This Week on My TV: December 6, 2014

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



**(About a Boy, S2E6 "About a Balcony") Because of course Fiona and Marcus have been reciting the balcony scene from "Romeo and Juliet" to each other since Marcus was about four. -- When Fiona said Mr Chris smells like "Eau de Pompous Moron," all I could think was that I know some people who "use that scent." -- I'm pretty sure Will and Andy didn't need to wear those stupid jumpsuits for the viewer to know they were doing some carpentry work. Give the audience a little more credit. -- Progress: Marcus was able to figure out that doing a Romeo and Juliet scene with his mother in front of the whole school was social suicide. -- I wasn't sure what to expect from an episode that was based on Shakespeare and The Three Stooges, but it was actually pretty funny, and I liked that Fiona at least got a kiss. Between Mr Chris and the Sherlock Holmes from Will's Halloween party, she's already seen more action in two episodes than all of last season.

**(The McCarthys, S1E4 "Supporting Jackie") Predictable but no less amusing that immediately after promising Jackie to support her in all the things she can't do while pregnant, her family went out and did all the things Jackie can't do. -- The father of Jackie's baby is seriously dead?? Well, that's a twist from "product of a one night stand" or "they were together but he freaked out and left when she got pregnant" I guess. -- Why is Jackie doing birthing classes before she even starts showing?

**(Marry Me, S1E3 "Scary Me") The "baby" in Julie's sling was not even convincing (well, except when they swapped the prop for an actual appearance of the baby), and OMG her baby's name is Atticus? That's...definitely not my taste. -- LOL: All the "Julie's a B" jokes when Julie showed up at Annie and Jake's haunted house dressed like a bee. -- Loved Annie and Jake's zombie Lucy and Ricky costumes.

**(Marry Me, S1E4 "Annicurser-Me") Well done on the flashbacks. It was like Friends-meets-How-I-Met-Your-Mother, seeing all Annie and Jake's previous "date-aversary" disasters and then seeing them again as they really happened.

**(CSI, S15E3 "Bad Blood" - Yikes. Quarantine?) Not a fan of Sarah's new haircut. It's too 1981. -- That potential viral exposure crime scene? My worst nightmare. -- Of course Sarah and Greg are ok. Kind of an interesting story about how that viral epidemic came about though. Makes you wonder...

**(The McCarthys, S1E5 "Thanks a Lot, Ronny") I, apparently, measure all shows by 2 Broke Girls now, when it comes to chemistry and "stiff" acting. This show has accomplished more in five episodes than 2 Broke Girls has in three-plus seasons. I laughed at Jackie's multiple failed attempts at pumpkin pie, Marjorie plotting how to break up Katrina and Gerard so he doesn't propose to her, Arthur getting romantic about Marjorie, and Ronny getting crazy over Katrina wanting to make stuffing when that's his thing.

**(Marry Me, S1E5 "Thank Me") Gil meeting his cheese soul mate while shopping for cheese and crackers for Annie's first hosted Thanksgiving. ::snort:: -- Annie: The war between wife and mother-in-law is a tale as old as Everybody Loves Raymond. Jake: What? No! Honey, I think you've got it completely wrong. I mean, my mom is known for three things: her sweater sets, her generosity, and keeping her house at a cool 66 degrees and that's it! Annie: Didn't you see what she just did in there? She sacrificed her Thanksgiving hosting rook to king my queen in the dining room with the candlestick! -- LOL: When Annie was dancing to psych herself up for Thanksgiving, I asked "What the hell is she doing?!" And then they showed Jake's face with that exact expression. -- The "tiny table" bit would have been funnier if The Middle hadn't already done it earlier this year, but Myrna's support of Annie's Thanksgiving disaster was really sweet.

**(The Middle, S6E8 "The College Tour") Oh, Sue, checking off "Native American" on all her college forms because she was born in America. I totally felt her lack of confidence visiting colleges though. I was completely overwhelmed and it brought me right back there. -- Why do they all call Devin Levin by her full name?? Also, yay! Axl and Devin! -- A sitcom made me cry. (Are you kidding me?!) When Sue was telling Mike all the things he's done that make him a great dad. -- LOL: Frankie leaving sticky notes all over Axl's bathroom as she cleaned it for him. "This is bathroom cleaner."

**(Marry Me, S1E6 "Bruges Me") I don't really know what to make of this whole Flemish Pride festival deal that had Gil and Annie writing some sort of musical, but Kevin (Jake's right, we do need some way to differentiate the Kevins) and his "motorcycle" (scooter! hee!) was pretty amusing.

**(CSI, S15E4 "The Book of Shadows") Pretty horrifying opening scene, with the teacher running down the hall, screaming and on fire. -- Witches and PEDs and school faculty sleeping with students and a kid with terminal cancer. What?? -- Is this Detective Crawford guy supposed to fill the police presence vacated by Brass? I am, thus far, unimpressed. Brass seemed to have far more personality and authority.

**(Modern Family, S6E9 "Strangers in the Night") I totally believed Alex about her boyfriend, right from the start. I'm bummed for her that his father got a job and they had to break up. Alex needs something good. But Alex and Alec? LOL! -- Also LOL: All the little "hints" around that made Phil and Claire think Alex was making up the boyfriend story as she went along, and Claire and Phil's faces when they realized there really was a "bad boy" there to pick up Alex for a date. -- Joe is starting to look like a girl with those long ringlets.

**(Mom, S2E5 "Kimchi and a Monkey Playing Harmonica") Wow, Ed Asner got old. Well...old-*er*. -- Marjorie's choice in...entertainment was...unexpected. -- Bonnie and Alvin make an odd couple. They also kiss really loudly. -- Ed Asner peeking through the window, watching Bonnie and Christy hugging: creeeeeepy! -- Curious to see how this Baxter/Candace relationship works out. It provides an interesting new dynamic to have Baxter be slightly less loser-ish. --  I have to give them credit with these episode titles. I never know how they're going to work, yet they always do.

**(Sleepy Hollow, S2E8 "Heartless") Ichabod: Secrecy is a hard habit to break. -- That was a really great conversation between Katrina and Ichabod to start the episode, even if it was, in part, superficially, about the reality tv show they were watching. The undertones though... -- Is it my imagination or is Abbie a bit jealous of Ichabod's attention to Katrina? Not in a romantic way, but he's been "Abbie's" until now. -- Hmmm. When Abraham communicates with Henry via the mirror, he has his head. -- Katrina: Secret desires burn brightest. -- When will Abbie learn that guns never work on these creatures they encounter? -- Hawley was awfully cavalier, whipping out artifact weapons in plain of view and handing them off to Ichabod for protection against the succubus. -- Every time Katrina speaks in...whatever ancient language that is...I start to wonder how long it took her to learn those lines well enough to say them without so much as a hesitation. -- Katrina: Love can be a very dangerous weapon. -- I'm trying to figure out the connection between the visions Henry keeps giving Katrina, the necklace she wears to see Abraham in his headed form, and this baby Henry has in the cradle at Fredericks Manor.

**(Person of Interest, S4E9 "The Devil You Know") Excellent location for a shoot out! Cosmetics departments are full of glass counters, many small bottles, and all kinds of mirrors. In fact, with all the places to hide and things to shatter, I'm surprised I've never seen this done before! -- So, Elias' number is up on the Machine for a second time. I think that's only happened one other time, with that little Asian guy, Leon. -- Is it my imagination or has Fusco been dressing better since the "wing man" episode? -- Shaw [to Root]: You go through identities like they're Dixie Cups and I'm one and done? -- I wonder how many times he's asked this? ... Mr Finch: Mr Reese I heard gunfire. Is everything all right? -- Dominic is certainly a formidable opponent for Elias. -- Elias: Do you remember the last time you handed me a firearm? Mr Reese: You aimed it at my head. Don't make me regret it again. -- Root has started calling Shaw by her first name, Sameen.

**(Marry, S1E7 "Win Me") If there's a "cousin Scooby," that's exactly what he would look and act like. Right down to saying "ruh roh." -- New item on the Pet Peeve List: 'bae' instead of 'babe'. Ugh. -- When the Kevins got engaged, I never even considered that Annie and Dan-Kevin (as opposed to Tim-Kevin...you know, based on the actors' first names) would be planning weddings at the same time. This opens up tons of opportunities for laughter.

**(Mom, S2E6 "Crazy Eyes and a Wet Brad Pitt") Jill is...scary. And I thought that before she went crazy on Christy and Bonnie. That woman has crazy eyes and the body language to match. -- With that nasty apartment they're living in, after cramming into Marjorie's modest home with all the cats, I can't help but wonder why they don't all end up living in Jill's enormous mansion. Except that would give it a little too much in common with Two and a Half Men, which, no. Emphatically NO.

**(The McCarthys, S1E6 "Why Guys Shouldn't Date a Sister's Ex") Because it wouldn't be awkward at all, dating your (pregnant and hormonal) sister's high school ex-boyfriend, the one that broke her heart, who happens to be gay now. LOL. -- Marjorie: Oh, I know she's not going to be happy with you. Ronny: And that's why you're smiling like a cartoon villain? -- Weird: Rick Fox appearing as himself, right after being on the episode of Mom I just watched, as Jill's ex-husband. -- I feel kind of bad for Ronny that Jackie's crazy ruined his chances with Tommy, but two things: one, I think Marjorie might be even more upset than Ronny, and two, why are grown men going by such childish nicknames?

**(Last Man Standing, S4E10 "Outdoor Man Grill") Mandy [checking out the pheasants Kyle and Eve brought back from hunting]: Pheasant feathers are really expensive and they're supes hot in fashion right now. Kate Middleton doesn't go anywhere without them. Mike [indicating the pheasants]: Neither do those two. -- Ryan: Oh yum! Dibs on the bulgar pilaf. Kristin: History's most unnecessary dibs. -- Mandy: Eight hats at seven feathers a hat that's...math. -- Vanessa sure had a quick turnaround on not backing Mike's wild game restaurant after how adamantly she shot it down when she learned Mike wanted to back it financially with their money. Truth be told, if Mike wanted to take a business risk, I'd bet on him, judging by the success of Outdoor Man and the size of the house they live in. Not looking forward to how much more we're going to see of Kristin though, as the restaurant manager and Mike's partner. Now I can only hope we balance that with seeing less of Ryan, who is supporting Kristin's dream by taking an overnight delivery route because it pays better.

**(About a Boy, S2E7 "About a Duck") Andy looks like a younger, facial-haired version of one of my childhood pastors. -- For all of Marcus' fumbling with social skills, he sure nailed it, initiating a game of "I've always wondered..." with an arguing Andy and Laurie, and asking how they met. -- Assuming it was actually her voice, I'm rather impressed with Minnie Driver's singing.