Why is it so good? - Warehouse 13

I didn't expect that writing about Jaime Murray would make me miss "Warehouse 13" so much! But since it did, the only thing that seemed reasonable was to started watching the show again from the beginning. And already the first episode reminded me why it is one of my favourite shows.

The plot scored the bull's eye with me with the first episode.
In South Dakota there's a government warehouse. So secret that it actually re-defines the term: no one knows about it including the government itself. It employs only a small group of agents, who's job it is to keep the warehouse from exploding (a threat much more common than you'd expect) and to find and secure almost-magical objects known as "artefacts".

What are those, you ask? Anything and everything that acts strange, or which makes people who touch them act weird or develop any kind of almost-magical powers. Usually these objects used to belong to some famous people from the history like Edgar Allan Poe, Leonardo da Vinci, Marilyn Monroe or Lewis Carrol, and after the death of their respective owners, they gained a life of their own. No two artefacts are alike, and how they work is completely dependant on the person who used to own them - so if a therapist who used to practice hypnosis had a specific chair, it might now make people act on their subconscious thoughts. If Lewis Carroll based his stories on real events, who knows what Alice's Mirror might do and so on.
Welcome to the Warehouse, the world in which myths and urban legends usually prove to be true, crazy inventions might've actually worked and famous figures might not exactly be whom the history led us to believe.

Artefacts are a lot of fun, and it's always amazing to see what the new one is going to be, but it's the cast who makes the show so outstanding. The dream team of Warehouse's protectors and artefact hunters includes:

Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) - when we meet her, she's as an uptight FBI agent. She doesn't eat sugar, is focused solely on her career, which she treats way too seriously, and is haunted by the events from the past. But during the five seasons she changes a lot, making friends, opening up, and becoming a more relaxed person that's fun to be around. But she never stops to be the brains of the operation, and with her extensive knowledge of all things she usually is the one who can figure out how to save the day. Also, she's the only who actually reads the Warehouse manual and the Regents’ addendum. 

Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) is Myka's complete opposite, which makes him her perfect partner. He's goofy, he has an attention span of a five-year old and will never pass on either the free food or an inappropriate joke, but he cares for his friends and is actually a pretty damn good agent. When it comes to the work, he can be as devoted as Myka is. He also has "vibes" that warn him about the coming danger.

Claudia Donovan (Allison Scagliotti) joins the team in the 5th episode of the first season, and is everything the show needed. She comes back from Artie's past and kidnaps him, so when we meet her for the first time, it's hard to suspect what a fun, adorable, geeky character she is! She's a volcano of energy, she always has a joke or obscure nerdy reference to make, but she's also a computer genius and has a special, growing bond with the Warehouse itself. It's hard not to love her and her character development is one of the more interesting aspects of the story.

Artur "Artie" Nielsen (Saul Rubinek), the grumpy, sarcastic, snappy boss of the team. He keeps to himself and doesn't like to share unless we're talking about his delicious cookies. As it quickly turns out he has a rather dark past (but seriously, who doesn't). More often than not he works from the Warehouse dealing with the problems closer to home, while sending rest of his agents for the outside missions.

Leena (Genelle Williams) is lovely, warm, calm and patient. She's the owner of "Leena's bed and breakfast" where the agents live. She sees auras and understands the artefacts better then anybody else, though it is not explained how or why. While playing as a hen mother and a housewife, she also helps with research and seems to be best at solving the conflicts and problems that raise among the team members. Sadly, we know nothing about her personal story or the life before the Warehouse.

In the third season we are introduced to Steve "Jinxy" Jinks (Aaron Ashmore). He gets partnered with Claudia and they hit it off immediately, becoming best friends. He's more serious than Pete and more goofy than Myka so he fits in perfectly. He also has an "annoying" talent - he can always tell when others lie. Oh, and he's gay and no one makes a big deal out of it, but we had to wait until the 4th season to meet Steve's ex and until the 5th season to have the writers make fun out of gay stereotypes.

There's also H.G. Wells (Jaime Murray) whom I've already mentioned in the previous text. H.G. is a writer from 19th/20th century, an inventor of time machine and… a woman. A dangerous woman, a former agent of Warehouse 12, who got bronzed (imprisoned in a statue-like form) until she was freed in the modern times. She's both the villain and an ally, and since nothing with her can be easy, she also apparently has a crush on Myka… a mutual one, it would seem, even though it's never been confirmed by the writers. 

Last but not least is Mrs. Irene Frederic (CCH Pounder), an enigmatic, mysterious woman with a nasty habit of appearing without a sound right behind your back, who can make you shit your pants just with the power of the glares. She's Warehouse's caretaker, and thanks to the strong bond with it, she can always sense the danger. It means she usually shows up only where there's a crisis, so small wonder her appearances always make the rest of characters uneasy, to say the least. 

Ok, since we are done with the introductions and formalities, let's do what we've come here for. Let's talk about why "Warehouse 13" is one of my favourite shows and why, in my humble opinion at least, it's one of the most innovative shows on television. 

True fact: I started to watch "Warehouse 13" solely because I've discovered that it had Mark Sheppard. 

After stumbling across Mark p on "Firefly", "Battlestar Gallactica" (such a good show), "Doctor Who" and "Supernatural", I finally decided to seek him out and watch literally everything he's been on. So while he was a reason why I picked this series up, he wasn't why I stayed. 

The series doesn't take itself seriously, the characters mock each other all the time and continue to criticise and question the laws of the Warehouse.. The character development during all the five seasons is heart-warming and realistic and the viewer enjoys watching all the different dynamics between the characters. What's also extremely important is how feminist this series is. It is all about female power; every woman represents a different type, but they are equally independent and they don't need guys to save the world. 

Artie and Claudia have a very obvious father-daughter relationship, but at the same time Claudia constantly irritates him by pointing out his weight and age so at times they seem more like colleagues than anything else, but it's always obvious how deeply they care for each other. Myka and Pete are the best of friends, because the opposites attract each other, but when Jinxy appeared, he and Claudia bonded so smoothly that they naturally formed an equally awesome team. Leena is everybody's friend even if they are not sure about them themselves, and she seems to have more human and intimate friendship with Mrs Frederic, while for all the rest she's as mysterious as one of the artefacts they put on the shelves. Not to mention the beautiful friendship between Myka and H.G. which was definitely more than just that.

While H.G. is always portrayed in a shirt and trousers, she's probably the most feminine out of the bunch, since she is both aware of her looks and is not afraid to use them. But it's actually refreshing to see so many powerful and strong female characters who don't need to drop their bras to be so. Myka kicks ass, Claudia is all brains and witt, and even Leena, who seems like the softest and most caring can protect herself when needed. It is also interesting how different styles all women present. From the teenager Claudia to mature (and possibly kinda immortal) Mrs. Frederick, from English-pale H.G. to dark-skinned Leena. From openly bisexual H.G. to Claudia, who can't handle male attention to save her life. 

One more thing before I go: "Warehouse 13" is a non-ending parade of wonderful cameos of the actors you know mostly from other geek shows. So… Sean Maher and Jewel Staite who on "Firefly" were intensely flirting as Simon Tam and Kaylee Frye, here get to be together. Myka's family seems to be especially interesting since her sister is portrayed by a lovely Amy Acker ("Angel's" Fred) and her father is played by Michael Hogan ("Battlestar Gallactica's" Colonel Saul Tigh). Though he's not the only " "Battlestar Gallactica" star to be seen on "Warehouse 13": in the second episode Pete and Myka meet Chicago's FBI agent - Tricia Helfer (Number Six on "BSG"). I've already mentioned Mark Sheppard (most recently Crowley in "Supernatural"), but at the end all "Buffy: the vampire slayer" fans got a treat like no other with an on-screen reunion of James Marsters (Spike) and Anthony Head (Rupert Giles).

   

Guys. It doesn't get any better than this.

- Aga's out! Go get yourself some "Warehouse 13" awesomnes!

PS: Yes, that was a lot of gifs. No, I regret nothing. No, they are not made by me. Thank you. 

Why do we love her? Part one: Jaime Murray.

Jaime Murray, a black-haired 38-year-old is not someone you can not feel passionate about. You either hate her, and find her accent and manner of speaking annoying or tall, slim figure too alien-like, or you are absolutely crazy about her. Guess which one is true for me.

Her filmography may not be very long, but apart from few movies which I am not going to discuss here since it's a tv-series blog, she has starred in some very interesting shows. Obviously she has done a few guest cameos in criminal series like "Poirot", "the Mentalist" and "NCIS", but when she gets more then one episode, her character is usually either frequently on-screen or quite important to the plot.

After watching her in a few different roles it’s hard not to notice a very vivid pattern: all her characters can be described as either crazy or hot/sexy/femme-fatal-type-guys-have-no-chance-against.

I am not saying her characters are one-dimensional though! What I mean is that most of them are written and designed in such a way that they can be described with one of these two words; they of course differ on the scale in which certain adjective fits them, giving us a whole spectrum of characters who go from mildly weird to bat-shit crazy, and from seductively sexy to the one who shows a porn-star level of nakedness. Oh yes, it’s a good news for all of you perverts out there! One thing you can always count on with Jaime Murray is that if the show is not PG-13, you can bet she will drop the clothes and sex it up with whoever is at hand. And if the show doesn't allow that, you can rest well assured that she will at least hit on any woman she can find.
Thanks to her "Warehouse 13" got it's most famous not-really-canon-but-basically-canon pairing that everyone shipped (including Murray herself).

Below there's a very personal list of my favourite roles by Jaime. Enjoy!


6. Grace Valentine from "Valentine"

I am not even sure if "Valentine" should make the best of anything list, but silly as it was, it was actually fun to watch. The show concentrates on a group of Greek gods who try to make ends meet in the modern world, living among humans. The family of Valentines run by beautiful Grace - a.k.a. Aphrodite - is invested in what seems like a family matchmaking business… except that where the gods are involved, the process of searching for a soul mate may be slightly different than you'd expect..

Special bonus: I don't suppose you'll be surprised if I say that the goddess of love is one sexy lady. She may keep her clothes on most of the time, but is a cause of the greatest orgasm in tv-shows since Buffy and Riley lost it and made the whole house experience their bed pleasures in "Where the Wild Things Are" (4 x 18).

5. Gaia from "Spartacus: the Gods of the Arena"

"The Gods of the Arena" is a one-season prequel to the three-seasoned "Spartacus" (titled respectively "Blood and Sand", "Vengeance" and "War of the damned"). I am not going to lie: I wouldn't have touched that series if it wasn't for Murray, and I have finished neither the main series nor the spin-off. 

The main series tells the story of Spartacus, a brave warrior taken into Roman slavery, who is forced to become a gladiator. The show has stunning graphic fights, interesting aesthetic choices when it comes to showing blood but mostly… there's sex. Lots and lots of sex, to the point where the series seems more like a porn with a plot than anything else. 

"The Gods of the Arena" concentrates on Quintus Lentulus Batiatus and his wife Lucretia, who own the ludus and all the gladiators who train in it (including Spartacus). What interests us is that the very first episode introduces to us Lucretia's friend Gaia, a playful, adventurous woman, whose search for a wealthy husband doesn't stop her from getting what she wants: which, in this case, is to get into Lucretia's robes. Otherwise manipulative and with very dubious morals, Gaia cares very much for Lucretia, and their relationship is very sweet and warm, which makes it very special in a world where sex seems to be so common it's became meaningless. 

Special bonus: points for shagging the amazing Lucy Lawless (a.k.a. Xena the warrior princess)!

4. Stacie Monroe from "Hustle" 

Stacie is an interesting one. A brilliant con-artist, who is well aware of her feminine charm and famme fatale aura, and is not afraid to use them to obtain her goals. Comparing with Murray's other roles, Stacie seems very well-balanced and sane so no one can have any doubt that she's an incredibly strong woman, who doesn't owe her success to anyone but herself. Placed between childish Danny and mature Mickey there's a lot of room to play with the character's sexual energy and feminine strength. Which the writers gladly did. 

Special bonus: like in every show which needs a brand new plot every episode, there's a lot of occasions to see her in different different incarnations… and few bizzare wigs and marvelous outfits.

3. Lila Tournay from "Dexter" 

Since someone told me that “Dexter” is a scary show, and the opening seemed to prove them right, I haven't had the guts to watch it until recently. And frankly, I am neither scared nor have I become a fan of the series. One of a few reasons why I still haven’t given up on it, is that I knew Jaime Murray was supposed to show her sweet ass in the second season. And she did show much more than just her ass. 

Lila Tournay is a perfect example of a character who is both overly sexualised and crazy. We meet her as an reformed meth addict, who later becomes Dexter’s “sponsor” when he has to pretend that he's addicted to drugs. They hit it off quick and they hit it off hard, but things quickly start to go downhill even for Dexter. She might not be a serial killer but her fascination with dead bodies and very disturbing sense of art make her actually seem more crazy from the two of them. Which is something, I guess.

Special bonus: her fashion sense is brilliant. I adored all the little accessories that she wore, including characteristic armbands. 

2. H.G. Wells from "Warehouse 13" 

Title warehouse is a place of "endless wonders", where supernatural artefacts are hidden from the public view and kept safe - more or less. The group of agents who is in charge of "bagging and tagging" as they call the process of finding and neutralising artefacts, consists of: grumpy Artie, childish Pete, up-tight but lovable Myka and a computer genius in a body of rebeled teen, Claudia. But things would be far less interesting without a sexy, adventurous, brilliant inventor from the past - no one else but H.G. Wells himse… uhm, herself! Since she joined the cast in the 2nd season she made a full transition between an evil villain and a good agent, but in reality she's always stayed grey.

Special bonus: H.G. Wells is openly bisexual, and even though she doesn't get to have on-screen sex nor even on-screen official love interest, there's more than a little tension between her and Myka and Jaime Murray herself had a big part in creating this relationship as it is now!

1. Stahma Tarr  from "Defiance" 

For me, Stahma is where all the other roles were leading Jaime Murray to. It's a role she's meant to have since the beginning of her career and it couldn't have gone to anybody else. 

In the post-apocalyptic city of Defiance, where people struggle to live among the new alien species which came to inhabit our planet after the destruction of their own, Stahma is an alien, Castithan to be precise, and a wife to brutal and cruel Datak. Among her aristocratic species women are supposed to know their place, and never leave the shadow cast by their men, and at the beginning shadows are indeed a place where Stahma feels best. She manipulates others, including her own husband, to make sure her family's status is high enough, but as the second season shows, she can do as well in the main spotlight. She's attractive, but her attractiveness is dangerous and sharp as an edge of the knife. She smiles and bows, but there's nothing humble underneath it. Where "Dexter's" Lila was a carefree psychopath, Stahma is clever and cruel and she has a plan. She's terryfying in her beauty and beautiful in how terryfying she can be. 

Special bonus: It's another bisexual character, and once again it seems that the sexual same-sex relationship is the only time Murray's character can show her softer side.

                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                          That's all!

                                                                                                                                - Aga

Why does it bother me? Part one: "The Good Wife"

I don't think I am a picky watcher. I don't scratch the show out just because it has major plot holes *cough*DoctorWho*cough*, nor do I particularly enjoy finding the inconsistencies in the plot… well, unless they are really absurd, then I can't help myself. But I usually grumble about it to these few people who want to listen and then I let it go. But once in a while (and I mean: on average once per an episode) there is this one little detail that just bugs me. While it's not big enough to make a big deal out of it, I just feel like someone should point it out.

Recently I returned to "the Good Wife". As a person who doesn't know a first thing about law - any law - I still adore it. I love Baranski's performance, Julianna Margulies is stunning, I love the tension between the characters, I love Kalinda, and I love the moment when the team crushes their opponents in court.

Oh yeah, you guessed it: there is a "but" coming.

I have an small issue with this show literally since the very first episode. I mean… Why is Alicia Florick always late to basically every meeting she has? She is a goddamn lawyer, and a quite good too, but I don't think there was a one meeting she wasn't late to. And I don't mean only these at work. She's late to her husband's campaign meetings, she is late to her family gatherings (though these seem to suffer the least), she is late to the court, she is late for work. I can understand that the writers wanted to introduce a character, who apart from being a busy lawyer, is a busy mum and a busy person, but somehow I just can't get over the fact that no one notices this horrible lack of discipline. Neither sharp-tongued Kalinda nor Cary, who should at least try using it for his advantage during his first season competition with Alice.

So that's a small portion of frustration for today. And hey, if it keeps being my only problem with "the Good Wife", I might have to call it one of the best shows I've seen.

                                                                                                          go watch something! - Aga

TOP 5 MUSICAL EPISODES

We've been on a bit of a hiatus, but that's because our studies have this annoying habit of throwing exams in our faces every couple of months. But I remembered I had this article already written, so I may as well share! :)

I am a big fan of musicals which covers as well my enthusiasm for musical tv-series and, even  more importantly, a sheer joy I feel every time I discover that the show I am watching/have watched has a musical episode. I don't really know what it is about character dancing and singing out of the blue, apart from the pleasure of listening to some nice tunes performed by the actors I enjoy, but it has some magic to it. One thing for sure, it totally changes the pace of the series and even though by now it's rather common for comedic series to have one episode like that (it’s usually so out of character that it’s hard to pull it off in a serious series), it still makes it feel like if it's something absolutely new, brilliant and fresh.

Obviously the list is absolutely personal, but as usually, I tried to be as objective as it was possible. So I scrutinised the role of the episode's plot in the context of the whole season, the level of actor's performance, the explanation behind the musical format and, last but not least, I was judging if the episode in general was enjoyable. 

05. GREY'S ANATOMY: "SONG BENEATH THE SONG" (07 x 18)

favourite songs:

"Running on Sunshine":

"The Story" (Sara Remirez) 

"Grey's Anatomy" has one of the rare examples of musical episodes which are actually very dramatic in style; the songs are not used to ease the tension, but on the contrary, they add to it. And if there is anything in the show, it's tension - episode starts with Callie Torres (Sara Remirez) has a car accident and ends up in a coma. If that wasn't enough, her pregnancy is endangered and the doctors have to make a decision if they should deliver the baby or not, and whether she would survive if they didn't.

During a whole episode we see Torres in a double form: one is her physical body in the hospital bed, covered in bandages and pipes, and the other one is a healthy, normal version of her, who appears near the body and is some kind of astral personification of Torres' soul - she's the one who sings, and who hears everyone as if they were singing; only people who are in her hearing distance are portrayed as singing. So her head trauma serves for a nice explanation (though not completely original, as you'll see below).

It's pretty obvious why it was Sara Remirez who was chosen to be the main character in this kind of episode; she pulls off the singing gig perfectly: her voice is passionate, strong, and together with great acting it sends shivers down my spine. You can see it especially in "The Story" that she has a full control over the viewer, who feels exactly what she wants him to.

The rest of the songs are more similar in style, all epic and emotional. I need to make a special notification of Owen Hunt's (Kevin McKidd) "How we operate" - his deep, emotional voice really does the trick in creating the mood and raising the tension (which is already pretty high). Around middle of the episode we get "Runnin' on sunshine", which serves as the only comedic relief, and is my personal favourite. It shows various couples from the show, on various stages of involvement, who take a break from the drama to just be together, sexually, emotionally, intimately. In the presence of Callie and Erica's drama, they feel the need of just being with their loved ones (or just a pretty nurse in case of this one patient), and of getting away from the hospital for a moment. Even though it may be seen as unnecessary and even irritatingly off-topic, I like the song and I like that it gives the viewer a moment to catch his breath instead of being crushed by the horror which is playing in front of him.

The biggest "but" would be the simplicity of the plot. The whole episode concentrates on saving Torres' life and the emotions of other staff members. The episode is made for the songs, not songs for the episode, and around second half I got bored a little bit. This is why, despite high artistic performance, "Song Beneath the Song" is not going higher on the list.

04. XENA: "THE BITTER SUITE " (03 x 12)

favourite songs:

"War And Peace/Gab Is Stabbed" (Kevin Smith and others) 

"Dead?/Hearts Are Hurting (Part 1)" (Lucy Lawless, Susan Wood) - (unfortunately the video dissapeared from YT :c )

"Xena: the warrior princess" is one of the first shows to do the musical episodes, and an incredibly rare example of a show that did more than one. "The Bitter Suite" was a first one, and in my opinion the way, way better one, while "Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on fire" of season 5 makes absolutely no sense, starting with incredibly out of character song and has little to none plot (unless you count a fantasy-world Eurovision a plot).

"The Bitter Suite" is again, just like the "Song beneath the song", enters into the very rough moment for the main characters, and even though the songs aren't here just to provide the entertainment, because are more serious in their nature, they allow the viewer to watch those extreme emotions without having their hearts broken. Xena's and Gabrielle's friendship was almost destroyed when Xena's son was killed by Gabrielle's daughter. Xena's heart is broken and she's so furious she even tries to kill Gabrielle at the beginning of the episode, but that's when things get weird and they got sucked into the twisted Land of Illusia. Here they have to face what they feel and who they are to each other… and everyone knows that nothing lets you open your heart like an amazing song, right? It probably helps too, that the only way for the girls to escape the magic land is to forgive the other one and find the love we all know they had for each other.

The songs are quite epic, but they wouldn't be the same if it wasn't for Lucy Lawless' voice, which is so perfect that it almost makes others' seem bleak and unimpressive. Maybe it's not true in the case of Kevin Smith (series' Ares; and no, no the one who plays Silent Bob, silly!), whose deep, sweet voice is what can make a person's knees tremble. The whole "War and Peace" reminds me heavily of Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame's" soundtrack for some reason.

It's not a bad thing though.

03. BUFFY: "ONCE MORE WITH FEELING" (06 x 07)

favourite songs:

"What you feel" (Hinton Battle, Michelle Trachtenberg) 

"Walk through the fire" (Hinton Battle and the whole cast) 

I already know that this is a one position that is going to be the most controversial and I already hear all the outraged questions about why I haven't placed "Buffy: the vampire slayer" at the top of my list. Don't get me wrong, it IS one of my favourite shows ever, and it's given that I am going to mention it more than few times on the blog, but even though I was absolutely thrilled about the fact my beloved characters started to sing - and mock the fact themselves! - I am surprised to say their performance leaves a lot of place for improvement. It's unbelievable, really, because both Anthony Head (Giles) and James Marsters (Spike) are musicians as well as actors, and I would expect something much more mind-blowing. At the same time, as Ziemia pointed it out to me, the imperfections in their voices show it's real people who have to sing under the influence of the spell so the fact they are not always on the Broadway levels only adds to the probability of the story arc.

Plot-wise the episode is extremely interesting and fits perfectly both into the character developement from 6^th season and the monster-of-the-week format "Buffy" has been following since the very beginning.

While unhappy Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) feels like no one notices her, she accidentally summons Sweet (Hinton Battle) - a dancing, red-skinned, singing demon which turns the whole Sunnydale into a musical. Despite what she hoped for he's not "a happy demon who brings fun", as the constant dancing may end in the deaths of the unwilling dancers. Also, he wants to make Dawn his bride in the underworld.

In the meantime, the emotions happen. Giles tries to figure out what would be the best way to support Buffy, and he decides he has to leave her so she could become fully independent; Tara finds out that Willow cast a spell on her to erase the memories of their quarrels, marking another step in Willow's dark powers addiction arc; Spike continues to be torn out by what he feels for Buffy.

What I like about the musical numbers is their variety. Some push the plot forwards and are used to explain the emotions, some are completely random examples of how the spell is cast on all the community (a song about mustard staining the shirt is really something you don't usually see in the musical episodes/shows), up to the short, metal song about the bunnies (yes, Anya was still afraid of them), which again, makes the episode - like the whole show - a very unique production.

02. "PSYCH: THE MUSICAL" (07 x 15/16)

favourite song:

"Santa Barbara Skies" (James Roday & Dulé Hill) 

"I've heard it both ways" (James Roday & Timothy Omundson) 

 The two-parted special which was aired after the 7^th's season finale, marking 110th episode of the series, chronologically takes place between 6^th and 7^th episode of that season. This unfortunately means several continuity errors if one watches it in the order in which it was broadcasted. When watched in the middle of the season though it makes perfect sense.

When the insane playwright Z (Anthony Rapp) escapes from the mental institution for criminals, after the play he killed for is being renewed by the same crew he once worked with, the police department might find itself in a need of help of someone they didn't expect to work with. Mr. Yang (Ally Sheedy) proves to be a useful source... when bribed with a song. Of course the story can't be that simple and Shawn (James Roday) would have to use all his vocal and detective skills to find out who whether Z is really the killer.

The show has always been known for it's gag reels called "psych-outs", which included not only bloopers, but also cast having fun, singing songs etc. James Roday was right when he called the episode "generally one big psych-out" because that's exactly what it is. From the very first moments, when Shawn and Gus (Dulé Hill) burst into epic song number it's obvious this thing is going to be an every fan's dream fulfilled. Both "Santa Barbara Skies" and "I've heard it both ways" are brilliant: funny, well sung, well danced, totally in character and flat out funny (wow, Timothy Omundson!).

Ok, but there has to be a "but", right? The second half seems to loose it's pace and even though it still has few absolutely wonderful songs (Roday really nails it at "Shawn Hears the Theme / The Breakdown"). But I blame it more on the fact it's already 7^th season which lost a big chunk of the beginning's charm. But "Psych: the Musical" is definitely a good way to apologise for lack of form and to ask for a second chance.

01. SCRUBS: "MY MUSICAL" (06 x 06)

favourite songs:

"Welcome to Sacred Heart" (Ken Jenkins and others) 

"the Rant" (Stephanie D'Abruzzo, John C. McGinley's, Zach Braff, Neil Flynn) 

The comedy show "Scrubs" honoured it's 123th episode by turning it into a musical, and they did a great job - the episode was named one of 100 best episodes in tv ever by "Tv Guide" in 2006, and it won one out of five nominations to Emmy.

The explanation for the characters singing is similar as in "Gray's anatomy", but while "Scrubs" did it first, it's also executed better. When Patti Miller  (Stephanie D'Abruzzo) faints in the park, she discovers that suddenly everyone appears to be singing (and dancing), which makes dr. Cox believe her problem is more psychiatric than psychical (didn't turn out to be true). She becomes a witness to the problems of the main characters, turning those of their quarrels and discussions which he heard and saw into the songs. Plot includes: Carla who is trying to decide if she should go for a maternity leave ("Gonna Miss You, Carla") and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) who decides to move out from the flat to the house, without J.D. as her flatmate ("When the truth comes out"). Apart from that we have few songs portraying the relationships between characters (John C. McGinley's "Rant") or dealing with some reoccurring issues ("For the last time, I'm Dominican").

The episode has a great pace, the songs are fun, and they so deliciously fit the characters. What I really liked is that, like in "Buffy" we hear almost all characters singing, which is very important for a show with a collective hero. Not all actors are equally talented of course, but actually most of the actors did sing on Broadway or in other musicals at some part of their career. There are some gems too: we already knew that Sam Lloyd (Tedd) has absolutely outstanding voice, and it's not surprising that Stephanie D'Abruzzo, who after all has been cast especially for this part, has the strongest voice, but even Ken Jenkins' (dr. Kelso) solo at "Welcome to Sacred Heart" is sweet and funny. The brilliance of the producers and composers showed in the way they covered some of the lesser talents by putting them in hilarious song - it makes us laugh, and we want to listen to it again and it doesn't really matter if the vocal could be better. My favourite here has to be "Rant" because it is so in Cox's character, but I have to mention iconic by now "Guy's love".

To sum up: the episode is a true part of the series, which always liked to look for the ideas out of the box. Thanks to the comedic, but sometimes bizarre because of J.D.'s fantasies format of the series, this episode blends in with the whole series, saying "yeah, I am different, but that's exactly what makes me right" and it makes it the most unique out of all musical episodes.

So that's all for now, and remember - these shows won't watch themselves!

PS: Coming soon: "Warehouse 13's" season 5 review and "Orphan Black" season 2 review!

                                                                                                                    - Aga

Why are we so excited? - Warehouse 13 continues.

Another week, another Warehouse 13 episode. There were some glitches of course, but all in all it was a good one, again. So far, I’m really enjoying season 5.

The Warehouse seems to be out of danger (at least for now), so it’s back to business – tracking down artifacts. In the latest episode, the agents split – Pete and Myka travel to Washington DC to investigate a senator’s mysterious death, while Claudia sets out to find out what happened to her sister, with the help of Jinxy and Artie.

Let’s start with the first case: Pete and Myka are looking for an artifact which kills people, making it look like drowning. An interesting idea, although I cannot shake the feeling, that I’ve already seen it before (don’t ask me where, I have no idea). Now here’s my problem with the episode – they figure it out all on their own, and quickly too! I realize Artie was occupied, but they didn’t even ATTEMPT to call him! Did their Farnsworths malfunction or something? Also, when did Myka start carrying a real gun instead of a Tesla? During their investigation Pete and Myka reunite with their two former Secret Service colleagues, who after acting a little suspicious, turn out to be in a relationship. Is it just me, or are the writers trying to make the two Warehouse agents end up together in the final season? I’m not sure how I feel about this. While I’m no completely against Pete and Myka as a couple, it would be nice, just this once, if the guy and the girl who start off hating each other and grow to be good friends and partners over time, didn’t end up in a relationship. One can only hope.

The second storyline, was much better if you ask me. Artie takes Claudia on a trip into his memory using ,the Memory Walking Baby Shoes (best artifact name ever btw - Aga), so that she can see what happened to her sister, and her parents. It turns out Artie met his future protégé much earlier than we previously thought. When Claire, Claudia’s sister, was infected by Frances Farmer’s music box, Artie was the agent in charge of finding it. I must admit I didn’t foresee what was coming – Claire threw the artifact into a fire during a fit induced by it, and the music box could no longer be neutralized, making it impossible for her to be cured. The only thing the Warehouse agents could do, was put her in a coma. The episode ends with Claudia promising her sister, that she will find a way to help her, which means the storyline will continue. I really can’t wait! As an added bonus, we get to meet little Claudia Donovan, who already has amazing instincts, and impressive computer skills.

One more thing: I really love Mrs. Fredrick, but why the hell is she suddenly asking Myka about having children and “reevaluating her priorities”?! Come on! Just because she had cancer doesn’t mean she will suddenly decide to completely change her life, start having babies and leave the Warehouse…

Not perfect, so I’m giving the episode 4/5 stars – I have some beefs, but they are mostly details I can live with.

- Ziemia 

I definitely agree that this episode wasn’t even, but to be honest, I feel like Warehouse 13’s episodes rarely are. They usually have some amazingly mind-blowing moments right next to the weak ones. It’s the overall emotion I have after the final credits that determine what I feel about the episode, and this time I am pretty pleased with it. Let’s be honest though: it’s mostly because of Claudia’s plot which was really great. I loved seeing small Claudia, who was not only smart, but already had an intuition too! I can’t wait to see her become a Caretaker, because it’s obviously where the show is going (I just hope Mrs. Frederick is not going to repeat her fate from the end of 3rd season).

Like Ziemia said, Myka’s plot is getting weirder and weirder. There is just too many little details that seem out-of-character for her: carrying the gun, the whole “finding your new purpose in life" theme and the sudden Pete/Myka relationship promise, while the majority of fans have been rooting for H.G./Myka for some time now. All of it makes me wonder if they are not planning some evil plot twist for the end… that it won’t turn out that Myka didn’t make it out of the surgery and she’s in some kind of coma? That would explain why she’s slipping out of reality and starts to make less and less sense. I really hope that’s not what they are going to do to us, but I am going to watch her arcs and her relationships with other characters closely.

Also, Mrs Frederick giving a prep talk about having children was one of the creppiest things yet.

- Aga

Why are we so excited? - Orphan Black, season 2!

"Orphan Black". Probably the best thing that happened in 2013, a show that climbed my list of personal favourites with the speed of light, winning me over completely before I was able to mutter the words: "clone club". The first season was brilliant, and had everything a good show should have: almost unbearable tension, amazing characters, mind-blowing acting of Maslany (I swear, when I see Sarah and Allison next to each other, I almost always forget it's the same actress!), guns, secrets and clones. And naked butts of attractive people.

It's easy to see then why I was so excited to watch the first episode of the second series - "Nature Under Constraint and Vexed" (a.k.a. "The One in Which Sarah Goes Fully Badass"). Just like the new season of "Warehouse 13" about which I was writing a few days ago, it picks up where the last season left us, this time with Sarah discovering that her adorable daughter Kira has been kidnapped. In the period of a few minutes the series regains its full speed, honouring Hitchcock's motto about a good film starting with an earthquake, and being followed by rising tension. Though instead of an earthquake, we get two deaths and an intense chase.

The plot thickens, and the noose tightens around the girls' necks. Cosima is still sick, still with Delphine, still being offered the job by dr. Leekie. Sarah's still messed up and desperate about finding both Kira and Mrs. S. Allison on the other hand seems more normal, participates in rehearsals for a musical (not "Cats") and becomes a gun-supplier for the team. Felix is high and butt-naked. We see more of Rachel the Bitchy Clone too, and I swear there is more to her than it seems. Especially the scene of her confrontation with Sarah is marvelous, showing some emotions breaking through the emotionless mask.
The other big thread includes Art's and Sarah's growing relationship, and it seems Art has a chance to replace Paul as Sarah's ally this season (without the sex though, especially since we are supposed to meet Cal Morrison, Sarah's ex-lover. I wouldn't be surprised if that's where we are going to get our hetero-sex.). In the meantime Paul is still forced to be on the wrong side.
The very end of the show tells us two very important things: Helena's religious movement is back in town, with a new Big Bad Guy™ on the horizon. Speaking of Helena, guess who's not dead.

Yeeah. I have mixed feelings about that, as I was kinda happy about her death (don't get me wrong, the character was played brilliantly, but I just felt she was used to the fullest, and that her arc ended rightfully), but I am willing to give her a chance. I only hope we will get to see some new clones too.

One more thing: why haven't we seen Fee high before? That was the single best thing about the episode, and he got to be the first to show off a naked ass this season, which I am okay with.

I could end this thing by telling you how wonderful an actress Tatiana is, but I think everyone is aware of that already. But if you need any more convincing, watch the part in which  Sarah impersonates Cosima. In a way which makes it obvious to a viewer which girl it really is. If that's not a talent, I don't know what is.

 

- by Aga

Why aren't they together yet?

Beware: spoilers for Bones, Castle, Dark Angel (season 2), Friends, How I met your mother (the finale), Psych (season 5), Sex and the City.

[unless pointed otherwise the spoilers apply for the relationship of the main characters during the whole series]

Kate: "I am telling you. Something happened. Something changed. It's been weird between us lately."

Lanie: "Lately? Kate, it's been weird for four years"

(Castle 4 x 20)

It’s the oldest story in a book. You know it, and I know it. These two were meant for each other?. From the very first moment they laid eyes on each other their hearts started to beat faster, and they became obsessed with the other person. It’s the Holy Grail of the heterosexual script, the ultimate dream – to find the One True Love™ and Live Happily Ever After™. Let's not dwell too much on what I think about that and whether there really is something like a love from the first sight. For all intents and purposes, let’s pretend that we all believe in a fairy tale, just like the tv-series producers seem to. Because love, pretty much like sex, is the thing which drives humans, which means, taken more materialistically, that people are going to watch these series which have a touching love story and they are going to invest more into the characters who struggle to get their precious someone.

The longer the suspense and the more cruel the clifhangers, the more viewers and more money for the people responsible for the title. Sad? Maybe. But if it wasn’t exactly what we want, there wouldn’t be so many of those we-love-each-other-but-can’t-be-together-because-of-reasons couples! And while almost every title has some kind of love story, majority of these are One True Love type.

It all usually starts with the characters meeting in the first episode, which is followed by way too many seasons of them chasing each other. The poor bastards sometimes don't even realise they like each other until their cosy existence is threatened by some Big Event™ (like being threatened by death of the other one, new rival or some other generic Plot Twist™). They grow closer and fall apart and then again grow closer just to drive each other away, but no one fools the audience who quickly falls in love with them (even if sometimes the line between love and hate becomes too thin). They are our precious little babies, and we enjoy that vague chemistry they have going there, but on the other hand could they bang already, jeez, how hard that could be? Sometimes you just want to smack them in a head with something hard.

OK. So we got used to that situation, and we even can admit that we enjoy watching characters torturing each other. But we want them to end up together, right? That’s the whole point of waiting, after all. But here appears the biggest problem. The tensions, the struggles, the perfect mixture of “oohs”, “aahs”, “awws” and eye-rolling was the best fuel for the series, and once that is over, so is the show we loved. The on-screen chemistry totally changes, and the series does as well. After that we might not even recognise it a s series we loved to begin with.

Let’s take a closer look at The One True Couple syndrome and the types of shows that can be diagnosed with it.

First genre is of course that type of comedic series which focuses on romantic and sexual part of life, which usually includes a bunch of close friends who all hang together. I will write some other time about how similar these series really are, but what is important to us now is that there is always one character who can be labelled as “main” and who is cursed with the task of pursuing the perfect Woman/Man: Ross loves Rachel (“Friends”), J.D. loves Elliot (“Scrubs”), Carrie obsesses after Mr. Big (“Sex and the city”), Leonard crushes on Penny (“Big Bang Theory”), Ted dreams about Robin (“How I met your mother”). In the meantime their friends have their own emotional struggles which usually are much more interesting or at least more surprising (we knew all about Ross and Rachel, but Chandler and Monika, that one we didn’t see coming).

If we were judging how melodramatic our main couples can be, we could count the number of times they were involved. Then we would give the first place ex aequo to Ross and Rachel ("Friends") and Carrie and Mr. Big ("Sex and the City") with 5 hook-ups and 4 break-ups.

Because the latter had a long time of being friends with benefits rather than a couple, I decided to count how many times they’ve been involved rather than how many times they had sex. Both winners end up together at the very end of the show, though Ross and Rachel cheated with the classical order: got married first, then divorced, then had a kid together and finally hooked up in the last episode. I guess that shows how desperate they are about each other and how horrible at relationships, at the same time.

While writing the first draft of this article, I pointed out that “How I met your mother” was an interesting exception from the rule, because while Ted and Robin meet all the criteria of being a proper True Couple, we all knew Ted was going to end up with someone else. But that was before the finale in which the lovely Mother gets killed off and Ted ends up wit his dream girl, just like “it should be”… I guess. One of the very few positive voices about this ending is that “we would all be disappointed if they didn’t end together” and maybe though the disappointing for many ending just shows how strong is the need to have this one True Love Pairing.

The second genre which loves to deny it's characters the emotional satisfaction are crime/detective/police/FBI series. In this case the series concentrates on the more morbid part of life, and it tries to avoid the topic of love so they don’t have anything in common with a mushy chick-flicks. The women working with the polices, secret services etc. usually have more guts than an average man, so they can’t play the stereotypical role of a emotion-driven soft female. And when both sides are “manly”, then there is no one left to pursue the love. So it just lies somewhere in the corner, waiting for a miracle.

Don't get me wrong, I love detective series a lot, but the main love affair tends to be so horrible and so unnaturally prolonged that after some time I can't stand it, rolling my eyes every couple of seconds. I am exaggerating maybe a little, but let’s look at few of the main couples and how obvious they are.

Sociopathic Bones IS going to end up with Booth ("Bones") even if the show doesn't throw it on us with such an intensity as the romance series,

                             

while Castle and Beckett ("Castle") themselves know that they love each other but just can't start dating for some reason.

Interestingly enough there are slightly different rules for the Main Couple in crime series than they were in the romantic ones. In the latter the characters were getting together and splitting up, but their final hook up was happening around the very end of the series, providing a happy ending. Here there is one major hook-up, which changes everything. Therefore we have to deal with the effect I mentioned earlier, which causes the series to loose it's rhythm and character - it is especially visible with Bones, because the creators of the show worked very hard to show her as a sociopath who doesn’t really get emotions. So when suddenly the need for love kicks in, it’s impossible to keep both her sides balanced and when she becomes a different person, she changes the series as well.

Love didn’t work on the advantage on the series in “Psych” too. I’ve never been a fan of Juliet, so I wouldn’t care about Shawn finally winning her over, but when he did, he deprived the show from one of it’s most important gags. I miss the awkward and absurdly funny ways in which Shawn was trying to flirt with her.

At the end I need to mention one more genre, in which the love affairs usually go more smoothly and the separate rules of the dating are not shown as explicitly, but when it comes to creating obstacles for the couple, there is nothing worse. I am talking about s-f, which unfortunately gives the authors the very powerful weapon of “do what the fuck you want, it’s all made up after all”. Now they can keep the love-birds apart for really absurd reasons. So you are not only rolling your eyes, you are screaming at the computer. Yes, I am thinking about you, “Dark Angel”. SERIOUSLY though, a virus that attacks ONLY Logan and is transmitted ONLY when he touches Max? I am not going to calm down about that, because that was some serious line crossing and for me it really ruined the otherwise enjoyable series: in the second season the couple’s problems became unbearable to watch.

One True Pairing is just one of many, many relationships we see in tv-series, but it’s probably the most annoying one. In the same time, just because of the intensity of emotions it brings, it’s the one type that always has the most followers, and the biggest number of fans. Let’s face it though: we are hardly watching their struggles to learn how it’s gonna end, we just like to watch them torture themselves to prove to ourselves that it’s not only us who is not able to handle that thing called “relationships”. 

 by Aga