ABC's "Revenge" 2011-2012 new series

As Emily confidently walked into the Grayson manor with her signature politely pursed smile, Victoria Grayson was all but comfortable to welcome her to sit down. Just because Emily had caught her son's romantic interest and won his trust, did not mean that she had fooled Victoria.

 Wednesday night at 10pm is the much-coveted time slot that ABC has given to “Revenge," winning out against long-standing contenders, such as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

Released as a new television series in September 2011, it took less than a month for ABC to realize they had a hit, and to give it a full season.

Emily VanCamp stars as Emily Thorne. The viewer quickly learns that Emily is truly Amanda Clarke, a girl with a tragic family history, and a troubled youth.

She returned to her home in the Hamptons with a secret identity, with some serious resources and plans to make things right. She even rented out the house where she grew up, as the young Amanda Clarke.

It was convenient that her beach house had a direct view of the luxury home in which her enemies resided. Emily had learned that the cause of her father’s traumatic death was related to many hidden secrets, and Victoria Grayson (actress Madeleine Stowe) was at the center of it all.

As with "The Count of Monte Cristo" (which has been given credit as inspiration for “Revenge”), Emily's passion to make right violations against her family has shown as one of the strongest motivators a person could have.

The show was nominated at the 2012 People’s Choice Awards for Favorite New TV Drama, and Stowe received a nomination for a Golden Globe, as the primary series antagonist.

Also, in its short time, it has already been given a regular time slot in 25 countries other than the United States. That is impressive, considering most shows require years to achieve such a following.

The two main character actors have an impressive acting history. Stowe had a few small television roles, and after that many movies including, 1987’s" Stakeout," 1992’s "The Last of the Mohicans," 1993’s "Short Cuts," 1995’s "Twelve Monkeys," and 2002’s "We Were Soldiers." These are just a few of her biggest achievements. 

VanCamp, as a younger actress, is only a decade into her acting career, with such experience as her title role on 2000’s "Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis," 2005’s "The Ring Two," and for her main role in "Everwood," from 2002-2006.

Metacritic.com, seems to have a relatively mixed review of the series. Where users score the series 8.1 out of 10, actual critics have rated it 66 out of 100.  The critics don't seem as impressed as those viewers who care to weigh-in, on the site.

It is presumable that viewers will either love or hate the series, based on the review comments on various sites. For some, it's the same old rehashed plot line, but for others, it has become a permanent fixture in their Wednesday night plans.

For other reviews:

Are You Screening? " It's fun, and it pulls you along to the next episode, which is all anyone ought to be after here."

Huff-Post TV "'Revenge' makes the fatal mistakes of wanting to be taken seriously and yet not making its characters worthy of any kind of serious consideration."

NYTimes Television ''Revenge' isn’t a breakthrough, by any means, but it does offer a different take on female rivalry.'"

As far as I am concerned, this is on my weekly must-watch list. For what it's worth, that list is relatively short. I am actually a little surprised at what I consider fairly harsh criticism from some of the reviews, but I was an addict by the middle of the first episode.

At-A-Glance:
Channel- ABC
Time      - 10pm 
Stars      - Emily VanCamp, Madeleine Stowe, Gabriel Mann, Henry Czerny, Connor Paolo, Ashley Madekwe, Nick Wechsler, Joshua Bowman, Christa B. Allen.
Plot         - A young woman (Emily) returns to the Hamptons to avenge her father's murder and restore his reputation amongst the elitist community.
Awards   - 2012 Golden Globe nomination (Madeleine Stowe), and 2012 People's Choice Awards for Favorite New TV Drama

Albany Welcomes Walmart

LED motion-sensor lights flickered on as employees of the new store entered the produce department to fill the bins, working on final preparations for the big day. After many months of construction, training, and shelf stocking, the time has come for the general public to see what all the fuss is about.

Mark your calendar to attend the opening of the new Walmart Supercenter, at 1330 Goldfish Farm S.E., in Albany on Wednesday, Jan. 25.This is right off of Albany's U.S. Highway 20, on the east side of I-5.



Lebanon has been the nearest Walmart for the greater Albany area, until now. The company has chosen our area as an ideal location for a new store, since it reduces the commute time to the nearest Walmart for many of its shoppers. Along with their grocery, garden center, drive-up pharmacy, photo lab, and general merchandise, a new Subway sandwich store will also be opening.

The company got approval to work overnight long-term and even closed nearby I-5 ramps, to complete the project on time, paying over $1 million in building permit fees. They hired Robinson Construction, of Hillsboro, Oregon to build the 186,000 square foot building in a matter of months.

Walmart is working hard to make a good first impression on the Albany community with an energy-efficiency focus, donations to local groups, and offering new jobs to locals.

Aside from employing over 300 local residents, president Janet Steele of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, said “Walmart has put over $22 million into community improvements between the store, transportation improvements, and other community contributions.”

Some of the benefits of a new store include its focus on being customer- and eco- friendly. The Albany store was designed with wider aisles and an improved layout, for shopping convenience.

To improve on the speed of one-stop-shopping, departments have been rearranged from traditional Walmart design, based on commonly-purchased items. The color palette has also been improved, not only for more of “an inviting shopping experience,” but also color-coded based on merchandise areas.

New Walmart stores are also being built with a focus on energy-efficient technology, to reduce waste and energy use. The store has been designed with skylights, requiring 75 percent less lighting per day. LED lights are used the rest of the time, which are 70 percent more efficient than their fluorescent counterpart.

The result: Very little lighting costs. The flooring is made from recycled materials. The store will utilize a recycling program. The toilets and sinks are low-flow models, to also reduce the amount of water waste.

Aside from these conscientious building options, the company has also chosen to give $15,000 in grants to area organizations, including The Greater Albany  Public School, The Boys/Girls Club of Albany, Albany Firefighters Community Assist Fund, Albany Area Seniors, Albany Parks and Recreation, American Legion Post #10 Albany, Friends of the Albany Public Library, Linn Benton Food Share, Linn County Child Victim Assessment Center, and the Safehaven Humane Society.

The donations will be given during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, just prior to store opening, on January 25.

The community can only watch for now, to see what kind of impact the store opening will have locally. So far, local residents are generally pleased. Local resident Sara Broadhurst said "It is killing me that our Walmart opens tomorrow and I won't be there.. I wanted to tell future generations I was there opening day!"

Aside from the increased job opportunity, it could also mean more I-5 commuters stopping at other surrounding stores and restaurants. It could also possibly result in decreased business at local stores with similar products, such as Coastal Farm, Target, Fred Meyer, Albertson's, and Safeway. An anonymous downtown store worker said, "we will just have to wait to see what happens. [Walmart opening] could have no impact on us, or it could hurt us."


There has also been speculation on the impact to the Lebanon store, which will likely lose a good percentage of its business, due to store and shopper location.

At-A-Glance

Who : Albany Community
What : Walmart grand opening
When : Wednesday, Jan. 25
Where : 1330 Goldfish Farm S.E., Albany

For additional information, please see Walmart's official press release:  http://walmartstores.com/pressroom/news/10793.aspx