30 Rock 605 Review- It's A Jack-Off!

Liz- "After six years, there's still room for growth in this friendship."

As Tina Fey smirked at the camera while reciting those words, I wondered if she and the writers were attempting to make a jab at those who might criticize 30 Rock for not evolving its characters in any way.

Then the thought vanished from my mind, because whether or not the show has done a good job of allowing its characters to grow over the past six seasons, "Today You Are a Man" - like many 30 Rock episodes - was funny enough that it doesn't matter.

Yes, Kabletown Jack finally figured out how to defeat Liz-Jack thanks to his realization that emotion can be used as a weapon (the aforementioned growth), but it was everything involving this contract negotiation that led up to that moment that made this yet another hilarious episode at the front end of this season.

The entire sequence after Jack found out Liz was using him as a coach, which included classic Donaghy, playing with himself, and the Jack-off, was fantastic. Then again, it couldn't even compare to how great the negotiations at the ice cream store were.

To read the rest of my review of last night's 30 Rock, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 605 - "Today You Are a Man"
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One Tree Hill 904 Review- Drug Dealers Beware

Dan- "If I catch you near my family again, I'll kill you."

Julian left Baby Davis in the hot car last week. Nathan didn't make it home on "Don't You Want to Share the Guilt?." Indeed, One Tree Hill is not slowing down at all in season nine.

Seriously, how many more of these cliff hangers can we take before we start to black out on the regular like Clay?

I'll get to the latest in a long line of twists and turns for Clay (that I could care less about) later on. First, this Nathan issue needs to be addressed. The stuffed animal he had for Lydia was lying by the curb at the airport, so the most logical conclusion is that harm was done to him after landing in Tree Hill.

Who would want to hurt Nathan? The only person that we are familiar with that has the means, the history, and the motive is... Dan Scott, the father. We know he can do harm. He has killed in the past, his own brother in fact. Most importantly, if Nathan doesn't make it home, Dan gets to continue to spend time with Jamie and Lydia, the one thing that seems to make Dan Scott happier than we've ever seen him.

The only thing that makes me question this hypothesis is the timing. Haley and Dan had a conversation in the house around the time Nathan was supposed to be arriving home. It is definitely possible that he slipped out and kidnapped his own son in a matter of minutes, but it still would have been tricky to maneuver. I wouldn't put it past him, though.

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

One Tree Hill 904 - "Don't You Want to Share the Guilt?"
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Justified 303 Review- Cutthroat Pawn

Fogle- "You like old friends or something?"

Wade- "Well I set him up for Dickie Bennett, strung him up in a tree. I don't know, is that a friend?"

What Justified has become so wonderful at recently is not only mixing serialization with episodic stories so well, but also creating episodic plots that - in and of themselves - are integral to the seasonal arc.

That was never more evident than in "Harlan Roulette."

Wade Messer, who we were reminded hung Raylan up a tree last season*, worked for the pawn shop owning Glen Fogle... who worked for our beloved Winn Duffy... who in one way or another is involved with the all kinds of crazy Mr. Quarles, who we met in the season premiere.

(*Both Wade asking Fogle if hanging Raylan up a tree made them friends, and then Raylan shooting down their friendship by reminding the pill popper that he hung him up a tree and left him for dead, were hilarious ways of reminding the audience of their relationship.)

The weird and wild web of baddies continues to be connected, which made the story of JT, Wade and Fogle that much more interesting. Because we knew that there was a good possibility it would lead to Raylan running into Duffy again and/or Quarles for the first time, there were extra stakes tied to the story here.

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

Justified 303 - "Harlan Roulette"
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Chuck Series Finale Review- With All Of My Heart

Chuck- "I was an assignment, and then you fell in love with me. And I know that sounds crazy, and if I didn't know any better I'd say it's crazy too, but the fact remains you fell for me, Sarah."

I have praised Chuck over the past five seasons for its ability to fuse comedy, action and heart into what I have dubbed here at TV Fanatic the Chuck Triple Threat.

This two-part series finale succeeded in making us laugh, and keeping us on the edge of our seat, but it was the overwhelming number of emotional triggers both "Chuck Versus Sarah" and "Chuck Versus the Goodbye" set off that made it an extremely satisfying ending.

At the outset. it seemed as if the whole "Sarah lost her memory and was going to be a problem" issue was resolved before it even started, but they flipped that scenario right on its head. Sarah, in fact, never got all of her memory back from what the intersect and Quinn did to her, which just gave us more time to watch Chuck attempt to jog it.

Right down to the final minutes of the series, Chuck was reminding Sarah - and the audience - of what great times these two have had together over the past five years. That final scene, which our Round Table panel predicted horribly wrong, was so darn fantastic.

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

Chuck 512 - "Chuck vs. Sarah"
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Chuck 513 - "Chuck vs. the Goodbye"
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30 Rock 604 Review- The Pagemaster

Liz- "What are those?"

Jenna- "Leaches. They're good for your skin, and I've lost tons of blood weight."

Who needs whom to survive in this crazy mixed up world 30 Rock has created over the years? "The Ballad of Kenneth Parcell" answered that question in the second episode of Thursday's 30 Rock double feature.

Liz Lemon and Jenna Maroney need each other as best friends. enna needs all of the attention, which Liz steals none of. Liz, on the other hand, needs someone to vent to, and since Jenna listens to nothing but her own voice, they work perfectly.

Thankfully for the viewer, they work great on the comedy side of things as well. Jenna as a successful star is great fun, especially when she brings her besties Charlie from "Charlie Bit My Finger," some Kardashian and Mankind to her dressing room.

It also helps when she makes ridiculous statements, such as you're nobody if PETA doesn't either love you or hate you.

Kenneth needs his job as a page, and Jack needs Kenneth as said page so that he can blame all of his stupid mistakes on somebody. No matter how many random series or episodes Not Kenneth brought up when someone said anything in front of it, the computer was no Kenneth! I mean, it wasn't even a redneck!

To read the rest of my review of last night's second 30 Rock episode, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 604 - "The Ballad of Kenneth Parcell"
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30 Rock 603 Review- We Have A Magical Horse

Liz- "And now he's inserting himself into this."

Criss- "Well that's what she said but..."

As the first of two 30 Rock episodes this Thursday, "Idiots Are People Three" featured a lot laughs and served as a fitting conclusion to last week's "Idiots Are People Two."

Things picked back up with Pete passed out, Tracy and his fellow idiots out for Liz's livelihood and Jack out for her relationship. The first of which led to my favorite story of the episode.

Kelsey Grammer, fresh off of his Golden Globe victory for his dramatic work on Starz's Boss, was absolutely hilarious in his role as...Kelsey Grammer. It must be awesome to play yourself, especially a much more James Bond like version of yourself who calls everyone "baby."

I'm not sure which was better, Kelsey deciding to make up a one man play about Abraham Lincoln in order to distract the people of 30 Rock, or the fact that he pulled it off and everyone in the crowd loved his performance. Either way, the "Best Friends Gang" needs to stay together forever.

To read the rest of my review of last night's first of two 30 Rock's, head over to TV Fanatic.

30 Rock 603 - "Idiots Are People Three"
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One Tree Hill 903 Review- Hey You Lies!

Mouth- "The stupid dry cleaners shrunk another shirt. What is that, three now?"

If the opening moments of the One Tree Hill season 9 premiere didn't make it clear that these characters were going to face severe consequences over the next few weeks, then the final minutes of "Love the Way You Lie" certainly did.

Julian Baker, one of the few people in Tree Hill that we have been able to count on for stability over the past couple years, got a bit too excited about the prospect of producing a television show at his way too empty sound stage, and might be paying the ultimate price for it.

What, exactly, happened at the end there? Baby Davis was gone. Julian's car windows were smashed. There was a stretcher, cops and an ambulance at the scene. So was the baby stolen? Hurt? Worse? Whatever the case may be, this is the worst thing that Julian has ever done, and that is taking into account the embarrassing Goonies monologue he performed in front of Jamie's class hours earlier.

At this point, though, not many people that we know in Tree Hill are in good places...well, except maybe Chris Keller, who is having himself a jolly good time interviewing coeds for intern positions and taking Chase out to strip joints.

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

One Tree Hill 903 - "Love the Way You Lie"
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Justified 302 Review- Prison Chess

Raylan- "When did ya get married?"

Goodall- "Two months before I got divorced."

Justified took its foot off the pedal a bit in "Cut Ties." But that's understandable. If you continue at the pace of the action-packed season premiere for too long, you're likely to drive off a cliff.

There was definitely a more methodical feel to the episode, but with the appearance of a woman from Raylan's past, some field action for Art Mullen, a quasi chess match between Raylan and Boyd and the introduction of Mykelti Williamson as the haunting Ellstin Limehouse, it was a fantastic second installment.

Let's start with the fabulous Carla Gugino. I've never seen Karen Sisco, but many are saying that Justified's Assistant Director Goodall could have shared that last name. She's a U.S. Marshal with ties to Miami, so it makes sense.

Goodall was a fine addition to the hour, but I didn't much see the point of bringing her in until Raylan went in for that major lip lock with Winona at the Marshal's office.

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

Justified 302 - "Cut Ties"
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