SPOILER ALERT: Weeds - Nancy and Celia, a tragedy.

Surprisingly, a week or so ago, I decided to try a new show. Weeds had been on my list for a long time and due to my massive Amy Gardner (aka Mary-Louise Parker) crush I thought it was finally about time I gave it a go. Not to mention, Jenji Kohan is beyond talented so I knew it had to be good. 8 seasons and less than a week later, I was finished. I absolutely loved it, but that it not the point of this post.

THE QUESTION I POSE:

So now to my point and one question that has me baffled, what the hell happened to Nancy and Celia's friendship? At the beginning of the series, Celia and Nancy had a friendship. It wasn't bullet proof and it wasn't the closest of friendships, but nonetheless it was a friendship. By the end of the series, not only had Nancy denounced their friendship to almost everyone, but Celia was not mentioned nor invited to Stevie's Bat Mitzvah. Say what?! Even the drug dealer who threatened to kill Nancy multiple times was present at the Bat Mitzvah of the century.


As I said earlier, I am not saying they were the best of friends, but just acknowledging they did have a relationship. Nancy clearly wasn't the biggest fan of Celia, however, she was there to lend an ear or sarcastic comment when Celia needed it. And sure, Celia wasn't a great friend, she made some big mistakes, but Nancy clearly had her share of sins as well. What's more is when Celia made mistakes, they were usually out of sheer coincidence or some part in a comedy of errors. However, Nancy actually went out of her way on occasion to do things that she knew would cause Celia hurt. So why, did they never reconnect I ask? Based on the evidence I just provided, one could argue Celia got sick of begging for Nancy's friendship and got her own life, but we all know that is not in Celia's nature.


Why was there an effort to mend almost every broken relationship before the series ended, but Celia and Nancy's... NADA. Did I care that Nancy and Josh reunite? Did I even care about Josh reuniting with Doug? No, I had nothing invested in Josh's character who appeared in a whole two episodes, or less. I know this pivotal moment was for Doug's character, but I saw no point reconnecting with Nancy. It was sweet but also awkward and Celia would have made much more sense than Josh. Don't get me wrong, I don't even like Celia that much. I did love Elizabeth Perkins as Wilma Flintstone, but that is not where this is coming from. I just believe Celia was an integral character for most of the series. Even if all she did was provide some comic relief or maintain the bad guy quota by throwing out some obstacles here and there throughout the years, she was a crucial member of the Weeds family. I wanted to know what happened to her. How she took Isabelle's new identity? Did her weed business survive? Is she broke again?


Also, more than anything Celia added to Nancy's depth as a character. When Nancy was there for Celia in the early episodes, despite her transparent dislike of Celia, it showed me the compassion that I sometimes thought Nancy's character lacked to those outside of her family. It made Nancy human and gave her a "girl next door" quality to her. For example, when she stood up for Celia to the mean girls of the PTA or when she would call Celia out on her bullshit. Celia and Nancy's friendship made me like Nancy more because it showed she was warm but also she marched, or more so danced to the beat of her own drum and didn't get caught up in the political bullshit of Agrestic.

CONCLUSION: So maybe Elizabeth Perkins couldn't commit to the episode, fine with me. Conrad and Isabelle weren't in the episode either, but they were made reference to. The slightest reference to Celia would have satisfied me and probably would not have sparked this maundering.

AND finally, if there WAS in fact reference made to Celia in the finale and I am completely speaking out of my ass right now, then I take back all of the above. But I do maintain that I wish Celia played more of a role in the last few seasons.

RANDOM SIDE NOTE: While writing this post, I was started seeing crazy thought bubbles of Celia as Wile E. Coyote and now I think about it, Nancy definitely parallels the road runner. Celia seems to run around town, setting up traps and obstacles of how to catch up with Nancy and get ahead of her but Celia is constantly brought back down to the ground and always ends up one step behind Nancy. Even though life gets bumpy for Nancy, somehow she gets lucky, even with the worst of the obstacles ahead of her, she effortlessly glides over the bump and to her next obstacle, completely oblivious to the perpetual and consistent destruction of Celia.

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"Rise" - Castle Season 4, Episode One

Okay where to begin. Let’s just say that I had been waiting for this episode for a very long time. I even started a spec on the premiere so needless to say I had very high expectations. Especially, after the awesomeness that was the season finale. Unfortunately, my rating for this episode is a 2.5 out of 5. It had so much potential to be amazing but somehow it fell short. It was lacking in drama, the storyline felt unclear and none of it really surprised or blew me away at all.

The shots at the beginning with the heart monitor were exactly what I had imagined and about the most dramatic part of the episode. But come on... Laney and Josh, I expected to have a little more emotion. Beckett is the person they love. Josh seemed like he wasn’t even pained that it was his girlfriend and Laney just wasn’t believable at all. The only person who seemed perturbed by the shooting was Beckett’s dad and Alexis. Actually, Alexis’s emotion compensated for everyone’s lack of, maybe a little too much.

Obviously, Beckett was never going to die so it wasn’t as dramatic as I think the writers intended. Also, I feel that the storyline was not clear at all. There was a jump in time, which I hate especially if it isn’t explained in captions. Plus, this new storyline with the shooter and Montgomery’s package is messy. Not in an intriguing way, but in a way that makes me bored. More than anything, why would Beckett just step back from the case that easily? That to me made no sense and was completely uncharacteristic of her. If the writers are trying to say something about Beckett’s feelings for Castle then it wasn’t clear enough, if it was just because Beckett decided to back down suddenly well that it is entirely unrealistic. Finally, my biggest frustration, I don’t think anybody was fooled by Beckett’s memory loss, which made the entire episode anti-climatic. It was clear they were trying to build up to the last scene… and talk about major snooze. Yawn, clearly that was coming.

Don’t get me wrong, there were a few parts I really did like. Esposito and Ryan absolutely made the episode. They are so loyal to Beckett and just absolutely hilarious. Also, the part on the swings between Beckett and Castle was quite adorable, especially Castle being so hurt that Beckett never called. I did love the parallel between Castle and Beckett’s relationship and Beckett’s mum’s case. It’s not enough leaving it alone, but it is enough for now. That was definitely something I could relate to. However, it is just another way to push back the Castle Beckett relationship. I would complain but it seems I have become patient over time. I think I have you to thank for that Mr Hart Hanson, you made me wait six seasons for Bones and Booth to get it on.

To sum up, it wasn’t my favorite Castle episode, maybe my expectations were too high but for a season premiere I was quite disappointed. It doesn’t change that it is one of my favorite shows in the world. The season premiere of Bones season 6 was awfully horrible but the best episodes of the series came after that.

Favorite line of this episode: The Castle-esque line that Beckett delivers, “Looks like they found a killer hiding place.” Hoorah, Beckett is back and talking like Castle, loves it.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Off to watch the next episode! x

Pretty Little Liars

Okay so I haven't posted in forever and now I post about Pretty Little Liars? You are probably thinking "what is this girl on?" I agree. Point taken. However, sometimes it takes something really ridiculous, frustrating, humiliating or infuriating to get my thoughts going. Let's just say watching Pretty Little Liars today stirred up a combination of all of these aforementioned feelings.

Pretty Little Liars is summed up on IMDB as "Four friends band together against an anonymous foe who threatens to reveal their darkest secrets, whilst unraveling the mystery of the murder of their best friend."

Well add that, some contrived acting and the unnecessary return of Holly Marie Combs to our television sets and there you have Pretty Little Liars. Okay, that was a little harsh. I know what you are saying, why was I even watching it if I thought it was absolute crap? Let me explain a little further. If you had asked me what I thought of the show a few hours ago I would have laughed at you. Ask my roommate. Laughing is exactly what I did when I saw the show on our television this evening. An hour later, when she finally looked up with a strange look and asked, "What the f**k is this?" I sheepishly replied, "another episode of Pretty Little Liars."

The first time I watched Pretty Little Liars was when I was in Australia for Christmas. I can't put it in a more eloquent way than it was 3am in the morning and I was semi-intoxicated. My friend turned it on and exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, this is the worst show ever!" "Okay" I thought, "then why is it we are watching it?" After an hour watching fellow Aussie Tammin Sursok play a blind girl who has some strange, lets just say "unconventional" relationship with her brother I was even more confused at why this ridiculous show was still on the air. Well, after the episode tonight, I now understand.

It is the addictive nature of Pretty Little Liars that makes you overlook the horrendous acting and mediocre dialogue. The show is Desperate Housewives meets Jawbreaker. The intrigue has me hooked. Now, this does not mean I will actually sit down and watch any more episodes. One problem I have for example is "Holly Marie Combs, you look way too young to have a teenage daughter!" (Please do not take that as a compliment but merely a casting mistake). Also, in what world as a parent would you be okay to your daughter dating a teacher? My parents would have murdered any teacher that looked my way at that age! The christian 23 year old did not go down well in my house, let alone a teacher! Next issue, Tammin Sursok I hope you didn't pay for those "acting like a visually impaired person" lessons like I read in the newspaper. What a waste. I am pretty sure I had a million more criticisms but I can't remember them.

The truth is... Pretty Little Liars has done their job as a TV show. They pulled me in, entertained me and now have me wanting more. It is kind of like the effect Degrassi has on you (but the actors are a million times hotter so it makes more sense). After the show ended I immediately googled what happens next. I may or may not actually watch it again. We will see if I can endure the agony of pretending that Holly Marie Combs and Laura Leighton should be back on prime time television.

Okay, I am being harsh again. My final conclusion is nearly as cliche as the show's dialogue: you can't judge a book (or adapted TV show) by its cover. Nor can you trust your interest level at 3am in the morning under the influence of too much vodka. I judged too harshly. I can definitely see Pretty Little Liar's appeal, especially to the younger audience. I am sure if I was a teenager I would be addicted. Addicted to the point that I would pray to live the characters lives and then hold a life long grudge against the show and its actors when I didn't turn into them (yes, Holly that is why I hate you. I was determined to be a Charmed one and it never worked out.)

On that majorly dorky note. I will be signing off.

My verdict for Pretty Little Liars is as follows:

DO: Watch Pretty Little Liars, just enough to make you laugh but not enough to get you addicted. Then you will suddenly find yourself the victim of being laughed at. It already happened twice tonight when I mentioned what I was watching.

DON'T: Get addicted. If you want a show to get addicted to my vote is still for Bones or Castle.

Pretty Little Liars = 3 out of 5 Stars

TV Guide - Exclusive Castle Postmortem *SPOILERS*

Obviously, if you follow my twitter you will know I have become absolutely addicted to Castle.

I knew this like most TV Shows that addiction to Castle was a possibility for me, especially with the amount of Unresolved Sexual Tension the show has.

I managed to get through the three seasons of the show and write a spec within a month. Now, with nothing but old episodes and youtube clips to watch until next season I am furiously going through interviews with Andrew Marlowe.

I understand this one is old... but I only started watching the show after this interview was posted so I think this time I can get away with it.

***SPOILER ALERT***

Why did you decide to kill Captain Montgomery?

Andrew W. Marlowe: It grew organically out of the series, out of who he is to Beckett and why he's been such a mentor [to her]. We realized when we got deeper into Beckett's mother's murder mythology that somebody had to be protecting Beckett from herself when she was looking into this, so it made sense that the Captain was involved. It gave us this great sense of completeness and tragedy that I really responded to.

Were you worried that fans might be too jarred by the betrayal?

Marlowe: We wanted them to be jarred. Beckett's jarred. But the reality is we all have secrets and things in our lives we don't talk about that, when they come to light, we're forced to deal with. I think there will be some fans who will be frustrated and angry and some fans will be interested in how this will affect Beckett. What's Beckett's life going to be like when she doesn't necessarily always have somebody she works for in her corner?

Captain Montgomery at least got a little bit of redemption.

Marlowe: [The whole story] made the character of the Captain much more noble to me. He participated in something that was a sin in his youth, but he had done everything in his life to correct it, to overcome it. He'd done everything to serve and be a good man, but he could not outrun his sins.

So will you be adding a new boss at the precinct next season?

Marlowe: That's one of the opportunities we're looking to take. Everybody's getting along really well in the precinct, and we think there can be a little more conflict. We think it's interesting to grow Beckett and Castle by having somebody who may not look as favorably on Beckett as the Captain did or may not look as favorably on the Castle-Beckett relationship. That's all stuff we're plotting out for next year as we speak.

The finale also reveals that there's still a mystery man out there connected to Johanna Beckett's murder.

Marlowe: We have a great concept of how we want to follow that up in the next couple of seasons. That's going to be vital in some decisions I'm making going into next season. We foreshadowed it a bit with Castle having to protect Beckett from herself at the end of the episode. Next season, with Castle knowing somebody is out there, [Beckett] becomes his responsibility. It changes the nature of their relationship and makes it significantly more interesting, especially given what happens the last 10 seconds of the show.

Indeed. Let's talk about that cliff-hanger. Are you prepared for the hate mail?

Marlowe: I do have an expectation that certain fans are going to be really, really frustrated. We have really tremendous, loyal fans and to make them wait all those months I think is going to be really frustrating to them. Hopefully people will be interested to see how we deal with it next year. I do think, for the relationship fans, having Castle admit his feelings to Beckett is a great moment for them.

Did Beckett hear and understand Castle say "I love you" before she went unconscious?

Marlowe: I think in that moment she does. I know exactly how I'm dealing with it next season, but it would be unfair to the experience of the audience to tell them right now.

What can you say about that relationship moving forward?

Marlowe: I think people will be frustrated until I do the next set of reveals at midseason. My feeling about TV audiences is that they love to be frustrated and then fulfilled. What we're telling here is a great love story, and great love stories take a long time to resolve. Feelings ebb and flow, relationships are complicated, timing is wrong. I do know where I want to end up with these people. I know what the resolution is between them but there's a lot of great storytelling between now and then.

Are you concerned with dragging it too long and losing viewer interest? You recently commented about Bones doing just that.

Marlowe: When I express some concerns about models of the other shows, it's when the relationship becomes stagnant. When there is no movement, there is no growth and the characters start to feel like brother and sister because they lose the spark. My goal is to not lose the spark, and I know that's a challenge when you keep people apart for a long time. Keeping them apart can be frustrating, but I also feel like moments at the end of the swimmer episode are enormously gratifying because of everything that's come before. The hero's journey is about going through all sorts of difficulty to obtain your prize and having little victories along the way. My hope is that at the end of the day, it feels like a hero's journey.

Will there at least be some payoff to Castle's admission of love?

Marlowe: During Season 4 there will be some payoff to what he said in that moment. It's not going to necessarily come the way the fans like. And I'm sure some of them will feel like I've skirted the issue initially and then come to realize that I've dealt with it in an interesting character way. The questions are going to be answered. I think people felt like we dropped the kiss or we dropped the freezing together, but it was always my intention to bring it up as a relationship issue [in the finale]. Hopefully people will be interested to see how we deal with it next year, and how we overcome the argument they've had in the middle of this episode. The issue of "Why aren't we talking about this? Why aren't we confronting it?"

Is Beckett's boyfriend Josh still a possible obstacle?

Marlowe: He's still out there, and he's somebody we're going to have to deal with. He's an element moving forward and it'll be interesting to see how that functions.

What's going to be the driving force in Season 4?

Marlowe: There's going to be a real push and pull between Beckett and Castle. Beckett's going to want to look into [this new mystery man] and Castle's going to have very specific reasons why he doesn't want her to. He'll end up with a little more information than she has, and he can't be honest with her about it. It's going to cause a complexity in their relationship that's going to be interesting.

Click here to read the entire article on TV GUIDE

Natedogg: Legacy

A very good friend of mine is having an event... Its legacy will live on.

Oh and also, just for the record... He is a Bad.Ass.Mother.Fker.

Bones at the Paley Center Video

For those who missed out on the all kinds of awesome that was Monday... Here is a little glimpse!

The Hole in the Heart. Spoilers that are not really spoilers at all.

As I said in my previous post, I am not going to say too much regarding this week's episode 'The Hole in The Heart' for now. I do not want to spoil it. I know from experience, as much as you think you want to know... it is better to watch the episode to find out what happens.

'The Hole in the Heart' was definitely one of the most amazing, heart wrenching, stomach churning and cinematic episodes of the series. I wasn't sure this week's episode could get better than last week's 'The Signs in the Silence'. All my praise this week goes to what an incredible job the cast and crew did. A major shout out the cinematographer, some of the shots were absolutely beautiful.

Emily Deschanel stole the show, it seems the more emotional an episode, the more she absolutely shines. Yet again, my heart went out to her and she made me cry. Especially in the doorway scene. I just really felt her awkward indecisiveness. I could feel exactly what she was going through at that moment. It has stuck out in my memory from that episode.

Anyway, here are a few spoilers without really spoiling anything:

1. Someone will actually die. I read posts that have said Hart is kidding around. He is not, this person is a beloved character and they will be killed off for good.

2. Something could happen at 4.47am that will possible change the future for Booth & Brennan.

3. The death mentioned above will have an impact on Brennan in a big way.

4. There is an AMAZING "Glug, glug, woohoo moment". For those who do not understand, it is an awesome moment between Brennan & Angela when they talk about "you know who". Spectacular acting by both actresses. TJ Thyne is also fantastic in this scene... He kills it!

5. For an emotional episode, you will laugh quite a lot.

6. "Lime in the Coconut" will take on a whole different meaning to you from now on.

7. Also, a finale spoiler. TJ Thyne's armpit hair will feature in the final episode. Now do not get ahead of yourself speculating there.... I did not say anything about Hodgins being in the episode, only his arm pit hair!

8. Booth asks how Angela is doing. It is quite adorable. Melted my heart!

Well, now I want to watch 'The Hole in the Heart' all over again. Right now. But I now too have to wait until Thursday. For now I will replay the awe-inspiring episode over and over again in my head!