Miami Medical - An Arm and a Leg, S01E08 - Season Finale

In the episode technically considered the series finale, we started with an alligator attack, added a dose of flesh-eating disease, spiced things up with some romance, came back to reality with a death, and concluded dancing and drinking in a parking lot while listening to the Black Eyed Peas.

Of all the medical dramas which aired this season, Miami Medical was definitely the best. While the series did not catch hold of an audience large enough to earn a renewal, the actors have all had the chance to prove themselves to be capable, and hopefully more will be coming their way in the future. I would definitely be willing to check out some other show knowing that any of the team of doctors were to be found in the cast.

As for this episode, as a finale, having a good time with friends and feeling hope and love despite the hard work that is trying to save lives every day, and not always succeeding, is a lovely place to stop. I will be saddened if by the end of the 5 episodes which remain to be aired we are left with a more depressing cliffhanger. A party in the face of defeat is charming and pleasant.

I could talk about the choice made by an 18 year old girl to give up the dream she's had since she was 10 so that she could live. After all, by the time she's 26, she can have had another dream and still have an easy 50 years to fulfill it. Perhaps when I was 18, there was nothing I wanted quite that badly. Perhaps, despite the belief in my own immortality that I shared with all 18 year olds, I still feared the possibility of death, if someone threatened me with it. I cannot say.

But I will finish that thought, and instead congratulate Miami Medical for a job well done, despite its lack of renewal. No new medical drama made it this year; I'd say you are in good company, but I only watched the pilots of the other 3 before giving up on them, while I stuck with you.

Stargate Universe - Subversion, S01E18

Alright, Stargate Universe, Season 1, is getting down to the wire, and its looking to be a very exciting last two episode following the developments of Subversion. Let's just hope that Universe continues to be good television, and does not revert to the disasters of the first half of the season.

I had to laugh when this episode really seemed to turn into an SG1 crossover episode, despite the fact that SG1 has now been off the air for 3 seasons. Between Daniel (Michael Shanks) and Jack (Richard Dean Anderson), and the Lucian Alliance, the plot really did connect Universe with the rest of the Stargate franchise, and I can't but help thinking that this is a REALLY good thing, even though the cliffhanger of the season finale is likely to be that the decisions of the Universe team will save an endangered Earth, even though they are so far away from home.

Still, it's also nice to loop back to the start. For those who weren't familiar with the earlier series, the Lucian Alliance, who blew up planet Icarus, was another enemy of Earth's. Apparently Col. Telford (Lou Diamond Phillips) has some sort of connection with them, which Rush (Robert Carlyle) discovered. Now he is somewhere in our galaxy, in Telford's body, while Telford is being tortured into revealing that location by Young (Justin Louis) while in Rush's body.

But don't worry, despite all the crazy stuff going on, the crew of the Destiny still had time to thrown TJ (Alaina Huffman) a baby shower. And I really liked the sense that day to day life was continuing on the ship.

I am excited to see where we go from here, assuming of course that they do resume where the cliffhanger left off (unlike episode 8), and to see how it is that another Stargate team, not from the SGC or Atlantis, will save the planet Earth from Alien races out to do us harm. Then again, maybe they will only have to defend the Destiny, and Earth will merely be helped by indirect aid? An interesting twist.

The Mentalist - Red Sky in the Morning, S02E23

Although some of the things I've been complaining of lately were included in this episode, I didn't care. OMG, it was so amazing I was completely baffled. I can't wait for next season, and I hope there are more episodes like this one.

Okay, so again, this has become the Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) show, and most of the time I wish that other characters would get a little more focus, but this episode HAD to focus completely on him and I am glad it did.

It started with a Red John copy cat murder going viral on YouTube. After a date with psychic Kristina (Leslie Hope), Jane was already shook up, but he was even more erratic about keeping Kristina from being involved. She, ignoring Patrick, spoke about Red John on a talk show, throwing Jane into a panic. And, again, he was right...but he did not want to be. Red John murdered the host of that show, taking the episode from copy cat to the real deal.

Still, CBI wanted to find the copy cat killer, as a girl was in fact dead, and despite Jane's distraction, he was able to help on the case.

Then, disaster of disasters, Kristina disappears. Although it appeared as though she had made a run for it, Jane was convinced that Red John had taken her.

Finally, Jane ended up at what he believed to be the copy cat's safe house. He was going to wait for Lisbon to show up, but his curiosity got the better of him. When he went in, he got knocked out, and almost played a part in the cheap slasher flick the copy cats were making to honour Red John. But Red John doesn't like to be honoured cheaply. He showed up, killing the two murderers while only incapacitating an innocent victim. Jane, meanwhile, was tied up. He could only listen as Red John spoke to him the words of William Blake, as well as inform him that he did indeed have Kristina.

Finally, in beautiful parallelism to the pilot episode, we see Jane in his bedroom, still bare except a simple mattress. He fell asleep under the Red John smiley face, reciting the poem.

If all that didn't have you on the edge of your seat while constantly sending chills down your spine, then you are as batty and insensitive as those copy cats were. I'm breathless and so happy.

Bones - The Beginning in the End, S05E22 - Season Finale

I've been mostly unimpressed with Bones for some time now, and was thinking that next season I would probably just hoard the episodes and get them over with through a marathon, but now I'm not even sure I want to do that. The season premiere had better be incredible amazing, or it will be the last episode of Bones I watch.

With that bleak start, let's talk about a season finale which was anti-climactic and full of moments that simply made no sense.

The case was rather dry and boring, though perhaps that was the point. It didn't really have any baring as to what the episode was actually about; again, it only happened because Brennan (Emily Deschannel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) work together to solve crimes.

Instead, Brennan and Booth had big decisions to make. Suddenly, as if Brennan hasn't spent 4 months of the year on digs elsewhere, as well as several weeks throughout the year when the show is on hiatus, the decision to go participate in a really, REALLY important dig becomes an issue. Since when did Brennan completely give up her anthropological roots to go full fledge murder solving?

Meanwhile, Booth is suddenly considering rejoining the army because they want him too.

Both assignments are meant to last 1 year, which is NOT actually that long a period of time, not considering their careers. What is the big deal?

But apparently it's such a big deal that Daisy (Carla Gallo) and Sweets (James Francis Daley), who were engaged, break up rather than trying to make it work while she's in Indonesia with Brennan. Seriously? They were going to spend the rest of their lives together, but 1 year apart is too much? Cause it's not like either of them could possible visit each other, or like there are phones in Indonesia.

The only satisfying thing about the entire episode was that Hodgins (T. J. Thyne) and Angela (Michaela Conlin) are going to run away to Paris for the year.

This show has just gotten silly, and that is very disappointing.

The Good Guys - Pilot, S01E01

Well, that was one ridiculous hour of television. Combining random crime, assassinations, Good Cop/Sick Cop, and grammar, and you certainly won't get a boring hour of television...but, boy will you ever get a strange one.

Okay, so it's your typical unconventional hero story. Two cops, Dan (Bradley Whitford) and Jack (Colin Hanks), who seemingly have nothing in common, solve a major crime while originally pursuing something so mundane as a stolen humidifier.

Was it funny? Well I did laugh a few times. Most of the time, however, I was baffled by the highly unlikely turn of events. That so many people were connected in such a convoluted way to the original crime was the sort of thing that makes this kind of show enjoyable, but it was more than a little over the top. It was the kind of show that makes fun of cop shows like Starsky and Hutch while being that same kind of show, and that's more than I can handle on a regular basis.

I'm not sure that the intensity can last, and I won't be following along to find out, but watching the pilot to discover if this is something you want to watch won't be a waste of your time. You may spend the hour saying "Seriously?" or "You've got to be kidding," but something that's exactly what you are in the mood for.

I wish the show luck.

V - Red Sky, S01E12 - Season Finale

I am pleased as punch that V has been renewed. While this episode was a most excellent cliffhanger, leaving me excited for its return and full of questions, I would have been most angry if that had been the end of it. But there will be more! YAY.

The episode started with a rather hasty capturing of Val (Lourdes Benedicto), which left her doctor still alive. I guess someone had to contact Ryan (Morris Chestnut). He, brave and stupid man that he is, immediately went to the ship, crying "Anna has my baby. Let me on the ship!" It was fantastic. Of course, Val had the baby, then Anna (Morena Baccarin) killed her, and used Ryan's pain and paternal instincts to win him back to her side. We'll see how that cross over affects the 5th Column next season.

While Ryan took that course, the rest of our heroes planned to destroy all of Anna's soldier eggs when Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell) and Tyler (Logan Huffman) joined Anna and Lisa (Laura Vandervoort) in the ship for dinner. Lisa, learning of the plan from Joshua (Mark Hildreth), wasn't sure she could betray her mother, but when the time came, she chose the humans. The moment where Joshua acknowledged her as his queen before going off to sacrifice himself was particularly touching.

Oh, yes, Father Jack (Joel Gretsch) decided to trust Chad (Scott Wolf) again. It didn't work out well the last time, and this time was even worse. He got Joshua captured and betrayed all of the 5th Column on the ship (except Lisa of course). Sure, Joshua has now managed to convince him that the V are NOT of peace, but it was a costly lesson. Frankly, I wish someone had just shot him in the head as an anti-V move a long time ago. We'll have to see if he improves at all next season.

So Erica managed to destroy the eggs, but then had to shoot Joshua to push her beyond suspicion. Obviously she didn't want to kill him but it was a necessary action. I was quite crushed at the idea of him not returning next season, but there is no need to fear as Marcus (Christopher Shyer) resurrected him.

What is the deal with Marcus? On the one hand, he's manipulating Hobbs (Charles Mesure) into doing what he wants - which is infiltrating the 5th Column apparently, and on the other hand he's bringing back Joshua and trying to stop Anna from enacting part of her evil plan (which made the skies red at the end of the episode). Now, it's possible that he's 5th Column. It is also possible that he simply didn't want Anna to move too quickly, and that he brought Joshua back so that he could question him. It's just that his "Welcome back, Joshua," didn't sound ominous. It sounded friendly. But he's a V...so he may just not have the proper handle on emotions.

And speaking of not having a handle on emotions, Morena Baccarin did a wonderful job feeling such powerful grief over the loss of her soldiers. Her pain, her screams, were beautifully done, and her vengeful reaction is going to make next season a lot of fun.

Clearly, this show has earned it's right to be renewed, and it will prove that next season, too.

The Good Wife - Hybristophilia, S01E22

While Lockhart & Gardner continue to downsize, Alicia (Julianna Marguelies) is relieved to know that her job is safe. Things are starting to look good for the Florricks, with Peter (Chris Noth) almost in the clear, and Alicia secure in her employment. But if everything always worked out perfectly without any difficulties, that The Good Wife would not be a very interesting drama.

Slightly drunk, Alicia is asked to get some final contracts from Colin Sweeney (Dylan Baker), whom we met earlier in the season and who is famous for having killed his wife even though he was never convicted of the crime. She's not looking forward to the encounter, and is even more upset when she walks in to find him cuffed to the naked dead body of a woman. That man is SO disturbing.

And while she is again forced to combat her personal sense of decency and morality to defend a man she is certain is guilty, if not of this crime at least of some crime, she also has to fight her own revulsion about playing the game of getting ahead in a law firm. Did she make a deal with the Devil when she began recruiting for Lockhart & Gardner through Peter? I suspect we'll see that develop next season.

Meanwhile, Cary (Matt Czuchry) joined Glenn Childs (Titus Welliver), clearly bent on revenge against Alicia, and Eli Gold (Alan Cumming) and Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston) worked to clear Peter of the charges once and for all.

Poor Eli. Elsbeth gives off the illusion of incompetence, which encourages everyone around her to underestimate her. Eli was in quite a panic about how his trial was going (and when I say "his" I am indicating that Eli clearly is a control freak and possessive over all aspects of any of his jobs), but Elsbeth impressed him tremendously when she showed him just how competent she really is.

Also, I loved when Eli confronted the FBI about their spying on Peter. Pins, magnets, posters on buses. What ever he does, he does to just the perfect degree of over the top.

With only one episode left of the season, I'm excited to discover the cliffhangers we are offered to keep us desperate for Season 2.

Glee - Dream On, S01E19

I've seen some good reviews of this episode, and I've seen some bad reviews. But to those bad reviewers, I ask a simple question: When did you get it into your head that Glee used something called a "plot"?

As always, Glee gave us great songs connected through a slightly improbably and definitely ridiculous course of action, which allowed us to gain a little more familiarity with the characters as well as try to build tension towards something. Whenever I watch Glee, I ask myself "Was that entertaining?" If the answer is yes, that is enough. And this episode was entertaining.

How could Neil Patrick Harris pretending to hate glee clubs and projecting the message Show Choir Kills not be entertaining? Plus his two duets with Matthew Morrison, who portrays Will, were quite lovely, and his argument leading to angry sex in a secret room with Sue (Jane Lynch) was everything we wanted it to be.

I have mentioned before that I wish guest stars didn't get so much singing time since it took opportunities away from the show regulars, but I realized recently that Will doesn't actually have anyone to sing opposite of. The glee kids have all sorts of opportunities to sing with each other, but it takes a special situation to give Morrison the duets he deserves. Possibly they should get another adult in the cast who can sing, but it is a great way to use the guest stars.

Otherwise, the Rachel (Lea Michele)/Jesse (Jonathan Groff) relationship has gotten a little weird. Yes, we knew that the couch of Vocal Adrenaline, Shelby (Idina Menzel), wanted Jesse to go after Rachel, but the result is confusing. Rachel is Shelby's daughter (We kinda guessed this because they look so much alike, though it makes Will's making out with Shelby all the more disturbing as well as the possibility that Jesse might be Will's son all the more entertaining to think of - thank you Brittany).

So, Jesse seduced Rachel rather than simply befriending her, as he was asked. Now he doesn't want her to get hurt (Told you guys he wasn't a complete slimeball). But why Shelby allowed him to get into a position where he might end up hurting her...well, that's not very motherly.

I will say, however, that I had shivered throughout the entire duet of I Dreamed a Dream.

Finally, we got some Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) action! Although Artie (Kevin McHale)'s desire to become a dancer was a little extreme, I did love his Safety Dance, and Tina's dance at the end was just great. Give us more Tina, but maybe not quite so cheesy!

And that's what I though of Glee.

Castle - A Deadly Game, S02E24 - Season Finale

Although this season did not end with an episode related to the murder of Kate Beckett (Stana Katic)'s mother, I was still quite satisfied with where it went and what happened. Well, satisfied from an artistic perspective. As an emotional creature who wants Beckett to hook up with Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion), I was beside myself with laments.

There are always a lot of comparisons to Moonlighting whenever a will they/won't they tension is introduced between two characters working together to solve crimes. While the viewers want the couple to hook up, producers seem afraid to allow that to actually happen, certain it will result in rating crashes and show cancellation. The problem with this is that they assume that what makes the show is that dynamic. And that is not right.

Read Heat Wave if you don't believe me. Good writing and good acting (something which was missing from Moonlighting as the leads apparently hated each other and could not maintain a fake attraction to each other once it was out in the open), these two things are what's necessary for any series to continue and to be and remain good. Castle obviously has these two things - Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion can take any script given to them, with any result, and make it work, and the scripts that they are given are already primed for that.

But, we still don't want to throw that tension away quite yet, so we get this year's season finale. I think it sets the show up perfectly for a hook up next season, and as long as they don't hook up in a finale, without guaranteeing to us that the hook up can work for at least an episode or two, Castle is likely to be on the air a long time.

If you watched the episode, you know that Beckett ended things with Demming (Michael Trucco) not because anything was wrong in their relationship, but because being with him made her realize that she would not also be able to be with Castle, and the latter desire won out. Unfortunately, it did so too late. Castle, still trying to finish his second Nikki Heat novel, Naked Heat, ended up getting back together with his second wife. I doubt that reunion will last the summer, but it may allow Castle to get over Kate just enough that she's the one pining next season. We'll have to see.

And while this, of course, was the key focus for long time viewers (all 2 seasons) of Castle, don't think that the case was less interesting. It started out with all the appearances of spies and international assassinations, which turned out to be the most elaborate spy LARP ever! Between the game, the illegal practices of one of the staff, and the personal life of the victim, Castle and Beckett had one heck of a time deciphering who the killer was and why.

Frankly, this show is so good, it makes up for Firefly getting cancelled (almost).

Chuck - Chuck vs the Living Dead, S03E17

As we prepare for the AWESOME 2 hour season finale of the third season of Chuck, we don't need to desperately head out to get ourselves Subway subs in the hopes that our actions will earn our beloved show a renewal. It will be back! And that shouldn't really be a surprise; this season has been fun and has given us exactly what we've been wanting.

But, perfection cannot last. Daniel Shaw (Brandon Routh) is not dead. It appears that not only has he been manipulating Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) into betraying everyone she loves, but he has also downloaded some version of the intersect into his brain. Things are not going to end well. Particularly as at least one significant death has been promised us.

Possible it will be the death of Jefster (Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay)'s band rather than the two of them). After all, we are going to get a very special music video from them. But enough about the finale.

In this episode, Daddy Bartowski (Scott Bakula) got to prove, again, just how awesome he is. Not only did he see through all of Chuck (Zachary Levi)'s deceptions, finally proving his son had downloaded the Intersect 2.0 by throwing a knife at his head, but he also had the best line of the night (and possibly the series): "Does she have the intersect too?" Nope, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) is just that awesome.

And while Chuck, Sarah, and Daddy Bartowski were running about, poor Ellie beat up John Casey (Adam Baldwin) and has now put herself in Ring custody.

It's going to be one crazy season finale, and I am SO looking forwards to it.

The Pacific - Part 10: Home - Series Finale

The perfect finish to the emotional ride that this wonderfully historical series has taken us on. My heart broke and I cried more about the marines' return home than I did while watching any of their battles, and yet I could only be glad that they had survived and feel hope that life would improve for the.

The three most memorable moments:

- Bob Leckie (James Badge Dale) telling his girlfriend, Vera (Caroline Dhavernas), and his family that he fought in the war for television.

- Lena Basilone (Annie Parisse) bring John (Jon Seda)'s medal of honour home to his family.

- Eugene Sledge (Joseph Mazzello) crying in his father's arms because he couldn't go shoot ducks.

When it ended, we got to find out what had happened to all the men we had met. We learned that every character had been based on a real man, and that those who survived went home and got married. They had lives, full lives, but despite that, the memories, the experiences, never left them.

It's 2010, and there are still men who fought in those battles who can remember and who can tell us about it. There are none in Canada who fought in the First World War. It won't be long before World War II is out of living memory as well. I'm really grateful for television. For a medium that can so vividly record the memories of men, so the future generations can get a taste, a surface idea, of what really went on.

Murdoch Mysteries - The Curse of Beaton Manor, S03E10

On the one hand, this was an amusing episode, guest starring Jonathan Goad, with curses and voodoo to add some flair, and on the other hand, the episode created some major question marks for me in regards to the treatment of interracial relationships.

Considering that in some places still today, interracial couples face difficulties, it's hard to imagine that over 100 years ago, the bastard, black half-brother of 3 wealthy men would be considered a suitable match for a society white girl. That part of the development of the story rested on said girl rejecting the suit of the bastard to marry the wealthy eldest might have worked had that bastard been white, but the colour thing just made it hard to believe. If he had been in love with her, but not courted her, that would have worked. But when there are fathers today who don't want their daughters marrying respectable men of a different race, I can't believe any father then would have approved of such a man courting his child.

But if those technicalities are ignored, then the episode again is quite enjoyable. Watching Crabtree (Jonny Harris) and Higgins (Lachlan Murdoch) talk about voodoo and zombies while they walk through a haunted house, certain a ghost is about to attack them, made my week. I laughed myself silly and was quite happy to do so.

Having Jonathan Goad, playing the eldest Beaton brother, was also a bonus. He was delightfully awful throughout, yet, in the end, I had to pity him for having been deceived by his wife and bastard-brother, and possibly murdered by voodoo.

And, for the fans of William and Julia (Helene Joy), the relationship was not entirely neglected, although more and more signs of issues and strains are becoming apparent.

Only 3 more episodes of the season, but it has been renewed for a 4th season, so there is nothing to fear!