In no particular order:
- Smallville: “Bride” — In the “mid-season finale” (no more new episodes until January 15), Clark escorted Chloe down the aisle to marry her beloved, Jimmy Olson. Despite flushing canon down the toilet, it was still a great ep, especially when Clark and Lois came thisclose to acting on their feelings after sharing a dance. Of course, as always, stupid, stupid, stupid Lana had to ruin everything. (I’ll give the girl bonus points for one thing, though — somebody needed to light into Clark for giving Chloe selective amnesia, and Lana did a great job of it.)
- Heroes: “Chapter Nine: It’s Coming” — While I agree with those who think the show has lost its focus (and I totally agree that Mohinder needs to die!), I also think Heroes is in the process of getting its groove back. And the best example of this is the work done this week by the indescribably talented Kristen Bell and Zachary Quinto. It was pure magic to watch supposedly-evil Sylar help the supposedly-evil Elle get her powers back under control. In the process, he learned both compassion and how to keep his voracious hunger for others’ powers in check — and, I suspect, kicked off a love story that will cause ramifications for all of the other characters for a long time to come. Anyone else thinking that Sylar’s future son, Noah, looked a lot like Elle? Me, too.
- Chuck: “Chuck Versus the Fat Lady” — Yes, sometimes you can see the plot twists coming a mile away. But predictable or not, part of why I keep coming back every week is that Chuck and his portrayer, Zachary Levi, are just so darn charming and lovable. It may not seem so on the surface, but the stories on Chuck are driven by character, rather than plot, and you just can’t help but care about them. This week, the show made me laugh, kept me on the edge of my seat, and eventually broke my heart, as we found out that Chuck’s girlfriend is actually an enemy agent — the realization coming right after he nearly committed treason to save her life. It may be predictable, and Chuck may never catch a break, but it’s kinda like Charlie Brown. I’ll keep watching in the hopes that one day he actually gets to kick that football, ‘cause I just like him that much.
- Pushing Daisies: “Oh, Oh, Oh... It’s Magic” — On the other hand, one of the best things about Pushing Daisies is that it is always unpredictable. It’s hard to describe in terms of genre (fantasy-procedural, perhaps?), but eventually you stop trying to label it, because what matters is that it always delivers. This week, the best thing I didn’t see coming was a “reunion” of sorts between our heroine, “dead girl” Charlotte “Chuck” Charles, and her mother. You see, Chuck just found out that the mother she thought was dead is really her “aunt”, who is alive. And her Aunt Vivian has been mourning the daughter who she raised as a niece, and now believes to be dead. More complicated than your average TV show? Sure. But also more touching, as Chuck’s boyfriend, Ned, and best friend, Olive, arranged for Chuck to talk to her mother through Olive (think Cyrano de Bergerac, except with 21st-century electronics).
- Bones: “The Passenger in the Oven” — My favorite TV moment of the week. Investigating a murder on an international flight, Booth comes upon Brennan, wearing a passenger’s horn-rimmed glasses as makeshift magnifying goggles. Grinning, he says, “Alright. What I want you to do is take off your glasses, shake out your hair, and say, ‘Mr. Booth. Do you know what the penalty is for an overdue book?’” Brennan, of course, simply blinks and asks, “Why?” Booth tells her, “Never mind,” but after they discuss the latest evidence and Booth walks away, Brennan tries taking off the glasses and shaking out her hair. Priceless.
To watch these episodes for yourself, you can check out the links below. All are (or will be) available on iTunes, as well.
Smallville — “Bride”
Heroes — “Chapter 9: It’s Coming”
Chuck — “Chuck Versus the Fat Lady”
Pushing Daisies — “Oh, Oh, Oh... It’s Magic”
Bones — “The Passenger in the Oven”
(For other, free television online, I’d strongly suggest you check out Hulu. They do better with online streaming video than most of the networks.)
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