Category Archives: Anatomy

The beginning of "Greener Grass" felt like it could have been a scene from my own life. That's probably why I enjoyed this episode of Blue Bloods so much. For as much as it can be a great crime drama, it's the real life family moments that resonate.

With Linda's car stalling out again and no money to make repairs, Danny did his best to cajole it back to the land of the living. In other words, when it doubt, jiggle a few wires. Before Linda drove to work, she asked in this Blue Bloods quote…

Linda: What do I do if that weird noise comes back?
Danny: Just turn up the radio. | permalink

That's frequently my solution too. Hopefully I don't suffer any catastrophic car fires anytime soon.

But most of us can relate to money troubles and far too many people are living paycheck to paycheck. I couldn't blame Danny for considering that job. Four times his salary would solve a lot of problems, but if he'd be miserable going to work every day then no one in the Reagan family would be happy.

Danny was meant to be a cop. No matter what the challenges. Still, they had me rooting for better times for this part of the Reagan clan.

Over in Brooklyn, Frank demonstrated how not to have a sensitive conversation with a family member when he blurted out that Henry should no longer be driving. 

Once again, the show connected to a real life moment for me. I remember when this issue came up with my grandfather. He took it about as well as Henry.

That Frank stopped to guilting Erin into helping showed how desperate he was for assistance. The resolution came a little too quickly but I liked it all the same.  When Henry gave his car to Linda, it allowed him to feel useful and gave him a valid excuse not to drive. Whether this is the last we'll hear of the issue is another story.

Jamie and Vinny's adventures were less angsty than they've been in recent weeks. Vinny's flirting was pretty cheesy but it was fun to watch. And Jamie wasn't trying to play hero, he just wanted to find the rest of the story.

A few final notes…

• The look on Danny's face when he realized Vance had the hots for his sister was priceless.
• Frank's conversation skills with Henry may have been lacking but a good Pastrami sandwich should always be brought when apologizing.
• Erin and Frank working as the family co-conspirators was really cute. Their relationship gets better every season.

Really, who wouldn't want to be a member of the Reagan family?

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/11/blue-bloods-review-greener-grass/

A week prior to his show's long-awaited return, Ryan Murphy has given Glee fans a rather big question to ponder.

Earlier today, the creator Tweeted a photo of Brittany and Sam all dressed up, including along with it the intriguing caption: The Wedding of the Year.

Might these two be the couple exchanging vows? We somehow doubt it.

So who does that leave as possibilities? When will the nuptials take place? Around Christmas? Valentine's Day?

Let all the guessing games begin!

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/11/glee-spoiler-alert-who-will-get-married/

It's been a while since there has been a really evil Troubled person on Haven, so this week the show slung a sibling at us instead. 

"Magic Hour" reminded us again how vulnerable the Troubled are even to their own family members. That seems to be a running theme this year, and could be why we've been introduced to The Guard. 

While The Guard is still ambiguous in an are-they-good or are-they-bad kind of way, they really are needed. As much as Audrey has done, and Lucy and Sarah before her, she could never do it alone. Jordan was genuinely freaked when she saw what the Bolt Gun Killer was doing, and even more so when she saw the connections between the killer and her friend Grady. Enough so that she turned to Dwight to look him up. Hey, Dwight makes great backup, what with his attraction for bullets and all. 

Things only ended up getting more confusing as Grady's mark revealed he was in hiding after being tracked by the police, and he never saw Grady. Dwight and Jordan later found Grady in a burned out car. Was there a rogue in the Haven P.D.? We didn't know anyone other than Audrey, Dwight and Tommy, right? I recalled a few faces from earlier seasons, but I hadn't seen them in a while. With Haven, the best reveals are always the most shocking, so I didn't expect the rogue, if there was one, to be an unknown.

But, eh, that can wait. Let's talk about Nederland, Colorado! It really is a tiny little town without much libation, but I'm guessing if Duke and Audrey found a senior home, they could have driven just a little farther to a bar. Nederland is just outside of Boulder, one of the party capitals of the world for goodness sakes. But I digress.

Audrey discovered James Cogan's mother knew not Lucy, but Sarah! Her lifetimes are merging together with every piece of information she gets and it's fascinating. Although Mrs. Cogan had Alzheimers, she recalled Sarah had red hair, giving Audrey the idea to show up wearing a red wig. That's when Audrey discovered that while she may have been in love with James as Lucy (or not?), she loved him as Sarah; because he was her son! That's right. Sarah took her son to the Cogan family to raise him safely (away from the Troubles? I couldn't tell). 

This is undoubtedly only the tip of the iceberg of Audrey's past lives, as we have six episode (is that all??) left to go in Haven Season 3, but the suspense is astounding. There is so much at stake, and every scene seems to have a connection to what's happening next. 

It was no surprise that in the middle of all this Audrey just wanted to live in the moment and she almost took advantage of Duke to do it. Thankfully she stopped herself, but not before removing her sweater and planting a deep kiss on his willing soul.

The thing with Duke is he understands where Audrey is coming from and didn't, even for an instant, hold her transgression against her. I'm sure he wanted to hold a lot more against her, but he's willing to be her friend and confident above all else. Duke's growth is indicative of the natural progression of all of the Haven universe and is incredibly refreshing.

Let's meander back to the town of Haven and that pesky rogue police officer. Rarely is it spelled out as easily as it was for Nathan when he saw on Tommy's GPS that he had recently traveled to Rt. 17. Then Tommy made a fuss about his trunk. Really? Why on earth would he hide his handy-dandy slickly modified bolt-gun in there? 

While we've all known that Tommy's acceptance of Nathan's offer to stay in Haven was due to ulterior motives, this smells a little fishy to me. I could be completely off base, but it's just too easy. Tommy wasn't stupid. THIS Tommy was bordering on idiocy. Could he be possessed or hidden somewhere while someone else wears his skin? It's Haven, it could happen. 

As it happened, he was discovered in a matter of minutes and shot Nathan. That's right. Shot him. In the chest. We have two things working in our favor. The Troubled girl who can heal people is lurking off in the woods somewhere, and Duke and Audrey just pulled up. I forgot about the third thing working in our favor. Lucas Bryant is one of the three stars of the show. That counts!

So ended the heart-pounding first hour of a two-hour story. I cannot wait for next Friday. Haven is, quite frankly, knocking my socks off. Where ARE my socks?

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/11/haven-review-blindsided/

I couldn't have laid bets on the meaning of "An Origin Story."

I still don't know for sure, but it can only be assumed that origin refers to the beginning of the Observers, as Peter went to great lengths to stop them and when he couldn't beat them, he decided to join them. Say what?

Who would have thought, two years ago, that I would have missed a case of the week episodes of Fringe? I wanted to know more about the mythology and lore and what made the worlds tick. I had no idea we were headed to 2036 and this incredibly dark place.

I now understand the purpose of "The Recordist." It was to show us that in spite of the horrors to be had in 2036, there were still people left to save, wonders to behold and reasons to fight. If we hadn't been shown the outer fringes of society still functioning without the daily influence of the Observers, I'd say just let them win.

When Olivia said she was afraid for Peter, he thought she meant his physical self. It was then that it became obvious he had lost sight of the big picture. Wonderful Walter, astute as always, understood exactly what Olivia was talking about and asked Olivia to face the pain of losing Etta head on with Peter by watching a birthday video of Etta he had hidden away in his desk. 

Walter understood first hand how devastating it was to lose a child, as he had done it more than once. Like Peter, in this world of Fringe we can always hope that Etta will be back, but in the meantime the grief experienced by Peter and Olivia is still all encompassing. Walter had kept a box of toys that he used to fondly remember Peter, and he offered to Olivia the birthday video. The little girl was the daughter she knew best, as they had only recently come to know their adult child before she was brutally taken away again.

It took a while for Olivia to warm up to the idea of watching the video and to recognize how close she might be to losing Peter. Was she too late?

Peter's anguish got the better of him as he attempted to read the Observer using his keen analytical skills through mental manipulation and pupil dilation. As soon as the Observer's eyes veered to the left, I knew he had won. Peter did not. His attempt to stop the shipping lane from the future was foiled.

Why did it never occur to me the Observers were more than genetically enhanced and an actual technological product? Were we aware of this? I had my dunce cap on because until Peter said it and the light bulb went off that the same tech could be in HIS head, I was oblivious.

One thing I don't believe is that it's as easy as carving the piece out and slicing into your own neck to pin it into your spinal cord to get the Observer effects. Fringe requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, but this was pushing me to the edge just a bit. Well, more than a bit. 

Whatever it did to him, it will apparently happen gradually, as his conversation with Olivia was about as normal as any other conversations they had recently. As Olivia struggled to hold onto her humanity, Peter seemed poised to throw his right out the door in his determination to give Etta credit in saving the world. He didn't even stop for one second to think about what he might become and how that goal might disappear due to his linear desire.

I really don't know what I expected from the final season of Fringe. This wasn't it. On January 18th, it will all come to a crescendo whether I like it or not, and I'm gritting my teeth in the hope that I do, because I really want to end out what has been one of my very favorite programs of the last 20 years with a favorable experience. 

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/11/fringe-reviewthe-beginning-of-the-end/

Percy may be dead, but his legacy lives on at Division... much to Nikita's dismay. 

In "True Believer," a former undercover operative, Mia, got picked up during a raid on a domestic terrorist group, Third Wave. Despite, Nikita's distress at Mia being left undercover by Ryan, she was determined to get her out. The old Division may have left their operatives behind, but not this new Division.

Of course, nothing is ever as it seems in the Division world. Mia turned on Nikita and Alex after they saved her and shot Alex. At least she wasn't a good shot and Alex was up and about quickly.

Just like last week's mini-Nikita mission, Nikita's encounter with Mia reminded her of herself. Their face-off at the Third Wave operation site hit a nerve. Mia's declaration that she became hopeful when Nikita went rogue against Division, but then was let down when instead of destroying Division, Nikita kept it running. Wow.

This was one of the only times we've seen a Division operative speak about Nikita's break from Division in a positive way. I wonder how many actually cheered Nikita on internally, while they were forced to chase her down?

Nikita held firm when Ryan wanted to take Mia out at the arena. This was the second mission in a row that Ryan was quick to want to exterminate the target and Nikita was against the order. In this case, Ryan was justified, though. Since Mia did shoot Alex.

The Third Wave sham was unexpected especially since Mia seemed to be close to Joshua. Wouldn't a good agent have been able to figure out that the terrorist angle was just a scam to get more business? Joshua must have been very good at keeping his real plans from the group.

In the end, Mia sacrificed herself for an "innocent" boy from being shot and perhaps blowing up the arena. Ryan was right when he said that Mia died a hero and Nikita was to thank for that.

With the differences in opinion lately between Nikita and Ryan, their heart-to-heart was touching to see. Though, I'm not sure Ryan will be able to keep his promise of no more active missions. The President has a tight hold over him and it doesn't seem that he has shared that with Nikita or anyone else.

Will they be able to stay on the same page? Doubtful. They will continue to butt heads over missions and the direction of Division. I hope that Ryan doesn't become corrupted by the power. He was an honorable man before he took this role, but it will be a challenge to maintain that integrity. Nikita may have to continue to keep him in check.

Odds and Ends

• What happened between Birkhoff and Sonya? It's been three episodes. They really should let us in on the secret soon.
• The competition between Birkhoff and Sonya is a good thing though. It will push each of them to work even harder.
• Birkhoff Unmanned Tactical Robot -- BUTR.
• Finally a Sean and Alex moment. He's only staying because of her. She's only staying because of Nikita. I'm not sure they could be happy together without the thrill of the mission. Or, that Alex would want to leave that behind. They need to have their date!
• Was Mia one of The Dirty Thirty? I'm guessing not, since Ryan knew she was still undercover. So, that leaves the count still 28/30 outstanding.

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/11/nikita-review-true-believer/

Welcome back to the 1st annual Tournament of TV Fanatic!

It's time for you, TV Fanatics, to choose your favorite Fox star! We have chosen 16 stars for this fan-driven showdown. The concept is easy: Pick your favorite of the two pairs in each poll. That's it!

Our semifinal round began with a Glee vs Fringe battle in Chris Colfer and Anna Torv. Today, it's a similar matchup, featuring Lea Michele and Joshua Jackson. VOTE below!

We will post polls of these respective Fox matchups daily, and then after each round, update the bracket as some stars advance, while others are eliminated, until the winner is crowned. Make sense?

Here's the updated Tournament of TVF FOX field:

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/11/tournament-of-tv-fanatic-semifinals-lea-michele-vs-joshua-jackso/