'Glee' season 3 spoilers: Kurt / Blaine trouble
and more Whitney Houston dish

For those of you who want a little more insight into the Whitney Houston tribute episode of "Glee" before it airs, we now have it for you straight from the actual episode itself.Based on some early reports...


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Joe Satran: Who's Winning The 'Game Of Thrones'
This Week

Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 2, Episode 4 of HBO's "Game of Thrones," entitled "Garden of Bones."

"The high road's very pretty, but you'll have a hard time marching your army down it." -- Roose Bolton

Wowza.

Last night's episode, "Garden of Bones," is without a doubt the most action-packed episode so far this season. After weeks of relative calm, Westeros erupts in violence and violent sex.

Essentially, the episode is all about the moral choices people make in the pursuit of power -- and the moral leeway that's given to the powerful. Part of what makes this show so engaging is that the stakes are daunting on both sides of that equation. Robb and the Harrenhall hobgoblins both had to decide how to treat their prisoners; Daenarys opts not to exploit her "children" to gain entrance through the gates of oasis city Qarth; Joffrey disgustingly marshalls his power for the sake of sexual humiliation; Stannis, convinced that "cleaner ways don't win wars," asks Davos Seaworth to smuggle Melisandre, carrying very black cargo indeed, beneath the walls of Storm's End.

To find out how did the moral calculus translate into power shifts, scroll down for this week's Power Rankings.

The Power Rankings
Using a complex algorithm that takes into account each player's wealth, military might and dominion over lands, along with a "bonus" factor that adjusts for unquantifiable assets that could influence events, we've surveyed the lay of the land to figure out who's winning the game of thrones at this point of Season 2.

1. Renly Baratheon
Renly's still the most powerful military force in Westeros, and he knows it. As we've heard time and time again, he's mustered all the might of the Reach and the Stormlands for an assault on King's Landing. And despite Littlefinger's reminder to Margaery that arithmetic doesn't necessarily win wars, he looks likely to succeed. Anyway, in his parley with Stannis and in his private audience with Littlefinger, he speaks like a king. There are just two wrinkles in his plan. More and more people throughout the kingdom seem to know about his "secret" sexual proclivities. And then there's that scary, Melisandre-born shadow at the very end of the episode ...

2. Robb & Catelyn Stark
Holy direwolf! A stonefaced Robb takes down the Lannister forces, killing five western troops for every one of his northerners, but he won't torture the prisoners he's captured. Then, he shares a tender moment with a nurse, Alissa from Volantis, on the battlefield as she saws off a man's leg. "The high road's very pretty, but you'll have a hard time marching your army down it," Lord Roose Bolton, one of his foremost lieutenants, tells him. Kings don't fight fair. A just heart was the end of Ned Stark -- a lesson Robb has yet to learn.

3. Stannis Baratheon
Elder brother Baratheon gives Renly a chance to retreat, but Renly's not impressed. "Born amidst salt and smoke ... Is he a ham?" he responds to Melisandre's claim that Stannis is the chosen one. "No one wants you for a king," he tells Stannis, who says he'll name him his heir and put him on the council if he steps back now. Renly, of course, refuses. "We shall see. Come the dawn, we shall see," Stannis replies.

Come the night (dark and full of terrors indeed), Davos Seaworth smuggles some unlikely cargo -- Melisandre. "Man is good or he is evil," she tells him. She, of course, is good.

"You want me. You want to see what's beneath this robe," she says to him. "You will."

In a dark underground cavern, the two come to some bars. "They can't bar our passage," she tells him, before she makes good on her promise and slips off her red robe to reveal a luminous, bulging belly. She gets down on the ground and goes into ecstatic labor, as clawed black shadows stream from her ladyparts and through the gates. Is this Stannis' "son"? He might be even more horrific than the spawn of Cersei!

4. Tyrion & Tywin Lannister
Still the most honorable Lannister, for what it's worth, Tyrion manages to stop Joffrey before he has Sansa beaten and stripped in front of the crowd, proving he still wields the scepter in this court.

"The king can do as he likes," Joffrey says.

"The mad king did as he liked," Tyrion replies. "Did your Uncle Jamie ever tell you what happened to him?"

But his next move, sending a few whores Joffrey's way to ease his temper, backfires. Still, he manages to corral Cersei's sex partner and cousin, Lancel, into doing his bidding.

"Did Cersei have you knighted before or after she took you to her bed?" he asks. "Have you given any thought to what King Joffrey will have to say when he finds out you've been bedding his mother?" A perfect opening to some blackmail -- Tyrion has a mole in Cersei's bedroom now.

Tywin, absent so far this season, plays a similar role when he comes galloping into Harrenhall when he puts a halt to the cruel inquisition being held in castle courtyard. He also notices that Arya is not, despite his dress, a male, and hires her to be his cupbearer.

5. Joffrey & Cersei Lannister
He can't kill Sansa, but on "Game of Thrones," a loss of power in the political arena translates nicely to taking out your frustrations on a prostitute. With our favorite Shithead King, the ante's upped -- not just one, but two prostitutes. And not just sex, but a sadomasochistic torture fest that leaves everyone crying but the King.

Usually, when a man's yelling out "Harder!" he doesn't mean, "Hit her 'til she bleeds!" but as we've learned, Joffrey's no man -- just a sick little boy.

Wildcards

Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish
Littlefinger rides South from King's Landing to visit Renly's camp in the Stormlands. He pays unctuous homage to everyone's favorite closeted would-be monarch, and his wife Margaery, in the hopes of securing their favor should they come into power. But his real target is Catelyn Stark. He offers her a secret deal to trade Jaime for her "two" daughters. (It's not clear how he plans to account for the fact that the Lannisters don't actually have Arya.) To sweeten the pot, he gives Catelyn her husband's bones. His one misstep? Trying to use Ned's death as an excuse to get in Catelyn's pants.

Daenarys Targaryen
The scene in which "Mother of Dragons" Daenarys negotiates with "The Thirteen" at the gates of Qarth is possibly the funniest so far in the series. Confronted with a surprisingly hostile reception, Jorah tells Daenarys that everyone's wary of a Dothraki horde. She glances at her meager host and whispers, incredulously, "Horde?!" She speaks more confidently, though, with the obese spokesman for The Thirteen. He asks to see her dragons. She refuses, angrily, and is about to be turned away. Then, she finds a savior in the form of Xaro Xhoan Daxos, whose name prompts more laughs. But stunned silence was the only possible response to the glamour of the city his friendship reveals.

Arya Stark
Like the hot rats used to torture the prisoners at Harrenhall, Arya's getting angrier and angrier. Who knows what's in store when she becomes Tywin Lannister's cupbearer?

Sansa Stark
Sansa gets beaten and sexually humilated by Joffrey's goons at court right at the beginning of the episode before being rescued by Tyrion. He asks her if she honestly wants her engagement to proceed, and she gives the same loyal response she's been giving since her father's engagement. Tyrion marvels, to no one in particular, at her composure. "Lady Stark," he says, "You may just survive us yet."

Theon Greyjoy, Jon Snow, Bran & Rickon Stark: No-shows this episode...

Differences from the Book

This season is really going further and further off track from "A Clash of Kings," the novel upon which it's based. Some of the changes are completely understandable for the sake of expedience, but others are just plan weird. Here's what we noticed; as ever, let us know if you spotted others!

• The woman Robb meets in his Western campaign in the books is named Jeyne Westerling, not "Alissa," and she is a highborn Lady, not some nurse from Volantis!
• Tyrion doesn't send prostitutes to Joffrey for his nameday.
• Renly mocks Stannis at their parley in the books just as much as he does in the show, but it involves a pivotal peach in the books.
• Baelish doesn't come to Renly's camp in the books.
• In the books, Daenarys and her horde stop at an abandoned oasis, "The City of Bones," before arriving at Qarth.
• Arya doesn't meet Tywin in Harrenhall in the books; she does become a cupbearer, but for another lord entirely.
• Likewise, Melisandre does give birth to a shadow in the books, but not until later on.

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'How I Met Your Mother' spoilers: Barney's ducky
tie returns

On May 14, "How I Met Your Mother" is finally going to air its one-hour season finale, and there is plenty of excitement that we can expect to see over the course of the hour. Not only...


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On TV Tonight: Monday April 23, 2012

NET 8PM 8:30PM 9PM 9:30PM 10PM 10:30PM ABC Dancing with the Stars A Special Edition of 20/20 CBS[...]

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What Did You Think of Veep

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is back on the screen as of last night's premiere of Veep on HBO. Louis-Dreyfus plays Selena Meyer, the United States' second-in-command, and is backed by a uniquely unskilled team of political strategists. In the first episode, not only does she botch a speech by accidentally slipping in a very un-PC joke, but her cabinet mistakenly sends an important card signed with her assistant's name instead of her own. I found the premiere to be solid, and the premise has a lot of potential, especially with one of the most talented comic performers of our time at the helm. But I'm curious to hear your thoughts - who tuned in for the series premiere and who's planning on watching episode two next week?

Photo courtesy of HBO

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Megan Hilty Talks 'Smash,' Season Finale And
Other Juicy Drama

The star studded NBC musical drama Smash has made a lot of people take a closer look at Megan Hilty. The Broadway star was known to theater buffs and familiar from some television acting, but Smash...

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Reza Farahan Of 'Shahs Of Sunset': We're
Luxurious, Not Terrorists

They're rich, they're fabulous and ... they're Persian.

In case you haven't heard of it, "Shahs Of Sunset" is a reality show that follows the glitz and glamour of six best friends living in Los Angeles. "Shahs" aims to find the balance between having an American social life but also staying true to one's roots -- and of course, viewers get to witness the bickering, the closets and the drama.

But unlike "90210," these characters are as diverse in their taste as they are in ethnicity, including Reza Farahan, the show's "openly gay Persian man," who knows a thing or two about luxury. He chatted with HuffPost TV about debunking stereotypes and the importance of having life-long friends.

With any show that has a particular focus on an ethnic community, there's always some sort of backlash. How do you deal with people’s negative reaction?
I don’t care. The funny thing is we started having a reaction from an article on The Huffington Post, actually. The writer is Persian and people were basing their opinion on her article, which was very negative. A lot of the people who read her initial article are now thinking 'Wait a minute, why was she putting the show on blast, when she hasn’t seen it and now that we've seen it we love it, we love you.' When we read her stuff we thought you would be setting homes on fire, shooting people, like it's not that big of a deal. It paints Persians in a positive light. We’re used to being portrayed as terrorists on television. We’re all thrown into this big batch of terrorists. If I’m on TV, im successful, I’m family-oriented, my friends love me, the community accepts me for being gay, but I love gold, marbles and Mercedes, great. I'd rather personify that stereotype than one of being a terrorist.

You and MJ have been best friends for a long time. When you look back at the episodes, what’s it like seeing your friendship on television?
It wasn’t that huge of a difference because I’ve known her for 20+ years. She and I are so tight and we go back so deep; it's just fun to see it on television.

Even though I've only seen the first episode, I already remember all of your names and personalities (which isn't the case for most reality shows). Why do you think the audience can connect?
I think it's because it's very real. We are Persian and minority groups have a lot of things in common. And there are a lot of relatable issues whether it’s dealing with family, sexuality, having to live in a foreign land, religion -- there’s a lot of realness and a lot of things that viewers can relate to.

And on the flipside to that, , "All-American Muslim" got canceled. Do you think people are ready for shows like this?
It’s 2012. If they’re not ready yet -- too bad. Because buckle up, here we are. If they’re not ready now in 2012, they're never going to be ready.

Please explain that mustache of yours.
My mustache and I have a very tight bond. He’s definitely a lot more bourgey [bourgeois] than I am. I’m a lot more down to earth. We clash on certain issues. He’s got his own Twitter handle @Reza_mustache and I love him. His name is Little Reza.

You see a lot of the glitz and glamour on the show. In episode one, you were getting ready and you had your clothes laid out. Is this for real, do you lay them out to get the day started?
I wouldn’t lay it out. I had just gone shopping and I had a ton of new stuff so I definitely wanted to. You could see a lot of the labels. If I do a big shopping day, I’ll spread it out and say, 'What do I want to wear? What do I want to put together?' But do I lay it out on a daily basis? No. My memory is good enough to know what I have.

Even in the first episode, family is portrayed as important, just like in most ethnic communities. What's it like looking back at some of the episodes? How has it affected your family relationships now?
Pretty much, what you see is what you get. The way you saw me interacting with my family is how I interact with them on a daily basis. I don’t see exposing my family has be interacting with them any differently. It’s just the relationship with my father ... has become better since we had that conversation in episode five.

What’s the drama forecast, what can we expect?
As far as drama concerns, the beautiful thing about life and friendship is that there’s evolution. Some relationships that you see in episode one may change and shift completely. When you’re friends with people as long as we’ve been friends, there’s definitely ups and downs. In episode one, you heard me say some things about Asa. Does it remain consistent through the season? I’m not going to tell you, but not all the relationships will be the same.

Are you guys still close and hang out?
While I've been on the phone with you, Mike and GG have already called. We talk several times a day. GG and I had dinner last night.

Did you ever fear going on a reality television show would change your friendship?
I believe that I'm in control of my life. If things change it was because of decisions and choices that I made.

Besides drama, what else can we look forward too?
Deep-rooted friendship. Americans can't believe how tight we are. These other five people are like family to me. We are there for one another. My American friends can’t believe we're so connected and so tight, and how well we juggle this ancient country we’re from in a very progressive and modern land that we live in â€

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Supernaturals Jim Beaver: The best tool Sam and
Dean have [is] themselves

Now that Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) can finally see Bobby (Jim Beaver), at least some of the time, on Supernatural, it isn’t one big happy reunion. They don’t really have the time for...


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'Game of Thrones' video: The walls close in on
the Starks

After a week off, Jon Snow will be back April 29 for a new episode of "Game of Thrones" that focus not only on some of his battles, but on the escalating situation in Westeros as a whole...


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Shadows Dance: The Magic Lantern on Game of
Thrones

In a series that's been full of mythical beings, prophetic dreams, wights, and dragons, this week's episode of Game of Thrones tipped the balance more firmly into the supernatural camp, giving us to date possibly the most visceral (and disturbing) reminder that magic is slowly creeping back into the Seven Kingdoms Westeros. Our reaction to that as viewers takes two directions: one is excitement, the other is dread. Some have convinced themselves that this isn't a fantasy series, and that's perhaps the wrong approach. While Game of Thrones is certainly populist fare, it's rooted in the fantasy genre and its slow integration of supernatural elements is to be applauded, though they were part and parcel of the series from the very first scene.The White Walkers have always posed a threat to the Seven Kingdoms and therefore to the realm of man. Whatever happened thousands of years earlier to drive the White Walkers beyond the Wall and also end the reign of the Children of the Forest toyed with the natural order, casting out much of the magical nature of the world and granting dominion over the earth to that of mankind. But if George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire teaches us anything, it's that magic will out in the end. Dragons have returned to the world, borne out of smoke and fire and grief, children of a exiled princess already in widow's weeds. The White Walkers creep in snow and darkness beyond the Wall. And a red priestess, a glittering red ruby at her throat, has...

Read the full article at Televisionary (http://www.televisionarytv.com).

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