Eureka - Founder's Day, S04E01

OMG I love it. Eureka is hilarious and makes me smile and laugh pretty much all of the time. What a perfect episode to start Season 4. I had forgotten how much I enjoy this show. Syfy does remember how to do the semi-serious, sciency, but really just fun shows, even if Caprica was a wash and Stargate Universe is still finding its feet and taking itself too seriously.

So, yes, the editing error at the start, showing us Tess (Jamie Ray Newman) breaking up with Carter (Colin Ferguson) as part of the recapping, confused me as we started, but otherwise, how terrific. Granted, I am a big history and historic reenactment geek, so both the theme of founder's day and the time travelling were right up my alley, but it was also so perfectly done.

The episode itself, introducing the brilliant Dr. Trevor Grant, played by the charming James Callis, gave us the proper sense of stress and danger which we expect from Eureka, as well as the solving of problems. Yet, it also set up an entire season. Allison (Salli Richardson-Whitfield), Jo (Erica Cerra), Henry (Joe Morton), Fargo (Neil Grayston), and Carter are the only ones who remember the original timeline. Allison is blessed with the return to a son who is suddenly and miraculously not autistic, Jo and Zane (Niall Matter)'s relationship, which peaked in a proposal which Jo didn't quite manage to accept, has suddenly disappeared entirely, Henry has found himself married, and Jack, after having shared a passionate good luck kiss with Allison, finds that he and Tess are still happily together.

How will things move forward, what will happen, can they change things back to the way they were, and do they even want to?

Covert Affairs - Pilot, S01E01

Although Covert Affairs started slow, it quickly turned into the high-speed, action-packed spy game which we were looking for, with a bonus of delightful humour and believable relationships. Although I have been quite busy of late, I will try very hard to keep this show on my list as long as it maintains the promise it gave us in this first episode.

Piper Perabo presents Annie Walker as the super competent yet damaged young woman who ends up joining the CIA for reasons that are somehow related to a whirlwind romance which did not work out. We learn that she is a go-getter, a talented driver, and has a gift for many spy skill requirements, including languages. The best part is that within this premiere episode, we are not only told of these things, but we see her abilities fully displayed in humourous but believable situations, or dangerous chase sequences.

My particular favourite moment was when Annie and Auggie (Christopher Gorham), a fellow agent who is blind, were caught in a morgue while examining a body. The FBI agent who stopped them had met Annie before, pretending to be a Call Girl while retrieving information, and he was clever enough to suspect that something more was going on. Still, Annie and Auggie had figured out their story well, and the idea of a blind man with strange fetishes being taken into a morgue to see the man the girl on his arm saw getting murdered the day before, with the enthusiasm for the encounter which both showed, was purely brilliant.

Otherwise, Auggie is a truly unique and yet clichéd character. His ability to still be as charming and as much of a hound as he must have been before he lost his sight, and yet the sweetness that is still part of him despite not having grown up with his particular difficulty, makes him irresistible. What girl would have been able to resist his charm under normal circumstances, let alone when he manages to do so much and so well when he is blind.

And if the characters, the humour, and the high speed chases weren't enough to catch your interest, then surely the mystery of the man whom Annie loved and his connection to the CIA should be enough to hold you. I predict Covert Affairs will be a great success, in a lengthening line of USA network successes.

Merlin - A Remedy to Cure All Ills, S01E06

Often, in fantasy series, magic is the remedy to cure all ills, and indeed Merlin (Colin Morgan) probably could heal most people in Camelot of their 12th century ailments. But with Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head)'s ban on all things magical, Gaius (Richard Wilson) and Merlin are generally forced to heal people by natural means...even if the disease is magical.

It does amuse me how friendly and welcoming Uther continues to be, despite the number of magic-wielding villains who have shown up in Camelot of late. Certainly, his continued fear of all things magic is not surprising, but I am a little surprised at how easily he trusted Edwin (Julian Rhind-Tutt). Sure, the man was able to save Morgana (Katie McGrath), a feat he only accomplished after kicking everyone out of her room (and, by the way, wouldn't that never have been allowed? I mean, what did they know of this guy, he might have ravaged her in her sleep). Is saving someone's life necessarily proof of good intent? Uther really ought to realize it is the perfect way to manipulate him into giving his trust.

Then again, we all know Uther is flawed.

What I really like about this episode was how it focused on Gaius and Uther. Certainly the younger characters, particularly Merlin, all had their parts to play, but the important developments surrounded the two characters who were alive and adults during the scourge on sorcery 20 years before. We got a better sense of what happened at that time, and of the feelings of guilt, shame, and regret both felt, though neither will deny that it wasn't necessary. One of the reasons Merlin (the show) is so compelling is because this mystery about the past keeps slowly being revealed. I relate to the lead characters not only because they are about my age and at similar points in their lives, but because I know as much as they do about the events that took place 20 years before.

I can't wait to be fully aware of all the details from the myths which have been incorporated into Merlin. What do you think we will discover?

True Blood - 9 Crimes, S03E04

Despite all the distractions in my life keeping me away from television and timely updates, True Blood still has me wrapped around its little finger and for good reason. The episodes are ever fantastic. Between the constant concern about what is going to happen next and the desire to see beloved characters grow, there isn't a moment which goes by without capturing my attention.

By far, my favourite moment of this episode was when the Magistrate had Pam (Kristin Bauer) tied up and was torturing her. Not because of the torture, but because of Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) and his utter devotion and dedication to her. He is her maker, and unlike the twisted relationship between Lorena (Mariana Kleveno) and Bill (Stephen Moyer), Eric and Pam have a bond based on love and loyalty. Seeing her in pain like that, he may well have thrown away his life and everything else to save her, and she, despite the torture, was still able to provide him with a solution. Particularly after last week's conclusion, it was touching to be reminded of a positive relationship of the sort.

I also loved seeing Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) serving at Merlotte's, and Franklin (James Frain) developing an obsession with Tara (Rutina Wesley). Those moments had a very serious side to them - such as Tara being bitten by a vamp - but were also quite hilarious.

Not so funny was Sookie (Anna Paquin) and Bill's storyline. Bill broke up with Sookie, leaving her desperately wounded in the company of an equally wounded and, at the time, topless (though not equally as Sookie was wearing a top) Alcide (Joe Manganiello). She then got herself in a mess with some werewolves (and looked mighty fine doing it), while Bill gave up a bit more of his humanity by bringing a stripper as a snack to his new King. The hardest part was watching Bill resist running to Sookie's aid when he felt her fear as she escaped the Lupine bar.

The interconnections, the holes characters are digging themselves into, and the desperate attempts of all of them to find happiness boggles the mind. What a show.

Haven - Welcome to Haven, S01E01

Haven may not immediately grab the attention, as Syfy network shows like Warehouse 13 and Eureka did, but the lack of over-the-top crowd-drawing action simply indicates a sophistication which many other Syfy shows lack. Slow starting, the intrigue is likely to grow, creating more of a desperate need to see the next episode rather than the simple desire to be entertained.

The best word I can think of to describe Haven (both the town and the series) is odd. Normality seems to have been left behind, and yet the characters so easily accept strange things - everything might as well be normal for the shock which they feel. When our heroine, Audrey Parker (Emily Ross) learns that the detective she is working with, Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) completely lacks the ability to physically feel, she takes longer to simply accept and not ask questions than when she later discovers that the murderer she is trying to arrest has control over the weather.

And that is something I really like.

Audrey comes from a normal world and works for the FBI in a normal capacity, and yet her belief and understanding that there is more in this world that meets the eye is so deeply rooted in her that she can believe the unbelievable without making a big deal about it. Why this is, and what her past might be, are questions that I am very excited to explore over the course of the season.

Meanwhile, I really want to praise Lucas Bryant's performance. Many of you may never have seen him in anything before, but I have followed his career since he was in high school and I really felt that his portrayal of Nathan resembles nothing I have seen him do. The combination of quiet yet determined, sometimes quite funny though always straight, and "tough guy" because he can't feel anything creates a solid and realistic character whom you can't help but like even though we've barely scratched the surface of his personality. We hardly know a thing about him, while he never comes across as the type who would withhold information. Amber, on the other hand, comes across as more closed off but willingly talks about her past with little prompting. The two characters balance well.

Plus, the mysteries of characters with supernatural powers which hopefully won't be vampire and werewolf every other week, with far less cheesiness than Eureka and Warehouse 13 is very, very refreshing. I hope you will be watching this with me week to week.