57 Channels and Only This Is On: June 30, 2024

 

House of the Dragon:  So is each episode this season going to end with a tragic death of a character or characters we barely know?

 

Orphan Black: Echoes:  When the blonde showed up in the first scene, I thought to myself, she looks exactly like the French chick in the original, yet she does not have an accent.  Why would they cast someone who looks just like her?  Oh, it is because she is her niece.  But this reboot could really use a Alison / Donnie type couple.

 

The Acolyte:   Bortles!!!!!!  I knew it.  But that was one of the worse kept secrets in TV history.  You could tell he was the master by the end of the trailer.  But is there anyone else left on this show after this episode?  Is it just Jason Mendoza, Sol and the twins?

 

The Chi:  The episodes started off with a three minute “previously on” showing Douda terrorizing everyone else in the cast.  Gee, I wonder what will happen in the episode.   At least we did not have to wait very long to see his dead body.  Unfortunately we got an “eight hour earlier” title card which meant we still had to wait to see who actually killed him.  But even that was a fake out in who actually did it.  While Douda being killed was not very shocking, we did get an actual shocking death.  Though I do not understand why you would kill that guy considering you just saw her try to kill Douda for attempting to kill her son.  What do you think she will do to you for killing her son?  The new kingpin will not likely be in that position for very long.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: June 23, 2024

 

House of the Dragon:  Child murder in the first episode?  Welcome back to Westeros.  But I have to say, this episode actually felt more… fun than the first season which seemed to be humorless and a bore.  This felt more like Game of Thrones at least in tone.  Going back to the wall also Helped a little.  Hopefully we get more non-Targaryen this season to break up the monotony.

 

The Acolyte:   So Jason Mendoza is definitely the Master and they are barely even trying to hide it.  Though did he really have time to cut himself down, beat the evil twin to the Wookie and double back so he could surprise everyone?

 

The Challenge All-Stars 4:  You would think with all the stupid carnival games, Ace would have had an advantage, except he still came in last.  Oh well, ho home ending like much Challenges end.

 

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School:  Wait, did this show actually come up with a competent ending?   And I did not realize how much that dude looked like Skeet Ulrich until he pulled off that mask.  But they had to ruin the competent ending with the stupid postscript.  The undead serial killer is just way too clichéd

 

The Chi:  I looked at the clock with just moments to go and thought to myself, literally nothing has happened in this episode yet… and moments later they blew up a kid.  Oh, wait, that was just a fake out.  Oh well, at least we had one child murder this week on television this week.  But they have to finally take down Douda for that in the finale, right?

57 Channels and Only This Is On: June 16, 2024

  

The Acolyte:   Not that the first two episodes were barnburners, but this episodes just ground the momentum to a halt.  And I am confused.  Just how were the kids created?  Why was the evil twin so mad at the Jedi since she started the fire?  What happened to the witched?  And where the fork was Jason Mendoza?!?

 

The Challenge All-Stars 4:  Poor Flora, had to limp away from the challenge.  Even TJ could not give his usual vitriol for quitters.  But they really need to do more carnival/backyard games so they do not kill one of these contestants that are closer to AARP than college.  In an ideal world, there would be a 40 year old minimum so people like Flora can have a chance.

 

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School:  So they are really going to wait until the final to confirm if Bloody Mary is actually Imogen’s mother or not.  Way to drag that out.  Meh. 

 

The Chi:  Wait, Douda and Dwayne Wayne know each other?  Did we know that?  But Victor getting off on a technicality was a little silly.  I wonder if his political career will have blowback from the arrest.  But even sillier was that one chick wants Douda dead, had a gun to the back of his head, but just walked away.  They are really going to drag this out as long as possible.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: June 9, 2024

 

The Acolyte:   So Jason Mendoza is definitely the Master, right? If so, he will go from playing a solemn monk who was secretly a goofball to playing a goofball who is secretly a Sith (which basically and evil Jedi and Jedi's are monk-like).  He better throw a Molotov cocktail sometime this season.

 

The Challenge All-Stars 4:  I feel like this show has an unusual number of color blind people on this show.  You would think the amount of times a contestant brings up being color blind, they would stop doing these color specific challenges.

 

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School:  The Hell House was hilarious; though I am not sure it was supposed to be.  But Bloody Mary is Imogen’s mother.  Huh?  But I guess when the twist in the original show was that Alison’s brother turned out to be her other brother’s girlfriend, this makes more sense.  So is this a twin situation or is Imogen just crazy.

 

The Chi:  When is the men’s group going to finally stop talking about dealing Douda and actually do something?  Well, besides the previous failed assassination attempt.  But baby-daddy twist was a bit too soap-opera like.  Does the timeline even work?  She was gone a very long time and was not showing when she was rescued. This seems more like a retcon more than a plot twist.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: June 2, 2024

 

The Veil:  Well, that was a confusing ending.  But to be honest, I really was not paying close attention.

 

The Challenge All-Stars 4:  I am annoyed whenever the peanut gallery helps during elimination, but why was Leroy not louder in telling Kam she was missing ball?  Ugg, we could have gotten rid of Cara Maria.  And now she has a star.  But really lame Laurel did not come down.  You gotta get that star sometime.  There may only be an elimination or two left.

 

Under the Bridge:  I guess that is why they made Warren seem sympathetic despite doing some horrible things.  The postscript made it seem like he turned his life around afterwards.

 

Hacks:  I am starting to get tired of the hate each, but now the like each other and back again of this show

 

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School:  With it being Friday the 13^th, I thought for sure the movie nerd was going to be targeted this we.  But running barefoot was one of the weaker trials so far.

 

The Chi:  It is weird seeing protests on the show about defunding the police, a phase I have not heard in a while, when the professional protesting class has moved on to Ceasefire.  But Victor went and got arrested.  Is he finally going to turn on Douda?  What actually can he do at this point if his DNA is at the crime scene and Douda’s is not?

57 Channels and Only This Is On: May 26, 2024

  

The Challenge All-Stars 4:   Oh poor Cara Maria, all the manipulation did not work this time and she lost her star.  I was wonder why Averey would not want to go down against a vertically challenged person in a jumping challenge, but it did look like Tina’s trampoline was a little higher so I wonder if they did adjust it for height.  But as funny had it been to take Kam’s place and then take Cara Maria’s star, annoying the two who have been trying to manipulate things the last couple weeks, maybe it was best politically.  Still, Averey needs a star bad because there are likely not many more chances.

 

Under the Bridge:  Wait, do they really have co-od juvie in Canada?  The pregnancy rate has to be sky high there.  But this show is trying way too much to try and make Warren sympathetic.  At the very least he kicked a defenseless girl.  He deserves what he gets.

 

Survivor:  I kind of liked the new final challenge, much better than the usual standing until ssomeone drops or that stupid catch the balls contraption.  With that said, what a hilariously bad ending to a hisleriously bad season.  I really hope very few “New Era” players return for season 50.

 

Hacks:  That was kind of cheap to have Debra lose out on the late night gig only for her to get it two episodes later because the guy they pick would rather do some crappy bio-flick by some no name writer.

 

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School:  The doctor getting mysteriously pushed hurts my she is Bloody Rose theory… though that she did not see anyone is suspicious.  Maybe she did not see anyone because she threw herself down the stairs.

 

The Chi:  Wait, was the Jesus at the start of the episode supposed to look like Victor with dreads because that was who I thought that was when I first say that.  Maybe it was meant to look like him to remind us of him since he took the episode off.  But did we know that Victor’s buddy and Douda henchman was also the weed grower’s daddy?  That just make all the attempted murder going back and forth more messy.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: May 19, 2024

  

The Challenge All-Stars 4:  Trivia is usually the best week, but Challenge trivia, especially about the season they are doing, was kind of lame.

 

Under the Bridge:  Oh joy, more unnecessary flashbacks.

 

Survivor:  Lol, four straight people go home with an Idol thinking Q was the target; Q finds an Idol and finally gets voted off.  This season is so stupid. 

 

Hacks:  Cool, they got Shooter McGavin back on a golf course.  It is probably obvious he won the tournament.  But I was a little surprised Debra did not get the job.  What are they going to do the rest of the season?  Watch her do some YouTube late night show.  I just hope the guy that got it gets canceled and they have to go with Debra as their second choice.

 

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School:  Is Mouse really that stupid that her grandma with dementia was in charge of getting her to the party?  She probably should not be driving. 

 

A Gentleman in Moscow:  Oh yeah, I completely forgot about Chekov’s guns.  But what a heart racing finale.  Unfortunately the ending was very vague.  They used the 3:4 aspect ratio for flashbacks, I wonder what the significance of them here.   I got the sense that it was a dream sequence.   I seems like Rostov did not get out, but what happened to Anna?  It seems like she should have gotten to Finland with Osip’s help but why was she not able to get to Sofia?  Was she just to famous to not get caught like Osip suggested earlier.  They played the ending like reality where we would not learn what happened behind the Iron Curtain, but this was fictional, I would rather have gotten a definitive answer to what happened to Rostov and Anna other than some vague dream sequence.

 

The Chi:  So just how long of leach does Emmitt have to kill the person Douda told him to?  And will he use her to get back at Douda?

57 Channels and Only This Is On: May 12, 2024

 

The Veil:  I am beginning to think I would like this show much more if Josh Charles was the main character.

 

The Challenge All-Stars 4: I thought it was silly when Janelle volunteered to go in the first women’s elimination, which would be a very long time she would need to hold on to that Star.  But that begs the question, when is the right time to volunteer so you can get a Star.  Obviously Nicole, a firefighter would send herself in with a choice of two lightweight and a physical challenge.  So now she has her Star, but presumably she will have to try to keep it for five more eliminations with eight people left.  Though, I wonder if they do a musical chairs situation when there will be four people left when it is time for the finals, but only three Star holders.

 

Survivor:  Bad move by Charlie.  Marie is clearly going with I want to sit next to lay-ups at Final Tribal strategy.  She is going to get rid of him as soon as she can.  He should have teamed up with Venus and Liz and do his own lay-up strategy.  But how stupid can Venus be.  Two straight weeks Q was the decoy to get out someone with an Idol.  Why would she think that would change this week? 

 

Hacks:  Wait, Debra is all of the sudden offended by jokes.  Making things makes less sense, she grew a conscious the episode right after her very own Roast.

 

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School:  So are they just doing a reverse Friday the 13^th where the serial turned out to be Jason’s mother and then Jason became the serial killer in the second movie?  But I put all my money on the shrink to be the “mom.”  But this show is still really horrible with way too many pop culture references.  Noa remains the only interesting character.  And apparently she is a lesbian now.  Cool.

 

A Gentleman in Moscow:  I am not sure if it were screeners and it will be added later, but my version did not give us any dates as to when this takes place.  Thankfully Stalin died and it is easy to find out that was in 1953, or 6 years since the last episode or 14 years since we last Mishka if my math is correct.

 

This episode answered a few questions I have had.  I wondered if the characters would ever learn what really happened to Lena and it turns out the manager knew and even had a hand into what happened to her.  I have also wondered if Rostov actually wrote the poem that saved his life and we got that answer this week too.  Now for the biggest question of the series, with one episode left, will Rostov leave the hotel?  This episode does end with him saying that they need to leave that place.  Now the question is, will he be able to get away.

The Chi:  So the cliffhanger of the mid-season finale was Victor heading off to kill Douda.  Then moments into the midseason premiere he runs into someone and was just like, naw.  Meh, just how many times is this show going to almost kill Douda before giving him a reprieve?  And now Douda will spare Emmitt if he kills the person that sent Emmitt to kill Douda.  Ugg, just kill of Douda already.  He is really bogging down the show.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: September 24, 2023

  

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon:  So the miracle child was born to a zombie.  Cool.  Does that explain why he is super weird?  They will probably just make him immune from zombieism.

 

The Chi:  Well, that was not the Avengers assembling that I predicted, it actually was a really embarrassing assassination attempt.  Then Emmitt tries to blame it on the gun jamming; the dude shot am missed multiple times before that.  But Victor definitely finishes him off, right?  Either Douda or Emmitt has to die next episode because Douda has to know it was Emmitt since he set up that meeting.  I guess we will have to wait awhile because the show is going on hiatus.   But I guess this ws the last we will see of Kevin, that certainly looked like a farewell.

 

Billions:  Finally, some R.E.M.  Great ending to a not so great episode. Why  was there so much about how Bobby owes Chuck when Bobby is not even in the episode?  The whole DMV thing just seemed like a forced attempted to get Chuck and Wendy at the same place and for the writers to add some forced sports references.

 

Only Murders in the Building:  Now that is how you make an entrance. Welcome back Detective Williams. Sorry you had to slum it on The Idol; hopefully she is available for the final two episodes and this was not a one off. Charles and Oliver's plan to distract her was hilarious. I did notice that they would have missed the interrogation of the first guy (though he is so insignificant I forgot his name if we ever knew it in the first place) and Bobo. I wonder if missing their interview will be important.

But maybe not because Loretta confessed. I had an inkling that it was going to happen, but thought that was going to be the cliffhanger for the penultimate episode, not this one. What pushed her over the edge was Donna talking about protecting her child at all cost which put Donna at the top of my murder board. Could she have sabotage the play to save her kid the humiliation of producing a bomb? She seemed extremely angry that the critic who wrote the bad review for the play was at the sitzprobe (I am now extremely disappointed that none of my high school musicals had sitzprobes).

So now I am thinking they pin the murder on Donna next week, but the big twist at the end is that she just poisoned Ben Glenroy and then we learn who pushed him down the elevator shaft in the final and that will be... mmm, I kind of like Tobert until he started dating Mabel. I guess I will stick with him unless someone really sticks out next week. Though, if it was him, then Detective Williams would have been wrong to say, "The killer is someone in this room." Maybe I will say Howard as a backup, he seems way too eager to be part of the podcast.

 

Ashoka:  So Erza has been hanging out with the rock people from Frozen this whole time?  Wild that him and Thrawn just let each other live in peace this whole time.

 

The Challenge: USA:  Hopefully Wes will keep his word and stay retired, but I will not hold my breath.  If only he took Johnny with him

57 Channels and Only This Is On: September 17, 2023

 

 The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon:  So they are just not going to explain why Daryl is in France?  Didn’t he literally ride off into the sunset at the end of the main series?  But the new setting is breathing some new life into the show even if the religious stuff is a little heavy handed.  Really, that kid is going to be able to bring back souls to zombies?  C’mon.

 

The Chi:  In this week’s installment of should I know who that is: the dude Keisha met at the barber shop.  I feel like I have already asked this about this character this season.  But one episode until the break.  Will we finally see a team up to bring down Douda?  It seems like they have teasing it all season.

 

Billions:  I think we all know what Chuck will call on Axe to do when the time comes.  Of course with just four episodes left, that time will come soon.  But that double turn did not make much sense.  Doesn’t the US government look like fools for letting the Russian back on our soil?

 

Only Murders in the Building: I am mildly disappointed that, with the episode entitled CoBro, we did not get to see any actual footage of the movie this week, or more Girl Cop for that matter; but that disappointment quickly went away with Mel Brooks literally phoning in a cameo. It was also nice to get Theo back (cast this guy as Superman because I did not realize that was him until he started signing). Uma was also great as usual. I may have to steal her line about three types of people: alive, dead, and dead to me.

 

There was a popular theory that Loretta was actually Ben Glenroy's mother. We did learn this week that his and Dicky's parents were Ben Glenroy's birth parents, but I wonder if Peggy was on the right track and she is Dicky's mother but thought Ben Glenroy was her kid because his parents adopted her kid, which is actually Dickie, not Ben.

 

So where exactly is Mabel now? I always assumed she would find a way to stay at the Arconia by the end of the season because it would be weird for her to investigate a murder in a building she no longer lived in. I wonder if maybe Theo is letting her squat in the empty Dimas apartment for now. But it is really sad she did not let her favorite olds she had moved. At least two of the three amigos are back together; hopefully they bring Mabel back into the fold next week too. They are much better together than apart.

 

Ashoka:  I mentioned that Daryl Dixon got a little too religious, but at least he did not get swallowed by a whale.  I figured when the map was destroyed, they would use the space whales to get to the other side of the galaxy, but I was not expecting them to travel inside them.

 

The Challenge: USA:  Why are they still trying to make Survivor vs. Big Brother a thing?  There are two Big Brother players left.  It is over, Survivor won.  Team up and get rid of the remaining vets like it seemed like to be the plan in the beginning of the season.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: September 10, 2023

  

The Chi:   I have been following Emmitt’s Chekov’s Gun all season predicting that it would be used on Douda eventually.  Well, now Douda has it, so that it probably not going to come to fruition.  But now it seems fairly obvious that the Men’s Club is going to bring down Douda one way or another.  The question is, does someone kill him, or are they all going to testify against him?  Killing Papa’s papa will likely be the last straw.

 

Billions:  I did not realize that was Connerty until he started speaking.  Now I am struggling to remember what exactly happened to him and why Kate is so scared of him.  I think he tried to bring Chuck down for being too obsessed with Axe but crossed the legal line to do so.  But I do not remember why he would be an albatross to Kate.  We also saw a return, albeit short absent of the DA kind of screwed over by getting his old job back. I was waiting to see what revenge she would do to Chuck.  Sex tape was not on the top of the list.  Shockingly Chuck did not throw his boy under the bus.

 

Only Murders in the Building:  I pegged Flobert the killer (or at least one of the attempted killers) since the season premiere. Though after this episode and hoe he gave off strong Jan vibes, I am now thinking he may end up being the final red herring of the week before we learn who the real killer(s) was.

 

As for this week's red herring, Jonathan never made a good one. Seems if you killed the star, either the show will shut down or they would bring in another star to replace the current one. I guess this begs the question, why is Oliver having someone who, I believe, was last seen in the chorus of The Lion King be his lead?

 

But I have to say all the President McKinley stuff was hilarious.

 

Ahsoka:  I liked the scene where Ahsoka was running through the wet grass, Sabine falling a step behind, both of them never tiring. I am sure that is better than Erza is doing right now.

 

The Challenge: USA:   So are the finale two Big Brother players going to finally realize that Fessy and Josh are not going to help them and finally join Survivor and get rid of the vets?

57 Channels and Only This Is On: September 3, 2023

  

The Chi:   In this week’s installment of should I know who these people are:  the gay dudes at Victor’s party?  Then is Kevin really going to leave The Chi?  How can you be on The Chi if you are not located in The Chi?  And how did his school afford such a fancy ballroom for prom?  And what kind f school lets them play uncensored songs at a school function?  Oh, and one last question, did the cops find the cashe of guns in the car?  You are not taking someone to the station for just speeding, but doubt they would let them out that night if they found that many unregistered guns.

 

Billions:  A couple episodes I wondered if the bassoon segment was a reference to Only Murders in the Building, now I wonder if The Trolley Problem is a reference to .he Good Place.  Or has the show run out random non sequitur that they have to steal other shows’.  But did they really need a lengthy morbid betting scene just to get to how Prince ties into the insurence company that would have to deal with the hurricane?

 

Only Murders in the Building:  Sazz!!! But it was strange that Joy was the red herring of the week, but she disappeared only for Sazz to do a therapy session. Though the other love interests came off as more sketchy this week. The Ben Glenroy book was creepy, especially for someone who kept having standoffs with the guy. Then by Flobert trying to incriminate Johnathan, which just made him look guiltier. But with all the talk of Charles maybe dating another killer this week, would they really have one of the other three amigos do the same? But guess this week answers the question of who did Charles tell Ben Glenroy to stay away from last season.

 

Justified: City Primeval:  So Raylan got a demotion when he shot someone who drew on him (okay he did goad that to happen) and someone wants to make him chief after shooting someone reaching for a cassette.  Poor Clement, just wanted someone to listen to his demo and no one ever wanted to.  But as lower tier Justified this revival was.  Sign me up for Raylan hunting fugitive Boyd.  But I wonder who was on the other line.  Was it Art?  Has Tim or Rachel taken over for him?

 

Ashoka:  So a human dude forks a green chick and their kid is a human with green hair?  Alrighty.  But I watched the cartoons and did not remember Sabine being a Jedi at all.  But I am sure at being a Jedi, she is better than Ezra.

 

The Challenge: USA:  Oh joy, another episode where the players whose personal backstories were featured in were the ones who were sent into elimination. How predictable. Granted they did spoil one of the players in the promo last week. Hopefully the shakeup at the end of the episode actually shakes things up.  Though I fear like the Vets might actually have the advantage.  There are six of them if you count Josh and Fessy.  On the surface there are seven Survivor and just three Big Brother.  There was a hot chick alliance, but with two of the three Big Brother members going home in two straight episodes, is that still a thing?  Will less hot alyssa want to continue to work with the Survivor chicks or work with the Big Brother guys and hope Josh and Fessy join them?   Then who gets to nominate people?  Just the winner?  The top two or three?  I just hope Survivor and Big Brother gang up on the Vets.  Someone please send Josh in.  I cannot image any of the females will want to potentially want to be teamed with him in a final.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: August 27, 2023

 

The Chi:  In this week’s installment of should I know who that is: the chick in the shower with Douda.  And did we know Quentin was an informant?  But what I am really following this season is Emmitt’s gun.  He learned his father took it this week and wants it back, but I do not think he actually got it back.  Though, if that is Chekov’s gun which will go off in the third act of the season (and I assume in Douda’s direction) does that make the bag of guns Chekov’s arsenal?

 

Billions:  Chuck had a secret meeting at the tomb of Ulysses S. Grant with… Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?  I know this show loves gratuitous cameos, but that was a bit absurd.  For a second, I thought maybe he was meeting with Axe.  Knowing this show, they probably will team up to bring down Prince, but it will probably be Wendy that facilitates that.

 

Only Murders in the Building:  It was a little annoying that they tried to hide who was calling Mabel when it was obvious that is was the person who gave the voiceover at the start of the episode. Otherwise, why else was Cinda there? But I have to say, I enjoyed wellness hippie Cinda than the murder podcaster Cinda.

 

It looks like next episode will be Joy being the red herring of the week which should be hilarious.  I cannot imagine they would make another of Charles’ girlfriend a kill no matter how funny that would be.  The whole fish thing was great.

 

Kimber as this week’s red herring was also very entertaining.  I think I would watch a Kinber trying to make it as an influencer in the New York theater type spin-off. Then the whole White Room stuff was hilarious. I just hope we get a full cast album of Death Rattle Dazzle because all these songs are bangers. But I am not sure I will be able to watch another musical without trying to find who they stuck the sing-talky song too.

 

Justified: City Primeval:  That scene in the diner really felt like the opening scene of the original series.  But instead of ending with a “Justified” killing, for the second time this season, two people trying to get Clement with two different schemes, ruined the other.

 

Ashoka:  Why are they spending so much time and energy trying to find Ezra Bridger?  There are so many Jedi out there who are better than Ezra.  And when did being stabbed in the stomach with a lightsaber stop being fatal?  It felt like a death sentence in the movies, but just a flesh wound on the television shows.

 

The Challenge: USA:  The hat trick plan has to be one of the dumbest things ever.  You just eliminated someone who was not a threat and it should be pretty obvious to all the Survivor and Big Brother people what the Vets were doing.  Of course the big question is will the Survivor and Big Brother people get back on the same page and target the Vets again.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: August 20, 2023

 

The Chi:  In this week’s instalment of should I know who these people are: should I know who those first two people at the party are?  I vaguely remember who the guy who sat at the bar was, but am not entirely how he fit into the story.  Thankfully the guy who did not pick up Keisha the night she was kidnapped said that upfront, because I would not have known that if he did not.  But is this the first time all the characters were in the same place at the same time?  But I think we need to keep track of the Chekov’s Gun that was given as a housewarming present.  I have a feeling I know who will be on a receiving end (the kingpin), but the list of who could shoot it is very long.

 

Billions:  So Chuck ended the last season in jail and has his job back by episode two because of a pair of cowboy boot?  That is pretty absurd even by television standards.  I am guessing it will take a little longer to get Axe Cap back together.  Then I have to imagine the whole bassoon thing was inspired by Only Murders in the Building.

 

Only Murders in the Building:  Ben Glenroy's apartment may have been more wild than the stalkers. Then Death Rattle Dazzle is really coming together nicely, or at the very least coming together hilariously.

But my two main suspects after the first two episodes look a little less guilty this week. The brother looked broken up even when no one was watching (that he knew of). Then Flobert (that is my official name for him going forward unless Mabel comes up with a better one) seemed to help Mabel in her investigation... but then again, Jan did help too.

I do have a sinking suspicion than Kimber was not the only one to lose her hankie.

 

Justified: City Primeval:  Oh no, Sweetie is dead… oh well.  But what happened to the gun?  But this has to be the point where the lawyer turns on him.  But who is the mole in the police department?  The black dude is pretty laissez faire but it is probably the lady cop.

 

The Challenge: USA:  Why were trey trying to make Paulie seem sympathetic?  Good riddance.  If only both went home.  But it is nice to see the hot chick alliance take full control of this game.  It will be interesting as to what Johnny does.  Seems most likely that he goes to go to Blue.  But does he go full spite and send Cory to Red Flag or does he try to make a Vet majority and send one of the non-Vets packing like Chris?  That would be Johnny, Cory, Fessie, and Tori against Cassidy, Seabass, and the Alyssa’s.  Tori could definably get Seabass to switch in that situation.  But can the Alyssa’s keep Cory on their side in that situation.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: August 13, 2023

 

The Chi:  Are they really doing a grooming storyline with Poppa.  Sure, a two year age difference is not that gross, but it is a little icky hearing anyone ask someone when they turn eighteen.  But twice this week I had to ask myself, should I know these people?  First was the guy who found God while in prison.  I ended up using context clues to realize that was brother of the girl Kevin’s moms adopted.  Then the drug dealer’s mom was talking about her brother who was murdered.  Is that Quinten?  Did we know Quinten and the drug dealer were related?

 

Only Murders in the Building:  I was wondering how they were going to do an Only Murders in the Building podcast when the murder did not happen in the building.  Good fake out especially with Uma saying it was nice they kept the body out of the building this time only for her to see Ben Glenroy’s dead body later on.   It would have been funny had people kept trying to kill Ben Glenroy all season only to fail, but alas, it seems like he is really dead this time.

 

Though I do have a theory that whoever poisoned Ben Glenroy was not the person who pushed him down the elevator shaft.  Right now I think the brother poisoned him while the documentarian shoved him down the shaft even though they really seemed to want us to think Meryl Streep did it.

 

My other big prediction after one episode is that the “her” Charles told Ben Glenroy to stay away from is not a person but a thing.  He mentioned that Mabel did not get to know him before he died and Lucy was quickly ushered out of the theater so it does not seem like we will see much of her (and it would have been creepy anyway if Ben Glenroy needed to be told to stay away from a teenage girl).  That just leaves his girlfriend because I doubt Charles would get too attached to one of his castmates.

 

Justified: City Primeval:  Well, I was just saying how Raylan has seemed to mature during the show’s hiatus for not letting one bad guy kill another bad guy and then he goes and forks a key person in the case he is working on and get in a pissing contest with her ex-husband.  And now that key person may become a person of interest if she starts using that book to advance her career.

 

The Challenge: USA:  Ugg, the nation centric spin-offs last season year were so good without the same tired contestants from the flagship show.  Of course they had to go and ruin it just like they ruined All-Star.  Seriously, who thought it was a good idea to bring Paulie back.  And no, Paulie, people do not love to hate you, you have go away heat.  Ugg, and Josh is back and on the same team as Paulie.  Hopefully that team self-combusts and Michele is the only one who survives.   If we are lucky Johnny gets sent in and sent home, but I fear there may be a frozen envelope situation.  I like the idea of a hidden vote and random people being thrown in, but I do not trust the producers not to do some shenanigans to keep the same boring players on the show longer.

Previewing The Chi Season Six

 

Showtime recently released three different posters hyping the return of The Chi, each focusing on a different group of people from the show.  Twenty-five different characters were featured.  This is the problem with the show going into its sixth season: there are just way too many characters to keep track of.  That is almost peak Game of Thrones amount of characters.  What started as a show focusing on four guys in Chicago in much different life stages has ballooned into featuring almost everyone who lives in Chicago ever since they killed off half those original characters.  Seriously, am I really supposed to care about one of Emmitt’s baby mamas new boyfriend (who turned out to be related to someone else on the show which I am not sure is a new revolution this season or if it was mentioned in the past but I forgot because there are way too many characters to keep track of)?

 

Since Showtime recently announced they are developing Millions and Trillions spinoffs of Billions (as well as Billions shows set in Miami and London), a Dexter prequel, and have even discussed Yellowjackets spinoffs, why not just split The Chi into three shows: one about the high school students, one about politics, and the third following Emmitt’s baby mama drama.  That way we do not have to try and remember all twenty-five major characters during ever season.  They already expanded the episode count to 16 this season, might as well just split up the storylines.

 

Season six opens up in the winter just in time for the dog days of summer in the real Chicago.  And everyone is keeping warm this season by having sex.  Though, I vaguely remember they already did an episode which opened with a five minute sex montage.  If they are recycling ideas, maybe they should not expand the show, instead they should think about wrapping things up.  I had to be reminded by press release that the last season ended with Douda killing Quentin and that plot line still lingers.  Will Douda finally get some comeuppance after terrorizing The Chi for four seasons now?  Hopefully we will not have to wait sixteen episodes to find out.

 

The Chi airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime, but you can stream episodes on Fridays on Paramount+ with Showtime.

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

 

House of the Dragon:  Really, three years and Daemon and his dragon cannot defeat the Crab Feeder?  If they are hiding in caves, how about shoot the fire in the caves and smoke them out?  But we got our first Lannister of the season and he is no Jamie, or Tywin, or even Tyrian.  So should I car for him.  Rhnessra certainly does not.  How long will it take before she starts forking the royal guardsman?  Though, they may just yadda yadda over that like they did the wedding, conception, and birth.

 

The Chi:  This show has so many characters many of them never even interact (except for the rare poker game where they are buddy-buddy and then never talk to each other again).  But they finally tied in a few characters.  The ex-mayor has recruited Emmitt and Bakari to work for him.  Though bad look for Emmitt to still take his money after the video tape was released. But bizarre that the new report found people that actually defended the ex-mayor. Is it safe to assume Victor released the tape?  Though the ex-mayor had him dispose of a body so there could be some mutually assured destruction in doing that.  Maybe it was the dude who gotten beaten.

 

Tales of the Walking Dead:  Like the riverboat episode, I enjoyed the set up and the concept, the also like the riverboat episode, it just devolved into everything I have grown to dislike in these shows where it is just zombies eating everyone.  Plus I think it would have been more symbolic if the chick survived and she ended up tagging the scientist who turned.

 

City on a Hill:  There was a lot of flip flopping in this episode.  Jackie saying it was okay to take the dirty money to help his family only to want to take his boss down in the very next scene.  Then Decoursey refuses to help Jackie only to change his mind too.  But nothing more predictable than Jackie flashing his badge shortly after his wife retrieved it.

 

In the Dark:  Just how incompetent do you have to be to be murdered by a blind chick?  And did he rent the one place that locks from the outside?  So she just kills a dude and rides off into the sunset?  What a horrible ending to a horrible show.  Good riddance.

 

Tell Me Lies:  I am glad the killed off the roommate by the end of the episode because she was noticeably not at the wedding so thankfully they did not drag that out.  Except she died before we got to learn what the secret she was going to tell Lucy before she got that phone call in the cafeteria.  Was that secret that she hooked up with Stephen?  But that escalated quickly that he was taking naughty pictures of her.   That he was invited to the wedding kind of makes it seems like no one finds out about that.  While we did find out why the roommate was not there, Wrigley’s brother conspicuously was not there.  Someone even mentioned to cut Wrigley some slack because it was just his brother’s birthday.  Does he kill himself out of guilt?  Though, because of the pictures, it seems very clearly why Stephen wants to keep the circumstances around her death silent.  The question is, did anyone ever see them together?  The other question I am most interested in this show answering is that did Bree really have the same unflattering hairstyle at her wedding that she had as a freshman in college?

 

The Challenge: USA:  That had to be the most pathetic elimination ever in the history of The Challenge.  Both should have been sent home.  The final elimination should be interesting.  You have the four Survivor guys and two Big Brother girls, so you think those two would safe as long as they do not come in last as long as they beat Enzo (which should be easy).  But what if one of the Survivor guys wins with one of the girls in the Fab <strike>Five</strike> Three, would there be a stalemate on who goes in?  I am still hoping we get the Angela vs. Sarah showdown I would have bet on the previous week.

 

Stargirl:  So Shiv was found with a literal smoking gun over the corpse of The Gambler, though I still doubted she did it (plus he turned out to have died from being impaled), but this week they made it seem like whoever took his laptop was the killer… and it turned out Shiv also had the laptop.  But I will still contend she is a red herring.  That he was impaled makes me think my original guess it was someone in the Icicle family and Jr. having issues really backs up that theory.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: September 4, 2022

 

House of the Dragon:  I never really minded that Game of Thrones routinely went an hour because they usually juggled at least four storylines at a time, sometimes more.  With this show staying at King’s Landing most of the time and focusing solely on the Targarians, these episodes have dragged a bit.  They really need to get the Starks or Lannisters in there.  But the battle lines are starting to form.  The Sea Snake has thrown in with the Rouge Prince, the king has tied himself to the Hightowers (which I guess is less gross than marrying a twelve year old), and the current heir is kind of left out there on her own waiting for a half-brother to come along (which the promo spoils happens).

 

Tales of the Walking Dead:  I actually liked the idea of a swamp cruise to escape a zombie apocalypse; unfortunately they ruined it by making it an Alpha origin story, even though we already got her origin story.  I checked out after she left the boat.  This episode would have been much better had it been Death on the Zombie Nile, just keep have people disappearing, and then have the hijackers arrive in the final act.

 

The Chi:  Oh snap, they killed off the old kingpin.  Though he really felt insignificant this season.  It felt like he was just brought back so the former mayor could turn on him to make more nefarious.

 

City on a Hill:  Watching a lot of cop shows in my life, I have heard them talk about giving gun residue tests before, but in all my years, that was the first time I actually saw someone take that test.  That was a lot more complicated that I assumed.  I thought it was just a simple swab.  So Jackie actually lied to help Decoursey.  Then Jackie saw Decoursey’s boss at Sinclair’s house.  Everything is starting to tie together.  But why is Jenny having someone dive for her husband’s badge? If she wants her husband reinstated, could they not just issue a new one?

 

In the Dark:  Huh?  Did we not see Darnell get shot at the start of the season?  What bad editing bullshirt is this?  Mot that I am complaining Max died, I just wish that had happened a lot sooner.  But all this happened because Josh would rather the Blind Chick go to prison than bring down a drug organization that is killing people.  That has to be the dumbest plot mechanism in the history of television.  Then it looks like in the finale, the Blind Chick is going to torture and kill Josh.  I guess if you are going out, go out with a dumb bang.

 

The Challenge: USA:  Sigh, after all that big talk from Sarah last week, I was fully expecting her to get eliminated by Angela this week.  Unfortunately Danny turned out to be scared of Angela and sent in Cashey instead.  So the Fab 5 did not last very long, Desi turned on them and Cash is gone.  So is there just a Fab 3 or with the other two realize Sarah is too much of a loose cannon?

 

Stargirl:  As if Cindy did not look even guiltier, she had a literal smoking gun in her hand.  She really cannot talk her way out of that one, though she looks so guilty it probably is not her.  But which of the new friendamies could it be?  I suspect it was not anyone we saw.  Maybe someone in the Icicle family.  Are any of them still around?  I do wonder how, or if, the daughter plays into this.  But artimis coming though with a C+C Music Factory montage really made this episode.

 

Resident Alien: Well, that was confusing. It took me a second to realize that Harry is actually the artist.  So he is the baby alien’s actual father, just a six hundred year older version of him.  But why not go to Patience to warn Harry of the upcoming apocalypse?  Is this Back to the Future rules where he cannot see his younger self?  If so, why not send a note or something?

 

The Resort:  To quote the great philosopher Chidi Anagonye: What the fork?!?!  Really, that was it?  The kids were just hanging out in goo like nothing happened for the past 15 years?  I was expecting something a lot more interesting than that from the guys who did Palm Spring and Mr. Robot.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: August 21, 2022

Westworld: So they make a point to tell us that being shot in the pearl makes a host dead-dead right before Hale, Bernard, and Mauve get shot in the forehead. Then five minutes into the finale Hale back to normal. So are the pearls lower in the skull? Could Bernard and Mauve (and Clementine for that matter) be brought back then? It did look like when Hale took her pearl out it came out around her nose. Not that any of that matters now because it seems like next season will mostly take place in the Sublime and Delores can just image all the dead-dead hosts anyway. Though, speaking of Delores, wasn't she supposed to be dead-dead because of what went down with Rehobolem last season? So what, she could not be put into a host body but her conscience could still stay intact?

 

Tales of the Walking Dead:  I dreaded watching another Walking Dead show, but how can I stop this far into it?  But shockingly that was the best episode in the series that I can remember and the first time they ever injected levity into the show.  I would much rather see an Olivia Munn / Terry Crews show than the upcoming Daryl / Carol show or Negan / Maggie one or the Rick movie that got turned into a miniseries.

 

The Chi:  Oh, so Jemma was not shot, just the shooting got her trampled.  But dude does deserve to get punched.  I did get a big laugh at the guy ripping up the envelope.  As a spiteful person, I really appreciated.  But I am not sure what was more surprising, that Emmitt tried celibacy or that he turned down sex.  At first I thought Tiff was testing him, but she really did seem disappointed to be turned down.

 

City on a Hill:  Well that kid had a point about the condom.  But anyway.  So Siobhan was part of a hit and run.  That was a surprising twist.  Now I wonder if her friend’s accident was actually an accident.  Then Jackie sees big boss drag a drugged lady out.  So at what point does he turn his boss in?  Are they really going to drag this out all season for him to grow a conscience in the season finale?

 

Flatbush Misdemeanors:  The white lady going through all the names of the drugs was hilarious.

 

In the Dark:  It I absurd that the show turned Josh into a raving lunatic and they somehow made him even crazier this week.  But at we are finally getting to the episode where Darnell gets shot next week.

 

Only Murders in the Building:  Oh my, Cinda Canning has been a bad, bad girl. When we first saw her last season, I was predicting she murdered Tim Kono and she killed him because the reason she was such a good true crime podcaster was because she was the one committing the crimes, now I have to ask... was I right? We know that Jan poisoned Tim, but I do not recall her ever admitting she staged it to look like a suicide.

Then when Cinda just happened to be at the crime scene when the three amigos were being perp walked out of the building, I rolled over my Cinda theory to Bunny's murder and that is looking very plausible right now. Cinda was killing Bunny while Kreps was spying on Mabel waiting for the right time to set her up. But the one thing making me pause that it is one thing fake Poppy's disappearance and murder, it is another to actually kill somebody.

One theory I got very wrong was that Teddy faked Will's DNA test, which would have been very funny, instead Teddy did hook up with Oliver's wife. I have a sinking suspicion that Will will be finding out this information next episode even though everyone else was sworn to secrecy. I doubt Oliver will be able to pull off being Greek for very long.

The show made it so obvious that Jan was the killer at the end of episode nine last season, I was convinced there was another shoe to drop in the finale that never came. Will the show do the same thing this season, and Cinda did it, or will there actually be a twist in the second season finale? Like I said before, it is a big leap between faking a murder and actually committing one. Then Kreps might be okay with planting evidence knowing the "dead" girl was alright, but would a NYC cop really be an accomplice to the murder? If he were that evil, he would do much more than spar with Mabel (but really, Selena Gomez constantly making fun of him make Michael Rappaport much more tolerable).

Then, while we learned what happened to the real painting this, we still have not learned who stole the fake. Is that too obvious that Lion King guy did it since we know he has allergies? When he sneezed last week, I was suspicious that they would introduce someone so late to play such a big part, but since the mystery of the real painting was solved this week, I guess who stole a fake matters much less now, so it might as well be Lion King guy. Like I have been saying from the beginning, I think the art thief and the killer are two different people.

 

Motherland: Fort Salem:  Oh snap, the president coming in was just great.  Sure, they just yadda yaddaed her getting to Fort Salem after being stranded in the Cession (much like how they yadda yaddaed Alder escaping the cave). But after taking down the vice president so early in the episode with the wedding filling in the rest, I had a sinking suspicion something bad would happen considered the last time this show did a wedding, the bride was murdered.  Shockingly it went out without a hitch, it is just that Fort Salem fell while it was going on.  Oops.  I guess we will be seeing Chekov’s which bomb in the finale.

 

The Challenge: USA:  Poor Alyssa, she gets stuck with Leo, and the only thing worse than being stuck with Leo is being stuck with Leo on a week he is ready to quit.  But at least he stayed… only for him to fork up the mission, sending them straight into the elimination.  But luckily they did not get the Madonna question which is the only one I could not solve.  But since they both got stuck on question two, I have to wonder if they were not allowed to skip a question.  Seems like it would have been smart to skip, do the other ones so you could eliminate some choices.  But thanks to Leo, Alyssa now has the most money among the women and second most overall.  I wondering if have more money will get you any advantage in the finals if you make it there.

 

Speaking of questions, what now after they got rid of the algorithm??  For Alyssa’s sake, I hope they are not stuck with these partners from here on out.  Though it would be funny if Tyson and Sarah would be stuck together for the rest of the season.  Maybe it is an individual game.   But would they still be doing double eliminations because with 14 because they still need to get rid of a few people.

 

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin:  When I started this show I complained that it was just IP fraud that barely had anything to do with the original show.  Now that it is over, I need to complain about the one part of the show it ripped off, the dumb twist that “A” was a brother that no one new existed.  But at least he did not turn out to be a she that dated her brother.  Maybe that is the second season twist.  Even worse was the reveal that Ezra and Aria were still together. Again, he was a teacher who forked his student, why are they glorifying that and condemning grooming in previous episode.  Tabby and her boss got to be about the same age. 

 

But Tabby’s mom going H.A.M. on her boss was the only entertaining part of the whole show.  The whole blood drive plan was so stupid, how about labeling the blood because limiting the pool down to 65 still seemed too high. Yet inexplicably it worked because Tabby used that 1 in 65 chance to just accuse Chip who turned out to be the rapist.  What a horrible, stupid show.  Of course I will watch a second season.

 

The Resort:  Oh hey, Luis Guzman!  Oh, he is already dead.  But at least he gave us the most entertaining episode so far.