On-Season Week 10

WEEK 10

Week 9 was the first time all 13 shows here came together at once, and normalcy has returned this week as three drop out. The first two, MacGyver, and Hawaii Five-0, have been the only two shows to have aired an episode every week so far, and in their absence others will have an opportunity to catch up; meanwhile, after the cliffhanger that Ryan has been accepted into the terrorist group at The Farm, Quantico also takes a short break. But everything else remains, as the first third of most of our shows are almost behind us, and Westworld is approaching its endgame.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - 4x07 "Mr Santiago"

"Jake tries to impress Amy's father as the team gather for Thanksgiving. While Pimento and Holt get caught up in a televised dog show, the others struggle over who will kill the turkey."

Boyle ready to catch and kill the turkey

Jimmy Smits was a great casting choice for Amy's father, just one part of an episode that worked. All three plot arcs melded together despite Holt and Pimento's largely being separate from the other two, and the usual (and usually dull) boyfriend attempts to impress girlfriend's father trope was actually very good because the writers characterised Mr Santiago much like Amy: uptight, booksmart and attentive to every tiny detail. Spending time having Jake focus on a trait that typically defines Amy in order to impress her father was great - even if the outcome (that Jake would only get Mr Santiago's approval once he had solved a decades-old unsolved case with him) was as obvious as is a Hawaii Five-0 season 8 renewal.
   Quotibles were abound, but the strongest compliment is that they were so much about characters bouncing off each other that they don't work as single, understandable quotes - except perhaps some of Pimento's unhinged ramblings. Beyond that, there isn't much else to say about an episode that was just another (very good) day at the office (and it was a day; no news on the night shift arc's conclusion yet).
   VIEWERS: 2.19m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.9
   (The only difference between this week and last was last week's viewers were 2.18m)

VERDICT: If you have to pick episodes to really explain what the show's about, you wouldn't pick this for premise - but as an episode it displays B99's capability in every other area. 8.5/10

Bull - 1x07 "Never Saw the Sign"

"TAC defend a man accused of causing the death of his wife in a car accident."

Two of the formatting structures from the opening few episodes returned: the mirror jury selection that I so like was a welcome sight; the return of the shameful and cringe-worthy intro speech ... not so much. The rest of the episode proved the series might chop and change these features with others, as the final "not guilty" verdict scene was cut after the lawyer's closing speech for what was the first time (I believe) this season. I had had my concerns about stale formatting after just the first few episodes (although I chopped the paragraph from my earlier roundup to give the show a chance to prove those concerns were invalid), and I'm glad they were quickly eased.
   The case was a good one, too: the father who didn't remember seeing a dot matrix board that said "congestion: slow down" before he crashed. The get-out clause was a bit better here: our father, John Phillips, was being railroaded in the case by a corrupt State Assemblyman named Dorrit, part of whose campaign called for the demolition of a local library, causing a hacker named Austin to hack the sign to make it say "no need to read". The lawyer's clinching argument: to take a sign that had been in the courtroom all through the case and ask jurors to explain what it said. When none of them could, the final concern was abated and John was cleared.
   On the subplot side, Marissa's fluctuating attire leads to her revealing she is reconciling with her ex-husband - a tiny deviation from the case as a whole as it probably took up less than 2 minutes. Another thing that needs mentioning: this is now two episodes in a row that public defenders have taken the case to real court instead of Benny; while I like seeing other people drafted in from time to time, it's about time to get Benny back in real court and not just TAC's mirror court.
   NCIS nugget: The pronunciation of "David" as "Dah-veed", much like much-loved NCIS Special Agent Ziva David. Was a nice nugget, but a bit forced.
   VIEWERS: 10.87m (Slight downtick)

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.5 (Equals last week)

VERDICT: A strong episode with a much stronger clinching detail; the corrupt assemblyman was a brilliant foe despite having few scenes. Previous episodes have missed that conflict. 8.5/10

Code Black - 2x08 "1.0 Bodies"

Across the first 7 episodes of Code Black's second season, each episode's rating has averaged out to a 5.85. That is a diabolical performance and now that I'm even skipping through parts of episodes because I can't be bothered to sit through it, I've decided to chop Code Black from this roundup. Anyone who reads this and wants me to keep posting the viewer and demo share ratings let me know and I will do so, but I'm no longer going to be watching the show.

   VIEWERS: 6.16m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.9

VERDICT: DROPPED

Conviction - 1x07 "A Simple Man"

"CIU investigate the conviction of a man with a low IQ who has spent 15 years in prison for causing a fire at his family restaurant that ended with a homeless man's death."

"A Simple Man" was a comedown after the highly charged episode before it, but it had everything it needed to as once again Conviction's unrivalled aptitude for story and character continuity blossomed. Wallace took his revenge on Hayes for bringing an FBI corruption investigation to his door by allowing a documentary crew to follow her and CIU, something he knew she would resent after growing up in the limelight as a former First Daughter. The premise of characters being followed by a documentary crew is an overcooked one these days, but for Conviction the choice to adopt it was valid - and they rightly chose not to let the typical low-quality camera trope interfere with what they had built, leaving an actually satisfying documentary episode in its wake.
   Other continuity included Max's drug use, which, after being revealed in the previous episode, spiralled when she popped a pill following comments Sam had made about her which the documentary crew took out of context. Bastards. And I'm sad for Max, too. Tess expanded even more on the sequence of events surrounding her wrongful conviction of Matty for her aunt's murder when she was 12, and the camera crew managed to corner Sam into talking about Greg Stainer, the security guard who killed himself in front of him and Max in the previous episode.
   One standout scene was Hayes trying to get information from a money launderer: she wrote down on a pad of paper that his office was bugged in order to trick him into providing written proof of his corruption. Sneaky. I thought it was brilliant - like the majority of "A Simple Man", which concluded with the reveal that one of the 3 brothers' wives had tricked Leo into putting kitty litter in the wrong bin so she could start the fire.

   VIEWERS: 4.14m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7
   (Last ratings comment for Conviction just to say it was nice knowing you)

VERDICT: Continuity was the strongest part of the episode in yet another display of CIU's easy disunity. 8.5/10

Elementary - 5x07 "Bang Bang Shoot Chute"

"A base jumper and ex-army parachutist is shot in mid-air by a sniper; it is later found his chute was also sabotaged, leading to the belief that there were two separate killers."

After fluffing a good premise the previous week, Elementary tried to make up for it with another interesting one: a base jumper killed by two different people. The show managed to earn forgiveness by sticking to the original premise the whole way through the episode, I'm just not sure it pulled off the episode perfectly. The first killer's identity hinged on three hereditary traits to do with hair (or lack thereof) on the body - and it was, unsurprisingly, the wife. I wasn't shocked, as I'd called her at the very beginning, but her motive surprised me. Husband, Nerely, had a burner phone which he used to cheat on her. I can accept it, even if I find it a bit of a stretch that someone would have a burner phone to cheat, since that would by definition not be a "burner" phone, and leaving a second phone lying around the house is hardly stealthy. That's what passwords are for on main-use phones.
   The second killer was the son of a suspected terrorist, who had been flown across the country illegally by Nerely in the airplane he bought with money given to him by an ex-army buddy which had been looted from an army fund in Afghanistan, because Nerely's affair had been with his sister. So the successful sniping was an honour killing. I think the show left it late to get to this climax, but at least the reveal of the wife being the killer was very cunning on the writers' part.
   Meanwhile, Shinwell returned. He's either back to his criminal ways or just doesn't want Watson's help anymore (could this arc get any more predictable?) but I thought his scene playing chess in the park with Sherlock was brilliant and I'd like to see more of that.

   VIEWERS: 5.01m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7

VERDICT: I'll buy the reveal even if I'm not convinced by it. Did OK as an episode, but wasn't a big improvement. 7/10

Lucifer - 2x09 "Homewrecker"

"Dean Cooper, a property magnate who retains ownership of Lucifer's nightclub Lux, is killed, leading Lucifer to believe his mother is trying to undermine his Los Angeles roots."

Amenadiel is disgusted when his mum seduces Dan

Following on from "Charlotte's" beginning to plot Lucifer's LA downfall, it came as no surprise when the man with whom he had a rather shaky agreement for ownership of the Lux nightclub was found dead, leading to his son taking back the property; what was a surprise was that it was all just a well-timed coincidence. Dean Cooper, who had hired a professional seducer to try and prove his son's fiancée was just a gold digger (she wasn't), was killed by his son's fiancée in revenge, but she and the son both took the fall for the murder. Meanwhile, "Charlotte" piggybacked on her good fortune by continuing to undermine Lucifer and Amenadiel's almost genial relationship, later going so far as to sleep with Dan simply to get information on Lucifer's weakness: Chloe.
   Chloe has been in mortal danger before this season, from Uriel, but "Charlotte" certainly represents a step up. She's possibly even more conniving than Uriel was, and certainly a more intense, duplicitous character: Uriel didn't even try to hide his psychopathy. If "Charlotte" is now turning her attentions to Chloe, Lucifer is going to be in an even tighter position than when Lux was taken from underneath him. At least it was nice to see Dan happy for a while, when he knew he was going to get some action with "Charlotte".
   There were hilariously appropriate music choices (although I'm afraid I can't remember an example, I simple noted that phrase down for later reference), but the episode, for all its promise of future implosions, lacked a little intensity itself.

   VIEWERS: 3.63m (Slight downtick)

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0 (Slight downtick)

VERDICT: Another well-positioned episode within the season using a smart plot device; "Charlotte" remains one of the best characters of the show right now. 8/10

NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x09 "Glasnost"

"An American woman is poisoned with polonium-210, and Callen's father returns to help solve the case."

NCIS LA moved forward a number of plot arcs with a simple storyline of an American woman transpiring to be Russian, whose handler had previously been Callen's father, Garrison. The surprising return led to a number of revelations, but at least Garrison was clear he had no excuse  for leaving Callen as a baby beyond he wanted Callen to be safe. On that note, now that we know Callen's real first name (Grisha), it's odd to hear Garrison call him it when everyone at OSP still knows him as G. Or Callen. Still on that note, it's hard after 8 seasons to keep up with Callen's complex past, but the recapping throughout the episode did enough to keep viewers in the loop.

   Hetty was back, but as is the norm now barely featured. It's a real shame, and odd, considering that Granger seems to be in a very perilous position as he suffers from the effects of Agent Orange. His speech was even worse in "Glasnost", and while it's a great arc, NCIS LA might be crossing the line and making Granger a little too unintelligible.
   Shout out to Deeks' continued patience with Kensi's off-on again treatment, although at least she's more on than off now whenever he comes to visit. Putting tech geek Eric in the field with Deeks was as funny as it was good writing; and just to loop back to Callen's mythology as a final point, he now has a half-sister? Will his story ever end? (What was going on with the casting, however? India de Beaufort now plays Callen's half-sister, despite both her parents being white?)
   Oh, and props to Vyto Ruginis returning in his usual one-episode-per-season guest role as Arkady Kolcheck.

   VIEWERS: 10.43m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.5
   (Adjusted down from 1.6, but 1.5 is still fabulous news for NCIS LA and CBS)

VERDICT: Arkady was back, Callen's past became a little bit clearer while still shocking us and the overall dynamics were more interesting. Now NCIS LA is settling into the season, its quality is improving. 8/10

Pure Genius - 1x05 "Fire and Ice"

"A hockey player suffers a severe spinal injury while the Bunker Hill staff are on a 'team-building exercise' watching the match. Meanwhile, James's over-exuberant attempts to use bioprinting techniques to create skin for a mother whose face is badly burned drives a wedge between Dr. Wallace and his wife."

Up until now, James's equal-parts ingratiating and annoying "we can do anything and also I have a lot of power to help get it done" philosophy has worked for the benefit of his patients, so that even viewers who sometimes think he's a little overbearing can forgive him, but now an obstacle in the form of the big bad FDA threatens to prevent him from helping a mother with facial burns. Cue James calling in Julianna Wallace, Dr. Wallace's wife, who just happens to be an FDA rep with a flawless record, and keep badgering the pair of them until Julianna finally cracks when Wallace emotionally blackmails her. Five episodes in and the Pure Genius formula is showing why its base premise is brilliant, but its execution is far from. It needs a character like James Bell, but sometimes it and James need to take a step back.
   This episode also features the first real occasion where James fails a patient: the hockey player whose spinal injury is so severe that James's overpromising cannot this time translate into reality. There's something like a happy ending when James creates an electrical stimulation sleeve for his arm, which would help stimulate the brain to move the arm better, thus shortening recovery time, but the results are still nothing like everybody hoped.
   Sad as it is for the patient involved, Pure Genius needed a tale or two where Bunker Hill fell short. After all, miracles don't happen every day. For proof of that, we can look again at James's G.S.S. patient, Keating, who pops up again to suggest that, while a cure is a long way away, there will soon be some movement on that front.

   VIEWERS: 4.74m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.8
   (Both tick down)

VERDICT: A stumbling block was what this show needed and this fit the bill. James's temperament is becoming less tolerable, however, as the goodwill from positive outcomes dries up. 7.5/10

Update: Pure Genius has been capped at 13 episodes by CBS; unofficially, that means cancelled.

Scorpion - 3x09 "Mother Load"

"Paige's mother Veronica calls Scorpion to help her when she finds a nuclear device in a building she is holding a secret meeting."

Did somebody say "strained relationship between main character and main character's previously unseen, unmentioned or unheard of parent"? Sounds like shit parent mythology to me!
   OK, so it wasn't all bad - but there's a lot to be said for bringing in parents because it has to be done right. Scorpion has struggled to get it right in the past (Ken Fahey playing Sylvester's dad was an atrocious casting choice), although the strain between Walter and his parents was at least plausible. Veronica Dineen shows up in "Mother Load" full of lies about what she's doing, how she has the items she has and where she's been the past few years (for example, her "gated community in Arizona" transpired to be "Arizona State Penitentiary for Women"), and Toby, as group psych, gets caught in between Paige's anger and Veronica's attempts to reconnect. Typical shit parent mythology - although Toby's awkwardness was hilarious.
   Scorpion also managed to showcase its long-evident Castle-esque skill for identifying one main character trait and sticking with it: today, Sylvester's love for war games (his arc of running for Senate in a virtual game became a to-the-streets signature campaign), and his love for the comic hero Super Fun Guy becomes, in the end, the only way Scorpion can safely get rid of the nuclear device - by using a giant Super Fun Guy balloon to fly it out over the ocean and neutralise it. I just love the image, too. It's very upbeat and victorious.
   Elsewhere, Cabe's potential love interest turned out to be played by Reiko Aylesworth (good casting choice), in an episode that shifted the emphasis from the uncomfortable will-they-won't-they of #Waige that is seeping some of the watchability from the third season.

   VIEWERS: 7.07m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2
   (Identical demo share, viewers down barely from 7.17m)

VERDICT: The twists and turns in Scorpion episodes are becoming predictable; throw an SPM (shit parent mythology) in there as well and you get a very underwhelming episode that therefore makes its character consistencies look brilliant. 6.5/10

Westworld - 1x08 "Trace Decay"

"Hale adjusts her plan after Theresa's murder, which Ford has Bernard cover up. Maeve instructs Felix and Sylvester to give her control of the Hosts. Dolores continues glitching."

After the brilliant ending to episode 7, I was eagerly anticipating episode 8. Although it followed on from Theresa's murder (in a clever role reversal as Ford began talking to the Host Bernard), it felt like a sudden filler that had no new shocks to offer.
   Meanwhile, Maeve's increased intelligence allows her to take a further step by blackmailing the techs to give her control of the Hosts, and as she returned to Westworld she altered narratives by simply talking. I'm not sure what the endgame is for this or how it connects with Ford's greater plan to keep his vice grip on Westworld (since this close to the end the two arcs are horribly disconnected and Ford's focus seems solely to be on keeping Hale at bay), or even if it does connect at all.
   Hale's displeasure at Theresa's death was evident throughout the episode, as she tried rigidly to readjust her plan by sweet-talking Director of Narrative Lee Sizemore into replacing her and updating a Host (the man who played Dolores's father in episode 1) for her nefarious means. Dolores and Teddy, the latter of whom had something of a heart-to-heart with the Man in Black, both continued glitching - and more seriously. With Maeve in control now, and seemingly nobody aware of this, I can't predict what's going to happen at all.

   VIEWERS: 1.777m

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.8
   (Almost identical to the previous week)

VERDICT: A very unclear episode that didn't have anything to match the reveal of the previous episode. The most interesting characters today just ... weren't. 6.5/10

Update: Westworld has been renewed for season 2.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Conviction - Hayes: (when Sam sticks a USB drive of evidence into her laptop): "Future reference, consent to pull it out doesn't equal consent to stick it in."

LAST WEEK'S ROUNDUP: On-Season Week 9

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

Update: After 7 seasons on Hawaii Five-0, Masi Oka, who plays medical examiner Dr. Max Bergman, has decided to leave the show. His departure will reportedly occur in the thirteenth episode.

Final thoughts

Most shows this week ended up equalling the previous week's ratings: those on that list include Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Bull, Elementary, Scorpion and Westworld; although Code Black also matched, it has the dubious award of being the first show I've dropped from my roundups after chronically poor writing. Shows that didn't manage to equal their previous efforts include Lucifer, NCIS LA and Pure Genius.
   In terms of episode quality, I found that Scorpion and Westworld were the weakest here, both with poor 6.5/10s. Taking  out of the equation the 0/10 rating which accounts for the episode that led to my decision to drop Code Black, Week 10 averaged out to a 7.6, which is respectable but nothing standout.

Sam