I'm used to watching action movies or fantasy and paranormal. Rarely do I watch movies because I've been hooked by the actors. But that is exactly what happened with The Offer. 

Matthew Goode (A Discovery of Witches and Downton Abbey) and Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar) were two of the stand out actors in this series for me. Goode is a British actor who had to step outside his comfort zone to portray the Senior Vice President of Paramount Pictures, Robert Evans. And he did it. His voice, his look, and even his walk were vastly different than anything I'd ever seen him in, and his acting kept me riveted to the screen. 
 
Giovanni Ribisi portrayed Joe Columbo, the gangster who was the head of a crime family. Ribisi had to gain forty-five pounds for the part and shave his head so he could wear a thinning hair piece. He had to change his voice as well, and had I not looked up who all the actors were, I wouldn't have known which part Ribisi was playing. I could not tell who he was, and that's a good thing. 

This isn't a series that you have playing in the background while you're doing something else. It's the type that grabs you and won't let go. A lot like The West Wing did so many years ago. The Offer is engrossing, and I'm going to be sad when I've finished watching it for the second time because I'll know there's no more goodness to return to. 

The Emmy nominations will be announced next month, and I can only hope that this series and its many characters make the list. It would be a shame not to see all of this creation go unrewarded. 

If you haven't watched it yet, do yourself a favor and add this series to your must-be-seen list. You won't regret it! 

Just a note: The Offer does contain explicit language and violence. 

Once upon a time my favorite soap opera was Days of Our Lives. That show could make me call in sick to work, miss lunch with friends, and take the phone off the hook. I watched it for ten years straight until life got too busy. There was so much drama I couldn't peel my eyes off the screen. And the couples were spectacular. Two of my favorites were Shane and Kimberly and Patch and Kayla. 
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I'll freely confess I skipped class and hung out a friend's house the day Shane and Kimberly got married. When Patch and Kayla got married, I told my boss I had a wedding to attend. 

The other day, I was scrolling through YouTube and discovered Shane and Kimberly's wedding from  May 4, 1986. Charles Shaugnessy and Patsy Pease nailed these roles.  

I watched their entire wedding, first dance, and honeymoon episodes, and before I realized it, over an hour had gone by. It made me wonder why soap operas aren't on DVDs like old television shows and movies. 

Have you ever been addicted to soap operas? What was your favorite?

Have you seen this show? If you're a fan of DC Comics, and you aren't watching Arrow, you are missing out! Of course I just watch it for the fight scenes and the action. Right. Have you seen Stephen Amell? Or David Ramsey? 

I got addicted to this show when I started binge-watching it over the summer on Netflix. By the time the new season rolled around, I was all caught up. Few TV shows can make me sit in front of the TV when an original episode airs. Arrow is one of those shows for me. 

There is so much to love about this show, but here are my top ten things:

• The chemistry between Oliver and Felicity
• The bromance between Oliver and John Diggle
• The entanglement of lies, deceit, love, and fear.
• The incredible fight scenes (even though I know they're not real)
• The shirtless scenes of Stephen Amell
• The banter/wit between the characters (some lines make me laugh out loud)
• The brother/sister relationship between Oliver and Thea
• The pure evil of Malcolm Merlyn played by John Barrowman (fans of Torchwood, take note!)
• The fast pace of the storyline. (I'm never bored!)
• And finally, the phenomenal acting chops of all the actors. The casting director did not go wrong choosing this group. There's not one person I would change on the show.      

The first three seasons are on Netflix now! If you do watch, let me know what you think. I'd love to know I've created another fan!  In the meantime, a new episode airs tonight so this post couldn't have been more perfectly timed! 

After finishing the two hour series finale of Haven, I was trying to understand why the writers left gaping plot holes, mistreated characters, and ended the show with happily ever after for only some people. 

Warning: Spoilers Ahead. If you have not seen the series finale of Haven, stop now! 

We all knew that Haven was coming to an end, and no amount of grumbling was going to give it a sixth season (although some viewers say it actually got a sixth season since season five was double the usual size). I dreaded the ending only because I loved this show. From the first episode, I was riveted.

These characters and this town drew me in and made me want to return each week. Of course some of the plots made me grit my teeth, but that's the way it is with all television shows. The writers are never going to make every viewer happy each week. However, this was the series finale, and loose ends should not be left dangling nor should viewers have questions about why things happened. I have questions. Such as:

If Duke's death didn't really stop Croatoan after all, what was the purpose of his death? It didn't seem like losing out on those troubles even slowed the big bad down. The point of killing him was to prevent Croatoan from getting the additional troubles as that would make him unstoppable. He seemed pretty unstoppable to me regardless. 

And speaking of the big bad, the entire season was built around Croatoan, and in previous episodes, he'd been portrayed as this evil monster without remorse. So, in the end, we're supposed to believe he grew a heart and voluntarily went into the barn? He wanted power and revenge, but his daughter's tearful smack on the hand changed his mind? 

Before Croatoan arrived, no one could leave the fog surrounding Haven except for Duke, and people on the outside didn't know about Haven. But Nathan was able to get back in with the fake Audrey without any problem. That didn't make sense. 

Audrey said she couldn't come back once she went into the barn this time. Yet, she did. So what was the purpose of the entire scene with Nathan and the voiceover, telling Audrey how much he was going to miss her?

Croatoan killed Nathan with an aether sword (or something like that) but brought him back because of Audrey. He also brought Dwight's daughter back after she had been dead for years. So why could Charlotte not have been brought back? Or Dave? 

The entire barn premise was flawed. At first, they could concoct the barn with Vince as the core and Croatoan as the aether. Then they couldn't because Croatoan didn't want to stay. Then he did, but the barn couldn't be constructed without love. There was no mention of love when it was first constructed. 

And when Croatoan got the crystal core, why didn't he destroy it since he knew it could be used against him? Instead, he kept it in his pocket. That made no sense at all. 

In the end, I think writers were struggling to bring Haven to a satisfactory ending. Audrey and Nathan got their happily ever after, but it was at everyone else's expense. Dwight was the only other main character who got a semblance of a happy ending.

Oh, and the final scene with Croatoan and Vince left my mouth hanging open. These guys were talking like they were good buddies instead of mortal enemies. Overall, it just didn't work for me, and I was left disappointed that there wasn't more continuity in the ending and the overall wrap-up of the show. 

On a side note, there were some good one-liners in the final episode that made me chuckle and even a couple of scenes that brought tears. The actors did phenomenal job with the material, especially Lucas Bryant when he was killing Duke. 

I'll miss Haven and its quirky characters. Vince always made me smile, and the bromace between Nathan and Duke was priceless. In the end, love triumphed over evil, and I guess that's all we can really ask for. 

When I find a television show I love, I become a rabid, dedicated fan. Recently, I discovered Chuck on Netflix, and after the first episode, I was hooked. 

As a writer, I'm always on the lookout for shows that make me think "gosh, I wish I'd written that" or "I wish I could write like that". That's what Chuck does. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the two lead characters are straight off the magazine cover gorgeous, and their chemistry is off-the-charts. 

In short, Chuck is a tale of a nerd who becomes a spy after he downloads a file that is basically a computer with classified details of assassins, spies, and missions. Sarah is his CIA handler while John Casey is his NSA protector. These three characters make the show. 

With humor, romance, action, and suspense, Chuck is the show I wished I could have seen while it was still on television. There's talk of a movie, and I'm as excited as a cat chasing the red dot. 

If you have Netflix, give this show a shot. If you like spy shows like Alias, you'll love this one even more. It has the humor Alias lacked. I've posted some dialogue snippets below so you can see for yourself.

Chuck: Morning handsome, nice work last night.
Casey: Hey Loverboy! Hasn't that mirror suffered enough already?
Chuck: I am in the bathroom! Okay? Is there nothing sacred to you people?
Casey: Just the right to bear arms.

Casey: [Bryce is using Chuck at a shield] I've got a shot.
Chuck: No, you don't!
Casey: You'll be fine.
Chuck: No shooting, no shooting! I'm susceptible to bullets!

Chuck: So ah, as you can see, just the one bed. A little presumptuous I guess. Should I have asked for separate rooms?
Sarah: No, It's fine. As long as we're on the lam, I can't let you out of my sight. I'm gonna take a shower.
Chuck: I'm gonna assume that whole out-of-sight thing doesn't really apply right now.

I rarely watch TV, and when I do, I set my DVR so I can watch at my leisure. Stalker has changed all of that. The writers of this show know how to up the ante and leave viewers on the edge of their seats. 

All season long, one story line has been building to a climax, and Wednesday night, it happened. And I was left staring at the TV screen with my mouth hanging open. It ending on two HUGE cliffhangers. The problem with that is no one seems to know when or if the show is returning. Gah!

As you can tell from my website, I write suspense so shows like Stalker are right up my alley. They have just the right amount of creepiness but not enough to send me scurrying from the room. (Had to stop watching Criminal Minds because of that!) And Dylan McDermott and Maggie Q work amazingly well together. 

In Wednesday night's episode called "Reckoning", a gripping cat and mouse game played out on screen with every life in danger. No one was immune to the sick killer's twisted mind games. And just when I thought "Oh, good, everyone's safe", two lives ended up hanging in the balance. 

Now all I can do is sit and wait for the hoped for renewal or the dreaded cancellation. In the meantime, you can watch several episodes for free at CBS.com. I'll be surprised if you don't get addicted, too!