Hello and welcome back to our Halloween-delayed edition of Last Week in TV. Again, last week's TV was a mixed bag for me. I largely disliked the new shows but some of the returning shows I was on the verge of dropping ended up being pretty great. Scorpion and American Housewife were the biggest improvements, but Supernatural's Winchester team up was the week's clear winner for me. I loved Mary in the mix. The nominated The X-Files episode was a great trip down memory road for me too. This week the nominated episode that was randomly selected was the season 5 premiere of Nashville, but since that has not aired yet and won't air until January, I had to randomly pick a different one. As such, Hawaii 5-O will be spotlighted next week. If you have an episode you would like me to watch next time, please nominate it in the short 2-question form below. Until then, don't forget to give your own awards in the comments and as always, happy viewing.
Episode of the Week
I figured out why Mary leaving felt like such déjà vu. It's Henry Allen all over again. At this point, it feels like a classic CW Parent Dump. Basically, you bring a parent back into their kids' lives (released from jail, resurrected) to get the high but then realize your protagonists need less support instead of more. You can't kill them off yet so you have said parent call their own timeout and leave their kid soon after they return. It made zero sense in The Flash and only a little sense here. I get that Mary needs to grieve, but being a hunter who knows what kind of dangers her sons face, I would think she'd want to be there at least for a little while longer. Still, they did not kill her off yet so I am good. (They better NOT kill her!) I miss you already, Mary. Please don't be a stranger. Please don't pull a John. Call, write, let us know you're alive.
Overall, I loved a lot about this episode. It was great watching the Winchesters hunt as a family even as it broke my heart to watch Dean and Sam as Mary tells them goodbye. It was even better that they let both the Winchester brothers and Mary be effective hunters, although they approached the information trail in totally different ways. I love that Mary was a capable hunter but not so capable that she didn't need Dean and Sam too. There's a generation gap but it doesn't make either side useless. Most importantly though, this is the first time in a long time that I got a little creeped out in the middle of an episode because of its scare value. It reminded me a lot of some of the better season 1 episodes like Asylum, where we'd get the chills and thrills that put the super in Supernatural. The music and cinematography here helped some scenes feel claustrophobic and like something was going to jump out at any minute. The salt-and-burn scenes were an additional plus as well as getting back to a more traditional ghost story with traditional weaponry. It still had its twist with the father being the murderer, but we got the basics of hunting again. It's nice to see Supernatural going back to its roots.
Grade: B+
Best Reason to Watch - the Winchesters all hunting together and the throw back to season 1
Best and Most Heartbreaking Scene - Mary tells her sons that she needs to leave
Best Switch - this episode is back to level 1 scare factor
Best Character Interaction - Mary and the kid
Best Accessory - Is that Mary's wedding band around her neck now?
Best Flashback - Mary being possessed and pinning Dean to a wall reminds me of John possessed in the season 1 finale and pinning Dean to a wall
Worst Reference - the man basically made himself the plot of The Cask of the Amontillado
Worst Plan - discounting eyewitness testimony when that person is a hunter, especially one who has been a hunter since childhood and is your mother
Worst Red Tape - even the Men of Letters redact their files so it looks like a CIA dossier
Worst Code Name - Cas calls himself Agent Beyonce
Funniest Code Names - Mary uses The Partridge Family for their code names
Biggest Question - Why don't Dean and Sam start heading out the second they hear their mom is at the haunted house instead of waiting until the cell reception starts going out?
Biggest Saving Grace - there's no One Perfect Tear this time even if Dean was devastated by Mary's choice
Biggest Lie - Anytime a Winchester says, "I'm fine."
Biggest Foul - No fair fixing Baby without me getting to see Dean fix her. It's the only comfort I have when she gets hurt.
Biggest Eye Roll - Gibbs' smack to Dean. Don't be telling Sam to clean up the dishes unless you're helping.
Biggest Wish - Please do NOT kill off Mary for any reason at all. She can be trapped in another realm or some other fantastical thing, but she cannot die.
Least Prepared - Mary, who is on a ghost hunt and is apparently not carrying iron or salt the first time and then puts the weapons bag down before going downstairs the second time
Most Comforting - Mary to the woman who lost her son
Most Moxie - Rowena
Most Weird - sharing a hotel room with your 2 grown sons
Most Annoying Subplot - Lucifer, who breaks up the Winchester family hunting trip
Strangest Show Boating - Dean peals out in Baby to impress his momma
Dumbest Dance - Cas and Crowley around the truck
The "Welcome Back Award - the salt-and-burn, which I love
Best Quotes -
1. Sam: "I mean she's trying to bury herself in hunting to avoid dealing." Dean: "And how do you know that?" Sam: "Years of personal experience."
2. Dean: "All right, so what have you found on Her Majesty's Secret Suckbags?"
3. Dean: "There's a lot of things that have gone to seed since you were here, but the variety in snack food flavors is not one of them."
4. Crowley: "What are the odds, Cassie? Fate brought us together." Cas: "I'm not interested." Crowley: "Why not? We made a somewhat effective team against Amara. It's been months - I mean months - since we last tried to kill each other."
5. Lucifer: "Red, what did you do?" Rowena: "Sped up the decaying process, my lord. You thought Keith Richards was bad? Try Iggy Pop."
Nominated Episode
Originally I thought the nominated episode was 6.09, which is where Skinner is dying. Instead the request was for episode 6.19, which is a one-shot episode I still think on very fondly even if it is often panned by other critics. The story focuses on Exley, a rising star in the Negro Baseball League. In fact, he's such a homerun king that the Yankees are scouting him. Enter Arthur Dales, a young Roswell officer who is charged with keeping Exley safe from bigots and the clan. While Arthur rides along with the team from game to game, things with Exley don't add up and Arthur later realizes that it is because he is not from our planet. Now it is up to Arthur to try to save his friend from alien bounty hunters and other cops.
What I love most about this episode is the flashbacks that show Arthur and Exley's growing friendship. I love the glimpse into the past and this device allows us to spend more time developing these one-off characters. While it is notoriously short on Scully and fairly short on Mulder too, it was one of the few times that I really did not mind that as a hopelessly obsessed X-Phile. Their scenes in the beginning and ending were playful and watching them just have fun was a nice change. Still the strength of the episode lies in its story, which just so happens to be written by David Duchovny, none other than Fox Mulder himself. (It is also directed by him.) By telling the saga in flashbacks, it allowed Mulder to be convincingly missing for a huge chunk of the episode while enthusing over baseball and creating a more heartwarming tale than The X-Files is usually known for. It also helps that it stars Jesse L. Martin, who does a stunning job.
Grade: B+
Best Reason to Watch - great combination of history and sci-fi
Best Scene - Ex dies in Arthur's arms bleeding human blood
Best Aww Moment - Mulder teaches Scully how to hit a baseball
Best Character Interaction - Exley and Arthur
Best Reaction - Scully to Mulder ripping out a page of the library book. I feel the same way.
Best Reason to Throw the Game - Exley doesn't want to get picked up by the Yankees to the major leagues
Best Meta - the voiceover is by Dodgers’ announcer Scully, the same person Dana Scully was named after
Best Change Up - the title sequence end with "In the Big Inning"
Best CGI - Ex the alien morphs
Worst / Best Player - the pitcher for the Southwest All Stars, who couldn't hit something if it were in punching range, until it really matters and he beans the KKK
Worst Excuse for a Snack - rice dreamsicle
Biggest Say What? - How did Scully get through junior high or high school without having to at elast play softball in gym
Most Fun - Mulder and Scully wrestle over the fake ice cream
Most Infectious - Exley's smile when he talks about baseball
Best Music - Jesse L. Martin's singing
The "Poor Baby" Award - Arthur cries over the death of his friend decades later
The "Welcome Back" Award - Jesse L. Martin from The Flash and Law & Order / Fredric Lehne from Supernatural / Brian Thompson from Buffy
Best Quotes -
1. Scully: "Mulder, it is such a gorgeous day outside. Do you ever entertain the idea of trying to find life on this planet?" Mulder: "I have seen the life on this planet, Scully, and that is exactly why I am looking elsewhere."
2. Arthur: "Speaking metaphorically is for young men like you, Agent MacGyver. I don't have time for that. I only have time to speak the truth."
3. Scully: "Shut up, Mulder. I'm playing baseball."
4. Dales: "But I cannot stomach the murder of a man of any persuasion or any color being flaunted and solicited in my town, not on my watch. So you can be safe with me in a cell down at the precinct or you can be safe with me here on the bus. Seeing as how this is still America, you're free to choose, sir."
5. Arthur: "You see none of the great ones fit in. Not in this world, not in any other world."
6. Mulder: "That's good. Alright, what you may find is you concentrate on hitting that little ball, the rest of the world just fades away, all your everyday, nagging concerns. The ticking of your biological clock. How you probably couldn't afford that nice, new suede coat on a G-woman's salary. How you threw away a promising career in medicine to hunt aliens with a crackpot, albeit brilliant, partner."
Featured Reviewers
BY Swanpride
I knew that something was off about Mace. He was just too good to be true (and yes, I am totally ignoring the fact that there is at least one hero running around in the MCU which is that good and totally true). But, like everything in this episode, the show declines to elaborate for now. In fact, the whole episode felt more like a giant teaser, with some action thrown in. Everything in this felt off, not because anything was wrong with the narrative, but because it was busy pointing out in different directions. There is naturally Mace, but we also still don't really know what exactly turned Lucy, which role Eli played in all this, how Robbie became the Ghostrider, and I admit, I am running slightly out of patience at this point. Hopefully next week will clear up some questions. I also hope that we now can move on from the "Daisy feels so guilty" storyline. While I applaud the show for not letting her just shrug off everything which happened last season, this is becoming a little bit repetitive.
Grade: B+
Best Reason to Watch - Action, action, action and the feeeeels.
Best Scene - All the prisoners scrambling back into their cells when they see the Ghostrider
Best Character - Mack, who now even takes out ghosts with his shotgun axe
Best Fight - Daisy vs. everyone, even though it was totally unnecessary.
Best Team-up - Daisy and May with a side dish of Coulson.
Best Effect - Coulson's shield making a bada** come-back.
Best Prop - The totally not creepy looking needle (*shudder*)
Biggest Idiot - Robbie abandoning his uncle in the middle of a prison riot while a crazy ghost is out to get him
Smartest Cookie - Jemma, who reads micro expressions like a book
Most Random Observation - Since the show is set in real time, shouldn't it be an election year in the MCU?
Prediction of the Week - Now that Mace has been revealed to be less than he seems, I kind of expect him not to be as bad as he could be. Eli on the other hand seems to be kind of shifty.
Best Quote:
1. Coulson: "You didn't think of that before I jumped in the trash?" May: "What's the fun in that?"
2. May: “You don’t get to decide who cares about you.”
New Shows
Nope, just nope. This is one long segment of sexual escapades occasionally interrupted by murders or emoangsty outbursts. I had enough when the murderer started masturbating to the teen girl's picture. Blech times infinity. When a show makes me want to take a shower simply watching it, I'm out. There's not enough brain bleach in the world for this. Plus the kids are complete morons and half of the adults aren't much better. I can't believe USA Network dropped their "blue skies" for this kind of junk.
Grade: D
Ranking: 1
Audience - people whose tastes are directly opposite of mine
Bottom Line - way, way, way too much focus on sex for me
Worst Luck - the kid who took Philip's jacket as collateral is now the murderer's target
Biggest Douche - Camilla to Helen
Biggest Mystery - What happened in Buffalo?
Most Impressive - Tony's pretty sharp for his first murder case
Most Worthless Character - Lucas
Scariest Plan - the murderer uses the high school web page to track the witnesses
The "Say What?' Award - Helen tells her husband that a triple homicide gives her life meaning
The "Welcome Back" Award - Gil Bellows from Ally McBeal / Warren Christie from Motive / Rainbow Francks from The Listener / Katie Douglas from Defiance
Best Quotes -
1. Helen: "You mind if we talk about this tonight at dinner. I'll cook. Make you whatever you want." Philip: "I like Chinese takeout." Helen: "You got it."
2. Helen: "You've never lived through a murder investigation, have you?" Tony: "I've never lived through nothing. Not like you." Helen: "That's a good thing."
3. Tony: "I think that the FBI folks think that we're small time." Helen: "That's because we are."
4. Helen: "Alright well, you get points for romance but I'm still gonna kick your a**."
5. Tony: "The FBI's making a big mistake underestimating us, huh Helen?" Helen: "Huge." Tony: "Pound it." Helen: "Nope." Tony: "Okay, next time."
Falling Water is everything USA Network stands for these days. It's complicated, slow, and character-based. In short, it's boring - as in I had to keep myself awake in the middle of the day, boring. That's not to say that it is all bad because it does have a very intriguing plot weaving through 3 different character stories. It also has a huge pacing problem. Think Inception without the high entertainment value but with the same twisty and sometimes convoluted plot. In fact, part of the fun is trying to guess which part is dream and which part is real and then piecing how all the dreams and reality work together. Topeka has never been this big of a mystery before.
Grade: C-
Ranking: 2
Audience - those who like puzzles and very intricate plots
Bottom Line - this show has the makings of a decent marathon show but it's too slow for weekly viewing
Best Reason to Watch - the internal mystery
Best Question - Why Topeka?
Best Twist - Tess and Burton live in the same building
Best Visual - the eye that looks like water
Best Payday - Boerg offers $50,000 for 5 minutes
Best Character Interaction - Burton and Helena
Worst Discovery - the mass suicide
Biggest Say What? - the house Taka was just in explodes
Least Technological - Taka's flip phone
Least Aware - all these cult members who don't see Taka standing right at the edge of the woods
Most Eccentric - the billionaire client with the long list of demands before negotiation
Most Weird - Taka puts on the shoes from evidence
Most Cold - the dream where the mother won't hug her child and then runs from him
Most Creepy - the kid
Most Insane Sounding - Tess
Most Disgusting - the ashes of the suicides are now falling all over Tess
Best Music - Anything Goes by Cole Porter
The "Welcome Back" Award - Zak Orth from Revolution / Jessica Hecht from Friends / Melanie Nicholls-King from Eye Candy / Shiloh Fernandez from Jericho / Trudie Styler from Poldark /
Best Quotes -
1. Burton: "The more you talk, the less believable you sound."
2. Taka: "I'm not a patient on your couch." Sabine: "Well you're certainly behaving like one, an emotionally stunted boy who can't stand his own feelings of helplessness because it reminds him of the psychic trauma inflicted on him by his now catatonic mother. Or at least that is what I would write up in my notes."
3. Voiceover: "Why do we create monsters - zombies and vampires and things that go bump in the night? Perhaps because the real monsters are too close, too familiar, too real."
4. Helena: "If you want I have a stepdaughter at home, who will treat you with scorn and resentment and not pay you a dime." Burton: "I'll take a pass." Helena: "You always do." Burton: "No, I see what's coming and duck. It's different."
5. Tess: "I don't have a son." Boerg: "You want to bet?"
This one gets 2 more episodes only because of Joel McHale. I want to like it but it is just one millennial joke after another and that gets old really fast. I can't imagine millennials liking this either.
Grade: C-
Ranking: 3-
Audience - possibly those who really liked the shortly lived Selfie
Bottom Line - it's a one note joke that could use a lot more variety
Best Reason to Watch - Joel McHale / all the pop culture references
Best Reference - Blade Runner
Worst Plan - effort trophies
Worst Nostalgia - dancing baby from the Ally McBeal years
Biggest Laugh - the second HR meeting
Biggest Awww Moment - Jack with the bear cub
The "Welcome Back" Award - Joel McHale from Community / Stephen Fry from 24: Live Another Day
Best Quotes -
1. Clark: "Can you guess the #1 zombie killing tool?" Jack: "Uh…remembering zombie don't exist."
2. Roland: "My boy, you know how much you mean to this magazine." Jack: "This walk is suddenly feeling very Green Mile to me."
3. Jack: "Oh, I'll have what you're having." Roland: "Uh, then you'll be having your 3rd scotch of the morning."
4. Emma to Jack: "You're like the human version of dial-up."
5. Roland: "Human Resources and a lawyer on your second day. Save something for the Christmas party."
The biggest problem of Man with a Plan is that it is just not funny. I didn't laugh once. I couldn't even summon a smirk until I started reading my e-mail during it. For the most part, this comedy is stuck in the Everybody Loves Raymond/King of Queens years. Matt LeBlanc plays a dopey contractor that is somehow smart enough to own his own successful business but not smart enough to follow a simple train of thought before "losing it." He has employees that he hires and fires but can't carry on a conversation with a teacher that goes beyond "yes, you did." If he was a contradiction in character, he might be interesting but instead he simply feels like the punch line in a joke that got old decades ago.
Grade: D
Ranking: 1
Audience - those who like Kevin Can Wait
Bottom Line - even if I had more time, I wouldn't be spending it on this
Best Reason to Watch - Adam and Andi could grow into a couple you'd root for
Best Scene - Andi practically admits that she manipulated Adam into taking on the kids fulltime
Worst Plan - getting your kids addicted to lottery tickets
Worst Advice - telling a kindergartener to punch someone in the nose
Worst Husband - Adam
Most Manipulative - Andi
Most Realistic and Most Sad - kids today do spend too much time on their electronics
Biggest Waste of Time - the yes/no fight between Adam and Mrs. Rodriguez
The "Say What?" Award - If you want to have a private conversation with your wife, why not take it into your bedroom? Why would you put your kids in the pantry right next to you?
The "Are You Kidding Me?" Award - No way a kindergarten is going to have an ice cream day on the second day of school, much less in the middle of the day. None. That's the kind of event you hold a week before school starts so you can send the sugared up kids home with their parents right away.
Best Quotes -
1. Emme: "Daddy, I'm worried about kindergarten." Adam: "Oh honey, you should be worried. Kids are mean."
2. Lowell: "Sorry, I'm a little revved up. I just can't believe they're not introducing any foreign language in kindergarten. How can our children compete in a global economy without fluency in a second language?" Adam: "You know this school is free, right?"
3. Adam: "A punch in the nose can be a real problem solver."
4. Andi: "You can't trust a 13-year-old girl. She's all whacked out on hormones."
Weekly Shows
While American Housewife was the comedy I was most looking forward to this season, I have to admit that the pilot was a real downer. Actually, it sucked out loud. Thank goodness, these two episodes were a major improvement, especially The Nap. It had so much heart and I really empathized with Katie. It also made me laugh - an essential part of any comedy. Best yet was the home wisdom at the end because any way you slice it, there are sucky parts to everyone's life choices. Episode 3 wasn't quite as good but it too improved on the pilot and I loved the moment Kati had with her daughter during the run.
Grade: B+ / B-
Best Reason to Watch - there's a lot more heart and humor in these than the pilot
Best Scene - Katie and Taylor during the Fun Run
Best Pep Talk - Doris to Katie
Best Imitation of a Zombie - Greg and Anna Kat's conversation about washing her face
Biggest Improvement - these 2 episodes over the sucky pilot
Biggest Idiot - Oliver for telling Katie that she doesn't work
Most Obnoxious - Crossing Guard Sandy / Viv
Most Needing to Go - the voiceovers, which don't really add anything when she could just say it out loud
Most Heroic - Oliver sacrifices himself to the zombies to help his crush get over the wall
Most Needing to Get Over It - Katie's jealousy over Viv
The "I'm with You" Award - everyone should have the right to nap / I hate Halloween too, Oliver
The "Welcome Back" Award - Gloria Garayua from H2GAwM
Best Quotes -
1. Katie: "He's not even sick. He's man sick."
2. Katie: "There are Raisinets in here. Why put health food in a perfectly good bag of candy?"
3. Katie: "Ladies, being a stay-at-home mom suuuuucks. It does, but I'm like one of those Navy SEALs they sent to kill Osama bin Laden. They dodged the bullets and didn't get a lot of sleep, but they were convinced that they were doing the most important job in the world and being at home with my kids is the most important thing I could be doing right now. But don't fool yourselves, being a working mom sucks too... just in a different way."
4. Doris: "This isn't a pity party! You are Katie "Bada**" Otto! You are strong. You are powerful. You raised three kids with no nannies, no housekeepers. Your whole life is this hideous, depressing obstacle, and yet...you thrive."
5. Katie: "You should not be allowed to wear that T-shirt! If you were a real feminist, you would down some DayQuil and rally like a mommy would." Greg: "You know what? You're right. I'm gonna take off this shirt."
Episode 10.05 was one of the best TBBT episodes I have seen in a long time. The Howard and Bernadette subplot is a little creepy with juvenile humor so it brings down the grade a bit, but it also had some good revelations and allowed us to get more insight on Raj. It was also good to see Stuart again. I'd love to see him included more often and maybe make him a little more dimensional. The best part of the episode though was splitting off Penny and Sheldon / Leonard and Amy from the main group. While Leonard and Amy were more typical TBBT with the insulting people humor and somewhat stale jokes, Sheldon and Penny had some real heart, great advice, and good back story. Overall, it was fantastic and lifted the whole episode. The next episode wasn't quite as good but I did like the subplot of Howard and Raj planning for the baby with a reluctant Bernadette. I think Howard stepping up a bit to become a dad is important because he is still a very juvenile character and not as far along as the other characters. Having him be the responsible one over Bernadette is a nice switch. I also like that Raj and Bernadette have been getting along better lately too. The Comic-Con story was a huge bust for me and seemed decidedly un convention-like to me, even for a backwater D-list one. Leonard getting some big nerd kudos was a nice twist. The best part though was Stuart standing up for himself. It's about time.
Grade: B+ / B-
Best Reason to Watch - Penny and Sheldon interaction / Stuart explains his feelings
Best Scene - Sheldon and Penny at the ice cream parlor
Best Back Story - why Sheldon knocks 3 times before entering
Best Product Placement - the neighbor who talks in TV commercials
BEST PLAN IN THE HISTORY OF TBBT - killing the Raj love triangle
Best Advice - Penny tells Sheldon to stop worrying about the future and fix today
Best Way to Handle a Whining Howard - Raj puts on the DVD of Batman: The Animated Series
Biggest Hint that Sheldon and Penny are Never Going to Happen (And Good for That) - Sheldon calls Penny his nanny
Most Fun - Sheldon and Stuart getting drunk together
The "Poor Baby" Award - Poor Stuart always gets shafted by these guys
The "I'm with You" Award - I agree 100% with Chuck Lorre's ending card this time. "God, please make this election be over soon. Amen."
The "Welcome Back" Award - Burt from geology
Best Quotes -
1. Penny: "Okay, I'm confused. Which one is Mr. Robot?" Leonard: "I'll give you a hint. We're watching Daredevil."
2. Sheldon: "Since Amy and I have been living together, we've been bickering like my parents used to." Penny: "And you're afraid you're gonna do something like your dad did?" Sheldon: "Yes. I need to prepare her now to save her from pain down the road."
3. Stuart: "No, I-I consider you and Sheldon like my family, and I'm not even sure you think of me as a friend. You have any idea how that feels?"
4. Penny: "Honey, instead of worrying about pain you might cause in the future, how about trying to fix the pain you're causing her right now?"
5. Raj about Howard: "I've been babysitting him way longer than you have." Bernadette: "Fine. I'll buy the stupid van."
In both of these episodes, the characters were very sympathetic and the cases were challenging. I liked the team working together and even taking them out of their element in Callisto. I wasn't as big a fan of Bull here though. It feels like he's backsliding into an arrogant schmuck again. Maybe it's because I hate the manipulation of justice on both sides here. It is scary to think that truth has so little to do with the law these days. Marissa is still vastly underutilized and I still know next to nothing about her. At least Danny and Cable got some good scenes in these. Plus Danny is one awesome detective, given that she solved the crime long after the scene had gone cold.
Grade: B- / C+
Best Scene - Bull gets his client to snap so that he realizes that he's not ready to take the stand
Best Character - Cable
Best New Character - Merle
Best Speech - Bull to his client in 1.05
Best Twist - the detective was not evil, but fooled by the killer CI
Best Test Jury Ever - the elementary kids they explain the science to
Worst Fashion Choice - Bull's mustache
Biggest Shock - Windmere drops the suit and gives Kerry rights to distribute the drug
Biggest Moral - sometimes "justice" is flat out depressing
Biggest Problem - In 1.05, I like the defense attorney far more than I like Bull. Bull is a rude jerk who keeps talking over the other guy in an obnoxious way. It reminds me of the problem I had with him in the first couple of episodes of this show.
Biggest Question - How did the lemming become the jury foreman?
Least Surprising - the friend killed his fiancée
Most Shady - trapping people in the elevator to get them to sympathize with their client
Most Evil - drug companies
Most Obnoxious - Bulls' General speech
Smartest Cookie - Danny
The "Welcome Back" Award - Jill Flint from Royal Pains and The Night Shift / Sam McMurray from Cristela / Parker Stevenson from The Hardy Boys / Chance Kelly from Fringe and Power
Best Quotes -
1. Marissa: "I'd walk off a bridge for you, Bull." Bull: "Yes. That's because I'd be under it, waiting to catch you." Cable: "And you'd both die from the fall."
2. Bull: "I went down there a lone wolf who'd never lost a case, but I had forgotten why I got into this business in the first place. And, no, it wasn't the money. It was people. Because you can't take on the world all alone and so I sought people I could trust, people like your sister and you guys, this team, and clients I could believe in. That's what I learned."
3. Bull: "If you just murdered someone, would you go sleep on a park bench?" Marissa: "It's hard to say; I've never murdered anyone…but don't push me."
4. Judge: "Okay, apologies to the jury. Wasn't a complete waste of time. You each made ten dollars a day."
5. Kerry: "I'm sorry, I don't see technicalities. I see my sister slip cutting a bagel and spending a month in the ICU." Marissa: "And in this case, Windemere himself is showing up to testify. He's on the witness list. Why?" Kerry: "I don't know. Maybe 'cause he's a heartless, money-grubbing old douche." Bull: "Works for me."
Grade: B
Best Reason to Watch - there's forward motion on Hannah's investigation and Tom finally gets a win
Best Scene - Tom arrests the Governor of Michigan for treason, mostly because it shocked me
Best Pep Talk - Alex to Tom
Best Speech - Marino to Tom
Best Boss - Atwood
Best Plan - hiring Seth as press secretary / firing Cochrane, although that may have major aftereffects later
Worst Plan - Tom's "do nothing" approach, which dragged out too long but hopefully is over with now, especially since his delay let a terrorist go free
Worst Person at His Job - Carter, the press guy, who is in way over his head
Most Needed - the President gets a win when they capture Nassar
Most Damaging Evidence - bomb shelter inside the Capitol
Most Willing to Go Nuclear - Governor of Michigan
Most Suspicious - Atwood now, since he wants Hannah to stay silent
Biggest Straight Shooter - Commander Clarkson
Biggest Surprise - Leo might not be Tom's son but the son of someone in prison
Biggest Blow Up - the National Guard refuses to act on the side of the President
Biggest Disappointment - Clarkson is dead
Smartest Person in the Room - Emily out-trumps Hannah this time
The "Welcome Back" Award - Dylan Walsh from Nip/Tuck
Best Quotes -
1. Seth: "Uh, to be honest, I didn't want this job but we live in a time in which we're called upon to serve in ways we didn't anticipate. None of us is perfect. But we do our best because this House is worthy of our best. We trust our instincts as we fight our daily fights. Some we'll win, some we won't, and some we'll only know in time. But we leave each night hopeful that today's sacrifices have been worth it, that our instincts have not led us astray, and that our best has been good enough."
2. Tom: "Here's a long shot. Any good news?" Aaron: "Well you slept 3 hours last night, sir." Tom: "Ah, the little things."
3. Hookstraten to Seth: "You're way too smart to play dumb, Mr. Press Secretary."
4. Seth: "Mr. President, you're here late." Tom: "Well technically I live here so it appears you're the one who's here late."
5. Marino: "Don't, sir. Feel guilty? A little part of me does as well, but I also feel honor, respect, because that's what this man deserves. That's how he needs to be remembered. Don't ever question your decision, Mr. President, because none of us ever did, especially Max. I'll leave you to it, sir."
This was a decent set of Elementary episodes, fairly typical of their cases. I did like the twists in these more than usual though. Sherlock getting kidnapped by a gangbanger was a brilliant way to open the first episode as well as convincing the murderer to turn himself in at the end in order to preserve his life. The second episode had a fairly typical twist of the wife kidnapping herself but it stood out for the reasons she did it. I've never heard of running out the clock on your prenup agreement, although it does make (criminal)sense. Pairing her up with the nerd was great too. However the best part of the second episode was how Sherlock cared enough about Gregson to interfere in his love life. That's just not Sherlock. It was good to have more background on Gregson and it will set up a hasty marriage for his character nicely.
Grade: B
Best Reason to Watch - the twists
Best Scene - Shinwell finds his daughter but doesn't try to get back into her life yet
Best Reaction - Gregson to Sherlock telling him that he should get married again
Best Back Story - Shinwell's kid
Best Not Exactly Legal Justice - Sherlock threatens to tell the gangbangers about the rich guy stealing their contraband and killing their members if he doesn't confess to the police
Worst Plan - face tattoos on anyone in any design for any reason
Most Interesting Childhood Hobby - still Joan's fascination with mobsters
The "Welcome Back" Award (character) - Paige, played by Virginia Madsen
The "Welcome Back" Award (actor) - Jon Huertas from Castle / Ron Rifkin from Alias
Best Quotes -
1. Watson: "Any chance they'll arrest him before you end up in a Dumpster?" Sherlock: "Now is probably a good time to mention that you were also included in his original threats." Watson: "What?" Sherlock: "We are, as always, a package deal."
2. Sherlock: "I think you should propose marriage." Gregson: "Excuse me?" Sherlock: "The sooner you pop the question, the sooner her treatments will be covered by the city's health plan. I think the time might have come for a new Mrs. Gregson." Gregson: "I-I think I just got whiplash. When I split with the last Mrs. Gregson, you told me to consider myself lucky. You compared marriage to…uh, poison, I think it was?"
3. Watson: "Please tell me there is not a body in that bag." Sherlock: "Deduction is your stock and trade, Watson. Have some pride." Watson: "Okay, two bodies?"
4. Sherlock: "I think those were fancy snacks for his bidders. Gonna try and persuade the owner to give me the delivery address." Watson: "Persuade, how?" Sherlock: "Well, everyone has a price. We've just established that yours is north of $50 million. Hopefully, BVP Catering will be less."
5. Gregson: "Too bad you couldn't convince your client to not burn down the crime scene." Sherlock: "That's a problem with private clients. They frequently have their own agendas, which is why I prefer working with the police."
6. Sherlock: "Marcus has requested our presence at a clothing optional retreat." Watson: "It's for a case, right?"
What a snoozefest! All I can say is that Jesse, Wally, and relationship drama all need to go. They each in turn dragged this one episode storyline into 2 episodes. It's bad when I like the one-off guests and villains better than the main characters. Also, I am afraid of where this is going. If Wally goes to Alchemy, I am done with his character forever. If this Wells turns out to be an evil, back-stabbing Wells, I give up. Obviously the writers will have given up too.
Grade: C+ / D+
Best Reason to Watch - Caitlin's powers are pretty much about to be out in the open
Best Reason to Fast Forward - there are so many in these 2 episodes that it could have been 1 episode and still have filler
Best Plan - fake Snart to catch the bad guys
Best Snark - Wells by a time jump
Best Speech - Joe to Wally / Caitlin to Wells
Best Timing - Joe interrupts Iris and Barry getting it on. Thank you, Joe.
Worst Boss / Most Obnoxious - Julian, who micromanages and watches the clock
Worst Nickname - Top
Most Ominous - Wells tells them not to trust the new Wells 3.0
Most Awkward - Barry and Iris' date / Barry talking to Joe about kissing Iris
Most Jealous - Wally about Jesse's powers
Most Bizarre - the 6 million Halloween versions of Harry
Least Able to Follow Directions - Jesse
Biggest Improvement - everyone has a panic button on their phones now
Best Freak Out - Caitlin
Biggest "Who are You Again?" Award - Cecille, who I don't even remember apparently has some chemistry going with Joe. Is this a Flashpoint thing?
Biggest Awww Moment - Barry hugs the crying girl who almost killed everyone
Biggest Idiot Whoever Managed to Get Up in the Morning - Wally, who stands in front of a moving car in order to jumpstart his powers. GO AWAY!!!! TAKE JESSE WITH YOU!!!
Biggest Waste of Money - the flowers Barry just left on the sidewalk
Biggest Dad Moment - Barry scolding Wally for being a moron
Biggest "A-Ha" Moment - Wells: " I was always too good at forgiving myself, Allen. You were never good enough." It occurs to me that this is the crux of H2GAwM as well.
The "I Don't Get It" Award - I'm pretty sure it's either my lack of physics knowledge or a lack of logic that leaves me scratching my head with this mirror trap. To be honest, it's a tossup.
The "Nope, Just Nope" Award - Barry, take this as a compliment. You will NEVER be Oliver. If you ever do become Oliver, I won't be watching this show anymore. Stay you, Barry Allen.
The "Seventh Verse, Same as the First" Award - Apparently there are as many speedsters in the universe as there are Wesen in Portland. Enough already! It's stretching credibility and making Barry just one of the horde.
The "I'd Actually Prefer More Commercials" Award - it would be better than the last 10 minutes of 3.03
The "Oh No, Not You Again" Award - Jesse, the brat. At least this time, it took a whole 30 minutes before she threw a fit so that's an improvement.
The "Welcome Back" Award (character) - Wells / Captain Cold
The "Welcome Back" Award (actor) - Joey King from Fargo / Peter Flemming from Stargate
Best Quotes -
1. Wally: "So you think, just let it go? Give up on wanting to help people?" Joe: "You don't need powers to do that. Look, Barry was coming to the rescue as a CSI long before he was the Flash. He wanted to help people then just like you want to help people now so he studied. He honed that brilliant mind of his and you have the same brilliant mind, Wall." Wally: "Dad..." Joe: "No. I mean it, son. Look, a lot of people dream about making the world a better place. With that mind of yours and that engineering talent, you literally could build a better world." Wally: "So what? I got to stay in school?" Joe: "Yeah, you got to stay in school. Just a couple more years."
2. Caitlin: "Okay, so you're just sending out an intergalactic IQ test to all of your doppelgangers in the multiverse." Wells: "Not just a test. Think of it as an invitation. Think of it as an elaborate Help Wanted ad." Cisco: "Will the test test their attitudes, too? 'Cause I'm not sure I can stomach another Wells with your bedside manner." Wells: "I care for you too, you jackwagon."
3. Wells: "Pass." Caitlin: "Wait, what? Wait a minute. That guy cracked the code and he wants to do it." Cisco: "And he's nice and he's not evil, and that's a combination of Wells we haven't had thus far." Wells: "All my life, everyone I've ever hired to work for me, I have trusted my gut. My gut tells me that's not the guy. Keep looking."
4. Caitlin: " Listen, Harry. Maybe the reason she's shutting you out is because you're not trying to understand what she's going through." Wells: "I don't need to unders..." Caitlin: "Maybe if you helped her navigate her powers rather than just assuming they'll destroy her, she'd turn to you rather than push you away."
5. Barry: "Look, it's just...it is better if he doesn't have speed." Joe: "Oh, you don't have to convince me of that. The last thing I want is two of my kids zipping around the city, running into danger."
I am definitely the Jessica of this episode. I don't merely wish Halloween would go away. I actively despise it. Just call me the Grinch of Halloween. Because of that, I really enjoyed Louis' speech to Jessica about wanting her to be involved in the fun of it. There are sacrifices you make for your family so I will try to go into Halloween with a better attitude this year for mine. (Although my inner Bah Humbug will be going full throttle.) All in all, I found this episode to be funny and surprisingly, the kids made the episode for me. Evan and Emory's brother bond is amazing and refreshing to see on TV. Usually kid brothers are all about tormenting each other. I also really liked how Eddie was there for Nicole. It showed an impressive loyalty and made me like the character better. If they keep this up, I might rejoice when Eddie comes on screen instead of roll my eyes. That would be a vast improvement.
Grade: B
Best Reason to Watch - Evan and Emory, who have some great costume ideas and a better brother bond
Best Scene - Louis tells Jessica why he wants her involved in Halloween
Best Reaction - Jessica punches Louis when he's in a hockey mask
Best Alarm Ever - the bacon fan
Best Friend - Eddie, who sticks by Nicole no matter what
Worst Plan - trick or treating on November 1
Most Likely to Plot and Get Away with Murder - Jessica
Most Enthusiastic - Louis about Halloween
Most Sympathetic - the officer who brings Eddie and Nicole in because they are unsupervised
Least Surprising - getting picked up by the cops makes Nicole's "party" seem cooler than it was
Biggest Improvement - Nicole calls Honey her "friend mom" which is far better than when she refused to talk to her at all
The "Say What?" Award - Um Jessica, I don't think Eddie is going to come home pregnant. Ever.
The "I'm with You" Award - I don't get the fuss over Halloween either, Jessica
The "Welcome Back???" Award - Nicole and Officer Bryson
Best Quotes -
1. Louis: "Where should I put this cobweb?" Jessica: "Back up the fake spider it came from."
2. Louis: "You know I get that you don't care for all the costumes and candy, but how can you not like the scary stuff. You love Stephen King and he's all about horror." Jessica: "Stephen invokes real fear. He unlocks this monster within. This isn't scary. This is amateur hour."
3. Jessica: "Did you get her parents' permission? If not, that's a felony - child abduction." Louis: "Okay Reba, let's go."
4. Honey: "Sorry, but Halloween was last month." Jessica: "What is this game you all play? You leave up your Christmas lights 'til forever but we come one measly day after Halloween and it's like the whole thing never happened."
5. Jessica: "I will never like Halloween but I understand wanting everyone in the family to join in."
6. Jessica: "Louis, you're lucky I wasn't clutching my sleep knife."
The first 20 minutes of this episode was pretty bad. Fresh Off the Boat definitely does Stephen King better, especially with incorporating him into the story. Plus most of the characters except Lainey were annoying. (Lainey straight up rocked this episode.) However, in typical The Goldbergs' fashion, the last 10 minutes were awesome. I especially loved the character interaction between Barry and Erica. When those two are sympathetic to each other, it's just magic on screen. Mostly because these kids tend to fight like…well, siblings. I also liked that Adam wrote his own Stephen King story, since that seems very in-character. Plus, Misery fits the overall dynamic of Beverly, although she is more likely to cause someone to die of embarrassment than inflict bodily harm. I wasn't too crazy about the music but unless they were doing Rocky Horror, it does fit the Halloween theme. There was also a dearth of Murray, but Pops and Lainey picked up the slack and were awesome. Pops is often the voice of reason with Beverly and Lainey took on that role for Erica. Basically, this episode was a 2/3 dud and 1/3 winner.
Grade: C+
Best Reason to Watch - the last 10 minutes (with commercials)
Best Scene - Erica tells Barry that she appreciates what he did for her
Best Awww Moment - Barry sends Geoff in to comfort Erica
Best Homage - Adam crawling up the stairs with a messed up ankle, trying to get in his room before his mom gets up there, is so Misery-like / Beverly saying, "cockadoodie"
Best Character / Best Friend / Best Person / Least Crazy - they are all Lainey tonight
Worst Idea - making your book club read your kid's story, especially when it's about you being a monster
Worst Teen Plan - having Barry be Erica's date
Most Embarrassing - having people find out that your date to a high school dance is your brother
Most Nostalgic - the Def Leppard poster
Biggest Jerk - Lainey's hot cousin
Biggest Flashback - the Apple 2e computer, which is the first computer my junior high ever got
Biggest Mystery - I still don't understand why Erica wants Geoff all of a sudden except the toddler reason of her not having him
Biggest Meta - Beverly's speech about Adam writing about his family
Biggest Surprise - Geoff is into show tunes…or was just super committed to his Halloween costume
The "I'm with You" Award - Hemingway is NOT America's greatest author
The "Not You Again" Award - Johnny needs to go
Smartest Cookie - Evie
Stupidest Fight - the "shhh" fight
Best Quotes -
1. Erica: "Geoff said you sent him in to cheer me up. You know I tortured you for years. You really had every right to throw it back in my face." Barry: "I just didn't like seeing you be the Barry." Erica: "You got in a plant for me. You were there for me and if that's being a Barry, then I'm okay with it." Barry: "Know what a Barry would do right now? Get back on that dance floor and have an awesome night."
2. Lainey: "Stop it! Both of you need to suck it up and be there for each other." Barry: "Fine! I'll do it, but only 'cause I love you, baby."
3. Beverly: "You got Stephen King's actual address? I know a few yentas in Maine." Adam: "Um, I'm not so sure Stevie King's gonna love Schmoopie Loves Mommy." Beverly: "Oh God, no! I'm sending him the Veeberly." Adam: "But I thought you hate it." Beverly: "Oh, I do. So much, but you keep writing about me, about this family. It may not all be true, but it's pretty darn good."
4. Lainey: "You are so gonna take Evy's man while she's tending to her ailing Gam-Gam." Erica: "Don't say it like that, 'cause you make it sound like I'm the bad guy here." Lainey: "Eh, it's dicey but you're my best friend. I'm on your side."
5. Lainey: "Hey, sport. How you feeling?" Erica: "Awful. Never felt so much like a Barry in my entire life." Lainey: "You do know he's my boyfriend and I love him, right?"
I officially hope Connor is the dead guy. I cannot take one more minute of his constant pity party and blaming everyone else for his situation. He could have gone to the police right away but he didn't so he's to blame too. Grow up, Connor. That being said, it looks like it's down to Nate, Frank, Connor, and Wes for the big death so I'm guessing Nate, who became even more useless after confessing that he's sleeping with Atwood to Annalise. Though Frank is also making himself irrelevant as well, given that he's closing up loopholes and on his way back to town. Plus, either of these is a safe choice. As for the episode, it felt like it was just taking up space until the final reveal to me. The only real positive was watching Annalise try to game the system while living by the system's rules…kind of. Otherwise the case was boring, they spent more time on everyone's relationship angst than anything else, and half of my TV socks were thrown. The only forward progress we made is that Asher is not dead and Frank framed a killer. Other than that, it was mostly bratting and screwing. The midseason finale cannot come quickly enough.
Grade: C-
Best Reason to Watch - watching Annalise try to win within the confines of her law board agreement
Best Reason to Fast Forward - everyone's sexcapades and general angsting
Best Way to Work the System - Annalise gets her client on the stand, discredits her in the judge's chambers, and forces a mistrial
Best Change of Plan - Annalise fills everyone in instead of keeping secrets about Wes' police issue
Worst Plan - Wes and Laurel hooking up again
Most Naïve - Meggy for thinking that Wes tells her everything
Most Disgusting - eating in a public bathroom
Most Surprising - I actually liked the scene between Asher and Michaela when they talk about their feelings
Most Annoying / Biggest Whiner (Again) - Connor, who constantly blames everyone else when he made his own choices too
Biggest Head Scratcher - The police cannot think that Wes shot Mahoney. Even forensics in the 60's could prove that. So why is everyone so worried at this stage in the game? It's not like they have any evidence that he's in kahoots with someone else.
Dumbest Question - Is someone really dead? Yes, multiple people every single season.
The "I'm with You" Award - Who Oliver sees is his own business, not Connor's?
The "It's about Time" Award - Annalise says that they aren't going to pull Nate into their issues anymore
The "Oh No, You Didn't" Award - Wes takes pot shots at Bonnie as well as Annalise but she confronts him about it
The "Welcome Back" Award (character) - Charles Mahony
The "Welcome Back" Award - Matthew Risch from Switched at Birth
Best Quotes -
1. Asher: "Fine, you're not my woman. You're my family." Michaela: "What?" Asher: "Not in the gross sister way. I lost my family, all of them." Michaela: "I never had a family. It's not that big a deal." Asher: "What does that mean?" Michaela: "I'm not talking about this with you." Asher: "Hey, hey, I want to be there for you, Michaela." Michaela: "No, you want me to be there for you like every other guy who screwed me over."
2. Annalise: "Quiet. Since when have I not protected you? Even when I hated you."
3. Wes: "I'm so sorry." Annalise: "It's not your fault." Wes: "It is. All this is happening because you keep trying to protect me." Annalise: "It was my choice. I took you off the wait list. I should have left you alone." Wes: "Why didn't you?" Annalise: "I wanted to be a better person."
4. Connor: "I half expected to catch you trying on her wigs and clothes all Norman Bates-like."
5. Annalise to Wes: "You take another step and I'll chain you in the basement like Rebecca."
To be honest, I have never cared enough about any professional sport to care about trade deadlines. Therefore, it was doubly impressive how much it ramped up the tension in this episode. It impacts so many lives. In a way, it's like being in the military except with much, much better pay. Since I've never seen Moneyball, it was captivating to see more of the behind-the-scenes approach to big athletics. What wasn't as interesting? Ginny, sadly. She got bad advice from Amelia and ended up looking like a brat. Then she heard the truth about Amelia and Lawson and ended up looking like a brat again. Add in her me-focused concern about Blip's career and she came out on the side of obnoxious this time. Let's hope that's a one-shot thing. I did enjoy watching the flashbacks though. Again the plot twist was handled deftly enough that I didn't realize that her friend's father was going to be the one who killed her father until ¾ of the way through. I felt so sorry for Jordan and Ginny in that final scene when Jordan could barely look at Ginny as the moving van pulled away. Amazingly the Bad Parent Award didn't go to Bill this time but Ray, the drunk.
Grade: B
Best Reason to Watch - the flashbacks
Best Scene - Blip and Ginny hug when the trade deadline passes and Blip is still with the Padres
Best Apology - Lawson gets Amelia a loaner car
Best Pep Talk - Lawson about the trading deadline
Best Speech - Oscar to Ginny about how baseball trade deadlines work
Worst Parent - Ray, who is a drunk and probably a compulsive gambler
Biggest Laugh - Ginny's phone alerts go off at the end of the trade deadline but it's Blips' wife making a move on Words with Friends
Biggest Twist - it was Ginny's friend's dad who killed her father in a drunk driving accident
Most Likely to Put His Foot in His Mouth - Lawson, accidentally calling Amelia a groupie
Most Obnoxious - Graham, the new interim president
Most Intense - trade deadlines, who knew they were that crazy
Weirdest Conversation - Amelia tells Eliot all her private business when she's trying to keep it private
The "Oh Please, No" Award - please, please, please, do not make Ginny have feelings for Lawson that way because the absolute last thing this show needs is a freaking love triangle
The "Way to Make it All about You" Award - Ginny somehow makes the possibility of Blip being traded all about her in an obnoxious way
The "Welcome Back" Award - Kevin Connolly from Entourage and Friends with Better Lives / Josh Peck from Grandfathered
Best Quotes -
1. Amelia: "Just a little tip from a professional. Don't apologize for calling me a groupie by treating me like one." Lawson: "I was making sure that you had something to drive while your car was in the shop." Amelia: "Unlike most of the women that you sleep with, I'm solvent and old enough to rent my own car." Lawson: "You could just say thank you."
2. Lawson: "Night guard, huh? That's a long way to go for an excuse not to stay."
3. Lawson: "You can't trust a guy who bikes to work."
4. Lawson: "Baby, you can relax. You're the biggest story in baseball. You're not going anywhere."
5. Lawson: "Look if one of you were getting traded, you'd hear it from the GM not Twitter."
I did like both of these episode far better than any of the others this year, mostly because they dropped a lot of the romance. Well, not Toby and Happy romance but definitely the annoying love triangle over Paige. It also had far less relationship drama as a whole, which has dragged down the season. The pacing was better as well and the humor was back. Little Lost Boy is the best episode of Scorpion thus far this season, especially since it had so much potential to be one of the worst, being a Ralph-focused episode. It managed to do something really shocking…it actually shocked me. Scorpion doesn't usually do that but these plot twists were fantastic. They gave us lots of hints throughout that Happy was pregnant, but I still didn't get it. I thought it was going to tie back into her childhood again. I'm not sure I am going to like this storyline in the long run, but it sure made sense here. Plight at the Museum did caper well, if it was implausible, but mostly it was elevated by Paige being there for Toby and Walter saying he will do whatever it takes to protect Happy and her child.
Grade: B
Best Reason to Watch - it feels more like Scorpion season 1 here but with season 2 Walter character development, win-win
Best Scene - Walter tells Happy she's been a great wife to him
Best Pep Talk - Paige to Toby
Best Aww Scene - Walter piggybacks off of Daniel's speech to say how much he appreciates the team
Best Plot Device - the tablet switch, which gives the episode tension even if in the most artificial of ways
Best Interpretation of Bad Cop - Happy with the Chemist
Best Use of Political Advertising - to block a bullet meant to cause an explosion
Worst Invention Ever - smart bullets
Worst Plan - Walter running to get the tantalum out of the door. It's a museum. The tantalum looks like a rock. Go hide it somewhere inconspicuous and then wait for the good guys to take out the bad ones. Museum hide-and-seek at its finest.
Most Interesting Question - Why wouldn't Walter already have his citizenship, given he's got top secret clearance on a lot of things? Wouldn't they want him to be part of this country by now?
Most Blind - Not only do the people of LA not see the scared kid, but they don't see the guy walking on the train with the non-concealed gun either?
Most Annoyingly Overprotective - Toby, actually just Most Annoying since he keeps sniping at Walter too
Most Juvenile - the sign says, "Do not touch," so of course, Cabe touches it
Most Sense-Making - While I tend to hate when Ralph is part of a case, he really should be here in this one since it is his classmate. They did a great job of not making him the Boy Savior here as well.
Biggest Surprise - Happy's pregnant
Biggest What the Heck - No way a kid that highly autistic would be on a field trip without an aide or a relative. It would not happen in this sue-heavy world. Plus, no way this particular mom would ever let her kid go by himself, especially in a field trip that is guaranteed to trigger him.
Biggest What the Heck, Part 2 - No way a parent doesn't have a locator system on their nonverbal, highly autistic kid, who is prone to running away, and is in an unfamiliar environment. At this point, that mom is looking at DFS services.
Biggest Twist - Walter is Happy's husband
Biggest Brat - Ralph to Tim
Biggest Urgh - Shouldn't they know by now not to let Sylvester hold anything? Seriously, folks. You're killing all the priceless artifacts.
The "Nothing Good Will Come" Award - Happy, Toby, and Walter are all living together to fool the INS agent
The "I'd Buy It" Award - for all the fun they make of the u-dog, I'm all for it
The "Not Him Again" Award - Collins, who I would love to have as a distant, unclear memory by now
The "Welcome Back" Award - Gonzalo Menendez from Burn Notice and Colony
Best Quotes -
1. Paige: "Take a deep breath. Listen, I am raising Ralph alone and there are two of you so that makes it easier right there. Happy has her quirks. So do you. So what? Parents don't have to be perfect. They just have to be there and loving. So, you both gonna love that baby?" Toby: "With all our hearts. I already do." Paige: "So you'll be golden. Okay, buddy?"
2. Walter: "Hey, Toby and Paige will come through. Your baby's gonna be fine. I know Toby believes that I only think about myself, but I will do what is necessary to protect your family even if that means that I have to go back home to Ireland." Happy: "You are home. We're not losing you and we're not breaking up Scorpion. We'll do whatever it takes. You talk nonsense like that again, I'll punch you in the neck." Walter: "Toby's a fortunate guy. You know, I know ours isn't a real marriage but since the day I met you, you've been a faithful friend, you've come through for me when I needed it, you've helped me build Scorpion from nothing. That's loyalty, selflessness, collaboration. If those are the traits that one looks for in a spouse, then you've been a...you've been a great wife. Thank you."
3. Paige: "Well if I can raise a genius child, you can raise a normal. Trust me, raising a genius child isn't easy. I have five of them."
4. Happy: "I need to be able to marry Toby, Walter... because I'm pregnant."
5. Cabe: "You Calvin Hollowell? Calvin the Chemist?" Happy: "No, he's Calvin the Cobbler. The guy's holding a beaker." Cabe: "Shut up."
While I didn't like these two episodes as much as the first three, This is Us continues to be the best new show of the season for me. Even though the story feels like it is going long in these particular episodes and they rehash a problem we've gotten in every single episode, they still sprinkle in these moments and scenes of genuine heart. They still hit me with truisms about life and family and who we are as humans. The characters are the show and they treat their characters with respect. When a character starts to get on my nerves, they do something or give some speech that makes me sympathetic all over again. The show never feels stodgy or stereotypical even when they are facing the same issues as everyone else. It's the humanity of the show that makes it stick out. On so many shows these days, they are dedicated to creating these horrible characters who make everyone else around them miserable. That's what entertainment is today. In a TV landscape of characters I hate and actively root against, it's refreshing to find characters that are in no way perfect but who are flawed in very much the same way as the people in my everyday life. I recognize these characters and they can irritate me in the same way people do in the real world, but they also remind me of the best of humanity…and TV.
Grade: B- / B
Best Reason to Watch - the characters
Best Scene - Jack gives Kate his t-shirt
Best Aww Scene - Randall and Beth talk themselves up about having another kid
Best Aww Moment - Rebecca reading while the kids lay sleeping on Jack
Best Back Story - Rebecca becoming a football nut pre-babies
Worst Time to Have a Serious Conversation - during the Super Bowl
Worst Surprise - Kevin just shows up at Randall's house, no notice, and asks to crash
Worst People to Watch Sports With - Toby and Shooter
Least Relaxing - a whole pool full of screaming kids and cranky parents
Most Justified - Toby for being mad at Kate for getting a job with his ex
Most Interesting Metaphor - the painting and the play
Most Likely to Put His Foot Completely in His Mouth - Kevin
Most Elementary - Toby is passing notes to Kate during the meeting
Most Interesting Interaction - William and Kevin
Biggest Surprise - this is the first time I feel bad for kid Kevin because his parents really are spread thin
Biggest Stalker - Kate with Toby's ex
Biggest Hmm - Did Jack and Rebecca really tell Kate she was conceived in a bathroom during the Super Bowl? That's TMI for any kid.
Saddest Moment - William is stopped by a security guy because he's black in an upper-class neighborhood
Smartest People - Miguel and Shelly for leaving every time Jack and Rebecca get into the family fight
Weirdest Interaction - Kate introduces Toby to Jack's ashes
Hardest Conversation - talking death to kids
The "I Totally Disagree" Award - William did NOT do everything wrong by Randall. He gave him a chance by letting him be adopted. A drug addict raising a child alone is a scary thought.
The "Are You Kidding Me?" Award - Does Jack really think that 8-year-olds don't know how to bully? Was he ever 8?
Best Music - Keep on Loving You by REO SPeedwagon / Mandy Moore singing
The "Welcome Back" Award - Janet Montgomery from Salem / Ryan Michelle Bathe from Boston Legal / Wynn Everett from Agent Carter and Supernatural
Best Quotes -
1. Toby: "Baby arugula is just as bad as grownup arugula."
2. Randall: "Because I grew up in a white house, you think I don't live in a black man's world. Oh, you know the one. The one where that salesman there has been eyeballing us ever since we came in here, or where that security guard has moved just a little off his mark so he can keep us in his sight, and where they'll definitely ask for an ID with my credit card when I go to pay, even though they haven't asked for anybody else's. Plus a million things every day that I have to choose to let go, just so I'm not p** off all the time. Like I did on the street this morning. Like I have done every day of my life. Now try on the damn slim cut flat front chinos. I think they'll look nice on you."
3. Randall: "Look, we want to make it clear that we're not normally in the habit of leaving the girls overnight." Beth: "Let alone with 2 men who probably haven't been around kids that much." Randall: "One of them's best known for leaving a kid at a fire station." Beth: "Oh God, please take care of my babies." Randall: "And please don't call us."
4. Jack: "If it's between you and having kids, you win. Every time. No question."
5. Kate: "Is that what you want? Do you want to be with a skinny person?" Toby: "No, but I would like to be with a sane person, Kate."
6. Jack: "I already packed the cooler - all soft drinks, no beer." Rebecca: "A whole day at the pool with those kids and no beer?" Jack: "I told you I stopped drinking." Rebecca: "It's not you I'm worried about."
If I could just drop all my time travel baggage, I would really like this show. You know that whole needing to stop shooting people because they are screwing up history thing. Plus they need to give Flynn a motive besides stopping Rittenhouse because at this point I don't care what Rittenhouse is about. Either clear up that mystery or make Flynn make sense because currently he doesn't. Other than that, I still love the characters and I'm glad that both Lucy and Rufus tried to stand up for themselves to various degree of success. Party at Castle Varlar worked better for me out of the two because the humor was on point, but Rufus was cracking me up with the one-liners on both. Of all the characters, Rufus is really growing on me. It was good to get some more back story on Wyatt and Lucy as well.
Grade: B- / B
Best Reason to Watch - James Bond
Best Plan - Flynn buries the plutonium so that he can dig it up in the present
Best Surprise - Wyatt speaks 4 languages
Best Character Back Story - Lucy and Wyatt
Best Reference - Skyfall and Never say Never Again
Worst Threat - Rittenhouse threatens Rufus' family
Most Interesting Reference - Oliver Stone
Most Needed - For Lucy to learn how to buckle her own seatbelt. Seriously, lady.
Most Despicable - von Braun
Most Frustrating - we are getting absolutely nowhere on what Rittenhouse is and yet they still feel the need to hype it up in every episode
Biggest "Say What?" - Wyatt pulls out a gun in the middle of a reception JFK is at and no one says or does anything. Are you kidding me?
Biggest Laugh - Fleming's extra gun up his sleeve
The "Poor Baby" Award - everyone mocks Wyatt for his James Bond love
The "Welcome Back" Award - Matt Frewer from The Librarians and Orphan Black / Elena Satine from Revenge
Best Quotes -
1. Rufus: "I've got to admit, despite the unrelenting fear, this job does have its moments."
2. Christopher: "But Garcia Flynn is still alive and he got away with an atomic bomb." Wyatt: "The situation was chaotic." Rufus: "On the upside, we're finally starting to gel as a team. Just saying."
3. Rufus: "Cause in '62, I'm pretty much invisible. It's my superpower."
4. Wyatt: "You want to know how to keep doing this? Find out what you're fighting for and you'll be okay."
5. Rufus: "Dude, James Bond just hit on Lucy."
Dropped Shows
Eyewitness - see under New Shows; status - dropped
Falling Water - see under New Shows; status - marathon later
Man with a Plan - see under New Shows; status - dropped
Time to get out of this crazy, Evie. I knew I was out the second monogamy became a bad thing. I'll pass on the threesome and the show.
Grade: D for dropped
Best Pun - No to Marrow instead of No Tomorrow
Best Product Placement - Curves
Best Cameo - Amy Brenneman from Judging Amy
Best Pun - "Mikhail, tear down this wall."
Best Gift - Deirdre giving Hank an obstacle course
Worst Surprise - walking in on your boyfriend's partner Tuesday
Most Disgusting - eating bone marrow
Most Common Sense - Amy Brenneman
The "NO Personal Boundaries" Award - Deirdre apparently doesn't believe in bathroom privacy
Best Quotes -
1. Evie: "You know what? I'm not sorry to interrupt. I will squawk when I need to squawk! I wrote the quality control manual and today, I am rewriting it! Mikhail, tear down this wall!"
2. Deirdre: "This tactic requires more patience than is currently at my disposal."
3. Evie: "I…I feel like I'm cheating on Xavier." Kareema: "No, no way! He said if you found somebody attractive, you should explore it." Evie: "True." Kareema: "Yeah, so pack your gear, girl. We're going exploring."
4. Xavier: "You are going to miss out on some pretty great stuff in life if you don't push those boundaries once in a while."
Soon to be Dropped - The Great Outdoors, The Blacklist
Priority Shows Next Week - Code Black, Younger, MacGyver, The Blacklist
