TVSquad

Several DVD sets came my way this week, so I did some marathon viewing sessions for Jane After Dark. I'm brand new to some of these, so you'll get the stark, raw newbie version. But I'll start with one I've watched since the beginning ...

Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete Second and Final Season. I really liked this show at the beginning. It had all the elements of a great series, including excellent actors (starting with Donald Sutherland, Jill Clayburgh, and Peter Krause) and intriguing storylines with rich people, sex, murder, and mystery. But by the time they got to season two, the storylines just seemed to fizzle out. I would love to hear your thoughts on why Dirty Sexy Money didn't work. Crummy writing? Poor use of great actors? Too many characters to keep track of? Poor timing with the writer's strike occurring in the middle of its run, resulting in ten months between seasons?

Bonus features: Directing the Darlings (behind the scenes with director Jamie Babbit); A Total Knockout (a day in the life of Natalie Zea, who played Karen); Dirty Sexy Crafty (a featurette about the food on the set); Faux Pas (bloopers); deleted scenes.

Well, you guys were absolutely right. Season five of Angel is awesome, and I'm so glad I slugged through some of the earlier seasons that didn't exactly float my vampire boat.

The writing in season five is excellent, the characters are both fun and multidimensional (especially Wesley, whose story only gets more and more tragic), and it's just a great all-around season. Here are five reasons why I loved this season as much as any TV show (including Buffy).

Well, I've covered Buffy the Vampire Slayer here on Jane After Dark, and my nephew, who loaned me his Buffy DVDs, also got me into Angel. Nearly everyone I talked to about Angel said they just couldn't get into it. After Buffy, maybe everything else pales in comparison.

I have to say, I really only started watching Angel out of respect for Buffy and Joss Whedon, and because I really loved the character of Angel (and David Boreanaz is not hard to look at). I was alternately watching Buffy and Angel at the same time (one disc of Buffy, one of Angel, and so on); it was a good way to do it, because there were a few crossover episodes that made a lot more sense watching them that way.

"Our friendship can be tested anywhere." - Rusty to Calvin

Since it's July 9, 2007, premiere on ABC Family, Greek has been one of weekly TV guilty pleasures. I've been enjoying its light and fun stories as well as the evolving and imploding relationships and friendships between the characters.

Having had the chance to read a few spoilers about the upcoming season these past few weeks, it looked like Greek would be as fun to watch as it was in its first season. However, something can look good on paper and turn out quite differently on the screen. Luckily, it is not the case for Greek; at least not according to the season premiere, which I had the chance to watch.

Slight spoilers coming up!

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479 - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: Chuck, Dexter, Gossip Girl, Greek, Heroes, House, Lipstick Jungle, Nip/Tuck, One Tree Hill, Prison Break, and Ugly Betty. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

It turns out that Charisma Carpenter will not be on the celebrity version of NBC's The Apprentice, as reported last week. There goes one of the only reasons some of us would have tuned in for Trump's show.

Not to worry, Charisma will still grace a small screen near you doing what she does best since Angel got canceled: guest star. (It's a shame that she doesn't get a regular role on a TV series... or maybe the actress prefers doing guest starring and not be attached to any specific project?)

TV Guide announced earlier today that the actress best known for her role as Cordelia Chase will appear in one episode of FOX's Back to You and has landed a recurring role on ABC's Big Shots.

Cordelia Chase has always been one of my favorite characters on Buffy and Angel; she was a great comedic relief. Since the end of Angel, I've tried to catch all of her TV guest appearances because I knew I was always in for a fun ride.

I watched her play a seer on Charmed, an opinionated young woman getting involved with an older man on Miss Match, a trophy wife and schemer on Veronica Mars, and, this week, play a member of the national chapter of Zeta Beta on Greek.

Charisma's roles have been entertaining but will Charisma Carpenter, the woman, be as fun to watch? We may find out soon as the word on the street is that she will be an apprentice on the celebrity version of NBC's The Apprentice.

ABC Family doesn't get the kind of press that some of their edgier neighbors on the cable box enjoy, but I do appreciate that they make their own original programming, especially their penchant for casting Charisma Carpenter. They could have gone the easy route and given us endless reruns of Reba and Home Improvement.

Tonight they kick off their latest entry, Greek. The dramedy (their description) is set at the fictitious Cyprus-Rhodes University and is said to follow the social minefield of the greek system.

Welcome to TV Squad Lists (formerly 'The Five'), a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.

Being newly single, I've been spending a lot of time these days thinking about the perfect woman. More often than not, my thoughts end up drifting into the realm of television and all of the perfect women there. So I decided to compile a list of the ten hottest moms on television. Unfortunately, there were way too many to fit on a top ten list, so I expanded the list to fifteen. This was a tough list to compile and I'm sure many of your favorites are absent, but I doubt that anyone can refute the fifteen below.

Susan Mayer - Desperate Housewives (Teri Hatcher) Hatcher has always been smoking hot but it wasn't until Desperate Housewives that she became a TV mom. The best part of her character is how Susan is continually clumsy, awkward and unsure of herself and still manages to be hot.

Former Angel and Buffy star Mercedes McNab is the cover girl for the November issue of Playboy. Mercedes had a long recurring run on both Whedon shows as Harmony Kendall. Following the end of Angel she did the short film Miles From Home. She also has the horror film Hatchet in the can. You can find out more about that one at the movie's website. It looks fantastic, and seems to be getting a lot of good press.

Of course, Mercedes isn't the first Buffy alum to work for Playboy. Charisma Carpenter appeared in the June 2004 issue. It's a trend I would like to encourage. Maybe we can look forward to Clare Kramer in the May 2008 issue? Anyway, if you would like to see what all the hubbub is about, you will find the pictures right here. I have to stress that there is nudity, and they are not safe for work. Unless you work at a place that doesn't mind you surfing for pictures of boobs. If you do, that's a nice gig.

Rumors and speculation about who will take on the role of Princess Diana in Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman movie have been flying around the Internet since word leaked out that he was working on it. Even after all the names that have been mentioned, this one caught me completely off guard. Apparently, one of the names being talked about for the role is American Idol's Katharine McPhee.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Katharine acknowledges that it would probably be a mistake for Wonder Woman to be her debut role, but she doesn't deny the possibility of it happening. Frankly, with Whedon at the helm, I think anything is possible. She also talks about her upcoming CD, the Idol tour, and the obsessive Idol fans.

As far as Wonder Woman goes though, can't we just give the gig to Charisma Carpenter and get on with it?

(S01E22) Don't believe everything you're foretold. -- Angel

Finally! After 21episodes, the death of Doyle, the introduction of Wolfram & Hart, Cordelia's visions, Wesley's partnership with Angel Investigations, and the appearances of Spike, Faith and Buffy (twice), we come to end of season one of Angel. During this first season we watched Angel become the undead hero of Los Angeles. In that time he became the enemy of Wolfram & Hart, a partner with Charles Gunn and his rag-tag team of vamp hunters, and the object of hate by Detective Kate Lockley (whom Angel pretty much tells off this episode. Good for him!). So, in this 22nd episode you would think that Angel and his crew would rest on their laurels and take a well-needed break.

Nope. In fact, totally the opposite. As they say on television, after this episode nothing is the same. So, read on to find out why.

(S01E20) David: Are you familiar with Dungeons and Dragons?

Angel: Yeah, I've seen a few.

Wesley: You mean the role-playing game?

Angel: Oh, game. Right.

In this episode we are introduced to Charles Gunn, who eventually becomes an official member of Angel Investigations. Although this time he is the leader of a ragtag team of vamp killers that our friendly vampire with a soul gets introduced to during a separate investigation. With Angel being a vampire, and Gunn being a vampire-killer, their first meeting isn't that cordial.

No, it's not any sort of Xander/Cordelia reunion, but as a starved Buffy The Vampire Slayer fan, I'll take what I can get. A friend pointed me to Nick's website where he has an audioblog. In his latest entry he talks about the play he recently did for the Blank Theater Company with Noah Wyle, how Wyle bought him for $1000 in a charity auction, and a TV movie for ABC Family that has him working with Charisma Carpenter again.

Relative Chaos is the story of the Gilbert family's annual contest for the Gilbert Cup. Every year the three Gilbert children, Dil (Christopher Gorham), Gil (Nick Brendon), and Lil (Jennifer Robertson) compete in contests that, as the website says, 'test their intelligence, agility, and sanity'. And yes, I said Dil, Gil, and Jil. It's ABC Family. Much to Dil's chagrin, he has never won the cup. But this year Dil has his new girlfriend Catherine (Charisma Carpenter) in his corner, which could make all the difference. And if that isn't enough chaos, the father of the Gilbert clan, Will (of course!), is played by Terry Bradshaw.

A video preview, wallpapers, bios, etc. are all available at the movie's website. Relative Chaos premieres Monday, September 4th on ABC Family.

(S01E17) Eternity - waste of time. -- Natalie Clifford Barney

How can we obtain eternal youth? This has been a question that humanity has pondered for centuries. We've tried diet, exercise, clean living, creams, pills, herbs (the legal kind) and surgical procedures. Some of us have even resorted to cryogenics in order to be thawed out in some future time where old age has been cured. However, we have missed the one obvious way to obtain our youth for eternity . . .

Die from a vampire's bite and then come back as a vampire yourself. Of course, you won't be able to walk into the sunlight, you'll need to drink pig's blood, you'll be allergic to crosses, and some super-strong blond-haired girl will try to hunt you down and kill you with a stake. But, you'll be eternally young, so that won't matter.