Supernatural: A Third Winchester Brother?

As the 4th season of Supernatural comes to an end, there's a bit of a surprise in store for the demon-hunting brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester. In the upcoming episode called "Jump The Shark", they receive word that there may be another brother out there. His name is Adam, and of course the brothers are sure that this is some sort of a demon-inspired trick to finally dispose of the underworld's biggest pain, the brothers' Winchester. How could there possibly be a 3rd brother? Well, their dear old daddy was on the road for long stretches at a time and it can get a little lonely when you're fighting the good fight against the evil undead. Maybe Pa Winchester got hisself some strange.

This could be an interesting twist in the Supernatural saga, but I'm hoping it's not something like when Shannon Doherty left Charmed and they brought in a 4th sister to take her place in the trio. (Hope I didn't lose any street cred by admitting I've watched Charmed: Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs are hot little witches). If this 3rd brother starts tagging along like some pain-in-the-butt lil' brother "C'mon guys, let me kill the demon this time, pleeease", maybe I can see why the episode would be named "Jump The Shark." Have to wait and see what's going on.

Thursday at 9pm. Then 3 more episodes this season, "Rapture" will air April 30, "When the Levee Breaks" on May 7 and the season-ending "Lucifer Rising" on May 21. Lucifer Rising sounds like it will be a cliffhanger, don't it?

YouTube Will Have TV Shows Soon: Could Be Interesting...

Have you heard about this? YouTube is about to unveil a section where you will be able to watch actual TV shows and feature films. They're doing this because of the increasing popularity of Hulu, which is eating into the massive numbers of views that are generated by the biggest kid on the block, YouTube.

Hulu is new and owned by News Corp and NBC Universal and has a huge library of TV shows and movies available. And the ever-hungry Disney Corp is angling for a stake in Hulu so they could be allowing Disney-produced movies and TV shows (more Hanna Montana dreck anyone?). Hulu is growing by leaps and bounds and may eventually overtake YouTube if they get the mix right for viewers and advertisers. And that's the rub for YouTube. This new section for YouTube is an interesting spin, and with a little work could turn YouTube into the money-spinner the Googlemeisters were looking for. Still too many details need to be ironed out.

Advertisers are the pot o' gold Google (who purchased YouTube for a sackful of money in 2006) are after. They love the numbers for YouTube (5.3 million views in February), but enticing the wary adboys to part with their dollars is the hard part. Would you advertise with a company that seems to air mostly kids showin' off their hot skateboard tricks and flips? Of course, that's not all there is to YouTube. I love YouTube because of the old trailers and movie and sports clips available. But if you can provide longer clips of movies or television episodes, there's a boatload of dollars waiting for the guys who put it all together with the advertisers.

Almost makes me want to dust off my old YouTube-ish idea about providing clips with subtle ads interspersed (No, not subliminally, you dork). What's needed is a platform that provides the good visual content and with ads featured alongside that content. The advertising has to be unobtrusive and non-distracting. Hmmm... maybe I should put in a call to Google boys with my brilliant idea.

You heard it here at Tube Squad first. I just have to do a little legwork and maybe I'll get a sliver of the revenue or maybe I'll just start a new website (maybe I'll call it "Tube Squad"!) and then sell it to Google and retire to a tropical island. Dare to dream.

Nicollette Sheridan's Gone From Desperate Housewives

Lovely Nicollette Sheridan is no longer on Desperate Housewives! Oh NOOO! Okay, I don't watch the show, but I can't help but watch Nicollette Sheridan whenever I'm channel surfing. She is eminently watchable, and I've usually stopped to watch the show from time to time whenever she's been on. Then sometimes I watch long enough and Eva Longoria Parker appears, and then I ask myself... what am I watching this tripe for?


I've never really been able to understand the allure of the show, well Eva and Nicollette notwithstanding, because it strikes me as a soap opera, albet with some humerous moments thrown in. It seems they work just too hard trying to be funny, witty etc on Desperate Housewives. It seems to have been on the air forever and I've never really been the least bit interested in the comings and goings of Wysteria Lane (is that the street they all live on?) or cared one whit about the story lines. This was the same as other much beloved "dramas" that I thankfully have avoided like Knots Landing, Melrose Place (although Courtney Thorne-Smith was yummy on Allie McBeal and According to Jim, I couldn't fathom they urgency that all the girls at work would discuss these shows).

So, although I don't mourn her character "Edie Britt", I will miss catching Sheridan when I'm flipping through channels. She does have an impressive body... of work, and has been on and off television since 1984's Paper Dolls and apparently she was in Knots Landing for 179 episodes. She has been on Desperate Housewives for 113 episodes and I'm sure that there'll be another series waiting in the wings for the hot mid-40s-something actress. I'll look forward to spotting her again and having her force me to linger momentarily while I look for something good to watch. Meanwhile, the "Wives" will have to crank it up a notch and maybe bring in some new blood to fill her void.

Supernatural, Great Repeat: Ghostfacers

I just watched a great repeat episode of Supernatural called Ghostfacers which aired last year. It reminded me of a mix between The Blair Witch Project and one of those shows where some psychics go into a haunted building snooping around for ghosts. Almost the entire show looks like it was filled with a handheld camera. This episode was the lucky number 13th episode of Supernatural - The Complete Third Season. Highly enjoyable. If you love those stories people trying to locate weird spirits using oddball gizmos and "see-in-the-dark" lighting, this is definitely what you're looking for.

Here's what happened if you missed it. It starts with a couple of amateur ghost busters named Harry and Ed making a tape advertising their show they've named "Ghostfacers." The Ghostfacers have formed a team to investigate various supernatural phenomena and haunted houses. The two guys are joined by Kenny, Maggie (Ed's adopted sister) and Alan Corbett (the intern: shades of the red-shirted Star Trek ensign). Their plan? They're going to stay the night and film their experiences in the infamous Morton House.

Morton House Back Story

Apparently dozens of people have disappeared after entering the Morton House over the years. The house is your standard creepy, big old house on the outside, dusty and even creepier on the inside with twisting corridors, bugs and other assorted vermin. Rumored to be the most haunted place in America every four years or so, the house is one of those "I dare ya to spend the night in the old Morton place" deals that were perfect for Shaggy and Scooby. And it starts getting spooky right from the get go.

Dean And Sam Show Up

The Ghostfacers pry open the door and wander inside after seeing Dean and Sam drive past. The team split up and check out various rooms. The fun starts almost immediately after they begin setting up their equipment and scatter throughout the house. Ed and Corbett are calling out to any ghostly residents that they want to make contact and back at their home base Maggie, Harry and Spruce detect "something" on their scans, but it quickly fades. Just them Dean and Sam barge in pretending to be the cops, and tries to convince the ghostfacers to hightail it out, but Ed recognizes the brothers from another supernatural occurrence in Texas. The team feels a drop in temperature and then spot a ghostly figure standing in an adjacent room. As they watch they see the figure (looking like a 1920s mobster) get gunned down and then vanish. What to make of that? Dean explains that what they've seen is an "echo." Usually seen at the sight of the person's death or where they had lived. But what was the connection to this shot-to-death goodfella? Dean advises that they all get out before midnight (because his past experience) and the group agrees. At this point the group realizes their young intern has left the group.

Corbett Disappears

We cut to Corbett walking by himself and calling for ghosts to contact him and he's carrying a camera trained on his face. You just know that this is not going to end well. The camera starts to flicker and Corbett's night goggles go out. We still see him on the film, but he can't see. Suddenly there's a LARGE figure of a man standing directly behind Corbett in the frame. Back at the group, we hear Corbett screaming for help and the rest of his team and Sam and Dean race upstairs to try to help. When they get there we still hear Corbett screaming, but fainter and fainter... We see on the film Corbett is being dragged away by the spectral figure down a hallway by one of his legs. Corbett's screams cease.

Gotta Be Out Before Midnight!

Sam begins slamming a chair against the door which has become mysteriously sealed as have all the windows. They realize that it is now after midnight and they are all guests of whatever is in the Morton House for the duration of the night. Dean tells them that "something or someone doesn't want them to leave." Then as the Ghostfacers equipment again starts twitching, they spot another ghost. A man is standing in the next room with his back to them. Dean walks over to him and starts yelling to try to shock this new ghostly echo to snap back into realization. Suddenly the man starts to turn around... and is bathed in a light. It's an invisible train that hits the echo pitching him into the wall and he disappears. And then Dean notices Sam has also vanished...

And that is all I'm going to say about this episode. Really a top notch suspenseful show and all this happened in only the first half hour. There's another 30 minutes to go as Dean and the remaining Ghostfacers try to avoid being picked off by whatever is in the house with them while trying to save Corbett and Sam and figure out exactly what is happening to them. Really, take a look at this series. It funny and scary at the same time which is a very hard line to tread.

Latest Heroes Episode: 1961

Angela Petrelli's dark past begins to unfold. Her sister Alice, along with Angela, were taken to the compound that Angela brought Nathan, Peter and Claire in the last episode. Claire and Angela discuss what happened there so many years ago, but a fierce windstorm flares up. Angela runs outside calling for her sister who we find out was able to control the weather (hopefully she will look like Storm from The X-Men, but it will likely be Cristine Rose in dual roles).

In a flashback, Angela and Alice Shaw arrive on a bus labeled "Coyote Sands Relocation Center" with an Indian doctor checking them in (likely the senior Doctor Suresh). There are armed guards and the doctor tells young Angela that they are there to keep them "safe." Angela tries to convince her sister that the people at the compound will help them overcome their problems (Angela has terrifying nightmares). Next we see Angela back in the present telling Peter that her sister and parents were killed at the compound and she wants to prevent that from happening to them all in the present. Peter questions Angela about why they had to be brought to this place when she could have told her about it anywhere, but Angela says she has been dreaming about her dead sister a lot recently and wants to find something, a piece of cloth if not the body of Alice in order to give her a proper burial.

The few who survived the slaughter, so many years ago became "the Company" explains Angela. They determined that never again should those with abilities be rounded up. They did this by destroying files, erasing memories, killing and blackmailing. Claire wonders if Angela stating that they need to go back to the "old ways" means killing and blackmailing people. Peter refuses to be a part in anything like that and races off.

Back in 1961, Dr Suresh comes for Alice and when he tries to use a needle on her arm, Alice panics and an electrical storm causes the door to blow open. When Dr Suresh tries to force Alice to take the needle, a guard trying to close the door is electrocuted and Alice runs out the back door into the storm. Dr Suresh tries to grab her and he strikes Alice across the face. A man uses a force to push Sureah away as he tries to apologise. A guard shoots him and Alice hides under a shack as gunfire and screaming is heard as the guards begin shooting everyone. Mohinder Sureah turns up and confronts Noah Bennet asking why he is there. Noah advises he was brought by Angela Petrelli and Mohinder says he found a file stating his father was a doctor there years ago and he wanted to find out why, but now he is unsure if he really wants to know.

Then Angela finds her sister Alice still alive. Alice explains she stayed at the compound and stole what she needed to survive. Alice appears a little loopy (wouldn't you after 50 years alone?) and begins channeling another storm. Mohinder tries to placate her but Alice flashes back to his father slapping her and Mohinder is knocked back by an electrical discharge. Angela tries to tell Alice that it is all right, that these people are her family...

Unmarried Gary Dates The Hot Teacher

Scrumpious Cerina Vincent plays a temp at the school of Gary's daughter, Louise in the new series Gary Unmarried, which is about a recently divorced dad of 2 kids starring Jay Mohr.
In the most recent episode, Gary finds out about the "hot art teacher" at Louise's school, "The guys' IQs drop 60 points whenever she walks into a room" mopes Louise. Even the kid who is her desk partner (with the bad eye) has both eyes on "Ms Saint James." I have to admit, she is very hot. Gary becomes smitten with Ms Saint James and asks her out ("Can I call you Ms Saint James? -- That's so hot!" says Gary). His daughter thinks that Gary has asked out her other art teacher, Ms Plumber (Kathleen Rose Perkins), who dresses in layers and is, well, a little on the homely side.

When Gary's ex-wife Allison (Paula Marshall) insists he choose to go out with Ms Plumber, rather than Ms Saint James (which keeps confusing Gary, because "Ms Saint james is the hot one"), he eventually relents when Louise also insists he go out with her favorite teacher, because Gary needs to "get out there, and mix it up".

Gary plans on meeting the homely Ms Plumber at the gym and then take the hot teacher to a fancy restaurant. But... Ms Plumber arrives looking very hot herself. Unfortunately for Gary Ms Plumber has found out that he has asked out 2 of his daughter's teachers and throttles him in the ring. She informs Gary that she was a golden gloves champ. "I didn't know there was a division for girls in the Golden Gloves." "There isn't" replies Ms Plumber as she drops him like a bad habit. She looms over him and winks and says "call me!"

The Big Bang Theory: The Hofstadter Isotope

It's "anything can happen Thursday" according to Sheldon (Jim Parsons) as the guys prepare to venture out to the comic book store. They run into Penny (Kaley Cuoco) in the hall and after she asks them to pick up some comics for her 13-year-old nephew, Sheldon quizzes her about which "comics" they should get. "The ones with talking babies, or anthramorphized pets?" Penny says Spiderman, and then Sheldon asks "Original Spiderman? The Amazing Spiderman? The Spectacular Spiderman? Or Spiderman 2099?" Reluctantly Penny agrees to tag along to the comic book store just to shut Sheldon up.

When they get the to store, of course all the comic book patrons are watching Penny's every move. Pretty girl in a comic book store syndrome. The guy working there is named Stuart (Kevin Sussman) and is a friend of Leonard (Johhny Galecki) and Sheldon and they introduce him to Penny. While Sheldon and Howard (Simon Helberg) quibble over which of them should get the latest Batman book, Stuart draws a picture of Penny and when she likes it, he asks her out, much to Leonard's chagrin. Back at the apartment, Leonard is moping and turns off "the Star Trek Deep Space Nine-Original Trek, 'The Trouble With Tribbles' crossover episode" which peaks Sheldon's interest. He suggests now would be the perfect time for Leonard to start a blog with interactive comments section to get people on the Internet to provide Leonard with guidance about his problem with the Stuart-Penny dating situation. Leonard decides to go to "a bar where women are" with Howard and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) when he meets Penny and Stuart heading out to one of his art exhibits.

At the bar, Howard tries to work his mojo with expected results. Howard, it turns out waits for "the jocks and attorneys" to thin the herd, so he can swoop in on the weak and the aged. His best bits for attracting women include having Leonard put handkerchiefs in his mouth so the women will laugh, then Leonard and Howard will laugh and then they'll get them drinking til they're at 1.5 the legal limit and then Howard and Leonard will tell them they are millionaires. Raj meanwhile, having imbibed several Brandy Alexanders, is spotted necking with a rather large woman. Penny returns from her date with Stuart and invites him in for coffee, to which Stuart asks "Isn't it a little late for coffee?" and Penny starts to explain that it is so cute that he thinks coffee means coffee. Sheldon comes out into the hallway because he heard Stuart's voice.

After arguing with Stuart about Dick Grayson (the original Robin) "picking up the cowl and becoming the new Batman in the event of Bruce Wayne's death, and Stuart perplexing Sheldon by insisting Sheldon couldn't be "more wrong", "wrong being a quantitative state with no room for degradation so he couldn't be 'more wrong.'" Stuart argues that yes he can. If Sheldon said "steak is not a meat" he would be wrong, but if he said meat could be a suspension bridge" he would be more wrong. Finally, Stuart concedes defeat in exhaustion. Sheldon suggests they leave Penny's apartment (she's asleep on her couch), because if Stuart wakes her, she'll "ravage him like rabid wolverine."

The next morning we see Raj wake up in an unfamiliar bedroom with a big, meaty arm crushing him. He tries to move away, but the girl pulls him close. Raj smiles and goes back to sleep.

And that's it til next season. Good to see that the show has been picked up for another season, because it is hilarious. There's a good The Big Bang Theory episode guide I've put together that you might like. Take a look if you're a fan.

Hillary Duff On Ghost Whisperer

On this week's Ghost Whisperer, Hillary Duff puts in an appearance as Morgan Jeffries, a young woman who may have been involved in the death of an older man who attended a group therapy session with Duff's character. This is the 19th episode of the 4th season for Jennifer Love Hewitt's series about a young woman who can see and communicate with spirits and those with "unfinished business" after they die. Here's a link to a short clip of the episode called Thrilled to Death featuring Hillary Duff.

The episode starts with Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Jim (or Sam) who now inhabits Sam's body discussing Jim's death and him being in Sam now. Then it cuts to Duff wakening from a scary dream that seems to carry on to the real world. She runs into the hallway from her apartment and bumps into Eli (one of Melinda's ghosthunting pals) who enters the frightened girl's apartment where he hears a ghost asking if they want to die.

About her role in the episode Duff said, "I'm kind of being haunted by someone that I was in a relationship with before they passed away. He had unfinished business with me, and I'm having nightmares of being turned upside down in my apartment, like when I'm sleeping on the bed, I'm actually going to be hanging from the ceiling." Which she does, in the first scene we see her in.

The episode deals with Melinda and Eli trying to figure out Morgan's relationship with a deceased cancer patient, whom Morgan claims no knowledge of.

Supernatural About To Embark On The Show's Fifth Season!

Hard to believe, but Supernatural is about to start filming it's fifth season. I've been watching the show off and on, it seems to air at weird times, late at night and repeated on some of the higher cable channels, so I'm not totally up to speed on all that's happened. The basic premise of the show is that there are these two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester (played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) who do battle with demons and angels and all things creepy in this world and the next. Each week there are weird occurances and paranormal shite happening to the two Winchester boys as they carry on their deceased father's good work (or is he really dead?)

There's lots of cool effects, like when a demon leaves a human host a black cloud comes out of the person's mouth and disappears. One episode had a particularly odd scene where a hot woman with psychic powers has her eyes removed by some demonic power (so she cannot see, get it?). Over the past few years, both Sam and Dean have had their own problems. They bicker with each other, and one brother even died, and after a short sojorn in Hades, claws his way out of his grave. The other brother was touched by a great evil as an infant and he manifests some demonic powers of his own.

As this kind of reminds me of Buffy and her mis-adventures, and there is a fair bit of humor running through most episodes. One recent episode I saw involved a demi-god (sort of like Loki, that mischievious imp) living in a small college town wreaking havoc on several locals, and pitting Sam against Dean by making them believe the other is stealing a computer or damaging their precious car. That one had it all: a scary ghost, a sewer-dwelling alligator, and and alien abduction all roled up into one tight package.

But the bottom line is that the show provides a fair bit of chills and thrills along with goos story arcs. Need I say more? Supernatural - Seasons 1-3 is one of those shows that you start watching midway through and wish you had been there from the beginning.

Amy Poehler's “Parks and Recreation”

Amy Poehler is set to star in a new series called Parks And Recreation, starting Thursdays. Poehler will be playing Leslie Knope, the deputy director in the parks department of Pawnee, Indiana. Leslie Knope is described as "a bureaucrat infused with a clueless, Michael Scott-like optimism", think The Office meets the great outdoors. Poehler's character is the kind of person who reacts to the public's criticism by explaining that "what I hear when I'm being yelled at is people caring loudly at me."

Poehler's character, Knope, has a crush on Mark Brendanawicz (played by Paul Schneider) who is a touch clueless himself. He and Knope slept together once, but Brendanawicz doesn't remember their coupling. Other castmembers include: Aziz Ansari (who plays Knope's colleague, Tom), and Nick Offerman who plays her boss. I think it may be a wait and see for this one. It has some good points, namely Poehler, along with the producers of The Office lending a hand. If the writing hits the clever level that The Office has enjoyed, then it might be interesting viewing.

Robin Will Be Living With Ted Moseby Next Year

Did you catch the end of How I Met Your Mother last night? There was a goat involved, and a spat between Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) and Ted Moseby (Josh Radnor) over Barney and Robin's tryst. In the episode, Ted confronts Barney over a very guilty Barney in a limo about Barney having slept with Robin (Cobie Smulders). Ted told Barney that he didn't want to be friends with Barney any longer and hopped out of the limo (Barney was taking Ted to Vegas to celebrate Ted 30th birthday). Barney was feeling terrible for having broken "The Bro Code" by sleeping with his bud's ex. (As a side note: Barney Stinson wrote The Bro Code, which gives his rules to live by).

Basically Ted let Barney know that Robin had told him about her night with Barney because she felt guilty herself, just as Barney was going to tell Ted about it himself.

What About The Goat?

Lily (Alyson Hannigan) had a goat (in a birthday hat, because, c'mon! A goat in a birthday hat is funny!) for Ted surprise birthday party, while Barney decided to surprise Ted himself by winging him off to Las Vegas to really kick off Ted's 30s with a bang. Actually Barney was doing this out of painful guilt.

At the very end of the show, Ted was telling his kids about the goat locking itself in the bathroom and it was eating one of Robin's face-clothes. Then Ted said - wait a minute... Robin's face-clothes? But Robin wasn't living there on his 30th birthday. He then said, oh that's right, the goat in the bathroom was on his 31st birthday. Implying Robin and Ted will be living together again next season. Hmmm...

Heroes Latest Episode: Turn and Face The Strange

Picture Hiro (Masi Oka), Ando (James Kyson Lee) in a car with Toddler "Touch and Go", Matt's son. Ando and Hiro are discussing their next step when the baby starts crying and the car stops dead. Meanwhile Danko (Zeljko Ivanek) and Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman) discuss Sylar's death. Danko wanders into the washroom and there is the real Danko, who lectures Sylar (Zachary Quinto) on the danger of assuming his form. Sylar smiles and advises Danko to keep an eye on a mole he discovered while in Danko's form. Then Sylar states he is planning to destroy Bennet.

Ando, Hiro with the baby catch a ride with down-home truck driver who promises them a mechanic can help them out in the next town. Bennet pulls the spike from the head of the dead Sylar, while having gunmen present in case it really is Sylar and he springs back to life - he doesn't and orders cancellation of Danko's order to cremate the body of the shapeshifter. Noah is realizing that Sylar is not really dead. Meanwhile, his wife, Sandra (Ashley Crow) is crowding in on him at his work reminding him that Claire is missing and questioning why he is looking for Sylar.

Parkman Confronts Danko

Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg), becoming obsessed with Danko for the death of Daphne so he follows him and meets a beautiful russian woman, named Elena who believes Danko is a wonderful schoolbook salesman with a family in Chicago. Matt brings her to Danko and forces him to confess to Elena that he hunts and kills people for the government and what he did to Daphne and what he does for a living. She leaves Danko in tears, demanding he stay away from her.

Noah gets a DNA test back that proves the dead body is not the actual Sylar and realizes Sylar has become a shapeshifter. He immediately confronts Sandra with a gun to the back of her head, believing her to be Sylar in her form. Luckily, she proves her identity when her cell phone rings and it is their son.

Later, when Noah Bennet confronts Danko about Sylar, Danko reveals that Sylar has assumed the identity of one of the team leaders who "has been racking up a lot of wins lately." When the team returns from another successful capture, Noah congratuates the team leader and them shoots him in the back. The man falls to the ground dead with Bennet yelling at him to "Get up! Get up! It's Sylar!" When the man doesn't arise, he runs away with the rest of the team in hot pursuit. Then Sylar rises - it was him after all. It is beginning to look like Sylar's decision to ruin Noah Bennet's life is coming true.

Back To The Petrellis

At the end of the episode, the Petrelli clan meets (Angela, Nathan, Peter, and Claire) at an abandoned compound. When Nathan asks Angela why they are all together, she starts handing out shovels and says "Dig." Nathan uncovers a skull with a bullet hole and asks who it was. Angela replies she know them all. How many people are buried there questions the others. At this point Noah Bennet pulls up in a car and he and Claire just look at each other.

Octo-Mom! Octo-Drama! Enough Already!

I am sick and tired of hearing about the so-called "Octo Mom" and her brood and I want this story to go away. Every time I turn on the TV, there's this incensed commentator vehemently tearing into this woman and almost salivating in the hopes that some hanger-on will drop some nugget of information that will lead to the children being removed, or at least the story can be moved forward one more day, so they can pound away another day. These so-called stories that appear on these "current affairs" programs are the worst drivel on television today and have no redeeming factors.

All they do is stridently attack people and trundle in lawyers, experts, and special guests to undermine everyone involved. The worst part is that when viewers begin to tire of the story of the day, they drop all their commentary and move on to the next big story and then they begin the cycle once more. Their self-righteous indignation moves on because the story has become old news, there is never another word about the old news. Disgusting.

They play up the latest homicide, investment scandal, drug-overdose or whatever meaningless story pops up on the purient media's collective consciousness that will garner the programs some ratings and playing up to the lowest common denominator. Even if I had even the slightest interest in whatever the "Octo-Mom" is up to, hopefully, I wouldn't be spending my day glued to the tube with baited breath to see if her nanny situation works out. I just don't care and you shouldn't either. If there are problems incurred with raising her own little tribe, let her deal with it and if she can't, there are people able to step in and help, either by removing the kids if mistreated or neglected. This is not a story that should be glammed up for television. It is not news. People need to move on and GET A LIFE! Okay, I'm now done ranting.

ER: The Series Finale

It's gone. The long-standing series about the Emergency Room at Chicago County Hospital is now gone to the big re-run and syndication network in the sky. The series kicked off and rejuvenated the acting careers of many of the TV and movie stars of the past, with the most notable being George Clooney who appeared in 109 episodes as Dr. Doug Ross. Noah Wyle has the honor of having appeared in the most episodes in the shows 15 year run (1994-2009) having started with the show as fresh faced intern, Dr. John Carter with 254 appearances, while Laura Innes' Dr. Kerry Weaver appeared in 250 episodes in total.

The show was must-watch TV for years garnering HUGE audiences, but as the cast members left, one by one, the series began to falter and lose steam, but still managed to entertain as new cast members joined and older ones left. Recently, in the episode "Old Times" George Clooney and Julianne Margolis reprised their roles as Dr. Ross and Nurse Carol Hathaway. Both left the show in 2000, but it was intriguing to find out what had become of the couple after leaving County. Eriq La Salle showed up in the same episode as Dr. Peter Benton. Dr. Benton also was in the finale at Dr. John Carter's opening of the new unit named in honor of his son, Joshua Carter, who had died. The last episode contains both births and death, loss and a regained purpose for an original castmember. The final scene shows multiple ambulances arriving following an industrial accident which provides shades of past seasons, of doctors playing basketball outside of the ER and waiting for the traumas of the day to show up so they can try to help the injured.

What I remember most of the early years, was the romance of Dr. Ross and Nurse Hathaway, as well as the attempts of Chief Resident, Dr. Mark Greene (played by the great Anthony Edwards) as he tried to hook up with Sherry Springfield's character, Dr. Susan Lewis. They just seemed perfect for each other, but both never seemed able to get together. Then the story arc of the last days of Dr. Greene's father who died from lung cancer (loved the scene of him and his father on the boat with no dialogue, only music).

Sadly, Dr. Greene also ended up passing away. His daughter, Rachel, who we saw in several early and middle episodes returns to the ER as a 22-year old med student. Here's a link to ER - The Complete First Season, just one of the many great seasons. If you haven't watched the series from start to finish, here's your chance. This was an above average medical series for years, with great storylines and character development. The show was nominated 123 times for Emmys (the show won at least one Emmy award every year for 9 of it's first 10 years), and also won the Peoples Choice Award as Favorite Television Dramatic Series 1995-2002.

So far, seasons one to eleven have been released on DVD, and here's the latest available ER: The Complete Eleventh Season. The final four seasons are still TBA" (to be announced).