Bonding: Life In Pieces "Clean Pens Grandma Guys"

From a scary grandma to a guy's party, here's a recap of last week's episode of Life In Pieces.

When Greg and Jen hire a cleaner, it turns out to be the same cleaning lady who has been cleaning Joan and John's house since Greg was born. But here's the thing: she doesn't clean the house but sleeps while working. Jen learns that Joan does most of the cleaning after the cleaning lady is done and that the reason why they've kept her is that she irons John's pants so well. Jen fires the cleaning lady, and soon Greg and Joan decide to fix the problem by cleaning up themselves.

After watching Antiques Roadshow, John decides to turn in those pens that he's given the kids during his time as an airline pilot that could be worth a lot of money. After disappointing John, Greg, Heather, and Matt hunt for the pens, but without any luck,k they find a set of cells on eBay. As they told John they found the pens, they realized they bought the ones John put on eBay for $700. That did make John pretty happy.

Matt and Colleen's son is scared of Joan. Joan thinks it's anxiety, but Colleen believes it's just a phase and that he'll get over it. But she learns that the real reason is that the witch in the story looks like Joan. Colleen confronts Joan about it, and she tries to deny it but accepts and walks away after sweeping up candy on the floor.

The fight of the year is about to start, and Tim invited the guys for a guy's night at his house. But the only person who shows up is Matt, and it turns into one weird and awkward night for the both of them as Tim tries to take off his pants and starts the margarita machine, which takes four hours. But as soon as the fight begins, it's over within 15 seconds, and Matt tries to leave but comes back, realizing that no one is coming to Tim's party. He comes back and takes a photo to show off to Greg.

"Clean Pens Grandma Guys" was an excellent episode, but it didn't live up to the previous episode as hilariously funny. It was a split 50/50 of perfect and okay stories in this episode. The good ones were John's pens and Tim's guys' night. The character development was good, as did the writing. As for the scary grandma and the cleaning lady stories, it just seems a bit predictable at times. But the humor was there at times. Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

You can catch the one-hour series finale of Life in Pieces tonight at 9/8c on CBS.

Admitting a Problem: Life In Pieces "Letter Promise Adult Seventy"

From a well-thought-out promise to a family divorce, here's a recap of Life In Pieces.

When Matt and Colleen celebrate their son's acceptance to Lark's school, they take Greg and Jen out to dinner to repay them for the letter they had sent. One little problem: they didn't write a letter. Greg and Jen try their best to not only accept the dinner but also try not to go all out, but after sharing a bone with his brother, Greg admits to Matt that he didn't write the letter. Soon, the dinner would be covered by Jen and Greg after.

Sophia confronts her mom and dad about their promise: if she could do all the chores on the list, she could get a pig. Tim and Heather try to talk Sophia out of getting her that pig and get her to agree to get a cell phone instead. But Sam tells them they have been played by Sopha as getting a pig was a plan to get a cell phone. Tim and Heather go with Sophia's program and get her the pig that she always wanted, even if it does leave a mess in the house.

Clementine confronts Tim about a problem with Tyler lumping his left testicle. That worries Tim, and I chatted with Tyler about getting it checked out. But at dinner, everyone learns about Tyler's problem, even Heather, and Tyler finally goes to the doctor. After seeing a children's doctor, Tyler meets with a doctor for adults and learns that it's just a cyst, but he also gets a rectum check. Welcome to adulthood!

John learns the terrible news about his parents; they're getting a divorce after 70 years. John gets Joan to help him get them to stay together by having dinner and remembering the good old days, but that backfires. John learns why they have been together for 70 years and that they thought he would have died during his time as an air pilot. After talking to Joan about it, John returns to see that his mother has died at the dinner table. As Joan gets word about the planned service for John's mother, John remarks about their marriage that could surprise his parents.

"Letter Promise Adult Seventy" was just another witty, hilarious episode, making me laugh from the beginning to the end. As the Greg'Jen/Mat/Colleen story was excellent and funny, it didn't hold up to the other stories like Sophia and her parents, even Tyler going to the doctor and John's parents. The writing was so damn good in this episode. It's probably one of my top favorite episodes of the season. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

You can catch Life In Pieces on Thursdays at nine or 30/8:30c on CBS.

Once Upon a Time: Life in Pieces "Four Short Fairy Tales"

From lying about a rat in the house to battling for partnership at a law firm, these are just some of the stories in this episode of Life In Pieces.
The first thing 
"Four Short Fairy Tales" is just what it is with the Short family characters dealing with life moments from a fairy tale perspective, and it works. Tim buying (for his efforts to stay healthy by buying a wired wig) gets the family pretending to like it but not. Jen deals with the work-life in a Cinderella style with evil co-workers, thinking that mommy life takes away from Jen's work life. After staying at work and finishing up paperwork, Jen enjoys the night with her boss and co-workers. The next day,y Jen's co-workers try to take credit for the work she did but prove that she did it because of the breast milk stain that was left on the paper.   

Joan deals with her family through a retirement party, but she gets saved by a rat in the house. After Oscar comes and receives the rat, Joan still uses the rat as an excuse for not having the retirement party. She tells Oscar about it and comes to terms with John, but when she sees a real rat across the room, John doesn't believe her.

Meanwhile, Matt and Greg tried to build a playhouse for their kids that their dad took down twice. After realizing that John didn't make his boys builders, he took the time to create the final and perfect playhouse out of bricks but also have its water source.

This episode was another hilarious one, with many great moments, from Tim's new hair and getting the only support from Colleen. Jen fighting for that partnership in the style of Cinderella was good and tied with Joan's crying rat in the house as the best story in the episode. And the father and sons of John, Greg, and Matt building a playhouse for the kids was perfect. Strong writing and good character development, mainly with Jen and Joan, I think. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Life In Pieces on Thursdays at 9:30/8:30 on CBS.

Family Bonding: Life In Pieces "Recovery Discipline Psycho Labor"/"Lost Math Art Glam"

From bonding while walking to dealing with labor during a birthday party and trying to take a family photo. Here's a recap of the last episode of Life In Pieces.

"Recovery Discipline Psycho Labor"

Still, in their recovery from their health, Tim gets Joan to walk with him, but as they walk, they bump into a skeet ball arcade. As soon as they play a game, they get hooked every time they go for their walks. But a few days later, they see that the game has been picked. You,p, and Tim killed the meaning of walking with Joan. That ended when Joan came back the next day and got Tim to join her to walk with her to an air hockey game. 

Matt and Colleen have difficulty with their new adoptive son, whom Dougie influences. They soon learn from Heather that being a parent doesn't mean being their child's best friend. After Dougie showed the kid a video of an autopsy of an alien, the kid went to Matt and Colleen because he couldn't sleep, probably due to the autopsy he watched. After getting into bed with them, all seemed fine for Matt and Colleen.

John befriends the creepy janitor at school. Sophia worries that this could be a problem until she sees that her pop pop is depressed and that he's not his friend anymore. Soon, Sophia confronts the janitor and learns he's not so bad and has a heart. But when she shows him off to her classmates, they get freaked out. 

Trying to celebrate Lark's birthday a few weeks before the baby is due, it turns out the baby is ready to come. Jen tries to make it through with the party as Greg tries to rush along as quickly as possible. But they can't make it as Jen's water breaks, and she and Greg tell Lark that her baby sister is coming and tells her that she will have some gifts when she meets her new sister. Soon, they walk out while Matt and Colleen walk in late, forgetting Lark's heritage. 

"Recovery Discipline Psycho Labor" was an excellent episode. The Tim and Jona story was good, with good character development, and watching these two bond together was just hilarious and heartwarming. Matt and Colleen's story was good, as it was fantastic to see the return of Dougie once again. It's funny watching the kid bond with Dougie as Matt and Colleen try to be good parents to both of them. The Sophia story wasn't as strong as the previous one, but it was okay and probably the weakest storyline in the episode. But the Jen and Greg story brought home the funny as they tried to make Lark's birthday the best, but the baby had plans. I think it was Zoe Lister-Jones' best performance so far this season. 

Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10. 

"Lost Math Art Glam" 

As Greg brings Lark to meet her new baby sister, Lark goes on an adventure in the hospital. Greg goes crazy searching for her, thinking that maybe she got on the right floor to see Jen, but when Heather learns what happened, she gets Greg to search. After bumping into a singing teddy gram to a child with the flu, Greg finally finds Lark and brings her to meet her sister, who she loves. But when Greg and Jen take the moment, Heather appears so happy that Lark is okay, giving Jen the idea that Greg lost Lark, but she learns that it happened when a Code Adam was being called on the intercom. 

When Sophia is having a hard time with her math homework, Heather and the family try to figure it out, but with it being the new math that it is, it's not at all as easy as it once was. After grabbing Tim, Jen, Greg, and even Colleen to help, Heather was determined to get this work done. She eventually learned from Sam, who paid and let her go to the new rave. 

Matt gives John an artwork from his new grandson and places it on the fridge. But Matt sees that John accepts his son's artwork and gets him to bond with him. But when Matt comes over to check in, he learns that John took him to the golf course but learns even more than his son doesn't like art but rocks. There's a solid case to make as the kid picks up rocks, talks to them, and kisses them. Soon, Matt gets John to join an art class with Heather but learns that he must put his alcohol in a water bottle and not in a wine glass. 

Colleen wants to do a family portrait, but Joan does not want one. She fears how she looks in photos and that it all began in school. Colleen finally gets her to do one after telling her she can fix her appearance, but that doesn't go well with the rest of the family, including Lark. Colleen and Jen get Joan to sit down at the family table, and as she holds the new baby, they finally get the family photo, even though she doesn't smile very well. She still got it!

"Lost Math Art Glam" was an excellent and robust episode. From Greg losing Lark in the hospital to Heather and their family, learning new math was hilarious and hits close-to-home moments with more on the new math. Even the Family Photo was the icing on the episode cake with good character development with Joan and Colleen. The Matt and John story was good and had some moments but didn't follow through, I thought. Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

You can catch Life In Pieces on Thursdays at 9:30/8:30 on CBS.

Life In Pieces "Sonogram Frog Rub Family" Episode Preview

Here's a preview of this Thursday's episode of Life In Pieces.

"Sonogram Frog Rub Family"

After Tim's heart attack, he becomes super clingy and annoys the entire family. Also, Greg and Jen make a pact to keep their baby's gender a secret; Sophia's new pet frog turns out to be a dangerous species. And Matt and Colleen receive news about their impending adoption

Promo:

You can catch Life In Pieces Thursday at 9:30/8:30c on CBS.

Decisions to Make: Life In Pieces "Birth Meddling Jacket Denial"

From meddling in someone's fight to denial about their fitness situation. Here's a recap of this week's episode of Life in Pieces.

In the first story, "Birth," Colleen asks Morgan about her birth plan for her baby. With no plan in place, Colleen shows Morgan options that lead to a home water birth and witnessed a mother going through labor in the process. As Morgan steps out, she tells Colleen she's scared and asks her to be with her when the baby comes. And not to mention, Matt gets stuck helping deliver the baby and probably faints in the pool. 

The "Meddling" story was of Heather and Joan having different opinions regarding the fight between Sam and her friend. Heather doesn't want Sam to hang out with this girl anymore because she's a bad influence on her, while Joan feels that they should at least forgive and stay as friends. Joan butts in and gets Sam and her friend back together again until Heather tells Sam the truth, and not only Sam stays with her friend but asks for her signature to approve the internship.

"The "Jacket" might be one of the Jen and Greg stories so far, as Jen learns that Greg had spent a lot on something. She thinks it's her "push gift" for their second child. After a day, she found the gift of the leather jacket that she wanted and started to wear it. Soon, Greg finds out and realizes that that jacket isn't for Jen but for his mother. That makes things even weirder when not only Heather gets one but Jona as well, and Jen figures it out, but Greg did have a surprise for Jen in her jacket pocket, a necklace that was actually in Jona's pocket that says "best mother."

The "Denial" does not only feel like a PSA for men but one hell of a story showing how men act around their health. When John sees how bad Tim has been looking, he asks him to see a doctor. When Tim does, it seems things don't look all that good, and when he heads off to Sam's soccer game, Tim gets the news that he's got a severe blockage in one of the arteries and must go to the ER now. But of course, Tim doesn't and watches Sam play goalie. But John saves the day as he fools Tim to see the paramedics and soon gets a stint put in, and all is good.

"Bith Meddling Jacket Denial" was another fantastic episode that had some excellent writing but excellent character development from Colleen and Morgan's relationship and the decision on who's going to be with Morgan when the baby comes. Even the Tim story was perfect, too, and probably one of the best Tim stories this season. It should be one that all men should look at and learn. And I couldn't get enough of Jen and Greg's story as they are one of my favorites. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Life In Pieces on Thursdays at 9:30/8:30 on CBS.

Life In Pieces "Birth Meddling Jacket Denial" Episode Preview

Here's a preview of this Thursday's episode of Life In Pieces.

"Birth Meddling Jacket Denial"

When Colleen and Matt learn they may not be allowed into the delivery room for the birth of the baby they are planning to adopt, they try to convince Morgan to have the baby at home. Also, Heather is thrilled when Samantha has a falling-out with her friend who was a bad influence; Jen thinks Greg bought her a beautiful present only to discover it wasn't for her: and John encourages Tim to see a cardiologist.

Clips/Promo:

You can catch Life In Pieces Thursday at 9:30/8:30c on CBS.

Fresh Flashback Friday: Fresh Off the Boat "Fresh Off the RV" Season Premiere

The season premiere of Fresh Off the Boat mainly brought back Flashback Fridays.

After Honey gave birth to a baby girl; Jessica does a book signing at a bookstore. But it turns into a failure as Harry Potter came out the same day. Louis buys an RV from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; thinking that it would be great to go with Jessica on her press tour as a family. Later Jessica tells Louis about the book; she decides to take the RV with the family with Louis.

Nicole is leaving to New York and Eddie isn't quite coming to grips on the news. Thinking that things are going to be find; it's not as he's been going through the moods. Just as Jessica was about to tell the family the news about her book; she decides to use Eddie's excuse to cancel the trip for his broken heart. Eddie tells Nicole how much he'll miss her; as to her as well.

"Fresh Off the RV" was a good and solid episode opener. For the kickoff TIGF, it brought back some of the classic shows from the theme to Full House with the Huangs in the RV to Jaleel White (Family Matters) as the car salesman at Kareem's car lot. What better way to ruin Jessica's book would have to be the Harry Potter novels. I thought that was just hilarious and yet heartbreaking. Both Constance Wu and Hudson Yang put a really good performance. 

Overall, I give this episode a 8.5/10.

You can catch Fresh Off the Boat Fridays at 8/7c on ABC.

The Tough Decisions: Champions "Opening Night"/"Deal Or No Deal" Season Finale/Series Finale

"Opening Night" 

With opening night coming, Michael not only is worried about his play but also if him and Gregg would make a couple. Priya comes for the show but also hangs with Michael and helps him with what Vince can't help. But she's visiting for another reason, that's to ask Vince if he's okay for Michael to go back with her to Cleveland.

At first, he didn't agree, but after watching her and Michael connect so well that he allowed it to happen. But when Michael hears about the news from the dean of the school, makes a counterpoint about the decision. But Priya lets Michael stay with Vince and Matthew.

Meanwhile, Matthew tries to be a bad guy when he tries to give each of the gym staff evaluation reviews. When he helps Dana, he gets her into the staff's group chat, which didn't go so well. But Dana changes with the help from Matthew and now everyone is on the group text chat, including Vince.

"Opening Night" was hilarious but also served some light heart moments between Vince and Matthew on the decision of Michael going back home. Both storylines were each as hilarious as the other, but I very much enjoyed the character development from Matthew. The writing was strong and the performances from the cast was as good as before. Overall, I give this episode a 8.5/10.

"Deal Or No Deal"

As Matthew finally graduates from high school, Vince gets an offer of a lifetime.

With Matthew graduating from high school, Vince has an idea of expanding the gym with a little help from his old high school friend. When Vince meets with him, the tables have turned when he gets an offer to be a manager for a St.Louis Cardinals minor league team.

Vince tells Michael about the offer, they agreed not to tell Matthew about it til after their dinner with Gregg. But that all went down hill when Gregg accidentally tells Matthew about it. Matthew gets upset and attacks Vince, who runs down to the gym. After being separated by the staff, Vince tells everyone about the news and that he's going.

Later on, Michael and Gregg seemed to have broken up, as Gregg is on a new show about family drama. But as Michael talks with Matthew about Vince, he just couldn't forgive him. But a noise coming from Matthew's room got their attention and Matthew shoots the intruder in the leg, that happens to be Vince.

At the hospital, Vince tells Matthew and Michael that he's staying and they continued on to be a family that tries to order nachos from the hospital cafeteria.

This episode was funny, strong and seemed to be close to a finale as it would be if the show had ended. The relationship between Matthew and Vince seemed to be the real focus and the strongest storyline of the episode. The performance between Holm and Favreau was amazing along with Totah as well. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Champions OnDemand and on the NBC app.

UPDATE: As of Friday, TVLine has reported that NBC has officially cancelled Champions after it's first season. I'm just furious of the news that this show, that didn't get a lot of promotion time, even for the final two episodes that were placed on Friday nights to burn off. Champions is an amazing show, just like Timeless and Great News, and deserves another season. It's got a great ensemble cast, strong writing and character development. But as with Timeless, I'm hoping the show gets picked up by another network or streaming service (COME ON NETFLIX!!!). It's been reported by TVLine that Universal Television is shopping around to other outlets.

Let's hope. Let's hope.

The Palace of Love: Life In Pieces "Video Piercing Model Hangover"/"Sixteen Spanish Car Leak" Season Finale

The season finale of Life In Pieces was, at times, what you would think, and some came off as a complete shock. Here's a recap!

The first half-hour of "Video Piercing Model Hangover" was hilarious, with moments you would want to rewatch again. Whether trying to get a "Thank You" card from Matt and Colleen that turned into a video message or Sophia making a solid case for her parents to get her ears pierced, which would lead to having Tim outdo her.

But the winner for this episode would be John being the model for the senior citizen's latest gadgets, from the chair lift to the blood pressure monitor that alerted John's high blood pressure. And Jen and Greg, waking up after a hangover from a school auction, see their daughter doing stuff by herself, from making her cereal to getting water for them. It leads to Greg and Jen to have more time, which leads to Jen being pregnant.

The second half hour, "Sixteen Spanish Car Leak," was just as hilarious as the first and probably even better. Matt and Colleen won this episode with their storyline of having a baby after learning their surrogate is pregnant (and it's not theirs). The news leads them to buy a new car, which opens up to having a baby, and they announce after Sam's sixteen birthday that they're going to adopt, but Jen's pregnancy announcement from Lark ruined but brought the family together.

Speaking of Sam's sixteen birthday, when Sam thought that her family had forgotten her birthday, she spent the day with her boyfriend, after a lovely day was about to turn into a night of first. But her parents and family caught every word as she entered the dark house to surprise her. I guess the surprise was on both of them, But just before the party, Joan wanted to explore the world with John and tried to get them to learn to speak Spanish for their Spain trip. Instead of just using an app to help translate, they wanted to know it the old-fashioned way, which became a nightmare when buying stuff at a Spanish market. They went with the translating app.

The season finale was just as hilarious and memorable as the previous episodes. It will also explain why this show is one of the best family sitcoms on television, with fantastic writing and an ensemble cast. The ending of the episode, with everything playing to the song "Listen to the Music" by The Doobie Brothers, with all the love each other brings, makes you satisfied with smiles. I couldn't be more happy with what the next season will bring (even if it's coming in mid-season next season).  Overall, I give this episode a 9/10 and the season a 9.5/10.

You can catch Life In Pieces, as they'll return for a fourth season next year.

Place Your Bets Here!! Life In Pieces "Lingerie Cookbook Gamble Surrogate"

Place your bets! Here's who won the comedy pool of the funniest episode of this week's Life In Pieces!

Whether you had it or not, the first winner of the funniest story of this episode happens to be Tim and Tyler having to buy a bra for Sam after Heather ruined it in the washer. Awkward, but it couldn't be any funnier than how it turned out to be one of the most hilarious father-and-son bonds I could ever see.

The second comes in a tie with Jen and her cooking, who happens to know little, but when Joan asks for a recipe to put in her cook. But Greg helps by taking a recipe from a restaurant and applying it to Jen's family recipe with a heartbreaking story, which inspires Joan to get all the supplies and have Jen show her how it is done. When all set and done, it turns out that Jen can cook.

Also, who doesn't like betting with their grandfather?  It builds character as it helps Sam deal with her not going to a party and placing bets on what will happen at the party, but when she sees her best friend hugging someone else, she isn't too pleased. That did give John to fix the game as he called the cops on the party to make Sam happy, but she had to pay up, too.

Coming in last would be something that I would have thought was a good, solid story, but it turns out to be annoying as Matthew and Colleen try to help Colleen's sister steer her in the right direction of staying healthy by eating and not partying and eating junk food.

"Lingerie Cookbook Gamble Surrogate" was another excellent, hilarious episode that had some top moments and some that didn't. The performance from the cast was terrific, once again, and the writing was pretty good. Overall, I give this episode an 8,5/10.

You can catch Life in Pieces with its one-hour season finale on Thursday, May 17th at 9/8c on CBS.

It's Not True: Champions "Nepotism"

This week's episode Michael and Vince learns a good lesson in not favoring someone for a job.

"Nepotism" was another hilarious and brings both characters of Michael and Vince a bit closer in learning from each other. Learning that his play is picked to be shown at his school, Michael is full of joy about it but thinks that he's audition for the role that he wrote for himself shouldn't be audition for anyone else until someone did and Michael wasn't to happy.

Meanwhile, Vince, who's trying to find a way to find help, believes that Matthew can't help with other duties at the gym. Everyone thinks that he's favoring over his brother in given him a real helping job. And after realizing what he has been doing and given advice to Michael about not quieting his play, Vince gives Matthew a position of helping new members fill applications and maybe get someone to help with the gym classes.

This was another funny, strong character development episode given Michael and Vince dealing with about the same issue and helping each other. Whether it's the scenes of Ruby and Brittany begging Vince to get additional help because they are doing double duty to Vince threatening Michael to unquiet his play or he'll be kicked out of the house. Also I loved the scenes between Vince and Dana that seems to be something there than just a working relationship. The performances from the cast was amazing and the writing was so good. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Champions when they return Thursday, May 25th on NBC.

Flashback: Life In Pieces "#TBT: House Destiny Introduction Retirement"

It's a real Throwback Thursday for the Short family this week.

"#TBT: House Destiny Introduction Retirement" refers to when the characters were at their memorable and happiest moments. From Jen and Greg faking an engagement to buy a house and then actually get engaged for real. They had to find the ring, thinking it was fake, in the trash, and Greg proposed to Jen. We see how the Short family met Tim, and it was quick to love John, but it ends up learning that Heather is pregnant.

Even the first time Matt and Colleen had their first "so-called" date, he was waiting for his blind date (that was blind) and had Greg take over for him while he comforts Colleen from a breakup. Seeing John on his last trip as an airline pilot, when his second pilot talked to him about the final landing, John decided to stay up in the air for a while. Trying to talk him down, Joan tells him that she's with him on this retirement journey, but when he lands, he is taken to his boss for what the hell happened in the air.

With hilarious, brilliant, well-performed performances from the cast, this is one of the show's best episodes. It doesn't have to be that big or that small compared to other shows on television. I just enjoyed watching these characters' backstories of what led them to where they are today, from buying the house they live in now to being married with family together and retiring. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Life In Pieces on Thursdays at 9:30/8:30 on CBS.

The Birds and the GED: Champions "Matt Bomer Poster"

With Matthew carrying a deep secret, Vince thinks that Michael having a Matt Bomer poster in his room leads to a discussion of the birds and the bees.

"Matt Bomer Poster" was hilarious, smart and very clever with a strong character development of the characters. When Vince sees a poster of Matt Bomer in Michael's room, he worries that he's doing something that leads him to having the talk. But after trying to make it fun and all, Vince tells Michael that when he's ready to have the talk, he'll be ready.

But a shocking moment comes when learning that Matthew didn't actually graduate from school. When Michael learns about it, after spying on him, he helps Matthew study for the GED but fails and tells Vince about it. But Vince helps Matthew put him back into school again.

I'd very much enjoyed this episode a lot. From the awkward moments between Vince and Michael talk about the birds and the bees to the funny moments of Matthew and Michael dealing with the GED and school issue. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Champions Thursdays at 9:30/8:30c on NBC.

Rewards Are Paidless: Life in Pieces "Portrait Plagiarism Renter Scam"

From getting paid by painting to thinking of an original story even though it's not, here's a recap of this week's episode of Life In Pieces.

"Renter Portrait Plagiarism Scam" was another episode full of laughs, life lessons, and how to check up on what you would assume is someone's work. Tyler and Clementine hosting an Airbnb in their tiny home leads to Tim and Heather dealing with their renter issues. Let alone when Jen helps her client, who's a painter, get paid with his art piece, a family portrait. The finishing product doesn't win Jen over, but Greg, Matt, and others with its unique style.

It doesn't stop there when Sophia listens to her classmate's story about where missing socks go when they can't be found and uses it to help Matt and Colleen with their second book idea. But when Sophia tells her classmate that she thinks she stole from him, she realizes that the concept is already a book, leaving both Matt and Colleen in an awkward situation with a publisher. 

But the last story leaves us with a life lesson about IRS scams, as it's been used in the other stories in this episode. But it comes to John and Joan, who think that after firing their accountant, John forgot something and tries to fix it until Heather comes over and explains that it's a scam. But do you think it ends there? No, as they get an email from Joan's nephew about how he needs money incorrectly using English.

It's another funny and well-written episode that proves that this show deserves another season on CBS. This show is one of my favorite family sitcoms and comedies from the Eye Network, along with Kevin Can Wait. Yeah, it's so different that you don't see, but also, the cast is fantastic, and the writing has been so good. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Life In Pieces on Thursdays at 9:30/8:30 on CBS.

Family Disappointment: Champions "Grandma Dearest"

When Michael ask Vince about his grandmother for school, but what Michael doesn't know is that Vince's mother hasn't have a clue that he exist yet.

As Michael tries to get Vince to introduce him to his grandmother. But in exchange to see Vince's mother, Michael helps Vince with his gym's website.

It takes the whole episode to understand that Vince and Matthew's mother isn't the right person to have a relationship. When they get ready for her visit, she shows up a no show but her husband comes and tells them her excuse. When Michael sees that he understands and decides that it's up to her to see him instead of him.

Meanwhile, when updating the Champions website, Michael recruits one of the gym members to be part of a website video of her journey. But when they get things ready, their recruit becomes a no show thanks to Ruby going on a date with her and abandoning her. It all became good thanks to the rest of the gm crew getting their recruit back and filming the video but also added to it with her asking Ruby for her hand in marriage.

"Grandma Dearest" was another hilarious and strong written episode I've enjoyed this episode a lot. The cast was amazing once again. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Champions Thursdays at 9:30/8:30c on NBC.

Making Friends and Celebrate: Champions "Vincemas"

When Vince and Matthew plan on a weekend camping trip for Michael, it may not be the kind of trip for Michael to go.

"Vincemans" was another installment of great character development, writing and performance from he cast. The episode deals with how Michael tries to fit in and make news friends because Vince gives him advice and wants him to be like he was in high school, but it leads to Michael joining an Indian group that aren't really who they seem to be, mainly going clubbing at night for example.

Also with Vince planning to be gone for the weekend, Ruby and the crew plan for a "Vincemas" event but Vince learns about it and makes one hilarious of a scene when coming up behind a partying Ruby about how Vince isn't hear.

Overall, I give this episode a 8.5/10.

You can catch Champions Thursdays at 9:30/8:30c on NBC.

Searching and Confronting: Life In Pieces "Sitter Dating Sister Mattress"

This week's episode of Life In Piece was another full of funny moments.

Whether it's from Greg and Jen finding the perfect babysitter from an email online babysitting app, that quickly lands awkwardly for both the sitter as she's a bit wacky. But Jen and Greg make it awkward as they act like they're picking a first online date that lands them back to watching Lark again. Even Sam and Heather's story of learning about Sam's boyfriend, who seems terrific, turns out that he wasn't too faithful and had more than a few girlfriends.

The two best stories of the episode were Matt learning that Colleen's sister would be a surrogate for their baby but thinks he might have slept with her one night years ago. But when confronted about it, they didn't and announced to the family until Greg realized that he had slept with her more than four times.

And when Joan and John search for a mattress for their bed, it turns into an all-day, trying out and testing each one. Overthinking is more like it, and watching Joan sick and tired of it puts the situation between her and John as something downright funny.

This episode was satisfactory; like other episodes, it made me laugh and connect with related stories. There was good character development, and the performances from the cast were good, too. Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

You can catch Life In Pieces on Thursdays at 9:30/8:30 on CBS.

Beauty is Within the Items Itself: Life in Pieces "Pageant Bike Animals Jerky"

From a toddler rising to star beauty pageants to a musical about keeping your stuffed animals, this week's episode of Life in Pieces was another hit episode.

"Pageant Bike Animals Jerky" was a nonstop laughing episode of fun humor and outstanding performances. From Colleen getting Lark into the beauty pageant by dressing up, shaking her padded butt, and dancing like she was about to be on Toddlers and Tiaras to trying to get Joan's bike back after it was stolen, finding it on Craigslist and take it back with the help from Greg, Matt, and Tim.

But the one amazingly brilliant story was the musical story of how Sophia should keep her stuffed animals even though Heather doesn't think she's using them anymore. It was catchy, witty, and caught what I believe was the emotion of the connection between child and their toys that means that most.

The last story wasn't as much as the other three, but it still was funny enough to be a little story.

It was a brilliant episode, and after it aired, it should be renewed for a fourth season. If the other shows on CBS's Thursday Night all be renewed, why not this one? The writing seemed to be good, and the performance from Giselle Eisenberg, Hanks, Brandt, Angelique Cabral, and Wiest. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

You can catch Life in Pieces on Thursdays at 9:30/8:30 on CBS.

Playing the Favorites: Champions "My Fair Uncle"

Just as questions are being asked about how Vince and Matthew are taking care of Michael, until an unexpected guest makes his a visit.

Questioning how Vince takes care of Michael, the school has him and Matthew read Michael's paper about his daily morning that describes his father gets to sleep with a ton of women. Matthew tries to get Vince to hold off on dating for awhile, but when an attractive woman comes up to Vince about wanting to go out with him, he turns her down.

But that would change when Michael's uncle makes a visit and asked to hang out with him and take him around New York. At first it didn't seem right to see how an uncle treats his son better than he can but when Vince gets a message from that girl earlier, he accepts the offer.

Just as Michael is having a great time with his uncle, Matthew jealous calls Priya about it and learns that her brother is a user of drugs. He stops Vince and the get going to get Michael back just in time as Michael was asked to pee in a cup for his uncle.

Later on Vince apologies to Michael about the way that he has been around him since living with him and Matthew and will hold off dating for a while. But at the end when Dana comes in with the new plunger, there were something between them that could spell out romance.

"My Fair Uncle" was another strong episode that had good character development and down right hilarious moments. So much mentioning of the Broadway show Mean Girls, for which if Tina Fey sings at the end: I want to go to there and see. I really thought this was such a good episode and performance for Andy Favreau as Matthew. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Champions Thursdays at 9:30/8:30c on NBC.