Felicity, Season 1, Episode 2

Felicity: Season 1, Episode 2

Okay. So I'm back aboard the Felicity train. Destination: I'm not sure, but probably not that exciting.

Episode 2 started with some sexy new opening credits. It was actually kind of nice, because I miss opening credits. Seems like shows don't really have them anymore. Probably because writers/editors have realized that they can get rid of a two minute long intro, and instead give us more plot/backstory. So, if given the choice, I'd definitely rather have more plot/backstory/character development, etc., but from the impression that I get of Felicity, we will probably get along just fine without it.

Anyways the opening credits themselves were kind of stupid. I mean they were just black and white shots of the cast (mostly Felicity) doing random things. I wasn't impressed. At one point she was sitting on the sidewalk (IN NYC - why would anyone do this?), smiling and semi-petting a dog. It was a weird moment.

But Felicity (in a weird tape recorded message, a narrative device that I'll never get used to), did seem to be very impressed with the city. AND GOOD NEWS. It only took one episode for her to declare her love for Ben, move across the country, have him not feel the same way and sleep with her friend for Felicity AND her friend to BOTH get over Ben. Guess he's not that great of a shag? I don't really know. I'm obviously not buying it.

How do you get over that Scott Speedman smile? And I'm pretty sure that it's that smile that makes Felicity change her mind.

So the major plot point of this episode is that someone called the admissions office to ask for Felicity's application essays. Uh oh, looks like the girl's got an admirer.

Her first choice as to who requested it is...Noel?? Logic doesn't suit her. This is actually pretty funny though, because she questions him about his declaration of love for her in Episode one. And he DENIES it! Straight up, he says he's "a sensitive guy and gets feelings for everyone". This guy is the LAMEST.

We finally find out that she wrote her admissions essay about him (Ben)!! And now, she has the absolutely brilliant decision to ask Noel's advice, and then NOT take it, and proceed to send the essay to BEN. Ben, the guy she wrote god knows what about in this admissions essay. This girl is on the bus to crazytown. Scratch that. She is driving the bus around Crazytown, because she is already there, and likely knows everything about it.

Turns out her parents are still in town. They're still trying to figure out why Felicity would choose UNY over Stanford - was it drugs?! (Valid question), but it's very clear that they've never met Ben (Scott Speedman). But we found out who actually called the admissions office for her essay - her parents - not Ben. So imagine Felicity's surprise when she realized how confused Ben was going to be once he got her application essay. Just after he probably was getting over the fact that she was a stalker. She goes and pulls this shit again. Bravo, Felicity, Bravo.

OMG. JOHN CHO IS ON THIS SHOW!! Fucking Harold (from Harold and Kumar) is on this show. He's coming to Noel with a problem (why do people come to Noel with problems?), the problem being that apparently his roommate is trying to kill him? Let's see how this is resolved.

Now Felicity has decided that she will go to the dorm and try to steal back her letter to Ben. Valid plan, let's see if this one works.

I'm really liking the small talk between them. They haven't signed up for their classes yet? How is that possible? Hasn't school started...? What have they been doing this whole time? Frolicking in Central Park? Don't answer that.

Felicity makes a great point: "Years from now Ben will look back on college and remember Felicity porter as that obsessive girl with frizzy hair that not only followed him across country but then randomly started sending him information about herself."

Scott Foley has tricked Felicity into inviting her parents to the dorm (and to meet him - he's trying to make a good impression on mom and dad! I see his angle). He is also not at all creepy when he says: "I can't wait to meet the people that made you"

Oh, also, I can't believe I didn't mention this earlier. But her roommate is a Wiccan. And not in a good, Willow from Buffy, kind-of-way.

Uh oh- Scott Foley made a big blunder when he called her parents "overbearing" and they heard him! He's also introducing himself to her parents as a boyfriend would. And it goes about as horribly as possible, because 1) of his misuse of words 2) John Cho comes back with a knife and says his roommate still wants to kill him and 3) the fire alarm goes off.

Felicity's parents are basically hilarious because, in the nicest way possible, say that she is crazy and has now made them crazy because they don't understand her. Through a mediation session with her guidance counselor ...? I don't know who he is.

This is basically how it goes down: Felicity wants a hamburger. That's why she moved to New York. Now Felicity isn't welcome home for Thanksgiving. Or ever. Well played, mom, well played. Oldest trick in the book. Guilt-ing your kids into doing what you want by making them feel badly.


Looks like Ben is starting to date Julie (Felicity's friend, I've finally committed her name to memory). Or trying to, since he's stalking her and appearing at her apartment. Uh Oh. Philosophical question though: They say that the love triangle is Ben - Felicity - Noel. How does Julie factor into that? Especially since Felicity isn't interested in Noel, Ben isn't even remotely interested in Felicity and Julie seemed to be avoiding Ben completely? Is this just one giant arrow of unrequited love? (See right)

I will be interested to see what shape(s) this arrow forms.

But something happened where Julie is adopted and trying to find her birth parents. And Felicity's dad decided to pay for her college (but not room and board), and her mom forgave her. And her mom met Ben. Who is so far making a better impression than Noel did. So Point: Speedman. And now it looks like her mom finally understands why Felicity chose NYC, and Felicity can come back for Thanksgiving.

So, looks like a lot was resolved in this episode. Now Felicity's parents love her again. I was so worried for a second (not really).

Felicity: Season 1, Episode 1/Pilot

Ok. I've decided to watch Felicity. Hold your judgement. I, too, realize I have no life. 

I've heard so many great things about it. Not so much great things. Just that it's one of those must see teen drama TV shows, and was on some sort of list of top 100 TV shows in like 2007, but that was before Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, Awkward and Teen Wolf, so I think things have changed. But I loved Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, all those shows with the huge love triangle at its center. The kind of love triangles that pit friends against friends (to this day if someone claims to be 'Team Peyton' I will slash their tires and never speak to them again #TeamBrooke), and makes mothers turn against daughters (the fact that my mother is Team Dawson is still a touchy subject between us, but I have comfort in knowing that at least Joey - unlike Lucas - chose correctly, #TeamPacey).

Anyways, I realized, I wanted to make the Team Noel vs. Team Ben decision for myself. It seems like 90s teenagers had to pick a side and fight to the death (granted, I wasn't a teen in the 90s, but I've always felt like I was ahead of my time - wise beyond my years, if you will). So, I decided to watch. And, after the first episode, I feel like i made right decision. 

Please see below for my live commentary during the first episode. I realized quickly that I was going to be taking up way too many tweets about this if I kept it to twitter, so I decided that my blog would be a better outlet. You're welcome, twitter followers. 

Anyways, here's the live commentary, which is basically stream of consciousness writing for TV critics, so I'm aware it may not make sense (but probably makes more sense than your typical stream of consciousness writing), but I swear if you followed along while watching you would totally understand :

The first two comments can also be seen on my twitter, they are more crude, I've classed this blog up. Not sure how long that will last though:  

@bflor: Also, I'm just gonna go with Felicity is a Grade A moron. Who says no to Stanford?? NYU is appealing but jesus go to FUCKING STANFORD!!

@bflor: Who the fuck talks into a tape recorder? I mean, I know it's 1998, but was that really ever a thing? Couldn't you send a freaking letter?

This girl is a hot ass mess. Not only did she go to NYU (or UNY - whatever the equivalent of NYU is because the show couldn't apparently pay NYU to use it? Or didn't want to? I'm not really sure - it's besides the point) instead of Stanford, BUT she told Ben, a guy she literally didn't even know in high school and just had a huge crush on, exactly why she decided to go to school there (because of him). 

STALKER. How do you listen/respond to that, and not think that she's a stalker? Who (other than stalkers and crazy people) decides to decline Stanford and go to UNY solely because she likes a boy who wrote something kind of nice in her yearbook? Ben seemed to handle it relatively well though, I mean, he didn't call the police and/or psychiatric ward on her.

Anyways, Team Ben vs. Team Noel is apparently the biggest thing about this show? 

Here's a quick recap: Ben is super hot. So on the hotness factor: Advantage Ben. Scott Speedman. I understand why one would be *tempted* to decline Stanford.  

Noel: Seems like a loser. He's her RA. Also Scott Foley, who does not win points for me. Definitely was never good enough for Jennifer Garner (who I hear makes a cameo!! I'm super pumped). I'll give him another chance though. I'd hate to make hasty decisions on something so important. 

Sidenote: Why are they putting things in lockers? THERE ARE NO LOCKERS IN COLLEGE. Get it together, Felicity. 

And can we LOL at the fact that her friend automatically assumes that Ben and Felicity are dating? It makes me laugh. Why is Ben hanging out with her? I mean after someone says "oh hey by the way i gave up my potential medical career at Stanford on a whim to move to NYC to be with you", you should pretty much put the crazy sticker on their forehead and stay away. 

Also HAHA. Ben is saying he likes her friend. Crushing blow. 

$10 says that Ben is hooking up with Julie when Felicity knocks on his door in the middle of the night? 

Can we also discuss how she's upset that Ben doesn't like her? Dude doesn't know her! Also, she's bringing up physics. Another $10 that she brings up the fact that she read his college application essay? 

And yes, I win, because she does. 

Felicity: "You made me fall in love with you"
Ben: "All i did was be nice to you, it was your choice to come here, not mine. You don't even know me." Well said, Ben, well said.

And another $10 goes to me because Julie (her friend) was over at Ben's apartment. I really need to not be betting myself and start making some actual $$$

But this is what I'm saying. This girl is straight up crazy. So I don't really know why they made a show about her. And it got ratings that the CW would kill for these days. 

So, how come Ben comes to her dorm to console her after she flips a shit at his dorm for him not liking her...? This scene is actually kind of amazing though because Sarah McLaughlin's Angel is playing. Except that song was put to much better use on Buffy when she leaves town after killing Angel (makes so much more sense). 

Sorry for the digression. But Ben asks her up on the roof?? How can you invite someone on the roof and *not* expect them to think you want to make out with them. I guess I kind of understand why Felicity thinks that he likes her if he has been pulling shit like this off camera.

"You provoke me, to think about things I don't want to think about. Just by looking at me" Surprisingly, this was said by Ben. Maybe they are meant to be together, since they're both super weird  and apparently there is a weird unspoken connection between the two of them? Since they're both referring to it? 

Felicity, regarding her move to NYC: "I've never made a substantial decision in my life. I thought it was you, but you're just really the excuse" So...what? Now we're supposed to believe that Felicity didn't come here for Ben?? Really? This seems to be a complete lie. I don't believe you, Felicity, you can lie to Ben, you can lie to me, but don't lie to yourself. 

Noel is now trying to stop her from leaving: "You musn't leave this school". This guy is a super loser. Who says 'musn't' while still being serious? What RA tries to convince a Freshman he has literally spoken to about 5 times to not leave NYC? Maybe I'm Team Noel now, since obviously this guy is crazy too and has developed apparently intense feelings for Felicity in less than a week? Two crazy people make it OK, right? 

Guys, guys, guys, it's now OK that Julie hooked up with Ben because she apologized for it and Felicity is leaving anyways. JUST KIDDING. Felicity can't leave guys, that would defeat the whole purpose of this show. Don't give up yet girl, you can still force him to love you! 

Loving how Felicity's parent's control her life. Her dad has "taken care" of her application to Stanford, yet again. GAME CHANGER. THEY (parents) ARE MANIPULATING HER TO LIVE THE LIFE THEY PLANNED FOR HER. Her dad 'made some calls' to get her into Stanford. So obviously now she's pissed, and they are bribing her with her mom's car. HAHA SHE HIT THE PANIC BUTTON. Girl's got a sense of humor. So do the writers.

Anyways, I know this is shocking to everyone, but Felicity has decided to stay in NYC. Her parents are about to straight up disown her. I approve (of Felicity's parents). 

Oh finally. The rando ex-French teacher, to whom she (Felicity) has been sending her voice recordings (from the tape recorder), responded to her. It's like she finally has a friend (who won't sleep with Ben). 

Oh hey, this was produced by j.j. abrams. Cheers to you, j.j., but Alias was a FAR better pilot, and I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, far better show. But this was amusing, nonetheless. 

Insanity Days 5 - 10

Alright...so this is B Flo coming to you with the latest update on her insanity training. Promise I'll refrain from talking about myself in the third person.

Anyways, so I've made it through day 10. Big victory. Especially because I found out some people at work (namely my boss and coworker started a bet about how long I would last). Don't worry, it was all done in good humor, and honestly, they bet I would last 2 weeks and 1 week, 4 days, respectively. Which is longer than I would have bet on myself...anyways, here's a recap.

For Days 1 - 4 refer to my previous blog. To summarize though: I thought I was dead on multiple occasions...

Day 5: Pure Cardio

So today was called 'Pure Cardio', and not going to lie...I was a little nervous. Since I don't really do Cardio. I mean, to be fair, I don't really do "working out" either. Anyways, Day 5 the sore-ness actually decreased. I think this is the tipping point in any workout regiment. Day 5 you actually start to get less sore. You can probably take this as a medical fact. Regarding the 'Pure Cardio' - it was probably the most intense workout I've done (with Insanity, and I'm pretty sure since High School). In the video even Shaun T said he was nervous about what was going to happen! When the instructor of the video says that...you know that you're basically fucked.

Day 6: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

So this was basically a repeat of Tuesday's fun-ness. Surprisingly, I think it went a little easier than Day 2. Definitely didn't leave me as sore the next day. The hardest part of the workout today was that I was ridiculously hung over, so I had to push my workout back til like 4ish...but I made it work, and was pretty proud. The hardest part is really planning your life around your workout. Like I have to think about what I'm doing each day and make sure that I'm either allotting enough time for workout, or prioritizing the workout over other things. Honestly, TV has taken the biggest hit (as I'm watching tonight's revenge...).

Day 7: Rest

Best. Day. Of. The. Workout. Just Kidding, but not really. After six intense days, I really needed to just relax and not worry about my workout for the day.

Day 8: Cardio & Power Resistance

While this is a really tough workout, I actually have grown to enjoy it. If there's one thing I've realized it's that I'm not nearly as strong as I thought. I think going into this workout I always knew that I was not in shape, but oh man I wasn't nearly as strong as I thought. So this Cardio Power & resistance was pretty helpful on strengthening your core, arms and legs. Definitely will be helpful in making sure I'm toned.

Day 9: Pure Cardio

Another round of Pure Cardio...It's not my favorite. It's basically 15 minutes of straight cardio...It's rough, but I actually think it worked out better than the first time. I was definitely able to push myself further than in week one. Despite the fact that it sucked, it was great feeling like my workout was actually helping me improve. Maybe one day i'll actually be able to get through this exercise...

Day 10: Plyometric Cardio Circuit, also known as the day Hell Froze Over

So today was a very interesting day...Let me back up to Day 9. While I was talking to someone at work, I kept saying how worried I was that there was going to be a Wednesday where I wasn't going to be able to do my workout. You see, Wednesdays I usually work pretty late, and I've got trivia at 8:30, and don't get home until about 11pm...so there doesn't really leave too much time to workout.

So, they suggested that I work out in the morning. I actually may have laughed in her face. If you know me, you know that there are two things I don't do: work out and wake up early. But then thinking about it, I realized that I was already doing one of those things. So why not try for the next one? I guess I don't really know what's come over me. I'm starting to think that I need to start getting shit done. I *could* wake up early and work out, I just didn't want to. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? I believe Kelly Clarkson said that first. I can't take all the credit.

Anyways, I realized I wasn't really doing anything substantial after 10pm on Tuesday...why not just go to bed, and wake up early the next day? The only reason I had was because I didn't want to. That's not a good reason. So I decided to do it. Then, craziness happened...I actually did it! Like I woke up at 6am, got ready, worked out, showered, got breakfast and went to work! I'm pretty sure I just confirmed the coming apocalypse. Sorry, guys...

Anyways, tomorrow is Cardio Recovery! Looking forward to it!

Until the next time...

Insanity Days 1 - 4

So I decided to start blogging. There are a couple of reasons. Partly because 140 characters wasn't enough. (that was a twitter reference, btw). Partly because I enjoy writing, so I figure this will be fun.

Finally, i recently started insanity. The workout plan. And me. (If you know me, you know how crazy that is). It's day four and i'm more sore than i've ever been in my life. I realized that I want to document this stuff. Also my life (although now, it basically revolves around this workout plan).

But anyways, here's a recap.

Also, Here's the total workout plan. (Left)

Reasoning behind Insanity: well...there are a couple reasons behind my decision to do this insanity program. Obviously I'm insane, but aren't we all? But really, for a while now, I've been thinking: "Wow Brittany (I often refer to myself in the third person when I talk to myself), you are really out of shape. You should work out." So I tell myself...I'll work out tonight. Then I get home and I start watching TV and then I watch more TV, and then I have to go to bed. Then I wake up the next day and repeat. But getting in shape is something that's really important to me. If/when Zombies attack, I need to be sure that I'm in my physical peak. And, frankly, I'm just not there yet.

I leave for Cabo May 12th, and have been thinking that I really need to get my ass in shape. I call it, "Operation Cabo Body". About a week or so ago, my family was talking about these insanity workouts and how they are crazy. Also, how I could never do it. But also how they're supposed to get you in shape in 60 days. I saw some before and after pictures and figured my before isn't nearly as bad as some of these people, so I bet I'd see results by the time I left for Cabo. So, that's my goal. I feel like I'm the kind of person that really needs to go all out or just not do anything at all. So...here I am. Doing these insanity workouts, and telling people that I'm doing them so that I'm kinda forced to follow through on this. Also, I need to prove my mother wrong.

Day One: The Fit Test.

SHOCKER: I found out I'm not fit. They had us do a bunch of "fit tests" and see how many of each thing we could do. It was ridiculous. I was dying within the first few minutes...At certain points, I had to physically stop. Luckily, Shaun T's legal team makes him tell us that we can stop and take a rest if we need to. So I did. I'm also pretty sure i was doing every exercise wrong. So Day One. Found out I'm a failure. Also literally thought I was going throw up at the end.

Day Two: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Basically the most intense workout I had ever had. (Until possibly Day 3...). So many drills...Basically, from what I've gathered, the point of insanity is to literally work out to the point of insanity, usually about 3 minutes, then take a break, then go at it again. Luckily, the whole thing (including pre and post stretches) takes about 42 minutes. Which actually is pretty nice. It's about 35 minutes of hell. But I'm hoping totally worthless. Anyways, by the end of this workout I was on the ground again, and even though I didn't need to throw up, I was shaking uncontrollably.

Day Three: Cardio Power and Resistance

Okay so Wearing heels to work on Day Two and Three was a terrible decision. I was basically a hot mess. Even before workout three started. Anyways, if these workouts have taught me anything so far, it's that not only am I not in shape, but physically I'm not as strong as I thought I was, and I'm just as flexible as I thought I was (which, by the way, is NOT AT ALL flexible). There were actually some exercises where I actually was literally not flexible enough to complete them. Also, my legs and arms were giving out. I'm really hoping that I get my shit together by next week.

Day Four: Cardio Recovery

I'm not going to lie, I was really looking forward to today. I was like, this is going to be great. I'm going to get to recover. I totally mistook the "cardio recovery" for muscle recovery. It was definitely cardio recovery, I wasn't panting or anything, but my muscles did not get a break. There was lots of stretching...and lunges. My legs gave out again. This is definitely something I'll need to work on. There were also a lot of yoga moves, which, given my terrible flexibility, was not terribly fun for me.

Anyways, super excited for Day Five. The tough thing about all of this is that I've got to make sure that I don't go anywhere over the weekend, and that I've got enough time after work every day to do this workout. Well, Sunday is the day off (luckily), so I've got two more days to go. Then rinse and repeat.

Until next time...

Also, this was very fun. I think I'll continue.