TVSquad

*Warning, spoilers from the last two hours of Jack Bauer's sixth bad day.*

(S06E23/S06E24) In honor of the two-hour, 24 season finale, we're going to do things a little differently. We're going to have a live chat during the show so you can post your snarky comments and reactions in real time. The full double-episode review will be posted in this space later.

Will we get the answers to our burning questions? Will there be a Star Wars-like father-son showdown between Jack and Phillip Bauer? We'll soon find out.

Click here to join the chat. Read the episode review below.

(S01E23) At the beginning of the episode, Justin says, "Life is what happens in between big sets." He is talking about surfing, and also the past year and everything that has happened. I'm still trying to figure out whether or not that is true, profound, or whether, as Justin said, it just sounded poetic in his head. And I think I'm going to have to go with poetic in Justin's head. Just like I think this episode was probably so much better in the writers' heads. I have to admit, I am a little disappointed. I am struggling with a huge bias here though: I HATE slapstick. Hate it. And so whenever this show employs it, I just kind of shut down and zone out. Last week was a brilliant, beautiful episode, and I wish they had just stopped with that. In fact, in my mind, last week's episode is just going to be the season finale, and we'll just pretend this one didn't happen, shall we?

(S07E24) "You were the one thing I thought I done right." -Ernie Dell

That's it, huh? It's weird, but I suppose it is possible to enjoy something that you don't like. It's too bad that this is what we waited all season for, but the resolution of the Miniature Killer story was far less imaginative than I hoped it would be. The identity of our killer ended up being just about as standard as it could get and nothing creative even seemed to be attempted. Very un-CSI like if you ask me.

Natalie Davis, i.e. The Miniature Killer, was indeed one of Ernie Dell's foster kids who just happened to be out of her mind. The "great" twist? She blamed Grissom for her foster father's suicide. Foolish I know, but there wasn't much else to go on I guess. I hate to say it, but I have to complain.

(S01E22) Billy Campbell is back as Wayne the serial-killer, now in the middle of an O.J., If I Did It, -style book tour. Larry King, playing himself for the umpteenth time in a crime drama, interviews Wayne, albeit with eyes glued to cue-cards. Larry asks the kind of pointed challenging questions here that only the fictional Larry King is even know to ask. This cameo affords the most fun moment of the night, however: Stark after arresting Wayne during a commercial break in the interview, and never one to pass by a camera, sits down to join Larry for the final segment.

(S04E21) This week the NCIS team managed to put the viewer in the same position as Jenny. Unfortunately, that's not a good thing. When she opened up that cargo container and realized that she had been taken for a ride, I was right there with her, because the viewers had been on a ride of their own.

Now, I get how the formula works. NCIS is a mostly stand alone show, with serial elements. And I'm perfectly fine with that. I've been waiting anxiously for the last half of the season to get some answers about Tony/Jeanne and Le Grenouille, and that's fine. I enjoy the stand alone episodes while we wait. This week though, I would describe as a stand alone serial episode. What I mean is that while they were playing with the ongoing storylines, in the end it amounted to nothing. With the possible exception of knowing that Tony had dinner with Jeanne's mother, this episode could be left off the DVD and the story wouldn't miss a beat.

(S18E16)I was sick, that's why this review is late. Onward:

I may be a Simpsons apologist, but that doesn't mean I don't understand where people are coming from when they say the show isn't what it used to be. Even those like myself who defend the series for still being one of the smartest and funniest shows on television can still recognize a lesser episode, and this episode was certainly not the best one of the season.

(S01E20) This was a straightforward episode concerning the murder of a computer whiz who gets mixed up with some shady characters when he tries to raise big bucks for his daughter's medical needs. Stark only wastes a few minutes chasing the obvious (therefore innocent) initial suspect before turning to an investigation of the evidently-notorious Lundy Brothers.

D.A. Devlin is especially concerned about Stark this time. Not only is she doubtful, as usual, that Stark's crazy tactics will convict (though they almost always do), she is sure that a failure to convict the Lundy Brothers will cost her next week's election. By my count, Stark and the High Profile Crimes Unit are something like 18 for 19, a 94% conviction rate, going into tonight's episode, but you never know, the electorate can be fickle.

(S05E20) This was kind of an interesting episode if you think about it. It was a good concept. Essentially, they took something that was glitzy and over-the-top to begin with and layered it with a storyline about Hollywood, drugs, rehab, and murder. Doesn't get much better than that. Throw in some nods to actual celebrities (similar to Dirt) and we got one of the better CSI: Miami episodes this season.

However, since I love this show, I still have to gripe because there were plenty of things that could have been a little better.

(S02E20) When this episode started off, I have to be honest - I was bored to death. It was slow, the case didn't feel like something the team would normally take on, and I honestly didn't care too much for the mommy/daughter issues between Prentiss and her mother (played by Kate Jackson). Those sentiments remained for the majority of the episode. But in true Criminal Minds fashion, things changed and the final minutes of the show were just as good as any previous episode. Kudos to the writers for turning around a rather lackluster episode in its ending moments.