57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/16/2017

Ray Donovan: When will people learn, you should never trust Micky. And if he tells you not to ask where the money came from, you definitely want to ask where the money came from. I guess Avi was the exception because the alternative to trusting Micky was pretty bleak. But poor Bunchy, off to prison because of his father, I cannot count the number of times a Donovan boy has gone to prison because of him t this point.

The Last Ship: Wait, what is going on with Chandler’s kids? I thought he left the Navy because their grandfather died and no one was left to take care of them. Are they still n the Italian village?
You can download The Last Ship on iTunes.

The Strain: I am glad they did not try to redeem the little brat after he caused the apocalypse (granted there is still one episode left).
You can download The Strain on iTunes.

Preacher: The first season finale was one of the worst ever. The second finale was not as bad but still left me rolling my eyes. Never a good sign when Hitler is one of your more redeemable characters.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: Whenever you see Camilla in the cast, you know you are in for one great meltdown that season. Sure it has been diminishing returns since she first walked into the pool. But the annual appearance of Camillinator was had to watch this season. It may be time to put her out to pasture. But a bit of hypocritical for Jordan to comment considering he had a more offensive moment this season.
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/3/2017

Ray Donovan: I guess I was wrong that the lack of Daryl in the present timeline meant he had something to do with Abby’s death but he actually showed up this episode. But I am a bit fuzzy on the Abby is dying timeline. They seem to be jumping around so did this week happen before Abby collapsed and went to the hospital or after? Then I was also wrong that the guy Bridget met in the premiere was the recipient of Abby’s heart instead Ray tried to kill him. Um, when has Ray ever failed to kill someone (aside from his father I guess)? And why even try to kill someone who was already dying, does he not have enough money, or can blackmail someone with enough money?

The Last Ship: It was only a matter of time that Civilian Chandler would run into the Nathan James, I probably had under three episode, but that was an interesting reintroduction of him to his former crew. Of course he will likely become acting captain as the new captain seems to be MIA.
You can download The Last Ship on iTunes.

The Strain: And more people finally finding each other. Maybe Gus can actually contribute to the story after being mostly meaningless so far. But I am still a little puzzled what actackly went down with the Nazi vampire. Okay, I get Setrakian poisoned his blood, but still, how did he come immune from turning despite being bit? Seems convenient.
You can download The Strain on iTunes.

Preacher: Wait, the guy escaped the ambulance? I guess we will get how next week.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: More Redemption House? I guess at least the losers from the last try to get back into the game are not still there (that we know of). But I wonder just how long the Challenge took. I have watched every season but I am sure it would take he hours to get it right and I think some of these kids were not even born when season one debuted.
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/19/2017

Orphan Black: 147 clones? Wow, Dyad was busy. They are apparently all dead now but I wonder how many dude clones were there. I was just disappointed they ruined Alison, turning her into a hippy for no apparent reason with two episodes left. I was hoping we would get a cheesy sitcom spin off with her and Donnie.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Ray Donovan: So are they going to continue to tease Abby’s death without actually saying the word or at least show the body? Sure Ray found her convulsing and foaming from the mouth, but we never heard what happened to her. Ray did mention the head injury from the car accident which of course was cause by the hot leaked actress. Except Ray did not bring that up when she showed of at his office. But I did find it interesting that she told Ray she “shot” her husband, not that she killed her. It would be more interesting if the husband is not dead because it seems like Ray cleans up a dead body at least one a season. I believe the very first scene of the series was Ray getting rid of a dead body.

Claws: I am not sure what was more entertaining, the Whitney Houston scene or the Humpty Dance scene. Still I do not understand why Roller and Uncle Daddy let Desna, and Virginia, live for trying to kill the former. And I am not sure if I am racist and think every black man looks the same, but I am pretty sure that was Desna’s doctor friend that the Dixie Mafia met with in the last scene.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

The Strain: So Setrakian has been part of a bone marrow experiment this whole time? And that was kind of an easy escape, why not try that earlier? And why I am complaining, why did the Master not swarm Eph after learning his location. New Horizons was right there presumably swarming with Strigoli.
You can download The Strain on iTunes.

I’m Dying Up Here: Bill got the chair? I know the show positioned him as the next big thing, but never really deserved it in my eyes. Then he did not even bother to kill himself afterward. The other big question beside how did Bill get on Carson, let alone the chair is what happened to Teddy’s club? Did someone set it on fire or was it electrical because the pimp said it passed inspection but not because he updated it. Not that I really cared because after watching the whole season, I wish we would have gotten a second season of Roadies instead.

Preacher: What the fork is up with the freaky dude with the eye? Seriously, the butter thing, what was that?
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: She may look and act like a ditz, but, wow, Jenna looked like a beast as the only one who pushed her opponent off and she did it twice.
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/13/2017

Ray Donovan: At the start of every season these days I usually start with complaining about having no clue with what happened last season. The good thing about Ray Donovan is usually the wrap everything up in a little bow at the end of each season so you really do not need much of a refresher. So when they run their “previously on” segment to recap last season, I could go, oh yeah, Ray and the family took down that Russian oligarch (although they were a season early on doing an evil Russian businessman storyline), now there is a fresh slate for the new season.

It is still pretty vague what the big storyline for the season will be. Ray does see a story about a famous person whose personal pictures are released on the internet, presumably without her consent (I believe a starlet earlier in the series tried to release her own sex tape so you never know). The actress in question, does randomly show up in her underwear and runs away. There is also a scene with Susan Sarandon which will probably have a bigger impact later this season.

Then there was the big plot point (and the reason I am writing this now instead of my usually preview because Showtime said no pre-air reviews), they killed off Abby… Maybe. They heavily hinted at it but stopped short of explicitly saying she was dead or showed a body. They annoyingly do this next episode two until we get definitive proof in episode three. We do get to see a lot more of Lili Simmons next week who shows up in Ray’s office. Though again, you will have to wait until episode three to learn just why she was walking half naked in the middle of the road at night.

Claws: So Roller did know Desna tried to kill her. At least he let her call Dean before offing her. Sure, she did save him but that also saved her too so not really to make things square between the two. But overall the weakest episode this season.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

The Strain: Wait, why is Gus still on the show? His little raid on a bunch of cops surveyed absolutely no purpose. If you are not working to bring down the Master at this point, go away. And why did Dutch up the stairs? That is bad horror movie logic, go down and leave. As she planning on jumping rooftops to escape?
You can download The Strain on iTunes.

I’m Dying Up Here: Am I supposed to care about Bill because I really do not. Nor his dad. I actually cared more about the dog then either of them.

Shadowhunters: So Haley Dunfey has a English accent now? Awesome. This girl really likes work, she is on one of the biggest shows on television doing twenty-four episodes a year yet keeps on showing up in numerous movies and shows. And she almost made this show enjoyable.
You can download Shadowhunters on iTunes.

Preacher: So what happened with the dude with the eye? He had a big part of last week but did not show up at all this week.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: Boooo, Jenna is the best post-Nany contestant on the show. Hopefully she makes her way back on the show next week. Her and Darrell.
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/6/2017

Claws: So does Roller know who tried to kill him or does he really have selective amnesia? It is kind of a huge troll move if he does know at this point. Or he really fears the Russians and that he is throwing the scent that way?
You can download Claws on iTunes.

The Strain: Poor maid, Zach is totally going to get her killed soon.
You can download The Strain on iTunes.

I’m Dying Up Here: So the new guy pursues Cassie, gets a chance to nail her in the broom closet (because having sex apparently is the best way to end sexual tension), turns her down and then uses her as a wingman. Only on television or movies. But still, that is more believable than the other Boston guy banging the hot roommate in the baby’s room.

Preacher: So Preacher sinks the old cowboy in the bottom of a swamp and next week it looks like he will have another weirdo to deal with next week in the form of the dude we met this week.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

Casual: I guess I was wrong that the season would end on a wedding. That is not to say we did not get any big news, Alex is going to be a father. Wow. That is a scary prospect. And his baby mama is not much of a responsible adult either. Should make for an interesting season four.
You can stream Casual on Hulu.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: That challenge was kind of disappointed. I think they have done ones like that before but it was much longer than one pass through. They should have done until one team had all the rings or the most rings after a time limit.
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 7/23/2017

Claws: So Jenn is going to put two and two together that the people who killed Roller were also Desna’s foster parents. I guess that would be a mighty big coincidence. Not that Roller is actually dead, he is hanging out by a mountain of public hair. Though I am not sure why he just does not snatch the buzzer from the old chick to keep him from shocking him.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

The Strain: Usually I complain during season premieres that I do not remember what happened and the short “previously on” segments were not cutting it. I was smart enough to go on YouTube before the premiere and watch a lengthy season recap. Oh yeah, Angel died, the councilwoman died; oh yeah and that little twerp of a son set off a forking nuclear bomb and doomed the human race simply because his father killed his vampire mother WHO WAS TRYING TO KILL HIM. Ugg. And now that twerp has an annoying haircut. Now we are hear nine months later (um, do does they make a new instructional video every month saying how long it has been) and the humans are essential enslaved. What exactly does Fett want with a nuclear bomb? Does setting off a second bomb end nuclear winter?
You can download The Strain on iTunes.

I’m Dying Up Here: Cassie is supposed to be the hot one on that comedy special? The others better be really funny. I wonder if CBS actually did a Women Are Funny Too special back then.

Preacher: Well that was some unnecessary flashbacks. It would have been more entertaining had we just got to watch them watching Bob Ross the whole time.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

Casual: “Leah and Leon”: that sounds like a spinoff title. And of course she proposed with some weird big show. Oh my goodness. But poor Alex, the self-centered part of him thought he was going to be best man when he could not even get groomsman. But I fear him as the officiant. I guess the wedding will be the season finale. Kind of ominous if so considering the first two seasons ended with a funeral.
You can stream Casual on Hulu.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: So the Dirty 30 season started out with just 28 contestants. Okay, CT’s passport issues will eventually get fixed because he is in the “This Season On” package. But what went on with SmAshly (who looked a lot better with the shorter haircut)? She seems to quit every season, including last season right before the final. But actually left this time because the airline lost her bra? Do they not have Target in Columbia to get more? And they just let her leave this time, not even a TJ scolding. And then how can you have “the thirty dirtiest players in the history of the Challenge” then bring in about six new people. And what the fork is non-binary? Still the actually challenge was pretty entertaining. Shocking to see Darrell exit this early, though apparently not really, it is another season where people will be fighting to get back in the game apparently.
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 7/16/2017

Claws: Are we really getting a second, oh wait Roller really is not dead, for the second time in three episodes? Ugg. Really an up and down episode, the opening was great (though I have to question why the doctor did not take off the pillowcase in the trunk). The parts with Desna’s brother is always a drag, but it was paid off with a great sequence where they cut back between the murders and the weirdly choreographed dance sequence. But to end with the tease of Roller not being dead again was a huge let down.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

Fear the Walking Dead: Poor hot chick, she was gone this whole time and does not even get her own episode; it was just one segment where we learned how she joined the Indians. And of course she was a Trojan horse. Plus that was a horrible cover story to boot. And what is with this mid-season crap. The main show does it to avoid Christmas, but a break in the summer is just silly and exploitative and just builds into the narrative that the franchise can only do premieres and finales and everything else is boring.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes

I’m Dying Up Here: Oh hey, Bill’s dad is still around? Hasn’t been months? But that got dark real quick. And poor Johnny Carson, the first up and coming comic after a dude walks into bus tried to OD in his green room.

Preacher: So after a century in Hell, Hitler has turned into a pansy? Are we really supposed to feel bad for Hitler?
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

Casual: There is no television cliché I hate more than start an episode at the end and then show the x amount a time before place card. But this was weird because it had no bearing on the episode. It was almost like they thought, well we are paying all this money for a Fleetwood Mac song, might as well play it twice. And does Tommy not listen to Nice and Smooth because if he did he would know too much of anything makes you an addict.
You can stream Casual on Hulu.

The Bold Type: This may already be my favorite horrible show on television. Sorry Supergirl.
You can download The Bold Type on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 7/9/2017

Claws: The only downside of watching screeners before episodes air is that sometimes you have to wait over a month to see a new episode. TNT made the first three episodes available before the show aired so I had to sit on Roller being alive for a long time while I sat and stewed on how he could have survived. Except it turns out he did not, Desna is just hallucinating him. Meh.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

Fear the Walking Dead: Okay, crazy person went and killed the family that left the compound, but why let them turn into zombie?
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes

Preacher: Whenever I know does something immoral, I tend to guilt them by saying, “you are going to spend all of eternity in hell with Hitler.” So I was not surprised when Eugene bumped into him there. I just hope they do not help each other escape.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

Casual: I would be fine if the show would take a hard left turn and focus on Leon and the assistant.
You can stream Casual on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 7/2/2017

Claws: Oh my goodness, that opening scene. Oh my goodness. Oh yeah, and that closing. I was spit balling that Roller was not really dead last week (the actor’s name is in the main credits so it is not entirely surprising he is not dead), but I never thought that Desna would be in on it. She did try to drown him, he did smack her around, she lit him on fire. I mean, dude got shot by Virginia. Or did he? Did she miss, did Roller and Desna plan this and loaded blanks in the gun hoping she would stick around and “save” Desna. The show has a lot of explaining to do next episode.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

Preacher: It hated the first season finale with a fiery passion. The opener was alright, but that angel killing himself montage just seemed to go on forever.

I’m Dying Up Here: Holy Richard Pryor siting! Yeah, it is weird seeing real people show up on a program like this. Makes me wonder if these characters we are watching are real people who just never made it, based on real people who went on to make it and the names were changed for legal reasons, or just completely made up.

Casual: Isn’t Tommy running an Air BnB? I have to imagine there are rules against having sex with your tenants.
You can stream Casual on Hulu.

Pretty Little Liars: Well, twin Spencer as AD was a more sensible reveal than A being Alison’s brother who ended up being CeCe Drake which made absolutely no sense. Though I still do not understand why Wren did not try to connect Spencer and her twin when he found out.
Pretty Little Liars 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: 7/24/16

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: 7/10/16

Preacher: I have been pretty ambivalent to the show but I did laugh more than once at the respawning angels. And about the ending, are we ever going to see Eugene again? I guess this is the type of show where people could escape Hell so I would not be that surprised. I wonder if doing harm accidentally via Genesis will make Jessie more inclined to let go of it. Okay, no need to wonder, there is no show without it in him.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

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.

Pretty Little Liars: Oh yeah, I completely forgot the season started with the Liars burying someone (they made it seem like Hannah who was absent from the scene) or what I thought was something because, c’mon, they definitely would not bury Hannah in the middle of the woods, or as I thought then, anyone else. Oops, got that one wrong. They actually ran over Ally’s husband. Poor Hannah, she is really having a bad week, she is the one that gets captured by Uber A and then she is the one behind the wheel during the hit and run with the deceased literally starring at her with his head through the windshield.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Casual: Just two episodes ago I mentioned how this season was about casual friendships and not casual hook up, and this week all three main characters hooked up with someone. And what world do we live in when a man cannot hook p with his business partner’s secretary and not have to get lawyers involved? That seemed to be a prerequisite at Sterling Cooper (and sometimes Draper Price). Pete Campbell even impregnated one. The guy even spearheaded the pimping of Joan out to that fat slob to secure his business for the firm. Man, someone really need to punch Pete on this show.
You can watch Casual on Hulu.

The Challenge: Rivals III: No. No, no, no, no, no. You can feed me all the cow balls you want, you can make be grind on a block of ice, I will even be worn as a backpack by CT and thrown into a trash can, but you are not getting me in a box and burying me alive. Nope. But I did like the trivia (though I would rather there be a history trivia or a spelling bee), it was kind of like on Survivor when they have those late stage season challenges where people realize just where they sit in their alliance. The course of a couple season changed by people realizing they are on the bottom and flipping for a better position.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

Aquarius: I watch this how for its stupidity (c’mon, Mulder was the guy who suggested Bobby Kenedy go through the kitchen where he is assassinated and the gay Republican who had the hots for him just happened to be there and of course so was Charlie Manson) but you juxtaposed Manson trying to start a race war and what is going on today with people trying to race bait juts made me uneasy.
You can download Aquarius on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On:

House of Lies: I hate when episode start in the third act before a “x amount of time earlier” title card, this was weird because we did not get just one scene in the future before flashing back to the beginning, we got five (and really the whole episode just jumped back and forth in time), but at least that was worth it for adding Doug making out with the old lady at the end. I guess it was good the show ended because I am not sure a season with Marty and Jeannie blissfully married. But still a weird way to end it. Before the season Kristen Bell was cast in an NBC sitcom but they said it would not interfere with House of Lies. Which makes sense, ten episode of one show, thirteen of another; some sitcoms air twenty-four episodes a year. Except when the Veronica Mars movie was being made there was talk of a television reboot but they said that could not be done because Kristen Bell could not be the face of two shows at the same time. But then David Duchovny did it with X-Files and Aquarius so maybe in that time people were lax on that. But then two weeks before the finale, Showtime announced it would be a series finale, not season. Has Showtime just decided to get out of the half-hour business? Happyish was a rare one and done on a premium network. House of Lies is now done; Episode only has one season left. So that leaves Dice as only half hour on the air that has not been canceled. Except that has not been renewed either, and not getting a renewal a month after the season ended is not a good sign. And I am not aware of any new comedies in the pipeline. Not that I am complaining, Showtime’s drama are much better. House of Lie is the best I have seen on the network and it is not in the top five all all shows.

Preacher: Being able to get people to do whatever you say in the most literal way has to be one of the lames superpowers to have. That may take a while for Preacher to master in his advantage. Okay, the scene with the Irish Vampire was fun.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

Penny Dreadful: When shows like Lost were on I obsessed on every little detail, noticed every callback, every Easter egg, just straight off the dome. Fast forward a decade and I do not even notice that museum guy and Dracula was the same guy. Getting old really sucks. At the start of the episode when museum guy lifted up the vampire I thought, oh, I wonder what Victorian monster this guy could be. It was not until it donned on Vanessa that she was hooking up with Dracula the whole time that the lightbulb slowly flickered over my head too. But what exactly does that ending mean? Dracula want to serve Vanessa but it was still him that drank her blood. Does that mean she is a vampire now too? The hot Mr. Lyle replacement said not to believe the mythology behind Dracula, so maybe not. She definitely turned evil. But we did learn from her phycologist that she has at least three distinct personalities so there is probably still a good version or two in there.

Speaking of split personalities, Lily may be getting one soon after Dorian turned on her to team up with Dr. Frankenstein and will soon get injected with Dr. Jekyll’s formula. I have been waiting all season for Dr. Jekyll to turn into Mr. Hyde, maybe it will be Lily who turns into Mr. Hyde. Well that theory does really work because Mr. Hyde is a hideous, evil creature without compassion or remorse and, well, Lily is already there.

BrainDead: Man, this show got killed by critics (and in the ratings) but I really enjoyed the whole sixties B-movie with modern day production feel to it. It is more enjoyable than the other Ramona Flowers show that aired earlier this year.
You can download BrainDead on Amazon Instant Video, free with a Prime membership.

Casual: Nice to see Pete Campbell is still an intolerable douchebag. Here is hoping someone on this show punches him too. And here we are in the third episode and Laura is on her third learning environment. During the meet and greet, right around the “good job” discussion (speaking of intolerable people) I thought she might be on a fourth one next episode but looks like she may actually be sticking around for a while. And apparently Alex’s phase three phase is officially over after bedding one of the annoying mother. Is he back to phase one or is there a phase four?
You can watch Casual on Hulu.

The Challenge: Rivals III: For years I have been advocating that Survivor poach The Challenge challenge makers. But maybe The Challenge challenge makers have finally run out of ideas because almost all of them this season have been horrible and this week’s grab a flag going off the cliff challenge may have been the worst yet. Then they stole that build something until it reaches a certain height Jungle challenge from Survivor, albeit adding a silly ice cooler bath component to it.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

Aquarius: I spent most of last season talking about what was happening behind the scenes than what was actually happening on screen. And that is continuing for the surprise second season. No binge watch option like season one where NBC released every episode On Demand after the premiere, but instead this year we get a two hour commercial free premiere. When they announced this I thought we would get two extended episodes. But when the credits ran I noticed writers and directors for “part 3.” So instead of two extended episodes, the two hour premiere was three shortened episodes (though not by much, most hour longs run forty-two minutes so we basically got two minutes less than usual). Did this stunt work? I cannot see how it possibly could. When Angie Tribeca ran its commercial free marathon, it still had a “presenting sponsor,” Aquarius did not even have that. On a personal level it was pretty much a failure because I found myself nodding off about halfway through. But I vaguely remember Denis Wilson showing up. And guess the people that are killed in the future are the Sharon Tate murders. Meh.
You can download Aquarius on iTunes.

Orphan Black: So before season finale we learned next season will be the last raising the bar for the episode. The big reveal is that Rachel will soon meet the person behind everything that apparently is too good for dying and has been around for over a hundred years. So have we met this person yet or is going to be someone new. My first thought was Leekie, or more specifically someone who looks like him, we really cannot rule out the big bad being a clone themselves. Or will it look like Sarah and the rest of the clones that we already know and this person is the real original clone?
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 6/5/16

House of Lies: Oh Jennie, why re you making out with the fourth member out of four of a boy band? At least hold out for the second banana. I was going to laugh at the mayoral candidate getting in a fight with that boy bander, but it reminds me too much of what Donald Trump is capable of. You know Trump would punch the fourth banana from One Direction. And his poll numbers would go up.

Preacher: With the proliferation of comic book adaptations and the limited amount of competent actors, it is only a matter time because everyone starts being in two or more properties; heck, despite being a much maligned franchise Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm has found his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe twice (Chris Evans as Captain America and Michael B. Jordan in an undisclosed role in the upcoming Black Panther standalone). I wish there were some nineties east-coast / west coast rap level of loyalty when it comes to the two big comic book companies, but alas here we have Howard Stark in the DC property (granted a DC imprint Vertigo which I do not believe is tied into the DC Universe; not that the television shows and movies are connected unless you want to believe they are all art of the multi-verse). The lady who plays Tulip was even on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

I really did not know much about the comic the show was based on but the premiere was mostly enjoyable but suffered a little from overhype (seriously writers of the world, can we please stop with the “best pilot ever” tag, I think most people are smart enough to realize you say that just in the hopes of getting your name in the promo). The star of the episode had to be the Irish dude (though honorable mention to the homemade bazooka); what is up with that dude? I am tempted to go to the comic wiki page. Dude jumps out of a plane with nothing but an umbrella (an a bottle of wine) but The Penguin he is not as he splats on the ground with his intestines all out then gets back together by depowering a cow. Yep this should be a fun summer show.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.

Penny Dreadful Last week we spent the entire episode with Vanessa in the loony bin learning how she met Dracula and this week we (pretty much) spent the whole episode with Ethan (okay we got a couple scenes with Dr. Jekyll but really until Mr. Hyde shows up, those scene are inconsequential). And the two episodes were very glaring, I kind of got bored last week, but the Ethan backstory was fascinating and well put together. My one complaint was I just knew right when his father drew his gun, that the episode was going to end on that cliffhanger. Crap. Now we have to wait a week to see if Ethan embraces the dark side or the light. Okay, daddy’s gotta die. Right?

The Americans: So the FBI are inkling closer to the Russian scientist (thanks to the promo monkeys for letting us know how that turns out) so we have one week to see if this is the time when the Jennings actually get caught by the FBI or maybe the scientist dies before he can talk. But what I found interesting was Oleg taking about the Challenger. Are the writers going to suggest the Russians had something to do with that?
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals III: So here we are in the fourth week and only two teams were sent home from the jungle. Well actually only one went home because the first team came back for no apparently reason. If you were going to do that, how about have the loser of this Jungle battle the returning team to see who gets back in the game? I would have much rather have Jessica and Johnny back than the other team whose only memory I have of is remember writing I have no idea these people were in this game when they were eliminated the first time.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

Orphan Black: Can the next NBC live musical please be Jesus Christ Superstar starring Tatiana Maslany? Or even better Maslany as Alison Hendrix playing Judas?
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.


We have reached that time of the year where most of the spring shows have ended (there are one more Americans, two more House of Lies ever after tonight, two more of Orphan Black, and four more of Penny Dreadful) and summer shows are slowly trickle out. Actually looking like it will be a very slow summer, it seems like everything is airing at 10:00 on either Wednesday or Sunday, but not much else. Maybe some of the new shows that really have not grabbed my attention with lackluster trailers (Animal Kingdom, Good Behavior, Queen of the South) will end up being this year’s Mr. Robot which had a meh trailer but ended up being great (TNT which airs those first two is in definitely need of a hit as it has launched a critical or commercial hit since maybe Falling Skies; and that show is not on the air anymore). Here is what I will be watching while trying to avoid allergens outside over the next couple months.

Mondays
9:00 - Angie Tribeca (TBS, June 6)
10:00 – BrainDead (CBS, June 13)

Tuesdays
Casual (Hulu, June 7)
8:00 – Pretty Little Liars (Freeform, June 21)
10:00 – Wrecked (TBS, June 14)

Wednesdays
10:00 – The Challenge Rivals III (MTV, already started)
10:00 – Royal Pains (USA, already started)
10:00 – Tyrant (FX, July 6)
10:00 – Mr. Robot (USA, July 13)
10:00 – You’re the Worst (FXX, August 31)

Thursdays
10:00 - Aquarius (NBC, June 16)
10:00 - Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll (FX, June 30)

Sundays
9:00 – The Last Ship (TNT, June 12)
9:00 – Ray Donovan (Showtime, June 25)
10:00 - Preacher (AMC, already started)
10:00 - Murder in the First (TNT, June 19)
10:00 – Roadies (Showtime, June 25)
10:00 - The Strain (FX, August 28)