I (finally) uploaded a bunch of photos from my camera to my computer last night and here are a few that didn't really have a story to go with them... but still needed to be shared.
Here is Robert trying to get Garfunkel in his harness. We've been able to walk Garfunkel for about two weeks or so and while he has learned to love his walks (he starts wiggling and crying when he hears the jingle of the leash or harness), he absolutely refuses to let Robert put his harness on without a fight. Garfunkel just wants to eat it. It's a challenge to get the harness on the dog before he gets it in his mouth.
Robert gave Garfunkel his first bath a while back and boy did he hate it! So, I gave him a bath a couple weekends ago and... he still hates it. A lot. He gets so freaked out he digs his claws into your body and, well, it hurts. Imagine these scratches and bruises all over my arms and neck and... it was a hoot.
This is one Maria will appreciate. Back when we had our Wente tasting appointment, Maria was kind enough to come and babysit the dog. For the next few days, I kept noticing Garfunkel frantically trying to bite and lick under the stove. So, I asked Robert "Do you think there's something under there? Or does he just really love the stove legs?" Robert thought there was something under there, but couldn't really see anything so we just left it at that. The following weekend (when we got together with the McCauleys for Bob's birthday), Maria told us in passing that she'd dropped a carrot under the stove. We went home that night and fished it out - it was the most petrified little carrot I've ever seen! But at least the dog wasn't going crazy.
Are you getting tired of TV Tidbits yet? Sorry! I honestly post them as much for me as for you... I am actually so busy at work these days that I'm way behind on my entertainment reading. As such, I post stuff to the blog with the hope that I will remember to read it later (much later) when I have time. But I will have a couple of 'personal' posts later today... or tomorrow... so if you're jonesing for a Garfunkel update to break up the TV Tidbit monotony, you're in luck! ;o)
Until then, however, here's is part 2 of TVGuide.com's Q&A with NCIS's exec producer:
In Part 1 of our in-depth Q&A with NCIS boss Shane Brennan, he shared the secret to creating a "Legend," as in the two-part spin-off pilot that kicked off April 28 and wraps up [last night].
Here in Part 2, Brennan reveals his plan to match if not top last year's season finale, teases the arrival of a trouble-making newcomer, and ponders the future of "Tiva."
TVGuide.com: When we spoke back in December, already you were teasing this season's finale (airing May 19) as "jaw-dropping," saying it would set up a "stunning" Season 7 premiere. Is that still the plan? Shane Brennan: It is definitely the plan. We filmed a secret ending, and those pages were only in one copy of the script. People will see the finale and say, "I know what's going to happen next in the first episode back." Wrong. You don't know what's going to happen. People will go, "Am I really seeing that? What just happened?" It really is exciting. I promised that with [the Season 5 finale] "Judgment Day," and I think we delivered. It is very much in that vein.
TVGuide.com: Does the May 12 episode featuring Jamie Murray's customs agent play into the finale at all? Brennan: Elements of it do. If you want to get the most out of the finale you need to watch the three episodes that come before. Michael Rivkin (played by Merik Tardos) makes an appearance, in a very big way. To say that he causes a few waves is an understatement.
TVGuide.com: I understand that Murray's character ruffles a few feathers as well. Brennan: She does, but in a different way. We may even see a bit of jealousy on Abby's part, which should be a bit of fun.
TVGuide.com: Whatever you have planned for the finale, is it something you're going to catch heat for, as you did a year ago? Brennan: I suspect I will. But the difference is that the fans understand we didn't cheat them [before]. I don't make false promises. If I do something, I like to be able to deliver on it. So it's the same as last season: Buckle up and hang in there until September. All will be revealed and you will be surprised, it will come at you from left field.... It will be a fun ride.
TVGuide.com: You've been relatively mum on the topic of Tony and Ziva. Is that out of some concern that if you talk about their romance too much, NCIS will seem soapy? Brennan: No.... I think what people like about NCIS is that this is a bunch of people they'd love to work with. There's laughter, there are tears, there's office romance, and we've touched on all of those things all of these years. And what we're doing with Tiva is just another part of that. It's up to the audience to decide — and they will, over the summer — what might happen as a result of what we do in these last [three] episodes, but there is a natural progression to it. Everything has a life, and eventually things end. Now if you think I just said that Tiva's going to end, I didn't say that.
TVGuide.com: Sounds like one of those instances of "Be careful what you wish for. You wanted movement on the Tiva front...." Brennan: You definitely get some movement here! These last episodes are really powerful. The fans are going to love them.
EW.com has a couple of good Q&As posted today: one with NCIS' Ziva (partially on the Tiva romance... bleh) and one with HIMYM's exec producer on last night's maybe reveal (you obviously don't want to read that one if you haven't seen last night's episode!).
NCIS:
Isn't it the actor who usually tears up during an interview, not the journalist? Last week, we met up with NCIS' Cote de Palbo for lunch in New York City to talk about the tension that's about to explode between her character, former Mossad agent Ziva David, and Michael Weatherly's Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo in season 6's final three episodes (CBS, Tuesdays, 8 p.m. ET). SPOILER ALERT! If you were hoping that Tony questioning Ziva's loyalty to NCIS after uncovering her connection to the mysterious Michael Rivkin might somehow be one of those situations in which anger turns to passion -- stop. "We could not be farther away from kissing," de Pablo says. "I'm telling you, it's not 'I hate you' [kissing sound] anger; it's 'I want to kill you' anger. Like, 'I want to shoot you in the head, but instead I'm gonna put my gun on your knee' anger....He does something to her that is almost unforgivable. However, the reason he does it is because he truly believes it's going to help her. Little does he know that he almost kills her." Metaphorically or physically, we ask. "Physically and emotionally," she answers. Our eyes get a little misty, which we point out to her. "Tell me when you watch the end of that episode," she says, "because I want to be sitting next to you." Here, de Pablo talks about the Tiva chemistry, what makes NCIS work, and why she doesn't have a TiVo.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Why do you think the show has gotten its best ratings ever -- in season 6?
COTE DE PABLO: People don't watch this show because of the crimes we solve. They watch the show because they want to see how people relate within the show. We're like a little dysfunctional family. I've always thought of Ziva as the adopted kid who comes in and has this really funny thing with one of the siblings, which is Tony. It's funny how the audience caught on.
And what's interesting is that you're able to do that character stuff without sacrificing the logic of the cases. Or maybe it's just because the character stuff is so well written that I don't stop and try to find holes in the plots.
We all have a really great chemistry and when we get a script, we get together, and we make it work. That's one of the things about the show -- and about us -- that is still sort of remarkable, and Mark Harmon always points it out: Isn't it fantastic that during our sixth year, we can still come to work and question a scene to the point where we won't go out there and shoot it unless it's clear to all of us? We make sure we all understand what's going on, that we're all on the same page. So many shows out there, they're just doing the words. We love our jobs, and we care about it so much that we show up and we add our input to make it better...Daddy Mark Harmon. We love him. [Laughs] He's our dad.
I think that will be very interesting. God knows, we all wish them the best of luck. It's a tough thing: They'll go on their journey, they'll find their chemistry, and they'll gel. It happens for every show. I thought Michael Weatherly was so, so good in that episode.
Tell us one moment from these next episodes that is going to floor us.
When I almost shoot Michael in the knee. [Laughs] I keep saying Michael, but it's Tony. I'm not shooting Michael, I'm shooting Tony.
When did you know that you and Michael would click as well as you do?
Michael and I clicked immediately. We sort of hated each other immediately, and loved each other immediately. I walked into the audition and he thought, Ohmygod, she's gonna be so hard to work with. She's so complicated. And I thought, This guy's so incredibly unprofessional. During the audition, he grabbed my hair. He would not follow the lines. He totally went off script and started improvising, and this was my final audition with the heads of CBS. I thought, This guy is sabotaging my audition. So immediately I went, Oh, I'm gonna show this guy. I'm gonna show him. So he tried touching me, and I literally like [mimes slapping his hand away]. That relationship was established the moment that we met. Nothing changed, it was just enhanced. And we loved each other as well. We realized we're so drastically different and so much alike that there was an immediate attraction.
Some fans are worried that Ziva won't be on the show next season. What can you say about that?
Oh, you never know. All I can tell you is that there's a fantastic cliffhanger, and in order for them to continue the show, they'd have to at least bring me back to tie up some loose ends.
But you know how the story arc plays out, right? Or has [exec producer] Shane Brennan kept even you in the dark?
The thing you need to know about Shane is that Shane will always keep everyone in the dark. He's the dark master. He'll give you hints of where he wants to go with things, but there's secret pages coming out on the day you shoot. So there's always mystery. You're never quite sure what's going on, which quite frankly, is kinda nice. You start creating scenarios in your head. It keeps the ideas and creativity flowing constantly.
So do you know what happens in the Season 7 premiere then? Not that you have to tell me, but do you know?
Let's say the team has to get together and they have to help someone because they're in a desperate situation...I gave you all of it, don't look at me like that. [Laughs] I'm not saying that much! I'm not saying that much! You're good. Your little sweet face. The tilt of the head.
Okay, we can move on to the Pop Culture Personality Test portion of the interview. When do you yell at the TV?
The Millionaire Matchmaker. It's the saddest thing. It's an addiction. It's like watching a train wreck all the time. I just think Patti is the funniest person in the world. For the most part, I love Bravo shows: Project Runway, Top Chef, it's what I call "fine reality." I love period pieces. I really liked Rome. Now I'm really liking The Tudors. If you asked me what my dream would be -- obviously, NCISis a dream to me -- I'd like to be on a period show. I love the Discovery Channel. I love all sorts of medical shows. I love a show called Diagnosis: Unknown.
How many TiVos do you have?
I don't have a TiVo.
But you do tape shows somehow?
No. I'm not a technology person.
It's one button!
No, I don't know how to do it. When I have time off, I usually go to the beach. I stay at a rustic place where TVs are non-existent. I'm drinking some fruit juice with a surfboard under my hand. That's how I want to spend my time. Or this: Walking around the city. Sitting down, having great lunches. I love food. [She enjoyed a bloody mary and pear salad with us; then left for a second lunch, where she was going to have a steak.]
The last movie you saw in the theater?
I used to love going to movies, but when you work the way we work, which is a lot, the last thing on your mind is going to a movie theater. Then when the Oscars come around, you feel so left out. Within two or three weeks, you try to watch all the movies. The last movie I saw in the theater was actually a really bad scary movie, The Last House on the Left. And by bad, I mean really entertaining. Like the scary movies usually are. If it were really, really good, I wouldn't be able to stay in my seat. I would never watch Poltergeist.
The movie you have to watch every time you spot it on cable? Like, if I see Baby Boom, it's over. I'm watching it.
That's a good movie. There are so many comedies: Wedding Crashers. When Harry Met Sally...
The person or band you still need to see in concert?
I'd love to see Brazilian Girls and Erykah Badu....I would've loved to have seen Eva Cassidy and Judy Garland. I love music. I'd really love to go see a great opera [in NYC], but I don't think I'll get to see one this time around.
What is your position on karaoke, and what is your song?
If I did it, I would probably sing "Crazy For You," Madonna. I've never done karaoke. I don't think I've ever been drunk enough to do karaoke.
You need more vodka in that bloody mary.
I used to go with friends, and they were always like, "Come on. You sing!" "No, you go ahead." I'd watch my friends bomb on stage. I loved it.
Name something from your childhood you wish you still had.
There are entire outfits that I wish I still had. My taste in clothing has not changed. I used to dress exactly like this when I was 7. Shirt off the shoulder. My hair wild. Hat. Jeans. Back then, obviously, it was a lot cooler. Now it's just normal. But I was like a little tomboy. I had a very defined sense of style. The stuff I liked then, I still like now.
What is your pop culture blind spot?
Ohmygod. I feel so out of it sometimes. I don't even know. Like what?
Have you read Twilight?
No.
Have you read Harry Potter?
No.
Do you get the Jonas Brothers?
No. I have no idea what they are. Keep on going, you'll find out how incredibly removed I am from that.
Name something you think is underrated in pop culture.
Pauley Perrette [NCIS' Abby Sciuto] and I have always thought instead of models or actors on the covers of magazines, it would be great if we could have, like, the best teacher of the year. I think if education was celebrated in pop culture, we'd live in a better place.
Now that you've finished your drink, I'm gonna try one more question about NCIS: Will Tony and Ziva ever kiss again?
The first question I always get is, "Are these people ever gonna kiss?" And I'm like, "I don't know if you remember, but my first season, we did kiss."
"Under Covers."
"Under Covers." They're like, "No, no, no. We mean, like, a real kiss." And I'm like, "I think that was pretty real." Michael and I talked about all of those scenes right before we did them. We had a totally different way of looking at it. In our minds, we thought the characters weren't faking anything. They just got carried away. Then all of the sudden after that, they saw each other in a different light. That's how Michael and I wanted to play it: If something really happened during that, it was okay. Tony was willing to go there, and Ziva certainly didn't mind. She doesn't care about that stuff. We'll leave it to anyone's interpretation....I think that was the beginning of something, and at a certain point, it will have to be addressed.
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HIMYM:
I defy you to find a single fan of How I Met Your Mother who isn't asking themselves exactly that question in the wake of last night's humdinger of an ending -- which seemed to strongly hint (if not outright reveal) that Sarah Chalke's Stella is the show's eponymous mom. Unfortunately, only two people on the planet know the answer. Fortunately, I just got off the phone with one of 'em --executive producer Carter Bays!
Is Stella the mother? CARTER BAYS: I won't say whether she's the mother or not, [but] we were definitely very careful in the wording of the narration. Obviously, we're not going to say, 'Okay, here she is! Show's over."
Was it an intentional fake-out? BAYS: Nothing's a fake-out on this show. We established very early on that this is a very windy, twisty story, and the message of the show is there's a ridiculous series of events that has to happen before this guy meets the woman he marries... I will say this about the next two episodes: Everything will be made clear and it will move the ball forward.
You certainly got people talking. BAYS: We freaked out a ton of people. We've never really kept a big secret from the audience. And what secrets we do have we usually tell people and there are usually spoilers floating around. And this kind of felt like, "Let's try and do something that takes everyone by surprise and really blow people's minds." And I think we did it.
What kind of reaction have you been getting? BAYS: It seems to be split 50/50; some people loved it but a lot of people really hated it. And I certainly don't want to tell you that I like it when people hate my show, but knowing where the next two episodes go, I feel like those are both legitimate reactions and both what we were going for.
Does the yellow umbrella belong to Stella? BAYS: I can't say one way or the other.
Can you give me a preview of next week's episode? BAYS: We'll reveal why Ted running into her again is such huge moment. He already ran into her once before and didn’t do anything, but this one has more meaning and we'll find out why next week.
Is it your plan to hold off on confirming the identity of the mother is until the final episode of the series? BAYS: That's always been the plan, but obviously we have a lot of options at our fingertips.
Which side of the 50/50 split do you fall on? And how do you think Stella figures into the Mother mystery? Weigh in below! And then check out Ask Ausiello on Thursday to see out what else Bays told me about this season's final two episodes.
Well. Robert and I finally got a chance to watch Sunday's episode last night so I am free to post the recap - apologies for the delay. Again. Let me begin by saying that I got a bunch of crap from Robert after I replied to Dakin's comment and said that I guess I have to vote for Tammy and Victor for the win. I said "I guess" - with italics! This denotes my displeasure at having to root for that team!! But Robert was having none of it and, I have to say, after last night's episode I just can't in good conscience root for any team that has Victor on it. I. Hate. Him. The moment when he and Tammy were trying to recite their orders in Mandarin for the 2nd time and Tammy said "Let me do it" right before Victor continued trying to say the orders with her really sealed it for me. He's such an obnoxious, arrogant blow-hard!!! Gah! So I guess I am officially rooting for no one. Robert is sort of pulling for the redheads because Cara is actually nice and Jaime's shrew-like ranting makes him laugh but I just don't think I can get behind them. (Though Jaime better thank her lucky stars she's teamed with Cara because Cara did the weird food Road Block like a champ! Jaime would've been there for 4 hours, stomping, crying, spitting and retching. Cara just at the food and moved on. It was a treat.) And as much as I thought I'd be pulling for Luke and Margie, I just can't. He's such a loser! A big whiny baby loser! Ugh. This is like the year the hippies won - I just want the season to be over so a new one can start. I'm SOL until the fall on that one, though. Dang.
Phil's Blog:
And then there were three. Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way. That was without a doubt the most expensive bathroom break in the history of The Amazing Race, right? Even as I sat watching the episode last night from my hotel in Maryland, knowing what was about to happen, I still couldn’t believe it. I know that it was really tough on Jen and that she felt truly responsible for their elimination…especially considering they had battled through the U-turn, the eating challenge and even moved ahead of the redheads and still came up several minutes shy of the final three. Both Kisha and Jen have competitive natures and I’m sure that elimination stung.But I have to say, Kisha really impressed me again with her stoic response to the entire situation. She could have easily lost her cool on baby sis but she didn’t. She never blamed her or even get that upset...she knew that Jen was doing enough of that on her own. Kisha held it together like a great big sister should. Kudos to her.I know that some people don’t like the eating challenges, but you have to admit they are an excellent test of a person’s will and determination -- especially at this stage in the game. If I were to make it this far in the race, I can promise you that a starfish or a scorpion wouldn't keep me from getting to the next leg. At that point I’m eating anything I need to in order to advance. But even I was truly impressed with the ease with which a couple of the teams handled those Asian delicacies. They blew through that challenge. Cara was a machine.Speaking of team Redheads -- I think it goes without saying that Jaime might need to work on her people skills, specifically with taxi drivers. Each and every week I am truly amazed at her impatience with the language barrier she faces in these foreign countries. Seems like Cara should have stepped in to assist in communicating with the drivers by now but Jaime is still doing all the screaming.Can’t believe we are almost at the end of this season. I feel like this is one of the best editions we've ever done. The cast was amazing, the challenges were creative and unique and the pace was unstoppable. I hope you guys feel the same.Here’s my quick tease for the finale episode:After 3 continents, 9 countries, and 40,000 miles, it all comes down to one final leg. The final three teams will square off in a leg that will test everything from their endurance, their memories, and even their sea legs. And one racer’s Karma may come back to haunt them. Two teams will put their friendship first when they set aside the Race and help each other finish a task, and the final three teams will find themselves racing neck-and-neck in their last task on the road to the million dollar prize.Final-Three Team Breakdown:Cara and Jaime: Fiercely tough competitors but you have to wonder if a local is going to lose their cool on them at some point with all the screaming. Having said that, they definitely have the strength to become the first all-female team to win the Race.Victor and Tammy: Seem to be coming on strong now. They’re focused, determined, and they feed off of each other’s tunnel vision. Definitely a stronger team heading into the final leg than they were when we first started this race. I love when team’s relationships grow on the Race.Luke and Margie: Communicate better than any team left in the Race, but do they have the strength to battle it out against two very strong teams.Guess we'll have to wait and see next Sunday.
Recap:
Damn you, H20! You have foiled Jen, not once, but twice in a row! Last week, your liquid trickery rendered her athleticism moot as she struggled to swim in a pool. Had you stopped there, you would have been merely evil, you watery bastard. But no, you just couldn't stop there, could you? You then took advantage of her need to drink you during a nasty food challenge, knowing full well that by using you she had made a deal with the devil. The wettest of devils! Masquerading as her savior, you then stormed her bladder like a Trojan horse (the soggiest of Trojan horses!) and inflated it to the size of a playground ball, thereby causing her to be eliminated. I know, water, I know: You're a giver of life, and 62 percent of my body, but we all realize that you're also a real douchebag when you put your mind to it.Water, why couldn't you have taken out all your aggressions on the cheerleaders, like machines do? Last night's episode of The Amazing Race began with a taxi door swinging itself shut on Jaime's head. This suddenly made me see the bright side of the crappy Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive: If trucks ever do decide to gang up and target humans, occasionally we'll all get a laugh as they slam their hoods or doors down on the fingers or heads of shrill pains-in-the-asses like Jaime. Small price to pay!As evidenced by the breaking dawn when the teams rushed to their first clue box of the episode, the surprise double leg in Beijing had been going on for more than 24 hours, ideal conditions for intra-team squabbles. Margie griped about Luke, ''I don't want to hear him yell 'Mom!' one more time.'' (And I think she speaks for us all.) The teams then had to find a Travelocity roaming gnome with a clue on the bottom and lug it all over China. Just when you think product placement can't get any more blatant, The Amazing Race is there to remind you that it always can. At least in Survivor's Charmin Café, they didn't have to run around for the whole episode with toilet paper wrapped around their heads. Those gnomes are incredibly unwieldy branding opportunities; it's like if everyone had to run around giving the Burger King a piggyback ride.Jaime continued her love affair with the world's taxi drivers. Considering how difficult a time she and Cara were having even finding a cab, I'm even more convinced that there's an international dispatcher who has put out a worldwide APB to all cabbies to beware of and avoid two redheads in green jackets. One cabbie who made the mistake of picking them up looked terrified after he realized what he'd done: When Jaime leaned over the seat with her clue gnome, he recoiled as if she'd just produced a fistful of anthrax. Perhaps after this show the fear of Jaime will spread to all workers, not just cabbies, and long after the show has ended everyone will still duck when they see her coming. Jaime will not be able to so much as enter a Banana Republic without every salesperson leaping behind a rack of khakis and hiding until she goes away.The episode's first challenge was to ride past Tiananmen Square on electric bikes, though from all the pedaling, it didn't look like the Racers were immediately catching on to the ''electric'' part. I'd hate to see them face a Segway challenge; any trek is all the more exhausting when you've got a Segway slung over your shoulder. But even harder than riding an electric bike was pronouncing ''Tiananmen Square,'' which most people called ''Tine-amen Square.'' Hey, cut them some slack, the place doesn't look that familiar without a guy standing in front of a tank. 3The bikes took them to the Detour: Beijing Opera, or Chinese Waiter. For Beijing Opera, the teams had to do each other's makeup to look like characters in an opera, and then get in full costume. For Chinese Waiter, they had to go to a restaurant and take a table's orders and then relay them correctly in Chinese to the chef. (Quick note: When Jaime ripped open the envelope to get the Detour info, the producers made sure to get a quick close-up of her littering the torn top on the ground: They are so careful to add subliminal reminders that Jaime is self-centered, lest we forget during the breaks between cabbie cussing.)Tammy and Victor were the only ones to try Chinese Waiter, a wise move, as they can speak Chinese. ''If we can't do this task, Mom and Dad will kill us,'' said Victor. ''Very shameful,'' said Tammy. These two live in fear of their parents the way a soldier in Iraq fears IEDs. It is said that in Chinese, the word for ''crisis'' is the same as the word for ''opportunity.'' Yet what is left unsaid is that the word ''opportunity'' is also the same as the word for ''opportunity to disappoint your parents, you worthless child.''The food orders sounded scrumptious, though. Take ''Good Luck Squid.'' I love good luck, so imagine how good it is slathered all over squid! If it's half as good as Break a Leg Octopus, then I'll have seconds! Then there was New Taste Beef. Yum! I was getting really tired of the old taste of beef. It was so...beefy. Can they make it taste like shame? It's Tammy's parents secret ingredient for everything. It's kind of like paprika, only with more disappointment.It was entertaining watching Victor and Tammy do this challenge. Tammy was ostensibly going to be the speaker, but Victor coached her and corrected her through every order. At one point she said, ''Let me say it,'' which only made him say the words along with her in unison. He could not stop himself. They failed on the first try, and in round two, Victor even said, ''I'll let you say it all,'' and then immediately went back to speaking along with her, looking like he was a bad ventriloquist. It was like watching Jeff Dunham and New Taste Peanut.They scored on the second go-round, and quickly found the nearby U-Turn. Saying that they couldn’t beat Kisha and Jen in a foot race if it came to it, they U-Turned the sisters. Frankly, a lot has been made of Kisha and Jen's athleticism, but they haven't exhibited any of it. Wasn't it only last week that Jen practically drowned just trying to swim a lap? (Then again, Tammy just learned how to swim, so maybe to her Jen looked like Michael Phelps.) Frankly, I think Margie and Luke would have been the better pick here as the much bigger threat overall. Jen and Kisha had no idea they were being U-Turned. In fact, earlier in the show Kisha had said that she'd consider U-Turning Margie and Luke, a clever bit of false foreshadowing. They calmly made each other up at the Opera, a steadiness that was all the more evident when Margie and Luke arrived. They say that when you're deaf, all your other senses are heightened: Apparently, not your sense of Chinese makeup. Luke applied Margie's powder like he was painting a picket fence. And she got frustrated saying, ''Will you stop with the white?'' and ''He made me look like Alice Cooper.'' Actually, she looked like she had just head-butted the corpse of Tammy Faye Bakker. Ultimately, though, it didn't seem to matter. While the slightest mispronounced word in Chinese Waiter could get you sent back, you apparently could just shoot yourself in the face with a paintball gun and still get your clue.Meanwhile, Jaime and Cara seemed to still be a lost cause. They resourcefully told a cabbie to take them to the opera by pretending to sing...and then he dropped them off at the wrong opera house. Realizing their mistake, they yet again had to struggle to find a taxi, at one point yelling, ''Emergency! Emergency!'' into the window of an empty cab. This cabbie had gotten the warning about Back Luck Redhead, and drove away. When they finally got a cab, we got the first in a series of 18 or so shots of Jaime ranting in the back while Cara gazed out the window, attempting to find her Happy Place.Meanwhile, Tammy and Victor had arrived at the Roadblock. During the Chinese Waiter Detour, I had been grossed out by the sight of the chicken heads that Victor served. Yet that was like an ice cream sundae compared to what Victor would have to eat here: grasshoppers, larvae, scorpions, and starfish. He was a sport, however, biting them all off skewers in quick turn, giving such terse food reviews as ''Crunchy with the spongy texture of the larvae. Very difficult to keep down.'' Add a few extra quotation marks and that sounds like the worst Zagat's review ever.After polishing off the last of his starfish, Victor and Tammy quickly made it to the pit stop, easily landing in first at only 8:36 p.m., show time. That left 24 more minutes for the other teams to fight over who could get the most lost. The biggest obstacle was finding the U-Turn clue, which was so close (at the opera) that everyone missed it. All three teams wandered through town (still wearing their opera-challenge regalia), asking fruitlessly for directions and heading farther and farther away from the clue box. It seemed that no locals would help anyone, but I can't really blame them: If you were Chinese and saw two Americans approach you while dressed in full kabuki getup and trailed by a camera crew, wouldn't you be sure you were about to be on a wise-ass American prank show? Maybe they've seen Tom Green on the Internet: Would you want to volunteer to be a part of something that might well end up with someone waving some poo on a stick at you?Margie and Luke finally found the clue box, and took great pleasure in seeing that Jen and Kisha got U-Turned. Then the sisters arrived, and, faced with their U-Turn, had to finish the Chinese Waiter challenge. While they tried to pronounce the orders, we saw translating subtitles for what they actually ended up saying. For example, instead of ''Fried Chicken,'' they said, ''Monthly Use Taiwanese Chicken.'' For ''New Taste Beef,'' they said, ''Good Western Heads Lack Fish.'' Then their orders started to sound like they were translating porn titles, like ''Oil Comes Again to Please the Mouth,'' which I assume comes with pork.(One note: I was unnerved by the shots they'd use over and over again of the people ordering their dishes. One guy did it while staring stiffly into the camera. He looked like he had just been captured behind enemy lines and would only give his name, rank, serial number, and favorite beef dish.) Jen and Kisha finished the task (although, frankly, it just looked like the judge gave them a pass after they'd failed three times), and dashed after Margie and Luke. But what of the cheerleaders? They were still dragging around the town after three hours, searching for the clue. ''This is why I did not want to go to China,'' said Jaime. ''It sucks.'' (She should really try selling that slogan to the Chinese Bureau of Tourism. It's gold!) But as obnoxious as Jaime has been this entire trip, Cara has never turned on her. And as the search dragged on and Jaime got more and more negative, Cara finally said, ''If we're going to be defeatist, then why even bother?'' To which Jaime snipped, ''Oh, as if you haven't been acting that way the whole time, Cara.'' Cara delightfully broke the fourth wall, looking at both of her accompanying cameramen as if to say, ''Did I actually hear that right?'' I dig Cara, the way that she rarely loses her cool (except briefly on this episode, when she snapped at Jaime for implying that this leg was Cara's fault), and seems to be enjoying the Race and taking her pal with a grain of salt. The way she blithely waves away Jaime's obnoxiousness makes said obnoxiousness look like a put-on, which is the reason that I can find them entertaining rather than completely hateful. Without Cara, Jaime would be completely despicable, but with her, she's Jasmine Guy on A Different World.Jen and Kisha arrived at the food Roadblock first (after Margie and Luke had already come and gone), and Jen stepped up, probably wanting to atone for her swimming sins. But she was so grossed out by the food that she had to wash down every tiny bite with a giant swig of water. The cheerleaders managed to catch up, and Cara wolfed down the grossness. The sisters ultimately finished first, but the damage to Jen's bladder was done: After downing four bottles of water, she had to pee...and bad.When Cara finished quickly, they miraculously found a cabbie who not only knew where to go, but knew how to speed. We kept cutting between the redheads gleefully reveling in their fast cab, and Jen moaning about how ''I think I'm gonna ask Phil, can I pee before he checks us in.'' Usually, when the show tries to build suspense between the last two teams, it's the first team they've shown arriving near the Pit Stop who end up checking in first. This time we saw the sisters get out of the cab first, so they seemed destined to stay in the Race....But then Jen stopped at a Porta Potti.It's a race for a million dollars and she stops to pee? I debated this with my wife at length after the show: I know what it's like to really have to go to the bathroom. It can get really, really uncomfortable. But this was for a million bucks! Hell, let your bladder rupture, you can buy a new one later! Or here's an easy solution: Jen, you were wearing a robe. Pee your pants, no one would know! There can be an ''anything to win'' dignity to such a thing, anyway. May I remind you of Will ''Dr. Evil'' Kirby peeing in the hammock in the penultimate Head of Household challenge in Big Brother 2? He did it and he was proud of it, and that was only for $500,000.But no, Jen had to stop. And as a result, the cheerleaders beat them to the mat. ''I'm sorry to tell you...you're gonna have to keep racing!'' said Phil in the go-to reality host switcheroo. (I'm sorry, hosts, but this kind of thing doesn't even make sense. Why are you sorry to tell them that they're still in a Race for a million dollars? This is like saying, ''I'm sorry to tell you that your family is dead...dead to rights on being alive!'')So, would you have stopped to pee? And Kisha said that she wouldn't hold it against Jen, but is such restraint humanly possible? And here's a question that I'll ask for the last time: Who do you think should win in the Hawaiian final three? I think I'm rooting for Victor and Tammy who, for all their upbeat intensity, I find quite likable. And as always, check out Phil's blog later on Popwatch: as a guy currently riding his bike across America, he surely has many thoughts on pee stops.
Just in case you care, here are some new updates on the NBC front:
• Peacock co-chairman Ben Silverman confirmed that Life will not go on. (Bubble Show Cheat Sheet updated accordingly.)
• As I reported earlier today, the fates of Medium, My Name is Earl, Chuck, and Law & Order will be decided on or before May 19.
• If Chuck is renewed, it probably won't be returning to Mondays. Silverman said Heroes would be paired with "a new show" on the night (my guess: Parenthood)
• NBC is prepared to move forward with Law & Order: SVU with or without Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay. "There's an offer on the table," said co-chair Marc Graboff, cryptically.
And here's the updated show status cheat sheet:
ABC The Bachelor: Already renewed. Better Off Ted: Could go either way. Brothers & Sisters: Already renewed. Castle: Could go either way. Cupid: It's a goner. Dancing with the Stars: Already renewed. Desperate Housewives: Already renewed. Dirty Sexy Money: Officially canceled. Eli Stone: Officially canceled. Grey's Anatomy: Already renewed. In the Motherhood: It's a goner. Lost: Already renewed. Private Practice: Already renewed. Pushing Daisies: Officially canceled. Samantha Who?: Could go either way. Scrubs: Prospects brightening. Supernanny: Already renewed. Surviving Suburbia: A long shot. Ugly Betty: Already renewed. The Unusuals: A long shot. Wife Swap: Already renewed.
CBS The Amazing Race: Already renewed. The Big Bang Theory: Already renewed. Cold Case: Could go either way. Criminal Minds: Sure thing. CSI: Sure thing. CSI: Miami: Sure thing. CSI: NY: Sure thing. Eleventh Hour: Could go either way. Now a long shot. Hearing the crew is looking for other work. Flashpoint: A long shot. Could continue airing in Canada. Gary Unmarried: Could go either way. Ghost Whisperer: Sure thing. Harper's Island: It's a goner. How I Met Your Mother: Sure thing. The Mentalist: Sure thing. NCIS: Sure thing. New Adventures of Old Christine: Could go either way. ABC poised to pick up if CBS passes. Numb3rs: Safe bet. Rules of Engagement: Safe bet. Survivor: Already renewed. Two and a Half Men: Already renewed. The Unit: A long shot.Now hearing it's a goner. Back to being a long shot. Without a Trace: Could go either way. Worst Week: A long shot.
FOX 24: Already renewed. American Dad: Already renewed. American Idol: Already renewed. Bones: Sure thing. Dollhouse: Could go either way. Now hearing it's a long shot. Family Guy: Already renewed. Fringe: Sure thing. Now officially renewed. House: Sure thing. King of the Hill: Officially canceled. Kitchen Nightmares: Already renewed. Lie to Me: Sure thing. Prison Break: Officially canceled. The Simpsons: Already renewed. Sit Down, Shut Up: It's a goner. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: A long shot. 'Til Death: Already renewed (unfortunately).
NBC 30 Rock: Already renewed. The Biggest Loser: Already renewed. Celebrity Apprentice: Already renewed. Chuck: Could go either way. Now a safe bet. (Yay!) Friday Night Lights: Already renewed. Heroes: Sure thing. Now officially renewed. Kath & Kim: It's a goner. Kings: It's a goner. Knight Rider: It's a goner. Law & Order: Safe bet. I hear they're already working on next season's episodes. Law & Order: CI: Could go either way. Law & Order: SVU: Already renewed. Life: A long shot.Now hearing it's a goner. Now officially canceled. Lipstick Jungle: Officially canceled. Medium: Safe bet. Reportedly renewed for 13-16 episodes. My Name is Earl: Could go either way. Fox may rescue it if NBC passes. The Office: Already renewed. Parks and Recreation: Safe bet. Southland: Sure thing Officially renewed for 13 episodes.
The CW 90210: Already renewed. America's Next Top Model: Already renewed. Everybody Hates Chris: It's a goner. The Game: It's a long shot. Gossip Girl: Already renewed. One Tree Hill: Already renewed. Privileged: Prospects brightening. Reaper: It's a goner. Smallville: Already renewed. Supernatural: Already renewed.
First thing this morning, this is what I found on TVGuide.com re: Chuck and Medium's chances of renewal (given that today is the day of NBC's schedule unveiling):
Chuck fans hoping to have their anxiety about a Season 3 pick-up put to rest come Monday might want to brace themselves for a bit more waiting.
Though NBC is expected to discuss its fall season plans at a Monday "infront" presentation, there is talk that the final word on Chuck, among a few other series, could be delayed.
Series lead Zachary Levi told E! Online at a Friday event, "I just got an email from [Chuck executive producer] Josh Schwartz, and he said stay positive, [but] we're not going to find out on Monday. It could be another week or two."
Flying in the face of what Schwartz told Levi, Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood blog — albeit without a lick of elaboration — claims that NBC is set to renew Chuck, Medium and Law & Order on Monday.
Any hold-up in unveiling a full fall slate this week is partly due to a glut of pilots that NBC brass are still wading through. The days-long screening process was halted on Thursday, when NBC programming executive Nora O'Brien suddenly died of a brain aneurysm while visiting the set of prospective series Parenthood.
In an interview with TVGuide.com last week, Schwartz predicted a tough decision ahead for NBC, which he said "has always really loved [Chuck]." Addressing the ongoing fan campaign to save the action-comedy, he said, "It's not lost on [NBC], the fan reaction, the critical support, and this grassroots movement that's taken hold. All of that is very significant in indicating momentum for the show, growth for the show, and a really loyal and fervent fan base for the show."
The aforementioned Parenthood, based on the 1989 film, is one of many pilots being eyed by NBC. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the one with the best buzz thus far is Community, starring Chevy Chase, while David E. Kelley's Legally Mad and Dick Wolf's Lost & Found look like good bets.
The future looks bright for Allison DuBois.
On the eve of its Monday "infront" presentation of 2009-10 TV season plans, NBC renewed Medium for a sixth season, says the Hollywood Reporter. An NBC rep has no comment on the report.
The new season of Medium is expected to fall in the 13 to 18 episode range, as NBC (like its peers) struggles to cut down costs while cementing its fall schedule.
However - in the amount of time it took me to copy-and-paste those quotes, TVGuide.com updated their site with this:
In addition to renewing Parks and Rec, NBC also officially picked up Heroes for a fourth (albeit likely shortened) season. Previously announced returns include The Office, 30 Rock, Law & Order: SVU, Friday Night Lights, The Biggest Loser and Celebrity Apprentice.
Conspicuously missing from NBC's press release is Medium, despite one trade mag's weekend report that it would be back for a fifth season. NBC sources tell TVGuide.com that in fact a decision on Medium has not yet been finalized, but that the network may announce additional pickups on May 19.
New drama series en route to the Peacock's schedule are as follows:
• Parenthood, based on the 1989 film comedy and starring Peter Krause, Maura Tierney, Dax Shepard, Erika Christensen and Craig T. Nelson (as the family patriarch).
• Trauma, from Friday Night Lights producer Peter Berg and revolving around first responder paramedics. The cast includes Derek Luke, Anastasia Griffith (Damages) and Jamey Sheridan (Law & Order: CI).
• Mercy, a medical drama told through the eyes of three nurses (played by Michelle Trachtenberg, Jamie Lee Kirchner and Taylor Schilling). The cast also include James Tupper, Diego Klattenhoff (Supernatural) and Guillermo Diaz (Weeds).
• Day One, an "event series" slated to air after the 2010 Winter Olympics wrap, and concerning life on earth in the wake of a global catastrophe. The cast includes Adam Campbell, Carly Pope (Popular) and Catherine Dent (The Shield).
On the comedy front, here is the new fare you can expect:
• Community, set at a community college and starring Chevy Chase and Joel McHale (The Soup).
• 100 Questions, starring Sophie Winkleman (Peep Show) as an unlucky-in-love woman who joins an online dating site.
Okay... This has nothing to do with anything and I totally stole the photos from someone else's blog, but is this NOT the cutest friggin' dessert you've ever SEEN?!!!
Apparently, the woman (I found these photos on a random photo blog) was shopping at the grocery store and found this little guy abandoned amongst a bunch of leprechaun and bunny desserts. She felt bad for him being so alone so she bought him and took him home. A woman after my own heart! :o) I would have felt bad for him, too. I think he's just adorable! A little fake Cookie Monster! But what's under all that frosting? A cupcake? A cookie? Nothing? I'll never know. And he's probably too sickeningly sweet to ingest... But with a little face like that, how could I eat him?! He'd probably just sit on my counter until he hardened up or shriveled away...
TVGuide.com has posted a handy dandy list of shows that have already been, are likely or not-so-likely to be renewed, as well as those that have already been canceled. And it looks a little somethin' like this:
With the networks poised to begin unveiling their plans for the 2009-10 TV season, we thought it time to begin keeping tabs on exactly which shows have earned a pick-up, which have already gotten the hook, and which are still in a state of limbo. We're focusing on the major broadcast networks, to keep things simple.
The Not Yet Renewed category includes some no-brainers — yeah, as if CBS would snuff any of its CSIs! — but until each network announces their double-secret, official prime-time plan, each of those shows shall remain put, before being assigned a different fate.
The list of series awaiting renewal breaks down each show's outlook for earning a spot on its network's line-up — GOOD, FAIR or POOR, based on ratings performance, the latest buzz and other considerations (such as Jay Leno claiming five NBC prime-time hours for himself). Those designations can change daily (or even hourly) throughout the coming weeks, depending on new intel.
NOT YET RENEWED | Outlook GOOD 20/20, ABC 48 Hours Mystery, CBS 60 Minutes, CBS America's Most Wanted, FOX Better Off Ted, ABC Bones, FOX Castle, ABC COPS, FOX Criminal Minds, CBS CSI, CBS CSI: Miami, CBS CSI: NY, CBS Dateline NBC, NBC Deal or No Deal, NBC Fringe, FOX Ghost Whisperer, CBS Heroes, NBC House, FOX How I Met Your Mother, CBS Law & Order, NBC Medium, NBC The Mentalist, CBS My Name Is Earl, NBC NCIS, CBS The New Adventures of Old Christine, CBS Numbers, CBS Parks and Recreation, NBC Without a Trace, CBS
NOT YET RENEWED | Outlook FAIR Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, FOX Chuck, NBC Cold Case, CBS Don't Forget the Lyrics!, FOX Eleventh Hour, CBS The Game, CW Gary Unmarried, CBS Kitchen Nightmares, FOX Privileged, CW Samantha Who?, ABC Southland, NBC Surviving Suburbia, ABC Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, FOX The Unit, CBS Without a Trace, CBS
NOT YET RENEWED | Outlook POOR Cupid, ABC Dollhouse, FOX Everybody Hates Chris, CW Harper's Island (next incarnation of), CBS In the Motherhood, ABC Kath & Kim, NBC Kings, NBC Knight Rider, NBC Life, NBC Reaper, CW Scrubs, ABC Sit Down, Shut Up, FOX Stylista, CW The Unusuals, ABC Worst Week, CBS
CANCELLED/NOT RETURNING Boston Legal, ABC Crusoe, NBC Dirty Sexy Money, ABC Do Not Disturb, FOX Easy Money, CW Eli Stone, ABC ER, NBC The Ex List, CBS In Harm's Way, CW King of the Hill, FOX Life on Mars, ABC Lipstick Jungle, NBC My Own Worst Enemy, NBC Opportunity Knocks, ABC Prison Break, FOX Pushing Daisies, ABC Valentine, CW
OFFICIALLY RENEWED FOR THE 2009-10 TV SEASON 30 Rock, NBC 90210, CW The Amazing Race, CBS American Dad, FOX American Idol, FOX America's Funniest Home Videos, ABC America's Next Top Model, CW The Bachelor, ABC The Big Bang Theory, CBS The Biggest Loser, NBC Brothers & Sisters, ABC The Celebrity Apprentice, NBC Dancing with the Stars, ABC Desperate Housewives, ABC Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, ABC Family Guy, FOX Gossip Girl, CW Grey's Anatomy, ABC Law & Order: SVU, NBC Lost, ABC The Office, NBC One Tree Hill, CW Private Practice, ABC The Simpsons, FOX Smallville, CW Supernanny, ABC Supernatural, CW Survivor, CBS 'Til Death, FOX Two and a Half Men, CBS Ugly Betty, ABC Wife Swap, ABC
Outlook "poor" for Reaper?!!! Mew. :o( But I love Ben! I hope this season wraps some things up if it winds up not coming back...
And because Robert has a man-crush on Creed from The Office, I thought I'd post this interview with him (the man, not the character - though they do share the same name) from TVGuide.com:
Thursday night will turn into casual Friday on The Office. The Dunder Mifflin gang is poised to get comfy this week at work — and with each other for two Dunderheads. Creed Bratton — the actor, not the character — gives TVGuide.com a taste of what's (and who's) to come in the episode and in the season finale, which is the show's 100th episode. Get the scoop below, as well as his thoughts on Labor Pains costar Lindsay Lohan and his dream Office mating.
TVGuide.com: I hear we finally get to see more Creed this week. Creed Bratton: I've got a couple scenes with Jim. It's called "Casual Friday," and it'll be casual! Creed's going to get down to his jammies — I think it was a white outfit. There's some really aggressive stuff going on there and I hide in the break room to avoid it all, and so does Halpert. So we start to just hang out and start talking, which is kind of weird.
TVGuide.com: Are you guys the new BFFs? Bratton: Well, no one will be best friends with Creed because he's just too weird, right? But we're there and we're not working. We start playing chess. You have to watch to see.
TVGuide.com: You've been pretty MIA during the whole Michael Scott Paper Company arc. We last saw you at the pancake luncheon. Bratton: Creed didn't like the pancakes, so imagine how bad they had to be! And I'll eat anything! As actors, we never know what's going to make it in. There are some instances in the season finale and whether they make it in, I don't know. The finale is the 100th episode. We had a company picnic out in Malibu and there were 360 extras. It was a big deal.
TVGuide.com: And Charles and Holly will be there since it's company-wide... Bratton: Well, you know your Office. You're right. They should be there. Would Creed remember them there? No. He's just there watching what's going on. He's like the Greek horse.
TVGuide.com: Is there ever going to be a Creed-centric episode? Bratton: I'd love for one. People ask me that all the time and I guess obviously people want to see it. I think [there hasn't been one yet] because everyone at NBC and Greg [Daniels] think Creed's just so funny in small doses. They know he can come in when we need to get a little chuckle. I don't think they're worried he cannot do more, but if it works, why mess around with it?
TVGuide.com: Well, how about this — will Creed ever get a love interest? Bratton: Oh, boy, have I lobbied for that! I want to get some femmes for Creed. You know who I think would be great? Jane Lynch! We met at a party last year Rainn [Wilson] was having. I said, "It would be so cool if you came on as a woman from my past and it'd be hysterical." She said, "I'd love to work with you." I told Greg that and he said, "We'll see." They all know I want to work with her. ... There could be a Creed-centric episode where a woman from his past appears with a love child with money, and Creed ended up scamming her, taking her money — that'd make sense. [Laughs] Or the kid could come with college money and Creed will end up taking his college money. That's what he would do!
TVGuide.com: Is there a reason why your blog hasn't been updated since August? Bratton: Oh, Creed Thoughts. Well, I just haven't had any really good things to write about lately. You've heard the story before — and it's absolutely true — the writers put these things on my forehead when I'm taking a nap after lunch. It's a CIA machine — NASA technology — and they just download stuff and spit it out on the computer. So if I'm not around, they can't get the stream of consciousness and I'm too lazy to send them stuff.
TVGuide.com: What about Twitter? That's shorter. Bratton: Oh, that's too young! I'm not going to do that. No, no. Besides, Creed's, like, in his late-80s now. He's in good shape for his 80s. I think it's the ginseng suppositories. [Laughs]
TVGuide.com: You're also in Labor Pains. Bratton: That was fun to work on — Lindsay Lohan, Cheryl Hines and Chris Parnell. I don't follow any of the stuff [about Lindsay], but she was right on the money.
TVGuide.com: Have you heard from Christopher Nolan about that awesome Joker you did? Bratton: Thank you. I worked pretty hard to get him down. A lot of people said it was really eerie and kind of uncomfortable. And I said, "Good!" I haven't heard from him, but that would be cool. When we finally get through with the show — who knows how long it will be? — I'd like to be established as a character actor that I can go straight on into character parts. I don't want to stop working because I like it too much.
There's also this little scoop from today's Ask Ausiello:
Question: Please, please, please have some good scoop for The Office. I feel like it has been forever since we have learned something new. Ausiello: Here's what you already know: Everyone (including Amy Ryan's Holly) gathers together for Dunder Mifflin's annual company picnic. Here's what you don't know: The episode ends with a doozy of a twist, the repercussions of which will be felt well into next season.
I am behind 5 episodes on The OFfice because I don't like the whole 'Michael has his own company' twist. Well, at least I think I don't from what I've read about it. :o) Hopefully, the doozy of a twist won't make me even less motivated to keep up with the show...
Hmm. I am a bit distressed this morning because Robert and I took Garfunkel to his 2nd puppy class last night and he was a loser. But let me first back up a bit to last week's class...
Last week I was petrified to take Garfunkel to puppy training because I just knew he was going to be the rowdiest, most unruly dog there. As Robert and I met a rambunctious little Boxer in the parking lot with her family, I commented that I was relieved Garfunkel wouldn't be the only monster in class. Cut to: me trying to coax Garfunkel out from under a desk where he spent most of the class. Poor thing turned out to be a weenie! He was afraid of the other dogs and the other people... it was all we could do to get him to even venture out into the middle of the floor before he turned tail and ran. Who would have thunk it?! That our gregarious, feisty, headstrong little booger is really a yellow belly? It was a shocker.
Last night Garfunkel fared a little better - he at least got out from under our chair long enough to chase a couple of dogs around. (Robert stood in the middle of the room during the dogs' play time and kept squeaking "Go play! Go on! Go sniff some butts!" I was thisclose to leaving him. Still am.) But during the collar grab/treat exercise (where you're supposed to grab the collar of a dog that does not live in your home and offer him or her a treat), Garfunkel still refused to let anyone touch him. Then, during the pass-the-puppy exercise (where you cradle your dog and then pass him or her to the person next to you), he snarled at the woman we tried to pass him to and was thus ejected from the exercise entirely. :o( Loser!!! I was embarrassed - and I don't think Robert was thrilled, either. We sat with him, ostracized, and the skulked away from class as quickly as possible.
I don't know what happened to the Funk! He was really socialized when we first got him; he'd been fostered in a kennel and was good meeting new dogs and new people. Nary a bark or growl or anything. Then he was quarantined for a month until his Parvo vaccinations were up to snuff and *POOF!* Garfunkel lost his mojo. Now he barks at every person and dog on our walks and is acting out in class. Great. (Robert told me this morning, in fact, that a woman in his office who is married to a vet said that her husband doesn't enforce the Parvo quarantine for his patients. He feels - from personal experience - that so many more dogs are ultimately put down for behavioral problems than Parvo that it's not worth losing that time for socialization. Now he tells me!)
So, now we really need to work on getting him together with new people and new dogs. We're going to foist ourselves off on my sister and brother-in-law and their dog, and I think our friends Emily and Paul are going to allow us to subject their dog, Moochie, to Garfunkel's social ineptitude. Those are the only other dogs we know, though, so we need to start hanging out on random street corners asking for dog dates or something...
And, in a similar vein, here's an amusing story about Robert and his superiority complex. As you know, I leave later than Robert in the mornings so I am the one left to ditch Garfunkel, howling and mewing, on my way to work. Monday morning was a particularly gnarly one - the Funk just did NOT want to be alone! I wrestled with him for a good 20 minutes (making myself late to work, of course, because I didn't wrestle very hard... he looks so sad in the morning!) trying to get him to stay in his pen long enough for me to get out the door. He has now taken to either lying in between me and the door to stop me from leaving or going either limp or stiff when I try to pick him up and put him in his pen, so as to make it as difficult as possible. I managed to get him in his pen 5 or 6 times, but every time I'd start to run for the door, he'd already escaped. When I finally got out the door and to work, I told Robert about my morning adventures. He listened and was supportive, but when I got home that night, he told me of a "different " way I could set-up the pen so as to prevent Garfunkel's escape. When I informed him that I had already tried that configuration and that Garfunkel anticipated me and shoved his face between the cage and the chair so I couldn't ever get it flush with the wall to secure it, he just mumbled something like "Well, I'll try it tomorrow." Fine. So Tuesday I made a point of getting ready early so I could leave at the same time as Robert. I waited outside and let him set up the pen the way he thought would work and when Robert finally made it outside, no sooner had he turned around to walk down to the garage than the dog was scratching at the front door and barking. Robert gave me such a look of incredulity! I asked him "Did you think I was exaggerating yesterday?" And he said "No. I just thought maybe you hadn't set the gate up the right way." REALLY?!! Thanks for the faith, Mr. Man. Needless to say, I skipped in gleeful smugness to the car this morning as the same exact thing happened... Stupid Robert.
*** Warning: If you haven't seen Monday's season finale of Chuck, you may want to skip this post - spoilers ensue! ***
The possibility of a 3rd season of Chuck is growing dim. I keep reading that there is still a glimmer of hope until May 4th, the day of NBC's "in front" presentation (essentially the drop-dead deadline for renewal/cancellation news). However, since Heroes and Law & Order: SVU have already received early renewals and Jay Leno is slotted to suck up 5 prime-time hours on NBC's schedule come the fall, there really isn't room for both Chuck and Life, the two "on-the-bubble" shows most desperate for pick-ups. TVGuide.com's feeling is that Life is a definite goner - but that Chuck's Subway campaign and cliffhanger finale are working in its favor.
TVGuide.com also has an interview with Chuck creator Josh Schwartz on the finale and the show's future:
TVGuide.com: Dude, awesome season finale! Josh Schwartz: Aw, thanks.
TVGuide.com: I got wind of the "game-changing" twist back in March, but made sure to keep mum. Schwartz: Thank you for that. Luckily, only very few people knew [the twist], and we were able to keep it contained.
TVGuide.com: These new flashes that give Chuck an ability, how long will each one last? Like, could he "forget" kung fu in the middle of a fight? Schwartz: What I will say is that people who are concerned that these new powers will somehow change the tone of the show or of our guy, don't be. There is a plan in place, and the tone of the show and Chuck's underdog quality will remain intact.
TVGuide.com: Will he flash on, like, a foreign language one week? And then safecracking skills the next? That kind of a thing? Schwartz: There are a lot of options, a lot of opportunities for us to go down different paths.
TVGuide.com: Might this make Casey, who's used to being the bacon-saver, a bit jealous? Schwartz: Certainly we're always, always looking for ways to heighten conflict between Chuck and Casey. That's a really fun dynamic for the show.
TVGuide.com: Will there be implications for Chuck and Sarah with this new development? Schwartz: The most immediate way it impacts them is they can only be together if he is not the asset. That's why they were able to move their relationship forward in the penultimate episode, because the Intersect was out of his head, and she was no longer going to need to protect him. But now...
TVGuide.com: He's more valuable than ever. Schwartz: Exactly. So that dynamic has changed, and it certainly puts their relationship back in jeopardy. But Chuck and Sarah's relationship will be one of the major driving stories of next season — should we have one.
TVGuide.com: Oh, don't talk like that. Schwartz: But I have to.
TVGuide.com: What did you think about the Save Chuck Subway effort? I'd like to think it got the tide turning in the direction of a Season 3 pickup. Schwartz: The fan reaction, the Save Chuck campaign that started on the blogs and with the critics and with the fans, on Facebook and Twitter, has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life to witness — and certainly the most creatively gratifying. Everybody involved in the show has been very, very moved and very emotional about how vocal people have become. The Subway [campaign] was a brilliant idea by somebody on the Television without Pity message boards. It really speaks to how sophisticated and savvy Chuck viewers are, to utilize product integration to save their show rather than just reject it out of hand. I have heard anecdotally stories of Subway lines out the door. I know that [Subway execs] have also been extremely surprised by the level of promotion for Subway amidst all of this.
TVGuide.com: But what is NBC thinking these days? Schwartz: Well, NBC has always really loved the show. They have been very supportive of the show, and they really do love and support the show. It's not lost on them, the fan reaction, the critical support, and this grassroots movement that's taken hold. All of that is very significant in indicating momentum for the show, growth for the show, and a really loyal and fervent fan base for the show.
TVGuide.com: So you feel like it's a genuinely difficult decision NBC is facing? Schwartz: They have a very tight schedule this year, so...
TVGuide.com: Are you an expensive show, or just not an NBC Universal-owned show? Schwartz: We're not an expensive show, we're not a cheap show — I think we fall in the middle. They don't own us, so there is that, but at the same time... . There are pluses and minuses to being owned [by the network you air on], I guess.
TVGuide.com: Is Bryce truly and sincerely dead this time? Schwartz: He is dead.
TVGuide.com: You left the door open for Scott Bakula to return as Chuck's father. Is he on board for further appearances, should you get renewed? Schwartz: We would love to have Scott back; he was such a fantastic part of the show and he surpassed all of our hopes and expectations for what he would bring to the part. He grounded the show emotionally, and he kicked ass.
TVGuide.com: Would next season be the season we explore Chuck's mom? Schwartz: We're still formulating our thoughts for the new characters. We know the larger arc for next season that we want to play out, we know the direction we want to take the show, and we know how next season would end.
TVGuide.com: Does it end as good as this one? Schwartz: Yeah, we're really excited about it. And one thing I will promise for next year is that, come hell or high water, Jeffster shall return!
I really like Chuck - Adam Baldwin as Casey particularly cracks me up - so I hope it comes back. My Daisies is already gone! So it Mars! Give me something to work with here, people. That being said, I have not yet seen the last two episodes of this season, though I did see the final 20 minutes of the season finale because, well, my TiVo crapped out for some reason and I had to make sure I got the end of episode on tape. (I was still afraid to turn it off, though, so I just sat there and watched the last 20 minutes for fear of never knowing how the season (and maybe the show) ended!) And I gotta say - I know everyone else thought the final minutes were awesome... but I thought they were pretty cheesy. Chuck is always goofy - but this was a wee bit over the line, even for me. I hope that, should there be a season 3, it doesn't fall too far into Wackyville (like Ugly Betty did).
