Category: Episode Reviews
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White Collar, “Withdrawal”
I really enjoy White Collar. I watched every episode last season, most of them live. I think Matthew Bomer and Tim DeKay are fantastic together. But the series clumsily handled both its mid-season and season finales last year, making me wonder if it should just drop any major mythology and simply focus on fun cases, the leads’…
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Covert Affairs, “Pilot”
Covert Affairs is a welcome new series after a slew of recent debuts that were more or less duds. It’s not an amazing series, but it’s straight out of the USA brand factory: sleek, fun, light and with a little bit of ‘tude. The comparisons to Alias are apt, but that point has been beaten…
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The Good Guys, “Small Rooms”
The last episode of The Good Guys was entirely forgettable and I was starting to see the frays in the series’ formula. “Small Rooms,” while featuring a number of problems on its own, reminded me of how enjoyable an hour of television with these guys can be.
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Lie to Me, “Teacher and Pupils”
I tried to write this recap last night and didn’t. I tried to write it this morning and didn’t. Sometimes with procedurals like Lie to Me, there isn’t a whole lot to say about specific episodes. “Teacher and Pupils” is one of those episodes.
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Friday Night Lights, “I Can’t”
Last week, I assumed that Becky’s pregnancy would surely be given its time in the limelight in future episodes. But I was pleasantly surprised that the series had enough gumption to embrace and examine the possibilities of teen abortion, especially on a major broadcast television network.
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Entourage, “Buzzed”
Entourage is a series based on a whole lot of manufactured, pointless drama, but “Buzzed” might have topped all the insanity before it because Ari, E and all sorts of people are up in arms over…Vince cutting his hair. Yep, Vince cutting his hair.
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True Blood, “9 Crimes”
Back after the holiday break, True Blood turned in what was probably its finest episode of a still-weak third season. Less scatterbrained and more emotionally resonant (especially early on), “9 Crimes” suggests things might just calm down despite the 1,306 storylines happening right now.
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Warehouse 13, “Time Will Tell”
Sorry for the delay of this recap, again I have to blame it on my summer job hours. Meh. After watching all of Warehouse 13‘s first season in just two days and then writing a sizable piece on said marathon, I was totally psyched for the season two premiere, “Time Will Tell.” Like I mentioned…
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Friday Night Lights, “The Lights of Carroll Park”
Despite its ability to tell stories that are extremely personal and full of emotion, sometimes Friday Night Lights makes me cringe just a little when it gets into racially charged tales. Let me be clear: I’m totally happy that the series expanded the universe of Dillon, Texas in season four so that it can tell…
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Burn Notice, “Neighborhood Watch”
I will say this about Burn Notice‘s start to season four: It totally makes me realize how scattershot and sometimes below mediocre season three was. I’m not sure if this opening string of efforts is better than the height of season two, but it’s been a much more satisfying and entertaining ride this summer.
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The Good Guys, “$3.52”
Based on the production code information found on Wikipedia, this was originally going to be the second episode of The Good Guys. It feels like a second episode.
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Lie to Me, “React to Contact”
I imagine that there were some new people tuning into Lie to Me last night thanks to guest appearances from geek friendly performers Enver Gjokaj (Dollhouse) and Alona Tal (Veronica Mars, Supernatural). It’s actually too bad that those new folks were presented with the weakest Lie to Me effort since its summer return.
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Party Down, “Constance Carmell Wedding”
I’m sad. I’m sad because this could be the very last time I write about a specific new episode of Party Down, considering Starz still hasn’t decided on whether or not to give the barely-watched series a third season. But I’m also sad because although I knew the production team didn’t write “Constance Carmell Wedding”…
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Entourage, “Stunted”
Full disclosure: I hate Entourage. The series rose to heights right when I was perfectly in the demographic wheelhouse, so in seasons one, two and three, I thought it was great. And maybe it was.* I also tore through those seasons quickly on DVD so it didn’t seem anything but a fun few hours with…
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True Blood, “It Hurts Me, Too”
I was actually able to watch True Blood live tonight, but I’m not sure that made me feel any differently about the episode. “It Hurts Me, Too” was just as busy, just as ridiculous and sometimes just as boring as the first two efforts. I wish I felt better about the first three episodes, but…
CB, PhD 