TeeVee
Lost Girl 2.22:
Guys! I was so hoping Aoife would show up! Actually I was half expecting the Garuda to pull a "by the way, I'm your daddy." ("Expect" and "want" aren't the same thing in this case.) I did like seeing more of Isabeau though.
Are we getting Dark Bo Saga next season? I WANT DARK BO SAGA! I mean, as long as she comes out of it OK in the end.
What is up with Kenzi? I hope no possession, because I think we've had enough of that. And did Bo basically say she's more into Lauren than Dyson now? I kind of hope so. I'm not sure I want them on any permanent basis after Nadia, but I like the idea that Bo is Dyson's One True Love He Can Never Love Again but that he isn't hers.
I was glad to see Val again, without her being used to cause friction between dudes.
I still object to Vex's existence and continued survival, and hope he isn't aregular member of Team Bo next season. But I mostly want next season to be here already!
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries 1.6: This one was really fun! I mean, they've all been fun, but this one especially. Though, I apparently love theatre ghost and 20~ year old mystery plots? Though I think I've mostly encountered those in movies and shows, not books. I was a bit iffy on the B-plot and its "We'll have Chinese characters! Naturally we will imply that they're opium dealers!" but I think the show did avoid the worst of that stereotype by the end. Also, it let Phryne have another random fling. (I'm watching 2 shows in which the heroine is regularly allowed to have sexual relations with people other than a regular significant other on any level resembling what an endless string of male leads have and without a hint of narrative shame or punishment. One is a show about a bisexual succubus and it seems to be trying to singlehandedly level out that playing field. The other is this show.) I continue to be greatly amused by Phryne's trying to "help" Hugh with his courtship of Dot.
ep 1.7: This one was kind of dull. I was excited early on when it started having Phryne's backstory and it was scandalous and bohemian, but I ended up not caring for here it went and the episode overall was rather dull. Hopefully the next episode will go back to the fun of early episodes.
Missing 1.1-1.4: Missing is about Becca Winstone ,a CIA operative who retired 10 years ago who goes to Italy when her son goes missing and discovers CONSPIRACIES and DANGER and promptly revelas herself to be absurdly, superhumanly badass on John Reese levels. I'm waiting for a scene where she walks into a bar full of armed thugs and walks out without a scratch. I kid you not. it's basically about her being hardcore and badass and making everyone (well, all the men...we could use more women in prominient roles instead of supporting) dance to her tune through sheer willpower. The first 2 episodes have an annoying number of comments about how she's nicer and mellower now that she's a mother, which would be rather annoying even without the fact that they haven't seen her in 20~ years and a decade of retirement. I don't know about you, but I assume a lot of things can change a person in 20 years besides giving birth. Thankfully, those comments evaporated in the 3rd and 4th episodes, and it's all fun and games from then on, and even the abducted son is considerably more endearing than I expected him to be. It's a rather absurd show and has lots other "time/technology/the human body doesn't work that way...you do remember you got shot and almost drowned 2 days ago, don't you?" but I'm finding that very hard to care about.
I knew Paul had to be alive as soon as he was played by Sean Bean and blatantly forgot the ball on purpose and sent Michael back. The question is if he's corrupt or had to go really deep cover/fake his death to keep baddies away from Becca and Michael. Probably we'll spend a long time being led to believe he's bad then have a while spent questioning whether he's good or bad. Assuming the show lasts that long.
In episode 3, I was thinking Oksana was probably raised by Paul or something (Likely not his daughter? Unless the Paul we saw in the flashbacks was a completely fake personality-and I hope not because I like him being the one wanting to get closer and settle down and her being the relationship-phobic one, despite the "I am hard and untrusting because foster care sucks!" background-then he seems to have been pretty exclusive to Rebecca for several years before Michael, or at least, not with anyone else long enough to know if he got them pregnant) but I guess I'd need to ditch that if Becca is right and Paul is the one who has Michael. (I'm leaning more towards Michael being taken for leverage against Paul?) Unless her getting beaten (maybe worse?) like that was part of a plan to get him to trust her. Which it may be, but that road with Paul behind it leads to Becca repeatedly having sex with and spending a decade mourning someone totally evil, and I'm not down with that. Even if it's Sean Bean, and therefore inevitably destined to die and/or be evil, unless his character happens to be named Sharpe. (Also, while Becca thinking he's the one who took Michael makes sense based on the information we have, it seems too easy.)
But back to Oksana because I derailed there! I have no idea if she's actually with the kidnappers and a fake!kidnappee, or is a kidnappee and is doing what she keeps telling Michael to do to stay alive (this is my preferred one, I think), or is a kidnappee and actually is broken by them (my least favorite) but I hope we get to find ot what's up with her. And not "we find out, and then she dies."
I really hope they do more with Gina McKee's character (right now I'm pretending she has so few scenes because she's busy with The Borgias) and Miller's sidekick (I forget her name) if the show gets renewed. I like Miller and don't mind Becca's French ex, but between them, Michael, Paul, Becca's mentor, and various minor baddies, there's an awful lot of men running around.
Nikita 2.18: Every once in a while, this show puts out an episode that seems determined to outdo every other episode in the series with lesyay. This was one of those episodes.
Am I right in thinking that this is the first fight scene we've had for Amanda? I can't recall any others.
Birkoff's flirting with Sonia was thankfully way less creepy this time. (And was anyone else worried that Percy was going to have her killed for remaining loyal to Amanda?)
I remember reading that there was supposed to be a shocking death this episode, but there wasn't? Unless Amanda garrotting that operative was supposed to be it. I was hoping it'd be Ari or Percy.
And where was Alex's bodyguard? Or is he still with her mom?
Alex's stick figures were adorable. Nikita seemed very proud of them.
Once Upon A Time 1.18: Well that was unfortunately predictable and rather disappointing.
I was really hoping there'd be more to Regina hating Snow than the dead boyfriend. I wasn;t hoping it'd be so that everything was the fault of an abusive mother. Mind you, it makes sense, but that doesn't mean I have to like or be impressed by the narrative choices that led to it. (Also, the Evil Queen in 10th Kingdom thinks Barbara Hershey looks great in her cloak, but she wants it back.) Also, I do think Regina transferred her hate from her mother (who she can't fight or hate) to Snow (who she can) but can't see how that escalated to cursing an entire world/continent/whatever. I mean, killing Charming before the wedding or killing him after and making Snow miscarry would have made more sense.
That said, with the way her mother used magic and Regina was talking about it, I wonder if this is going to be a canon where we learn that using magic makes you insane/evil? They seem to be laying doen the groundwork for that. (And it could be that people in Wonderland were insane because the place was literally drenched in magic.)
Unlike Dreamy and Skin Deep, this didn't have a good Storybrooke plot to make up for the disappointing Fairy Tale plot. At this point, I fully expect August to be Rumples' son, Pinocchio (which the rather obvious writing is hinting at) and the boy who finds Emma. Rumples hates fairies and something happens to his son, so I'm guessing the fairies took him/helped him hide from Rumples or some such and he was reborn as Pinocchio, and left with Emma because he was carved out of the same tree as the cabinet. Or some such. But htey clearly want his guy to be central, and this episode really annoyed me with him because now they're kicking Emma's characterization and intelligence under a bus to further him. Bad enough they already do that with Emma's characterization to further Regina and Rumples (more Rumples than Regina though) and to keep the plot from advancing too far.
BUT! The one bright spot is that Kathryn is back! Though, I'm kind of sad that Abigail ould have been a child when Daniel died and so even future flashbacks can't have Noah Bean and Anastasia Griffith sharing scenes. (They played siblings in Damages. Noah Bean also seems to want to make a career out of getting fridged.)
BTW, I find it really hard to beliee that everything from inbetween Skin Deep and What Happened to Frederick? was only a week. That's 5 episodes between 12 and 18 and most episodes have taken at least 2 days, with at least overnight implied between a couple episodes.
Person of Interest 1.18-1.19:
I thought the identity theft episode was pretty fun and liked the switcheroo they pulled with it. Also, nice to see Fusco doing things again. I recall distinctly disliking him early on but he has apparently grown on me a good bit. And I wonder how many times it took Reese callin Carter for him to realize that yes, HIS HERO REALLY DID DUMP HIM AND ISN'T TALKING TO HIM ANYMORE.
And then we got to Flesh and Blood and he seemed to have figured that out and was almost pouting. An interpretation reinforced by Finch treating him like a 10 year old and telling him he should apologize. (You like her Finch. You liiiiiiiike her. Well, as much as you like anyone. Just admit it.) But this episode! Probably my favorite since Get Carter.
Taylor seems t ohave handled being kidnapped pretty well. And I loved Carter not wavering for a second. (I actually wonder if she would have given in without knowing Reese was going to get him? I kind of...think she would have still held out for a long time.) And Carter and Fusco finally did some partner stuff! I think the only other time we've seen them working as partners was in the episode with the kid who was into comics? Also, if Elias was targetting the families of HR cops, what about Fusco's wife and kid? (Narratively, it would have taken focus off of Carter and Taylor, but I can't help but think there could have been a line about their being out of town or something.)
Meanwhile, most guys will get your chocolate or flowers or dinner or give gratuitous compliments to get back in your good graces. John Reese gives what appear to be contraband weapons. (A part of me also thinks he did some subconscious fistpumping and "IF I SAVE HER SON SHE WILL LIKE ME AGAIN!!" But really, don't mess with kids with him around. As far as I'm concerned, every other episode could have Reese guarding/rescuing a kid.)
And I am starting to seriously love Elias as a villain. Wouldn't want anyone like him anywhere near me in RL though. (I was also hoping we might get a surprise Zoe Morgan appearance, but no...)
Ringer 1.19-1.20:
Dear Writers: We do not approve of "All evil things are traced back to one woman. Who just happens to be in opposition to our heroine." Meanwhile, Andrew gets off from everything scott free (legally and relationshipwise, and i'm sure he'll be fine financially eventually) because...he loves Bridget? Who he thinks is a woman he hated and threatened to murder a few months ago for him.
Yet, still so addictive!
I like Bridget-as-Siobahn and Machado working together (at least partly because I like Machado but his plot is all over the place and rather "What?" when it drifts away from Bridget) and getting more Bridget/Juliet bonding bits, but Andrea Roth deserves way better than what this show is giving her.
Also, why do I suspect the show isn't going to pay attention to the side affects of ehat doing that to an ex-addicts would do?
I did laugh a lot at Henry's manpain (though some of it was fairly justified) and at Siobahn's attempt to bribe the maid backfiring, but I get the feeling that we're going to have everyone trying to get rid of Siobahn soon and that makes me sad.
Guys! I was so hoping Aoife would show up! Actually I was half expecting the Garuda to pull a "by the way, I'm your daddy." ("Expect" and "want" aren't the same thing in this case.) I did like seeing more of Isabeau though.
Are we getting Dark Bo Saga next season? I WANT DARK BO SAGA! I mean, as long as she comes out of it OK in the end.
What is up with Kenzi? I hope no possession, because I think we've had enough of that. And did Bo basically say she's more into Lauren than Dyson now? I kind of hope so. I'm not sure I want them on any permanent basis after Nadia, but I like the idea that Bo is Dyson's One True Love He Can Never Love Again but that he isn't hers.
I was glad to see Val again, without her being used to cause friction between dudes.
I still object to Vex's existence and continued survival, and hope he isn't aregular member of Team Bo next season. But I mostly want next season to be here already!
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries 1.6: This one was really fun! I mean, they've all been fun, but this one especially. Though, I apparently love theatre ghost and 20~ year old mystery plots? Though I think I've mostly encountered those in movies and shows, not books. I was a bit iffy on the B-plot and its "We'll have Chinese characters! Naturally we will imply that they're opium dealers!" but I think the show did avoid the worst of that stereotype by the end. Also, it let Phryne have another random fling. (I'm watching 2 shows in which the heroine is regularly allowed to have sexual relations with people other than a regular significant other on any level resembling what an endless string of male leads have and without a hint of narrative shame or punishment. One is a show about a bisexual succubus and it seems to be trying to singlehandedly level out that playing field. The other is this show.) I continue to be greatly amused by Phryne's trying to "help" Hugh with his courtship of Dot.
ep 1.7: This one was kind of dull. I was excited early on when it started having Phryne's backstory and it was scandalous and bohemian, but I ended up not caring for here it went and the episode overall was rather dull. Hopefully the next episode will go back to the fun of early episodes.
Missing 1.1-1.4: Missing is about Becca Winstone ,a CIA operative who retired 10 years ago who goes to Italy when her son goes missing and discovers CONSPIRACIES and DANGER and promptly revelas herself to be absurdly, superhumanly badass on John Reese levels. I'm waiting for a scene where she walks into a bar full of armed thugs and walks out without a scratch. I kid you not. it's basically about her being hardcore and badass and making everyone (well, all the men...we could use more women in prominient roles instead of supporting) dance to her tune through sheer willpower. The first 2 episodes have an annoying number of comments about how she's nicer and mellower now that she's a mother, which would be rather annoying even without the fact that they haven't seen her in 20~ years and a decade of retirement. I don't know about you, but I assume a lot of things can change a person in 20 years besides giving birth. Thankfully, those comments evaporated in the 3rd and 4th episodes, and it's all fun and games from then on, and even the abducted son is considerably more endearing than I expected him to be. It's a rather absurd show and has lots other "time/technology/the human body doesn't work that way...you do remember you got shot and almost drowned 2 days ago, don't you?" but I'm finding that very hard to care about.
I knew Paul had to be alive as soon as he was played by Sean Bean and blatantly forgot the ball on purpose and sent Michael back. The question is if he's corrupt or had to go really deep cover/fake his death to keep baddies away from Becca and Michael. Probably we'll spend a long time being led to believe he's bad then have a while spent questioning whether he's good or bad. Assuming the show lasts that long.
In episode 3, I was thinking Oksana was probably raised by Paul or something (Likely not his daughter? Unless the Paul we saw in the flashbacks was a completely fake personality-and I hope not because I like him being the one wanting to get closer and settle down and her being the relationship-phobic one, despite the "I am hard and untrusting because foster care sucks!" background-then he seems to have been pretty exclusive to Rebecca for several years before Michael, or at least, not with anyone else long enough to know if he got them pregnant) but I guess I'd need to ditch that if Becca is right and Paul is the one who has Michael. (I'm leaning more towards Michael being taken for leverage against Paul?) Unless her getting beaten (maybe worse?) like that was part of a plan to get him to trust her. Which it may be, but that road with Paul behind it leads to Becca repeatedly having sex with and spending a decade mourning someone totally evil, and I'm not down with that. Even if it's Sean Bean, and therefore inevitably destined to die and/or be evil, unless his character happens to be named Sharpe. (Also, while Becca thinking he's the one who took Michael makes sense based on the information we have, it seems too easy.)
But back to Oksana because I derailed there! I have no idea if she's actually with the kidnappers and a fake!kidnappee, or is a kidnappee and is doing what she keeps telling Michael to do to stay alive (this is my preferred one, I think), or is a kidnappee and actually is broken by them (my least favorite) but I hope we get to find ot what's up with her. And not "we find out, and then she dies."
I really hope they do more with Gina McKee's character (right now I'm pretending she has so few scenes because she's busy with The Borgias) and Miller's sidekick (I forget her name) if the show gets renewed. I like Miller and don't mind Becca's French ex, but between them, Michael, Paul, Becca's mentor, and various minor baddies, there's an awful lot of men running around.
Nikita 2.18: Every once in a while, this show puts out an episode that seems determined to outdo every other episode in the series with lesyay. This was one of those episodes.
Am I right in thinking that this is the first fight scene we've had for Amanda? I can't recall any others.
Birkoff's flirting with Sonia was thankfully way less creepy this time. (And was anyone else worried that Percy was going to have her killed for remaining loyal to Amanda?)
I remember reading that there was supposed to be a shocking death this episode, but there wasn't? Unless Amanda garrotting that operative was supposed to be it. I was hoping it'd be Ari or Percy.
And where was Alex's bodyguard? Or is he still with her mom?
Alex's stick figures were adorable. Nikita seemed very proud of them.
Once Upon A Time 1.18: Well that was unfortunately predictable and rather disappointing.
I was really hoping there'd be more to Regina hating Snow than the dead boyfriend. I wasn;t hoping it'd be so that everything was the fault of an abusive mother. Mind you, it makes sense, but that doesn't mean I have to like or be impressed by the narrative choices that led to it. (Also, the Evil Queen in 10th Kingdom thinks Barbara Hershey looks great in her cloak, but she wants it back.) Also, I do think Regina transferred her hate from her mother (who she can't fight or hate) to Snow (who she can) but can't see how that escalated to cursing an entire world/continent/whatever. I mean, killing Charming before the wedding or killing him after and making Snow miscarry would have made more sense.
That said, with the way her mother used magic and Regina was talking about it, I wonder if this is going to be a canon where we learn that using magic makes you insane/evil? They seem to be laying doen the groundwork for that. (And it could be that people in Wonderland were insane because the place was literally drenched in magic.)
Unlike Dreamy and Skin Deep, this didn't have a good Storybrooke plot to make up for the disappointing Fairy Tale plot. At this point, I fully expect August to be Rumples' son, Pinocchio (which the rather obvious writing is hinting at) and the boy who finds Emma. Rumples hates fairies and something happens to his son, so I'm guessing the fairies took him/helped him hide from Rumples or some such and he was reborn as Pinocchio, and left with Emma because he was carved out of the same tree as the cabinet. Or some such. But htey clearly want his guy to be central, and this episode really annoyed me with him because now they're kicking Emma's characterization and intelligence under a bus to further him. Bad enough they already do that with Emma's characterization to further Regina and Rumples (more Rumples than Regina though) and to keep the plot from advancing too far.
BUT! The one bright spot is that Kathryn is back! Though, I'm kind of sad that Abigail ould have been a child when Daniel died and so even future flashbacks can't have Noah Bean and Anastasia Griffith sharing scenes. (They played siblings in Damages. Noah Bean also seems to want to make a career out of getting fridged.)
BTW, I find it really hard to beliee that everything from inbetween Skin Deep and What Happened to Frederick? was only a week. That's 5 episodes between 12 and 18 and most episodes have taken at least 2 days, with at least overnight implied between a couple episodes.
Person of Interest 1.18-1.19:
I thought the identity theft episode was pretty fun and liked the switcheroo they pulled with it. Also, nice to see Fusco doing things again. I recall distinctly disliking him early on but he has apparently grown on me a good bit. And I wonder how many times it took Reese callin Carter for him to realize that yes, HIS HERO REALLY DID DUMP HIM AND ISN'T TALKING TO HIM ANYMORE.
And then we got to Flesh and Blood and he seemed to have figured that out and was almost pouting. An interpretation reinforced by Finch treating him like a 10 year old and telling him he should apologize. (You like her Finch. You liiiiiiiike her. Well, as much as you like anyone. Just admit it.) But this episode! Probably my favorite since Get Carter.
Taylor seems t ohave handled being kidnapped pretty well. And I loved Carter not wavering for a second. (I actually wonder if she would have given in without knowing Reese was going to get him? I kind of...think she would have still held out for a long time.) And Carter and Fusco finally did some partner stuff! I think the only other time we've seen them working as partners was in the episode with the kid who was into comics? Also, if Elias was targetting the families of HR cops, what about Fusco's wife and kid? (Narratively, it would have taken focus off of Carter and Taylor, but I can't help but think there could have been a line about their being out of town or something.)
Meanwhile, most guys will get your chocolate or flowers or dinner or give gratuitous compliments to get back in your good graces. John Reese gives what appear to be contraband weapons. (A part of me also thinks he did some subconscious fistpumping and "IF I SAVE HER SON SHE WILL LIKE ME AGAIN!!" But really, don't mess with kids with him around. As far as I'm concerned, every other episode could have Reese guarding/rescuing a kid.)
And I am starting to seriously love Elias as a villain. Wouldn't want anyone like him anywhere near me in RL though. (I was also hoping we might get a surprise Zoe Morgan appearance, but no...)
Ringer 1.19-1.20:
Dear Writers: We do not approve of "All evil things are traced back to one woman. Who just happens to be in opposition to our heroine." Meanwhile, Andrew gets off from everything scott free (legally and relationshipwise, and i'm sure he'll be fine financially eventually) because...he loves Bridget? Who he thinks is a woman he hated and threatened to murder a few months ago for him.
Yet, still so addictive!
I like Bridget-as-Siobahn and Machado working together (at least partly because I like Machado but his plot is all over the place and rather "What?" when it drifts away from Bridget) and getting more Bridget/Juliet bonding bits, but Andrea Roth deserves way better than what this show is giving her.
Also, why do I suspect the show isn't going to pay attention to the side affects of ehat doing that to an ex-addicts would do?
I did laugh a lot at Henry's manpain (though some of it was fairly justified) and at Siobahn's attempt to bribe the maid backfiring, but I get the feeling that we're going to have everyone trying to get rid of Siobahn soon and that makes me sad.