57 Channels and Only This Is On: 2/13/16

Shameless: So no one is going to think of the most obvious solution to the Gallagher's living situation: the dead Greek's house? As soon as Kev mentioned he was dead, that was my first thought. I guess it is better for them to be scattered for a little bit before realizing they need each other again. We did get two surprised returns with Lip's ex-girlfriend outting his relationship and Fiona's ex cop boyfriend outting himself. Did not see that coming. I wonder if it will turn out he is just a ringer for the gay cop team.

Billions: I have been trying to follow what has been going on with Wall Street since they destroyed out economy about seven years ago so I have hear the term "short" multiple times yet I still have no idea what it means. And now I have to figure out what a "short squeeze" is too? Though I may not know what is going on with the business side of things, but I do know music and it is kind of laughable to think Metallica who actually have a folk singer covering Ratt as an opening act. Did the guys in the band not get a full script or just got paid enough not to care?

Supergirl: The writers really need to figure out more reasons to have Martian Manhunter to stand in for Kara, that was the best part especially butting heads with Cat. Though it was weird that the actress was much better at being Martian Manhunter than she was being content Kyrptonian in the fever dream. We did get a shocking ending with Aunt Austra getting killed so I guess Non was the big bad all along (well with Maxwell Lord also an antagonist; gotta love his list of demands in exchange for helping with the virtual reality simulator). It is weird that whenever Supergirl gets preempted, it never gets a "next time on" promo even when it is just off for a week.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Lucifer: Holy Jodi Lynn O'Keefe sighting! Though big in the nineties, the new century has not been kind to three named hot chicks. But really Jodi as Ray Donovan was kind of laughable.
You can download Lucifer on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: Um, what is up with all those fake arms? Really no one is going to talk about, just stuff it back under the bed like someone does not have a fake hand under their bed? And how Lostian to end the episode on an deep tunnel. At least we do not have to wait the summer to find out what is down their, plus it does seem like a good guess that CeCe's Radley lair is down there.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Marvel's Agent Carter: Oh Vinnie Van Lowe, when did you get that temper. Hopefully Peggy runs into him later in the season. Or maybe Rose, who knew she had that in her? And though you knewshe was going to do it more than once, Peggy's using the mind eraser was just comedy gold. No one does slapstick comedy these days that this show.
You can download Marvel's Agent Carter on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Bloodlines: Ugg, a two parter-finale? I am ready for this season to be over. But I had to laugh at Jenna saying so many time how she was shocked two females were leading. The female only teams dominated the first carry heavy bags challenge. Of course they would be leading as long as they did not especially mess up on the "parlor games" as Cara Maria put them. Actually they did mess up being the only team to fall off the tires and still won. I do wonder if they had more beer standing by because they almost ran out of the ones om the bar. I think I saw three left while the last team was chugging their last beer. And as luck would have it, just as when The Challenge is ending, we also get the start of Survivor next week. They really inadvertently timed that right because The Challenge started just as Survivor ended last year. Hopefully they sync this up ever year.
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Bloodlines on iTunes.

The Blacklist: The DMV continues to be the best part of the show, the random Leslie Jones cameo was just great. I was about to suggest just adding the DMV guy to the cast and find a way to get Red into the waiting room every week but what they should really do is just give the DMV guy his own spin-off sitcom. Certainly that would be funnier than any comedy currently on NBC or any NBC comedy since the death of must see TV.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 2/7/16

Grease Live: My biggest takeaway from Fox's first try at live musicals is that NBC really needs to step their game up. I have been advocating NBC do it since their first one and the live audience really livened things up (granted on the flip side, it was quite glaring when you could not hear anyone laugh at most of Ana Gasteyer's joke even if her assistant was one of the standouts). And with the live audience, the cast gets a much deserved curtain call, even if there was not an actual curtain. It is always weird when the NBC shows just end, no applause, no curtain call, not even really any credits either. Sure there were some low points, seriously, no one in America cares about Jessie J (though the set up of the opening was great, especially the Motownphilly interlude with Boyz II Men and, um... Ana Gasteyer), Julianna Hough can sing about as well as Carrie Underwood can act, and the sound when out while Joe Jonas was singing (okay, that may have been for the best). Oh yeah, and the needlessly censored Grease Lightning. How can you get away with "pussy wagon" in a seventies PG movie but not on a live television event in 2016?

The big breakout star of the show was whoever played Patty Simcox, get that girl on a crappy NBC sitcom this fall (Does the already picked up Sam Malone, Veronica Mars show need an annoying assistant?). She and Lindsay from You're the Worst (the second most random casting after the dude from Treme as the coach) seemed like the only ones who ever ever been in a stage production before and brought the right amount of energy to their roles. Those two clearly were having fun; something missing from NBC's production: fun. It will be interesting to see what NBC this fall in responce, if anything. They have already announced Hairspray as their next musical (Patty Simcox for Amber Von Tussle); which come to think about it, very similar to Grease, set in the fifties, two worlds colliding, there is a televised school dance; so do they rip off Fox and bring in a live audience and a more sprawling set or do it like their previous events?
You can download Grease Live! (Music From The Television Event) on iTunes or pre-order the DVD below.


Shameless: Just when I thought Frank pimping his pregnant teenage daughter do a cancer stricken old man with a voice box would be the most shameless moment possibly of the season, if not just this episode, a wheelchair bound dude sets himself on fire while trying to hit Kev with a Molotov cocktail. I am guessing he probably is not dead just yet.

Billions: So Axe goes after Chuck's father's mistress to get to him. Has he yet to figure out that the guy's wife works for him?

Galavant: They actually gave us an ending this season (well, as long as you do not care about Madelana and her quest for ultimate evil). Of course that is not that the show is not holding out hope for a third season as Weird Al suggests even on a crappy cable channel. Maybe it was not the best idea to insult possible homes when you are on a very thin bubble. I would not mind if someone would be stupid enough to give this show another season.
You can download Galavant on iTunes.

Mercy Street: And this is why I usually do not watch medical shows, I have no desire to watch Ted Mosby chop some dude's leg off in graphic fashion, I just ended up scrolling through Anna Kendrick's delayed west coast reactions to Grease Live during those scenes. But what I do have a desire to watch is watching Ramona Flowers lay the smack down on Ted Mosby.
You can download Mercy Street on iTunes.

Supergirl: I like Supergirl and all but two Supergirl was really kind of annoying. And is Supergirl not powered by the sun in this universe? Because if Bizarro gains more power from kryptonite then shouldn't the sun weaken her? Oh well, at least they got rid of Cat's uber boring son.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

X-Files: During the first two episodes I came to the realization that I no longer want to believe which really hampered my enjoyment of the reboot. But you do know one thing I do want to do: laugh, and I did plenty of that in the third episode with the were-lizard. If they decide to do more episode, maybe they should do more funny episodes and less mythology ones.
You can download The X-Files on iTunes.

Lucifer: I did not think it would but I guess the show will not tie into the Constantine show from last season since Jeremy Davies played a part as one of the bigger secondary on that show. At least I am assuming he did not scrap his job as a college professor to take pictures of drunken celebrities. Shame. I think the shows would be better if they actually combined the two and get rid of the black angels that stop time.
You can download Lucifer on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: So they really are bringing back A (or an A). Meh. Watch it turn out to be a not so dead CECe or maybe a long forgotten twin.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Marvel's Agent Carter: Young Peggy! I thought young Whitney Frost would be the more interesting segments because villain origin stories are usually more interesting but her road from wanna be scientist to actress was a bit of a bore. While during Peggy' engagement party I thought, where is her brother now, bring that guy around more, only to learn why we have not seen him before in the next flashback. Well done. Also well done were all the comedic moments, the best of which was Jarvis getting tranqued.
You can download Marvel's Agent Carter on iTunes.

The Challenge: Bloodlines: This is kind of a sad final three, and it would have been even more sad had Aneesa actually one the final Pit. What a meh season which started off so great. Survivor cannot return soon enough.
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Bloodlines on iTunes.

The Blacklist: My biggest, and really only takeaway from the episode was Monk taking a bath with his dogs. Mine would have no part in that and would quickly jump off that platform.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Previewing Shameless: Season Six

Something shocking happened last season on Shameless. Okay, something shocking happens every episode of Shameless, usually five to ten, but the shocking thing I am talking about is that someone on the show did something that normal people would not think was shocking at all if anyone else did it, but it was shocking that it seemed like Frank showed legitimate feelings for another human being. Sure he has had bouts of conscience in the past but he has always reset to his old self by the next episode like a cartoon character.

So it is even more shocking that three months later Frank is still pining over his dead doctor buddy with benefits. And it is shocking still that those all to real human feeling may be sticking around at least for a few more episodes (after a funny montage in the season premiere, I was really hoping that they had spread those season out through the whole season). Sure Frank is not particularly very good at being a normal human being, especially when he trying to find someone to replace Bianca next week, but at least he is starting to grow if just baby steps.

But do not worry, the rest of the cast is just as shameless as ever (the title of the second episode is #AbortionEules so this may not be the time to recommend the show to your angry uncle who spent the holidays railing against Planned Parenthood; well unless you want to make him angrier). Lip started sleeping with his professor last season with her husband's blessings and that is continuing despite some more complications. Ian is now in a prescription drug haze while Micky is now three months into a fifteen year stint for attempting to kill the eldest Gallagher (but hey, he may be out in eight due to overcrowding). At least the season opens with Carl being released from Juvi, though it may just be a matter of time before he is back. And as the episode title suggests , not everyone is keen to Debbie's potential bundle of joy.

But Fiona mat still be the most messed up of them all as she tries to keep everyone together (well, except Frank). Still married and still hooking up with her boss, she experiences more troubles than the rest of her family combined. Surprisingly things may actually be looking up for Kev and V after The Alibi gets named the Best Worst Bar on the South Side which is a boon to business. Of course this is Shameless, so I do not expect it to last for very long. I put the over/under on when the health inspectors shows up at episode four.

Shameless airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 4/12/15

Shameless: Yeah I was totally wrong about never seeing Sammi again. Why end the episode there, between that and juvi showdown I was the most excited about this season in its final three minutes. The rest was not very shocking with Fiona choosing wrongly once again, Frank's sugar momma dying on him (or so we are lewd to believe), and Ian finding his way home. Really only shocking part of the finale was Debbie announcing she was pregnant... I think. That was kind of unclear. But having a fourteen year old pregnant really is a very Shameless storyline.

Mad Men: I was a little grumpy going into the premiere because of the stupid half season stunt and I could barely remember the first half of the season (I really only remember Bert dying and dancing his way off the show), but whoa, that is how you start off an episode after a long break (fun fact: the girl in the fur coat was Andie McDowell's daughter). Though why was Sterling Cooper still auditioning anyone after that, hire her right then and there. The rest of the episode had its ups and down and should I know what is happening (I was not entirely the chick from season one was the chick in Don's dream until her named popped up in the credits and did not even realize that was a dream until Don brought it up to the waitress). But the clear winner of the episode was Ken Cosgrove who gets one over on Rodger, that should be a fun dynamic for the rest of the season, the only way it could be more entertaining is if Ken hires Paul Kinsey to work with him.
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

American Odyssey: The has been a glut of Homeland rip-offs networks have tried out over the past three seasons with The Blacklist the only one to get a second season (Crisis being the only other one I personally enjoyed). So I did not have much hope going into this show and it pretty much live up to my low expectations. Add in the extremely cliched rich people are evil and do everything in their power to hide their evilness with the government's help and the show will probably end up being a very tedious watch.
You can download American Odyssey on iTunes.

Bates Motel: The best part of the episode, if not the entire series, was Romero's reaction shots during Norma's blackmail attempt. I am surprised the evil businessman accepted, I am sure he does have other plans than the one Norma demanded.
You can download Bates Motel on iTunes.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Oh hey, Deathlok, I completely forgot about that guy. And oh hey, Sky's mom, I thought she was dead. I guess in addition to not aging she apparently cannot die even when disected. So when does she reveal that to Sky? You would think that would be part of the introduction.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Justified: They really should have included the hill people in the "Previously On" package because took me until he started talking about putting Raylan and Boyd in a box to remember who he was. And poor Constable Bob, about to get his biggest criminal of his life only to get shot two times. Only one episode left but it feels like they may need another two or three episodes to wrap everything up at this point. Like just how is Raylan going to get away from the state troopers. His, "Don't suppose you'd believe me if I said no" still is one of his best one liners. But the biggest question is who, if anyone, will defy the song and get out of Harlen alive?
You can download Justified on iTunes.


Survivor: Blue Collar vs. White Collar. vs. No Collar: It is time again to bid fond farewell to the Token Hot Chick this season. Well at least we will get to see Hali on the jury. As the votes came in and I wondered why the White Collar did not flip like they pondered I realized the major flaw in Survivor, annoying people always go further than they deserve because smart players know they will be easy to beat in the Final Tribal. Sure it would have been much better television had the two White Collar players joined No Collar and voted off the annoying Blue Collar tribe. But it would be harder to beat them in a final tribal and if you believe the Masshole that they are a final four with Will, those are two very beatable players. This happens every season, I sit and wonder why they do not get rid of the annoying person or people, but that is the smartest strategy.
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

The Voice: Much like the previous seasons, I have lost interest somewhere between the Blind Auditions and Live Playoffs and I have definitely reached that point this season which I am done with. Of course number one on my Power Ranking after the Knockout Round got the Preston Pohl Memorial for Worst Song Selection for the Live Playoffs. It seems like most people believe the coaches or producers do this to make sure their favorite advance (it does not help that Adam has openly admitted to sabotaging his team during the first season so Javier would have an easier path to the finale). I am not much of a conspiracy theorist (except when something questionable happens on Team Adam) but I do find it befuddling that they would give Love Me Like You Do to Brooke Adee. First off, the song just sucks. Second it is a little creepy having a teenager sing a song from a movie about a sex slave. And third, the song was already used earlier this season and apparently bombed so bad it was montaged. So are the coaches (or the producers) just really bad at figuring out songs for certain artists, especially more alternative singers (again, see Preston Pohl) or do they actually try to railroad certain artists. And if it is the latter, why sabotage Brooke if that means the boring and bland Corey advances? I could say I will never watch the show again, and I should not, but I am sure the turning chairs will draw me in again in the fall only to complain about the lack of talent by Thanksgiving.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/29/15

Once Upon a Time: So if the good guys are going to pick off Mr. Gold's cabal one by one with kindness, does this mean they are going to give Cruella Dr. Hopper's Dalmatian as an appeasement to her at some point?
You can Download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Shameless: Oh no, Sammy called the Army to report Ian. Which begs the question how did it take a tip from someone to catch him, Ian was hiding in his own home? I wonder if he will get a bunk with his brother.

The Walking Dead: Oh snap, I just figured that the old group would just blindly follow Rick with his overthrow of Alexandria but it did not cross my mind that any of them would actually want to assimilate which apparently Michone does. If Rick is exiled like I assume I wonder who goes with him. Of course they will be back just as Rick warned Deanna that anyone exile will be back. Sure the middle episodes were a bit of a drag but no one does season premieres / finales like this show and next week should be explosive. Plus we still have the person that is marking walker foreheads with a Scarlet A.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Revenge: So a taxi to happened to plow Margot over in the fire lane? Seems fishing, nothing is that coincidental on this show. I wonder if her henchman had anything to do with it, with or without Margo's knowledge, because he seemed a little to overeager not to give up the fight.
You can download Revenge on iTunes.

Bates Motel: So Norman did not kill the token hot chick like I feared, but she still ended up dead. Meh.
You can download Bates Motel on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I have long predicted a not so dead Mona would turn out to Be A, well at least I was half right. When her name flashed up under the guest star list I then assumed a not so dead Alison's mother was going to be A after realizing it was not Mona. Completely wrong at that. We learned that Charles is actually A and by the home movie that do make it seem like Charles is Jason's twin brother that apparently no one knew existed. If so, where has he been all this time? Did the Dilarentas family have him hidden in that bunker this whole time?
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Marvel's Agent of SHIELD: So the "Real SHIELD" does not trust Coulson and his alien DNA, that actually seems reasonable. They could have spent the whole episode in that conference room explaining stuff I would not have minded because I could not care less about Ward and Agent 33 (but it did give us some decent comedy with Talbott ruining his marriage and basically sexually harassing his female underlings).
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Justified: One of the main problems with this season was that you knew that Raylan was not going to catch Boyd until the series finale but much like season four where they actually caught Drew Thompson a couple episodes prior to the finale and then ending up have its best episodes of the season after that, Raylan actually caught Boyd redhanded with a couple episodes left. It looks like we may get the trial Tim was hoping for. Though since the CI shot him, I wonder if a RICO case will stick.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II: Congratulations to Sarah and Jordan. And since you won, you can both retire because I really have no desire to see either back on the show. And take Jay and Jenna with you because they do not deserve another invite after quitting (though it is odd the other challenges had a thirty minute time limit but the drinking one). Pure rookie moves, first they do not look at LeRoy's answer and then they actually tried drinking the fish oil while Sarah and Teresa clearly poured half of it down their faces and then spit out the rest while pretending to puke.
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II on iTunes.

Survivor: Blue Collar vs. White Collar vs. No Collar: Morons, Survivor 101 states you never, under any circumstance: throw a challenge. The only time anyone threw a challenge and actually ended up winning was when in Fans vs. Favorites they did not even bother to compete just to get rid of Brandon Hantz. Every other time a team that has thrown a challenge, no one involved ever won that season. It is weird to think after how bad their tribe was, No Collar may actually be in the drivers seat. Blue Collar is in disarray, White Collar lost two members after the tribe swap, if smart the No Collar could easily decimate everyone, but are they smart enough to do that now that the merge is immanent?
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

The Americans: Could Stan actually take the fall for the bug in the pen? If someone catches him working with Oleg he would have to move to the top of the suspect list for the FBI. But I have a feeling the black dude will end up being that fall guy.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Wait, did they just out Lizzie as being pregnant? Tom having an ultrasound in his pocket pretty much confirms it. Red is going to be very disappointed.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/15/15

Once Upon a Time: So Snow White had something to do with Malicifant losing her baby and she had something to do with Cora's death... are we sure he is really pure at heart?
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Shameless: Considering all the horrible things Frank has done, I am not sure this tops the list, but getting your grandson arrested by selling out your son at the same time is pretty high on the list. I have long advocated for a Justified spinoff starring Dewey and Dicky in prison, but a Shameless spinoff with Chucky and Uncle Carl in prison may just be as entertaining.

House of Lies: As soon as Clyde hooked up with Kelsey after Doug got there first last week my first thought was, oh no, we are going to have to sit though a threesome of them. Kelsey quickly brought it up shortly afterwards, joking or not, but I really fear they will go through with it. You know Doug will have no qualms about it, no will Clyde just talk himself into it.

Revenge: So the chick from Firefly is Victoria's ex-mother-in-law... What? It is really time for this show to end.
You can download Revenge on iTunes.

The Returned: As I teased in my preview, the sisters turning out be twins was extremely freaky. Twins are kind of freaky on their own but this takes it to another level. And to tease upcoming episodes, their twin connection get only more freaky in upcoming episodes. I did not get to bring it up in the preview, so just let me now point out just how wrong having sex with a "psychic" to connect with your daughter is. And if you are a fake physic, why add they sex part to it?
You can download The Returned on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I was expecting the trial to be a little more explosive than that. Sure it came out that Mama Marrin hooked up with Jason and the prosecutor theorized that Alison was never kidnapped without any actual proof. Hopefully they are much more fireworks in the season finale which promises another "A" reveal which I think with be the fifth in the show's history. Let me go and predict a not so dead Mona is pulling the strings.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD: If ABC decides not to bring Agent Carter back, they should definitely go with a Lady Sif spin-off for a mid season filler for SHIELD. Or even better, cut SHIELD to ten episodes, then ten of Agent Carter and Lad Sif.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes

Switched at Birth: Whoa, Bay, of course Emmett is going to break up with you when you go all crazy girlfriend on him, interrupting his movie not once but twice. But very smooth for Emmett to pull they maybe we can hook back up after college if I cannot find anything better while I am here ploy. Has that actually ever worked for anyone?
You can download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

Justified: What a weird ending to the episode as Raylan gets Shakespearean with his father in his old hiding space which turned out to be as empty as Al Capone's vault. Just a weird departure for a show with about a month left before going off the air.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II: At the beginning of the season TJ asked Nany which of the guys was going to be her partner and she mentioned it could have well been half of them. For the inevitable next Rivals season, there are just as many possibilities and it looks like you can add Nia and Sarah to that list. Of course Sarah made the right decision, you eliminate a strong team right before the finals. If Bananas or Leroy think they deserve to be in the finals, they should have won the last challenge, and they definitely should not have lost it.
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II on iTunes.

Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar: zit seems like I say this every season, but the show really needs to bring back the Reward Challenge, with only one challenge per episode we get way too much filler, like watching monkeys having sex.
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

Hindsight: So Lolly, who was okay with Becca hooking up Kevin, now thinks its is an unforgivable act because a Lolly in another timeline shunned future Becca for it. Chicks, man, chicks. What a depressing way to end a season, Becca pretty much screwed everything up, her future husband ended up marrying someone else, her brother, and possibly father, are going to jail, she ruined her friendship with Lolly a whole decade earlier. Really, they only one whose life improved was her ex-husband who managed to sell some paintings. Then the ending was pretty vague, clearly she went into the elevator hoping to be transported back to current day. The musical cue of Numb would have us to believe that there was some time traveling involving involved but I would be surprised if she ends up back in 2015. Of course I would be more surprised if there is a second two. But if there is I would guess Becca wakes up in a different year, maybe 2005. The Killers! Jack Johnson!! Gorillaz!!! A sane Kanye West!!!! Sure I'd watch that.
You can download Hindsight on iTunes.

The Americans: This is beginning to be one of those show where the promos are more entertaining than the actual show. Last week they made it seem like Martha was going to confront Clarke, this week she realized that the spying equipment was inadvertently brought in by her, but she never ended up confronting Clarke about it. And wasn't Paige supposed to confront her parents this week? Are they really going to drag this out for the rest of the season?
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Odd to have a glorified clip show at this point in the second season. And did we really learn that it was Red who hired Tom to get close to Lizzy instead of Berlin like we were told earlier? I guess that is why that interaction they had before Tom disappeared was weird.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: Finally, at long last, gender equality has become a reality now that a dude has actually been crowned King of the Nerds for the very first time. I was rooting for Kaitlyn, but it is hard to justify having a King of the Nerds be someone who works with NASA and cannot get a sun question right that even I guessed correctly.
You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 2/22/15

The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special: That somehow managed to be awesome and a complete mess at the same time. Sm basically like every SNL episode ever. The great moments were great: Bill Murray singing The Love Theme to Jaws, Emma Stone, Wayne's World, Jerry Seinfeld's Q&A, Turd Ferguson, R.I.P. Jon Lovitz. But the bad was really bad: Did anyone get excited for another installment of The Californians which was almost inexplicably saved by David Spade (I wish there were more generational cross pollination), the ESPN guys, Eddie Murphy's weird acceptance speech type appearance, and why have Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake since forty years of catchphrases when ninety percent of the people who originally uttered those phrases were sitting the crowd, yet the only ones included were Debby Downer and Mary Catherine Gallagher.

Plus all the musical performances seemed unnecessary except Paul Simon (and it was nice that they brought back G.E. Smith); did we really need to hear Paul McCartney horsely sing Maybe I'm Amazed (at least it was not Hey Jude for the millionth time; the weird country version of 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (with no Vanessa Bayer sighting); which was only out-weirded by whatever Kanye West was doing. They could have cut those to give more time to Weekend Update, maybe all the guys could have read some fake news too even though the greatest anchor Dennis Miller was conspicuously absent from the evening, but it was funny during the retrospective that the the one Norm McDonald joke they showed was an OJ one considering it is assumed he was kicked off the show because of too many Simpson jokes.

And why have Jack Nicholson of all people introduce the political package when they could have had all the presidential impersonators intro that. I wonder if what stopped them was a lack of Ronald Reagan without Phil Hartman or Dennis Quaid (though Jim Carrey does a very good impression) or maybe they could not decide which of the five who did W Bush would represent. But overall it was an enjoyable walk down memory lane.

Shameless: Jimmy is back and of course Fiona made a bad decision because that is the only kind of decision she seems to make. Sure she kicked him out in the end, but I have a feeling that will not last long because her husband will undoubtedly walk in on them at some point. I do find it odd that there is no episode tonight, the show went head to head with the Super Bowl, but takes Oscar night off.

The Walking Dead: It is clear this show is at its best when the group is separated because this episode was quite boring until the guy at the end who knew Rick showed up. I take it he was the friend with the water.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Gotham: Last week's promo teased the arrival of The Joker (um, his first name is really Jerome?) but we also got our first glimpse of Robin. Well, sort of, but not really. No Dick Grayson's were mentioned but I am just going to go ahead and assume that the couple who said their were going to name their first child after him will be Robin's parents. I though for sure when the female was protesting the name I was convinced she was going to say something like, "I though we decided on Richard." Oh well. But I kind of like how excited Brody's wife was about helping Gordon out with the case.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: Those dance montage sequences may have been the most entertaining part of any episode of this show. Why couldn't Hanna training for a pageant be an entire season plotline?
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Marvel's Agent Carter: I was mildly surprised when Peggy got caught last week, but the Chief throwing himself out the building was a huge shock. Guess he will not be back if there is a second season. Not that anyone but Peggy would because it seems clear this season will end with the creation of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Peggy as its first agent.
You can download Marvel's Agent Carter om iTunes.

Justified: Oh Constable Bob, where have you and your taser been all season? Though Ava trying to leave town just seemed like filler even if the taser and the cattle prod were entertaining byproducts of that storyline.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II: Last week Zach almost a legitimate Of Mice and Men reference and this week he gave a, albeit warped, parable from The Bible; how did he not win the trivia challenge? But clearly T.J. enjoys trivia week way too much. I am guessing it was his idea to swaddle the contestants like babies and unwrap them when they lose. Disappointingly no one gave completely inane answers except when Leroy answered "Africa" when T.J. was looking for a country.
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II on iTunes.

Hindsight: A couple weeks ago the show highlighted one of my favorite songs of all time, R.E.M.s Nightswimming and this week they pulled out another personal top ten, All I Want Is You by U2. I will forgive that the song actually came out in the eighties (though you could argue it is a nineties song because it was on the Reality Bites Soundtrack). The rest of the episode was pretty much a filler, Becca and Australian dude broke up, again; the two boring people did not break up again, instead got married. But next they do promise all the questions will be answered, so there is that. At the very least, it will still have an awesome soundtrack.
You can download Hindsight on iTunes.

Nashville: Oh snap, Rayna just got Jeff fired (and looking at the previews, sinks the whole label in the process). And poor Layla, about to get her shot in front of the owner and the meeting gets canceled after Jeff gets fired. Nothing is ever going to go right for that girl
You can download Nashville on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: I have been out on Under the Dome for the entirely of the second season, but who knew the chick from that show was extremely cool? Get that girl on more talk show people.
You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 2/8/15

Super Bowl: I refuse to recognize cheaters as winners because cheaters should never win and winners do not cheat. And lets be honest, the true winners of the Super Bowl was the Green Bay Packers. Seriously, very few people can outshine one of the greatest living humans Anna Kendrick in her own movie trailer. I am definitely not ready for Clay Matthews's jelly, but I cannot wait to see the full performance.


Shameless: Did someone forget to tell Showtime that the Super Bowl was on? And it ended up being the best episode of the short season so far and one of the best of the series. But I guess in the age of DVR and On Demand, I guess watching the first run episode does not really matter much for premium channels who are not selling ads. As long as the viewers watch sometime. But anyway. What a great episode for Frank in his warped The Hangover type plot of trying to figure out what happened to his insurance money. That final reveal with the prosthetics my have been the most "shameless" scene in the show's history. Now with Sheila gone and his money gone, it looks like Frank is back to square one. Does he move in with Sammi at this point?

Pretty Little Liars: Rosewood really has a never ending well of absurdly attractive lesbians. But can they bring back Mona already? The show is kind of boring without her. Because much like Allison, I just do not believe Mona is dead. Hopefully it does not take Mona four years to pop back up in town.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Agent Carter: As entertaining as the show has been it is disappointing that could not figure out how to make use of Dum Dum Duggan more often. Maybe if their is a season two, maybe Peggy can take up his offer of joining the Howling Commandos for next season.
You can download Marvel's Agent Carter om iTunes.

Switched at Birth: I cannot comment on this episode because I will undoubtedly offend people with my thoughts.
You can download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

Justified: I could not believe they killed of Dewie Crowe in the season premiere (that really puts a crimp into my Dewie / Dickie spin-off) but Choo Choo may end up being an almost worthy substitute. But that mask scene just showed that Raylan is still the best character on television.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II: What a gutwrenching elimination, on one hand Johnny Bananas wore out his welcome five to ten seasons ago, on the other, Nana has quickly closing in on GOAT status. At least they have that silly ex-ile twist this season (is this the first time The Challenge stole something from Survivor? And now that I think about it, if The Challenge now allows Are You the One castmates, how about recruiting Survivor contestants too). If the show is scripted there is no doubt those two are the ones that make it back into the game. The stupid web show may end up being more entertaining than the actual show.
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II on iTunes.

Hindsight: Why was Becca telling the college students how great the next R.E.M. album is? Would that not be New Adventures In Hi-Fi? C'mon Becca, it is one thing to spoil the future, but is another to give people false hope of the future. But she made up for it with a great use of Nightswimming at the of episode, one of my favorite songs ever recorded.
You can download Hindsight on iTunes.

The Americans: Sure, this is still one of the best shows on television, but something needs to happen. The show is still living off close calls every couple episodes, be it the CIA almost catching the Jennings, or Paige discovering what her parents do, but they still have not pulled the trigger on either. Interesting that NBC already beat The Americans to the punch on the second point creating a show where Russians spies tell their son about themselves (or so the previews would have me believe, I did not bother to watch Intelligence). Really the best part of this season so far was the one aspect of the show that chance: Nina in Russian prison. Why did they hold that storyline out of the premiere? Well, the second best, Stan telling Olag that if he if going to shoot him, he will have to shoot him in the back. What a "G" move.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Usually I prefer more serialized moments of television shows, but I really do not care at all about the fire Lizzie was in as a kid. And the more they talk about it, the more confused I get. So now her dad (or who she thought was her dad because it is still very plausible that Red is really her father) died in that fire. But did he not die last season when Red smothered him with a pillow? Meh, just give me the Blacklister of the week for this show. I do not care at all with the backstory.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: One thing I noticed this week is there is copious amounts of cleavage this season. In previous season the girls wore a lot of t-shirts with nerd slogans on them, but there are a lot of tank tops this time around. Between that and all the partial lesbians running around it is clear the boys do not have a chance of winning yet again this season. But at least the challenges are silly as ever. Why was there a sumo wrestler in the Nerd Off? Who knows, but it was entertaining.
You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

Previewing Shameless: Season Five

It seems like every season of Shameless I think to myself, they cannot possibly get any more, well, shameless, but they always seem to out do themselves each season. In season three, they gave Frank cancer and followed that up by having his liver shut down the following season. The rest of the Gallagher clan did not fair any better. Fiona lost her cushy cup job by sleeping with her boss/boyfriend’s brother and celebrated by leaving out her cocaine for Liam to get into, landing her in jail. Lip struggled as the small fish in the big pond of college by survived by finding a sugar momma. Ian went AWOL and started to show symptoms of bi-polar like his mother. Carl found the female version of him and was left brokenhearted while Debbie started hanging out with an older boy who was the one rare gentleman on the show. Granted he mostly kept his hands to himself to stay out of jail. Oh yeah, and Jimmy, who we were lead to believe was going to Davy Jones Locker, popped up at the end of the season out front of the Gallagher homestead with a new lady friend.

After a season of agony, Frank finally got a new liver, a new wife, and a new daughter while Fiona got out of jail and found a new job as a waitress. Spring is in the air as the fifth season starts. Sammi (who has been promoted to the opening credits; Mandy Milkovich gets demoted to recurring while another regular looks like they will not be around much this season either) has moved next to Sheila’s house. Despite still healing, Frank quickly goes back on his grind working on something in the basement, yes you will learn what it is by the end of the episode (the episode “Milk of the Gods” will give you a hint) but you will definitely want to stick around to the end of episode three to see just how successful the enterprise is.

Meanwhile Fiona has assimilated herself well into her new job by the time we catch up with her. Though we know Jimmy is still alive and around (I believe Fiona just thinks he abandoned her at the end of season three) she has some new prospects, neither of them seem very healthy for her. Lip is on his first summer break from college and finds himself caught between his old life on the South Side and one with his sugar momma while Ian is in marital bliss living with Micky and his Russian bride.

The younger Gallagher kids Carl and Debbie are in a battle to see who can lose their virginity first. Next door, Kev and V are adjusting to their new lives as parents of twin girls. But then again, all they have to do is to keep them out of their cocaine stash to do a better job than Fiona.


But this is Shameless and the reason to tune in is to see how they top themselves and this season there are some major haircuts, lots of breastfeeding, Frank spends Father’s Day with the father of his former liver’s owner, date rape, a marriage, someone loses their home, lesbian have moved in to gentrify the area, and much more. As for the most shameless moment of the first couple episodes features Frank and an child amputee. But I no longer think that the writers will find something even more shameless later in the season.

Shameless airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 4/13/14

Once Upon a Time: So the Wicked Witch took Prince Charming’s courage, tried to take Regina’s heart. So who’s brain will be targeting? And when she gets the three she will be able to go back in time so she can be the one that executes Rumplestiltkin’s curse. Huh?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Shameless: I have long said that no one is really dead on television until you see a body (and even then so, I still give it a ten percent chance they somehow return), so when Jimmy went off to his certain doom, I still assumed he was alive until his corpse washed up along the shores of Lake Michigan. But the writers did wait long enough that I completely forgot about him and snuck him in after the credit so some people may have missed his return. But it looks like we will have to learn a third name for the character because his new female companion called him a new name.

Resurrection: What the frack just happens? Caleb is thirty and then just disappears. Is gone for good or will him and the other be back and forth through time?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Resurrection on iTunes.

House of Lies: Oh wow, Marty Kaan out of Kaan and Associates. I did not see that coming. But much like this past season where it looked bleak that the pod would all be reunited at Kaan and Associates, I have a feeling the writers will find a way for Marty to get back into the fold by the third episode of next season.

The Voice: Of course Team Blake went first because that was the most obvious of all the teams. As soon as I heard that the Playoffs were no longer live back during the first Battle Rounds, I figured those would be his final three. There was an outside chance that Blake could have dumped one of his two country singers for Madilyn Paige, but alas, Madilyn is yet another early fan favorite sent home before anyone could vote on her. Sadly she could have easily have been top three on any other team, and undoubtedly gone further than anyone still on Shakira’s team.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: After debating on whether to watch or skip to avoid spoilers from Captain America I went ahead and watched (I may have been one of the view because ratings were way down; in retrospect, ABC / Disney / Marvel probably should had scheduled so the episode before the movie was the season finale). There were some spoilers like the rise of Hydra and Nick Fury’s death but things looked dire for him in the preview at the end of the last episode (not that I believe he is really dead because you do not kill off Sam Jackson; the only question is if he faked his death or if he took a trip to Tahiti). The show did have a nice fake up making me think Victoria Hand was secretly Hydra only for John Garrett being the turncoat. But Agent Ward turning out to be Hydra was much less surprising, I saw that coming as soon as he adamantly volunteers to escort Garrett.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Justified: The Crowe storyline played out much like I expected it, Wendy turned on Daryl and he would end up dead or in jail. What I did not expect was how much time they spent setting up the next and final season. But just as it should be, next season will be Raylan vs. Boyd with Ava in the middle. After its weakest season, the show is angling to go out on its best (though I doubt anything with come close the Mags Bennet season).
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: Cagayan: I am beginning to think the show is actively trying to make this season even worse than Redemption Island. Hopefully Morgan wears a screw you dress to every Tribal Council from here on out.
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor: Cagayan on iTunes.

The Americans: Every time I hear about someone taking a polygraph test, I am always taken back to the Beavis and Butt-Head episode where they hold their breath to beat the test. How did the duo not know of the squeezing your anus technique to cheat on the test?
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

Community: Well that was stupid. If it were not for Annie’s treasure map dance, that would have been one complete waste of a half and hour.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Parenthood: I do not remember anything from this week’s episode because the only thing I remember is the promo of a now blond Haddie making out with a chick. After a black dude and a chick, she is a Republican away from the Berkley parent nightmare trifecta.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

The Challenge Free Agents: We get a new format this season which turned out to be a combination of the previous formats: they will play as teams one week, small groups other, duos, and individually. I kind of like not the make up from week to week and limits the dominance of one alliance. I do wish they would switch to Survivor type voting because as is the latter voters just end up voting the inevitable. Or even better, have everyone write down a name at the same time and then reveal the names one by one to the group so those voting first do not determine what the latter voters do. And while I am making suggestions, can we please have a moratorium on Bananas and CT and just never ask Cara Maria back.
You can download The Challenge: Free Agents on iTunes.

Hannibal: Last week I pondered if Hannibal planned on Jack finding Miriam or was that his first slip up. Of course Hannibal orchestrated. How he took down Dr. Chilton was awe inspiring. Sully was the only smart person on this show and got out out Dodge without a trace once realizing who Hannibal was.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Hannibal on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/30/14

Shameless: Good news and bad news for Frank, he is now at the top of the liver donor list, bad news, he had to lose a kidney to get there. But since there are still two episodes left, there may still be some time for him to completely bottom out. But hopefully the episode is a lesson to anyone who thinks about turning to the black market for a vital organ.

The Walking Dead: Wow, we actually got our first glimpse of Terminus and it is not even the finale. I thought like the previous seasons, we would only get a glimpse of the next season’s setting with the last scene. So Maggie and Glen’s groups finally met up and made it there, I am guessing Tyrese and Carol will not be far behind. The big question is if Rick will make it with Darryl’s new buddies hot on their trail. It is probably nice that Rick has a man on the inside of the group. The other big question, will we actually learn what happened to Beth this season?
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Crisis: So the bad guys might not be all that bad as it looks like they are avenging some evil deeds by the CIA. They are just going with the any means necessary to expose the conspiracy instead of simply calling some new media to cover the story.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Crisis on iTunes.

Revenge: There are few things I hate more than the “x amount of time ealier’ place card at the beginning of episode, and Revenge is the worst at doing them because almost everyone makes you think Emily is in dire straits but by the time the scene plays out at the end of the episode, it always turns out that was her intent the whole time. So I knew as soon as we say Emily storm out the opera, she planned the whole thing, and yep, she planted the news of her fake pregnancy.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Voice: I am a big proponent of the Steal and in fact I am going to go ahead and take credit for the idea after pitching the idea during season two. Unfortunately except in the few rare exceptions (Amanda Brown, Caroline Glaser) the Steals are mostly wasted on fodder for the next round. I did find it interesting this season coaches started complaining when their talent did not receive a Steal. Shakira looked generally shocked that nobody picked up De'Shawn Washington (it seemed to me that she only picked Dani because she assumed DeShawn would get stolen). Then Adam physically got out his chair to call Usher an idiot for not stealing Alaska & Madi (Adam, maybe you should not have wasted a Steal on Jake Barker). I would have like to have seen one of the coaches steal both arists and I am not just saying that about the latter because Alaska looks like a combination of Selina Gomez and Victoria Justice (okay, I am mostly saying it because Alaska looks like a combination of Selina Gomez and Victoria Justice).

Both times, Usher explained his lack of a Steal on “waiting on something specific.” Then he stole Music Box. Yes, the same Music Box you missed if you blinked during her montage. Yes the same Music Box who was on the losing end of the worst battle that actually showed this season (which was hard to choose because there multiple stinkers this season which again makes me wonder just how bad the six montaged Battles were). And Usher followed that up by Stealing another female RnB singer who lost a lackluster Battle. So was the something specific that Usher was looking for were singers who had no chance of upsetting one of his original singers in the Battle Rounds II?

As it usually is with the Battle Rounds, there were none that I would classify as great and really only two that I would even call good, both that happened this week. There was the cuteness overload that was Madilyn Paige and Sam Behymer who had a breakout moment during her Battle. The rest this season ranged from average to why was this not montaged. At least now we can move onto the Knockout Round. Oh wait, those have been replaced with the Battle Rounds II. Ugg. Can they just montage the whole round and move straight to the Live Playoffs? Wait, the Playoffs are no longer live? Double ugg.


You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs performed this week with the widget at right.

How I Met Your Mother: For an entire season that took place on the weekend of a wedding, they sure skipped over the actually ceremony fairly quickly. I think Marshall and Lilly’s wedding got more screen time this week. Not that I am complaining, ever wedding should fly through the ceremony to get to the open bar.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Blacklist: When the old guy showed up as Ivan, I thought to myself, this old dude is the big hacker? I was expecting some teenager. It turns out I was on to something because Ivan was just a patsy. I actually liked that the villain of the week turned out not to be some supervillian that crossed path with Red and was instead just a lovelorn teenager. More importantly, Lizzie finally found out about her husband. And he was found out by some silly elephant instead of fingerprints I figured were left behind since he did not have time to destroy all incriminating evidence. But he has to know that is the case so it will be a little silly if he stickls around next week as if nothing happened.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Castle: Wait, Captain Gates has a family? Who knew?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Justified: When Boyd continually insisted on smoking despite not actually being a smoker and being in a non-smoking room, I knew something was up. Did he sneak something sharp in the box? Did he poison all but one of the cigarettes in the pack? Nope, he packed it with explosives. Awesome. But the bigger news of the week: Kendall shot Art? Okay, it is obvious that he did not do it because his story did not line up with what we saw. Now the question is just how will Raylan prove that Daryl was the actual triggerman. I am guessing Wendy and Dewey will have something to do with it.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: Cagayan: Ugg, someone seriously quit to keep themselves punching someone, how lame. How about pulling yourself out before Cliff Robinson gets booted?
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor: Cagayan on iTunes.

The Americans: I could never be a spy (or healthcare provider) because there is no way I am wiping another dude after they go to the bathroom. I would just sooner untie him and hope he does not attack me.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

Hannibal: I guess I was a little off guessing that Hannibal may keep Beverly alive in his torture basement. I was also completely wrong that it was Hannibal that killed the bailiff. But I guess it is still probable that Hannibal killed the judge.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Hannibal on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/2314

Once Upon a Time: So if Regina and the witch are sisters, does that make her the Wicked Witch of the East? She surely is not Glinda.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Shameless: Oh no, there is a female Carl. This probably will not end well. And by not end well, I mean it will end awesomely. But is a shame that Fiona finally realized she should have given up the drug addict brother to get herself off. I have a sinking suspicion he is going to help get her job back at Cups Inc. despite how irate his sister is. It is the least he could do.

The Walking Dead: What the Frack just happened? We all knew that Lizzie was going to go off the deep end eventually but killing her sister so everyone can see that dead can come back and not be evil? Not cool. And the episode just ended up being one big homage to Of Mice and Men, heavy on the mice and low on men. She even murdered rabbits a couple of episodes ago. That was when Darryl and Beth walked by the carnage and it seem safe to assume that the billow of smoke they saw was from their moonshine cabin. When Tyrese came upon the Grove, I actually initially thought maybe it was going to be the same funeral parlor.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Crisis: I was not expecting much from a show that prominently features Rachael Taylor as a law enforcement agent (and an American one at that since she still has yet to master the accent yet). But it was surprisingly entertaining in a best case scenario for a network ripping off Homeland kind of way. You had two pretty good major plot twists (there would have been a third had the promos not already told us that one of the Secret Service guys was bad). Surprisingly the relationship with Taylor and Sully is compelling along with the father / daughter which got even more interesting especially with the plot twist. Though we probably will not see them paired off again, the Secret Service newbie and the fat kid’s time together was probably the best part of the premiere. The show could go off the rails like Homeland, and even quicker, but I was at least intrigued by the start.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Crisis on iTunes.

Revenge: So to cure her loss of time, all Emily had to do is be near drowned to remember some horrible memory. Ugg.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Voice: The first week of the Battle Round reminded me of the Blind Audition, there was a lot of cool song selection (the underappreciated Melanie Fiona song, the okay to appreciate now Steve Winwood song, the rare actual duet sung during the duet stage of the show) but the performances were just lackluster. There were three Battles (Jake vs. Lexi, Stevie Jo vs. Jake, Delvin vs. Caleb) where I would have been content if both singers when home. It just makes me wonder just how bad the montaged battles were that they were not shown over the clunkers that were.

The most notable event did not happen on stage but via press release when the show announced another change to the show because no two seasons can be the same. The Knockout Rounds are gone and are replaced by The Battles: Round Two which, as the name suggests is just like The Battles: Round One but instead of the coach picking the song, the duet partner performance will perform an agreed upon song. And instead of individual coaches for each or none at all, Coldplay’s Chris Martin will serve as the Key Adviser for all teams. And yes, The Steal will be returning, one for each coach.

Unfortunately it was also announced that the Instant Save will be also returning. But this time the bottom three will get a Last Chance Performance (which I assume will be like season two) before a small portion of the internet decides on which one advances. One more small change, the Playoffs will not be live this season, which means the coaches will trim their teams from five to three and American will not be voting until the top twelve this season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs performed this week with the widget at right.

How I Met Your Mother: Wow, they sure were able to get a bunch of guest stars to comeback for that parking lot montage, who even knew Sally Draper’s teacher was Blah Blah?
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Blacklist: It has become more clear that they should not do a Ressler-centric episode. That was just bad. At least we got a bit more about Tom’s secret life. Note to everyone out there, when someone tells you not to make a call because they will kill you both after you hang up, do not make the call, or at the very least do not turn your back on the guy.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I was excited for the “Ali Tells All” episode thinking we would finally get song ago asked questions answered. I quickly realize there was plenty that even Alison does not know like she does not know who tried to kill her. But considering that her mother tried to cover it up, that pretty much has to mean that her brother is A, right? Who else would she lie to the police for? Erza knows who A is except he was shot before he could tell anyone. I would rather he die than learn who A is at this point. But knowing this show, Ezra will probably pull through but have selective amnesia after surgery.

It also seemed like the writers forgot their own mythology. I could have sworn that Ali and Melissa’s husband taped their rendezvous in the woods with it ending with Alison saying, “I know you want to kiss me” before the camera hit the ground and she was dragged away. And how did Jenna and Garrett figure into that whole night? I thought they did something with a shovel but it has been left vague. Did they have something to do with Spencer’s shovel? Oh well, maybe we will get an “A Tells All” episode in a season or four.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Justified: When the promos hyped that Danny would attempt the 21-Foot Rule on Raylan it was pretty obvious it would not end well for Danny. But I could have never guessed that it would end up that way. Even though it exceeded my already high expectations for the scene, I am still slightly disappointed that after three teases we never got to see Danny attempt the 21-Foot Rule. But on the bright side: holy Dickie Bennett sighting! It has been way too long. The show figured out a way to get Dewey out of prison, it is a shame they could not do the same of Dickie. But it was nice to see Dickie completely selling out Dewey in hopes in getting sent to Club Fed. I am still hoping we will finally get a Dewey / Dickie in jail spin-off. You can now add the Harris brothers to that cast. It will probably be much better than Ava’s Caged Heat storyline.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: Cagayan: Right before this episode it seemed that some of my early favorites were on the chopping block so I hoped the merge would put them in a better position (and hopefully in the same tribe and in an alliance). But unfortunately Morgan looks to be back on the bottom and even worse Cliff Robinson got booted ruining the Clif Robinson and Wooooooooooo buddy comedy. It is amazing after how poorly they performed, The Brain tribe is sitting the prettiest as the other faction implode on each other on the two tribes. One of the Brains could actually win this season, possibly even be the final three, if they finally live up to their names.
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor: Cagayan on iTunes.

Community: Just like the second Paintball episode, the second Dungeons and Dragons was not as great but still pretty entertaining, especially with the triumphant return of Hector the Well endowed.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Hannibal: Oh Abigail Hobbs, at least you still survive in Will’s fever dreams. I wonder if anyone else will show up in those eventually. It seems like Beverly will be available. Though it is very well possible that Hannibal keep her alive down in his dungeon and that is what Jack was doing there at the beginning of the season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Hannibal on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/9/14

Shameless: The show has really gone out of its way to make Frank hit rock bottom, only to go even lower the next week, but Fiona seems to be sinking even lower every week two. But she may have bottom out this week ending a day in an empty house with all her siblings finding a new place to lay their heads for the night. Things may finally be on the upswing for her waking up to Liam’s face at the end of the episode. Of course being Shameless, something will probably still go horribly wrong next week.

The Walking Dead: When did Beth become the most interesting character on this Show? Didn’t she smart out as the other Greene sister who spent most of the second season comatose? Now she is a drunken pyromaniac who is smart enough to grab shards of glass and a broken side mirror to make fire starting easier. But I have to disagree with Daryl that Moonshine is a great starter drink. You might as well give her rubbing alcohol as a first drink. Yeah Peach Schnapps is not very good, but it is a much better starter drink than moonshine. You only give someone moonshine as their first drink to make sure they never drink ever again in their life. Maybe that was the point.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: After the failed I’m Sorry Bracelet, it was obvious that John would try to woo Katherine back with a dance, but I did not see that elaborate cheesily entertaining family hoedown coming.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched at Birth on iTunes.

The Voice: One of my biggest complaints of the last two seasons was that, unlike the first three seasons that raided my musical library for contestants, not one of the singer from the past two cycles were lurking on my iPod. Last week I did recognize YouTube star Christina Grimmie (but never downloaded her music before and remained less impressed than the coaches by her Blind Audition) despite not owning any of her music. This week there was an actually a auditioner who I actually had a song by. Sure Lindsay Pagano got montaged and Everything U R is one of the more embarrassing songs in my library but it is actually there.

Last week I suggested that Shakira should start taking fliers on contestants that are overlooked and this week she snatched up De'Shawn Washington who I thought gave one of the better auditions this season. Hopefully that works out for them. Granted there were a few no chair turners that she also should have picked up Allison Bray gave one of the better performances this week, yet no love (Allison was much better than the country singer Shakira picked up the previous week). I thought she could have gone far. If Shakira is out of contestants first again this season, she is going to regret not giving her a shot.

The producers really put a quick one over on me Tuesday, they were really pushing hard that Adam did not pick up any artists, or even bothered to push his button the whole hour. So the person who watches too much television in me said, of course Adam is going to get the last, and probably best singer, of the night. Naturally he turned around seconds into it and everything looked to be going towards him. But shockingly Audra McLaughlin went with Blake. So if Usher won week one, Blake seemed to be the clear winner of week two picking up the two best singers. Adam still has a solid team while Shakira pull up the rear two seasons in a row. It does not help that she half of the six montage contestants this week. Never a good sign. But she did pick up Clarissa Serna who is on my very short list of contenders this year.


You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs performed this week with the widget at right.

How I Met Your Mother: Oh yeah, I completely forgot that Aira Montgomery was Robin’s sister. I vaguely remembering everyone thinking she was the mother but then never showed up again (or possibly even mentioned again) until this week. Oh yeah, and then apparently Robin’s I do not remember ever being mentioned before mother turned out to be Tracey Ullman. What?!?
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Blacklist: So they finally revealed something that was hinted out going all the way back to the premiere, that Tom Keen is not who he says he is. And his mission is to love Lizzie. And he is loosely associated with the faux substitute teacher who we also learned this week has been stalking Red. But who do they work for? Is Alan Alda too obvious?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: I figured Quinn shooting Sky in the stomach and walking away was a little Bond villainy of him and there was a reason why he did not make sure to hit an organ that would kill her or at least stick around to watch her die. Nope the Clairvoyant wanted Coulsen to lead him to wherever he was revived and do the same for Skye. And that thing that kept alive was… um. I do not know. My first thought was Dr. Manhattan but that is the wrong comic universe. Then I was wondering is maybe it was one of those aliens from the attack on New York from the end of The Avengers.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: So let me get this straight. Alison disappears and turns out to be dead a year later when the Liars started getting harassing texts from “A”. And now we think that Spencer “killed” Allison and her mom is “A” and is harassing the Liars to find out which one tried to kill Allison so she can return home safely. Somehow “A” recruited Mona to torment the Liars and Ezra is just an enterprising writer looking for a big scoop. But why kill Ian, Garrett, and presumably Wilden? The Allison tells all episode at the end of the season better actually tell all.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

About a Boy: The Lil’ Jon party had a tiger on a gold leash. Natch.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download About a Boy on iTunes

Justified: Raylan really has gotten soft after becoming a dad. How do you give your ill gotten radio winnings to a Crowe? It does say something that he would give that money instead spending it on visiting his daughter (with his new trophy girlfriend in tow). That girl is going to have some serious daddy issues when she grows up. Of course the trophy girlfriend is no longer in play. Raylan is not going to cozy up the Wendy now is he?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: Cagayan: This was a pretty uneventful episode for the third hour. I am most interested with the promo where the monkeys suggested that the Brawn Tribe is debating on throwing a challenge. What a horrible idea. Every tribe that has thrown a challenge has never produced a winner (with the exception of Cochran; but when you fear Brandon Hantz is probably going to go on a murderous rampage, it probably is wise to throw in the towel to get him away from you). Presumably the Brawn will do this to get rid of Cops R Us, but this will end up even more disastrous considering he has the Hidden Immunity Idol. Though it would be highly entertaining if twom people go home in one season with Idols in their back pocket (or wherever Garrett left his because he did not bother to bring it with him).
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor: Cagayan on iTunes.

Nashville: As I predicted a couple episodes ago, Juliet would end up on Rayna's record label. I guess the fireworks will start next week when Rayna has to start dealing with the diva and Juliet has to deal with no longer being on a label that can shower cash down upon her. So basically it looks like we are going back to the beginning of season one. I do hope there is room on the label for Layla, I liked the Juliet vs. Layla fued more than than when she was butting heads with Rayna.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: Oh wow, Zack got booted from the house. I wonder if they are having the finals with the last four because he comes back next week and kills everyone, announcing him to the world as the newest evil supervillian. I am also slightly disappointed that they did not incorporate an flying objects into Nerdiocart. Zack got mad just by people spinning him out. Image how more angry he would have gotten had he been hit with a turtle shell multiple times.
You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

Hannibal: She has been vague since the beginning so I have long wondered what exactly does Agent Scully know about Hannibal. I think we learned this week that she does not know anything as fact but pretty much has assumed the worst (most, if not all are true) including that Will is right to think Hannibal set him up. She was also smart enough to leave town before Hannibal came to chop her up in his clear murder suit (I love how he still wears a full suit underneath). And there have been plenty of disturbing images on the show, but the dude ripping himself out of the human eye may actually be the grossest.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Hannibal on iTunes.