A ghost, werewolf and vampire attempt to live together on the quest to try and be human. Josh must confront his past, Aidan must face the present with the past still looming and Sally must find a way to look forward towards the future without holding onto a past and present she can no longer have.
Guest Post by: Amanda
Fox celebrated The Simpsons’s season finale and 400th episode with great fanfare. This hour long extravaganza included guest stars Kiefer Sutherland and Ludacris. It was a nice tribute to a long running show and evidence that its writing is still fresh enough to withstand several more seasons.
“24 Minutes”
The Simpsons dispatched with the traditional opening segment in lieu of a 24 montage. Lisa was introduced as the leader of an elite Counter Truancy Unit. Along with Principal Skinner, Martin and several other “nerds,” she deftly tracked students who failed to attend class. Specifically, she tracked The Bullies, Dolph, Jimbo and Kearney.
While washing Bart’s shorts, Marge learned that the school bake sale was only hours away. She began a frantic battle to bake a cake in time for the event.
Homer found a toxic carton of yogurt, which he took to Apu’s to exchange. While in the store, The Bullies discovered the pungent power of the yogurt. They dispatched with Homer by throwing him into a dumpster with Milhouse. While the dumpster rolled through Springfield, The Bullies utilized the yogurt as the key ingredient in a lethal stink bomb. Maliciously, they prepared to unleash the bomb upon the school bake sale.
Bart was enlisted by Lisa and Principal Skinner to protect the school and the bake sale. He demanded immunity for all pranks past and present, and once this was agreed upon, he set to work against The Bullies.
Bart drove towards Jimbo’s lair in Principal Skinner’s car. At the same time, The Bullies began testing their stinky concoction on mice and Ralph Wiggum. Bart entered Jimbo’s basement in time to find Ralph incapacitated and The Bullies gone. He called to report the news to Lisa, but he mistakenly dialed Jack Bauer. Jack demanded the identity of his mysterious caller, and Bart responded “Ahmed Aduddie.” Jack called his command center for a profile on “Ahmed Aduddie,” and learned he had been tricked.
Guest Post by: Amanda
This episode was a wonderful season finale. There was closure to the last several episodes, but enough questions remained to leave me excited for next season.
The episode began as Joe and Allison explained to Bridget and Ariel that a newspaper article had been published exposing Allison’s psychic abilities. They admitted that many people would view Allison as crazy or a liar, but they begged their children to ignore these taunts.
The fourth murder victim, discovered at the end of last episode, was Pamela Franklin. Her murder differed from the others, as Pamela’s head had only been partly removed. The murderer had been startled by a fire alarm. The Recapitator, also, didn’t have an opportunity to leave behind the head of the third victim. As Allison, DA Davolis and others were briefed on the latest murder, DA VanDyke of Flagstaff entered the room.
He was introduced as a friend of Davolis’s, but Allison recognized him as the man who replaced Davolis as DA in her dream. As the fourth victim had already been taken, it was decided to remove the police protection from the reporter, P.D. McCall aka Debra.
That night, Allison dreamt of Pamela drying her hair in a hotel room. Pamela was startled by a maid who came in to change her sheets. She screamed at him that she did not wish to be disturbed. As the maid left her room, Pamela opened the mini-fridge exposing a frozen head.
After work, Davolis heard whispering in his office. He opened the door to find VanDyke making a deal with Walter Paxton and his attorney. Walter Paxton sought $50 million in damages for wrongful imprisonment. VanDyke had been enlisted by the Governor and the Mayor to negotiation a quick and discrete settlement. As Davolis left his office, he found his office door locked behind him.
The next morning, Joe met with his attorney. He hoped to reach a settlement with Aerodytech as compensation for the hostage situation. In frustration, his attorney told Joe to drop all hopes of a lawsuit. He did not feel that he could convince a jury to award money to a man who believed his wife was a psychic.
That night, Debra met Walter Paxton at a bar. She wanted to turn his wrongful conviction into a book deal. She offered him quick money and acknowledged that his accounts had been frozen. She, also, alluded that he may have gambling debts that needed to be addressed. She admitted that his lawsuit with the city would not be settled quickly, and he needed money to live on in. In anger, Walter stormed from the bar.
When Allison returned home from work, she found her family in disarray. Ariel had been teased at school, and Allison found Joe hiding under his pillow. He anxiously awaited a phone call from his boss, inviting him to return to work. Allison admitted that DA Davolis had disappeared, and VanDyke had informed her that her services would no longer be needed.
Guest Post by: DiDean
So, it’s finally the end. No more Gilmore Girls.
I thought I was prepared, given our two-week notice and the slow decline in quality, but really, can a fan be prepared for the end of one of the best TV shows of all time? I’m sniffling and puffy-eyed, but let’s get to it, shall we?
In deference to the beauty that was 6.5 years of smart, witty, fun, romantic, charming TV, I’m not going to even mention the bad. No “Beginning of Season 7,” “Christopher,” “Luke has a surprise kid,” “Rory drops out of Yale,” “Digger” etc. Instead we’re going to keep this completely positive because, in the end, our girl Rory—book-loving, intelligent, romantic girl that she is—grew up and left her cozy Stars Hollow world for a rewarding career as a political journalist. And our other girl Lorelai—independent, zany, coffee-loving single mom that she is—raised a terrific daughter, started her own business and found true love. Where’s the negative in all that?
My verdict: I loved it! This finale was as great as anything post-ASP could be. After reading about the cancellation and the fact that this episode could serve as either a series or season finale, I was worried. Would this show be sent off in a way that did its greatness justice?
Without ASP at the helm and her infamous “four final words?” I had my doubts that DR could do it. But, after this last episode, I have to say, our worries were unfounded. He sent our show off with the understated grace, subtle humor and heartwarming relationships that we’ve come to expect.
In the teaser, Rory comes face-to-face with her idol, Christiane Amanpour. Lorelai (back in her jeep, YAY!) brings a PJ-clad Rory to meet her Christiane. In his last “snarcastic” exchange ever, Michel tells Lorelai to not be “embarrassing” in front of their esteemed guest, like she usually is in front of celebrities. Ah, Michel. You will be missed. Rory gets some words of encouragement from Christiane and also snags her business card. Score!
Rory and Lorelai plan to take a roller coaster trip while she continues to look for a job. While attending Friday Night Dinner (the last one we will see, SNIFF!), Emily tries to encourage Lorelai to put a spa at the Inn, but Lorelai is hesitant. Rory (in a fab outfit…oh, how I will miss the beautiful dresses these girls wear to FND) comes in to announce that she got a job as a political reporter for an online magazine, following the campaign trail of Barack Obama, and she’s leaving in three days.
Although they are all encouraging, Emily, Richard and Lorelai are also upset and if you’re not crying yet, the tears in first Lorelai’s and then Richard’s eyes will do it to you. Emily says “So, this is it?” and Lorelai prolongs the night a bit by agreeing to stay for after-dinner drinks.
Liz (sans the annoying TJ, YAY!) visits Luke to see how he did giving the necklace to Lorelai. He tells her he bought it as a back-up gift for Rory and that he and Lorelai are just friends. We all know this is so not true, but Liz lets it go, instead prompting Luke to whip up a banana/sweet potato meal for his niece, Doula. I like fatherly Luke. He’s still gruff at times, but the sweet Luke and in several instances tonight, even excited Luke we see is a testament to the progression his character has gone through over seven seasons.
In the diner, Lorelai breaks the news of Rory’s impending trip to the townsfolk, who are bummed not to see a re-enactment of her graduation. Lorelai and Rory improvise a humorous one, with Lorelai giving Rory a “diploma” (Luke’s menu) and Rory accepting saying, “Summa Cum Luke.” Luke has a half smile on his face as the townies look upset, and you just know he’s going to don his invisible tights and cape and do something to save the day.
Guest Post by: Amanda
This episode was a continuation from the previous two. The writing was much more enjoyable, and it was both playful and intense. I felt this episode was the perfect build-up to the season finale.
Allison jerked awake to find herself in an empty bed. She tried to rouse Joe, who had fallen asleep on the couch. He dreamt he was conversing with his father about his emotions surrounding the hostage situation at work. His father was less than compassionate. He reminded Joe that he had a wonderful family and a good job, and he should not be so upset. Joe was pulled out of this dream world by Allison. She wanted to discuss her own dream. She told Joe that she had just dreamt that the fourth victim in the Phoenix killing spree was her new friend Debra. Her head had been removed and replaced with that of the third victim in the spree.
Joe told her that she needed to relay this information, carefully, to Debra and the Authorities. He told her there was no need to call anyone tonight. This reminded Allison of the cell phone she had thrown into the tub, and she asked Joe if it was okay. He admitted it was useless, but “very clean.” He confessed that he had been texting Melinda, his pregnant coworker and fellow ex-hostage. He told Allison that Melinda had delivered her son, and she was wondering how Joe’s family was handling the fall-out from the crisis.
The next morning Cooper, a personal injury attorney, approached Joe about suing his employer, and he requested to meet him for coffee. Joe reluctantly agreed.
DA Davolis was unnerved about the press regarding the killing spree in Phoenix. He was particularly disturbed by a reporter named P.D. McCall who had named the murderer the Recapitator, as the killer replaced the head of his current victim with that of the one prior.
Later that morning, Debra called, and Allison tried, delicately, to convince her that she maybe the Recapitator’s next target. Debra refused to believe that she was in any danger, and Allison hung up, distressed.
Across town, Joe met with the attorney. Cooper promised millions of dollars from Joe’s employer. Joe questioned whether his employer was a victim, too. He felt guilty that the killer had used his security pass to enter the office. Cooper responded that as a company accepting huge government contracts, Aerodytech should have provided better security than an unmanned security check-point. Joe left the meeting with a lot to consider.
Guest Post by: DiDean
Does Gilmore Girls get any better than that lovely karaoke scene at the end? Now that we know the end is soon (which my poor heart can’t bear to contemplate), I’m so glad we were given the karaoke scene between Luke and Lorelai. Although we won’t get to see the end of their story, at least we have this scene to remind us how romantic this TV couple can actually be.
Most of their relationship has been played for laughs, but every so often we’ve been given a scene where they danced at a Renaissance wedding or, in this case, connected over karaoke and we’re reminded that these two were so much more than just witty banter. And kudos to Ms. Lauren Graham. Here we again see how she was destined to play the character of Lorelai Gilmore.
In this episode, Zach and Lane continue their growth as a family with Zach being offered a guitar gig with a band called Vapor Rub. At first he plans on taking Lane and the boys with him. Although she first agrees, Lane at the end shows the maturity of a mother and realizes that her two boys need to settle into Stars Hollow life. So, she decides to stay home and care for them while her husband goes on tour. I loved how Lane wore the loose-fitting clothing of a new mother. Very realistic.
Lorelai and Luke’s story begins with Lorelai noticing that Luke is wearing the blue hat she gave him all those Christmases ago (in one of my top three episodes, “Forgiveness and Stuff,” soon to be coming to an ABC Family channel near you). We later find out that he supposedly lost the black hat he started wearing after he and Lorelai broke up. It’s left up to the audience to decide if he truly lost the hat or just started wearing the blue one again because he and Lorelai have re-established their friendship. Of course, you all know I’m of the mind that he intentionally put the blue hat back on.
Rory, devastated over hearing that she has no job prospects, wallows a bit before Supermom Lorelai comes to the rescue and takes her shopping and eating to cure her blues. Unfortunately, the interaction between these two wasn’t as clever/witty as it has been in the past, and I attribute that to ASP’s ability to write Lorelai/Rory bonding time better than anyone else. I guess I would have liked to see a stronger bonding session considering it turned out to be the last one! Still, I’m glad the two decided to go to karaoke, leading to one of the best scenes of this season.
We get Miss Patty and Babette singing together. We get Kirk singing a Boy George song. All the “cool” kids of Stars Hollow are there, including the great Gypsy and Kirk’s girl Lulu. Mr. Babette, Morty, is also there. As I’m typing this, I realize I’m going to miss seeing the crazy cast of Stars Hollow! Okay, I’m not supposed to be thinking about the end, so I will shut up about that now.
Back to THE SCENE. Lorelai starts singing the Dolly Parton version of “I Will Always Love You.” It starts as a song for Rory, but changes into a serenade to Luke when he walks in the door. The subtle changes in Lauren Graham’s facial expressions really sell this scene. Scott Patterson steps up too, as we see from just his face how touched Luke is by what Lorelai is singing and how grateful he is to her for “saying” it. A scene that should be cheesy and ridiculous is elevated to bittersweet and romantic thanks to these two actors.
Guest Post by: Amanda
This episode began with the Simpson family at Bart’s Little League game. With the bottom of the ninth and two outs, Bart made an amazing catch to send the Isotots to the championship game against Shelbyville. He was the toast of the town.
In celebration, Marge brought Homer to Costingtons to buy a special outfit. In boredom, Homer fell asleep on a store mattress. His slumber was disturbed by several customers and the owner of the store. In a desperate attempt to avoid being thrown out of the store, Homer excitedly described how comfortable the mattress was.
His description was so powerful that not only did he convince a customer to buy the mattress, but he earned himself a job as a mattress salesman. The tide turned for Bart during the championship game. Just as the Isotots were about to beat Shelbyville, Bart dropped an easy pop fly. The town of Springfield revolted against Bart, and he became a social pariah.
Homer’s job as a mattress salesman went well. He sold a mattress to Reverend and Mrs. Lovejoy, in an attempt to improve their sex life. Unfortunately, it was not the remedy they needed, and they stormed the Simpson residence to demand a refund. While waiting for Homer to write the refund check, the Lovejoys stumble upon Homer and Marge’s bed, and their romantic mood returned. They offered to swap mattresses with the Simpsons’ in lieu of a refund. Homer agreed.
Bart was devastated by his fall from grace, and Lisa tried to show him that everything would be okay. She introduced him to Joe LaBoot, who dropped a pop fly during the 1943 World Series. Joe admitted that despite the dropped ball, he now had a very nice life, but he soon ridiculed Bart for his mistake.
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