January, 2019
January 5th, 2019, 2:05 p.m. - "Am I failing as a father?" "What? No! Well, which child?"
Speechless – "J-A-JAVIER'S P-A-PANTS": Lots of good stuff here. I really hope the ratings on the series are good, because I don't know a lot of people who watch it, and I would be sad if it went away. Rating: 4 purple suits
January 6th, 2019, 9:28 p.m. - Good writing, meh story
1. The Incendiaries (R.O. Kwon)
Up next: Three Little Lies (Laura Marshall)
January 12th, 2019, 2:03 p.m. - "Name one couples activity that wouldn't be more fun with your boss there"
Modern Family – "A Moving Day": Twins? Sigh. Rating: 3 pineapples
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – "Honeymoon": I'm so happy my favorite show is back and just as good as it's always been. The Jake/Amy/Holt stuff was so good. I can imagine there was a lot of giggling on set when Andre Braugher had to wear all those shirts. Rating: 4 missing handbooks
The Good Place – "The Book of Dougs": All I could think about this episode was "holding pattern." Not even Nicole Byer could save it. Rating: 3 "death did us part" certificates
Speechless – "R-O-ROLL M-O-MODEL": I kept waiting for the giant TV to fall and break, but the end result was basically the same. This is why Jimmy can't have nice things. Rating: 4 names, not numbers, Ray got
January 13th, 2019, 11:52 a.m. - Uh, they were pretty big lies, actually
2. Three Little Lies (Laura Marshall)
Up next: The Chalk Man (C.J. Tudor)
January 17th, 2019, 8:01 p.m. - That ending, though
3. The Chalk Man (C.J. Tudor)
Up next: How Long 'til Black Future Month? (N.K. Jemisin)
January 19th, 2019, 1:29 p.m. - "No takeaway?" "Not really, no. Guess I'm just an idiot"
Modern Family – "Blasts from the Past": The David Duchovny stuff had me cackling. I mean, who wasn't attracted to him in the '90s? Rating: 4 spot-on music video parodies
Supernatural – "Nihilism": How is Jensen Ackles even hotter as a bad guy? I don't get it. Rating: 4 times I said, "But why Pamela?"
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – "Hitchcock & Scully": My only complaint is that they waited until season 6 to give us Hitchcock and Scully's background. Rating: 4 tubs of slut sauce
The Good Place – "Chidi Sees the Time-Knife": I like the direction this is going. And I love that they keep bringing back the judge, Derek, and Mindy. Michael Schur really has an excellent troupe he keeps working with. Rating: 4 little Chidis zooming around the room
Speechless – "H-HEY, YOU": Speaking of returning characters, I love that Melanie keeps coming back. Sarah Chalke should be more famous and more successful than she is. Putting Melanie with Kenneth is kind of brilliant. Rating: 4 songs Jimmy allegedly wrote
January 24th, 2019, 8:03 p.m. - It's time for me to finally admit that I'm just not a high-fantasy person
4. How Long 'til Black Future Month? (N.J. Jemisin)
Up next: The Book of M (Peng Shepherd)
January 26th, 2019, 1:29 p.m. - "My boobs look insane in this drawing. A man wrote this, correct?"
Modern Family – "Whanex?": I really liked Jay acknowledging that he needs to make some changes for the new job situation to work. He's always the least willing to change, and he came to the decision on his own. Old dogs can learn new tricks! Rating: 4 real estate lessons for Gloria
The Magicians – "A Flock of Lost Birds": I binged this show recently and now I'm in love with it. This needed more Eliot, though. Also, Santa's black! I hope Megyn Kelly saw that. Rating: 4 ice cream cones
Supernatural – "Damaged Goods": Solution to the Michael problem: Get him to jump into Nick, bury Nick underground or dump him in the ocean, get rid of two unnecessary characters at once. Plus, we can all sing "Nick in a Box." Rating: 3 taser blasts to poor Donna
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – "The Tattler": I would have liked more from Boyle and Rosa's subplot. I need to see more of the questions from his decision-making procedure. Rating: 4 science-fair projects
The Good Place – "Pandemonium": I can't be the only one who doesn't really care whether Eleanor or Chidi are together. I just don't see any chemistry there. And if they keep winding up together, what does it matter if his memories are wiped? That'll just get undone eventually, like everything else on this show. Rating: 3 bowls of frozen yogurt, because apparently we're back to that
Speechless – "O-OUR M-A-G-MAGEDDON": Even with Izzie's reservations, Ray never stood a chance. Who would choose Ray over J.J.? Rating: 4 racing turtles
The summary on the book jacket wasn't completely accurate, and by the end I despised Will, so...who/what was I rooting for here?
You know it's fiction because a white guy goes to prison for rape.
I liked this a lot more than I expected. There was a tiny bit too much going on, but that just deepened the mystery. I definitely didn't guess who the killer was.
But the non-high-fantasy stories were really good! And Jemisin is a great writer! I just...can't do high fantasy! I can't!