Melrose Place - TV Fanatic

Melrose Place Season Finale Review: Ella Sims By Knockout!!

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 08:42:28 EST

The second iteration of Melrose Place had its share of ups and downs.

After last night's epic season finale, though, all we can say is that the clash of WPK titans actually lived up to the hype, and that if the CW doesn't suck it up and give MP a second season, some interns here at TVF are seriously gonna break $h!t.

In our review of "Wilshire," we begin with the undercard, so to speak, before leading up to the heavyweight bout. First up? David trying to fix things with Lauren.

Unfortunately, Morgan is bat$h!t insane and doing her best Violet impression, only Melissa Ordway has more acting chops in her left pinky than Ashlee Simpson.

In any case, Lauren shows up at Coal to congratulate David on his achievements when Morgan basically pulls an Alpha Female move and calls dibs on him. Snap.

He chases after Lauren and they make up. All is right with the world ... until Morgan's dad shows up to kick David's ass for stealing from him and hurting Morgan.

This show is the best.

Hey, look at that. The L.A. County jail called - they're runnin' outta you!

Better still, Morgan's dad threatens to spare David if he works for him as a thief! If he refuses, than Lauren will pay. PAY! This guy is cut from the Dr. Mancini cloth!

Speaking of the evil doctor, Lauren reveals to Drew that she was called to help him install another one of his heart valves in a patient, which Drew takes issue with.

Drew confronts Mancini about his faulty device, and while he appears to listen, he's always got a plan. Diabolical SOB. Thomas Calabro just kills us every week.

On cue, security guards search Drew's locker and find oxycotin pills. Do not eff with an effer, as we once heard on Gossip Girl, could be the evil doctor's tagline.

After a season in the shadows, Lauren decides to make things right, telling everyone about the poisonous valve, and enraging Mancini beyond words. OMFG.

Riley and Jonah (try to stay awake) decide to go to an NYU mixer as friends. Jonah has a change of heart and wants Riley back, but she tells him he blew it. Burn.

At the party, Jonah confesses to Ella, who is not happy. She does thank Jonah for helping her realize she can be in a relationship, but just not with his dumb a$$.

So basically, Jonah is an idiot, which we have been saying for weeks, and he's just coughed up not one but two insanely hot girls. Call us, Katie and Jessica?

That's not quite all for Riles. In another stunning twist, she opens up about Jonah to Drew, who then confides that he's quite possibly gonna be dead soon.

He's got one of Mancini's toxic heart valves himself ... WTF!

Finally, the battle of the bombshells ... babes ... businesswomen ... bitches ... other words starting with B. It's Amanda vs. Ella for all the marbles. Last call for bets.

Amanda talks to a Mr. Lao about bringing him the Sydney Andrews original, which means she's pinpointed a location ... but then the original Sydney herself arrives!

As a figment of Amanda's imagination, that is. Or a hallucination. A dream? Who the frick knows. All we can say is that it's obnoxiously cheesy, but we still love it.

Ella tries to butter up Amanda, but she has proof of her dalliance with David. Ella ponders why she chose to model herself after a cold-hearted bitch. Mmm hmm.

Round 1 goes to Woodward when she smacks Ella AND fires her.

When ghosts are taunting you, it's a rough night.

Ella stops by Riley's looking for Jonah, but instead spots the painting and the light bulb goes on! Ella now has it in her possession. Safe to say Ella wins Round 2.

We're just getting started, though. Amanda breaks into Drew's apartment. Ella catches her and gloats about her new leverage. Amanda looks like a lost puppy.

In exchange for it, all Ella wants is her own PR company and all the clients she signed for WPK. And funding. And all this in writing. Done, done, done and done!

For good measure, Sydney shows up to taunt Amanda. So wrong, yet so right.

The final round comes when Ella arrives to collect, Amanda tries to turn the tables by saying she didn't read the fine print, but Ella turns them right back on her.

She had a P.I. take photos of her with the stolen painting. Game, set, match!

As the FBI shows up to arrest Amanda, we see that PK (formerly WPK) has put Ella in charge of the LA office. Amanda vows: "This war is just the beginning."

We hope that's true. But if this is truly it for Melrose Place, we can safely say it was a fittingly over-the-top conclusion with Ella Sims dethroning the ice queen.

What did you think of the Melrose Place season finale? Should the CW renew the show? Are you pleased with the ending if it does not?

Melrose Place Season Finale Preview: "Wilshire"

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:08:23 EST

The retooled Melrose Place had its share of tools (Ashlee Simpson), but also some breakout stars (Katie Cassidy) and old, awesome faces (Thomas Calabro, Heather Locklear).

More than likely, it all comes to an end Tuesday, with the prospects of a second-season renewal not looking good. But at the very least, it's going out with a clash of the titans.

In "Wilshire," Amanda fires Ella from WPK, and Ella searches for anything to blackmail Amanda. For one of the ladies, the end result is worse than she could ever imagine.

Who do you think prevails?

Meanwhile, Jonah asks Riley to reconcile (yawn); Lauren and David do reconcile (nice) only to watch Morgan jealously retaliate and put Lauren's life in jeopardy; The Evil Dr. Mancini plants drugs on Drew to get him fired, and Sydney makes a shocking return!

Click to enlarge some photos from the episode below:

Think Melrose Place 2.0 will be renewed? Will you be sad to see it go? How will the above stories play out? Follow the jump for two clips from "Wilshire" ...

Wilshire Sneak Preview #1

Wilshire Sneak Preview #2

Melrose Place Music: "Sepulveda"

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:34:24 EST

With just a week to go before its first season finale, Melrose Place aired a new episode last night.

Titled "Sepulveda," you can read our review of it NOW.

Aside from the usual sexual shenanigans, cheesy dialogue and Katie Cassidy hotness, the hour featured a number of fun singles. Visit our Melrose Place music to review them all, and check out a sampling now:

OneRepublic - "Good Life"
Alexandra - "Supermodel"
Chew Lips - "Slick"
Black Toast Music - "Go Getta"
Pleasure P - "Under"

Melrose Place Review: "Sepulveda"

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 08:51:02 EST

In the second to last episode of the first and possibly final season of Melrose Place, David learned the downside of club ownership and Ella sought to unmask her enemy.

Elsewhere, Lauren totally feels bad about being a ho, love triangles are heating up and Nick Zano enjoys being shirtless. That's pretty much "Sepulveda" in a nutshell.

Uncover freakout: Ella tries to persuade Jonah to help her infiltrate Amanda's plan to oust her at WPK, but Jonah, being a freaking moron, is unmoved by her tactics.

Seriously, dude. Look at Katie Cassidy in that getup. Gulp.

He keeps lecturing her that another illegal act won't do any good and blah, blah, blah. Ella thus turns to Gabe the nerd to gain access to the computers at the office.

We're not stereotyping IT guys at all here, no.

The hotness that is Melrose Place requires no caption.

After eventually procuring the key, David helps Ella break into WPK but their access is denied. But since David's there, they just break into Amanda's office and discover a file on Sydney Andrews, with a photo of a painting that went missing. The plot thickens!

Outcast: Ella and Jonah ultimately make up, which is cute, we guess. A good thing too, for him, 'cause Jonah is helming his own screenplay now, with casting woes galore.

When he can't find the right female for a critical part, Simon proposes he rewrite the scene; since none of the girls are getting it, it must be the fault of the screenplay.

Simon and Jonah aren't seeing eye to eye, and just like that, Simon kicks Jonah off the project. Steamed, Jonah wants his movie back and will do anything to get it.

Too bad it's Curtis Heller's movie now. Welcome to Hollywood, dumbass.

Coal hearted snake: New owner David fires a chef, who takes a bunch of staff with him, leaving Coal in disarray. Almost as f**ked up as his relationship with Lauren.

Trying hard to make good, Lauren lends a hand, giving out free drinks to guests. Ella of course isn't buying Lauren's "good girlfriend" routine, sensing ulterior motives.

David recruits her to help out and she meets Bernadette Reese, one of the most important food critics in L.A. Instantly, Ella does what Ella does best: Go all PR on us.

Basically running point on everything the critic receives or does, Ella saves David's a$$ after he somehow gets a good review. He and Lauren smooth things over too.

Riley and Drew: Because they lack a couple name, we'll just call them the hot actors played by Jessica Lucas and Nick Zano. We see the pair stargazing in the pool.

So many people we know do that all the time.

Jonah also walks in on them while they're making out, firing this love triangle back up again. But if Jonah still has Riley's heart, at least Drew can get a party started.

Riley's fundraiser started off stagnant but found life thanks to him. But jealous rears its ugly head again soon enough when Jonah's donation is receiving some bids.

Drew has the idea to auction off a private show with his band, which doesn't take, so he resorts to ... a date with Riles! How much would anyone pay for that, though?

Apparently $2,000, and your winner is ... Ella Sims! LOL.

The cheese dial then cranks up to 11 when Jonah confesses to Riley that he couldn't cast her part in the movie because "no one was good enough" (barf) and Drew and Riley frolic in slow motion after they make up. Do your eyes hurt from rolling so hard?

One final, intriguing wrinkle involving Drew comes when he is unable to save a patient, but Lauren busts him drawing blood from the dead body after the fact. Uhhh.

He insists something's not right with one of the procedures that were done on the patient, and wants to get to the bottom of it. But what's Lauren's next move?

Did you like last night's episode? Is the show going well enough to warrant a Season 2 renewal? Sound off on Melrose Place in the comments!

Melrose Place Music from "Santa Fe"

eric@tvfanatic.com (Eric Hochberger) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:15:30 EST

From reunions of old friends to embezzlement, blackmail and shocking admissions, last night's Melrose Place, "Santa Fe," had it all - and the soundtrack to accompany it perfectly.

While obviously we loved seeing the old cast members, we're here to discuss the impressive as always Melrose Place music from the night that included a range from the popular names like Shakira and Timbland to indie bands.

You can get the complete track listing, complete with iTunes links, below:

Jason Derulo - "In My Head"
Shakira - "She Wolf"
Amerie - "Heard 'Em All"
Little Boots - "Click"
Truemusic - "You Can Be My Wine"
Festival of Four - "San Juan"
Dan Black - "Pump My Pumps"
Timbaland - "Carry Out"
Paradiso Girls - "Patron Tequila"
Tiesto - "Feel It In My Bones"
Eva Simons - "Silly Boy"
VV Brown - "Game Over"
Intercept - "One Way Drive"

Melrose Place Review: "Santa Fe"

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:11:34 EST

Four tenants from the original Melrose Place reunited last night on the 21st Century version of the show that made them stars. Sadly, with the casting of Jessica Lucas on a new pilot, it looks as though our beloved Melrose 2.0 may soon be canceled.

At the very least, it's going out with a bang. In "Santa Fe," Amanda continued to manipulate info out of people while Michael was even more of a sleaze than ususal. Holla!

Ain't No Party Like a Melrose Party: 'Cause a Melrose party don't stop! Not with Amanda handing out booze and the evil Dr. Mancini there to blackmail interns for sex.

Jane comes to complain about the noise and Jo also shows up - really for no reason except to spill some stuff about Amanda's past embezzling, but hey, we'll accept that.

As for Dr. Mancini, who's evidently the "top cardiologist in the country," he tells Lauren he booked a room at the Waverly Hotel and wants to make good on the transaction.

He tells her to meet him there later OR ELSE.

Melrose Place takes us back to the 1990s.

Ella Still Has a Job Somehow: But not for long? Jane reminds Amanda of the deal. Fire Ella and she can live in Melrose. Jane holds a mean grudge and Amanda is desperate.

Soon enough, Ella realizes someone's setting her up to make it look like she's stealing from WPK. That would be Amanda, bogarting funds from her own company. Diabolical.

Speaking of Blackmail: It's not just for doctors anymore. Morgan didn't get her fill of David so she starts pressuring him do have, like a relationship. And she's got leverage.

He tries to break free but she keeps showing up, offering gifts and wanting to get horizontal. Stage 5 Clinger to the max ... too bad she witnessed him committing a felony.

Paging Dr. Drew: Sorry, we can't get enough of the Dr. Drew joke, and it's not just because we find Dr. Drew Pinsky so unintentionally hilarious. Nick Zano's Dr. Drew is not only hot, he's a giver, shopping for kids in the pediatric ward. Awww!

He and Riley totally click. But when they arrive at the party, Jonah pulls a huge double standard, and things get totally awk, as he tries to suck face with Ella left and right, but gets all indignant when Riley and Dr. Drew return the favor. Dude, chillax.

Naturally, Jonah starts talkin' $h!t, words evolve into pushing, and the two end up brawling in the pool. The episode definitely needed a quality pool fight to cap things off.

I had sex for money: Wow. Lauren left little to the imagination when she outed herself. When Dr. Mancini misses Lauren at the hotel, he confronts her at her home.

That's when she decided to come clean.

Everyone is shocked, except for Ella, who was suspicious, and David, who is more disturbed than anything else. She tells him she loves him, but David remains unmoved.

Great double climax with the pool fight and the prostitution revelation. Where do you predict things will go from here? What was your favorite/least favorite part last night?

Sound off on Melrose Place in the comments!

Melrose Place Music from "Mulholland"

eric@tvfanatic.com (Eric Hochberger) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:07:40 EST

Amanda's scheming. David's return to robberies. Lauren's pact with the devil. Drew's hotness. Jonah and Ella's doggy date. Whatever the story line of "Mulholland," Melrose Place picks the right song to accompany it.

As part of our weekly Melrose Place music feature, we've put together the most complete list of songs from the episode, including lyrics and iTunes previews where available.

So what are you waiting for? Go download your favorite tunes from last with the following links:

Lady Gaga - "Alejandro"
Three 6 Mafia - "Shake My"
Sleepy Will - "Quite Like You"
VV Brown - "Love"
The XX - "VCR"
Miike Snow - "In Search Of"
Annie - "All Night"

Melrose Place Review: "Mulholland"

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:14:09 EST

Melrose Place rarely disappoints because it knows what it is (especially now that Ashlee Simpson is gone): Intrigue below the surface, sexiness, scandal and over-the-top drama.

For the most part, "Mulholland" was a success, albeit a bit slow. Which wasn't so bad, necessarily, for an episode built almost exclusively around relationships. Here's TVF's review:

Amanda is still poking around for her hidden treasure when she walks into David's apartment and starts checking out the art on his walls. She's interested in his "Sydney Original."

Unfortunately for her, even after some elaborate thievery of her own, it wasn't what she was after. Meanwhile, Riley's business trip to D.C. ends with her kissing her boss Ben.

Not awkward at all. They try to act casual about it. Until Ben decides he's bored with Amanda, then tells Riley he wants her instead. Wow, that was prompt and totally realistic!

Naturally, Amanda had Ben tailed and sees photos of them kissing.

Amanda confronts Riley, who feels terrible and quits ... Ben and her job. Man, that Amanda Woodward glare is something else. We'd have the valet turn on your car from now on.

Who are we kidding, Riles doesn't valet anything. Okay, moving on ...

Is David getting in over his head? Is he ever not?

David is really trying to get his life together. He's quit stealing from people, he admits Lauren that Noah is his son, and even shows up to the hospital with takeout for his girl.

But since Lauren cut a deal with Satan, a.k.a. Dr. Mancini, last week, she dumps him. He immediately starts stealing from people again so he can buy Coal. This show rules.

Looking to score a giant diamond, he's busted by a hot girl with a very powerful father. Luckily, hot girl does not care. In fact, the gal tells David that she'll let him walk ...

... WITH the diamond no less ...

... if he'll have sex with her.

As we said, on what planet does any of this happen? None, but we love it. TVF NOTE: Hot girl is Melissa Ordway, also of The Last Song with Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth.

He's just about to take that deal when dear old dad arrives. Rain check?

Later, at Coal, David announces that he's the owner. Where did he get the money, people wonder. He ought to buy some mutual funds or something, this just raises red flags.

Elsewhere, on a blissful, domestic front, things are getting a bit too domestic for poor Ella. A dog birthday party date is just too much for a girl addicted to her Crackberry.

She says a relationship may not be for her, blah, blah, blah, Katie Cassidy is SO hot, Jonah realizes he has to accept Ella as she is, blah, blah, they're still together for now.

Dr. Drew, meanwhile, tries to get to know Lauren, but hits a bit too close to home when he says his other job is a male escort. Wow. What are the odds of using that line?!

His actual side gig is in a band, playing at the dog's birthday party, the one where Jonah and Ella just happen to be fighting about their coupledom and so on and so forth.

Things go awry after Jonah catches Ella flirting to advance her own career as he's ... schmoozing to advance his. Oh, poor Jella. You knew this would happen at some point.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

We miss Auggie.
Okay, not really.
Every episode from now on must feature Nick Zano shirtless.
Any theories on what Amanda is looking for in the painting?
Drew's band sang Baha Men's "Who Let the Dogs Out," natch.
We love how Rick Fox owns (owned) Coal. We also love his hair.
Are we watching a Ben-Amanda master plan to destroy Riley, a la something Chuck and Blair would dream up on Gossip Girl? We hope so, because if not, it's boring.

Season Finale Pregnancy Shocker Ahead ... But Who?!

steve@iscribelimited.com (Steve Marsi) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:26:15 EST

A character on a popular one-hour drama is going to be pregnant on the season finale of her show. That's according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. But who is it?

Apparently it’s a series that gets a lot of PR on sites like EW and this one, and "its rabid following is one of the scariest, most enthusiastic around." Hmm ... Gossip Girl maybe?

Oh, and the character who is expecting is perhaps the last one you’d expect.

Any theories? We've thrown out a few below ... submit yours and we'll add it!

Blair Waldorf or Serena van der Woodsen, Gossip Girl: Either Upper East Sider would work as both are in sizzling relationships, and GG is due for a bombshell.
Jenny Humphrey, Gossip Girl: Because it's Gossip Girl, you have to expect the unexpected and the "OMFG" at the same time. High school junior J would do it!
Ella Sims, Melrose Place. We can see a "who's the father" angle there. We would also like to see more love scenes involving Katie Cassidy. Was that out loud?
Elena Gilbert, Vampire Diaries. Which Salvatore is the dad? The plot thickens!
Nora Walker, Brothers & Sisters. Life begins at 65? Would certainly be a TV first.
Alicia Florrick, The Good Wife. Given her marriage, that would be unpredictable.
Addison Montgomery, Private Practice. They already did it with Violet, but hey.
Ditto various Glee scenarios. They wouldn't do that twice in one season, right?
M. Allison Hart, NCIS. Gibbs' big decision: knocking up Rena Sofer's character?
Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy. Baby McDreamy? Too perfect ... and obvious.
Lexie Grey, Grey's Anatomy. Now we're talking.

Comment with your theories and we'll add them to the list above!

Melrose Place Music from "Stoner Canyon"

eric@tvfanatic.com (Eric Hochberger) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:56:33 EST

We're not here to discuss Nico Zano's debut on last night's episode of Melrose Place, "Stoner Canyon." You can read all about our opinion of that in our review.

We're here to discuss the impressive collection of the songs the show's music supervisor was able to put together for last night's episode.

As usual, we've put up the lyrics and iTunes previews for songs where available. Click to download your favorite songs from the hour:

T-Pain - "Take Your Shirt Off"
Mika - "Blame It On The Girls"
Neon Trees - "Animal"
Daniel Diaz - "Make You Happen"
Kelly Padrick - "Waiting So Long"
Annie - "Loco"
Tegan and Sara - "Light Up"
Miike Snow - "Animal"