My TV show rotation: A weekend in review #5

Time for another trip through my show rotation. Things are a little bit different from my last update, but not drastically so. Amazing Stories is no longer on Netflix, so I had to drop it out of my rotation. I finished with Orange is the New Black as well as American Horror Story: Coven and Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Replacing these shows are Hell on Wheels and Glee, which have both recently had new episodes added to Netflix.

Survivor is not on Netflix, but I recently just finished up with Heroes vs Villains, which I had been watching on my computer. Instead of going right into a new season of Survivor, I am taking a small break and going back to watch Big Brother 8 instead. I considered adding Aquarius to my rotation, since I am interested in the Manson clan and all that stuff that happened but I can wait until I bump a few more shows out of my rotation before I start that.

Let's not waste any more time. We shall begin.

Season 6

Episode 1

"Loser Like Me"

May as well start things off with Glee. Season 6 just came up on Netflix, and I am very excited about that. At first glance this may not seem like a typical "me" show, but I enjoy it. I am comfortable enough with my masculinity to say that the show does make me cry every once in a while. Making me cry isn't easy to do, so congrats to Glee for making it happen. It is quite an accomplishment.

At the end of last season, the glee club was disbanded and everyone seemingly had gone their separate ways. I know that there is no way the show could end like that. The glee club will of course be back. But why? How? Guess I am going to find out.

*watches episode*

Rachel and Blaine return home after fizzling out in New York. Things have changed in Lima. Mr Schue is gone and is coaching Vocal Adrenaline. Sue is ruling the school with an iron fist and funneling all their money to sports. Blaine takes a job with the Warblers. Kurt returns to patch things up with Blaine only to find that he is now dating Karofsky.

Rachel consults Ted Beneke and uses her Broadway money to fund the McKinley glee club. The episode ends with Rachel belting out "Let It Go" and beginning her search to start recruiting club members. I always though Rachel had to perfect voice to sing this song and I am glad it finally happened.

Overall, a good episode. We knew the club would be back, and now it is. There remains possibility for many interesting dynamics, especially with three of the show's biggest stars all coaching their own glee clubs. Sue's reign of terror looks to continue in the background. And I am especially curious to see what happened to all of the former members of the club like Marley, Kitty, and Unique. Season 6 is only 13 episodes so I expect this to be a fast paced roller coaster of a final season. And I can't wait to see what will happen.

Season 2

Episode 24

"Ultimate"

Just three more episodes of this show left, and then I am done with it until new ones come up. I'm kind of excited for this to be over with. I liked it at the beginning, but it just seems to get stupider and stupider with each passing episode. Fingers are crossed that there is no season 3. Why do I keep watching it - you may ask. Because once I start something I have to finish it. It is a weird OCD thing I think.

*watches episode*

It was basically what I expected. Goofy. A lot of action. In this one, Spiderman's team is turned against him by the Green Goblin. I don't know how, but Spidey reverses the brainwashing and saves the day. I was too busy checking out Facebook to really care too much about what happened here. At the end of the episode, SHIELD is so impressed by Spidey's heroics that they send the Avengers in to invite him to the team.

Again, I wasn't wild about the episode. I'm sure if I was a kid I would have loved this. Bring on the dark gritty dramas please.

Season 5

Episode 6

"Buyout"

Is this drama dark or gritty enough for ya? I've seen this show in its entirety already, but it is so good I decided to watch the whole thing from the beginning again. I've made good time. I expect to finish this within a few weeks. The last episode I watched was the one where they stole the methlamine from the train, and it ended with the little boy getting shot. I'm excited to watch more.

*watches episode*

You can never really go wrong with Breaking Bad, and this episode proved it yet again. The episode starts with the crew cleaning up after the train fiasco. We all know that Jesse has a soft spot for kids, so he is furious with Todd and wants to get rid of him. With the murder of the child in the back of his mind, plus the fact that he is constantly being tailed by the DEA, Mike decides that the whole enterprise is too risky and he wants to sell the methlamine and get out. Jesse does as well.

Walt is not okay with this. He wants to build a meth empire and thinks that these two are chickening out. He doesn't want to repeat his same mistake he made with Grey Matter (or whatever it is called) where he left for a small amount of money and then missed out on making billions. Mike is threatened by Walt and ties him up while looking to sell off the methlamine.

At the end, Walt escapes. He is nearly murdered by Mike, but he and Jesse manage to convince him to hold his fire because Walt has a brilliant plan to make them all filthy rich. The show ends with Walt about to go into his sales pitch.

This is mainly a dialogue based episode that is a table setter for things to come in the series. We learn a little more about Walt's motivation for not wanting to quit until he is ahead. Mainly though this sets up the end game for the series. I really wanted to keep watching more episodes. Once I finish with this blog entry, I think I am going to polish off the rest of the show in pretty short order.

Season 4

Episode 7

The Doctor's Daughter

I gueeeess I'll watch Doctor Who next. Despite all the rave reviews this show gets, I still have yet to really see what all the fuss is about. If I haven't caught Doctor Who fever after 47 episodes, I will probably never catch it. Nevertheless, I am soldiering on. There are some good episodes every once in a while.

*watches episode*

This was an okay episode. It wasn't as bad as some of the others I have seen in the past, but it is definitely not one of the show's best either. The Tardis freaks out (seriously, for such an advanced piece of machinery you think it would be a little more reliable!) and sends the Doctor, Donna, and Martha to a world where two species live underground and have been engaged in a war that spans several generations. The Doctor is grabbed and forced to submit to some kind of test, which uses his genetic material to spawn a "daughter" who is meant to be a perfect soldier.

I got bored and started Facebooking halfway through the episode. But the general gyst of the episode is that the surface of the planet is being terraformed, and the underground war has only been going on for 7 days. But because everyone in the war keeps dying, and new clones made, it is technically true that it has been going on for generations.

Stuff happens, the doctor's daughter is shot and killed, and somehow the situation is resolved and the Doctors and his two gal pals are allowed to leave. Like I said, I was Facebooking so all the details are lost on me.

I am just about ready to give up on Doctor Who. My OCD compels me to keep watching even though I don't really enjoy it. But that's dumb. What is the point of watching if I don't even like the show? And this wasn't even a bad episode in the grand scheme of the show. If this can't keep me entertained, I don't know what will.

Season 2

Episode 21

"The Prime Mover"

The Twilight Zone isn't my favorite show in the world either, but I like it much more than Doctor Who. Some of this show's episodes are really good. Some are clunkers. But for the most part it seems more hit than miss. By a small margin. I'm almost finished with season 2 of this show. I've been jumping around out of order while watching this show since none of the episodes are connected anyway. I actually skipped season one because the iconic musical introduction is missing from those episodes, and it just didn't feel the same. I'll probably go back and finish season one once I finish with these last few handfuls of season two episodes.

This episode didn't sound very interesting to me, so I actually skipped over it when watching season two. And now during season two mop up duty I have come back to it. How will it fair?

*watches episode*

I actually kinda liked this one. In this episode, a compulsive gambler discovers that a friend of his can move objects with his mind. He comes up with the idea to help him win a fortune gambling - by moving dice and manipulating the roulette wheel, etc. He builds up a huge fortune, but ends up losing it all when his friend loses the power on a crucial roll.

I don't know if the friend intentionally screwed up because his pal was being an arrogant jerk, or what. Because we do see him use the power again at the end of the episode. But the whole time watching the episode, I just knew that he was going to lose his fortune. That is what always happens on the Twilight Zone, right? It almost never seems to end well.

I was entertained though. I thought it was fun and I had a good time watching. Just because I knew how it would end doesn't mean that I didn't want to see how it was going to get there. It wasn't the greatest episode of television ever, but that doesn't mean I wasn't entertained. That's all I ask for.

Season 7

Episode 6

"The Storm of the Century"

This show is usually pretty good and can always be counted on for a laugh or two in times of crisis. I enjoy the low class humor and the non PC nature of the show. Yeah it can be dumb sometimes, but hey sometimes dumb is good.

*watches episode*


Another solid episode. Philadelphia is expecting a hurricane level storm to hit, and people are freaking out. Some of the gang head to the store to stock up while others stay behind to protect the bar from looters. It was a simple story, but filled with a lot of lol moments and the usual crass comedy.

My favorite part of the episode was the guys ogling the breasts of the TV weather reporter. And how Dennis and Charlie tried to lure chicks back to the bunker at the grocery store to repopulate the planet in case the storm killed everyone. At the bar, Dee and Frank watched Youtube videos of black people and white people rioting. How when a white person does it, it is called survival. But when a black does it, it is looting. The show totally mocks those kind of issues, and I love it for that.

Season 2

Episode 11 

"Aftershocks"

I've always been a pretty big fan of this show. I have read that season 2 is better than season 1, but so far I am not liking season 2 as much. Whereas season 1 was more of a "mystery of the week" type show with an over arching serial story line going on in the background, season 2 is all serialized all the way. Which I don't mind. I love shows like Lost and Breaking Bad that are just one big story line that continues throughout the entirety of the show.

But it isn't as well done on this show. It is still a solid show, but I just don't feel like the whole obelisk/alien city plot line is as interesting as it could have been. The last episode ended with Skye getting super powers (or at least it looked that way) so that could be the start of something interesting.

*watches episode*

Before I continue any further, I must note that I saw the name of Rafe Judkins in the opening credits. I thought to myself how that name seemed awfully familiar. Wasn't Judkins Rafe's last name in Survivor Guatemala? So I googled it - and it is indeed Rafe from Survivor. Weird. Cool though, because I liked him on that show and now he is writing for a different show that I enjoy.

Anyway...

It was a pretty good episode. Skye's new power apparently is the ability to manufacture earthquakes. No one else knows about this except for Fitz - and he has decided to look the other way in order to get Skye out of quarantine. Raina has turned into some spiky looking mutant. She goes to Skye's dad - the dude from Twin Peaks - for help, but he turns her away.

Coulson manufactures a fake rescue of their Hydra captive. The captive leads Shield to Hydra's base where an attack is launched and many members of their hierarchy are killed. A big deal is made out of that black guy dying in the previous episode. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't find it in me to really care much about his demise. We've only known him for, like, ten episodes. And this show isn't nearly personal enough or character driven enough for me to become attached.

Regardless, it was a solid episode. I highly look forward to seeing whatever is going to come next. Looks like things really change a lot in the upcoming episodes, and that is exciting to me because like I said I have had enough with the whole obelisk story line.

Season 3

Episode 5

"Chuck Versus First Class"

It is hard for me to really get too excited about Chuck. Sure I appreciate the show's sense of humor and its characters. There are some good episodes from time to time. But the show lacks a hook. The story line isn't nearly interesting enough to keep me watching episode to episode.

It's a nice change of pace type show to watch from time to time, but it will never become one of my favorites.

*watches episode*

Lo and behold I really enjoyed this episode. It was a solid mix of action and humor. There was some good character development. We get to see Chuck go off on his first solo mission in this one. He believes he is heading to Paris to partake in a mission, only to learn that he is after something on the plane.

Back at the Buy More, Morgan is undergoing constant harassment from his employees, who feel he has sold out to obtain his managerial position. He enlists the help of Casey to help whip everyone back into shape. This was some pretty solid comical relief. I think I actually enjoy all the Buy More drama more than I do the actual spy missions on this show.

On the plane, Chuck has to battle Stone Cold Steve Austin for a mysterious key that the US Government wants its hands on. Using his intersect powers, plus with a little help from an intervening Sarah back home, Chuck completes his mission. And even picks up a lady friend along the way.

Like I said, this was a pretty fun time. I like this show when it is not taking itself too seriously (which it doesn't do very often) and when it keeps things simple. This was just a fun, simple episode that really allowed its characters to shine. Keep it up, Chuck.

Big Brother

Season 8

Episode 3

I started watching all seasons of Big Brother from the beginning about 6 or 7 years back. I had missed seasons 3, 4, and 5 when they had aired on TV originally. I did watch seasons 6 and 7 on live TV back in the day, but season 7 was All Stars and I didn't know half of anyone in the cast. So the main goal with going back and watching from the beginning was to watch those seasons I had missed. Familiarize myself with those casts a little more.

Plus, seasons 1 and 2 had been sooooo long ago. I wanted to watch season 1 to see if it was as bad as I remembered. Which it pretty much was. And I wanted to see Dr Will in action on season 2 to observe the crazy game he had played to win.

After watching up to season 7, I stopped watching. I needed a Big Brother break. Little did I know that break would last nearly 5 years. But now I have resumed my epic rewatch of Big Brother. I have seen season 8 already, but again - it was so long ago I don't remember much of what happened. I know who wins and who makes the final 3. It is the journey I don't remember. I am super interested to see how Dick goes from big target to winning. How things fall apart in the house that makes him go off on everyone. I'm only on episode 3 - so that is a ways away yet. But I do remember this being a pretty great season so I am excited to relive it once again.

*watches episode*

Big Brother is a show that I can put on just about any time and always be entertained. This episode was no exception. In the last episode, Kail nominated Amber and Carol. So the focus of this episode was on the power of veto. If the nominations were going to be kept the same. If it should be used to backdoor someone like Joe, Daniele, or Jen.

Jen was the center of a lot of drama in this episode. Not only was the crying over her picture completely absurd (this happened in episode 2) but in this episode she caused a lot of chaos. She falsely accused Nick of trying to make out with her, which was quickly proved a lie. She also continued to irritate the whole house by wearing her stupid Jen shirts. Dick snapped on her too for the way she had treated him early in the game. When I first watched this show I thought for sure she would be gone, but Daniele won the veto and kept the nominations the same.

I had a fun time watching this show. I've already seen it, but only have vague memories of what happened in the house, especially so early in the game. So it is nice being able to go back and see it again. My only gripe was the America's Player twist this episode. Eric had to tell a fake sob story to Kail. Uhh... okay?

If he had to tell it to someone weird like Dick or Jen it might have been a fun twist. But instead it just turned out to be incredibly stupid and pointless.

Season 6

Episode 12

"Leonardo is Missing"

TMNT hasn't aged well, and I keep telling myself to stop watching. Just delete it off my computer and be done with it. But there is a part of me that wants those bragging rights, to be able to tell myself and I everyone else that I have watched every single episode of the original cartoon series.

I actually might stop watching soon, since it really isn't worth it to watch a show I really don't enjoy just to say that I did. We will see what happens though.

*watches episode*

It wasn't a terrible episode. It did take me over 2 hours to watch a 20 minute long episode though, because I kept on falling asleep. Leonardo disappears after picking up a distress call while his fellow turtles are away. They come back and find him missing, and immediately assume the worst. Krang and Shredder have detected an energy spike and proceed to check it out, thinking that maybe this energy can help power the Technodrome. Turns out that this is where Leo was headed.

The energy and the distress call are coming from a vessel that burrowed its way out of the earth. There are three dinosaurs aboard who claim they survived the dino extinction and that they occasionally venture to the planet's surface to save species that are about to go extinct. They were saving an endangered flower when their ship broke down. The turtles reunite with Leonardo and fight off the Foot clan. They find a way to power the dinosaur's ship and save the day.

Considering that most episodes of TMNT stink, this wasn't a bad one. I probably would have liked it more if I didn't keep falling asleep, but there's not much I can do about that. The episode must have played over and over again five plus times before I finally was able to stay awake enough to watch the whole thing. I liked the whole plot line with the dinosaurs, and I hope I see them again in future episodes. Also, there was a lack of really horrible pizza jokes in this episode, which I appreciated immensely.

Season 2

Episode 21

"Something Borrowed"

Sometimes I really like this show and think it is cute and creative. Other times I could care less for it. What will I get this time around?

*watches episode*

A good one, that's what I got. So season 2 is coming to a wrap, so it is about time they FINALLY got to Marshall and Lilly's wedding. Nearly everything at the wedding goes wrong, including Marshall shaving a stripe through his hair because he hated the frosted tips the hairdresser gave him. Also, the harp player is pregnant and can only play half the harp. There is a problem with the flowers, etc etc.

So to deal with all this, the group meets outside and has a private ceremony with just their inner circle of friends present. Barney officiates and tears up. Marshall and Lilly decide that this was the perfect wedding. Even though there were a lot of hitches in the public ceremony, they cared less about them because of what they were able to share in private.

As I said, this was a good episode. So many of the previous episodes felt like filler or a lead in to the wedding. So it is cool to finally get to see the wedding. Sure those episodes where not much happens can be funny some times but I find the show is at its best when big things are going on. And this show does a good job of making things funny and believable instead of being totally off the wall stupid like other sitcoms out there. I like it.

Season 1

Episode 9

"Trou Normand"

I like this show so far, and I am very interested to see where it goes. I have read that eventually it begins to tie into the movie Hannibal (Mason Verger will appear at some point) and Red Dragon. If it ever gets picked up for more seasons: to Silence of the Lambs. I've read all of those books and seen the movie versions of all of them multiple times, so I am very excited to watch it play out.

The only problem is getting through this first season. When I watch the show, I do tend to be very interested. I have a good time. The 45 minutes seems to fly by. But I am never like "oooh yeah let's watch another one." It tends to be a week or 2 before I watch another episode. So it has taken me a few months just to get to episode 9. It could be because I have so many other shows to watch. If I just watched this, I would probably be through it already.

*watches episode*

Funny how I was just saying that I don't have an urge to binge watch this. Right after this ended I was thinking about watching another episode. It was really good. But alas, the blog must go on.

A lot of things happened in this episode. The main plot line for the show was the FBI discovering a totem pole made of dead bodies out in the middle of nowhere. The killer is searched for, and it turns out to be Lance Henriksen which I thought was awesome. I haven't seen him in anything for a long time and it was nice to hear that voice again.

The continuing plot of the season went on in the background. Will Graham finds out that that girl (I can never remember her name) killed that dude and buried the body. How descriptive. I am so good with names. He also deduces that Hannibal was in on it. He confronts Hannibal and discovers the truth. They decide to keep it quiet for the time being because it is what is best for the girl.  We also find out that she did indeed lure other girls in to be killed by her father.

The episode ends, but the story is far from over. Like I said, this was a very good episode. It accomplished what other episodes of the show have so far been unable to do. I could see myself starting to watch this show at a more rapid clip. Especially once Breaking Bad and Agents of Shield are out of the rotation.

Season 2

Episode 12

"Bad Eggs"

I've been warming up a lot to Buffy lately. I thought it started out rough and that it was nearly unwatchable at the beginning of the show's run. But here in season 2 it has really found its niche. Supposedly after episodes 13 and 14 it gets even better, so I am excited about that. But first I must get through episode 12. Will it be any good?

*watches episode*

No, no. This was not a good episode. I must clarify that even at its worst, Buffy is still better than a few shows out there. For example: Dr Who. Even though this admittedly was not a great episode, I still found it better than nearly everything Dr Who has offered me.

In this episode, a giant larvae-like creature is rising through the cracks beneath the city. This creature is called a bezoar. I have heard the word bezoar before in Harry Potter, but apparently it is a completely different thing here. It releases eggs that possess people. One by one, Buffy sees people like her mom, Giles, and Cordelia succumb to the egg creatures. She must deal with all of this while at the same time fighting off these hilly billy like vampires that have come to kill her. In the end, she is pulled in by the bezoar but manages to hack it apart with some kind of enormous blade. The bezoar dead, the people of Sunnydale return to their normal selves.

I viewed this as kind of a goofy fluff episode. It didn't really do anything to advance the plot. The story itself with the evil eggs was very silly. It wasn't the best Buffy has had to offer, not by a long shot. But if what I have heard is true, the show is about to get really good. So I won't hold this momentary hiccup against the show.

Season 4

Episode 3

"Chicken Hill"

Hell on Wheels finally makes its debut on my blog. I've been watching this show one season at a time for several years now. This series is consistent in quality, but rarely exciting. Exciting things do happen at times. But for the most part this is a pretty slow moving show.

The description on Netflix says that this is a show about a man taking a job at a railroad to track down the soldiers who killed his family. The description is a little misleading. While that is how the show started, that story line was tied up halfway through the first season. This is for the most part a Western about the building of the railroad itself.

Like I said, it is pretty slow at times. There is a lot of buildup but little payoff. The show boasts a large cast of characters, the majority of which bore me. There are too many to focus on. I watch this show for Bohannon and the Swede. I couldn't care less about that Irish guy or the tattooed whore. Miles O'Brien has his moments, but most of his scenes are dull or long winded too.

Hopefully this is a good episode. The season has limped out of the gates so you'd think we are due for something big to happen soon.

*watches episode*

This was a solid episode. Typical Hell on Wheels fare. Nothing really flashy or exciting happened, but it was still an interesting 45 minutes of television. Once again, many characters shared the spotlight. There was a lot less Durant and his politicking this time around, which helped.

Bohannon returns to Cheyenne from the Mormon Fort. He encounters resistance from the new law enforcement in town but dispatches of them with non lethal force. He is offered several jobs but turns them all down to work with the freed men. He really wants his Chief Engineer job back since he knows that the railroad needs him to proceed. He wins the job back (I think?) when he protects everyone from an explosion that the other Chief Engineer didn't think was going to be dangerous.

Other things happen in the background. Eva is still pissed at Bohannon because she holds him responsible for Elam's apparent death. I still think he is out there somewhere though. Eva also begins to learn how to cheat while gambling. With the trigger happy new law enforcement in town, this is totally setting her up to get caught in the future. These new lawmen also beat down Bohannon at the end of the episode for shaming them in front of their superior. This won't end well.

So there is a lot going on, but right now it isn't too overwhelming. This was a good episode because it didn't spread itself too thin, and it focused on the main issues we should be concerned with right now. There was some good action, some dramatic dialogue and tense standoffs. This episode definitely sets us up for something big to happen, and soon. I approve.

Season 3

Episode 6

"The Academy"

I keep waiting for this show to have a really good episode that blows me away. But for the most part it is just the same thing show after show after show. Lots of guns blazing, lightsaber flaring fights. Lots of boring dialogue. Little to no character development.

Maybe this will be the episode that breaks the mold. And maybe I'm the Queen of Sheba.

*watches episode*

Another okay episode. Nothing spectacular. Nothing too cringe worthy bad. It was just... okay.

Asohka is sent to Mandalore to teach its youth about the dangers of a corrupt government. The youngsters take her lesson a little too close to heart and decide to start investigating the food shortage on the planet. Only to discover that the shortage is caused by, you guessed it, corrupt government officials. They get themselves into trouble - but Asohka swoops in to save the day.

Basic story. Plot twists we could see coming a mile away. It was not a terrible episode. It's not even a terrible series. It is just so horribly bland and forgettable. This is not the Star Wars I fell in love with. Here is hoping that once I finish with this series I never have to dabble the in pre New Hope Star Wars universe again.

Season 1

Episode 21

"Secrets and Lies"

It feels like I have been watching Criminal Minds for forever now. And I am not even out of season 1 yet.

It is a good show. There is rarely a clunker episode. I'm just not connecting with the characters that much. And each episode's case is solved, wrapped, and tied up with a silver bow at the conclusion of the show. So there is really not a huge incentive to binge watch.

I don't dislike the show. But it is going to take me a very, very long time to complete it.

*watches episode*

So this was a fun episode. The team is called into the CIA headquarters to investigate a potential mole in the building. This mole killed a fellow CIA agent who was trying to hide Nadia from Lost from her husband. After some digging and a lot of false accusations. the mole is uncovered. Nadia and her kids are saved.

This show does stories well. It doesn't do characters all that great, but I am hoping as the show ages that area of the show will improve. I enjoyed the episode. It's not quite enough to make me want to run out and immediately watch some more, but it was a definite step in the right direction. If I had 10 or fewer shows in my rotation, I would probably watch this show a lot faster. But with there consistently being about 20 in my rotation, it is hard to find time for Criminal Minds. I'm hoping to get the number of shows cut down a bit because shows like Criminal Minds are too good to be ignored on such a consistent basis.

Season 3

Episode 12

"War of the Coprophages"

I think it should be clear to everyone reading this blog by now that I am not the biggest X-Files fan. Aside from a few standout episodes, I tend to get quite bored/confused by all the complex conspiracy theories. I actually prefer the weird case by case episodes rather than the long story arcs that persist through a whole season.

I haven't truly enjoyed an episode of this show in a long time, and have even considered giving up on it. However, this episode about a deadly cockroach infestation looks like it could be fun. Let's give it a whirl.

*watches episode*

I actually had fun with this one. No elaborate conspiracy theories. No mysterious strangers showing up to save the day at the last minute before fading back into the dark. This was just one single bizarre case. Perhaps on the surface a silly one, but still pretty fun.

Cockroaches have begun infesting a small town, killing those that they come into contact with. Mulder just so happens to be in town and he investigates while conferring with Scully over the telephone. His investigation leads him to a bug researcher in town who discovers that the body of one of the cockroaches is made out of metal. But the bugs keep disintegrating before any real tests can be done.

The episode didn't have that satisfactory of a conclusion. We can determine that the bugs were brought in through manure shipments, but we don't find out where they come from, what they are, or why it is that they kill people. The manure farm is blown up and the threat is seemingly ended. And that's it.

I guess that is part of why people like the X-Files, because not every case is that easily solvable. It kind of goes against the theme of the show if they were able to figure out every single detail of every mystery put in front of them. The truth is out there, after all. But for someone like me who dislikes open endings, this show drives me a little nuts sometimes.

Season 1

Episode 12

"What to Do While You're Waiting"

This show and I got off to a slow start, but the more I watch it the more invested I become. It is really the characters that are carrying the show for me. Playoff time is approaching. Many of the athletes and students on the show are stressed out or have become bogged down with personal drama. There are a ton of different storylines going on, and I can't wait to see where they are all going to lead.

*watches episode*

This episode focused very little on football. It was mainly a character driven episode - and that is where the show shines. With no game this week, Dillon must wait on the outcome of a different game to see if they will make the playoffs or not. Street's parents continue on with their lawsuit against the coach. They say if he would have taught his players to tackle properly, Street never would have been hurt. It was a freak football injury. Seems like a really dumb lawsuit to me, but what do I know?

Those are the two big stories in this episode. Other side stories include Smash's romance, Matt's dad struggling with home life, and Tyra facing off against her mother's abusive boyfriend. I enjoyed myself with this one. I can't emphasize enough about how this show is at its best when focusing on the characters. And this was a huge character building show. Other programs out there fail in this regard. You could have the most interesting stories in the world but without good characters it is all for naught. I'd rather watch a show like this than the X-Files, Dr Who, The Clone Wars, Criminal Minds, etc, any day of the week.

Done for now

That's all for this week. It may be a few weeks before I update this blog but as always, I hope that the rotation will be a little different next time around. I should be done with Spider-Man any day now, so that will be out of the rotation. I am nearly finished with Hannibal season one.

I expect that I will be finished with Breaking Bad by the next time I do a show rotation write up. I'm on the home stretch of that show, and I could totally see myself watching a few episodes a night and finishing up with it. Season 6 of Glee is only 13 episodes long. Hell on Wheels' most recent season is only 13 episodes.

I don't expect it will take me long to finish Agents of Shield. And who knows, I may just finally give up on Dr Who and TMNT like I have been threatening to do for a few blog entries now. 

So that is potentially 8 shows out of the rotation by the next time I do this. 

New shows I am interested in watching are Aquarius - which I had already mentioned - The 100, Bloodline, Arrow, Sense8, Enterprise, Heroes, Sherlock, and a few more. I'll probably download season 2 of Hannibal. There will always be shows to plug up the holes in my rotation. Which is kind of irritating actually because it is like a trap I will never be able to get out of. I could totally be doing something productive with my time!

Curse you Netflix, curse you. 

Video Game Review: Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Sega Genesis

To me, Sonic 2 epitomizes the Sega Genesis console. It was the first game for the Genesis that I ever owned. Plus there is the fact that Sonic is Sega's flagship character, and many consider Sonic 2 to be the best Sonic game out there.

I got this game on Christmas Eve of 1992. It was one of the best Christmases I ever had. I got so many things that I wanted. A new TV. A new VCR. A Sega Genesis AND a copy of Sonic 2. It was an embarrassment of riches. Probably my biggest Christmas haul I ever brought in as a kid.

My brother got the same array of presents as well, only with a different game (I think it was Pit Fighter? Don't quote me on that). I think the reason for us getting so many of these gifts was because my asshole stepdad was sick of us kids and wanted us out of his hair. What better way to accomplish this than by making us never want to leave our rooms? It worked.

But hey I wasn't complaining. I desperately wanted a Sega Genesis, and it was one of the only nice things he ever did for me. Beggars can definitely not be choosers.

I holed up in my room that Christmas Eve night and played this game like there was no tomorrow. Nowadays I can breeze through this game in my sleep. But back then, playing it for the first time, I couldn't make it through the second level. I always managed to fall into that purple water and either die by falling off the screen, or die because I couldn't get to the surface in time. I have an irrational fear of being underwater, so every time I got down there I would completely panic and freak out.

I did make it to the Robotnik battle on that stage a few times, but I always would fall between the slats after hitting him with my jump attack. Eventually I gave up and went to bed with Sonic on the brain. But it was okay. I didn't get pissed or frustrated. I was really good at games and I would have been irritated if I had beaten it on the first night.

Time passed, and the more I played the game, the better and better I got. I can't tell you how long it took me before I beat it, but it wasn't long. Being my only Genesis game, I explored every nook and cranny of Sonic 2 and completely mastered the crap out of it.

The only thing that eluded me was mastery of the half pipe bonus stages. I didn't know what would happen if I collected all the Chaos Emeralds. I had played the original Sonic on my friends' Genesis and could never come close to getting all of them. But this was my baby and I was bound and determined to make it happen.

I quickly ascertained that there was simply no way to get enough rings needed by playing just as Sonic or Tails. As much as I hated Tails, and as much as he would always get hit and completely flub up my game, I needed him to get those extra rings that you couldn't get with one player alone.

I tried. I played. I persevered. There were many controller throwing moments and shouted curses of agony and despair, but eventually I did it. And the result of getting all those Chaos Emeralds completely blew my mind. I'm just playing the game, minding my own business. Hoping for an added little scene after the credits rolled. But no. I make a jump and just happen to hit the jump button in mid air. And holy crap, the music changes and I become a much faster, much more yellow, and much more damage resistant version of Sonic.

I felt like a complete badass. I already loved the game to death, but this had given it an all new depth. And the fact that it was such a difficult thing to accomplish made it even sweeter.

It wasn't long before Sonic 3 came out and Sonic 2 started collecting dust. Then Sonic & Knuckles came out, which wasn't as good. But that game let me explore the world of Sonic 2 in a new way. True, playing as Knuckles doesn't really add a whole to the game. But it did breathe some life into an old game that I hadn't played in a long time. That lock on technology is outdated now, but it was genius for its time.

Now, over 20 years since I first laid my hands on the game - I can still appreciate just how great Sonic 2 really is. It isn't as challenging as the first Sonic game. The levels are much shorter, and there are only two stages per level. Most of these stages I am able to complete in about 2 minutes. I think the boss battles are a lot easier too.

But it just has that unmistakable fun factor going for it. The whole game is just so well made. It is bright, it is colorful. The music and sound effects were (and still are) top notch. Many tweaks have been made to the original Sonic which have made the game even better. Most noticeably, the spin dash has been added. Hold down and hit the jump button, and you can rev Sonic up for a super handy burst of speed. The spin dash has been a staple of every Sonic game since. I don't know how Sonic 1 got along without it!

The stages are the best thing about the game. They are all so well designed. There are secrets everywhere. Multiple paths you can take to the end. Everything is so pretty to look at and just sucks you right in. My favorite stages are probably the Casino Night and the Wing Fortress.

Funny side story - my mom, who never ever played video games, used to love Sonic 2. She came into my room one day when I was nearing the end of the game and asked to give it a try. I was on my last life and farther than I had ever made it before. But this was unprecedented. My mom, wanting to play a video game? I handed the controller off and she immediately proceeded to walk right past some rings and into the clutches of an enemy, killing me instantly and sending me back to the beginning of the game. I was mildly irritated, but amused at the same time.

But mom would go on to play this game when I was at school, and she actually became pretty good at it. She never beat the game, but she could make it to the final boss of the Wing Fortress, which we jokingly called the Living Fortress because the font of the game makes the W look like an LIV.

So I have some pretty fond memories of the game. Even without the memories, I would still love this game. Sonic 2 was a separate entity from the original Sonic game. It made some improvements to it. Added a new character. It was just a lot more fun. Every Sonic game after Sonic 2 didn't do much to improve the Sonic Formula. Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, and whatever else is out there are just more of the same.

Sonic 2 was the last great, truly original game in the series.

I own this game as part of the Sonic Mega Collection for the Gamecube. Imagine, me playing a Sonic game on a Nintendo console. How times have changed...

But a perk of this is that the disc contains nearly every old Sonic game in the Genesis era. One of these games is "Knuckles in Sonic 2" which is the exact same game as Sonic 2, but it allows you to play as Knuckles. This is how I played the game this time around. I wanted to play it twice, once with Knuckles and once with Sonic and Tails. But it is the exact same game. No point in playing Mario 2 multiple times with each of the characters, right? It is still the same game.

Playing with Knuckles doesn't cheapen the experience either. Sure you could be a wimp and climb all the walls as a shortcut and glide over almost the whole stage. But that's cheap. I equate that to picking the Princess in Mario 2 and just jumping and hovering past everything. You don't really get to play the game that way. Sure, I took advantage of his extra powers a few times, but take in to account that he doesn't jump nearly as high as Sonic. It all evens out in the end.

It will probably be a while before I pick up Sonic 2 again. If I had to make a list of the top 5 games that were influential to me as a gamer, this would definitely be on it. I have played and explored this game so many times, inside and out. 20 plus years since the game came out, and I can still finish it with 10 plus lives and multiple continues, rarely dying the whole way through. The only thing I struggle with is getting all the Chaos Emeralds, but I consider those a luxury.

This is truly a remarkable game and an all time classic. The only things I could knock it for would be its length and its lack of replay value. Those are the only things keeping it from a perfect score for me. But really, I am just nitpicking. Sonic 2 rules.

Overall:

A

Special Guest Video Game Review: Parasite Eve

Parasite Eve

PlayStation

Special announcement everyone! For the first time ever in the history of this blog, we have a special guest entry. My good friend Jeff (AKA the Almighty Wisk) has recently finished playing Parasite Eve, and really wanted to submit a review.

I actually haven't played Parasite Eve for a few years. When I write a review, I only write them for games I just finished playing. I toyed with the idea of quickly playing through this game so I could post a double review, but I couldn't find the time. So this one is all Wisk.

If and when I beat this game again in the future, I will post a review of my own. And I would like to let you all know that if anyone else out there has a game review they would like to submit - please feel free to do so. The more contributions I get to this page, the merrier.

For now, sit back, kick up your feet, and enjoy the Wisk show.

----

Hey guys, Almighty Wisk here stepping in for a guest review of a game since Dan is too lazy to put one out himself. Allow me to sex your eyeballs and use my words to lather you into a creamy goodness of nostalgia and word love.

Survival horror: what is the first thing that comes to mind? Resident Evil, Silent Hill, to some die hard fans Fatal Frame. Playstation, between 1994 and 1999 survival horror was in its prime, the combined gameplay of puzzle, platform, and shooter, something for everyone. I was on this hype train, and I am even now, waiting for something worthy to come along that matches the initial 'on the edge of my seat' feeling I used to have. With that it was time to dive into the tail end of the Playstation era and play the hidden gem Parasite Eve.

Some may have heard of it and some may have not. Parasite Eve is the first game by Squaresoft (now Square Enix) to have a Mature rating, which due to that rating did not get much marketing, which to me is what makes this game an underplayed classic. It wasn;t until 2 years later, (which we all know is 200 years in this industry) that it was ranked number 16 in "Famitsu" magazine's top 100 Playstation games of all time, and in 2010 ranked number 7 in IGN's "top 10 games that need an HD remake" (and I would buy that in a  heartbeat). Some of you may be thinking, "But Wisk, if the game is so great why haven't I heard of it?" This game sold less than a million copies in America. 890,000 to be approximate, and it is still in the hearts and minds of IGN in 2010. What does that tell you?

What makes this game so wonderful?  Let's start from the beginning, as soon as you hit the power button and load up the game, you are treated to a fantastic CGI montage of the game without spoiling anything and an amazing intro theme, and hit the new game button,  you'll be treated to a cutscene of the city of New York.

The game is set in New York, 1998. You play Aya Brea, a rookie NYPD cop who is still wet behind the ears. The first glimpse you see is her at Carnegie Hall with a date. Parasite Eve wastes no time getting things started, after events unfold your first fight is with the games antagonist Melissa/Eve.

The game progresses pretty quick, but lets you take in your surroundings, for Playstation era the graphics are absolutely fantastic, the human models used are realistic, the enemies are creative and disturbing. The cutscenes and CGI effects for the game deliver and they deliver hard. When you get past the opera house and into actual gameplay, the first scene you are treated to is a rat mutating, bones cracking, screaming, the thing growing, the game shows no remorse as to say "you wanted this".

The battle system is a combination RPG, Active Time battle, and free roam. It's extremely unique and easy to learn, if for some reason you are having a rough time, at the title screen has an actual tutorial for how to play the game. With that being said, Parasite Eve is also an RPG, with each battle you gain experience points and level up, but to all non-rpg fans don't worry about "level grinding" you get enough 'exp' in the game without needing to do that so the RPG element does not slow it down at all.

The only overwhelming aspect of the game is the numerous weapons and armor you get, with the limited carry space (the game is supposed to be realistic so I get it). I am a completionist and this kills me that I have to put some stuff back into a chest due to space.  This overwhelming aspect is for the greater good though, because you can modify your weapons and armor with tools throughout the game giving you an option for adding slots to your weapons for extra attacks, added status effects (acid ,slowing, burning, freezing) extra turns, they give a tutorial for it, it's pretty in depth.

The music, it's incredible. It sets an a tone for a game that only Squaresoft can set. Resident Evil and Silent Hill are great, but Squaresoft has always taken pride in the music to set the tone, and it does it well. Yoko Shimomura composed the game's soundtrack including the main theme, "Primal Eyes".  The music is a blend of ppera and electronica, which is hands down, the most unique sound I ever heard in a game. It gives a disturbing ambience that makes you feel like something is wrong, which it obviously is. It is completely original.  On a side note, Yoko Shimomura also is composing work for Kingdom Hearts, so if you are a bit of a music nerd and love Kingdom Hearts music, Parasite Eve is worth a shot.

The negative aspects of this game are the negative aspects of a lot of games like this. The battle system although pretty refreshing, is also a small downfall, the open battle allows for enemies to also move freely. This in turn can land you in some hot water in narrow corridors, you get put in a lot of unfair positions. The enemies can and will corner you at times leaving you to take damage, and with touching the enemies causing minimal damage along with their normal attacks it can be frustrating. With that issue also comes reloading in battle, meant to be realistic, its a minor pain, it stops the battle completely leaving you vulnerable for a good 2 seconds, this can be deadly if you miscounted and you are low on health.

The collision detection with doors and other objects like chests, and sometimes even people is wonky, you can stand in front of a door and completely miss it. An issue I also have is the game is way too short, if you just play the main game you are looking at maybe 10 hours of game play, they fix this with New Game EX mode. New Game EX is a mode you keep all of your weapons in storage, and if you chose to engrave your weapon and armor you have it in your inventory when you start "New Game EX" at the title screen, in this mode you restart the game at level 1, have the engraved weapon and armor you beat the game with, and the enemies are a bit tougher although this isn't noticeable until way later. The Chrysler Building is where this mode is going to wind up if you so choose to get the true ending. With all of this extra gameplay, you are still looking at 15 hours, maybe 20 if you max your stats.

In conclusion, this game still holds up, between gameplay, cinematics, an original story, and a protagonist who's actually likeable. This game forever held a memory in my mind, and with this review I truly hope you give it a shot and let it be a memory in yours. Just...don't spontaneously combust before that happens. Almighty Wisk leaving you now, it was a pleasure.

Overall:

B+

Video Game Review: Demolition Man

Demolition Man

Super Nintendo

People like to give the movie Demolition Man a hard time, but I like it. It's always been a guilty pleasure of mine. It's fun, it's fast paced. I think it is pretty funny.To this day I still say some of things that they say in the future of that movie. Enhance your calm. Mellow Greetings. What seems to be your boggle?

I can't go to Walgreens without thinking of Demolition Man, since "be well" is their new catch phrase.

It makes sense since this movie was released back in the era of crappy movie to video game ports for the 16-bit consoles that Demoliton Man would get a game. The game is not crappy at all though. Maybe I am biased. A lot of the critically bashed games based on movies that came out during the 90's I actually enjoyed.

I have vague memories of renting this title for the Sega Genesis. The game didn't leave a huge impression on me but I still had fun. I recall it being pretty short and relatively easy to beat. I enjoyed it. Definitely worth a rental but not a purchase.

20 years later I found this game for the Super Nintendo at a used game store for dirt cheap. I recall enjoying the old Genesis version. so I picked it up. Playing it all these years later was like playing it for the first time. Everything was very new to me. Despite this game being old and a little dated, I had a decent time.

The graphics are not terrific, but at the same time they look good considering this game is 20 years old. The sound effects though: not so good. I think there is only one spoken sentence in the entire game, and it is John Spartan muttering "send a maniac to catch one". Better get used to that line, because the game says it at the beginning of every level, and it also says it after you die and come back with your new life. If you haven't seen the movie, you probably will have no idea what he is even saying since it isn't spoken very clearly.

This game is an interesting mix of a side scrolling platformer and an overhead view shooter. The majority of the levels are of the side scrolling variety. You get 3 lives. Lose those 3 lives, and you have to use a continue and begin your level from the beginning. I don't know how many continues you get, because quite simply I didn't die that many times. And I think you are rewarded with 2 or 3 continues for each stage you pass. Which means, unless you totally suck - you should have plenty of lives to get through the game.

You control John Spartan, AKA the great Sylvester Stallone. You explore each level, shooting the crap out of anything that moves. You can collect lives, health, grenades, and weapon upgrades. Pretty standard fair. There isn't much of a strategy beside trial and error that I could figure out. You basically run forward, holding down the shoot button. There is really no point avoiding trying to get hit. You are going to get hit.

The levels loosely follow the plot of the movie. When I say loosely I mean loosely. Some of the stages are pulled right from the movie, like Los Angeles on fire, the museum, and the cryo prison. Some of the levels are invented and have nothing to do with the movie. There is a library level, a subway car level, and some weird underground level where you ride a zip line and shoot flying monsters.

The way to get through each level is through trial and error, as mentioned earlier. Finding out where enemies are ahead of time. Finding out where your jumps are. That kind of thing. The game really isn't that difficult, you just have to be patient with it.

Most side scrolling stages end with a boss. You can't simply fire away at the enemy while standing in one place. Each boss has its own weakness, and it is up to you to find it. None of them are very hard though, especially once you discover that weakness. Also, when you lose a life and come back, the damage you had inflicted on the boss still stands. Which is nice. There is nothing I hate more than dying right before beating a boss and then having to start from the beginning of the fight all over again.

The overhead levels are fun, but if I was asked to pick which type of level is better I wouldn't be able to answer you. There is less strategy involved in the overhead levels and I found them a bit easier. You simply run around, once again holding the shoot button. You can't jump in overhead mode, but you can still throw grenades. Expect once again to take copious amounts of unavoidable damage, But health packs are everywhere to boost your health right back up to normal.

Your goal in these levels is to rescue innocent civilians. You rescue them simply by touching them. It kinda reminds me of that old game Alien Syndrome for the arcade. Save enough civilians, you unlock the next part of the level, where you must rescue some more. On it goes. The levels are pretty small too. You shouldn't get lost in any of them. If you do get lost, I worry for you.

The game ends with a side scrolling stage in the cryo prison, where you finally face off against the fiendish Simon Phoenix. The final stage is disappointingly short, but I had a fun time with the boss. It took me a little while to figure out what to do, but once I did figure it out, I had fun owning the hell out of that yellow haired freak.

And then the game ended.

Picking it up after having not played it for 20 years, I think it took me about an hour to beat. Maybe a little longer. The game is very short and relatively easy. There were a few tough moments where I violated the verbal morality statute, but not many. Those were mainly because of my own screw ups, not anything the game did.

There isn't much replay value here. Sure there are things hidden in each level, but they are mainly weapon upgrades or extra lives. Nothing that gives you any kind of incentive to come back. There are a few branching paths in the game too, but they all look the same and lead to the same place anyway. So there really isn't much of a reason to play it more than once unless this is the only game you own. For 2 or 3 dollars (whatever I got it for), it was a good value. If I had paid the full 50 bucks for this when the game came out, I would have felt super ripped off.

What more can I say really? Its fun, its short. I had a good time while playing it. But is this a classic game that you need to play in order to make your life complete? Heck no. I imagine most of you have never played this game. And if you haven't, nothing I can say is going to change your mind.

What you see is what you get from Demolition Man. Mindless action, a little bit of strategy. But mostly just shooting things. And jumping. And shooting more things. I can't complain at all about this game considering how cheap it was for me. All I ask for is to be entertained, and this game accomplished that goal. It's not a world changing title, but if you want to kill an hour or two, I can think of much worse ways to do so.

THE GRADE:

B-

My Netflix rotation: A weekend in review #4

It's been over a month, so I figured it was about time I wrote up another one of these blogs. For those of you who haven't read past entries, what I do is watch one episode of every show in my Netflix rotation and write my thoughts on it. This will mark the 4th time I have done this now. A few of these shows aren't on Netflix, but I have them on my computer. I am stilling including them in this blog entry simply because they are a part of my show rotation. I won't nitpick that they aren't actually on Netflix if you don't.

Since my last entry, I managed to finish off Daredevil. Two shows have taken its spot in the rotation - Orange is the New Black and Agents of Shield. I had 19 shows in the rotation before - and now I have an even 20. A little bit higher than I want to be, but some of these shows I will be finishing up with soon and I can get the number down to something a little more reasonable.

Hope you enjoy.

Season 20

Episode 7

"I'm Not a Good Villain"

We will kick things off with Survivor: Heroes vs Villains. How I didn't get more excited about this season when it first aired, I have no idea. So many great characters. Rob, Russell, Coach, Stephanie, Sandra, Parvati, Cirie, Tom, Rupert... the list goes on. I guess I was just a little worn out from Survivor back then.

But upon rewatching these old seasons I actually became very excited when season 20 rolled around. This season's cast is like a Survivor fan's wet dream. So far in the game, the villains have been dominating. They have only lost 1 immunity challenge and been to 2 Tribal Councils (the second Tribal Council they only went to because both teams had to vote someone out). The last episode ended in epic fashion with Tyson botching the split vote and getting himself voted out. I can't wait to see what happens next! I have a vague idea (I think either Boston Rob or Coach are next) but I really don't remember a whole lot from this season.

*watches episode*

Yup, it was Boston Rob. I remember being excited to see him lose back when this first aired, just to bring his smug self back to Earth a little. But now I think it's kinda sad. He totally didn't deserve to go. He is always such a big character who brings so much to the show. You don't mess with Russell Hantz though! It was great how he was able to work Jerri to voting with him. Coach threw a random vote at Courtney, but that was as good as a vote for Rob since it kept a vote off of Russell that would have made it a tie. But I think that vote will come back to hurt Coach though if he is the next one to go before the merge. He shoulda just manned up and made that voting group a solid 5. Instead he got replaced by Sandra and Courtney. Dragon slayed :(

But I'm really enjoying the season so far, and this was another good episode. The whole thing was Rob vs Russell. And it was nice to see the Heroes getting their act together after such a slow start. Although I would have liked to see Tom and Steph still in the game. Oh well! I can't say anything bad about this show, or the episode in particular. I used to be super obsessed with Survivor, and then I fell off the bandwagon for a few years. But now I am back into it again, and I really am having fun watching this.

Season 2

Episode 20

"Showdown"

It's been a few weeks at least since I have watched an episode of this show. A definite casualty of having too many other shows to watch. Thank goodness for this Netflix rotation blog because I may have completely forgotten about this show otherwise. The description for the episode sounds amazing. Barney goes on the Price Is Right to meet Bob Barker, who he thinks is his dad? Heck yeah!

*watches episode*

Well, the episode wasn't as good as I had hoped. Mainly it was about Lily and Marshall and how they have to do everything together. Now that they are getting married, they want to spend a little time apart. But the crew makes fun of them and how inseparable they are. The Barney thing barely gets any airtime until the end of the show, when he goes on the Price is Right. He wins all the prizes, but doesn't say anything to Bob about being his dad. For anyone who has seen Happy Gilmore, you know Bob Barker can be hilarious. But on this show he just did his host thing and that was it. I was expecting more.

Season 1

Episode 10

"It's Different for Girls"

Looking back at my last Netflix blog, I mentioned how much I liked this and thought that it would become a top tier show in the rotation. Well guess what? Since then I haven't watched a single episode of this show.

It's not the series' fault. I can chalk this one up solely to having new shows in the rotation that have temporarily knocked this down a peg. It should reclaim its spot soon when I finish off some of the other programs I am currently watching. A strong episode here would make a good case for the show.

*watches episode*

This was a good episode. It focused mainly on three storylines - Saracen's courting of the coach's daughter, Lyla dealing with the backlash from cheating on Street, and a potential Juice romance. The Lyla story was the big one. She received a lot of personal attacks after it was discovered she slept with Riggins. The worst being a website devoted to slut shaming her. She quits the cheerleading team and seems very depressed, but in the end Riggins convinces her to rejoin the team in time for a big competition.

Football was only a very small side note in this episode. I enjoyed it for the most part. This show is all about the characters, and they are all showing a lot of development. Lyla seems to be back on the right track. I like Saracen a lot and he seems to be a true gentleman. I just wish the coach would see it! This episode was a bit slow moving though, and on the whole there isn't a real hook to get you to want to binge watch multiple episodes.

But the characters will definitely keep me coming back.... after I finish some other shows first.

Season 1

Episode 20

"Charm and Harm"

Here is a show I have been watching pretty slowly. Each episode is self contained, and there isn't an overlapping story arc that leaves me dying to see what is going to happen next when an episode ends. So I have been taking my time with Criminal Minds. Enjoying it for the most part. Some episodes are less interesting than others, but that is to be expected. I just don't see this show rising much higher in my rotation simply because it lacks a certain something that I can't quite put my finger on. I think lack of character development is a big part of it.

*watches episode*

This was another good episode. In it, a murderer is going on a spree killing women by drowning them in bath tubs. He is a master of disguise and has been hard to catch by the police. The Criminal Minds team is brought in to help track him down. Investigating his past, they discover that as a child he had drowned his own mother. The mother had been cheating on the father.

Using this knowledge they ascertain that the killer is on the way to the site of his first murder. They catch him before he can kill there again. I liked it. It was very fast paced and felt like a movie. Yes sometimes I complain about an overall sense of direction with this show, or lack of character development. But as a single episode this was pretty darned good. I just got sucked in and went along for the ride.

Will this improve Criminal Minds stock in my rotation however? I can't say yes or no.

Season 3

Episode 6

"Ching Chong Chang"

I've been a fan of this show since season 1. I watched the whole thing pretty darned quickly. And then I had to wait a loooong time for season 2, which I also watched very quickly. The same thing has not happened in season 3. I was just criticizing Criminal Minds for having no character development but having pretty great plots for each episode. This season of Orange is the New Black is the complete opposite. There is a lot of great character development... but the plot is horrible. It has felt like literally nothing has happened this whole season.

As a result, I haven been in no hurry to finish this season. I still like the show, just not as much as I used to. I'm hoping it gets better. But from what I've heard online, it is a foolish hope and this is pretty much what the whole season is like.

*watches episode*

This episode was Chang-centric. She's the little old short haired Asian lady. Up until now she has played an extremely minor role in the show. Normally I would complain about giving a whole flashback episode to a minor character.... but I actually liked it. Her past was pretty interesting to me. I always thought she was just kind of weird and insignificant, but now she has a lot of added depth to her character. I like her.

There were a few other things going on too. The prison guard side story is the main one. The people in charge of funding the prison want to cut the hours of the regular security guards so they don't get benefits. And then hire some cheaper part time people to come in and work those extra hours. Obviously this doesn't go over well with the guards. Also,  Red asks for a favor from Healy and gets back in the kitchen. Lorna starts meeting random men that she is pen pals with. And she is very obsessive about it, studying things they are interested in so that they like her more. There are some minor things with Piper and Poussey.

It was a good episode. For once I was interested in every story line going on simultaneously. I think if I just take the show for what it is and just enjoy it, I will stop thinking about how it isn't as good as previous seasons. 6 episodes down, 7 more to go this season. I could totally see myself going nuts and finishing the rest of the season much faster than I had watched the first half.

Season 2

Episode 19

"Without Diana"

OK, well I am actually going to have to skip a few episodes here. There is a message on Netflix that this show is going to be removed on July 1st. No! I still have half of season 2 left. With all my other shows to watch (plus the fact that this is definitely not my favorite show in the rotation) I doubt I will be able to finish this show before it is taken off. So when I do watch it I am just going to pick and choose what episodes sound the best. I picked "Without Diana" for today because from reading the description it sounds like a sad one. I rarely cry so I am always on the lookout for something that can make that miracle happen.

*watches episode*

Nope, didn't cry. This was just an okay episode. I liked the story. It is about a little girl who disappears during an Easter Egg Hunt. The parents never find out what happened to her. 40 years later, the mom is on her deathbed when the little girl comes to the door and has a heart to heart with her dad. Then she leaves with the mom (indicating that the mom has died) and tells the dad that they will see him when his time has come.

It was an interesting premise. But I don't know that they pulled it off very well. It seemed a little too cheesy for my tastes. The characters were a little wooden. It was like some kind of weird after school special. I wanted to like it. I wanted to really get into this one. I did find the story intriguing but it still wasn't anything special.

Season 3

Episode 9

"Head"

I'm enjoying this season of American Horror Story quite a bit. I think that so far it is the best of all the three seasons that are available on Netflix. With only 13 episodes, I am getting close to the end of the season. This  show probably won't be on the list anymore the next time I do this blog.

*watches episode*

I wasn't totally impressed with this one. There are far too many things going on at the same time. The whole episode seemed pretty disjointed, as not one particular story line was given too much attention. There was a lot of jumping around. I won't talk about all of them, but the main story line seemed to center around that witch hunter dude. He went into the voodoo coven's lair and started blasting away at all of them with a shotgun. Precious is able to use her voodoo doll power to kill him, but not before he shoots her and nearly wipes everyone out.

Other story lines include Myrtle killing the council and using their eyes to restore Cordelia's vision. And of course Kathy Bates head, which is now in control of Precious and is set up in front of a TV to watch all kinds of black television shows to hopefully open her mind a little bit and make her more accepting. There are several other things going on too, but these are the main ones.

Right now it seems like there are a ton of story threads open all at the same time. Hopefully they find a way to satisfactorily tie them all together before the end of the show. With only 4 episodes left, I have hope that they will.

Season 4

Episode 7

"Problem Dog"

Of all the shows in my rotation, this is one I can always count on to be fantastic. Breaking Bad has become my go-to show to watch when I am not really feeling anything else. I'm at the halfway point now of season 4 now, so you'd think with one more season left that I should be finishing within a month or two.

*watches episode*

This one was all right. Unlike past episodes of the series, this one one didn't really hook me in. At the beginning of the show, Walt takes the car that he bought for Walt Jr out to an empty lot and blows it up. Way to be subtle there. Do you want to get caught? I don't really understand Walt's thinking here.

The rest of the episode revolves around Gus Fring. Walt and Jesse are still worried that he will kill them whenever he doesn't need them anymore. So Walt gives Jesse some ricin and he puts it in a cigarette. At the first chance he can get, he will poison Gus. Still feeling guilt over killing Gale, Jesse goes to his support group and gives them a fake story about killing a dog (with the dog being an obvious stand in for Gale) - looking for sympathy. It doesn't go his way however and he ends up freaking out and yelling at everyone about how he only comes to the group to sell meth.

The other big thing to happen in the episode is towards the end when Hank reveals his suspicions about Gus Fring being a meth dealer. He tells his superiors his theory, and they don't believe him. But then he produces Fring's fingerprints at the scene of Gale's death. Cliffhanger!

It was a slow moving episode and not much happened till the end. It wasn't my favorite episode of Breaking Bad ever, but at least it ended on a suspenseful note. I still totally love this show though.

Season 3

Episode 

"Chuck Versus the Angel de la Muerte"

I'm not the hugest fan of this show, but it is a good change of pace to watch every once in a while. Slowly but surely I watch one episode every couple weeks or so. I'm still waiting for the show to change gears or do something special to really make me be like "hey Chuck is awesome!" but it hasn't happened yet. I think what you see is what you get from this show. Which is a spy comedy with a fun cast but a somewhat drab plot.

*watches episode*

I had mixed feelings about the episode. I like that Captain Awesome is getting more involved with things. He's always been a favorite character of mine. The episode as a whole though was pretty dull. To recap: Awesome saves the life of some foreign dignitary who is visiting the country. He is invited to a party as a guest of honor by the dignitary. Chuck is there too and they get caught up in a plot to stop evil forces that want to assassinate the man. Chuck and Awesome win, but in the end of the episode Awesome is captured by said evil forces.

So pretty much I liked the Awesome stuff and think it is great how he is becoming such a key member of the show. I do want to see what will happen next since this ended on a cliffhanger. Despite the mixed feelings, it left an overall favorable opinion in my mind.

Season 2

Episode 7

"The Writing on the Wall"

I was very excited for the second season of this show to come to Netflix. I like all the Marvel stuff and think it is neat how all the movies and the shows tie together. Last season, Shield was dismantled and Coulson was given the task of putting it back together. This season, Shield is viewed as a terrorist group by the government, even though we know they are the good guys. The majority of this season has centered around Shield's battle with Hydra, hoping to stop their evil plans while redeeming themselves as the good guys in one fell swoop.

I've heard the second season of the show is really good. However, I haven't been that impressed by the early episodes so far this season. Hopefully this episode signals a turning point where the show gets better for me.

*watches episode*

Still not that impressive in my opinion. I like the story line but the show just seems to drag its feet constantly. Ward has escaped, and the team can't do anything but track and follow him since he has wired himself with C4. Also, a man who has the same compulsion to carve alien glyphs as Agent Coulson snaps and starts killing people and carving them up. The people he is killing are former Tahiti test subjects. Eventually he is found and captured.

The only real revelation this show brought was that the alien blood was not sending Coulson a map, but a blueprint of a mysterious city. So now they know what it is, they just don't know where it is. Apparently this discovery has cured the compulsion to carve from Coulson's system and he doesn't have to worry about going crazy anymore.

So that's it. Ward is still on the loose as well. I still have hope for the show to get better. I feel it is building towards something epic, but it is just taking its sweet time to get there. It needs to get to it quickly or my interest is going to wane.

Season 3

Episode 4

"Sphere of Influence"

This series has always been a little so-so in my opinion. If I was a kid, I am sure I would love it. Watching it as an adult though... its a little boring. It is Star Wars though, and there is basically no where else to go to get my fix. I've seen the movies a bajillion times. I have to have faith that if I stick with this, there will be a large payoff at the end.

*watches episode*

So-so sums up this episode. A planet has been blocked in by the Trade Federation, and is being swayed to join the Separatists for protection. The leader of the planet's family is taken, and Asohka helps them track the family to Greedo. They are freed and the Trade Federation blockade is lifted and everyone lives happily ever after.

This episode didn't do a whole lot for me to change my opinion of the series. I still find the whole thing rather mediocre. I am beginning to doubt if my mind will ever change.

Season 2

Episode 16

"From Pound Cake to Pot Pie"

You can never go wrong with this show. I love food and I love watching stuff about interesting food. And plus each episode is only about 20 minutes long. It's the perfect show for me.

This episode featured 3 different restaurants. In the first one, Guy tasted mac and cheese muffins as well as chicken pot pie cooked in a mason jar. At the second restaurant were fish tacos. And the third was the most interesting looking place to me. It served an interesting mix of North African food and Southern home cooking. The African chicken looked pretty good, as well as the barbeque pork. Guy said that they had the best greens he had ever tasted. I definitely would have eaten there.

Unfortunately I have only got about 9 episodes left before I am finished with this show. My wife and I like to watch this when we eat dinner, so we have been going through it pretty quickly.

Season 3

Episode 11

"Revelations"

Well, as much as I enjoyed the previous episode of this show, I still have yet to watch another episode of the X-Files since my last blog entry. With all the other shows I am watching that I enjoy more, this show hasn't really become a high priority for me. It's to the point where even the thought of watching an episode is like a chore for me. I just never know if I am going to get a good or a bad episode with this series.

I really want to like the X-Files more and have it become a top tier member of my rotation. It just hasn't happened yet. Here's to a good episode.

*watches episode*

Nope, not a good episode at all. Maybe I am biased because I kept falling asleep during it. I kept having to rewind to find my spot only to fall asleep again and wake up and rewind and have to go through it all over again. The episode itself was run of the mill. There is a killer killing people with stigmata. Almost everyone he kills is a "false prophet" but finally he gets his hand on a little boy who seems like the real deal. He attempts to throw the boy into a paper shredder in a recycling plant, but goes into the machine himself instead.

Slow moving, a little boring. Preachy at times with the religious undertones in this episode. Revelations didn't do much to change my opinion of the X-Files. In fact - it hurt it. I'm not getting much enjoyment out of the show. And the X-Files is this big, huge popular thing. Millions of people love this show. I don't get why I do not.

Season 7

Episode 5

"Frank's Brother"

This show is always good for a quick fix of politically incorrect humor. I haven't watched anything in a while that I have been super excited about, so hopefully this show can infuse some life into the rest of my night before I fall asleep again.

*watches episode*

This episode took place mainly through flashbacks. Frank's brother shows up at the bar and the two start arguing. When the gang wants to know what their history is with each other, the flashbacks begin. Their falling out began when the two of them were much younger. They owned a club together and quarreled over a black woman who sang at the club named Shadynasty.

It was an okay episode. I don't know, I am just in a funk right now where I am not really liking anything. The episode was mostly in the past, so Dee, Charlie and the rest of the gang only played a small role in the episode. There were some funny parts. I particularly enjoyed the guest appearance of the dude who plays Broyles on Fringe and Abaddon on Lost.

This wasn't the show's best offering though.

Season 2

Episode 19

"Mr. Dingle, the Strong"

My fingers are crossed here for a solid episode of the Twilight Zone. This show is pretty hit or miss with me. Based on the name of the episode and the description, however, my hopes are not high.

*watches episode*

Well, the way this one started I thought for sure we were going to be in for another horrible episode. It starts out in a bar, with a couple of guys arguing. There was all this bad acting and false 1950's bravado. A man named Mr Dingle was being beat up over his opinions on a baseball game. This went on for about 5 minutes and I couldn't help but internally facepalm because it was such a terrible scene. Then two aliens walk into the bar, unseen by the patrons. They are two of the most ridiculous looking TV aliens I have ever seen in my life. 

I remained unimpressed by the episode.

But then things started to get interesting. The aliens gift Mr Dingle with the strength of 30 men. Mr Dingle (played by Burgess Meredith) proceeded to go on a spree of showing off his talents. He lifted statues, a park bench, he tilted a car, among other things. The next day he came back to the bar and showed his new found talents to a TV crew. He smashed a table, pulled a barstool out of the ground, and picked up and threw the jerk who had been beating him up in the beginning of the episode. The aliens were unimpressed by how Dingle was putting his new power to use, and decided to take it away from him. The TV crew called Dingle a scammer and they all left. Dingle was left alone and depressed, when two more aliens came in and decided to give him the intelligence of thirty men. Dingle used his intelligence to predict what would happen next in a baseball game, and then left the bar. Leaving us to imagine the new adventures he was about to get himself into.

It really was a tale of two halves with this episode. The first half was awful, but the second was pretty amusing. It is not exactly groundbreaking television but I was definitely entertained and I was always curious to see where the story was going. Ignore the occasional bad acting and laughable looking aliens, and this was actually a decent episode. It entertained me, and that is about all I can ask for.

Season 1

Episode 7

"Sorbet"

I've had a good time with Hannibal so far. There is a nice, over arching story line going on through the episodes. While each episode also has a "murder of the week" element to it. I like how they balance the two. Criminal Minds take note! The violence and gore level of the show is also very impressive. I can't wait to see what Hannibal has in store for me this week.

*watches episode*

The last few episodes have centered around the FBI's search for the Chesapeake Ripper (which we actually know is Hannibal Lector himself). In this episode, there is a murder that has taken place that resembles the Ripper's work, but something seems off about it. Meanwhile the Ripper continues to kill. Over the course of the show we learn that there is an ambulance driver out there harvesting organs to sell on the black market. And his crimes were getting confused with the Ripper's. 

So there were actually two killers out there stealing organs from people. The driver, and then Hannibal - who was going on a killing spree so he would have enough ingredients to feed people at a dinner party. 

This was a decent episode. We knew all along that Hannibal was one of the killers, it was just a matter of finding out who was doing the other killings. The FBI never really got too close to Hannibal, so the tension level for the episode wasn't that high. Now that the other killer has been caught, will Hannibal halt his killings so it looks like the FBI got the right man? Who knows? 

All I know is that the show has been treading water the last few episodes and hopefully pretty soon something big will happen that will pique my interest. Because right now it just seems to be the same thing happening episode after episode. 

Season 2

Episode 21

"Second Chance Hero"

Only 6 more episodes of this left! I like this cartoon, kinda. It's a nice change of pace from some of my other shows, but it is very little-kid like and I often find my mind wandering during some of these episodes. I don't expect greatness from this episode, since I see it is Norman centric and those have been pretty mediocre for me. But maybe, just maybe, it will prove me wrong.

*watches episode*

Didn't really prove me wrong. It was okay but nothing spectacular.

Spidey is assigned to keep an eye on Norman Osbourn (AKA the Green Goblin) to make sure that he is okay and that he is not going to turn into a bad guy again. One night, Spidey comes across Norman wearing a Patriotic Iron Man suit. Norman has turned a new leaf, becoming the superhero Iron Patriot in an attempt to atone for his previous wrongdoings. There is a battle with Doc Ock. Norman's son Harry thinks Spider Man is attacking him and his dad when really all he is trying to do is help.

In the end, Shield doesn't trust Norman, but to us at home it looks like he really does want to be a good guy now. 

So as I said, this was okay but nothing spectacular. I don't know what is going on this trip through my rotation. Almost everything I have watched has been mediocre, subpar, or just okay. I think my rotation needs a major shake up. With this and a few other shows being finished soon, I will be getting my wish.

Season 2

Episode 11

"Ted"

Here is a show that has been getting stronger with every episode I watch. I didn't like it at the beginning, but the deeper into it I get into it, the more I enjoy it. Please please pretty please be the episode that snaps me out of my rotation funk. I am in desperate need of something awesome to watch, as I have been less than impressed with the majority of stuff I have been watching this trip through my rotation.

*watches episode*

Okay, good! I liked the episode. It was a little hokey but at least I had a good time. In this episode, Buffy's mom starts dating some guy named Ted. He is played by John Ritter. Everyone loves Ted, but Buffy has suspicions that something is off about him. In private, Ted snaps on Buffy twice. The second confrontation - he hits her. Buffy retaliates and knocks him down a flight of stairs, killing him.

Ted returns from the dead to terrorize the family. Willow and Zander investigate Ted's house and discover many weird things about him. Like, he has been married four times. And the first marriage was in the 50's, long before Ted as old enough to marry anyone. Then they discover the bodies of his previous four wives. Buffy and Ted fight, and it is revealed that Ted is a robot. Ted is defeated, and Buffy hides the corpse to keep his identity a secret.

It was a decently fun episode. It didn't have much to do with vampires, and the whole robot thing was kind of silly. But hey it kept me entertained and that is all I can ask for. There were a few character advancing moments, such as Giles getting back with that one teacher. Plus some other stuff with Zander and Cordelia. 

Buffy is developing into one of those series that I can always expect a good episode from. This may not be the most serious or intense show out there, but everything doesn't need to be Breaking Bad to be good. This show's stock is definitely rising in my opinion. Once I clear out some other shows that I am almost finished with, I expect to start watching this at a more rapid pace.

Season 6

Episode 11

"Donatello Trashes Slash"

I'm just kind of going through the motions with this show. If I wasn't so OCD and I didn't have to finish everything I started, I would just delete this show from my computer and be done with it. It's almost like I feel I owe it to my younger self to power through this and watch every episode that I never had the opportunity to see. This series hasn't aged well, and I don't expect to like this episode. But I am still going to watch it.

*watches episode*

Slash returns to Earth with an evil plan for world domination. Not only is he smarter since his last appearance on the show, but he brings with him new technology which turns people into turtles. I was trying to think while watching this episode why Slash seemed so familiar (despite the fact that I probably saw these episodes as a kid). And I am pretty sure I had his action figure.

So anyway, this episode was pretty much what I expected it to be. It wasn't the greatest 20 minutes of television I have ever seen in my life. It wasn't as bad as some of the previous episodes of the show, however. Slash is a good villain. And I liked seeing Vernon and his boss turned into turtles. Still though, by no means is this show a favorite in my rotation. I wish I could work up the courage to just delete it forever so I can stop wasting my time on it.

1 episode down, 46 more to go....

Season 4

Episode 6

"The Poison Sky"

I have saved this episode of Doctor Who for the very end of my rotation. This is actually the second part of a two part episode. I thought part one was absolutely atrocious, so I was in no hurry to get around to the end of it. Why are the worst episodes always 2-parters? I watched the first part over 2 weeks ago. I barely remember where it left off. Some kind of alien (the Sontarans) were trying to take over Earth. Something to do with a device installed in cars.... ?

This series so far has been very very hit or miss with me. The good episodes tend to be pretty decent. The bad episodes... I can barely tolerate to watch. If it wasn't for the fact that everyone keeps encouraging me to continue on with the show, I may have given up on it already. 

I'm 4 seasons in. You would think if it was going to "get better" it would have done so already. 

*watches episode*

It wasn't great. It was borderline awful. I can see how this type of show would appeal to some people, but it is just way too silly for me. The more I watch of this show, the more I realize that there must be something wrong with me where I just don't get it. So many people like it. Why don't I?

In this episode, the Sontarans are threatening Earth with the help of a mad boy genius. The boy created something called Atmos that is installed in most cars across the planet. This Atmos was really a sleeper weapon. Now that the Sontarans are here, the Atmos systems began spraying toxic gas all over the world. The Sontarans wanted to turn Earth into a cloning factory. Martha Jones was their first success. The two Martha Jones meeting was probably the highlight of the episode for me. But that's not really saying much.

My attention started to wander. I knew the Doctor would find some way to repel the Sontarans, and he did. Don't ask me how because I started playing Candy Crush halfway through the show. The episode did end on a cliffhanger where Martha, Donna, and the Doctor are mysteriously whisked away in the Tardis. I would say I am intrigued by this twist, but that would be a lie.

Two thumbs down for this episode of Doctor Who. Americans you have failed me miserably. Why do you like this show so much? I can't for the life of me wrap my head around how this has become such a large phenomenon here.

 -----

That's it! One more trip through my rotation has been completed. I've enjoyed doing this blog entry in the past, but this time it was a little tougher. I don't know if I am becoming harder to impress, more impatient, or what. But there were so many episodes this time around that I just flat out didn't care for.

The next time I do this for my blog, hopefully my rotation will look much different. Amazing Stories will be off of Netflix. I should be done with Spider-Man (unless they add season 3). Orange is the New Black. Agents of Shield, Survivor: Heroes vs Villains, American Horror Story, Breaking Bad, and Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives should all either be finished with, or I should be very close to finishing them off.

In addition to these aforementioned shows ending, I look forward to Glee, Hell on Wheels, and season 3 of the Following coming out on Netflix. I'm also intrigued by the 100 and Bloodlines. So there are plenty of shows out there to plug the holes in my rotation. 

I like my rotation to be a little different each time I do this blog. Seeing as how I will be busy most of July and August, I will probably get my wish. Don't expect another update for quite some time. And when that update does come, expect things to look quite different.