Covert Affairs 215 Review- Not The Thinker

Auggie- "Annie Walker, welcome to her majesty's secret service."

When the news broke, I wasn't a fan of Covert Affairs splitting up its second season into summer and winter segments, especially knowing that the back half of the order would consist of only six episodes.

Following the third straight mediocre hour - "What's The Frequency Kenneth?" - I stand by my prior claim: this was a bad idea.

Three out of six is a troubling trend, one I'd rather not see out of Covert Affairs. Luckily, next week's season finale - previewed HERE -can make up for most of that with an all-out classic.

It's not that "What's the Frequency, Kenneth" wasn't enjoyable. It just didn't force any emotions out of me. I wasn't excited during the few action sequences, I didn't get mad at Jai for his lackluster efforts to pull a fast one and I certainly didn't get sad that Parker had to leave Auggie for the Peace Corps.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 215 - "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"
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Terra Nova 109 Review- Don't Go Jumping Waterfalls

Taylor- "The question is how does it end?"

Mira- "We'll find out soon enough."

It's amazing what story, conflict and inner turmoil can do for a television series.

While it wasn't without its usual clunky dialogue and regretfully mediocre acting, Terra Nova put forth some of its best work of the season in "Now You See Me."

A nice action-adventure piece with Taylor and Mira, as well as the longer-form mystery plot dealing with Skye as the mole, combined for an episode in which most of the hour was held my interest. That's something I haven't really said about anything since the pilot.

Sure, there were the normal issues Terra Nova faces. Commander Taylor and Mira jumping down the waterfall looked about as fake as could be, and a leap from that height would most certainly kill them no matter where they landed, right?

To read the rest of my review of last night's Terra Nova, head over to TV Fanatic.

Terra Nova 109 - "Now You See Me"
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Troy and Abed For TV's Most Dynamic Duo

Troy and Abed are the most dynamic duo on television, but I'm definitely not shocked that they're currently behind in the poll. Only three million people are watching the show each Thursday, and NBC recently Britta'd its midseason schedule by somehow NOT including this sitcom on it.

Because there are still a number of you out there who haven't witnessed the genius of Community, and specifically this fine pair, I'm here to help.

When the series first started, Danny Pudi's Abed was a bit of a budding star, while Donald Glover's Troy lurked in the background waiting for his time to shine. As the second season came into development, the two characters began to hang out more, became fast friends and the rest is hilarious history.

Troy Barnes has become one of the funniest characters on television, and while Abed has dipped a bit since his novelty factor wore out, he still has his moments... most of which come when these two are together.

To read the rest of my commentary on Community's Troy and Abed, and to vote on TV's Most Dynamic Duo, head over to TV Fanatic.

Homeland 109 Review- You Got To Win It In The Fire

Nazir- "Why not trust a man who would rather die than give information to his enemy?"

Would you feel sympathy for an American traitor doing what he can to help the leader of a terrorist organization? I wouldn't think so, but Homeland pulled that emotion out of me during "Crossfire."

The end of last week's hour delivered yet another twist in the story, as we realized that Brody was in fact working with Abu Nazir. When it was revealed that he was indeed the individual sitting in that chair, I was a bit surprised - and excited - but after pondering it a bit more over the course of the week, I came into this episode hoping that it was the final turn in the who is/who isn't saga.

Fortunately, we seem to be out of those metaphorical woods, as "Crossfire" focused mainly on Brody's thoughts and emotions now that the audience knows he is definitely helping Nazir. What exactly happened to him to make him want to turn against his beloved country? We learned that, too.

Like everything else that Homeland has done up to this point in the series, it was extremely captivating. As I noted above, it would seem difficult to feel for a man that is betraying his people, but with the way the show has built Brody as a character, and the number of layers they have given him, it was easy to do so here.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Homeland, head over to TV Fanatic.

Homeland 109 - "Crossfire"
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The X Factor Top 9 Review- Thankful For Wild Horses

This week on The X Factor, we faced the music and gave thanks. What was I thankful for? Melanie Amaro's post-performance speech, and the fact that she broke out a Virgin Islands accent after months of speaking with none at all.

There was still plenty to not be thankful for on this week's episode, specifically L.A. Reid's atrocious method of judging. I don't know why he thinks it is his job to come in to a show prepared to hate every contestant that isn't on his team, but he does.

"I came out wanting to be critical," he told Rachel Crow before praising her performance. He then told Lakoda Rayne "I was completely prepared to not like it," which was followed by more positive comments. Here's an idea. How about you just come in and judge them without bias?

We all may have our favorites on The X Factor, but as a judge of the talent, he of all people shouldn't come in prepared to hate on someone. Let's get onto the performances...

Rachel Crow "Believe" - The overproduction was once again in place as the gigantic chorus drowned out her performance a bit here. When they brought in 20 more backup singers and then dropped confetti from the ceiling, I knew it was going to be a ridiculous night. Rachel was good as always, but she was not nearly as interesting as a few of the past weeks.
My Score: 6/10

To read the rest of my review of last night's The X Factor, head over to TV Fanatic.

Terra Nova 108 Review- Who Has Skeletons?

Taylor (to Lucas)- "You're a traitor. There's no place in Terra Nova for you. I never wanna see your face again."

I'm not saying that Terra Nova has all of the sudden become quality television, but "Vs." easily created the most intrigue the series has seen since the pilot.

Did a majority of the interesting aspects derive from the final ten minutes of action? Yeah, but that's a trick tv writers have been using for all of time. Leave a great taste in viewers’ mouths, and they'll be excited to come back for more.

The sequence in which Taylor detained Jim, revealed what in the heck was really going on with him, the Sixers, his son, and the recently discovered General Philbrick peaked my interest indeed.

Over the past couple months I have grown accustomed to watch Terra Nova with the excitement of a comatose 80 year old, but all the talk about what the Sixers are really doing, and what Lucas was up to got me to the edge of my seat...just barely.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Terra Nova, head over to TV Fanatic.

Terra Nova 108 - "Vs."
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Homeland 108 Review- The Storage Sniper

Carrie- "I'm gonna be alone my whole life, aren't I?"

Anyone who thought the game would change after Homeland's big reveal last week, was probably a bit surprised to be turned upside down and inside out as "Achilles Heel" continued to make twist and turn until another shocker came in the final minute of action.

Tom Walker is most definitely still alive. They made that clear from the opening seconds. He is also pretty clearly helping the terrorists, as the sniper rifle in that storage center showcased. He also has an achilles heel, that may or may not save America from another terrorist catastrophe.

He loves his family, and is probably suffering from the same inner turmoil we all thought was going through Brody at the start of the season. Hopefully, some time down the road, the CIA can use Walker's wife and son to help stop him from doing something he may regret for the rest of his life...that is unless he is 100% for this cause, which is a huge possibility.

The question will be whether or not the government can trust Walker's wife again, after she unsurprisingly warned her husband that they were tracing the call. It was pretty obvious that they weren't going to catch him right then and there, but it was still impressive watching him scale walls, take out FBI agents, and finally lure them into a crowded building in order to get away.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Homeland, head over to TV Fanatic.

Homeland 108 - "Achilles Heel"
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Weekly Roundup- Alex, Max

As we near the holiday break some things are starting to heat up, while others are taking a turn for the worse. The big three continue to stay near or at the top of the Weekly Comedy Rankings, while a couple of familiar faces remained in the Top Five of the Week in its second edition. Let's take a look.

Weekly Comedy Rankings

1. Happy Endings
2. Community
3. It's Always Sunny
4. New Girl
5. South Park
6. Parks and Rec
7. Family Guy
8. Last Man Standing
9. Modern Family
10. The Office
11. Suburgatory
12. The League
13. Good Luck Charlie
14. Bored to Death
15. Rules of Engagement
16. Wizards

I went with Dean Pelton as the MVP of the week for his ridiculous actions on Community. Jim Rash was fantastic as he made both T-time and Jaydon's best moment of the week. Jaydon loved when he uttered "I loved you innnnnnnn, IMDB," and T-time thought the funniest thing on tv this week was the Dean loving Jeffrey's impression of the bald man.

T-time went with Alex from Happy Endings as his MVP, and after a second watch, I have a really tough time disagreeing. I gave Elisha Cuthbert's character best moment for when she wanted to make out with Max, but basically everything she did in this episode was revolved around that same concept, so an MVP vote could have been necessary.

Top Five of the Week

1. Homeland
2. Once Upon a Time
3. Sons of Anarchy
4. Revenge
5. Hell on Wheels

Homeland might have had its best episode yet this past Sunday, Once Upon a Time continued to improve in the early part of its first season, Sons of Anarchy had 90 minutes worth of heart-wrenching stuff, and Emily Van Camp continued to shine in another episode of Revenge, but I was extremely pleased with what Hell on Wheels put forth in its second installment.

Anson Mount has been electric in his first two episodes as Mr. Bohannon. With the introduction of The Swede in episode two, I already have two characters I enjoy 10 times more than anyone through 11 episodes of The Walking Dead. As T-time and I chatted about a couple days ago, TWD seems to be pulling a bit of a Sons of Anarchy season three situation, in that they're dragging a two episode arc into six. Let's move on and pick up the pace.

Chuck 504 Review- Dodge Viper

Chuck- "The force is strong in this one."

Morgan- "Mmmm. I have no idea what that means, but I am pumped."

It was a slow build, but "Chuck Versus the Business Trip" ended with such an action packed final five minutes that the mundane nature of the journey was completely absolved.

There were a couple of highlights here and there, but the switch really wasn't flipped until the team realized they had caught the wrong Viper. After Chuck figured out that things had been much too easy*, we watched Morgan frantically escape the Buy More, Chuck disable the car bomb, and Sarah take out the real Viper.

*I put down in my notes at the time that it was a bit odd that this guy with such a ridiculous track record couldn't even take out an intersect-less Chuck Bartowski.

Things went up another notch, though, in the final five minutes or so, beginning with John Casey's murder of 27 individuals in a span of 3.4 seconds. I was definitely expecting him to get caught in that situation, so shame on me for thinking you could ever take out John Casey.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Chuck, head over to TV Fanatic.

Chuck 504 - "Chuck Versus the Business Trip"
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The Office 808 Review- Gettysburgatory

Ryan- "Robert you got your sheep, and you got your black sheep, and I'm not even a sheep. I'm on the freakin' moon."

The Office can't seem to get into any kind of rhythm during its eighth season. It takes one step forward, and then it falls two steps back. Last week's "Pam's Replacement" was one of the better episodes in a while, but "Gettysburg" was far from that distinction.

Andy Bernard was back in the spotlight of the "A" story, and it all became a bit boring. Forcing the historical analogy to the office didn't work, and jumping around with the Dunder Mifflin flag created neither laugh out loud nor awkward moments.

Near the end, Jim stated to Andy that the group likes him as manager of the branch... and that might be the problem. There's not nearly enough hatred between the boss and employees, a dynamic that creates a ton of hilarious moments.

Back at the home front, the "B" story worked much better. Robert California proved again that he is much more normal than the guy we met at the end of last season, but thankfully Kevin is weird enough for everybody.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 808 - "Gettysburg"
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The X Factor Top 10 Results- A Poor Sport

If that wasn't the worst display of sportsmanship in singing competition history, I don't know what was.

The X Factor went from 10 finalists to nine tonight, but not before Astro embarrassed himself and made a mockery of the show by claiming he didn't want to perform for the judges' vote and pouted through his entire performance.

After Rihanna danced around on stage in a pair of ripped jeans straight out of 1991, the top eight vote-getters were announced in no particular order as: Leroy Bell, Lakoda Rayne, Chris Rene, Melanie Amaro, Josh Krajcik, Marcus Canty, Drew, and Rachel Crow.

That's right. That means that Stacy Francis and Astro received the least amount of votes from America. Now I could have been happy that most of America agreed with my take on the young rapper's performance last night, but instead I was quickly saddened how poor of a sport he became.

To read the rest of my thoughts on last night's The X Factor, head over to TV Fanatic.

Survivor Weeks 11 & 12- Double Immunity

Take these scores and like them people...

Champions League

Jaydon

Ozzy +12: Duel Win (+10)= +22
Whitney +147: W11 (+56), Votes (-28)= +175
Cochran +153: W11 (+56), Votes (-4), W12 (+67)= +272
Edna +163: Votes (-8), W11 (+56), W12 (+67)= +278

Last Week +475: Team Total= +747

Larry

Brandon +180: W11 (+56), W12 (+67)= +303
Rick +136: W11 (+56), W12 (+67)= +260
Christine +13
Dawn +189: Votes (-28)= +161

Last Week +518: Team Total= +737

Dan

Albert +145: W11 (+56), W12 (+67)= +268
Mikayla -7
Jim +79: Duel Loss (-10)= +69
Semhar -43

Last Week +236: Team Total= +287

Mags

Coach +171: W11 (+56), W12 (+67)= +294
Elyse -142
Keith -79: Duel Loss (-10)= -89
Mark -173

Last Week -223: Team Total= -110



Free Agents
Sophie +211: Immunity (+20), W11 (+56), Immunity (+20), W12 (+67)= +374
Stacey -27

Developmental League

Jack

Albert: W11 (+56), W12 (+67)= +123
Whitney: W11 (+56), Votes (-28)= +28
Coach: W11 (+56), W12 (+67)= +123
Edna: Votes (-8), W11 (+56), W12 (+67)= +115

Weeks 11 and 12= +389, Team Total= +1,239

Tippy

Ozzy: Duel Win (+10)= +10
Cochran: W11 (+56), Votes (-4), W12 (+67)= +119
Elyse
Sophie: Immunity (+20), W11 (+56), Immunity (+20), W12 (+67)= +163

Weeks 11 and 12= +292, Team Total= +796

Marsh

Mikayla
Rick: W11 (+56), W12 (+67)= +123
Dawn: Votes (-28)= -28
Christine

Weeks 11 and 12= +95, Team Total= +561

Rizzo

Keith: Duel Loss (-10)= -10
Mark
Brandon: W11 (+56), W12 (+67)= +123
Jim: Duel Loss (-10)= -10

Weeks 11 and 12= +103, Team Total= +515



Free Agents
Stacey
Semhar

The X Factor Top 10 Review- Canty-land

We faced the music yet again, but it was facing the judges bickering that had me covering my ears for half of The X Factor's Top 10 Rock Night.

I mean, come on, L.A. Reid! Your constant badgering about other contestants songs not sounding rock enough was ridiculous. At least Simon was complaining about your boy Chris Rene not choosing a rock song. You, on the other hand, were complaining about contestants taking a rock song and making it their own. Isn't that exactly what these competitions are all about?

Even Randy Jackson didn't put forth a judging performance this obnoxious until his third or fourth season on American Idol. Step your game up, L.A. Let's just move on to the performances...

Leroy Bell "We've Got Tonight" - Boy, do I hate when the crowd cheers and claps during the soft moments of songs, and they did a lot of that during Leroy's performance. Thankfully this was your average run of the mill performance, so I didn't miss much. I'm okay with seeing Elton John go through the motions on a performance at age 60 (which I did four years ago), but Leroy Bell doesn't have that same cache.
My Score: 5/10

To read the rest of my review of last night's The X Factor, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 213 Review- River of Dreams

Annie- "What is it with you and cell phones?"

Eyal- "What is it with you and always checking in?"

After a couple of exciting episodes to start Covert Affairs' winter run, "A Girl Like You" was a much more dialed back, dialogue-heavy chapter.

I very much still enjoyed the hour, though, thanks in large part to another guest appearance by Oded Fehr as Eyal Lavine. When Covert Affairs is at its best, it combines the sweet understated moments with a good amount of action-packed car chases/fights.

I'm talking about understated moments like Eyal waxing on about letting the river take him on his journey, Jai recovering from his bonehead mistake of crossing Joan, or Auggie's admission that he wants to settle down with Parker.

The latter of those came as somewhat of a surprise to me. As I mentioned in my review of last week's "Uberlin," I don't foresee Auggie having a significant relationship on Covert Affairs. Parker having to leave for the Peace Corps in four months plays right into that theory.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Cover Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 213 - "A Girl Like You"
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Terra Nova 107 Review- He's The Great Imposter

There were parts of "Proof" that I actually enjoyed. In fact, Maddie's turn as a detective - in attempting to take down the man masquerading as her apparent hero - was surprisingly one of the highlights.

The problem with Terra Nova continues to be that there are just so many... problems. The acting is subpar, the dialogue is some kind of awful and even when you think a story is going somewhere interesting, it turns out to be a dud.

I was completely invested in the Josh and Mira story when I though the latter was letting the former go in exchange for a favor down the road that was going to be important. I thought it would be for something she had planned. The fact that she used up that favor the very next episode in order to help her sick Sixers was extremely disappointing.

More disappointing, though, was the entire robbery scene in which Josh stole the medicine Mira needed. It was never established that he had any plan, which was obvious by what a shoddy job he did once he feverishly broke into the clinic. Nobody heard this happening? The glass shattering? The sonic boom of the gun?

To read the rest of my review of last night's Terra Nova, head over to TV Fanatic.

Terra Nova 107 - "Proof"
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Homeland 107 Review- Cabin Fever

Brody- "How do you know what tea I drink?"

That was when Carrie and Brody's lovely weekend, filled with drunken billiards, drunken sex, and romantic hikes, took a turn for the worse. However, our viewing pleasure of "The Weekend" only increased following Carrie's slip up in the cabin.

Brody looked sincerely shocked when Carrie told him she thought he had been turned by Nazir, so I wasn't surprised in the least when he told her to ask him anything she wanted. Nor was I surprised at all of his admissions to her about what had gone on over there, as well as what he had been up to since coming back.

Many of us conjectured that he could have killed Walker in order to survive, and that he turned to Islam as a way of surviving the terrible conditions of his captivity over there. What I didn't expect him to say though, was that he loved Nazir for comforting him when nobody else had. All of these explanations could mean absolutely nothing though, since we know he can lie about anything after last week's polygraph.

Because of the way Homeland has progressed through its first seven episodes, I don't think we can take anyone's word for it that Tom Walker is indeed the POW we're looking for. It's a clever twist, though. I definitely did not see that one coming.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Homeland, head over to TV Fanatic.

Homeland 107 - "The Weekend"
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Weekly Roundup- Clay Nation

So I am going to continue posting my weekly comedy rankings on this new Weekly Roundup post, but I am going to add at least one other ranking to it, so I thought a name change was appropriate. I try as much as I can to watch all of the comedies for Friday so that I can keep up with Jaydon, Jack and T-time on the Twitter #WeeklyComedyRankings, but I can't watch everything that I attempt to keep current with in a week's time. Some dramas and actions I watch take a back seat if I don't find the need to watch them by a certain time, so obviously said shows won't make it into my Top Five of the Week, but if I'm not trying hard to watch them then they probably aren't good enough to make it anyway.

So here is this week's edition of the Weekly Comedy Rankings...

1. It's Always Sunny
2. Community
3. Bored to Death
4. The Office
5. The League
6. Rules of Engagement
7. Parks and Rec
8. Last Man Standing
9. Wizards
10. Big Bang Theory
11. Family Guy
12. New Girl
13. South Park
14. ANT Farm

Always Sunny and Community continue to rack up firsts and seconds as the season goes on, and while Jaydon and the Forcella brothers continue to disagree on the quality of The Office and Parks and Rec, we all seem to be on the same page regarding the top two comedies of the fall season.

My MVP of the week was Mac from Sunny, but any of the three guys could have earned the accolades in this hilarious episode. If Charlie had asked for a chip one more time, he might have been named my MVP. Funniest moment, and the main reason why Bored to Death jumped all the way to #3, was the grocery story mission. George sneaking up to the PC Guy in a lab coat and sunglasses, and then putting away paper towels in the meat section was the hardest I laughed all week.

Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention at the time, but I didn't get South Park this week. It seems to be a bit hit or miss for me in general, but going from third last week to 13th this time around is kinda crazy.

My LVP was Ben Wyatt, who continues to be an absolute waste of Adam Scott's talent on Parks and Rec. The least funny moment was just the constant yelling and screaming that took place on New Girl this week. Call me hypocritical if you like, because there is always yelling on Sunny, but it just seems different to me.

Top Five of the Week

Here is where I will rank the five best episodes of the week...not including comedies. With all of my episodic reviewing for TV Fanatic, I need another outlet to let the people know what's what.

1. Sons of Anarchy
2. Homeland
3. Parenthood
4. The Vampire Diaries
5. Chuck

Sons has had a fantastic bounce back season as far as I'm concerned. Clay going full blown heel was a great move for the show, and I can only hope this season ends in his death. As much as I've come around on the old man as a character, there is no way this show can function properly if he sticks around.

Homeland continues to be the best new show on tv, and those Lie Detector scenes were unbelievably good this week. Parenthood, without a doubt, gets a tear from my eye at least every other episode. It happened again this week. Haters gonna hate, but no show brings as much excitement and thrills as The Vampire Diaries, and this week's midseason finale was great. Even though I kind of tore it apart in my review, I still had a heck of a time watching Morgan be a jerk on this week's Chuck.

Chuck 503 Review- Frost Yourself

Morgan- "Just admit that you cannot handle the fact that I'm the badass operative, with the badass tips, and you're the dorky sidekick!"

I have a feeling "Chuck Versus the Frosted Tips" is going to be very divisive. There were so many things to enjoy, yet so many issues with the episode that even I both loved it and hated it all at the same time. Divisive, I say.

Before the conclusion, where it surprisingly became clear that Morgan was going to return to normal, I had many a worry for fans of the Bearded Bandit. Personally, I found his new egomaniacal state to be hilarious, but I could definitely hear the roars of fanboys complaining that this wasn't the Morgan we learned to love back in the beginning.

My problem wasn't with his transition to the Luke Skywalker-forgetting, personal assistant-needing, dumping-by-text-message Morgan we watched for most of the episode, but rather, the ease in which he turned off the cocky switch.

I loved that Chuck was able to talk Morgan down from his king of the world persona, and regain his best friend, but that's it? That's all it took for Morgan to stop acting like this, a chat with Chuck that got him to remember his past? I really thought this was a bigger issue. In the final five minutes or so he was acting completely normal, and I was assuming it would take removing the intersect from his brain to get any of the old Morgan back in our lives. It was just a bit too easy.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Chuck, head over to TV Fanatic.

Chuck 503 - "Chuck vs. the Frosted Tips"
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The Office 807 Review- Guitar Hero

Val- "Not bad fellas. You're better than you look."

Kevin- "Hey screw you!"

Through the first six episodes of The Office's eighth season, I have been right on board with the popular critique that the series has lost its focus.*

(*"Garden Party" is the exception to that rule.)

But "Pam's Replacement" helped sideline the show's recent problems with a multitude of laughs and an improvement to its most glaring problems lately: the misuse of Ed Helms and James Spader.

After being thrust into the lead of the show, with a similar role and similar character to that of Steve Carrell, it seemed as if the Andy as branch manager project had failed. By giving him a smaller piece of the pie here, though, and fortunately creating a tasty flavor of pie, both Helms and The Office were much more enjoyable.

And how tasty was that pie? Andy, Kevin, and Darryl were great in their showcase of the rise and fall of Kevin and the Zits. And while Robert California didn't do anything all that overtly funny, quietly bringing in new great musicians to slowly hijack Andy's band was some of the best stuff from the Sabre CEO since last year's finale.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 807 - "Pam's Replacement"
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Survivor Weeks 9 & 10- Change of Heart

Survivor is both an interesting game and an interesting show. I don't think I detested any one contestant more than I hated Brandon Hantz over the first six weeks of this season. But then, once these two tribes merged, his attitude started to become sort of funny to me.

I was the same way with Coach back in his first season of the show. What can start out as annoying can easily lead towards joy if done properly. Sure I'm laughing at Brandon, and in no way with him, as he continued to come to Cochran's aid this week, but funny is funny.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching him the past two weeks, and that kind of makes me sick. Anybody else having a change of heart? Or is it just me?

Champions League

Larry

Brandon +97: W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +180
Rick +53: W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +136
Christine +13
Dawn +106: W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +189

Last Week +269: Team Total= +518

Jaydon

Ozzy +48: Votes (-36)= +12
Whitney +44: W9 (+37), Immunity (+20), W10 (+46)= +147
Cochran +78: Votes (-8), W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +153
Edna +92: W9 (+37), Votes (-12), W10 (+46)= +163

Last Week +262: Team Total= +475

Dan

Albert +62: W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +145
Mikayla -7
Jim +50: Immunity (+20), W9 (+37), Votes (-28)= +79
Semhar -43

Last Week +62: Team Total= +236

Mags

Coach +88: W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +171
Elyse -142
Keith -79: On Redemption
Mark -173

Last Week -306: Team Total= -223



Free Agents
Sophie +128: W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +211
Stacey -27

Developmental League

Jack

Albert: W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +83
Whitney: W9 (+37), Immunity (+20), W10 (+46)= +103
Coach: W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +83
Edna: W9 (+37), Votes (-12), W10 (+46)= +71

Weeks 9 and 10= +340, Team Total= +850

Tippy

Ozzy: Votes (-36)= -36
Cochran: Votes (-8), W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +75
Elyse
Sophie: W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +83

Weeks 9 and 10= +122, Team Total= +504

Marsh

Mikayla
Rick: W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +83
Dawn: W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +83
Christine

Weeks 9 and 10= +166, Team Total= +466

Rizzo

Keith: On Redemption
Mark
Brandon: W9 (+37), W10 (+46)= +83
Jim: Immunity (+20), W9 (+37), Votes (-28)= +29

Weeks 9 and 10= +112, Team Total= +412



Free Agents
Stacey
Semhar

The X Factor Top 11 Review- The Taste of Crow

It was once again time to face the music, as The X Factor Top 11 hit the stage for Movie Night!

I hope you had your popcorn ready because L.A. Reid continued his stint as the worst new reality judge on television and Steve Jones remained steadfast in cutting off the panelists as many times as he could in a two hour span.

Oh yeah! The 11 acts also performed their hearts out for America's vote! Let's take a look at the performances...

Stacy Francis "The Queen of the Night" - No Nicole, Stacy having a big diva moment is not her stepping out her element. The upbeat nature of this song, however, was out of her element, and it proved to be detrimental as she seemed to be out of breath throughout the performance.
My Score: 4/10
Obscure Movie Score: The Bodyguard is way too popular to register in this ranking system. 2/10

Marcus Canty "I'm Going Down" - He almost dropped the mic, he could barely get his jacket off when he wanted to, but he still pulled off the performance. His vocals are good, and they are a lot like what you hear on today's Top 40 chart. He might need to learn how to calm down though, as this song was completely stripped down, but his performance was still a bit out of control.
My Score: 7/10
Obscure Movie Score: I've never heard of Car Wash, but it was made nine years before I was born so I'll stay safe and go 5/10.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The X Factor Top 11 Review, head over to TV Fanatic.

Forwood For TV's Best Teen Couple

They might get killed in the poll, and they really are the third most notable couple on their own show... but I'm here to tell you why Caroline and Tyler of The Vampire Diaries are TV's Best Teen Couple.

While everyone watching TVD has fought over who Elena belongs with, there has been one constant: Caroline Forbes is amazing! All you need to do is check in on any one of our Round Tables this season to realize how much love there is for the blonde beauty.

After plenty of time alone, getting turned into a vampire and spending a brief stint with Matty Donovan, Caroline finally found her way when Tyler Lockwood became a major part of her life. The rest is romantic, entertaining history.

These two built a bond when Tyler triggered his werewolf gene, as the newly formed vampire helped him through the sort of transition with which she is familiar. Watching Caroline care for Tyler as he turned at the first full moon was some of the most endearing stuff we have seen on TVD.

To read the rest of my Staff Selection for Forwood as TV's Best Teen Couple, and to vote in the poll, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 212 Review- Back In The Field

Arthur- "Turn and face the strange."

Annie- "Brecht?"

Arthur- "Bowie."

With only six episodes in this back half of Covert Affairs' second season, you'd think they would want to pack a punch with each chapter in order to make a strong impression over a short period of time. You'd be right.

Last week's return of "The Wake-Up Bomb" was a solid start to the fall session, and "Uberlin" - chock full of action, CIA secrets, some Arthur backstory, and a love interest for Auggie - was just as powerful of a piece to the Covert Affairs puzzle.

It has been a long time coming for Peter Gallagher to take center stage for an hour. We learned about how Auggie became blind earlier this year, and while this episode wasn't nearly as entertaining or revealing, it was nice to learn more about the public face of the CIA.

We didn't flashback to 1989 - because, let's face it, I don't think Gallagher can pull off age 30 anymore - but we did dig deeper into a moment in Arthur's past in order to showcase how strong his love is for Joan.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 212 - "Uberlin"
Review
Recap
Quotes

Terra Nova 106 Review- When The Lights Go Out

Lucas- "So much to do."

Although it is still not living up to preseason expectations, at least Terra Nova reverted back to the type of show I though it would be, and the sort of show it has the best chance of excelling at, in "Nightfall."

These people are living in a world that is both hundreds of years in the future and millions of years in the past. It is a perfect opportunity to keep the audience intrigued by mysterious storylines. That's something it has failed to capitalize on since the pilot, but did a much better job here.

The meteor shutting off all power at Terra Nova became a nice opportunity for Mira and the Sixers to go looking for the box that Taylor and company could not open. Because they found it so easily after distracting the Commander with a giant dino, it was once again clear that Mira has someone on the inside.

Although it's a plot that may be a bit played out, there being a mole for the Sixers inside of Terra Nova is at least interesting.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Terra Nova, head over to TV Fanatic.

Terra Nova 106 - "Nightfall"
Review
Recap
Quotes

Homeland 106 Review- The Lie Detector

After many insightful theories in the comment section of last week's review, I came into "The Good Soldier" on board with the idea that Brody could still be innocent and Saul might in fact be the turned prisoner of war mentioned in the premiere.

Homeland changed my mind in regards to that theory, then changed it back, and then turned things around once more... all within the hour. That is what has been so good about this show thus far. You are never quite sure what to think about any situation, and I don't know about you, but I still could be convinced that either Brody or Saul have been turned, both have, or neither have. It is just THAT complicated.

I began watching "The Good Soldier" on the prowl for clues that Saul was indeed the culprit in this whole mess. I came to terms with the fact that being in a prison camp, making things difficult for Carrie, and chatting with the terrorist - where he could have slipped him the razor blade - was enough to put him on our watch list.

The idea that Brody did what he could to survive while a prisoner, and then turned to Muslim prayer as a way of getting through such a tragic time of his life, started to make more sense.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Homeland, head over to TV Fanatic.

Homeland 106 - "The Good Soldier"
Review
Recap

Weekly Comedy Rankings- Which Website Was It?

Copyright: Patrick McElhenney / FX

It was a very good week for comedies, especially at the top end. Nothing legendary, but quality eps from the top five, and solid performances from everyone in the top ten. Let's take a look at my rankings...

1. It's Always Sunny
2. Community
3. South Park
4. Happy Endings
5. Modern Family
6. Parks and Recreation
7. The League
8. The Office
9. Rules of Engagement
10. Suburgatory
11. New Girl
12. Bored to Death
13. Wizards
14. Last Man Standing
15. Family Guy
16. Allen Gregory
17. Up All Night
18. Raising Hope

My MVP was Pierce Hawthorne and funniest moment was Mac needing to know every detail from the random girl's nude pictures. "There are so many of those websites, which one was it?!?!" Sunny is continuing to have a fantastic season, as I could have gone with any of the big three as my MVP this week, but in the end they just steal votes from each other.

Chuck 502 Review- Who's Luke Skywalker?

Big Mike- "So listen Devon. Have you ever given any thought to do something that involves less doctoring and more making a commercial for the Buy More?"

Last week's season premiere introduced us all to Morgan Grimes with the intersect, making us all wonder whether or not this was the correct path for the show to take. "Chuck vs. the Bearded Bandit" expanded on that theme in a number of ways, both for good and for bad.

Intersect Morgan is all riled up and ready to take on all bad guys all the time. This can be good, as it proved to be hilarious when he named himself the Bearded Bandit and started talking in weird, deep voices. It also provided a ton of great action sequences because our Bearded friend wanted to fight anyone and anything that was in the way.

This was also bad, though, because he continued to get the gang into trouble. Whether it was getting his picture in the paper for being a terrible vigilante after the convenient store fiasco, or taking no regard for anyone else's ideas in running into Schneider's house all alone, Morgan forced Carmichael Industries to make a number of difficult decisions this week.

Worst of all is what the intersect seems to be doing to Morgan's brain. Throughout the episode I thought nothing of the bearded boys' actions, pointing towards intersect mood swings when trying to understand why he was so aggressive and forgetting clearly recognizable Indiana Jones references, but the final scene made it seem much more dangerous than that.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Chuck, head over to TV Fanatic.

Chuck 502 - "Chuck vs. the Bearded Bandit"
Review
Recap
Quotes

The Office 806 Review- Doom and Gloom

Dwight- "There's no way he hasn't strangled at least one stripper. Oscar."

Even though Andy Bernard was named Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton, he continues to allow others to take the lead on The Office.

On "Doomsday," it was Dwight Schrute in charge, as he came up with a dastardly plan to reduce Dundler Mifflin mistakes, which led to plenty of anguish and only a few laughs.

The more interesting of the two main stories this week actually involved a pair characters I have not enjoyed all that much during their times on the series. Gabe has been a thorn in everyone's side during his time on The Office, including mine, but he has turned things around lately.

Making fun of Daryl in order to make a good impression on Val was great, although it wasn't quite as funny as when he invited her on a date that included having wine at the cemetery. Really, Gabe? Really?!?

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 806 - "Doomsday"
Review
Recap
Quotes

Survivor Week 8- The Switcheroo

As Swoosie Kurtz screamed at Jim Carrey during the outtakes of Liar Liar...Over-actor! I loved watching Ozzy's ridiculous plan blow up in his face mainly because of his terrible job at selling it. Then again, it wasn't much of a plan to begin with. Did he really think that turning Johnny Cochran into a double agent would have garnered many rewards even if they did buy what he was selling at the final duel?

Way to go Coach for calling out exactly everything that happened over at Savaii over the last couple of days...to the T! Upolu was extremely strong in their pack of six, maybe the strongest I've seen at the merge, but of course they were going to string Cochran along for a bit in order to get him to jump the Savaii ship.

Why wouldn't he? Jim called the twerp a coward a number of times after Johnny Cochran switched over on the re-vote, and he was right. It was a cowardly move, but it was also the correct move. Being brave can also be very dumb. Why would you leave your fate in Survivor up to chance, when you can just as easily switch sides to the stronger tribe and now have a 7-4 advantage over Savaii.

As long as things go as planned, Johnny Cochran can make it to the Top Seven with Upolu before anything tricky needs to take place. The situations change so rapidly in this game, that by that time, maybe the kid makes a few friends within Upolu and they decide to keep him around over Rick or Sophie or somebody. There are too many possibilities to further yourself in this game to leave it all up to chance.

Good job Johnny Cochran.

Now let's take a look at the fantasy scores, in which Jaydon is beginning to catch up to Larry in the Champions League, thanks to Ozzy's immunity dominance. Mags seems to be heading for the Developmental League this spring as Keith was the next from his squad to hit the road. Jack has taken a large lead down in the B League, while Tippy holds strong, and Rizz and Marsh now hold steady in a tie for third.

Champions League

Larry

Brandon +60: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +97
Rick +40: Merge (+8), Votes (-24), W8 (+29)= +53
Christine +23: Duel Loss (-10)= +13
Dawn +49: Merge (+8), Immunity (+20), W8 (+29)= +106

Last Week +172: Team Total= +269

Jaydon

Ozzy -9: Duel Win (+10), Merge (+8), Immunity (+20), Idol Misuse (-10), W8 (+29)= +48
Whitney +7: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +44
Cochran +41: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +78
Edna +55: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +92

Last Week +94: Team Total= +262

Dan

Albert +25: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +62
Mikayla -7
Jim +13: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +50
Semhar -43

Last Week -12: Team Total= +62

Mags

Coach +51: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +88
Elyse -142
Keith -63: Merge (+8), Votes (-24)= -79
Mark -173

Last Week -327: Team Total= -306



Free Agents
Sophie +91: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +128
Stacey -27

Developmental League

Jack

Albert: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +37
Whitney: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +37
Coach: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +37
Edna: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +37

Week 8= +148, Team Total= +510

Tippy

Ozzy: Duel Win (+10), Merge (+8), Immunity (+20), Idol Misuse (-10), W8 (+29)= +57
Cochran: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +37
Elyse
Sophie: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +37

Week 8= +131, Team Total= +382

Rizzo

Keith: Merge (+8), Votes (-24)= -16
Mark
Brandon: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +37
Jim: Merge (+8), W8 (+29)= +37

Week 8= +58, Team Total= +300

Marsh

Mikayla
Rick: Merge (+8), Votes (-24), W8 (+29)= +13
Dawn: Merge (+8), Immunity (+20), W8 (+29)= +57
Christine: Duel Loss (-10)= -10

Week 8= +60, Team Total= +300



Free Agents
Stacey
Semhar