TV Geek

HIMYM 7x15: The Burning Beekeeper

2012-02-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 6 February 2012

Storyline: Lily and Marshall throw a housewarming party, where Ted nearly comes to blows with Marshall's boss, and Barney hits on a crazy divorcee.

Best quote:
Marshall: Come on, lay some of that classic Scherbatsky mean son of a bitch on me. Treat me like I'm a girl scout trying to sell you cookies.

Robin: Four dollars a box and you're out of thin mints?! You green little...I don't do that!

The Review: Is this show ever going to be fun again? I keep watching waiting for it to happen, but these days it doesn't even make me smile, I'm not even talking about hysterical laughs, like during the first seasons. I don't know if it's Lily's pregnancy that ruined the fun of it, or Barney's out of character behavior for the biggest part of the time, or the storylines that don't go anywhere and are just fillers until that damn Eriksen baby is born or until Robin and Barney hook up... but I feel it's lost its way and were it not for my actual desire to see who the mother is, I would have stopped watching a long time ago.
This episode was no different, although it had some cute funny-ish moments. But overall, it was as dull as plain water. Or fill it in with your idea of the dullest thing on earth.
For starters, I'm getting tired of Lily's father. Chris Elliott was fun when he was scarce, but the more he pops into the screen, the more annoying I find him. I don't see the need to make him a regular character when you already have six people to fill 20 minutes with and he's not bringing anything interesting to the scene either. His bee story would have been better if it would have tapped into one of Marshall's irrational fears, but this wasn't the case and I simply didn't care for it.
The main storyline - Lily's housewarming party - lacked originality; the only thing I liked about it was Ted's presentation skills, but that didn't make the episode better, only barely acceptable. The parallel between her having to avert every crisis that occurred during the party and parenthood could have been explored more in depth, but unfortunately it was only briefly referred to and then dropped, like every reasonably good arc this season.
Instead, we got to witness a useless fight between Robin and Ted about being nice versus being a total bitch - which Robin is most of the time, and annoyingly so, a fight which, similar to Lily's short termed realization, didn't go anywhere. Ted could have at least punched Cootes in the nose.
The only slightly fun plot was Barney sleeping with Lily and Marshall's divorced neighbor and his "every penis is a girl" speech to Robin. I even laughed at him choosing the house full of bees to spending the night with the homicidal divorcee.
I still hope things will get back on track, especially where it comes to the mother. I know a lot of people are happy that the show took a break from Ted's search for the one, but this was the main reason I watched HIMYM and I'm pissed things got sidetracked.

HIMYM 7x14: 46 Minutes

Back to Season 7

CSI: NY 8x12: Brooklyn Til I Die

2012-02-05T11:31:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 3 February 2012

Storyline: A fun game gets all too real when one of the players gets murdered and another player is held for ransom. Meanwhile, Mac reconnects to an old friend.

Trivia: Despite working the same case, Hawkes' tablet shows the case as #2011/54735 whereas Danny's computer screen shows it as #2011/71042.
Ben Bledsoe, who plays Preston Seville Jr, also appears in the CSI episode "Young Man With A Horn".
Gene Farber, who plays Jake Williams, also appears in the CSI episode "Sin City Blue".
Patrick St. Esprit, who plays Gerald Branson, also appears in the CSI: Miami episode "Prey".

Review: This week, CSI:NY gave us a glimpse of what this show was like in the first seasons. It was an episode full of adrenaline, with a smart plot that kept me interested all along. I still feel that the actual lab work has been neglected in the last couple of seasons and that was most interested me and made this show different from all the other crime procedurals out there, but I'm satisfied with the action and the outcome. The only thing that could have made it better would have been Adam's presence.
The case featured the kidnapping of a young man, son of a financial mogul who cared more about his hard-earned money than about his own flesh and blood. During the kidnapping, Preston Seville, JR.'s girlfriend, a young schoolteacher who was participating in a scavenger hunt game with him, was murdered, just as they both thought the attackers were part of the game.
First of all, I liked the idea of the GoGame. It sounds extremely fun and a great way to escape from reality and assume a different character. I'd definitely like to try something like that.
The way the events unfolded was also very exciting. I haven't seen this much imagination in putting together a case for this show for a very long time. It had every ingredient to keep the CSIs and us, for that matter, hooked and anxious to see what happens next. Not to mention that the creepy mother with the riffle was right out of a classic horror movie.
But my favorite moment of the hour was probably Lindsay calling Danny and Hawkes Cagney and Lacey. And Hawkes borrowing Danny's "boom". Flack's interrogation techniques were also pretty fun to watch and I even cared about Mac's small arc regarding meeting a friend from the past - a lady friend, even; I never really cared about his romantic interactions before.
All in all, a very good episode, reminding me why I started to watch this show in the first place.

CSI: NY 8x11: Who's There?

Back to Season 8

Grimm 1x10: Organ Grinder

2012-02-05T09:58:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 3 February 2012

Storyline: Nick investigates a black market organ-harvesting ring that caters to the supernatural creatures of Portland. He also considers telling Juliette the truth about his nature.

Best Quote:
Eddie: The vast majority of humans just can't process that kind of information. They can believe in all kinds of stuff, you know. Gods, for example. Angels, demons, and dinosaurs and the Big Bang Theory, and E equals MC squared, man. But that's only because it's not right in front of them. They're not looking directly into the boiling core of the raw universe. So, you know, confronted with that kind of reality, a lot of brains just turn to mush.

The Story: Hansel and Gretel

Intro: "We shall see the crumbs of bread... and they will show us our way home again."

Review: "A Grimm on his own is like a samurai without master". The creature world starts noticing Nick more and more and soon his life and that of everyone around him may be in danger. I foresee a lot more action and people actually coming after him and I'm pretty excited to see this happening. And pretty exciting to see how Renard - who seems to be one of the progressive members of the Reaper society - will deal with protecting Nick (since this is what he seems to be doing) against his own kind. His allegiances are still a blur and this is one if the things that keep us guessing what will happen next. I'm also wondering if Renard shot the guy in the trailer on purpose - deciding to go with Nick and Hank to make sure he doesn't talk or something - or it was really just to protect his detectives.
On the procedural level, I'm enjoying the cases Nick works on more and more. This week, it was a really disgusting one, in pure Bones fashion, when a group of vicious creatures named Geiers started decimating the homeless kids in Portland to harvest their blood and organs. Much like humans consume animal body parts for different enhancements, so do the creatures when it comes to human organs. Pretty disturbing, but one of the most engaging plots so far.
It also gave the chance to both Nick and Juliette to show their softer side when dealing with the two homeless kids, Gracie and Hanson, who became a modern age Hansel and Gretel. They may not have been trapped in a house made out of gingerbread, but they were trapped by a wicked witch who wanted to cut them open and sell their dried organs on the creature black market. The case was entertaining, from an action point of view, as it was emotional and this particular combination worked extremely well with the chosen arc.
Slowly, but surely, we're seeing Juliette, much like Renard, take a more prominent role. She has been a useless character for too long and, if the showrunners are going to keep her as Nick's girlfriend, she needs to start participating in the action more. (By the way, I also loved her purple lipstick, but that's just a girl thing.) Plus, Nick is considering coming clean with her about his second nature; after all, it isn't hard for her to notice that things are taking a weird turn after aunt Marie's surprise appearance in town. So, how do you all think she will find out about her boyfriend's special skill and the supernatural world surrounding her? My bet is she follows Nick one night and discovers the trailer, then breaks in and finds all of aunt Marie's stuff.
But it would be equally interesting if Monroe would go all Blutbad in front of her, though I kind of doubt that would happen. He may just be the most secretive creature in the world. It was cool to find out, though, that the creatures can make themselves seen by humans (other than Grimms, that is) if they want to. This question has been in my mind ever since this show started.
As always, my favorite moments were the interactions between Nick and Monroe. I don't know what's with this bromance trend in television, but I'm loving it and it creates some of the most entertaining moments of the series. Especially when Eddie turns all needy and complains about Nick only wanting to talk about Grimm stuff all the time.

Grimm 1x09: Of Mouse and Man

Back to Season 1

The Vampire Diaries 3x13: Bringing Out the Dead

2012-02-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 2 February 2012

Storyline: Sheriff Forbes delivers some disturbing news to Alaric and Elena about the weapon used in a recent murder. In the Salvatore brothers' escalating quest to kill Klaus, Stefan turns to Bonnie and Abby, while Damon reaches out to an old acquaintance for help in setting up an elaborate plan. Intent on a plan of his own, Klaus hosts a strange dinner party, where he reveals another story from his family's violent past until an unexpected guest brings the party to an end. Meanwhile, Caroline is heartbroken when she is unable to stop a tragedy from unfolding.

Best Quote:
Stefan: Nothing smart about trusting Elijah, Damon. He screwed us over the last time he promised to help us kill Klaus.
Damon: Yeah, the way you've been acting, I'd trust him about as much as I trust you.
Stefan: Hmm. Well... Guess that goes both ways, doesn't it?
Damon: Oh, yes. This is about me kissing Elena. Just remember, if it wasn't for Klaus, you wouldn't have become such a dick and that kiss would never have happened. So get ready and get happy. We're going to negotiate a fake truce, and I don't want your attitude screwing it up.

Damon's Best: I thought we agreed that we would leave the grumpy Stefan at home.

Review: Wow, what a ride! This show may not be BtVS, in terms of becoming a classic, but it almost never fails to deliver great action. What am I talking about, at the rate it's going, I'm actually pretty sure it is going to become a classic!
So this week we said goodbye to another useless character, one of those who turn up dead every season to keep Mystic Falls' population in line, but we saw a bunch of others coming back to life. And, except for the lame and completely predictable ending, which is the only complaint in my book, I loved every minute of this suspenseful installment.
The episode followed three storylines and I will start with the most interesting one - Damon and Stefan's plans to kill Klaus. So was bringing Elijah back a good move or a bad move from Damon's part? For a while there, watching Elijah and Klaus talk about family made me think it was going to be a bad move, but nothing is ever the way it appears in this show and Elijah's desire to be with his family and free himself from under Klaus' influence was what made him keep his word to Damon. Plus, why wait for your brother to undagger your siblings when you can simply do it yourself? And that's how, at the end of the hour, we met the two remaining Originals, Kol and Finn. And can I say eye candy alert?
But, as much as the turn of events kept me glued to my couch and barely breathing, two things will remain with me after this episode: one, I loved the interactions between Damon and Stefan. Damon put on a great show in trying to be he mature half of the family and take charge of the operation against Klaus. Also, their talk in the woods, right before entering the tomb, was great. They both needed to say to each other that they loved Elena. Two, the dinner was amazing. Not only because of the constant bantering between the two parties, with Stefan acting out and almost getting himself killed, but mainly because of Tatia's story. For a while now I've been wondering how come the Petrova line is so important to Klaus and now we know: it was Tatia's blood - the girl both Klaus and Elijah loved (didn't see that coming, did you?) - that mama original gave to her children to drink in order to turn them into vampires. These pieces of mythology are always worth waiting for.
So now we have every Original left in the world wide awake and with their own plan. Which is leave Klaus alone and go live their lives together, as a family, but not before killing Elena, so that Klaus can't make more hybrids. That was going to be their punishment. That is, until Bonnie and Abby managed to free the only thing capable if killing Klaus out of the fourth coffin. For a show known for delivering surprises, this one was fairly obvious and now we have not only the five siblings, but also their Original witchy mother hanging around Mystic Falls and talking about wanting to be a family again. And with this, Damon and Stefan's challenge to keep Elena alive is still very much going on.
But both Salvatore brothers need to seriously meditate on Klaus' words: "The worst thing for Elena Gilbert is... the two of you." Not completely wrong, even though I'm still wishing for Damon and Elena to be together at some point. Of course, wanting Elena to be with a human and have children is in Klaus' best interest, to keep the Petrova line going, but Elena herself wants to live her life as a human and she won't be able to do this properly while the Salvatores are hanging around her.
But I've talked enough about this arc and I don't want to keep you reading an entire novel. As I said in the beginning, this episode saw the death of the first major character of the season, I believe. And it's part of a bigger issue Mystic Falls has - someone hunting down council members. It started with the medical examiner, thus putting Alaric's new girlfriend in the position of being a suspect, and continued with Bill Forbes, whose recovery due to Damon's blood did not last long. But he was killed with vampire blood in his system, thus giving him the chance to decide whether he wanted to live his life as the creature he most hated or die as a human. His choice was not a surprise and Caroline signed her name on the list of Mystic Falls kids who have lost someone in their family. The entire thing was highly emotional and well played from both Candice Accola and Jack Coleman, whom I won't particularly miss, but who managed to give a great performance as Bill Forbes told his daughter how she grew up to be exactly who he had hoped she'd become.
But Bill was not the only one to die - at least for a while - at the hands of this serial killer who turns this show in some kind of crime procedural. Alaric was the other person attacked and I was on the verge of getting angry at the showrunners for making us live without one of the most engaging characters of this series. Fortunately, he was still alive when Elena found him and conscious enough to ask Elena to kill him, so that he can be revived by his ring. That was a big chance they took, since the ring has been losing its power, but it all turned up well, thank heavens, since I'm not ready - or will I ever be - to lose Alaric.
There are a lot of questions still unanswered and more that popped up in this episode and I, for one, cannot wait for next week to see what are mommy dearest's plans for her newly reunited family.

The Vampire Diaries 3x12: The Ties That Bind
Back to Season 3

The Secret Circle 1x13: Medallion

2012-02-04T12:24:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 2 February 2012

Storyline: Cassie enlists the Circle's help when she receives a frightening warning about the witch hunters' return. At the same time, her true feelings for Adam and Jake surface during a birthday party that Ethan decides to throw with the help of Diana. Meanwhile, Faye and Melissa take their inner power to a chilling new level when they try a little of Lee's Devil's Spirit.

Best Quote:
Melissa: Faye, I just told you Cassie dug up her father's grave.
Faye: Of course she did, because she's a creepy little Stepford ghoul with dark magic and daddy issues.

Review: So far, this show it's been kind of a hit-and-miss with me. Whenever you think it just got better and we are seeing some decent action, it reverts to being more of a kids show than Dawson's Creek. Unlike its sister series, it fails with bright colors to bring on the suspense and, unless it suddenly gets better in the next weeks, it will have one less viewer.
This installment saw another mystery arrival to Chance Harbor - a psychic who was present during the fire and was supposed to help Blackwell. In fact, it was the same person who saw Cassie when she entered Jake's memory to find out what had happened during that day. But, as many other visitors, she too was short lived and failed to add anything interesting to the story. Did anyone really believe what's-her-name came there to help the Circle? I didn't think so. And to prove how insignificant she was, I don't even remember her name right now, even though I just finished watching "Medallion".
The episode was supposed to be - again - about Cassie's dark magic and her going back and forth about it. It was also supposed to be about protecting the Circle from the witch hunters. Unfortunately, it ended up being just an adolescent fight between Jake and Adam's egos and their desire to control what Cassie thinks. And as much as I like Thomas Dekker, Adam didn't look more than a crossed teenage boy who doesn't know which girl he wants and who is afraid to take chances. Dude, being a little bit more adventurous didn't hurt anybody (especially when you have a powerful dark witch around to save you from anything that's thrown your way). And going through your girlfriend's (or whatever Cassie is to him) room and stealing stuff didn't win anyone any points.
But it turned out Adam was right about the medallion's dangerous power, at least if we look at the last scene, where Cassie got in touch with her inner dark magic and followed in her father's footsteps. That is, if the "daddy" she whispered in the last scene was any indication. Faye found the best way to describe her and the state she is now - "a creepy little Stepford ghoul with dark magic and daddy issues". Personally, I find it a bit early for Cassie to give in to her dark magic, especially if this show strives to get one more season, but hey, what do I know? Maybe it will somehow revitalize it and bring some action into what has been just a teen drama with less magic scenes than Bonnie has on TVD.
As for the arc surrounding Dawn, Charles and now Ethan, it went from entertaining to an even more childish ego display that the one between Jake and Adam. That crystal is appearing and disappearing like a rabbit in a magician's hat and I'm not all that interested in whether Dawn and Charles get their powers back. What happened to the Charles who burned Amelia down and left Cassie an orphan?
I have a lot of complaints about this episode, especially when it comes to character development. Cassie is one of the poorest leads I've seen in a very long time and, despite my initial appreciation of Brit Robertson, I'm starting to wonder how a girl who cannot show she is charismatic enough to lead a group of more powerful personalities was cast in this role. But I'll be waiting to see if her dark magic gives The Secret Circle the edge it desperately needs.

The Secret Circle 1x12: Witness

Back to Season 1

The Big Bang Theory 5x15: The Friendship Contraction

2012-02-04T07:36:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 2 February 2012

Storyline: Leonard can't take Sheldon's continued selfishness and agrees to dissolve the Roommate Agreement. Howard wants to have a cool nickname for when he's an astronaut.

Trivia: This episode's end titles has Chuck Lorre's Vanity Card #375, a censored card viewable only on the Chuck Lorre Productions website.

Best Quote:
Sheldon: You're my girlfriend and you're not going to cater to my every need? Oh, where'd the magic go?
Penny: Sheldon, that's not what girlfriends are for. Although, you don't use them for what they're for, so what do I know?

The Roommate Agreement Clause: Under section 37-B of the Roommate Agreement - "Miscellaneous Duties" - you are obligated to take me to the dentist. It's right here after "providing a confirmation sniff on questionable dairy products."
Clause 209 suspends our friendship, and strips down the Roommate Agreement to its bare essentials. Our responsibilities toward each other would only be rent, utilities and a perfunctory chin jut of recognition as we pass in the hall.

Review: Let's take a moment to enjoy the Roommate Agreement returning to the show. I've missed Sheldon's references to the most absurd clauses one has ever put in a contract, but the best this was finding out that, as any other contract, it has can be revoked at any time. Unfortunately, with its revocation comes also the dissolution of Sheldon and Leonard's friendship, a relationship that is now limited to paying the bills and throwing a "'Sup" in each other's direction when they see each other.
Unfortunately for Leonard though, revoking the Roommate Agreement doesn't rid him of Sheldon's craziness, as he's doing everything in his power to reinstate their friendship. And power is actually the right word here, since this is what he cuts in order to create a crisis and make Leonard realize he needs him in his life. It's actually adorable to see Sheldon try to win his friend back, even if he won't admit it for the world.
Together with the Roommate Agreement, it was great to see the friendship between Sheldon and Leonard be tested. It's been too long since this hasn't happened and I almost forgot how hilarious their banters were. The only thing that would have made this even funnier would be if Sheldon got sick.
My favorite scene was Sheldon trying to get one of the other members of the gang to take him to the dentist, getting new heels put on dress shoes, dermatologist, allergist, podiatrist, Super Cuts and Ikea. It was his idea about what a girlfriend's role in his life would be that got me laughing so hard that I probably even scared my deaf turtle.
And how adorable are Leonard and Penny, right? Their beta test is so funny and so well done, that I am ready to give up my fears regarding the 2.0 not being interesting anymore. Wine and bubble wrap? Sing me in any time.
In a secondary plot, Howard's going into space is once again brought into discussion as he tries to find a cool nickname for him and convince the other astronauts to give it to him. Unfortunately, his mother's involvement in his life goes farther than making him breakfast and taking him to the dentist, so now he's Howard "Fruit Loops" Wolowitz. And isn't that weirdly appropriate?
Some other hilarious moments: the Toy Story references and Raj not knowing who Buzz Aldrin was (though isn't he an astrophysicist?); Sheldon's quarterly emergency drills. taking place, of course, in the middle of the night; Sheldon's continuous inability to understand how a romantic relationship functions ("Wine and a girl in the dark ... he's going to be bored out of his mind."); Leonard's bigger and cooler glowstick (who knew Star Wars props can be used during a power outage?).

The Big Bang Theory 5x14: The Beta Test Initiation

Back to Season 5

New Girl 1x11: Jess and Julia

2012-02-01T16:07:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 31 January 2012

Storyline: Nick panics when Julia doesn't want to put a label on their relationship. Meanwhile, Jess enlists Julia to help her get out of a traffic ticket, Winston reconnects with a former booty call and Schmidt is baffled as to why his shower towel is always damp.

Trivia: Jess's ticket has it written out that she is driving a 2006 Ford coupe, when she drives an older Volvo station wagon.

Best Quote:
Julia: You never know, a judge might buy into this whole thing, so..
Jess: What whole thing?
Julia: Your whole thing. With the cupcakes and the breaking for birds, and the bluebirds come and help me dress in the morning!
Jess: Oh wow, I didn't know I was doing a thing.
Julia: It's a great thing. The big beautiful blue eyes. I bet that gets you out of a lot of things.
Jess: Yeah, except my peripheral vision is almost too good.

She's Adorkable!: I'm about to go pay this fine, and my checks have baby farm animals on them, bitch!

The Douche Factor: Can someone please get my towel? It's in my room next to my Irish walking cape!

Review: Nick is officially out of my cute guys list. Why, you will ask? Well, the reason is very simple: how can you not wash your towels, man? That's just fundamentally wrong! And it's also one of the best ways to get rid of a girl, since nothing can gross a woman more than dirty linen. If I were Julia, I'd run away as fast as I can and I'm not saying that because I hate her.
Though to be honest, I'm a bit like Nick in that I went to law school and I still hate lawyers and couldn't live that life. And I may not rock a lot of polka dots, but I still love fun colorful skirts and desserts. Especially desserts.
This week's episode was mostly about Jess versus Julia, or the clash of the ladies. Opposite of her character on True Blood, Lizzy Caplan's Julia is so judgmental that I'd like to throw her out the window at some point. So when she dares to tell Jess that she has a "thing" - which, frankly, brought a smile on my face as I imagined Amy Adams in Enchanted being dressed up by birds - it was hard not to expect a less subtle battle coming up at some point. Especially since girls fight differently than guys and they hold grudges over the tiniest of things.
Jess is quirky and not everyone likes that, but this was the first time someone really hated her for her quirks. But what people may not have seen before is that behind all her weirdness, Jess is a person who knows how to fight back and her speech to Julia made me applaud. You have to admire someone who can be tough even though she wears short colorful skirts and has checks with baby farm animals on them, which she is not afraid to use to pay an $800 fine. Or crochet, for that matter.
One of my favorite moments was Cece defending her friend and wearing the ribbon hat. Even if Jess didn't really need defending. as weird as the friendship between the two may seem, I love it mainly because they are so different.
Returning to Julia, the relationship between her and Nick is far from being perfect. Their stubbornness in not labeling it was less sophisticated and more childish and ended up with both of them crying in the bathroom. And with Nick making a lot, and I mean a lot of turtle faces throughout the half hour. If I made a drinking game out of it, I'd be unable to type right now.
Winston and Schmidt had their own arcs as well. While Winston discovered he doesn't have any game and tried to rekindle the relationship with his old booty call, Schmidt's problem was damp towels. And, while I'm glad Winston is finally going to get some, I was definitely more amused by the towel issue, one I could relate with. That's one of the reasons I decided to give up roommates and live alone: I hate damp towels and definitely hate someone else using mine.
Some other fun moments: Jess running into the bathroom and calling Schmidt "daddy"; Schmidt finding one of Jess' tampons in the watermelon-themed apron's pocket; the explanation on how Jess got the speeding ticket in the first place. And, most of all, crochet time!

New Girl 1x10: The Story of the 50

Back to Season 1

Ringer 1x11: It Just Got Normal

2012-02-01T05:33:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 31 January 2012

Storyline: Bridget offers to host a fundraiser that her friend Greer is holding for Juliet's school and discovers that Greer knew one of Siobhan's deep dark secrets. While back in New York, Siobhan discovers that Bridget has settled into her former life more easily than Siobhan expected and she is determined to change that.

Best Quote:
Machado: How does a stripper from Wyoming hook up with a retired cop from Brooklyn?

Review: After a long hiatus, Ringer returns with an amazing episode, one full of suspense, great interactions between the characters and one Siobhan Martin deciding to mess with her sister's new snug life in more ways than one.
So far, Bridget and her struggles to adapt to her sister's life were the focus of this show and I really wanted to see more of the evil twin, because villains almost always make the more interesting characters. And despite the soap-opera air that this series is displaying right now, having Siobhan back in New York has taken things to a whole new level of intensity, especially that now things "just got normal", as Juliet put it, and nothing really exciting was going on with Bridget and Andrew.
Siobhan's end game is still an unknown. She revealed to look for information about her husband's affairs, believing he was issuing a different set of statements to his investors and keeping the real ones for himself. But what will she do with this, moving on? Use them to blackmail Martin/Charles, probably, but you never know, with Siobhan.
But she did more than just break into Andrew's computer - in his house, with Bridget there, even - after returning to New York. Seeing how happy her sister is with Andrew must have been disconcerting, but was taking the ring just a way to create problems between the couple of does she have another plan? Like sell it and get her hands on the money she desperately needs? (By the way, the moment I saw Andrew give Bridget that ring, I knew it was going to be cause for trouble; it always is...)
It wasn't enough for Siobhan to mess with her sister and her husband, though. She couldn't help it but make contact with Henry, who must be the most confused person in the world right now. One minute the woman he had an affair with dismisses him without giving him the time of day and the next she tells him she loves him. Of course, he doesn't know they are two different people and I can't wait to see how Siobhan explains to him her moody behavior. Will she tell him the truth about her sister and about the baby? Or will she just use Henry to mess Bridget's life even more?
Talking about Bridget, she may have found a new friend in Greer Sheridan, played by the lovely Mädchen Amick. But Greer is someone who knows Siobhan's most treasured secret - her affair with Henry, and it was the reason why the two stopped being friends a while back. So, while I thing Bridget really needs a friend, especially after what happened with Gemma, I'm not ready to take her for granted.
Meanwhile, with Henry not happy about the results of the investigation into his wife's death, agent Machado is trying to put the pieces together regarding the possible connection between Bridget and John Delario, but his trip to the Hamptons led him to a discovery that will most certainly make him watch the Martins even closer.
And what about Juliet? Just before the show's hiatus, she was telling her friend about how Mr. Carpenter forced himself on her. I'm still debating whether she's telling the truth or not, but that's just because I like Jason Dohring so much; her behavior points towards her telling the truth and her reaction to the entire school finding out about it was exactly the one any teenager wanting to fit in would have. But you have to give it to Bridget: she did exactly what any mother would do, though I might have done something more than just punch him in the nose.
As always, Ringer left us with a lot of questions, and the one I mostly want to find the answer to is whether Siobhan will reveal to Henry the truth about her sister and about her pregnancy. After all, it's about time for her baby bump to show, don't you think?

Ringer 1x10: That's What You Get for Trying to Kill Me
Back to Season 1

[H]ouse 8x10: Runaways

2012-01-31T11:49:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 30 January 2012

Storyline: The team treats an underage and homeless female patient, but when her symptoms worsen and call for an invasive surgery requiring adult consent, House and Adams argue over whether they should contact social services. The patient confesses that she ran away from home after struggling to take care of her mother, a recovering drug addict. But when her mother appears at her bedside, a more complicated relationship is revealed and the patient's mother must put the past aside and make the best decision for her daughter. Meanwhile, Taub has a difficult time connecting with his infant daughters and House threatens to exploit Foreman's relationship with a married woman.

Trivia: Shells do not pop out of a shotgun after they have been fired. It is necessary to remove them by hand unless they are installed in a mechanism that expels them mechanically following their detonation.
House is eferencing Mommie Dearest, a 1981 film about actress Joan Crawford and her adopted daughter's efforts to please her. It was based on the 1978 book written by her daughter, Christina Crawford.

Best Quote:
Adams: Do you think people can change?
Chase: No. But I don't think that's gonna change your opinion, because... people don't change.

Review: It's not always that House gets involved in a patient's life. In fact, more times than not, he's not even meeting his patients face to face, caring more about the puzzle than about them as persons. It's one of his defining traits. So watching him actually take an interest in someone's life, beyond their illness, was a surprise and a good one, in my books.
The patient is an underage girl who ran away from home because of her mother's drug addiction and who is doing pretty well on her own, living in a foreclosed house, having enough food and water and going to school - even making captain of the volleyball team. In House's books, this means she's better off without her mom, who could only stand in her daughter's way of living a good life. And I'm on House's side on this one. I'm one of those people who don't believe a blood tie entitles one to the right of making decisions or even being in someone's life if they're not wanted. If a person is better off without their biological family around, then by God, let them be.
Of course, this doesn't stand well will everyone on House's team. While Park rationalizes that there are people who need their parents and people who don't and Chase prefers to stay away, Adams and Taub think social services need to be called and the mother needs to be involved in the medical decisions regarding Callie. It's something one would expect from Taub, being a parent himself, but Adams is simply too moralizing to make me like her. She's the worst combination of Cameron, Masters and Thirteen and, unfortunately, she only took the shooting skills from Olivia Wilde's character. And while Cameron was endearing for the most part and I loved Master's banters with her boss, Adams is simply annoying and she's ruining any pleasure I have watching this show, which is unfortunate, because House was just starting to get good again.
For the most part, I enjoyed this episode and House's sort of attachment to Callie, even if he wouldn't admit to it. What I didn't care for were the secondary plots - Foreman's affair with the lovely, but completely useless Anita, and Taub's inability to bond with his daughters. Yes, all children are boring. But you contributed to their being in this world, so get over it. One would think that, with not one, but two baby girls, Taub would be busier though...
Also, I would have liked to see Wilson more involved and not only stand aside and comment on House's interest in his patient's life. But he did have a fun moment when Taub started asking him about bonding with his patients. I loved his "I also have kind eyes" reply. He can be subtly snarky at times.
There wasn't much development regarding the characters, other than confirming that Adams is the most annoying female ever in this show. But, for the most part, I had fun watching this episode, though at this point I can't wait to get to the very advertised ones centered on Chase.

[H]ouse 8x09: Better Half

Back to Season 8

Hart of Dixie 1x12: Mistress and Misunderstandings

2012-01-31T09:15:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 30 January 2012

Storyline: Zoe is so uncharacteristically happy as of late that it causes her friends to speculate as to the possible reason behind her new attitude. Turns out that Zoe is hiding her new friendship with AnnaBeth, who doesn't want Lemon to find out since Zoe is Lemon's sworn enemy. Lemon campaigns to become the Belles' new Memory Matron, but she has to overcome a few obstacles to secure the honored position.

Best Quote:
Wade: You, uh, avoiding anyone in particular?
Zoe: People who are nice to me. Because then I feel obligated to be nice back...which makes you the perfect person to be around.
Wade: I will take that as compliment.
Zoe: Go suck a rock.
Wade: That's my girl. Feel better?
Zoe: A little bit, yeah.

Review: Does anyone else look at Zoe and Wade and have Gilmore Girls flashbacks? Not that I mind, really, since GG is one of my favorite series ever, and just thinking about it makes me look up my old DVDs and watch it all over again, but I'm afraid that people may get impatient with this will-they-won't-they game and stop watching the show. Though, for me, it's really entertaining having Wade act like a little boy who is in love for the first time in his life and has no idea how to act around the girl of his dreams.
And mostly, that's the exact situation. Wade may seem confident enough to lure random women into his bed (and Lavon's kitchen), but I doubt he's ever had a real relationship (even though he's been married once). Plus, he's clearly out of her league and it's natural to feel threatened by the handsome veterinarian, who isn't even all that good at flirting.
But, while it's really fun to watch Wade pine after the cute doctor, and Zoe keep treating him badly, I was ready to see their relationship going somewhere, especially since Zoe seemed open to give it a shot just two episodes back. Plus, I thought Judson was already old news and I'm not too happy about bringing him back, especially since I hated Wes Brown's character on True Blood. Plus, the complete lack of chemistry between Zoe and Judson makes all this look a little bit like a desperate attempt from the showrunners to put an obstacle between her and Wade and unfortunately the vet is neither Max Medina nor Christopher.
With that out of my mind, let's turn to the main arc of the week, which is Zoe's clandestine relationship with... AnnaBeth. I am one of those people who don't really get this kind of girl bonding, or the need to have a girlfriend and talk about boys and makeup all the time, especially not after you get out of your teens. And it's something I've never expected out of Zoe either. And that is just one of the reasons why I found her sneaking around completely ridiculous. The story was perfect to bring out Wade's lack of confidence (though him thinking Zoe didn't like him didn't feel real, given the past interactions between them), but also perfect to show us just how important stupid institutions like the Memory Matrons are in the South.
I cannot, for the life of me, understand this kind of politics. But for some unknown reason it is really important for Lemon to look pretty and throw cute luncheons with centerpieces made with a lot of ribbons, which is why she acted crazier than ever when the time came for a new Memory Matron to be selected. Her behavior made me question, yet again, the relationship between her and George, more specifically, how in the world is this guy able to stand her squeals, be them good or bad, and her mood changes over trivial things like petit fours. But maybe his heart to heart with his enemy, Lawrence Lee, made him realize that, even if it's just in the back of his mind right now.
George was, weirdly (and I say that because I normally don't like the guy), the one to generate some of my favorite scenes of this installment, like the one where he makes fun of Lemon's dinner, the bar scene, but most of all, the one where he finally puts the foot down and tells his fiance he will not tolerate her blackmailing Delia Ann. And just as I was accusing him of not having balls!
So overall, despite the cute-ish Wade scenes (but honestly, dude, don't comb your hair, it looks stupid!) and George's reclaimed manhood, this episode was full of ridiculous stuff (like Delia Ann having an affair with the shrimp guy...) which made me scream at the screen. And I really hope this Zoe/Judson thing doesn't last for too long.

Hart of Dixie 1x11: Hell's Belles

Back to Season 1

The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

2012-01-30T12:03:00.000-08:00

This time without any commentary, here are the nominees and the winners of the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards for television - the awards that the actors give to themselves. And it's without commentary because you all know by now what I would have liked the winners to be. But congrats to Kate Winslet, at least she deserved it.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES

Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Dexter
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES

30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
The Office

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Patrick J. Adams - Suits
Steve Buscemi - Boardwalk Empire
Kyle Chandler - Friday Night Lights
Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall - Dexter

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Kathy Bates - Harry's Law
Glenn Close - Damages
Jessica Lange - American Horror Story
Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife
Kyra Sedgwick - The Closer

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock
Ty Burrell - Modern Family
Steve Carell - The Office
Jon Cryer - Two and a Half Men
Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Julie Bowen - Modern Family
Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey - 30 Rock
Sofia Vergara - Modern Family
Betty White - Hot in Cleveland

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES

Lawrence Fishburne - Thurgood
Paul Giamatti - Too Big to Fail
Greg Kinnear - The Kennedys
Guy Pearce - Mildred Pierce
James Woods - Too Big to Fail

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES

Diane Lane - Cinema Verite
Maggie Smith - Downton Abbey
Emily Watson - Appropriate Adult
Betty White - Hallmark Hall of Fame: The Lost Valentine
Kate Winslet - Mildred Pierce

Once Upon a Time 1x11: Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

2012-01-30T11:30:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 29 January 2012

Storyline: A dejected Sidney enlists the aid of Emma to help uncover evidence that could expose Regina as the corrupt person she really is to the townspeople of Storybrooke. Mary Margaret and David continue their secret rendezvous while trying to figure out a way to unleash their unrequited love. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale land that was, King Leopold, Snow White's father, stumbles upon a magic lamp and is granted three wishes by a Genie - who warns the king to be careful what he wishes for.

Trivia: Behind the opening title, the Genie can be seen.
It's confirmed that the Evil Queen's name is Regina in the storybook world as well.
The Genie's home country of Agrabah, and the bracers as a token of his enslavement, are taken from the Disney movie Aladdin (1992).

Best Quote:
Genie: Such a lovely tree.
Evil Queen: Yes, it's from my childhood garden. The tree and I share something in common. Neither of us can leave the palace and neither of us truly belongs.

Review: I'm not a fan of Sidney Glass' character, which is probably why I didn't particularly likes this episode. I know I've seen Giancarlo Esposito before this series, but for the life of me I can't remember where or whether he could act or not, but I can say that I don't find him at all believable here, not as the Genie/Magic Mirror, nor as his Storybrooke counterpart. And figuring out from the beginning that he was just playing Emma made me lose interest in this plot right away.
Unfortunately, Jennifer Morrison is not all that likable herself. Other than wearing the same jeans day in and day out, her poor acting makes Emma's attempts to bond with Henry seem desperate. I had hoped she would find the proper rhythm and I still think she's the weak link of the show, otherwise filled with great performances.
Equally desperate was Emma's attempt to show Storybrooke who Regina really is. In her desire to free her son from his adoptive mother's cage, she managed to give the mayor the upper hand in this confrontation. If not for Morrison's bad acting, I'd be really excited for the character's development; still, I can't wait to see what Emma will now to to reclaim her right to spend time with Henry.
More exciting than what was happening in Maine was the Genie's story from the fairytale world. Released by King Leopold, Show White's father, he fell in love with Regina and, thinking she was loving him back, he helped her kill the king. The lamp genie's appearance was a surprising one, as I hadn't expected a character from "1001 Nights" to pop up in what was a rather European environment. However, he brought up the "be careful what you wish for" saying, which was the motto of this week's episode. His journey from the imprisoned lamp genie to Regina's slave for all eternity made him see the truth in his own words: "In my time, I have granted 1,001 wishes, and I have seen them end poorly 1,001 times. Making a wish comes with a price...". It's what Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold have been saying ever since the beginning of this show and what both the genie and Emma discovered during this installment.
For a while there, I understood Regina's actions back in the fairytale world - she was in love with a man who could have never loved her back, because he was still hung up on his first wife. All she wanted was her freedom from what I see as a pretty cruel husband, who may love his daughter immensely, but should pay more attention to his wife. It is always great to see Regina's vulnerable side, behind all the plotting and scheming, and Lana Parilla was amazing in making the transition from the hurt wife to the Evil Queen. But what I'm most interested to find out is why did the Evil Queen hate Snow White so much, aside from the "fairest of all the land" thing; it's been alluded that Snow had betrayed a secret of hers at one point and I really hope this is revealed soon.
Other stuff: Mary Margaret and David have dived, eyes-closed, into a clandestine affair which may be romantic, but it's still under Regina's eyes and she will never let Snow White and Prince Charming get their happy ending, no matter in what world is this going on.
Plus, the stranger stealing Henry's book is a headscratcher. I can't wait to see his story unfold. His presence in Storybrooke and the interest he takes in Henry is the most intriguing arc at this point.

Once Upon a Time 1x10: 7:15 A.M.

Back to Season 1

The Good Wife 3x14: Another Ham Sandwich

2012-01-30T05:26:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 29 January 2012

Storyline: With her investigation complete, Special Prosecutor Wendy Scott-Carr presents her evidence against Will to the grand jury in hopes of sending him to prison for bribery. Meanwhile, Eli and Stacie Hall square off once again.

Best Quote:
Wendy Scott-Carr: Have you ever been to one of Mr. Gardner's pickup games?
Diane: No

Wendy Scott-Carr: Why not?

Diane: I don't play basketball.

Wendy Scott-Carr: Has he asked you to go?

Diane: Uh, yes.

Wendy Scott-Carr: And why did he ask you to go if you didn't play basketball?

Diane: He said it was a good place, uh, to meet judges and prosecutors who matter. For example, Peter Florrick, the current State's Attorney, often participated in the pickup games.

Wendy Scott-Carr: But you decided not to go to these games. Now, wasn't that because you thought there was something corrupt about these relationships?

Diane: No. Oddly, it was because I didn't play basketball.

Review: We've heard about the State's Attorney's office talking about prosecuting Will on account of his supposedly bribing judges for most of this season and I was starting to wonder if something was ever going to happen about it or if it was just a way to rise the tension around Lockhart/Gardner. Well, the day has come for Will to appear in front of a grand jury and it was also the day to see Kalinda really shine. We've been wondering where her loyalties laid - if they were with the firm or with Alicia, who was Wendy Scott-Carr's latest tool in finding evidence against Will Gardner.
I had fun watching the prosecution's case crumble like a house made out of cards with every witness they brought on the stand. Elsbeth Tascioni's strategy, to bring Peter's name up whenever possible, was a brilliant one that eventually paid off. Of course, I don't buy into the jury not knowing who Peter Florrick was: for one thing, he was indicated as being the State's Attorney multiple times during the interrogations, and secondly, the scandal surrounding him was so big that anyone would have heard about him. But, because I like Will so much, I was jittery with pleasure whenever Wendy Scott-Carr found herself out of words, as the evidence she so carefully collected turned out to be nothing but a carefully spread net from Kalinda.
Going after Alicia and making her admit on the stand that she had a relationship with Will was a low move, one that not even Peter, with all his rage against his rival, wouldn't have resorted to. But one of the best moments of the week was hearing Peter finally admit it: it was all about his wife's relationship with her boss. The interactions between Alicia and Peter are far and between, but because of this, they are always perfectly choreographed, and tension has been rising between the two with each day that passed. Seeing them finally putting the cards on the table was a great moment and I'm sure, a defining one for how things will be between them from now on.
As much as I enjoyed watching Will's grand jury and everything surrounding it, Eli's arc was equally entertaining. He may be a great crisis manager, but he's also a little boy at times, which made Alicia's question - "So, who are we acting out against, Eli?" - all the more fun. I'm not a fan of Amy Sedaris' character, but it's always great to watch them square off and always wonder who will come out as the victor. And Eli may have won the contest to getting the GLAC account, but Stacy Hall running the campaign for his ex-wife gave her the last smile. The only thing I wasn't down with was the two of them having sex. If that was just a way of having Eli get laid, it was a bad idea, in my books.
Some other stuff: did that slap come out as believable? Not for me. Both Kalinda and Dana knew they were playing each other, so I didn't understand the point of that scene. I would have liked to see more of Elsbeth instead. Also, will Wendy Scott-Carr really report Will to the bar association? I hope now, but hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and not only losing in such a lame way, but being dismissed by Peter certainly made her scorned. And Alicia dodged a bullet with Will winning, but how long can she keep her relationship from her kids, especially now, that Peter has confirmation?

The Good Wife 3x13: Bitcoin for Dummies

Back to Season 3

Chuck Versus the World

2012-01-29T06:13:00.000-08:00

Chuck is over. Done. History. But for millions of people around the world, it will be the greatest show ever made. Me, I've criticized it multiple times, especially in this last season, mainly because of the problems with continuity, the bad choices in selecting the plots and the awfulness of Sarah, whom I never got to warm up to, but a lot of its problems have come from not knowing if there is going to be a next season and the changes in the writers' room, something that has happened almost every summer.

But there are a lot, and I mean a lot of reasons why I loved Chuck and why it's a show that has never been made before. And if there's something hard to do in the TV world, it's coming up with something original.

First and foremost, Chuck brought the underdog in the spotlight and showed that every nerd, every underachiever can become, if given the chance, great. And can get the girl. Of course, the question of wanting a plastic blonde barbie is debatable, but there have been others, like the sweet salami-girl Lou, the dangerous but gorgeous spy Jill and the sexy nerd herder Hannah.

Chuck's originality didn't come, though, from the mere fact that it's a show about nerds. It's not the only one and definitely not the best. It came from the ability to mix action a la Alias with great comedy, generated mostly by its amazing supporting cast, and with a lot of heart. Saying it invented a new genre may be a little bit much, but what is important - and new - is that all the three elements got equal focus, so you really can't define this series as an action one or a comedy one or a romantic one.

Speaking about the cast, it was so perfectly selected that I don't really have complaints. OK, I do, I don't think Yvonne Strahovski could act if she were held at gun point, but all the others were so great, that unless she did something really annoying, I could simply ignore her entirely. Zachary Levi was simply amazing and he got to be, towards the end, the perfect combination of nerd and hunk (which is why it also made my list of sexiest crime fighters), so adorable that I can even forgive his love of Star Wars. And, of course, we had Joshua Gomez as the sometimes annoying, but never boring Morgan, Vik Sahay and Scott Krinsky as the world's greatest and weirdest two-man band, Jeffster, and the always entertaining Adam Baldwin, who took being a ruthless spy to a whole new level.

The show gave us great guest cast as well, including some very entertaining villains, from Brandon Routh's Daniel Shaw, the bad guy any girl would want to have in her bedroom, to Timothy Dalton's Alexei Volkoff and Chevy Chase's Ted Roark. Plus Matt Bomer, Scott Bakula, Carrie-Anne Moss, Kristin Kreuk, Linda Hamilton, Morgan Fairchild, Rachel Bilson, Armand Assante, Angus Macfadyen, John Larroquette, Richard Chamberlain... the list is so long that I will never finish it if I don't stop here.

The story was captivating, keeping us on out toes with great action, especially when you got to see a guy move from being the king of the nerds to the most dangerous spy in the world in just a flash. We never got bored and that's a big thing to say about a show that could have easily become predictable. I may not have liked every arc and every turn of events, but at least I was always caught by surprise.

Some other great stuff:

the constant references to nerdy stuff like Indiana Jones
the original opening credits
great music
the footlongs
great finales and cliffhangers

Of course, there are things I hated about the show, but I won't go into those any more. Let us just be grateful that we were given such an amazing series and keep watching the reruns and enjoy all the fun stuff about it.

Sexiest TV Crime Fighters - The Hunks

2012-01-28T19:30:00.000-08:00

They are cute, they have godly bodies and they fight against crime. They may not make enough money to take you to Bora Bora, but they surely make a girl's most desired fantasy. After long deliberations, here are my top choices for the sexiest crime fighters in present and past TV shows.

Chuck 5x13: Chuck vs. the Goodbye

2012-01-28T13:57:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 27 January 2012

Storyline: Chuck enlists the help of his family, friends, and even the employees of the Buy More to stop Nicholas Quinn from destroying everything they have.

Best Quote:
Morgan: Run to her.
Casey: I'm a Casey, I don't run. I stalk my prey.

Review: After five seasons, some would say magical, the TV show that threw the internet in a frenzy no other show has done before came to an end. No more Chuck, no more fighting for renewing it, but a finale that will make the chucksters have something to talk about for a good while. Because, as annoying as this last season was, "Chuck vs. the Goodbye" redeemed it.
The only complaint I have is that the ending was half-predictable. But I will stop here with the ranting.
This was, finally, Carmichael Industries' last mission. Going after Quinn - which still didn't rise up to my expectations on how a series finale villain should be like - brought everyone together, working to save the world one last time. Just as it was supposed to be. But the best thing was not Mary Bartowski's short appearance, nor the action scenes, not even Chuck getting the Intersect back; it was Jeffster rocking it in the concert hall, keeping the bomb from exploding. That was indeed epic!
I loved that the episode went back to basics. As per the show's creators, even the music that was played in the Mexican restaurant was the same one as the one playing on Chuck and Sarah's first date. And bringing back the Fulcrum and Ring agents, Irene Demova and, more importantly, the beach where Chuck and Sarah had their first honest conversation made this installment the perfect finale. I was more than glad we didn't get that "5 years later" crap where Chuck and Sarah are shown living in their dream house with a bunch a blonde babies running around. Not knowing if Sarah got her memories back, but having her and Chuck find a way to talk to each other and laugh together was the better option. I must admit, I was on the edge waiting to see what would happen in the end, if Sarah will miraculously remember everything or not. Thank God she didn't though, that would have been too much of a stretch.
So show ended just the way it started - with Chuck getting the Intersect. It would have been a lot better if he had the Intersect all along, we would have been spared the ever so annoying Morgan becoming even more of a douchebag, but Chuck getting it in this episode instead of using it to restore Sarah's memories was great. I was afraid he would chose her instead of saving Beckman and then this review would have had an entirely different tone.
But what about the others? Well, this finale saw the Woodcombs going Midwest to make a new life for themselves, far away from sunny California and the soy business; Jeffster finally found celebrity, with a German manager telling them that "Women and men will adore you."; Big Mike remained as clueless as ever, and Casey rode away into the sunset looking for Verbanski, with the blessing of his daughter, who moved in together with Morgan.
So that's all, folks! Chuck has closed its gates but will forever remain the show that took being a nerd to the next level. My Fridays will be less exciting and I will no longer have debates on whether Sarah is a great character or just a blonde plastic girl. Or whether Morgan is cool or merely annoying. But before I end this review, I will just leave you with one thought: don't you think Jeffster is the best spy couple ever?

Chuck 5x12: Chuck vs. Sarah

Back to Season 5

Chuck 5x12: Chuck vs. Sarah

2012-01-28T11:49:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 27 January 2012

Storyline: Sarah keeps an important secret from Chuck in order to insure the success of a mission. Ellie and Awesome receive some life-changing news.

Review: I don't know what I was expecting going into the two-hour finale of Chuck. Maybe redemption for an awful last season that left me wondering what happened with the show that turned the world into mass-hysteria. Maybe, give the events from last week's episode, an action-packed installment that would put this show right up there, next to the best of its genre. Unfortunately, "Chuck vs. Sarah" managed to be more of a soap-opera than anything else. Bare in mind that I will review each of the two finale episodes separately and at this moment I haven't watched the last one.
So, Sarah has the Intersect and she doesn't remember who she is. And last week's hour ended with her receiving the mission to kill Chuck because he's a traitor and a threat to national security. With this premise in mind, I was going into the finale excited, for two reasons at least: Quinn had managed to transform into an opponent worthy of a series finale and Sarah going after the love of her life should make for an exciting, action-packed, emotional and thrilling episode. Instead, Quinn failed to deliver, reversing to just a villain who was in no way the admirable one I had hoped for. And the rest... well, it was nothing more than the oh-so-dreaded soap-opera.
I know Chuck fans will hate me for this. I'm not a die-hard fan of this series, in fact, I found it fun overall, but nothing too exciting; the combination of comedy and action is a cool one, especially when you add up the nerd factor, but at some point, at least one of the characters has managed to disappoint me and when you only love one of the many - and not even a lead one - it's clear that the show will never be one of your favorites.
The reason I talked about the characters is because I will say again how annoying Sarah has been throughout the five seasons. There were a few times when I started to warm up to her, but she just seems entirely fake all the time, no matter how much she tries. Sarah is at her best when she's a heartless killer so forgive me if I say that I don't buy her tears when watching the tape detailing her Chuck mission.
But let's detail the episode because if I start ranting about her, I will never stop. With Sarah going after Chuck, you'd think you'd have enough thrill to compensate for the lack of it throughout this last season. Unfortunately, I didn't feel any of it. It would have been so much better if Sarah were the one to push the button, effectively blowing the Intersect room (and her hubby) up, or if Chuck were to really get shot in the back in the end. But, other than a really cool fight scene where she took care of the guards at the CIA facility, nothing else impressed me.
Moving on to the comedy part, as annoying as Morgan is 90% of the time, his Hogwarts reference when he discovered the invisibility cloak was the best thing this rather mediocre episode had to deliver.
Otherwise, we had to watch Chuck cry for half of the episode and trust me when I say that Zachary Levi's face is not cute at all when he cries. This was too much of a Desperate Housewives-kind of drama for me and I just started doing something work related in parallel, to stop myself from cringing every time he tried to convince his wife that their love is eternal.
Going to watch the finale now and I really, really hope it will be better. I hate it when I waste time with a TV show just to be disappointed in the end.

Chuck 5x11: Chuck vs. the Bullet Train

Back to Season 5
Chuck 5x13: Chuck vs. the Goodbye

The Big Bang Theory 5x14: The Beta Test Initiation

2012-01-28T08:26:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 26 January 2012

Storyline: Leonard and Penny develop a system to insure their dates go smoothly. Raj finally finds a woman he can talk to - the virtual assistant on his mobile phone. Sheldon finds a new passion.

Best Quote:
Penny: You mean like a beta test?
Leonard: Well, technically, this would be an alpha test. A beta test requires people that weren't involved in the development of the appli....
Penny: Seriously, do I not get credit for knowing beta test?
Leonard: No, absolutely you should.

The Science: Vexillology is the study of flags.

Review: It's been too long since we haven't watched an episode that wasn't divided between the girls and the guys. I'm one of those fans who think that the addition of Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch has been a beneficial one to the show; I'm not saying that I was getting bored of it before, but who doesn't love the Shamy, for example? But dividing the storylines between the two groups wasn't always a good idea, as it deprived us of the classic Penny/Sheldon banters and other things like that.
"The Beta Test Initiation" continued the arc started in the show's 100th episode, the recombination as they put it - Leonard and Penny contemplating the possibility of getting back together. I am a big shipper of this pairing (though I hate this word with the power of a thousand suns). But one thing I don't want happening is have a will-they-won't-they that will last until the end of the series. If they are going to put them together again, then by God, let them be together until the end! The last thing I want is another Rachel/Ross soap-opera!
Leonard and Penny's beta test has been a fun ride, especially since I can relate with the "bug reports"and from experience I can tell you that no matter how much you keep on saying that one shouldn't get mad, it almost never ends up well. But how can you not laugh at Leonard's color coded one? "Uh, red means 'fix right away.' Yellow is 'eh, whenever you get a chance.' And green, is 'I could probably learn to live with it.'" Some other hilarious moments were Penny's own bug report, listing Leonard's eyebrows as stupid, and Penny's knowledge of the typical development for computer software. Plus, what woman wouldn't fall all over again for her next door neighbor if he took her to the shooting range?
But the episode was not all Penny and Leonard. "The Beta Test Initiation" saw Raj finally finding a woman he can talk to, as well as another classic Sheldon moment - his YouTube 52-week series "Fun with Flags". Now, is there anyone else thinking this should be a real TV show? I would like to see the full episode with Amy dressed up as a pretzel.
But the best this about this week's installment, at least in my humble opinion, has been Raj's arc. I've been complaining since the beginning that Raj is not used enough and, when he is, he has some crappy arc where he sounds gayer than Bruno, but he was finally avenged with his new romantic relationship. If anyone would be prone to falling for Siri - a.k.a. the new iPhone's voice recognition software, it would have been him. And everything is even more hilarious when you add Sheldon's approval into the mix: "Well done, Dr. Koothrappali. You've taken a great evolutionary leap by abandoning human interaction and allowing yourself to romantically bond with a soulless machine. Kudos." Throwing Kripke in there was the icing on the cake.
So kudos from my part as well for a great episode, one that will make my list of the best BBT installments.

The Big Bang Theory 5x13: The Recombination Hypothesis

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The Big Bang Theory 5x15: The Friendship Contraction

Criminal Minds 7x12: Unknown Subject

2012-01-26T15:35:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 25 January 2012

Storyline: The BAU team searches for a serial rapist in Houston known as "The Piano Man", who has resurfaced and is assaulting his previous victims. Also, Prentiss tries to come to terms with her trauma from last year and with rejoining the team.

Trivia: The character names Regina Lampert and Hamilton Bartholomew were also characters in the film Charade (1963), starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.
This episode marks the 150th episode of the series.

Best Quote:
Reid: Fourteen is when we start to make our own musical choices. Our cognitive development evolves at that age and we start to form our own cultural identity.
Morgan: We stop listening to the music that our parents played and we start listening to the music that our friends listen to.
Reid: Our musical experiences imprint on us. Our hormonal surges as teenagers may make the choices seem more personal and passionate, and later on in life we might experiment with other musical selections. But no music ever impacts us as much as that we listen to at age 14.

Intro: "We do not suffer from the shock of our trauma, but we make out of it just what suits our purposes." Alfred Adler. (Hotch)

Outro: "All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on." Henry Ellis. (Prentiss)

Review: First, let me start by giving my congratulations to this show, that has reached its 150th episode. Let's hope we will get many many more and that the current cast will not be messed with ever again. Even though JJ annoys me a little bit this season; it's like they changed the character to make the fans not like her so that they can get rid of AJ Cook for good.
Secondly, I was more than excited to see Dina Meyer guest star as Regina Lampert, the serial rapist's first victim and the one who, eventually, led the FBI to the Piano Man by taking some extreme actions. I just love the actress ever since I've seen her in that stupid Starship Troopers movie, so her presence here was just one more reason for me to be jittery.
The plot - or plots, if you may - were yet another element that got me all excited. As you can imagine, one has high expectations from their favorite procedural show when it hits 150 and this one didn't let me down one bit, not even the focus on Prentiss and her issues with faking her death and all. It was bound to be revisited at some point and I actually love the more personal focus of this season.
But I won't dwell on that and jump right into the case, which was again very unique. Not only was it about a serial rapist - when this show usually handled murders and such, but the originality came from two directions. The first one is the UnSub's modus operandi, in which he was drugging the victims with cigarettes, using piano wires to tie them and was raping them while playing some piano ballad for the entire time (song that was different with each victim - and I will never be able to listen to "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with the same pleasure ever again); the second, the UnSub having a copycat that was raping the Piano Man's victims, and actually setting this copycat up to take the fall for him. Also an original element - the BAU revisiting an old case where they didn't catch the UnSub (definitely something new for them).
So the investigation was a lot of fun to watch and offered so many twists that you didn't really know what to believe. I swear, at one point, when Hamilton Bartholomew talked about Regina's scars, I actually thought she was the one drugging and raping (or something) those women.
Favorite moments: Reid's lesson about how the music we listen to when we're 14 sticks with us forever (so that's why I still love glam metal!); Garcia putting herself in Hotch's shoes by imagining herself in a really good suit; Prentiss' new boyfriend, Sergio - "the perfect man. He doesn't hog the covers, and he poops in a box."; and Hotch's ability to see through Emily's lies, even those that the FBI psychologist didn't detect.

Criminal Minds 7x11: True Genius

Back to Season 7

[H]ouse 8x09: Better Half

2012-01-24T16:16:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 23 January 2012

Storyline: An Alzheimer's patient visits Princeton Plainsboro as part of a hospital sanctioned drug trial, but when he inexplicably suffers from violent vomiting and an increasingly explosive temper, the team begins to unravel a deeper marriage conflict between the patient and his dutiful wife. Meanwhile, House and Foreman butt heads, and Wilson treats a patient who claims to be in a chaste marriage.

Best Quote:
Wilson: Two people are happy, and your natural impulse is to destroy it.
House: How do you know she's happy? Did she tell you?
Wilson: No, chirping birds flew out of her butt carrying a banner.

Review: "Better to have schtupped and lost than never to have schtupped at all." Crudely true and this just became my quote of the day. Or of the year. I'm still deciding on that one, plus it's only January.
The ability of coughing up great fun quotes is just one of the many many reasons why I love Greg House. Another one, revealed in this episode, is that he knows Portuguese, my favorite language on earth, and the sexiest. Give me a man who speaks it and I don't care if he's good looking. But I'm digressing again and it may not be as fun for you as it is for me.
I was greatly entertained by this week's episode, one that saw House mess with Foreman openly, something I admit I've been wanting to happen ever since the beginning of this season. I'm one of those who doesn't like Foreman's new role and if House can screw things up for him, I will savor every second of it, just like I have during the "Better Half" hour. As Foreman himself put it, he never does anything without having an agenda behind it and this time it was getting his boss to approve an early removal of his ankle monitor. And just like that, the mind games and sticky cards - some of which quite immature and racist ("Cuddy dark will waste his afternoon chasing conspiracy theories." comes to mind) - did their magic and House is free to roam the lands and do what he does best, without anyone having any kind of control on him.
The confrontation between House and Foreman started as the new Dean of Medicine decided to sit in on a case to replace Taub, who had some time off (and didn't you all miss Taub? I know I did.). And if we're talking about the case of the week, the patient - Brazilian! - had Alzheimer's and had developed Reye's syndrome for taking too many Aspirin. What was interesting about him was not his condition and not even his Portuguese blabbering, but his wife, the young woman who gave up everything in her life in order to support her sick husband, one she had known for only about a year before the disease developed.
Sacrifice is a theme that this series has explored thoroughly throughout its eight season run and one that is usually very well presented. And not to forget that it's usually connected to the guys' personal lives - the most recent debate being between the two divorcees, Adams and Chase, on the concept of "in sickness and in health"; on this one, I am leaning towards Chase's opinion, that of proving that you love your family by not forcing them to put up with you should you be incapable of taking care of yourself. Being a burden is not only humiliating, but makes the caregivers end up hating you.
Of sacrifice spoke the minor care of the week as well; and despite this being less a medical provocation and more a happiness debate between House and Wilson, the issue was almost the same, even if at a smaller scale: a couple married for ten years and both declaring to be asexual, though the wife was just sacrificing sex because she wanted to spend her life next to her husband, whose libido was affected by a tumor. Of course, the fun part was watching Wilson trying to prove to his friend that happiness is something that can exist independently of such trivial aspects like sex, but I will redirect your attention to the quote with which I started this review and tell you that I don't believe in chaste love outside a convent.
Before I go to sleep, let me just quickly go over the highlights of the episode: Park's number; House's cards and the names he gave Foreman; Wilson engaging House to check out his asexual patient, knowing he would take the bite, and the banter between the two; lighting up the cigars with the $100 bill and smoking them inside the hospital. Plus, a question: did anyone else think Chase called Cameron before hearing his sister answering?

[H]ouse 8x08: Perils of Paranoia

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[H]ouse 8x10: Runaways

Hart of Dixie 1x11: Hell's Belles

2012-01-24T12:38:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 23 January 2012

Storyline: When Zoe goes in search of some family history in Bluebell, she discovers that she is a legacy to the Bluebell Belles. Of course, once Lemon catches wind of the news, she makes it her sole mission in life to make sure Zoe doesn't become an official Belle and puts her through a humiliating initiation. With the help of Wade, Lavon attempts to jump back into the dating scene, but he finds it difficult because Didi is telling everyone that he's in love with her. Meanwhile, George devises a plan to stop a huge chain store from building near Bluebell.

Best Quote:
Zoe: I'm a Belle, a southern Belle, a 'Bama Belle, a Dixie Belle. I got secrets I won't tell. Y'all don't like it, go to-- hello, soldier, what's your pleasure?

Review: Isn't this the best Monday ever? For too long a time, we've been devoid of freshman series Hart of Dixie and I started to miss it. Not only because it's a lot of fun to watch, but also because, in its absence, paired with that of Dr. Crankypants, I've only been left to wonder what the HIMYM soap opera can come up with next to make me hate it even more than I do after this awful half of season.
This week was all about legacy and family. Are we indeed who we came from? Are we doomed to be exactly like our parents and repeat history? These questions haunted most of the characters on the show, starting with the most recent Dixie Belle - and yes, I'm talking about Zoe here, and ending with Wade, whose relationship with his father is a love/hate one.
But before I move over to the other Bluebell residents, let's stop at Zoe and say that discovering a box of old photos in her father's office was just the first step in her trying to prove to everyone - but mostly to herself - that she's not just passing by and that she really wants to fit in. That started with uncovering a long lost aunt who calls Bluebell people crazy for holding Planskgiving (but didn't consider Christmas being "the Great Beaver cutting down the town tree and damming up the river so the Christ child doesn't float out to sea" out of the ordinary) and her family's tradition in the Belle community. But, of course, Lemon wouldn't let her be a Belle just because she wanted to, so what followed was an initiation process that a woman who doesn't have a history riding a subway at 2 am wouldn't have passed in a million years.
I must say it was a blast watching Zoe stroll into town dressed in that ugly Belle dress and doing chores for the other women, but what I most enjoyed was hearing her recite the Belle slogan every time someone said the secret word. Which, of course, people would say to her all the time, so now I can't get that stupid slogan out of my head. "Hello soldier, what's your pleasure?"
Of course, in the end, she reached the conclusion that pink teas were not exactly fit for her and her days in puffy long dresses ended with the conclusion that we are not our parents. But her struggles to fit in were not in vain, as it seems that Zoe made another step towards being accepted by both Brick and his neurotic daughter, who had her own fears of not becoming like her mother and abandoning her children. Instead, it seems that Lemon is some kind of a which who cursed all the Belles not to have children until she does.
But the ladies were not the only ones having family issues - both George and Wade struggled with their feelings for their fathers, George getting in competition with his and going above and beyond to stop the construction of a Large-Mart in Bluebell, Wade trying to convince his father to sell a piece of land thinking this would make him independent, but not realizing that, by asking money from him, Crazy Earl was just trying to have a connection with his hunk of a son. Seeing him burying the money from Wade in his yard was probably the sweetest moment of the evening. Sweeter than honey. Hello soldier...
As for Lavon, he wasn't entirely left out, instead his love life made the object of the entire community. You just knew that declaring his undying love for Didi would only bring him trouble, and who would want to date a guy so in love after only one date, that he was making wedding plans? I'm not a fan of Didi and I would have actually loved to see the mayor struggle to get a date for a while longer, just for the fun of it, but at least he's not waiting after Lemon anymore. Hopefully.
I'm loving the character development and taking a deeper look into their lives, especially when it comes to Wade. In comparison, George just looks like a spoiled guy who would do anything simply to piss off his father. So mature, right? Not that Wade is all that mature himself, but at least he cracks me up with the likes of "I've known my share of Belles. They won't admit it, but I do." Anyhow, I am beyond excited about the show's return and totally love Rachel Bilson. Which, if you don't already do as well, you will once you take a look at the video of her I put in the sidebar.

Hart of Dixie 1x10: Hairdos and Holidays

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Hart of Dixie 1x12: Mistress & Misunderstandings

Once Upon a Time 1x10: 7:15 A.M.

2012-01-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 22 January 2012

Storyline: Mary Margaret and David continue to grapple with their unrequited love, and Emma and Regina grow suspicious over a mysterious new stranger in town. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, Snow White yearns to ease her breaking heart as Prince Charming's wedding to King Midas's daughter approaches.

Trivia: When Snow White meets Grumpy in the prison cell, Grumpy is humming "Heigh Ho" from the 1937 Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
When he says "The apes haven't taken over. Yet.", David is referencing the 2011 movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which takes place partially in a primate shelter in San Bruno, CA. The movie revolves around Caesar, an ape who is given human-level intelligence after he is infected with a designer virus intended to cure Alzheimer's.

Best Quote:
Snow: This will take all of my feelings. All of my pain and destroy them.
Grumpy: No.
Snow: Why? You of all people should understand. You've lost love. What if your pain could be erased?
Grumpy: I don't want my pain erased. As wretched as it is, I need my pain. It makes me who I am. It makes me Grumpy.

Review: Ain't love grand? And it becomes even more powerful when the lovers find themselves torn apart by outside forces. OK, you know that only happens in fairytales and romantic movies, since in reality, obstacles most often than not break people up instead of bringing them together, but that's why we watch TV and fall in love with the idea of true love. And this is why "7:15 A.M." has become one of my favorite episodes of this show's freshman run.
Every now and then, we need to be taken back to origins and be reminded of the main storyline of this series - the undying love between Snow White and Prince Charming and the Evil Queen's determination to stop them from fulfilling their happily ever after, no matter the costs. So, after a few episodes focused on different other characters from the fairytale world, it was just about time to get another glimpse of the journey towards happiness taken by the two lovers. You can only imagine my excitement when this is exactly what "7:15 A.M." was about.
So this week's installment was about love. The kind of love that can bring incredible joy, but also a pain so great that, sometimes, it can only be cured by death. Or by Rumpelstiltskin's magic potion, one that can make you forget entirely about your soul mate. Robert Carlyle managed to steal the screen once more, even if he was only present for a couple of minutes, and I can't wait to see what's up with the hairs he took from Snow White.
But the episode is not about him. It is, instead, about Snow and James and their Storybrooke counterparts. And while all kinds of obstacles got in the way of the false prince and the banished princess, including Snow's own decision to take her pain away by drinking the potion Rumple had made for her, things in the real world are not much better. It's a game of finding and avoiding each other that they play, one that can only have one single outcome: admit the feelings they have for each other and understand that they can't run from that no matter how hard they are trying. And no matter how much Regina gets in their way.
In both the fairytale world and Storybrooke, James and Snow have become my favorite characters. He's exactly what a Prince Charming should be like - though I can't help but consider David somewhat of a coward for not being able to sever the tie with his wife. But OUaT's Snow White is exactly what a heroine should be like: strong, determined, passionate and a lot of fun to watch and, despite Ginnifer Goodwin's fragile look, the part suits her like a glove.
This week's installment also showed us how Snow White met her faithful companions from the original story - the seven dwarfs. Who, in reality, were eight, with Stealthy getting himself killed as he tried to break Grumpy out of the prison cell where he found himself locked up for a crime he didn't commit. I can't wait to see more of them - and I love the fact that they didn't cast actual dwarfs to play them, but for now let me just tell you that I am beyond excited about Grumpy. The character, as so many others that have been modified to fit this series, has been reinvented as a man who had lost his love, much like Snow, and is now owning his pain since it makes him who he is. A lot of philosophy from a guy who spends his days in a mine, but a life lesson to be learned by each and every one of us: the experiences we go through, good or bad, make us who we are and we shouldn't want to change any of that.
I will not end this post before mentioning Emma's small arc - following the stranger around. It was the first thing she did in her new position as a request from Regina and, though we still don't know the guy's name, we know he is a writer. A sexy motorcycle driving mysterious writer, whose last name I half expect it to be Grimm or Perault. The one who meets Snow White's daughter, becomes her happily ever after and writes about the story of how Emma saved the fairytale world. Yeah, I know, I have a prolific imagination.

Once Upon a Time 1x09: True North

Back to Season 1
Once Upon a Time 1x11: Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

Grimm 1x09: Of Mouse and Man

2012-01-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 20 January 2012

Storyline: While investigating a gruesome homicide, Nick learns that a seemingly mild-mannered resident could be festering a potential monster created from a dark childhood. Meanwhile, Monroe is sent an unsettling message by the creature community, who are beginning to wonder if his priorities lie with them or a Grimm.

Trivia: Referencing the 1937 novella by John Steinbeck, "Of Mice and Men". The story is about two Great Depression migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, and their attempt to fulfill their dream of owning land of their own. Lennie is mentally disabled and George is forced to protect his friend from the harsh realities of the world.

Best Quote:
Nick: I'm not going to ask for any more of your help.
Eddie: Screw that. I'm not running. You ask me for all the help you need. I've never been much of a status quo guy. And next time, we'll be ready for them.

Intro: "I am impelled not to squeak like a grateful and frightened mouse, but to roar..."

Review: It's not always that we're treated with two creatures in one episode, and new ones, at that. Plus, we have the supernatural community of Portland taking notice of a Grimm's presence among them and this is starting to interfere with Nick's life in ways he didn't predict before. Though aunt Marie warned him he should break up with Juliette so that he wouldn't put her in harm's way.
With Nick's house being watched and Juliette finding out the people who were following them are actually afraid of her, it's only a matter of time until she figures out something's not exactly right with her boyfriend. It will get more and more difficult for Nick to hide out who he is from her and the betrayal (cause who wouldn't see hiding something like being a Grimm as a betrayal?) might be too much for her to handle. After all, it's a lot harder to deal with something like this coming from someone you're ready to spend your entire life with.
But Juliette is not the only one whose life is getting an unexpected turn because of what Nick is. The supernatural creatures are taking an interest in Monroe as well and beating him up for consorting with a Grimm was probably just the first of the warninings not to mess with the status quo. I half expected Monroe to swear off helping out Nick with his unusual troubles, but that's not who he is. Remember the times when he was reluctant to help out a Grimm because, in thepry, they should be on different sides of the tracks? The relationship between Nick and Eddie has gone past the one between a policeman and a CI (which Eddie more or less was, even if not officially, for a while). The events in the past episodes, with Nick trying to help out Hap in the Blutbaden/Bauerschwein feud, and Monroe intervenining to save Hank's life in the ogre confrontation, but not only these, helped cement the friendship between the two and the more we see of the Blutbad in the field, the better for us. Especially since Monroe usually deliveres the best lines of them all.
Plus, moving on both procedural and personal life grounds is making this show even more appealing to me. Yes, I like the crime fighting stuff and even more so when we're talking supernatural, but I want to see the Grimm mythology have a more prominent role in this show and see how Mick's life is affected by his new identity.
But let's return to the case. Much like the Bauerschwein taking over their destiny in the war against the Blutbaden, this week's main creature - a Mauzhertz (as in, a mouse) - took charge of his own life and confronted his archenemy - a Lausenschlange. Marty's trigger was not a snake killing someone in his family, like in the Bauerschwein situation, but the death of his father, who had been the authority figure in his life. For a Mauzhertz , it's enough to be at the bottom of the food chain to become a scared of his own shadow kind of person, but having his own father tell him day after day that he wasn't good enough must have been even more excrutiating. Each of us expect support from our parents, even more so when you're part of a race with very little in common with courage.
The case was a page out of the Criminal Minds playbook, if I may be excused for the analogy. Because there's nothing as great as Criminal Minds in the crime procedural world, but the BAU would have had a great day profiling Marty and would have explained how someone like him can become a serial killer better than this show did.
And if the case was particularly entertaining, taking this show right up there with the rest of the shows in this genre, my special commendation of the week goes to the special effects. The snake was the coolest creature we've seen so far and it was too bad we didn't really get to witness it in action, with all the killer reputation it came with. Making a lawyer out of it was so fit that it somewhat borderlined the cliche, but who cares about that when the creature was so well built? And the bottom line is, "Of Mouse and Man" is one of the best installments so far.

Grimm 1x08: Game Ogre

Back to Season 1
Grimm 1x10: Organ Grinder

Chuck 5x11: Chuck vs. the Bullet Train

2012-01-22T16:24:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 20 January 2012

Storyline: A confrontation with a ruthless agent aboard a Japanese bullet train becomes a hostage situation for Chuck and Sarah and puts Casey in a dire predicament.

Best Quote:
Casey: I need you. My daughter needs you. And your country needs you.
Lester: Canada?

Review: Did this week's Chuck episode remind anyone else of Alias and Nikita? At least the part where Sarah didn't remember who she was and she started working for the bad guy reminded me of that time Sid disappeared and started killing people.
So we're a week away from the big finale and the last time we checked into this show, Sarah Walker was in possession of the Intersect. A development I wasn't too happy about, because personally I don't want to see any more people from the Carmichael team having the Intersect in their head. The Morgan fiasco was enough for me. And guess what? That stuff started to act with her head just like it did with Morgan's and, even though she didn't turn into a major douchebag, she still experienced memory loss, headaches and the works.
But despite all this and my compelte dissatisfaction regarding this season's developments, for the most part, I enjoyed this episode. It had its share of action (and great action, to be honest), some comedy, mostly involving Jeff and Lester, and a big chunk of emotional stuff, with Chuck and Sarah contemplating their life (again...) and that picket fence they dream about. And this part was the one I wasn't too happy about, in the end. We are not stupid, people, we don't need to be reminded over and over again that these two crazy kids want to settle down and leave the spy life behind. So cut it already!
What I was glad about was keeping Quinn as the baddie for the rest of the season. I know I'm not exactly fond of the guy and I think he's the whiniest, most unfit villain for a series finale, but he ended up being quite smart in outwitting Chuck & co. Not only was he capable of keeping everyone on their toes with abducting Chuck and Alex - after all, there aren't many things that can throw Casey off his game and make him point a gun at his friends, but he also managed to get away with Sarah and erase her memory to the point where she didn't remember who her own husband was. And now she's the perfect soldier, on a mission to kill the very person she is supposed to spend the rest of her life with. So, after all, Quinn managed to grow on me as the series finale big baddie.
One very important thing about "Chuck vs. the Bullet Train" was having virtually everyone - from Alex to Jeff and Lester - work together towards catching Quinn. You'd think this would make the episode too crowded, but it actually worked out pretty well, because there were no side arcs. Well, except for Jeffster, who couldn't let their memory loss go and had to figure out what was going on in the Buy More. Again. Maybe this is the one aspect that made this installment less enjoyable that it should have been. However, Lester's showdown and his reference to Survivor ("You're out-gunned, out-manned, out...side, and it's a lovely day, so throw down your gun and nobody gets hurt.") made him grow in my heart and constituted my favorite moment of the hour. And Jeff with the flamethrower was pretty badass too.
Among my other favorite moments, I have to mention Sarah kicking Quinn's ass (if you think she is bendy enough without the Intersect, wait until you see her with it!), Chuck and Sarah discussing the Intersect like two kids discovering a very cool toy and Lester's reaction when Casey told him his country needed him. Did anyone say Canada?

Chuck 5x10: Chuck vs. Bo

Back to Season 5
Chuck 5x12: Chuck vs. Sarah

The Vampire Diaries 3x12: The Ties That Bind

2012-01-22T16:08:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 19 January 2012

Storyline: Bonnie believes the dreams she's been having about Klaus's coffins will help her figure out how he can be killed. The recurring dreams also lead Bonnie to a reunion with her mother, Abby, whom Bonnie hasn't seen for 15 years. Tyler turns to an unexpected ally as he works to regain his free will and Caroline's trust. Damon is intrigued by Dr. Fell, and Klaus and Stefan continue their violent negotiations over control of the coffins containing Klaus's family members.

Best Quote:
Damon: What's her damage?
Alaric: No damage.
Damon: Come on, Ric. It's a fact of life. A girl that smart, that hot? Damaged.

Damon's Best: Insulting a bunch of dead witches? Not smart.

Review: I can get over everyone else calling Alaric "Ric"; but hearing that from Damon? Weird and not at all right.
But let's move on and actually talk about this week's episode, one that saw Bonnie take a more central position while she got the idea that finding her mother may help the gang deal with Klaus and maybe find a way to kill him. In any other situation and with any other character, the long overdue reunion between mother and daughter would have been a lot more emotional than the one between Bonnie and Abby Bennett, even when you add up the fact that Abby has been raising a young man who isn't even her son and was more willing to save his life than to save Bonnie's. But both characters lack that empathy that could have made this episode a tearjerker.
Plus, introducing Abby in such strong a position after she has been virtually absent for two and a half seasons (I don't even remember her being mentioned in conversations) was a bit too much for me. It's the same thing that was done over and over again with characters that we don't really care about or are supposed to care about (remember Luka and his family? Yeah, nor do I...). This show does a lot of things right, but one of my complaints from day one was the inflation of characters. And I'll make you a bet, here and now: One of the two - Abby and Jamie - will not live past the end of this season. My money's on Abby.
Another thing I'm not too crazy about is the storylines that seem to be invented as things move along. Really, Abby and Elena's mother were best friends? That feels to me like a stretch. Also, I cannot believe Abby was such a strong witch in her younger days that she was capable of desiccating Mikael, nor do I believe Mikael had known about Elena being the doppelganger when she was just a baby. Of course I want things to be explained, but sometimes it looks like the writers go on inventing stuff just to make the math happen.
The entire arc involving Bonnie's mother got me very confused when it came to the writers, to be honest. And it's not just the things I talked about until now, it's also about how convenient everything fell into place for Klaus to get to the coffins. Maybe he arranged for Abby to take Jamie in, like some kind of Mystic Falls Mr. Gold.
But let's move on to Klaus and his discovery regarding the coffins. Luckily (and isn't it amazing how Bonnie was able to text Damon even with the hybrid standing next to her?), Damon - who, incidentally, was the best part about this episode (again - but more about that later), managed to hide the most important of the four, the one that everyone speculates it contains the secret to killing Klaus. Despite him being virtually immortal, it seems like nature is finding more and more ways to kill him and I'm starting to wonder how many more there will be in the future. Cause, honestly, I don't want Klaus dead any time soon.
He was one step ahead in the game for the entire episode, but unfortunately for him, Damon hasn't lost all of his villain-ish persona when he fell in love with Elena. And if I didn't already worship him, I am now, as he delivered the best surprise of the season: waking up Elijah! Let me tell you, there was nothing better in this entire season (and that includes THE KISS) than having Daniel Gillies pop up from behind Daniel, with the hybrid's heart in his hands, asking his brother "So, Niklaus... What did I miss?" Priceless.
Before moving on to the two secondary plots of the week, let me just talk about Elena and Stefan. Putting those two together seems all Williamson and Plec want to do and it's really pissing me off. But I'm glad he now knows not only about Elena kissing Damon (and not feeling guilty about it), but also about her new, improved personality.
So, what about those two remaining plots? First of all, we have Tyler really struggling with his devotion to Klaus and being adamant to do everything in his power to sever that bond, even if that implies calling Bill Forbes - a man known for his unusual, torturous methods - back into town. It's great to see both Bill and Tyler so dedicated to Caroline and capable of doing anything - even putting their lives in danger - to make her happy. It was one of those awww moments that make me feel like a stupid teenager.
Secondly, Alaric cannot get a break from bad relationships. His wife and his girlfriend both became vampires and eventually died and now he's starting something with a woman who not only knows Damon is a vampire (how?), but is willing to go to great lengths to get things done her way (like stealing vampire blood and risking the rage of the vervained undead). Plus, I'm not entirely convinced (and neither is Damon) that Meredith didn't kill her ex. Before being sure he can trust her completely, he shouldn't have told him about his biggest secret - the ring. Big mistake and one that will surely cost him soon (because TVD never does anything without a purpose).
And for the weekly Damon corner, let's list my favorite moments of the week: his playful look and smile when he told Bonnie about the kiss (my heart just melted then and there); the bromance scenes with Alaric and investigating Dr. Fell because he doesn't want his friend to suffer at the hand of a woman again; the way he stood up to Klaus and last, but not least, taking out the dagger that was used to keep Elijah dead.

The Vampire Diaries 3x11: Our Town
Back to Season 3
The Vampire Diaries 3x13: Bringing Out the Dead

The Secret Circle 1x12: Witness

2012-01-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 19 January 2012

Storyline: Jake returns to Chance Harbor to warn Cassie that unless they find out how her father was killed in the boat fire sixteen years ago, she will endure the same death. Jake suggests an extremely dangerous plan to discover the truth about that fateful day, but Adam and Diana suspect he has ulterior motives. Trying to outmaneuver one another, both Charles and Dawn work to get Ethan on board as an ally. Faye finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation when one of Lee's friends, Callum, stops by the shop.

Best Quote:
Cassie: You're the one who saved me and Melissa from the fire.
Adam: So you're an avenging angel now. Don't they usually stay hidden in the shadows?
Jake: Don't you usually have a different girlfriend?

Review: Look who was just revealed to be a power junkie! As it turns out, Ethan might be just as addicted to magic as the Chamberlain women. Poor Charles, remember when we thought he was this show's villain back in the first episodes, when he killed Amelia just to get her daughter into Chance Harbor and bind the circle?
But turning out to have a spine is not the only surprising thing about Ethan we found out about in this week's installment. Apparently, he was at the harbor 16 years ago, when a big part of the previous circle died in that fire, though he had told everyone he wasn't there. Why would Adam's dad hide that? I have a theory and it involves his undying love for Amelia and John Blackwell's betrayal. Maybe he was the one who sold Blackwell out to the witch hunters, leading to the fire and the death of his friends. Maybe that's what he's been trying to drown away in booze. What do you think?
But how did we find out about Ethan's presence in that fatidic day? Well, let's turn our attention to Jake and the reason why he returned to Chance Harbor. It wasn't just his love for Cassie, something everyone is painfully aware of these days. One big revelation this week was that Jake too was present on the ferry that day, but his memory is fuzzy, as he blocked out all the unpleasant stuff. Not unrealistic for a kid who saw his parents die, though it led to some hilarious reactions from the others (hilarious as in a lot of bad acting, especially from Britt Robertson's part, whose facial expressions were so forced that this may just be the thing that will make me stop watching this show).
But let's return to Jake. With Cassie and her dark magic's help, he took her down memory lane to find out what really happened the day of the fire, when both his parents died. It was like watching an ectoplasmic reconstruction, just like in Charlaine Harris' books. Yep, talking True Blood here. But I have a complaint about this: can someone explain to me how was Cassie capable of experiencing things Jake couldn't have seen, and how was she able to continue into Jake's memories without Jake actually being there with her? Talk about major plot holes... The writing is not the best thing about this show.
Finding out the truth about the night when most of the members of the previous circle had died - including Adam and Diana's mothers and Jake's parents, has been an important goal for the kids ever since the pilot. It was also an important step in figuring out their identities as witches and who their enemies were. Because it wasn't their magic gone awry that started the fire, it was the witch hunters who had found a way to kill John Blackwell. Moving forward, this will be an important discovery as they will start dealing with the elders, and an even more important one for their surviving parents as they will try to win their magic back.
It also showed the division in the previous circle. Some of them - the ones that trusted the witch hunters and had promissed to give up practicing - had died in the fire. Others, Dawn and Charles included, were not slaughtered by the hunters and managed to survive. Amelia had not been there because she didn't want to face Blackwell, who betrayed her. And we still have to find out what Ethan's part in all that was and what will his part be moving forward. Maybe he just replaced one addiction - magic - with another one, alcohol, and now he's going back to magic. It will be interesting to follow him down the road.
But the biggest development of them all - and one that will likely change Cassie's world and probably not in a good way - is finding out that John Blackwell, her dark witch father, had survived that night, though everyone thought he was dead as well. So he is most likely still alive somewhere and hiding from the witch hunters, who may be capable now to kill him if they find him, since he doesn't have the necklace anymore (didn't you find it strange how easily Cassie found that?), and will pop up to mess things up for his daughter at some point. Maybe try to sway her to his side. I can't wait to see how that plays out.
The dynamics in the circle are changing. As Diana put it, it is falling apart and everyone is, more or less, going down an individual road. What this will mean for them remains to be seen, but I hope the witch hunters will be back to spice things up. After all, what's a supernatural show without a great oponent for the heroes? And with Jake back in town and Adam's acceptance of his love for Cassie, I can't wait to see how the relationships will change. Since I don't think Adam is in love with her just yet, but only feels that undeniable tie to her, maybe he will back off. Or maybe not.
And while Melissa seems to be the Bonnie of this show, Faye had her own share of trouble as she continued her friendship with the gorgeous Lee. Who, go figure, has a troubled past himself. Unfortunately, having Faye go down the path of drugs is not all that surprising. Purundenga may not be addictive itself, but power is and if that herb will allow Faye to do magic on her own - which somehow I think it will - she may find herself bite more than she can swallow sooner than we thought. But despite all this stuff and despite introducing the sort of dangerous Callum, who should really do something about his hair, I really really don't care about Faye's arc.
To conclude, I have two questions. A brainteaser for you TSC junkies out there: could Jake be the other Blackwell in the circle? I know Cassie's half brother or sister's identity is subject to a lot of speculation, but seeing Jake's mother so into Blackwell raised the idea into my head. The other question is more like a complaint: why can't they ever pronounce the Latin words correctly? If spells are cast by speaking the words out loud, shouldn't they only work if the words are pronounced as they were meant to by the old Romans? I'm really bugged by this.

The Secret Circle 1x11: Fire/Ice

Back to Season 1
The Secret Circle 1x13: Medallion

The Mentalist 4x12: My Bloody Valentine

2012-01-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 19 January 2012

Storyline: With very little evidence, Jane and the CBI investigate the death of a mob boss' son. Meanwhile, while taking an eyewitness in for questioning, Van Pelt is haunted by the memories of O'Laughlin's shooting.

Best Quote:
Janpen: Who were you talking to?
Van Pelt: Nobody.
Janpen: Great. Lost in the woods with a crazy cop.
Van Pelt: Hey, I got it worse. I'm lost in the woods with a grumpy hooker. Let's go.

Review: With a stellar guest cast, including Joaquim de Almeida and Matt Battaglia, this week's episode saw a first for Jane - dealing with his first mob hit. When the son of an Argentinian mob boss is killed right into his house during a party, the first thought for everyone was that this was a hit ordered by a rival drug cartel - the Mexicans Zetas - but Jane doesn't take an internal coup out of the equation, especially with Gabriel Porchetto Sr, the head of the family, being in the late stages of kidney cancer.
This was again one of those situations when figuring out the killer was not all that difficult. It was clear from the very beginning that Battaglia's character - Curtis Nett, the enforcer of the family, didn't have any respect for the person who would one day be his boss - the youngest son of Gabriel Porchetto, Sergio. So figuring out that he was the one staging the coup to take over the business was not the hardest thing in the world, even with the affair between Iris Porchetto and the family lawyer thrown into the mix to give us another trail to follow.
Also, the moment Janpen was proven to speak English was the moment I connected her to the murder of Gabriel Porchetto Jr. Unfortunately for this series, it's getting easier and easier to figure things out pretty quickly, leaving us with the sole Mr. Baker as entertainment. Jane was, as always, at the top of the situation, and I've always loved the way he doesn't seem to have any problems dealing with dangerous people at the risk of annoying them, if that will make him discover the truth about things. Plus, the ball trick was a lot of fun and his carny background was once again brought to our attention with the card trick he taught Luis Ozorio.
As for Lisbon, we saw her again just go along with Jane's plan, no matter how crazy, when he wanted to make everyone think that Porchetto Sr. was dead. While I can appreciate that people build trust in time, having her just blindly following his lead is not only unrealistic, but it also means we are not seeing them bantering anymore and that was the most entertaining thing about their relationship.
The case involved Grace in a particular way, as she got lost in the woods after being attacked by the killer while she was transporting the hooker - Janpen - back to San Francisco for questioning. Her getting lost put Rigsby in the delicate situation of having to blow Sarah off; and with Sarah revealing that she is pregnant, things are not about to get any less complicated for him, especially since it is clear that he still has feelings for his redhead colleague.
But Rigsby was not the only one having to face old feelings. Actually, a big part of the episode saw Van Pelt having to deal with her unresolved issues with O'Laughlin after the investigation into his death was concluded and she got the necklace he gave her back from the FBI. To be honest, I got bored of her unresolved issues with killing her fiancee. We're half way through the season and the focus is still on this when it comes to Grace; I just wish she'd get over him already and I'm not saying this just because I want her and Rigsby to get back together, though I don't see this happening any time soon. But the worst thing of all was bringing O'Laughlin back, in ghost form or figment of Grace's imagination. We've known she was a superstitious being from day one; but actually showing O'Laughlin to us - not to mention having him save her life - was too much for me. Hopefully though this was the last time we are hearing about him and she can finally move on and build a new life for herself.

The Mentalist 4x11: Always Bet on Red

Back to Season 4

The Big Bang Theory 5x13: The Recombination Hypothesis

2012-01-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 19 January 2012

Storyline: Leonard and Penny contemplate reviving their romantic relationship. Sheldon's attempt to order Star Trek memorabilia doesn't go as planned.

Trivia: The opening scene is nearly identical to the opening scene of the pilot episode: Leonard and Sheldon arrive at their apartment and spot Penny doing something in her apartment through her open door, and Leonard goes to talk to her. The characters are even dressed similarly, with Leonard wearing a crimson shirt with a hoodie, Sheldon in a superhero T-shirt and checked pants, and Penny in a light blue short-sleeve shirt (but long pants instead of shorts).
This episode's end titles has Chuck Lorre's Vanity Card #374, a thank you to the audience for getting the show to 100 episodes.

Best Quote:
Penny: Bat signal? What are you, some kind of nerd?
Leonard: Not some kind of nerd, I'm the king of nerds.
Penny: What does that mean?
Leonard: Uh, it means if anyone displeases me, I don't help them set up their printer.
Penny: You are so funny.
Leonard: Good. Remember that when I take my shirt off.

The Sheldon: It's customary, when using the restroom at a retail establishment, to make a small purchase. Did you?

Review: I was happy to see that The Big Bang Theory's 100th episode brought back the relationship between Leonard and Penny and made them the focus of the story. I'm one of those people who really like Johnny Galecki's performance and would love to see more of him than just the lovable sidekick to Sheldon's prominent role. And if we go back to that first episode, you will see that the way the pilot and this week's installment begin is almost similar, with Leonard contemplating dating the girl next door. But neither Leonard nor Penny are the same people they were five years ago and, while he has more confidence, she has learned to appreciate her geeky neighbor and has grown into a less judgmental and shallow person.
I'm usually not a fan of flash forwards (as opposed to me being a big fan of the flashbacks), but I will say that this episode has done this so well that it surprised me when it turned out to be all in Leonard's imagination. Everything was very realistic, from Penny picking out her clothes, to the fight in the restaurant ("always" does make things worse!) to Leonard going as far as picturing his friends playing Settlers of Catan and having a conversation about his mother with Sheldon. I admit to have put together scenarios about different things, but none so imaginative as Leonard and Penny 2.0.
With the episode ending with them actually deciding to go out on a date (despite thinking it through and realizing things may go badly), the question that I keep asking myself is, do we want them back together? My answer to this is definitely yes. I can't picture this show ending without them being together and, though I hope TBBT to have a good long run, I don't want a will they won't they going on until the finale. So it would be great if Leonard and Penny 2.0 will start now.
While I wasn't crazy about the wood jokes (though it made total sense when we found out it was all in Leonard's head), they somehow went back to the origins of Sheldon's character, the brilliant but utterly clueless guy when it came to everyday stuff. And it reminded me that, despite having them evolve, Raj and Howard are still nerds who amuse themselves with jokes that anyone past adolescence would find boring.
To conclude, I will say that my favorite moment was Leonard indicating to Penny the direction of her bedroom after his "Isn't sex after fighting kind of what we do now?!", showing us that he has really built up his confidence enough to be sure he will still get laid despite all the yelling.

The Big Bang Theory 5x12: The Shiny Trinket Maneuver

Back to Season 5
The Big Bang Theory 5x14: The Beta Test Initiation

Criminal Minds 7x11: True Genius

2012-01-21T14:35:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 18 January 2012

Storyline: A series of murders in San Francisco bearing the tell-tale signs of the infamous Zodiac Killer have the BAU wondering if the notorious serial killer has returned. Also, Reid ponders if he should be doing more with his genius abilities.

Trivia: The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The killer's identity remains unknown. The Zodiac murdered victims in Benicia, Vallejo, Lake Berryessa and San Francisco between December 1968 and October 1969. Four men and three women between the ages of 16 and 29 were targeted. The killer originated the name "Zodiac" in a series of taunting letters sent to the local Bay Area press. These letters included four cryptograms (or ciphers). Of the four cryptograms sent, only one has been definitively solved.

Best Quote:
Reid: It's not the real Zodiac.
Prentiss: How can you be so sure?
Reid: I just know it. Sometimes I can't really explain it.

Intro: "Three can keep a secret if two are dead." Benjamin Franklin. (Morgan)

Outro: "There is no greater sorrow than to recall in misery the time when we were happy." Dante. (Reid)

Review: There are two main reasons why this episode is one of my favorites: it brings to our attention the story of the Zodiac, one of the serial killers I've been most obsessed with over the years, and it focuses on Reid, the sexiest of all them geeks and my favorite character of the series. I think it's not too much to say that Reid was the one that got me to start watching this show in the first place.
Thirty is a turning point for us all, I believe, an age when you really start evaluating your life and compare your dreams with what you have actually achieved. It's Reid's case as well and he reconsiders his life based on his former status as a child prodigy, a genius who could have done a lot with his life, like cure schizophrenia, invent something big or run a multi-million dollars company. Instead, he has the same job as the other members of the BAU and has moments when he thinks he could have done much better in a different environment.
But Reid's opinion changes when he's faced with discovering who the killer behind the Zodiac-like murders is - a task made even more difficult than usual by the fact that the UnSub is a genius just like him. And when you deal with someone with superior intelligence, you know that you have to pay extra attention to all details, otherwise you may never solve the case.
Spencer's abilities were put to the test through deciphering codes - something we haven't seen often, but every time we have, it made my day. Also, the UnSub's game of chess was brilliantly played out and no one other than Reid would have been capable of figuring that out. So not leaving the BAU when Gideon left (despite having Rossi grow on me over the years, I'll always miss Mandy Patinkin's character) payed off, as he not only figured out who the Zodiac copycat was and what his motive was, but he also discovered the murderers of a seven-year old kid who disappeared years before.
Other than Reid's implication in solving the case, the episode was entertaining because the UnSub was not revealed until about halfway into the action. Also, the complex relationship between Caleb and Harvey made this installment particularly engaging. Not to mention that such a popular figure as the Zodiac is always a good way to make the public feel familiar with the subject at hand.
The rest of the team - with the exception of Garcia, who had a couple of funny moments, and Prentiss, who acted as a big sister for Reid this week (a role I would have seen more fit for JJ, whom I still want to see doing more than just interviewing parents) didn't have much to do, but I'm not complaining, since Reid got to show both his genius persona and his more recent confidence in negotiating with suspects and using a gun (can he be more sexy?), not to mention that he actually got all tough in front of the camera. My only complaint is that I didn't really buy the team not remembering about Reid's birthday, since they have been working together for so many years and Reid and JJ are especially close. The writers could have made the same point with the guys throwing Reid a party at the beginning of the episode as well.

Criminal Minds 7x10: The Bittersweet Science

Back to Season 7
Criminal Minds 7x12: Unknown Subject

New Girl 1x10: The Story of the 50

2012-01-19T15:33:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 17 January 2012

Storyline: When Schmidt's plans for his 29th birthday fall apart, Jess takes charge and enlists the help of her school's party hungry vice-principal. Meanwhile, Nick begrudgingly brings his new girlfriend at Schmidt's party, feeling embarrassed by his friends, but he doesn't know she harbors a secret of her own.

Best Quote:
Nick: Schmidt's world is different than ours. They speak a different language. They shorten every word to one syllable. Last month, he went to a party called "Bros Before Hos on the Moon". What does that even mean!?

The Douche Factor: Damn it! I can't find my driving moccasins anywhere!

Review: Apparently some people have driving moccasins. And sharkskin laptop covers. And croquet cleats. If you ever wondered what kind of person owns all that stuff, the answer is easy - a douchebag. And the biggest douchebag of them all - and also the cutest - must be Schmidt. I'll make you a prediction here and now: Schmidt will be as big as Barney Stinson after a couple of more seasons. And if you're one of those who don't believe in this show's success just yet, may I remind you that New Girl was among the five comedies nominated to the Golden Globes this year, something The Big Bang Theory (my favorite sitcom ever) hasn't managed to do.
"The Story of the 50" gives us the reason why Schmidt is forced to put $50 in the Douchebag Jar (welcome back, dear dear friend!), and it all comes down to his 29th birthday party. And saying this was probably the best episode since the pilot doesn't seem to much to me. After all, you really can't get it wrong when you focus most of the action on Schmidt and even more so when the entire half hour is an homage of sorts to his douchiness. My personal favorite is above, though I have to put the dumb hat in there too. And let's not forget about the reason he had to up his contribution to the jar: trying to kiss Jess! It's clear this guy will try it with any woman who shows him any sort of attention. And it's his issues that make his character so funny, much like another "bro" I've grown to love over the years, though this particular season I kind of hate him.
Despite being a Schmidt's 29th episode, everyone had their chance to shine - even Winston, though his screen time was somewhat limited. The loft dynamics are getting better and better, with Jess taking a more prominent role in the guys' lives and convincing everyone to throw Schmidt a party. And how cool was that bus? I totally want one for my 29th, which is not all that far away. If my friends are reading this, please take notes!
Lizzy Caplan guest stars as Nick's new romantic interest and I'm glad the Jess/Nick paring has been left aside for the moment, though I really really really want them to get together in the end, if she can't be with Justin Long's character. And the first thought I had when she popped on the screen next to Nick's jury duty pants was man, this girl looks a lot like Zooey Deschanel! Maybe they're trying to point out Nick's feelings for Jess by having him hook up with a replica of hers.
And what about "We Built This Schmidty", huh? Do we think it's going to become a hit?

New Girl 1x09: The 23rd

Back to Season 1
New Girl 1x11: Jess and Julia

HIMYM 7x14: 46 Minutes

2012-01-17T13:35:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 16 January 2012

Storyline: Lily and Marshall officially move to the suburbs and realize that Lily's bossy father refuses to move out of their house. Meanwhile, the gang adjusts to them moving by appointing a new gang leader.

Trivia: This episode has a special intro with lyrics and pictures reflecting Barney's perceived taking over the group.

Best quote:
Barney: Stop pining over Marshall and Lily! Have some self respect. Now put this fiver in your mouth so that stripper with the lazy eye can vacuum it up with...

Ted: Barney! I'm allowed to miss them alright? They're my two best friends.
Barney: I'm your two best friends!

The "legen... wait for it... dary": Tonight is going to be legen... Wait, are we sure it's a good idea to go to a strip club? Shut up, Lily! I'm in charge now... dary!

The Review: Though slightly better than last week's idiocy of an episode, "46 Minutes" was still in a galaxy far, far away from what this show has been like in the beginning. I'm finding it strange now that once upon a time I used to laugh my heart out for the entire half hour, as now I barely smile from time to time whenever there's something remotely sounding like a joke.
I will start with the good parts of this week's installment, though, because I don't want to have you in a foul mood just yet. After a long, long time of complaining about the death of all things that made Barney Barney, "46 Minutes" marked his return to origins. While character evolution is more than expected and welcomed during the course of a TV show, you can't simply transform one from one day to another and call that growing up. It takes years for someone like Barney to change even a little bit and his Nora persona wasn't even remotely believable. So you can imagine my merriment when the "legen... wait for it... dary" returned (after what seemed like centuries), along with one of his most famous spare time ideas - going to a strip club.
The return of stripper Lily marked another classic arc of this show, one that reminded me of a better time, when the soap opera drama was left somewhat aside and comedy was where the focus was. But the best, funniest moment of the week was probably the opening credits, modified to incorporate Barney's new status as the gang leader (which sounds a bit like a mafia thing), as well as the intermission showing the two new additions to their little group - stripper Lily and her scary Russian boyfriend.
But, you will say, those are just details. What about the actual plot? Well, we had two stories, each more annoying than the other. Wait, there were actually three, but unfortunately the Robin/Kevin pair is so invisible that all I can remember is that real couples over 16 years old don't act like they do in the first months.
As for the main arcs, if I can call them that, the first was focused on Marshall and Lily trying to get acquainted with their new house and with the fact that Mickey Aldrin had decided that being a grandpa meant invading their personal space and telling them how to live their lives. The second one saw Ted, Barney and Robin going through a rough patch and feeling abandoned by their friends, who decided to move to Long Island, a plot that felt oddly similar to when Ted was marrying Stella and moving to New Jersey, except for all the New Jersey hatred. So nothing original or funny about either of those - though I always seem to crack a smile when Marshall gets scared of random things normal people have outgrown well before 12 years old.

HIMYM 7x13: Tailgate

Back to Season 7

HIMYM 7x15: The Burning Beekeeper

The Good Wife 3x13: Bitcoin for Dummies

2012-01-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 15 January 2012

Storyline: Alicia defends a lawyer who hires the firm after the government arrests him for not revealing the name of an anonymous client: a mysterious computer programmer who illegally invented a new online currency.

Review: If you think this week's episode of The Good Wife is a complete fantasy, I'm here to inform you it isn't. It's a fairly known fact that Michelle and Robert King have been using real facts (of economical, political and social nature) to create their weekly scripts, making this show probably the most actual show there is out there. But online currency available to use for day to day products? How can that be possible? Mind that we're not talking about Fcebook credits here or other types of commodities you can use in online games and such.
Bitcoin - a digital currency released back in 1999 and invented by Satoshi Nakamoto (which is most likely a pseudonym, as no one knows his true identity) - is very much a reality. To be honest, I'm surprised they even used the real name of the currency, given that previously they somehow manages to transform Facebook into Facebranch, but I'm glad they kept it real up to the point where the very inventor of this concept is as much of a secret in the series as it is in the real life.
OK, maybe not that much of a secret for Kalinda's sharp eyes, who can see through steel, much like Superman, but she's known for her secrecy, so I doubt other people were going to figure out as easily as her the inventor's name. Or, specifically, names.
I'd give you that the finger pointing was maybe a bit too much, leading to a rather predictable end (also, why bring in Jason Biggs if you're not going to give him more to do than just be a defender in a case), and maybe all that programming talk got tiring after the first couple of minutes (I get why Kalinda would know Lockhart/Gardner's IP address, but how would she know C++ specifics?), nevertheless the theme spoke to the computer geek in me and I got quite involved in the action.
The other issue I have with this episode - and related to the main case - is the fact that, according to the writers, private currency is illegal in the US; this, however, is not true: it may be strictly regulated, but virtually anyone can create their own currency. This is a big issue with a show wanting to pose as promoters of reality and I will not even get into the fact that it's supposed to be a legal procedural.
But the Bitcoin bit was not the only arc this episode had to offer. A big part of it was the focus on Will's situation - and again, I welcomed Eslbeth Tascioni, a caracter so different than Carrie Preston's Arlene that it's surprising we're talking about the same actress. Unfortunately for Will, Elsbeth's methods don't work as well with him as they previously worked with the Florricks and, though she is very much capable of putting Wendy Scott-Carr in an embarrassing position, Peter's former countercandidate has some aces left on her sleeve. I was surprised to see Kalinda chose between Alicia and her firm in the end, so I;m thinking of one of two possibilities: either she's acting out of guilt towards her former BFF, or she really tampered with the file and gave Dana a version that wouldn't implicate Will in anything illegal. I don't know why, call it instinct, but I'm going with the first though, and I can hardly wait to find out what is in that filet hat can be so damaging to the male half of Lockhart/Gardner.
What I missed in this episode was Eli, and what I found a bit too much was Zach's relationship with Nisa (how come I always hate whatever arc they throw in Alicia's kids direction?). It always surprises me how Alicia is capable of letting her children do almost anything just to contradict her mother-in-law (as despicable as she is); they may have different reasons for not wanting Zach to hang with Nisa as much, but the ultimate goal would be the same. Oh well, I guess saint Alicia is not as perfect a mother as the writers are trying to portray her.

The Good Wife 3x12: Alienation of Affection

Back to Season 3
The Good Wife 3x14: Another Ham Sandwich

Golden Globes 2012: Winners

2012-01-16T15:26:00.000-08:00

The Golden Globe winners have been selected last night, in a ceremony held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The 69th annual Golden Globe Awards were presented by Ricky Gervais. Here is the complete rundown of the 69th annual winners and nominees in all TV categories, as well as my own choices for the winners, since, as always, the awards disappointed me.

Best Television Series, Drama

American Horror Story
Boardwalk Empire
Boss
Game of Thrones
Homeland

How come Game of Thrones didn't win this? Just because it's a new show? That doesn't seem fair. Also, how come no network TV shows were nominated? There are plenty that would have deserved to be among the five nominees.

Best Actor in a Television Series, Drama

Steve Buscemi - Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad
Kelsey Grammer - Boss
Jeremy Irons - The Borgias
Damian Lewis - Homeland

I have the same problem here: network TV shows were completely forgotten and it sucks.

Best Actress in a Television Series, Drama

Claire Danes - Homeland
Mireille Enos - The Killing
Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife
Madeleine Stowe - Revenge
Callie Thorne - Necessary Roughness

Julianna Marguiles was my choice here.

Best Televison Series, Comedy or Musical

Enlightened
Episodes
Glee
Modern Family
New Girl

Forgetting about Nurse Jackie and The Big Bang Theory and nominating Glee pisses me off. I was glad that New Girl made the cut, but that will not make me forgive these guys for their bad taste in comedy.

Best Actor in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical

Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock
David Duchovny - Californication
Johnny Galecki - The Big Bang Theory
Thomas Jane - Hung
Matt Leblanc - Episodes

I have nothing against Matt Leblanc, but nothing can beat BBT's actors. And, while I had hoped Johnny Galecki would win, forgetting about Jim Parsons is an unforgivable mistake.

Best Actress in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical

Laura Dern - Enlightened
Zooey Deschanel - New Girl
Tina Fey - 30 Rock
Laura Linney - The Big C
Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation

If I had to chose, I would have said Zooey Deschanel, whose new sitcom is hilarious. But how come Edie Falco wasn't even nominated?

Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

Cinema Verite
Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)
The Hour
Mildred Pierce
Too Big to Fail

Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

Hugh Bonneville - Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)
Idris Elba - Luther
William Hurt - Too Big to Fail
Bill Nighy - Page Eight (Masterpiece)
Dominic West - The Hour

Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

Romola Garai - The Hour
Diane Lane - Cinema Verite
Elizabeth McGovern - Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)
Emily Watson - Appropriate Adult
Kate Winslet - Mildred Pierce

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones
Paul Giamatti - Too Big to Fail
Guy Pearce - Mildred Pierce
Tim Robbins - Cinema Verite
Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family

At least in this category there was a winner I rooted for. Well done, Peter Dinklage!

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

Jessica Lange - American Horror Story
Kelly MacDonald - Game of Thrones
Maggie Smith - Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)
Sofia Vergara - Modern Family
Evan Rachel Wood - Mildred Pierce

Once Upon a Time 1x09: True North

2012-01-16T12:24:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 15 January 2012

Storyline: Feeling their pain from having lived through the same experience, Emma desperately tries to help two homeless children find their birth father before they're separated and put into the foster care system. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale world that was, the Evil Queen coerces Hansel and Gretel into stealing an important artifact from a blind witch.

Trivia: The "Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk" comic that Henry is reading was published in 2009, making it three years out of date. Drug stores don't carry comics three years out of date, although it raises the question of how, if no one can come to Storybrooke, they get comic book deliveries. Another comic, "Kazar the Savage", is issue #1 and was published in 1981, making it even further out of date.
The comic that Henry is reading at the beginning is "Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk" #3. It was written by Damon Lindelof, who worked with Once Upon a Time's creators on Lost.
Behind the opening title, the witch's gingerbread house can be seen.

Best Quote:
Emma: What's your price?
Mr. Gold: Forgiveness.
Emma: How about tolerance?
Mr. Gold: Well, that's a start.

Review: To start with the end, I'll ask the same question Emma did: if strangers don't come to Storybrooke, how did the motorcycle guy arrive? Is he a disruption in the space/time continuum, or is he yet another of Regina's little helpers? I will not even go into how do people deliver goods to Storybrooke, cause that's simply one of the plot holes one would expect in a fantasy series.
This week's Once Upon a Time episode is two-faced: first up, we have the main story, one involving the most famous couple of siblings there is in the fairytale world - Hansel and Gretel. But their story has opened the door for Emma's own experience as an orphan abandoned by her parents, as well as the one regarding her son, Henry.
As virtually every story retold from this show's perspective, Hansel and Gretel's takes a new turn. We all know them as the tow kids who got lost in the woods and sought refuge in a house made entirely by gingerbread. Unlike the fairy tale version, in this series their father doesn't abandon them, but is instead apprehended by the Evil Queen, who wants to use the two siblings for her own schemes - first, to steal a black satchel from the owner of the house, the blind witch (who, incidentally, was a cannibal); second, to keep them around as her own children. There's a pattern there that can be followed to Henry, one that makes me wonder if the queen/Regina is incapable of conceiving. Unfortunately for her, wanting to have children doesn't necessarily make her a good mother.
I'll return for a little bit to Hansel and Gretel to say that the two - the girl especially - reminded me of their BtVS characters from "Gingerbread"; but Buffyverse fans were probably more excited about Emma Caulfield's appearance as the blind witch, one that didn't quite fit the witch from the story, but was for sure frightening. I just wish we'd seen more of her and, though every fairy tale character has its counterpart in Storybrooke, I doubt we'll see her again, since she was so definitively killed back in the enchanted forest. But Emma Caulfield's presence was enough to give me fond memories and make this episode one of my favorites.
Hansel and Gretel's story finds its equivalent in the little town in Maine as well, with the two siblings being orphans living in an abandoned house; their real lives are discovered just as they try to use Henry to steal some supplies from the local drugstore, leading to Emma's involvement to find their father, since she herself has suffered her entire life because she was unable to find her own parents.
The episode gets very personal as parallelisms are formed between the siblings, Emma and Henry, both of them having their own parent issues. I agreed with Emma when she decided to lie to Henry about his father (though I'm surprised he didn't see right through it, but I guess any ten year old wants to know his dad was a hero rather than knowing he was a scumbag). What I also found interesting is Emma telling Mary Margaret about Henry's theory regarding the two of them being related. I half expected Mary Margaret to have a flash similar to Graham's when she picked up Emma's baby blanket and was very disappointed when that didn't happen.
The episode marked a first: Ava and Nicholas (as Gretel and Hansel) found the happy ending none of the other characters has found so far, by being reunited with their father. That's a first step towards seeing real change in Storybrooke and also a first one towards defeating Regina. The same Regina who, obviously, wanted for something bad to happen to the two kids (and to Emma) by insisting on sending them out of town, when she probably knows that no one can leave Storybrooke.

Once Upon a Time 1x08: Desperate Souls

Back to Season 1
Once Upon a Time 1x10: 7:15 A.M.

Grimm 1x08: Game Ogre

2012-01-15T15:56:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 13 January 2012

Storyline: An escapee returns to Portland seeking revenge against those who put him behind bars. His unusual strength and high tolerance for pain makes Nick take notice. As the case escalates, Nick and Juliette are put in danger, and Monroe is called into action to help put an end to the convict's deadly rampage.

Trivia: Monroe is referencing the radio and later TV show Dragnet. In it, Detective Sergeant Joe Friday (Jack Webb) is the straight-faced dead-serious cop who inevitably interrupts witnesses who get emotional or upset by saying, "Just the facts."

Best Quote:
Nick: He's after Hank.
Eddie: Hank? Why?
Nick: He put him in prison.
Eddie: Oh, yeah, that'll do it. These guys carry grudges to the grave. And usually it's your grave.

The Story: Jack and the Beanstalk

Intro: "Fe fi fo fum... I smell the blood of an Englishman..."

Review: I'm not sure how this week's episode is related to the popular English story "Jack and the Beanstalk", but I found is extremely entertaining and involving characters that, up to this point, were somewhat left aside. Both Juliette and Renard were more or less involved in the action, as opposed to their sort of boring characters in the first episodes of this season - especially when talking about Nick's useless girlfriend.
"Game Ogre" saw Hank also take on a more central role, being directly involved in a series of murders committed by an escaped prison who was seeking revenge on the people who put him there - the DA, the judge, the jury foreman and the arresting officer - this one being none other than Nick's partner. It would have been interesting to see Hank have more to do, especially since he was Stark's last target, but, as always, Nick and Monroe managed to steal the screen as the core duo.
I will get to them in a minute, but before than I'd just like to comment a little but on the main villain of the week. Oleg Stark was supposed to be a contract killer, one so intelligent that he was not only capable of covering his tracks by using a dead man's fingerprints to throw the police off his trail, but also leaving little clues for Hank to find. Honestly, I found all that a little over the top for a Siegbarste - "your basic ogre". Of course, I buy the violent streak, the congenital analgesia and the abnormally dense bone structure, but I don't buy the intelligence one needs to be a contract killer.
Other than what I see is a fault in the construction of the villain, this episode showed real progress in storytelling and building the action. Having Nick and Eddie work together has always been one of my favorite things about this show and this week this was taken to a whole new level by Eddie's more than important involvement in the case. With Nick being attacked by Stark in his home (leading to a great response from Juliette, who wasn't as useless as she'd been before), Monroe had to take point in helping Hank deal with the Siegbarste and he did that like a real Grimm assistant.
While the best scene must be the one where Monroe shot Stark dead, I had a lot of fun watching him rummage through aunt Marie's trailer - virtually an armory of all things helpful to kill creatures like himself - in search of a poison and a riffle capable of shattering the Siegbarste from the inside. His "Dad... I swear to God, I'm doing the right thing" is the synthesis of all things that make the war between the Grimms and the creatures like him. This hasn't really been explored in depth, though we had a glimpse of that in "The Three Bad Wolves", and I'd really like this theme to be developed further and see a possible conflict between Nick and Monroe due to this history.
Some other interesting things: It was revealed that Nick was not working with Hank five years ago, when Hank arrested Stark for murder, so their relationship is a recent one; that's interesting because, in their partnership, it always looks like Nick has the more prominent position, though he's newer at the job. For once, Nick asked Monroe's help with his actual occupation, that of watchmaker. That led to a series of funny moments while Nick and Monroe were trying to hide their special connection from Hank. As of Hank, he showed he can be a complex character when he confessed to his partner to misplacing evidence in order to make sure Stark got convicted five years ago. Talk about police cleanliness, right? Aunt's Marie's trailer was not only used to find information about a certain creature, but her weapons were finally out to good use. That's what I want from every episode, guys!

Grimm 1x07: Let Down Your Hair

Back to Season 1
Grimm 1x09: Of Mouse and Man

CSI: NY 8x11: Who's There?

2012-01-15T08:45:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 13 January 2012

Storyline: A home invasion investigation becomes more complicated when the victim's family turns out to be less perfect than they originally seemed.

Trivia: Sandra Hess, who plays Elizabeth Ferguson, also appears in the CSI episodes "Assume Nothing" and "All for Our Country".
Vincent Ventresca, who plays Ron Ferguson, also appears in the CSI: Miami episode "Invasion".
Heather Sossaman, who plays Megan Ferguson, also appears in the CSI episode "CSI Down" and in the CSI: Miami one "Death Pool 100".
Robb Derringer, who plays Phillip Rogh, also appears in the CSI episode "Evaluation Day" and in the CSI: Miami one "Stalkerazzi".
Kate Lang Johnson, who plays Eva Hutton, also appears in the CSI: Miami episodes "Rap Sheet" and "Bolt Action".

Review: This is what I'm talking about! Despite this show's last two seasons not really rising up to my expectations (is anyone else missing Melina?), every once in a while, it reminds me why I preferred the New York based CSI over the other two. "Who's There?" managed to bring back the charm of the first seasons, despite not making enough use of my favorite characters (did Danny do anything other that the card trick, which, incidentally, I want to learn?).
The case - the murder of a real estate agent who got ambushed into his own house while having dinner with his wife - kept me guessing for the entire time, even though the killer was easy to identify from the beginning. But it was a wild ride, because what you thought you knew changed with every new piece of evidence discovered and so did my theories - from the wife planning the attack, to the wife poisoning the husband before the attack (when Sid couldn't find cause of death), to the husband maybe planning the attack which went completely wrong. I'm always excited when you don't really know what happened right from the start and there are various theories flying around.
The premise of the case was interesting enough, though it played on "the wife always does it" cliche. But since the answer wasn't really clear until the very end and not all the evidence against Elizabeth Ferguson was shown over the course of the installment (see the oil residue on her shirt), things were kept in the shadows for the entire hour.
I'm not going to complain about the under-use of Flack, Danny and Adam, instead here are the other things I loved and that made this episode so great: the opening scene, with the contrast between the apparent lull of the family dinner and the violence of the attack, giving the impression that it had all been planned by the wife; Danny's card trick and the online profile page Lindsay built for Mac; the car chase and the was Lindsay stopped Mark from getting away.

CSI: NY 8x10: Clean Sweep

Back to Season 8
CSI: NY 8x12: Brooklyn Til I Die

Chuck 5x10: Chuck vs. Bo

2012-01-15T06:54:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 13 January 2012

Storyline: Morgan's time with the Intersect compels Chuck and Sarah to take on a mission in Vail and enlist the help of a famous actress. Jeff and Lester continue their own spy mission to discover what's really going on under the Buy More.

Best Quote:
Morgan: Plus, wouldn't it be lovely not to get shot at?
Chuck: Exactly! Aren’t you sick of being shot at?
Sarah: Or getting shot. I mean, you get shot a lot.
Casey: Not considering how much I get shot at.

Review: The Chuck soap opera is slowly but definitively coming to an end and, honestly, I couldn't be more happy. First, because I'm a little bit tired of the chucksters and all this drama surrounding the show. It's been fun for a while and I can appreciate being a fan of something and doing everything in your power to save it from disappearance, but this has to stop at some point. Also, this season has been a major disappointment for me. I hate all this talk about quitting spying and the baby talk from someone who is clearly not meant to be a mother (and no, you can't say that all happened in Alias as well, because it didn't!); I also hate moving the Intersect from one to another like it's a frying pan everyone borrows at some point. There's only one meant to have it and that's Chuck; not Morgan and not Sarah - two of the most annoying characters of this series anyways.
So yeah, you can say I wasn't too happy with the outcome of this last episode, one that saw Carmichael Industries take on a new mission which, incidentally, turned out to be to fix the stupid stuff Morgan did while he had the Intersect. Go figure!
I've said it before and I will repeat it now: I hate the fact that Carmichael Industries has not really functioned and that they didn't really have proper clients to work with. And now they just want to change it to countering cyberterrorism; not a bad idea, except for the fact that they will be like any corporate bloke working from an office and there will be no guns involved. Safer for the Bartowski babies, you see... Meh... at least we won't get to see it.
So, going back to their last mission and cleaning up after Morgan, this day had to come at one point. The only fun part about it was having Bo Derek as a spy trying to get the Intersect for her boss, an ex-CIA agent with an inferiority complex and who was whining all the time about him having to be the one to have the Intersect in the first place. As villains go, Quinn was the most pathetic of them all. If you dreamed about Chuck & co having to face one last big bad for the end of this show, join the disappointed people group.
Equally, if you're among those who, like me, wished Chuck to end up with the Intersect eventually, well... you're in for a bad one. It was obvious Sarah was going to use those glasses from the moment she got surrounded by the big guys with the big guns. So now she's going to lose her mind just like Morgan did, go work for Verbanski and lose any interest in having babies. At least we'll be spared of baby talk for a while, hopefully. And, of course, I have to do this: Sarah, you idiot, never say "one last mission"!
Some other stuff: the Jeffster arc was the only funny thing this week's episode had to offer. It was hilarious seeing them end up in the same crashed car and having the same dialogue over and over again. The first time, I thought my video player had broken. On the other hand, the rainbow stuff was way over the top and didn't have any purpose other than annoying me to death and throw some drama in the relationship between Morgan and Alex as well, like there wasn't enough of it already. Casey hates Twitter (OK, that was a little bit funny) and Chuck had a schoolboy crush on Bo Derek (that was probably supposed to be funny, but then again, which teen didn't?).
Enough said, this season didn't cut it for me. The good this is that this show will be over in just two weeks.

Chuck 5x09: Chuck vs. the Kept Man

Back to Season 5
Chuck 5x11: Chuck vs. the Bullet Train

The Vampire Diaries 3x11: Our Town

2012-01-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 12 January 2012

Storyline: Although Caroline is in no mood to celebrate her 18th birthday, Elena, Bonnie and Matt surprise her with a small party in an unusual location. Damon and Stefan disagree on the best way to handle Klaus, and a reckless Stefan decides to test his theory by taking things to dangerous extremes. Bonnie is concerned when Elena tells her about Jeremy's new plans. At a Founder's meeting, Alaric once again runs into Dr. Fell, who is in the middle of an argument with her ex-boyfriend, the medical examiner. Tyler refuses to go along with Klaus' latest demand, and is surprised when Klaus seems to accept his decision.

Best Quote:
Elena: You can't kiss me again... it's not right.
Damon: It's right. It's just not right now.

Damon's Best: Those hybrids. They're really bringing the neighborhood down.

Review: Despite rooting for Spike towards the end, I've never hates Angel. Not as his broody, tormented self, nor as Angelus, the soulless vampire. That's because Angel was never boring and that's only in part due to David Boreanaz' looks (did I ever tell you he was my first celebrity crush?). Angel was dark and dangerous even when he was (sort of) part of the Scooby gang and though his personality never matched Blondie bear's, having him on that show definitely made things better.
The reason why I'm reminiscing about the Buffyverse is because of all this controversy surrounding Stefan. Let's get one thing clear, people. Stefan has always been boring, in the most annoying kind of way. You can only stand the "I love you"s for a very short time before it all gets old. Thankfully, this season, Stefan evolved into a better character, even if not a rootable one. Because, no matter how dark and interesting he gets, he has my eternal hatred, kind of in the same way Bill Compton has. So, in my eyes, there's nothing he can do good; I'm just never going to like him.
That being said, I find his recent methods of getting back at Klaus cool. Though it is a little unrealistic for a billion-old Original to be afraid of someone who isn't even the tenth of his age, what Klaus is really fearful of is loneliness. That's the main reason he hasn't gotten rid of what's left of his family, despite all the betrayals, and why he needs his hybrids. So playing on that fear was amazing from Stefan's part (despite, I say again, the horrible methods he used) and it's no wonder that made Damon a little bit proud. Plus, decapitating that Mindy girl was as awesome as she was annoying. But my favorite scene has to be Stefan speeding on the bridge with Elena ready to become undead if Klaus didn't send his hybrids away. What an adrenaline rush!
This was surely an action-packed episode and it's what I expect from my supernatural shows. I haven't had a moment's breath with all of Stefan's doings and kidnapping Elena was so unexpected that I gasped loudly. Luckily I was alone when I watched this.
It was also lucky I was alone because some parts were pretty tear-jerking. With Caroline's birthday coming up, one would expect crazy parties, right? Instead, she was depressed about being stuck at 17 for her entire existence - something I'd be depressed about as well. My perfect age to become a vampire would have been 23. That was a crazy one!
But it wasn't only Caroline's birthday funeral that got emotional, it was Elena's as well. She's stuck between accepting her new life, where things are not as black and white as she thought, and being stuck in her old self, one that was infinitely more boring. Though I found the little bridge ceremony over the top, that was a good Elena/Matt moment.
But let's return to Caroline and talk about another love triangle involving her. It's not only Matt and Tyler anymore. Can you guess who else seems to be falling for vampire Barbie? I'll give you a hint, he's an Original. OK, that wasn't hard to guess, especially if you saw that gorgeous bracelet he left for her and after you heard his beauty of the world speech. It's been hinted for a while that Klaus will find his romantic side and fall for someone, but I would have never expected that someone to be Caroline. I only half buy it, probably because, knowing Klaus, I'm always thinking he has an ulterior motive. And you can't say he saved her life, therefore he must like her; after all, it was he who sent Tyler out to bite her (and that answered my what happens if he bites her during sex question).
Joseph Morgan has become one of my favorite actors in a very short period of time. He's absolutely superb in his performance, it's not easy to play the part of a virtually unkillable supernatural being who also has a sensible side.
Other stuff: we finally said goodbye to Jeremy, after Bonnie making sure Elena knew she didn't agree with taking away her brother's free will. It looks like underage kids can get tequila anytime, which would normally lead me to do another rant about the bad example these shows are giving to the teens who watch them. I'm just too tired to do that now. And what do you all think about Meredith Fell? Honestly, I think she's a cold-hearted bitch who kills her boyfriends, much like a black widow. If she goes after Alaric, I'll kill her with her own stake.
I'll just end now with Damon's most simple yet sensitive words ever: "It's right. It's just not right now." I had to give him his weekly mention, even if his part in this week's installment was less of a lead one.

The Vampire Diaries 3x10: The New Deal
Back to Season 3
The Vampire Diaries 3x12: The Ties That Bind

The Secret Circle 1x11: Fire/Ice

2012-01-14T15:10:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 12 January 2012

Storyline: Cassie asks Adam for help when she wants to look into her father's past, and their search leads them to an eerily familiar place. It also rekindles an old flame when Adam, thrilled to be spending time with Cassie again, asks her to the Fire and Ice dance. In an effort to be a better father, Ethan offers to chaperone the dance, much to Adam's dismay. Faye asks Lee to help her with a spell that would grant her individual magic.

Best Quote:
Diana: No. Not impossible. We can't think that way. We're witches, dammit. We can get whoever we want.
Melissa: Because we're witches?
Diana: No. Because we're tough. And we're dressed kinda slutty.

Review: Robert Frost's "Fire and Ice" poem has become quite the popular one, especially after being put on the inside cover of one of the stupid "Twilight" books. Now, kids all over the world, who have no idea who Frost is or never read a verse in their lives, unless it's a Britney Spears one or whatever the new teen hit is, use this as messenger statuses and whatnot, and that is starting to be annoying. Equally annoying was hearing Diana - whom I had a higher opinion of before - reciting it to Adam.
However, the poem found its applicability in this week's episode - and no, I'm not talking about the dance (aren't there way too many dances at that high-school though?). It speaks about the end of a relationship, and two relationships were the focus here: the one between Adam and Diana and the one between Faye and everyone else.
I'm not going to go into the love triangle formed between Adam, Diana and Cassie, except to say that I don't think things will end up well on short term. Despite being the one to break it off, Diana still has feelings about emo-boy (as Lee calls him) and, though he probably still loves her, he's willing to move on and see if the written in the starts thing is real or just some invention of his father. And with Diana admitted to be scared of Cassie because of her dark magic (I'd be too if someone set my favorite dress on fire), I foresee a rift in the Circle.
Not that one hasn't happened yet. With Nick dead and Jake leaving with the hunters, the Circle is down one person. Now, Faye's actions got her thrown out of the gang and right into Lee's arms - a guy who is charming as a devil and probably as sneaky as a devil too. His involvement in Faye's life - and therefore in the Circle, sooner or later, will be interesting to follow.
But what did Faye to get her thrown out (unfairly, in her opinion - and maybe in mine, a little bit)? Searching for a way to get individual power led her to a spell from Cassie's Book of Shadows - one that was supposed to draw out Cassie's dark magic and give it to her. Unfortunately, the spell backfired and, instead of drawing the power out of blondie, she drew it out of the other three Circle members, creating chaos and probably giving Ethan nightmares about another fire started by the last Circle.
In terms of action, I can't say this episode didn't deliver. There was enough magic and enough mayhem to keep me satisfied and not bored for one hour. What I didn't really appreciate was the fact that it all ended in one episode. I'm not sure why the showrunners don't go with a storyline and keep it going for a while longer. I would have loved watching Faye wreak some havoc in the little town. Her last minute regret and reversing the spell was equally predictable and uncool.
Some other stuff: Diana and Melissa bonded over their lost childhood, being boyfriend-less and being scared of their current BFFs. They also wore slutty outfits that made me question their parents' sanity. For the love of me, this is supposed to be a teen show, shouldn't it give a better example to these kids who watch it? Also, why couldn't Jake stay away for one more episode and don't interrupt the kiss?
I'm not excited to see where things are going. The Circle is kind of broken (not in the magical way, just in the friendship way), with Faye banished and Diana and Melissa straying away from Cassie. Are now Adam, Cassie and Jake going to make an awesome trio? Anyways, with the Circle unstable, now it would be a great time for a big bad to show themselves. Yep, I'm kind of rooting for disaster; I want to see something interesting happen already!

The Secret Circle 1x10: Darkness

Back to Season 1
The Secret Circle 1x12: Witness

The Mentalist 4x11: Always Bet on Red

2012-01-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 12 January 2012

Storyline: Jane and the CBI must narrow down the long list of suspects after a high-end divorce attorney with many enemies is killed on his speed boat. Meanwhile, the FBI questions Jane about Panzer's murder and Red John's involvement.

Best Quote:
Jane: What does it matter who killed Panzer? It was the San Joaquin killer.
Darcy: So you said, but I studied Panzer very carefully. There's not a lot of evidence to support that.
Jane: Not your kind of evidence. He was the San Joaquin killer.
Lisbon: I agree.
Darcy: It is possible, but his murderer still has to be apprehended.
Jane: Why?
Darcy: Because killing someone without government permission is wrong?

Review: Red John is like an annoying mosquito that won't let you sleep at night; whenever you think you got rid of him and you get to rest, he comes buzzing near your ear all over again. And now, with Jane practically inviting him to kill someone, Red John will probably take a closer interest in him than before. Their relationship has always been an interestingly close one, with the serial killer playing a cat and mouse game with Patrick and sparring his life in more than one occasion, but things are going to get even more intense now. I agree with Lisbon, inciting him to kill Panzer will just take the game to the next level and Jane will have to go to great lengths to protect the people he cares about.
It was going to be only a matter of time until someone else asked Jane if he really killed Red John. I am actually surprised neither of his team mates - especially Cho - asked this so far and they just blindly believed that Timothy Carter was the most wanted serial killer out there. I am pretty sure agent Darcy will not be the last one to think that Jane might have made a mistake and then troubles will start again for the ex-psychic.
Darcy's inquiry into Panzer's death and the danger she herself got in sue to her involvement in the case made Patrick do things he'd never done before. He's always been somewhat of a cheater when it came to justice and his own moral beliefs rarely match the law system, but I don't remember ever seeing him blame innocent people of murder or planting evidence. I fear this may come against him at some point.
I wasn't equally excited about the case - the murder of a divorce attorney, except for the explosion part and his blown up leg being chewed on by a shark. I felt that was retribution for him yelling at Lisbon just seconds before for being late to their meeting. But this murder brought Summer - the hooker turned CI - back. I'm not a fan of Samaire Armstrong, but I have a crush on her character in this series, mainly because Summer knows how to make Cho blush. I love her lack of inhibitions and anyone capable of making the stern agent find himself at least slightly baffled is my hero.
Rigsby and Van Pelt stayed in the background this week, but each had their moment - Rigsby with his lawyer joke, and Grace showing that she still has issues when she told Colette Santori that "men lie... and kill."

The Mentalist 4x10: Fugue in Red

Back to Season 4
The Mentalist 4x12: My Bloody Valentine

The Big Bang Theory 5x12: The Shiny Trinket Maneuver

2012-01-13T16:35:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 12 January 2012

Storyline: Penny must help Sheldon work on his relationship with Amy when he trivializes one of her accomplishments. Bernadette makes a revelations which makes Howard reconsider their future together.

Best Quote:
Sheldon: I don't think there's anything in this jewelry store that Amy would appreciate more than the humidifier that we were just looking at at Sears.
Penny: Oh, my God, now I know what I sound like to you when I say stupid stuff.

The Relationship Agreement Clause: Our relationship agreement specifies that the second Thursday of every month, or the third Thursday in a month with five Thursdays, is date night.

Review: Does anyone still think Howard and Bernadette are really going to get married after the events in this episode? I've never been able to picture Howie engaged, let alone married, and it's not even about the differences between him and his short sweetheart. It's the thought that he believes there are still plenty of fish in the ocean that makes me a skeptic.
This week's episode was all about relationships. Not only about the one between Howard and Bernadette, but also the slightly more entertaining gone between Sheldon and Amy. I'm still baffled every time I hear the words "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" come out of his mouth though.
With Bernie not liking - or wanting any children ("Right, when it's our kid that's ruined my body and kept me up all night, and I've got no career and no future and nothing to be happy about for the next 20 years, sure, that'll be completely different.") and Sheldon realizing he might not be boyfriend material, Penny and Leonard took on the roles of teachers and imparted some of their experience with their friends, who were desperately in need of advice. I was missing the Sheldon/Penny scenes, despite my constant bitching about them in the first seasons, and I was reminded of the great chemistry they have and how hilarious their exchanges can be. As for Leonard, he managed to surprise his roommate with not only a great relationship advice (despite his many failures in the romantic department), but also one that suited Sheldon's personality as it didn't involve any emotional implication.
Returning to Howard and Bernadette, her dislike for children, which horrified her fiance, raised in a very Jewish environment, was perfectly put into context. The magic act was especially hilarious, with Bernie throwing daggers out of her eyes every time that kid complained about the milk pitcher. And despite my undying hate for Howard's magic use, the condom pulled out of the ear one made my day.
The only complaint I have (still) is not using Raj enough. This has been a constant, unfortunately, and I don't blame this on bringing in Bernadette and Amy; Chuck Lorre just doesn't seem to like him very much.
Some of the highlights: Amy's reaction to receiving Sheldon's gift got me laughing out loud. Buying the pocket watch was such a Sheldon thing to do that I was half expecting him to say something like "I look like a train conductor." The Jenga Donkey Kong game (which is a real game!) for Raj's Mario reference. And let's not forget about Sheldon's walking to clear his head and going into the saloon for a whiskey.

The Big Bang Theory 5x11: The Speckerman Recurrence

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The Big Bang Theory 5x13: The Recombination Hypothesis

Bones 7x06: The Crack in the Code

2012-01-13T15:30:00.000-08:00

Original Air Date: 12 January 2012

Storyline: The team investigates what appears to be a murder scene at a national monument, but the only clue left is a coded message made of human blood that will be the beginning of a scavenger hunt for the solution, courtesy of a new, technologically-proficient foe. Elsewhere, Booth and Brennan look for the perfect house for their family.

Trivia: Originally scheduled for December 15, 2011, as the mid-season finale and break for star Emily Deschanel's maternity leave, Fox network switched this episode with the scheduled rerun of the Bones backdoor pilot episode, "The Finder." Presumably this swap was made in hopes of giving The Finder a bigger lead-in audience than the rerun would have done.
This episode aired at a special time, 8:00 pm E/P (7:00 pm CT), as The Finder took over Bones' time slot for the duration of Emily Deschanel's maternity leave.

Best Quote:
Cam: Word of advice: Do not mention Booth to Booth or he will shoot you.

Review: December came and went and now, a month after it was originally scheduled, Bones winter finale aired and left me sad for taking such a huge break until the next episode is aired. You might say that this show ended its first half of the season with a bang - and I'm not talking about the one that somehow killed the Danish girl from the inside, leading to that disgusting spam body that Hodgins and Wendell blew up. It was the perfect story before this forced hiatus - forced by Emily Deschanel's maternity leave, as it concluded with Booth and Brennan finally finding the perfect house after months of searching for something that needed to be "a man cave, a girl cave, and a perfect baby's room with at least an acre of land", but it also gave us one of the most interesting villains in the show's seven-season run.
So, why exactly is Christopher Pelant interesting? Well, to start, he's a genius. Not a genius in a Bones way, not even in a Zach way, but a tech nerd or, as he defined himself, "a hacktivist" - a patriot who dedicated his life to exposing the corruption from the US administration through hacking the websites of virtually every major governmental agency, including the FBI. He's someone who doesn't mind going from hacking computers to hacking people into itty bitty pieces to make a point, and that's just what he did to expose some of the cover-ups the FBI had to so in order to protect their CIs.
So, if people already know who the killer is, why is Pelant the season's villain? Well, because no one can prove that he committed the murders, because he has the best alibi in the world: an ankle monitoring device confining him to the interior of his home.
The investigation was, indeed, a scavenger hunt; a hunt for clues that put Hodgins into making his grandfather proud mode by trying to figure out the code embedded in the victim's bones - the same bones that put a malware right into Angela's million dollars computer and literally fried it. Although he was just introduced this week, I am already ranking Pelant second in my list of this show's best villains, after Gormogon, and he has good chances of surpassing him if he continues to kill people from the comfort of his home, and without any working computer or internet connection available to him.
Is it too early to call Pelant epic? Maybe, but hell if I understand how someone if capable of encrypting a malware into bone. This sounds like something right out of the craziest SCI-FIs ever made.
The personal side of this week's installment was focused on yet another scavenge hunt - the one for the perfect house to hold the growing Booth family (and didn't that house look just like Ted Mosby's?). But also Sweets' for the perfect gift for Daisy, which, in his vision, turned out to be a blue Vespa. Both arcs delighted us with great moments well placed to give us a break from the killer search, the funniest of which was probably Caroline Julian's "Why is this man wearing an Easter egg on his head?"
The episode was so great that I didn't even miss having baby Hodgins around, though maybe I would have liked to have more of Wendell in it. It would have been great to see Brennan give birth before the winter finale, and now I just can't wait for the show's return. And no, I will not be watching that idiotic spin-off in the meantime.

Bones 7x05: The Twist in the Twister

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People's Choice Awards 2012. Who Were the Winners?

2012-01-12T14:28:00.000-08:00

So the voting period has ended and the people have decided what their favorite actors, movies, TV shows and musicians were in 2011. Or rather the 15-year old kids have decided, cause they're the ones who have the time to vote over and over again for their Biebers and Pattinsons. If you want to see what happens when you don't limit the votes to one per person (or IP), check the list below. Since this is a TV blog, I'm only listing the TV nominees and winners.

FAVORITE TV CRIME DRAMA Bones (my choice) Castle Criminal Minds CSI NCIS	FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTRESS Blake Lively Ellen Pompeo Emily Deschanel (my choice) Eva Longoria Nina Dobrev	FAVORITE TV GUEST STAR Gwyneth Paltrow - Glee Jim Carrey - The Office Katy Perry - How I Met Your Mother Kristin Chenoweth - Glee Michael J. Fox - The Good Wife (my choice)
FAVORITE SCI-FI/FANTASY SHOW Fringe Supernatural True Blood (my choice) The Vampire Diaries The Walking Dead	FAVORITE CABLE TV COMEDY Hot in Cleveland It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Nurse Jackie (my choice) Royal Pains Weeds	FAVORITE TV COMPETITION SHOW American Idol America's Got Talent Dancing With The Stars So You Think You Can Dance (my choice) The Voice
FAVORITE NETWORK TV DRAMA The Good Wife (my choice) Grey's Anatomy House Supernatural The Vampire Diaries	FAVORITE NETWORK TV COMEDY The Big Bang Theory (my choice) Glee How I Met Your Mother Modern Family Two and a Half Men	FAVORITE DAYTIME TV HOST Al Roker, Ann Curry, Matt Lauer, Natalie Morales, Savannah Guthrie - The Today Show Anderson Cooper - Anderson Ellen DeGeneres - The Ellen DeGeneres Show (my choice) Kelly Ripa, Regis Philbin - Live with Regis & Kelly Rachael Ray - Rachael Ray Show
FAVORITE CABLE TV DRAMA Dexter Game of Thrones (my choice) Pretty Little Liars True Blood White Collar	FAVORITE NEW TV COMEDY 2 Broke Girls Last Man Standing New Girl (my choice) Suburgatory Up All Night	FAVORITE LATE NIGHT TV HOST Conan O'Brien - Conan David Letterman - Late Show with David Letterman Jay Leno - The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Jimmy Fallon - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Jimmy Kimmel - Jimmy Kimmel Live
FAVORITE NEW TV DRAMA Once Upon a Time (my choice) Person of Interest Revenge The Secret Circle Terra Nova	FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTOR Alec Baldwin Chris Colfer Cory Monteith Jim Parsons (my choice) Neil Patrick Harris	FAVORITE TV CELEBREALITY STAR Gene Simmons Giuliana Rancic Kathy Griffin Kim Kardashian Tia & Tamera Mowry
FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTOR David Boreanz Hugh Laurie (my choice) Ian Somerhalder Nathan Fillion Patrick Dempsey	FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTRESS Courteney Cox Jane Lynch Kaley Cuoco (my choice) Lea Michele Tina Fey