Five Drinks Into TV: 10 Reasons You Should Try Vampire Diaries

Tom's Take:

For years the only vampire fiction I liked was the Joss Whedon universe in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. I still refuse to watch Twilight due to their absolute failure in having Vampires able to walk around in the daylight without harm. However, recently I got an ache to find a Teen Drama to get addicted to, and so I gave Vampire Diaries a try. For the first two or three episodes, it was exactly what I expected in terms of pure teen angst with Vampires that were able to walk around in the sunlight. Then the show started to grow on me, and I forgave them this flaw. I mean, at least they have magic rings to explain why they can walk in the sun. I have fallen in love with this show, not as some dramatic masterpiece by any means, but as a guilty pleasure that I will actually defend to my friends for being well written and compelling television. So let's take a look at what Vampire Diaries does right.

Five Drinks Into TV: How I Met Your Mother Season 8 Episodes 11 and 12 "The Final Page"

Tom's Take:

I haven't spent a lot of time talking about How I Met Your Mother recently, because to be honest it hasn't been very good in recent seasons. The show peaked in Season 4, and since then it has been very inconsistent, with only a handful of episodes that have held up to my high standards of what this show can be. To be frank, I feel like the writers drew the show out just to keep it going, when they should have aimed to end it a couple of seasons ago. All that said, I want to talk about these two episodes, because they were really good and a return to form and why I loved the show to begin with.

Five Drinks Into British Television: Torchwood Series Two

Tom's Take:

Torchwood Series Two was a vast improvement over Series One, because I think I fell in love with the team during this series, which made their conflicts more compelling, and made the conclusion of this series even more heartbreaking. Since it was the characters that really made this series worthy, I think I'll focus on them as I talk about this series.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 25 Finale!

Tom's Take:

Clearly I am wrong about everything.
Denise, who I had discounted, pulled this one out and became the Sole Survivor of Survivor Phillipines. Congratulations to her, and I think she was a very worthy winner. She played a strong social game, and was absolutely correct in her analysis that sometimes listening is really the best thing to be done. She survived every Tribal Council, and really dominated in her Final Tribal Council Performance, which is an often underestimated aspect of the game that really should be considered more. I mean the Final Tribal Council is almost more important than the rest of the game combined. So congratulations to her, and to Lisa for winning  America's Favorite, which let's be honest was mostly based on her Christian pull, but still it was nice to see.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 25 Episode 13 "Gouge My Eyes Out"

Tom's Take:

And there's your final 4 people. Congratulations Malcolm, Denise, Lisa, and Skupin for reaching the Survivor Finale! I hope to do a full overview of everyone afterwards, but first let's do a little speculation on Final 3 and Final 2 Scenarios. Let's go.

First off, I think Malcolm wins any Final Tribal Council he's in. And I think Denise beats Lisa and Skupin in a  Final 3, so let's delve into the three other final 2's that don't include Malcolm.

Denise vs. Skupin:

I give Skupin; RC, Lisa, and Penner for fans of Skupin, and Abi, and Pete for disliking Denise.
I give Denise; Jeff Kent for not wanting a returning player to win, Carter for being on the same tribe as Denise, Artis for hating Skupin, and obviously Malcolm.

I'm calling this 5-4 for Skupin, but I could easily see Pete flipping and voting for Denise, or Penner approving more of Denise's game, so I give him maybe a 52% in this one.

Skupin vs. Lisa:

I'll give Skupin; RC and Penner. I think Lisa gets everyone else.

I'd call this 7-2 for Lisa. I think she's actually picked the perfect person to go to the end with if it's a Final Two.

Lisa vs. Denise

I'm giving Lisa; Skupin, RC, Artis, Pete, Abi Maria as a Tandang majority vote. I'll also give her Penner because I don't think he likes Denise as much.

Denise gets; Malcolm, Jeff Kent, and Carter.

So Lisa beats Denise 6-3.

I guess that means my projected winners in a vacuum would be Malcolm, Lisa, Skupin, then finally Denise. Let's try and delve into why below.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 25 Episode 12 "Shot Into Smithereens"

Tom's Take:

Wow. Lisa's brother almost brought an end to Malcolm. Luckily for me and the rest of the Malcolm fans, he won immunity. I continue to root for him to win, although now I've decided I want him to go to the end with Abi. That would make for a fun but very lopsided Final 2.

Five Drinks Into British Television: Torchwood Series 1

Tom's Take:

So after finishing Series Two of Doctor Who, I decided to start Torchwood Series 1. Naturally, I really enjoyed it. But I suppose the question is. How does Torchwood measure up versus Doctor Who?

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 25 Episode 11 "Hell Hath Frozen Over"

Tom's Take:

Good job producers. You found a way to get Abi Maria to win immunity. And we finally saw an end to Penner. He got much farther than we initially thought he would, but he never really had a strong chance at this game. He just didn't make the right moves.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 25 Episode 10 "Whiners are Weiners"

Tom's Take:

This was a fun episode, although sort of predictable with the way the alliances are set up now. If I'm right then it looks like right now everyone is against Abi Maria. Of course within the dominant alliance, we've got three pairs maneuvering around each other and coming together for a problematic final 4. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out, and whether they force the issue on the next episode or wait until they get rid of Abi merely because she's annoying.

Five Drinks Into Survivor Season 25 Episode 9 "Little Miss Perfect"

Tom's Take:

Another great episode.of Survivor. I love how dynamic this season has been, and we're in for on of the craziest final 8's of all time. Am I wrong in thinking that there are 4 pairs operating this season. How will they align down the road?

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 25 Episode 8 "Dead Man Walking"

Tom's Take:

Wow, what an episode. On the one hand, I'm a little worried that Tandang will Pagong the rest of Dang Rayne, but on the other hand, I'm just thrilled by the incredible drama we got in this episode. I mean, I had no idea who was going home. When they finally got to the votes, I was convinced it would be Peter. Multiple people made moves in this episode, and unlike other critics, I don't think there was any bad gameplay per se, I just think that everyone who tried to make a move got blocked. Jeff Kent wanted Penner out, but Penner won immunity. Lisa wanted Malcolm out, but Malcolm brainwashed Peter. Malcolm tried to take out Peter, but Lisa got to Skupin. The result was an absolute mess, and in the end it was Jeff Kent that went home, due to a very odd vote from Penner. Did he think Abi Maria was the target, or did he want Jeff Kent to go?

Five Drinks Into TV: Doctor Who Series Two

Tom's Take:

Doctor Who Series Two is a pretty big departure from Series One. The Tenth Doctor seems a bit more evenly matched with Rose Tyler, although I'm not sure if I think there's necessarily very much sexual heat between the two. Their relationship isn't really like that, as it has the British tendency to be less physical and far more cerebral. At least that's how I see it. These two characters inspire each other, rather than long after each other, but either way we still want them to be together, and are heartbroken when they're split apart.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 25 Episode 7 "Not The Only Actor On This Island"

Tom's Take:

It's  time for the merge! And I guess the new tribe name is Dang Rayne, which I think is actually really cool. Also we get some clarity on the jury situation as RC is the first member of the jury, which means that either there's an 8 person jury for final 3, or a 9 person jury for final 2. I personally prefer the later, and I think the evac of Dana will force the issue, but I guess we'll see. Jeff Probst supposedly doesn't like Final 2's, so that could play a part I guess.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 25 Episode 6 "Down and Dirty"

Tom's Take:

We're down to twelve people! Does that mean jury has started? This episode also featured some awesome negotiations, which lead to a lot of whining from Artis. I don't know why he hates Skupin, but he does, which  is why I want to see them go to tribal council!

Five Drinks Into TV: Castle Season 4

Tom's Take:

Season  Four of Castle is at times over angsty, but most of the time it keeps away from that and brings the funny. It's really only the beginning and ending of the season that engage with Beckett's running investigation of her mother's murder, and the season is better for it, even though I really liked the season  finale. The premiere of the season felt off, since it was TOO focused on the angst. I also didn't really like Castle's douche phase, although I appreciated that it was necessary.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 25 Episode 5 "Got My Swag Back"

Tom's Take:

And the Matsing Tribe is gone. Jeff is right. This tribe was decimated, and at the end of the day, Malcolm and Denise are left to be split into the Tandang and Kalabaw tribes. Both find themselves in surprisingly good positions, since their new tribes are apparently too focused on separate issues to take them out. That coupled with Dana leaving the game allowed both Denise and Malcolm to make it to the final twelve, which I assume means they'll at least be on jury.

Five Drinks Into TV: Caste Season 3

Tom's Take:

Season Three of Castle is a bit inconsistent at times, but overall continues to push the main characters along on their journeys. We as the audience are treated to the fact that we are really growing to love these characters. The show has reached a point this season where we feel comfortable and familiar with these characters. We don't even want challenging character development, and romantic tensions, we just want to tune in for our beloved characters, and the clever dialogue. That's not to say there isn't challenging character development, or romantic tension, but it's not really what we're tuning in for.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 25 Episode 4 "Create a Little Chaos"

Tom's Take:

Oh Matsing Tribe. Why were you so terrible? Why couldn't you have won just one immunity challenge? And why do I still think that Malcolm and Denise have a shot at this thing? Meanwhile Kalabaw finally gets some airtime and we find out that there is a gender split in that tribe, which could lead to some interesting post merge situations. Meanwhile the Tandang tribe continues to boil over as Abi Maria is clearly crazy, RC has grown too complacent, and Peter is loving every moment of it. So let's get into rankings!

Five Drinks Into TV: Castle Season 2

Tom's Take:

Castle Season 2 kept the show on the right track by continuing to push the simple formula for a cop show while still finding emotional resonance for the characters. Castle's relationships with his daughter Alexis and his mother Martha continue to make him a bit more complex of a character than the comic portrayal Nathan Fillion provides would lead most to believe. Also, I have officially developed a crush on Stana Katic, the actress who plays Beckett. The way Castle and Beckett flirted in Season 2, leading to both fairly openly pining over the other provided good emotional material, but it was ultimately for the best that the writers kept them from getting together so early.

Five Drinks Into TV: Castle Season 1

Tom's Take

So I've just started watching Castle, even though it's been on the air for over four years, and the first thing I'd like to say is that I've been missing out. This is a good series, and it stars Nathan Fillion who is an alumnus of Joss Whedon shows Firefly, and Buffy. How did I let this show go for so long without giving it a try? I think it has to do with the genre, since I'm a little wary of cop shows, but this show is more than that. I think this show succeeds in a lot of areas that Bones fails. It is constantly surprising me, as so far I only have about a 30% success rate with predicting who the killer is, it is very funny with Nathan Fillion hitting the material out of the park, and I think the two leads have even more chemistry than Booth and Bones did, and I was a big fan of them.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 25 Episode 3 "This Isn't A We Game"

Tom's Take: 

The Kalabaw Tribe continues to get the editing shaft, while Matsing continues to self destruct.Will they be able to bounce back? Here are my thoughts.

Five Drinks Into British TV: Doctor Who Series 1

Tom's Take on Doctor Who  Series 1:

So this is my introduction to the Doctor Who franchise, and I can already tell that it is deserving of all the fandom and cult status it has. This show is good, and while from what I heard the reboot is more angsty than the early years, I think that a lot of what makes it good was probably there then as well. This is not a show that will blow you away with cool effects. I personally find the 10 year old Buffy effects to be better than those in Series One of Doctor Who, and that's saying something. The writing is comparable in many ways though. In a word, the writing is FUN. I found myself smiling or outright laughing at a lot of the dialogue, and I love that the Doctor's response to outrageous and often terrible situations is just to shout out "fantastic!"

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 25 Episode 2 Don't Be Blinded By The Headlights

Tom's Take: 

We're back to a basic one hour episode, and I was sort of frustrated with the editing in this episode. We spent so much time with the Matsing Tribe, that it was very obvious that they would be the ones going to Tribal Council.  Still it was an okay episode, although I want to see more from the ignored Kalabaw Tribe.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 25 Episode 1 Survivor Smacked Me in the Chops

Tom's Take: 

I loved this episode. The whole concept of returning players rubs me the wrong way, but I like these three more than most, and I see a lot of potential among the other castaways. Let's jump right in!

Five Drinks into Reality TV: Big Brother 14 Finale and Final Rankings

Tom's Take:

This has been an insane season, and even though a lot of people are unhappy with the coach's twist, I think it provided a lot of drama, and it was fun to see Dan carve a path through these newbies to the end. There were a few boring weeks, with JoJo, Wil, and Jenn's evictions, but there are always boring weeks, and I think this season ended very strongly. In particular I thought this Final 2 was the most epic I've ever seen, as both players were deserving, and both continued to fight for their win. Have you ever seen two finalists taking jabs at each other in the middle of their answers? It was fun to watch, and contrary to popular belief, I thought Dan deserved his loss. He should have known he couldn't go to the final 2 with Ian, and yet he did. He also should have known he couldn't bring the bible and his wife's name into his swears without leaving this jury bitter, and yet he did. He played a better overall game than Ian, but his endgame was terrible. You can't go to the Final 2 with the most likeable person in the house after burning everyone in the jury and expect to win.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother Game and Show Reset Final 3

Tom's Take:

I am so happy with this week. Ian is in the Final 3! Dan, my projected winner, is guaranteed to be in the Final 2! I totally called Dan pulling this move!

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother Game and Show Reset Week 6

Tom's Take:

Final Four!

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother Game and Show Reset Week 5

Tom's Take:

Dan has this game won, everyone else is just playing in his Mist.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother Game and Show Reset Week 4

Tom's Take:

This week, Dan  made one of the greatest moves in Big Brother history, (I think it is the greatest, but I'll qualify it as "one of" for any who doubt that) after the worst happened and Frank his arch enemy won HoH. The result is that many fans are hailing Dan as the #1 BB player of all time, even over Dr. Will. Personally, Dr. Will is still my #1, but if Dan wins the season, that could change.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother Game and Show Reset Week 3

Tom's Take:

And the Silent 6 is done, and Boogie is gone. Yes! I'm doing this review before the double eviction, which is really a fast forward, which will obviously affect scores.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother Game and Show Reset Week 2

(Apparently a week was deleted on accident)
Tom's Take:

Well I like everybody else was left unsurprised by the twist of the coaches coming back, although I was surprised that Frank got another week in the game. And now he gets yet another week? Wow. I have to say that Janelle getting backdoored is one of the greatest surprises I've ever had watching this game, and one of the most brutal game moves in the history of Big Brother. I considered resetting everybody's scores, but the past isn't all just water under the bridge, so I don't think it should just be ignored.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother Game and Show Week 3

Tom's Take:


This week ended up meaning nothing, so I'm not going to give points for it. I'll give Shane points for his HoH next week.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Glass House Episode 7

Tom's Take:


I'm really losing interest in Glass House. I just don't have time for Glass House when Big Brother is on.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother Game and Show Week 2

Tom's Take:

This week lost a lot of drama with Willie leaving that way, and JoJo and Danielle playing the who can campaign less technique. The real drama on the feeds that CBS completely missed was the Cold War between Team Boogie and Team Janelle as they prepare for their massive Eight Is Enough alliance to be broken up. I'm going to grade the players as if the coaches aren't entering the game, even though I think they are, so here we go.

Five Drinks Into Reality: Glass House Episode 6

Tom's Take:


I'm really losing interest in Glass House. I just don't have time for Glass House when Big Brother is on.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother Player Scores

Tom's Take:

What a crazy week. Best first week of a season by far in my opinion. And after some consideration I have decided to give grades to everyone, including the coaches, because the are "definitely" coming back into the game. So here we go!

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Glass House Episode 5

Tom's Take:


So Big Brother 14 has been way better than Glass House in just the two episodes we've seen and the live feeds. This is how good a show can be when there's actual gameplay, but let's break down my character rankings.

Five Drinks Into Fantasy Sports: Fantasy Football Drafts

Rounds 2 and 3

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother 14 Premiere!

Tom's Take


Big Brother is back! We've got 12 new houseguests, and 4 returning houseguests as "coaches."

So I think the 4 Coaches will eventually join the game regardless of what anyone else says, but for now let's judge how the 4 Coaches did with their draft.

1. Dan

Dan picked Kara, Danielle, and Jodi. Jodi is gone, so clearly Dan is the loser in this draft. I actually like the Kara and Danielle picks though. Danielle is going to be horribly underestimated, and I think she'll make it pretty far. Kara on the other hand has a cool head on her shoulders, and should be able to bond with Britney and Janelle to keep herself in the game a few more weeks than you would think. I also predict that she might be the endurance threat of the season. Still, Dan is already down a man on Day 6, and he is lacking an athletic male to help him out in challenges. He will have to pit Boogie against Janelle and Britney to stay strong in this game.

2. Janelle.

Janelle's draft was a little off in my book. Wil, Ashley, and Joe was a fairly balanced draft, but I don't really think Wil deserved the #3 pick, but she managed to keep anyone from her team from going home, while not taking the HoH power for her own team. She's made an alliance with Britney's team, so she's in a good position in the house. I'm looking forward to seeing Janelle clash with Boogie.

3. Britney

Britney won the first HoH competition, so I would say she has the best position in the house. I like her team, but I think it's going to be a very hard team to keep together. She got Shane, the boring but athletic Jeff like player of the season, JoJo the fun New Yorker who I'm sure will cause drama, and oh yeah, she got Willie Hanz. I have a feeling this season will feature at least one blow out between Britney and Willie, as she struggles to control this uncontrollable force.

4. Boogie

Boogie had the best draft in my opinion. Frank looks to be physically dominant, and is probably smart to boot, Ian has brains and could be a good endurance player, and Jenn serves as a good anchor for the team. Unfortunately for Boogie, I don't think his good draft will help him. I forsee his players get targeted early, and otherwise good players will get kicked out early.

Prediction to win: I'm voting for JoJo to win this season, and Britney to get the coach prize. I think Britney's team will get off to an early lead, sacrifice Shane to get Willie and JoJo to the end, where Willie will have pissed off the jury.

Tune in next Thursday for my Game and Show blog!

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother Rating System

Tom's Rating System

Basically this is where I will be rating the various contestants on Big Brother on their gameplay as well as how entertaining they are on the show. I will give each of them a Game score, and a Show score, as well as note my opinion of them. Here's how this thing is gonna be scored.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Glass House Episode 4

Tom's Take:


It's a pretty meh episode, but I like the house being divided, and I like that The Friendship part 2 is clearly unpopular with the viewers and not realizing they need to switch it up.

1. Joy: 93 points. Joy vs. Kevin last night. It was fun. I don't care if people are classifying the teams as Jeffrey vs. Andrea, Joy vs. Kevin is where the real drama is. And I'm team Joy. I hope the final two is her and her showmance with Gene. I love this unconventional showmance!

2. Gene. 77 points. He's a teddy bear. Let's face it, he's awesome.  

Five Drinks Into Fantasy Sports: Fantasy Football Drafts

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Glass House Episode 3

Tom's Take


I'm enjoying the show so far, I'm not going to lie. I think the recent divide in the house provides for some interesting tension. I like one side, the Gene/Joy side, but  the other side has Kevin who is probably pretty popular. Game on!

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Glass House Episode 2

Tom's Take:


Wow. I can't believe that Prime Time Alex Stein Number Ninety Nine is gone. He will be missed.

So America clearly has no idea what it wants, and doesn't know true entertainment. Likely the same people voted out Alex Stein as voted for Jordan as the Greatest Big Brother Player of all time on the realitynation.com polls.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Glass House Episode 1

Tom Reviews Glass House Episode 1:


That was actually a lot of fun. I like the way the  captains had to volunteer/were chosen beforehand. Is that  how it's always going to be? I thought we picked the captains. As it is, this could result in some interesting drama.Overall, I enjoyed this episode quite a bit, so let's get to character reviews.

I award 10 points to the East point for crushing that competition!

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Glass House Preview

Tom's Take

Glass House appears to be ABC taking the original Big Brother premise and rebooting it, although with less prize money. Now I've never seen the first Big Brother, but it always seemed boring to me, so I'm going into this wearily.

If I'm understanding the format correctly, the most popular player will win regardless of any strategy. I'm not impressed, but let's take a look at the contestants.

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 24 Episode 13 (I)

Tom Reviews Survivor Season 24 Episode 13 "It's Human Nature"

It's an all girl finale!

Kim is a brilliant player. If the jury doesn't vote for her to win that's a travesty.

So I think Kim will win. Is there any more to break down?

I'll cover everyone's gameplay with a final player rankings after the finale, but for now let's just break down the final 6.

1. Kim (288 points): The way she flipped Alicia on Tarzan is why she should win. That's brilliant manipulation right there.

2. Chelsea (168 points): She survived! Kim should take Chelsea just for being her sidekick. She's not an eloquent speaker, and she won't handle the jury very well. Just my opinion.

3. Sabrina (159 points): Sabrina will get all the bitter at Kim votes. Will that be enough to win?

4. Tarzan (134 points): Last man standing. I saw some good maneuvering out of Tarzan tonight. He's just no match for Kim.

5. Alicia (125 points): Will Kim take Alicia or Sabrina to the final 3? I think either one will turn bitter over Kim backstabbing them. I'd actually take Sabrina though, because I think Alicia would vote for gameplay, whereas Sabrina might not.

6. Christina (74 points): Will she get dragged to the end to lose?

Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Survivor Season 24 Episode 12 (I)

Tom Reviews Survivor Season 24 Episode 12 "It's Gonna Be Chaos"

It's the family episode.

I think I'm the only person who doesn't like these. I feel like there's so much room for gameplay at this point in the  season, that the family reunions just take away from. Plus, doesn't it feel like the producers ignore character development for many people up until this point, only to then try and make them more likeable? I'd rather get more slice of life camp scenes frankly for the character development, and more game talk here.

Okay maybe I'm just a heartless jackass.

I did like most of the reunions actually, especially Tarzan's (great edit for him for once) although Kat's relationship with her cousin seems kind of odd to me. Whatever, who am I to judge?

I guess the game impact of the loved one visit, is that it sort of humanizes the 7 remaining players in the eyes of the others, so maybe the jury votes will be able to look past personal vendettas? Maybe.

Anyways, let's get into player rankings. We're down to only 7. Let's see if we can find pics with the loved ones.