Reviews and More

I was lucky enough to receive a Burn Notice Press Kit containing the Season 2 premiere about a week ago. I wanted to watch it right away, but since the Season 1 finale aired way, way back on September 20, 2007, I figured it would be better to watch the last few eps of S1 just to refresh my memory about what was going on.

It’s a good thing I did that, because the S2 premiere, called “Breaking and Entering”, picks up right where S1 left off. Namely, Michael is sitting in his car in the back of an 18-wheeler waiting to find out what’s going to happen to him next.

I don’t want to go into too much detail about this episode since it hasn’t aired yet (I’ll save that for my recap, which will be posted Friday morning), so let me just say that it was every bit as entertaining and engrossing as the better eps from Season 1 were. We see Michael use his ingenuity and past experience as a spy to help him get out of tight situations; we meet a new character who is obviously going to play a major role throughout the season; and of course we reunite with series regulars Sam, Fiona, and Madeline.

All in all, “Breaking and Entering” was a fantastic way to kick off the season! Be sure to tune into USA Network on Thursday July 10 at 10pm/9C to catch the action, and check back here on Friday morning for my detailed recap!

Since I finished Seasons 1 and 2 of 30 Rock in record time, I found myself in need of a replacement comedy to watch over the summer. Based on friends’ recommendations, the decision came down to Two and a Half Men or My Name Is Earl.

I’d never seen an episode of either show prior to choosing, so I based my selection solely on the premise of the shows. I thought that a reformed crook trying to change his karma by righting the wrongs he’s committed in his life sounded pretty interesting, so I went with My Name Is Earl.

I borrowed the Season 1 DVDs from a friend, and have watched the first few eps already. I have to say that this is one of the few shows that I’ve liked right off the bat! Usually it takes several episodes in order to start warming up to the characters, but not with MNIE. Even though I’ve never been a big fan of Jason Lee, I think he’s great as Earl, and the supporting cast is pretty good as well.

In case you’ve never seen My Name Is Earl, I’ll briefly explain the premise. It’s about a petty crook named Earl Hickey (Lee) who wins $100,000 on a scratch-off lottery ticket. As he’s celebrating his win, however, he gets mowed down by a car, loses the ticket, and ends up in the hospital — where he sees Carson Daly talking about karma on TV. Earl realizes that he has bad karma, so he makes a list of all the things he’s ever done wrong, and will correct each and every one of them.

After Earl rights the first wrong, he finds his winning ticket, which cements his belief in karma.

Instead of buying a flashy new car or spending a week in one of those luxurious Hilton Head rentals on a prime golf course, Earl just moves into a seedy motel with his brother Randy (Ethan Suplee) and uses his money for regular daily expenses. This setup should allow the show to continue for a good, long time.

I really like My Name Is Earl so far and am looking forward to finishing the rest of these DVDs!

Okay, so remember how I’ve tried four different times to get through my friend’s DVDs of The Office? I didn’t really like the show because of how much of a caricature Michael Scott (Steve Carell) was. He was annoying, and all his cringe-worthy moments made the show very difficult to watch.

But I kept plodding on, and finally got all the way through Season 3 on DVD. By that time, the show sort of grew on me. I wouldn’t call it a favorite, and never felt the need to rush on to the next ep, but it was tolerable.

Anyway, I was rewatching some eps from Season 4 on TiVo earlier today, including the one called “Dinner Party” (4×13). Though I hated what happened to the Jan character in Season 4 (turning her into a psycho was a mistake, IMO), I thought this ep was pretty funny. My favorite part had to be when Michael was showing off his tiny plasma television. It was only like 12 inches or something, but he had it on a tv mount on the wall and said he could “stand there” for hours watching it! I just about died laughing because I could totally see Michael doing that!

I’m going to keep watching The Office during Season 5, but only on TiVo. The only comedies I’ll watch live are 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I chose The Ghost Whisperer as one of the shows I’m going to watch on DVD this summer. I’ve watched 10 episodes of the first season thus far, and think that the show is very uneven. Some of the eps have been good, while others are completely cheesy and almost unwatchable.

I’ve got to admit that I’m a bit surprised by the lack of quality in this series. I figured that since the show has been on the air for three years, there’s got to be something to it, right? It must resonate with viewers in some way, but I’m just not seeing it yet. Here are a few preliminary thoughts from episodes 1×01-1×10:

– Jennifer Love Hewitt doesn’t bother me as much as I thought she would. She has never been a great actress and won’t be getting an Emmy nod anytime soon, but her character is not as grating as it could be. I’m at least thankful for that.

– I do have to say, though, that I HATE all the scenes between Melinda (JLH) and Jim (David Conrad). They are constantly all over each other, kissing, hugging, flirting… and it’s just disgusting — not to mention highly unbelievable. Sure, they’re supposed to be newlyweds on the show and all, but give me a break. They act more like horny high school kids than the adults that they’re supposed to be. I fast forward through all of their scenes because the actors have zero chemistry together and just bug me to death.

– Another thing I don’t get about this show is how Melinda’s antiques store stays in business. Hardly anyone ever goes in there (except ghosts), and in the first 10 episodes I think they’ve shown one person buying a gold bangle or some other small trinket. Yet Melinda and Andrea (Aisha Tyler) are always purchasing more and more items to stock the place. How they stay afloat is beyond me!

– There have been a few episodes that I’ve liked, such as 1×02 (called “The Crossing”), featuring the little boy who was hit by a train. His spirit couldn’t rest until he got Melinda to assure his mom that what happened wasn’t her fault. I admit to tearing up a bit during that one — probably because my own son is about that age and I couldn’t help but identify with the mother.

– Another good ep was “Lost Boys”, which was about a fire in an orphanage. The police thought four boys died in the fire, but one actually escaped and became a rich and successful businessman who never forgot his childhood pals.

Even though I haven’t been overly impressed with The Ghost Whisperer thus far, I’m going to keep plodding on with the series. I know that Camryn Manheim joins the cast in Season 2, and since I loved her on The Practice, I can’t wait to see what she does with her role as Delia Banks.

I’ve never been a big fan of reality television shows, so the summers are pretty brutal for me as far as finding worthwhile TV programming goes. Last year, however, I hit the jackpot when I discovered a great new series on USA Network called Burn Notice.

Starring Michael Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, and Sharon Gless, Burn Notice follows the adventures of former CIA spy Michael Westen (Donovan), who was mysteriously “burned” (blacklisted) in the middle of a job. Michael was then dumped back in his home city of Miami, where he’s now using his extremely limited resources to try to find out who burned him — and why.

To make ends meet, Michael is forced to accept odd jobs helping people out of various jams that they don’t want to get the police involved in. Associates Sam Axe (Campbell) and Fiona Glenanne (Anwar) often help Michael with these cases.

Season One was awesome, as I really enjoyed the mix of action and humor in each episode. Plus, there was the added bonus of being able to stare at Jeffrey Donovan for an hour every week, and who wouldn’t enjoy that?!

Burn Notice turned out to be a big hit on USA Network, so it’s going to be back for a second season, which is scheduled to start on Thursday July 10 at 10/9C. I’m definitely going to be tuning in, and I’ll also be recapping each episode right here on ReviewsAndMore.net.

In the meantime, here’s a preview clip that should put you in the mood for more Michael, Sam, and Fi:

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that part of my summer viewing this year would include 30 Rock, the critically acclaimed Tina Fey-Alec Baldwin NBC comedy. Well, I didn’t start watching my Season One DVDs until last week — and I’m already finished with the entire season because the show is so awesomely addictive!

I cannot believe it has taken me this long to jump on the 30 Rock bandwagon. I’ve been looking for a comedy to add to my regular lineup for a long time now, and I think 30 Rock has earned that spot. Hell, I think I like it even better than How I Met Your Mother, which is the only other 30-minute sitcom-ish type show that I watch.

Here are some random thoughts from the first season:

– Who knew that Alec Baldwin was so great at comedy? His Jack Donaghy is one of the most consistently funny characters I’ve ever encountered on a network television show. He reeled off so many memorable one-liners during Season One that I wouldn’t even know where to begin giving an example. How about with the one that was shown in the clip used at the Emmy awards, when he’s explaining to Liz why he’s wearing a tuxedo: “It’s after six. What am I, a farmer?”

— Tina Fey is amazing as well! I’ve read some message boards where people complain that her acting skills aren’t on par with everyone else’s on the show, but I don’t really feel that way. Her take on Liz Lemon is just perfect, if you ask me. She comes off as such a regular woman that it’s easy to identify with her exasperations and frustrations of dealing with everything in her life. From having to handle Tracey and Jenna with kid gloves to falling in love with “The Cleve” when Floyd was her travel guide, Liz’s personality just resonates with me.

– The supporting cast is very good as well. At first, I have to admit that I couldn’t stand Tracey Morgan as Tracey Jordan, and thought that the show instantly took a turn for the worse whenever he was on screen. But the character has definitely grown on me, what with his utter craziness, unending supply of non-sequiturs, and determination to think of himself as an A-list celebrity. I’ve liked Jane Krakowski (Jenna) since her Ally McBeal days, and Kenneth the obsequious page is funny (in small doses).

– I love the fast, frenetic pace of the show. It keeps things interesting no matter how outlandish the storylines, and nearly every scene comes with a laugh-out-loud line.

– The Jack/Liz dynamic is fantastic. There’s no way in hell I’d ever want these two to actually hook up, but they’ve got a terrific relationship right now, and it’s fun to watch their friendship developing.

Overall, 30 Rock is one of the best comedies on television these days. Its Emmy win in that category last year was well deserved. I just hope it develops a bigger audience in order to avoid cancellation. I can’t believe people aren’t watching this show!!!

I’m excited to start digging into the several new box sets of TV shows on DVDs that I’ve either borrowed from friends or purchased on my own. The collection includes Season 1 of Ghost Whisperer, Season 4 of Without a Trace, Season 3 of Boston Legal, and Season 1 of 30 Rock.

I actually caught a couple of episodes of 30 Rock yesterday on my laptop while I was cleaning the kitchen, and I have to say that I am very impressed by this show. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin are absolutely awesome in as Liz and Jack, and I think this could quickly become one of my favorites!

At any rate, I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of these DVDs. I might even find time to post a few thoughts/reviews of these new (to me) shows!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to remind you that there are only two days left in my In Plain Sight Giveaway. All you have to do to enter is send an email to contest[at]reviewsandmore[dot]net with “In Plain Sight Giveaway” in the subject line, and you’ll have a shot at winning a cool prize pack that includes a t-shirt, tank top, luggage tag, and travel kit.

And don’t forget to tune into USA Network tomorrow night for a brand-new episode of In Plain Sight called “Hoosier Daddy”. I was able to catch both the premiere and “Hoosier Daddy” on a special promotional DVD, and really enjoyed both eps. I think this show has a chance of becoming every bit as successful as last summer’s surprise hit Burn Notice, so be sure to check it out.

In case you don’t know the premise, it’s pretty simple: Mary McCormack stars as Mary Shannon, a U.S. Marshall whose job it is to ensure that people transition into the Witness Protection Program smoothly and safely. As a result, she and her partner Marshall travel all over the place, depositing witnesses in Los Angeles apartments, reno hotels, Indiana farmhouses, and who knows where else. It’s a fun show that’s perfect for the summer!

Anyway, be sure to get those entries in before 5pm central time on June 9 for your chance to win branded merchandise!

I recently had the opportunity to preview three rough cut episodes of the upcoming USA series In Plain Sight, which premieres tonight at 10/9C on USA Network. The episodes I saw were the “Pilot”, “Hoosier Daddy”, and “Iris Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”. With the exception of the Pilot, I’m not sure in what order the other episodes will air, but it didn’t seem as though they were meant to be run consecutively.

At any rate, I have to say that I was pretty impressed by what I saw in these eps. Mary McCormack stars as Mary Shannon, a U.S. Marshall whose main duties involve setting people up in the Witness Protection Program (aka WITSEC). She is paired with Marshall Mann (played by Fred Weller), who comes off as more or less Mary’s complete opposite in a lot of ways. Together, they make an effective (and fun) team as they relocate witnesses, conduct murder investigations, testify in court, and try to wade through the usual government bureaucracy.

The three episodes that I saw adhered to the same formula. A majority of the screentime was given over to highlighting the witnesses/story of the week, while the remainder of the eps were filled with scenes involving Mary’s dysfunctional relationships with mother Jinx (Lesley Ann Warren), sister Brandi (Nichole Hiltz), and on-again, off-again boyfriend Rafael (Cristián de la Fuente).

I like the format of these episodes, and feel that the audience is shown just the right mix of Mary’s home and work life. I was also surprised by how funny these episodes were, as each contained several laugh-out-loud moments. In this respect, I was reminded of Burn Notice, another USA summer program that brings both humor and drama every single week.

The way these In Plain Sight episodes are set up ensures that the audience will get something new and interesting each time. Since there will be different characters and cases every week, it diminishes the chances of viewers having to sit through “been there, done that” kinds of stories.

Overall, I’m excited about the potential of this series, and I’ll definitely be tuning into USA Network every Sunday night to catch Mary, Marshall, Rafael, and the rest of the gang in action! If you’re looking for some good summer viewing, check out the In Plain Sight premiere tonight at 10/9C!

After taking a couple months off from watching my Without A Trace DVDs, I’m going to get started on Season 4 very soon. Now that the regular TV season is finished, I have plenty of time to catch up on shows that I don’t follow religiously.

At any rate, Without a Trace is going to be quite a change from Criminal Minds and Ghost Whisperer, both of which I’ve also been watching. I mean, sure Without a Trace features FBI agents like Criminal Minds, but on WaT, they confine themselves to New York, whereas on CM, the agents traipse all over the country for their cases. Of course, since the BAU has its own jet, they never have to worry about looking for cheap flight deals or anything like that. Plus, on CM, the agents are looking for serial killers, while WaT focuses on missing persons, which is a huge difference.

I have to admit that I’ve kind of been missing Jack, Danny, Martin, and the rest of the WaT team, so I’m looking forward to getting started on these DVDs!

Last night was the two-hour season finale of Lost, which was actually a continuation of episode 4×11, titled “There’s No Place Like Home”. As longtime viewers have come to expect from a Lost finale, a couple of questions were answered, but many more surfaced in turn. There’s no way I’d be able to recap everything that happened in the two hours, so I’m just going to post a few thoughts here.

– Desmond and Penny were never a favorite couple of mine (this just doesn’t seem like a show where couples or relationships are even important), but it was still nice to see them reunite. I didn’t swoon or tear up or anything like that, but was glad that at least someone got a happy ending — at least for the time being.

– So it was Locke in the coffin from way back in last season’s finale! Most fans guessed it was either him or Ben, so the reveal wasn’t quite as shocking as it could have been. Since I’m not exactly a Locke fan, I didn’t care that he was in there. It did make me wonder, however, why he ended up leaving the island. I guess he had to move it again?

– Speaking of moving the island, I’m sorry, but that was just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen on network television. Ben goes down a shaft, turns a frozen wheel, and causes the whole island to get swallowed up in the ocean?? WTF? Dumb.

– Sun’s reaction to Jin’s death (if he actually did die in the explosion) was heart-wrenching. The actress did a tremendous job of conveying her utter helplessness in that scene on the helicopter. Poor Jin… now that was one character that I actually did like. It figures he would get written off!

– Hmm, it seems that Charlotte has a bit more of a backstory than it appeared at first. I’ve read some theories saying that she’s actually Annie, Ben’s long-lost childhood friend, the one who gave him a hand-carved doll for his birthday. I guess that would make sense, since the producers of the series have said that Annie will end up playing an important role.

– So is half of the action next season going to take place off the island while the other half takes place on? That’s going to be weird. And now it looks like Jack’s mission will be to try to convince the rest of the Oceanic 6 to go back. Oh, and don’t forget that he and Ben have to lug John’s dead body around. Sounds like fun.

That’s about all I remember from the two hours right now. I have to say that most of the finale was pretty boring, but the few answers that we did get made the whole thing worthwhile viewing. I can’t believe we’re going to have to wait until February for new episodes! That damn writers’ strike cost viewers at least 9-11 episodes this season!

I’ve been racing through Season 3 of Criminal Minds on DVR for the past week or so, and have now made it all the way through episode 3×17, which was called “In Heat”. That means I only have three episodes left before I’m caught up with the show and can start watching it as it airs next season. Not bad, considering I just started watching it a few months ago!

Anyway, here are some random thoughts and observations from the middle part of Season 3. This is not meant to be comprehensive at all, so please don’t take it that way.

– I don’t mind the Rossi character (Gideon’s replacement). From reading a few fan forums, I know he’s not the most popular member of the team, but he doesn’t bother me at all. Gideon really bugged, so part of my reaction to Rossi could be that he’s so different from Gideon — in a good way, as far as I’m concerned.

– So the Reid drug drama isn’t finished after all. I guess it’s good that the writers are more or less keeping the story in the background. I can handle an interrupted NA meeting every once in a while; an all-out addiction and recovery story, on the other hand, would annoy.

– Cody Kasch, the young man who played Zach on Desperate Housewives, played another psycho in “Elephant’s Memory”. Can that kid bring the crazy, or what? I didn’t like Reid’s whole “woe-is-me” take on the high school bullying stuff or the fact that he seemed to want to excuse what Owen (Zach) was doing. Other than that, the ep was pretty good.

– Why are the writers trying to make such a big thing out of Hotch’s divorce? They never really highlighted the marriage at all, so why be so intrusive about the divorce?

– I liked the whole reveal about JJ and Will’s relationship. I said before that I thought those two were great together, so I’m glad to learn that they’ve been in a relationship for more than a year. It was hilarious when they started kissing at the station and the other profilers were just like, “Oh, it’s about time!” because they’d known about the affair all along!

– I’m not sure how I feel about Morgan. Sometimes he’s just presented as a straightforward, uncomplicated guy who likes to bust down doors and knock heads. Other times, he’s presented as having a bit more depth, like when he said he has four residential and commercial real estate properties because he enjoys “knocking down walls” or whatever. I had no idea what that was supposed to mean, since knocking down walls is destructive. Wouldn’t it have been better to say that he liked raising walls instead??

– I thought the resolution to Rossi’s 20-year-old case was pretty lame. It seems like he could have put all the pieces together himself had he interviewed the kids a little earlier. I mean, the whole thing was solved after they mentioned that they’d been getting gifts, right? You’d think that at some point over the course of the 20 years that Rossi had been calling them, they’d have said a random thank you or something, which would have led to the discovery that the killer was leaving the gifts.

At any rate, I’m looking forward to wrapping up the third season in the next couple of days. Of course, that just means I’ll have to find yet another show to watch over the summer…. What should it be?

Last night was the two-hour season finale of Grey’s Anatomy, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw! I have spent most of Season 4 complaining about the boring storylines and the uneven episodes, so I was very happy that the finale turned out so well. Did it redeem the entire season? Maybe not completely, but I’m not the kind of person who remembers every minute detail from every ep. That means the finale will be uppermost in my mind whenever I think about GA over the summer — not a bad thing in this case!

As usual with two-hour finales, I’m not going to recap all the action because that would take far too long. Instead, I’m just going to post a few thoughts and reactions about what happened.

— I have never, ever been a Meredith/Derek fan, not even in Season 1 when it seemed that everyone loved them. But I have to admit that I was actually pulling for them a little bit by the end of the ep tonight. Granted, I thought laying candles in the shape of a house was dumb (not to mention practically impossible for Meredith to pull off), but the sentiment was okay. God, I can’t believe I’m writing this…!

– Cristina is back!! I loved how Meredith gave her the sparkly pager and how she finally snapped at Hahn in the operating room. Moreover, I loved how she took charge and showed her skills as a surgeon for, what, the first time all season? I’m just thankful she won’t be sulking anymore.

– That boy encased in cement was incredibly sad for some reason. Can you imagine doing that just to impress a girl? And who knew getting stuck in cement ravaged the body so completely?

– I thought the girl who finally survived Meredith and Derek’s clinical trial was an awesome actress. It’s too bad she was paired up with Marshall Allman for the ep (I can’t stand that actor), but nevertheless, her scenes were fun to watch.

– Please let that be the end of Ava on this show. Just… PLEASE.

— I liked Izzie again this episode. She finally did what she had to do, even though it incurred Alex’s wrath just like she knew it would. And it’s also good to see her get the clinic to herself. That’s where she belongs, not surgery.

– Alex and Izzie at the end. Again, so sad. I liked those two as a couple during S2, but I don’t know how I feel about them possibly getting together now. We’ll see.

– Lexie thinks that George is “great” while his peers are just “good”? She needs a friggin’ reality check, stat. And their kiss at the end? I hope the writers don’t go there!

– Looks like Hahn and Callie are going to have a fling after all. Meh, not really interested, but whatever.

I really hope momentum from this finale carries into next season. This was the Grey’s Anatomy that I grew to love in its first two seasons, not the stuff I’ve been watching for the last year and a half. I’m keeping my fingers crossed until September!

I’ve been so busy this week that I haven’t had time to write up my usual TV series recaps. I apologize for that, but I still want to get some thoughts out there, so I’m going to post now even though it’s pretty late in the week. I watched the season finales of How I Met Your Mother, Bones, and House, all of which aired on Monday night. I watched HIMYM live, but TiVo’d the other two and didn’t get around to watching them until yesterday. Here are my reactions to each of the three very different shows.

How I Met Your Mother 3×20 — “Miracles”:

– I was underwhelmed by this episode as a whole, and was hoping for something much different. I didn’t like the hasty proposal to Stella (mostly because I don’t think she’s the mother anyway), but could understand that the writers wanted to put that out there in case the show wasn’t renewed. If it had been canceled, they could have ended the mystery on that note. Since it will be back next year, I’m sure the writers will go in a new direction. There’s NO WAY Ted ends up with her.

– Barney loves Robin!!! That was the best part of the ep by far for me! It’s so awesome that Robin is the one Barney thought of when his life flashed before his eyes…. I really hope the writers don’t back down from this relationship. I would love to see these two get together. (That look in the pic above is for Robin, after Barney realizes how he truly feels.)

– I liked that Ted and Barney are friends again, but wasn’t particularly moved by the reconciliation scene. I’ve read some message boards so I know most fans liked that scene, but not me. It just felt wrong that Ted finally started talking to Barney only when Barney was in traction.

– Marshall in a Kawasaki Racing t-shirt that he has worn before this season. I told ya someone in the wardrobe department is a motorcycle/motocross fan! (BTW, is Jason Segal gaining weight or has he always been a bit on the chunky side?)

– Can’t wait for next season and more Robin/Barney hotness!

House 4×16 — “Wilson’s Heart”:

– This was one of the best House episodes I’ve seen in the entire four-year run of the show. The pacing was excellent, and the last 20 minutes or so were absolutely heartbreaking. I hardly ever cry at TV shows, but I couldn’t help it here. Amber’s death was horrifying and sad all at the same time.

– Poor, poor Wilson. He finally found the right woman and look what happened. And how great was Robert Sean Leonard’s performance? That guy was crying in like three or four different scenes, and he looked like he was generating actual tears in each one of them. How many male actors would have been able to do that?

– Speaking of male actors bringing the tears, how about Hugh Laurie? I gasped when I saw House — misanthropic, I-don’t-care-about-anyone Greg House, crying as he realized what was wrong with Amber. Another “wow” moment for sure.

– Anne Dudek was terrific in her scenes as well. It seems like all the House actors brought their A-games for the finale. The look of realization that washes over her face when Wilson tells her what happened was just… shattering to watch. My God.

– This episode had me thinking long and hard about what I would want done if I were in Amber’s condition. Would you just want to stay in the coma and die peacefully, or would you want to be woken up so you could say goodbye to your loved ones? That’s a tough call because I don’t know how I’d be able to sit there for a few hours knowing that I’m going to die soon. Holy hell, what a choice!

Bones 3×15 — “The Pain in the Heart”:

– Bones is not a show that I expect a lot of quality writing or storylines from. It’s one of those shows that I turn on for an hour of pure entertainment and escape, where I can check my brain at the door and just sit down with a bowl of popcorn and take in the ep. Even so, I was extremely disappointed with where the writers decided to go with the finale. Zach as Gormagon’s apprentice? Really?? He was my favorite squint, so I’m pretty bummed that he’s no longer going to be on the show.

– I thought the opening with Booth’s fake funeral was kind of dumb. I knew that the death wasn’t real, but I was expecting it to be a dream or something. At any rate, that whole segment felt rushed, and lacked any real emotion as a result. I would have liked to see Bones grieving a bit more, too. As much as she compartmentalizes, I don’t think she’d be able to go on as usual like that if Booth really had died. That was kind of a stretch.

– I thought that Sweets was going to be revealed as the killer. I remember feeling that there was something up with that guy when he first came on the show, so I was hoping that I’d be proven right. I occasionally like Sweets’ banter with Booth and Brennan, but I would much rather have Zach around than him.

– I like that Zach protected Hodgins even though he knew he’d receive some type of injury from the blast. That belies Zach’s coldly logical approach to most things, yet is consistent with the character since we know that he was actually friends with Jack.

– That was a nice moment at the end with Booth and Bones, but it didn’t make up for the crap that went before it. I don’t want Zach to leave the show as a killer!!!

Last night’s episode of Desperate Housewives was the Season 4 finale, and as expected, we got a major time jump that will serve to change the show drastically beginning next season. The jump moved the action 5 years into the future, and gave us a glimpse at what the characters’ lives are like at that time. Some are gone, some are with other mates, and all have changed drastically.

Since this was a two-hour season finale, I’m not going to attempt to recap everything that happened last night. Instead, I’ll just post comments and reactions to what I saw.

– The Dylan mystery wrap-up was soooo anticlimactic! If the original girl died an accidental death, then why would it be necessary for Katherine to bury the body on her own? Wouldn’t that have been the perfect way to get Wayne off her back? The girl was the only tie they had, so if she had gone to the police immediately, she wouldn’t have had to keep running.

– Katherine got the replacement Dylan from a Romanian orphanage? Really?? That’s the explanation the writing team came up with?

— I loved the scene with Katherine and Bree discussing their catering plans at the shooting range. It’s been a while since we’ve seen that side of Bree, so I enjoyed it.

– I know a lot of people disagree, but I think Gabby is the best character on the show. Eva Longoria is the only reason I continue to watch, and she didn’t disappoint tonight. The whole thing about having an affair with the handyman was hilarious, as was her explanation to Carlos afterwards. I also liked that she warned Ellie about the raid. It’s just too bad that ended up getting Ellie killed.

– I hate the way some married couples are portrayed on TV. Why would Susan be scared to tell Mike how she really felt about the name Maynard? If my husband ever suggested anything like that, I’d have no problem telling him my thoughts. Then we’d be able to, I don’t know, DISCUSS the situation like adults instead of immediately going into caper mode while hoping not to get caught.

– I like the time jump and am looking forward to seeing how the wives got to where they are in the future.

— A frumpy Gabby with two chubby daughters? Somehow, it actually fits.

– Susan is with a mystery man? I guess that means Mike is out of the picture. I wonder what happened to him. Is their child still around or is he gone too? Also, at first I thought Susan was with Adam Mayfair, but then I read that it was a completely different character. That’s good, cuz it would have been weird for her to end up with Adam!

– Bree as a high-powered cookbook author? I can dig it! Andrew in a business suit handling Bree’s affairs? Uh, not so much.

– The Scavo spawn turn into juvenile delinquents? Can’t say I’m surprised.

Well, here’s hoping next season is a good one!!

Since I don’t have time to write individual recaps for all of the TV shows I watch in a week, I thought I’d post a few thoughts about each in a single roundup piece instead. This is my first attempt at a Weekly Roundup, and since most shows have their finales coming up soon, I won’t have a lot of time to see how well this approach works. Nevertheless, I want to give it a try, so here goes!

Bones 3×14 — “The Wannabe in the Woods”

– Booth was shot!! I know there’s no way in hell David Boreanaz is going to get written off the show, so I’m not anxious about his survival or anything like that, but still… I thought that was a pretty tense couple of minutes at the end when psycho girl pulled her gun on him. The slo-mo effects worked pretty well there, though I know some people probably thought it was cheesy.

– There are times when I’m grateful for Brennan’s coolness in any situation, and that was one of them. She was the only one who was able to react the right way.

– Wow, Zach has got some pipes on him!

– The mystery was kind of dumb, and I didn’t even realize the wannabes were American Idol contestants until later. I don’t watch that show though, so I have a good excuse for not knowing them.

– I’m liking the new dynamic with Sweets. The therapy sessions are boring, but it’s pretty fun when he helps profile suspects.

– Monday is the finale.

House 4×15 — “House’s Head”

– This was the first of a two-part season finale set to wrap up on Monday.

– I thought the beginning of the episode was too weird and trippy, but I started liking it as soon as more pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

– Fred Durst is still around? Man, does he look old! He is 37 though, so I guess that’s to be expected. It just seems like yesterday that “Nookie” was a hit song, doesn’t it? But I looked it up and it was almost 10 years ago. Yikes!

– I wasn’t too fond of the Cuddy striptease scene. I thought it went too far when they showed Cuddy undo her bra hook. Did we really need to see that?

– I need to know what the hell Amber was doing on that bus with house!!!

– The CTB was the only job candidate I liked back when House was doing his Survivor-like game, so I hope she lives. I was surprised the writers found a way to keep her on the show even though she didn’t win a job with House, and I think she’s pretty good as Wilson’s girlfriend/House’s foil. Please let her survive!!

Lost 4×12, “There’s No Place Like Home, Part 1″

– This was the first of a three-part season finale. Wow!

– The flash-forwards dealt with the Oceanic 6’s return to society, and those scenes were awesome! That was the most involved I’ve been in off-island happenings in a very long time.

– I usually come down hard on Matthew Fox and his character Jack, but I have to give him props for the scene where he learns that Clare was his sister. His pain and anguish shone through so clearly, and worst of all, he couldn’t tell Clare’s mom that he knew her daughter or that Aaron is her grandson. Well done!

– Ben is a complete psycho. I don’t like this character at all, but I guess he keeps things interesting by always having some kind of plan up his sleeve.

– Awww, it looks like Jin is a goner for sure. I don’t wanna see him blown to bits by all that C4 on the freighter….

– I still don’t get why only six people were able to get off the island. I’m sure that some, like Locke, Rose, and Bernard, want to stay, but there must be more than six that want to leave. What about Juliet? She’s wanted to leave forever. I wonder what happens to her to compel her to stay.

CSI 8×17 — “For Gedda”

– Well, there’s no question about Warrick coming back to the show, is there? I knew Gary Dourdan had been fired, but I didn’t think the writers would go so far as to kill the character. A shot to the neck, plus another one for good measure… yep, he’s a goner.

– The shooter was Undersheriff Jeffrey McKeen, for those of you who don’t pay much attention to the minor characters on the show. I didn’t know the guy’s name, although his face was definitely familiar. I had to look it up on IMDb.

– I’ve read that CSI is going to “replace” the Sara Sidle character with a new female investigator next season, but are they going to do the same thing for Warrick’s character? Will there be a new guy as well?

– It’s kind of funny how characters evolve during the course of a television series. I remember that Warrick used to be one of my favorites on CSI, and that I was actually hoping that he would get together with Catherine a few seasons ago when the writers had them flirting a lot. But this season and last, the character just went way downhill. Not much screentime, tons of personal problems, etc. He was annoying by the end, so I’m sort of glad to see him go.

– This was not a great season for CSI… I wonder if there’s anything left in the tank for a 9th year. They’re getting dangerously close to ER territory for me, one of those shows that goes on way too long. Maybe a new character will bring some energy to the team.

Last night’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy was called “Losing My Mind” and served to inch a few storylines along as we head into the 2-hour finale next week. I have to say that I didn’t like the ep as a whole, but a couple of things I saw gave me hope that all is not lost with this show. Will GA still have a place on my TiVo next fall? It really depends on how the finale goes. I hardly ever give up on shows midstream, but have been more willing to pull the plug this year (Prison Break and The New Adventures of Old Christine being the latest casualties). I’ll have to wait and see if GA makes the cut!

Meredith: Spent most of the episode stalking her psychiatrist to demand her file back, thinking that she was miraculously “cured” and didn’t need therapy anymore. The therapist (sorry, don’t know her name) resisted, for a while before finally giving in. My TiVo actually messed up the last couple minutes of the ep, so I didn’t see Meredith’s last scene myself, but from what I gather from other people, she talked to the therapist about how her mother tried to commit suicide when Meredith was 7. That, coupled with Thatcher’s departure, has led to her current abandonment/intimacy issues.

Callie/Hahn/Sloan: After being called out as a whore last week, Sloan is determined to turn over a new leaf. He resists several offers from Callie to go to the On Call room, saying that he’d rather talk instead. Of course it doesn’t take long for his old self to surface after Hahn mentions something about a threesome between her, Callie, and Sloan. Later, to make sure Sloan got the picture, Hahn kissed Callie in the elevator.

Alex/Ava/Izzie: Ava was all kinds of crazy tonight. She was still convinced that she was pregnant despite the fact that Izzie showed her an ultrasound of her empty womb. She also screamed at Sloan to give her a boob job so that her body would match her face (was she trying to say that her face was pretty or something?). Sloan recognized Ava’s behavior as some sort of PTSD and recommended that Izzie get a psych consult. When Izzie finally told Alex what was going on, he predictably snapped at her just for being the messenger and said he would handle Ava.

Later, Alex brings Ava back to Meredith’s house and says that she will be staying with them for a few days. By this point, Ava is practically catatonic. She just sits there like a lump and is clearly far worse off than Alex is willing to admit.

Cristina: Cristina was still in a funk all episode long. She was going off on anybody who came within two feet of her, and particularly laid into George and Lexie. Those scenes were a bit uncomfortable perhaps, but everything she said was true. I just wish EVERY regular cast member had paraded in front of her so we could hear Cristina’s take on all of them!

George: I was very surprised at how tolerable George was this episode. Maybe it’s the fact that he mostly interacted with a 14-month old instead of his peers, but whatever it was, I need more of this George. I can’t stand what the character has become in the last season and a half, so anything that gets him back to normal is fine by me.

Bailey: Still having problems with her husband, yada yada yada.

Derek: Don’t know, don’t care.

My Reaction: As I said above, this episode just inched the major storylines along by the tiniest bit, so it was mostly pretty boring. There’s not really much to talk about here, so I’ll go with the “shocking” Hahn/Callie kiss. Sorry, but that wasn’t hot at all. I like Callie, but I don’t like Hahn at all and think these two have no chemistry at all. A lesbian couple would be fine by me, but not these two.

What would have been even better than the kiss, IMO, is if Callie had turned and followed Hahn out of the elevator instead of going after Mark to the on call room. Now that would have been unexpected and interesting!

Ava cannot leave my screen fast enough. Please let next week be the last time I ever have to suffer through another ep with this character? How in the hell did she end up being a recurring character for more than a season anyway? There’s nothing to her, no substance or anything! She’s boring and she’s dragging Alex down. If the writers wanted to give him a storyline, why couldn’t it have been with Addison last year? Those two were great together!

Plus, I call bullshit that Alex would suddenly be all tender and caring with a woman after treating all the others like crap. It’s out of character for him to take Ava in like this and it totally rings false.

When is Cristina going to snap out of her funk? It feels like she’s been “off” all season as well. What happened here??

Honestly, I’m just glad the finale is coming up. I hope it’s worth watching, and I hope next season turns out to be much better than this one!

I finally finished watching all of Criminal Minds Season 2 on DVD, and am now beginning to catch up with Season 3 via DVR and reruns on CBS. Let me just say that I had no idea Gideon (Mandy Patinkin’s character) would be leaving the show! He’s not one of my favorite characters anyway, so I’m going to keep watching, but still… it was kind of a shock. Now if Hotch was the one leaving, I’d be devastated!!

Here are a few random thoughts about the final 5-6 episodes of Season 2:

– Although I wasn’t looking forward to a storyline involving Reid as a drug addict, I didn’t like the way the whole issue was pretty much just swept under the rug. I mean one week, they’re totally hinting that he’s going to have major problems, then the next thing you know, he’s fine. That was just weird.

– I am really starting to like JJ. I didn’t think she added much during S1, but now that the writers are giving her character more to do, I find that she’s actually pretty interesting. I especially liked her with that New Orleans cop during the “Jones” episode. They were great together, so I hope there will be some way to bring that guy back once in a while.

– “Honor Among Thieves”, the episode where the BAU gets involved with a Russian mafia kidnapping scheme, was not a good one. It just goes to show that certain shows need to stick with a formula, and Criminal Minds is definitely one of them. Serial killers, yes. Mafia kidnappings, no.

– Emily Prentiss bugs me to no end. I can’t tell if it’s the actress who plays her or if it’s the character. She just doesn’t seem to have much of a personality, and is bland and boring. I know Hotch doesn’t exhibit much personality in these eps either, but at least with him you can tell that there’s something interesting under the surface. I don’t sense anything deeper with Prentiss, though.

– Garcia is still one of my favorites. No lack of personality there! I love how she’s now involved in BAU briefings and even gets to go out in the field every once in a while. She knows a lot more than just how to tell the difference between a CAT5e and CAT6 cable, so it’s good that she’s finally getting some recognition.

– I used to find Reid interesting because of the genius angle, but in the last half of S2, it seemed as though the writers started to downplay that a little bit. Now that he’s coming across as more of a “regular” agent, I find him kind of boring. Oh, and I just have to ask: why is it that so many female fans of the show are attracted to him? Ewww!

– I thought the first case involving that prolific serial killer Frank was good, but the second one veered way off course and didn’t go the way I expected it to. And then when Frank and Jane jumped in front of that train…? Man, was that some cheesy CGI, or what?!

Well, I can’t wait to see how Gideon actually exits the show. It won’t really be suicide, will it? That would be a pretty bold move on the writers’ part! I’m also anxious to see how his replacement Joe Mantegna fares. I hope he’s good!

Last night’s brand-new episode of How I Met Your Mother was called “Everything Must Go”, and was probably one of the weakest efforts I’ve seen out of all three seasons thus far. It was dull, unfunny, and didn’t do anything to move the Stella/Ted or Barney/Robin/Ted plots along, so it ended up being 30 minutes of filler. I don’t mind filler eps when they’re well done, but this one just wasn’t.

Barney/Abby: Britney Spears was back to reprise her role of Abby, Stella’s receptionist. This time around, Barney discovers that she was they mysterious blond who had been going around telling women not to sleep with him (from back in “The Bracket” when he kept getting slapped). They start talking about Ted, find out that both want to prove to Ted that they don’t need him, and decide to work together to accomplish this (after sleeping with each other once more). The plan Barney and Abby come up with is to act like a loving couple in a long-term relationship, which I guess was supposed to show Ted how lame he gets whenever he’s in one.

Marshall/Lily: The floor in their apartment is going to cost $1500 to repair (that seems kind of cheap, doesn’t it), but since they don’t have that kind of money, Marshall insists that Lily start selling her designer clothes and shoes in order to raise the cash. He even creates a website called lilyandmarshallselltheirstuff.com (a real site, BTW, that redirects to charity auctions where you can buy HIMYM items), but Lily objects, saying that she’ll try to sell her paintings for $500 a pop instead. Marshall lets it slip that he doesn’t think anyone would buy Lily’s stuff, so she redoubles her efforts just to prove him wrong.

Lily finally does end up selling a painting to a gay couple, and has fun rubbing that fact in Marshall’s face. Later, however, she learns that they weren’t interested in the painting at all; they wanted the valuable frame it was in. They dumped the painting as soon as they got home and just kept the frame.

A vet ended up picking the painting out of the trash, and noticed that it had a calming effect on dogs after he hung it in one of the exam rooms. Marshall convinces the guy to buy four more paintings from Lily, and then tells Lily that they’ll invest the money in her — which I guess means they’ll buy more painting supplies or whatever.

Ted/Robin: Ted paraded around all episode long in hideous red cowboy boots that he said he could “pull off” like no one else. Of course, he tucked his jeans INTO the boots, which is a big fat no no for guys, isn’t it? Anyway, the boots looked awful and so did he. Robin did zero in this episode (such a waste…).

My reaction: I don’t have much to say about this episode besides what I already mentioned above about it being boring and unfunny. I thought Ted’s boots were stupid, and there’s no way in hell any guy would think they were cool. Just how clueless is Ted supposed to be here?

Britney was atrocious (seriously, people, she CANNOT act), and I was pissed that the writers turned her into the mystery woman that was plaguing Barney before. I would be willing to bet almost anything that that’s not how the original storyline was supposed to go. It seems like the execs just couldn’t pass up a chance of having Britney guest star again, so this was voted the best way to fit her in. It sucked.

I think the only thing I liked about this episode was that it showed Marshall wearing yet another motorcycle/motocross themed t-shirt! How many does he own?? Someone in the wardrobe department is a motocross fan, that’s for sure!

Last night’s episode of Desperate Housewives was called “Mother Said”, and actually featured a lot of plot movement. It finally feels as though these season-long storylines are going somewhere! I guess that’s a good thing, seeing as how the finale is next week, so it’s definitely time to start wrapping stuff up. There was no indication of which way the confirmed “time jump” is going to go (whether forwards or backwards), but as I said before, I’m anxious for the change. I really think the show will benefit, and I’ll be happy to get some of these characters off my screen for good (cough *Kayla* cough).

Bree/Orson/Edie: After seeing Orson and Edie kiss last week, Bree reacts in her usual over-the-top way. First, she sabotages Edie’s clients during a house showing, and then she forbids Orson from seeing Benjamin by playing the “He’s not really related to you anyway” card. Orson decides to talk to an attorney about seeking visitation rights, so he prepares for the consultation by writing down all the pertinent facts about Benjamin’s parentage. That’s when Edie happens to come by his motel room to tell him to get Bree off her back, and of course she conveniently finds Orson’s confession.

So in typical Edie fashion, she immediately thinks of ways to blackmail Bree. She tells Bree that she expects to be treated as a best friend: she wants to be invited to all parties and events, plus she wants Bree’s cooking skills to be at her disposal. Bree doesn’t stand for that, however. Instead, she tells the three other housewives the whole story, and together, they decide to freeze Edie out for good. At the end, Edie is seen telling Travers that she’s going to be spending a lot more time with him in the future.

Katherine/Dylan/Wayne: After hearing that Dylan has invited Wayne to a school recital, Katherine decides to take some action to stop Wayne from coming around so much. She tells him that she lied about Dylan being his daughter. Katherine had lots of affairs when they were married, and can say for sure that Wayne is not the father. He doesn’t believe her, but takes Dylan’s discarded gum for a DNA analysis.

The results come back and prove conclusively that Katherine was right. But then Wayne notices something strange. While watching old home videos of Dylan, he remembers that she had 11 stitches in her arm after a bicycle accident. The current “Dylan”, however, doesn’t have a scar on her arm, so she’s clearly not the same child.

Gabby/Carlos/Ellie: Things are going surprisingly well with these three, as Ellie gets along nicely with both Gabby and Carlos. That is, until Gabby finds Ellie’s stash of cocaine under her bed. Carlos insists on going to the cops since he’s still on probation, so that’s what they do. It turns out that the cops already know about Ellie and have been following her for months. The problem is, they’re not interested in busting her; they want her supplier. So they ask Gabby and Carlos to act like they know nothing and just let Ellie continue dealing until they find out where she’s getting her drugs from. In return, they’ll drop Carlos’s remaining probation time.

Lynette/Tom/Kayla: Lynette and Tom bring in a child psychologist to observe family interactions at home. The guy suggests that Kayla’s acting out because she doesn’t feel loved by Lynette, so he recommends that the two spend lots of “alone” time together. Lynette then takes Kayla shopping, but Kayla immediately turns into the demanding little brat that we’ve seen before (like in the ice cream shop). After Kayla threatens Penny, Lynette loses her cool and slaps the brat in front of everyone at the store. Later, Kayla calls the shrink and says that Lynette hit her, that it wasn’t the first time, and that she’s scared.

Susan/Mike: Mike’s mom comes to stay with them for a few days. She’s “Southern”, which I guess means she speaks her mind, no matter how rude she ends up sounding. It turns out that she knows all about Susan’s shortcomings from Mike, and she has no qualms about bringing up these faults and offering to help. This obviously drives Susan crazy, so she demands that Mike do something about his mom. Just as Mike is about to tell his mom to lay off, Susan starts having contractions. She has the baby before the end of the ep, but we don’t know whether it’s a boy or a girl.

My Reaction: I actually thought this was a solid episode for once. There certainly wasn’t as much humor as I like to see on DH, but I’d gladly sacrifice a few chuckles for some good old-fashioned plot movement any day.

It looks like we’re finally seeing the end of Edie Britt. That rumor has been going on for a while, but it seems as though this time it could be true. I never really liked the character, so it’s not going to be a big loss for me. She was funny sometimes, but, honestly, there hasn’t been much for her to do in the past couple of seasons. Again, change can be good.

Another character that REALLY needs to leave is Kayla. God, I don’t care how they do it, but I just want that brat off my screen now! She serves zero purpose on the show except to give the Scavos something to argue about. Give me a break. I hope Tom decides to divorce Lynette and take Kayla away. He’s becoming just as annoying as she is, so that would be killing two birds with one stone as far as I’m concerned. Wow, how could Tom not even care that Kayla threatened Penny? What a clueless dipshit.

The Ellie storyline took an interesting twist with the setup/sting, but knowing Carlos and Gabby, they’ll find some way to mess everything up.

I’m surprised that the housewives simply took in Bree’s story about Benjamin without batting an eyelash. Don’t they remember everything Bree put them through? All the lies? Sending Susan to that shady clinic? Yeah, Edie was way out of line for trying to blackmail Bree, but Bree hasn’t exactly been little miss innocent over there. Sheesh, a little indignation would have been nice to see.

I thought Mike’s mom was kind of funny, and thought Susan did remarkably well putting up with her. I’m glad they didn’t drag that storyline out though, as I’m sure it would become tiresome very quickly.

Still not interested in Dylan/Katherine/Wayne. We knew Dylan wasn’t the same girl because of all that stuff with Julie, and we knew Wayne wasn’t the real dad because of the grimy guy in the rundown apartment that they showed a few eps ago. So, yeah, yawn.

Anyway, like I said, I’m looking forward to the season finale and the time jump. I just hope it works in renewing my interest in this show!