Welcome back to Last Week in TV. We discussed summer TV last time so this time I am sharing my 3 biggest wishes for returning shows I watch. For any shows that returned this week, the wish list can be found with the review. Please discuss your wishes for your favorite shows in the comments section below. While you're at it, don't forget to nominate a show for me to review. It's a simple 2 question form to fill out so it won't take much time. This week's nominated show is Drop Dead Diva, which was smarter than I expected and twice as much fun. It is on my hiatus to-watch list now. As always, I'd love to hear what you thought about TV this week. Until next time, happy viewing!
Returning Show Wish Lists:
As the fall season begins in earnest, here are the things I most want to see in the returning shows I watch. For shows that returned this week, their wish list is in with the review of the episode.
1. Less romance of all sorts, but especially love geometry
2. Equal time between the 100 and Ark survivors
3. More time learning about the various grounders
1. Less wacky and more cleverly funny episodes
2. More Hickey and less Dean
3. Could we please get Troy back? Please.
1. Bring back Moriarty. This is a must.
2. More of Watson becoming a stronger character in her own right
3. Continue Sherlock's growth into a decent human being
1. Fix Juliette or get rid of her. She's no more a real part of the story than she was in previous years when she was largely a plot device.
2. Rediscover the humor and add it into every episode.
3. Tell Wu the truth
4. More information about the Royals and their goals
1. Step up the pace. I love this show but there are long stretches where nothing happens.
2. Step up the answers. This is another show that tends to pile them on instead of pacing them out.
3. Give Elaine more to do. She's the most underappreciated one of all.
1. Stop the Abraham and Anna affair. NOW!
2. Add in more historical figures we know or at least open up the scale of the war
3. The "good" guys are already as grayscale as they can get. It is time to make the "villains" more grey then too. Simcoe is full-on nuts, Rodgers is a savage, and Hewlett is a moron. Only Andre is clever. We need to have more sympathetic villains if it's going to get harder to root for the good guys. After all, every war has 2 perspectives.
Overall Awards:
After spending the first 12 minutes confused, the rest of the Sleepy Hollow premiere raced by leaving me exhilarated and excited by the promise of this season. To be honest, this was my most anticipated return and that made me nervous because it is very seldom that the actual episode lives up to the hype. This one did. There were some slow moments like the mirror chat but for the most part I was on baited breath throughout. I especially loved Jenny and Henry, who both stole any scene they were in and did a fantastic job in their scene together. I would love to see them interact more. The only thing that disappointed me is that Katrina is still isolated from the rest of them. I like how she has her own present day plot and Headless getting a virtual head so he can talk was a good plan, but I need Ichabod and her to have some time together to explore this new world. That can't happen if the plot continually keeps them apart.
Grade: A
Best Scene - Jenny kicks butt
Best Reason to Watch - the pacing and continued mystery
Best Humor - Ichabod's phone is out of memory
Biggest Twist - the entire first 15 minutes are a hallucination
Best Addition - Ben Franklin
Best Character - tie - Jenny / Henry
Most Missed - Captain Irving
Least Missed - Cho, as in I don't know why he's still in this show
Biggest Plot Device - the key that lets Abbie out of Purgatory and miraculously crumbles when she's safe
Creepiest Moment - Henry asks to take Abbie's hand so he can read her sins
Best Quotes -
1. Henry: "I am a sin eater. I can taste your lie. You don't have to tell me. Your sins will speak for themselves." Jenny: "I've done a lot of sinning. I hope you choke on every one of them."
2. Abbie: "Party's over." Ichabod: "Jeez, thank God."
Wishlist -
1. Keep the humor. Part of what makes this series great is that it doesn't take itself too seriously.
2. Keep up the breakneck pacing. No show except Teen Wolf moves as quickly as this show does and that's a fantastic thing.
3. More Jenny, less Brooks
Scorpion - 1.01 - Pilot
This is the first new show that had my attention the entire way. It was fun right from the beginning and didn't bog down the action in order to give us a lot of exposition. We know these guys are smart, they all have a history, and they really aren't concerned about the law. That's all I need to know in the pilot, because the background can come later. Instead it rushes headlong into the plot in a mere 6 minutes. Yahoo! It might be a pilot record these days. Add to it the team vibe I have been missing since TNT cancelled Leverage and this becomes must-see TV for at least 4 episodes. If it can keep the momentum and make the case of the week as interesting as this one, then it will be appointment TV. It does get a few points shaved off for the absolutely ludicrous way it resolved said case, but I can overlook ludicrous if the action/pace is good enough and if I eventually come to care about the characters. In the end I want to be entertained, and I was for a solid 42 minutes here. This is what Intelligence wanted to be.
Grade: A-
Ranking - 5
Audience - people who don't mind a bit of the ludicrous in their fast-paced action fun. If you can stomach the uploaded alien virus in Independence Day, you'll be fine. People who like teams working together to solve the impossible, a la a genius Leverage.
Best Scene - Paige and Walter haul it to get to the airport
Best Reason to Watch - the heart pounding pace
Best Moment - Ralph hands Paige her keys
The "Welcome Back" Award - Alimi Ballard, who played David on Numbers
Biggest Huh Moment - Why do we have an emotional pep talk in the middle of a crisis?
Best Soccer Mom Driving - Paige
Biggest Surprise - Gallo takes a truck head on in order to allow Walter to get to the airport
Least Believable - everything to do with the plane , the plug, and the laptop
Best Quotes -
1. Walter: "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your son's a genius."
2. Paige: "You're the world's smartest computer guy and this comes down to plugging something in."
3. Walter: "You cross me on this, I'll go online and in less than an hour I will erase you."
With a 3.9 in demo, this is the biggest pilot of the season so far and definitely a buzz worthy new show. The best thing about the episode was how they interspersed the students trying to get rid of a body, while flashing back to how they all met and the first case they worked together. I am not sure if the entire season will take place in those 3 months alternating the details leading up to the murder with a crime of the week or not, but it does seem likely. It's a format that really worked here so I imagine it will continue to draw people's attention and lead to great cliffhangers like this one. Add to it the death of another student, which likely involved the dead husband as well, and suspicions about how far all the characters are willing to go, and you've got a show that works on many different levels. This may end up the winner for Biggest New Show at season's end. It is certainly the most water cooler worthy pilot so far.
Grade: A-
Ranking - 5
Prediction - This was the highest rated pilot of the week and it has a lot of buzz. While it is always hard to predict how a show will end up based solely on the pilot, I am guessing it will be renewed and may end up the biggest new show of the year even though the demo will of course drop.
Audience - people who like a good mystery and complicated characters
Best Scene - Connor singing about murder to the tune of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Best Moment - Keating and her husband look away from each other after hearing about his dead student. Something was definitely going on between hubby and the dead girl and Keating knows it.
Best Reason to Watch - the mystery of how these law students turned murderers
Best Set-Up - Interspersing the murder with how the murderers all met each other in a law class
The "Welcome Back" Award - Liza Weil, who was Paris on Gilmore Girls. She looks so different that I didn't immediately recognize her.
Best Cliffhanger - you cannot beat a bunch of law school students burning the body of their professor's husband for making people want to tune back in and see what happened
Best Quote - Keating: "Good morning. I don't know what terrible things you've done in your life up to this point, but clearly your karma's out of balance to get assigned to my class."
Note - This was my favorite comedy last season. I've been waiting all summer for it to return and I wasn't disappointed. I love the Goldberg family.
Ah, the mix tape. That brings back memories. Do kids today even do mix tapes or do they share playlists? I remember taping songs off the radio. The sound quality sucked but Casey Kasem was bound to play that one song that reminded you of your special someone so you could hand them a mix tape on Monday at school. Those were the days. Thankfully my mom was never as crazy as Beverly Goldberg, who in her trademark way goes way overboard this episode. Here's a hint - no kid ever makes a mix tape for their parents. Luckily Beverly saves it in the end with The Goldbergs' traditional combination of laughs and heart. Murray scores too by bailing Barry out of a beer jam. In the end it is the kind of heartwarming comedy that will always be appointment TV for me.
Grade: B+
Best Scene - Murray tells Barry that he will always be there for them but not to tell the others
Best Reason to Watch - Murray and Beverly rescue their kids
Biggest Aww Moment - Beverly helps Adam with Dana
Best Moment - Meller takes Barry's fake id
Best Cross-Speaking - Beverly reinterprets everything Pops says to mean that she needs to interfere with Adam's love life
Best Character Interaction - Barry and Erica
Biggest Laugh - Murray looking at the stairs and deciding to just stay downstairs for the day
The "Oh No You Didn't" Award - Beverly tells Erica and Barry that Adam is her favorite kid
Best Nostalgia - Adam's Lost Boys shirt
Biggest Surprise - I actually liked David Spade in something. That's a first.
Best Quotes -
1. Pops: "Did you just make a date with your mother?" Adam: "Yes, this whole situation is super messed up."
2. Beverly: "Both of you look at me. Adam's my favorite." Erica: "Yeah, I'm okay with it." Barry: "Me too."
3. Barry: "Let's go buy some yeast and barley and start bonding in the bathtub." Murray: "Okay, whatever stupid thing you're up to, I am not bailing you out." Barry: "I know you always say this, but let's just pretend for one second I did something real stupid." Murray: "I can do that." Barry: "Isn't it your legal responsibility as my father to bail me out?" Murray: "No, it's my responsibility to make you face whatever dumb a** decision you made head on even if kills you. I'm a good dad."
Wishlist -
1. Keep the combination of humor and heart
2. Make Beverly less unbelievable. She can still be over the top and wacky, just tone her down a little.
3. More of Murray interacting with his kids
Nominated Show:
This show could go wrong really quickly because it depends on the audience being able to sympathize with Jane/Deb. Making her too much of a joke, too shallow, or too serious about the situation would topple this delicately balanced house of cards, especially when the stiff wind of having Deb's boyfriend work at Jane's office blows in. That's a plot device I did not need. Still the pilot is charming and both women are shown to have their strengths and issues, which helps me like the combination of the two. The memory canon is all kinds of wonky but watching Jane inspire others while learning how to deal with this new life of her own overcomes it. In a word I found this episode charming and I have to admit it was hard not to allow Netflix to go to the second episode and play hooky from the rest of the episodes I need to review.
Grade: B+
Ranking: 4
Best Scene / Best L'Oreal speech - Jane convinces the cheated on wife to stand up for herself because she's worth it
Best Quote - Fred: "You're grieving." Jane: "For myself. Does that make me self-absorbed and selfish?" Fred: "Nah, it makes you human."
Best Reason to Watch - it is an intriguing concept delivered with humor and heart
The "Hey It's You" Award - Deb on here is Paige on Royal Pains. She's got a better role now.
Worst Bit of Fate - tripping on a designer purse into a gunman. That's just destiny coming to screw you. Buried alive by oranges is not exactly normal either.
The "Welcome Back" Award - Well, not so much a welcome back since this episode took place in 2009, but I will take Susan Walters and Linden Ashby any way I can get them. The real life husband and wife team playing divorcing spouses is an awesome bit of meta. Love them both on Teen Wolf.
Most Bizarre - Stacy acts like she's never heard of chocolate before
Most Hilarious - Spray cheese therapy
Most Confusing - why does Jane remember some stuff like legal terms but not the clients in which she used them with? I think they are taking liberties with memory because she obviously remembers studying those words.
Best Music - Big Girls Don't Cry by Fergie
New Shows:
In the wake of the former Secretary of State dying in a plane crash, an ex-CIA analyst/history professor steps into the job and finds herself in the middle of a government conspiracy at the highest level while dishing out PSA's on world health care. That's a lot to tackle in the pilot. The best thing about Madam Secretary so far is the acting. While Tea Leoni is an appealing combination of shrew negotiator and insecure mother, the real gem for me was Nadine, played by Bebe Neuwirth, aka Frasier's wife Lilith. Her blink and you missed it scenes crackled and I hope that her part is beefed up in the future. After all, Madam Secretary is going to need an ally. Mostly the plot about saving two American idiots in Syria was nothing new but it was used as a vehicle to show that Elizabeth is not going to be your average political monkey. Those interested in political mavericks should give this one a try but I felt bored most of the way and the hook of government conspiracy made me even less likely to continue.
Grade: C-
Ranking - 2+
Audience - Those who like shows about political maneuverings and strong women in shaky situations
Best Scene - Elizabeth and the Chief of Staff go toe-to-toe after she goes around him to PotUS
Best Reason to Watch - acting
Best Surprise - while the kids are unique, thus far they are NOT brats
Worst/Least Surprise - the government conspiracist dies under suspicious circumstances
The "Welcome Back" Award - Tim Daly returns to TV. I don't think I've seen him in anything weekly since Wings and the Fugitive remake.
Best Quote - Elizabeth: "Is it my masculine energy? I've got to much of it, because I know some men, they're turned off by women in positions in power." Hank: "I totally love women in power positions. I'm completely attracted to your masculine energy. (pause) Tell me what to say."
All I know about Batman I learned from the vastly superior TV show (yeah I love that one best), some cheesy movies, one I actually liked, and that movie everyone else loved but I didn't. Therefore I had no idea who most of these people were until they were explicitly indentified and even less about what was going on. I thought Fish was the best developed of the villains, probably because she is an original character, while Harvey felt the most stereotypical. When getting ready to review this show, I asked other non-comic book fans how they felt about the show as well to see if I was the only one who felt lost. CP kindly answered me (thanks!) and she did some research on the characters she didn't know. To quote her, "I can't imagine anyone with no comic book or Batman movie background watching this. You kind of have to know things to get into it." That's my general feeling as well. I knew who the main ones were but I didn't feel connected to any of the characters in particular to make me want to put much effort into it.
Grade: C
Ranking - 2+
Audience - I would say comic book fans, but I have no idea if this origin story is faithful to the comics or not, so I am going to say people who like antiheroes in their genre TV.
Best Reason to Watch - back story on the non-Batman characters of lore
Biggest Question - How did the fat mugger outrun the ex-soldier police rookie?
Most Clichéd - earnest rookie do-gooder cop paired with haggard, old-time. rule-bending, cynic cop
Most Likely to End Up in Starling City - Falcone, who sounds an awful lot like Blood with his crime to save people speech
Best Quotes-
1.Barbara: "Hey, I very much doubt that you are out of your depth but even if you are, you know how to swim, don't you?" Gordon: "Yes I do." Barbara: "So swim."
2. Falcone: "I'm a business man. You can't have organized crime without law and order."
3. Gordon: "You make a life of crime sound very noble."
I am a sucker for shows with historical flashbacks. From my first encounter with Highlander to Monday's Sleepy Hollow, I love seeing the historical mixed in with current times. I am also a fan of Ioan Gruffudd, from way back in his Horatio Hornblower days. That said I was predisposed to like this show. The premise is about a man who cannot die. Whenever he does die, he spontaneously wakes up naked in a body of water. Try explaining that multiple times. Somehow his body where he died disappears as well - again try explaining that one. While his true profession is looking for a way to break his curse and die, he works as a medical examiner in the day time and partners with Detective Martinez. Both lost a spouse in the past, hers more recently. Overall I thought the first two episodes were good if a bit slow in parts. The storyline is intriguing although Henry relies too much on Sherlock Holmesian manners. The best part of the show so far is Abe and Henry's relationship and the cases of the week, which were unique and challenging. The worst part is the pacing and Henry's stalker. I get that this is the serial part of the story and usually that's my favorite, but in this case it stops the momentum and I get the feeling they are going to drag this plot point out beyond being tolerable.
Grade: B-
Ranking - 4
Audience - People who like their supernatural story with some procedural elements a la Grimm. Fans of Elementary.
Best Scene - Abe tells Henry that they cannot leave New York
Best Sherlock Holmes Impersonation - Henry when stalking the cello player on the subway
The "Welcome Back" Award - Judd Hirsch, who I loved on Numbers
Best Back Story - Abe is the baby Henry's wife rescued from a concentration camp
The "Just No" Award - If you only have 2 episodes, it is way too early for a recapitation.
Most Ludicrous - NO ONE dies that often in one year. I mean he's already died what 4 times in 2 episodes? Nothing like keeping a low profile there.
Best Character - tie - Abe / Lucas
Best Quotes -
1. Lucas: "It's crazy actually. Sometimes he doesn't even need to open 'em up to tell how they died. It's like they speak to him. It's kind of awesome…and kind of creepy."
2. Abe: "I have news for you. You might not be able to die, but you haven't lived for a very long time."
3. Lucas: "That is new information and now something that I can't unknow."
The comfort of police procedurals is you know what you're getting into before you actually watch. This has all the trademarks of a NCIS show. Intriguing case, easy to like characters, and steady pacing throughout. Nothing here will shock you but I did like that the first case was personal to the lead character. As a lead, Pride is far more laid back than Gibbs, less by the book than Hetty, and more seasoned than Callen. Like all of those though, he's passionate about his team, whether officially or unofficially his, and will likely end up a wise father figure to them all. His nemesis is a crooked, up and coming politician, but that's the driest part of the pilot. In the end, the success of all procedurals is in whether the characters grab people's interest or not. The verdict is still out on this one.
Grade: C+
Ranking - 3+
Audience - Fans of NCIS or really any crime procedural
Best Reason to Watch - Scott Bakula
Best Character Interaction - Loretta and Pride
Biggest Aww Scene - Papa Parks says he can't play because he feels he failed his son
Biggest Aww Moment - Pride calls his daughter just to hear her voice
NCIS Cameo - Ducky
Biggest Huh - How did they not smell the body decaying in the New Orleans heat?
The "Welcome Back" Award - CCH Pounder, who played Mrs. Frederic on Warehouse 13
The "Learn Something New Each Day" Award - diet orange means drive-by in gang speak…at least on TV
Trend that Needs to Go - I realize NCIS' trademark is camera stuff in transitions, but the Day-Glo rave hues do nothing for the show. Break tradition and use music to transition to commercial. It is New Orleans.
Most Surprising - This is the least technical of all the NCIS franchise, but they have a sweet office kitchen and don't mind taking time out of a case for bread pudding. Nice. Gibbs won't even let his team grab a sandwich.
Best Quote - Pride: "What the hell you waiting for?" LaSalle: "Well you did offer breakfast….We'll take it to go."
Black-ish started out rough for me especially since I just watched Fresh Off the Boat, which is a 90's version with Asian culture. Switch noodle cuisine for basketball and it felt like a similar show. I was about to write it off until the end. From the beginning Pops was the best character, mostly because of his snark, so when he explained to Dre that he didn't need to "keep it real" as much as "keep it honest" things did a big 180. The party for his son only made things better. I still don't know if this show is for me, but Laurence Fishburne is always a draw so I'll sample another 1-2 episodes before making a decision.
Grade: C+
Ranking - 3-
Audience - people who like their comedy with social awareness on the side
Best Reason to Watch - Pops
The "Welcome Back" Award - Laurence Fishburne of a gazillion movies, CSI, and Hannibal
Weirdest Reference - OJ Simpson trial, yikes.
Most Repeated Phrase - "Keeping it real." I didn't realize anyone said that anymore.
Most Sympathetic - Andre Junior
Best Quotes -
1. Pops: "I smell a group hug coming on. I'm going to the track."
2. Dre: "No, stand right there and experience your roots." Pops: "You're better off watching Roots."
3. Dre: "Hey Pops, how the hell did you keep it real with us when we were growing up?" Pops: "I didn't. I kept it honest." Dre: "So I really screwed this thing up, didn't I?" Pops: "Screwing things up is just another part of what it means to be a father, Dre. It's how you learn to fix things. Just remember son, whatever you do, make sure it's right for who you are."
4. Pops: "This ain't our culture. We black, not African. Africans don't even like us."
Weekly Shows:
I'm not sure what I expected from SHIELD's opening but it was definitely bigger. This felt like a good third or fourth episode, but didn't wow me as a premiere. The highlight was Creel, the new villain. I really liked his super power and I think it will make for an interesting season-long villain. The new mercenaries seem fun as well and I hope they return on a frequent basis. I also thought that they did a good job with Fitz. He is still around but surprisingly, there are consequences for what he's been through. I like the idea of the genius having to struggle to communicate and fighting frustration over his new limitations. Having Simmons be a hallucination was a great twist too. With the exception of the great action sequences, the rest felt a little flat to me and I cannot wait until the storyline kicks into full gear. I know a lot of it will be SHIELD against the US military, which I am not looking forward to, but I have great hopes for season 2 riding high on the end of season 1's momentum.
Grade: B-
Best Scene - HalluciSimmons encouraging Fitz not to give up
Best Reason to Watch - new bad guys, especially Creel
The "Welcome Back" Award - Lucy Lawless, Xena herself, joins the team
Best Back Story - first O84
Biggest Huh - Not sure why they are treating Ward like Hannibal Lector. He betrayed them and he's good at his job, but I'd think any Super Max is good. Surely SHIELD has at least one secure place left.
Best Wrap-Up of a Season One Cliffhanger - Fitz is up and going, but not exactly himself
Biggest Twist - Simmons isn't really there. Fitz is hallucinating her.
Least Likely to Inspire Pity - Ward, no matter how much he tries to sell his sob story in this episode
Best Quotes -
1. Agent: "You get anything?" Tripp: "A new enemy."
2. May: "You're the man in charge but I'm in charge of you, remember."
3. Hartley: "But you should both focus on not saying anything that's really stupid." Idaho: "Yes, ma'am." Hunter: "I'm not making any promises."
Wish list -
1. Continue the momentum from the end of last year
2. Find a plausible reason to keep Ward in the story or better yet make him evil
3. Less Skye in all things. Every time someone tells me how special and amazing she is on this show, the more I dislike her.
Top of my TBBT season 8 wish list was for this train trip to lead to serious character development for Sheldon. I'm not sure that happened and it is a shame. Sheldon really does need to grow up and at least try to respect others because it is getting old. So much so that I was actively cheering for Howard when he kept answering all of Sheldon's questions right. Other than that the only new development was Penny getting a new job and a new haircut. It's nice to see her branch out from waitressing and the acting shtick was getting old.
Grade: C+ / B
Best Scene - the guys hanging out answering trivia questions for candy and congratulating themselves on how smart they are
Best Reason to Watch - Howard vs. Sheldon
Best Improvement - Penny's hair, which looks awesome
Best Secondary Character - Stuart - I am glad he's still living with Howard's mom. That keeps him in the story without having to stretch too much to do so. Plus, he needs a friend too.
Bad Idea with the Best Outcome - Howard joins Sheldon's class
Bad Idea with the Worst Outcome - Amy trying to play Bernadette and Penny against each other
The "Welcome Back" Award - Regina King as Janine Davis
Best Quotes -
1. Penny: "Okay so what? You want me to be like a teacher's pet?" Bernadette: "It couldn't hurt." Leonard: "Oh I don't know. Who here has ever been hurt because they were the teacher's pet?" (They all raise their hands except Penny and Bernadette.)
2. Howard: "First of all, no one can replace me as her son. I'm her little matzo ball."
3. Sheldon: "Amy please, I am trying to figure out a way to intellectually emasculate a dear friend of mine."
Wish list -
1. Sheldon grows up and shows some sort of character growth
2. Something or someone that shakes things up because it is starting to get stale
3. More unusual pairings like Bernadette and Sheldon or Amy and Leonard
In all honesty, this premiere suffered because I watched Sleepy Hollow right before it. It was much better in the rewatch when I hadn't just been wowed. As the season opens, Red is unconscious in a truck while child soldiers shoot at the adult soldiers pursuing them. Red is unimpressed but it's the most fun anyone is going to have in the whole episode. A few dead people later, Red basically threatens to use missiles against the warlord unless he gives Red the name of the bounty hunter hired to track him. Long story short, Berlin hired Lord Baltimore to find Red's wife, which is the best part of the story. We may have gotten zero answers about Elizabeth and Red, but I hope we continue to learn more about his wife. If not, I would rather drop the serial elements and go straight to the procedural.
Grade: B
Best Scene - Reddington tells Harold he needs to come back
Best Reason to Watch - back story on Red's wife
Most Fascinating - Rowan/Nora
Most Disgusting - Red gets his ex-wife's finger in a box
Most Red Moment - he burns millions of dollars after a missile blows up part of the war lord's camp
Best Twist on the Wall of Weird - Lizzie puts it on the ceiling instead
Biggest Overkill - You'd think it was the warlord with the child soldiers, but nope it was a Mossad agent who sent a helicopter to shoot up a hotel on US soil to capture Reddington.
Worst Future Emoangsting Plot - Ressler's drug addiction, which is coming sooner than later
Best Quotes -
1. Elizabeth: "Hellfire missiles, seriously?" Red: "Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about."
2. Elizabeth: "Most people don't care that Google knows their search history."
3. Elizabeth: "You're too healthy to talk to a shrink." Ressler: "I talk to you all the time. Aren't you Board certified?" Elizabeth: "Yeah and in my professional opinion, I think you need to talk to Dr. Friedman."
Wish list:
1-3. ANSWERS!!! This show has a tendency to pile on the questions without answering any first. Stop drawing things out. What is Elizabeth to Red?
4. More grey villains, since they were the most interesting ones last time.
Red Band Society is the most surprising show so far this season for me because I still love it. It has great heart without usually going overboard into schmaltzy. Still it is the overall humor that really gets me. I love how these guys invite us to laugh with them through their sorrows when so many shows today want us to laugh at the characters. It helps that each of the kids is sympathetic this episode, including Kara who was a nightmare much of the pilot. She's still a nightmare now, don't get me wrong. It's just that her back story helps explain some of it. Still this is Leo's show and him coping with Jordi getting to keep his leg was well done and rang true for a teen. All in all, this wasn't quite as strong as the premiere but it was still one of the best things I watched all week. Nevertheless, those voiceovers and themes need to go.
Grade: B+
Best Scene - Nurse Jackson and Leo talk
Best Reason to Watch - still a great combination of humor and heart
Best Moment - Jordi writes which leg to take off for Dr. McAndrew
Biggest Huh - Shouldn't Jordi's Mexican talent show winning song be in Spanish? / Why are they having their kegger party in the daytime?
Biggest Annoyance - still the voiceovers
Best Reaction - Brittany when Nurse Jackson compliments her
Best Quotes -
1. Dash: "Looks like someone 'roided up One Direction and mated them with zombies."
2. Jackson: "You can't run away from your life. It's yours and it's precious. You just have to claim it." Leo: "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Jackson: "Well that's what real monkey love is." Leo: "Did that sound weird because I'm still drunk or just because it's weird?" Jackson: "Both."
3. Brittany: "Are you really prepared to let me screw up some sick kid's life on the off chance that I won't continue to suck?"
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