GHOST WHISPERER: 5.09 “Lost in the Shadows”

What a terrible episode.

I really wanted to like this episode. I was looking forward to seeing Madison Leisle, Julia, return. She stood out in the Sally Stitch episode as someone to keep your eye on, and as someone very ominous.

Unfortunately, that just didn’t happen.

And it wasn’t her fault. In fact, I’d say with what she had access to, she did a good job handling her role. But I blame the writing. And Connor Gibbs. My God, that child can’t act.

Seriously. Everything he said was so one-sided. And I don’t mean biased. I mean, it’s as if you were looking at something that was supposed be a 99-sided die, and you were just stuck on one side that had a little square on it. And you just thought, is that a square? Or a square? Maybe it’s a square! For a hour.

For a kid who knew he was breaking his parents’ rules but supposedly for the good of another, he seemed to show no emotion at all. He wasn’t happy to help someone. He wasn’t confused to be blindfolded. He wasn’t scared at the shadows attacking Julia. He wasn’t mad the shinies couldn’t help (we’ll get to that later). He wasn’t thrilled to see his parents return. He was nothing. He was a painted square on a 99-sided die that isn’t being used properly.

But we can’t just blame an eight-year-old for the horribleness that is this episode (and yes, he does look eight, not five, and I’ve always thought so). They really didn’t build this episode up at all.

Sure, we knew about the shinies and the shadows. But other than gagging Melinda, we haven’t really discovered the danger behind them. This is the first time we’ve seen a ghost scared of them, and for being such a “big” episode, I think we needed to see that much earlier. Carl was clearly the best moment in the show, as we actually saw fear in him. But at the same time, what does showing a ghost all the bad in their lives really do to them? How is that dangerous?

Plus, the audience hasn’t grown to like Aiden. There was no fear in the entire episode that Aiden would be gone forever. First, I didn’t care if he was. Second, I wasn’t scared for him. Which brings me to another point:

They didn’t establish Julia as an opposing, negative force. Beyond two sinister looks and a hissy fit against Melinda’s help, we have no reason to think that she’s a bad ghost. And since every episode has that “turn” at the end, you could guess that she’d be good all along. Which she was. If we had spent more time seeing her at the hospital, seeing how she acted around her parents, or even seeing her with the other ghosts she wanted to protect, it all would have made more sense.

And what about those other ghosts she wanted to protect? How was she helping them by hanging around? Will we find out later? Is it just a moot point? Is the Sally Stitch person one of them? Bah!

And as for the shadows and shinies, I’m bored. There hasn’t been a threat yet, and the first time we’ve seen the shinies (who, for faceless being, sure had eyes and noses), it was lame. I felt like I was watching The Haunting–yeah, the bad one starring Catherine Zeta Jones.

Overall, the episode was weak. I just feel like with a few tweaks and some major character buildup, it could have been an effective episode. I mean, even building up the characters more and pushing this off until later in the season could have worked.

And hiring someone other than Connor Gibbs. I don’t think there’s anything we could have fixed about that performance.

I really wanted to like it; I really did. The episode was almost more disappointing than usual, just because I really wanted it to work.

THE GOOD WIFE: 1.08 “Unprepared”

Chicago’s tough. As ER taught us, people get shot all the time, crazy people stab you in a trauma room, and sometimes chemicals spill. People then have to prosecute perpetrators of that craziness, and frankly, they’re way slimier…at least that’s what we learned last week. Luckily, Julianna Margulies has shed her pink scrubs for power suits to play Alicia Florrick.

The title of this episode was fitting. Not only was Alicia unprepared for the prospect of her husband coming home, but she also had a client unprepared to testify in her own defense. The client was a professor accused of setting fire to her lab because her stem cell research wasn’t going so well. In order to make it look like some fringe group had ordered the attacks, she (or someone?) printed a whole bunch of fake hate letters.

Will and Diane decided to have two hungry, competitive associates prep the witnesses. Naturally, that pitted Cary and Alicia against one another and put them in the same room. Sadly, we were without Francine this week, but I digress. Cary was a little too hard on the witnesses when playing prosecutor, but that allowed him to expose holes in one witness’s story. Turns out, he was secretly in love with the client and destroyed her research so that she’d stay and reciprocate her feelings. I actually kind of liked this week’s case and the work Alicia/Cary did, at least more than the cases the past few weeks. Sometimes this show tries to present legal cases that tug at your heart strings; this one didn’t, and the lack of sentimentality was much appreciated.

What was not appreciated is the continuation of the Detective Munchkin Florrick storyline. Someone dropped video coverage of Peter’s meeting with the big, bad real estate developer in front of Alicia’s door. Determined to figure out if the video was strategically edited/who planted it, Munchkin (I really have no clue what his name is) uses an ipod with a video camera to capture our evil FedEx guy in the act of delivery. Unfortunately, when you hide your camera in a plant, any movement can jostle the ipod so we only saw that it’s a tall man. Could be anyone, right? Does anyone have any guesses?

Anyway, I’m getting a little sick of the little kid and his attempts to exonerate his dad. I thought it was more interesting that the two kids have opposing reactions to their father’s impending return, although I think it’d be less expected if Alicia’s son were angry and her daughter was trying to clear his name. Gender lines aside, the turmoil the kids feel is certainly more believable than one of them taking surveillance footage. And wouldn’t the building be able to tell them who’s been entering and exiting the premises?

The best part of last week’s episode was definitely Peter’s appeal. The lawyers initially believed that Alicia wouldn’t have to testify at the appeal, but the state’s attorney had a vested interest in seeing Peter return to jail. Just like her client, Alicia was unprepared to give testimony. More importantly, it didn’t seem like she was particularly prepared to have her husband home. She didn’t know where he’d sleep, and if she even wanted him there. Seeing her grapple with these conflicting feelings was pretty compelling, and I wished the writers had explored this more. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see Peter come home. One of the assistant state attorneys had a brief (but benign) conversation with Peter and later used it to say that Peter had tried to bribe him so that he’d remain in jail…which he did. Interestingly, I’m still not sure Peter did to get himself in jail in the first place. And yet, I’m sure Alicia’s little kid will be the first one to let us know.

KT here, checking in with V.

V:  1.03 “A Bright New Day”

Aw, heck.  As you can see, it took me a while to get around to watching last week’s V, and I really expected to be kind of bored by it.  But the darn show is reeling me in…

They gave us lots of Anna in this one, and I’m fascinated by Anna.  She’s smooth and manipulative and gorgeous and probably poisonous.  I look forward to discovering what she’s up to and why and how she came to be the way she is.

It’s starting to look like the two sides aren’t really Visitor versus human; it’s pro-Anna versus anti-Anna.  Ryan explains that there is (or at least was) a powerful resistance group among the V’s called the Fifth Column (begging the question, what are the first four columns?), and they don’t approve of Anna’s leadership technique.  We’re told that she is controlling her own people, keeping them docile by means of some drug-like addiction.  I don’t think it was described as being a drug, exactly, but she seems to have them hooked on something.  Interesting.

Interesting, too, that the leader of the Fifth Column has a human name, John May.  Is he on Earth?  And I loved that Dale’s jaunt around the holodeck ended with the reveal that his doctor is a member of the Fifth Column.

On the pro-Anna side of things, it wasn’t so surprising that she staged the shooting as a way to test the humans.  I had wondered why Erica was being given such a sensitive assignment when in the last episode she was so deeply under suspicion regarding Dale’s disappearance.  I’m still not sure whether Erica’s boss is a V, but the point of the exercise seems to be whether she can still be trusted, and she seems to have played her part well.  In the end, I’m a little foggy on whether or not the V’s know how much she knows.  Obviously the doctor does, but he seems to be on her side.  Her boss knows she knows Dale was tipping off the “terrorists,” but even if the boss is a V, that’s no assurance to him that she knows the “terrorists” were V’s.  Twisty.

Risky move for Erica, sneaking into the V’s real surveillance room, but the visual made it worthwhile.  For a moment I figured that she’d spot her son in one of those videos, but I liked the reveal in which she saw herself much more.  Plus, nifty idea that the little reflective strip on the V uniform is a camera.

Jack, Georgie, and Ryan were still the slow part of the episode to me.  And it bothers me a little that it’s the muscled black man who has all the guy-I-used-to-know, slightly shady, gang-like plot points.  Even with the twist of being in an alien resistance movement, there’s something about the situation that plays to type a little too closely.

Oh, and I can over-analyze gender relations, too.  You know that scene where Anna addressed all the ship captains?  Did you spot any female captains among them?  That one doesn’t so much bother me as puzzle me.  Being 2009, that either means that the casting folks were lazy and just grabbed a bunch of guys, or it means something about V culture.  (I’m so hoping for the second; I’m such a dork.)  Is Anna an aberration in a paternalistic culture?  Or is she more like the queen bee who is served by a bunch of male workers?  Part of the fun of alien stories is inventing a wildly different set of norms, so I’d love to see something creative here.

For example… would other V’s consider it ridiculously creepy that Anna is encouraging her daughter to seduce a guy for (undoubtedly) dubious purposes, or is that just us humans?

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: 1.10 “The Turning Point”

Right now, I’m on a “trust no one” theory with Vampire Diaries. Someone turned Logan, and we have no idea who. The mayor is apparently a dirtbag who is forcing his son to fight in the back of the school (his intentions just seemed a little too dark for my blood, pardon the pun), and the new face in the crowd, Ric, seemed to be evil, but after breaking up the fight and staking a vamp, well, now he seems good.

But then again, that seams to easy.

So who turned Logan? If you’re wondering my guess, it’s currently the mayor. Not only because Buffy has taught us that all mayors are evil, but because it had to have been someone on the Council. They were the only ones who knew that Logan was dead, let alone knew where his shallow grave was.

And to that point, why did they cover up Logan’s death? Just because it looked like a vamp attack? Why not put him in his house and light it on fire, claiming an accident? Why cover it up?

Well, perhaps it’s the major plan. Logan seemed to know about the tomb with Katherine and the others that were burned in the fire, which means that either his sire told him about it…or the Council is aware of it. I’m going to go with the Council because, as we’ve learned from Buffy, no Council is all good.

So basically, I’m to the theory that someone in the Council is a vamp, and they’re doing a really good job hiding it.

I thought Damon in this episode was enjoyable to watch. He hasn’t turned all good, despite his careful attempts to control the Council–basically protecting both Stefan and himself. And to see that he was really going to take control of the situation, save Caroline, and kill Logan really showed a new side of him. Of course, all that changed as soon as the tomb was mentioned. Perfect transition back to the dark side.

Honestly, the only down part of this episode was the saga of Elena and Stefan. We had to get through a lot of Twilight-esque whining and longing before they finally had their passionate love scene (which I could have done without–or at least shortened). But now that Elena has realized that Katherine is basically her twin…well, I guess things may just be different.

Or at least there will be a little more grovelling.

But that ending. Ok, the ending got me. Not only did the car accident make me jump, but just watching that body put itself together was incredibly creepy. Certainly a vamp…or some sort of demon. Is it the new vamp, coming to kill her? Stefan, who was running after her to explain? Damon, just plain annoyed and finally taking his revenge?

I did miss Bonnie in this episode, though. We got a few short minutes with her at the beginning and then she was gone. Sigh. I really like her.

Well, until we’re back again. I hear that won’t be until January (sigh), but don’t forget that there’s a week-long marathon the week of December 14th to keep you occupied. Two hours a night, all week long. Honestly, that’s one brilliant strategy to keep people interested during the winter hiatus. And that’s a lot of trust in one show…

KT alternated between laughing and covering her eyes.

GLEE:  1.10 “Ballad”

The episode starts with this, so I will too.  “Ballad,” Will says.  “Can anybody tell me what that means?”  Blonde Brittney thinks it’s a male duck (hee!) and Kurt brings up love songs, but then Will goes on about how it’s a story set to music.  A perfect storm, he says, the perfect way to tell someone how you feel.

But for most of the episode, the songs we heard were not stories set to music.  Will’s “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” fits, and Finn’s “Having My Baby” does too, I guess, but most of the songs were what I guess you’d call power ballads — which fit structurally, but it’s a much looser idea of storytelling.  Starting with that definition, I guess I was expecting something like “Jack and Diane” or “Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves.”  I dunno.  Did that bother anyone else?

I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but the random pairings, the assignment to sing something from the heart — that looked like the ideal set up for getting to know some of our background people.  Artie and Quinn?  Tina and… yeah, okay, there was no hope of that one.  At least we got a little Mercedes and Puck.  That was fun.  I expect the fatherhood bombshell to spread a little further in weeks to come.

But then it got painful…

The comparison between Rachel and Tracy Flick of Election has never been a hard one, so I’m a little annoyed to see the Glee writers crib a little more of Tracy’s plot for Rachel.  And while it makes sense that a series of students would crush on a young, good-looking teacher like Will, the way Rachel’s sudden passion was handled felt clumsy.  Clever of Terri to set her to scrubbing the bathroom, sure, but wouldn’t even Rachel have more self-respect than to go along with that?

I hardly know where to begin with Quinn, Kurt, and Finn.  Kurt has a crush on Finn — which we’ve known for a while, but hasn’t been mentioned recently — and tries to hint that if Finn is tired of girl problems, maybe he should try dating a dude.  Finn, meanwhile, continues to be characterized as “loyal, but dumb,” and seems pretty oblivious.

Finn’s thunderingly huge error in judgment is thinking that it is in any way his duty to announce Quinn’s pregnancy to her parents when she’s trying to hide it for as long as possible.  (To be fair, that’s pretty cuckoo-headed of her, but we’ve been over that…)  With inspiration from the ballad assignment and encouragement from Kurt, he breaks into song over dinner — an unfortunately chosen song that sounds very much like a proud announcement that Quinn is having his baby.  Exactly what Quinn’s very parochial father wants to hear from his Little Darling’s boyfriend, of course.

So I think that leaves Finn as an idiot, Kurt as a bad influence, and Quinn as — well, as the daughter of some fairly horrifying parents.  Make what you like of the stereotype they fulfill, but her mother has no backbone and her father kicked her out.

But there were a few scenes that didn’t make me squirm:

Kurt and Finn actually had a nice moment in the basement, talking about the parents they’ve each lost.  (It occurs to me that Kurt has a single dad while Finn has a single mom — please, show, do not try to match these parents up until at least late in season two.  Too easy.)

Finn’s mom is awesome, and so are her scenes in this episode.  They aren’t cluttered with unnecessary dialogue, because the faces say everything.  She’s exactly the mom you’d want in Finn or Quinn’s position.  A hug, an “everything’s going to be okay,” and a “she can stay here as long as she needs to.”  Her shock at Quinn having been thrown out by her dad was touching.

Puck, hotheaded as ever, opening up to Mercedes, of all people.  Her argument for “actions speak louder than DNA” was a good one.

Even Rachel’s “I’m sorry I’ve been crazy!” flowers were a nice touch.  She’s okay, our Rachel.  Nuts, but okay.  (And speaking of parents, when do we get to meet her two dads??)

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: 1.09 “History Repeating”

This was a pretty damn big episode. Sorry it’s taken me a week to write on it (but hey, we’re just in time for tonight’s episode).

Bonnie’s a witch, as we all know. Too bad that crystal is haunting her. Or, rather, it’s Emily that’s doing the haunting–and possessing. But now we see why. If Damon gets his hands on the crystal, he could release Katherine into today’s world–and all her vampire buddies. Everyone burned in the church would come back, bringing the downfall of Mystic Falls.

I’d say that’s a big deal.

I really enjoyed this episode, I really did. I loved hearing about the past without the flashbacks. I loved seeing Emily sneak past the mirror as Caroline and Elena watched Bonnie walk out the door.

And holy crap, when Damon bit Bonnie, I was sure she was a gonner. Note to self: As part of vampire cannon, a vampire’s blood can heal a vampire’s bite. However, if that person then dies with the blood in their system, they could start transitioning. Little known fact, but helpful, I’m sure.

As much as I enjoyed watching Bonnie, I think I was most impressed with Damon in this episode. Just his expression as he watched his only chance to get Katherine back slip out of his grasp…it was intense. It was heartwrenching. And you don’t even want to root for him!

And what about Damon? Supposedly, as he revealed to Stefan in this episode, he knew all along what Katherine was, and that didn’t taint his love for her. He wasn’t under her spell, as Stefan was. Stefan claims now that his love was just that–a spell. He never knew the real Katherine and he was just her pawn.

But Damon. He says he always knew, and that’s why he wants her back. And based on the previews for tonight’s episode, maybe all his hopes aren’t dashed. But in the moment, I thought I would be saying good-bye to Bonnie.

Speaking of good-byes, it looks like Stefan and Elena are officially over (well, until tonight’s preview aired), and I personally loved the cathartic montage as she told Bonnie everything she knew and everything she had experienced over the last few weeks. Vickie’s death was really taking a toll on her–let alone the back and forth with Stefan–and I’m glad she finally has someone to relate all this to.

But that’s not all. We have potentially two new vampires in our midst. Logan’s back…from the dead! When he showed up at Elena’s aunt’s door, you certainly knew that something wrong was happening. But why would someone so against vamps become one himself? And who turned him? I guess we’ll find out.

And then there’s Ric, who wouldn’t enter Elena’s house until he was invited. Just polite or plain evil? He’s really a mystery, and I can’t wait to find out what he has in mind. If anything, I think both of these guys are someone that the Salvatore brothers will have to hang around for…just to keep their eye on them.

So here’s to night! Everyone bring your best beverage…and I do hope that’s just red wine in that glass.

image from TNT.tv

I’m not entirely sure whether you all know how much of a geek I am, but yes, I am a geek. A bonafide geek.

Which is probably why I was so excited to be included on a conference call recently with Scott Bakula. I’m a fan way back to the ’80s when he starred in Quantum Leap, and now he’s back to play Terry in TNT’s upcoming drama, Men of a Certain Age.

The show premieres on Monday, December 7, at 10:00 pm (that’s right, it’s coming up) and it’s about three friends experiencing life at mid-life. Starring Ray Romano, Andre Braugher, and of course, Scott Bakula, it looks to be a great new show from the always-promising TNT. Scott plays Terry, the ladies man actor, who just happens to be spending a little more time as a temp than actually acting.

So take a look below at the Q&A when Scott talks about his new character Terry; what it’s like to be back on TV in a leading role; and of course, Quantum Leap and Enterprise. Yeah, sci-fi!

***

I guess to start things off, what first caught your attention about Men of a Certain Age? What attracted you to the project? – Popculturemadness.com

Well, I thought the script was great when I got it and I loved this idea of how they had written these three men and their kind of history. And the humor of it I thought was fantastic and different and surprising.

And then I just loved this character of Terry. I just thought he was so not like me and so kind of irreverent and happy go lucky and Peter Pan and one of the Lost Boys at the same time. I just thought he would be so much fun to play.

That’s awesome. So with him being different from you, how are you able to relate to the character?

Well, I think the thing is we’re both—I’m a very physical person and he’s very much into his health and what he eats and working out and getting out in nature and all that stuff, which I certainly can identify with.

And he’s a little bit of the thinker of the group in a funny way and I can relate to that a little bit. I mean he would like to go deeper in his life but he doesn’t really have any opportunity to do that.

So that’s kind of where our similarities end because obviously I’m in a committed relationship with lots of kids and responsibilities and he’s the exact opposite of that.

***

So is this character sort of—I wouldn’t say your worst nightmare—but sort of a glimpse of an alternate path for a working actor, like the guy who is sort of stuck? - Zap2it

Yes. I don’t know that he’s my worst nightmare. I mean the reality is I have known—I have been in this business a long time. I have known a lot of actors and not everybody that I know has made it.

And lots of people have branched off into other things and lots of them are happy doing that. I think what makes him kind of sad in a way at this point in his life is he hasn’t quite given up yet.

Right.

So he’s still hanging on and I think that’s the hardest thing when we see people that we care about and they’re hanging on too long whether to a relationship or whether it’s to a dream or whatever it is.

And you want to say it’s time to move on and this is something obviously only that person and certainly this character can come up with but yes. I mean I’ve been very fortunate in my life and in my career that I reached a certain point a few years ago.

And I thought I think I’m going to be okay in this business and I should be able to make a living for the rest of my working days if I choose to. And not everybody can do that and we joke as actors that each job is the last job you’re ever going to get. But you reach—I’ve been doing it a while so I think I’m okay.

Great. And as a die hard Chuck fan as well, I wondered if this would preclude you at all from ever going back to that show or if they have spoken to you at all?

It does not preclude me and they’re—we all love each other. So if they write it I will be there.

***

[Read more after the jump!]

I’m wondering have you had any memorable moments that are going to stick with you for some time from the show. – Starry Constellation Magazine

Well, the most memorable thing about this really is just working in this kind of atmosphere with Ray and with Andre. And the three of us, we just get along really well.

And Ray is constantly, constantly—he never does the same scene twice and he’s always coming up with a new joke, a new ad lib, a new this or he’s always got us on our toes. And I think that’s what sticks with me every day is you just have to be able to go with Ray because he’ll just branch off and start talking about you never know what he’s going to come out with.

And that just is really—it’s a great feeling to be able to work that way in an improvisational way, which is really unusual for television.

Why do you think people want to take the time to tune in and see the show?

Well, I think that there’s really nothing like it on television, three men our age talking about life without a franchise, without it being cops or doctors.

We’re not talking over a body on a table; we’re at a diner talking about what’s going to happen with somebody’s dad or their mortgage or their kids or with Ray, talking about the size of his nose. I mean it’s a great slice of life and again it’s from this male perspective.

So I’m hoping that people are going to find that interesting and intriguing. And then when they get there they’re going to find a show that’s very funny and also very, very moving.

***

I’m really curious to know how it felt to be part of TNT’s community now that it’s really growing as a powerhouse for dramas. – Raked Reviews

Well, I have to say that also played a great part in me wanting to be on this show is because I have so admired what TNT has been building and creating and their place in the market has been really expanding and so visible.

And most importantly I like creatively what they’re doing. So to have an opportunity to work with them, they’re very hot on the show. They love it and to be a part—my gosh.

When I was at the Up Fronts last Spring—the TNT Up Front—I mean you looked around the room and it was just phenomenal who they have put together not just in front of the camera but creatively on the other side of the camera. It’s quite an impressive group and it was really great to be there.

That’s really great. And how does it feel to be back as a regular on TV? I know you have done a lot of various spots on shows, but to be a regular and really a large part of such a new show?

Well, it’s great. It’s probably the easiest job I’ve had in terms of a regular because most of the other stuff has just been—I’ve been on the set almost every day and very physical work and very long hours.

And this, because there are three of us we kind of split the show up into thirds and I may work four out of seven days and not always a full day and have a few days off here and there. So for me it’s kind of—it feels very sinful almost to be coming to work and getting paid and having as much fun and not being dead at the end of every day.

Well, thanks. I look forward to seeing it.

Thank you.

***

Can you talk a little bit more about the writing style that Ray and—I’m blanking on names. – Zap2it

Mike Royce.

Mike—yes. They have and how loose it is in terms of staying on script versus ad libbing?

Right. Well, first of all they have got these three – we’re not three characters that live together, which it’s not old friends.

Right.

So there is—you have to find a way to have these guys have their own lives and then bring them together to have conversations about their lives or share events.

And so they might do a thing where we’re at a fundraiser at somebody’s school and I’m the “celebrity”—I use that in quotes but the auctioneer kind of thing because I’m the actor kind of guy. So that puts me at that event, which also then gives me the history of having slept with one teacher the last year and looking for her that night again to sleep with her this year.

And they’re having to bring—Ray’s ex-wife is bringing the new guy, which is the name of the episode. So there are all these overlaps so the stories are very intricate and I think well worked out and within that because it’s Ray, there is this kind of looseness about when the three of us are together that I think helps the feeling that we have been buddies.

People say well, what did you guys do to kind of develop this camaraderie or this chemistry or—and it’s really always been on the page that just the way they behave together and how they talk to each other and because we have the freedom to kind of go off script it just makes it feel very extemporaneous and very real.

And I think that has contributed to this notion of kind of when you think of Ray Romano, Andre Braugher and myself you don’t necessarily go those guys must have all been buddies. We’re not – we’re a little bit of an odd grouping but it seems to work.

And of course the jury is out on that. We’ll find out when the show hits the air.

***

I just wanted to say I’ve been a fan from way back when, way back to Quantum Leap. And I was wondering if you had anything you’d like to say to any of your fans, both old and new? – Raked Reviews

Well, what I always—I’m so grateful. Thank you certainly for being a fan and for being a fan of that show. It’s a show I’m really proud of and the sci-fi fan is such a loyal base.

And I’ve been so lucky to have done some great projects in that genre and have this loyal group that—there is a certain responsibility, there’s an intelligence, there is a commitment and there is—you really feel a relationship with your fans and especially the sci-fi fans.

And I’m proud to be a part of that and I’m grateful that everybody—we just celebrated 20 years since Quantum Leap premiered just last March.

Wow.

Yes. And it was kind of a great feeling. And there are so many new fans coming. I’m meeting new kids now who are watching it with their parents or that are just finding the show for the first time because of cable.

And it’s a great history to be a part of. And certainly the Star Trek world is—that will never be repeated again and when we started it was 35 years celebration since it had first aired on TV. And it’s great to be a part of that tradition.

And I look forward to seeing how many more you add after this show.

Thanks. We’re just trying to get a pick up for next season. That’s all we want. We want to keep working. We’re having too much fun and we don’t want to stop.

***

Talking about sci-fi, what kind of experiences have you had on the convention circuit? Have you had a lot of great times meeting fans there? – Fellowshipoffools.com

I have. I have done very little really. I haven’t had a lot of opportunities but the few times I have done it I have just had a really, really great time. I most recently did—I was in London over the summer and I dropped in over there to one.

And it’s really again, as I was just saying, the fan base is so loyal and so intent on the work and there is a certain respect that goes back and forth there and a certain obligation I have always felt from us the actors and the writers who are creating these worlds that we have a lot to live up to.

And when you do that and you’re successful there comes this following. So it’s really very rich. It’s always a little exotic and there is always—I’m never quite sure who will show up and who will be dressed like what. But it’s always been in the best spirit of it and I have only had good experiences with the fans and I’m grateful for that.

Are there a higher percentage of Quantum Leap fans than Enterprise fans that you have found?

I would say slightly, slightly. But I think the difference is that the Quantum Leap fans have been there for a lot longer, a lot more years. And I’m finding that they kind of—I don’t know.

It’s ironic but I’m finding so many people are discovering Enterprise now and I’m not sure why that was, why they weren’t there when we were on the air. But I can’t tell you how many people are just—I just got the DVD set, I’m just watching it for the first time on—there’s a marathon on such and such.

And I don’t know how we missed the boat with a lot of people but I’m pleasantly surprised with how many Enterprise fans there are out there and the reception that I do get at the conventions.

Do you feel there’s a different level of ownership to the characters between Quantum Leap and Enterprise just because Enterprise is part of a larger brand and more of a cog in the wheel versus Quantum Leap where you pretty much owned it? I mean can you talk just a little bit about the differences there?

Well, I think Quantum Leap came out of nowhere. It’s a little bit like if we were talking about Kirk and Spock in the ‘60s. That show showed up and people went—what is it?

And they grabbed on to those guys and obviously still love them dearly. And I think that Sam and Al were a little bit the same way on Quantum Leap. My captain, what was intriguing to me about him was that he was the first captain. So in a way I got that chance to kind of begin the saga all over again as opposed to following a bunch of other people and that was appealing to me.

But certainly Star Trek, you’re a part of this big thing and Quantum Leap we were it. So I think there is a different attachment not only that I had to the character but also that the fans have to the characters. I think it was also different because I was a known entity when I did Enterprise and traditionally the franchises have been cast with people to be discovered if you will.

And so I think that affected—I don’t think in a negative way. I just think it put a different spin on my captain I should say I guess.

***

So my question is we were just talking about all your previous science fiction roles and I wanted to know has playing [Terry] been a challenge for you? – Thetvchick.com

Has what?

Playing [Terry] been a challenge for you?

Yes. He’s a little bit of a challenge because he’s just not like me. So fortunately I have a few friends who are a lot like him or are almost exactly like him.

So I have been able to kind of pull on their life experiences and my conversations with them and talk with them about what’s really going on for them at this point in their lives, haven’t been married, don’t have families, still out there dating and calling me and saying I don’t get it.

What’s going on with this girl and I’m saying she’s 22, that’s what’s going on with this girl. And so we have—I have fortunately been able to kind of draw from other friends of mine that are this guy. But he’s a challenge but he’s also a blast to play.

There’s nothing—I had so much fun just being that actor at an audition and having the audition going poorly. I mean just because I have been there and I know what that feels like and I think that that’s great. So the acting side of it, whenever I get a chance to do it, really it’s fun

It’s like a play within a play kind of, the actor playing the actor. And it really is fun.

That’s awesome. And you were saying you kind of talked to a bunch of friends about your part. Did you have a group of friends like the group of friends on the show?

Yes I do. I don’t have—I was telling somebody earlier today that ironically my college buddies that I went to school with—I only went to college for two years and then I moved to New York.

But I don’t keep in contact with them. We don’t live in the same town but I think about them and I think about what we did all the time. And there is something about the bonding that goes on when you’re away from home for the first time and you’re living with other guys.

That kind of lasts for a long time. And so I don’t—I have friends that I go back with. Probably my oldest friend is buddies from the theater but he’s—we have known each other for like 28 years. But it’s just different when you have that college experience. So I don’t really have that, no.

***

Don’t forget to check out Scott in TNT’s new series Men of a Certain Age on Monday, December 7, at 10:00.

TOP CHEF: 6.12 “Culinary Olympics”

10:04: Okay, here we go! A few minutes late; sorry! But here I am. Jen thinks a crazy quickfire is on the way. Final quickfire in Las Vegas: Make a protein in a protein in a protein! Jen will make a turducken (or maybe that’s a joke).

10:06: Bryan’s busting out some weird looking machinery to do this one. By the way, at the beginning of this episode, Eli said his mentor and great friend was Richard, from two seasons ago. It’s no secret that I haven’t particularly liked Eli this season, but I did love Richard, so I guess I have a new respect for the portly, spiky haired dude.

10:07: Okay, Eli’s encrusted egg, or whatever it was, looked awesome. Meanwhile, Padma says to Jen, after tasting her dish, “Welcome back.” Seems like a good sign.

10:10: The winner is Jennifer. Is she back in the competition? For the elimination challenge, the contestants will be participating in a cooking style similar to some kind of international Olympics style food competition. Everyone has to work with either lamb or salmon. I’m sorry, I couldn’t type fast enough to catch the entire name, but it’s something French. Anyway, it sounds hard. “Taste, creativity, and presentation,” says Padma. Also, they’re serving to twelve judges. And Jen, because she won the quickfire, will get an extra thirty minutes to cook.

10:14: Okay, this challenge sounds like it’ll be crazy. I have a feeling I’ll be typing like crazy after this commercial break.

10:17: Everyone gets home from shopping late. Michael goes to bed early, instead of staying up with everyone else and watching the DVD about the cooking olympics thing. Kevin asks some technical questions during the planning, and Bryan offers him the answers, despite the fact that it might help his competitor. Good work, Bryan.

10:20: While everyone has a strong face on, they all look really nervous. I think someone is going to screw up bad and fold under the pressure. Previously, I would have thought it’d be Jen, but she seems to have gotten her mojo back after the quickfire. So I have no idea who it might be.

10:23: Oh, by the way, Tom just said that the winner of the challenge also gets $30,000.  Hey Tom? Probably a bad idea to mention that while everyone still prepping. Someone could have lost a finger there.

10:28: Kevin says he’s not doing a lot of complex presentation. Will that come back to bite him? I know I’m just a philistine, but the presentation of Kevin’s dish looks incredible. Lamb over Atlantic salmon. Verdict: Great job but a little elementary.

10:30: Michael’s platter looks pretty good too. Mediterranean flavors. Verdict: It doesn’t seem to be going over very well. Flavors all over the place, lack of harmony, a bone in the fish. Bad news, dude! I’m a bit shocked!

10:31: Bryan up next. Jen helps him get things ready. How nice of her! Bryan did a crusted loin of lamb. He looks super nervous. Verdict: Initially, they seem impressed by the technique. Sadly, the lamb was undercooked and messed up things. He ran out of time.

10:33: Eli’s turn. Lamb sausage wrapped around loins. He sounds really nervous too. Verdict: Lamb is undercooked, and bad cuts for everyone. Oh no. No one really enjoyed it. This looks like the worst turnout so far.

10:35: Jen! Will her extra time help? She’s working with lightly poached salmon, with caviar and mushrooms. Verdict: Everything tastes good, but the dish isn’t completely thought out. Most of it tastes good, but some is undercooked, and uneven. Not a lot of vision. Very intriguing visually.

10:38: Also, the winner gets to represent the U.S. in the next food Olympics.

10:37: Just my guess, but right now here’s what the order looks like to me: 1. Kevin; 2. Jen; 3. Bryan; 4. Michael; 5. Eli

10:47: Everyone in at judge’s table. The last one in Las Vegas!! Michael’s salmon and caviar wasn’t very well received; neither was his cauliflower couscous. Bryan’s lamb was a bit underdone; more time would have made it better. Kevin’s simplicity seemed to turn off the chefs; they wanted more technical skills. Jennifer’s fish cooked too fast, the cuts were unever. Eli’s ideas were great, but the sausage had too much fat, and the lamb was undercooked. Harsh words for everyone! I think this was clearly the toughest graded challenge in Top Chef history. I’m still sticking by my list from above but I’m feeling rather uncertain about it. I’m getting a gnawingly bad feeling that one of the Voltaggio brothers might be sent home.

10:56: The winner is————————————Kevin! Good work. That’s $30,000 for the red-headed step-child. Everyone remaining looks like they’re about to puke. The loser, however, will be Eli.

10:59: Wow, that was tense. Eli performed very well tonight, but with Jen’s confidence back, it was clear that he was the least talented chef (though not by much) left. I wasn’t his biggest fan, but he did very well.

11:00: This is exciting. Four of the most talented chefs that I picked out from early on in the season will be going to the semi-finals. I am not at all disappointed by this. This season has clearly been the best of the entire series. The top four have consistently performed well, and have really created some incredible looking food. This season is light years better than last year, which I think lacked a definite sense of originality. I wish this season didn’t have to end.

Until next week!

ONE TREE HILL: 7.10 “You Are a Runner, and I Am My Father’s Son”

Over the years I’ve gotten used to One Tree Hill’s various episode titles, but this week, it boggles the mind.

The real stories this week were those of Clay and Millie. I’ll start with Clay. First, the whole Dan/Clay interaction really bothered me. Not because Dan was threatening him or “baptizing” him or whatever. But because it was completely done for the hype of the episode promos. It had no other relevance.

Now, do we think it’s Clay’s fault that Nathan didn’t get picked up? Well, after all the drama of the faux-baby Daddy, perhaps Clay should have just taken what he could get. But honestly, to me it sounded completely natural to offer four years to their two, settle on three and let them think on it. I mean, they made their choice to get someone else (someone expensive) rather rashly, so it did come as a surprise, even if Clay was staying away from the TV that night.

Should Nathan have fired him? Well, that’s a completely different issue. I have no idea. He did mess up pretty bad and betray his trust, but the trust thing was really a personal issue. I found it humorous that they kept referring to how long they had been friend when it had only been a year–sure, it’s a long time, but not when you consider that most of the characters have known each other since high school.

Now, I’m sure that Clay won’t be out forever. He’s a new face–and one that I’ve really started to like–so I’m sure that somehow things will work out in his favor.

Millie could be another story. And one that, while I’m interested in it, I don’t quite believe. I can see her sneaking diet pills because she thinks she’s too heavy. But suddenly jumping in coke addiction and DUIs? That just seems a little off. Even the sudden importance of clothes. It all just seems like a leap for her, considering who she used to be. I could see this slowly developing over a season, so much so that we barely notice and that it’s a surprise when it becomes so huge it’s uncontrollable–but in only a few episodes? It seems drastic.

But hey, at least they’ve given Mouth a storyline to make me relatively like him again. Yes, I hold grudges.

Poor Brooke. The thought that maybe she couldn’t have children did cross my mind last episode, but since it wasn’t outright mentioned, I gave up on thinking that way. But it really is the perfect storyline for her, considering how they’ve grown her maternal instincts over the last few seasons. It’s heartbreaking, but I really think it’s something she can handle, and I look forward to seeing what she does.

And then there’s Skills. Sure, most of you probably didn’t pay attention to his little five seconds, but if you noticed, he’s heading off to LA to do some basketball movies. My guess? This is how they’re (hopefully temporarily) writing him off the show while Antwon Tanner’s jailed up for his little problem with the law. I, for one, will miss him.

XOXO, CC.

GOSSIP GIRL 3.10 “Last Days of Disco Stick”

This week was a completely thematic Gossip Girl, and wherever there’s a theme, there’s Lady Gaga. Seriously, if you guys haven’t gotten “Bad Romance” in your head, then you may have a problem. In case you haven’t heard, last week, we had a Gossip Girl threesome. This week, we had a whole bunch of threesomes. Unfortunately, Lady Gaga wasn’t in any of them, but she was on the show!

Our first threesome, is of course, Olivia/Dan/Lameface, I mean, Vanessa. Dan is feeling pretty proud of himself for convincing his girlfriend and his best friend that’s had a secret crush on him her entire life to walk down Three Way Avenue. Dan used to be a nice guy, but now he divulges all of the sordid details to Nate, who tells him that ménages must only be done with a stranger to avoid awkwardness. I was a little surprised Nate didn’t feel awkward about his ex-girlfriend having a three way with his Dan. Were you?

Dan encounters Vanessa and awkwardly tries not to be awkward by inviting her to a Morrissey concert. Because when you’ve been silently in love with someone your whole life, the best thing to do is hear about becoming closer the more you’re ignored by your beloved…even if you’ve had a threesome. Upon hearing Morrissey news, Olivia volunteers Dan to be a playwright in a performance thrown by the Tisch kids that Blair desperately wants to befriend, er, rule.

Dan puts on his play—a “subversive” Snow White. Blair is the evil queen (of course), and Olivia is initially Snow White. However, because Dan doesn’t really know Olivia (get it, she’s the stranger!), Vanessa is ultimately saddled with the role. Dan realizes that he’s in love with Vanessa for some ungodly reason, but she decides to start dating the male overlord of the Tisch School. If anyone was hoping for a three way that involved two dudes, my money’s on this threesome being it. Hey, the Tisch guy likes Lady Gaga; I’m sure he’s got to explore his feelings at some point.

Trip and Serena also decide to explore their feelings. I almost gave Serena credit for wearing an appropriate work outfit. Then, I saw the back. If you’re an employee, and you’re trying to get your boss to not want to sleep with you, a backless minidress is probably not the answer. Trip’s moving to DC soon, and his wife asks Serena if she’ll help Trip pack their home office since she’s leaving early. Serena decides that this is a terrible idea so she goes off to hang out with Nate, despite not talking to him for the past month.

Serena/Trip/Maureen are the first threesome in this scenario. Serena and Trip are old pals, but she can’t possibly ruin his marriage to a stranger. Nate decides to entertain Serena so that she can’t answer Trip’s call/see him/sleep with him. This plan would’ve worked brilliantly had Nate not fallen in love with Serena’s pouty face. They were about to kiss, which would’ve made me happy because Nate has not had enough to do this season, and then they were interrupted by Trip who’d learned of Maureen’s hoax. This established the Nate/Serena/Trip threesome in which Serena chooses to go to Trip’s place and sleep with him.

The final threesome was the best threesome…and actually included a stranger. Chuck had the Belgian ambassador and his son staying in his hotel. Because Jenny can’t find a date, Chuck and Lily had Jenny show him around. It turns out, however, that he’s really a drug dealer who abuses diplomatic immunity. Jenny was very close to taking some pills when Chuck intervened. Later, she texted her ambassador friend to say, “we should hang out again sometime.” I think that this would be really interesting. We already know that Jenny’s lonely, got a rebellious streak,  and her best friend hates her so much he doesn’t bother to appear in the episode. As such, a fall down the rabbit hole isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Do you think we’ll see it? Will Nate get Serena back, and if so, what will Blair do? Until then, XOXO.