Chuck: Chuck versus the Suitcase

“Chuck, beautiful women have a lot of baggage. You should be happy Walker’s just a suitcase.”

Last week’s episode wasn’t the best episode ever. Not bad, just not stellar. But Chuck’s second entry had everything I hope for in a great Chuck episode: a glitzy, funny mission; a wacky McGuffin; and not one, not two, but three emotional arcs. I even loved the BuyMore antics. And they all tied together in a beautiful, sequin-covered, funny package.

Warehouse 13: Season 2, Part 2

After a relatively mythology-lite first six episodes, Warehouse 13 brought the elusive H.G. Wells and her mysterious agenda back in full force for the back half of the season. The question now is, was she worth the wait?

Stargate Universe: Intervention

After a cold open that briefly left me wondering if the writers decided to gloss over all those pesky cliffhangers from ‘Incursion,’ the Stargate: Universe Season 2 premiere delivered a plot-heavy, fairly intense tale that threw us right back into the action and moved things forward in some interesting new directions.

No Ordinary Family: Pilot

“We’re no longer ordinary. But after everything, we are a family.”

I didn’t expect to love No Ordinary Family, and I don’t. It’s not dark, or sarcastic, or violent. There are no vampire bad boys or mysterious mythologies. No narrative tricks or astonishing production values. But it is sweet, well-acted, capably written, and charming. It’s good at what it does, and I hope it finds an audience, even if that audience doesn’t include me.

Glee: Britney/Brittany

Sue: "It's a Britney Spears sex riot!"

SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!

Glee + Britney!! How exciting!! I'm pretty sure the only thing that could top this would be Alexander Skarsgard walking into my room with nothing but a towel. Or maybe free shoes from the Nordstrom's fall collection.

Dexter: My Bad

Rita: "I felt up in the air, the way things ended. Like we never said a proper goodbye."

Wouldn't it be ironic if causing Rita's murder turned Dexter into a human being?

Buffy quotes for every occasion. Part 8: History and Literature

Harmony: "I've been doing my homework. Reading books and stuff."
Spike: "What? Evil for Dummies?"

Lest we forget, the setting of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was high school and college. And cemeteries and the Bronze and the dorm and so on, but there was definitely a learning theme going on. It was pretty obvious that the Buffy writers knew their way around good books; some of my favorite quotes ever were about historical figures and classic literature.

Star Trek: The Changeling

McCoy: "What do we do now? Go up and knock?"

Another entry in the sixties computer paranoia column, this time with a tiny, confused talking atomic bomb. At least Kirk had a lot of previous relevant experience in talking a computer to death.

Fringe: Olivia

“You can’t just keep running.”

The Season Two finale left us with Peter and Walter back Over Here, accompanied by a woman alternately called Boliva, Oliviate, or Fauxlivia. Our Olivia (now with auburn hair) is stuck Over There as a pawn in Walternate game/war/vendetta. This episode’s focus on Over There, and on Olivia’s experiences, was exactly as creepy, disorienting, and disturbing as it should have been.

Supernatural: Exile on Main Street

Dean: "Am I the only one here that thinks that this can't all just be fine?"

I am completely weirded out. What just happened?

Smallville: Lazarus

Lois: "I'm the last one to know."

Wonderful opening, good follow-through, and a terrific ending. I'm very encouraged.

Vampire Diaries: Bad Moon Rising

“Isn’t killing cute, defenseless animals the first step in becoming a serial killer?”

This episode was full of great scenes, great lines, and the return of my beloved Alaric (albeit with terrible puffy hair). So the different parts didn’t quite add up to a cohesive whole, and this felt like the first part of a two-parter. So the werewolf thing is kinda boring. This was still the most enjoyable hour of my week. (Is my life pathetic, or what?)

Undercovers: Pilot

Home run! What a pleasant and unexpected surprise.

Glee: Audition

"I've never had balls in my mouth. Have you?" - Sam

Welcome back, Gleeks! I hope that your summer was as fun as tonight's season premier was. I have to admit, I was pretty nervous at how it would be - Glee was completely bipolar last year, and I was kinda concerned that it'd become such a hit that it'd just be too full of itself.

Chuck: Chuck versus the Anniversary

“I can’t believe how fast they rebuilt it.”

Let’s talk about sexting. Well, let’s start by talking about sexting, and then work our way backwards and forwards. By the end, we’ll all have learned something important about ourselves, and (hopefully) I will have figured out what I think of this episode.

Farscape: PK Tech Girl

When Moya’s crew attempts to scavenge the derelict Zelbinion --- a legendary Peacekeeper ship that went missing in battle over 100 cycles ago --- they are surprised to find a support tech from Crais’s command carrier hiding on board. Soon after, a dangerous scavenger race returns to claim the Zelbinion’s defense shield, and Zhaan and D’Argo must stall for time while Crichton, Aeryn, and Gilina (the young tech) work to restore the shield to protect Moya. Meanwhile, Rygel confronts demons from his time spent being tortured aboard the Zelbinion.

The Event: Pilot

"They saved us."
"Who? Who saved us?"

Last year's unfortunate experience with FlashForward has made me leery of any new high concept show with a convoluted plot that bills itself as 'the new Lost'. I like the old Lost, thank you very much.

NewFlash: Locke and Linus, Together Again?

If it's a hoax, it's the best hoax ever: New York magazine and now Michael Ausiello are reporting that Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson may be part of a new show. Together. Playing "black ops agents." New York mag claims that plans for the JJ Abrams-produced show (possibly called Odd Jobs) are "very real and very active." I'll nominate Jorge Garcia for their wacky sidekick, as soon as I'm done dancing the dance of joy.

Hawaii Five-O: Pilot

CBS’s latest cop procedural is ... well, a CBS cop procedural sans forensics and flashbacks. Hawaii Five-0 reboots the classic ‘70s cop show (1968-1980), adds the occasional bit of grit and personal angst to the tropical paradise setting, and ends up with a show that fits perfectly into the CBS stable of crime shows.

Boardwalk Empire: Pilot

“You can’t be half a gangster. Not anymore.”

The early 1920s are a fascinating time: the US was still reeling from World War I, but struggled with the question of whether to retain isolationist politics. Many women were in the throes of a religious revival that led, eventually, to women getting the right to vote. In 1920 itself, six black men were lynched in Duluth, Minnesota. Nativist politics underwent a revival of their own, particularly in response to anti-Irish sentiment. Oh, and in January of 1920, the Volstead Act began 13 years of Prohibition—the criminalization of the manufacture and trade of alcohol.

Star Trek: Who Mourns for Adonais?

Apollo: "I am Apollo!"
Chekov: "And I am the Tsar of all the Russias."

(Ben and I apologize in advance for the high level of snark in this review. We just couldn't stop ourselves.)

Vampire Diaries: Brave New World

“Talk about a town where history repeats itself.”

I groaned quite a few times during this episode. “Oh, I can’t believe they’re doing that,” I said to the cat. “It’s so cliché, and it’s been done before,” he responded with a wise nod. And then, moments (well, sometimes minutes) later, I realized that I should sit back and trust the man who brought us the Scream franchise. It’s not Vicky Donovan, 2.0. It’s not Token Black Guy and Racially Appropriate Relationship. It’s The Vampire Diaries, and it’s damn good.

Eureka: Season 4

I’m new to Eureka. From the promos, I’d always thought the series looked like great, quirky fun, but it just didn’t intrigue me enough to add it to my summer viewing schedule. This year, however, the addition of James Callis and the promise of a time travel story resulting in big changes proved too alluring to resist, and I decided to give the show a whirl. I’m very glad I did, because Eureka turned out to be the summer show I most looked forward to every week.

Farscape: Thank God Its Friday ... Again

After a bout of Luxan hyper-rage sends D’Argo down to a nearby planet, the crew is surprised to find he’s gone native and become uncharacteristically happy as a field laborer. Crichton and Zhaan stay to figure out what’s happened to him, and Aeryn returns to Moya with Rygel following an apparent assassination attempt on the dominar. Zhaan soon falls under the planet’s spell, while Crichton learns that the root they eat on the planet causes everyone to seriously mellow out and become highly susceptible to suggestion, which is why they always think it is the final day of the work cycle. Meanwhile, Aeryn discovers the attack on Rygel was caused by his body fluids turning explosive, and with Pilot’s help she must determine how to save him.

True Blood: Evil is Going On

Bill: "Sookie, stay here. Pam will protect you."
Sookie: "Feel safer protecting myself. Since I now know I'm basically vampire crack."

After being yanked here, taken there, bitten and used, Sookie finally turned the tables. This was Sookie's episode, and it was about time. I loved seeing her literally take her life back.

Buffy quotes for every occasion. Part 7: Religion

Here's this week's installment of subject-oriented Buffy quotes. This time, the topic is religion. Always a touchy subject, but some of my absolute favorite Buffy quotes are about religion, gods, vampires at the Crucifixion, bad home perms, and so on. This particular installment contains several of my absolute all-time favorites. They're in italics and blue.

Star Trek: Amok Time

Spock: "How do Vulcans choose their mates? Haven't you wondered?"
Kirk: "I guess the rest of us always assumed it was done quite logically."

In the space of one episode, Spock went from cool superman to sexy beast. And a whole new wave of fan fiction was born.

Vampire Diaries: The Return

“Kiss me, or kill me, Damon. We both know you’re only capable of one.”

I was a bit nervous going into this episode, our first premiere of the 2010 Fall Season. Would VD continue to delight? Had I committed to a show destined to crash and burn? (Again?) How could they possibly top the wonders of the first season? Luckily—or rather, thanks to the skills of the writers, directors, producers, and cast—the Season Two premiere was top-notch, and set up plenty of meaty, angsty, delicious goodness for the rest of the season. (Don’t over-think those descriptors.)

Newsflash: Caprica to Return Oct. 5th

SyFy announced today that Caprica will be returning to the schedule in October, instead of January, as previously announced. Caprica will return Tuesday, October 5th, at 10:00 p.m. following Stargate Universe (which returns on September 28th). Sanctuary was originally scheduled to return on Tuesdays, following SGU, but now will remain on Fridays at 10:00 p.m., returning October 15th.

More details can be found here and here.

Photo credit: SyFy

Farscape: Back and Back and Back to the Future

After Moya rescues two escapees from a sub-atomically disintegrating ship, D’Argo plays gracious host to the secretive new guests while Crichton plays Billy Pilgrim (or Desmond Hume, if you prefer) in an increasingly disastrous series of future flashes.

Star Trek: Operation - Annihilate!

Spock: "Pain is a thing of the mind. The mind can be controlled."

I didn't remember much about this one when I sat down to rewatch it and write this review, so I can personally attest that this is not an episode that stays with you.

Buffy quotes for every occasion. Part 6: Holidays

In honor of the strange and unknown-outside-the-United-States Labor Day (tomorrow), this week's theme is holidays. Okay, mostly it's an excuse to post a lot of quotes from my favorite Thanksgiving episode of all time, "Pangs". Buffy the Vampire Slayer also gave us quite possibly the best Valentine's Day episode of all time as well ("Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"), and two exceptional Halloween episodes ("Halloween" and "Fear, Itself"). Who's a little fear demon?