Hugo Awards Nominations

Just in time for the 2013 premiere of Doctor Who, which begins in about 90 minutes, the Hugo Awards have released their nominations. To refresh your memory, the Hugo Awards are given out every year since 1953 honoring "excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy." The complete list of nominations is long with categories ranging from novels, editors, graphic novels, etc. Let's take a look at their TV and film nominations this year!

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

• Doctor Who, “The Angels Take Manhattan”
• Doctor Who, “Asylum of the Daleks”
• Doctor Who, “The Snowmen”
• Fringe, “Letters of Transit”
• Game of Thrones, “Blackwater”

This is the fourth year in a row that Doctor Who has grabbed three of the five slots in this category. That's just insane. Now, I love the show and the episodes they usually nominate are damn worthy, but I wished this group was able to recognize other shows as much as they do this one. Of course, you would think this might cause some sort of vote splitting. You would be wrong. In fact, since the show's reboot in 2005, it has won every single year except one (Joss Whedon's Doctor Horrible won in 2009). So while one of those episodes will probably win, I'm rooting for the other two episodes nominated as they both feature exquisite turning points for two respected series.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

• The Avengers
• The Cabin in the Woods
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• The Hunger Games
• Looper

I'm a tad disappointed not to see Chronicle or even Life of Pi (was that eligible?), but how can I really complain about a short list that contains 3 of my top 10 favorite films of last year? Top geek of the year, Joss Whedon, expectantly double-dipped while Peter Jackson continues his Middle Earth streak with the Hugo Awards by being nominated here after picking up the win for all three of the Lord of the Rings films a few years ago. I'm slightly rooting for The Cabin in the Woods, which surprises even myself, but there you go.

Farewell to Fringe

I honestly still can't believe that we will never have another new episode of Fringe, but then I also think about how absolutely incredible it was that such a show actually was able to survive through five seasons and reach 100 episodes.

The two-hour series finale aired last week and I thought it was a bittersweet and beautiful ending for the show. There were many things that I loved, that made me laugh, and that made me cry. I loved that we were able to see the alternate universe again where alt!Olivia and Lincoln are living happily ever after. I practically squealed with joy that Olivia got her cortexiphan mojo back and used it to finally kill Widmark. I laughed when we saw one dead Observer floating and Walter thinking it was "cool." I cried (a lot) when Walter told Astrid that her name was beautiful and when he told Peter that he was his most favorite thing in the world. It was a finale that really did satisfy emotionally perhaps to make up for the season-long arc that failed to match the creative highs the show experienced in seasons 2 and 3.

I wished we had gotten more of Donald and Michael during this season so we were more invested in them as characters as opposed to chess pieces that needed to exist to get to the endgame. With that said, it was a pleasure to have Michael Cerveris those last few episodes to really ground the entire arc of the series especially since he's probably the only character in the end that has had a fairly straightforward narrative and he jumps time! Speaking of, like many myth-laden shows that also feature time travel and alternate realities, many of the plot specifics of the show (especially in the finale) can defy logic to the point of annoyance. I could nitpick the whole chicken-egg scenario of the Observers ceasing to exist and yet events that they influenced (like Peter meeting Olivia) still happening, but there's no point. Olivia and Peter get their happy ending with their daughter while Walter gets to make the noble sacrifice to make up for the damage he inflicted by crossing realities all those years ago.

So I say bravo and thanks to Fringe, its creators, its writers, and most definitely its actors for a thrilling five years. It is easily one of my favorite shows ranking in my top ten year-end list for the past three years. I'm still flabbergasted that John Noble was never nominated for an Emmy and if Anna Torv doesn't become a big star after this it will be a tragedy. I started watching the show in the beginning because of Joshua "Pacey" Jackson and was proud he had grown to be such a great actor and there's nothing I could say to express how much I adore Jasika Nicole. Much thanks also to Blair Brown, Lance Reddick, Seth Gabel, Kirk Acevdeo, Leonard Nimoy, Jared Harris, Georgina Haig, Gene the Cow, and all the rest who filled out the talented cast.

See the cast say thanks to their loyal fans below:

End-Of-Year: Favorite 2012 TV Shows, Part 2

A mixture of laziness, writer's block, work, and tennis has conspired to delay this post of my top 10 favorite TV shows of the past year. I was supposed to have posted this a day after I posted the bottom part of my Top 30 list, but alas. So without further a due...

My Top Ten TV Shows of 2012

10. Fringe - This should probably be ranked higher, but this final season, which has been pretty good, isn't matching the highs I felt last season where the alternate universe arc reached its zenith. But those last few episodes last season makes this a worthy top 10 inclusion especially with the promise of major tears coming for the series finale airing tonight. I'm so not ready to say goodbye to these characters.

9. The Good Wife - Yes, Kalinda's S4 arc with her husband is perhaps the one blight in an otherwise another excellent year for this show with Alicia doing better than ever balancing the whole mom/lawyer/wife dynamics while everyone else experience some growing pains. The law firms' financial troubles have been particularly well handled I thought. This show remains the blue ribbon example of casting and ensemble work certainly in all of network TV.

8. Sherlock - The first season, which also had just three episodes, ended up in my top ten list two years ago for the seamless way Moffat updated the Holmes story for our times with pitch perfect acting from Cumberbatch and Freeman to bring the roles of Holmes and Watson to life. This season second was more of the same with higher, more personal, stakes and a couple of brilliant turns from Andrew Scott and Laura Pulver playing Moriarty and Irene Adler respectively.

7. Breaking Bad - Coming off an explosive season and heading towards the finish line, this past season had a lot riding on it, but I think this transitional period went just right. Walter's devolution has reached its peak while everyone around him are really starting to suffer none more so than Skylar played devastatingly by Anna Gunn. The heat is on and things are reaching its boiling point.

6. Downton Abbey - It's very difficult to say anything about this show because most people on this side of the ocean haven't seen the latest season, but I quite enjoyed it, more so than last season which I also quite liked. With the war over, the show was able to focus more with its characters. Like most soap operas, and yes this show can be characterized as such with no shame, there are insane plots, but in the end it's also about whether you care enough about these people to put up with all the crazy and I really do care. Which is why certain developments make it that much more difficult to accept.

5. Shameless - I already gave this cast my Best Ensemble award, because I really do think the young actors making up the Gallagher family are doing something special. It helps that they are led by a very good Rossum who has found that once-in-a-lifetime role that was tailor-made to show off just how talented she is. We are continually rooting for them, for her, to suceed and when they inevitably don't you can't help but keep watching and hoping.

4. Homeland - Apparently the show jumped the shark, or so the internet is telling me. I do think the whole "Abu Nazir in the United States" plot line was a bit too much, but the rest of the season played out as thrilling, exciting, suspenseful, and nervewracking as the show's hailed first season. In fact, the first few episodes of this season pretty much gave me whiplash from how quickly things were progressing. Lewis, Danes, and Patinkin were just aces. The final episode only made me need the next season more.

3. Community - A part of me wondered whether or not my longing for the show's return had any effect on its relatively high ranking. But even if it did, the show can well damn stand on its own merit especially as still one of the most random and inventive sitcoms out there. An entire episode with the characters playing a video game? A tribute to Law & Order? An epic pillow fort/blanket fort war that leads into a Ken Burns-style documentary episode? An episode where the characters realized they might have been stuck in an insane asylum all this time? I miss you, show.

2. Parks and Recreation - *BEST COMEDY* My #1 show last year drops a spot only because there were maybe a couple of episodes that didn't live up to standards BUT the show is still so damn good. From Leslie's campaign and subsequent rousing win to Ben's Washington sojourn and eventual proposal to Leslie, it's been a year full of big changes for almost every character. The comedy is still gold and the relationships between characters have never been better developed. Basically this show is pretty much the moment when Leslie met Joe Biden: magical.

1. The Hour - *BEST DRAMA* It doesn't happen often, but sometimes shows have the perfect season where every episode is just as strong or better than the rest while characters and plots are working seamlessly with one another. I fully believe this latest season of The Hour was one such season. The first season was good, but was slightly unmemorable while this season pretty much destroyed me. Most of the change had to do with really narrowing the focus of the overarching mystery and making it more personally relevant to the characters. The acting has never been better from the leads and supporting alike with some familiar S1 faces getting much-deserved focus and air time this season along with some excellent casting for new characters. I'd watch it all again in a heartbeat.

Addendum: The network with the most shows in my top 30 is ABC, but none of its shows ranked higher than #17. PBS scored two top 8 shows, which are both technically British imports. Speaking of British shows, 4 made my top 11 including my best show of the year. The network with the second most shows in my list is NBC with 4 including two in the top 3. Only 6 new shows made my list.

Shows that I watched, but didn't rank: 2 Broke Girls, Amazing Race, Big Bang Theory, Don't Trust the B- in Apt 23, Elementary, Glee, Glee Project, Masterchef, Modern Family, The Mindy Project, Nashville, The New Normal, The Office, Project Runway, Raising Hope, Revolution, Smash, Supernatural, Survivor, Teen Wolf, True Blood, Wilfred

Cancelled shows or shows I've stopped watching: 666 Park Avenue, American Horror Story, Arrow, Bunheads, Grey's Anatomy, Grimm, Newsroom, Pan Am, Partners, The Killing, The Secret Circle, Touch, Up All Night, Weeds

And finally, just a brief word of a few shows that merited Dishonorable Mentions...

TV Report: Premiere Week

How's Premiere Week treating everyone? I myself have watched roughly 12 hours worth of TV shows, which is par for the course for me. I've already made my thoughts known on the new pilots. I already can't wait to see more of what Mindy Project or Last Resort have to offer. On the other hand, I practically have to force myself to watch the second episode of Revolutions, which I haven't even done yet! Of course there's one more day left to Premiere Week and it's packed. There's approximately 7 shows I want to watch tonight. Yes, that's not a typo! But that's tonight. For now just a few very brief thoughts on the returning shows this week I've seen, but haven't yet talked about...

- Steven Weber is Caroline's dad on 2 Broke Girls? I didn't see that coming. I really was expecting some older dude or perhaps keeping his character unseen by the audience. The show itself? Not much to recommend sadly.

- Castle is much better at the funny stuff than at the serious stuff so I was pleased by all the bedroom hijinks and less so at more Kate's mother's murder drama. Though making HRG the Big Bad? Nicely done.

- I recognized that New Girl got way better throughout last season, but was it just me or did the 2-episode premiere kind of started off a wee bit slow? Future Nick was funny, but everything else just sort of happened.

- My thoughts on Modern Family winning the Emmys has been noted, but I still can admit a good premiere episode when I see it and I think they knocked it out of the park. That said, still not sure how I feel about the time jump.

- Is it just me or is it hard to care about Big Bang Theory? Stuart and Raj's scene at the end was nice, but everything else was pretty meh. Kind of over Amy's unhealthy fixation on Sheldon.

- Yes, I still watch Glee, but I actually thought its premiere episode a couple weeks ago was quite good. Unfortunately these last two have not. This week's especially started off with a Blaine solo and ended with Finn returning. DO. NOT. WANT.

- I loved, loved last week's Parks & Recreation premiere with Leslie visiting Washington D.C. This week's episode was more of a mixed bag with three storylines that didn't really gel with each other. Still the best comedy out there though.

- Last, but not least, the Fringe premiere was fantastic. Edge of my seats kind of stuff with the requisite heartbreakingly emotional scenes. The mother/daughter reunion was everything.

I've decided for this new season that instead of doing daily or even weekly updates on every show I watch (which would be ridiculous since I watch EVERYTHING), I'm just going to update when I have actual things to say and comment on. Or at least that's what I'll be trying to do!

TV Report: Week of 4/8

There are many reasons why I didn't post my TV Report a couple days ago as I try to do, but I won't go into it. Instead in an effort to catch up, just brief snippets on those shows I got to see last week. Note that these don't include any new episodes I've seen since Sunday. Hopefully will get to those this upcoming weekend. Onwards...

Game of Thrones - Not as flawless as the premiere, but still a wonderful episode where we got a lot more of Arya and Gendry than the earlier episode. Plus we also got more Tyrion and Cersei scenes and lord knows I could watch a whole hour of those two just sniping at each other.

Mad Men - Apart from Don's feverish dream where he commits murder, the episode really revolved around Peggy and Joan being awesome and that's all right by me since they are my favorites. Peggy had two great scenes conning Roger and hanging out with Dawn while Joan finally kicked Greg out of the apartment!

How I Met Your Mother - I don't think it's an insta-classic, but it was pretty damn close. Love all of the flashback/flashforward stuff with the guys reflecting on their lives every three years or so. I especially loved Cobie Smulders rocking the wigs and costumes this episode. Plus Ted with the baby made me smile.

2 Broke Girls - Nothing much to say about this episode where the girls had to do drug testing for money. It's a show I watch because it's after HIMYM. I enjoy the leads, but the show itself isn't good. Moving on.

Smash - Toning down Ivy's histrionics and giving Karen the understudy role were all good-ish or at least relatively compared to everything else. But I really didn't like how Eileen treated her potential investor, Dev's work problems, or anything to do with Julia's crisis at home (though Messing's performance is very good). So more bad than good I'm afraid. And the last-second Uma reveal is... yawn.

Glee - Matt Bomer was in this episode. That's pretty much where my interests began and ended and even then I cringed at even some of his scenes, because oh god why? My love affair with Blaine is rapidly declining though that gratuitous shower scene was much appreciated. I just feel sorry for every actor in this show to be honest.

New Girl - Other than wanting to know exactly how True American is played, this episode didn't really hold my attention. I do like Jess/Russell together, but this episode wasn't one of their better ones. Winston's B-plot was also a bit mediocre except for the ending as he tried to get his babysitting job back.

Suburgatory - While not everything worked, a lot of it did that it made the episode worthwhile. Don't really buy Lisa/Malik, but the actors had so much fun with their gross PDAs. Ryan's feelings for Jane were also not exactly organic, but I dig it. Plus we got tons of Yakult/Dalia which is a rivalry for the ages.

Modern Family - Was I the only one who didn't enjoy that episode? I mean I really can't point to a single reason why I did, but nothing really clicked for me. The worst was probably Cam/Mitchell getting into trouble yet again by being overly judgmental.

Community - What was not to like? The Dean gets lots of screen-time to steal scenes, Jeff/Shirley gets to hang out, Britta gets to Britta herself, and Troy's feelings for Britta resurfaces. Cool, cool, cool, cool.

30 Rock - Good to see Elaine Stritch back as Jack's mom as she's always good for a zinger or two plus Krakowski is still doing good work this season this time checking off a couple of items in her sexual walkabout checklist. The best scene, however, was Liz dancing as dollar bills rained down on her via Tracy and his son.

The Office - Not sure what to think of this episode. On the one hand, we get more development on Nellie and Andy/Erin, but for the most part it all felt just a tad bit awkward for everyone involved. I supposed this show's motto is making awkward, well, funny, but I think this time around the execution fell short a bit.

Awake - I get so depressed talking about this show knowing it'll get cancelled due to its anemic ratings, but I tell myself to just enjoy the ride and whatever episodes do air. This week's episode wasn't as perfect as the week prior, but it still gave us little clues as to the nature of Britten's accident. Need more! Of it all!

Fringe - What's the point of reviewing this episode when all I want to do is give every cast member an Emmy at this point? Anna Torv and John Noble especially showed off why it's ridiculous they haven't been showered with all of the award this past week's episode and Seth Gabel two weeks ago did the same when one of his characters died. For me, it's these performances that make it worthwhile. The cool sci-fi plots are just bonuses really.

Finally, I have checked out the first episodes of Scandal and Don't Trust the B- in Apt. 23 and will check out the pilot for HBO's Girls very soon. I'll do a quick post on all three when I can!

TV Report: Week of 3/25

Before I talk about a few of the TV shows I saw this past week, just wanted to remind everyone about the season premieres of both Game of Thrones and The Killing tonight as well as the season finale of Shameless. As always, there's just way too many things on tonight.


Mad Men Finally Returns

They're back! Don, Peggy, Joan, Pete, Lane, and the whole gang! Even Cooper is back without an explanation after he stormed off last season. One main character that didn't make an appearance though was Betty which probably had more to do with Jones' pregnancy than anything. With that said, the two-hour premiere really was great giving us updates on what all of them have been up to while moving the needle ever forward. Don is now married to Megan, Pete lives in Connecticut with Trudy, Joan is a new mother, and Peggy is still with her beatnik journalist boyfriend. With actors as good as these, the plot is almost immaterial and yet we get that great party at the Drapers where Megan single-handedly put the song "Zou Bisou Bisou" in the cultural awareness as well as that hilarious and smartly structured scene with Joan bringing her baby into the office. The episode began and ended with a hint of the civil rights movement making its way into SCDP. Can't wait to see what this season has in store for all of them!

The Good Wife Takes Center Stage

Didn't it feel like this episode was tailor-made to be Julianna Margulies Emmy episode? Alicia took center stage starting and putting out fires one after another. She was tasked by Diane to represent her in a prestigious Blue Ribbon Panel head up by Mike Kresteva played by the deliciously scheming Matthew Perry while also helping Kalinda with her IRS and FBI problem. Oh yeah and she's trying to figure out how to buy her old house back (cue the flashbacks) as well as deal with the surprise twist regarding Jackie. And fight!

Once Upon A Time Goes Mad

I have to say I've been impressed with this show the past few weeks MOSTLY because I've enjoyed the focus of the supporting fairy tale characters like Grumpy, Red Riding Hood, and last week's Mad Hatter. Sebastian Stan as the Hatter was great casting and the fact that his character is one of the few who "knows" about the Curse adds another layer. Hope we see more of him soon. With all of this said, I'm still generally ambivalent over the whole Mary Margaret-David-Regina case even with the "shocking" discovery that Mr. Gold is playing both sides.

It's All Lies for Happy Endings

The fact that last week's episode was the penultimate one this season made me sad a little since it just means I only have one more week to enjoy these people's company until possibly next fall! Unlike last week's episode which largely fell flat for me, I absolutely loved this week's lie-a-thon. How the lies kept building and building until the predictably horrifying and hilarious end was pretty damn good TV. Plus Alex as Ellen DeGeneres impression just confirms why she's this season most improved character... in all of TV. Boom, I said it.

Freaky Fringe Gives All the Feelings

I'm glad that even though we got a touching scene between Broyles and Olivia at the end with Broyles reinstating Olivia to the Fringe team, we still got a whole episode showing the consequences to Olivia's decision last episode regarding the memory replacement she's experiencing. It's also good we're seeing both sides of the emotional divide over this. While Peter and Walter are obviously ecstatic, not ignoring Lincoln and Nina's feelings makes it all the more real. Revisiting an old case was nice for those of us who has stuck with the show this long and I'm happy we're inching ever closer to the endgame of Jones. All of mutant monsters in the end gave me nightmares.

Miscellaneous Thoughts on Other TV

The less said about this week's episode of Smash the better because other than 1-2 scenes it truly was horrible... The will-they-won't-they in Castle is heating up but my patience is honestly getting thinner every week... Don't remember much about this week's New Girl except for Wilson singing songs from Wicked... There's something completely annoying me about Touch but I'm not at all sure how to articulate it... I didn't really LOVE this past week's Awake episode (still really liked it) but that ending blew my mind moreso than I expected and gave me chills... I don't know how to feel over this war between Troy and Abed on Community but everyone has to keep watching... Leonard Nimoy's Big Bang Theory cameo wasn't really worth all the hype... And finally Being Human ended its controversial 4th season in the UK last week. I'll try to form coherent thoughts on it once it airs all of its episode in the US.

TV Report: Week of 3/18

So everyone is watching the season premiere of Mad Men right now right? If not, why aren't you? In any case, another busy Sunday night of TV and so yet another TV report from moi...


Walking Dead Finale

It's been an interesting season in that nothing much happened. Part of this is because they were pretty much stuck on the farm all season give or take a trip to the woods to find a missing girl or to town for some zombie action. They had a great opportunity to delve into the characters though and they did do this to some, but not all. With that said, the finale was mostly action oriented especially the first half as a horde of zombies invaded the farm. It was refreshingly chaotic and insane (though the fact that they all can shoot like a pro was a bit hilarious). When they all got back together again and regrouped, I liked that the group seemed just a tad more desperate and beaten to the point that Rick basically turned into Shane in those last few minutes giving the character a much needed boost. They're all going to need it for whatever nightmare that awaits them next season. Is that a prison off in the distance? Also that hooded figure who saved Laurie? Best reveal ever.

Good Wife Knocks It Out Again

There were so many good things about last week's episode that I won't even talk about the dependably great back and forth scheming and manipulation between Alicia and Louis Canning. Diane taking charge of her love life was a highlight, but also her stand off with Alicia (and the rest of the firm) over Alicia's bonus. Alicia finding the courage to do this in the first place showed great development for the character. In addition, her brief, but affective scenes with Cary and Kalinda in the episode made my heart aflutter. First, it was lovely seeing Cary and Alicia in the same scene again just shooting the breeze. But of course Kalinda and Alicia resolving to somehow making their situation work made me a very happy boy. Earlier in the episode when Kalinda offered Alicia a beer, I screamed so loudly into the TV it was hilarious. Maybe soon.

Sitcoms Eschews Comedy for Heart

I'm not saying that How I Met Your Mother, Cougar Town, and Community weren't funny this week, but that wasn't the focus of them this week. The relationship between certain characters were more the focus like Ted and Robin navigating their even more complicated relationship on Mother to Troy and Abed's relationship getting tested in Community. In Cougar Town, everyone had to deal with Grayson having a daughter and the Travis/Laurie relationship hit a curious turning point. I don't need my comedies to be wall-to-wall laughs when they can deliver character moments such as these.

Good News, Bad News for Smash

Fans of this show got good news this week when the show was renewed for a second season. Of course good news didn't happen to the show's characters as the workshop for their musical were met with negative reviews. I'm more mixed on the show in general. I do love that Derek was particularly snarky, but not mean in the episode and getting to see and listen to the musical numbers again from earlier this season was a particularly good treat. And what can I say about the appearance of Bernadette fucking Peters as Ivy's mother? Brilliant. But all of that good is marred by a lot of bad like Karen's oh shucks dilemma of whether to pursue her "hot" music career or to stick with her job as a chorus player in the musical or Julia's lame story with Michael Swift or anything to do with her son who can't act. But nothing is lamer than Anjelica Huston yet again being wasted with Ellis, a hot bartender, and dealing with plumbing problems. Seriously? Seriously?

Fringe Is Back With A Little Love Story

Unlike Smash, this show is looking less likely to see another season renewal. There's still some hope, but the ratings this week were not good. With that said, it certainly was an emotional episode especially for Olivia who had to make the heartbreaking decision to keep the "new" memories she's getting of her old life with Peter versus her "old" memories. It's not that confusing when played out on TV! Her scene with Nina at the end there drove me to tears only for the final scene with her and Peter to make me smile. I'm just so happy they're both finally reunited though I'm sure there are plenty of complications remaining. For one, Peter's world being this world as revealed by the Observer doesn't exactly explain it all. And no, "love" is not an acceptable answer. What does this also mean regarding the other universe and their memories of Peter? How come Walter hasn't gotten his memories back like Olivia? And what about poor loveless Lincoln?

Miscellaneous Thoughts

A bit of a disappointing episode of Happy Endings this week that was only saved by its end tag with Jane and Brad being all gangsta... I forget what happened on Once Upon a Time this week because the beginning with Red turning into a wolf was just so kick-ass... Touch had its second episode and I'm not sure it's exactly for me but I'll give it a couple more episodes... Awake continues to do good job despite no one watching... I quite liked Dermot Mulroney in New Girl... And finally, I've just caught up on Shameless and now all I want to do is hug Fiona.

Looking Forward To... March Madness

No, I'm not talking about anything sports related. Please. I'm talking about the slew of mid-midseason premieres (or comebacks) that's about to come at us during the third month of the year. Here are a few I'm most looking forward to...


Awake (March 1st, NBC 10pm) - SERIES PREMIERE. The pilot has been widely available online and it's pretty glorious, definitely my favorite pilot in ages. A man, played by Jason Isaacs, lives in two worlds where either his wife or his son died after a crash. The concept is the selling point, but the emotions, the acting, and everything else makes me ache for a second episode. So everyone go watch it tomorrow!

GCB (March 4th, ABC 10pm) - SERIES PREMIERE. Looks to be a mash-up of Suburgatory, Hart of Dixie and Desperate Housewives. I'll check out the first couple of episodes because I love Kristin Chenoweth, but I'm actually not THAT excited for this.

Community (March 15th, NBC 8pm) - It was a dark day when this show went on its 3-month hiatus. Most of it was because its fan had NO IDEA when, if ever, it was going to come back. Ratings are low, but here's hoping NBC's still sad numbers and Jim Rash's recent Oscar prove advantageous for this.

Touch (March 22nd, FOX 9pm) - SERIES PREMIERE. Already reviewed its pilot episode when it had a special preview a couple months back. It's not great, but it has potential. Plus I do miss Kiefer Sutherland back on my TV.

Fringe (March 23rd, FOX 9pm) - Okay, its "hiatus" is only a month long, but the simple fact that this is one of my favorites shows and its ratings almost guarantees its cancellation, I'm looking forward to any time it comes back and everyone should know the date.

Mad Men (March 25th, AMC) - SEASON PREMIERE. 17 months. 17 months! That would be how long this show has been off the air with new episodes until it returns at the end of March. God knows if I even remember how last season ended, but I'm certainly glad to welcome back Don, Peggy, and the rest of the gang back to my TV.

Finally, even though these two shows return in March, I'd be remiss to not mention The Killing and Game of Thrones coming back April 1st for both of their sophomore seasons. TV|Line has a more complete list at March's various season/series premieres and finales.

TV Report: Week of 2/19

Happy Oscar Day everyone! But before we all get caught up on who's wearing who and which silent French films are winning what, just a few thoughts on some of the TV I saw this past week.

For the Love of New York City

Both The Good Wife and Smash are shot in New York City though the first show uses NYC as a stand-in for Chicago. In any case, both clearly love to take advantage of this. With Smash it's all about featuring locale haunts such as Cloister Cafe or just walking near Broadway's famed Shubert Alley. With The Good Wife, it's the casting. Just this week alone the guest stars included Jonathan Groff, John Benjamin Hickey, Rita Wilson, Parker Posey, Edward Hermann, Denis O'Hare, Teal Wicks, and Amy Sedaris. Whew! You'd think all of those guest stars would suffocate an episode, but not The Good Wife where the bulk of the story dealt with Will's last case before his forced six-month suspension. I'm intrigued what this means for Will now.

As for Smash, it had its weakest episode yet perhaps due to unremarkable songs (though I think I liked the original "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" duet in the end) or perhaps due to some tired plot developments. The episode started well enough with Jaffrey and Davenport having a bit of macho Brit-off and Huston throwing drinks at her ex-husband's face never got tired, but then we got into Iowa and I fell asleep only to be awakened by Kat McPhee doing cringe-worthy country. More sleepy developments... Julia of course had a thing with the new DiMaggio (who is dreamy I give her that) and Ellis is channeling his inner All About Eve. Which brings me back to The Good Wife. Is Caitlin also up to no good? Team Ivy! Team Alicia!

A Very, Very, Very, Special Episode of Glee

Teen suicide. Check. Teen marriage. Check. Texting and driving. Check. Since Regionals was apparently not big enough to devote an entire episode to, Glee's writers decided to just throw the kitchen sink of PSAs into this episode. Spoiler Alert: It didn't turn out well. I have nothing but praise for Max Adler's heartbreaking portrayal of a depressed teen forced into committing suicide, but Glee's inconsistency (see their handling of Santana's coming out for example) and inappropriate reactions (Kurt's reaction toward Quinn) made it all frustrating. The Rachel/Finn marriage is something I never cared about and that ridiculous cliffhanger with Quinn getting hit by a truck was sensationalistic at its worst. Most of the songs were damn forgettable with the exception of the Troubletones fantastic rendition of Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger." Oh and Sue's pregnant. Sigh.

Sitcom Lightning Round...

Most of the sitcoms this week ranged from good to great with my least favorite episode coming from a show that's almost always my favorite. How I Met Your Mother handled the Robin/Ted (and Barney) thing quite nicely, though I was worried that Marshall and Lily were cast in a bit of a negative light here with their long-term bets. Cougar Town was pretty great if only for the sad zipline and staged murders, but I just continue to love the relationship between every character. New Girl, which is now a much better show than it was early in the season, delivers another good one with Jess becoming tougher (as a teacher) and Schmidt/Cece blooming slowly (while Nick/Julia wilts).

Suburgatory showcased two of my favorite supporting players this TV season, Allie Grant and Carly Chaikin, with the latter making me LOL at her detailed plan for revenge against Tessa. Modern Family was a bit mixed since the Cam and Mitch/Jay stuff didn't really work for me, but everything else was great especially Manny and Luke "driving" and the whole doll/virgin metaphor. Not the best episode of Happy Endings even though Elisha Cuthbert continues to surprise me at how funny she is and Max's bear stunt was inexplicably hilarious to me. 30 Rock had a great concept (Leap Year Holiday) and some fantastic acting throughout and yet something still didn't click for me. Parks and Rec probably had it's weakest episode in years as the Tom/Ann relationship is pretty dull, Jerry's party kind of blew, and Leslie realizing she needs to take a break was a bit shrug-worthy.

Fringe Giveth and Taketh Away

This was a huge episode for Fringe (which to be honest is in the brink of cancellation based on its ratings). Not only did we get A LOT of information regarding the Observers, but because things seem to be reaching a climax in terms of realizing the absolute tragedy that Peter's erasure and comeback to the timeline has done. All of them are dealing with their lives being rewritten, erased, etc. and that is wreaking havoc on all of them emotionally. Joshua Jackson again is doing his best work on the show right now and his final scene with Anna Torv was one of the most heartbreaking scenes of the series. Torv for her part was fantastic here as well as in all of her scenes with alternate!Nina. Of course we still don't know Jones' endgame and EXACTLY what is going on re: Peter and the "normal" timeline, but I still got chills during the scene with Peter and September in that room. Poor Henry. Poor Peter. Poor Olivia. Poor us!

Miscellaneous Thoughts

Really great capper for the two-part episode of Castle since I kept being shocked at all of the twists and turns it took... Anyone else starting to think Prince Charming in Once Upon A Time is kind of a goober for being so damn cowardly... It was fantastic seeing Misha Collins in Ringer in an episode where we finally find out what drove the sisters apart... The Amazing Race had its season premiere, but I didn't have much to say other than being happy it's back... And finally congratulations to The Simpsons for a solid episode last week which also happened to be their milestone 500th episode.

TV Report Catching Up

Internet troubles and other reasons conspired in me skipping my usual TV Report last week which means I now have 14 days of TV to try and talk about. And knowing my TV habits, that's a lot aka 30+ TV episodes. So in a effort to just catch up, just a few quick thoughts in alphabetical order:

2 Broke Girls - I'm still not sure what I think about Jennifer Coolidge's Sophie added into the ensemble, but any character not diner-related is potentially great. Last recent episode with Earl going to the hospital was good to show Max's softer side.


30 Rock - Jane Krakowski is dependably best in show, but Tina Fey has been stepping up her game. Her old lady Joker in the latest episode (to complement Jack's Dark Knight) was inspired. The one-hour episode the week before though dragged. Would've made a better half hour installment methinks.

Big Bang Theory - There are seven main characters on this show. So why does only one, the newest addition, Amy brings the laughs? Oh sure Sheldon and others will get a joke here and there, but the writers are doing most of them a disservice with dull plots such as Bernadette and Howard's prenup or the lame contest between Sheldon and Kripke.

Castle - This show brought out the big guns. First having an episode enabling the characters dressed up in 40s outfit in a flashback then having the first part of their February sweeps thriller event that involves the CIA. Both were very strong episodes and I can't wait to see the second part.

Cougar Town - It's finally back and still called Cougar Town! And I loved it. From the cold open showing us these people are still the alcoholics we know and love to that heart-clutchingly beautiful proposal in the end, it was a great premiere. The latter scene was made even more effective by showing us momentarily Bobby's heartfelt and sincere mixed reaction to the proposal. Didn't even mention the other gags like Evil Stan, the green screen, and Jules predictability.

Fringe - The ratings are super depressing, even more so since these last two episodes have been this season's best (and right up there in terms of the whole series). It helped that we're finally getting closer and closer to the resolution of the Amberverse as Olivia's memories are starting to come back. I constantly praise Anna Torv, right so, but Joshua Jackson reacting to this has been a wonder these past couple of episodes. It also helped that the Cases of the Week were strong on their own.

Glee - The less said about the Ricky Martin episode the better (though Martin was completely fine and predictably charming and Naya Rivera killed in all of her scenes). I actually found myself liking the Valentine's Day episode. The Karofksy twist was pretty unexpected, Mercedes' glorious "I Will Always Loved You" hit all the right notes, and Rachel's dad were fabulous.

Happy Endings - Two words: James Wolk. I think other things, potentially gut-bustingly hilarious things, happened in these past couple of episodes, but really JAMES WOLK. His Valentine's Day kiss with Max then his subsequent shirtless scene the episode after... yes, please.

How I Met Your Mother - A bit of a mixed review for this show. The housewarming party episode was great in terms of concept, but the content was uninteresting. This week's episode was better in no small part to Cobie Smulders' heartbreaking performance YET AGAIN. The end with her and Ted is a curious development. Finally, I've been on the "drunk train" once. Completely accurate.

Modern Family - I actually think the past couple of episodes were above average with some really fun storylines. Cam and Gloria competing, Phil's obliviousness to Claire getting hit on, and the whole fuckery that was the Aunt Mommy deal. Good stuff.

New Girl - Can this show be hitting its stride? I think so since I've unironically liked more episodes lately than not. The Lanlord episode was HIGHlarious especially when Jess and Nick got this close to getting into a threesome with their landlord. The Valentine's Day episode was a bit of a hit-and-miss but Ryan Kwanten is pretty and we finally get the Schmidt-Cece pairing that was pretty inevitable.

Once Upon A Time - My friends have a problem with the show taking its methodical time actually progressing the plot, but I'm sort of okay with that as long as they keep telling interesting retelling of fairy tale stories which I thought they did with Beauty & the Beast. Emilie de Ravin and Robert Carlyle really made it all work.

Parks and Recreation - I thought they handled the most anticipated reunion of Leslie and Dave well especially coupled with Ben's uneasiness with cops. It gave both Louis C.K. and Adam Scott an opportunity to really go crazy in this episode playing off their feelings towards Leslie. Andy writing Leslie's campaign song was also good though mostly for Ron's Duke Silver reappearance. After this episode, I'm undecided about Tom/Ann.


Revenge - I could and SHOULD probably write a whole separate entry on this show, because since Daniel and Emily got engaged it's been nothing but an insane ride for everyone. We are introduced to the truly harsh Grandfather Grayson making Conrad/Victoria's divorce a bit trickier. Jack gets super frustrated and crashes a dinner party whereby Charlotte finds out about her real father. Tyler (!!!) comes back and makes Emily's life that much worst. We go back to the first scenes of the pilot and finally find out that... Tyler gets shot and Daniel may be the one to have done it. And I'm not even conveying all of the other twists and turns and the unspoken acting showcase Stowe and VanCamp engage in whenever they have a scene together. Love this show.

Ringer - Like Revenge, these past two weeks brought a lot of plot developments to a head mostly thanks to Siobhan finally being in New York and interacting with others. Her letting Henry find out about Bridgette was something the show probably needed to do sooner, but glad it's happened. I appreciate the twist on the whole Julia/teacher/rape thing, but I still think that storyline is too much.

Smash - Thankfully I managed to put my thoughts on the pilot down already so I don't have to do it. As far as the second episode goes, I'm still pretty much in like with the show. Megan Hilty is so great and so it's actually making it difficult to connect with Kat McPhee's character since I'm rooting for Ivy so much more. Like the pilot, the adoption story is shrugworthy for me even more so after those cringe-inducing scenes in this second episode. The singing/dancing performances were aces and I still find Jack Davenport (and Anjelica Huston) so much fun to watch.

Suburgatory - The latest episode "The Body" was okay, but not one of my favorites. It at least gave the Shay siblings interesting storylines which is welcome. I much preferred the week's prior episode dealing with sex. Tessa navigating her tricky relationship with Scott Strauss and George finally getting some were great, but really Cheryl Hines dancing to Kelly Clarkson's Stronger was my scene of the week.

Whew! Now on to a new week of television. The Good Wife returns! Season premiere of The Amazing Race! 500th episode of The Simpsons! Downton Abbey season finale Christmas special!

TV Report: Week of 1/29

February Sweeps started this past Thursday so for the next month of so, there will be a full schedule of new TV shows. There's also the Super Bowl taking place tonight in Indianapolis between the Giants and the Patriots. But let's first take a look back at the TV week that was and speaking of Indiana...


Pawnee Celebrates Valentine's Day

Another great Parks and Recreation episode this past week which opened with the celebration of Galentine's Day, the day before Valentine's Day. (Sidenote: All day today though I keep imagining how epic Leslie Knope's Super Bowl party would be especially this year with it happening in her home state). The rest of the episode was just as perfect with highlights containing Leslie trying to set Ann up, Ben going on an epic romantic scavenger hunt from Leslie (with the help of Andy and a delightfully giddy Ron), and a depressed heartbroken Chris. So basically... every plot line. The fandom saw glimpses of Ann/Tom way back so in this case the show seems to be trying to catch up and I'm actually excited by this pairing. Could be a case of SO WRONG being SO RIGHT. The Party Down reunion with Adam Scott and Martin Starr was also great.

New Girl Becomes More Friend-ly

Remember last season when Big Bang Theory had the master stroke of bringing in two girls in order to give Penny her own world away from the guys and thereby giving the show some renewed vigor? Well New Girl seems to be doing the same much earlier in its run as evident in this last new episode with Jess having to deal with Nick's new girlfriend Julia (played by Party Down alum Lizzy Caplan) as well as having extended scenes with best friend Cece and random new character Sadie. The latter is a lesbian and thus have fantastic scenes with Schmidt (who had lots of things to do this episode and bringing it each time). Julia is like the anti-Jess and the dynamics between the two, just by themselves or playing off of Nick, are just wonderful. The show still has no clue what to do Wilson though which is a total bummer.

Another Delicious Ham for The Good Wife

Let's hope these ham sandwich episodes become a yearly tradition in The Good Wife, because they're always so good. The main story had to do with Wendy Scott-Carr presenting her case against Will Gardner in front of a grand jury, which had plenty of drama in its own right, but the episode also had a great meeting of the minds with Eli and Stacie whose rivalry tickles me a bit. As for the grand jury deal, Wendy held her own, but Elsbetch and crew was too much for her. The latter's strategy to try and connect Peter to the investigation was genius and forced Wendy to go after Alicia's sexual relationship with Will. Julianna Marguilies was fantastic in this scene as she was with her scene with Peter earlier asking him to back off Will. Just the perfect amount of desperation and resolve. In other news, Dana slapped Kalinda making me go "OH NO SHE DIN'T!" Though I wonder if this means not-so-good things re: Alicia's forged signature.

Fringe Doubles on Awesome with Two Astrids

It's been a long time coming, but this week's Fringe episode finally gave the wonderfully fantastic Jasika Nicole somewhat of a substantial storyline with her alt-self traversing into our universe to meet herself after her father passed away. Seeing the two interact is just as delightful as seeing any of the other characters do the same, but the emotional undercurrent, especially with the relationship both of them had seemingly with their fathers, made this even more affecting. Not to mention the interesting juxtaposition of their relationship with Walter with our Astrid sometimes treating him like a child while alt-Astrid almost making him a substitute father. Big thumbs up for Nicole and I wished we got more of this even though it feels like a one-time thing. Lovely scenes with Anna Torv as well especially her scenes with Peter (as our Olivia) and with Walter (as alt-Olivia).

Other Miscellaneous TV Thoughts

I probably shouldn't have laughed when Blaine got injured, Quinn got accepted into Yale, and Rachel accepted Finn's proposal in Glee, but I did (though how fabulous was Naya Rivera singing Smooth Criminal?)... Haven't seen Gossip Girl in two years, but I did quickly check out its 100th episode to see if they would reveal the identity of the titular character and they did, though a bit anti-climatically... Speaking of shows I never blog about, Grey's Anatomy had one trippy alt-reality episode which was fun as an exercise, but a bit exasperating all the same... Once Upon A Time may not be flawless, but I do like how they constantly mix and match stories such as this week's genie of Agrabah becoming trapped inside the Evil Queen's mirror via his own wish... Loved Liz and Jack going at each other in 30 Rock with Liz getting training from an old training video made my Jack; it's Jack-off... And finally Ringer is back and there seems to be a new bitch in town and I'm not talking about Siobhan finally making her New York comeback. So with that, let's go NEW YORK GIANTS!

TV Report: Week of 1/22

I guess many shows decided to take a break the week right before February sweeps which meant there's not much to talk about. In fact all I really want to talk about are the series finale of a show I stopped watching and an old school episode of a show seemingly no one is watching.


Aces Series Finale for Chuck

Being 22 episodes behind didn't stop me from checking out the two-hour series finale of Chuck. I only stopped since I thought Chuck proposing to Sarah was a great ending to linger on, but unfortunately I just never got around to catching up. With that said, watching the finale was like seeing an old friend you haven't seen in awhile. Sarah losing all her memories enabled the show to go back to those best moments in the show, especially in the first season, as Chuck tried to walk Sarah down through memory lane in hopes she'll regain her memories. It reminded us how lovely their journey has been. It helped that Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski were just so sensational with what they were given. Levi's waterworks as he realized that Sarah is gone or Strahovski's reaction to her video diary broke me. Not to mention the awesome action sequences, more notably Sarah channeling her inner-Bryce Larkin. In the end, it was a great conclusion to an enjoyable show with most of the characters getting their happy-ish endings. Yes, the main relationship is a bit uncertain with Sarah's memories still mostly gone, but if this show taught us anything is that anything is possible. I believe they will get together in the end.

Fringe Tackles Old School Case

As much as I've liked/loved the past few episodes of Fringe, there certainly was something refreshing about this week's Case of the Week episode revolving a girl who can sense when death is coming. I mean we've had Case of the Week types of episodes recently, but if you noticed this was the first in a while that we got Peter working with his usual crew. On top of this, we get a bit of movement on the Observers warning Olivia last week about her inevitable death as well as a peek into Nina's true motives. No actual answers, but the teases are good enough for now. Next week the Astrids meet each other! I seriously cannot wait for that.

Other Miscellaneous TV Thoughts

It was a heart-breaking episode of Once Upon a Time with Snow/Mary Margaret forcing herself to forget about her true love. Her meeting the dwarves were great, too. Though who is the mysterious stranger with the typewriter?... Kiefer Sutherland has a new show and while I found the pilot of Touch good, I'm going to need a couple more episodes. My review is here... Not one the stronger Parks and Rec episodes, but made well use of its ensemble. Especially loved Tom's Drive-esque jacket and April using her various accents to beat Chris... Big Bang Theory was pretty bad this week, right? A Siri-centered plotline? Penny and Leonard beta testing each other? Amy and Sheldon do a web blog on flags? Not good.

TV Report: Week of 1/15

Don't have as much to say on TV this week, but that's probably because I've been all caught up with tennis and other things. With that said, other than yet again missing an episode of The Secret Circle (which doesn't bode well for me catching up on that show any time soon), I pretty much found the time to watch all my usual shows. Just a few quick thoughts on some of them...


CBS Shows Reach Milestones

How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory celebrated their 150th and 100th episodes respectively. One of the more refreshing things about both episodes was that if you didn't know about the milestones, you wouldn't have really known it by the episode, but once you do you can look back and appreciate what they did. Both made great use of the past to comment on where the future of each might be heading. For Mother, we get the gang struggling to handle the idea of Lily/Marshall moving out of the city into Long Island prompting Barney to find their replacements in Lily's stripper doppelganger and her pimp. The new credits first sana Lily/Marshall and then with the new gang were nice touches, but of course the episode ends with the original gang hanging out in Long Island in their "new booth." For Big Bang, Leonard asks Penny out on a date seemingly wanting to get back together with her. We find out in the end, that the entire episode was a daydream, but before the audience feels cheated, Leonard really asks her out. The fun bit in the episode of course were the main cast wearing the same as what they wore in the pilot.

Wedding Bells Are In the Air...

...Or at least that's what it felt like this week. Glee actually had an okay episode that revolved around Will trying to figure out the best song (how about no song?) to use when proposing to Emma. I was especially shocked at my non-hating feelings considering the episode largely focused on characters I didn't really like, but good solid performances plus a rare three-dimensional Sue plus the random Helen Mirren voiceover put it on the good column for me. Of course the episode ends with another proposal with Finn hilariously asking Rachel's hand in marriage.

In Revenge, Daniel finally bit the bullet and proposed to Emily, but if the pilot is any indication, he's one day closer to death. This episode most of all proved that while Emily's laser-focus on wreaking havoc upon the Graystones is fun to watch, it's also hurting innocent bystanders. Jack's been badly beaten while Charlotte's world has been turned upside down with the reveal that she's David Clarke's daughter (though she doesn't know this yet). Emily was just about to retreat a bit only for Daniel to put his foot in his mouth and diss her father. Vengeance wins yet again!

Other potential wedding bells on TV this week... Frank is already trying to get together with Butterface in Shameless to get her insurance money while The Office's Andy thinks about proposing to his new girlfriend, but is still confused about his obvious feelings for Erin.


Cute Guys Abound

I wasn't such a huge fan of 30 Rock this week even though I knew Fey and company was going to deal with Tracy's troubles from last year. With that said, Jane Krakowski remain hilarious in every scene she's in and cute guy James Marsden is revealed as Liz's new boyfriend. At the moment, she isn't sure is he's just Dennis 2.0, but um... it's James Marsden. Another cute guy Paul Rudd makes his first appearance in Parks and Recreation as Leslie's political foe. In Parks style, the character isn't really evil and more spoiled dumb brat. Love his interactions with the cast as well as the dueling ads of Ben and Leslie. Finally, there's the mysterious cute guy that appeared at the end of Once Upon A Time played by Eion Bailey. Who is he? My friends and I are betting the Big Bad Wolf, but it could be anyone really. And since I'm already talking about this show, how great was it to see Emma Caulfield as the Blind Witch? She looked amazing.

Miscellaneous/Other TV Tidbits...

Sherlock's finale was emotionally brutal... Fringe was spectacular two episodes in a row... Not the best Good Wife episode, but the end was great with Kalinda put in the precarious position of either betraying Will or Alicia... I also find little children cursing funny so that Modern Family storyline this week worked for me.

TV Report: Week of 1/8

Tonight's a busy, busy TV day for me. Yes, there's the Golden Globes which is probably my main priority since I'm an awards nuts, but there's also the football playoffs featuring the Giants and more importantly the beginning of the Australian Open. I didn't even mention my usual Sunday TV fare like The Good Wife, Shameless, and Sherlock. Thank goodness I have tomorrow off. With that said, that's tonight, how about I talk about the TV week that was...


Speaking of Sunday TV...

My two favorite episodes this past week came exactly seven days ago with the latest episode of The Good Wife featuring the welcome return of Carrie Preston's eccentric, but shrewd lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni and the season premiere of Shameless with the return of Emmy Rossum and the rest of the Gallagher clan. Both actress did win my personal end-of-year awards, but that's neither here nor there. While they were my favorite parts, they didn't perform in a vacuum. The Good Wife, like every week, expertly juggles multiple characters and story lines with nary a fumble. This week the main story was a couple suing the always hilarious David Lee who brokered their divorce agreement during Alicia's first year. It gave us very tense moments where we thought Alicia might have ::gasp:: done something wrong showing us not only that this show can make missing paperwork exciting, but also giving a more bonding moment for a newly made-up-ish Kalinda/Alicia. This storyline also offered us a wonderfully new rivalry in Eli and David Lee which I hope will continue to foster. Of course, Elsbeth, as Will's new lawyer, confronting Wendy made me gleeful since both of them are so smart and manipulative is similar and yet very different ways. I'm so looking forward to what transpires there.

As for the Gallagher clan et. al, it was great seeing them back, this time in the summertime. It's been a few months since the events of last season's finale with Steve leaving and Eddie seemingly committing suicide. As per usual, the Gallaghers are surviving just okay in their usual way--Fiona working as a server, Lip doing fight club, Debbie and Carl babysitting the neighborhood kids. Frank gets up to his usual trouble which not only threatens his kids (Liam is held for ransom basically), but makes them lose all their hard-earned money. It's a strong premiere in that regard welcoming us back to what we fell in love with the show in the first place. Oh and it featured a dirty-mouthed shirtless James Wolk as Fiona's rebound. Yes, please.


The Ever So Consistent ABC Wednesday Block...

Apart from possibly Sunday, Wednesday seems to be my favorite TV day which is even made more peculiar since I only watch one network. Or if not my favorite then it's definitely the most consistent/best flow which was solidified even more this week as I graded each individual episodes a B+. The Wire references abounded this week on Suburgatory and Happy Endings with the first show featuring guest star Dan Byrd (Cougartown) working as an undercover cop and the latter show featuring Max, Alex, and Brad staking out a possible prostitution ring. Both had their usual sitcom-y twists of course with Tessa thinking Byrd's cop was actually a closeted gay and the prostitution ring not at all what it seems. For the latter show, the highlights were the guest appearances of Michael McKean (as Dave's dad) and Megan Mullaly (as Penny's mom) who are now dating and of course the racist/homophobic parrot Alex bought.

Meanwhile Modern Family delivered a solid episode that is to be commended for a not-too-grating Cam/Mitchell storyline that had them trying to impress a girl who wanted to give up her baby for adoption. Phil's schtick this time wasn't as funny as I usually found it, but I loved his final scene with Gloria who wanted Phil to be angry with her so it felt like they were family. I liked the Egg Drop bit more for Alex's background snickers and Luke's observations than anything else. Finally, Revenge was delicious as usual featuring the wonderful appearance of Robert Bart as the journalist turned author who burned Emily's father. The ending was predictable in that Emily got her revenged, but it was quite effective with the flames and Nolan's maniacally smiling in the background. I don't have high hopes for Fauxmanda. She's the loose end to Emily's plan and she'll eventually has to be dealt with, but I did love Emily as Cyrano for Amanda scene. Charlotte as Emily's half-sister is... boring, but this is a soap opera and maybe it'll be more development for that underused character.


Welcome Comebacks...

It's been more than a month since we got a new episode of Parks and Recreation and nearly TWO MONTHS since we saw a new episode of Fringe, so I was glad to have both shows back in my life this week. First, Parks was fantastic especially the Ben as depressed plot. Adam Scott was literally stealing scenes throughout from his calzones-zones to his claymaysh. It was also a welcome sight to see him interact with Chris. The other part of the episode with Leslie relaunching her campaign was good, but didn't become great until the end with the ice rink debacle with Gloria Estefan's "Get On You Feet" playing in the background. By the time the basketball player slipped and the song played immediately after, I was delirious from laughing so hard. It was both hilarious painful and painfully hilarious. End result is one we all predicted though with Ben being Leslie's campaign manager. Bring it, Paul Rudd!

As for Fringe, it was a very strong first episode of the new year which in all likelihood might also be its final year. I'd like to think this was probably setup as the mid-season finale, but the ratings made the network delay. Too bad since it really was quite epic in scope with the two Lees from both universe meeting up and Peter confronting not only his "all is not what it seems" father, but also his affectionate mother giving us a wonderfully heartbreaking reunion scene. The Observer's scene with Olivia was appropriately foreboding, but the return of Jared Harris as Jones from the first season is more than exciting and if this is to be the endgame, then I might be able to live with it. Just barely.

Few Other TV Tidbits...

The last episode of Once Upon A Time as a whole wasn't really that strong especially when we were in the real world, but props must go to Rober Carlyle for his great work... Ryan got married on Castle and Castle/walking down the aisle in the end was cute... Amy gleefully reacting to her tiara gift from Sheldon in Big Bang Theory was pure joy... Nice to see 30 Rock back again, but I still miss Community more.. Didn't get to see either The Secret Circle (too much on that night) or Supernatural (falling out of love with the show). Though I hear for the latter, it was a particular good episode. Go figure.

End-Of-Year: Favorite 2011 TV Shows, Part 2

Yesterday, I posted the bottom part of the Top 30 list of TV shows. Below you will see my Top 10 list full of British aristocrats, community college students, meth dealers, vampires, lawyers, and government workers. There's also time travel, alternate realities, and a world where dragons roam. Before all of that, however, just a few more quick mentions of some other TV shows...

Shows that I watched, but didn't rank: Suburgatory, Dexter, Raising Hope, 2 Broke Girls, 30 Rock, The Office, Grey's Anatomy, New Girl, Up All Night, Pan Am, The Secret Circle, The Killing, V, American Horror Story, Supernatural, Grimm, and Weeds

Shows I've stopped watching for one reason or another: Covert Affairs, Drop Dead Diva, Pretty Little Liars, Chuck, and White Collar

Dishonorable Mentions:

Torchwood: Miracle Day - I knew there would be growing pains when they moved this show to America, but I didn't expect them to hurt this much. I can't believe the team that gave us the amazing Children of Earth gave us this mess of a season.

Glee - Don't think I'm jumping on the hate bandwagon because everyone else is. The truth is I continually root for this show, because I love seeing a musical regularly on television. But lazy writing, awful characterizations, and overblown hype is making this show borderline unwatchable at times.

Terra Nova - The pilot was pretty solid and the finale was actually kind of great. Too bad everything in the middle ranged from mind-numbingly dull to ridiculously awful.

My Top Ten TV Shows of 2011

10. Homeland - More than a year since 24 ended and I have finally found its replacement in this gripping tale of an American POW soldier coming back home embroiled in a possible terrorist plot. I only saw this show a couple weeks ago because of its impeccable word-of-mouth from critics and friends, but, and excuse the choice of words, it really did blow me away. Damian Lewis as the soldier and Claire Danes as the lead investigator are both magnificent and every episode was so intense. If I had to critique the show, I'd ask what the hell is up with its opening title sequence!

9. Downton Abbey - If I counted the first season, which I technically saw earlier this year, this would be ranked higher. In any case, I knew my Anglophilic ways would render me unable to fall head over heels in love with this series and that's exactly what happened. A British period piece about the aristocracy and their lowly servants isn't anything new, but with a ridiculously amazing cast (Maggie Smith is a stand out) and engaging stories, though with 1-2 key exceptions less engaging this past season, it's definitely become one of my favorite shows.

8. Doctor Who - I may have ranked other shows above this, but I didn't wait in line for nearly 12 hours to watch an advance screening of those other show's season premiere. It was in this kind of spirit that I approached this sixth season of this show that perhaps bit off more than it could, but was nonetheless brilliant throughout. Moffatt certainly needed to reel himself in, but the trio actors of Smith, Gillan, and Darvill were perfection, the latter especially. If nothing else, this year gave us the beautiful episode "The Doctor's Wife" and made me cry like a baby with "The Girl Who Waited."

7. Being Human - There's not much else I can say to praise this brilliantly written supernatural heartbreaker of a drama. This time around they are in a new town, a new house, and new dangers. Annie's wonderful rescue from limbo, the intriguing Pack storyline coupled with George and Nina's new baby, and of course the return of Herrick were all highlights. But as I've always said it's all about the characters and their constant struggle to feel human. The finale was the show's most human yet in its determined optimism amidst amazing sacrifice.

6. Community - An episode centered around Dungeons & Dragons. Two episodes done in documentary style. An episode that is doubly an homage to Pulp Fiction and My Dinner with Andre. An epic episode with seven alternate realities. A musical Glee parody episode. A clip episode using almost no old clips. And of course a 2-parter paintball episode for the ages. All of this are certainly gimmicks, but what makes this show so good is that through it all, we still care about the characters. I don't think any other sitcom can pull off what this show is doing at the moment.

5. Fringe - The thought of this show prematurely ending this season is making me sad, so I'll just tell myself that if anything it's already given us 70 episodes full of great, inventive, and more importantly emotionally affecting sci-fi stories. This past year, it's been more of the same. The fallout over Fauxlivia's infiltration in our world was the big storyline at the end of last season and Anna Torv and company sold it wonderfully. The childhood flashback episode the the LSD episode were two of my favorites. This season's Peter-less alternate reality has been more of a mixed bag, but it's never not intriguing.

4. Game of Thrones - *BEST NEW SHOW* As a big fan of Rome and Lord of the Rings, I knew that I would love this show which seems like a great hybrid of those two great works. I admit that most of what I like about this show is its thoughtful and expansive world building which is a staple of its genre. Yes, I was confused for a good half a season getting people's names and relationships with others straight, but by the end I just wanted to know more. I was especially drawn to the outcasts/underdogs--Daenarhys, Tyrion, Snow, Arya. Looking forward to visiting Westeros again soon.

3. The Good Wife - There is no doubt to me that this is the finest drama on network TV at the moment. The cast is impeccable and every episode works in many levels both for the plot of the week and for the overreaching plot arcs all the while continuously enriching the characters and their relationships with one another. As I said last year, what puts this above other lawyer shows is their commitment to their characters. Throw in a quirky judge here, a sociopathic client there, and an extramarital affair and wham bam, it's all good.

2. Breaking Bad - *BEST TV DRAMA* Did the season start out a bit slow? Certainly, but the slow burn in the beginning only made the numerous explosive episodes in the back half that rendered me speechless and emotionally drained week in and week out. The devolution and subsequent rise to darkness of Walter White was a sight to behold just as it was great to see the growth and journey of Jesse this season. With the show's end in sight, 16 more episodes, I'm excited to see just how dark they can actually take the show's lead character. For now, I'm hust glad a show like this exist.

1. Parks and Recreation - *BEST TV COMEDY* This show is perfection. I'm going to repeat that lest you think I'm joking. This show is perfection. Got that? Good. But seriously, this time last year I just started watching the show and more than liked it. Now, I'm a hardcore fan. The show itself sounds a bit bland... a bunch of government workers and their work hi-jinks. And yet there isn't a single episode, at least for the past two seasons, where I wasn't left smiling from ear to ear or crying with joy. That's what this show is really, pure happiness. From its endlessly optimistic lead character to the hilarious supporting players. This show has the biggest heart of anything on TV and that's why it's my favorite show of 2011. Also zomgAdamScottissofine.

Final Note: Three British shows make it in my top 10 and six in my top 30 not including a remake of a British show (Shameless). ABC has the most shows on my list with 6, but oddly enough none to crack the top 10. CBS is second with 4 shows. NBC and BBC America made it into my top 10 twice. Along shows from the main networks and premium channels, shows from FX, CW, ABC Family, and PBS also made my list. Finally and happily, my list contains a whopping 9 new shows compared to none last year.