57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLVI

The Walking Dead: I kept on waiting the whole episode for that grenade Rick picked up to come into play (I wonder why he never tried to find the keys to the tank?); I thought he might toss it down the ladder when he realized the Walkers might climb up. I thought he might use it in the front of the department store with all the Walker broke through the first window. I thought he might use it on the grate in the sewers. I thought he would use that as the distraction as they went to get the truck. But in never came into play. Hopefully we have a good pay off with the grenade.

I thought while watching the credits this week, if these were in fact spoilers. Is it safe to assume that those that didn’t make the title sequence are essentially redshirts for the zombies to eat? Thankfully none of the actors have much name recognition so I really do not know who cast members are and who are just supporting actors. You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: So Barney finally get the name of his father in the same episode we meet Zoey’s father husband. Not that I really cared much about either as I kept hoping the whole episode would be Ted saying “wieners”. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: What the frack was with that ending? I think that creeped me out more than anything on The Waking Dead this week. But anyway. Didn’t Sterling have a picture of Thomas, how didn’t he recognize him in the elevator. Wasn’t his flashback about how he was going to pay attention to detail to everything, how he missed an alien standing right next to him. And what is with the promo about finally learning who tried to assassinate the president? Don’t we already know it was Hal Holbrook and his shady cabal? And how did his crony go from a broken leg held at gun point by a Federal Agent to standing on two legs free? Did I miss something? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Castle: Wow, that was the least sad I have ever seen anyone who had just been told their pet ran away. I know as a guy I have been more lenient to a big butt and a smile than I should, but I would be very happy if some token hot chick lost one of my pets, I’d at the very least want some tears before I even considered accepting an apology. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Parenthood: Just as I predicted, Patty Pryor and Vince Howard hooked up and it was as creepy as I expected. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: I can’t believe they let the incest go as far as they did, but I guess I should not expect that Sons of Anarchy will not step over the preverbal line considering just earlier in the episode they went all Hostel on one of the characters. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: It has been pretty clear that they decided to cast a whole group of Russell’s and this season is suffering greatly. I’m hoping the teaser was a meteor that killed half the tribe which means they will have to end this season early. And hopefully the next season isn’t the much rumored Russell vs. Boston Rob season. Of course if Survivor were to ever bring back Russell how do you not vote him off the first tribal he goes to? You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Terriers: It has been song long since they mentioned it, I almost forgot the overarching plot. And they brought it back with a vengeance with that reporter poking into that land developer. Though I do not understand why Hank presented himself to the guy afterward, seems like a risky proposition considering his henchmen is good at concealing murder. And it was nice seeing the Nerds of Dooms back again as the worst kidnappers ever. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Terriers on iTunes.

The Challenge: Cutthroat: Who would’ve guessed that MTV would have a stronger concussion policy than the NFL? You can stream recent episodes on MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Cutthroat on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: I have never been a fan of a female version of Sheldon, but Amy continually checking out Wikipedia for things to do at a slumber party was pretty hilarious, especially when she tried lesbian activities.

Community: I do not know what a bottle episode is and I do not care what a bottle episode is, I am just disappointed I had to see Chevy Chase in his underwear, but Annie never stepped out from behind the desk. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Outsourced: India really needs more holidays where Charlie can shoot off his guns in the streets. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Outsourced on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLIV

Chuck: Watching this week just reminded me how horrible the new Nightmare on Elm Street was (sorry Tami Taylor). Seriously, Robert England couldn’t reprise his role? Of course even the original Freddy wouldn’t have saved the movie, but it would have been a step up. But back to Chuck; was this the first Halloween episode where none of the character actually dressed up? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

The Event: So we learn that where Sophia is from there is little to no water and she seemed quite puzzled at the dog. That hampers (but does not complexly hurt) my future theory. But it may gain more credence to a Martian theory. And what the frack was the blue light at the end? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Castle: If I am not mistaken, this was the first perp in three seasons to actually get away. And no Castle has a case to haunt him just like Beckett’s mom does her. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

No Ordinary Family: Holy Deputy Leo sighting! And finally a run-in with someone else with powers. It has been a month since Jim had come face to face with one. Hopefully they realize this should be a weekly occurrence. That and more Deputy Leo. On a side note, how unrealistic was those football scenes? I am not expecting Friday Night Lights quality scenes, but everyone was jogging down the field, you got to at least run. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download No Ordinary Family on iTunes.

Parenthood: Vince Howard isn’t really going to hook up with Pattie Pryor is he? But since Parenthood like pouching Friday Night Lights actors, can they just go ahead and have the Taylors move to California? Maybe Drew needs a football coach because does not seem to have anything else going on. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: They are not really going to have Jax unknowingly put the movies on his half sister Trinity (who I keep on wanting to call Trixie) are they? Doesn’t she know that information? Or did her mom never tell her about her dad? At least we finally got an explanation as to why no one bothered to return Able. Albeit a convoluted one. But will Jax and his buddies play proxy to the priest? This should be interest. What is not interesting: what’s going on in Charming. I wish they had just staying in Belfast all episode. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: Was this a repeat from last week, or yet again did Marty make a stupid move with his Immunity Idol and his tribe once again did not vote him out for it? Have these people never seen Survivor: you never give your Idol to someone unless to save someone in your alliance (and sometimes not even then) because if you do, you will be promptly be voted out. And we learned why we have yet to have heard from Purple Kelly before this week, she apparently cannot string sentences together. How did she make it through the casting process? You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Modern Family: Being a college grad, I have seen my fair share of “slutty” Halloween costumes inclusing Slutty Elmo, but Hayley’s Slutty Mother Teresa is a first. And if it nice to see the family back together for the first time this season. Hopefully we do not have to wait for the gay Thanksgiving for their next get-together. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



The Challenge: Cutthroat: The slap challenge had to have been the weirdest competition on any reality show ever, or at least since Double Dare. You can stream recent episodes on MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Cutthroat on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: How is it the nerds on the show all have hot sisters? And how can Raj be that mad considering he was an experimental drug away from hooking up with Sheldon’s sister?

Community: As I earlier declared this the decade of zombies I had high hopes for this episode, but is clear that zombies are too slow moving for a quality twenty minute parody. And really, how can anyone do a better zombie parody than Shawn of the Dead? You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Outsourced: There is nothing more awkward plot on television (and not even a good awkward) than the Asha / Todd / Tanya love triangle which I am not even sure it is technically a triangle since Todd doesn’t have any interest in Tanya. They really need to move away from that plot and have more Charlie with a chain saw. And if anyone was wondering, the version of Hall and Oates She's Gone featured on the show was by The Bird and the Bee. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Outsourced on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLIII

Chuck: Here’s hoping that Morgan breaks Casey’s daughter’s hearty so Casey kills him off once and for all. With that said, this may have been the most enjoyable episode in over a year. The best part was when Casey accidentally called Jeffster while being drugged and them not be at all surprised by his predicament. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: I am with the guy, you just do not talk about that kind of stuff. The thing is, guys do not talk about about girls we have been with, we just talk in detail about girls we want to be with. And the locker room discussion was spot on. Guys do not want to talk to naked dudes. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: When the absurdly hot brunette came face to face with the baby she was tasked with eliminating, I when into my usual Lost mode of thinking, well it is obvious that was her “son” from the previous episode but even though it was obvious, we will not learn the reveal for another season or two. But surprisingly, unlike Lost they actuaqly let us in on this obvious act that anyone with half a brain would assume that same episode. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Spike Scream Awards: Why do teen girls have to ruin everything made for guys? First this week at the Scream Awards on Spike (which I thought was supposed to be the first network for men), Twilight picked up three awards. Then Glee landed on the cover of GQ (which I thought was supposed to stand for Gentlemen’s Quarterly). Seriously teen girls, can we men have something for our own? What are you going to ruin next? Is Justin Beiber going to top next year’s Maxim Hot 100?

Parenthood: Great Arrested Development shout out buy having Amber (her?) in a banana suit. Too bad they didn’t go all meta for the other characters, I guess the baseball outfit Adam wore could have been a Sports Night reference, but that might be a stretch. And I am glad theyfinally revealed Christina’s costume because I would have never guessed a Q-Tip. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: During Gemma’s great escape I spent the whole time waiting for her to punch Tara “for authenticity’s sake” and at least her boss thought of it instead. Next episode should be quite a showdown between SAMCRO and the Irish, assuming the next episode takes solely on the plane trip over there. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: It may not even crack the top five dumbest moves from last season, but the first tribal council was just filled with stupid decision. After Brenda threw him under the bus at tribal, how does Marty not play his Immunity Idol? And since Marty didn’t play his Idol, how does his tribe not vote him out on the revote? Now they do not have the numbers to flush out the Idol, not that they are likely to even have that chance because of the other tribe voting out strong players over Dan who can barely even walk let alone compete in anything. So Marty may very well may have a free ride to the merge with his Idol in tack. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Modern Family: I realized why I am not enjoying this season as much as the last one (aside from the families not intermingling very much), where is Dylan? How did they not add him to the cast after being the breakout guest star of last season? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Terriers: Here’s hoping the trio of nerd maker regular appearences and can be Hank’s version of the Lone Gunman, They had me laughing on thje floor when they were on screen. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Terriers on iTunes.

The Challenge: Cutthroat: That was kind of a pitiful get well T.J. crew they got. Where were all the All-Stars? It was like the B-Team of challenges. And what a shame it came during an episode where someone quit. T.J. hates quitters. You can stream recent episodes on MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Cutthroat on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: I guess we are in the start of episodes where there will be no Penny due to her horse episode. Maybe they should have shut down production until she was better. It juts didn’t feel right without her there as she grounds the show from all the nerdy excess of the guys.

Community: Enough with the meta jokes. When you are making Meta jokes about being Meta, it is time to stop. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Outsourced: It has become pretty clear the Diedrich Bader is the MVP of the show. The two episodes that he has been featured heavily have been the best two of the early series, the others mediocre at best. Hopefully they can work him in more often, especially with the B-Team. And what is the Aussie chick’s role exactly, she really hasn’t fit in anywhere as of yet. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Outsourced on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLII

Rubicon: I wonder when they came up with the idea of blowing out the pipeline, did they had to add the BP line afterwards so people like me wouldn’t go “we just went through three months of BP spewing oil into the gulf, how bad can this attack be?” You can download Rubicon on iTunes.

Chuck: Unlike Nicole Ritchie last week, this was a cool call back with Casey’s former nemesis in the form of Armande Assante. Loved all of Casey’s tales of living in the walls of the palace for two weeks. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: That was the best episode the show has had in a while, you can’t go wrong with multiple Maury Povich sightings. Loved the GPS cutscreens (too bad they didn’t do it throughout the whole episode. But I think I missed something, I thought the were originally racing to see Woody Allen and once they got there, decided to race back to their pub, yet the episode ended with them with whoever’s buddy who spotted Woody in the first place. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: That was a silly polt twist of letting Layla think she got free just to lure Sean. And if they want him dead, why not kill him while on the cruise? But I do have a theory that this may turn out to be a Terminator situation where Sean creates the nanobots that allows Sophia and her people not to age and the absurdly hot brunette and her people want to kill him before that happens and Sophia has traveled back in time to make sure that happens. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Castle: I am a little disappointed that the case didn’t actually involve any time travel. And I do not care how inaccurate someone tries to tell me a nineteenth century gun is, I am not participating in any duel. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

No Ordinary Family: The kids got a little less annoying this week, but it is not a good sign that I am starting to get bored with the adjusting to the powers phase. Better have a run in with a big bad soon or at least some interaction with other with powers because I am starting to get bored. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download No Ordinary Family on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: It looks like we finally will see SAMCRO touchdown in Ireland next week. That only took seven episodes. But I wouldn’t put it past the show that something will keep Jax and company from getting on the plane. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: I hate when the show teases my least favorite contestants getting voted out only for the rug being pulled out from under me. Seriously,, if NaOnca wanted to leave, vote her out. That was a gimmie vote right there. And if Marty was so shocked by the mixing of the tribes, why did he bring his Immunity Idol? I was kind of hoping that it would be just hanging up for anyone to grab at his old tribe. While the water challenge may have been the most evil the show has ever devised. I was kind of hoping the wheel would move more slowly just to see someone panic. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Modern Family: The show is much better with Alex playing with Hayley, not the other way around. But with the holidays coming up, they better find a way to intermingle the families because it is just not as good when tat doesn’t happen. Al Bundy racist jokes can only get you so far. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



The Challenge: Cutthroat: Best wishes go out to TJ Lavin who had a bad accident earlier this week and is in a medically induced coma. He has really found his groove on the show in a Jeff Probstian way and it is had to think of the show without him even if it rotated plenty of host before him. You can stream recent episodes on MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Cutthroat on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: Great way for Sheldon to win the argument just by bringing over Penny so Raj couldn’t retort (but Raj may have gotten the last, and biggest, laugh with his oversized desk). But did we know Howard and Bernadette broke up? We hadn’t seen her for a while but I did not remember her even being mentioned this season.

Community: The show really needs to put a moratorium on parodies or at lead limit themselves to only one a month because it seems like that is all the show does anymore. It was funny that they brought up Scary Movie because that was exactly what I was thinking of when I realized we were getting yet another parody. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLI

Rubicon: This was the episode that made watching the show worth it. Who would have thought a show about analyst would have such a fight scene (though how a trained military man cannot take out a fact finder is a little farfetched). And we got a huge piece of the puzzle when Will figured out that API was a front for people to profit off of tragedy. And I would be willing to bet that the guy Will’s tem has been tracking is meant to be the catalyst of the next big score for the cabal. You can download Rubicon on iTunes.

Chuck: Please do not bring back Nicole Richie ever again please. It was painful to watch the first time around. And it was a little disappointing that we didn’t get a longer showdown between former co-workers Stone Cold Steve Austin and Stacy Keibler. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: “Where’s the poop” has to be the worst attempt at a catchphrase the show has ever has. Maybe the worst idea for a catchphrase any show has ever had, or really anyone ever. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: During this episode I was thinking of last week’s The Big Bang Theory and thought, “what if The Others (I am not up on the fandom, does Sophia’s group have an official, or even unofficial name yet?) were actually from a future where The Singularity has already happened where nanobots have merged with the human body. This would explain why they age very slowly and maybe The Singularity is The Event (apparently I was wrong when I assumed the disappearing plane was The Event). Could the resurrection of the airplane people be the results of nanobots? I am intrigued enough for another week. But hopefully we get the timeline of what happened to Sean between the time he was on the cruise ship to where he got on the plane sooner than later. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Castle: Evil Promo Monkeys strike again. We learn last week that the paper is actually a treasure map (not to mention spoil the hilarious gun showdown at the end) but have to wait for two-thirds of the episode for Castle figure it out. And I am disappointed that no one realized that Beckett’s buddy was using a photo with her as way to get a picture with the map when I knew exactly what he was doing as he was doing it. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

No Ordinary Family: Ask and you shall receive. In my initial review of the show I suggested what the show need most, even more than killing off the annoying kids, was an addition of a nemesis. And who would have guessed it would end up being the dad from 7th Heaven? But why exactly is he resorting to murder to cover up the existence of people with super powers? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download No Ordinary Family on iTunes.

Parenthood: Since she started appearing on the show, I thought something was off about Lyla Garrity that I could not put my finger on until I started rewatching Friday Night Lights on ABC Family, Lyla has the greatest ponytail ever in the history of the world and on Parenthood rarely utilizes that fact. It would be like having Lynyrd Skynyrd do a show and saying to them, “hey guy, why don’t you just skip playing Free Bird tonight.” You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Someone really need to explain what is going to me. Maybe something is getting lost in translation because I still have no idea why the Irish are still holding on to Able. I really need to watch the scenes in Ireland with subtitles on because I am certainly missing something. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: It is never a good sign when the thirty second preview in more entertaining than the entire forty minute episode. But they switched up the tribes about two episodes too late. Here’s hoping that Marty and NaOnka end up on the same tribe and just vote each other out. But the big question is what is going to happen to the Immunity Idol just hanging up in the old person’s tribe? Will NaOnka rip off Kelly’s leg to get another one? Hopefully the Medallion of Power doesn’t stick around after the switch. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Terriers: I am having a little trouble following the storyline here. So the sex tape guy has incriminating paperwork, so evil lawyer get him in on bogus charges, but it turns out evil lawyer wanted the incriminating paperwork to go public so his land would be considered to toxic to build? Maybe when we finally learn what is now going on at the fake toxic site I will fully understand what is going on. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Terriers on iTunes.

The Challenge: Cutthroat: The show finally discovered, twenty seasons in (wow, 20), what Survivor realized in its first season, Australian ballots make for a much more interesting outcome in the voting. I also like the three team twist because it never seemed fair that winning teams may lose a member of their team. But no sign from CT yet, though we learn from the season trailer that he brought Tina along who hasn’t been seen since pooping Beth a while ago when she was a Challenge staple for a while. Will they be replacing people who punched each other (which would be odd since they are of opposite gender) or just part of a challenge? MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Cutthroat on iTunes.

Community: What was up with Abed and the pregnant chick, he is in the background in a couple scenes and even mentions it at the end, but I just didn’t get the reference. The show just falls flat whenever I do not get whatever Meta in joke of the week is. Not that I am saying this episode fell flat per say because it is hard to complain about anything that involves Annie and Britta oil wrestling. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CL

Rubicon: C’mon, all the bombs go off at 4:20 EST and no one makes the easiest connection all? Of course this is the day Tanya in on her rehab assignment; she surely would have gotten it. You can download Rubicon on iTunes.

Chuck: Was that really Balki Bartokomous who showed up for half a second? The show is really going overboard with their guest stars. This week The Hulk, a Victoria’s Secret model (okay, I do not have much problem with that), and the Old Spice guy. There are even recycling them next week with the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Nicole Richie and whoever Greta will be that week. I am all for bringing familiar faces, but it is beginning to be too much. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: So how exacklt did Barney talk everyone in to helping him move out his mother? But anyway. I am totally on the underselling things. Just set the bar so low that you can walk over it. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: I may already be off the bandwagon. When the skevvy hairy dude was killed off I wondered to myself was he a pawn used by the ht brunette, how was he chosen. Then realized that his death will be the end of it and I doubt we will ever hear from him again and will just go down as a red herring. And of course my biggest complaint about Lost is that 90% turned out to be red herring.. I don’t expect every loose end to be tied up, but I am disappointed that I am already resigned to not getting an answer to the show.

In none disappointing news, I was totally right about the alien angle and that Sophia’s buddies were the ones that diverted the plane. What I didn’t see coming was the one CIA agent was an alien all along as seen in the graphic vein removal scene. Which begs the question, who is the hot brunette and who is she working for? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Castle: If there is one thing I learned from Lost (besides never end a series in a church) is that I really hate the argument between fate an free will. And as fun as having a psychic possibly predicting her own death, I treally6 disliked Castle and Beckett debating for and against back and forth. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes

Parenthood: Wow, Sarah’s really getting around, first she flirts with the boss and now a warehouse worker. You know this cannot end well for her, but the question is will she bring her brother down with her. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: I couldn’t watch this episode live and managed to go most of Thursday without being spoiled, avoiding websites that cover the show, starting conversations by saying I missed it and the such. But of course this was the week Jimmy Johnson gets voted off and I get spoiled by PTI when they wish a Happy Tails to the former football coach. Hurnph. And on a side note, can please go back to separate Reward and Immunity challenges please? You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Modern Family: The correlation between how much the families interact and how funny an episode hold up again as this was much funnier than last week mostly thanks to Al Bundy slapping the evil out of the chickens. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Terriers: So the person living in Hank’s attic is his crazy sister (played by Donal Louge’s real twin sister). Didn’t see that one coming. And Hank and his partner just seem to continue to fail upward uncovering big and bigger fish in some weird conspiracy. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Terriers on iTunes

The Big Bang Theory: I really hate it when the show dips into my own personal life for storylines. Not only am I as limber as Sheldon, I have been preparing for the Singularity also. And yes this is a real thing but by estimates, as long as we make it to seventy, we might be able to make it as long as we stay away from any rogue badgers.

Community: Annie and chloroform may be the greatest gag this show has ever down. Yes even funnier than anything in the paintball episode even if I knew it was coming once Abed pulled it out of his caper bag. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXLIX

Rubicon: I am surprised that Will at no point thought the chick who lived in the apartment with a clear look into his wasn’t hired by the shadowy figures that put tabs on him. When I first saw her a couple episodes back, that was the first thing that crossed my mind. You can download Rubicon on iTunes.

Chuck: The show is really getting too cartoony in this episode. Sure the “If you die, you die” quote was awesome, but with all the Meta jokes and homage I thought I was watching an episode of Community. And Olivia Munn seemed a little underutilized. And did Sarah Conner really kill Ivan Drago? I was kind of hoping he would stick around. Maybe that is why they used all his catchphrases in this episode knowing he wouldn’t stick around. But the biggest question is with the CIA taking over the Buy More, where does that leave Big Mike and Jeffster? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

The Event: I didn’t want to bring this up in my preview because it would have been way spoilery, but the chick from ER and her buddies have to be aliens, right? But what happened to the plane, did Sophia (who I do not think was a coincidence was the only one that wasn’t knocked down by the blast) have something to do with it, was it some of her buddies that weren’t detained, were they enemies of Sophia. Is The Event a fight between Sophia and another alien race? They have me drawn in for at least another episode. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: So who is getting married of where Ted will meet his future bride for the first time? Since it was the story of the week, I originally thought it was Rachel Bilson’s, but how could Ted be the Best Man and not meet her roommate, unless the roommate has since moved out (and do lesbian weddings have Best Man’s anyway or just two Maids of Honor?) Next thought was Barney and Robin, but are they really going to get married before Ted? And again, how does the wife get invited to the wedding without meeting Ted first unless she is the date of someone else? But the real question is, can we just meet the mother already. Oh and I predict it is Ted’s dad who is getting married. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

Castle: There are very few things I hate more on television then episodes that start in the third act, then gives us the “Three days earlier.” One of those things I hate more is when they do that only when the episode finally gets back to the third act and what we were meant to believe was going on wasn’t actually was what was going on. Seriously, starting an episode with a dude trying to stand up an egg wasn’t entertaining enough? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes

Parenthood: As a former driving instructor, I am fully behind Christina in being very afraid of a teen driver. And how you get back into a car with someone who leaves the side mirror hanging by a thread is insane. Not to say that my car doesn’t have its fair amount of duct tape on it. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Even though I did not want to actually see what he was doing, I was a little disappointed we didn’t get to hear the eighties soundtrack Stephen King was utilizing while do his “cleaning.” And what moron thought it was a good idea to let Opie be in the vicinity while his old lady was “working.” I knew how that was going to end when I first saw him. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: One of the dumbest performances at a Tribal Council ever. Who comes out and threatens the swing vote right off the bat? And it was a battle of bad stereotypes at Tribal between the ignorant hillbilly and the angry black women. I was bored by the first half of the episode, but if the Tribal was any indication, the season could still prove entertaining. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Better With You: I was hopping a little better from this show with its highly likable cast (with the exception of the younger boyfriend who got annoying fast). If it can hit some sort of stride, it can be as good as How I Met Your Mother, so I will give it a couple more tries and it and The Middle could be a nice Hulu viewing on the weekend since I will be too busy with Survivor on Wednesdays. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.

Modern Family: I really hope that this was an indication of a sophomore slump because I didn’t find much of the episode particularly funny. But the show has always been at its best when the family intermixes, and there wasn’t much of that aside from Al Bundy helping out with the construction, which was the funniest part of the episode. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Terriers: What the frack is up with that ending? Maybe the most bizarre cliffhanger ever. Was someone breaking into Hank’s attic? Does he have a squatter? Did the wifey forget something important up there that she doesn’t want him to know about? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Terriers on iTunes

The Big Bang Theory: Yeah, this show is way better when Penny and Lenard are not dating. And though I was apprehensive of a female Sheldon, Blossom did have some good lines especially when she and Sheldon were calculating Penny’s sexual encounters. I am not sure if Penny carrying Sheldon and Blossom’s offspring would be the greatest idea even on television or the worst. Maybe hold off that storyline until the seventh season.

Community: “I’m hoping we can move away from the soapy relationship stuff and into bigger fast paced, self contained escapades.” Me too. Also I agree the blurred line between life and television was so season one. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Also check out my first impressions of The Event, Undercovers, and Outsourced.

Previewing The Event

Back in the first year of Lost, I was so invested; I re-watched the show during its summer repeats to try to catch anything I missed the first time around. I know it was all for naught because 99% of the mysteries on the show was just a big red herring. I bring this up because during every commercial break I was stuck hearing some annoying kid say, “Mom, you smell different” to the point of when Invasion started up that fall I was already sick of the show. I have to imagine anyone who watched any of NBC’s summer shows are tired of hearing, “We have a problem, he’s going to tell him about… The Event.” Thankfully I already know that America doesn’t have talent, so I am only mildly annoyed by the campaign.

Invasion of course was added to the schedule to capitalize on Lost’s success, but much like Lost, Invasion (as well as Surface, Threshold, Heroes, The Nine, Jericho, Journeyman, Bionic Woman, Life on Mars, Day One, Flashforward, and Persons Unknown) is no longer on the air. That hasn’t NBC from trying to recreate that half season buzz they produced themselves during that three episode arc when Heroes didn’t absolutely suck with two shows announced for this television season.

The only one on this fall will be The Event (The Cape is set for midseason, but then again so was Day One last year). It is hard to talk about the show without spoiling it because everything seems to tie into each other. So if you watched Lost to analyze the going on’s of the Dharma Initiative and could have care less about if Kate ended up with Jack or Sawyer, The Event may be for you. And the show does promise the answers will come quickly. Even mentioning some actors in the cast may be too much of a spoiler and certainly explaining why they are on the show are some.

What we do know:

1. The disappearance is not The Event. So Jason Ritter (Joan of Arcadia) and the moderately attractive Sarah Roemer (Fired Up) are on a romantic cruise and of course just when he is about to propose she disappears. And not just goes missing, but disappears with no trace of her ever being on the boat. Do we find out in the Pilot where she goes: no.

2. The CIA cover up is not The Event. Perennial creepy dude Željko Ivanek (Live Free or Die Hard) is the Director of National Intelligence who failed to inform the President of a hundred detainees, led by ER’s Laura Innes. Do we learn why they were detained: no.

3. The assassination plot is not The Event. Blair Underwood (Deep Impact) is the black president with a Hispanic name (take that President Palmer) who sees an airplane barreling toward him during a press conference. Do who know who is piloting the plane: yes (though not who is behind the pilot).

Of course the big question is do we actually learn what The Event is? Not only do you learn what The Event is, you learn of it in the very first scene (I think, something big happens though no one comes out and says, “you see what just happened there, that is The Event we are talking about”) though you won’t know what the frack is going on until the final scene of the episode.

Yep that means we will be doing the time warp pretty early in the show and quite frequently. And this isn’t like Lost where they (usually) fliped in-between two different linear storylines, The Event bounces between three non-linear storylines (Ritter’s, Underwood’s, and CIA agent played by Ian Anthony Dale, Mr. 3000) throughout the whole episode to the point where you wished you took notes because sometimes it is hard to wrap your head around what is going on. So if you added to Lostpedia, this show is definitely for you. Just demand to the writers on The Event that they are not allowed to close the series finale in a church in purgatory.

The Event airs Mondays at 9:00 on NBC.


One quick note on the show that will follow The Event, Chase is your run of the mill Jerry Bruckheimer event. It shows some flashes but is at the end of the day very bland. Less than half way through I thought how they could not have caught the fugitive of the week by now? And the casting is pretty laughable; seriously, the gardener from Desperate Housewives? I guess after assembling most of the main cast of Swinf@n on the network, NBC next will try recruiting actors from John Tucker Must Die with Brittany Snow attached to a midseason show (I can not imagine Sophia Bush has anything better thing to do to create the trifecta). But if you like procedural cop shows, you can do much worse, you will still be better off waiting for the return of the much more superior show about a federal marshal, Justified.