Below are the roundtable questions for this episode. Answer as many or as few as you wish. I'm also looking at doing a short season 2 roundtable review at the end of the week if you are interested in that as well. Thanks for participating!
Monday, December 28, 2015
The Librarians - 2.10 - And the Final Curtain - Roundtable Questions
Below are the roundtable questions for this episode. Answer as many or as few as you wish. I'm also looking at doing a short season 2 roundtable review at the end of the week if you are interested in that as well. Thanks for participating!
Last Week in TV - Week of Dec. 20 - *** READER POLL ***, Reviews, and Episode awards
Hello and welcome back to Last Week in TV. Next week the guest reviewers and I are going to evaluate TV up to the midseason in a special edition of Last week in TV. We want you to join us in the episode awards. Below you will see two forms. The first is for your midseason TV awards (only shows from the 2015-2016 TV season please) and the second is the normal form to nominate shows. If you are new to the column, I usually review one episode nominated by the readers each time along with the shows I already review weekly and any new shows. To nominate an episode (past or present), simply fill in the show and episode in the form below. I use a random number generator to choose which episode to do each week. Nominations stay in the queue until the show is picked or the season ends. I'm especially looking for shows that I don't know much about and have never seen so feel free to add some that are less mainstream. If I can find a way to watch it, I will. Thanks so much for participating in the midseason awards and until next time, happy TV viewing.
Midseason Episode Award Nominations:
Episode Nominations Form:
Episode of the Week
Into the Badlands is one of those few shows that did not have a single bad episode in the bunch. It has excellent pacing and the best action on TV. The characters are well-developed and they don't drag things out for long. If you haven't tried out this show and you love action, I highly recommend it. It's my favorite new show of the season so far. It's also the episode of the week. This finale was everything I hope it to be, especially if all the dead stay dead. I love how each main character had a major change in their life and the cliffhangers have me excited about next season. Tilda remains my favorite character and the Widow is equally fascinating. Even MK is growing on me. I'm even more curious about this medallion since it appears 3 of our main characters are connected to it. It's a rare show that does such a great job of keeping the pacing lightning fast while not dropping the plot and still developing the characters. Into the Badlands is a winner all around. Check this show out!
Grade: A-
Best Reason to Watch - all the action, all the cliffhangers, all the peril, basically the entire plot
Best Scene - Quinn dies…or at least he better be dead
Best Action - the flying monks vs. Sunny
Best Twist - tie - Waldo is the traitor working with the Widow / Sunny had an identical pendant to MK around his neck when Waldo found him and brought him to the fort
Best Reaction - Ryder to Lydia telling him that she knows about his sleeping with Jade
Best Plan (in theory) - Sunny gives the River King the head of the other dead Colt instead of MK
Worst Plan - Lydia goes back to her father. I would have tried the Widow first because together they could be powerful allies.
Most Manipulative - Jade purposely poisoned herself and framed Lydia for it, which is exactly what I wanted to happen last episode
Biggest Ouch - Sunny gets kicked through a wall and bricks fall on him
Biggest Shock - Ryder shows his face at the assassination attempt on his father
The "What Other Choice Do You Have Exactly?" Award - Veil says that she might not go with Sunny, for good reasons, but the other choice seems to be instant death for her and her child
Best Quotes -
1. Quinn: "I assume conversation is out of the question." Sunny: "You're gonna be my last tattoo."
2. Veil: "Is that why you're fighting, to rid the world of brutal men?" Widow: "There wouldn't be many men left if we did that."
3. Veil: "Any woman who forces girls to kill to show their love is not a mother."
4. Sunny: "Quinn, when I get out of these chains I'm gonna clip you first." Quinn: "That's just like I told Veil. You'll always be a killer."
5. Sunny: "You kill her. You kill yourself."
Weekly Shows
As Agent X quickly speeds to its end, the conspiracy is starting to fall apart. Our heroes have the upper hand for right now but with Volker in the wind that could changed rapidly. I love how the president was able to take down his murderous security agent even while being poisoned. He's tougher than I thought. I'm also a fan of Lathem being dead because that guy was plain annoying. Better yet though, Olga lives on to fight another day. Too bad the series won't. I'm looking forward to seeing how the conspiracy is crushed and to finding out if Pamela or anyone else is involved. Pamela being involved would completely rock John's world and increase his commitment to the Agent X program so I could see that being a main twist. Of course Pamela dying would have the same result so I'm not ruling that out either. In the end, this was a good building episode but I hope the last two are amazing.
Grade: B
Best Reason to Watch - the conspiracy is quickly unraveling
Best Scene - John and Olga talk while being suffocated
Best Action - device fight
Best Moment - John and Millar shake hands before he leaves for the mission
Best Plan - John takes the device out of the box so Olga steals the case instead
Biggest Creepster Yet - Dante, who is super smarmy and talks about himself in third person
Worst Cliffhanger - real Constitution taken
Best Cliffhanger - Volker escapes
Worst Party Game - Dante makes his guests battle it out with his bodyguards
Most Superhero-Like Powers - President who chokes his Secret service bodyguard to death while dying from poison
Most in Need of a Dictionary - John, who needs to look up the words "truth" and "lie"
Least Grateful - the French ambassador
Smartest Person in the Room - Pamela, who plays on Dante's predilections and vanity
The "Good Riddance" Award - Miles Lathem is taken out by his own conspiracy
The "That Gives New Meaning to Rescue Dog" Award - while saving the French ambassador from thugs, John saves the dog from the douchey ambassador
The "Welcome Back" Award (character) - Olga, who like Moriarty on Elementary makes everything more interesting
Best Quotes -
1. Volker: "If you want to break me, try Manilow."
2. John: "Wow, I love it when people talk about themselves in third person." Pamela: "I like it when people talk about themselves. No secrets."
3. Olga: "This must be the girl you told me absolutely nothing about, John."
4. John: "You know what you are. You're like a mosquito at a nude beach. You know what to do. You just don't know where to start." Olga: "Famous American proverb?" John: "No, it's my grandma Rebecca."
5. John: "I take this new job and for the first time in my life I've got a father figure and an older brother and they both betrayed me. And I'm in that place where I don't even know what to believe anymore. I don't know what I've been doing and then….and then you show up. You show up like you walked out of a dream."
Ash vs. Evil Dead continues to be campy fun right up to the end. In the penultimate episode, Dead Amanda strikes back, the Necronomicon talks back, and everyone's suspicion that Ruby is evil is confirmed. That's a lot for 28 minutes so there's no dead time. (Bad pun intended. Sorry.) Well except for the walk in the woods shooting raccoons of course. I still don't know what the purpose of adding the clichéd 3 stupid people in the woods was except to add in a horror trope as old as horror stories. They've added nothing to the plot so far. I do like that we're getting Pablo into the heart of the story and Ruby always adds a lot of fun.
Grade: B+
Best Reason to Watch - Ruby
Best Scene - Pablo is masked
Best Entrance - Ruby
Best Reaction - Pablo to Ruby beating Ash
Least Surprising - Amanda's body is no longer there / Ruby is evil
Most Punny - Ash and Kelly
Biggest Laugh - the song Just the Two of Us plays while Ash cuts up Evil Ash
Worst Plan - splitting up, always
Worst Liars - Ash and Pablo are terrible. They should let Kelly make up all the excuses from now on.
Worst Timing - Heather, who screams in just enough time to let Amada escape
Worst at His Job - Brad, who is presumably in forestry but isn't dressed like a true camper and who can't follow a map
The "Are You Kidding Me?" Award - The campers don't even notice the blood on our fearless trio? Nothing suspicious there at all.
Best Quotes -
1. Ash: "Chopping up my evil clone. Maybe someday that'll seem weird."
2. Pablo: "Yeah, we definitely shot the right one." Kelly: "I'm reconsidering."
3. Ash: "Okay, there is no way they're gonna stay here cause they're gonna get possessed. Then they're gonna be on the night train to Kill-adelphia." Kelly: "With stops in Choke-lahoma City and Die-ami."
4. Ash: "We can't have hot and sexy coming back to ruin our day and I say that with all due respect to her. Well, brains before beauty."
5. Kelly: "The only person you're willing to lay down and die for is you." Ash: "Well that's because I'm very important to me."
Wow! Avery is a world-class douche in this episode. Why in the world would she sabotage Raven's parole without first talking to Raven about it? I thought she was a psychologist. In the end, the people in authority were the real criminals and jerks in this episode. I kind of feel for the "bad guy" Robin Hood and I definitely feel for Raven. Peter treated Neal nicer than this in White Collar and Peter actually had cause for alarm. Avery did not and shouldn't be allowed to control Raven's life. She overstepped big time and it makes me lose respect for the character. I'm also not at all interested in the sudden crazy bartender stalking Elijah. Robin Hood on the other hand was interesting and the best part of the episode.
Grade: C
Best Reason to Watch - Robin Hood and learning about how banks screw over customers
Best Scene - Raven confronts Avery
Best Flashback - Raven's first day
Biggest Douche / Worst Boss - Avery, who should have taken her concerns to Raven instead of the parole board. Raven didn't even get a chance to discuss it.
Biggest Stalker - Nina
Biggest Betrayal - Avery suggests that Raven not be freed at her parole hearing
Most Ho-Hum Subplot - Elijah's crazy stalker
Most Evil - the greedy, murderous people and bank NOT the hacker
The "That Got Personal Quick" Award - Nelson witnesses a murder
The "Welcome Back" Award - Carlson Young from Scream / Derek Mio from Greek
Best Quotes -
1. Raven: "You don't trust me." Avery: "I do trust you. I just don't trust your judgment. You're still young." Raven: "I'm not Tobin, Avery. I put Jackson…Jackson behind bars today. Doesn't that mean that I've put my past behind me? Doesn't that count for something?"
2. Elijah: "It's all part of the sting, Nelson. She's just playing her part." Avery: "You two are the worst kept secret in DC."
3. Krumitz: "The target took control of the ATM using a whaling attack on Barnaby Bank CEO Ashton Wagner:" DB: "I'm assuming that has nothing to do with marine biology."
4. Mia: "My brother is dead because I was greedy."
5. Nelson: "Most guys don't like meeting their girl's ex. I'm looking forward to it."
It's hard to believe that this is the penultimate episode of season 2 already. The time has flown by. This episode brings back the mythology of the season but for me it is both too little and too late. Now they are going to need to rush everything when they had an ample number of episodes where they never mentioned Prospero at all. I think the overall pacing of this show needs to be tighter, especially in light of another short season. They either need to cut down filler episodes or they need to go to a straight up case of the week format. Personally I would be fine with no overarching mythos simply because I would rather them not do it at all if they are going to make each season a rush job at the end. This episode also suffered a little because of how great episode 2.08 was. There was literally no follow-up at all because all the characters had amnesia, not just Ezekiel. This was a decent episode but not as good as I expect when leading us into a finale.
Grade: B-
Best Reason to Watch - each character's alternative life
Best Scene - capturing Ariel
Best Action - Special Agent Ezekiel Jones and his diner slide
Best New Character - Ariel, who is a lot of fun
Best Speech - the one Flynn gives to all the librarians
Biggest Awww Moment - Flynn realizes he can't do any of this alone anymore
Biggest Hmm - Why does Eve suddenly have an accent?
Least Likely to Stay Bored - Flynn, who has to flit from one thing to another
Most Effective - Ariel can take out basically anyone with a touch
Best Quotes -
1. Jenkins: "That sounds like a sentence, sir, but there's no information in it."
2. Flynn: "And we are the librarians. Well I am and they are and she's…" Ariel: "Very unhappy to still be here."
3. Flynn: "The paths of magic, they're supercharged." Baird: "Is that good or bad?" Flynn: "Depends on how you feel about the end of the world."
4. Flynn: "Have you all lost your minds or have I?"
5. Baird: "That's not real love. Real love is hard. It's risky. Sometimes it breaks your heart but you have to take that chance because that's what's real."
Catch-Up and Other Shows
Grade: C-
~I'm not big on Santa stories and this one was worst than most. Preachy and silly don't mix well for me. The best thing about it was actually Marvin, who spent all that time learning the science of Jessica's Santa. Now that's a good neighbor.
Most Critical - Jessica, who finds fault with Santa
Worst Idea - peppermint cornbread
Best Quotes -
1. Louis: "Is that from Moby Dick? I feel like that's one of those books everybody says they read but nobody's actually read it."
2. Louis: "He flies around the globe in one night to give the whole world presents. What's there to improve?" Jessica: "He has no higher degree. If you break it down, he's either a toymaker or a glorified delivery man. Either way he's labor, not management. Look how long it took him to promote Rudolph. Clearly not good at spotting talent and at his weight, he shouldn't be eating milk and cookies at every single house. No. He should just pack himself a little bag of almonds and a pear."
Grade: C
~This episode has heart. It has even more bratty kids and obnoxious mom though.
Best Speech - Beverly's "don't be a quitter" speech
Best Character - Murray
Best Quotes -
1. Adam: "The truth is no matter where you live, you'll always be my hero, always be my best friend, always be my Pops." Pops: "Sold."
2. Murray: "I did ROTC. It changed my life and I fully support this as long as your mother never finds out. And one more thing, if you do this there's no quitting. I mean it." Barry: "10-4 good buddy." Murray: "That's trucker talk." Barry: "Aye, aye matey." Murray: "That's pirate." Barry. "Hmmm."
3. Adam: "I measure age in spirit." Erica: "Well I measure age by when you were born and for Pops that's 1903."
4. Earl: "Mrs. Goldberg, I told you. Yelling hours are between 9 and 12. This is my lunch break."
5. Adam: "I've been informed that you're a sucker for a sales pitch so I figured you may want to sit for this." Pops: "Depends on what you're selling." Adam: "Us."
Grade: B-
~It's less bratty kids and more bratty adults but I like the overall idea that it's not what you do that makes the holidays special. It's who you are and who you have with you.
Best Awww Moment - Barry and Adam stuck to the pole together
Best Solution - the Kremps and Goldbergs celebrate together
Most Adult - Laney
Best Quotes -
1. Murray: "I've raised morons." Adam: "That's fair."
2. Voiceover: "And so my mom finally got the Hanukah she always wanted…Christmas."
3. Pops: "I'm HanuClaus. I'm mashing two words together to make on offensive one just like you do."
4. Beverly: "What is the one rule we have in this house, huh?" Adam: "No daring Barry to do stupid stuff." Beverly: "Why?" Barry: "Cause I have no regard for my personal well-being."
5. Erica: "It's like I gave you a list of stuff I wanted and you actually bought it."
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Quote of the Week - Weeks of Dec. 13 and 20
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.
Week of December 13:
1. John: "See I know how this works, right? I've seen this bit. You train me on the beach, I go win the karate tournament, and then I get the girl."
2. Volker: "I taught you everything you know, John. Not everything I know." John: "You shouldn't sell yourself short, Ray. You taught me plenty."
3. President: "You're not him." John: "I'm not you either."
4. Volker: "Be careful, John. What doesn't kill me makes me stronger." John: "Then I'll just kill you."
5. Volker: "You think I've become an animal?" John: "Nuclear accident in Marseilles, suicide/murder of the Argentinean prime minister, selling off nukes to the highest bidder? Yeah, I think you're an animal."
1. Ash: "I have to do it alone. Don’t you get it? Everybody dies here. It's just a rule. Death. Taxes. More death and I don’t pay taxes so all I know is death." (Prpleight and Dahne)
2. Kelly: "One false move and I will Second Amendment your brains all over this truck."
3. Pablo: "Dead set? Uh, let's say live set. Keep it upbeat." Kelly: "Exactly. We're not leaving a trail of blood and guts behind us. We're keeping Michigan moist."
4. Ash: "Wow. Last time I was here with a girl I was hoping to get laid. Didn't quite work out that way. I did cut my own hand off with a chainsaw though. It was a fun weekend." Amanda: "Trust me. You would never have gotten laid here."
5. Militia Grunt: "I'm gonna get you pregnant later." Kelly: "Won't your sister be jealous of us?"
6. Amanda: "Do you think there's another exit door?" Ash: "Uh no, but I'll say yes just to keep hope alive."
1. Sheldon: "For future reference, if I want to watch Mean Girls I'll stream it on Netflix."
2. Penny: "Let's just recap our options. Alright, we've got harp thing, sheep thing…" Bernadette: "Wild thing."
3. Movie Goer: "Star Trek stinks." Wil: "Yeah, live long and suck it."
4. Amy: "I'm just…um, really nervous." Sheldon: "Why?" Amy: "Well, I've been waiting for this for so long I've just built it up in my head. I don't know what to expect." Sheldon: "Neither do I but we can find out together."
5. Leonard: "So if you don't like Star Wars, why are you here?" Wil: "Oh, I'm just having fun. Everyone takes Star Wars so seriously like if the movies bad it's gonna ruin their lives." Raj: "Is it bad? Did you hear something? Oh my God, it's bad. Someone kill me." Wil: "See, that's what I mean. When you wake up in the morning, whether this is the greatest movie ever or a total piece of cr**, your life isn't gonna change at all." Howard: "He's right." Leonard: "Yeah, no matter what happens, we're coming back tomorrow to watch it again."
1. Ricky: "Els, you're not Annie Oakley. You're from Greenwich Village."
2. Milo: "Utopia. So why am I terrified for the future? You might call it blissful ignorance, but it's still ignorance."
3. Ellie: "This is nice. Just you, me, and the 5,000 by the gate." Ricky: "Maybe I'll go take them some loaves and fishes later. They'll like that."
4. Milo: "They've learned how to manipulate solids at a molecular level, probably using a controlled magnetic field. It's not magic, mom. It's just a 30,000 year head start."
5. Ricky: "I'm really tired. Pretty much been…uh, harvesting nonstop you know and Ellie and I are still trying to get pregnant. That's not going so well. Plus the Rams have had a terrible start to their season so this whole Utopia thing's a bit of a debatable point in our house right now."
1. Pruitt: "I can prove nobody here wanted Ethan dead." Sherlock: "I doubt you could prove you tied your own tie this morning."
2. Watson: "Unless you're dead, you're starting to annoy me."
3. Holmes: "The value of your dam is $2.3 billion in theory only. It can be zero if I call certain friends in Lima." Wellstone: "Now that boys and girls is how you deliver a threat. It's far more compelling than a warrant."
4. Holmes: "Why haven't you answered my calls?" Sherlock: "Beside from force of habit, I'm unable to. One of the hackers locked my phone until I'd finished chanting."
5. Holmes: "A cheating spouse is a time-honored motive. A cheating mistress, that's more tenuous. Fidelity cannot be expected if you yourself are the other man."
1. Nygaard: "Hey, there's right now and there's later. Why worry about later?"
2. Cobb: "What's the deal with the hat?" Miller: "Keeps the rain off my head."
3. Cobb: "I guess this guy pays well to be taken care of, huh?" Miller: "Yeah, he pays our bosses pretty well too, pal. Look don't try to save the whole station on your first day. Pace yourself." Cobb: "Any rain yet?"
4. Muss: "Hey! If I want his a** kicked, I'll do it myself."
5. Miller: "Air is good, don't you think? Air is nice."
1. Veil: "I'm not playing this game with you." Quinn: "What game?" Veil: "The one where you try and find enemies where they don't exist." Quinn: "Oh is that what you think I do?" Veil: "Your resting state is war. It's your nature. I'm not sure if it infuriates or delights you that you're now fighting your own body."
2. Ryder: "I prefer to make my own salvation."
3. Widow: "Remember that kindness is a weapon men use to get what they want."
4. MK: "It must be strange for you. Tough to care for someone and not kill them. I'm sure there's times you've thought about killing me." Sunny: "It's crossed my mind."
5. Lydia: "It's always gonna be me and you, Quinn. I will be by your side when the wolves reach our door, howling for your blood."
1. Baird: "No souvenirs." Ezekiel: "You know sometimes I don't think you guys take me seriously." Jake: "Really? There's times you think we do?"
2. Ezekiel: "I have seen you all die so many times when it didn't matter. I can't…I can't let it happen now when it actually does. So please, please, just this once let me be the big brother." Baird: "What do you need us to do?"
3. Ezekiel: "Crazy? So on a scale of running from minotaurs to Santa Claus is now a best mate of ours, where would time loop fall?"
4. Ezekiel: "I can't watch you die anymore. This way you sit there, nice and safe while I go learn what's past the gate. While I figure out how to beat it. That way only I die. You guys won't even remember. We'll reset and you guys won't remember a thing. It's for the best."
5. Jake: "Try not to kill me with that thing." Ezekiel: "I think I've killed you enough for one day."
6. Fae: "I know many things. I know what ends your immortality. You cannot be killed but you can die."
1. Brian: "So effective immediately, I'm done taking you guys for granted. Really. I'm not gonna ask you to get me gummy worms. I'm not just gonna ask you guys to get me gummy worms. I'm also gonna treat you like the trained agents that you are, okay?"
2. Ike: "I tried it this morning, meditating. Didn't work." Mike: "Didn't work? I'm pretty sure that's not how you're supposed to think about it." Ike: "Fine. If picturing Brian Finch and imagining all the ways female Mike can reject me is how you're supposed to meditate, then I killed it." Mike: "Oh boy."
3. Casey: "You go these from the Canadians." Kevin: "They had thousands of them. Their trunk was better stocked up than Little Wayne's tour bus, alright?" Russ: "You need better material, man."
4. Ike: "Seriously? My hand looks like I have leprosy and it's stress?"
5. Nick: "Wha…you're not gonna take that?" Casey: "Why not? Didn't make me kill anyone."
1. Alex: "Are you a politician?" Hannah: "Oh it's really not nice to insult someone that you just met."
2. Caleb: "I get that you don't want to be around someone's happy family right now but I swear to you there's nothing familial about it and no one's gonna be happy."
3. Natalie: "There's cider too. Ulgh. Make that rum with a cider aftertaste."
4. Caleb: "Don't worry. I'm not Magic Mike-ing you."
5. Senator: "You came out here to make a good impression and I have turned you into my therapist."
1. Sylvester: "We never talked about it but technically, when I married Megan it made you and I brothers-in-law." Walter: "You know I've always found that term antiquated. How about we just go with brothers?"
2. Toby: "This is nuttier than George Washington Carver's lunchbox."
3. Toby: "Who has two thumbs and rocked his GI rotation? This guy." Cabe: "What are you babbling about?" Toby: "This place needs a dam colonoscopy. D-A-M."
4. Happy: "Just under 19 minutes to save the Who's down in Whoovile."
5. Toby: "If I unintentionally killed anyone, I am sorry."
Week of December 20:
1. Volker: "If you want to break me, try Manilow."
2. John: "Wow, I love it when people talk about themselves in third person." Pamela: "I like it when people talk about themselves. No secrets."
3. Olga: "This must be the girl you told me absolutely nothing about, John."
4. John: "You know what you are. You're like a mosquito at a nude beach. You know what to do. You just don't know where to start." Olga: "Famous American proverb?" John: "No, it's my grandma Rebecca."
John: "I take this new job and for the first time in my life I've got a father figure and an older brother and they both betrayed me. And I'm in that place where I don't even know what to believe anymore. I don't know what I've been doing and then….and then you show up. You show up like you walked out of a dream."
5. John: "Let's get the hell out of hell."
1. Ash: "Chopping up my evil clone. Maybe someday that'll seem weird."
2. Pablo: "Yeah, we definitely shot the right one." Kelly: "I'm reconsidering."
3. Ash: "Okay, there is no way they're gonna stay here cause they're gonna get possessed. Then they're gonna be on the night train to Kill-adelphia." Kelly: "With stops in Choke-lahoma City and Die-ami."
4. Ash: "We can't have hot and sexy coming back to ruin our day and I say that with all due respect to her. Well, brains before beauty."
5. Kelly: "The only person you're willing to lay down and die for is you." Ash: "Well that's because I'm very important to me."
1. Raven: "You don't trust me." Avery: "I do trust you. I just don't trust your judgment. You're still young." Raven: "I'm not Tobin, Avery. I put Jackson…Jackson behind bars today. Doesn't that mean that I've put my past behind me? Doesn't that count for something?"
2. Elijah: "It's all part of the sting, Nelson. She's just playing her part." Avery: "You two are the worst kept secret in DC."
3. Krumitz: "The target took control of the ATM using a whaling attack on Barnaby Bank CEO Ashton Wagner:" DB: "I'm assuming that has nothing to do with marine biology."
4. Mia: "My brother is dead because I was greedy."
5. Nelson: "Most guys don't like meeting their girl's ex. I'm looking forward to it."
1. Veil: "We are all slaves to our nature." (Nirat Anop)
2. M.K.: "There is no easy way out of the Badlands, no shortcuts, not detours. I know that now. Maybe Sunny and I don’t deserve redemption. Maybe my darkness will never be tamed. There is one thing I know for sure, the journey has just begun." (Nirat Anop)
3. Quinn: "I assume conversation is out of the question." Sunny: "You're gonna be my last tattoo."
4. Veil: "Is that why you're fighting, to rid the world of brutal men?" Widow: "There wouldn't be many men left if we did that."
5. Veil: "Any woman who forces girls to kill to show their love is not a mother."
6. Sunny: "Quinn, when I get out of these chains, I'm gonna clip you first." Quinn: "That's just like I told Veil. You'll always be a killer."
1. Jenkins: "That sounds like a sentence, sir, but there's no information in it."
2. Flynn: "And we are the librarians. Well I am and they are and she's…" Ariel: "Very unhappy to still be here."
3. Flynn: "The paths of magic, they're supercharged." Baird: "Is that good or bad?" Flynn: "Depends on how you feel about the end of the world."
4. Flynn: "Have you all lost your minds or have I?"
5. Baird: "That's not real love. Real love is hard. It's risky. Sometimes it breaks your heart but you have to take that chance because that's what's real."
The Librarians - 2.09 - And the Happily Ever Afters - Roundtable Review
It's the penultimate episode and things are amiss in the librarians' narratives. What did you think of And the Happily Ever Afters? Read the roundtable responses and then add your own thoughts in the comments below. If you would like to be part of the finale's roundtable review, just let me know in the comments and I'll respond with a link when the questions go up.
What was your favorite thing about this episode?
Emma - The twist that Flynn was actually under the spell as well and that Prospero has been running amok for three weeks! Excellent set up for the finale.
Kris - When Eve went out to talk to the ferryman. James concluded that the totem pole would still have to be on the island, but she concluded that Flynn couldn't be the expert they were expecting. It was a good bit of intelligent storytelling that I wish they had also applied to other things about the episode instead of certain shortcuts (see next question).
Dahne - My favorite thing was the diverse fantasy life that each character created for themselves but how they were still intertwined.
If you could change anything about this episode, what would it be?
Kris - I would take away the Backdoor. It allowed the writers to avoid problems instead of having Flynn solve them. How do we capture the Librarians and separate them from everybody else? We just bring them through the back door.
Dahne - My biggest problem was actually more of a seasonal pacing thing than about the episode itself. I hate that we're in the second to last episode before they finally bring up Prospero and the overarching mythology again. They need to go to straight procedural instead of these hatchet jobs of the big seasonal mytharc. As far as the episode goes, the biggest hole for me is that there is zero follow-up to the previous episode because now everyone's got amnesia.
This episode allowed the audience to explore the characters' own happily ever afters. Did any of them surprise you? Did this twist add anything new to the characters? What did you think about them all being tempted to stick to this fairy tale but choosing each other instead?
Emma - At first Ezekiel and Cassandra's surprised me but after I thought about it for a bit, they both made sense - it's just not as obvious as Baird and Stone. After last week's episode, Ezekiel's memory of the game was left ambiguous however I am one of those who believes that he remembers but since the others only remember the last time through, he is hiding it. His happy ending was all about him being the good guy that helps protect the team - and them knowing and depending on him to be that guy. Cassandra's happy ending was about her being an inspiration and having an impact on the world for being herself, not because of the gifts her brain grape has given her.
Kris - I was actually surprised by Ezekiel's narrative. I think that it shows that while he still wants to be able to do things his own way, he's enjoying doing good in the world. I also felt that the Librarians (and Guardian) choosing each other over their happy endings was them realizing how much of an ad-hoc family that they are.
Dahne - Ezekiel was the biggest surprise for me too although I am NOT surprised that his idea of an FBI agent includes shootouts and diner slide chases. That was a lot of fun.
Prospero returns to the story and brings a free Ariel with him. What did you think of the Ariel character? Would you be interested in seeing her return? How did you feel about the return to the mytharc?
Emma - I liked her! She brought the humor and played opposite Flynn very well. They made a great team! I would love to see her return and help the Librarians take down Prospero. I'm glad we are finally getting back to the mytharc but I wish it was more evenly spaced over the season - there was so much lost potential here because they only seem to visit the main mytharc if Flynn is around.
Kris - I did not like this portrayal of Ariel. She seemed more like some sort of drugged out hippie instead of being Fey. If she returned more like the faerie that Jenkins summoned I would like her.
Dahne - I loved Ariel…in small doses. I wouldn't mind her returning to help out once in awhile, but not on a regular basis. I do hope she helps take down Prospero and gains her real freedom though. As for Prospero, I think the writers completely wasted an excellent concept this season. Why bother to create fictionals if they were never going to be showcased? The Librarians writers suck at balancing standalones and mythology but this was even worse than last year. I wish we had a fictional of the week this time. Then they could have kept their quota of standalone episodes without sacrificing the whole storyline. It's very frustrating and it has me dreading the finale because the whole thing was too rushed.
What grade would you give this episode? Why?
Emma - B+ Had a great twist, saw the return of Moriarty/Prospero and set up next week's finale nicely.
Kris - B, while the episode gave us a peak into the hopes and dreams of the Librarians, for an arc episode it didn't really seem to move the story forward.
Dahne - B-, because of the terrible seasonal pacing which caused this episode to make less sense and the lack of follow-up on the last episode
Anything you would like to add?
Emma - Another thank you to TNT for the S3 renewal!
Kris - I was on the fence when I watched the "True Love's Kiss" moment, but when Ariel mentioned it being old school curse breaking, I felt a lot better about the moment. I ended up liking the use of it.
Dahne - Since there is only 10 episodes again next season, I hope that they forgo the overall mythos next year or at least make it something uninteresting so I don't get my hopes up all season for nothing.
Screencaps by Kiss Them Goodbye, Tumblr, and Three If By Space
Saturday, December 26, 2015
2015 Pitch Your Low-Rated Show - Nominations Open
Hiatus is here again and with it comes the hiatus blues. You turn on your TV only to find nothing new is playing. What's a hapless TV fan to do? Why find other great shows of course. (Like they used to say in NBC's heyday: if you haven't seen it, it's new to you.) There's no one better than the SpoilerTV community to help you find some TV gems you might have missed, so I hereby open nominations for the Third Annual Pitch Your Low-Rated Show article. For those new to this concept, basically you pick a low-rated show that you think other people should start watching and then pitch that show to them. Tell them what makes your show special, why you love it, and most importantly why you think others should try it out. It's a great way to get new people to discover your show. The more specific you are, the more likely it is that someone will try it out.
Last year we had over 300 people respond with The 100 and Reign leading in nominations. If you have a show that's struggling in ratings to the point that people are talking cancellation, please nominate it. It will not change any show's ratings but you can feel good knowing you have helped others find great hiatus fare. Nominations will stay open until January 1st and then I will put the best pitches into an article for the new year. I will include a link to all responses as well. Hopefully we can all find new shows to fight off those hiatus blues. If your favorite show is not in danger of cancellation, then don't worry. You can nominate it for the summer version of Pitch Your Show. If you have any questions about qualifying shows, ask in the comments below, e-mail me at dahne@spoilertv.com, or tweet me @dahne1.
Rules:
1. The show must be currently on the air or returning in the 2015-2016 TV season.
2. Only scripted shows. No reality TV.
3. Shows must be in danger of cancellation, which is defined as:
A. Network TV - Nothing in green or blue on the SpoilerTV Cancellation Index. Exceptions include shows on the bubble or lower for TV by the Numbers and/or The TV Grim Reaper. These include 2 Broke Girls, Code Black, Hawaii 5-0, Heroes Reborn, Last Man on Earth, Last Man Standing, Madam Secretary, Mysteries of Laura, Quantico, Reign, and Superstore. Returning shows that are scheduled to air at midseason and had low ratings previously can be nominated as well.
B. Cable TV - Since SpoilerTV, TVbtN, and the TV Grim Reaper do not predict cable, the show needs to be one of the lowest rated on its particular network or be in reasonable contention to be canceled.
4. The purpose is to persuade others to watch your show. Saying "IT'S THE BEST SHOW EVER!!!" over and over again won't help. In fact, triple exclamations and having all letters capitalized will probably work against you. Same goes for hashtags. Instead focus on why someone who doesn't watch the show should take their precious time to try it. Enthusiasm is only good when backed by details and thoughtful discourse.
5. This is not a popularity contest so there is no need to nominate a show multiple times with the same comment. I will take the most thoughtful comments for each show nominated so as long as the show fits the first 4 rules, it will be in the article.
Friday, December 25, 2015
The Librarians -2.09 - And the Happily Ever Afters - Roundtable Questions
It's hard to believe that this is the penultimate episode of season 2 already. Thanks to everyone who has been part of the roundtable so far. Below are questions for episode 2.09. Feel free to answer as many or as few of them as you'd like. The roundtable article should be posted on SpoilerTV and this blog on Sunday. Thanks so much for participating.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
The Shannara Chronicles - 1.01/1.02 - The Chosen - Preview
The Shannara Chronicles premieres on
Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 10/9 C on MTV.
Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 10/9 C on MTV.
The Pedigree:
The Set-Up:
The Highlights -
~The females are capable heroes in their own right and not damsels in distress.
~The world-building is phenomenal.
~Characters are well-defined and their hero journey is set.
~The acting is good, especially from some of the leads that don't have much experience. John Rhys-Davies is, of course, stellar.
The Issues -
~The pacing can be slow in parts, especially around the middle. Part of that is due to the fact that it is actually 2 episodes instead of one.
~Much of the story follows traditional fantasy tropes so there isn't a whole lot of surprise in the first two episodes. I expect that to change as they begin the actual quest.
~Wil is the comic relief but he sometimes comes off as more irritating
The Overall Effect -
Grade: B+
Best Action - Allanon vs. Dagda Mor
Best Behind the Scenes Work - the cinematography which is amazing
Best Entrance - Allanon
Best Genre Trope - magic always comes at a price so it can't be used wily nily
Best Reveal - Allanon tells Wil that his father…
Best Fountain of Youth - Allanon's 300 year nap
Best Negotiator / Best Save - Eretria
Worst Parent Ever - Cephelo
Biggest Idiot / Most in Need of Growing Up - Wil
Biggest Surprise - I'm not sure I have ever seen a show on MTV with breast and butt nudity and it has more gore than most too. MTV is definitely reaching for a broader audience with this show.
Biggest Fake Out - the opening
Biggest Twist - the family dog…
The "Sucks to be You" Award - Wil
Best Quotes -
"Do you have any respect for Elvin traditions?" "Only the ones with parties."
"I think it's better if the druid explains everything." "You’re here with a druid? I thought they were all dead." "This one just took a very long nap."
"I'm definitely sensing a lot of sweaty, elf boy hate."
"Oh, I'm an idiot." "You'll get no argument from me."
"Stop talking." "I can't. It's the only thing keeping my mind off the fact that we could be ripped apart by rampaging demons at any moment. No one should die like that."
"Tell that to your people when their fairy tales are ripping out their hearts."
"Think of your legacy. After everything that you have done for the Elvin people, do you really want to go down as the mad king who believes in demons?"
"This conversation would be much less awkward if you were dressed."
"Why does a dying tree require an army?"
"Why don't you just call it a book of magic? Is it a Druid requirement that everything has to sound so mysterious?"
Don't miss The Shannara Chronicles
on Jan. 5 at 10/9 C on MTV.
Screencaps by Getty Images, Variety, IGN, and SpoilerTV.