Mastodon Mastodon Mastodon Mastodon Mastodon Last Week in TV - Week of Feb. 23 - Episode Awards and Review


    Enable Dark Mode!

  • What's HOT
  • Premiere Calendar
  • Ratings News
  • Movies
  • YouTube Channel
  • Submit Scoop
  • Contact Us
  • Search
  • Privacy Policy
Support SpoilerTV
SpoilerTV.com is now available ad-free to for all premium subscribers. Thank you for considering becoming a SpoilerTV premium member!

SpoilerTV - TV Spoilers

Last Week in TV - Week of Feb. 23 - Episode Awards and Review

4 Mar 2014

Share on Reddit

TV is back in full force this week with most of my weekly shows returning and a handful of new midseason premieres. So much TV, so little time. Because of that I am dropping Intelligence, Arrow, and Melissa & Joey from my weekly reviewed shows. I fully intend to catch up with them over the summer but for now they make way for other shows that I am finding more enjoyable. This week's nominated show was Hustle, which was fantastic. For anyone missing Leverage, I highly suggest watching this show. It is tricky finding it though since it's sadly not available in live stream form except on Hulu Plus. I've only seen the pilot but this precursor to Leverage had all the same complexity and rush. It doesn't have Parker, Eliot, and Hardison so I still miss them, but this makes for a nice bandage over the still gaping wound of Leverage's cancellation. Next week's nominated show is Orphan Black, which I am also excited for because I have seen most of season 1. If you would like to nominate a show, please put the title and episode (if you want me to see a specific one) in the nomination box at the end of this article. Until next week, happy TV viewing!


Overall Awards:

Best Show You're Not Watching - The Musketeers - BBC One - Sundays at 21:00

Thanks Sandi for nominating The Musketeers a few weeks ago. It is my favorite midseason drama, and only second to Sleepy Hollow for my favorite show already. I love how it balances humor, action, and drama. I also love the snarky, fun characters. There is something universally appealing about strangers becoming family even with diverse backgrounds and under intense circumstances. This episode sees Porthos convicted of murder and sentenced to hang. His old friends from the Court of Miracles, a neighborhood of thieves, rescue him before the Musketeers can and bring him back to his former home. I loved the glimpse into Porthos' background, but I also enjoyed how it took a topic of import still today, class warfare, and seamlessly integrated it into the construct of the show. Unlike other shows (cough Dracula cough) which toss in modern ideas with such anachronism that it takes me completely out of the story, The Musketeers shows how we've always struggled with the same issues. In this case, a now destitute member of the nobility buys up the tenement slums and plans to blow them up in order to get rich when they build a new Paris there. Change nobility for real estate tycoon or banking institution and it could easily have been a plot in the latest police procedural. In fact, this episode has its own autopsy and detective work, which I find amusing if a bit tongue-in-cheek. It's NCIS: Paris, 1630.

The two best things about this show though are its action, humor, and the way they utilize female characters. The Musketeers has the best overall action on TV today, an award that used to go to Arrow before they stopped having fight scenes as often. Such a shame. Admittedly, I am a sucker for a good sword fight and you're guaranteed at least 3 an episode here. However they mix it up with guns, bare knuckles, and the occasional melon. Basically anything goes when the number one rule, as stated early on, is survival. I also adore how the humor flies as much as the fists do. Aramis is the snarkiest but every character gets a one-liner or two throughout the episode. The mix of humor and action ensures that few episodes drag at any time and makes the time watching fly. However, on a more serious note, The Musketeers succeeds where almost every single show I watch is currently failing. It keeps the women interesting in their own right without subjugating them to damsel in distress, love triangle, or plot device roles. While there are no female main characters, they often steal the spotlight. Constance is a real win. I love how although she did not have any training, she stepped up when the Musketeers needed her and still stands up for herself when they get out of line. Plus she acknowledges that her skills are sparse and makes an attempt to learn to protect herself. No instant downloaded ninja skills here. (I'm looking side eyed at you, Teen Wolf.) In this episode, the best character by far is Flea and I really hope we get to see more of her. She's caring, smart, and knows what she wants. Frankly she should become Queen of the Court and a recurring character. In the ruling family, it is the women who make the best decisions and often temper the juvenile king. Between Queen Anne's quips and his sister's political machinations, the females rule the court as much as the Cardinal and often outplay him. In a TV season where the best female characters feel hopelessly stuck in bad character arcs or on the sidelines, The Musketeers make each woman fascinating. The Musketeers is never going to win any awards for best drama, but it easily wins where it is most important to me - Most Entertaining.


Best Episode / Best Scene - Blacklist - 1.14 - Madeline Pratt / Red talks about his family's murder

The Blacklist is back and up to its usual tricks - Red snark, Lizzie home troubles, plenty of twists and moral ambiguity, and good acting. What made this episode rise above many similar episodes though was the criminal of the week. Madeline Pratt was well played by Jennifer Ehle, who made her character conniving yet charming, smart yet sensitive. It was a character I could root for, albeit it uncomfortably. While the snippet about Red's family may or may not be true, it was a powerful scene made even more so by Pratt's reaction. James Spader nailed the vulnerability and to see him then snap back to the Red we are used to was chilling. When contrasted with the humorous speech when rescuing Lizzie, it is easy to see why James Spader is this show. The whole episode was an acting tour-de-force. I also love how Pratt escaped. Hopefully she will become a recurring character and possibly Red's Moriarty. Now if Tom could just divorce Lizzie and let us drop this snail crawl subplot.


Best New Show of the Week - 
Growing Up Fisher - 1.01 - Pilot

By far the best of the midseason episodes this week, Growing Up Fisher has a lot of heart and laughs in the right place. It actually reminds me a lot of The Goldbergs, minus the 80's retro, plus blindness. In this episode Henry learns that his parents are getting divorced and his blind dad, Mel, gets a guide dog to help him when he moves out. Problem is that Henry has always been his dad's wingman before, so pretty soon he feels left out and not sure of his status in his dad's new life. It's a nice twist to an issue so many kids deal with today. Meanwhile his mom, Joyce, is trying to recapture a youth she feels she missed, much to the consternation of Henry's sister, Katie. Joyce is by far the most over-the-top character but she comes off as more clueless but loving than annoying in the pilot. Similarly, Mel's disability is never seen as a setback because he is so competent at what he does. It could be in future episodes both these things become an issue but they played both parents well in this episode. What I really like is that while the characters all have their own distinct personalities, it is obvious that they all care about each other right from the start. I will be back to check out the next 2 episodes at least.


Best Action - Grimm - 3.13 - Revelation - 
Nick and Monroe vs. Caccia Morta

Let's faced it. Grimm does some gruesome Wesen and ones that scalp people to turn their skin into coats are among the worse. Add to it the fact that the Caccia Morta only attack the strongest people so as to get the most strength from their skins, add you've got a worhtwhile opponent. However part of the reason why this action sequence takes the title is the background leading up to it. For the majority of the episode, Monroe is fighting with his parents over his lifestyle choices, the biggest issue being Nick. When Monroe learns the Caccia Morta are in town and Nick is the target, he has his final confrontation with his dad. He chooses Nick. The Nick and Monroe relationship is the foundation of Grimm for me and to see how far they have come over the years was great. Having them fighting side-by-side like usual was even better. There is something about them snarking and helping each other while pounding out the bad guys that always makes me cheer. Still the best thing about this scene is when Monroe's dad jumps into the fray yelling, "Get off my son!" They may disagree on lifestyle, but they are still family and one I hope we see a lot more of.


Trend of the Week - Character Back Story

Many of the shows I watched this week focused on the back story of their characters, usually not the main character, and it really worked. From Red's story about finding his dead family (whether or not it was true) to learning about Porthos' childhood in the Court of Miracles, the stories were richer for having more context. I particularly like how The Crazy Ones explored Zach's character from before he was so cocky. Sometimes it is hard for me to like Zach, but this helped explain his more annoying traits. In fact it reminded me a lot of the How I Met Your Mother episode where they find the tape of Barney's hippie days.  We also got snippets about Strahl in Almost Human, Hatake's relationship with Julia on Helix, and Pete's signature "fade out" on Enlisted.  This is one TV trend I hope continues.



Nominated and New Shows:


Nominated Show: Hustle - 1.01 - The Con is On

Hustle is a hard show to watch, given that's it is a decade old and not on any live streaming I currently have. Thank goodness the pilot was well worth the searching. If you've read my blog comments, you know I have a Leverage-shaped hole in my TV watching life that I just couldn't seem to fill. Hustle works nicely. It's the story of a well-known con man called Mickey Stone, who's so good at the game he has a police unit devoted to catching him in the act. Recently paroled for an unrelated crime, Mickey wants one last score to cement his reputation and retire well. He chooses a pompous, greedy businessman as target and assembles his team. Granted his team does NOT include Parker, Eliot, or Hardison. No one can ever replace them. Still the characters are fresh and fun, including Jaime Murray of Defiance and Warehouse 13 fame. The pilot plot is elaborate enough to stoke Nathan Ford's interest with a great twist that I guessed about halfway through. While it may not be Leverage and they certainly aren't robbing to help the poor, it has captured my attention enough that I have bought the DVD's and I can't wait until I have a break to watch them.

Grade: B+
Rating: 4

Best Scene - Danny vs. DePalma

Best Quote - Eddie: "Guy does something dumb, 5 will get you 10 there's a woman there somewhere."

Best Reason to Watch - the complicated con scenarios

Best Way to Get a Job - Danny inserts himself in the middle of the con when Mickey has to run with it

Best Response to Vocational Blackmail - Mickey punches Danny before agreeing he's in

Most Ridiculous - Danny gets visitors through by kissing the receptionist

Weirdest Story Element - constantly breaking the 4th wall to let the audience in on the con; Burn Notice did it better with voice-overs and Leverage with the flashback

The "Say What?" Award - No one checks credentials on either side of the con.


New Shows:

Mixology - 1.01 - Pilot

Grade: F
Rating: 1

I am not sure I have ever seen a comedy pilot as unfunny as Mixology was. I think I smiled once but no laughs were to be had. I found all the characters repulsive and spent every second after the 10 minute mark waiting for the show to end. I have no idea if this show will get better, but if it does they should have reshot the pilot. No episode awards for this one. I've already wasted enough time on it.



About a Boy - 1.01 - Pilot

About a Boy was the second best of the midseason shows this week for me, but that is not saying much. It does mean that it has potential. I could see myself liking it when the characters get more rounded and I feel something for them. Marcus was a joy and the necessary buffer between Will and Fiona. I do have a hard time believing that there are still people as gullible as Dakota and the single parents at that meeting are. No one would buy that story. Usually this is the type of comedy that based on the premise would get at least another 2 episodes from me to see if it improved, but given my tight TV schedule already and the fact that it airs opposite a comedy I actually already like, this one gets banished to the bottom of the maybe later pile.

Grade: C
Ranking: 3

Best Scene - Will and Marcus hose the bully

Best Quote - Marcus: "I own you."

Best Reason to Watch - Marcus

The Hero Award - Will lets Marcus come inside to avoid the bullies

Most Gullible - Dakota and all the people at the single parents' meeting

Best Aww Moment - Will decides to stay for vegan dinner even though Fiona is crying



Mind Games - 1.01 - Pilot

Grade: D
Rating: 1

My overall impression of Mind Games is yelling, lots and lots of yelling. That seemed to be the primary dialogue choice and it left me with a headache and mostly distaste for the characters. Unlike Mixology though, this show has an interesting premise. I always loved and feared the White Collar episodes where Neal tries to explain to Peter how easy it is to con someone and shows him the tricks of the trade. On paper, this is a legitimate business side of the con game, basically advertising on steroids. That concept appeals to me. This show did not. Zahn plays Clark as way too off the rails so he comes off as a caricature instead of a character. No one would trust their business to this man, not even the douche bag con that Christian Slater plays. The ex-wife throws in a love triangle between brothers - oh joy - and Megan E. has long been one of my least favorite actresses. Even if I had time in my TV schedule, this pilot would have repelled me. Let me know when the decibels go down a few 100 notches. Until then I'll stick to Leverage/White Collar reruns and Hustle.


Growing Up Fisher - 1.01 - Pilot

Grade: B+
Ranking: 2

Best Scene - looking for Elvis

Best Quote - Henry: "So just to recap, my dad replaced me with a dog and my mom became Popeye. It was a big week for the Fisher family."

Best Character Interaction - Henry and his dad

Best Reason to Watch - the fun characters and the heart

Most Inappropriate - Joyce asks her son if she should get a water bra

Most Refreshing - A kid on TV who does something wrong actually gets grounded. It's retro. More people should try it.

Best Moment - Joyce tells Katie to slow down but they are passed by a jogger / Katie gives Joyce her belt

Best Aww Moment - Mel puts Elvis in the pantry so Henry feels needed again

Best Music - Pressure


Weekly Shows:

Almost Human - 1.12 - Beholder

This was one of the better Almost Human episodes for me. I like the criminal of the week storyline with the ironic twist. I also really enjoyed that it was a male pursuing perfection in beauty instead of a female. Moreover, we got a deeper look at Stahl, who has been one of the bigger mysteries as a character and saw a softer side of Kennex. Honestly, it also could be that we're one episode away from the finale and I will really miss Almost Human if they don't renew it. This show went from being mildly entertaining, if frustrating because of the out-of-place episodes, to being appointment TV. I like the characters and they do a good job of making the technology interesting but not the main focus. It is still very much a buddy cop show, where one of the cops just happens to be an android. I think there is still a lot potential and story left in the series so hopefully the ratings will rise for the finale and FOX will give us more episodes.

Grade: B+

Best Scene - Stahl vs. the club general manager

Best Quote - Dorian: "No, in fact, I'm excited to embrace this new anti-tech lifestyle." Kennex: "Really?"
Dorian: "On the way back to the precinct, let's replace your robotic leg with a tree limb or maybe something useful like a shovel." Kennex: "I wish I had a shovel."

Best Technology - Instant hologram golfing is the next step in Wii / Virtual autopsy (same info, no gross)

Worst Technology - Nanobot plastic surgery

Best Use of Irony - the guy killing people to get a more handsome face wants to impress a blind woman

Worst Partner - Dorian completely violates the guy code by answering a call Kennex wants to avoid

The "Say What?" Award - Detroit held the Olympics in 2026

Best Call Back - the Kennex-Dorian snarky car chat. I missed it.

Funniest Moment - Kennex and Dorian's reaction to Rudy thinking he will be targeted by the Beauty Killer

Best Use of Music - Crimson and Clover



Star-Crossed - 1.02 - The Violent Delights have Violent Ends

Star-Crossed took a dive for me, mostly because of the terrible dialogue they had Emery spewing. She's far too earnest and I spent most of the episode yelling at her to shut up and back off. I am also tired of "Christians" being portrayed as evil in Hollywood these days. It's getting old and they remain one of the few punching bags left that don't automatically trigger a host of protest. On the positive side, the introduction of Castor makes for more political intrigue and a great villain for Roman to eventually fight against. He reminds me a lot like Peter from Teen Wolf and that's a huge compliment. We also got more info on Atrian customs and the great double twist with Beaumont and Grayson. No one is who they say they are right now and that gives them plenty of space to go with the story. If they keep the mystery up and work on better dialogue, this could be a great show.

Grade: C+

Best Scene - Roman and Castor face off in front of the Atrian Council

Best Quote - Sofia: "Remember what my dad said. If we ever want to be treated as equals we need to show the humans there's nothing to fear." Teri: "I'll try to remember that while they're deep frying our toes and sprinkling them with powdered sugar."

Best Reason to Watch - Atrian politics and the civil unrest

Best Reason to Fast Forward - emoangsting….all the emoangsting and overly melodramatic acting

The "Say What?" Award - There aren't cameras everywhere in the Atrian sector that would catch the hand-offs? It's 10 years in the future.

Biggest Emoangster / The "Shut Up" Award - Emery

Shadiest Character of the Week - Castor

Best Twist - Guard Beaumont is actually an Atrian

Coolest Tradition - Mammoth Rock with every new student's handprint

My Prediction - If this show gets a second season, Taylor and Drake will be a secret item with lots of making out in the janitor's closet scenes.



Teen Wolf - 3.20 - Echo House

Teen Wolf continues to thrill and confuse as we race towards the season finale. I have no idea where it is heading and only a deep held belief of which character is going to die, but I can easily say that 3B has been the best season of Teen Wolf yet. Dylan O'Brien gets extra kudos for doing such a great job protraying both Stiles and Dark Stiles.

Grade: B

Best Scene - Sheriff has second thoughts over putting Stiles in Eichen House and flips out over a pillow
Best Quote - Stiles: "You might not like me if you know any more." Malia: "Try to remember that I'm a werecoyote who murdered her own family. I won't judge. Promise."
Best Interaction - Stiles and Sheriff
Key Player - Malia
MVP - Stiles
Most Hated - Morell
Most Inept - Beacon Hills police
Most Ridiculous Plot - the pack heist
Best Reaction - Stiles to seeing Malia showering
Most Realistic Reaction - Malia telling Stiles that they ruined her life
Most Unnecessary Scene (to put in this episode instead of later) - Argent and Mama Fratelli
The Eye Roll Award - Kira is suddenly a ninja warrior
The "Me Too" Award - Brunski: "I always love the sarcastic ones.



Blacklist - 1.14 - Madeline Pratt

Grade: A-

Best Scene - Red talks about his family dying to Madeline

Best Quote - Red: "Lizzie, I know this must be very difficult for you, but we can't both lead."

Best Reason to Watch - Pratt

Best Reason to Fast Forward - Lizzie and Tom, and it's not Tom in this scenario

Funniest - Red trying to talk Lizzie free from the guard

Best Action - Ressler vs. the Syrian

The "Say What?" Award - tie - Exactly how many teacher conferences is Tom attending? / Does no one use gloves when they are committing crimes anymore?

Best Twist - the Kungur Six are bombs instead of spies

Biggest Question - Is Red's story about his family true?



Perception - 2.11 - Curveball

Perception is back with your typical episode. While the case of the week was better than usual, the subplot of the college ingénue was tiresome. The Big Bang Theory did it better. They should have stuck to the train death.

Grade: B-

Best Scene - Daniel and Donnie, speaking metaphorically and hypothetically

Best Reason to Watch - in a world of police procedurals, this is one of the brainiest

Best Reason to Fast Forward - The subplot with the annoying potential college prospect

Biggest Aww Moment - Dan with Andre at the end, going over the train schedules

Biggest Surprise - I actually like Donnie. He was an adulterous douche when he first came on and I never thought I'd care one iota for him. Surprisingly he is very slowly growing on me. Well done, Perception writers.

Best Twist - Andre was trying to save lives, not kill anyone

The "Walk of Shame" Award - Paul

Best Manipulator - Paul



Arrow - 2.14 - Time of Death

I am dumping Arrow so it will no longer be part of the weekly review. I am fed up with the bad writing, lack of consequences, and the messing up of every female character on the show who isn't named Sin. If they can take a kick butt character like Sarah and turn her into this saintly mess or consistently trash their own character in order to build up other ones, I have no hope for where they are going. I don't think they know where they are going anymore either, just following the fandom's whims wherever it takes them. Thus, so long Arrow. I'm packing my bags for Central City.

Grade: C

Best Reason to Watch - Slade returns in the end so that more interesting storyline should be picking up

Best Scene - Tockman blows the Arrow Cave computers

Most Powerful Scene - Oliver confronts Laurel in her apartment hallway

Best Quote - Sarah: "It's kind of hard to get a job when international assassin is the highlight of your resume."

Best Interaction - Sin and Sarah, because Sin rocks everything!

Utter Moron Award - Felicity goes to the bank to get Oliver's attention I guess. Whatever. She used to be a competent, fabulous character and now she's stuck between fawning over Oliver and being jealous because of him. She used to be able to do almost everything computer-wise but now she loses to the criminal at least once an episode. She's stuck in the damsel role and it does not fit her. Make her competent again. Give her something to do that does not involve Oliver. Basically, clean up your mess, Arrow writers.

Funniest - Sarah, Diggle, and Oliver bonding over their war wounds

The "Say What?" Award - Sara leaves her own welcome home party? That's Oliver's thing.

Biggest Aww Moment - Laurel agrees to host a dinner party to help Quentin reconcile with her mom

Close Call Award - Oliver stops the bus mere inches away from the train, which apparently the bus driver couldn't see or hear. Hmm.



TBBT - 7.16 - The Table Polarization

Grade: B-

Best Scene - the intervention

Best Quote - Raj: "This is so much better than watching TV like a Muggle."

Best Gadget - Wand remote control. I so want one of those.

Biggest Manipulator - Amy

Funniest Scene - Howard calls his mom so his blood pressure will be too high to go to space

Most Annoying - Sheldon



Crazy Ones - 1.16 - Zach Mitzvah

Grade: B

Best Scene - Zach realizes that the kid is unhappy and becomes the best MC around

Best Quote - Simon: "Sydney, what the hell's wrong with Zach?" Sydney: "I don't know. I'm starting to think coke and hookers might have been easier."

Best Reason to Watch - Zach back story before he became so cocky. It was good to learn more about him.

Best Reason to Fast Forward - Sydney and the waiter

Best Improv - Simon's horah dance song

Funniest - Zach's breakdown over Zoe

The "Ouch" Award - Zoe: "For me it was just fun. I never loved you, Zach."

Worst Way to Save a Party - summarizing Yentl



Elementary - 2.16 - The One Percent Solution

Grade: B-

Best Scene - Sherlock confronts Lestrade and he comes clean

Best Quote - Lestrade: "I don't let murderers go free. You see it's probably the only non-negotiable thing about me. Besides you know I've been ruined before. Not so bad the second time around."

The "I'm No Longer Surprised" Award - Sherlock now has chickens

The Brave Trooper Award - to all the cast and crew who were still shooting in the middle of a blizzard during this episode

The "You're Sooo Out of Your League" Award - Lestrade matching wits with Sherlock

The "Oh No You Didn't" Award - Truepenny calls Watson an assistant. Excuse me! She's the rock of this show.

Best Plan - Sherlock gives Lestrade all the rope he needs to hang himself over the hotel issue

The Sticky Fingers Award - Watson pickpockets Lestrade's phone

The "Blame Sherlock" Award - apparently he is the reason Pluto is no longer considered a planet

Best Red Herring - Aurelius

Best Ring Tone - Sherlock chooses Bad Day for Lestrade - HA! And he also changes Watson's ring tone



Community - 5.07 - Bondage and Beta Male Sexuality

The dialogue was sharp and the characters mostly compelling, but something about this episode sat like stale pizza dough. It didn't make me laugh, it didn't make me think. Except for the Duncan and Jeff bond, it just was.

Grade: C+

Best Scene - Duncan and Jeff agree to have a guys' night instead of going after Britta

Best Quote - Duncan: "And now you're going to go pull a Dane Cook in one of those 3 movies he was in about Dane Cook getting laid by accident. Only it's not a Dane Cook movie Jeff, because this time someone's watching."

Best Character Interaction - Jeff and Duncan

Worst Character Interaction - Abed and Hickey. These are two of my favorite characters but both were off and more annoying than funny in this episode.

Funniest - Jeff vs. Duncan gesture fight about going to the benefit
Biggest Surprise - I actually liked Chang more than most characters

The "Total Truth" Award - Annie: "Well, we've had our share of focus lately." Shirley: "Um hmm, speak for yourself."

Saddest Moment - Abed makes his Kick Puncher costume but it's not as much fun without Troy



Grimm - 3.13 - Revelation

Grimm was back and boy was it a lot of fun. I loved the conflict that Monroe's parents brought, but even more the fact that they were allowed to redeem themselves in the episode without having to give up their beliefs altogether. Mostly though this was Monroe's episode, and since he is my favorite character it was nice to spend more time with him. From the emotional confrontations to kicking Wesen butt, Monroe shone as a character.

Grade: A-

Best Scene - Awkward dinner party

Best Quote - Monroe: "Dad, listen I have no interest in trying to change you or mom but I do have a very real interest in living my life my own way."

Best Grimm Snippet - "Still, after a short time the family's distress again worsened, and there was no relief anywhere in sight." So very, very apt this episode.

Dumbest Move - Cop says he doesn't need backup…in Portland. Come on. Just call yourself Red Shirt.

Worst Career Change - Juliette has gone from independent business owner and vet to Research Girl

Most Disgusting - Surprisingly in an episode with scalpers and skin coats, Adalind's unborn baby takes this one with its pen to the eye psychokinesis

Best Physical Sarcasm - Adalind says she's freezing so Meisner puts his scarf around her neck and tells her to start walking

The "Yeah Right" Award - Juliette: "That's not why I came by just so we're all clear." Sure it's not? A little sympathy, a little info dump…that's pretty much Grimm's motive when you and Rosalee get together

Best Reaction - Alice refuses to leave with Bart until she fixes things with Monroe

Weakest Way to Kill a Big Bad - give him a haircut to alleviate their strength



Enlisted - 1.06 - Brothers and Sister

FOX must sure like it's out-of-order episodes, because just like with Almost Human, they have been screwing over Enlisted. This episode, in which Derrick meets the girlfriend he had a few weeks ago, revolves mostly on relationship woes. Randy has more game than Derrick. Pete never learned how to break up with a girl because he moved around so much as a kid. Sergeant Major Cody needs to get some audience love for a stale act. I'm not sure if this episode suffers from the air order or if it is simply less funny than the others, but it still has that heart. Here's hoping for the "laugh until you cry" scenes next week that Enlisted is known for.

Grade: B-

Best Scene - Perez teaches Pete how to break up with someone

Best Quote - Derrick: "We are you going with this and how can I go the other way?"

Best Showmanship - Cody

Biggest Surprise - I think this is the first episode without a Disney reference. Did I miss it?

Funniest - Cody interrupts Kid 'n Play on stage

Best Awww - The soldiers in the platoon help Cody make up a compelling back story

Worst Bartender Advice - "Women hate sarcasm." Speak for yourself, lady. I find that to be a very attractive quality.



Helix - 1.09 - Level X

Grade: B

Best Scene - Hatake shows Julia his silver eyes and confirms he is her father / the twins talk

Best Quote - Julia: "How do you think we'll know if your plan worked?" Alan: "If we're not attacked and infected when we get to this Level X, then it worked."

Best Moment - Tulok punches out Daniel and says to not call him an Eskimo ever again

Biggest Shock - I felt really bad for Hatake this episode.

Scene Stealer - Stooges Scientist. The boozy, snarky cryogenicist always makes me laugh. Now he's tied to the mytharc? Even better.

Best Character Arc - Sergio. He may be playing me here, but I believe his sympathy for Anana and I feel like he's going to turn hero in the fight with Ilaria.

The "Hey, We've Entered Narnia" Award - Instead of frozen monkey graveyard, we get frozen people statuary this week. It's just as creepy as it sounds.

Best Twist - the cabin in Montana is actually in the Arctic

The Facepalm Award - Hatake says they are almost at hypothermia level and yet neither he nor Sarah have their hoods up. I swear the cold is just a hallucination on this show.

The "Say What?" Award - In a squad of 5 soldiers, they don't realize that Sergio is not one of them? How hard is it to remember 5 faces?

Best Use of Music - Mad World



The Musketeers - 1.05 - The Homecoming

Grade: A-

Best Scene - The end where the Musketeers are reunited with their trademark humor

Best Quote - Porthos: "You're the smartest woman I've ever met." Flea: "If I'm so smart, what am I doing here with you?"

Best Reason to Watch - Great Porthos back story

Best Action - The Musketeers take on Emilie's lackeys to stop them from torching the Court of Miracles

Creepiest - ancient coroner

Character that Needs to Recur - Flea

Biggest Overkill - Aramis shoots the door open

Best Reaction - D'Artagnan and Aramis after D'Artagnan asks if the preacher killed Jean

Best Moment - Flea steals Porthos' money





Screencaps by Reinbeast, Gotta Watch It, Warnie Reviews, The Digital Fix, Critic Too, Two Cents TV, Robby Stewart, Entertainment Outlook, Buddy TV, Teen Wolf Wikia, Razorfine, Project Fandom, Grande Caps, Screencave, WN,


About the Author - Dahne
One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she recaps, reviews, and creates polls for Sleepy Hollow, Arrow, White Collar, Grimm, Teen Wolf, and others. She's addicted to Twitter, live tweets a multitude of shows each week, co-hosts the Sleepy Hollow "Headless" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group, and guests on ArrowCast for DVMPE. Right now she is creating a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."

21 comments:

  1. Almost everything was back this week plus a whole host of midseason premieres. That's a lot of episode awards. What were your favorite things on TV this week?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hustle - All of Hustle is available on YouTube - it is posted by the BBC, so it's legal to watch it. I think that some of the later first season episodes are good - not great. Season 2 starts off strong (with 2x03 being fantastic). I haven't watched past sesaon 2 yet, no time.

    Grimm - I liked the episode, but the special effects when they scalped the Caccia Morta were cheesy. "Dumbest Move - Cop says he doesn't need backup…in Portland. Come on. Just call yourself Red Shirt." <---LOL

    The Blacklist - Red really makes the show. But I wouldn't mind seeing a few more side characters grow into their own. Shows get older more quickly if just one character shines all the time. I really think that the background story he told was real - even though it contradicts what was said in the pilot. And Lizzie suddenly being a criminal was kinda out there, like it wasn't in her character description. I am assuming it is going to come into play later -- especially Omaha.

    Teen Wolf - Agree with just about everything you said. The one thing - I dislike Morell, but I am not sure if that is because they have sidelined her like they do with Dr. Deaton or if it's because we don't know anything about her besides the fact that her facial expression never changes and she is Deaton's sister. They seem to sideline all the knowledge sources in this show and leave it to Stiles and Lydia to put pieces together.

    Elementary - Lestrade's quote is awesome. It was a really good episode - although the beginning was slightly too over the top for me.

    You have convinced me, I am going to watch The Musketeers and Enlisted next week on break.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Arrow - Different opinions are what makes discussion fun. I agree that the Clock King was fantastic. Arrow could use more intelligent villains. He would actually make a good Big Bad. Sin is ALL things fabulous. I know I keep saying this, but I hope she gets a spin-off so we can really do her character justice.


    Psych - Closing my eyes. No spoilers! Psych is one show I am goingt o try to marathon this summer.


    Community - The focus on Britta and the subplot for Chang were well done, especially since I don't really are for those characters and they came off looking good. I will have to agree to disagree about Abed and Hickey though. I just realized that the reason the episode left me so unsettled is because I couldn't stand the scenes with my favorite characters but thought the others I don't like so much were good. That rarely happens so completely.


    Star-Crossed - Bringing in Castor was a brilliant plan for Star-Crossed. Now they have to tone done Emery's character and make this a political sci fi thriller.


    Blacklist - At this point I feel sorry for Tom and am getting frustrated with Lizzie, but we both have the same end goal. Get rid of this subplot now! Jennifer Ehle really did have crazy good chemistry with everyone. She needs to come back.


    About a Boy - I didn't find anything funny in this episode until midway through. More importantly, I prided myself on not being able to name any Justin Bieber or One Direction song and now that's ruined. Major points off.


    Growing Up Fisher was better than it had any right to be. I agree that Katie could be the break out star. One thing I didn't put in my review was how much I liked the voice overs. This is huge because the only show I have ever liked voice overs in was Burn Notice.


    Grimm - Disagree about the Juliette scene. It feels like her character is getting lost again and it's starting to irk me. My problem with the Wesen was more the disgusting factor and the idea that something that feared could be defeated so easily. I dislike Adalind so if she dies in childbirth I would be good with it. I feel that the bad thing Bart was alluding to is Adalind's baby. I think either it ushers in some kind of apocalypse or Adalind herself becomes the Big Bad.


    Enlisted - I totally agree that this was the worst Enlisted. It was still better than most comedies I watched but it missed out on the big laughs I now expect. I think part of the problem is that they are running the episodes out of order and that always throws me.


    Black Sails - Yet ANOTHER rape scenario. Ugh! Entertainment Weekly just had a great article about how that is the go-to plot for female character development these days.


    Thanks so much for always providing great dialogue about TV. My episode list is upped this week too. Not sure if I'm going to get it all in. I might shortcut and cut down on those I review even if I watch more.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Patrick Maloney4 March 2014 at 03:30

    I agree about Mad World being used well in Helix. The ring tone in Elementary was probably the best part of this fantastic episode. I'm conflicted with your opinion about Arrow because while I agree Felicity is a debacle at this stage, and the Say What award, and Sin and Sara being great together, but I disagree that this show is so bad that you should abandon it, based on the procedural elements alone. I have to disagree with you on Madeline Pratt in Blacklist, it's not that I didn't like her it's just I didn't see how she was different from any other femme fatale.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't think that Juliette ever was an "independent business woman" - I don't think the clinic she worked (works?) in belongs to her.
    I feared that you would have problems with Arrow...but I honestly don't see the episode the same way you do.
    For one: I loved it that Felicity got a nemesis of her own.
    Two: I feared that the interaction between Felitcity and Sara would become catty, but it didn't happen. While Felicity had problem to adjust to the new situation, she was still supportive of Sara, even encouraging Oliver to go with her to the family dinner. I think we will get a lot of awesome girl-friendship moments between those two in the future.
    Three: They made it very clear that this was not about Felicity wanting to be Oliver's love interest or being disgruntled that Sara was in a relationship with him, but about her place in the team.
    Four: It might have been dumb of Felicity to go to the bank (or not...the technical mumbo jumbo tends to go way over my head, too many specific expressions), but at no point she was a damsel in distress. She went, she saw that she was right, she called the team in. And when the team came, none of them were busy to protect her, instead Felicity was sending them around to do what they can do best while she did what she can do best. I honestly wouldn't even need her "leap to the rescue" moment, she was pretty badass immediately beforehand, too. And then she took out the villain by pressing a button on her phone!!!!! Best moment of the ep.
    I agree that all the "Olicity" stuff this season has been problematic, for various reasons. But not in this episode...in fact, since Oliver can flirt with Sara, I feel that we have gotten the Felicity I liked so much back.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I really like how they are building up a friendship for Juliette and Rosalee. I also liked how Juliette immediately pointed out that Nick would be a desirable victim. And I loved her remark during the awkward dinner...that was so Juliette. lol.
    But with a cast like this, Juliette can't be in the centre all the time. Like all the other characters, she fades automatically in the background as soon as the focus is elsewhere. Which was in this ep on Monroe and Rosalee and Adalind.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Grimm was my favorite this week. I really loved the episode. I would like Juliette a bit more used than for research and putting her foot into her mouth (although the dinner scene was hilarious), but it's nice to see her friendship with Rosalee. Monroe's family issues were very well dealt with and I enjoyed every bit of it. Good to see Nick and Monroe fighting together again. I missed that lately. But come on. Killed by hair cut? I understood the weakening thing, but I never thought it would kill them. Why not just put their strength away and put them in prison? About Adalind: I don't like her but the baby could provide for an interesting storyline. That is certainly the bad thing that was about to come. We'll see.
    Another show that returned this week was NCIS: Los Angeles. I'm not so much into procedurals but I really like this one. They came back with a very good episode.
    Supernatural: I would give it a C. I don't care as much about it as I did in previous seasons, but it was a solid episode. If they would just solve that stupid fight between the brothers. They weren't on the same page for more than a few episodes since the end of season three and I'm really fed up with this.
    Because of your reviews I started watching The Musketeers. I've seen only the pilot so far but I really like it.
    Thanks for reviewing all these shows. It really helps a lot to decide which one is worth watching. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm going to keep enjoying Arrow and will have to constantly disagree with you about it. Oh well, your loss.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh wow, you're watching Hustle, nice one! It's the other way round for me, I started Leverage to fill a Hustle hole in my life after it stopped being shown so regularly and two of the cast were replaced. (coincidence sidenote: Mickey takes a season 4 off and his replacement for that year was Ashley Walters, Charon from the episode of The Musketeers you have reviewed this week, lol.)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I tried Hustle (simply because I love the con-man/sting theme in general), but I found every single character in the pilot utterly unlikable. I know that the production value is higher than what Leverage and White Collar can afford....but both shows have way more interesting characters, despite being so light-hearted.

    ReplyDelete
  11. That's a shame, I love the original cast quite a lot, Ash and bartender Eddie are prob my favourite two. Adrian Lester is also one of the most versatile actors on british TV, some of his characters on the show are fab, a lot more varied than the others managed certainly, lol. I'd be surprised if their budget is higher than the American shows though, isn't it normally the other way around, especially on a BBC budget? lol

    ReplyDelete
  12. The cast the show had was certainly not cheap (though BBC in infamous for paying less than everyone else...actors accept the roles nevertheless for the potential critical acclaim), neither were the settings. Plus, Leverage and White Collar are both cable shows which were both prone to taking some short cuts if necessary - and doing really egregious product placement in order to finance the stunts in Leverage and the New York shots in White Collar.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I liked the cast more than I thought I would, given they are all cons. Perhaps it's because the guy they bilked was so unlikeable. I didn't see anything in the show that made me think it was high budget either. It seemed fairly typical.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am glad you are enjoying Arrow and I hope that continues. You will not be disagreeing with me however. I don't consider moving Arrow to summer viewing a loss at all, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Like Leverage, they go after the nasty fat cats, thou they do tend to keep the dosh for themselves most of the time, but then again, they don't always win either. Yeah, it's a pretty cheap show on the whole with the usual huge tax breaks for filming in London, which a lot of shows now get for doing in Cardiff it seems these days, lol. It does splash out with some overseas stuff later on, but again tax breaks and international sales help pay for most of that.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I had a real problem with Juliette's comment at the dinner because before this season, she never came off as flighty or socially awkward. She was no Felicity. I agree that it is nice to see Rosalle and Juliette's friendship grow and I would rather they push this angle for Juleitte's character arc than relegating her to research. Agree with everything else you've mentioned. The haircut was by far the weakest thing about the episode.


    I actually prepfer NCIS: LA to the original these days but I am a season behind. I am looking forward to getting caught up this summer. So sorry to hear it is STILL about brother fighting. I think that's why seasons 1-3 are my favorite.


    So glad you enjoyed the Musketeers pilot. There was only one episode so far I found less than exciting. The rest have been an action-filled romp in the best possible way. Keep me posted about how you are liking it.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I hate it when they make Juliette so dumb. She's a sensitive and intelligent woman and I actually like her a lot. They needed someone to provoke this little scene at the end and Juliette was the only one who could say something like that so innocently but she knew about the fight Monroe had with his parents and she knew the reason for it. Would she really make that comment?
    Any plans on adding NCIS: Los Angeles to your reviews when you caught up? Season 5 is really good. Way better than SPN these days, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hustle is on YouTube? Awesome! Thank you so much! I hate the idea of paying $25 for 6 episodes. Sorry to hear it declines in quality though. I look forward to 2.03!


    Grimm - I've come to expect cheesy CGI on Grimm so it doesn't bother me as much. I think the whole scalping thing should have been, well...cut. It was gross.


    Blacklist - I agree that they need to branch out. That's one reason why I stopped watching it for a while and then marathoned to catch up. I would love to see Malik, Ressler, and Aram have a centric episode each. There are so many things about these characters we don't know. The biggest problem I have with Lizzie is it makes the FBI look like incompetent hacks. They did a complete background check on her and didn't catch anything. Urgh! Although to be honest, Lizzie is my least favorite character on the show right now.


    Teen Wolf - The fact that no one shares information with the others is starting to really annoy me. It's better in 3B, but seriously, they could have saved lives if everyone had shared in 3A. They need to act like a pack instead of lone wolves, so to speak. That said, Teen Wolf has only gotten better and I am on tenterhooks about tonight's episode from the title alone.


    So, so glad you are going to try The Musketeers and Enlisted. They are two of my favorite new shows. Let me know what you think of them. They are right up my viewing alley: a drama with scores of action and loads of snark & a comedy that provides just as much heart as laughs.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I understand your problems with Arrow, but I don't think you should dump the show just yet. This week's episode, "The Promise", is said to be a very good episode. It's even hyped as being better than the season 1 finale, which should say something. Plus, if the best reason for you to watch is because of Slade, you should absolutely watch The Promise because Slade plays a big part in it! Don't give up yet!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Eric Van Velson8 April 2014 at 00:58

    Community- I can see how Abed and Hickey might seem a bit off, but the thing that makes them work so well together is how they shouldn't. They're opposites, Hickey is completely grounded in reality since he had such a difficult and long life while Abed has lived a much easier life thanks to his ability to imagine so much and the general "stepping on eggshells" people do around him. I do think that they would work better if perhaps a third person got involved, like Shirley or Annie.

    Star-Crossed- Emery is easily the worst part so far. She's arrogant in an odd way that makes me dislike her even more. I can deal with straight up arrogance but the way she hides it behind this idea of "doing right" is weak. She needs to listen when sane, intelligent people like Roman tell her too.

    Grimm- Unfortunately Juliette's character has no real place to go right now. She's relegated to being the person to turn to for emotional advice for Nick and Rosalee. It's still better then poor Hank and Wu who are both being totally ignored at this point. I also dislike Adalind but I absolutely love Claire Coffee, she's just not good at playing the villain.

    Black Sails- It was a terrible rape/abuse scenario. It didn't give Max any character development whatsoever. She spent like 3 weeks getting raped and abused mostly for Anne Bonny character development. I'm super pissed that they are misusing Max and I hope her freedom gives her a new plotline.

    I love talking TV, especially with someone who is just as interested in it as me.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Now what really happens is this, hood cleaning companies are in business to make money. That being said if they have a customer or are giving an estimate to a potential customer. They happen to notice an issue that is not in compliance with the codes. As soon as they put a sticker on your hood the technician who is licensed and signs that sticker becomes liable for that issue if it catches fire. Furthermore if some one else came in for any reason and they reported it the technician is in big trouble they can lose their license or a number of other bad things can happen.

    ReplyDelete

NOTE: Name-calling, personal attacks, spamming, excessive self-promotion, condescending pomposity, general assiness, racism, sexism, any-other-ism, homophobia, acrophobia, and destructive (versus constructive) criticism will get you BANNED from the party.