Mercy: Can We Talk About the Giant Elephant in the Ambulance

I don’t generally recap Mercy but I had some random thoughts that I decided to share.

James Van Der Beek is the special guest star of the episode. My immediate thought about him is that sarcasm doesn’t suite him. Every sarcastic line delivery just feels super-off.

Michelle Trachtenberg on the other hand continues to impress me as an actress. Her ability to play evil Georgina and then being the innocent Chloe convincingly just shows that she has a lot of range. I would not be sorry to see her reprise her role as Georgina though. It’s a little weird that Chloe hangs out with Veronica and Sonia considering they’ve got like a 10 or so year age difference.

I loved the title of the episode “Can We Talk About the Giant Elephant in the Ambulance” but I loved it less when she said it out loud. (Maybe they always do that but I’ve never noticed until this episode.)

The theme song is great too. One of the better ones on TV at the moment, though not necessarily the most appropriate for the show’s tone.

Also, Grandma from Gilmore Girls is excellent as Sonia’s rich patient when she takes. Emily Bishop is stately no matter what part she plays. I like that storyline a lot. (It’s nice to see more about a patient than their short stories in a single episode.) I didn’t know Emily Bishop was in Dirty Dancing. Anyone else think she and the rich, party boy son may have an affair at some point? It would be sad since she just moved in with her police officer boyfriend, but it does feel like they’re setting it up.

Finally, I am unsatisfied with the ending and Veronica getting the guy. Too predictable.

America’s Best Dance Crew: The South

It seems the ABDC has decided to get into the act of holding auditions.

The first three weeks are Regional competitions (South, East, and West because apparently there are no crews in the North). The top three of five crews per region will go continue on to the final competition.

Week 1 is the South, where no title has ever been earned from ABDC. JC, Lil Mama, and the new judge Omarion (never heard of him…). Each group created a routine to highlight their skills and style. As always, the bottom crews will have a sudden death battle in the end to decide who will remain.

Hok, who was on both So You Think You Can Dance and ABDC, and won with the Quest Crew, joins them as they search out the talent. Who knew that he was British.

That first group, Jungle Boogie, which does Cranking, was not as impressive as the judges implied in their first audition. Maybe it’s just something about the editing but it looked like there were a couple good moves and otherwise the choreography was boring. It’s a lot better in their real performance on stage. Much more coordinated with better movement. It gets a standing ovation. Omarion was impressed but he and Lil Mama say they need to be cleaner. JC likes their high energy.

Group 2 is Ghost, they have a smooth style. What little we see in first auditions looks like the robot. Those are some tight red pants! If you watched you know what I mean. Their performance was really entertaining but they lacked the wow factor. JC says they added levels which is what he asked for. He warns them not to get too repetitive. He liked the drama but it was a little slow. Omarion felt like he’s seen it before. Push it further. Lil Mama agrees with them both, step it up and increase the difficulty.

Anyone else feel that Mario Lopez is the least consequential host ever?

X-Treme Motion is an all girl group with a different style. It’s apparently a lot of booty shaking which they call Bucking. And I think those outfits have made me blind. I’m not all that impressed with the routine. It was really repetitive to me. Lil Mama says it was high energy but they’re loosing their unison a bit. They use the stage well. JC thought it was fun but it started a bit generic and ended a bit generic. The middle was great. Omarion says booty booty booty. He enjoyed that.

Swagger Crew has one girl and she is taller than all of the guys. From what little is shown from the audition it looks kind of cool. Their style is more theatrical comedy. I didn’t see that in the audition but okay. Well there are the corny faces from the girl but otherwise. i don’t think it’s so much funny as sharp. JC says the girl is hot. The beginning was generic but then it picked up. But he’s never seen a line be done as something other than a ripple. Omarion says they have a name to live up to. They’ve got to swag. He enjoyed. It looks like they’re trained and studied but it needs to look like it comes from the heart. He wants to feel the passion. (I didn’t see that.) Lil Mama, shockingly, agrees. She says don’t focus on one section, make sure all of it is perfect to the T.

Royal Flush has been trying to get on the show for the last four seasons. It seems so scattered. This one guy has some awesome flips. This group also has the one female. And they really highlight her and put her in the front and center a lot. They use her to be the hot focus in the group it seems. Theirs is pretty cool. Lil Mama can’t seem to say anything. Is that a good stunned into silence or a bad? She said there was a lot going on, she’d like to see more choreography. It’s reading more as a crew than a dance group. Omarion congratulates for always trying. They shouldn’t have done the cards because it was corny and they should have been more creative. Props can make you forget about the choreography. JC says he really liked it. Hard work pays off. They did everything but they got a little sloppy at one point.

From here two crews will go through and the other three will compete for a final showdown. The results…the two favorites are: Swagger Crew (that was my first pick too) and Jungle Boogie (also my next guess). I’m not sure who of the last three I want. I think Ghost maybe. Or Royal Flush? Definitely not X-Treme Motion.

X-Treme motion is first and they still don’t strike me as great. Royal Flush also only impresses me in so far as the flips. Ghost isn’t so in sync. Based on the performances I’d pick Royal Flush. (I don’t really like any of them and if it were up to me I’m not sure I’d pick any of them.)

Final Results: The final crew to compete from the South is…Royal Flush.

Greek: Pride and Punishment

Rusty and Dale discuss the difficulty of Dale’s schedule. Dale is distant because he doesn’t have the money to fund his project. Everyone is staring at Rusty and a girl who is SUPER AWKWARD approaches to congratulate him. Dale tells him not to get too picky because the sorority girls won’t have the same reaction.

Casey is awkward around Katherine. Katherine wants her to apply for the VP of Judicial position. Casey has been so supportive and patient and she thinks she can trust her. Casey agrees. Katherine wants her to look into what happened with the fire. She is sure Casey can figure it out. She also gives Casey a clipboard. Evan arrives, awkward looks and the meeting begins.

Rusty shows up to class and goes to sit by a pretty girl. She’s a sorority girl taking the class for an easy A (because the professor is desperate to be liked). He tries to impress her with his grant award. In walks Ashleigh. She sits with him and they talk about his love life (while he helps her with a virus on her computer). Marketing rule #1- know your target audience. Which Rusty realizes can be applied to dating.

Casey runs from Evan. He tries to apologize and says it was important to get his house back. Way to rationalize.

Ashleigh and Rebecca talk. (Rebecca was just on Bones and she was so cute. It was so nice to see her be nice for once.) They discuss everyone being still nervous, except Rebecca who claims to be completely unnervous. What to do to calm everyone down and give them something else to focus on.

At their super secret meeting (Amphera), they discuss what everyone did. Cappy reveals what Evan did. They fight and knock over the sacred urn. Is there a way to remove a brother?

Rusty and Dale return Ashleigh’s laptop. She doesn’t remember Dale at all. Ashleigh suggests doing a nerd date auction. Ashleigh says it will help finding a girlfriend because you can sell anything if packaged correctly.

Cappy and Casey are eating Chinese together. Beaver wants Casey to read him Maya Angelou as a bedtime story. Casey thinks that she hurt Gamma Psi for the sake of her house, which is the same thing that Evan did. He says it’s different, it was an accident, Evan did it on purpose. Btu Casey is clearly still feeling guilty (which we should get because she kicked her VP of Justice clipboard away.)

Ashleigh is doing Rusty’s hair. He doesn’t get it. She says she’s making him nerd chic. Ashleigh wants to get him glasses. When he suggests that it’s only what’s on the inside that counts, she laughs at him.

Casey comes to Katherine who is cleaning the vomit of her roommate. Katherine says she intends to look into the songfest stuff because it was injustice no matter how small. Katherine says she misjudged her when they first met and she is sorry.

Cappy cuts in line to get to the Human Sexuality class but Rebecca has been waiting since 7 am. He says he’s seen her soft side. She said she’s had an encounter. It’s just sex, which is the only thing that works between a man and a woman. He suggests she should go for it. Until she reveals that it is Evan Chambers. They find out that there is only one spot left for the class, which they will compete for.

Rusty comes in with his nerdy glasses. Rusty works to convince Dale to join too.

Evan gets home to find Casey who apologizes for yelling at him. She asks how he deals with the guilt because she feels guilty too. He says there’s nothing he can do about it. She thinks she has to confess. He doesn’t feel that way at all. He feels bad about people getting hurt. He says confessing now wouldn’t help, it’s a mistake. But she says she can’t live with it anymore. (So basically, Evan used to be a good guy but he has since lost all morality. Way to go Rebecca, what a catch.)

Rusty walks around in full geek attire and finds Ashleigh. She gives him a flier to go over to Erica. She doesn’t remember him. But the nerd packaging seems to work since she says she’ll be coming.

Casey is talking to the Gamma Psi president Natalie. She wants to clear the air about how hostile things were last semester. Casey says she did it. And she’s taking responsibility. The president suggests they give up their house for them. She thinks that Casey couldn’t have acted alone so this is the only way not to get the entire house implemented.

Rebecca and Cappy are trying to flirt their way into the class.

Evan sees Casey trying to figure out what to do. Evan says Natalie clearly doesn’t want to turn her in, she must be hiding something. Maybe Casey should prove that Natalie was shady during songfest. Fight fire with fire, pardon the wording.)

Nerd auction begins. Most of the girls are awkward. Some blond is with Fischer apparently. Ashleigh kicks him out (Rebecca backs her up). Dana comes to talk to Rusty but in walks Erica. Dale has been convinced to join. Rusty is up first and lots of girls begin bidding on him. Erica wins with $50. Erica says Rusty and every other guy will cheat as soon as he gets the chance. Well, that seems counterproductive Ashleigh. She thinks all guys could be potential Fischers. She saw him blow of Dana.

Casey waits for Ryan, the judge who gave ZBZ a zero in the talent competition. She sucks up to him. She asks him how he prepares. She suggests that Natalie is his girlfriend. He says he and Natalie just slept together. In exchange for the zero for ZBZ.

Erica and Rusty talk. He reassures her that he is not a cheater. She bid on him to help with fixing their technology and tutoring. Poor Rusty, turns out geek chic isn’t where it’s at.

Rebecca looks thrilled that Cappy sees her go over to Evan. He asks her to walk away, even for the spot in the class, but she refuses. Beaver says that friends have to let their friends make their own mistake. (So Beaver isn’t always stupid.)

Casey meets with Natalie. And Katherine. She tells her the truth because she respects her too much to continue lying. She also reveals what Natalie did to get the zero for ZBZ. Katherine is furious. Casey says she wants to call it even.

Casey tells Ashleigh what happened and they’re thrilled. Though sadly Katherine may never speak to her again. (I actually really like her so I hope she’s still around.) Cappy arrives and she says Evan gave her the idea. He wants to know why the women in his life keep giving Evan a second chance. They have an awkward is it okay with you that I talk to my ex conversation.

Rusty is upset about what happened with Erica. Dale on the other hand had a good date with a fellow nerd. Rusty sees Dana and goes over to apologize. She’s upset. Dana says she even liked him when he was the anchor. Dana rants for a while. (I wish she would take her hair out of the Princess Leah buns.) She says she is a woman with needs and deserves a chance. He says he will never forget her name and wants to know if he could buy her coffee but she says he blew it.

Cappy and Evan find out they are both out of Amphera.

Rusty sits with Ashleigh in class and she apologizes. He says she deserves better than Fischer. He says nerds can be a jerk too. She says any girl would be lucky to have him.

Rebecca got her and Cappy both into the class. The professor is gay but Cappy isn’t his type. He apologizes to Rebecca for telling her what to do but he’ll be there for her when he screws her over.

Casey knocks on Katherine’s door to return her clipboard. Katherine says Casey is good enough to remain for the job since she bluffed so well to Natalie. The clipboard wasn’t hers because hers was slightly rusted and she misses it. She isn’t turning Casey because of the headlines it would generate. Casey says she could find Katherine’s clipboard if she keeps looking but Katherine tells her not to bother.

The Secret Life: This Time Around

OK, better late than never right?

Ashley staring at a picture of…a guy and his dog? She says “oh brother” and in comes Amy dressed in a short dress. Ashley tells her to take a condom meaning she looks hot. She has some in her desk drawer. Amy says she won’t be having sex but maybe she’ll take one anyway. Ashley has condoms because “better safe than you.” Ashley tells her that a second (or third) date is too early to have sex. Amy wants to feel normal and taking a condom means normal. Ashley asks her if she knows how to use it. It doesn’t work from your purse. Ashley tells Amy to leave before she gets too sisterly. Who is the guy in the picture?

“Falling in love…” it’s such a cheesy, addictive theme song.

Ashley is looking through her father’s stuff and finds a letter where he apologizes to Anne for Rita the Meter Maid. Ashley runs out of the room to sift through his things and finds a ring. He asks for him to bring the ring and flowers up to Anne. How many times can he drive up there to get rejected?

Amy is on her date and she’s nervous because Ricky’s never had John for an entire night. Does Amy still have feelings for Ricky? Ben? This is awkward date conversation. He asks if she and Ben have ever had sex. He says he’s never slept with any of his girlfriends. He’s waiting for the one worth waiting for. He doesn’t want to have sex in high school, he doesn’t think it’s a good idea.

Alice (ps- what’s with the “A” names) and Henry try to convince Ben to go out with them. He doesn’t want to be a third wheel but they insist. He wants them to go. He finally convinces them.

Ben’s dad and stepmom-to-be are downstairs when Alice and Henry come down. Ben’s dad offers him the car.

Meanwhile Ben is upstairs on the phone revealing that he lied about not wanting to go out. He’s going out with someone. He can drive now!

George is driving to Anne and the song he’s listening to convinces him that it HAS to work. It’s the second time around after all. Not sure if that’s how it works George.

Ashley is still going through letters when someone knocks on the door with pizza. Griffin sent over pizza to make her feel better. She doesn’t want to answer it but he insists. She doesn’t seem thrilled about it. The guy looks at her and says “wow…he thinks he might like her…or love her…because…wow.” He says the pizza is free. Griffin wants them to eat the pizza together. He’s Griffin’s cousin, he’s never killed anyone. Ashley’s making him nervous. He’s never done anything illegal and he thinks she’s beautiful. She doesn’t want to let him in with no one home so they agree to eat in the backyard. Griffin says she needs a friend. His name is Grant.

Back to Amy’s date they wonder about going somewhere or remaining in the restaurant. He thinks she might be afraid to be alone with her. She says she is a little. Jimmy says she doesn’t have to worry about the cost of the meal. They kiss and the waiter interrupts with the dessert menu. In walks Madison and Lauren on double dates of their own–Jack (with a new haircut) and Jesse. Jimmy suggests that they sit down.

Ricky watches John sleep and then says goodnight and goes to the next room where Adrianne is waiting with a candlelight dinner that she made. He never knew she cooked until now. She wonders if this is what married life feels like but he has a feeling it isn’t. She says she can’t spend the night to which he responds “we’ll talk.”

Surprise! The person Ben went to see was Grace. He’d love it if they could be friends and he’s always thought she was special.

George continues giving himself a pep talk, checks himself in the mirror, and slams on the break (with not the best acted look of fear on his face). He hit a squirrel but it’s okay. He’s got a cut on his forehead and the flowers are ruined though.

Grace and Ben discuss her medical plans. No more sports medicine. Heart surgery maybe. Ben isn’t sure what he wants to do yet. His dad wants him to go to college even though he never has. Grace is all wasp, Ben is Jewish and Catholic.

Ben’s dad and Betty talk about when to get married. He wants a small wedding. She doesn’t know if his family and friends would be excited. He insists. Ben loves her and his real friends would be happy. Betty thinks she shouldn’t wear white–ecru instead. They dance, it’s kind of cute. What exactly is ecru? A dirty white.

Amy and Jimmy say goodbye to the others. They apparently came to spy on Jimmy and pass judgment. Jesse thinks Ben and Amy are over. Jack reveals that Ben and Grace are together. They’re awkward about double dating. Lauren is getting testy with Jesse. Lauren thinks maybe Jimmy isn’t too bad since he paid for their check.

Ricky wants to do dishes but Adrianne wants to finish her meal. John wakes up crying so Ricky picks him up. He gets a call and it’s from Amy. “He’s fine.” How’s her date going? Fine. Tell Adrianne hello. Okay, but don’t call again or you’ll annoy Jimmy. They’re in Jimmy’s car and he suggests making out. She does want to. He tells her to start. She insists he does (I’m beginning to wonder about her social skills.)

Ashley talks to Grant about her parents. She doesn’t understand. Not trying at all is failing but trying isn’t. She’s not much of a talker normally. Maybe she hasn’t found the right person to talk to. He’s made things weird now but he knows of another way to make things weird, he could kiss her. Another dog shows up and Moose runs off after it, interrupting the moment.

George shows up to find some other guy holding Robby. Cue dramatic music and a commercial. George talks with the guy who says he’s never slept with her. Anne is with Mimzy. He says nothing happened and he should believe him. Anne lied about sleeping with him. Now what? The guy suggests he go home and let her come to him. He says she will and he’d better not screw it up.

Ben and Grace never got around to their movie but they had fun talking and not he has to go since he can’t drive after 11. He asks if she’d like to go out again sometime. He didn’t want everyone to talk about it. Grace told Jack though. Oh. They’re somewhat awkward together too. (Has Ben gotten a lot taller?) Grace kisses him (and he beams) and leaves. He must have forgotten that if he wants sex Grace is not the person to go to.

Amy and Jimmy arrive at home. End of the date so…kissing. She forgot her purse in his car and he goes to get it. Her purse falls out and everything topples out with it. He sees the condom inside. Ashley asks Amy how it was and when asked what Ashley did she says nothing. Jimmy runs into Grant. Ashley never even mentioned Amy or she did but he was mostly just staring at her. Jimmy asks Grant to return the purse. Ashley asks if it was better than making out with Ben and she says different. Grant brings back the bag hoping for more making out but she turns him down. Amy wonders why Jimmy didn’t bring it in. Her phone rings and it’s Madison and Lauren, still on their dates, to tell them about Ben and Grace. She’s more concerned about Jimmy not bringing in her purse. Ashley tells her to be cool. George arrives and says he will go after Moose.

Anne thanks the other guy for helping out and telling George the truth. Anne looks thrilled about the flowers. Even though they’re falling apart, though I suppose that isn’t his fault.

Grace comes down in the morning and finds Jack at the door. He lets her know that he told Madison about her and Ben. She’s annoyed and says she won’t tell him about it. He wants to be out with Grace, she’s his girlfriend. She says she isn’t, they aren’t good together. Grace says he’s with Madison. They could have been good together. But she said they made mistakes that changed how she feels about him and nobody respects a cheater so be with Madison for real or not at all.

Alice and Henry get home in the morning. They’ve been out all night! But they didn’t do anything in the car. Alice and Henry know about Grace thanks to Madison. He reveals that he just got his license. Alice is upset that Ben kept everything a secret. He’s happy. He had a date with a girl he once would only dream about dating. He reveals that she kissed him. Alice thinks that’s bad because Amy will never want to take him back even if he wants her back.

Amy is upset that Adrianne slept over but he says they didn’t do anything. He didn’t want her to drive home late. Amy is upset that Grace went out with Ben, she thought they were friends. Amy is upset about it. She cares about him. Ricky says she seems more confident and grown up lately, more confident in herself, don’t go back to that old stuff. (Wow, Ricky, that was so insightful and I totally agree. She hasn’t cried in like two whole episodes!) She needed to hear that she did something right for once.

Adrianne’s parents are upset that she was out all night. She says they didn’t do anything. Her mom reveals that she’s not taking the job in NY because her parents are getting married. Adrianne is thrilled! Her mom was just scared.

George yells at Moose about the need to settle down. A woman shows up with the dog that Moose ran after. Moose got her pregnant! He needs to be neutered. She realizes who he is. She’s Mickey! He sold her a house load of crap. She loves crap so it’s okay. Her dog is actually her sister’s dog. She’s not as upset as she first seemed. She’d like a boyfriend. He can’t help, he’s madly in love with is wife.

Anne is looking out the window (sees George talking to the woman) and decides she isn’t ready to come back. Anne, you are officially the worst parent ever. Ashley is devastated.