How did you like the 'Dexter' series finale?

I'm really torn on my feelings about the finale of Dexter. In the end, I thought it was fine – but getting there was rough. We had to sit through more Oliver Saxton stuff, which in the end, didn't really matter that much, except the role he played in (SPOILER ALERT!!) killing Deb. We had to believe no one watching that tape of Dex stabbing Saxton would be like, 'Hey man, that looked pretty premeditated to me. Are you sure it was self defense?' We had to put up with more Elroy. And oddly enough, we didn't see any of Masuka's long-lost-daughter, whom the producers wanted us to think was some sort of important character/plot development this season (thanks again for wasting our time, BTW). Worse, we had to sit through flashbacks of Deb and Dex at the hospital when Harrison was born and see Deb in that horrible wig.

We had to believe a hospital would not only just let some random guy walk in in the middle of an evacuation (they even addressed him!! Like evacuating that wing of the hospital was no big deal and that him walking around in the middle of said evacuation was no biggie either! ugh), but that they also wouldn't notice when a patient started coding or that, even worse, wouldn't notice when same random guy starts wheeling her out of the hospital, down the street and on to his boat. Seriously!? Remind me never to go to the hospital in Miami.

I understand that Dexter thought this was an appropriate farewell for his sister. And there is something poetic/justified about her being laid to rest alongside Dexter's other victims (Remember, Deb herself is a killer and his victim as he was the one who drove her down that path). But can we talk for a minute about the complete, utter chaos that is going to cause in Miami?

"Ah what? You lost a body? ... You lost the body of a Miami Metro detective?! How does this happen?!" 
- Said every person in Miami to the hospital when they find out about this. 

And poor Joey Quinn. I can only imagine the pain he evoked on whoever's seemingly responsible for this mishap. Also, when Hannah is reading the news about Dexter's 'death' on her iPad, why isn't there a sidebar about his sister who was dying in the hospital and is now missing too.... That seems like it would have made headlines.

Anyway, like I said, I understand Dexter's motivation.... But it was so selfish. As much as Dex loved Deb (and vice versa), don't you think your beloved sister deserved a traditional police funeral? Don't you think she worked her ass off her whole life to get to that point, that all she ever wanted was to be the best detective and to be respected and to catch bad guys? How could you think she deserved to be dropped in the ocean instead of getting accolades from the city she protected for so many years?

And here is why those actions really don't line up – Dexter's final act is supposed to be selfless. He understands the danger he is to himself and to Hannah and Harrison and wants to free them of that. He's doing them a favor, in his mind. (Although, I have to wonder how good Hannah will be for Harrison... This whole time we're lead to think her killing days are behind her, yet she's still carrying horse tranquilizers around with her? Hmmm.)

So Dexter's final act for Deb is one that comes from the most selfish place, in my opinion, and then his final act to Hannah and Harrison is supposed to be for the good of those around him? It just doesn't add up for me.

Or maybe it is all selfish. Maybe he isn't doing anything for the good of anyone accept himself. Maybe there is no heroism. Maybe he is a coward running away and hiding.

Which brings me to the final scene. Dex is alive and has a sexy beard (yey!). But seriously? Do you think he is still killing? Of course he is. What else is he going to do all day all alone? But how is he killing without the safety net of the police department? I worried all along that Dex would 'escape' somewhere and hide out (be it Argentina with Hannah or elsewhere) and knew that was impossible. His lifestly cannot continue wihtout the cover of Miami Metro. It's one of the reasons Harry trained him to be a splatter analyst to begin with. Let's get real - a quiet bearded guy who lives alone in a shitty house is suspect number one in most murder cases.

As much as I think Dexter had some missteps this season (heck, the past few seasons), there are really only two big things I'd change about the finale:

(a) I wish that Saxton had killed Deb on purpose and not just as he was trying to get away. I wish he had come for her, and not just had her get in his way. I wish Saxton had shot Deb to ruin Dexter's family as Saxton believes Dexter ruined his.

And (b) I wish in the final scene, Dexter had come home, sat down at his table and pulled out a box of blood slides. That would have been the ultimate antihero moment. The realization that all along, nothing – not his sister, not his son, not his love – matter more to him than his Dark Passenger.

'The Blacklist' - Why it's on my must-watch list for fall

Last week, I got the chance to see a sneak preview of The Blacklist on NBC. Aside from how odd it is watching a TV show in a movie theater – you really notice a difference in the speed of scenes, plot developments, etc – I thought The Blacklist was awesome and definitely on my must-watch list for this fall.

The premise is simple – James Spader's Raymond Reddington is on the FBI's most wanted list, turns himself in, and starts helping the FBI track down more of their most wanted (and, he teases, even some criminals that aren't even on their radar yet!).

In all the buzz I was hearing, it just sounded like a crime-of-the-week kind of show, which doesn't interest me at all, but the premiere hints at a bigger story. You learn a little more about Reddington – a former military man who up and abandons his family and resurfaces years later as a criminal – and start to wonder why he left his family for a life of crime, where his family is now, and why he turns himself in now.

The other big mystery is why he only chooses to work with new FBI profiler Elizabeth Keen (played by the Rose Bryne-ish Megan Boone). I'm not going to give anything away, but the premiere hints that Keen may have some mystery in her past as well.

There's a lot of action in the premiere (especially for a budget-stricken network show), you learn a little about these characters, and start to believe the reach that Reddington has in the crime world. And as if that's not enough, there's a plot twist at the end that I did not see coming. Nothing better than a cliffhanger to get you hooked.

Awkward Season 3 Trailer

Get More: Awkward., Full Episodes

Can't. Wait.

LOST copycats!

Looks a lot like this Mattson Creative print, no?

New cast, new format on DWTS

Let's be honest, this is the first time I have watched DWTS in years. I used to love the show. I posted my favorites here on this very blog almost every week. But I stopped watching because (a) I could not dedicated 3-4 hours a week to the show with the performances and the results show and because (b) the casts sucked.

DWTS solved one problem – they cut the results show. Now,  I only have to dedicate two hours of my life to this show! (And I can cut that down even more if I fastforward through the judges scores and Brooke Burke segments.)

And the casting this year – geez! I know I'm kind of a pop culture whore, but I knew every single name on that list except the football player. Mercedes from Glee, Leah Remini, Jack Osbourne, Elizabeth Berkley, Christina Milian, Bill Freaking Nye the Science Guy?! These people are legit 'stars' (in my opinion).

The season premiere (Monday) didn't disappoint either. Granted, you have to keep in mind that a lot of these competitors have past experience - Mercedes, Elizabeth Berkley, Corbin, Christina Milian - a lot of them have danced somewhat before. There were a lot of high scores given out in the very first episode.

image via ABC News

First glimpse of Carrie Underwood as Maria Von Trapp...

And I hate it! Loathe it! Since when is Maria a beer maid? And those dead eyes! Argh!

Read my initial reaction to Carrie's casting here. 

'Grey's Anatomy' Season 10 Promo

Please don't kill Richard.
 Season 10 premieres Sept 26 at 9pm on ABC.

'True Blood' to end in 2014

True Blood to end run in 2014.

Thank. God.

I like True Blood, really I do. If only for the man candy. But it stopped being good... oh I don't know, somewhere in between the were-leopards, possessed orgies and Lafayette's luche libre demon whispering. Oh yeah, and the fairies.

Why do I still watch this show again?

In the beginning, this show was about something. Vampires had just 'come out of the coffin' thanks to the manufacturing of a synthetic blood drink called Tru Blood. There was still prejudice against vamps, and against those who sided with vamps. There were vamp-owned businesses and human-owned businesses. Government either supported vampire rights or were against them.

I liked that show.

Through the last six seasons, every time a storyline like this creeps in - the Authority, Governor Burrell, the Tru Blood factory bombings, Fangtasia vs Merlotte's, Hoyt's mom, all the initial hate towards Sookie, the Fellowship of the Sun etc I like it. I like the human/vampire conflict.

All that other stuff.... eh.

And while I do think the finale gave some new life to the show – humans depending on vampires for protection while vampires depend on humans for uncontaminated blood – it was only a matter of time before the real world problems ODed on mythical creatures.

'The Goldbergs' is not 'Wonder Years', despite trying

Caught the pilot episode of The Goldbergs on Hulu this week and it was...okay. I feel like it is trying to be Wonder Years, but Wonder Years it is not. The youngest kid (the narrator) is cute, but he's no Kevin. It's hard to tell if he is an observer, the one watching and telling the story of his family, or if it's his story to tell, if he's the main character.

There were some good jokes - but they were mostly funny because of the 80s references, the nostalgia. I'm not sure how long that can last.

I haven't always been pleased with pilots of sitcoms (New Girl, for example) and they turned out to be better. If Goldbergs can figure out how to best work the storytelling with their ensemble cast, if the jokes can stand on their own without the 80s references, and if we can get less sappy, lesson-in-30-minutes happy endings, it just may work.