With the first seven episodes of FALLING SKIES under our belts, we’ve learned the basics of what our post-invasion world has become. Civilians gathered in camps, forming our own resistance forces and constantly looking over our shoulders for signs of skitters and their devastating mechs lurking nearby. It’s a dangerous new way of life, one based solely on survival, but we’ve also learned that some things may not be quite what they seem.

On Sunday, July 31^st, FALLING SKIES continues with its eighth episode — What Hides Beneath – of ten in the series’ first season. Up to this point, I’ve enjoyed the ride, the popcorn thrill of the show that combines human drama with science-fiction and suspense. The development of the main characters now nearly complete, the truth and the fate of the harnessed children is now suspect as Anne and Lourdes make a shocking discovery while dissecting a dead skitter.

Weaver is showing signs of stress and sleeplessness, forcing Tom to question his ability to lead the 2^nd Mass. Along with Hal, the three men set out on a recon mission in preparation for an offensive strike on the alien structure being build in the city. In the process, the stumble upon a woman surviving near the hot zone, played by guest star Blair Brown (FRINGE). The mystery continues to build around Ben, Rick and the woman, leading Weaver, Tom and Hal to another new discovery about the aliens, one we’ve not seen before now.

I still contend that Pope is my favorite character; the only source of what little comic relief exists in FALLING SKIES, but also the only truly convincing human badass of the series so far. In “What Hides Beneath,” Pope steps up and contributes a major breakthrough for the human resistance effort, potentially giving the 2^nd Mass a significant upper hand in the coming offensive strike.

With Mike dead, Rick’s progress of physical recovery is overshadowed by the appearance of emotional regression, quiet and hollow, he has Anne worried, while Hal continues to notice signs that Ben is not the same kid he was before having been harnessed. All signs point to Ben and Rick being central characters to this story, but what does it all mean?

What Hides Beneath delivers new story arcs, new surprises and clues toward the ever-lingering question of “what the aliens want?” The special effects take on a another level of importance in DreamWorks’ and Spielberg’s vision, as we’re introduced to a new element of the alien enemy, one I shall not spoil by revealing any detail, other than to say the design is vaguely familiar to another of Spielberg’s visions which garnered divided opinions.

We know the characters and we understand what’s at stake, now the story begins to amp up the adrenaline as we presumably approach the first major battle depicted on screen. Over the past seven episodes, the pace has been decidedly comfortable and the danger factor has been kept relatively mild, but I have a feeling that’s all about to change.

FALLING SKIES hasn’t yet completely sold me as a series worthy of a long and fruitful run on television, but it has captured my imagination and set it hooks nears my gills. With even the slightest tug of an unexpected and exciting plot twist, Spielberg can have the hook set deep and begin to reel me in, but I’m not the type of fish to go down without a fight. With so much competition on television with outstanding dramatic series, I for one am picky with where my loyalties lie, but FALLING SKIES certainly still has a place on my DVR for the time being.

With the relative disappointment of alien invasion films like SKYLINE and BATTLE: LOS ANGELES, the genre has suffered recently. Similar television failures have come and gone, including the cancellation of ABC’s revival of the V series, which lasted only two seasons. So, the lingering question is whether another alien invasion TV series can survive?

TNT is entering the competition with FALLING SKIES, a new dramatic series from DreamWorks Television and executive producer Steven Spielberg. Scheduled to have its initial run over an 8-week stretch, the story begins with the two-hour premiere that will air on Sunday, June 19^th, 2011 at 9:00PM ET/PT and then move into its regular time-slot of 10:00PM on Sunday nights.

FALLING SKIES jumps right into the aftermath of a devastating alien invasion, whereas the extra-terrestrials known as “skitters” by the human survivors are systematically hunting down the remaining human beings. From the onset, things are looking grim, as only civilians remain the defend themselves, forming ragtag camps on the outer edges and suburbs of the wiped out cities. Perhaps the darkest moment of the first three hours of FALLING SKIES is the opening sequence, which has 8-year old Matt (played by Maxim Knight) narrating what has happened prior to the current moment in time, laid over a montage of crayon drawings depicting the carnage they have witnessed.

This moment sets the mood for FALLING SKIES, which struck me as similar to JERICHO (2006-08) with the addition of an overwhelming alien invasion to replace large-scale terrorist attacks as the source of the post-apocalyptic circumstances. This is not a negative criticism, as I myself enjoyed JERICHO quite a bit. Besides, the general theme of post-apocalyptic survival is one not yet overdone and in many ways appropriately contemporary and intriguing.

Writer Robert Rodat (SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, THE PATRIOT) created FALLING SKIES and his knowledge for military history is apparent. This is especially evident in Tom Mason, the main character played by Noah Wyle (ER). Mason is a well-read history professor with a particularly valuable interest and knowledge in military history. Mason has three boys, one of which has been captured by the “skitters” which creates an ongoing rift between his own personal motives and his obedience to Weaver, played by Will Patton (ARMAGEDDON), the hard-nosed commander of Mason’s band of civilian resistance fighters.

The dramatic nature of the series is really hammered into the viewer from the moment the series begins, which is one of the reasons I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen of FALLING SKIES so far. There’s little time wasted on back story early in the show, allowing the history of the characters and of what has occurred to slowing emerge in fragments, unraveling the mystery gradually. This is what makes entertaining television drama. Spoon-feeding the viewer is the quickest way to send me packing, but for the time being, I’m camped out with TNT.

FALLING SKIES relies heavily on the hefty dramatic score from composer Noah Sorota (THE PACIFIC) to pull on the viewers’ emotional strings. The music is fairly typical, never truly unique or outstanding in my opinion, but effective nonetheless. FALLING SKIES benefits greatly from the special effects. The CGI is not overdone, but impressive by network television standards. The creature design of the “skitters” still has me scratching my head a bit, but I am counting on the logic behind their design playing a key role in the story arc at some crucial moment. The aliens also have Mechs, large weaponized robots that accompany them while out in the field. These robots successfully fill the testosterone-fueled (myself included) need for big guns and cool tech in my television science-fiction.

Once the viewers’ have been thoroughly introduced to the primary cast, FALLING SKIES unveils the wild card, the rogue element of essential entertainment, the catalyst that blurs the line between good and evil. John Pope, played by Colin Cunningham (STARGATE: ATLANTIS), serves both as the subtle and sharp comic relief and also an integral moral pendulum. John Pope has the potential to become the FALLING SKIES equivalent to LOST’s Sawyer. Other key roles are present in the groups’ doctor Anne Glass, played by Moon Bloodgood (TERMINATOR SALVATION) and Drew Roy (SECRETARIAT) plays Hal, the eldest of the Mason boys.

FALLING SKIES is primarily a story of humans surviving an alien invasion on the surface, but once the viewer jumps into the series it becomes apparent that the true drama is found in the human factor. Character interaction and line between societal civility and the base instinctual drive to survive are at the core of the show. FALLING SKIES promises plenty of surprises to accompany the more standard and expected traits of such a genre outing. However, only time will tell if the humans will survive the alien occupation and each other, much as time itself will determine whether FALLING SKIES survives the high standards and discerning tastes of it’s viewers.

SOMETHING SOMETHING DARKSIDE (SSDS) is the sequel to last years BLUE HARVEST, in which the FAMILY GUY cast is placed into the most popular film franchise of all time, STAR WARS. What’s amazing about these parody’s is that they’re completely licensed by Lucasfilm and include everything from the original sound effects, to the original score, and retell the stories almost exactly as the happened in the film, but of course with a Family Guy twist. Even more amazing is that it actually works because of the obvious care and love that has gone into both of these one hour specials. Of course SSDS is a retelling of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, my favorite Star Wars film, and in my top 3 favorite movies of all time.

Like BLUE HARVEST, SSDS starts out with a power outage forcing Peter to tell his family the second part of the Star Wars saga. The cast puts Lois as Leia, Peter as Han Solo, Stewie as Darth Vader and Chris as Luke. Much of the rest of the Family Guy cast rounds out the rest of the characters. You get the usual opening crawl full of some really good jokes and then the retelling truly begins. I really can’t dive into the story because if you’ve seen Empire Strikes Back then you know EXACTLY what’s going to happen, without it most of these jokes would simply go over your head and be a waste. So I’m saying this right now… If you haven’t seen the original Star Wars trilogy then go see it right away before watching this special. What makes SSDS so great is the attention to detail to all of the classic moments in Empire. Some shots are as close to frame by frame recreations as you can get with this kind of animation. It’s this level of detail that makes the jokes pop that much more. There are moments where the score, the sounds and the action will just make you think you’re watching some parallel universe version of the film and you’ll fall back into the classic nature of the series and then you’ll get thrown right into a fit of laughter from some really deranged look at the Star Wars universe.

The jokes here are pitch perfect, in fact they surpass the jokes in BLUE HARVEST several times over. SSDS is a better special in every single way. There are some great moments in here that I won’t be able to get out of my head when I go back and watch the original EMPIRE. It’s just that good. My only complaint with the entire thing is one that would actually sound pretty strange if you know me… I didn’t like the harsh Language. Family Guy has definitely taken this special into R-rated territory and that’s a shame. It’s unnecessary and really cuts down on their audience. Sure it brought a chuckle out of me when I heard Luke dropping an F-Bomb, but there were four of them. With how many kids love cartoons, and how many kids love Star Wars it’s just a bit of a disappointment. Maybe if there were a censored version it’d be ok, but with that many F-bombs, I can’t really even watch this with my mom. The other issue I had was that it’s in the 4:3 aspect ratio, meaning that it’s the wrong size for modern TVs. With most TV shows already adopting the 16:9 (Wide screen) nature of modern TVs, it’s amazing that Family Guy is still in 4:3. Even their spin-off The Cleveland show is in 16:9. I don’t know if it’s some way to try and keep continuity between every season, but it’s nearly 2010, 4:3 is the way of the past. But other than that this thing is perfect. It’s the best Star Wars parody to date because it genuinely shows that there’s a love for the series.

Family Guy’s Something Something Darkside gets a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

THE PRISONER was a cult classic TV show from the 1960s about a spy who knew just a little too much and was sent to a resort like prison called “The Village” after he resigned. We never knew his name, but he was designated as Number 6.

This time around he wave a much more surreal version of the story where The Village is in a desert filled with people of all walks of life. Everyone has a number, and everyone has a job. Nobody believes that there is anything outside of the Village, except for 6 (Jim Caviezel). In charge of everything is Number 2 (Ian McKellen), a very strange old man who seems to have some kind of scheme up his sleeve but we never really get a good glimpse as to what it is.

To be frank, I’m not a huge fan of the original series. It only lasted seventeen episodes and remains a cult classic, but it’s from decades before I was born. I understand why it’s loved, but I have no love for it myself. I say that because I need to state that I’m not some purist fan boy when I tell you that I absolutely HATE the new version of THE PRISONER.

My loathing for this convoluted, confusing, messy, boring, mini-series knows no bounds. The general structure of each episode of the series takes on the form of a regular TV show, but with the end coming only six episodes in, it all feels like a lot of time wasting. There are entire episodes dedicated to characters that die off and don’t matter at all, as well as plot lines that don’t affect the over arching story whatsoever. The episode about therapy made absolutely no sense and it’s narrative was sloppy and contrived, and didn’t matter in the long run at all, the same can be said about the episode where 6 starts teaching in a school.

Much of the first two episodes revolve around 6 not believing what he’s told and he keeps running out into the desert surrounding The Village in hopes of finding a way out. Over and over he does this, to the point that it got very boring. It’s like he can’t learn his lesson at all.

Maybe the worst factor of THE PRISONER is that 6 isn’t a character that’s easy to follow or care about. The first few episodes are judging whether or not 6 is really from The Village or if he had a life on the outside, some where else. This plot thread is dropped and instead we get a version of 6 that starts to just accept the world around him and stumble through it’s insane moments, and the episode where there are two versions of 6 battling it out in his mind make the last episode even more annoying when you learn the truth behind the entire village.

I won’t give away what the big twist is, but it’s akin to what every one was saying about LOST in the first season. It’s like some one saw LOST, saw the parallels to THE PRISONER (which was noted years ago when LOST started,) and thought that a reboot would be a good idea. They even go as far as to have flash backs to 6′s previous life before the village, but they only compound the confusing nature of the show, and make it’s story that much harder to follow.

THE PRISONER is a mess with an unsatisfying ending that wants to be the next Lost but ends up being annoyingly bad. Even Ian McKellen as 2 is just going through the motions here and plays a very uninteresting adversary for 6. Steer clear of this show at all costs. It gets a 1 out of 5.

Strange cell phones, secret organizations and 20,000 unemployed Japanese citizens suddenly disappear and a school girl gets pulled into the middle of it when sheā€™s rescued by a nude man suffering from amnesia and brandishing a cell phone in Washington DC. This is how weā€™re introduced to Eden of the East. Yeah itā€™s a lot to process, but the journey is well worth it.

Saki Morimi is a college graduate on a trip to the United States when Eden of the East starts. She leaves her fellow graduates in New York to head over to Washington DC to see the White House. Itā€™s not long after her arrival that she gets into some trouble with the police over throwing something and a naked man distracts them, saving her. The man is Akira Tokizawa, or he soon will be. After Akira helps Saki, she gives him her coat and they end up back at his place. He has no idea who he is or where he comes from, but he does find a small apartment filled with weapons and explosives and several passports with many different names. Assuming one identity (Akira) and burning the rest he runs back to Japan with Saki and their adventure begins.

Eden of the East is about a game. A game that has twelve players called Selecao (Selaso). These Selecao are all given special cellphones and 10 billion yen in digital currency. They can spend it any way they see fit, but with the goal of ā€œsaving Japanā€. Each player can see what the other players are spending their money on, but none of them know who each other are. Akira is a Selecao and his trail of spending is his only link to who he was in the past. The evidence in the USA leads him to believe heā€™s a terrorist, but he doesnā€™t quite believe it, or he doesnā€™t want to.

Saki comes with him when they reach Japan to help him piece his life back together and figure out who he is. Thatā€™s where things really start to get weird. He lives in a shopping mall, is obsessed with movies and has a dog with angel wings strapped to itā€™s back. Whatā€™s interesting is how many references to obscure films are made. Obscure French films like ā€œLe Grande Blueā€ are mentioned and more than once.

What really starts to become clear is that Akira might be responsible for rounding up 20,000 uneducated and unemployed citizens called ā€œNEETSā€ and killing them all in a missile attack. Is Akira the kind of guy to kill thousands of people based on their cultural status to make Japan a better place? Or did he have other motives? Thatā€™s where the mystery is.

The other Selecao all have different motives. Some donā€™t want to play the game, but rather use the money to better their own lives. Others want to help a very small part of the Japanese community by helping hospitals and the elderly and some want to bring criminals to justice instantly without the law getting in the way.

The way they all go about their plans is rather interesting. Each player has a direct line to ā€œJuizā€ a woman who can make anything happen. When I say anything, I mean pretty much anything. You want the prime minister to say something, Juiz can get him to do it. Want some one dead, and Juiz will have a sniper ready in a matter of seconds. It does take a stretch of the imagination in some of the instances, but it also shows the viewer just how powerful the people running the game really are.

The title itself actually refers to a group of characters you donā€™t meet until about half way through the series. Eden of the East is a group of students who came together to repair old equipment, recycle it and sell it again giving it new value. Many of them are actually NEETS. They developed a piece of software called Eden of the East that will take any picture and identify any person or object in it. Itā€™s very cool stuff and comes in handy about half way through when people start to wonder who Akira really is.

The animation here is extremely clean. The characters all have very unique   but realistic looks, and the scenery is all painted very beautifully. Thereā€™s a smattering of CGI for cars and water, as well as large crowds, but itā€™s all done   with cell shading so it fits the style of the show very well. The audio is great as well. A terrific soundtrack and one of the better opening themes in a long time. The opening credits remind me of a James Bond movie and the end credits are some of the more imaginative Iā€™ve ever seen.

Where the show suffers is that itā€™s not all wrapped up in the end. There are a few too many loose strings and unexplained occurrences. Some characters just donā€™t feel like they belong at all, and some are given a little bit too much importance without actually doing anything. Itā€™s likely the show will have a sequel though.

As a TV Show this series has a lot of ambition and a lot of great writing. Itā€™s finale is satisfying but makes you want more. If youā€™re looking for a good mystery to sink your teeth into filled with missing people, secret organizations and a woman that has an obsession with cutting off peoples ā€œJohnniesā€ then please check this series out when it hits your shores. 4 out of 5 stars.

Warning!: If you haven’t seen the first and second episodes of “Children of Earth” do NOT read this review!

A lot has happened with or Torchwood team in this series. They’ve been shot at, blown up, had their homes and lives completely destroyed and only now do they start to realize why. Day three is the inevitable arrival of the “Four Five Six” aliens. And sadly most of this episode revolves around the governments of the world trying to figure out what to do about the creatures and who should officially talk to them on behalf of Earth.

What is good about this episode is the light humor that returning show creator Russel T. Davies brings. He hasn’t been too hands on with the Doctor Who universe this year, and many fans find it sad that the man who brought the show back, and gave it an equally good spin-off is stepping away. When Davies writes the Torchwood characters he has more fun with them. There are some great moments between Jack and Ianto and the two finally come to the realization of what their relationship will be like with Jack’s immortality.

A character named Lois Habeeba who was introduced in the first part of the series finally gets her moment to shine and it feels like she might be the next person to join the Torchwood team. Her character isn’t as strong as Owen’s or Toshiko’s (members of Torchwood who died last season), but she is a fun character to watch and her conflicts with doing what’s right, and her duty to her country are well written.

My absolute favorite part of this episode was seeing the Torchwood team reassemble and show how good they are at what they do. They’re masters at getting what they need, and I actually like their makeshift base of operations. I hope it becomes a reality in the next season (if there is one).

Warning!: If you haven’t seen the first episode of “Children of Earth” do NOT read this review!

Now that that’s out of the way let’s get into it. When we last left our heroes Jack was blown up, Gwen was on the run and we weren’t sure if Ianto was going to make it out or not. Truth is, it wouldn’t be much of a mini-series if they killed off any of the remaining characters in the first part of a mini-series. Sure it’d be gutsy, but that’s just not Torchwood’s style of writing.

Our new episode picks up with both Gwen and Ianto making it out of the explosion alive, but soon afterwards Gwen is attacked by government agents posing as ambulance drivers. Ianto gets out of the rubble a little bit after Gwen and is suddenly attacked by a sniper. They both get away and now they’re on the run from who ever it is that’s attacking them. What they don’t realize is that it’s the same government that they work for.

Much of the episode is about what happened to Jack. It’s a well known fact in the Torchwood world that Jack hasn’t been killed by anything yet, but now it’s just a matter of seeing how much like Wolverine he really is. Can he be blown apart from the inside and still live? The other mystery in the episode is what are the transmissions that the aliens (dubbed the Four Five Six) are sending to Earth? Turns out they’re a box of some kind, but who knows what.

Much of this episode is our heroes figuring out who’s after them, but there are some truly great moments for some characters. If i said anymore I’d be giving away spoilers. The episode isn’t as strong as Day One, but it’s good and Day Three promises to really get things going. So far it’s turning out to be one of the better Torchwood stories and really pushes the limits of our remaining trio of heroes.

It’s almost tradition in Entourage to have an episode about Vince’s new movie premier. This time around it’s for “Scorsese’s Gatsby”, which everyone in the show is calling Vince’s best work yet. The episode doesn’t really accomplish a whole lot or push much story forward but it does give some of the guys great moments. Turtle and Jamie-Lynn are officially stepping out as a public couple, Sloan and E are still sort of a couple and of course Vinnie can get any woman in the world and has the best movie he’s done in years.

The biggest piece of drama comes when Ari learns his new partner might be having an affair with one of the many agents at the Miller-Gold office. This of course can bring down an entire angency if a sexual harassment lawsuit is presented. It’s amazing how many scruples a jerk like Ari can have when it comes to his business and keeping it all in tip top condition.

The only other real piece of plot involves E’s new neighbor Ashley having a crush on him. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but E and Sloan obviously still have feelings and E is claiming that he wants to stay single for a while. It could get complicated. Alexis Dziena plays Ashley and I honestly can’t stand her. I think it has somethign to do with how she looks, but here she’s also playing an annoying stalker type character, who dresses horribly and is very rude.

Torchwood is one of my favorite TV series because it’s built on top of a great TV legend, Doctor Who. Torchwood is a spin off series of the rebooted Doctor Who and it’s ran for a few seasons. It’s different than Doctor Who because it handles more adult topics and it’s language and violence and even sex can be a little over the top. Doctor Who is a family friendly show by comparison.

Both Doctor Who and Torchwood are taking a part time break and rather than bring us full seasons of TV we’re getting different specials from both. Doctor Who had an Easter special and now Torchwood has a five part mini-series called “Children of Earth.”

When the mini-series starts we’re taken back to 1965 with several children on a old bus in the middle of nowhere. They’re dropped off and all suddenly start walking into a bright light, all except one. Suddenly we’re back in 2009 with a mystery involving children under some kind of mind control. All the children in the world froze at the exact same time causing accidents all over the world. Torchwood is of course curious about what’s happening and moves to investigate. But soon the second incident involving the children occurs and this time they all speak together saying “We are coming.”

This sets off the team to try and solve the mystery and there are a lot of cool revelations about it along the way. But what really makes this mini-series worth watching for fans is the revelations about Jack, Ianto and Gwen. Much of the episode is about family and growth. Ianto and Jack are finally a couple, which isn’t exactly surprising given the way the characters have been written over the past 3 years. But what is surprising is that neither of them are really all that comfortable with the change. Meanwhile Gwen and her husband Rhys are looking to finally buy a house and really settle down. They’re married now, but now Rhys is looking to have a child. Gwen on the other hand is still enjoying the life of an adventuring heroine. There’s a really great moment for jack involving a woman who’s identity, when revealed, is quite spectacular. It gives Jack a great moment and shows why he’s not exactly ready to settle down. Great writing for a sci-fi show.

What’s great about this episode of the mini-series is the second half. The show really starts to ramp up and a lot of cool twists happen that are definitely going to keep me tuned in tomorrow night.

It’s been a year since we last saw the boys of Entourage and it seems that time has been kind to them. Vince has a good movie under his belt for the first time in a long time, Drama is still a cast member on a hit TV show, Turtle is some how still dating Jamie-Lynn Sigler and E has been getting lucky with several girls, but still holds a candle for his old girlfriend Sloan.

The episode is all about growth, and I’m sure the entire season will be as well. Ari is working with his new partner, but now Lloyd wants a promotion. E hasn’t been away from Vince since they moved out to LA together but Sloan tries to push him to sublet a house from her friend, Drama has moved out long ago, and Turtle is always spending the night at Jamie-Lynn’s place. If E actually moves into this place, it’ll leave Vince all alone in the house that they first bought years ago (whic they had moved back into during the off season).

The episode is good with a few good laughs, but mostly sets up the ideas of what the next season is going to be about. Vince’s real growth is that finally, at nearly the age of thirty, he’s getting his Driver’s license. This really shows that he truly is a man-boy with zero real responsibility. He doesn’t know how to live a grown up life. There are also subtle hints that Ari’s new partner may start to drag him down a bit.

This is far from the strongest writing we’ve seen on the series, but it’s a nice change. Seeing the boys all on truly different life paths is kind of nice. It really makes me think that this could be the last year we see Vince and the crew together. Vince’s new film about Enzo Ferrari is pretty cool too. Here’s hoping we see some sweet cars.

I have to say after watching the season finale of Reaper I must admit I can see this show going on for at least two more seasons. It would almost seem, with where they left it off, that theyā€™ve opened up a whole new can of worms and practically have a whole new story line they can explore. And with the way, Iā€™m pretty sure, they want to go with it itā€™s definitely going to need more than the one season that I thought is all they needed to get everything done and wrapped up. Thereā€™s just so much they brought into the last ten minutes of the finale that really just changed everything.

But let me say if it does get picked up for another season and somehow does stay on The CW than it really needs to learn how to push this show. First off the commercials they had for this show were terrible and if you werenā€™t familiar with the show and how good it was the commercials mightā€™ve turned you off because they made the show seem a bit weirder than it actually was, if thatā€™s possible.
Also the pairing up of it with 90210 on the same night was the worst idea ever. Nobody watching 90210 is going to be the same audience that would dig Reaper. As I believe one commenter, thank you Heath, pointed out, that new show The Vampire Diaries would be a nice show to pair it up with.

As for the season finale I couldnā€™t have been happier with the way they went with it in almost all respects. They had the capturing of the soul and luckily it was one where the soul didnā€™t matter so much and they caught him in the first five minutes, of course not before the Devil made Sam dance like a monkey in honor of the passing of the Devilā€™s favorite street performer. Also what they did with the continued relationship of Ben and Nina was good and decently tensioned filled as his grandmother yet again tries to butt into his relationship but this time almost with extreme force as she brings a priest in to perform an exorcism on a special someone. I loved what they did with Sock here and how heā€™s racing to stop it but gets a little distracted thanks to what was crawling around in his slurpy.

And then weā€™ve got what we all came to see and that is the match up between Sam and the Devil and the quarters match for Samā€™s soul. I thought what they did with this was pretty ingenious and thatā€™s why I thought they may be able to finish everything off in this last episode but man was I wrong. I thought there was a chance he might be able to win his soul back all nice and clean but the way they are able to drag out through the whole episode with different twists and turns and extra souls being offered up, it was done very well. The guest appearance by Michael Ian Black as the former demon now close to being angel Steve was hilarious and actually used very well. Instead of him coming in for a few scenes and a few jokes heā€™s used very well throughout this episode.

Well now thatā€™s it all over and done with we can only hope some station is willing to take a gamble on this show and let it ride out the story it has left. I donā€™t know why it couldnā€™t move to cable and do fine. Most of those shows donā€™t expect to get huge ratings and I think with the ratings itā€™s currently delivering itā€™d be alright. I have heard talks that ABC Studios is in negotiations to possibly put the show into syndication and would air on Sunday nights on The CW which has given the air time over to the affiliates so really that seems to be the last hope we for this show at the moment. Of course several issues have risen up there with the producers leaving the show and Tyler Labine (Sock) already being in another show on Fox next season and if it was in syndication it would have less money to work with but I think it might still have a fighting chance here.

Bring it on CW, I got the Devil on my side.

So tonight is the season finale of Reaper and what I must sadly inform you is that this will most likely be the series finale as well. Yes sadly I happened upon the Saint Louis Post Dispatch this past weekend and they had an article on renewed and cancelled shows. Reaper happened to fall under the cancelled section, as did the rest of CWā€™s comedy shows, and I got to say more than likely, after tonight, it will be lost to us forever. Though itā€™s possible buying the second season on DVD may save it from cancellation hell, but I wouldnā€™t pin too many hopes on it. We must accept its fate as a show too smart for most audiences, ala Pushing Daisies, and we must watch it be crushed while middling dreck, ala Two and a Half Men, gets picked up for what feels like it must now be in the double digit seasons.

But lets not feel too down as the cancellation of great genre pushing shows has become as standard as brushing our teeth. Letā€™s just revel in what we have left and enjoy the many fond memories this show doled out. Such as in this episode where Sam climbs up the ruthless corporate ladder, in now way Iā€™ve ever seen it climbed before, and finds out how much the Devil keeps his eye in practically any wrong doing a generic office skyscraper can produce. After heā€™s shown exactly what goes on in the top floor itā€™s not soon after we then find out his dad, and his cell phone bars of strength, has what he needs to get out of his deal with the Devil. The catch, of course, being that heā€™s stuck in the third circle of hell and thereā€™s very little chance of him getting out. Luckily Nina, her being of the demon spawn genus, can enter, yet not without some hesitancy of having to face her love of torture, and she and Ben have a cutesy goodbye before entering the fiery flames of an elevator to Hades.

I was really hoping weā€™d get some glimpses into hell when her journey was made. After two seasons and enough references to the way things seem to be run down there, I was looking forward to maybe just getting a little peak into the whole operation. Also Sock gets a fun little story this week as Nina tries to set him up with a demon friend and after not digging her look too much she informs him of her ability to look like anyone, even pieces of them thrown together. This puts Sock into a Frankenstein like sequence of snapping body part pics of hot girls and jumbles them together into his most sought after beauty.

Well I hope everyone enjoys the season finale tonight. From the commercial I saw it looked like a good one and it seemed like Sam might actually be battling the Devil for his soul, so maybe weā€™ll actually get everything wrapped up tonight and we can all end this happily instead of leaving off in a weird spot with questions unresolved. We can hope anyway, and maybe the creators of this show will get another crack at making something just as good in the future. Iā€™ll miss reviewing this show, it was one of my favorites, and I was glad it at least got two great seasons while others continue to plod along and destroy themselves, ala The Simpsons.

I guess we'll just sit and wait for the CW to call us.

Well with tonightā€™s episode of Reaper being the second to last episode of the season, things are heating up on the old Work Bench front. Not only with the characters themselves but the show on a whole as it continues the good fight to stave off cancellation. I read in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the show is being considered a ā€œbubbleā€ show which means nothing has been decided for its fate but the outlook is pretty bleak. So right now I urge all true blue Reaper fans to buy the second season when it comes out in June. Yes, it is surprising to see the season go from just ending to DVD sale so hurriedly but that only goes to prove that this might be the last fight Reaper is going to take on. If enough people buy the season than it can only help a third season come about. So make sure you buy that second season in a store where you know your purchase will count towards the shows benefit.

Now Iā€™m not saying this show should go on for season after season to come, but itā€™s still got one more good season in it where they can wrap everything up all nicely. I mean Sam is already on a quest to get out of his contract and with the info he already knows, plus the fact that his dad is in hell with the best cell phone coverage known to man, I think one more season could really give us the ending we deserve. Plus how can you not love any of the antics Sock gets himself into whether its stripper clowns or, like in this episode, where he becomes the new Work Bench mascot Wrenchie Bench and he completely owns it. Iā€™ve never seen a better corporate mascot in my life and he really pulls off a good mascot mashup grudge match.

Then thereā€™s the ever budding romances of the other characters as Sam and Andi seem poised to yet again get back together but they continue to dangle that string over our heads and pull it back up one more time. In this episode we also get to see Ben protect Nina as she devolves into her more primal demon instincts and goes into a demon heat. Yes itā€™s mating season for all hell spawn and thereā€™s nothing they want more than some of Nina. Fortunately Ben will be having none of it and has a little mashup grudge match of his own as he suits up, armor and chain mail style, and lets no demon get to his woman.

And if thatā€™s not enough to keep this show around thereā€™s still the main soul ctaching plot point where they have to capture their old biology teacher. Heā€™s played here by Michael McDonald of MadTV dame and heā€™s decently funny as the assholiest teacher you may have had in your past, but may not actually be the soul they so desire. So tonight make sure to watch you some Reaper for we are approaching the end of the season and more than likely the show itself. Just remember that in the end the fans hold the true fate of a show and if we can rally and get shows like Jericho and Roswell, if anyone remembers saving that one, back on for at least one more season than donā€™t we owe the Devilā€™s favorite slackers the same?

All these stars support Kidney Now! Shouldn't you?

Again we have season finales going off on all NBC comedies Thursday night and that means 30 Rock is seeing its end for the year and they left us with something oddly touching and funny as they know how to do best. Iā€™m glad to see this show getting the respect it deserves because I remember the fear of when the first season wasnā€™t getting great ratings and that it might not last for more than a season or two. Luckily they paired it up nicely with The Office and itā€™s become more of a staple of how comedy now needs to be done after kicking ass at the Emmys and the Golden Globes. So we get one more inspired and well detailed episode before weā€™re tossed into months of heat and a TV wasteland.

So we continue now with jack finding his real father in the form of Alan Alda and with the reveal that he now needs a kidney it is a mad dash to see if Jack is even a match for the man. Luckily when medical questions come into play on this show they tend to always bring on probably the oddest character they have on the show Dr. Leo Spaceman played by the perfectly daffy Chris Parnell. I always love when they have this character on because it usually means heā€™s going to say something great as when he tries to tell Jack the results but everything is in medical jargon that he canā€™t understand. Thereā€™s even a sweet scene where Jack and his dad end up playing catch with something and they realize it and just decide to go with it.

Then thereā€™s Liz who becomes a relationship advice expert after she is invited on to what I can only describe as a jab at Jerry Springer, Maury, and more especially Tyra Banks on the hybrid Vontella. I like that people are mocking Tyra Banks a little more now because her show is just a huge waste of time and sheā€™s one of the worst hosts for a talk show Iā€™ve ever seen. But Iā€™m still addicted to her show because it is so outlandishly terrible so I guess I canā€™t get too mad at her. But anyway, Liz of course becomes addicted to her new relationship altering powers and gives terrible advice to women without hearing the whole story.

Tracy actually gets a pretty nice story as he is asked to speak at his high schoolā€™s senior graduation. He is ambivalent though because he never finished high school because he couldnā€™t dissect a frog. Kenneth eventually sway him towards it though and we get a patented crazy speech from Tracy Morgan to the lucky graduates. Also near the end we get a stampede of famous musicians who show up for a benefit concert to get Jackā€™s dad a kidney. Most are used to good effect such as Clay Aiken who admits to riding on subways and Elvis Costello or should I say Decklind MacManis, international art thief! And they actually do bring in a lot of good talent such as the Beastie Boys, Cyndi Lauper, Sheryle Crow and the guy from Maroon 5 that I find to be a little bit of a jerk sometimes. So of course thereā€™s a great big musical number at the end with the rockers taking jabs at each other and making a nice little tune for us all to enjoy. So thank you 30 Rock for another good season and Iā€™m sure we will see you on the return of Fall.

Clap for Scare Crow Boat! They didn't completely suck?

Well now weā€™ve reached the end of the first season of Parks and Recreation and surprisingly itā€™s shown that itā€™s got some legs. I thought that by at least the end of the season they wouldā€™ve made some headway with getting the park built but weā€™ve been left with very little done with that and more of an ending episode focused on giving us a cavalcade of revelations. This show has definitely changed my opinion of it and Iā€™d very much like it to get another season. Iā€™m not exactly sure what its ratings ended up being but it may have done well enough to secure at least one more season. If it deserves anything it maybe could get one more season and get the park all wrapped up and done and all the interplay of relationships as well.

Basically in this episode Andy is getting his cast off his legs and has a gig with his band at a bar and invites everybody to come see it. Unfortunately Leslie has to go to a dinner meeting wit a local government figurehead that even more unfortunately turns more into a real date for Leslie, the man is also over sixty to make things their most awkward and best. The stuff with Andyā€™s band at the bar is pretty good and he of course goes through a list f all the names his band used to be but actually churns out some decently funny ones, Jet Black Pope and Scare Crow Boat to name a few. Also Anne finds out some interesting news about Andyā€™s casts from his doctor and gets royally pissed at him and does what she shouldā€™ve done along time ago.

Thereā€™s also some great interplay from the other cast members as we finally meet Tomā€™s wife who is pretty hot and thereby adds weirder dimensions to Tomā€™s character. Also the boss Ron has a pretty fun time in this one as he introduces everyone to his ex-wifeā€™s sister he is now dating because they both hate the sister. I really didnā€™t like this guyā€™s character in the beginning but I now see some more purpose for his character as a person who only gets continuous odd quirks given to him and just gets some really good lines. I thought it was hilarious when later they were all getting in a cab and he asked with vigor, ā€œWho wants to see me climb a tree?ā€ I also liked what little was given to the college intern girl to do with the person she brought to see the band. Sheā€™s funny but sheā€™s only good for a few one liners here and there.

And then of course thereā€™s still the oddly continuous budding romance between Mark and Leslie. They made some pretty good headway in getting something started up between them but near the end they might not have had the same intention in mind and the pit claims one more victim. So I wish this show success in getting its next season because six episodes was good but I guess I can say Iā€™m really wanting to see some more episodes and see what plays out with all these people and the whole deal with the park. It was a tall order to hope theyā€™d have the park all done and up and running in that short of time but it seems that means they may have enough material to give us some interesting episodes to come.

Who brings a gun to a demon fight?

Many of you may know of my love for calling Sam’s fellow devil brother Morgan a douche. It’s hard not to when there’s not a scene he’s in where he’s not acting like a flaming douche bag to all those around him. Well guess who’s coming to dinner then? Actually instead of coming to dinner, since all of his money and fancy lifestyle has been drained away, he is coming to live with Sam and the guys in this episode. And that’s not all! After their fiery reconciliation that left her den of sin in cinders, Nina has decided to move in as well and basically we’ve got a real Full House situation on our hands. Now I could waste everyone’s time and go through this whole article trying to figure out which character corresponds most precisely to that of the characters of that charming 90s sitcom, but there’s really more pressing story lines to be told.

To be perfectly frank this whole episode is full of nothing more than one douche bag move after another. Not only do we get Morgan’s regular none so benign attitude towards everyone but we also see that Nina is attracted to the bad boy type, and Morgan plans on taking full advantage. Then we have an extreme douche maneuver pulled pretty late in the game by none other than Ted the former manager in I guess could be an evil bid to reclaim what rightfully should be his. Now that only leaves the main crux of the story that involves a douche extraordinaire that refuses to sign his soul away to the devil and plans on repenting minutes before his death and get absolved from all the less than kind things he’s done in his life. In this episode alone he shoots a butler with a paintball gun, tosses beer cans whichever way possible, and has Sam chased by a polar bear.

I like that Reaper is branching off as much as possible from soul catching territory and allows Sam to deal with other aspects of hell such as just simply getting a guy to sign his soul away forever. I know they did that last season as well with the episode where Jamie Kennedy guest starred as a musician who kind of sucked major balls. I do feel kind of bad for Jamie Kennedy though. I mean the guys been in some decent movies but I think he really ruined himself with that Jamie Kennedy Experiment Show, and Son of the Mask didn’t look so hot either. But anyway, back to what really matters. This episode has stripper clowns. Yes stripper clowns, which is actually a brilliant combo devised by Sock and Ben for a bachelor party they throw for Ted who asked the girl after only one date and surprise surprise ends up getting freaked and dumping him.

We also get a little Michael Ian Black back in this episode as the gay demon that died but apparently ascended back up to heaven. His fellow demon lover, Ken Marino, who is always hilarious, check him out in Wet Hot American Summer, now holds some kind of demon support group that attempts to stay good and possibly follow in the same lines as Mr. Blacks demon. All in all this show continues to keep it light and funny and the characters endearing and I assume we are soon to be approaching the end of the season as the second season is already being marketed for DVD release sometime in June I believe. I’m interested in seeing what they leave us with the whole storyline of Sam trying to get out of his deal with the devil and now that his dad is apparently in hell and can still get cell service, wonder what his plan is, it would seem that might have something good cooking for the end. I personally think more episodes with stripper clowns in it is more than necessary and I’m sure they can’t be that hard to write into the show. I’m just saying, stripper clowns are brilliant.

Cameo Appeal:Get David Schwimmer back as Greenzo!

What better way to go with an episode of 30 Rock so close to Mother’s Day than to have it focused pretty much primarily on fathers. I’m not sure if there was anything intentional behind this happening but I wouldn’t put it passed the makers of this hilarious show to pull such a stunt so close to one of the holidays really few care for and probably deserves a good bashing. Now I’m not putting any slight against Mother’s Day, I’ve already got my Mother’s Day present bought and almost wrapped, but let’s not forget this day may have been invented for no more reason than to sell a few extra cards and get some flower sales moving. But enough of the same old tired, cynical approach to the holidays that we could really pay no never mind, there’s an episode to get down to.

Basically in this episode we see the continuance from last week’s previous declaration that Jack’s father may not be his actual father but he refuses to do the usual shtick and try to hunt him down. That is until Liz gets involved and convinces him to do it and we get another unexpected cameo by the great Steve Buscemi as the private eye who actually has a glass eye. No, seriously. Steve Buscemi lost an eye in a car accident and got it replaced with a glass one and I got to tell you there must be great advances in glass eye technology because for the life of me I couldn’t tell which one was the faker. Well anyway, Liz then hatches a Mamma Mia type scheme after it’s narrowed down to three men and they are invited, as contest winners, to the TGS set. They pretty much consist of an Asian man, a man who lost his down there region in the war and now looks like Spaghetti-O’s down there, and Alan Alda. I wonder who the real father will be?

Then we also have someone who is pretending to be Tracy’s illegitimate son and basically robbing the holy heck out of him and Tracy is as clueless as they come. Of course Liz and Pete can’t stand for this and they end up getting the help of Lutz who is apparently proficient in the ways necessary to prove this person might be a fake. Now this story line is a bit weak and expected and you can pretty much figure out the conclusion before we ever arrive to it, but that doesn’t keep them from making some hilarious jokes and one liners before we get there. And that’s really the best part of this show. Even if they are working off a story line that you know, more or less, what the whole deals about, they still give you some of the best comedy that TV can offer. And once again I must say suck it to Two and a Half Men that gets so much more ratings than this show, though I’d say less awards, and still manages to do nothing clever EVER and sticks to every lame plot that has ever been done without a shred of good humor whatsoever.

I’m glad this show us still chugging along and I know I will always have a good laugh watching it. How could it not be with Tracy Morgan on and can say pretty much anything and make it hilarious. Even the subplot with Jenna who gets some notoriety after Liz writes her a great one liner for the show is pretty funny as Liz gets jealous that she’s getting all the praise for something she say she helped wrote but actually texted her gay friends while Liz stayed up until four in the morning eating Raisin Bran. So keep it up 30 Rock and I guess we will be seeing a little bit more of Alan Alda to come in the next couple of weeks. You gotta milk those guest stars for as many episodes as you can and I see some great dad/son bits between him and Jack popping up in the near future.

Leslie getting her manliness on with her woman in tow.

All I can say about Parks and Recreation now that we’re several episodes in, and I think probably reaching the season finale, is that I am a fan. Yes I gave it a pretty good whomping after the first couple episodes left me scratching my head a bit, but it’s definitely grown on me. There’s such a subtle goofiness to it all and to all the characters that just really makes you get into and enjoy the antics of these government officials. I even find myself liking many of the government jokes that continue to do throughout each episode. There’s just something very simple about the show and it doesn’t try to be more than it is and that’s a good thing. It does its thing well now and it’s definitely found something good footing for where it wants to be.

In this episode we find a banquet being held in Leslie’s mother’s honor for all of her hard working as a government official. Of course Leslie would be following in the footsteps of her mother and proud of the “dynastyĆ¢ā‚¬  her family holds in the political Pawnee world, if she wasn’t so clueless on how to climb the ladder that is. We find out later that everyone else who has received this award is a regular circle of movers and shakers who don’t mind the dirty work you’d only hope government officials actually get into. Even Leslie’s mom is called the Iron profanity laden something of Pawnee, and none to affectionately so as Leslie would think.

There are some good bits at the banquet, especially when Leslie shows up with a haircut that her alter ego of Hilary Clinton of SNL might get and a few good, though pushing it a little, gay jokes are tossed around with Leslie none the wiser. We also have Anne that accompanies Leslie making sure the gay jokes can be continued just a few jokes longer. I’m more impressed than anything by Leslie’s boss who I’ve mentioned in the past needed a bit more to do than help the jokes move along and tell bad government puns. But now I feel he’s a bit of an asset to this government world and his anti-establishment views are actually starting to help the show in a weird way. I loved his undeniable lust for bacon wrapped shrimp and also his fact based speech that truly was what he said it would be as well as a few jabs at her mother thrown in for good measure.

The rest of the episode mainly deals with Leslie trying to convince a head of the zoning department to help her out with her park, still the overlying plot point of the season, and of course bungles it in all the right ways. Leslie’s innocence is one o her other great attributes and it’s funny to see her at all trying to be crafty and conniving and act like she can black mail anyone at all. We also see Mark and Tom as they try to pick up some chicks at a bar and we start to see maybe Mark might start trying to gravitate towards Leslie more as a romantic interest and I’m actually interested to see what might lay ahead near the end of the season for these two. I hate to say I want to see a little Jim and Pam thing go on between these two characters but I’m intrigued by what comic mishaps might cause them to actually really get something going on.

We are the Rubbersuit Men, fear us?

First off I’d like to say sorry to anyone that has been looking for my good old usual Reaper coverage. Several events over the past few weeks have made it difficult to keep a handle on the show. Most notably the week before last which saw the interruption of an episode for a hockey game and the subsequent airing of that episode moved to a more unwatchable time slot of seven PM on a Saturday. So I thought I’d take my time here, before the airing of tonight’s episode, to fill in the gaps that will lead up to tonight’s most likely hellishly, I thought it was clever, good episode.

I guess I’ll break it down more into chunks of plot if nothing else and give the basic summary of what’s going down. For one we’ve got the continuous return of the devil’s favorite douche bag of a son as he continues his training in soul catching with Sam. After a bad incident with a soul just looking to lose his virginity, we really get to see how big of a douche he really is as he screws over that soul pretty big after we think everything’s been wrapped up nicely. There’s also an addition of an old surly dude to the Work Bench staff who I find to be a bit of an annoying character. He’s mostly just there as a punch line and sad to say some of his jokes fall a little flat and are a bit predictable and expected. I think we’ve all gotten past the whole old man who can talk dirty and be weird routine.

All of this though helps in Sam finding Allen though, the guy who escaped from hell, and we soon see Sam pursuing him in an effort to find out how he was able to get out of his contract. Basically it all leads back to the famous Crossroads tale and challenging the devil to something, anything you apparently might be good at. Of course though Allen refuses to reveal all until he knows he’s safe from the devil and things don’t turn out decidedly well. Now besides that we also get to see Sam and the douche pitted against each other for who can catch the next soul with the prize being that who ever wins will be the Devil’s right hand man on Earth. The loser of curse will get a less than adequate parting gift.

Besides all that soul catching, Allen losing, and prize winning, we have the further love tale of Ben and Nina. She ends up meeting his grandma, who we all know can somehow see evil in someone, and disastrous effects ensue. This causes Ben to have to make a decision, which ultimately might be the wrong one, and he breaks up with Nina. After a few hilarious scenes where Nina wreaks havoc upon him and Sock in her demon form, and one pretty hot scene with Nina in her underwear trying to seduce Sock and having her catapult up my hotties I’d like to do list, they reconcile and realize they can’t be without each other. Of course that reconciliation comes in the midst of Sock trying to burn down her demon lair after she scared the willies out of him during one of his dreams. There’s also a weird little romance that Sam has with a woman that’s supposed to be his tutor in the ways of being evil and things get a little heated when the Devil shows a little interest in her as well.

So that’s what we’ve come up to at the present moment in the Reaper universe. Everything is still going right for the show and they’ve been able to keep the characters very engaging throughout. Even Sam and Andi’s break up and their will they or won’t they, but more than likely will, get back together shtick works better than most shows that try to pull off this same, tired routine. So stay tuned everyone, until the end, and get your friends into to and let’s hope this show doesn’t tragically see its end coming near because it really is one of the more interesting shows currently on network TV. They even provide a consistent amount of intrigue and humor throughout each episode and I rarely know which way they’re going to go with it next.

I’d like to start off my review of 30 Rock by saying how happy I am to see the character of Jonathan back as Jack’s assistant. Maulik Pancholy as Jonathan is a brilliantly loopy person who fits very well into the mold of 30 Rock as a man in so much awe of another man he’s grown and odd love for him and after he was fired a few weeks ago because of cutbacks it’s good to see Jack couldn’t live without him as I’m sure it’s the same the other way around. You should also check Maulik out in the show Weeds where he plays another somewhat gay man and is pretty funny in that as well. So, anyway, what we’ve got here is your typical, classically perfectly hilarious episode of 30 Rock with all the just right blunders you would hope the characters to fall into.

First off we have Liz scorning Tracy so badly for never showing up on time and there is a great bit where a handful of people changed his clocks so much he couldn’t tell you what time it was if he has a sundial strapped to his back. So now Liz is informed that Tracy has two options and they both don’t sound particularly good for anybody. Now Tracy has decided to do the work that he is actually paid to do but the price might be too heavy for Liz to handle. Let’s just say it involves a great bit of slapstickiness with a water cooler and, of course, a good old fashioned jaunt to a strip club to go see some naked daughters and moms!

We also have another return of Jack’s mom who has brought a lover with her even though this day apparently marks the anniversary of when Jack’s dad left them and never came back. She of course could care less since it turns out the man disappeared so often it was no shocker to see him show up one night and be all antsy to go see Some Like it Hot. Being the good boy that he is, Jack hires a private eye to find out some dirt on the guy. I won’t say what is found out but its fairly simple and when the big confrontation does occur the explanation is what you probably would’ve guessed it would have been anyway so don’t expect any great shocks from this subplot.

Even the later shocker we get you could pretty much gather from what somebody had said earlier. The one good part here is that we get a good little scene with Steve Buscemi returning as the private detective he played last season and he’s got some good lines and you really can’t tell that he now has a glass eye after that car accident he was in.

The truly best bits in this episode come from Jenna who stands up for a gibbons monkey that Tracy had brought into replace him and they actually found the monkey showed up on time and didn’t bite any of the dancers. She even goes as far as naming it Little Jenna and everyone warns her that it’s unnatural to keep a monkey that way and dress him in cute little outfits that of course Jenna is stupid enough to put the monkey in, even though he does look adorable.

But, low and behold, Jenna pushes the monkey too far and puts it into so many situations that would provoke anger from a monkey that the results are less than what you would want happen with a monkey wrapped around your neck. It’s good to see that this show can still run an efficient episode and the comedy seems so seamlessly perfect it’s surprising to watch how they never seem to fail in making their episodes gut wrenchingly amusing to watch. I mean what can you say about a show that can make a spot on Quantum Leap reference?