TVSquad

(S05E08) When I say that a lot of this episode of The Closer felt like a CSI episode, with the emphasis on the gory and gruesome aspects of original murder, I'm not being critical. And when I mention there were also elements that reminded of Cold Case, that's also not a diss because Cold Case is an underrated show.

But unlike Cold Case, which brings the past to life, The Closer remained very much in the present. Generally speaking, this was a pretty strong episode that played up Brenda's vulnerability.

(S02E16) Rebecca: "I don't know what to do next."
Justin: "Me neither."

I cried twice during this episode. Maybe more. I cried when Nora told Kevin he deserved to have a beautiful wedding just as much as anybody else. And I also cried at two more points, but I'll talk about them below the jump. This was a beautiful episode of television. Even though I don't know that I have written about the music used in episodes, I thought the use of "Can't Find My Way Home" for the last two scenes was profoundly moving. Last year, I thought the season finale was a disaster because it ended with grand hijinks and everybody jumping into a pool. This year's season ended quietly on a beautiful sunny hillside, and it just about broke my heart. I am going to go out on a limb here and hope that this show wins an Emmy, because when they do it well, they really nail it.

(S06E13) You have got to be kidding me. They spent an entire season piddling around and then introduced about fifty different things into the season finale? They could have built an entire season around what was contained in this episode, but they didn't. I have no idea what the writers of this show are thinking half the time, and part of me is really hoping that tonight's episode was the last. No, I know it was the last in this season. I mean I hope it was The Last. But if you are fan of the show, I won't put any spoilers before the jump, and you should really watch the final episode.

You know, we haven't had a decent made-for-television disaster movie or miniseries since ABC aired the scarefest Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America last year. Wait, something's wrong with that sentence. Oh yeah, take out the word decent and everything looks better. Anywhosit, thanks to the ION network (you probably remember them as PAX) we now have a new disaster miniseries to whittle away our summer viewing time.

It's called Killer Wave and it's about, you guessed it, a killer tsunami. This time around, though, it isn't a natural occurrence and it doesn't wash away various island nations. In this movie the deadly waves are man-made and they wreak havoc up and down the Eastern Untied States seaboard.

It won Emmys for the best dramatic series, best dramatic actor and best dramatic actress. Right out of the box. In season one.

Nearly 15 years ago.

So how does the first season of the controversial Picket Fences stand up to time, in its new DVD collection? After watching the pilot episode, seeing all those shoulder pads, hearing the heavy-handed background music during some of the scenes and watching "tough" police interrogations in the form of raised voices, my initial thought was, "Picket Fences didn't age well."

Then I watched more episodes. And changed my mind.

(S01E01) I had an early look at this one a couple weeks ago, and finally premiere day is here. The Brothers & Sisters writers face a tough problem with the launch of the show. There is just so much information to convey to give the viewer an idea of who all of these people are. It leads to what sometimes feels like a rushed episode.

This also means that most of the happenings around the family in this episode are set-ups for future arcs that will involve the characters. Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) and Tommy (Balthazar Getty) discovering the financial shenanigans of Uncle Saul (Ron Rifkin), Justin's (Dave Annable) hangups from his past, and Kitty's (Calista Flockhart) relationship with her mother (Sally Field) are all clearly things that we will be looking at closer as the show moves along. For me though, the highlight of this episode was the confrontation between Kitty and her mother.

(S02E10) I was starting to wonder what the story arc for the rest of this season would be and it's finally starting to take shape: the similarities and comparisons between Craig and his father, Ben. It comes at a poignant time too. Now that Ben is gone for good (I honestly don't think he'll be back), it's left Craig to inherit all his father's flaws and mistakes. As much as Craig wants to not become his father, he has and it'll probably take him the rest of the season to realize that. Also, you might notice that I'm referring to Huff as "Craig" and not as "Huff." I have a point to make there, I swear. But I'll get to that later.

(S02E09) I often find that this show has a lot in common with Curb Your Enthusiasm. Mainly, that it frequently makes me feel uncomfortable during certain scenes. You know something is good when it literally puts you off just by watching it. In particular, one of the final scenes between Huff and Beth was done quite well. So well that I almost stopped watching because I felt so bad. But we'll come back to that.

Elsewhere in the Huffstodt home, Ben is back! He even went out of his way to get Izzy her license back... by threatening a judge. He laughed when he told her how he got it, but I actually believe him. I wouldn't put anything past Ben Huffstodt, especially now that we found out why Ben is back in town: he's in debt to the Malaysian mob. Good times.

(S02E07) The Huffstodt home just can't have a quiet evening. With everything going on in this family, it's a wonder they haven't tried to kill each other... knock on wood. For the most part, the problems seem to be stemming from Ben. He's still hanging around, after he supposedly only had ten hours before he had to go away forever to who knows where. The odd thing is that he's suddenly taken quite the interest in his estranged family. I'm starting to think that maybe he's sick.

They gave us the impression that he's no longer with his Chinese (Japanese? Korean? I forget...) wife and he's clearly looking for some company. The only problem is that nobody, especially Izzy, wants Ben sticking around. In one of the most powerful scenes so far this season, Izzy completely went off on Ben and you can clearly see why Danner won the Emmy for best supporting actress in a drama series last year.

(S02E06) Once again, this show continues to mesmerize me. So many different and varied things happened in this episode that it boggles my mind when you think about how well it all flowed together. Only this show could hop back and forth between a tearful father/son reunion and crystal-meth fueled house party.

Yes, in case you skimmed that first paragraph, I did say father/son reunion. Ben Huffstodt is back, he's only got ten hours until he has to disappear forever, and in true Ben Huffstodt fashion we have no idea why. But before he goes, he wants to see Teddy and maybe Izzy. Obviously, he comes to Craig first. For those that saw the first season of Huff, you may have noticed that Ben looked a little different. Formerly played by Robert Forster, the role of Ben Huffstodt now belongs to Tom Skerritt and I thought he handled the role much better (even though it seemed like a different character).