This Week on My TV: October 18, 2014

Disclaimer: Consider the fact that there could be spoilers ahead. You read at your own risk!



**(The Middle, S6E3 "Major Anxiety") Axl [to Hutch]: You were being responsible behind my back? -- Sue is on the committee to choose the homecoming committee. ::snort:: -- Sue [hyped up on caffeine and cleaning under her bed]: Even the dust bunnies have dust bunnies. -- OMG Sue on coffee = me on coffee. -- Axl wants to be an engineer because he's "always liked trains." -- Frankie [voiceover]: So Brick decided to go stag to the Fall Fantasy Dance, the fantasy being that this was a good idea. -- Sue: I rode the caffeine pony and it took me to the depths of hell. -- I audibly gasped when I just knew Sue was going to fall off the roof...and then she did. -- Cindy returns Brick's shoe that was left at the dance. BAHAHAHA. Cindy...Cinderella...lost shoe at a dance.

**(The Big Bang Theory, S8E5 "The Focus Attentuation") Sheldon: Well, don't feel bad. I think we've all been distracted since the girls entered our lives. Howard: You admit Amy's a distraction? Sheldon: Oh, very much so. Listen to this. This is from two days ago. 'Hi. Hope you're having a good day.' Who has time for this constant sexting? -- Penny: Bernadette. Girls weekend. Vegas. You in? Bernadette: Hell yeah. Penny: Yes! I'll check flights. Bernadette: I'll check hotels. Amy: I'll check my underpants. I'm so excited, I think I peed! -- This was the second show I watched so far this season that mentioned the Back to the Future 2 hover boards. -- Wardrobe did a fabulous job finding character appropriate black sequin outfits for each of the girls in Vegas. Sexy for Penny. Understated sexy for Bernadette. And a long sequined skirt for Amy. -- Raj: So what kind of name is Biff. Sounds like when you pop open a can of Pillsbury dough: bifffff. -- Punishment for not staying focused on the guys' science weekend was ripping off a strip of tape applied over their arm hair? I don't know whether to laugh hysterically or be horrified.

**(A to Z, S1E2 "B is for Big Glory") I love the window phone calls between Andrew and Zelda. -- They try a little too hard to give the supporting cast more prominent stories in the episodes, but they just feel like filler, especially because the audience doesn't "know" them yet. It will take time to care about what is going on in the periphery of our two main characters. For now, just give me Andrew or Zelda on the screen at all times, with the supporting cast members...or better yet, Andrew and Zelda together, because holy chemistry, Batman! -- Andrew opens up, tells Zelda that he hears his "Big Glory" music in his head all the time since he's met her and she replies "That's sweet...thank you." OUCH. No one ever wants to be that's-sweet-ed! -- The ending, when Zelda hears her own "Big Glory" music after coming to thank Andrew for the cobbled together "Zelda" mini license plate and telling him to never stop saying sweet things to her, and then she does this happy little bounce of joy on her way out of his office. She is just the cutest thing. In fact, this whole show is.

**(Scandal, S4E3 "Inside the Bubble") Michael the male...call guy (?) looks like he could be related to Owen Wilson. -- When they showed the video clip of the guy falling off the cliff, I gasped so loudly, T actually got up out of bed and came to check on me. (Oops.) -- Well, at least Mellie has graduated to eating the largest apple I've ever seen. That's an improvement from chips and generic Froot Loops, I suppose. -- Awkward: That exchange between Olivia and Rowan outside his house when she "just stopped by to say hello and bring him coffee" and he insisted on inviting her and Jake to dinner. And speaking of enormous: Rowan's front door. -- I approve of Jake standing firm and telling Olivia she isn't his girlfriend, so he isn't going to dinner with her at her father's house, and to call him when she wants him to do that thing. -- Jake: C'mon, Charlie, use your head. ... and Jake then proceeds to use Charlie's head to bang the front of the vending machine holding Charlie's snack hostage. ::snort laugh:: -- I was a tad concerned that, with all the interest Mellie was taking in the newlywed bride suspected of pushing her new husband off a cliff to his death on their honeymoon, that she may have been...plotting. -- I got really nervous that I would have to watch Jake torture Charlie "Huck style" and I really don't want to see him go there. Even if it was Charlie. -- That was some move Quinn used on Charlie. -- Cyrus, how are you falling for Michael's agenda? Normally, your suspicious nature would have you immediately wondering who (in this case, Lizzie Bear) was trying to set you up for something (which she clearly is). -- Oh, Fitz. You're still thinking about Vermont. I *want* to pity you, but I'm Team Jake now. -- Abby [to Olivia, who just said that, ethically, she could not discuss a client with Abby, because she isn't a gladiator anymore]: Ethically...you rigger of elections?! -- Wait. *David* is going to blackmail that Justice into voting the way Fitz wants? Good David, with his white hat? All for what? To stay "inside the bubble" with Fitz? Oh, David. You sold out. And then the Justice took his own life. Now what? -- Quinn kinda had a point about being gone for 24 hours and no one noticing, much less coming to look for her. That isn't how the gladiators have each other's backs. -- For a brief passing moment, I felt sorry for Mellie. She just needed something to distract her, to make her feel useful, maybe inspire her out of her deep grief...and it turns out, even though she was correct, the bride did NOT push the her new husband, the local police had already figured that out without her help. Someone find Mellie a project! -- I was wondering what Fitz's hangup was with learning that Abby's name was not "Gabby" and then it all becomes clear. He pours her some scotch, pays her a compliment on the job she's doing for them...and then starts asking her about Olivia. Yeeouch. -- I jumped when Rowan stabbed that carving knife into the dining room table between Jake's fingers, but Jake never even flinched. Heh. -- I admit to being disappointed when Jake did finally accompany Olivia to dinner at Rowan's...until I realized that he went so he would have the opportunity to let Rowan know he was onto the fact that it was Rowan who had Fitz's eldest son murdered and that Harrison may have figured that out as well, so Rowan had him killed. Your move, Rowan, which scares me to say, but I can't help wondering if you've finally met your match.

**(The Blacklist, S2E4 "Dr Linus Creel") Red is decent, deep down. He knows he wasn't a great husband to Naomi and he's truly trying to keep her safe from the repercussions of his actions. -- Based on that exchange between Red and Naomi regarding Liz and "how much she knows." I am dying to know what it is they know about Liz!! -- Red: Strap on your tin foil hat, Lizzie. -- Red's eyes and ears, aka Samar, are hard at work at the FBI Task Force headquarters. Especially when Liz asks Aram to pull Frank and Naomi's phone records. -- Who keeps watching Liz?! One of Red's people? Tom? Someone we don't know yet? --  That whole mind control bit, which at first appeared far fetched, started to feel just possible enough to be really creepy. -- What was with Dr Creel ripping out his own hair in clumps?! -- Senator: You're asking about mind control. This government can't make up its own mind, let alone control one. -- Naomi: Carla Reddington was a miserable housewife, married to a miserable man. That woman no longer exists. -- Frank and Naomi, you are so foolish to refuse Red's help out of sheer stubbornness and pride. -- Red has a great story with everyone he knows. A falling out with Haskell, the redacted documents genius, at a craps table? There's always a woman, a wild time, some food. -- Vargas in Monica's house, berating her for not taking better care of her dog. Possibly the weirdest break in ever. -- Frank was cheating on Naomi??? -- Frank: Monica, what did you to... Red: She's fine but from this point forward, there is only Naomi. She believes you to be an honest man, Frank. Faithful. And that is what you will become. You're going to accept my protection and leave Philadelphia. Frank: No. I'm going to call the cops, turn you in. You're not going to get away with this. Red [after snapping a stick into a point and holding it to Frank's neck]: You make her happy. That is the only reason you're still here. -- I get so worked up when they are rushing, trying to steal some info under great constraints. These scenes are so tense, I feel like my heart may beat out of my chest. And course Liz got the scrap of paper with the password on it, Aram. As if! -- I did *not* expect Creel to pull a gun when he took Liz hostage. -- It's that guy from where Liz is living! On the roof, shooting Creel, all sniper-like! That gun wasn't to attack Liz, it was to *protect* her. Because of course he was hired by Red. -- I wanna be chauffeured around like Red. -- Samar: So you think Reddington could have known, when he gave you this case, that you'd find out? ... FIND OUT WHAT??? -- So where *is* Jennifer? Red doesn't know and is trying to find her and protect her. Naomi claims she doesn't know. -- Naomi: And there's no one on earth who can make a woman feel like the center of his universe more than Raymond Reddington. -- If anything indicates when Red is furious with Liz, it's when he addresses her as "Agent Keene." -- Must be awkward to be Frank, watching Red stare into Naomi's face, tenderly brush hair from her forehead, lean in and give it an almost lingering kiss.-- Red: My associate saves your life and instead of saying thank you, you try to get him fired. If I knew better, I'd say you were hiding something. -- Where was Liz in that final scene? What's behind that door to which she appears to have the key? Where did she get it from? AAAHHHHHH!!! I cannot wait a whole week to (maybe) get answers!

**(The Good Wife, S6E3 "Dear God") I am having the worst time reconciling "September from Fringe" being the slimy State's Attorney Castro now. -- I'm really liking Taye Diggs' character, Dean Levine-Wilkins. He brings a certain charm that has been missing in the post-Will-ness of this show.  -- This whole "Cary's bail" thing is wearing a little thin, but I did love his parole officer and how they formatted her meetings with Cary, Alicia, and Diane, with flashbacks that give insight, often contradicting the answers given to her questions. -- Fear a woman who gets cold and clipped in her speech, like Alicia did when Castro said she would run against him as State's Attorney "as retribution for the death of her lover, Will Gardner."

**(CSI, S15E2 "Buzz Kill") I thought the dispensary owner was going to be behind the whole kidnapping of his wife and kids for ransom. Nope! The wife was behind it. Good twist! -- I'm glad to see that the Gig Harbor Killer case isn't being tabled any time soon. -- Hmmm. Finlay is back in Seattle (thank you skyline with the Space Needle and the cliched rain on the window for the locale hint) and she's alone, digging up history on the twins. How long before she finds herself in some sort of danger?

**(Person of Interest, S4E3 "Wingman") Captain Moreno [to Reese]: Is this the third or fourth guy you've knee capped this week, Riley? -- Shaw [about Bear]: Don't you want him to catch it? Finch: Not if it means rat entrails in our new office. -- Reese saying "not it" is about the most ridiculously hilarious thing ever. -- Lionel gets stuck with the "professional wing man." And I'm thinking he wishes he had thought to call "not it!" like Reese did, because he looks, shall we say, less than thrilled. ... Lionel [to Shaw about the latest number, Andre, the wingman]: I think I know who's gonna kill our guy. -- Finch and Root got out of their missile purchase location just in the nick of time, before the police raided it. Thanks, Machine! -- Andre [to Lionel about meeting potential women to date]: Smile, but not too much. You don't want to look like a crazy person. -- Lionel in training for the dating scene was particularly painful to witness. -- I'm liking Reese with his five o'clock shadow. -- The three nicotine patches Captain Moreno is wearing can't really be safe, can it? -- We sure are seeing an awful lot of Shaw all dressed up. It's weird. -- Who does everyone who meets him think that Mr Egret actually is?? They all seem awed and slightly intimidated by him. But Badass Finch is so *not* Finch that I think I would fall to the ground laughing if I had to actually interact with him.  -- HAHAHAHAHA. Lionel finding a use for his cuff links to get himself and Andre out of handcuffs. -- Reese [to Lionel after rescuing him and Andre from the container]: I'm about to close my third case of the day. Wanted to make sure you didn't die before I had a chance to brag about it. -- The Machine is hooking them up. Weapons. Big black bags of untraceable cash. "Ill gotten gains put to good use" indeed, Root.

**(Modern Family, S6E3 "The Cold") Claire with DayQuil in her wine glass. -- Cam [about being sick with a cold on his way back from their honeymoon]: I may have whined a bit. A crying baby complained about me. -- I don't know what was more funny: that video from the wedding, showing Phil sneezing all over everything, proof that he started the great family cold or his editing of the video. -- Whoa, that kiss between Haley and Andy. Haley may be in for the biggest shock of her self-important life. -- Jay [when Claire shows up at family dinner, stricken with The Cold]: Can we catch this again? -- Why do sitcom colds always seem to also involve nausea? I've had a lot of colds, but none that also affect my stomach.

**(Law and Order: SVU, S16E2 "American Disgrace") Let's see which headline(s) Shakir Wilkins' case was ripped from. -- Mr Bauer: Have you read his autobiography? I don't even know if he read it. -- That look the Barba and Rollins exchanged when the father told Cordelia he was "glad she was a good girl now and he forgave her for everything" totally said "we are so going to discuss this in the elevator, because what the hell was *that* about?" -- Able to pinpoint three headlines used for this episode's inspiration: Blaming senility on racist comments made by someone of prominence in the sports industry that were recorded. A scene in an elevator. Accused athlete losing corporate sponsorship.

**(About a Boy, S2E1 "About a Vasectomy") Were Marcus and Fiona seriously re-enacting Marcus' birth? As Will said "I'm so glad things didn't get weird while I was gone." -- Andy *faked* a vasectomy? Duuude. Also, instead of 'fessing up, I might just tell the possibly pregnant wife that the procedure must have, ummm, failed. -- Sell the San Francisco place? I can't fall for that. The show would cease to exist. So, how long before Will and Dr Sam split and he moves back?

**(Sleepy Hollow, S2E3 "Root of All Evil") Very clever spin on Benedict Arnold and quite the well-executed creative license by the writers to link this evil coin back to the thirty pieces of silver Judas received for betraying Jesus. Anyone who has possessed one since, betrays his deepest loyalties with no warning. There is, obviously, plenty of creative license in this show, but I'm impressed with the spins they make and the people, places, and events they weave together to fit the premise. -- There are an awful lot of connections between the Mills family and Chief Reyes. I am suspicious. -- Henry Parrish is popping up everywhere, with that smug smile. His being a lawyer is bad news. -- Crane's beer rant when he saw the bottle of Sam Adams. Priceless. -- Blondie posed a valid question I had but couldn't articulate: How to take possession of this evil coin without it taking possession of Crane or Abbie? -- Priest: How long has it been since your last confession? Crane: Ohhhh...feels like centuries. ... HAHAHAHAHA! -- Abbie: Even without an evil coin, telling the friends from the enemies gets harder all the time. Crane: That's why we so appreciated the British wearing bright red coats. -- Hawley: Good? Or evil? (He's no match for Crane in the swoon department, though.) -- Crane: And again, your silence in the matter of my wife is most telling. Do you believe I should not have allowed her to remain with the Horseman? Abbie: Allowed her? She's 1) a grown woman, 2) a witch, 3) a redhead. You couldn't have stopped her if you tried. -- Crane [to Abbie]: Trust is the only currency with any value. All other forms are too easily counterfeited. -- Crane is correct. The battle lines have been drawn and all that matters, now, is upon which side each of the players fall. Some of these players are pretty obvious. Abbie, Crane, and Jenny are on the side of light. Henry and Abraham are on the side of Moloch's darkness. Where will Katrina, ultimately, fall? Reyes? Irving? Hawley? All seem to have or could have reasons to straddle the line, but no one can stay with a foot on either side. A choice must be made. -- It seems Katrina is right about Henry on some level. He is still strongly connected to her, as her son, but based on his pyrotechnics on the bed where he was born, that connection it, at best, complicated and conflicted, and at worst, a fuel for his dark destruction.

**(Marry Me, S1E1 "Pilot") They nailed tirade of a typical single girl in her 30s. Been there, felt that! -- I about died when Jake called everyone out of hiding. Way to kill the moment, Annie, by slamming almost everyone waiting to jump out and surprise you, to celebrate what should have been your engagement! (This is why I wanted no witnesses to my engagement: fear of mortifying myself.) -- I am glad Dan Bucatinsky found some place to land after his abrupt departure from Scandal. -- Annie's gay fathers are both named Kevin? I'm not sure whether or not I find this funny enough to actually laugh. It worked for that one scene in the car, but I could see the joke getting old quickly. -- I approve of the way they use flashbacks to tell Annie and Jake's story from before the point where the show picks up. -- Annie doing yoga is precisely how I would look. -- Annie [about goofing up Jake's attempted proposal]: I waited 32 years. If I had just waited 32 more seconds... -- Annie [on yoga]: My body doesn't go these places. -- How did annie not rip that lace dress while squeezing past the mail cart in Jake's office? Lord knows I would have. And probably gotten it dirty too. -- Whoa, Jake and Annie dated a year before saying "I love you"? Are these the rules? No wonder I didn't end up married until just before my 36th birthday.

**(Blue Bloods, S5E2 "Forgive and Forget") Jamie and Janko argue like cats and dogs. Or, ya know, people in denial of their feelings for each other. Janko is a *itch though. I don't know what Jamie sees in her. -- Erin looks like she's ready to choke Danny half the time, usually as a result of him needing a favor. They are certainly at each other's throats more than any other Reagan pairing on the show. -- Was that the speed dating opposing counsel guy that Erin met last season who she had for a sleepover while Nicky was away on a field trip? Who is potentially going to be her interim boss? Complicated and awkward! (Also, I hope Erin does a better job than I do remembering your name, buddy.) -- Heavy on the "right thing to do" when it comes to cops making bad choices and how it should be handled this episode. Between how cops treat one another when one makes a statement against a partner, and when one of Frank's old friends, who is about to retire, is in an accidental shooting situation with his partner (who was non-fatally shot). -- When Janko called in Kara getting hit, she asked for "a bus, forthwith." She isn't a Reagan, so is she authorized to use that phrase? -- Ouch. No backup showed up at that drugstore armed robbery scene...because no one would back Kara (and subsequently, her interim partner, Jamie) up after she testified against her partner. -- Frank: Past heroism is no excuse for present misconduct.

**(Law and Order: SVU, S16E3 "Producer's Backend") Ripped from the headlines: Gee, could Tensley Evans be Lindsey Lohan-ish much? -- Awww, Amaro with baby Noah. -- Donna Evans[Tensley's mother, when asked to leave the room while the detectives speak with her daughter]: She's my baby! She needs me right here! ... OMG, shrieky and annoying and also, your baby is 24 years old, lady. -- I'm glad to see that Amaro is back with the unit, but I still don't like Sonny. Why couldn't they have made Murphy a regular after last season? I liked him a lot. -- I love when Barba finds a loophole. He gets this hungry gleam in his eyes. -- When liv said "he doesn't just spit up on anyone" and then asked the nanny to dry the baby's hair after his bath because he still had a cough, I had a feeling something was up with baby Noah. Confirmed by the episode ending with Liv racing out of the squad room, after getting a call that the nanny was at the ER with him. -- I don't know how much of that kind of disgusting behavior actually goes on in Hollywood, but it sure would make me hope any daughter of mine would stay out of professional acting. Yikes.

**(Last Man Standing, S4E4 "Sinkhole") A sinkhole? In Colorado? -- Kristin: Why even argue? You can't settle anything. Everyone has their own set of facts and a cable show to back up the opinions he already has. -- Ryan: Mike, false machismo isn't going to make him feel any safer. Mike: Well, real machismo would be better, but we get what we get. -- I rarely laugh during Ryan and Kristin scenes, unless Mike is making fun of one of them, but I was pretty amused when Kristin showed more resolve than Ryan, and threw Boyd over her shoulder and carried him out to the car, with a firm "enough is enough" over Boyd refusing to leave Mike and Vanessa's house due to fear of the world, following the near run-in with the sinkhole.

**(Scandal, S4E4 "Like Father, Like Daughter") When Olivia asked Huck if he could shut down cell service so no one could get video of her and Quinn extracting the drunk First Daughter from a party without people posting videos all over the internet, I realized that now I am going to wonder every time the internet or cell service hiccups. -- Fitz [after learning of his daughter's escapades and the *ahem* video that was made]: And then find a convent in Switzerland to stick her in. Olivia: That didn't work when my father did it to me. -- Cyrus [to Abby, after she told him he makes he feel small when he keeps things from her]: Red, there are things that happen in this big White House, with this particular President, that you will never, ever know about. Some of those things, many of those things *will* involve Olivia Pope. Several of *those* things will make it hard for you to do your job. But you are a patriot, you are a fighter, and so you will solider on. As for feeling small, I don't do that to you. I suspect that jealousy does that to you. My advice on that is this: you are not Olivia, you will never be Olivia, and hating Olivia for your own shortcomings will not change that fact. Also, have you ever stopped to think what it must be like to actually *be* Olivia Pope? Doesn't seem like that much fun. -- Jake: Rosen. David: Hi. Am I due for a good threatening? -- Mellie [to Fitz, in a rage, after learning Olivia had been in the White House]: A magical fairy granted your wish and POOF! Olivia Pope appeared in the Oval Office. -- I actually approve of Fitz's response to Mellie's temper tantrum over Olivia being in the White House. ... Fitz: I have dealt with drunk Mellie, bad hygeine Mellie...no, wait, I've got it smelly Mellie. I have dealt with Drunk mellie, smelly Mellie and screw everything to hell Mellie, crybaby Mellie and eat everthing that is not nailed down Mellie, and I have not complained, but I will not put up with whatever righteous history re-writing Mellie you have going on right here right now. -- Quinn is pretty hardcore these days. -- I'm so mad that Olivia had a moment with Fitz. I'm mad for Jake. I'm mad that Fitz won't respect what's left of his marriage. I'm mad that Olivia allows herself to be sucked in. -- I'm a little weary of Fitz's poor me routine. Olivia left him and he nearly died. YOU ARE THE LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD. Get *over* yourself, Fitz, and do your job. -- I was impressed by what Mellie said to Karen about her wild night. -- Fitz sent Rowan in to question Tom?? About the mission *Rowan* sent him on! The orders he received to get the vial that ultimately killed Jerry Grant?? And now Tom lied, framed Jake, and Rowan gets away, literally, with murder. Jake, who Fitz hates more than anyone else on the planet, because Liv took him with her when she ran away, leaving poor Fitz all alone ::eyeroll::. is going to believe it's true because he wants it to be true.