The Vampire Diaries expands and enriches its mythology in an exciting and compelling third season. The histories of Damon and Stefan Salvatore are expanded upon, and the creation and lives of the original vampire clan are explored. Picking up a few months after the events of the Season 2 finale, Damon and Alaric search for Stefan and Klaus, who are attempting to raise an army of vampire/werewolf hybrids, but before long the Salvatores reunite and bring the war to Klaus and the other Originals. Season three has a very dense story that’s quite engaging and takes its characters on a thrilling journey. Ian Somerhalder in particular gives an exceptional performance, as his character is given new depth and dimension. There are some weak points in Season 3, but overall The Vampire Diaries continues to be one of the richest and most entertaining shows on television.
The world of The Vampire Diaries opens up in Season 2 with the introduction of werewolves and original vampires. Katherine Pierce (Elena’s doppelganger) comes to Mystic Falls to wreak havoc, and the Savatore bothers learn that several cabals of vampires and werewolves are seeking to break the Sun and the Moon curse that binds vampires to the night and werewolves to the moon, and that they plan on killing Elena to do it. Nina Dobrev does an excellent job at taking on the double duty of playing two characters; playing them with enough commonality that they are mirror images of each other and yet are distinct. Additionally, the writers do a good job at expanding the show’s mythology and at slowing building the season arcs to inevitable collisions between characters as secrets are revealed and conflicts erupt. Incredibly ambitious, The Vampire Diaries delivers a strong second season that leaves audiences wanting more.
Season 7 of The Simpsons is another great season full of classic episodes that deliver a lot of laughs. After a rather lackluster conclusion to the Season 6 cliffhanger (“Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part 1”) the season roars back with hilarious episode after hilarious episode; “King-Size Homer,” “The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular,” “Two Bad Neighbors,” “Homer the Smithers,” “22 Short Films About Springfield,” “Much Apu About Nothing,” “Homerpalooza.” And a host of fun guest stars turn up; Mickey Rooney, Paul & Linda McCartney, Bob Newhart, Glenn Close, R. Lee Ermey, Donald Sutherland, Suzanne Somers, and Jeff Goldblum. As usual Homer and Bart get into increasingly zany adventures and are the focus of most of the episodes, however a good number of secondary characters (Milhouse, Apu, Grandpa Simpson, Troy McClure) get their own episodes as well. Still going strong after seven seasons, The Simpsons seemed as if they could do no wrong (“Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part 2” notwithstanding).
“Let us all bask in television’s warm glowing warming glow.” – Homer Simpson. Season Six is another of the perfect seasons of The Simpsons. There’s not a bad episode in the lot, and the humor is outrageously hilarious. Leaving whatever tethers to reality it had behind, the show embraces the absurd with the family fighting off a robot uprising at the Itchy & Scratchy amusement park (“Itchy & Scratchy Land”), Homer becoming the leader of a secret society (“Homer the Great”), Bart discovering a comet that’s headed straight for Springfield (“Bart’s Comet”) and starting a feud with Australia (“Bart vs. Australia”), and a gypsy giving Lisa a vision of her future (“Lisa’s Wedding”). The writing is especially creative; full of clever satire and fun parodies. And in a particularly bold move, the season concludes on a cliffhanger event episode – “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part One” (a riff on the “Who Shot J.R.?” arc from Dallas). Additionally, there are dozens of celebrity cameos, including Winona Ryder, Dennis Franz, Anne Bancroft, Patrick Stewart, Mel Brooks, and a Cheers reunion. Incredibly ambitious, The Simpsons’ sixth season continues to experiment and try new things.
“Is all TV this wonderful?” –Mr. Burns. A near perfect season, Season 5 of The Simpsons is extraordinarily entertaining and outrageously funny. It’s also the season of Bart, as he takes over hosting duty of the Halloween Special (“Treehouse of Horror IV”), is targeted for revenge by a recently released Sideshow Bob (“Cape Feare”), becomes the “I Didn’t Do It Boy” on Krusty’s TV show (“Bart Gets Famous”), is chosen by Mr. Burns to be his heir (“Burns’ Heir”), becomes the model for enlightenment for self-help guru Brad Goodman (“Bart’s Inner Child”), and is the key witness in the trial of Mayor Quimby’s nephew (“The Boy Who Knew Too Much”). But there are also several classic non-Bart episodes, like “Homer Goes to College,” “Deep Space Homer,” and “$pringfield.” Things get a little more zany and fanciful than in previous seasons (Homer becoming an astronaut is particularly out there), but the satire and parodies are as hilarious as ever. Additionally, the writers have tailored a number guest appearance specifically for such celebrities as James Woods, James Brown, Kathleen Turner, Ernest Borgnine, Conan O’Brien, Buzz Aldrin, Michelle Pfeiffer, the Ramones, James Tyler, and Robert Goulet. The Simpsons’ fifth season is truly one of the best of the series and it still holds up.
The third season of The Simpsons delivers a ton of hilarity as the series kicks into high gear. Moving more into satire and parody, the show comes up with some inspired and brilliant episodes this season; including “Bart the Murderer,” “Homer Defined,” “Flaming Moe’s,” and “Homer At the Bat” Additionally, musical guest stars Michael Jackson, Sting, Aerosmith, and Spinal Tap make appearances. And, previous guest stars Kelsey Grammer and Danny DeVito return to the series to reprise their characters of Sideshow Bob and Herbert Powell. The Simpsons has really grown as a series, and Season 3 shows how rich and well-developed it has become.
Star Trek returns to animation with the satiric comedy Star Trek: Lower Decks. Season 1 follows a group of ensigns as they go about the menial tasks and grunt work of the USS Cerritos and get into adventures. While it’s set on the post-TNG era, the show incorporates references and call-backs to all the previous shows; from the original Star Trek to Enterprise. And it does a pretty good job at satirizing the tropes and clichés of Star Trek. Plus, the characters are likable and fun, and make for a solid crew (better than some of the live-action ones in fact). A couple of the jokes are a little risqué, but for the most part the comedy stays light, with a lot of physical humor. Entertaining and full of laughs, Star Trek: Lower Decks delivers an impressive first season, especially considering the dreck that the franchise has been putting out lately.
The Cylons were created by man. They evolved. They rebelled. There are many copies….err the Synths were created by man and they rebelled. Chasing Battlestar Galactica and Game of Thrones, Star Trek: Picard betrays Gene Roddenberry’s vision to deliver a generic sci-fi drama. When a Cylon, err organic android comes to Jean-Luc Picard, living in retirement on his vineyard, for help, he discovers that neurons from Commander Data are being used to create a new kind of android and puts together a crew to find the others like her; meanwhile a secret Romulan cabal abroad a captured Borg ship attempts to find the Synth homeworld. Alex Kurtzman’s Trek continues to force in needless profanity, sexual content, and gratuitous violence; betraying the family friendly tone of Roddenberry’s Trek and the evolved humanity and bright future that he envisioned. Several characters from previous Trek series are brought back to be pointlessly killed off, while others are used for pure fan service; usually to the detriment of their character. The writing is pretty bad, reworking the Trek universe to fit the demands of the plot, and padding episodes with subplots that go nowhere. Still, the actors all deliver solid performances and the special effects are especially well-done; making for some exciting action scenes and interesting character and set designs. While nearly unrecognizable as Star Trek, Season 1 of Star Trek: Picard is entertaining and explores some thought-provoking issues.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine comes to an end in its seventh and final season. Sisko embarks on a quest to reopen the wormhole and meets Dax’s new host Ezri, who comes to him for help, and the Dominion War takes several turns, leading to a climatic final battle. With the show coming to an end, several recurrent characters, such as Kor, the Grand Nagus, and Sloan, and the Mirror Universe, are given farewell episodes to wrap-up their stories; all leading to an ambitious 10-episode arc that culminates in one of the best television finales ever (a near perfect conclusion to the series). Still, not all of the episodes and storylines work, and there are some tonal problems balancing the A and B stories. Also, the replacing of Terry Farrell with Nicole de Boer as Dax creates some challenges. Yet while it has a few weaknesses, Season 7 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine proves to one of the strongest of the series, sending the show out on a high note.
In its seventh and final season Star Trek: The Next Generation drops down to impulse, delivering a rather lackluster conclusion to this groundbreaking televiSurpassing the Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation warps into a fourth season. Starting with “The Best of Both Worlds Part II,” the season delivers some incredible episodes, including “Qpid,” “The Nth Degree,” “In Theory,” and “Redemption.” The writing is also especially good; from the character development of the main cast to the provocative social commentary. In Season 4, Star Trek: The Next Generation proves that it’s a powerhouse unto itself and not just a spin-off series.sion show. Distracted by the Voyager spin-off series in development and the impending Star Trek: Generations film, there’s a clear lack of focus this season that comes through in the performances and the writing. And as a result, the stories seem incredibly contrived and feel clunky. With an over-arching theme of family reconciliation, Geordi and Crusher deal with the loss of a family member, Trio, Data, and Picard discover lost relatives, and Data and Worf confront estranged siblings. The series finale however, is extraordinary and really captures the essence of the show. Season 7 of Star Trek: The Next Generation is a little uneven and shiftless, but it’s still entertaining and is full of adventure.
Surpassing the Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation warps into a fourth season. Starting with “The Best of Both Worlds Part II,” the season delivers some incredible episodes, including “Qpid,” “The Nth Degree,” “In Theory,” and “Redemption.” The writing is also especially good; from the character development of the main cast to the provocative social commentary. In Season 4, Star Trek: The Next Generation proves that it’s a powerhouse unto itself and not just a spin-off series.
Enterprise continues its voyages on into a second season with all new adventures. The Temporal Cold War storyline from Season 1 is carried over and ultimately leads to another dramatic season finale in which the Enterprise sets off in search of a mysterious race called the Xindi, who are discovered to be in league with one of the Temporal factions that’s attempting to destroy Earth. Some of the episode highlights of this season include “Minefield.” “A Night in Sickbay,” “Judgment,” and the highly controversial “Regeneration” (which retcons the history of the Borg). However, the majority of the season consists of the tried-and-true formulaic episodes that every Star Trek series does about meeting new aliens and investigating space anomalies. Season 2 of Enterprise is still working out some of the kinks, but it delivers all of the thrills and excitement that has come to be expected from a Star Trek series.
Going where no Trek series has gone before, Enterprise is a daring and edgy science-fiction television show. Set as a prequel to the other Trek series, Starfleet ventures out into space for the first time with its first long-range ship, the USS Enterprise, to explore strange new worlds and meet new civilizations. The show has a few drawbacks, given the limits that come with prequels, but it’s also able to make old things new and put a spin on the familiar aliens and technologies of Star Trek. The series is also able to find a good balance of serial and episodic storytelling by having one-off adventures and an overarching plot involving a Temporal Colds War. However, the character dynamics of the crew are a bit hit and miss; though the Archer and T’Pol relationship is quite compelling. Season 1 of Enterprise provides a thrilling and adventurous journey into an uncharted part of the Star Trek Universe for both new viewers and dedicated fans alike.
Battlestar Galactica’s journey comes to an end as they roll the hard six in the climatic fourth season. Starbuck returns and attempts to lead the Colonial Fleet to Earth; meanwhile Tigh, Tyrol, Anders, and Tory struggle with the realization that they’re Cylons, Baltar becomes the leader of a new religious movement, and the Clyons are plunged into civil war over the discovery of the Final Five. With the end nigh, Ron Moore attempts to answer the big questions of the series (i.e. the Final Five, the Opera House visions, the Thirteenth Tribe & Earth) with rather mixed results. And while the finale is highly controversial, it does more right than it does wrong. Overall, the writing is pretty strong and takes the series to some interesting places and delivers intense and exciting plot turns. Also, the cast gives some of their best performances; particularly Edward James Olmos. Season 4 of Battlestar Galactica, while it has its problems, services as a fitting conclusion to this epic space opera. So say we all!
The fight for the future comes to an end in Continuum’s limited 6-episode fourth season. Responding to Tonkin’s time beacon, a group of elite soldiers from the future arrive on a secret mission and team-up with Kellog; meanwhile, Kiera, Alec, and Liber8 come together to stop Kellog and prevent the dark future he creates. The writers do a good job at changing the character dynamics as Kellog becomes the main villain and Fonnegra takes over as the new head of the VPD. However, they kind of regress Cameron’s character a bit; giving her an obsession with returning home, despite having seen firsthand that the future’s been changed and coming to realize that the Continental Congress was an oppressive police state. Still, the action scenes are exciting and action-pack, and the special effects are pretty good as well. And the series finale does a nice job at wrapping up the show. Season 4 of Continuum provides a fitting conclusion to this thought-provoking series about time, freedom, and destiny.
The end of Time is nigh as the Red Forest approaches in the fourth and final season of 12 Monkeys. After learning of a weapon that can kill the Witness, James Cole and his team embark upon one last mission. The writers do an extraordinary job at tying up the mythology, answering the big questions, and paying off the scenes of characters’ future selves in past seasons. Also, a number of actors from previous seasons return; making for some interesting Back to the Future Part 2 moments where scenes from the past are revisited from a different perspective and given new meaning. Additionally, the actors bring their A-game, doing some of their best, and the finale is epic, truly worth of the series. Arguable the best season of the series, Season 4 of 12 Monkeys sends the show out on a high note.
Only 6 episodes, Tru Calling’s second season never got off the ground, but is incredibly ambitious. While auditing med school classes Tru Davis works nights at the morgue, using her special gift to help the dead when the fades rewind a day, giving Tru a chance to prevent their deaths from happening. The cast is retooled; replacing Tru’s sister and best friend with two med school friends played by Eric Christian Olsen and Lizzy Caplan, and Zach Galifianakis is given a love interest played by Liz Vassey. Once again the writers come up with some interesting deaths for Tru to solve, and tackle some interesting issues about interfering with and altering fate and its consequences. The guest stars featured include Ty Olsson and William Sadler, and the show gets into the holiday spirit with a special Christmas episode. Yet despite Season 2’s attempts to worldbuild and expand the show’s mythology, Tru Calling was cancelled by FOX and shuffled off to another network to finish off its episode run.
Enemies become friends and friends become enemies in the second season of Hanna. Utrex relocates their assassination program and begins putting their trainees through real world simulations with new cover identities; meanwhile Hanna teams up with Marissa Wiegler to find the new facility and rescue a friend. The training doesn’t really make much sense; as at times they seem to know they’re in a simulation and play along, and at other times they seem to have deluded themselves into believing that it’s real. Also, one of the trainees goes all woke on everyone, which seems incredibly out of place given that the trainees have been raised in isolation and are being mentally conditioned by Utrex on how to think and act. Still, the performances are all pretty good, and the stunt work and fight choreography is especially well-done. Also, the writers do an impressive job at structuring the season’s story arc and at creating tension and suspense. It has some storytelling issues, but overall Season 2 of Hanna is full of thrills and political intrigue.
Michael Weston is back in with the CIA in Season 5 of Burn Notice. Michael and his new partner Max work to take down the remains of the shadow group that burned him, but when Max is killed Michael turns to his old friends to discover who killed him; meanwhile, Sam, Fiona, and Jesse continue to take cases, helping out those in need. Also, there’s a tie-in episode to the Burn Notice movie, The Fall of Sam Axe. Lauren Stamile and Jere Burns join the cast as recurring characters, and the guest cast features Charisma Carpenter, Todd Stashwick, Dean Cain, and Kristanna Loken. Despite all the changes, the show stays relatively the same; with new villains and contrivances to keep Michael under someone’s control. Still, the writers do a good job at creating tension and suspense, and at putting the characters in situations that test how far they’re willing to go to right wrongs and save the people they care for. Entertaining and action-packed, Burn Notice is still going strong in its fifth season.
Covert Affairs goes down a dark path in Season 4. Annie becomes a double-agent, pretending to work for Henry Wilcox, but when she discovers his true agenda she secretly works with Augie and Joan to take Wilcox down once and for all. Unfortunately the show makes the classic mistake of romantically pairing up the two leads (Annie and Augie); which feels like a violation of the friendship that they’ve developed. Also, Annie’s homelife with her sister is cut out (along with the lighthearted tone it added), and the show retreads the Annie going rogue plot once again; which has become tired and stale. However, the writers still do a pretty good job at creating suspense and intrigue, as well as delivering a couple of interesting plot twists. Yet overall, the new darker tone of Season 4 of Covert Affairs doesn’t work and makes it less enjoyable to watch.
Annie Walker faces new challenges in Season 3 of Covert Affairs as the show gets more ambitious. Looking for a change, Annie transfers to a new department in the CIA and takes on a long term deep cover mission, but when things go bad she finds herself being hunted as a double agent. Sarah Clarke and Oded Fehr join the cast as recurring guest stars and have interesting character-arcs that develop through-out the season. And the writers do a good job at creating plot twists and at building tension. Fresh and exciting, Covert Affairs’ third season pushes new boundaries.
A reckoning awaits Longmire in Season 2 as his past catches up to him. The sheriff’s election draws closer as Longmire attempts to reconcile with his daughter, who’s spiraled out-of-control since learning that he lied to her about her mother’s death; meanwhile the FBI continues to investigate Longmire and Vic’s past comes back to haunt her when one of her former Philadelphia PD coworkers comes to pay her a visit. The writers do a good job at developing the characters and at giving them story arcs that build throughout the season. And the crimes-of-the-week are rather interesting and features several notable guest stars, including Xander Berkeley, Mädchen Amick , and Jim Beaver. Full of intrigue and compelling drama, Longmire delivers a solid second season.
New showrunners come in and completely ruin Castle in its eighth (and final) season. Castle and Beckett’smarriage is broken up as Beckett seeks to protect her loved ones from a secret investigation that she launches into a crime syndicate that murdered her former FBI team; meanwhile Castle re-opens his PI business to work cases with the NYPD and win Beckett back. The break-up plot is incredibly dumb and just becomes more infuriating as it goes on. And although Beckett is supposedly promoted to precinct captain, nothing really changes as she pretty much continues on in the same role. There is, however, one good change to the show with Castle’s daughter becoming an associate in his PI business. The tone of the series also takes a downward turn, though not as one would suspect. In spite of the dark and serious themes, the show becomes more comedic with Castle at his most fanciful and goofballish (which is another problem). A series killer, Season 8 of Castle is complete garbage that fans rejected in mass and is best forgotten.
Castle’s seventh season attempts to build a new series mythology and wraps up the 3XK serial killer story arc. After going missing for 2 months Richard Castle is found adrift at sea with no memory of where he’s been, which begins an ongoing search to discover what happened to him. In the meantime he returns to works with the NYPD and eventually opens up his own practice as a P.I. The season features some rather fun cases-of-the-week, including on undercover op at a Western themed resort, a trip to a Mars simulator, and a murder on a plane. Yet while the cases are fairly well-done, the big things are botched rather badly: particularly Castle and Beckett’s wedding and the resolution of Castle’s disappearance. However, the season finale (which was intended as a series finale) does an excellent job at showing how far the characters have come and sets up a major change for the series. Season 7 of Castle has some problems, but overall it’s terrifically entertaining.
Season 6 of Castle continues to deliver a health mix of comedy and crime fighting. Picking up from last season, Castle and Beckett struggle to make their relationship work as Beckett completes her training with the FBI in Washington D.C. The story arcs throughout the episodes do a lot of character building, as Castle deals with his daughter’s decision to leave home, Ryan starts a family, and Beckett finds closure over her mother’s murder. But there are also plenty of fun comedic episodes too, as Castle and Beckett go on a treasure hunter, run afoul of a group of ninjas, and meet a possible time-traveler. And, the writers do a pretty good job at striking the right tone and at creating interesting characters, with one notable exception: Pi. The most painfully annoying character in the show’s history, Pi is a black mark that ruins every scene and episode he’s in, and the writers seem to be blissfully unaware of this (until fan reaction forced them to write him out). Castle’s sixth season tries some new and exciting things, but overall it sticks to what it does best...delivering entertaining murder mysteries.
Castle tries to avoid the Sam and Diane curse as the show goes into its fifth season and brings its two leading characters together. This season Castle and Beckett attempt to have a romantic relationship, but in order to continue working together they have to keep their romance a secret from their fellow co-workers at the NYPD. The cases are entertaining and clever as always, and the show reaches its 100 episode milestone in a wonderfully Hitchcockian homage. The show also delivers a game changing season finale that has the potential to unalterably change the series. Sexual tension can only take a show so far, and Castle has done a good job in its fifth season at taking that next step and at evolving the character relationships.
Castle enters a new phase in Season 4 as the fallout from last season’s finale unravels. A new captain takes over the 6th Precinct following the death of Captain Montgomery, one without a fondness for Castle, and with Castle having declared his love for Beckett, she has to confront her feelings for him. Additionally, another layer of the conspiracy behind Beckett’s mother’s murder is revealed as Castle learns of a deal that Montgomery made before his death. Penny Johnson Jerald joins the cast as the new precinct captain and brings a fresh new character dynamic to the show. Also, a number of interesting guest stars are featured, including William Atherton, Nana Visitor, Mark Pellegrino, Jennifer Beals, Meghan Markle, Adam Baldwin, and Tahmoh Penikett. Incredibly bold, Season 4 of Castle shakes things up.
BoJack Horseman is back on top in Season 5 as he returns to television. When his new streaming series, Philbert, runs into trouble BoJack brings Diane on to help; meanwhile Todd accidentally becomes an executive at WhatTimeIsItRightNow.com, Princess Carolyn tries to become an adoptive parent, and Mr. Peanutbutter starts dating again after his divorce from Diane. The writers wisely link all the characters together through the Philbert show, making their interactions more organic. And the series continues to explore topical social issues as well as providing clever satire and outrageous comedy. Entertaining and fun, Season 5 of BoJack Horseman is full of laughs.
A steaming pile of horsesh*t, BoJack Horseman’s fourth season is uninspired and directionless. The supporting characters try to carry the show as BoJack takes a backseat; Mr. Peanutbutter runs for governor, Todd launches a new business venture (clown dentists), and Princess Carolyn tries her hand as a talent manager, and in the background, BoJack is confronted by a young horse that may be his illegitimate daughter. With everyone kind of in their own stories the season feels really disjointed and lacks the usual character interactions that make the show so fun. Still, it’s not all bad, some of the sketches are funny and there are a couple of amusing satirical bits. It may have its moments, but it’s undeniable that Season 4 of BoJack Horseman sh*ts the bed.
Things are looking up for BoJack Horseman in Season 3 with more wacky hijinks and crazy adventures as he promotes his new hit movie. This season BoJack works the Oscar circuit, hoping that winning a trophy will make him happy; meanwhile Todd and Mr. Peanutbutter create a new specialty taxi service and Diane becomes a celebrity blogger. As usually there’s a lot of satire about the Hollywood industry and lampooning of celebrities. And, the writers continue to address provocative issues and offer some biting social commentary. Additionally, several interesting guest stars are featured, including Jessica Biel, Candice Bergen, “Weird” Al Yankovic, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Clever and funny, Season 3 of BoJack Horseman continues to deliver the laughs.
