Fancast: Inside TV

WebHash is a survey of opinions from around the blogosphere on a particular show or subject, in this case, last night's season finale of Grey's Anatomy. Here's what's buzzing on the web:

"Conclusion: I need more surgery in my life. As far as aphrodisiacs go, the stuff is clearly more potent than tequila, wine, bubble baths, candles, snowstorms, down comforters, Before Sunset, and the Juno soundtrack. Combined." [Entertainment Weekly]

"Patrick Dempsey’s self-absorption is like a fungus on the show and it’s grown toxic by this point. His glacial manner manages to bring down the level of every scene he’s in, which is a problem since I haven’t really been invested in Mer-Der since about Episode 9 of this show." [The Watcher, Chicaco Tribune]

"So, is it wrong that when Cristina snapped at Erica in the OR, I almost cheered? For the first time something seemed to be going right---Cristina was in the zone and finally standing up for herself. The only thing better than that was the look of shock on Erica’s face when the Chief agreed Hahn needed to back off and let Cristina do her thing. I take that back, the best moment came later, when the Chief confronted Hahn after the operation and told her she needed to handle the residents better, “You need to learn how to teach, without crushing their spirits. You need to be a better teacher.” Not only is Hahn now on the hook, but Cristina overheard the whole thing. Finally, Cristina is getting her groove back!" [TV Guide]

"Bailey: 'You need to be proud of the whole picture. Han solo is not a loser. Yes he got encased in carbonite, but that’s not what he’s remembered for. he’s remembered as the guy who made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. And who braved the subzero temperatures of the ice planet Hoth in order to save someone he cared about from the big ugly wampa. He is remembered as the guy who swooped down at the last minute and blasted Darth Vader out of the sky so that Luke could use the force and destroy the damn Death Star. Princess Leia saved him from the carbonite. And they fell in love, and they saved the universe, and had twin Jedi babies that went on to save the universe again. That’s the whole picture. The carbonite was just a piece.' The looks on the other surgeons' faces while this is going on, and the looks they give Bailey afterward: Priceless. To quote my fiancé, I almost don’t even care what happens the rest of the episode. This is 40 minutes into a two-hour television event. I totally agree. I am satisfied." [zap2it]

WebHash is a survey of opinions from around the blogosphere on a particular show or subject, in this case, last night's season finale of Desperate Housewives. Here's what's buzzing on the web:

So here we are at the season finale, and I think Desperate Housewives did an admirable job of tying up many loose narrative plot strings, while still leaving us wanting more, what with a clever epilogue that fast-forwarded five years into the future. [TV Guide]

This entire season has been a battle to recapture some of the spark that turned casual Sunday-night TV viewers into obsessed fans way back in the show's first season. So did last night's episode have spark? Better. It had spark, snark, and suspense. [EW]

While the one year leap at the end of Battlestar Galactica's second season or the two missing years from the end of the second season of Alias are comparable, the fact is that Desperate Housewives is essentially copying exactly what One Tree Hill just did this season. [Buddy TV]

It was fun to see Justine Bateman back on TV but the Ellie storyline wasn't the best one this year. It felt like a "filler" so that Gaby and Carlos would have something to do until the time jump. It was also a reason for them to get money so that they could pay their bills and adopt. This was the weak storyline of the season finale... enough said about it. [TV Squad]

It often seems like all of Susan's issues could be resolved by utilizing some basic communication skills. The whole name-changing thing simply wasn't that interesting, especially when after all that, she and Mike just talk it out and they name him Maynerd anyway. We could have skipped that whole balloons debacle, etc. Ditto for the Julie storyline which seemed like filler and a way to show that Julie was about to leave the nest. Anyway, the really good stuff with Susan came in the last few seconds of the show! Where's Mike?! Who's that guy kissing Susan? And I really wanted to see her little boy, now five years old. Is Maynerd with Mike now? So many questions! [BuzzSugar]

WebHash is a survey of opinions from around the blogosphere on a particular show or subject, in this case, last night's season finale of The Hills. Here's what's buzzing on the web:

"Stephanie pulled off the confrontation “Hills” fans were waiting for when she convinced Heidi that a night out at Goa would be a good idea even when LC was on the guest list. LC’s response: “Someone kidnap me now, please.” And she even managed to reunite our villainous lovebirds in last night's finale by ratting out Heidi’s out-of-town plans to Spencer, who was rearing to win back his lady love. We’ve not seen a better puppeteer since “Mean Girls’” Regina George." [The Los Angeles Times]

"MTV had us covered with both an obnoxious Hills pre- and post-party, neither of which we could bring ourselves to watch, mostly because the hosts are really kind of grating and mismatched (she was wearing some magenta Grecian draped number, he was geeked out like Seth Cohen wearing architect glasses)." [New York Magazine]

"Lo's evil and manipulative powers are growing. You can tell she's been in a sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma no less. I'm beginning to wonder if bringing her on the show was really the best idea. And what about their new dog? We barely saw it last night. Is it going to come back next season? If not, I am interested in adopting it." [Radar]

"It's almost as if the Paris Hilton syndrome infected the "Hills" stars this mini season. Symptoms of the Paris Hilton syndrome include a complete lack of purpose, no will or drive to succeed, and an especially cavalier attitude towards life when millions come your way and will continue to come your way." [Starpulse]

WebHash is a survey of opinions from around the blogosphere on a particular show or subject, in this case, last night's all new episodes [click to watch them on Fancast] of 30 Rock and The Office. Here's what's buzzing on the web:

30 ROCK

Entertainment Weekly: Leave it to Fey & Co. to cherry-pick a throwaway joke — MILF Island — from last fall's premiere (the Jerry Seinfeld episode) and build an entire show around it. Twenty MILFs, 50 eighth-grade boys, ''Erection Cove,'' bursting implants. What's not to like?

The AV Club: For a show as hyper-verbal and dense as 30 Rock “Grade A moron” seemed like a disappointingly pedestrian insult.

The TV Addict: The ending with Jack knowing all along that Liz was responsible was ridiculously predictable. And the Pete subplot, seriously!?! Getting his hand stuck in the snack machine was funnier on THE SIMPSONS and SCRUBS five years ago.

THE OFFICE

New York Magazine: There was just so much yelling. The episode tried to skirt that line between tragedy and mild discomfort but kept crossing it. At certain points, it felt like you were watching a couple’s-therapy session that desperately needed a therapist … or, more accurately, a ringside cut man.

TV Guide: On the one hand it’s a hilarious, brutally awkward look at the relationship (and apartment) from hell, a train wreck that you just can’t keep from staring at. But it’s also a study of four couples: one hideously dysfunctional (Michael and Jan), one loving (Jim and Pam), one mismatched (Angela and Andy), and one, ahem, “purely carnal” (Dwight and babysitter).

Buzzsugar: I suspected Dwight would show up with a date, but I didn't expect it to be the "sometimes I question your commitment to Sparkle Motion" woman from Donnie Darko . . . playing his babysitter. Also, how fantastic that they brought their own containers full of beet salad.

WebHash is a survey of opinions from around the blogosphere on a particular show or subject, in this case, Friday night's season four premiere of sci-fi favorite Battlestar Galactica. Here's what's buzzing on the web:

While a lot of the high concept philosophical stuff remains vague, Moore gives us a neat take on Cylon-Human relations: when Starbuck comes back from the dead, it may prove she’s a Cylon. But would that matter? As Apollo puts it to his father, "What if Zack had come back to us in that Viper? If my brother had climbed out of that cockpit? Would it matter if he were a Cylon? If he always had been? When all is said and done, would that change how we really feel about him?" It shows how deftly Moore and his team can explore the love/genocide relationship between humans and Cylons, and how they might come around to accepting each other as equal life forms with a right to survive. Either that, or Apollo’s trying to tell his dad that Zack was gay. The AV Club

Battlestar has packed brilliant post-9/11 parallels into certain episodes, but not lately, and not on Friday’s show — unless you count Baltar’s hiding out in the lair of cultlike female worshipers. Manson and Koresh come to mind, but the plotline’s probably paving the way for Baltar, a man of science, to adopt the Cylons’ one-god edict (hence, “He That Believeth in Me”). NY Magazine

Is Starbuck a priestess, a toaster, or just a trick? Where is Apollo going to land? Maybe the next president? What will our gang of four do now that the President knows that the final five Cylons are in the fleet? Star Pulse

The CGI at the beginning should be especially commended as absolutely stunning and the stories of Starbuck and the newly revealed Cylons were as surprising as they were intriguing. Den of Geek

HBO's seven-part miniseries John Adams begins with a double-serving on Sunday. Should you watch? Preview the historical drama and also how it was made by watching these video clips; then here's what critics across the country are saying.

NY Times: When John Adams begins acting like a pompous windbag, his wife, Abigail, reproaches him with a single word. “Ambition,” Abigail warns, when Adams tells her that he will get a lot of attention if he defends British soldiers in the Boston Massacre trial. “Vanity” is what she says to steer her husband away from what she calls “ostentatious erudition.” “Casting,” she might have told the producers of this new seven-part HBO mini-series, which begins on Sunday evening with a double episode. John Adams is the weakest part of “John Adams.”

Boston Globe: By joining noble earnestness to politics, HBO's "John Adams" should be as stiffly grand as a gallery of Gilbert Stuart oil paintings, full of proud poses and symbolic objects. But this lavish seven-part miniseries, premiering Sunday at 8, is so much more than dress-up portraiture. Produced by Tom Hanks, it is reverent enough, and profoundly heroic; and yet it is a living, breathing piece of work that brings American history down to earth. Adapted from David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of the second US president, the miniseries doesn't narrate the story of independence - the Boston Massacre, the Battle of Bunker Hill - so much as bare its entrails.

USA Today: "John Adam oddly lacking in character."

Reuters: "John Adams a masterpiece."

TVworthwatching.com: "John Adams makes it three for three for Tom Hanks."

The New Yorker: "There is much that is wonderful."

On Sunday, David Simon's The Wire concluded five provocative years on HBO. Some call it the best series ever produced on television. See what's being said around the web. Then check out Fancast's arresting slide show of photos from The WIre.

Los Angeles Times: It was a sad and lovely finale, with poignant images of Baltimore and its people; there was some shooting -- Michael's a thug now, the drug wars continue -- and even some singing, at a fake wake for McNulty.

Chicago Tribune: Over five seasons, “The Wire” has expanded the possibilities of what television drama can achieve. The finale was as good as the show gets: Tightly plotted and masterfully directed, it was viscerally affecting on a number of levels. And as we saw the fates of various characters unfold in Sunday’s 90-minute closer, I kept thinking of a line from “King Lear”: “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods, they kill us for their sport.”

New York Times: After all these years, all those dead bodies and so many criminal contortions of the law, the wiretap in “The Wire” didn’t bring the bad guys to justice. Perfect. Technology and good intentions couldn’t win out in Sunday night’s finale of “The Wire.” The best and most dyspeptic police drama on television would never conclude with a triumph of good over evil. Victories were few, and Pyrrhic.

Baltimore Sun: So, now that the finale of The Wire has aired, we can get specific about its flaws. Let's start with the soft and sentimental ending to the journey of Jimmy McNulty. Some acts are beyond redemption, and I would kind of think what McNulty did -- from the big lies, to the disfiguring of corpses -- might qualify.

Washington City Paper: The Wire Finale: Not crappy. If the season and series finale of The Wire teaches us anything, it’s that anybody can get out of a bad scrape relatively intact. (Spoilers aplenty follow.)

WebHash is a survey of opinions from around the blogosphere on a particular show or subject, in this case, last night's season finale of Project Runway, where talented and tearful 22-year old Christian Siriano (aka "Ferocia Coutura") won the whole enchilada. Here's what's buzzing on the web:

Was that not a FABULOUS finale or what? For all the (occasional bouts of) boredom this season induced in us, we have to say, those bitches really BROUGHT IT for the big wrapup. Project Rungay

All we got this year was Jillian being all, "I'm. So. Emotional," in the exact tone you would use to say, "I'm. Unloading. The dishwasher." I wish someone had cheated this time around. It might have worked if Chris March had donned a mask and made a second collection in the basement of Parsons and then haunted Bryant Park. And kidnapped Posh. NYMag

Rami, who made good on his promise to prove that, in fact, he doesn't live in ancient Greece — or the drapes-and-curtains department of Pottery Barn. Missy Schwartz, EW

Christian's collection was nothing if not funereal froufrou, a little too ruffled to be fierce. It was as if his models had walked out of a parallel universe in which Victorian dominatrixes swanned around in spaceships. Salon

It's probably been clear that I've had a soft spot for Christian all season. Maybe it's because his clothes have been exciting. Maybe it's because he popped and locked at the end of his "Runway" show. But my guess is it's because Christian, who put on such a confident front, broke down a little in the finale, and came across as just a kid with a lot of talent and a big dream. Billy Edington, MTV

WebHash is a survey of opinions from around the blogosphere on a particular show or subject, in this case, last night's debut of ABC's Oprah's Big Give. Despite being panned by critics, the series premiere was the highest rated show of Sunday night, giving the network a big 15.6 million viewers. Here's what's circulating on the web:

While I won't argue with the good that Oprah's Big Give will probably do -- helping people who need it is inarguably commendable and maybe the end will always justify the means in a case like this -- it's the messianic bombast with which Oprah goes about every one of these altruistic endeavors that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Chez Pazienza, The Huffington Post

You watch the show and think, “How do these people just swoop into a new city and set up a charity fashion show in five days?” But then you stop wondering about stuff the show clearly has no interest in telling you when it’s revealed that anyone can just call Jamie Foxx and ask for money. Dave White, MSNBC

I knew it was going to be a tear-jerker, and I was not disappointed. I was sunk the minute the church singing began and baskets were passed. $14,000 was raised for an anonymous homeless family in 15 minutes at that church, and I felt better than I have in a long time. Aw, crap, pass the Kleenex! Associated Content

I really really liked the show until the end when they had to kick someone off of the show. They got really nit-picky. They were criticizing the contestants for the silliest things, totally taking away from the spirit of the show. Freshly Picked

WebHash is a survey of opinions from around the blogosphere on a particular show or subject, in this case, last night's debut of NBC's quarterlife. Only 3.9 million viewers turned in, placing the show third behind national rivals ABC and CBS during the 10 PM hour. Here's the word around the web:

Watching writers and actors trying so hard to "say something" is an interesting enough way to kill 10 minutes at work (believe me). But for an hour, in your house, the extra-irritating acting (especially from drunk, self-destructive, slutty-but-never-had-an orgasm, hottie Lisa, played by Maite Schwartz) becomes insufferable. Radar

Dylan is a self-absorbed, insecure voyeur who watched one too many episodes of My So-Called Life as a teenager and now suffers from tortured artist syndrome. Geeksugar

The final nail in the coffin had to be the conversation about happiness and the Karaoke finale. Since when did getting on stage and doing a bad cover version of a pop hit become the ultimate expression of artistic freedom.TV Squad

Honest Dylan, would be blown off the face of the planet if she existed in real life. Nothing about her "blog" (hello: vlog! no written content!) was realistic. PopWatch/EW

Just because you take a run-of-the-mill relationship-centric show about young singles and call it hip doesn’t make it hip. Media Maven Musings

The bottom line is, I feel like I am being made fun of. And no angsty girl with a boy's name is ever going to change that. YPulse