This Week on My TV: January 3, 2015

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



**(Madam Secretary, S1E11 Game On) Russell: You know the manifest said Marsh was on his way to Caracas on his last flight. Maybe you can finish what he started. Elizabeth: What's that? Russell: Actually land. ... Russell is a Major League Jerk. -- LOL: All of Elizabeth's terrible baseball puns when greeting the famous Venezuelan baseball player who is accompanying them on their diplomatic trip to the hostile-to-the-States president. -- I love the way Henry is sweet, thoughtful, and romantic with Elizabeth. I still do not love Stevie the brat, the way she is acting toward Elizabeth, and whatever that move was with Alison and the boyfriend while Stevie was in charge during the trip. -- That baseball player made moves on Blake?! That whole exchange was unexpected and comical. -- What the heck is going on with that Marsh account? Forty million dollars emptied from the account the day after he died? I do feel a little bad for Nadine though. She clearly thought Marsh was in love with her and has been thrown for a huge loop by all the discoveries of the secrets he kept from her. -- I didn't care for the dress Elizabeth wore at the start of the episode (looked too 1980s matronly), but I loved that navy blue pinstriped button down shirt she wore near the end. -- It was just a matter of time until Russell learned about Elizabeth's investigation into Marsh's death. But if it wasn't Russell and the President...then who? -- What on earth is the real story of Marsh's murder?? Could it really be a larger scale global political plot?

**(Scandal, S4E9 Where the Sun Don't Shine) I found the way they jumped around, both from topic and scene, and within time, extremely confusing. I'm sure it was intentional for effect, but it wasn't...my favorite. -- I loved Maya's reaction when Olivia listed the charges that should be made against her and telling them to take Maya to prison, instead of "handling things." -- Lizzie Bear: There's a special place in hell for women who don't support other women. Olivia: There's a special place in hell for women who spout that tired quote to justify their bad behavior. -- It was just a matter of time before those photos of Cyrus and Michael were used. I almost feel bad for Cyrus. He clearly loved James, and the only spin Olivia can give this to make it go away is "a love story" where he marries Michael. So his options are to be ripped apart by the media scandal or to marry someone he doesn't love and dishonor the dead love of his life. -- I will never understand Quinn's love life. -- LOL: The amused expression on the face of the security guard at the law firm when Quinn scanned in with the fingerprint of an old man, as it showed on his computer screen. Using just the man's finger. Also, about Quinn: she's looking old. -- Quinn sees the kill card Charlie is carrying, confronts him with it, and all he can say is "Oh...crap." LOL -- I don't know how Olivia didn't scream when she came home to find Rowan sitting at her table, helping himself to a glass of wine. What a scene between them though. From her grabbing his gun and then pulling the trigger, discovering it wasn't loaded, and him freaking out that she would actually shoot him. -- LOL, Mellie is back. ... Mellie [to Lizzie Bear]: Because we're both screwing Andrew? That doesn't make us friends. It just makes us both at risk for the same STDs. -- What a gut punch for Olivia, walking up to see Abby in Fitz's office with him and Cy, laughing and having a drink. That used to be her place. Her entire world, as she once knew it, has now ceased to exist. -- I felt that same level of bewilderment Jake had all over his face when he came back to the living room to find Liv vanished without a sound, the only trace: her spilled glass of wine on the couch. Oh, Mr VP, what did you do???

**(CSI, S15E6 The Twin Paradox) I've always felt like CSI was at its best when it does a serial killer arc. The Gig Harbor Killer story is further proof of that. I like the suspense and the slow accrual of facts that aren't tied up with a tidy bow at the end of the hour. I have to admit I never saw the connection between Paul and Mark Valley's character, Shaw, coming!

**(The Mentalist, S7E5 The Silver Briefcase) To gain entry into a house where a murder had taken place, Patrick and Lisbon pretended to be house hunting. This prompted a conversation between me and T whether or not we could ever buy a house we loved if a murder had taken place there. -- Ever since they became an item, Lisbon has stopped giving Patrick a hard time about his consultant tactics. -- When Wylie was trying to take the scarf that was tied to the homeless person's tent, I kept waiting for the inhabitant to accost him from out of the bushes. -- With all their discussion about how they could "just pack up and leave" and what they would do if they left the FBI, I wonder if that's how they're going to play the end of this show.

**(Mike and Molly, S5E4 Gone Cheatin') Equating Victoria's cheating to a cell plan was really well orchestrated. -- After some initial resistance, I think Carl and Victoria's relationship is growing on me. Carl is really good to her. -- ::shudder:: Vince and the "apple juice."

**(Chicago Fire, S3E8 Chopper) Of course Boden's and Donna's pregnancy is in jeopardy. He works for the Cursed Firehouse. Why would it go smoothly? -- Awkward: Casey and Dawson listening to Severide and Brittany's bedroom antics. -- I can't imagine searching a neighborhood, looking for pieces of a helicopter that came apart and fell randomly on people from the sky. Where do you even start? I'm overwhelmed just thinking about it. -- There sure are a lot of explosions on this show. -- Brittany shows up too many places. She's very needy and very dependent and something is just...up with her. -- Too much tension all at once. Casey trying to pull the kid out of his own blood pool before it reaches the live power line and electrocutes them both. Severide in the chopper, releasing the two passengers trapped inside, as the lines holding it fray and the ledge it's teetering on crumbles. Brett treating a criminal who pulls a gun on her. -- "This goes no further,"my behind. Now everyone thinks Cruz and Brett are together when that's not at all what the real secret is... OMG. They *do* know the truth! And all showed up for class. LOL! That is awesome and hilarious. -- Uh, Brett? When someone is following you while you're driving, especially after you had a run in earlier with a guy who is clearly shady and combative, why would you pull into a deserted alley instead of driving to the police station or back to the firehouse or *anywhere* public?? -- Awww, it's a boy for Boden.

**(Chicago Fire, S3E9 Arrest in Transit) I think it's time we learn Brittany's real story. -- Brett, you fool! Cruz is a good guy! GO ON A DATE. -- Dawson needs to remember her professionalism when she and Casey are on duty. As soon as they are on the clock, she is the candidate and he is the boss. End of story. And she needs to stop having moments with Mills as a result of having her pride smacked down by a necessary reprimand. -- Mouch: Guys, I don't know what happened. I was just being friendly, asking about glass eyes, which is a bonafide interest of mine, and all of a sudden, I have a date. ... LOL at Mouch. An unintentional dating dilemma with his eye doctor when he's already dating Trudy, and his interest in glass eyes. -- Nothing like having a mob boss ticked off at you because his son died on the way to the hospital from "secondary drowning," huh, Mills? -- Good lesson for Dawson and Casey, seeing the man run into a burning building for his wife, and hearing Herrmann say he would do anything for Cindy, no matter what happened to him. -- I don't get why Brittany facing her parents after the guilt of driving the car in the accident that killed her sister means that she and Severide are over. If she goes to Florida to see her parents, is there some rule that says she can't ever return to Chicago?

**(Chicago Fire, S3E10 Santa Bites) So Mills gets to go from a mob boss being ticked at him to Casey's cold shoulder because he walked in on Mills holding Dawson's hand in a moment of friendly comfort. Not the best day. -- It bothers me that Donna was mad that Boden was against hyphenating the baby's last name, saying he didn't even give it some thought, when she had already clearly made up her mind on the subject and was just expecting him to go along with it. The man has a right to his own feelings on whether or not he wants his child to have a hyphenated version of his last name. No rule says a woman must always get her way. -- Oh, Casey, you naughty boy. A night of (assumed) indiscretion and suddenly you're all ready to let bygones be with Dawson? -- Predictability: Molly's 2 was going to have something to do with filling that boot for the chaplain and his soup kitchen. Casey and Dawson were going to end up on the rocks. -- On that token, things I *didn't* see coming: Mob boss maybe wasn't sincere in telling Mills he was no longer blaming him for the loss of his son. The guy started the fire that nearly killed his wife. The food truck would be donated to the chaplain to use as a rolling soup kitchen. Donna would be the one to "give in" on the hyphenated last name. -- Speaking of Donna, I thought her pregnancy was high risk, something to do with her placenta and potentially hemorrhaging out? So how is it that she delivered the baby in the fire truck without issue and the problem is with the baby having aspirated meconium, with no mention or concern whatsoever about Donna's risk?

**(CSI, S15E7 Road to Recovery) I wonder if that's true, that the refractory pattern of a diamond is or can be its "fingerprint" that can be used to identify it? I take this show with a grain of salt, since I am reasonable about the fact that they often need to be creative for the purposes of entertainment, but that doesn't stop my curiosity on how much is realistic. -- Nick sure had a predisposition about the rehab charging $8000/week. Turns out it had nothing to do with the case. -- My first guess was the husband, but the guy who was in rehab so he wouldn't lose his kids was my second guess, because he immediately seemed like the least obvious person to attack the victim. I've seen a lot of CSI.

**(CSI, S15E8 Rubbery Homicide) I'll say this: the fact that this show is based in Vegas means they can go in some truly strange directions with cases. These rubber doll suits are unnerving. Especially when they were all crowding around Greg, staring and leaning in. -- Greg: What made you think I was a cop? Interviewee: Please. There's thirty one flavors of freak in here. In walks Mr Vanilla, scanning the place, like some kind of Nordic Terminator? -- I would have guessed the son was the killer, not the daughter, and I certainly never saw her motive coming.

**(CSI, S15E9 Let's Make a Deal) I totally understood Greg's revulsion about all the germs in the medical module at the jail. Yuck. -- It seems that prison politics are very complicated.  Who's ratting out who, and who has the power and why. -- I have to admit I laughed when the FBI suddenly wanted to work with LVPD, after refusing to work together initially, when LVPD cracked their case in a way that jeopardized the FBI's hunt for a dirty detective. -- The guy who ended up committing the murder had my pity. I would have struggled to find him guilty after learning that he had been raped as a nine-year-old child by the man he later killed. -- Is it me or does George Eads look thinner lately? -- Wow. I never would have guessed that Nick had a secret in his past, that he too had been assaulted as a boy. I wonder if that will tie into his departure at the end of the season?

**(Once Upon a Time, S4E10 Fall) The Shattered Sight Curse is the coolest looking of all the curses inflicted on Storybrooke. -- LOL: The pirates vs wizards debate. "Pirates are better because they can be bought." -- Regina: Look at this mess. A good mayor checks that these things are kept up to code. Mary Margaret: Yeah, well, if the mayor only has to worry about one villain, and it's *herself*, that frees up a lot of time for infrastructure. -- Regina: I should know better than to trust blondes by now. -- Anna [to Hans]: You rolled around in gold bars? Weird. And ouch. -- This show takes crazy timelines to a whole new level. Anna and Kristoff and Arendelle were frozen by Ingrid for thirty years? And the trunk scene is happening now, at the same time Emma and Elsa are searching for Anna? -- Anna [to Elsa, upon Anna seeing Storybrooke for the first time]: What a funny looking world. ... Finally!! I was wondering why no one ever verbalized that about Storybrooke before, after arriving here from Fairy Tale. -- Nothing like having to save everyone while toting a newborn baby around, huh, Emma?

**(Sleepy Hollow, S2E11 The Akeda) LOL at Ichabod after taking a motorcycle ride: "I want one of these as soon as this is over!" -- When Ichabod was insisting that Abraham tell them where Moloch was located or he'd run him through with Methusalah's sword, I started to get annoyed. The man/demon HAS NO HEAD. He cannot *tell* them *anything*. Good thing for Katrina's amulet and magic witch powers that allowed Abraham to have a head for everyone. -- "All magic comes with a price"...? Who's been watching Once Upon a Time? -- I really feel for Ichabod, walking in to hear Katrina talking to Abraham. No matter how much he loves her, he's a human being and all her other betrayals has to make her "sweet nothings" nearly unbearable. She had that outburst from him coming. Although he *does* call her "my love" when they're in the church with Henry so... -- Bloody hail. Oh how I love a good play on words. (Say it out loud. I couldn't stop giggling.) -- I'm glad they finally figured out that they needed less run-of-the-mill weaponry to execute this planned attack. -- I think it's amusing that Katrina is fighting the apocalypse in a bustier. -- I want to be sad that Irving is dead, but I'm never sure when something like that is actually permanent in this show. -- Abbie: Don't thank me yet. You haven't heard my plan. ... At least she's honest. -- Twice, I expected a scene to be the midseason finale cliffhanger: when Irving lay dying and when Henry grabbed Methuselah's sword and turned it on the witnesses. I never expected him to use it on Moloch. So... now what? If he turns to the side of good, the show is essentially over. Does he plan on taking over all of Hell?

**(Once Upon a Time, S4E11 Shattered Sight) As a WDW frequenter, I immediately associated Madame Faustina as a veiled nod to Madame Leota. -- Madame Faustina [looking for payment for her reading]: And how will you express your gratitude? Ingrid: Thank you. -- The concept of the Shattered Sight Curse is actually rather scary when you consider it. Each of us acting like and seeing one another as the worst versions of ourselves, until we finally turn on each other. All the snarking between characters, though, was making me laugh. -- Regina [affected by the spell and seeing her Storybrooke style]: What the hell am I wearing? -- Emma [seeing Regina's Fairy Tale attire for the first time]: How do you walk in that thing? Regina: With the poise and composure of a queen. -- Hook [after Henry calls him a dirty pirate]: Dirty? I bathe quite frequently, thank you very much. ... I'd go with you, Hook. (Ahem.) -- Henry's marble move: right out of Home Alone! -- The "memory magic" from Arendelle was kinda cheesy. -- LOL: The guy in the streets of Storybrooke, trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue after the Shattered Sight Curse was undone...Dopey, I presume? -- Now what are we going to do with Gold and his plan to escape Storybrooke, free himself from the power of the dagger, and kill Hook? Because...no.

**(CSI, S15E10 Dead Rails) Zoe "knew Jimmy but hadn't seen him in years"? She looks barely 18! -- Kind of a meh episode. Billiards and hustling. The woman who accidentally hit Jimmy was the same one who thought she'd killed him the first time. Nothing all that inventive or shocking. In fact, the most shocking thing was that Crawford showed a hint of personality.

**(CSI, S15E11 Angle of Attack) Victims hit by cars in back to back episodes? (I wonder how many people would have caught that though. I'm watching DVR backlog and just finished the previous episode.) -- What the heck? A runaway, jet-propelled flying suit? A captain with a seizure whose brain just started bleeding out of his head? What is going on in the Air Force? -- Well, I did not see the motive coming in this one. I thought it was the wife, not the man Captain Holland was secretly involved with.

**(CSI, S15E12 Dead Woods) I do like that we're getting more personal details about the crew. Last time, Nick, this time, Sara. -- I keep wondering if this was an actual revisit to an old CSI case?I swear I remember a similar type story line from a show I watched in the past. -- I knew it! I knew that taxidermy guy was involved the second they showed up in his shop.

**(Elementary, S3E1 Enough Nemesis to Go Around) LOL: The reunion between Sherlock and Watson at the brownstone, when Watson was there looking at Sherlock's books and stumbled upon him back there, wearing a strange helmet. -- I'm almost afraid to put this into actual words, for fear it won't last, but they may have actually fixed the volume issue with this show. I didn't feel the need to crank up the volume on the tv to the point that I was concerned I'd damage the television's speakers, in order to understand what they were saying. -- I didn't pick up on it the first time Watson and Kitty met, in the park, but the second Watson's "stalker" popped up, following her, I strongly suspected she was Sherlock's new protege. I also knew that when Watson disappeared around that street corner, she'd noticed she was being trailed and would be lying in wait to confront her. -- I'm glad they didn't drag out whether or not Joan was going to allow Sherlock to resume working with the police department. But despite her agreement, I'm also glad they are still on somewhat stiff, strictly professional terms. It feels...real. -- Did Sherlock seriously bring Watson a pack of hangers as a housewarming gift? -- What a weird vague exchange between Watson and Kitty, about how they came to be who and where they are now.

**(Elementary, S3E2 The Five Orange Pipz) It's interesting to watch Sherlock and Watson navigate their new dynamic, of working in the same circle, sharing ideas, but not working as a team. -- I'm with Joan. Kitty is kind of an annoying addition. I think that may be the point, but still. Even if she has a sympathetic backstory. -- The first two episodes of this season, the cases seemed to have taken a backseat to the adjustment of the dynamic between Sherlock, Watson, and Kitty. I like that. This show has always been at its best when the case-of-the-week is a vehicle for delving into and advancing the interpersonal relationships of the characters. -- Now I wanna know what was in the Kitty file Watson was reading.

**(Elementary, S3E3 Just a Regular Irregular) Phil Simms! Secret professional knife thrower! LOL!! -- LOL: Beka's face when she handed Sherlock a dog treat, to make friends with her dog, and he took a bite of it. -- Three episodes in, now, and I'm almost convinced that they truly have corrected the low volume issues of the two previous seasons. -- So Kitty was a rape victim that was abducted and held prisoner. I'm curious how choosing this as her backstory will define her character. -- Sherlock has come a long way. He realized he'd hurt Harlan's feelings, when HE had thought Sherlock considered him a friend, then stopped using his services as a math consultant, Sherlock not only recognized it, but went the extra mile to mend the relationship.

**(Elementary, S3E4 Bella) LOL: Sherlock in a mind game with a doll that speaks for an artificial intelligence. -- Did Joan tell Kitty to use the fire extinguisher on Sherlock if he started destroying things?! -- The relationship between Sherlock and Watson has matured into *exactly* the type I had hoped. Mutual respect. Equals. Genuine understanding and affection. Witty banter. No romance. -- Interesting. No real resolution to the case! The only show that ever seems to toy with this outcome is Law and Order.

**(Once Upon a Time, S4E12 Heroes and Villains) When Hook refused to do Gold's dirty work and asked "what are you going to do about it?" since, you know, Gold has already promised to kill Hook when he's done with him anyway, I had to nod in agreement. I've often wondered why people just comply. -- Every time I see the Fantasia broom, I giggle. -- LOL: Henry calling Belle "Grandma." -- The flashback of Belle getting lured away by a Dalmation and captured by Cruella De Vil was...odd. -- I knew it was too easy for Regina that Robin picked her. Of course he has to cross the one-way line at the edge of Storybrooke and be (potentially) gone forever, in order to save Marian from the frozen curse. Broke my heart for Regina. -- And so we say goodbye to the Frozen portion of the story. It wasn't as contrived as I feared it might have been. -- For the sake of continuity, I have to ask: When we met Ariel, Regina was Ursula. So why is Ursula someone else now? -- The scene when the stars in the sky started to line up with the stars in the Sorcerer's Hat was impressive. Most of the CGI in this show makes me roll my eyes, but a couple of times now, recently, they've actually done some visually appealing stuff. -- Oh, thank God, Hook has been spared. I would have been devastated. -- I never saw it coming that Belle would discover that Gold had been keeping the real dagger from her and would use it not only to stop his evil plan but to banish him forever. What an excellent twist. -- Emma shows up at Granny's Diner and pulls up at the counter next to Regina, who is mourning the loss of Robin, and offers to do shots with her. Since when is Granny's also a bar?! -- I love love LOVE where they are taking this story. Henry stumbling upon The Author's room of blank books, and showing it to Emma and Regina. And Gold, now in New York City, tracking down Ursula, Maleficent, and Cruella, for some master plot. Heroes and Villains and Happy Endings, here we come!

**(Elementary, S3E5 Rip Off) Sherlock: Paranoia is the byproduct of being consistently right. You should aspire to it. -- All the test dummies hanging around the brownstone cracked me up. -- I wonder if Sherlock will ever confront Watson about the book she was writing about him. -- Captain Gregson has a daughter? Who is a police officer? And it's taken this long for her to be revealed?

**(Elementary, S3E6 Terra Pericolosa) Sherlock [to Watson, after she offers a few too mnay opinions about Kitty]: Get your own protege, Watson. -- I couldn't get into the maps story, but I'm enjoying Sherlock's growth and character evolution, the new dynamic between Sherlock and Watson, and the normal volume which appears to be here to stay.

**(Elementary, S3E7 The Adventure of the Nutmeg Concoction) Ooo! Missing person case! Nice change of pace from the usual murder. -- Watson: You're scrolling too fast! Sherlock: I'm speed reading. You moved out before we got to that portion of your training. -- LOL: horizontal refreshment as a euphemism for intercourse. That ranks right up there with coitus. -- Because of course Sherlock has a "smell guy" he knows only as The Nose. -- Actors who formerly played bad guys on other shows always make me unjustifiably suspicious when they appear in another show I watch. In this case, Christian Camargo, who played the Icetruck Killer on the first season of Dexter.

**(A to Z, S1E10 J Is for Jan Vaughan) Andrew is so stinking cute "tooting" after saying "not to toot my own horn." (To clarify, he actually said "toot!" in a high voice.) -- It was pretty hilarious to watch Andrew and Zelda compete at matchmaking for their best friends. -- I called Stephie and Stu "reconnecting" during their sadness over their respective relationships imploded. -- Zelda with the zinger, asking "Should I come to the window and watch?" when Andrew thinks he's about to get in major trouble at work. -- Awww! Zelda's new beau brought her $420 worth of flowers, after he accused her of stealing his $420 when he slipped away to buy them breakfast and she misunderstood, thinking he'd slipped out and left her money because she was a hooker.

**(Elementary, S3E8 End of Watch) Sherlock: I'm not a man prone to sharing my secrets. ... This is the sort of sentiment I can really appreciate. -- I'm starting to wonder if they will ever fix the brownstone to any extent. It's shabbiness is particularly depressing. -- I like that Sherlock takes protecting sobriety, both his own and his fellow AA attendants', so seriously.