This Week's Top Three (Monday, 3/18/13 through Sunday, 3/24/13)

As The Walking Dead winds toward what will likely be a great finale next week, it just missed the cut in this week's top three, despite being strong yet again. It will be interesting to see the viewership numbers next week for The Walking Dead Season 3 finale going up against Game of Thrones Season 3 premier.
But, for now, this week belongs to a few other shows that are having really solid, if not stellar, seasons so far.


3. Spartacus: War of the Damned, Episode 8, Separate Paths. Outside of the Season 1 Finale "Kill Them All," this was by far the best episode of this show's entire run. It is tough watching a show knowing that there is a bitter end for all of the characters you love most, so it is important for the writer's to make that end seem worthwhile. For Crixus (Manu Bennett) and his band of men, we were given quite the fitting end. It was gut-wrenching television to show the break of Spartacus and his men and Crixus' group, because it was immediately made clear where this episode would be heading. I definitely could have went without the overdone rape-scene between Caesar (Todd Lasance) and Tiberius (Christian Antidormi), which distracted from the ending of Crixus and the capture of his womn, Naevia (Cynthia Addai-Robinson). All in all, this episode shows how focused the writing has been for the final season of what has been a good show. I am looking forward to the final two episodes.

2. House of Lies, Episode 10, All In. Quite simply, House of Lies has been great television this season. After an opening season that was solely focused on getting picked up for a second season, it is clear that the writers and top brass have been given a little more freedom and it has produced week after week of excellent character development while remaining true to the 30-minute comedy format. The evolution of every single character on the show has been perfectly done. And as good as the entire cast is, Don Cheadle as Marty Kaan is as good an acting job as there is on television right now. He better clear his mantle, because he is going to be adding more hardware to his Golden Globe from last season . The exploration of Marty's relationship with his family, his co-workers, his snake of a boss, his current love interest and his wreck of an ex-wife is fit seamlessly into every episode. Cheadle's remarkable flexibility is what makes this work so well. This episode explored Marty's relationship with his father and brother extensively and the drama it built up was fantastic. The final scene is Marty fighting with his dad, Jeremiah (Glynn Turman) over Marty's decision to bye his brother, Malcolm (Larenz Tate) out of Marty's house.  The tension Kaan has at home spills over at work as he is slowing losing his grip on Jeannie (Kristen Bell) who is essential for his desire to move onto start his own top flight consulting firm. This episode crammed so much stuff into 30 minutes that it was almost No. 1 for TWT3 this week ... but not quite.

1. The Good Wife, Episode 14, Death of a Client. For yet another week, TGW has reminded us how good it can be with witty, funny writing and a truly incomparable cast. Anytime a show can have GUEST STARS like John Noble, Stockard Channing and Matthew Perry it is doing something phenomenally well. This week centered around a very important political dinner for Peter Florrick (Chris Noth) and his opponent for Illinois governor Mike Kreseiva (Matthew Perry). As both of these guys maneuver for votes, Eli Gold (Eli Cumming) delivers some of the funniest lines a viewer can expect from a drama. Stockard Channing as Alicia Florrick's (Juliana Margulies) mother always ads intrigue and just brings more information to the table as Alicia continues to struggle with work, politics and being in love with two men. The writers are so excellent here that they still can squeeze in sexual tension between Cary (Matt Czuchry) and Kalinda (Archie Panjabi). And after all that, you have a remarkable performance by John Noble in a one-off appearance as an eccentric client of Alicia's that gets murdered, causing Alicia to have a number of great flashback scenes. This allows us to get a nice scene between Alicia and Will Gardner (Josh Charles) without having the two interrupt current storylines too much, but enough to keep the tension high. If the writing stays this sharp, TGW could make a run at the cable heavyweights that dominate season "best-of" lists.

Honorable Mention: The Walking Dead, Episode 15, This Sorrowful Life; Justified, Episode 11, Decoy

Review: Battlestar Galactica — Season 3

Battlestar Galactica was a show I avoided for a while because it was from SyFy and every show from that network that I have checked out has simply not lived up to the hype. From Alphas to Haven and Eureka to Sanctuary, the programming just has not been that good.

But, Battlestar was one of the shows everyone was right about. It is really good and very addictive and probably the best science-fiction television I have ever watched.

Season three did not disappoint. It is a very well sculpted penultimate season and setup what should be a spectacular final 20 episodes. I don't quite think it was as good as Season 2, but it was close.

The rundown
The season starts where Season 2 left off ... Cylon occupation of New Caprica. The first two episodes were my favorite of the series so far ... and episodes 3 and 4 (Exodus parts I and II) were very well done. It was just too soon.

The story of Cylon occupation, the emotional turmoil of Gaius Baltar trying to lead his people whithout getting them slaughtered (James Callis) and Admiral Adama's (Edward James Olmos) desperation in trying to get his people off of New Caprica was excellent television. The writers should have stretched this storyline out a little further.

The insurgency led by Colonel Tigh (Michael Hogan) was one of the more compelling aspects of the show and could have carried the show for half the season or more, but the writers got them back on BSG and out of there, which led to a handful of throw away episodes before getting back to the more important issues at the end of the season.

By the end of the season, there are plenty of storylines that have started to come together and it was done very nicely.

The assumed death and reappearance of Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) from episode Maelstrom through the end of the season was really as good as storylines get for individual characters. Her "death" and the toll it takes on the Admiral and his son, Lee (Jamie Bamber), is so integral to everything over the final few episodes, including the trial of Baltar.

The Final Five is a storyline that I could have gone without and I know that much of Season 4 is going to be focused around these newly revealed Cylons (as well as whomever is actually the fifth of The Final Five). I don't think the story arch needed to have more Cylons hidden among the humans to work, but it will likely play out fine. It felt as if this was all for the shock value of revealing some of the most beloved characters as Cylons.

It is definitely intriguing where The Final Five storyline will go from here. It is likely to be very good, but that does not change the fact that it felt somewhat forced just for a gasp moment that so many television shows seem obsessed with ending seasons.

One of the problems with the early seasons of the show was that the acting was not up to snuff. By this season, some of the actors that were bad early in the show's run (Katee Sackhoff as Starbuck, Grace Park as Boomer, Tricia Helfer as Six) have really settled into the roles and are have become solid performers who can finally stand toe-to-toe with veterans like Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell.

While the occupation of Caprica was certainly intriguing and the Earth mythology can carry the show. This season was made what it was by the trial of Gaius Baltar.

The give and take between Admiral Adama and his son and the emotional tolls everyone stuggles with by giving Baltar his day in court provided palpable tension, great character exploration and a perfectly executed ending.

The struggle between right and wrong is constant among these final 40,000+ humans and while the show tried to dive into it many times — including the episode focused on worker conditions and the class system that has taken hold of the fleet — no story grasped it quite like Baltar dealing with his own demons while the rest of the fleet demonizes him. It was a story that needed told, was told perfectly and had the correct ending with his acquittal.

Final Rating
Season three was certainly strong and has me eagerly gearing up for Season four. When I started this show, I told someone there was no chance that it could crack my top 10 shows ever made list. I might have to eat those words.

The Baltar trial storyline is enough to give this season a plus rating. Toss in the intrigue of The Final Five, the battle between father and son and the first Emmy win for the show and you really have a great 20 episodes.


Lets give it a 8.5/10

This Week's Top Three (Monday, 3/4/13 through Sunday 3/10/13)

This week it was very tough to come up with a top three. The top two were locks, but any of the honorable mentions could have been subbed in for The Following at No. 3. I was shocked to see The Following find its way on my list though, and with Justified and The Americans having what seemed like very slow weeks, Kevin Bacon makes the list for the first — and what might be the last — time.

3. The Following, Episode 8, Welcome Home: This show has been teetering between just good enough to keep me watching and bad enough for me to not care anymore for a while, but this week they finally did a solid job — even if it was mostly implausible. The show was seriously hamstrung by the main villain being behind bars. No matter how good the premise was, it just was not working. The writers had to figure out a way to get him out of prison, and they did a decent job of it. The interaction between Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) and Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) is really what makes this show tick and having them meet face-to-face in the middle of his escape made for gripping television. I was curious to see where they would go with this show after it was picked up for a 15-episode second season ... seems like a tough premise to keep going. But, chasing the bad guy that is not in prison is much more entertaining than chasing the bad guy's helpers while the bad guy is already caught.

2. The Walking Dead, Episode 13, Arrow on the Doorstep. For a show that had been treading water, they certainly have had two fantastic weeks in a row ... and could be a fixture in TWT3 the rest of the season. Absolutely great shows are made by having memorable scenes, which are often just between two solid actors at intense moments. The sitdown between Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and The Governor (David Morrissey) worked very well and was gripping television. Getting some insight into The Governor by hearing about his wife's non-zombie death was fantastic and seeing these two guys talk to each other while knowing that the other side was bluffing the entire time provided a palpable tension. I could have went without all the scenes back at the Prison, as this one-on-one meeting could have been the entire show and worked seamlessly, but seeing the bonding of both sides' top lieutenants and both sides' "thinkers" was well done. In the end, these are all people, hitching their wagons to one leader. And loyalty is going to play a big role in the finality of this feud.

1. The Good Wife, Episode 16, Runnin with the Devil. This episode was more or less just as good as television gets. There is not a single wasted moment in this episode and the acting on this show is so far and away the best on television that I don't think I can mention another show in its league from top to bottom. Any storyline with Alicia (Julianaa Marguiles) and druglord, but top client, Lemond Bishop (Mike Colter) means you going to come away with television gold. Alicia's constant battling with her conscience over what is right and wrong, while trying to do her job is part of makes this show so good on a weekly basis. The subplot involving Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride) as Bishop's sketchy lawyer was entertaining and perfectly done. Right when Alicia thinks she has found legal grounds to get Bishop back on the street, he has used his lawyer to pressure all of the witnesses into recanting, making all her work — in essence — a waste of time. The side stories on this episode were also flawless. We already know that Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) does not work well with others, but with the firm doing so well, Will (Josh Charles) and Diane (Christine Baranski) force a new partner on her and any story involving Kalinda is immediately interesting. Also, the sexual tension between her and Cary (Matt Czuchry) as the season winds down should be great to watch as Cary continues to move toward the door. The fact that this episode was so good without even mentioning the race for Illinois governor just shows how well it juggles so many perfectly written storylines on a week-to-week basis.

Honorable Mention: Grimm, Episode 13, Face Off; , Person of Interest, Episode 17, Proteus; House of Lies, Episode 8, Wonders of the World.

This Week's Top Three (Monday, 2/25/13 through Sunday, 3/3/13)

This is the first of what will hopefully be a weekly (at least during TV season) blog recapping the three best episodes of television each week. For the most part, this will just include dramas because I do not watch that much comedy, but occasionally you can expect to see top end Dramedies like Californication and House of Lies make the list. There will likely even be a couple Modern Family appearances.

This week's top three goes to three shows that will likely be regular fixtures in this column when they are airing. And goes to the two best networks for Dramas right now — FX and AMC.



3. The Americans, Episode 5, COMINT. As this new show consistently churns out great drama, it was clear they were eventually going to have to get a little confusing to be realistic. This episode is where they did that. In a spectacularly edited and written episode there was constant give and take between the FBI and KGB and a great in-depth looks at the main characters trying to balance their lives as "fake" Americans with being top-of-the-line KGB plants. The ending where the KGB now knows they have a mole and Phillip knows that everything Elizabeth just did was for nothing was very solid and something we can expect regularly from this show. The acting on this show is so superb that it is difficult to even notice Emmy winner Margo Martindale over the great skills of Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell. And the job Noah Emmerich does week-in and week-out as FBI star/Trying-to-keep-his-family-together husband Stan Beeman is truly Emmy worthy. There is no show on television that I look forward to more each week right now than The Americans.


2. Justified, Episode 8, Outlaw. In a major turning point for this season, Justified went from good to great and could end up finding itself in Emmy-season talk. Timothy Olyphant does not regularly get enough credit for his job as Raylan Givens. The broad range of emotions Givens shows at the death of his murderous father was simply fantastic and Olyphant delivered the anger, pain and sadness in that moment perfectly. The intrigue of this episode really kicked things up a notch also. We know next week Rayaln is going to be trying to avenge his father's murder, but will that get him off the trail of Drew Thompson long enough for Boyd Crowder to take even more power. Walton Goggins as Crowder has simply been one the best characters on television this year (and the last four years). His manipulation of the rich boys club in this episode while also sticking it to his crime-nemesis Wynn Duffy was fun to watch. The last 5 episodes of this season should be really explosive.


1. The Walking Dead, Episode 12, Clear. The Walking Dead has plenty of issues on a week-to-week basis. Sometimes it cannot make up its mind on what it wants to be, but this was not one of those weeks. This week felt like a "one-off" to some people, but it was so much more than that. It was a central episode to the evolution of Rick's character ... and it was supremely important to the likability of that character as the show's hero. In his trip back to his hometown with just his boy and Michonne, Rick could not have imagined he would run into the man who saved his life, Morgan. By having a smaller cast and such focus, it really helped make for the clear-cut best episode this season. With such focus on three central characters to the future of the show, Dead really came back around to what makes it great — not the zombies, not the bickering — the in-depth characters we grew to love way back in the first season before the cast got so large. Rick saw in Morgan what he could become if he kept pushing those around him away. He saw that being isolated, no matter how well protected, was as good as dead. The was a very clear message that at the beginning of this episode Michonne was not welcome, but needed. By the end, that reverses and it is nice to see Rick start to open up and trust again after dealing with such an emotional betrayal from his pre-Zombie infestation best friend, Shane. The hitchhiker was a brilliant metaphor to what Rick has become. There was a time during all this that he would have welcomed that guy and — cautiously — taken him in. The ending, where the guy was torn to shreds and Rick's quick face of sadness was expertly done. Hopefully, it is a change for good so we can have a hero to cheer for in this often gut-wrenching and sad show.

Honorable Mention: Spartacus: War of the Damned, Episode 5, Blood Brothers; The Good Wife, Episode 15, Going for the Gold.