This Week on My TV: January 31, 2015

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



**(Dallas, S3E13 Boxed In) It always weirds me out when bad guys act kindly. Case in point: Luis toward Ann and Emma (at least when they first arrived). -- I cannot think of a single other time that Judith Ryland has ever show an ounce of weakness. Emma being taken by the drug cartel has Judith turned inside out. -- Pamela has an interesting strategy, choosing to stay married to John Ross for the time being, at least until the time that he has some actual wealth for her to take when she goes. I can never decide whether or not I like her! -- I honestly wasn't sure whether or not Luis had really shot Emma when he pretended to, to make a point to Judith. -- Well then. Of all the people I expected to be responsible for the photographer following Nicolas and Elena, Nicolas' wife never even crossed my mind. -- Everything's bigger in Texas and Bobby went "go big or go home," with that offer to Luis in exchange for Ann and Emma. How is he ever going to choose though, since Luis only agreed to give up one of them??

**(CSI, S15E14 Merchants of Menace) Did I see a "Nate Haskell" t-shirt at that murder fanatics convention? Nice nod to the past, CSI. -- I will give credit where credit is due. I thought it was the Waters victim's father who killed the dealer at the show. And then I was surprised, but bought the mortician as a possible suspect. I *never* expected it to be the kid from the opening scene show.

**(CSI, S3E13 Boxed In) Just didn't hold my attention. Vigilante comic book super heroes? Meh.

**(CSI, S15E16 The Last Ride) CSI does serial killer arcs better than most shows, and they have been my favorite CSI stories (that feels weird to say, given the subject matter...). However, despite the unresolved Gig Harbour Killer arc, this episode was of my other favorite CSI variety: tied to the old "mob scene" in Vegas. I liked the way they wove in the old cars and the old mob hit, and how they tied it all together.

**(The Big Bang Theory, S8E13 The Anxiety Optimization) Sheldon [checking on Penny after he heard groans coming from her apartment]: You sounded in distress. I was worried something unpleasant was happening to you. ... I'd count working out as "something unpleasant." -- Penny: Sheldon, we are just people. We talk about the same things you guys talk about. Sheldon: You talk about if werewolves could swim? -- Why do Sheldon's feet hang off the end of his bed?? Why isn't it a normal length? --

**(Marry Me, S1E11 Friend Me) Annie's having NINE bridesmaids?? -- OMG. The Boyz made me want to gouge my ears out. So. Unbelievably. Annoying. Please tell me they won't be recurring characters. -- Annie has a sleep mask that matches her pajamas? AND ADULT FOOTIE PAJAMAS. Want. (The footie pajamas, to be clear.) -- Pyramid scheme? Seen that a hundred times. ::thumbs down::

**(About a Boy, S2E11 About a Hook) I get that they have to create conflict, because conflict moves a show along and creates opportunity for comedy, but Marcus was being a real butthead. At least they didn;t drag this on endlessly. -- OMG-seriously? moments: Marcus doesn't know how to use a shower. All this nonsense about a "love bubble" between Fiona and Marcus. -- As soon as Fiona started waxing poetic about how she will always have room in her love bubble for Marcus, I knew that was going to be Will's "hook" for his song.

**(Mom, S2E12 Kitty Litter and a Class A Felony) Christy just cannot catch a break. Alvin had a second will that would have left her and Bonnie with a hundred grand. He just never got around to signing it. -- Christy: You can visit him in your heart. Bonnie: No such place! -- I think we said "I still can't believe they killed off Alvin!" a minimum of three times during this episode. -- LOL: Bonnie's dream with Alvin when his ex-wife appears, then gets hit by a speeding truck. We're so twisted we laughed for a good two minutes over that one.

**(The McCarthys, S1E11 The Ref) Aaaaand...Jackie doesn't look pregnant again. -- Best jab at Jackie's red plaid shirt was definitely Sean's "Paula Bunyan." -- Marjorie's excuse for why Arthur can't remember Ronny's birthday is "they had too many kids." Sure, there are four kids, but two of them are twins! -- Aaaaand...Ronny is back to being annoying because he's flirting. -- I have a difficult time getting into the basketball-centric episodes, but Marjorie's insults and snark about Katrina slay me.

**(Sleepy Hollow, S2E14 Kali Yuga) I can't decide: Was Abbie's karaoke scene lip-syncing or real singing? -- My reaction when we first met Camilla: uhhh...who what now? Especially when she...morphed. -- I jumped out of my skin when Camilla the demon freak popped up on Jenny in the tunnels under the archives. This show isn't up to par if I don't jump out of my skin at least once per episode. -- Irving [after the judge showed some concern that his wife (ex-wife?) was representing him legally]: I tried going with an outside firm. That didn't go so well. ... Ha. Ya think? Fee = your soul. -- Hawley: I don't ask questions when I don't want to know the answers. -- Interesting glimpse into Hawley's past, though I'm still not his biggest fan. -- This show is good at leaving loose ends. Camilla escaped without being destroyed. Orion escaped without being destroyed. We haven't seen hide nor hair of Henry since he destroyed (maybe?) Moloch. The Kindred shuffled off after doing battle with the two Horsemen. -- Ichabod: We cannot rely on our bond to last unless we tend to it.  -- Circling back to my earlier question about Abbie's singing, following her duet with Ichabod: I am now firmly in the camp of no way they were really singing. -- I don't care what Katrina says about the binding (or lack thereof) of Irving's soul to the Horseman of War. Even before they showed that Irving has no reflection, I knew something wasn't quite kosher.

**(Scandal, S4E10 Run) That was one of the most stressful tv episodes I have ever watched. Ever. I was exhausted when it was over. I *knew* I didn't trust Ian McLeod though. As soon as he started speaking, the mental alarms went off: SUSPICIOUS. I did like that they backtracked to the final scene of the previous episode, showing what happened while Jake was in the bedroom. I couldn't believe Olivia was RIGHT ACROSS THE HALL for so long. Jake was right: They were *very* professional; so professional, in fact, that they even outsmarted him into thinking he was chasing the abductor's car down the street in his underoos, while memorizing a license plate, all to send him on a wild goose chase. So now we have three questions: Where *is* Olivia? (Showing her in an elaborately constructed set, designed to trick her into thinking she was somewhere else, reminded me of both an old Twilight Zone and, more recently, an episode of The Blacklist, where they played the same sort of mind games.) Who took her? What are they hoping to gain?

**(The Mentalist, S7E9 Copper Bullet) Lena Abbott: Dennis tells me you have one of the trickiest and most devious minds he's worked with. Patrick Jane: He did? Well, I didn't come here to be flattered, but please, go on. -- I love that Jane's old friend, Pete, greets him with "you crazy circus freak." -- Could Vega have been *any* more obvious while she was tailing Peterson, peering around corners and through the crack of a barely opened door? What is she? A cartoon? -- I love how they're in a time crunch with Peterson on his way home, and Jane's just sitting there, having a snack. -- Abbott: I have you, Bill. I have you by the short and curlies. ... ::snort:: I've never heard it put quite that way before. -- Thanks to Jane, Abbott has, quite literally, dodged a bullet. Heh. -- With Abbott moving to DC for his wife's new job, it's a promotion for Cho! Possibly the first time I've ever seen him smile! -- Duh, Lisbon. Jane is overprotective of you, because he's already lost two people he loved more than anything in a horrific way. He's *scared*.

**(Blue Bloods, S5E13 Love Stories) Even the great Frank Reagan stares into fridge, not knowing what he wants. That's actually one of my favorite things about this show. They make the characters real human beings that do things the viewer can understand and identify with. -- Danny: I like t-bones, cold beer and loud burps. ... Of course you do, Danny. LOL -- I called it backward: I thought the wife took out the hit on the husband, not the other way around. -- I like the way Linda and Danny handled Jack's first real crush on a girl. They didn't discouraging or overreact. They just let it play out. I'm not sure I can think of anything more uncomfortable than your parents being actual spectators of my first date ever, but I'm thinking Danny and Linda were pretty wrapped up in each other. Another of my favorite things about this show is how crazy Danny is about his wife, even though they have their struggles from time to time. -- Good call on deciding to give Danny that medal for valor, Frank. I fully approve that the writers made it for an actual case we saw in an earlier episode and not something "off screen," that the viewer couldn't identify with.

**(Last Man Standing, S4E14 Eve's Breakup) Oh no, dress shopping. They're really going to torture me with this Ryan-and-Kristin wedding, aren't they. -- What was with the bridal salon attendant looking over the door while Kristin was trying on a dress?? And why were the doors so short?! -- I had forgotten that Kristin dated Kyle for a while! -- While I appreciate the horrors of The First Break-Up, I'll admit to being a little disappointed that Eve finally caved at the end and called for her mom. Somehow, with Vanessa hovering right outside Eve's door, I would have thought it more appropriate if Eve had called for Mike. -- Best part of this whole episode: The Toy Story poster they had hanging in Ed's home theater. Nicely done, props department!