My Review of Revenge's 1x10: "Loyalty"

Written by Wendy Calhoun And Nikki Toscano
Directed by J. Miller Tobin

Emily (to Nolan, re Tyler): “Now you sabotage our alliance because you fell for a hooker.”

Emily – ever hear of the phrase, ‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you’? Well, if you haven’t, then familiarise yourself with it pretty fast because even though I believe you could take Nolan down without breaking a sweat, it should be abundantly clear that Nolan could easily do the same to you as well.

I mean Nolan had a good chance of actually doing that this week when Emily decided that Conrad needed to become privy to how Tyler really got Nolan to invest in his company and to be honest, I wouldn’t have blamed Nolan if he had decided to teach Emily a rather expensive lesson. She went too far this week and if she doesn’t watch herself, she’s going to find it a lot harder to get her own back without Nolan bankrolling most of her antics.

Nolan definitely felt betrayed by Emily and acting wise, Gabriel Mann and Emily Van Camp were pretty much on fire with each other when he more or less told Emily that she had gone too far. The comment about David as well was pretty fair too, considering that Emily didn’t exactly correct Nolan when he said her father wouldn’t be proud of her.

I get that Emily is a hardened person but Nolan’s been nothing but kind and trust worthy to her (and for that matter, so have Daniel and Jack), so it actually irked me this week with the way Emily screwed him over. In her own twisted way, she actually did Nolan something of a favour but at the same time, she needs to stop fighting against the guy and realise that he genuinely seems to have her best interests at heart.

Also, if she could control the Amanda situation through kindness and a fact filling diary, then saying so much as a thank you to Nolan every now and then isn’t going to kill her. It’s well and good, Emily lamenting about loyalty and the people who didn’t show it to her father but she’s risking becoming every bit as bad as the people she’s trying to get even with.

That also leads to the presence of Satoshi in this episode and my conflicting views with him. On one hand, he’s right about Emily falling in love with Daniel and how her emotions will be her undoing when it comes to her scheming but at the same time, he was given a rather weak way of departing from Emily’s company after she gotten him to invest with Daniel in the Grayson business. I do hope we see Emily’s sensei once again.

Speaking of business, Daniel has the knack for it but his hatred for Conrad and Tyler might not always work in his favour. He had every right to be frustrated when Tyler wasn’t fired but at the same time, if he only knew about his father’s antics, his reasons for hating Conrad would definitely intensify all the more.

As for Tyler – yeah, I really don’t feel sorry for him in the slightest. He might have managed to make Nolan feel like crap about himself and destroy the sex tape between but he was crafty enough to ensure that Conrad didn’t give him his marching orders and his continued manipulation of Ashley has done a lot to make me less fond of the character than before.

Of course, I have a feeling that Tyler is on the way out nonetheless though. Victoria won’t put up with him for much longer and I’m sure Conrad will find someway of getting him out of the family business if Emily, Nolan and Daniel don’t themselves. In other words, Tyler is more or less on borrowed time as we speak. Oh and the fact that he’s off his meds as well was an interesting reveal too.

Speaking of time, I did love that Amanda was struggling this week with keeping up the pretence. Sammy didn’t recognise her and Jack trying to jog her memory also kept her rather confused until Emily handed over the diary to bring her up to speed, plus the hostility between her and Daniel is rather promising. Of course now that Victoria knows she’s back in town, it can only be more interesting though.

That being said as rushed as Amanda and Jack and as much as their ‘relationship’ is built on lies and big expectations, I quite like the pairing in a way. Both of them need someone (Amanda more than Jack) and to an extent, it actually does work in Emily’s favour. That being said, I don’t envision this pair lasting too long though.

Also in “Loyalty”

I like the slight change they made with the credit sequence. It’s a good look for the show.

Emily: “Amanda, she’s a ticking time bomb.”
Satoshi: “Then you must stay clear of the blast.”

Now that we’ve seen training with Emily and Satoshi, can we please get a sequence where the former gets to use her skills on someone?

Ashley (to Tyler, re Nolan): “You kiss a billionaire, you get 200,000. I’ve been kissing Victoria’s arse all summer and I’m lucky if she lets me call her by her first name.”

Jack: “I can’t tell how good it feels to have you back.”
Amanda: “And I can’t tell you how long it’s been since someone was this nice to me. Thanks Jack.”

For all of Ashley’s complaining, Victoria is obviously softening towards her. Also Amanda managed to win Sammy around and the plot with her and Jack’s sea glass was nice.

Nolan: “You do realise you’re paying me back with my own money, right?”
Tyler: “I’m trying to say thank you. You have no idea the doors you’ve opened for me.”

Satoshi (to Emily, re Daniel): “Do not let the feelings you pretend to have for this boy to grow true.”

Instead of moving in with Declan, Charlotte decided to move in with her father instead. Emily’s also targeting Victoria’s divorce lawyer, Ryan Huntley, who wouldn’t take on David’s case.

Conrad: “Sorry but you’re fired.”
Tyler: “Am I? At least when I do business, people don’t die.”

Daniel (re Amanda): “That girl makes me nervous.”
Emily: “She just seems a little lost to me. Can you imagine growing up the way she had to?”

We got two flashbacks in this one – one with Amanda giving Jack her dog before being taken away and another where she confronted Ryan Huntley.

Tyler: “You’ve been playing me this whole time, setting me up to fail.”
Nolan: “Let’s not mix business with pleasure.”
Tyler: “Funny, coming from the guy who videotaped that sickening encounter.”

Standout music: The Velvet Underground’s “Oh Sweet Nothing’”.

Satoshi (re Daniel): “You are in love with him.”
Emily: “Of course I’m not.”
Satoshi: “When you came to me, you were a little girl. So much rage, so much betrayal. I did not want to train you because your emotions made you destined to fail.”

Chronology: From where “Suspicion” left off.

Now this was bloody excellent. “Loyalty” might have proven that Emily needs to develop a sense of the very thing to someone other than herself but it was also the strongest episode we’ve had in the series as well so far.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Doctor Who - Series 7 Companion Spoilers

No, they haven't announced the casting just yet but we're gotten a clue about the new person though.

The picture of a Cybermen, Dalek and Silent is from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular and apparently Steven Moffat has sent them this exact information in relation to the next TARDIS occupant ....

Doctor Who's 50th anniversary is coming. In Cardiff, we're gearing up for the biggest, the best and the most ambitious season we've ever made. There will be shocks, surprises and heartbreak - the Doctor is about to say goodbye to his very best friends, Amy and Rory. And then he's about to say hello to someone very different - the Doctor is going to meet someone very new in the very last place he could ever have expected...

Sounds wonderfully intriguing. Now where exactly could that be because let's face it's, 21st Century England is very much expected, isn't it?

Also, while Amy and Rory are soon to bid adieu, Alex Kingston however has dropped hints that she will in fact be reprising her role as River Song for the show's seventh series, now that she's finished filming her stint in the second year of Upstairs Downstairs. Good, because personally I think River needs to be in the episode that actually departs her parents.

Series 7 of Doctor Who begins production from February 13th and will air on BBC1 from Autumn 2012.

My Review of Revenge's 1x09: "Suspicion"

Written by Salvatore Stabile
Directed by Bethany Rooney

Tyler: “No con, Nolan, I like you. I thought we had a mutually beneficial thing going on here. You said yourself you have more money than you can wrap your brain around. Besides, I have every intention of repaying you.”
Nolan: “Transaction denied, cash only.”

Now, there’s a rebuff line you don’t get to hear every day. So, after the lack of Tyler and Nolan action in the previous episode, it’s good that this one reminded us that even with these two becoming sleeping and investing buddies, there is no actual love here people. Both men are just doing whatever they can to outsmart the other and that’s rather amusing to watch.

Tyler will literally do anything to stick with the Grayson money train and if he has to make out with Nolan in order to get the eccentric billionaire to invest in Conrad’s business, he’ll do it and no amount of scowling from Ashley is gonna determined. Despite my dislike for the character and the apathy I have with his classism issues, his steely determination is bizarrely admirable at the same time.

Of course, the problem with conmen like Tyler is that they never seem to believe that they can be outsmarted and while Tyler did patronise Nolan by pretending the guy had a brain, he also continued to seriously underestimate him at the same time. No offence Tyler but it does look like you’ve bitten off more than you can chew here.

Not only does Nolan have zero intention of actually handing over 20 million to Conrad’s business but he was also clever enough to video Tyler messing about with Lydia’s original speech and figured out that Tyler was doing some digging on David Clarke to use against the Graysons as well. If Nolan wasn’t my favourite character on this show beforehand, this episode certainly edged things in his favour.

He was clever enough to make sure that Ashley also saw the kiss between him and Tyler as well and he was giving some pretty sensible advice to both Emily and Jack in relation to the problem known as Amanda (or the Real Emily) as well. It’s just too bad that both they and Amanda herself continued to ignore Nolan and his sound words throughout the episode.

And getting to the problem that is Amanda – it looks like that along with Tyler and Victoria, Emily has gotten herself a triad of threats that will not go away in any shape or form. With Tyler looking into her father’s connection with the Graysons and Victoria latching onto her distrust towards all the more, Amanda’s refusal to actually leave the Hamptons could also be part of Emily’s downfall.

Emily might have had good reason to think she could coerce Amanda into doing whatever she wanted (the flashbacks certainly portrayed the woman’s willingness to give up her own identity to become Amanda) but here, it did look like she was out of her depth. I expected Amanda to reveal herself to Jack and I even expected them to become a couple. I didn’t however think it would happen this fast though.

Jack’s fixation from Emily to Amanda does however make me wonder if the man is a good judge of character though. Nolan gave him so pretty sound advice about treading carefully with Amanda and Jack decided to ignore him. Plus it did seem a little too convenient that he brought Amanda to see the porch at the end of the episode with Emily there. The look Emily gave the both of them, I’m surprised they didn’t succumb to frostbite there and then.

As for the rivalry between Emily and Victoria, it’s nice that this episode maintained Victoria’s mistrust of the girl, even if she did try to play nice for Daniel’s sake. As for Ashley, I know there’s a part of me that should actually praise her for giving Victoria more insight into Emily but actually this episode just didn’t paint her in a good light. Yes, Victoria’s a far worse person morally but I’ve lost any respect for Ashley to be honest at this point and her nastiness towards Emily seems to be down to Tyler manipulating her rather than anything Emily has done to her personally.

Keeping with Victoria – I’m not surprised she attempted to break up Declan and Charlotte and I’m also not surprised that her plan failed there but I do like that she’s questioning Conrad more about Frank’s death (his phone was found in their garden) and trying her damndest to keep a hold of Lydia. However, Conrad outsmarted her on the last one but it’ll be interesting to see if Lydia turns on him in the upcoming weeks.

Also in “Suspicion”

Emily’s not being that crafty after al. Daniel has actually noticed that she sneaks off at night, though he didn’t seem that bothered by it.

Emily: “Did you sleep well?”
Daniel: “Better than you I’m guessing. I heard you get up in the middle of the night again.”
Emily: “Yeah, I’m sorry. I’m still getting used to someone sleeping next to me.”

It’s actually been five episodes in a row now since Emily’s extracted revenge on someone and it’s not hurting the show at all.

Amanda: “Who’s Amanda, an old girlfriend?”
Jack: “More like a childhood crush.”

Emily (re Amanda): “Don’t tell me she didn’t leave town.”
Nolan: “Okay but I will tell you she’s got a killer body, no pun intended. Amanda is on the Amanda toasting herself as we speak.”

Looks like Emily has another ally in her corner with Satoshi Takedo (the same fella Daniel was trying to woo, business wise) and in flashbacks, it appears she spent some time in Japan with him.

Tyler (to Daniel/Conrad): “Ambition versus nepotism, game on.”

Emily: “May I ask what it is about me that troubles you so much?”
Victoria: “Call it maternal instinct.”

We got some David and Victoria flashbacks in this episode and some Amanda/Emily ones too. That brown wig Emily Van Camp is wearing is distracting.

Amanda (to Nolan): “In case you haven’t noticed, I do things on my own terms. If Emily wants me gone, she’ll have to consider the ripple effect.”

Nolan: “Between Tyler’s scheming and Amanda’s homicidal tendencies, this is a very dangerous game that we’re playing here.”
Emily: “I told you this is not a game. I never should’ve trusted you to take down Tyler.”

Standout music: The Business’s “Pigs And Pearls”.

Emily: “I fear I’m losing control.”
Satoshi: “As you were warned, revenge is a stony path. Remember, inside the viper’s nest, you must be a viper too.”

Emily: “It’s nice to see you again, Amanda.”
Amanda: “Jack has the nicest things to say about you. I’m happy my home is in good hands. It’s a very special place for me and my father. It’s good to be home.”

Chronology: From where “Treachery” left off.

We’ve had stronger episodes in the run but “Suspicion” was a lot of fun and it’s nice to see that Emily has her work cut out for her with Amanda making herself rather comfortable at the Hamptons.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Ringer's 1x11: "It Just Got Normal"

Written by Cathryn Humphris
Directed by Jeff T. Thomas

Andrea: “You need help.”
Juliet: “No, I don’t. I just want to forget it happened and move on.”

And I’d like an answer as to what’s really going on with Juliet and Mr Carpenter as well. Did he really rape her or is she making it up and committing to the lie because he seemed genuinely startled when Bridget smacked him one and Juliet did seem genuinely distressed as in this episode.

As plots go, it’s not the most compelling of storylines but its better than most of what actually did happen in this episode. There’s nothing about Carpenter’s demeanour that seems off or sinister but at the same time, Juliet was noticeably off that Bridget picked up on it and managed to get an answer from her.

The fact that Bridget punched Carpenter so publicly and embarrassed him might not have been the wisest of moves but it’s more than enough proof that she does genuinely care about Juliet’s safety. It also made me wonder if Siobhan would’ve reacted the same way or would’ve chosen to ignore the accusation or simply not believe Juliet at all.

However, it’s also another example of how Andrew seems to be genuinely clueless with Juliet as well. He doesn’t really pick up on her distress and automatically assumed the worst when she was lashing out at the charity (what is it with this show and Revenge when it comes to these functions?) for her public school. At least he came through when Bridget brought him up to speed on thing.

However, this is not a storyline I want to see dragged out for much longer so hopefully within the next episode or two, we actually find out the truth with Juliet and Carpenter. That being said, either way I have a feeling I’m not gonna like the outcome. If Juliet’s lying, then it puts her in a bad light and the same with Carpenter if she’s telling the truth as well.

Speaking of bad light – can someone actually point to me what’s so appealing about Henry because I’m rather at a loss here? I mean, Siobhan loves him so much she came back to New York, has been hounding him for the entire episode and it seemed like this one was going to end with her telling him who Andrew is really with at the moment.

Personally I don’t get it myself. Henry’s a good looking guy but he’s also a rather petulant whiny man child who doesn’t seem to take any responsibility for his actions. He might not have been responsible for Gemma’s death but he was certainly responsible for cheating on her and it seemed like he was too happy just to blame everything on Siobhan here.

On the plus side, at least he actually found himself being suspicious of Siobhan’s motives for wanting to rekindle with him and also about the extent of Charlie’s involvement in Gemma’s death as well. That shows that when Henry isn’t thinking about himself or playing the victim, he can actually use that brain of his.

I take it from the posters the CW have been using to promote the second half of the season that Henry is actually going to learn about Bridget and Siobhan, which should see some nice progression for him as a character and the show itself. However, bearing that in mind, I can also see him actually turning on Siobhan too.

Keeping with Siobhan, having her in New York again means that we actually get to have her in more than two scenes per episode and here, she wasn’t exactly on fine form but at least she wasn’t entirely focusing on getting back with Henry as well. I take it by stealing Bridget’s ring and Andrew’s files she’s got plans to make both her sister and husband’s lives uncomfortable in the next few weeks but we are in the second half of the season and we still need to know a bit more about the character and why she’s doing the things she is.

That also applies to Victor, who is still a cipher character wise at this point as well. However, on the plus side, Victor actually took Henry’s suspicions about Charlie seriously and even managed to make a connection between the dead ex-copper and Siobhan, so if he can do that, maybe there is hope for him as a character after all.

Last but not least, the subplot with Bridget making amends with Siobhan’s old pal Greer during the charity do for Juliet’s school seemed a little tepid too. I thought Greer and her annoyance over knowing about Siobhan’s adultery would’ve offered a bit more tension but she seemed to forgive ‘Siobhan’ a little too quickly for my liking. A bit of a wasted opportunity there, show.

Also in “It Just Got Normal”

I know the show needs to visually distinguish between the sisters but those hideous bangs that Bridget was sporting need to die faster than Bodaway does right about now.

Andrew (re Greer): “Do you wanna talk about it?”
Bridget: “Nah, can we just leave the past in the past?”

I zoned out during Andrew’s business meeting plot but seriously if doing computer for him is the only plot Malcolm can get this week, then I’m worried for the character’s future.

Siobhan: “I miss you.”
Henry: “You know who I miss – my wife? You brought Bridget Kelly into our lives and if it wasn’t for you, Gemma would be here today.”

Andrew: “It doesn’t matter what dress you choose, I’ll only be thinking about tearing it off.”
Bridget: “Hmm, I like the way you think.”

The way Siobhan was staring at Bridget showering before snatching her ring was a little too Psycho like for my senses.

Juliet (to Andrea, re her drinking): “Don’t judge, support. It’s the only way I’ll get through tonight.”

Greer (re Henry): “I hated you for that.”
Bridget: “I don’t blame you and I’m sorry, more sorry than I know how to put into words.”

Andrew’s favourite team seems to be Arsenal, Tyler still thinks he’s going to be a father, there was a lot of discussion of the Pivoine hotel and Henry was seemingly about to get a book deal.

Juliet: “All I wanted was to forget what happened and now the whole world knows.”
Bridget: I am so sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I was so angry, I couldn’t see straight.”
Juliet: “No kidding, just get out.”

Chronology: About two weeks since “That’s What You Get For Trying To Kill Me”.

Given that it’s been two months since the previous episode, “It Just Got Normal” was a bit of a disappointing way to really kick start the second half of the season. I do hope that this is a temporary glitch because it did manage to find a good groove during the first half of the season and I’d hate to it regress.

Rating: 6 out of 10

When A Slushie Goes Too Far - Glee Post

Okay, if you haven't see the Glee episode, Michael, back away now cos there are spoilers and a debate on the show's increasing double standards on bullying and violence.

So in three seasons we've been used to seeing Sue assault people left, right and centre, the Glee kids themselves being repeatedly threatened with violence, subjected to it and actually hurting each other but this episode where Sebastian hit Blaine with a rock salt slushie intended for Kurt kind has broken the straw for me - this show needs to man up and take a stance on violence and bullying.
When I say man up, I mean there needs to be some actual repercussions for the characters who react violently towards others. Sebastian crossed the same line as Sue has done often before and it's time this show made an example - as in have Sebastian actually pay for his actions because this episode (excellent as it was) spectacularly mishandled the entire situation big time.

Not only did Sebastian show zero remorse for actually hurting Blaine but he practically gloated upon admitting it to Santana (after their Smooth Criminal face off) before giving her a slushie facial as well, only this time without the rock salt. At least Santana and Artie had the sense to team up and get a taped confession off Sebastian and they were the only ones actually having the most appropriate responses to Sebastian's actions - even Kurt's passivity felt off in this one. Unfortunately, this is where the show really dropped the ball.

The McKinley kids had the perfect evidence to actually bring Sebastian down and punish him for what he did to Blaine and they did what exactly - give Sebastian the flipping tape because apparently beating the Warblers at Regionals would be a better punishment for him instead. How is that remotely logical? There's a time and a place to turn the other cheek, be the better person but this most definitely was not it. After making some narrative mistakes with Santana's coming out story in I Kissed A Girl, the show needs to take a firmer position on the likes of bullying and violence and follow through with because what I saw here was a show taking a rather irresponsible and unrealistic stance towards the very things it's main characters are supposed to stand against. Ultimately, it's time for a change and Sebastian needs to pay and seeing as he's due to appear in more episodes, I'd say retribution is needed.

Being Human - Season 4 Trailer/Airdate

Oops, I forgot to actually add a link to the trailer to the upcoming season of Being Human. It's certainly looking like an interesting season and with a plethora of guest stars and a few character exits, it'll be interesting to see how the fourth year of this show fares.

Season 4 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV-Afza7HwE

Season 4 starts Sundays at 9pm on BBC3 from February 5th.

Downton Abbey/Upstairs Downstairs - Battle Of The Period Dramas

Oh yeah, let the battle commence as both period heavyweights release tantalising spoilers for their 2012 episodes.

While we have ages for Downton Abbey's third season to air, it's now been revealed that Shirley MacLaine has been cast as Martha Levinson, the mother of Lady Cora Grantham (Elizabeth Mcgovern) and we can expect her character to be clashing with Maggie Smith's Countess Violet of Dowager throughout the series. Filming for the third year begins in February with the series slated to air on ITV in September. Now that's an impressive coup for the series.

Not to be outdone, Upstairs Downstairs, whose second year begins airing next month for six weeks is set to have a lesbian relationship between Alex Kingston's character, Dr Blanche Mottershead and Emilia Fox's character Lady Portia Alresford as well as some other steamy affairs between the main characters. However it's been reported that Eileen Atkins will not be appearing in the second season of the show. I watched the first series over the Christmas and it's actually quite a decent show, so I'm intrigued to see where the second series goes.

Upstairs Downstairs Season 2 airs Sundays at 9pm on BBC1 from February 19th while Downton Abbey Season 3 will air on ITV from September.

Soap Discussion - January 2012

And here's my penultimate blog for the month and it's a soap discussion one.

Coronation Street: After six years, Becky has finally left Weatherfield and while her exit was something of a mixed bag, at least it wasn't boring. The issues I have with her hooking up with a new bloke she barely knew, I can almost leave to one side in order to revel in her wrecking Steve and Tracey's reception by revealing when exactly the latter miscarried. The other interesting storylines this month include Carla's day in court with Frank (and not her pointless affair with Peter) and the issues raised with Owen smacking Faye for killing his fish. The writing hasn't improved that much from last year but this was a better month than most.

EastEnders: And keeping with big soap departures, I bet there wasn't a dry eye in the house when Pat Butcher finally met her maker after having many a visitor at her bedside. An excellently crafted episode, highlighted by the return of David and then Simon at the last minute of her funeral episode, Pat's death certainly sent the right amount of shockwaves throughout the month. Actually this has been a really strong month for the show, especially with Derek still trying his damndest to be the hard man of the Square, Phil getting banged up thanks to Ben, well it's been a solid month. Okay, maybe Bianca/Ricky splitting up for the billionth time and Lucy vs. Mandy have been a bit annoying but the rest has been great.

Emmerdale: I am really struggling to care about this show at the moment. It seems like nothing of real interest is happening. The fact that the writers continue to struggle for a decent storyline with Aaron is making more happy he'll be leaving soon and I wish the writers would just drop this unconvincing Marlon/Laurel/Ashley nonsense and fast. Plus Debbie and Andy's plots have been tiresome to watch so only Hazel's exit and Charity and Jai's wedding have been the highlights of an extremely dull and uninvolving month.

Hollyoaks: It's interesting what a couple of months can do for a character. George previously went from having no character at all to getting a surprisingly engaging storyline involving his character being homeless and Callum trying to help him out. I'm glad the show is tackling the issue because no other soap is right now and it's certainly easy to sympathise with George and his abrasive pal, Phoebe as well. Too bad the same cannot be said for Maddie, whose tedious interfering in her friends relationships have gotten irritating to watch and that's even more annoying than Brendan's usual bully boy antics (thumping Ste, rejecting his kid, annihilating the 6th formers in football). Still, I also enjoyed the girls antics in the cells, Cindy's money woes, Darren and Nancy's storylines, so overall a solid month of storylines.

True Blood/Game Of Thrones - New Season Trailers

Okay, before anyone goes any further, there are SPOILERS here for both trailers/upcoming seasons of both True Blood and Game Of Thrones. You have been warned, okay?

True Blood - Season 5: No actual clips in the 30 second trailer, but the caption of 'Nothing Stays Buried Forever' could mean a lot of things. Russell's not due for the first few episodes and Salome is the main villain for the new year, so perhaps it's her the trailer is alluding to more. Plus, there's more antics in both the fairy and were story lines this year to contend with as well.

Game Of Thrones - Season 2: This minute long trailer certainly has a lot of spoilers, including Joffrey upping his cruelty towards Sansa, Arya pointing out that anyone can die, Daenerys aiming for her birthright, Catelyn turning on Littlefinger, Jaime tied up, Tyrion giving Cersei a fair warning about her people and other fun stuff. If anything, Season 2 looks like it's gonna be ten times more addictive than the first season will be and it's the show we're getting sooner as well.

Game Of Thrones - Season 2 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOzXsqoJhtE
True Blood - Season 5 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzcX-vCOFis

Game Of Thrones Season 2 will air on HBO/SkyAtlantic from April 1st/2nd and True Blood Season 5 will air on HBO from June 10th.

How To (Re)Solve A Problem Like Torchwood?

According to a recent interview with actress Eve Myles, apparently she wants to see a closure to Torchwood but has admitted nothing is happening with the show this year. Also considering that RTD is back in the UK and currently focusing his energies on upcoming CBBC series, Aliens Vs. Wizards and personal matters, it looks like we'll be waiting a while but the question is - how do you resolve a problem like Torchwood? Miracle Day wasn't the show at it's height and I have been wondering if there's actually much left to tell, story wise anyways. I suppose two options for resolving Torchwood could be ...

a) Commission a 90 minute special, finish up the storyline with the Families, reverse Rex's immortality and have Jack and Gwen FINALLY go their seperate ways.
b) Commission 6-8 episodes, bring it back to Cardiff, having Jack/Gwen/Rhys reopen the Hub, add some new characters and keep the tone closer to the first two series.

Either are decent options but at this rate, which one is the most likely to happen? Regardless of the quality of the last series, the show does deserve some form of closure, doesn't it?

My Review of Revenge's 1x08: "Treachery"

Written by Ryan Scott
Directed by Bobby Roth

Emily: “You came.”
Amanda: “I told you I would.”
Emily: “People have a way of breaking promises when it comes to me.”

Oh dear – what a pickle this is. On one hand, the presence of the real Emily Thorne posing as Amanda Clarke should be firing up all kind of alarm bells but at the same time, I can’t help but feel sorry for this girl in a way. She’s ultimately another in a long line of pawns in the real Amanda’s scheming but one that should be treated with kid gloves.

The real Emily had no qualms with bumping off Frank in order to protect herself and Amanda and it’s the same Emily that wasn’t too enamoured with being shipped off to Paris as well. Now anyone who didn’t see her not taking up Amanda’s offer to go to the capital of France has clearly never watched a TV episode of anything in their lives.

Margarita Levieva is certainly a great addition to the show right about now. As the real Emily, she offers a different type of a threat to the real Amanda Clarke that both Tyler and Victoria necessarily don’t but at the same time, all she really wants is to connect with the woman who decided to become her friend all those years ago in the detention centre.

The only thing she doesn’t know is that Amanda was coached by Sharon into manipulating people and by doing that, getting lonely people like Emily on side. This was something Amanda managed to do effortlessly because all it’s taken was some basic kindness and the offer of half a million dollars for the real Emily to be a willing participant in identity fraud.

It’s sort of a shame really because there’s a part of me that’s hoping that deep down Amanda actually cares about Emily and that her motives for trying to get her out of the way actually had some shred of selflessness in them but I guess not. Also, possibly because of that, she’s going to have to learn to play nice with Emily all the more.

Emily as Amanda certainly managed to make impressions on both Nolan and Jack in this episode too. Nolan was automatically suspicious of her, noticed that her clothing was bloodied and quickly deduced that she was responsible for Frank’s death. Nolan might be cool with a lot of thing but apparently aiding murderers is not one of them, which Amanda wasn’t particularly thrilled with.

As for Jack – of course he’d have to try and forge a connection with her. The flirting was instant between Jack and the woman pretending to be Amanda, so when she showed up at the Stowaway at the end of the episode, Jack really wasn’t all that shocked to see her there. Of course, it’s a complication for the woman pretending to be Emily, but hey, it’s not just her former roommate that was the only complication for her this week.

The real Amanda had to think on her feet pretty quickly when Victoria set the police on her about Frank and because of it; she was actually forced to be a bit more honest with Daniel about her past than she would’ve liked to have been. I hope for the Fake Emily’s sake that Daniel’s guilt tripping tirade to his mother buys her some more time because it does look like she’s having more and more problems being handed to her at the moment.

Another problem that also surfaced was Lydia being taken care of by Victoria and the woman’s attempts to remember that 2003 photograph. It’s probably a good job for Emily that Nolan’s Photoshop skills are decent and that Victoria and Conrad were too busy scoring points off each other to really pay attention to Lydia’s accusations though.

Speaking of Lydia, it’s interesting trying to figure her out this week. How much did she actually remember before Victoria attempted to fill her and how much of Victoria and Conrad’s conversations about Frank did she actually take in as well? I have a feeling that Victoria’s gonna have her work cut out for her trying to keep her former friend sweet.

Last but not least – am I really supposed to give a damn about Tyler and Ashley’s relationship and classism issues? Seriously, the whole ‘us vs. them’ mantra those two had bored the living daylights out of me (even if both raised excellent pointers), so Tyler actually getting a hold of Lydia’s original speech from “Guilt” was the only interesting thing that happened with those two this week.

Also in “Treachery”

Now that Daniel has moved in with ‘Emily’, she’s gonna have to be a bit more careful with her nightly antics. Also Daniel’s gone from working for Jack to working for his father.

Amanda: “You’re funny, cool house.”
Nolan (to Emily): “Thanks. Does Miss Manners have a name?”

If you thought that was an amusing nickname, then the woman pretending to be Emily has earned the moniker of Bossy Pants.

Ashley: “You do not see me here. This is the very picture of mortification.”
Daniel: “Ah, the walk of shame.”
Ashley: “More like a bloody knuckle crawl.”

Conrad: “It’s not all bad news, Victoria. The secrets died with Frank. In many ways, you can see this as a relief.”

Declan and Charlotte need some stronger plots as well because their relationship/her parents’ problems isn’t strong enough. I’m also glad that Jack apologised to Nolan as well.

Nolan: “Let’s play a game of twenty questions.”
Amanda: “I don’t like games.”

Amanda: “Come with me.”
Emily: “I wish I could.”

The real Emily was given another alias in this episode – Kara Wilkins, the name of the real Amanda’s mother.

Emily: “Amanda would never hurt me.”
Nolan: “Right, cos that’s such a stretch for a violent psychopath.”

Standout music: Widowspeak’s “Limbs”.

Emily (to herself): “The past is a tricky thing. Sometimes it’s etched in stone and other times, it’s rendered in soft memories.”

Chronology: From where “Charade” left off.

Another enjoyable episode. “Treachery” certainly proves that Conrad and Victoria really should get a move on with divorcing each other but personally for me, the real Emily and Amanda scenes were the highlight of the episode. I can’t wait to see more of those two playing off each other.

Rating: 8 out of 10