Highlights from March 5 to March 11, 2010
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/modern-family-truth_300-ea391595f6594b5d97ce202465d8d61f.jpg)
1
Modern Family recap: What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Stronger
Umm, hello? Shel Turtlestein! Fliesaminnelli! Zsa Zsa Gaboa! Best pet names ever! This show is pure genius. Pure genius, I say! These fabulous names, plus a fantastic-looking Judy Greer as Phil?s frisky ex-girlfriend, Denise. (You know Judy Greer, she?s everybody?s favorite go-to friend in almost every single romantic comedy — 27 Dresses? Check. 13 Going on 30? Check. The Wedding Planner? Check.) I mean, come on. How does this show do it week after week? It just gets stronger and stronger. —Lesley Savage
2
Project Runway recap: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
One contestant's concept gets the best of her as the designers tackle looks inspired by the elements
Oh, Amy, Amy, Amy... She is clearly a bright woman with scads of novel ideas percolating in her fertile brain. But this? Holy mother of fashion — WTF?! Her element was fire. She wanted to depict the idea of an inner explosion and play with the concept of ''contained chaos.'' Fine. But why, why, why did that require the creepy shelf of chest hair that looked like the horror-movie offspring of Cousin It and Pamela Anderson? As Anthony pointed out, ''I don't know why Amy is choosing, in this moment, to give her model hairy t--s. She needs to Nair up there.'' Indeed. — Missy Schwartz
3
American Idol recap: The Unbearable Triteness of Leaving
It's an hour of shock and sadness as the Top 12 finalists are named. Can season 9 be saved?
Katie Stevens getting more votes than Lilly Scott didn't just mean that we'd lost the chrome-haired chick who experienced pitch problems Tuesday night on Patsy Cline's ''I Fall to Pieces.'' No, it meant we'd had the gift of surprise ripped out of our hands, and replaced by a three-pack of department store socks wrapped in ruffled, off-the-shoulder, hot-pink wrapping paper. —Michael Slezak
4
Survivor: Heroes vs Villains recap: Adding Injury to Insults
Evidently a one-legged James is better than no James at all as the Heroes refuse to send their injured (and hot-headed) player home
Remember when James said the tribe had to get rid of Stephenie based on her past results in challenges in Palau. Okay, let?s apply that same criteria to Tom. Hmmm, well, let?s see — his tribe that season never lost a single immunity challenge. Not one. And then he proceeded to dominate the individual challenges as well. Yeah, let?s get rid of that guy and keep Gimpy McGee over here with the occasional bouts of 'roid rage. (And what's James' record in challenges anyway? Sure, he's massive, but he has never dominated in the way that Tom, Terry, and Ozzy did.) You know what? If I could swap a player out, I actually would take Probst's niece over James at this point. C'mon, she's a Probst so you know she is scrappy, surely has ingrained leadership skills, looks great in baseball caps, and will help your tribe get the benefit of the doubt at all times from the host. —Dalton Ross
5
Grey's Anatomy recap: Wax On
Grey's continues in fine form with blossoming relationships, hamstrung ones, and one great example of girlfriend oversharing
The new, vulnerable, clueless Mark brings a whole new dimension to the Grey's dating pool. ''I was asking you to dinner,'' Mark said when Teddy suggested just grabbing a drink at Joe's. Her initial answer stung all the more because he's so out of his element: ''I'm not available for? dinner.'' I should feel he's getting his due for so many years of dogging around, and yet it's a tribute to the show (and to Eric Dane) that I instead feel empathy. Really, a huge portion of this problem was caused by Callie and Arizona, who were soooo proud of themselves for thinking up this pairing until they realized: Arizona had advised Teddy to enjoy Mark like ''candy,'' while Callie had nudged Mark toward Teddy for potential true and lasting partnership. Oops. —Jennifer Armstrong
6
Lost recap: Lessons Learned
Episode 6 of season 6 was chock full of answers as we got a Ben-centric episode. Doc Jensen sifts through it to find new Island-Sideways parallels
On the Island, Ben the Dethroned seemed set to pay for his sins and abuses of power after Ilana smoked out his Jacob-stabbing secret and sentenced him to death for killing her beloved godfather. Then the Man In Black showed up and made him an offer he seemingly couldn't refuse: restored Island rule in the future in exchange for his loyal service in the present as part of his Hydra Family gang. Ben made a choice. He bolted. Ilana chased. Ben got himself a gun and was about to put a Bada-Bing in Jacob's girl the way he blew away Caesar the Whodat? last season. But then Ben made another choice: He bared his soul. He told the truth about killing Jacob, shared his rage over feeling betrayed by his Island god and his shame for choosing Island power over his daughter, and then offered this heartbreaking explanation for why he was joining Mr. Evil Incarnate (Allegedly): ''Because he's the only one that will have me!'' Then Ilana did something that left Ben gobsmacked: She forgave him. ''I'll have you,'' she said, and walked away. Ben shuffled after her, as if sucked in by the undertow of her grace. —Jeff Jensen
7
The Biggest Loser recap: You Better Work
As if life on the ranch isn't hard enough (pull a semi truck?!), contestants also have to take on a full-time job
O'Neal was truly the star of last night's episode — so much so, that I worried we eventually would watch him bite the dust, based on all his airtime. First, we had to watch him endure the cruelty of the members of the blue team, who walked in the room after elimination one-by-one, without telling him that Sunshine had survived the elimination vote. Is it just me, or did O'Neal go grayer in those five seconds? He was sobbing, banging the table like it was a Whack-a-Mole board, and was thisclose to throwing his hands up and screaming ''Khhhhaaaaannnnnn!'' Yet there Sunshine was, walking into the room with a blue shirt for her dad, and a face that seemed to say something like, ''Oh my gawd, Dad. So. Embarrassing.'' But O'Neal saw the Sunshine in his life — I bet after 24 years, Sunshine is pretty sick of Stevie Wonder, don't you think? — and he was raring to go. —Kate Ward
8
The Amazing Race recap: Raise a Glass
The teams head to Germany for some beer- and sauerkraut-based challenges
The other alliances were interesting, and seemed to point toward future tension. Joe and Heidi paired up with Steve and Allie. Heidi: ''They come from a good family, we come from a good family.'' Dan, on Carol: ''She's like the lesbian aunt I never had.'' Jordan and Jeff reached the Intersection point right before Brent and Caite arrived attractively in last place. ''Brent and Caite are like our alliance,'' said Jeff. How can I put the awfulness of the JJ/BC alliance in geopolitical terms? It's as if Luxembourg and Lichtenstein teamed up and bragged that they could totally kick Monaco's butt. —Darren Franich
9
24 recap: Don't Wear The ''Suicide Vest'' If You Don't Want To Go Boom...
The best stuff here was the sight of Stephen Root (Office Space) as a psycho-looking probation officer looking for Kevin. Driving in a dimly-lit car, Root?s Bill Prady looked as though he?d just escaped from the bar in the Coen Brothers? Blood Simple. Of couse, Dana continues to be so gullible, she (a) takes his call when she should have that cellphone on ?Silent? and getting back to work, and (b) immediately caves in to his demand to see her, thus guaranteeing (c) that she?ll soon be making another ?I?m just going to the rest room!? excuse to Arlo for another (d) floridly melodramatic scene in which she?ll probably be abducted or worse. All of which, I hasten to say, I?m looking forward to, because this woman is the main source of 24's annual loony-quotient, something the show cannot do without. —Ken Tucker
10
Big Love season finale: ''We've Gone Off The Track''
I thought Sissy Spacek did terrific work as lobbyist Marilyn Densham, who proved less ruthless than remorseful. And I would defend the much-criticized development of Bill?s character from pious family man to ambitious politician willing to forsake his piety and, on some level, his family. It made sense to me that Bill would want to impose himself upon the outside world — it?s a reaction to the insular, secretive, love-withholding upbringing he had. And Bill Paxton played all those notes very well. —Ken Tucker
11
ANTM recap: Hello 12, Hello 13, Hello Fug
And then there was Gabrielle. She told the judges that sometimes she struggles with being biracial, but I was kind of distracted by how freaking adorable and awesome she was. She already seemed like a model, with the right kind of ?oh, this old thing?? outfit and spindly limbs and distinctive look. Ding ding ding, we have an early favorite. There were other snoozers, but none of them mattered. —Margaret Lyons
12
Did Elinor Burkett Really Pull a Kanye At The Oscars?
When Music By Prudence director Roger Ross Williams was interrupted during his acceptance speech for Best Documentary Short during Sunday?s Oscars, viewers were aghast. Who was the woman who cut him off? Why was she up there? Did Kanye West have something to do with this?
Turns out the woman who rushed the stage was Music By Prudence producer Elinor Burkett, whose name had also been called for the award. —Adam Markovitz
13
Gossip Girl recap: Serena and Nate Can't Stop Having Sex!
So we returned to the Upper East Side with Serena and Nate in full force love time. These two are hot like fire and I?m psyched to see where this story is going? mostly because where it seems to be going involved them in various states of undress. I will say that I found them having sex in the Waldorf living room a little gross and unsanitary. I mean Dorota wasn?t even around to clean up afterward. Blair would definitely not be pleased. But back to Serena and Nate. Their coatroom hook-up was totally sexy, although, do coat check rooms usually have sofas in them? Unclear on that. —Tim Stack
14
16 and Pregnant recap: You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do
Determined to get a slice of her life back, Chelsea went to her high school?s Homecoming football game, but came home early because she missed Aubree. After learning she went out, Adam texted Chelsea some of the most hateful messages I?d ever seen (one is quoted below). He insulted Chelsea?s skills as a mom, called their daughter ?a mistake,? and talked about her stretch marks — YES, he went there. —Sandra Gonzalez
ncG1vNJzZmidp2OwsLmOoJilpJWnxnDA1WaumqyTnXqptcaho6KfmKnAbrnAq5qhZWViuqK%2BwqFkamldZ31yfI4%3D