Reunited And It Feels So Good: Stranger Things 3 " "Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy?"/"Chapter Two: The Mall Rats"

"Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy?" 
God Bless Netflix! The third season of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things has released its episodes and it wasn't a disappointment at all. 

It's June 28, 1984, and the Russian military is trying to reopen the gate to the Upsidedown world but failed to do so.  A year later, in Hopkins, Dustin is back from camp; Steve is working at an ice cream shop, "Scoops Ahoy," but gives Mike, Will, Max, and Lucas access to sneak into the new mail theater. Not to mention that things with Mike and Eleven are going very well in their relationship and making Hopper's lie a living hell.  

But something has been sprung once again, as Will has been feeling the hair-raising feeling about it once again, but doesn't tell anyone. After a short power outage, things get weirder when rats run together to a factory, where they die in pain and explode. 

Nancy and Johnathan are working at Hopkin's newspaper. Their relationship is on good terms but Nancy's job as an intern is all good. She gets turndown badly for an idea for a news story from a group of men.   

Hopper asks for help from Joyce about Mike and Eleven's relationship, even getting some moments that are clear that they should be in a relationship with one another. After giving Hopper what to say, she not only turns him down for a visit to help him out but stays home and reflects on what she had with Bob as she watches a rerun episode of Cheers. As for Hopper, the talk didn't go the way he had planned; instead, he did it his way by talking to Mike while driving him home. 

After Dustin's reunion with the group, he tells them that he's met this girl at camp and invented the giant communication radio called Cerebro. But after hours, it seems that Dustin doesn't have a girlfriend from Utah; but instead gets a communication from the Russian military, who seems to have opened the door to the Upsidedown. As  Billy is about to pick up Mike's mother for a little late-night swimming lesson, he gets into a mysterious accident with something that literally pulls him into the factory. 

I very much enjoyed this episode from the beginning to the end, as it had both the balance of where we left off since the season two finale to where we are going into this season. The character development was good, with some moments being so awkward at times, mainly Billy hitting on Mike's mother. But it was overshadowed by moments from Mike and Eleven, Hopper and Joyce, and even Mike, Eleven, and Hooper, which was hilarious. I think we might need to tell Hopper to take some time to have a cup of coffee and contemplation. Plus the music was perfect in this episode. I think that what we're in for this season could be even bigger than what our characters will face. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.
"Chapter Two: The Mall Rats"
Hearts are broken, power is used, even cracking the code and that's just the tip of the iceberg in this second episode of Stranger Things. 

I'm just going to come out and say it; Eleven and Mike have broken up. After that talk with Hopper, Mike tells Eleven that he can't see her at this time because of his sick grandmother. But with the help from Max; Eleven learns that it's all a lie. After hanging out with Max at the mall, Eleven "dumps (mike's) ass." 

Meanwhile, Hopper is on cloud nine with the whole Eleven and Mike thing. He tells Joyce and asks her out (not a date) for dinner. But instead of meeting him for dinner, she seeks an explanation for the recent events of magnets falling at her house and works by asking for help from the kid's science teacher. So she missed dinner with Hopper. Even worse for Hopper, he gets asked by the Mayor, who approved the mall in town, to get rid of the protesters because they didn't have the permits. 

Dustin and Steve reunite and it feels all so good to see these two back together. Dustin tells Steve that he intercepts a message from the Russians. They try to crack the code and even get help from Robin, Steve's co-worker. Soon, they were able to crack the message with what seemed to be nonsense sentences. But as they leave Steve figures out something from the message, the music as it would be playing in a mechanical horse ride. The message doesn't seem to be from Russia but from Hopkins. 

Nancy and Johnathan are on the news scoop. They investigate the call from an elderly woman, who tells them that she has seen rats eat her ferderizilers. But not to worry, she kept one of them in a cage. Just as Nancy gets a tip from another place about rats, Johnathan leaves just when the rat not only explodes but escapes the cage and house too. 

Billy has not been himself in this episode; he did meet a twin of his in the upsidedown. Mike's mom tries to talk to him, but he dumps her off not to mention his co-worker at the pool, who is taken back to the old factory where she's getting the same treatment as Billy did. 

"The Mall Rats" was a very thrilling, intense, and fun episode. I just ate up the Eleven and Max story as they hang out at the mall and their montage was just so good. Couldn't argue that the Dustin and Steve scene was a real scene stealer in this episode. The show as really turn the level on this season up. Does anyone feel that Steve and Robin would fall in love during this season; or will Robin die by the end of the season? Very good character development and the writing was really good. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Stranger Things Season 3 available now on Netflix with Seasons one and Two available now

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 Love: Life In Pieces "X Box Spotlight Glimpse"

This week's episode of Life In Pieces might have been the best of the season so far. Here's a recap!

Sam texts Heather and Tim to pick her up in their new X text. The X text is when someone texts someone in the family, and they can get picked up without any questions asked; but, when Heather gets an X message from Sam and after she picks her up, she is dying to know what happened, even tried to get it out of Tyler and Clementine; but nothing. After trying to sneak into her phone, Sam confronts her about what had happened, and after learning that college students get punished, she couldn't believe it.
 
Tim gets tickets for a show and takes Colleen, but when Colleen gets food that Tim can't have, he breaks his diet and eats it. It turns into a regrettable nightmare for Tim as it causes him to have diarrhea, and he keeps coming during a circus where he gets to be part of an act that has him locked in a box.
Tim tries to hold it, but at each moment,t it seems Tim is having a baby. He even called Heather to have her stop the show even if she was drinking wine with Jen. Soon, the act was over as the clowns got Tim out and, as quick as he could, ran off backstage to the bathroom, but by the time he got to the door, it was too late.

When Jen is overwhelmed with her kids, Joan tells her to feed the young one and tap while she and John handle Lark. Well, when John comes to Greg's old room, he accidentally sees Jen sleeping, but also, her whole boob is hanging out. John makes it awkward and a fool of himself when telling Joan but also Jen and Greg. LaterheLatersation was overheard by the rest of the family asking what happened between John and Jen. John tells them that she accidentally saw his ween when feeding her baby. But Jen tells everyone the truth,h and that opens everyone in the family to the fact that they, too, are Jen's bo.

The final story of the episode deals with how the spotlight unison Lark. That changes as Matt and Colleen's kid can play the piano well and build a small order. Greg isn't too pleased and tries to win up with Matt, who's just eating it all up because of his history when Greg was born. During a dance show, Greg finally understands that Matt is an exceptional child with talents above Lark.

"X Box Spotlight Glimpse" was a fantastic episode from beginning to end. Each episode hit its mark with character development and even the humor. Whether it's Heather dying to know Sam's pick up a reason for Jen and John's awkward talk, or even Greg and Matt's spotlight child and Tim's regrettable nightmare.  The cast performs excellently, and none outperforms the other, even in each story. Overall, I give this episode a 9.5/10.

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.

Standing up: Chicago Med "With A Brave Heart" Season Finale

The season finale left us not only with some good moments, but they also ended it with such a cliffhanger. Here's a recap!

As Charles plans to give his future bride a wedding that she won't forget; he comes to terms when a former patient comes back with a tumor in the brain. Charles pushes him to have the surgery but he must be awake during the surgery. After having a minor freakout, Charles gets his patient to calm down and got the surgery done. Charles finally takes into consideration from Robin and instead of taking his wife to Hawaii; they get married and bring Hawaii to Chicago is probably one of the best scenes of the episode that will just grab your heart. 

Ethan and April not only dealing with Emily and Bernie; but treating a husband who's suffering from a deer tick bite. But when they learn that the husband's wife is suffering from Alzheimer's and living with his girlfriend to help with home care and support. After learning from their patient, Ethan and April take that into their dinner with Emily, Bernie, and family as things seem to work well with their arrangement. But as Ethan and April take the dishes to the kitchen, April tells Ethan that she's late on her period. Uh oh!

Conner learns that his dad's death was questionable and that someone must have done something wrong. But when he has to perform surgery with Ava, things just don't seem right as she tries to win him back again. Could she have done it?

Will and Natalie treat a returning patient whose husband believes that there's something wrong with his wife's heart. After many tests, there was indeed a problem and as soon as she gets the surgery, her husband talks to Will about commitment as in having a family. After the surgery, they plan to start a family pretty soon. On the other hand, Will learns that the son of the mobster is out of jail and could go after him. After learning from the husband of his patient, he stands his ground and not go back to witness protection. That gets Natalie involved, who escapes a marriage proposal, to support Will, but when she talks to him in the parking garage, they get hit by a van. Will gains conscious from the hit to see the guy, who fainted, but also Natalie who is suffering a head wound and loses consciousness.

"With a Brave Heart" was a really good season finale episode. The episode left with some memorable moments from Charles and his wife to Ethan and April. The moment that really had me off my chair was Will and Natalie; yet I'm worried to know what will happen to Natalie and will #Manstead be together telling that other dude bye-bye.

I really didn't care for the Conner and Ava story as it really ran its course. But when the new season starts, I really want a good and solid explanation on where they had gone. I think that Conner and Robin go off to the sunset to better adventures. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10. I give this season a 9/10.

You can catch Chicago Med this fall on NBC.