TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 13-17

Deutsche Version | CW 13-16 | CW 18

Chuck 3×14 Chuck vs the Honeymooners
I’ve enjoyed this episode very much. It had the typical Chuck mixture of fun and action the early seasons had. Sarah’s Texan impersonation was also very funny and I don’t think I have to say anything about her habit of walking around in lingerie all the time.
But I also really enjoyed Jeffster’s (IMHO good) interpretation of Leaving on a Jet Plane.

Romantically Challenged 1×02 The Charade
Nope, nothing special about this show. Just your average multi-camera sitcom with laugh-track.

Happy Town 1×01 In This Home on Ice
I’m a bit confused. Is this pure mystery? Is there a supernatural element in the story? What’s up with Chloe?
The pilot felt a bit rushed because so many different characters had to be introduced (however briefly) but it certainly looks intriguing and I’ll continue to watch.

10 Things I Hate About You 1×15 The Winner Takes It All
If there’s one thing in TV Land that gives me the creeps, it’s public embarrassments in front of a big audience, especially if one sees it coming. I always cringe and even try to stall the inevitable moment by pausing(!) the video. And yet I will not skip over it.
In contrast, I have no problem with putting myself into a spotlight and do things I’m not talented enough to do – just for the fun of it.

Unfortunately, 10 Things won’t get a second season. While it’s not the best show out there, I certainly enjoyed it.

Bones 5×19 The Rocker in the Rinse Cycle
This is one of the episodes I have my problems with. Bones always dealt with magic when it came to solve their murders but the way they found the cause of death this time was once again too over the top. It was like the episode where the bones turned into foam and they still could determine the way the blade (bullet?) went through the rips. Wall Banger.
But I enjoyed the other parts: Booth getting loose, B&B singing, Hodgins & muslim guy talking Baseball, Angela invoking her father, …

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TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 13-15

Deutsche Version | CW 13-14 | CW 13-16

The Big Bang Theory 3×19 The Wheaton Recurrence
Didn’t they have the “I love you.” – “Thank you.” joke on last year’s Two and a Half Men (another Chuck Lorre production)?
But first to the Wheaton part: I enjoyed him being back and once again triumphant over Sheldon. They can keep this up if it were for me.
Now to Leonard & Penny: I smell break-up. But the problem is that it wouldn’t feel organic if they did. Penny and Leonard had the most normal intimate relationship in all TV shows over the last few years. They got together and then they just were. No obstacles, no real complications – most often their relationship wasn’t even a real topic in the episode. And suddenly Penny gets cold feet. Maybe they decide that they need a break. Then Leonard sleeps with another woman, Penny doesn’t forgive him and five years later she has a baby with him and in the end she wants to move to Paris and … oh hold on there. That was another couple…

LOST 6×10 The Package
I liked the idea of Sun not speaking English anymore. It brought back memories of the first season.
Unfortunately I didn’t feel that both stories brought the entire story really forward (except for the last minute, but I already guessed that it would be Desmond).

LOST 6×11 Happily Ever After
Everything is falling into place, I can feel it. I still don’t see the whole picture or how this flash-sideways is going to turn out but I can really feel how we’re steering towards the end of a long journey and I’m still exciting to be on board.
If Smokey can’t penetrate an EM fence and Desmond can survive huge EM pulses maybe it will be his task to lure Smokey into such a place (Remember? Huge EM pockets beneath the island?) and then tear him apart in an EM eruption.
And I think Penny and Charlie are so much more interesting than their counterparts on FlashForward.

LOST 6×12 Everybody Loves Hugo
Yes we do! I liked Hugo from the moment he fainted over the U.S. Marshall. He’s basically the only one who didn’t have a big agenda over the last six years, he just went along with one group or the next.
I think it was a big mistake of Smokey to throw Desmond into that well because I bet that’s the place where Desmond was supposed to end up anyway, at the core of everything.
Assuming Sun is the correct Kwon, it means that all remaining (known) candidates are in one place: Jack, Sun, Hugo, Sawyer, Sayid and an unknown person.
One oversight on Richard’s part: since he cannot blow himself up, he should have handled the dynamite…

Smallville 9×15 Escape
It was an OK ghost story. I’ve read somewhere that “Silver Banshee” is a known DC character but I have to say I’ve seen better guest appearances of other DC characters.
But I’ve enjoyed the bathroom scene very much; somehow it reminded me of the first witch episode in season 4. I also like it when they play the forgetfulness card to embarrass one of the characters – like when Chloe figured everything out.

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TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 13-14

Deutsche Version | CW 13 | CW 13-15

Doctor Who 5×01 The Eleventh Hour
Ironically the first thing I noticed about the new series was that the TARDIS doors opened outwards which I can’t remember the ever doing before. The plot seemed pretty straight-forward, I can’t say there were any surprises for me (e.g. that the Doctor isn’t the most punctual man has been proven time and time again [e.g. when he brought Rose home for the first time in Aliens of London; The Girl in the Fireplace]; that he challenges his enemies to look him up [e.g. Forest of the Dead]).
Even the threat that silence is descending isn’t a surprise – they need a plot for the season finale.
But I like both characters so far – i.e. I’m willing to give them a chance -, I’m just wondering if we will see any of the old characters ever again (With the exception of Professor River Song who was in the series preview).

Actually this was my first ever episode of Doctor Who that I watched “live”.

Chuck 3×13 Chuck vs. the Other Guy
While this was a very good episode it still felt a bit rushed. Shaw either knew this about his wife a while – which would explain his sometimes creepy looks throughout the season, but then it wouldn’t explain his outburst when he saw the footage; or he decided to switch sides after he saw it – which then would be very rushed.
Also some things were very sledge-hammer-y like the constant nods towards the security cam.
But everything considered I really liked how it played out and just hope that we can now return to Fun-Chuck & Ass-Kicking-Sarah for the rest of the season.

I also liked the Firefly class reunion of Badger and Jayne:

Castle 2×19 Wrapped Up in Death
I loved it how Beckett fooled Castle (it had to be her πŸ˜‰ ) and how he tried to get rid of the curse of the mummy. πŸ˜€
Otherwise I thought there was a bit too much “coincidence” in this episode. The mummy of “servant girl #6” is the girl that was murdered and this is the mummy they choose to (illegally) sell into private hands? Talk about bad luck…

Bones 5×15 The Bones on a Blue Line
It actually explains a lot. I always wondered how Bones would manage to write a thrilling novel and include personality traits in her characters that are so obviously alien to her. I also loved the entire talk about “that thing he does on page 187” and also how the actual persons are not the characters in the book.
But if all the personal stuff is from Angela that would mean she invented the scene where Amanda had sex with Agent Andy. Is there something we should know about? Devil

Bones 5×16 The Parts in the Sum of the Whole
It certainly was an interesting episode but the end was a bit disappointing. They drag out the usual will they/won’t they plot but I can totally understand Booth’s POV that he won’t wait forever. He took a leap of faith and suddenly there was just air below his feet.

Even though it had a nice touch bringing Caroline Julian and Camille into this episode, it still is a plothole. When Caroline was introduced in 1×19 The Man in the Morgue, Booth introduces her to Bones. While Caroline may have forgotten Bones (she even says so in this episode), I doubt Brennan would have forgotten.
Also when Camille and Bones meet in 2×01 The Titan on the Track both explicitly state that they have never met before.
Both from the 1×19 and 2×01 point of view the events in 5×16 took place only about two years before.

Now I’m going to watch the pilot again…

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TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 12

Deutsche Version | CW 08-11 | CW 13

Gossip Girl 3×15 The Sixteen Year Old Virgin
Ah, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal! Sometimes things are very predictable. OK, I did not see Chuck’s mom in league with Jack but since she is an adult, she wasn’t to be trusted in the first place…
But at least I’m into this show again and can enjoy all their plotting and scheming again.

Chuck 3×11 Chuck Versus the Final Exam
Chuck has lost something. If I had to put a finger on it, I’d say it lost its fun. Why does Chuck have to kill someone to become a real spy? He isn’t a Double-O agent (Was the bathroom scene a reference to the one in True Lies or Casino Royale?) and I can’t imagine that a kill test is part of the initiation ritual even in a TV show CIA. And if he fails they fire him? What about the Intersect in his head? Since when isn’t that a problem anymore? In the first season they wanted to throw him in a dark place in Nowheresville if they couldn’t protect him where he lived.
And what about Rome? Chuck living alone in Rome? Away from his friends, his family AND Sarah? What’s the point of being in Rome then?
Why does he need to be a “real spy” anyway? In a real-world scenario Chuck would be a great analyst; someone who stays in the Van and is the eyes and ears of Sarah and Casey in the field. He sees what they see and when he sees something important he flashes, informs them and they take out the bad guys.
I want the show be lighter again, more of the humour that made it so fun during the first two years. You can’t take it seriously anyway since there are enough plot holes in it to build a second Grand Canyon – I choose to ignore them as long as I enjoy watching the characters. But when they fail to shield me then the holes become even more visible.

Castle 2×17 Tick, Tick, Tick…
Whoa. What an end. Great episode. Even though I knew that the bad guy wasn’t dead the moment he moved away from the window I enjoyed this episode and Castle’s childlike excitement about all these new toys very much. Now I wonder how Beckett saved herself – I’d’ve jumped into the bathtub, it worked in Lethal Weapon 2. πŸ˜‰

Life Unexpected 1×10 Family Therapized
If at first you don’t succeed, … This was definitively an interesting “re-start” of the show. Now the big question is what the characters will do differently now. But it was a good idea to let Lux burst a bit, the “Why did you leave me?” question had to come up at some point.
I’ll have to admit that I had my doubts but I enjoy this show more and more (with Lux and Baze being far in the lead in regards to character liking).

LOST 6×09 Ab Aeterno
When I read the year I was a tiny bit disappointed: 1867. I always imagined that the Black Rock was from the 17th or even 16th century. But he’s barely 160 years old!
And does this mean that the island was once in the Atlantic? We know the island can be moved but it was never established how far. But if the Black Rock sailed from Tenerife and wanted to get to America it hardly ended up somewhere in the Pacific (where it would have to be to “allow” a plane crashing on it that flew from Australia to L.A.).
This episode gave me not so much answers but more confirmations of theories. And that’s what worries me now. What if there’s no surprise anymore? There are so many theories about the island out there someone was bound to have the right idea. What if I already read the solution without knowing it?
I hope there are still one or two surprises on the road now that we’ve reached the halftime of this final season.

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TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 08-11

Deutsche Version | CW 09-10 | CW 12

Chuck 3×10 Chuck vs. the Tic Tac
The team has hit rock bottom now. It’s basically not even a team anymore. But as the saying goes, it’s always darkest before dawn and since this season was only supposed to have 13 episodes and got an additional set of six and going by what I’ve read I assume this arc will be resolved by the end of episode 13 and then a new one begins.
Chuck without either Sarah or Casey wouldn’t work, so I’m pretty sure they’ll find a way to bring them both back.

White Collar 1×14 Out of the Box
This was a pretty cool season finale. I didn’t expect that so much would be going on in there. As for the final scene, I didn’t really care whether Neal was going because if there’s a season two he would have come back anyway. But this ending was a bit too clichΓ©d – no way in hell did Kate die on that plane.
I certainly like that show and I will be back for the second season.

LOST 6×07 Dr. Linus
The episode didn’t do much to bring the mythology forward but it was a helluva story. Both sides were really great. I loved it not knowing how Ben or Dr. Linus would decide and I loved it how he decided off-island and how the story turned on-island. Michael Emerson is a great actor one has to admit that.
Now I am wondering how this puzzle will look when completed since off-island Dr. Linus and his father have actually been to the island.

LOST 6×08 Recon
And another great episode. Miles and Sawyer as cop-buddies – I’d watch an entire show of that. What did strike me as odd though was the fact that now-we-know-he’s-a-cop Sawyer let Kate escape at LAX in LA X. And I have to wonder if everything has a deeper meaning or if the producers just throw in a bone from time to time (“LaFleur”).
And it’s nice to know that LAPD cops are allowed to sleep with suspects. πŸ˜‰

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TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 08-09

Deutsche Version | CW 07 | CW 09-10

Chuck 3×08 Chuck vs the Fake Name
Chuck sad. The path of the hero is a lonely one.
I think Chuck made the right choice (even though it was cruel to her) but I’m also sad that Hannah is gone (at least I assume she won’t be there in the next episode).
What I personally would love to see would be an episode where Team Bartowski has to hunt random bad guy into a mall and Hannah is in one of the lanes. Casey is running behind bad guy, Chuck comes from the side, does one of his dorky moves and brings down bad guy. Casey cuffs him and when the Mall Cops arrive, Sarah IDs herself as CIA – with Hannah witnessing all this from afar and finally understanding (yes, I know the scenario is a lot like the one in Smallville‘s Promise, but I loved that scene, too).
PS: Is it just me or does “Sam(antha) Lisa” not really roll off the tongue?

How I Met Your Mother 5×16 Hooked
Barney’s history of jobs for attractive women was very funny but the episode as a whole wasn’t as memorable (in fact, having it watched two days ago I’ve already forgotten most about it).

Smallville 9×14 Conspiracy
This is an episode I have some issues with. And all these issues are connected to Chloe, my once favourite character of the show. But since the Doomsday/Brainiac arc she has changed.
While it’s technically true that Clark has lost his moral compass at times, it’s always been when he was under influence of something (e.g. Red K) but I can’t remember him doing anything immoral when he was “normal”. He might not have done what was necessary (for example: before and during Zod’s first appearance) but that is a big diff from doing what’s morally right.
And why she is blaming him for the disaster that was Doomsday is beyond me; I’d say Clark is one of the least guilty in that whole affair.
I fear that when Zod finds the tracers in the ID that this will be the reason he convinces his people that Kal-El and the Earthlings are not to be trusted and he will use them against him.

The Big Bang Theory 3×16 The Excelsior Acquisition
Also an average episode. Granted the bit with the Restraining Order was funny but overall it was pretty predictable.
And let’s face it: DC also has it’s share of identical-initial-names: Lex Luthor, Lana Lang, Lois Lane, …

Two and a Half Men 7×15 Tinkle Like a Princess
This was a good sad episode that showed the door isn’t closed. And yet Charlie remained Charlie (with the church and afterwards). I like it that there’s hope after all (even though only he viewer can see it right now).
I also liked the opening theme spoof with the growing Jake – they either used it for the first time or I just didn’t notice it before.

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TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 07

Deutsche Version | CW 05-06 | CW 08-09

LOST 6×04 The Substitute
This episode was much better. It didn’t give us many answers (if you consider the association of numbers and names an answer at all) but it’s a start and the off-island story was much more interesting (especially with seeing Katey Sagal again). It’s funny to see how they all still manage to run into each other even though they never met. πŸ˜‰
Locke and Smokey-Locke were both great and I long to find out what this is all about.

Life Unexpected 1×05 Turtle Undefeated
Ended well again. What a surprise. Since this season has only 13 episodes I’m probably going to watch it completely – one has to give a show a chance after all – but so far I still don’t think this is a show I’m going to watch for years.

Human Target 1×06 Lockdown
It was nice too see Alias‘s Marshall Flinkman again – and again in a role as tech-savvy developer. I also liked it that Chance’s back story is slowly becoming a part of the show. I suspect it will be a background-arc that pops up once in a while just like Beckett’s mum’s murder in Castle. We’ll see.

Leverage 2×15 The Maltese Falcon Job
Too bad the season is already over again. I liked Jeri/Tara on the team very much but now Gina/Sophie is back and that’s good too. At least I hope she is since I have no clue how the ratings were this year and whether the show will return. I certainly hope so. But I also hope they don’t pull this trick at the end of every year – the team falling apart I mean.

Burn Notice 3×14 Partners in Crime
It was nice to see the gang reconcile after the events from last week. It was also interesting because I can’t remember the last time Michael actually “lost” a client.
While Fi played her role as kidnapped girlfriend very good it was nothing against Sam’s “CSI: Caruso” impersonation and one-liners. Hysterical

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TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 05-06

Deutsche Version | CW 04-05 | CW 07

Chuck 3×07 Chuck vs the Mask
This episode has cause quite an Internet Backdraft, for example: Chuck, “Chuck vs. the Mask”: Night at the museum, The Double-Edged Sword Of Devotion: ‘Chuck’ Vs. The Entitled Fan Base.
I agree on the part that Sarah/Clark KentShaw was indeed a bit rushed. But I disagree on the Chuck/Lana LangHannah part. And I think that both couples actually do have chemistry. Maybe that’s the reason people are so irritated about it.
I also agree on the assessment of one of the commentators on the first link that Chuck is trying to wear a mask to become a better spy and that he runs the risk of becoming the mask. My prognosis is that the mask is shattered when (and I’m totally guessing here, I have no actual spoiler infos) something happens to Hannah – she’s only a guest star after all.
So in sum, I liked this episode because I didn’t think it was unbelievable what I saw.

Heroes 4×19 Chapter Eighteen ‘Brave New World’
When a friend told me last week that this would be the season finale I was stumped. I couldn’t fathom how they could bring all these loose ends together in just one episode. They somehow did but it felt very rushed and in my opinion it fell a bit flat – but that seems to be a Heroes tradition since season one.
I liked it when they started slow, I got a bit bored when it didn’t speed up in the middle and then it end abruptly.
To be perfectly honest I wouldn’t care if there were never a fifth season – but if there is I’m probably going to watch it anyway in the slim hope that they manage to return to the quality of the first season (excluding the end).
Heroes seems to be the perfect example of a New Year rocket. It rises fast, burns brightly and is burned out even faster.

House M.D. 6×13 5 to 9
That was a great Cuddy episode, it worked really well. From this point of view it’s even more astonishing how Cuddy can bear House and his games and habits.
What bothered me about this (and also last(?)) episode is Lucas’s behaviour. House is a jerkass (with a heart of gold), he always has been and Cuddy knows that. But Lucas isn’t that much better. We saw him threaten House and Wilson over the condo issue and now he’s betting with House about his sex with Cuddy?! If he isn’t a good person, Cuddy might as well choose the original bad one instead of this copycat…

Human Target 1×05 Run
The show is very predictable; there are no hidden plots or meaning, no surprises: WYSIWYG. For example, it was totally obvious that the D.A. was his daughter. But somehow that is part of the fun. It’s like riding a rollercoaster. You know it’ll be fast, you’ll get two downhills, maybe a looping but in the end you’ll get safely back to the station.

Castle 2×15 Suicide Squeeze
Parts of the reveal were pretty predictable this time, with Castle’s background and all… Apart from that not much else happened either.

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