'Cold Case's' Metamorphosis

I don't want to jinx anything, but I think Cold Case might be on a roll.  I'm not even sure how many episodes officially constitute a "roll," but we're two for two these last couple of weeks and next week's break-from-the-usual looks awesome too!  This show always seems to have a stronger second act, so this sudden surge isn't unusual, but it is certainly welcomed.  I was a little concerned about this week's circus-themed episode because these sorts of stories have the potential for disaster, but instead, this one was engaging, fascinating, dark and kept me guessing all the way up to the reveal.  There was also a darker side story involving Lilly and the fallout from last week's shocking Moe outcome.  And that story line piggybacked onto an even darker sub story involving Scotty and his mother's mugging/rape.  But the biggest OMG moment came when we learned who killed Mia, or rather, the shocking truth that I never saw coming about her killer.

'Psych' Out(break)

Whoa, Nelly!  Abigail recently left for a stint in Africa and Jules bid her college boyfriend adieu, but Shawn is wasting no time getting down to the heart of the matter -- sort of.  I guess that's what a deadly virus being released will do for you!  That is, until it becomes known that said deadly virus did not infect the girl you have some feelings for.  Seriously, Shawn was so close.  He was telling his story about the two kinds of kids and the prize in the cereal box, and just as he was about to tell Jules how he felt, he chickened out.  Apparently, he's going to have to wait a little longer to get that prize.  And now, here's a look at the rest of the best in this week's edition of "The Funny, The Funnier and OK, For Real, My Side Just Split" after the jump.

'Friday Night' Choices

I always find it difficult to write about episodes of Friday Night Lights because no words that I could ever write would even come close to doing the episode, or the show as a whole, justice.  But even I have been unusually silent about this season.  Blame a busy real-world schedule and my own conflicting emotions and thoughts about one of the story lines this season.  Since I wasn't sure how to cover it properly (without letting my own emotions take over), I decided not to write about the show for a large chunk of this otherwise excellent season.  Well, last week's fantastic finale has taken me off the sidelines and pulled me back into the action.  Who could stay silent when a beloved character returned, another took the full blame to spare someone close to him, another took a stand even though it cost her her job, and the upset of all upsets unfolded right when it seemed beyond impossible.

'Cold' Tagging

PTR wants to extend a warm welcome back to Cold Case both in a literal way (the show's hasn't been on since the middle of January) and a more symbolic one since this episode was leaps and bounds above the fray this season.  And you know what's funny about it?  This outing didn't do anything spectacular or out of the ordinary; it simply told a compelling, well-written story and peppered it with some actual meaty personal bits.  And probably most importantly, the killer was 100% believable, made sense and the motive had nothing to do with the victim moving on and leaving the killer behind.  Thank you, writers, for returning CC back to its roots and giving us an intriguing, multi-dimensional hour that kept me guessing until the end.  As strong as this entire episode was, it was the final seconds that left my mouth agape and had me wanting to see what happens next.

Romeo and Jilted Juliet

Who knew that Jules's love life was like a real-life romantic comedy?  Who knew that it combined elements of An Affair to Remember with Witness and just a dash of the classic love triangle?  She and her college boyfriend broke up in order to pursue their own dreams, but they vowed to meet up at the same train station at the same time on the same date 7 years later.  Long story short, Jules showed and Scott did not.  After feeling a bit jilted, she enrolled Gus's help to track down her former flame and was upset to learn that he has passed away -- or not.  After the jump, here's a look at the rest of the best in this week's edition of "The Funny, The Funnier and OK, For Real, My Side Just Split."

'Chuck' Wins One, Loses Another

I know that most Chuck fans' heads are exploding over this week's romantic hook-ups, but this fan's head is not one of them.  Maybe I've just seen too many of these "will they, won't they" scenarios play out, but Chuck's new romance with Hannah and Sarah's possible romance with Shaw seem like diversions meant to delay the inevitable (and to add a little suspense to that ultimate question: "Will they or won't they?").  In other words, I'm not worried.  And while I don't like or trust Shaw (more on that later), I do really like Hannah and I am interested in her relationship with Chuck.  Shaw is too much of a smooth operator and I don't trust his feelings for Sarah.  And that was before the final few seconds of the episode!  Suddenly, my dislike/distrust went from that little voice in the back of my head to full-blown screaming.  Shaw may be even shadier than I suspected.

Barney's Super Ad

PHOTO: CBS

Barney is apparently unfamiliar with the expressions "Be careful what you wish for..." and "Too much of a good thing..." because he experienced both during his little Super Bowl stunt in this week's episode.  It might seem like a good idea to make a poster advertising your phone number and then to get said poster on during the telecast of the biggest sporting event of the year.  After all, you'll get women calling from all over the world, thus expanding Barney's dwindling supply of women he hasn't slept with in NYC.  And at first, it was great.  Women were calling non-stop and Barney was meeting many of them, but things took a turn for the obsessive.  Suddenly, Barney's bright idea turned into a very dark nightmare.

When Worlds Collide

I love me some Fringe, which is another reason why "Winter Finale" is my new least favorite phrase.  April feels even further away after seeing this stellar hour from the always-excellent Fringe.  Things had been leading up to this moment this week: the stage had been set and the secrets unlocked from inside Walter's head, so this pivotal episode was crucial.  The show had taken a little hiatus from its overarching story (not a bad thing for me since I enjoy both the mythology and the case-of-the-week episodes), but we were thrown right back into it this week -- in a BIG way.    So, what exactly happens when two parallel worlds collide?  Well, we found out this week and it was frightening!

'Bone' Chilling

I think "Winter Finale" might be my new least favorite phrase!  I'm going to miss Bones for the next couple of months especially with the 100th episode waiting in the wings when the show returns in April.  Until that day arrives, we have this week's episode to chew on.  I had read ahead of time that the weather was going to be one of the important elements of the episode.  The masterminds behind the show wanted it to help set the tone and mood, so they used a lot of night scenes and rainy days to help create the darker story involving a mental hospital and possible devil and/or devil's minion victim.  This is usually a light-hearted show that finds a way to make murder funny and doesn't take itself too seriously, so the darker theme was definitely a departure from the usual fare.  It was an interesting change-up and it certainly worked, but there was one scene that sent chills up and down my spine.  It was well beyond freaky!

The River Mild

I'm pretty sure there was too much awesome packed into this week's episode to be contained by a single hour! It was so jam-packed with so much goodness, I'm not quite sure where to start. Perhaps, at the hilarious introduction scene between Shawn and Gus's secret girlfriend Ruby. Or maybe, I should back up to the super cute/super funny scene with the bunnies. Too many to choose from this week. I have to say, though, Ruby had me at Magnum P.I. as well! In fact, I wasn't sure if she should be dating Gus or Shawn after that initial intro. But as awesome as things were at the beginning of this one, the show was only warming up. Shawn and Gus were about to embark on one of their most hilarious and dangerous (wink, wink) adventures thus far. And that was before they got to the murder part!

'Chuck' Burns His First Asset

So, the asset becomes the handler and the original handler becomes even more guilt-ridden as she watches the continued transformation from under-achiever Buy More employee to world class spy.  Talk about changing things up this season!  Like Sarah, I'm still adjusting to "Chuck The Spy" and also like her, I feel a sense of sadness for the person who's getting lost in the transformation: the good-hearted, honest guy who would never lie to his sister.  It's exciting to see Chuck prove himself, but it's also hard to know that once he completes this transformation, he won't be able to go back.  To put it plainly, I feel Sarah's pain!  I'm mourning the same loss she is while I marvel at Chuck's Intersect 2.0.  This week's story made all of this front and center as Chuck took a HUGE step forward into the world spies.

Barney Achieves the Impossible

We've all heard the expression, "Don't hate the player; hate the game," but this week's episode of How I Met Your Mother certainly took the sports analogy to new heights.  Guest star Jim Nantz "interviewed" Barney after he accomplished something almost unheard of: a Perfect Week.  He slept with 7 different women in 7 different consecutive nights.  And, he had to overcome several jinxes courtesy of Lily, the possibility of getting fired looming over his head and some tough competition in the form of a NY Yankee.  Despite the odds, he pulled it off and scored a one-on-one with the CBS sportscaster.  While Barney was having a seemingly good week, his friends weren't quite so lucky.

No Air

Thursday must have been my lucky day because Fox gave me two back-to-back shows with links to the past.  And being the history nerd that I am, I LOVED them both!  What Bones may have lacked in historical themes (beyond the opening bit), Fringe certainly made up for with an intriguing mystery that took us back to WWII and Nazi Germany.  But before we traveled through history, this one started in the present at a very happy event that suddenly turned very tragic.  When most people worry about something going wrong at their wedding, they envision the wrong flowers or a cake mishap or even the unpredictable weather.  For this bride and groom, all of those options would have been welcomed over what transpired right before the bride was about to walk down the aisle.