certain types of problems (scarcely a soul on this show doesn't deal with addiction in one form or another). Pop culture was a big part od the show... many of the episodes had awesome opening music sequences. And, let's not forget how old some of the actors were that were playing the characters. You could also discuss the roles of those actors - many came and left and did behind-the-scenes stuff for a long time. And this is completely disregarding the idea of how the new 90210 factors in the lives of the original kids in such a different way than something like Degrassi does.

Still, there were a lot of great episodes in the series. I had favorite half-seasons, really. This is because there were story arcs that I hated that went on FOREVER (like Dylan & Toni or Steve & Hilary Swank's character or the Brenda & Donna in Paris sequences). Below, I present my favorites from each season.

Season 1: "Slumber Party" (S01E13). Brenda has the girls over for a slumber party, but Kelly brings an older friend who doesn't want to attend. Things get tense when secrets are revealed, and Kelly has to choose to stay when her friend wants to go party. I like this episode because we learn a lot about the female characters in the show. Oh, and Steve and Brandon have Steve's car stolen by two pretty girls, lmao. Watch the whole episode on Youtube.

Season 2: "Things to Do on a Rainy Day" (S02E26). There's a big concert in town, and when they can't get tickets, Donna, David, Kelly, and Brenda sneak into the hotel that the band is staying at, trying to meet the band and get in that way. Well, Donna sees her mom cheating on her dad, and the rest of the group doesn't do so well trying to find the band. Meanwhile, Steve, Dylan, and Brandon are bored, so they hire a stripper... except Andrea crashes their party and that doesn't work out, either.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Season 3: "Home and Away" (S03E10). There's a shooting at a different high school. But West Beverly is scheduled to play that high school in football, and the school decides to forfeit, in order to make sure there is no violence. Brandon meets a reporter from the other school, and the two of them try to make peace by merging the schools together for a dance. Some of the kids are too preoccupied to care about what's going on, like Dylan and Kelly who go together. Whole Episode.

Season 4: "The Little Fish" (S04E03). Brenda decides to quit college in Minnesota, and arrives back home to everyone's confusion. Brandon had big plans for her room, and her parents thought she was doing fine. She came home in the middle of the night thinking that it would save her parents money by dropping out before tuition was completely non-refundable. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang is starting college locally. Everyone decides whether to rush Greek Life, and Andrea finds out that her Jewish background matters to the sorority of her choice. Brandon decides to go the political route instead. And Dylan decides not to go to college at all. Whole Episode.

Season 5: "Hazardous to your Health" (S05E18). Dylan is determined to find Erica, and enlists Valerie's help as they head to Mexico and try to get her back. It's quite the ordeal, but while all of that is going on, Kelly starts to be sucked into a cult, posing as an ordinary student group. um, for some reason this one seems to only be available in Spanish online...?

Season 6: "You Say It's Your Birthday, Part I" (S06E32). Steve is turning 21, and he's having a big party on a cruise ship. Everyone comes, including Andrea, who flies in. Those who can't be there send video messages, and the group finds out that Dylan and Brenda are seemingly back together. Colin tries to hop a freighter to get out of going to prison, and Valerie tries to track him down so she doesn't lose the club (she had put it up to get Colin's bail). ...and again with the Spanish...

Season 7: "A Ripe Young Age" (S07E22). David and Donna visit her grandmother, who truly supports their relationship. They hear about the romance history between Donna's grandparents, who only knew eachother for a few months when her grandfather was killed at war. Steve is making an infomercial for a class, and Kelly deals with a runaway child. Oh, and annoying Valerie has started a relationship with a movie star. Not the whole thing, but a couple cute clips. Clip 1 | Clip 2

Season 8: "Comic Relief" (S08E13). The doctor that Kelly works for has been hitting on her, and she finally decides to expose him, so he is fired. Donna's dad takes over the clinic. Brandon spends time with Emma, who tries to expose her relationship with Brandon through her column in the paper. David, working at a car wash, tries to reunite a gay teen with his parents. Steve tries out stand-up comedy.

Season 9: "That's the Guy" (S09E27). Kelly was raped a few episodes ago, but in this one she finally tells Matt, Dylan puts up a reward, and Kelly finds out that the rapist is a client of Matt's. The rapist comes into the store when Kelly is alone, and he locks the door. He pulls a knife, and Kelly pulls out the gun that Dylan got her. She shoots a bunch of times, killing the guy. Meanwhile, Donna and Noah are having problems, and Wayne wants to be with Donna. He's on his way out to a bunch of volleyball tournaments, but then decides to stay in LA. Gina tells David about her bulimia, even though she's still sleeping with Dylan. Lastly, Steve and Janet have a party since the newspaper has finally turned a profit, even though Janet's still not thrilled about the sleazy material in it. ...more Spanish...

Season 10: "The Phantom Menace" (S10E01). Janet tells Kelly that she is four months pregnant with Steve's baby. Kelly is arrested and held overnight for murdering her rapist, but is let go when it is declared justifiable homicide. Gina talks to reporters about Kelly, so Donna throws her out, and she moves in with Dylan at a hotel (David threw him out). (And yes, it was hard not to choose the final few episodes, where David & Donna finally marry!)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Were you an original 90210 fan or do you like the remake better? Did you watch it in its original form or catch it on cable television later? What storylines did you love?

I missed a few things...

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Friday:

Miami Medical (S01E06): the opening party sure looked like fun! I can't say I'm very taken with this episode... not the biggest fan of either of the main patients. It was nice of the one doctor to help the girl get into a magnet school, though. The twist of events with the guy having stabbed the girl was awful, and then when he stabbed Omar Epps, I was stunned!! Glad it all worked out in the end, though.

[May 21 is the first season's finale already!]

Sunday:
Minute to Win It (Season 1, Week 9a & 9b):

Sunday Episode: this week we had the "last man standing" concept. I thought that this made the show a lot of fun to watch. And while we didn't get all of the background on a single contestant, it made the challenges interesting to watch (especially the ones I've seen before). They've also started putting the tools needed to do these tasks at the bottom of the screen, which is nice for people wanting to practice at home, LoL.

Game 1: Hanky Panky: Pull out all of the tissues from the box. Instead of only having 60 seconds, just don't be the last one to finish. It was kinda intense to watch. The last guy wasn't even close. It would have been cool to see the clock going in the background.

Game 2: Bobblehead: Pedometer on the head. Instead of trying to get a certain number in 60 seconds, jerk your head as much as possible and the person with the lowest number in 60 seconds loses. 115 lost, but 137 was the next lowest I believe.

Game 3: Sticky Situation: Bounce ping pong balls to get them stuck on a peanut butter-covered slice of bread. Last person to do it loses. The last girl was like "I wasn't even close" hahahahaha.

Game 4: Rapid Fire: Fling rubber bands at a pyramid of six soda cans. Knock them all over. Last person to knock over their six loses. The last two girls were pretty bad at this.

Game 5: Johnny Applestack: stack 4 apples on top of one another. As many tries as you want, but it has to stand for 3 seconds. Last person to complete this fails. This one went faster than I was expecting, actually. One guy even put one of his middle apples sideways, LoL. And, of course, a proposal got people all worked up, LoL.

Game 6: Tipsy: drink some of a soda so you can balance it on it's beveled edge. Each contestant has to do this with three cans, and the last person to finish is out. This one was really crazy close.

Game 7: Worm Diving: use a moist gummy worm on a fishing pole to get a pretzel out of a fishbowl, and get the pretzel into your mouth. We're down to four contestants. One gets it super quick, the rest struggle. The girl loses, so now it's down to three boys.

Game 8: Paper Dragon: 500 foot streamer in each arm, swing as fast as you can to unravel it all. Last person to do so loses out.

Game 9: Ping Tac Toe: nine cups with water in them. Each person is bouncing the balls into the same nine cups, and trying to get three of their own in a row. Start over if it becomes an un-winnable game. Winner moves on. This one is so hard in my opinion! It was almost a photo finish!! SOOOOO close!!!! It's the guy who got engaged who moves on the the final game and tries for $1 million.

Game 10: Supercoin: Bounce quarters 15 feet to try and land one in the mouth of a 5-gallon water jug (has 1.75" opening!). Only one needed to win! He doesn't make it... but let's not lie, this is a HARD one! He does get $100,000.

Wednesday Episode: to be recapped next week

The Simpsons (S21E21): didn't care for the opener. Long and dumb. The mystery of which wife was running away with Moe was kinda a funny idea. Texting the phone in the water with the pole was funny. "checked out like a Harry Potter book at the public library," hahahahaha. The episode seemed to be heavy on the commercials. I never saw that DDR in Moe's Tavern before, LoL. Patty and Selma smoking while their own mother was pregnant was funny. The "train in the pocket" joke wasn't that great, but fitting for that character in that situation.

[May 23 is the season finale]

Family Guy (S08E18): ...dogs don't like the sound of pennies being shaken in a can?? haha for the "auto spell correct" comment. They were pretty clever about the military gay jokes. whoa... Quagmire's dad is having a sex change?? "Meg, you know what it's like to be different" hahahaha. I didn't understand the need to throw out the crumble dessert immediately. Asking Meg about her "procedure" was horrible. And Stewie trying to "push in" his genitals was disturbing. It was also kinda weird that Brian was obsessed with talking about his seminar. There is altogether too much vomit on this show. I may give it up soon.

[May 23 is the season finale]

Monday:
How I Met Your Mother (S05E22): Robots versus wrestler... hahaha. Love how the gang acted so excited without having a clue. Robin took the phone call during her broadcast? And why was Lily even awake then, LoL? Marshall and Lily talking about how distant their future babies are was funny, too. Marshall was wearing a strange outfit for the party. Ted calling "dibs" was hilarious. Ten years later and Ted still gets mail for the previous occupant?? I love how happy Ted was at the building. The "decant" joke was too far. "Reapply in two years." I love how the seating for the match was like Medieval Times, haha.When did Ted become that much of a wine connoisseur? hahahahahahaha, Barney giving Lily and Marshall "rules" about having a baby. and whoa... once Barney's doppelganger appears, we're gonna get a baby. hahahahaha, they get together yearly for "Robots vs. Wrestlers."

[May 24 is the season finale]

House, M.D. (S06E21): Wilson wants House to move out. After all this time. This episode reminds me of "Three Stories" since what he says people are saying is exaggerated. Going back and putting people where they were, narration, etc. Alvie took over House's apartment? LoL. The donut thing was interesting. Not the biggest fan of the camera angles and shooting this time around. I love that Alvie stole the book for House. But then House called immigration on him?? Interesting that House hangs his cane on the door frame when he's doing stuff. I guess that's smart. Too bad that Alvie immediately headed out to Phoenix (yeah. Arizona. no immigration problems there, lmAo). ...wow. House has had a rare book from Cuddy's family for all these years...

[next week is the season finale]

Little People, Big World (S05E31 & S05E332): I hadn't realized that there's a set of twin dwarves on Zach's soccer team. Cool for the Zach to lead the rest of the soccer team into supporting the various other sports that the team is participating in. WOW - playing five basketball games in one day is ROUGH. I think it's funny that Amy ended up having to play basketball so they had a woman on their team... couldn't they find anyone who knew the game?? Similarly, she had to play soccer to fill in for a missing player there, to! But at the same time, it couldn't have been last-minute since her jersey was personalized. The whole thing kinda hit a personal note for me, since I recently had to step in to play for my brother's dodgeball team since they needed another girl to qualify. It was cool that they were able to do a little castle tour, since Jeremy, Jacob, and Molly didn't have a lot going on that whole week, LoL. It has been amusing to me for quite a few episodes now that Jeremy can pull off that "tight, tapered jeans" look.

I didn't really care too much about the second episode. It was almost completely about soccer.

Tuesday:
Table for 12: nope. I don't understand why we saw one episode from the new season and now nothing. :(

missing the eps "summer," "busy day," "jumping in," "brace yourself," "back to school"

19 Kids and Counting (S04E14):

First, the Mother's Day Special: Baby Josie comes home!! Jim Bob looks so happy to have Josie coming home. :) Jackson was so cute in saying "nothing special, Josie's coming home" LoL. Jill's hair looked really messy in the interviews. Now that they're showing the birth sequence again, Josie looked better the day she was born than she does now! We kinda got a run-down of the entire season (the Josie segments anyway) plus some. haha on the ridiculously large purple bow at the "1 month" part. I enjoyed how they did the editing for this episode. The kids are so cute with the "bugs could make Josie cough" and stuff. 4 and a half pounds when she's scheduled to be released from the hospital. To pass the carseat test, Josie can't stop breathing for more than 15 seconds, keep her pulse above 80 and her oxygen saturation above 90. She has to do this for more than 3 hours, since that's how long she would have to sit there on her way home (even though she's not going that far on that first day). Josie only lasted 48 hours at home, and she's been in the hospital ever since.

I didn't get around to Tuesday's, so it'll be included next week.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Off season:
Jon and Kate Plus Eight: still missing the finale, "It's a Crazy Life, But it's Our Life"
Wipeout (June 1, 8pm... then skip to the 22nd...)
The Secret Life of the American Teenager (June 7, 8pm)
The Goode Family (Mondays at 10pm on Comedy Central)
Futurama (June 24th, 10pm)
Cake Boss (May 31, 9pm)
16 and Pregnant / Teen Mom (Teen Mom back this summer, not sure on 16 and Pregnant)
Sons of Tucson (will air the other 9 episodes this summer)
South Park