57 Channels and Only This Is On: December 18, 2022

 

The White Lotus:  I predicted the "rich" gays (I feel like I get half credit), but I was not expecting it to go down like that.  So did Ethan and Daphne hook up? I was expecting him to confess since he never lies but in never came, so maybe not.  My prediction for season three is that either Craig or Portia (if Craig is is in prison) will be taking Tonya’s ashes to her favorite White Lotus in Southeast Asia to spread them like Tonya did her mother in the first season.

 

Let the Right One In:  From the start, I wondered how do you do a show about a young vampire who does not age for multiple seasons when the actress is definitely going to noticeably age every year.  Well, you take away her immortality.  So what now?  Are vampire Naomi and Isiah going to go on the run with Mark and Eleonore?  Is she going to star in New York, get a job on the graveyard shift and work with Claire on a cure?  What does she tell her partner who knows a killer’s print was found in her trash?  I may actually be more interested in a second season that I have about the first.

 

His Dark Materials:  How exactly does the greatest blacksmith in all the land not have opposable thumbs?  Kind of seems important to the profession.  But it did lead to a pretty unintentionally funny montage.  But when Lyra comes back to the land of the living, will she be able to join back up with her Deamon?  That trip just seems a little too risky.  I do wonder just who will she bring back with her because there will be a few familiar faces across the river.

 

Leverage: Redemption:  Why was the Christmas episode this week and not the one just days before the holiday? 

 

Survivor:  This is the problem with the Big Movez era of Survivor; the moment you make a game winning move, like Jesse taking out Cody, everyone else sees this and they will do everything they can do to get you out before Final 3. But Jesse and Karla seems like they were from the Bitter Jury era because it really looked like she lived up to her promise to taint the jury against Cassidy after she voted her out. And Jesse wanted all the credit for taking out his closest ally but did not respect Kassidy for taking out hers and then executed the best plan at taking Jesse out.  So if you are going to make a Big Move on Survivor these days, you better be able to make fire.

 

The Challenge: Ride or Dies:  I complain that they let the peanut gallery help people during the eliminations, but it was really absurd that it was positioned that everyone could see into Kacey’s brother’s end to help him.  This really needs to stop.  And just as I finished cheering that Kacey’s boring brother was finally gone, TJ has the latest dumb twist and he is still around until Kacey is out.  So with the Ride or Dies be able to run TJ’s final together as long as one makes to the end?

 

Doom Patrol:  The emotional vampire is really infringing on What We Do in the Shadows’ energy empire’s domain.

 

57 Channels and Only This Is On: December 11, 2022

 

 The White Lotus:  So Greg is the “rich” gay’s cowboy?  I guess that is who he was talking to on the phone earlier this season.  Though should Greg not be back by now?  I was also ready to lock the “rich” gays into my who died pick, then the promo monkeys had and go show the college bros fighting in the ocean.  Would they really make it that obvious though?  I think I still have the “rich” gays one, the college bros two, and the prostitutes three.  

 

Let the Right One In:  Oh my, I was not expecting the henchman to die so soon.  But with him out of the way, what are Mark and Claire going to discuss?  Are they going to get rid of the cop so they can work on their vampire cure without her looking into them?  Did the cop put two and two together and figure out that Mark is the on INTERPOL is looking into as the mass murderer? 

 

His Dark Materials:  The show is so convoluted that such a long layoff really hurts this show.  Forgot the girl is Eve.  Forgot there is some evil dude that looks like Cristen Cole.  And I just do not understand in the first place how or why the knife broke.  Can it be fixed?  Seems like it will be needed.

 

Leverage: Redemption:  So Eliot has a black dad.  Oh course he does.

 

Survivor:  How the fork do you give back your Idol after taking it from someone?  Not quite Ice Cream Scooper level of stupidity, but definitely in the second tier.  So basically all Jesse has to do is win fire making challenge to win this season given he still has another Idol in his pocket.  That is going to be anti-climactic.

 

The Challenge: Ride or Dies:  So the Ride or Dies are no more.  And in a cruel twist, they are stuck on separate teams.  Unfortunately I guess this means we will just be eliminating one person from her on out which will just prolong the season.  The last couple seasons have hovered around 20 which means we are probably just at the half way point.  Even more unfortunate is that now when Nany is medically pulled from the game, that means Johnny will not have to go with her.  Though the promo makes it look like someone is going to get the boot without losing in elimination.

 

Stargirl:  So the mom went to get Artimas and just came back with a crossbow?  She really could it helped.  I guessed they were just saving her for the Icicle kill.  I wonder if old Flash showing means the JSA will pop up on the season finale of The Flash sometime.

 

Doom Patrol:  How do you improve on Butts with Teeth?  Well, just do a Butts with Teeth song and dance number.  I was a bit disappointed that the time machine is still working; hopefully it does not get as confusing as lost season. 

 

 

57 Channels and Only This Is On: January 3, 2021

 

 

Your Honor:  So they are just blowing up houses now?  It is not enough to murder the person you think killed your kid, but you have to take their whole family?  And just how does the OPP (yeah you know me) plan on covering up a murder?  It seems hard to turn blunt force trauma to the head into a suicide.  I also do not understand how the judge just completely deflected a bloody rag in front of a detective and a senator.  But that kid is going to start blabbing some more at some point.  I thought he might try to pick up the sister at the memorial.  Maybe next episode.

 

 

His Dark Materials:  Oh hey, James McAvoy, finally for the first time this season.  Though no explanation of where he was all season.  But we did learn that Lyra’s is prophecized to destroy fate… which is a bit of irony, I guess.

 

 

A Teacher:  What a waste of time.

 

 

57 Channels and Only This is On: December 27, 2020

 
Shameless:  Once again Carl’s day on the job was the most entertaining part, though I thought maybe he would end up losing another partner who would get suspended for police brutality.  But once again, that was really the only entertaining part of the episode.  Worse was that it really got dark this week with the kid that had a hole in his heart and Lip calling Debby a bad mother.
 
 
Your Honor:  Good thing the judge knew what was going on because I was lost when they switched out the guards at the funeral.  Though I do not understand why.  Did momma send her son to avenge the other son?  Why have him kill someone with only two weeks on his sentence.  Why not send low level thugs.  Was that not what the people in infirmary doing?  Though Kofi is kind of just Schroeder’s Cat right now because we do not know if the brother actually kills him or not.  Maybe momma just wants her son to deliver another type of message.
 
 
His Dark Materials:  So there are no real rules in the middle rule?  The specters were supposed to kill adults.  But Snake Dude and Lyra’s mom were just able to walk through, Lyra’s mom can now control them, and even the English professor can walk freely.  But I did laugh when the one girl asked to hug her after admitting to attempted murder.  That is the point I turn and run from those psychopaths.  But I have to wonder, if all the adult went up to the mountains, why did they not take their children with them?  But I feel that will just be added to the already long list of answers to questions we will never get.  Number one right now is what ever happened to James McAvoy?  Is he just not going to be in this season?  Lyra went into the gap after him and he just disappeared.
 
 
A Teacher:  My favorite scene in this show, okay, the only one that I probably did not hate was when the FBI chick from Mr. Robot said the student did not look old enough to be buying alcohol.  C’mon, that dude looks like he is pushing thirty.  Him looking way old enough to buy beer is what keeps this from being the worst show of the year.

The Challenge: Double Agents:  I know we are in the middle of a pandemic, but c’mon, they really could not find anyone else besides Josh to fly to Iceland for a chance to win a million dollars?  They were able to get an Olympian, a WWE wrestler, a bunch of people from European shows I never heard of, but they still had to call Josh to fill out the cast?  It is a shame this episode did not happen a decade ago because that CT eats Josh whole and spits out the bones.  But what was LeRoy thinking?  After Fessy wimped out what was obvious a physical competition against someone half his size, LeRoy wimps out against probably the second weakest guy there.  There are only five skulls going out to dudes this time, might want to get one sooner than later.  I really hope TJ sends people home skull-less this season to teach people not to wait.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: December 20, 2020

 
Shameless:  I would have never thought Carl’s boring first day at work would be so entertaining.  Unfortunately none of the other storylines this week were.
 
 
Your Honor:  Just a lot to unpack here with someone so stupid about stealing a car he runs a red light, dirty cops torturing a kid yet no one asked why he does not need an inhaler, the dog is still trying to get that blood covered rag that he inexplicably was able to get under that table, a judge stripping a seventeen year old in court, all this seems like it is going to start a gang war, just straight up bird murder for no apparent reason, but really all I want to talk about is that the kid turned out to be forking his hot teacher.  And they were doing it before school?!?  Somehow that is already infinitely more interesting than A Teacher.
 
 
His Dark Materials:  Just what does Snake Dude do in the real world that he is able to just amass that much valuable artifacts?  And he can just shut down the park with security at a moment’s notice?  Granted not the best security if he is just letting anyone in with any actual ID.
 
 
Big Sky:  I did all the eye rolls when a silly fly fishing memory mad the PI think that there may be a basement only to come back shortly after the girls were moved.  And why did no one think to check for DNA in the creepy shipping container that was underground for no apparent reason?  But as stupid as that was, another random epiphany lead the PI to the diner where she shockingly shot Drew Carey’s brother right between the eyes.  Killing off what was presumably the main character was shocking enough butt to follow that up a couple episodes later by killing off the big bad was just as shocking.  If only anything in-between was entertaining.  So what happens now?  They have to get the creepy partner, but how long could that take, an episode or two?
 
 
A Teacher:  So not only do we not get to see the arrest, we do not even get to see prison time?  Ugg.
 
 
The Flight Attendant:  The gay best friend turned out to be in the CIA?  I guess that makes the scene where Cassie took him to the wake funnier.  Though, maybe instead of hooking up with the help, maybe he should had spent more time following her because she almost got herself caught.  And maybe he should have followed up on the shredded stuff she stole.  But I guess that was an FBI matter and as we know they do not really talk with each other.  But Cassie helping the CIA may make the second season interesting.  Unfortunately every show that has gone past its source material does not really have the best track record.
 
 
The Mandalorian:  Sooooo, is that it for this show?  That was my first impression, it does not seem like there is a show without Mando and Baby Yoda.    So with Yoda to go train with Luke and… um, Ben Solo, there does not really seem like a way to get those two back together unless Jedi Adolescent Yoda and an older Mando are traveling around the galaxy.   Bu then was the Book of Boba signaling that Boba will be the focus of season three as the show transitions into a sort of anthology about different Mandalorians?  There was a lot of debate after the show whether that was a tease for a spin-off or season three  and surprisingly no word from Disney yet.

57 Channels and Only This is On: December 6, 2020

 
The Walking Dead: Worlds Beyond:  Wasn’t this supposed to be a limited series?  Seemed like it left multiple treads open.  I thought maybe it was going to tie into the Rick movies, I kind of thought he would show up at the end to tie things in, but no, just a pretty unsatisfying show.  But the big bad seem to go to the Thanos School of helping because they seem to kill quite a few people in their quest to save humanity.
 
 
Fargo:  Well, why not end the season with another worthless dead.  And they saved the worst for last, the acting among all three were just so bad.  Good riddance to this season.  If they do bring back a fifth season, more small time crime and female cops please.  Those are what were missing this season.
 
 
His Dark Materials:  So is snake dude good or evil?  I remember him going between both worlds last season but only vaguely.  Maybe just an opportunist.  But who is the dude in the clock tower and how does snake dude know him?
 
 
Big Sky:  Well, we have already reached spinning our wheels because this is network television and we have to fill so many episodes to squeeze advertising dollars part of the show.  It was pretty obvious that the smart chick that escaped was going to get captured because the story is over if one of them escapes and reports her captures, the story is over.  But I did find it funny that she spent so much time trying to degrade the concrete and then just falls though the rotten wood.  And then so did creepy dude.  I also have to admit that I laughed when Drew Carey’s brother kept on shooting her with an arrow,
 
 
The Flight Attendant:  Well that brother episode was pretty worthless.  I guess that is the advantage of this sill release multiple episodes a week but not all at once model that HBOO Max seems to adapted.  The second episode was much better.  But poor boyfriend got hit by a car.  I was just thinking earlier in the episode he was not going to make it out of the season alive.  Though we will have to wait a week to see if he actually survived or not.
 
 
The Mandalorian:  You kind of had to expect that ending when they entitled the episode, The Tragedy.  Really, kind of a huge spoiler.  But I wonder just how many people Mando is going to round up in his pursuit of Baby Yoda?  He already has Boba Fett and The Calvary.  He looks to break Bill Burr out of prison next week.  Does he also round up Raylan Givens?  Asoka?  Bo Katan?  Apollo Creed?  Pillboi?  Does the Jedi that Baby Yoda summons show up to lend a hand.  Not many know Jedi are out there, I believe it is just Luke and Erza.  Though Sam Jackson claims Mace Windu survived his fall.  Gotta figure someone has to figure in by the end of the season even if it is a final scene tease.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 29, 2020

 
 
Fear the Walking Dead:  I totally forgot Grace was pregnant.  Though I forgot who the father was.  Did Morgan hit that or did it happen before they met?  I am thinking it was the latter.  But what exactly is Strand’s game?  Is he really aligned with the evil chick or does he think it is best to stick around until everyone is out.  Pretty bold to go back after you lost the sister.
 
 
The Walking Dead: Worlds Beyond:  Wait, so the evil chick is the army chick’s mom?  You think her big twist was going to be what happened last week.  But which daughter is going to turn out to be “The Asset”?
 
 
Fargo:  My biggest problem with this season is it just did not feel like Fargo.  The show and movie to me is fumblingly small time criminals being followed by the law, preferably female.  The dude tripping and blowing his own head off was the first thing to happen this season that actually felt like the Fargo I knew.
You can download Fargo on iTunes.
 
 
His Dark Materials:  So Dust is dark matter?  Okay, this got more complicated.  But will Lyra actually go back to that professor who seem a little too chill about learning about a parallel universe?  But did the evil people just kill off most of the witches?  Seems like they could have just flown away once the first bomb hit because, you know, they are witches that can fly away.
 
 
Black Narcissus:  So the title came from a cologne?  Alrighty.  But it turned out the Hulu thumbnail was a huge spoiler with the one nun hanging off the side of a building with the bell rope.  Though even if you did not see the thumbnail, it was pretty obvious that is where things were going once see started seeing the girl who jumped off the side of the mountain.
 
 
Big Sky:  The trucker needs to get out more if he needed to see the chick naked to realize it was really a dude.  Seemed pretty obvious to me.  Though I do not understand how the teen girls would not sell because they are too hot.  That was one thing the trucker got right, seems like someone rich, disgusting person would pay top dollar for one or both.
 
 
A Teacher:  Oh my goodness, the teacher just admitted she was forking her student to a co-worker like a teenager coyly admitting her crush in the ladies room.  So gross.
 
 
The Flight Attendant:  Well that ended up being weirder than I was expecting, and I mean that in a good way.  Though I have no idea how they can keep up the bat-shirt crazy pace for multiple seasons because something has to break at some point, but at least the first season is shaping up to be a wild ride.
 
 
The Mandalorian:  So we finally got what we all have assumed was coming for months now, Rosario Dawson as Asoka.  Does not seem like we will see much of her again (at least on this show, it seems like there have been quite a few potential spin offs they have set up in a season and a half) though I guess there is always a chance they cross path again.  But just who will answer the call when Baby Yoda (nope, not calling him by his real name, I think they made his and Mando’s real names stupid so we would still call them by what we all have so far) goes to the Jedi Temple.  I thought for sure when Mando said he left Baby Yoda back at the ship, the evil dude would have already been there to snatch the kid.  Maybe that is who will show up at the Jedi Temple.  Then maybe one of the few remaining Jedi (*cough*Luke*cough*) shows up and saves them.  But do they de-age Mark Hamill?  Recast someone more age appropriate?  Maybe I am over thinking things.

 
 

57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 22, 2020

 
The Good Lord Bird:  If this were an action movie, we know John Brown would have been able to shoot his way out of the predicament, but alas, this was based on real events and unfortunately the racist won this battle.  Hopefully John Brown can rest in the solace than the abolitionists won the war and the Black Man Is free today.  Well, or at the very least, freer because of him.
 
 
Fear the Walking Dead:  Lucia, Sarah, and Wendell all pop back up right before the mid-season finale and it was a pretty insignificant return.  So that leaves Grace as the only person we have not seen since the group submitted to Ginny?  So June gains her hospital but loses Jon who is just going to bolt after reuniting with her?  The guy spent so much time looking for her.  Though I am sure he will run into Morgan and they will eventually deal with Ginny who is now down a hand.
 
 
The Walking Dead: Worlds Beyond:  So Silas just killed the two grifters and hid in a bathroom stall?  Alrighty.
 
 
Fargo:  Well I feel stupid.  When they started black and white, I wondered why a show already set in the fifties, a time of black and white television.  Even when the dog showed up it did not dawn on me.  It was not even until the twister that I realized, oh yeah, we were in Kansas all along.  Pretty cheap ploy for a mediocre season.
You can download Fargo on iTunes.
 
 
His Dark Materials:  Oh yeah, I forgot how convoluted this show was.  Seriously, there is a third universe where ghosts kill anyone who has gone through puberty and kids just run around willy nilly?   Were those kids from that place?  Did they come from a different universe?
 
Big Sky:  I could tell right away that Drew Carey’s brother was a bad dude, but I was not guessing he was that bad.  That is pretty bold to kill off the guy who was biggest name in the cast and front and center of all the marketing.  Make me wonder if David E. Kelley is hoping for a third season of Big Little Lies by killing off Reece Witherspoon’s ex-husband so quickly and violently.  Pretty meh premiere (c’mon, how does that hooker survive being wrapped in plastic for hours and is revives by a couple of chest thrusts), but that ending at least makes me wonder where they go from here.
 
 
The Mandalorian:  Oh joy, more midiclorans in the Star Wars universe.  But at least we now know why the evil dude is after Baby Yoda. 
 
 
The Blacklist:  The show shut down with three episodes left last season.  This was only the second episode back so I wonder if the compressed the last couple episodes they wanted to do or if next week supposed to wrap up last season’s arc because this really felt like a season finale.  I guess the “finale” will be Red vs. Lizzie but they will somehow reconcile before or during what was supposed to be this season’s “premiere.”  Although it will be sill if Lizzie forgives him because murdering her mother in front of her is something that has to be very hard to come back from.
 
 
 

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

Shameless: Carl did a good deed? Wow, that has to be a first for him. For a guy who wanted to be in the army, dude only had been doing things for himself his whole life.

Ray Donovan: More brother on brother violence. But haven’t we already seen Ray and Darryl fight with Darryl complaining that Ray does not treat him like a brother before? But things came full circle with the old family friend as Succession daddy pulled a heist back in the seventies with Mickey, apparently became very rich and surely Mickey will want his cut after killing everyone else involved. But who gets to Mickey first, Ray or lady cop?

Mr. Robot: Okay, I am mildly confused at what I saw. Did anything we saw actually happen? Darla did give that speech about how many people were dead, but is Darlene real? I was under the impression that Elliot in the dream world was the “real” Elliot but he did not have a sister. And what happened to American Psycho dude. He went off to the woods to die but then there was a bright light and we never see him in the “real world” again. Le sigh. Add this show to the ever growing list of shows that would have been much better remembered had they just ended after one season
You can download Mr. Robot: on iTunes.

His Dark Materials: So both of Lyra’s parents are evil? But why didn’t Lyra yell at her father to stop. And if Daemons can morph into different animals when their humans are still young, why didn’t that Daemon morph into something smaller and leave the cage? Lyra’s ferret looked like it could slip into the cage. Now I know this is the network that ended a season with Ned Stark being beheaded, but goodness, what a depressing way to end a season.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: December 15, 2019

Ray Donovan: So we are normalizing herpes now? Okay. But I hope that Bunchy throwing something away at the hospital was a sign he is not going to go with the white supremacist. Dude does have a black brother and all. So Mickey went to some tropical place only to return to New York to set up some time share scam? Please just put, and keep this guy in prison or kill him off.

Supergirl/Crisis on Infinite Earths: Of wow, they got Lucifer Morningstar and Arli$$. That was pretty shocking. Although I am not sure we needed a full minute on the Birds of Prey Earth. The Lucifer was somewhat shocking. I did read on I believe Men’s Health of all places that he would be included but I was not really going to believe television gossip I see on Men’s Health.

Makes me wonder who else will show up. Wonder Woman’s Linda Carter and Lois and Clark’s Teri Hatcher have both already appeared in previous seasons of Supergirl, and goodness knows the crossover needs a Wonder Woman presence because it is laughable in all the Earths there is not one. Granted, we did see Titans which had Wonder Girl who referenced Diana so there is definitely at least one Wonder Woman. Kind of an oversite of Harbinger who supposedly rounded up the greatest Superheroes of the multiverse. And are there no Batmen under fifty? We saw a broken down (and kind of gay) Batman of another Earth who apparel looks like Earth 1’s Batman. Then there is Michael Keaton and Sir Jorah Mormont. The Supermen are no spring chickens, but all three we saw are under fifty. There was a rumor the Gotham Batman may show up but he is on the other end of the age spectrum of being two young but that was a website I trust even less than Men’s Heath for my TV news.

So we got two seconds on the Titans’ Earth. I wonder if we will get a Doom Patrol sighting. I am mostly curious to see if they place that show on the Titans Earth or confirm what we were watching was on a slightly different Earth. There was some casting change and they gave Negative Man a completely different attitude from the Titans episode. The also completely ignored Beast Boy who has been living with them for a while and the only Titans reference was a magazine article.

Okay, fun fan service aside, that third episode was confusing. I have no idea what that whole treadmill thing was about and the Green Arrow in purgatory was a bit confusing too? So Olivier is giving up live to become the new Spectre. And the old one just came out of nowhere. And just how did they come up with those paragons? With Lex Luther, that makes four of the seven from Supergirl. I missed why Martian Manhunter was one because that dude just disappeared. Then one is an Asian scientist with no powers because… um, diversity? The only other person of color was a green dude from Mars (um, if all the other Earths are now gone, are all the Mars gone too?). I hope the last two episodes make sence because the crossover is almost as confusing as the actual comic it was based on.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Watchmen: Here is the problem with beings that are too powerful, I am left wondering why Dr. Manhattan did not zap him and Angela out of there instead of staying and fighting when he knew how that was going to end with him being zapped with the teleporter? He just zapped his kids a couple minutes earlier. But at least we got conformation of Ozymandias was put in his place by Dr. Manhattan but not a prison like most people thought but actually but as reward. Granted, I suspect that Dr. Manhattan knew that it would not be viewed as paradise very long.

Shameless: In ten seasons, it is kind of surprising they have not done the character was mad that they were the only one not molested by the town pervert before. Or maybe they did and I already forgot about it. Really after ten seasons, it is surprising the writers have not run out of messed up storylines yet.

Mr. Robot: Where has Bobby Canivalle been all this time? I have spent most of the season assuming he was dead. Kind of the same for the rapper, I definitely forgot he switched sides. Unless that was a big surprise. But what a silly rom-com ending except the two lovebirds missed each other. This show is really overthinking everything this season.
You can download Mr. Robot: on iTunes.

His Dark Materials: So are they not going to get the Daemons that were in the cages in hopes of maybe someday reuniting them with their humans?

Castle Rock: Well there goes my prediction that Joy ended up being the Annie Wilkes from the Misery book. I was also waiting to see who the author was, I thought they might make it Stephen King himself, but alas no shots of his face. But it was painfully obvious Joy was dead, she was just too happy after being “revived.” Weird we got one random shot of the creepy kid from season one but he did not figure into anything. Then there was a random missing flyer of Henry Deaver in Canada. Was that supposed to be an Easter egg or are we to believe someone actually put that up in a Canadian gas station? No post credits scene so I guess we will have to wait until season three to see if they dip back into the original story.
You can watch Castle Rock on Hulu.

Survivor: Island of Idols: Well after forking things up all season, they finally removed Dan right before the finale. And did it because an off camera incident with someone who was not a contestant. Of course this led to rampant speculation on the internet until some website claims they had multiple sources that Dan grabbed a producer’s leg betting into a boat after a challenge. So grabbing Noura’s arm to claim how innocent the action was is okay, but goodness, cannot touch anyone in production. Oh well, at least we know for sure he is not winning.
You can download Survivor: Island of the Idols on iTunes.

The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2: Kind of a borefest like most finales on the show, and honestly, I spent most of the episode searching for what Dan did. But hey, at least Paulie and Cara Maria lost after decimating their team.
You can download The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 on iTunes.

Almost Family: Well that was certainly a shocking ending. Of all the children he has fathered, the one Leon did not was the one he raised. Which begs the question, does he know? Clearly they did not need any sort of treatment but obviously he was definitely not shooting blanks. Weird that they set up this big weird family but now we know Juila is not blood related to her “sisters.”
You can download Almost Family on iTunes.

Stumptown: So Grey’s girlfriend turned out to be evil. Meh, and I kind of liked her. But what a weird plan to get rid of Dex. To assume that Grey would exile her but forgive did not seem like the best plan to me.
You can download Stumptown on iTunes.

The Blacklist: I thought last week would have made for a pretty good “fall finale” but then they really end with Lizzie’s mother being gunned down in the street… except not. Kind of extreme. And I did not get why Lizzie was so quick to side with her mother. She had been lying to her this whole time, had a dude tied up in her apartment, killed a dude in the vicinity of her kid, but lizzie still rescued her to safety.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: December 8, 2019

Ray Donovan: Oh no Daryl, I fear that the cop asking if she could hold on to the VIP pass was a test and he failed. If you were such a fan you should not part with the merch that easily. Then if Micky not dying was not annoying enough now they are pretending that he is going to the Maldives as is he is not going to return later this season.

Supergirl: So Martian Manhunter’s brother is going back to Mars and Assistant Director Skinner is defeated? Hopefully they do not revive either storyline after Crisis and also recon Lena into not irrationally hating Supergirl, or at the very least give a ready to hate.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Watchmen: Last week I read an article that ran down a bunch of popular Reddit theories, most so convincing they almost felt like spoilers. The last one they posted was so stupid that I kind of rolled my eyes at how non plausible it was: Cal is really Dr. Manhattan. Then Lady Truie mentioned Dr. Manhattan was in Tulsa, and I thought, oh now. Then she mentioned how Angela did not react to that new and I thought, well fork, this is why I do not read fan theories. Earlier, Lady Truie mentioned her father will be joining her soon, and her father was also one of the popular fan theories that is also going to be right.

Shameless: Oh hey, Xanthippe Lannister Voorhees. But it was weird to see her play poor. I wonder if she will be back (I had to look her up to see if she was on the show before Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and that is how she knew Debbie, she was not… man this show has been on for a while). I was sad to see Mikey go so she could get free health care, but then I realize, oh, he could just run into Ian.

Mr. Robot: So we get multiple shots of Angela in the “Previously On,” White Rose says she is alive, yet she does not show up at all. Meh. I have always thought White Rose’s end game was some sort of time machine but I guess we will not find that out. Or will we? I wonder if White Rose put on the make up and dress so (s)he will get arrested in what (s)he thinks is its true form or if it was to evade the police some how.
You can download Mr. Robot: on iTunes.

His Dark Materials: So that kid is like the male, real world version of Lyra? I wonder if we already met his father. I wonder if they gave us any good looks at family photos, but I do not care enough to rewatch.

Castle Rock: So where exactly is the creepy dude from the first season? When he was gone from his cage earlier this season I thought the old body snatchers took him. So did Henry take him somewhere? They did snatch his mother’s body I presume looking for answers so maybe he will show up in the finale.
You can watch Castle Rock on Hulu.

Survivor: Island of Idols: It seems like every season there is someone who is clearly on the bottom on their alliance and we the viewers scream at the television to flip and they rarely do unless they do one of those pecking order challenges. Dean was clearly that person this season, going as far as trying to form an anti-goat alliance not realizing he has not done anything to win yet this season. But after the loved one’s visit, it became abundantly clear that he was fifth in a four person alliance. And it worked out perfectly because Noura and Karishma were the only people he had a chance at beating this season. Then he inexplicably tells Tommy he is the target, sending home Karishma. Just when you thought this season could not get any worse…
You can download Survivor: Island of the Idols on iTunes.

The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2: So the Brits get a ten minute penalty for interference, but the Americans seemed to be doing a lot of interfering too and I thought TJ say they no one could carry the stuff individually. Granted they still have not gotten to TJ yet, so that may be coming.
You can download The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 on iTunes.

Stumptown: Well, cannot say I blame Dex for that.
You can download Stumptown on iTunes.

The Blacklist: o Red shows up when Katerina was supposed to show up and misses her… too cute. But at least they ended this charade when Lizzie figured it out. Too bad they gave the conclusion to that confirtation in the “Next Time On…”
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: December 1, 2019

Ray Donovan: So Micky was burned beyond recognition? Well at least they did not drag it out very long to reveal he was not really dead considering it was extremely obvious he was not. Now they just need to explain how he survived such a huge fireball. But hey, if Micky is “dead” Ray should easily be able to get his prints to take the fall for that murder.

Watchmen: Hooded Justice was black? Did not see that coming. Although I did see after the episode someone pointed out that Lou Gossett Jr. had the same color scheme early in the season so it is not that they did not telegraph it. I kind of wish that Angela was the POV the whole time, that would have been more interesting. I also wish we had gotten more of his life than just that short few months… Unless Angela is still under the Nostalgia and that ending was how Lady Truie met Hooded Justice. That would explain how she got out of police custody.

The Walking Dead: So Michonne is just going to leave her small children to help that dude back home? Huh? Almost a big question as how Daryl and everyone is going to get out of their predicament.

Shameless: So a week after shiving a dude in the sick ward, Ian is up for parole? Then to hurt his parole chances, he tries to shiv someone else? Although the best part of the episode was when I realized Debbie did not forget to load the debit cards but instead they were all garnished by the government for unpaid debt.

Mr. Robot: RIP Janice, but you really kind of annoying. Otherwise, felt like huge filler episode.
You can download Mr. Robot: on iTunes.

His Dark Materials: Wow, it just seems like Lin-Manual Miranda is on a completely different show. I mean, both his show and the main show are bad, but just a different kind of bad.

Castle Rock: Strangulation by stethoscope… had we not seen someone this season shove an ice cream scooper down someone’s throat, that would have been a pretty imaginative self-defense scene. Interesting the episode description said, “Annie sees things for what they are.” Considering she saw her long dead mother and a waterfall that came out of a mirror. But maybe it says that because she is the only one who is not under the cult’s spell as even Joy is not walking in step. But annie is legit crazy, I wonder what is so special about the doctor? Is it just that you have to see the statue to be enthralled by it? But a surprisingly short episode, about thirty-five minutes, even less than a network drama without commercials.
You can watch Castle Rock on Hulu.

Survivor: Island of Idols: Idols have been out of control for a while now and two of the last seasons featured someone who went on a three or longer Idol run until Idols were no longer available to play, but at this point I really hope Karishma somehow finds an Idol every week and somehow finds herself in the final (but I fear she will be more like Rick than Ben in the fire making challenge) and manages to win the whole things. Only her or Janet are the only ones from this season that would land them in the bottom five winners of all time list.
You can download Survivor: Island of the Idols on iTunes.

The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2: Poor Nany, Smashley gets lost and she still cannot solve a simple Sudoku puzzle. But I wonder if she would have turncoat because the Brits with only one actual Brit clearly look like the better team at this point. Of course it would serve Cara Maria and paulie right to get beat by people who they tried to get rid of.
You can download The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 on iTunes.

Almost Family: What a nice treat of back to back episode. The Thanksgiving episode may be the best so far.
You can download Almost Family on iTunes.

Titans: When they said one Titan would fall, New Robin seemed obvious considering he famously “died” in the funny books. Except they already threw him out of a window to certain death only to be saved by Superboy in the next episode. Hawk seemed like the next most likely so he could be sacrifice himself and redeemed for his bad behavior. Why I put any thought into might happen because who actually died was completely outside the realm of reason. First of all it, it took forever for that pillar to fall, Lyla Garrity could not get two people out of harm’s way in ten seconds? Then, instead of using her super-speed to hold up the pillar, how about Super Girl using her super-speed to move people out of harm’s way instead of holding the pillar? And can a little electricity really kill an Amazon? Aren’t they Gods? Ugg, what makes things worse is she was the second best part of the show. But is she really dead-dead? Raven pretty easily healed Starfire and says her powers are evolving. And of course this is DC so I am sure there is a Lazarus Pit somewhere. Hopefully she shows up next season somehow.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 17, 2019

Supergirl: No Dreamer, no Alex’s girlfriend, very little Brainiac 5… and we may have had the best episode since Saturn Girl went back to the future. Sure, Andréa’s mask was a little too generic, I thought that was Dreamer for a split second.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Watchmen: So crazy rick Asian build her clock in Oklahoma away from the coasts where there is more likely nuclear attacks occur and earthquakes… but isn’t Tulsa right smack dab in the middle of Tornado Alley? Of course we already know what she says is not necessary the whole reason behind what she does as seen by her introduction. But she shoots to the top of the list of who imprison Ozymandias in what they certainly implied was on the moon this week.

The Walking Dead: So what is Negan’s game? He is telling the Whispers he wants to be with them but I feel he is just saying that. I do not really seeing him put Rick’s kid in danger no matter how much barbed wire he wraps around his bat.

Shameless: Oh my, are they really going to kill off Lip’s baby mama? Granted he will not be the only single parent in the household.

Mr. Robot: I feel like I missed something. So we first see the FBI agent pointing her gun at Darla. Last week I thought they ended with her seeing the two in the car, when did she get to the apartment? Or was I not paying attention last week because I was bored that there was no dialogue?
You can download Mr. Robot: on iTunes.

His Dark Materials: Wait, this whole story is taking in an alternative universe from our own and there is a portal to get here? Okay, after being bored the first week, that was kind of interesting.

Castle Rock: So the cult of the centuries old invasion of the body snatchers people do not bother to secure their snatchee’s? And they do not have to kill the people first? The first dude was definitely dead. Although now I am wondering how he was resurrected. Was just falling into the crypt enough to resurrect whatever snatched his body but everyone else has to go through that casket process? And just why are they waiting to kidnap Annie to be the vessel for their leader? And is because she killed that dude with an ice cream scooper the reason she is the best candidate?

But the bigger new in Castle Rock was the arrival of Annie’s step-mom, who promptly gets shot. But hey, we do know she can survive trauma to the gut because that was about where Annie stabbed her. Or maybe she will body snatched and survive that way. But who was Jot saying mom too? She does not want to call Annie her sister which makes me think she would not be ready to call the new lady mom. And what was the plan after she sedated her real mother? Just go back on the run with Annie? With the cops involved (and four episodes left) they clearly are not going anywhere soon now.
You can watch Castle Rock on Hulu.

Survivor: Island of Idols: I had a lot to say on Twitter while this was happening and I really do not want to relive these two hour so just head there to get my thoughts if you do not already follow me.
You can download Survivor: Island of the Idols on iTunes.

The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2: I really wanted T.J., famously hates quitters to lay into the Brits for just blatantly throwing a challenge. Really, they should institute a rule that if you are caught throwing a challenge you are automatically thrown into elimination, even switch the gender week if you have to. The show has just let these people ruin this season by pulling this crap. Sure it looks like they are finally doing something about it next week (though if they eliminate the two black players due to a swimming challenge that will be a bad look), hopefully it is not too late to save this season. Although this season is starting to look much better now airing after Survivor.
You can download The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 on iTunes.

Almost Family: Brittney Snow being ashamed by doing just completely moronic this really is the best part of this show.
You can download Almost Family on iTunes.

The Good Place: Wait, the Blogger got 44% better over the year? How? I know we only saw about two and a half hours of the experiment but he ended by spreading gossip and fleeing when someone fell into a hole. Maybe since he started at so a low floor it was hard to get worse. But how does that explain Brett who got progressively worse until the final second when he started to apologize to get him to negative one percent. Although if the goal of this experiment was to get better, The Bad Place should have gotten great people who had very little room for improvement. Although now that the judge is going for a full reboot, should be interesting what comes next. I am going to go out on a limb and predict Team Cockroach finds a way to save humanity.
You can download The Good Place on iTunes.

Titans: Um, just how did Batman managed to get the female Titans to the same place at the same time? And why not try to get New Robin, Hawk, or Beast Boy there? Was it just so they could make the mansplaining joke? And why not just break out him out yourself or just have Bruce Wayne buy Old Robin’s release? Or was Bruce really there, he was still acting weird like in Old Robin’s fever dreams. Scarecrow toxin?

Then New Robin just randomly quoting maybe the fifth best West Side Story song was weird. Maybe more weird than him forking Deathstroke’s daughter. And with Rose telling her father she is out, did they just confirm we are in the middle of Judas Contact?

The Blacklist: Playing babies in anti-abortion crusaders… that is just a bit extreme. Of course the evangelical kept it and the politician did not. Although if the rapist was the biological father, where did the eggs come from? The crazy doctor? And just how can the baby survive in a man?
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 10, 2019

Supergirl: This whole season makes little sense with the Lena storyline, but the sentient tattoos made the season even more nonsensical. And I do not even want to talk about the Doc Oct rip-off in the Robocop helmet.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Watchmen: Silk Specter made this episode a little less boring than the previous ones.

The Walking Dead: So Negan has his leather jacket back and a new bat. And then got captured by the Whispers. Maybe for the first time since being captured, the writers are going to finally give him something to do.

The Affair: Starting off the series finale with a flash dance. A flash dance with Helen’s neighbor that her boyfriend knocked up and then flew her across the country for her daughter’s wedding. Then there was just a random dude that I did not realize who it was until Noah mentioned his name and I finally realized, oh, that is the oldest son we have not seen since maybe the first season.

Then we finally got what I have been waiting for all season, Joanie meets a Soloway. I thought she may have bumped into one of the Soloway children, but no, she met an old Noah (in old man make-up that was very obvious him) who now owning the Lobster Roll. But what I never say coming was that the creepy reporter Joanie forked was Vic’s kid who gave a Spaceball’s explanation of how he was vaguely related to Joanie. Kind of made the whole series worth it for that scene alone.

But what a weird ending. This season seemed to be about Noah’s chickens coming home to roost set upon the backdrop of #MeToo. We the viewers knew some of those stories were made up and over-exaggerated, but Noah was still a pretty huge pervert who deserved some shame. But then they ended on a redemptive note, Noah outlive both his wives (I thought he was talking to Alison at the end; oh, and Helen’s mom lived to 100?), none of his children get even a mention in the future, and then he get the final shot doing the flash dance he choreographed as the final scene. But I kind of wish the whole season was this weird. The show set itself up as a super-serious piece of “art” but we never really got an explanation of two way some of the acts were wildly different telling of the same event. I guess Occam’s Razer is that was just how that person remembers things.

Mr. Robot: It only took me twelve minutes to realize, oh wait, no one is talking. Then two minutes later the guard whistled at Darla and I just rolled my eyes at the lengths they were going to pull off the now dialogue. Kind of a lame gimmick to pull off with so little time left. At least the one shot episode last season served a purpose and was by far the best non-season one episode. There were just too many times where there really should have been some dialogue. And I was a bit confused at where they broke into. Did this company just have a Soul Cycle open on Christmas Day?
You can download Mr. Robot: on iTunes.

His Dark Materials: This is the second attempt at adapting the books, the first bombed so bad it took down an entire movie studio. But after watching the first episode, maybe the book just is not something that should be adapted; the whole daemon thing just does not look good on screen and just comes across as weird when you see it in living color. And so far it is kind of confusing. I kind of need a Game of Thrones type map title sequence to give me an idea of where this is. Plus, and I really supposed to be scared of the chick from The Africa?

Castle Rock: Well, how Annie turned out the way she did makes much more sense now. Oh geez. Although her obsession with the song Let the River Run has a much darker context now. But from the moment that Rita started to show, I thought, oh no, is Annie going to kill her and steal her baby? Though I never thought that Joy could be her half-sister. Granted when we saw Annie’s wanted poster, it was only for murder, it did not say anything about kidnapping. But what I do not understand is where did Joy get the book. Did Annie just keep a copy this whole time; transfer it from computer to computer all this time?
You can watch Castle Rock on Hulu.

Survivor: Island of Idols: There have been plenty of dumb advantages but whatever they offered Janice may have been the worst. You get the triple wammie of not being trusted for playing it, not being able to vote, and then not even being able to view tribal Council. The Kellee was one of the most interesting plays in the history of the show. Then she managed to pull it off flawlessly and even had one unintended consequence of Jamal burning his Idol which then should put a target on his back which she clearly wants. As long as Dean does not blab about it, this may go down as one of the best moves in the history of the show. But she was one of four people targeted in the promo so maybe it will end up backfiring.
You can download Survivor: Island of the Idols on iTunes.

The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2: So now the British team has four actual British players and four non-Brits? It is a shame more people did not defect earlier. Really, Georgia, Bear, and Theo should have defected a long time ago when they realized they were never going to gain the numbers. But it will be funny if Cara/Paulie keep on sending in Americans who beat a Brit and then the “British” team then beats the Americans.
You can download The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 on iTunes.

The Good Place: Oh wow, they finished the new experiment half way through the season. So what next (the title of the next episode seems like it could be a spoiler… or just something Jason says… or maybe both)? You got Simone and the blogger MIA, did they freeze or did they go so far that they are not affected? Could they have found their way to The Bad Place (or been kidnapped by Sean) and have to be rescued? That would be too close to last episode though. Ugg, they usually they give us a teaser of what to come instead of a huge cliffhanger like this.
You can download The Good Place on iTunes.

Titans: So did Raven know the gargoyle was going to go off and kill that dude or was it an unintended consequence? And just when is Old Robin going to get out of prison and how? Kind of seems like he know how but moneybags Bruce could always donate a win to get his release. Him just abandoning everyone just seems weird and these last too episodes just seems like a waste of time while they stall for the finale.

The Blacklist: So the baddie of the week was… a computer? Alrighty. But no fall out from Aram stealing the nametag from Red’s buddy. I thought for sure his new lady friend was nefarious, maybe she just is a thrill seeker and that was a complete coiuncidence.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.