Outlander: Both Sides Now (1x08)

Okay, I'm distinctly torn about this episode. There were parts of it that I dearly loved, and other parts that I was not happy with. Let's just dive in to the plot, to start.

Throughout the episode, we get to see Frank's side of the story, as he searches for his wife. I'll be brief, because not a lot happens: the Inverness police think that Claire probably ran off voluntarily, but Frank won't believe it. A girl gives him a tip as to where the man from the wanted posters might be (a rendering of Jamie, from when Frank saw his ghost). When Frank shows up, it turns out to be a trap to get the reward money. Frank is set upon by some men, but he beats them off, very nearly killing one of them. He also nearly strangles the woman who brought him there to begin with. He talks to Reverend Wakefield, who suggests he leave Inverness and move on with his life before the darkness swallows him up.

Mrs. Graham tells Frank her theory about the standing stones and time travel. Frank doesn't believe it. However, on his way out of Inverness, he goes up to Craig na Dun, where he hears Claire calling for him. He calls to her, too. However, nothing happens on his end.

Meanwhile, in Scotland, we see Jamie and Claire sharing some nice quiet alone time together, when suddenly a beggar shows up. He's an old friend of Jamie's. He gives Claire a gift: a dragonfly in amber. He also tells Jamie that there's a British redcoat deserter who can help Jamie get the price lifted from his head by telling the truth of what happened when Jamie escaped from the British.

Grey's Anatomy: I Must Have Lost It on the Wind (11x01)

Eleven seasons. Wow. There are a few reasons why I think this show remains so successful. For me, the main reason is that every time they add new characters, they put a lot of effort into making them compelling and interesting. It's sometimes hard for me to remember that Arizona, Callie, April, Jackson, even Owen, were not part of the original lineup of the show. Even newer additions like Jo and Stephanie have totally captured my attention. It's what makes this show renewable, pretty much perpetually. Now we have yet another new addition to the cast. Let's start with a plot summary! As always with this show, there's a lot to get through.

Now that Cristina is gone, Maggie Pierce is the new cardio-thoracic surgeon. As she and Meredith work on a patient, they end up butting heads. Maggie is distraught to find that her biological sister is not a nice person, and she rants to Richard (her biological father) about how she doesn't need any new family, anyway. Richard, in coping with the discovering of his daughter, goes to an AA meeting to talk about his experience. Unfortunately, Amy Shepherd sees him there. She promises not to tell anyone.

Parenthood: Vegas (6x01)

I love this show so much. If I could have my way, it would keep getting renewed forever and forever. There are plenty of other shows I wouldn't mind saying goodbye to... so why is it that Parenthood is starting its very last season?! This premiere is nice and strong, continuing threads from last season while introducing some interesting new elements. Let's start with a plot summary.

Zeek and Camille are all moved in to their new home now. Sarah, after leaving Hank to deal with his returning daughter, goes to surprise her father with a birthday trip to Vegas. While there, Zeek has a health scare and collapses. He refuses to stay in the hospital. Adam and Crosby drive out to Vegas, and Zeek celebrates his birthday with three of his kids, seemingly just fine. When he gets back home, he goes to see his doctor, who wants to do further exploration to see why he collapsed.

Hank is struggling because his ex-wife and child have moved back home. Apparently Ruby had gotten in with a bad crowd at her old school, and Hank needs to help. He now gets to be a 50/50 parent. He's happy about this, but Ruby is not exactly easy to deal with. Sarah adjusts to the news that Hank will now be much more involved in his daughter's life.
 

Modern Family: The Long Honeymoon (6x01)

Modern Family is back! I liked this episode quite a bit. A good strong opening for the sixth season. Although, I must say, this was sort of standard fare. Nothing special or big to celebrate the premiere. Still, I had fun watching it!

Cam and Mitch have been home from their honeymoon for some time, but Cam won't let the honeymoon die. Mitch gets increasingly annoyed, until finally he suggests that Cam dial it back a bit. Cam is offended. In the end, Mitch decides he can try to be a bit more romantic, and the two of them dance together to one of their special songs.

Gloria is annoyed by the way Jay has been dressing, because he doesn't seem to be putting in any effort to look nice for her. When Jay says he doesn't care how Gloria looks, she takes him seriously and threatens to go into a bar in sweats and with messy hair. In the end, they both agree that they have to try hard to be sexy for one another while it's still possible. Manny throws a surprise party for Gloria, who reveals that she can get ready very quickly, as she emerges looking put together and beautiful as always.
 

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Shadows (2x01)

Hmmm. I liked this premiere a lot, but I find myself with a lot of questions. Let's start with a plot summary!

We start with a prologue in 1945, as Peggy Carter and her team shut down the last known HYDRA base. They collect the artifacts there, labeling one particular case "0-8-4."

We then flash forward to the present day, where Skye, Maye, and Triplett are monitoring a deal between an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent and some of Coulson's trustworthy people - involving said 0-8-4, also known as the Obelisk. The deal goes terribly wrong when a man named Carl Creel (Absorbing Man) shows up and steals the Obelisk. Although some of the team manage to shoot him, it doesn't seem to harm him. Coulson asks Skye to question Ward about HYDRA's methods of communication. Once she obtains this information, they realize that General Talbot is in danger. They rescue him by... kidnapping him.

The Big Bang Theory: The Junior Professor Solution (8x02)

Okay, here's the second episode. Let's whip right through this.

Sheldon is promoted to Junior Professor so that he can study something other than string theory. However, because of his reputation, nobody signs up to take his class. Howard, who has decided to go for his Doctorate, decides to take the class. Sheldon spends his time trying to humiliate Howard intellectually. Howard responds by being a horrible student. Howard eventually tries to humiliate Sheldon with Engineering problems. In the end, they make up, and the four guys quiz each other on scientific topics, all celebrating their intelligence.

Meanwhile, Bernadette and Penny are getting sick of each other. Bernadette wants Penny to prepare for her new job, but Penny hasn't been studying. Penny just wants Bernadette to get off her back, but Bernadette thinks that if Penny doesn't do well at the pharmaceutical company, it will reflect badly on Bernadette herself, who recommended Penny for the position. Amy is stuck in the middle, but she loves it - she talks bad about each of the girls behind their backs, cementing her friendship with Penny by complaining about Bernadette, and vice versa. However, this doesn't last long. Bernadette and Penny soon make up, and Bernadette helps Penny study for her new job.

The Big Bang Theory: The Locomotion Interruption (8x01)

Anyone who's read my reviews of this show before knows that I have decidedly mixed feelings about it. Let's start with the plot of the opening episode, and then we'll get into my thoughts.

Forty-Five days after Sheldon left home, he is in a train station in Arizona, without pants, begging for help. He calls Leonard, who comes to pick him up. Amy tags along, angry that Sheldon called Leonard instead of her. On the car on the trip back, Sheldon reveals that he was nervous about Amy seeing him fail. Amy reassures him that it's okay to not be perfect. Sheldon feels like he's made great progress because, even though the trip ended badly, he handled going across the country in trains all on his own. However, as he enters the apartment at the end and sees Penny's new hair, he freaks about about the change.

Bernadette gets Penny a job interview. Penny is nervous, but she goes. However, it goes very poorly at first. She is about to leave, when suddenly she and the interviewer bond over how much Bernadette scares them. She's quite the bully!

Doctor Who: Time Heist (8x05)

Oh gosh I'm really torn on this one because on the one hand the plot was so stupid and infuriating, but on the other hand everything was just so cute and silly and there were parts of it that felt like the goold ol' days. Great guest characters for the most part... but then a really awkwardly designed alien monster thing. I feel like this is one of those episodes where you could honestly feel either way about it... I happened to have a great time watching it, but I would totally sympathize with anyone who said it was crap. Sometimes, ultimately, a lot of Doctor Who feels that way. You just have to roll with it sometimes, or it'll leave you behind.

The plot! (I'll be honest with you, my summary is going to be lacking a lot of details. It got a bit complex there for a while).

So, Clara and the Doctor are trying to decide what to do (Clara insists that she has to go for a date, but the Doctor wants her to come along with him on an adventure). Suddenly, the TARDIS phone rings. The Doctor answers it, and -

Outlander: The Wedding (1x07)

The episode everyone was waiting for. And let me tell you, it was just as gratuitous and over the top as anyone ever could have wished for. I guess I'll start with a plot summary, although let's be real, the plot of this episode was mostly: sex.

We start with Frank and Claire, and see how he spontaneously proposed to her back in the 1940's, and then we jump to just after Jamie and Claire's wedding. The rest of the episode is told in flashbacks to the moments leading up to the wedding, as Jamie and Claire spend their wedding night together.

Basically, they must consummate their marriage so that Jack Randall doesn't get any ideas about challenging the validity of the marriage. As we see Jamie prepare for the wedding by making sure Ned acquires a dress for Claire, and making sure a ring is made out of a key, we see that Claire spends her wedding day sleeping in, massively hung over. The wedding goes off without a hitch, although Dougal had to bribe a priest to see to the ceremony.

Doctor Who: Listen (8x04)

Okay, so I know I keep saying this every week. But this is the best episode we've had of the season so far. I'm glad they're getting better and better, and this was the first episode of Doctor Who in a long time that made me forget to think critically while I was watching it. I was swept up in the moment. With the distance of a few days, of course I now can think critically about it. But first of all let's get the plot down.

We start off by seeing the Doctor contemplating the idea that nobody is ever alone - that there could exist in the universe some creature that has evolved to hide perfectly and never be seen. He is caught up with this idea to the extent that when he sees the word "listen" written out in chalk in the TARDIS, he is convinced that it is a message from just such a creature.

Meanwhile, Clara goes on a date with Danny Pink. The two of them are extremely awkward, and they end up getting into a fight. Clara storms out of the restaurant. Whens she gets home, she finds the TARDIS waiting for her inside. The Doctor insists that she come with him. He wants to hook her up with the TARDIS' telepathic system so that they can travel back to Clara's childhood to visit the moment when she had a dream: the dream where someone under the bed grabs your foot. The Doctor speculates that all people have had such dreams because maybe they aren't dreams at all.

Outlander: The Garrison Commander (1x06)

Well damn. Damn. Pretty much incredible. Let's talk about this, shall we?

Picking up on the cliffhanger from last week, we see Claire assure the British Soldiers that she's a willing guest of Clan Mackenzie. Even so, the British man takes her to talk to his commanding officer. Dougal comes with, to protect her.

At first, things seem to go alright. Claire has dinner with a group of British officers, while Dougal waits downstairs in a tavern. They agree to help her get to Inverness, from which she can then make her way, hopefully, back home to Frank. However, her hopes are momentarily dashed by Jack Randall entering the room all of a sudden. He and Claire see and recognize each other.

At this point, another person enters the room and declares that a man has been injured in a brawl down below. As the surgeon cannot be located, Claire agrees to help the man. She does so, participating in an awful amputation. She then goes back upstairs, horrified to find that the only soldier left to talk to her is Jack Randall. Jack insists on questioning Claire, because during dinner she betrayed some questionable sympathies towards the Scottish.

Doctor Who: Robot of Sherwood (8x03)

The best episode yet... which unfortunately isn't really saying much. I did have fun watching this, though. Onward! To the plot!

The Doctor asks Clara where she would like to go, and Clara admits that she's always wanted to meet Robin Hood. The Doctor declares there's no such thing, but when he programs the TARDIS to take them to Sherwood Forest, they immediately meet Robin Hood and his Merry Men.

The Doctor and Robin fight, the Doctor using a spoon. They prove fairly evenly matched, although Robin does get the last laugh. Robin, his men, the Doctor, and Clara go to an archery contest thrown by the Sheriff of Nottingham. Robin appears to win, but then the Doctor takes his shot and wins. The two participate in a silly back-and-forth, continually shooting their arrows and splitting each other's on the target. Then, the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to blow up the target. The Sheriff orders his guards to capture the Doctor - and we then see that the guards are robots!

The Doctor, Robin, and Clara are all captured. The two men argue continually about how they will escape. Clara tells them to shut up and gets a handle on the situation. Unfortunately, her commanding tone makes the guard think that she's the real mastermind behind the operation, and Clara is taken to the Sheriff. Although the Doctor and Robin continue to bicker, they eventually manage to escape and explore parts of the castle. There, the Doctor finds a database including the myths of Robin Hood. He is convinced that Robin is also a robot, there to placate the common folk while the Sheriff goes about his evil business. He also realizes that this ship, and these robots, wish to go to the "promised land," just like the cyborgs from "Deep Breath."

Outlander: Rent (1x05)

A great episode. No major missteps, and it pushed the plot forward in a number of ways. We're getting closer and closer to the legendary romance between Jamie and Claire, which I'm very excited about. Even if this is primarily Claire's story, their story is definitely the centerpiece of the books. Given how much I like the chemistry between the actors, I'm excited to see how the romance plays out on screen. But before I get ahead of myself, let's talk about what happened in this one.

Claire becomes friends with Ned Gowan, a lawyer, while traveling with the Mackenzie men. They stop in many villages and collect rent from the people. When Claire ends up spending time with the women in one town, she gets into trouble with the men for disappearing - Claire, who had been drinking, angrily attempts to return a goat to a family with a hungry child. An English man appears and asks if Claire is alright, but the Mackenzies all gang up and scare him away. We then see him don a red coat, revealing himself to be a British soldier.

By day, Dougal collects rent from the people. By night, as everyone drinks at the taverns, he makes impassioned speeches against the English. He uses Jamie's scarred back to incite the people to donate more money. At first, Claire is entirely apalled that Dougal would try to scare these people and basically steal their money. Later, she realized that it's not thievery - it's politics. Dougal is raising money for a Jacobite army, to fight under the banner of Bonny Prince Charlie.

Doctor Who: Into the Dalek (8x02)

Okay... so this episode does better than the last one in some respects, and worst than the last one in others. I think honestly I like it overall better than the opening, though. Let's start with the plot. I'll try not to get too caught up in my distaste over the Moffat-isms of the episode. I can't blame the man for all the world's problems, after all.

We open with the Doctor saving a young soldier, Journey Blue, from an exploding space craft. Journey's brother, however, perishes in the crash. The Doctor seems remarkably nonchalant about this, as he drops Journey off back at her command ship, the Aristotle. There, it appears that the humans on board are at war with Daleks. One Dalek is on board the vessel, but it is behaving oddly, declaring that all Daleks must be destroyed. The crew of the Aristotle, mistaking the Doctor for a medical doctor, ask him to examine the patient, by shrinking down and entering inside of it. The Doctor is horrified to realize that they wish him to go inside the Dalek.

We then cut to Clara, who is introduced to a new teacher at her school, a war veteran named Danny Pink. Clara hints for him to ask her out, but he's awkward and shy. Eventually, she tells him to take her out for a drink. Clara then goes into a supply closet to find the Doctor, whom she hasn't seen for three weeks. The Doctor asks Clara if he's a good man, and Clara finds that she doesn't know.

Back aboard the Aristotle, the Doctor, Clara, Journey Blue, and two other soldiers (Ross and Gretchen) are shrunk down and put inside the Dalek to find out what's wrong with it. While in there, Ross shoots a grip-hook in order to try and get to a certain area, and Dalek "antibodies" come along to eliminate him.

Outlander: The Gathering (1x04)

Another solid episode. The more of this show that I see, the happier I am with the decisions they're making. However, I do think there was one rather large flaw here, which I'll have to talk a bit about. Let's start with a plot summary.

Castle Leoch prepares itself for a Gathering of the Clansmen, where everyone will pledge their loyalty to Colum as their Laird. Claire thinks that this meeting will be a good opportunity to attempt her escape, as it will be easier to dodge the men following her, and the distraction of the festivities will make the guards less vigilant.

Claire has been scoping out possible escape routes, gathering food, and even picking out a horse with which to make her escape. Geillis Duncan seems to suspect her, but doesn't try and stop her.

On the night of the Gathering, Mrs. Fitz insists that Claire go to the event. She dresses up and attends, staying only long enough to watch Dougal swear his fealty to his brother Colum. The other men line up to do the same. Claire ditches her constant guards and makes to escape. Laoghaire finds her and asks her for a potion to make a man fall in love with her. Claire gives her something, figuring that it couldn't hurt to give Laoghaire hope. Along the way, she comes across a group of men who try to sexually assault her. Dougal stops them and sends them away, but then tries to assault her himself. Claire slaps him, and then hits him over the head with a stool.