Steven Moffat keeps me up at night

Nobody creates scarier monsters than Steven Moffat and tonight's "Doctor Who" was no exception. His newest creatures are a cross between the Ood and the Gentlemen from "Buffy." However, the most unsettling thing about them is that as soon as you turn away from them, you forget them.

"Day of the Moon" was the second part of the two part season finale, which of course began with The Doctor's death. This week's episode began with The Doctor's companions, Amy, Rory and River being chased down by FBI agent Canton Everett Delaware III, an ally in the first episode.

The Doctor is held in an inescapable prison as his closest friends are shot down, but of course we discover it was all part of The Doctor's plan. Moffat is brilliant at telling unpredictable stories and this one had plenty of creepy twists and turns.

A particularly creepy scene involved Amy and Canton looking for clues at an abandoned children's hospital. With the Silence lurking around every corner and the weirdest caretaker ever, it was reminiscent of a classic thriller. I also want to thank Moffat for describing the Silence in such a disturbing manner that I will be up all night. But, it was worth it.

The Doctor figures out how to beat his foes relatively easy, it's the rest of the story that provided the scream out loud moments.

First of all, does the Silence's defeat negate The Doctor's death? I think it does since the mysterious spaceman was stopped, but the little girl is still out there. About that little girl, is she a timelord, because she totally regenerated? And is Amy her mother? So many questions, so little time.

I can't decide if I want to know everything or nothing.

I also want to take a moment and talk about how great River Song is. That scene where she and The Doctor flirt while confronting The Silence and then she shoots them all was ridiculously awesome.

I reiterate, I want to be River Song when I grow up.

As badass as she was against the Silence, she was equally heartbreaking when she realized that The Doctor was on the path to not knowing her and that day she's regretting is coming closer.

River is too good a character to waste, she needs her own show, like Captain Jack and Sarah Jane.

Next week, it's pirates and an alien mermaid.

Inscaped for April 28

The most outrageous news ever

If you're like me and think life was simpler and made more sense in the '80s, then rejoice as one of the decade's biggest icons returns to TV.

The Hub is adding to its already stellar lineup by bringing back classic cartoon "Jem."

"Jem" is the story of fashion designer Jerrica, who has magical earrings connected to a cool computer that change her into international pop star Jem, lead singer of The Holograms.

This show is fantastically, unapologetically '80s. From the music to the clothes to the hair, it's all totally awesome.

Jerrica's boyfriend Rio had purple hair and didn't know she was also Jem. Each show revolved around the band helping out the orphans Jerrica cared for and fighting The Misfits, their rival band.

I cannot overstate how much I loved this show and how excited I am to see it back on TV. Episodes begin airing on The Hub May 31, with a special preview May 28.

'The Voice' charms in hyped debut

After hours of promotion and no doubt millions spent on marketing, NBC's new singing competition show "The Voice" premiered last night and the results were surprisingly nice.

I have to admit I was looking forward to the show if for no other reason than to see America discover the hilariously charming Blake Shelton. As a long time country music fan I am well versed on Shelton's razor sharp wit and self deprecating humor.

By now the concept is clear, singers take part in a blind audition and the coaches don't competitors until they push a button which swings their chair around and choose them for their team. The other coaches include Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera.

The show started with a fantastic rendition of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" featuring the four superstars. I'm wondering if this will be an ongoing theme, because I'd love to see Shelton singing "Genie in a Bottle" or Cee Lo taking a crack at "Hillbilly Bone."

What was refreshing about the show was that it wasn't mean spirited and the coaches seemed genuinely excited at the prospect of their various choices. I also really enjoyed the chemistry among the four stars. Though they come from different backgrounds, I could see Shelton and Cee Lo hanging out and it won't be long before rumors pop up about Levine and Aguilera.

Apparently I'm not the only one who enjoyed it, because the ratings were phenomenal. The program garnered 11.8 million viewers and improved throughout the night. It beat "Glee" head to head from 9-9:30 p.m. and was the top show in the 18-49 demographic.

With "American Idol" feeling more stale and over produced every week and "The X Factor" not starting until fall, "The Voice" could become a dark horse contender to the reality competition crown.

Contestant highlights:

• Patrick Thomas showed some nice control on a difficult country song, Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" and obviously chose Shelton as his coach.


• Frenchie Davis returned to the spotlight with a blazing version of Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" and ended up on Aguilera's team.


• Married couple Josh and Nicole, who are called Elenowen, chose Shelton after a sweet rendition of "Falling Slowly" from the film "Once."


• Rebecca Loebe put a new twist on Nirvana's "Come as You Are" making jazzy and haunting. She decided to go with Levine over Aguilera.


• Sixteen year old Xenia sang a beautiful version of "Breakeven" and chose Shelton over Cee Lo.


• Beverley McClellen closed the show with a blistering "Piece of My Heart" and ended up on Aguilera's team.

Next week is part two of the blind auditions, with the judges filling out their final five spots.

'Glee' delivers a message of acceptance

The second season of "Glee" has been up and down. While the story of Kurt being bullied was beautifully crafted, Rachel and Finn's breakup and Will and Emma's relationship have been subpar.

It also seems like the other kids have been pushed aside for a select few. Well this week's much hyped 90 minute "Born This Way" episode not only brought the glee club back where it should be, it reminded fans why they fell in love with the show to begin with.


The story began with Rachel hurting her nose and considering a nose job. This revelation led to the club discussing the flaws they're ashamed of. This was a great topic that featured some real life conversations about body image and acceptance.

By far the best number of the episode was the mash of TLC's "Unpretty" and "I Feel Pretty" from "West Side Story." Rachel and Quinn blended the softness and vulnerability of their voices perfectly. The sadness of the song was heartbreaking.

The other musical highlight involved Kurt's inevitable return to McKinley. The Warblers showed up to say their goodbyes courtesy of Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know" (a personal favorite of mine). It was a sweet, touching moment where Kurt was thanking friends who helped him out and accepted him when he really needed it.

The subplot revolved around the race for prom queen and what Santana and Lauren did to take down Quinn. Santana discovered Karofsky's secret and came up with a crazy idea of pretending to date each other in order to become prom king and queen.

Meanwhile, Lauren decided to dig up some dirt on Quinn and found out that she used to be a fat, glasses wearing outcast with the nickname "Lucy Caboosey." Unfortunately her plan backfired and Quinn became even more popular.

The whole show ended with the big "Born This Way" number, which, while not the best drove home the message of the show. It may have been a little schmaltzy but their are a lot of young fans of "Glee" who are looking at themselves in a better light following this episode.

Looky what I found

On Marvel's website!

Yes, it was an amazing thing that they got the cast together on stage at Comic-Con.

This photo from the set means they are filming "The Avengers" as we speak!

And being eagle eyed myself, does that look like the interior to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier?

Only 373 days left before it hits theaters.

Tim stumbles onto a deal

I normally don't buy DVD sets of television shows unless I can get a really good deal.

I was lucky enough to get the first season of "Community" for $14.99.

Friday, while at Target, I literally lucked into an even better deal.

"Parks and Recreation: Season 2" for only $9.99.

Yes, 24 episodes of one of the funniest shows on television for under $10. The best part is I missed a bunch of episodes from this season, so win-win.

'Doctor Who' premiere is an emotional roller coaster

The day the all "Doctor Who" fans have been waiting for, finally came when the longest running sci-fi show in history began season six or 47, depending on who you ask.

The show opened with Rory and Amy living an ideal family life, while keeping tabs on The Doctor's increasingly outrageous historical exploits. As a matter of fact, the first scene featured a naked Doctor hiding under a woman's giant Elizabethan skirt.

Fast forard to The Doctor, Amy, Rory and River Song meeting up in the middle of nowhere, enjoying a nice reunion and a fun picnic. It was revealed that The Doctor and River had been on more of their future/past adventures and that he was 1103, 200 years older than when we last saw him.

Knowing how Steven Moffat likes to immediately launch into the story, this couldn't last long. In the most jaw-dropping opening ever, The Doctor was killed.

That's right, The Doctor is dead.

Of course, since the show is called "Doctor Who" and it revolves around time travel, a younger version of The Doctor popped up a short time later.

This all led to a hilarious trip to the White House circa 1969 and the team being joined by the always awesome Mark Sheppard as an ex-FBI agent working for President Nixon.

New enemies The Silence were introduced and I haven't been this creeped out since meeting the Weeping Angels. They're like a bigger, scarier version of Buffy's gentlemen, but as soon as anyone turns away from them they forget they saw them.

So, the question for next week is how do you fight an enemy you can't remember?

This episode also advanced the mysterious relationship between The Doctor and River. There was a touching scene where River describes to Rory how she and The Doctor are moving in opposite timelines and her worst day is coming when The Doctor will have no idea who she is.

It was a beautifully emotional scene as she painted exactly what happened in "The Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead," which in the timeline hasn't happened for her yet. River is a strong character who doesn't get vulnerable very often, so it was nice to see her reveal a bit of herself. Alex Kinston hit every note perfectly and is a spectacular heroine.

Another highlight was how mature Rory has become, his take charge attitude in the wake of The Doctor's death was surprising and appreciated. At the same time, the comically normal Rory was still ther when he questioned why River would unlock a creppy door and decided she and The Doctor were perfect for each other.

Sheppard is never dull and he jumped right in like a series vet, fitting in with the right amount of wonder, cyncism and acceptance. Though episode two hasn't yet aired, they have to figure out a way to bring him back because his rapport with The Doctor was great.

Overall, this was a fantastic start to the season, it was a nice blend of heart-breakingly sad and comic madness. Emotionally exhaausting roller coasters seems to be Steven Moffat's calling card.

Inscaped for April 13

Inscaped for April 7

Celebrating soaps: 'All My Children's' greatest couples

This week's celebrating soaps dicusses the top ten greatest "All My Children" couples. I'm sure there will be great debate among soap fans on how the list shapes up, but keep in mind these are only the opinion of someone whose been watching daytime since the womb.

1. Tad and Dixie-The mark of a great supercouple, is that no matter who they're with, it will never live up to that one true love. Throughout the years Tad and Dixie had other loves. As a matter of fact, Tad had a couple of great pairings pre-Dixie, but none of that matters, because Tad and Dixie were meant to be.

There's is a love that transcends time, space and magic. Like all good soap couples, they have dealt with obstacles like evil ex-husbands, amnesia and even death, as both have been "dead" a few times. However, none of that could keep them apart, because they are one another's true loves. Since Dixie was last killed, Tad has seemed like a piece of him is missing and the character has never been the same.

As the show prepares to wrap up its run, the writers need to give fans a nice Tad and Dixie send off, even if it involves Dixie as a ghost visiting Tad to help him move on.

2. Angie and Jesse-A couple so fated to be together, 25 years and a real soap death couldn't keep them apart. Angie was the privileged nice girl, while Jesse was the thug from the wrong side of the tracks, it's a story as old as time, how could they not end up together?

They ran away and got married, starting one of the greatest love stories in all of soaps. The summer Jesse went on the run with Jenny, my grandmother never missed an episode. Angie's love transformed Jesse into an upstanding citizen who even became a cop. When he was shot in the line of duty and died in the hospital while Angie looked on, I cried like crazy.

However, when he came back and they reunited at that train station, I cried even more. The convoluted circumstances of his return didn't matter, all that mattered was that my favorite couple was back where they belonged, together.




3. Zach and Kendall-I know putting them this high on the list is going to draw criticism, but what makes them great, is that not only did they love each other, they didn't try to change each other.
Both of these characters are complicated people, so finding a partner who could understand and accept them was difficult. Ryan and Aidan always wanted to change Kendall and Zach needed a woman who could challenge him. In yet another classic soap storyline, their marriage of convenience turned into a real union when they fell in love.

Though they were put through the soap ringer, they never stopped loving one another until the day Zach died in a plane crash. Of course, the body was never recovered and in the soap world that means he's not dead. If there's one thing "All My Children" does before it ends, it needs to reunite Zach and Kendall.



4. Jenny and Greg-You know a couple is great when fans still talk about them long after both stars have left the show. Jenny and Greg were part of the greatest summer ever with Angie, Jesse, Tad and Liza. They were the very definition of young love. They went through everything, scheming exes, sudden paralysis and an untimely death. Jenny's death is still one of the most talked about in soap history and will probably be mentioned when we get to the most heartbreaking deaths.

Laurence Lau and Kim Delaney have stated in several interviews that not a day goes by that someone doesn't come up to them to talk about Jenny and Greg. Now that's a supercouple.

5. Stuart and Cindy-Adam's twin brother Stuart was never as smart as Adam, but he had a sweetness to him that everyone loved. When he fell in love with Cindy Parker, an AIDS patient, it was truly groundbreaking television.

There beautiful love story served to showcase David Canary's brilliant acting and educated viewers about AIDS at a time when the disease was becoming a household name. Cindy's death is an episode that is still remembered as one of the best in the show's history.

6. Cliff and Nina

7. Hayley and Mateo

8. Leo and Greenlee

9. Cecily and Nico

10. Adam and Brooke

'Glee' 'Night of Neglect' recap

If Gwyneth Paltrow ever decides she's tired of being a Oscar winning movie star, she should do "Glee" full time.

This week's show was about another neglected club, the academic decathlon, which surprisingly included Brittany. Good thing she's an expert in cat diseases. In order to send the club to Detroit for academic decathlon finals, the glee club held a fundraising concert that no one showed up to, besides Sue's newly formed Heckling club.

Meanwhile Holly and Will's romance was still going strong, despite the flirtation of Cheyenne Jackson. By the way Ryan Murphy, what's the point of bringing on Jackson if you don't let him sing?

Of course, you knew the minute Will found out Emma's marriage was over, so was Will and Holly. Unfortunately, this signaled the end of Paltrow's appearances this season.


As great as Paltrow was singing Adele's "Turning Tables," she couldn't steal the spotlight from the new diva-ized Mercedes. My favorite line of the night came when Lauren Zizes informed Mercedes that Mariah Carey makes appointments for 9 a.m and doesn't show up until 3 p.m.

Tired of being overlooked, Mercedes morphed into a diva who wanted to be carried in and could only dry her hands on puppies.

In the end, it was a perfect scene between Mercedes and Rachel were the former honestly wondered why Rachel was a bigger star, when Mercedes was more talented. Though they often compete against each other for solos and attention, the truth is no one else in the club can understand these two like each other.

All Mercedes diva antics paid off when she brought the house down with a blazing rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way." This number was the definition of show stopper and allowed Amber Riley to let go and display the depth of her talent.

The show has focused on moving the stories forward making it light on musical numbers in the last few episodes. What made the show so great and unique, was that it used the music to move plots along. Now the music is just a gimmick.

For example, the heckler plot was not needed. Take it away and fans could have enjoyed more Jenna Ushkowitz's take on Lykke Li's "I Follow Rivers." I get that the show needs to include story development, but sometimes the show wastes the talent of its young cast.

The future is here. Skynet has gone live.

A little bit of nerd lore for you my friends.

Any fans of "The Sarah Conner Chronicles" out there?

As of tonight, Skynet has gone live and will attack us on Thursday.

It might be a good time to stock up on some supplies and buy that gun you always wanted.

Elisabeth Sladen, the Doctor's greatest companion dies at 63

Actress Elisabeth Sladen, best known as "Doctor Who's" Sarah Jane Smith, died earlier today at the age of 63 after battling cancer.

For "Doctor Who" fans this is a major loss, as Sarah Jane is commonly thought of as the Doctor's best companion.

Sladen originally joined the show in 1973 joining Jon Pertwee and continued until 1976, creating magic with Tom Baker.

Sladen's Sarah Jane was so beloved that she returned with David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in "School Reunion" giving fans closure to the pair's relationship, while jumpstarting a new chapter. In fact she was so great she got her own spinoff, "The Sarah Jane Adventures."

Both Tennant and Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor, made appearances on "Sarah Jane," making her one of the few people to work with multiple Doctors.

At the time of her death, the fifth season of "Sarah Jane" was filming, so it's not yet known what will happen to the show, but hopefully she will be honored appropriately in the upcoming sixth season of "Doctor Who."

Her loss leaves a huge hole in the entire "Doctor Who" universe.

Diddy chews the scenery on 'Hawaii Five-O'

Last night's episode of "Hawaii Five-O" guest starred Sean Combs as an undercover NYPD detective, whose family is targeted by the criminal he's chasing.

This storyline provided Combs with a lot of emotional scenes involving his character's son and hunting down the killer.

For the most part he was OK, however, there were a few scenes where he overacted so much it was distracting. This was especially disconcerting considering the show's guest star was the amazing Keith David.

I love Diddy. I love his music, his ambition and his entertaining spirit, but this just wasn't the right fit for him as an actor. In "Get Him to the Greek" he played an overexaggerated version of himself, which makes me think he's more suited to comedy.

The really crazy part is they left the end open for him to come back and join the team.

New feature: Celebrating soaps

To celebrate and honor "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" as they prepare to end after over 40 years on televison I will discuss the greatest moments, characters and couples of each show.

Every Thursday I will countdown a new top ten topic from each show. This week I'm starting things off with the greatest couples.

When I say greatest couples, I mean supercouples, pairings whose love story was epic and is still talked about to this day.

Let me know who should be included in the list on Twitter or in the comments.

The fight to save soap operas

While long time fans are still struggling to process the cancellation of "One Life to Live" and "All My Children," stories are coming out about behind the scenes dealings at ABC Daytime and whether the shows ever really had a chance.

Deadline Hollywood has a fascinating story up about power plays at Disney when Soapnet's future was in question.

Several strategies were suggested including making the channel a hip, destination network for women with the codename Carrie, based on Sarah Jessica Parker's "Sex and the City" character.

Another suggestion was Disney Moms, a channel that moms could watch with their families.

At the same time the Disney Channel staff was working on Disney Juniors and pitched that. Ultimately, Disney Juniors was chosen and it was announced Soapnet wouls cease operations in January 2012. However, now Disney Juniors isn't quite ready to go and Soapnet will stay on the air longer, but what will it show, there are only four soaps left and it only has the rights to three of them.

Why can't "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" continue on Soapnet and online? It would mean massive changes and cuts but at least the shows would still live and Disney would have them in case the new reality, talk shows don't work out.

Of course what do I know I've only been watching daytime dramas my entire life.

'Game of Thrones' episode one recap

Unlike Candace, I'm a newcomer to "Game of Thrones." I'm not familiar with all the ends and outs of the characters and where the story is going. I'm coming in as a clean slate, which is nice for a change.

The first scene immediately caught my attention with a horrible massacre by an ancient supernatural race. I'm not sure who or what White Walkers are, but I'm terrified.

Following the horrific opening, the episode slowed, which is to be expected when a show has to introduce this many characters and establish their motivations. So to make things easier, I will try to recap one family at a time.

House of Stark

Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark (Sean Bean) governs the north under the rule of King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy). He is asked by the King to become the new Hand of the King when the old one dies. Think White House Chief of Staff, only everyone carries swords.

The interaction between Ned and Robert showed the cameraderie of old friends while never letting us forget that Robert is the King.

House of Lannister

Queen Cersei's brothers Tyrion and Jamie take full advantage of their positions, with Tyrion the dwarf (Peter Dinklage) pratically living at the brothel and Jamie, well we'll get to him momentarily.

Cersei (Lena Headey), is (as Candace calls her) Lady Macbeth. She plots against her husband and Ned, and uses her children as political pawns. The way she gave the backhanded compliment about the north to Ned's wife was exactly what you'd expect from her.

Jamie is "the kingslayer," because he killed the previous King, a member of the Kingsguard and respected as one of the Seven Kingdoms greatest swordsman. He is Cersei's twin and SPOILER ALERT!! lover.

Ned's son Bran suffered the unfortunate consequences of finding out this secret, as Jamie pushed him off the castle wall to keep him quiet.

House of Targaryen

King Targaryen ruled the Seven Kingdoms before Robert, he was the King Jamie killed. His son Viserys and daughter Daenerys long to return to their rightful throne and Viserys (Harry Lloyd) arranges a marriage between Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and warlord Drago (Jason Momoa) so that they can use his army to start a war.

Their wedding was a rowdy affair that featured a fight to the death, because "a Dothraki wedding without at least three deaths is a dull affair."

Later the sun literally sets on daenerys' virginity as Khal Drogo makes her his wife in a heartbreaking, yet beautifully shot scene.

As the series progresses, the action will become faster paced and the political intrigue more complicated, but as a first episode the last twenty minutes set things up nicely.

Bruce Campbell's B-movie charm can't save 'Burn Notice' prequel

Seeing as how Tim was personally responsible for "Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe," this film held a special place in our hearts. We've been looking forward to it for a while.

The movie tells the story of Sam's last mission as a Navy Seal and how he came to retire in Miami. The plot was pretty generic as Sam is sent to Colombia to fight rebels in the jungle.

Of course, once he's there he figures out that he hasn't been told the whole story and ends up joining the rebels, who turn out to be a small group of farmers with old rifles.

Sam uses some of the improvised skills we've come to expect from "Burn Notice" and displays some new ones we haven't seen yet, but Bruce Campbell's endless charm is the only thing holding the movie up.

Campbell is known to sci-fi and horror fans for his work in classic B-movies like the "Evil Dead" franchise and "Bubba Ho-Tep." At Comic-Con he is considered a rock star and is a leading man is the most classic sense of the word.

On "Burn Notice," he deftly plays Michael Westen's supportive best friend and partner in crime, putting his comedic chops to good use.

With that in mind, on paper a Sam Axe prequel movie sounded like a perfect idea to keep fans satisfied between seasons, however, the absence of Michael, Fiona and Madeline became more noticeable as the film went on. Campbell needed someone to play off of and none of his co-stars seemed to bring the same fun energy that he always has.

The one exception was Ronreaco Lee as a doctor with a talent for explosives. He and Sam worked off one another well and should have had more scenes together. It would be great if his character showed up in Miami needing help from his old pal Sam.

All in all, "The Fall of Sam Axe" did provide viewers with a little more insight into the somewhat mysterious character, but the overall plot was generic and non-suprising with a too convenient ending only held up by the power of Bruce Campbell's chin.

'Vampire Diaries' 'The Last Dance' recap

Last night's episode of "The Vampire Diaries" displayed some of the show's strenghths so well even my mom was interested by the end.

In the run up to the season finale, the show's producers and stars have been teasing a major characters death. Well in "The Last Dance" that prediction came true with the sudden demise of town witch Bonnie.

She used all her power to kill Klaus and get him out of Alaric's body. The scene was heartbreaking with Bonnie locking herself in with Klaus, while Stefan and Elena watch from outside.

But, wait a minute, Bonnie's not dead because it was all just a clever ruse so Klaus would think Bonnie was dead and let down his guard. I must say the show played this very well, not giving away the secret unitl the end of the episode.

Although Candace and I suspected something was up, based on the mysterious conversation between Bonnie and Damon.

Speaking of which, Candace is a die hard Bonnie/Damon fan, so all their interaction made her a little excited. Kat Graham really got to show off some cool witch powers in this episode.

However, the real highlight was Matt Davis as Alaric posessed by Klaus pretending to be Alaric. He was very good at being evil and hilarious trying to teach. His line about The Beatles making the '60s bearable had me cracking up.

Actual hilarious texts between Candace and I during the show:

Stephanie: They have more dances, it's ridiculous.
Candace: I know. School dances, city events. There are more parties in Mystic Falls than the whole U.S.

Candace: Hey, we finally get to see Alaric's apartment.

Stephanie: It's not just the dances, it's the costumes. Where do they get them?
Candace: OMG, LOL. I know right, they happen to have clothes that go with every possible dance theme.

Next week Klaus' back story, can't wait.