Last Week in TV - Week of Nov. 22 - Reviews and Episode Awards

Hello and welcome back to Last Week in TV. Remember how I was going to get totally caught up on my TV viewing over this break? HA! That didn’t happen. I did get closer though. How were your holidays (if you celebrated)? Did you do any TV catch up as shows were on a short break? How many of your shows have already gone on winter hiatus? I'm especially looking forward to this hiatus because I have some great shows I am going to try out. Speaking of, shameless plug - I do the Pitch Your Favorite Low-Rated Show article each midseason hiatus. If you have a show that isn't getting the best ratings and you'd like to inspire others to check that show out, I encourage you to nominate it for the article. All you have to do is tell people why you think the show is worth their time to check out. It's a great way to encourage new people to try the show and gives you a chance to extol its virtues. Be thinking now of the shows you want to include.

As for this week, I didn't realize until late that I never had the random number generator choose a nominated show. Therefore I concentrated on catching up instead. This week the nominated show is Doctor Who and it's taking me back to the Tennant years. He's my favorite Doctor. If you would like to nominate a show for me to watch, please fill out the short 2 question form. I will NOT review any of the following shows again this season, so please hold off nominating them until the 2016-2017 TV season: Nashville, Jane the Virgin, NCIS, The Americans, and The Vampire Diaries. I only review a show once a season and they have already been done, so I automatically scrap any of those nominations. I also will not review anything that is normally covered by our guest reviewers since they are doing such a fantastic job already. Other than that, nominate away. Sometimes the best shows are the off-beat ones that I have never heard of or never had time for in previous years, like Hustle and Merlin. Sometimes they are the ones that totally surprise me, like Dexter, which I never expected to enjoy. Basically I am looking to add a little variety into my TV diet and your nominations help me explore shows I normally would not.

Thanks to everyone who nominates, comments, and participates in this column in any way. I am definitely thankful for you. Until next week, happy TV viewing.

Episode of the Week

Into the Badlands - 1.02 - Fist Like a Bullet

Like the premiere, this episode opens with a splat..as in the splat that dozens of bleeding bodies hitting the floor make. The action only intensifies from there. I like the introduction of Matilda and hope she continues to play a part in the story. It's interesting to see what life is like under the Widow too. I hope they keep expanding to the other barons so we can see more of the world. All in all, this is a good follow-up to the pilot and is looking to be the most action-filled show of the season. If you like action and haven't checked this show out, try it.

Grade: B+

Best Reason to Watch - all the lovely action of course
Best Scene - Tilda fights MK and is sympathetic to him
Best and Most Unrealistic Action - Sunny verses everyone
Best Reaction - Matilda to killing the guy and seeing MK watch her do it
Biggest Psycho - Quinn, who brags about his first kill to Sunny and who kills the messenger, aka the doctor and his wife
Biggest Surprise - MK saves Sunny
Biggest Gamble - Tilda fools her mother into thinking MK is just a normal boy
Most Kick Butt - the Widow
Most Interesting Fashion Choice - bustle that holds swords
Worst Excuse for a Peep Show - both the Widow and Matilda watch MK as he bathes
The "Well That's Too Bad" Award - Sunny doesn't allow Ryder to die
The "Awww, He Made a Friend" Award - MK meets Matilda, who helps him escape into the Widow's land

Best Quotes -
1. Waldo: "Sunny, you know what's out there beyond our borders? A big sack full of stories. It's a wasteland…no, no, it's a paradise. It's a…whatever. Nobody knows what is and ain't true."
2. The Widow: "Relax. If I came here to kill you, we wouldn't be talking."
3. Waldo: "What's out there?" Sunny: "Freedom." Waldo: "Ulh, overrated. People don't really want to be free. Besides, it's an illusion. I mean, you take my birds. Oh they just love flying free, but every night they fly on home to their cages where it's safe and warm."
4. Veil: "He took my family." Sunny: "I'm your family now and I'm going to protect you, both of you. I don't know how or when but we're getting out of the Badlands."
5. Widow: "MK, everyone in our family must learn to fight. I've asked Tilda to begin your training." MK: "I'm not interested." Widow: "It's not a request."

Guest Reviews

Since most shows were off for the holiday, there were no regular guest reviews this week. However, Michaela was kind enough to answer some questions about The Librarians for me and since there wasn't enough response for a full roundtable article, I decided to place it here. Thanks so much Michaela for helping out!

The Librarians - 2.04/2.05
BY Michaela

What was your favorite thing about episode 2.04, ...And the Cost of Education?

I loved the scene where they found out that the monster fed on ego and everyone at the table turned to look at Ezekiel and they used him as bait. It was especially funny that he couldn't self-start when it came to coming up with reasons why he was so awesome so he had to have Jacob constantly egging him on. It was a nice, fun scene between the two characters and I like that they acknowledged Ezekiel's flaws instead of just indulging him.


If you could change anything about episode 2.04, what would it be?

I wish they'd done a bit more with the frat and shown Ezekiel trying to bro down with people his age and possibly even trying out an American accent. It's never not funny to me when people do an accent intentionally terribly and frat bros are hilarious to make fun of.


This episode brings up the debate of whether magic should be locked up or if the public has a right to know. Would you prefer The Librarians continue to try to keep people in the dark about magic or would you like the show to portray magic as more universal?

I liked the debate because it's something I had never thought of before the show brought it up. I never thought I'd say this, but I like Cassandra's idea to make The Library a place of knowledge for people who want to learn more about magic and educate themselves. I don't think they should tell everyone about it, but if people find them and ask about it, I don't think they should try to trick them and pretend magic doesn't exist.


Lucy is like a Cassandra Mini-Me. What did you think of this character? Would you like to see more of her?

I'm not the biggest fan of Cassandra, but I didn't mind Lucy. I liked that she was self-sufficient and aware of magic without being evil. I'd like to see more of her in the future at some time, but I don't want the show to turn her and Cassandra into the new Flynn-Eve romantic plot black hole. I'd also rather see Bruce Campbell as Santa again, if we're bringing characters back.


What grade would you give episode 2.04?

Probably an A or an A-. I really liked this episode. It's one of my favorite episodes this season. I don't think this season has been as creative as last season was, but hopefully they'll get there before the season ends.


What was your favorite thing about episode 2.05, ...And the Hollow Men?

I really liked the fake Morse code they used in the episode and that the person who captured Flynn was smart enough to figure out what he was doing. Oftentimes, the villains the Librarians face are a step behind unless they're the Big Bad, so it was refreshing to see a minor villain who was actually semi-competent and not just powerful but bumbling.


If you could change anything about episode 2.05, what would it be?

I wish there was more character development for people who weren't Flynn. He's gotten more character development than everyone else and he's been in far fewer episodes. Ezekiel and Cassandra are still kind of caricatures, so I wish the character development had gone to them and not to Flynn again. I also wish they'd cast someone different to play Ray. This version was just too angry and all over the place for me and I would have thought the library would be more dignified and knowledgeable.


In this episode, Ray was the human embodiment of the library. How did you feel about them making the library human? What did you think of Flynn's interaction with Ray?

The storyline with Ray as the embodiment as the library seemed a little haphazard and thrown together for me. I dislike that he seemed as confused and harried as the library itself was and I wish he had been a bit more strange and nerdy like a less blatantly quirky version of Flynn. I'm not a huge Whovian, but I think Doctor Who did a much better job of portraying the personification of the Tardis than The Librarians did with their portrayal of the library.


Following the same format as last year, Flynn returns in the 5th episode after being gone in episodes 3 and 4. Unlike last year, this episode was highly Flynn-centric in much of the screen time and plot. How do you feel about the timing of the episode and did you like the Flynn focus?

Flynn's a bit too over the top for me, so I would have liked him to be a bit more toned down or slightly less foregrounded. I don't really know who would have been a better fit with the personified library though except for maybe Eve or Jenkins. His constant romance with Eve is getting to be a bit too much, so I wish The Librarians could find a way to include Flynn without having it seem too shoehorned in or without needing a romantic plotline to justify his presence. They should probably either save his appearances for especially hard to defeat villains or at least figure out how to make the villains play to his specific skills. Right now, I don't really know what he offers other than his long experience as a librarian, so the episodes that include him seem a bit more random and messy than they should.


What grade would you give episode 2.05? Why?

B-, I didn't hate the episode, but I think the writers could have found a way to make it more cohesive and less all over the place between Flynn's storyline and everyone else's. I also don't need to hear about Flynn's emotional armor right now because he's been in less than half the episodes and already got his own movies to himself, so it would have been nice for the character development to have gone to a different character. I also would have thought Flynn would have been competent enough not to get knocked unconscious and then captured.

Weekly Shows

Agent X - 1.04 - The Devil & John Case

Agent X is one of the few shows where I like the case of the week better than the overall conspiracy. Sadly, neither part really worked for me this time. I have trouble understanding why no one just shot El Diablo, much less how they believed that he was protected by an Aztec god. It seemed over the top. The conspiracy to take down the President is also. There are so many ways to upset a presidency these days and the simple fact is that no president stays in power for long. Why make such a fuss when the Constitution will change power fairly quickly anyway? This presumably worldwide conspiracy needs better timing and I don't need yet another worldwide conspiracy show. I'd much prefer to get back to the straight up action and take down one bad guy a week.

Grade: C

Best Reason to Watch - Luna was a great
Best Reason to Fast Forward - adultery lie
Best Scene - knife fight at the OK Cantina
Best Moment - Luna takes down the Chief
Best Action - stilt fight
Best Plan - photocopying the ledger pages
Best Back Story - how John and Pamela met
Best Place for a Ghost Story - the catacombs with skeletons all over it
Best Trick - locking the dogs in with the bomb materials
Biggest Flaw - not enough action
Most Cringeworthy - there's more than a little American jingoism in this with the American hero coming to save the poor, naïve, superstitious natives from themselves
The "Say What?" Award - People actually believe this guy is immortal? Why?
The "Welcome Back" Award - Angelica Celaya from Constantine / Carlos Gomez from Gang Related

Best Quotes -
1. John: "You know those government benefits do come with therapy so I really don't need you to psychoanalyze me."
2. Millar: "Disobeying orders is becoming a habit with him. In his line of work you either follow orders or you get retired." Natalie: "John still has a couple of good years left in him." Millar: "Not that kind of retirement."
3. Natalie: "Shakespeare? Miles, I never saw that coming." Miles: "What did you expect?" Natalie: "Machiavelli."
4. John: "That badge looks good on you by the way. Wear it well."
5. John: "Alright, dark creepy hallway or ladder?"

Ash vs. Evil Dead 0 1.04 - Brujo

That felt like the shortest TV episode ever but not in a good way. The entire thing was one big acid trip that ended in 2 terrible developments. One, Ruby and Amanda partnered, which is bound to lead to nothing good. Two, Kelly is possessed. She's my favorite character so turning her evil is highly annoying. Let's hope they fix that fast.

Grade: C-

Best Reason to Watch - the brujo
Best Postcard - Jacksonville, Florida dream world
Best, if Creepiest Consistency - possessed laser teeth doll
Worst Plan - turning Kelly into a demon
Most Creepy - Brujo's house
Bad Sign - when your car locks you in and tries to kill you
Even Worse Sign - Ruby has Ash's evil, possessed hand in her car
The "I Don't Know about This" Award - Kelly, you may want to rethink your new partnership here. I'm not sure Ruby is trustworthy.
Best Music - "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake

Best Quotes -
1. Ash: "Okay, time for the trip to be over. Let's go back to Kansas."
2. Ash: "What the hell is it? It is hell. It's pure evil."
3. Brujo: "Speak what you know while knowing that you know nothing." Ash: "Okay. I know that I summoned something very bad and I'm looking to undo whatever I done did."
4. Ash: "Don't eat the eyeball, brujo."
5. Ash: "When evil shows up, it blows up."

The Big Bang Theory - 9.09 - The Platonic Permutation

Grade: B+ (for Sheldon and Amy)

Best Reason to Watch - Sheldon and Amy as friends, putting their differences aside
Best Snark - the end card
Biggest Nope - I did not need to see Leonard in Penny's lingerie. Not even a little. My eyes, they burn.
Most Socially Awkward - Who brings up the girlfriend status over the phone while driving? That's a face-to-face conversation.
Most Educational - I never knew who Elon Musk was before this
Most Busted - Leonard is caught reading Penny's journal
The "Poor Baby" Award - Amy at the end
The "Say What?" Award - Exactly why is that apartment door not locked? (Besides plot device.) Plus who just walks into a friend's place without knocking?

Best Quotes -
1. Penny: "I am not putting that on the internet. I don't want people to see this. I don't want to see it."
2. Howard: "Just because you have that accent doesn't mean what you say isn't stupid."
3. Howard: "If you can't support me when I'm lying then why are we even married?"
4. Sheldon: "If there was a list of things that make me feel more comfortable, lists would be on the top of that list."
5. Emily: "Are you and I close enough for me to say…" Bernadette: "That he's an a**? He beat you to it."

The Blacklist - 3.07 - Zal Bin Hasaan

This was an excellent episode of The Blacklist. I love how we finally get more insight into Navabi. Having the terrorist be her brother was achingly emotional and yet very well done. I like how they allowed Mozham Marno real meat to sink her acting teeth into and it paid off handsomely. Not such a fan of having Navabi and Ressler hook up of course. I am done with office romances and sex. Just done. However Tom's increasingly stupid plans, leading to him bringing the Russian to Harold's house, did end up working. I'm totally with Harold's wife on this matter, in that I would want no part of torture and duress in my house. Best to take that to some empty warehouse space, Tom. I'm sure you know plenty.

Grade: A-

Best Reason to Watch - Navabi
Best Scene - Navabi talks to Ressler about her brother and he talks about their job
Best Action - there was the bomb and the firing squads and the terrorists, but still the best was Tom vs. Ressler and it was much too short
Worst Surprise - Navabi and Ressler hooking up
Least Surprising - the original kidnapping was a setup
Most Healed - Dembe
Biggest Whoa - Navabi's brother is alive and he's the terrorist
Worst Timing - Red calls Navabi to warn her just as the bomb goes off
Worst Plan - Tom brings the Russian to Harold's home
The "There is NO TIME for This" Award - Navabi and Shur, rekindle your romance when her brother is not trying to kill you all. Come on. There is no time for this.
The "Welcome Back" Award - Shur

Best Quotes -
1. Solomon: "I have diplomatic immunity. You may expel me or let me go, but you may not under any circumstance bore me."
2. Hasaan: "Sister, you swore to protect me." Navabi: "I swore to protect my brother. He died in Pishin. Hasaan is all yours."
3. Tom: "So the bad news…you're still alive, but the good news is that all you have to do to get out of here is tell your story to the Feds. That's it. Exonerate Liz and then I'll personally fix you a nice soybean smoothie so you can croak yourself vegan style."
4. Aram: "Sweater Vest is running a tap on it which I know because I got around his firewall and accessed his computer, which despite being a felony feels amazing."
5. Navabi: "I know you don't approve of what I did, giving him to Reddington." Ressler: "Reddington saved your life. If giving him Hasaan was the price of that, I'd pay it twice over." Navabi: "It took me years to mourn his loss. Now I have to do it all over again."

Chicago Med - 1.02 - iNO
This episode was more emoangsty and less fun than the first one. Besides the misdiagnosed dementia patient, I didn't care for any of the other storylines. The runaway story had zero closure and everything felt like it was really about the doctors' personal issues instead of the patients. That's what drives me nuts in most medical dramas. This one has one more episode for me, but the writing is clearly on the wall already.

Grade: C-

Best Reason to Watch - the dementia patient and her husband
Best Character - Dr. Charles
Best Awww Moment - the "dementia" patient remembers her husband
Best Call - Reese researches "Where the Boys Are" for her patient
Best Interaction - Dr. Charles and Reese
Best Reference - Connie Francis
Best / Worst Technique - all these doctors keep making everything personal
Worst Plan - ignore it and hope it goes away
Biggest Surprise - Choi coaches the girl on what to say when the cops get there
Weirdest Choice - muting out the conversation between Halstead and the rep with music that doesn't fit
The "Welcome Back" Award - Annie Potts from Designing Women and Ghostbusters

Best Quotes -
1. Cardiologist: "What's the difference between God and a doctor? God knows he's not a doctor."
2. Manning: "They're your family." Kara: "You make that sound like a good thing."
3. Manning: "I'm not sure about that bag on you." Halstead: "Oh perhaps with a different shoe?"
4. Halstead: "Try thinking like a doctor and not a pregnant woman."
5. Rhodes: "It's a good pitch, dad. Really, you hit all the right notes. Not buying it."

Code Black - 1.08 - You are the Heart

Grade: C+

Best Reason to Watch - back story on Mario
Best Scene - Christa intubates the kid's mother
Best Awww Scene - hospital bed proposal
Best Boss - Jesse, for standing up for his nurses
Most Obnoxious and in Need of Control - Cole, who should be suspended for being a complete douche
Most Intrusive - Malaya, who continues to push her agenda on others instead of letting a pregnant woman make her own choices
The "I'm with Random Patient Here" Award - I think both Jack and Rose could have shared the raft if they had tried a few more times
The "What? Is This Titanic?" Award - the girl lies on top of the raft in the icy water while holding the hand of the guy in the water

Best Quotes -
1. Carla: "Doable? Do you think that being born blue and having to be intubated is doable?"
2. Angus: "This must be what it's like to go to the gym."
3. Jesse: "The problem with medicine is sometimes there's no good answer."
4. Killian: "So I had a near death experience, huh?" Rorish: "It wasn't near. It was the real deal." Killian: "I don't remember any of it though." Rorish: "Just know that you were fearless. You did everything you could to save her and you did."
5. Rorish: "Bottom line - he's not dead until he's warm and dead."

CSI: Cyber - 2.08 - Python

I love that Cyber now has a villain worthy of them. It ups the ante and the tension. Most of these cyber criminals aren't into dirty work so the intensity has to come from the chase. This one includes the smarts of the chase combined with the physical danger of other cop shows. The only reason I marked it down is because there was a lot of overacting in this episode that didn't feel true to the characters. Also I have no idea why a smart and patient criminal like Python would leave his handprint on Avery's computer. That makes zero sense in the overall picture of things. If he's suddenly going to be a random psycho killer with no long-term vision, he's going to get old fast.

Grade: B-

Best Reason to Watch - Cyber has a new criminal who ramps up the intensity
Best Scene - Krumitz does the victory lap with Python's server
Most Intense - nothing like the torture and assassination of an Interpol agent to start an episode
Most Overacting - Patricia Arquette, who is usually more subtle than this
Biggest Eye Roll - once again, someone croaks before giving up vital information
Biggest Hmm - Why not disassemble the laptop on a table where there is less chance of something dropping?
The "Yeah, You're Losing It" Award - Avery, step back. They are working as hard as they can.
The "Welcome Back" Award - Diogo Morgando straight from playing Satan in The Messengers and Jesus in The Bible mini-series
Best Quote - Krumitz: "Guys, Python is a psychotic killer, okay? So can we tone down the black hat worship?"

Elementary - 4.03 - Tag, You're Me

Grade: B

Best Reason to Watch - doppelgangers make for an interesting twist, but it's still John Noble
Best Scene - Morland tries to reconcile with Sherlock
Best Reference - Say Anything
Best Reason to Shoot Someone - playing marching music early in the morning
Best Product Placement? - vacuum sealer
Most Likely to Get a Job in a Terrible Circus - Dorian
Most Snarky - Sherlock, and sometimes not for the good
The "Welcome Back" Award (characters) - the entire precinct and all the lovely people who come with it
The "Welcome Back" Award (actor) - Jefferson White of H2GAwM / Shohreh Aghdashloo of Grimm

Best Quotes -
1. Morland: "I came because I'd like to make a confession." Sherlock: "Well I would dial the authorities for you, but I wouldn't know which ones."
2. Watson: "Are you cooking or did we get stampeded by a class of second graders?"
3. Watson: "Fluent in 3 dozen languages but the man has never seen Say Anything." Bell: "That's an 80's movie, right?" Watson: "You want me to punch you, right?"
4. Sherlock: "Are they so all-seeing that you felt the need to adopt the guise of a clown from the future?"
5. Sherlock: "Close but wrong cold-blooded reptile. My dinner date is my father. I can understand you confusing him with Clyde. They could be doppelgangers."

Elementary - 4.04 - All My Exes Live in Essex

Nothing in this episode made one lick of sense. Not one thing. Plus I fell asleep when watching it the first time. That's never a good sign.

Grade: D

Best Scene - Sherlock making a poultice for a bruised Watson
Biggest Douche - Gina Cortes with her personal vendetta against Joan (but funny enough, not against Sherlock)
Most Common Sense - figuring out how to get the handcuffs off before handcuffing yourself
Most Disgusting - creating your own medical specimen skeleton
Strangest Subplot - some police officer (Gina Cortes) is investigating Joan
Dumbest Reason to Murder Someone - I don't even understand this case. Why is the oncologist telling people they have cancer when they don't? This is really about boosting survival rates? Are you kidding me? None of this makes any sense at all.
Dumbest Subplot - everything Gina Cortes
Worst Plan - that "Friday" song
Worst Reference - "Who Let the Dogs Out?" although it was funny when Sherlock referenced it
The "Say What?" Award - Why would anyone want multiple spouses?
The "Welcome Back" Award - Carolyn McCormick from Law and Order

Best Quotes -
1. Sherlock: "I assume you kept them separate so they can't coordinate their stories." Gregson: "Yeah like 5 married people could ever agree on anything."
2. Kirk: "I've got to think knowing how to work a deli slicer and deboning a person are 2 very different things."
3. Bell: "Well any way you slice it…pun most definitely NOT intended, whoever did this is a nasty piece of work."
4. Gregson: "I don't know how they do it. I couldn't make a marriage to one person work."

Grandfathered - 1.08 - Gerald's Two Dads

Grade: B

Best Reason to Watch - the end after Jimmy stops acting like an idiot
Best Scene / Best Apology - Jimmy brings Mexican for Thanksgiving
Best Speech - Gerald talking to Jimmy about his childhood
Best Use of Champagne - to put out a fire
Most Annoying - Jimmy's jealousy
Biggest Game Buster - Jimmy throws the football into the sewer on the first throw of the game
Worst Date - Jimmy, who leaves his date tanning out in the yard
The "Say What?" Award - Sniffing cut wood? That's a thing now, huh?

Best Quotes -
1. Vanessa: "It's not time for Oprah."
2. Annelise: "Happy Black Friday, suckers. I'm about to join the curb revolution."
3. Jimmy: "I started today trying to give Edie some kind of traditional Thanksgiving but I realize now that tradition is just whatever happens when you bring together the people you love."

The Librarians - 2.05 - And the Hollow Men

I liked this episode better than the last one, which surprises me because I'm not usually a fan of Flynn's return. The high point for me was his relationship with the library. I like that they humanized the library so that we could see more of what the library means to Flynn. It was also nice that they still remember Judson and Charlene. I could have done without the romance bookends at the front and end of the episode, but I liked Flynn better in this episode than a long time. That being said, it's time to go back to a more ensemble approach…well, that or an Ezekiel-focused episode finally.

Grade: B

Best Reason to Watch / Best Twist - Ray is the humanized version of the library
Best Collaboration - Flynn and the library
Best Place to Hide - in an area filled with other containers
Best Return - Moriarty
Best Reference - Judson and Charlene
Most Interesting - the Chinese have their own version of Morse code
Worst Dance - the "hopping past arrows" dance
The "Welcome Back" Award - Drew Powell from Leverage

Best Quotes -
1. Eve: "Cassandra, please do not fangirl over the archvillain."
2. Jenkins: "When the last ghost light goes out, the library will grab hold of the greatest source of life it can find and that's me." Jake: "That's your Plan B? To let this place eat you?" Cassandra: "If you think we're gonna leave you here alone, in the dark you're…I don't know what you are, but we're not doing that."
3. Moriarty: "If you don't trust my virtue, trust my self-interest."
4. Moriarty: "Can't die like other men. Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

Limitless - 1.08 - When Pirates Pirate Pirates

Good insight into Naz's life along with a political scandal with ties to previous episodes make this one of the more interesting episodes. Big bonus points for Boyle coming through.

Grade: B+

Best Reason to Watch - get some more focus on Naz and the story's interesting
Best Scene - Brian negotiates with pirates
Best Character - Boyle
Best New Character - Loretta, whom I hope we see again soon
Worst Plan - dating your boss' daughter
Worst Surprise - Paulson is the rat who gave Brian to the CIA
Worst Filler - Brian's version of Screw - Marry - Kill
Biggest Change - Ike seems to be enjoying working with Brian these days
Biggest Douche - Grady Johnson
Biggest Hmmm - Why would the gangsters not take Harris too? I mean she was talking to Brian when they pulled up.
Most Bizarre - Brian bargains for a girl's life with an exotic pinball machine
Most Clever - Boyle, who gets the document they need via a pan of brownies
The "Life is the Same All Over" Award - the Asian kid will give them information but only if they tweet out his social media so that his page gets more hits
The "Say What?" Award - Ava agrees that Naz gave money to a terrorist, but it is because her niece is being held for ransom
Best Reference - Pong

Best Quotes -
1. Harris: "Well I'm not saying he's the most mature person in the world…for your average 3rd grade classroom for that matter."
2. Boyle: "She's always had a bit of a crush." Johnson: "Just make sure she didn't spike them. You don't want her to go all Misery on you."
3. Harris: "You're not really going to try to bring your music collection in the largest format possible, are you?"
4. Harris: "What are you thinking about?" Brian: "Trying to figure out if there's a way that this ends with me sort of fighting pirates."

Limitless - 1.09 - Headquarters!

This is my favorite episode of Limitless yet. It was fun, moved quickly, and involved everyone getting some great moments. I like how it felt more like an ensemble than any of the others and they worked the separate storylines in well together. They were all too easily caught but the joy was in the getting there. Plus Mike deserved his vacation. He's put up with a lot from Brian. I'm not sure about the last 10 minutes though. I do not want anything to happen to Brian's dad and I am still not sure why he couldn't accept that Brian was dealing with classified stuff. No, Brian should not lie to him but he also should not have to breach national security to repair things with his dad. Other than that, this was a riot. I think Brian might have a point about everyone having a little more fun in their work.

Grade: A-

Best Reason to Watch - simply, it's a whole lot of fun
Best Subplot - Lawrence
Best Moment - Boyle puts an Exclamation Mark Post-It on Brian's new office
Best Fight Sequence - the one in Brian's head
Best Job Perk - Mike finally gets a reward for babysitting Brian when he's sent for a stakeout in a Costa Rica resort
Best Filler - the Bruntouchable movies montage
Best Doppelganger - Lawrence's NZT self, who keeps him focused
Biggest Brat - Brian, who is like a 2 year old who wants a new toy
Biggest Sibling Move - Brian's sister comes over to watch Game of Thrones on his TV
Worst Plan - giving NZT to anyone else, especially a civilian brilliant enough to figure out what it is
Most New Age / Most Far-Fetched - Brian, the scent tracking dog
Most Fun - Brian's elite team of crime fighters includes the only people he knows at the FBI, including the janitor
The "I'm with Boyle" Award - I wouldn't want to be attached to something titled Bruntouchables either
The "Welcome Back" Award - Isiah Whitlock, Jr. from Lucky 7

Best Quotes -
1. Brian: "Well James, we want you to infiltrate the cult, not join the cult."
2. Brian: "Sorry Rebecca. I didn't mean to suggest that women can't be…um, horrible criminals too." Harris: "No offense taken."
3. Brian: "Their whole way of life is dying. They're like the Pennsylvania Dutch at this point."
4. Naz: "He admitted to murder in exchange for a dozen bagels?"
5. Harris: "Yeah, fugitives can have Twitter accounts too."

Limitless - 1.10 - Arm-ageddon

I am not a fan of this whole Brian's dad as defender storyline. First off, it implies that Brian cannot take care of himself. Now while Brian in the beginning might not have been capable, the Brian who has evolved throughout this season can. It has been by far the best thing about this series and to throw doubts on that feels like a step back. Second, it turns his father from Brian's biggest supporter into an adversary and ruins one of the better relationships of the show. Third, legalese is no more interesting than technobabble is and the show spared us from it. I don't care how they plan to jump through hoops to give Brian's dad control over him. I think it's a shady business to begin with and most importantly, it slows down the momentum of the series.

Grade: C

Best Reason to Watch - the robotic arm case is intriguing
Best Scene - Harris tells Brian that he needs to be honest with his dad
Best Twist - Boyle's buddy really did murder his wife
Best Juvenile Prank - Brian has Shaw's arm punch him in the face repeatedly
Biggest Thank You - not having to hear the technobabble
Least Necessary - threatening Naz about Brian when she has bent over backwards for him
Most Excited - Brian with the "jet pack"
Weirdest Alibi - "the arm" did it
Worst Filler - cat montage

Scorpion - 2.10 - Arrivals and Departures

I'm of two minds about this episode. The case of the week was one of the most ludicrous things Scorpion has ever done but Megan's farewell was touching and created some great moments. I only wish that instead of locking Walter and Paige together (again) , they would have kept Walter more with his sister. I think it would have been far more interesting to watch. I did absolutely adore Sylvester bringing the stars to Megan and at the end when Sean tells Sylvester that he's family. Sylvester earning Sean's respect despite a rocky start was a great story. I also loved Megan's video to Walter and how he ended up sharing a personal story about Megan to the group because of it. Humanizing Walter has been the best thing about season 2. If only they had concentrated more on Walter and Megan, including more flashbacks, and less on mold, this would have been an A episode.

Grade: B (average of the superior Megan story and the subpar mold mission)

Best Reason to Watch - Megan and everything about her storyline
Best Scene - Megan leaves Walter a video to say that she loves him and to not be afraid of being human
Best Speech - Sylvester stands up to Megan's dad and explains how he's been by Megan's side
Best Save - Paige comes up with boiling to release the bacteria
Biggest Awww Moment - Sylvester brings Megan the stars for one last time
Most Ironic - in a hospital, Toby is the only available doctor to help the infected kitchen staff member
Worst Cliché - Ralph to the rescue again
Worst Decorating - Sylvester's Super Fun Guy stuff is not really what you want when meeting your new in-laws for the first time
The "Um, Okay, Whatever" Award - So this really super strong, ancient fungi can literally be cured from the palm of Sylvester's hand? And I'm buying this why? That's as eyerollingly bad as the fungi knocking out all the experts in 2 seconds and the insta-cure.
The "Say What?" Award - Shouldn't the people in the hazmat suits be protected from airborne fungi? Isn't that the entire purpose of a hazmat suit? Plus, why in the world would a doctor in infectious diseases be walking around in a known outbreak with only a mask and gloves? This makes no sense.

Best Quotes -
1. Sylvester: "I have super powers. I am Bacteria Man."
2. Sylvester: "Megan, my whole life I've been told I was brilliant for a million different reasons but falling in love with you was the smartest thing I ever did. I will always love you."
3. Walter: "You were picked for a reason, Happy. You're supposed to be our reckless driver." Happy: "I'm driving as recklessly as I can."
4. Sean: "What the hell are you doing?" Sylvester: "Saving people's lives I guess."
5. Sean: "We came for Megan, not science fiction."

Other Shows

Ash vs. Evil Dead - 1.05 - The Host
Grade: D
~These last 2 episodes have felt like a whole lot of filler. The exorcism bit should have come sooner and lasted for a shorter time. High Kelly is just slightly less annoying than rambling Pedro. Sorry to see the brujo go. He was a great character.
Most Awesome Addition - Pablo makes a new arm for Ash
Best Quotes -
1. Pablo: "I feel like I'm the sous chef of his exorcism kitchen."
2. Ash: "When you get back to hell, work on your aim."
3. Amanda: "There's a killer on the loose and I'm sitting here waiting for this decomposed hand to lead me to him.'
4. Ash: "Shoot first. Think never."

Elementary - 4.02 - Evidence of Things Not Seen
Grade: B+
~That was one of the better Elementary episodes in a long time. Morland is adding the kind of energy that Moriarty usually provides. I think it's because I am still not sure whether or not he is playing with them. Is he a father who is trying to help his estranged son or is he about to put the noose around Sherlock's neck? John Noble is always a winner and this is just the kind of ambiguous role that he sinks into.
Best Scene - Joan vs. Morland at the end
Best Quotes -
1. Sherlock: "Good luck overthrowing the government. Don't put us against the wall when you get those firing squads going, will you?"
2. Sherlock: "Well it would seem we're on the hunt for the least competent spy China's employed since the Ming Dynasty."
3. Morland: "If you think that Sherlock is the only one who considers me an enemy, you'd be wrong." Watson: "He doesn't consider you an enemy." Morland: "An antagonist then." Watson: "No, I think he just thinks you're a terrible father."
4. Watson: "Yeah well being a kook doesn't make him less likely to be a killer."
5. Maurice: "I would have said something." Watson: "If it hadn't meant admitting to cyberstalking your ex."

Grandfathered - 1.07 - Sexy Guardian Angel
Grade: B-
~This episode was decent and a good reminder not to meddle into people's lives or believe gossip. Mostly I liked having Lyndsy Fonesca from Nikita back on my screen.
**The "Some Dreams Should Stay Private" Award - Annelise makes a much better manager (and probably everything else) than she does a lounge singer
**Best Quotes -
1. Jimmy: "Oh, apparently you don't care about cheating. What are you, a Patriot's fan?"
2. Sara: "Did you go to her office?" Jimmy: "No…yes." Sara: "Wow. I thought you were the cool, detached guy. When did you become a Jewish mother?"
3. Vanessa: "I could do that or since this is a pyramid scheme, you could become a distributor like me and that's when the real money starts pouring in. Okay, not for you. Got it."
4. Jimmy: "We were supposed to go out and get all up into trouble, not fall in love with trouble."

Life in Pieces - 1.08 - Godparent Turkey Corn Farts
Grade: D
~Farting doesn't make for comedy and neither does much of this episode. I ended up turning it off before I got to the end.
Best Daddy-Daughter Time - dancing in the Mexican market
Best Quotes -
1. Jen: "Do we really need all this? I mean we're trying to find a godparent for Lark, not catch a serial killer."
2. Tim: "Babe, you've got to slow down. I don't understand a word you're saying." Sophia: "She said you're done watching football."
3. Jen: "Therapists raise children who need therapists." Greg: "Well she raised me…and I see your point and I second your veto."

Life in Pieces - 1.09 - Hospital Boudoir Time-Out Namaste
Grade: B-
~This episode was vastly superior to the previous ones with the exception of Sophia, who needs to be spanked. She's the worst kid on shows I watch (which admittedly contain few kids). Other than Sophia, this episode had real heart. I wasn't a fan of the second segment but Hospital and Namaste where funny and heartwarming. Still my TV schedule is about to become even more packed, so I think this show is getting dropped next.
Best Blackmail - Love Doctor pictures
Most Interesting Date - the hospital
Worst Husband Ever - Tim, who has no idea what it means to be romantic
Biggest Brat and Likely Deal Breaker - Sophia
Best Quotes -
1. Sophia: "There's never a magical world in your closet when you need one."
2. Joan: "Life is complicated. Your father is not."
3. Jen: "Honestly, anyone who doesn't like a tater tot isn't someone I want to know."
4. Greg: "How's the finger?" Jen: "Honestly, I'm just glad it wasn't the picker or the flipper. You know, I need those."
5. Hostess: "Tell me what you value in a table." John: "Uh, four legs and a place to sit."

About the Author - Dahne

One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she recaps, reviews, and/or creates polls for Teen Wolf, The 100, Grimm, How to Get Away with Murder, The Librarians, and others. She also runs the annual Character Cup. She's addicted to Twitter, live tweets a multitude of shows each week, and co-hosts The 100 "Red-Shirted", Sleepy Hollow "Headless" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Currently she writes a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."

Recent Reviews (All Reviews)

Quote of the Week - Week of Nov. 22

A weekly feature highlighting the best quotes on TV as picked by the Spoiler TV team. We'd love to hear your picks too so please sound off in the comments below.

Agent X -
1. John: "You know those government benefits do come with therapy so I really don't need you to psychoanalyze me."
2. Millar: "Disobeying orders is becoming a habit with him. In his line of work you either follow orders or you get retired." Natalie: "John still has a couple of good years left in him." Millar: "Not that kind of retirement."
3. Natalie: "Shakespeare? Miles, I never saw that coming." Miles: "What did you expect?" Natalie: "Machiavelli."

Ash vs. Evil Dead -
1. Pablo: "I feel like I'm the sous chef of his exorcism kitchen."
2. Ash: "When you get back to hell, work on your aim."
3. Ash: "Shoot first. Think never."

Chicago Med -
1. Cardiologist: "What's the difference between God and a doctor? God knows he's not a doctor."
2. Manning: "They're your family." Kara: "You make that sound like a good thing."
3. Manning: "I'm not sure about that bag on you." Halstead: "Oh perhaps with a different shoe?"

Elementary -
1. Sherlock: "I assume you kept them separate so they can't coordinate their stories." Gregson: "Yeah like 5 married people could ever agree on anything."
2. Kirk: "I've got to think knowing how to work a deli slicer and deboning a person are 2 very different things."
3. Bell: "Well any way you slice it…pun most definitely NOT intended, whoever did this is a nasty piece of work."

Fargo -
1. Simone: "Are we gonna talk? Or are you just gonna quote the thesaurus at me?" (Darth Locke)
2. Bear: "It doesn't matter what you mean. It's what you do." (Darth Locke)

Into the Badlands -
1. Sunny: "There might be another way. I could train you." (Darth Locke)
2. Waldo: "Sunny, you know what's out there beyond our borders? A big sack full of stories. It's a wasteland…no, no, it's a paradise. It's a…whatever. Nobody knows what is and ain't true." (Dahne)
3. The Widow: "Relax. If I came here to kill you, we wouldn't be talking." (Dahne)
4. Waldo: "What's out there?" Sunny: "Freedom." Waldo: "Ulh, overrated. People don't really want to be free. Besides, it's an illusion. I mean, you take my birds. Oh they just love flying free, but every night they fly on home to their cages where it's safe and warm." (Dahne)

The Librarians -
1. Eve: "Cassandra, please do not fangirl over the archvillain."
2. Jenkins: "When the last ghost light goes out, the library will grab hold of the greatest source of life it can find and that's me." Jake: "That's your Plan B? To let this place eat you?" Cassandra: "If you think we're gonna leave you here alone, in the dark you're…I don't know what you are, but we're not doing that."
3. Moriarty: "If you don't trust my virtue, trust my self-interest."

Life in Pieces -
1. Sophia: "There's never a magical world in your closet when you need one."
2. Joan: "Life is complicated. Your father is not."
3. Greg: "How's the finger?" Jen: "Honestly, I'm just glad it wasn't the picker or the flipper. You know, I need those."

Limitless -
1. Brian: "So if I may coin a phrase it's basically arm-ageddon out there. Oh, come on, guys, that's basic. Arm-ageddon. Come on, that's -" Boyle: "We get it. I'll laugh later. Promise." Brian: "Mhm." (Laura Markus)
2. Brian: "A favor for Boyle, you say? Do tell. [...] Okay, this is serious." Rebecca: "Boyle served with a ranger named Aaron Shaw. Last night, Shaw was arrested for murdering his wife. The NYPD claims he choked her to death. Aaron claims he didn't do it. He has I guess what you could call an alibi." Brian: "What is it?" Rebecca: "The NYPD detectives who arrested him are apparently laughing at his story, so Boyle wants to see if you can help." Brian: "Well, what's his alibi?" Rebecca: "I think you should hear it straight from Aaron." Brian: "Hmm...Ike. Chaser." (Laura Markus)
3. Boyle: "You see, at the scene of every attack Sumida planned there was a camera. The museum, the restaurant, the elevator even inside the post office van, there was a security cam on the dashboard But at your house, where you murdered Kristen, guess what we couldn't find. [...] How in the hell was Kenny Sumida supposed to control your arm if he couldn't see what he was doing?" Brian: "Boom! Boyle for the win! [...] Yeah, I don't think your trial's gonna go down the way you think it's going to. Well, whatever happens, in the meantime, have fun getting punched in the face." Shaw: "What the hell?" Brian: "I know, it's annoying, right? Man, my brothers used to do that to me all the damn time. [...] I passed the code I hacked your arm with to my new buddies at Everywhere. Yeah. So if you hit yourself from now to the end of the trial, that's just them saying hello." (Laura Markus)

Scorpion -
1. Sylvester: "I have super powers. I am Bacteria Man."
2. Sylvester: "Megan, my whole life I've been told I was brilliant for a million different reasons but falling in love with you was the smartest thing I ever did. I will always love you."
3. Walter: "You were picked for a reason, Happy. You're supposed to be our reckless driver." Happy: "I'm driving as recklessly as I can."

About the Author - Dahne

One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she recaps, reviews, and/or creates polls for Teen Wolf, The 100, Grimm, How to Get Away with Murder, The Librarians, and others. She also runs the annual Character Cup. She's addicted to Twitter, live tweets a multitude of shows each week, and co-hosts The 100 "Red-Shirted" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Currently she writes a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."

Recent Reviews (All Reviews)

The Librarians - 2.04/2.05 - Roundtable Questions

Thanks for joining The Librarians season 2 roundtable review. Sorry I didn't get out the questions for 2.04 last week, so this contains questions for both episodes. Simply fill out however many questions you wish along with the mandatory first one. I will post the answers in an article on SpoilerTV and this blog, hopefully on Sunday. If you have any questions, ask in the comments below or tweet me @dahne1 and I will get back to you. Thanks again for participating.

About the Author - Dahne

One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she recaps, reviews, and/or creates polls for Teen Wolf, The 100, Grimm, How to Get Away with Murder, The Librarians, and others. She also runs the annual Character Cup. She's addicted to Twitter, live tweets a multitude of shows each week, and co-hosts The 100 "Red-Shirted", Sleepy Hollow "Headless" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Currently she writes a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."

Recent Reviews (All Reviews)

Last Week in TV - Week of Nov. 15 - Reviews and Episode Awards

Hello and welcome back to Last Week in TV. In anticipation of a few extra days off for the holidays, this edition is much smaller than last week's. I hope to get caught up and power pack next Monday's offering. How are you guys doing on your TV watching? Are things piling up for the midseason hiatus? I hope you saved yourself something to look forward to over the break. The Last Ship, The Americans, Dexter season 2, and Merlin season 2 are on my to-watch list. Possibly Daredevil if I have the time. If you have a suggestion of another show for me to watch, simply fill out the 2 question nomination form again. This week's show was Jane the Virgin, a fun distraction. (Just a reminder Nashville fans, I have already reviewed Nashville once this season so I will not feature it again. Sorry. I prefer to cover more shows and besides, Jessica is already doing a bang up job of reviewing the show.) Here's wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving if you are celebrating it and a great week if you are not. Until next time, happy TV viewing.

Nominated Episode

Jane the Virgin - 2.03 - Chapter 25

Jane the Virgin will not be for everyone. It's definitely different from anything else on TV these days. I watched about half of the first season but then dropped it for other shows when my schedule got tight. This episode was a fun reminder of how unique Jane the Virgin is though. By far the best thing about this show is the Villanueva women. They are tough, loving, and always have each others' backs. TV has a distinct lack of positive female relationships but they are the very heart of this show. My favorite is Alba because she's so no nonsense and feisty that she reminds me of Dorothy on Golden Girls. Getting a little flashback of her was great and helped round out her character for me. Plus it lead to the best moment of the episode, the heartfelt baptismal speech to their babies. Even I got a little sniffly at those beautiful words. This episode worked also because some of the things I didn't like in season 1 were more tempered here. I'm not a fan of Rogelio, but he had some good lines in this one. Plus Petra is now more fun as straight up villainess than she was playing the "woe is me" game like before. She was actually one of my favorite characters. Even the voice overs didn't bug me like they used to. Sadly there is still he obnoxious love triangle that is likely to never go away, which keeps me from putting Jane the Virgin on the midseason marathon list. Other than that and a bit too much cheese for my taste, this episode was pretty fun. Best of all, the previouslies really do get you caught up so you can jump right into an episode and check it out yourself.

Grade: B

Best Reason to Watch - the 3 woman who make up the Villanueva family
Best Scene - the multigenerational speech
Best Character - tie - Alba is fantastic as the no-nonsense abuela and Petra makes me laugh as the villainess
Best Hallucination - future Matteo moving to Russia
Best Hashtag - #AmbushSprayTan
Best Moment - Alba starts flicking Xo with water in a new baptism
Biggest What the Heck? - How in the world can anyone find being kidnapped romantic?
Biggest Oops - Matteo starts crying during Jane's class and she accidentally sends the baby carriage flying into the professor
Biggest Bwah - "Make Love Week" is the shark week of telenovelas
Biggest Huh? - There are linguistic differences between psychopaths and sociopaths? Who knew?
Most Effective - Petra's 3 option plan
Most Sweet Moment??? - Rogelio decides not to work with his ex so he c an focus on Xo
Smartest Choice - professor decides Jane should e-mail instead of call him ever again
Worst Advice - anything that comes from Rogelio
Weirdest Plan - narrating every single thing to the baby
The "I Beg to Differ" Award - Jane, you may have a wild imagination but I'm pretty sure no normal person could ever dream up the wild turns that this show takes.
The "Welcome Back" Award - Judy Reyes from Scrubs / Katherine Boecher aka Lilith from Supernatural

Best Quote -
1. Voice Over: "I'd tell you what's going on, but I'm a little confused myself."
2. Petra: "I'm not interested in being a single mother. No, I had one. That was hard." Jane: "Yeah that's because your mom is evil, not single."
3. Jane: "Lina confirmed and she said that she would wear something church appropriate, but that probably means the black dress from Madonna's Like a Prayer video."
4. Michael: "I'm a police officer. An emergency means someone is dead." Rogelio: "Well you look like a corpse. Close enough."
5. Girl: "Cool diary." Michael: "Oh it's not a diary." Girl: "Then can I read it?" Michael: "No." Girl: "Then it's a diary."

Episode of the Week

How to Get Away with Murder - 2.09 - What Did We Do?

Now that's the How to Get Away with Murder that I have been missing all season long. It was intense with one cool twist after another, some I didn't see coming at all. The directing and acting were topnotch as well and the hour raced by. Sure, all these deaths are getting ridiculous and there's no way they would be able to pull this all off but it is an intense ride. Never have I loved a show where I hate all the characters more than H2GAwM's first season. This episode has all the classic hallmarks of what made it such a stellar must-see show last year. Annalise has gone straight up bat guano crazy and one thing after another falls apart. Watching her go psycho is fascinating and Viola Davis is well on her way to earning a consecutive Emmy. I also loved how many of the big secrets are out in a nonstop confession of murder and cover up. Asher now knows what they have all been hiding and he is stuck in his own cycle of hell as well, which cements him to the group. Oliver's now the only outsider and hopefully he stays one. That's not a club you want to join. Overall this is exactly how you go on midseason hiatus. It also makes it the first solid A episode of the season. See what How to Get Away with Murder can do when it leaves everybody's sex lives off the screen.

Grade: A

Best Reason to Watch - the frenetic pace
Best Scene - Annalise frantically tries to get someone to shoot her
Best Back Story - Wes
Best Acting / Best Directing - The spin shot with an overwhelmed Annalise that stops spinning the second she comes up with the plan. Brilliant in the acting and the directing. Kudos to all involved.
Best Twist - Asher kills Sinclair
Best Reaction - the students to seeing Sinclair's body
Best Annalise - Bonnie, who becomes Asher's lawyer and cover-up specialist
Best Leverage - Annalise tells Asher about Sam's murder to keep Connor and Michaela from leaving
Biggest Game Changer - Annalise tells Wes that Rebecca's dead
Biggest Twist - Asher's dad commits suicide
Biggest Say What? - What the heck do Annalise and Eve have to do with Wes' mom? Is that actually the first murder or did they drive her to commit suicide?
Biggest Surprise from the Previous Episode - Asher left the car to pay for a car wash and not to go to the police as the cut made it look like
Biggest Facepalm - Caleb, why would you get your fingerprints all over that gun? Why?
Biggest Hmm - Asher's car has very little damage for a hit and run
Biggest Douche - Sinclair, even if she died
Best Plan - Wes calls Nate and lets him in on the plan
Worst Plan - everyone wants to destroy evidence as a first resort
Most Despicable - Annalise, who manipulates with the best of them
Most Honorable??? - Caleb, who at least does not want to abandon his sister without letting her explain her side of things
The "Like Sam Before You" Award - I shed no tears over Sinclair's death.
The "Turnabout's Fair Play" Award - if Sinclair is going to psychotically fixate on Annalise and Nate, then it's his turn to put the heat on her with a lawsuit
The "When You're Right, You're Right" Award - Connor is dead right in saying that he wants nothing to do with this new murder
The "Poor Baby" Award - Asher breaks down in her car over his father's death
Best Music - Summoning of the Muse by Dead Can Dance

Best Quotes -
1. Bonnie: "We can't keep doing this, Frank. We say we're just protecting ourselves but there's a point when we're the ones people need to be protected from and that's who we've become. Don't you see that?"
2. Michaela: "Okay but just think for a second." Connor: "No more excuses. We know better this time."
3. Asher: "I can't look." Bonnie: "That's okay. You don't have to."
4. Bonnie: "There is no decision here. It was already made and you agreed so either get on board or you're the next dead body out there."
5. Annalise: "Laurel, you could do this. You've been through worse with your father. And you help us always and I need for you to do it again." Laurel: "Maybe we should go to jail for everything. Maybe that's okay."

Guest Reviews

Criminal Minds – 11.08 – Awake
BY Emma

Picking up where we left off last week, Reid has gone to Vegas to visit his mom and the threat to Garcia has landed Garcia in witness protection. Hopefully, it goes better for our favorite tech goddess than it did for Haley. Seriously though, the team has been targeted so many times before you’d think the FBI would have converted a couple floors to an employee hideout by now. But, crazed psychos targeting our heroes have never stopped them before so on to the case of the week we go. This week’s case centers on every parent’s worst nightmare – the abduction and murder of their child. While the unsub does horrible things to his victims, the amount of pain he is experiencing from the loss of his child is an understandable catalyst to his killing. It’s not very often that Criminal Minds allows us to empathize with the unsub and in the end, his death was both tragic and merciful.

Grade: B

Best Reason to Watch – being able to empathize with the unsub for a change
Best Scene – Rossi and Morgan imitating Reid
Best Character Interaction – JJ, Morgan and Lewis on the elevator
Most Missed – Reid
Best Mime – Derek inferring nursing after JJ declines caffeine
Most Heartbreaking – the unsub’s story
The “That’s Going to Give Me Nightmares” Award – stapling the eyelids open
The “Welcome Back” Award – Todd Lowe of True Blood / Gloria Votsis of White Collar

Best Quotes:
1. JJ voiceover: “You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body but you will never imprison my mind. Gandhi.”
2. JJ voiceover: “Guilt is perhaps the most painful companion of death. Coco Chanel.”

4.08- Nashville- Unguarded Moments
BY Jessica VanWinkle

Maddie Conrad has to be the brattiest teenager alive. She makes me want to reach through my TV screen and strangle her. But since I can’t do that, I’ll just settle for complaining about her in my review. She thinks Rayna is ruining her life, she’s rude to Daphne, and now she seems to be mad at Deacon too. Even when Rayna gives her a record deal, she’s still mad because she thinks her mom is trying to control her. I think I would be fine never seeing her again. Okay, I feel better now. Moving on to better things. I love watching and listening to Scarlett and Gunnar sing together. Their voices just seem to complement each other. I could have used less of Erin this week, and I didn’t need the Caleb and Scarlett scenes either. I also liked listening to Avery sing the song that Will wrote. The song was beautiful, and I liked that they added the scenes with him and Juliette. I love Gunnar and Will’s bromance, but I’m glad that Will and Avery’s friendship is being developed more. What relationship doesn’t need to be developed? Rayna and Markus. I’m fine with them as friends, but writers, please don’t make a Deacon/Rayna/Markus love triangle. That’s the last thing this show needs. Viewers have been waiting years for Rayna and Deacon to be happy together. Don’t mess that up, especially for Markus Keen. Unfortunately, I had to give this episode a ‘C’ rating because I just didn’t think it was very good. Way too much time was spent on Maddie, and I really feel like we didn’t get anywhere. I was disappointed especially since I liked last week’s episode so much. I hope the next few episodes are better especially since the show is going on a long midseason break soon.

Grade: C

Best Scene - Avery sings Will’s song at the Bluebird and remembers moments with Juliette
Best Reason to Watch - Beautiful singing.
Characters Who Should Leave - Erin, Gabriella, and Caleb. They add nothing to the show.
Most Missed Character - Juliette. Get better soon, Hayden.
Biggest Brat - Maddie Conrad. I feel like a broken record with this one.
Worst Relationship Idea - Rayna and Markus. I’m begging the writers not to do this.
Funniest Scene - Avery playing his guitar for “Call Big Al!”

SHIELD - 3.08 - Many Heads, One Tale
BY Swanpride

Wow...just wow. I really have no idea where to start. The show is already great but it just keeps getting better and better. Granted, this was mostly a heist episode and I am a sucker for a good heist. Or two, even though Ward's heist is lacking stealth. It doesn't matter because he makes up for it by being a cheeky b*** from start to finish. While Ward reminds everyone that he always has something up his sleeve, the other characters get busy in a set-up, in which every single one of them plays an important role. There is nothing I enjoy as much as old-fashioned team work, especially if it results in yet another reveal I didn't quite see coming. Though I admit I am not quite sure how I feel about it yet. It certainly shifts the whole MCU into a new light. And then there is the kiss. The kiss Fitzsimmons fans have waited way too long for. And wasn't it satisfying to hear Fitz complaining about the Cosmos (read: Scriptwriters) keeping them apart? But I mostly like how the writers manage to portray Simmons turmoil in a realistic manner. It is the kind of relationship drama I can get behind, because it is not born out of misunderstanding but real life obstacles - well, what passes for real life in the MCU. And I have the feeling that it just became even more crazy.

Grade: A+

Best Reason to Watch - Two heists for the price of one! It can't get better than that.
Best Scene - Does the whole episode count?
Best Character - Hunter. I admit he had me with his wardrobe choice, but watching Nick Blood pretending to be Hunter who pretends to be an even bigger annoyance than usual while trying to pass as an hacker was impressive to see.
Best Team-up - May and Lincoln. I love the way the show keeps throwing different characters together and this particular one yielded into an unexpected talk
Best Prop - Bobbi's new batons. Awesome!
Best Action - Ward taking out all his attackers
Best Effect - May taking off
Most Ridiculous - Why waste time controlling two weapons with your special powers when there are two armed agents beside you who can start shooting immediately?
Biggest Head Scratcher - What was the name of the German town the vault was located? I suspect the writers did pick an existing town, but the English accent mangled the name so much, I was unable to figure it out.
My Prediction of the Week - I am worried about Fitzsimmons! There is no way that Malick isn't interested in the gal who travelled through the monolith and the guy who brought her back.

Best Quote:
1. Rosalind: "Hello It-department which only calls me when there is a problem. What is the problem?"
2. Bobbi: "Andrew is a PHD in psychology, now he is a specimen."
3. Luther: "If you're worried you can't trust me, worry on the move."

New Shows

Chicago Med - 1.01 - Pilot

Medical dramas are really not my thing and I am already attached to the characters of Code Black so it's not likely that I will stay much longer with Chicago Med. It's got a decent bone structure and the pacing from one trauma to another is right on track. If you don't like one story, it will quickly move to another one. That works well for the plot but it can hamper the first impressions of the characters. The only one that feels even a little fleshed out is Dr. Charles, although I see Manning getting there pretty quickly too. Other than that, you've got the 2 hotshot doctors fighting for alpha male status and another one just doing his job. The two nurses we meet were pretty awesome and it's obvious that they make a tight trio with Manning. I'd love to see that develop more. Other than that, it's a typical medical drama. It's not groundbreaking but it's comfortable and if you're searching for a new medical drama, this might be the show for you. In all honesty, there's only one reason why I am giving this show space for 2 more weeks on my already crowded schedule - Colin Donnell. I still think Arrow's season 1 finale was one of the best episodes I have ever seen and because of that I still miss Tommy Merlyn. He may be under a different name here, but it's worth the 2 extra hours just to honor a good actor whose character got shafted.

Grade: B-
Ranking - 2
Audience - I think anyone who enjoys medical dramas that are more in the vein of ER will like this one

Best Reason to Watch - there's a frenetic pace but they still stop for the heart moments
Best Scene - Goodwin talks the biological mother into doing the right thing
Best Awww Scene -Jaime agrees to a ventilator for Dr. Charles and Dr. Charles watches his movie for Jaime
Best Visual - Choi grabbing a new patient's hand as he's wheeled in
Most Tragic Back Story - Manning's significant other was a soldier who died
Most Creepy - keeping people alive so they can deliver a baby
Most Depressing - they find an engagement ring in a guy's belongings, give it to the fiancé, and then he dies
Biggest Hmm - There are really 7 Fast and Furious movies? Why?
The "Welcome Back" Award - Colin Donnell, whom I very much miss as Tommy on Arrow / Oliver Platt from my favorite version of The Three Musketeers / S. Epatha Merkerson from Law & Order

Best Quotes -
1. Lawyer: "It's so much easier to run a hospital without doctors."
2. Halstead: "Hey, I am not arrogant." Manning: "No, no, not at all. You just happen to know more than anybody else."
3. Rhodes: "We're past what Jamie wants." Charles: "You know what, doctor? We're actually not past what Jaime wants."
4. Rhodes: "Is every day like this?" Goodwin: "Some days we're busy."
5. Sexton: "You know we do have a couple of doctors around here. I could hook you up."

Into the Badlands - 1.01 - Pilot

3 minutes in and we've already got someone fighting with a sword, plus a total kick butt warrior who can take out an entire gang with his bare hands. Color me interested if not a little grossed out by the fly-ridden corpses and blood. The middle slows down big time but that beginning is dead on and at the 30 minute mark, it is all sword fights again. I'm a sucker for a great sword fight and quite frankly, this show needs more of them. There's less exposition in this pilot than many but it still drags in the middle, trying to set up the mythos. Essentially the world went to hell again and out of it emerged 6 barons, who now run everything and enslave the people. The barons are gearing up for a major war and Sonny, the head soldier for one baron, is having second thoughts about his life. His girlfriend gets pregnant and for some reason this means that either she or the child must die. I don’t get it but I'm sure it will be explained later. It might have something to do with the fact that women are treated like property. On his rounds, Sonny finds a kid who is wanted by another baron because he turns into some weird, demon fighter ninja at the sight of his own blood. He's special and he may know a way out of the Badlands. Anyone thinking that this kid and Sunny are likely to team up in the next couple of episodes earns a shiny medal. $20 bucks says they do. It boils down to a trained killer with a heart of gold looking for a way out set against a backdrop of a potential coup and straight up war. And did I mention it has sword fights? Sign me up for at least 2 more episodes.

Grade: B+
Ranking - 5
Audience - anyone who loves action or dystopian futures

Best Reason to Watch - swordfights
Best Scene - beginning action scene
Best Surprise - Sunny is learning to read
Biggest Idiot - MK, who has no patience at all
Biggest Hmm - If he's destined to die in the morning anyway, why doesn't MK just cut himself on purpose and hulk out? Surely those chains won't be able to keep him in.
Least Likely to be Loyal - Sunny, who doesn't much appreciate his Baron
Most Tiresome - the Baron's endless monologuing about how he made Sonny
The "Say What?" Award - that kid just morphed into Supernatural demon eyes? Wasn't expecting that.
The "A Little Warning Please" Award - no shots of glass in the eyes please without a big scrolling warning
The "Welcome Back" Award - Orla Brady aka Peter's mom on Fringe

Best Quotes -
1. Lydia: "He needs me, Ryder, and he always will. I still have his head and his heart. I gladly bequeath to her everything to the south."
2. Sunny: "I like Cat in the Hat better."
3. MK: "Why are you helping me?" Sunny: "Because I never had a choice. Now you do."
4. Baron: "So that's what this is about. Are you planning a wedding or a wake?" Lydia: "He's gonna succeed you one day." Baron: "Power's not inherited, Lydia. It's taken." Lydia: "Perhaps you prefer he cut off your head?"
5. MK: "You got a name or do you just show up, kill people, and live?" Sunny: "If I tell you, will you shut up?" MK: "Can't make any promises."

Jessica Jones - 1.01 - Pilot

On one hand, I said, "Wow, this is slow" at 18 minutes in. On the other hand, she's a kick butt super hero who doesn't flaunt her super powers. Perhaps it's the fact that I don't read comic books, but I never know anything about what's going on in the pilot of Netflix Marvel shows. The general gist is that she's a superhero working as a private investigator who is hiding out from a supervillain telepath that controlled her and forced her to do things she didn't want to do. She's definitely psychologically scarred and possibly more vulnerable than most superheroes on TV. In tone, being purposely vague, and even some of the pacing problems, this was like Daredevil, except with far less action. Therefore I liked it less. Still she's a kick butt woman and there's too few of those on TV. I will give it another episode before deciding whether this is midseason or summer fare. Chances are that I watch Daredevil first. This pilot was more a case of decent premise with bad execution.

Grade: C-
Ranking - 2/3 depending on the second episode
Audience - those who love Marvel shows and aren't afraid of some snooze-worthy pacing

Best Reason to Watch - it's another female who will probably kick butt in future episodes
Best Scene / Best Twist - Hope kills her parents under the influence of Kilgrave
Best Plan - pulling the fire alarm to get all the people out
Best Bluff - laser eyes, ha!
Biggest Douche - Spheeris
Biggest Evil - Kilgrave
Best Music - I've Got a Woman by Ray Charles
Most in Need of Improvement - the pacing, which left me yawning throughout
The "Welcome Back" Award - Carrie Moss from The Matrix / Krysten Ritter from Veronica Mars / Mike Colter from Ringer, who apparently gets his own Luke Cage series / Rachael Taylor from Crisis

Best Quotes -
1. Jessica: "Do I look like I'm hiding? No. You want to know why? Because no one wants to know. They want to feel safe. They'd rather call you crazy than admit that I can lift this car. Or that I can melt your insides with my laser eyes, which won't leave a trace."
2. Jessica: "I'm not gonna beg you for a case. I will ask you though, very strongly."
3. Man: "Oh, you killed my art." Jones: "Mercy killing."
4. Jessica: "It's people like you that give people like you a bad name."
5. Jessica: "Hope's going overboard to make her boyfriend happy. She's either an idiot in love or she's being conned, which amount to pretty much the same thing."

Weekly Shows

Agent X - 1.03 - Back in Your Arms

It's the typical "background on the ex" episode, which is only surprising in how quickly it came up. Also in that it appears the ex is here to stay. That's neither a good or bad thing yet, since after being on screen an hour, we still don't know much about Pamela except that she's a lawyer and she has terrible taste in men. One huge plus though is that the CIA director is now dead so no worries about him anymore. I am also beginning to think that Natalie's husband isn't really dead or why else would it matter that he was committing adultery? I guess his death could be suspicious and tie into the coup that way instead but it is connected in some way if my TV plot twist radar is accurate. Of course the plot and the characters are still secondary to the action in this show and that's again where it shined. No, none of it is in any way believable (bad guys still can't shoot) but it makes for a great ride. Keep it coming, Agent X.

Grade: B

Best Reason to Watch - all the action
Best Scene - John getting Pamela out of the safe house
Best Choreography - fight to Tchaikovsky
Best Play - Vice President bluffs the bigwigs in poker
Most Fun Interaction - John vs. the security guard
Biggest Moron - Pamela for using her cell phone in a crisis and leading the bad guys to the safe house
Biggest Say What? - How is it that the CIA director cannot lie well?
Coolest Car - John's Mustang
Smartest Plan - call the cell phone of the last person the dead guy called
Best Surprise - Pamela's fiancé is the bad guy
Least Surprising - the guy who was going to tell and the guy who failed both died
Worst Surprise - the dead guy cheated on Natalie
Worst Job Requirement - having to dump your loved ones to be Agent X
Worst TV Trope - bad guys can't shoot….ever
Worst Timing - don't stop to kiss when there may be people trying to shoot you still, you dummies

Best Quotes -
1. Pamela: "I may not be a trained killer but I'm pretty sure a first aid Brownie badge is for life."
2. Millar: "Are you stealing a car?" John: "She also got the Mustang." Millar: "Is she available for your job?"
3. John: "What are you going to do with Williams?" Millar: "Awful car wreck…like this whole operation."
4. Cromwell: "You interrupt me one more time and the next person who finds you will be operating a backhoe."
5. Cromwell: "Pamela Richardson? What Bob Woodward wasn't available?"
6. John: "Call me Richard." Pamela: "Great. I get to call you Dick."

CSI: Cyber - 2.07 - Corrupted Memory

This was an unusual episode for me because for once I didn't even know the technology they wanted me to fear existed. However I did like the twists even if they were largely transparent; the guest actors were topnotch too. I still say that Star-Crossed was one of the most underrated shows I've seen, at least when they were not pushing the teen romance angle. It was good to see Matt Lanter back and given such a meaty role. He really sold Tristan's anguish and psychosis to me. Here's hoping that Arjay Smith returns as Nelson's brother as well. I'd like to learn more about Nelson's past so having his brother possibly indicted by the FBI will allow us to see more of that.

Grade: B

Best Reason to Watch - guest stars
Best Scene - Avery interrogates Tristan
Best Plan - identifying the bracelet through facial recognition
The "Poor Baby" Award - father finds that a family friend killed his daughter and then is arrested when he kills the murderer
Best Back Story - Nelson's brother
Best Way to Avoid Copyright Infringement - using Friend Agenda instead of Facebook
Biggest Head Shake - Krumitz calls the other analysts "minions"
Biggest Hmm - So the guy who has been shut up in his apartment for years suddenly gets a gun in what? An hour? How does that happen?
Most Unnecessary - watching the parents watching their daughter get murdered
Least Surprising - Tristan has been cyber stalking the victim / Isabelle's boss is the murderer
Worst Plan - snooping in the FBI files when you are on probation
Worst Nightmare - watching your daughter being stabbed to death while you can't do anything about it
Technology to Fear / The "So This is Really a Thing" Award - Cross-country sex toys. Say what? Huh?
The "Welcome Back" Award - Arjay Smith from Perception / Matt Lanter from Star-Crossed / Bruce Nozick from The Last Ship

Best Quotes -
1. Raven: "You're looking at device that loaded malware on Isabelle's laptop." Elijah: "Gives new meaning to the word sexually transmitted."
2. Nelson: "Buying a sex toy was awkward but the lingerie was totally natural?"
3. Krumitz: "Well this is great but there's no 'random stuff we own' database to search."
4. Nelson: "That is not true, Jordan. We're blood but it wasn't me that decided we weren't family."
5. Nelson: "No. Keep your lips to yourself, Casanova."

The Flash - 2.07 - Gorilla Warfare

Woo hoo! Henry's back! I still don't buy that hokey reason they gave for him leaving so I am doubly enthused for Barry to have 2 Yodas again. This time it is Henry who talks him off the ledge, mostly because he can relate much better to what Barry's going through than Joe can. Still I love that everyone acknowledge that Joe is an important father in Barry's life too. I hope that Henry comes back again and this time to stay. I still very much doubt Wells' intentions and this whole Grodd thing is even more suspicious. Yet I applaud him because it may finally get Grodd forever off my screen. I'm sorry but I'm good with never having ape CGI again. The whole thing is so ridiculous to me that it knocks the grade down on the sheer presence of Grodd alone. I do like the King Kong allusion though. Even Caitlin's outfit rocked the whole "beauty that killed the beast" thing.

Grade: B-

Best Reason to Watch - Henry's back (well for this episode), which is great since he never should have left
Best Reason to Skip - Grodd
Best Scene - Barry gets back to his Flash self
Best Pep Talk - Henry tells Barry to get back on his feet and be the hero he is
Best Date - The Princess Bride? Nice, Cisco.
Best Impression of Say Anything - Cisco and his "sorry" basket
Best Hug - Barry and Henry
Best Turn About - the gang teases Cisco about his date
Biggest Creep - Wells, channeling his inner Wells
Biggest Hmmm - So Wells sent Grodd back to a place with no "real" gorillas? Is that what they're implying?
Worst Affect - Wells' new voice
Most Helpful - Joe and Henry, who cut through Barry's self-pity
The "I Don't Get It" Award - How is going to the tops of the building making Grodd faster at catching Barry? That seems a whole lot slower.
The "When Honesty is NOT the Best Policy" Award - Joe, you really need to get with Barry and coordinate your lies so you don't contradict each other
The "Not Him Again" Award - it's the freaking monkey clown back to ruin my hour
The "Makes Sense to Me" Award - closing all but one of the portals sounds actually brilliant
The "I Think I Saw This Last Year" Award - Barry is all up in his head and he's making it worse on himself
The "I Have No Objections" Award - I say kill Grodd so he's never back on my screen

Best Quotes-
1. Caitlin: "There's no such thing as a bird man, Cisco." Cisco: "Okay, like that's a stretch in this city."
2. Joe: "That was a hell of an idea you had, bringing Henry here." Iris: "Well he may not have his mother, but he's got 2 amazing fathers. Seemed like he needed both."
3. Cisco: "What are you saying? He wants kids? Because I'm pretty sure one telepathic great ape is more than enough for this city."
4. Cisco: "The only reason we couldn't find him on any cameras underneath the city before is 'cause he upgraded from a bachelor pad to a penthouse like a baller."
5. Henry: "Earth 2?" Barry: "I'll explain later."
6. Joe: "You may not have your legs just yet, but you've still got that brain. Use it. Help us figure it out."

Grimm - 5.04 - Maiden Quest

Nick and Adalind grew more creepy, the case was largely boring, and Trubel was only in for about 5 seconds again. Still hoping for Trubel to save the whole show. It needs it. Without her, Monroe, and Rosalee, this episode would be a straight up "F".

Grade: D-

Best Reason to Watch - tie - Emily reveal and Trubel's return
Best Reason to Fast Forward - Nick and Adalind
Best Scene - Trubel returns
Best Awww Scene - Monroe vows he'd slay a flock of dragons for Rosalee
Best but Least Surprising Twist - Emily is the one killing off her suitors
Biggest Surprise - the maiden quest was actually for Emily and not about her suitors
Biggest Blech (besides rape romance) - Nick covered in cobwebs
Biggest Douche - Frankie, who tells his girlfriend she's getting fat
Biggest Hmmm - How do Hank and Nick keep having Wesen conversations in interrogation? Aren't those always taped for evidence?
Most Pun-ilicious - usually this is Wu but tonight it was all Hank
Most Potential - Trubel is back
Worst Parenting - Amos' mom makes him be part of the maiden quest even though he doesn't want to
Worst Tradition - handing your daughter off in marriage to the most competent killer
The "You Never Learn" Award - you'd think that Frankie would be less of a douche to the people he hired as bodyguards but he's not

Best Quotes -
1. Monroe: "You know what? Maybe I shouldn't hear this." Rosalee: "There's nothing you shouldn't hear."
2. Rosalee: "Honey, would slay a dragon for me?" Monroe: "Oh my God. A flock of them or whatever you call a great gathering of dragons." Rosalee: "My knight in shining…" Monroe: "But I don't do armor. I've got a nickel allergy."
3. Daniel: "The quest was never for them." Emily: "What?" Daniel: "I had to make sure you had the strength to take over." Emily: "I don't understand." Daniel: "It was always your quest, not theirs. You proved yourself to be far more worthy than any man."
4. Rosalee: "Electric bill, telephone bill, advertising. Oh we won a million dollars. Yippee!"
5. Hank: "Axes, swords, and golden feathers. Anyone else think this is getting a little mythological?"

iZombie - 2.07 - Abra Cadaver
Grade: B
~This was one weird brain and I suspected the maid from the beginning, but the character elements were spot on. I actually liked Liv and Blaine working together for once, partly because Blaine's verbal homage snark was laser sharp. I can't wait until Liv finds out that Blaine is Peyton's star witness.
Best Quotes -
1. Peyton: "How long were you…uh, standing there?" Ravi: "One second less than would have been creepy."
2. Clive: "He's a magician. You don't dress like that unless you're doing magic or you hate your parents."
3. Blaine: "Did you eat Edgar Allan Poe?"
4. Blaine: "I'm a required taste like gazpacho or that free U2 album."
5. Angel: "Check out Twitter. Soak in the hate." / Liv: "Twitter a vast collection of humanity's impetuous thought vomitings."

The Librarians - 2.04 - And the Cost of Education

Note - Review will come this week via the roundtable review on SpoilerTV.

Grade: B-

Best Reason to Watch - all the weird at "demented Hogwarts"
Best Call Back - Jake says, "Because after all, architecture is art that we live in."
Best Reaction - Jenkins
Best Reference - Lovecraft
Worst Plan - I'm pretty sure that particle accelerator plus TV equals huge disaster
Worst Pet - gargoyles
Biggest Moral - when in doubt, don't doubt
Biggest Blech - Kane covered with spider webs
Biggest Woo Hoo!!! - It's Beth Riesgraf from Leverage.
Most Fun - Jenkins' Poltergeist voice
Most Conspicuous - Ezekiel is just walking down the street with his magic hunting gun
Most Efficient - Ezekiel pilfers the invitation, even if it doesn't work
Most Overenthusiastic - Cassandra at everything / Jake over the architecture professor
Most in Need of a Gibbs' Slap - Lucy
Most Super Special Snowflake - Cassandra, always

Best Quotes -
1. Baird: "My experiences with frat houses are limited, but I don't think evil rituals are supposed to sound like a kegger."
2. Ezekiel: "Only you would be excited about going to school, even demented Hogwarts."
3. Baird: "Wow, that's a whole lot of bad crammed into one small sentence."
4. Cassandra: "Okay, I didn't come through space and time to get eaten today. Let's go."
5. Jenkins: "Would you call him arrogant, boastful, egotistical?" Jake: "I'd call him a prick."

Quantico - 1.08 - Over

If the hints are to be believed, it is Simon who is the terrorist. I'll wait for confirmation. To be honest, there's been a lot of finger pointing so this could be yet another red herring. Besides, for me the biggest shock is the improvement in Caleb. He's still a whiny manchild with daddy issues but at least he now has a clue. I like him confronting his dad although I hope he keeps that copy of the e-mail instead of deleting it. I have a feeling Alex is going to need Caleb more than anyone else. The sub-sub-plot of the cover-up in Omaha is tedious already and I have real doubts about Alex turning herself in this quickly, but the pacing has been good. They also cut a little back on the sex lives of everyone. It's not enough but it is a good start. Since Caleb's dad seems too obvious to be the mastermind, it should be interesting to see how he handles Alex now that they can't just shoot her.

Grade: B

Best Reason to Watch - the pacing
Best Scene - Caleb vs. his dad
Best Character - for once it's Caleb who finally gets beyond his self-pity and gets his head in the game
Best Friends to Have - Mia and Duncan, who can get anyone out of any jam
Best Development - Caleb calls his father out on something that actually has to do with the terrorism case
Biggest What the Heck? - Charlie stabbed Miranda???
Biggest Green Eyes - Raina, who better not be getting into a freaking love triangle with her sister
Biggest Douche - Caleb's dad
Biggest Jumping the Gun - Alex turns herself in instead of finding any other way to communicate the second bomb news to the FBI. Come on, Alex. You're smarter than that.
Least Surprising Big Announcement - there's a second bomb
Worst Plan - it's a tossup between making the file room so easy to get into that any agent can just check out whatever he or she wants and stealing a file from the FBI before you are an agent
Most Self-Righteous - Alex
Most Emoangsty - Caleb
Most Admirable - Nimah, for shutting Simon down before the love triangle can even start
The "Never Again" Award - I do NOT ever need to see Alex doing field surgery again
The "Oh Shut Up" Award - Alex, you are starting to really annoy me. Stop with the self-righteousness and the speeches.
Biggest Shock / The "Say What?" Award - Caleb was part of a cult? Never saw that coming. Ever. At all.

Scorpion - 2.09 - US vs. UN vs. UK

What I love most about this episode is how much it felt like Leverage, complete with the end of episode reveal of how they did everything. It was a bittersweet touch that made me grateful to have Scorpion but only made me miss Leverage more. While the case had the most twists and turns, it was Sylvester who really surprised me. I can't believe he got married but I'm glad he found away to supersede Walter's court order. I think it is best that Megan's life decisions are made by someone who has her wishes foremost in mind. To that end, no one is better than Sylvester. I'm not looking forward to the impact of Megan's inevitable death but the writers have done a great job of telling this story. It's helped Sylvester grow as a character and theirs is one of the few romantic relationships on TV that I can stand. Megan has been a good foil ever since we first met her and I will miss her when she's gone.

Grade: B

Best Reason to Watch - it's Scorpion's version of Leverage
Best Scene - Sylvester tells Walter that he's in charge of Megan's medical decisions from now on
Best Action - Gleason vs. the bodyguard
Best Save - Cooper takes the bullets out of Cromwell's gun
Best Use of a Matchbox Car - Walter uses it to set off a methane bomb
Best Kiss Up - Paige, who plays on the terrorist's vanity to trick him. She'd do well as a spy.
Best Meta - Katharine McPhee talking about missing a Broadway show
Best Worst Boss - Paige does demanding boss very well
Worst Reference - Toby gives a speech using Whitney Houston lyrics
Biggest Douche - Cromwell
Biggest Laugh - salami bomb
Biggest What the Heck? - Scorpion sets off a bomb in the UN. This is as farfetched as when they set off that nuclear bomb in a foreign country.
Most Well Played - Sylvester marries Megan to keep Walter from pushing his wishes on her
Most Juvenile - Toby using Pig Latin to insult the linguist
Most Delusional / Most Full of Himself - Walter, who cannot accept that Megan can make her own decisions
The "Of Course He Is" Award - Ray is an internet minister
The "Hate to Break It To You" Award - but Happy, you look even less like a Happy than an Ursula
The "Oh Poor Baby" Award - Sylvester and Megan

Best Quotes -
1. Happy: "This is crazy that we're doing this, right?" Toby: "Well psychologically speaking, crazy is a catchall for a myriad of pathologies and circumstances, but yeah, this is nuttier than a fruitcake."
2. Walter: "Happy, how's it look?" Happy: "Like a TV dinner that goes boom."
3. Walter: "Thank you for the car. It came in handy today, but you've always been there for me. Haven't you? Ever since we were little. I can't fail you when it's my turn." Sylvester: "Walter, doing what she wants isn't failing her."
4. Toby: "Your last name's Spiewack, right? Is that Polish?" Ray: "As Polish as a bratwurst." Toby: "That's German, dummy. Look. Do you know any Polish at all?" Ray: "I was raised by my Grandma Etoile." Toby: "And that's French."
5. Toby: "Cabe, I can only delay this for so long." Cabe: "Just do what you always do and refuse to shut up."

Supernatural - 11.07 - Plush

Supernatural is going back to its case of the week roots. There's nothing really special about this episode and it's largely forgettable but it did bring back Sheriff Donna. She's second only to Sheriff Jody in the characters I actually want to see again so having her was a plus. I could have done without her Doug issues though. To be honest, she's barely a recurring character so we didn't need to get into her psychological damage. More interesting is the fact that the Cage is back into play. Perhaps some fans will get their wish and they'll pop Adam out of the Cage this season. Personally I would rather forget about him but if they do pull him out and then have zero to do with him afterwards, it would offer closure. The question then becomes how do they even get to the Cage, much less figure out what the plan is. Also, is it really a good idea to lock up the Darkness and Lucifer and Michael in one place? That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Grade: B-

Best Reason to Watch - it's a pretty uncomplicated ghost story that brings back a great recurring character
Best Reaction - Dean to Sam talking about the Cage
Best Continuity - Sam's clown fear
Best Return -Sheriff Donna
Worst Kids' Party Guy Ever - If he is entertainment at a kids' party, why are all his costumes so creepy?
Worst Move - the kid lets Dean wait inside until his mom comes home
Biggest Hmm - If a man was attacked and left unconscious, shouldn't there be some kind of security around him?
Biggest Say What? - Why doesn't Dean throw the salt at the ghost before he gets his butt kicked by him?
Least surprising - Bugs Bunny and Roger Rabbit puns. It's also not surprising that they were really bad.
Most Awkward - Doug butting into the conversation and not leaving
Most Excited - Sheriff Donna at being called a true hunter
Most Missed - the bone salt and burn
Most Creepy - any adult who dresses in a costume on any day besides Halloween or at a convention
Most in Need of a Therapist - Sheriff Donna with Doug
Theme of the Year - innocent but used by evil (kill or save)
The "Welcome Back" Award - Brigid Brannagh from Angel and Army Wives

Best Quotes -
1. Donna: "When you get a call about a killer Easter Bunny, you don't know what to think." Dean: "Well you can think crazy."
2. Donna: "He escape too?" Sam: "Yeah." Donna: "I'm so losing my job."
3. Doug: "Two masked psychos in two days. I mean what are the chances?" Donna: "My guess, copycat killer." Dean: "Damn social media."
4. Dean: "What do you mean, killer bunny?"
5. Donna: "I won't be once bitten, twice Doug-ed."

About the Author - Dahne

One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she recaps, reviews, and/or creates polls for Teen Wolf, The 100, Grimm, How to Get Away with Murder, The Librarians, and others. She also runs the annual Character Cup. She's addicted to Twitter, live tweets a multitude of shows each week, and co-hosts The 100 "Red-Shirted", Sleepy Hollow "Headless" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Currently she writes a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."

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