The Twenty Best Television Shows of 2019-2020

1. Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist 1.x

2. The Great 1.x

3. Harley Quinn 1.x/2.x

4. The Good Place 4.x

5. Looking for Alaska 1.x

6. Dollface 1.x

7. Veronica Mars 4.x

8. Watchmen 1.x

9. Dickinson 1.x

10. G.L.O.W. 3.x

11. Castle Rock 2.x

12. Harlots 3.x

13. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel 3.x

14. Normal People 1.x

15. The Outsider 1.x

16. Love Life 1.x

17. Little Fires Everywhere 1.x

18. This Way Up 1.x

19. Homeland 8.x

20. Impulse 2.x


Shows that aired a majority of their season between July 2019 and August 2020 were eligible for this list.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: August 25, 2019

Veronica Mars: Episode 7: An episode later than me, but Mars Investigations finally zeroed in on the Pizza Delivery Guy as the mass bomber. Being that there is one episode left, I guess he did not actually do it. Plus he does not really come off as criminal mastermind. I still think someone in his cold case group could be involved. Just how far away is Clark Duke? He does give off skivvy vibes. Certainly whoever did it is certainly playing to them.

But how disappointing that Ronnie hooking up with Deputy Special Agent Leo was just a dream sequence. It was almost as disappoint as it was weird as Ronnie using that as an excuse to accept Logan’s proposal. Um, yeah, I do not see them ending the season in marital bliss. So I predict either Logan dies in the finale or gets caught in bed with Madison Sinclair. Which could explain all the whining I have heard about how the season ends. But really, that is the ending I am rooting for.

Episode 8: Holy Parker sighting! Sure, not as random as Mac’s boyfriend earlier this season. At least Jake Kane buying a school he could put his name on makes sense. And I was right that someone in the murder club was the bomber and was on the right track that there was something fishy with Clark Duke but I was fooled by pizza boy like everyone else. Granted Patton Oswalt is no Keyser Söze and his heel turn did not really work in my book.

Still I am glad the show returned and hope we get a season five, and hopefully the wait is not very long like in between seasons or the movie. I am actually glad they killed Logan because I always found his relationship with Ronnie weird. I mean the guy provides the roofies that got her raped, slept with Madison Sinclair days after they broke up, beat the living shirt out her boyfriend to the point he had to go to the hospital, and was someone she even described as the obligatory psychotic jackash. And really, he was kind o a complete wet blanket in season four so good riddance, please stay dead. #TeamDeputyLeo.
You can watch Veronica Mars on Hulu.

City on a Hill: The written “previously on” was an interesting way of doing that, but here is where it fails. When I read that Jackie interfered in the bust last week, I do not remember what exactly he did. Had they shown us, obviously I would have remembered. Visuals are just always better. Remember when Ray Rice told the commissioner he hit his girlfriend? He just got suspended two games. But when we all saw it on video, he never played again.

And did Jimmy really get blanket immunity? That is kind of dumb. I am no legal scholar but just last week on The Handmaid’s Tale, they gave Serena immunity for some things but when Fred accused her of others, that is how she got arrested. Give Jimmy immunity for the bark robbery, I do not see how that also allows him to get away with murder. But I wonder if we will see him or his brother next season or if it will just be the DA vs. Kevin Bacon all season. I would much rather watch the latter. Shows always fail when the antagonist sticks around too long.

Fear the Walking Dead: So why is everyone splitting up? I feel like I missed that. And why did we not get the black dude from last week first? I kind of forgot about him until he showed up on the “Next time on…” That kind of seemed more interesting than what we ended up getting this week. And was Red Jacket Guy living there among the zombies? Did the zombies break in and that it when things went bad for him? Was he juts alone this whole time? I did not need a big flashback but they could have explained that better.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

Harlots: After Charlotte died in episode three and Theon died in episode five, I was wondering who would die in the seventh episode. No one, but creepy dude did task Quigley in finding a new girl to kill. So maybe there will be a body count in the finale. I also think that the Pincher dude will let his brother’s murder go unchecked (even though him killing Charlotte led to his brother’s death). Could he find out that Nancy actually pulled the trigger or maybe go after Lucy as the lone Wells left in Britain in retribution? And are we even sure Margaret actually left for the U.S.?
You can watch Harlots on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: August 18, 2019

Veronica Mars: Episode 5: So after episode three, I predicted that J.K. Simmons was the bomber and became a suspect for Mars Investigations in episode four. Then in episode four I started to suspect the bar owner who the Mars Clan started to suspect in episode five. Let’s see if that trend continues for the next episode when I start pointing the finger at the Pizza Guy. Or at the very least I think he wrote the letter because obviously the bomber dis not because there was still another bomb later. I think Pizza Guy was more excited that someone realized that he planted a lot of Dickisms that the chick found out.

Episode 6: Holy Clarence Weedman sighting! I joked a couple episodes ago they are bringing back all the actors they could not reasonably explain showing up in the movie, but maybe I was on to something after CW, the Fighting Fitzpatricks, the guys in Chino, and Mac’s college boyfriend. Who is going to show up in the final two episodes: Chip Diller? Hannah Griffith? Troy Vandergraf? Shelley Pomroy? But anyway. It was kind of shocking that we learned who the bomber was in the antepenultimate episode. Well, at the very least Big Dick admitted to setting off the first bomb, he conspicuously did not mention any guilt over the other bombs killing people. So who was inspired from that first bombing and why?
You can watch Veronica Mars on Hulu.

Claws: Well that was a clusterfork of a finale. And what are they going to do next season? Really, everyone should go on the run since they could all be implicated in the killing a vicious, high ranking gang member. I mean, assuming (dude’s not escaping from a burning casino, locked in a room with no windows. Oh wait, the show started with Roller being shot, point blank, drowned, stuffed in a body bag, dumped in a swamp, and still managed to survive.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

City on a Hill: Ow wow, Jimmy actually likes a great song. I really have trashed his music so far, but Know the Ledge is a great one. The world needs an Eric B. and Rakim resurgence. Now that the show has been officially renewed, and they got the brothers dead to rights, it looks like season two will be Decourcey vs. Kevin Bacon. At least hopefully the charges stick. But I do wonder if Jimmy will get a sweet deal for being an informant for Kevin Bacon.

Fear the Walking Dead: So they are not even going to mention that Alicia got sprayed with radioactive zombie blood last episode? Maybe she should be checking her lymph nodes like the scientist.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

The Loudest Voice: It is weird the amount of times Megyn Kelly’s name came up during the episode but we never see her. I guess we will have to wait until the movie to get her side.

The Handmaid’s Tale: I actually thought for a second that opening scene was sometime in the future, it was not until the crazy eye chick showed up less crazy and with both eyes before realizing it was the past. But I do not see how Ofjoseph gets out of stealing a bunch of children. She was basically playing with house money this season in Commander Lawrence’s house and the Waterford’s needed her for visual reasons to get their kid back, but with the Waterford’s detained, there is nothing stopping her being severely punished. Speaking of being punished, are they really going to lock up Serena over the word of Fred? Can they even hold Fred if Serena stops talking because they locked her up? And then does Serena get set free because he does not testify? Locking Serena up just seems like a foolish move.
You can watch The The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu.

Harlots: Oh wow, they really did kill off Theon Greyjoy already just two episodes after killing off Charlotte. There was a lot of blood and he was shot at short range but I still thought he might survive because why bring on Theon for just five episodes especially after just killing off the lead actor. So both Charlotte and Theon are dead shortly after they started forking and basically died because they kept that a secret.
You can watch Harlots on Hulu.

Krpton: With a title like “The Alpha and the Omega” I should have suspected there would be Darkseid reference, but it did not hit me until the clone lady saw the Omega sign. Yippie, more villains next season when they have not bothered to totally dispatch the ones they already have. Well that is if there is a next season.
You can download Krypton on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: August 11, 2019

Veronica Mars: Episode 4: Finally a Vinnie Van Lowe appearance. I really hope the show is successful enough that both he and Dick get a spin-off. We also finally got a Deputy Special Agent Leo sighting. And let us not forget the triumphant return of Lucky. Um, alright. Really it is like the show was just trying to get in everyone who could not reasonable write into the movie. Lucky, the Hearst Rapist, Max, then there was Liam Fitzpatrick from earlier this season. Come to think of it, why have they not gone back to investigate him? Then you had Hayley Dunfey as the token random celebrity cameo of the episode which seems to be a theme after the chick from Future Man, the dude from the Chicken Fries commercials, and the dude from Hot Tub Time Machine. Although back to the mystery I am starting to think the bar owner with the attitude may be involved somehow. Two people she kicked out of her club for being pervy ended up dead via bombing.
You can watch Veronica Mars on Hulu.

Claws: Finally the group has come together and called Desna on her on her overreaching that has led to a lot of pain and death. Still I never expected them to actually kill Melba. All that trouble just to have her gets hit by a bus. Alrighty. I also did not initially think that the boytoy was going to confess at actual Confession, I just assumed he was going to confess to Roller. Turns out we were both wrong, he told the cops. How exactly does Roller get out of that? I am assuming him being handcuffed will be the big season cliffhanger.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

City on a Hill: I have talked about the show’s soundtrack is too heavily influenced by Kevin Bacon’s classic rock leaning finally we got to hear what Decoursey listens to and it did not disappoint, when you are in the early nineties, you cannot go wrong with a little A Tribe Called Quest. But then they end the episode with another oldie. As for the actual plot, it was the tale of two informants. Bacon has one that is outed to his law enforcement buddies and then kills the other. Which begs the question, which will come back to haunt him more?

The Loudest Voice: There are very few things I need less in my life than to see Roger Ailes get a prostate exam.

The Handmaid’s Tale: After wondering what Serena was up to all season, we finally got out answer. But I wonder when she decided to turn against Fred. Did it date back to having her finger cut off? Was it really all about the child which she left June take from her house? Does she really think some warped way that it is kind of hers? Did she come up with this plan with Luke and the other dude when she visited before? I would kind wish she had given some lengthy Bond-villain type speech while explaining herself to Fred. Unless it was really, just simply about the kid.

Back in Giliad, Offjoseph’s plan really hit a bump in the road with the Commander’s wife kind of spoiling everything and then killing herself. But then again, the death could be an opportunity. Offjoseph’s new baby mama’s husband just died. It seems reasonable that the newly single Commander Lawrence could wed her and have June’s kid move in with them. I will be kind of shocked if that is not season four unless something earth shattering happens in the finale.
You can watch The The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu.

Harlots: Wait, is Theon Greyjoy dead now too? One of the reasons why I thought they could kill off the lead of the show was because they had Liv Tyler and Theon but now he ends an episode in the pool of his own blood just like Charlotte just two episode ago. Now I am not sure how effective bullets made centuries ago were so I guess he could survive, but the juxtaposition of him lying in his blood and then Charlotte’s blood makes me think he may be dead too. But hey, at least Quigley will not be blamed for Charlotte’s death after Emily Lacey came clean. Granted she has her own murder she actually committed she needs to clear her name of.
You can watch Harlots on Hulu.

Krpton: A melancholy happy trails to Kem. Okay, I do not really care. Really there is no one on the show they could kill off and I would be too upset about. But the problem with Kem was that he was the closest thing to comic relief they had on the show. I guess Lobo could also be this but he is a bit more annoying than funny.
You can download Krypton on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: August 4, 2019

Veronica Mars: Episode 2: Oh my, they really were trolling with that opening scene. Now we do not really know how well the show is doing, but I really hope that’s it is successful enough to warrant a Dick Casablancas: struggling actor spin off.

Episode 3: Well there goes my prediction that the hotel owner set the bomb for the insurance money to give to his kid. But my second suspect was Clyde, but then Ronnie named him as a suspect which makes me wonder if she would correctly finger the perp this early in the season. I am beginning to think it may be Ronnie’s half-brother that she discovers in the first Veronica Mars book that was released after the movie who is just trying to get the attention of his half-sister who has seemed to completely forget about. Maybe he teamed up with Lily Kane (Duncan and Meg’s daughter, another completely forgotten characher).
You can watch Veronica Mars on Hulu.

Claws: So no one except everyone closely involved noticed that the lesbian lover of the sister a senate candidate just went missing right after getting outed by the candidate? Real life press would have a field day with that. And the Triads have the cops on the payroll? Just high up does that go because someone has to get suspicious when lady cop does not show up for work. You can hold off Quiet Ann for a while but the Commissioner has to get suspicious unless he is on the Triad payroll too.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

City on a Hill: When I first reviewed the show I complained that despite being set in the nineties, there was a classic rock soundtrack. But all is right in the world now that we got Vanilla Ice this week. Oh goodness. And then we end the episode with a little Metallica. Now if only we can get some Wu-Tang.

The Loudest Voice: The frustrating part of watching shows based on real people is trying to figure out what actually happened and what was poetic license. Now I can completely believe that Roger Ailes had a bomb shelter under his house but did he really have a tunnel to the base too? That had to cost a pretty penny.

The Handmaid’s Tale: Last week I wondered where Serena’s loyalties lie and I am even more confused an episode later. She did seem shocked when the Canadians rolled up but on the other hand, it does seem like she really needed to be in the know for a plan like that to work. Really that discussion about where they would be had Giliad had never happened seemed like she was thinking about leaving. But then she invited Fred into her bed. Oh, and then I watched the trailer for next week and not it seems pretty clear her role in the capture.

And somehow that was not the biggest shocker of the week. No, that goes to Offjoseph smashing in the head of her kid’s new father. Can she get away with it? Just how good are those Martha’s at cleaning? Was New Daddy covert enough when he when to Jezebel’s that no one will suspect his whereabouts? And didn’t he move to Washington? Is there now only one house of ill repute left in Gilliad?
You can watch The The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu.

Harlots: Oh wow, they really did kill off Charlotte. It was even more shocking because she was kind of the face of the show up to this point. Sure they did add Liv Tyler last season and Reek this season who are arguable bigger names, but always pretty shocking when the topliner leaves the show and there was not even an announcement before the season (which as a viewer is much preferable, nothing worse than the long goodbye of waiting around for Rick Grimes to die… only for him not to). Then poor Quigley, she just gets out of the nuthouse and now it looks like she is going to have a murder pinned on her.
You can watch Harlots on Hulu.

Krpton: When Lyta got her throat cut it was painfully obvious she would be back at some time because he had to birth General Zod. The only question was how she would be back. Seeming how her son already time traveled, that seemed like the most obvious answer. Nope, the dead Lyta was just a clone.But I do wonder if Lyta ever kills herself so General Zod never exists.
You can download Krypton on iTunes.

Swamp Thing: You know what, if I am in a sinking cop car, I am not using my cell phone as a light, I might use my cell phone as, you know, an actual phone. But I am guessing that had there been a second season, Swamp Thing would have save her or maybe the swamp would have turn her into something else. But not surprisingly when you save off three episode and cancel the show, the ending felt a bit rushed, which is a shame because it was a really strong show up until the last episode. But with the show was canceled, it is weird they still went with an end credits scene teasing a season two villain. But hey, maybe some of the characters will so up on the CW Crisis crossover since the actors are not really busy.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Um, I think I missed something. So Sarge was evil? Sure he stabbed May and kicked her through the portal but he kicked her into a place where you cannot die which made me think he was anti-Izel. But when the rest of SHIELD showed up he seemed to be fighting with her. So did Sarge not know that May would not die in the other world? And just how did the portal shut? Did it just automatically shut when Izel died? That was just all confusing.

Also confusing was the ending. So the Cromicons want to invade Earth to set up their own civilization here and want to wipe out SHIELD because they are their only obstacle for conquering the planet. Um, I know I have not seen the last two Avengers movies but did every Avenger died in those movies or at last all the Earth bound ones? And if the Cromicons are trying to conquer Earth now, why did SHEILD go back to when the Empire State Building was the tallest in the world. Also if this is just an excuse to get Peggy Carter back on our screens, I am all for it (there was a picture featuring the name of one of Agent Carter’s actors on the set). Really, here is hoping we get an Agent Carter reboot on Disney+, or at least Hulu.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: July 28, 2019

Veronica Mars: Episode 1: I really do not like when television shows drop all at once. As soon as Veronica Mars was erased there were though pieces on the shocking finale when I had not even gotten though one episode. And I am not entirely sure what Hulu is doing with their release schedule, sometimes it is weekly, and sometimes it is all at once. The Handmaid’s Tale and Harlots are currently being released weekly, and then Veronica Mars, Light as a Feather, and Four Weddings and a Funeral coming Friday are all at once. Then the Wu-Tang show is weekly. Then they just announced all their fall shows, Looking for Alaska, Dollface, Reprisal, and Runaways will be all at once. I guess I can understand the teen skewing shows going all at once, but shouldn’t the adult shows be weekly? I really hate asking people what episode they are on in hope of discussing what I just watch.

I also like talking about shows, dissecting every episode. When these seasons are release all at once, I usually post about them once and that it is. But I really like talking about Veronica Mars so I do plan about talking about what I watch that week (probably one or two episodes, I want to savor instead of binging and then probably forgetting I even watch the next week. As I did above, I will clearly state what episodes I am talking about.

The start of the season was a bit slow for me. Ronnie in love is usually boring and in-between season Logan somehow went from the obligatory psychotic jackass to kind of a wet blanket. Of course I have always been team DeputyDetective Leo. At least it picked up with the bombing. Here is my prediction: the hotel owner did it so his daughter could get the insurance money.
You can watch Veronica Mars on Hulu.

Big Little Lies: Well that was a weird season. I spend the whole time we were heading to a big showdown between Reece’s husbands but they do not even run into each other for the past two episodes. And after Adam Scott gets propositioned, he wants to renew his vows. And then we end the season (series?) with the Monterey Five walking arm and arm into the police station presumably all willing to admit to perjury. At least we got an epic courtroom scene to start off the episode. But yes, I would definitely watch a potential third season.

Claws: Oh wow, they killed the lady cop. But does that not just prove everything the candidate said? He talks about his gay sister and then exposes the governor’s Asian mob ties and a day later the girlfriend gets murdered. Even if she just “disappears” that looks bad. The national media would descend on that more than if a senate candidate got caught hanging out with teenage girls.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

City on a Hill: The worst part of these season long mystery shows, there always seems to be an episode where one of the cops takes an entire episode looking for their kid. Thankfully we just got an abridged version her. But what was that all about? Was the snitch intentionally trying to let Kevin Bacon he can get to him too, or just doing it to hurt him?

Fear the Walking Dead: So the zombies exposed to radiation may not be as deadly as the scientist lead everyone to believe? Alrighty. Maybe the actress is in a contract dispute and they are getting to sign a low ball deal, if not her character dis a slow and painful death..
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

The Handmaid’s Tale: Well, it has been a while since June has been ritualistically raped. At least they did not show it this time. But I am still wondering what Serena is up to. Is she really trying to get “her” baby back or does she have an alternative motive. She ended last season getting her finger cut off and letting June leave with the baby. Does she regret letting her go or is she still bitter for the finger and is going to screw Fred and Gilliad as a whole by the end of the season?
You can watch The The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu.

Harlots: Wait, did they really just kill off Charlotte Wells? She is kind of the biggest name on the show. I know television characters have survived much worse but there is not much people in England a couple of centuries could do when you crack open your skull and have that much blood start to pool.
You can watch Harlots on Hulu.

Krpton: Did we really need a Doomsday origin story? Probably not. But I am a bit surprised they have not resurrected Lyta yet.
You can download Krypton on iTunes.

Swamp Thing: Okay, I am not entirely sure what is going on with the Blue Devil. It does not help that all his killing happen off screen. But I am not entirely sure what his power is. Does he just burn people with his touch?

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: So they really are going to turn Not-Coulsen into Kind Of Now Coulsen by the end of the season? Yeah that whole thing is kind of confusing.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Best Television Shows of 2018-2019

1. Doom Patrol 1.x

2. The Good Place 3.x

3. Miracle Workers 1.x

4. G.L.O.W. 2.x

5. Future Man 2.x

6. The Act 1.x

7. Angie Tribeca 4.x

8. Shameless 9.x

9. Harlots 2.x

10. Game of Thrones 8.x


Shows that aired a majority of their season between July 2018 and June 2019 were eligible for this list.

Previewing Harlots: Season Three

Theon Greyjoy died much like he lived, pretty pathetically. Dude was killed by his own weapon in a fight that took less time than the time it took Theon to run towards the Night King. But hey, at least Theon was told by Bran he was a good man before being stabbed with his own weapon. Though who is to say that Bran was just saying that so Ayra would have enough time to get to the Werewood tree? I do not think Theon’s final act really makes up for groping his sister, burning two farm children, ruining his sister’s plan to rescue him, watching while someone raped his virginal surrogate sister, or literally jumping ship when his uncle captured his sister. But hey, that is just me.

So I kind of laughed when Theon Greyjoy showed up on the new season of Harlots. Seriously, he is the new main antagonist now that Lydia Quigley is in the nut house? Granted since Leslie Manville is still on the show, it is not a matter of if, but when Quigley gets out. Also listed first in the credits is Samantha Morton though Margaret Wells, who was last seen banished to America after confessing to murder being spared the noose, is completely absent the first two episodes. Though when characters talk about buying land in America at the end of episode two, it seems clear how the Wells matriarch will return to the show.

The third season picks up one year since Margaret set sail for America. Both of her children are doing well, Charlotte has taken over her mother’s business while Lucy is about to go into business for herself with a new partner that has a very different type of product. While Emily Lacey has teamed up with Theon and his brother who wants to expand their pleasure business.

Lydia Quigley does show up in the early episodes but is unrecognizable without her wig, powdered makeup, and fancy cloths. And the loony bins of the eighteenth century featured “cures” that probably made their cliental crazier. We are introduced to the rotating chair which is supposed to induce “involuntary evacuations.” Of course Quigley is quick to make friends that will help her cause.

Harlots has been a fun excursion for spring and summertime watching. Though as the show expands (Liv Tyler in season two, Theon in the new season) there are beginning to be too many characters with inter-swapping relationships, it is starting to get confusing who is aligned with who and who is hooking up with who in the next scene. One moment someone is burning down a building, the next they are hooking up with the inhabitant even though they know who did it. Though the way things end in episode three, things may become more clear sa I am guessing that moment will steer the storylines for the rest of the season.

Harlots premieres tomorrow on Hulu with the first two episodes and new episodes every Wednesday.

 

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/25/2018

Before I get into the week that was on television, I would be remised not to mention the biggest television news of the week: a Veronica Mars reboot is reportedly coming to Hulu with Kristen Bell and Rob Thomas (and other original cast members being negotiating). In the immortal words of Bart Scott: Can’t wait! Really, 2019 is shaping up to a dream year for me with the probibility of reboots of Veronica Mars, Alf, a Deadwood movie, Zombieland 2, and live action Black Manta. Since I am greedy, let me suggest some things that hopefully I can will into existence for 2019: reboots of Quantum Leap, My Two Dad, anything by Bryan Fuller (Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies, or Hannibal) and give another chance to the Indian chick version of The Greatest American Hero. Brittany Snow cast in the movie version of Supergirl, but that does not interfere with Pitch Perfect: The Series set between the first and second movie. Reunited Oasis and Hootie and the Blowfish or just any nineties act having a great big hit. Areatha Franklin’s death made wonder whatever happened to the musical comeback. Back in the eighties and nineties there were plenty of artists who would have late career resurgence after a decade away from the charts but cannot think of anyone who that has happened to since Santana earlier this century. Is it simply because there is no Clive Davis type figure around anymore to will it? Oh, and of course the most important thing we need to happen next year, if nor earlier, impeachment.

The Affair: Oh snap, Anton straight up called Noah a psychopath in that paper. Speaking of psychopaths, really cold to show up to the funeral of the person you killed. We did get I believe was the first ever three part episode. After a whole season of being absent from the whole show except in the title sequence, the daughter finally showed up. I do not remember her being that cheery. But I called it, Vic gets his legacy from the starlet’s daughter. At least Helen’s story added some levity to the episode so we did not end the season on the depressing Alison death.

Sharp Objects: Murder mystery shows routinely give huge red herrings in the penultimate episode, but that looked like it was definitely Adora. Unless Camille was just imagining Adora as the Woman in White (the show does get a little too artsy). But this whole time I thought Camille’s sister was brutally murdered like these girl. Well it did turn out they were killed by the same person. Except the one thing that does not add up is did Adore really mutilate these bodies? I wonder if Adora had an accomplice. The sheriff gets a little too comfortable with her and I remember it being very striking when they revealed that the girls had their teeth pulled and a couple scenes later he was seen fixing a stop sign with pliers. Oh, and Camille having sex with a teenage murder suspect who up to this point I thought was a homosexual was really creepy.

Fear the Walking Dead: So is this back half of the season just going to be pairs of cast members and how they survive (or don’t survive) this hurricane?
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

The Challenge: Final Reckoning: When Kam announce she had a big plan, my first inclination was that it will backfire. And I was right, TJ again pointed out he is the dirtiest player in the game by introducing Mercenaries (Smashley and someone so inconsequential, I have never bothered to learn his name, yawn). Except her big grand plan was to pit the two weakest teams was super lame. Seriously, she could have gotten Kyle and Brad vs. Zack which would have seen at least one or possibly two of the strongest guys out (although I like either of them against those Mercenaries). Just stupid and yet Kam thinks she is the smartest player out there.
You can download The Challenge: Final Reckoning on iTunes.

Harlots: Oh my, Quigley has a Mini-Me. Although the Mini-Me turned on her by helping lock her up. It was pretty unclear just where the Mini-Me stood all season. It will be interesting if Mary Wells get back to London without fear the gallows. I actually would be interesting to see just how her talents could be used in Virginia at that time period.
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.

Castle Rock: What the fork just happened? Okay I get Ruth has Alzheimer's and her mind sometimes lives in the past. But did they just confirm that the prisoner is some version of Reverend Deaver? Does he just want Ruth to think that? He said more this episode than the previous one’s combined so was that him or in Ruth’s mind? But it seems pretty real that Ruth did, indeed kill Pangborn. But I miss the timeline. Last week they ended with Pangborn entering the house in disarray, but other than an overdrawn bath, it did not seem to happen unless that was when Ruth was pushing her way through the funeral. But when did Panborn get out to the shed. Maybe a more coherent version of events will be shown next week.
You can stream Castle Rock on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/18/2018

Claws: So they arrested Desna at the end of an episode and made me assume the cops were going to use her to flip the Russians, but the cops made her look like the bat ig fish, only for the cops to pull the reveal this week that they were using Desna to get to the Russians. But where exactly was the cops when all murder was going down? Shouldn’t they set up shop next door? But that was a plenty shocking ending. But who shot Virginia? Uncle Daddy? The Haitians? The Russians? But they really did not killer her, right? She is the best part of the show.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

The Affair: Wait a second, has the Fiona Apple theme song been a huge spoiler this whole time. Hearing it an episode after we learned Alison died just seemed to tie everything together. “I have only one thing to do and that's be the wave that I am and then sink back into the ocean,” is just eerier now. Then we had the weird two parts both being Alison. The show typically has had two sometime wildly different narratives. Does this confirm than Alison is the unreliable narrator? Granted just this season Noah and Helen had different telling of events. Maybe the second act is always the truth versions of events. But surprisingly we did get confirmation that Ben did kill Alison (assuming that the second act is reliable). So is next season going to be Noah and Cole teaming up to find the truth? I would actually be happy if Noah and Cole team up My Two Dad style to raise Joanie.

Sharp Objects: Amma is still on top of my suspect list and her drug filled episode just solidified that even more, but the cheerleader has vaulted into second on the list. She cares way too much about getting into Camille’s article. And the “baby killer” comment, does everyone know that she has an abortion? Could they be referring to the girl?

Fear the Walking Dead: Does one really need to make their own Scrabble game in the zombie apocalypse? It just seems like you could go down to the local Target and find a copy or two.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

The Challenge: Final Reckoning: When they announced this new voting format I really hated it because I assumed everyone would just vote for who they thought was the weakest team in case they got picked to go in against them. Except half the teams are even bigger cowards than I gave them credit for because half the teams admitted to burning their vote. Though it will be extremely funny if they all burned their vote on the same team, sending that team in for an epic backfire.
You can download The Challenge: Final Reckoning on iTunes.

Harlots: The season started with Quigley in a jail cell and here we are at the end and Margaret is in the same jail cell. Except Margaret could not wiggle out her charge yet still left the prison alive. Just how long does it take someone to die by hanging? Then there was the other big reveal of the episode in that Emily Lacey lied about being pregnant. I had a feeling that it might be the case. And now she is picking up more clients to see that her lie becomes true. We end the episode with Margaret being sent away which begs the question how long before she finds herself back to London. I have to think her return will be important to the downfall of Quigley.
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.

Castle Rock: Oh, hey, Henry has a kid. Who knew? I believe that was the first time his birth parents were mentioned. What happened there? So it was weird when kid Molly killed Henry’s dad, or at least that is what it looked like, I was not sure how reliable the perspective was at the time. But Molly claims that Henry killed his dead through Molly? Wait, what? So when Henry disappeared, did he go inside Molly? But I have to say the mysterious guy is less scary the more he talks. Though if a bird dropped out of the sky for the second time this week, who else is at that psychiatric hospital? Or is this one of those Stephan King Easter Eggs that will not be explained. What better be explained next episode is what he did in the house this week. Who’s blood with that and what exactly happened to Henry’s mom and where was his son during all this?
You can stream Castle Rock on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/12/2018

Claws: Well that was an, um, interesting way to end the penultimate episode before what is presumably explosive final episode. We will get to finally see what side the Russians are on. And I only have to guess Desna has a contingency plan know that she knows her future husband owns all that property.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

The Affair: Well, that was shocking. When they said Alison was dead, my initial cynic television watcher was it really was not her. But then Noah identified the body. Although I have a sinking suspicion that we do not know the whole story. We do have two episodes left so it seems safe to assume we will get Alison’s perspective of her last days. But is it going to be next week or the finale. Do we even need a conclusion to the Helen and Vic storyline?

Sharp Objects: Well we knew she cut herself, but that was a lot of scars on Camille, some I wonder how exactly was she able to contort her body into making. But nothing changed this week to made me question my prediction that Amma had something to do with the murders.

Harlots: So Lucy has shacked up with a killer and is not at all fazed by the news. Oh, and he is in cahoots with Liv Tyler’s brother. Battle lines are being redrawn. But that is not the worst news for Margaret Wells, her plan to unseat Quigley completely unraveled. But hey, at least she got one daughter back. Although she may not be with her daughter long after confessing to murder. Did she do that just to get Lord Fallon arrested? Lucy cannot take the fall if her mom already confessed.
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.

Castle Rock: Oh wow, they let the nameless inmate out. And he noticeably did not shake the lawyer’s hand so clearly just a touch can make people go insane. And maybe even less than a touch because it seemed by the just the presence caused that family to get very aggressive with each other. But he does seem to like high places, kind of reminds me of the mascot from what think was the first episode. So Tessa Altman talks about how all this weird stuff happened in this town before she was born and it presumably stopped when the warden first took the inmate, which we now know Pangborn knew about, and now things are getting weird again. But how long until we know what exactly is going on. Sure the inmate told Pangborn that he is not the Devil but of course the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was to make people think he doesn’t exist.
You can stream Castle Rock on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/5/2018

Claws: I was convinced when Desna was arrested the task force was just using her to get to the Russians. But apparently she was the big fish they were talking about. And it does not seem like Desna is interested in giving them the Russians in exchange for some deal because Slata gave her a great lawyer. Instead she makes a deal with Slata to kill her fiancé in exchange for more franchises even though the Feds are on to her. There has to be another play here because that does not seem wise.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

The Affair: Wait, what? So hot starlet beds Vic two weeks ago and then this week, all but confesses to Helen and then has sex with her too. Is a threesome coming in two more episodes? It still seems like an obvious solution to have her carry Vic’s baby. Then we had two Whitney mentions this episode yet in episode seven we have not actually seen her yet despite the actress still being in the title sequence. But are we already to the flash forwards from the start of the season? That seems quick, but it has been a few episodes since they did one of those scenes.

Sharp Objects: I came away from the first three episodes thinking three different people did the murder. There was an interesting theory of two different people killed the two girl, but I am even more convinced that Amma was involved in at least one, if not both murders.

The Bold Type: Wait, they are not really going to have this big decision storyline for Jane where she struggles between choosing the humanitarian doctor or the douchebag writer, are they? That has to be one of the easiest decisions ever. Although for some reason, a lot of female television character ends up picking the bad boy.
You can download The Bold Type on iTunes.

The Challenge: Final Reckoning: Well, that had to be up there with one of the worse episodes in the history of the show. Without any actual challenges, the first three fourths of the show was a bore. Then eliminating people on the double cross was just lame. That was made even worse by only Big Brothers competing to get back into the game. I know I say this a lot, but I really wished The Challenge would just go to the Survivor format of one elimination per episode.
You can download The Challenge: Final Reckoning on iTunes.

Harlots: Oh my, there is a little Quigley growing inside Emily Lacey. Or so she says. Interesting that Lucy has been mostly away from everyone this season.
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.

Castle Rock: I had a sinking suspicion the prison guard would not be on the show long. But I have to wonder if touching the man in the box was what hastened his demise. The dude did tell his cell mate not to touch him and the next day the Nazi dies of aggressive cancer. Did that fist bump inspire the shooting spree? As for other unanswered questions, just what happened to Henry? The creepy old man told Henry that h knew that he never touched him. Did he just admit participation in the abduction? And does Henry really know? I do not believe we have heard his version of the story yet. Not even a “I have no memory of the time I was missing?” And just what happened to his father? Is what we saw Molly do last week reliable, or is that just what she thinks she did? The father did write “Henry did it.” But did what? Is pushing him over the cliff too obvious.
You can stream Castle Rock on Hulu.

Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger: Early in the season, I notice the actress who plays Dagger on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist which led me down a rabbit hole of her music career, including a soundtrack for the show where she covers soft rock gem Come Sail Away. So as the opening strums of the song playing as the voodoo priestess told of each Divine Pairing, I knew what was coming… and it was horribly awesome. As for the show itself, I am not entirely sure what is going on with Evil Cop. Did Cloak kill him? Is he in some dream state in Cloak’s mind, sort of like the scientist? Can Cloak bring him back whenever he wants? And is Lady Cop just Lady Swamp Thing now? I would be fine with that as long as she does not start growing moss on her skin.
You can download Marvel's Cloak and Dagger on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 7/29/2018

Claws: Didn’t they just pull the surprise arrested by cops in the final scene just two episodes ago? Not only was that shocking and left us guessing what happened next, it seems pretty obvious to me all that will happen with Desna is the cops will try to get her to turn on the Russians which she will be eager to do. The only question is where will the show go in season three with the Russians (presumably) out of the picture and the cops aware of Desna illegal activities?
You can download Claws on iTunes.

The Affair: Is this is how Anton gets to the east coast in the future? On a college visit? And what happened to those future scenes, they just gone forever? And a little disappointing that we did not get a Helen segment so we can see what prompted that tweener rant by the son. Maybe the next episode. But that had to be the shortest segment ever. The Noah segment only lasted twenty minutes. Then Alison is stuck in another estranged father who wants a kidney storyline. There have been way too many of those on television. But if Cole was on his walkabout and Alison fled to California, just who was watching Joanie?

Sharp Objects: The biggest thing to stick out this week, well other than how the girlfriend weirdly is eager to play house while wearing her cheerleader outfit in out of season, was how drunkenly adamant Amma was about how her friends would do anything for her. “Anything!!!!” Would they kill for her? These dead girls are Amma’s peers and the one kid did say a woman in white abducted one of the girls, although the yanking of teeth seemed a bit much for teenaged girls. Then there is Camille’s roommate who I have now watch die tragically twice in the span of the month, the first being the ritualistic drowning on The Handmaid’s Tale. Is that actress now officially the teenage girl version of Sean Bean who is just brought in to die tragically?

The Challenge: Final Reckoning: I like the new voting system as much as I hate it. I also wished the Challenge would go with the Survivor hidden votes because the votes do seem very bandwagon at times. But then I do not like that the people who get votes in have to choose between the people who voted for them. You might as well just pencil in Bananas/Tony and Brad/chin implant dude to the finals because teams will only vote foe other teams they think they can beat (I.e. weak teams) and those voted in will avoid strong teams unless there is some anomaly in the voting thanks to the weekly winners getting two votes and cannot be chosen.
You can download The Challenge: Final Reckoning on iTunes.

Harlots: I think that was the first times the Wells ladies spoke this season not pretending they had a major falling out. I was beginning to wonder if Margaret was still in on the plan to bring down Quigley. But Emily Lacey, shunned by both houses is actually picking a side. But the big plot twist is the little harlot is turning on Emily Lacey to help Quigley. But will she tell her of Charlotte’s plan?
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.

Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger: Finally the voodoo family is back. Only in New Orleans can someone go around town spitting liquor and no one give them a second look. Then the younger one can block Dagger’s new skill of stealing someone’s hope and even got in a great dig: calling her a strangely aggressive tiny girl. Which begs the question, can Cloak steal someone’s fears?
You can download Marvel's Cloak and Dagger on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 7/22/2018

Claws: Well that was some inappropriate bedside manner from Jenn. Sad thing is was that the moment she started touching him; I knew that was exactly where they were going with that. And Jenn blaming Desna for Bryce felt a little misguided. It was Bryce and Uncle Daddy who went there to kill Slata, you cannot be mad at someone else when they start shooting back.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

The Affair: No future Noah / Cole segment at the beginning? Instead we get a present day Helen / Vic trying to have a kid. Then we get the mild surprise of starting with a Vic-centric half episode. Which was just his mid-life crisis mixed with rich person bucket list. I just said the last time Vic was on the show he was my most standup guy on the show and now he is blowing curing kid disease to go joy riding with a starlet’s daughter… in more ways than one. But hey, if Helen will not give him a baby, the daughter might be the better option anyway. Speaking of old dudes spreading their seed with younger women… poor Cole, went through all those exorcism steps only to learn that is what led his father to kill himself.

Sharp Objects: I came away from the premiere thinking the step-father did it (mostly because the actor is evil in pretty much everything I see him in) but this week we had one eyewitness say a woman in white did it which makes me think the mother is a doth protest too much type a person. Then we learn the murderer yanked out teeth with pliers and then a couple scenes later the sheriffs fixing a stop sign… with a forking pair of pliers hanging on the sign. It cannot be that obvious, can it? The sheriff seemed kind of offended at the idea of a women doing the deed.

The Bold Type: Um, Jane, have you never seem a clarinet case in your life before? That was way too big for a clarinet. But I could have done without the very special episode about guns. And a bit eye rolling that Sutton is turning Betsy into earing. And it was a bit weird how many times they said Sutton’s last name this episode, maybe more times in the entire first season, considering her last name is shared by the most famous gun control legislation of all time.
You can download The Bold Type on iTunes.

The Challenge: Final Reckoning: Nothing more annoying than the first couple episodes when it takes forever to get to the first elimination round. And it will be annoying is Bananas/Tony and Brad/tattoo guy dominate this season just because they are by far the strongest teams.
You can download The Challenge: Final Reckoning on iTunes.

Harlots: So Emily Lacey’s new “boarding house” is just a black chick, a little person, and, I guess herself. I cannot image that the brothel will be very successful. It seems like only a mater a time before she picks a side between Quigley and Wells.
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.

Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger: So crooked cop has lady cop kill the drug dealer last week when it seemed to me that it would have been smarter and this week the crooked cop (presumably) kills the beat cop but lets the lady cop, who again is the bigger threat, live. Another confusing thing to me is just how do Cloak and Dagger’s abilities work together? He sees people fears while she sees their hopes, but together, they saw the comatose scientist in a Groundhogs Day loop and then saw when they touched her mother together, they saw her father slap her mother. Are they just seeing what that person is thinking right then and there? They need to explain that better.
You can download Marvel's Cloak and Dagger on iTunes.

Previewing Harlots: Season Two

About halfway through watching the second season of Harlots, I had to ask myself, is this show just Lady Billions? Instead of the eternal struggle between a District Attorney and a Hedge Fund manager, we have two feuding madams. And I spent most of the first season thinking that Bobby Axelrod has to go to prison. When that did not happened, I resigned he would not spent much, or any time in prison.

With Charlotte going under cover at the end of season one, I figured early in season two that the season would end with the demise of Lady Quigley. But what if this really is Lady Billions and the two warring factions are in it for the long haul for countless seasons? What if the team up half way through the third season to take down greater threats to them? With no satisfying take down in sight on Billions, hopefully Harlots take a different path.

The new season of Harlots starts with an eviction. And so the battle between Lady Quigley and Margaret Wells begins anew. Someone who is part of the battle does find themselves in prison during the first episode (and is not the only main character that finds themselves behind bars) and loses their wig in the process. We also get a mini murder mystery this season as well as Liv Tyler with a British accent a lady of privilege who runs into Charlotte. Lucy finds a wealthy client this season and finds herself away from the warring factions for most of the early season. Oh, and Emily Lacey starts her own brothel because we all could use a little humour in our lives.

The first two episodes of Harlots are available on Hulu now with a new episode arriving every Wednesday.

The Ten Best Shows of 2016-2017

1. The Handmaid's Tale 1.x (Hulu)

2. The Good Place 1.x (NBC)

3. Mr. Robot 2.x (USA)

4. Good Behavior 1.x (TNT)

5. Harlots 1.x (Hulu)

6. BrainDead 1.x (CBS)

7 Masters of Sex 4.x (Showtime)

8. Black-ish 3.x (ABC)

9. Angie Tribeca 3.x (TBS)

10. Billions 2.x (Showtime)


Shows that aired a majority of their season between July 2016 and June 2017 were eligible for this list.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/21/2017

Once Upon a Time: I knew a soft reboot was coming because they announced a couple of weeks ago if there was a new season only Mr. Gold, Regina, and Captain Hook would return (Emma was also on that list but Jennifer Morrison later announced she was not returning). Which was weird because Henry was kind of a big part of the show. But as it turns out Henry is actually still going to be on the show, just not the same actor, as they aged him twenty years. I guess the other three will have not aged in the Enchanted Forrest. Oh course the big question going into the next season is who is his baby momma? The girl does look a lot more tan than Henry who is pale as a ghost, she did have a scene with Tigerlily. That seems like a good guess for now.
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Into the Badlands: Wait, they they really just kill off another main character? Man, these Barons are ruthless. Quinn kills his son and the Widow kills her surrogate daughter in kind of similar scenes.
You can download Into the Badlands on iTunes.

Gotham: Okay, fine, I am actually starting to enjoy Ivy and her weird performance.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: Welcome back Kat Grant, the show has been much less entertaining without you. But we finally learned a little more about the alien president. Though it was weird that she made Martian Manhunter not engage with the Daxumites and not orders Alex to blow them out of the sky.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Lucifer: Oh hey, the king from Galavant is God. Or I guess not. But what exactly went on there, was he actually possessed by God or was he just delusional while wearing that heavily belt?
You can download Lucifer on iTunes.

Harlots: So no one is going to end up punished for the death of a nobleman as they blackmailed and killed off the judge. Alrighty. But season two should be interesting as Charlotte going undercover in her mother’s enemy establishment.
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.

The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros: Poor Veronica, the most veteran of them all gets treated like a rookie. But just as I expected, the Pros are just going to dominate the Champs… unless they end up having to compete drunk in future challenges.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champs vs. Pros on iTunes.

The Americans: So Elizabeth wants to go back to Russia. But what does Philip want? I have to believe Paige and Henry would rather stay in America. Henry’s tour of the FBI. Nice shout out to the mail robot. And the Jennings learning about the safe room inside the FBI has to come up at some point. Will they try to bug it?

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Wait, didn’t robot Daisy shoot Talbot right between the eyes? I know this is a comic book show but how could a human possibly survive that? Unless he is not human. Then we have a tease for next season except much more vague than the LMD from the finale last season. I believe the Royal Family of Inhumans have a secret base on the moon so maybe that is why he is in space. Or maybe it had to with the deal he made with the Ghost Rider. I assumed when the organization that grabbed them in the diner was Talbot’s guys but maybe they are part of the Ghost Rider deal and that is why Coulson was business as usual when he looked out his space window.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Handmaid’s Tale: The Commander’s wife just got interesting: a sex pot, writer who got arrested for civil disobedience before the war. It is also interesting that the religious zealots seem to be the environmentalist when those who claim to be the most religious in our society or okay with the destruction of the environment when you would think the most faithful would want to protect God’s creation. Then we had another big cliffhanger with the Mexican aide somehow knowing Offred’s real name and that of her husbands who he claims is alive. So who is this guy? Is he really part of the resistance in cahoots with Offred’s husband or is this a trap set by “The Eye”?

Survivor: Game Changers: Boooooooooo. Ever since Zeke threw out her name, you kind of had to know Andrea was not making the finals. Weird thing is, she kept on being brought up as a big threat (weirdly Sierra had this problem too) but both Aubrey and Cirie have been to the finals before, Sarah hs been playing very hard which recent jury members appreciate, and Not Dante Culpeper is a former NFL play who could go on an Idol run (and lo and behold, won the very next Immunity Challenge). Oh yeah, and speaking of Idols, Tai has proven to be very good at finding them.

But you could see that vote coming as soon as Andrea lost Immunity. The next Tribal was not as clear. And still is not very clear. Andrea was a treat, not someone you want to sit at Final Tribal with. But do you know who I want to sit next to: Michaela (or Tai or Troyzan). So why vote her out. I wonder what exactly the plan was going in. Sarah seemly changed her mind and went with the boys to get out Cirie, but what went down to keep Tai from playing his Idol? Isn’t six the last time he can play it? Why not play one at that Tribal, especially after Sarah steals his vote, and he still has one for six. Speaking of six, we could have all but one person safe with an Idol. Tai, Troyzan, and Sarah all have one. If someone else wins Immunity and Tai gives one away, that just leaves one person who is not safe.

But in retrospect, really horrible episode for Cirie. First she turns on her biggest ally, and then does not read the fine print resulting in her next biggest ally going home. She could have been sitting pretty had she just stuck with Andrea in the first vote and went for Brad or turning on Sarah instead. She could have had four strong with Aubrey also with her, and now she is kind of on an island and probably next out. Crap, we are going to get a Final Tribal of Sarah, Not-Dante, and Troyzan aren’t we. This is why you do not turn on Andrea.
You can download Survivor: Game Changers on iTunes.

Blindplot: So what happened in those two years? And Roman had to be the one who kidnapped the team, right?
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Well that was an anticlimactic end to the Mr. Kaplan saga. Then we get the big bombshell that everyone assumed for episode one yet they spent four seasons pretending it was not the case, Red is really Lizzy father. At least we do not have to see them tease and then prtetend it is a red herring again.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/14/2017

Once Upon a Time: So did they made the weeding episode a musical just to distract from how basically no one showed up? No Red Riding Hood, no Cinderella, really none of the Disney princesses. The Blue Fairy was in the episode yet did not make an appearance at the ceremony. It was basically just those in the main cast (except Belle and Gold were absent) then the Seven Dwarfs, Granny, and Pinocchio’s father. Even Pinocchio skipped the festivities. But really, this episode made me miss Galavant.
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Billions: For two seasons I thought this show was about a game of cat and mouse. I was wrong, it is about mutual assured destructions. Chuck just lost his trust, lost millions of dollars for his father and childhood friend just to get Axe. Then when they met face to face, Axe said he would spend te times that to make sure Chuck goes down with him just for Chuck to basically respond, so be it. I just hope that season is a trail and not Axe get out from under his prosecution in the first episode and we are back to cat and mouse.

Gotham: Really, Ivy was going to make an army of freaks and all they could come up with is Mr. Fries and Firefly? Sure I enjoy the irony of fire and ice, but c’mon, there seemed to be hundreds of freaks that escaped from Indian Hill.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: The N’SYNC reference just made me hate this show more. Can it please be promoted back to CBS please?
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Harlots: Charlotte may be in custody, but who is going to take the fall for the murder. The obvious answer is her new bot toy, but you know Mrs. Wells will try to get Mrs. Quigley to take the fall.
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.

The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions: Boring finale. But this show does have a format problem where it just loses steam halfway through. It did not help this season the pre-finale episode was just complete filler. They need to speed up the game at that point, not slow it down. Hopefully the six episode special fixes that problem.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.

The Americans: Is it just me or was Elizabeth not that into that wedding? But it always has been Phillip who has been more the romantic while she has been more jobs oriented. And that was a rough scene at the end as Paige and her parents read the harsh assessment in Pastor Tim’s diary. Now I wonder if he will make it to his dream job.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: So Adia becomes a real boy and we learned how the Russian survived being crushed by a falling building in that he did not, she just turned him into a robot and mass produced him. Irony? So just how do you kill a former robot who can absorb bullets along with other Inhuman abilities. Chop off her head again?
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Handmaid’s Tale: Interesting that Mrs. Waterford suggested the driver try to impregnate Offred. I guess once pregnant she no longer has to see her husband have sex with another woman. But the she would be raising a kid that is neither hers’ nor her husband. But still creepy she felt she had to stay in the room. At least she did not do the hand holding thing in her lap. And it was a little weird that she went and had sex with a guy who pretty much raped her earlier that day. Maybe that was taking back control. And Rory Gilmore is back. And even though Offred said she knew what happened to her (even though the Commander was vague) I am still not entirely sure. But Rory has got to be sent away after that.

Survivor: Game Changers: I have been watching this show since the beginning so I pick up on a few cues that usually tell you where things are going but they had me fooled twice this week. The second best way to tell if someone is not going home (after winning Immunity obviously) is if their name comes up in the post Immunity Challenge / pre commercial break confessional. So when Michael was talking about should she vote for Sierra or Andrea, the over thinker thought, oh this is a rare target two people situation, maybe Michaela is getting blindsided. Nope, it ended coming down to Sierra and Andrea. And when the votes are read with just two targets, Probst almost always reads just one name first (the one who is not getting voted out first) then the other in succession. Or he alternates back and forth as long as he can. So when he read two Andrea’s in a row after starting out alternating, I thought oh no!!! Andrea is in trouble. Except the rest of the votes ended up being for Sierra. Whew.

But now we are down to eight with only one episode until the finale. That is a lot. Usually only six go to the finale, so what happens next week? A double elimination next week? Will there be a medical elimination? There was no clue in the promo and you would think they would tease either, unless the latter actually happens in the finale. Interesting enough the last time Andrea played (she went out at seven), there was a medical elimination during the finale, even then, just five made that finale.
You can download Survivor: Game Changers on iTunes.

Blindplot: So just what is Sheppard’s end game? She was a soldier (or at least pretend to be) said she did not want to kill anyone at the FBI but would if she did not get the codes (granted she still killed the boss even after saying she would not kill him if anyone gave her the code; but at least after being mostly annoying he went out like a G). I get she is going after some sort of Deep State but I still feel like I am missing something.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/7/2017

Once Upon a Time: Tigerlily is a fairy godmother? What?!?
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Billions: “We didn’t have computers.” God bless Dollar Bill. But usually much of the money stuff goes over my head, but I think I actually followed what happened this week. Well mostly because it in involved old school sabotage with Axe bribing people to get sick on the new product Chuck invested in. But what I do not understand is does Chuck want Axe so bad he was willing to lose his entire trust (along with his father and buddy’s savings too) or does he have a plan for that? Did he know Wendy would bet against him? I am thinking she may go down with Axe on this. I do hope Axe does go down for this and we get a season on his trail because I am not sure if they can continue to do this cat and mouse game between Axe and Chuck for very much longer.

Into the Badlands: I hate dream sequences. The only thing worse than dream sequences are dream sequences with bad Japanese horror rip offs.
You can download Into the Badlands on iTunes.

Gotham: Wasn’t Poison Ivy a sex pot earlier this season? Now she is back to acting like a tn year old. Her scenes were just really weird.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: Can we please get rid of the lady cop for next season please? She is ruining the show worse than Mon-El.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Harlots: “You always tell mama the truth in the end.” Wait, was that literal? Or was that just an allusion what Mrs. Wells just used to work for her. But poor Lucy, she was just not made for this profession. When does she just run away?
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.

The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions: A two part finale after last week they basically just wasted an hour on nothing? Ugg, I have been waiting for the season to be over for about a month now.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.

The Americans: Oh hey, Martha still exists. When they shipped her off to Russia I figured she would have a Nina type storyline but I do not think we have seen her since. And after kicking out Gabriel I wonder if we will ever see her again after this.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: So they just left Mac in the Framework? Um, how about forcing him into the back door? Or just lie to him that his daughter was still alive. If he forgot his daughter was no longer around in the framework, maybe he will not remember anything in the framework when he is out. Won’t he die when they shut down the framework, or is just going to be in a state of animation for the rest of his life?
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Handmaid’s Tale: So now we know the reason behind the creepy Ceremony Night, granted it does not make it any less creepy. Also creepy, how these people do not even let the doctors see the faces of the patients when they treat them. Not that it stopped Donnie from Orphan Black from looking. Always a weido that guy. But what happened to Rory Gilmore? I thought maybe she would be back to great Offred at the end of the episode to great her like before. Is her storyline over or will she be back in her house eventually?

Survivor: Game Changers: Last week a calm came over me when Sierra said it was time for Andrea to go, but nothing is more calming than Andrea actually winning Immunity. Then I can just sit back and enjoy the show. And what a weird show. When they did not show Andrea vote for Zeke, giver her hope to see you never speech a second try, I figure, oh, Sarah won the argument and the six is voting for Sierra. Then Tai got a couple. Then Zeke got a couple. Then Probst told Zeke the tribe had spoken leaving me to wonder just how did that vote go down?

So the six minus Zeke voted for Zeke but the bizarre thing was the four (plus Zeke) voted for each other. Andrea has never gotten her just due, but that was just a masterclass of Survivor. She wins Immunity, gets her alliance to turn on the person who tried to turn on her two episodes ago, and got the opposing alliance to turn on each other.

It will be a shame if Brad, Sierra, Tai, or Troyzan win this season because that was just embarrassing this week; I am talking near ice crème scooper level of bad play. Seriously, you four have three Idols amongst you and at the very least think you know who the other alliance is voting for. If Brad, Sierra, and Troyzan just tell Tai he is being targeted, or Tai tells them he was told to vote for Sierra, they could have figured out how to ply their Idols correctly. I bet Tai would have played his Idol and maybe even given the other to Sierra just in case had they just talked to each other. Now Tai and his Idols may be a free agent for the other alliance. Now if only Andrea can convince Tai to give her one ice crème scooper style.
You can download Survivor: Game Changers on iTunes.

Blindplot: I understand going undercover, but I do not see why not letting the prison staff know what is up. Certainly that would have been beneficial during the breakout.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 4/30/2017

Once Upon a Time: Um, so what happened to the Tin Man? How about now that the Wicked Witch has drained her magic into that heart you give it to the Tin Man?
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Billions: Oh yeah, Chuck is into kinky stuff. I thought it was finally going to catch up with him but he stole the laptop himself. And syncing up “My hands are tied” to him and Wendy reuniting was a little too on the nose. And I have a feeling Taylor with have a change of conscious before the end of the season.

Gotham: So the Riddler has finally gone full green. Um, yeah? But of course the Penguin did not die, the only question would be how he would return. Um, Poison Ivy fished him out of the river? Alright. I guess maybe they will finally give her something to do.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: Thank goodness Kara got her job back, blogger just seemed like a horrible cover for a Superhero.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Voice: I hate Adam, sure Shakira and Gwen are worse coaches but Adam does plenty of head scratching things. One thing he does almost every season and every time he does it it backfires miserably is that he almost always gives a Battle Round pairing a song by the mentor and it always suck. Every time but twice since season four. That is seven times and never has any of these Battles ended in a Steal. So why the fork does he give Lilli Passero a Shania Twain song other than she was the mentor this week? And more importantly, why did he give Lilli that song? Maybe had he given her You’re Still the One or You’ve Got a Way that could have worked with Lilli’s style. Instead Adam’s inner dialogue said, “Lilli’s sassy, this song is sassy… gold!” Seriously I hate Adam. But by some miraculous event, America took pity on Lilli, be it the horrendous song choice or she was rushed to urgent care earlier that week and still seemed out of it after her performance. So hopefully Lilli is back at one hundred percent this week and Adam does not give her a G-Eazy song.

Bates Motel: Wait, what just happened? Did they really kill of Norman Bates well before he was supposed to? I believe in artistic licenses, but it is weird to build this as a prequel to the movie and then kill him before he gets there.
You can download Bates Motel on iTunes.

Harlots: Awesome, the goat is still around. But poor Emily, she just cannot find a place anywhere. But what actually does she do now, start her own house? Then you have Charlotte and her relationship just get weirder by the episode.
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.

The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions: So they finish the Men’s challenge in five minutes, announced these are your finalists, but did not actually start the Final Challenge until about five minutes before the credits. Then in between all we got was fifty minutes of filler. Why not run the final this week instead of wasting my time?
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Oh snap! Daisy just tossed Aida out that window. Which begs the question; if a robot dies in the framework does it die in the real world? Real world Aida seemed fine after the fall.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Handmaid’s Tale: So what the fork did they do the Rory Gilmore?!? Is this the gental mutilation I hear from time to time but never bother to read the article to find out exactly what it is? That is the only thing I can think off.
You can stream The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.

Survivor: Game Changers: When Zeke flipped last week and starting targeting Andrea I got worried she might actually go home. This week when Sierra said it time to get rid of Andrea in the post challenge confessional I had a sense of calm. The season premiere was the five hundredth episode of Survivor and probably of the five hundred and nine episodes in the history of the show, I would venture to guess whoever’s name is mentioned in the pre-commercial confessional does not actually go home. And in the end, Michaela was snacking while Andrea name was read except Debbie’s name was written down more often (really, how big must your stones be to have your name brought up only to have a snack while votes are read; she was sipping away when JT was blindsided too).

Though I am not sure if that was the right move for Sarah. In her old alliance, I would be worried sitting next to Brad or Sierra, but in the new one, I would be worried about everyone except for Michaela. And she may not know this but she just left an alliance with three Hidden Immunity Idols and the Legacy Advantage which make her Stolen Vote thing look worthless. Unless of course the deck shuffles next week. The promo looks like the deck will shuffle with all the females on one side (Sierra does approach Andrea and Cirie) and the male identifiers on the other (Zeke talks to Not-Dante and Troyzan). Of course the dudes may have the advantage despite being out numbered six to four with enough Idols to cover everyone if one of them wins Immunity. Still that would be enough to keep them around for another week and maybe the deck will reshuffle again after that.
You can download Survivor: Game Changers on iTunes.