Tied: It’s a real shame that the cast of Bridesmaids never showed up, because that probably would have made this book A LOT better (My thoughts on Book #4 in the Tangled book series by Emma Chase)

 

As I said back in my review for Tangled (My thoughts on Tangled), that book and the way it was written reminded me a lot of How I Met Your Mother. If you read my review for Tangled, you might remember that I also said that I really hoped that when I eventually finished reading all of the books in the Tangled series, I wouldn’t be left feeling so disappointed by the ending of the series that I would be wishing that I had never taken time to read the entire series in the first place like the series finale of How I Met Your Mother left me feeling. Right off the bat, I’ll say that while I found myself being incredibly disappointed by Tied, it thankfully didn’t leave me feeling so upset by the way the series ended that I wish that I never invested my time in reading the entire Tangled series in the first place. However, I’ll say right now that in my opinion Tied is definitely the worst book in the series. That being said, I should probably mention that technically I still have to read the short story “Holy Frigging Matrimony”, but since this book is last book in the series and “Holy Frigging Matrimony” apparently goes back to an earlier point in Drew and Kate’s relationship, I’m going to consider Tied to be the end of series.

If had to say right off the bat what one of my biggest problems with Tied is, it probably would be that I feel like the overall plot of this book is very cliché and paper-thin, and it’s severely lacking conflict that’s genuinely interesting or entertaining. That’s a real shame, because one thing that I’ve always loved about the Tangled series is that it’s written almost entirely from a man’s point of view, which I’ve always felt helped put a fresh spin on a genre that’s often full of clichés and severely lacking in originality. Honestly, Tied reminded me a lot of the movie Bridesmaids when I was reading it given how the book focuses a lot on Drew and Kate’s bachelor and bachelorette parties, as well as their wedding, which takes place in the epilogue. Personally, I think the movie Bridesmaids is much more entertaining and funny than Tied is. Tied feels like more of a 256 pages long epilogue to the series than anything else, which I think is pretty weird given the fact that this book has an actual epilogue. However, the book also included some flashbacks to when James was a baby, and he’s two years old now, which allows the reader to see what Drew and Kate are like as parents.

One thing that I loved about Tangled and the epilogue in Twisted was getting to read about Drew’s views on relationships, women and life in general. While Drew has definitely always had a tendency to be a bit of an asshole at times, he’s at least always been willing to admit that he can be an asshole at times, and I still thought that he was a very likable protagonist in Tangled and Twisted. However, I have to say that when I was reading Tied, I suddenly found myself frequently thinking that he wasn’t a likable asshole any more, he was just being an obnoxious asshole most of the time throughout the book.

The Carrie Diaries: Scoop on episode 2x02 "Express Yourself" from E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos

Here's some scoop on The Carrie Diaries from Kristin Dos Santos' Spoiler Chat column, which was posted on 10/28/13.

Lyla: So excited for the return of The Carrie Diaries! What's next?
Remember that bridal shop scene from Bridesmaids that is burned into your memory forever? The Carrie Diaries will have its own food poisoning situation at someone's birthday party in Friday's episode, and trust us when we say, it won't be pretty. But even more intriguing is Sebastian turning to Carrie after another heartbreaking situation with his dad, and you won't believe what she tells him.

Link to the full article:Spoiler Chat: Scoop on Scandal, Once Upon a Time, The Good Wife, Ravenswood and More! | E! Online

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: TV’s funniest comedy is back! Sorry, Modern Family, but I’m not talking about you (My thoughts on the season 9 premiere: Episode 9x01 “The Gang Broke Dee”)

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, season nine of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is finally here and I’m happy to say that the season premiere definitely didn’t disappoint me for the most part. Right off the bat, I would like to say that I definitely liked this episode more than the season eight premiere (“Pop-Pop: The Final Solution”). Don’t get me wrong, I loved the season eight premiere, it’s just that I thought this episode was a slightly stronger season premiere for the show. One of the reasons why I love this episode so much is that while It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an ensemble show, this was essentially a Dee centric episode, and I tend to pretty much enjoy any episode that’s centered around Dee or episodes that are centered largely around Dee and perhaps one other character.

The episode opened with the guys watching Dee in horror as she was eating a cake that Charlie mentioned that he had previously thrown it out, while she was also smoking a cigarette and had also clearly not showered in several days. In typical fashion, Dennis, Charlie, Mac and Frank all started trying to make fun of her, saying that she looks like a bird. Only this time, Dee kept finishing their sentences since the guys have always pretty only primarily used the same set of insults and rude comments, much to the guys disappointment. After Dee finally left the bar, the guys came to the conclusion that they had “broken” Dee.

The guys quickly took it upon themselves to try and cheer Dee up in their own messed up way. Charlie, Mac and Frank believed the best way to cheer Dee up was to sign her up for an open mike night at a comedy club, figuring that since Dee didn’t seem to care about anything anymore that she won’t gag when she’s on stage and trying to do stand up like she usually does. Dennis disagreed with this plan, saying that he thought the best way to get Dee out of her funk was to find her a man to be with. Dennis being Dennis went about this in a very backhanded way, telling Dee that the guy would at best be simply average, if not below average. While I loved this episode for being such a Dee centric episode, I also loved all of the parts featuring Dennis, at times I enjoyed the parts of the episode with Dennis even more than I enjoyed the parts of the episode that were focused primarily on Dee. Glenn Howerton always does a fantastic job on the show, but I especially enjoyed his performance in this episode.

Charlie, Mac and Frank ended up being right when they thought Dee wouldn’t gag on stage now that she didn’t seem to care about anything. Her first stand up routine did start out a little rough though, because at first she was just standing in front of the microphone sighing heavily and acting completely out of it until somebody in the audience yelled at her to say something. Dee proceeded to lament about her life and how the joke always seems to be on her, and the audience apparently thought what she was saying was funny, because they were laughing. This also led to Dee’s catch phrase throughout the episode becoming, “I’m Sweet Dee, and the joke’s on me.”

Modern Family: Wendi McLendon-Covey to Guest-Star in a Season 4 Episode

According to Entertainment Weekly's Sandra Gonzalez, Wendi McLendon-Covey will be guest-starring in a season 4 episode of Modern Family. Here's an excerpt from the article, which gives some details on McLendon-Covey's role:



The Bridesmaids star has booked a guest spot on ABC’s Modern Family playing one-half of a lesbian couple whose son gets into a fight with Lily on the first day of kindergarten. SNL alum Michaela Watkins will play her partner. “I can’t wait. I go in and film it tomorrow and Wednesday and Thursday,” McLendon-Covey tells EW. “It’ll be pretty fun.”

The actress, who will appear in the third episode of the season, jokes that she’s looking forward to taking on a role that is completely different than the types of characters she’s played before — because she’s playing a loving mother. “I usually play someone who hates her kids — this time I love my child!”



Link to the full article:'Modern Family': Wendi McLendon-Covey to guest as a lesbian mom | Inside TV | EW.com







My thoughts: I have to say that I'm really excited about this news for several reasons. For starters, Wendi McLendon-Covey is one of the many things that I love about the movie Bridesmaids. Wendi McLendon-Covey was beyond hilarious in that movie. The other reason why I'm really excited about this news is the fact that Michaela Watkins will be playing her character's partner. I loved Michaela Watkins on Saturday Night Live, and I think Lorne Michaels made a huge mistake when he fired Watkins. I've really missed seeing Michaela Watkins on Saturday Night Live, so it will be a real treat to see her on Modern Family along with Wendi McLendon-Covey.



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The Random Thoughts of a Writer: Modern Family: Manny and casting related scoop on season 4 from TVLine's Michael Ausiello

 

Community: Casts Matt Lucas in Season 4-TVLine

According to TVLine's Michael Ausiello and Kimberly Roots, British comedian Matt Lucas has been cast in a recurring guest-star role for season 4 of Community. Early information indicated that Lucas would be playing a History professor, but now the producers of the show are saying that's incorrect and that the details of Lucas' role have yet to be decided.



Link to the full article:Community Casts Matt Lucas in Season 4 - TVLine







My thoughts: Honestly, I didn't like Matt Lucas in Bridesmaids at all. He and Rebel Wilson were the only bad things about an otherwise awesome movie, so I'm not looking forward to seeing him on Community at all. That being said, I'm really looking forward to season 4 of Community. Personally, I'm glad that Community is airing on Fridays now. Back when it aired on Thursdays, I rarely watched it since it aired at the same time as The Big Bang Theory and The Vampire Diaries and I constantly forgot to watch it online, so I always ended up buying the DVD sets when they came out so I could watch the show. I'm pretty much always at home on Friday nights, so I should pretty much always be able to watch Community live now except for the occasional week.

Damages: Interview with Rose Byrne with Scoop on Season 5--Does Ellen Die?-TVLine

Here's an interview that TVLine's Michael Ausiello did with Rose Byrne, which gives some scoop on the fifth and final season of Damages. In the interview, discusses her thoughts on fans speculating about Ellen's fate based on the season 5 promo, the evolution of Ellen and Patty's relationship throughout the course of the series, her relationship with Glenn Close and the possibility of her doing another long-term gig on a TV show. Here's an excerpt from the article where Byrne gives some scoop on what's going to be happening in the fifth and final season:



TVLINE | Are you getting approached by fans worried about Ellen’s fate? The promos paint an ominous picture.
Yes, a lot of concerned viewers are coming up to me shaking their heads. They’re very worried. It’s a very provocative image.

TVLINE | Of course, this being Damages, nothing is ever as it seems. Is it possible she’s really not dead?
I’m pleading the fifth on this. [Laughs] I’m not going to give you anything.

TVLINE | As a fan of the show, the prospect of Ellen getting killed makes me angry. I know you can’t really speak to that specifically, but can you say whether Season 5 is a satisfying conclusion to the series?
It is. We really go into Ellen’s psychology in terms of her family and in terms of the dynamics of her family and how much that has shaped her and affected her. There’s a lot of stuff with her mother [played by Debra Monk]. We rediscover a lot of things that are going on there. And, obviously, there’s the Ellen-Patty relationship… It’s really haunting stuff. Ellen is very haunted this season — more than ever. We also get to see her grapple with power and the idea of gaining her power and being unapologetic about it. And also, how far is she going to go to win against Patty, who has basically ruined her life? That’s a huge thing this season.

TVLINE | The first two episodes suggest that Ellen is going to be severely outmatched by Patty in the courtroom. Fair to say the playing field levels out a bit as the season progresses?
Yes, it does. I think it’s a very satisfying thing for the fans to see. Early on we always talked about, “Wouldn’t it be great down the line to see them go up against each other over a case?” It’s like the ultimate ending. It all comes full circle. The protégé becomes the opponent.

TVLINE | This season really seems to return to the core of their conflict — which is that Patty tried to have Ellen killed.
Yes. It always comes back to that. It’s a huge thing haunting and hanging over Ellen.

TVLINE | Any twists this season really make your jaw drop?
Oh yes. There are some big things, absolutely. There were a few frantic phone calls to the writers, “What’s happening?! Really?! This is really happening?!” [Laughs]



Link to the full article:Damages Series Finale Spoiler -- Does Ellen Die? - TVLine



My thoughts: I know that I've said this before, but while I'm beyond grateful to DirecTV for acquiring Damages when the FX network decided to cancel it, I hate that I had to wait for season 4 to come out on DVD in order to see it. Given the way the season 5 promo looks and the spoilers that I've read, I hate the fact that I'll have to wait until the season 5 DVD set comes out in order to watch the final season even more than I hated waiting for the season 4 DVD set to come out. I loved Jenna Elfman on Dharma & Greg, so I'm really excited to see her in a dramatic role in the final season of  Damages. Personally, I think that Damages is one of the best shows on TV right now, so if you haven't watched it before, I highly recommend that you buy the DVDs. They are definitely worth every penny.