The Most (and Least) Anticipated Questions of Fall 2017

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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 2017 Scooter Television Awards

Welcome to the 12th Annual Scooter Television Awards honoring show that aired a majority of their season between July 2016 and June 2017. Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2017 STA's:

Best Scripted Show: The Handmaid’s Tail

Best Sitcom: The Good Place

Best Sci-Fi Show: BrainDead

Best Comic Book Adaptation: Gotham

Best Period Show: Harlots

Best Animated Show: Star Wars Rebels

Best Reality Show (Competition): Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X

Best Remake, Reboot, or Adaptation: The Handmaid’s Tale

Best Educational Program: Brain Games

Best Talk Show: Pardon the Interruption

Best New Show: The Handmaid’s Tale

Guiltiest Guilty Pleasure: Supergirl

Best Musical: Hairspray

Worst Show I Made Though an Entire Season Of: Notorious

Best Awards Show: 2017 Grammy Awards

Best Hour of TV: Offred - The Handmaid's Tale

Best Half Hour of TV: If You See Something, Solve Something – Angie Tribeca

Biggest Shocker: The People of The Good Place are actually in The Bad Place

Best Line: That’s bullshirt. (Eleanor, The Good Place)

Worst Idea: Letting all the advantages in Survivor that led to the Immunity Train

Worst Moment: Every time near brain dead Quinn was on screen (Homeland)

Biggest Disappointment: Elliot was in prison the whole time. (Mr. Robot)

Best Musical Moment: Don’t You Forget About You (The Handmaid’s Tale)

Best Karaoke: Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Angela (Mr. Robot)

Best New Title Sequence: Powerless

Best Character: Offred (The Handmaid’s Tale)

Best Recurring Character: Lena Luthor (Supergirl)

Best Guest Appearance: Trevor, The Good Place

Best Cast Addition: Grown up weird Poison Ivy (Gotham)

Best Duo: Eleanor and Chidi (The Good Place)

Most Entertaining Reality “Star”: Andrea Boehlke (Survivor: Game Changers)

Most Annoying Reality “Star”: Debbie Wanner (Survivor: Game Changers)

Show That Should Be Brought Back: BrainDead

Most Anticipated New Show of Next Season: Rise

Biggest Question for 2016-2017: How long can Michael keep up the new ruse on The Good Place?

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 6/10/2017

Gotham: So much death. Granted death tends not to stick for very long. Given her I have died before, I know this is a different death, I guess that was the end Fish Mooney. Butch will likely also stay dead, or undead being the better description because Cyrus Gold is the original name of Solomon Grundy. Then there was The Riddler, being frozen in ice typically will kill someone but in comic work, you can thaw him out unharmed. The biggest question mark is Barbara. They have been teasing her as Harley Quinn since being captured by the serial killer two(?) seasons ago so that can be Harley’s origin story, except electrocution seems kind of dead dead. But again we are dealing with comic book logic.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros: Wait, the gay dude can bring his boyfriend to the elimination but no AJ Lee? Booooooooooooooooooooo. That is some hetrophobic crap right there.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.

The Handmaid’s Tale: Wait, so Handmaids do not stay with the families after they are done breastfeeding? I guess you do not want attachments growing, but I was thinking they may want to have siblings that were fully related instead of having a brood of half siblings. But poor Jenine, she actually gets sent to a family that seemed to be one of the nicer rapist only to they try to kill herself and fail. I am just glad they kind of showed us how Moria got the package to Ofred because I was really puzzled there for a couple seconds. Though it is still unclear how she got into Gilliad and the package to a sympathizer in the meat shop.
You can stream The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 6/3/2017

Gotham: Is it wrong that I found Evil Leigh with way too much eyeliner significantly more attractive? But anyway. Wow, they actually set off the bomb. That should provide even more supervillains than the escaped Indian Hill experiments. Of yeah, and Ra’s al Ghul is coming.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Lucifer: Meh, pretty bland ending to the mother storyline and not a very compelling cliffhanger either. Someone knocked out Lucifer and dropped him in the desert. I guess it is kind of interesting that he got his wings back after he set them aflame a while ago.
You can download Lucifer on iTunes.

The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros: Lolo is going to turn down Lindsey’s challenge right? When picking between Tia and Louis, Lolo picked the smaller girl so I am guessing she stick with it. Granted it would be funny if Tia ends up winning.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.

The Americans: Wait, that was the season finale? Had I not seen a post mordum article about it, I may have looked for a new episode next week. Kind of anticlimactic. Usually each season build to something but all we had was the Jennings decide to stay and maybe Phillip will “retire” and just run their travel business. We do not even get confirmation of Stan’s new girl being a spy, but c’mon, she has tto be now, right? A pipe breaks? Either she is a spy or thiss is a Fatal Attraction situation.

The Handmaid’s Tale: So is this now Lost with each character getting its own flashback every episode. Well at least we got confirmation that Nick is part of the overseeing Eye. Interesting that The Eye did their recruiting from the unemployment line. Now that question is will Nick turn the Commander in who already had unsanctioned sex with his previous Handmaid who killed herself. Oh hey, and there is Offred’s black buddy who now is a Jezebel. I take her flashback will be next but I am still waiting to learn what happened to Rory Gilmore.
You can stream The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.


Well y the lack of shows to talk about this week, that means Spring television is pretty much over. Looking at summer, there does not seem to be much on even though previous summer seemed to be where the best shows were (although, where is the Mr. Robot premiere date?). I may have t catch up on movies this year or finally burn my free first month of Netflix so I can binge G.L.O.W. But here are the few show I will watching while trying to beat the heat.

Mondays
8:00 – Shadowhunters (Freeform, June 5)
9:00 – Stitchers (Freeform, June 5)
10:00 – Midnight, Texas (NBC, July 24)

Tuesdays
Casual (Hulu, May 23)
8:00 - Downward Dog (ABC, May 23)
10:00 – Wrecked (TBS, June 20)

Wednesdays
9:00 – The Carmichael Show (NBC, May 31)

Thursdays
9:00 – Nashville (CMT, June 1)
9:00 - Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update (NBC, August 10)

Saturdays
10:00 – Orphan Black (June 10)

Sundays
9:00 – Fear the Walking Dead (June 4)
9:00 - Claws (TNT, June 11)
9:00 – Ray Donovan (Showtime, August 6)
9:00 – The Last Ship (TNT, August 20)
10:00 – I’m Dying Up Here (Showtime, June 4)
10:00 – Preacher (AMC, June 25)
10:00 – Episodes (Showtime, August 20)

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/28/2017

Into the Badlands: So The Widow did not actually kill her apprentice. But melancholy happy trails to Sunny’s wife and Quinn(?), maybe? I think I liked this show much better when it was just six episodes.
You can download Into the Badlands on iTunes.

Gotham: Oh wow, Barnes killed the head Owl. Or at least who I assumed was the head Owl. And when I say head Owl, I guess I should also say no pun intended. And so what is the main character trait that the Alice Tetch Virus going to bring out? She is a doctor so it cannot possible be that bad unless it turns out to be rage towards Detective Gordon for murdering her fiancé.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: Good riddance Mon-El? Hopefully. One can assume that he is going to the 31st century to hand with the Legion of Super Heroes. The guy cannot come back to Earth at this time any time soon because of the anti-Daximite gas pumped into the atmosphere. But he was able to spend a couple minutes on Earth when his mother was turned to dust in just seconds. Then the other big cliffhanger is who was in the third pod from Kypton? (I could care less about the lesbian proposal.) When they called what was in the basket “it” I was thinking Brainiac but it looks like from people more knowledgeable of comics that “reign” was the key word in that segment.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Lucifer: So when Lucifer’s mom gets stags she bleeds some death ray? Oh my.
You can download Lucifer on iTunes.

The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros: When Johnny and CM Punk were going at it I really was hoping that Johnny would troll Punk by name drop former Challenge alum The Miz.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.

The Handmaid’s Tale: So Offred’s husband is really alive. I wondered if the Mexican delegation was really part of the resistance or was just trolling her. Although I am not sure his story really deserved a whole episode. Or at least spend more time with the resistance city. I am more interested how that place works.
You can stream The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.

Survivor: Game Changers: Weeks ago someone mentioned that at six would could potentially have only one person not saved by an Idol if whoever wins Immunity did not already have an Idol and Tai gave one of his two Idols to someone else. I rolled my eyes at the absurdity and how there were too many advantages this season. But there were at the first Tribal Council of the finale and Tai for reasons unbeknownst to me actually does give his second Idol away to Aubrey (in true Tai fashion votes her off the very next Tribal) which sets off an Idol Train leaving Cirie the odd woman out despite no votes being cast against her. Not as lame as drawing rocks, but still pretty lame.

But not as lame as the final three of Sarah, Not-Dante Culpepper, and Troyzan, which may be the worst final three ever, even them or the trio that made it to the end of Worlds Apart. Here is what makes it worse, both Not-Dante and Troyzan were part of the Second Chance vote and they were two of the five guys not picked. Then we had one final lame twist to a lame season, questions were eliminated at Final Tribal in lieu of an open forum. I hate whenever a jury member tells their peers who the vote for and this just made it worse with Zeke starting things up by saying he was Sarah’s champion followed by Ozzie openly rooting for Not-Dante. Not surprisingly no one stood up for Troyzan who I believe only spoke once before the finale and that was when he found his Idol.

Then we got a sneak peak of next season: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers. Horrible name. When they did Blue Collar vs. White Collar vs. No Collar they trimmed it down to a more reasonable name Worlds Apart. It could have been an interesting concept when I thought the Hustlers were going to be morally corrupt individuals going the heroes (I was kind of hoping this theme was essentially going to be cops vs. ex-cons but knew they would never cast someone with a record) like gamblers are weed growers in a state where that is legal. Instead the Hustlers we saw in the preview were a personal assistant and a bell hop. What the fork? But I am still hoping for the return of Race Wars.
You can download Survivor: Game Changers on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/21/2017

Once Upon a Time: I knew a soft reboot was coming because they announced a couple of weeks ago if there was a new season only Mr. Gold, Regina, and Captain Hook would return (Emma was also on that list but Jennifer Morrison later announced she was not returning). Which was weird because Henry was kind of a big part of the show. But as it turns out Henry is actually still going to be on the show, just not the same actor, as they aged him twenty years. I guess the other three will have not aged in the Enchanted Forrest. Oh course the big question going into the next season is who is his baby momma? The girl does look a lot more tan than Henry who is pale as a ghost, she did have a scene with Tigerlily. That seems like a good guess for now.
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Into the Badlands: Wait, they they really just kill off another main character? Man, these Barons are ruthless. Quinn kills his son and the Widow kills her surrogate daughter in kind of similar scenes.
You can download Into the Badlands on iTunes.

Gotham: Okay, fine, I am actually starting to enjoy Ivy and her weird performance.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: Welcome back Kat Grant, the show has been much less entertaining without you. But we finally learned a little more about the alien president. Though it was weird that she made Martian Manhunter not engage with the Daxumites and not orders Alex to blow them out of the sky.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Lucifer: Oh hey, the king from Galavant is God. Or I guess not. But what exactly went on there, was he actually possessed by God or was he just delusional while wearing that heavily belt?
You can download Lucifer on iTunes.

Harlots: So no one is going to end up punished for the death of a nobleman as they blackmailed and killed off the judge. Alrighty. But season two should be interesting as Charlotte going undercover in her mother’s enemy establishment.
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.

The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros: Poor Veronica, the most veteran of them all gets treated like a rookie. But just as I expected, the Pros are just going to dominate the Champs… unless they end up having to compete drunk in future challenges.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champs vs. Pros on iTunes.

The Americans: So Elizabeth wants to go back to Russia. But what does Philip want? I have to believe Paige and Henry would rather stay in America. Henry’s tour of the FBI. Nice shout out to the mail robot. And the Jennings learning about the safe room inside the FBI has to come up at some point. Will they try to bug it?

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Wait, didn’t robot Daisy shoot Talbot right between the eyes? I know this is a comic book show but how could a human possibly survive that? Unless he is not human. Then we have a tease for next season except much more vague than the LMD from the finale last season. I believe the Royal Family of Inhumans have a secret base on the moon so maybe that is why he is in space. Or maybe it had to with the deal he made with the Ghost Rider. I assumed when the organization that grabbed them in the diner was Talbot’s guys but maybe they are part of the Ghost Rider deal and that is why Coulson was business as usual when he looked out his space window.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Handmaid’s Tale: The Commander’s wife just got interesting: a sex pot, writer who got arrested for civil disobedience before the war. It is also interesting that the religious zealots seem to be the environmentalist when those who claim to be the most religious in our society or okay with the destruction of the environment when you would think the most faithful would want to protect God’s creation. Then we had another big cliffhanger with the Mexican aide somehow knowing Offred’s real name and that of her husbands who he claims is alive. So who is this guy? Is he really part of the resistance in cahoots with Offred’s husband or is this a trap set by “The Eye”?

Survivor: Game Changers: Boooooooooo. Ever since Zeke threw out her name, you kind of had to know Andrea was not making the finals. Weird thing is, she kept on being brought up as a big threat (weirdly Sierra had this problem too) but both Aubrey and Cirie have been to the finals before, Sarah hs been playing very hard which recent jury members appreciate, and Not Dante Culpeper is a former NFL play who could go on an Idol run (and lo and behold, won the very next Immunity Challenge). Oh yeah, and speaking of Idols, Tai has proven to be very good at finding them.

But you could see that vote coming as soon as Andrea lost Immunity. The next Tribal was not as clear. And still is not very clear. Andrea was a treat, not someone you want to sit at Final Tribal with. But do you know who I want to sit next to: Michaela (or Tai or Troyzan). So why vote her out. I wonder what exactly the plan was going in. Sarah seemly changed her mind and went with the boys to get out Cirie, but what went down to keep Tai from playing his Idol? Isn’t six the last time he can play it? Why not play one at that Tribal, especially after Sarah steals his vote, and he still has one for six. Speaking of six, we could have all but one person safe with an Idol. Tai, Troyzan, and Sarah all have one. If someone else wins Immunity and Tai gives one away, that just leaves one person who is not safe.

But in retrospect, really horrible episode for Cirie. First she turns on her biggest ally, and then does not read the fine print resulting in her next biggest ally going home. She could have been sitting pretty had she just stuck with Andrea in the first vote and went for Brad or turning on Sarah instead. She could have had four strong with Aubrey also with her, and now she is kind of on an island and probably next out. Crap, we are going to get a Final Tribal of Sarah, Not-Dante, and Troyzan aren’t we. This is why you do not turn on Andrea.
You can download Survivor: Game Changers on iTunes.

Blindplot: So what happened in those two years? And Roman had to be the one who kidnapped the team, right?
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Well that was an anticlimactic end to the Mr. Kaplan saga. Then we get the big bombshell that everyone assumed for episode one yet they spent four seasons pretending it was not the case, Red is really Lizzy father. At least we do not have to see them tease and then prtetend it is a red herring again.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/14/2017

Once Upon a Time: So did they made the weeding episode a musical just to distract from how basically no one showed up? No Red Riding Hood, no Cinderella, really none of the Disney princesses. The Blue Fairy was in the episode yet did not make an appearance at the ceremony. It was basically just those in the main cast (except Belle and Gold were absent) then the Seven Dwarfs, Granny, and Pinocchio’s father. Even Pinocchio skipped the festivities. But really, this episode made me miss Galavant.
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Billions: For two seasons I thought this show was about a game of cat and mouse. I was wrong, it is about mutual assured destructions. Chuck just lost his trust, lost millions of dollars for his father and childhood friend just to get Axe. Then when they met face to face, Axe said he would spend te times that to make sure Chuck goes down with him just for Chuck to basically respond, so be it. I just hope that season is a trail and not Axe get out from under his prosecution in the first episode and we are back to cat and mouse.

Gotham: Really, Ivy was going to make an army of freaks and all they could come up with is Mr. Fries and Firefly? Sure I enjoy the irony of fire and ice, but c’mon, there seemed to be hundreds of freaks that escaped from Indian Hill.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: The N’SYNC reference just made me hate this show more. Can it please be promoted back to CBS please?
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Harlots: Charlotte may be in custody, but who is going to take the fall for the murder. The obvious answer is her new bot toy, but you know Mrs. Wells will try to get Mrs. Quigley to take the fall.
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.

The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions: Boring finale. But this show does have a format problem where it just loses steam halfway through. It did not help this season the pre-finale episode was just complete filler. They need to speed up the game at that point, not slow it down. Hopefully the six episode special fixes that problem.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.

The Americans: Is it just me or was Elizabeth not that into that wedding? But it always has been Phillip who has been more the romantic while she has been more jobs oriented. And that was a rough scene at the end as Paige and her parents read the harsh assessment in Pastor Tim’s diary. Now I wonder if he will make it to his dream job.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: So Adia becomes a real boy and we learned how the Russian survived being crushed by a falling building in that he did not, she just turned him into a robot and mass produced him. Irony? So just how do you kill a former robot who can absorb bullets along with other Inhuman abilities. Chop off her head again?
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Handmaid’s Tale: Interesting that Mrs. Waterford suggested the driver try to impregnate Offred. I guess once pregnant she no longer has to see her husband have sex with another woman. But the she would be raising a kid that is neither hers’ nor her husband. But still creepy she felt she had to stay in the room. At least she did not do the hand holding thing in her lap. And it was a little weird that she went and had sex with a guy who pretty much raped her earlier that day. Maybe that was taking back control. And Rory Gilmore is back. And even though Offred said she knew what happened to her (even though the Commander was vague) I am still not entirely sure. But Rory has got to be sent away after that.

Survivor: Game Changers: I have been watching this show since the beginning so I pick up on a few cues that usually tell you where things are going but they had me fooled twice this week. The second best way to tell if someone is not going home (after winning Immunity obviously) is if their name comes up in the post Immunity Challenge / pre commercial break confessional. So when Michael was talking about should she vote for Sierra or Andrea, the over thinker thought, oh this is a rare target two people situation, maybe Michaela is getting blindsided. Nope, it ended coming down to Sierra and Andrea. And when the votes are read with just two targets, Probst almost always reads just one name first (the one who is not getting voted out first) then the other in succession. Or he alternates back and forth as long as he can. So when he read two Andrea’s in a row after starting out alternating, I thought oh no!!! Andrea is in trouble. Except the rest of the votes ended up being for Sierra. Whew.

But now we are down to eight with only one episode until the finale. That is a lot. Usually only six go to the finale, so what happens next week? A double elimination next week? Will there be a medical elimination? There was no clue in the promo and you would think they would tease either, unless the latter actually happens in the finale. Interesting enough the last time Andrea played (she went out at seven), there was a medical elimination during the finale, even then, just five made that finale.
You can download Survivor: Game Changers on iTunes.

Blindplot: So just what is Sheppard’s end game? She was a soldier (or at least pretend to be) said she did not want to kill anyone at the FBI but would if she did not get the codes (granted she still killed the boss even after saying she would not kill him if anyone gave her the code; but at least after being mostly annoying he went out like a G). I get she is going after some sort of Deep State but I still feel like I am missing something.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 4/30/2017

Once Upon a Time: Um, so what happened to the Tin Man? How about now that the Wicked Witch has drained her magic into that heart you give it to the Tin Man?
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Billions: Oh yeah, Chuck is into kinky stuff. I thought it was finally going to catch up with him but he stole the laptop himself. And syncing up “My hands are tied” to him and Wendy reuniting was a little too on the nose. And I have a feeling Taylor with have a change of conscious before the end of the season.

Gotham: So the Riddler has finally gone full green. Um, yeah? But of course the Penguin did not die, the only question would be how he would return. Um, Poison Ivy fished him out of the river? Alright. I guess maybe they will finally give her something to do.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: Thank goodness Kara got her job back, blogger just seemed like a horrible cover for a Superhero.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Voice: I hate Adam, sure Shakira and Gwen are worse coaches but Adam does plenty of head scratching things. One thing he does almost every season and every time he does it it backfires miserably is that he almost always gives a Battle Round pairing a song by the mentor and it always suck. Every time but twice since season four. That is seven times and never has any of these Battles ended in a Steal. So why the fork does he give Lilli Passero a Shania Twain song other than she was the mentor this week? And more importantly, why did he give Lilli that song? Maybe had he given her You’re Still the One or You’ve Got a Way that could have worked with Lilli’s style. Instead Adam’s inner dialogue said, “Lilli’s sassy, this song is sassy… gold!” Seriously I hate Adam. But by some miraculous event, America took pity on Lilli, be it the horrendous song choice or she was rushed to urgent care earlier that week and still seemed out of it after her performance. So hopefully Lilli is back at one hundred percent this week and Adam does not give her a G-Eazy song.

Bates Motel: Wait, what just happened? Did they really kill of Norman Bates well before he was supposed to? I believe in artistic licenses, but it is weird to build this as a prequel to the movie and then kill him before he gets there.
You can download Bates Motel on iTunes.

Harlots: Awesome, the goat is still around. But poor Emily, she just cannot find a place anywhere. But what actually does she do now, start her own house? Then you have Charlotte and her relationship just get weirder by the episode.
You can stream Harlots on Hulu.

The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions: So they finish the Men’s challenge in five minutes, announced these are your finalists, but did not actually start the Final Challenge until about five minutes before the credits. Then in between all we got was fifty minutes of filler. Why not run the final this week instead of wasting my time?
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Oh snap! Daisy just tossed Aida out that window. Which begs the question; if a robot dies in the framework does it die in the real world? Real world Aida seemed fine after the fall.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Handmaid’s Tale: So what the fork did they do the Rory Gilmore?!? Is this the gental mutilation I hear from time to time but never bother to read the article to find out exactly what it is? That is the only thing I can think off.
You can stream The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.

Survivor: Game Changers: When Zeke flipped last week and starting targeting Andrea I got worried she might actually go home. This week when Sierra said it time to get rid of Andrea in the post challenge confessional I had a sense of calm. The season premiere was the five hundredth episode of Survivor and probably of the five hundred and nine episodes in the history of the show, I would venture to guess whoever’s name is mentioned in the pre-commercial confessional does not actually go home. And in the end, Michaela was snacking while Andrea name was read except Debbie’s name was written down more often (really, how big must your stones be to have your name brought up only to have a snack while votes are read; she was sipping away when JT was blindsided too).

Though I am not sure if that was the right move for Sarah. In her old alliance, I would be worried sitting next to Brad or Sierra, but in the new one, I would be worried about everyone except for Michaela. And she may not know this but she just left an alliance with three Hidden Immunity Idols and the Legacy Advantage which make her Stolen Vote thing look worthless. Unless of course the deck shuffles next week. The promo looks like the deck will shuffle with all the females on one side (Sierra does approach Andrea and Cirie) and the male identifiers on the other (Zeke talks to Not-Dante and Troyzan). Of course the dudes may have the advantage despite being out numbered six to four with enough Idols to cover everyone if one of them wins Immunity. Still that would be enough to keep them around for another week and maybe the deck will reshuffle again after that.
You can download Survivor: Game Changers on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 2/5/17

Mercy Street: Oh no, Ramona Flowers may have Typhoid? They better not kill her off, she is basically the main reason I watch.
You can download Mercy Street on iTunes.

Homeland: I was going to scoff at the new president keeping Dar on at the CIA but Trump just announced that James Comie was going to continue to lead the FBI so I guess that is one of the more probable plot twists on the show. How depressing that the plots on Homeland have become more believable than real life? And of course Dar tapped the president, how long until he lets Saul in on this information? And what exactly is Saul doing?

The Affair: So after the big reveal last week that Noah stabbed himself, this week he is now in post coital bliss with Juliette in Paris like nothing happened. Then we get o see her deal with her life even though I do not think we have seen her since the second or third episode. Meh. As usually, Noah’s act was much better especially running inti Furcat. Too bad they did not have a time to work in an episode that featured Furcat’s perspective. And what was so bizarre about this episode was after such a bizarre season, the finale was kind of just normal people doing normal things. Then no Cole or Allison and I am not entirely sure what exactly their purpose were this season.

Conviction: Never a good idea to wait until your last to make a good episode. Incompetent first year lawyer Hayes would have been a much better show than what we had been watching.
You can download Conviction on iTunes.

Gotham: I thought we were going to have a repeat from early in season one when Gordon took the Penguin to the docks, and in lei of killing him, said never come back to Gotham, except The Riddler actually did shoot Penguin in the gut. Ouch, I guess not potentially fatal but it s not like he would be the first to ever come back to the dead on this show.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: Oh wow, second episode in a row when I did not absolutely hate Mon-El. But I still loved the very appropriate frat boy dig.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Lucifer: Wait, so why can the lord of the underworld not allowed to go back and forth freely? Especially leave, he already left once.
You can download Lucifer on iTunes.

Timeless: What the fork?!? Army guy kills the father of his wife’s killer and still does not manage to change the future (or least that we get to see). Why do I know have the feeling the Riddenhouse was involved in her death?
You can download Timeless on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Oh wait, Patton Oswalt also has a twin sister? Where exactly has his characters been anyway, the show needs to work them back into the show more often.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Path: Wait, did she really just drink contaminated pod water?!? If you really want to walk a mile in their shoes, just drink from their tap. And is Steve not in the light because Eddie is the true leader?
You can stream The Path on Hulu.

Emerald City: Wait the Wizard of Oz want Dorthy to kill… Glinda the Good Witch!?!?!? Huh? And when is she actually going to team up with the Tin Man? Shouldn’t that have happened before she arrived at the Emerald City.
You can download Emerald City on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 1/29/17

Homeland: What a juxtaposition that this season focuses on whether Carrie’s client has been radicalized or not, that Quinn is listening to some wackadoo on the right who is radicalizing angry white dudes. And we already knew Carrie was a horrible mother, but c’mon, what a horrible idea to let Quinn anywhere near her daughter. Maybe it is a good thing Quinn locks the door so Franny cannot find her way downstairs. But the big new was that Saul was right to accuse Carrie of counseling the President-Elect. Obviously we the viewers know how bad a decision that is, but just what does the future president know? I do remember Saul publically calling Carrie a crazy person live on the Congress floor once.

The Affair: Seriously Helen, you are going to eat at the Lockhart Lobster Roll? That was almost as stupid as having a Panic Room that locks from the outside. But at least she finally came clean that she was the one who killed Scotty. And so it is official, Noah is crazy since there was no cut on Gunter’s hand. Makes we wonder if all his prison memories were real. We did see his face messed up when Helen visited him. But maybe scruffy five o’clock shadow Gunther is the only real Gunther. That last scene was clearly an revelation that Noah tabbed himself.

Gotham: I have never been much of a fan of Jerome and him possibly becoming The Joker, but the who reapplying his face look is respectively freaky looking for a potential Joker.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: Oh wow, Mon-El was not completely useless this week and I actually kind of laugh. And he caught the eye of the aliens from the crossover event which are also in Kara’s universe. Hopefully Supergirl does not have to recruit the crappy CW superheroes to defeat them on her planet. Hey, she can always call the Guardian.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Timeless: The first episode saw a big change in the timeline with Lucy’s sister being erased from history… and then nothing much changed after that. Finally someone is finally going to change the timeline when the short muscle is going to try and go back and save his wife. I kind of hope he succeeds just to shake things up a bit but I have a feeling things will not end up that way.
You can download Timeless on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Radcliff is one sneaky dude, programs Ada to go rouge and even has his own Life Model Decoy around to avoid getting caught himself when it turned out Ada #1 did not actually grow a soul. Oh yeah, and he is secretly working with the anti-Inhuman senator. I was not that eager when then teased the LMD themed block of episode but I am enjoying it more than the Ghost Rider half.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 12/4/16

Shameless: I thought Monica revealing she was dying was going to be the big reveal of the episode (though I am not complete sold she is telling the truth, this is Shameless), then they end with Micky breaking out of prison. I wonder what will make him more upset, his ex-boyfriend hooking up with a dude without a manhood or his ex-wife shacking up with Vee and Kev.

The Walking Dead: Did we really need to devote a full extended episode to Tara? I completely forgot she even existed.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Gotham: They could not get Michelle Pfeiffer to play Catwoman’s mother? Oh well. What exactly has she been up to? I cannot think of anything since the nineties. But where, and why, has momma been hiding all this time? But I guess Jim should find her hiding hole because he broke his bring Falcone’s son in alive promise. Oh well. Hopefully this ends the Mad Hatter storyline and we move onto something new. Oh, the return of Jerome is the something new? Meh. Can’t they just have Black Manta crawl out of the Gotham harbor?
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: So after promoting a big four night crossover for months, the Flash shows up for thirty seconds with some annoying hippie. I guess I should not complain since the other crappy CW superheroes did not ruin Supergirl worse than The CW already has this season. Seriously what was with Cyborg Superman’s silly Phantom of the Opera mask? He has this intimidating Terminator with half his face peeled off, yet he covers that up with something silly.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Lucifer: So we have known since early last season Chloe had some sort effect on Lucifer that made him more mortal, but never knew why… until now. So she was blessed by an angel before she was born. Why the angel picked an actress is still unknown, but it is a start.
You can download Lucifer on iTunes.

:Good Behavior: The one thing I like about this show is that I am not entirely sure where it is going. I was disappointed with thinking that the show was going to be a procedural with Leddy and Javier conning and/or killing new people every week. Except they parted ways in episode three leaving me wondering here exactly the show was heading again. Although with that ending, should I worry it will turn into a procedural again or will there be another twist in an episode or two?
You can download Good Behavior on iTunes.

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X: What a worthless gift, her, have some worst “advantage” ever in the history of the show, one that will guarantee you not to win and will likely be voted out next if you use it. Although I actually think the new owner is dumb enough to use it.
Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 11/27/16

Shameless: Oh Fiona, you really missed out on a great opportunity, a laundromat with a whirlpool and 4K Smart TV? That would have done great business.

The Walking Dead: It seemed obvious Maggie not dead, but why lie to Negan about it? Clearly he will find out sometime and it is a silly lie.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Gotham: I cannot decide I like crazy Barbra or not. Clearly she is not a good actress, but still, sometime it is entertaining, other times it is annoying. Maybe the key would be to keep her to small doses. And just go ahead and reveal the comic book character she is portraying because I think most peole have figured that out by now.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: Ugg, Supergirl should have just ley let Mon-El die, he is completely worthless anyway. And if it was not obvious before, it is now very clear Mon-El was brought in to be a love interest to Kara. Meh, they should have brought me on for that role. Sure Mon-El may be able to fly all through the night, but can he rock a party 'til the early light? Mon-El can't satisfy Kara with his little worm, but I can bust her out with my super sperm.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X: Somehow Jay made it through two tribal without using his Idol or getting voted out (okay, one of them he had Immunity). And the second Tribal he could just sit back and laugh while stupid people drew rocks. I think you are better of switching your vote. You have a fifty-fifty chance one of you alliance is going home anyway and a one in six chance it is you. Flip and with nine people still in the game, there are plenty of chances of getting back into the game, draw the rock and you have no chance.
Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 11/13/16

Shameless: Interesting that Fiona and Frank have the same everyone has to contribute philosophy. Okay, so Frank just used it so further line his pockets.

The Walking Dead: What happened to the tiger guy? This week was back to the excruciating torture porn type show.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Masters of Sex: Poor Art, finally realizing just how poor his marriage is, I wonder if there is a scenario where Art stays in St. Louis and Nancy goes to New York. Then you had Virginia sitting through the most icky intake session ever. Hard pass on that.

Gotham: Sucks to be the actress who played Kristin Kringle, she gets killed off, brought back only to be killed off a couple weeks later.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: Why was Supergirl so stressed that Lena asked both her and Kara to her party, couldn’t that have been easily resolved by having Martian Manhunter stand in for one of them like when she convinced Kat that Kara was not a superhero? And everyone had to know when Lena took that dramatic pause, she was going to follow it up with …mom. I got that feeling right when he mom walked into the room. But the real question is that Mrs Luther (who I do not recall ever was on Smallville or her birth mother.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X: Just when I thought the Legacy Advantage as one of the dumbest twists in the history of the show, now Adam can steal someone else’s reward, or the Guaranteed Way to Get Voted Out Next Advantage. And, um, can none of these people count, I had to recount myself to make sure I am right, but if they wanted Jay out, they could have split the vote just in case he had an Idol. Okay, I have never been much of a fan of vote splitting unless you have an overwhelming majority or you definitely know someone has an Idol and you want to flush it out, so many things can go wrong (ask Tyson who’s failure to properly execute a split led to him being voted out) so I do not have much of problem with no vote splitting. I do have a problem with them targeting Michelle for no reason other than no one with an Idol would see it coming. Seriously, just target Jay if you want him out, the guy is clearly not bright enough to find an Idol or to use even if he had one. But how apropos that in Trump’s America, this season of the show saw all the minorities go first and now the guys are voting out the women for no good reason.
Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X on iTunes.

Blindplot: I have been hoping for a Rich Dotcom spinoff and now I think I found his supporting cast as the weapons expert can join Rich’s team. His point of view scenes were great, especially sheepish Curt.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

The Blacklist: So after three and a half season, Red finally admitted what everyone has assumed since the first episode, he was Lizzie’s father. Now the big question, what did Red tell Kirk that made him let Red go.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 11/6/16

Once Upon a Time: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? Again, if the Animal Farm animals show up, I am out. And didn’t Hook’s brother already die in Neverland? Did he have another one I forgot about already?
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Shameless: You gotta love that Carl turns out to be part Indian and he cop mentor ends up being part Puritan, who oppressed Carl’s “People”. But haven’t they already done the Fiona and Vee on the outs storyline? I am ready for them to just reconcile or at least just completely blow things up.

The Walking Dead: I was just whining last week how depressing the show had gotten, to the point is was moving into torture porn territory. And this week they introduce a self-professed king and his pet tiger who does not seem to be evil at all. Where has King Ezekiel been hiding all this time?

Masters of Sex: So the first time (I think) Virginia ever professed her love was while pretending to be other people. Kind of sums up that relationship. And of course while they are off looking for clinics stealing their method, Nancy is plotting her own exodus who got even more underhanded by telling Art she is tired with the swinging lifestyle only to go back to her favorite swing afterwards. Should be interesting to see what her endgame is.

The Strain: Wow, what a brat, setting off a nuclear bomb because his father killed his undead mother. Little Godweather may have just vaulted up to the top of the list of the worst TV kid ever, and that is a pretty extensive list.
You can download The Strain on iTunes.

Gotham: “Stop the press,” good original Batman shout out. But I am getting tired of the Mad Hatter storyline, that is not a villain that deserves his own season long story arc, a villain of the week episode would have sufficed.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: I get a strong Smallville vibe between Kara and Lena. I just hope if that is the case we do not have to wait five long and slow seasons to have the two turn against each other as she embrasses the darkside. But on the flipside of that, having Kara and Mon-El accept each other after one episode when their races have been in a blood feud for centuries seemed a bit fast. It would be a bit disappointing if all the new characters (Mon-E;, Lena Luther, Miss Martian, hot lesbian vop) turn out to be allies with only an episode or two of being an anagonist at top. One of them has tto go full heel at some point.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Timeless: Wait, why did Flynn go back to the Alamo again? Just to kill everyone four days earlier? Kind of a waste of a time machine if you ask me. But one interesting part was Flynn teling Santa Anna he should grant quarter to the women and children as he is also a father. Could Flynn be Lucy’s currently unknown father? Seems obvious until I actually think about the logistics as he does not seem that much older than her (not that stops Hollywood as I believe the Gilmore Girls are only about nine years apart in real life). But then ago, current day Flynn could have gone back thirty-ish years and impregnated Lucy’s mother.
You can download Timeless on iTunes.

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X: So three post swap Tribal and three times the majority generation sent home one of their own. The Millennials go into the merge with the advantage but a lot of bad blood so it may very well be one of them heading off to the jury first. Except here we are at the merge and I still have no interest in rooting for any of these people.
Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X on iTunes.

The Good Place: The DJ monk finally got found out by his “lifepartner” though I was a bit disappointed that there was not his “real” version of him on The Bad Place train. But what was with the no new episodes until January? Why are they not airing up to the week before Thanksgiving? What exactly is NBC airing the next two weeks then? I looked up next week, but the regular line up is being pre-empted here for the Browns Thursday Night Football game. So expect the NFL primetime game ratings to continue to decline.
You can download The Good Place on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 10/23/16

Once Upon a Time: When the new teacher’s aide showed up talking about a princess from another land, I was really hoping this was going to be a Galavant crossover because that actress played a princess on the show. But alas, she turned out to be Princess Jasmine from Aladdin.
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Shameless: It was a long time coming, but Fiona is really laying down the law. But I wonder which Gallaher moves out first. I have a feeling they will all move out and will be back together by the season finale. Also, Frank’s new family will actually be disbanded by the end of the season.

Masters of Sex: Oh no, as soon as the baby was delivered, I had a sinking suspicion something was wrong, then Barton told Dr. Masters to scrub up. Now we are likely to have a custody battle that I cannot see Betty even getting her day in court back in the seventies.

The Strain: Did the writers forget that Gus had an older brother? Or did I misremember things? But I am pretty sure he was played by Weevil Navarro.
You can download The Strain on iTunes.

Gotham: At the end, I actually thought for a moment the Penguin and the Riddler were going to kiss. Of course they have more chemistry than Batman and Catwoman who had an extremely awkward kiss themselves.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Supergirl: And here is why I feared the show getting demoted to The CW, they bring in Metallo and then turn him into a male stripper. What the frack? And what was with Hank hiding as a little girl. Speaking of Hank, what was with Superman outing everyone’s secret identity? At the DEO, he called Hank Jonn and Supergirl Kara.

Timeless: I hope it does not become a thing where episodes where history does not change become less interesting. Actually things changed last week and I was still disappointed that nothing dramatic happened in Lucy's home like in the first episode where her sister no longer existed and now has a fiancee. I kind of want something dramatic to happen every week.
You can download Timeless on iTunes.

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X: Never a good sign when one of your tribemates have to ask, “Is he trying to throw this?” Even worse when the answer is probably no, he is just that incompetent. Poor David. But at least he was able to replenish his Idol after questionably giving his last one to Jessica. I actually thought he might actually lose it again on CeCe and that would have been at least defensible. Now he may be fourth in a four person tribe. Yeah he still has an Idol, but if his tribe loses two more Immunity Challenges before the merge that will not do him much good.
Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X on iTunes.

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

Once Upon a Time: Am I really going to dust off my high school reading list for this season? The Count of Monte Cisco? If they gang runs into the animals of Animal Farm, I may finally have to quit this show.
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Fear the Walking Dead: Oh snap, Travis just totally went HAM on those people that killed his son. But Christopher should have known if they were so quick to kill their friend, they would do the same to him.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

Masters of Sex: C’mon Lester, how do you not know they you have to re-fog the window by breathing on it to get the phone number? But a weird “coat” party. Betty goes home with a gay do they stares at him lingering when he answers the phone. Is she going to use him to make her girlfriend jealous, or is she looking for an assistant of her own? Then it was a shame Libby and Bill did not stick around to take coats that could have had fireworks. Then pour Virginia’s assistant, almost a sad sack as Lester, but at least the latter got some.

The Strain: What exactly was Fet doing all day? He went into the tunnels at dawn but did not get to the nest until dusk while Ephraim was quickly able to get to the lair fairly quickly. And when he ran into Gus, they all seemed comfortable letting the hot chick and the crippled old man get to the surface alone.
You can download The Strain on iTunes.

Gotham: When Hugo Strange was creating new personas for the Indian Hills residents, I thought the Alice in Wonderland book was a Mad Hatter Easter egg. Turns out it was his sister. Who knew Mad Hatter had a sister? And for someone experimented on, she seems relatively even keel: she was able to get a job, was compassionate enough to torch the bar where she spilled her blood because she knows her blood is poison, and even saved James from her brother.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Timeless: I figured that when Lucy came back, her mother would be better, but oh my, they made her sister not exist because the Hindenburg did not crash when it was supposed to. I did find the Pilot entertaining, but the more I think about their time travel laws, the more it kind of bugs me. Okay, I get they cannot go back and try to get the Hindenburg to crash on schedule to avoid seeing themselves but why is that stopping three other people from going back in time? Or go back a day before leave a message for them and travel back?
You can download Timeless on iTunes.

Conviction: It is depressing that there was actually a person who watched this Pilot and thought, “yeah, I would rather have Haley Atwell star in this on my network instead of Agent Carter.” And then make her do an American accent… c’mon, she couldn’t be the Prime Minister’s rebellious daughter who emigrated to leave the watchful eye of her parents?
You can download Conviction on iTunes.

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X: Survivor has become so predictable that even when something shocking happens, it is actually predictable. When Gen X lost, I thought, obviously CeCe is going home, then in th testimonial, one of the guys said, CeCe was the obvious vote, which then made me think, wait, that means CeCe is not going home. So of course when the old dude who, c’mon, is really Baby Boomer, got targeted, I knew it was going to be him. Meh.
Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X on iTunes

Blindplot: I never understand all the people who put their guns down to try to talk down a crazy person with a firearm. C’mon, stay put and let the fifteen year old empty her clip and then talk her down.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

The Blacklist: As a pretentious armchair television critic, I like to complain about procedurals, but I actually liked this show a lot better when they were taking down a new bad guy every episode instead spending all this time on Liz’s baby.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 10/1/2016

Once Upon a Time: So Emma is going to die? Alrighty. But who really care if we all now know you can escape from the afterworld? And wasn’t Aladdin part of the horrible spin-off? I vaguely remember it, but the only crossover was the one guy who was in the cast right after the show was canceled, did not do much besides flirt with Belle and quickly disappeared. I wonder if they will mention Wonderland with the addition of Aladdin.
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Masters of Sex: I thought they would drag out the new partners being secretly married for a while but Lester managed to out them pretty quickly. But the guy mentioning they have an open relationship should continue to make things interesting. Just who is going to hook up first? Virginia clearly need to find someone to help with her multiple orgasm study as the random guys she finds do not seem that interesting in her taking note. But Bill also seem like he is quick to want Virginia to be jealous.

Gotham: She may look much older but isn’t Ivy still a teenager at heart? She was pretty quick to kill that guy for not watering his plants. Now if only quick aging guy can age up the other kids on the show.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X: I said last week the dysfunction of the Millennial tribe was going to be the highlight of this season and their first appearance at tribal council did not disappoint. Although with all that chaos it ended up being a lopsided vote without any random votes. I hope they go on a losing streak because there will be weird things that go on if they keep going back I bet. Although I have to decry the promo monkey. C’mon, if you are going to tease a heart attack, dude cannot just turn out to be dehydrated.
Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X on iTunes

The Good Place: With a show featuring Veronica Mars and Sam Malone, who would have guessed a monk who took a vow of silence would steal the show? Also, I want a “Shirt for brain” t-shirt.
You can download The Good Place on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/25/16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/29/16

House of Lies: This was the second time this season the group got high to close a deal. Nice work if you can get it.

Penny Dreadful: So we do get a full flashback episode with Vanessa in the mental hospital and it was Frankenstein’s monster as the orderly. Kind of horror movies set up, girl in mental hospital and orderly learn to accept each other, a quick scare in the middle, and then at the end we finally see the Lucifer.. and then his brother… Dracula? And Lucifer is scared of Dracula? Mmm, alright. I kind of wish this was mixed in with other character’s segments because there was not much going on to fill an entire hour.

Gotham: I think I actually liked Clayface as Gordon more than I liked Gordon himself. Of course none of the guys figured out it was an imposter and it took Barbra only thirty seconds spot that it was not him. Speaking of doppelgangers, that last person out of the bus certainly looked a lot like Bruce with Edward Scissorhand hair.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Blindspot: So just who is Jane Doe? Taylor Shaw was a very compelling story arc that apparently is not who she is (though this is television, they can always have a twist next season and be like, nope, she really was Taylor, the bones were planted and Kurt’s dad was brainwashed; and of course my clone theory could still be in play). So Kurt arrests Jane, who surprisingly goes willingly. Sure he does not even give a reason, what exactly is she under arrest for? He does not know she killed a dude. She did not still someone else’s identity, it was assigned to her by the FBI themselves. I do have a sinking suspicion that the start of the next season, one of her tattoos will be integral to a case Kurt is working on and he will begrudgingly let her out of custody.

The Path: So the season ends where the first episode did, but instead of Eddie hallucination the leader dying with a snake slithering on him, he actually sees the cancer stricken leader up and walking around… or did he? A pretty vague ending. Still some other plot points things left unresolved. I spent most of the season wondering if certain characters were going to leave the cult while other would join. It seemed like the husband died under iffy circumstances yet that was not brought up this week and it seemed that the FBI guy may actually be back in, especially if he starts to believe Eddie’s prayer helped. And I am not entirely sure what I saw at the end. Cal spoke of a miracle a couple episodes ago, is the leader now cured and that is the miracle? Is Eddie hallucinating the leader, who is already dead, and the leader came to him in a passing of the torch situation?
You can stream The Path on Hulu.

The Americans: If one would flip, I always thought Philip would be the one as he actually seem to have empathy for his victims while Elizabeth is more single minded at her tasks. Last week was the first time I remember seeing empathy from her asking out of her con on the Asian people and then again when she got a call from the wife. Of course all that went out the window when she stabbed a dude in the neck in front of her daughter. Hard to claim to be a non-violent spy when you can kill a man that easily and not blink.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

Nashville: The show was a late cancel and it did seem like there was a good chance it was coming back (they just hired a new showrunner for a potential next season) but it did seem like they rushed to put a nice bow on every storyline (well, except Juliet’s plane going missing and of course Layla can never end up happy). Especially the Maddie, she gets mad when Deacon tries to save her from a skeevy dude at a concert caressing her leg, but is glad when he is there when a skeevy producer does the same thing. But it was definitely time for this show to go, probably could have ended last season.

The Challenge: Rivals III: So this is the fourth episode and we still have had only one elimination. As much as I enjoy see Camillinator just going H.A.M. on everyone, let’s cut some of that down and get back to one elimination per episode. Or cut down on time spent on challenges by getting rid of heat based challenges. Sure I enjoy seeing people dropping from heights into water, but we only saw three heats this week and we still have three or four left to get through. (also ending on a is Camilla hurt cliffhanger loses its suspense when we see her at the elimination on the promo for next week, stupid promo monkeys.) Figure out how to have everyone go at once because these heat based challenges are getting too repetitive. Or do a spelling bee, c’mon, who’s against a spelling be challenge (except the actual contestants)?
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

Orphan Black: The Donny getting arrested scene was great, probably the most entertaining this season, but why did Allison not go down for the drug business too? As great as Donny in jail will likely be, Allison in prison would be so much better.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/22/16

Once Upon a Time: The best part (and really, increasingly the only good part) of the show is the pre-tease break. Except this season they defeated Hades in the anti-penultimate episode and we got a two hour tease of what is to come next. Color me uninterested already. So we meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde who split themselves into two different entities which was just introduced to have the Evil Queen and Regina at the same time. I am guess they are going to explain the Evil Queen did not die from her heart being crushed because she is so evil she does not even have a heart. And how good is purely good Regina if she is willing crush someone’s heart? I was more in in the quick page flip in the books in the library where we saw Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. I would rather take a trip through American folklore than a severely watered down version of Penny Dreadful.
You can download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

House of Lies: It was pretty clear that movie producers in the eighties were doing copious amounts of cocaine by the types of movies they greenlit: a mannequin romantic comedy, one with a dead guy as the main character, both inexplicably got sequels. But the most shocking movie that got made with 20/20 hindsight was the feel good racist comedy Soul Man where noted white dude C. Thomas Howell takes tanning pills to get a scholarship for African-Americans. With all the outrage of blackface and cultural appropriation these days I thought we would never see that storyline ever again. It probably also lessens the outrage by having black guy (with a white mother) play the faker as white people do not care much about whiteface. Though I still do not know how there was not more outrage surrounding White Chicks.

Penny Dreadful: So Vanessa has met Dracula before. I thought we would get a lengthy flashback in a future episode; instead we get a one minute scene tacked on the end of the episode. Maybe it is just a tease for a lot more flashbacks next week. And was that even Dracula? It looked more like Frankenstein’s monster in his previous life without hair. And about Frank, was that remembering his younger self? Bu it looked like that kid was near death. Unless Dr. Frankenstein implanted a child’s brain into the monster’s body. Or maybe he has residual memories of all his body parts. As for his creator, we did learn his buddy’s experiment is only temporary. The question now is has Dr. Jekle already taken his cure or does that come later?

Quantico: No wonder Asher could not make it at Quantico, dude was not even smart enough to jump out of the car before it went over the bridge. But then again, how smart am I for making it all the way through the season?
You can download Quantico on iTunes.

Gotham: How disappointing that Hugo Strange is implanting new personas in the people he resurrects but Fish Mooney remembers who she was. I thought we were finally going to learn what Batman villain she turns in to. But we did get Clayface… I think.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Blindspot: Wow that was the worst death scene in recent memory. But I guess when you are killed off a show, why bother trying anymore (well except if you hope to get more work somewhere else). But maybe the bigger bombshell was that Kurt’s father confessed to killing Taylor Shaw like everyone thought prior to Jane Doe showing up with markers saying she was and was not Taylor. We do have to wait until the finale to see if this was the ratings of a delusional man or a real bedside confession, but you have to assume it is the latter. Unless, could this be an Orphan Black situation and Jane Doe is a clone of Taylor? That could be really interesting and explain the DNA inconsistencies.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

Castle: It was probably for the best that ABC canned this show, most shows have a shelf life of five seasons if they are lucky so eight is enough (bad old person’s pun intended). But oh, was that final scene crammed in. I guess we can assume had the show been renewed and Kate was not returning, she does not survive the gunshot. Actually that scene seemed crammed in to as if they tacked that on after learning Stana Katic was not coming back.
You can download Castle on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Gee, and I just got done talking about the worst death scene, this one came pretty close with Hive and low rent Electro bro-ing down before their inevitable deaths. And this is exactly why I hate it when shows open up X amount of time in the future before flashing back, we knew someone die and Yoyo’s cross had something to do with it and then in the last episode five different characters played hot potatoes with it. But of course Electro ended up with it because there can be no happy couples on a Weadon show (Really the only fake out they had was when Fitz had the cross for a scene). But hey at least we finally got rid of Ward… unless he turns out to be what the Irish doctor was working on. Please no. That body did look feminine. A mate for Vision? Also six months in the future Daisy has gone rouge and Coulson is reporting to a director (is that Talbert or is there a new head of SHIELD). And why six months? The show seems to move in real time and six months puts us in November when presumably the season will start in late September. Doctor Strange comes out in November but I doubt there will be much cross over with that movie. I wonder if we will have to wait a month or two until we see that scene and prior to that is Coulson searching for Daisy or in that basically where the season will start?
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Path: All season I have ping-ponged back and forth predicting this character is going to join the cult while that one would be joining. Here we are with one episode left and it looks like I was wrong every time. There was a time I thought FBI guy would join, but after his diatribe with Eddie, that is never going to happen, especially after learning Allison’s husband did die under suspicious circumstances. And Allison looks to be coming back into the fold (although that may not last long after she sees the autopsy. I thought the teens would run away together, and Hawk actually did leave, but sneaky Cal nipped that in the bud. But the biggest transition is Eddie. They teased his moments of doubt early in the season, but mostly re-found his way after time in the program in the room. Was that punch his way of exiting the cult?
You can stream The Path on Hulu.

Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II: Usually I have a good sense of how the winds are blowing going into the finals but I was a bit shocked at how Aubrey did not win and it was not even because of that silly evict a jury member (worst twist since Redemption Island). Sure her Final Tribal was less than stellar (how do you not play up how well you adapted after your two biggest allies were pulled from the game?). But congratulations to Michele who did a much better job playing up her underdog role than Aubrey. Poor Tai, does not even get a pity vote. I originally thought it was a bad decision to split the votes and not take Cydney to the final three but in retrospect, I am not sure it matter with Michele winning either way. Maybe Cydney wins the Jury Veto (which is a stretch because for a Brawn, she was not that great in challenges) and bans Julia, then maybe Tai could have gotten Aubrey, Joe, Neil, and Debbie, but I think instead, Michele wins by a larger margin.

But Michele winning was not the biggest shock of the night, seriously, what was Sia doing there? And was that even really her? In real time it sounded to me her accent was coming and going. If it was, Sia just continues to get weirder. Wow. Then we got a tease for next season: Millennials vs. Gen X. Meh. Didn’t the last time they separated end up being an epic fail (that would be the Jimmy Johnson season that was won by Fabio). Probably one of the bottom five seasons of all time. And just by the trailer the Millennials were getting on my nerve already. If they are going to divide by age, I wish they would have done three of four tribes: people in the their twenties, thirties, and forties plus, and maybe fifties plus.
You can download Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II on iTunes.

The Americans: Kind of a throwaway episode because I never thought Reverend Tim was ever in much danger. Really having an emotionally pregnant woman now knowing their secret was the bigger danger. The more ingesting part of the episode was Stan’s old boss getting approached by the KGB. I kind of wanted him to take the offer. Instead he runs through a glass door. Not the best escape plan. It will be interesting how this effects the main storyline.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals III: The first challenge really suck, now this, this is the challenge I have come to know and love, grinding on a bar of soap. Awesome. Not so awesome is replacing LeRoy with some nobodies. Actually worse than nobody, somebody who thinks acting crazy will get them more screen time. More annoying was T.J. canceling the Jungle for no good reason. So that is two of three episodes where no one when home.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals III on iTunes.

The Blacklist: There was never a point where I thought Lizzie was dead, the only question I had was who helped her. I had thought it was whoever was trying to kidnap Lizzie but it ended up being Tom and Red’s henchwoman. And I long assumed the person that was trying to kidnap was her not so dead mother. Nope, wrong again, it was her dad, or someone claiming to be her dad. That puts a crinkle in my long theory that Red was Lizzy’s dad. After the chunkiness of this season (somewhat reasonable due to a real life pregnancy) this sets up a very interesting season four.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Orphan Black: Crystal is quickly moving up my Clone Power Ranking. She almost made me forget there was no Allison this week. Almost. Seriously, do not make me go a week without an Allison fix.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.