More premieres this week, including the show I've been looking forward to more than anything - Arrow. Didn't get to watch all the new episodes for my shows, since I was traveling for the later part of the week, but I saw the ones that really mattered.
Once Upon a Time - White Out: I spent half this episode cringing at Charming's hair in the flashbacks... In the present, I still like Elsa, but now that they've established her character, she needs to develop. Also, Hook and Emma are very cute together, although Hook and Charming make me smile even more (in a totally bromance sort of way). That was about all I liked from the episode. Did I mention that the flashbacks made me cringe? And not just at the hair, but at how awful they were as a whole. I get that the show reinvents characters, but bad-guy Bo Peep just didn't cut it for me, and Charming's whole progression towards heroism fell really, really flat (unlike his hair, which was really, really bushy...). Overall grade: C
Supernatural - Black: I'm going into this season with extremely low expectations, which lets me enjoy mediocre episodes much more. And that's what this was. Demon!Dean's actions actually made sense to me - Dean's been driven all his life by a desire to do the right thing; take that away and he's not really got a motivation to do anything. Cas, on the other hand, felt really out of character. After everything he's been responsible for, he would never stand by and let angels kill each other. And I felt like the writers were trying too hard with Sam. Yes, we already know he'll do anything to save Dean. You don't have to explicitly tell us that, multiple times. Can we just be done with the angels and demons and whoever the new guy is, and instead have Sam, Dean, and Cas all together, hunting bad guys and having sleepovers in the bunker? 'Cause I'd like that a lot more than what we've got right now. Overall grade: C+
The Flash - Pilot: This is how you do a pilot episode - fun, even funny at times, but with heart. I like most of the characters, especially Barry and Detective West, I really want to know what's up with Wells, and I'm invested in the show after just one episode. (Also, I really want crossovers with Arrow to happen every few episodes. Which I realize would be overkill, but I'm loving the fact that the shows share a universe, and apparently aren't going to forget about that fact.) I really like the idea of Barry using his new-found powers to protect his city, as opposed to the common superhero concept of saving the city. I think that will allow this show to set a different tone than every other superhero show out there (or at least that's my hope). Overall grade: A-
Arrow - The Calm: There was a lot to love about this episode - all the Team Arrow interactions were perfect, and the arrival of Diggle's baby girl was the best. Plus, we finally got the promised Olicity date (which was everything I hoped it would be), and their first kiss (which was very bittersweet and I don't know how I feel about it). The new Count Vertigo has potential to be a good villain, although I will admit I was hoping he would be a bit more like the New 52 version of the Count (whom I really liked). And I even found myself liking Ray Palmer (and Felicity dishing out hacker vengeance on him was amazing). And then there was the ending, which I did not love, at all. I know Sara's death will impact the most people, and will start Laurel on the path to becoming the Black Canary. I don't care. Sara was a strong female character (something this show lacks), and killing her off for the sake of furthering Laurel's development pissed me off big time. I knew it was coming - I actually thought she'd die in last season's finale, so she made it one episode longer than I expected - but that didn't make me hate it any less. Overall grade: B+
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Last week on TV - Sep. 28th-Oct. 4th
Three more of the shows I'm interested in premiered this week, to mixed reviews. (Gilmore Girls also arrived on Netflix streaming, so you should all be proud of me for watching anything else besides that this week...)
Once Upon a Time - A Tale of Two Sisters: I should preface this review by stating that I didn't really like the movie Frozen very much, so I was less than excited to see that it was coming to OUaT. That being said, there were a few things I liked about this episode. I actually liked Elsa (I did in the movie too), and am excited that it appears that she'll be a major focus, rather than just a side plot (and it's great to see Georgina Haig on my screen again - makes my Fringie heart happy). The way the scene between Emma and Regina was framed to mirror a scene from Frozen was cool, and I like the potential comparisons between their story and Anna and Elsa's. And thank heaven that Regina didn't go full-on evil. (I'm okay with conflicted, but if they turn her evil again, I will quit watching.) Overall grade: C+
Gotham - Selina Kyle: As the title makes very evident, this episode was centered around Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Cat. I could like her, I think, although we still know next to nothing about her, aside from the fact that she's got quite the attitude. I want to see her interact with Bruce - who, by the way, is rather intense. I can totally see him becoming Batman one day. Gordon continues to be the morally upright good guy, and gets encouragement from his girl, whom I hated less this time around. However, he does seem willing to toe the line between right and wrong when lives are at stake... I really enjoy Bullock's character - he manages pull off being morally ambiguous while still somehow being likable - we'll see how long that lasts. As far as actual villains go, Penguin and Falcone are awesome, but I'm still on the fence about Fish Mooney. There wasn't really a lot of character development in this episode, and the story itself wasn't that strong (although I'm expecting the Dollmaker to come into play again at a later point). Still, it was an enjoyable watch, probably because it maintained the film noir feel. I'm gonna need something more than that soon, though. Overall grade: B
NCIS: Los Angeles - Deep Trouble, Pt. II: This felt a bit more like the NCIS:LA I used to love, but it still struggled with character interactions. (That used to be the strongest part of the show - I don't know what went wrong.) The episode was well plotted, and the scenes with Sam and Callen in the doomed sub were well done, as were the scenes with Hetty and Granger. Where this episode really struggled was with Kensi and Deeks and the random DEA agent (Talia?). Those scenes just rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. I feel like the writers haven't written Kensi and Deeks well since they sent her off the Afghanistan, and this episode was no different. The action plotline was on point this episode, though, so it was decently entertaining. Overall grade: B-
Chicago Fire - Wow Me: A solid episode, nothing stunning, but that's okay. Severide's struggle to deal with Shay's death was well handled, and not over the top, which made his breakdown at the end of the episode that much more meaningful. I liked seeing Cruz get a chance to be the smart one, and Boden's nervousness about the baby was great. And even though I'm not always a huge fan of Dawson and Casey together (mostly when their relationship gets played up for the sake of added drama), I really liked them in this episode. I also really enjoyed getting to know a little bit of Newhouse's backstory - he seems like a really good dad. Overall grade: B
Modern Family - Do Not Push: Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed all the plotlines in this episode. Alex meeting a cute guy on her college tour was great, and the moment between Phil, Haley, and Luke was sweet. Jay seemed a bit out of character, but I liked how he and Gloria ended up keeping the expensive gifts. And I know the pain of trying to get a nice smile out of a little kid (and out of bigger kids, too), so I found Mitch and Cam's struggle very entertaining. Overall grade: B
The Vampire Diaries - I'll Remember: I binged watched the first five seasons over the summer because I was bored, and wound up enjoying the show more than I thought I would. This was a decent season premiere, and I liked the way they approached both Elena and Caroline's responses to what happened at the end of last season. I could care less about Tyler, and wanted to see more of Alaric struggling with being a vampire now. And I'm gonna go nuts until Damon is back where he belongs. As a whole, the episode set up a lot of plotlines, so it felt a little disjointed at times, but I want to know what happens, so I guess it did its job. Overall grade: B-
Hawaii Five-0 - Ka Makuakane: There was a nice misdirect at the beginning of the episode, and I'm also inclined to think of William Mapother as a bad guy after Lost, so it took me a while to figure this case out, which was a nice surprise. As far as the case-of-the-week went, it was a good episode, although we didn't get much of a chance to spend time with some of the main characters. This show has suffered from adding too many characters, and some weeks I really miss when the focus was just the main four. The subplot with the shady character from Danny's brother's past was subpar, although I feel like it could develop into an interesting storyline, if done right. But right now I'm actually more interested in whatever it is that Jerry has uncovered... Overall grade: B-
Once Upon a Time - A Tale of Two Sisters: I should preface this review by stating that I didn't really like the movie Frozen very much, so I was less than excited to see that it was coming to OUaT. That being said, there were a few things I liked about this episode. I actually liked Elsa (I did in the movie too), and am excited that it appears that she'll be a major focus, rather than just a side plot (and it's great to see Georgina Haig on my screen again - makes my Fringie heart happy). The way the scene between Emma and Regina was framed to mirror a scene from Frozen was cool, and I like the potential comparisons between their story and Anna and Elsa's. And thank heaven that Regina didn't go full-on evil. (I'm okay with conflicted, but if they turn her evil again, I will quit watching.) Overall grade: C+
Gotham - Selina Kyle: As the title makes very evident, this episode was centered around Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Cat. I could like her, I think, although we still know next to nothing about her, aside from the fact that she's got quite the attitude. I want to see her interact with Bruce - who, by the way, is rather intense. I can totally see him becoming Batman one day. Gordon continues to be the morally upright good guy, and gets encouragement from his girl, whom I hated less this time around. However, he does seem willing to toe the line between right and wrong when lives are at stake... I really enjoy Bullock's character - he manages pull off being morally ambiguous while still somehow being likable - we'll see how long that lasts. As far as actual villains go, Penguin and Falcone are awesome, but I'm still on the fence about Fish Mooney. There wasn't really a lot of character development in this episode, and the story itself wasn't that strong (although I'm expecting the Dollmaker to come into play again at a later point). Still, it was an enjoyable watch, probably because it maintained the film noir feel. I'm gonna need something more than that soon, though. Overall grade: B
NCIS: Los Angeles - Deep Trouble, Pt. II: This felt a bit more like the NCIS:LA I used to love, but it still struggled with character interactions. (That used to be the strongest part of the show - I don't know what went wrong.) The episode was well plotted, and the scenes with Sam and Callen in the doomed sub were well done, as were the scenes with Hetty and Granger. Where this episode really struggled was with Kensi and Deeks and the random DEA agent (Talia?). Those scenes just rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. I feel like the writers haven't written Kensi and Deeks well since they sent her off the Afghanistan, and this episode was no different. The action plotline was on point this episode, though, so it was decently entertaining. Overall grade: B-
Chicago Fire - Wow Me: A solid episode, nothing stunning, but that's okay. Severide's struggle to deal with Shay's death was well handled, and not over the top, which made his breakdown at the end of the episode that much more meaningful. I liked seeing Cruz get a chance to be the smart one, and Boden's nervousness about the baby was great. And even though I'm not always a huge fan of Dawson and Casey together (mostly when their relationship gets played up for the sake of added drama), I really liked them in this episode. I also really enjoyed getting to know a little bit of Newhouse's backstory - he seems like a really good dad. Overall grade: B
Modern Family - Do Not Push: Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed all the plotlines in this episode. Alex meeting a cute guy on her college tour was great, and the moment between Phil, Haley, and Luke was sweet. Jay seemed a bit out of character, but I liked how he and Gloria ended up keeping the expensive gifts. And I know the pain of trying to get a nice smile out of a little kid (and out of bigger kids, too), so I found Mitch and Cam's struggle very entertaining. Overall grade: B
The Vampire Diaries - I'll Remember: I binged watched the first five seasons over the summer because I was bored, and wound up enjoying the show more than I thought I would. This was a decent season premiere, and I liked the way they approached both Elena and Caroline's responses to what happened at the end of last season. I could care less about Tyler, and wanted to see more of Alaric struggling with being a vampire now. And I'm gonna go nuts until Damon is back where he belongs. As a whole, the episode set up a lot of plotlines, so it felt a little disjointed at times, but I want to know what happens, so I guess it did its job. Overall grade: B-
Hawaii Five-0 - Ka Makuakane: There was a nice misdirect at the beginning of the episode, and I'm also inclined to think of William Mapother as a bad guy after Lost, so it took me a while to figure this case out, which was a nice surprise. As far as the case-of-the-week went, it was a good episode, although we didn't get much of a chance to spend time with some of the main characters. This show has suffered from adding too many characters, and some weeks I really miss when the focus was just the main four. The subplot with the shady character from Danny's brother's past was subpar, although I feel like it could develop into an interesting storyline, if done right. But right now I'm actually more interested in whatever it is that Jerry has uncovered... Overall grade: B-
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