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Buzz News Roundup, 12/15

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:30:50 -0800

Like so many movies these days, The Crow is getting "reinvented." - ComingSoon
And the Terminator will be back . . . again, in a fifth installment of the franchise. - Variety
Advocates for the blind are scolding Saturday Night Live for its depiction of New York Gov. David Paterson. - TV Guide
The American Film Institute's list of the 10 outstanding movies of 2008 include Iron Man and The Dark Knight, while the top 10 TV shows of the year were Breaking Bad and In Treatment, among others. - Reuters
The season premiere of Flight of The Conchords is online this week at FunnyOrDie.com. - TV Week
There's a sequel to the 1996 movie The Phantom in the works. - The AP
My Boys will be back in March and Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns will premiere in January. - The Futon Critic
A second season of Real Housewives of Atlanta is on the way. - Entertainment Weekly

FlashForward Breakdown, "Playing Cards With Coyote"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:30:30 -0800

After Al's tragic suicide on last week's episode of FlashForward, this week shows how the idea of "changing the game" has affected all the characters. Mark and Olivia start to find new hope for their relationship, Lloyd teaches Simon a lesson, and Aaron learns more about where his daughter has been for the past two years.

Ready to get into all the details? Just read more.

"The future can be changed": Al's death makes headline news when Celia gets her letter in the mail, instilling hope in Mark and Demetri - for a bit. Mark whisks Olivia off on a romantic getaway and things seem to be much happier between the two. But once they're back to regular life, they both get a reality check: Mark gifts her the lingerie she's wearing in her flash forward, and Aaron's reunion with Tracy makes Mark go back to believing that the visions may be set in stone.

The stars are aligned: Mark thinks he has a big lead when some footage shows up of a man he recognizes from his vision - a woman named Ingrid reports a crime and her phone images reveal a man with a tattoo of three stars on his arm. Thinking it's the same pern who breaks into his office in the future, Mark immediately dedicates himself to finding the guy. Using Ingrid as bait, Mark manages to take kill him, and rushes home to Olivia to tell her that they're going to have a second chance because he changed the game. But then - surprise! There's a whole crew of dudes with that tattoo. Um, seriously Mark? This never occurred to you? It's not like the guy has an unmistakable tattoo of Edward Cullen on his arm.

That was a crazy game of poker: Feeling guilty about that whole deadly experiment thing, Lloyd sends out an email to a few colleagues saying "We have to take responsibility." Of course, Simon isn't pleased about Lloyd's plans to go public and wants to settle their argument over a game of Texas hold 'em. There's plenty of trash talking from Simon, who thinks that he and Lloyd are gods for the impact they've had on the planet. He tosses around ideas of fate (was anyone else thinking about Lost's Charlie and his fate finger tape?) and just when Simon thinks he's sitting pretty, Lloyd turns the tables with a sleight of hand. (Some U2 lyrics come to mind here). Somehow I still don't think Simon is going to make it easy for Lloyd to publicize what they've done.

Reunited and it feels so good? Tracy is back at home with Aaron, but she's not exactly the same girl that went off to war. She's lost her leg in combat and suffering from PTSD, which she's reluctant to discuss with her dad at first. Feeling confident from his flash forward, Aaron encourages Tracy to open up about what happened overseas. She finally reveals that her near-death experience was an ambush from Jericho, a group of military contractors that she ratted out after seeing something she shouldn't. Tracy is paranoid after living a life on the run for two years (and is not at all pleased when Aaron talks to Mark about her situation). Though keeping track of all the different characters and their separate story lines is getting confusing, I'm liking this new development in Aaron's story.

Other plot points:

Janice tries to quit but Stan won't let her. As she continues to contemplate Al's death and her vision, she starts looking into sperm donation - does this mean those are tears of joy in her flash forward?

Ingrid says that she remembers one of the shooters saying "QED," which is also brought up during Simon and Lloyd's poker game.

Ingrid and her bird collection can be added to the list that already includes the crows and the bird crashing into Fiona's window.

So, is that Simon strangling Nicole in her vision? Creepy. I'm wondering if she finds out his secret and tries to intervene.

How'd you feel about this week's episode? Any new theories on what's going to happen over the next few months? Let's get the conversation going!

What to TiVo: Friday

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:50:43 -0800

ABC is new with Supernanny, Ugly Betty, and 20/20
CBS is new with Ghost Whisperer, Medium, and NUMB3RS
FOX has repeats of House and Bones
NBC is new with Law & Order and Dateline NBC
The CW is new with Smallville and has a repeat of America's Next Top Model
USA is new with Monk and White Collar
Bravo has Legally Blonde
E! is new with The Soup
TLC is new with Say Yes to the Dress and Battle of the Wedding Planners
MTV has repeats of Southpark and Jackass, and has Kill Bill: Vol. 2
VH1 has Cocktail and a repeat of Sex Rehab With Dr. Drew
Late-night highlights include Terrence Howard and Sheryl Crow on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; Mariah Carey on The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Reese Witherspoon, Danny DeVito, and Kris Allen on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; Diddy on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; Harry Connick Jr. on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on CBS; Amanda Peet on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC; and Emmy Rossum on Last Call With Carson Daly on NBC

FlashForward Breakdown, "Gimme Some Truth"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:30:56 -0700

This week's episode of FlashForward was a bit blah for me. The plot made a teeny bit of headway, but now that we're four episodes deep, I was hoping things would pick up a bit this week. Instead, the FBI agents head to DC to score funding for the Mosaic investigation - using any methods necessary.

There's still plenty to discuss, so to get going just read more.

Flash backward: We do get a bit more insight into Stan Wedeck's life before LA. Apparently he lived in DC and was the right hand man to the guy who eventually becomes the president. When they meet again (in the Oval Office, no less), the president offers Stan a job as the Director of Homeland Security. Instead, Stan blackmails the president into providing the necessary funding for the Mosaic investigation.

Who's your daddy? A few weeks ago, that creepy Nazi Guyer implies that Janis is a lesbian, and it turns out to be true. Janis makes a connection with Maya, a chef she meets in karate class. Unfortunately their courtship is cut short when Maya "mosaics" Janis (it's even better than google stalking) and wants to know if the pregnancy means Janis swings both ways. Janis gets flustered and calls the whole thing off, but right now she's got bigger problems - at the end of the episode she gets shot just as Mark and Demetri do on the other side of the country. Now that my theory about Demetri being the baby daddy is out the window, what are your theories? It seems too easy to hope that she and Maya get back together and work something out, but I'm also afraid to consider a darker alternative, like rape.

Drowning in lies: Mark's alcoholism plays a big role in this week's episode. First, Olivia overhears Aaron advising that Mark attend a meeting, and later she reveals that Mark has a tendency to fall off the wagon when he's away from home. When Mark is put in the hot seat about his flashforward, he dances around the reason why his vision is a little fuzzy, and Senator Clemente uses his fumble as a reason why the Mosaic investigation doesn't deserve funding. Eventually Mark confesses to Stan that he's drunk in his flashforward, and someone tells Olivia like two minutes later. I'm glad Olivia finally knows and that it's out in the open a bit more, but who sold Mark down the river so quickly? And why? Was it someone who overheard the conversation or is one of Mark's fellow agents a rat?

Other major plot points:

The agents get another clue about the dead crows in Somalia when they discover a group of asphalt structures that were built just months before the 1990 blackout.

Now that the FBI agents are officially being targeted, how long can Demetri (and everyone else) avoid death?

What'd you think of this week's episode? Are you starting to waver in your love? Luckily, it seems like next week's episode may pick up, but for now, sound off in the comments!

FlashForward Breakdown, "137 Sekunden"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:00:46 -0700

This week's episode of FlashForward isn't exactly action-packed, but we do finally meet a few significant others - including Demetri's fiancee, Zoe - and get a bit more character insight and some clues about the blackout. Not to mention the introduction of one creepy former Nazi.

It wasn't my favorite of the first three episodes, but this show is still keeping me on the edge of my seat. Would ABC just pick up the full season already? To break it all down, just read more.

Did Mark and Janis get played?
The focal point of this week's episode is wrapped up in Guyer, a former Nazi who's imprisoned in Germany but sees his flashforward as a bargaining chip for freedom. When Mark hears that he makes an appearance in Guyer's vision, he and Janis soon square off about whether or not his "information" is worth setting a Nazi free. In the end, Guyer's biggest revelation is that the crows seem to have blacked out and died at the same time as the human race did. Janis and Mark are disappointed at first, until Mark realizes that this isn't the first time crows have "blacked out." Last week there was talk of pigeons, now crows. Could the mysterious blackouts be all wrapped up in birds?
Did Zoe really see Demetri in her flashforward?
Yay! This week we finally get to meet Demetri's fiancee, Zoe (Gabrielle Union). Am I the only one who is loving the couples on this show? Mark and Olivia are often very sweet together, but I'm also digging Demetri and Zoe's younger love. When Zoe describes her wedding day flashforward to Demetri, she seems totally confident that he is there - but does she actually see him, or just assume as much? While some of the other visions seem hard to believe given the six-month interim period (Olivia sleeps with a new man, boyfriend-less Janis is already pregnant) - this one takes the cake for me. If Demetri is really murdered, could his fiancee recover and find a new man to wed that quickly? I'm banking on the glimmer of hope that this means Demetri can overturn his fate.
Is Tracy alive or not?
Determined to get to the bottom of the veracity of his flashforward, Aaron pays a visit to his ex-wife, hoping to get her permission to exhume their daughter's body for DNA. We see that Aaron's not the only one who's been deeply impacted by his daughter's death, though Katie still refuses to sign the affidavit. Eventually, Aaron gets around it and has Demetri dig up the body - though the DNA is a match, meaning that Tracy really is dead. So, is Aaron lying or is it possible that his vision may not come true after all? I'm wondering if this could be a sign that some of the flashforwards come true and others don't? Though, I have a feeling that we'll still see Aaron heading to Afghanistan sometime soon.

Other points:

Nicole the babysitter is still MIA (perhaps spending some time in that other life of hers). I'm dying to know what she saw, so hopefully she comes back soon.

Um, isn't Dominic Monaghan supposed to be on the show? Let's add him to the list of people we want to see next week.

If all the crows die in the flashforward, what about the other animals? Is there going to be a tie-in to that kangaroo we saw hopping around?

Is Demetri going to report Jerome Murphy and his bong-hitting ways? I totally would!

So are you still lovin' FlashForward, or are you losing interest? Which of the visions are you most curious about?

The Vampire Diaries "You're Undead to Me": The Good, the Bad, and the Bloody

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:45:29 -0700

We're on the brink of big stuff on The Vampire Diaries, and it's definitely become a reason to stay home on Thursdays nights. Everything just got real - from Damon's nature to the Big Secret. I love dissecting the show almost as much as I love seeing a strapping young vampire in a black v-neck shirt, so let's talk about this week's good, bad, and bloody!

To see them (warning - spoilers ahead!) and chat, just read more.

The Good:

I'm really starting to care for people outside the threesome, particularly Bonnie. Her Carrie-like setting the car on fire is chilling (seriously, no one but Stefan saw that?) and her seeking out her grandma to find out what's going on with her has me really interested. Even if the casting of 47-year-old Jasmine Guy (Whitley from A Different World) is sort of unbelievable.
I'm also intrigued by this ragtag antivampire squad, which includes Caroline's mother, Tyler's mother, and Logan. Last week, they seemed to know exactly what's been haunting Mystic Falls, and I got the ominous feeling that these "regular" townsfolk may not be what they seem. I also want to know more about why they're assembling certain objects, like the necklace and pocket watch (Horcruxes?!)

The Bad:

The newsreel, you guys. The newsreel is so silly - while I balked at that footage being so easy to find and so clear, it's worse that the newsman exclaims "Is that the nephew?!" and have the camera swing to Stefan in the shadows.
My other big problem with this week's episode is the Uncle Zach situation. I can't remember them explaining if Uncle Zach was a vampire, but he really seems to be dead. I assumed he was also a vampire until this week, when he tells Damon that he could have had a real family. So what was he? Human? Vampire? And was the crow Zach's familiar, or a crow that Damon found and killed for sustenance? There are larger implications for the unanswered questions, so I hope they're tied up next week.
Can we also know exactly what the deal is with vervain? K thanks.

The Bloody:

I wasn't expecting Uncle Zach to meet his end so quickly, even if the show had made him pretty inconsequential.
Poor Vickie became another victim of Damon's - she can't have any blood left, right?
We also saw what happens when vampires go out in the sun without their protective jewelry on. Scab city!

It seems like we've reached a pretty big climax in the show: Damon has just asserted himself as a pretty evil villain, while Elena had that oh-so-important realization of every young vampire's love interest: The Epiphany. That scene is not too terribly dissimilar from Bella's (here's a reminder!) and Elena wants answers next week. Also next week? The Civil War-era flashback! I can't wait. What did you think of this week's Vampire Diaries?

Photo courtesy of The CW

Link Time!

BuzzSugar — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:45:28 -0700

DJ AM's reality show, Gone Too Far, will air on Oct. 12 - Vulture
Californication has been renewed for a fourth season - The Hollywood Reporter
Liam Neeson will join Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks in The Next Three Days - Cinematical
Check out Vampire Weekend's new song and upcoming tour dates - Pitchfork
Take a sneak peek at this week's episode of Glee - Pop Watch
Get the look: An Education's fab frocks - CasaSugar
James Franco is calling his upcoming appearance on General Hospital "performance art." - MTV Movies Blog
Relationship advice from the cast of Couples Retreat - Rotten Tomatoes

The Vampire Diaries: The Good, The Bad, (The Twilight Reference) and The Bloody

BuzzSugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:15:00 -0700

Last night's Vampire Diaries was all about the formal wear, history and, swoon, some shirtless Salvatores. The series is doing a great job of slowly revealing the back story of the vampires in Mystic Falls while also progressing the romances and of course the brother-rivalry which has taken a pretty central spot so far.

Bonnie is still figuring out her powers, without much help from her friends or anyone else, but she's quietly becoming one of my favorite parts of the show. On the other hand, I'm not sure how much I care about Elena's aunt, whose love life might be causing some trouble for the Gilbert family soon. Check out my thoughts on the show if you just read more.

The Good:

I love, love, loved the scene of Damon reading Twilight - hilarious. He says that "this book has it all wrong" and laughs off Caroline's questions about his lack of sparkling in the sun.

Holy hotness. The Salvatore guys were all about showing off their bodies last night. No complaints here.

Finally Elena was a good friend and noticed that Caroline is covering up some serious wounds from Damon. Maybe Elena isn't quite clued into what's going on, but at least she's worried and the scene at the end suggests that Caroline might be ready to talk.

On that note, Elena is growing a backbone with Stefan. It's about time for her to demand that he be less mysterious, especially considering how much she has gone through. She deserves to have some transparency from the guy she is trusting her heart to.

No diary writing this week, no crows, so there's that.

The Bad:

I am getting into this show, for sure, but not quite ready to put any heart into the aunt's backstory and love life. There was a bit too much time spent on that last night. Speaking of which, am I heartless for just not being that into Jeremy's story? The end was sweet when Vicki finally came to her senses and kissed him, but still, lets get back to the Salvatore hotness.

As I mentioned last week - five people are found dead drained of blood out of one neck bite and the police say it's a Mountain Lion?

The Bloody:

Once again the show started with a scary scene, this time a nightmare. It seems like it's Elena's, but really it's Stefan - why is he sleeping at all? - anyway, this leads to...

Um, hey brothers, why so stabby? Well, at least that meant some serious six pack from Stefan and one of the best lines from Damon yet: "This is Jon Varvatos, dude. Dick."

The last bite of Caroline seemed pretty intense, but she didn't die thanks to Stefan who helped her out. Plus, her blood was spiked which meant Damon could finally be captured.

I can't imagine that Damon will stay locked up for long, but the Mystic Falls police department, mayor and news anchor know what kind of "animal" is draining residents of blood - the vampires are back. We're still piecing together what happened in the past, or what made the vampires leave for however many decades, but things are still getting more and more interesting as the plot unfolds. What did you like or not like about "Family Ties"?

Link Time!

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:33:30 -0700

Which of the latest New Moon posters is the hottest? - PopSugar
Michelle Obama heads to Sesame Street - The Wrap
5 reasons to keep watching The Hills - TV.com
Olivia Wilde and Jonathan Tucker have joined the Russell Crowe thriller The Next Three Days - Coming Soon
Thom Yorke's putting together a brand new band during his hiatus from Radiohead - Stereogum
Go behind the scenes of Where The Wild Things Are - Cinematical
Going forward, TLC is dropping Jon's name, calling the reality show Kate Plus Eight - LilSugar
Survivor creator Mark Burnett gets real for a new CBS drama - TV Squad

The Vampire Diaries: The Good, the Bad, and the Bloody

BuzzSugar — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:30:25 -0700

The Vampire Diaries must be doing something right, because the CW just ordered nine more episodes of the freshman series. I'm pretty psyched - with its third episode, "Friday Night Bites," Diaries has become one of my favorites of the Fall season.

Even though I've been gushing over Ian Somerhalder's Damon, this week the episode belonged to sensitive Stefan, who put down the blood bag, picked up the football, and brought out the high-school girl in me, who roots for the hot quarterback. Of course, the show hasn't lost all its cheesiness, which I'm ready to talk about (spoilers ahead) when you read more.

The Good

Nina Dobrev really won me over in this episode - her portrayal of Elena got a little more complex this week, which, I guess, is due to Elena getting more complex. I cheered for her when she slaps Damon after leaning in for a kiss, declaring unwaveringly, "I am NOT Katherine."
Speaking of that interaction, the sexual tension between Elena and Damon is out of control, rejections notwithstanding. Her chemistry with Stefan is also great, but the Damon-Elena dynamic is worthy of Eric and Sookie on that other vampire show.
The atmosphere has gone from cheesy (the fog) to palpably creepy. It's not just about the vampiric stuff, either; when Bonnie sees the numbers that have been playing in her head (so Lost-y!) around Coach Tanner's murder scene, I got chills. By the by - can Bonnie predict deaths? That's so much better than a vague psychic or seeing the future ability, but I have a feeling it won't be that specific.
The dialogue seems to get better and better with each episode. It helps when you have Kevin Williamson writing and people like Ian Somerhalder delivering it with such ease: "BTW. That means by the way." You can educate me about acronyms all day, Damon.

The Bad

This is a complaint about many vampire shows or movies, but why do people always think a vampire attack is an animal attack? I get it, a wild animal would bite and go for the neck, but is it really the only possibility to people? Elena: "What kind of animal could be doing all this? Why would it come out of the woods and attack someone in the middle of town?" Exactly. What kind of crack police force does Mystic Falls have?
Thanks for listening to me about the diary writing, Vampire Diaries, but I still saw one crow! It's not really creepy, it's just weird.

The Bloody

So apparently every episode is going to open with a scary scene. I can handle that, now that I know to be prepared. This week's opener is pretty small potatoes in the gore department, but I was still terrified as I watched Damon breathe and sleep (such a faker!) while Caroline tiptoed around the room.
Damon didn't do much to disprove Stefan's humanity theory when he kills Coach Tanner in front of him. The guy was a total douche, taunting his students, and Elena's aunt called him an "asshat" last week. Asshats don't last long in the horror genre. Good riddance.

So were you rah-rahing this week's episode with me? I'm really intrigued for the next few episodes - I want to know more about this Katherine-Damon-Stefan love triangle and, surprisingly, Bonnie. What did you like and dislike about "Friday Night Bites"?

Photo courtesy of The CW