Fractured Bones

       Fox's Bones ended with a season finale more unexpected, and world changing, than any they have before, and that's saying something, after the last couple.  (Not many people really believed Booth (David Boreanaz) was dead after being shot two years ago).  No, this time, in an episode called "The Beginning in the End", most of the cast has gone their separate ways, to spend a year doing things away from each other.  Booth is heading to Afghanistan to train the troops, Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Daisy (Carla Gallo) are heading to Indonesia.  That means Daisy and Sweets (John Francis Daley), who stayed behind, despite her urging, have called off their engagement.  Angela (Michaela Conlin) and Hodgins (T.J. Thyne), not wishing to break in Bones and Booth's replacements, have fled to Paris, France.  That leaves only Cam (Tamara Taylor) behind with Sweets.

     I was a little disappointed to learn that when Bones picks up next season, a year will have passed.  Sure, the show wouldn't work with everyone split up for an entire season, but at least give us one episode.  A few could have been better.  I only hope they'll be a few flashbacks.

     That is not to say, however, that things will not have changed.  The season premiere will begin with Booth and Bones at the coffee stand, as they agreed upon, however rumor is that at least one, if not both of them, will not be returning to Washington alone.  There will be one or two news recurring characters next season.  I'm guessing Booth will be the one with the girlfriend, as I really felt that Brennan was already feeling his loss in their emotionally charged goodbye.  I fully expect her to come back eager to be with Booth romantically, despite recently turning down his overtures, and, as is now typical in television, she will have to wait for him to be single again.  Perhaps Sweets and Daisy will be the happily reunited couple instead.  Unless Daisy brings someone back, and that could be some good plot, as opposed to just the frustration viewers will surely have with the lead couple.

     The others shouldn't be changed too much.  Sure, Hodgins and Angela will have settled in as a stable, married couple (I assume), but they can return to their work.  My guess is that Cam will be glad to have her best people back, though if the writer's are really smart, perhaps at least one of our main characters will not seem nearly as irreplaceable anymore.  For their job at the Jeffersonian, not the show.  I don't want to loose anyone else from this fantastic cast.

     Bones will return to Fox next fall.

The Office snitch

     What can I say about the season finale of NBC's The Office, "Whistleblower"?  It certainly wasn't as big a deal as The Office's usual season finales.  Instead, it was a mostly understated story about how leaked to the press the problems with their new printers.  Answer?  Pretty much everybody.  Even former boss David Wallace (Andy Buckley in a hilarious cameo).  Though it mostly hurt Andy (Ed Helms).  But since Michael (Steve Carell) decided to take the fall and make the apology to the media, it appears that their boss is going to let it slide.

     And that was what was really going on.  There were some big developments, they just weren't as shocking or dramatically revealed as they had been in the past.  Sabre, the company that bought Dunder-Mifflin a few months ago and added printers to their paper stock, is clearly not going to be around long-term.  Kathy Bates, who plays Sabre owner Jo, has already lined up another television gig.  The printers are catching on fire and ruining the company's reputation.  It all clearly is a set up for a quick Sabre exit.  But whether that will mean a new corporate boss, or a return to the status quo of last year, is up in the air.

     Another big development slipped by, too.  Michael asked Jo to bring back the love of his life, Holly (Amy Ryan), to the Scranton branch, and my guess is that will be one of her last acts as their owner.  The show has long longed to return Holly to Michael's awkward arms, in some fashion.  Whether they will be lucky enough to get Ryan to sign on for a large number of episodes, or whether she just makes a quick appearance, surely the boat will be rocked.  Michael and Holly will have to end up together.

     Other news reports point to Carell planning on making next season his last.  I do believe the show can go on without him, though I doubt it will for long.  In the British version, Michael's counter-part David (Ricky Gervais) was fired about three quarters of the way through, yet continued to hang around the office pretty much every day.  It was sad and pathetic and I don't think that fans will stand for a similar ending to Michael, but he could, and his character likely would, still pop in from time to time, especially when he first leaves.  Does that mean Michael Scott may be making an exit by mid-year?  Perhaps to run off with Holly?

     Looks like we'll just have to wait and see.  Though something tells me that, unlike the British version, should Michael leave, it will be Jim (John Krasinski) left in charge instead of Dwight (Rainn Wilson).  They really are two different shows.

Did you hear the Gossip, Girl?

     I am ashamed that it has taken me four days, my longest delay this year, to watch and write a review for Gossip Girl's season finale, but I blame Lexington, Kentucky's Insight Cable, for not airing the CW in HD.  I am always battling a full TiVo at the end of the season, and as most of what I record is HD, I often neglect those non-HD shows so that I can free up space as rapidly as possible.  No matter.  It meant I got a seven episode Gossip Girl marathon last week, and it was amazing!

     The finale was called "Last Tango, Then Paris", and there was plenty of drama, especially in the game of love.  For one thing, Blair (Leighton Meester) and Chuck (Ed Westwick) cannot possibly be over.  Sure, Blair missed their fated meeting at the top of the Empire State Building, but the two are just so perfect for each other, and their connection runs so deep.  Chuck simply has to forgive her.  What excuse is better than rushing Dorota (Zuzanna Szadkowski) to the hospital so that she could give birth to her baby?  Speaking of Dorota, her plot has been top notch lately, not to mention the actress's ability to enliven the part.  Why is she not a series regular at this point?  And, quickly, back to Chuck, did they really expect anyone to believe that the gunshot, the season-ending cliffhanger, would kill him?  The show would not work without Chuck.

     Jenny (Taylor Momsen) has gone off the deep end.  She wavers back and forth between good girl and bad girl so often, it makes your head spin.  I have to say, I am actually looking forward to her not being around for awhile when next season starts.  I think that perhaps in the long-term she and Nate (Chace Crawford) would make a good couple, but he clearly hasn't seen her in that light yet.  She's lucky he has such a good, forgiving spirit about him, or she'd never get another shot with him.  But I'm thinking that she probably will.

     Just when I was getting used to Dan (Penn Badgley) and Vanessa (Jessica Szohr), they break them up.  Damn the show's writers, who can't let any couple stay happy for more than a handful of episodes.  Yet, I was already rooting Dan and Serena (Blake Lively) again by the end of the finale.  Too bad that reunion, while it will probably still come, will most certainly be delayed with the arrival once more of the wonderfully wicked Georgina Sparks (Michelle Trachtenberg).  I'm still digesting the implications of that twist, if it's true.  With Georgina, you never know.

     Rumor has it that the show is trying to sign Trachtenberg full-time, now that her delightful show Mercy is canceled.  A silver lining in every dark cloud.  That would kick the show up another notch.  Not that it needs it.   XOXO.

Parks and Recreation and changes

        NBC's sitcom, Parks and Recreation, came to the end of this season last night with "Freddy Spaghetti".  It was sort of a tumultuous episode for the series, with a lot of changes going on in characters and jobs and relationships.  After a rough, short spring premiere a year ago, the show is arguably the most improved on the air this year.  This technically second season was hilarious, and while it's sad to see the end of a few thing, it's nice to know it's already been picked up for next season, even if it's not coming back in the fall with the rest of the Thursday night comedy lineup.

     Trouble began brewing last week when bad cop Ben (Adam Scott, Party Down) and way-too-happy good cop, Chris (Rob Lowe, Brothers & Sisters), state auditors, arrived to help the town's budget, and promptly shut down the government.  This week, Ben, despite an attraction to Leslie (Amy Poehler), decided that she was unnecessary and must be cut.  Her boss, Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), who had delighted to the slashing up til then, went to bat for Leslie.  While all this was going down, Leslie was staging a concert in the former hole that she had gotten filled in, even though she wasn't actually working the job at that point.  It shows just how dedicated she is to Pawnee's parks and, well, recreation.  But somehow, the department will have to lose something, and we just don't know yet what it will be.

     The two interlopers are just the start of the casting shakeup.  Ben will be sticking around full-time next year, while Chris will be returning for at least six more episodes.  Also, Mark (Paul Schneider), as revealed last night, has taken a buy out, and the actor is said to not be coming park next season.  Other changes include Tom (Aziz Ansari) finally getting an awesome girlfriend, played by the lovely and funny Natalie Morales, and April (Aubrey Plaza) and Andy (Chris Pratt) kissing, only to have her walk out on him seconds later.  Not to mention who Ron is sleeping with, and who just found out.

     The series has also been thrown into slight tumult by the second pregnancy of star Poehler, and so is already filming while other shows are taking a break.  It's a fantastic little series that could about a parks department that could in a government that could not.  Please check it out when it returns to NBC next year.

V is for Vicious

     What a ride the first season of ABC's V was!  With both a crappy pilot, and a crappy first episode back from the long, winter hiatus, it still managed to be good in succeeding episodes, leading to a wonderfully inventive and intense finale, "Red Sky"!  At least one significant character died, and though I expected it, it didn't take away from the pull of the moment.

     Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell) is the most vulnerable member of the featured cell of the Fifth Column, of which the show partially focuses on.  Her son, Tyler (Logan Huffman) has gotten himself involved with a V, the aliens come to earth on a seemingly peaceful mission, but Erica knows better.  However, she feels she can best protect her son by keeping him in the dark, and now seems to be actively using him to help her terrorist actions.  I'm sympathetic to her plight and position in the F.B.I., charged with heading up the task force against the Fifth Column, but I certainly question her mother abilities.

     Also in Erica's cell is Ryan (Morris Chestnut), a former V spy who now works against them.  It was Ryan's girlfriend, Val (Lourdes Benedicto) who was the main character killed off, after giving birth to his half-human, half-V child.  Her death may be the biggest blow to the Fifth Column yet.  You see, V's don't have human emotions, initially, though they seems to be contagious.  And the cold, calculating Queen of the Vs, Anna (Morena Baccarin), is using Val's death to try to win back Ryan.  If she does, which was uncertain in this week's finale, he could be the most dangerous foe Erica and company have faced.

     Especially interesting is the character of Lisa (Laura Vandervoort), Anna's daughter.  Tasked with getting close to Tyler, and later, Erica, we viewers have gotten to see first hand how emotions can affect and change the V aliens, and Lisa seems to have swung the way of the Fifth Column.  In fact, before the exciting climatic events had finished unfolding, rebel V Joshua (Mark Hildreth) called her queen.

     The introduction of rival queens, fighting for the V species's allegiance, is just one of many things I am looking forward to finding out in the forthcoming second season of the show, a pickup I was pleasantly surprise to learn of.  Another is, what will become of Joshua, who was healed from his near fatal wounds?  And what will Ryan's hybrid child mean to both species?  Also, why did the sky turn red and what does it mean?

     Sci-fi shows don't traditionally do all that well on network television, with a few notable exceptions, and, provided this one can keep growing it's audience, it will be nice to see a new one work.

Modern Family ends simple and elegant-ish

     Last night was Modern Family's season finale, "Family Portrait".  When I had heard that the ABC show was going to Hawaii, I assumed it would be a terrible, big, over the top, season finale.  I was wrong on each of those counts.  The Hawaii episode was just as good as any other, and they didn't save it for the season finale (it aired last week).  Instead, the last episode of the show's freshman season focused on the family themselves, their interactions, and what they mean to each other.

     The main plot of last night involved Claire (Julie Bowen) trying to organize and execute the perfect family photo.  Of course, plenty went wrong, though nothing ridiculously so, with the possible exception of Mitchell's (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) destruction of his home.  No, Claire just had to fix a broken step, which of course, despite her best efforts, she could not manage to do.

     Elsewhere, Claire's husband, Phil (Ty Burrell) ended up at a basketball game with his attractive step-mother-in-law, Gloria (Sofia Vergara).  The tension, from him, between the two has been downplayed all season, thank goodness, and hopefully their kiss on the Kiss Cam will end the subplot.  It was done well, though, with a comedy of errors and misunderstandings.

     There are so many great actors in this ensemble, that it's a shame not every one of them can have a great moment in every episode.  Sadly, last night's was Cam's (Eric Stonestreet) turn to sit out, but I couldn't end this article without mentioned that in a show of comedic heavyweights, he is at the top of the pile.

     Jay (Ed O'Neill) said it best when he told his grandson, Luke (Nolan Gould) that he never got the perfect family he dreamed of, but he was sure glad that he ended up with the group that he did.  The portrait taken after the mud slinging fight had ruined their nice, white clothes showed who the family was, and how they enjoy each other.  Perfect.

Cougar Town roars to life

    ABC's Cougar Town was (rightly) ridiculed when it first premiered.  It had a mediocre pilot, and a weird premise.  Yet, shortly after the first episode, it dropped the whole garbage about older women dating younger men, other than a token Cougar character, Barb (Carolyn Hennesy), who is funny, but not even a main character.  Instead, it became about a group of older, but far from old, friends that get together, drink, and have fun with each other.  It's a more relaxed version of Friends, and it's become one of the best comedies on television.

     At the center of the series is Jules (Courteney Cox), and everyone else seems to kind of orbit around her.  Her son, Travis (Dan Byrd), is staying close by for college.  Her ex-husband, Bobby (Brian Van Holt) is one of her closest companions, which seems to have become a staple of television.  What happened to bitter exes who never speak again?  Except that Bobby is such an essential, lovable character, that despite his immaturity, you sometimes wonder why Jules ever dumped him.  She has now moved on to Grayson (Josh Hopkins), who she began dating after less than a season of will they / won't they tension, certainly a fresh approach.

     Also in the cast are Jule's long-time best friend, Ellie (Christa Miller), and her new best friend and employee, Laurie (Busy Philips).  Although they initially clashed over Jules's affection, they are already reaching an understanding with each other.  Clearly, Ellie has had practice with divided loyalties, because her own husband, Andy (Ian Gomez), sometimes seems to favor Bobby over her.

     The thing about the show is, despite the already drastically reduced tension in the group, they all just seem to enjoy each other so much, that it makes you feel good to watch it.  For instance, in the season finale, "Finding Out", everyone is now in a relationship except for Bobby.  So they all go out of their way to throw him a party on the beach and make him feel better.

     The whole concept wouldn't work without the hilarious, spot-on writing by series creator Bill Lawrence (Scrubs) and the staff.  The sitcom is already rivaling the best days of his last project.  I honestly just have no complaints, except, of course, the title.  There are already online suggestions of other possible titles, as well as plenty of rumor that the network in considering renaming.  My favorite is The Family Jules.  Haha, get it?  But, whatever the title, Cougar Town is a true jewel.

     The second season of Cougar Town will air next fall on ABC.

Castle goes out disappointingly

     I have been a fan of Nathan Fillion for quite some time.  When I learned he was starring in a crime mystery-of-the-week series, Castle, I was disappointed.  He's so much better than that.  Having popped into the show a couple of months ago, having not watched it since the beginning, I was pleasantly surprised to see how witty and entertaining it was, despite the formula.  So I have been watching since, and this week's season finale, "A Deadly Game" was the weakest episode of the last few.

     The finale centered on a 'spy' that was killed during a 'mission'.  Those extra punctuation marks are present because it's all a game, except for the real dead body.  Frankly, I could care less about the murder Castle and his partner Beckett (Stana Katic) are working on.  I tune in for character development and interaction.  This week's case was just boring.  I know, I know.  It certainly sounds exciting, but it wasn't handled in an interesting way.  It kind of plodded along.  It's like there was more concern with how they would end this season with Castle and Beckett than there was about the case.  Which is fine.  That's what it should be.  Except it was done all wrong.

     A hallmark of these types of shows is the entire series-spanning 'will they or won't they?'  It's frustrating as hell and generally dumb.  It's been done over and over again.  Occasionally you'll run across a show like Bones that handles the situation beautifully, but it still wears on over time.  If you're a smart writer, you do it like Chuck or, it appears, House will soon be doing, and you put them together and go for it.  True, that has killed shows before, but to keeping the growth going and the show worth watching, it needs to happen.

     Castle started out ok with this.  Beckett dumped her perfectly good boyfriend (Michael Trucco) when she was about to lose Castle.  So far, so good.  Then out of nowhere comes his ex-wife and the two go off together, leaving Beckett alone and frustrated.  Terrible.

     Instead, the best part of the episode was between Castle and his daughter, Alexis (Molly C. Quinn), as she was about to move into some college dorm for a summer program, and he worried about the sort of things he did at her age without parental supervision.  It was clever, fun, and if the entire show was like this, it would be brilliant.  Capture that light-hearted banter, and Castle could have gold.

     Castle has already been picked up for a third season, and will return next fall to ABC.

Desperate Housewives stays calm, but delivers plenty of new mysteries

 
     A far cry from the plane crash from last year, the biggest (physical) thing to happen on this season's Desperate Housewives finale, "I Guess This Is Goodbye", was when Patrick (John Barrowman) blew himself up.  What a triumphant moment for Angie (Drea de Matteo)!  It showed just how tough and smart she is, and it really made me wish the show had found a way for her to stick around longer.  Her heartfelt goodbye to Gaby (Eva Longoria Parker) was even more moving, and I was sad to see her leave.

     But there will be some new neighbors when Housewives returns to ABC next fall.  For one, though it was spoiled in online news reports, Paul Young (Mark Moses) is back, and back to stay, at least for a season.  It's hard to believe that his stint in jail for murder is already help.  Even better, it was recently announced that Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty) has signed on full-time next season, to help fill the void left by all the departing and already departed women, and she will not be connected to the big mystery of the season.  Don't be too disappointed about that.  Keeping her out of the immediate drama may allow her to stay longer, and she will surely stir plenty of waves.

     Back to the season finale, thank goodness Lynette (Felicity Huffman) was able to keep calm, and show her true compassion.  That ended as well as it possibly could have.  The show even had me feeling saw for Eddie (Josh Zuckerman), despite the atrocities he committed.  Any chance he'll get off on an insanity plea, and that, after a reasonable stay in a mental hospital, he could return to Wisteria Lane?  Call me crazy, but that could work, and be quite interesting.  He and Lynette had a really neat bond that was real, proved by her letting him hold the baby he just delivered while she called the cops.

     The secrets have already began swirling for next season.  Who took home a baby from the hospital that wasn't theirs?  What will Gaby do now that Bree (Marcia Cross) has confessed who killed Gaby's mother-in-law all those years ago?  Why would Paul even want to come back?

     Desperate Housewives will return to ABC in the fall.

The battle for The Pacific has ended

     HBO's latest miniseries, The Pacific, has come to an end.  As I commented on my twitter feed, once the bullets started flying, I had trouble telling the characters apart.  However, that did not hold true for all characters.  Some stood out.  And even if I didn't remember a good many of them as the ending credits rolled and told their stories, I was still plenty moved by the sequence.  I dare someone not to be.  Most of the soldiers depicted, as most soldiers who fought in the war, are now deceased.  But films like this one will surely keep the memory going.

     My favorite character was Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale).  I do have to say, I was sad that he didn't return to Australia and find the girl he was in love with there.  Sure, that would be more realistic in the movies than real life, but one of the other soldiers did it.  Leckie instead returned home, to continue writing for the local paper and marry the girl next door.  Very sweet, though not as sweet as my alternate ending.  Especially considering how his family treated him.  Oh, well.  It's hard to rewrite reality.

     I never did care very much for Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello), though he was most prominently featured at the end of the run.  I wonder what the real Eugene thinks of the show, assuming he's seen it.  I don't know why he wouldn't have, as his book was one of the source materials.  I am sure I will never understand his pain and what he went through, but he came off as kind of a jerk, before, during, and after the war, so it can't just be blamed on the experience.  He can be forgiven for his behavior at the end, then, but what about who he was in the first place?  I did feel bad for him, though, and his family, in particular, his father, was super supportive in the end.

     The third main character, and this one I didn't expect, so it hit me hard, was John Basilone (Jon Seda).  He was also a little bit too cocky for awhile, but he matured, and grew into an amazing soldier.  His quick courting and wedding was so wonderfully done.  When he died in combat, it was a shock, and a heart wrenching one at that.  I felt worst for his widow, of course, but I'm sure his entire unit took his death personally.  He was definitely a hero, re-enlisting and going back when he didn't have to.

     Kudos to HBO, and of course Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, for bringing us this awesome story.