'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.

Birthday Wishes

NOTE: I suck!  I was away from my computer on Thursday and completely forgot to send out these birthday wishes for a PTR fave!  So, these are a bit belated.

Cold Case's Kathryn Morris celebrated a birthday 1/28.

Happy (Belated) Birthday Kathryn!!

Your Friends at PTR

(photo courtesy Kathryn Morris UK)

DID YOU KNOW? Kathryn reportedly just signed on to co-star alongside Denise Richards in the black comedy Mother's Little Helper.  Look for it to come out sometime late this year.

'Bones' in the Ditch

I love U.S. history, especially the Civil War time period, so this episode of Bones started off on the right foot for me.  Of course, the Civil War theme didn't continue throughout the hour (even though I was sure the body was going to be a dead re-enactor), but that was O.K. because the rest of the episode was interesting and fun.  This show always seems to give us plenty of viable suspects, so I tend to be surprised by the killer reveal each week, but this week's was extra surprising.  Plus, there was an intriguing underlying theme going on with Booth that brought out an ugly side of him and revealed something very interesting about the effect that he and Brennan have on each other.

'Chuck' Will Always Have Paris (Sort of)

I have to admit: Chuck going solo made me nervous.  As in nail-biting, edge-of-my-seat, stomach-in-knots nervous for most of this week's episode.  In the end, he was fine (with a little help from Casey and Sarah -- via phone) and ironically, it was his non-spy qualities that got him through the mission.  The fact that he's about the last person you would expect to be a spy and the way he finds it difficult to lie so he tells the truth about 99% of the time (only concealing the parts that he absolutely has to) makes him a perfect spy in a not so spy way.  Of course, the Intersect 2.0 doesn't hurt either.  That thing is badass!  It seems that he's having an easier time controlling it and getting it to work when he needs it -- both good signs.  And I don't know about you, but, like Chuck, I was disappointed that he never got to use those nunchucks!  Oh well, maybe next time.  But this mission wasn't all about espionage and nunchucks.

'Fringe' Virus

Fringe gets more and more X-Files-ish by the week.  Last week's rural "they're not like the rest of us" outing was straight out of that show's playbook, and this week's virus-of-unknown-origin nail-biter also felt a lot like the former Fox series.  Maybe this is why I loved both of these episodes!  There was even a touch of Duplicity and Outbreak thrown in this week just to make things even more fun.  What wasn't fun, though, was the horrible spraying virus!  The sweating, the weird skin, and finally, the blood-colored spray that spread the deadly virus to anyone who ingested it.  And this wasn't even the scariest aspect of the situation -- that fell to the uber-frightening map that showed the deadly reach of the virus if just one infected person got out of the quarantined building.  There was only one problem: Olivia and Peter were locked inside.  And things were about to get a lot worse.

High Profile 'Bones'

This week's episode was very risky.  The show took on one of this country's greatest mysteries, one of our most tragic moments, and perhaps, the incident most cloaked in conspiracies and secrets: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  I wasn't sure how this was going to play out, but I LOVED it!!  They presented both sides of the argument, they drew some interesting conclusions and they left us with almost as many questions as the assassination itself.  Whose bones were those at the Jeffersonian?  Who were "the men in black?"  Why was the team investigating the cause of death of the individual on the table?  None of it was clear at the end, but honestly, I wouldn't have liked it any other way.  Taking on something as huge as the Kennedy assassination deserves an ending with as much intrigue as the real tragic incident.  However, there was one mystery that the gang was able to clear up before the end titles: the owner of that positive pregnancy test.  Oh, baby!

Devon Versus the Ring

When we first learned that Chuck was going to have these super powers in addition to his super info flashes, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it.  We're a few episodes in and I LOVE it!!  I feel like Chuck has been upgraded with the best upgrade ever!!  That scene with Lester was CLASSIC!  But it wasn't just Chuck's awesome new powers that made this episode another strong harbinger for a fantastic season ahead -- having Devon play spy again was such a welcomed return.  And as if all of this was not enough, there was a fantastically awesome twist involving Devon playing spy and Chuck that had me loving every moment of it.

Marshall Gets Kissed

Lily and Marshall crack me up.  Between his obsession with "The Reacher and the Settler" and her disbelief that Jenkins kissed Marshall, this episode was HILARIOUS!  Jenkins, who we're led to believe is a crazy guy who works in Marshall's office, is in reality, the hot new lawyer who happens to also love the Vikings and hails from Minnesota just like Marshall.  But it was the hotness combined with the crazy Jenkins stories that kept Marshall from correcting Lily when she erroneously assumed that Jenkins was a he.  So, how jealous was Lily when she discovered the truth?  That's when things started to get interesting (and really, really funny).

Private Eyes on the 'Case'

Just the sheer fact that this episode didn't end with someone killing someone over the second someone finding success and moving on was a HUGE improvement as of late.  That alone would have led to a positive review here at PTR (SIDEBAR: it's amazing how much lower my standards have become for this show.  It's sad, really), but there was a lot more to this episode than a better resolution.  The year (1974) and the way the show played up the "cheesy 70s" complete with a P.I., interesting characters, and of course, the twist (that I saw coming, but enjoyed immensely anyway) all contributed to a great outing.

'Bone' to Pick

All of these weeks off from Bones led me to two conclusions: 1) I really MISSED this show and, 2) I think I may have hit the frustration point when it comes to Booth and Bones.  The latter is a problem because it can quickly lead to total and complete apathy.  As of right now, I want to keep caring about whether they finally get together, but even that desire is beginning to dim.  I wasn't a fan of the cop out at the end of last season, but I thought that the season premiere offered a lot of promise.  There was something unmistakable about that look on Brennan's face when Booth chickened out before telling her how he feels.  And Booth -- so aware of his feelings for her for the first time and yet, so afraid.  Since then there have been glimmers (the wonderful Gordon Gordon and his table-for-two, Booth's grandfather, and that intimate moment at the exhibit), but most set-ups have led nowhere and Booth and Brennan seem to be no farther along than they were during season one.  I understand the show's struggle, but it is entering the place where it risks losing viewers' interest if it doesn't make a move soon.  Will the much-talked about 100th episode be the cure for what ails this stuck-in-neutral story line?

Spy On

Now that's what I call an entrance!!  If you're going to be off the air for far too many months, then coming back the way Chuck did this week might be enough to overcome the hole left barren in my TV schedule this past fall.  Three brand-spankin'-new episodes in the course of two back-to-back nights??!!  Three AWESOME spy-tastic cases??!!  Three hours of angst between Sarah and Chuck??!!  Yeah, it really doesn't get much better than this for a fan of the NBC spy thriller/comedy/love story/too- awesome- for- just- one- night series.  The only problem now, I'm totally spoiled.  I have to wait an entire week for more Chuck and then, I only get one episode.  But let's not dwell on next week because there is far too much to discuss from this week's triple play.  On the Chuck and Sarah front, things took a windy path through some ups and downs, but they ended in a pretty familiar place.

One 'Mother' of a Milestone

PHOTO: CBS

It's only fitting that when a totally awesome show like How I Met Your Mother reaches a HUGE milestone like its 100th episode, that one of its totally awesome characters should reach one as well.  Cue Barney and his first stretch completely, utterly suit-less!!  No suit in the bar, no suit in the apartment, and no suit to impress would-be conquests.  Yup, Barney gave up suits.  Of course, it was all in pursuit of a conquest.  See, of all the women that he had slept with, he had never bedded a "hot bartender," so when he set his sights on the new one at the bar (guest star Stacy Keibler), he knew what he had to do.  Unfortunately, she had a thing about men in suits: She hates them!  Barney was faced with a conundrum.  Meanwhile, Ted finally met the fabled mother. Or part of her anyway.

'Cold' Reality

Another year, another case, another person dead after they decided to leave someone behind.  Seriously, if you learn nothing else from Cold Case, please, please, please never leave for greener pastures without inviting along the neediest person in your life.  For I fear if you do, you will most certainly pay with your life.  And here I was worrying about CC tackling another military-centric case and once again ticking me off.  For once the military angle was well done, but unfortunately, the motive was tired and overly played-out this season.  It's even more unfortunate that after a long Christmas break here at PTR (partially induced by the lack of TV over the last few weeks and partially due to my own vacations), that this is the episode that will ring in the New Year here at PTR.  Yikes!  I hope it's not a harbinger for things to come.  Honestly, the rest of the episode was good.  The victim was very sympathetic and had me dreading his inevitable murder at the end.  Plus, I liked the development on the Lilly's alternate family front.  Yup, things were shaping up to make this one a solid episode and a promising start to 2010 until the final few minutes.

Season's Greetings

Merry Christmas!!

From Your Friends at PTR

As 'Cold' as Ice

About halfway through this week's episode, I suddenly realized who killed Tommy.  It's not that I'm some sort of crime-solving whiz, but I did discern a pattern this season: people kill people who get ahead in life and leave them in the dust.  We've seen it several times this season, so I began to realize that Dwight was the most likely suspect.  He had encouraged Tommy to try out for the team and then Tommy started doing well.  He played with heart and the coach took notice.  Suddenly, Tommy was in line to possibly get a scholarship and go off to college.  Meanwhile, Dwight was stuck in Philly with his date rape plan and a baby he didn't want on the way.  But, would the show surprise us and go a different route?

LillyKat's Open Letter to PTR Followers

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

So it's come down to this.

A Dear John letter (of sorts) to the loyal followers of PTR.

Call it my own personal Idaho feeling of not wanting to leave y'all wondering WTF happened to me.

And my shows.

'Fringe' Opens a Door

This show has managed to make me enjoy a mythology-laden episode as much as one of the case-of-the-week outings.  And this is going to sound even crazier, but the whole bad-guys-from-the-alternate-universe-stole-pieces-of-Walter's-brain-from-the-people-someone-implanted-them-in-and-then-reconnected-the-pieces-with-Walter made perfect sense and I LOVED every minute of it!  It had been so long since we'd seen Frozen Head Guy I had forgotten about him.  And then there was the miraculously healed mental patients (to which I thought, how bad can Frozen Head Guy be?  Huh!), Olivia's pressure-filled decision and the BIG revelation about Walter.  What a way to end things until 2010.

Family 'Bones'

The Bones Christmas episodes have become the stuff of TV legends in my house (the Christmas Episode of '07, a.k.a. "The Santa in the Sludge," still holds the crown).  We love to unwrap the latest episode each season, and we usually laugh and laugh throughout the hour.  This year's offering was supposed to shine even brighter because it contained the long-awaited moment when real-life sisters Emily and Zooey Deschanel shared the screen.  And there was also a little scene hinted at in the previews that showed Brennan unwrapping an evidence-laden Booth down to his boxers!  One of these surpassed expectations and the other fell flat.  But which is which?  Well, it boils down to what I expected and what the episode actually delivered.

Dillon in the Rear View

If I had to find fault with the amazing Friday Night Lights, it would be the show's penchant for saying goodbye to its wonderful characters. Last season, I had to watch Street and Smash leave and then we lost Lyla and Tyra in the finale when they went off to college. I know... such is life, but I don't have to like it. This week, we welcomed back an old friend only to bid her adieu once again, and we might have said an emotional goodbye to a beloved member of the Dillon family for good. Yes, sometimes life's curveballs are hard to take.

'Glee'-mance

The only bad thing about this week's "Fall Finale" of Glee is the depressing fact that the show isn't returning until freakin' APRIL!! I'm so thankful they wrapped up a few loose ends before it signed off for four months, but there were some developments that I can't wait to see explored further next year. Mainly, the end of one tired story line and the beginning of another more captivating one. I've lamented the Will/Terri/Emma love triangle saga from the start primarily because I felt like the show was better than it. Add in Terri's fake pregnancy story (which the show mercifully put out if its misery last week), and you get the weakest scenes. But, out with the old and in with the new because Will took two major steps this week that should make Terri's faux baby bump and that silly love triangle part of the show's past.

The Great Debater

I'm going to give Cold Case some props this week.  They managed to surprise me and make the doer believable!  This is a rare occasion (we all know my dislike for the show's penchant to "surprise" us with the doer by making him/her the least likely person in the story).  Part of my surprise was fueled by the fact that the debate coach seemed too obvious and he had too many reasons to kill Luke making him an "instant cross-off" on the suspect list for CC.  The other part dealt with a clever red herring that had me believing Luke's father was involved.

Cheaters Never Win

One of the things that I really like about this show is its ability to provide side stories and undertones that allow the actual case of the week to not have to hold my interest in order for me to enjoy the episode.  Such was the situation this week when Booth and Bones investigated the murder of a local gaming champ.  I'm really not familiar with the world of gamers or any of the games they compete in for bragging rights.  I couldn't even tell you if the game in the story is real.  I've heard of things like "Dungeons and Dragons," "World of Warcraft," "Halo," and "Doom," but I have little to no idea what any of them are or how they're played.  But, it didn't matter with this one because I was busy focusing on the other stories that held my interest more than the case.

One of those other things was a hilarious plot line that involved the new movie Avatar, some really interesting tattoos and pitching a tent on the sidewalk in the middle of D.C.

'Fringe' Parasites

Anyone with pets is a little too familiar with parasites: hooks, whips, rounds and so on.  Thankfully, those parasites aren't quite as large as the one infecting the victims of human trafficking in this week's episode of Fringe.  Those parasitic worms did provide something good (a super immune booster that could help with many medical conditions), but the whole incubation part is a bit of a b!tch.  When we first saw one of those things coming out of the smuggled immigrant's mouth, I thought it was some sort of mutant squid.  It wasn't until that lovely scene at the shipyard that I realized that they were more worm-like complete with long slimy bodies.  Yum!  And poor Peter had to hold one without gloves!  Seriously, sometimes I wonder about Walter.  Handing Peter the over-grown parasitic worm when he wasn't wearing gloves wasn't even the craziest thing he did this week.  For that, we have to jump ahead a bit.

'Friday Night' Sadness

This episode of Friday Night Lights was raw, emotional and tough to watch.  It was one of the show's finest hours (which is saying a lot for a series that's full of amazing outings).  I'll admit that I thought the death was going to be Matt's grandma, so learning that it was his father last week was shocking.  Of course, his father's job in the armed forces and his deployment meant that his life was always at risk, but I still wasn't expecting his tragic death.  And quite frankly, Matt wasn't either.  When he got the news, he didn't seem to process it or how it would change everything right away (who does?).  Watching him work through that process was heart-wrenching, painful and difficult.  And it was all done with the show's usual realism.

Losing someone we love is hard enough, but watching someone else go through it as authentically as Matt did this week was almost as tough.  There were so many heartbreaking moments.

Once Upon a Mattress Ad

This week's episode was sorta destined to fall short after last week's awesome outing, and yet, it had moments that made me very happy.  It's no secret that I enjoy the episodes that center around the glee kids and steer away from the Will/Terri/Emma triangle, so things were on shaky ground from the get-go.  But then, something great happened!  Will discovered the truth about Terri's fake pregnancy!  I was so frickin' excited.  That story line played itself out weeks ago and I was so over it.  I'm so glad he knows that she's a faker.  I have to say, though, that moment was bittersweet.  It was vindicating and heart-wrenching to see Will discover the truth and to then watch that truth play out on his face.  I can't even imagine the disappointment and anger he had to have been feeling in that scene.  And yes, Emma had a point (and I kinda hated that she did), but the fact is that faking a pregnancy isn't Terri's only fault and it isn't the only thing that makes her a bad match for Will.  She's incredibly selfish.  I hope Will takes the time to really evaluate his relationship with her before he goes running back to her prematurely.

Remember how I was saying last week that I (heart) Quinn more and more with each passing episode?  Well, this week filled me with Quinn-love.  Talk about gumption!

Filled with 'Glee'

I haven't written about the wonderful Glee here at PTR yet, but after this week's outstanding outing, I could remain silent no more.  I liked this show from the pilot, but I wasn't in love with it.  I enjoyed the episodes, but it wasn't like I was waiting for the next one with thrills of anticipation.  That changed when the show returned from its baseball-induced hiatus.  Something wonderful happened and this show went from fun and likable to absolutely-can't-miss-because-I-eagerly-await-each-episode.  The focus shifted slightly from the Will/Emma saga and "Terri fakes her pregnancy"(the show's only weak links, IMO) to the amazing kids in McKinley High's glee club.  It sounds like common sense, but this show's strength is its glee club and the stories directly surrounding the kids in it.  These kids have the remarkable ability to make you laugh out loud one moment and move you to tears the next.  But this week's outing had the most moving moment yet...

Observing August

Today, on Thanksgiving, I am thankful that I have the day off so I can finally catch-up on some of my write-ups! Here are some thoughts on last week's stand-out episode of Fringe...

It pains me whenever I hear the depressing news that Fringe is faltering in the ratings.  But after seeing last week's stellar Observer-heavy outing, it makes that pain cut a little deeper.  This was, hands-down, the best episode of the season thus far and it managed to accomplish something that the other outings have not: it perfectly blended the mythology of the show (even advancing it) while also providing a kickass case-of-the-week!  For the better part of the last season and a half, we have wondered about the man we only know as The Observer.  He was often seen, but hardly ever heard.  Last week, we learned that he is really several men -- all dressed the same, all with the bald head and top hat and all observing time.  One of those men, simply known as August, went from observing to participating.  And that's when the trouble started...

PTR Exclusive: The Lighter Side of Kari Matchett

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

Every once in a while, a girl just needs to make a little time for herself.

Take a breath.

Have a moment.

Put saving the world on hold.

Stop fighting the aliens.

Meet up with the the dark lords of the underworld at a later date.

Darling of all-things alien and sci-fi, Kari Matchett, needed just that when she signed on for the Hallmark channel original movie, The National Tree.

"I’ve done a lot of aliens and sci-fi stuff," she says with a laugh, "and I just felt like I was in the mood for doing something sweet and light - something that didn’t hurt anybody, didn’t have any violence in it, didn't have any heaviness to it."

That would be standard Hallmark fare, which we here at PTR do actually appreciate given family dramatic programming has become a dying art, and light, bright and airy sitcoms have all but vanished from the television landscape.

So it was refreshing to catch up with newly minted surfer girl grom Kari (pronounced CAR-EE) to chat about her role in The National Tree, which premieres Saturday, November 28th at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. Central). The film is based on the novel by David Kranes and centers on the search for a new national Christmas tree that is to be delivered to Washington, D.C., planted across from the White House, and lit in honor of the start of the holiday season by the President and the First Family. Kari portrays the marketing rep working for the company coordinating the national contest that selects the winning tree.

"It was a story that I thought would have a nice energy to be in for a while - and it was," says Kari.

Barney Calls the Plays

Barney was back and in a very big way this week!  Not that he abandoned everything that makes him great  while he was in a serious relationship, but it was nice to be able to both root against and for him and his never-ending quest to find the most creative way to pick up girls.  Sometimes I wonder if his ridiculous schemes would ever work in reality, and this week, I thought The Scuba Diver could possibly work (if everything played out as planned).  One thing is for sure, Barney is always a step (or two) ahead of the rest of the gang.  He got them so good, and he used them with one little trick.  Of course, his acts are a way of avoiding being himself and feeling vulnerable, but hey, it works for Barney.  For now anyway.

While Barney was busy getting over his break-up by hitting on every girl he could find who would fall for one of his silly schemes, Robin was taking a different approach to get over her split with Barney.

Lilly Crosses a Line

Was it just me or was this week's episode of Cold Case feeling a little Deja vu? Just a couple of weeks ago we watched Lilly and co. solve the murder of a young, promising Philly soul singer and this week, we saw them solve the murder of a young, promising rapper. Same story (complete with weak killer/resolution), different decade and music style. That was a disappoint for me this week. And that's a shame because I liked Donalyn and her compelling story. In fact, I was fully engaged until they revealed the killer was... wait for it... the FOSTER MOM!!! Yeah, I'm still scratching my head too. Would it have been too much to ask to have made the foster father the killer? He was a child predator, a cheater, and an all-around creep! Plus, he had his eye on Donalyn and she rapped about it. Motive - silver platter! The "surprise me" tactic only works when the killer makes sense. Anyway...

Remember when I said I liked the way the show was exploring the darker side of Lil? Well, my friends, I think we just went a little too dark!

Dinner and a Favor

Thanks to his brain tumor-induced coma, Booth is more aware of his feelings for Brennan.  He's also aware that, on paper, they make a terrible couple.  And now, thanks to the always-fabulous Gordon Gordon, he's aware that the heart wants what the heart wants (and when it doesn't get it, that frustration bleeds into other areas) and a little bit of patience could go a long way.  But the one thing that Booth is painfully unaware of, is the fact that Brennan has the same feelings for him and she is just as frustrated by them.  If she weren't, she never would have written a story in which she and Booth were nightclub owners, married and expecting a baby.  Ever since she deleted that story, she has seemed changed.  There have been two moments this season when it appeared that had Booth closed his eyes and jumped in, she would have followed.  The first one was during the premiere when he told her he loved her (and then abruptly took it back by passing it off as their partner relationship), and the second was when her exhibit opened and he brushed the hair off her shoulder.  I'm convinced that had Booth not chickened out, Brennan would have dove in with him.  I guess we'll never know for sure.  I don't think that she ever considered the possibility prior to his tumor, and now she's probably trying to determine whether his feelings are real.

This week, Booth took a few steps that made a pretty convincing argument that his intentions are genuine.

'Friday Night' Divisions

One of the greatest things about Friday Night Lights is its realism.  The show prides itself on it and its small, but devout, audience praises it.  And one of the greatest aspects of its realism is the relationship between Tami and Eric.  What couple hasn't fought over money?  And what spouse hasn't "forgotten" to tell the other (the one who keeps the books) about a check they wrote (or a check card transaction), and consequently, messed up the other person's budgeting?  We've all been there.  But in this case, Eric didn't so much forget about the $3000 check he wrote to Under Armour for new team uniforms (after burning the old ones in a symbolic gesture), he just sorta-kinda failed to mention it to Tami.  Probably because he knew it would illicit the exact reaction it did, and frankly, Tami was completely justified.  And in a nod to the beautiful complexity of this show, so was Eric.  The Taylors have a very good relationship, so after discussing the matter further (and when Eric was a bit more sober), Tami wound up supporting Eric's decision.

Unfortunately, things weren't quite as honky-dorey on the East Dillon Lions' sidelines.

Catching Up with 'Dexter'

By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer

I owe Dexter Morgan and Co. an apology.

I'm not really avoiding him.

Er, them.

It's amazing how much DVR time one does NOT have when one is holding down multiple occupations.

So goes the life of this particular writer these days.

But perhaps what is most frustrating for me is that this season continues to impress. Thus, I'm feeling even worse for falling behind on covering life at Miami Metro Homicide.

(Ne'er mind I'm wondering why my lapse in covering the show couldn't have happened LAST year, when I was already bored to tears by the time we reached this point in the season).

So where are we?

How Two Friends 'Met' Again

"Everyone stop!!  Alan Thicke, shut up. Marshall, it's a station wagon -- get over it.  Ted, stop talking about porn.  And for the love of God, somebody get the Storm Trooper some Pizza!" -Lily

"It's not a Storm Trooper!" - Everyone else

And that, ladies and gentlemen, summarizes the funniest scene I've seen on TV so far this season and one of the funniest I've seen on any TV show EVER!!  HI-LARITY that seemed to have no end in sight as the scene just escalated by the second.  Lily, Ted and Marshall, on a mission to break up Robin and Barney, piled into a stake-out station wagon (because the iconic van would have cost them $25 more to rent) and set a plan into motion that seemed destined to break up the pair: make them relive their four worst fights.  Lily, in a one-night only return from breaker-uper retirement, hatched the break-up scheme that brought Alan Thicke, Crazy Meg, dirty dishes and a robot who was supposed to be a Storm Trooper together in a station wagon while Lily watched the unsuspecting couple from her binoculars.  And it just got funnier from there...

'Case' is Off to the Races

It's fun to see a show that's boxed in by a formula do something a little outside that box. Such was the case with this week's Cold Case. The formula was still there (complete with the "who's the least likely suspect" game), but the story was just a smidge outside of the usual for this show. And it was enough to make me sit up and pay attention. Although about halfway through it, I found myself wishing we were working on Jeffries' case.  And that's not a knock on the episode, but a compliment to the intrigue the show created surrounding the missing girl he never found.  I have a feeling that case will make a re-appearance soon (fingers crossed). Anyway, I enjoyed this horse racing tale and found the move outside of CC's comfort zone to be fun.  And of course, there was also that funny conversation about whips and crops between Lil and Scotty.

Dust in the Wind

This week's episode certainly brought literal meaning to that famous Kansas song!  As Walter said, the victims were reduced to their most elemental state.  I tend to enjoy the stand-alone/freak- of- the-week episodes more than the mythology-laden ones and I thought this one was especially good.  The special effects alone were worth the price of admission!  How (disgustingly) awesome were those scenes with the remains, still intact, that began to crumble or, in some cases, blow away (thanks to an oscillating fan)?!  I wanted to be disgusted (and I'm sure I would have been had I been the one discovering my loved one like that), but the darn special effects were so good that I found myself in awe of their awesome-ness.  But there was also an intense race against time, a puzzling mystery and lots of pressure on Walter.  And a lot of that dust.

Of course, the dust was only a small part of this intriguing tale...

Birds of a Feather

This week's episode of Bones could have been a preachy platform for animal rights enthusiasts.  It could have been anti-meat eater, but the writers did a nice job of presenting the wrongs of the chicken industry without crossing the line into activism.  Through the characters, we got both sides of the chicken debate (including painting the "PECT" activists as extreme).  As someone who loves animals and wants them treated humanely (but also enjoys a chicken sandwich and some BBQ), I appreciated the balance in this episode.  The point was made in an educational way and not anvilously dropped onto our heads or preached from a Hollywood pulpit.  I also liked the dynamic it created between Brennan and Angela with Angela taking the more sensitive, save-the-animals approach and Brennan the more "they're just chickens" one (ironic because, in real life, star Emily Deschanel is an animal rights supporter).  Loved the way Brennan (on Sweets's advice) let Angela "have this one" at the end.  Rational or not.  Of course, none of that chicken debate mattered because the victim wasn't killed over animal rights, but rather, gas money.

When we last left off, I had hypothesized that the writers couldn't realistically move forward without Brennan and Booth being a bit changed by their shared moment at the opening of her exhibit.  And from the looks of things this week, this hypothesis seems to be proving true.  And speaking of "looks," there were a lot of them in this episode.

A Tale of Two Dillons

I'm starting to miss the departed Friday Night Lights characters a little less.  Maybe it's just that the abrupt changes in the premiere have had a week to sink in, or maybe it's because we got to know some of the new characters a little better, or perhaps, it's just the prevailing awesome-ness of Eric and Tami Taylor, but somehow the new FNL was a little easier to swallow this week.  I like the way the writers are developing the central conflicts inherent in Coach Taylor's new coaching position.  First, he has no team.  Or at least he didn't until that 10 p.m. practice.  Now, he has a group of kids who are willing to give him a second chance.  They're willing to put the past behind them and go forward with their season.  But they're going to need to learn how to play first.  They need to craft their raw talent, work together as a team, and trust their coach (even if he didn't let them finish their fight during the first game).  Otherwise, it's going to be a very long (and painful) season.

One 'Mother' of a Fight

Anyone who is in or has been in a long-term relationship can completely relate to Lily and Marshall's power struggle fight over dishes in this week's episode.  I am a "Lily,"in that, I too want the dishes cleaned as soon as you're done eating with them.  They can simply be rinsed off and placed into the dishwasher, but for the love of all that's good and holy, please don't leave them in the sink!  As you can see, Mr. TVFan and I have gone back and forth over this very issue in the past.  Luckily for him, he did not suggest that I clean all the dishes since it's "my problem" that I want them clean.  If he had, I'm afraid that he would have been packing a much bigger suitcase than Marshall.  Nonetheless, the bottom line with these sorts of domestic differences is you have to learn to live with each other's differences in order to make the relationship work.  And as Lily and Marshall stated at the end, these fights boil down to swallowing your pride and realizing that your love for each other is greater than winning.  It can be a tough pill to swallow at times, but if you love the other person enough, then you do it.  But, I got the impression that neither Barney nor Robin will be swallowing that pill anytime soon.  Yeah, that relationship is never getting off the ground.

'Cold' Sabotage

I've been complaining about Cold Case's lack of a strong doer this season (although, the problem can be traced back several seasons).  This week, I thought the show did a better job of picking someone who seemed like a plausible killer.  It's not that Iris was the most convincing murderer, but the show made a pretty strong case for her and provided a decent motive.  I'm not sure that I can see her sabotaging Vivian's plane knowing it would kill her (especially since it wouldn't look good for the WASPs to lose another pilot -- and their best one at that).  One thing that I found to be quite excellent about this outing, though, was its subject matter.  I'm embarrassed to say that I was unaware of the WASPs prior to this episode.  I knew that women helped out in wartime in many different ways, but I didn't know about the women who flew non-combat flights for the Army Air Force.  Interesting subject matter and a nice slice of history that paved the way for the many women in the military today (pilots and otherwise).

Other developments were a bit mixed, though.