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Feb 28 2012
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Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl: The Princess Dowry

Good morning, Upper East Siders! Another fun, wacky Gossip Girl episode last night — I can honestly say I never imagined an Irish wake taking place in the VDW apartment.

I am really liking the real Charlie Rhodes — and Lola and Nate seem to actually suit each other! A Nate relationship I can get behind! Actually both Charlie Rhodes (Rhodeses?) are in my good books: Ivy/Charlie was treated so horribly by Carol and Lily and Serena, and fair freaking enough that she kicks Lily out of her home. Haha, hilarious. Quick question: how the heck did they get Cece’s coffin into the apartment?? Really large service elevator? What has been a little on the ridiculous side is how drastically Cece’s character has changed since we first met her when she was all blueblood judgy mcjudgerson in season 1. But fine, getting cancer changes your entire life view and personality — to the point that your funeral is attended solely by the help, your immediate family, and the fake granddaughter you love so dearly. I also found it hilarious how Serena kept trying to convince Charlie/Lola that she and her family are actually good people — haha. Nope!

Also glad that this royal wedding business is finally tied up! thank the heavens. Free Blair. Georgina’s turn as a slightly unhinged Gossip Girl has been entertaining, and thankfully wasn’t drawn out too long. Will Serena accept her new role as GG? Is she so sad and purposeless as to become the thing she hated most? I hope so! That could be an interesting turn. I’d like the real Gossip Girl to return in season 6 (played by Kristen Bell, naturally) and there could be a GG battle for dominance and destruction. Or something. I am not a GG writer, people. Just bring Kristen Bell on the show — at least for one cameo before this whole thing ends.

While Blair’s explanation to Chuck that she loves him, but isn’t in love with him was kind of lame — and she certainly seemed in love with him pre-accident — I am a believer in this whole Dan and Blair thing. And in the way that their relationship is sooooo completely different from what Blair had with Chuck. I doubt they’ll be the end game couple (but I’d be fine if they were), but in the meantime, there is a hilarious dynamic, true feeling, and snark galore with these two. So sweet when Dan was all taken aback that Blair actually called him by his name. (A note to MuchMusic: please don’t put the final moments of an episode in a commercial for that ep — kind of ruins the entire thing, you spoilers.)

Most unrealistic moment: Serena correcting her father about the name of the Congo. Where Eric is. Laughing forever….

  • What secret does Georgina have on the royal family?
  • Will William van der Woodsen tell Lola/Charlie that he’s her father?
  • Will Blair and Dan sleep together? (weird!)
  • Will Dan finally cut his hair? (This has gone on too long. And is too long. It almost ruined that final scene for me.)
  • Will Uncle Jack Bass be returning? Hurrah!

We’re on a mini break til April 2nd — in the meantime, read Tierney Bricker’s proper recap of the ep here!

xoxo

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Jan 24 2012
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Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl (ep512): Father and the Bride

it’s been SO long since I posted on Gossip Girl, but as it is soon Blair’s big day — and I really liked last night’s episode (some entire plot lines aside) — I thought it was time to jump back in!

First of all: all hail Princess B. I thoroughly enjoyed her drunken bachelorette party times, her telling-it-like-it-is to Beatrice (and she is right, they’re cut from the same cloth), and it was strangely refreshing to see a whole other side of New York — it felt authentic? I dunno, but I liked it!

The other highlight for me was the twist at the end: finding out that Dan wrote Louis’s vows for him, the vows that Blair sneakily read and now feels that Louis truly understands her. Love it. It is, of course, absolument ridiculous that Louis would send a note explaining exactly what his big secret is on his own freakin’ stationary. And what — did he rewrite Dan’s vows in his own handwriting? I guess? But the heartache this whole Dan loves Blair from afar induces is perfect, even if some of the plotting is not.

I did miss the first 5 minutes of the episode — I’m trying this thing where I turn off the power to all my electronics while I’m at work, or sleeping, but if you don’t get home in time for your shows then your PVR is…powerless — but the whole Nate versus Serena versus Tripp versus Gossip Girl thing fell flat for me. Tripp cut the brakes to a limousine after “Charlie Rhodes” ex failed to do it? Whaaa? (And a complaint from last episode: the gang manages to take Gossip Girl down, and we don’t even find out how? It’s just done?)

Also: I find the Dan Meets with His Publisher scenes ca-razy. Maybe this is how it works at Simon & Schuster NY, maybe Vanessa somehow legally obligated Dan to a multiple-book deal when she stole his manuscript (?), but if Dan didn’t like what his editors were saying, couldn’t he just ditch ‘em and find another house? Surely a NYT bestselling author could find another publisher, even in today’s wacky book business times.

Oops. I got sidetracked into the things that seem nonsensical to me, when I meant to focus on how much FUN this episode was. Beefcake French priests aside, Blair’s bachelorette was an actual party — and I look forward to the over-the-top beauteousness that her wedding will be and all the crazy shenanigans that will go down as she walks down the aisle with her two dads. Also: Georgina Sparks!

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Oct 26 2011
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Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl: The Fasting and the Furious (ep505)

When will we find out what’s actually in that envelope? Is Louis the father? Je ne sais pas! But what we do know is that Blair’s hair is beauteous encore.

I kind of loved how in this episode Serena is jealous that Blair is the star of Dan’s novel, after thinking that she was the center of his universe — and you guys, that’s just like Gossip Girl itself! Serena was the star, the it girl, but Blair has always been the more compelling and complicated character, one who has actually evolved over the past five seasons.

And Serena was pretty shady in this episode, trying to trick Dan into turning over the film rights to Inside so she could keep her job. Personally I wish she didn’t get them in the end; while she may have been Dan’s inspiration initially but once again Serena doesn’t have to deal with the consequences of her actions. Oh, Serena.

The NY Spectator plotline didn’t make a whole world of sense, once again; must say I am looking forward to Elizabeth Hurley’s time on the UES wrapping up.

I’d say my favorite part of the episode was Blair and Eleanor sharing a mother-daughter moment (and Lily’s hilarious degree of surprise that Eleanor had solid parenting advice) — the Waldorf women always get me with their emotional moments, and as much as I feel like Eleanor does about this whole pregnancy (it’s not what I wanted for B, at least not yet), I thought their interaction had an ‘emotional truth’ that has been lacking this season.

We have to wait an extra week before “I Am Number Nine” — but when our show returns it looks like Blair is up to her old-fashioned Queen B tricks!

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Oct 24 2011
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Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl: The Jewel of Denial (ep503) & Memoirs of an Invisible Dan (ep504)

Bonjour, Upper East Siders! I thought I’d do a one-two combo post on eps 5.03 and 5.04 of Gossip Girl, because well frankly I don’t have much to say about “The Jewel of Denial.” Besides: whhaaaat? Admittedly, I watched it while on a work trip, super exhausted, but it seemed really over the top, campy, and soapy. And not in the good Gossip Girl way. Like, why were Carol and Ivy staring at each other and narrowing their eyes for, like, ever? Why did that plot line with Nate and Elizabeth Hurley exist at all? It made ZERO sense. I know Nate is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but seriously? That crushed the realism standards of this show. I have decided to jewel-of-deny the existence of this dumb plot.

On the plus side, Blair told Dan he looked like a Muppet. And Chuck got a puppy and then cuddled with it.

Onwards — to “Memoirs of an Invisible Dan”!

First of all, I kind of love how the Inside book cover resembles Gossip Girl book covers, but more grown up and manly. Nicely played, art department. It’s always fun for me (a bookish person) when my shows have bookish plotlines, and this was extra fun — mainly because of Blair’s compliment to Dan: “it looks very well punctuated and I like the font.” If only I was bold enough to bust that out at some event where I haven’t read a single word of the book…

In true Gossip Girl fashion, the reactions to Dan’s book were more than a little over the top (really, Daniel Day Lewis cares??), but the emotional results were interesting. With the exception of Blair, Dan seems to have painted less than sympathetic portraits of all of them, including himself, and the only person who takes anything positive from that is Chuck. He doesn’t want to die alone and be discovered by the help, so he reaches out to Lily. A+ on that, Charles.

I was a little worried for Ivy/Charlie when her plotline dovetailed with Elizabeth Hurley’s, but it may actually prove interesting — what will that Diana have Ivy do? Spy? I also like the idea of an Ivy-Nate romance. Especially now that Nate’s sorted out his hair. (Anyone else feel ripped off that we didn’t actually get to see Nate-as-Derek kiss that Jonathan stand-in in the Inside reenactment?)

Looks like Louis’s new trust in Blair will be put to the test tonight, and I, for one, hope … they break up. Feels like we’ve had Louis around long enough, right? And most importantly, it looks like Blair’s hair is finally sorted out. No more bangs for Leighton Meester.

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Oct 10 2011
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Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl: Beauty and the Feast (ep 502)

I was thinking of renaming my blog “Delayed Reactions” since it takes me way too long to post on my favorite shows! But at least I’m posting before tonight‘s new episode of Gossip Girl. My apologies for tardiness; it does not reflect how much I am enjoying season 5 of GG!

Let’s start with the Rhodes cousins. Even though she is a lying liar, I am really liking Ivy/Charlie. She’s compelling in her twisted way. Seems like she’s an otherwise honest girl with a boyfriend and a backstory who got mixed up with Aunt Carol and the uber wealthy. Was Serena insanely meddlesome in this episode or was it just me? Take a hint, S. It was like she couldn’t imagine someone not wanting their entire life organized for them over the course of a day. That said, it was classic Van der Woodsen, and I’m glad that things are developing as they are: the girls headed back to NYC, Ivy deciding to play along as “Call Me Serena Cousin Charlie” instead of ditching S, and trouble lurking in a few episodes, no doubt. Will we meet the real Charlie this season? Will she be half as cute as fake Charlie?

Nate — will he ever again have a storyline I truly care about? His obsession with Elizabeth Hurley is a little like every other storyline he’s ever had. And while it allowed Chuck this hilarious line — “It’s understandable given your mother issues.” — it just never feels authentic. Why would this woman stand out from the countless others? Is he really going to intern for her? I know he’s directionless but really Nate just does whatever people tell him to do. It’s a little tiresome.

On the flip side, even a slightly ridiculous plotline like Chuck feeling nothing and getting beat up in alleyways works for me when it brings characters together in unexpected ways. Enter Dan Humphrey in need of a top-tier schemer. A Charlie Trout reference? Amazing. I hope these two continue their uncomfortable partnership. Both boys are sadly Blair-free, and their banter has always been among my favorite.

Speaking of Blair… her pregnancy secret is more entertaining than I thought it could be. While it’s not too surprising that Louis’s sister turned out to be an adversary — who likes to make out with priests in the back of a limo…classy — I like the further complication in Blair and Louis’s relationship. At the very least, she’s got more personality than Louis. Is Blair suited to the “pressures of royal service”? Will her pregnancy get in the way of that anyway?

My favorite moments were, of course, the Blair and Dan scenes. Even if a romance isn’t in the cards for these two, they make such excellent friends that I hope they always always turn to each other in moments of omg I’m pregnant but who is the baby daddy? (or similar). Also, let’s just remember that Dan has experience raising babies who are not biologically his . . .

But most importantly: what do you think of Blair’s hair? Not quite working?

Tonight, “The Jewel of Denial” — Serena and Charlie return to NYC, and Blair maybe finds out who the father of her baby is??

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Sep 28 2011
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Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl: Yes, Then Zero (ep 501)

Hurrah! Gossip Girl is back! I, for one, really enjoyed this premiere — it was fun in a way that the show hasn’t been in a while. In particular, Serena van der Woodsen’s new lease on life made her so so so much more entertaining and charming in “Yes, Then Zero” than she has been in recent seasons. I feel like we got a glimpse of the old pre-season 1 Serena — the super studious girl we glimpsed in that flashback to boarding school combined with the charismatic girl everyone falls in love with.

Serena’s given up drinking, partying, and being an It Girl to be a long-hours-working production assistant on the set of The Beautiful and Damned. And she’s good at it! I hope that Serena maintains this kind of purpose this season — all that waffling around was getting seriously tiresome — even when she inevitably returns to New York City. (Will the producer she’s working for conveniently be from New York?) The random run-in with Charlie/Ivy at the end of the episode was also rather convenient (or inconvenient, from Ivy’s perspective) but I am enjoying Kaylee DeFer on the show. She played that “That was weird” moment perfectly — so it was almost believable that Serena would fall for that cover after all the subterfuge she’s witnessed over the years.

I also loved the Chuck-Nate-Serena interaction — they seemed to be genuinely happy to see each other and hang out! That group hug was adorable, and the “He’s Chuck Bass” moment was a classic. Nate’s “I’m tired of being myself” thing was a little bit of a stretch — really? He has like nothing to do ever and having bad relationships don’t count as hardships. That said, he was pretty cute as he answered ‘yes’ to everything at that party. I find it hard to buy Elizabeth Hurley as anyone but Elizabeth Hurley. So who was she talking to on the phone? What’s her big secret?

And what of Chuck Bass? So much secret hidden pain, so many bruises hidden under his shirt! I thought he seemed genuinely happy at the beginning of the episode — his ‘yes’ philosophy was totally working for him, as weird as it was to see him tanned and wearing a leather jacket and riding a motorcycle. Clearly he still has Blair-related issues that are driving him to extreme recklessness; I just hope we don’t see him go on another downward spiral. I’d rather he make a last ditch attempt to break up Blair and Louis.

Oh Louis. Tres boring, n’est-ce pas? If only he had a personality. I can understand why a girl like Blair would be willing to marry him — both because he’s royal and B cares about that kind of thing and because after her highly dramatic relationship with Chuck, someone who is just easy and sweet and compatible with her would be the perfect antidote. But Blair seems just about done with Louis — she certainly seemed ready to ditch her fiancé after one failed test. She wants him to prove to her that they are the partners (not Louis and his mother) and that Blair has a voice. Is Blair too much of a Waldorf woman to play second fiddle to Princess Sophie and the rules that Louis has been raised to follow?

I loved the Blair-Dan scene — loved it. Dan was just so suitably into the idea of running away with Blair Waldorf to the Hamptons, but in the end he made sure Blair understood that Louis had been acting to protect her — though Dan wasn’t honest enough to reveal what motivated him to deceive B in the first place. Sigh. He loves her. It’s simultaneously hilarious and perfect and tragic. Does he even stand a chance with her? Probs not.

But Blair has bigger problems — pregnant!! Who is the father? Chuck? Louis? Dan?? Is that the big secret in Dan’s story that Louis wouldn’t be happy about if it was made public? (Also, if Louis is powerful enough to have Vanity Fair halt publication on a story that must already be very near in print, wouldn’t he also have enough sway to get a copy of said story to read?)

Next week — “Beauty and the Feast”! Hilariously the top YouTube comment on this video is “Weirdest promo ever.” True. But also pretty awesome.

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Aug 12 2011
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Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl Giveaway!

On Location Tours wants to celebrate Blake Lively’s birthday by treating some lucky Gossip Girl fans to a free tour of the filming locations in New York City!

I have one ticket certificate for two people to the Gossip Girl Sites Tour to give away and I’m also throwing in signed copies of Spotted: Your One and Only Unofficial Guide to Gossip Girl by yours truly!

I went on the locations tour back in 2010 and let me tell you: it was maximum Gossip Girl Good Times! (GGGTs). Read more about the tour here.

how to win Comment on this post with your favorite Serena moment — a fave line, outfit, fight with Blair, toss of her glorious blonde hair, et cetera et certera — and I’ll randomly select two lucky winners — one for the gift certificate for 2 and one for Spotted. Enter by August 25th — that’s Blake Lively’s birthday — and I’ll post the winners’ names here on my blog & contact you via email. The contest is open to anyone in the whole wide world, but of course your travel to New York City to actually go on the tour will be on your dime. (I sadly do not have a private jet at my disposal that I can lend out to my pals.)

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Jun 22 2011
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Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl Rally!

Gossip Girl RallyAngela from Talking Gossip After Dark has started a great summer Gossip Girl project — it’s the Gossip Girl Rally! Go back to the beginning and remember all the awesome that’s happened on the Upper East Side (and in Brooklyn).

I’ll be posting excerpts from Spotted: Your One and Only Guide to Gossip Girl as a “Gossip Girl Film Class” — the first post on “The Wild Brunch” (ep 1.02) is up!

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May 16 2011
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Community, Gossip Girl, the vampire diaries

And so it ends!

It’s season finale times on my TV — and my last post for this double-bells brilliant season of The Vampire Diaries is up over at Vampire-Diaries.net. Read it and maybe weep? If you’re as big a sucker as I am for some of the emotional twists that went down in “As I Lay Dying” you just might shed a tear as you reminisce.

And tonight’s the finale of Gossip Girl! I’ve been INCREDIBLY lax in my Gossip Girl bloggery this season — the excuse I was using was that the less frequently I blogged on the show, the more I seemed to enjoy it. But I haven’t been crazy about some of the latest episodes . . . we’ll see how this whole Thorpe schmozzle wraps up tonight. What I am wholeheartedly excited about is joining Angela and company at Talking Gossip After Dark to talk about the finale.

The one other season finale I’ve already seen — thanks to my roommate’s insistence that I take a break from writing Love You to Death 2 for some paintball genius — is Community‘s. OMG. This show just blows my mind. If you’re not watching it, maybe you should pick up the two season’s of DVDs as your summer tv viewing. I rate it: COMEDY GOLD. (pop pop!)

Time to get ready for work!

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Jan 26 2011
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Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl: The Kids Are Not All Right (ep 412)

And we’re back. With an episode that wasn’t, to my mind, as kickass and classic as the one before the break but I like where things seem to be going, and our new characters.

The Serena-and-Chuck-sabotage-Lily plot: when will these kids learn that despite all their previous efforts they suck at pulling these things off? Maybe it was the lack of Blair Waldorf Expertise in the plot, or maybe it was because there was no good reason why Lily wouldn’t just tell her children what she was up to — since they already believed she was up to something worse. But I loved seeing Serena in the Lily guise and loved all of Chuck’s totally creepy mother jokes.

As Serena picked something else (anything else?) over a heart-to-heart with Dan, I yelled at Dan to leave, don’t miss your interview! Surprisingly he ignored me. And Blair, who sees right to the heart of him in her usual perceptive way — except she’s not using her insight cruelly. Their not-friendship friendship bookended the episode — the ticket stubs, the second movie outing — and from the looks of the next ep, we’re going to get more D & B time. Something I am ALL for. Dan is most entertaining when in awkward situations, and Blair flabbergasted is also something to behold. The quality of these two’s banter is unrivaled. And besides Dan remembered the pants are not tights rule. He’s proven himself worthy to hang out with B.

I also love me a Waldorf Women Special Talk (and I adored their statement necklace + gown look for the party), and I think this new career path (“You know ‘powerful woman’ isn’t a career?” thank you, GG writers) for Blair is a genius idea. She is an evil dictator of taste (and when she chose to say “editrix” instead of “editor” I nearly fell off the couch with joy).

What I didn’t like: the Gossip Girl narration, which has been weak all season. This wasn’t the worst, but I hate when we break for commercial and I’m groaning because of a super lame pun/simile/metaphor/nonsensical sassy sounding turn of phrase. GG, the narrator, used to have real bite and add something to the show. Not it detracts. Also: the silver dress they put poor Kelly Rutherford in — hideous.

As for the Thorpes, I welcome them from Chicago. Maybe Russell Thorpe can finally break up Rufus and Lily. Maybe Chuck has met his business and sex obsessed counterpart in Raina Thorpe. I don’t mind these hostile takeover storylines as long as the main point is the characters, not convoluted plots that unravel if you think too hard on them.

Next week: “Damien Darko.” And check out the preview clip…Eric VDW has a storyline?? (Or at the very least, a scene!) What the what.

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