Treme - Pilot, Do You Know What It Means?, S01E01

Treme has already been renewed for a second season off the strength of the reception of its premiere. I'm not at all surprised, considering the show balances the pain of distress and the healing of hope so well, putting it in the very relatable circumstances of those in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city.

Through both the writing and the camera work, we were given an appropriate sense of disorder. What has happened is clear, what will happen is not, but the people who remain are determined to move in a forwards direction, and at the moment that is the appropriate thing.

We also got a great sense of community. Those who remained behind banded together. The generosity based in the fact that most had little left to give gave hope that there is still a sense of decency in the world. The horror at the idea of the rest of the country abandoning the city and the people who wished to remain, when any one of us would fight for the restoration of our home in similar settings, was touching.

Will I watch again next week? No, I will not. But not because the show doesn't have everything that might make it quality. Simply because I watch television for escapism, and Treme touches reality far too much for my own tastes. But if you think you'd be interested, you will not be disappointed with the delivery.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand - Revelations, S01E12

The penultimate episode of Season 1 of Spartacus: Blood and Sand has set things up nicely for a very exciting and bloody season finale, entitled Kill Them All. Are you ready for a slave revolt? I know I am!

The episode started with a little bloodshed. Batiatus (John Hannah) continued to find favour in the Gods and in men as he not only watched his former champion, Crixus (Manu Bennett), successful again, but also saw his enemy Solonius (Craig Walsh Wrightson) executed by Spartacus (Andy Whitfield). Solonius fought and died well, and his last moments were sweet as he saw the champion of his enemy promise that Batiatus' favour was coming to an end.

There was a whole lot of plotting going on this episode, too, but, while most of it was initially successful, there were aspects that the plotters did not take into consideration.

Ashur (Nick Tarabay)'s manipulations are finally coming to fruition. Not only did he get Naevia (Lesley-Ann Brandt), but with her his long awaited revenge over Crixus. And though Naevia had her hair cut off and is being removed from the ludus and Crixus was badly whipped for his offenses, the events force Naevia to reveal to Doctore (Peter Mensah) what actually happened to Barca. The anger over that news will not only soon be felt by Ashur, but by Batiatus as well.

Ilithyia (Viva Bianca) was even less successful. Although she had her husband wrapped around her finger, planning a proper betrayal of Batiatus and Lucretia (Lucy Lawless), she had not anticipated that they had insurance. When Glaber (Craig Parker) refused Batiatus patronage, the latter produced the hand of Licinia, whom Ilithyia had murdered. Of course, getting in bed with that much hatred is not a great idea, but Batiatus clearly does not shrink from his goals. The only concern was whether or not Glaber would believe his wife capable of the act. Perhaps he thought no one would reveal such information without it being true, or perhaps her earlier comments about the lewd behaviours that likely got Licinia killed, forced him to believe the horror. And poor Ilithyia was left behind.

Spartacus' plotting will come into play next week. This week the presence of his best friend's wife prevented him from doing anything too stupid and getting himself and the rest of the slaves in the house killed. Good thing. With the latest events, Crixus will be more likely to side with him, and Doctore now also has doubts about the faith of his master. There will be lots and lots of blood on the sands.

And that is the debate. Who will die next week? I suspect Ilithyia, Batiatus, and Ashur will all fall, but I think that Lucretia may live. I'm not sure about what place she might have in next season, but losing her would be very very sad. And now that she is pregnant...well, Aurelia (Brooke Williams) did get rid of her baby, so the writers aren't afraid of killing babies...but what was the point of getting her pregnant if she is only to die next week? We shall have to see.

Stargate Universe - Divided, S01E12

Although Stargate Universe has maintained a plot line which I am interested and excited about since its return last week, I really with that a new development would happen to allow me to actually LIKE many of the characters.

The resemblance to BSG cannot be denied, but, where in BSG I always understood the different perspectives and the dilemmas, with SGU I have strongly sided with the civilians. The military has formed an uncompromising dictatorship and is creating the tensions on the ship by an unjustified self-righteousness. Frankly, despite the military's previous support of the Stargate franchise, it would not surprise me if the portrayal of the airmen and women in SGU resulted in the loss of that connection.

Colonel Young (Justin Louis) is, of course, the biggest problem. I just want someone to kill him because not only is he completely unreasonable when it comes to his demands upon the civilians, but he is so unpleasant as to have become irredeemable. Leaving Rush (Robert Carlyle) to die was a most heinous act, but it was also only the most recent bad choice the Colonel has made. Every time Rush suggests anything, based on the understanding of the complex system that is Destiny, Young ignores him out of sheer spite. He knows best because he is a colonel (a feat I cannot imagine how he accomplished), let any logic or reason besides his own be damned. I am very surprised he did not somehow manage to blow up the entire ship while Rush was MIA.

I have also recently developed a dislike for Eli (David Blue). Until now he has been the clever comic relief, but in this episode he sided with the military and not the civilians. What, he considers Rush's attempt to dethrone Young as a worse offense than Young's attempt to murder Rush? Chloe (Elyse Levesque) I have actually begin to like because she chose what she believed was right over her boyfriend!

I am very interested to see what the writer's are planning and how they are going to get the people on destiny out of this mess. The tension seems irresolvable (unless, I say again, someone simply offs Young). I hope, however, that the resolution will not be a cheap return to Earth to get some sort of ruling from the Pentagon. Although the use of the communication stones - to bring in an expert surgeon to operate on Rush - was actually cool and interesting, I still want them to be destroyed so that the writers do not revert to using them for very uninteresting plots.

Oh, and I was pleased (although not fully satisfied) that we finally got a mention about the conclusion of episode 8 - apparently it did happen, and although we only got to watch the 1st and 2nd attempts, the 3rd which we did not see must have had a happy ending.

Are you equally pleased with where the show is now going? What are your continued reservations?

Miami Medical - 88 Seconds, S01E02

Two episodes in, and it looks like the ratings have remained steady, which is quite impressive considering the show airs Friday nights. And the quality and content has also remained on par, something that is also not particularly common.

One of my biggest problems with most medical shows is the focus on the characters and their personal lives. I have a problem with procedurals that do the same thing. If I wanted to watch a show about the social interactions of characters who just happened to be doctors or police men or whatever, I could still be watching General Hospital. I want to watch a show that is about medicine.

Yes, I want the characters to be real and I want to relate to them, but I want the show to be about the choices they are making while they operate, the effect the job has on them personally, not about who they are sleeping with this week. And so far, Miami Medical has done that perfectly.

When the resident, Dr. Warren (Elisabeth Harnois), was left to fend for herself - "I've never done anything solo." "Alright, page me if you get into trouble," Dr. Proctor (Jeremy Northam) said to her. When she left, he asked the nurse to page him 2 minutes before she got into trouble - she had to make some tough choices. First, she gave into another doctor's demands against her better judgment, and then she worked hard enough to know how to save the patient when his safety became compromised. There was a little bit of the goofiness of inexperience, but medicine was the prevailing force.

At the end of the episode, when the primary victim's life is in great danger, we also had Proctor stop in to do some simple medicine. Her kidney was useless? Remove the kidney, she doesn't need it, she has another. Simple solution, and medically sound.

And so far, the show has addressed death perfectly. Two episodes, two deaths in the OR. The first was a burn victim to far gone to try to save, the second was a shooter who had tried to commit suicide. He succeeded, but the brilliance of the scene was how fully engaged the doctors were in trying to save him (yes, despite his crimes), and how quickly it came to a halt the moment they realized he was already gone. Sure, we aren't dealing with someone we are emotionally attached to, but the honesty of the doctors moving on the moment they know it's over was spot on.

So keep watching, and hopefully the ratings will be this high next week too.

Vampire Diaries - Let the Right One In, S01E17

And a Darkness fell over the inhabitants of Mystic Falls as the season finale quickly approaches and things start to get a lot more serious, and a lot more interesting.

When Stefan (Paul Wesley) gets kidnapped by the idiotic Vamps recently escaped from the church, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena (Nina Dobrev) refuse to sit by idol. And since Damon can't get into the house, and he refuses to allow Elena to put herself in danger, they acquire an unlikely ally - Alaric (Matt Davis). And, with a vampire at his side, he makes a good showing, even though not everything goes according to their plans.

The most irritating moment of the sequence was when Elena went in the house after Stefan, even though Damon had asked her not to and explained that it was because he wouldn't be able to save Stefan if he was also worried about protecting her. Stupid women trying to be heroic; she's lucky that it worked out despite her efforts.

That is, if you consider "worked out" Stefan almost dying and being forced (by Elena) to drink her blood so that he might live. Of course, after drinking the blood, he was strong enough to protect them both, though not necessarily with any control.

And while all this was going on, we had some bizarre plot line going on with Caroline (Candice Accola). She got her car stuck in the mud while trying to drive around on back roads. But Vampire Diaries is to clever to do anything that pointless - in her attempt to walk back to town and to help, Caroline fell in the ditch and discovered a body - Vicki Donovan.

While Vicki's disappearance did not cause a great disruption to life, the discovery that she had been dead the entire time will cause painful repercussion to all involved. Matt's bond with Elena is much more poignantly felt, but his relationship with Caroline is still too new for him to trust her with his pain. Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) has now betrayed Anna (Malese Jow), since she figured out he wanted to be a vampire so that he could be with Vicki, not with her. Regardless of how old Anna is, the pain of feeling used, even if Jeremy is actually confused about his feelings for both women, is likely to have very very bad results.

The only question is, will that be as bad as what is likely to happen to Stefan now that he's fallen off the wagon? Can't wait to know the answer to that!

The Mentalist - Aingavite Baa, S02E18

Leave it to Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) to manipulate a woman who was shot in the head and, as a result, has amnesia into revealing who shot her in the first place.

Oh Jane, I do so enjoy watching you work, but sometimes it is just irritating how much you get away with and how easily you figure out details which escape the rest of your police trained team. Despite the fact that I know Lisbon (Robin Tunney), Cho (Tim Kang), Rigsby (Owain Yeoman), and Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) are all good at their jobs, they have yet to break a case without Jane having manipulated the players.

But I will continue to watch, regardless, as it amuses me to see what kind of trouble Jane will get into next.

I may not continue to watch, however, if Lisbon's hair style is not changed soon. It does not suit her character at all - she looks like a poodle!

And, of course, regardless of the outcome of the case, the big issue of this episode was what would happen to Rigsby and Van Pelt. The pair were finally forced to choose between each other or their jobs. Although it seems a very complicated choice, leave it to Cho to explain things to Rigsby in very clear terms. "Van Pelt or the job."

And Rigsby chose Van Pelt. No surprise there, since he's been in love with her since the moment they met. How could Rigsby make any other choice? But Van Pelt had other ideas. She knew that someday he would resent his choice, resent her for being the reason he had to make it. So she broke things off, despite the fact that it broke his heart, despite the fact that it broke her own heart.

And now they will continue to have to work together, despite the heartache! I wonder how that will work out?

Bones - The Parts in the Sum of the Whole, S05E16

While this milestone episode, #100!!, was absolutely awesome and amazing and nothing can take that away from it, it was also a revelation as to what has really been missing for me the last two seasons of the show.

The entire concept was wonderful, to finally get to see the first case Booth (David Boreanaz) and Brennan (Emily Deschanel) worked on together gave answers to questions we did not know we had. Why did Brennan not want to work with Booth again? What had happened that first time?

The sexual tension was so right. The idea that they had been aware of the attraction at first, and that things had just gone very wrong with them made the length of time between their second case and the first time either realized there was something more going on make much more sense.

And I even loved the conclusion. Booth finally put his heart on the line, and Brennan could not take it. I hope that the openness now explored will stay through the rest of the season and through other relationships the two might become involved in.

So you must be asking, what is my problem?

My problem is that this episode was structured very much like the original ones were, and so the differences between the early episodes and the most recent ones was very easy to notice.

Brennan's journey from socially unaware to somewhat conscious of normal conventions has made us lose the contrast between her and Booth. We no longer have the "average Joe" FBI agent working with a bunch of super intelligent, but awkward squints. The clear divides between them all have dissolved, giving us a bunch of very normal and boring people.

Booth refused to pay much mind to science, relying primarily on his instincts. Brennan gave no credit to anything but the barest of facts. Zach (Eric Millegan) was the only character who maintained his unwavering ability to perfectly understand the very complex while missing the things that we, as a normal audience, could easily pick up. And then he was reasoned into doing great evils.

Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) no longer goes on about his conspiracy theories, and Angela's sexual ccomfort was lost in a wave of abstinence.

These very polarized characters worked well together and created a dynamic that was interesting a unique. But as that polarization faded, as they all merged towards one conglomeration of characters with very similar opinions and perspectives, that was lost. Combining that with the focus on that characterization and lack of interesting forensic development, and you have a show that has lost its spark.

Episode 100 recovered that spark because it was set before the merger, when amusement was so easily derived from variety. And after such a peak, I feel like its all going to be downhill from now on, and not in a good way.

FlashForward - Queen Sacrifice, S01E15

I am very tempted to stop watching FlashForward after the last episode, where the mole in the FBI was revealed, and it turned out to be one of the most sympathetic characters. Not the most sympathetic character anymore.

Janis (Christine Woods) saw herself pregnant on April 29th. She has wanted that pregnancy more than anything, fighting for it even after she got shot and her womb was nearly destroyed. She even went so far as to sleep with Demetri (John Cho) to conceive the child, even though she is a lesbian. And after all that, it turns out that not only was she feeding information to the bad guys, but she's quite evil herself. And I don't like it.

Maybe if she was straight, and there was the whole hot sexual tension between herself and Simon (Dominic Monaghan), and she conceived the baby on a passionate night, even though she hadn't really been planning on having one, I could believe it. But I just don't believe that the woman who so desperately wanted to become a mother to Willa could also be part of such a nefarious scheme. She is helping make the world a horrible place, doing it on purpose, but she still wants to bring a baby into it? The two things are contradictory. And if she changes her mind about her roll in all of this as the baby grows inside her, then I will believe it all even less, and clearly she had the time and the confused emotions to have already considered all the ramifications.

This show is lacking in credibility. It's lacking in hot sexual tension. It's lacking in everything that makes a show desirable to be watched week after week. So, I ask, why should I stick with it?

The Good Wife - Doubt, S01E18

Although the timeline between what was being discovered by our regular players and what the jury was considering was a little confusing at time, I absolutely loved how the two played off each other. The expectation of the jury members, and their considerations, were wonderfully timed with the revelations to fill me with great doubt about what their verdict would be.

I never doubted for a moment the innocence of Bianca Price (Kelli Barrett). I'm not sure why this was, why I never thought her guilty even when McVeigh (Gary Cole) indicated that the evidence revealed her as such. Still, I could understand the doubts of the jury members as they debated what happened.

Gardner & Lockhart did botch the trial a little. Their first ballistics expert was just not useful, and when they brought in McVeigh, although he had determined her innocence based on a new piece of evidence, the revelations that he had slept with Diane (Christine Baranski) completely compromised his testimony. I don't know much about the law, but I feel like there must be some cause in all of that for an appeal or a request for a retrial even if Bianca had been convicted and sentenced for 45 years.

I was really saddened by Bianca's choice to take the plea bargain, even before it was certain that the jury would actually have found in her favour. I think she could have appealed, I think she should have help up hope that the jury would at the very least have reasonable doubt, and I think that 10 years in jail and a 2nd degree murder charge does not remotely mean she will have her life back at 34.

Doubt permeated this episode, from the trial, to Diane's relationship, to the tension between Will (Josh Charles) and Alicia (Julianna Marguelies). And the lesson is don't let doubt rule you, just stick to good judgement.

V - Pound of Flesh, S01E06

V continues to show that it has tremendous potential to be riveting, while failing to achieve greatness. There are moments where I am pleased and excited, often followed by either disappointment or annoyance. And with crashing ratings, it had better prove itself quickly.

One of my favourite characters of the series is Joshua (Mark Hildreth). This may be partially because I have always like the actors, since he played Finger on the Odyssey back in the early 90s, but mostly, I love the position Joshua is in. He is a close associate of Anna's (Morena Baccarin). She trusts him as one of her closest advisers, have has no suspicion that he could possibly be one of those that might betray her.

In this episode, this proved both an incredible asset and a huge tragedy. Joshua was able to help Ryan (Morris Chestnut) and implant the rally call for the 5th Column, but he was also forced to betray friends and potential allies, to reveal their potential to feel, and to allow them to die by a test he administered. Certainly, he has some control, but not nearly enough.

The only other point I'd like to address is how grateful I am that the writer's made Georgie (David Richmond-Peck)'s sacrifice valid. When we first saw that he was going to the V ship to help Ryan, I could not understand his choice. I could not see how he could be of help if Ryan was in trouble, or what good it would do. But not only did he allow Ryan to escape the ship, and get back to his pregnant girlfriend (who is carrying a very creepy alien baby), he also allowed the rally call to be blamed on outsiders, keeping Joshua's cover.

I'm not sure what's going to happen to Georgie, or what I want to have happen to Georgie - perhaps a death worthy of Science Fiction?? I wouldn't miss him. I would miss Joshua, however.

What about you?

Parenthood - The Big 'O', S01E06

This week, we got to learn about the Bravermans' ideas about the big 'O', choices for the self vs choices for the child, and what kind of parent Crosby (Dax Shepard) is going to be.

It was odd to see Lauren Graham portray yet another mother intent on dating her daughter's teacher. Well, she made a call at first that seemed to show her choosing Amber (Mae Whitman)'s happiness over her own, but by the end of the episode, she'd agreed to that date. Frankly, I blame the teachers. If these women are so interesting to you, would it really be so hard to wait the few months-few years when that child is no longer your student? If the woman is really that great, you'll still be interested then...but people want what they want when they want it.

Max (Max Burkholder) especially feels this way. I honestly am not sure how I feel about what his behaviourist is doing to help him. Sure, she's getting him to initiate normal behaviours, but I would consider her methods are not based on deals or compromises, but solely on bribes. Maybe bribery is the only way to help a child with aspergers, but even still it seems wrong.

I was also not certain if Julia (Erika Christensen) was wrong about her decision to uninclude Racquel (Erinn Hayes) from her life, the life of her husband, and the life of her child. Racquel made a play for Joel (Sam Jaeger) several months earlier, and those Joel says he shut it down completely, Julia insists that they never see Racquel again. While no one would disagree entirely with this request from a wife to her husband, the real problem is for their daughters. The girls are best friends, and no Racquel means no more daughter either.

In the end, Julia sided for her daughter, trusting that whatever intentions Racquel might have, Joel would not stray. But was the request wrong in the first place? Should a woman who made a pass at your husband continue to be in your lives?

And finally, why do women fake orgasms? Adam (Peter Krause) suspects that Kristina (Monica Potter) has been faking it, and she's not a particularly good liar. He feels bad, wanting her to react because she is truly enjoying herself, and not simply for his ego. Of course, now his ego is always going to question the validity of her reaction. But, as I once heard from the script of a play, if a woman is going to fake it, are you really going to call her on it and be annoyed with her generous spirit for wanting you to think she was having as good a time as you?

Your thoughts?

Chuck - Chuck vs the Other Guy, S03E13

I am running out of ways of expressing that Chuck continues to surpass my very high expectations week after week. This episode again did everything in just the right way to make the choices of the characters believable and the development credible.

We started in a state of high tensions - Shaw (Brandon Routh) disappeared with Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) just after he learnt that she pulled the trigger on his wife 5 years before. Chuck (Zachary Levi), of course, couldn't sit still and so called out the cavalry to go save her.

As it turned out she didn't need saving, as Shaw had no grudge. And though Chuck got a lecture about the cost of the unnecessary rescue op, Shaw commended him on behaving like a true spy. Plus, Shaw's methods of going off the grid and taking Sarah to an abandoned warehouse to show her the footage from her red test were just as extreme as Chuck's.

Next, Chuck, feeling down on himself and convinced that Sarah will go off with Shaw again, gets drunk, eats ice cream, and plays video games in a stupor, going so far as to tie Morgan (Joshua Gomez) up when his friend tries to stop him. He looked absolutely super when Sarah showed up to get him - they had a mission to go on. But before she told him about that, he asked her if she loved him. And though Chuck was sitting forlornly in his boxers with a Guitar Hero guitar around his neck, Sarah said yes. She's loved him since the first episode of the show.

Then, we got a cool action sequence in which Sarah, Chuck, and Shaw went after the Ring. Shaw recorded footage of their mission, and of his saving them all and killing the bad guys, including the leader. Though this was not part of the plan, could anyone blame him, as the man had been the cause of his wife's death.

Sarah and Shaw go to Paris to pursue another lead, while Chuck stays behind.

Now, we all knew from the moment Shaw's action sequence was over, and the bad guys got up, clearly still alive, that Shaw had in fact gone rogue. But the way Chuck found out was absolutely brilliant. I am not surprised in the least that Morgan is an expert in faked action sequences. He only had to watch the video tape of Shaw's moves once to notice that he was pulling his punches and not connecting. And for once, Morgan really does have some skills that are useful to the NSA and CIA.

And when General Beckman (Bonita Friedericy) refused to listen to Chuck about Shaw being a traitor a second time, he got Casey (Adam Baldwin) involved.

Casey, of course, got my favourite line of the episode, as he and Chuck were on their way to Paris, and Chuck could not figure out where Shaw would take Sarah. "Before you were a spy, before you were the intersect, you were smart." How very true.

Chuck shows up just in time to save Sarah, and when he has no other choice, he kills Shaw to save his love. To be a true spy, Chuck had to kill someone - he could not do it in cold blood, but when the choice was obviously between his and Sarah's lives and an enemy's, he was able to do it. And Sarah was able to love him because he was still himself.

Finally, Casey convinced Beckman to reinstate him, using the leader of the Ring operation as collateral. He also requested a crown vic, and that Morgan join the NSA. There is always a way to recover the status quo within the boundaries of the possible.

The only thing I still wonder about is the point of Sarah and Shaw's involvement. Sarah and Chuck love each other, have always loved each other, and will always love each other. Give up the will they/won't they drama and focus on the other stuff that makes this show so wonderful to watch!

What a perfect way to go into a 2 week hiatus.

Castle - Wrapped up in Death, S02E19

After the last two intense episodes, it was nice to go back to a lighter side of Castle, where Castle (Nathan Fillion) feared that he might be under a Mayan Mummy curse, which had already cost the lives of several anthropologists/archaeologists.

Though Beckett (Stana Katic) never gave any credence that the murder she was investigating was caused by anything other than a human, Castle could not be so sure. He had looked upon the face of the Mummy, which supposedly cursed him for all time, and he then he had a run of bad luck - his chair collapsing, a dog chasing him, his coffee cup exploding. That Ryan (Seamus Driver) and Esposito (Jon Huertas) conspired against him to create this illusion was expected; that Beckett helped too was simply brilliant.

Castle, also, got a great line when he was concerned about his life expectancy. He asked Beckett if she would look after his daughter because "if boyfriends get frisky, you can shoot them."

Despite this comic air, the murder victims were still treated with an appropriate amount of respect, and when they discovered that one of the mummies was in fact an archaeologist said to have been killed by jaguars on the dig, the episode took a definitely sinister air. To mummify a person one murdered, and to then plan to put them on display in a museum where she will always remind you of what you did...ugh!

Luckily, when the murderer was being arrested, he gave us a good laugh by giving into his "flight" instinct, and running pointlessly through the museum until he accidentally fell down the stairs. Where did you think you were going to get, buddy?

I'm quite sad the season is almost done, with only 2 episodes left of Season 2!

The Pacific - Part 4: Gloucester/Pavuvu/Banika

The Pacific is a tour of all the horrors the soldiers suffered while fighting in the Pacific during World War Two. Whether on the battlefield or during a rest period, the men were never free from the constant strains of war.

In Part 1, the men took leave of their loved ones, and set off to kill hundreds of men who, in many ways, were not so very different from themselves. Part 2 saw more fighting, with constant air attacks to keep them from peaceful sleep. Basilone (Jon Seda) distinguished himself by taking crazy risks, only to discover that his best friend had been killed by some stray bullet. Though Part 3 seemed to indicate a chance for rest, as the boys were posted briefly in Melbourne, Leckie (James Badge Dale) suffered a different kind of heartache, when the Aussie lass he fell in love with broke things off because she feared he would die and never come back to her.

Part 4 brought us disease and depression.

Sitting in the rain, waiting for a fight that never seemed to come, men fell victims to that constant strain. Some tried deserting, others simply committed suicide. And all the while, the rain kept falling, and then wet, bedraggled men became more and more exhausted.

If that wasn't enough, disease also ran through the camp. When Leckie contracted a urinary problem linked to the fact that he was always wet, he was finally sent to a military hospital to get dry and get better. Lacking rooms, the hospital gave him a bed in the mental ward, where he saw what happened to his fellow soldiers after their minds had snapped.

Leckie got better, and insisted on going back to join his company. He refused to give into the stain, he determined to be stronger than it all, but that did not mean he wasn't aware of the horrors.

As I continue to watch the series, I am amazed that any of the men who fought in either world war cam home to us sane. I hope you will take a moment of silence with me to remember all those who fought in these wars. On April 9th, in Canada, we remembered all our veterans from the First World War, the last of whom died in February. April 9-14, 1917, Canada and Newfoundland fought at Vimy Ridge for the freedom of us all.

Murdoch Mysteries - Rich Boy, Poor Boy, S03E04

Child abductions were not unheard of at the beginning of the 20th century, but the fear of them happening and the measures taken to prevent them were not so great as they are now.

Bobby Brackenreid (Gage Munroe), son of Inspector Thomas Brackenreid (Thomas Craig), would have been warned a hundred times not to walk off with strangers had he living in this century. It's why most child abductions are committed by people the children know and trust. Not that it never happens any other way, but the idea of the child of a Police Inspector wandering off with a man promising him adventure, but refusing to allow his friend to come along, hardly seems credible anymore. Possible, but not very likely.

But a hundred years ago? I'll believe that Bobby's desire for adventure and naive trust of people, unspoilt by many warnings, made him go off with a strange man.

The most effective aspect of this episode was the pain written across all the characters' faces when they contemplated the fate of the missing boy, and when they considered the pain of his parents. Margaret Brackenreid (Arwen Humphreys) was beside herself with worry for her boy, and when her husband failed to bring home their son after he promised he would, her anger and grief, as well as his own grief, were terrible to behold. Any couple facing the loss of a child is forever marked by that tragedy.

More so, Julia (Helene Joy) finally showed a reaction to the idea of losing a child. A lovely and subtle hint to the plot line I thought most poorly handled last season. She understood the hardship, and sympathized most appropriately with Margaret. Will she and Murdoch (Yannik Bisson) ever have a child? It is hard to guess, but Julia showed that she felt everything that was right and proper considering the circumstances.

Luckily, of course, Murdoch recovered the boy, and, although there was mention of pederasts, the pair who stole the child did so mistaking him for another boy, the woman's natural son. She only wanted her child back, and so the boy came to no harm.

This season continues to surpass itself in interesting plot lines and historical relevance and accuracy. Are you as delighted with this as I am?