TV Series Lounge

There is no doubt, this week’s Charlie’s Angels is way better than the premiere. “Runway Angels” gave us some surprises and let’s discuss them below.

TV Fanatic: I wasn’t thrilled with the premiere. I felt it lacked the fun of the original while degrading the characters, but as pilots can be a tricky thing to pull off, I decided to take a look at “Runway Angels” with fresh eyes. I’m glad I did.

First off, Miami is gorgeous. It’s got water, palm trees, skyscrapers, and bikinis. It’s easy to make the city look good on screen and it fits with the vibe of this show.

The characters are starting to grow on me, too,  but does anyone else want to take these girls out for a cheeseburger? They are all so very thin it’s a little scary. And what was Kate wearing at the runway in the beginning? Was she working undercover for Vice afterwards? If that outfit is high fashion then I’m out.

I’m finding this is half the enjoyment of Charlie’s Angels. Much like the original, you can poke fun at it but in order for it to work you need to care about the characters and, yes, and I’m starting to do so.

I’m curious to find out what the bad decision was that Kate made that got her booted from the police force and sent her fiance packing two weeks before their wedding. In the pilot we were told she was a dirty cop, a connotation I abhor but I’m willing to give Kate the benefit of the doubt until the show shares the circumstances of her downfall.
Kate’s ex, Ray, is certainly hot. Although I think Kate is right and it’s time to move on, I wouldn’t mind seeing Ray back again.

The investigation into a dead model involved in a green card marriage scam was twisty enough to be entertaining but still light enough to be Charlie’s Angels. We even got to see the Angels do some old school water boarding in a public restroom. One of my favorite scenes was watching the Angels yawn and sigh as Mitch gave the cliched line about being afraid for his life. It’s as though the show is making fun of itself.

I like how Ray points out that going rogue has its consequences and I’m hoping to see more of them as the show continues. I know the Angels are suppose to win in the end but interesting obstacles just add to the fun.
The Angels taking down security to save the Russian first lady was just plain silly but having enjoyed myself up to that point I was willing to overlook it.

Overall, this is a better episode for Charlie’s Angels season 1. What did you think?

You can check Charlie’s Angels Season 1 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Talk about Addison’s epiphany, the season 5 premiere gave us more that what we had expected! Let’s discuss “God Laughs.”

TV Fanatic: Picking up right where we left off last season, the scene with Cooper finding Pete on the living room floor was absolutely heartbreaking. I couldn’t stop thinking: Poor Lucas! Luckily, Cooper saved the day and got Pete to the hospital in what appeared to be the nick of time. It’s such a relief that Pete is going to be okay.

By the way, how great was Addison with Lucas?! She really is going to make such an incredible mommy someday.

I was overly thrilled to hear that Addie finally made an appointment with a fertility specialist. I loved how frazzled she became when she realized that would be Jake Reilly, her mystery man. Benjamin Bratt was quite charming, and it was clear that Addie thinks so, too. Although it appeared that Sam and Addie are back together, I can’t help but wonder for how long because Jake and Addie sure do have chemistry.

As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the Cooper and Charlotte scenes. I honestly can’t get enough of their banter sessions. Regardless of what’s going on in every episode, it always seems like these two can escape the rest of the drama. I’m hoping we get to see more of their relationship as a married couple develop throughout this season.

While there was much that I liked about the premiere, I still didn’t care too much for Violet. I strongly questioned if it were realistic that a complete stranger would really tell another person his or her darkest secret in a public place like the airport. Even in a moment of despair, it was incredibly strange to me that the lady at the airport was able to tell Violet about her troubled and failing marriage concerning her abusing husband.

I didn’t believe it when Violet said that she didn’t mean to eavesdrop. And I definitely appreciated when the woman told Violet: I appreciate your concern, but this is just none of your business. I know it’s in Violet’s nature to always want to help, but she tends to always be butting into people’s business.

Thankfully, Cooper said everything I wanted to say to Violet. I was so glad that he yelled at her for trying to run away from her problems in regards to her license and a fight with Pete. This might sound a little harsh, but sometimes I don’t think that she deserves Pete and Lucas. Maybe she’ll finally come around this season.

Last season, I continuously questioned why Amelia didn’t have her own storyline. Although I thought she was entirely unprofessional in performing surgery after clearly being intoxicated, I must admit, it was honestly nice to see a continuously developing arc for Amelia. Charlotte justly suspended Amelia’s privileges… again. It needs to stick this time around.

Overall, this is just a so-so episode but I still liked it. What did you think?

You can check Private Practice Season 5 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

What did you think of the murder case this week on The Mentalist? Well, I’m more concerned on the character relationships on “Little Red Book.”

TV Fanatic: Did anyone actually care about the murder case this week? I know I didn’t. “Little Red Book” was all about the shifting relationships of these characters and where they’re headed next.

The world is still off its axis for our CBI crew. Jane is allowed back as a consultant, but his team is disbanded and Lisbon is facing termination. Bertram has to blame someone for the Red John debacle and he’s putting it all on Teresa’s tiny shoulders.

When Patrick visits Teresa at her home, she’s handling it well. As usual she’s strong and downright stoic. She says she’ll be fine. Of course she will, because Jane is determined to save her.

In a secret meeting, Jane implores Cho, Rigsby, and Grace to help with his plan to save Lisbon. The only one to balk is Rigsby. He’s always been the weasel of the group. He threw Cho under the bus last season in order to save himself and now he doesn’t want to risk his job to help Lisbon. I’m glad he got stuck with the security gig. I used to root for the Rigsby/Grace pairing but now that I think about it, she deserves better.

Speaking of Grace, I’m wondering how bad things will get once she blows off her therapy. There’s going to be emotional consequences to killing your traitorous fiance. I’m not sure Grace can handle the fall out on her own.

When Jane hypnotizes his new team member, I have to admit that I felt my eyes closing, too. Who knew that Patrick Jane’s powers could be felt through the TV screen? The man is that good. Of course, I was a little tired to begin with.

I’m so happy to see LaRoche back and so disappointed to hear that he’s leaving major crimes. That man is an enigma. I’ve never seen a character who can go from creepy to cuddly teddy bear so quickly. One moment he’s looking through Ray as though he can see to his soul… the next he’s got Teresa in a heartfelt bear hug. The man is full of surprises and I sincerely hope we’ll see more of him this season.

And it’s nice to see that it’s not only Jane trying to help Lisbon. She asks LaRoche to help get her in to speak with Sally Carter because she wants to give Jane some closure.

The one thing that surprises me is the Lisbon basically congratulates Jane on killing Red John. She’s always been so against Jane seeking his own justice. Is she being sarcastic here? Does it not matter so much now that it’s done and she can’t change it? Or does she just want Jane to move on?

So, is Timothy Carter Red John? Is the psychopath really dead and his last hurrah is to leave enough doubt to drive Patrick Jane insane? Or is his blind lover right, if her lover truly was Red John? Is the man on the slab simply Timothy Carter and Red John still lurks in wait for his next victim?

What were your thoughts?

You can check The Mentalist Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Some viewers did not like last night’s Criminal Minds. Maybe it was just much for them? But personally, I liked “Proof” though some critics say otherwise.

TV Fanatic: On a scale of 1 to skin-crawlingly uncomfortable, this particular Un-Sub had a calling card that was off the charts creepy. I’m still a bit traumatized, I can’t lie. Andy Milder guest starred in “Proof,” and pretty much scared the be-jesus out of me and anyone with an eye phobia. Or a tongue one, for that matter. I know this show is about people being capable of the worst atrocities, but sometimes I wish those atrocities came with a little less creative license.

Apart from Milder’s depiction of mentally-challenged suspect Cy – which, let’s be honest, was acting at its not-so-finest  – this episode was decent. But not amazing. Cy’s speech issues were forced at best and at times it was really unsettling to watch him mimic the developmentally disabled. Sorry if that sounds harsh. I wanted him to be more convincing, I really did.

But what was convincing this week was Reid’s open hostility towards J.J. for her and Prentiss’ death deception. When he called her “Jennifer” and told Hotch he couldn’t be mad at him because he hadn’t been at Hotch’s house crying for the past 10 weeks, I winced. Poor Reid. And poor J.J., too.

It’s nice to see them sussing the issue of Prentiss’ return out a bit further, because honestly it would feel inauthentic if everyone just went back to their jobs like nothing happened. I mean, they took her damn memorial portrait down off the wall!

I don’t buy Rossi having “an inkling” that Prentiss was still alive, but I did find myself warming up to his character this week. His Mario Batali moment at the end was kind of adorable, but it was also kind of sappy and over done. So, what, now that Reid showed up everyone’s one big family again? Something tells me we haven’t seen the last of the Prentiss aftermath, especially since, as she pointed out, they carried her coffin for crying out loud. Not an easy thing to come back from, no pun intended.

Lastly, it’s nice to see J.J. wearing the profiler hat and have Garcia presenting the cases from now on. Both seem like a pretty natural fit – maybe because we’ve seen them in these types of roles before – and as long as we see more of Morgan and his tight-fitting shirts, you’ll hear no complaints out of me.

Do you agree with the critics?

You can check Criminal Minds Season 7 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Mitchell definitely stole the show as season 3 episode 3 of Modern Family titled “Phil on Wire” brought to us the dangers of extreme dieting with your partner. Let’s dig in!

TV Fanatic: To show his solidarity, Mitchell decided to go on a juice fast with Cam. Worried about Cam’s emotional stability, Mitchell laid out the six stages of the Cameron Tucker meltdown as follows:

1. The clean sweep. 2. Attack Mitchell. 3. Soap actress routine. 4. A rush of epiphanies. 5. Despair. 6. Rage.

Mitchell was so worried about this epic meltdown Cam was sure to have at his boss’ function that he failed to pay attention to his own shaky emotional state. I have to say, as much as I enjoy a good dramatic Cameron meltdown of diva proportions, it’s nice to throw in a Mitchell hissy fit once in awhile to change things up.

Despite a wonderful performance by Mitchell, the return of Cam’s biker shorts, Phil as an acrobat, and the adorableness that is Stella the French bulldog, I gotta give it up to my girl Claire Dunphy. Ninety-nine percent of the time Claire is insanely neurotic and while it’s often funny, it can sometimes make me want to feed her a valium, or four. However, give me Claire versus the high school security guard any day of the week.

Maybe it was just a personal appreciation, but didn’t everyone have an irritating hall monitor, school security person that they remember to this day? You know, the one who took everything so seriously that trying to go to the bathroom without a hall pass was like the worst possible offense? Relax, I just have to pee!

Granted, we didn’t have plastic handcuffs, but you better believe that I’ve pulled a Claire and ripped up a few parking violations back in my day.

While we’re on the topic of Claire driving her kids to school, let’s be honest: there is just NO WAY a girl as superficial and image conscious as Haley Dunphy would let her mommy drop her off in the mini-van SENIOR YEAR. She would beg a multitude of friends before riding shotgun up in that. No offense to minivan owners out there, this is purely me calling out our little Haley.

Changes are still haunting the second season of Harry’s Law. “There Will Be Blood” gave us a so-so episode but the critics have something to say about it.

The Good:

Tommy is becoming one of my favorite characters. From his encouraging speeches to Harry to his explanation to Marcus the three ways he gets people to do the right thing, I totally enjoyed the character.

Adam was in the episode a lot more. His talk to James Sanders (Ross Benjamin) made it tough for me to hold a straight face throughk as Benjamin makes an amazing “loon,” as his father put it.

Cassie is fitting right in. If Cassie had been the only addition this season, it wouldn’t have taken me more than an episode to adopt her into the family and not even remember what it was like without her there. We really need to call her “Harry-lite” or “Latina-Harry.”

The Bad:

What happened to the music? If you listen to the opening credits with the light-hearted whistle and near circus excitement tones, and then listen to the scene change, commercial return or other quiet scenes, the two are night and day different.

Where is Harry’s witty dialog? To this day, I still use and quote Harry’s line from last season were she told Rachel “Can I interrupt you, this is important… I’ve stopped listening!” I have seen nothing close to this so far this season. I did see an increase in obscenities, through, including a bleeped out F-Bomb.

Last week I wanted to slap Roseanna (Jean Smart). This week she began doing such outlandish things that I just started rolling my eyes. What kind of District Attorney talks about her sex life with two detectives? I’m horribly afraid that her character is just going to slide down the “evil is dumb” slide as this case moves along.

The Ugly:

Is the city of Cincinnati paying David E. Kelly for all the advertising he is doing for them? Is it me or was every scene change or commercial break lead in with more scenery from Cincinnati? We get it already, she is working in Cincinnati!

If the city of Cincinnati isn’t, certainly Apple must be paying Kelly. Last week, Harriet mentioned how her iPad hasdgotten her spoiled on technology, even though we have never seen her touch a computer. This week, Tommy proudly announced he recorded the confession they beat out of a delivery driver on his iPhone 4 in HD!

Speaking of beating, I know Ollie is new to the team, but I was very disappointed they went the route of physical violence. From Tommy’s banter and Harriet’s brilliance there were so many other creative ways they could have gotten Marcus to spill the info he possessed. While I will admit I chuckled at the surprised look on Adam’s face, like Harry I was totally appalled afterwards.

Overall, the critics are not having fun with Harry’s Law season 2. How about the viewers? What did you think?

You can check Harry’s Law Season 2 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

A satisfying episode 3 for Survivor 23 South Pacific! What were your thoughts?

TV Fanatic: We’re talking, of course, about John “Call Me Cochran” Cochran, the now-voted-out Mark “Papa Bear” Caruso and Brandon “Lil Hantz” Hantz. The irony of Papa Bear being voted out this week is that until the very end of this episode, he was the only one of the three to have not done anything to hurt his cause.

Instead, the perennially neurotic Cochran and Brandon live on to see three more days. And the pair is dominating the screen. Not in traditional Survivor ways by manipulating players to do what they need, but simply by being the only characters worthy of face time. Any drama, fun quotes or interesting television has come from their insecurities.

The main difference between the pair is that you can root for one and hope the other leaves the game soon. Cochran’s neurosis is derived out of a life saying strange things and looking different as he told Papa Bear before he departed. Many of us can understand where he derives his insecurities from.

Brandon, on the other hand, is a concoction of what seems to be a very challenging life, to put it mildly. By his own admission, his current daily struggles are atoning for previous sins or evils earlier in his life. He’s trying to life a godly life and whether you are strong believer or not, it is hard not to applaud such an attempt.

Yet, what seems to be a recurring theme with Brandon is being apologetic rather than doing the right thing the first time. It makes one wonder if his life has been spent apologizing for mistakes rather than a period of mistakes followed by a period of repentance.

He started the game talking about how he wanted to play honestly and did not want to be like his uncle, Russell. Yet six days in to the game he’s manipulating people trying to get Mikayla voted out. When the plan fails and he is confronted by Mikayla, he becomes immediately aggressive and makes the poor girl cry.

I have no affinity for Mikayla one way or another. But, as Coach said, Brandon’s display shows a form of aggression that different from Russell, but aggression none the less.  Perhaps Brandon is struggling trying to be someone he’s not. The way he handled the situation with Mikayla was not someone trying to live a Christian life.
My ambivalence towards Mikayla is an example of what I believe could be a problem with this season and perhaps this format – no other characters are emerging but those who are odd. After Boston Rob and Russell last season who do you think of? I’ll bet the first name that came to mind was Philip.

Same is true for this season. Ozzy, Coach and who? Brandon is probably first, followed by Cochran. Who else is interesting so far? Jim (more on him later)? Maybe, but debatable. Anyone else? Not really.

I find myself rooting for Coach, but perhaps I should be rooting against him and Ozzy. Perhaps if they are voted out the other characters can emerge a little bit more. I’d be interested to find out.

What did you think of this episode of Survivor?

You can check Survivor 23 South Pacific Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

What did Body of Proof season 2 episode 2 offer us? “Hunting Party” showed as a tragic death and a merry go round of suspects on Body of Proof this week, as there certainly were a lot of people who could have wanted Julie dead. This was a tough family to marry in to.

TV Fanatic: The fact that she didn’t tell her husband she was pregnant struck me as odd. It seemed like there wasn’t a lot of trust there if she told the business manager first and asked for an audit of her husband’s finances. Talk about taking the joy out of the occasion.

And I loved how Martin’s daughter knew exactly how much she and her brother would be getting from her father’s estate, both with and without a new heir.

Megan was certainly giving Peter a lot of ribbing about his new girlfriend. Of course, he never copped to whether she was indeed his girlfriend or just a one-night stand who gave him a ride in the morning. Was Megan just having fun with him or did it bother her a little? I couldn’t quite tell.

But then when Peter started to poke back he definitely took it a step too far when he brought up Megan’s insecurities about Lacey. The best part was that he knew he took it too far and awkwardly tried to make it better. Unfortunately once something is said, you really can’t take it back.

Lacey and Megan were kind of cute in this episode. It’s nice to watch Megan make extra time to spend with her daughter, but please tell me she wasn’t serious about buying her those shoes. No 14-year old should be wearing five inch heels and it’s a mothers job to say so.

Then there’s Kate, who acted unusually guilty after pulling Megan from the case. It seemed like she kept looking to Peter for reassurance but he was busy playing Switzerland.

The most pathetic moment was the killer begging Martin for forgiveness because he was so very, very sorry. Honestly, you purposefully killed the man’s pregnant wife to cover your theft and now you’re apologizing? You’ve got to be kidding!

Apparently Martin felt the same way because he responded with a bullet to the chest. I didn’t see that one coming, but I could understand the sentiment. With a really good attorney, maybe he’ll even get out of prison.

Any thoughts about this episode?

You can check Body of Proof Season 2 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

It’s just the second episode. So I think the good things on “Kryptonite” set off the downsides spotted by critics. What do you think?

TV Fanatic: The good. The new show introduction. Very cute! But this comedy’s ace in the hole is the quirky and cute Zooey Deschanel. A lot has been made about her adorableness (and the word has been used a LOT to describe her). She’s got plenty of charm to spare, though I’m very glad they toned down the quirky part. She still has a tendency to break into songs, but at least one of them was off-screen with the bewildered new roommate, Winston (played by newcomer, Lamorne Morris).

The rest of the cast adds their own brand of charm as well. Unlike the other female-centric comedy, 2 Broke Girls, New Girl doesn’t suffer from a lack of good supporting characters. My favorite is Schmidt. Yes, he tends to say things that require deposits to the douchebag jar (nowhere in sight this episode, disappointing), but he delivers some of the shows funniest lines.

Nick plays the sensible man to balance Jess’ and Schmidt’s wacky. Nothing remarkable but he does well with what he’s given. Cece, all high gloss fashion, is a stark contrast to her best friend. She’s not given much, but like Nick, does well whenever she’s on screen.

My completely unrelated question: now that we know Jess is a teacher, uh, how are she and Cece friends again?

Winston is the one character I’m reserving my judgment about. I think this new character has kinda messed with the chemistry from the premiere. I’m just not seeing how his character adds much to the dynamic. We’ve got the quirkylicous (yes, I made that up) girl, the off-beat Schmidt, the straight man Nick. Did we need another straight man in Winston? In my opinion, I think they should’ve recast the Coach character.  But it’s early times yet.

The bad. I gotta say it. It wasn’t that funny. I laughed a few times, like during the scene where Schmidt was practice-posing in his room. Another good one was when the guys were frantically telling Jess to get her TV from the old cheating boyfriend’s place after she broke theirs. Other than that, I had a smile. Sure it’s better than a frown, but with tons of comedies competing for my attention, if they don’t start making me laugh more, what’s the point?

Next, I found myself giving them the side-eye when they all banded together towards the end to support Jess. It felt forced in the pilot when they rescued her from being alone after her date stood her up, and it felt forced here. When Nick donned that hat as a response to the old cheating boyfriend’s claim that it was his, it felt organic. The rest felt silly. I mean, they hardly know her! It’s as if they got sucked into Jess’ adorableness orbit without it being setup or earned properly.

Do you agree?

You can check other New Girl Season 1 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

With the US Marine story adding up to the typical NCIS episode, I think “Restless” gave us more than what an NCIS hour typically offers.

TV Fanatic: The investigation led us to the Marine’s foster sister, who it turned out was awfully confused about who she is – something to which one of Gibbs’ team members can increasingly relate, it appears.

“Restless” was a conventional NCIS episode in the way the plot unfurled, but certainly didn’t pretend the events of the spring and summer, culminating in last week’s premiere, didn’t exist for Tony.

DiNozzo is still affected by the events of last week’s episode – not just because Gibbs’ head slaps hurt more when you’re coming off a concussion. Tony’s starting to reexamine his entire existence.

Throughout the case, which conjured up high school memories for all the NCIS agents, he grew increasingly fixated on a classmate he humiliated back in the day and felt he had to make amends.

Ever tell a lie, or at least alter some details of a story so many times you start to believe it? Well, when Tony went to apologize and “Stinky John” towered over him, you knew something was amiss.

Tony was really the one hanging from the flagpole in his underwear, not this guy (a humorous, yet disturbing visual). At some point, he flipped the story, and can’t blame his recent bout with amnesia.

My favorite scene of the night was the last one, when Gibbs suggested he could keep this to himself, but the solemn DiNozzo knew he had to come clean. For his teammates, but also for DiNozzo.

What else do you think he’s embellished over the years, and to mask what insecurities? A question for another time, but Tony himself probably doesn’t like the answer and what it says about him.

I think we all love the class clown version of Tony, but his maturation in scenes like this is neat to see, with Michael Weatherly brilliantly portraying a character in flux, in search of who he is.

As for the week’s murder investigation, it took the obligatory turns before leading to a satisfying conclusion. The fact that it centered around foster children and parents offered an unusual angle.

PFC Hill was the man, by any measure. His adopted military family said so. His military superiors said so. So the fact that he was hacking into the Virginia Social Services database seemed off.

That and someone injecting him with a sedative prior to killing him, of course.
The team ultimately found that Hill’s foster sister Lindsay, 17, is actually 27 and has a history of being taken in by foster parents, fleeing just before 18th birthday, then relocating and starting over.

While most of us would likely not want to keep reliving high school until we’re 27, Lindsay’s mental scars cause her to habitually continue this pattern of deception so she can never leave childhood.

Tragically, it was Lindsay’s theft of money from her uncle’s robbery “business” that indirectly got PFC Hill killed. But in spite of that and the lie she’d been living, the family didn’t turn its back on her.
It’s great to see there are people like that in this world, taking in troubled kids and standing by them come what may. Gibbs, of course, was the unsung hero in making sure this reunion happened.

Overall, the team play in this episode is commendable. Plus, I enjoyed it so I recommend the same. What did you think?

You can check NCIS Season 9 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.