Criminal Minds 5×11 — “Retaliation”: This was a pretty good episode. I like it that the writers took a chance and veered away from the formula for a change. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I think it worked this time.
After the serial killer was captured during the opening sequence, I figured we would get the dreaded “xx hours earlier” title card and go back in time to see how events led to the capture. But obviously I was completely fooled, as the story just continued right on from there. I do have to wonder, however, why the BAU was involved in the first place. The main perp was a bank robber who got out of jail and killed a junkie. He wasn’t a serial killer. Yes, he abducted his daughter, but surely the Missing Persons unit would get the call instead, wouldn’t they?
I loved seeing A. Martinez on the show. I’ve liked him ever since his Santa Barbara days. It’s too bad he was on there for such a short time!
NCIS 7×10 — “Faith”: I usually don’t include NCIS in my roundup, but since none of my other shows were on this week, here it is. I didn’t particularly like this episode, as none of the storylines were interesting at all. I’m not a fan of the Gibbs/father angst, nor did I particularly care for the Christmas subplots. It would have been better to see the team doing nice things for each other than for characters we’ve never met before. And why, exactly, would Dolores’ info about a doll she didn’t get for Christmas as an 8-year-old be in her personnel file??? I didn’t buy that Tim would be able to use MTAC to hook up the boy with his mom. Like she was the only person on the ship with family who wanted to talk before Christmas?
As for the main plot, meh. I picked the brother as the killer as soon as he walked into the house during the first family interview — and I never guess crap like that. Whatever!
Ever since the stunning twist writer/director M. Night Shyamalan dropped on audiences near the end of 1999′s The Sixth Sense, each of his new films has been greeted with anticipation of more great surprises. Unfortunately, Shyamalan has disappointed more often than not, and one has to believe that if he had never scored that blockbuster hit a decade ago, few of his newer projects, including The Happening, would have ever seen the light of day.
HIMYM 5×11 — “Last Cigarette Ever”: While there were some funny gags in this ep, I couldn’t really get into it. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that none of these characters have ever been shown smoking before. Yes, there have been a couple of references to cigarettes here and there, but not to the extent where they went up on the roof to smoke or where Robin had cigs dangling out of her mouth at all hours of the day.
Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Claireece “Precious” Jones (played by Gabourey Sidibe) is a functionally illiterate 16-year-old girl who is still in junior high school. Though not a good student, Precious finds school to be a refuge of sorts, as whatever she goes through there feels like paradise compared to the physical, verbal, and sexual abuse doled out by mother Mary (Mo’Nique) and father Carl (Rodney Jackson), whenever he even bothers to come around. Precious is pregnant with her second child — both fathered by Carl. The pregnancy leads school principal Mrs. Lichtenstein (Nealla Gordon) to suspend her and recommend a special alternative program instead.
Castle 2×011 — “The Fifth Bullet”: I actually enjoyed this episode more for the case than for the character interactions, which was quite a change. The mystery of the fifth bullet was interesting, and then the character with amnesia was well done. I liked how they brought an expert in to point out the different types of memory and which type had been affected by the trauma. I also thought it was cool how Castle got the guy to sign his name even though he couldn’t remember his name. 
Bones 5×10 — “The Goop on the Girl”: The case this week was pretty boring. I thought it was totally obvious that the Santa at the beginning was a patsy… why did it take the team 40 minutes to figure it out?? The Christmas stuff seemed a little forced, and didn’t radiate the kind of warmth I was hoping for. The gathering at the end seemed awkward rather than cozy, which was too bad. I was hoping for a great Booth and Brennan moment there, but it never came. And I thought Zooey Deschanel’s character was just too weird. Quoting Ben Franklin and making twitchy faces at everything Bones said? She was trying way too hard to be “quirky”. 
Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Michael Oher (played by Quinton Aaron) is a hulking mass of a teenager who is essentially homeless due to his mother’s drug addictions. Michael has been staying with friend Steve Hamilton (Paul Amadi) and his family, but that situation is precarious. Steve’s father Tony (Omar Dorsey) does what he can to help Michael, which includes talking the football coach, Mr. Cotton (Ray McKinnon), at a private Christian school into accepting both Steve and Michael as students. At first Coach Cotton is reluctant because Michael’s grades are terrible and his aptitude test scores don’t show any promise. But after one look at how big Michael is and considering what he might be able to do for the football team, Coach Cotton succeeds in getting the boy admitted.
With Christmas coming up in about two weeks, I find myself browsing online stores nearly every day looking for last-minute gift ideas. Usually, however, I just end up finding stuff that I want for myself, not for anyone else on my list! Like this morning I was checking out the