Covert Affairs – Recap & Review – Begin The Begin

photo: usa

Covert Affairs
Begin the Begin

Original Air Date: Jun 7, 2011

Karen – Sr Staff Writer
karen@thetwocentscorp.com

I know it has been a long anticipated wait for the fans of our favorite clandestine group of characters. I for one am one happy viewer. I cannot wait to see how Annie learns to deal with her spy life and her home life and somehow be able to meld them together this season. She was trying real hard last season to not let her sister know exactly what it is she does, but had a few too many rough spots.

Early on in this episode, we learn that things can happen to compromise Annie’s cover, as we learn of a break-in at the house. However, with the help of Auggie, we find out it was just a couple of young teens that did it. Seems as though Auggie’s interrogating skills are quite good and a bit humorous as he tells them to answer the question and “no nodding.”

The West Wing – Summer DVD Review – Pilot

photo: nbc

The West Wing
Pilot

Original Air Date: Sep 22, 1999

Jules – TwoCents Reviewer
jules@thetwocentscorp.com

I’m excited to be reliving one of my favorite shows for the Summer DVD Club. The West Wing is one of the few shows over the years I’ve been able to pop in an episode, watch, and feel inspired all over again. The show was intelligent, inspiring and interesting with an amazing ensemble cast to fawn over.

I might be a bit biased, but to me, this show was more than just about politics. It was about ordinary individuals with the belief that they could help make the world a better place. So with so many good episodes to choose from to cover this summer, I found it only fitting to start at the beginning. I also decided that while looking at some of my favorite episodes, many were written by Aaron Sorkin. As much as I love Sports Night and Studio 60, The West Wing is where Aaron really started to shine on TV and I feel it’ll be fun to explore some of his episode highlights.

Veronica Mars – Summer DVD Review – Pilot

photo: the wb

Veronica Mars
Pilot

Original Air Date: Sep 22, 2004

Ryan O – Two Cents Senior Reviewer
ryano@thetwocentscorp.com

Welcome to the Veronica Mars Summer DVD Club! I’m excited you’re joining me as I recap and review the first season of this incredible show. Because we’re doing this for just 11 weeks, I’ve picked out the 11 episodes I think do the best job at representing the show and while also building the season-long arc of solving Lilly Kane’s murder.

I’m not going to reveal any spoilers just in case some of you are watching the show for the first time. In that spirit, I’m going to ask that no one reveal any spoilers in the comments.

Deadwood – Summer DVD Review – Pilot

Deadwood
Pilot

Original Air Date: March 21, 2004

Meg – Staff Writer
meg@thetwocentscorp.com

Welcome to Deadwood, y’all! I’m delighted to be revisiting the first season of one of my favorite shows as part of TTC’s Summer DVD club.

I haven’t re-watched this series in years, so I’m excited to see how it stands the test of time. I’ve missed Sheriff Bullock and Trixie and Al and all the other Deadwood denizens who cursed, cheated, stole, schemed, and drank their way through three seasons on HBO.

A note of warning: anyone familiar with this show knows that the language is, erm… colorful. So, anytime I’m recapping dialogue, just assume lots of expletives. Let’s get to it!

MasterChef – Recap & Review – Audition #1

photo: fox

MasterChef
Audition #1

Original Air Date: Jun 6, 2011

JD – Sr. Staff Writer
jd@thetwocentscorp.com

MasterChef is back! After my interview with Gordon Ramsay, I was pumped, and the first round of auditions did not disappoint. First there was Gordon in all his… Gordon-ness, Graham being a teddy bear as usual, and Joe’s unreadable stare. Then there was naked body sushi (arguably the oddest moment of the night), mooning (yes, exactly what you think), begging, crying, and cursing.

Oh, and Haggis. Because everyone loves Haggis, right?!

…Anyone? Bueller?

Lost in O’ahu

photo: abc

On a Tuesday just like today, a little over a year ago, I fell head over hills in love with a television show. I had quite enjoyed Lost during its tenure… I shoved notes into its locker vent, it asked me to prom, you get the idea. But it wasn’t until the finale that I thought it could be The One. It was then that Lostmoved onto my list of Top Five Favorite TV Shows of All Time.

Now I know that Lost was very polarizing (no arctic animal reference intended); no real middle-of-the-road fans for this one. Either it was the best thing you ever saw, or you despised it with a fiery passion. And the finale, obviously hated by non-fans, actually divided the die-hard fans as well. They either loved it or were enraged that they had wasted six years of their life.

For me, gentle reader, the finale was an almost religious experience (Don’t believe me? Read my blog post from a year ago.). So when I was presented with the opportunity of a Hawai’ian adventure this summer, I got an idea. I started to do some Lost research online and found, much to my delight, that I could visit several filming locations (some for free!)… if I could actually find said locations.

Challenge accepted.

So for your reading pleasure (and future vacation planning), here is my list (complete with screen captures on the left and my own photos on the right) of five places die-hard Lost fans must visit if ever on The Island.

Game of Thrones – Recap & Review – The Pointy End

photo: hbo

Game of Thrones
The Pointy End

Original Air Date: June 5, 2011

Meg – Staff Writer
meg@thetwocentscorp.com

When we left off last week, our handsome, if slightly scraggly, hero had a knife to his throat. Let’s see how he’s faring this week, shall we? Elsewhere in the realm, the Stark girls flee the Lannister onslaught with varying degrees of success, Jon Snow fights zombies (no, really), Drogo shows some muscle (beyond those gleaming omnipresent pecs), and everyone else gets ready for war!

Still Standing – Summer DVD Review – Still in School

photo: cbs

Still Standing
Still in School

Original Air Date: October 14, 2002

Will – Sr. Reviewer
will@thetwocentscorp.com

What a better way to start TheTwoCents Summer DVD club than a hilarious episode of Still Standing. I have most of the episodes hoarded onto my DVR and every time I watch a rerun, I can’t believe that this show was cancelled. This show has given me hours of entertainment during the summer drought of new TV shows.

The Summer DVD Club Has Returned!

love the summer!

Most shows are off the air for us now that it’s summer. We have some great shows on cable networks – but let’s face it, there’s a bit of a withdrawal for us all.

The gang at TheTwoCents is here to help. Once again we have launched our Summer DVD Club! Every week you can visit TTC and read about some of your favorite shows from the past. At the end of every week, our writers will let you know what episode is next to be covered so you can watch at home and come back and comment here. It’s like a book club with a lot less words!

Here’s your schedule of the shows we’ll be covering this summer!

Mondays:
The Shield
Deadwood

Freaks and Geeks – Summer DVD Review – Pilot

freaks & geeks

Freaks and Geeks
Pilot

Original Air Date: Sep 25, 1999

Valentina D. – TwoCents Reviewer
valentina@thetwocentscorp.com

Nothing has ever come close to capturing the desperation and apathetic feelings that accompany high school quite like Freaks and Geeks did, yet its honest portrayal of high school life struggled to find an audience and it’s hard to say why. Brilliantly written and superbly acted, it has taken on the life of a cult classic ever since its early cancellation. It remains, arguably, the best thing Judd Apatow and Paul Feig have ever produced and kick-started the careers of some of the most popular actors today, namely Jason Segel, Seth Rogan and James Franco.

Premiering in the fall of 1999 and ultimately being axed the following spring, the show took place in 1980, Michigan and was told from the perspective of two specific groups: a small group of geeks who are comfortable with each other but still sorting out their place in high school and a gang of burned out misfits. Sam and Lindsay Weir are siblings but they’re also our eyes as we learn more and more about these two very different groups over the course of the series.