Rather than a full episode recap, Reality Bites offers you all you need to know in quick and easy to digest chunks. Enjoy!

“Bonfire of the Vanity” was a decent episode. Lots going on tonight, so rather than babble, let’s get right to it.

-Jenny moved in with Agnus. Rufus was fine with it because Agnes’ mom promised to keep an eye on her.

-Shipiro loved Dan’s “Chuck” story and agreed to write a recommendation so he could get into Yale.

-Jenny and Agnes get in a fight in front of their hopeful fashion manager. The fight lost them the last business manager that would talk to them.

-Blair cannot wait to meet her mom’s new boyfriend, Cyrus. - Needless to say, Blair feels its “inconceivable” that her mom is dating this guy.

-Chuck gets his dad a present for the Bass Industries anniversary. He buys his dad hockey game box seats, but dad shoots him down saying he has no time for hockey.

-Shipiro hooks Dan up with the editor of NY Magazine. They want Dan to do an expose on Bart Bass. If he does the story they will give him more work at NY Magazine. He hestiates to take it, but decides to do it in the end.

-Serena agrees to pose for Aaron after he leads her to Times Square and puts her on camera for everyone to see, but soon finds out that she is not the only muse that Aaron has.

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Tonight’s Gossip Girl was smoking hot, as usual. Fashion week in Manhattan always has a way of making things interesting. Of course, there are some people that aren’t enjoying the excitement of all that is interesting. Two of those people are the dethroned queen, Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), and her brooding, evil ex Chuck (Ed Westwick). Blair’s week just isn’t going as planned. It’s bad enough that Serena (Blake Lively) has taken over her place as Queen Bee to the ferocious little drones that once served Blair, but when Jenny (Taylor Momsen) switches her fashion show seating chart Blair naturally goes off the hook in true Waldorf fashion.

It seems that Serena has been hanging out with the right socialites, namely a hot brunette named Poppy. This is what leads to the upheaval of Blair’s seating chart. Eleanor Waldorf (Margaret Colin) has to make sure that she has a bang up fashion show. Unfortunately, the hottest of the hot usually go to the competitor’s show. After Jenny hears this, she mentions to Eleanor that Serena and her new friend Poppy might want front row seats. Problem is, Blair and Serena have a tradition of watching the show backstage. With that, the war is on!

First, Blair learns from mommy that Jenny is the only sophomore at the school that is lucky enough to be able to have independent study. Naturally, Blair knows this couldn’t be the case, so after a talk with the headmistress she heads to Jenny’s house to clear up the matter with Jenny’s dad, Rufus (Matthew Settle). She takes Jenny some chicken soup (non-existing mono and all) and informs Rufus that Jenny has not been in school for the last ten days!

Rufus is able to get Jenny a meeting with the headmistress, and on the Saturday of the fashion show no less. He only reams her for a little bit before sending her off to the meeting, too. Too bad for him that right after the meeting Jenny is right back at fashion central. And boy does she have a lot to clear up.

Blair decides to change the seating chart back and leaves Poppy in place, but moves Serena to the third row. Blair tries to trump Jenny by pulling Waldorf rank, but that doesn’t work when Eleanor steps in to take care of things on her own, allowing Jenny’s chart to stand. Poor Jenny! You almost have to feel sorry for her considering she didn’t know it was Blair’s chart that she was changing in the first place.

Blair, never one to be outdone, sends home the models (Jenny suggests that Serena and the socialites take their place), and ends up giving Serena a Jenny Humphrey original to wear on the runway as the finale dress instead of her mother’s design. All the while, Jenny’s dad is calling and trying to get in to the fashion show to deal with his daughter.

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Literary Illusions is proud to be giving away three copies of Will and Grace: The Complete Final Season on DVD. To enter all you need to do is leave us a comment. Please be sure to only leave one. Comments are moderated to avoid spam, so it will not show up right away. People who leave multiple comments will be deleted from the contest altogether. If you do not see your comment within a day then by all means leave another one. Otherwise, do not worry as we accept comments several times a day.

To enter you need to be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the US. If you have won a contest within the last 30 days you are not eligible. Winners will be sent an email shortly after the end of the contest. To claim your prize all you will need to do is send us your address in a reply to the congratulation email that you will receive. If we do not receive a reply from you within three weeks, your winnings will be forfeited and your prize will be offered to another contestant.

We will begin emailing winners for this the week of September 29, 2008, which means you have until September 28, 2008 at 11:59 to enter.

From the Press Release:
The groundbreaking series “Will & Grace” may be over, but the laughs continue on DVD with the release of Will & Grace: Season 8 and Will & Grace: The Complete Series Collection. The season eight DVD includes all 22 episodes of the final season with hilarious special features such as a gag reel, a themed featurette, behind-the-scenes footage from the final episode, cast interviews and more.

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I’m officially getting old, because I just don’t get shows geared towards Teens and Tweens. While I understand that most of them attempt to be humorous, I do not get the kind of snarky or stupid humor that most shows seem to play off. I do know that these are the shows that are most popular with those in the 9-12 and 13-15 age groups and I guess that should be the thing that matters. Now I know what my parents meant when they said they didn’t “get” what I was watching on television as a teenager.

That being said, I had the chance to review the first episode of a new series on Nickelodeon. The show, iCarly, is geared towards teens and tweens, with humor that has carried shows on the network such as Drake and Josh and Zoey 101. This is probably because the same creator of these shows is behind iCarly. The show is unique in that it is the first show of its kind to have a show within a show, where real kids can send in videos to be aired on the iCarly on-air webcast.

Let me tell you, the audience the show is geared for are going to love the show. Meanwhile, parents may laugh at the occasional funny moments, but the overall “hyper action” that makes the show what it is won’t make this show popular with an adult crowd. While I watched this show with my 12 year old son, who loved it and laughed hysterically the entire show, I spent most of the episode acting like a cantankerous adult who wanted to show these wayward kids what it is like to have a little parental supervision in their lives.

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Work - It’s a word that many people do not like to hear. For some it means doing something that you do not like to do. For others, the lucky ones, it means doing what they love. However, like it or hate it, work is a word that brings up some strong opinions. When it comes to environmental matters it might seem that work and the environment might not mix, but the experts on The Green are here to tell you otherwise. Like past subjects that include sports and youth education, work can be an environmentally friendly part of life, as well.

Work is one of the most negative influences on the environment. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. The fact that Americans work more than any other country in the world shows that we need to do something to protect our environment where work is concerned. As it has been said, we are nature. Wthout the proper changes, the world is not the only thing that will suffer. We will suffer, as well.

Commercial buildings account for 17% of our global warming emissions in the Unites States. In Santa Monica, David Hertz is an architect working on an environmental friendly building project. The goal is to show people that you can build green. With green renovation, which is renovating an existing building and making it eco-friendly, you save costs and damages that could come with new construction.

By going green, you save yourself money on energy costs, which also helps the environment. For example, recycled denim is now used for insulation, which saves on heating. Florescent grade light bulbs save money because they last ten times longer and they help the environment. The benefits are equal and yet immeasurable based on the good that you are doing.

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Sports is a vast area, which can include something as non-offensive as bowling to something as high impact as skateboarding, football, and/or skiing. Whether you are working in the concession stand, sitting in the stands, or playing on the field it is hard to deny that sports have a serious effect (whether positive or negative remains to be seen) on our environment. However, the effect does not need to be negative. With the threat of global warming, winter sports are threatened, and something needs to be done.

Calfee Designs has attempted to help the cause by creating a bamboo bike. Bamboo makes an excellent source for bikes because not only is it amazingly strong, it’s also able to grow quick enough to be one of the best renewable resources on the planet for this kind of thing. Based on professional bikers that have ridden the bike, bamboo offers the smoothest ride out there that you will find. It’s also the best option for our planet. In fact, professional biker, Dorothy Wong was able to place 4th in a race using one of these fabulous bikes and she mentioned her willingness to use them again thanks to the flexibility and smooth ride that other bikes do not offer.

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Fox celebrated The Simpsons’s season finale and 400^th 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.

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.

Marge finished her cake just in time for the bake sale, and Homer and Milhouse’s dumpster slid to a stop in front of the school, in time for some culinary delights. Meanwhile, The Bullies slipped into the school ventilation room dressed as janitors. Groundskeeper Willie tried to stop The Bullies from releasing their toxic stink bomb, but he was quickly overtaken.

Bart radioed Lisa just as Martin, working as a double agent, whacked him on the head with a tuba. He dragged him to the ventilation room and tied him to a chair with Willie. The Bullies set the bomb and left the room in delight. Bart soon realized his only chance for escape was to short circuit the ceiling fan with hotdog wastewater.

The room quickly filled with murky water. Bart and Willy floated closer and closer to the ceiling fan. In a desperate attempt to escape, Bart floated up to a window that overlooked the ongoing bake sale. He pounded on the glass, alerting everyone to their plight. Chief Wiggum attempted to free Bart and Willie by shooting through the window, but only Marge’s dense, bake sale, cake could crack the glass. Lisa dismantled the bomb, and all looked well until Jack Bauer and the S.W.A.T. team arrived.

He relieved all of his agents from the assigned duties in order to track down his phone prankster. Just as Jack Bauer realized this might have been a little hasty, a bomb exploded in the background, and Shelbyville went up in flames.

“You Kent Always Get What You Want”

This episode opened with a reminder of how far The Simpsons have come since the Tracy Ulman show 20 years ago. The Simpson family tried to get the perfect family photograph, but each attempt was thwarted by fate or Bart’s antics.

Marge and Maggie spent the school day with Selma and Patty playing Pictionary. Surprised by the time, Marge and Maggie had to dash home in time to trick Bart, Lisa and Homer into going to the dentist.

The dental visit went well, and Lisa was introduced to the new oral hygiene educational video featuring “Ludacrest.” In the video, Ludacris, dressed as a tube of toothpaste, helped defend a mouth against the dangers of tooth decay.

To celebrate their dental health, Homer took the family to the ice cream parlor, where he ordered the store’s 1 millionth ice cream cone. A celebration ensued, and in honor of this achievement, Homer was invited to recount his victory on air with Kent Brockman. The interview went well, until Homer spilled hot coffee on Kent’s lap.

In pain, Kent exclaimed a curse word so terrible his network was significantly fined, and Kent was fired. He boxed up his possession and left the studio in the rain.

Kent was invited to live with The Simpsons after Marge feared he’d kill himself over his termination. While spending his days on the couch, Kent began to observe the confusion over Fox’s liberal network programming and Fox News’ ultra-conservative reporting. He remarked that the Fox channel was intentionally outrageous in order to levy hefty fines paid directly to Republican politicians. Outraged, Lisa offered to help Kent expose this arrangement, and she set up an internet news site. The internet site proved so provocative that Kent’s network quickly rehired him and offered him a significant raise. He left Lisa disenchanted, as he jumped into a limo, anxious to return to his old life.

As Lisa returned to the house, she began to discuss with Homer the evils she learned about the Fox network. Just as she was about to air Fox’s dirty laundry, a voice-over interrupted, and it ensured Fox’s viewers that they were enjoying quality family entertainment. As Homer screamed that he would not be silenced about Fox’s atrocities, the episode ended.

I enjoyed this 400^th episode. The Simpsons have become a television icon, and it’s fascinating to realize that this year’s high school graduates have not known a world without The Simpsons.

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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.

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.

That night Allison dreamt of Pamela Franklin dressed as a maid. Pamela entered the room of the third victim, carrying the head of the second. Allison watched as Pamela, the maid, murdered the third victim in the bath tub.

Allison awoke and called Detective Scanlon. He angrily told her that no one wanted to hear about her dreams. After she began to cry, he agreed to listen to her theory that Pamela Franklin was the second Recapitator. He dismissed her theory, and he stated that they would solve these murders with old fashioned detective work.

After her conversation with Detective Scanlon, she realized that Debra may still be in danger. She rushed to her apartment to convince her to move elsewhere. As Allison began to talk, Debra turned on her phone. To Allison’s quizzical look, she admitted that her phone was also a voice recorder. Allison tried to convince Debra that she was still in danger. She stated the fourth victim’s head had never been completely removed, and the third victim’s head had never been left behind.

Therefore the third victim’s head could still be placed on Debra’s body. Debra refused to heed Allison’s warning, and she ridiculed her psychic abilities. Allison left dejected.

Joe decided to sign his liability waiver, and he took it directly to Marcus, his boss. Uncomfortably, Marcus admitted that his insurance company would not allow Joe to return to work. Despite Joe’s protests, Marcus remained resolved, and Joe left in a daze.

That night, Joe and Allison discussed how they would make ends meet without either having employment. In depression, Allison fell asleep. In her dream she saw Walter Paxton having an affair with Pamela Franklin. As they made love, Pamela and Walter described the genius of their plot. Walter killed his wife and left her head with Pamela. As he sat in jail, she murdered the second victim and placed his wife’s head upon her body. She killed a third victim and kept the head to strike fear into the Phoenix community.

This plan allowed Walter to be released from prison, get his wife’s inheritance, marry Pamela and sue the city for false imprisonment. As Pamela gloated and demanded that Walter marry her soon, he slit her throat. He pulled the fire alarm and calmly walked out of the room.

The next morning, Joe and Allison read in the newspaper that Debra had been murdered in her hotel room. Allison, distraught, called Detective Scanlon. He admitted was right, and he agreed to let Allison investigate Debra’s hotel room. She paced Debra’s room looking for clues, until she stumbled upon her phone. She searched through Debra’s audio recordings until she heard Walter Paxton’s voice.

Walter had entered Debra’s hotel room under the pretense of agreeing to an interview. Debra, wisely, set her phone to record, and she questioned Walter until he admitted to the murders. The phone continued to record as he murdered her.

As in Allison’s dream, VanDyke held a press conference where he announced himself the new District Attorney of Phoenix. As he belittled the law enforcement for allowing a serial killer to roam free, Allison entered the room. She stated that Walter Paxton was responsible for the death of Debra/P.D. McCall, and she handed the DA the recording. She sneered, “You can thank me later,” and walked out of the room.

This episode was a wonderful conclusion to this season. I have to admit I took joy in the demise of Neve Campbel’s character. She played a self-serving reporter a little too well. I’m intrigued to see how different next season will be now that Allison’s secret is out, and Joe is unemployed. I guess we’ll have to wait for next fall.

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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.

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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.

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.

That night, Joe told Allison about his meeting with Cooper. He was intrigued by what Cooper had to say, but he felt disloyal to his company. Allison listened intently, until they fell asleep. In a dream completely devoid of color, she saw a new District Attorney replacing Davolis, and she learned that there would be a fifth murder.

When Allison relayed her dream to Joe, he stated her problem could be solved with simple math. If she could keep Debra alive, then the Recapitator would not have a head for his fifth victim. She could save her friend and the DA’s job. Allison called Detective Scanlon and asked him to put Debra under protection.

oe met with his boss, Marcus, for lunch. Marcus offered him a significant bonus and his job back. He stated that Joe’s progress with the company psychiatrist was significant, but Joe could have more time off if he needed it. At the end of the conversation, Marcus slyly mentioned that Joe could not return to work until he signed a release of liability for Aerodytech’s insurance company. Joe took the release for his lawyer to review, and he stormed out of the restaurant.

At home, Joe and Allison discussed what to do with Marcus’s liability waiver. Joe begged Allison to dream about their future and tell him what to do. Unfortunately, Allison dreamt of a dead body in a hotel bathtub instead. She soon learned the dream was reality.

On the scene of the crime, Allison discovered that the woman in the tub was the owner of the head she had seen placed on Debra’s body in her dream. DA Davolis and Detective Scanlon begged Allison to meet with Debra, again. They wanted Allison to convince Debra that her life was in danger without betraying her psychic abilities.

Allison went to Debra’s motel room and begged her to leave town. Debra listened to her friend’s concern, but she refused to heed her warning. In desperation, Allison told her that she was a psychic who solved crimes with the District Attorney. Debra asked Allison what clothing she was wearing when she was murdered, and Allison responded bar attire. Debra flippantly stated that if she slept in her bathrobe, she should be fine, and she demanded that Allison leave her room.

This plot will conclude, next week, with the Season Finale. Hopefully, it will be as amusing as this episode. Although a shameless plug for the network, I loved the Deal or No Deal dream sequence.

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Written by Amanda - Visit Website
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