February, 2016
February 6th, 2016, 2:06 p.m. - "Daggoo??"
The X-Files – "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster": After I watched the episode, I figured it rated a 4, but the more I think about it, the more I liked it. There were so many little things that made it so memorable. But mostly it was Rhys Darby. Rock on, Rhys Darby. Rating: 5 red Speedos
Teen Wolf – "Amplification": Melissa returns and we finally get an episode I like. Coincidence? No way. Though the fact that they tried to reenact Ocean's 11 doesn't hurt. Rating: 4 broken lightbulbs
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – "Karen Peralta": I didn't really like any of the plots. But Katey Sagal is welcome to come back anytime. Rating: 3 keys
Supernatural – "Don't You Forget About Me": I probably would have liked this episode more if I liked Claire or cared at all about Alex. Still, JODY! Yay, Jody! And that dinner scene was spectacular. Rating: 3 home-cooked meals
The Big Bang Theory – "The Meemaw Materialization": Eh. Meemaw wasn't interesting enough. I didn't mind Claire, though. She'd make a good replacement for Emily, who really needs to go. Rating: 3 tissues
Top Chef – "Restaurant Wars, Part 1": I like the changes they made for this year's Restaurant Wars. And I really like that my three favorite chefs (Karen, Marjorie, and Isaac) are on the same team, and that they did so well with the lunch service. Keep up the good work for dinner, guys! Rating: 4 terrines Tom ate all of but didn't actually like
February 13th, 2016, 2:31 p.m. - "I just blink a lot; it's not Morse code for 'rescue me'"
The X-Files – "Home Again": If you don't love Gillian Anderson, get away from me. Rating: 4 Band-Aids
Teen Wolf – "Lie Ability": I will admit, I was worried that Holland Roden was leaving the show and that Lydia was really dead. They dragged that out a beat too long. But the rest was great. I guess the rest of the season will be focused on figuring out who the Beast is. My money's on Mason, mostly because I can't think of any other options. Rating: 4 mistletoe injections
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – "The 9-8": A great role for Damon Wayans, Jr. He had great chemistry with Andy Samberg. This show always makes good use of its guest stars. Rating: 4 dishwashers allegedly used for storing drugs
Supernatural – "Love Hurts": Dean won rock paper scissors! What bizarro world is this? Rating: 4 kisses of death
Modern Family – "Clean for a Day": Doesn't Phil seem more likely to have created Mrs. Cluttersworth? Rating: 3 stuffed ducks
The Big Bang Theory – "The Valentino Submergence": I think everyone knew Bernadette was going to be revealed to be pregnant. I'm just surprised they buried the lede. Rating: 4 "dropped" 20s
Top Chef – "Restaurant Wars, Part 2": FINALLY! Stay far away, Phillip. We don't need your strawberry madness. Rating: 4 cocktails that you will most definitely be judged on
February 14, 2016, 5:58 p.m. - How to get away with murder
4. The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson (Jeffrey Toobin)
Up next: Black-Eyed Susans (Julia Heaberlin)
February 18, 2016, 8:06 p.m. - I know I read it in four days, but...
5. Black-Eyed Susans (Julia Heaberlin)
Up next: The Boy Who Drew Monsters (Keith Donohue)
February 20th, 2016, 2:33 p.m. - "What's [the charity game] for this year?" "Cancer." "For or against?"
The X-Files – "Babylon": Well, that was...something. I'm just going to take the happy memories of the fake drug trip and forget the rest. Except Einstein, who was awesome. Rating: 3 capsules of Niacin
Teen Wolf – "A Credible Threat": If you'd told me during season 1 that I would one day love Coach, I would have laughed in your face. Yet here I am, thrilled to see him again and so pleased with his contributions this week. Life is weird, isn't it? Rating: 5 unfound shoes
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – "House Mouses": Yay for Scully and Hitchcock getting to do something, but it still didn't do much for me. They need to have some sort of actually useful hidden talents. Rating: 3 oboes that weren't really stolen
Supernatural – "The Vessel": The Casifer stuff was great. The rest was so boring I almost fell asleep. Kudos for a woman working with the Men of Letters, though. Rating: 3 questions about the future from a doomed Naval officer
Modern Family – "Thunk in the Trunk": I'm only surprised that Phil didn't already have one of those scooter things. Rating: 4 broken figurines
The Big Bang Theory – "The Positive Negative Reaction": Drunk Sheldon is fun. Can we trade real Sheldon for drunk Sheldon? Rating: 4 songs with the word "baby" in the title
Top Chef – "Hammer Time": We may have lost Karen, but at least we got to see Carl embarrass himself on TV and in front of MC Hammer. Also, Karen will be back next week, and has a good chance of winning Last-Chance Kitchen, but Carl will never be able to take back his horrible rapping. Good times. Rating: 4 library books
February 27th, 2016, 2:24 p.m. - "I'm not going out in a stew-making accident! Terry's gonna die saving the president, or Terry's never gonna die!"
The X-Files – "My Struggle II": I feel like this could have been two episodes, even though this show's two-parters usually didn't have enough material for two episodes. Still, it felt like they jammed too much in here. All of a sudden, everyone's getting sick. Five minutes later, Scully figures out how to fix it. Whatever, I'm happy we got a revival at all, and I'm pretty confident there will be more to come. Rating: 4 people Scully almost ran over while driving on the sidewalk
Teen Wolf – "Maid of Gevaudan": This was SO BAD. So boring and so slow and so variously embarrassing because of Crystal Reed's horrible French accent. Freaking Gilles Marini was there – she couldn't have just listened to him talk for ten minutes and then imitated him? Come on! Also, OF COURSE Mason's the Beast. There were no other possibilities. This season has been really disappointing, and they only have a couple episodes left to turn it around. I'm not hopeful. Rating: 2 actual French people who could have helped Crystal Reed not make a fool of herself
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – "Adrian Pimento": I really like Jason Mantzoukas, but I liked the other parts of the episode more than his stuff. Especially Kate Flannery and fake Holt. Fake Holt is welcome back any time. Rating: 4 pressure cookers from Turkmenistan
Supernatural – "Beyond the Mat": I'm giving this a 4 just for the scenes of Sam and Dean having fun at the wrestling match. So fun. Rating: 4 gloves
Modern Family – "The Storm": Too much going on here. I liked Luke saving the day in a funny way at the end, though. Rating: 3 shamrocks
The Big Bang Theory – "The Celebration Experimentation": For a half hour of people saying nice things about Sheldon, this was better than I expected. And I'll never be disappointed by Adam West doing anything. Rating: 4 toasts
Top Chef – "Wok This Way": I figured Kwame was a goner the second he said he was buying frozen waffles. That's like an automatic ticket home. Farewell, guy who was mostly likable but could use some more charisma. Rating: 4 bowls of gumbo
Yeah, he totally did it.
A compelling mystery with excellent pacing, but too much thrown in. At least two characters were completely unnecessary. The ending was anti-climactic. The killer's identity made very little sense. Still, it kept me turning the pages.