57 Channels and Only This Is On: 11/26/2017

The Walking Dead: So is the reverend now officially a Savior now? But it is weird the show is trying to humanize a guy who beat Glen’s head in with a bat in front of his wife just because Daryl got mouthy.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Behavior: Wait, why did Javier did leave the dude tied up in a hotel? Why not at least interrogate him first? And just leaving him tied up in a hotel and leave is kind of a Bond villain thing to do. Does Javier leave him to die or know he will get free eventually? I am not sure that was the wisest thing to do. But meeting Letty’s grandmother was definitely entertaining. And good twist by having the step-grandfather being faithful and truly in love. I hope we get back to the plantation later this season.
You can download Good Behavior on iTunes.

White Famous: Wait, wasn’t Meagan Good’s character on Californication (which was created by the same guy as White Famous) also a singer named Kali? She was quick to get with Hank on that show, maybe it is a crossover. But Floyd’s big mistake was he did not tape the cheaters to show Sadie. Like maybe Kali did, the camera did not linger on her phone at the end for no reason. Who was she filming that for?

Supergirl: Ugg, Mon-El is back. But, oh my, Saturn Girl. Though I am still no entirely sure how Mon-El went to the future but was found on a ship that crashed into the ocean centuries ago. But the finally confirmed what I figured out a long time ago that the new single mom is an alien herself. Though how in eighteen years did a curious kid not look underneath a sheet in the barn and then ask what is up with the spaceship? But nice touch putting her Fortress of Solitude in the desert compared to the super cousin’s one in the arctic.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Marvel's Runaways: Hulu made available the first two episodes of the show over the summer but they were "not for review." This happens from time to time, and the screeners are eventually updated with reviewable versions. Except Hulu took down those two episodes and never put up any more so that is why I never previewed the show this week. Granted my first impressions was an overwhelming meh (which I guess means I was whelmed). It reminded me of every bad CW teen show and I actually related more to the evil parents than the protagonist teens. I did end up seeing the third episode that was also released this week and I enjoyed it a little more just because it seemed a big ore fun than the first two. I mean, there was a dinosaur and x-ray glasses (though I did not exactly get why the girl was where a lead layered vest). But in the end I am still wondering why the Runaways have yet to, you know... actually runaway.
You can stream episodes of Marvel's Runaways on Hulu.

The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars: When the cast got leaked I thought it contained spoilers considering Cory, Jenna, and Aneesa had never won. Nope apparently the show cannot find ten people who have actually won before. And it looks like it may be a melancholy happy trails to Camilla because you may be asked back if you punch a contestant (or more in the case of CT), but punching a producer probably is a line. They did not even invite her the reunion and barely mentioned her and explain why she was not there. The Camillinator was always good for one crazy drunken moment per season, but the got progressively more depressing every subsequent season. I doubt there will ever be another like her as the next generation seem to be too self aware.
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: When Ben got really excited when Cole got eliminated I realized that yet again they are going to give Joe another reprieve. No I understand the reasoning of keeping Joe, there is no one this season you would rather sit next too at the Final Tribal. Except in an alliance of seven, you really need to worry of other people you are with thinking the same thing. Ben wanting to not even do a split vote on Joe should have been a huge red flag to the other six. Clearly Ben is angling Joe in the final with him, and that leaves one less spot for you. There are nine next week and odd numbers are the perfect time to switch things up because you definitely do not want to get to seven and realize you are in the three not the four of the alliance. Let’s see if the other six are smart or are they just going to let Ben run it all the way to the win.
You can download Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: I spent the last two episodes fearing Angela would make it to the end and not I fear she will survive but will spend most of the rest of the show in a nut house. But this episode was really the first misstep of the season. The big post credits scene was the former Fsociety hackers being found. But they waited until the second half of the season to get back to them even though it seemed like less than an hour elapsed between that scene and this episode, only to kill them off by the end of the episode. And all because the chick could not drive. Meh.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 11/18/2017

The Walking Dead: Go ahead and kill all the humans you want, but why the fork did they need to kill the tiger? And just after we learned how the King saved her. Booooooooo.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Behavior: Wow, Letty made the worst dude ever. Are there really drag queens that skinny out there? They really should have gone with Javier in drag, at least it would have been funnier.
You can download Good Behavior on iTunes.

White Famous: Maybe it was because Mr. Robot did it a couple days before, but there was a point where I thought this was one long shot, and then there was a bunch of quick cuts and got that wrong. Then I had a suspicion that this was all a dream because that cat fight was a little weird, especially when they both just ran out of the house. Wrong on both accounts.

Supergirl: The pervert scandal hit Supergirl this week with one of the producers of the show was accused by multiple women. This was kind of shocking in that Surpergirl lays on the girl power themes pretty quick and I really never notice the guys perversion seep into them… well that was until teenaged Kara walks into the boys locker room and is offered a peep show. Well, that was poor timing especially with what is going on in Alabama.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Lucifer: Well that was weird, an episode that really does not fit in the timeline and was just basically a loop of a character we just met. Interesting that this Hell is basically the same Hell described Preacher where you have to relive the worst moment in your life over and over again. Of course if he died while Lucifer is on Earth, who exactly is administering things down there?
You can download Lucifer on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: I know this is season where everyone is playing dirty, but c’mon, you make us wait a week after the finale to see who wins… and then wake us wake another forking week. Although where most reunion show are mostly boring, oh my goodness, what the fork happened with Tori’s phone!?!
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: Wait, what just happened? Everyone hates Joe, the seemingly split the votes just in case Joe found yet another Idol, but then voted out Desi. What? And I have to say of all the lame advantages that have popped up recently, Laurens save a vote for later is the least stupid. Except how did she pull it off? I am at hope counting votes every week so how with eleven people do Joe and Desi not go, wait, how is this a tie with an odd number of people?
You can download Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers on iTunesr.

The Blacklist: You know what, if I ever fall afoul to some really bad dudes who are going to kill me, I hope they have the common curtosy to put on some classic yacht rock while they do it. Oh yeah, and Tom died. So I guess we are never going to get resolution on what was happening on the Redemption spin-off. Oh well.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: I spent half the last episode with a growing suspicion that Angela would not make it out alive and the crept into this episode too. Especially when she had a gun pointed out her. But when the robber ran off, I realize, she is not going to be killed by some random person. Then in the next season when she ran into Darlene, I realize, oh, Darlene is going to kill Darlene. Except she did not. I am going to spend every episode thinking she is going to die which probably will happen the moment I stop thinking it is coming.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Blindspot: Why didn’t drunken Patterson crash every wedding dedication? Oh well. Oh yeah, and Jane has a daughter. Wait, what? Which begs the question, who is the father? And how old is the daughter? She would have to be at least five. Except small kids are boring, it would be a lot more interesting if she is older. If Jane was a teen mom, you could reasonable say the kid could be as old as twenty if you say Jane is in her mid-thirties (the actress is currently thirty-three; not that Hollywood does not fudge ages; the Gilmore Girls were only eleven years apart in real life). I kind of hope the daughter is a Hannah situation, a kid assassin, that would be the most interesting.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 11/12/2017

The Walking Dead: Well that guy from season one did not last very long. Well, I guess he is still around since Daryl did not shoot him around. Same with the gay homosexual. Seriously, his boyfriend was, sure, fine; he will still be hear during a zombie apocalypse gunfight when I get back? Get the dude to a doctor. I think the characters on this show are somehow getting dumber.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Behavior: Yeah, I am not buying it. I do not see an FBI really chancing losing her job and being sent to a prison possibly fill with people she put there because a petty thief thinks she can rob an FBI evidence locker.
You can download Good Behavior on iTunes.

White Famous: Wait, the fake show is done? I guess they can get funding elsewhere depending on who owns the rights. I would not mind if Floyd would move on to another project though just to get away from Michael Rapaport

Supergirl: Good riddance lesbian. Can we please go back to season one when neither of the Danvers sisters dated? But this probably mean Mon-El will be back next week.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: They are not going to announce the winner until the Reunion Show? How Survivor of them. Except Survivor airs its reunion show for after the finale, so only the contestants have to wait, not the audience. Meh. But at least I can make a guess of who wins and I am going tto go with Jordan and Tori.
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: Booooo, my two favorite contestants out in consecutive weeks. But you really cannot fault Ben or Lauren for going with the Heroes/Hustlers alliances because the alternative would be aligned with super annoying Tony and Cole would cannot keep his mouth shut. Speaking, Tony is a complete and utter moron. When you announce you have an Idol, and no one reacts, that means they are not voting for you. At that point, you either hold onto the Idol for later or give it to someone else. Well at least he no longer has an Idol and looking at the preview, everyone knows who gets the new Hidden Immunity Idol (or some stupid new advantage) so they can easily get rid of him next week.
You can download Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Yeah, I am getting more and more lost on the whole suitcase subplot.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: Well that was ambitious. It probably took me fifteen minutes to realize that the episode would be one long take. And just when the gimmick started getting stale, a morsel of an idea started growing in my mind that Angela would not get out of the building alive. They clearly were building to something, thankfully that just turn out to be Angela running into Eliot.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Gotham: I think this was the first time anyone called Tabitha “Tigress.” And that was sadly the most interesting part of the episode.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Blindspot: Ooops, during the premiere when Rich and shared a secret, I just assumed they were doing the nasty. Nope, they were doing white hat hacking. Alright. So are all the new tattoos going to unveil a new secret about the team. Twenty-two episodes, which would be four secrets per team member. Unless they also unveil secrets of other agents not on the team.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

Marvel’s Inhumans: I feel like I deserve a I watched every episode and all I got was this stupid t-shirt, t-shirt. Hopefully that is it. Sure Lockjaw and the little sister can show up on SHIELD except SHIELD looks like they are going to space this season.
Marvel's Inhumans on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 11/5/2017

Ray Donovan: One day before I watched the finale, Showtime issued a press release saying Ray would be moving to New York next season to reconnect with his daughter. Um, spoiler alert. They could not wait until after the episode to let us know the show was being renewed? This was the network that did not tell up Penny Dreadful was canceled until it placed a title card at the end of the final episode saying “The End”. So I spent the whole time knowing that once Ray set foot in NYC, he would be staying there. Although the bigger disappointment was the season just ended with so many loose ends. So Bridget and Terry are already there. Is that the whole cast for next year? Lena could move because without Ray, she has no job. It sounds like Bunchy is staying in LA since he now owns the bar. Daryll got a producers job though but Micky’s movie could be made in New York. Speaking of Micky, they seem to have him dead to rights with multiple sworn statements, but he is fighting it. It would be hard to think that father/son storyline ends without one killing the other.

The Walking Dead: After shows are inherently silly and a waste of time, but I do leave Talking Dead on while I let my dog do her doggie business one more time out the back door, then turn the television off before hearing to bed. Like I said, Talking Dead is worthless, but it is a good thing I left it on this week because I had absolutely no clue the guy Rick ran into during the final scene was a guy Rick knew. And just as the guest said the scene sent everyone to the Google machine to remember who he was, I was doing just that. So that dude was from the original camp way back in season? Were we really supposed to remember him seven seasons later?
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

White Famous: I spent most of the dinner party wondering if the sex doll was modeled after an actual actress who will show up later as the late wife. Kind of looked like Paula Marshall to me.

Good Behavior: Why exactly did the FBI chick bring the parole officer to the fake cabin? Just to mess with him? He was no help in catching Javier, even inadvertently, and had he called earlier, could have saved Javier. But I am guess that Javier’s childhood friend will keep Javier and Letty from getting to jail. Though I am surprised Letty did not go to jail sooner because her little get money to pay for the spa did not go entirely to plan. And how does the kid not ID her because that wig was not that much different than her regular hair.
You can download Good Behavior on iTunes.

Supergirl: Um, what was that last scene? Where was that pod? What is going on?
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Gifted: You know what, if you know that there was a protest going on that had the potential of being so bad that your boss wants you to come in on your off day, maybe not take your kid to the park right next to where the protest is happening. People that stupid probably should not be having kids. But still, that was cruel to make him forget his child was dead.
You can download The Gifted on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: Oh wow, they almost killed Jordan. But I wonder what would have happened had he not been able to compete since the final challenge has stages you have to compete in pairs. Would they have to bring back Tony to compete? Would they just make all the challenges dne by themselves?
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: What a horrible episode, my favorite got voted out and my least favorite found yet another Idol. But as stupid as it was for Turtleneck not float voting out Roark to Ali last week, it was the right decision to get rid of her now because she cannot tell all the other Hustlers he is a weasel next week and may even be able to get around with telling people they went to rocks. But this should make for an interesting merge. Only one Healer gone, two Heroes, half the orginal Hustlers. But three Hustlers cozied up with a Hero during the swap so seems obvious the Heroes will team up with the Hustlers to take out the Healers. Except the Healers have two Idols so it may be a case of can the Healers guess which one of them are they targeting.
You can download Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers on iTunes.

The Blacklist: When they said the case of the week involved a travel agency that just happened to stop assassinating people right around the time communism ended I was really hoping we were getting a The Americans crossover.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: So we know Angela knows the difference between Elliot and Mr. Robot, but does Darlene? Does she know she was tailing Mr. Robot or think she was following Elliot
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Gotham: Ah, man, why kill Headhunter already? He was the best think since they aged up Poison Ivy (who they are inexplicably recasting).
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Blindspot: So we learned of one of the big secrets from the premiere, apparently Jame’s big stash of cash was from rescuing kidnapped people… kind of boring.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

Marvel’s Inhumans: Someone was telling me they gave up on the show because it was obvious it was going. I actually counteracted that by saying they just killed off the black guy. In the back of my head I thought, of course they will probably find a way to bring him back And they did just that. Thankfully there is just one episode left
Marvel's Inhumans on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 10/282017

Ray Donovan: When Ray was talking about setting up Avi for the Fed’s death, I thought, um, he blackmailed the Fed to arrest Micky, why not just make Micky look like he did it since he was actually there. But Ray pulled a fast one on me and actually did throw Micky under the bus. But I wonder why the dive team did not find the chopped up sensei down there too. I figure he will be important to freeing Micky. Hopefully Micky was not bluffing when he said he would never trust Ray again because the show is much better when they are going at each other instead of helping each other. Micky vs. Ray, one last time, feels like a final season. With next season being the sixth, it may be time.

The Walking Dead: I am not entirely sure what happened in the episode because I spent most of the time wondering if Future Rick was really listening to “Weird Al” Yankovic.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Behavior: Is it too obvious that Javier’s childhood friend who showed up to the wake is the one who tried to kill him and actually killed Silk? Suspicious timing showing up. Speaking of good timing, Apple just happened to see Javier convince a dud to jump off a cliff. It will be interesting to see if they skip town next episode r stick it out. I kind of want them to stay because Caren with a “C” has really spiced things up this season. But I wonder who will hire a hitman to kill their spouse first Caren or her husband. That would be a very interesting episode Javier being hired to kill someone it turns out he knows.
You can download Good Behavior on iTunes

Supergirl: Wow, two Barenaked Ladies songs in less than a week. But them soundtracking a lesbian wedding shower seemed a little too on the nose.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Gifted: Um, if you have screws in your leg, aren’t they kind of important? And how was there no metal on the bus to manipulate? This show is getting kind of stupid.
You can download The Gifted on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: Well that wack a mole challenge was stupid. And what I do not understand is that instead of wacking someone you hope does not win, why not just stand in front of them so they could not see and just make them keep on moving?
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: Bad move Turtleneck, way too early to turn on your tribe for absolutely no good reason. But seriously, instead of letting Ali think you were going on with her plan, why not ask if maybe it would be smarter to target the lone Healer, an original tribe that had not lost anyone yet. Dude is overplaying and that usually gets you sent home early.
You can download Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers on iTunesr.

Mr. Robot: Oh great, the what was going on with Tyrell in season two episode I never really wanted.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

The Good Place: Sure, seeing Janet’s beginning was fun but I was most interesting in finding out what was with all the frozen yogurt.
You can download The Good Place on iTunes.

Gotham: When Lee popped back up last week at an illegal fight club I just assumed she was still evil. Okay, it was mostly the bangs, if you get bangs it usually means you are turning evil, or just possibly have bad judgment in general. Except she is using her illegal money to host a clinic out of her apartment. Alrighty.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Blindspot: So they finally got rid of Sandstorm except Jane’s brother kidnapped her and put on translucent tattoos that are more complex than the original? I was going to roll my eyes at that but I am just excited to get more Rich Dotcom. And then there was a big montage at the end where everyone had a new secret: Roman knows something about Kurt during Jane’s exile in Berlin! Zapata is tied to one of the new tattoos!! Jane has a stash of foreign cash!!! Patterson… wait, she hooked up with Rich Dotcom?!?! Did I miss Reade’s big secret or is just too boring to have one?
You can download Blindspot on iTunes

Marvel’s Inhumans: Wait, they killed off the horse guy? Sure having hooves for feet has to be the lamest of all the superlame Inhuman powers, but at least he was the most fun of the bunch. Ugg, how could this show get any more dour?
Marvel's Inhumans on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 10/22/2017

Ray Donovan: Well fork, they actually did kill off Natalie James. And I really did not need to spend half the episode watching Micky inability to, um, calm down is I guess the best way to put that. Then Micky got even more screwed by his son who sold him out to the DA. Of course this is the same son that killed the head of the FBI, West Coast Division. Should be interesting to see how the writers get the Donovan boys out of that one.

Fear the Walking Dead: Wait; is anyone in the cast still alive besides Madison? I would not hate that because I do not particularly care about any of these people. Yet I have a feeling they will all survive. Even Nick despite blowing a dam he was standing on and even if he miraculously survives, there are dudes with guns beside him ready to kill him.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

Supergirl: I am morally opposed to spoilers but I still check out casting notices so I know who the new mom is going to be. So why drag this out on a character we never met even the main characters only had a passing glance of until it was unveils as Lena’s successor at LexCorp at the end of the episode? People who do not know who that is have to be even more confused. Just comes off as sloppy writing. And it is becoming clear that the writers mostly care about couples than actual plot as it seems pretty obvious to me that Lena and James are going to bang soon. Ugg, I hate all that crap.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: That was kind of a lame challenge, walk ten feet on a balance beam, I do not really care how far up you are. But hey, Johnny Bananas went in his rare elimination. It is amazing how lucky that guy is mixed with how he is able to keep his name out of everyone’s mouths. But goodness, Redemption House is stacked. At least for the guys, it seems like Cara Maria may be in a cakewalk.
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: We got our second one week only advantage and for the second time it ultimately did not have any bearing on the outcome as Joe pulled out his Idol anyway. But why did Jessica give that advantage to Devon? Did she think the four would gang up on the one and he might have an Idol? Picking one of the Heroes seemed like a much smarter play because what if the Healers pulled him in? But again, none of it really mattered anyway.
You can download Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers on iTunesr.

The Blacklist: Really, we had to see a horse burned alive to start the episode? Could she give the horse poison too at least? But I watched this after the Trolley episode of The Good Place and a good version here with do you kill a bad person to save a child? I am with Lizzie and say yes.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: I thought we were going to get an eighties musical theme with INXS and Roxette except when the FBI dude was trolling the other one with an audio recording he went with… Barenaked Ladies. Was Rick Astley too obvious? But speaking of listening to Roxette, they killed off Tyrell’s wife. She gets this weird storyline last season only to be murdered in her second scene of this season.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

The Good Place: Am I going to the Bad Place for laughing at the real life Trolley Problem?
You can download The Good Place on iTunes.

Gotham: Um, so Ra’s al Ghul is dead dead? That cannot possibly be it. And Solomon Grundy is really bad. Oh my goodness, they messed that up. Butch looks like seventies Incredible Hulk but with grey makeup and a bad wig.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Once Upon a Time: Not remembering where your kid and wife are buried should be a very big red flag. But come on Henry, at least do a blood test to find out if the kid is yours once and for all. And should I know who the weird chick at the end was?
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 10/14/2017

Ray Donovan: Wait, what just happened? It look like there were strangle marks on Natalie’s neck. But was she resting or just dead? If it was the former, then obviously she killed her husband by throwing him off the balcony. But I am guessing it was the latter and he raped her one last time and then jumped off the balcony. That could explain why he left the dog at the bar knowing he would not be around to take care of him. And I was just thinking, why was she opening the door for Terry, she did not know who that was. And she definitely should nor opened up the door to her husband.

Episodes: I always thought behind the scenes of The Box was much more interesting than trying to create a new show and I really want to know what was up with all the Nazi’s in the hot chick’s box. It if seem obvious that the new show would end up being the one we were watching, but I was a bit disappointed that the hitman show that Matt left was not her real crappy CBS sitcom instead, now that would have been funny.

Supergirl: I was so happy when Mon-El got sucked into the black hole never to be seen again because he could not breathe Earth’s air for hundreds of years. And then he shows up in the first forking scene of the season. Ugg, I hate that guy. And maybe one of the few things as annoying as Mon-El being on the show is Kara moping around when he is not around. And then the creature who was supposed to “reign” over Earth turned out to be a hot mom. What?!?
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Gifted: Nothing improves a show more than a women’s prison shower scene. Though I have no idea why there was dye running down Polaris’s back, I do not think that was just hair dye.
You can download The Gifted on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: Interesting the power players were willing to go big but not for the second vote. And I get CT, but the guy has only one once ever. Know who has numerous wins and is still in the game: Johnny Bananas. That should have been the pick. CT is a smoker who always gets gassed in the final challenge while Johnny trains for this during the off season. And poor Jenna pulling the Double Cross because clearly whoever was going in against Jemmye was going to win. There was a four foot distance to the first door and yet Camilla was already through by the time Jemmye got there.
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: Usually I live tweet along with the episode, but as credits ran, I realized I had just one comment all show, and even that was just asking the internet just which celebrity does Ali assist (spoiler alert: it is just some YouTube). Needless to say the episode was extremely boring. But at least they got rid of the annoying guy even if it were a week too late.
You can download Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers on iTunesr.

Mr. Robot: I was wondering why the show opened up with some weird Bobby Canivale looking dude, only for his name to show up in the credits. Alrighty. After being confused for much of last season, I think I am starting to understand what is going. The Dark Army and White Rose orchestrated everything we have seen up to now, being in cahoots with the Mr. Robot side of Elliott and recruiting Angela to monitor the Elliot side of him. Though I am still not entirely sure how Tyrell fits in to this. Has he been a mole this whole time? Did they recruit him while he was with E-Corp? I am still not entirely sure if he is even real. But one thing I am actually almost sure of is they spoiled the ending of the show during the premiere. Time forking travel. When Angela told Eliot they could go back to before their families were killed by E-Corp, I realized that is how the series is going to end. Was that big cavernous place that White Rose was in before the main credits ran a time machine? Maybe.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Gotham: I said that Gordon was going to hook up with Falcone just in time for Leigh to return. Let us see if that happens next week. And more rapping riddles please.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Once Upon a Time: Wait, the Hook we saw last week was not even the real Hook? This show is so stupid. And really, to too most evil bad guys in fairy tale land just both happen to be good cops in the new cure. Seriously, really stupid.
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Marvel’s Inhumans: Well at last this week they finally explained who the transporting dog put everyone in different places. Other than that, meh.
Marvel's Inhumans on iTunes.

The Most (and Least) Anticipated Questions of Fall 2017

Tonight is the start of fall television for me with the return of the funniest show on television, The Good Place. (Okay You’re the Worst actually started a couple weeks ago but I not started yet.) Gotham is back tomorrow, and then the floodgates open with a steady stream of new shows premiering almost every week until Thanksgiving. Then we have about a month off until Winter television starts where we can catch up on Fall TV. It has become a never-ending cycle. But anyways. As always, here are the five most anticipated questions I would like answered this fall.


1. How long can Michael keep up the new ruse on The Good Place? Comedies are not known for their plot twists, but The Good Place had one of the most intriguing twists in the history of television. We spent most of the season thinking Michael was an incompetent architect of his neighborhood in The Good Place. But as it turns out he is a very Machiavellian architect for The Bad Place. It took Eleanor a whole season to figure this out last time, but this time Eleanor put a note to herself in Janet’s mouth so hopefully we are not just repeating ourselves for season two.

2. Can Mr. Robot rebound? The first season was one of the best seasons in the history of television. Unfortunately just like Lost and Homeland before it, Mr. Robot could not sustain itself for season two. Eliot spent most of the first half in a prison in a really bad reveal. There was the weird Alf episode. Angela was the best part of the season even though I did not even bother to learn her name in the first. Lost never really recovered, Homeland continues to have ups and downs, here is hoping Mr. Robot can get back on track.

3. Is The Last We See of Mon-El? Okay, stupid question, the bigger question is when will we see Mon-El again. He was banished Earth after it became too unbreathable for him. But on his way from Earth he got sucked into a wormhole. So where (or when) did he go? I am guessing where(when)ever he went, he found a breathing devise.

4. Will Once Upon a Time’s Hard Reboot Help? Once Upon a Time used to do gangbusters in the ratings but barely got renewed and only did because they exiled most of the cast beside Regina, Gold, and Hook; Henry was recast with an older actor introduced in the last scene. Henry is not the only one getting recast; there is a new, Hispanic Cinderella. Alrighty. It should be at the very least entertaining on how they explain this.

5. Wait, Angie Tribeca is not Angie Tribeca? Wait, what?


As the great philosopher Butt-Head once pondered, how would we know if something was cool if there weren't things that sucked; here are the five least antedated questions:

1. Wait, Just How Many Marvel Shows Are There? DC may have added a fifth CW show and that does not even count Fox’s Gotham and Lucifer and the upcoming Kypton on Syfy and Titans (featuring Lyla Garrity!) on the still untitled DC streaming service, but Marvel just caught up and passed DC in comicbook shows this season. SHIELD has been going strong and the Netflix team up Defenders just premiered joining their four previous superheroes. And Marvel is about to double its amount of shows just in the next year. Six in total. Inhumans is going to share SHIELD’s timeslot, The Punisher will join the Netflix lineup, and then Marvel is entering the teen market with Runaways streaming on Hulu this fall while Freeform is getting a pair of shows in the spring, Cloak and Dagger and New Warriors (starring the AT&T girl as Squirrel Girl!!). All of these are part of the Marvel cinematic yet do not expect any cross pollination other than the Netflix team ups because as we have seen on SHIELD, you do not get much other than a passing mention. Not part of the MCU, The Gifted will be joining Legion in the might me, might not be tied into the X-Man world. So for those keeping track at home, the current score is Marvel-13; DC-11 (if you include DC imprints iZombie and Preacher).

2. Is TGIT About to Die? Shonda Rimes has ruled ABC’s Thursday for a while but there were chinks in the armor this year, all the shows are down (granted that is every show everywhere) The Catch was lucky to get a second season but will not get a third. Still Star Crossed did not even air on Thursday and was quickly demoted to Saturday. Then word came this summer Shonda Rhymes signed a deal with Netflix meaning no more ShondaLand shows for ABC aside from the already announced For the People coming midseason. Which makes me wonder will ABC go full spite and kill its TGIT lineup? It remains intact for the fall but will ABC go full spite for the Spring? American Idol has to go somewhere. Their Tuesday comedy block seemed like the B-team but then they would go against The Voice. Maybe they just exile ShondaLand to various 10:00 slots.

3. How Is a Financial Analyst a Hero? Some of Survivor’s best later seasons have been when they have divided the cast in specific groups. They have done race, age, gender, job type, even by the characteristics they say are needed to succeed on the show (Brain, Brawn, Beauty), but the latest is a big stretch: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers. Hustlers were stupid as explained last fall so I was not expecting much from them. I though the former two were obvious, military and civil servants then doctors and nurses. Then the cast was announced. Probation Officer as a Healer is a bit of a stretch, but whatever. Not what I originally thought as Heroes but I can see why they put an Olympian and a football player in that tribe. But how the fork do you explain Financial Analyst on the Hero tribe? When she debuts her first confessional better involve her mentioning she once rescued a baby from a burning building or she will supplant Tai as the most absurd tribe placement when he was put on the Beauty tribe.

4. What’s In a Name? When ABC announced its new shows last spring I was generally “meh” on The Gospel of Kevin. Then I saw an ad for Kevin (Probably) Saves the World… now there is a show I will check out.

5. Barbara Is Not Really Dead, Right? Gotham had a bunch of deaths but in comic book fashion, I have a feeling none of them will last. Okay, Butch will still be “dead” or undead specifically because Solomon Grundy. Obviously being frozen in a block of ice would kill anyone except maybe Encino Man, but clearly The Riddler will be thawed. The biggest question mark is Barbara who was electrocuted. Much like Butch, she really is not dead; this is just an origin story, right? They have been teasing Harley Quinn for a while now.


And here is the full break down of what I will be watching this fall (new show italicized).

Mondays
8:00 – The Big Bang Theory (September 25, CBS)
8:00 – Lucifer (October 2, FOX)
8:00 – Supergirl (October 9, The CW)
9:00 – The Gifted (October 2, FOX)

Tuesdays
Future Man (November 14, Hulu)
Marvel’s Runaway (November 21, Hulu)
8:00 – The Middle (October 3, ABC)
9:00 – Black-ish (October 3, ABC)
9:30 – The Mayor (October 3, ABC)
10:00 – Kevin (Probably) Saves the World (October 3, ABC)

Wednesdays
8:00 – Survivor (September 27, CBS)
8:00 – The Goldbergs (September 27, ABC)
8:00 – The Blacklist (September, 27)
9:00 – Modern Family (September 27, ABC)
10:00 – You’re the Worst (Already Premiered, FXX)
10:00 – Mr. Robot (October 11, USA)
10:00 – Vikings (November 29, History)

Thursdays
8:00 – Gotham (September 21, FOX)
8:00 – Superstore (September 28, NBC)
8:00 – The Big Bang Theory (November 2, CBS)
8:30 – The Good Place (September 28, NBC; preview 9/20 at 10:00)
9:30 – Great News (September 28, NBC)

Fridays
8:00 – Once Upon a Time (October 6, ABC)
8:00 – Blindspot (October 27)
9:00 - Inhumans (September 29, ABC; premieres at 8:00 its first week)

Sundays
9:00 – Good Behavior (October 15, TNT)
9:00 – The Walking Dead (October 22, AMC)
9:00 – Shameless (November 5, Showtime)
10:00 – White Famous (October 15, Showtime; moves to 10:30 11/5)
10:00 – SMILF (November 5, Showtime)
10:00 – Search Party (November 19, TBS)

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: 9/25/16

Ray Donovan: It I weird watching the “previously on” montage and realized this whole season was based around Ray feeling sorry for a Russian prostitute he played Cat’s Cradle with. I actually thought last week that turning rat would be the only way out for Ray but of course he was able to get out from underneath the Russian mob without owing the FBI anything. I was hoping that Ray would be a rat and spend a little time in prison because the show may have been a little more interesting going forward if the series started out with hating his father so much he tried to kill him for being a rat only for him to do the same thing. Oh well.

Fear the Walking Dead: Did I miss something? The question of the past couple episodes was what happened to Ophelia and this week she is just on a road trip. How exactly did she get out of the hotel? The stairwell was pretty full of walkers when Alicia tried to leave that floor. So is she off to find her fiancée? Are we actually going to follow her or is something going to happen to her that she ends back at the hotel? Or is this the last we see of her?
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

Masters of Sex: So did approach her old therapist in hopes to get him to work with her or to get a free session? Or just to use him? Kind of a weird turn of events. Then her husband and her ended up not actually getting married (and decided this off screen) and now it looks like her daughter is leaving her too. Shame if you is gone for good because the daughter started out as one of the more interesting characters last season but did not really go anywhere with her. But hey, at least she has a new partner at the clinic and bizarrely is the husband(?) of Bill’s new co-worker. Interesting that Bill lied about his relationship with Virginia. I wonder if he was truthful their she would be truthful of her relationship.

The Strain: Being that we are just at the start of the season, I assumed the big worm that slithered away from the Master after being decapitated was the Master’s essence and he was not really dead. And that turned out to be the case and for some reason the Ancients knew this but did not bother to tell anyone to make sure the big old worm gets stepped on after you kill the host. So I guess the next question is who is the Master going to inhabit next. Nazi guy was very disappointed it was not him last time. Maybe he will be overlooked again and Eph’s wife will be the next in line. Though I think it would be better if the Master chose Eph’s son, that would be really twisted.
You can download The Strain on iTunes.

Gotham: Man, the Talon looked like he was wearing a Nightwing mask; I got a bit confused for a little bit. But not as confusing as the Koopa from the horrible live action Super Mario Bros. being in the beginning of the episode. And how actually did the Captain survive the attack from Azrael? Well, it is a comic book, I am sure this is not the last we see of Poison Ivy (mostly because of stupid casting spoilers that I for some reason still read even though I avoid all other spoilers).
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Lucifer: Speaking of casting spoilers, I knew going in Trisha Helfer was going to end up being Lucifer’s mom but Lucifer miss identifying his mom multiple times was still funny. And is his brother losing his powers. His time stop ended before he could get the blood (and yet managed to not be arrested) and then he had trouble floating things.
You can download Lucifer on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: I am not sure if I am disappointed or relieved that Nick Cage is not reprising his roll at Ghost Rider. Probably the latter. I am definitely relived that Ward was not the Life Model Decoy. I figured it would be him or electro boy (except he got crossed off that list after appearing in the main cast credit during the Blindspot premiere. Instead we got a hot naked chick in a very humorous version of Ex-Machina type scene.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X: A Survivor first!!!! The first evacuation ever! But this begs the question, where exactly did they go? Probst said on Twitter that they took them to a quiet room all night, but just exactly where? Ponderosa? Did they have to leave the island completely? I think the best part of this season will be watching the Millennials be inept. Though I have to disagree with the worst shelter ever as they did not dig a hole in the beach which ended up being filled with water which happing during the first All Star season I believe. I really hope there is not an early tribe swap so no one comes and saves the younger tribe. Oh yeah, and the Legacy Advantage sounds stupid.
Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X on iTunes

Blindplot: How random was the phycologist hitting on Chrissy Seaver? Does he not remember what happened to her last boyfriend? But that was not the only personal storyline of the week as it turns out Kurt is going to be a father. At least his father set such a low bar he can just step over it.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: Much like Elliot, I fully believed Tyrell was in Elliot’s head since the moment when he got in the cab. Okay, unlike Elliot, I was not going to risk that theory against being shot. Poor Elliot, if only the cabbie had answered him when he asked the driver if he saw the guy sitting next to him (why the guy did not recognized the most wanted man in America is just something we will likely have to throw in the questions we will never get answered pile).

Almost as big a shock was we learned that the FBI has a whiteboard with Elliott and Tyrell in the middle. Much like the other big twits, there is a generous amount of poetic license because otherwise, why exactly would they have Elliot in prison for a lesser crime and not interrogate him then? Really the only reason to let him out is hoping he would leave you to Tyrell, except apparently no was tailing Elliot when he went to meet Tyrell. Hurumph.

And though I was bearish on this season, I got excited for a post credit scene after last year’s jaw dropper of White Rose dressed like a man in some sort of Illuminati club with the head of Evil Corp. It started out great (Kenny Rogers and Sheena singing Bob Seger!!!!!) but how disappointing the “big” reveal was Elliot’s prison buddy finding the F-Society lackeys who went on the lamb.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Notorious: I was not expecting much with this show but it somehow managed to go under my expectations. At least Julie Taylor trying to be a lawyer should be entertaining.
You can download Notorious on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/18/2016

BrainDead: The one thing that defeated the bug people was shame because that is the one thing politicians do not feel? A little too much on the nose but still a pretty entertaining little show. Probably for the best there is no second season (aside from the lack of Ramona Flowers on my television every week) as this was a good enough end.
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Ray Donovan: So Micky is some sort of ping pong savant? Who knew? I figured something had to go wrong; the bookie going out like Elvis was not what I was expecting. I figure Hector would end up not throwing the fight (which could very well still happen) or the stripper would steal the cash, or Micky would give it to her outright. But he ended up giving the markers to the Russian dude. The big twist was the FBI found the niece who spilled everything. Is Ray going to have to turn rat to get out from under this? What a horrible turn of events for him if that is the way he has to go. He spent the first season trying to kill his father and eventually turns into him.

The Strain: So the first season, the exposed the Muppet looking Master to sunlight and all he had to do was shed the body and moved into the rock star. Now they cut off the rock star’s head and the worm slinks to the sewers. Hurumph. Not that I expected them to actually kill the Master during the third episode of a season.
You can download The Strain on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: When they brought in the little girl at the Commodore 64 with the whip marks and asking Angela if she ever cried during sex, I figured this has to be her version of Elliot’s eighties television delusion and the little girl will actually be young Angela. Nope, that apparently really happened and was just White Rose testing Angela for some reason. Alrighty. But the bigger news was the return of Tyrell… maybe. Elliot was not sure if he was really there or not so us the audience is left to wonder the same. I leaning towards he is a delusion, the driver would not confirm there was another person in the car and this Tyrell certainly did not act like he did in the first season and looked not as irate as I would expect someone to act one when seeing the person who set him up to take the fall for the worst economic collapse ever.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Blindplot: After spending an entire season of is she or isn’t she Taylor Shaw only to be like, nope, in the season finale, it is interesting that in the second season premiere we got a definitive answer of who Jane really is and we get to meet her brother and her “mother” (that is not to say these people are not lying and that is the twist in this season’s finale). And was that a nuclear warhead at the end?
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/10/16

BrainDead: So you cannot kill the queen bug with a rolled up magazine. Oh no. Better stock up on some Raid. I wonder if the CIA guy was telling us the right story or if he was just misleading him as some devious plan with Red.
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Fear the Walking Dead: So drunken mom and gay dude were able to escape being surrounded by zombies? Alrighty. And why do the writers on these walkers show love splitting everyone up all the time? We started out with three separate storylines, maybe four depending where the hot chick went off to. I guess she was probably hijacked by the wedding party because lost people on these shows never turn out to be dead. Well except for Carol’s kid.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: Ever since Joanna and Elliot first met, I thought she knew more than she let on (my working theory was Tyrell was also one of Elliot’s delusion and Joanna knew and did not want Elliot to know she knew). So when the last episode ended with Joanna driving up on Elliot I was expecting some Joanna shoe to drop. Hurumph. All she did was have Elliot hack the phone that may or may have not been given to her by Tyrell. Then we end (kind of) on another cliffhanger with two backs of heads approaching Angela after Elliot made out with her. I really could not make out who they are so it may not be someone we have met already. Then poor Dom, stuck in another Dark Army shootout. But who died? It will be quite convenient that Dom and Darla escape but the boyfriend target managed to die in the spray of bullets like (presumably) intended.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Tyrant: Penny Dreadful really perfected how to handle the last minute cancellation with a “The End” place card at the end of the episode. Instead Tyrant was canceled hours before the now season finale aired. I was always bearish on the show, but one thing I will say about the show is that it did have a radical shift every season, something no other show really have the gull to do. They exiled Barry to start off the second season and killed off Jamal to start the second, so there was always the hope the show would course correct, it just never manage to be as great as it wanted to be. So even though we did not get tto see how the show ended on its own term, it is apropos that it ended how it did because there are no end to these holy wars and so the wars in Abudian will wage in perpetuity just like they do in the real world and the titular character was not Jamal, or any of the Al-Fayad’s, but it is all of us.
You can download Tyrant on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/4/16

Ray Donovan: So the Russian gangster wanted to meet the movie star because he beat up a hundred Russians in a movie just to beat him up? That is some Kim Jong Il stuff. At least they killed off Lisa Bonet, that storyline went on way too long. Now just what exactly is Ray going to get from him that will satisfy the Russian? Is take a dive too obvious?

Roadies: Bad form by Taylor Swift not to show up to the memorial for her former tour manager. And Eddie Vedder can show up but not Mike McCreedy, I was hoping for a showdown between him and Machine Gun Kelly. Oh well, maybe in season two… if there is a season two. There used to be a joke, if you were on Showtime, you would run an automatic seven seasons. But recently they have been pretty trigger happy; they canceled all their comedies, including Happyish after one season. It was announced Penny Dreadful was canceled with a “The End” place card at the end of the third season finale. Last month Ray Donovan was renewed, but no word on this show. But Roadies did not have a “The End” before the credits so it seems like the show thinks there will be more when you end with Reg running back to Kelly-Anne (natch). I guess if there is a second season, the band will not actually split up and we will get an European tour. I kind of hope everyone gets hired by My Morning Jacket just so there is more Jim James.

BrainDead: Finally someone pointing out what is wrong with politics, both parties have been taken over by extremist who would rather burn down the government than compromise on anything. These politicians need to stop listening to the loudest people and start doing what is the best for everyone again.
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

The Strain: When the premiere started up, I had to ask myself, did I actually like this show or have I been hatewatching it. As the episode progressed, I remembered it was kind of both. All the vampire stuff is scary but, goodness, these characters are morons and the kid is really annoying. It was more of the same with the new season especially with Gus and his mother. C’mon, how did he manage to get a straitjacket on her without getting bitten?

Pretty Little Liars: I am not sure what was more awkward, Spencer kissing the cop while collecting evidence at her house, or when she asked to kiss Toby one last time. But anyway. After the blood test we learn Noel was not Mary’s kid, that meant it had to be Jenna right? It certainly would make more sense she was Mary’s kid and AD than Charlotte being the original A. But nope, Mary Drake saved Spencer and told her she was her mother. Wait, what!?! Didn;tr we already have paternity issues with Spencer? So we learned Spencer’s father was not really her father, but instead Papa DiLarentas, but her mother is not even her mother too? Again, what!?!
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: So we got the backstory of Elliot going to prison and it was the Ashley Madison guy. I was hoping we would get more of Craig Robinson and how that went down in reality. So did he really just invite Elliot into his office, play chess, and as Elliot was leaving, the FBI stormed his office? Alrighty. But next week it looks like we are going to get what I have hoped for since late last season with Mrs. American Psycho going face to face with Elliot. I have thought since their first meeting she knows a lot more than she lets on, hopefully we will finally learn if that is true.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/28/16

Ray Donovan: There seems to be a pacing problem this season as they are having trouble balancing between the Russian storyline and the boxer. Two episode, Ray kills a Russian and I think, well the other Russians will not like that. Except it was not brought up once last week. Then finally someone found the body this week. And just as things started to get ramped up, they had to slip in a scene with the boxer and his crazy sister. But at least the Russian plot got interesting. Does Ray get the niece back to save Avi or sacrifice him? (Or a third option where both the niece and Avi are safe?)

Fear the Walking Dead: Has there ever been a more boring season premiere than this? I was actually rooting for the dogs.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

Roadies: Wait, does Machine Gun Kelly have suspenders tattooed on his body? Weird. But anyway. But man, did they really bring Phil back just to kill him? Should have stayed with Taylor Swift.

BrainDead: I do not care if it did not turn out to be true, Ramona Flowers has forever been tainted by having sex with Michael Moore. The dream nightmare sequence will forever be seared into my brain. And I thought the bug sex scene last week was the worst thing I would ever see on the show.
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Murder in the First: I have talked about the rise of incest on television considering it is one of the last taboo left. But up to this point is has been brother-sister relationship, all of which have been creepy, but oh my goodness, did this show really do a consensual father-daughter relationship? Eww. Then there was Hildy talking about the time her brother got a bit handsy because telling her partner it was a line because saying she was a good liar. I am not sure if it was the writer’s intent, but I was left wondering if her I am a good liar line was about the story she told the pop star or telling her partner she was lying.
You can download Murder in the First on iTunes.

The Voice: I was not expecting much, but I had to bail quite early on the preview episode right around the time Miley Cyrus opened her mouth. The actual person who sang was not that much better though I did like they went straight to the singing, no super sappy background. I did check out the other person they featured who was a big giant meh. The first person picked Alicia and the second picked Miley so this was clearly a showcase on the new coaches not the talent. But that is ever increasing point of the show. Each episode used to end with the best season, but the last three of four seasons, it seems to end with mediocre singers at best but a lot of coach banter and fighting. But if that was the best person Miley got on her team it will be a long season and she will rival Shakira season six as the worst collection of talent on a team ever. Then I had to skip the coaches singing Dream On because I have no desire to hear anyone sing that song on this show other than Amanda Brown.

Pretty Little Liars: I was hoping Hanna would go Liam Neeson this week and after a pitiful attempt at drugging Noel, boom goes the dynomite at the end the episode with a baseball bat. Awesome. I cannot wait to see what goes wrong with the interrogation.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Casual: Interesting they chose not to end the season like they started the series, at their father’s funeral, but I guess they ended the first season in a church so I guess they did not want to go back to that well. Instead we end with Valerie moving back in with her ex-husband. Alrighty, Hopefully the side piece did not get too comfortable, or pregnant, I thought they we going through fertility procedures. But really, for a show whose title would lead you to believe it is about casual sex, there was a lot of talk of death this season and relationships that are moving out of the “causal” category.
You can watch Casual on Hulu.

Mr. Robot: And we are back to starting episodes with flashbacks that wink and nod but do not really mean much. So the Muslim chick and fat guy who spent most of a season and a half met in a coffee show, presumably owned by the same guy Elliot took down in the first episode, but not the one with his illegal operation, one with crappy wi-fi. Of course this begs the question, when is Elliot going to run into him in prison? Back in current time, Darla kills a chick… alrighty. So is her boy toy going to give her up as the person who took his gun? Instead, Dom pulls in the fat guy. But really, I think it is safe to assume that everyone can agree the best scene this week was Angela singing Everybody Wants to Rule the World even if it was a bit on the nose. Speaking of the karaoke bar, holy Duck Phillips sighting! He has to be tied into the story somehow, you do not bring in Duck Philips just to creepily hit on someone half his age just for one scene.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Tyrant: I thought we were going to have a repeat of the first season of Homeland where the suicide vest did not go off then… boom goes the dynamite. And now that Jamal is dead, it looks like Barry is slowly morphing from the voice of reason to the titular character.
You can download Tyrant on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/21/16

Ray Donovan: A couple weeks ago, Ray sang Bob Seger and this week he danced the Chihuahua, I am beginning to wonder if the actor did something to the writers to make him act the fool. Not that I am complaining, the main problem with the show is that it can get too serious, especially Ray, so this sillier moments make it much more enjoyable. And Connor, if you want to be taken serious, how about not playing dancing video games?

Roadies: Fun fact: I used to work at an amphitheater in college and Lynard Synard came to town, and no lie, played a forty-five minute set, obviously ending with Sweet Home Alabama. Then came back out for an encore which ended up being a forty-five minute version of Free Bird.

BrainDead: I am beginning to wonder if the show is running out of story and it is about tie to wrap things up. I really do not care if Laurel’s dad has bugs in his head.
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Pretty Little Liars: So the doctor was a complete waste. Meh. Hopefully Hanna is going to go Liam Neeson to find Uber A next week.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Casual: I spent the whole episode wondering what was going on with the dad, did I just imaging him being carted into his home by a ambulance, did I watch the episodes out of order? That storyline was much more interesting than anything that happened this week. At least it will make for an interesting finale.
You can watch Casual on Hulu.

Mr. Robot: Fan theories are a fun way to talk about like Megan would be at the Manson murders because she wore a Shannon Tate shirt; but these wild fan theories never come to fruition. Well except Lost is purgatory, which kind of what the flashsideways were in the final season even though the writers swore the island was not. So when the theory of Eliot being in prison and delusionally thinking he was back living with his mother popped up on the internet, I filed it in the crazy, Sharon Tate type theories. Sure it was an interesting theory, Eliot having a very set routine because he was forced to, but there were too many holes. Craig Robinson really being a prison guard did not really jive, plus Eliot left the house and when to places other than the basketball court, which could be a prison court yard. He even was able to get his hands on drugs to make Mr. Robot disappear.

Except the wild theory was true, Eliot has been in prison this whole time. The big problem is they did this the first season with making it obvious that Mr. Robot was in Eliot’s head, then spent a couple episodes poking holes in that theory only to be, actually he is just in Elliot’s head! And what about Craig Robinson? Was he really an evil prison guard? Was he just in Elliot’s head? Were the Craig Robinson scenes a prequel to the season and him being nabbed by the FBI after chess is why he is in prison? Except we saw Eliot with Craig at the basketball game. If not because of Craig, why is Elliot in prison? It seems it is not because of the Evil Corp hack because the FBI is still looking. Did the Ashley Madison guy get him. I am confused. I miss Alf.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/14/16

Ray Donovan: This show would be much better if Cochran and Ray were forced to team up every week. Can’t Cochran become the new Ezra?

Roadies: Not since the over choreographed scene with KellyAnne running back to the band at the end of the Pilot has anything been so obvious that KellyAnne would end up getting the perfect picture after be denigrated by her idol. Okay, it was also pretty obvious that Phil find his way back to the tour considering Ron White was in the title credits this whole time. Still I find the show very enjoyably, it is kind of like a cozy but tattered blanket reminding me of a time when shows used to be fun before The Sopranos came along and most shows had to be super serious ever since.

BrainDead: As silly as Laurel almost being subjected to enhanced interrogation (granted as not likely that scenario is in present day, I can see that playing out exactly that way in a potential Trump presidency), it did make for a good scene with the bug people inadvertently voting against the torture.
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Pretty Little Liars: So Charles had a sibling that is the Liars’ age. They seem to heavily pushing Noel so that probably means it is not him. Sara is blonde and has the look, but she just died (or so we are led to believe, it would not be the first time someone came back from the dead). It is ethnically impossible (not that it has stopped the writers before, Charles turned out being a chick who dated her brother and significantly younger than they led us to believe) but I am rooting for Mona. But I am guessing it will end up being Jenna.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Casual: What was up with the ending? Is our health system so messed up that we are talking people back to their homes when they run out of money?
You can watch Casual on Hulu.

Mr. Robot: I am beginning to think the writers are just trolling us now. And I thought the two straight weeks where they started with a flashback was unnecessary, this week we got a full twenty minutes of Elliot stuck in a cheesy nineties sitcom (I think Married with Children did that very episode) complete with Alf. Alf! Alf killing Gideon!! Again!!! How could anyone possibly take the rest of the episode serious after that (um, I think Angela got hit on with a really bad pick up line)? But hey, at least they worked in an Up All Night reference because, c’mon, does anyone remember anything about USA in the nineties other than Up All Night? I guess we did get one thing out of that, it seemed pretty clear that Mr. Robot admitted to killing Tyrell. Sure you cannot truly believe a delusion, but he did admit to it.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/7/16

MTV Classic: A couple years ago VH1, in honor of MTV’s anniversary they devoted an entire weekend to the channel’s history with classic episodes of its shows and a couple documentaries. It was a great watch and made me think that is what VH1 Classic should be. And how about running full episodes of Yo! MTV Raps, Headbangers Ball, and 120 Minutes instead of random blocks of music videos in the morning. But then VH1 Classic went back to its rock heavy schedule and random movies that have nothing to do with music after the weekend was over.

So I got slightly excited when I heard they were rebranding VH1 Classic as MTV Classic bringing back classic shows from the channel’s history. The lauch started off well enough with an Unplugged marathon but I have been less than enthused since. Sure they show the occasional Beavis and Butt-Head, but so far they have been all episodes from the recent reboot and none from the nineties. And is any one setting their DVR for midnight airings of Run’s House? C’mon, where is Remote Control. And still no one is taking my advice to show genre specif shows in their entirety, instead we are still getting random videos in the morning. Really not the best start when the first one I saw was Vertical Horizon’s Everything You Want. Even worse, the first time I came across Yo! Hip Hop Hits, they were showing a video by Xscape, a fifth rate nineties girl group (featuring the future Mrs. T.I.) who are neither hip hop nor classic. Le sigh.

Ray Donovan: Did we really need to start off the episode with some dude pleasuring himself to a chick playing Cat’s Cradle? And just when you thought that was gong to be the most graphic part of the episode, a minute later we get to watch s full body cavity search. And then a couple minutes after that Conner pulls out some lubricant? Then after everything he went through with the Russians to get Belikov out of jail, he kills him over the Cat’s Cradle chick. That is probably not going to go over well.

Preacher: What the frack was that? Was that meant to not be coherent and meant to be a complete mess? How does an episode like that even make it to air?
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

Roadies: In the beginning I thought it was a wise choice to keep the band in the background and focus on the titular characters (and definitely we should never hear any of their songs because the worst part of these scripted music shows is they are supposed to be superstars but their songs are mediocre at best), but after Janine went HAM on the lead singer, the band instantly became extremely interesting. I actually want to see more of Janine as she writes her tell all and Chris’s reaction to all the revelations. And just how does Bill not get fired for sleeping with the lead singer’s girlfriend even if I took place a decade or so ago?

The John Mellencamp cameo made me wonder just where do some of these celebrity cameo stories come from. Did Cameron Crowe ask them for the personal stories like the one about the hundred year old grandmother that could fit in the show? Are they strictly written for the show? Are they stories Crowe has heard and asked the celebrities if he can use it on the show?

BrainDead: I figured Laurel would find a way to get the bugs out of her head before they push out half her brain, but I thought she would simply go to the refrigerator and put some bacon on her ear. Instead we got maybe the most entertaining segment on television this year.
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Pretty Little Liars: Seriously promo monkeys, we are already to the countdown portaon of the season. I get annoyed with the “one more episode until the (insert hyperbolic adverb here) finale” promo but four more episodes is a bit much. Sad thing is, that is most of what I remember from this episode. Um, Alison got attacked by someone and it turned out to not be her dead fiancée who is still in the ground. It probably was not Sara who ended up dead. Um, evil(er) twin maybe?
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: Well at least we did not start with a cute flashback this week. And good news for anyone who was wondering what Angela’s douchebag ex-boyfriend was up to. Otherwise, meh.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Tyrant: Oh hey Barry, you are really doing that days after your daughter died and hours after your wife checked herself into a mental institution? Cold.
You can download Tyrant on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals III: What a horrible ending to a horrible season. What a completely douche thing to do even by Johnny Banana’s standards. At least he cannot possibly get another invitation back after that and even so, how is he not sent into whatever they are calling the elimination round every time? What is worse was the whole point thing was kind of shady; I never really got the standing on the log checkpoint, and making things worse it was worth two points. Why not just stay on the log and refuse to leave?
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

2016 Rio Olympics Opening Ceremonies: Not a very good sign for these games that I fell asleep somewhere around the M’s during the parade of nations. I am ready to call it the worse opening ceremonies of my lifetime. I know Pele was sick, but how was the biggest name at the ceremony Giselle? Was there really no one more important from Brazil? I was ready for Camilla from The Challenge or Abi-Maria from Survivor to pop up.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 7/31/16

Ray Donovan: So after half the season dedicated to this casino heist, it ends with the owner with his money back, does not even bother to press charges (presumably to get the insurance money and the original money) and Ray does not even need that money to bribe the FBI guy to blackmail the other guy because Micky is going to turn himself in. But hey, at least we got to hear Ray sing Bob Seger. We dd get some set up of two storylines that will likely end disastrously: apparently Bunchy is now a single father and Connor was able to break into the gun safe. Checkov would have us believe that gun will go off sometime in the third act, the question now is who is he going to shoot?

Roadies: So Janine is the chick from The Civil Wars. Alrighty. Though she was actually competent as the girl next door that got away. But is she really going to hook up with Reg. Or as importantly, is Reg going to hook up with the girl who broke his boss’ heart? Well, if it ends the will they or won’t they storyline with KellyAnne, I would be happy.

BrainDead: Oh no, Ramona Flowers better not be taken over by the bugs. Hopefully she is able to get to her bacon before they push out her brain or Gustav arrives in time. But c’mon Ramona, you throw out all the stuff he brought but did not throw his flowers at him?
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Casual: Oh, hey, Leon, I forgot you even existed. Where has he been, he was the best part of the first season. He should have gotten the C-storyline; it probably would have been more interesting than the teen cancer one. Then you have Pete Campbell as vindictive as ever, lowballing Alex for his company. But since there is still four episodes left, I am guessing Alex will be fighting this even though his partner may take the money and run.
You can watch Casual on Hulu.

Mr. Robot: So we are just going to get a flashback at the start of every episode? Meh. At least this was a bit more informative than last week’s F(un) Society origin. I guess we saw the start of Mr. Robot and where the masks came from. There was also the return of White Rose as him and Evil Corp guy talk about there still as unknown Illuminati plot on society. But still I am still a little down on this season. Hopefully now that Elliot is back to hacking, things will pick up.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Tyrant: And I thought Jamal not coming back to life would be the most shocking part of the episode, nope his son actually being Barry ended up being more shocking. Sure they had to do some retconning by saying Jamal had low sperm, oh his other son (who died two episodes ago without much of a mention) was not really his son either.
You can download Tyrant on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals III: So after a whole season, we are left with Johnny Bananas, his cousin, and a team that was booted the very first week, but since so many teams left prematurely, were brought back, were sent into the jungle over half the time and managed to not pull the black skull once. How anticlimactic. At least they goosed the finale with a twist where you can screw over your rival and take all the money. At first I thought you have to split the cash otherwise you are the first one out in future Challenges, but if you are Sarah and you are ready to go to grad school and pop out some babies, you might as well take the money and run. Plus that would be funny if she screwed over Johnny Bananas twice in consecutive seasons.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 7/24/16

Ray Donovan: Welcome back FBI guy (although it was a little silly Ray got the epiphany to see him after seeing a chick in a “Federal Boobie Inspector” t-shirt), he and Micky’s parole officer are the best character on the show. I was actually thinking when he told Ray that he looks like a Bob Seger guy, how disappointing that we will not get to see Ray pretend to be a member of The Silver Bullet Band. Yet somehow FBI guy actually got Ray to do it. I wonder if Showtime asked for this so there would be some synergy with Roadies. That song got the asking price down three million, but apparently Ray does not have two million lying around (um, whatever happened to his buy a football team money?) and will look to get that Horseshoe money with Micky. Whenever those two work together, things never go well. Actually Ray needs that money because of killing all the Armenians for Micky.

Preacher: The hell is not as far as you think comment was really deep, too bad they muddled it by making Eugene turning out to be fake.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

Roadies: Did someone already say the C-word on the bus before because the tour already seemed pretty cured up to now. The one guy fired everyone including Phil who seemed to be the lifeblood of the tour (bu hey, he got to go to space with Taylor Swift), they are on their third opening act (does My Morning Jacket count as the fourth or was Jim James just a stowaway), oh and this week the bassist went MIA with the band’s groupie. But I wonder if The Who cast is to explain the inevitable hookup of KellyAnn and the money guy. No way that is really happening without some devilish curse pushing them together.

Pretty Little Liars: Ugg, Ezra proposed to Aria? Still creepy after all these year. Hopefully Ezra’s not so deas fiancé comes back and ruins that relationship one more time.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Casual: I said last week the workplace would be weird if Pete Campbell found out about Alex and his fiancé and it is worse than weird, Pete Campbell plans to burn the company to the ground. Oops. And of course Alex then hooks up with her again, and it kind of looks like she is moving in as he brought a lot of luggage.
You can watch Casual on Hulu.

Mr. Robot: Fun Society? Alrighty. I fear we may be getting into Lost-ian territory of silly backstory told in way too cute of a way (the concrete scene was a bit much too). But it is hard out there for secondary characters from the first season, All Safe dude last week, hacker guy this week. I fear for the job security of Gloria Rubin. But the other hackers think it may be the Chinese. My first thought was Tyrell. Mr. Robot also crossed my mind as well as E-Corp who would rather dispense their own brand of justice than let the Feds deal with it.

Tyrant: What the frack? Why did they have and go kill off the hot chick? Sure her character was worthless but, um, yeah, oh well. And did they really kill Jamal too? Sure he was flat lining but that does not stop some people from coming back to life. I know this is a third world country, but he is a former president, so where were the doctors when he started to flat line? Still this guy survived driving off a cliff and being show at point blank range, certainly he can survive a pillow.
You can download Tyrant on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals III: Finally, a silly challenge harkening back to the early days and not some everyone takes turns to do something short and boring. The Jungle should have been better too except no one got dirty. How do you not pull a leg as they are going by?
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 7/17/16

Ray Donovan: Oh Bridget that was harsh, especially with the fake Boston accent. And of course Conner was just oblivious to the whole thing complaining gun shots ruining his television show. Why are the sons on anti-hero show always the most worthless and incompetent? And just how many times has Terry sat alone in the center of his gym with a gun? Well at least he had company this time around.

Roadies: It was clear by showing up and sitting next to fake Lindsey Buckingham on Saturday Night Live that the real Lindsey Buckingham had a sense of humor, but who really knew just how funny he was? Just the reaction shot of him with Rainn Wilson were great. Speaking of whom, I wonder if Rainn’s character was based on anyone in particular and this was Cameron Crowe’s revenge against some bad reviews.

Murder in the First: Kind of a weird start to the season, in the first episode, Hildy gets a dire diagnosis, but then in the second, they were just like, oops, we were looking at someone else’s records. Then Terry kills what looks to be an unarmed black man, how topical, but again, another false alarm, the perp’s gun fell out of his waist in the chase. Two storylines that looked like they could have been season long arcs that the writers were just, um, nevermind.
You can download Murder in the First on iTunes.

BrainDead: Sure I laughed at the cat CAT scan. Which begs the question what do those bugs do to cats? It clearly makes humans more partisan. And are these bug controlling their humans or just heightening already existing views? The head dive makes it seem like the former. But does that make the bugs partisan or are they just taking over the already held beliefs in the human. At any rate, those previously on segments are just gold.
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Pretty Little Liars: What a horrible plan. Some dude ran in front of you when you were following him when he kidnapped your friend, which is a legitimate excuse to the police. Instead they come uup with an elaborate plan of leaving his phone on a train (which Spencer ended up being too drunk to do) and burn the car that hit him which would have been extremely conspicuous, at Mona knew a guy who does not ask questions.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Casual: I did not see the episode title was “Threesome” until after the episode ended. The teenagers were obvious (is it horrible of me to think he may be faking), but the more interesting part of the episode were the emotional threesomes, Valerie is stuck between the two guys, one who is pushing hard and the other who is drunk texting random emojis. Then Alex is not even in a threesome, it is more of a foursome with his crazy ex, her fiancé (possibily ex, that will be one weird working environment if he finds out about them; although they seemed to figure out about him and the secritary) and their pathological assistant.
You can watch Casual on Hulu.

Mr. Robot: What a weird way to start the season, Tyrell was completely absent from the marketing of the second season except being named dropped by President Obama leading me to wonder his involvement in the second. Then he was the first person we see in season two, of course never to be seen again in the double episode premiere. One thing I went back and forth on all first season was: is Tyrell real? That opening scene made me lean back to the delusion side. Then when Elliot asked Mr. Robot where Tyrell is, it reinforced that theory as if when they are not out and about, all of Elliot’s personas are hanging out in his head like Inside Out.

But then Tyrell’s picture was plastered on an episode of Nancy Grace (natch) which pulled me back to the real person side and that maybe the reason Elliot ask Mr. Robot about Tyrell because Elliot knew Tyrell was in the game room, then Mr. Robot took over and when Elliot took over again, Tyrell was missing. I did come up with another theory in that Tyrell is both real and fake. When Elliot meets Tyrell in the Pilot, Elliot decide he is going to be his patsy and to best set him up as the fall guy had to become him and who we saw ever since was Elliot’s delusion. The flaw in that is where does the pregnant wife come from, could she be another delusion?

Speaking of patsies, RIP Gideon. I was surprised he even showed up again and of course he will not again. Though I was unclear what the other guy’s motive was: revenge, fame, hired by Evil Corp to make Gideon the fall guy? Poor Gideon, the ultimate wrong guy wrong time. But really the most interesting part of the first two episode was Elliot saying that we, the audience probably does not trust him the way he does not trust him. Very true, I am beginning to believe less and less of what my eyes see on this show. I am just hoping this does not lead to some sort of St. Elsewhere finale (where the audience learned the whole show was taking place in the mind of an autistic kid) and everything we have seen was taking place in kid Elliot’s mind who is really laying in a coma from the time his father pushed him out a window.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals III: Another meh challenge (okay, Vince belly flopping was somewhat entertaining), even the Jungles were stupid too this week. What ever happened to the physical challenge where teams go head to head, almost every challenge this season teams have been taking turns. But at least we got a “Greatest Moments” episode this week. Granted it was basically twenty-five minutes of waiting for the CT using Johnny as a backpack. Weird that they completely ignored all the fighting or the time Julie almost killed Veronica. I guess it was not surprising that the avoided the time Tonya emptied Beth’s luggage into the pool considering the things that happened behind the scenes with here.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

Tyrant: These types of family drama follow a familiar format; the older daughter gets a storyline (for better or worse) while the younger brother just stays in the background. This show kind of flipped that, well both children are mostly worthless, but every once and a while the son does something to remind you, oh yeah, he is a gay homosexual, but really never push that storyline very far. After three seasons, they finally gave the daughter something to do in being captured. I am with Barry, you cannot trade the daughter for the wife, they would likely just kill both, really, the obvious answer is to get the American general exactly what he wants and have them send in Seal Team 6 to rescue the daughter.
You can download Tyrant on iTunes.

Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll: Networks got interesting with their On Demand channels. NBC made the most noise by releasing the entire season of Aquarius after its series premiere. What I found more interesting was FX released uncensored version of this show on its On Demand channel. But much like NBC who did not air drop Aquarius this season, for some reason did not upload uncensored episode leaving me to wonder just what Denis Leary is saying whenever the audio when silent. Hurumph.
You can download Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll on iTunes.