News: WAREHOUSE 13 and LEVERAGE Renewed

Now, I don't want to get cocky, especially after what happened to Eureka, but I'm glad that both Warehouse 13 and Leverage got picked up for a fourth and fifth respective seasons.

Out of the three Monday Syfy shows, Warehouse 13 is the only one I still watch mostly because of the chemistry among the cast. The Artifact-of-the-Week premise of the show starts to wear thin (but that's true of all procedurals), and the shoddy production values can be distracting, but it's the light and airy moments between Pete, Myka, Artie, and the rest of the W13 crew that makes the show entertaining. I'm glad it's getting a fourth season, but I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up with a fate similar to its Monday night cohort, and honestly a four to five season run would be just about right.

TNT's Leverage started to veer into the repetitive-to-borderline-stale zone like so many other shows before it have done, but so far Season 4 has had a renewed sense of energy. Less emphasis on the Job-of-the-Week episodes, and more focus on characters have been a shot in the arm. I just hope it can maintain this freshness for the rest of the S4 run, which will dictate how I'll feel about Season 5. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for more Leverage, but there's only so many "big business is evil" plots that I can take.

In an industry that's quick to axe TV shows, I'm a pleasantly surprised that Leverage and Warehouse 13 have been able to stick around for as long as they have. It's true that they've been decent performers for their networks, but like we've seen with Eureka, there's never any guarantees.

Quick Thoughts: SyFy's Monday Night Line-Up

I'm going to be honest and admit that my thoughts about SyFy's new Monday night line-up is not going to be objective because I only half-watched the entire time, but the premieres of these three shows were kind of a big deal, so I wanted to crank something out:

Eureka: "Liftoff"

Eureaka Season 4.5 (most annoying gimmick ever) pretty much picked up where Season 4.0 left off. Carter and Allison are together and finding out that work place relationships are complicated. Yawn. Fargo's still in charge of Global Dynamic, and another accident happened on his watch that Carter somehow able to fix. Yawn. The only half-way interesting plot point was the tension between Jo and Zane, and I've never liked that coupling, so I was shocked that I cared for once. I just want Jo to be happy I guess. Overall, just another standard episode of Eureka. I'm close to giving up on this show because it's the same old gags over and over again. Yawn.

Warehouse 13: "The New Guy"

Unlike Eureka, Warehouse 13 tried to do something different by adding a new character that actually worked within the show's world. ATF agent, Steve Jinks, was recruited to work for Warehouse 13, and was a great addition to the team mostly due to his chemistry with Pete. Of course, Myka was bound to come back, and it was good to see them all together again, but I did wish they would have kept her on the sideline a little longer. Why have her quit just to bring her back during the season premiere? Seems like a wasted opportunity in my opinion. This week's artifact: a cursed Shakespeare folio was a nice touch, and it gave Myka something to do. All of the laughs didn't hurt either.

Alphas: "Pilot"

Out of the three shows that aired tonight, Alphas is the one I'm going to have to watch a few times to appreciate. I was immediately won over by the idea of a team of super humans, but we all know this genre does not work well on TV, so my expectations were low. Instead of Alphas easily hopping over the low bar, it ended up boring me, and I started doing chores. It just didn't have a hook that grabbed me right off the bat, but I'm willing to give the pilot another once over before making up my mind on the show. Besides, there's always FX's Powers...

The novelty of SyFy may have finally started to wear off because I really wasn't dying to watch any of these shows, but they have a good enough track record, and buzz in Alphas' case, that I felt obligated to check them out. They weren't disappointing, but they didn't blow me away either. I can't wait for Being Human to come back.

TV Report Card: Week of September 5, 2010

With most of the summer shows either wrapping up or having their "summer" finales over the next couple of weeks, this will probably be the last TV Report Card until the fall season starts up. Last year, I put together a Report Card for everything that I was watching, but towards the end I was only keeping up with a handful of shows, so I'm not sure when it will come back.

Sunday
Leverage: "The Morning After Job"

Quick Thoughts: "Morning After" had all of the makings of a great episode of Leverage. Eliot & Hardison are playing cops, Parker was making random jokes that no one really appreciated, Nate & Sophie rekindled some of their old spark, the return of Agent McSweeten, and snipers. Even the mark was interesting, a former hockey player turned stock broker with ties to Moreau. The episode started off strong, but started to falter towards the end. The conclusion just felt like it was thrown together; the key everyone was looking for involved two pictures with different colors, which Nate conveniently figured out while being shot at? Parker just showed up to the courthouse to freak out Vector with zero explanation? I was expecting a better wrap up to the first part of Season 3, but at least we're finally delving into the Moreau arc.

GRADE: B-

Tuesday
Warehouse 13: "When and Where"

This episode was Warehouse 13's nod to Mad Men as Pete and Myka went back in time to 1961 to solve the mystery about an artifact that alluded former Warehouse agents, Rebecca and Jack. Time travel is always a tricky subject to tackle, but I thought W13 did a decent job and added some nice little twists like how Pete and Myka's actions didn't change the present but created the past. They even hinted at a Pete & Myka hookup but thankfully the creators gave us a swerve instead. Once again, Warehouse wasn't especially original, but they were able to put together a good episode within the genre it occupies.

GRADE: B

White Collar: "Point Blank"

Quick Thoughts: The summer finale of White Collar's second season was one of the best episodes to date. "Point Blank" had everything. Alex was back, we finally get to hear the music box, Neal goes off the edge and goes after Fowler, we learn about what happened to Kate, and the ending was epic. In a lot of ways, "Point Blank" was the perfect finale because it wrapped up some questions while kicking off new ones. Part of me wished it was the season finale instead of the mid-season ender because I don't know if the WC creators will be able to top themselves at the end of the final seven episodes.

GRADE: A

Friday
Eureka: "I'll Be Seeing You"

Quick Thoughts: More time travel goodness from Syfy as Eureka continued its alternate timeline arc. This time around Carter and Grant end up back to 1947, but their missions quickly became about saving Allison's life (she died in 2010 due to the shenanigans involving Grant and Barlowe). Carter ended up saving the day, and Allison, yet again and Grant's time in Eureka came to an end. I have to admit, I'm going to miss Grant, but I'm sure he'll be back sooner or later.

GRADE: B-

TV Report Card: Make-Up Edition 2

Man, I've really slacked off when it comes to these little write-ups, and it doesn't help that it's taken me a while to watch all of the episodes. Here's my feeble attempt at making up for lost time.

Week of August 22
Leverage: "The Rashomon Job"
Quick Thoughts: In a lot of ways "Rashomon" was the episode every Grifter wanted to see because it showed the Crew's lives prior to teaming up. Sophie, Parker, Eliot, and Hardison were all after the same priceless dagger, which was insured by Nathan's firm. The multiple perspectives approach to storytelling created some great moments. While "Rashomon" didn't contribute to the greater Moreau arc, it was a solid stand alone episode.

GRADE: A

Warehouse 13: "Merge with Caution"
Quick Thoughts: "Merge" was Warehouse 13's attempt at the classic body switch story, and it worked for the most part. Seeing Pete in Myka's body was worth a few laughs, and Joanne Kelly did a great job at selling the gags. In the end, the episode was pretty standard sci-fi fare and nothing groundbreaking, but still fun.

GRADE: B-

White Collar: "Prisoner's Dilemma"
Quick Thoughts: This episode of White Collar was definitely one of the highlights of season 2. Peter's a fugitive, we get to see one of Mozzie's hideouts, the team cons a crooked U.S. Marshall, fast cars, and the awesome CI off. Good stuff.

GRADE: A-

Eureka: "The Ex-Files"
Quick Thoughts: Some science experiment gone wrong caused some of the residents of Eureka to encounter people from their pasts to help them move forward with their lives. Stark haunted Carter, Tess followed Alison, and Jo had to deal with the Zane she fell in love with. While this was going on Dr. Grant was coming to terms with the fact that Eureka did not turn out as he planned since it is manufacturing weapons for the government. Pretty good episode, and it was nice having Stark back.

GRADE: B+

TV Report Card: Week of August 15, 2010

Here is this week's TV Report Card.

Sunday
Leverage: "The Underground Job"

Quick Thoughts: Another episode where Eliot takes center stage, and it's another Southern/folksy themed job; this time around it involved miners in West Virginia. This week's baddie was an owner of a coal mine and his political "partner" who sacrificed the safety of the miners. "Underground" was an OK episode, but nothing too spectacular. I was kind of disappointed that we didn't get any more information about the Moreau arc, which has been seems to have been tossed aside for good but not great episodes. I hope we get back to Moreau and the Italian sooner than later.

GRADE: B-

Tuesday
Warehouse 13: "For the Team"

Quick Thoughts: I was excited when I heard that H.G. Wells was coming back for this week's episode of Warehouse 13, put the payoff was minimal because it doesn't seem like she's going to be the season's big bad after all. It was cool watching Claudia grow up before our eyes, and there were some great moments between Pete and Artie, but I was hoping for a better storyline for Wells, so I couldn't help but feel let down. At least Pete's going to get some loving with someone who is not Myka.

GRADE: C

White Collar: "In the Red"

Quick Thoughts: This week's White Collar involved crooked adoption schemes, high-stakes illegal poker games, and more information about Kate's death. All of those elements worked, but the best part of the episode had to do with the return of Sara. I'm digging her chemistry with Neal, and maybe she can help him move on from Kate, although Alex could also make things interesting.

GRADE: B-

Wednesday
Psych: "Viagra Falls"
Quick Thoughts: I didn't have the chance to watch this week's Psych, and I didn't bother catching up on it online or by any other means. I have a feeling that I didn't miss much.

GRADE: I

Friday
Eureka: "Stoned"

Quick Thoughts: This season's Alternate Timeline storyarc really has reinvigorated Eureka, and it's been fun seeing how things are being shaken up. The big twist this week involved Zoe, Jo, and Zane. Essentially Zoe and Zane have a thing going on, which really upset Jo and Carter. The addition of Dr. Grant has prompted Carter to amp up things with Allison, but it's too little too late. While watching "Stoned", all I could think about is how boring the Carter/Allison "will they/won't they" has become. The accident of the week, townspeople fossilizing, was once again less interesting than everything else going on in Eureka.

GRADE: C+

TV Report Card: Make-Up Edition

I've been slacking off when it comes to my little TV Report Card experiment, so I decided to put together a make-up exam version to catch myself up.

Week of August 1
Leverage: "The Boost Job"
Quick Thoughts: Seeing the Crew boost cars, especially Parker, was a nice little change of pace. Also, thought the addition of Malese Jow (The Vampire Diaries) was brilliant.
GRADE: B+

Warehouse 13: "13.1"
Quick Thoughts: Part One of the Warehouse 13/Eureka crossover event was OK, but nothing spectacular.
GRADE: C

White Collar: "By the Book"
Quick Thoughts: I'm glad to see Mozzie get some more prominent storylines, but "By the Book" was a weak follow-up after the great "Copycat Caffery".
GRADE: C+

Psych: "Chivalry is Not Dead...But Someone Is"
Quick Thoughts: Another weak episode of the long-in-the-tooth Psych.
GRADE: D

Eureka: "Crossing Over"
Quick Thoughts: Am I the only one that thought Fargo and Claudia hooking up was creepy?
GRADE: C

Week of August 8
Leverage: "The Three-Card Monte Job"
Quick Thoughts: Learning more about Nate's past and father was interesting, and we were also given more information about the Leverage-verse's take on the Irish mob in Boston, which hopefully leads to some great episodes down the road.
GRADE: B

Warehouse 13: "Around the Bend"
Quick Thoughts: Mark Sheppard (Firefly, Leverage, Battlestar Galactica, etc.) makes everything better.
GRADE: C+

White Collar: "Unfinished Business"
Quick Thoughts: We got some more of Neal's backstory thanks to the addition of Sara Ellis, as wells as some juicy sexual chemistry between her and our boy Neal.
GRADE: B-

Psych: "Shawn and Gus in Drag (Racing)"
Quick Thoughts: Was expecting more from Psych's homage to The Fast and the Furious.
GRADE: D

Eureka: "Momstrosity"
Quick Thoughts: Jo Lupo in the shower is can't miss, and robots with maternal instincts was OK too.
GRADE: C+

Hopefully, I'll be able to stay on the ball this week.

TV Report Card: Week of July 25, 2010

Here is this week's TV Report Card: Summer School Edition.

Sunday
Leverage: "The Gone Fishin' Job"

Best Chain-Gang Ever!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Eliot and Hardison are the best comedy duo on television, and "The Gone Fishin' Job" was just an example of how good these two are when they're together. Watching these two complete opposites running around the forest, handcuffed together, was pure comedic gold.

Why were they running through the forest handcuffed together? This week's mark was a former IRS agent that has created a scam that maxes out credit cards that belong to people who are in trouble when it comes to their taxes. These stolen funds then go through dummy companies to help fund a right-wing militia group (i.e. domestic terrorists). Eliot and Hardison are kidnapped by the militia after posing as IRS agents, but they soon break free and go on the run. The rest of the Crew are working over the mark, not knowing what happened to the boys, but once they figured that their own were in trouble, the greatness started. I mean Nate actually stole a moving train!

Once again, I'm always a fan of Leverage episodes that don't focus on corporate corruption, and while there were some of these elements during "Gone Fishin'", it was the leader of the "revolution" and his gang of wannabe soldiers that made the episode interesting. It was kind of scary listening to the rants of these ultra right-wing nutjobs, and unfortunately people like this do exist.

Another aspect of the show that was firing on all cylinders was the chemistry and the bond between all of the characters. "Fishin'" really focused on how these five people have gone from loners to a family, and the best example of this bond was Eliot and Parker. This season has cast Eliot in the big brother role to Parker's little sister, and watching them interact is amazing. For example, this week Parker was obsessed with getting candy out of pinata, which caused surly Eliot to rip off its head. Amazing! Nate and Sophie were also great in their parental roles (Nate (to the boys): "When I steal a train for you, you get on it"). Oh yeah, and Nate calling Eliot and Hardison "the boys" might be my all-time favorite Leverage moment.

Everything in "The Gone Fishin' Job" worked from start to finish, and it may have been one of the best episodes to date. OK, "the best" might be a bit of a stretch, but it was by far one of my favorite episodes of the series.

GRADE: A+

TV Report Card: Week of July 18, 2010

Here is this week's TV Report Card: Summer School Edition.

Sunday
Leverage: "The Studio Job"

In a lot of ways, "The Studio Job", was an example of my favorite type of Leverage episode. The "corrupt corporate bad guy was going to release some deadly product and must be stopped" con of the week can get a little dull after a while, and it's refreshing when the Crew takes on evil doers that are not connected to big business.

"Studio" focused on Nate and Co. helping an up and coming country music singer/songwriter who was being screwed by her no-good record executive. Again, moving from the corporate world to the music world was a nice change of pace, and Mitchell Kirkwood was a special kind of slimeball.

What also made "Studio Job" special was the fact that Christian Kane had the chance to show his singing skills, which made all of the Grifters who knew about his country music background all giddy. The song Eliot sang on the show, "Thinking of You", was actually a decent country number, and fans can even purchase it.

My only minor gripe was all of the Eliot-centric episodes tend to be folksy in nature ("The Two Horse Job", "The Tap Out Job"). I know these episodes play of the fact that Christian comes from Texas/Oklahoma, but it kind of makes his character one-dimensional (although it is a good dimension). Every once in a while Eliot has the chance to break the mold ("The Zanzibar Marketplace Job"), and I just hope we get to see more of those episodes. "The Studio Job" was not a bad episode; I just hope Eliot gets some more character development soon.

GRADE: A-

TV Report Card: Week of July 11, 2010

Here is the triumphant return of the TV Report Card...summer school edition.

Sunday

Leverage: "The Double Blind Job"

I've already shared my thoughts on "The Double Blind Job", so if you're interested just click here.

GRADE: A

Monday

Rizzoli & Isles: "See One, Do One, Teach One"

My love for Castle (and to a lesser extent Bones) has reawaken my appreciation for crime procedurals, which meant I was slightly intrigued by TNT's new cop show, Rizzoli & Isles. Part of that intrigue also has something to do with the fact that I've had a crush on Sasha Alexander since Dawson's Creek. Unfortunately, I didn't know that she was on NCIS until after her character was killed off, so I didn't want to miss out again.

One thing that was surprising about the show was how dark the tone was. The first episode of the show focused on a serial killer that has a history with Rizzoli (the cop), and his apprentice was causing havoc in Boston. The audience quickly learns about Rizzoli's character and the world she lives in. Having the first episode focus on a serial killer that knew Rizzoli created an engrossing and tense experience. Plus, it shows a little bit about the history of the universe in which these characters occupy.

So far R&I is a pretty standard cop show set in Boston. A crime happens, the police, medical examiners office, and occasionally the Feds trying to figure everything out in less than an hour. With that being said, this show if unique enough that I'm willing to stick around.

First off, having two strong, female leads was appreciated. Most, if not all, procedural shows have to have two leads, one from each sex, so they can have the obligatory unresolved sexual tension. By having two female leads, R&I avoids that cliche. Although they could have UST, which will make the show more interesting, but I digress. It's just refreshing watching two partners be friends first without the angsty relationship stuff to get in between them. That's not to say UST does not exist on Rizzoli & Isles because a hunky FBI agent was introduced so the ladies can vie for his attention.

All good shows should have interesting characters, and Rizzoli & Isles has just that. The two main characters are strong and sexy in their own ways, and are complete opposites which should make for some great moments when we watch them interact as friends and partners. The supporting cast, especially Rizzoli's brother and partner, was also top notch.

Rizzoli & Isles is not Castle, Bones, or CSI but it doesn't have to be. TNT has a show that fits the crime procedural mold, but it is also unique enough to stand on its own. Sure, I wish we would get more shows that don't focus on death and crime, but there are worse ways to waste an hour.

GRADE: B

Tuesday

White Collar: "Withdrawal"

I'm convinced that there are two types of crime stories that will never fail: con-men and bank robberies. You add them together, and you have "Withdrawal". The Season 2 premiere of White Collar pretty much stuck to what makes the show great. Neal and Peter have a pretty interesting case with an equally interesting bad guy, and of course we got some great bromantic banter between the two leads and Moz even got in on the action.

The only real difference so far was Natalie Morales was replaced by Marsha Thomason who plays Special Agent Lancing, which's a little funny since Morales replaced Thomason after the pilot. I'm OK with the cast change because Morales just stuck out on White Collar. She did a fine job, but her look and charisma couldn't match up with the rest of the cast.

I also like how the mystery from Season 1, and the music box, are being carried over. This move was a non-brainer, but WC has one of the most intriguing mystery sub-plots on TV right now, which is hard to find nowadays. I'm also loving the fact that we really don't know who is playing whom just yet. Good stuff.

GRADE: A

Quick Thoughts: SyFy's Summer Shows

This past week, SyFy (still not used to that name) premiered the fourth season of its heavy-hitter, Eureka, the second season of Warehouse 13, and newbie Haven. While the episodes were not out of this world, they did set up what looks to be some pretty interesting seasons.

Warehouse 13: "Time Will Tell"
Syfy's newest hit's sophomore season picked up right where it left off. Artie's feared to be dead, Claudia's on the run, and MacPherson's up to no-good. Of course we all knew Artie was going to be OK, but "Time Will Tell" wrapped up the MacPherson mini-arc while introducing us to a new big bad.

After MacPherson was de-bronzed, he decided to reanimate another baddie to help him with his dastardly plot (still not quite sure I understand what he was trying to do). His new partner in crime was H.G. Wells, but not the person we all think of...this Wells was a woman. Confusing enough for you? Wells was interesting enough to be a pretty convincing antagonist, and I'm excited to see where this season will end up.

The stories are off the wall, but what makes the show work is the chemistry between the characters and the makeshift family they've created. The W13 group isn't as great as the Leverage Crew, but they're up there. Of course there's still a little bit of romantic tension between Myka & Pete, but I'm hoping their relationship is drawn out because I enjoy watching them flirt.