The Americans

Quotes of the Week: March 5-18

I was out of town last weekend, so these are my favorite quotes from the past two weeks, mostly from shows currently on the air, but also other random things I happen to be watching.

Mercy Street
Major McBurney: See that he sees to it.
Dr. Hale: And I’ll see that she sees to seeing to that …sir.

Mary: A better world is coming.

Black Sails
Max: How could we all have sacrificed so much and none of us has anything to show for it?

Big Little Lies
Madeline:She wouldn’t leave if she knew I had cancer.
Ed: Well, you don’t have cancer.
Madeline: But, I’d be willing to get it.

Time After Time
Wells: The man who raises his fists first is the man out of ideas.

Supergirl
Kara: Supergirl is what I can do. Kara is who I am.

Travelers
Mrs. Bloom: I know what happened, dear. I’m from the future.

The Flash
H.R.: I found my place. It’s standing here, with these people, against you.

Barry: Fear makes us do a lot of things that we shouldn’t.

This Is Us
Randall: You got white doves?
Beth: They don’t make black ones, Randall.

The Americans
Claudia: Nothing scares those two.
Gabriel: Everything scares those two.

Legion
Syd: Who teaches us to be normal when we’re one of a kind?

The Vampire Diaries
Stefan: Let me do this for you.
Damon: No.
Stefan: Then let me do this for me. Please.

Stefan: It’s good to see you, Elena.

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8 More Mid-Season Shows…

Several more premiere dates have been announced since I made my original lists, and I needed to include some of my favorite shows, as well as a few new shows that I am excited to check out.

1. The Americans, season 5 premieres March 7th on FX, stars Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Noah Emmerich, Holly Taylor, Keidrich Sellati, Costa Ronin, Frank Langella, and Margo Martindale. The idea of Russian spies operating within the United States hits a little too close to home these days, but this show is set in the ’80s, so we can still pretend it is mostly fiction, right? This is one of the best shows on television right now, and each season it continues to get better.



2. Hand of God, season 2 will be available March 10th on Amazon, stars Ron Perlman, Andre Royo, Alona Tal, Julian Morris, Garret Dillahunt, Dana Delany, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Cleavon McClendon, Elizabeth McLaughlin, Johnny Ferro, and Maximiliano Hernández. Judge Pernell Harris is facing trial for the murder of a cop. His visions are exposing a conspiracy that is bigger than he could have imagined, but his wife is still not on board. Is God speaking through him? Or is he losing his mind? I really enjoyed the first season of this show. It was not perfect, but it was intriguing, and I am interested to see where it goes.



3. Tangled, the movie Tangled Before Ever After will air March 10th on Disney Channel, Tangled: The Series will premiere March 24th, stars Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Clancy Brown, Julie Bowen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Diedrich Bader, Jonathan Banks, M.C. Gainey, Sean Hayes, Jeremy Jordan, James Monroe Iglehart, Richard Kind, Peter MacNicol, Jeffrey Ross, Jeffrey Tambor, Eden Espinosa, and Paul F. Tompkins. The truth is, I probably will not regularly watch this, because it is on the Disney Channel, and I am not really their target demographic. However, I love that this has been turned into a television show, and I will definitely make sure that my niece watches it, because she already loves the movie.



4. Shots Fired, the series premiere is March 22nd on Fox, stars Sanaa Lathan, Stephan James, Stephen Meyers, Will Patton, Mack Wilds, Aisha Hinds, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Conor Leslie, Dewanda Wise, Richard Dreyfuss, Helen Hunt, and Jill Hennessy. This 10-episode event series takes a look at our criminal justice system and centers around two fatal shootings in a small Southern town. This is extremely topical, and I have been reading some good reviews, so I am interested to see what they do.



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8 Episodes from 2016…

My list of favorite episodes each year is usually a combination of things that made me think, and things that just made me really happy. I always like to preface my list with the recognition that these are simply *my* favorite episodes, and not necessarily the best episodes, because I know that there is way too much good TV to make that statement, and that other people have different tastes than me. So, here we go…

1. Game of Thrones “The Winds of Winter”
The previous episode “The Battle of the Bastards” was also fantastic, but this is my favorite because everything starts to come together in the season finale. Cersei refuses to stand trial, and instead blows up the High Sparrow, the Faith Militant, and most of the Tyrell family. Tommen then kills himself, and Cersei takes the Iron Throne. Aria exacts vengeance on House Frey for the Red Wedding. Bran has become the Three-Eyed Raven and learns that Jon Snow is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. Jon and Sansa have reclaimed Winterfell for the Starks, and Jon is named the King of the North by the rest of the Northern families, with a little help from Lyanna Mormont. Daenerys makes Tyrion the Hand of the Queen and begins sailing across the Summer Sea with her dragons and her army, aligned with Dorne, Highgarden, and House Greyjoy. Everything seems to have fallen into place, and it set-up what will hopefully be a eventful season seven. I cannot wait to see what happens next.

2. Black Sails “XXVIII”
I had not read a lot about the show before starting to watch, and have never read Treasure Island, so I actually did not know that the show is a prequel to the book until the end of the most recent season. I mostly just like pirates and decided to finally catch up on the whole series this year. In this season finale, there is an epic battle between Flint’s and Rackham’s crews, the Maroons and the British. After the British are handily defeated, with help from Blackbeard, the pirate captains sit down together and begin to figure out a plan to take back Nassau. Meanwhile, Billy Bones and a few select others have been instilling fear in the people of the island, and Silver is finally given the name ‘Long John Silver.’ Lines have been drawn in Nassau, and if you are not with the pirates, you are against them.

3. 12 Monkeys “Blood Washed Away”
For me, this is the best science fiction show on television right now. Every season I think they cannot possibly blow my mind any more, and then they do, over and over again throughout the season. Cole and Cassie are stuck together in 1958, with no way back to the future unless they stop the primary from causing another paradox. When they fail, they FINALLY admit to each other that they are both in love, and they face those feelings head on. Back in 2044, everyone else is searching for Titan so that they can kill The Witness. This is not the season finale, but it ends in such a way that you have no idea how they could possibly go on from here, and yet they do somehow, and it is excellent.

4. Lovesick “Frankie”
This show makes me laugh a lot. This episode in particular made me cry with laughter. The reason this episode has made my list is because of one specific scene where Angus has eaten hallucinogenic mushrooms and somehow manages to get into the freezer at a grocery store. He is enjoying the cold temperature, and tells Dylan that it’s like being in Narnia. When the grocery store employee tells him to get out, he tries to hide by putting a bag of frozen peas over his face. Later, after Dylan’s car gets a flat tire, Angus is afraid that they are being watched so he runs into the woods and climbs a tree. I chuckle just thinking about it.

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8 Emmy Nomination Thoughts…

This morning this list of 2016 Emmy Nominations was announced, and I had a few thoughts that I wanted to share. The full list of nominees can be found here: http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners There are several people and shows that were snubbed this year, and several nominations that I am really excited about, these are a just a few of each.

1. Tatiana Maslany
She was nominated for the first time last year, but I am thrilled to see her get recognized again this year. Not only does she play multiple characters every season, but she often plays those different characters playing each other. It sounds complicated, and it is, and she does it beautifully and with such nuance that I forget that it is only one actor playing all these roles.



2. Jane the Virgin
I have said it before, and I will say it again, but this is my favorite show on television right now and I cannot believe that neither Gina Rodriguez or Jaime Camil were not nominated for their work. I do not even know what else to say about that. Thankfully, Anthony Mendez was at least recognized for his amazing voice-overs.



3. Outlander
The only nominations they got were for Production Design and Costumes, which are all well deserved, but no where near enough. I have read the books, and usually know what is coming in each episode, and yet their performances continue to break me into a million pieces every week. Caitroina Balfe and Sam Heughan brilliantly explored the aftermath of last season’s sexual assault, but I think the second half of season 2 counts towards next years Emmys, including Claire’s miscarriage, so maybe that was the reason for the snub…?



4. William H. Macy
I love William H. Macy, and I love to see Shameless get recognized even a little bit but, for me, he is not the best performance on this show. Emmy Rossum and Jeremy Allen White have been killing it for a while now, and Ethan Cutosky was especially amazing this past season. I know this show can be sometimes be pretty dramatic, so maybe Carl’s storyline was just too serious for the comedy category, but I was incredibly impressed by him this year.

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Quotes of the Week: June 12-25

These are my favorite quotes from the past two weeks, mostly from shows currently on the air, but also other random things I happen to be watching.

The Americans
William: The absence of closeness makes you dry inside.

Game of Thrones
Brienne: Don’t die for pride when you can fight for blood.

Jaqen: Finally, a girl is no one.
Arya: A girl is Arya Stark of Winterfell, and I’m going home.

12 Monkeys
Jennifer: If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that nothing frees you to be crazy like learning that you’re not.

Turn: Washington’s Spies
Talmadge: I know there’s nothing more painful for you, nor is there anything more necessary for the cause. We make sacrifices so that others don’t have to.

Orphan Black
Krystal: Wait, who are you again?
Sarah: I’m Sarah. I’m your clone.
Krystal: Right, whatever.

Alison: (deleted scene) What can we do, Sarah? I have the runs, but I’m packing heat.

The Last Tycoon
Monroe: Some things exist just to be beautiful. They don’t have to make any more sense than that.

Outlander
Ross: What happened to him?
Rupert: I decided to take a closer look at a musket ball.

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8 Episodes from 2015

Here are my favorite episodes of television from the past year in no particular order. If it is possible, there was even more good television than last year and it was very difficult to pick only eight episodes. They are not necessarily the BEST episodes from the year, just the ones that I enjoyed and the ones that affected me the most.

1. Justified – The Promise
I am not really sure what made me interested in checking out this show when it first aired. Timothy Olyphant was definitely a factor, but there just must have been something about those first trailers that drew me in. And I am so glad that they did because it quickly became one of my favorite shows on TV. Each season was engaging and they had some of the best guest stars of any show on TV. This finale not only wrapped up the season’s arc with an epic shootout, but also brought Raylan’s, Ava’s and Boyd’s stories full circle. Everyone ended up exactly where they should.

2. The Flash – Fast Enough / Arrow – Legends of Yesterday
Okay, so this is technically two episodes, but since it was a two-part crossover, I am counting them as one. There are so many things that I love about these shows, including the fact that The Flash has consistently had the best special effects of any show on TV and Arrow has the best stunts. I also really found the music in these episodes to be inspiring. It was subtle, but in the Flash episode, you could hear Arrow themes overlayed and in the Arrow episode you could hear Flash themes. It was beautiful and awesome. These episodes also introduced us to Hawkgirl, Hawkman and Vandal Savage, who will all be featured on the new series Legends of Tomorrow. I just love how these shows intertwine so seamlessly, yet still maintain their individual tones.

3. Outlander – Wentworth Prison
The performances in this episode from Sam Heughan, Caitroina Balfe and Tobias Menzies just blew me away and broke my heart. It was an incredibly difficult episode to watch, even as someone who has read the books and knew what was going to happen, but is was so well done. We saw just how evil and broken Black Jack Randall truly is and also what lengths Jamie would go to in order to protect Claire. It was an extremely powerful and moving episode of television, and one that will stay with me for a long time.

4. Playing House – Celebrate Me Scones
One word: Bosephus! This season finale also gave us Kenny Loggins and his pun-tastic green room, as well as Jeanine Willcall and a heartwrenching cliff-hanger. You would think that having one of my best friends from high school working at the network, I would be able to get *some* intel on whether or not there would be a third season, but my mind control skills do not seem to be working. I NEED MORE OF THIS AMAZING SHOW!

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8 Emmy Snubs…

There were a few happy surprises this morning (Tatiana Maslany!) but also a lot of disappointment. I know that there is just too much good television on right now, and it is not possible for every single person to be recognized, but here are just a few of the shows and actors that I wish had received nominations. It was difficult to find good videos for some of these performances, so there are a few links to TVLine’s Dream Emmy Nominations where they have embedded videos.

Fair warning: there are a few spoilers.

1. Shameless
This is one of the most underrated shows on television and last season was no exception. While William H. Macy was recognized for his performance as Frank Gallagher, Cameron Monaghan’s Ian was phenomenal this year as he slowly began to accept his bipolar diagnosis.



2. Outlander
The performances given by Sam Heughan, Caitroina Balfe and Tobias Menzes in the last two episodes of the first season were intense and profound. I am actually baffled that not a single one of them was nominated. If I could have included my favorite clip, it would have been the scene where Jamie says goodbye to Claire before she leaves him in Wentworth Prison with Black Jack. Instead, this clip is from the middle of the season when Jamie breaks down after having saved Claire.

3. Jane The Virgin
This was by far my favorite new show last year. It is moving and hilarious and filled with surprises. Gina Rodriguez and Jaime Camil in particular were revelations. Rodriguez won a Golden Globe for her role as Jane, so I was hoping she might get recognized again, but alas, I was wrong. Camil was more of a long-shot, but I was still disappointed. I was happily surprised to see Anthony Mendez get nominated for Best Narrator. I did not even know that was a category until this year. This is the clip where Jane calls Rogelio ‘Dad’ for the first time.

4. Justified
When this show started, I did not think that the characters of Ava and Boyd would be people that I cared so much about. Walton Goggins and Joelle Carter brought them to life in such a fantastic way that, no matter how horribly they behaved, you always rooted for them until the very end, even when they were at odds with each other. In this clip Ava tells Boyd that she has been informing to Raylan.

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8 Returning Mid-Season Shows…

Last week, I shared my list of new shows that I am most excited about, so here are the returning shows that I cannot wait to have back on my television in the next few months.

1. Shameless season five premieres January 11 on Showtime, stars William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum, Jeremy Allen White, Cameron Monaghan, Emma Kenney, Ethan Cutkosky, Shanola Hampton, Steve Howey, Joan Cusack, Noel Fisher and Emily Bergl. Somehow, this is still one of the most under-rated shows on TV. What are you all waiting for?! I love the Gallaghers so much. They make me laugh and they make me cry and I cannot wait to see what craziness they get up to now that it is summer in Chicago! Frank has a new liver, so anything is possible.



2. Justified the final season premieres January 20 on FX, stars Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, Joelle Carter, Nick Searcy, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel and Jere Burns. I am very sad to be losing another one of my favorite shows, but I will say the same thing that I said about Sons of Anarchy in September: I do not want it to be over, but I also cannot wait to see what happens! Will Ava help the Marshals with their RICO case? Will Tim continue to be awesome? Will Raylan and Boyd finally take each other out? I am already on the edge of my seat filled with anticipation.



3. The Americans season three premieres January 28 on FX, stars Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Noah Emmerich, Annet Mahendru, Susan Misner, Alison Wright, Richard Thomas, Holly Taylor and Keidrich Sellati. This is another under-rated show that more people need to be watching. It is not a show that I necessarily need to keep up with every single week, but when I finally sit down and watch it, I am always impressed with the story-telling and the performances.



4. Suits the second half of season four premieres January 28 on USA, stars Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Adams, Rick Hoffman, Meghan Markle, Sarah Rafferty and Gina Torres. The beginning of this season spent a little much time with Mike working against Harvey as a investment banker, but now he is finally back at the law firm and Louis has discovered his secret. I am pretty sure that Pearson Specter is about the get “Litt the Hell Up.”

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