Rock 'n Roll Fantasy

Bones took us to a place that was out of Brennan's element, but completely in Booth's: Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp!  Booth was like a little kid in a candy shop and Brennan was left trying to figure out why everyone was so excited about attending the camp.  She, of course, was much more focused on solving the murder at the camp and Booth's tie (which we'll discuss further later, I promise).  So in between rocking out, singing a duet and hanging out with a famous guitarist, Booth and Bones were busy solving the murder of one the camp's attendees whose remains wound up in the industrial washing machine at the hotel hosting the camp.  And in between that, Brennan was quite focused on Booth's new tie, but it wasn't really the tie that caught her focus.

Fishy 'Sight'

Things certainly took an interesting turn on In Plain Sight with the WITSEC witness-of-the-week!  I'm used to Mary and Marshall protecting innocent people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time or people who used to be bad, but are now reformed.  This week, though, was a whole new ball game.  I'm so glad the show decided to go down this road.  It has to happen from time to time in real life, so it was interesting to watch how Mary and Marshall, WITSEC - fictional division, handled it.  Of course, I doubt there's much Mary can't handle with her job (her life, however, is a completely different story -- more on that later).  So, what happens when the person you're suppose to be protecting suddenly becomes the person you need to protect someone else from?  If you're Mary, you do whatever it takes to prevent a tragedy.  With only seconds to spare, she took a HUGE risk to save an innocent woman's life.

Help Rush Stay on the 'Case'

From the Look Again message board:

This Sunday May 2nd from 9-11 pm (ET) is the Season 7 finale of your favorite CBS prime time drama.

Will Sunday’s final two season episodes be the last new episodes of this series? Do you desire to see Lilly Rush and her “nameless male horde” and Kat back next fall with a fresh set of cases to solve?

It is a fact that Cold Case is “On the Bubble”. What does that mean? It means fans have to vocalize in writing by a letter or postcard to CBS Entertainment. It’s in our hands. Cold Case needs our letter, envelope and stamp now! This is the final call. It must be done one fan at a time. We are providing an address and letter. It’s that simple.

Can a television series be saved solely by the fans? Yes. Various television series’ have been saved by fans when they were scheduled to be dropped from the line up. (Jericho, Angel, Firefly, Veronica Mars) It takes every fan who sees this to respond and tell others everywhere: Facebook, Twitter, other message boards and fan run sites. Cold Case is “On the Bubble” and your response “will” make a difference. Believe it and respond with your letter/postcard to CBS by MAY 8..


ADDRESS:
Nina Tassler
President of CBS Entertainment
CBS Headquarters
51 W. 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019-6188


STANDARD MESSAGE: (use this or devise your own letter/note)

Dear Ms. Tassler;

“People shouldn't be forgotten, even if they are my kind of people. Maybe they don't have a lotta money, they don't have lawyers... but they matter. They should get justice, too.” -Det. Lilly Rush (Cold Case)

Ever since Lilly Rush uttered those words in the pilot episode of Cold Case, viewers like us have been drawn to her personal crusade to find justice for every victim. The fact that her victims have had to wait longer than most makes her job and this show that much more interesting. At the end of each episode, there is a sense of justice that can’t be replicated by other crime shows. Cold Case has always stood out of the pack with its solid writing, raw emotions and ability to transport you to the time period of the latest victim’s untimely death. The show is special and we, the fans, would hate to lose such a quality program.

It is shows such as Cold Case that set apart CBS from the other networks and prove that crime dramas can have character and emotion and not just fancy science. The characters can make you laugh one moment and cry another. And the stories appeal to everyone because justice is a theme we all rally behind.

Before you make your final decision on Cold Case’s fate next season, we implore you to “Look Again” at the series and discover why so many of us want to see it return. Please give Cold Case another season so Lilly can stay on the “Case.”

Sincerely,
(your name here)



So... faithful PTR readers, SEND THOSE LETTERS!  Make sure Lilly and co. stay on the Case!

Runaway Train

Dear Chuck:  I'm so, so sorry that I ever doubted you.  Can this show get any better??!!  It's completely Chuck-tastic!  I'm loving every minute of it lately -- so much so that it has shot up into the top tier of my favorite shows.  Everything is working: Morgan joining "Operation Bartowski," Casey reinstated, Shaw gone, and Chuck and Sarah together.  If I had imagined a perfect world for Chuck, I couldn't have envisioned something this good.  But, there was a running theme in this week's episode that threatened this new-found awesomeness.  It was poised to put a damper on the happiness that has engulfed the show for the past couple of episodes.  This dark cloud was a peculiar kind because it masked itself as a happy, fluffy cloud, but deep down it could have derailed the best decision the show has ever made.

FBI on 'Sight'

USA Network has been using the "Characters Welcome" slogan for a few years and it has always been apropos for a network that has given us Shawn and Gus on Psych, every character from the since canceled The 4400, and of course, Mary Shannon of the U.S. Marshal service (WITSEC division) from In Plain Sight.  But this week, one tiny scene with one tiny moment (that, ironically, dealt with a lack of dialogue) proved why making "Characters Welcome" on your shows is so important.  Sure, the story surrounding the witness-of-the-week is usually interesting, but it is the characters that keep us coming back each week.  And there is no other character on TV quite like Mary.  I'm pretty sure they broke the mold after they made her.  This is what makes her fascinating (you never know what she's going to say next), but it's the more sullen moments that make her sympathetic and relatable.  Watching Marshall trying to keep up with her while simultaneously attempting to hide his very real feelings for her is always fun, but I don't think I've ever seen him unable to say anything at all.  He was completely vocally impotent for an awkwardly long pause.

'Fringe' Vibrations

If someone told me that I'd be watching a scene unfold where an embryonic stage of a shape shifter was dissected and then hooked up to a lot of car batteries to jolt it back to life by continuing it's birthing process in the lab, I'd think that they were nuts. And if I thought for one moment that I would then feel bad for aforementioned shape shifter, I'd think I was nuts! But such is the weekly happenings of Fringe. BTW, was I the only person who thought that jolting the embryo to life was a bad idea? Even if he had lived and taken on the identity of the course (would that have even worked?), he would have been dangerous. As it turns out, this one was not long for this universe and had a conscience that made Walter take notice.

'Bones' Jumps In

I have a feeling that Dr. Catherine Bryar is going to be one of the least popular characters to ever grace a few episodes of Bones.  It's not her fault, but she has the unfortunate task of being Booth's love interest and her name is not Temperance Brennan.  Yes, most unfortunate for her.  I'm not totally convinced that her presence on the show is a bad thing (I'll explain later), but I do find it tough to watch her scenes with Booth and even tougher to watch Booth and Bones talk about her and Andrew amongst themselves.  Ever since that darn 100th episode, there has been this undeniable heartbreak hanging in the air between them.  It's so strong, it's palpable through the television.  But, these two are a classic case of two people who need to both be ready before they take that enormous leap.  Until Bones comes around then, they need to go their separate ways even if that means emotionally killing all of us (and most likely, themselves).  Which brings us to my earlier point: Catherine just might be a good thing.

'Glee' Strikes a Pose

So we've all pretty much been excited about this Madonna-themed episode of Glee since it was announced several months ago.  With shoes that big to fill, the show ran a huge risk of coming up short.  But then again, this is Glee and it's about the only show that can both take on Madonna and live up to the hype surrounding such a huge endeavor.  Therefore, I didn't lowball my expectations the way I do whenever I hear something good about an upcoming episode of any of my other favorite shows (I find, overall, that my expectations set standards that no show can live up to, and as such, I wind up being disappointed more times than not.  Hence, the lowball plan works pretty well).  I expected this episode to deliver.  I expected it to rock.  And, I expected it to do Madonna proud.  The only question, then, did it succeed in meeting these expectations?

Ted's 'Mother' Gets Married

I know I'm not the only one trying to think up a good story from my past to quiz my friends with for "Drunk or a Kid" - the Home Version.  Marshall's stories were good -- too good.  Both the "drunk" and the "kid" stories were crazy enough to have gone either way and could have happened years ago or yesterday.  Let's face it, Marshall is sort of a big kid.  Ted, on the other hand, was desperately trying to move past his childhood years.  He wants the wife, the kids, the house with the picket fence, but this week, he had to settle for just one of these and it wasn't exactly what he had in mind.  But, there was a lot more to the house that looked like something out of The Money Pit. It may have looked like a lost cause, but as it turns out, it was a very important beginning.  And not just any beginning, but the beginning of the rest of the life he so desperately has been seeking.

The End in 'Sight'

I think this post is going to make me unpopular in the In Plain Sight community (unpopular in two separate fandoms within the same week -- must be a new record).  Something happened this week that needed to happen a long time ago.  Something that better stay as it is now and not go back to the way it was when the episode started.  Something, while sad, will be the best thing to happen to Mary's personal life in a long time.  It had nothing to do with the witness-of-the-week or Mary's co-workers, but it was the biggest thing of the hour.  And they went and snuck it in there right at the end, so now we've been left to stew over it ever since.  So, what is the enormous elephant in the room for this week's post?  It involves Mary, her future and finally getting it right.  That's a lot for one event, but this one was big enough to pull it all off.

Time Mismanagement

Who knew when the Fringe team started investigating a case with a man who could time travel and accidently killed people as a by-product that it was all just a love story?  The episode was Groundhog Day-esque as the team found themselves reliving the same few hours several times by the time the outing ended.  We're all fascinated with the concept of time travel (hence the reason why there are so many movies and TV show episodes that tackle it), so I didn't wonder too much about why Dr. Peck was traveling back through time a few hours at a time.  I did wonder why all of the people on the train died by "having their batteries drained" and how the show was going to explain Dr. Peck's ability (simply because I love the way this show takes something that seems completely out of the realm of possibility and makes it completely possible with a reasonable explanation).  But in the end it was the why to Dr. Peck's madness, and not the method, that proved to be the most fascinating.

High School Reunion

OK, Bones is killing me!  "Kiss from a Rose?!"  Kiss from a frickin' Rose??!!  And this was only the first episode since the heartbreaking, gut-wrenching 100th episode last week.  I'm not going to make it to the end of the season.  My heart can't take this!  It's one thing to continue to keep them apart (just to be clear, I don't like this option), but it's so much worse to torture us with these heart-breaking moments.  Thankfully, the show threw us a bone with the Angela/Hodgins story and mixed in a lot of humor with the case, because otherwise, I think I would have been in a puddle on the floor for the second week in a row.  Things started out alright, but took a turn when Bones found out that her high school reunion was coinciding with the murder she was investigating in her home town.  High school reunions can make for many awkward moments, but I'm pretty sure no one's is as awkward as Brennan's was this week.

'Glee'-ful Return

While I'm happy to have Glee back, I hate this Tuesday night thing!  I have so many other shows to watch that I couldn't even DVR it, so I had to watch it on the net yesterday (thank you, Fox.com).  But seriously, can all of the networks quit conspiring against me and put some of their big shows on nights other than Tuesday?!  Once I was able to watch this episode, it was worth the hassle.  It had me laughing right out the gate.  Sue was her usual hilariously obnoxious self, Puck was giving Quinn a hard time for getting "fat" (kinda happens when you're PREGNANT!  And yes, Puck, it IS your fault), and Rachel was giving Finn a couple's calendar with all of her their future plans.  We hadn't even gotten to the first commercial break and I was already hooked and happy to have this fun show back.  As the episode progressed one thing became painfully obvious to everyone except the one person it needed to be apparent to and it may just cost her something much, much better.

Monkey Business

How I Met Your Mother was weaving quite the tangled web this week.  From Barney's constant lies to women he hopes to sleep with to Marshall's mugging/non-mugging/mugging? tale it was hard to know what to believe on this week's episode.  As a general rule, I tend not to believe Barney especially when he's talking about "conquests."  But Marshall is a different story which made the constant back and forth a constant guessing game.  So, what exactly happened on Marshall's way home from work? It all boiled down to a very important question: Are you on Team Monkey or Team Mugger?

'Cold' Files

This post is going to make me very unpopular in the Cold Case world. I'll explain later, but first, I loved this episode. It had a few weaknesses, but overall, it was excellent. Who would have thought that CC, based in Philadelphia, would be able to pull off an episode centering around a murder at Woodstock?! They did, though, and they did it very well. And just in case I wasn't in love enough with this hour, they went and gave us more of Yates!! Seriously, it's like the writers are reading my mind.  Plus, they're delivering the best run of episodes since the second season. It's too bad we have to wait a few weeks before we get to see more from this season. The only element of this outing that I wasn't too fond of was the personal stuff transpiring back in Philly (with the exception of the Yates/Stillman story). Meanwhile in NYC, Lilly was facing a huge decision and this is where the rest of the CC fans and I part ways.

Hind 'Sight'

I know the premiere was over a week ago, but last week's trip down memory lane has me feeling like In Plain Sight is really back.  The show didn't waste too much time putting Mary back in the fold after she was shot in last season's finale and Marshall complete his quest to find the party responsible.  So this past week's episode moved forward, er backward, in the always-intriguing world of WITSEC.  And just for fun, we also got another West Wing alum: Allison Janney.  This episode was stuffed with that trademark Mary sense of humor that makes this show so great.  It was comforting to know that she was just as sarcastic the day she met Marshall as she is today and that their bond has strengthened over the years.  Of course, it had no place to go other than to be made stronger because they weren't exactly buddies when Mary met Marshall.

Cancer Stricken

Things were back to normal this week on Fringe. Well, as normal as things can be on this show. The gang was back together and they were investigating a fascinating case involving a cancer-stricken man who was able to transfer the disease to others and temporarily heal himself via an exchange of "chi" or energy between himself and the other person. In other words, great for him and not so great for the other person. It looked like a typical "freak-of-the-week" outing until a not-so-coincidental connection linked the strange cancer deaths to Olivia's classroom in Jacksonville. Suddenly, the crazy cancer tranfer didn't seem so crazy anymore. In fact, believe it or not, it all started to make perfect sense.

One Hundred 'Bones'

There is only one way to describe this week's monumental 100th episode of Bones: HEART-WRENCHING!!  The episode was important for so many reasons with the most basic being that it gave us the beginning of the story between Booth and Brennan.  But, it was so much more than that!  Of course, it was heart-wrenching -- OMG, was it heart-wrenching -- but it was also funny, revealing and it had me on the edge of my seat (especially during that last scene).  On the one hand, I was worried that too much might have happened in the past between these two and on the other, I was worried that not enough happened.  Luckily, the show struck the right balance and in the process, showed us exactly how Booth and Bones wound up where they are today.  And then the ending moment happened and everything changed right before our eyes.

'Chuck' Will Never Forget Paris

Forget everything I've said about Chuck this season.  This show freakin' rocks!!!!  Seriously, did someone slip something into the water in Hollywood recently because it seems like every single show is experiencing a creative rebirth of awesomeness.  First Lost, then Cold Case, then Parenthood came out of the gate already awesome and now Chuck.  It's allowing me to forget that the fall part of this TV season ever happened (which, trust me, is a very good thing).  There was so much goodness in this week's episode of Chuck that I once again find myself in that paralyzing position where I'm afraid to do a write-up because anything I write will not do it justice (as was the case with the recent Cold Case two-parter).  This one was solid from the start, so I guess it's only fitting to start there.  And then we can progress to the rest that included so many "pinch me, I must be dreaming" moments that it's going to be a struggle just to try to remember them all.

FBI Makes its 'Case'

These past two weeks have reminded me why I love Cold Case and why it used to be my favorite show: because it is capable of stuff like this excellent two-parter!  I'm going to miss Yates and her no-nonsense/cut- to- the- chase style of crime solving. Plus, I just really LOVED the way she and Rush played off of each other. I'd love to see them team up in the future. But for now, we have the conclusion of an exciting and surprising serial sniper case that had Lilly and co. working with the FBI (led by Agent Cavanaugh) in a desperate race against the clock. It was an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride that certainly had its ups and downs. And if that wasn't enough, we finally got clarification on last week's most heated discussion in the comments section here at PTR.

'Fringe' Tells the Rest of the Story

It's always interesting when a show explains something you didn't realize needed further explaining because the result is always surprising. Such was the case with the return of Fringe this week. I thought we knew all there was to know about why Walter stole Alternate Universe Peter (his Peter died from an incurable medical condition and Walter was so distraught that he built a door into the other universe to get his son back -- i.e. kidnapped Alternate Universe Peter), but as it turns out, there's more to the story. A lot more and it was exciting and surprising to watch, as Paul Harvey always said, the rest of the story. So in a departure from the usual fare, the show was comprised of mainly flashbacks to Walter's fateful discovery and eventual visit to "the other side." We saw very little of Olivia and even less of adult Peter and Astrid (as in none unless you count the "Previosly on" scenes or the promo for next week). And while I missed the gang, I was so enthralled in Walter's story that it didn't matter. The rest of the story was that good.

The Truth in the Fiction?

After an entirely-too-long hiatus, Bones was finally back this week.  And while there was nothing earth-shattering or particularly exciting about it, it was just nice to have the gang back on my TV screen.  Things did not start out too well, though, as Sweets met a new friend and then promptly watched him die right in front of him.  This tragic scene unfolded while he was riding a Metro subway train that was in the process of derailing thanks to a major water main break.  Oh, and did I mention the body that made a freaky appearance when the water rushed the side of the train?  Normally, I laugh at the crazy ways this show comes up with to reveal human remains, but this week I was torn between the sadness surrounding the incident and the on-the-mark depiction of the craziness that is D.C. (I live here and I can't even tell you how many times water mains break).  Meanwhile, Brennan was being interviewed for a Japanese magazine about her latest novel which had everyone in the lab buzzing about page 187.