Teacup "Quite for No Reason"/"In the Heart of the Country"

 

Talk about building on an intense thriller. Here's a quick recap of episodes three and four of the miniseries Teacup.

Cold Case, Full Heart: Chicago PD "The After"

 

When a 15-year-old cold case reopens, can Voight and ASA Chapman find the killer before another is taken? Here's a recap!

Tough Decision: Chicago Fire "Through the Skin"

 

When Violet performs an emergency c-section in the field, will her medical license be put on the chopping block? Here's a recap!

Some Hard Changes: Chicago Fire "A Monster in the Field" Season Premiere

 

Well, changes are coming, and they were evident in the season premiere of Chicago Fire. Here's what happened.

Hold on To Your Butts: Chicago Med "Sink or Swim" Season Premiere

 

The season premiere of Chicago Med didn't miss a beat. Here's what went down.

A Fun Potential: High Potential "Pilot" Series Premiere

 

The new ABC series is a police procedural gem that we all need. Here are my thoughts on the premiere of High Potential. 

The Right to Learn Bear Arms: English Teacher "School Safety"

 

When Even learns that the school has a gun club, he wants his students to fight it. Will they succeed? Here are my thoughts on the episode. 

FBI Season 3: A Thrilling Season

 

The third season of CBS's FBI is a real thrill ride that played so well with my emotions that I can see why this series has become so popular with fans. Here are my thoughts. 

From Thriller to Dreadful: Secret Invasion miniseries

 

Did Disney+'s Secret Invasion live up to the hype? Here are my thoughts.

A Little Gem of A TV Series: Primo Season One

 

If there was a little gem of a TV show, Amazon Freevee's Primo would be that show. 

Rescue in the Sky: SkyMed Season 1

 

Are you looking for a medical drama to get you through until Chicago Med or Grey's Anatomy returns? Sky Med on Paramount+ might be the show for you. 

An Intense Night of Drama: One Chicago: Chicago Med "You Can't Always Trust What You See"/Chicago Fire "Mayday"/Chicago PD "Closure" Season Premiere

 

The season premiere of One Chicago was this one-time week, and I'm still recovering from what went down. Here's a recap and thoughts!

Chicago Med "You Can't Always Trust What You See." 

While the season premiere of Chicago Med wasn't at the level of what Fire and PD had, it still had me engaged for the entire hour. 

Halstead returns to Med, but under the circumstances from Goodwin, he keeps an eye on a colleague, who she believes is scamming Medicare while putting his patients at risk. But the one thing I was happy to see have a nice closure was Will and Natalie as they said goodbye at the beginning of the episode. That started the waterworks for me. 

Archer and Charles work together, putting their differences aside (at times), to help save a patient who happens to have a twin. But the catch is if the patient needs surgery, the twin also wants to have the same surgery as they want to do everything together. I think they would give a run with The Shining Twins. 

We meet with the new residents, Dr. Scott and Hammer, who we see helping treat a girl with sickle cell anemia while her mother shows signs of arthritis. Hammer realizes that with arthritis at this early stage in her life, they must be living in the car.  Later, we see Hammer visiting her mother, who is homeless, helping her with what she needs. 

While giving Vanessa space, Maggie tries to stay away but be professional with her daughter. At one point, a nurse needed a doctor to call the time of death of a patient. After calling it, Maggie confronts her. Also, while Crockett and Halstead might not have seen eye to eye in this episode with a difference of opinion on a returned patient who was part of Kinder, they come to reasonable terms at the end of the episode. 

I enjoyed the season premiere. I see how others might not have thought it was at the level we're used to. The episode had to balance out the end of one story (Natalie) and the start of a new one (Scott and Hammer) and still have that Med medical feel we're used to. This is what I would call a peaceful premiere. 

I loved the Hammer and Scott story in this episode, as Scott seems to be a fun but responsible character when treating his patients. At first, I thought, oh, a cop turned doctor. Didn't we see this with Jeff Clarke when he transferred from Fire to Med? But this seems different. 

Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

Chicago Fire "Mayday"

Think again if you thought I was on the edge of my seat when Fire started its 10th season premiere! I was on my feet, walking back and forth with nerves and screaming at the television. 

The episode picks up right where we left off; Squad 3 is trapped in a capsized boat, and Casey makes a good to help bring oxygen tanks. But just as he gets there, Severide sets up to blow up part of the boat to escape. But after it blows up, Cruz is not moving, and Severide tries with all his might to get him to the surface. Casey gives CPR and comes through. 

Cruz will be already, but when he gets back to work, he's starting to get PTSD when handling his gear. Also, the stress of postponing the baby shower for Chloe didn't help either, but when it comes to 51, they have their back no matter what. 

Stella, who was so worried about Severide making it out alive, later confronts him about telling his mother about their engagement, only to get a response that Severide men don't stay married for that long. Ouch!  But she reassured him that things would be better than what his father was. 

Meanwhile, Boden gets word that he'll be the new deputy chief commissioner, but while everyone is thrilled about his recent promotion, Stella isn't, as she is afraid to see changes to 51. Boden tried to see if his office could be at 51, but that wasn't the case due to politics. But after a call, he sees that his firehouse can handle things without him. 

Meanwhile, the story we've been waiting for, Brett and Casey, while they try to keep their relationship under wraps, everyone knows they're a couple, even before they know. We had gotten many good Brettsey scenes in this episode that I would assume kept the fans happy. 

But during a call, Brett gets a non-emergency call that she and other medics believe is taking them away from the actual emergency calls, and that starts Brett to maybe thinking of something. While on call, Casey bravely saves a kid swinging from one building to another like he was Spiderman or Batman, which was fantastic industry for Brett. 

And let's not forget Firehouse 51's Three's Company duo, Ritter, Violet, and Gallo, who are trying to come up with an idea to make some extra money. Gallo and Violet didn't make it easy for Ritter, as watching them argue about each one's vision wasn't helping. But soon, just as they were about to work it out, the idea of Gallo's beer (that he made) might be the ticket. 

"Mayday" was electrifying but had all the feelings we wanted in a Chicago Fire premiere. While changes are coming to 51, it's hard to see Boden moving out of 51. Who's going to take his spot? Casey? Do you think Casey is ready to give speeches to his crew? We had seen it a while ago, and it didn't turn out well. 

I read many stories from Stella-Severide, Chloe-Cruz, Brett-Casey, and Ritter-Gallo-Violet. I can't wait to see what will happen with these characters this season. I wonder if Cruz will continue to suffer from PTSD from the boating rescue. 

Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

Chicago PD "Closure"

If Fire had an "On My Feet" premiere intensity, PD was another.

"Closure" was such an intense going in with the awaiting on if Burgess would come out or not. Ruzek battles whether or not to bring Makayla to visit the unconscious Burgess, but rest assured, fans, Burgess will be okay.  

Meanwhile, Upton and Voight try to hide the fact that they killed Roy while hunting down Roy's partner, who both have evidence of them killing Roy. It's eating up Upton pretty poorly; Roy's partner, holding a hostage, gets shot in the neck and dies at Med. 

Voight tells Miller, who doesn't know that Roy is dead, to get the Feds to help find him. Good luck! Meanwhile, after Upton asks Jay to marry him, Jay returns the favor after asking why she wants to marry him now and soon proposes to her (as he's an old fashion) with the answer "yes."

I enjoyed this episode very much from beginning to end. While we know that Burgess will have a tough time returning to work, something tells me she won't let this one go either, like Miller. Could this come back and bite both Upton and Voight by midseason? I just got that feeling!

I thought Ruzek's storyline was so good and well-performed, along with Upton as well. Looks like we're going to get a CPD wedding! I hope it doesn't turn out to be like Will's wedding.

Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

What did you think of the season premieres of Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago PD? Leave a comment below!

Follow me on Twitter @abaker20.

Catch up with recaps, reviews, and news of #OneChicago

One Chicago aires Wednesdays beginning at 8/7c on NBC and streaming all episodes on PeacockTV.

A Season Burning Brighter: Chicago Fire Season 9 (Episode 7-16)

 

Season Nine of Chicago Fire burns so brightly with such amazing stories. Once again, this season was a step up from last season, even though we got a shorter season. Here's a recap and thoughts. 

Changing of the World: All Rise "A Change Is Gonna Come" Season Premiere

The season premiere of All Rise this week had some really strong moments and even a shocker at the end. 

The season premiere of All Rise titled, "A Change is Gonna Come" really should the changes that have gone on in the span since the season one finale. We learn in flashbacks of Judge Carmichael stopping a cop as he had drawn his weapon as the girl was trying to look for her phone in her bookbag. 

That point and time set off a chain reaction into the present with Lola and Mark's friendship; as Mark seemed to be on the other side of what Lola was thinking, even though the cop didn't believe that she was a judge and didn't ask for I.D. 

Meanwhile, Mark was battling with Rachel on a case that hits close to home with Carmichael with a white man charged with a hate crime for hitting black and mix people with a baseball bat. We learn the meaning of the judge's difficulties when talking to her new law clerk, Ness Johnson. 

Sara deals with a family situation where her grandparent's store was distorted during the protest but the insurance wasn't going to cover it because it was under the COVID-19 lockdown. I think we're gonna see something in the new episode about that. 

Two things to be taken out of this episode: one what's going with Luke and Emily as they seem distant yet still helping each other with a case to get her client out of jail and to the hospital; due to COVID-19 but died. They took a break during the COVID-19 and yet it seems that Luke has moved on with Sam. Wow!

Second thing: While Carmichael not only was dealing with that cop situation and case, there was something else going on as well. Her husband had been quarantined at the time of the cop situation, but there was something that we see back and forth during the flashbacks. 

We come to find out that Judge Carmichael is expecting a baby. And come to find out that there's a viral video of her standing up against that cop, which doesn't look too good right now.

I have to admit that I enjoyed this season's premiere. I thought they really addressed the Black Lives Matter really well and even the COVID-19 stuff as well. I thought that Simone Missick gave a great performance in this season's premiere. 

The tension between Mark and Lola was so good with each other having different opinions of what had happened that night during the protesters and cop. Could their friendship still be in jeopardy? 

Meanwhile, seeing Emily and Luke being distant from each other (besides for COVID reasons), until they tried to help her client. I was like was it me but weren't they on great terms dating and having a nice evening with a meal and a glass a wine? Apparently, time really did pass and they're on a break. Wow! That took me a bit surprised. 

As for the shocker (depends on what the shocker would be in this case), the viral video was a shocker over the pregnancy. That doesn't mean I was shocked but I did figure it out as we see certain moments like Sherri helping her with ideas to calm down and finding a new law clerk. But I can't wait to see what comes with this story arc with her Lola and her husband and even her judge career. 

Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

What did you think of the episode? Leave a comment below!

You can catch All Rise Mondays at 9/8c on CBS.

FBI Most Wanted Season 1

 

This summer, I got to catch up on last season's best new series, FBI Most Wanted. Here are my thoughts!

FBI Most Wanted feels like the lovechild of the FBI and Chicago PD with a traveling van. That may sound bad but let me tell you, it's not, as it's pretty much my new favorite Dick Wolf series to date so far and could be better than its predecessor, CBS's FBI. 

The concept is that this FBI task force solves crimes and hunts down criminals now placed on their most wanted list in the same style as any crime procedure drama. The characters are grounded, mostly Jess LaCroix, played by Jullian McMahon. We see a balance of work and family life and that he's trying to help the suspects without getting into a bad situation. 

And this ensemble cast is fun and exciting to watch from Kenny Crosby, who reminds me a bit of the lovechild of Jay Halstead and Adam Ruzek for some reason. Keisha Castle-Hughes as Hana Gibson is my favorite character other than LaCroix on this show as the group's high-tech. 

The stories in season one were solid and intriguing and had me on the edge of my seat, like episodes "Defender," "Invisible," "Ghost," and "Getaway," to name a few. But let's face it, if you are a fan of the show like me, the best episode was the crossover with FBI, which has the slight edge as the best two-show crossover last season (edging out with Chicago Fire and PD). That episode had so many cringe moments, but it was so good.

I highly recommend watching FBI Most Wanted. If you like crime-procurement shows that follow the clues, strong storytelling, and a tremendously solid ensemble cast, this show is for you. I give Season 1 a 9/10.

Season Two of FBI Most Wanted premieres tonight at 10/9c on CBS.

Heart and Soul: Station 19 Season 1 Review

This summer, I had the chance to catch several shows I'd missed out on. One is ABC's Station 19, the spinoff to Grey's Anatomy. Here are my thoughts on the first season.

Learning And Laughing: A.P. Bio Season 3 Review

The third season of A.P. Bio premiered this month, and the new season looks better than ever.

The eight-episode season three comedy series dives into more wacky and crazy stuff than the previous two seasons. From Helen being part of Jack's student to Ralph dealing without having Helen as his crime partner, that's just the first episode.

The season pushes the characters not only with hilarious moments but heart-warming ones. Jack, who's trying to record a video for a university to get out of Toledo, backfires and realizes that he's better off with the students and friends in Toledo.

One episode that might be the season's highlight is episode three, and the first ten minutes of the episode are just catching up to what is just ten minutes of the episode. It might seem dumb to read it and go, "What?" but trust me, once you see it, it's pretty hilarious as it's like making fun of the steaming services previously on this show.

The season finale didn't disappoint as it dives into the celebration of Katie Holme's day. That's the day they celebrated when she got the part of Joey Porter on Dawson's Creek. I should not say anything more after that.

I very much enjoyed the third season of A.P. Bio. While the second season was good, this season was much better. There was strong writing and character development this season. I can't stress enough the chemistry between Paula Pell and Patton Oswalt, as they're one of the best comedic duos on television.

I highly recommend taking a look at the new season of A.P. Bio. Overall, I give this season a 9/10.

You can catch seasons 1-3 of A.P. Bio, available on Peacock Stream Service.

The Umbrella Academy Season 2

The second season of The Umbrella Academy was released this weekend, and it was freakin fantastic!!!

Picking up seconds after the season one finale, the team/family is back in the early 1960s, separated from 1960-1963. But in a way, like in the first season, Five sees that they've brought the apocalypse with them and must find the team as they live their own lives. Deigo is trying to stop the assassination of JFK, Klaus starts a cult, Luther is making money to a gangster, Allison is married and fighting for civil rights. Vanya suffers from memory loss and is trying to figure out who she is. All of this while The Handler tries to get back not only her power at the Commission but also Five and has a helping hand. The season finale (which I won't say much) leaves an opening door for Season Three that I hope Netflix will announce by Monday or this week.

Season two of The Umbrella Academy was mind-blowing. While it had the same vibe from the first season, it improved with solid character development and writing. The stories and the setting were timeless and fitting and had that balance of humor and emotions hitting at the right time. The cast performs excellently, like Ellen Page, David Castaneda, and Emmy Raver-Lampman. Robert, Sheehan, and Kate Walsh. But it was Rita Arya as Lila and Robin Atkin Downes, as the voice of AJ Carmichael, who killed it. Even the music selection this season fits perfectly with the scenes of the episodes.

Overall, I give this season a 9/10.

If you haven't seen Season Two of The Umbrella Academy or the series, I highly recommend it.

You can catch the first two seasons of The Umbrella Academy available now on Netflix.

Batwoman Season 1 Review

Exciting, character-driven, and full of action!  Here are my thoughts on the first season of Batwoman.

While the first season had some issues; I still quite enjoyed it very much. The series keeps the Batman anthology theme of dark, gritty, and very, very action-packed. But the one that I do enjoy the most out of this series was the strong character development. While Rudy Rose shows a lot of growth in the first season, she plays very well in the dramatic fashion; but also in the humor category too when Kate tries to learn the ropes of being Batwoman.

Along with Rose, Rachel Skarsten steals the show with her performance as Alice/Beth Kane. Skarsten's character was so interested that she had me more invested in the show than just watching Batwoman fight crime.  While both Kate and Alice have this Batman-Joker dynamic going; their relationship of sisters adds more depth. But it's the character's strong background story and development that wins the season over the other characters.

One of the things that I had an issue was the character development of Sohpie Moore. Moore, at the first half of the season, felt like a soap opera character; with one of the storylines being that her going to tell Kate's dad that she's Batwoman. But by the second half of the season, the character develops well enough.

While Crisis Part 2 was my favorite episode of the crossover event; other episodes like "Tell Me the Truth" with both Kate and Luke teaming with Julie Pennyworth, who I wish to stay on from time to time as they play well with one another. "Take Your Choice," "A Narrow Escape," "Off with Her Head" and "Through the Looking Glass" were a few of the episodes that stood out this first season with such entertaining, action, and amazing character development. And while the season finale ended with HUSH becoming the doppelganger of Bruce Wayne; I don't believe the show will ruin Bruce Wayne's character. Overall, I give this season one an 8.5/10.

I can't wait for Season two, but sad that Rudy Rose left the show. while I respect her for her decision to leave. I just hope that the show will find a way to address the change; whether it's a new actress taking on Kate Kane or a new character.

You can catch Season One of Batwoman available now on The CW app and On Demand. The new season begins in January 2021.

Superstore Season 5 Review

For Season Five of Superstore, the show doesn't lose a beat.

While the fifth season was cut short of its original season run; I thought that this season of the comedy series was so brilliant and hilarious. The Amy storylines this season with her dealing with corporate and trying to get to the top was good. Also, her and Manto's storyline was funny at times but heartwarming. The trio of Jonah, Cheyenne, and Garrett was hilarious; I loved this season was Sandra, Jonah, and Garrett as they were dealing with new corporate phones. 

While the ensemble cast was brilliant; Kaliko Kauahi as Sandra was not only amazing but stole the season with her performance. From episodes of her wedding and dealing with Carol this season, she deserves to win the MVP for this season. Also, Lauren Ash gave some great moments too; from meeting her father to dealing with the loss of her birds and getting back at Garrett.

And while the season finale was supposed to have Amy leaving Superstore; the episode that aired as the season finale did have an ending of a goodbye. I do hope that America Ferrera would come back for an episode to give a fair sendoff, which I think her character deserves. 

I loved how this season the show kept the characters grounded and never dummy them down at all with such rich storytelling. Season after season the show elevates and gets better and better. Season five is that example and one that anyone who hasn't seen it should watch it. Brilliant writing and brilliant performances from the ensemble cast. Overall, I give this season a 91/0.

You can catch Superstore to return for a sixth season (sometime this fall).