Thursday TV Report

Due to a prior obligation, I started watching Thursday's shows very late (11:30pm) that night. Shockingly I actually got through a good chunk of them only having to see ABC's dramas the next day. With that said, lots to talk about so...

Fringe continues to astound me this season and thank God baseball season is over, because I honestly couldn't wait another week for this story to move forward and move forward it did! This week's episode saw Olivia finally discovering that she doesn't belong in this alt-universe. Her scene at the very end of the episode (seeing the view from Ellis Island, calling up her niece) was exciting and heartbreaking at the same time. I honestly didn't know Anna Torv had it in her until this season and bravo to her! But even though I know things will come to a head and inevitably order will be restored, I'm going to severely miss the alt-version of the Fringe team, pretty Agent Lincoln Lee most of all. BTW the freak-of-the-week case was a little too on point, but it's nice seeing the Ashmore twins work together for once and we already learned people stuck in amber are fully aware. OMG I'm going to have never-ending nightmares.

On to the NBC comedies and well, I found them both a bit lacking this week. In fact, in the case of 30 Rock, the only thing I can remember is the end tag of the episode showing us a montage of Liz's opinions on possible names for Jack's baby. Oh wait, I just remembered Jenna writing her own obituary. Okay, that was a little funny too. In Community, it was a good episode, but it felt off just a bit. Maybe it was because the group was divided into two smaller groups or that the trampoline storyline was too weird (and a zombie attack to the tune of ABBA last week wasn't?). I did love the payoff in the end with the racist gardener. Caught me off guard and it was definitely a highlight. Hilary Duff didn't make any huge impact, but I guess that's better than ruining things. BTW this is a bitch free zone.

Finally, we got three shows that were invaded by Buffy the Vampire Slayer alums which forced me to watch one show I stopped watching. The first was Eliza Dushku appearing along side Sheldon and the gang in the Big Bang Theory as an FBI agent. Sad to say she made very little impact and didn't even deliver any fun lines. I actually wasn't particular a fan of the episode except for three scenes: (1) Leonard being confident and hot to Raj in the cafeteria, (2) PENNY IS BACK PENNY IS BACK and she had a scene with Sheldon, and (3) Sheldon's touching gesture of offering Howard his spot. But I want to go back to that second scene, YES she's back. Please, never ever ever go away again. The show needs you more than I realized.

The super talented Amber Benson showed up on Grey's Anatomy and she delivered the goods as one of the patient's estranged daughter. Her scenes weren't plentiful, but they all packed emotional wallop. The episode itself was good as well and I really need to stop referring to this show as a show I once loved, because this season I've "liked" episodes more than I've "hated" which is an accomplishment that's worth its due. The Callie/Arizona ending was not completely shocking, but it hurts just the same and seeing April shine against Hunt and Alex was nice. Not sure what to think about Cristina's storyline. Guess we'll see where they take it.

Last but not least, Nicholas Brendon turned in a magnificent performance as a deranged rapist in Private Practice. His performance was so good, I was afraid I'd never be able to watch old episode of Buffy ever again. But the episode belonged to KaDee Strickland who played the rape and assault victim, Charlotte King. A lot of the scenes were understandably hard to watch and I just have to give her props for really taking this storyline for this character and putting it her all. Brilliant job from her and the rest of the cast in this intense and unforgettable episode. Many are already shouting her name for an Emmy nomination. I'd vote for her in a heartbeat.