'Chuck' Turns Around

What a difference a week makes!  Last week about this time, I was not a happy Chuck fan, but as I said, I had faith that things would turn around by the end of the season.  I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly!  After Monday's episode, it looks like the show is moving toward getting back to its old self.  Shaw has gone off the deep end (maybe we can finally get rid of him), Chuck is back to trying to woo Sarah and Casey is involved with the team (unofficially, of course, since he's still a private citizen).  And then there is Chuck's continuing inner struggle over whether to spy or not to spy (that is THE question), which is heating up by the minute!  But my favorite moment this week was the one that can, potentially, single-handedly turn this thing around -- FAST.

Caught in the Crossfire

Oh.  My.  COLD CASE!!!  Sometimes an episode comes along that is so awesome, so wonderful, so perfect that I'm actually afraid to do a write-up about it because I know that I cannot possibly do it justice.  Such is the case with this week's beyond-stellar outing of Cold Case.  There wasn't a single thing wrong with this episode, but there were a lot of things right about it starting with guest star Susanna Thompson as FBI Agent Yates.  Sure she was pushy, over-the-top and forward, but that's what made her such a great contrast to the "hand-holding" PPD characters (although, we all know that Lil and co. have their moments in the interrogation room, but in a completely different way than Yates).  Plus, the evolving relationship between Yates and Lil was well-played and the two made for great foils-turned-teammates.  But this hour wasn't just packed with awesome-ness, it also had its share of surprises and a few jaw-dropping moments.

'Chuck' Passes the Test

I am so not liking the current direction of Chuck, but I'm hoping it's just temporary and that things are going to get back to the old Chuck very soon.  I want Chuck, Sarah and Casey-- NO Shaw-- all working together on spy cases with lots of tension between Chuck and Sarah and lots of funny from Casey.  Watching things deteriorate between Chuck and Sarah and seeing Casey assimilate into a "normal" life just isn't cutting it for me.  And then this week, things began to look even bleaker than I expected.  The question of the episode was whether or not Chuck would pass his final exam and become a bona fide spy.  Round one went relatively well, but round two was decidedly a bit more challenging.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Skanks

Pictures and birthday parties go together like cake and ice cream, and this week's very funny episode of How I Met Your Mother used that combination very well.  There's always one in the group who never takes a bad picture and one who takes nothing but bad pictures, but Barney's good photos streak was, wait for it, LEGENDARY!  Not only could he not take a bad picture (believe me, Robin tried), but he always had the exact same pose in each one.  He chalked it up to the camera loving him, but Robin was hell-bent on getting a bad picture.   All of this led to a hilarious side story.  Meanwhile, Lily was focused on her birthday celebration and getting Ted to stop bringing random "skanks" to group get-togethers.
 

Vera's Tough 'Case'

Not to be a wet blanket, but seriously, I'm getting sick of the Cold Case gang covering up for each other.  I didn't agree when Scotty did it for Lilly, I really worried when Lil did it for Scotty, and this week, I was down right angry that Lil/Scotty/Will/Kat all did it for Vera.  He was drinking and driving for crying out loud!  He could have killed someone!!!  Is Hollywood's moral barometer so out of touch that they think it's OK to have a detective on a network show get away with drunk driving and the detectives who covered for him seem to face no consequences??!!  I can't even tell you how angry I was when Lil covered up Vera's DUI.  It sorta ruined the rest of the hour for me (as I was steaming over the show's decision to do something so reprehensible without showing any consequences).  I'll step off my soap box for now (but I'm not forgiving the show for this part of the story), and I will say that, overall, I enjoyed this episode.  It was another break from the usual formula and it worked really well.  The hour's biggest question turned out to be a lot less serious that Lil and the gang feared.  Vera was depressed and MIA, but had he gone off the deep end?  Lil and co. raced the clock to prevent the tragic ending they feared was right around the corner.

Casey Makes a Choice

So, remember when I was talking about other people's heads imploding over recent developments on Chuck?  Well, add my name to the list of imploding heads!  Casey CANNOT leave Chuck and Sarah!!  Noooooooo!!  This better be a plot ploy and not some sort of permanent condition.  And just to add insult to injury, Sarah is seriously considering taking a reassignment to D.C.!!  I'm not really sure how things got from Chuck and Sarah in relationships with other people to Chuck and Sarah possibly on different assignments in different cities and Casey back to being a civilian all in the course of one episode, but somehow we got here and I don't like.  I don't like it one bit.  Let's try to retrace our steps and figure out how we got on this very wrong path.  It all started with an innocent "spy" mission involving Morgan, Casey and an old friend.

Wrestling with the Truth

I am so not a fan of wrestling, but there was something endearing and engaging about this week's wrestling-themed episode of Cold Case.  Of course, setting the episode in the 80s didn't hurt!  At its core, though, this story was about a father and son and trying to mend their fractured relationship before it morphed into the father's relationship with his own father.  So, how does a down-on-his-luck dock worker turn things around and begin to have a meaningful relationship with his young son?  Well, it wasn't through his day job (although, it did lead to a really cool opening song: Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer").  That left his new night job and as it turns out, it did indeed bring him closer to his son, but it also led to some unfortunate events, and ultimately, it cost him his life.

'Chuck' Gets into Character

I know heads are still imploding over Chuck's current love situations, but I'm more concerned about Chuck's metamorphosis into a full-fledged spy.  I guess you could say that Sarah and I have that in common.  Although in her case, she's being reminded of her own journey from average everyday girl to super spy and the realization that she's a shadow of her former self is bumming her out.  I'm more concerned about Chuck becoming a shadow of his former self and that's bumming me out!  But thankfully, I wasn't alone this week because Chuck is also beginning to worry about what's happening to him, thus setting up the real conflict of this season.  All of this talk about transitions led to a whopper of a revelation about Sarah and that certainly caught Chuck off guard.

Off the Hook

After a much-too-long absence, How I Met Your Mother was back last night and it brought special guest star Carrie Underwood with it for a hilarious episode about being on and putting others on The Hook.  You know the people we have strung along and/or the people who have strung us along for far too long until it becomes painfully clear that you and that other person are never going to be together?  Well, then you have put someone on the hook or you yourself have been on someone else's hook.  The problem is, as long as there's some sign of hope kept alive, the hookee will continue to hang on.  Enter Ted, guest star Underwood and the latest "hot girl" job trend: Pharma Girls.

Two Weddings & a Murder

I know I shouldn't have LOVED this week's episode of Cold Case.  I know there were some forced plot points and a few over-the-top story elements.  BUT, seriously, I didn't care because I loved the whole concept so much that it just didn't matter.  Plus, it was so good to see Louie again!  I loved Lilly's comment about having a soft spot for him.  Those two were always funny together at crime scenes back in the first couple of seasons (ahh, the good ol' days!).  Well, he was back and everyone was supposed to be having a nice time at his wedding, but leave it to the CC gang to turn a wedding into a murder investigation!  They couldn't even enjoy themselves on a day off celebrating a very happy occasion for one of their co-workers.  And I thought Lil was bad, but she was the voice of reason when the rest of them dragged her into the fray.  Then again, she did want to make sure that Louie wasn't making the biggest mistake of his life.  His fiancee had lost her first fiance on the eve of their wedding, so was Anna a grieving or black widow?

'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!