This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we 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 spoilers for: 90210, Desperate Housewives, Glee, Gossip Girl, House, NCIS, Parks and Recreation, Private Practice and Smallville. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)
There's something a little unnerving about the fact that the Primetime Emmys float. Not the award statuette itself. No, that would be like an anchor in the water. I'm talking about the date for the Emmys. The 2010 Primetime Emmys will be on Sunday, August 29, on NBC. The 2009 Primetime Emmys, lest you forgot already, were September 20. The date of the Emmys floats around depending on which network is broadcasting the show.
NBC has a steady date with the NFL on Sunday nights during football season. NBC Football Night in America in the network's top-rated show. The top. Number one. That means there's no way that the Peacock was going to give up a Sunday night game for the Primetime Emmy broadcast.
So, using their power, the network simply declared that the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards will be held in August. They pulled this same stunt in 2006, so the folks at NATAS (the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) weren't stunned.
There were some great songs on last night's Glee, including the first one sung by Rachel and Will. As I mentioned in my review, this song set the tone for not only the episode, but the storyline of Rachel's crush on Mr. Schuester. But what was funny is that while they were singing it -- "Endless Love" -- everyone else's mind was wandering to their own thoughts of love, butts, Diana Ross, and underwear:
Kurt: "I could totally sing this song with Finn, but screw him if he thinks he's taking the Diana Ross part from me."
Puck: "I love the days when I don't wear underwear. Full commando."
Finn: "I never noticed how nice Rachel's butt is. Oh crap, I think Quinn knows I'm staring at it."
Rachel: "Wow, I've never noticed this before because he's always trying to destroy my career, but Mr. Shu has really pretty eyes."
(S01E10) "What does a heart attack feel like?" - Finn, in a panicky call to Kurt after facing Quinn's parents at dinner
The subject of this episode of Glee was ballads. It was learned that the club must perform a ballad at sectionals in a few weeks, and the writers managed to weave the soulful songs into every storyline. The first was "Endless Love," sung by Will and Rachel. It set the tone for one of the storylines -- her crush on the teacher. In fact, the episode was filled with odd-couple pairings, thanks to a hat-draw for ballad partners.
Yes, I know I posted the "Defying Gravity" video from last night's Glee earlier today. But here's another good one -- "Dancing With Myself" sung by Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale).
I must admit, it's hard to get the Billy Idol version out of my head, but the tune was perfect for the wheelchair-bound Artie as he wheels through the school corridors (quite well, I might add) and looks longingly at Tina (who has a secret of her own).
Here's the video straight from our sister site, SlashControl. Which song is your favorite from last night's Glee -- "Defying Gravity," "Dancing With Myself," or "Proud Mary"? (Tell me in the comments if I've missed any!)
As Allison mentioned in her review of last night's Glee, it was an awesome episode. The show featured some great songs, some great lines, and a few surprises about some of the students and faculty. If you haven't watched it yet, I won't give away too much.
My favorite song was "Defying Gravity," the ballad from Wicked, sung in a "diva off" by Rachel (Lea Michele) and Kurt (Chris Colfer), with each performance inter-cut with the other. They both have fantastic voices, and I'm in awe of Colfer's spot-on tone and intonation. Just gorgeous! But I have to agree with Allison that perhaps Rachel has the more Broadway-type voice that jumps off the stage and grabs you.
I don't know, though. It's a tough call as to which has the bigger diva voice. What do you think? If you were a Broadway casting director, who would you choose to sing this song -- Kurt or Rachel?
(S01E09) If you're a Glee fan already -- a Gleek -- this episode is going to hit you in the sweet spot. If you're not a Glee fan, do yourself a favor and go online and watch this one (when it's available). It's just that good.
It may be coincidental, but the focus was on the school and the music. And plenty of character development with Puck, Kurt, and especially Sue. There was no football, no Slushees, no Emma and definitely no Teri. It's looking like Glee is best when Mr. Schu's personal life is off camera. I haven't missed the Mrs. one bit. More after the jump.
When I saw the kids from Glee sing at the World Series earlier this month, I was surprised to see that Kevin McHale, the actor who plays disabled gleester Artie, wasn't disabled in real life.
Not sure why this surprised me; non-disabled actors have been playing disabled characters for decades. Maybe it's because McHale handles his wheelchair so well, or because Glee seems to be pretty proud of its not-calling-attention-to-itself brand of diversity. Maybe I just figured that, in 2009, hiring a disabled actor to play a disabled character wasn't a big deal.
I guess I was wrong. And I'm not the only one who's puzzled and disappointed by the show's decision. Tonight's episode, in which the gleesters rally around Artie so he can travel with them to the regionals, is the jumping-off point for an AP article on how disappointed disabled actors are about the casting of McHale in the role.
(S04E08) As promised, this week's episode of Heroes took us back to the heydays of the first season. Back when this was a world of wonder filled with new and exciting characters and mystery. Their futures lie before them, and it all centered on Charlie, the poor waitress that Hiro failed time and again to save back then.
Now that he's working on his bucket list before he kicks it, the time has come to head back three years and try to undo her death by Sylar's hand. Which means we got to see HRG, Claire, Hiro, Ando, Sylar and even Isaac as they were three years ago.
The question was whether or not he could change the past and save Charlie, when he failed to before. Furthermore, could he do so without changing all the subsequent events that had happened. He'd already had a taste of success with Ando and his sister, but this sojourn had much higher stakes.
When you're hot, you're hot. Fox's Glee is hot. It's sizzling. The music is all over the charts. Their single, "Don't Stop Believin'" went gold. It seems like everything it going right for this Ryan Murphy show.
For the third game of the World Series on the night of Halloween, fate tried to rain on the Glee parade. Literally. It rained.
In Philadelphia where the game was being played, there was a rain delay of over an hour. If you were a Glee fan -- a Gleek -- tuning in just to see the troupe before the game, you had to be disappointed.
If you have any doubt about the power of television in the selling of music and making stars, this story should convince you that there is a definite correlation. Fox's Glee has produced a solid gold successful single.
"Don't Stop Believin'" was the first big song from the pilot, but it's not the only song that has been popular. Seven songs from Glee now occupy spots in the top 200 of iTunes' Top Songs chart. On November 3, there will be a compilation CD of the best numbers from the show, called Glee: The Music, Volume 1.
Rules are meant to be broken... especially for these ten television characters. For them, the rest of the world has one standard to live by and they have another. It makes them interesting and fun to watch... you just wouldn't necessarily want to be the person having to deal with them because they could drive you to distraction. Here's my ten pack of characters who live in a world of their own, according to no rules except their own. From the not-too-bad to the really bad.
10. Patrick Jane, The Mentalist
You would think that as a consultant to the CBI -- California Bureau of Investigation -- Patrick Jane would be compelled to uphold the rules and regulations of the department. However, Jane is a free spirit when it comes to office protocol. He does his own thing. For instance, bugging the office of a CBI higher-up is definitely not kosher. Jane doesn't care; he did it anyway and will probably get away with it.
So, let's say TV Squad wanted to have a 30-second ad on CBS' highest-rated show, NCIS. It would cost us $133,304. It would actually cost more, because we'd hire scantily-clad dancers, include a 35 pound bag of Doritios, fireworks in the shape of each writer, guest appearances from people like Tina Fey and JJ Abrams, and would have special effects because some of the commercial would be set in outer space for some reason, but I mean CBS would charge us $133,304.
To give you an idea of how that stacks up against other shows on CBS and shows on other networks, here's a quick list.
Last night's Glee -- "Mash-Up" -- was one of the best of the season, but it may be that it was merely an appetizer and that next week's show is going to be the big enchilada (hmm... I must be hungry). Anyway, the show won't be back until November -- after the World Series --- and based on Fox's previews, it looks like a lot is going to happen.