White Collar - Out of the Box, S01E14 - Season Finale

I, like many others, was never particularly interested in the Kate angle of the story. Certainly, Neal (Matthew Bomer) loved her very much, and, since we loved him, we could not disregard her existence entirely. She was his weakness and he would do whatever it took for her. But that's not why we watched. We love the bromance between Neal and Peter (Tim DeKay). That is friendship, that is trust, and that remains despite how much they both stick to their guns when it comes to what's important to them.

As Neal got closer to getting the music box, closer to Kate, Peter continued to threaten to arrest him if he did anything illegal. Good thing that Neal has Fowler (Noah Emmerich) on his side, ready to thwart Peter. And thwart he did. He has a knack for going after weaknesses, and as much as Kate is a weakness to Neal, Ellie (Tiffani Thiessen) is a weakness to Peter. How guilty did Neal feel when he found out that Ellie's livelihood was put at risk through his involvement! Good thing he has connections to help her earn back her reputation quickly.

I really loved watching Neal at work, carving the beautiful and perfect replica of that statue so that he could hide the tools he would later need to get it out. I also really liked that Alex (Gloria Votsis) betrayed him, though I was less convinced of her reasons for coming back. Still, it worked and it's nice to know that she has an opening to be a continued presence in her life. I like her a whole lot better than Kate.

Yet when the whole thing was finished and Fowler arrested with the help of Agent Lancing (Marsha Thomason) - which finally told us what had happened to her and where she had gone, Peter and Neal were left saying their good byes. How believable was that scene? Peter begging Neal not to go, telling him that his life was here, that he was helping too many people to give it all up, while Neal kept trying to justify it after all he went through to be with Kate. Meanwhile she just sat there on that plane, waiting for him, not fighting for him. And then the plane blew up. And Neal, hesitant a moment before, had to be tackled by Peter so that he would not run straight into the wreckage.

Whoever messed with Peter and Neal had better watch out; it's only just beginning.

White Collar - Front Man, S01E13

Penultimate episode of season 1 of White Collar, and of course we end up with a dilemma. But before we got there, we had a fantastic time watching Neal (Matthew Bomer) run all over the place pulling cons in the hopes of saving some innocent women's lives. Plus, we were reminded of just how great an agent Peter (Tim DeKay) is.

It started simply enough - another agent wanted to borrow Neal for a kidnapping case. She didn't start out looking good, ignored Neal's advice and help, and managed to allow him to get kidnapped too, without his anklet. Peter, naturally, showed her up every step of the way, but the thing that got me more than how quick on his feet Peter was was that his primary concern was for the health and safety of Neal and of the kidnapped young lady.

Neal, taken, was forced to charm a woman into giving him information. If he did not succeed, that woman was going to die. And, terrifyingly, for once, Neal's easy charm didn't get him the information he needed - she wasn't willing to get fired for a pretty face. Luckily, Neal can go from charming to distraught (while still charming) in an instant. He played on her maternal instincts and managed to save her life.

Next, still desperate to save the girl, he agreed to steal a briefcase from a very very dangerous man. Lucky for him, Mozzie (Willie Garson), whom he'd managed to contact earlier, showed up and together they pulled a slightly cheesy but very amusing con as FBI agents to get the man to simply hand over the briefcase, leaving with his freedom, if not the contents.

Finally, the girl was saved, and everyone lived happily ever after.

Except, maybe they didn't. Neal is still determined to go after the music box and get Kate back, but Peter's no dummy. He knows what his favourite con man is planning, and he's not going to let him do it.

What will happen in the season finale? How badly will it go for Neal, or is it Peter we should be worrying about?

White Collar - Bottlenecked, S01E12

See, now this episode focused on one of the things that makes me love White Collar the most - history. Sure, we had an exciting competition between Neal (Matthew Bomer) and a rival, but the emphasis value of history, of knowledge, that is what makes this show great.

A man named Keller (Ross McCall) challenges Neal to a competition - which can forge a better copy of a valuable and rare bottle of wine gifted to Benjamin Franklin by Marie Antoinette? Neal, naturally, can't resist the challenge, but he does it within his FBI constraints, making the forgery part of Peter (Tim DeKay) and his plan to capture the rival. Peter goes along with it, though normally he wouldn't, because of his intense dislike for Keller, who also is a murderer.

The beauty of the situation is how good a job Neal and Mozzie (Willie Garson) do at faking the wine bottle. They are able to replicate the bottle by finding a bottle, a cork, some wax, etc, dating from the period in question. The only way that anyone would be able to tell that their bottle (or that Keller's bottle) is a fake is by running an expensive test for caesium 137. The stuff only became wide spread after nuclear testing started, meaning that any bottle of wine older than that would be free of the chemical, while any recent wine would reveal its existence. How convenient for wine testing!

The charms of the episode continued as Keller's bottle was revealed to be the real deal. He had tricked Neal into faking his own bottle so that the price would increase after his own was proved not a fake. This guy is good, almost as good as Neal, or maybe just as good. Unfortunately, he had both the Russian mob and the FBI breathing down his neck. He picked the FBI. Maybe Neal got caught, but at least he was never stupid enough to try and cheat the Russian Mob!

With only two more episode of the season left, the search is on for the music box. How are things going to go down? I don't know, but I'm excited. Are you?

White Collar - Home Invasion, S01E11

What happens when Peter (Tim DeKay) has to room with Neal (Matthew Bomer) while his wife is out of town and his house is undergoing repairs? Well, let's just say that Ernie and Bert (minus any homosexual innuendos) had similar roommate experiences.

While pursuing a murderer/thief, Peter and Neal get in each other's way. Neal, trying to find the music box which is the desire of the man who has Kate, tries to enlist the help of a former college of his, Alexandra (Gloris Votsis). She came closest to getting a hold of the artifact back when others supposed that Neal had taken it. Unfortunately, Peter's arrival at Neal's apartment at a critical moment, as well as his refusal to play Neal's games (he fully admitted to her that he was FBI) put a wrench in those plans.

She got them both back when she got in the way of the operation both her pursuing - the recovering of Japanese jade elephants. Blowing Neal's cover, her anger not only caused him to lose the target, but allowed that suspect to later come and kidnap him. Luckily, he was able to warn Peter through the use of Morse code. He was going to Peter's home. Frankly, an invasion there only balanced their home invasions (this was such an aptly named episode). When Peter was in Neal's home, he not only insisted on watching TV while Neal was trying to read, he also usurped his chair and discovered that Neal was still searching for the music box.

But in the end, despite their bickering and the tension caused from spending too much time together (only last episode, Peter was praising breakfast time because it did not involve Neal), they both still helped each other out and solved the case.

But despite Neal's loyalty to Peter, his desire to save Kate (whether she needs it or not) remains strong. At the end of the episode, Alexandra offered him the chance to get the music box - but not while he still worked with the Feds.

How will it all work out? Only 3 more episode of season 1. I'm glad I'm not going to have to wait too long for season 2 to commence.

White Collar - Vital Signs, S01E10

I don't get the obsession with the Will they/won't they relationship. I mean, of course, that's a lot of tension and excitement, you want to watch because you want to know if the couple will get together, but if that's all a show has going for itself, well, it's not a very good show.

Sure, Neal (Matthew Bomer) and Kate (Alexandra Daddario) have an uncertain relationship - Neal is mad about Kate, while she may be betraying him - but I frankly don't care particularly about them. Their relationship is not one of the reasons I watch. Ellie (Tiffani Thiessen) and Peter (Tim DeKay), on the other hand, I absolutely adore.

As was evident in this episode, a happily married couple can generate as much interest as two characters, riddled with chemistry, who can never seal the deal. Peter's awkwardness as he tries to flirt with a woman as part of his cover is both hilarious and charming. And when Ellie found out about it, her response, rather than jealousy, was to laugh at the idea of her darling husband trying to flirt. He's not very good at it.

On the other hand, when she discovered that his magic hands had given this other woman a massage (something she discovered while trying to help Peter flirt with her on the phone), she was not unaffected. Frankly, I would rather watch more scenes with Peter and Ellie being adorable, as they were in the final scene of the episode, than watch Neal pine. Long lasting love can be just as compelling as tension, as long as it is done well.

Otherwise, this episode was also quite excellent - Neal confessed that Peter was the only person he trusted in his life. Sure it's possible he was just playing him, but he was also very very high after having been drugged by the bad guys. Also, the two heroes brought down a man who was scamming people out of their money in order to save their lives with kidney transplants. It's true that the tricks they used to catch him were quite mean, but he was quite a bastard, so I can't feel too badly about it.

And so we had a great episode, without having to resort to pulling on our heart strings, or asking the question Will they ever get together?

White Collar - Bad Judgment, S01E09

It's never easy coming up with posts for a show like White Collar. The reasons I watch remain the same, the quality remains the same, and while, like in this episode, there are developments to comment or speculate on, for the most part the comments I have are about the same. And I'm fairly certain I've made this comment before.

The leads in this show all have terrific chemistry, and their timing is always spot on. The comments, pointed or absolutely absurd, are delivered with the exact right emphasis every time, and the methods used by both Peter (Tim DeKay) and Neal (Matthew Bomer) makes sense, are credible, and still give the impression that solving the cases they work on is difficult, and proving them is even more so. What more can you want from a procedural.

In this episode, while the quips reigned, the development of the tension between Peter and Neal, and Fowler (Noah Emmerich) moved steadily forward as it was interwoven with another case our heroes were working. Isn't it lovely when you can hurt your enemy while also saving the home of a 6 year old girl?

Through Neal's clever manipulations (as well as his careful and neat trick for forging a signature), and Peter's ability to bend those manipulations to the law, they were able to throw a major hitch in Fowler's plans by arresting the judge he had in his pocket, and forcing him to arrest her so that suspicion didn't land on him.

One of my favourite things about this show is the degree of trust all of the characters have for each other. Yes, there are things that they keep hidden, but most of the time this is out of a sense of shame or pride or fear, rather than of lack of trust. It actually gives me hope, while we are watching frauds and cheating going on, to be able to believe that there are people in the world who care about each other and trust each other so well.

Do you feel the same?

White Collar - Hard Sell, S01E08

With season 2 on White Collar only a month and a half away, I figured I'd catch up with season 1. It is such an excellent show, and Matthew Bomer and Tim DeKay have such great chemistry. I'd missed it, and I'm glad that I'm going to find out what happened next.

When I last watched, Peter (DeKay) met up with Neal (Bomer)'s missing girl, Kate (Alexandra Daddario). It looked like Peter had been playing Neal the entire time. Not that we wanted to believe that, but of course, that's the beauty of good television - camera angles and incomplete scenes can makes us think exactly what they want us to think.

So, coming back, we think Peter might have betrayed Neal, and Neal thinks so too. He's contemplating running again, but he's still doing his best to work for the FBI. The mark is a boiler room operation (you know, where suckers by stocks from brokers who take their money and run). Neal, of course, gets to shine as he easily convinces a whole lot of people to buy stocks, gaining the confidence of the big boss and therefore allowing the FBI to stop the operation.

Unfortunately, there are tensions during the operation, and Neal angrily tells Peter that he knows he's got Kate. Luckily, Neal still manages to trust Peter through the motions, and they don't completely blow their covers. Instead, they manage to use the tension to their advantage.

And then we got what had to be the most touching example of how much Neal trusts Peter. Not only did he tell Peter of his suspicions, he then sat down with him and Ellie (Tiffani Thiessen) to discuss his fears and what was going on.

Naturally, Peter withheld information about his meet with Kate, but obviously Peter isn't our bad guy. In fact, the scene between he and Kate, which we were shown, reinforces my negative opinion of her. Peter doesn't think she ever loved Neal, although Neal refuses to even admit that as a possibility.

And the best part of it all is that we learn that Kate and her captor are after a music box which Neal never actually stole. Oh he gave off the impression that he had taken it when it disappeared, but he was not the actual thief. And now he has to work his magic and get it so that he can figure out why it is so important.

Great show, great premise, glad to be watching it again.

White Collar - Free Fall, S01E07

Oops, back when I was watching the first 7 episodes of White Collar, I forgot to blog about the seventh episode. About to begin publishing my thoughts on episodes 8-14, I figure I had better fill in that blank.

The crime was the robbery of an expensive necklace, which was to be displayed on living models. I loved when Neal (Matthew Bomer) told the model missing the necklace (well, she had a replica) that she had just become a very beautiful crime scene. That man simply radiates charm.

Then they got to meet another reputed conman, possibly one more talented than Neal. Neal was beside himself with excitement, explaining to Peter (Tim DeKay) that it would be as if the FBI agent were about to met Elliot Ness. I can't imagine any cop not considering that an honour. As Neal shook his hero's hand, he told him "I love you alleged work."

Naturally, Neal was framed for the crime, and Peter was forced to arrest him. Still, nothing can easily stop Caffrey, and he had expected the arrest, and so a beautiful escape route planned, right out of the Judge's window onto the awning below and away.

In the end, Neal was cleared, and things went back to normal. Only Kate (Alexandra Daddario) was still held by someone, apparently an agent of the FBI. Was it Peter? It certainly looked that way as he met in a hotel room with Kate, wearing the same ring as the man in the photo. Has our beloved Peter betrayed our beloved Neal? A perfect place to go on hiatus for the Christmas break.

So, remember, when you finish watching this episode, give yourself a few weeks to stew before finding out what happens next!

Miami Medical - Time of Death, S01E11

What a perfect title for this episode. On one side, it refers to the time of death of one of the patients who died, and on the other, the point at which the relationships of some of the other characters ended. It was, actually, one of the more depressing episodes of the show, although it was done very well. Again, I lament that it was cancelled as it is the only medical drama to catch my interest in some time.

When the episode started, and we met the two sweet teenagers who were lifeguards, you immediately sensed the strong connection between them. Twins, born only a few minutes apart, and obviously very close. They saved a man who was drowning only to be plowed over several moments later by the speed boat he and his girlfriend had just been thrown out of. You have to wonder what sort of criteria they have for renting out the boats.

Unfortunately, the sister never regained a heart beat after the accident and was Serena (Elisabeth Harnois)'s first time of death. What a heart breaking thing. And literally, it was heart breaking. Her brother ended up suffering from broken heart syndrome, so grief-stricken by her death that he was physically affected. As much as I have been requesting fatalities, as it is impossible to avoid them in a trauma centre, I could have managed without this one.

On the happier side of things, the man who was the original victim was fine, but his girlfriend was paralyzed. So not so much happier. Her husband, soon to be ex, showed up as well, and when the boyfriend freaked out and took off because he could not deal with the possibility of wheelchairs, the husband stood by to learn that she would recover full mobility. I can't say whether their relationship will be able to recover, but he was there for her even in the face of crippling disability.

Finally, Rick Deleo (Bailey Chase) showed up to make his young brother, Chris (Mike Vogel) suffer a bit. He hit on Eva (Lana Parrilla), which naturally upset Chris. The two may be very good friends, and I am usually a fan of a man and a woman being friends without it needing to be romantic, but these two are clearly in love with each other and I wish the series was going to be around long enough for us to watch that play out.

Rick, it turns out, has kidney cancer, which is going to be a horrible challenge, but he refused to tell Chris about it, wanting to really be the big brother for once. Funny despite all the tension between the two, they really loved each other. But isn't that they way it is between siblings?

Good episode, good series, and a shame that it won't continue. If it did, what are some of the things you would want to see develop?

Season's Review - Castle, Season 2

Most people started watching Castle because Nathan Fillion plays the lead. His fan base, mostly drawn from his days as Captain Mal of Firefly, knows that it doesn't matter what he's in, he's going to be great. So let him be a charming and intelligent, famous and affluent mystery writer - he'll do it perfectly.

Once people start watching, they can't really stop. Over the second season, the viewership continued to increase every episode. At the beginning of the season, not whole lot of people tuned in for the amazing and fantastic Hallowe'en episode, even though Fillion's Castle was dressed as a Space Cowboy (brown coat, boots, suspenders, and everything), but by the terrifying cliffhanger during March Sweeps, so many of us were desperate to know if Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), Castle's partner, had survived the explosion of her apartment that the show got an early third season pick up.

Once you watch one episode of Castle, you want to watch all the others. Fillion and Katic have such great chemistry, and so far the will they/won't they tension still makes sense given their relationship and personalities. I suspect that it will not be something simply left in a back corner with the promise that in the last episode our heroes will finally hook up because if they hook up any sooner than that our ratings will crash like they did for Moonlighting. If the couple tension is all that you have going for you ***cough*Bones*cough*** then you've already jumped the shark.

Regardless of how great the leads are, the rest of the cast of characters are equally responsible for the quality of the show. Beckett's other partners, Esposito (Jon Huertas) and Ryan (Seamus Dever), give the police work legs so that we get a sense of what else is going on in the investigation - it's so simple that one person can do it all herself. They also play perfectly off each other, and when you add Castle to the mix, you feel like these are three normal guys just having a laugh at work. Plus, Castle's mother and daughter remind you of his family values, which prevents him from being too smarmy when he decides to turn on the charm. Not that he can ever do it without a sense of humour.

As a season, we only had two episodes regarding the bigger mystery - what happened to Kate's mother. The finale did not touch this subject. But it is there. Plus Castle's writing career also gives form to the series, so it doesn't just feel like we are watching a bunch of slightly interconnected crime show episodes tied loosely together by one romantic connection. The connection is there and is an important part of the whole, but every other relationship is equally important and Castle and Beckett both have personal developments to make in the context of the whole.

My advice, don't change. Continue to advance and develop and make us laugh, but don't wait too long before something happens between Castle and Beckett. If you've read Heat Wave, you know it's possible to keep the show entertaining without only relying on requited but denied love.

Happy Town - Questions and Antlers, S01E06

With only two episodes yet to come, Happy Town brought out the crazy, creating even more questions which I fear will not be answered by the shows conclusion. Indeed, I am less interested in who the Magic Man is than I am about the back stories of many of the other characters.

Grieves (Sam Neill) spent a rather peaceful episodes seducing Mrs Haplin (Frances Conroy) with his charming British wit, while Henley (Lauren German) tortured Greggy (Warren Christie). She wanted to know what he had done with her money and why Mrs Haplin wasn't letting her leave town. Although I rather liked the damage both have undergone to go through something like that and still feel some sort of emotional, romantic bond, what I really want to know is what the deal is with that hammer! And what is the connection between Grieves and Henley - they can't possibly only just have met, they have worked together far too often for me to believe that.

Meanwhile, outside of Haplin, crazy Dan Farmer (Peter Outerbridge) found Georgia (Sarah Gadon) and Andrew (Ben Schnetzer) in his trailer. He is absolutely insane, and I love how when Georgia pointed this out to him, he seemed confused as to why so many people made this assumption about him. In the end, he let them go, but terrified about whether they should keep silent to help his investigation, or because, if they didn't, he would find them.

Finally, poor TC (Geoff Stults) finally had to clean up the mess he made with Big Dave (Abraham Benrubi). He's known for some time that Dave was a murderer, and he didn't say anything because Dave was also his best friend. Finally, when he was supposed to bring him in, Dave ran for it, and TC was finally forced to shoot him. The saddest part, though perhaps what happened was best for TC's career, but the saddest part is that he'd bought Dave a plane ticket to Bolivia so that he could escape. What is the right thing to do when you have to choose between the Law and the Code of Friendship? Too bad Dave didn't trust Tommy enough to find out what those papers in his pocket were.

The most important thing that happened in that sequence, though, was that Dave found the underground where the victims of the Magic Man were being kept. Or did he?

With only two more episodes to go, again, I suspect we will have more questions than answers, and we will likely get more questions over the course of those two episodes. I am sad that this show didn't generate a lot of interest, but unfortunately it was too complicated without giving a good enough reason for most people to get hooked.

Merlin - Valiant, S01E02

We are just out of the gate, and Merlin (Colin Morgan) again finds himself in a position where he needs to save Prince Arthur (Bradley James) from magic. It's funny, considering Merlin is proof that there is place for good magic in Camelot, at every turn magic is otherwise being used for ill. And that ill is generally killing Arthur.

Despite the fact that last episode Merlin was convinced that Arthur had no redeeming qualities, the two seem to have grown quite close quite quickly. I suppose Merlin is just the kind of guy who likes people if given half the chance, and how could Arthur really dislike someone who had saved his life. The trust that had already developed between the two, that Arthur believed that Sir Valiant (Will Mellor) had an enchanted shield on Merlin's say so, is a testament to the destiny that unites them already.

I also love Arthur and Morgana (Katie McGrath)'s relationship...again, ignoring that they are supposed to be half-siblings. I don't really feel a strong romantic vibe, more one of affection and respect, when they aren't busy disliking each other just for show. That Morgana helped save Arthur's life, too, was also brilliant, particularly as she has yet to step out of what would have been possible and likely at that time for a lady to do.

Finally, when Arthur redeemed himself in front of his father, when Valiant's shield came alive and proved his words, Arthur and Merlin's friendship was redoubled in strength as the slight Arthur had felt when Merlin failed to provide the proof he needed was healed.

Excellent show, lot of fun, some well choreographed fights. I continue to enjoy, and hope you do the same.

Pretty Little Liars - The Jenna Thing, S01E02

Watching 16 year old characters portrayed by young ladies in their 20s, particularly when I am also in my 20s, makes it a lot harder for me to remember that a lot of what's going on in their lives is really off. The responsibilities, the choices, the supposed maturity...these girls shouldn't be there yet. But maybe part of being a 16 year old today has changed that much from when I went through it 10 years ago...or maybe I was just mature enough (or lucky enough) to have avoided this kind of drama.

The Jenna Thing was actually an accident...at least on the part of the 4 girls who are still alive. Aria (Lucy Hale), Spencer (Troian Avery Bellisario), Hanna (Ashley Benson), and Emily (Shay Mitchell) had no idea that anyone was in the garage where Alison (Sasha Pieterse) threw the stink bomb. Certainly I believe none of them realized that they would cause an explosion, though that is mostly because of useful ignorance rather than anything else. I guess 15 year olds (as they must have been at the time) understand so little about the law that they wouldn't realize everyone but Ali would have likely only ended up with community service...but who does a thing like that anyway?

As for the relationship development, Spencer's future brother-in-law, Wren (Julian Morris), made a move on the young girl after sneaking her some alcohol at a restaurant. Spencer pulled back, recognizing that it was wrong. Glad she did, because, despite how cute Wren was with the british accent and everything, a man old enough to be in med school should not be going after the high school age younger sister of his fiancée. I was very glad that the sister threw him to the curb after she was the kiss, but I can't help thinking this is going to make the sisters' relationship even more strained. And I'm willing to bet that Melissa (Torrey Devitto) is going to blame her naive little sister as much as her ex.

Aria and Ezra (Ian Harding) are also having a hard time keeping their hands off each other. I'm not sure why Ezra was trying to prevent Aria from transferring out of his class - it would have been a very sensible thing for both of them to have happen. Too bad in the end her transfer was declined...though at least that would be on record for the future when they get caught...A seems keen on having that happen.

If I were Aria, I'd probably tell my mom. Ella (Holly Marie Combs) totally thought Ezra was attractive and figured Aria should be attracted as well. She obviously would have a problem with Aria dating her teacher, but not with Aria dating Ezra and she might indeed be able to make the situation less complicated. Too bad Aria's to young to recognize the benefits there.

Finally poor poor Emily... She thinks there is something wrong with her because she has bisexual tendencies...Possibly she's actually gay, though she doesn't seem to be totally uninterested in men. She's just having trouble admitting to herself that she might be attracted to women and that that is allowed. I thought one of the strongest scenes of the episode was when she tired to tell her mom about it, and her mom assumed that her stresses were centered around Ali's death rather than some other issue. Now that is an accurate picture of trust but poor communication between mother and daughter.

Again Hanna didn't particularly grab my attention, though the attempts to make her look fate in the flashback scenes are rather amusing. She looks about the same, and couldn't have had the kind of meat that she was supposed to in the past. But I guess I'll just have to willingly suspend my disbelief and imagine that she did lose a fair bit of weight.

Who is your favourite of the girls, and why?

True Blood - Bad Blood, S03E01

True Blood is the perfect mix of horror, sex, and humour. It's a show that is allowed to take itself seriously, as it deals with the unbelievable in a believable way, but that doesn't mean that it won't laugh at itself. And that special ability makes the show so much better than something that's only about sex and violence.

I can't count the number of times that I nearly died when watching this episode...well, the number of times something happened that I declared nearly killed me.

Some instances:

- when Arlene (Carrie Preston) and Tara (Rutina Wesley) nearly fought because Arlene pointed out the Eggs had been a serial killer, and Arlene was surprised because, after Rene, she was under the impression that everyone dated at least one serial killer.

- Andy (Chris Bauer) and Jason (Ryan Kwanten) repeating the phrase "Conscious off, Dick on, and Everything is gonna be okay.

- Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) naked.

- Sam (Sam Trammell) having sexy dreams about Bill (Stephen Moyer). Oh boy was that hot.

-Arlene realizing she was pregnant because she could smell the faintest hint of cinnamon.

Plus, we were set up for the season perfectly, as we discover that Bill was kidnapped by V addicts. It totally played into Eric's part in the conspiracy of vampires selling their own blood, and was the perfect excuse for Bill to end up in Werewolf country.

I am hoping, although this episode didn't really indicate it too well, that this season will be more interconnect than Season 2. Don't get me wrong, I love Season 2, but I don't want to get the writers to get in the habit of diversifying the plot line and characters so much that they are never in the same city. Then again, I don't want them to be too unfaithful to the books either...so I guess it depends what happens in book 3 (I have read the first two, and I'll read the third in September when this season ends).

Glad to have Sookie (Anna Paquin), Tara, Eric, and the rest of a fabulous cast back to keep me company for another summer.

Season's Review - Bones, Season 5

Welcome to the first posting in my Season's Review category. We've seen the season finales of all Fall/Winter season shows, and as we get into our Summer program, I want to take some time to think about the series we've been watching as a whole. Please let me know if you agree on my take, and if you have anything else you want to contribute.

First Season's Review - Bones, Season 5

As the saying goes, Bones has jumped the shark. It did so at the end of Season 3, when the story arc focusing on Gormagon ended. It wasn't because Zack (Eric Millegan) left, it wasn't because of the addition of Sweets (John Francis Daley) or the many interns, and it wasn't because the Gormagon plot line caused an end. It was because since the end of Season 3, there have been no real story arcs tying together the episodes and the seasons.

Since then, the focus has been on the characters. Will Bones (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) ever get together? What about Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) and Angela (Michaela Conlin)? In fact, the characters have been so much the focus that the individual episodes have suffered because not enough attention has been paid to the case, while too much was placed on some relationship dilemma.

In Season 5, it became clear that Bones had lost most of what made me watch it in the first place. The 100th episode, a gem amid the refuse of the rest of the season, only made the changes more obvious. We saw an analytical Bones, a surly Hodgins; we heard Booth call the team squints, and Zack claim that he didn't understand pop culture references. And the balance between the character development and the case gave those of us interested in solving mysteries enough to be satisfied. None of this remains.

The last episode was said to be a terrible end to a fantastic season. What season were those people watching? Besides, they weren't annoyed with the final episode, but with the time jump taking place during the break. The complaints weren't about how absurd Sweets break up with Daisy (Carla Gallo) was or about how strange it is that almost the entire team working at the Jeffersonian was able to take a full year off, just about the passage of time which we weren't going to get to see. Frankly, I think that aspect was the best choice made in the episode.

What could Bones do to get back on track? Give us another serial killer. Make the cases count. I don't want to watch a show about a couple who can't seem to realize they ought to be together - I've given up on Soap Operas. I watched Bones because I loved how, through forensics and evidence paired with the understanding of the human psyche, Bones and Booth worked together to solve cases. It's like a cake, where the icing was the character development. How many people really enjoy that much icing with almost no cake?

Despite the wonderful 100th episode, this season was mostly a waste of time. I give it a D.

If the Season 6 premiere isn't bloody brilliant AND doesn't promise a story arc for the season, I'm not watching anymore.

Persons Unknown - The Edge, S01E02

We are into week 2 of the 13 part mystery series about 7 individuals who have been kidnapped and trapped in a small town in the middle of nowhere. So far, no one has died, but that doesn't mean that we don't feel the threat and tension of mortal danger. And by the end of this episode, it really does feel like all the options for escape have been used up.

Last episode, we learned that all the prisoners were embedded with drug dispensers, causing them to pass out once they passed a certain point. Moira (Tina Holmes), the self-proclaimed psychiatrist, removed these from the back of everyone's legs. They were able to pass the point where previously 3 of them had passed out trying to leave the town, only for Janet (Daisy Betts) to have her face microwaved. Frankly, I preferred the drugs.

The episode really focused on that escape, with the group eventually making it past the microwaves after a lightning blot took out one of the guns and the stole the van belonging to the Chinese restaurant. Too bad that all that happened was that they drove in a big circle, arriving back where they started. If I ever get kidnapped, which I hope never happens, I really hope that I don't end up back in a place like that.

It wasn't until the very end of the episode that Janet's fortune was addressed. She was given a gun and the message to kill Joe (Jason Wiles) so that she might go free. Despite threatening him, she eventually just shot the camera in his room with all 6 bullets. Ominously, the camera was quickly retracted into the ceiling and replaced with an undamaged recorder.

As for what we know...we still don't know anything. But I think that makes it far more intense and frightening. What are your thoughts?

Persons Unknown - Pilot, S01E01

Persons Unknown reminds me a little of Harper's Island. It's a 13 episode miniseries which revolves around a mystery, and has the potential of being fabulous. Harper's Island did not meet that expectation due to some serious scripting and plot issues. Will Persons Unknown realize the potential that a show with its premise has, or will it disappoint me?

The premiere was good, though odd. I had expected something more along the line of Cube - 7 people locked in a building, cut off from the outside world, and that was it. Instead, we have been getting glimpses of the places left behind. Janet (Daisy Betts) has a daughter, a daughter who was the tool of her own abduction. I absolutely loved the fear that built up inside of me as Janet panicked, thinking her daughter was missing, only to have Janet kidnapped while her child was left behind.

Now that daughter is living with Janet's mother, a woman who I would not let near any child.

It isn't only the daughter we get to see. A journalist has also taken an interest in Janet's disappearance, and he is planning on pursuing her story. Will we learn more about what's going on from the outside than we do from the inside? Will the series end with him riding in, white knight style, to save our hero-victims? Or will any of them be left by that time?

That's right, death was introduced from the start. No one died, but Janet was promised, via fortune cookie, that she would be released if she killed her neighbour. Who exactly that note meant, I can't be certain, but is getting home to rescue her daughter worth her committing murder?

And, as interesting as Janet and her daughter and the missing husband are, let's not discount the rest of the cast. Joe (Jason Wiles) has a strong military vibe, comfortably taking control of most of the situations, but refuses to talk about where he came from. Sgt. McNair (Chadwick Boseman) comes across as a trained grunt, preferring to follow Joe's commands than take his own initiative, but he's also willing to risk himself to help his fellow prisoners. Is it all an act?

Moira (Tina Holmes) claims that she's a councilor, but her actions and behaviour hints at her being a patient. Tori (Kate Lang Johnson) seems to be a useless socialite, but perhaps she's more than just a pretty face? Blackham (Sean O'Bryan) came onto the scene as an aggressor, but he quickly teamed up with Charlie (Alan Ruck), and Charlie, the most interesting after Joe and Janet, wants to be in control, but is also the most unstable element of the lot.

So we've got 7 different and bizarre members of a forced household, as well as our outside forces, but we also have more people on the inside. What is with the group of Chinese people who run a restaurant? Or the night watchman? I really hope that those factors are also given proper weight and attention.

So, a successful premiere, giving me enough to bring me back, but not making it so wild as to scare off the milder element. Start watching it, because in 13 episodes we'll know what's what and it seems to me that we'll want to know it all.

Miami Medical - Diver Down, S01E10

Although this episode is #10, it clearly was originally intended for earlier in the season. I guess that's why it felt like Tuck (Omar Gooding)'s attack happened so quickly - because some of that time was taken away when the series was reduced to 8 episodes. It's a shame; it was a good episode which showed Serena (Elizabeth Harnois) handling herself well in an unexpected scenario.

I am not a fan of water. I am even less a fan of drowning, so the first few minutes of the episode, when some divers when underwater clearly fated for some dramatic event sure to land them in trauma, I was disturbed and upset. Let's just say that Serena's reaction to being enclosed in a small room would be similar to mine if I was in that same closed room while it filled up with water. I was just glad that we had injuries, rather than drowning victims needing resuscitation.

Of the 4 involved in the accident, only one of them ended up with the bends, a sickness caused by ascending from a deep pool of water too quickly. The surgeons, however, believed that 2 did. This left Serena alone in a decompression tank with a patient recovering from the bends and another quickly deteriorating. Turns out that victim got tetanus from a dirty needle. I don't know why people think it's a good idea to get piercings or tattoos when they are on vacation - if you wouldn't walk into a sketchy tattoo parlor in your own city, don't walk into a sketchy place anywhere in the world. It's not worth it.

The part I liked best about the episode was that it was actually quite an advertisement for marriage. 2 of the victims were a couple - the chick with tetanus and a guy who had something embedded in his arm. When the young lady's situation was starting to look bleak, Eva (Lana Parrilla) had to ask the young man about his fiancée's next of kin. Despite the fact that the couple had been engaged for over 6 years, they were not married and therefore he had no legal rights to make decisions for her. I'm not sure what the laws about common law marriage in the states are, but if that situation is possible, I say that there is more reason than having kids or a desire for a big wedding to tie the knot.

With only 3 unviewed episodes left, I again indicate that I am quite sad that Miami Medical wasn't a greater hit, but I guess that's what happens when you pick Friday night to air a program.

Murdoch Mysteries - The Tesla Effect, S03E13

What a FANTASTIC season finale! Not only did Pendrick (Peter Stebbings) return to complicate things, but we also go the inevitable visit of Mr. Myers (Peter Keleghan), the operative of the Canadian government, and the return of Nikola Tesla (Dmitry Chepovetsky), whom we hadn't seen since the pilot.

While we did get some moments of delightful humour regarding the use of microwaves, particularly George Crabtree (Jonny Harris)'s suggestion they be used to cook potatoes and yams, even if every house required an additional room completely devoted the the practice, the tone of the episode was fairly serious. Of course, what else can you expect from an episode involving a death ray?

While William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) searched for said death ray with the help of Tesla, he noticed yet again that James Pendrick was involved. Still, Pendrick would not give him the information he needed, and only using his superior knowledge, as well as that of Tesla, was he able to accomplish anything at all. And yet they got nowhere.

When Pendrick escaped from custody, Murdoch ran to the aid of Sally Pendrick (Kate Greenhouse), but upon his arrival, he found the house empty. Pendrick arrived soon after, determined to convince his wife of his innocence before fleeing the charges. Both came to the sad conclusion that Sally, not James, had been the guilty party since the beginning. I might say it was amazing how quickly Pendrick forgave Murdoch for his vendetta, but clearly the crimes were connected to his family, and Pendrick had been even more taken in by his wife's charms than Murdoch had.

In a rather spectacular battle, in which Pendrick was shot (and thus got over his lingering feelings for Sally), and Murdoch managed to explode the death ray without harming his horse, Sally managed to escape the scene. We are promised the return of Pendrick at some point in the near future (hopefully, he and Murdoch will be friends next season), and possibly a future encounter with Sally as well. I would say that all worked out for the best, but that would be ignoring William's struggling relationship with Julia Ogden (Helene Joy).

Throughout the season, we have noticed a distance between the couple, despite their declared relationship. Although we had suspected it before, Julia is unable to have children, and she does not consider herself a suitable partner for William because she cannot fulfill his desire to be a father. Along with that, she has grown weary of working on dead bodies, and, when offered the chance to go work at a children's hospital, could hardly not take the offer, despite it being in Buffalo.

Her confession to William about all this was too much for him to consider in one moment, and though both were in tears, his duties tore him away, seemingly unable to cope with her news. But we know William, the moment he had a second to think, he bought a ring and declared that she was the only woman he would ever love, and that they could adopt, so why be so concerned. Naturally, Julia said yes to his proposal, and, although it happened a little more quickly than seemed right, all was well. Until, again, we realized that the visualization of our desire, and William's, was no more than a dream, and Julia had already departed.

So Murdoch was left with only a semi-victory against evil, and without the girl. Can't wait to see how this works in Season 4!!!

Stargate Universe - Incursion, part 2, S01E20 - Season Finale

For a series that started off so far from what I wanted and expected, the season finale was absolutely fantastic! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and am far more angry about the cliffhanger I've been left with than that at the end of any season of any of the other Stargates. And that is a good thing, as I am desperate to find out what happens next.

A hostage situation on a spaceship is bad enough, but the tension between the Lucian Alliance and the SGU team was made worse by the force that disintegrated a man last episode. Apparently gamma radiation from a near-by star is about to wipe out all those on the Destiny, and since the two groups weren't going to work together nicely, all their fates hung in the balance.

Since the Lucian Alliance weren't likely to compromise, it was up to Camile Wray (Ming-Na) to give into their demands, with Col. Young (Justin Louis) giving in with the hope that it might just be the thing that saved everyone. Young continued to be an incompetent leader for most of the episode, starting from the point where he yelled at all the scientists because something was wrong with the ship to the end where he was in a prison cell with the most of the military staff (strangely missing Lt. James (Julia Benson)). Telling people to make something work without having any consideration for the difficulty of the matter is no way to gain loyalty, and patiently waiting while men with guns surround you, clearly ready to kill everyone, is also pretty useless.

I really enjoyed the scene where Scott (Brian J. Smith) and Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) spoke about devotion. Greer follows Young blindly, fully believing that any call his superior makes is the right one. Young hasn't done much to earn this trust, but I don't think Greer would function properly (it would resemble the loose-hingedness of the first few episodes) without that kind of authority. Scott, meanwhile, is beginning to question. It may not be a good thing in the military, but when leaders are as incompetent as Young, it's rather necessary.

So the situation goes badly, Rush (Robert Carlyle) doesn't recover full control over the ship after the rest of our heroes have surrendered, while Telford (Lou Diamond Phillips) and Commander Kiva (Rhona Mitra) shot each other - Telford to protect our heroes, Kiva because she finally realized Telford was betraying her. Kiva is still alive, but badly wounded. She is carried to TJ (Alaine Huffman), but the soldiers there don't just wait to be killed, and soon everyone in the room is one the floor. TJ's bleeding and it looks to be from her stomach area.

If that's not bad enough, Eli (David Blue) has had to abandon Chloe (Elyse Levesque) after trying for so long to protect her. If he doesn't help Greer and Scott get back inside the ship before another gamma wave hits, then they are dead. Chloe, even though I still don't like her much, is dangerously close to death, while Greer and Scott are quickly running out of time.

And if all the imminent death wasn't enough, even if they survive the next 10 minutes, if Rush cannot reengage the FTL drive and get them back on the move, the gamma waves will kill everyone on the ship anyway.

So fantastic cliffhanger, as I said. The other thing I want to commend is how great a military man Telford is, and how loyal a man. Had he not been brainwashed, he would have been the most excellent leader of the expedition, far better than Young. Too bad it appears he's already dead.

So SGU, you have me hooked even though you had a rocky start. Take what was good from this season and focus on that!