Glee 2x04 "Duets".

Glee's episode "Duets" is one of the reasons why I love this series.

At the beginning, it reminded me a bit too much of "Ballads", which is one of my least favourite episodes, but when they finally introduced Sam into the Glee club, it got the ball rolling into a more favourable direction. Playing on the rumours (Or maybe it was what set off the rumours?), Kurt decided that he was the one who was going to sing with Sam, in order to win the prize Mr. Schue has for them: An all-expenses paid dinner to Breadsticks for the winner. Is Breadsticks the only restaurant in town?

But before I talk about the rest of the episode, I would like to mention the hot topic of Brittany and Santana. And by "hot" I mean HOT. For a show that changed the lyrics to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" because it used the work 'bitch' in it, this scene was very surprising. However, the fact that Glee pushes the button on things like these is what makes the show so interesting.

Now, back to the duets part of the episode. After singing a good cover of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Gigi? (A song I've sung on SingStar so many times I've started to dislike it), Rachel decides to do something initially out of character: She wants to throw the competition in order for Sam to win ... So that in the long-term, Rachel can win at Nationals. I have a problem with the continuity with this. New Directions did not even place at Regionals, so why are they going to Nationals? If someone could explain this to me, that would be great.

Sam, who had originally been paired with Kurt (leading to a great moment between Finn and Kurt and then Kurt and Burt, who, YAY! is out of hospital and making cement moulds on the couch at home) and then later with Quinn. The pairing of Sam and Quinn is one of my favourite pairings of the show so far. There was a lot of Sam this episode, and no Puck. Which is nice. Puck was, coincidentally, in juvie, because he drove his mum's volvo into a convenience store entrance and nicked off with the ATM. Hopefully this means when Puck comes back he's back to being a bad arse.

A major Artie storyline occurred in this episode as well. He paired up with Brittany for the competition, and also lost his virginity to her. Due to the promos, it was obvious something of that nature was going to happen, but the aftershock of it all broke my heart. Santana, in true bitchy nature, told Artie that Brittany only slept with him because he can give her "Super Park access". Low blow, Santana. Artie breaks up with Brittany and opts out of the competition. I would have liked to have seen Brittany nudge a meatball over to Artie with her nose, however.

As for the competition songs? Kurt's duet-turned-solo version of "Le Jazz Hot" was spectacular, and once again showcases the reasons why Chris Colfer is an amazing actor, singer and dancer. Rachel and Finn in their competition-throwing number, chose a song whose name I don't know, and don't really care for, was so spectacularly rude that Quinn "seriously wanted to punch both of you". Mike Chang and Tina sang "Sing!" from A Chorus Line, which was amazing, because it reminds me of the numbers from Singing In The Rain. Who knew Harry Shum Jr. was so talented? Mercedes and Santana paired up together and sang "River Deep, Mountain High", which was good, but was not my favourite.

My favourite?

Sam and Quinn's "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie lastnameIdon'tremeberhowtospell.

Hits:

• Mercedes' vote of "Mercedes and Satan."
• "Cheerios' Brittany? Yeah, we had sex" - random guy in canteen.
• Sam's deep dark secret: He put lemon juice in his hair to make it that blonde.
• The scene betwee Kurt and Burt. I just like any scene between these two.
• Sam and Quinn are now dating; I can't wait to see how Puck reacts.
• Lea Michele and Chris Colfer's rendition of "Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy". Wow. I've already bought it on iTunes.
• Mike Chang! Mike Chang! Mike Chang!

Misses:

• I just realised there was no Sue, no Stamos, and no Terri. Boo!
• I'm still bothered by the fact that the only known restaurant in Glee is Breadsticks.

The Hits outweigh the Misses. I really liked this episode.

There won't be any Glee until October 28, with the episode "Rocky Horror Glee Show".

Gleek out,
Morgan.

The Tudors 1x02
Glee 2x04

The Tudors 1x01.

After seeing Jonathan Rhys Meyer's in Bend It Like Beckham, I don't think I would ever have pictured him playing Henry VIII. However, being obsessed with the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, I now realise that his portrayal as the infamous English monarch is one of my favourites. He's young, handsome, sexy (with a little hint of crazy) and talented enough to be able to pull off such a notorious role.

It took me a while to get used to The Tudors. I had just finished watching The Other Boleyn Girl, so I was in belief that it would follow the same sort of pattern and get right into the nitty-gritty of the story. For a show on the same channel as the likes of Dexter, I knew it was going to push the envelope when it came to what actually was on screen. The nudity did not phase me; it was the immediate assassination of Henry's Uncle in Rome within the first five minutes that made me realise that this show was going to surprise me constantly.

I applaud Michael Hirst and the casting director for their choice of actors and talent for the series; Sam Neil as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Nick Dunning as Thomas Boleyn and Henry Czerny as Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, as well as Jeremy Northam as Thomas More are all characters who immediately showed their strengths as veteren actors. However, being the girl that I am, I instantly fell in love with Henry Cavill as Charles Brandon, Henry VIII's best friend, as well as the casting of Callum Blue as Anthony Knivert. Maybe it is because I had first seen Callum as the undead reaper Mason in Dead Like Me, but I could not take him all that seriously in the time era of The Tudors. I still love him in it though.

Not much happens within the first episode; it basically introduces us to the key players of the first season. We don't actually meet Anne Boleyn (played by the amazingly gorgeous Natalie Dormer - who, incidentallly, is the descendant of Jane Dormer, Queen Mary I's Lady-In-Waiting) until the last few seconds of the episode, and even then she does not any more than five words. However, those few seconds of screentime was all that I needed to know that Natalie's portrayal was going to be one that would possibly even outshine Genevieve Bujold's portrayal of Anne Boleyn in Anne Of The Thousand Days.

I'll most likely keep reviewing The Tudors for my own amusement, because I can never seem to find any episode reviews of the series.

Morgan.

Glee 2x03 "Grilled Cheesus."

Glee review.

When television shows tackle subjects such as religion, I always find that it is either a hit or a miss. Usually, for me, it is a miss. For a show to address religion is like a Christmas special or the Queen's Christmas message. It always happens, and most of the time I don't pay all that much attention to it.

However, Glee's episode "Grilled Cheesus" is a bullseye. The songs were amazing and I fell even more in love with Chris Colfer and Kurt Hummel. His rendition of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" caused me to tear up and want to hug my dog. I'm not a huge Beatles fan, but I automatically bought both the original Beatles version as well as the Glee version of the song as soon as it was available. It is clear why Chris Colfer was nominated for an Emmy now.

I have to admit I was bored with Finn's storyline in this episode. Usually I find him adorable and dorky, but I found myself just getting mad at his selfishness during the episode. But I guess that could be seen as the point of the storyline. Finn praying to a burnt Jesus on a grilled cheese sandwich for superficial things such as winning a football game (Granted, the football team has only won one other game), touching Rachel's boobs and becoming quarterback again. Even Puck of all people seemed more mature than Finn in this episode. Puck hasn't had that many scenes so far this season, so I am hoping for an episode that has a lot of him coming up soon. Fingers cross that he doesn't have a shirt on.

The unsung hero of this episode, however, is Burt Hummel. Mike O'Malley had only a handful of lines, but he commanded my attention whenever he was on screen, even if he was simply lying in a coma in his hospital bed. I'm very glad that Ryan Murphy and the PTB have made Mike a regular cast member.

The only thing I am going to say about Rachel is that she needs to eat a sandwich Or six. I wouldn't mind seeing less of Rachel for a few episodes, frankly. Maybe I am just put off by Lea Michele's reported off-set diva antics.

Hits:

• Puck singing "Only The Good Die Young" by Billy Joel. Despite not being the lead male voice in the Glee club, Puck does have the strongest voice. Plus anyone who sings Billy Joel is amazing in my books.
• Mercedes' adorable "Hey, Church!". It's little things like that that I love about this show.
• Lea Michele singing "Papa, Can You Hear Me?". While I'm not Team Rachel ... Man, does Lea have some pipes on her! Loved the poncho, very suitable.
• One of the things I was looking forward to about this episode was Cory Monteith singing "Losing My Religion". I was not disappointed at all.
• The scene with Sue and Jeanie was heart-wrenchingly sweet. I'm glad that they've allowed there to be an outlet for people to remember that Sue is a person and not just a track suit wearing, zippy one-liner machine.
  

Misses:

• Not enough Sam. There can never be enough Sam.
• Rachel's bangs need to go.
  
• I wish they had explained how Kurt's mother had died. Or have they? I'm not sure.

After last week's episode, "Grilled Cheesus" is definitely one of the strongest episodes so far in Glee.

Four out of four flying teapots.

The Beginning of a New Era.

Okay, so, I don't usually take the time out to write blogs or anything like that, but I thought I would try something new.
I'm Morgan, I'm 19, and I live in Australia.
I would say that I am fairly average looking. Medium to long, dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, and standing at nearly 6".
I like reading other people's blogs, so I thought I would start writing my own (:

- Morgan.