A weekly feature in which we're trying to find the most compelling, best acted, written, directed and just generally great scenes that we've seen recently on TV.
CHASING LIFE, "Finding Chemo", August 12, 2014, Actors: Mary Page Keller, Haley Ramm and more, The Scenes: April enjoys her last moment of freedom before chemo & The Mom sticks up for Brenna
Tonya Papanikolas: The Mom sticks up for Brenna in front of her girlfriend's parents. This was a great scene. It's clear Brenna feels like her sister April is the perfect daughter and she is the screw-up. So it meant a lot more when her mom defends her and says she's brilliant and that her mistakes will make her an interesting person - all in front of other people belittling her. With everything going on with her sister, it was nice that Brenna got some support of her own. It was touching to see Brenna really take it to heart. And I loved when the mom told Brenna she has two perfect daughters. The scene made me cry.
Samy Bgs: April enjoys her last moment of freedom with her family before beginning chemo.
COVERT AFFAIRS, "Grounded", August 12, 2014, Actors: Piper Perabo, Nic Bishop
The Scene: Ryan and Annie kiss
Virginia Fontana: Despite the reveal of his possibly being a villain at the end of the episode, that first kiss was very sweet and something I've waited to see since the beginning of Season 5. I love the character of Ryan as well as his relationship with Annie, which has been a breath of fresh air this season. Here's hoping that he's not as bad as that final twist suggested he might be.
EXTANT, "Nightmares", August 13, 2014, Actors: Halle Berry and more, The Scene: The video of the last transmission of Kate from the Spaceship is found (picked by Sharon Seymour)
FINDING CARTER, "Throw Momma From the Train", August 12, 2014, Actors: Kathryn Prescott, Alexis Denisof, The Scene: Carter tells her father about her plans with Lori
Justyna Kubica: Seems like the most impossible decision to make for a 17-year-old girl like Carter: to stay with her new family or leave with the old one. I can't say I'm always a fan of her character, or her secretive father, but despite their many flaws I really enjoy seeing their father-daughter bond grow, for however long it will last. In the scene, she chooses to tell David the truth about her plans with her "mother" (kidnapper!), even though it breaks her heart to say goodbye to her old life and someone she truly loves like that. Great performance by Kathryn Prescott as she slowly breaks down realizing what her decision means. I'm still not quite sure about the show itself (I wish the characters were more likeable) but because of the emotional scenes like this one I continue to watch and enjoy the series.
MYSTERY GIRLS, "Bag Ladies", August 13, 2014, Actors: Tori Spelling, Jennie Garth
The Scene: The girls are locked up in a sort of tube made of glass (picked by Samy Bgs)
OUTLANDER, "Castle Leoch", August 16, 2014, Actors: Caitriona Balfe and more
The Scene: Claire is forced to stay at Castle Leoch (picked by Darth Locke)
RAY DONOVAN, "Irish Spring", August 10, 2014, Actors: Liev Schreiber, Vinessa Shaw and more
The Scene: Ray, Ed and Micky give Kate the ending to her book
Darth Locke: Ray, Ed & Micky give Kate the ending to her book, explaining that Ray and Micky have been working with the FBI.
RIZZOLI AND ISLES, "It Takes a Village", August 12, 2014, Actors: Angie Harmon and more
The Scene: Everyone shows up at the end to support Jane
Klutzy girl: Everyone shows up at the end to support Jane after her miscarriage. They're a family and they'll be there for each other through the good times and the bad.
TEEN WOLF, "Time of Death", August 11, 2014, Actors: Melissa Ponzio, Tyler Posey and more, The Scenes: Melissa McCall breaks down over Scott's "death" & DreamScott kills Liam
Justyna Kubica: The most memorable scene of the week for me is definitely the moment when Scott's mom, Melissa, gets the news of her son's "death". It's hard to imagine a worse thing for a mother than losing her child and Mrs. McCall's reaction in the scene was absolutely brutal, heartbreaking and felt so painfully real. For a minute there, I was both shocked and terrified that no one informed Melissa about their plan to fake Scott's death but gladly it wasn't the case. Mrs. McCall turned out to be a very convincing actress and Melissa Ponzio was absolutely stellar in the scene. Beautifully acted, devastating and powerful scene, that's truly hard to forget. Kudos!
Melissa Cavallo: Melissa McCall, when she got told Scott is dead. The actress played a beautiful role. No mother should experience the death of her own child and the way Melissa played the part was fantastic!
A Dahne: DreamScott kills Liam. The blood spatter and red eye combination made a great visual and the sheer intensity of watching any form of Scott kill someone was shocking.
THE BRIDGE, "Harvest of Souls", August 13, 2014, Actors: Bruno Bichir, Ramón Franco and more, The Scenes: Cerisola advises Fausto Galvan to curb his killing & The shootout in the motel room
Tonya Papanikolas: Sebastian Cerisola advises Fausto Galvan to curb his killing. This scene was really interesting as it showed two powerful men with dirty connections dealing with their power in very different ways. Fausto doesn't care who knows what he does while Sebastian wants a good public image. That is important to him. One line defined the scene when Sebastian said, "In public, power is best wielded with a gloved hand, not a clenched fist." But even while he said this and tried to educate Galvan on other ways of doing things to achieve a good reputation, Sebastian also wanted his problems taken care of in Sonya, which Fausto pointed out required a clenched fist. These two men are both corrupt but they have completely different public personas and ways of doing business. I liked the dichotomy.
Sharon Seymour: The shootout in the motel room with Marco and Sonya.
THE FOSTERS, "Leaky Faucets", August 11, 2014, Actor: Teri Polo
The Scene: Stef breaks down over the baby
Klutzy girl: Stef tries to fix the pipes and ends up breaking down over the baby. We haven't really seen much of her reaction about it, and it definitely hurt.
THE LEFTOVERS, "Solace for Tired Feet", August 10, 2014, Actors: Justin Theroux and more
The Scene: Kevin's dad gives to him the National Geographic volume
Francesco B: Kevin's dad gives to him the National Geographic volume, as something he needs to accept. The scene was so odd but mysterious and interesting. Can't wait to find out more.
THE LEGEND OF KORRA, "The Ultimatum", August 15, 2014, The Scene: Tenzin is surrounded by The Red Lotus, Pablozky21: The season has been awesome and pretty dark so far, but nothing beats the very emotionally affecting moment when Tenzin gets beat up by all four members of the red lotus, just when he was winning against Zaheer. He puts a valiant effort, but he alone couldn't take it against them all and he was quickly cornered to a wall, where he got to say that he is going to fight "As long as I'm breathing"; that's a very powerful moment that may indicate his demise. We won't know until next week, but man... after last week's Earth's Queen Assesination, I think everything is possible, even Tenzin going through the hero's death and if so, it's going to be devastating.
THE STRAIN, "Runaways", August 10, 2014, Actors: Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Nikolai Witschl
The Scene: Eph and Setrakian kill Ansell in the shed and video it (picked by Sharon Seymour)
TRUE BLOOD, "Almost Home", August 10, 2014, Actors: Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin and more
The Scene: Bill suddenly decides not to take the cure (picked by Darth Locke)
YOUNG AND HUNGRY, "Young & Car-less", August 13, 2014, Actors: Emily Osment, Rex Lee and more, The Scenes: Gabi calls the group her family & Yolanda and Elliot almost kiss
Klutzy girl: When the group tries to help Gabi get her car back, she calls them her family. They haven't known each other for very long but it's definitely true, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it.
Samy Bgs: Yolanda and Elliot almost kiss to save Gabi's car.
WITCHES OF EAST END, "Boogie Knights", August 10, 2014, Actors: Julia Ormond, Michelle Hurd
The Scene: Joanna and Alex kiss
Francesco B: Unexpected but interesting plot twist.
Tonya Papanikolas: The Mom sticks up for Brenna in front of her girlfriend's parents. This was a great scene. It's clear Brenna feels like her sister April is the perfect daughter and she is the screw-up. So it meant a lot more when her mom defends her and says she's brilliant and that her mistakes will make her an interesting person - all in front of other people belittling her. With everything going on with her sister, it was nice that Brenna got some support of her own. It was touching to see Brenna really take it to heart. And I loved when the mom told Brenna she has two perfect daughters. The scene made me cry.
Samy Bgs: April enjoys her last moment of freedom with her family before beginning chemo.
COVERT AFFAIRS, "Grounded", August 12, 2014, Actors: Piper Perabo, Nic Bishop
The Scene: Ryan and Annie kiss
Virginia Fontana: Despite the reveal of his possibly being a villain at the end of the episode, that first kiss was very sweet and something I've waited to see since the beginning of Season 5. I love the character of Ryan as well as his relationship with Annie, which has been a breath of fresh air this season. Here's hoping that he's not as bad as that final twist suggested he might be.
EXTANT, "Nightmares", August 13, 2014, Actors: Halle Berry and more, The Scene: The video of the last transmission of Kate from the Spaceship is found (picked by Sharon Seymour)
Justyna Kubica: Seems like the most impossible decision to make for a 17-year-old girl like Carter: to stay with her new family or leave with the old one. I can't say I'm always a fan of her character, or her secretive father, but despite their many flaws I really enjoy seeing their father-daughter bond grow, for however long it will last. In the scene, she chooses to tell David the truth about her plans with her "mother" (kidnapper!), even though it breaks her heart to say goodbye to her old life and someone she truly loves like that. Great performance by Kathryn Prescott as she slowly breaks down realizing what her decision means. I'm still not quite sure about the show itself (I wish the characters were more likeable) but because of the emotional scenes like this one I continue to watch and enjoy the series.
MYSTERY GIRLS, "Bag Ladies", August 13, 2014, Actors: Tori Spelling, Jennie Garth
The Scene: The girls are locked up in a sort of tube made of glass (picked by Samy Bgs)
OUTLANDER, "Castle Leoch", August 16, 2014, Actors: Caitriona Balfe and more
The Scene: Claire is forced to stay at Castle Leoch (picked by Darth Locke)
RAY DONOVAN, "Irish Spring", August 10, 2014, Actors: Liev Schreiber, Vinessa Shaw and more
The Scene: Ray, Ed and Micky give Kate the ending to her book
Darth Locke: Ray, Ed & Micky give Kate the ending to her book, explaining that Ray and Micky have been working with the FBI.
RIZZOLI AND ISLES, "It Takes a Village", August 12, 2014, Actors: Angie Harmon and more
The Scene: Everyone shows up at the end to support Jane
Klutzy girl: Everyone shows up at the end to support Jane after her miscarriage. They're a family and they'll be there for each other through the good times and the bad.
Justyna Kubica: The most memorable scene of the week for me is definitely the moment when Scott's mom, Melissa, gets the news of her son's "death". It's hard to imagine a worse thing for a mother than losing her child and Mrs. McCall's reaction in the scene was absolutely brutal, heartbreaking and felt so painfully real. For a minute there, I was both shocked and terrified that no one informed Melissa about their plan to fake Scott's death but gladly it wasn't the case. Mrs. McCall turned out to be a very convincing actress and Melissa Ponzio was absolutely stellar in the scene. Beautifully acted, devastating and powerful scene, that's truly hard to forget. Kudos!
Melissa Cavallo: Melissa McCall, when she got told Scott is dead. The actress played a beautiful role. No mother should experience the death of her own child and the way Melissa played the part was fantastic!
A Dahne: DreamScott kills Liam. The blood spatter and red eye combination made a great visual and the sheer intensity of watching any form of Scott kill someone was shocking.
Tonya Papanikolas: Sebastian Cerisola advises Fausto Galvan to curb his killing. This scene was really interesting as it showed two powerful men with dirty connections dealing with their power in very different ways. Fausto doesn't care who knows what he does while Sebastian wants a good public image. That is important to him. One line defined the scene when Sebastian said, "In public, power is best wielded with a gloved hand, not a clenched fist." But even while he said this and tried to educate Galvan on other ways of doing things to achieve a good reputation, Sebastian also wanted his problems taken care of in Sonya, which Fausto pointed out required a clenched fist. These two men are both corrupt but they have completely different public personas and ways of doing business. I liked the dichotomy.
Sharon Seymour: The shootout in the motel room with Marco and Sonya.
THE FOSTERS, "Leaky Faucets", August 11, 2014, Actor: Teri Polo
The Scene: Stef breaks down over the baby
Klutzy girl: Stef tries to fix the pipes and ends up breaking down over the baby. We haven't really seen much of her reaction about it, and it definitely hurt.
THE LEFTOVERS, "Solace for Tired Feet", August 10, 2014, Actors: Justin Theroux and more
The Scene: Kevin's dad gives to him the National Geographic volume
Francesco B: Kevin's dad gives to him the National Geographic volume, as something he needs to accept. The scene was so odd but mysterious and interesting. Can't wait to find out more.
THE STRAIN, "Runaways", August 10, 2014, Actors: Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Nikolai Witschl
The Scene: Eph and Setrakian kill Ansell in the shed and video it (picked by Sharon Seymour)
TRUE BLOOD, "Almost Home", August 10, 2014, Actors: Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin and more
The Scene: Bill suddenly decides not to take the cure (picked by Darth Locke)
YOUNG AND HUNGRY, "Young & Car-less", August 13, 2014, Actors: Emily Osment, Rex Lee and more, The Scenes: Gabi calls the group her family & Yolanda and Elliot almost kiss
Klutzy girl: When the group tries to help Gabi get her car back, she calls them her family. They haven't known each other for very long but it's definitely true, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it.
Samy Bgs: Yolanda and Elliot almost kiss to save Gabi's car.
WITCHES OF EAST END, "Boogie Knights", August 10, 2014, Actors: Julia Ormond, Michelle Hurd
The Scene: Joanna and Alex kiss
Francesco B: Unexpected but interesting plot twist.
