And with that....it's over!

I was happy with the series finale with Dollhouse.  I'm glad I was too, because I had to suffer through an excruciatingly long feeling shift at work with an extremely attractive guy flirting with me while talking about his fiancée...yeah, fun stuff!

It's too bad that we couldn't see more detail.  I was sad that Paul died (even though I didn't always like him), it was weird to see an almost sane Alpha (but so totally cool when he started beating up the bad guys), I felt soooo bad for Echo being all alone (thanks for the package Alpha!), and the whole lesbian-y Felicia Day...yeah, not gonna lie, I'm a little homophobic, so that was weird (says the girl who has seen every episode of BtVS far too many times).

I think they did an absolutely INCREDIBLE job with Topher.  He's my favorite character.  He changed and grew the most over the course of the show, he developed a sense of morality, we saw him fall adorably in love, and he was just so freaking cute!!!  I was so happy when he said "bed time!"  K, that was awesome!!!  And when he was watching the video of Bennett...yeah, I got one of those giddy, girly grins.  And they did a great job at making him crazy and malnourished looking...you could totally imagine him having to watch someone be killed everyday on top of the already crazy, brokenness he was after Bennett was killed and his tech went crazy and destroyed most of the world.  And then it was him, Topher, the originally least moral guy ever, who saved the world (loved his reaction to the remembrance wall).

Yeah...I'm gonna miss the Dollhouse!

~Manda

The kind of news that makes you smile!

K, so I was just sidereeling and I came across something that made me a little more than grin!

So apparently they were working on Spiderman 4 and they couldn't come up with who the villain should be, so they scrapped it and decided for a reboot of the Spiderman 'verse...focusing on high school Peter Parker. Good news? No more Tobey Maguire or Kirsten Dunst (playing roles that should soooo not belong to them). It made me smile.

Here's the article...Enjoy!

~Manda

Yay!...I mean ok..wait, huh?

So, everyone pretty much knows I'm a big Joss Whedon fan. No surprise there. But one thing that may come as a bit of a surprise (and one thing I unfortunately have to remind myself of sometimes) is that he does some really weird things...that are just WEIRD! Last night's Dollhouse for example: weird!

Seeing Topher 2.0 in Victor again was pretty funny, but huh? And Mellie killing herself...the fact that Paul is all of the sudden in love with her again and not with Echo is still really weird, but come on! And probably the oddest thing: Boyd!!! Really, you make the guy that everyone likes into a seriously deranged psycho?! He played crazy pretty well, but it was just weird. And then he goes and blows himself up...k, dolls aren't like innocent children, they're directionless thoughtless empty shells of human bodies...but that was still weird.

I still like Dollhouse, and yeah, even liked the episode, but it was a little too dramatic, and too odd for my taste. oh well, it's almost over. I just hope the final episode is awesome!

~Manda

100!! Awesome!

K, I love Rachel Bilson, I love music, I love television, and I LOVE the 100th episode of HIMYM!!!! If you haven't seen it, you should...because it is awesome!

So, yeah, Rachel Bilson guest starred. I was very excited when I saw that. She wasn't exactly the "mother", but close second: she was "mother's" roommate!

As for the music...I loved Neil Patrick Harris in Dr. Horrible and it was fun to see him in a big musical number all about, wait for it...SUITS!!!

Yeah, it was awesome! Be sure to watch it!

~Manda

"No more Mr. Nice Spy" is totally right!!!

So, I have long awaited the return of Chuck. When it was about to be canceled I signed petitions, sent emails, and got "Save Chuck" pieces of flair on facebook. I love the show and didn't want to see it go! (Plus...he does kung-fu now, but I've loved it since episode 1!!) I'm so glad it's back...it just blows every show I watch completely out of the water!!! So, after almost a week of being sicker than I'd like, I got to be treated with a double dose of super Chuck! (And tonight, I get another 42ish minutes of Chuck flavored goodness to watch! sweet!)

So yeah, it was good to get to see Mr. Bartowski in training. I felt bad for him because we all know that he's a better intersect when he's allowed to use his emotions (as was obviously apparent in the fact that he was better at using the intersect when around Sarah.) I felt bad when we saw him dressed up as homeless grandpa eating cheese ball after cheese ball. But it was awesome getting to see him all intersect-y in action. When he started boxing with Casey I couldn't help but smile...finally Casey is allowed to spar with the guy he thinks is a total waste of skin.

I love this pic! It's one of the many (that were awesome) in Chuck vs. the Suburbs

I wasn't too happy about the Sarah stuff. As I'm sure most Chuck fans would agree, the two of them belong together. So unfortunate! His little locked-in-the-vault monologue was just so sweet. And I must say that the lighting and the angles and stuff when they were on the train platform (as well as the costumes and the dialog and everything) was absolutely GORGEOUS!!! It didn't exactly feel like Chuck lighting and stuff (a little more vintage, kind of like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow) but it was beautiful!

K, so another episode tonight...Man it's good to have my favorite show back on the air. And if you thought I liked Glee, you seriously haven't seen me love a show (besides maybe Buffy) till you've seen how much I ADORE Chuck!!!

~Manda

"Getting Closer"...starting to see the end!

Ok, so last night's Dollhouse was pretty cool! It's sad that the series is ending, but I have to admit that I'm way excited to see how it does! Here are a few things I liked about last night's episode:

Yup, this is Topher when he was crazy in Epitaph One

Topher and Bennett: Has there ever been a cuter couple in the history of television? I just absolutely LOVE the two of them and the way they are together! I got so excited when he kissed her (I actually smiled really big and then had a coughing fit due to the seriously annoying illness plaguing me...yuck!) They were just so sweet. It made me really want to be a crazy genius person just so I could be like one of them...so cute. And then, typical Joss, you fall in love with a situation/character and he rips it away fairly gruesomely and doesn't give you enough time to actually process what the heck just happened! Why Joss, why?! At least with Buffy the only people you killed were Buffy (who came back) and Tara (who no one really liked anyway)..and then of course *sob* Anya...that was sudden and painful. And then he had to go and kill Book and Wash in Serenity...oh Joss, the pain you put your viewers through (I mean, really, couldn't you have killed off Kennedy and Dawn at some point? Seriously, man...seriously!!!) So yeah, if you haven't seen it yet, he killed adorable, nerdy, geeky, slightly evil (but way too cute and the love interest of the one and only lovable Topher) Bennett. Yeah...the man sure loves torturing his viewers! And with this we begin to get a glimpse into why and how Topher goes crazy. If I smiled when they kissed I almost cried when she died! Topher was so happy! So sad!

Echo and Paul: So we found out what they got rid of in Paul's mind: His feelings for Echo. This made me way sad. He still likes Mellie, but now he and Echo...nothing?! So he kills Bennett after making us like her and then he takes the feelings from Paul's last three months and erases them? It feels like in Angel season 1 when he sent Buffy to LA and Angel becomes mortal and he and Buffy get all lovey-dovey but then things end up bad so he goes to the oracles and gets the day rewound and erased for everyone but himself...yeah, it's kinda like that. Frustrating! Poor Echo!

Finally, Boyd?!?!?!?! (and Claire/Whiskey): Ok, honestly...Joss Whedon can be rather frustrating! His shows are good (when he has control...and I know, I know, the fact that I say that means I'm a delusional, brain-washed Whendon fanatic...oh well) and all, but all the plot twists and stuff are surprisingly frustrating! I love Boyd!!! But it was already weird enough to find out he'd been hiding Claire/Whiskey and macking on her and stuff and then we find out he's the co-founder of Rossum?!?!?!?! Frustrating!! Mostly cuz I have to wait till next Friday and then the next to see how it all pans out! GAH!!! I don't think Boyd is bad even though he pretty much had Claire/Whiskey kill off a potentially favorite character of mine and make another favorite character start on the road to crazy town. I still don't think he's the evil, big bad! Call me naive and say I have the inability to understand all you want, but seriously, I don't think Boyd is evil...I may be proven wrong, but I doubt it! (k, he's probably a little evil...I just really like the guy!!!) And anyway...the whole him coming from law enforcement and having this dark past and stuff but then suddenly knowing what's best for everyone sure makes a lot more sense...I kind of like how no one really knows who he is...it's pretty cool!

So yeah, I know a lot of people really don't like the show and a lot of people really don't like Eliza Dushku and her acting and the fact that she's the lead, but I love it! I'm excited for the ending and excited for what Joss is going to be doing next!

On an unrelated note, be sure to watch Chuck. Tomorrow there's a two hour special and another episode is airing on Monday! Woohoo! Watch Chuck, love Chuck, and hope that it'll become a megahit and get a season 4!!!

~Manda

Fun things to read, see, and check out

K, so I was just kind of browsing all my favorite TV info spots and I came across a few things that interested me:

First: An unaired season 1 episode of Fringe is being aired three days before the next episode of this season. In it a teenage girl dies only to wake up as doctors are removing her organs and is now able to speak Russian and know highly classified information. The article alludes to the idea that this could somehow take place in an alternate universe, but it doesn't for sure say anything, so who knows. (J.J. Abrams and his alternate realities...what are we going to do with him?) The original article can be found here.

Second: I found an interview with Adam Baldwin about season 3 of Chuck. There were a couple of things that interested me on this one. First of all, I had no idea he was in My Bodyguard and Independence Day. (Now, I've only seen My Bodyguard once and I haven't seen Independence Day for a long long time...and both of those I haven't seen since I've known who he is, but...) Secondly he said something that just made me happy. He talked about how a lot of the Firefly fans have crossed over to Chuck...yeah, happy! That interview can be found here.

Third: While reading the interview with Adam Baldwin I came across this interview with George Lucas...he's pretty awesome, so I decided to share it! (I couldn't get the copy I wanted to work, the full interview can be found here.)

~Manda

What I did over Christmas break

So today I had the first day of my 20th century art and architectural history class and we went around the class and had to say our name, major, and something interesting about us. The only thing I was able to think of that could in anyway be remotely interesting about me was that I blog about television. I didn't say it, mostly because I know I'm more interesting than that, also I didn't want my class thinking I was completely pathetic on the first day of class.

Well, this break was interesting due to the fact that I didn't really watch anything new until the third to last day of the break, but the one thing that I did watch...AMAZING!

So, I'm a fan of J.J. Abrams (my top ten things I'm thankful for in television says so) and I started watching Fringe. I had seen parts of a few episodes of season 1 when my friend and I would hang out and watch a little TV before we studied on Tuesdays, but due to the fact that it freaked her out we ended up watching Privileged and 90210 instead (yeah...I know.) So I started watching it with my 7 and 10 year old brothers and it was sooo good! I ended up finishing all of season 1 before school started today. Yeah, the show is just that good! Hahaha, no but really, even though it's not my fastest time going through a season of television, I kind of couldn't stop watching. I get that way, especially with J.J. Abrams (Alias anyone?)

So yeah, if I were in a class that required me to write a paper about what I did over the break (the kind of class I haven't been in since I was at least a Junior in high school) I'd write about finally getting my ears pierced, working a little on my book, a couple other things, but I'd probably mostly write about Fringe...cuz it's awesome!

~Manda

Goodbye '09, Bring on the '10s

So I've been in Maine for Christmas break and although I am very grateful to get to be with my family the fact that I'm here means two not so fun things for my blog: First, since we live on an island covered in trees (and currently being hit with the first Nor'easter of the season) there are very few places that can get internet (our neighbor's house is one of them, but shhhh...don't tell anyone that we borrow it from them). And second, pretty much all the shows I watch are off for the holidays. I did finally finish BSG and HIMYM, so that's pretty cool. I've been reacquainted with Firefly, Arrested Development, Lone Gunman, and a few other shows. I've gotten to watch a few of my favorite movies, like Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Blades of Glory, and Speed Racer. And I've gotten to spend time with my three little brothers and my parents, which has been pretty awesome!!!

Well, after I found some internet and got on sidereel.com I looked for something to commemorate a great 2009 and I found an article on the top 10 shows that got cancelled too soon. Of course they mentioned the scare that came with getting Chuck renewed and the disappointment that came with the cancelling of Dollhouse (the first of which I obviously rejoiced greatly for and the second I was cursing FOX along with other Whedonites, so they are big deals, don't get me wrong), but there was one thing really caught my eye, and that was a show that had seriously been one of my favorites: Pushing Daisies!!! The story of Ned, the pie maker that can wake the dead and his dead girlfriend, Chuck, who he can't touch cuz it'd put her right back into the dead "young tourist Charlotte Charles" status from whence she came, and the absolutely adorable Olive Snook, an employee of Ned's who harbors a serious crush on her boss. The characters were absolutely incredible and they had a story line to match. In addition to that it was pretty much Tim Burton on television. Pushing Daisies rocked and it was totally cancelled in it's second season.

**side note** I've had this theory for a while and this show kind of falls in line with it. I believe that shows that started the same season as the strike pretty much don't have a chance in survival...but that's a different story...back to Pushing Daisies. **end side note**

Yeah, I pretty much love that show! I adored Ned and all the flashbacks to the Longborough School for Boys and his sad stories that came with his powers. I loved the Chuck/Vivian/Lily/Chuck's dad relationship. Can't forget Emerson Cod and his search for his daughter and his relationship with the dog trainer lady. And I cannot even begin to tell you how much I adore Kristin Chenoweth...yeah, I love Pushing Daisies...great show!

K, so that's all I have time for, so happy new year, we're done with the naughties and onto the tens! Weirdly awesome!!!

~Manda

K, Joss is doing this right!

So he says that Dollhouse won't live on in any other media forms cuz he's said all he needs to say, but still, that's too bad. Finally, after it's gotten cut, he gets to take his show in the directions that he wants and do what he wants (something that if he had done this on a cable network would've most likely have happened from the beginning, but who knows.)

I just finished watching the latest episodes and oh my goodness!!! Yeah, there were things that weren't my favorite, but when you have to push all you wanted to do and say over the course of seasons into just a few episodes, that sort of ends up being the case.

The second episode, "A Love Supreme", was amazing! I'm glad they got to air the two together because the first one was a little frustrating and felt too stand-alone. I loved the training scene with Echo and Paul. I also loved that Paul was the one that Alpha was actually after and that he imprinted himself with Paul. I loved pretty much all of it!!!!! Awesome!

For some reason it all felt Buffy-y in a way. I'm not saying that Echo acted like Faith, cuz there is no way she did, she was Echo, and I'm not saying that it felt full of girl-power-y vampire-slayage. No,it was the intense emotion, the fact that Paul kept himself at a distance with Echo even thought it was highly apparent that feelings were mutual between them, the high action, the scene with Alpha and Echo fighting, the absolute can't-go-on desperation when she heard Paul's voice. All that, to me, felt reminiscent of my favorite show in the whole world! And of the parts of Buffy that it did feel like, I kept getting reminded of season five when Tara is crazy, Dawn is a pain, but needs protection more than anything, the unrequited love of Spike for Buffy, Buffy going catatonic, the Winnebago, yeah, the end of season five (after a few times watching it tho, it's so incredibly dumb and frustrating the first time through). It was also a little like the last two episodes of season seven in that way, highly intense, highly emotional, you get to know the characters better in those episodes than at any other time in the show...(k, thought: those were both series finale set-ups...duh Amanda...silly me, that's why it feels like Buffy! Oh wow, took me long enough to figure that out!) but yeah, that's what it felt like...pure Joss!

Well, can't wait for next week...and now I really want to crack open my Buffy DVDs again and remember why that show is pretty much always number one! But alas, I now have to go to work...too bad! hahahaha...Well, let's enjoy this awesome end to Dollhouse!

~Manda

Some Joss related stuff to check out

Ok, so a few days ago I was really not wanting to go to sleep so I was trying to see what was up with Joss Whedon with the airing of the last episodes of Dollhouse beginning to air. As I was looking around I read this article on sidereel.com where the quotes felt totally out of context so I decided to check out the original interview (or first see if I was going to be able to find it.) I found the original article that the sidereel.com article was based on and at the bottom of the page was the original interview the article had been taken from. The original article felt much more Whedonesque, and the interview was great! They were both pretty long, but totally worth the time and I highly recommend checking them out if you have the time (or are like me and really just don't want to go to sleep). The original article can be found here and the interview is at the bottom.

Enjoy!

~Manda

SECTIONALS!!!!!

Ok, did last night's Glee rock, or did it rock?! I'm thinking it kinda rocked!!!

Ok, so everything unraveled!!! I mean, EVERYTHING!!! Finn found out about Quinn and Puck, Will (kind of) left Terri, Will and Emma kissed, Sue was found out....crazy good! And then the music!!!!! When Will said "you can't always get what you want" to Finn I just about squealed with delight knowing what they were about to pull out for Sectionals. And Mercedes's ballad gave me chills and I thought it couldn't get any better...and then Rachel sang. Her performance still sends shivers down my spine. Her energy was incredible! I don't think I've ever seen a television show that felt that much like being at a live performance in my life! It was incredible!!!! I was just about cheering with the crowd when she lifted her arms, in a very Rachel style, and the rest of the kids came down the isles. It was great!!!! And you know what I loved even more than that? Oh yes, Finn and Rachel has just become a real possibility! He now trusts her more than anyone else in the glee club!!! Woohoo moment for Rachel/Finn (and Quinn/Puck) fans!

I was happy about the Will/Emma kiss, but I really don't see him actually leaving Terri for Emma. It just about kills me to say this, but I have a feeling that Emma will be the "other woman" and Will will end up going back to Terri and breaking Emma's poor fragile heart...I kind of hope I'm wrong.

So...I love Glee...and now have to wait till April for the next installment. But guess what, I think it's gonna be worth it!

~Manda

Oh, and P.S. if you like Glee and like Idina Menzel you had better check this out!

The beginning of the end

Gah....you ever get that feeling that no matter what you do you just never have enough time for everything and thinking that makes your stomach hurt? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that feeling is called finals! It's disgusting! And yet, with this ever constant painful time crunch, what do I revert to in the middle of the night and the early hours of the day? Oh yes, I find solace in a little bit of TV watching! Healthy? Probably not. Smart? Nope again. Does it make any sense? Nuh-uh. But does it make life oh so much easier? You betcha!!!!

Well, I really don't have enough time for just any television, just the important shows, i.e. the beginning of the end of Dollhouse. (And that's only 84 minutes of television, so that's not too bad, right?) And oh my, was that a good decision (y'know, watching that 84 minutes of television). If you saw it you should know what I mean.

Summer Glau's Performance of an uber creepy, pretty, adorable genius was awesome! And the doublemint Tophers....how great was that?! The Bennett/Topher dynamic kinda rocked too!

I am busy and don't have a ton of time to blog, so I'll just leave it at that. But if you enjoy Dollhouse you should seriously consider catching up on the newest episodes if you haven't...I have a feeling we'll see some extreme Joss genius in the final days of Dollhouse.

~Manda

Suit-Up!!!!

When I get stressed I do probably the worst thing possible! I start a new series. If I hate it then it's the perfect solution: I get my fix and don't end up wasting too much time. When I love it...well, then there's a problem, and I currently have a problem.

I am Amanda, and I'm a television junkie. It's a sad state of affairs. Now granted, I do have standards, but times of stress are probably my biggest weakness to the alluring nature of the one-eyed monster. I have recently discovered (during a time that I should be focusing on all things educationally musical) the joys, the pleasures, nay, the insane AWESOMENESS that is How I Met Your Mother.

I started watching it for who knows what reason, but I had heard from multiple sources that it is "legen-wait-for-it-dary"! And it is....oh yes, it is! I knew I'd love Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris from what I had seen of them (mostly through the Whedonverse), but it's even better than them! It's a sitcom with a laugh track that I actually enjoy! It's amazing! No...it's awesome!

Well, I just wanted to share that little insight of my life with you. I love How I Met Your Mother. I can't wait to see all of it! (Just learned what a "slap bet" is....awesome!) That's all, gotta get back to Quando Men Vo and Beethoven's 6th Symphony...wish me luck!

~Manda

As previously stated...

After watching an exciting (and odd) season finale of the Guild (spoiler alert: Codex wins!!! woohoo!!!) I found out some sad news. As I have previously stated: I really don't love FOX, and today I found another reason to harbor that dislike. I was reading an article about the midseason line-up and in addition to the depressing cancellation of Dollhouse (but at least they are smart to finish it off...they'd have chaos on their hands if they didn't) and the benching of J.J. Abrams's Fringe (so the two shows they decided to make the new 50 minute shows get axed? how fair is that?! And when will FOX learn not to do sci-fi anymore...it just doesn't work for them like it used to) I learned that due to the filming schedule for Glee it will be taking a 4 month hiatus. It will air it's winter finale December 9 and not return till April 13. When it does return it will be on Tuesday nights rather than Wednesdays. (Learning this really made it make a lot more sense that Joss was directing an episode in March...I was scratching my head about that one.) I don't understand FOX. I loved it in the '90s, but now I believe it to be rather frustrating! At least I'll have Chuck to get me through the times of being Glee-less. (Ahh, NBC, thank you for your wonderful shows!) So, that's my little bit of info. Sad, true, frustrating, and exciting all rolled into one nice, neat, little article!

~Manda

Happy Thanksgiving: TV style!

So, after (and before) the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pie, we need to remember why we really have this holiday: to remember to be grateful for what we've got! This (thank goodness) means we can show our gratitude for television too! So I decided I'd put together a little thanksgiving list of the top ten things I'm grateful for that couldn't be possible without the great invention of Philo T. Farnsworth's (now granted, all of mine are probably going to be from my lifetime, and probably from the last ten-ish years of it...I haven't been alive all that long...I need to learn!!!)

10. Heroes - I was keeping up at the beginning of the season, but then I got really busy with school and other stuff. Now granted, it has gone a little down hill, but my obsessions with loving comics, Milo Ventimiglia, Zachary Quinto, the really cool characters with really cool powers, among other things keep me watching!

9. J.J. Abrams - even tho I haven't been keeping up on Lost, this man is incredible. His stories are so intense, and his characters so complex. He tends to snowball out of control a lot, but that's fun too! And in addition to his TV-ness, he did a wicked awesome job on Star Trek (wow, that was an AWESOME movie!!!)

I didn't have room for everyone, so I just put these two cuz I found pic with both of them

8. Great actors that make great TV - I didn't really know where to put this, but it is a necessity. Although actors aren't my favorite part of TV, they do make it awfully enjoyable! So I'm grateful for Eliza Dushku, Hugh Laurie, Tahmoh Penikett, Summer Glau, Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Kristen Bell, David Boreanaz, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Zachary Levi, Adam Brody, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, as well as others mentioned in this post (and I could seriously go on and on...there are some awesome actors!!!)

7. sidereel.com - I actually think this could have a number one spot being that it is the way I watch most of my TV, but it just seems wrong for it to be ahead of all my shows and my favorite TV geniuses!!! But I am very grateful for the wonderful invention of sidereel!

6. House - I became a fan of this great show over the summer and if I'm not watching Glee or the Office (or Battlestar Galactica) I am so watching House! It has managed to stay pretty awesome even tho House has kicked the vicodin habit. Love that show!

5. The Office - I still say that season 2 is my favorite, but there is something about this show that calls me back week after week. I kind of have a feeling this something's name sounds like Kohn Jrasinski or Him Jalpert, but I'm not sure (hahaha, I'm a dork, yes!). Regardless of the reason, I have had many a laugh (and surprisingly a cry) over this show! It is a great show!

4. Battlestar Galactica - this was going to be number six (it just seemed so fitting...hahaha) but I couldn't have it be after the Office and House. I started watching it this semester and have on more than one occasion found myself watching it instead of doing something I actually should be doing (don't tell my mom...hahahaha). It had to have a higher number this Thanksgiving!

3. Glee!!! This show has made this season of television so amazing! I love the music, the actors, the stories, and the fact that they are starting to show a little consistency in all those things. It also makes me not hate FOX quite so much! hahahaha

2. Josh Schwartz - He created the O.C., Gossip Girl and Chuck. I had never even considered watching the O.C. till I had already fallen in love with all things Chuck. I have since then actually seen just about every episode and have come to love his humor and wittiness, and I've now been able to see a lot of it in Chuck (in addition to the O.C./Chuck crossover actors -- I love it when that happens!!!)

1. Joss Whedon - Ok, I don't think this number one spot surprises anyone! He created the best shows and has helped with the whole turning television into an art form. I believe he is on the frontier of the television world with this Dr. Horrible business. He's my hero and I hope to meet him someday. (And this number one spot includes him and all the great things he has created...especially Buffy the Vampire Slayer!!)

Ok, in addition to this little list I want to share two of my favorite Thanksgiving episodes I've seen on television (and actually remember).

Pangs: BtVS season 4. I don't think I could ever forget how many funny moments are in this episode, but one sticks out in my mind always: Spike tied to a chair getting hit over and over by arrows that are flying through Giles's house. Also the touching-ness of the help Angel feels he needs to give and how he tries to hide his presence from Buffy. Awww...so sweet (and the follow-up episode in Angel where she goes to LA, he becomes human, realizes it's a bad idea, and erases the day from everyone's memory but his is very awww-worthy too).

The Homecoming: the O.C. season 1. Now granted, I don't know this as well as Buffy (and that's kind of a "thank goodness" sort of thing) but I've been thinking about the beginning of this episode a lot this Thanksgiving. The nearly incoherent ramblings of the darling Seth Cohen make the show, and they make this episode as well. In the beginning of this episode he begs his mother to not cook the dinner at all and she wants so badly to make the holiday unforgettable for Ryan. He also works on dating Anna and Summer at the same time (which in so many ways make season one so incredibly enjoyable). Oh, Seth Cohen on Thanksgiving, great times!!!

So, Happy Thanksgiving to all! Lets be grateful for all we get to have, and in addition to all those great blessings, let us not forget to be grateful for our television!!!

~Manda