TV Loves and Hates: November 9, 2013

Disclaimer: Some shows I watch live and with others, I tend to be fairly behind on my tv watching. Even so, consider the fact that there could be spoilers ahead. All I can do is lead in with the show and episode. You read at your own risk!


**(The Good Wife, S5E3 "Precious Commodity") I really enjoyed the case Alicia was on (the surrogate who doesn't want to abort the baby, even though the parents demand she do so, after the baby is diagnosed with a potentially fatal disorder). It was different and interesting. Also interesting: the position Alicia is in between the new firm she's helping to form and the offer from Will to take Diane's place.

**(Parenthood, S5E1 "It Has to Be Now") I adore Kristina's hair. Shallow. Not the point of the episode. I love that she is chasing her dreams and not waiting and all of that. And Amber and Ryan got engaged. And Jasmine and Crosby's baby is here. But seriously. Kristina's hair. I want her hair.

**(Sleepy Hollow, S1E1 "Pilot") I *really* did not need another show, but there was so much raving over this one, I had to give it a shot. Wow. That was some exciting drama. And yes, I am hooked. So many layers and details to this show that I can't believe how well-done the pilot was!

**(Elementary, S2E2 "Solve for X") I absolutely love the relationship between Sherlock and Watson now. It is affectionate in a way that fits with two people who have navigated some deeply emotional territory together. The scene where Sherlock is concerned that Watson's guilt is making her vulnerable to be taken advantage of, and later, when he told her he'd like to visit the grave site with her next time, touched me. I like the show of emotion without there being any romance.

**(Modern Family, S5E6 "The Help") This season has been really funny. There are so many jokes to be made about Cam and Mitchell attempting to survive planning their wedding. I mean, Pepper and the purple wedding palette and the unicorn entrance? It's really way too funny. - Gloria: This the new manny! Manny: I'm being replaced?! - Roz!! And the fact that she was Phil's father's accidental hooker? *Hilarious*.

**(The Mentalist, S6E5 "The Red Tattoo") I didn't have a single thing invested in the "murder of the week" or in all the Visualize nonsense, but who needs any of that when the Red John identity is so close to (maybe) being revealed! This has been some serious edge-of-my-seat drama. I'm not even sure if I have a guess which of the remaining five suspects it is.

**(How I Met Your Mother, S9E7 "No Questions Asked") This is the kind of episode HIMYM does best. I love all the "repeating" series of events and all the brief (but clear!) flashbacks. And all of the "no questions asked" situations were very amusing. I'm going to miss this show.

**(The Middle, S5E5 "Halloween IV: The Ghost Story") 1. Axl not being cool anymore because he's just a freshman. 2. Frankie buying the gross candy so they don't eat it all before the trick-or-treaters show up...and then they eat it all anyway. 3. Sue. Oh, Sue. I do love her optimism and genuineness. Her whole stardust speech about the universe being filled with amazing and inexplicable things was actually pretty impressive. 4. Brick was a bookmark for Halloween because of course he was. And Brick had his first date! And he fainted because of course he did.

**(Grey's Anatomy, S10E1 "Seal Our Fate") Grey's, I really want to hate you for making me cry but that was an excellent season premiere.

**(The Blacklist, S1E6 "Gina Zanetakos") I love that I can't decide if I'm supposed to love Red or hate him. I'm pretty sure I believe him though. I think there's more to Tom than he's letting on and I think Red knows what *and* why.

**(Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, S1E1 "Down the Rabbit Hole") I have no idea what the heck I just watched. It felt like one of Walter's acid trips from Fringe. Yet somehow I need to know what happens next. - Jafar (to the Red Queen): Threats are for people who aren't prepared to act.

**(Grey's Anatomy, S10E2 "I Want You With Me") Finally, the interns have bonded. Too bad it had to be over one of their deaths. (Seriously, you could  not pay me enough to work at that place. There isn't enough money to convince me I have a death wish.) -- Bailey and when you know, you know. -- Mer is so not owned by her brokenness anymore. She knows her weaknesses, accepts them, and carries on. I wanted to cheer when she made that speech to Catherine Avery about how Richard picked Catherine to be his girlfriend, but he picked Mer to be his family. And that voice-over closing by Richard saying he made a lot of bad decisions, but not the one picking Mer as his healthcare proxy: sob! -- Jackson (to April): You didn't want me when I was okay, when I wanted you. You just want me now, because you're in something that is real, and that scares the crap out of you. Marry this guy because you want to make a life with him, or don't and move on, but none of this has to do with me. -- April, I might be mad at you but what you said to Matthew? I so get it: I'm not good at this. This is all new to me. I was never that girl that got picked at the dance. I'm not good at it, and I'm indecisive, because I see eight sides of everything, and that's what you're picking when you pick me, and you may not want that. I thought nobody would ever want that.

**(The Blacklist, S1E7 "Frederick Barnes") This show is so good, we couldn't even wait to work our way through our common shows on the DVR from the oldest to most recent. We had to skip ahead and watch last night's Blacklist. So many excellent elements to this one, but my favorite was the following exchange: Red: Every cause has more than one effect. Say what you will about Frederick, but someone who was willing to burn the world down to protect the one person they care about...that's a man I understand. Liz: Is that meant to be directed at me? Red: Aren't you presumptuous. Liz: Is that how you somehow justify your actions, by some misguided notion of protecting me? From whom? My husband, I suppose. I don't need your protection. Red: Maybe not. Liz: But I do need you to do this job. I've accepted that. And, believe it or not, I appreciate what you do for the Bureau. And at work, you and I are partners. But that's where this relationship needs to end. At work. I don't want you in my personal life. I don't know how to make that clear. Red: You know the problem with drawing lines in the sand? One breath of air and they disappear. You may not like me. You may not understand how or why I do what I do. But I'm here because you want answers to questions you haven't even thought of yet. Now if that doesn't matter to you, the solution is simple. I get in this car and I disappear. Liz: You have a deal with the government. You have a tracking device in your neck. Red: You don't believe Raymond Reddington could cease to exist in sixty seconds? I offer that particular package to clients. Liz: You're offering to walk away. Red: I'm not going to beg you to allow me the privilege of helping you. So say the word and I'm gone. [pause as they stare at each other] Tell me to go, Lizzie. [silence from Liz] Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. -- All that right there? Is precisely what makes this show so amazing in a nutshell. Great lines. Great acting. Great characters. James Spader, knocking it out of the ballpark.

**(Person of Interest, S3E6 "Mors Praematura") When Shaw punched Root, I died laughing. You just know Shaw was waiting for that opportunity.

**(The Michael J Fox Show, S1E7 "Golf") Annie: Stay completely still. Mike: You know who you're talking to, right?

**(Top Chef, S11E5 "Lea Michele's Halloween Bash") Michael went home. And now I happy dance.

**(Blue Bloods, S4E6 "Growing Boys") Linda making it clear Danny is *her* man. I love how "real" Danny and Linda's relationship is done on this show. -- Frank and Garrett are like an old married couple. Their exchanges amuse me. Especially the looks Frank gives Garrett. -- Frank Reagan: I play hard but I don't play dirty.

**(Last Man Standing, S3E6 "Larabee for School Board") The Mike Baxter and Chuck Larabee love-hate bromance is *awesome*. -- I've been looking for an autumn wreath for my front door. I want the one on their front door. And the front door (but I'd want it more if it had some small windows near the top); I just love the rich, warm natural wood.

**(How I Met Your Mother, S9E8 "The Lighthouse") The Mother is back! And the proposal! ::swoon::

**(The Big Bang Theory, S7E7 "The Proton Displacement") Koothrapanties?? LOL! -- Bill Nye the Restraining Order Guy. LOL! --  Amy (about Raj and Howard) "I knew it! They're going to have sex before Sheldon and I do!"

**(Mom, S1E7 "Estrogen and a Hearty Breakfast") That moment when Bonnie chucked the cell phone out the window? I've fantasized about that a thousand times since owning one myself.

**(Person of Interest, S3E7 "The Perfect Mark") This week's number is Ken Cosgrove from Mad Men! Well, not the same character, obviously, but still. I love when my show "cross pollinate." -- Mr Wren. I am always so amused by all the different bird names Harold chooses. -- I did *not* see the number's girlfriend turning the tables on him at the end! Well played, Person of Interest! -- So now Carter realizes she's been spilling her guts to the king of HR. Things are about to heat up in a hurry!


**(The Good Wife, S5E3 "Precious Commodity") Please tell me Peter isn't eyeing that ethics adviser woman.

**(Parenthood, S5E1 "It Has to Be Now") Speaking of hair, this episode. What on earth is up with Drew's college hair? Blech.

**(Chicago Fire, S2E3 "Defcon 1") No one likes a snitch. No one likes a bitter former employee potential arsonist. No one likes that consultant lady. No one likes guys who pretend to like girls but are really spying for the mob guy that employs them. And I really hope no one likes that ridiculous facial hair on Otis' chin.

**(CSI, S14E4 "Last Supper") I dislike when shows make me conflicted. It should have been a fun episode...until they included cooked parts of the victim BEING EATEN by PEOPLE. That's gross, even for a show that routinely features autopsies.

**(Top Chef, S11E4 "Captain Vietnam") I'm frustrated that there are still so many chefs to keep track of. I'm annoyed that I can't remember most of their names. I'm bummed that Janine was told to pack her knives - partially because I liked her and partially because hers was one of the few names I actually knew. I really do not care for Travis and his know-it-all attitude, and therefore, I am annoyed that he did not go home. I also don't care for that suck-up guy with the curly hair, whose name I don't want to have to learn, so I hope he gets eliminated soon.

**(The Michael J Fox Show, S1E6 "Teammates") Ian is a lame version of Axl from "The Middle." Mike and Annie need to toss his lazy butt out to learn about the real world.

**(How I Met Your Mother, S9E7 "No Questions Asked") Why do you keep holding out on more The Mother scenes, HIMYM writers? You're making me sad.

**(Grey's Anatomy, S10E1 "Seal Our Fate") I am *really* not a fan of Arizona. Like, at all.

**(2 Broke Girls, S3E6 "And the Piece of Sheet") Caroline's whining was so bad, it made me want to...I don't know. Something violent.

**(Grey's Anatomy, S10E2 "I Want You With Me") Not a fan of Jackson's mother, April's indecision (tough talk from a self-proclaimed Libra? not when it comes to matters of the heart, thank you very much), or Arizona's reaction to her own cheating.

**(Last Man Standing, S3E6 "Larabee for School Board") *What* is up with Mandy's glasses?? I had glasses that size when I was in high school. Please don't tell me that look is coming back.

**(2 Broke Girls, S3E7 "And the Girlfriend Experience") Well now, there was not one redeeming quality to that episode.

**(Mike and Molly, S4E1 "Molly Unleashed") I liked the old open credits/song better than the one they changed to. And Molly breaking down wasn't funny. It didn't even feel sad. I just wanted to smack her.


**(Blue Bloods, S4E5 "Lost and Found") Does Frank not have any other ties? He wears that red one with the black diagonal stripes a *lot*. And why are all the Reagans getting taken hostage this season? First Erin in the courtroom, now Jamie at the jewelry store.

**(The Michael J Fox Show, S1E6 "Teammates") So...is Leigh Mike's sister or Annie's best friend or both? Because if she's at least related, I can sorta maybe see why she's around so much, but I still can't figure out what her actual purpose as a character is supposed to be.

**(Sleepy Hollow, S1E2 "The Blood Moon") Does anyone else who watches this show also think twice about looking in a mirror now? Holy heck.

**(How I Met Your Mother, S9E7 "No Questions Asked") *What* in the *world* was up with that purple unitard and *why* was Robin wearing it? What even happened there?

**(Grey's Anatomy, S10E1 "Seal Our Fate") Is Dr Webber going to survive? Is everyone at this hospital cursed, even with its new name? Is there anywhere Alex hasn't slept with someone?

**(Mom, S1E6 "Abstinence and Pudding") How much do you suppose that actor gets paid to play Paul?

**(Person of Interest, S3E6 "Mors Praematura") So there is a third category of numbers now: the relevant, the irrelevant and the necessary? Do tasers really leave behind confetti?

**(Blue Bloods, S4E6 "Growing Boys") Once again, I have to ask: Is that Frank's only tie?

**(Revolution, S2E5 "One Riot, One Ranger") Is it me or are we getting borderline Fringe-y here a bit?

**(The Michael J Fox Show, S1E8 "Bed Bugs") Was that episode supposed to endear Leigh to the viewers? Because I'm going to need more than that.