Hello, hello, everyone and welcome once again to:

Before we begin looking at tonight's episode, "In Sickness and In Health", I'd like to make a couple comments.  First off, check it out:  I CALLED IT!  Yes, Fear Itself took only two episodes to become those morons at Parents TV Council's Worst Show on Broadcast Cable.  However, beyond the usual fact that I find the PTC ignorant, stupid, negligent of their own children, and obsessed with the lives of others, I find it really odd which episode they picked.  Really?  "Spooked"?  The most cerebral, possibly least violent episode thus far?  Not only that, IT AIRS AT 10PM!  Outside of nudity and language really, NBC can do whatever it wants.  See, the wonderful thing about the FCC is, 10PM is NOT the family hour you idiots!  Seriously, if you don't want your little rugrat to see it, don't let them!  And why the hell are they up at 10PM anyway?  Jeez.  Fear Itself does not deserve the title of Worst TV Show of the Week but for trying to ban it and for claiming that your campaigns had anything to do with such things as FX's Dirt getting cancelled, all the active members of the PTC deserve my award for worst parents in the country.

Also:  I'm gonna take this chance to call out other site's reviews of Fear Itself.  Last week's ep:  on one website, the review begins as follows:  "Is three episodes enough to deem a series failed? Maybe for regular shows, but anthologies are just too hit or miss. But man, “Family Man” was one of the thinnest premises I think I’ve ever seen stretched out to fill in an hour run time and if they don’t get better soon, we may have to write this one off."  ARE YOU SERIOUS?  I personally loved how after the review, the site's commentors said it was the best episode of the three(I rank it with Sacrifice personally), whereas the guy reviewing called it the second dissapointment in a row.  Seriously people, lighten up.  It's network tv, its not gonna be the same as the Masters of Horror you once knew.  Enjoy it for what it is.  Decently told stories in network timeslots that might be extended and put out on dvd later.  It should be noted that, SHOCKINGLY....the same site has already reviewed tonight's ep and called it...poor.  Again.  Just so surprising of them to say that.  I don't honestly know if I can take it.  (God I hope sarcasm is carrying through the text.)  It should be noted though, another horror site called Family Man the most enjoyable ep thus far.  I agree that Family Man was very very good.

Now then onto the liveblog:

1000PM:  Ok, those are damn creepy kids even though they aren't trying to be.  I think it's the faces they were making.

1001PM:  Music's nice, but it's not hard to nail down wedding music.

1002PM:  Wow, even I don't believe her friends.  lol.  AND THE BRIDE ARTICULATES MY FEELINGS!  NICE!

1003PM:  Ok, this is interesting, this feeling I'm having.  I'm gonna try to articulate it.  This opening scene is a bit bland, really contrived, but, at the same time, the dialogue fits the scene.  It's REALLY a weird feeling.  Like it's a boring, strange scene....but maybe that's what a soon-to-be-married woman talks about with her bridesmaids, I wouldn't know.

1005PM:  I thought that tradition was the other way around.  Groom can't see bride, not opposite.  And I admit that last shot with her by the statue was contrived yet simultaneously fitting.  After all, we're talking about John Landis here.  He does love to mess with the genre conventions.

1006PM:  Just like last week, I'm planning to see a movie tomorrow whose trailer I saw during this show.  This time:  Wanted.

1008PM:  Hellboy 2:  The Golden Army.  Such a good trailer.

1009PM:  Love the religious statues over the credits.....OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SHOOT THE KID.  (Again though, it has that Landis feel.  Like you were supposed to laugh at the fact that the kid randomly ran by screaming.)

1010PM:  Did I mention the lead from "Psych" is the groom?  Seems to have a good handle on the role thus far.  Kinda fun-loving.

1012PM:  I find that death thing an interesting wrinkle in the ep.  Why does this feel so contrived?  I don't understand....

1013PM:  There is a nice mood being set by the continual shots of religious imagery.  Very dark.

1014PM:  Nice jumpscare, I must say.  Might be unnecessary, but it is what it is.

1015PM:  Script's starting to wear on my nerves here.  This is no Family or Deer Woman.  I really do love the set design, though, with the statue going to commercial.  Again though, like Spooked, an episode cannot be great if all it has is great set design.  I hope this picks up.

1019PM:  I watched America's Got Talent in the first season.  I haven't since.  These ads keep telling me why.

1019PM 2:  What a weird line from the priest!  Is that what priests always do?  And that was an odd cgi there.  Kinda out of place.  Though intriguing.

1020PM:  I like the coughing guy.  That was funny.  Very Landis.

1021PM:  Do they really take that many photos at weddings?  That's gotta suck.

1022PM:  Ok, that staring thing is REALLY annoying.  It'd piss me off too, and I'm not even in the movie!

1022PM 2:  Now THAT'S a brilliantly set shot.  The mirror etc.  Beautiful.

1023PM:  My GOD the bridesmaids are MASSIVELY annoying.

1024PM:  Well that dash of cgi and music strike on the second appearance of the note was unnecessary.

1024PM 2:  I admit freely the knocking thing is creepy.

1026PM:  Niiiiiiiiiiiice.  Atmosphere's working very well here.

1026PM 2:  WHY is there this stupid trend of hidden camera ads?  Seriously!  First, Burger King did the whopper freakout thing, now Volkswagen is doing this dumb thing with the talking car.  Jeez.

1027PM:  And personally, in case you're curious, I loved Get Smart and give it a high endorsement.

1028PM:  OK, I liked this Diet Pepsi Max headbob Haddaway ad when I first saw it during the Super Bowl.  And I still do.  The Kattan cameo sells it.

1030PM:  Another jumpscare....and I love the crap thing.  That was great.  As is the hard of hearing priest.  Landis really does well with humor-blend horror.

1033PM:  Identical twin uncles?  Weird......

1034PM:  I just realized btw, I never expected this whole ep to be on the one wedding night.  Thought it would have been over more time.

1035PM:  Wow, he's nailing that blend of loving husband in one scene and deeply paranoid seething anger in the next. 

1036PM:  Ok, that was really funny.  The Alan thing.

1036PM 2:  Did we really need a 3-D remake of Journey to Center of the Earth?  Just curious.

1038PM:  I like these Verizon horror dead zone ads, but I really do wonder if these ads spawned because of this show.  I've seen em on other networks, it's just a thought.

1040PM:  I didn't need to see Fred Willard as an amazonian native in that ad for Tonight show, and don't forget the first SNL airing saturday at 1130, hosted by Carlin.

1040PM:  OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD THOSE BRIDESMAIDS ARE ANNOYING AND CREEPY.  DO THEY HAVE TO DRESS ALIKE IN EVERY WAY?????

1042PM:  Who the hell was that smiling guy with the drink?

1044PM:  God he's good at the crazy/intense.  And I guess that's the other twin uncle.  And WOW those statues really do add to the atmoshpere.  I always knew religion's obsession with death and martyrdom was good for something (No offense meant to the religious).

1046PM:  Ok, seriously, why wouldn't you just say something.  What the hell.  I mean come on.  The silent lying treatment doesn't help anything.

1047PM:  WELL ANSWER HIM!  It's a good frigging question.

1047PM 2:  Ah the church.  Always a good place to find random blunt/pointy objects at an arm's reach.

1048PM:  Really?  I live in NJ, so I get news previews for NYC.  Did someone really put a huge waterfall under the brooklyn bridge?  Look, I walked Central Park when those damn orange gates were there.  That was cool, though not artistic.  How the hell does someone experience this stupid water fall thing like I did walking through the gates?

1050PM:  My......GOD that's a cool trailer.  I can't wait to see Wanted tomorrow.  Utter awesomeness.

1052PM:  All right, hit me with this ending.  Statues are still creepy of course.

1052PM 2:  Ok, I like this confessional thing far far too much as an ending setting way too much.

1053PM:  YES!  I WAS HOPING THEY'D GO HERE!

1054PM:  Wow I really like this a lot.  It's a very subdued ending thus far.

1057PM:  Um....NICE.....AWESOME!

1058PM:  Very nice.  Very crypt-y....but I do wonder about a certain aspect of the story though that I'm not going to say since that might be a spoiler.

Overall:  This episode slides in just behind Sacrifice and Family Man.  But I mean JUST behind.  It starts very slow which detracts, but unlike Spooked, atmosphere and pacing help it along.  The ending is great and the tension builds FASTER than Spooked and thus, works way better than Spooked's virtually actionless first half-hour.  A very decent episode that once again proves the idiot on the other site is just that.  A total and complete idiot.

EDIT:  Earlier today, I realized something about this ep.  This is the first ep that is purely psychological.  There is no blood or gore at all in this episode (outside of the twist), and, for me, it still worked as a kinda campy little piece.  For some, it might not, but at the least it worked for me.  This episode proves to me that the episode can work if it doesn't go extreme with gore.

And I thank my friend, Chris the Mad Scientist, for editing for grammar, listen to him this fall on WSOU radio out of South Orange, NJ.  (www.wsou.net streaming.)