TV Geek Out 221: Boardwalk Empire, "Paris Green"

Murder in various forms hangs over "Paris Green," the penultimate episode of Boardwalk Empire’s first season. Starting with a doozy of a twist regarding the revelation of Jimmy’s father and ending with an even bigger announcement about the true cause of the Commodore’s season-long illness, this episode also features Van Alden performing a decidedly un-Christian act during a baptism ceremony. Listen in as TV geeks Heather, Perry, and Dana unravel one of the most explosive episodes in the show’s history. Check it out here!

TV Geek Out 220: Boardwalk Empire, "The Emerald City"

The Wizard of Oz allusions that have weaved through Boardwalk Empire’s first season grow even more pronounced in its tenth episode, “The Emerald City,” when the deformed Harrow pronounces he’s like the Tin Woodsman. The gangland maneuvers continue as Rothstein gets even angrier than he usually is over the failed hit on Nucky, Al Capone learns to grow up, and the women of America earn the right to vote. Join TV geeks Dana, Perry and Heather as they follow them all down the yellow-brick Boardwalk. Check it out here!

TV Geek Out 219: Boardwalk Empire, "Belle Femme"

TV Geek Out continues our first-season coverage of Boardwalk Empire with this discussion of episode 9, "Belle Femme," in which Margaret learns she has more power with Nucky than she realized when she intercedes on Madame Jeunet's behalf. After some initial friction over the matter with Nucky, he gives in and Margaret ends up with a fancy new dress. Jimmy's return to Atlantic City is the other big development in this episode -- Van Alden gets pissed at Agent Sebso for withholding Jimmy's telegrams announcing his return, Angela's threesome with the Dittrichs is stopped before it even begins when Jimmy arrives with no warning, and Nucky wastes no time in telling Jimmy to "take care" of the D'Alessio brothers now that he's back in town. When Jimmy nabs Luciano from his own mother's bed for questioning (and probably death), he's foiled by Van Alden and arrested, with Lucky living up to his name and going free. But Van Alden's whole case against Jimmy goes up in gunsmoke when Sebso kills the witness while supposedly transferring him to New York City for safety. All that, and the D'Alessios take a shot at Nucky right on the Boardwalk, splattering Margaret's fine new frock with the blood of an innocent bystander and giving Eddie a chance to demonstrate his surprising marksmanship as he saves the day. TV geeks Perry, Heather, and Dana discuss all this, Perry reveals his long-time love of songstress Sophie Tucker, and the Geek Out crew tackles the complex machinations at play as A.C. nears the big election of 1920. Check it all out here!

TV Geek Out 218: Boardwalk Empire, "Hold Me in Paradise"

TV Geek Out is back to finish up our coverage of Boardwalk Empire's first season! Here we discuss the eighth episode, "Hold Me in Paradise," in which Nucky takes a trip to Chicago for the Republican Convention and wheels and deals his way around town, eventually supporting the nomination of Warren Harding for president. Back in Atlantic City, Eli is temporarily in charge, and manages to start a porn fire and get shot in the gut while the casino is being held up. Meanwhile, Margaret has a run-in with Lucy and ends up slapping her, Van Alden's wife wants an expensive procedure to cure her infertility, and Angela hasn't been getting any money, or even a letter, from Jimmy. TV geeks Perry, Heather, and Dana discuss all this and more, including the tensions between Nucky and Jimmy, how Rothstein resembles a ventriloquist's dummy, and what Margaret might do with the incredibly detailed incriminating information she discovers in Nucky's ledger. Listen in here!

TV Geek Out 217: True Blood, "I Wish I Was the Moon"

Named for the devastating Neko Case ballad that closes the episode, "I Wish I Was the Moon" wraps up the first half of True Blood's fourth season with possession, transformation, that old black magic, and a long-awaited love scene. Marnie is finally fully possessed by the spirit of spurned and burned witch Antonia, and her first act is to make the formerly fearsome vamp Luis her slave. Meanwhile, Lafayette and Jesus get more than they bargained for when they reconnect with Jesus' brujo grandfather, and Tommy does more harm than he intended when he shifts into Sam, officially making him a skinwalker. And while Jason isn't going to be a werepanther, his feelings for Jessica are changing under the light of the full moon. We also get another clue as to what's going on with Baby Mikey and the creepy doll, and -- last but definitely not least for fans of the Southern Vampire books -- Sookie and Eric finally consummated their budding relationship. Even a relatively quiet True Blood ep is pretty action-packed, and Dana and Heather discuss it all here!

TV Geek Out 216: True Blood, "Me and the Devil"

TV Geek Out covers the fifth episode True Blood's 4th season, "Me and the Devil," which opens with Tommy killing both of his parents; Sam ends up helping his brother dispose of their bodies in the swamp, but not before they have a close call when they're pulled over by a V-addled Sheriff Andy Bellefleur. Meanwhile, Arlene and Terry have Rev. Daniels and his new wife, Lettie Mae, come to their home to perform an exorcism on the house, but it doesn't seem to work; Lafayette and Jesus set off for Mexico to see his brujo grandfather for some magical help; and Sookie visits Moon Goddess and gets an unusual psychic reading from Marnie. Also, Jason has a sexy dream about Jessica, with a special appearance by Hoyt(!), while Eric has a disturbing dream in which Godric urges him to drink from Sookie, but in the real world he resists, and by the end of the episode, the two are kissing passionately! In other events, Bill imprisons and questions Marnie, Sookie pisses Tara off yet again, and Pam spills the beans about Eric's location. Listen in as TV geeks Dana and Heather discuss all this and more here!

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TV Geek Out 215: True Blood, "I'm Alive and on Fire"

TV Geek Out covers True Blood's fourth episode of season 4, "I'm Alive and on Fire," which opens with Eric totally drunk on faerie blood and very randy. When he runs off, Sookie enlists the help of Alcide to track him down. Meanwhile, Jason is still tied up in Hotshot, being gang-raped for his "ghost daddy" seed, but with a little help, he escapes, and takes out Felton when the werepanther chases after him. Back in Bon Temps, Bill finds out that Portia is a descendant of his and breaks off their romance. Proving they might be the worst parents in Louisiana, Melinda Mickens lures Tommy to meet her and then Joe Lee ambushes him and chains him like a dog. Elsewhere, Sookie grows closer to Eric and tells a big fat lie to Bill when he comes to her house intent on searching it for Eric. Jason rejects Crystal and is in really bad shape until Jessica heals him with her blood. And the episode ends with Marnie shockingly casting a rotting spell on Pam! Listen in as TV geeks Heather and Dana discuss all this and more here!

TV Geek Out 214: True Blood, "If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin'?"

The title of season four’s third episode -- “If You Love Me, Why am I Dyin’?” -- could have been screamed by Jason Stackhouse, tied down on a bed in Hotshot by Crystal to be the “ghost daddy” to all of the town’s women of breeding age (who appear to be as young as 12 -- ew). Nothing else is quite as creepy as Jason’s violation, but a childlike Eric, robbed of his memories, is getting to know Sookie all over again. Jessica betrays Hoyt’s trust by glamoring away her confession of feeding on another man, and Tommy aims to swindle Maxine Fortenberry’s natural gas rights from right under her nose. Meanwhile, Lafayette, Tara and Jesus deal with the fallout of Marnie’s memory-stealing spell, Alcide and Debbie are back in the picture, and Andy falls deeper into his V addiction. And what’s with that spooky doll that keeps popping up at Hoyt and Jessica’s?  TV Geek Out’s Dana and Heather try to cover all the bases of this action-packed episode. Listen in here.

TV Geek Out 213: True Blood, "You Smell Like Dinner"

After the faerie fantasia and catch-up with Bon Temp's residents in season four's premiere, True Blood got down to business on "You Smell Like Dinner." And business is good: We got not one but two flashbacks that revealed how Bill became involved with the American Vampire League (featuring Mr. Compton in full London punk regalia) and what happened in his stand-off with the Queen of Louisiana (short answer: Bill ends up wearing some of her). Meanwhile, Sookie catches up with Tara, Jason gets uncomfortably close to the panther people of Hotshot, and Arlene remains convinced that Baby Mikey is a bad seed. However, the most exciting development -- especially for fans of the Southern Vampire book series -- is Eric's amnesia, brought on by a showdown with the surprisingly powerful head witch of the Moon Goddess coven, Marnie. In some ways, this felt more like the start of season four than the premiere did, and TVGO's Dana and Heather cover it all here!

TV Geek Out 212: Boardwalk Empire, "Home"

TV Geek Out is back with more Boardwalk Empire coverage, starting with "Home," the seventh episode of the show's debut season. Thomas Wolfe wrote that you can’t go home again, an axiom Nucky learns during the course of "Home," an episode that gives us a deep look into the dysfunctional Thompson family dynamics. The show also introduces us to disfigured sniper Richard Harrow, whose homecoming from the war has been anything but good, and marks the debut of another real-life mafia figure, Meyer Lansky. Listen in as TV geeks Perry, Dana, and Heather delve into all the details in this Beavis-approved episode of Boardwalk Empire (Fire! Fire!). Check it out here!