TVSquad

(S01E12) Look at that, Myka's dad is Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan). And like most of the high caliber sci-fi guest stars so far this season, he's relegated to a bit role. Not to say that he isn't front-and-center to the action, because he is. But as much as he's at the center of the activity, he spends most of the episode inactive.

As you may have guessed by the title, this episode dealt with artifacts relating to Edgar Allan Poe, and there was some clever trickery utilizing Poe's most iconic visions. But the title might allude to something greater: the impending and climactic battle with MacPherson set to take place in next week's finale (is it here already?).

Interestingly enough, even though this was the big episode leading into the finale, it turned out to be little more than a generic bag-it-and-tag-it kind of mission, albeit with a very personal touch. I enjoyed seeing Myka's family and her father's bookstore. We learned a lot about her character and personality just from this short time with her family.

FOX's new family Friday night sitcom Brothers seems like a relatively (see what I did there?) low key and uninspiring bit of prime time. And that's coming from someone who hasn't seen it yet. Call it my "suck sense." (I see Cop Rock.)

It is nice, however, to see the multi-camera, live audience sitcom making a comeback to the big three networks (four if you count the CW). They almost feel like a warm hug from the past, reminding me that they haven't forgotten me or the shows I remembering watching instead of getting regular exercise or dating.

The same things can be said for the show's official press kit.

If you think about it, the Warehouse has to be one of the most unpredictable and dangerous places on the planet. We've seen what can happen when one artifact gets out of control, or when two work in tandem. There are possibly millions of artifacts housed in there, and most of them are just lying on a shelf. What if, say, a zip line were to break and come collapsing across the tops of hundreds of those shelves, scattering artifacts about?

That would be bad.

That is what happened while Artie was away having an "adventure" of his own. Pete and Myka popped in to the Warehouse to see how Claudia was doing, only to find all hell slowly breaking loose. In Claudia's defense, it wasn't entirely her fault this time.

(S01E07) That certainly didn't feel like the seventh episode of Warehouse 13. It felt more like the third, only with an added scene to try and explain away Claudia's absence. And that's what I'm going with.

The level of distrust between Pete & Myka and Artie was reset to earlier in the season, as was the secret keeping he was doing. It's beginning to make me wonder if originally CCH Pounder was going to have a more prominent role, as was Leena. Then when Pounder got picked up for FOX's Brothers, she pulled back on Warehouse 13 to recurring status, and we got the Claudia evolution. Which was a good thing.

Television is a vast alien landscape of shows, programs and other watchables. So the odds of a really good show not getting special recognition are about as good as Michael Chiklis' chances of his noggin being mistaken for a shiny, beige Brunswick in a bowling alley.

The Emmys also tend to favor younger shows rather than the oldies that have had their chance to win some awards because the best stuff on television is always fresher out of the gate. It's just the beast of the cycle. Great movies age like a fine cheese. Great TV shows age like spray cheese.

The Shield, however, got totally snubbed from this year's nomination list. And is that something the Academy really wants to do to a guy with a hair trigger anger who considers a Smith and Wesson as his "backup piece"? (I should ask myself the same thing after that bowling ball noggin joke.)

(S01E01) The creators titled this "Pilot," but I'm going to dub it "Another Reason I Want Brothers to Fail on FOX." CCH Pounder is such a talent I really prefer her on a good show. With Battlestar Galactica gone, there's going to be a lot of scrutiny on the network's new offerings, and while this doesn't seem to have the depth and complexity of BSG, it's a perfect companion to shows like Eureka and Sanctuary.

It even channels a lot of the latter in that it deals with ancient mystical forces, albeit in the form of artifacts instead of creatures. It also has a huge facility to house and protect them, and the world from them. To take it one step further, CCH Pounder's Mrs. Frederic may be much older than she appears, and my money's out on Leena having a similar genetic disposition and possibly being Mrs. Frederic's daughter. These mysteries are barely touched on in the pilot which means there's layers. But how does the show stack up on the surface?

While it was a little odd that the "screener" of Glee we got was the exact same episode that FOX aired after American Idol in the spring, the rest of these shows were truly new. Dramatic offerings included FOX's loose adaptation of the DC Comics property Human Target and Past Life. On the comedy side they offered us screeners for The Cleveland Show, Brothers, Sons of Tucson and the aforementioned Glee.

After enduring the screener for Do Not Disturb last season on FOX, I could only hope that these offerings were at least better than that offense to the senses. And they were. Well, most of them. Unfortunately, it seems that FOX has at least one Do Not Disturb in them every season. Other than that, one of these shows was far better than I expected, another a bit worse, and a third one stands as one of the better pilots I've ever seen.

(S07E13) "Family meeting!" - Shane

Seven seasons, 88 episodes, and it all comes down to this. Vic Mackey, one of television's greatest anti-heroes, finally got what was coming to him. The Shield is over and Tuesday nights across America just got a little less exciting. Shawn Ryan has crafted some masterful Vic Mackey moments since 2001, but this episode (and Michael Chiklis' acting in it) easily stand apart as one of the show's greatest achievements yet.

(S07E12) "How much memory does that thing got?" - Vic

One down and one to go.

Victor Samuel Mackey. Hard to believe, that after seven seasons, we didn't even know Vic's full name. If you think about it, there's a lot we don't know about him and his past - other than what we've seen him do. A list of deeds that's now on record with the United States federal government. Uncle Sam just gave Vic a free pass.

When I spoke with Shawn Ryan recently, he mentioned that in all his research about dirty cops, when two of them went off the radar like Vic and Ronnie did, one eventually looks out for himself and turns against the other. So while it was shocking to see Vic hang Ronnie out to dry, were you really that surprised?

(S07E11) "Then why do I still feel ashamed about this?" - Corinne

Despite everything she knows about Vic, Corinne still can't help but feel remorse for working with Dutch and Claudette. It's amazing if you think about it - the hold that he has over her even as she recognizes who he really is. It's this bizarre mixture of love, hate, fear, and respect all at the same time. That being said, it only makes sense that Corinne is the one to turn. Only someone with an intimate knowledge of Vic could arrive at the conclusion that no one else could. The rest of the world may know who Vic Mackey really is, but only Corinne knows who he pretends to be.

(S07E10) "You should run too, man." - Ronnie

It's arguable that smarter words have never been uttered by anyone on The Shield before. Run? Um... yeah! The word "duh" comes to mind. How else can Vic possibly protect himself other than just disappearing? With all the pieces to this puzzle, there's just too much chance that something doesn't fit. It's a testament to Vic's ego and hubris that he's still willing to hang on for the remainder of the ride, but longtime fans have to be wondering how this can possibly come out clean for him.

(S07E09) "What? I'm supposed to be Shane Vendrell to whatever Vic Mackey plan you've hatched?" - Dutch

I've got to say - Dutch annoys me sometimes. His high 'n' mighty, holier than thou act can be a bit tiring. Especially when he's being hypocritical about it. For him to say no to Steve and chastise him for setting up that sex offender is completely ridiculous and I'm so glad Billings called him out on it. Dutch has been faking sexual attraction to Rita Denton for weeks now, all in an effort to draw info on Lloyd - completely unethical! It's just humorous to me that he consistently draws a line and then steps over it anyway.

(S07E08) "What if you get forced to do something... that you didn't really want to do?" - Two Man

I imagine that this is what it must look like inside my stomach after eating Taco Bell. For a while, I'm feeling full, loving that hot sauce, seasoned beef, and three cheeses. Having a good time and then bam -- everyone starts turning on each other and all hell breaks loose as the entire meal starts looking for an exit.

Yes, I've just compared The Strike Team to a gordita, but it fits, doesn't it? A big plate of nachos bell-grande can only agree with a Mexican pizza for so long. Doesn't matter which item you're associating with Shane. All that matters is that he's exiting first.

(S07E07) "Ehh... another Mexican donkey show and Aceveda had me playing the reluctant virgin." - Vic

Even though this whole season is really "the beginning of the end," I think it's safe to say that this episode was the true turning point. Yeah, Vic and Ronnie tried to kill Shane but now he's going to retaliate. Bad move. You'd think that by now, Shane would have learned his lesson. Why stick around and add fuel to the fire? He's got Rezian's 100K. Take Mara and the kids and jet - for good. If the little plan he's setting up goes south, then he'll be running anyway. Say what you will - I still think he's stupid. Even Vic understands what it means to quit while you're ahead... well, sometimes. Not in this episode.

(S07E06) "I'm not Shane." - Vic

There are way too many layers to that quote. For Vic to say something like that and to actually believe it just goes to show you how delusional a person he truly is. For him to actually believe that he's somehow better than Shane Vendrell is just about as hypocritical as it gets. Bad behavior leads to more bad behavior by setting a precedent and if you're a longtime fan of The Shield, you know the original sin: Terry Crowley.