April, 2015
April 4th, 2015, 1:21 p.m. - "He looks like a Fraggle"
Survivor – "The Line Will Be Drawn Tonight": Perfectly played by that tiny alliance that got what they wanted with only three votes. I have to cheer when someone with my name is a good strategist. Rating: 5 poles
Supernatural – "Inside Man": BOBBY! Words can't express how much I love Bobby. I wish they could find a way to bring him back more often. I also wish they'd let Rowena keep researching the Mark of Cain – she could have found a way to remove it, and done Sam's job for him. I'm guessing she'll be back, though. Rating: 4 copies of Tori Spelling's memoir
Modern Family – "Grill, Interrupted": Normally I would love an episode like this, but it fell flat for me. Why pay back a loan you're not sure is actually a loan? Why not, I don't know, ask Jay if it was a loan? Rating: 4 bottles of fake tequila
The Big Bang Theory – "The Skywalker Incursion": For the record, if I were married to a guy who wanted to keep a TARDIS, I would let him. Rating: 5 ping-pong tables
Scandal – "Honor Thy Father": I can't believe David survived the episode. I was sure there was a bomb in his car. Is there going to be a big, surprising death this season? They need to step it up. Rating: 3 times I cackled because it seems Mellie and her sister are named Melody and Harmony
The Amazing Race – "Get in That Lederhosen, Baby": That Roadblock was like the choir Roadblock from a couple seasons ago, but even better. Sing! In German! Or we'll pour water on you! Awesome. P.S. Once again: Free Blair! Rating: 5 beer crates
April 11th, 2015, 2:08 p.m. - "Stay out of it, Kevin Smith"
Survivor – "Keep It Real": Soooo close to a satisfying ending. Sorry, tiny alliance. Your days may be numbered. Rating: 4 tears Mike shed when he found the idol
The Big Bang Theory – "The Fortification Implementation": Now I want to build a pillow fort! I don't care if I'm in my '30s! Rating: 4 hidden pajama sets
The Amazing Race – "Smells Like a Million Bucks": I'm disappointed that Jeff and Jackie were eliminated this early on. She's been growing on me more and more every week. I was sure this was going to be a non-elimination leg. Boooo! Rating: 4 boxes of chocolate
April 16th, 2015, 10:35 p.m. - A royal mess
12. The Royal We (Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan)
Up next: The Man Who Couldn't Stop (David Adam)
April 18th, 2015, 2:23 p.m. - I don't want to share a name with Survivor Jenn anymore
Survivor – "Livin' on the Edge": Dude, Jenn, if you want to leave the game, just quit. Now you've screwed up Joe's game AND you're still in it. Stop being an idiot. Rating: 4 product-placed candy bars
Supernatural – "Book of the Damned": I liked a lot of this episode, but I had to subtract a point for Cas and Metatron's interminable road trip. Still, lots of good stuff here: Cas getting his grace back (and since Metatron gave him pop-culture references, do you think he's the reason Cas recognized his quote from Don Quixote?), Charlie and Cas meeting, a hot villain, and a fun twist ending. Rating: 4 swapped books
The Big Bang Theory – "The Communication Deterioration": Eh. Just...eh. Rating: 3 alien messages
Scandal – "I'm Just a Bill": It should have been Huck. (It still could be, I guess. I'm just saying.) And Marcus needs to join OPA. Please, writers? Rating: 4 huge bills I highly doubt Susan read all on her own in such a short amount of time
The Amazing Race – "Back in Business; Look at Those Guns": Aly started bugging me this week, with all her whining and browbeating Steve, so I wasn't too disappointed to see her go. I'm not really sure who I'm rooting for this season, though. I should probably pick a team, since they're down to so few. Rating: 4 zebras
April 25th, 2015, 2:41 p.m. - "All these lies just to win a trophy?" "Yes." "I can respect that"
Survivor – "Bring the Popcorn": Wow, who knew Will would turn out to be worse than Dan and Rodney? Poor Shirin. And I agree that everyone who sat by and said nothing is horrible. Good for Mike for at least trying to be a good person. I may actually be rooting for him. Rating: 4 letters from home
Supernatural – "The Werther Project": Very cool the way they had Dean go back to Purgatory without actually going back. And yay for Benny! I wonder if anyone will bring up how Sam working with Rowena is similar to how he worked with Ruby back in season 4. Dean isn't going to be happy when that all comes out. Rating: 5 poorly hidden boxes of doom
The Big Bang Theory – "The Graduation Transmission": I thought the helicopter plot would be the boring one. I was wrong. Rating: 3 too-short robes
Scandal – "First Lady Sings the Blues": Nice ending! I'd hoped Olivia was smart enough to have caught on that she couldn't trust Russell. I'm really interested to see where this goes. Rating: 4 awesome moments between Cyrus and Sally
The Amazing Race – "Can I Get a Hot Tub!": Nothing happened! They didn't even have to do anything that hard or demanding! This season is really going downhill. Rating: 3 times I rolled my eyes because people couldn't put together the "ice-skating rink" clue
April 26th, 2015, 6:01 p.m. - A for effort, but...
13. The Man Who Couldn't Stop (David Adam)
Up next: The Interestings (Meg Wolitzer)
I've read Cocks and Morgan's writing for years, and love their dialogue and their fun characters. The group scenes in The Royal We are especially fun. I don't usually go for books that center on relationships, but this was a good exception to make.
Modern Family – "Knock 'Em Dead": The Phil/Claire plot with the neighbors was perfect. I really would watch a spin-off starring Steve Zahn and Andrea Anders. Rating: 4 pornographic statues
There's a lot of interesting stuff here, but much of it needed more development or elaboration. At times it felt like Adam just jammed information in because it was interesting, but it didn't need to be there. I'm interested in the topic, but this could have been a lot better.