Sunday, October 23, 2011

TV Report: Weekly Drama Rankings


Only Fringe chose to air an encore episode this week which meant it was still a relatively full load of drama for me. I have to admit, I'm ready for a week or two off just to catch up on other things or you know... sleep.

1. Guilt (Revenge) - Such a greatly structured episode this one turned out to be. Like the pilot, we see the murder early on only for the details to start filling in after that. The more I watch this show, the more I'm rooting for an Emily/Victoria team-up job with both wanting/getting revenge on the same people. Of course with both out to get Lydia, she had no chance. Victoria's speech about the warmth she feels she is hugging her is from the hatred burning inside was soapy perfection. Nolan continues to delight while Tyler continues to confound. What is he up to?

2. Feeding the Rat (The Good Wife) - Really enjoyed the format of the Case of the Week this week with us already knowing the person was innocent. I did expect for the guy to have all the evidence to be stacked in his disfavor only for Alicia to save the day. Yes, that still happened but glad that it helped give some much needed screentime for Diane who felt guilty about letting go of legal aid/pro bobo cases. Meanwhile Eli continues to shine and his insistence on needing Kalinda and Alicia full-time, as unlikely as it may be in the reality of the show, all I could think of was OMG SPIN-OFF!

3. Eye of the Beholder (Castle) - It's clear that Castle/Beckett are endgame, but for now they need obstacles to keep them apart and this week that went to the fetching Kristen Lehman playing Serena Kaye, an insurance investigator who ends up working with them on an art theft case. It's great seeing Beckett react defensively, but also good that by the end both women understand each other. The episode itself was its usual twisty fun self, so more please.

4. Wake (The Secret Circle) - One of the things I like about the show now is that Cassie's grandmother seems to have taken on a Rupert Giles Watcher kind of role which the show needed. Dawn's ruthlessness and new kid Jake's witch hunter history ramp up the tension and action for a show that needs to really get over its hormones.

5. The Poor Kids Do It Everyday (Ringer) - The show continues to intrigue and I'm very glad that THINGS are happening and moving forward, but they can afford to speed things up a bit. I knew that Henry wouldn't have killed Gemma and that Siobhan was the one to take care of it (with what money? who knows? I thought she was broke myself). Bridget's plan to "frame" "herself" was also a bit risky. We randomly have a HS storyline now (it is CW after all) with Juliet in a new school with Logan Echolls as her teacher. Okay, then.

6. Shut Up, Dr. Phil (Supernatural) - This episode is as high as it is solely because James Marsters and Charisma Carpenter played a married witch couple, which is all sorts of awesome for this long-time Buffy fan. But there was a certain je ne sais quoi missing from this episode. The episode felt oddly lightweight despite all of the blood shed and the ending was a bit too rushed, clean, and frankly anti-climactic. Also why didn't Dean try to kill them the way he killed Amy a couple of episodes ago?

7. Eastern Exposure (Pan Am) - Probably the weakest episode for the show to date and I think it's because for the first time we didn't get a Colette storyline. Instead we delved more into the relationship between sisters Kate and Laura (which felt a bit overly dramatic) and learned more about Ted (which was underwhelming). I did enjoy the scuffle between Ted and Dean.

8. In Case of Loss of Control (A Gifted Man) - This show is counting down until it gets canceled as evident by them skipping about two episodes to show this one which was set to air during November sweeps. And you could tell why since it's one of the show's best with the introduction of Eric LaSalle's psychiatrist character and Michael getting more attached to the clinic. The cases were pretty good, too, with the girl getting shot a WOW moment. Also it helped that the episode began with an extended sequence of shirtless sweaty Patrick Wilson working out.

9. Runaway (Terra Nova) - I probably should just give up on the show, but in spite of itself I still keep coming back. This episode a bunch of things happened in regards to the whole Sixers plotline and yet I was mostly bored. Have no idea what the show can do to bring me back, but whatever they're doing now is now captivating me.

1 comment:

  1. LOVE Revenge. Madeleine Stowe is soooooo great on it. understands soapy primetime stylization in a way i haven't seen it understood since like the 1980s (gulp)

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