The Big Bang Theory: The Anxiety Optimization (8x13)

Okay. Cute. Nothing outstanding, but cute. I hate that there's never anything exciting in this show anymore. I hate that when an episode doesn't out-and-out offend me, I have to be grateful. But in any case... let's take a look.

Sheldon is trying to come up with a way to research proton decay and get to a breakthrough. At first, he tries to block out all distractions and make himself comfortable. This does not yield any results. He sees Penny doing a workout routine, and Penny says that her hatred for the routine is what motivates her. Sheldon decides that maybe he'll get more work done if he is being held in a state of agitation. He tells the guys to bug him, which they enjoy doing. He also asks Amy to help track his brain activity to help find the ideal level of agitation. Eventually, however, Sheldon starts to go off the rails. He's hallucinating and refusing to get any sleep. Amy gets angry at him when he refuses to stop working during their date night, and she kicks him out of her apartment. Leonard and Penny are able to get him to bed and asleep with a rendition of "Soft Kitty."

Meanwhile, Howard plays a game with everyone called "Emily or Cinnamon." He says a quote that he heard Raj saying, and everybody has to guess whether he was talking to his girlfriend Emily or his dog Cinnamon. Raj is not amused by the game, as it comes across like he loves his dog more than his girlfriend. Emily appears at the end of the episode to say that she thinks Raj' sensitive side is really sexy. However, when she kisses him, she is disturbed to find dog hair in his mouth.

Parenthood: May God Bless and Keep You Always (6x13)

Tears forever more. I'm not kidding. My God. I re-watched the montage-y part at the end like four times, because I'm a masochist apparently. Wow. Now that is how to end a show. Let's just take a little look-see at what happens in this episode, shall we?

Sarah gets ready to marry Hank, rushing to get the wedding planning done in a week. Hank goes and asks Zeek for his blessing, and Zeek gives it. Zeek later talks to Sarah and the two of them discuss Hank, and how he's going to be good for Sarah. Zeek also says that Sarah is his favorite. Hank asks Drew to be his best man, and Drew agrees.

Meanwhile, Amber is getting more and more stressed about her new role as a mother, given her living situation and her financial strife. Crosby certainly doesn't make things better when he tells Amber that the Luncheonette is closing down. Adam and Crosby are on the outs, as Crosby is really upset at Adam, and Adam is trying to remind Crosby that they are brothers, even if they aren't business partners anymore. When Crosby sees how happy Adam is working with the kids at Chamber's Academy, some of the tension between them thaws. At the wedding, Zeek encourages Crosby to keep the Luncheonette going by himself, and when Crosby tells Adam about it, Adam thinks it's a great idea and wishes him luck. Crosby asks Amber if she wants to be "the new Crosby," now that Crosby is going to be "the new Adam."

Julia and Joel get a surprise call from Victor's social worker. It looks like Victor's birth-mother has just given birth to a little girl, and the mother wanted to give Julia and Joel a chance to adopt her. Julia and Joel initially decide that they can't, because they don't want to throw another curve-ball to the kids, but at the wedding they reconsider and decide to adopt her.

The Mentalist: Copper Bullet (7x09)

I apologize for my forthcoming brevity, but I'm going to have to power through this one rather quickly.

In this episode, we wrap up the story with Abbott, Bill Peterson, his wife, and the Rio Bravo incident. Basically, Peterson has a terrible grudge against Abbott because of the events of "Green Light" and he's ready to turn Abbott in for killing a man so many years before. Peterson actually goes to the site, has the grave dug up, and retrieves the bullets that Abbott used to kill the man. So, it's a race against the clock as Jane and the others attempt to find something incriminating on Peterson to stop him from turning in the evidence that will ruin Abbott's career and stop his wife from getting her big promotion.

Very quickly, everybody on the team gets involved. Cho wants to help, as do Wylie and Vega. At first, Cho tries to stop Vega from getting involved, but she insists. The plan is this: break into Peterson's house and find the money he has been hoarding there. They know he has illegal funds from somewhere because of his lifestyle and his income. They figure he's probably skimming money from drug raids and keeping it stored in his house.

Cho, Lisbon, and Jane all break into the house and look for the hidden money. Meanwhile, Vega is keeping eyes on Peterson. Peterson thinks that he's met with some people who can help him turn in evidence against Abbott, but in reality it's some of Jane's carny friends, helping him out. As Peterson gets ready to come home, Vega has to stall him by crashing into his car.

Suits: Enough is Enough (4x11)

Wow. Louis you are such a jerk. Some of this stuff was pretty dramatic and horrible on his part. There's actually quite a lot going on in this episode. I'm going to try and get all the details in.

Jessica calls Harvey back to the firm late at night, where Louis triumphantly declares that he is now name partner. Jessica tells Louis not to tell everybody right away - she needs to find a way to sell it to the other senior partners. However, Louis goes ahead and blabs it to Katrina, who is excited to come and work for Louis again. He also tells Robert Zane. Zane tells Harvey that he still owes him a favor, even though he didn't hire Louis. Why? Well, Robert Zane knows something fishy is going on, since Louis got hired back after quitting in disgrace. He'll blab that something isn't right, unless Harvey does him a favor.

What's the favor, you might ask? Zane needs Harvey to convince a competing law firm to back off. The lawyer on the case is Scottie. Harvey asks her for this favor, and tells her that if she doesn't back off, the truth about Mike Ross might come out. Scottie agrees to do it, but she's not happy.

Jeff Malone is also suspicious of Louis' new status. He tells Jessica that he wants the truth. After some stalling, Jessica tells Jeff something to get him off her back. She says that Louis found out that Jessica had covered up Daniel Hardman's fraudulent actions, and that Louis used it as leverage to become name partner. Jeff buys the story, and tells Jessica that he'll keep her secret.
 

Supernatural: There's No Place Like Home (10x11)

Charlie!! CHARLIE! Charlie Charlie Charlie! Or should I say Celeste? Okay - I'm clearly excited about Charlie. But what about the rest of the episode? Let's dive in.

As Sam and Dean are searching for info on Mark of Cain, Sam comes across a disturbing video of Charlie beating somebody up. They both want to give her the benefit of the doubt - it's possible that she's just hunting something. However, they feel the need to go track her down. They find Charlie by talking to the victims of her torturing, and discovering who her next target is likely to be. It looks like Charlie is tracking down people connected to her parents' deaths.

They do find Charlie - and she seems pretty darn evil. She is able to fight Dean and get away. At this point, another Charlie pulls up in a car, her old chipper self. What's going on? Well, Charlie fills us in: in Oz, there was a great battle for Emerald City, and the good guys were losing. She made a deal with the Wizard to save the city. To do so, she needed to unleash her true darkness using a special key to open the soul. Apparently this was meant literally, and now there are two Charlies: Dark!Charlie and Good!Charlie.

Dean is sent to go keep an eye on Dark!Charlie to stop her from hurting the man who hit her parents in a drunk driving accident. Unfortunately, Dean fails - he believes Dark!Charlie when she says that she just wants to make this guy look at her and understand everything he had taken from her. Dean is fooled into letting her enter the room with the guy, but Charlie quickly closes and locks the door, kills the man, and then jumps out the window. She gets away in the Impala.

Parks and Recreation: Save JJ's (7x06)

Okay. Following the whole deal about data mining in the last episode, Gryzzl is determined to push ahead and buy the Newport land. They increase their bid. Leslie and the others had a plan to try and get Gryzzl to buy half the land and donate the rest, but they are too late - the Newports accept the $125 million offer.

Leslie and the others all go to JJ's Diner to commiserate over the loss of their goal. Turns out, JJ's is closing down. The lease on the location was purchased by Dennis Feinstein. Andy, posing as Johnathan Karate (Johnny Karate's serious older brother), tries to talk to Dennis about the deal, while Leslie, Ron, etc. host a rally to try and save JJ's. All is for naught, however. Dennis is determined to tear JJ's down.

The next idea is to move JJ's to a new location - in the old, rundown part of Pawnee where Andy and April are moving. The owner of JJ's says that it will never work to have his restaurant in this area, because there is no real commercial activity and he wouldn't be able to sustain his business.

Suddenly, all of these different problems coalesce into one single solution. Leslie and the others convince Gryzzl that they should build their new headquarters in this rundown area, because they would save tons of money on buildings and plumbing, etc. That would turn the area into a thriving capitalist spot, which would make it a viable location for JJ's Diner. At the same time, Leslie convinces Gryzzl to donate the Newport land to the National Parks Department, in order to get back public approval in Pawnee, after their bad decisions with data mining.

Parks and Recreation: Gryzzlbox (7x05)

I'm just going to get started.

Leslie and Ben despair of finding any way to beat Gryzzl. They think they've found an answer when they find out that Gryzzl has been "data mining," aka looking through their personal information. People all over Pawnee start getting personalized "Gryzzlboxes" sent to their doors with presents meant especially for them. Donna is horrified to find out what Gryzzl has been up to, so she abandons their side of the debate and joins Leslie and Ben. Ron, however, says that he doesn't care what Gryzzl gets up to, because he does not mess in the affairs of private corporations, he just builds their buildings.

Leslie and Ben try to get proof about Gryzzl's data mining, but they find out that it's actually legal - Ben signed a contract with a loophole in it that allows Gryzzl to data mine, as they provide free wifi for the town. Uh oh! Leslie holds a town meeting, and learns to her surprise that the rest of the town is on her side. They are also angry at Gryzzl for the invasion of privacy. Leslie decides to go on TV to expose Gryzzl's bad behavior. In the end, Ron joins Leslie in wanting to bring Gryzzl down, because his son gets a Gryzzlbox, and Ron is horrified to discover that they know things about his child.

Meanwhile, Tom is upset because Lucy is off visiting her boyfriend. He decides to take on a new project - namely, becoming Andy's agent. He finds out that Andy only gets $100 a week for Johnny Karate, even though he created the show, acts in it, writes all of the stuff, and pretty much just does all the work. Tom wants to renegotiate Andy's contract for him. Andy only really cares about one thing: he wants to own the rights to the Johnny Karate character. At first it looks impossible, but Tom begs and pleads and gets Andy more money, plus the rights to the character. Lucy comes back and tells Tom that she went to visit her boyfriend in order to break up with him.

The Vampire Diaries: Woke Up With a Monster (6x11)

There wasn't any Damon and Stefan interaction in this episode, which makes me sad. But overall, the episode was pretty decent, which makes me happy! Let's dive in.

So. Kai has kidnapped Elena and taken her to the Grill. Elena is horrified by Kai's sociopathic behavior. It turns out that Kai wants to practice his magic on Elena to get ready for his merge with Jo. At one point, Kai takes Elena to the school, and performs all sorts of nasty, torturous spells on her. One of these spells has the unfortunate consequence of burning her ring off of her finger, so even if Elena could escape, she'd be without protection from the sun. She does manage to get a call to Damon to tell him that she's been kidnapped.

Meanwhile, at the Salvatore house, Jo is getting trained on her magic by Liv, who wants to help her get stronger before the next celestial event. Jo isn't very good though, and Liv worries that it might be hopeless. Luke doesn't even know what Liv is up to - he wants to do his duty and merge, and Liv knows he won't be happy to find her training Jo. Damon needs Liv's help to get Elena out of Kai's grasp, but Liv is worried that Kai will just kill her on sight. The idea is to use a cloaking spell to sneak in. Only one problem - Luke finds out and comes to snatch Liv away before she can help Damon save Elena.

It's Jo to the rescue! Jo says that she can help Damon sneak in. Alaric is hesitant, but Jo is determined. She manages to cloak them and get them into the school. They find Elena, but Jo has a lot more trouble cloaking three people instead of just two, and her magic wears out. Kai attacks! Damon throws a stake at Kai and it hits him, but it turns out that Kai used his magic to perform an illusion, and Damon actually hit Elena instead. Kai has Jo in his grasp and it looks like all is lost, but then Jeremy shows up with his trusty crossbow and takes Kai down. They now have him as their captive once again.

Elementary: The Illustrious Client (3x11)

Oh goodness. Now this is a two-part episode, right? They aren't going to fake me out again like they did with that AI episode, are they? Let's get straight to it.

Basically, Kitty's rapist is in the area, and Joan, Sherlock, and Kitty all desperately want to find this guy and get the whole thing taken care of. Joan was supposed to start her job at the insurance company, but she asks her boss if she can deal with the Kitty situation, so she gets a couple of days off. Sherlock isn't sure if Kitty should be involved in this case, given how personal it is for her, but Kitty insists.

I won't go into too many details, but basically they are able to find the place where this guy is keeping his victims. They rescue several girls, but they find the rapist's partner dead. They manage to track the man, Simon de Merville, to his sister, who says she doesn't know anything. Kitty later goes and confronts this sister, hurting her physically and intimidating her into giving up info. They are therefore able to track Simon to a boat where he has been staying. However, when they get to the boat, somebody has burned it up, and Simon de Merville's body is found inside.

Kitty doesn't think that this man is the one who hurt her, however. Sherlock tries to tell her that he knows how she feels - he's felt denial over his own substance addictions before, but he has now learned to realize that there's never going to be "closure" - it's just a part of his life now. Kitty says that Sherlock doesn't understand - somebody hurt her, while Sherlock hurt himself.

Parenthood: We Made it Through the Night (6x12)

Ohhhh boy. My current prediction for the finale? Sarah and Hank get married, yadda yadda, and then we show a flash-forward to when Zeek has died and we watch them all move on from their grief. That's what I think is going to happen. And it's gonna hurt. But I'm getting ahead of myself - let's look at what happened in this episode.

Hank and Sarah are debating where they should get married. Hank wants to do something outlandish and creative, but Sarah thinks he's taking it too far. Their conversation gets interrupted when Amber feels a sharp pain, and believes she's going into labor. Sarah sends out a text to the family, and everybody rushes to the hospital. It ends up being a false alarm - gas - and so Amber has yet to give birth.

However, the gathering of the family at the hospital does have another consequence: Kristina and Jasmine get into a huge fight about the Luncheonette. When Crosby finds out that Jasmine went and talked to Adam about it, and that that's why Adam wanted to come back, Crosby angrily says that he quits. It looks like the Luncheonette will not be reopening after all. Crosby is a little angry at Jasmine for talking to Adam about things, and he says that the Luncheonette isn't special to him anymore because he can't work there with his brother as his willing and enthusiastic partner.

Chamber's Academy is having a career week, where every student gets an adviser to help them explore a passion that could turn into a career. Max is obviously working with Hank, while one of the other students wants to have Adam as his adviser. This kid wants to be a French chef! Although Adam is hesitant, because he's no expert, the two of them do manage to make a great souffle together, and all is well! Jasmine teaches some of the kids dance, and Kristina and Jasmine share a silent moment of apology for their earlier fight.

The Mentalist: The Whites of His Eyes (7x08)

Okay! Things are getting interesting here! I can't believe we only have five episodes left... I'm gonna cry like a baby when this show ends. Let's just jump right in.

A high-profile witness is murdered just days before he was set to testify against a murderer. There is one other witness who could testify, but she's a recent mother, and she and her husband are really nervous that she's going to be killed as well. Spackman, an old colleague/enemy of Jane and Lisbon, asks Abbott and his FBI team to help protect the other witness.

Along the way, they investigate the family of the suspect - a man who beat someone to death over a small altercation in a bar. The family has gang connections, and it looks like they're the ones who hired the hit man to kill the first witness, and now they're targeting the other witness.

They come up with a plan to preemptively get the assassin by switching out the witness with someone else as they escort her out of the hotel. It turns into a creepy in-the-dark race to find the assassin before he kills the witness and the rest of the team. Jane, who has been extremely worried about somebody getting hurt, purposefully tells Libson that the assassin might be in one part of the building, to get her out of the way.

Supernatural: The Hunter Games (10x10)

Okay. We're back from hiatus, and we're jumping right in with the big guns. Let's get going.

Rowena puts some sort of a hex bag under Crowley's chair, which causes him to have nightmares that his loyal servant, Gothrey, and other demons, kill him. Rowena, on the surface, seems to want to repair her relationship with her son, but it would seem that ulterior motives are at play.

Meanwhile, Sam, Dean, and Cas all want to find a way to get rid of the Mark of Cain once and for all. Cas has an idea, but he knows it's risky... they can go to Metatron for help. Cas gets one of the angels to help him spring Metatron free - temporarily - from his Heavenly prison. Back at the bunker, Sam and Dean demand that Metatron tell them how to get rid of the Mark of Cain. Metatron seems to have a soft spot for the Winchesters, so he tells them that they'll need the First Blade before they can do anything else.

Dean calls Crowley, and the Winchesters meet up with him. Crowley is resistant to the idea of getting the First Blade, but Dean assures him that he can hold on to it for the time being, just until Dean knows how to get rid of the Mark. Rowena, using some of her witchy powers, manages to see this conversation, even though she is nowhere around. She sends Gothrey to go fetch the First Blade from where it's hiding with Crowley's bones - she convinces him that this is on Crowley's orders.

Parks and Recreation: Leslie & Ron (7x04)

Okay! In this episode we finally get the truth about what happened between Leslie and Ron. Ben and the others all lock Leslie and Ron up together in the Parks Department, and refuse to let them out until they've worked out their issues.

Thus, the two old friends (now enemies) must remain locked up together all night. That's basically the only premise of the episode - there are no subplots or anything, just a detailed scene between Leslie and Ron, and some flashbacks to explain what happened. At first, both just try to find a way out of the room, but Leslie quickly decides she wants to fix what's going on between them. Ron is resistant, and continually refuses to talk to Leslie. It takes a lot of coaxing, but eventually the whole story gets out.

So. From Leslie's perspective, the story goes something like this: Leslie got her new job, and she and Ron see each other less and less. Then, after Ron comes by to see Leslie in her new office for the first time, way after the fact, suddenly they don't see each other anymore. Leslie finds out that Ron quit his job at the Parks Department and started his construction company, and she's upset that Ron didn't even tell her. The final nail in the coffin? Morning Star. Ron's company helps to bulldoze the lot near the Pawnee Commons (Leslie's pride and joy, the former-ditch-now-park). Even Ann's house doesn't escape the bulldozing, and an apartment complex called "Morning Star" rises up. Leslie is furious that Ron would go against everything they'd worked so hard for over the years.

Parks and Recreation: William Henry Harrison (7x03)

I was really torn about whether to put this episode in two parts or not... but I decided to stick with that formula for now. After all, even though the episodes run into each other, they do each have different themes.

In this episode, Leslie and Ron continue their battle for the Newport land. Each one takes on a different angle. Leslie and her team try to find historical grounds for keeping the space as a park, and they seem to be on their way when they find the remains of an old lodge owned by William Henry Harrison. The embarrassingly short-lived president actually has a descendant in the area, so Leslie exploits the heck out of this poor guy, and all the stuff in the William Henry Harrison museum, to try to make a case for the historical importance of the site.

Ron's side of things (including Tom, Donna, and the rest of Gryzzl) goes for a different approach. They want to get a celebrity to endorse the Gryzzl bid. They get Annabel Porter to come in and talk about how Gryzzl is "in." Each side presents their case, but Ron and his team outshine Leslie with their flashy presentation.

While this is going on, Ben just wants Leslie and Ron to both sign a form that needs to be notarized. Terry (formerly Larry, Jerry, Gary) is a Notary, so he comes along. Each time they try and sign the forms, something goes wrong. There's a page missing, or Annabel Porter signs by mistake, or what have you. Ben gets more and more frustrated until he turns into a nervous wreck. Terry, meanwhile, is just having fun being a Notary.

Castle: Private Eye Caramba! (7x12)

Okay! Castle the Private Investigator! The fun continues. Let's get going.

When a telenovela star gets murdered, Castle is super envious of Beckett's case. However, before long he gets sucked into it. One of the other stars of the show hires him to help track down a diamond-encrusted clutch purse that the victim had with her the night she was murdered. It's worth 500,000 dollars, and the woman who hires Castle needs it back so she can return it to the people she got it on loan from.

The two cases, that of the murder and that of the missing purse, end up running quite parallel to each other. Eventually, Castle finds the limo where he believes the victim left the purse. He almost dies when he's found by one of the bad guys, but Ryan and Espo show up and save him.

In the end, Castle does find the purse, but it turns out to be a cheap knock-off. It looks like the woman actually wanted what was inside the purse. But she's not the bad guy - her and the victim wanted to start a rival television network, so the producers for the telenovela are not happy about that. The case solved, Castle decides to continue sticking with this PI thing, even if he might not get very many interesting cases.
 

Elementary: Seed Money (3x10)

This show is just freakin' amazing. I love it so, so much.

The plot in this one is that a man ends up dead in what seems to be a mob hit, but there's something fishy going on. Very quickly, they learn that the man did indeed have a connection to a mob, as he helped grow their marijuana. He was an expert at genetics and stuff like that, and helped make strong strands of weed using his knowledge. A giant corporation wants him to help them with their pot-growing projects, because they are getting ready for when the drug becomes legal. Torn between the two options, this man ends up dead. It turns out, however, that the death was actually a case of a jealous lover. One of the women working for the corporation was also in a relationship with the victim, but she found out that he was sleeping with his ex, and she went over to confront him. After she killed him accidentally, she decided to stage it as a mob hit. Then, the mob, angry at their marijuana cook getting killed, took revenge on two of the corporation's other employees.

In this episode, Kitty had her own separate case going on. One of the women in her rape victim support group talks to Kitty about her missing daughter, and since she knows that Kitty has a friend who helps her with detective work, this woman was wondering if Kitty could try and find the missing daughter. She eventually does find the daughter. Turns out, her friend set it up so she could stay at an aunt's house while the aunt is away on vacation. The missing girl tried to throw people off the scent by giving her friend a false lead to pass on to anybody who was looking for her. This false lead takes Kitty to a man who ends up being the missing girl's father - aka, her mother's rapist. Kitty finds the girl and tells her that she understands her anger, but that her mom doesn't want the past dragged up again. The missing girl hugs Kitty, gratified to have somebody who understands.

Parenthood: Let's Go Home (6x11)

I think this episode could have been the finale. It's weird, but except for the fact that Amber is still pregnant and we have to see how that plays out, I would think this was the end! Everything sort of... wrapped up. I guess I'm glad to see that we still have two more episodes to wind things down, but at the same time, I'm a tiny bit confused! Let's just get started, shall we?

First of all, it looks like Zeek is home from the hospital. He doesn't want to talk about the next step with Camille, but he does seem determined to find an old signed baseball so he can give it to his great-grandson (or daughter). After going with Drew (who apologizes for ruining Zeek's surprise to Camille) to find it in a storage unit, Zeek remembers where he hid the ball. When Adam and Crosby were kids, they wanted to play with it, so Zeek hid it in the rafters of the shed at the old place. Zeek and Camille go over to the house and see a new family living there, with kids running around and a pregnant mother. Zeek decides not to go get the baseball, because he wants to leave it there for some other kid to find and treasure.

Sarah, meanwhile, doesn't know what to do about Hank's proposal. Hank assures her that he meant it, but Sarah needs time to come up with an answer. She talks with Julia about it, who tells her to make a pro/con list. She also talks to her mother, as the two pour over old photographs together. (The photographs were found in a shoe box in the closet when Zeek was looking for his baseball. Max goes to Hank and the two of them develop the old film together, finding countless years of Braverman memories). Camille asks Sarah if she loves Hank and if he makes her happy, and she realizes that this is all that matters.

The Mentalist: Little Yellow House (7x07)

What a precious episode! This is what I'm talking about! Let's just get right to it.

Lisbon receives the disturbing news that her brother Jimmy is wanted by the police in connection with a murder. Lisbon and Jane take time off work to try and track him down and see what's going on. They go back to Lisbon's hometown and meet up with one of Lisbon's other brothers, Stan. Turns out, Jimmy's business card was in the pocket of the victim because Jimmy had met him through a poker game. Jane figures out that the murderer must be one of the other players of this high-stakes poker game.

There are a couple of mis-directions in this episode, such as the fact that a man jumps Jane inside of Lisbon's old childhood home. At first Lisbon believes that it has something to do with Jimmy's money problems, but the truth comes out when we learn that Stan actually borrowed money from a loan shark and is in a lot of trouble.

Jane and Lisbon go under cover as a rich and irresponsible man and his hot girlfriend. Jane throws money around like it's nothing, and gets invited to the poker game. Vega and Wylie make sure to have the room rigged with hidden cameras and the like. While in the game, Jane identifies everybody's "tell," and then Lisbon plays her part, pretending to be a psychic who has sensed negative energy in the room and knows that one of the poker players murdered someone. She then ominously says that the murderer is the person with the ace. Turns out, all of the suspects have one of the aces, but only the murderer does his "tell" at this point.

Modern Family: The Big Guns (6x12)

Eh. There was nothing wrong with this episode, but I only really liked one of the plot lines. The other two were basically just mediocre. Let's get going.

The Dunphys have another run-in with their neighbors Ronnie and Amber, when they park a giant boat in their driveway, making it hard for Phil and Claire to park their car in their own driveway. They try to be nice about it and ask them to move it, since it's technically against the law for them to have it there, but they won't listen. Phil and Claire invite Phil's dad over with his retirement buddies, and they park their giant RVs in the Dunphy driveway as retaliation. However, this plan backfires when the old guys get along really well with Ronnie and Amber, and hang out with them in the boat. Phil's father convinces them they should move the boat, though. Just as it looks like things are wrapping up peacefully, the police show up because Claire had called them to complain. Both families get written up for having the boat and the RVs in their driveways.

There wasn't anything wrong with this plot, but I didn't laugh at it. The closest thing to a funny moment was when Luke is trying to get the hot teenage daughter of Ronnie and Amber to like him. He tries to flirt with her, but it doesn't work, so he then follows Alex's advice and goes outside for something without even looking at her as she sunbathes in the driveway. The girl is miffed at not being ogled, and Alex declares that soon, Luke will have won her over. She also lets slip that her own personal fantasy would be being kissed in the science museum. So, that subplot got some chuckles out of me. But honestly? All the stuff about the boat and the RV and Phil's father and everything... it was all just a bit of a letdown. Ronnie and Amber usually make for a funny episode, but there wasn't really anything too special here.

Parks and Recreation: Ron & Jammy (7x02)

Disclaimer: I watched the Producer's Cut for this episode, which is available at the NBC website. So, I might comment on things that you didn't see. I honestly don't know which parts were not in the TV-release version... sorry. Let's get started!

It looks like Councilman Jamm is the deciding vote about whether the land owned by Newport can be a commercial area or not. Ron obviously wants this, because of his contract with Gryzzl, while Leslie wants to stop it. It turns out, Jamm is going to vote the way his new girlfriend tells him to. Who is this woman? It's Tammy II! Oh no! Leslie and Ron band together to save Jamm from her evil clutches. Jamm eventually manages to break up with her, and he then decides to abstain from voting altogether so as not to choose between Leslie and Ron. The vote remains at a tie, so nothing can move forward.

While this is happening, April is delighted to see her favorite crazy person: Joan Callamezzo. She went completely off the rails, and April finds it hilarious. However, when Joan says that the only way to live is to be extra passionate about your work, April starts to question her own life. Does she even like her job? Ben helps her to follow her passions, but after discovering that working as a mortician isn't as cool as it sounds, she is left without any real answers. However, she does hug Ben and thank him for his help, and she knows she'll have to keep looking to find her next dream.

Parks and Recreation: 2017 (7x01)

It looks like for the first few weeks, Parks and Recreation is going to be running two episodes back to back. I'm still going to review them separately, though, because these are not two-part episodes. Okay! Let's get started.

It's three years later, and things are very different. Leslie is the Regional Parks Director, Ben is City Manager. A lot of the characters have moved on - Ron now owns a construction company, Donna runs a real estate firm and is engaged, and Tom owns multiple restaurants. April and Andy are still working for Leslie, but Andy now has his own TV show based on his "Johnny Karate" character.

It looks like Leslie and Ron are no longer close, due to some incident referred to as "Morning Star." We so far have no idea what that's about, but in any case, Ron is working closely with Gryzzl, a tech company. Gryzzl and the Parks Department are the two main contenders looking to buy a parcel of land from the Newport family. Gryzzl can offer all sorts of money, and the Parks Department can't. Leslie tries to come up with money, but in the end she offers to name the new national park "Newport Park," and tries to get the Newports to consider donating the land. It looks like this fight with Gryzzl will be one of the main tensions of the season.

Castle: Castle, P.I. (7x11)

Okay! Back from hiatus. Let's just jump right in to this adorable episode.

The case of the week is this: a woman who worked for a high-end private pre-school ends up murdered. After multiple false leads, eventually we discover that she was looking into a murder that happened fifteen years ago, when her college boyfriend died falling out of a window. She believes that he was killed, and in the process of looking into it, she gets herself killed.

The other main tension in this episode is that Castle, no longer able to work alongside Beckett at the NYPD, gets his PI license and starts his own "parallel" investigation. Beckett, Ryan, and Espo are constantly confounded by Castle's ability to find clues and beat them to the punch at several key moments of the case, given that he has access to far less resources than them. In a pivotal scene, both Castle and Beckett try to ply each other with wine to get answers about the other's investigation. They agree to help each other out, just this once, which leads to their information fitting together to figure out a big piece of the case. Beckett and Castle both greatly miss working together, but obviously it's against the rules.

In the end, Castle helps to save the day and solve the case, but he is still banned from working with the NYPD. Beckett tells Castle that she's proud of him for his innovation and creativity, and Castle decides that he wants to keep being a PI. Even though he originally did all this for a chance to work with Beckett, he still likes it in his own right, and wants to keep going. Beckett buys him a deerstalker cap and a magnifying glass, to show her support.

Elementary: The Eternity Injection (3x09)

Wow, what a great episode for Sherlock and Joan! I had forgotten how much I missed their partnership. Kitty doesn't get sidelined completely, though. Let's start with the plot.

An old colleague of Joan's from the hospital shows up to say that a friend of hers (another hospital employee, a nurse) has gone missing. Shortly after, Sherlock, Joan, and Kitty discover this missing person's body. DNA under her fingernails leads them to the killer, but it looks like he's been murdered by someone as well.

Eventually, they discover what links these two people. Each had been paid a lump sum by a mysterious company that turns out to be an illegal drug trial. The point of the drug is to create in the minds of human beings the illusion that more time is passing than it really is. So, for example, you could get a week's worth of living done in a single hour. The woman who was murdered was one of the nurses who was administering the drug. The second victim was one of the people who was testing the drug. Turns out, it doesn't work correctly - it causes severe brain damage.

Several of the other trial members also turn up dead, and they realize that the people behind this whole thing are trying to cover up their mistakes. Eventually, they are able to find a patient of the drug trial who is not dead. He was given a smaller dose than others, and seems to be still partially sane. He is able to help them find the man in charge of the drug trial. Turns out, this man was trying to find the drug to help an old mentor of his, who had a terminal illness and wanted to experience more life than he had left to live. Before they can arrest this old man along with his pupil, they find that he has taken the drug. They are left to wonder if anything will be left of his mind when he awakens.

The Big Bang Theory: The Space Probe Disintegration (8x12)

Actually... sort of a good job with this one. Let's dive right in.

Sheldon and Leonard are getting ready to play a Lord of the Rings board game, when Penny decides she's had enough. She says that she and Amy are always doing what the boys want to do, and that it's their turn to decide. After a lengthy debate on the best activity to please Amy and Penny while making the boys miserable, Sheldon helpfully suggests that the girls could go shopping while the guys sit on uncomfortable chairs and hold their purses. This is agreed upon.

At the store, Penny and Amy have a talk about how Penny always controls their friendship. Amy decides she should stand up for herself more, and Penny approves. While waiting outside, Sheldon and Leonard get into an argument about who makes more sacrifices for the other. Leonard pulls out the trump card when he says that he's not living with the woman he loves because of Sheldon. Sheldon says that Leonard often hurts his feelings with his snide remarks and eye rolling. The two of them both shed some tears, and then come to an arrangement: Leonard will gradually move out of Sheldon's and into Penny's place, starting with once a week. We later see Penny and Leonard together in bed at Penny's apartment, while Sheldon sleeps on the couch.

Parenthood: How Did We Get Here? (6x10)

Okay! Not much to say up front about this one. We're nearing the very end of the show. Let's just get started with the plot!

Zeek is rushed to the hospital, and all four of his kids are called and hurry to the hospital. It looks like it's pretty bad. After examining all the options, Zeek is stuck between a potentially life-threatening surgery, and the idea of doing nothing and playing the odds. It's very stressful for all involved.

Things are sort of awkward between Julia and Joel, since they spent the night together. However, Joel is being the perfect and helpful husband, fetching coffee and calming everybody down. Hank wants to be there for Sarah, so he picks up Drew from his school when Drew's car won't start. Drew is particularly tense because he knows that his last exchange with his grandfather was not a good one. Hank tells him that he knows, as a father, that Zeek isn't thinking about any of that right now. Drew and Hank seem to bond a bit. Hank realizes that he wants to be "all in" with Sarah, so he proposes to her. She's shocked, and they agree to talk about it later when there's a better time.

Meanwhile, in the chaos of trying to figure out if Zeek is okay, Crosby and Adam get some bad news - the Luncheonette has been robbed, and it's really bad. Luckily, they do get a large settlement from the insurance company. They now have to make a choice - should they replace the equipment and keep going, or should they take the money, liquidate the business, and both come out with some money and a clean slate? 

Modern Family: The Day We Almost Died (6x11)

Very cute. The setup for this episode is simple, and it goes in a lot of really fun directions. Let's get going.

The Dunphys, plus Manny, are all driving back from going out to breakfast together when they are nearly killed by a truck. Each of them has a different reaction to this, all of which spiral into crazy behavior.

Claire decides that she has to stop micro-managing her life and live in the moment. She pulls Mitch away from work to take him rollerblading, but Mitch is not so much into this. He ends up getting mugged in a dark tunnel, before rushing back to the office for his meeting. Claire realizes eventually that she can't let go of all of her control and planning.

Phil has pretty much the opposite reaction. He decides he's going to take total control over his own life. He goes to a house and yells at Gil, his rival in the real estate business, and then he helps Cam to get the dryer that he ordered. Apparently, Cam had ordered eggshell, but the one that had arrived had been white. Phil's assertiveness and power make Cam realize that Phil might actually be hot, but this thought is immediately derailed when Phil decides to get an alpaca, something he has always wanted.

The Mentalist: Green Light (7x06)

Interesting! Jane and Lisbon are pretty much a subplot in this episode, and yet I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Let's jump in.

The DEA raids a restaurant looking for drugs, but nothing turns up. The FBI are sent to do an investigation, because the raid got a little bit heated, and one of the agents attacked someone. Turns out, it's a good thing someone's looking into it, because this agent, Gonzales, is murdered shortly after. Abbott's involvement in this investigation is a bit awkward, because the head of the DEA unit is his old boss, a man who worked with Abbott in the past and knows a terrible secret about him. Abbott wants to avoid this secret getting out not only because of his own career, but also because of his wife's.

Quickly, it turns out that there's a criminal within the DEA who has been tipping off drug lords to help them avoid raids from the DEA. Jane and the team begin to investigate. Abbott's old boss tells Abbott to let him have the credit for catching the traitor, and that if Abbott refuses, he'll let old secrets spill. Abbott is nervous about it, but he doesn't know who to confide in.

Eventually, at Jane's prodding, Abbott tells Jane the secret. Years ago, he killed a man who he was supposed to be watching - he knew this man was about to slaughter innocent people. Jane thinks he has a way of catching the killer, but he'll need everybody's help to pull it off. He gathers the ten most likely suspects, based on who has improved their physical appearance over the last several years. His logic is that people who have a sudden influx of cash are likely to start looking better. He eliminates people who have spouses in the beauty industry, or who have just been left money by a deceased relative, or who have gone through a divorce and are "back on the market," as it were. That leaves just three.

The Mentalist: The Silver Briefcase (7x05)

Aww! Another adorable episode for Jane and Lisbon. I cannot get enough of these two. Let's jump right in.

The FBI and other officials are participating in a training exercise. Cho and Lisbon are kicking ass, beating a lot of the other teams at the exercises. While there, Jane and Lisbon meet a colonel. Jane thinks something is odd about this man, and when he finds out his wife was murdered several months ago, he wants to dig into the case. Abbott gives Jane and Lisbon permission to discreetly investigate, but he warns them that the colonel can't find out.

Jane and Lisbon investigate the crime, getting Cho, Wylie, and Vega to help along the way. They discover that the colonel must have killed his wife. Well, it was either him or his lover, a woman who Wylie discovers due to the type of decorations in her office. In the end, Jane and Lisbon force the colonel and this woman to confess in order to save themselves, bluffing that they have irrefutable evidence. The truth is left unclear as to which one of them actually stabbed the victim - they both insist it was the other.

Jane and Lisbon also continue to talk about the possibility of leaving the FBI. Lisbon says that this job is her life, but Jane thinks that they might both be happy doing something else, too. There also seems to be the beginnings of a romance between Vega and Wylie, which is cute.

Doctor Who: Last Christmas (2014 Christmas Special)

What a mess. I'm sorry, but that was really bad. It felt... heartless. There were individual moments that worked alright, but the cohesiveness just wasn't there. I'm sorry, but I just didn't feel the Christmas-y energy in this episode. I tend to come out of episodes of Doctor Who nowadays with such a sense of dejection. Even in the decent episodes, I just get no real pleasure out of them anymore. It's sad, but true. And we all know who I blame for this.

In any case, let's go over the convoluted and unnecessarily twisty plot of this episode.

On Christmas Eve, Clara goes out on her roof to find Santa Claus. She is obviously confused. Then, the TARDIS shows up, and the Doctor tells Clara to get inside, obviously concerned about this whole Santa thing. The two of them show up at the North Pole, where they find a group of scientists who are investigating the "Sleepers," a group of creatures that are completely blind and deaf, and can only sense people when they are being actively thought about. Just as they are all about to be attacked, Santa shows up and saves them from the Sleepers.

However, a bit later, Clara gets caught by a Sleeper and put into a dream state where she will slowly die. In the dream, it's Christmas morning, and Clara is with Danny Pink. They spend a lovely Christmas day together and exchange gifts. The Doctor, meanwhile, purposefully lets one of the Sleeprs get to him so that he too can enter the dream world and get Clara out. With Danny's help, Clara is ready to admit that this is all a dream, and wake up from it. She says a sad goodbye to Danny. With the Doctor and Clara safe, it seems like all is well... that is, until the Doctor realizes that all of them have been dreaming this whole time.