Last Week in TV - Week of April 5 - Reviews and Episode Awards

Welcome back to this very short edition of Last Week in TV. Between writing the Thursday Throwback on Enlisted, previewing this week's Younger, and being sick all weekend long, I had much less time to work on this column. Plus there were 6 pilots this week alone. Since I was barely keeping up before, chances are several shows will go to the marathon later pile until finales start coming regularly. I did get all 6 pilots reviewed, the nominated show - The Middle, and everything that airs on Tuesday for some reason. Probably because that was right before I fell ill. I did not get to TBBT or Outlander again so they are definitely heading to the marathon queue. Hopefully this week will go better and I can catch up on others. The nominated show next time is Scandal and after that, providing I can find it, will be The I. T. Crowd, which I have never heard of before. I only know that it is British. If you would like to nominate an episode, please fill out the short form below. Until then, I hope your TV week was great. Sound off in the comments below and happy TV viewing to all.

Show of the Week:

Daredevil - 1.01 - Pilot

I have an iffy track record with comic book shows. I tend to like them rooted in reality and with a lighter tone. There's a reason why I am a big fan of The Flash and don't like Gotham or Arrow. Not that The Flash is rooted in reality. Neither is this one. I have a hard time believing that anyone can dodge bullets, blind or sighted. Still it didn't make me want to jump off a building in despair at the end, so there's a plus. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode based on the characters and story structure alone. Matt makes for an appealing protagonist. He isn't a douche except to the detective and his desire to help the innocent instead of just being about vengeance is refreshing. Still it is Foggy that will keep this show light enough for me to watch it. I love his one-liners and his pragmatic way of thinking makes for good banter between the friends. As for the story, the shady corporation of criminals has been done a billion times but as long as we get the reveal of the Big Bad running it all in a reasonable amount of time, it allows for multiple storylines that will still tie together at the end. This gives it a good balance in that it can be procedural in places (victim of the week) and still have the underlying mytharc that genre fans crave. It's a good start for Netflix in the genre game and a positive sign for its other collaborations with Marvel down the line. Still even if it is available to marathon, I am not. This one goes to the later pile, possibly one a week.

Grade: B+
Ranking - 4
Audience - anyone who loves comics or action

Best Reason to Watch - the characters / you don't have to read the comics to get the gist of the story
Best Scene / Best Action - Matt vs. Assassin in the rain
Most intriguing - Who is the big boss and what will Matt's eventual connection be to him? I know it will be connected to his dad's death in some way.
The "It Takes Me Back" Award - File folder signs? That's like all the improvised furniture we used to duct tape together in college.
The "Least Subtle" Award - If every known person in a conspiracy offs themselves, you know there's a much bigger conspiracy. That doesn't seem like the best way to hide it.
Biggest Hero Trope - wise, dead mentor speaks beyond the grave to encourage the hero to keep fighting
Worst Plan - sneaking off by yourself to get a flash drive that people are trying to kill you for
Biggest Huh? - I realize Daredevil is blind but isn't his mask covering his eyes like that a dead giveaway?
The "Welcome Back" Award - Elden Henson from Hunger Games / Bob Gunton from Royal Pains / Gideon Emery of Teen Wolf
Best Quotes -
1. Matt: "How would I even know if she's a beautiful woman?" Foggy: "I don't know. It's kind of spooky actually but if there's a stunning woman with questionable character in the room, Matt Murdock's gonna find her and Foggy Nelson is gonna suffer."
2. Matt: "The incident? Is that what we're calling it now?" Susan: "Well that sounds so much better than death and destruction raining from the sky nearly wiping Hell's Kitchen off the map." Matt: "Shorter too."
3. Foggy: "Good morning, sunshine." Matt: "What time is it?" Foggy: "Half past get the hell up. Let's go."
4. Brett: "Officer of the law, defense attorney, we're supposed to be enemies." Foggy: "First off, we've been enemies since we were four Brett so let's not blame it on career choices. Secondly, I'm not a particularly good defense attorney so helping me is like helping yourself, and finally, these are for Bess." Brett: "Please stop giving my mom cigars, Foggy." Foggy: "What? She'll outlive us all. Look I'm not asking you to do anything immoral. Just give me a heads up if something, you know interesting walks through the doors." Brett: "You're right. It ain't the careers."
5. Leland: "It's perfect 'Chechnyans kidnap a preschool' weather, Vladimir."

Nominated Show:

The Middle - 6.08 - The College Tour

Sometimes there comes a scene in an episode that is so awesome that it automatically lifts the rest of the episode. Such is the case here. I wasn't really feeling Sue's mouth vomit ways and I have a hard time understanding how a character I thought was smart could be so dumb. Then she goes and says exactly what Mike needs to hear. Both the scene where SuperDad tells Mike about all he does with his daughter and the one where Mike asks Sue if she wished he were more like SuperDad were very touching. So touching that they lifted the episode up an entire grade level. I really like that the moral of the little things counting wasn't anvilicious but instead came across as sweet with both Frankie and Mike trying to connect with kids that need very different things. This episode wasn't laugh out loud funny and some of the comedy was more cringe worthy than humorous but they nailed the heart. With the exception of Brock, who just annoyed me and dragged down the episode, I really like how pacing of the two college stories was handled and how each parent got a chance to shine.

Grade: B+

Best Reason to Watch - both parents spend time with the opposite child and get refreshed as parents
Best Awww Scene - Sue tells Mike all the little things he does for her that make him the best dad
Biggest Pet Peeve - Chuck, besides being a complete idiot, keeps talking in the 3rd person
The "Say What?" Award - I can't believe Frankie let any of these people into her house, much less to watch her kid. Anyone bringing rocks and talking about strangling chickens would not be my first choice. I hope she's a long-time friend or I'm questioning the parenting here.
Biggest Face Palm - Sue checked the Native American box on her college applications because she's a native citizen of America and then makes it worse by sounding racist in the tour
Best Parent - Super Daddy Pancakes Guy, who is way too good to be true
Most Gross - Did Sue just throw up in someone's music box?
Best Catchphrase - Chuck's lifeortunities
Best Quotes -
1. Sue: "You are the greatest dad in the world. Hello. That's why I got you the mug, World's Greatest Dad. Mugs don't lie." Mike: "You remember all that stuff?" Sue: "Of course. I don't want some bouncy pancake dad. If I did, it wouldn't be you."
2. Sue: "Hey Dad, did you say you wanted me to get you up at 6:10?" Mike: "No one's ever said that in this house. I said 8."
3. Mike: "At a certain age, you should stop being excited about life. All I'm saying."
4. Frankie: "I'm just saying, you make a mistake. You gotta own it. Show her that it doesn't faze you. Believe me. There's nothing more attractive to a girl than a guy who's confident. But a guy who's sneaking around trying to avoid her, not so much."
5. Frankie: "Axl, you're both on the same campus. You're going to run into her eventually." Axl: "No, I figured it out. I just have to skip all my Wednesday classes, scurry along the rooftop to Econ, and change my major to nursing."

New Shows:

AD - 1.01 - Pilot

I am a big fan of Jesus, but I am not always a fan of movies or shows about Him. Therefore I approached this mini-series with caution. In the end I found a few troubling spots but overall I thought it was a good representation. The acting is solid and it fills in the gaps believably for the most part. As with all stories that feature crucifixion it made me a little queasy but it didn't go beyond, glorifying violence for violence's sake like The Passion of Christ. The pacing could use a bit of a tweak but for a pilot, it lay the groundwork well. I am puzzled by the IMDb cast list because it sounds like this adaptation is throwing up a pretty wide net when I figured it would stay crafted around the initial aftermath and focus more strictly on Peter. Still that might end up making the story richer. Overall, this adaptation has struck my interest and whether or not I get to it all on a weekly basis, I will get to it sooner rather than later.

Grade: B+
Ranking - 4+
Audience - people interested in the Bible of course and those who like historical drama

Best Reason to Watch - it's the greatest story ever told
Best Character Interaction - Pilate and Caiaphas
Most Faithful - Jesus' mother Mary
Biggest Hmm - Why is Boaz calling him Peter? Shouldn't he know him as Simon?
Most Brutal - crucifixion
The "Back Off" Award - Why is it always Peter who is blamed? He's the only one who got out of the boat and yet we remember most that he looked down. There are 12 disciples and yet it is always Peter who gets blasted for deserting Jesus.
Biggest Hmm - I thought in Jewish culture men and women did not spend much time in public together even if they were husband and wife. This seems to negate that.
Best Quotes -
1. Jesus: "It is finished."
2. Claudia: "Killing him won't be the end of him." Pilate: "It usually is, my darling."
3. Simon: "He's dead but we are not. Our flesh and blood waits up north in Galilee for our return. Our duty now is to our families." Peter: "3 days. I owe Him that much. Our faith in Him has to be worth 3 days." Simon: "And if He fails to rise on the third?' Peter: "Then we leave like men, not cowards."
4. Pilate: "Grant each request. Keeping them at each other's throats prevents them from wrapping their fingers around ours and have Cornelius put the Nazarene out of his misery."
5. Claudia: "The gods find us in our sleep. Their message was clear. The Nazarene is a good man, humble, pure of heart." Pilate: "The man was a danger to the status quo. Our garrison in Judea is not large, Claudia." Claudia: "You'll live to regret your hand in his death." Pilate: "I took advice. I weighed it up. I acted accordingly." Claudia: "Advice from men who feared his popularity would eclipse their own."

American Odyssey - 1.01 - Pilot

American Odyssey has good bones but the story is starting to feel overdone. Having just finished State of Affairs, I'm not ready to delve back in to another shady politics story. Basically a US team in Mali surprisingly killed a major terrorist but accidentally uncovered that an American corporation has been sending him money. Odelle, the main character, sees a private military company come in to take the body and backs up the proof on a flash drive because she doesn't trust them. Good call because later that night, her team is firebombed by a drone and then finished off by the same private soldiers. A well-timed pee break is all that stopped her from dying too. As she goes on the run to find a way home with just a young terrorist in training, the corporation will do anything to make sure she doesn't succeed. Odelle makes a compelling protagonist in the pilot. She's smart and savvy but she also knows when she needs help. Sadly everyone in American Odyssey is a terrible judge of character and they all shoot their mouths off to the absolute worst people imaginable. Here's hoping they get some survival sense soon or there won't be anyone left to play the conspiracy game. Everyone knows corporate greed is alive and well but when the story line revolves around it, it can get old fast. Usually they are best in marathon so that's where this one goes.

Grade: B-
Ranking - 3
Audience - those who like political thrillers and are pro-Occupy Wall Street

Best Reason to Watch - corporations make excellent villains
Most Hardball - Odelle when she threatens to expose the kid
Least Surprising - the good guy whistle blower is killed / the reporter isn't real
Best Plan - Aslam gets the word out that Odelle is alive
Most Honorable - drone operator who wouldn't take the mortgage payoff
Best Reference - Harry Potter
The "Welcome Back" Award - Treat Williams from Everwood and White Collar
Best Quote - Danny: "I knew immediately what it was. I knew it was blood money so I told them no. I told them to send it back. I mean I'm not going to get paid off. We killed US soldiers."

Lizzie Borden Chronicles - 1.01 - Pilot

While not steeped in any kind of reality at all (the sisters were never in debt), Christina Ricci has made a living playing just the kind of character that Lizzie Borden is purposed to be. In this version she is a sociopath not above murdering her way to get what she wants. If she's going to keep dropping bodies, this has a chance to become campy fun in an exaggerated horror show way. Of course, I'm not quite sure how she can and remain above suspicion. Well at least more suspicion. Like in real life, the townspeople are fairly sure that she did indeed murder her father and stepmother. Just in this case she also intimidates key witnesses and offs a couple more people. Dead baby Benjamin hints at a sexual abuse storyline to come, which may be how they explain Lizzie killing her family but that would be far less campy than having her just kill them because they stood in her way. I mean if you are going to have Lizzie be a sociopath, let her be one. Other than that, the mystery is set up nicely with the presence of a Pinkerton detective but Emma is especially poorly fleshed out. They are going to have to give her a purpose instead of just being the voice of 1890's female behavior standards and moderator between Lizzie and polite society.

Grade: B
Ranking - 4
Audience - anyone who is into gore but doesn't mind a bit of camp

Best Reason to Watch - Lizzie's crazy
Most Diabolically Nuts - Lizzie, who hangs her half brother and frames him for their biggest creditor's murder
Weirdest Twist - the police officer has a crush on the Bordens
Most Disgusting - head in a bag
Most Surprising - dead baby mummy in a box
Biggest Reprobate - William Borden
The "Welcome Back" Award - Christina Ricci mostly of movie fame / Clea DuVall who played Marcie in season 1 of Buffy
Best Quotes -
1. Girl: "I'm not afraid of you." Lizzie: "Then you haven't been paying attention."
2. William: "Oh what did you do to deserve anything of his?" Lizzie: "Lived with him." William: "Well sh** at least I was spared that pleasure." Lizzie: "Shame we weren't spared yours."

Your Family or Mine - 1.01 - Pilot

I'm not quite sure what to make of this comedy quite yet. It has some clear comedy gold in the cast and the interactions are interesting. Still I have zero idea where this is heading. The two main characters feel like a fun and supportive couple. The extended family has potential as well. Ricky could be funny or stereotypical. Since she is likely to make or break the comedy, it will be important for the audience to sympathize with her earlier rather than later. Right now she comes off as a cross between Evelyn on Two and a Half Men and Marie on Everybody Loves Raymond. She could easily be more obnoxious than funny and that would be a deal breaker for me. I'm also not sure about the tone of the episode. I ended up liking their reaction to the babysitter scandal but there is too much of an emphasis on sex jokes to be actually funny. If this is just the tease to get people to watch the show but it becomes more even-handed in subsequent episodes, Your Family or Mine will sit better with me. Speaking of the title, we only saw one side of the family so I'm guessing they will explore Kelli's side next time. That could be an interesting narrative style if they go back and forth.

Grade: C+
Ranking - 3
Audience - those who like broad family comedies more in the vein of the 90's and enjoy repeated sex jokes

Best Reason to Watch - Kelli and Oliver make for a supportive couple
Most in Need of Some Self-Esteem - Claire
Most Unusual Form of Family Entertainment - nanny cam
Least Surprising - the picture turns out to be of Ricky
Worst Mistake - letting your overbearing mother and lecherous father know you had a nanny cam installed
The "Welcome Back" Award - Richard Dreyfuss and Jo Beth Williams of Oscar and Golden Globe fame / Kat Foster of the Goodwin Games and Bad Teacher / Kyle Howard of Royal Pains
Best Quotes -
1. Oliver: "I can't believe she actually thought all that horrible stuff about you." Kelli: "I can't believe we have the same taste in hotel porn as your parents." Oliver: "Do you ever wish you'd married someone else?" Kelli: "Not even once."
2. Kelli: "I love that you always try to apply logic to those movies." Oliver: "I can't help it. It's crazy. I mean why would you order a pizza if you don't have enough money to pay for it? Use your head porn stars."
3. Oliver: "Oh this is not going to end well." Jason: "I like it. There's so many good shows here tonight."
4. Kelli: "We don't need her approval. She only acts that way because she thinks her precious sons married beneath them." Claire: "I know my Jason did. I mean I was lucky I found anybody to marry me. He was the 4th guy I proposed to you know."
5. Oliver: "Spider-Man fighting Stormtroopers matches every aesthetic."

The Comedians - 1.01 - Pilot

There is nothing at all appealing about this show for me. First off, I have never heard of Josh Gad but I loved Billy Crystal in my youth. I'm not into cock jokes and the documentary style drives me insane. Nope. If I want to get a Billy Crystal fix, I'll watch clips from the Oscars he hosted because he's still the best one they've ever had.

Grade: D
Ranking - 1
Audience - those who don't mind documentary-style format and "edgy" comedy

Best Reason to Watch - either Billy Crystal or Josh Gad, depending on your comedy style
Best Reason to Fast Forward - all the bickering
Worst Sign for a Comedy - I didn't laugh once
Best Monologue - Kristen in her car
Biggest Douche - Josh
Best Product Placement - Tesla
Best Reference - When Harry Met Sally
The "Welcome Back" Award - Billy Crystal of half my childhood movies and Oscar excellence / Steven Weber of Chasing Life
Best Quotes -
1. Josh: "When I found out Billy Crystal wanted to work with me…um, nobody was more excited than my grandparents."
2. Billy: "Listen, I've just got to tell you. I saw Book of Mormon three times." Josh: "No, you're kidding me. You must be very wealthy."
3. Billy: "It was…uh, not one of my better meetings." Josh: "Seriously was that the worst meeting you ever had?" Billy: "No. Lindsay Lohan about doing The Miracle Worker in a dinner theater."
4. Exec: "In fact, we think he could be…well, he could be the next you." Billy: "Really. Okay so when he's me, can I be Clooney?"

Weekly Shows:

Battle Creek - 1.06 - Cereal Killers

Russ is really starting to annoy me. We're on the 6th episode and he's still harping on all things Milt like the pilot. He needs to grow up and soon. As it is, I really liked the digital crime board even if the thing makes me fear for civil rights and our narrowing privacy all the more. The case was pretty transparent. I knew it was the brother from the moment they were in the hospital and the lame red herring of the robotics kid never flew. Still Holly was awesome in all ways and Milt is finally losing patience with Russ. I hope he actually tells him off one day. Best though were the guest stars who were a riot, especially Patton Oswald. I'd love to see the mayor come back some time.

Grade: B-

Best Reason to Watch - Milt and the guest stars
Biggest Baby - still Russ
Most Helpful - still Holly
Best Visual Sarcasm - Russ' "I Already Knew That" cue cards
Best Idea - Cereal Day. Not kidding. I want my town to have one.
Best Technology - Milt's digital crime board
Funniest Surprise - Russ and Milt break in on the "kidnapped" Mayor's drug-fueled party
Best Plan Not Used - offering the other fiancée the country club venue in a straight up switch
Least Surprising - the brother did it
Most Surprising - after all that work, Funk's fiancé decides to stick to their home for the wedding
The "There's an App for That?" Award - audio gunshot locator
The "Welcome Back" Award - Patton Oswald, most recently of SHIELD / Peter Jacobson from House
Best Quotes -
1. Fontanelle: "XTR BAD? That's a really stupid license plate even for a criminal, especially for a criminal."
2. Holly: "What are your options?" Fontanelle: "So far all I've come up with lying." Holly: "That's kind of a short term solution."
3. Milt: "If it is still on we can use Stingray to locate it." Russ: "No, no we don't need your IT department. Darrel, you seem to be like a micromanaging, control freak. No offense, but I'm sure that you've got a way to check the Mayor's cell phone whenever you need to find him, right?" Darrel: "Yes, I use an app." Milt: "It's still technology." Russ: "It's 99 cents."
4. Mayor: "Well I assume someone who's not going to bother to vote for me is not going to bother trying to shoot me."
5. Milt: "Wow, all this because he couldn't get over his brother's success. Success he should have shared." Russ: "Is that what you think this is about? That's not success. The guy's a phony, living a lie that almost caught up with him." Milt: "Well sometimes lies help. Sometimes white lies help us make a better reality." Russ: "What the hell does that even mean? I guess you can cop to your own reality because the laws of gravity don't apply to you either." Milt: "Yeah, you sure? I ended up in Battle Creek, didn't I?"

Fresh Off the Boat - 1.11 - Very Superstitious

Grade: B-

Best Reason to Watch - grandma
Best Negotiator - Jessica who gets Louis to confront his own superstitions
The "Knock First" Award - Please knock when entering a bathroom, people. I don't need to see anyone doing their business.
Best Totally Fake Speech - Eddie, who is taking little white lie to a whole new tall tale level
Biggest Guest Star - Scottie Pippen
Worst Counselor - Talk about jumping the gun. Has he ever tried to talk to a kid before calling DFS? DFS is no joke to be crying wolf on.
The "I Don't Get It" Award - How is Naps 101 funny?
Best Reference - Ninja turtles
Best Quotes -
1. Emery: "Fours aren't so bad. There's 4 Ninja Turtles." Jessica: "You mean those karate frogs who eat pizza in a sewer? That seems bad."
2. Eddie: "Dad, there's no way I'm gonna win." Louis: "Well win or lose, we're putting it on your college application because you literally have nothing. It's just was born, likes lunch, ran for president."
3. Jessica: "I'm going to treat myself to a pedicure done by a white lady. That's when you know you've made it."
4. Eddie: "I'm the Abe Lincoln of Abe Lincoln Middle School."
5. Louis: "You have to be patient with grandma. Every generation gets less and less superstitious just like how they get less and less racist."

iZombie - 1.04 - Liv and Let Clive

My love for iZombie is going to rise and fall based on the brain trait that Live acquires I guess. I found Paranoid Liv to be a little too stupid for my liking. She had to know that there were many different reasons for a vice cop to be in on a gang's dirty secrets. Granted she doesn't seem like one to own a TV much less spend a lot of time watching one so maybe she has avoided every cop show ever. Still doesn't mean she should have instantly thought Clive was shady, paranoia intake or not. Since the audience knew that he was doing his job, there wasn't much tension here. It was more like Liv pratfalling her way through this rendition. I guess I just like it better when they are all working as a team instead of having even more secrets between them. I did really love the kung fu side effect though. Hopefully Liv keeps that knowledge.

Grade: B-

Best Reason to Watch - Ravi as the voice of reason
Most Awkward - Liv and Ravi trying to extract themselves from the Blue Cobra's meeting house
Best Brain Power - kung fu Liv
Best New Addition - Blaine's brain chef
Most Interesting Way to Get Major into the Story - Ravi moves in with him
The "Are You Kidding Me?" Award - The gang leader picks up broken glass with his bare hands to kill Liv with it. His hands would be shredded before he could close the deal.
Most Ridiculous - Liv thinking Clive is running with the Blue Cobras
Most Fun - Jackie who goes double campy
Best Reference - Memento
Best Quotes -
1. Thug 1: "And when opportunity knocks, you can keep sitting on your futon watching Real Homemakers of Whoretown like a fatty fat a** or you can answer the door."
2. Evan: "Have you by any chance been taking advantage of our state's liberal marijuana laws?"
3. Liv: "I don't know how many Take Back the Night self-defense seminars they gave at your sorority house, but I could pretty much take out Batman with a spiral notebook and a student ID card."
4. Liv: "Okay then, any theories on who did this?" Ravi: "Might I suggest a disappointed former piano teacher?"
5. Ravi: "Should I be concerned that whatever you're about to do requires gum?"

Younger - 1.03 - IRL

Younger is one of the few shows I watch where I'm continually surprised that the time is up at the end. It doesn't feel like it's been 22 minutes. I attribute that to the great pacing. They never linger too long and they have 3 characters that can carry any scene on their own. So far this show has been charming with a few uncomfortable moments along the way. Diana and Maggie are still my favorite characters but the others have been fleshed out well for being so few episodes. All in all, this is one of the few new comedies this year with promise and I can't wait to see if they deliver on it.

Grade: B

Best Reason to Watch - Maggie and Liza's friendship
Best Gentleman - Josh, who does not take advantage of Liza's drugged state
Most Embarrassing - falling asleep on your date's floor and snoring
Most Uncomfortable - Maggie pep talking Liza's vagina
Worst Plan - trying out a medication, especially written for someone else, during an actual date
Best Reaction - Diana to learning her "date" is a kid who loves her purse
Best Quotes -
1. Maggie: "You know that you're an insane person. A cleavage wrinkle? You know with everything that women have to be paranoid about, we don't need to be making up new stuff. You look amazing."
2. Liza: "Everything's in great condition. We only had one girl so we were actually able to have nice things unlike the boy families."
3. Liza: "What's IRL?" Kelsey: "In real life. When you were in India were you living under an actual rock?"
4. Maggie: "Take one of my Xanax." Liza: "Isn't it illegal to take someone else's prescription medicine?" Maggie: "You're so cute. Maybe just take half."
5. Josh: "I love vinyl. It's the best." Liza: "Do you love it love it or do you love it ironically?"

Forever - 1.20 - Best Foot Forward

I'm not a fan of where Forever is heading. Why must every single cop show partner up the male and female leads? It makes no sense, is not realistic, and most importantly, it is boring now that everyone does it. The last 3 minutes brought down the grade down one full letter for me. This is certainly NOT the best foot forward and they were doing so well up until that point. The case had a twist I didn't see coming. I finally got some Abe and Lucas time. That's been on my Forever wish list for awhile now and it did not disappoint. Hopefully we will see more of that in the future. Well in the last 2 episodes that is. Time to start wrapping things up. No cliffhangers please.

Grade: C

Best Character Interaction - Abe and Lucas
Best Timing - Abe keeps Jo from saying something none of us can take back
Worst Plan - Jo does NOT go with Isaac to Paris
Best Travel Agent - Henry could sell a city to anyone just by how he describes it
Worst Liars - both Henry and Abe qualify since they are both suspicious about what the other's hiding
Biggest Huh? - Why would the lady pick the foot up out of the hamper? That's nuts. Shriek and point, honey. It's less bloody that way.
Best Tactic - Abe uses flattery to get Lucas to help him find his mom
Best History - Henry and Hemingway had a spat over a girl
The "Didn't See That One Coming" Award - the prima had her brother cut off her foot for her
Best Quotes -
1. Jo: "You know I have heard of schemes like this. Rich millionaire men trying to whisk a girl away using his money and charm." Isaac: "And good looks. Don't forget good looks."
2. Odessa: "You may call it retirement but when a ballet director replaces you with some girl from the slums who could barely spin on her toes, I call that an insult." Hanson: "Yeah well I call it motive."
3. Jo: "She played us. She played all of us." Reece: "The role of a lifetime." Jo: "Well wait 'til we arrest her. She will be known as the craziest fraud that ever lived."
4. Henry: "Extraordinary, isn't it?" Lucas: "Yeah, I was gonna go with bizarre."
5. Henry: "Never underestimate what some people will do to…" Jo: "To live forever." (foreshadowing to Abigail maybe?"

CSI: Cyber - 1.05 - Crowd Sourced

Who knew cyber crime could be so exciting? Nothing like a countdown to a major bomb going off in a public place to make the heart race. What really made this episode for me though was the back story on Tobin. He's been mentioned a lot on this show so I knew we were going to see him eventually. I'm glad it was this soon. Smart criminals are always more fun than dumb ones or those who just use blunt force so my guess is that we see him back again eventually. I'm glad for it because villains that have personal ties to the protagonist are also more interesting.

Grade: B

Best Reason to Watch - back story on Tobin
Best Scene - Krumitz refuses to leave the car and eventually gets his fist bump
Most Dangerous - Smart and crazy. One or the other can be dealt with. Together is scary.
The "People are Stupid" Award - If you know that clicking on a website is going to detonate a bomb, why would you ever go to that website? Sometimes people suck. Out loud.
The "Little Warning" Award - before pulling anything out of a cadaver, let me know so I can look away
Most Heroic - the kid who ran the bomb out of the theatre
Most Awesome Tech - the cave
Best Plan - mock sites to bury the real site
Most Creepy - how excited this guy is to type something
The "Welcome Back" Award - Andrew Lawrence of the Lawrence brothers
Best Quotes -
1. Tobin: "Well I'm just surprised Sifter let you keep the party going. Trust a black hat once, shame on them. Trust a black hat twice…How long do you think you can deny the thirst, Nelson? You have no idea how much money can be made selling the secrets at your fingertips, but I do." Nelson: "And how's that working out for you? You like your new living situation? Concrete walls, shackled up, zero computer access. Seeing how much your life sucks only makes me more confident that I will never become you."
2. Simon: "Krumitz, some of us don't speak robot."
3. Mundo: "Krumitz, I want you out of this car now. That is an order." Krumitz: "The hell it is. We are in this together. Now just shut up."
4. Nelson: "Krummy, Avery said be careful accessing Tobin's site. I didn't think she meant level 5 CDC biohazard careful." Krumitz: "Look at that. Even the malware has malware."
5. Simon: "You know Avery, some people have the tools to make the right choice, like Raven. She knew we were the best thing that ever happened to her. Others can't be saved cause others are just plain evil. I'd hoped you'd see that by now."

Grimm - 4.17 - Hibernaculum

Egads Grimm! You keep getting worse and worse at basic storytelling. I can't believe you went to Renard and Juliette screwing. Not to mention, this episode is 1/5 recapitation so…kudos on saving all that money by not shooting new footage? I can't wait until Trubel returns. Things went from okay to bad the second she left. Right now I'm actively rooting for 1/4 of the characters to die or leave.

Grade: C-

Best Reason to Watch - Monroe and Rosalee
Best Reason to Fast Forward - Juliette
Best Scene - Monroe explains his PSTD to a sympathetic Rosalee
Best Action - Wesen car sandwich
Least Marketable - Granny ice sculptures
Biggest What the Heck - demon hands coming after Renard
Best Reaction - Rosalee to Juliette's new form
Best Moment - Wu smiles when the EMT guy asks how someone can freeze to death in a cell
Best Continuity - Monroe PSTD, Wesen Santa, and Nick zombie hearing…well until he couldn't hear the guy grunting and shivering that is
Most in Need of Going - While Adalind is usually the clear winner in this category, she is now joined by Juliette. I hope they both kill each other.
Worst Plan Yet (writers) - Grimm has had some shady, boring, and downright stupid plotlines but having Juliette and Renard screw each other is the worst one yet. This from a show that gave us almost a year of coma/amnesia.
Worst Plan Yet (story) - tie - 1. Going into the hibernaculum instead of waiting until spring. 2. Team Grimm doesn't move any of the conveniently placed furniture over the hatch to slow down the nest and give themselves plenty of time to escape. 3. The nest chase Team Grimm outside knowing they might freeze to death.
Least Sense Making - If you know you need a certain amount of heat to survive, then why in the world would you not travel with the amount of people you need? In fact, why don't you all live together? Furthermore, if the temperature outside doesn't have anything to do with it, as Monroe said when he explained why they don't live in warmer climes, then why would winter affect them more than summer? You can't have it both ways. Nothing about this explanation makes any sense.
Best Way to Make an Episode Cheaper - fill one fifth of it with footage from other episodes
Best Quotes -
1. Monroe: "It's like an animal heat orgy."
2. Hank: "Well he still had to come from somewhere." Wu: "Unless he was an alien and his spaceship is parked out back. You never know."
3. Rosalee: "She's a freaking hexenbiest!"
4. Hank: "It's some kind of Wesen that freezes his victims." Rosalee: "Freezes? You mean like solid?" Hank: "Just like a TV dinner."
5. Kenneth (to Adalind): "Calm down. No one's gonna kill you…unless you keep shouting."

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 The 100, Grimm, Teen Wolf, and others. She's addicted to Twitter, live tweets a multitude of shows each week, and co-hosts the Sleepy Hollow "Headless" and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Currently she writes a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."

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