TVSquad

Samantha Who? is going to be a trivia question one day. What was the name of that comedy on ABC that got good reviews and pretty good ratings and people seemed to like it and then ABC canceled it? Of course, that could probably describe quite a few shows the past several years, but I think the cancellation of Samantha Who? surprised a lot of people when ABC had their upfront a couple of months ago. Now they're doubling up on episodes this summer.

(S01E15) "It's my birthday?" - Sam

Even if it wasn't an earth-shattering or intense episode, Samantha Who?'s season finale was satisfying. The episode wrapped up the Chloe/Todd relationship, clarified where Sam and Todd stand, and gave Sam another clean slate (she got the first one after when she woke up from the coma with amnesia). It also marked the first time that all series regulars shared a scene together.

(S01E14) "My mother is having an affair." - Samantha

How fun is it to watch the Newlys interact? I enjoyed this week's episode because it mainly focused on the weird trio that Samantha forms with her parents. Those of you who've been reading my Samantha Who? reviews regularly know how my I love Regina because of her snarky lines and craziness. After "The Affair," Howard is definitely growing on me.

(S01E13) "I can get a guy by tomorrow." - Samantha

This line may not have been the funniest one of the episode but it had major implications for both Sam and Todd. What if she hadn't been able to find a date for the gallery show? What if she found a guy who turned out to be prince charming and not a mugger? Those two possibilities could have totally changed the ending of the episode, meaning that Todd could still be thinking of Chloe instead of Sam. Luckily for us, Sam found Jerry O'Connell, who was trying to get in his car using a hanger since his Carpoolers friends left him on the curb, and he turned out to not be the guy for our Sam.

(S01E12) "Your friend. I want her. Make it happen." - Chapman

If ABC hadn't decided to air 15 episodes of Samantha Who? this season, this episode could have served as a season finale. It not only sent Sam in the unknown (she quit her job at the end of the episode) but the episode also ended with an important kiss that could have Todd rethink his decision to give Chloe a chance and have us wonder for months what his decision would be. But, thanks to SW? being popular, we will get answers to these questions before the season ends and will get a new set of questions to ponder on all summer long.

(S01E11) "Marry me." - Winston Funk to Sam

This week's episode of Samantha Who? ended up being quite satisfying and I'm not just saying that because the stable boy kissed the amnesiac heroine (which surely pleased the 52.5% of people who voted for "Sam & Todd forever" in our last poll). We were treated with crazy Regina, romance novelist wannabe Dena, teenager with a huge crush Andrea, and smitten with a potential son-in-law Howard. What more can we ask for? Especially after that "look at what you made me do" kiss!

(S01E10) "I love you." - Todd to Chloe

First, I must thank ABC for the fun Samantha Who? marketing campaign they did these past two weeks or so. I know that the fun ads during which Samantha and her mother talked about a song that meant a lot to Regina, or during which Samantha presented her boyfriend, er, ex-boyfriend, Todd, had an effect on some non-watchers (a few of my friends asked me what the show was about and planned on watching the show this week). Let's hope more join the fun.

Secondly, our favorite amnesiac is back on TV! Yay! This cutesy series is definitely one I enjoy watching a lot thanks to Samantha's duality (evil-Sam versus good-Sam), very well played by Christina Applegate, and thanks to Jean Smart and the devilish Andrea, played by Jennifer Esposito.

That said, let's get to the important part of this post: the review.

(S01E09) "Without you, I would be nothing." - Sam to Regina
"You wouldn't be nothing; you'd just be less." - Regina

This week's episode was important in Samantha's life: she slept with a man (thus ending her "virgin" status), she learned to express her feelings and said "I love you," she suffered her first post-accident break up and she learned to be a better boss.

(S01E08) "Having amnesia is like an obstacle course." - Samantha

I never suffered from amnesia but from what we've been seeing for now eight episodes, amnesia does seem to be like an obstacle course or, as the cast picture on the right shows, a maze. Samantha has to overcome obstacles put in her path because she doesn't fully know herself or the world she lives in. She must make her way through life without having a map to guide her. It's trial and error. This week, Samantha had to decide between lying and telling the truth and how it would affect her father.

(S01E07) "Everyday with me is an adventure." - Samantha

That's how I feel when I watch Samantha Who?, one of my guilty TV pleasures. We never know what to expect every week because the lead character doesn't know herself. The series has been one of the most popular new comedies of the season partially because of its lead-in (Dancing with the Stars) and its star (lovable Christina Applegate). I'm not ashamed to say that I enjoy it for its bubbly storylines (we all need a few series in our weekly watch list that don't require us to think too much), its lead character/actress, the devil/angel parts played by Andrea and Dena, and for Jean Smart!

(S04E09) "I mean... shit. We got enough drunks in this room to start our own meetings." - Maggie

Well I hope everyone else enjoyed that as much as I did because this was by far the best episode of the season. At this point, it doesn't seem like we're going to get a huge story, other than Elvis... Wyatt... whatever his name is. Character development seems to be the name of the game and even though plenty of us have complained about the quality of this season, it's about par for the course if you think about it. Three seasons down. It'd almost be weird if we weren't getting some new perspectives.

Take the Gavin family intervention. It still bugs me that the "forgotten siblings" (Timo and Rosemary) are never mentioned at things like this, but we still got some great stuff. Maggie is sick of being addicted, Eddie is in denial about his addiction ("I nip!"), and Teddy loves being addicted. This clan covers all the bases. Mr. Gavin finally made an appearance too... and he was drinking the whole time! Maggie's suggestion to have their own A.A. meetings was perfect though. I can't wait to see one of these things go down. They'll all be drunk.

(S04E08) "Yeah... let me, um, just put the axe away." - Tommy

Well it's about time. This is the Rescue Me I remember. Granted, Tommy never got drunk, but there were moments where it sure felt like he was. From the fight with Janet, to the onslaught of all his ghosts at once, to running into that fire all by himself, Tommy seems to be back to normal. Sort of.

I suppose we should talk about the ghosts first. They've been far and few between all season, but it was all building up to this. The only missing spook? Connor. But that makes sense to me at least because Tommy never sat down with his late son and got advice from him like he did with Jimmy.

But everyone else, including Jimmy, was there. Billy (all the way from season one) along with that other unnamed firefighter who died in 9/11, Johnny, and even Jerry. Although it wasn't Jack McGee in the chair, from the backside it was clearly meant to look like him. What are the ghosts up to these days? Poker and lighting themselves on fire.

(S04E07) "Balls to the wall gentlemen." - Needles

Wow... that was some cold open, huh? Arguably the best the show has had yet. Barely any spoken words and set to some eerie song by who I think was The Twilight Singers. Babies being thrown out windows, bodies piled up on the sidewalk, and seven children who didn't make it. Even Lou said it was one of the worst infernos he'd ever seen. The entire sequence was just very powerful. I even got a little choked up. So does someone want to explain to me how an episode that started off so good ended so flat?

(S04E06) "The hunt begins." - Lou

There's been a lot of talk about how this season of Rescue Me hasn't been that good. People have been disappointed with the lack of continuous plot, the way Tommy has evolved, and lousy way they got rid of Jerry. It's not that I disagree with everyone out there, but I've still loved every episode this season. The show has reached a point where it's starting to evolve. Episodes have much more hidden meaning, there's less of a connection with on-going plots, and often times the ending of an episode doesn't exactly feel like an ending. It feels less like a show and more like a look into the actual life of Tommy Gavin. I agree that it's been tough to watch at times, but I do feel like the show is becoming richer in many other ways.

(S04E05) "Wow... looks like the bottom of my Dustbuster." - Sean

Well there you go. Leary and Tolan still have plenty hidden up their sleeves. After last week's extremely sub-par episode, we came back with this one. That was one hell of an opening, huh? From Janet forgetting the baby in the parking lot to the tractor-trailer truck bowling right into it... just another Tommy Gavin nightmare. If anything though, this is just his way of manifesting his very real concerns for the safety of this still unnamed baby. Tommy has been sober for some time and it doesn't take a genius to see that Janet is going downhill fast. Is his new option really worth pursuing though?