I Watch TV: 2011-2012, Finale (Part Three of Four)

Oof. September. New tv on the horizon (as in already showing on my DVR schedule.) Now I really need to get with the program (pun unintended!). Planning a wedding is really taking up a lot of my play time.

Up next: CBS.

Disclaimer: You shouldn't read if you don't want to risk spoilers! Although, seriously, if you haven't watched yet? That's kind of on you.

The Good Wife (season three): What can I say about one of my favorite shows currently on tv? It's smart and tells a great story. And not quite your typical legal show, because instead of being about what goes on with the case, it's more about the dynamics of the law firm, and of course, inside the home of our main character, Alicia Florrick. Some very curious things took place at Lockhart-Gardner last year. Alicia was busy sorting out her feelings about Kalinda. Will was busy sorting out what to do with himself when he got suspended. Diane was busy sorting out the finances as the firm struggled. And I was busy sorting out my feelings with Chandler Bing Matthew Perry being a not so nice guy. I know the fate of the firm and what will happen with Alicia and Peter are supposed to be the big questions, but personally I am dying to know what Kalinda's big secret is and who is pounding on her door while she waits with a gun in her lap.

Favorite characters: Alicia Florrick. Kalinda Sharma. Eli Gold.

Best episodes: What Went Wrong. The Dream Team.

Blue Bloods (season two): I look forward to this show every week. Tom Selleck and Donny Wahlberg play two of my favorite characters on tv right now. Each week, I can't wait to see Frank make the best decisions for his city and his family, even when they're really hard, and to see Danny "Danny Reagan" some perp upside his punk head. I feel like I know the Reagans. I can't wait to sit down to Sunday dinner with them again.

Favorite characters: Frank Reagan. Danny Reagan.

Best episodes: The Job. Reagan V. Reagan.

The Big Bang Theory (season five): I'm not sure I could ever pick a favorite season of BBT. They make me laugh again and again. Will I be watching season six? Let's just say we watched the reruns all summer long and still laugh like lunatics. This may well be the funniest sitcom I've watched since Friends went off the air.

Favorite characters: Leonard Hofstadter. Amy Farrah Fowler. Sheldon Cooper. -- It's so difficult for me to pick a favorite, because much like Friends, the dynamic of the cast would be sorely lacking with even one character missing. It still blows my mind that they seamlessly added both Amy and Bernadette so late in the game and made them integral to the overall success of the show.

Best episodes: (Yes, six of them. And you have no idea how difficult it was to narrow down even that far.) The Infestation Hypothesis. The Good Guy Fluctuation. The Isolation Permutation. The Shiny Trinket Maneuver. The Weekend Vortex. The Stag Convergence

Person of Interest (season one): Quite possibly my favorite new show of 2011-2012 (that survived the ax, anyway). I love the intelligent humor, the sarcasm, the unflappable deadpan way Mr Reese speaks to everyone, the unexpected twists. This show is suspense and action at is suspended-disbelief finest. You can't look away or miss an episode (my DVR and I got in a *big* fight over that one) without losing crucial details and pieces of the bigger story. You know there was a jaw-dropping finale and I will be right there to see what happens next!

Favorite characters: John Reese. Harold Finch.

Best episodes: There were about five great episodes in addition to these, but they saved the best of the best for the final two of the season. No Good Deed. Firewall.

How I Met Your Mother (season seven): This was a rather volatile season, for a sitcom. The obvious humor was tempered with some difficult news for Robin to process and the sweetness of Lily and Marshall's new baby. Way back in the first episode, T predicted that Barney's bride would be Robin. I feel like we ultimately spent the season on Barney's journey instead of Ted's. As much as I enjoy this show, even I am starting to feel the angst of "when will it be Ted's turn??" Perhaps that is the intended climax of the show, to tap into the moment each (or most) of us ask ourselves this very question. I don't know. But I am starting to feel anxious for Ted now and also, I WANT TO KNOW WHO SHE IS ALREADY!!

Favorite characters: Ted Mosby. Lily Aldrin.

Best episodes: Tick Tick Tick. The Rebound Girl.

2 Broke Girls (season one): At first, I wasn't sure about this one. It was raunchy and stiff (which would easily lead to a raunchy joke). Even the parts that were funny ended up feeling more forced and uncomfortable than a laugh track. But I reminded myself to let the kinks (and another desperate raunchy joke) work themselves out, if they could. By the end of its rookie season, I felt like maybe we have...something. Maybe. Season two will tell. I just hope we don't go the way of...well...hold that thought, we'll get to it next.

Favorite characters: More than the actual characters themselves, I like the dynamic between Caroline Channing and Max Black. (I still can't figure out the purpose of Han, Sophie and Oleg though. Other than awkward filler.)

Best episodes: And the Rich People Problems.

Two and a Half Men (season nine): leading from my comment on 2 Broke Girls... There have been very few shows, in my history of watching television, that I have been unable to see through to the end, even when the final season(s) lacked the same "oomph" as the beginning. If this show was depressing and strange during Charlie Sheen's final season, it lost its mind without him. It went from raunchy and shameless to downright twisted, crossing more lines than a kickoff return out of the end zone. It wasn't even shocked-snicker-funny anymore. Just gross, offensive and downright disturbing. We toughed it out through the whole season, hoping they would turn things back around. We were wrong. And we won't be back for more.

Favorite character: Kathy Bates as the spirit of Charlie Harper.

Best Least offensive episode: Why We Gave Up Women.

Unforgettable (season one): Showing some interesting potential right out of the gate, I slowly found myself getting sucked in by the curious story of the main character who can remember every detail of everything...except the murder of her sister, when they were children. It spent the whole year "on the bubble," partially because it doesn't have the acting power of The Good Wife or Mad Men, but there is sarcasm, dry humor, and plenty of suspense. Not to mention the dangling clues from a serial killer offering Carrie his help and the fact that they nailed the oh-my-gosh-SO-close-to-some-answers about Carrie's missing past in the season finale...only to have CBS drag its feet, ultimately canceling it. While I fumed, because seriously, I hate when there are unresolved cliffhangers, a couple of other networks kicked its tires. I watched out of the corner of my eye to see if Lifetime or TNT might take a flyer on it, because I would have followed it to cable, and then CBS decided that if others were showing real interest, perhaps they ought to reconsider. They yanked the show back off the market and slotted it for a sophomore season. Now I just have to wait for it to come back in the summer of 2013 and hope that too much time hasn't passed for it to have any following whatsoever. There's always the benefit of there being absolute garbage for real tv during the summer offering little in the way of ratings competition, I guess.

Favorite characters: Carrie Wells. Al Burns.

Best episodes: With Honor. Golden Bird. Carries' Caller. The Man in the Woods.

The Mentalist (season four): After a great season three, season four disappointed me a little. As a mostly light-hearted crime drama series with a side of clever humor, I expect the unorthodox, but this season felt fragmented to me. It just never seemed to find the cohesiveness previous seasons had enjoyed and that made it difficult for me to feel immersed in the story. So though the fourth season was largely unforgettable to me (not to be confused with the Unforgettable I just finished reviewing), I will still be back for more of Patrick Jane's mischievous escapades as he hunts for his nemesis, Red John.

Favorite characters: Patrick Jane.

Best episodes: The Crimson Hat.

CSI: New York (season eight): When word came down that they were downsizing the CSI franchise, I held my breath, waiting to see which one would be given the ultimate death sentence. Of the three, New York is my favorite and I felt relieved to hear it would survive. I especially liked this season because we got to dip a little into what makes Mac tick, his past, and his life outside the office--something we don't get from any of the CSIs. I'm looking forward to more of that.

Favorite characters: Mac Taylor. Lindsay Monroe Messer.

Best episodes: Indelible. Air Apparent. Flash Pop.


CSI: Miami (season ten): Horatio Caine has repeated himself for emphasis for the last time, folks. He's repeated himself for the last time. I've felt that this show had kind of reached its end by the time its ninth season was coming to a close and the tenth confirmed it for me. I still watched but this show hardly glued me to my seat. It had become background noise for me. I just couldn't connect with the characters anymore. There was no adrenaline when they were in trouble. I think that is the death knell for a show of this nature, because if it doesn't make your heart thump when the characters are in a do-or-die situation, there is no way you're invested in the outcome. Even the introduction of a serial killer arc (my typical weakness) didn't reel me in. The final season flatlined for me.

Favorite characters: Calleigh Duquesne.

Best episodes: Last Straw. Rest in Pieces.


CSI (season twelve): Of the three CSI's, I have always found this one the most bizarre. You just never know what you're going to get. Aliens? Creepy guys in skin tight leather suits covered in zippers? But some of the most riveting serial killer acrs have come from this show, so I keep watching, never knowing when the next great story line will emerge. The way this season ended, it looks like it could be a "lucky thirteen" coming up!

Favorite characters: Catherine Willows. Dr Al Robbins.

Best episodes: CSI Down. Genetic Disorder. Ms Willows Regrets. Tressed to Kill.

Rules of Engagement (season six): Every time I think there's no way they will renew this show or that it will simply disappear into a hiatus from which it never returns, they bring it back again. It's not a bad show, but it isn't a great one either. It's just enough funny that it keeps me watching, but it's lost some of its luster. Even in a sitcom, I like my characters to evolve and deepen, but they just never seem to get there on Rules of Engagement, leading to occasional moments of hilarity but never even near the ballpark of Big Bang Theory. They claim it will be back mid-season again. We'll see... (Does David Spade ever not play a douche? Seriously.)

Favorite characters: Jeff. Timmy.

Best episodes: Nature Calls. After the Lovin'.

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Part One (ABC)
Part Two (NBC)