Tuesday, January 26, 2016

What If: The X-Files "Founder's Mutation"


On the second night of The X-Files two night premiere, Mulder and Scully gets a case that will take them through another personal journey.

"Founder's Mutation" was suppose to be the fifth episode but decided to air it as the second episode, proves to be a smart decision. I will say that this was a lot better than the first episode because it hard more of a case story than what we say in "My Struggle."

The one thing that made me enjoy this episode was the fact that Mulder and Scully's investigation had them dealing with what would have happen if they had kept their son, William. The case dealt with a mysterious death in a government owned program by the Department of Defense, studying the different defects of children.

Scully thinks of what it would have been if she kept William. She would have taken him to school, than quickly move toward when he gets hurt and is taken to a hospital. And in the last sequence, she gets a waking yell from him and asked what's wrong with him as she sees his face turn white with no nose and big eyes, like an alien, or one of those Flesh people from Doctor Who.

For Mulder, they spent an evening watching a movie and asking about how these apes were acting like; than moves toward when they're going to blast a rocket up in the sky and Mulder gives his best JFK impression of his speech of going into space. And the final one was just like what he saw when his sister was taken, William floats in the air and is suddenly gone.

Such a well-told story that gave these two characters the idea of what it would have been like, even though what they have done for William was probably for the best. (If you don't know about the story of William, I best recommend you watch Season Nine or see this clip).  

Besides that storyline, the case story was also intriguing. This wasn't just a kill for the top government secrets, but a secret for a love one. A kid searching for his sister that he has never met before, but both of them have unique abilities.

Kevin, the searcher for his sister, has the ability to get into people's heads but the bad part is that the person that he's in hears a bad high pitch sound. Mulder was one of those that he was communicating.

Mulder and Scully find Kevin and brings him to where her sister is at, the same hospital that they were just in asking questions about these experiments. The doctor takes blood and than takes him to his sister but wasn't really her and that just freaks him out and searches for her. They found each other and but in that scene as the doctor tells Kevin to back off, he pulls that pitch sound in his head. Scully tells him to stop and Molly forces her to the wall and also Mulder, forcing him to go all the way back.

Kevin gives the doctor one terrible bleed from both ears, mouth, nose and eyes. Mulder did say that he saw his eyes pop out, which would have been so cool to see that in there, but there are standards. The DOD takes over and is searching for Kevin and Molly. In the meantime, Mulder kept the blood sample that the doctor took from Kevin at the end.

This episode was really good and way better than the first episode. David and Gillian's performance was just outstanding in the scenes of where they are with their son. It played so well into this episode. Smart move to move this episode up from it's original airing.

Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

The next episode is consider from critics "an instant classic." That's what the promo said. Hell, I can argue with that since as Scully tells Mulder, "it has a monster in it." I love it when they show monsters, its my favorite thing of the show.

You can catch The X Files Monday nights at 8/7c on FOX.

The Devil Can Solve It: Lucifer "Pilot"



We've all heard the phrase, "The devil made me do it." For Lucifer, it's more of the devil helping solve it. Here's my thoughts. 

Monday, January 25, 2016

The Truth Is Still Out There: The X-Files "My Struggle"


First, let me just say that I don't think I was only one who gotten goosebumps from the very beginning of this first episode. From the catch up intro to seeing Scully and Mulder for the first time, just makes me glad that the show is back.

The premiere episode, "My Struggle," deals with the persona of both Mulder and Scully coming to grips with what they thought to believe that turns out to be the complete opposite. Can something that you once believed be a lie?

For Mulder, he's summoned by Tad O'Malley, who's like Bill O'Reilly meets YouTube, wants his input on a case that involves his source, Sveta, that she's been abducted. Not only did Mulder go but Scully went too, and it felt like love at first sight again. But you can see in their eyes that they haven't been together.

As Mulder and Scully listens to Sveta, Mulder seems to be interested again but for Scully, she doesn't seem to want to believe it anymore. When Scully takes some blood from Sveta for testing, Sveta triggers Scully about her and Mulder's life, Mulder looking depressed and telling her that she doesn't know how it feels about being abducted and tested. Scully leans forward with eyes wide open telling her that she does know.

For Scully, tries to not want to believe anything going on and tries to warn Mulder of what could happen if he goes forward with this investigation. She gets the blood test and not only has Sveta's results but her own as well, just to make sure. And even though she lied to Mulder and Sveta of the results, it turned into a chain reaction of the government destroying everything from the spaceship that O'Malley showed Mulder to taking down O'Malley and even taking out Sveta with a spaceship.

Mulder sees that everything that he and Scully have been working on is a lie from the government, that it's not aliens that are hiding but the government using alien tech on humans. He chatted to a doctor that was apart of one alien experiment that happened in 1947 and the outcome just pushed Mulder to get to the bottom of this.

Mulder meets with Scully in the parking lot and looks like hell. After telling her about what's been going on, she tells him that she lied about the test, but they have one who is positive with alien blood and she wants to help take down those SOB's. But soon they get a text from Skinner that they must come in at once.

Looks like The X-Files have reopened once again and a certain someone isn't too happy about that at all. I'm talking about the Cigarette Smoking Man, which has me asking, how the hell did he get out of that blast in the series finale?

This was a very good solid episode. Watching both Mulder and Scully deal with their struggles of getting back to The X-Files. Both David and Gillian were fantastic and looks like they never missed a step when it comes to doing scenes with one another.

It was a real treat to see at the end, CSM still smoking with some assistants and saying that they have a problem.

Overall, I give this episode a 8/10.

You can catch The X-Files in it's regular night and time Monday nights at 8/7c on FOX.

Friday, January 22, 2016

NBC Announces Premiere Dates




NBC announced Friday the schedule for return shows and new series premieres.

The Voice will be the help in the lead in for the previews episodes of The Carmichael Show and Steve Harvey hosted reality series, Little Big Shots on Tuesday, March 8th at 10/9c.

Here's the rest of the schedule for March and April:

Tuesday, March 8th:
10/9c: Preview episode of Little Big Shots, about extraordinary kids.
10:30/9:30c: The Carmichael Show preview episode

Sunday, March 13th at 9/8c: The official season premiere of The Carmichael Show (back to back episodes).

Tuesday, March 15th
10/9c: Back to back preview episodes of Crowded, a new comedy about empty nesters (Patrick Warburton (Family Guy) and Carrie Preston (True Blood), whose two grown daughters (Miranda Corsgrove and Mia Serafino) decide to move back home.

Sunday, March 20th
9:30/8:30c Crowded's official series premiere

Tuesday, March 22nd
9/8c Preview premiere of Heartbest, a new medical drama starring The Slap's Melissa George as an unconventional heart transplant surgeon.

Wednesday, March 23rd
8/7c Heartbeat's official series premiere

Thursday, April 7th
10/9c Game of Silence series premiere, Four best friends, David Lyons (ER), Michael Raymond James (True Blood), Larenz Tate (Rush) and Claire Van Der Bloom (Hawaii Five-O), discover that a 25 year old secret isn't quite as buried as they hoped.

Meet Fred: The Blacklist "Mr. Gregory Devry (No. 95)"




Is it possible that after two and a half seasons in, that the Red we all know could be a fake? This episode gave one great twist that even gave Aram a headache during the episode.

Spoiler Alert!

Liz is just getting settled in back to normal life after everything the past three months. She turns in her badge and every gun she owns as she takes on being an informant for Cooper and the team. For Liz it gets every hard not to spring into action.

She meets Red at his place, where Mr. Kaplan just informed him of a message that someone knows what he's done. Red talks to Liz about Shell Island, a place where groups top criminals get together and have a meeting. Telling her that someone put together a meeting and gives Liz some names to go through.

As they Liz and the team goes through each member, one name pops up and spotted his location. Ressler and Samar get there but a twist that comes into play as the guy that they picked up is named Raymond Reddington.

Boy talking about deja vu all over again. Raymond gets placed in the same box as Red was back in the pilot and Liz got to talk to him. He tells her that the Red that they have know is a fake and that he's the real one.

Red gets there and even though he is flattered, he knows that Raymond was the one who informed the meeting. And soon he left but just before anything, Liz talks to him about how long this is going to go for. Red shows her a world map that has spots of each dangerous crime organization, powerful than the Cabul and gives a Hydra reference.

Soon, Liz talks to Raymond and agrees to let him out and help them go to the meeting. But Red beats him up there to Shell Island and talks to them that someone has been stepping into his business. That is until one of the members confront that Red is working with the FBI, that is until Raymond comes in with the game just getting started.

Liz and the FBI sitting outside, Red makes the case that Raymond is impostor and works for not only the FBI but one of the crime lords. As soon as Red tells them that Raymond is wired, the FBI goes in. With minutes to spare, Red kills the crime lord and Raymond too and sneaks out of the building, fooling the FBI that they were going to the roof thanks to helicopters going by.

Red tells Liz that Raymond was a con-man by the name of Gregory Devry, a cons con if you say. Even though it felt so twisted and made me think that the idea of Red could be a fake was smart.

Other mentions:

Not to mention that Liz tries to get things back in place, getting an apartment (after having some trouble getting one), Tom proposes to Liz on the spot and have sex in his boat again. And near the end, she gets beat up by some punk. But as she's in the hospital, she gets news that she's pregnant.

And Tom meets wit Red and informs him that he is never to marry Liz again. And Tom mentions again the word, father, which brings that question once again, could he be Liz's father and also who is Mr. Kaplan to Red?

I was amazed how this episode went, showing Liz's struggles and surprise throughout the episode. Jake Weber was really good being the doppelganger of Red, even though he had hair and taller. This episode opens to many questions down the road, mostly for Liz.

Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch The Blacklist Thursday nights 9/8c on NBC.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Daytime Attraction

Since May 2015, I've been staying at home, caring for my grandmother, and keeping myself busy before I go insane. I'm usually taking classes to continue my education, but I've taken a detour and chosen the right thing to do.

But this isn't about that at all. This contains what I consider a new leap into my television viewing. I watch morning television like The Today Show Me and shows on Primetime and the fun times of Late Night, but in the Daytime, I rarely view often, except when hanging with someone like my grandfather and his late friend or at a doctor's office.

Daytime television is something that I wouldn't say I like to get into, and more importantly, the soap operas that are on the airwaves. I always thought they were shows that use every element in the book to get people to watch. I learned this past summer that I was wrong; with two soaps, I enjoy the Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives.



For a good nine months or so, I've been addicted to these two soaps. The one thing I'm hooked on is some of these characters: Adam Newman, Chelsea Newman, Victor Newman and Jack Abbott, Mariah Copeland, Kevin Fisher, and Phyllis Summers. I do enjoy watching Jack and Victor go at it with one another. Probably have them sit in a room with a chessboard and have at it with their charm talk.

My favorite "It couple" of the show is Adam and Chelsea Newman. These two try to find happiness, but things get in the way now. Adam is kidnapped and wants Victor to deliver Natalie, Kevin's business partner in this billion-dollar project that they made investments with two people, one being Victor and the other being a question mark to me.

Another reason why I like Adam and Chelsea is that Melissa Claire Egan and Justin Hartley are just amazingly brilliant. I root for them for happiness.



Days of Our Lives has been playing in my house since I was little. I can't get enough of the intro with the hourglass. I've always criticized the show for what's being shown. I mean, a mysterious island and such is just weird. But then I started getting into it when my grandmother was in the nursing home for a while. It's the only soap opera I will discuss, as she watches General Hospital.

I was impressed with what they did for Day's 50th anniversary. I'm glad that they brought a lot of the characters from the past back, but I also loved how they came in and just went just like that. Hell, I was so rooting for Bo to kick Aiden's ass, as he was going to kill Hope.

Also, the necktie killer was good too, but it had me rooting for Chad to find Abigail and kick (the necktie killer)  Ben's ass, too.

I should say that Chad and Abigail are my "it" couple of Days. To me, they're just like Bo and Hope or John and Doc.

Also, not to mention that there have been a lot of deaths this year from Will to Bo, to Dr. Dan, and even Stefano. I was stunned to see Stefano go, but I could understand why. This is the new Day and not my grandmother's Day anymore. The writing has gotten sharper since the summer, and the stories have been so good.

I never in my mind go to the dayside of things. In the past, the only daytime shows I would see were after-school shows like Oprah, Rosie, Dr. Phil, and such. So, I guess my television viewing is now all over the spectrum from morning, noon, evening, and late night.

 I still don't know if that's good or bad, but it seems fine.

Don't Throw Stones at Families: Supergirl "Blood Bonds"/"Childish Things"


In the episode, "Blood Bonds," Kara is in a sticky situation when Non defeats her and take Hank as a hostage to exchange for her Aunt's return and safety.

With Hank gone, Alex is incharge of the DEO but that's changed when General Lane comes in and takes over from the orders of the President. Kara tries to talk with her Aunt of the whereabouts of where Hank is being held at, but no answer.

Lane and his men give Astra an ejection of kryptonite to tell them where Hank is being held at, but no answer. Kara, feeling with defeat, has another issue on her hands as if she doesn't come clean about being Supergirl that Cat will fire her. With one second of the ultimatum, Kara quits.

Soon, Alex and Kara make efforts on the whereabouts of Hank, but turns out to be a trap and Kara made quite an impression with one of the commanding solider, when she saved him from the blast.

He's impression help go against Lane's orders and help Kara and Alex deliver Astra to Non for Hank. At one point it looked like a smooth exchange but Non had setup an ambush with his crew to attack them. But Astra ordered them to stand down and left.

Astra made her crew not to attack for the time being due to the act that Kara has showed her. It does show that when they talked about how they are blood bond, that everyone is blood bond no matter what kind of who you are. Everyone is equal is the same.

Also the cat is out of the bag when Kara learns that Hank is an alien known as J'onn J'onzz and gave her some help with a Cat problem. Supergirl comes in to talk with Cat but before Cat tries to tell her that she knows that she Kara, Kara comes in her office.

I have to say that finally knowing that Hank is J'onn J'onzz is a bit of a relief. The reason why is that he was such a pain in the ass, almost like the character from Homeland. Another good performance from Melissa Benoist.


In the episode "Childish Things," Win's father escapes and making a living nightmare for Win. Hank and Alex tries to see what Lord is hiding.

Word is out that Win's father, The Toyman, has escape from jail and the FBI is on the hunt for him. They think that he's contacted with him, which they are right, but doesn't tell them but tells Kara about it.

Win tries to meet his father around an amusement park, but when the FBI comes in, the situation gets gassy and Supergirl comes in and sucks the gas and releases. Toyman wants to make Win happy as he told him that he's his greatest creation. Something that might have to worry down the road with the phrase like father like son.

But when Win and Kara find a clue to where Toyman might be at, Supergirl gets there but is trapped from his quick sand in a box. And as he leaves, has what sounds like a kid in a box about to get cut up but it turns out to be just a voice recorded doll.

In the heat of the moment, Win talks to Kara and as they talk, Win kiss her. Embarrass from the kiss, Win leaves and is taken by his father. His father tells him that he wants him to kill his old business partner with a toy gun or if he doesn't than he'll blow up the place.

Win tries to do it but shoots in the air, FBI comes in and stops Win but Supergirl saves him. Win tells her that there are bombs, so she tries to get everyone on the other side and breaks the water sprinklers and uses her freeze breath to use it as a shield, which worked. And soon stops Toyman.

To figure out what Lord is doing, Alex sets up a date with him, how creepy right? As that goes on, Hank transformers into Lord and tries to get in the secret locked room. As he goes through the door, he sees a girl being treated with blue dye IV and soon opens her eyes.

Hank gets into a situation with the security, but uses his mind control to erase his mind completely. But doesn't stop Lord from seeing who broke in and also not to mention put a camera on Alex's purse, spying on both Kara, in her outfit, and Alex.

Also not to mention that Win finally express his love for Kara but Kara wants them to be what they have always been, best friends. Win also mention that he doesn't want to be like his father, who kept his feelings in and being afraid.

This was a very good episode that show a lot of development in Win. I was impressed with the Jeremy Jordan's performance in this, also not to mention Melissa Benosit too.

Also having Lucy Lane working in the same building with her boyfriend, that sounds complicated with the relationship with Kara.

I feel like this show has really gotten into a really nice shape of storytelling and where it's going, since the pilot.

Overall, I give "Blood Bonds" a 7/10 and "Childish Things" a 8/10.

You can catch Supergirl Monday nights at 8/7c on CBS.