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Saturday, 28 January 2017

On-Season Week 19

WEEK 19

We've dropped down to just five shows this week, losing Conviction, Elementary, Hawaii Five-0 and NCIS LA and gaining only Quantico. Incorporated airs its two-part finale and Lucifer airs its twelfth episode; after episode thirteen next week it will go on another hiatus and won't return until May. Bull and Scorpion also air.

Bull - 1x12 "Stockholm Syndrome"

"A mock juror sets off an explosion in TAC to orchestrate a proper hearing for her husband, who is five years into a fifteen year sentence for murdering a drug lord."

Someone was going to see the use in forcing TAC to run a mock trial for them eventually, and with "Stockholm Syndrome" Laurel Guthrie does. Although the opening sequence is meant to introduce Laurel as a character out of place among other mock jurors, the mock jury orientation actually worked better as a format shift to show exactly how the mock jurors are greeted, treated and even paid ($200 an hour, which Bull tops later with an extra $1000 hazard pay for being caught in Laurel's bomb blast). They even cover themselves with how TAC makes enough money to pay nearly 20 potential jurors upwards of $35,000 for that one day: by taking on cases of egregious CEOs and COOs warring over company rights. And finding out more about how TAC runs was always going to be interesting.
   But not as interesting as the Bull and Danny confrontation - which the script eventually got to after 27 minutes of making everyone agreeable to a mock trial held under duress. Bull worked as the prosecution, slamming Danny (the undercover agent who identified Laurel's husband Gordon as the killer five years ago) so that his narrative would convince the jury to find Gordon Guthrie innocent. It fractured Bull and Danny's relationship, but of course with the ending Bull made things right.
   Part of this was achieved before their heart-to-heart, however, for after the verdict of not guilty was delivered by the mock jurors, Bull pointed out that he had deliberately told only part of the story to sway the jury in his favour. By then revealing crucial details about Danny's testimony he proved that court cases weren't about truth but narrative (and that Gordon was guilty after all). Little admissions have been made in the previous eleven episodes about the importance of narrative over truth, but this was Bull's way of properly apologising for its deepest flaw: that all it ever does is spin a story to make us feel how it wants us to feel.
   VIEWERS: 11.08m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.3
   (A series low 1.3 for Bull)

VERDICT: Considering the importance of the case, the trial itself became secondary to the character impacts, and with it we had an opening into Danny's past life. 8/10

Incorporated - 1x09 "Burning Platform" & 1x10 "Golden Parachute"

"Ben struggles to comprehend that he is really Aaron. Spiga's hand is forced when extracting Dr. Sanjay Maraj doesn't go according to plan. "

In the first of Incorporated's two-part finale, the payoff we've all been waiting for finally occurs as Ben is promoted to the fortieth floor. That's not for lack of suspicion on Julian's part, and the episode ended with Ben being ambushed in his home - by Spiga? This after a lengthy journey, internally and literally, to show Ben that he is really Aaron, leading to him re-uploading his original identity.
   Laura is rocked by the truth that her mother Elizabeth killed her father because he defected, not because he was kidnapped, and is ordered to shut down her Red Zone clinic. This after Spiga's failed attempt to retrieve Dr. Maraj forced Elizabeth to order a drone strike that wiped out Maraj, the Spiga retrieval team and the Inazagi forces trying to recover their asset. Daaaaaamn.
   But that's not all. After all the security breaches, Spiga are cleaning house in Arkadia, meaning Ben/Aaron's promotion could not have come at a better time: it's now or never if he wants to save Elena, and with Theo about to head to a Green Zone fight a feisty ending is in sight.
*
Dream fake-outs are a bit lame, but simulation fake-outs can be terrific. As it is, "Burning Platform" wrapped up its lead-in cliffhanger of Ben being kidnapped in his own home by revealing it to be a Spiga simulation designed to test his loyalty, a test Ben passed after allowing Inazagi to shoot Laura dead before him rather than give up Everclear.
   Unfortunately, that loyalty didn't quite translate into real-life, as Ben used his extraction deal with Inazagi man Phillip Brill to secure a future for Hendrick and his daughter in exchange for the Everclear technology.
   The surprisingly low-intensity finale then did away with the current threads and introduced new ones: Elena refused to escape with Ben/Aaron because she and a "maid" were trying to bring down Spiga themselves and considered using Ben as an asset (a very cool and unexpected twist, although Elena has not once been made out to be the damsel in distress Ben/Aaron has imagined, and now I don't trust her at all); Theo's Green Zone fight (aesthetically pleasing having taken place in a shallow pool) went wrong and led to him giving up Ben Larson as an asset to Terrence in order to save his boyfriend's life; and Laura defied Elizabeth by warning her not to interfere with her Red Zone clinic; whilst as Ben and Laura moved into their new home, Laura was revealed to be finally pregnant.
   The episode did well in setting Ben and Laura up into a new life that will span a potential second season, whilst muddying the relationships between Red and Green Zone characters enough that the second season will have plenty to fight for.
   VIEWERS: 0.547m (1x09) & 0.409m (1x10)
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.23 (1x09) & 0.16 (1x10)
   (A vast difference from penultimate to finale, but those ratings bring Incorporated's season average up to a 0.16 demo share. Fingers crossed that will be enough for a season two!)

VERDICT: Low-intensity (there was no Spiga-Inazagi war, unfortunately), but what a set-up if we get season 2. Finally we saw a significant amount of Elena beyond her service to the primary plotline. 8.5/10

Lucifer - 2x12 "Love Handles"

"A serial killer appears in LA with an unusual motive; Maze advises Chloe to act more spontaneously, but her actions confuse Lucifer; "Charlotte" searches for allies to help her reveal to Lucifer the truth about Chloe."

Love, revenge, money and to cover up a crime: the four staples of what drives people to commit crimes. But for Dr. Jason Carlisle, the serial killer who stole the poisons at the end of the previous episode, his motive a superb break from those staples: he's killing to prove to everyone that he is human. After having his life ruined by the media because he chose to retrieve his laptop from the car crash he was in rather than save the other person, he decides to prove everyone else would make the same choice by poisoning people and threatening someone to maim themselves or that person will die. It's a powerful message, and an incredibly out-there concept that worked.
The email Chloe rashly sends Dr Carlisle
to draw him out
   Along the way to solving the murders, Chloe's infatuation with Lucifer leads her to act a little more like him in the hopes he will find it funny (ie making sex references at a crime scene), after Maze advises her to let loose. Early on she decides this was a poor choice and rightly so: seeing Chloe so far down the Lucifer rabbithole was cringeworthy. Once they settled back into their usual roles things normalised, and when Chloe chased Dr Carlisle to apprehend him Lucifer was able to save the final victims - by being immune to a poison gas since he is the Devil. Finally, the fact that he is the Devil played into an Earth-bound episodic plot.
   Also finally, the shitstorm that has been brewing in when will Lucifer find out that Chloe was a miracle sent by God hit us all when "Charlotte" finally found an ally to help reveal all to Lucifer: Maze. He was naturally broken, his ideals of a normal relationship with Chloe ripped apart by the revelation, but as he went to confront her the cliffhanger reveal showed us what we all might have expected: Chloe has also been poisoned. And with one episode left to go before Lucifer's next hiatus, what will be the moral dilemma that Lucifer will have to face?
   VIEWERS: 4.17m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2
   (The second highest ratings Lucifer has achieved all season)

VERDICT: An out-there concept surrounded by ticking time-bombs in Lucifer's world that built towards the second midseason finale. An absolutely sublime episode, although the cliffhanger was a little predictable. 8.5/10

Quantico - 2x09 "Cleopatra"

"Despite no longer being undercover at The Farm, Alex tries to assimilate her way into Owen's good books; the recruits are tasked with learning how to seduce and recruit an asset. In the present, Alex is interrogated by the FBI after escaping the terrorists."

A huge missing link in the story right off the bat is how did Alex escape the terrorists and end up in FBI custody? Unless I'm forgetting something, the midseason finale ended with her discovering Ryan was a terrorist, so with no explanation of the jump from that to FBI custody the jump itself is hard to swallow.
   But if you can overlook that, the rest of the episode was a stunner, and it was jam-packed with twists and turns. The episode started off with a recap: Alex's interrogation enabled the writers to smartly remind the audience of everyone's position at this point, which also led to some clues about other characters. We already knew Owen was dishonourably discharged from The Farm, but did we know he was currently in federal prison? If we did, then clearly I'd forgotten, but if we didn't how did he get there?
   But that interrogation also led to the revelation that the AIC was not a terrorist group but a black-ops unit working outside of the law, and was in fact the target of the terrorist attack not the perpetrator. Shut the front door! As stated "so one group of rogue agents was taken hostage by another group of rogue agents?" I can get with that!
   And then Miranda pulls Alex from custody and tells her this: "I am one of the terrorists. And after the conversation we're about to have you will be too." Ohhhhhhhhhh boy.
   In the past, The Farm's lessons about seduction lead Léon to nearly burn Shelby's cover Jane before she convinces him Jane isn't a falsehood. But then he spots Nimah, Shelby's handler. And Harry learns about Ryan's secret AIC phone - but Alex only wanted Ryan to think it was his? What is this glorious madness?
   VIEWERS: 2.90m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.8
   (Monday's tick up looked a lot better before the adjustment down from a 0.9. An improvement, but it still might not be enough.)

VERDICT: This was one hell of a way to return from a midseason break, and it turned everything on its head at the right moment. 9/10

Scorpion - 3x14 "The Hole Truth"

"A sinkhole forms while Scorpion attempt to fix hundreds of micro-leaks which have formed in an important South California water pipe, threatening to topple a silo full of toxic chemicals."

Scorpion may be a bit topsy-turvy episode to episode, but the overall plan is being executed well. Paige's decision in the previous episode to let Walter sink or swim when it comes to interacting with normal people goes disastrously in "The Hole Truth", but it's timed well enough that the distance allows her to help her mother Veronica recover her stolen money and escape the bad guys who have come to LA looking for her. Veronica leaves with her characteristic verve, after making some very unsubtle hints that Walter and Paige still have feelings for each other.
   In the main plotline, Michael Beach turns up to play the Chief of the workforce dealing with the pipe. Although some obstacles along the way were typically contrived, most were genuinely troublesome progressions of a dire situation, partnered with some wonderfully inventive solutions. And it has to be said that for once I actually had my heart in my throat wondering what might happen to some of the characters.
   Revolving back round to Veronica's departure then, and it has to be said that the "make the bad guys believe she's dead so they'll go away" trick - while failing at all to convince me Veronica had died when she fell into the sinkhole - actually managed to trick the audience in some ways. While the way she survived was obvious (it was the same way they stopped the silo falling in: stretching safety nets across the gap), the flashback of Paige demanding Walter's help to pull it off was unexpected, since following his inability to communicate with normal people the writers made us believe Paige was actually pulling him aside for a telling-off.
   And it was also very funny, too.
   VIEWERS: 7.77m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.3
   (Both tick up)

VERDICT: The departure of Veronica was cocooned around an episode that was just strong. Its main plot was excellent, its subplot with Walter was well-timed and well-executed - and Veronica left as well. This was the culmination of a half-season build-up and was superb. 9.5/10

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Scorpion - Paige (after finding the stolen money her mum left her): "Guys ... I'm gonna need help opening an offshore account ..."

LAST WEEK'S ROUNDUP: On-Season Week 18

NEXT WEEK'S ROUNDUP: (will be posted here when complete)


Final thoughts

Well, there we have it for a very short Week 19. All the focus has to be on that Incorporated two-part finale: the set-up for a (potential and as yet unconfirmed) season two was phenomenal and helped by the huge 0.23 rating for the penultimate episode, a figure better even than Incorporated's premiere after taking into account its early online release!
   But Quantico's return can't go unmentioned: a game-changing episode met with increased ratings on a new day of the week. A third season renewal? Probably not, but this does muddy the waters!
   Lucifer pulled in grand ratings but Bull hit a season low - both with excellent episodes. Scorpion's ratings ticked up a little with an episode that might just be noted as the turning point for the characters come the end of the season!

So that's it! Next week Powerless premieres, Conviction airs its season (and possibly - probably - series) finale, Lucifer airs its midseason finale episode and Hawaii Five-0, MacGyver and NCIS LA return! Bull is the only drop-out.

Thanks for reading everyone. Looking forward to the next couple of weeks - on top of Powerless's premiere, we've also got A.P.B., Making History and The Walking Dead on the horizon so everybody strap in!

Sam

Saturday, 21 January 2017

On-Season Week 18

WEEK 18

Week 18 sees a few changes to our line-up. MacGyver drops out and won't be back until February, and Bull returns along with Scorpion, but the big talking point will surely be the return of Lucifer. Its seven-week winter hiatus is finally over, and the next 3 episodes will air with some big storylines to address: notably the revelation that God had Amenadiel intervene so that Chloe could be conceived (leading to the realisation that her and Lucifer's meeting was predestined), and how that will affect "Charlotte's" plan to convince Lucifer to return to Hell.

Bull - 1x11 "Teacher's Pet"

"A regular consultant of TAC, attorney Liberty Davis, brings TAC the case of a civil suit against a teacher who had sex with a student."

Fun fact that I didn't know: the age of consent in New York is actually 17, not 18. Where, then, is the wiggle room in "Teacher's Pet" to paint the teacher, Susan Bryant, as a sexual predator when the student was 17? It's a line TAC try to venture down but never quite find anything solid, but they're happy enough to have the jury hear the word paedophile on repeat and associate Susan with it because it will do the damage anyway.
   Of course, I understand all of the psychology explained and the emotional effects that Bull laid out from this kind of relationship, and I don't dismiss any of them. But I don't agree with the viewpoint TAC took; I think it's a combination of my own views on the matter and the lack of clarity in US law (clearly it differs state to state like other laws) that made TAC so hard to back. (Which, were I one of the potential jurors, I realise would be why Bull and TAC would strike me, since I wouldn't serve their narrative.)
   Worse, the case all came down to the psychology of the teacher/student relationship, which, once Bull had explained it to Susan, opened her eyes to the reality of their situation and led her to end the relationship. That conclusion made the entire court case irrelevant, much like back in 1x05's "Callisto" where Bull faked a hurricane warning in order to get the plaintiff and defendant to duke it out between themselves, effectively rendering the preceding 35 minutes pointless. Of course, these kind of outcomes occur in real life and the Bull writers are smart to include them - but I find that it wastes an episode and it should be used more sparingly.
   At least the psychological aspect of a relationship with large age differences had an effect on one of our TAC team: Danny, whose British photographer boyfriend was only 21 (and she is something like 29/30 I believe). So she was rocked by what she felt was a relatable case, but it was implied that she continued with her relationship regardless. I hope it makes her happy.
   Nice to see Liberty again, too.
   VIEWERS: 11.11m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.5
   (An almost unswerving stability for Bull with the all-important demo share)

VERDICT: I've never come an episode I didn't ethically disagree with until now. I like TV to make me think, but is it hypocritical if I didn't like it this time? Either way, settling the case outside of court wasted the episode and there was very little Benny too. 6.5/10

Conviction - 1x12 "Enemy Combatant"

"Hayes's father brings CIU the case of Omar Abbas, a cabbie held as an enemy combatant after being caught with liquid sarin."

I like when TV can evoke emotions from its audience or make its audience think. Person of Interest was great at the latter; Conviction is stupendous at the former. (As I was gathering examples to list I realised I was about to list the majority of the previous 11 episodes. That's incredible.) And much like the bigot Rodney Landon in episode 3, "Enemy Combatant" made me angry.
Omar Abbas being held as an enemy combatant
   There was clear justification for arresting Omar Abbas six years ago when he walked into a train station with a bag full of liquid sarin, but much like with most Conviction episodes once one thread of the case (or non-case here) is pulled, it usually unravels. Not only was Omar Abbas innocent, but it didn't take much to prove it: Omar said a passenger in his cab had left the bag and he was trying to return it when he was caught; his cousin, affiliated with terrorists, recanted his confession that Omar was guilty - which he had given under extreme torture; and Homeland Security had a voice recording of the man who called in the tip about the sarin being in the station. All they would have had to do was join the dots and search for the man (Sedgewick) who called in the tip, and squeeze him to find out how he knew the bag had liquid sarin in it. They would have discovered he was the terrorist, attempting to get revenge on a bank for ruining his family.
   And if that wasn't bad enough, Daddy Morrison's hidden agenda - that he brought the case to CIU because he wanted to look good for the upcoming Secretary-General position in the UN - along with his blatant undermining of Hayes and Wallace's relationship was just maddening.
   "Enemy Combatant" overall was a frustrating glimpse into a miscarriage of justice that probably occurs just as naturally in real life as it did on the TV.
   And dare I mention anything about America and terrorism propaganda towards Muslims?
   VIEWERS: 2.41m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.5

VERDICT: "Enemy Combatant" wasn't as intense as previous offerings with such high stakes (look at episodes 6 and 9 for that) but it was another excellent, thought-provoking episode of TV. 9/10

Elementary - 5x12 "Crowned Clown, Downtown Brown"

"The death of a clown leads to the discovery of a superbug that has been added to New York's water supply."

Elementary's fifth season, now at its halfway point, is a head spinner. There is a general lack of episode-to-episode consistency: one week the episode will be very good and then the next it will be dizzyingly poor. Fortunately, "Crowned Clown, Downtown Brown" (say that drunk; mind you, say that sober) was one of the better episodes. I had worried that the concept of a creepy clown as the victim would get washed away by the premise of a super virus, but in actuality it added a little bit of flavour to a plot that was informative (if you ever wanted to know about New York's water systems) and shocking.
   And by shocking I don't mean out of this world murder spree level shocking. I mean the twists were exceptional, the key example being that the superbug engineered and added to the New York water supply wasn't some murderous anthrax synthesis, but a diarrhoea bug. Sounds harmless, but perhaps it's even more effective: as stated in the episode, if everyone is made ill by the water at once, becomes dehydrated and drinks more water, hospitals will go into overdrive and people WILL die. But also, whoever wins the bid to build a water filtration system in NY will make lots and lots of monies. But it would take years to build in which the water wouldn't be clean, so in the meantime (since NY homes apparently don't have filtration systems) whoever held the patent for the best type of home water filter would make even more money. Step in Wendell Hecht, a pretty bad dude who tried poisoning New York's water whilst working as a public servant, since he has the patent.
   The subplot surprised me. I called earlier that Bell's love interest wouldn't reappear, so I was pleasantly surprised that she did. Unfortunately, the whole plot of Bell's bar fight causing damage to her reputation being resolved by him producing evidence that her ex (who started the fight) had left the force on disability - which was a fabrication - was so forced and left a bad taste in my mouth.
   No pun intended.
   VIEWERS: 4.44m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6

VERDICT: Bell-centric, but his subplot was subpar. The murder however, was fantastic. 8/10

Hawaii Five-0 - 7x14 "Ka laina ma ke one / Line in the Sand"

"A murder suspect escapes to sovereign land, so Five-0 must contend with old foes and a vehement federal agency to keep things peaceful."

Pu'uhonua o Waimanalo is a Hawaiian cultural village in which lives the Nation of Hawai'i group; according to Wikipedia "The Nation of Hawai'i group, which administers the village, regards itself as a sovereign government under international law [...] and therefore [is] not subject to United States rule". It was founded and is run by a man nicknamed "Bumpy" - and this is all real-life stuff. I didn't know this before the episode aired, so it's actually nice to look back on the episode and think two things: one, that I have learnt a bit more about some of the Hawaiian history; and two, that Bumpy has some serious acting chops.
Steve's test examiner is concerned by Danny's horror stories
   The episode itself followed a simple trope: guy escapes to non-US soil, police have to negotiate whilst trying to solve the crime, and some federal agency or other turn up to assume control and throw a spanner in the works. The murder case followed the typical strict pattern of for about thirty minutes everything says the suspect is guilty and then they eventually figure out he's innocent and everyone gets to go home after the real bad guy is arrested. As 50 Cent might say "different day, same shit". It was a storyline I felt I'd seen before, just with different actors and different crimes.
   The writers tried to include a good subplot involving Steve's manic driving by having the cold open serve as him having to get his license renewed and inevitably the driving instructor is terrified and nearly throws up. I loved Danny turning up beforehand to wind up Steve and the instructor. But there was no resolution to this subplot after the murder was solved, so it felt like a loose thread in an episode that really only needed to say McGarrett would redo the test.
   VIEWERS: 8.36m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0
   (Season lows in both)

VERDICT: The cold open was the highlight of an episode bogged down by poor resolutions and tired tropes. A lovely window into Hawaiian culture and history, however. 7.5/10

Incorporated - 1x08 "Operational Realignment"

"With his real Aaron personality removed, Ben passes the Everclear test but Julian remains suspicious and turns to an old friend for help. Laura continues her work with her clinic. Theo continues to fight to get into the Green Zone."

As things heat up in Incorporated, it's becoming every man for themselves. I've referred to Aaron as his alias Ben for most of these write-ups, but today it really was Ben and Ben alone. With Hendrick's help, the Aaron personality, the one set on rescuing Elena from the company he infiltrated, was removed, leaving the fake Ben. And without the purpose, without the at least understandable goal of rescuing his loved one at any cost, the shell that is Ben becomes another boring character on the outside of this main storyline, although it was fun seeing him discover that he was the one to have killed Roger. The alias becomes the reality, and the alias is not actually that nice of a person.
   But neither is Aaron. He's already killed Roger, and now, in order to ensure Hendrick returns his original Aaron personality, he blackmails him, giving him just days to return him to Aaron before Hendrick's real identity is leaked to Spiga.
   And in another shocking twist, following Laura's continued work at her clinic and Julian's lingering suspicions about Ben, we learn that Julian and Goran know each other when Julian turns to him for help. Suddenly Laura is in a very vulnerable position - just as Aaron's endgame is approaching, Spiga are about to go to war with Inazagi and Theo is heading into the Green Zone after impressing with his fighting skills.
   Colour me very, very excited.
   VIEWERS: 0.409m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.15
   (A significant loss in viewers is offset by an improved demo share.)

VERDICT: After a game-changing episode, the pieces are moved into place ready for all-out war. Some surprises add to the suspense. 8/10

Lucifer - 2x11 "Stewardess Interruptus"

"Lucifer and Chloe's moment is interrupted by a horny stewardess, but when she and another man is found murdered the next morning the only link is that they both were Lucifer's lovers. "Charlotte" and Amenadiel try to convince Chloe that Lucifer is good for her."

Lucifer left some clangers for seven weeks before it returned with "Stewardess Interruptus" and answered at least one of those questions: Chloifer. (There is really no good way to combine Lucifer and Chloe's names to make a catchy ship title.) Their moment was broken when one of Lucifer's previous conquests, flight attendant Jana Lawrence, barged in, stripped a little and expected sex. Chloe, quite naturally, took off, leaving Lucifer, for once in his life, turning down an attractive woman.
   Unfortunately that wasn't the end of it, as the next day Jana was found dead. And then so was Raj, both of whom were ex-lovers of Lucifer's. Cue all of Lucifer's innumerable conquests over the past two months being paraded through the precinct and questioned by Chloe (in a hilarious scene where she was freaked out by the odd descriptions of sex acts Lucifer had performed), on the presumption that Lucifer was the link between victims. In the end, the murders took place because Jana was a mule for a drug lord, one who, in silhouette, mysteriously escapes with a mysterious case of vials containing a mysterious liquid, as Lucifer sets up an interesting arc over the next two episodes.
   In between this we had Maze's inability to understand that Dan, as a serving police officer, didn't want anyone to know he had shopped Warden Smith (the man who killed Chloe's father) to the Russian mob after he wasn't charged, because, you know, cops aren't supposed to arrange for people to get murdered. Will this come out now or later, who knows? But it will come out.
   A word to the cuteness of Chloe's daughter Trixie, who becomes more brilliant with every episode, before I have to mention the episode's conclusion: after much manipulation from "Charlotte" and Amenadiel to convince Lucifer to get with Chloe, Lucifer tried to push her away, only for Chloe to kiss him - successfully this time! An engineered romance between the Devil and a human whose entire existence is an act of God? Season 2 just gets tastier and tastier.
   VIEWERS: 5.99m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1
   (On a level. Solid return)

VERDICT: Recent episodes have been high-tempo but "Stewardess Interruptus" wasn't. However, it still hit every note it wanted to, was funny and set up a thrilling mid-conclusion. 8.5/10

NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x13 "Hot Water"

"The mole targets OSP."

The mole storyline has been very hit and miss. It began around season 6, where it supposedly concluded with the arrest of Carl Brown. Then it was threaded throughout season 7 and now, in season 8, it is coming to a head. Finally. Because not only has it been a very inconsistent storyline (there really was no reason to make it an arc after Carl Brown's arrest anyway), but it has drawn out another arc of the show: every time something goes bad, Hetty will inevitably threaten to retire. It feels like every year Hetty does this now.
   Thankfully, this first of a two-part (hopefully) conclusion was a phenomenal entry, and in some ways worth the wait. The woman OSP had identified as linked to the mole, who met Granger in the bar earlier in the season, was introduced right at the start, beaten, and Granger arrested. Then when Deeks went to try and speak to him, Detective Whiting (who in season 7 ran an Internal Affairs investigation into the death of his partner years ago) returned with "new evidence" and arrested Deeks. (Interestingly, for those who don't know, Deeks is genuinely guilty of this crime, but obviously as the audience we don't want Whiting to know that and Deeks had a good reason.) Then Sam was detained by the Drug Enforcement Agency after a corpse and cocaine was found in his car. Callen made an escape, but later ATF caught him, having found a body at his home.
   The whole episode was about setting up the framing of four OSP heavy hitters, while Hetty dealt with politics from Washington and Kensi, Eric and Nell tried fruitlessly to fight back, but it didn't matter that there was little other substance: the intrigue of seeing all our characters brought into the custody of multiple federal agencies was fantastic, high-intensity stuff. It was also a good way to bring Kensi back into the fold as the only available agent - and what about that cliffhanger that the mole is working for the CIA?
   The premise did have its flaws. For example, isn't Anna - Callen's girlfriend - supposed to be ATF? Where was she when her boyfriend was getting arrested on trumped-up charges? Failing Anna, where was Talia del Campo, another ATF ally? One of them needs to show up in the next episode or it would be a huge oversight. But regardless, for now, this was a stupendous, mind-blowing episode.
   Oh, and did I mention the last time we saw Granger he had been stabbed and was bleeding out in a prison hallway?
   VIEWERS: 8.57m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0
   (NFL stole the show, leading to severe downticks for some of the earlier primetime shows)

VERDICT: I'll breathe once this arc is over because this was just breathtaking. 9/10

Scorpion - 3x13 "Faux Money Maux Problems"

"The Scorpion team are kidnapped and coerced into creating counterfeit dollars."

"Faux Money Maux Problems" made up an entirely new country to pass off a storyline that involved a President's sister kidnapping Scorpion and forcing them to create counterfeit bills that would flood the American market and obliterate the value of the dollar. Pretty good storyline, especially when the twist involves diplomatic immunity and the fact that Scorpion hadn't actually left American soil as believed.
   But the execution was dicey.
   Toby and Happy, who headed to a winery without their two-faced kidnapping escort, were positioned well to launch a rescue mission, but instead took a back seat and simply decoded a key fob. A crucial key fob in the end, but they did nothing of any practical value to save their friends. That was all Veronica, Paige's mother, whose defining traits are that she is a bad mother but a good spin doctor and can name drop way too many ridiculous titles of con schemes.
   There was a shining light of character development, however. Toby and Happy's trip to the winery helped them decide on a wedding venue and reveal secrets that they had been hiding (Toby still owed gambling debts to an unseen Bruno and Happy hoarded rare car parts). And Walter was taught the value of appreciating other people's opinions by introducing a conch that would allow people to voice them, but in the end he understood that sometimes to solve the problem not everyone can be involved in the decision-making. And from that, Paige took the decision to step back (after her years of nurturing Walter's emotional understanding) and allow him time to sink or swim alone. (Some residual anger for Tim's departure also playing into this decision, methinks?)
   Plus, I'm pretty sure Veronica is making up most of these con names (the hell is a Kentucky Two-Step?)
   VIEWERS: 7.69m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2
   (Level)

VERDICT: Poor execution of a plot with fairly good twists. Scorpion's up-and-down third season again blows cold. 7/10

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On January 19th, Miguel Ferrer, who played Assistant Director Owen Granger in NCIS LA, died after a long battle with throat cancer.
   I find it amazing that in spite of his illness, Ferrer was so dedicated to the show that he continued to work as long as he did, and seasons to come will miss him greatly. My thoughts go out to all his friends and family. RIP Miguel Ferrer.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Lucifer - Maze: "Self-worth comes from within, bitches. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to slut up."

LAST WEEK'S ROUNDUP: On-Season Week 17

NEXT WEEK'S ROUNDUP: (will be posted here when complete)


Final thoughts

Lucifer spent seven weeks off air and struggled to reach the intensity levels it had displayed before the hiatus, but nonetheless presented a glowing representation of what the show is all about whilst furthering the current arc and introducing others. Its ratings were still below average but its stability is a great marker of the show's decent performance.
   Elementary and Conviction's ratings remained typically low; the former now heads into the second half of its fifth season with a current demo share average of 0.68, while the latter's likely series finale will air the week after next.
   Incorporated's demo share rose again with the Christmas dip wearing off, though it certainly has affected the overall average. Scorpion's current 1.25 average has it just below the networks' average 1.3, but struggled again to produce a top quality episode. Hawaii Five-0 now leads the pack with 14 episodes aired, but hit a season low. And NCIS LA also recorded a season low 1.0 on a Sunday night that saw a giant baseball match rule the ratings across the board, ironically for the best episode of the season so far.

Thanks for reading everyone and see you next week!

Sam

Saturday, 14 January 2017

On-Season Week 17

WEEK 17

Week 16 saw the roundup rise to 7 shows, but Week 17 sees us dip back down to only 6; Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Bull and Scorpion drop out, to be replaced by Elementary and NCIS LA. Among this week's episodes, Conviction reopens the case of an imprisoned serial killer when a "copycat" emerges, Operational-Psychologist-turned-proficient-deep-cover-field-agent Nate Getz returns on NCIS LA's first episode for three weeks, and Masi Oka makes his final appearance in Hawaii Five-0.
   Apologies for no pictures this week, a few technical difficulties are keeping me from uploading any.

Conviction - 1x11 "Black Orchid"

"A woman is murdered in an identical manner to the infamous Black Orchid Killer's murders in 2006, so CIU questions whether this is a copycat or a man was wrongly convicted."

Can you trust the word of a man imprisoned for a serial killing spree who fits at least two of three criteria recognised as common traits in serial killers? Apparently, if you're Tess Larson, you can, and with the return of BOK Tess (and Emily Kinney) gets a chance to shine. Her aunt's murder generated an interest in serial killers, and her constant belief in profiling forces CIU to take her seriously when she suggests the man originally convicted, Clark Sims, is innocent.
   Starting off a CIU case with a fresh murder lent the episode a surprisingly refreshing procedural feel (given CIU is structured completely differently). The episode also managed to have some very clever answers for the incontrovertible proof that condemned Sims, such as his fingerprint being on the window of one of the original BOK victims because he worked at a delivery and installation company who had delivered and installed it five months before the murder spree. That's clever stuff.
   In the end, CIU and NYPD Homicide run through only really one other suspect before settling on the witness, Donald Cutler, as the real BOK; retribution for his failed murder attempt ten years ago leads to Cutler's death before he could be tried, but exonerates Sims.
   Elsewhere, Conviction probably concluded Tess's arc by having Tess mention that Matty, who after previously storming off when she revealed it was her testimony that wrongly convicted him of her aunt's murder, had now forgiven her. There's no feeling of resolution here since it's such a big part of her character's drive that has been relegated to a single line of speech, but since I was already doubtful the show would include him in any further episodes I'm happy to settle for what we got.
   And finally, shoutout to Hayes and Wallace's cute struggle to find a common ground beyond work - which adorably failed.
   VIEWERS: 2.68m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.5

VERDICT: Conviction ticks another "thing it had to do" off its list with a serial killer episode, and does so with stupendous execution. 8.5/10

Elementary - 5x11 "Be My Guest"

"Sherlock stumbles onto a kidnapper, but NYPD struggle to find the location of his victim. Meanwhile, Shinwell struggles to stick at his confidential informant training."

A short cold open-esque "here's how we caught you" scene with a murderer had Sherlock's mind wandering, until they landed upon a man, Ryan Decker, looking less than pleased at the police presence; Sherlock proficiently read Decker's lips enough to suspect a crime, but was less proficient at stealthily stealing Decker's phone, although in doing so he did learn of a kidnap victim.
   That cold open-esque way of stumbling onto another serious crime was a structural treat, and the rest of the plot delivered as well. But it was a much darker episode in tone than Elementary is used to, with the villains' crimes stemming from a past involving disturbing pornography and a traumatic childhood. I say villains plural - the disappointing element of the reveal was that Decker's long-assumed accomplice was actually his ex-wife, who had the same criminal tendencies as he and, while they were nemeses and held separate victims, they also took care of each others' victims. ("Took care" as in quite literally, rather than the dark subtext which is the natural assumption, which Elementary played on well.)
Decker restraining his victim
   Joan was more removed from the investigation than usual as Shinwell's deflated attitude to practising the skills she and Sherlock were teaching him kept her sidelined, as she ensured he did actually start to bother. Shinwell again proves to be the weakest part of a plot, and in sidelining Joan Watson he was even unhelpful to the show's primary dynamic.
   Word to Sherlock's almost flawless recollection of details pertaining to each case: although his ability to identify any brand of tobacco is accepted canon, the process of elimination by which he identified a body of water was a little too unbelievable, giving the feeling that the writers feel secure enough in Sherlock's character that whenever they need him to know trivia, it will pass by the audiences because ... you know ... it's Sherlock. Not so my writing friends, not so.
   VIEWERS: 5.15m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7

VERDICT: Sherlock and Joan were separated for most of the episode (especially some crucial points of it) leaving that critical dynamic wanting. Even with that, they somehow managed to forget Bell is a main cast character. 8/10

Hawaii Five-0 - 7x13 "Ua ho'i ka 'opua i Awalua / The Clouds Always Return to Alawua"

"Max Bergman prepares to leave Five-0."

Well that was emotional. I'm not going to talk about the murder plot because it just didn't matter in the end: Masi Oka's final episode as a regular on Hawaii Five-0 eclipsed the entire murder plot. Max Bergman was such an important character to the show, and what the writers gave us was a truly fitting tribute. While Max cleared out his belongings, Jerry raided his daily journals, and in doing so treated us to a few fond memories from the past years, such as Max helping McGarrett when he was a fugitive and the first time Max asked his wife Sabrina out. And then, at the end, there was a long-ass goodbye scene intercut with flashes of even more memories, a number of these flashes being Max dressed in his characteristic Hallowe'en outfits. I must admit, the scene came off a bit too emotional - after all, Max isn't dead - but I think it lends a certain finality to the character that if Masi Oka ever came back to guest star the whole point of the played-up goodbye speeches would be lost. So if you love it, let it go.
   Mahalo.
   VIEWERS: 9.54m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1
   (Ticks downwards, which I didn't expect for Max's goodbye episode. But still solid.)
All our Five-0 cast with some friends too.

VERDICT: Max's time at Five-0 closes, opening a new chapter for the rest of the series. A good window into past times. 8/10

Incorporated - 1x07 "Executables"

"Julian investigates Roger Caplan's disappearance. Ben's new interrogation technique is tested on an Inazagi employee in order for Spiga to retrieve the location of a gene splicer crucial to crop-growing in the deserts. Theo is forced deeper into Terrence's organisation."

The threads of a well-paced series are coming together slowly. Everclear, Ben's new interrogation technique which effectively reads people's minds, is trialled by Spiga on an Inazagi employee (Mr Brill) who knows the location of Sanjay Mirage, a gene splicer in Inazagi custody who can provide a method of effectively growing crops in deserts. With this technology, Spiga could topple Inazagi. Eventually, the location of Sanjay is uncovered and a team assembled, with Ben using Mr Brill to prepare safe passage for himself and Elena, and Hendrick to help remove any memory of his past as Aaron!
   Speaking of Elena though, Julian's investigation into Caplan's disappearance led to two more game-changing moments. Firstly, his belief that all these odd occurrences creating a 40th floor vacancy benefit Ben more than anyone, which puts him at the top of Julian's suspect pool. And secondly, a brief meeting between Ben and Elena, who is now aware Ben is working to free her from her sex slave role.
   Laura's conscience led her into trouble: directly after her flashback episode revealing how she was traumatised in the Red Zones, a visit to another Red Zone leads to her kidnap, but a surprise twist has her agreeing to perform duties as a doctor for the bad guy after she sympathises with him.
   This was just a well-timed episode: nearly everything that has occurred in the last 6 episodes was strung together in a way that opens up a stunning end to the first season: a Spiga-Inazagi war just as Ben's efforts to rescue Elena begin to crumble. How this will all pan out I cannot predict.
   Frustratingly, Theo's plot remains largely on the outside, but whether it will marry up near the end is another question. Props to the guest star from Peter Outerbridge.
   VIEWERS: 0.499m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.14
   (Solid ticks upwards - great for the show)

VERDICT: This was just very, very good writing, bringing together everything so far in what will be looked back on as the game-changing episode of the season. 9/10

MacGyver - 1x13 "Large Blade"

"Jack and Mac are trapped in an Afghanistan forest when their helicopter crashes and their prisoner escapes."

Patricia Thornton's outing as a mole doesn't seem like it will have any further bearing on the series, which seems a little disappointing. There's still more to Nikki's story so there should be more to Thornton's I feel, and if the MacGyver writers are choosing not to loop Thornton into the upcoming storyline then they better do it right.
   In the meantime, a stop in Afghanistan to recover a terrorist goes wrong when the helicopter is shot out of the air. With the pilot, Cynthia, injured, the terrorist, Victor, escaped, and no working phone to call for help, Mac and Jack use a variety of skills to bide time while Phoenix search for them. Which is Riley and Bozer's job back in LA. Interestingly, this is the first time we've really seen more than just our core team inside the Phoenix HQ, whereas today the search for Mac and Jack had a team of data analysts scouring Afghani wilderness for them.
Matty the Hun arrives at Phoenix
(Apologies for the poor quality screenshot)
   The main subplot thread was the announcement of Thornton's replacement: Matty Webber. Or, as Jack refers to her, "Matty the Hun". You know when someone has a nickname like that it can't be good, and in the final scene Matty's arrival puts our team on their toes. She's no-nonsense, strict and won't take even the smallest thing that she doesn't like, such as Mac playing with his paperclips. I like Matty and I like Meredith Eaton who plays her (I feel like Matty is going to be very much like a ruder Hetty from NCIS LA), but I think she might rub a few fans the wrong way. Either way, I'm looking forward to the next episode, where we properly see her in charge for the very first time.
   VIEWERS: 7.72m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.1
   (Small ticks downwards, but remaining in a stable area)

VERDICT: The episode plot was bogged down by typical stuck-in-the-middle-of-nowhere tropes, but the hyped-up arrival of Matty the Hun rescued the episode a little. 7.5/10

NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x12 "Kulinda"

"Sam goes undercover in a security firm named Kulinda, when one of its staff is killed."

I felt it in season 7, and I've been saying it throughout season 8: NCIS LA, while still a decent show, is in a bit of a creative rut. Episode structure, character development, as time has passed - as with any show - its quality has decreased. The Sunday at 8pm slot has rejuvenated the show's ratings, but nothing, until now, has actually given me hope that NCIS LA can rejuvenate its writing quite as brilliantly. The Callen and Anna relationship can do just that. A proper relationship for Callen - and by which I mean one that gets considerable airtime - has never been explored by the writers.
   I would like to see Anna shifted to main cast status, but that's highly unlikely. Fortunately, her ATF position (and now her relationship with Callen) will allow her to slip in and out of plotlines whenever the writers feel like having her. And in finding that critical combination, they've found a way to explore new ground at a point where the show was feeling a little repetitive.
Callen and Anna (first kiss?)
   Also, it's time to bring Nate home. In the most uniquely puzzling character tNCIS LA is now at a point where it could use that unpredictability to its advantage, even having Nate recur and drawing out arcs for everyone with his work would benefit the show, especially in the short-term. There may even be room, what with Granger's deteriorating health and Hetty's regular absences.
reatment I've seen on a TV show, Operational Psychologist Nate Getz has gone from a main cast member in season 1, to departing after the second episode of season 2; since then he has made 9 appearances in the intervening 6 seasons. That time gap has seen him become a proficient deep cover agent, so whenever he returns you never know what you'll get: the psychologist or the deep cover agent. And usually his appearances make for very good episodes (although some, like today, were just casual cameos); since
   That's pretty much what I've come away from this episode with: Anna needs to become a main cast member and Nate needs to return in a more regular (probably recurring) capacity. Because alongside a murder plot that didn't shout fresh, I couldn't think of anything but how these two are a benefit to a show that has gotten much too fond of itself.
   VIEWERS: 10.35m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.3
   (Golden Globes hit the ratings a little)

VERDICT: NCIS LA has stumbled upon a way to reboot its show, but with an already bloated cast and a winning formula you can expect it to prioritise ratings over quality writing. 8/10


Updates:-

  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine will not be returning with new episodes until the 11th of April, almost a full 3 months from the time of this roundup's publication.
  • Making History's premiere date has been revealed - 5th March.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Hawaii Five-0 - Steve McGarrett: "Book 'em, Danno!"

LAST WEEK'S ROUNDUP: On-Season Week 17

NEXT WEEK'S ROUNDUP: (will be posted here when complete)


Final thoughts

So there we have Week 17. Expectations were high but not always delivered this week: MacGyver and NCIS LA are examples, with the former failing to continue a good arc and the latter criminally underusing a loved recurring character. But both came out with strong ratings nonetheless. Conviction's burn-off continued (with another good episode and shocking ratings), Incorporated ticked back up as a game-changing episode set the rest of the season up for a grand slam final 3 episodes, Elementary struggled without the crucial Sherlock-Watson dynamic in play and Hawaii Five-0's tearful goodbye to Max was everything you expected - maybe even a little too much so.
   Next week promises a lot from more of our favourite shows - and the 

Sam

Saturday, 7 January 2017

On-Season Week 16

WEEK 16

Happy New Year everyone!
   A soupçon of normalcy returns as the New Year sees this roundup leap back up to significant numbers: we've seven shows to review this week. Incorporated passes the halfway stage of its (I'm now quite sure) ten-episode first season; with Bull and Conviction airing their tenth episodes, the only fall show not to have broken into double figures is Quantico, which doesn't return for another few weeks. Brooklyn Nine-Nine's two-part midseason finale will see the return of a familiar face, a character who serves a similar guest-star-per-season function as the Hallowe'en specials; it and Scorpion join Hawaii Five-0 and MacGyver in the lead at 12 episodes.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - 4x11 & 4x12 "The Fugitives Pt. 1 & 2"

"Nine fugitives escape when a prison bus is involved in a crash. Jake and Amy bet their living situation on who can capture the most escaped convicts, before Jake enlists the help of an old ally to capture the sole remaining escapee. Meanwhile, Terry struggles to deal with 'getting old' and Boyle is taught how to text properly."

Brooklyn Nine-Nine hyped up two things in the lead up to this two-part midseason finale: firstly, a guest star from NFL player Marshawn Lynch; and secondly, Doug Judy's return. Neither worked, although in fairness the punchlines given to Marshawn Lynch (his pronunciation of "quesedilla" and being over-talkative despite a closed-off image, which were seemingly unsurprising to audiences because they are already punchlines about Marshawn Lynch) went way over my head simply because I'd never heard of him.
   Doug Judy on the other hand ...
   I seem to dislike a lot of fan favourite characters on a lot of shows I watch (Michonne and Daryl, The Walking Dead; Carter, Person of Interest) and Doug Judy is no different. He's a Hallowe'en-esque guest-star-per-season special, but unlike the Hallowe'en episodes which can make interesting, funny and varied heists, the only facets to Doug Judy's character are A) he'll sing really annoyingly with Jake (which ironically proves Andy Samberg can't actually sing) and B) he'll probably betray them and maybe it'll turn out he'll unbetray them and actually be on their side. Which was what the writers tried to do here - again - and didn't manage to make it any more interesting than the first three times. And on top of that, the first part of the two-parter felt like filler to lead up to Doug Judy's introduction.
   The sideplots weren't much better either. Terry's concerns over his way of life and growing old at least represented a smooth cross-episode subplot, but didn't translate into humour very well and I imagine are probably just a way for the writers to incorporate Terry Crews' glasses so he has less trouble on set (I presume. I don't know if Terry Crews wears glasses).
   Boyle's text subplot - in which he was evicted from the Nine-Nine's group chat because of his over-texting - was the highlight of the episode. It was hilarious and I'm actually shocked it wasn't done sooner. Great punchlines, great interaction. While the rest of the episodes had punchlines in and around each seen, they weren't nearly as well-executed, and the text subplot will get lost in the quagmire of shit that was the season 4 winter finale.
   At least we had a surprising cliffhanger though as Gina, caught in the middle of the road reading one of Boyle's texts, was hit by a bus. Like it will have any real effect on her character anyway. An idiotic tease.
   Oh, and well done for remembering Jake and Amy are together. Fucking finally.
   VIEWERS: 3.44m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.3
   (Season highs by a huge margin. The New Year's Day/Doug Judy combination jump won't fool FOX executives, but it's still a plus for the season average and a season 5 renewal!)

VERDICT: Horseshit. 4/10 - and that's doubled from the original 2/10 only by virtue of Boyle's hilarious texting subplot.

Bull - 1x10 "E.J."

"Bull defends the CEO of a tech company whose employee was killed by their self-driving car prototype."

Putting aside the improbability that any current AI could replicate the vast array of human emotions shown by the self-driving car "E.J.", (although perhaps I'm wrong) this was a very good episode. The victim was killed by the self-driving car following his failure to adhere to security protocols when upgrading the car's software, desperate to return home to catch the 1.30am Arsenal v Manchester United football (soccer) match (props to the Bull writers for picking United; also see image because I couldn't resist). And from there the episode follows a natural, if a little uninspired, progression.
The victim's calendar, in which he had scheduled
an Arsenal v Man U match.
   First the victim's wife is accusing the CEO, Ginny Bretton, of negligence, a CEO who, for her impressive portfolio, lived in pyjamas in her childhood home. Standard opener. Then there's the suggestion the victim caused the malfunction by ignoring security protocols. Then there's a few questions of duplicity surrounding a couple of other employees, leading to a reveal that one of them caused the malfunction because he was in love with the CEO who didn't love him back; and then there's an end reveal where the CFO manufactured it all for monetary gain. Standard stuff.
   But emotional stuff. Ginny's driving motivation (pardon the pun) was to build a car that would reduce crashes and fatalities, which E.J. could do by 90%, because she had lost someone in a car crash. This reveal of Ginny's past (and the reveal that Bull had engineered the malfunction in E.J. to convince Ginny to testify) were unfortunately visible a mile off, and that obviousness, coupled with a frustratingly typical plot progression, didn't make for as good an episode of TV as I had hoped.
   VIEWERS: 11.30m (Stable)
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.5 (Back up to 1.5 is good news)

VERDICT: A good premise, but didn't live up to expectations. Great performances pulled the heartstrings, though. 7.5/10

Conviction - 1x10 "Not Okay"

"Hayes pushes CIU to investigate the case of Sophie Hausen, a woman locked up for killing a university basketball star that raped her."

Hot button topics are bread and butter to Conviction: in "Not Okay", the show explored the sadly very relevant topic of university campus rape, along with the ethics of what does or doesn't amount to rape. Much like in episode 6, where the CIU argued a case based on racial prejudice, the moral discussions here were fantastic, and no argument made here is wrong - but every argument is right. And once again, given the controversial nature of the topic, the writers covered themselves well by ensuring these arguments applied the right questions to the topic without apportioning blame to any undeserving party. And by this point, these moral debates amongst CIU staff are totally normal - which character is on which side of what argument and why? - but unbelievably engrossing.
Hayes revealing the university provost covered up the rape
   Unfortunately, the plot didn't quite stand up momentum-wise, as it was underlined by Hayes' over-vehemence to stick a middle finger up to the system; where before she fought fairly, this time she almost wanted Sophie to be the killer just so that she could free a guilty person in return for an innocent man being given the lethal injection. And that moral quandary, which drove the edgy episode (along with Hayley Atwell's performance) was utterly compelling. It also helped push Hayes towards accepting herself and giving a proper relationship with Wallace a go, which I approve of.
   Elsewhere, Tess tried to make things right with Matty, the man she wrongly identified as her aunt's killer when she was 12, but he fled after finding out who she was. I imagine that will be left unresolved now, given there's only 3 episodes left, which is a shame. But it wouldn't be technically unresolved as an ending could be read into that answer and, although a sad one, if this isn't touched upon in the future it will be a loose thread tied up.
   VIEWERS: 2.05m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.4
   (What. The. Fu...)

VERDICT: Edgy, emotional and had our main character driven by all the wrong motivations. One of the best episodes of the series. 9.5/10

Hawaii Five-0 - 7x12 "Ka 'Aelike / The Deal"

"Five-0 rescue Chin from the cartel, but another case of murder awaits them upon their return to O'ahu."

So after all that build-up to Chin being kidnapped by the cartel, Hawaii Five-0 writers cleared it up inside the first 10 minutes. The Mexican federal agent explained where they might find Chin's kidnapper, Juan Diego, and just as Diego was about to feed Chin to a pit full of hungry dogs McGarrett and the team arrived to save the day, right before Sarah's aunt and uncle relinquished custody to Chin, citing Mexico as too dangerous for her to live in. None of that displays any forward thinking from the writers.
   "What's in the car?" could have been the tagline for the promo, linking to the old "what's in the bag?" a few episodes before (which ironically was the plot that led to Chin's kidnap), as a car salesman by the name of Mitch Lawson was killed. It was seemingly perpetrated by a colleague, but then it was discovered Lawson was smuggling drugs in the cars - but then it was discovered he was actually smuggling uranium, and now we have another cliffhanger: there's a dirty bomb loose in O'ahu.
   All of this in time for a well-written exit plot for Masi Oka's character Max Bergman, who departs in the next episode. Will he die? Probably not, but at least his exit is tied in well with Jerry needing to find a new place.
   VIEWERS: 10.02m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2
   (Both tick up)

VERDICT: A decent cliffhanger resolved poorly, which led into an episode with a slightly less decent cliffhanger. The middle was good though. 7.5/10

Incorporated - 1x06 "Sweating the Assets"

"Laura's backstory is revealed as she ponders making a house call to her ex-housekeeper in the Red Zone."

The first half of the season has focused on Aaron/Ben's struggles to keep his clandestine motivations under wrap whilst trying to gain promotion, but after an intense episode that concluded with Roger Caplan's murder, Incorporated shifted that focus. To Laura.
   We knew a few important details about her: she had been through a traumatic experience in the Red Zone at some point in her past, she was estranged from her mother and she self-harmed regularly, but what "Sweating the Assets" did in an episode that was 90% flashback was explain what happened to her. It was a typical girl-goes-to-bar-against-mother's-wishes storyline, ending with Laura kidnapped for ransom - and when her mother didn't pay the kidnappers cut off her right ear.
   Elizabeth refused to pay because Spiga's policy wasn't to pay for the safe return of kidnapped employees, but presumably to wipe them out along with the kidnappers. Which is what happened to Laura's father, while Elizabeth did nothing to save him. This time at least, she sent Julian to rescue Laura, and her duplicity continued when she explained he would not receive his transfer and was instead to be promoted, which also reveals how Julian got to his current position.
   Ben/Aaron featured a little at the front and back ends of the episode, where he was shown to be taking steps on a fresh plan to rescue Elena, with Theo's help, but that was about it. This was Laura's episode, and Allison Miller's chance to shine - and she did.
   VIEWERS: 0.424m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.12
   (Perhaps the downtick wasn't just Christmas ...)

VERDICT: The flashback episode proves just how much you don't need to move a plot forward a whole lot to create something substantive, and the titbits of info on her character in the first five episodes prove how, when done well, you can answer your own questions without feeling like you've taken away the mystery. 9/10

MacGyver - 1x12 "Screwdriver"

"Agent Adler calls Mac and Jack for help when she uncovers a lead that could see Nikki arrested. But everything isn't as it seems."

Never trust a show that has a slow start. Person of Interest taught me that. Because you never know what it is hiding. And MacGyver, with "Screwdriver", pulled off a huge twist that I never saw coming.
   But I'll begin at the beginning: the cold open, in which Jack was being interrogated by a terrorist who had drugged him with truth serum. He sung like a canary - until Mac arrived to save him, citing that it didn't matter Jack had told the terrorist about Phoenix because he is going to jail. Like word doesn't get around in jails ... There was no resolution here, so the humour didn't work as well.
Nikki arrests Director Thornton
   I'm as big a fan of Amy Acker as there could be - and I called it that she was well-positioned as the portrayer of Agent Sarah Adler, because Adler could become a good recurring character. Having her bring a lead on the show's main mythology so far, Nikki, to the table was an inspired idea. Bringing back Murdoc for a few short scenes to expand on that even further - inspired.
   Nikki's whole bit was that she wasn't actually a traitor, but a deep cover CIA operative. Plenty of evidence backed her up, but plenty didn't, and her secret mission - to find a government mole codenamed Chrysalis - was a convenient way to turn her back to the good side. But having Director Patricia Thornton be the mole? That was a stunning twist. How do you feel to sign up a main cast and lop one of them off early on in season one? That won't be the last we see of Thornton, and I wouldn't be surprised if the writers tried to twist her back to a good guy, although I hope they don't backtrack on this shocking reveal. This has the potential to change the course of the show, which has been slow so far, and I'd like to see this play out properly.
   VIEWERS: 8.48m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2
   (Impressive ratings for a show that had been on the decline)

VERDICT: For the return of Amy Acker, the mythology of Nikki and THAT twist - 9/10

Scorpion - 3x12 "Ice Ca-Cabes"

"The Scorpion team attend to a broken generator in the desert, but when it explodes shrapnel endangers Cabe's life - and the only way to save him becomes to kill him."

Walter and Paige collect hydrogen sulphur from a nudist spring
A criticism you could level at general procedurals is that we know they're going to solve the case and catch the bad guy at the end of the episode, barring any seasonal arcs that are being implemented, but we as the audience watch to try and crack the case ourselves. That is not the case in such shows when characters are endangered, because 99 times out of 100 that danger is never going to actually represent a threat to a main character. So when Scorpion put Cabe on the edge of death for an entire episode it wasted 40 minutes.
   OK, so it didn't waste 40 minutes. There were some good character moments: Walter and Paige's awkwardness after Tim's controversial departure, Cabe being unable to recognise when a woman is flirting with him and the return of Toby's outfit fetish. But the main chunk of the plot, which was the threat to Cabe's life that required uber-extremes to save, had no emotional weight because the show wasn't going to chop a fan favourite character.
   VIEWERS: 7.37m
   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2
   (Both hovering nicely in respectable areas)

VERDICT: The main plot served no purpose and had no weight. At least the character moments were good, and it was very funny too. 6/10

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Bull
Bull: "[The victim failed to adhere to proper security protocols in the leadup to his death because] he was in a hurry to get home for a game."
Marissa: "At 1.30 in the morning?"
Benny: "You've obviously never seen an Arsenal Man U match."

LAST WEEK'S ROUNDUP: On Season Week 15 (+ Midseason Previews)

NEXT WEEK'S ROUNDUP: (will be posted here when complete)


Final thoughts

Be still my heart. This week has had some great twists, some unexpected moments and some very differing ratings performances. Brooklyn Nine-Nine's two-part winter finale stormed the ratings with season highs in both demo share and viewers, but didn't have the writing consistency to back them up (not that stonking ratings is a problem); Bull and MacGyver saw ratings increases alongside excellent episodes while Hawaii Five-0 saw an increase alongside a slightly weaker episode; Scorpion hovered in ratings with a disappointing episode; Incorporated switched its focus but hasn't come out of its (Christmas) ratings slump. Lastly, the burn-off of Conviction's final four episodes saw a shocking slide to 0.4 in the demo share, leaving me to wonder if ABC wouldn't get better ratings if it aired reruns instead.
   Final word must be a shoutout to Bull, who incorporated a reference to my football team in its show.

Thanks for reading everyone and I'll see you next time!

Sam