Blogcritics » Chelsea Doyle The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment Fri, 26 Dec 2014 14:58:06 +0000 en-US hourly 1 TV Review: Bones – “The Mastodon in the Room” Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:41:25 +0000 Bones is back! Everyone rejoice! Last season ended with a lot of big changes, including Brennan and Booth admitting their feelings but not getting together. Brennan couldn’t handle the pressure, and Booth said he’d have to move on. They really did move on to entirely different locations, with Brennan heading off to a big important anthropological study with Daisy, and Booth going back to war. Angela and Hodgins were married and took a vacation to Paris for a few months, Sweets was left heartbroken and alone by Daisy, and Cam was just … Cam. Booth and Brennan agreed to meet one year later back in DC.

Unfortunately they didn’t make it that long. They are all called back in by the wonderful prosecutor Caroline Julian. Cam is in trouble because the media is obsessing over the body of a child found, and she cannot figure out the case. She is focused on another case she deems more important, but politically she’s in a tight spot and people are looking to take her down. Brennan is fighting off bad guys and not really getting anywhere in her study, and Booth saves a little boy from an insurgent but feels like he’s abandoning his own son back home. Everyone agrees to come back to help Cam figure out the case so she won’t be in trouble. Aw!

Very quickly the team figures out that the corpse is not the child everyone is looking for. That means there are two cases this week instead of just one. The child is Asian and was accidentally killed by choking. He’s a North Korean immigrant and he was bound and held down by a ceremonial robe, rather then by any sign of foul play. His mother is found, she grieves, and Booth finds a way to help the poor lady out. Meanwhile in the case that caused trouble in the first place, Booth is keeping his eye on everything and Sweets seems interested by it as well. It should’ve been a big red flag that Sweets focused on the father, and it is said that a great many kidnappings are committed by the estranged parent. The father in this case thought his ex-wife was not healthy enough to take care of a child and kidnapped him. It was also just vengeance against the wife. Not cool, daddy, not cool at all!

As usual the story really is about all the characters coming together again. Cam is actually upset that they all abandoned her. Wendell comes back to be Brennan’s assistant, even though the rest of the interns are gone. Booth is dating a war reporter, and Brennan was surprised at first, but she does seem to have a healthy response to him moving on. Bittersweet, but probably happy for him too. Sweets and Daisy are rocky and no longer engaged, but they still have a great deal of passion for one another. Angela is pregnant! Yay! That was the best news.

The gang is back together and while it didn’t seem that hard, it’s probably because they missed one another. Everyone’s licked their wounds and moved past the drama. While the fans know that Booth and Brennan belong together, it was nice to see her take in stride his new relationship. The season started out feeling good, which is in direct contrast to the finale feeling so sad, so that’s great!

Best part of the episode: Angela is pregnant!

Worst part of the episode: Does this mean no more revolving interns? Aw.

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TV Review: Glee – “Journey” Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:18:38 +0000 Well the first season of this groundbreaking and surprisingly popular show has come to an end, and Glee-mania will probably only grow on the off-season. The cast is on tour, coming to cities everywhere, and there are the CD volumes and probably another DVD set to look forward to for now. What will we all have to do until the next season begins? Probably dance around to our Glee iPod playlist and wait breathlessly.

It's Regionals time, and New Directions is excited … except when they find out Sue Sylvester is going to be one of the 'celebrity' judges. What? Okay first of all, why is it not brought up that Sue is from the school? That should instantly disqualify her from judging. Even if she hates their Glee club, there's no way she can be unbiased and it's very hard to suspend disbelief on that one. But moving on. The kids know there's no way she would help them, so they're good as sunk. They will lose the club because they can't win, so instead of practicing they sit around crying and telling one another how much the club has meant. It's sad and moving and kind of depressing.

Will is depressed too about it and he even cries, but he goes to Emma for guidance. She points out that it was the journey all along that was worth it. They sang because they loved it, not because they cared about winning. She is also newly dating and is not interested in Will anymore, or so she says. He tells the kids, just as Rachel and Finn decide to spur them on to greatness again. They decide to work hard and go in there and have no matter what.

There are three clubs performing: New Directions, Vocal Adrenaline, and Aural Intensity (hilarious title). The guest judges are Sue, the newscaster Rod, Olivia Newton-John, and Josh Groban. Aural Intensity does a mash-up of Olivia Newton-John and Groban, which is hilarious, while New Directons does several Journey songs including their very first song "Don't Stop Believing." After performing, Quinn sees her mother, who asks her to come home, and her water breaks. To this important birth of little Beth, Vocal Adrenaline (but mostly Jesse) sing "Bohemian Rhapsody." Oh Jonathan Groff. Please come back. You can replace Finn. I mean, what?

The birth scene is fantastically done with the song, by the way. Rachel has stayed behind to wait for the judgment. She sees her mother Shelby again, and says she should come work for them. Shelby says she's actually done with Glee and she wants to have a real family of her own. Shelby shows up after the birth of Beth and asks them about the baby; Puck tells her the name he chose, and when she adopts the baby, she names her Beth. Some people found it weird she adopted Beth, but it seemed sweet. She was never as ruthless as her team, and she was a nice character from the beginning. She gave Will advice, handled the Rachel situation awkwardly, and didn't press charges against Finn and Puck when they slashed tires.

The kids all come back only to find out not only did they lose, but they got last place. Ouch! Unexpected too, considering in the judges room it looks like Sue is having a change of heart. The other celebrities make fun of her for being like the Glee club, meaning the underdog and not famous at all, and you know she voted for them. But they lost anyway. Interesting and surprising! I thought their Journey songs were done well. They're an enthusiastic and sweet team, but they really need to work on their performance and choreography. It's still sub par and this show is able to do better. It wouldn't be logical for them to win against a team as well trained and professional level as Vocal Adrenaline.

So the club is dead … or is it? While Will is packing up, Sue tells him that she decided she didn't want to lose her 'enemy.' She wants to give them another year. She blackmailed the principal one last time for the Glee club, and she even gently tells Will that he's a good teacher. This is after she watches the kids perform "To Sir, With Love," and sees how much they love Will. Sue is a fantastic character and she's brilliant and evil, but it is actually great to see these little soft moments with her. So the team is back, and Will closes it out with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

The question is where do they go next year? Do they have to fight back to Regionals? Will we see Shelby and Beth again? Finn told Rachel he loved her, can they make it work? Quinn and Puck look like they're making a go of it too. Will kissed Emma, but she's dating someone now. Can New Directions learn how to dance and not look like they're bopping around a stage awkwardly? One would hope. Until next season, Gleeks, enjoy the music and keep your fingers crossed that the second season manages to surpass our already high expectations!

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TV Review: Glee – “Funk” Wed, 02 Jun 2010 05:36:35 +0000 When Glee is good, it's great, and when it's not so good … well, it puts me in a funk. Yeah, see show, I can randomly use the title of the episode too. It's one month away from regionals (and one episode) and there's no real sign of them practicing or even caring about it other than bringing the fact up in ordinary conversation.

Jesse is back with Vocal Adrenaline and now hates the other kids for … some … reason? First complaint: this isn't explained at all. Now if he said that he'd been planning this all along to mess with Rachel before the competition, that would make sense. But we know he did it under Shelby's orders to get closer to her daughter. Let's say he did it for both reasons, but just a few weeks ago he told Shelby that he genuinely cared for Rachel and didn't want her to be hurt. Then we didn't see him again, and now he's all 'I hate everyone and I'm making you all suffer.' And he tells Rachel when he eggs her that he loved her. What? Is he just saying that to be a jerk or did he and somehow thinks she betrayed him? A little consistency on this would be nice, Glee. Maybe in the finale he will say "I planned this all along" and it'll be fine, but for now it seems very confusing.

Vocal Adrenaline and Jesse take over their auditorium to perform a short and awesome version of "Another One Bites The Dust." I do love me some Queen. They're great and well choreographed as always. The kids are left shaken and upset, and in a funk. Get used to the word funk. You hear it over and over and over and over again. Will learns from Sandy that the only thing Vocal Adrenaline can't do is funk because they're soulless, so he encourages the kids to perform their own funk numbers.There's assignments this close to regionals? When the heck do they practice their real numbers?!

The room was TP'ed by the other team, so Finn and Puck reunite to go slash all their tires. The two spend a lot of time together in this episode, which is nice because they used to be friends, but they haven't addressed the fact Finn's still angry with Puck. He seemed to be fine with singing "Beth" last week to Quinn on behalf of Puck. Anyway they both get punished, but instead of letting them be kicked out, Shelby wearily suggests they just pay them back. Finn and Puck get a job working at the same place Will's crazy ex-wife works at.

Terri, oh how we've missed her, signs the divorce papers with Will. It's a very awkward and painful scene and poignant because of it. She warms to Finn because he reminds her of 16-year-old Will, so she agrees to try and help him research funk and do a good project. Finn, Puck, and the other employees sing "Loser" by Beck. That was fun. It's so nice that they're letting Puck sing more now. He's got great stage presence and a smooth voice. Finn, Puck, and Mercedes perform "Good Vibrations." Oh Finn, don't try to rap, it's awkward, but it is sweet all the same. Quinn gets a group of pregnant girls to back her up while she sings "It's A Man's Man's Man's World." The actress has clearly been getting vocal coaching, because she sounds much better than previously in this song. It's weird to watch them all dance, but it is actually a good performance and solid for her storyline. The entire Glee team hugs her afterward.

Mercedes and Quinn bond later, and Mercedes offers for Quinn to move in with her. She's been having trouble with Puck's angry mother. This developed friendship between the two was unexpected, but it works. Rachel is egged by Jesse and his gang out in the parking lot, which is horrible and she really does look heartbroken over it. The boys are furious about this, even Kurt, and though they mention they like her being their punching bag, I think it comes from a real place of togetherness. Will persuades them to try and scare the other team by bringing the funk. Listen. The last song "Give Up The Funk" is a fun one, with them doing their trademark dancing around and being goofy and entertaining, but it is in no way as stylized and professional as the way Vocal Adrenaline moves. The simple truth is their quick Queen performance earlier was better than this, and I'm not sure as an audience member I can buy that they would be worried after seeing it.

A professional performance like the kind they'd need to win the competition needs to be excellently choreographed and perfectly sung. New Directions has a fantastic singing group, there is no doubt about that, but they're sloppy and untrained when it comes to dancing and the performance aspect. Sure they've got big hearts and you enjoy watching them, but is that enough to win a real competition? Honestly, it wouldn't be, not if Vocal Adrenaline continues with their stronger productions. Yes they have more money and more support, but competitions aren't fair. Yes this is a TV show and some things you just have to go along with. Don't get me wrong, I want our team to win, and I know the underdogs always pull through, but do I honestly think they're better? Not really. Not yet. But they have next week to prove otherwise.

In a side story, Will tries to seduce Sue and break her before the Cheerio's championship that weekend. It is so uncomfortable (but amusing) that it is hard to recap. She falls for it, he stands her up, they fight, and then she mopes for days. Will realizes her cheerleaders are people too and they get screwed over for his actions, so he feels bad. He apologizes to Sue and she goes harsh right back on him. They almost kiss at one point, and everyone has to wince at that. Brrrr. It's like hell has frozen over.

Hey speaking of Will's love life now that he's single, where is Emma?

Next week: the end!

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TV Review: Glee – “Theatricality” Sun, 30 May 2010 12:50:48 +0000 We Glee fans only got a taste of Idina Menzel last week after her duet with Lea Michele, but this week there was another duet and her own solo. Menzel is a Tony-winning Broadway star, and if anyone watching had never heard her sing before, they have to go back and get the original soundtracks of Wicked and Rent. If there was anyone out there talented enough to play Lea's more experienced mother, it would be Menzel, and she just rocked it on the show this episode. Hopefully it is not the last time the audience sees her.

Rachel realizes that Vocal Adrenaline is getting ready to do a big Lady Gaga number, so Will is determined to try and get in touch with Gaga's particular style too. Tina is not allowed to wear her goth clothes anymore because the principal believes in vampires, so he thinks Gaga might encourage everyone to explore wild costumes. Which of course they do, and the costumes are awesome. Apparently Lady Gaga gave either some of her old costumes or ideas for the designs, and they look marvelous.

Rachel goes spying on Vocal Adrenaline and she hears Shelby sing "Funny Girl," realizing it's the same voice from on the recording. She introduces herself and the two talk, but they have trouble bonding. Shelby is not getting anything out of this that she wants, and Rachel is awkwardly trying to learn about her mother. After a talk from Will, Shelby realizes she may have missed too much of Rachel's life by now, and that they might be better suited keeping apart. She gives Rachel a glass with stars on it (they are so alike), and the two sing "Poker Face." It's highly inappropriate, but a beautiful rendition all the same.

Kurt and Finn's parents are finally moving in together, and Finn is not okay with sharing Kurt's room. Unfortunately he has no real say in the matter, which is harsh and explains why he acts like such a brat later on. Kurt's crush has not gone unnoticed by Finn, and this situation has made him tense, so after Kurt rearranges their room to try and make it nicer, Finn snaps at him. Kurt swears he knows that Finn doesn't like him, but Finn says he hasn't accepted it, and uses the "f" word against the decorations he chose. It's as horrifying as any PC person can imagine, or anyone who hates hateful words like that. Kurt's father hears it and gives Finn a dressing down that is heartfelt, understanding, and firm. He'd used those words himself once upon a time, but now he's trying to change out of love for his son, and he won't accept Finn's hatred – no matter how slight – in his house. Finn is asked to leave, and Burt Hummel wins Best Dad on Television yet again.

In the end Finn starts to understand and realize he doesn't want to be that guy. He's being bullied by some jocks, as are Kurt and Tina. So he stands up for them in the end by wearing a wild plastic Lady Gaga outfit and the Glee club backs everyone up as a gang. It's nice, although a little silly with Will's slow clap in pride, but it was important for Finn to calm down. While Kurt's crush on him is intense and it might be uncomfortable to sleep in the same room as him, he has to find a valid and honest way to express that without resorting to personal insults.

Tina manages to scare the principal by declaring herself to be a vampire, and she can get her style back. The boys all sing a KISS song (in full makeup!) because they don't like Gaga, and the girls (and Kurt) all sing "Bad Romance." Every piece in this episode is well done. Puck then sings "Beth" to Quinn, suggesting the name of the song as a name for their baby, and saying that even if they give her up, he wants to be there at the birth. She agrees tearfully. It's very sweet, and a nice callback to the fact Quinn should be popping out her youngster any episode now. Likely in the finale, which is only a few weeks away!

Overall this was an excellent episode, and Lady Gaga must have been delighted to get so much publicity for it. Not like she needs it, let's be honest. The costumes were wonderful, and Mike O'Malley should absolutely get an Emmy nod for his supporting guest star role as Burt Hummel. Parents are usually either ignored, completely dysfunctional, or squeaky clean on television these days. He manages to play his role realistically and sweetly no matter what scene he's in. Everyone wants to have a parent like Burt Hummel.

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TV Review: Bones – “The Beginning in the End” Thu, 20 May 2010 15:38:18 +0000 Wow.

As you know, last year’s Bones finale was a disappointment in a great many ways. They promised change, but instead it all turned out to be a dream inside Booth’s head, which was frustrating for a lot of fans. The dream was creative, no doubt about that, but it really didn’t add much to the storyline as a whole other than having Booth realize that he loved Brennan. Which everyone already knew anyway.

This year, the finale was much more of a big change and one that served a purpose since a few things really have shifted this season. Booth and Brennan finally crossed the line only to be beaten back by Brennan’s insecurities. Angela and Hodgins are married. Cam’s moving on with her daughter and with a new boyfriend. The stories did all seem to be moving toward some things shifting around, and so while the case itself wasn’t terribly interesting, it was a metaphor for what was happening to our beloved characters: they had to let go of their hoarding!

The ceiling crashes into a little boy’s room with huge piles of junk and body parts coming down. The team is called in to deal with an agoraphobic “hoarder,” a man who collected a variety of things obsessively and refused to leave his house. There were animals living up there and fans on to try and contain the smell, but it didn’t help. The landlord tried to evict him and his former co-workers tried to get him out of the house, but nothing really worked.

Honestly the case isn’t that important. It turned out his girlfriend/co-worker accidentally killed him. She forced the window open and he panicked and she pushed him into a fan. It cut him up and then dropped a pile of junk on top of his head, and he starved to death, basically. Messed up. There are some red herrings from the landlord and a fellow hoarder who stole an item from him, but what he really does is represent a major plot point. Booth and Brennan hoard one another, they are incapable of movement and change because of their ties, and in some ways must be “set free” of this obsession.

Brennan is offered a very important leadership role on an anthropology dig in the Maluku Islands. Her intern Daisy was also asked to take a part in it, and their studies may lead to a big scientific discovery. Brennan admitted before that she was getting tired of death and wanted to get back to her roots. And she also says to Angela that she’s trying to deal with the Booth problem. Meanwhile, the army is trying to get Booth back in a leadership position so he can train soldiers. He might be able to save lives this way instead of catching those who end them. His son Parker is behind the plan, which is so contrived because how many little kids encourage their father’s to go into a war zone? Anyway, Brennan and Booth decide to separate. They are essentially going to the past for both of them: Booth to his war roots and Brennan to her anthropology roots. In one year they will return and see if they can still be partners. My guess? Of course they will be able to be partners — the show isn’t over.

Angela’s father is in town and tells Hodgins that Hodgins needs to help him steal back a car now that he’s family. Hodgins agrees to do it and Sweets offers to help because he wants to be “Mr. Action.” Daisy says she’s going because this is too big for her, and he’s trying to decide whether to go with her and leave his life or to stay and basically break up with her. Hodgins points out he’d follow Angela anywhere, so clearly Sweets’ connection to Daisy is not as genuine. Hodgins does steal the car and ZZ Top gives it to him as a wedding gift. Hodgins declares he wants to go to France with Angela for a year instead of break in a replacement Booth and Brennan. Sweets breaks up with Daisy.

They all say goodbye at the airport. There’s a very sweet moment where Hodgins gives Brennan a list of dangerous animals in the Maluku Islands, and she says “I love you too.” Awww. She’s very perceptive this episode, something Booth taught her all about, and he says “Wow.” Very cute moment. Booth does manage to sneak off in his army garb and say goodbye to Brennan. They promise to meet in one year in their usual place, and hold hands instead of kiss. Then they exchange one sad look and walk off into their respective hiatuses. That is, until next season when they’ll come back after a year jump, and we’ll see how things have changed. Will Booth have moved on and will Brennan decides she wants him? That seems like the most obvious and contrived thing, something they often do on dramatic TV, and while I’d like to think better of Bones, I can’t promise it won’t happen. Eventually the would-be couple will get together.

The end of this episode is pretty solid actually, and while it did seem a bit rushed to see Booth’s change, the progress of Brennan’s movement to this point was good. It will be interesting to see what changes in a year for all the characters, and all I can say is poor Cam! Left all alone with interns, new people, and Sweets! Until next year, keep your fingers crossed that a year won’t destroy the magic of Booth and Brennan… and that year six is when they’ll finally kiss! Maybe?

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TV Review: Glee – “Dream On” Wed, 19 May 2010 03:19:52 +0000 As soon as Glee started getting wonderful musical guest stars, fans of the brilliant and hilarious Neil Patrick Harris were wondering if he'd ever show his handsome mug on the show. Then he not only agreed to sign on for an appearance, but in an episode directed by Joss Whedon, a man known for his love of musicals, his sense of humor, and who had worked with Neil before on a little project called Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. If you haven't heard of that, stop reading this right now and check it out. See you in 45 minutes.

All set? Great. So NPH is Bryan Ryan, Will's former rival from high school who now hates everything to do with musical theater. He followed his dreams after Glee club and it all amounted to nothing. He's on the school board and wants to cut Glee out of the budget, but first he wants to tell the kids about how their dreams will never happen. Everyone does look pretty devastated, which is sad and all, but if they do want to be in the musical arts, they have to toughen up! Rejection is often and hard in that world, as Bryan Ryan obviously learned and couldn't take himself.

Will asks him to go out drinking that night, and Bryan admits he misses musical theater. He sneaks out to see musicals, and they sing "Piano Man" together. It must be said that it is wonderful to have the two sounding like they really are just sitting around singing together. All the music on Glee is recorded, and that means it sounds good, but sometimes it would be nice to have such natural moments. That's when you hear how talented the singers actually are, before people edit their voice and Auto-Tune.

Will persuades Bryan to try out for Les Miserables, and they both go out for the same part. They're fighting so the director tells them to sing a duet. They sing "Dream On" and it is a fantastic duet. Seriously, they both not only tear up the song but dance around the stage too. Girls watching this might have to fan themselves off afterward. When NPH does that high note at the end, it's bone-chilling. Bryan is excited about singing again and decides to cut Sue's budget instead. They have angry sex, which is hilarious, but Bryan gets furious when Will gets the part instead of him. Will gives him the part because Glee is more important to him, and the club is safe … for now.

In the second storyline, Rachel reveals she's always wanted to know her birth mother. She hasn't felt comfortable asking her fathers about it, which is a shame. Jesse St. James is back and still her boyfriend, and looking handsome as ever, and he says he'll help her. It turns out he knows exactly who her mother is: Shelby, the director of Vocal Adrenaline. He slips a tape she made into Rachel's 'mom' box, but she gets scared and won't listen to it. Shelby, aka Idina Menzel, who looks so much like Lea Michele it's scary, sent Jesse to "befriend" Rachel because she signed an agreement not to look for her daughter. Jesse might just actually like Rachel for real, and his goals do not seem nefarious at the moment if he really is just trying to reunite her with Shelby. We'll see where that goes. Finally Rachel listens to the tape and sings a duet with her mother to "I Dreamed a Dream." This was a fantastic song long before Susan Boyle got acclaim for it, and it is from Les Miserables, the play that Will and Bryan tried out for. Idina Menzel and Lea Michele … the two singers apart can cause me to shiver, but together? Goosebumps.

In the third storyline of the episode, Artie's secret dream was to be a dancer. Tina starts looking up all this information on the Internet about how new progress is being made for his legs, and maybe one day he'll be able to walk again. He has a dream where he dances to "Safety Dance," and it's fantastic. There was an extra on the Glee Volume 1 DVD set where they said that Kevin McHale is a great dancer, and the dance coach gets sad because he's in the wheelchair. He really does show his moves off in this one. He goes to see Emma to talk about the research, and she awkwardly but gently explains to him that even if there is a cure for his condition, it won't be for many years. It's sad, but bringing his hopes up too high would be even worse. He accepts this and tells Tina her tap dance routine will have to be with someone else. Then he mournfully sings "Dream a Little Dream Of Me" as she and Mike Chang dance together. Oh so sad.

This was one of the most solid episodes of the season so far. The songs were great, the three major stories all blended together well, and it furthers character arcs for Rachel, Artie, Tina, and Will. Whedon did a strong job as a director and hopefully he'll be back again. Also? NPH? Regular guest star? Who is with me?!

Next week is all Lady Gaga, with wild costumes that the singer offered them herself, and Rachel comes closer to finding her mother. Also, the third album from Glee came out on May 18, so fans of the music should check it out. Glee: The Music, Volume 3, in stores now.

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TV Review: Bones – “The Boy with the Answer” Fri, 14 May 2010 05:41:53 +0000 Wow, Bones, way to come out swinging like a champ this week! This season has been fairly even with some solid episodes but generally not very memorable storylines yet, other than ruining Booth and Brennan, and the wonderful wedding of Angela and Hodgins last week. This was going to be a big episode just because it brought back one of the best villains of the entire show, the Gravedigger. Former Attorney Heather is just terrifying and the actress tears this part up, making her the easiest to hate bad guy ever on the show.

The show starts right out intense and letting the viewers know this will not be an amusing episode. Brennan is in the midst of a nightmare where Hodgins is crying and bleeding, Booth is drowning, and she is buried alive. Fans of the show already know what this is about since all of these things happened already. Brennan and Hodgins were kidnapped by the serial killer the Gravedigger years ago and then just last season, before the brain tumor, Booth was taken and trapped on a boat by the same diabolical killer. All three survived (obviously), but now it's time for the trial. Heather is defending herself, and that is ten times more dangerous than any other lawyer, because she's a shark. She's terrifying, dangerous, brilliant, and completely psychotic. If she gets out there is no doubt in anyone's minds she will go after these people again and finish the job. Now they just have to convince a jury to put her away!

Heather starts right out causing trouble by getting all the evidence they found by Seeley's brother thrown out, because it was through an illegal warrant. None of them knew that at the time, but that doesn't excuse it. Now there's very little proof left. There's only one victim missing, a little boy taken in the episode they captured her, and she taunts Brennan in court about "numbers." This leads them to find the GPS location of the boy, but the problem is none of them can act as lead witnesses because they're part of the case itself. Brennan decides to drop her kidnapping charge against Heather so she can work on the boy. Hodgins is reluctant and horrified to do that, considering how long his PTSD has been going about this, but she convinces him. Booth does as well with the other two, so now they can all investigate the case to take her down for the murder.

Very little seems to be coming out of the case, and Heather is downplaying everything they do. She's a fantastic lawyer, and you can see how a jury might just believe her. Meanwhile Brennan's dad Max is freaking out because he thinks she's going to go free and kill his daughter, so he goes after Heather with a sniper. Booth manages to stop him and puts Max in jail until the case is over. Hodgins is having a really difficult time dealing with everything, and he asked Angela not to say anything about their wedding until it's over and he has some closure. Awww. It must be said that everyone acts the hell out of this episode, and it's a hard one because of how emotional everything was. For long time fans this will resonate beautifully because of how we went through it with them, but new fans might be confused about what is going on.

Brennan tries to appeal to the jury with a slightly more detailed explanation of how the boy was murdered. It's Hodgins who comes through though, because Booth gives Brennan the idea that the boy might have bitten her. The teeth are cleaned, but Hodgins finds a dust mite in his teeth that had enough DNA to target Heather. She looks genuinely frightened, but manages to try and twist it as a conspiracy against her from all these 'trauma' survivors. It doesn't matter though, because all this is enough to sink her. Justice prevails! It would've been pretty intense if she had gotten off, but it was nice to get a happy ending there anyway. Plus she promises Brennan it isn't over.

Hodgins and Angel do announce they're married and everyone is very happy for them. They celebrate at the bar together. However there's an indication that some big news might be happening next week. Brennan told Booth over the course of the episode that she's burnt out, and she's expressing doubt about helping the FBI anymore. There's an ominous look she gives him in the end as she drives away in a taxi. Obviously she can't leave the show for long, as it is about her, but it will be interesting if she struggles with being a researcher or a crime fighter. That's something she's questioned for years, but never directly addressed.

Next week is the finale!

Best part of the episode: The bar scene at the end with everyone celebrating. Very sweet.

Worst part of the episode: This was a good one. Nothing comes to mind.

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TV Review: Glee – “Laryngitis” Thu, 13 May 2010 04:24:14 +0000 Welcome to the first edition of Gleefully Yours with Chelsea & Sahar! When I persuaded fellow Blogcritics writer Sahar to try out this excellent musical dramedy, she got so enamored with it that she suggested we do a feature together on the subject. I'll be handling the recaps while she focuses more on the music and what it adds/detracts from the show regularly. So let's get started on the episode "Laryngitis," where Rachel learns a valuable lesson thanks to an anvil in the head, and Kurt sings Mellencamp. Even typing that hurts.

Rachel is having a problem: she lost her voice! Apparently all of the other New Directions members have been coasting along after her, but she's the only one still working in the group. When she points this out, Will suggests that they all present a song that expresses how they truly feel inside. We can always count on Will to be so very touchy-feely.

Puck is feeling panicked because his mother shaved off his mohawk, and now no one at school is afraid of him. Really? It was that simple? He even gets thrown into a trash can, which seems ridiculous considering he's still twice the size of the people who toss him in. Anyway, he decides to hook up with Mercedes because now she's the most popular girl in school. Really? Was it because of her "Beautiful" rendition a few weeks ago? That's actually nice. Good for Mercedes, but that probably won't last the episode (foreshadowing!). She agrees to date him because he sings a smoking hot version of "The Lady is a Tramp." Who would've thought that Puck knew Sammy Davis Jr. so well? Or that he had an excellent set of Rat Pack clothing hiding out somewhere in his closet? Needless to say it works. Come on ladies, who wouldn't that work on?

Quinn warns Mercedes that he's just using her, but Mercedes doesn't seem to mind. He's being relatively sweet to her and she enjoys his attention. Quinn and Puck apparently are not actually dating as everyone thought they were, although she is living with him until the baby comes. Ooookay. The real problem is that Santana gets obsessively jealous over Puck. Only she never showed that jealousy with Quinn in the past few weeks, but okay, fine. The two sing "The Boy Is Mine." Oh the late 90's, how I've missed you. They also sing it in front of the whole Glee club, which is so awkward that even Will goes WTF?

In the A Special Subject on Glee section of this episode, Rachel is convinced without her voice she is nothing. Finn takes her to meet an old football buddy of his who is paralyzed from the waist down. He felt the same away about football, but he's learned to find a reason to live without it and is in relatively good spirits all things considered. Rachel realizes how very small her problems are in comparison, and when she gets her voice back she offers to give him singing lessons. It's sweet, but a little too After School Special. Glee does that regularly so it can be forgiven, but this show is at its best when it is witty and biting. Not all emotional subjects have to feel like you're being hit over the head with an anvil.

Take the other emotional story: Kurt and his father. Yes, they've gone over this many times on the show, but believe it or not this isn't just a quick fix. His father doesn't tell him once that he's cool with him being gay and they never talk about it again. Kurt is furious and heart broken his father keeps taking Finn to sports games, so he tries to go "straight." He sings a Mellencamp song (groooooan) and makes out with Brittany. His father takes all of this in stride at first, but when Kurt going "straight" doesn't work on getting him invited anywhere, he has a hissy fit. He sings "Rose's Turn" from the incredible play Gypsy and just slays it. His father was listening all along, and they rehash everything again. As always this subject is handled sweetly and with grace, and Kurt Hummel's father is one of the best parents portrayed on television right now. Between him and Finn's mother, the show doesn't fall into the typical high school drama show where the parents are always clueless.

Mercedes decides to quit the Cheerios and be herself again since she can't stand Puck's attitude. He's got his mojo back, so he doesn't really care. One thing that was missing this episode was Jesse St. James, who they said was off with Vocal Adrenaline having fun. Finn still wants Rachel back, and even though everyone thought Jesse broke up with her, it seems she's still holding onto him. If only he could stay on the show. We'll miss your perfect pitch, Jonathan Graff.

Next week: NEIL PATRICK HARRIS! Episode directed by Joss Whedon! Squee!

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TV Review: Bones – “The Witch in the Wardrobe” Fri, 07 May 2010 06:55:22 +0000 The Bones writers clearly knew that by refusing the fans Booth and Brennan, they had to give them something to make everything alright. At least for a little while. That has come in the form of the slow progression of Hodgins and Angela heading back together, and it's been handled very well in the past few episodes. It was sparked when she had her pregnancy scare and he swore he was her guy, and everyone knew it was only a matter of time now after she broke up with Wendell. Even with all that build-up, very few people knew what was actually going to happen this episode, so it was a wonderful surprise for all! You're forgiven, show, if only until this glowing feeling fades.

The case of the week involves the murder of a 'witch,' whose skeleton is found with a very old skeleton of a woman who was a witch during the Salem Trials. They've dealt with witchcraft on the show before, so it was a little old by this point, and no doubt the Wiccan community might get up in arms about a few things in this case. The woman was a 'dark witch' and liked to put curses on people. When a man tried to buy her house from her for a development, her curse apparently made him lose all of his hair and he backed off. Another suspect was a man whose wife left him, and he asked the woman to put a curse on her.

Booth and Brennan witness a ritual from the local coven as they dance and chant and get naked. Because that's not cliche at all. Booth asks why the people who get naked are always people he does not wish to see naked. Uh, Booth, we see a few of the coven members later on and they seem like very attractive women, considering they are in Hollywood and everything. And it wasn't like you were hiding your blushing eyes.

Clark is the intern of the week again, and he really has been growing as a character. The last time he was around he advised Hodgins to stop being bitter toward Angela, and this time he even tried an experiment in Hodgins' absence. Why was Hodgins absent? He and Angela are going to collect evidence and on their way back he swerves in the road a few times. The local police pull him over, and they get arrested. They are held because they both have pending cases. This is a contrived plot to have them stuck in an enclosed space for a time, but no one cares because yay Hodgins and Angela.

Cam attempts to come and get them out, but she is swayed by the Sheriff's refusal and makes them stay there. They are allowed to use the police station's computer and answer questions for Brennan from there as they wait for a judge. The victim was killed by multiple stab wounds, and they find out that the witch from the Salem Trials was an ancestor of one of the girls in the coven. When questioned about it she swears not to have anything to do with it. The victim stole the body so she could have the power, somehow. By looking at the pattern of the stab wounds, Brennan realizes that it is in the shape of the pentagram, not unlike the ritual she saw with Booth. The entire coven murdered the girl together, although it was by accident (sort of): they were all drugged on an LSD-type herb at the time. Oops.

Back to the real story that matters this week, and that means Hodgins and Angela. Eventually while stuck in the cell they start talking about what broke them up. They have a heartfelt talk about how they regret walking away from it and make up. But they are not just back to dating, folks. No, the pair takes a leap of faith and gets married right then and there by the judge! So their wedding falling apart is made right again a few years later, and it really came off as sweet instead of ridiculous. They've had a long developed romance from early on, and it's really about time.

Best part of the episode: The wedding!

Worst part of the episode: The shows continued apparent dislike of the Wiccan religion.

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TV Review: Bones – “The Rocker in the Rinse Cycle” Mon, 03 May 2010 13:16:00 +0000 Well, I'm hot blooded, check it and see, I got a fever of a hundred and three!

This wasn't the first episode of Bones that involved the music world or even the rock industry, so someone on the staff must really love music. Maybe they wished they were record producers instead of working on a television show? It featured the return of Booth and Brennan's official song, and probably the happiest murderer in the history of the show.

A skull is found in a washing machine and they trace it to a missing boy who was in town for a music festival. There are hundreds of people there who play instruments and were hoping for a chance to play with a rock legend on stage in front of everyone. The victim was selected but mostly because of his money and power rather than any skill. It seemed pretty obvious from the beginning that one of the other rockers was responsible, and this turned out to be true. The guy who took his place on the stage with the legend did it, and as he's arrested he said it was totally worth it. Also he beat the guy with a special very expensive guitar and then cleaned it meticulously, thus how they knew it had to be a music lover. Sweets mentioned how he liked the killer more than the victim. Um. Inappropriate? Love of music is so not a good enough reason for murder.

As always the show was really about the interpersonal relationships. Booth and Brennan continue to date other people in a pointless attempt to build tension. Brennan obsessively talks about Booth's 'social contract' with Catherine because she bought him a tie. She's jealous. How surprising. Maybe she'll realize she's jealous at just the right time and beg him to give it a chance. Gasp. Anyway, she got a mix tape from Hacker (really?) and doesn't like Led Zeppelin. Foul, Brennan. Booth is very displeased about this, as anyone with an ear for music would be. The two also sing a duet of "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner earlier, which is a sweet call back to when they were still sort of in love and the audience had hope. They rock it out well too, with Brennan even attempting to play a guitar!

Also this week Cam got a love interest! Yay. Cam's always been a great character, and the last romance she had was with Angela's ex, so that's awkward. This is even more awkward, because it's with her adopted daughter's gyno. Yeah. Uncomfortable. It really does make sense in the episode, however, and they're very sweet together. Plus it shows her growing relationship with Michelle, and that's always nice. Angela and Hodgins have a flirty moment when he mentions something she does is "so hot," and then he replaces it with "interesting." Yes, because those two really need to take it slow at this point. Give us a bone, writers!

Best part of the episode: "Hot Blooded," no doubt about that. It was a very charming call back.

Worst part of the episode: Leave it to Seeley Booth to imply only bad kids have sex at 16. Exact quote is "She is a good girl, so she isn't having sex." Tell that to your girlfriend who had a baby out of wedlock, see how quickly that gets you a punch in the face, Booth.

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